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sluttbuttsstuff · 3 years ago

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Hucow!AU Part 5 (FINALE!!!)

WOOHOO!! It’s finally Bruno’s turn, I saved best boy for last. All parts combined in gdocs are 29 pages total, this is def the longest thing i’ve written in over a decade!! I hope you enjoy, and look forward to whatever i decide to write next

thanks, and enjoy!

as always. credit goes to @dark-side-blog2 for the wonderful hucow! au

WARNINGS: not sfw, yandere, duncon, noncon, sleep fucking, force feeding, manipulation, dark themes, afab reader, she/her pronouns, all characters 18+!!

After taking care of Narancia and tucking him into bed, Bruno returned to your room once more. You slept like the dead, worn out from a long night. Bruno smiled proudly, you had been wonderful for them. Each bull, you had accepted their love, their passion, their essence and earned your place in the herd once again. It filled Bruno with such joy, knowing that you were the perfect mate for them, for all of them.

You were caring and kind for Narancia, playful and fun for Mista, calming and gentle for Fugo, accepting and attentive for Abbacchio. And for Bruno: you were everything. For so long, there had been a piece of the puzzle missing in his life. He had a family with no mother, no children.

Bruno had met you first in a very dark part of his life-his herd was beaten, driven from his home in fear, on the brink of death with no hope. And then, you had appeared, an angel hidden away in paradise, offering safety, shelter. Much more than that, even, with a little bit of convincing, and a lot of planning. He would have his family, his children, and you.

Bruno knew how to play the long game, how to strategize and manipulate, but he only did it for good reason. He had to, you were too prideful, too stubborn to realize how much you needed him. You were running a giant farm several acres large by yourself, no employees, relatives or neighbors to help. Bruno couldn’t have that,now could he? He and the other bulls took over the hard work and heavy lifting-eventually, after a lot of hemming and hawing from you. Bruno managed to talk you into it; it was beneficial for both of you, a way for the bulls to earn their keep and for you to get some help.

The bulls helped with Bruno’s plan as well, in their own ways. Mista put his cooking skills to use, making you healthy meals infused with lackweed (Mulgeo, a plant that encouraged your body to lactate) and pills that increased your sexual urges. He’d even been adding charcoal to your meals to cancel out your birth control; it wasn’t necessary, Bruno had gotten rid of your birth control months ago while you were asleep, but Bruno appreciated it nonetheless.

Narancia had gotten you to warm up to them very quickly, being as innocent and naive as he was, and Bruno was able to use him to display his parenting skills. Yes, Narancia was a grown bull, and mostly treated as such, but he was still the youngest, and hard not to spoil. Plus, the way you seemed to light up when Bruno would baby Narancia- it was clear your maternal instincts were awakening. Good! It was excellent practice for your own children.

Fugo was admittedly the most awkward around you, it wasn’t really his fault, though. He had the least experience out of the bulls with women, but Bruno could tell his true feelings about you. So, he encouraged Fugo to show his strengths to you; mainly his brain. There was an old tractor collecting rust that needed repairs, and you had lost several crops last season due to lack of irrigation. Fugo was able to repair them, thanks to researching some books and some help from you. Plus, it was one less job for you to do, and another reason for you to depend on them. Bruno knew Fugo was nervous, but Bruno was certain he’d be a good mate and husband. He would make their children very smart.

Abbacchio could be a little rough around the edges, it's true, but he clearly had a soft spot for you. While he would smack Mista and Narancia around when they got on his nerves or got ornery, you he respected and let a lot slide. Bruno had seen you tug on his tail (admittedly by accident) , elbow him (after a funny joke), and even put flowers (that he was allergic to!) in his hair! Abbacchio had taken it in stride, and even defended you when Mista’s teasing or the other shenanigans went too far. Plus, Abbacchio’s skills as a lockpick let them sneak into your house when you were away or sleeping. Very useful indeed…

Bruno knew he had to share you, as much as he wanted you for his own. He couldn’t hurt his herd, his brothers, who loved you almost as much as he did. So Bruno was patient, he let them have their turns first, keep the peace….

But Bruno couldn’t wait any longer.

The timing had to be perfect, to ensure he had the best chances. He had snuck into your home months before, stealing and disposing of your birth control, and destroying your refill prescription. Thankfully you were too busy and preoccupied to make a new appointment with the doctor for new medication, which Bruno appreciated greatly. Digging through your trash, he was able to record and determine your cycle, in order to find out when you would be most fertile. He would allow his herd many things,including you.

But his child would be first.

Letting the others go first- he allowed it before you were truly in heat. They didn’t know why, but were grateful nonetheless, eager to claim you.

He pulled back your blankets, after making sure you were deep in R.E.M. sleep. Birds started chirping as dawn rose outside, but you were dead to the world. So much, in fact, that when Bruno pulled back your bed sheets you didn’t so much as flinch. You were still nude, too tired to put your pajamas back on last night; Bruno admired the early morning light glowing on your body. Bruno kissed down your face and body everywhere the sun touched, relieved you were still asleep. Bruno made note of every bruise and marking on your skin to treat later that morning, as he went lower and lower down your body. Spreading your legs, you tasted divine. You were definitely ready, too: now would be his best chance.

Licking the others out of your core, he heard you quietly whimper- he paused, waiting for you to stir, but you eventually drifted back to sleep. You always were cute when you slept, the way you would sometimes talk in your sleep or kick your legs “Running.” Bruno had learned a lot observing you, and intended to learn a lot more from you today. He cleaned you out with his tongue and prepped you thoroughly-maybe it was petty of him, saving you all for himself, but Bruno was the alpha bull, and the perfect mate for you. That’s why it was so important to not just get you pregnant, but pregnant with his children. It’s what you, the both of you deserved.

Once Bruno was certain you were ready ( you were still soft and wet from last night, and pleasantly warm against his tongue and fingers) he leaned over you, pulling your legs up against his shoulders into a mating press. It terrified him how easily you slept, how dangerous it would be if his herd hadn’t found you. What if someone else had found you before them, taken you like this in your sleep? It worried him so, that’s why he had to do this, claim you and protect you from any rivals.

Bruno stroked your cheek, before pressing inside. Finally, after all this time, he was inside of you, warm and wonderful and all his. You squirmed in your sleep,but otherwise accepted him without complaint. Bruno was so happy he could cry, he settled for kissing your shoulder as he pushed into the hilt. Bruno couldn’t hold his urges back any longer, he thrust into you again and again, hitting against your sweet spot. You cried out in your sleep, jumbled noises Bruno convinced himself were his name. In this position, he was able to reach so deep, force himself as far inside as he could reach.

His grip on you tightened, feeling the strain of the position, the slap of his balls on your ass fueling his desire more. But it wasn’t enough, he had to make sure you felt good too. He suckled your chest, licking your nipples the way he had seen you enjoy. Your pussy was so wet he was able to rub slick onto your hard throbbing clit, careful to rub the raw skin gently.

“Y/n, I’m so thankful to have found you, finally we can make our dreams come true~” Bruno whispered to you, desperate for you to know the feelings he’d held back for so long.

“I can hardly hold back with you; I’ve been waiting so long for this, and I can tell now that so have you. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you, we all will. Just give in, you can trust me.” Bruno pleaded, close to the edge. Bruno grit his teeth, it was about to end, all too soon. Bruno wasn’t ready, he wanted to stay like this with you forever. Relief washed over Bruno as he heard you cry out in release, tightening around him and bringing him to release.

“I’m cumming, y/n. Please, accept all of me!” He gasped,spilling his seed inside. Tears Bruno had held back spilled down as his emotions overcame him, something he would only allow to happen while you couldn’t see. He was certain this was the right thing to do, now more than ever. You were his, all of theirs, safe and protected.

In the next months, you would become full with child. Naturally, you would have to stop manual labor-which would be fine, you could depend on your sturdy bulls to run the farm for you. And then when you had their children, you would need to raise them. Obviously, you had five capable mates to help you; taking turns feeding them, staying up on long sleepless nights, teaching them right from wrong. So many precious memories to be made with you, Bruno could

hardly wait.

As Bruno turned to leave you to rest, he saw you start to rise.

“...Bruno?” You called weakly, and Bruno was by your side in an instant.

“Y/n? What’s wrong, you’re up so early?” Bruno asked, concerned.

“...It’s hot” you groaned, reaching out for him. Bruno’s heart fluttered, you called out for him. He felt your forehead; admittedly sweaty, but not necessarily from illness.

“You are a little warm. Let’s get you out of these sweaty blankets and cleaned up.” Bruno helped you out of your sheets, and ran to get a damp washcloth. He returned quickly, sitting on your bed and wiped the cloth over your body. Your body flushed, and whenever you thought Bruno wasn’t looking, you would glance over at him. Bruno smiled to himself, you really were spoiling him this morning-he couldn’t be more delighted.

“Are you feeling any better? You should take it easy today, you had a long night.” Bruno said as he washed your stomach.

“Umm, yes, im-ahh!” You jumped, as Bruno’s wash cloth reached your nether regions.

“Relax, bella, It’s important to clean this area as well. We don’t want you getting sick now do we?” Bruno continued, unfazed by your reaction. You fidgeted a moment longer, but considering all that had happened, you relented. What more could Bruno do to you?

He toweled you off quickly, patting you dry and then headed to your closet.

“Let’s find you something extra comfortable to wear today, shall we?” Bruno asked, flipping through your hangers. What a shame, most of your outfits were utilitarian and industrial, not befitting a mother to be.

“Oh, Bruno, you don’t have to-” You began, but Bruno cut you off.

“Here we go, perfect! Ah, and this shade of lavender will look lovely on you!” Bruno proclaimed, holding up a flowery sundress made of soft cotton. Very comfortable, but not the best for farm work. Bruno couldn’t be stopped though, grabbing some undergarments for you (how did he know where you kept them?) and helped you sit up in bed.

“Let’s get you dressed, as much as I love the thought of having you nude all day, nothing will get done around the farm with the boys fawning over you.” Bruno chuckled, sliding socks onto your feet for you.

“Bruno, please! I can dress myself!” You pleaded, trying to pull away, but Bruno stopped you with gentle but firm hands.

“Bella, please-let me take care of you the way you’ve taken care of us. It’s only fair, isn’t it?” Bruno smiled, tugging your socks up to your ankles. He held a white pair of panties out for you, “Step in, dear, one foot at a time” You groaned, turning an adorable shade of red Bruno loved, but did indeed let him slide the panties up and onto you. He convinced you to skip a bra today (Bruno wasn’t completely selfless) and slip into the sundress, snug as a bug.

“Much better! Now, do you want to see if you can get some more sleep? You didn’t get many hours of sleep last night, and your body must be very sore.” He asked you, stroking your cheek. “Well, maybe later, but-” You began, only to be interrupted by your growling stomach. Bruno chuckled, “Ahh, of course, let’s get you fed shall we?” he winked, placing a hand on the small of your back and escorting you to the kitchen.

You tried to make yourself breakfast, really you did, but Bruno wasn’t giving you any leeway this morning.

“Please, Bambina, let me cook for you. You always make the rest of us meals, and I’m not completely hopeless in the kitchen.” He told you, sitting you on a kitchen chair, rolling up his sleeves. True to his word, he was decent in the kitchen-more than decent, in fact. Bruno fried up a pig’s worth of bacon, crispy and fried with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Eggs, sunny-side scrambled and over-easy, just a little bit runny and fresh from your henhouse. And the cru-de-ta, a mountain-pile of fluffy home batter pancakes, smothered in homemade syrup and creamy smooth butter dollops piled on top. Bruno piled your plate to the brim, sure to give you only the crunchiest bacon strips and roundest pancakes, with plenty left over for the boys. It was a miracle the other boys hadn’t woken up yet, but you supposed they were still wiped out from the night before and needed a little more rest.

Bruno didn’t mind one bit, enjoying the one on one time with you he rarely got. Sitting patiently for him like a good mate, letting him clean you, dress you, even feed you. Bruno was determined to spoil you, so you would never want for anything other than him again. Looking around your plate, you asked Bruno, “Sorry, but you forgot to grab a fork and knife. Would you mind?”

Bruno smiled, unblinkingly, “Oh no, I didn’t. Open wide~” He cooed, stacking a silver fork full of your breakfast. You looked at him incredulously, “Seriously?”

Bruno didn’t relent, smile unwavering, “You wouldn’t turn down all my hard work and this delicious food, would you?”

You wanted to argue with him, you really did. For every inch he gave you, he took a mile, and it was starting to be humiliating. But for whatever reason, Bruno always made you cave. Besides, after everything you’d been through, he’d never hurt you, always gentle and caring. So, against your better judgement, you sheepishly opened your mouth for him.

Bruno lifted the fork into your mouth, watching your lips close around his fork. You savored the buttery rich flavor of the pancakes, the spongy texture bouncing lightly in your mouth as you chewed. To say it was delicious would be an understatement; you were starting to consider letting Mista and Bruno handle mealtime more often. Bruno bit the corner of his lip, watching you eat your meal. You wanted to pout, not give Bruno the satisfaction of knowing you enjoyed being babied like this, but you couldn’t help smiling as you swallowed bite after bite, opening your mouth and even leaning forward. Each bite was better than the last; the salty sweet bacon grease and runny eggs soaked into the pancakes, soaking up the flavor medley and sending your palette into overdrive.

Bruno loved every minute, watching you let your guard down for him, licking up syrup from your chin, even letting him wipe your cheek clean with a napkin. Your stomach puffed out as you ate through your meal, it excited him to know he did that to you, and that your stomach would soon be even more distended and full with his baby. Your plate was nearly clean, but you didn’t think you could eat another bite. Bruno had given you so much already, and it was all delicious and rich, and had no more room.

“Please, Bruno, I’m full to the brim. I’m sorry but I can’t eat anymore.” You groaned, clutching your stomach.

“Oh please, just another bite, bambina~ you’ve done so well, you’re almost done.” He cooed, forking the last bits on your plate. You tried to excuse yourself, but Bruno stuffed it into your open unsuspecting mouth. You nearly choked on the utensil forcing your way into your mouth, a sugary syrupy mess that was starting to nauseate you. It was too much, too rich, but Bruno held your mouth shut.

“Please, y/n, you have to eat more. Think of our children, won’t you?” You froze, as you remembered everything that had happened last night with a wave. You looked at Bruno, mouth still full and ready to vomit. His gaze tore into you, more serious than he had been all morning. In fact, the last time he looked at you like that…

Bruno rubbed your back, as your eyes watered and spilled over. Poor thing, were you already having morning sickness? No worries, it was only natural; he would take care of you. You were having trouble breathing, not sure if it was the food or the panic setting in.

“Come on Bambina, you’re almost done. Just swallow it all down, you can do it~” Bruno hissed, as he plugged up your nose. Bruno sighed, watching your eyes bug out; he didn’t want to be harsh with you, but what other choice were you giving him? You needed to follow his orders, that’s how he kept you safe and happy. “Now, y/n”

Despite the lump in your throat, you had no choice but to swallow, the lack of oxygen making you gag. How could you forget who you were dealing with? How could you let him take advantage of you again and again? You wiped the snot and tears from your face, catching your breath. You flinched as a familiar hand reached out and grabbed your chin. Bruno turned you to look at him, his face calm and smiling as if nothing had happened.

