#and is so smug and casual about all of the dirt she knows

[tequiilasunriise]

Wenclair’s dynamic is so silly because they’re BOTH little freaks in their own ways like:

Wednesday, on the ground and bleeding out: Enid… Enid, stop your useless crying. My torso is already bleeding enough, no need for my ears to j-join in

Enid, holding her close: SHUT UP WILLA YOURE DYING

Bianca, being the rational one: What’s your blood type, Addams?

Wednesday: B negative

Enid, cradling Wednesday’s body even closer to her: IM TRYING NOT TO WEDNESDAY WAHHH DW I’LL AVENGE YOU!! THIS KITTY WILL SHRED EM UP WAAAHHH-!!!

✨Meanwhile✨

Yoko, trying to keep Enid awake: C’mon mutt, stay with me! Quick, what’s your type?

Enid, delirious from blood loss: Fuck, uh… dark hair, beautifully piercing eyes, a dry sense of humor with a thousand sharp knives-

Yoko, furiously shaking Enid’s limp body: NO YOU GAYASS! YOUR BLOOD TYPE!

Enid: O-oh… *glances down at all of her cuts* uh… red?

Yoko, stepping away from Enid: Yep, you’re dead now-

Wednesday, BUSTING in with arms full of medical supplies and blood bags: And you people told me memorizing everyone’s records was a bad idea

Yoko: Because it IS- you know what? Fuck it, just save your girlfriend already

[lanadelnegan]

The Feeling Was Mutual

Jeffrey Dean Morgan x Female Reader

Summary: You and your former friend and co-star, JDM, pick up where you left off years ago when he joins you on set of TWD. Starting with a dinner date and ending with a quickie in the elevator. Warnings: smut, 18+, unprotected public sex, heavy touching and kissing, angst, sexual tension, *Jeffrey is single

Requested by anon <3

Your heart thumped in your ears when the RV doors opened and the gorgeous man you hadn't seen in 10 years stepped out. You tried to stay in character, purposely replacing your googly heart eyes with fearful ones. You studied his every move, noting the new silver streaks in his hair and beard. His voice was deeper than you remembered and his waist skinnier, but it was a nice look on him.

For the past decade, you've avoided him, focusing on your acting career and pushing your growing feelings for him aside. Things were different now. You were both more mature and further along in your careers. And single. From what you last heard. Not that you were checking up on him.

"Eeny. Meeny. Miny. Moe."

When the end of the barbed-wire bat came dangerously close to the tip of your nose, your eyes finally locked with his. His smug gaze softened and for a moment, you thought he was about to break character. A grin threatened to tug at the corner of your mouth, but you mentally pushed it aside, breaking eye contact to stare at the ground. His smirk grew wider before he walked away from you, continuing his impressive opening speech.

"Cut. Amazing! Let's take a break." Your fellow actors stood to their feet, wiping the dirt off their knees and laughing amongst each other. You did the same, glancing at Jeffrey across the set before grabbing a drink of water. He was busy getting to know the others as they welcomed him to his first day on set.

Your back was turned away from him as you took a sip of your water. You hated yourself for being this shy in front of him, purposely stalling on greeting him with the rest of the cast. There was a time he was one of your closest friends but now you only saw him on social media, occasionally dropping a comment on one of his new posts and him returning the gesture.

"Not gonna go say hi to the new guy?" Norman teased.

"Eventually. You?"

"Met him earlier. Seems like a nice dude."

"Yeah, he's -"

"Walking over here." Norman said quietly, giving you a subtle heads up. Your eyes widened as he tilted his chin up at Jeffrey. "Man, that was awesome. Making us all look bad." Norman joked, earning a chuckle from the tall man next to you.

Jeffrey's hazel eyes quickly skimmed over you before settling on your own. "Hey stranger."

You rolled your eyes, playing off your ridiculous grin as he brought you in for a hug. You were always attracted to him, but this new him did something to you. He looked taller somehow. More confident.

"You know each other?" Norman asked.

Jeffrey rambled off to Norman about the movies you made together while you half listened, too busy soaking in his handsome features and the way the corner of his mouth tilted slightly when he spoke.

"And then, one day, she just.. ghosted me." He said jokingly, bringing his hand to his chest like it pained him.

You felt heat quickly rise to your cheeks. "I dunno if that's what happened." You said casually, hoping he'd drop it. Of course you weren't that lucky.

"You stopped returning my calls and texts. I'd say that's.. exactly what happened." Jeffrey tilted his head at you, resting his hands loosely on his hips.

"Well, you guys enjoy your reunion." Norman interrupted, patting Jeffrey's shoulder before walking away.

"What the hell was that?"

"Wasn't a lie." He shrugged, sipping his can of coca-cola.

"So that's how it's gonna be? You haven't seen me in a decade and you want to start it like this?"

He made a satisfied sigh, swallowing his drink. "This is awkward because of you, darlin'. Not me."

You scoffed. With his new found confidence, he was also apparently an asshole. You turned to walk away but he was on your heels.

"Y/n, wait."

You ignored the loud sigh he made.

"Y/n. Stop, can we just talk?"

You turned to face him, opening your mouth to say something, but quickly realized how close your face was to his. Your mind wandered back to one of the first scenes you shot with him - a kissing scene that involved lots of heavy touching. As if reading your mind, his eyes dropped to your lips then quickly back to your eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said genuinely. "Let's start over. You look.. really great."

"So do you. I.. I missed you." You stepped back a couple inches, allowing some space between you so others wouldn't stare.

"How about we get dinner tonight and catch up?"

You thought for a moment then nodded slightly. "Okay, yeah. That sounds nice."

Later that night...

You decided to keep it casual and eat at the restaurant at the hotel you were both staying at. This was just a friendly outing after all. You had to remind yourself of that a few times while getting ready, keeping your makeup light and your outfit nice but definitely not overdressed.

Your phone buzzed just as you were stepping off the elevator. Digging it out of your purse, you smiled at the name on the screen. You were surprised his number was still saved. And that he clearly still had yours.

JD: Got us a table outside in the back.

The nickname for him in your phone stuck after the filming of a show you did together. JD Richter. You smiled to yourself as you walked, remembering a particular scene you shot together that consisted of a king-sized bed and his body hovering over yours. His lips exploring your neck and collarbone. It was your favorite scene you ever shot with him, for obvious reasons. Partly because of the kissing, but mostly because of the way he whispered your name in your ear while on top of you. You real name, not your character name - so quietly that only the two of you could hear it. Shortly after that scene, your friendship grew apart and it was all your fault. He was right, you had ghosted him - stupidly. But tonight you'd make up for it.

You made your way through the restaurant, finding the door to the back patio. The sun was starting to disappear, but the patio was outlined in greenery and warm sting lights.

He stood when he saw you, pulling out a chair beside him. "You don't have to pull my chair out. This isn't a date." You half teased as you both settled into your seats.

"So there's no chance I'm getting lucky tonight? Shit. I wore my fancy underwear and everything."

Your laughs echoed across the patio, slowly fading when the waiter finally approached. After ordering a bottle of wine and a couple of appetizers to share, you took turns catching each other up on the past decade of your lives. He had been in two semi-serious relationships, one of which was fairly recent.

"The last one, I thought for awhile she might have been the one, but then it just didn't feel right."

"What happened?" You asked curiously, sipping your wine.

He hesitated for a moment. "When I got the call about the Negan gig... I broke up with her shortly after that."

"Choosing your career over your love life?" You chuckled like the idea was ridiculous.

"Sound familiar?" He raised an eyebrow at you.

Ouch. He was right.

"I deserve that." You nodded, popping a pretzel bite in your mouth. "But.. why after you got the Negan call?"

"I - uh.." He hesitated again. "Knew I was about to see you again."

You blushed, feeling his knee brush against yours underneath the table.

"Look y/n, I know you don't wanna talk about it. But I need to know. Why'd you stop answering my calls?"

You knew that question was coming.

The truth is, you needed to focus on your career. You were barely a known actress at the time, and Jeffrey had already made a name for himself. When you started developing feelings for him, you knew you had to distance yourself. You wanted to be known for your work, not your love life.

"Fine. I.. I had feelings for you. That I didn't want to have." You admitted, ignoring his gaze and taking a bite of chocolate cake you were sharing for dessert.

"You should have told me." He said, casually wiping a dab of icing from the corner of your mouth with his thumb. You blushed when he brought it to his own mouth and sucked it off with a quick pop.

"I didn't know if you felt the same way."

"So you preferred never speaking to me again?"

Guilt punched you in the stomach and you felt like the worst person in the world. "No. I made a mistake. And when I realized it, I figured it was too late. You already had a girlfriend." You couldn't believe you were finally saying all of this out loud.

He nodded, deep in thought. "Okay."

"Okay? ...That’s all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say, y/n?” He asked, avoiding eye contact and signing the tab.

That you had feelings for me too. That the feeling was mutual. That I made a mistake and we should have been together.

“It’s getting late, we should probably head back.” You said instead.

The walk back to your rooms was silent with the exception of him asking what floor you were on. You stared at him as he leaned back against the elevator wall, sliding his hands in his jean pockets. He stared back at you and you wondered what he was thinking, but stubbornly, you weren't going to be the one to speak first. When the elevator doors opened, he motioned for you to lead the way, so you did until you came to a stop at your door.

"Well, thanks for dinner. It was nice." You finally spoke, annoyed that you lost at your little silent game.

He nodded. “Yeah. Any time.”

You opened your mouth again to speak but he was already walking away. “JD.” He stopped, looking back at you over his shoulder.

Come inside. Stay with me. Let's do what we should have done a long time ago.

"...goodnight." You said instead.

"Night, y/n." He disappeared down the hall and you drifted into your room, disappointed and frustrated with yourself.

You kicked off your clothes, replacing them with your favorite silky night gown before falling into bed defeatedly. You closed your eyes, still feeling a buzz from the half bottle of wine you finished.

Imagining Jeffrey on top of you and whispering in your ear, your hand slipped between your legs. You easily rubbed your clit, considering your panties were on the floor with your other discarded clothes.

You were growing hotter by the second until your phone chimed from the nightstand. You sighed, picking it up and squinting at the bright screen.

JD: The feeling was mutual.

Your heart flipped at his confession and you jumped out of bed. You didn't bother slipping on shoes as you flung open your door. You took one step around the corner and immediately slammed into his tall figure.

"Oh.. hey.. I was just.." You rambled nervously, suddenly losing your courage.

"Me too." He said, slamming his mouth to yours and pressing you against the carpeted hallway wall.

He tasted like wine and chocolate cake, mixed with a hint of tobacco. The flavor alone enough to make your knees weak. He devoured your mouth and tangled his tongue with yours until you were breathless. Pulling away slightly, his mouth dipped to your neck, tracing his lips against your sensitive flesh. Your hand reached for his hair while the other wrapped around his wrist and guided it towards your soaked center.

He stopped suddenly, pulling away and looking at you. "Fuck, we can't do this." He ran a hand through his tousled hair.

"Oh.." You said, cheeks flushed. "Right.."

"Here. Someone could see us." He clarified. You exhaled a breath of relief as he guided you quickly to your room, placing his hand on your lower back.

"Oh no.." You panicked slightly, realizing your room key was on the other side of your door.

"Fuck. Come on." He led you to the elevator and luckily you didn't have to wait long before the doors opened and you stumbled inside the small space. His lips were on yours again as he clumsily pressed the button to his floor.

"I don't think I can wait another second to be inside of you." He said against your mouth, running his hand up your thigh and feeling your bare pussy. His finger slid through your wetness. "Fuck baby.."

"Then don't." You fumbled with the belt on his jeans. Pressing his forehead to yours, he helped you quickly unbuckle him.

You almost moaned at the sight of his cock when he pulled it free from his pants. He was rock hard and already leaking precum. Before you could admire it any longer, he lifted one of your legs around his hip and held it there, guiding his length to your slick hole. You were so wet and ready for him, you wouldn't be surprised if you were making a puddle all over the elevator floor.

He rubbed the head up and down your slit, coating his cock in your juices before stopping at your entrance.

"If you want to take this slow, we can."

You shook your head no, eager for him to be buried deep in your cunt already.

"You sure? I could take you back to your room.." He whispered in your ear. "And eat this pretty pussy before I fuck it."

"JD.." You almost yelled. "Please just -"

He pushed forward suddenly, entering you hard with one full thrust and stretching your walls perfectly. Your mouth fell open as he pressed fully against you, his cock buried so deep in your cunt it was almost painful. He let out a hoarse groan before sloppily kissing you again.

"Fuck, doll. You feel fuckin' good."

His hips began moving slowly, allowing you to focus on every inch of him. The elevator door opened for a few moments but he didn't stop. Luckily no one was on the other side and it finally closed.

His movements quickened and the moans from both of you filled the small space. You didn't care that someone was probably watching from the other end of the camera in the corner. Or that you could be caught at any moment and end up trending on the internet. You were too focused on each other. At how amazing he felt inside of you, like his cock was made for you.

"Oh god, fuck. I'm-" You couldn't finish your sentence before your pussy clenched around him and your legs shook beneath you. He watched you, his eyelids heavy as he felt his own release coming.

Suddenly the floor felt like it was falling from under you when the elevator started to descend.

"JD.." You said panicked, trying to push him away. But his grip tightened around your thigh and he continued thrusting, faster.

"JD..!"

Jeffrey stilled, letting out a couple of sharp grunts before spilling his load inside of you. "Fuck.. fuck." He pulled out of you quickly, stepping to the other side of the elevator and zipping himself up in his jeans. He held his wrists over his unclasped belt buckle as the doors began to open.

One would never be able to tell you just fucked.

Besides your flushed cheeks.

And his messy hair.

And the handprint on your thigh.

And the heavy breathing.

And-

The doors slowly departed, revealing Norman standing on the other side.

Oh fuck.

He squinted, eyeing you both suspiciously as he grinned, long enough for the doors to begin to close.

"I'll catch the next one." He said before they shut completely.

You couldn't help but giggle. "Oh my god.. you think he knew?"

Jeffrey took a step towards you, placing his hand on your lower back and pulling you towards him. "Probably. Especially if he noticed my cum running down your legs."

[findafight]

god i love when fics have steve experiencing insane things but being nonchalant about it bc he thinks it's normal when it absolutely is not. i like to think there have been multiple instances where other guys have been like psychosexually obsessed w steve so when billy starts acting like that steve's just like "ugh again?" like imagine if when he's dating eddie he's just casually like "god isn't it so annoying when other guys get like aggressively obsessed w you and stare at you all the time?" and eddie is sitting there chanting wtf in his head wondering how steve is a real human.

Ya I think it'd be very funny if kinda very strange things happen to Steve and he figures that it's just a normal thing. He'll be sitting around with people like hey y'all ever think about when you and your friends would dig a big hole and pretend to bury someone alive and hold a funeral for them and then they'd go home and tell your parents you died in the woods? When your mom ran into the forest she found you covered in flowers and dirt staring at the sky thinking about how cool it'd be to decompose into the ground she cried and it was probably the first time you saw a grown up cry? And every one is like uhhhhh no. Our friends did not actually fake our death semi successfully and scare our parents??? And he goes oh. Huh. Weird!

my HC is Robin is Steve first similar age friend that has not wanted to fuck him since eighth grade. This is funny because she has also never been normal about him. No one has ever been normal about Steve.

I think it's also very funny that Billy teamed up with Tommy, who you know has never been normal about Steve in his life. Like maybe when Steve was in middle school there was a guy who also was weirdly obsessed with Steve except he and Tommy viciously hated each other. Like straight up brawling and crying about it and Steve is there like what the fuck are you doing??? And Carol beside him just shaking her head going uhg Steve they're being gross let's leave.

But Tommy and Billy...They sniffed each other out or something idk how but they found each other and were obsessed with Steve together in a toxic positive feedback loop. And poor Steve is sitting here like "uhg 😑 Still? Another one? Why does this keep happening?" As though it's a completely regular occurrence. Bro. Buddy. What is your life actually.

Eddie finding out about this history and he's just like. No. Steve. I do not know what it's like to have men stare at me with thinly disguised lust?? But also keeping to himself that he was ALSO obsessed with Steve. He's like oooh my god. I'm not the only one?? The one thing I have in common with Tommy Hagan and Billy Hargrove is our weird obsession with Steve? What kinda world...

Except he's also immensely smug about it because yeah other guys have been obsessed with Steve. It seems to be a Hawkins right of passage for their age group. But Eddie actually got him. He fucking won.

[chat--blanc]

Poolside Blues

Rating: T Warning tags: Mention of past torture, experiencing a panic attack and aquaphobia.

He didn’t know why he agreed to come along. It took nearly three days' worth of constant nagging and pestering from Amy for him to crack. She had insisted that he come along with all their friends to the small community pool for some ‘fun under the sun’ as she put it. Sonic gave her a condition: he would come as long as he didn’t have to step a foot into the water. As exasperating as she thought he was being, she agreed to his terms.

Sonic let out a long dramatic sigh as he shifted a small pool tote to his other arm. He walked alongside his partner, Shadow, who carried a separate tote bag with towels and small snacks for Sonic as well as some adventure books so he wouldn’t get bored at the pool. They walked down the dirt path, getting closer to the small community pool. Supposedly Amy had rented it out for the day for all of them.

