#and i think the fish disappear once you drain the water?

[hzdtrees]

What’s left, pt. 3

[clangenrising]

Month 14 - Newleaf

Lake’s paws ached. Her stomach growled and her head pounded dully behind her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt full. Still, she walked. 

Ever since her mother had disappeared, she’d been wandering. A few cats had shared a bite with her but they didn’t have much to share in the first place. Most of them were too busy training to fight and they didn’t want her around, especially not the special cats - Exalted, she remembered hazily. She’d tried following other kits home but every time she was politely sent away.

Two days ago, she’d seen a couple cats bringing back a pair of juicy looking birds and while they hadn’t shared with her, they had told her that there was plenty of prey over the far road if she could catch it, laughing between themselves. She figured that was as good an idea as any, so she’d headed out for the wild frontier! 

It was farther away than she’d thought it would be, or maybe it was just easier to get lost without roads to follow. She walked and walked and then stopped to sleep then walked some more. She was starting to wonder if there even was anything out here at all. Was she just missing it? 

The sound of running water grabbed her attention and she licked her chapped lips eagerly at the thought. The kit picked up her heavy paws and bounded towards the noise. Coming out of the grass, she suddenly found herself on the edge of a stream of cool, fresh water - fresher than she’d ever seen before at least. 

“Wowzers!” she declared because that seemed fitting. She waded into the stream and crouched down, gulping greedily until her stomach hurt. She thought about falling over and sleeping in the stream but worried she might drown. Instead, she decided to follow the water like it was a road and see where that took her. At the very least it would be fun to splash around. 

The sky was getting dark again but Lake didn’t mind. She tromped noisily against the current of the stream, humming a song as each note came to her mind. The chill of the water kept her awake, which was nice. She wondered if she would see a fish. They lived in water, right? She hoped so. She was starving and the water she drank wasn’t helping. It honestly made her feel grosser. 

Eventually the stream came upon a small hill but, instead of curving or trickling down the slope, it cut through the earth in a big metal tube. “That’s interesting,” Lake thought out loud. It was like a gutter drain but huge, big enough for a cat to walk through! She bounded up to the edge of it and sucked in a huge breath.

“Hellooooo!” she bellowed, giggling at the way it echoed off the tunnel walls. She splashed her paws in the water and listened to the magnified sound with excitement. “Blaaaaaaah! Bluh, bluh, bluh!” She snorted with laughter. This was the best fun she’d had in weeks!

“Hello?” A voice that wasn’t her own echoed back to her. She gasped. Was that possible?

“Hello?” she called back. It was hard to tell in the dark but at the end of the tunnel, she swore she saw something moving. Then a glint of eyes blinked at her, barely reflecting the moonlight in her direction.

“Wowzers!” she cried, “I didn’t think I’d see anybody! Are you hunting too?”

“Yeah,” the voice said hesitantly. “How old are you?” It sounded like a boy but there were other quieter voices outside the tunnel and they were talking very serious-like. 

“I’m three whole months!” Lake said. The eyes pulled away from the tunnel as the cat whispered with his friends. Lake decided she wanted to say hi up close and personal. She started towards the cat, sloshing through the stream up to her belly. Once the tunnel was all around her, the sound of her paw steps started to hurt her ears and she hurried towards the other end to get away from it. 

She burst out of the other end and thumped into a pair of bony legs, falling back onto her rump with an “oof!” The cat she had run into reached out a paw to steady her. He smelled like grass and dust and his breath smelled like prey blood. It made Lake’s mouth water. 

“Easy, there, kid,” the cat said. It was now that Lake looked up and got her first sight of him. 

“You’re funny looking, mister!” she said. He was a skinny white and blue tabby with big ears, like a little dog, and a very pointy face. 

“I could say the same about you,” he said. 

She laughed. “Am I funny looking?”

“The poor thing looks half starved,” whispered one of the other cats, an equally funny looking girl with brown points on her face and feet. 

“Are you out here all alone?” asked the third cat, a fluffy brown tabby boy who was much more normal looking. 

“Yessir!” said Lake. “I heard there was food here. Do you guys know where the far road is?” The cats all looked at each other for a beat. 

Then the first one spoke up, “Uh, no, but we do know where some food is.”

“Really?!” Lake grinned. “Can I have some?!” Her mouth was starting to fill with saliva. She slurped some of it down to avoid drooling.

“Yeah,” nodded the normal boy. “I’ll even carry you if you want.” 

“Nuh, uh,” Lake shook her head. “I’m a big girl now.” 

“You sure are,” said the funny looking boy. “Barleypaw, will you go grab one of the mice or something?”

“Yeah,” nodded the funny looking girl. She bounded off into the grass and Lake started after her but the funny looking boy put out a paw to stop her. 

“She’s gonna be right back with the food,” he said. “You just sit.” 

“Oh, okay,” shrugged Lake. “My name’s Lake. What’s your names?”

“I’m Floodpaw,” said the funny looking boy. 

“Sparrowpaw,” said the normal looking boy.

“And our sister is Barleypaw,” said Floodpaw. 

“Hey!” Lake gasped. “Did you know all your names rhyme?” Sparrowpaw laughed a little. Floodpaw raised one brow. 

“Yeah…” he said. “Where’s your mom, kid?”

Lake frowned. “Oh, um… I don't know.” 

“Oh,” said Floodpaw.

“That’s alright,” said Sparrowpaw. “Maybe you can come home with us, then.” 

“Yeah?” she brightened. Was she finally gonna be able to find a new place to sleep and a new person to help her get food? 

“Yeah,” said Floodpaw. “Once you’ve eaten we can go there.” 

“I can’t wait!” cried Lake. “You guys are the best!” The brothers exchanged glances again. Lake wasn’t sure what it meant but she saw the sister coming back over the hill and smelled the delicious smell of meat and all other thoughts fled her brain. She scarfed the whole thing down as quickly as she could. She ate it so fast she forgot to check what kind of animal it was. By the time she finished, she realized she felt very sick to her stomach.

“Oh…” she said. “I think I ate too fast…”

“That’s alright,” said Sparrowpaw, “Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?”

She nodded, cheeks full of breath as she tried to stifle her nausea. 

“Alright, come on then,” Floodpaw said, stretching. “Why don’t we go back to camp? I bet a nice walk will help you feel better.” 

“Okay,” mumbled Lake. She didn’t feel like walking. She felt like falling over and never moving again. She didn’t like saying no to people, though, so she forced herself to take a few steps. 

Floodpaw tilted his funny looking head and said, “I dunno, maybe we should just sit for a while.” Lake sighed a little in relief. “Yeah, why don’t you guys go gather the prey and tell somebody about Lake and I’ll chill here with the kid until she feels like walking.”

“Are you sure?” asked Barleypaw. “We’re awfully close to the border.”

“It’ll be fine,” he said, flopping down in the grass. “Worst comes to worse, I'll grab the kid and go.” 

“Alright…” said Sparrowpaw, looking unconvinced. He and Barleypaw started off into the grass, looking back over their shoulders and whispering to each other. Lake let out a big sigh and eased herself into the grass next to Floodpaw.

“Thanks,” she said, closing her eyes. “I don’t feel very good.” She swallowed, her sides heaving under the distress of her sick tummy. 

“No problem,” smiled Floodpaw. “Barleypaw and Sparrowpaw are always like ‘go, go, go, let’s follow the rules’ or whatever but I get just wanting to lie down.” 

“Yeah,” Lake smiled wide and wiggled into a more comfortable position. “I like laying down!” 

“Me too,” laughed Floodpaw, dropping his head onto the ground too. “So, what are you doing out here, Lake?” 

“Looking for food!” Lake purred. Her stomach gurgled loudly and she giggled a bit. “Thanks for sharing it with me.” 

“Yeah, no problem,” said Floodpaw, one ear flicking away the gnats buzzing by. “But why are you looking for food all the way out here? You’re from the city aren’t you?” 

“Oh, yeah, I am,” Lake nodded, peeking her eyes open at him. “Some cats told me there was food out here. I was really hungry. Plus it sounded fun to try.”

“Don’t other cats bring you food?” he asked, brows furrowed. 

“Nah,” she sighed. “Not since Mother went missing.”

The crease in his funny, pointy face deepened. “Still, there wasn’t anybody else who helped you out?” 

“Um…” Lake frowned too. “No. I’m sorry.” Was she answering wrong? Why was he upset?

“Oh, no, hey,” he said quickly, “It’s okay, I’m not mad, I’m just-” His skinny little tail twitched. “I just think it’s not cool that no one looked out for you.” 

“They’re busy I guess,” Lake shrugged. They were learning to fight or taking care of their own kits. She didn’t blame any of them for not having time for her. 

“Well, here we take care of kittens,” Floodpaw said firmly, “no matter who they are.” Lake smiled and hid her nose in her paws shyly. Floodpaw laughed and stretched his big, long legs out in opposite directions. “Take a little nap, kid. I’ll keep watch.” 