“There, Bambina, that wasn’t so bad was it? You have to let me take care of you, okay? We don’t want you hurting yourself do we?” He asked, voice soft and patronizing, like he hadn’t just force fed you against your will. You wanted to run away, but didn’t know where to go. It didn’t help any as you heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Yo, y/n! You’re up already? I thought we wiped you out last night!”

“Guess we’ll have to try harder next time.”

“Are you okay, y/n? You look ill. Maybe you should go back to bed.”

“Ohh, it smells so good! Did you make breakfast for us, y/n?”

You were surrounded. No way out. Five strong angry bulls that had taken over your life, your home, even your body. You couldn’t trust them, not any of them. There was no escape.

“What’s wrong, bella? Are you crying?”

“Don’t cry, y/n! There’s nothing to worry about, we’ll take care of you!”

“You can count on us, y/n. We’re mates, after all.”

You were trapped.

Trapped.

You opened your mouth to scream, but it was no use.

It’s not like anyone would hear you, anyways

END

#sluttbuttsstuff #fic #not sfw #hucow!au #yandere #bruno #brunoxreader

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simgerale · 3 years ago

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13+14 for luca and magdalena // 33+34 for olette and sheridan >:)

13. What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

not me TEARING UP because this one is so sweet!! okay okay here i go. alright. so let's do the current situation where they haven't even realized their love (^:< also SORRY about the length.... how embarrassing. this took me so long because i'm writing essays up in here

the current fake-lovers situation: luca likes to tease her, but he truly cares for her well-being. he gets to know her surprisingly well--especially when she's stressed and burnt out. she'll be stuck in her study all day, dealing with reports and trade deals and blah blah, and then when she finally emerges, luca will suggest some reading in the library. he knows she doesn't want to read, but he also knows she is required to keep up appearances, so she will always accept. he takes this opportunity to steal her away long enough to give her some quiet time, sitting by the fire as she rests her eyes. he wants to do more for her, but this is all he can do at the moment. little does he know, she appreciates it greatly and feels... seen. Magdalena, on the other hand, only knows a few things about luca at this point and struggles to accept her interest in his well-being. but he will sometimes start telling her about the book he's reading, then cut himself short, so magdalena likes to encourage him to continue. it seems to her like no one listened to him growing up, so she wants to be there to nod, lift the corners of her lips when he thinks something is funny, and add to the conversation. this definitely helps luca's feelings for the empress swell.

14. What makes them feel loved? Would they build up the courage to ask for it?

you just uno reversed it huh akdaihdineinciehf umm!! interesting. so ideally, luca would say quality time. genuine quality time, not necessarily romantic evenings or anything like that. that's why he enjoyed the few walks he has had with the empress. he's one of those types of people who would rather lay in bed all day with their signification other getting to talk about anything and everything. maybe this stems from him not getting enough attention as a kid after his mom died, but it's what makes him feel loved! i think he would have the courage to ask for it if they got together officially, even though it would be difficult to get magdalena to say yes! she's a work-a-holic lol. what makes maggie feel loved is... hm... patience and understanding. that sounds weird, but it means the world to her when people understand the position she's in and are truly willing to accommodate their schedule to fit with hers. she knows it's selfish, so it means so much when someone is patient enough to wait for her. so far, luca has shown this quality, but she can't be sure if it's really him or fake-lover luca...

33. Under what circumstances would they feel jealous?

👀 this is a good one. hmmm..... olette is easily jealous, while sheridan is cool and collected. very reasonable. so let's say there's a ball lol, this is the easiest way to describe it. if sheridan was asked to dance with anyone, olette would feel a little tight in the chest every time. she knows she shouldn't, but their relationship is new and she fears the loss of this newfound, wonderful thing. sheridan wouldn't mind other people dancing with olette, and it would take a lot for sheri to become jealous. like, olette would even TRY to make her feel jealous and fail lol.

34. Under what circumstances would they feel protective?

another good one!! so olette would feel protective when sheridan has to do her court mage duties. like when sheri had to go back to eden, olette was basically like "don't let anyone mess with you, you did the right thing, i'll beat them up )^:<" but she can't do anything lol. sheridan ALWAYS feels protective over olette, even though she knew her for a short time (if this was a book, that week would've been multiple weeks). something to do with her court mage upbringing, always feeling the need to protect, but also because she lost her mom and dad so easily. sheridan is always prepped to fight for those she loves. (and would be successful, since she's such a talented mage)

#ask #regal asks #mousysims #SORRY IT TOOK ME LIKE..... 1.5 HOURS TO WRITE #THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME!!!!!!!! <33 #i'm so extra....................ugh

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velveetacrackncheese · 4 years ago

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I remember you talking about Angel a little bit ago and how you didn't think he was as bad as everybody else was saying. What makes him appeal to you, I can't really get behind him in all honesty.

So I keep getting asks regarding to clarify my stance on Angel, and while I don’t mind this despite getting asks about it even now from HH fans and non-fans alike, receiving charitable and uncharitable asks and takes simultaneously from both, I might as well answer because I’m getting a bit tired of it. Not on here that often and every time there’s a new ask regarding it and I don’t understand why people want my take on this, despite me having already given one, or the clarification. That being said, my mind has changed a bit on the subject, and I kind of wanna give a small analysis on Angel and how I feel about him now, so here we are.

Firstly, the debate surrounding Angel Dust is off-putting to me because while I seemingly see both sentiments, I also feel as though they’re both simultaneously wrong. The positions are usually “Angel Dust represents a harmful stereotype that contributes to our marginalization and is a literal walking sex joke and nothing else.” and “Angel Dust is a hooker. A sex worker, prostitute. He’s supposed to be in hell. He’s supposed to be bad and awful. Moron” and really, I dislike both of these takes for rather similar reasons. Reason being is that I feel that it’s addressing the wrong thing here, which is the characterization of Angel, and not really what the over-arching narrative and well, show itself has to say about Angel, and I also feel that the issue here isn’t homophobia as much as it involves vilifying sex work potentially.

My issue with the first take is that obviously, we’ve barely scratched the surface with this character. I will say that the way he was introduced in the pilot was left to be desired. Not that he was offensive or meant to be a major middle finger to the gay community, but simply because we typically see big, larger, main traits of a character in a pilot. In Angel, we primarily see him embodying those things that many of the “HH hate crowd” disliked about him. Upon first introduction, he genuinely does come off as a stereotype, something that was written solely for the purpose of being “the gay” and nothing else admittedly. While said analysis is probably inaccurate, I don’t blame anyone for initially feeling that way, and coming to their own conclusions. Recognize that everybody’s opinion on Angel is all pretty much based on first impressions, because we only have so much to say about him at the moment. There isn’t even a show. It’s the pilot. Things even now can still change greatly. However, Angel in the show, being a prostitute, and a sex worker, seem very much rooted in his character primarily because many of his own personal struggles also lie in the fact that he’s someone who’s also victim to sexual assault, exploitation, which obviously has connections to his occupation. We can say that many of his actions are rooted in not only his job, and experiences, but also the mask he wears to hide his pain. I feel like to simply look at that and say “Fuck Angel Dust, he’s harmful.” is simultaneously neglecting a silent minority in the gay community that genuinely deals with the hardships of sex work in real life. You don’t see that type of humanity brought to the forefront in regards to gay sex workers in media. They’re usually there to be mocked at, and while you could say Angel comes off that way initially, additional context in the comics and Addict suggests otherwise. He’s not Alastor. He doesn’t have all these special abilities aside from being able to manifest guns and bombs, and probably shoot webs out of his anus or something. Angel is in pain, and in a situation where he feels stuck. He feels like he’s on a leash and only copes in the way he knows how, that being hedonistic actions and such. As to what the general narrative and world of Hazbin might have to say? We don’t know, and that could vary. We don’t have a conclusion as to what the world of Hazbin has to say about Angel, and whether or not he needs to be “redeemed” which is an issue I take on its own. I will get into that shortly.

I take issue with the second take for similar reasons as previously stated, but it has less to do with the analysis coming from the people who say this sort of thing, and more about what it reveals about the people saying “He’s a prostitute. He’s supposed to be in hell. He’s baaaaad.” Because it shows a type of reactionary sentiment that justifies the villainizing of sex workers, and also goes to show that they probably appreciate Angel’s character for the same reason those who despise Angel, are critical of. They find him funny potentially because in their mind, Angel is something to be mocked. Because he’s a “freak” in the sense that he’s this awful, slutty monster, seemingly missing the intentions behind writing Angel the way he is, as a way of potentially showing a sign of sympathy towards the livelihoods of real life sex workers. Instead these people probably don’t think too highly of people who work in that industry and view them as a circus act, the same way they might view Angel as the funny token gay man, and it shows that people appreciate this character for very different reasons. Not to mention, this take is not a very good defense. Does someone being in hell necessarily necessitate them to be “offensive?” A very non-offensive, non-confrontational, seemingly polite person could be the most awful person when the optics of civility are stripped away... Like a politician.

However, I end up pondering about what the narrative itself has to say about Angel needing to be redeemed. Because of the pilot’s highlight on his hypersexual manner, I end up asking myself what he needs to be redeemed from. His sex work and sexual nature certainly doesn’t make him a bad person. His violence probably does, but there’s so much emphasis on the sexual side of him and not the “gangster” side of him, and suggesting that people who are exploited by the industry they work in need to be “redeemed” almost insinuates like they’re doing something wrong. As if it potentially shares the same reactionary sentiment about sex workers that those who view Angel as a laughing stock do. Now, if “redemption” is a euphemism for “rehabilitation” then I would view this differently. However, in the pilot, the term “rehabilitation” and “redemption” are both used, seemingly interchangeably, despite both of these terms having different meanings. In terms of Hazbin, since we’re in hell, which is based on the Christian mythos (most likely also inspired by other cultural interpretations of a bad afterlife) “redemption” here is probably referring to the absolving of sins and what have you, although we don’t really know what Hazbin’s criteria for being worthy of Hell is, and said criteria is also never questioned. We just know that everybody there in hell is supposed to be bad as the latter say, and that’s that. They’re all “sinful”, all worthy of being considered bad people despite some clearly not being so... awful. Vaggie isn’t so awful. She’s a bit angry, but for a good reason. Why is she in hell with literal murderers, homophobes, gangsters, etc? Of course we don’t know much about her yet, but she seems substantially more innocent than say Alastor, who’s a literal serial killer. But according to fans, she’s in hell. So she’s bad. Bad people go to hell, and hell is where the bad people reside in, and all are in need of rehabilitation or “redemption” in order to achieve/attain heaven. (obligatory jojo reference heehee) Issue being that what’s good and bad is subjective, and despite nobody being morally perfect, they’re just in this place together with no real chance of redemption, while being told by the dominant structure and culture in hell that nobody really even wants to be “redeemed”, despite nobody wanting to be there, and probably housing some regret, only to be chained down by a culture of doubt, and many of these inhabitants probably not even really needing to be “redeemed.” There are people who are there for probably very irrational reasons, like stealing some stuff from a grocery store or something. Hell, even if someone is a murderer, what if they murdered in self-defense? Or trying to protect their family? Are they, a sinner, in need of being absolved, and to confess their sin of wanting to survive? Many “sinners” are probably people who come from unfortunate circumstances, and are forced to adapt to certain conditions that force them to do things that are considered “sinful.”

Of course, this is all very assumptive. For all we know, Hazbin could very well go into detail about this type of thing, and I’d be all for it. I feel like a lot of the former critique I’ve mentioned would be cleared away and people would be able to actually make a formed opinion on characters like Angel instead of the typical surface level takes I usually see. I’d be highly disappointed if the writers of Hazbin didn’t go down this route and question the very nature of this Heaven and Hell dichotomy and the moral code and structure presented. I have to clarify though. I’m not “behind” Angel. I acknowledge his character and how he’s written, and honestly thought the way he was shown initially was sub-par, and still believe that. My irritation revolves around fans and non-fans alike thinking they have a finalized idea of what Angel is, when they don’t, and then you have Youtubers making videos pretending it’s flawless while making statements about how stereotypes are apparently not harmful at all while making the assumption that every harsh criticism is a result of people wanting to ALL destroy Vivienne’s career when that’s just as reductive as saying that Viv is evil for shit she did years ago.

Aside from this, there’s still other things about Hazbin too. Vaggie even now I still can’t really see how she’s in anyway offensive or purposely off-putting. She’s angry because she has to react to a world who wants to take advantage of her, and her girlfriend. I’d be pissed too. She isn’t angry because she’s written to be the angry latina (despite Viv’s dumb tweet about “I’M A FIERY LATINA TOO WEE”). Alastor is a subject of discussion too because of the whole voodoo thing despite him passing as very, very caucasian and white, while also claims of cultural appropriation due to the certain iconography used when Alastor exhibits his power while playing into that “spooky voodoo” stereotype. I don’t have much to say on this because I’m simply not that familiar the religious practice aside from it having origins in Western Africa, and the Caribbean. Some say Alastor is biracial but that isn’t confirmed I don’t think. Some people say Hazbin is bad because of a Jeffery Dahmer joke, and saying that Katie Killjoy is proof of homophobia despite her being pointed out as an actual piece of shit with zero standards.

It’s all crazy. I look forward to what the Hazbin crew do with Hazbin, Helluva Boss, and especially Zoophobia. My mind is still open.

#hazbin hotel #vivziepop #angel dust #alastor #vaggie #demons

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divineecelestial · 5 years ago

Text

Out of Your League — Three

PAIRINGS — BUCKY BARNES X READER

SERIES SUMMARY — IN WHICH BUCKY BARNES GAINS A CRUSH ON A WOMAN SO OUT OF HIS LEAGUE.

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE — A competition and ground rules.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated! This isn’t my best writing but I absolutely adored this scene.

Bucky savored the bleakness of the midnight breeze, the cloak of spilled moonlight that shrouded over the hectic streets of New York. The bustling night never depleted, always brimming with vivid vitality that became his background noise as he became suffused with his clamored thoughts. From the balcony, he could see his hometown’s intensity of colors and sounds. But, as he sipped his beer with a relaxed nonchalance, the door creaked open. He was welcomed with the wondrous spectacle of you in an elegant satin dress with reflective blackened stilettos. Your sleek stilettos clicked as you wandered beside him.

There wasn’t an exchange between you for a concise moment as you both basked in the gentility of the view. You placed your arms on the polished railing beside him, concealing your mouth as you chuckled. “You aren’t supposed to laugh,” He exclaimed, his cheeks flushed. He knew exactly what you were thinking of that made you ignite with jubilance. “I’m so embarrassed.” You had tried to remain impassive, but the recollection of him attempting to hide his sticky situation was enough for you to perch your head on his shoulder while you shook with laughter.

Your mirth eased and you collected yourself. “Don’t be,” You dismissed his shame with a small wave of your hand. “I’m flattered, truly.” Your voice was airy, humorous as you disregarded the severity of the predicament. He was appreciative of your supposed indifference, but he processed the remainder of your sentence.

He glanced down where you were reclined your head, the warmth of your skin seeped through his blouse. You seemed distracted by the aesthetic of the town. “You’re assuming it was about you?” He questioned, keeping his voice light and stoic. Undoubtedly the dream only contained risque images of you, but he wasn’t going to give you the satisfaction of reading him so easily. But it always seemed as if you were one-step-ahead of him, unraveling him with ease.

Your hair artfully flowed with the small breeze that caressed your exposed skin with a frigid gentleness. “No, I know it was about me.” You corrected, your voice indisputable but melodiously sweet.