“You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want to.” Shadow stated flatly, there was no malice in his tone, he simply was stating the obvious. Sonic trudged his feet beside him, he looked at Shadow. Long slender legs wore red swim trunks and his gaze went up to see a toned stomach, trailing over soft chest fur up to piercing ruby eyes. He smiled softly to himself.

“Yeah, I know but FOMO and all that, am I right?” He quipped playfully, arms resting behind his long cobalt quills.

“FO what?” Shadow looked quizzically, slightly miffed. Sonic chuckled lightly and grabbed Shadow’s free hand, lacing fingers together. He felt Shadow squeeze his hand lightly, a comforting gesture they shared often to convey that they were present and there for each other.

“Means fear of missing out, like you might miss out on something fun or awesome.” he said casually. His counterpart hummed in response, thinking it was a silly saying. They walked closer, arms brushing against one another, a playful nudge here and there.

When they arrived at the community pool they were greeted by friends. Tails whammed into his brother’s arm the second he had a chance, nearly knocking the hero down.

“Woah! Good to see ya too, lil bro.” Sonic laughed as he ruffled fluffy yellow bangs. Tails smiled a toothy grin as he playfully swatted the offending hands.

“Same goes for you! I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on next time you’re free.” He beamed.

“Ohhh, still modifying the Tornado or is it something different?” He inquired, his signature smirk written on his face. Tails flicked his namesake excitedly.

“Well both I guess, I’ll tell you later about it. I’m sure Amy and Knuckles wanna say hi too. Hi Shadow, how are you?” he waved and smiled warmly at him.

“Doing well, are the rest of my team here?” he asked calmly.

“I think only Rouge could make it, said something about Omega preferring to destroy practice dummies in the training grounds.” The fox stated. Shadow gave a curt nod and walked past the two to greet Rouge. Sonic watched him go, he couldn’t help but stare.

“I’m surprised you actually came to the pool, Sonic.” the little fox said with a hint of smugness his hands resting on his hips. The two walked over to the lawn chairs close to the fence a few feet from the pool and sat down.

“Yeah well, Amy asked and you know how she is.” He said as he leaned back in his lawn chair. He gazed at the pool and saw Cream and Cheese playing in the shallow end. He smiled and waved at the two who eagerly waved back and continued to play.

“Yeah, I get that.” Tails laughed softly. “So I know there’s no way in chaos that you’re gonna swim, so what are you doing?” He asked. Sonic shimmied in his tote for his book.

“Just gonna read for a bit before we all sit and have lunch, Shadow got me this new book about a wandering hero chao, talk about way past cool!” He proudly showed the cover to his little brother who awed at it. They chatted for a bit more until Tails decided to head to the pool. Sonic scanned the area and his gaze landed on Shadow who seemed to be very deep in discussion about something with Rouge and Knuckles. They stood in the shallow end of the pool. He wondered what they could be talking about, for all he knew it could have been about the chaos emeralds which wouldn’t be surprising. Rouge had quite an obsession with beautiful gems, Shadow was chaos-gifted and Knuckles was the guardian of the Master Emerald. He hummed to himself.

“Sitting all by yourself huh?” a soft voice spoke beside him, he turned his gaze and saw his dear friend Amy. She beamed at him, wearing a white polka-dotted red one-piece with a small frilly skirt.

“It’s cool, I was just gonna read. Blaze couldn’t make it?” he asked as she sat in the chair next to him. 

“No, she had princess duties to attend to today, but that’s okay.” She sighed wistfully. They both watched their friends, Tails, and Cream were splashing around with Cheese. Meanwhile Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles headed farther into the pool. Slowly wading in as Rouge continued to converse with the two. 

“Being a royal must be tough, huh?” He asked, making small talk. Amy nodded but wasn’t at all melancholy about it.

“Yeah, but I’m proud of her for it. I’m going to swim with the others, I hope you enjoy your book, we’ll get you when it’s time to eat.” She smiled and waved goodbye. He waved back and settled himself on the lawn chair, resting against it as he opened to a quarterway through the book to read. The sun shone brightly and the cool July breeze swept through. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, completely relaxing in his seat.

The sun beamed high above, splashes and laughter could be heard. At some point Shadow let himself drift to the side of the pool, floating freely but his arms crossed and resting on the concrete. His eyes closed as he just soaked the warmth in from his dark fur. Rouge had left the pool some time ago but wandered towards Shadow, two drinks in hand. She sat at the edge of the pool, dipping her feet in and then her calves, next to Shadow’s head. Feeling the water ripple around him and the shifting of the bat as she sat down, he raised his head from his arms and glanced at her. She handed him a drink.

“What’s this?” he inquired, taking it from her, it had a purple mini umbrella above a colorful pink smoothie.

“Strawberry and banana smoothie, thought you might like to give it a try.” Rouge stated as she sat down with her own drink. Shadow nodded thanks and took a sip, he hummed his approval, he rested his back against the wall of the pool beside Rouge.

“So how have things been with you and Blue?” she asked casually, sipping her drink. Shadow gave off a very small smile. 

“Pretty well, actually.” he states contently.

“You’re not gonna go into detail?” She croons, he shakes his head, a notable smug smirk.

“That’s so like you to not go into specifics, well as long as you two are happy.” she chortles. 

She’s quick to cover her face with her outstretched wing from a small splash led by small giggles from the younger members of the group. 

Shadow however wasn’t as fortunate and his quills and fur became soaked, even his beautiful fluffy chest fur was flattened down by water. He whipped his head around quickly to find Tails and Cream roaring with laughter a few feet away. He even noticed that Sonic was lightly chuckling before going back to his book. Shadow huffed playfully and he splashed back, not as forceful. Cream squealed with delight as Cheese soared above her mischievously.

Tails and Cream put their arm lower in the water to create a bigger wave as they whisked their arms forward. Shadow shielded his face instinctively and splashed back in playful retaliation. This went on for a few minutes until Shadow thought of an idea. Using his chaos energy, he aimed his chaos blast at the water in front of him and it made a fifteen-foot-tall wave, Cream and Tails squealed in delight but as the wave came crashing down outside of the pool, Shadow felt a pit of dread in his stomach as he watched it crash in the direction of the beach chairs. Where Sonic sat peacefully. 

It happened so quickly, the poor cobalt hedgehog felt a harsh cold smack over his entire body. His quills puffed and sharpened and he flattened himself rigidly against the chair, eyes wide in terror as he inhaled sharply. He coughed and hacked a few times, eyes glazed over in fear.

Shadow quickly waded over to the other side of the pool, fumbling out apologies, trying to defuse the situation but Sonic couldn’t hear anything, he was shaking so violently that he scrambled to get up, dropping his soaked book in the process with a harsh splat. The blue blur sped out of the gated pool area so fast that Shadow had barely made it out of the pool. Everyone began to voice out their concerns and worry but Shadow didn’t listen, he was too focused on the speedster that left, He haphazardly put his skates on and yanked a towel off of one of the chairs that managed to avoid the wave.

“I’ll handle it, stay here.” he stated sternly and skated off. He wasn’t sure which way he took off but he wouldn’t stop until he found him. He zig-zagged through the woods, peering through the brush and foliage, it wasn’t long until he found blue at the base of a big tree.

Sonic sat down, back quills scraped against the tree as he quietly hyperventilated into his knees.

Shadow felt dreadful, he should have thought his actions through, he shouldn’t have let himself get carried away like that and now his lover was suffering the consequences of his actions. He needed to approach this carefully, Sonic wasn’t always rational when panicked. He knew of his fear of water but had never really known the extent of it, he wished that he didn’t have to see it firsthand, it was such a heart-wrenching thing to witness. 

Shadow appeared in front of him, purposefully rustling the bushes to announce his presence.

“Sonic? Can you hear me?” Shadow carefully crouched in front of the frightened hog, who still was clutching his legs tightly, breathing heavily into his knees, eyes squeezed shut tight. His ears were pinned against his head and his body was wracked with shivers. No doubt from fear and the damp quills and fur of his body chilling him to the bone in the shade of the trees. Hesitant hands reached but stalled, uncertain of how to proceed, how to comfort. 

Sonic’s breathing became more erratic, choking back, he threw his head back slightly, his own hands reaching for his throat. He was struggling to regulate his breathing and Shadow took action. With cautious handling, Shadow gently grasped Sonic’s wrists and pulled them to his chest. He smoothed his lover’s palm flat against his heart and drew him close to his body, shushing him soothingly, pulling Sonic against his chest. A blue ear flicked against a soft fluffy chest, searching for a beat he didn’t know he wanted. Shadow shuffled close to the tree, leaning his side against the bark, as Sonic curled instinctively closer to him, seeking his warmth and gentle touches. He gently stroked through cobalt quills that grew lax with each touch. His breathing began evening out slowly over time as Shadow whispered simple soothing phrases, softly peppering kisses against his forehead.

Sonic practically melted, deflating against a strong cobalt body, nuzzling his nose into downy soft chest fur. 

Shadow internally breathes a sigh of relief, glad that his instincts led him correctly. They sat like that for quite some time. Minutes had passed, maybe even half an hour.

Sonic scooched closer and began to fiddle with Shadow’s inhibitor rings, feeling rather awkward. The weight of what just transpired finally settled in. Sure they had been dating for a while but he never thought he’d embarrass himself like that in front of Shadow of all people, he felt his cheeks grow rosy.

“I-I’m sorry you had to see that…” Sonic mumbled bashfully, averting his gaze as best as he could. Shadow couldn’t help but chuff playfully.

“There is nothing to be sorry about, I’m the one who's sorry, I- I should have been more careful. I had no idea your fear of water was this bad, you shouldn’t need to feel as if you have to hide this side of you. We’re partners.” He spoke softly, leaving a small peck at the base of his ear, it twitched from the ticklish display. Sonic hummed and pressed a chaste kiss against the nape of his neck.

“Although… the reaction I saw today, there was more to it, wasn’t there?” Sonic froze, his eyes blanked and Shadow realized his misstep.

“Forgive me, you don’t need to answer that if you’re not comfortable.” He backtracked. Sonic sat up a bit and huffed softly.

“No no, it’s- it’s fine. It’s just not something I’ve ever really told anyone… but I don’t mind telling you… if that’s okay?” He couldn’t help but hesitate, unsure. Shadow gave him a nod of reassurance and Sonic exhaled shakily.

“W-well I’ve never been a fan of water, I can’t swim. Obviously.” He chuckled awkwardly as he rested his head against his white chest fur again.

“But- my time on the… Death Egg wasn’t very helpful either.” He began to fidget with the soft fluffy chest fur, anxious. Shadow furrowed his eyebrows, feeling a pit in his stomach with where this was going.

“They um… tortured me a lot and well waterboarding was…the most common.” He felt his voice begin to fizzle out, waver and his lip quivering back a small sob. He clung to Shadow, he didn’t really understand it but he felt shameful about it, afraid to look into his lover’s eyes. Afraid that he’d think less of him or that he was weak, he knew deep down he wouldn’t but the what-ifs always nagged at the back of his mind.

Shadow felt his blood turn cold. He knew that Sonic had endured a lot during those six months but seeing Sonic after those events, with his signature smirk and goofy behavior, he had just assumed he would be fine, had he been hiding all this the whole time? Would he need to suggest counseling? He wasn’t against the idea, he himself did it but would only offer if Sonic was interested. His mind swirled with worry for his boyfriend and rage towards Eggman and Infinite, all the ways he could make them pay for everything.

“Hey, I can hear you thinking from here, I’m okay now, that’s what matters.” Sonic smiled solemnly and sat up. He cupped Shadow’s face and kissed him deeply. Shadow held his hands and looked into his emerald eyes

“You know if you ever need to talk, I know that’s not something we’re very skilled at, but I’m here… if you need me. There are professionals to that I-” Shadow cleared his throat, a little embarrassed to admit he had a therapist.

“I attend therapy every now and then, if you’re interested I can help you with that.” Shadow shied a bit, holding hands as he lowered them down to their laps. Sonic squeezed them in return and smiled softly.

“We can talk more about that later, we should get back, I feel bad that the others are probably really worried, ugh I’m embarrassed.” Sonic cringed a bit, ears downcast a bit as scrunched his nose and gave an awkward smile.

“It’s alright, I’m notifying Rouge, we’re going home. She’ll swing by with the remainder of our belongings-” Shadow paused in the middle of his message. And looked up with a grimace. 

“I- apologize. I ruined your book, I promise I’ll replace it tomorrow.” 

Sonic beamed at him with a dopey grin.

“Have I told you how much I love you?” He wrapped his peach arms around broad ebony shoulders and peppered silly kisses to a tan check. Shadow’s heart fluttered giddily.

“Practically every morning and- I love you as well.” They shared a very slow and very tender kiss, Shadow leaning more into Sonic’s space. Sonic lost his balance and flopped on his back, quills splayed in the pale brown dirt. He giggled infectiously.

“When we get home, can we do snacks and a movie date?” He asked excitedly, Shadow hovered over him, striped arms boxing him in. He smiled and shook his head playfully. He sat back up, pulling Sonic along with him.

“Of course, let me finish the message.” They stood up and brushed the dirt off themselves and Shadow sent his message. 

They linked hands and began heading home. Walking through patches of shade and sunlight that beamed through the leaves. Sonic hummed a playful tune and swayed their joined hands back and forth along to the beat.

“So what are we watching?” Shadow inquires.

“Oh, obviously The Barbie movie.” He teased. Shadow looked begrudgingly at him with a scowl.

“Fine, if that’s what you want, love.” Sonic knew he was feigning disinterest. His black tail was a dead giveaway that he was excited to watch it.

“Oh definitely.” Sonic bumped his hip against Shadow’s, egging him on as he giggled.

“Come on! Race ya, slowpoke!” He sped off before Shadow could say anything. The ebony hedgehog exhaled softly through his nose, smiling warmly, and raced after the blue blur.

[willshookaspear]

NOT BY BLOOD | RAFE - 26: keep it in the family.

Snippet of Chapter 26:

"Shit," Josie sighed and jumped out of the van, crossing between the biker and JJ before he could do something rash. Everything had happened so fast. So until now, she hadn't gotten a proper look at the dirt bike, or its driver. But as the helmet came off she realized. Rage burnt through her like wildfire.

"What the fuck Rafe? We could've hit you!" she yelled and strode over to him. His buzzed head was sweaty from wearing the hot helmet. Casually, he brushed ran a hand through his hair as he looked at Josie.

"You're needed at home," was all Rafe said. He licked some sweat from his upper lip and nodded towards JJ. "Leave your dog. Family only."

"What's going on?" Josie asked, suspicion coating her face. Rafe didn't look like something bad had happened. He looked completely calm. But then again, Sarah always claimed he was a borderline sociopath. He ignored her question. 

"Just get on the bike, would you?" he said and swung his leg over his bike. He squinted towards the sun as he wrapped his hands around the handle, waiting for her.

"She's not going anywhere with you, man," JJ scoffed but Rafe just sighed impatiently.

"Come on. You know I could've let Callum finish you, and I didn't. You should be lucky you got away with a concussion, Pogue. This doesn't concern you," he said and gestured between himself and Josie, who cursed at them both under her breath.

"Actually it does," JJ said and took a step closer to Josie, as if marking his territory. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Oh, oh okay," Rafe chuckled mockingly and stretched out his helmet in Josie's direction. Josie sighed and looked disapprovingly at Rafe, at his incredible confidence that she would do as he said and come with him. Of course she would. If there was something wrong at Tannyhill, she needed to go. But he just had to be so fucking smug about it. She ripped the helmet out of his outstretched hand and turned to JJ, who looked at her in equal parts disbelief and disappointment.

"I'm just gonna check if everything's alright," she said reassuringly and stroked his arm. "It'll be fine. I'll text you."

JJ returned her smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. They remained cautious as they flicked to Rafe, who just had to open his fucking mouth. 

"She'll text you," Rafe echoed restlessly, his tone dismissing the weight of JJ and Josie's conversation like it bored him. "Let's go, Jo," he said and looked at JJ's disapproving expression. Hatred seared from his gaze. 

"Don't worry, Pogue. I'll take care of her," Rafe said smugly with a wink. 

Josie rolled her eyes and gave Rafe a dead stare. Then she turned around to JJ and pulled him to her by his t-shirt. JJ's hands trailed down her waist, to her hips and to her ass as their tongues interlaced and lips meshed passionately. JJ's eyes were drunk with possession and lust when their lips parted. She gave him a final smile before turning around to Rafe's bike. The smug grin had vanished from Rafe's face and he stared into the distance with squinted eyes as she got on behind him and shoved the helmet over her head.

"That's how you wanna play?" Rafe gritted his teeth as they drove away, his hands clutching the handles so hard that the plastic cut indents into his palms.

"I'm not playing, Rafe. I'm with him," she said simply, ignoring the heat that resonated like electricity from his abs through his shirt and to her hands. Angry at her body's incessant reaction to him, she swallowed hard and loosened her grip on Rafe, checking herself. 

AO3: NOT BY BLOOD | RAFE CAMERON by willshookaspear

[surplus-of-sarcasm]

Someone Close By

TW: references to a difficult past, blood and burning mentions (nothing happens they're used in conversation, it's mostly just fluff)

Note: Villain is referred to as 'Tiger' once. Also, I am incredibly tight on time, n I just found this in my drafts, I will get to the asks, I just have 16 million hw assignments to do 😣

One of the most annoying things about Villain was his stupid habit of throwing out a cryptic "You'll see," when anyone asked why he was doing something. He responded casually and automatically, with a languid gaze. And it was infuriating.