“Okay,” she said and yawned. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until he said something but now, with her belly full, she was eager to get some shut eye. Feeling very round and sluggish, she closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep. 

~~~

When Lake woke up it was very, very dark. She yawned and stretched and looked around, realizing that she was in a totally new place. She stiffened in fright. Where was she? The not knowing was scarier than any answer she could come up with. 

She was in a large den made of dirt, it seemed, in a nest of soft green moss and feathers. It smelled faintly of other cats, cats she didn’t know. 

Carefully, she got to her paws and crept towards the scent of night air, poking her head out to see a small grassy dip with a few other burrows tucked under big, grey stones. Three cats were sitting on top of a big, flat stone and talking softly. They didn’t seem dangerous so Lake ventured a bit further out to look around in wonder. 

“Wowzers,” she breathed. Everything here smelled so fresh and green. She’d never experienced anything like it. 

One of the cats, a dark blue bengal girl, perked up at the sound and looked her way. “Oh, hey! She’s awake!” 

“Shh,” hushed a brown spotted tabby girl nervously. 

“Right, sorry,” said the first girl, lowering her volume a bit. “Hey, girlie, how you feelin’?” 

Lake realized she was supposed to answer and said, “I’m good. How did I get here?” 

“They carried you in while you were sleeping,” said the third cat, a paler spotted tabby boy. Lake frowned. She had wanted to walk.

“I bet you’re pretty confused,” said the first girl. “Why don’t you come up here and sit with us? We can answer any questions you have.”

“Um, I’m okay,” said Lake. “Where’s the guy with the funny ears?”

“Huh?” asked the first girl.

The boy brightened in realization. “Oh, you mean Floodpaw.” 

“Yeah!” Lake bounced. That was his name!

“He’s sleeping over there,” he said, pointing to one of the holes in the ground. 

“Okay, thanks!” said Lake. She started towards the hole to go see him. The second girl breathed in sharply through her teeth and the first girl laughed. 

The boy started to say, “Oh, uh, I don’t know if-” but the first girl interrupted him. 

“Shh, let her be. It’ll be funny.” 

Lake didn’t know what they were talking about but she didn’t let it bother her. She made her way into the den. Five cats were sleeping in their nests; two smaller ones were curled up together and Floodpaw and the other cats she had met were sleeping near each other but not so close that they were touching. Lake padded right up to Floodpaw and settled down against his side. He opened his eyes and lifted his head groggily, blinking at her a few times before he managed to speak.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing in here?” he mumbled hoarsely.

“Looking for you,” she whispered. “Why did you carry me? I wanted to walk.” 

“Oh,” he said with a small groan. He swiped his tongue over his whiskers and rubbed an eye with his paw. “It was getting really late and I didn’t want to wake you. Sorry, kid.” 

“Mmm, it’s okay,” she decided, purring. She wiggled down into his nest and closed her eyes again. 

“Oh, uh…” he hesitated for a moment before eventually wrapping his tail around her and laying his head back down to sleep. Lake purred even harder. She’d missed sleeping next to somebody like this. 

She hoped that wherever her mother was, she had found someone new to sleep beside too.

UPDATES: - While on patrol with Barleypaw and Sparrowpaw, Floodpaw finds an abandoned kit named Lake and takes her back to camp.

[otteranha]

 part 1 Part 3 of the snowed in blackout at Steve’s house fic*

*did I skip part 2 because this section was finished and wouldn’t get out of my brain? yes, yes I did. apologies for any confusion, part 2 will be out sometime. 

It was nearly 6 o’clock and the chaos had dulled to a simmer. Eddie had to admit that it was a lot of hosting to take on for a lot of long, dark, empty hours if Harrington had been letting the kids stay over since the storm. No wonder the guy looked shell shocked. Once the question of the television was officially out, Eddie got the kids circled up, passing around a flashlight as they told each other ghost stories. Peace reigning upon earth, Eddie peeled himself off the floor and left the group to their pseudo-campfire tales, and snuck back into the kitchen.

The overhead lights were still on there and in the hallway, everything else dark. Steve was arranging fix-in’s for s’mores on several plates. It was the first time Eddie’d seen him alone all day. Steve looked up, “Hey thanks for your help this afternoon. I think I might actually have lost my mind there if I had to face that lot alone.” Eddie hadn’t expected that. “Oh, no problem. You’re the one doing us a favor really.” “Yeah but you fully made yourself the bad guy back there, with the TV. That- that was a big help.”

“Well, you can’t play good-cop bad-cop all by yourself. They always gang up on you like that?” “Nah,” said Steve, “Usually they’re pretty great. I want to say sweet but that’s giving them too much credit, usually they’re...” “Salty? Savory? Umami?”

Steve laughed. “Sure, let’s go with that. Besides they’re lightyears better people than I was at their age so. I try to cut them some slack.” He trailed off, then exclaimed, “Oh you never got your shower did you?” Eddie, in fact, had not. 

“You can go now, if you don’t mind showering by lantern. The water heater’s still getting power.”

“Right now I’d shower by bioluminescent fish if the water was hot.” 

Steve laughed again- strangely gratifying. “Let me get this out to them and I’ll grab you a towel.” He disappeared with the snacks. When he returned he lead Eddie not towards his dad’s gym where everyone had been showering all day, but upstairs.

“Luring me into the bowels of Castle Harrington? I’m not going to end up bricked into a wall, am I?” Eddie asked. The hallway was long, deeply carpeted and spookily pristine.

“It’s a mess in there. I swear, not one person cleaned the drain. I should make a sign.” He lead Eddie into a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom tiled all over in what was either pale grey or lavender, impossible to tell by flashlight.

“Your parents don’t mind you letting the rabble invade their room?”

“Oh, this is a spare room.”

Eddie felt himself blush, of course it was a spare room idiot. Because people like the Harrington’s had to spend their money on things like rooms nobody slept in 90% of the time. He bounced around, distracting from his mistake, coming to rest in front of a display of photographs on a presumably empty dresser. 

“Must be handy for all those Harrington family get togethers, huh?”

“d’Agostino get togethers actually. My mom’s family. Dad’s an only child.”

“That explains a lot.”

“You’re an only child, aren’t you?” Steve said, but he didn’t sound mad, just matter of fact. 

Eddie had to admit his point.”Touchè, your Majesty.”

“They were going to have more kids I guess,” Steve went on, “But mom says she ruined her figure enough just having me.” His tone was light but in the weird flickering light from the flashlights, everything seemed to have a kind of gravity.

“You have a lot of cousins,” said Eddie looking over the photographs- dozens of people with symmetrical faces, standing in symmetrically arranged poses in rows symmetrically arranged frames.

“Yeah. We haven’t seen them in years. Mom stopped talking to her family after my grandpa died. It was tough on her and- ” he cut himself off abruptly.

“And what?” “Nothing.” “Tell me.” “Rich people problems. You don’t want to hear about it.”

“Sure I do,” and to his surprise Eddie did. “Lay that Park Avenue drama on me Harrington.”

“My mom’s got three brothers, she’s the only girl. It’s just that my grandpa was really old school, traditional, you know? He divided everything equally among his kids in his will, but instead of leaving my mom’s share to her he... he put it in a trust. For me, when I turn 21. I don’t know all the details, I was only 10 when he died but I remember she was going to leave my dad. She had an apartment and a lawyer and everything.” He drummed his fingers nervously over the dresser and went on. 

"Then her dad died and she was gonna use the money he left her to get away and start over. Only she didn’t get any of it. And her brothers wouldn’t help her out, because they thought she was asking for more than her share. I think she was kind of mad at me too, because grandpa left me the money instead of her. I tried to give it to her once when I was a kid but she just got upset and told me not to mention it again. Anyway she stopped talking to her family after that so. Not many family get togethers.”

“That’s not fair though. It wasn’t your fault, you were just a kid.”

“I know, I think she just couldn’t help being a little mad about it. She’s a good mom though.” Steve raised his chin, defensive. The beam of the flashlight lay across the long column of his neck. “Oh yeah?”

"She could still have left my dad, but he would’ve kept me. His lawyers are really good. And she wasn’t going to leave me with him.”

“I get it,” said Eddie because suddenly, weirdly he did. He had something in common with Steve Harrington. Upstairs in the dark house, it felt like they were the only two people who existed, not in Steve’s parents’ guest room, but some weird pocket realm, through a wardrobe, or a looking glass.

“Do you?”

“I really do Steve.” Eddie cleared his throat, “My mom tried to leave my dad a bunch of times. Sometimes she had to leave in the middle of the night without even a bag but she always took me with her.”

“Oh.” Steve looked at him, this common ground seemingly just as surprising to him as it was to Eddie. “Is she- where is she now? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Drunk driver.”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Yeah me too.” They stared a bit, not directly, but pretty steadily at each other’s shoes. Then Steve shook himself, tossing Eddie the towel.

“I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks again for helping with the kids. I really hate it when they get so- when I have to disappoint them like that.”

“Any time you need someone to play the big bad, just whistle. Especially if I can claim all the amenities of chez Harrington, seriously this towel is like a cloud had a baby with a lamb.”

“Aren’t lambs already babies?”

Eddie snorted. “Semantics. Now shoo.” Steve shooed. 

[casspurrjoybell-17]

HEART'S FATE - CHAPTER 35

*Warning: Adult Content*    

Martin Hunter leads Skylar West upstairs by the hand, shy and sweet. 

He takes him to the larger bathroom, where a huge claw-foot tub occupies most of the floor.

"I found it at a garage sale," Martin says. "I don't use it very often... it takes too much water but I feel I'm due an indulgence tonight."

"Or several, I hope," Skylar says, as Martin starts the taps. "What would you like me to do?"

Martin glances up at Skylar and despite his recent tears and turmoil, a mischievous smile teases the corner of his mouth. 

"Undress, to start."

Slowly, Skylar obeys, removing his clothing piece by piece. 

Martin mirrors him until they stand in their underwear. 

Coyly, Martin turns as he slides his briefs off his hips and steps free of the garment, standing naked and facing away. 

Skylar shed his last covering as well and moves to stand close at Martin’s back.

"May I touch you?"

Martin shivers as Skylar’s breath tickles his shoulder and the side of his neck but he shakes his head. 

"Not yet."

Moving to the side of the tub, Martin steps into it and settles at one end, then holds out his hand to Skylar.

"You won't turn into a fish, will you?" he teases.

"Not unless you want me to," Skylar returns, joining him carefully at the other end of the tub.

Martin smiles. 

"No. Your mer-form is beautiful but I think this shape will do."

They sit in silence then, waiting as the tub continues to fill. 

When the water reaches the overflow drain, Martin shuts it off. 

Wordlessly, he reaches for a soft cloth from a nearby stand and begins to wash himself, slowly and gently, almost with a lover's touch, as Skylar watches. 

When Martin finishes, he hands the cloth and soap to his lover and watches as he does the same.

There's something ritualistic about it, almost sacred and something tells Skylar this is more than just a bath to Martin.

When Skylar is done cleansing himself, Martin shifts and moves closer, turning to rest his back against his lover’s chest. 

They lie like that, hardly moving, until the warm water begins to cool.

At last, Martin rises, shedding water as he stands, pulls the rubber bung from the bottom of the tub and steps out. 

Martin grabs a towel and hands Skylar one.

Skylar follows his lover and looks at him with clear, dark eyes.

"That's the past." 

Martin nods to the sudsy water slowly disappearing down the drain. 

Then he steps closer, arms encircling Skylar in a light embrace. 

"This is the present. And here's to the future," Martin says and kisses Skylar.

"To the future," Skylar agrees, lips moving against his lover’s as he speak. "And to a life of love in the here and now."

                                                  〜〜〜

In his bed, Skylar lies on his back, looking up at Martin. 

Martin had combed the tangles from Skylar’s hair with exquisite care, never once causing pain and the young man understands that this is the sort of touch his lover longs for the sort that conveys not only desire but the respect and tenderness of which he has so long been starved.

Skylar had returned the gesture, running a broad-toothed comb through Martin’s dense dark curls as they dried into charming corkscrews. 

Then, wordlessly, Skylar had reclined upon the bed, covering himself from hip to thigh with the thin sheet and signaling that the next move is Martin’s.

"How do you want me?" Skylar asks, when Martin merely stares. "I'm yours for the taking, Martin."

"I'd rather make love than take it," Martin says quietly, the bed dipping as he sits at Skylar’s side.

A grin stretches the young man’s lip and he flexes his arms above his head, luxuriating in the ease of water-warmed muscles. 

"Alright. 'Make love' with me, then. Show me how you like it."

Martin’s eyes widen a little, then go dark and a shiver of anticipation goes down Skylar’s spine as his lover embraces the power the young man has placed in his hands.

"As you wish," Martin whispers, returning Skylar’s own words and wets his lips.

                                                     〜〜〜

They're already half tumescent from the close contact and the promise of pleasure and with a bit of gentle teasing, they're both at full mast.

Martin fucks Skylar and if before the young man judged his lover as less than well-endowed, he quickly change his mind. 

Martin may not be in the top percentile for length but he's thick and hard and plenty long enough as he hits the spot inside Skylar that pulls the breath from his lungs and makes him moan into the pillow like a proper bitch.

When Martin comes, Skylar comes and together they fall in a breathless, sweaty tangle of limbs.

Martin is still inside his lover and still hard and a little gasp escapes Skylar as a bolt of pleasure, like an aftershock, shoots through his core.

"Sorry," Martin whispers near his ear, still breathless with exertion as he holds Skylar from behind. "It's been so long... I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Skylar asks, shifting experimentally and then gasping a second time as the same sensation hits him again.

"I'm a Wolf. And you're my mate. And it's my first time with you... like this."

"So?" 

Now the heat within Skylar begins to build once more and tingles of pleasure tease his softened length towards another erection.

"We get... It's called 'tied.' Um... wild wolves, when they mate, they get... stuck."

Skylar laughs. 

"Oh, lords. Are you saying we're knotted? That's a real thing?"

"Um... well, not the way... not like..."

"No pun intended, I'm sure."

Martin huffs. 

"I mean not like in books. It's not just Alphas. It's any wolf. Even me."

"Hmmm," Skylar pushes against Martin a little and smiles as his lover gasps in turn. 

"Round two, then."

〜〜〜

In the morning, Skylar wakes to sunshine, the love of his life's embrace and the aftermath of their bliss.

‘Well, Martin's arm is draped across me and he's snoring into my face and I have a sore ass but close enough.The sunshine part is true and Martin, either way, is adorable.’

Skylar lifts himself a little and kiss the bridge of Martin’s nose. 

With a snort, the single father awakens and blinks at his lover blearily.

"Good morning," Skylar says and smiles.

Martin wrinkles his nose. 

"Merman morning breath smells likes fish," he mumbles.

Skylar grins cheekily. 

"I could tell you what wolf’s breath smells like but I think you probally know."

Martin grimaces and rolls his eyes at Skylar as he sits up.

"What time is it?"

"No idea," Skylar says, stretching lazily. "Six or seven, by the light."

"Where's my cell-phone?"

"Wherever you left it, I'm sure."

Reaching for him, Skylar tries to draw Martin  back to bed but the single father is already up and getting dressed.

"I don't want to leave the kids with Noah too long," he says. "I promised to pick them up by eight."

"Martin..." 

Skylar sighs with resignation and then smiles. 

Skylar loves this side of Martin, too and he know that, bathing rituals aside, the past doesn't simply wash away and they have to take things slow. 

Martin has allowed himself more freedom in the last twelve hours than in the past ten years. 

"Very well. What would you like for breakfast, my dear?"

                                               〜〜〜

To his great consternation, Martin's cell-phone does not make an appearance all morning. 

Skylar offers to let Martin use his but he declines, explaining that his brother rarely answers phone calls, much less a number he doesn't know and Martin doesn't recall Ambrose’s off hand.

After a quick meal of eggs, buttered toast and fresh coffee, they make the short journey across town to the grand old mansion in which Martin’s brother reside’s along with his mate.

Oddly, it seems they're not the first to arrive and Martin's older brother Alpha Dane Hunter, stands on the lawn speaking with Noah and Ambrose with his arms crossed. 

‘The Alpha’s mate, the lithe, Fae man with purple eyes, stands a little to the side, speaking with Flora, Rio, and Nico.’

As Dane and Noah turn to look at Skylar and Martin and their expressions widens with shock, Skylar remembers what Martin had told him about wolves knowing when another wolf has found a mate and he moves a little closer to his lover’s side protectively.

Martin, though, is oblivious to this and has eyes only for his children, the number of whom appears to be one short.

"Noah? Where is Miguel?" he asks, quickening his pace as we draw near.

The Alpha moves to intercept, blocking his path.

"Martin. We've been trying to reach you," he says. "I'm afraid I've got bad news."

[annab-nana]

All A Game - JJ Maybank

You were a kook dating the hottest pogue so you should have guessed something was up, but you never would have thought that your relationship with JJ was a joke.

Requested by @rochyu 💙

A/N: just to clarify, this is based on a scene from the movie “after”, so if it seems familiar, that is why

Warnings: some curse words; angst

Word Count: 2.0k+

--------------------------------------------------

Laughter sounded throughout the closed restaurant as you, JJ, and all of his friends—who you too have become quite close within the span of your relationship—were hanging out with cold fries and watered-down drinks before you on the table. These moments were the ones you held close to your heart. They just felt so warm, something you never ever felt with your friends at the kook academy. Your only kook friends that you ever felt a genuine connection with were Rafe and Kelce, but they always tried to come to your rescue even when not necessary which while endearing was a tad annoying. They probably hated you now that you were fraternizing with the enemy so to speak.

The pogues made you feel so at home in a place that despised you and you had actual fun with them. Between surfing, fishing, little adventures, and late nights like tonight at The Wreck, you grew close to them, called them true friends but boy, were you wrong.

There you sat, a wide radiant smile on your face. JJ’s arm was slung around your shoulders as he cracked more jokes. Pope was on your other side, his dorky grin put on display. Kiara and John B sat on the opposite, giggles flying from their lips alongside quick remarks to add to the banter. Another warm moment that would be your last. Your last moment in their presence and you would miss it. You would be savoring it now if only you knew.

“I gotta wring it out. Be right back,” JJ announced before pressing his lips to your temple—the last kiss from him you would receive—and standing up to leave.

“Ew,” you scolded while wiping the kiss off that you’d wish later on you could do with every part of you he and those damn heavenly lips had touched, “don’t kiss me after talking about that.”

“C’mon princess, don’t do that,” he pouted at you as he blew you a kiss and disappeared into the men’s restroom.

“You two are gross,” John B commented, his facial expression showing his disgust for the interaction he had witnessed.

“Like you don’t mack on Sarah every fucking chance you get,” you quipped, earning some laughs from Pope and Kie. “Anyway, I’m in love with him so say all you want. I don’t care.”

As soon as the words left you, the air was thick around you as the tension grew. You felt Pope stiffen next to you and watched as John B and Kie showed similar blank expressions.

“Is… everything alright?” you questioned with a nervous chuckle. Kiara’s eyes flitted to Pope’s for a second whose eyes widened at what she was insinuating before they jumped to John B’s. “What’s going on?”

“I-“ she sighed while she unlocked her phone, “y/n, there’s something you should know about JJ.”

“O-okay,” you stuttered out in a small voice, worry filling your veins only to heighten when you heard his voice.

“Woah, who killed the mood?” the blond joked, trying to lift the spirits of the group but based on your worried expression, Kie’s eyes never meeting his, and Pope and John B shaking their heads, he realized something serious was going on. “What happened?”

Kiara finally revealed what she was looking for on her phone. It was turned sideways so you all could see the video better and front and center was JJ Maybank. She had not played it yet, but you could tell by his surroundings that it was from the night you met him. It was at that party where Sarah drunkenly introduced you to John B. The other pogues were there too but you had no knowledge of them at the time. That’s when you saw him, blond hair a mess but still cute and bright blue eyes that you found captivating. He saw you too and introduced himself before trying to make a move on you. You, of course, rejected him because he was known everywhere for his infamous one-night stands, and you weren’t here for that. You desired something more that at the time, you didn’t think he could provide. He then went back to his friends, the ones you sat around today.

“Kie,” John B warned as she shot a sharp glare at JJ and played the video. You saw yourself in the video looking up at JJ. It was the exact moment you had met him, and Kiara had filmed it.

“Aw, it looks like JJ Maybank just got his first rejection,” Kie spoke from behind the camera while JJ turned around with an amused smile on his face. John B was laughing behind the phone as well, probably heavily intoxicated on alcohol and Sarah.

“You don’t think I can make it happen?” JJ teased, blue eyes going to each of his friends who stood behind Kiara while he quirked a brow teasingly.

“Make what happen, JJ?” Kie asked before she hiccupped. She’d had a few prior to this as well.

“Make her fall in love with me and then,” he paused then snapped his fingers, “turn it off.”