He chuckled with unhurried ease. “That’s a bold assumption.”

You straightened, reeling on your heels to face him entirely. “Oh, please. Spare me the bashfulness, James Buchanan Barnes,” Your intense eyes glimmered with the moonlight, exposing a fierce saturation. “I’ve seen the way you look at me.” You were awfully observant, keen with indistinct details and you had him deciphered.

He brought the rim of his bottle to his soft lips. “Don’t flatter yourself, doll.” His words were seamless and suave, but his hands shook slightly.

You smiled and it was painfully beautiful. “I also know I’m the only person you call doll. It’s cute.” Pride oozed off your tongue as you spoke, somewhat boastful with your observation. You were correct, though. He hadn’t called anyone else that gushy nickname for as long as he could remember, but you always responded positively with the name so he continued.

He removed his eyes from the city’s bright lights and finally turned towards you, the actual view on that balcony. Your satin dress sculpted your frame, dreadfully tight while it accentuated your curves. He swallowed the unsureness coursing through him as he witnessed your elegance entirely now. Your necklace traveled down to your decolletage, aglitter with concisely carved diamonds. “Narcissism isn’t a good look on you.” He lied straight through his teeth. He thoroughly enjoyed your conceited behavior.

You inched forward, your voluptuous physique was taunting him. “On the contrary, I think it’s my best look.” He couldn’t deny that statement because it was definitely accurate. There was something delectable about your self-assurance, confidence that lured him further away from sanity and much closer to finally touching your bare skin.

He shook his head, completely amused by your certainty. “Is there a reason you’re bugging me?”

“There is, actually.” You reached for his bottle, yanking the beer from his loose grasp. ��Spend tonight with me.”

His steadiness on the metallic railing stumbled, nearly collapsing onto the floor. He wasn’t certain if he heard you correctly. “I—” He attempted to speak, but he choked on his words.

You inclined your head, a sultry glimmer reflecting in your eyes. “I can show you all my favorite spots in the area,” Your eyes glimpsed towards the hundreds of towering buildings in the distance as if they were beckoning you. “Come on, it'll be fun. You do know what fun is right?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Very funny. Yes, I do know what fun is. I have it all the time.” His voice wasn’t convincing.

You raised your eyebrows, grasping his forearm with your jeweled hands. “So, there shouldn’t be an issue with you having some fun with me.” You whined childishly.

He contemplated the proposal, pondering on the variety of possibilities he could endure if he accepted your suggestion. “Wouldn’t you rather spend time with Sam or Natasha?” He inquired with a slight abrasive edge. He wasn’t necessarily jealous, or that was what he tried to convince himself, but he wasn’t particularly fond of how much time you were with Sam.

Your expression softened. “No, I wouldn’t,” You boldly admitted. “Bucky, I want to spend tonight with just you and only you.” He didn’t respond immediately. This situation was unfamiliar. A beautiful woman who was the center of tabloids, photographed everywhere she visited, seemingly blessing the floor with each step she made, choosing him over everyone else. He was your first choice and he didn’t know that was possible.

Bucky’s eyes were heavy with adoration and he tore his gaze from you, shaking his head. “Don’t do that.” He pleaded, almost desperately. His stomach was aflutter, his heart seconds from tearing his chest open.

You recoiled, surprised with the sudden change. “Do what?”

He watched the hundreds of vehicles drive through the crowded lanes. “Make me feel this way. This isn't easy for me. I’ve never—” The confession wasn’t irate or miserable. He was nervous, unable to finish the sentence. This vulnerability was unknown to him. “Not like this. But, you matter to me. A lot.” His hands clenched around the banister, his heart beating like never before. Here he was confessing his emotional attraction to you, New York City’s socialite who was too fucking pretty for her own good.

Your mouth curved into a docile smirk. “I know,” The wind breezed between you both and he could smell the fragrance of your perfume. “Which is why I haven't completely charmed you into being wrapped around my finger just yet.”

Bucky couldn’t contain his laughter. “Completely?” He asked, his shoulders moving with his mirth. “I don’t think I can handle anymore, then.”

You chuckled beside him, cherishing the aroma of his cologne. “My point is, we have all the time in the world. There's no need to rush into anything. You were brainwashed and tortured for almost a hundred years. I don't blame you for needing to take things slow.”

He released a breath. “I don’t know how long I’ll need,” He apprehensively admitted. “I can’t ask you to wait for me.” He couldn’t ask you to remain devoted to him while he slowly recovered.

As you looked upward at him through your lashes, your expression transformed into a dreamy softness. “It’d be my pleasure to wait as long as you’d need.”

The multi-colored array of city lights illuminated you from behind, giving you a radiant halo. He didn’t understand how someone was this breathtaking. “You make it impossible to say no.”

You beamed with your sparkling teeth on display. “One of my many talents.”

“I’m guessing modesty isn’t one of those talents.”

With a scoff, you pushed yourself off the banister. “Of course, it isn’t.”

He followed after you, clutching your arm with delicacy. “So, we’re just friends, right?”

The gleam in your eyes was anything but friendly. “For now.”

“You sound so sure of yourself.”

You leaned against the doorframe, looking at him with a teasing gaze. “Because you have no idea what I have planned for us.”

He raised a brow. “Us? I like the sound of that,” He mused, “but it also sounds like you're not going to make it easy for me.”

You threw your head back as you gently laughed, the sound echoing through the night. It was enough to have the palms of his hands become damp. “Not a chance,” He would be lying if he said this hadn’t made him thrilled for whatever it was you had planned. “So, come with me tonight. Tonight, let's pretend that we're the only two people in the entire world.”

He pretended to consider the offer, despite knowing he would’ve dropped anything he had planned to spend an entire night alone with you. “All right, you’ve convinced me,” He stepped closer, dangerously close and his eyes remained fixated on your alluring gaze. “Let’s make some ground rules.”

Intrigue colored your face. “Is this a competition? Because if so, be prepared to lose tragically.”

“I wouldn't sound so confident. I'll have you swooning in no time.”

His thighs brushed against yours. “We’ll see about that.”

His eyes glanced at your lips. “No kissing.”

You licked them, coquettishly biting on your lower lip. “You’ll regret that. I happen to be an amazing kisser.” Your breath tickled his mouth teasingly.

Unintentionally, he glimpsed down where your breasts were pressed against this chest, enticingly on display. “No s-se—” He trailed off, he couldn’t think properly as you leaned forward, completely aware of you where doing.

“Sex?” You finished for him. “You can say the word, Bucky. But I'll be a good girl and behave. No sex.” Your words coated in an undescribable naughtiness.

Your interlaced your hands with his, his warmth and coldness from both hands shrouded you with arousal so thick you were certain he must have noticed. “No jealousy.”

Your glossed lips sparkled as you smirked. “I like a challenge.”

With a surge of confidence, he tenderly cupped your smooth face. “And most importantly, try not to fall in love with me so quickly, doll.” If you wanted, you could connect your lips with his, disregard this competition within a blink of an eye, but you were determined to make his life a living hell.

“I could say the same for you.” His thumb stroked your bottom lip and you slowly enclosed your mouth around his thumb, sucking softly.

He appeared as if he was seconds from collapsing into your erotic touch. “With the way you're looking at me right now, I'm definitely failing.”

TAGLIST

@mielfromvenus

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unto-myself-together · 4 years ago

Text

From Dusk to Dawn, ch 2 (ESO fanfic)

Content warnings for this specific chapter: references to sex. Brief descriptions of violence. Occasional light cursing (i.e. damn, ass. It’s very infrequent though)

Author notes (a lot of notes, sorry!!):

Previous chapters: Chapter 1

Author notes (skip to the squiggly lines--> ~~~~~~ if you want to jump straight into the story)

You can also read the story on my Archive of Our Own Account here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23343163/chapters/64680022#workskin

Lots of notes here (and I apologize for that. But this chapter had a lot of stuff going on. There are a couple of explanations for anyone who is interested/confused by something that went on in this chapter.):

Hey everyone. I really really hope you all have been doing much better during these troubled times than I have. I have an anxiety disorder (as well as a couple of other things and chronic medical conditions) and let’s just say that this does not exactly mix well with a worldwide pandemic. Let me just say that if it wasn’t for ESO and my ESO guildies, I don’t know where I’d be.

I love your comments. All of them. I have been coming back just to read them again and again, and when I get the chance I want to respond to each and every one of them. You all are so beautiful; thank you… And thank you to the person who left that extremely lovely message in my ask box on Tumblr! I’m not sure how to let you know, how to respond in a way that you will see (are you still around?), but if you can see this: I love you and I loved, loved, loved your message!

I missed writing. A lot. But I have so tired lately that I was having difficulties writing this next chapter. I finally got it out and I wanted to share it with all of you. This one is a bit more lighthearted than the last (we’re going to go on a rollercoaster here, with lighthearted chapters intermixed with not-so lighthearted chapters). I also changed the tags a bit.

Ravenwatch and sexuality: It’s actually canon that House Ravenwatch has “naked parties”. I kid you not. Gwendis has dialogue during the quest where you crown the new King/Queen of Rivenspire; if you meet her upstairs in Shornhelm’s castle, she’ll say something like:“If this were a Ravenwatch party, none of these people would be wearing clothes”. Please note that this is a “missable conversation”;if you do not catch Gwendis before completing the crowning quest, you will never get to see her say it again.

Even if ZOS later decides to erase these lines, they can’t erase them from history because I have recordings of it :D In all honesty? I actually appreciated this little side note;I think it adds more complexity to their characters. Given their rules about consent regarding blood giving, their parties are probably fully consensual too.And there really isn’t anything wrong about adults having consensual parties. Besides, vampires have always been a little associated with sex and sexuality, so I don’t think it’s really that surprising.

Kalin’s comment is a reference to their parties. But he purposely worded it in a way that he knew Elyssa wouldn’t understand: with a reference to a Dunmer tavern-brothel. No, Ophelia doesn’t actually participate in their parties (having grown up in this place, I think it would be awkward for all people involved); instead she usually goes to visit relatives and comes back to help with the clean-up. That’s not gonna stop Kalin from teasing her anyways. Speaking of Kalin, I really think he didn’t need to be half-naked and lounging on their dining room table during their mealtime. Just saying: I feel like we were interrupting a little more than just “mealtime”.

Now, whether or not Verandis and his "children" have relations with each other when they keep referring to each other by familial names ("father", "sister") is a different story; the idea makes me uncomfortable. But I'm fairly certain Kalin (who is not "a family member") and mortal guests can get some action with the vampires.

In regards to the mortal servants: I’m sorry, ZOS. I don’t care how much magic is pumping through Tamriel’s veins; you will never convince me that two servants (Kalin and Estelle) can feed a household of five vampires once a night every night (even more than five vampires if you save the two people during the Rivenspire quests). Even with magical “produce more blood” potions, I felt the need to add at least two more mortals to the household…I hope readers don’t mind…

It did get me thinking: how does Verandis find these people? I doubt he just puts up an ad onto the Shornhelm bulletin board. Can you imagine? “Help wanted. Must have lots of blood and no aversion to pointy objects in your neck” (I’m kidding). Melina Cassel’s comments in her hireling mails implies that Verandis doesn’t force the servants to give blood as a part of their contract (she makes mention that Estelle giving blood goes “beyond the call of duty”). But there probably is a preference for those who aren’t averse to parting with a bit of their life force every now and then. In Kalin’s case, I’m like 99% convinced his half naked Dunmer self does it because he thinks it’s hot.

I actually had a mock up done of the Castle Ravenwatch basement/lower floor on the PTS using Daggerfall Overlook. I’m not sure if anyone would be interested enough in it for me to post a pic of it though. (yes, I know. I saw the Ravenwatch Prologue and I don’t care)

I really hope ZOS comes up with a house crest for House Ravenwatch soon; otherwise I will have to make my own…

I know it may not seem like it from this chapter, but I actually have fallen madly in love with Fennorian. But it doesn’t technically appear during the Rivenspire questline, and I actually want Elyssa’s first time meeting him to be during her visit to Western Skyrim and doing something like the Bound in Blood quest.

The goat: It’s more of an inside joke I have with myself. When I was going through the Rivenspire questline for the first time, I noticed that there’s a goat that appears behind Ravenwatch Castle. At first, I thought it coincided the appearance and disappearance of Kalin. So I made a joke to myself that Kalin IS the goat. (Later I found out the goat’s appearance has nothing to do with whether or not Kalin the NPC is around. Still, I thought it would be funny to poke at that idea in the fic).

I have a problem with the Stormhaven storyline and this idea that you have to have this specific potion made with the Dream Shard just to avoid dreams. For the purposes of this story, I’m going to re-write that part so that the Dream Shard created potion is only to prevent Vaermina’s magic from interfering with your dreams specifically, and that there are likely plenty of other alchemy potions (sleep potions) that could prevent dreams (but not necessarily prevent Vaermina or her followers from affecting your sleep or giving you nightmares anyways). I just wanted to make that distinction.

While I wouldn’t doubt Vaermina might torment the Vestige in their sleep as a payback, I doubt the Daedric Prince would care enough to do it constantly (just the feeling that I got when I finished the Stormhaven questline was that Vaermina wasn’t too perturbed by being thwarted. Her “imprisoning” the Vestige in her realm was half-hearted as well; you could easily leave. Like she had much bigger fish to fry than you).

In regards to House Ravenwatch and sexuality again: I wanted to state more bluntly that No, I do not think the vampiric family members have sex with each other because they keep referring to each other as "brother" and "sister" (and to Verandis as "father") in canon. Yes, I know they're probably not ACTUALLY related to each other, but still. Instead, I think they have rampant naked parties with fully willing fully adult mortal participants. Let's be honest: there's got to be at least as many mortals in Tamriel who think vampires are hot as there are people in our world that think vampires are hot...Also. You know. Kalin. Half naked. On the table. Just saying.

PLEASE NOTE: Elyssa Arboretum is NOT the actual name of my character. I changed her last name for this story because...well....I'm a little shy. If you ever meet someone in game that has a name similar but not exact, it MIGHT be me. I usually like being on my own, as social situations can cause me great stress (especially if they're strangers). I am so sorry, and I greatly appreciate your understanding...

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She was staring at a wall.

….

…….

To be fair, it was a very nice wall.

…

….

….Although it did take her more than a moment’s time to realize she was staring at it sideways.

…

…And even longer to realize that she was staring at it sideways because she was lying down.

Groaning out of partial frustration, Elyssa heaved herself into a sitting position.

A soft bed and warm blankets were there to greet her, and they were inviting enough that she was sorely tempted to just go back to sleep.

But the longer she sat there, the faster the memories of the previous days nagged at her:

High Rock.

Blood fiends.

A plot to conquer the entirety of Rivenspire by a grieving and spiteful Breton noble.

The usual.

….

……She had to know what time it was.

Covers flung wide, she jumped out of bed. Or tripped, rather; a creak in her back found her eagerness a bit disagreeable. And it took a bit rubbing out her muscles to get her poor back to stand up straight.

But she hurried to make her way downstairs, whether her sore back liked it or not, when she heard the echoes of a conversation.

Gwendis and Melina were both there in the main hall. Gwendis was literally lounging on top of her coffin, her arm lazily hanging over her eyes as if she meant to sleep like that.

Melina was at the table, toying with an array of colorful runestones.

“Good morning, Elyssa,” Melina cheerfully greeted her as she approached.

“Morning, Melina. Morning Gwendis.”