So when Hero had asked another question, she was quick to add a "Don't say it. Don't you dare say it."

"You'll see," he replied, tone lazy and offhand, maybe even a little self-satisfied.

She slammed one of her fists on his desk. "Why can't you just answer the question like a normal person?"

"Show, do not tell." He shrugged at her nonchalantly.

"You- you suck at writing," she accused, wagging a finger at him. Anything to gnaw at his ridiculously inflated ego.

"Hmm, tragic." The sarcasm lined his tone, like a thin, sheer veil draped over an otherwise emotionless attitude. The more striking irony was the fact that he complained about being assigned essays for school and his piss-poor writing skills on the daily. Bringing it up wouldn't affect him, she learned. Not after that reaction.

"You're incredibly dense, you know," she breathed out, frustrated, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Mhm. And yet here you are, wasting your time conversing with someone as incredibly dense as me." He spoke with a hint of amusement, more self-satisfied than anything, his eyes still fixed on his computer screen.

"Sometimes," she attested through gritted teeth, "you have to force yourself to endure what you don't really enjoy in the slightest, for a greater benefit."

"Ah," he concluded, some sort of finality to his tone, "so you admit that you have to put up with however I behave." The corner of his lip twitched up only slightly, the ghost of a smile gracing his lips. Unlike how she'd anticipated, it hadn't seemed so ill-fitting on a normally emotionless visage.

"I could still break your nose," she threatened, letting her shadow fall over his seated form.

He only raised an eyebrow in response, the dirt-eating smirk still visible on his lips.

"You know, you seriously need to relax." He continued typing with his left hand, and he let the cool fingers of his right hand stroke up and down her arm, almost soothingly.

At that, she froze. "Y-you don't like. .  .you don't like touching people."

"True that," he admitted. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"No," she replied, before she could stop herself, and her face burned with an emotion she couldn't discern.

"Ah well, I remember you saying a touch could be calming?" At this point, he just sounded uncertain, a little confused if you will, every trace of the smug know-it-all from before vanishing.

"Yes, but I thought you were doing this to mess with me? Annoy me?"

This time, he finally met her gaze, lowering his hand to the desk again. "No. I think I've done enough of that."

She would rather be burned alive than to admit her arm felt cold where his hand had just touched. "That you have," she replied, rolling her eyes and earning a snort from him.

"It was reflexive. But I wasn't joking. You really do need to relax."

He was right, and she hated it. But she'd always been so tense; she couldn't even tell what being normal felt like to her. She didn't know it was so obvious that he could read it off her like a magazine.

"Do you want to watch a movie? I could use a break."

"You and a break? Don't you have a bad relationship with those? You never get tired," she mocked, smirking.

He turned around in his chair, "Not tired, just bored. Not doing something that important anyway."

Liar. He was both bored and tired, if the dark circles under his eyes and the way he seemed to slump, trying to let the tight line of his shoulders fade. He slowly ran a hand through his hair, a common tell for when he was exhausted. Except he hadn't known she could tell.

So, they found themselves sprawled out on the living room couch, the lights dimmed and a bowl of salted caramel popcorn resting on Tiger's lap.

He may have pretended to be a health nut, but deep down, he was a major sweet tooth. The movie playing on the flatscreen TV was terribly violent, gunshots and a ridiculous amount of blood featured in every scene or the other. It was definitely NOT the kind of movie one would relax to. Yet here they were, Villain was leaning back, one leg crossed over the other, and Hero had unclenched her jaw, her shoulders more slack now.

To the film's credit, there were a few light-hearted moments, mostly dark humour, enough to draw a laugh even out of him.

"He's not going to kill him," she said, completely certain.

"There would be no point of all this then. He's definitely going to kill him," he countered through a mouthful of popcorn.

And sure enough, he did not kill him.

"No way!" he protested.

"I've seen enough movies to read between the lines, kitty cat." She let a smug grin dance across her face.

The nerve of her. "Alright, Steven Spielberg, I get it," he huffed out.

The movie wasn't over yet. This was only half of it. Again, she found the fingers of his right hand running up and down her arm, his left currently sticky with caramel and tiny bits of popcorn alike.

The touch was relaxing, even with his calloused fingertips. Maybe even more so. "Do you want me to change the movie?" he asked softly, reaching for the remote.

He must've taken notice of how the line of her shoulders went taut only slightly. A scene in the movie where an older sibling took the pain to save the younger ones. The way it was acted out hit a little too close to home. "No. I'm fine really, and besides there's not much time left, and I wanna know what happens."

"Anytime you want me to change, just say it." And he continued caressing the skin of her arm absentmindedly. If she focused on that, then whatever the movie dished out wouldn't matter.

There was much worse she'd lived through, much more provocative to her triggers. At least right now, she had the comfort of someone close by.

✨️Le Taglist: @larinzz @syberianjade @lateuplight @altu-interactions @enbious-prince @astr0-mj @thelazywitchphotographer @addictedsandwhichaki @justalittlecorrupted @quaggasus @theangstyclown @vernilliom @mothmancommitsarson @starssabove @kurai-hono-blog @talkingsperm @catsarecool00 @muffinrebel44

Wanna be on the taglist? This'll take you there!

[galaxysharks]

NO WAIT THIS MAKES THE ASHLYN MADDOX BOUNDARY SNIPPET HURT SO MUCH MORE OW??????????????????? OH MY GOD MADISON CAN FUCK RIGHT OFF I HATE THAT BITCH

:)

This was weird.... Or it's not weird, and Maddie just doesn't know it....Madison didn't act like it was weird, she would have told Maddox, she likes telling her when she misses things.

But God why is she sore? Her muscles keep flexing and she can't stop them, all over, again and again, her arms and legs are exhausted. She's never been sore after color wars.

Whatever, she just needs to hit the showers, she feels like her sweat from earlier has turned into crystals on her skin, trapping dirt, and making her feel gross.

Wait, she has to grab her script from the office first..

Changing directions, Maddie walks off the path through a tree thicket, cutting the 7 minute walk down to 3, perks of knowing the woods.

Opening the door, she hears the sound of someone startling, and as she enters, she sees a somewhat sheepish Val holding her phone.

Maddox can help it, "We're not allowed to have our phones Val....".

Val blinks, and gently smiles as she drops her phone back into the bucket without looking, eyes fixed on her new companion.

"Hi Maddie, I know, I'm sorry. Hey, where'd you go earlier? We missed you at dinner. We thought you'd gone to find Madison, but she came in about halfway through and you never showed." Val scans Maddie as she talks, classic CIT training kicking in. 'Have to make sure all your little campers are safe and sound!' Right Dewey?

Maddie must have caught her at a bad time, she seems nervous and worried about something. Maddox should ask, a good friend would ask, but she's so tired, and the faster she gets her script, the faster she can shower and get some sleep.

"I, uh I was out by the shrine.... looking at the trees...." why didn't she just tell her, normal teens talk about these things all the time, hell she's talked to Val about this before....but it wasn't her that time, and it doesn't feel right, and she doesn't want to fight with herself right now....

"did the California sun finally get too hot for you too?"

What? Oh right, Maddie's still in her undershirt, which Val's seen before, but only in the brief seconds of the morning when Maddie gets dressed.

"ha, uh.....yeah, too hot.....hey did I leave my script in here? I need to grab it for tomorrow"

Val stares for another minute, and looks like she wants to talk about something, and God Maddie's such a bad friend. But then Val seems to sag before casually opening the drawer to the Stage Manager's desk and pulling out Maddie's copy of the script with all the blocking and cue notes.

Maddox grabs the booklet, and turns to exit the cabin, missing Val's reaction to the smattering of bruising along her upper back. She heads out to the Honeycomb.

Back in the office, Val is puzzling together some things. Madison had wandered into the barn halfway through dinner, cool as can be and smug. This in itself was a bit odd this year, with Mad and Mad having been inseparable all week.

Val had made EJ switch spots with her, so she could watch better. Madison had evidently jumped right in to some grand tale, laughing and gesturing all the while.

Eventually EJ and Ninis conversation died down a little, and she could hear the next table a bit better. Madison was bragging about some 'battle wound'? Rolling her sleeves and showing off what was......definitely not an animal bite.....

And now, Maddie comes in looking like she'd tangled with a bear and like she was two steps away from taking one of her 'long hikes' they all pretend are normal nature walks.

Even without the mounting evidence, I didn't take a genius to figure, Madison has always liked displaying her affection to Gadget's neck, and right now she looks like the survivor to a Friday the Thirteenth film.....

Maddie seems uncomfortable, but Maddox's face doesn't always line up with what she means or how she's feeling..... truthfully, Val really didn't think she was all that into intimacy, but she supposes the last time they'd talked about it she'd been a little distracted....

Well regardless, she needed to talk to Madison about private moments and what shouldn't be so freely shared. It's wonderful that she's so open, but Val is certain Maddox would be uncomfortable with everyone knowing her business, hell no one even knows her last name, or anything about her outside of camp.

The next day Val couldn't seem to get a hold on either of them, Maddie having evolved onto her yearly whirlwind a day early, and Madison deciding to 'help' every pre-prom activity, relay style.

she did see Crash give Maddox a High Five for 'beast taming', to which she confusedly returned. And Val added him to the list of people to talk to.

[fumikomiyasaki]

Melodic Misconceptions 🎹

Side Track: Regarding the Rumors...

The Ribbonrose Music festival was in sessions, many different Idol groups were invited to attend and among them the idols could even rest together and spend time till each show started. Carol knew Monstroc!ty well... Juvia had a collab with them which turned out great, Leroy was her buddy and she admired their style of music... but aside casually enjoying their music this day it seemed Henry was the most in the spotlight... after all each of the members wanted to introduce their debut songs... so she sat down together with Juvia and Ellis watching the group work individually on their different solos... while Juvia and Ellis mainly cheered for Mellow who was the Most nervous... her eyes drifted to Henry... who not only looked Elegant with his dance moves but given he trained Shirtless it got her distracted in others ways... untill Ellis shortly poked her thigh to get her back to reality.

“Earth to Carol hello? Where did your eyes wander off to... oh... figures.”

She looked at her smug as she just blushed and looked away.

“I just wanted to study his dance, nothing else.”

“Sure... anyways they are done, lets get to practise our steps ourselves.”

The girls got up as the boys wanted to rest.

“Hey Vermillion, you did great back there!”

“H-huh... um t-thank you...” He grew bright red as Juvia complimented him while Carol again looked back to Henry.

“Ah Verde, the Label told me that we would the next days have to practise for that cover together, you want to maybe talk about it later during something to eat?”

“Oh? Right... I was busy I nearly forgot about that, sure I have time.”

With a satisfied smile he left while Leroy grew grumbly.

“Nobody ever compliments me for my hard work...”

As the three boys went to the changing rooms Juvia got already warmed up while Ellis poked into Carols sides with a smirk.

“Guess you have a date tonight then.”

“Its not a date, you heard him, he just wants to discuss the performance.”

Juvia and Ellis chuckled as Carol tried to defend herself.

“Listen you two know I have enough troubles with the rumors and the crushes I have already... I don’t need to add another... sure he is handsome but-”

“You can talk all you want, that look you had at him was obvious.”

She sighed... given she knew both were stubborn enough to not let her off the hook.

“Lets just focus on dancing, alright?”

“Where are Chi, Yuuta and Miren anyways?”

“Yuuta accompanied Miren to get some food and Chizuko currently writes up the rest of her solo song so.”

Ellis sighed and stepped to the side.

“Guess we make up for them once they get back.”

The girls trained hard as they could to memorize  the steps and after Juvia and Ellis left to get to the group, Carol walked as promised to the Location Henry asked her to meet up.. she just didn’t expect it to be a far more fancier restaurant...  as he walked with her to the table she crossed her legs and looked at him.

“Don’t worry the food is on me.”

“Really? You don’t have to, Marine.”

“I think given we are not Idols just two people eating you can stick with Henry.”

She nodded her head and smiled at him.

“Then you can call me Carol.”

“A nice name... I actually had many reasons to meet up with you today.”

“For one about the cover song, right?”

“Before we start with that... I was curious about these rumors about you... if you allow me to be so bold to ask.”

She sighed looking down a little...

“Its true that I am interested in interacting with those guys but.... no I do not have a relationship with any of them nor do I go from one man to another... Its true that I am attracted to some of them but...”

“I see, that is all I wanted to know.” His serious expression turned into a more calmer smile.

“I been plagued by rumors as well.. .given my status and company give me enough people who want dirt on me so I can relate.”

“I see... thats good.”

She also breathed in relief... seeing him hand her the music sheets for their song.

“After you ate enough we can sing together but... I know just the right place where we can do that in peace.”

She looked a bit closer at him... usually she didn’t pay much attention on him given she was busy chatting with Leroy or building up Mellows confidence but seeing now his look, the half loose shirt and the striking blue eyes... she shortly felt a small bump in her chest that she quickly ignored in favour of eating some food. After they discussed things during dinner he took her in secret away from ongoing paparazzi to a secluded part of a beach in town... hoping they could sing alone with the shores hearing their Echo...

“The night breeze is nice... say Henry... did you often think about how it would be if we wouldn’t be idols.”

“Honestly... I thought about it a lot... in general how the common life would be... to just be able to go everywhere without someone following you.”

Both looked at the waves and sat down... chatting and singing a little to that song they had to practise... yet eventually.

“Listen Carol, I think often I did just hear to your songs and felt a little less burdened a little less on edge... I wasn’t Marine anymore... just Henry. And that effect is something you should be proud of... to get people to relax and calm thanks to your music...”

She smiled at him. “I hoped to have that effect on people actually... so I am glad you say that.”

Both said in silence a little.

“I wasn’t fully honest to you... I did ask about the rumors before cause... maybe it was cause I was interested in you as well...”

“H-huh?!”

He smiled and got up. “We Idols are still bound by rules however so I wanted to let you know that.”

“You can’t just say that and leave... “

On instinct she grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving, yet they both didn’t know a paparazzi was nearby again, taking a nice shoot of this and rushing away...

“Not again...”

“I swear Carol I didn’t”

“I know it was not your fault... yet I can already hear the earfull I get tomorrow.”

Both sighed a little before looking back at another. Then Carol spoke up.

“So I guess I see you tomorrow to practise?”

A warm smile left his lips as he walked away from her.

“I will be there excactly when you need me.”

She left her number in his hand and left... still a bit in thoughts about taking in all this.... so he liked her that much... despite the whole rumors and all...getting back to the dorm she already was awaited by most of the band at a dinner table.

“Where have you been? Miren whined about starving for a while...”

“Practise too a bit longer, I am sorry.”

“Well... did you enjoy your time with Marine? I read he is quite popular with the female crowd.”

Carol sighed and sat down. “I don’t wanna talk about it, I need to get my head free for now.”

Yet she still thought back to this talk with him... she hoped to not dissapoint him but  also she felt worried about whatever the paparazzi will bring out tomorrow...

Tagging: @rosietrace​ @starry-night-rose​​ @windbornearchon​ @authoruio​ @sakuramidnight15​    

[puffin-smoke]

ty my esteemed royal jester. you live another day.

1 - People keep sending them pictures to make into statues, and some of them are reallyfuckingweird. Dead pets, dead relatives, certain body parts, literal fucking weapons, ect ect.

2 - Her first instinct is to abdicate, but she can't bring herself to do it. She has things she wants to do. People she needs to help. So she'll agree to the marriage, but make her intentions clear the moment her suitor steps with the palace walls.

"I need you to know something, before we go any further. I'm only doing this out of duty. I'll be courteous to you, but know this. If you so much as even think about getting in my way, I will have you thrown off the palace walls."

The fiance responds. "You wouldn't dare."

She smiles, polite, restrained. "You're right. I'll do it myself."

3 - Love is trusting someone with every part of you. It's vulnerability that feels strong, that feels natural. It's safe. And it is something Duarte believes she will never deserve.

4 - The plan was always to kill him. The traps were to compensate for his size, she could never take him one on one. For a while she didn't want to kill him because she was scared of him. Terrified. He could kill her as easily as anything, so why the hell would she want to fight that?

That fear quickly morphed into something else. Pity. She pitied all of the boys: Bodie, Timmy, even Marco when she first met him. She thought they were all naive idiots, for taking someone they didn't know in, despite all the risks. It was a miracle they hadn't been slaughtered already. So she chose not to hurt them. Someone else would do it eventually, so she should let them live in blissful ignorance for a while.

5 - Duarte restrained an annoyed sigh. She'd actually been getting some fucking sleep for once. But she swallowed her irritation and took a seat next to Chester.

"How complex? Any chance I could wrap my head around it?" She said, prompting him to keep talking. She'll listen to whatever he has to ramble about, asking questions to keep him talking, until eventually dragging him back indoors. Cool flowers or not, he needed sleep.

6 - (HEY. WHY)

Duarte pushed herself to her feet, dusting sand and dirt off her poncho almost casually. The hunters went to grab Chester, and they threw him to the ground, binding his wrists tight enough to cut off circulation. Duarte watched.

There's a laugh in her voice, but not from mirth or joy, but from disbelief. She didn't think this would actually work. That they'd be this stupid. This was all a game to her, and she had won. "You're telling me you wouldn't have done it? When it was so fucking easy?"