At that, you felt the tears well in your eyes, but they were also glued to the screen in front of you. You saw the smile he wore after he spoke such a damaging statement and it cut you deep inside. As for everyone else, they were watching you. The video stopped mere seconds after he said those painful words and your eyes lifted from the phone to its owner.

“It was all a game,” Kie’s voice spoke to you while wearing a pitiful expression on the face you thought was of a friend, but she didn’t feel like on right now. None of them did. Though she repeated what you already knew, thanks to the video, you could not believe it. Your focus faltered to the table as you tried to calm the thoughts running through your mind. Every moment you shared with him was nothing. It was all meaningless. It was all a lie. He never cared about you and slowly, that was tearing you up inside.

“Y/n?” JJ’s concerned voice entered your ears. How in any way did he have the right to be concerned for you? This was his mess after all. He did this. You didn’t look up from the table. “Y/n,” he tried again, this time reaching for your hand, but you shrugged it off. “Y/n, please, you have to believe me,” he said while you tried your hardest not to look at him, keeping your gaze trained on the table. He leaned in to be a little closer to you.

“Y/n, that was before everything, before I got to know you,” he desperately tried to get you to understand his side of things. Instead of turning to him, you turned to Pope. His big brown eyes scanned your face, seeing how you were breaking, and he hated it for you. His face showed sympathy, but he was in the wrong too, just not as bad as JJ.

“Is that true?” Your voice broke at the last word, and you despised yourself for it. You could see the little line of tears blurring your vision at the bottom, but not one had dared to fall. Pope looked down for a moment. He did not want to be the one to tell you, but his silence answered your question. Your eyes found John B and Kie next. “And all of you knew?” Back to the table your stare went when no one spoke.

“Y/n,” JJ’s shaking voice sounded on your left. Finally giving up, you let your eyes meet his. What a bad idea that was? Once you caught sight of the beautiful blues, it felt like you were drowning. It was like the water was clogging your ears because you saw his lips moving. You knew he was talking, but no sound was coming to you. Through your blurring vision, you saw that he was fighting off tears too, but what did he have to cry about? He broke yourheart, absolutely wrecked it, and here he was with tears in his eyes. Why couldn’t he just turn it off like he said he could? God, you hated him so much right now. Through the deafening silence, you scrambled to stand as JJ did the same with you.

“Y/n, wait,” you thought he said. That’s what it looked like he said, but you would not know. And you wouldn’t be there to find out either as you took off running for the exit. Once outside, the rain could be heard but also so could JJ.

“Y/n, wait,” he tried again but you kept walking. “Y/n!”

“None of it was real,” you paused to breathe as you faced him, “I actually thought… I thought that-” Your words were cut off by that feeling of your chest tightening as the emotions swirled inside you. That gummy feeling rose to your throat and blocked you from speaking for a moment and JJ noticed this. He knew you now. He knew how you looked when the world was crumbling all around you and that’s how you looked right now. He hated that he was the one who had caused this. “You’re just a liar.”

“That was all before,” he tried to fight, tried to get you to fucking understand but it was too hard. It would never make sense to you and how could it?

“Before what?” you inquired. You were emotionally drained and honestly so done with this situation that you knew you should have seen coming. Love can blind you sometimes though.

“Before-”

“You snapped your fingers and turned it off?” you asked after cutting him off. Guilt was written all over his face and you watched as he thought about what to say next.

“You said nothing could change the way you felt about me.” Yes, JJ, but that was before I knew you were playing some game with me! That’s what you wanted to scream at him. God, you wanted to scream at him, but you didn’t have it in you at the moment.

“Then, I guess we’re both liars,” you stated, plain and simple. You watched as his head hung low and you decided you were done with this, turning to leave. Nothing seemed to be on your side tonight because you had come with everyone in John B’s van after he picked you up so now you had to walk home in the rain. Luckily, The Wreck was between your land and theirs so it wouldn’t be a long trek and the rain masked your tears so to onlookers, you were just walking alone in the rain. Not as sad as you would seem if they had known what was really happening but still pretty pathetic. Your feet took you into the land of the kooks and surprisingly to Tannyhill where Rafe sat outside in his truck.

“What were you doing alone in the rain? Shouldn’t you be with those demons?” Rafe teased, attempting to get you to smile but failing miserably.

“Don’t talk about them,” you barked before letting out your next word a lot more silently and vulnerably, “please.”

“Are you okay?” Anytime someone asks that when you are trying to fight back tears, it always breaks the dam.

“No,” you muttered, but he was quick to pull you into his arms to comfort your sobbing state.

“I’m so sorry, y/n.” You laughed after that. It was funny hearing him apologize on a pogue’s behalf. “What’s so funny?” he asked, a little laughter in his tone as well.

“Nothing, just you’re not telling me ‘I told you so’ or whatever,” you told him honestly, but he was just glad to see you smiling again.

“Wanna go inside? I imagine you’re cold.” You nodded in response as Rafe turned off the vehicle and reached for the door to leave, but you grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I- uh, sorry. I just wanted to say thank you,” you muttered before he shot you a smile and hugged you again, his lips finding the top of your head in a friendly manner.

“Anytime, y/n.”

--------------------------------------------------

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[ymiwritesstuff]

The Limits of a Hero

Hello hello, I’m here to bring you something rather special. A quick fun fact: When I started writing years ago, Link was actually the first character I ever wrote for, so this piece is sort of going back to my roots as a writer. That, and I’ve been in a HUGE Twilight Princess mood lately, (I recently bought a few volumes of the manga and I am very much enjoying it) so I thought I’d write this quick thing for my favorite incarnation of Link. I hope those of you who also like him will enjoy this.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Link x Reader

Summary: During a seemingly ordinary night out in the woods you decide to give the hero a much needed chance to rest.

Notes: Fluff, some light angst

The tree trunk felt rough against your back, but it provided a much-needed opportunity to finally rest and recollect your energy after yet another day of fighting against the twilight and its corrupt ruler. Yet you found a strange calm when surrounded by the night, the warm flames of the campfire swaying in the cool wind.

The wood crackled, the breeze howled and your eyelids grew heavy. You wouldn’t close them, however. Not yet. Instead, you kept your (E/C) eyes on the glowing fire, occasionally throwing in a stick or two to make sure your source of heat wouldn’t disappear.

Your thoughts wandered, as they often did ever since you were thrown into this dangerous adventure. How did everything change so fast? You could still hear the water trickling down the waterwheel in Ordon as if it was yesterday. Everything had gone wrong so fast, and now you were trying to save the entire kingdom from something you didn’t fully understand.

You knew it was the same for Link. But unlike you, he was much better at suppressing his confusion and doubts. You had noticed a change in him, no doubt caused by the sudden responsibility laid upon his broad shoulders. In addition to the more obvious changes in his attire, his cerulean eyes lost some of their glow, he somehow grew even more silent and he didn’t smile as often. All because he felt that his role as the hero chosen by the Gods demanded it.

It must have been tiring, you thought, yet he pressed on, never once letting even a single mention of how much it all weighed down on him slip from his lips. But you could see it. Whether it was in the way his shoulders fell with a sigh whenever he finished slaughtering a group of Bokoblins or how he yawned and stretched his arms almost every time he hopped off Epona. His body was fatigued, but his eyes held nothing but determination.

The rustling of leaves that came from behind snapped you back to reality, and your eyes fell on the bush where the grey animal soon emerged from, carrying something in his mouth the edges of which and a part of his lower body was seemingly damp. You watched as he walked with heavy steps towards the fire before dropping the thing you recognized to be a Hyrule Bass on the ground.

The fish flopped on the dirt and you found yourself raising a confused eyebrow at him, before locating his fishing rod not too far away from the fire, indicating that he had forgotten to take it with him. You looked at the fish again.

“Are we this desperate?” You managed to ask him as his beastly form quickly reverted to his original form you were familiar with. He sat on the ground and gave you a slight nod.

“We’re running low on food,” he said, taking a sip from his bottle of water. Most of his equipment was laying on the ground, though he was still fully clad in his green tunic, chainmail and all.

You noticed him taking out a small knife, no doubt intending to use it to prepare the freshly caught fish. He would not dare use his sacred sword for such a task. The bass was fairly big, enough for both of you, you surmised.

“I can take care of it,” you offered, noticing the tired look in his eyes as they turned to you. He shook his head lightly.

“It’s fine, (Name),” he assured and began cutting into the flesh, but you persisted.

“You haven’t slept properly in days.” It had been an exhausting few days, filled to the brim with battles against Shadow Beasts and other enemies. It took its toll on both of you yet he showed no outward signs of fatigue. Not that it was necessary, for right now, anyone could see the dark circles and bags under his otherwise gorgeous eyes.

He glanced at you, clearly pondering over your words while continuing to cut the fish. You were right, as you often were. He was exhausted, but the selflessness in him didn’t want you to lose any of the sleep you needed.

“Someone has to keep watch,” he began, but you quickly shut him down.

“Which I can do.”

You scooted over to him, noticing him making the final cuts to the scaly flesh of the fish. Placing a hand on top of his, you kept your eyes on him, trying to convince him.

“You need to rest, Link. Please.”

Upon hearing your voice that left your lips as a quiet plea he finally gave in, letting out a sigh that carried all his exhaustion into the air and letting go of the knife. He finally turned to you, his drained eyes glowing in silent relief.

“Will you be alright? You know you can wake me up any time if-”

“I’ll be fine. The only thing you need to worry about is getting some sleep.”

Your hand reached up to slowly remove his cap, exposing his dirty blond hair that bathed in the glowing embers of the campfire. You offered him a smile equally warm as the flames which he thankfully returned.

Planting the tiniest kiss on his cheek, you retreated from him, once again leaning against a lone tree. With your hand you lightly patted your lap, wanting the hero in front of you to have the best possible chance at getting a good night’s rest.

He laid his weary head on your lap and almost immediately, he let out a long yawn that indicated just how much he needed this, despite his stubborn protests. Your fingers found their way into his hair, running through his locks in a soothing manner.

Silence fell around you, though it was a refreshing change from the usual noises of battle and struggles. You stared at the fire once again, its welcoming warmth enveloping both of you.

“You’ve changed,” you admitted, thinking back to the simpler times, during which Link would have been more than compliant to sleep when he needed it. He let out a soft sigh, his eyes glued to the starlit sky above.

“I guess I have,” he agreed. You wondered if he meant it to the same degree as you did. Even now, you noticed the solemn expression on his face you had never seen back home.

Home. You thought about it a lot. Maybe a little too much at times. Ordon meant a lot to you, even more to Link you assumed. Perhaps that’s why he had gotten so stoic and serious. He was merely trying to protect what he held dear.

It was admirable, he was, by all accounts, a hero. Courageous, selfless, strong, yet still a mere Hylian. A capable Hylian indeed, but still a Hylian. A Hylian who the entire kingdom needed to save them. Everyone expected so much of him, it seemed as if he himself forgot his limits.

“You’re not all-powerful, Link.”

Your eyes fell on him, and his own looked up at you. Someone needed to be his voice of reason, and you were more than willing to take that role if it meant ensuring his safety when he sometimes couldn’t.

“Maybe I should be.”

Your eyebrows frowned at that. You knew he felt a certain sense of guilt about what happened to the children of the village. They were safe now, but there was a stinging sensation of shame embedded in him that made him feel responsible for all of it.

“Don’t say that. You did all you could. Pushing yourself to the point where you can’t stay up anymore won’t solve anything.”

He knew you were right. You almost always were. Link had always secretly wondered if it was a blessing that it was you who had accidentally stumbled across the same wall of Twilight that had transformed him into a beast. In all honesty, he was thankful.

“I’m just... Worried about you,” you confessed, feeling a small sense of dread in the core of your being. Just thinking about what could happen to him if he didn’t take care of himself made your stomach churn.

A troubled look fell on his face, as if he was feeling guilty about making your eyes fill with concern. You inhaled deeply and pressed your lips on his forehead, not wanting your own uneasiness make him anxious.

“Rest now. I’ll keep watch.”

With a small nod, he allowed his heavy eyelids to close and it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, soft snores escaping his mouth that was partially agape.

For the first time in days, he looked truly peaceful. His body relaxed, rid of any signs of stress or tension, the only movement being that of his chest, moving up and down due to his steady breathing. With a smile you continued running your digits through his hair, hoping to comfort him even in his dreams you could only hope were as tranquil as your current surroundings.

“Goodnight, Link.”

[echo-of-sounds]

bad period days

Small, sweet drabbles of Aizawa, Toshi, and Fatgum helping you through your difficult period due to PCOS/endometriosis.

I left this vague enough so those with PCOS and/or endometriosis could relate. I also left it gender neutral as it’s not just women who have these issues.

Warnings: general period stuff and blood/blood clots

Aizawa Shouta

“I don’t know. What do you want?”

“We have chicken. I can make us some wraps or-” You sucked in and grabbed your lower right stomach. The sudden twinge rapidly grew into a taunt wrenching, unaffected by putting pressure on it. You grit your teeth and closed your eyes, not wanting to see the forming water.

A hand stroked your back. Shouta calmly reminded you, “Breathe through it. Holding your breath will only make it worse.”

You inhaled, shaky and stiff as a tear fell. The fridge’s air tempered the full-body hot flash. And after a few long minutes, the pain reduced but didn’t disappear. It was just a bit more tolerable and not as immobilizing.

He wiped the tears. “Go sit down.”

“No, I’m alright. I’m good.”

“Go sit.” He leveled at you in his teacher's voice. “Rest. I’ll figure out dinner.”

You nodded. He kissed your forehead before you went to the couch, snuggling under a blanket. Cramps branched up your spine, forcing tension into your shoulders and neck. No amount of stretching it out or rolling fixed it. You accepted the pain and just laid your head down.

Sho came over, bearing a rice heating pad. He gently tucked it around your neck, making sure it covered right where you needed it. “Is that better?”

“Mmh.”

“Lay on your back.”

Once you shifted, he rested between them, lazing his head on your stomach. His body heat rivaled the rice pack. You softly brushed through his hair. He droned, “Chicken’s in the oven. It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.”

“Thank you, Sho,” you mumbled back, content with closing your eyes and listening to the Tv for the time being.

Yagi Toshinori

You closed the toilet cover and got up off the floor, gripping the sink’s counter for support. Nausea finally subsided. And the headache lulled. Though heat and cramps remained, weakening your body. Whatever plans you had for the evening were out the door now.

Toshi checked in, sympathetically asking, “How are you doing? Any better?”

“A little. I just feel so drained.”

“Have you taken your medication?”

“Yeah. An hour ago. I don’t think I can go out tonight. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, that’s alright, honey. Come on. Let’s get you comfortable.” He took your hand and brought you to the couch. When you were settled, he tucked the blanket around you, making sure your feet were covered too. He kissed your forehead. “Do you need anything?”

You knew it was stereotypical and predictive, but you asked it anyway, “Maybe something chocolate or ice cream or something?”

“I’ll see if we have anything.” He went to the kitchen.

You curled up, trying to keep your breath steady through the radiating contractions. Your lower stomach and back suffered from the brunt of it. Nausea pangs sporadically hit, causing you to curl rigidly into yourself, hoping the pressure would dull them.

“Here’s some water and ginger ale.” Toshi placed the cups on the coffee table then handed you a small bag of Swedish Fish. “They’re not the sweetest, but it’s something.”

“They’re sweet enough. Thank you.”

“Sweet like you.” He leaned down to kiss your cheek. Rubbing your side, he whispered against your skin. “Do you require anything else, your highness?”

“Lay with me?” you smiled.

He nuzzled in behind you, embracing you tight. His hand pressed on your lower tummy. You moaned and held his arm. You spoke while you yawned, “Thank you, Toshi.”

“Of course, sweetheart. Close your eyes for now. Try to rest.” He kissed your shoulder, nestling securely against your back.

Toyomitsu Taishiro

Deep throbbing, in your head and lower abdomen, was the first sensation as you roused once again. Four times in one night you had to run to the bathroom, feeling how much blood had gathered. Four times in one night you passed large, grueling blood clots. Four fucking times in one night you had to change your damn pad to avoid a stupid leak. You just wanted one good night’s rest this week. That wasn’t too much to ask.

You washed your hands, contemplating if taking pain meds would be worth it if you were just going to go back to bed. It might be a waste, or you might need them to fall asleep.

Deciding on the former, you returned to the bedroom. Taishiro wasn’t there. You called into the hallway. “Tai?”

His figure came into the dark hall. As he walked closer, you saw he was holding water and your medication. “Here. It might help you sleep better.”

“Thank you,” you sighed, ignoring your previous decision.

When you lowered the glass, he disappeared again, only to pop out of the bathroom with a towel. He laid it where you slept, speaking softly, “Don’t worry about a leak, baby. It’s just blood. Come on. Lay down.”

You thanked him again and settled in your spot on your back. You turned the heating on its highest setting, holding it to your lower stomach. It gave little relief for the lingering, gnawing pain, but it was something.

Once Tai was laying beside you, his hand encased yours, increasing the pressure. Frustration and exhaustion trickled from the corner of your eye. It briefly cooled your heated temple.

He kissed the small tear away. “I’m sorry you gotta go through this, baby. I’d take the pain for you if I could.”

“You’re doing plenty, Tai. Really.”

“Still, I would.”

“I know you would.” You cupped his chubby cheek and kissed him.

Tai’s arm snaked under your pillow. “Try and get some sleep. I’ll be right here.” He kissed your temple once more then rested his head close to yours, keeping his hand and attention on you as your eyes closed, hopefully for much longer this time.

[justcourttee]

Hey. Can you write one where the batfam visits Marinette at school and the class is just plain surprised and chaos ensues. You can include any salt (if yes, preferably Alya and a jealous Adien). Ship is daminette with sibling Jasonette or something like that. Thanks

Sorry It’s a little late! I hope this is something like what you had in mind :)) @long-lost-peace

Career Day

“-And it was just terrible Damian! Lila literally stood in front of the class and told them how she tried to get you all to come for career week, but that you all were just so busy in Thailand on a business trip that you just didn’t see how you could make it.”

Damian chuckled at his exasperated girlfriend. He knew how agitated this sausage haired woman made her, but his laughter couldn’t be helped. After all, every time she enters a rant, her little nose scrunches up in the cutest way that he couldn’t help but compare to the hamster she’s always wanted.

“Damiannnn, this isn’t funny! I was literally going to ask Dick if he could come for Friday’s session, Madame Bustier knew that too! So for her to step up and claim that it was all her idea? Gods, now he can’t even come because everyone will praise her for ‘convincing’ him to show up.”

“I know my love, what if father and I show up instead? Dick is on a business trip in Thailand right now, attempting to expand the company into further international business, but I’m sure even he would drop the meeting if you asked.”

Marinette let out a sigh as she slunk down into her seat, only the top of her head visible in the laptop camera.

“I know he would, but I’m retracting my ask. I really don’t want to deal with the backlash. Besides, it’s getting late. Chat will be expecting me for patrol in an hour and I haven’t even started my homework yet.”

Damian nodded as they said their goodbyes before signing off his computer. His hand absentmindedly reached for the small token the Marinette had given him just last summer. It was a river stone that she had engraved with the name he had first called her; Hobi.

He spun the stone several times before gently setting it back in its rightful spot. If he wanted to help his love, then he was going to need more chaotic energy than his own. Picking up his phone, Damian dialed a number he had learned by heart over the years. The phone had barely rung twice before the man answered.

“What up demon spawn? Ready to cause some trouble for dear old dad?”

Damian rolled his eyes trying not to imagine what Jason could’ve possibly meant. Instead, he turned his focus to the task at hand.

“This is more important Todd. Marinette needs our help.”

There was a momentary pause on the other side of the phone and for a brief second, Damian was tempted to check to see if Jason had accidentally hung up on him. (it wouldn’t have been the first time.) He was both relieved and perplexed when a sound rang through the background that was suspiciously similar to a gun being loaded.

“Well, why didn’t you start with that Damian? Who exactly do I have to kill?”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . .

Career week couldn’t come to an end fast enough for Marinette. Hearing Lila’s false tears over her Damiboo and favorite brother-in-law not being able to make it despite her constant begging was both infuriating and a bit nauseating. She was almost certain that if Damian heard the word Damiboo uttered in a half-mile radius of himself, he would bring down his sword on that person’s neck.

“Alright class, settle down.” Madame Bustier walked into the room, an ear-splitting grin accompanying her. “We have a few very special guests to finish off this Career Week. In fact, one of your own classmates made this meeting happen!”

The class muttered excitedly as all eyes landed on Lila in the front row. Marinette placed her head on her desk, ignoring Adrien’s hand attempting to rub calming circles in her back. She was 100% done with this week.

“Please welcome Bruce Wayne and his associates here to talk about the world of Entrepreneurship.”

Several jaws hit the desks as Bruce walked in, Jason and Damian in tow, all wearing bright smiles. Marinette sat up so fast that her back crushed Adrien’s hand into the bench behind them.

“Ouch, excited much my lady?”

Marinette ignored his teasing as her eyes narrowed in on her boyfriend standing in the front of the room, an absolute shit-eating grin gracing his face.

“Oh no.” Adrien followed her stare down to the boy in the front of the room, instantly feeling a dislike for him. If his lady was uncomfortable, then so was he.

“Thank you for having me Madame Bustier and on such short notice. I realize that Marinette said it would only be my son Dick Grayson, but seeing as he was away for a business trip, I just knew I couldn’t leave our favorite Parisian high and dry.”

There was an instant silence across the room as all eyes turned from where Lila sat in the front row to where Marinette sat in the back. She wanted to shrink in her seat and disappear from the number of people looking at her, but it felt impossible.

“Anyways, I would like to start my presentation by stating-”

“Excuse me, sir!” Alya’s hand shot into the air, her stare intense as some of Gotham’s finest.

“Uhm I haven’t covered any information yet Miss, did you have a question about my flight?”

A few chuckles sounded throughout the classroom, but that didn’t seem to stop Alya as she stood, her arms crossed in front of her body.

“I believe you owe my best friend an apology. Marinette didn’t get you here, Lila did.”

Bruce’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked back to where Jason and Damian stood.

“I didn’t get your girlfriend’s name wrong, did I, Damian?”

Damian shook his head, his grin pulling into a smirk as his eyes met Marinette’s.

“I would hope you didn’t father. After all, you have known her for years now.”

Bruce nodded thoughtfully as if considering Damian’s information as a possibility.

“So as I was saying, thanks to Marinette-”

“You mean Lila? Damian, how could you mix up your own fiancee with a shell of a human being like Marinette.”

Damian took a step forward, one hand on his shoulder holding him back as Jason sent a wink in his direction.

“Madame Bustier, if I understood right, Brucie here offered a free trip for your class to the Thailand location this winter if they could sit through just one measly presentation. Are you really going to let this rude child ruin that for the rest of the class?”

Bustier’s smile wavered as she turned her attention to where Alya sat, motioning for her to sit and zip her lips. With a great huff of annoyance, Alya compiled.

“Excellent, now that we can begin-”

“I’m just saying, Mr. Wayne. Lila did all this hard work, attended all your charity functions, helped your city’s heroes, and is betrothed to your son. How could you not recognize her?”

Madame Bustier tried to wave Alya down once more but it was useless.

“Alya, is it?” the girl nodded confidently as she slung her arm around Lila’s shoulders. “I suggest that whoever this Lila person is, you should reconsider your friendship with her. If you or she were caught spreading rumors about another billionaire besides myself, you might not make it off so easily. We take defamation very seriously as it could hurt our empires. Take that as lesson one for Entrepreneurship; always know who you’re working with.”

Alya’s mouth gaped like a fish out of water as she slipped back down into her seat, her eyes burning holes into the side of Lila’s head. With the new peace, Bruce continued his presentation with the full attention of the rest of the class. When the time came for questions, every hand but two were raised high.

“How about you sir? The blonde in the back beside Marinette.”

Adrien stood, his eyes narrowed in on Damian.

“You said the first lesson was to always know who you’re working with, well, did you know that your son is a liar?”

Another round of hushed whispers echoed through the room as Adrien took the first step down toward the front of the classroom. Bruce cocked his head to the side as he instinctively put out a hand to catch Damian before he could move forward.

“How would you justify that kid?”

Adrien stepped closer, his posture rigid as his stare never left Damian’s face.

“Well, he’s been telling you that he’s been dating Marinette, but that is a lie. Marinette is my girlfriend.”

Damian’s fist curled as Jason took a step to intercept the two boys.

“I think you forgot to put a space between the girl and friend sir. You see, demon spawn here and pixie pop up there are together, no space. You and pixie pop are just friends.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted uneasily between the men, unsure of who was going to strike first. No one was given the chance as Marinette raced down the stairs, pulling Bustier to the side. Her whispers were harsh and rushed and when she pulled back, all the color from the teacher’s face had drained.

“That’s enough Adrien, I wouldn’t want to bother your father over an inconvenience like this.”

The boy's mouth closed tightly as he turned his attention to where Marinette stood, a sudden feeling of nausea coursing through him. Did she really just pull that card here? In front of everyone?

He couldn’t say a word as he marched back to his seat, ignoring the many questions that were thrown his way.

“Well, I’m sorry to everyone that had real questions, but this stunt seemed to have taken up all of my time. Madam Bustier, do you mind if I check Marinette out of school early?”

The teacher could only nod as the men swept Marinette out of the room before she could protest. She waited until they had reached the car before turning on the men, hitting each of them as hard as she could. Three simultaneous ow’s sounded through the courtyard.

“Pixie pop, what was that for?” Jason’s whining was shut down instantly with one cold look.

“I told you all not to come! You totally just made everything worse.”

Bruce risked a step forward as he pulled her into a hug.

“Marinette, you mean the world to this family. Defamation to the Wayne family needs to be shut down instantly. That Alya girl is bad for your emotional state, the Lila one as well.”

Marinette tried to deny his accusations, but Bruce refused to hear any of it. He pulled back, opening the door to push Jason inside, slamming it shut before he could fight back. With the other two gone, Marinette was forced to face her boyfriend.

“Hobi-”

“Don’t start with your cute nicknames. What was that scene with Adrien?”

“He was the jealous one! I can’t help if he tried to attack me.” Damian crossed his arms in defiance, ignoring the daggers Marinette’s eyes were shooting.

“You know he’s just a friend mon amour, you are the only one I want.”

Damian grumbled under his breath as he allowed himself to be pulled into Marinette’s embrace. After a few minutes, he pulled back, a curiosity overtaking his face.

“What did you say to the teacher to cause her to stifle Agreste?”

Marinette’s smile was devilish. It would almost be cute if it wasn’t so terrifying.

“I just reminded her that defamation was taken very seriously and that if she didn’t stop Adrien, he could have started a full-blown legal battle between two very powerful men, leaving the school and her job in the crossfires.”

Damian placed a kiss on her forehead before moving towards the car.

“Hobi, you amaze me at every turn.”

Marinette rolled her eyes as she allowed him to help her into the car. She would deny till her last breath that she was grateful for that particular Career Day, but the one thing she couldn’t deny was how much she loved the Wayne boys.

Permanent Tag List:

@damianette-is-life @ash-amg @rebecarojas07 @long-lost-peace @heaven428 @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @moongoddesskiana @nach0ava

[winchesterxxi]

A Human Wiretap (Poe Dameron x Reader)

GIF BY @captain-flint​

Rating: G (General Audience)

Type: Fluff

Summary: While in Kijimi, Reader is shocked by the revelation of Poe having been a spice runner before becoming a Resistance pilot, unaware that he knows about her own secret

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: None

A/N: let the stream of Poe content commence

MASTERPOST | REQUEST HERE | KO-FI

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Kijimi was the last place you wanted to be right now. You had always known of this place to be infested with pirates and all the lawless beings of the galaxy, the country being practically a crime heaven.

The destination had been appointed as The Thieves' Quarter, the place you were told you could find Babu Frik, and to your unrest, your husband seemed to be able to navigate the streets of the foreign planet pretty well, occasionally stopping against a wall at any given corner, looking around for any threats.

“Are you sure you never came here?” you ask one time while leaning against his side on a cold brick wall, waiting for the safe sign.

“Not really.” He says looking over at the snowy empty street, before turning his head back at you for a split second “Coast’s clear, let’s go”

And just as he took the first step to round the corner, an armoured woman came into view pointing a blaster at Poe’s face.

Not even allowing a second to process another thought, you reach for your own blaster, pulling it from its holster and aiming it perfectly so that it was secured in the direction of the person’s head on both of your steady hands.

“Heard you were spotted at Monk’s Gate. Thought He’s not stupid enough to come back here.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Poe mumbles from his stance.

“Blaster off him. Now.” You warn from your spot, a scowl upon your face, ready to shoot, in case she dared to make another move.

“Zorii!” Poe exclaims in fake enthusiasm, before snapping his head quickly between the two of you. “She won’t ask twice, I would listen to her”

“You pull that trigger, you’re next, honey.” You assure her, readjusting your fingers as to place a stronger grip around the camera.

“She used a pet name, she’s serious.” Poe nods and nervously warns the woman whose weapon was now closer to his forehead, almost pressed against it.

“We’re only here to find Babu Frik, we don’t want no trouble.” You tell her cordially, expecting to explain your presence in the clearly unwelcoming planet and maybe have her help you. You eye the woman up and down, eyes scanning the shining golden armour, before settling on the deep black visor.

“Who are you?”

“Honey,” Poe speaks, being careful not to make any sudden moves that could make the woman pull the trigger “this is Zoriii. Zoriii, this Y/N, my wife.”

You are a little taken aback by the fact that they seem to know each other fairly well, given the assurance that Poe had just given you moments ago, that he’d never step foot on Kijimi.

Her helmet turns to you “Wife?” she scoffs “I guess there really is someone for everyone.”

“You have no idea.” he smirks, a momentary lapse, and you snap a look at him.

“I could pull this trigger right now.” She says, pushing the blaster harder against Poe’s head, and you take a step forward.

“You do that, my blaster is the last thing you’ll see in this life.” Sharp words leave your mouth, both you and Poe knowing damn well that you were badass enough to keep the promise.

“Babu only works with the crew. That’s not you anymore.” Zorii says, still talking to Poe, as if your presence and the one of your weapon aimed at her is non-existent.

“What do you mean crew?” you ask her, and for a moment, her attention is directed to you, before slowly tilting once again in your husband’s direction, whose hands were still up in the air in a surrendering feat.

“Oh your wife doesn’t know?” her voice, goes up an octave, clearly amused by whatever is about to unfold. Your eyes scan between the two of them waiting for some kind of explanation of whatever secret conversation was going on in front of you. “Funny he never mentioned it…”

“What is she talking about?” you question Poe but he gives himself no time to utter a word at you, just quickly waving his hand and facing Zorii.

“Zorii, married people are still allowed secrets- “ he tries but she is too quick to reveal the information you were dying to be delivered.

“Your husband was part of the Spice Runner Gang.”

You can’t stop your jaw from going slack at the revelation, not being able to form any coherent words and instead just moving your mouth like a fish out of water, dwelling on whether you felt hurt, angry or any other emotion of the rush that caught you in that moment.

Poe’s shoulders slump slightly and he bites his bottom lip, eyes closed in frustration. He then turns at you, hands still up, as you were still gripping the blaster, which was now pointed at him as he was walking towards you, cautious steps, one at a time.

“I can explain.”

“You were a smuggler? AND A SPICE RUNNER AT THAT?” You drop your blaster to your side, stepping towards him, your brain having decided on anger as the momentary emotion.

“Y/N-“

“In 2 years of marriage NOT ONCE did it occur to you to mention that!?” you yell the two middle words, incredulous at your husband’s secret, having spent your whole relationship that he had always been a resistance pilot, just like he had assured you.

“Oh, don’t act like I’m the only one with a secret here!” his hands drop to his side, and he is no longer trailing in front of you like a lost puppy looking for forgiveness but instead returns to his conflictual side, a defence mechanism, you’ve come to learn.

“What is that supposed to mean?” you scoff, genuinely clueless as to what he could be referring to. And definitely not expecting him to voice the secret you fought years to keep.

“I know you’re a Sywalker!” he says loudly, and its as if your spirit has left your body, the blood draining from your face, and for a moment you forget that breathing is a necessary bodily function.

“H… How do you…”

“The week before we got married I-…” he takes a deep breathe in, running a hand through his wild curls, now dusted with white snow. “I heard you and Leia.”

Poe was making his way to the X-Wing hangar when he stumbled across an ajar door from where he spotted your figure passing across it and disappearing multiple times.

It wasn’t until he stepped closer and leaned against the wall, that he got the full picture.

You were pacing back and forth in an empty resting room of The Radus, pattering your boots across the white floor as Leia sat by the window, looking at you in this impossible frenzy, fingers pressed against your mouth while the other hand rested on your hip.

Your motion comes to a halt in front of her, turning on your toes to face her.

“Should I tell him?”

“I think you should do what you think to be the right thing.” Leia answers her, reaching forward to grab your nervous hands in hers.

“We’re getting married next week, but I don’t think telling him would be any good…”

That’s when Poe’s heart sank to the bottom of his chest, tightening at the implication of your wedding and a number of awful possibilities running across his mind as to what you could be hiding from him.

“He’ll think…I don’t even know. I’ve spent more than half of my life hiding this and if he finds out… What if he thinks I’m a freak? And…And just leave me?”

Poe, from across the door, inches closer, curiosity getting the best of him and brows furrowing.

“Y/N, honey, Poe has been around plenty of force-sensitive people. I can assure you that my niece being one won’t scare him away.” Leia assures you while giving your hands a firm squeeze, and you let your head fall back, closing your eyes.

Wait, what? Poe was really trying to connect the dots at the amount of information that he had been bombed within this short amount of time.

“Not the daughter of Luke Skywalker.” You sigh.

“You knew?... All this time…” your eyes brim with tears.

Poe turns to Zorii who still stood behind him, the blaster having been lowered.

“Can you…give us a moment?”

“Who the hell do you think you are to be asking favours right now?” she snaps but Poe’s eyes plead at her for a single ounce of sympathy. “I’m staying right here.”

Poe turn around to face you, still very aware of the blaster pointed at the back of his head and he lowers his voice so that only the two of you can share the conversation.

“Honey…”

“You still married me?” you are looking down until you speak, watery and red eyes finding those of Poe who’s demeanour completely changes upon your question. He rushes to your front, gloved hands finding your upper arms, giving them a reassuring squeeze. “You knew I was lying to you and you still… you still…”

“Honey,” his hands slide up from your arms to your cheeks “Look at me. I love you. I know why you did it. I probably would’ve done the same. I’m not mad, never have been, never will be.”

You were fighting the urge to ramble on, but upon looking into your husband’s sincere eyes, you relaxed your whole body and he takes that as a cue to pull you in for a hug. With your face flush against his chest, you mumble an apology, fists tightening around the fabric of his cloak.

“I’m sorry… for snapping at you earlier. It was very hypocritical of me.”

Poe smiles against your forehead, before placing a tender kiss against its warm flesh.

“It’s okay, honey, I swear. At least…at least I think I owe you an explanation.” Poe takes a deep breath in “I… When I was a teen, still living on Yavin 4,… their ship crashed near my hometown and I just… I needed out of there, I wanted to be reckless. So I joined them.”

You pull your head away from his chest, craning it upwards.

“Zorri’s mom was… she was the leader of the Spice Runners and she had this plan of inviting other crime lords here to form alliances, but she really was just planning on killing them. Zorii offered to fight against her with me and take control of the Spice Runners but I was done. Honestly, I wanted a better life.”

“And you got it. Congratulations.” Zorii’s voice makes the two of you snap back at her, Poe’s hand rushing down to your side, grabbing your hand and stepping slightly in front of you. “You know, I’m still digging out of the hole you put me in when you left to join the Resistance.”

Her helmet then turns in your direction and you have no time to manoeuvre the blaster back to pointing at her, afraid that she’d shoot.

“You. You’ll do.” She says referring to you “A Skywalker. A bounty for her might just cover us.” She says and you frown at the word us until you find your peripheral vision starting to get dotted on the sides by equally armoured soldiers who you assumed to be Spice Runners.

“Djak’kankah” she commands.

“Don’t djak’kankah” Poe pleads, knowing the meaning of the word.

Just then, when you perceive that the smugglers are running in on you, you quickly snap up your blaster and take them all one by one with perfect aim, sliding your leg under Zorii’s feet and akeing her fall to the cold ground right in front of you, both of you pointing your blasters at each other.

“We could really use your help. Please.” You huff, trying to calm your beating heart from the adrenaline of the previous moment.

“Not that you care…But I think you’re okay.” She breathes through the helmet.

“I care.” You let a sly smile tint your lips, sliding your blaster back into its holster and offering the woman who just seconds ago was dead set on killing you your hand.

When she is hoisted back to her feet, she walks ahead of the both of you signalling for her to be followed but as she is about to pass Poe she throws him a few words.

“She’s a keeper.”

“Don’t I know that.” He smirks, turning back to see you walking to catch up to him. Before you can say anything, his gloved hand is already pressed against your cheek as he brings his lips down to crash against yours.

“I love you.”

“I love you.” You whisper against his lips “But I still need to-“

“You can tell me all about it tonight. While laying in bed. No rush.” He smiles assuringly at you and you swear if you didn’t have a mission at hands you would melt into his embrace for as long as the galaxy aloud you to.

“Let’s find that droidsmith.” You smile at him, before placing one quick kiss against his jaw and walking towards Zorii, leaving the former Spice Runner, current lovestruck Resistance Pilot, completely enamoured and stunned behind you.

 ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸ ✸

TAGLISTS

PERMANENT TAGLIST

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POE DAMERON TAGLIST

@niall2017​​​

[sirthisisa-wendys]

The Sacrifice Part 9: Geto Suguru x Fem!Reader

synopsis: there's one final sacrifice to be had.

wc: 1.2k

tw: none

masterlist

The town is silent as you land in the garden of the General Commissioner and slide off of Gojo’s back with ease. You pat his head tenderly, whispering your thanks to the dragon before approaching the large estate with trepidation.

“Just go in there and get him to come out of the house,” you mumble, clenching and unclenching your fists. The windows are darkened and the house is quiet, you note, trying to ascertain where the General Commissioner is sleeping in the sprawling house. You peek through various windows and doors, glancing upon empty rooms until you finally see him, laying the bed with his eyes closed. At the sound of his snores, you grimace, but slide open the window, letting the cool night air wheeze into the room. Instantly, he awakens, and you duck down as Gakuganji rolls out of bed, his bones cracking with old age.

“I don’t remember opening the window,” he mutters, but as he goes to close it, you raise up and reply,

“You didn’t.” The color drains from his face as he faces you, expecting your specter to waft through the window and assault him.

“Y-y/n,” he breathes, and you raise a brow. “How did you-- are you--what--” As he sputters words out of his mouth, you walk back toward the garden. And in his folly, Gakuganji follows you outside, still demanding to know how you’re on his estate.

When the long shadow passes over you, you wait for Gojo to land, and then climb onto his back with ease.

“What the hell?!”

Before Gakuganji can make it back into the house, Gojo takes off and snatches him up in his claws, and hefts him up into the air. His yells of terror cut through the silence of the night, and for a brief second, you consider laughing at him because, well… he sounds like a terrified young man. Gojo laughs, which sounds more like a rumble than laughter, but as you fly toward the mountain, you realize everything is going smoothly with the plan. Perhaps this wouldn’t be too nerve-wracking after all, you muse as you all land on the hard surface of the mountaintop. Gakuganji is dropped to his feet, whereupon he does a pitiful roll and lands face-first in the moon-illuminated dirt. You unsheath the dagger from your cloak as you slide off of Gojo’s back a second time, and approach the elder with determination, intent on slitting his throat and calling the deed done.

But a cold hand stops you, pressing down on your shoulder with intense pressure and bringing you to your knees.

“Come on, y/n. You really didn’t think it would be that easy.” The second leg of the plan is set in motion. Gojo instantly changes from a white dragon into his human form in a flash of yellow and blue lightning, running up behind Toji and tackling him to the ground.