Gwendis only gave a grunt in response.

Elyssa took a spot next to Melina, watching her as she carefully examined one rune at a time before placing them into different, colorful piles.

“Did you sleep well?” Melina asked, frowning and squinting closer to her own hand when she noticed the rune she held had its surface defaced.

“Better than well. I think this was the best sleep I’ve had since…it’s got to have been weeks...I feel fantastic…”

Melina chuckled a little. “Well if you get such wonderful sleep in our home, perhaps you should stay with us then! At least, for a while. We get so few guests; I find it a little exciting to have someone new with us. And, provided you’re still interested, I’d love the opportunity to show you a few basic enchanting techniques. You know…when all this…ah, bloodfiend business is over.”

Elyssa perked up with a grin. “I think I’d really like that. And maybe you could take a look at that book I got, the one I told you about? It really doesn’t make a lick of sense to me, and it would be great if someone could translate it into something more ‘beginner level’.”

“Oh of course, dear. I’ll certainly give it a try when we’re all a little less pre-occupied…”

“Wake me up when the world’s ending,” Gwendis moaned, still lounging on her perch.

“Is she all right?” Elyssa asked, leaning towards Melina.

“Oh she’s fine. Just cranky after scouting out half of Rivenspire for Adusa. She’ll be better after she gets some rest….”

Melina’s eyes narrowed at Gwendis. “She’d feel even better if she actually bothered to go inside her coffin instead of sleeping on the hard stone lid...”

“That requires getting up…” Gwendis complained.

Melina gave a sigh, then went back to her rune sorting.

But Elyssa continued to stare at Gwendis, lost in thought.

“Do vampires dream?” She asked, absentmindedly.

“Of course we do,” Melina replied. “My favorite dreams involve handsome men, coming to sweep me off my feet and take me far away to their extravagant and elaborate castle where we watch the stars and raise our nineteen adopted children together…”

“Which, for Melina, is nineteen too many,” Gwendis chimed in with a chuckle.

“Oh hush you. If you’re too tired to lift a coffin lid than you’re too tired to make fun of my fantasies.”

“Do you really want nineteen children?” Elyssa asked.

“Well…” She started with a bit of a grimace, “Maybe not quite THAT many….But I do want at least a child or two. I adore children, they can be so sweet sometimes…”

She stared with melancholy as she traced the face of a beautiful rune.

“Never making assumptions….never judging you…” She continued, solemnly.

“Breaking all the furniture in the house,” Gwendis remarked with a more lighthearted air.

“I suppose they can also be quite destructive too,” Melina gave out a little laugh. “But what about you, Elyssa? Have you ever thought about children?”

Elyssa made a face. “I think my horse is enough of a handful…”

She straightened up in a panic when she remembered her horse.

“Wait, my horse! I put her around back in that shed place like Ophelia told me to, but I forgot to ask: was that really okay? What if the bloodfiends got to her? Should I go check on her?”

Melina patted her hand reassuringly just as she stood.

“Don’t fret there, dear. The bloodfiends tend to lean away from anything that doesn’t smell like food, and our scent is all over these grounds. It wards the little monsters away from our beautiful castle.”

Elyssa sat back down out of relief.

“Besides,” Melina added, “Our beloved little goat would have been eaten a long time ago if it were otherwise.”

“That goat!” Elyssa groaned. “I mean, speaking of kids and destruction: your goat wouldn’t stop headbutting me as I was trying to take off my horse’s tack, and I was very nearly tempted to kick him straight into your lake. How do you get him to stop?”

“Elyssa!” Melina chastised with a cluck. “That’s no way to treat Kalin.”

“Yes but—“ Elyssa cut off as those words wormed their way into her head. “Wha….”

She turned to Melina, face contorted in a mixture of utter confusion with a touch of horror. “What? But I thought Kalin was the name of your…”

“Our resident Weregoat, yes.”

“Your resident… what?”

“Were. Goat.” Melina said with precise articulation.

Elyssa stared at her as if she’d grown an extra head. “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Me?” Melina asked, offended and with her hand firmly at her heart. “Why I’d never!”

That did nothing to convince Elyssa.

“Gwendis…” Elyssa sighed, turning to the lounging vampire. “Is there such thing as Weregoats?“

Gwendis lazily lifted her arm to give her a side eye. “I mean, I think you should really focus on apologizing to Kalin for thinking about throwing him into the lake…Ya got some priorities you need to sort here…”

Elyssa flushed in embarrassment. She’d never heard of a weregoat before. But then, she’d never heard of friendly vampires until just yesterday. And someone did tell her once that werebears were an actual thing…

“All…All right…” Elyssa said, slowly. Not quite fully prepared to believe. “Then when do weregoats transform?”

“Why, none other than the evening of every second Morndas of the month. Which, I believe, was yesterday. Is that not correct, Gwendis?”

“Yeee-ep.” Gwendis replied, lazily letting the word hang in the air.

“Okay,” Elyssa said, a little less confident in herself. “But why a goat, of all things?”

“Please,” Melina said, “Do I look like Hircine? For all we know, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt punishes those who scorn him with this…awful curse. Such poor people might be used as fodder in the Prince’s hunting games. All the more reason why he needs to stay, safe and sound, with us.”

Elyssa gave Melina a critical eye. The vampire had been a bit overdramatic in the way she’d said “awful curse”, but otherwise it seemed she was serious.

Gwendis, likewise, seemed fairly serious too, even as she kept lounging on her coffin lid.

Elyssa sighed, defeated.

“I guess I really should apologize to Kalin for getting irritated with him…��

“If you still don’t believe us, you can check out his tail,” Gwendis chipped in, “Ask if he’ll drop his pants and show you his hindquarters.”

Elyssa flushed red, and was about to reply that she would not, under any circumstances, ask to see the Dunmer’s posterior.

But a strangled noise brought her attention back to Melina, and her eyes narrowed in as the lady vampire struggled to keep a straight face.

“You…” Elyssa accused. “You both are pulling my leg after all!”

Melina released the laughter she had apparently been holding in, and Gwendis was happy to chuckle alongside her.

“Come on, Mel,” Gwendis accused, “We had something here.”

The other’s laughter died down to a grin.

“Oh but Gwendis, I think you went a little too far with that one. If she honestly asked Kalin to bare himself…you know how he gets…He’d probably acquiesce.”

“But that was the best part about it.” Gwendis grinned back.

“Well I don’t think it’s very nice,” Elyssa grumbled.

“Come on.” Gwendis said “We’re just teasing ya a bit. A little hazing just to check if you’re good with our House and all.”

“Besides,” Melina added. “It was positively adorable that you were willing to believe in weregoats.”

“Yeah. I’m just so gullible aren’t I?” Elyssa replied bitterly, remembering what the Count had told her last night about being a little too trusting of people.

“Come now, dear.” Melina said, patting her hand. “We’re sorry. Truly. And how about I put my money where my mouth is and give you extra runestones for your next shipment as a little apology gift?”

“I guess…” She replied, trying to refrain from any signs that free stuff had indeed perked up her mood just slightly.

She found out she didn’t need to put much effort into that; the Count himself emerged from his study to interrupt.

“Good morning, Elyssa. May I have a word with you?” The statement was short, sweet, and a bit curt. Although that could have just been his High Elven accent.

“Do something naughty while we were gone, did ya?” Gwendis grinned at her just as Elyssa got up to join him.

“Wha—No! Of course not!”

Gwendis’ chuckle seemed to almost follow her as she joined Verandis by the bookshelves. This time, he forewent a book in favor of leaning against the shelves, his arms crossed while he regarded her carefully.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Like a rock.” She stretched out her back a little with a wince. “I even woke up feeling a little like a rock.”

“Probably because you spent the better part of the night sleeping on my floor. If I hadn’t decided to venture upstairs to dabble with a little more alchemy, you’d have woken up there too. Why didn’t you drink the potion while you were in bed?”

“I did!” Elyssa cheerfully replied, holding a finger up, “But then I thought it would be a good idea to fetch a little more wine to wash it down.”

His eyebrows rose as he gave her a pointed look

“I mean,” Elyssa continued, her hands dropping to her side again, “At the time it seemed like a good idea. Obviously it’s not such a good idea after the fact.”

The Count stared at her critically for a good while before he closed his eyes with a sigh. When he re-opened them, he was back to contemplative again.

“You’re lucky you suffered no serious injuries; you could have easily gained yourself a concussion. It seems the Divines do more than simply gift you powerful light magic: it appears they’re also the only things that are keeping you alive.”

“Hey!”

“Which brings me to the reason I called you here. I took the liberty of making a full batch of sleeping draught for you. The bottles are on a tray upstairs labeled with their purpose and your name.”

“Really?” Elyssa’s face lit up; the potential to actually get decent sleep was literally being handed to her. “Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. This stuff is fantastic; I didn’t dream at all after drinking it.”

“Which is something I need to warn you of. As you’ve discovered for yourself, the draught places you in a very deep sleep. Too deep to dream…and most certainly too deep to be easily roused. If someone were to grab you or hurt you, you will likely not awaken. Make sure to never take a dose unless you are absolutely certain of your safety.”

She was much less enthusiastic about this caveat; inn rooms were expensive, and camping was often inevitable for a lot of places.

“So…I probably shouldn’t drink any if it’s just me and my sleeping roll out in the open...”

“I would severely recommend against that. Instead, if you absolutely cannot sleep and cannot find a safe haven, take a quarter dosage. It will not rid you of your dreams, but it will help keep you from a restless night without sacrificing your ability to respond to potential threats.”

She gave him a wry smile. “Aaaaand let me guess; I’ll have to come back to you every time I run out, won’t I? Should I start looking for a house in Rivenspire?”

He waved the questions away. “No need. I’ve written down the recipe for you. Even if you do not feel comfortable brewing it yourself, you need only take the instructions to any community’s resident alchemist. It’s straightforward enough that any one of them should be able to provide it for you.”

She nodded and mimicked his stance to recline against the bookshelves, albeit from the opposite end. Silence hung in the air, and he was still regarding her carefully.

“…That’s not all you called me here for. Is it?” Elyssa finally spoke up.

“No, it’s not.” Verandis sighed. She could tell from his very tone he was contemplating his words carefully. “Elyssa…have you considered spending time in Wayrest for a while? There’s a flower festival that happens every year around this time, I believe. I can only vouch for what I’ve seen from afar, but it’s does seem a rather popular event…”

She stared at him incredulously. “We’re in the middle of a situation where bloodfiends and vampires are trying to take over the entire province…”

“Indeed. And we have more than enough people here to handle it.”

She winced back as if he had struck her. ‘We don’t need you’ was the unspoken implication.

“Oh? Am I a burden to you now?” She spat back bitterly.

“Child—“

“So what that I’m young? That I have nightmares, and that you found out about them. Now I’m suddenly too pathetic to be of any use to you, is that right?”

“Listen to me—“

“No, you listen to me! What was all that stuff you told me last night? How it was okay to have weaknesses? I’m grateful you gave me potions to help with my sleep, but I’m not worthless just because I need them! And you!”

She pointed an accusing finger at him.

“You have no right to order me out of Rivenspire like this! You aren’t my parent. You aren’t my Emperor. You’re not even the King of Rivenspire.”

She could tell, from the way his face perceptively changed, that the last statement hit a mark. But she was too angry to care.

“No. I’m going to stay right here. I’m going to help defeat Baron Montclair. I’m gonna fight a whole bunch of bloodfiends to reach him…” She stared him down, fists clenched at her side, “And there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me.”

He stared back at her, calmly watching for an indication that she was finished.

“Elyssa…” When he finally spoke, it was soft, slow, and soothing. “I do not believe I ever said you were worthless or pathetic.”

“And yet you’re ordering me to go off prancing at a flower festival.”

“I’m not ordering you to do anything, child. I’m merely making a suggestion. A suggestion based on what I’ve seen and what you’ve told me…You need a moment to relax and recover. One cannot keep shouldering so many burdens without cracking underneath their pressures.”

“But I’m also needed here. Back at Shornhelm, you said I had powerful light magic. Better than most.” She reminded him. “And that I could be a great help in all this, since we’re fighting people whose very skin cracks under the light…”

“And, to an extent, I stand by those words. Light magic is notoriously tricky to learn compared to the other elements, and yet it seems to come to you as easily as breathing does. This is unheard of, particularly for someone at your age. There are those who would even go so far as to call you a prodigy, myself included.”

The unexpected praise took a little of the edge off her rage.

“But you’re still inexperienced, and it’s painfully obvious you have not had any formal training in combat; your footwork is sloppy and you leave far too many openings for your opponent to take advantage of. This might not be particularly risky when dealing with mindl0ess bloodfiends, creatures which have very little ability to strategize. But the full-fledged vampires in Montclair’s army won’t hesitate to use that against you. Furthermore, why aren’t you using a staff?”

She straightened up with pride. “Swords are cool.”

He paused as if this was not the answer he was expecting.

“A staff would make a tremendous improvement on your magicka flow.” He continued on with the same tone of voice. He had, apparently, elected to ignore her statement. “You might even see an additional threefold improvement in the manifestation of your abilities.”

“But it would leave me wide open. Greatswords help me guard against blows…”

“And so can staves…”

He walked over to retrieve his own firestaff that had been waiting in the corner for him. Holding it out for her to look at, he gestured to its components.

“A typical battlestaff is made with combat in mind, and part of that involves the possibility that you will need to block a blow if your opponent finds a way to come within reach. You can see here how my own weapon has its wood reinforced with a layer of metal. Furthermore, are the multiple runes embedded into its spine…”

His finger traced over the weapon. As if in response to its owner’s command, several symbols glowed across the length of it, brightly shining for a brief moment before settling back to normal.

“These, too, are designed with its protection in mind. And with the mind of maintaining consistent magicka flow. A staff that can no longer provide a steady resonation with its owner’s power is not only useless, but dangerous. Such a weapon risks a catastrophic explosion if the user was not careful; thus, the important of the runes. And as for its bladed tip…”

He gestured to the very top of the staff, in which the blade has been sharpened to fine edge.

“It is not unusual for many staff artisans to include a bladed tip in their work. It does nothing to impair the staff’s traditional function and offers the advantage to utilize it as a make-shift spear, should the need require it.”

He set the staff aside back in its designated corner.

“Staves may not be as….” He gave her an indulgent smile “…flashy as some other weapons, but they are nonetheless perfectly viable, and adaptable to changing situations on the battlefield.”

Elyssa grumbled, unimpressed. “First you order me out of the region, now you’re ordering me to change my weapon—“

“Just another suggestion, Elyssa. A suggestion,” The Count interrupted with wry smile. He went to return to his books once again.

“As you say, Father.” She mockingly shot back. She waited for a moment to see if he’d react to that, if only just a little bit. But her frustration grew a tad when it was clear he was utterly unfazed by the title, continuing on in his books without so much as a raised eyebrow.

She grumbled again, and turned to leave the library.

“And please do not forget to eat before you leave, my daughter.” He called after her.

She froze in the doorway, and took a moment to glance back at him; her face full of surprise.

His reading was as focused as it always was, but he did pause to look up when he noticed her watching.

“Something wrong?” He asked, and the very end of his mouth seemed to twist ever so slightly in a smile that almost looked….devious.

“N-no…” She replied shakily, the surprise lining her face beginning to tinge just slightly with mortification.

She thought the damned vampire elf would be too serious to give much of a reaction, let alone throw her comment back in her face.