"I did it because I'm a good hunter. Clearly better than you ever fucking were." Ruthless. Practical. A problem solver. "I did my damn job. You lost your nerve, simple as that."

With that she barked out a few orders to the hunters, her face gloating, smug. She spat on Chester's boot, a thick globule of spit landing neatly atop it. These people meant nothing to her. "Take them away! Get them out of my sight."

I have had such a good fucking day, time to spread that positivity

My liege it is time for the Questions/Scenarios regarding your Bug 🙇📜

1) Fame! AU

What's the weirdest interaction they've ever had with a fan?

2) Royalty! AU

Uh oh, Bug is being pressured by their guardians to get married to a neighbouring royal. Problem is they don't wanna! Other problem is if they don't get married they will be forced to abdicate the throne!!!

What do they do? Do they push past their feelings and get married or give up the crown?

3) What is 'love' to them?

4) Did your Bug intend on harming Bodie when they first met him?

If yes, when did they realise they didn't want to hurt him?

If no, what was their first impression of Bodie when they met?

5) Scenario #1

It was like 11pm, Bug was asleep...y'know like a normal fucking person, when they felt a prod at their shoulder and a voice whisper-shouting at them in the dark

"*Bug*...*Bug*!!! Get up!!!"

They pried their eyes open to see Chester, trying to hide the grin that was threatening to split his face in two. They tried to question why he felt the need to wake them up at such a ridiculous time but he simply told them to stop complaining and get up

They reluctantly followed along, he waited outside as they got dressed and got some shoes on. He hurried them outside, dragging them to a small patch covered in white, cup shaped flowers with spider-like petals surrounding the stem just under the flower itself.

"Epiphyllum oxypetalum! Also known as Queen of the Night"

Bug told him whilst they respected his love for plants its crazy to wake them up at almost midnight for a fucking flower. In response he sighs and points at the flowers as he speaks

"No you don't get it! I have been working for months to get these little pests to grow and they finally have!!!"

They asked why he couldn't wait till morning, he finally looked over at them and behind the slight irritation there was a genuine love and admiration for these stupid plants. The shine in his eyes a clear indicator to how much these silly little flowers meant to him

"Cause they only bloom at night! They bloom at night then die in the day it's a very complex thing"

He went back to admiring the flowers

It's stupidly late and they're out here looking at some stupid flower, what do they say?

6) Scenario #2 (buckle up butterfucks, we got alot of reading to do)

It was the night of the escape, a team of 5 Bugs (& Marco) had left Bodies house that night, they had gotten into the arena no problem. From there verything had gone perfectly, every step happening exactly as they had planned.

The group (Your Bug, the 4 other Bugs and the escaped half-bloods) had finally gotten down into the main fighting space in the arena, admittedly many thought this was an odd choice of path but Bug had insisted it was the most efficient way.

"Right which way *Bug*?"

Chester spoke up from the back of the group, yet Bug did not respond. He asked again, still nothing. More people spoke up asking Bug what was going on. Finally Bug spoke, a bunch of words that made no sense. Like a code none of the group could understand

...and that's when the Hunters appeared.

They came from every direction, encircling the group. Every exit blocked, every path they could take covered by a Hunter with weapons galore. Finally somebody spoke everyone's thoughts

"What the fuck is going on!?"

Bug walked away from the group, standing infornt of the them yet refusing to look upon any of them. Knowing the glares and hurt gazes that they would find before them.

They spoke revealing this was their plan, they never intended on letting them out of there. They were all doomed to never leave the arena...they were all going to be thrown into the arena without any way of defending themself. They were all being sold to die.

The group tried to yell, tried to ask why but as soon as they did they were restrained by the Hunters surrounding them. Only then did Bug turn around, they saw all these people that they had ocne called their friends, tied up and trapped...and it was all their fault. They caused this.

Chester stared at them, his wrists were bound and he was being held between two of the Hunters. His eyes were filled with anger, a hatred so strong it was unlike anything Bug had seen before...but when he spoke his voice told a different tale. He was hurt, aching with sorrow from their betrayel

"*Bug*...what, why would you do this? Why would you lie to us?"

He got no answer causing him to writhe himself free, he threw the Hunters to the floor and stormed over to Bug. He grabbed their collar, throwing them to the floor, pain still echoing in his voice as he yelled

"ANSWER ME YOU BASTARD, WHY?! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?"

Hunters were already running to restrain him

Why did you do it Bug? Why did you hurt them all like this?

☆---------------☆

Tags -

@rozeliyawashereyall @willowve01 @kaiamtt @iistxrmyskyii @stxph-artist @aspenm00n @piffany666 @idontevenknow7878 @littlesiren79 @castbracelet240 @strayharmony943 @tiefling-chaos @diamondzoey @lightdragon789 @pinkcocopuff-aqualoid @astralbulldragon13 @ccstiles @puffin-smoke

[onsunnyside]

Sonny imagine airhead!reader being bounced between the frat boys. She loves having their attention and being full of each of the boys cum. She loves being sandwiched and tossed around inbetween all of them while one films it, her long lashes batting at the camera with a teasing smile and glazed eyes. She loves when they appreciate how she dresses up and pampers herself just for them. And they love it too, manicured nails and pretty soft hands rubbing over their bodies and cocks, her pretty lips always soft and pressing kisses all over their faces and bodies, looking so swollen and gorgeous wrapped around their cocks and in an ‘o�� shape when they pound into her. They love marking up her soft skin and blemishing it with their marks of ownership. They love flaunting their pretty doll in her skimpy outfits around the school, smirking when the other guys show how jealous they are that the frat boys snagged the prettiest airhead on campus. She gets so jealous when girls try to flirt with them, whining for their attention and tears welling up in her eyes at the thought of losing one of them, pressing kisses and biting marks wherever she can reach. And being catty and pouty if a girl even stares too long at one of them. She loves being dressed up in the cutest lingerie and posing for them while they circle around her like animals to their prey, their eyes full of lust and possessiveness as she wiggles her hips and poses for the camera they only use specifically for her. They each have a polaroid of her, each picture customized perfectly to their taste and want. Oh the boys love their perfect little doll and she loves being that for them .. 🧚🏻‍♀️

AHH THE FRATBOYS' AIRHEAD ?? COUNT ME IN !!

you're ditzy, sweet, kind, and just so pretty, making everyone weak in the knees !! you're too dumb to get into drama or trouble, so you're on everyone's good side and could easily bat your eyelashes to get whatever you want. (why would anyone be mean to a dummy like you🤧🤧)

some guy asks if you're busy after class, he caught a glimpse of your panties bc your skirt is so small. and so casually, you answer: "Oh, no. My boyfriends are taking me to dinner!" and ofc, he just blinks at you, "boyfriends?"

cue the montage of these big beefy frat bros doing frat bro things, like partying, messing around, and absolutely dominating on the football field, sweaty and covered in dirt, practically dogpiling you after their win !! talk about a dream 😪

i love the jealousy on both sides !! the boys are smug and cocky, but won't hesitate to knock someone's teeth in if they pushed too far. and you're whiney and pouty, always making your rounds during parties so all the girls know those fellas are taken !! lots of lap sitting (probably dry humping too), kissing their faces and necks, sliding your hands up their shirts, and all that.

let's talk about those polaroids hmmm?? now i only know for sure that ari, steve and, curtis are the certified frat boy bfs so: Ari would have one of you completely ruined, fucked stupid with that dumbed out look on your face. Steve's would be more classy, you in a tiny sheer nightie with his cum all over your face. and Curtis, the one who marks up you the worst, would have one of you in his football jersey, covered in his marks ✨

you all run a twitter account where you post snippets of your *special and messy* times together. it was all for fun and bc you loved being flaunted.

but then, Ari asks "why don't we do it for real? We could make money too." let's be honest, being an airhead, you didn't think much of it and said yes right away bc you love making them happy and you wouldn't mind the extra cash (shopaholic much). so you become a camgirl, their camgirl more specifically, dressing up and posing for pictures that they post and advertise on their/your twitter. thus, the birth of sexy cam-legends !!

hehe the question is, which lucky boys are gonna have you ??

ari, steve, curtis... sweet nerdy IT jake who is surprisingly a frat boy too... but who else 🤔

[bcficrecs]

two truths, one lie by @sheriffandsteel​ 

"She's my daughter." Beth means to stop there but the next words slip out of their own accord, one more truth free of charge. "And I'll kill anyone who tries to touch her."

Beth escapes the prison with Judith and searches for their family. Being alone with a baby and trying to keep them both safe from the dead and worse, the living, is no easy feat. When she is offered sanctuary from an unlikely source she doesn't trust it, but she still takes it.

"What do you want?" her voice doesn't shake, Beth isn't sure how as she feels like she is shaking like a leaf but her voice comes out steady and cool. It reminds her of Daryl, as much of a hothead as he can be, when they are in danger he can keep his voice steadier than anyone when facing trouble.

"Your shit." the man in the middle says calmly, taking a step forward heedless of the gun in Beth's hand. "Then you."

The world sways and Beth conjures up Daryl's blank face when people threatened him and forces her face to wear the same features.

"You can't have us." Beth drops her hand from Judith whose cries are providing a fitting soundtrack to this moment and draws her machete in her right hand. She hopes that these people take it as a sign she is willing to fight hard and not as a signal that the gun is empty. She has never killed someone before but as she stares into the remorseless eyes of the people before her Beth knows that she will tonight. If that is what it takes for Judith and her to walk out of there she'll do it. Until the bitter end, she will fight, no matter what it costs her.

She thinks that the man before her is smiling but she can't tell through the dirt and the darkness. A movement flickers in the corner of her eye and Beth's heart sinks as she remembers her back is unprotected. She has been so worried about the people before her she hasn't spared a second to worry about watching her back.

To her surprise, the people before her don't look smug to watch their friends surrounding her. One is inching slowly to the woods and the others are stepping backward.

"You said she was alone." the leader hisses to the one on the right whose eyes are so wide Beth can see the whites from where she stands.

Before she can wonder too much at their reactions or fear what is behind her several loud shots ring out. They are loud enough to be heard over Judith's cries and Beth's ears ache from all the noise. Blood rains on the pavement as the four people before her crumble to the ground. Some of the splatters reach Beth's boots and she blinks at them for a moment before spinning around, her ankle protesting at the movement. She keeps the gun steady and the machete high as she surveys this new group of problems in the quickly fading light.

Three men, two women. Some primal fear deep inside Beth lessens at the sight of the women although it doesn't fade completely. Four of them are holding the guns that killed the people behind her and saved Beth and she feels a heady mix of gratitude and fear. The fear wins out and that keeps her arms steady as the fifth member of this new group scans her up and down.

Beth can't help but wonder what he sees, easy pickings like the group he just took out clearly did? Someone weak and willing to cow to them because they saved her life? Certainly not as someone to fear or he wouldn't be smiling at her like that, letting his weapon of choice rest casually against his leather-clad shoulder as if he'd just hit a home run and could saunter around the bases instead of the usual sprint.

"Well now," he tuts stopping just out of reach of her machete should she choose to swing it. As if she would be stupid enough to do so. Beth can see two of the guns pointed at her. She wonders if both shots would be meant for her or if one would be intended for Judith. The thought makes her sick and she wants to curl around the little girl in protection but that would mean lowering one of her weapons and Beth doesn't dare risk that, not with guns on her and the man before her.

His eyes flicker from her gun to the machete and he smiles at her like he's the big bad wolf from the story and he wants to show her how sharp his teeth are.

"Is that any way to thank your Saviors?"

[hartigays]

Rafebarry Prompt for you! So what about some of Barry’s pals being over at the trailer and they’re all just like “Damn Bro” at seeing Rafe (who’s just living his best chaotic life, being Barry’s housewife/partner in crime) and Barry’s just all smug about it like “Yeah. I’m hittin’ that. Be jealous.”

tw: mature themes (drug use, sexual implications) and some homophobic language (just a comment from some loser tho)

rafe’s bike tears through swampy grass and dirt with a vengeance as he pulls into barry’s front yard, leaving tire marks in his wake.

when he pulls off his helmet, the first thing he sees are people spilling in and out of the trailer. people rafe doesn’t recognize - some of them attractive, even.

which is… infuriating, to put it lightly.

barry clearly hadn’t felt the need to keep rafe in the loop, inviting him over without informing him that half of the cut would be in attendance as well.

like, seriously, what the fuck? rafe had thought - well. he’d intended to come here to pick up some blow, and maybe, possibly, perhaps let barry have his way with him while he’s at it.

barry can’t have his way with him if half the population of north carolina is stacked up inside the trailer. and that’s just. frustrating.

rafe kind of wants to drive his bike straight through the trailer, mowing some partygoers down and end this whole shebang right here and now. but, as barry has made explicitly clear time and time again, rafe is Not Allowed to harm and/or kill people on his property.

it’s sometimes irritating, this whole thing they’ve started. this casual fling that’s maybe not-so-casual anymore considering rafe agreed to be exclusive with barry not even two days ago.

there are just. so many rules, like no maiming, or killing, or… actually, that’s about it. but that’s two rules too many. rafe doesn’t like rules, or being told what he can or can’t do.

barry is just lucky rafe likes him. kind of. sort of. somewhat.

otherwise, barry would be drifting along the bottom of the ocean somewhere, flesh being nibbled away at by fish and sharks and the like.

rafe flings his helmet towards his bike, not bothering to see if it landed anywhere convenient, before storming across the yard and shoving himself through a cluster of people to get inside the trailer.

barry is sitting on the couch, all sorts of people surrounding him, looking like he’s already fucked up beyond belief.

which is also annoying, because he was supposed to get fucked up beyond belief with rafe, then mandhandle rafe into bed to have his wicked way with him. like always.

“ayy, country club!” barry practically shouts over the noice, his accent even thicker and more drawn out than usual. “you made it!”

“yeah, barry, i made it,” rafe snaps, then sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

look, he’s not against parties or anything. actually, he’s quite in favor of them. he just… did not plan for his day to go like this.

rafe wanted barry’s full attention, which is now virtually impossible given the amount of bodies that are currently filling the room.

barry just looks at rafe with glazed eyes, leaning back casually against the couch cushions. “aw, don’t you go pouting on me ‘n shit, rafe cameron. ain’t you always down for a party or some shit like that?”

“a little heads up would’ve been nice,” rafe tells him, his temper rearing it’s ugly head again and bleeding into his voice. “look, can i just get my shit so i can get out of here?”

rafe moves around the coffee table, elbowing a few drunk idiots out of his way as he does. barry eyes him as he comes closer, before suddenly swinging one arm out and wrapping it around rafe’s waist. he ropes rafe in close enough that rafe stumbles a bit over barry’s feet, sprawling right into his lap.

“see, ain’t that more like it, country club?” barry purrs, his lips pressed against rafe’s ear.

rafe feels a shiver rocket down his spine, but also a flare of anxiety.

barry is certainly fucked up beyond comprehension, and they haven’t exactly talked about making their relationship public. rafe has no idea if this is something barry will regret in the morning and end up cutting rafe off.

but to be fair, if barry did wake up and decide to tell rafe to fuck off, rafe would probably just kill him. he might just kill him anyway, just because he feels like it.

and since barry’s inevitable death is hurtling towards them at breakneck speed, rafe might as well enjoy barry’s final moments while he can.

so he lets barry kiss him, full on the mouth, on display for the hundred or so other people milling about the room.

rafe, regrettably, makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat when he feels barry’s tongue dip into his mouth, sweeping across his own.

regrettably, because some fucking weird ass next to barry leans in close to watch. rafe can see the movement out of the corner of his eye.

but barry isn’t deterred. he might be a little encouraged, even, because he deepens the kiss even more, pressing in so close that rafe feels like they could crawl inside of each other and form one cohesive nightmare of a person.

“ain’t peg you for a fag, barry,” the guy comments, his words slurring. he burps after he speaks, and barry detaches his lips from rafe to look over at the source of the noise.

“the fuck you just say to me?” barry snaps, digging his fingers into rafe’s hips to keep him in place when rafe moves to get up, ready to just slit this guy’s throat and be done with it. “ain’t you in my damn house, fuckass? who the fuck you think you’re talkin’ to?”

“hey, man, didn’t mean no offense,” the guy says, raising his hands in mock surrender before burping again. “jus’ askin’.”

“getcho’ dumbass out my house, bro,” barry tells him, removing one hand from rafe’s hips for only a moment, just to shove the guy out of his seat.

the still nameless man just shrugs, gulping down the remnants of his beer before getting up and disappearing into the crowd.

“i think you guys are cute,” a girl giggles from where she’s seated, across from the couch rafe and barry are currently planted on.

barry looks up at rafe, and it’s almost fond and god, that’s disgusting. rafe wants to soak himself in it, let it marinate until it’s deeply ingrained in every fiber of his being.

“sho’ are,” barry agrees with her, still looking up at rafe. he’s got one hand beneath rafe’s shirt now, nails raking over his back.

rafe shudders, wishing he could dissolve every person in this room right this very moment so he can curl up inside barry and make a home there.

“gotta say, ‘m a little jealous, man,” some other guy pipes up from barry’s other side.

rafe looks over at him, one brow arched, finding the guy staring right back as he hits some sort of pipe.

probably filled with meth, based on the state of the guy’s teeth.

classy.