“Go!” Gojo yells, tousling with the god of death as you recover and bring yourself to a standing position. Gakuganji has gained a few feet of distance, but that’s nothing as you compensate for the loss and charge after him. You’re a hair's breadth away from grabbing the General Commissioner by the neck of his robe, but your hand meets rock hard flesh before it’s twisted painfully.

“Ah!” you gasp, trying to worm out of Toji’s grasp but failing miserably as he brings you to your knees, his green eyes flashing in the moonlight.

“Fucking human,” he spits, twisting your hand even more. “You’re interfering with laws that go beyond your mortal existence.”

“Fuck you,” you hiss, dagger still gripped in your other hand. With one arm, you swipe at Toji’s kneecaps, but he disappears in a puff of smoke, reappearing behind you and knocking the dagger out of your hand with his foot. You land face-first in the dirt, and he grinds his foot into the arm pinned beneath it, making you holler out in agony.

“Gojo!” you cry out, turning your head, but your savior is nowhere to be seen.

“He’s over the side of the mountain. It’s easy to break a dragon’s legs,” Toji chuckles, foot pressing down even harder on your arm. You feel the bones in your forearm scream in pain and nearing their breaking point when a very strong gust of wind knocks Toji off of you and onto the ground behind you. As you drag yourself to your feet again, you see streaks of red and blue-green circling the mountain as the God of Wind descends from the skies.

Toji is kept in place on his back with an unforgiving stream of wind, and the high-speed air blows his hair and skin back, ripping his flesh from his muscle and muscle from bone as you fumble for the dagger about a yard away from you. Once you find it and begin to corner a surrounded and terrified Gakuganji, you hear Megumi yell over the torrent,

“That’s enough, father!”

“I would have never suspected my son would betray me like this,” Toji groans, the scattered skeleton bones gathering back together into the shape of a man. Yuji appears from the streaks, removing the blue-green color, and Choso follows behind him, both advancing upon Toji with purpose. “But I suppose you and your friends will have to endure endless torment, too.”

“You’re done for,” you call out to Gakuganji, who is dangerously close to the mountain. “It’s over, Commissioner.” Gakuganji tilts his head at you, brows scrunching together.

The battle between gods is ensuing behind you and effectively distracting Toji, you think. What else could go wrong? You grab Gakuganji by the front of his robe and turn him so his back is to the cold ground. The moonlight above you glints off of your blade as you raise it to the sky, and then as if by magic, everything slows down and you feel drawn out of yourself.

You’re watching yourself from afar as you bring the blade closer to Gakuganji’s neck, and if you turn your head ever so slightly, you can see Yuji and Choso both being brought to their knees under Toji’s grip, then fall to the earth with twin thuds. Megumi is whipping the wind around him to protect himself as he attempts to rush at his father, but--

“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more for you.”

You’re instantly drawn back into your body in real-time, and right as you nick the flesh of Gakuganji’s throat, you see blood splatter over the front of his clothes. That’s a lot of blood for a nick, you think, but a searing hot pain roars through your flesh and you involuntarily cough, causing more blood to dot Gakuganji’s face and neck. Your hand lets him go and clutches at your neck, blood coating your fingers in thick streams as you sink to your knees.

“I should’ve done this sooner. Would have saved me the trouble of incapacitating so many immortals,” Toji grumbles, and your head lolls back as the air you’re trying to save escapes through the slit in your throat. You’re choking on your own blood, jerking like a fish out of water as your eyesight fades and you’re fading into the darkness with the moon and there’s rain and there’s rain and it’s raining?

It’s raining

It’s rainin

It’s raini

It’s rain--

_____________________________________________________________

TAGLIST:

@sunfloweroranges @jibe-gajima @jotazinha @brownskinnedgirll @leanne-tamashi @vabybizzle @amaris9 @fuegy-fuegy @ambiguous-something @kontentious@missbonekitty @fyotituti @honouredsatoru @sandyscastle @flare-on @sasahime @ggotgame @just4readingfics

[wonder-womans-ex]

Conversations, Conversations, in the Early Morning Glow

Of all the things James was expecting to see today, Sirius Black sitting on his couch at five-thirty in the morning was certainly not one of them. 

He had been prepared to get up early, make some coffee and maybe an omelette, and head out for a quick jog before practice. But when he turned on the light, there Sirius was, one leg propped up over his knee, fingers drumming nervously on the sole of his shoe. 

Sirius looked up. They stared at each other for a moment, and then James took off his glasses and put them back on again. “Hello,” he said. 

Sirius bothered with none of the preamble. “How do you tell someone you’re in love with them?” 

“What the fuck?”

“I’m in love with someone and I want to tell them so, but I don’t know how.”

After taking a moment to process this information, James walked over to the kitchen. “I need caffeine for this conversation,” he said, glancing backward over his shoulder. “Want a coffee?”

“I—yeah. Sure. No sugar—”

“Lots of milk. I know.” 

They grinned at each other, but Sirius’s smile was slightly… off. There was something tense about it, almost like he was holding back. 

The coffee machine whirred quietly to life, red light blinking on, and James grabbed two mugs from the cupboard: the WORLD’S BEST DAD one Kuny had given him after Harry’s birth, and the one with the rubber ducks Sirius always used. He filled the kettle with water, flipped the switch on the side, and finally spun around to face his friend. 

Sirius had hopped up to sit on the counter and was swinging his legs slightly, bumping them in turns against the dishwasher; his gaze was focused somewhere on the floor in front of him. James paused for a moment before walking over and sitting beside him. “If Lily catches us, we’re both toast,” he said, finally, trying to lighten the mood. The corners of Sirius’s lips twitched up only slightly, and that was when James knew something was truly bothering him. 

“So.” The two of them took a breath almost in unison. “I’m going to need some backstory here. Are you in a relationship with this person? Are you merely admiring from afar?”

“In a relationship.”

No matter what he had asked, James had assumed Sirius was merely harbouring a crush. He’d thought that surely, if Sirius was dating someone, he’d say something about it. “You have a girlfriend? And you didn’t tell me?” 

“That’s the other thing.” A pause, like he was working up the courage to say something. “I’m gay, James.”

For the second time that morning, James took a moment to process this. He arranged his face—or tried to, anyway—into an expression that less resembled someone who had recently run into a brick wall, and then he put a reassuring hand on Sirius’s shoulder. “You have a boyfriend? And you didn’t tell me?”

The look of relief Sirius gave him was both immense and immediate. “Well, it’s pretty recent. Only a few months, really—since my birthday—and… I was scared. I’m still scared, but not as much as I was. But I love him. I really, really love him, and I want him to know that.”

Nodding, James slid forward off the counter to pour the now-boiling water into the top of the coffee machine. “Is it anyone I know? Is he from Gryffindor?”

“Yeah, you know him. It’s—well, it’s Loops.”

“Remus?” James jerked his hand backwards, away from the spill of hot water from the kettle. He hissed in pain when a drop landed on his wrist. “Remus Lupin? Our PT?” 

“One and the same.” Even without looking, he could hear the smile in Sirius’s voice. 

“And you want to tell him you love him?” 

“Yeah.” 

“And you came to me for advice?” 

Sirius leaned over and smacked his arm. “I can’t tell whether you’re insulting yourself or me more.” 

“Shut up. But in all ser—sincerity… does he love you, too?”

“I think so,” Sirius said, biting his lip. “I hope he does, anyway. I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t.” 

James whistled quietly, not wanting to risk waking Harry. A crying child was the last thing either of them needed. “God, you’ve got it bad, haven’t you?” 

“Yeah.”

“Look.” James crossed his arms, staring Sirius right in the eyes. “I’m only going to say this once. You are my best friend. You are the third most important person in my life, falling just behind my wife-to-be and my son. If I had to pick one person to be stranded with on a deserted island, the only reason I would not choose you is that I think we would die within a week because neither of us actually has that much common sense. That being said, there are very few situations in which I would not trust you with my life. In the words of the youth, you are my bro.”

“Why is this starting to sound like a marriage proposal?”

“Fuck off. The point is, Pads, you deserve the best of the best. You deserve someone you love and who loves you. If that’s Loops, that’s amazing and I support you. If it ends up not being him, I’ll be here for you, and I’ll make sure any future boyfriends you may have don’t break your heart. Got that?”

For a moment, Sirius said nothing, and James grew more and more worried by the second. “Cap? You okay?” 

“No, I’m not okay, you fucker; I’m crying.”

“I hope they’re happy tears.” 

“What do you think?” Swiping the back of his hand across his eyes, Sirius let a grin spread across his face. “Are we supposed to bro hug now?” 

“You know what; why not.” Even just two years ago, they would have put their arms around each other nervously before awkwardly pulling away again (hell, two years ago Sirius probably wouldn’t have suggested it in the first place), but now they were miles past that, James even rubbing a noogie onto the crown of Sirius’s head. 

“Coffee machine looks like it’s about to overflow.” 

“Oh, thanks.” There was a comfortable silence as James poured out two mugs of coffee and added milk (Sirius’s) and sugar (his own), not broken until Sirius, mug in hand, said quietly, “How do you think I should tell him?” 

“Well, my advice, which is flawed at the best of times, would be to just tell him. But if you were planning on doing that, then chances are you wouldn’t have come to me in the first place.”

“I want it to be… I dunno. Romantic.” Sirius raised his coffee to his lips, taking a sip. “This is the worst coffee I have ever had in my life.”

“Well, duh. For the romantic part, I mean. Not the coffee.”

Laughing under his breath, Sirius poked him. “Try it. It sucks.”

“It does not—oh.”

“Told you so.”

James was halfway through pouring his coffee down the drain when Sirius’s phone rang. Both men froze. 

“Who is it?”

Sirius fished the phone out of his pocket, checking the caller ID. He visibly relaxed at what he saw, swiping up to answer. “It’s Remus,” he whispered. 

It was only thanks to the silence of the house that James could hear the voice on the other end of the line. 

“Baby?” Remus asked. “I’m, uh, I’m at your house—I bused—and, um, your car’s not here.”

“Oh, fuck, is it six already?”

“Yeah.” After a moment, he added, “Where are you?” 

“At the Potters’. I’m with James.”

“Are you okay?”

A smile flickered over Sirius’s face. “Yeah. I’m great. I… I came out to him.” 

James held his breath until—”Oh,” said Remus. 

“Oh? Is that—is that okay? Should I have waited—”

“No, no, of course not,” Remus assured him, the emotion in his voice audible even through the speaker. “I’m just surprised. And I’m proud. God, baby, I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“I’m proud of me, too.” 

“As you should be. Hey, I’m hugging you right now. You feel that? That’s my arms. And now I’m kissing you. Okay?” 

Sirius actually giggled, a sound James had never heard him make before. “I’m kissing you back.”

James wasn’t sure whether he grabbed the phone to put at least a temporary stop to all the mushiness, or whether his intention stayed the same all along. In any case, the first thing he said after wresting it out of Sirius’s grasp and pressing it to his own ear was “If you hurt my bro, I’ll kill you.”

“Hi, James.”

“Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. But between you and me—and Sirius, I guess, ‘cause he’s probably listening, too—if I ever hurt him, I think I’d die before you even chose your weapon.”

When James glanced over, he saw that Sirius’s eyes were shining.

“Oh,” Remus added. “And please send Cap back over here. He’s not just my boyfriend; he’s my ride to practice.”

“You got it.” He waited until Remus hung up to say, “Hey, Sirius?”

Sirius took the phone when James held it out to him. “Yeah?”

“Get out of my house and go get your man.”

“Oui.” He slid off the countertop, landing on the floor with a slight thud. 

“Oh, and one more thing.” 

“Yeah?”

“What Loops said? Over the phone? If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

He got a grin for that, but he also got an elbow in the ribs as Sirius passed by him. “I’m going to tell him. Today.”

“You do that.” 

“Wish me luck. I’ll see you at practice.” 

“See you,” James said, leaning against the doorframe. “And you’ve already got all the luck you need.”

***

He hadn’t forgotten. He really hadn’t. He’d just had a lot on his mind, and Sirius’s promise of ‘today’ was pushed to the back. But when Cap’s car pulled into the parking lot with Loops in the passenger’s seat, it was brought immediately to the front again. He watched as they shared a warm, private smile, eyes not breaking contact for almost ten seconds. 

As soon as they walked through the arena doors, James was there to ambush them. “Good morning, gentlemen.” 

“Wipe that smirk off your face.”

“Well, we are temperamental today.”

“It’s because of your godawful coffee.”

“Touché.” 

Sirius smacked his arm. “I’m serious—and please don’t make that pun. I would like to be left alone with my boyfriend, with whom I am very much in love.”

“All right, all right!” James said, raising his arms in mock surrender. Go make out in the PT room; I won’t stop you.” 

Remus smiled when Sirius turned to him. “Yeah, sure, we can do that later. You go ahead—I need to talk to Pots for a sec.”

“‘Kay. Love ya.”

“Love you, too.”

Waiting until Sirius disappeared down the hallway to speak, Remus pursed his lips, trying to smother a grin. “Thank you,” he said, finally. “That—how accepting you are, I mean—means a lot to him.”

“I know.” 

“No, really. You were the first… you’re the only person he’s told, other than me. Coming out to you—it really goes to show how much more comfortable he is with himself. When we got together… well, he’s really come a long way.” 

James waited for a moment, sorting through the emotions in his head. “The thing is… I made him feel like I wouldn’t be accepting. This morning, when we were talking, he said he was scared. I’m part of the reason he was scared.”

Already, Remus was shaking his head. “He wasn’t scared you wouldn’t be accepting; he was scared of other people finding out. No, not of you telling people. Just that they’d find out.”

“That literally makes no sense.”

“Look, James, the way he grew up—if there’s one thing he learned it’s that if you tell one, you’ve told them all. He came out when he was ready to come out. Maybe not to the world—not yet—but to you.”

He nodded slowly. “I think I’ve got it. Oh—and, Remus?”

“Yeah?”

“He makes you really happy, doesn’t he?” 

“Really happy.” Even without the words, Remus’s grin would have said it all. 

“You make him happy, too. Happier than I’ve seen him in a long time.”

“Thanks—” 

“Don’t mess it up.” 

Remus laughed. “I should have known. Trust me, though, Pots; I’ve got no intention too.”

That seemed to be that—James made his way to the locker room, catching Sirius’s eyes upon entry and winking. Sirius simply rolled his eyes and walked over, bumping their shoulders together. “What did you guys talk about?”

James didn’t even try to lie. “You, mostly.” 

“Should have guessed.” Glancing away briefly, Sirius lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper. “Thanks, by the way.” 

“For what?” 

“Bullying me into telling Loops I love him?”

“Eh, that was mostly you. I just kind of stood there and let you talk at me.”

“Fuck off.” 

“Really, though.” James was only partly joking when he added, “I’ll be here for you again when you want to propose.”

A red flush spread across Sirius’s cheeks. “Maybe not for a while yet,” he said, smiling straight ahead at the jersey hanging in his locker. “But someday.” 

[mystic-deep]

“You don’t know how to beg, darling.” part 2 | Nanami Kento x fem!reader

♡ ♡ ♡ description: Moving to your dream home had been more difficult than you had expected. Everything seems so be going well, until you get a surprise guest.

♡ ♡ ♡ warnings: nsfw, fingering, rough kissing, penetration, shower sex

♡ ♡ ♡ notes: part two is here! hope you guys enjoy it, I know I did while writing it haha and as always it's not proofread so please show mercy.

♡ ♡ ♡ part one here:  “You don’t know how to beg, darling.”

♡ ♡ ♡ word count: 3.3 k

“It’s not too big but it’s not too small, and property is selling like crazy in this neighborhood, so I think you’re making a great investment!”

The real estate agent pulled in front of a modest looking house and offered you a hopeful grin. It had been almost a month since you were house hunting and nothing really fit with what you were looking for. Your dream home was proving to be quite an impossible task – either the property was good but it was too far from the beach, or the property was right on the beach but the house was a disaster. The ones that hurt the most? The houses that were just right but they were over budget.

“I don’t know, I’m not impressed.”

With pursed lips, you stepped out of the car and looked at the exterior wall of the house that clearly needed some good repairs. As you followed the agent through the metal gate and into the front garden, you had to admit that it at least had some nice flower arrangements and sturdy trees offered a pleasant shade.

“It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small study, a large kitchen equipped with all the newest gadgets, a garage and quite a cozy living room.”

As you stepped inside you had to admit that it looked much better that what the exterior had promised. The rooms were spacious enough, the main bedroom having a nice view of the beach and the kitchen was indeed equipped with everything you’d want a modern kitchen to have.

It might not have been perfect, there was definitely work to be done and the furniture it came with was hideous, but so far it was the best you’ve seen. However, just like you expected, it was over budget.

Sensing your indecisive state, like any good agent would, the young woman pushed you from behind towards the terrace. “Oh, but I haven’t showed you the best part yet!”

You gasped, you just stood there like an idiot and gasped as you stepped out on the terrace and looked straight at the sea in front of you. Forget being near the beach, you were literally on the beach! There was a small wooden trail leading to the golden sand and the blue waves, just a minute walk and you’d be submersed in the cool water.

“Imagine waking up to this every morning and imagine reading a book and drinking a glass of wine as the sun sets.” The devil on your shoulder, that’s what it felt like as she whispered almost seductively in your ear. You were impressed with her skill though - she definitely left the best part for last just to give it that wow factor.

Still, it was a going to drain almost all of your economies and - “The beach in front is private, you own it.”

“Where do I sign?”

The agent gave you a tight hug, more than happy to finally be rid of you, and dashed to the car where she happened to have a bottle of champagne prepared for the wonderful occasion. You thought to yourself that she either was so confident in her skills that she will convince you to buy this house, or prepared to get drunk after yet another failed attempt.

You looked back at the incredible blue sea and took a deep breath. It was scary, it was right down terrifying to jump head on into the unknown and with no current financial stability. You still had a regular income from your previous job since your boss pretty much refused to let you go, but you had half of your responsibilities and obviously half the salary. You would be on a tight budget for the next few months, you had to see if the house needed any immediate repairs and you had to redecorate everything inside.

“And when will your husband be joining you?”

You were brought back to the harsh reality by the excited voice of the young woman who was now pouring the cheap champagne in plastic glasses.

“Soon…he still has some things he needs to take care of back home.”

Your heart began to tighten in your chest as your thumb gently rubbed the golden ring on your index finger. You were so used to wearing it that you simply put it on every morning like routine. When asked, you told everyone that you were still married because you felt you would be safer that way and because, technically, you still were.

After your last exchange of messages Nanami had not contacted you once. He didn’t sign the divorce papers and you were starting to think that hiring a lawyer just seemed inevitable at this point. You had been so caught up with the moving and the house hunting that you just pushed it in the back of your mind like some trivial matter that you’ll take care of once you got around.

“Well I’m sure he’s just going to love your new home! Here’s to a happy family!”

You took a sip from the champagne glass, quickly spitting the liquid back before the agent could see you, and looked outside the window. Family…you felt like you were a long way from achieving that, but owning your very own little piece of heaven in Malaysia sure made things easier.

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

With a sigh you pulled the phone away from your ear as the whimpers of your boss were now scratching your eardrums. “No, I’m not coming back, we’ve talked about this hundreds of times already. Also, please stop crying.”

“And I’m telling you that you’ve offered them too much for such a small quantity of products. Last year when we made the purchase we offered them 30% less, what made them spike the prices so high this time around?” You poured the fresh coffee in your favorite mug and skillfully avoided stepping on your cat as you moved to place it on a tray.

“The bad economy has affected everyone not just them.” You propped your phone between your shoulder and your ear as you dropped a tablespoon of sugar in the coffee and began to stir. “Tell them that you’re going to offer them 10% more than what we offered last year and only if they increase the batch by 20%.” Your eyes narrowed slightly as you placed a book on the tray and a freshly baked pain au chocolat. “What do you mean what are you going to do with the rest of the products? Sell them to your competitors at double the price. Have I taught you nothing?”

Several minutes later, after somewhat managing to calm down the older man, you strolled down the wooden path to the beach where a large folding chair and a small table were waiting for you. You placed the tray on the table, sat down and took in the wonderful view in front of you. The weather outside was perfect and you decided to wear just a light summer dress that was slightly transparent.

You took a sip from your coffee and opened your book, deciding that this was a day for lazing around. It had been more than a month since you’ve finally finished with all the repairs and decorations but it was worth the long wait. Everything looked just perfect now, you had flexible working hours and you even managed to adopt a stray cat.

Yes, everything was perfect, everything was going great.

“Took me forever to find you.”

You looked up from your book and blinked once, blinked twice, and still couldn’t believe what you were seeing. There, hovering above you, stood Nanami with his blond hair and sharp blue eyes, with his sand colored pants and his white shirt with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows, the golden band of the wedding ring shinning in the sun.