“Then by all means: do try to make me proud out there.” He turned the page and returned to his books, still with that damnable little smile.

“I---“ Elyssa closed her mouth almost as soon as she’d opened it, before she said anything she might later come to regret, and decided it was far better to just turn around and walk away.

She could hear Gwendis’ muffled, gentle laughter beside her as she passed the coffins, and it only made her more determined to try and keep the red from her face from showing; it was likely most of the vampiric members of the household had overheard.

Melina, too, seemed to struggle with her own smile as Elyssa passed her.

“Oh,” Melina said. “I believe Ophelia made some honey bread this morning, if that pleases you, dear sister.”

“Shut up.” Elyssa muttered back, and made haste for the guest room before either of them could comment further.

She ignored the tray of alchemy bottles that had been set aside for her on the table, deciding she could figure out the logistics of safely storing them in her pack later. Once safely within the walls of her temporary bedroom, she made a beeline for her gear.

She was quickly getting used to putting it on; the intricacies that went into the chainmail underside and the straps that accompanied the plate outer layer did not seem to trouble her as much as it did weeks ago.

Her feet brought her to stand in front of the mirror, admiring her work. She looked almost like a real soldier.

Honorary member of the Lion Guard, Elyssa Arboretum.

The memory of the guard announcing this while offering the suit of tailored armor played in her head. It was to be expected: in spite of all the things she had (somehow) managed to accomplish, she wasn’t actually a soldier. She had no training in their regiment…nor was she even technically a citizen of High Rock.

‘You’re footwork is sloppy and you leave too many openings’

‘It seems the Divines do more than simply gift you powerful light magic: it appears they’re also the only things that are keeping you alive’

These new words began to rotate in her head, churning into doubts.

Most of her opponents, thus far, had either been werewolves overcome by their animalistic desires, nature corrupting spirits, mindless zombies, or clumsy bandits and disorganized cultist members…None of them had combat styles that could be comparable to word “finesse”. So her usual method of brute forcing her way with powerful spears of light magic before swinging her greatsword around in a haphazard manner had always worked out. Tactics, strategy, and footwork were never things she ever thought about on a regular basis.

Even with Angof the Gravesinger...he almost seemed like the more she fought with him, the more he just…gave up. As if his motivation to defeat her was shriveling away like the very vines he failed to grow. Most of his necromantic abilities didn’t stand a chance against the element of light; she barely even needed to concentrate to sweep the floor clear of his zombies. They faded to dust almost as soon as she touched them with even the dimmest glow of her power. And that wasn’t even mentioning the fact that she had plenty of help at her side at the time…

….

...What if she’d just been lucky so far in her opponents?

That all of her “deeds” were nothing more than the culmination of her brute forcing her own “prodigy-like” magic and having the “Gods’ luck” on her side?

…..

….Was she actually making a difference?

She struck a pose in the mirror, hoping to look impressive decked out in her armor…but her rounded cheeks and short stature did nothing to wipe away the traditional, youthful appearance of a Breton.

Why couldn’t she have inherited at least a little of her Imperial father’s more chiseled features?

She stuck her tongue out at herself, and was greeted with an even more childish sight as a result. Fully frustrated, she grabbed her pack and stuck a few of her things in it.

She frowned at the alchemy bottles; it was times like these that she wished she had a bigger protective bottle case in her pack. She was grateful that he made her so much, but there was just a few too many to fit.

And she was hungry.

…She huffed, and decided she’d have to figure out the problem of the bottles later.

As she made her way downstairs, she caught sight of Gwendis and Melina chatting at the dining table; Gwendis finally appeared to have made it off her coffin. Elyssa was almost tempted to throw a teasing comment at her for that.

Further downstairs was the basement level.

She’d been told it was always kept locked, mostly so that the household (both vampire and servant) could have a place of privacy away from any visiting guests. The main kitchen was down there, however, and so she found herself knocking at the basement door.

“Why good morning to you, Elyssa!” The cheerful face of an older, gray haired Imperial woman greeted her.

“Good morning, Ophelia. Melina told me you have some honey bread all made up?”

“I do. I do indeed; my lady must have smelled it from the hall. Come in, sweetie, and I’ll cut you a few slices.”

The basement of Ravenwatch castle was, perhaps, even more homely than its main hall. Reminiscent of the guest suite, there were no gargoyle statues or eclectic furnishings (save for the two coffins in the center of the room, one of which had to be Melina’s). A roaring fireplace lit up the place brighter than the other rooms, perhaps for the benefit of the servants as they had their own separate room nearby.

Workstations filled with alchemy ingredients and enchanting components lined the walls. A mysterious door to an even deeper cellar was in the far corner (she was told it was strictly forbidden to anyone not of the House; and that only made her slightly more curious about it). Finally, there was a full kitchen to the side; much nicer than the kitchenette of the upstairs guest suite.

Ophelia wasn’t the only servant awake; the others were out and about as well.

The Breton, Estelle, was by the fire, working on some sort of sewing. She was the only one Elyssa hadn’t formally met; they told her she was of a skittish disposition, particularly around strangers. From what was mentioned, the Count had found and rescued her from bandits who had badly abused her. Until she got used to a new person, it was advised for that individual to leave her alone unless absolutely necessary.

Anise, a Bosmer, was at the nearby dining table, a table that was a much smaller twin to the grander one of the main hall. She….definitely looked like she was still asleep, her small head propped up by her arms at the table. Narcolepsy was something Ophelia had mentioned; apparently Anise had trouble finding someone to hire her in a ‘traditional’ job because of her condition. But the household wasn’t perturbed by the idea of narcolepsy, and had hired her practically on the spot the moment she revealed she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of serving vampires.

Ophelia herself was busy cutting an impressively large portion of an equally impressively large loaf of sweet smelling bread. Elyssa recalled that when she had previously asked what the Imperial thought about living here, the older woman had merely scoffed. For Ophelia, it was just tradition; her family had served House Ravenwatch for a handful of generations. She had literally grown up in the castle. So, naturally, she was quite fine with it all.

Kalin, one of the ones Elyssa had spoken to the most (but ironically knew the least about), was lounging about at the wall near the kitchen, eyeing her carefully. The only information she had on the Dunmer was that he was the oldest and longest serving of all the mortals who stayed there.

“So our guest yet lives…” He said, that slow sardonic drawl of his hanging in the air. “Do tell; how does it feel knowing you survived a night in a vampire’s stronghold?”

“Got better sleep here than in most inn rooms.” She responded, grinning. “You all seem to get along really well with each other.”

He laughed. “Indeed….we’re quite….close with each other…”

“Kalin,” Ophelia warned.

“Some of us ….closer…than others.”

“Kalin.”

“You might even say it’s a regular Ebony Flask around here--”

Ophelia banged her knife down flat with a loud clunk, staring him down with a none-too pleased grimace.

“What’s an Ebony Flask?” Elyssa asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Now you see? She’s only going to start asking more questions…” Ophelia said.

“What…Is it something bad?”

“Not at all…” Kalin continued, an exceptionally wolfish grin lining his face. “Ophelia is only upset because sometimes even she—“

“That’s it!” Ophelia pointed her knife at him from afar. “You. Out of my kitchen!”

“My work here is done…” Kalin stated in monotone, impish grin still on his lips as he strolled out the basement doors.

He held it open for Gwendis, who had found her way downstairs.

“Gwendis!” Elyssa approached her “Kalin said it’s like a regular Ebony Flask around here; what does that mean?”

Whatever emotion Gwendis’ face had before vanished as she stared off into the distance with pursed lips. She took a deep breath through her nose…

….Then turned and walked right back through the basement doors again.

“Wha-Gwendis?!”

“Never you mind that, sweetie.” Ophelia interjected with an almost strangled voice. “Why don’t you come and have some breakfast? I made you some eggs and bacon too; I think you could use the protein, going out to fight as you do. Might even put a little meat on those bones.”

Melina was next to come through the doors, clutching her satchel of runes and yawning all the while. And Elyssa immediately abandoned her breakfast plate to jump on the opportunity.

“Melina! Kalin talked about an ‘Ebony Flask’. What does he mean by that?”

Melina paused mid yawn, a curious expression forming on her face.

“Oh Elyssa…” She sighed. “I’m afraid I’m much too tired to have this conversation. We can have this talk after I’ve taken my rest…”

“My lady, I must protest!” Ophelia exclaimed.

Melina gained a rather mischievous smile at Ophelia’s outburst. “Very well. We can have this talk after I’ve taken my rest AND after Ophelia has gone to bed.”

“My lady, please.”

Elyssa grinned as Melina gave her a little wink. Seeing that, Ophelia’s protestations started to die down into more of a sputter.

“Herding cats around here…” Elyssa could hear Ophelia mutter under her breath as the older woman re-doubled her cleaning efforts. “Some days, I swear…”

But Elyssa was far more interested in what Melina was doing: heading towards one of the stone coffins in the main area of the room.

Melina caught sight of her following close behind.

“Curious, are we?” She asked with a slightly amused smile.

“I just want to see what’s in it.” Elyssa beamed back at her.

“What might you think is in it?” Melina cocked her head slightly.

“I…” Elyssa tried to think of all the vampire stories she knew. Which wasn’t very helpful. She knew they supposedly slept in coffins, but she never really heard any stories about what they slept with. “…Jewels?”

The lady vampire laughed. “I’m not a dragon!”

The coffin lid scraped across its base as she moved it, revealing a cushioned lining, a small horde of pillows and a patterned blanket. Though the outside was drab stone, the inside looked…rather homey. For a coffin.

“Not quite what you were hoping for?” Melina asked, as it seemed she noticed her dismay.

“I don’t know.” Elyssa frowned. “Why not just sleep in a bed then?”

The vampire bit at her lower lip in contemplation.

“Well…I can’t speak for the others…But in my case…” She shifted uncomfortably. “I--the first days of my new life were spent constantly under threat from the sun, even when I tried to sleep….especially when I tried to sleep. I developed a bit of a phobia for it. And after a while, I just started to feel…more at ease in places that were dark and enclosed.”

She fondly traced the edges of the lid. “Sleeping in a box of some sort is the easiest way to accomplish that. But they don’t usually make human shaped cargo boxes...And asking for one would likely raise too many questions…But coffins…”

The vampire waved towards her open resting place.

“...Coffins are requested all the time. Even coffins ordered to your exact specifications; no one ever bats an eye over measurements…It’s a convenience, really.”

“So…you could sleep in a bed if you wanted to?”

“The bed itself certainly wouldn’t kill us. But….our reactions aren’t always fast when we’re groggy and it’s the middle of the day, so if someone were to open the drapes on any of us while we lay exposed and slumbering…”

“But all of the windows here are glazed over; I could open all the drapes in the castle and the sun still wouldn’t touch you…And I mean…there can’t be that many people who would do something that horrible to you in the first place…”

“That’s very sweet of you to say, Elyssa.” Melina smiled kindly. “It isn’t true, and I think you know that, but it’s very sweet of you to say nonetheless. There are plenty of people out there who wouldn’t hesitate…so…Just…think of the coffin in the same way you’d think of a stuffed toy that a child would cling to; it brings me comfort and assurance to know the sun can’t touch me so long as I’m inside.”

“I’m guessing you’re going to sleep now?” Elyssa watched as Melina kicked off her shoes and settled down among the bright interior of her coffin.

“Mmmm…Indeed. I just simply can’t keep my eyes open any longer…” She sighed happily as she nuzzled one of her pillows. “Won’t you be a dear and close my lid for me?”

“Wait…” Elyssa gestured to the coffin opposite of hers. “Before I do, I wanted to ask: there’s five coffins total, but I thought there was only four of you…”

“Oh…that one would belong to my dear, sweet brother…” Melina lazily said, already with half lidded eyes. “You won’t likely meet him; he’s gone and locked himself in the cellar. Out of abundance of caution, mostly. He’s been having difficulties these days, and…oh, well, he’s such a sweetheart; he’d do anything to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone…”

“I see….” Elyssa said, suddenly solemn as she stared out towards the cellar hatch. “I hope he feels better.”

“Indeed, as do I. I so hate to think of him stuck down there, but it was his choice and my Lord approved…”

She let out another yawn. “Ah…oh, excuse me. I’m so sorry, Elyssa. But I must really bid you a good day; I cannot possibly stay awake a moment longer. Please promise you’ll stay safe. I’ve already become a bit fond of you, and I would hate it terribly if you were injured….”

“I’ll promise I’ll try not to die. Have a good night…erm…I mean day. Have a good day, Melina.”

Melina gave her one last, sweet smile as Elyssa pushed close the lid.

…It was a lot heavier than anticipated.

She had to shove her shoulder against it just to get it shut. The clunk of the stone finding the indentation on its base was louder than she’d thought it would be and caused her to jump.