“guess you just gon’ have to be jealous, then,” barry tosses back, not bothering to spare the guy a glance before returning his mouth to rafe’s.

the party comes and goes, faster than rafe anticipated, but that maybe can be attributed to the fact that barry keeps rafe glued to him at all times, practically devouring him every chance he can get, and showing him off to every person who happens to look their way.

rafe will admit, it’s a little satisfying, knowing how proud barry is to have staked his claim. he’s surprised that he’s so okay with barry being so possessive of him, too.

rafe cameron normally does not like the idea of being owned by anyone or anything. at least, he hadn’t up until now.

at this point, he’s pretty sure he’d let barry put a dog collar on him that reads property of barry the coke dealer, without complaint.

now, lounging in barry’s bed, sweat-soaked and panting, rafe sparks a blunt. he takes a long hit and passes it to barry.

“you did this on purpose,” rafe says, knowingly.

barry just grins up at the ceiling like a shark, shrugging as he hits the blunt.

“you’re pretty, rafe cameron. and you’re mine,” barry tells him, passing the weed back. “what’s it hurt to show off a little? you ain’t die or nothing.”

“never said it was a bad thing,” rafe snorts. “just maybe give me a little warning next time you plan to parade me around as your trophy wife.”

“like you ain’t get off on all them people talking ‘bout how jealous they are that i get to have you.”

barry has a point, rafe will admit. not out loud, mind you, but still. in the quiet of his mind, where no one else can hear, he agrees with barry wholeheartedly.

“can you blame them? i mean, look at me,” rafe says with a snooty little sniff, running a hand along his jaw. “you landed yourself a masterpiece. people are gonna notice.”

“you so damn full of yourself, country club,” barry snorts. “imma have to knock that ego down a peg. i been too nice to you.”

“says the guy whose ego grew ten times larger just by being a show-off about his boyfriend.”

barry rolls over onto his side, watching rafe hit the blunt with heavily-lidded eyes. “boyfriend, huh? ain’t we a bit old for that?”

“you literally called me your boyfriend like, fifty times today. do not even- ”

barry shuts him up mid-sentence by taking the blunt from rafe’s hand and putting it out on the ashtray next to the bed, tangling his fingers in rafe’s hair, and pulling him in for a kiss that’s all tongues and teeth.

rafe wanted to finish his sentence, had planned on finishing it, but barry doesn’t give him the chance. not with the way he’s kissing him right now.

within a matter of moments, rafe forgets what he was planning to say in the first place. but whatever, he’s fucking tired, barry feels good and smells good and tastes good. so what if he’s a trophy wife, so what if he may or may not get off on people being jealous that barry gets to date him. to own him.

it’s all arbitrary.

instead of figuring out what he was going to say, rafe breaks away from barry’s lips, fastening his mouth to barry’s neck and biting down.

his teeth sink in deep, and he hopes with everything he has left in him that it leaves a scar.

[contreparry]

OK but the Scarlet Pimpernel prompts... Person A: How could you be so rude?! Person B: To [Person C]?Person A: He was a guest in my home. Person B: An unworthy guest. The man is suspected of selling secret information to the [enemy] government. Person A: Then why haven’t you arrested him? Person B: Because, my dear, he also sells secret information about the [enemy] to us.

Absolutely! Here's some Cassandra and Leliana discussion about Varric for @dadrunkwriting! It's a bit edited to fit the setting, but I hope the sentiment remains the same.

"That was rude, Leliana. Quite unlike you," Cassandra remarked as Leliana exited the room. "Whatever did he do to deserve such scorn?"

The interrogation wasn't the bombastic one Cassandra subjected the man to. There was no tossing of books, no slamming of hands on tables, no smug, handsome men grinning up at her and then propping their damned feet on the table before spinning fanciful tales that twisted just enough truth into what had to be lies- no. No, Leliana was very different. Quiet. Blunt. And, for Leliana, incredibly rude.

("Either you have managed a Ferelden-born group of agents sent to Kirkwall to deliberately destabilize the region, or you have terribly rotten luck, Messere Tethras. I would not be so at ease in your situation," Leliana said as she casually picked at the non-existent dirt underneath her nails with a slim dagger.

"Simplest explanation is often the closest to the truth, y'know. My luck holds with cards and little else, I'm afraid," Messere Tethras replied.)

"Oh, Messere Tethras?" Leliana said casually as she slipped her dagger back into the sheath in her boot. "Whatever do you mean, dearest Cassandra?"

"He is an important... guest. And we are his... hosts," Cassandra struggled with the wording. There was no Viscount ruling Kirkwall, only a small group of nobles and bureaucrats keeping the candles alight and pushing around paperwork. The Grand Cleric was dead. Knight Commander Meredith Stannard was now a lump of crystal. In short, the Chantry held little sway over Kirkwall. They had little authority here, even if they were Divine Justinia's Hands. And Tethras, damn him, knew exactly how much power all of them had and was playing a clever, if deadly, game.

"And he is a terrible guest, suspected of working with foreign governments to take over a city-state," Leliana said easily. "And he's selling information to Maker knows who." There was a thread of irritation in Leliana's voice, a little hint of her genuine frustration at being unable to track down Varric Tethras' correspondence. He wrote frequently and to many, many people scattered across Thedas. It would take an army to sort the web of letters out, let alone track them and the recipients down. They didn't have an army, and Varric Tethras knew that.

"And you haven't arrested him. Why not?" Cassandra asked, mostly to make conversation but partially out of curiosity. Leliana was clever, and far more patient than Cassandra ever was. If there was a way to keep Tethras pinned until they could unravel this entire plot, she would have done it by now. And yet they waited. They lingered. Leliana listened and conversed and dragged Cassandra in to speak with Tethras and get her riled up and confused by gilded tongues and honey sweet lies (had to be lies, who could believe that one person could withstand all those storms for so, so long). And for what? But Leliana laughed.

"Because, my dear Cassandra, he is also selling information to us," she replied.

[ellitx]

Till We Meet Again | Venti x Reader

Seems like [Name] really likes to meet up with her dear friend.

note: venti isn’t an archon in this oneshot. just a regular bard

word count: 7.4k

 【ＰＲＯＬＯＧＵＥ】

 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺,

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵,

𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘺

− 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦.

         “Hey, ever dream about what the future awaits us?” He asked.

        “Are you seriously going to talk about that kind of thing?” 

        “Wh-what? I just wanted to start a conversation with you… I’m trying my best here.” He averted his gaze away from her, rubbing the nape of his neck in embarrassment.

        “Well, it’s not working.” He heaved a sigh, slumping his shoulders in disappointment. The male leaned against the rough trunk of the tree, staring up at the warm sunset descending on the horizon in boredom, the colors of the sky mixing together to create the warm atmosphere like the paintbrush painting the canvas to create a wonderful piece.

        The girl stood up, patting her dress to remove the dirt sticking on her clothing. She looked over her shoulder and stared at him with her sharp [eye color] eyes. Glancing down at him, she closed her eyes and gave a sweet smile at him. 

        “Don’t come near me again if you have no business with me.” 

        The way she said it was so sweet yet sultry. He gulped down the air and pressed his lips into a thin line, shutting his mouth completely. Her long [hair color] flipped over her shoulder, walking away from this person. He watched her figure disappear from the distance, sighing as he did so.

        Breathing another sigh, his back dropped slowly against the trunk until he was laying down the parched grass. He pressed his forearm onto his face, leaving a space for his nose to breathe.

        “So the rumors are true, huh?”

         [Name] dropped her satchel on the table, producing a loud sound that caught the attention of the two women. 

        “Having a bad day today?” Her sister, Lisa, asked, not even giving a glance at her from her book; turning the pages and reading the contents inside. “You know how she always is.” Jean remarked, making the former chuckle.

        “Haha, very funny.” [Name] rolled her eyes at them, plunging herself in between the two ladies who are sitting on the couch. “So, are you going to tell us what made you like this or not?” Lisa closed the novel she’s reading with a clap, putting it down on the coffee table. 

        [Name] groaned in pique as she slammed her face on one of the soft cushions laying beside her. 

        “Don’t feel like it.”

        “Aww, don’t be like that, dearest sister. You know we’re here to give you support.” Lisa rubbed her back in assurance, finally giving her the full attention she needed. The good kind of sister, the one who gives you any kind of advice. Just talk to her and you already feel the heavy weight on your shoulders lifting. She always lends her ear anytime.

        The [hair color] peered over the cushion and looked at the two with a skeptical look.

        “You sure…?”

        “Of course.” Jean smiled at her softly. [Name] whined when her sister smothered her with hugs. Jean sighed at the librarian, shaking her head and placing her thumb and index fingers on the bridge of her nose.

        The Acting Grandmaster shook her head in chagrin at Lisa’s teasing. Her attention went back to the troubled teenager, brushing her hair to make her comfortable. Jean is like the other best sister you’ll meet. If Lisa is the sophisticated sister, then she’s the mentor for [Name].

        “It’s him.”

        The blonde abruptly stopped brushing [Name]'s hair, looking at her in mild confusion whilst Lisa quirked a brow at her, slightly interest in where this is going. “Again?” The latter asked. [Name] nodded and buried her face even more on the cushion, hugging it tightly closed to her chest. 

        “What did he do?” The Dandelion Knight softly inquired at her and continued to smoothen her [hair color] locks. She absentmindedly looked down to where she placed the book and stared at the cover, seizing all the details, vast or meager, into her mind. 

        “Talked to me.” Silence filled the room, only the clock ticking and birds chirping outside can only be heard until her sister heartily laughed and patted her hand on her shoulder as if she achieved something great. 

        “Well, that’s great~”

        “I’m not sure if that’s the correct way to say it….” Jean remarked quietly, her face turned gloomy as she looked at the young female in worry. Once again, Lisa sealed her lips as she raised both of her hands in, succumbing to her dominance.

        “[Name], why don’t you take a rest. He’s been bothering you lately, right?” The said girl nodded, pulling the pillow closer to her chest. “Come on, let’s go to your room.” The blonde lifted her up from her seat and held her hands with hers, guiding them to her bedroom with the librarian following along them with a hum.

        When they reached their destination, she assisted [Name] lying in the bed, tucking the blanket onto her figure. Yep, this woman here is more of the big sister type to [Name] than Lisa. The teenager turned her body away from them, closing her eyes, wanting to let the stress go away and just have a nice sleep.

        If there’s even a good dream, then that’ll be better.

 **

         “Hello~” The male waved at her.

        “You again?”

        “What’s wrong with me meeting you again?” He crossed his arms and furrowed his brows at her, not understanding why she’s so moody around him. He didn’t even do anything at her— well, not that he can recall he did something to her.

        “Everything.” [Name] rolled her eyes, and sat down beside him in the olive green grass, giving at least 10 inches of space between them. She let her back rest against the trunk, pulling her knees to her chest and enfold her arms around it.

        “So, uhh, Windborne Bard—“

        “Venti.” He corrected.

        “V-Venti…” The female chortled, holding her mouth to restrain herself from laughing out loud at his name. What an odd name. She thought. “Why thank you for that compliment, [Name].” Her laugh died down and faced him, eyes widening in surprise.

        “H-how did you—“

        “Know your name? Know what you’re thinking? Though it really wasn’t much of a compliment, I’ll still take it.” He finished her sentence casually as if it’s his usual thing to do that to everyone. He gave her a smug smirk in victory and shrugged his shoulders.

        That was it, the [hair color] backed away from him at least 5 meters away, and shakily pointed a finger in his direction. “I-I-I didn’t even tell you m-m-my name!!” She heavily stuttered which in turn he was the one now laughing at her. He wiped the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes, face red from laughing too much.

        “Oh god, your reaction is priceless!”

        Her face heated up both from anger and mortification, oh how she wanted to beat him to a pulp.

        His laughter faltered, much to her delight. He returned his gaze back from the blue sky, silently staring at the azure sky. It was his favorite to watch the sky under this old tree. The sound of grass rustling reached his ears, though he didn’t bother to see what— or rather who it was since it’s just the two of them in this stunning and serene setting. The unique place of Mondstadt where only the two of them know this place. 

        “I’d rather you call me Venti than the long title-- Windbrone Bard-- I have.” He closed his eyes, enjoying the shadow looming over them by the leaves. The winds kissed his skin as the leaves were dancing around, some were now freed and took their chance either to fall down or move to another place. He started humming, laying back on the body of the old tree and started strumming the lyre.

        The female silently listened to his tune, tapping her fingertips against her shoe. She closed her eyes as well, enjoying the combination of the wind and his humming. Time flies by, [Name] had fallen asleep. Her head drooping then placing to a comfortable position. The male looked at her with his aquatic teal eyes, he caressed her red cheeks and gently smiled down at her peaceful face.

        He placed down her head on his shoulder and leaned down closer to her ear and whispered,

        “It’s been a long time.”

 **

         [Name] rubbed her eyes as she makes her way to the kitchen to grab food. Noelle and Lisa greeted her with a good morning, as they prepare a morning meal for the half-awake teenager.

        “How’s your sleep?” The former asked as she placed down the cup of hotly brewed tea. Lisa sipped her tea quietly and moved the empty chair for her to take a seat. “Did you get a good sleep?”

        The younger sister only nodded, still half-asleep to make a response to her question. She groggily grabbed the fork and tore the omelet into several pieces, taking a piece of it to her mouth, saying nothing as she chewed her meal.

        “Hey, I was thinking,” Jean took a seat beside her and rested her palm on her right cheek, looking at the two happily. “How about you take your day off today, [Name]? You’ve done so many things ever since you’ve joined the Knights of Favonius. You deserve it.” The young female’s eyes widened at her announcement making her fully awake.

        [Name] fixed her hair and glanced down at her half-eaten dish, unconsciously tightly gripping her utensil. Her lips tugged upwards and her [eye color] sparkling in delight. The chair producing a sound as she stood up. 

        “Th-thank you so much!”

        The two women stared at her with warmth present on their optics and without a word, they nodded, watching her leave the omelet on the table. Lisa looked at Jean in worry as she placed her fingers on her chin, her eyebrows wrinkling in confusion and concern.

        “Should we call...?” 

        “Not yet, we have to make sure before calling him.”

        The Electro-vision holder breathed out air as she rubbed her temples to ease the ache that was forming. It’s just the early morning and they were already fretting over her sister. 

        [Name] strolled to the bathroom, preparing herself for the morning. It was so sudden the Acting Grandmaster gave her a day off! She hummed happily and felt her heart giddy. She needs to meet him one more time— no scratch that, she must meet him everyday, even if it’s just a second. 

        After taking a long shower, she dressed herself up in her usual attire and grabbed her satchel, placing the sling on her shoulder. She makes her way to the main door, grabbing her shoes and tapping them against the floor to make sure it fits. Before she opened the door to the outside world, someone called out to her.

        “Hey, wait!” She turned to where the voice came from and quirked one of her brows at the brunette. “You forgot to take your journal.” At the mention of the object, she immediately rummaged through her bag to check, and she’s right. No signs of the journal she always brings with her inside her bag.

        She strolled her way to her room but the tight grip on her shoulder stopped her tracks. Lisa moved closer to her and uttered, “If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, the Knights of Favonius are here for you.” She beamed, smiling gently at her as she held out the notebook.

        “Here.”

        [Name] was taken aback and reluctantly took the object from her hands. She averted her gaze away from her and mouthed a small thank you, leaving her alone in the hallway in silence. Once the door was shut close, Lisa heaved a sigh, caressing her own cheeks with her slim hands to restrain her mood change.

        Jean watched her marched her way to the library, her eyes scrutinizing the scene as her mind traced all the events that just happened.

 **

         [Name] laid her hands on her knees, panting, trying to get oxygen as much as possible. She wiped her perspiration that was falling down like tears on the side of her head with her hanky, fixing the bag in place. She gulped down the air and walked to their usual meeting place.

        She halted on her trail when she heard the familiar laughter from the distance. Moving forward, it was an unexpected sight of what she had seen. Never in her life thought Venti was good with animals. A dove was perched on his index finger, chirping in happiness. The white bird flapped its wings rapidly, flying away from the bard when it heard the sound of a branch snapping.

        “Ah. She left…” Venti watched the feathered animal flew with a sad look, unhappy he was left all alone again at the big tree in Windrise. His teal eyes caught something from the corner of his vision and faced them with a curious look. 

        “Oh?”

        “Sorry about that.” [Name] sheepishly chuckled at him, apologetic that his accompany left him. Venti merely chuckled and patted the ground opting for her to sit beside him.

        “It’s fine.” He said whilst he gently gazed at the blue skies. A moment later, the little bird came back again, now resting on the bard’s beret. The dove tilted its head to the direction of where the female was sitting, letting out a small chirp.

        The male hummed the same tune the other week, doing his usual routine if it’s just the two of them. Look at the sky, hum a tune, and play the lyre. The tree was looming over them as little drops of sunlight kissed his skin. He rubbed the bird's head with his finger, smiling at the animal.

        Venti caught her staring at him and smiled sweetly at her direction. The sensation of her appearance burning up made her look in any other places but him. Idiot idiot idiot idiot! She repeated those words like a mantra, burying her face on her knees, not wanting him to see her in an embarrassing state.

        A sudden thought came to her and pulled out her bag, taking out the item that her sister gave to her. She took out a pencil and her mind wandered if she should draw a portrait of him.

        “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

        She let out a small gasp and quickly hid her journal behind her. “W-what are you talking about?” 