“What…How…When…” You didn’t even know how to phrase your shock. A part of you was hoping that you were hallucinating.

“It took me forever to convince your mother to talk to me. Then probably just as long to get her to tell me where you were. She’s not really good at remembering small details so she had no idea what your house looked like.” He huffed in annoyance before plopping down on the sand by your side. “Took me awhile to find the house.”

“How did you get in?”

“Strangely enough she remembered perfectly where the spare key was.” Betrayed by my own mother, you thought bitterly.

“Why are you here, Nanami?”

“Not Kento? From what I remember, you’re Nanami too.”

Your face began to burn with anger and sensing that you were on the verge of exploding, he quickly fished out of his pocket a folded paper.

“I’m not here to fight, I just came to give you this.” You took the piece of paper with trembling hands and opened it. The divorce papers, and they were signed. Finally, your marriage was over.

“You could have just mailed them to me.”

“I didn’t come all the way here just to hand you the papers, I also wanted to talk. You owe me that much after pulling that disappearing act.”

Your first intention was to protest, then again maybe listening to him rather than fighting back would make things end quicker. You offered him a little nod to continue.

“I don’t have excuses for cheating on you. No one seduced me, I searched for someone to bend to my will and I found her quickly. I wanted to feel needed…no, I wanted to feel like I was dominating.” His eyes looked down to his hands almost in shame. “You were working so hard, you were so ambitious, it felt like you could truly achieve our dream…while I had so little hope it was possible, it felt like you would leave me behind.”

You listened attentively to every word, trying your best not to let the anger get to you. Just bear with it, let him say whatever will make him feel better and then you won’t have to see him ever again. Although, now that he was in front of you, that thought was turning to be hell.

“I was jealous, I was jealous of the fact that I was no longer your priority. I feared the day you’d realize you didn’t really need me and that you could achieve everything by your own.”

“So you’ve cheated on me and said all those cruel things because you were insecure?” Your eyes became watery as your hands curled in tight fists. “Is this all you had to say? Because I think I’ve heard enough.”

“I’m sorry, y/n. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused, I’m sorry for not being strong enough to make our dream come true. That day when you left me was also the day I ended my affair. If I could…but I can’t, so I guess that yeah, that’s all I had to say.”

He stood up and gently patted his pants to get rid of the sand before looking at you.

“For all it’s worth, I really like the house and I like the cat and-” His eyes traveled to your chest that was covered by the thin white material of the dress. “-I definitely like this dress.”

Your cheeks turned pink and your arms quickly went to cover the skin that felt so exposed. Taking advantage of your distraction, he reached for your legs and lifted you up, carrying you princess style, and began to walk towards the sea.

“W-What are you doing?”

You were met with silence as Nanami continued his march unbothered by your kicking and screaming.

“Wait! The water is pretty cold!” Despite your protest, he entered the icy blue water, trying his best to hide the little winces every time a small wave hit him.

“Nanami, if you drop me, I swear-”

“I thought you wanted me to let you down.”

“Oh you’ve let me down plenty of times already.”

With a small glare, he retrieved his arm making you fall unceremoniously in the cold water. You let at a shriek and realized in horror that the divorce papers that you were holding were now being washed away by the sea.

“Oh no, how very tragic.” Nanami’s smirk and sarcasm were the last straw, and you plunged yourself at him, knocking him down in the shallow water.

His eyes grew large and tried to fight you as you straddled him and pinned his arms above his head.

“Move.” His voice was low and dangerous but the adrenaline pumping in your veins made you immune.

“You don’t know how to beg, darling.” There were a series of emotions flashing in his eyes, from shock, to anger, to amusement and finally…sadness.

“But if I learn, will you take me back?”

You looked at him and time just seemed to stop. Right here, this moment, this bickering and playing in the water, this half wet half disheveled man, the way he looked at you, your clothes wet and sticking to your skin, sticking to each other…it was perfect.

Your lips crushed on his in a hungry kiss and he eagerly retuned it. With a quick movement, he wrapped his arm around your waist and lifted your body along with his. Effortlessly, you thought as you your legs wrapped around his waist and let yourself be carried inside the house.

“Bedroom.” You motioned to the small stairs that ledmk to the first floor and he pretty much jogged towards the room, all the while maneuvering splendidly your excited cat that thought it was time to play.

He closed the door behind you before his hand reached for the back of your head and pulled you in for another deep kiss. You both began to shiver, probably from the excitement of finally touching each other for so long but also because you were wet from head to toe.

“Undress.” He pulled slightly away and began to unbutton his shirt, his eyes never leaving you.

“You’re pretty monosyllabic today.” You ignored his annoyed expression and focused on removing your dress, but your hands froze on the waistband of your panties.

What were you doing? Was this enough? Was this all it took for you to forgive him and welcome him back with opened arms?

“I’ll help you remove these.” With a quick movement, he pulled down the piece of lingerie and tossed it on the ground where the rest of the clothes were. You didn’t even realize when he had backed you against the wall, but now here you were, trapped like last time, the only difference was that now you were both very much naked.

He was so close to you that your perked nipples were softly brushing against his bare chest. Slowly, he let his hand travel between your thighs and began to rub gently with his thumb. You inhaled deeply and looked down at his cock, hard and swollen and begging for attention. You wrapped your small hand around it and gave it a few gentle strokes, noticing how his brows began to furrow and sweat began to form on his forehead.

He was hard and more than ready to have you against the wall, and as his finger travelled to your folds, he realized you were wet and needy and more than ready to be taken.

Just as you were anticipating his fingers to enter you, he pulled away and took a few steps back. You were left there, the light of the morning sun shining on your naked body and looked at him in a quizzical way.

“Beautiful…you’re just so damn beautiful.” Your face felt red and hot and the lack of his touch made your body shiver.

Noticing your state, Nanami gently took your hand and guided you both to the bathroom, turning on the shower before letting you step inside.

You left out a sigh as the hot water washed over your skin and glanced over your shoulder as Nanami stepped inside as well, one hand resting on the shower tiles while the other rested on your hip.

“Hard and fast.” He whispered in your ear as you felt the tip of his cock probing at your entrance. “Hard and fast and then I promise…I’ll make it slow and good for you.” With that he entered you with a deep thrust and you let your head fall back in a silent scream.

He wasn’t joking when he said hard and fast, his hips were snapping into you at such a pace you were seeing stars. Your hands fell on the wet tiles, trying to hold your body from collapsing. It had been too long for the both of you so you understood the urgency of fucking you so intensely.

His hand travelled to your clit and began to rub it vigorously, making all your body tremble from head to toe. “Oh! K-Kento!”

“So we’re back to Kento now?”

You turned your head to look at him and arched a brow. “Do you want me to call you ‘daddy’?”

He pinched your clit hard and rubbed your left nipple with little mercy. “Would you like to call me that, princess?” His hand left your clit and landed a slap against your ass. “Although, I suggest next time you put a little more effort into it, just to avoid punishment.” He was grinning from head to toe, the damn bastard was enjoying every single second of this teasing.

Your mouth opened in order to argue back but you let out a loud moan as he began to push himself inside of you even deeper. So close, you were so close and he was hitting just that right spot. The warm water was falling on your already hot skin, the slaps that his hips made against your body were making lewd sounds that filled the whole bathroom, everything was foggy and your mouth felt dry.

“Fuck, I’m so close-” You could hear him mumble some other words but you were so far gone at this point that the only thing that you could concentrate on was your inevitable soul shattering climax.

“Oh god, please, please, Kento, I’m almost, I’m-” You let out a scream as you came around his swollen cock, nearly collapsing in the process. With his hand tightly fixated on your hips, Nanami slowed down for a moment, letting you regain some kind of composer before returning to a fast pace. You were so wet, you were squeezing him so tightly, your little moans and whimpers sent vibrations to his lower stomach, making him shiver.

“You’re just so perfect, my love. You’re always just so perfect for me to fuck.” A few more thrusts and his hands gripped with such force at your hips that you were sure he left bruises. You didn’t care at the very least, not when your husband had just let out the most primal growl you ever heard him making and his cock filled your hole with his delicious hot cum.

You both just stood there for a few seconds, your forehead resting on the slightly cool tile while Nanami kissed your shoulders before finally pulling out of you.

“Now that hard and fast is over…when am I getting slow and good?”

“Always so greedy.” He let out a light chuckle before pressing a soft kiss on your lips. “I love you.” Just like that, he let the words roll out of his mouth with such ease and looked at you with complete adoration.

“I love you too.” You turned around and let your hands gently caress his cheeks, the happiness of being able to say these words again making you feel light as a feather.

“Good, I’ll need you to love me a lot. There will be plenty of other ‘hard and fast’ sessions before this day is over.” And for once, you didn’t open your mouth to argue.

[nekumiko]

Does Everything Grow Fruitfully for Kita?

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Genre: Fluff, Light angst

Rated: T

Words: 3.6k

Chapter: 1/2

Summary: When his friendship with their club manager starts to bloom into something more, would Kita do something about it?

If you would ask Kita when he fell in love with her, he’d say it was that time she cooked rice without a rice cooker. At least, that’s as far back as he could remember seeing her in a different light.

The Inarizaki Volleyball Club probably doesn’t need a manager because of how Kita keeps everything well-maintained - the equipment, uniforms, and even the restroom. But it wouldn’t hurt to have extra help.

Although, since she only needed a club under her name, she was allowed to not even attend every day, and she had done just that for a year. But in her second year, Kita eventually found her regularly working beside him to make sure the team had everything they needed in practices and matches. He did ask her why, but she quickly changed the topic to picking up the uniforms from the laundromat.

It was on that unusually stormy night during the team’s summer training camp.

Because of the howling winds outside, the lights have been flickering on and off in the neighborhood, so practice is cut short before it becomes completely dark. They return to the inn, where the couple who owns the place tells them they would prepare dinner in advance. Kita then quickly drops off his bag and changes his clothes so he could help out in the kitchen.

Despite the dimming lights, the middle-aged couple are working fast. The wife is on the stove frying fish, while the husband is making dumplings.

Kita then sees the rice cooker sitting unplugged on the counter. "Excuse me,” he says, catching the attention of the couple. “Do you mind if I help out? I can cook rice traditionally.”

“Oh,” the husband replies, “we appreciate it, but your manager is already taking care of that.”

“She is?”

As if on cue, she emerges from behind a wall, carrying a pot. “Kita-san?” she calls out before smiling brightly. “You've come at the right time! Please help me.” And then she disappears behind the wall again.

Kita finds her sitting beside an open sack of rice grains, the scoop in her hand and the pot on her lap. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

She looks up. “Oh, nothing's wrong. I just never cooked for the team before, so I don’t know if this is enough.”

He sits beside her and reaches for the pot.

She looks startled for a moment, but then smiles again and gives it to him.

It takes Kita a moment to carefully consider his answer. “You need more than this.” He gently takes the scoop in her hand, brushing against her warm skin. He scoops more grains into the pot and then stands up again. “Come on.”

She stands as well, but immediately holds onto the pot, stopping Kita from walking away. “What do you think you’re gonna do with this?”

“What else? I’ll be cooking rice.”

“But I told them I’d do it!”

“I can do it.”

“I can do it too.” She smirks. “Or are you here to doubt me again, Kita-san?”

He sighs in mock defeat. “Fine.” Then he gives the pot back.

She grins. "Thanks."

“Won’t it be heavy, though? That's a lot of rice to wash.”

She puts the pot in the sink and starts up the faucet, shaking her head. “You always underestimate my strength. I’ve handled heavier stuff than this.” She turns the faucet off and drains the water. “You’re a witness to that.”

Kita stays silent beside her, watching her work and talk at the same time. This is their norm. Light banter, eye contact, hands brushing against each other, standing at close proximity, and watching her back as he helped with her manager duties. But for some reason today, he is focused too much on her exposed nape and her lips, hyperaware of her hands and her voice. He doesn't even realize he'd tuned her actual words out until she looks back at him expectantly.

“Are you okay, Kita-san?"

"Huh? Yes."

She giggles. "I asked you to please move to the side a little. I need light."

"Sorry." Kita then steps aside.

She then holds the pot to her chest level, carefully measuring the amount of water with her finger. And then she puts the lid over the pot.

Kita follows her to the stove, too.

“Oban,” she says softly to the wife, who is just removing a pan from the stove, “I’ll be cooking the rice now.”

The wife thanks her while Kita swoops in to take the pan. “Oban, is there anything else you need more help with?”

The two of them move around the kitchen to clean up and help with plating. From time to time, she would check on the rice, adjusting the fire in the stove. And whenever she does, Kita finds himself watching her intently, not really understanding what’s so... captivating about it. Is it because she’s cooking food for them? Like she mentioned earlier, this is her first time, because she'd only bought food for them before. But is it that unusual? Because surely, as their manager, she’d be making more food for the team from now on.

Finally, she calls him over excitedly. “Kita-san! Look at this!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she whines. “Why do you always assume something’s wrong?”

He only smiles at her, finally reaching her side.

“Just please look!” She lifts the lid again and continues, “Just look at how perfect my rice is!”

“It does look good.”

“I bet it tastes delicious, too.”

“It would taste like rice.”

She turns to him with a deadpan stare. “Cold.” She covers the pot again, and then pauses. Her lips form into a small smile, but her hands reach for the hem of her shirt to fidget with it as she speaks again. “Hey, Kita-san,” she begins, her gaze still trained on the pot. “Would I make a good wife?”

“You just cooked rice.”

That makes her head whip towards him so fast. Her smile vanishes, her eyes widen, and a pink tint is creeping up on her cheeks. “Ahh, I mean with how --!” she cuts herself off to look away, waving a hand in front of her face. "Never mind. I’ll just go call the others. Dinner would be ready soon.” She hurriedly walks away from him, only stopping by the couple to thank them before exiting the kitchen.

Quite often, Kita has been told that he can’t read the room. And usually, he doesn’t mind. It's more important for him to get his thoughts across, to correct something he thinks is wrong or illogical, even if it's in a brutally honest way. But right now, it’s bothering him that she got upset by his words. She has never reacted this way before, so what did I say wrong?

“I think your girl meant something more than that, young man,” the husband tells him.

Kita turns to the couple who are both looking at him teasingly. “My girl?” he repeats.

“Aren’t you two together?”

He shakes his head. “No, she’s just our manager. I just help her out sometimes.”

“I see…”

The couple share a look, and then the wife turns to him. “You should follow her, though. We’re about to wrap up here anyway. Thank you both so much for your help.”

The husband also expresses his gratitude, and with that, Kita thanks them as well and starts to leave.

But as he passes by the wife on his way out, he overhears her mutter, “Ah, young love.”

And he pretends he just didn’t.

---

But maybe Kita really does have reason to worry.

Their manager sits with the sophomores on the other side of the dining table, not in her usual spot next to him. It's not like she's obligated to, though. She is a sophomore and she gets along well with them. If someone had noticed this, they just didn't bring it up, because her sitting with them is new, but should not be unusual.

But she hasn’t once made eye contact, and deliberately avoided touching him when she passed him a bowl. Now that's something alarmingly different.

The storm outside has thankfully subsided, but he feels another one brewing right here.

“You're going to burn a hole through her head,” Aran suddenly says beside him, just low enough for the two of them to hear.

Kita blinks and turns back to his food, realizing he’d been staring. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”

“Don’t apologize to me. Though, I don’t think she noticed.”

Kita only sighs.

Aran hesitates. “Is there something wrong?”

“I think so. I might have said something wrong, but I don’t know what.”

“Do you need my help?”

Just then, Kita notices Suna, who is sitting right across from him, discreetly looking at the two of them. “Maybe later.”

The team finishes eating, and their manager volunteers to help clean up. Unsurprisingly, Kita does the same.

And for the first time since their last conversation, she finally looks up at him.

An unfamiliar feeling blooms in his chest right then. And Kita does not understand. Why does it feel like he hadn’t met her gaze for a long time, when it was actually just a few minutes ago? This is strange, but not unwelcome. He can’t help but smile down at her.

She approaches him to take the plates he had stacked from his hands. “Kita-san,” she starts.

And that makes the warmth in his chest spread even wider. It’s not like she’d been quiet during dinner. She had talked and laughed along with everyone else, but not once was he involved.

“Don’t worry about this." She smiles. "This is my job, and you need to rest because you still have practice tomorrow.”

What?

“Please go rest with the others. I’ll be fine here with Oban.”

Kita feels himself sinking fast as he watches her walk away. It doesn’t even register that he’d been pulled out of the room by Aran until they almost bump into Suna in the hallway.

“Wow,” the second-year says as he pockets his phone. “Kita-san getting rejected. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“What are you still doing here, Suna?” Aran asks.

“Just lagging behind,” Suna nonchalantly replies, turning around to walk ahead of them.

Aran makes sure their junior is a safe distance away before he turns to his friend. "So, have you figured it out? That was a bit heavy back there."

Kita crosses his arms in thought, once again revisiting that conversation in the kitchen.

"What did you even say to her last?" Aran continues asking as they start down the corridor. "What made things suddenly different?"

And then it finally clicks. Kita stops walking, uncrossing his arms and looking away. "She asked me if she'd make a good wife."

"WHAT?"

---

The next day at practice, their manager goes by her day normally. Watching over them, assisting them. To an outsider, nothing seems off.

She probably thinks nothing of it now, Kita tries to assure himself when he takes a break from practicing serves.

Instantly, she stands up to give him his towel and water bottle. She compliments him, and he thanks her like usual. But the tension is still there, especially when she doesn't initiate more conversation. They may not talk a lot during practice, but she always has something to say.

That's how Kita knew he still needs to do what Aran told him to.

Yet even as practice ends and they both help prepare dinner again, he just can't seem to find the right words. It brings a small frown on his forehead, which the team isn't used to seeing.

Which makes dinner silent.

Until the twins, of course, start nudging each other's sides with their elbows, bringing up each other's mistakes at practice that they think might have upset their captain. As they keep going back and forth, their voices start to raise and their nudges turn into painful jabs.

"Stop that," Kita says.

And they do right away.

Somehow, even without the frown on his face now, Kita looks even more intimidating.

"Kita-san," their manager, sitting right across from him today, takes one for the team by asking, "why do you look so upset, though?"

His heart suddenly starts pounding. What would he even say? "I'm not. I just…"

Everyone looks at him then. Did their captain just stutter?

"...About what you said yesterday."

She looks puzzled. "Which one?"

The team looks as confused as her now, except for Aran who holds his breath.

"I've given it a lot of thought," Kita continues, "and I have to say that, with the effort and care you put in every day, you would be a good wife."

Silence settles over them for five seconds, before the whole table erupts into chaos.

Their manager quickly hides her face behind her hands.

Atsumu shouts, "What kind of confession is that?"

At that, Kita immediately realizes his mistake. "It's not –”

"Kita-san."

He looks back at their manager.

She seems to be forcing herself to calm down, because her cheeks are still flushed. She weakly points to the door. "Can we talk?"

The hollers and laughter grow louder as both of them stand up and exit, especially when she catches hold of his wrist to lead him away from the noisy room.

Finally, she stops and turns around to face him, looking upset. She lets go, leaving behind a warm spot on his wrist. "Why did you say that?"

His forehead creases again. "I'm sorry. I worded it wrong. Aran told me I should give you an answer, but I just… didn’t know how to say it without sounding like that."

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Of course," she says softly.

Kita falls silent. He doesn’t like how everyone is reacting, and he definitely had not intended to put her on the spot like this. It's true that he wants to answer her question, because it seems like his answer would make her happy. But why, then, does it feel like he’s lying when he says that’s just what it is?