Giving one last look towards the cellar hatch, as if expecting another vampire to appear any moment, Elyssa went back to the table. Eggs, bacon, and honey bread were shoveled down as fast as she could manage.

~~~

She walked out of the basement a little too full; Ophelia had insisted on giving her a second helping of eggs and bacon, and had even tried for a third. Given the sort of conversations that had accompanied breakfast, Elyssa had a nagging feeling that the older woman had been desperately trying to distract her from Ebony Flasks. And, of course, that did nothing but make her more curious.

Chances were, Ophelia would manage to talk Melina out of explaining it later.

So instead of heading towards the front door with her pack, she made a quick beeline for Gwendis, who had gone back to lounging atop her coffin.

“Psst….Gwendis? Gwendis, what’s an Ebony Flask?” She gave the vampire a few pokes in the arm that was covering her eyes. The skin was oddly cold compared to a mortal’s.

…And the vampire didn’t budge.

“I know you know. You had that look on your face when I asked about it before, so don’t think you can pretend otherwise.”

And the vampire still didn’t budge.

“Aww come on. You can’t be asleep already. And even if you were, there’s a tasty mortal inches from your face nudging you with her fingers. If that doesn’t wake up a vampire, I don’t know what would. So what’s an Ebony Flask? Is it a type of skooma? Do you all get together to use skooma? I won’t judge; I promise.”

She could see Gwendis’ lips twitching against her pale face, but otherwise she continued to remain still.

Elyssa huffed. “Fine. Be that way. I give up. Have a good nigh—day. Day! Ugh. Whatever.”

She passed by Verandis’ study on her way out. He was still in there, working away at his books, as usual. Elyssa was partly tempted to go in and ask him about Ebony Flasks and what that had to do with House Ravenwatch.

But she was still too irritated at him to even make the attempt, and that pushed all other thoughts away; so much so that she simply headed outside without so much as a ‘goodbye’ to him.

The bright sun greeted her as soon as she pushed open the heavy oak doors. She stopped to stretch out as she basked in the warmth.

“Hey don’t forget…” Gwendis’ voice came echoing through the halls behind her, proving that she hadn’t been asleep after all, “…Watch out for the weregoats out there.”

Elyssa’s irritation was matched only by the intensity of how hard she slammed their front door shut.

“I hate you all.” She muttered under her breath. Not that she completely meant it.

But her irritation only grew further as she noticed a bloodfiend at the edge of town, happily gorging itself on a dead citizen.

…

……It was like breathing; such an apt description that Verandis had given her earlier that it became hard for her to think of it otherwise.

Warmth filled the tips of her fingers, a growing sensation that shifted through her palm like a liquid.

Coalescing. Expanding. An extension of her arm, of her will. She often found she only needed to hold the image of a spear in her mind for it to form. And with two steps taken, her momentum helped to send the whole thing forward, hurling through the air.

What was only mere moments resulted in a motionless bloodfiend, a bright spear of solid-like light skewered into its chest.

Unfortunately, it seemed she attracted some attention; another figure lurking in the shadows manifested itself right next to the dead bloodfiend. She readied herself another spear….

…Only to then dissipate the light in her hands when she realized the second figure had cat ears.

And she winced when a rather irate Adusa-daro came towards her.

“H-Hi…Adusa….” She nervously greeted.

“Adusa would appreciate…” The Khajiit began with a glower. “…If the young one would please stop throwing such powerful holy magic so close to this one’s fur…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I just didn’t see you there when you’re dressed in all black like that!”

“Yes yes; this is exactly the sort of thing Adusa is worried about…” Adusa grumbled, but she didn’t actually seem too upset at her.

Then again, it was difficult to tell; the Khajiit’s black and flowing cloak was surely thick enough to ensure no sunlight ever peaked through, and most definitely dark enough to obscure any body language. It looked to be made of the same fine material as the one she’d seen Verandis wear the other day, and she was sure that, like Verandis’, it held a dark grey outline of their house crest on the back as well.

…Although Verandis’ cloak didn’t exactly have cat ear protrusions on the hood; that would have been a definite improvement. (She made a mental note to herself to tell him to get some cat ears on his cloak. Since he was so eager to give her ‘suggestions’ before, he surely wouldn’t mind receiving ‘suggestions’ in return.).

Elyssa frowned as she attempted to figure out where among the bloodfiends the vampire had been lurking. She only found more bloodfiends.

Which only made her frown more because…well….bloodfiends.

“How can you stand all this going on right outside your doorstep? With these poor people like….like this…?”

She vigorously gestured towards a few of the creatures shambling close by.

“Patience, young one. Tell this one; what is the most important thing we must focus on?”

“Killing Montclair?”

“Yes, good. And what else?”

Elyssa strained herself to think: what else was there besides killing Montclair and dispatching bloodfiends?

“….Er…Killing Montclair…a second time…?”

Adusa groaned. “The living, Elyssa. Living people are important, yes? We must kill Montclair and make sure any living survivors are safe. These are the two most important of all things that we must do.”

She could hear the khajiit grunt in disgust as she waved towards the bloodfiends.

“These….creatures. They can wait until later…The dead will always be here later…The living? Not so much.”

“Sorry; I guess I just took it for granted that we’d help the survivors. I mean…why wouldn’t we? But these bloodfiends here…they do still bother you…right?” Elyssa asked in a quiet voice.

Adusa was in the process of taking down fabric around the face area, which suggested that the cloak, like typical Breton hoods, had a built in face mask.

“We may not have always spoken much to the people here…” Adusa said. Pain on her face as cat-like eyes scanned over the town. “But the ones of Crestshade…they were good people. They do not deserve such a fate. It is….very, very difficult to watch. These townsfolk deserve to be put to rest, and not wander like filthy beasts.”

“Is there a chance that Montclair would use these ones for his army?”

The khajiit shook her head.

“Look at them, young one. They are baking in the sun, and they do not even realize it hurts…Montclair would not win this war on the backs of freshly burnt carcasses falling to pieces. No, the bloodfiends sent here were clearly only meant to coax the people out of their homes and scattered on the winds. To turn to the curse any of those who could not make it out…less people he would have to cow to his would-be rule…”

Adusa’s fangs protruded as she softly snarled, her ears hunched back. “…This one also thinks he may have been trying to mock us a little as well…Send bloodfiends to attack the town while we all were away as an insult to all of our efforts…”

Elyssa remained silent.

She didn’t know how to respond except to look out again amongst the bloodfiends stumbling across the ground…

Their bodies did seem like they were coming apart at the seams; many of them had sun wounds that burrowed straight through their skin, creating gaping holes that only hindered their movements more.

“We must rest and work and focus on the two most important things, Elyssa. Never forget the priorities. And speaking of which: Adusa is glad to have caught you before you left. She has need of you. You will help, yes?”

“What needs to be done?”

“Adusa has been scouting to see how far Montclair’s army has taken its curse, how far it has spread. They have taken over a small town called Moira’s Hope in the south. This one could smell the blood of the living there...but there are also many, many bloodfiends as well. She will need help to cut a path through…and perhaps help with the survivors as well; they are more likely to trust a fellow mortal than Adusa, and there may be need to get them out quickly…”

“Right! I’m with you; I just need to go and get Justice ready…”

“Justice?” Adusa followed Elyssa around back to their stables.

“My horse.”

“…Is that not…How does one say? ‘A little on the nose’?”

“Oh I didn’t name her that. That was the name she came with. If you can believe it, I got her for free from this cranky old Imperial man.” Elyssa’s face screwed up as she recalled the memory. “All eight of his horses were white Imperial thoroughbreds, and ALL of them were named Justice….”

Adusa looked at her with incredulity. “…Did he not have trouble telling them apart?”

“He was so angry; I was afraid to ask too many questions.” She flashed Adusa a nervous smile.

“Very generous, a whole horse….”

“I don’t think he could afford to take care of them all after he’d been displaced from the war. And I think he was also looking to help other citizens of Cyrodiil, because he only offered her to me when he found out I was a fellow refugee…”

Her comment cut short and her muscles tensed up when she came face to face…with him.

He was hanging out, casually, by the awning of the stables, right next to Justice.

He lifted his head to watch her as she approached.

Her arch-nemesis.

The bane of her existence.

The damned goat.

Her blue eyes narrowed in on him; her stance braced for impact.

He stared back, creepy little sideways pupils watching her as if to size her up.

She took a few sidesteps to the right, maintaining eye contact.

He mirrored her maneuver, his soft bleating filled with obvious faux innocence.

She stopped.

He stopped.

The irritating fiend was playing hardball.

Slowly, she inched her way towards her horse, eyes dead center on her foe in anticipation of the slightest mo—

“What...” Adusa’s voice intervened, “…In the name of the blessed moons are you doing?”

“Your goat is pure ev—“

Only a moment; Elyssa had only looked away from her dreaded foe for a moment, and the beast, sensing weakness, lowered its horned head to charge. Just barely was she able to escape the horror of it all by scrambling up the stable post with a yelp.

Adusa stood where she was, her arms crossed, and surveyed the scene with eyes aglow with amusement.

“Hibiscus must like you. She does not usually react in such a manner with anyone else…”

“You call this liking?” Elyssa grimaced as she clung to the stable post and tried to shoo the goat away by waving one foot while trying to balance on the other. “Look at the eyes, Adusa! Those are the eyes of a bloodthirsty creature who has killed before…and will kill again!”

“Speaking as one who knows bloodthirsty creatures, Adusa can assure that Hibby is both safe and does not consume blood,” Adusa began to make her way back around the castle. “This one will see you at Moira’s Hope, then.”

“Wha-you’re leaving me??!” Hibiscus the goat was already making the attempt to scale up the stable walls just to get to her enemy.

“Adusa has every confidence you can handle little Hibby. If not, Hibby’s treat bag is at the right of yourself. Feed her no more than three whole apples; a fat Hibby would make Anise very concerned.”

And with a wave over her shoulder, the hooded Adusa was gone.

Elyssa turned to her adversary.

“So….You’re a girl goat, huh? That’s quite a coincidence. I happen to be a girl human. We have so much in common; please stop trying to kill me.”

The horizontal goat pupils didn’t seem to falter, and she idly wondered if goats were carnivorous.

Her fingers strained as she tried to reach the treat bag, but she only ended up in an awkward, stretched out position with her torso still at the post and the weight of her upper half held up by her reaching fingers. She looked at her horse, who was calmly grazing at a pile of hay.

“A little help?” She asked, not actually expecting her horse to respond.

Sure enough, the horse stared back at her, unfazed and ignorant of her situation, before dipping its head to take in another mouthful of hay.

“First Adusa, now you; the double betrayal hurts just a little bit.” She said, purposefully overdramatic. If only to make herself feel better about the whole situation.

The goat seemed to be getting impatient, as it begun to ram its horned head against the sides of the stable. As if to try and knock her down.

“I have to wonder if you really are trying to kill me…” Elyssa winced as she made a solid lunge for an apple peeking out of the leather bag. Another effortful motion and an apple was tossed as far away as she could manage.

It was a gift from the Gods that Hibby’s priorities involved eating first and everything else second; Elyssa was finally free to drop down. Not necessarily in an elegant way, given her strained position; she ended up with a face full of hay, with her horse making the move to try and lick it off her face.

Straightened up with hay brushed off, she moved to get her horse’s tack on as quick as she possibly could before the demonic goat got back. Part of which required giving a jealous Justice an apple of her own to get her to cooperate.

Her weapons and pack at the ready, she hoisted herself up atop her steed; just in time to watch a distraught Hibby cower from Justice’s mightier hooves. Up high on a horse, she felt a bit more like a knight, regardless of whatever her image in the mirror had shown her before.

Ready to take on the world itself.

A click of the tongue and a flick of the reins, and she was well on her way.

Racing past the bloodfiends as the sun shone in the sky.

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

Final Author note: Bold of you to assume Verandis wouldn’t adopt your rebellious mortal ass, Elyssa.

#verandis ravenwatch #the elder scrolls online #eso #gwendis #adusa #my fanfiction

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the32ndbeat · 4 years ago

Note

Ship ur mutuals w/ members of NCT127!

ahh another of the ship asks ( not that I’m complaining lmao it’s a good distraction from my current wips )

also whoever asked this question, thanks for letting me exercise my one remaining braincell haha

kara - @hae-sicheng

sicheng!

not just because he’s her bias but bc they just seem so compatible in my eyes

they are both relatively soft spoken but extremely kind

i feel like they’re both the type who prefer to let others take the spotlight

and would prefer to support their friends from behind

he appreciates how giving and caring she is

will very easily be able to connect on a deep emotional level with each other i believe

a very wholesome pairing tbh

dee - @atbzkingdom

i think i’ve mentioned this before but taeyong

they are pretty similar personality wise and i feel like taeyong would like someone who is able to think the same way he does

as leader of 10 men who are collectively mentally 10, he’s defo on panic mode some days

she can help to listen to his woes and just be there for him

which he would greatly appreciate and love her for

she gets him like no one else does and he gets her like no one else does

having the same kind of mindset might also mean that it’s easier for them to relate to and understand each other

bea - @chaoticdeobi

i’m thinking jaehyun would be a good match for bea

imo they have such a calming aura that always makes the ppl around them feel comfortable and at ease

since jaehyun has always had to put up with the image of seemingly being this perfect being

i feel like bea is someone that ppl can easily open up to and he is no exception

he can truly be himself around her and not be afraid of getting judged

honestly i’ve always thought of jaehyun’s ideal type being like someone like bea

so this was a pretty easy pairing

clarie - @passionfruithyuck

johnny comes to mind when i thought of clarie

i don’t rly perceive them as having similar personalities but rather opposites

johnny is a lot more outgoing and i feel like he’d be able to coax her out of her shell and get her to open up to him

she can sort of tame him down a little

they make up for each other for whatever the other is lacking

basically when they’re together, they’re both able to help to make each other a better person

case of opposite attracts?

anie - @mjlkau

hyuck probably!

they would make a dynamic duo

but they’d probably be the couple that loves to go around playing pranks on everyone else together

to me, they both seem so lively

they both make the mood in their group of friends

your number 1 hype couple honestly

idk it’s just that whenever i talk to anie, i get such positive energy that i usually associate with hyuck ^^

leyna - @jensungf

hmm mark...?

leyna is just so caring and always looks out for other ppl and i think that’s something mark rly rly appreciates in a partner

as someone who’s part of almost every nct subunit except wayv, he’s probably super overworked at times

but doesn’t necessarily like to admit it

she is able to perceive any changes in his mood and will 100% be there for him whenever he needs her

he’s also a very chill sort of guy who seems like he’s always in a good mood just like leyna

i just think they’d be able to hit off well

rose - @guccibeomgyu

yuta lmao

this girl is so delightfully random and funny

i think yuta would be so intrigued by someone like rose

he might be used to ppl being intimidated by his presence but with rose, he doesn't get the same vibe

she’s super carefree, doesn’t rly give a fk about what ppl say about her

and yuta would 100% be into that

seeing as he’s just like that too

basically your sassy, ‘fk everyone go us’ couple

allie - @nzeeten

first thought: doyoung

talking to allie is so refreshing

i feel like she’s able to think things through in a very logical way

i might be wrong but that’s what it seems like to me

she seems mature beyond her years

i believe doyoung would want someone who’s very emotionally and mentally mature in their thinking

i can already envision them having like intellectual talks tgt

and they just get each other you know what i mean?

also i’m sorry if i didn’t include some of my other moots here haha i was like half falling asleep as i was doing this! if you wanna know which nct 127 member i’d ship you with, just shoot me an ask or dm me!

#qiu.txt #also its 1:40am #imma sleep lmao #answered #anon

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mor-beck-more-problems · 4 years ago

Text

A Brainful Process || Morgan &Rio

@3starsquinn

Cemetery field trip!

(Contains: zombie and animal gore)

Cemeteries were safer to visit in Morgan’s idle house than the woods. In cemeteries, most of the company was resting six feet under, and those that weren’t had a tendency to wave at Morgan as she walked by, content to leave her alone, one still soul to another. Some even warned her when it was better to turn back home. There’s a girl with the stake that comes by around now, a ghost might say. Or, we don’t like you that much. Cemeteries were safer, yes, and yet somehow tonight Morgan still found herself tackled to the ground, wrestling with a one legged zombie who, for all her wild hunger, really knew how to use her strength to her advantage. “Uh--a little help, maybe?” She called, appealing to one of the spirits nearby. “I don’t know what you expect me to do about it,” the old man said, and drifted off to watch her struggle somewhere else. “Okay, okay, ok--ow!” The zombie woman bit into her shoulder, moaning with hunger. Morgan kicked, trying to knock her off balance enough to shift the weight between them like Mina had taught her, but it was a lot harder when the opponent didn’t have much of a mind for sensing pain. Morgan set her jaw and lashed out to struggle with the zombie woman again. “We got this,” she grunted. “You’re gonna be fine, you just gotta stop trying to eat me!”