        “Obviously you’re going to draw me, right?”

        Her complexion paled and turned her eyes somewhere else. Okay, she was expecting that she’ll get caught, but never did she know he knows what she's about to do. Just how on earth does he know everything?

        “Sh-shut up, Venti! I was just going to draw the dove!”

        “Whatever you say.”

 **

         “I’m home…” [Name] greeted the empty hallway, taking her shoes off and placed them near the door of her room. She took off her hair tie, letting her long [hair color] fall down, reaching her waist.

        “Welcome back, [Name]” Noelle welcomed her with a warm smile, untying her apron and tidied up her lavender hair. “Why don’t you go take a shower? Dinner will be ready shortly.” The female nodded as she stretched her arms, hearing that satisfying crack made her sigh in relief.

        She dropped her things on the couch in the living room and waved at Barbara who was reading an idol magazine and Klee watching a cartoon show with sparkly eyes. An odd smell wafted throughout the room. Barbara sniffed around and cringed to see where that smell came from.

        “[Name], you better take a shower now.” Her voice was nasally since she was pinching her nose to prevent the odor from entering her nose. [Name]’s face heated up and glared at her though, but it didn’t even frighten her, not one bit.

        “Come on, you’re really stinky.” Her childhood friend pushed her outside the room until they reach the bathroom.

        “Do you really have to repeat that every step we take?”

        “Yep.” 

        When they arrived at the entrance of the bathroom, the deaconess handed her a towel and pushed her shoulders to make her way to take a shower. 

        “Don’t take too long!!” She shouted once the door was shut. The blonde exhaled, messing up her hair as she strolled her way back to the living room. Flopping down next to Klee on the soft couch, her back relaxed against it,  slouching even more until she felt something on her bottom. Barbara’s hand felt a hard object and took it out that was stuck between her and the couch and saw it was [Name]’s journal.

        She bolted up from the couch as her sky blue eyes enlarged, lips quivering and her palms were getting clammy from nervousness and excitement. She dashed to where Noelle was and called out to her on top of her lungs.

        “Noelle! Noelle!”

        The said female faced her with a curious look and hummed.  

        “What is it?”

        “D-d-d—“

        “D- what?”

        “D-DIARY!!”

        Barbara quickly showed the notebook near her face. The Maid was taken aback by her swift actions and narrowed her viridescent eyes to the item. The deaconess opened [Name]’s journal and flipped every page to see any juicy stories inside. 

        Noelle’s face scrunched and looked at the teenager.

        “Um… I think [Name] will get really angry at you if you snoop around her privacy.” 

        The blonde’s hands stumbled as she shakily switched to a different page. Her fingers were trembling even more than the jelly.

        The former checked all the pages, eyes tracing all the words written down, even the dates. She then turned the next page and an image made her stopped for a moment. Her mouth immediately went dry whilst her skin paled at what she saw. 

        Noelle took a peek, curious at what made the deaconess of Mondstadt Cathedral look so sickly and horrified.

        Glancing down, her hands immediately covered her lips to refrain herself from letting out a loud gasp to alert the Knights of Favonius.

        Barbara gulped down the bile that formed in her throat, closing the book with a thud and laid it onto the table, leaving it.

 **

         [Name]’s friends watched her in the hallway tying her shoelaces and tapping it against the floor to check if it’s tied properly.

        “I’ll be taking my leave.”

        “Yeah, be safe out there! Don’t talk to strangers! Don’t— ow!” The librarian squeezed Kaeya’s skin telling him to keep quiet. She faced [Name] and gave a sweet smile at her. “Actually, we were thinking that why don’t we go with you? We really want to meet this friend of yours as well, it’s unfair if you just hide it from us.”

        [Name] and Kaeya looked at her in confusion, dumbfounded by her sudden suggestion. “Huh? What’s the sudden— OW! OKAY OKAY!!” The latter rubbed his back to ease the pain that was forming, probably it might become a bruise. The look on the brunette’s face made him sighed in exasperation and shut his mouth in silence, not wanting to face Lisa’s wrath.

        The [hair color] however just nodded, unsure of the sudden plan, but accepted nonetheless. 

        She sat on the couch, staring at her journal’s cover to distract herself as she waits for Lisa and Kaeya to finish preparing themselves. She looked at the several drawings she took of Venti and the dove just a week ago and just seeing these simple images made her heart tugged. Her train of thoughts was stopped abruptly when a familiar voice called out to her.

        “We’re ready~!” Barbara was leaning against the doorframe and gave a grin at [Name] with Lisa beside her. 

        Puzzlement was painted on the young female’s visage seeing the blonde dressed up. She looked at her sister if she could explain what’s going on.

        “Kaeya has other things to do so he asked Barbara if she wants to meet your friend too.”

        “Hope, we’re not too dressed up just for this meet and greet.” The blonde chuckled at her own statement, placing her gloved hand on her mouth to stifle her laughter. “No, you’re all good.” [Name] straightened her attire and fixed her scarf in place.

        The three of them exited their headquarters and make their way outside the city. They strolled together side by side, having a chat while they have a little journey. Barbara and Lisa were preparing themselves to meet this so-called Windborne Bard— or as what [Name] calls him, Venti.

 **

         “Y-you brought your friends...?” The male softly inquired. Stopping his humming, when he saw two unfamiliar people tagging along with [Name]. “Yeah, sorry if it came out unexpected. They said they wanted to meet you.” She tugged her scarf upwards to cover her face that was reddening. 

        Venti observed the two and gave them a small wave. The way they peered at his figure made him uncomfortable and he looked away from their eyes, getting a bit uncomfortable each second passed by.

        [Name] nudged her two friends, snapping them out of their thoughts. “O-oh pardon me… Um, hi…?” Barbara closed her eyes and smiled warmly at him whilst Lisa greeted the male with a nod, tucking her hands into the pocket of her coat. 

        “You can take a seat here.” Venti moved a bit from the other side and patted the grass, signing them to take a seat. The two continued to gawk at him and their attention was interrupted when the [hair color] nudged them once again. She signed her childhood friend and her sister to follow her, traipsing to the giant and old tree. Red, yellow, orange, and brown fronds leaving their own home as it falls down to the crust of the earth. 

        “Venti, this is Barbara and Lisa. Barbara, Lisa, this is the Windborne Bard.” The two females nodded silently. The young deaconess let out a puff of air and rubbed her hands together to create the warmth she’s been looking for. 

        “Stop calling me Windborne Bard please.” 

        “Huh, why? You said that’s your title?”

        “W-well, yeah, but don’t call me that. It’s quite wordy for an introduction!” Venti whisper-shouted at her, not wanting to get the attention of the two. The four of them discussed some things— more like it’s just [Name] and Venti who are talking while Lisa and Barbara were just nodding and listening. The former stood up and gave an apologetic look at them. “My apologies, but I’m not quite feeling well. I’ll just go over there to relax my mind.”

        Venti and [Name] looked at her, and they nodded their heads at her unsurely. Worry was etched on both of their faces, glancing at her figure who was rubbing her arms together. Barbara, who was with them, stood up as well and approached the sophisticated woman. 

        The male and female watched the scene unfold between the two of them, they were away from them, but they’re sure they were talking about something. The Hydro-vision user caught her friend looking at her in worry and just waved at her, assuring she’s fine. [Name] smiled back, her brows still creased in concern. When she turned her eyes from her friend to her sister, she noticed she was frantically shaking and walking around aimlessly as they talk.

        “Is everything alright between the three of you…?” Venti asked softly as he fiddled with the leaves that landed on his head. The [hair color] nodded slowly as she pulled her knees closer to her chest and hugged it. He knew this was a sign she needs comfort, so he moved closer to her and rubbed her back in assurance.

        “As far as I know, everything is good between the three of us. We don’t argue or anything like that…”

        He hummed in acknowledgment as he continued to stroke her back. The dove moved closer to him, a chirp softly escaped from its small beak. 

        “Talk to them, they’re your friends right?”

        “But—!”

        “You don’t have to keep coming here… Everything’s good here.”

        He glanced at [Name]’s two friends with his teal eyes, observing them with his watchful gaze.

 **

         The trio went back home, stepping in the sunset road. It was a comfortable silence as they walk their way back to the headquarters. When they arrived at their destination, the Knights greeted them.

        Opening the door to their humble home, they made their way to whatever task they’ll do; Barbara will get a meal whilst Lisa will take a shower. [Name] slumped her body to the couch, reading the messages Venti wrote in her notebook. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the beautiful handwriting, etching each stroke in her head.

        Her head throbbed once,

        Twice,

        Then thrice.

        “Here, I’ve made some little poems for you. Hehe~”

        [Name] exhaled and threw her notebook at the other end of the sofa, bouncing back as it landed on the cushion. She let out a yawn, placing her head on her arms, not bothering to go to her room.

 **

          “As far as I know, everything is good between the three of us. We don’t argue or anything like that…”

        “…”

        “But—“

        “…”

        “Hey, can you repeat that one more time?” The blonde asked the brunette. The latter did as what was asked and repeated the video one more time.

        “As far as I know, everything is good between us—“

        Lisa’s emerald eyes vacantly looked at the video playing for the umpteenth time. She and Barbara were talking about the events that happened in the field. The older female asked Albedo if he can create a recorder. Fortunately, it didn’t really take him a long time, and finished it a day before they could meet the Windborne Bard.

        The two glanced at her sleeping figure, her body vulnerable. Barbara eyed Lisa, staying quiet while Jean was leaning onto the door frame with her arms crossed.

        “So… is now the time to call?”

        Quietude filled the room until the other spoke out. Her eyes gleamed in the darkness looking at Jean humourlessly.

        “We’ll do it tomorrow.”

 **

         “Hey, Venti…” The male hummed letting her know he’s listening. He opened one of his eyes and looked at her in confusion. 

        “They’re acting weird…” [Name] pressed her lips into a thin line, creasing her brows together. Yesterday morning they were fine but that afternoon until now, they’re being unusual. 

        Was it because they met Venti?

        “It’s surprising you’re calling me by that name.” His response irked her and she threw a punch at him. The bard feigned he was in pain, whining in complaint at her. 

        “You didn’t answer my question!” She glared at him as she puffed her cheeks in annoyance. The male airily laughed at her, a thought came to his mind that she looked like a pufferfish.

        “It wasn’t a question though!” He retorted. The unexpected smirk made her breath hitch, forgetting what she will say to him as a comeback. She gritted her teeth in anger and punched him one more time, but this time with more strength. He let out a shout of pain and backed away from her when an aura of menace was surrounding her. His complexion whitened and stepped away until he felt the rough trunk of the tree brushing his back.

        “Please forgive me…” 

        Before she could throw her fists at him, her Vision glowed catching both of their attention. Venti heaved a sigh in relief clutching his chest to relax his pounding heart when [Name] used her element and observed what was going on.

        The name of her sister was stamped on it, Vision still continuing to glow brightly— a sign of an emergency. She glared at him one last time and said, “Be glad Lady Luck saved you. Something urgent came up and I have to go back to Mondstadt.”

        “I see. Be safe in going home.” She nodded at him and waved him a farewell. She took one more glance at him before walking away from their usual hangout place.

 **

         When [Name] walked towards the living room, a familiar person was sitting on the couch, sipping the newly brewed tea. Not only that, almost everyone in the Knights of Favonius was gathered in the living room. 

        He didn’t notice her presence and continued to scan the paper he was currently holding that was attached to a clipboard.

        She observed his well-kept appearance. He was wearing a long white coat that reached the back of his knees. His partially tied tan hair made her realize who this was.

        Kreideprinz…?

        The reverberating of the footsteps caught the young man’s ears and looked up to see a confused [Name] standing across him. Lisa and Jean arrived just in time as the teenager looked completely bewildered not understanding why Albedo was here.

        “W-what’s going on here…?” 

        She looked at him and at the two ladies wanting at least one of them to explain what in the world happened while she’s gone. Noelle placed down the tray she was holding that was filled with cups and a teapot. [Name] silently obeyed her sister who told her to take a sit.

        An eerie silence spread through the room until the male coughed to get their attention. 

        “Long time no see, [Name].” 

        Albedo adjusted his outfit and smiled warmly at her. The female nodded slowly in silence. 

        “Do you mind if we talk about the friend of yours you’ve been seeing lately?”

        Her mouth went dry and she shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Is something going on?”

        He heaved a sigh and crossed his arms on his chest, leaning back to the couch for his back to rest.

        “Would you please give me a short description of your friend? What’s he like?”

        [Name] clenched her fist tightly and answered him with conviction. “His name is Venti. He’s a good friend of mine, we just talk about whatever is in our mind.”

        “I see…” The Chief Alchemist grabbed his pencil and scribbled down on the clipboard he was currently holding. Perplexity plastered on her face as she looked at her two friends, they weren’t looking back at her. Kaeya's attention was fixated on the ground, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. Same as Barbara, she was avoiding making eye contact with her.

        “Can you give me Venti’s physical characteristics?” The male looked up at her once more, patiently waiting for her response. She responded with ease, replying he has tousled black hair and the tips fading to aqua color, has twin braids in front, taller than her.

        He hummed and continued to take notes as he listened to her counting to list down things about her friend.

        “Last question, did you—“

        His sentence was cut off when [Name] abruptly stood up from her seat and took his clipboard from his hands. Her temple wrinkled in vexation, scanning what he had taken notes about her and Venti. Her attitude altered, [eye color] eyes widening as her respiration became difficult. 

        [Name]’s lips trembled like a leaf, her blood ran out of her skin as her grip loosened the clipboard making it fall down to the floor with a loud clack. She stepped back from them and held her hands closer to her chest. 

        She took one more glance at the paper that has been scattered all over the ground. Her mind became jumbled, not comprehending what was written on it.

          DIAGNOSIS: HALLUCINATION

         “Is this some kind of sick joke?” She lowly uttered out to them. Lisa slowly approached her but she took a step back in return. “[Name], we’ll explain everything but please calm down, okay?”

        “Hallucination?! Wh-what in the hell are you all talking about?! I’m not hallucinating! I don’t even take drugs!” One step backward, as her sister moved forward.

        “Please take it easy—“

        “Take it easy?! How can I take it easy?! You’ve been acting weird this entire week, and you’re telling me I’m hallucinating just because I gave a short description about Venti?!”

        “YES!!” Jean, Lisa, and Kaeya were startled at the sudden and loud interjection of Barbara who was panting heavily. Her shoulders moving up and down as she tries to catch her breathing back to normal. She stomped to where the [hair color] was standing still and grabbed her shoulders tightly. She winced in pain as tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, but Barbara didn’t care at all. She shook her delicate body and shouted,

         “You’re the one who’s been acting weird! These past few months you keep meeting up with this Venti! We keep asking you if you want to hang out with us, but no! You keep promising us you will next week but it never happened!!”

         Lisa placed her hands on her mouth to suppress her sobbing, heavy tears falling down to her cheeks like a waterfall, a never-ending stream. The deaconess’s breathing shortened and it was her turn to shed tears, her grip on [Name]’s shoulder loosened, as she fell down to her knees and holding her shirt a bit tightly. Wet fluid dripped down to the ground as even more trickled like rain, forming into several small puddles. The closure of her glottis and her gulping several times made it even worse for her to catch her respiration.

        “Venti…. Venti isn’t real…”

        [Name]’s cobalt eyes expanded like saucers, her heart stopped beating, and her world became completely soundless. Her senses became numb, Hearing has become static, her vision becoming blurry, her breathing became shorter, and her fingers became insensible. 

        Every single thing is spinning. Round and round like a carousel, endlessly revolving like there was no button to stop it.

        “W-what….? Didn’t you two meet him the other day…?”

        “No one was there…” Lisa gave a muffled response at her, still covering her mouth.

        “….Huh…?”

        No one…? But they understand what he’s saying, right? They were listening to him, right? 

          He’s real, right…?

         Her sister let out a device that was created by the Chief Alchemist, and she took a glance at it. There was a video awaiting for her to press the play button.

        [Name] slowly lifted her finger on the screen and watched the scene unfold.

        She was sitting on the grassy field with her knees drew closer to her chest, clutching it as if it’s her teddy bear. In silence, she watched with attentive eyes and listened closely to the video playing.

        “As far as I know, everything is good between the three of us. We don’t argue or anything like that…”

        “….” 

        Oh, she still remembered that day. It was that time where Venti asked her if her relationship with her friends is still in good condition, but the only problem is

          Why is it that she can’t hear Venti’s soft voice? Or even more,

          Why is he not there? Not a single sign of him was there.

          It’s as if he didn’t exist .

          Nobody,

          Not a single strand of his black and teal hair was there.

          No sign of him fiddling the leaves that landed on his head.

          Why? 

           Why?

           WHY?

           WHY?!

          [Name] made a bolt for the door, running as fast as she can, and not caring about the sensation of the cold night breeze caressing her skin. 

        The sudden escape of their friend surprised everyone. Albedo called out to her but it was no use since she was now gone, going off somewhere to Archon knows where. Barbara, Lisa, and him chased after her and didn’t fuss if it was cold as Snezhnaya. The air they breathe out turned to a chilly smoke, the brisk wind blowing their hair and a pile of leaves blew over the roads and into ditches made them lost sight of her silhouette.

        Lisa clicked her tongue and scanned the area if there are any signs or trails of her footsteps, but none was found. 