She sighs loudly, snapping him out of his thoughts. And then she smiles again, as if it had all been a small joke. "Kita-san, please be careful with your words next time. I'll go clear it up with them now." And then she leaves.

And that would be the last time they would ever talk about it. But just because neither of them had brought it up anymore, doesn't mean it left his mind.

Yet months pass. Summer and Spring Nationals have become more important than that incident, especially because they have fallen back to their usual dynamic. So Kita focuses on playing.

And even as he graduates from the team, career talks and college applications start for the third-years. Meanwhile, the juniors, their manager included, become busy with transitioning for the new team.

Eventually, Kita’s batch and then hers both graduate high school.

Now, years have passed. They have all taken different paths. She had moved to Osaka to pursue a career, while Kita stayed in Hyogo to become a rice farmer.

Is it a coincidence? For his chosen work to constantly bring him back to the first time he started developing feelings for her, to remind him of all the time lost?

Because they had all grown older, Kita of course understood his feelings now. But it’s too late to even start anything anymore, especially when they haven't kept in touch for the last five years.

She has probably found someone emotionally smarter than me by now, he would often think.

For some reason, this pops up in his train of thought again today, making the already sweltering day even more upsetting.

"Kita-san!"

The heat must be making him delusional. He straightens up and wipes the sweat off his forehead. At least he’s finished with today’s work, so he can go home and --

"Kita-san! Heyyy!"

He sighs. Why is he hearing her voice? It's not like she knows this place anyway. And even if she does, why would she bother going all the way out here, right? Yet the small hope bubbling up in Kita's chest makes him turn around.

And there, at the end of the field, stands his former team manager, so silly to not have an umbrella nor a hat to protect herself from the sun. But she is still smiling, waving both of her arms more enthusiastically now that she has caught his attention.

Kita calls out her name as a question, still unsure of what he's seeing.

"Yes, it's me! Can I go there?"

And Kita feels like his breath is knocked out of him. What is she doing here? But he isn’t given enough time to process this when she sees her already taking a few steps forward. Kita clears his throat to shout back a reply. “Just wait there! I'll come over!" Taking a deep breath, he crosses the distance, quick yet careful not to slip on the damp ground.

But he should have known she can still be too excited to listen sometimes. She tries to meet him halfway, and that's how she slips.

Fortunately, she is already within Kita’s reach.

Catching her breath, she holds on to him to stand upright again. And then she laughs, a very welcome sound in the peaceful field. "As expected of you, Kita-san!"

Kita only stares at her, not letting her go just yet. His former manager that he'd only seen in pictures and heard about from his former teammates' stories is now right in front of him, in between his arms.

"Sorry for dropping by so suddenly --!" she is cut off with her own squeal as Kita envelops her in his embrace.

Because right now, Kita needs to feel that she's real. He has convinced himself that there's no chance anymore for them to meet again, that their time together will just remain a memory. But here he is now, holding on to her as if she would suddenly disappear.

Finally, she relaxes and hugs him back. Then, she says softly, "I missed you too." A few moments pass before she gently pulls back with a grin. "I’m sorry, but where can I wash my feet? They still got muddy."

Back at his house, where Kita hears the water running in the bathroom, he holds his head in hands as he finally comes back to his senses. What did he just do? After all those years of not contacting her, he doesn't even say hello and instead hugs her without her consent? Did he just disrespect her? And then embarrassment takes over when he notices his sweat-soaked shirt. Did he really hold her like that while looking and smelling awful?

"Kita-san, are you alright?"

He looks up, but immediately looks away and nods in reply.

"Why don't you take a bath for now?" she asks, depressing Kita even more. He must have really disgusted her. "We can catch up afterwards."

---

While he was showering, Kita had heard the clanging of pots and utensils, and the kitchen sink’s faucet turning on and off. Now that he’s back, he confirms his suspicion.

She is cooking rice.

His rice.

The rice he had worked so hard to grow is now being cooked carefully by her own hands to fill both of their tummies soon.

Kita can't help but smile.

She notices him watching her, so she smiles back at him before turning the stove on.

Kita steps closer. "You really make a good wife."

She gasps, instantly turning to him.

He only stares back, still smiling.

Her brow slightly furrows. "Kita-san, there's no one else to joke around with like this."

"I mean it. Even back then. I just didn’t understand… no, I just denied it. But now..." He gulps. "You do make a good wife. Maybe not mine, but anyone would be honored to have you. I just want you to know that."

"Kita-san," she says, stepping even closer to him, "do you not want me to be your wife?"

"I do!" he says right away, sounding frustrated.

She bites her lip, as if fighting a smile. "You do?"

"I do."

"Skipping the dating part?"

"I would date to marry you."

She hides her face in her hands. "Oh my god! You are serious." She looks up again to pout. "How can you say all these things but still be unsure?"

"Because we live very different lives now. I can't tie you down here when you've got your own dreams to pursue."

"But life would be fine for me out here. As long as it's with you, Kita-san."

Kita stops to hold her gaze.

It’s intense, warm, and most importantly, honest.

And he is glad that the first time he actually let himself cry for her, it's because he’s too happy. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she says, smiling again as she reaches up to wipe his tears away.

He kisses one of her palms and pulls her close. To embrace her once again. To kiss the top of her head, and then the tip of her nose, and finally, her lips.

Kita has always prided himself on being built by the things he does every day. But love is not just an individual effort, and because he didn't do much for it, he thought he'd lost all his chances.

But here she is, willingly coming back to his life, showing him she loves him too. Maybe even more than he does.

He doesn’t believe in luck, but maybe it has helped him this time. He is too careful to be reckless, but if she’s willing to take the risk with him, they would figure things out.

But all that matters right now is this. Melting in each other’s arms, catching up on lost time. A moment too perfect to break.

Or not.

As they redo the rice, Kita asks her, "Why didn't you just use the rice cooker?"

EDITED A/N: WILL WRITE A SECOND CHAPTER SOON! i just don't know when i'll post it, considering my hectic work sched...

[bookstantrash]

A/N: Sorry for disappearing, I promise I have not given up on this fic. Life is kinda of a mess right now. The College Entrance Exams Season has just begun, and I’ve been studying nonstop, which leaves me with little time to write and a brain overheated due to excessive studying.

Good news tho! So far, I have been accepted in the two colleges I’ve already applied for, which leaves me with just The Big Scary Exam in January which also has a second phase that is FIVE DAYS AFTER ACOSF IS RELEASED. And which is pretty much my dream college

But let’s talk about happy things. Get comfortable and enjoy the long overdue Part Four!

In which she makes a friend, Part Four

Cassian woke up in the late afternoon. After a silently breakfast with Nesta, he went to report to Devlon and go over the papers he had left piling up in his absence. Nesta had gone to her room — probably to take a bath and change out of the leathers — and he had not seen her since. He had promptly fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow, his aching muscles and wings screaming for some well deserved rest.

Cassian debated whether to knock on Nesta’s door or not as he splashed some cold water on his face. He had decided he was going to help her, he just didn’t know how to do that without seeming as if he was just following orders from Feyre. Nesta was not a burden. Would never be. At least not for him. He was going to do this right and make up for the two months he was away.

Gathering his courage, he softly knocked on her door, straining his ears to listen to something that would indicate that she was in her bedroom. When he heard nothing, not even her breathing, he remembered the stone bench. The weather was sunny — with “sunny” in Illyria meaning that the grey sky was more or less free of clouds and the cold not as unforgiving as usual. However, when he opened the front door and stepped outside, he did not see Nesta but the young Illyrian he had seen earlier, Kaelin.

Cassian stayed quiet, taking the opportunity to inspect the kid, which was so busy writing something down in a piece of paper — Cassian could see him biting his lip in concentration and pushing back a stray curl that kept falling on his eyes — that didn’t take notice of his arrival. Kaelin was a question mark that had suddenly appeared in his life. Cassian didn’t know who the Illyrian was, but if Nesta had chosen to trust him — to take him under her care when she could not deign to care for herself — then he was going to trust her decision. And he would ask Kaelin to work with him to help Nesta heal.

“You know, if you’re thinking of growing your hair maybe you should have something to tie it back” Cassian said, clearing his throat to warn Kaelin of his presence.

Kaelin almost fell from the bench in surprise, quickly raising to greet him.

“Please, there’s no need for that” Cassian pleaded, interrupting Kaelin before he did the formal salute “You are living here now, you may address me informally”.

“Yes, sir” he hesitantly answered, as if unsure if he should be treating his superior like that.

The younglings usually liked Cassian. He did teach a lot of them to fly and played with them whenever he had the chance. But Kaelin was in the phase where training got harder, tougher. When the Camp Lords started to separate those who had potential and those who would only be another number in the army.

“Isn’t it better to write inside? The bench looks uncomfortable” Cassian tried, hoping to gain the kid’s trust.

“Nesta said...she said it’s good to read out loud while you write” the tip of Kaelin’s ears turned soft pink “I didn’t want to disturb you, sir”

Nesta was teaching Kaelin how to read.

Cassian didn’t know what to do with this new information. He had really missed a lot on two months.

“I wouldn’t be woken by your voice. I usually sleep like the dead”.

“When I can actually sleep” Cassian thought. His dreams usually turned into nightmares, and he only slept well when he was near the point of passing out from fatigue. Like today.

“Oh, I see. Nesta gave me one of the military books in your living room to practice, I hope that’s fine” the young Illyrian knotted his eyebrows in confusion “She said she didn’t have any books I could read”.

“No, I don’t think she has” Cassian allowed himself a small smile, thinking about the dirty romance novels he knew Nesta liked. He didn’t think they’d have been proper for Kaelin “Feel free to take any books you like. I’ll see if I can get hold of less boring ones for you”.

“I don’t want to burden you!!” he quickly said “Really, they’re not boring. A bit hard to understand, but I usually write down the words I don’t know and Nesta helps me later”.

“It’s not a bother. I was planning to get some books for Nesta. She reads a lot and I think she may have run out of books now”.

Cassian tried to calm Kaelin, making sure it was nothing out of his way. He knew how it felt when you had nothing and people offered you things. The first time he had received a present, a solstice gift from Rhysand’s mother, he had been afraid to accept and had cried afterwards, once he was alone. He could only imagine how it was for the Kaelin. An orphan who once had some and suddenly was stripped of even the little things he had to call his own.

“You and Nesta... you seem close” he tried to appear nonchalant, laying the ground for his intention of gathering Kaelin’s aid.

“She’s nice” he answered, pushing the stray curl away again.

“How has she been? Has she been going out a lot?” Cassian cringed internally at how desperate he sounded, but he could not deny how worried he was that Nesta was not back when it was beginning to darken.

“I’ve know Nesta for two, three months at most”.

“And?” Cassian inquired.

“She does not eat much. Started going out recently” Kaelin eyed him in suspicion “I don’t know if I should be talking with you, sir, about her. I know that I wouldn’t like to have someone talking about me behind my back. Specially with someone who had left me alone for months”.

Cassian realised that, in this conversation, he was the enemy. Kaelin knew Nesta, but had no reason whatsoever to trust Cassian, ranks in the army be damned.

“I was busy. Commander stuff” he didn’t want to talk about how a civil war was most likely to happen.

Kaelin’s only answer was to raise an eyebrow in question, an act that reminded Cassian so much of Nesta that he was momentarily thrown back. Was his idea about to go down the drain before he had even tried it out?

“I wouldn’t have left if wasn’t really necessary”.

“I didn’t doubt you” Kaelin said, the corners of his mouth raising slightly.

Cauldron, he couldn’t believe how he was being played by a teenage boy.

“And I guess I know what you’re trying to do” Kaelin commented, gathering the book, tucking the piece of paper inside it and pocketing the pencil.

“If you know it, then are you willing to be my helping hand?” Cassian remembered why he usually stuck with training the younglings. They didn’t have smart comebacks.

“I cannot possibly train Nesta. I only know the basics I’ve learnt as a kid. But you sir, are a legend” Kaelin’s eyes sparked in admiration.

Mikael had told Kaelin stories about the Commander of the Illyrian armies. Of how an orphan who was supposed to be a foot soldier had the biggest killing power in Illyria’s history.

“I’m willing to do anything to make Nesta happy” Kaelin’s expression saddened “She is not doing well. And I own her my life. It’s the minimum I can do”.

“Thank you. I think she’d listen more to you than me” Cassian stretched his wings “First things first then kiddo. Could you tell me where she is? It’s getting late and she should have someone accompany her back”.

Kaelin gave him a wide smile, and before Cassian could do anything, got airborne.

“Don’t worry about it!! I always walk Nesta back!!”

And with a last goodbye shout, Kaelin flew away to meet Nesta at Cauldron knows where, leaving Cassian no option but to enter the house and get dinner ready.

~•~

To say dinner had been awkward was an understatement.

Cassian didn’t remember ever being so tongue tied before. Nesta had also kept quiet for most of the meal. Kaelin, however, did enough talking for both of them.

The kid had completely lost all shyness regarding Cassian, although he still added ‘sir’ sometimes when it seemed he was going overboard. Keeping his word to help Cassian with Nesta, Kaelin had talked nonstop about the things that had happened in those two months. Cassian learned that Nesta cooked quite well — “Illyrian culinary is different from high Fae but she learned so fast! It didn’t even feel like the food had been kept in the ice box for so long!” — and that she also knew how to sew — “She fixed all my clothes! They fit perfectly now! It feels as if they’re brand new!”.

Cassian would be pleased to just sit there and listen to Kaelin praise Nesta and tell all her hidden abilities, but he saw the way her pointed ears were getting pink and how she stuffed food in her mouth to avoid getting asked more questions. So he changed topics to Kaelin’s training, and he swore he saw Nesta silently thank him by the way her grey blue eyes softened.

The rest of the dinner run smoothly. He was also relived to see Nesta getting a second helping of food. Cassian could bet that she had not had lunch and, as a result, was starving.

He had made rice with cooked vegetables, along with fish seasoned with baniwa, a pepper based sauce. He had also left some fish without baniwa, not knowing whether Nesta liked her food spicy or not. He was happy to see that she choose the fish with the sauce and decided to stick with solid food, not taking any of the Imu Yanisa Kiyauriri he had offered, in case her stomach was not well.

After quietly washing the dishes while Nesta dried them — she had just gotten up and grabbed the kitchen rag, not sparing him a glance as she took the clean plate from his hand — Cassian locked himself in his room, hoping to get a good night’s sleep.

However, lucky was not on his side. He tossed and turned on his bed for hours, until finally giving up sleep and moving to his desk to go over the training schedule and other minor documents. Maybe work would tire him out enough to get maybe three or four hours of sleep.

Cassian was in the middle of a report regarding the preparations for the Blood Rite when he felt a shiver running down his spine. A faint sensation of panic came forth, and he was momentarily thrown back. Shrugging it off as fatigue, he turned back to the paper. But the sensation did not disappear. Had someone gotten over the wards somehow?

“Oh, screw this” he cursed, raising from his chair and opening his bedroom door.

Looking in the living room’s direction, he saw Kaelin completely passed out in the couch, sleeping on his stomach, his wings twitching in his sleep and drooling. The kitchen was clear as well, the same with the outdoor patio and the bathroom. The sensation got fainter, and he almost gave up when he walked by Nesta’s bedroom.

Cassian felt that panic rise within him once again. Felt that sensation of dread and helplessness knock him with full force. Without thinking, he opened her door, all reason flying out of his head to knock or call her from outside. Once inside, the first thing he notice was how cold the room was. She had not lit the fireplace, but it for sure was not due to lack of firewood. Why had she chosen to bury herself under multiple fur blankets then?

Second thing he took notice of was that said blankets had been thrown to the floor. And that Nesta was painting, fists tightly closed beside her body.

“Nesta...” Cassian breathed, slowly approaching the bed. He could see her eyes moving frantically under eyelids. The sensation was stronger now, threatening to consume him. He could not imagine how Nesta felt. Tried not to think why he also felt it.

“No...get away...” she murmured feverishly in her sleep “Take me. Take me instead”

Cassian smelled smoke, and he realised that Nesta’s fists were burning the sheets were they touched, her skin damp with sweat.

“Ness....” Cassian knew that you should not wake up someone when they were having a nightmare, not when they were letting their power lose. That indicated that the person had lost all sensation of reality and imagination, and could hurt whoever approached them. But Cassian could not see her suffering and just do nothing.

Gently, he kneeled beside her bed, and tentatively run his thumb across her forehead.

“You’re safe Nesta. Breath.” he murmured, bringing his other hand to her clenched fists, squeezing in reassurance, the fire around them not hurting him.

“It’s my fault...my fault” she whimpered, and sorrow and guilty hit Cassian just like earlier.

“Shhh.... Nobody can harm you” his thumb kept caressing her, trying to transmit comfort through his touch.

“I’m sorry...” she took a sharp breath, and Cassian could feel she tremble slightly.

“Nesta. Nesta.” he willed her hand to open, clutching it on his “Hush now xe r-endy, I’m here. Îebyr pe ixê.”

He kept talking in Illyrian, and she started to calm down, her breath coming in regularly and some tension leaving her body.

“That’s it sweetheart. You’re safe” Cassian tucked the blankets over Nesta, getting her comfortable.

“Cassian...stay” she grabbed his hand, eyes half open and laced with sleep, her strange and mysterious power faintly shinning on them.

“I will stay until you fall asleep” he replied.

And Cassian spent the rest of the night and early morning sitting on her bedroom floor. Holding her hand. And when the first of rays of sunlight appeared, he let go of her hand.

And he left Nesta’s room.

•

Tags: @sayosdreams @thewayshedreamed @sjm-things @perseusannabeth @arin1030-blog @caotica-e-quieta @vidalinav @swankii-art-teacher @ireallyshouldsleeprn @duskandstarlight @greerlunna @thegoddessaltenia @dayanna-hatter @verypaleninja @awesomelena555 @courtofjurdan @allilal

{Please let me know if you’d like to be added to my tag list.}

[immergladsss]

Moonacre Week 2021

Day 1: Zoom/Video Call

On AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31641653

“For next class, please read chapter 9 and be ready to discuss the social and political impact of the Norman Conquest on England—and don't forget, your essays are due this Friday. Have a wonderful day and stay safe!”

Maria watched, unblinking, as square after black square disappeared from the virtual ‘room’. Not even the professor had their camera on.

‘This meeting has been ended by the host.’

The zoom window finally closed.

Maria blinked.

4:56 pm read the time centered against the starlit wallpaper of her Mac book screen. She turned to look at her planner that was strewn over her bed.

No more classes for the day.

Maria fell back onto her bed with a groan. She rubbed her dry eyes, not caring one bit that she was smearing the little make-up she coaxed herself into putting on that morning.

“ 'Dress the part’ they said. ‘It'll make you feel normal’ they said,” Maria mumbled to herself.

She didn't feel normal, all she felt was drained. It was the start of her second year at university… and well over six months into a pandemic that showed no signs of stopping.

She raised her iphone. 4:57 pm. The locking screen was of her family. A picture taken the day of her nephew’s first birthday, December 2019. Georgie was centered in the picture, sitting between her uncle Benjamin and Loveday. Maria stood next to her uncle, leaning over his shoulder, while Ms. Heliotrope, their nanny, was by her side with an arm around her back. To Loveday’s other side was Loveday’s father, Mr. De Noir, and her brother, Robin.

Maria wiped her eyes with the hem of her t-shirt. It felt like an eternity since she last saw them. She missed them. Unlike her roommates, she didn’t move back home at the beginning of lockdown. She had just started an internship, one that was supposed to go well into the summer. Yet only 3 months later, she and the rest of the interns were dismissed, with promises to still receive full class credits.

With public transportation being the only way to get home, she didn’t want to risk her or her family’s safety. Yet day after day, her longing for home depressingly grew like the number of covid cases.

María turned on her side and clicked her laptop back on. She opened her FaceTime app and typed in Loveday’s name.

She propped herself on her elbow and began the call. As she waited, she grimaced at her disheveled appearance. Her red curls were in a messy bun, black mascara smeared around her eyes, her university-themed t-shirt was slipping over her shoulder. The very picture of a work-from-home student.

Lately, she and Loveday had begun a new game, ‘Fashion: Covid’. They would jokingly judge each other's "outfit”, as well as the rest of the family’s, as though they were judges on Project Runway or Next in Fashion. Maria smiled. She couldn't wait to see what Loveday would tease her about today.

“Maria!” A husky voice greeted, “It's been a while—”  