Cemeteries had scared Orion far before he knew ghosts and spirits existed. He supposed he always knew they were real. Growing up learning about werewolves and Fae made pretty much anything believable. If his parents had bothered telling him about Santa, Rio might still think he was real. But he had always thought of ghosts in the more creepypasta YouTube sense. That they haunted others. They were crazy stories that made things colder and flipped on lights. Not the kind that possessed other humans and drained their life force. But ever since Rio had learned about the Dybbuks and other evil spirits, Rio hadn’t been able to get them off his mind. Rio began pulling books about ghosts and spirits. The more he read, the more intrigued he became with some of the accounts of sightings. Winston and Ricky must have really gotten to Rio. Without even realizing it, on his way home that night he was taking a detour and heading towards the cemetery. For no other reason than pure stupidity, if Rio had to guess. Once he was within range however, he started hearing voices. The hairs on his arms stood straight up and he immediately began shaking. At least, until he realized that the voices weren’t ghosts or spirits but a person. A person that sounded like they were in danger. Rio picked up his pace, beginning to job before breaking into a sprint towards the cemetery, stopping only when he finally spotted the source of the voice, a woman being attacked by another. “Hey!” Rio yelled, trying to sound more dangerous than he actually was, “Let her go!” Rio began moving towards the two slowly, freezing when he finally realized who the victim of the evening was, “Professor?”

The sound of another voice made Morgan’s dead body go stiff. Fuck. The last thing she needed was human company, or some hunter about to stumble upon a two-for-one deal. “W-we’re fine!” She grunted, finally grappling the zombie woman to the ground and pinning her down. “She’s--she’s just---uh--” Morgan struggled for a good lie. The woman was in literal pieces, her skin sagging off her bones and pockets of bare muscle spreading bursts of dark, grotesque color. And the person was coming closer. “Having an attack! Nothing to see here--Rio?”

Morgan saw him through the edge of her vision and didn’t know whether to be relieved or agitated. She hadn’t told Rio the ‘sudden loss in her family’ that explained away two weeks worth of missed classes had been her own. She hadn’t told any of her students. Funny enough, that still wasn’t a conversation she felt like having. But there wasn’t going to be any fooling him. He was too much of a supernatural scholar to not see the obvious, at least when it came to the woman thrashing and groaning under her. “Hey!” She said brightly, panic tight in her smile. “How weird and amazing to run into you here! I’m fine, she’s fine, we’re both fine right now, completely. But you should really stay back and um, maybe grab some rope? And some fresh brains?” She was convinced, maybe falsely, that she had enough confidence to sell everything she was saying without the need for questions. Then the zombie woman rocked against her weight and threw her off, driven by the pull of fresh meat.

For a long moment, Orion just stood from a distance and stared at Morgan and the woman clawing at her. This didn’t make any sense. Why was Morgan being so casual right now? Was this some sort of fever dream brought on by the lack of sleep? “Uh” Rio hummed, drawing it out for far longer than any of them needed. “Both fine. Right.” He realized, maybe many beats too late, that he had still not moved from his spot. Until now, he had stared at the sight as if it was a horror scene in a movie. “Brains?” Rio asked, touching at his head instinctively before realizing that Morgan probably had a rope and brains here. Because this was a zombie. A zombie. A ZOMBIE? It took this long for the fear to finally rush into Rio’s body and he immediately started fidgeting, the usual skin crawling feeling worming its way through his body. “Oh my god. A zombie! I’ve never met a zombie! I’m going to do something now.” Rio spoke aloud, as if that was going to finally motivate his body to follow the commands. Apparently it worked, his feet finally inching across the grass and towards the two. “What do you want me to do with these things once I have them?”

Morgan’s thin smile fractured with dismay. As much as she was relieved Rio wasn’t some guns a blazing hunter trying to get more goo for their collection. But she didn’t know if this was really the time for scholarly curiosity either. Maybe more like run and take action time. Move faster NOW time. Morgan dove for the zombie again, tackling her to the ground and pressing down with all her weight. She looked up at Rio, pleading for his help. She could keep the zombie pinned down for now, but she wouldn’t be able to help the dead woman with just her hands alone. And, shit--of course Rio wouldn’t have anything on him. He wasn’t Kaden, for crying out loud. Morgan looked around them, mind racing to keep up, to stay ahead of any panic. Maybe this was the time for scholarly curiosity. “The plan!” She said, forcing as much confidence into her bright voice as possible. “The plan is you...find something that will do instead of rope. Um...your belt! And uuh…” She looked around her with dismay. “My belt!” It was a lot daintier, meant for her small waist as decoration rather than supporting any weight. “And we are going to bind the zombie as tightly as we can. Because, fun fact: zombies have a much higher pain threshold than humans! Whatever would hurt for you won’t hurt for them, so that’s not something to worry about when they’re...like this.” She swallowed thickly and forced another smile as the zombie rocked and struggled under her. “When her limbes are secure, we’ll get her some of the food from my bag--” what was supposed to have been her lunch, “--and give her some of that. And then...more, probaby. From...somewhere else. I’m not...actually sure from where yet, but--fun zombie fact 2: decomposition and ‘rabid’ behavior is a symptom of starvation and not, necessarily, the zombie’s natural state! With sustainable access to food, your average zombie isn’t much different than a human, by outward appearances anyway.” Now if they could work on this together without Rio wondering too hard about how she knew all this, it might actually be easy. Or at least, not hard.

Okay, obviously it was clear that Morgan was preoccupied right now. Trying to hold back the woman- er uh the zombie from munching on either of them. Ignoring the swelling excitement as well as the far more palpable fear that was building inside of him, Orion tried to put aside any jitters and listen to Morgan’s instructions. He was lucky he had worn jeans today instead of the usual joggers or track pants, and that he was embarrassingly skinny for his age and height, so any pair of jeans that he wore usually required a belt. He pulled the belt free, hooking his pinky around a belt loop to avoid his jeans dropping. God, that would be embarrassing. “Okay uh- my belt is good. And your belt is uh- still attached to you.” Rio called, still standing a few feet back. He was not incredibly comfortable with the idea of undoing his teacher’s belt, but he supposed there were… strange circumstances.

“This is great!” Rio tried remaining positive, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. Although Rio greatly appreciated the information on Zombies, a species he had not done much study on. He was familiar with a couple of culture’s depiction of zombies in their own lore, but from what Morgan was describing, they differed quite a bit. “I am very happy to help and I am totally going to keep my cool during this time.” Rio said aloud, probably trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Morgan. He slowly inched towards them, holding his arms out with his belt gripped tightly in both hands. “Do uh- you want me to do this? Or you? Is the whole thing about a zombie bite still true?”

Jeepers, this was going to be tricky. The zombie woman was beginning to thrash, dragging her and Morgan across the ground inch by inch. The closer Rio got, the more she wriggled her head, gnashing her rotting teeth. Morgan shifted position, pressing her knee down into the woman’s back. This was really not very seemly, but she couldn’t think of another way that would keep the zombie from hurting anyone long enough to feed properly. “We got this, we got this,” she murmured, still racing for ideas. “We got this!” She declared. “You are doing a great job, Rio! Just grab her legs and I’ll get the arms, and we’ll bind them up together. No worries!” She grabbed one of the zombie’s arms, then the other, wrestling against the woman’s frustration. “But, uh, yeah, about the bite. Fun fact, that’s--fuck!” The zombie woman’s teeth bit into her hand, grazing the cuff she used to hide her real scar. Morgan finished wrangling the arms with a grimace and whipped off her belt to fasten her arms together so the wrists would come more easily. “The bite thing is real,” she said, looking down at the wound in her hand. “But don’t freak out, Rio, okay? It doesn’t matter if she bites me, it’s you I’m worried about. Uh, get her wrists and ankles together?”

Orion could do this. He could totally do this. He did not love the idea of grabbing onto this woman, zombie or no. But Morgan seemed convinced that she would not feel the pain and that they were not going to harm her. That was what Rio wanted right? What was some tying and gagging if it meant helping her and others not get hurt? That was totally something that Rio could get behind. Grabbing onto her legs was surprisingly easy. Hunter strength and all made wrangling the woman’s legs surprisingly easy. At least, until the zombie bit Morgan. Rio dropped the legs immediately and began screaming his head off. At that moment, he wasn’t sure what was happening. Would Morgan turn into a zombie? How fast was the process? Was there something he could do to stop it? Rio had seen some zombie shows. How they amputated the body part that had been bitten to stop the spread. Even the idea made Rio light headed. He definitely couldn’t do that. Finally, Rio contained himself again, grappling the legs again and holding them. What the heck did Morgan mean that she wasn’t worried about herself? Was she immune to the bite somehow? “I- I don’t- uhhhhh” Rio’s brain broke for a moment, but he forced himself out of the slump. Grabbing onto the woman’s wrists and easily pulling them back to meet the ankles and wrapping his belt around them. “Oh god- Oh god. I hate this. I’m really bad at this. I think I’m going to puke. Are you okay???”

“Rio! You cannot puke on this woman!” Morgan shrieked. Oh dear. This wasn’t calm. This was the opposite of calm. Could she breathe? Was that ever going to work again? She missed the time when all she had to do was tell herself to breathe and her body would start to right itself back into something right and normal. But the quiet was too great and there was too much happening at once. “I’m fine! I’m not even bleeding!” Mostly because she didn’t have any circulation. “Just--just hold her steady and don’t turn into a zombie!” She scrambled over to her bag and prised open a tupperware full of brains, a blend, as it happened, but even a smidgen of person in there probably wasn’t going to get this woman back to normal. They’d have to take her somewhere better, or get better to her. Morgan stuck the tupperware under the woman’s nose and watched, grimacing, as she moaned and wrangled herself closer to fit as much of it in her mouth as possible. Morgan sat back and deflated. That would keep her busy for, what, five minutes? “I’m sorry,” she said. “I am fine though. I’m…” Morgan shook her head and sid off the cuff, showing Rio her old scar, a perfect oval in the shape of Remmy’s mouth. “I’m already bitten and dead, Rio. Say, you didn’t happen to bring a car here, did you?”

“I’m not going to puke on her!” Orion yelled back, unsure why he was even still yelling. Stress. He totally blamed stress. He needed to calm down. Take a chill pill or something. That was all thrown out the window when Morgan tried to reassure him by letting him know that she wasn’t bleeding. “How are you not bleeding?” Rio was right back to freaking out now. But Morgan seemed more together than Rio was. She was in the right state of mind to fish out something from her bag and give it to the tied up woman. “Is that… brains?” Rio asked, the most calm he had been since showing up here. He examined the mush curiously. Everything seemingly clicked into place when Morgan showed off what looked like an old, already healed scar. She was dead? “You’re… a zombie?” Rio muttered aloud, needing to hear the words to actually begin processing it. A moment of fear passed through him as he considered that Rio had just willingly walked into being part of their midnight snack. But he pushed the thought away quickly. That couldn’t be. This was his professor. They had talked about books and the supernatural together. “Woah. You’re nothing like the old Haitian story of zombies.” His head tilted curiously as he examined his teacher to try to pick out any defining details. By all accounts, she looked human to him. “Hmm… interesting.” Rio nodded, and then grimaced at the next question, “About that… I don’t really have a car right now. It belongs to my parents and I’m not really talking to them right now and- y’know what? It’s a whole thing. Clearly we have other things going on right now. Maybe I can call my friend Blanche. Or one of my roommates! Maybe they can help us? Or uh… Where are we taking her anyways?”

“Wow, kid, that’s really one heck of a compliment,” Morgan deadpanned. “But...yes. I got hurt really bad and I died. Two months ago now. That’s why I missed so much school towards the end of the semester. I died, Rio.” She looked down at the woman gnashing her teeth at the brain bits in the tupperware. “But I have people who help take care of me. I can stay fed easily. I have a home. I have a girlfriend that loves me. I even have magic pills for my new zombie physiology that help manage all the depression I’ve got over dying. I don’t know which of those this woman is missing, but whatever it is, she’s still a person. She’s as much of a person as I am. Does that make sense?” She looked at him earnestly. Rio was a good kid. Rio didn’t believe in hurting people. He had to get it. Maybe it was hard to see the woman in her own right. Even Morgan couldn’t do that. She didn’t know her name or if she was happy before she died or how long she had been dragging herself out of bed. She could only see her pain. She had to be in so much pain to have sunk this far. The days of starving had to have been excruciating. With this kind of decay, maybe it was even weeks. “I was thinking of getting her to the butcher’s, but I don’t know if their stock will be enough for her. It’s worth a shot, if we can keep her from getting noticed. “Unless you wanna do a run? You got venmo, Rio?” She asked. The brains were almost gone, and of the two of them, Rio was the one most in danger. And this wasn’t his problem, now that she was mostly subdued. “You don’t have to, you know. I can take this from here.”

Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say at this moment. Clearly, Orion had no idea what he was doing. He had grown up knowing about the supernatural. He loved learning about them and yet despite this he still had just barely scratched the surface. He knew nothing about Zombies, or real zombies at least. “Wow. I’m uh- sorry? That doesn’t sound like a good thing. But you don’t look dead.” Rio tried, he didn’t think that helped redeem him. “Okay that was probably a bad thing to say too. But despite all that… I’m really glad that you have a good support system, y’know? That must have been a really difficult thing to go through and… well I’m really glad things seem okay now. At least, hopefully everything’s okay.” And Morgan seemed dead set on helping this woman right now. And though the woman tied up seemed a little… murdery right now, Rio believed that with some help she could end up like Morgan seemed now. Completely put together. “I believe you. And I’m in. Let’s help her. Uh- I can run somewhere and get stuff… I don’t know what to get. But tell me and I’ll figure something out.”

“Well, you can tell that to my necrosis whenever I wait too long to eat my wheaties.” Morgan mumbled. You can test my pulse too, if you want.” She held out her hand, the bite standing out as a heavy shadow on her pale skin. “And no, you don’t need to be sorry--” But Rio was. He was just a kid doing his best with problems way bigger than himself. “But thank you. I know you mean it well.” She stared at the woman writhing in front of them again. She could see, too clearly now, what hunters did. A raving thing, a disaster they needed to triage before it got out of hand, a monster… “I can venmo you. A hundred dollars so should be able to buy out the brains at the butcher shop, whatever other weird organs they’ve got. That’s a start.” And while he was out she could maybe scrounge up a deer. They wandered through near dusk in little clusters, and it was the time of year when fauns were left to hide in the tall grass while mothers hunted. If she was quick and lucky, she’d be able to nab one for this woman to have. And maybe then, maybe if they were lucky, she could be okay. Morgan wrenched a hand through her hair and took out her phone to send the money over.

Orion laughed, happy that despite the horrible events that had clearly befallen his teacher without him even knowing about it, she could maintain some level of humor. “Don’t worry. I believe you. It’s uh- definitely not my first rodeo with the supernatural.” Even if he didn’t quite understand, he did believe. “Um right. I got it. Give me…” Rio paused, checking his phone for the time, “Twenty minutes. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

One of the good things about being a hunter? Superhuman endurance. Rio was definitely not in shape, but he could run for a while without having to stop. From here, he was pretty sure that it would be more efficient to get a car. If he could run home and borrow Ricky’s truck then he could get to the butcher shop and back without too much trouble. So he ran towards their house as fast as he possibly could, not letting anything distract him.

It worried Morgan how much animals still trusted her. The faun was too scared of the moaning woman six yards ahead to move. Morgan was able to settle down near it, still as death, and when it came over to sniff her out of curiosity, she took its neck and snapped it. The head dangled limp from the body like a toy that had lost all its stuffing. She carried it back to the woman and did not have to wait for her to wriggle and strain against her bonds trying to eat it. Morgan took out a knife and sliced the creature open neatly so she didn’t have to fight. Then she walked away enough yards so the smell of it wouldn’t compel her to steal a starving woman’s meal and licked blood and skin from her hands.