        She left Barbara and Albedo alone in the streets and continued to run, shouting out her sister’s name to the quiet city of Mondstadt.

 **

         Adrenaline coursed through her veins and a thin layer of sweat covered the nape of her neck. Keeping her breath steady, she pushed her legs forward and went faster. The cold air bit into her lungs but she still forced herself to move forward. At this great speed, [Name] could already see the familiar shape of the person she’s been looking for. 

        She cried out his name louder and louder until he turned his head to where her voice was.

        Before Venti could question her, he was already engulfed in a hug. His face turned red when he felt the female buried her face in the crook of his neck. He let out a confused noise, unsure where to put his arms. His arms stop flailing around when he felt his shirt getting wet. 

        She could hold her heartbreak no longer and tightened her restraint on his shirt in a disheveled heap as her grief poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears. 

        “Y-you’re real, r-right…?”

        She caressed his messy coal-black hair and fiddle with the braids laying on his shoulder. Her fingers trailed to trace the outline of his face until she cupped both sides of his face to make him look up at her.

        A tear fell down on his cheeks as it faltered all the way down to the corner of his lips. Her lips trembled as she cried, tears raced down her cheeks. Venti slid his hand over her cheeks and wipes away the wet stain every few seconds.

        “I’m holding you right now, s-see? You’re real, right? Tell me, you’re real.” Her lips shuddered, making her words to be incoherent. The bard stayed quiet and continued to remove the tears that were threatening to fall out of her eyes.

        “Please, Venti, answer me.” 

        [Name] rested her head on his shoulder, her weeping won’t end until she hears the truth from him. Gently, he placed his hands on the sides of her face and lifted it up. 

        His warm-hearted smile instantly caught her attention. The way he just nonchalantly gave her a bright smile made her feel uneasy.

        His gesture was almost affectionate.

        He slipped his arm on the back of her head and pulled her closer until she felt the tips of his lips brushed against her ear and whispered.

        Her body didn’t know how to react, it just shut down. She froze to a point where she was hardly breathing. Her mouth opened, her body didn’t move. The color drained from her face as she stared wide-eyed at the person in front of her.

 **

         A low, waning gibbous moon hovered tenuously in the twilight firmament, bestowing a very dim light upon the land. Lisa continued to call out for [Name] as she waved the lantern around the area to look for her whilst Barbara called the rest of the Knights to help them in their search.

        The air was bitter and cruel against their flushed cheeks but they weren’t giving up. Even on this cold night, they will still continue to seek their friend. The blonde rubbed her hands together and placed it on her mouth, exhaling to warm her shivering body. 

        Their steps resonating around the field is what they can hear along with the wind howling. The endless search for Lisa’s sister is still ongoing. Barbara checked the time on the big clock at the Cathedral and it was almost 11 in the evening. She pursed her lips together and pulled her arms closer to her. 

        “Did you ask them if they know Venti?” Lisa started. The sudden question startled the young female and her eyes gazed to the grassy ground. 

        “I did.”

        “What did they said?”

        She opened her mouth to answer but for some reason, no sound came out. She tried to at least let out some words but it was still no use.

        Was she scared to answer? No of course she isn’t. The blonde shook her head to erase the thoughts and took a deep breath, gathering her courage to tell her the result.

        “They know him.” 

        The brunette paused in her tracks and glanced her friend over her shoulder. When Barbara looked back at her, her eyes told her as a sign to continue.

        “They said he was killed in a war… From what I know, he was seeking freedom. The freedom we currently have here in Mondstadt was thanks to him.”

        “I see…”

        Lisa continued to stroll down the fields. Walking aimlessly, the blonde bumped herself to the librarian and the Chief Alchemist whose walking started to slow down.

        The latter’s lantern flashed to the big tree and when he dragged it down, they finally found who they were looking for. 

        [Name] rested her back against the coarse bark of the tree. Her eyes were closed and she tilted her head to the other side. 

        Before Barbara could go after her, she was stopped by a tight hold on her bare arm. “L-let me go!! Please!! [Name]…! We finally found [Name]!!” A single drop of happiness welled up from the corner of her eyes as she tried to pry Albedo’s hold on her but he won’t budge.

        When the Electro-vision user dragged the other light from the other side, her breathing had become light and her mouth gaped. The deaconess's struggling had stopped when her eyes trailed over the unfamiliar sight that was in front of them. Their limbs went numb with absolute shock and the hair started to tinge along the back of their neck.

        Several fireflies were swarming her body, their light flickering beautifully under the moonlight. Lisa made a dash to where [Name] is and quickly carried her body to her arms. 

        “[Name], wake up!” The female shook her body, but it only stayed limp, unresponsive to the call of her sister. She called out to her one more time and shook her body even more.

        “[Name]!! Wake up!!”

        Albedo rushed to her side and pressed his fingers to where her heart is to check her pulse.

        “[Name], stay with us!!”

        “[Name]! [Name]!!”

 **

          Venti slipped his arm on the back of her head and pulled her closer until she felt the tips of his lips brushed against her ear and whispered.

        “I was real.”

        Her body didn’t know how to react, it just shut down. She froze to a point where she was hardly breathing. Her mouth opened, her body didn’t move. The color drained from her face as she stared wide-eyed at the person in front of her.

        “W-what do you mean…?”

        “What I said is what it means.” He placed his hands back to the ground and lifted his head up to look at the starry sky.

        “I… I don’t get it…” The tears had stopped falling but there were still obvious stains marked on her face, her [eye color] eyes red and swollen from crying so much. He wiped her right eye with his thumb and flicking away the liquid.

        “You’ll understand later. You better go now, your friends are probably worried you just escaped suddenly.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips but shortly after that, a yawn escaped from his mouth. He stood up and started walking away from her.

        “H-hey wait..! D-don’t go! Don’t leave me alone! Venti, please!!!”

        Streams of tears flowed faster than her heartbeat, her eyesight has become blurry; it was difficult for her to see clearly. As more of the droplets fell down to her cheeks, more thoughts whirled through her head. She stretched out her arms at him, desperately reaching out, wanting him to just take her with him.

        Venti took one more glance at her over his shoulder and called out her name affectionately. The wind pressed around her body as if it was trying to suffocate her, the wind was getting stronger and stronger; her body trembled so much from its coldness but [Name] still lifted her head up with all her strength she could muster and look at him with her disheveled state.

        She didn’t care if she was a mess, she just wanted to look at him. 

        She wanted to hear him call her name one more time.

        She fell down to her knees, as big fat tears of grief welled up her swollen eyes and a choked sob kept escaping from her jittering lips. She was sure she saw a trail of light tears fell from one of his eyes.

        Venti gave a bright smile at her, the one she always loved which always brightens up everything, and closed his eyes, finally voicing the thoughts that have been in the back of his mind all evening,

   “Let’s meet again, for the first time.”

   【 ＥＰＩＬＯＧＵＥ】

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴

𝘛𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥

𝘛´𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥

𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦´𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥,

− 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

[Aegis]

[king-maven-calore]

prompt #25 “your hair is really soft” for marecal please 😙

I did this and "10 cal and mare please. idc who says it lol"👀 in a single drabble, I hope you guys don't mind. It's a modern AU I guess

Cal had been volunteering at the Scarlet Guard summer camp for two seasons now, this would be his third. The first time he’d been here as moral support for Ptolemus, who’d been sent here for his community service sentence. Ptolemus had signed up again for the following summers for Wren, a med student in charge of the infirmary, and Cal kept signing up because he found out he loved working with children.

He always had a great time helping the kids, training them in archery and other sports, patting their backs when they got homesick, leading them on walks through the woods belting out marching songs, sitting with them at lunch, and making good use of his excellent puns arsenal. The kids had a blast, and he did too.

In this part of the Greatwoods Region, he found paradise. His dad disapproved and Maven did not understand but was he too happy to mind.

It would have been a shame if he’d proven them right on his third year here when he almost died out of sheer stupidity. But could he be blamed? Could he be blamed when the five new counselors got down from one of the early buses and one of them looked like that?

Among the newbies, there was a petite girl with golden skin that seemed to sparkle under the early morning sun. She jumped down from the bus and a cloud of dirt exploded around her already dirty Vans, her toned legs were generously exposed under her jean shorts, and the lines of her abdomen peeking out from under the camp’s counselor reglementary red polo shirt as she stretched and arched her back to tie her dyed brown and purple hair in a bun, scowling at her surroundings with something akin to distrust. She was the loveliest girl he’d ever seen in such a violent way... was it really his fault he didn’t pay attention to the lightbulbs he’d been changing at the side of the dining hall, perched atop a rickety ladder 10 feet above the ground? It wasn’t. Electricity didn’t give a shit about whose fault was it though when he blindly stuck his hand in the exposed wires next to the light socket.

A white explosion, sparkles, and a sensation of being pulled away at 1000 miles per hour.

Next thing he knew, he was on his back and there was a warm mouth against his. Warm, soft, insistent— on breathing air into him. And good god, this person smelled like heaven; jasmine and rain. Much to his dismay, the scent and the mouth left him and his chest started getting crushed in rhythmic, urgent motions.

Cal gulped air and shot upright. He was surrounded by 20 consternated young faces and one barely inches away from his face. Beautiful, wide brown eyes, thick long eyelashes that brushed against high cheekbones when the girl who’d just saved his life blinked twice.

“Dude.” Kneeling next to him, the girl with the purple hair knitted her brow. “What the fuck?”

And Cal couldn’t help but smile at her. A reflex. She was even prettier up close.

“I think we should check for brain damage,” a blond with bottle green eyes muttered.

Oh, but his brain was fine. It was his heart he should get checked, for he’d just been struck by Cupid’s arrow.

And electricity, of course. The smell of burnt hair, clothes, and flesh reminded him.

The result of that encounter turned out to be quite positive. Yes, he got a second-degree burn on his right hand and a dislocated shoulder from the fall but he refused to be sent home, it had been worth it to get to meet Mare Barrow.

She was 18, from Albanus, only here for the money, best friends with the blondie jokester and— as he learned after a dubiously moral social media stalking session —single and interested in men.

The only thing he regretted from that “meet cute” was that he’d been mostly unconscious (technically dead) for 99% of the time her lips were on his.

He lived for the moments they crossed paths during their daily activities around the camp. His heart grew in size about five times when she teased him and lightly punched his stomach or ruffled his hair.

Ptolemus cocked a brow but kept his mouth thankfully shut when Cal decided to start sitting on the counselor’s table during dinner instead of with the kids, as he had grown accustomed to.

It was miserable and extraordinary how he even found the way she ate her food endearing. More often than not, miserable because he couldn’t A: get her to like him, for she was too laser-focused on doing her job efficiently and getting the hell out of the camp; B: touch her as casually as she did with him because his hand was bandaged, and C: relationships between counselors were strictly forbidden.

By the time his hand was healthy enough to be of any use, three weeks had passed and he was head over heels, neck-deep (to not use other body parts for reference), stupidly in love with the sarcastic girl who had put her own breath into his lungs, challenged him every time they got the chance and looked at him like she wanted to sink her hand into his ribcage to take a bite out of his heart. Needless to say, he wanted to touch her. Badly. Ok, maybe do a bit more than 'touch', but you get the idea.

His excuse was handed on a silver platter by one of his favorite campers, Luther Carver. The kid who was usually off-standish and grim— just misunderstood, in Cal’s opinion – had signed up for the braiding lessons that Mare was unhappily in charge of.

On his way back from the lake, his crew of kids trailing behind him, he passed along the group of girls and Luther taking their lesson, sitting in a circle on the grass between the pine trees. An idyllic image of children focused on their task, and Mare’s poorly concealed discomfort as she sat on a log bench and supervised the activities, biting the inside of her cheek, elbows on her knees. It should be illegal to be that beautiful without meaning to.

“Hi, Cal!” Luther chirped as a girl behind him stared with furious determination at her handiwork. “How does my hair look?”

Cal signaled for his group to keep walking back to the camp and approached the small clearing.

“It looks amazing, buddy!” Cal gave him a thumb up. To be honest, his braid of long black hair was slightly (very) crooked to the left, and Mare noticed. She hid her laugh behind cough and a fist. “It is very original.”

Luther beamed and turned slightly to wink in his fellow camper’s direction. The girl blushed and giggled and Cal wanted nothing more than to give them a bear hug and tell them how smart and kind they were. Kids were the best thing in this world. Especially when they said things like...

“Mare’s hair is still the same,” Luther sighed wearily. “Someone should do something about it.”

All the girls hummed and nodded in agreement and Mare closed her eyes and Cal could read her thoughts as she counted to ten.

“Fine, you guys win.” Ah, so her untouched hair had been a recurring topic. “Cal can braid my hair!” she said with fake excitement that went over the kids’ heads, thankfully. “If he knows how to, that is.” Her brown eyes locked with his in camaraderie, fully expecting him to turn down the task with some excuse to appease their audience.

“Ok,” he shrugged happily as he walked over to her and her smug face dissolved into a confused frown and the kids cheered.

He made a shooing motion with his hand and she moved to sit on the grass awkwardly while he took her place on the log bench, sitting with his feet placed on either side of her body.

“What the hell are you doing?” she whispered through gritted teeth so only he could hear her, craning her neck up to glare at him, when he started cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect.

Were this any other context, he would savor the warmth her body radiated to the inside of his legs. Not this context. Absolutely not.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he smirked down at her. “Now stop moving and let me braid your hair.”

With one last suspicious look, she heaved a breath and stared ahead as he tugged the scrunchie off her hair and let the brown and purple waves spill down her back.

Cal had no fucking clue how to do braid but how hard could it be? It was like a knot with hair. Right? He looked at what the girls sitting on the grass were doing. Ok, that seemed doable. He combed his long fingers through Mare’s hair to loosen any knots and... Holy. Fucking. Shit.

He successfully hid a shudder while Mare uninterestedly hugged her knees to her chest.

He was choking on his own breath. Her hair was so soft and the scent of it was so amazing it pierced his fingertips, reached his bloodstream, and shot to his head. Jasmine and rain like that first day. Cal stilled for a moment and blinked forcefully to regain some semblance of rational thought.

“What is it?” Mare muttered curtly. Was it his imagination or did it sound more like a gasp than scolding?

“Nothing,” he said and started imitating the nearest girl’s technique. No point in lying, he bent down to whisper in her ear. “Your hair is really soft.” It wasn’t meant to come out so raspy and needy, and still...

Mare turned to the side and they were face to face. She seemed offended, but not really, with a confused glare darkening her burning gaze, a lovely red tint spreading all over her cheeks and neck, slightly parted plush lips.

She looked on the verge of kissing him or punching him. Cal prayed and ached it was the former because she licked her lips, leaving a glossy sheen and he wanted nothing more than to...

“OHHH Mare and Cal sitting in a tree!” A girl squealed, pointing at them from across the clearing and suddenly 10 pairs of devilish eyes were on them and chanting. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

They jumped away from each other so fast one might think they had been electrocuted again as they rushed to explain that “No, they were NOT doing anything of the sort!”

[hlizr50]

Update: The Raven and the Songbird

Chapter 7

Cassian provides comic relief.

And Gwyn and Az spar for the first time since... everything.

Read on AO3

“Well today was interesting.” Nesta raised a brow. Gwyn chose to play dumb.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shrugged. Her head wasn’t really there, she knew, and her friend could have seen it from miles away.

“Gwyneth Berdara!” Nesta huffed, crossing her arms. “I held you last night as you cried over the shadowsinger and today you can’t stop ogling each other and grinning like fools. What. Happened?” Gwyn smiled sincerely, leaning in to kiss her sister on the cheek.

“I love you, and I will forever be grateful that you are by my side. And that you stalked straight into that study and gave him hell,” the priestess laughed. “We talked last night. I found him in the training ring.”

Gwyn and Nesta sat on the sofa in the library, legs tucked beneath them. Training had ended and hour before and Nesta had practically dragged the redhead inside after being caught in the middle of one-too-many sidelong glances between the priestess and the shadowsinger. Nesta’s ice-gray stare bore into her through narrowed eyes.

“So what? You’re miserable for three weeks and he says he’s sorry and magically everything is fine? I’m disappointed, Berdara.” Nesta scowled. “I wanted you to at least make him squirm a little.”

Gwyn’s head rocked back as she laughed, likely the most genuine mirth she’d experienced in weeks. “Don’t worry, dear Valkyrie. He’s not off the hook yet.” She felt her nose crinkle as her friend’s eyebrows lifted again, this time in surprise.

“Explain, Gwyneth,” she commanded.

“Well,” Gwyn paused, contemplating how to keep the story succinct. “I made him explain himself, and he walked me through his past. He said he wouldn’t blame me if I couldn’t forgive him, but that he cares for me… as more than a friend. And I told him I felt the same.” Her heart swelled just as it had the night before, a quiet confession she hadn’t been sure she ever wanted to hear. Not unless it was from Azriel.

“WHAT?!” Nesta shot to her feet and began pacing excitedly in front of the fireplace with her hands covering her mouth. Then she stopped, turning to Gwyn and leaning on the plush armrest. “So are you an item now?”

“No.” Gwyn’s smile was smug as her friend groaned dramatically and collapsed playfully over the sofa arm. “Not yet, at least.” Nesta lifted her head.

“Oh?”