Her eyes flew open as she slammed her laptop shut.

She scrambled out of bed and ran to her bathroom, stumbling over her laptop’s charging cables. Maria washed her face with cold water and soap, doing nothing more than smearing her make-up.

“Oh bugger...” Maria pried open her mirror cabinet, spilling some products as she grabbed her make-up remover. ‘What was Robin doing at the Manor?’ Maria hastily squirted the remover onto the cotton ball, splashing some on her shirt and cursing under her breath. She scrubbed her eyes, ignoring the sting of the remover seeping in.

She rinsed off her face. Grabbing her hand towel, she rubbed her face dry, and ran back to her room, diving right into her bed.

She opened her laptop. 5:01 pm. ‘Crap’. she took longer than she intended. Maria redialed Loveday, hoping he would still be there.

“Maria, what happened?” Loveday answered the phone. Her blond curls were tucked into a fish-tail braid that draped over her shoulder. She was wearing her uncle’s faded brown jumper from his university days.

“Hi Loveday… sorry my internet went down for a bit. You know how it is.”

Loveday nodded with a frown. “Your face looks a bit red, are you running a fever?”

“No, I—”

“Fever?” She heard Ms. Heliotrope shriek from the back. Maria was startled as Loveday’s camera began to shake, before finally settling a bit too close to Ms. Heliotrope’s face.

“Oh, my goodness, Maria you’re red! I must go to you at once!”

“Ms. Heliotrope, I’m fine! I just washed my face.”

Ms. Heliotrope narrowed her eyes, bringing the phone so close to her face that Maria could only see her forehead.

“I don’t believe you. If I take a plane, I can be there by the end of the day.”

“Hang on! Look, I’ll prove it.” Maria climbed out of bed and pulled out the thermometer gun her family had sent in a care package. Sitting back down in front of the camera, she pointed the gun to her head.

Beep. 36 C.

“See, I’m healthy. Besides, it’s much too dangerous for you to travel.”

Ms. Heliotrope looked crestfallen, almost as though she wished she had a reason to be with Maria. “Hmm… Alright my dear. Make sure you check your temperature every day and report to us any symptoms. Please take care and let me know if you need anything! I love you and miss you dearly.”

“I will Ms. Heliotrope, I love and miss you too.” Maria waved goodbye as the phone was passed back to Loveday, but her uncle intercepted it, planting a quick kiss on Loveday’s head as he took the phone from her grasp.

“Maria,” came her uncle’s gruff voice. Even during a pandemic, he was dressed smartly with his hair neatly combed.  “How are you doing? Do you need anything?”

“Hello uncle, I'm alright, thank you though. The care package you sent is not yet half empty.”

“Good, good. Only say the word and I’ll go pick you up myself. We miss you.”

“I miss you too but it’s too risky.”

“It’s worth the risk if it's to have you back with us.”

Maria’s heart ached. “Thank you, uncle, I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

Finally, the phone was handed back to Loveday. “I’d ask how you were doing but it seems everyone’s done so already.” Loveday chatted away, telling Maria about how bored they’ve been.  How Marmaduke’s cooking expanded to include various intricate pastries and bread. She recounted with a laugh how only Wrolf and Georgie seemed to love their constant presence.  Though Maria laughed and nodded her head to Loveday’s words, her eyes kept darting to the background trying to see if she could spot him. Loveday grew quiet, she watched Maria with a raised brow and crooked smile, waiting to see how long until Maria noticed.

“Oh, er sorry Loveday, I don’t think I heard you. Were you waiting on my response?”

“Its alright, it seems you’re looking for someone else?”

“No, no…” Maria said sheepishly, “but earlier, Robin answered the phone. He’s back?”

“Yes love. He returned about a month ago but was quarantining at the castle. He’s now running errands and getting groceries for both of our families. I always offer to help, but he insists, and you know how he gets.”  Loveday bit her growing grin. “Do you want to talk to him? He’s playing with Georgie at the moment.”

“Sure, why not,” Maria tried to say nonchalantly. Though she never outright confessed to him, her childhood crush on Robin was no secret. But with four years her senior, Robin always brushed off any comments made about them, saying she was just his best friend. Once he compared her to a little sister. That one stung. Though Maria tried to grow out of it, even having a few boyfriends through her teens, that never stopped Loveday from trying to set them up.

The camera turned black momentarily before turning back on. They were in the parlor now. Robin was on the floor, playing with Georgie and his action figures. Maria’s heart warmed.

His hair was much longer and held up in a messy bun much like hers, though she hated to admit he looked better in it. He wore a black t-shirt with faded black ripped jeans. There were a couple of black and silver chain bracelets on his wrist.

“Oh Robiiin,” Loveday teasingly called. “Seems like someone misses and wants to talk to you.”

“Loveday stop playing!” Maria hissed under her breath, feeling her cheeks grow warm.

Robin jogged over to the phone with a merry grin on his face. Loveday flipped the camera back around, blew a kiss at Maria with a wink, and passed the phone to Robin.

“Hey,” Robin greeted. “Cleaned your face?”

“No!” Maria lied against the growing blush.

“It’s alright princess, not all of us can look as good as I did in smeared eyeliner.”

“Oh please, you mean that emo phase you went through?”

Robin stilled. The corners of his mouth turned up into a faint smile. He shut his eyes as he threw his head back and clutched Georgie’s toy like a microphone. “I got your picture! I'm coming with you! Dear Maria count me in!” Robin sang at the top of his voice.

“Oh god no! Not that song again! You were so annoying! I’ll hang up if you don’t stop right now!” Maria threatened through Robin’s laughter.

“It wasn’t a phase. It was a lifestyle! I’m thinking of bringing it back. Reckon I’ll look better with it now.”

“Ugh, your ego has grown along with your hair.”

“Wouldn’t yours too if you looked this good in a bun?”

“Please, I’ve seen better.”

“Oh yeah, name a few.”

“Chris Hemsworth, Ben Barnes, Jason Mamoa, Orlando Bloom, Timothée Chalamet—”

“Alright, alright, I get it. And please don’t get me started on that Chalemutwat. Such a sap, can’t believe that’s what girls are into nowadays.”

“You're just sore you don't fit the profile anymore. Face it Robin, the rock and leather days are long gone. It's all about k-pop and softbois now.”

“Softboys are just fuckboys with flowers in their hair,” Robin grumbled in disgust.

Maria snorted, thinking about the time he wore a flower crown for a May Day festival. “So, I heard you got back a month ago?”

Robin was walking out of the manor. She could see the setting blue sky and moving landscape in his background. “Yeah… The parks closed down. Figured it was time to come back home. I’m surprised you aren’t here.”

“Aww miss me?”

Robin shrugged his shoulders and looked away. “Want to see the gardens?” Robin flipped the camera, showing her around the manor grounds. As he walked her through, he talked of how covid affected his job. The craziness of people. How some thought escaping to the outdoors was the solution, only to end up trampling on preserved wildlife and littering about.

Maria had settled down, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand, she wore a wistful look across her face with a soft smile. Robin paused. His eyes focused on the screen, and he swallowed.

“Such a shame that happened to the park,” Maria said. “I’d be heartbroken if something like that happened to your forest.”

Robin cleared his throat, “Erm-yeah. Really annoying.” He forced his eyes back to the gardens as he continued on his way.

The camera stopped moving as he sat by a tree and flipped the camera back on him. 

“You got an earring?” Maria asked leaning closer to the screen.

“Yeah, was thinking about it for a while.”

“Ooh! Show it to me.”

He brought the phone close, it was a black stud, with a charm of a red feather.

“I like it.”

“Looks good on me, eh?”

“Bring that ego down a notch and then we’ll see. How’s your father, I’m guessing he had to stop with his falconry lessons?”

“Yes, we shut down the school temporarily. The castle feels lonely.”

“I’ve always wanted to learn.”

“Really? I’ll teach you when you get here.”

“Okay! Oh, I took up archery—Well before covid shut it down.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, I can teach you that!”

“Sounds like a deal,” Robin paused, “are you really not coming back soon?”

“Oh, I don’t know. What if lockdown ends?”

 “Don’t bet on it. Words going around it’ll be like this until the vaccine comes out. Give it another six months, maybe a year.”

“A year?”

“Yep.”

“Bloody hell.”

Robin frowned. “When did you start cursing?”

“I’ve learned a thing or two at uni. Even got drunk!” Maria said with a proud grin.

Robin’s face fell. “When was this? Who were you with?”

“Oh, lay off. You’ve gotten drunk plenty of times. Don’t forget about that time you broke your arm after trying to climb my tower.”

“That’s not the problem. You’re tiny. Were you with trusted people? Who took you home?”

“Relax birdboy, I was with friends. We went to a pub. I got tipsy, not black-out drunk. My roommates and I walked ourselves home. I didn’t even have a hangover. And I’m not tiny, I’m average.”

“Just barely,” Robin said with a snort though he seemed to relax back against the tree. “Never, ever, get drunk without someone you truly trust. And remember the pack rule. People are shifty.”

“I know, I know. I still remember your lesson before I left for school. Besides with this pandemic, doubt that’ll be happening anytime soon.” Maria told him about school. The weird things she’s seen on her classmate’s cameras. How everyone seemed to care less and less. She was over it all.  

“You should just come back to Moonacre. Study from here. Even my friends are back, they’ve been helping me fly the falcons.”

“The gangs back too? So not fair. I miss them,” Maria whined. “I want to, but it’s too dangerous. My uncle’s the only one working right now, and the upkeep of that old manor is so expensive. I can’t risk their health. If I could get home safely, I would be there in a heartbeat.”

Robin got pensive. “Alright. Well, hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

Maria rolled her eyes. “I just told you that’s not likely. I already feel bad enough as it is. Don’t rub it in.”  

Robin shrugged his shoulders, “Never say never. I should let you go now, it's late and Loveday’s phone is about to die.”

Maria pouted, surprised to see the clock in the corner of her screen read 8:47 pm. “Wow, we don’t speak for ages and you’re already wanting to hang up. I see how it is.”

Robin shook his head with a chuckle and a sad look across his eyes. “You know that’s not the case,” he said softly.

“I know. I’m only teasing. Good night Robin. I…I miss you.”

“Good night princess. I miss you too.”

The screen turned black. Instead of Robin’s face, she now sat staring at her own glum reflection.

8:49 pm.

She closed her laptop and stared at the photo collage above her desk. Pictures of her adventures with friends and family adorned the board. In the middle was one of her and Robin competing in a race at that May Day Festival. Still wearing the flower crown, Robin was giving her a piggyback ride. She was laughing.  They lost after Maria freaked out when a bee landed on a flower in front of her nose, causing Robin to trip. It was the last thing they did before her leaving to school.

Sitting back up, she opened up her essay and began to type. Wondering when she would see him and her family again.

…A few weeks later…

A resounding knock came from the door. Maria frowned. She hadn’t ordered dinner yet… It was probably some package getting delivered. Shrugging her shoulders, she went back to work, deciding to deal with it later... Until the knocking came again. Then her phone lit up. Maria glanced at the screen, wondering who could be calling: Robin.

[just-a-poor-boy-queen]

Part 4 of Jimercury Kid series

(Contains spanking of a child.)

It was unusual for Jim to allow anyone to accompany him with his gardening, mostly because it was something he held close to his heart, and he did a much better job without having someone else under his feet. But when Khaleel started making a habit of toddling out into the garden to watch him plant flowers or trim the hedges, he didn’t have the heart to shoo him away and instead began tutoring the little boy about the ins-and-outs of gardening, even investing in a little plastic trowel and bucket so Khaleel could practice planting his own flowers.

Of course, the garden still wasn’t 100% safe, despite them childproofing it as much as they could, and Jim made it very clear to his son that he was never to touch any of his gardening tools without permission. The koi pond had also been sectioned off with some rope, after Phoebe caught the little boy leaning vicariously over it to stare at the fish below the surface and had hastily grabbed him before he fell in face first. For the most part, Khaleel had been compliant with the rules concerning the garden. But, as with every toddler, it was only a matter of time before he ended up getting himself into trouble.

Jim had been busy planting a new flower bed when he heard the familiar scurrying footsteps of his son and seconds later, Khaleel’s little arms were wrapped around his leg, big blue-green eyes staring up at him hopefully.

‘Daddy cut flower, please.’ The child babbled, pointing towards the rose bush nearby.

It took Jim a moment to understand the boy’s request; Khaleel was aware of how much Freddie loved his flowers and often made a point of asking Jim to cut him a few of the Eden roses and remove the thorns so he could take them to his Baba. Freddie’s cry of delight always made the child elated.

‘Daddy will cut you some flowers in a minute, sweetheart.’ Jim replied, gently stroking Khaleel’s dark head of hair. ‘I just have a bit more work to do.’

Usually, Khaleel would nod and maybe hang around to watch his father work until he was ready to fulfil his request. But today, his bottom lip stuck out and he let go of Jim’s leg to cross his arms defiantly.

‘Want flowers now.’ He whined, tugging at Jim’s trousers, and pointing desperately to the roses.

‘No, Kenny.’ Jim responded gently, the boy’s nickname rolling off his tongue with great affection. It was Phoebe who had started calling him that and the name had stuck.

But Khaleel refused to relent. He tugged harder, starting to cry until Jim sighed and set his trowel down in the dirt. He was a far more patient man than Freddie was, but that didn’t mean he was about to tolerate a tantrum. He had no problem laying down the law when he needed to.

‘Khaleel Joseph Mercury-Hutton, I said no.’ He spoke firmly down to the little boy, refusing to be moved by the teary eyes. ‘Daddy will cut you some flowers when he’s finished with his work. Until then, why don’t you play with your bucket and spade?’

He had anticipated a screaming fit, but surprisingly, Khaleel let go of his trouser leg and toddled over to the plastic bucket and trowel that were sitting nearby, his fit seemingly forgotten. Relieved, Jim turned back to the patch of earth he had been working on and began scattering the seeds in the tiny, individual holes, before covering them. He turned around to locate his watering can when he was met with a sight that almost made his heart stop.

Khaleel was holding on to Jim’s gardening shears, which he had foolishly left sitting out on the grass in preparation for trimming the hedges after he was done with the flower bed. The little boy was struggling to open them, the blades pointed right towards his face and Jim’s life literally flashed before his eyes as he shot up and tore them out of the toddler’s hands before he took his eye out. Jim’s heart was beating so fast, he could hear it in his ears; once the fear had subsided, it was replaced with an overwhelming rage, and he threw the shears down as he approached his son in a few quick steps.

‘Don’t you ever, ever do that again!’ he roared, grabbing the little boy under his arms; before he even realised what he was doing, he had knelt on the grass, pulled Khaleel over his knee and delivered two swats to the seat of his pants.

He raised his hand to deliver a third swat, but suddenly came to his senses when he heard Khaleel crying loudly, his little hands flying behind him to protect his bottom as he sobbed, ‘no Daddy, please! I’m sorry!’

Jim could hardly process what had happened. He had hit his little boy. Not once, but twice. He felt sick.

He carefully lifted Khaleel off his knee and tried to put his arms around him, but his son immediately sped away towards the house until he disappeared through the conservatory door, sobbing. (1/3)

Jim honestly thought he was going to vomit. He sat down in the grass, head in his hands as his mind replayed the scenario over and over, torturing him. How could he have done it? He and Freddie had always agreed there would be no smacking, none whatsoever. How could he have lost his temper so badly that he’d hurt his own child?

Growing up in Carlow, he and his nine siblings would always receive a good smack when they were naughty. Hell, he’d be lucky if he only got a few swats with the hand – his father preferred to use a slipper or a wooden spoon for punishments. He never resented his parents for their discipline; he always knew they loved him and that’s just how it was back then, especially with such a big family to take care of. There were times when he’d been leathered so hard, he couldn’t sit for days, but he had turned out alright, hadn’t he?

Clearly not, he thought to himself.

No doubt Freddie had had a similar upbringing, as boarding schools were notorious for their rather brutal methods for discipline. But while Jim had convinced himself that such treatment hardened you and made you a stronger person, Freddie believed it caused nothing but pain and fear. It didn’t matter whether it was a tanning with a belt or a soft swat with the hand – striking a child in any kind of fashion was wrong through the Persian’s eyes.

Speak of the Devil, no less than five minutes later Jim heard a door slam and turned to see Freddie storming across the lawn, looking so angry that Jim would have dropped dead right there if looks could kill.

‘What the fuck have you done?’ His husband yelled as soon as he was close, finger prodding aggressively at Jim’s chest. ‘Khaleel came into the lounge crying his eyes out, saying you smacked him!’

Jim had seen Freddie angry before, but in this moment the other man was positively murderous. He held up his hands defensively. ‘He wanted me to cut some flowers for you and got upset when I asked him to wait. So, he grabbed my garden shears, even though I’ve told him never to touch them. I was terrified he was going to hurt himself, so-’

‘So, you hurt him instead?’

The garden fell silent. Jim opened his mouth, then instantly closed it. Freddie was right. There was no way he could defend this, no matter how much his stupid brain tried to justify it.

‘I-it was just a smack, Freddie. It was over his trousers, he probably barely felt it-’

‘That’s not the point!’ Freddie shouted, stamping his foot. ‘Your son is in there scared out of his wits, thinking his father now hates him! We agreed that we’d never hit him, Jim. You promised!’

‘I didn’t hit him, I smacked him.’

‘There’s no difference and you know it!’ Freddie was in tears, fists clenched, face red with anger. ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this! If this is how you plan to treat our child, you can pack your bags and get out right now, and you’ll never see Khaleel again!’

The colour drained out of Jim’s face as he heard those words and for a moment, he thought he might faint. Even Freddie seemed shocked and covered his mouth, as if hoping he could take back what he said. There was a long pause as they took a moment to calm down, their breathing long and laboured.

‘I…I didn’t mean that.’ Freddie eventually stammered. ‘I would never take Khaleel away from you, I swear. But we agreed, Jim. We agreed we’d never smack him, no matter how naughty he is. You promised.’

‘I know…’ Jim was ready to cry himself and he covered his face, ‘I’m so sorry, Freddie. I just… I was so scared, and I lost my temper. But you’re right, there’s no excuse for what I did. Jesus Christ, I’m a monster.’

Freddie reached up and removed Jim’s hands from his eyes, his anger having dissipated. ‘You’re not a monster. You’re a father who loves his son and made a stupid mistake in the heat of the moment. God knows, we’ve all made mistakes, Jim.’

The Irishman looked so miserable that Freddie leaned in and quickly kissed his lips, ‘come on. We should go and have a little chat with Khaleel.’

‘I don’t think I can face him.’ Jim said quietly.

‘Nonsense. He loves you and he’ll forgive you.’ He took Jim’s hand and slowly led him back towards the house. (2/3)

When Jim entered the kitchen, he noticed Khaleel sitting at the table with Phoebe, who had managed to distract him with some raw cookie dough which was the boy’s favourite treat. As soon as he saw Jim, Khaleel’s eyes widened slightly and he shuffled off his chair to go and hide behind Phoebe, breaking Jim’s heart as he looked up at him in fear.

Freddie gave Jim an encouraging glance and Jim squatted down to his knees. ‘Kenny? Kenny, sweetheart, please come here.’

The little boy hesitated, glancing up at Uncle Phoebe for approval, before running over to his daddy and wrapping his arms around his neck, burying his face into the grubby material of Jim’s overalls.

‘Sorry, Daddy.’ Khaleel whimpered, hanging on so tightly it was a miracle he didn’t strangle the man. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’

Jim bit his lip in an effort not to start bawling like a baby. He held his son close, gently swaying back and forth to soothe him. ‘I’m sorry too, sweetheart. Daddy shouldn’t have done what he did. I’m so, so sorry, Khaleel. I love you so much and I’ll never smack you again. I promise.’

‘I love Daddy.’ Khaleel mumbled back and he actually giggled as Jim started to place kisses on his cheeks, Jim’s moustache tickling his soft, delicate skin.

Freddie watched his two favourite boys with a fond smile as the pair reconciled. Being parent wasn’t easy, but he and Jim were learning every day. (3/3)

(Eh, this wasn’t my best work, and I wasn’t sure how to end it, but I hope you like it anyway.)

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First of all, I hope you're doing well, anon. All my love and hugs to you🧡

Secondly, omg what are you talking about? This is BRILLIANT and my heart I love this fictional little baby so much🥺

Smacking as a punishment is no doubt a sensitive topic, especially in the context of Freddie's life, and I think you dealt with it beautifully. The other day I saw a discussion about Freddie and Jim's possible difference in views regarding smacking, and I loved how you have incorporated that aspect. It feels very real.

And oof, Jim being so heartbroken after smacking his baby, and Freddie's (expected) reaction... my heart. Another tiny detail that I loved was how you made Freddie kind of expel Jim from the house whilst being engaged in a heated argument. We know this happened multiple times, with Freddie realising his mistake sooner or later. It was a nice authentic touch, character wise. But of course, in this series they're parents so he came to his senses pretty early. It's possible that with time, the real life Freddie may have stopped being so rash too, or at least may have pleaded with Jim to come back sooner, lol.

Anyway, I absolutely loved this part. I loved the reconciliation between Jim and Khaleel, and also the fact that the toddler is so comfortable with Phoebe. I mean, of course he would be, but it was nice to see.

Lovely drabble as always, anon. Thank you for writing!

Also, someone sent a prompt for you. If you have the time, they'd really appreciate you writing on it💙