“I told him that things would go back to how they were before this necklace debacle. That’s how our relationship developed in the first place.” She absentmindedly fingered the pendant as she spoke. “He has to prove to me that he won’t fall into this cycle of guilt and self-loathing and deciding for me what I want or deserve. And once I can trust that he won’t push me away like that we’ll find out what’s next.”

“Darling priestess, I’m impressed!” Nesta pushed herself back upright, leaning once again on the couch. “What did he say?”

Gwyn felt the heat in her cheeks as she recalled the roughness of his declaration, his voice unlike any other time she’d heard him speak.

“He swore to me that he would.”

“He swore? Cauldron, Gwyn, you have him wrapped around your finger already!”

“And then I hugged him.”

Nesta’s lips quirked up on one side and she tilted her head. Gwyn wasn’t sure what to make of that reaction, like she was being studied. “And what did he do then?”

“What else does a person do when you hug them?” The priestess giggled. “He put his arms around me and hugged back.” She conveniently forgot to mention that he’d seemed to breathe her in after that. That it had felt like he was trying to pull her so far into him that she wouldn’t be able to pull away. It had been the most incredible feeling.

Gwyn looked to her friend but found a narrowed gray gaze and flaring nostrils.

“CASSIAN!”

The priestess squeaked as she launched herself to the opposite side of the couch, desperate to quiet her sister’s call. She balanced a knee precariously on the armrest, slapping a hand over Nesta’s mouth.

“Nesta Archeron,” she hissed. “What in the Mother’s name!”

“CASSIAN! Library! NOW!” Nesta held Gwyn’s wrists in her hands, lips curled in amusement. The redhead struggled to quiet her, a string of obscenities rolling from her lips. “Berdara, such language! Hardly becoming of a priestess!”

Said priestess pushed off the sofa arm and pulled Nesta down to the ground, pinning the eldest Archeron on her back between her legs. Her victorious smirk fell when she looked up to find the Illyrian general staring down at them, arms crossed over his broad chest and eyes twinkling with mischief.

“I’m going to kill you, Archeron,” Gwyn growled before flashing a bright smile at Cassian. “Hello, General.”

“I’m not sure what’s happening here. I don’t know if I should be concerned, jealous, or aroused.” Cassian’s grin widened as the priestess scowled, even as she felt the blush burning her cheeks.

“You’re a pig,” his mate muttered before pushing her captor in the stomach. “Get off me, Berdara. We have things to discuss.”

“I don’t see how your mate belongs in this discussion,” Gwyn retorted, but rose to her feet and offered a hand to the other Valkyrie. Nesta got up and they helped dust each other off. She lifted an eyebrow at the copper-haired priestess, her smirk creating a coil of suspicion in Gwyn’s stomach.

“Cassian,” Nesta cooed before turning to face him. “Apparently our dear priestess and the shadowsinger shared an embrace last night.”

“Is that so?” Gwyn pressed her hands to her face, trying to douse the fire that was blazing in her cheeks as the Illyrian fixed her with an unyielding amber stare.

“It is. I’m guessing you didn’t know?” Cassian’s gaze moved to his mate.

“You think Az would tell me something like that?” He laughed, sending Gwyn a wink that only ignited her face further. She groaned and collapsed onto the fluffy cushions of the couch, desperate for this conversation to end.

“He’s your closest friend, isn’t he? I tell my best friend everything.” Gwyn peeked out from between her fingers in time to see Nesta fix a pointed glare on her. “Although, it seems my best friend may be wary to do the same.”

“Nes, Azriel doesn’t tell me anything about his love life. He knows I’ll immediately use it to make his life miserable.”

“Gods, Cassian, please don’t,” Gwyn pleaded, planting her hands on either side of her thighs. The Illyrian plopped onto the couch next to her and shot her a boyish grin.

“I make no promises, little Valkyrie.”

She took in his hulking form as she shook her head at him, a smile creeping onto her lips. Cassian was the personification of strength and power, with confidence that toed the fine line into arrogance. With those rippling muscles that were never truly hidden – no matter how loose a shirt he wore – it was any wonder he didn’t have females hanging from those thick biceps at every moment. But she imagined Nesta would put an end to anything of the sort quickly and in the most terrifying way. Gwyn had always been somewhat surprised that the general hadn’t absolutely terrified her, but she had been remarkably intimidated – his reputation, his swagger, his skill. There was a time not-so-long ago when she couldn’t have imagined feeling so self-assured. Even now she was sure she’d never quite make it to Cassian’s level of easy confidence, but she had come so far from that soft-spoken, timid nymph in the library.

“I don’t even know why I asked.” Gwyn rolled her eyes and flopped back against the velvet tufts and buttons of the well-worn couch.

“Aw, now don’t be like that, Gwynnie,” the general pouted and leaned toward her. She crossed her arms and grimaced, freckled nose scrunching at the nickname. “I promise I’ll try to be good. But that’s all I can promise.”

“He just can’t help himself,” Nesta mused.

“Well I appreciate your effort, I suppose. Since it will be so difficult for you.”

“Anything for you, little Valkyrie.” The general tapped a finger on the tip of Gwyn’s nose and guffawed at her glare. Apparently she wasn’t as intimidating as she’d hoped. But she saw Cassian’s eyes soften, amber gaze shining in the afternoon sunlight through the large windows. “I’m glad you were able to talk to him. Nes had us worried last night.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your boys’ night. I never would’ve asked her to –“

“Don’t be sorry. I’m not.” The honey-haired Valkyrie crossed in front of Gwyn and placed herself on her mate’s lap, looping her arms around his neck. Gwyn’s heart squeezed at the casual display, the intimacy of it. It wasn’t a big deal for the couple before her, but… was that something she could have? Something she could do? Would Azriel want that – closed-off and guarded as he always seemed to be? Smiling and laughing was one thing, but public displays of affection? “Shit got done thanks to me. And if that’s what it took to get him to stop being a fucking imbecile then I will never apologize.”

“I think things are on the right track now.” Gwyn smiled, though she kept her gaze focused on the whorls of dark wood grain in the coffee table. “Hopefully.”

~~~

Two Days Later

Azriel’s shadows wafted like smoke around him, an indication of a peace that was beginning to bloom inside him. Although he had awoken in the middle of the night, it wasn’t his typical darkness and demons that chased him out of bed. He closed his eyes and grinned, feeling the familiar weight of Truthteller in his grasp. Maybe his body was simply accustomed to waking up in the middle of the night, now, and it would take months – or years – of relatively peaceful sleep to change that.

The shadowsinger inhaled deeply, letting his body feel everything around him – the cool night air caressing his wings, the soft glow of the moon brightening the backs of his eyelids, the grounding presence of solid stone as he pushed his weight down through his booted feet and into the packed dirt of the ring. Then he lifted his foot and began the dance, a more elaborate form of the eight-pointed star that he had developed centuries ago, mixing intricate close-proximity blade work with feinting, defense, and hand-to-hand. Every flick of the wrist was carefully choreographed in time with a metronome of inhales and exhales, every shift in weight a perfect harmony accompanying the melody of blade and fist slicing the air.

This, he understood, was one of the most feared males in all of Prythian. Every step, every breath calm and calculated – the result of ruthless research and perfect practice. The Spymaster understood that physical strength and prowess were absolutely important, but the ability to predict and bend and break an enemy hinged on one’s ability to intimately understand every part of the mind inside the body. To so deeply know those who would do harm to his Court, his family, was to be them and see their chosen path, ideally before they even chose it.

And so the dance continued.

Azriel felt the skin of his bare chest and back tighten, pebbling as the breeze and the curling shadows wicked the perspiration from his tanned flesh. He loved this feeling, the quiet and cold of the night a safe haven against prying eyes. They were always on him. He felt them as intensely as if they were the brush of fingers on his skin – lustful longing glances, morbid curiosity over his scarred body and ruined hands, abject and wide-eyed terror at the Spymaster in the flesh. Sometimes his shadows helped hide him, and sometimes he loosened their leash, allowing the inky tendrils to writhe and pulse in his wake, reminding the world just what he was.

Darkness. Malice. Death. The vilified and reviled Court of Nightmares personified in the heart of the beauty of the city of starlight.

So many times he had resigned to himself that he should take residence there, in the Hewn City. Too many times he had been tempted to shut himself off from the love and light of his family and his court and let the shadows consume him. He was endlessly grateful to those who had reached out their hands and walked him back from that ledge – a cliff hanging over the raging black waters of sorrow, brokenness, anger, and fear. Cassian and Rhys. Mor. Feyre.

Gwyn.

Even in the solitude of his midnight practice he could feel the burn of her ocean-deep eyes and scent the hint of rain and water lilies –

Azriel’s eyes snapped open and he spun the quarter turn he knew would leave him facing the doorway. There he found the priestess, clad in those leathers that didn’t hide an inch of her, Cauldron damn him. She leaned against the frame with crossed arms and graced him with a soft smile. He could feel his shadows curl under her thoughtful gaze and he cursed them for once again not alerting him to her presence. It took him but a breath to take in the sight of her, not wanting to ogle her so obviously – a crass male instinct he worked desperately to beat into submission. Gwyn seemed to glow in the night, but while her smooth porcelain skin shone in the moonlight and her straight hair was a fire burning against it, he was captivated always by the teal depths of her impossibly expressive eyes. The emotions he had seen there had nearly brought him to his knees more times than he cared to admit.

“Please, Shadowsinger, don’t stop on my account.” She waved those graceful fingers in his direction, urging him on.

“And give you a free show? I don’t think so.” The sound of her full-bodied laugh may have been the most glorious thing he had ever heard, the sincerity of it something he’d taken for granted. The shadows over his shoulders seemed to vibrate in time with her mirth.

“And what of all I saw before you even realized I was here?”

“A free preview, of course.” He let his lips quirk into a wry smile. “To tempt you.” Gwyn snorted – Mother above she snorted at him. And when she only lifted a skeptical eyebrow at him, he continued.

“Spar with me. If you win I’ll let you watch.”

“You must think mighty highly of yourself if my beating you in a fight would win only the opportunity to watch you train the eight-pointed star, beautiful and elaborate as it may be.” Azriel knew his face was tinged with heat – beautiful – and could only hope the night was dark enough that the priestess couldn’t see. He knew his traitorous shadows would be no help. They seemed to revel in his vulnerability with her, always drifting in her direction and refusing to shield him in any capacity. Not from Gwyn. And while she was clearly unimpressed she pushed away from the wall and strode toward him. Her hair fell over her shoulders and he wondered for a moment why she hadn’t tied it back.

“What brings you here, then, priestess? If not to spar, or to watch?” Azriel knew that her trips to the training ring were borne of sleepless nights, demons and nightmares he had not been able to save her from. But he also knew how she abhorred pity, bristling against it much like he did – a gleaming mirror to his shadowed soul. The spymaster shuddered and took a cautious step toward her as she stopped an arm’s length before him. Her eyes had never left his, and he couldn’t see the exhaustion and pain that had shimmered there only days before. But he still had to ask.

“Are you still having that nightmare, Gwyn?” He knew he didn’t need to explain further, knew that she would understand his ask. He flared his wings, trying to ease the tension between his shoulders that had lodged there as he recalled the wrenching shame of the night he’d been made aware of the full extent of her suffering, the consequence of his stupidity.

Her straight copper hair swished around her face as she shook her head. Azriel felt the unimaginable weight lifting from him as the corners of Gwyn’s mouth ticked up in a gentle smile. A shadow broke away and twirled through a loose tendril that had fallen over her cheek, as if boasting to its master that it could caress her skin and he could not. Azriel’s throat bobbed as he made to speak, but the Valkyrie beat him to it.

“Are we sparring or not, Shadowsinger?” Gwyn stepped away from him, giving herself space to execute a few quick stretches. “If you are to be believed, my viewing pleasure hangs in the balance.”

The spymaster rolled his eyes. He wouldn’t live that down for awhile. He kept silent as he centered himself, rolling his neck and shoulders as he waited for the priestess to take her fighting stance. She deftly wove her hair into an easy plait and tied the end with her ever-present white ribbon.

“Do you just keep a ribbon on you at all times?” Azriel teased.

“I’m always prepared, Shadowsinger.” Gwyn’s eyes narrowed as she answered matter-of-factly. “It’s practically my signature now.” And although the Illyrian chuckled and shook his head, he was inwardly marveling at how she could be so strong and bold and brave and yet still be… adorable.

As Gwyn lowered her hands to her sides, she took a breath. Azriel watched, transfixed, as she seemed to transform in the pale blues and grays of the moonlight upon the stone. Her eyes fluttered shut and she squared her shoulders, breathing in with a patient and measured ease.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Azriel could feel the air around them as it seemed to still along with the redhead – no longer the playful young priestess, but a warrior preparing for battle. He bent his knees and shifted his weight, preparing for what would face him when she opened her eyes. Even his shadows hung frozen over his shoulders, paralyzed in anticipation.

The Valkyrie didn’t give him time to admire how her incredible eyes had become dark and infinite with determination and deadly calm. She struck immediately.

The shadowsinger was taken aback for the briefest moment, but of course he knew that was what she had intended. Often when they sparred it began measured and slow. They knew each other too well, understood their strategies, strengths, and tells. So many times they would simply circle for what seemed like hours, silently daring the other to make the first move. Or relentlessly goading each other until one of them reacted.

Gwyn immediately jumping on the offensive was unusual, and he kept his eyes keenly focused on her face, her breathing, her movement, in an attempt to divine her plan. He deftly blocked punches and ducked under a kick meant for his face, grinning when he heard the muttered curse under her breath. His grin widened as she moved away from him, chest heaving.

“Winded already, Berdara?” Azriel cocked an amused eyebrow as they circled each other. “How disappointing.”

“My training has suffered a bit these last few weeks,” she retorted, wiping the back of her hand over her brow.

“Oh, I am well aware. I saw Nesta knock you on your ass the other day.” The shadowsinger aimed for that same shoulder, the one she left exposed when she was exhausted, throwing a punch, then a kick, and then another punch. Gwyn managed to dodge the kick but couldn’t fully avoid the second fist. She staggered backward with a grunt.

“I’ve been somewhat preoccupied,” she growled. A pang of guilt struck him, but he didn’t let it show, didn’t let it move him. He knew she hadn’t been training healthily, and he knew it was because of him. But their relationship in the ring was just as much about trust and accountability as it was about supporting each other and fighting their lingering darkness. He would not pity her, and he would not take it easy on her.

“Again, priestess. I am well aware.”

Gwyn’s response was to lash out, sending an uncontrolled punch at his face. Azriel caught her wrist and spun her around, caging her in his arms with her back against his chest. He tried to ignore the feeling of her panting body against his as he angled his head to whisper in her ear.

“Your enemy will not wait until you’re ready to strike. You must always be primed, skills honed and mind settled. Even when stupid males make your life unnecessarily difficult and painful.”

The priestess tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but his arms were strong as stone. But he wasn’t prepared for her to stomp her foot into his instep. She managed to escape his arms, but he kept his grip on her wrist as she whirled to face him. She wound her wrist from his hand and in the same breath he spun and kicked his leg out low, sweeping her feet out from under her. Azriel was upon her as soon as her back hit the ground, thighs straddling her stomach. Her loss of breath made it easy for him to grab her wrists and pin them to her chest.

“You must always take care of yourself, Gwyneth Berdara. Always be at your best. There must never be defeat for you. You will not falter. You will not be taken. Is that clear?” His voice had become thick as his throat tightened, the shadowsinger only just realizing the implications of her deterioration over the previous weeks. What if there had been an attack? What if something had happened? Gwyn would have been in no condition to fight. That was not a prospect he was willing to entertain. “Is that clear, Berdara?”

“Yes.” Gwyn’s answer was barely a whisper between gulping breaths. Pink stained her cheeks, but he couldn’t tell if that was from his fierce command, their compromising position, or the physical exertion. Azriel didn’t immediately release her wrists and instead leaned back onto his heels to stand. As he rose and stepped backwards over her legs he pulled her to her feet.

“You’re out of practice, priestess,” he scolded, chuckling as she scowled and pulled her arms away from him. She strode over to the water table and poured a cup from one of the half-empty pitchers left from training. Azriel had expected a retort, and when she didn’t fling one he took his time to join her, first retrieving his discarded shirt from the other side of the ring. They stood in silence, letting the night breeze cool their skin and steady their breathing. Gwyn’s teal gaze drifted to the city below, a rainbow of twinkling lights in competition with the black starlit sky. The shadowsinger was content to be silently near her, present for whatever support she needed. He took the chance to appreciate her lovely face in profile, the moonlight illuminating the freckles painted across her cheeks.

“There wasn’t any real reason for me to come up here tonight,” Gwyn admitted softly, keeping her eyes focused out into the night. “I just… wanted to see if you would be here. I wanted to spar with you again, finally. Like we used to.”

Azriel took a moment to soak himself in her confession and allowed the guilt to wash over him briefly. That there was even a shred of insecurity inside her, the smallest thought that he wouldn’t be there for her. He would snuff out those thoughts if it took him another five centuries. “I told you I would prove it to you, that I would earn your trust again. It felt… right. Tonight, I mean.” And then that beautiful smile graced her full lips. She still didn’t turn to him, but he knew without seeing how that smile would light up her eyes. His shadows lazily churned, basking in her contentment, and the shadowsinger allowed himself to delight in the golden spark of hope in his chest when his priestess finally answered.

“Yes. It does feel right.”

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