When Rio finally returned, Morgan was perched atop a large cross marker, stained with blood for all that she’d tried to keep herself clean. “Just unwrap everything for her and drop it where she can reach,” she called. “And then, you know, come over here so you don’t get bitten.”

Buying brains from a butcher was perhaps the most uncomfortable Orion had ever been. Despite this incredibly odd request, the butcher didn’t seem to think much of it at all. Which could only mean that this was not an uncommon request that he received. Which probably implied that Morgan and this woman were not the only zombies in town. It hadn’t occurred until now that Morgan could have been the one that turned this woman. But no. His Professor wouldn’t do that. Not unless she had to for some reason. Right?

Rio drove back to Morgan mostly in silence. He hated driving the truck. He didn’t trust himself with a big car. Plus he could barely see while driving the thing and hated ruining Ricky’s seat and mirror placement. But desperate times. Rio parked and hopped out, extending his arm so he could hold the brains at a distance from himself. “I’m here!” Rio yelled out, stopping when he noticed that Morgan had blood all over her shirt. Oh no. “What happened? Are you okay?” Rio asked. Despite this, maybe because he was too trusting just as Athena had always insulted him with, he followed Morgan’s instructions. Unwrapping the brains and tossing it to the tied up woman before hopping away and standing close to his professor. He could smell the blood that stained her. It was fresh.

“It’s okay, Rio,” Morgan said. “What do you think I’m gonna do, die again?” She smirked. A beat later, maybe too late, she wondered if that was maybe a bad joke. Rio knew about the supernatural, but maybe not about death. He hadn’t studied zombies before in his big secret library. He barely seemed comfortable with hauling brains and organs over from the butcher. Morgan sighed with a grimace and tried again. “I killed a faun for her. I didn’t think that was something you needed to be around to see. Brains sustain zombies best, but freshly dead meat is…” Her stomach grumbled, twisting. “Like candy on Halloween. You can’t not have any.” She looked down at him, still clinging to her perch. Her fingers had worn notches into the rock, worrying at the grain to keep from breaking off Bambi’s leg and going to town herself. “It’s just how we’re made,” she said quietly. “When the mother comes back to see if her faun is still around, I’ll try to get her too, if our friend isn’t back to herself yet.” She hesitated a moment, wondering if they had crossed into over sharing territory, if this was already too much for one troubled kid to bear in one night. “You don’t have to watch, or be around for any of that,” she said. “This is just another Tuesday for me, but it was a lot to get used to. It still is. You’ve been a big help, though. If all this turns out okay, it’s gonna be because of you. Because you cared.” She cleared her throat awkwardly. “You uh...you can ask me questions, if you have any. I know all this is...strange. And lived experience can tell you certain things a book can’t.” She offered him a smile, her fear weighing on her softness. Please don’t think less of me for this.

Orion laughed nervously. Was that Morgan being offended? Or Morgan making a joke. A few seconds later and Morgan smirked at Rio, hopefully confirming that it had been a joke instead. “A faun.” Rio repeated, mostly to himself. He was still processing. Rio appreciated the information. He was taking mental notes, making sure to remember all of the information that he was learning about zombies. Maybe he would head back to the building tomorrow, start digging through his books for some information on the undead. The whole thing seemed like Alain’s side, but Rio knew better than to trust a hunter’s point of view when it came to the supernatural. Rio knew from personal experience that those teachings were biased. “I don’t- I usually don’t do that well around blood. But uh- I don’t want to make you do this stuff by yourself.” Morgan opened the board for questions. And boy, did Rio have questions. Way more questions than he possibly knew how to order and ask. “I- I have questions. But right now seems like the wrong time, y’know? With her… in the state she is in.” He sighed. Just another person in this town that has been through some awful experience that Rio wasn’t able to help prevent.

Morgan nodded and watched the woman eat. It might’ve been faster to let her have her hands back, but Morgan remembered the complete haze around her mind when she woke into her feeding frenzy. She hadn’t even known her own name, much less ‘eating people bad.’ If the wrong person had been in the room, she probably would’ve done everything she could to tear them to bits. “Anyone tell you lately what a good kid you are?” She asked. It was a rhetorical question, but she hoped nonetheless that someone was encouraging his generosity. Even if he could probably stand to get less squeamish. In time, the groans of the woman changed. Morgan gestured for Rio to stay back and made her way slowly over.

There was hardly anything left of the faun, but just enough that Morgan couldn’t stop herself from reaching into its ruined skull and scooping out its small black eyes and the thin tissue of its cheek muscle to munch on. She knelt down near the woman, still working the flesh in her mouth. “Hey,” she said, gently as she could with her mouth half full. “Can you talk? Are you good now?” The woman groaned and dashed herself into the red stained grass, angling her mouth for the rest of the faun. “Okay! Not feeling the impulse control. That’s okay! But I’m gonna need like...one intelligible word before you get this carcass.”

“Mmmhh. Aaarr...oh..k-kay.”

Blessed universe she was okay.

Morgan went around and loosened her bonds enough for her to wriggle free and stepped back as she held the faun and the scraps of flesh she hadn’t devoured yet as if they were all the treasure in the world. “You...shouldn’t...have done this,” she panted.

“I don’t see why not, Morgan replied. “What’s your name?”

The woman sucked the last remnants of life from the faun’s ribs and reached for a scattering of brain bits to shove into her mouth. “Ashley,” she said at last. “I didn’t--” She paused to swallow. As she wiped the mess from her chin she caught sight of the blood and mess on her hands, matching Morgan’s and then some. “I didn’t ask for any of this,” she said through gritted teeth. “Not any of this, you idiots.” And then she was sprinting downhill, stumbling and falling over her own feet but never stopping, the dead animal still tucked in her arms. Morgan reached for her, but caught only the edge of her torn hiking vest. It fell right off, like it had been waiting to all along.

“It hurts sometimes, being like this, Rio,” she said, hanging her head as Ashley disappeared from sight. “Even when you have everything you need, it can still hurt.” There wasn’t any point in tracking her down again, not when Rio could get hurt, and he had done so much already. She willed herself to look up and gave him the saddest apologetic smile. “Sorry you got sucked into this. What were you up to before anyway?”

Orion felt the heat burning his cheeks as the blush came on. Good kid. They weren’t unfamiliar words, not anymore. But they still warmed him each time he heard them. He supposed being starved for acceptance and praise did that to a kid. “Uh- I get told that more so recently than ever before. But uh- Thank you.” Whether or not she was expecting an answer, Rio thought it would be rude to just not thank her for the compliment.

Over time, Rio witnessed first hand how the almost primal hunger seemed to die down from the woman. Slowly, her eating became less frantic and more of that of a human that had not eaten in days. Morgan was fearless, strolling right up to her. Though he supposed death probably helped to quell many of the fears that Rio felt right now.

The zombie- Ashley- seemed confused. Scared, even. And despite what the two had done to help her, Ashley took off the moment she was comprehensive and scurried off down the hill, leaving Rio and Morgan by themselves. And all of that fear and anguish that Rio could see in Ashley’s face, must have been similar to what Morgan had been through. Her words were raw, her smile doing nothing to mask the sadness or pain present in her voice. This was her life now. Something she was forced to deal with in order to stay alive. Or re-alive, which wasn’t actually a word but would have to apply for this situation. “You helped her. Even though she couldn’t see it right now… you just protected people from potentially getting hurt. And you protected her from making a terrible mistake. That’s… incredible.” Rio breathed, realizing only now that he had been holding his breath the entire time. “I was just at the old Scribe building, heading home for the night when I heard the noises outside the cemetery.”

“Stars, I hope so,” Morgan sighed. She didn’t feel like she had done much. She had hoped to at least talk to someone else like her for a little longer, to ask what she really needed to get by for longer than a day or two. Who did she have? How had she starved so badly? All she had to go on was one torn up hiking vest and a name. She pushed the thought of Ashley to the back of her mind. Maybe she could put out a call online or ask the ghosts in the cemetery to keep an eye out, just in case she turned up here again or...something. But for now she was as good as lost.

Morgan exhaled. Without the need for air, her body retained most of its tension from the past hour until she worked consciously at it, slumping and rolling her neck and shoulders and arms. “You helped too, Rio. I wouldn’t have been able to manage her by myself. Come on,” she urged gently. She held out an arm, beckoning him close, imagining a one armed hug to calm his nerves. Then she saw the blood on her hands and thought better on it. She let it fall limp at her side and wiped it down on her skirt. “I appreciate that you tried. That counts for something. Let’s get you home, okay?”

#brainful process #wr rio #wr chatzy #wr rio chatzy #wr

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queenmylovely · 5 years ago

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Cancún Nights

Summary: Brian may x fem!reader. Visiting Bri in Cancún after not seeing him for over a month.

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: fluff and smut (18+!! marked with ***)

A/N: This is a super soft and smutty oneshot the evolved from a request I got. I hope you all enjoy, and any feedback in the form of likes, replies, reblogs, and asks about it are greatly appreciated! Requests are open! (more info at the end)

Request: a request for smut with 80′s Bri and female reader. anon, this is for you, I incorporated as much as I could of the rest of your request ;)

Masterlist

☆☆☆

It was always a treat to travel with Brian. He was gone for such long periods at least every other year, usually more, and there were only so many times that your schedules matched up so you could go with him. This one was especially exciting, as you had never been to Mexico. They had about a month rest once they finished the Central American leg of The Game Tour called Gluttons for Punishment. You would be meeting Brian in Cancún to vacation during that break.

It had been too long since you had seen him, and this month couldn’t come soon enough. Brian would call you as often as he could, but that wasn’t the same. You had visited him once in the last year on tour, but it was always rushed and never enough. This month would be the first in a while with no distractions; no shows, no recording, no work, and, though you loved them like family, none of the other boys.

Some days, you didn’t even notice the passage of time because it happened so quickly, and others seemed to drag on for twice as long as they should have. But, eventually, it was the day that you were leaving to the airport, and though you didn’t necessarily like flying, you were buzzing with excitement to get on the plane that would take you to Brian.

It was almost a 24 hour travel period from London to Mexico, but luckily you had gotten some sleep on the flight over the Atlantic. Walking off the plane, you looked around to see if he was nearby and caught a glimpse of him standing a little off to the side of the crowd of people waiting for their own family members. Once the two of you made eye contact, you practically sprinted over to him, dropping your carry-on bag on the floor and throwing yourself into his arms.

He was pretty used to this sort of attack of saying hello, and hugged you tightly back, lifting you off the ground for a second as he did. You giggled into his neck and he laughed along with you at the feeling.

“Missed you, Bri. I love you,” you said as you pulled back to look into his eyes. Your own were a little misty at seeing him in person finally.

“Me too, I love you so much,” he replied, before giving you a sweet kiss that made your heart flutter.

Taking a step back and looking at him, you could tell he was already in vacation mode; wearing a loose linen shirt that was half undone as always, and some little white shorts that made your heart rate increase even more than just seeing him for the first time in months did.

Ignoring that feeling for the moment, the two of you took your bags to the car and made your way to the house Brian had rented for the month. It was a little bit far away, but you spent the time catching up on some of the stories Brian hadn’t yet told you about the tour.

The house was right on the beach. It had a large deck facing the ocean that would be perfect for watching the sunrise in the morning and stargazing at night, which you knew was probably the deciding factor for Brian choosing it. Your astrophysicist of a husband was incredibly cute, but possibly a little predictable. After putting your bags in your bedroom and unpacking a little, the two of you headed to the kitchen once you heard your stomach rumbling.

“Do you want me to make you something to eat, love?” Brian asked as you sat down at one of the bar stools.

“You have food?” you asked hopefully.

“Well, I have been here for three days already. I don’t only eat in restaurants on tour, you know,” he reminded you.

“Hmmm, in that case, could you make me a cheese toastie?” you requested.

“Really? Just a cheese toastie? Do you not trust my cooking skills?” he teased as he started pulling out the ingredients.

“No, I completely trust you, chef Brian,” you told him with a smirk. “It’s just that ever since Deaky made everyone one for lunch before you guys left, I’ve been eating them. Mainly when I’ve been too busy or tired for anything else, and this seems like one of those times,” you explained with a sheepish smile that made Brian chuckle.

He walked over to you once the first side was cooking, and wrapped his arms around your middle, resting his chin on your shoulder. You couldn’t see his body, but you assumed he was almost bent double since the stools were pretty low. The thought made you giggle to yourself.

“What’s so funny?” Brian asked curiously.

“I’m just thinking about how contorted your body must be to stand in this position,” you told him, still giggling a little bit. “I think I might be a little goofy from the travel and exhaustion.”

“That tracks, but you’re right, this is more than marginally uncomfortable,” Brian said as he stood up straight. You leaned back against him and closed your eyes, feeling his hands softly tuck your hair behind your ears so he could see your face better as he looked down at you. Just taking in your features for the first time in over a month was enough to put his mind at ease.

You sighed contentedly and stayed there for a minute before you spoke up, “Bri?”

“Yes love,” he asked, still lost in the comfort of being close to you again.

“Don’t burn the toast.”

“Oh!” he exclaimed softly, moving from behind you to flip the sandwich over. “How do you manage to be so on top of things, even when you’re travel-goofy and your eyes are closed?”

“Dunno,” you mumbled as you slowly opened your eyes to find him leaned over the counter, face level with yours and only a few inches away. You jumped a little and he laughed softly, closing the distance and meeting your lips for a chaste kiss.

You whined when he pulled back, chasing his lips with yours, but he ignored your noises, hard though it was. He was quickly back at the stove, putting your toastie on a plate and cutting it in half diagonally. He placed it in front of you, and you picked up a piece, taking a bite and closing your eyes with satisfaction.

“Mmm, it’s perfect, Bri,” you moaned out with your first bite. “Here, have the other half, I’m not too hungry,” you told him.

“You sure?” he asked, trying not to think about your moaning in another context. How much he had missed hearing those moans straight from your mouth to his ear and not over the phone.

“Yeah, go for it,” you reassured him, nudging the plate towards him.

He took the other half off of the plate and started eating, only realizing how hungry he was once he took the first bite. The two of you ate your sandwiches in comfortable silence, just happy to be in each other’s presence. Once you were done, he put the plate in the sink, and you walked hand-in-hand to the bedroom, giggling as you bumped into him repeatedly.

Still tired, you slowly brushed your teeth and washed your face. Once that was done, you pulled out your pajama set and started undressing. Brian was brushing his teeth with the door open, and through the mirror saw your nearly bare form. He stared for a second, but shook the thought from his head. You were tired, and he just wanted you to be comfortable and rest. There would be time for all of that later.

Little did Brian know, you had noticed him staring in the mirror when he was focused on the way your hips and breasts looked and wasn’t paying attention to where your eyes were. You knew what he wanted, and after a month of nothing, you wanted it just as much.

Climbing into bed to wait for him, you watched him as he changed into his own pajamas. Your eyes raked over the parts of his legs that hadn’t already been exposed by the little shorts and you bit your lip when you saw the muscles of his arms and back flex as he pulled his shirt over his head. You smiled to yourself thinking about how it was about to come right off.

Brian joined you in the bed, laying down facing you, grabbing your waist and pulling you up next to him. He kissed you softly, and you sighed into it, grabbing his face to keep him close.

Brian hadn’t meant for anything more to happen, knowing that you were tired, but you deepened the kiss anyway, sweeping your tongue along his bottom lip until he granted you access and then lazily moving your tongue with his. Then, you rolled onto your back, pulling him half on top of you. He made a little sound of surprise and pulled away slightly.

“We don’t-- have to do anything-- aren’t you-- tired?” Brian asked you softly, and in between soft kisses you were interrupting him with.

“I’m tired but not too tired for this,” you said, pausing to plant little kisses along his cheeks and jaw before saying, a little needily, “I’ve missed you, Bri.”

***

Your words and your tone convinced him to go with it. He moved over you completely, following your lead and deepening the kiss. He moved his hands along your body, trying to soak up the feeling of touching you that he hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. Your hands tangled in his hair, keeping him close and giving little tugs every so often so he would moan into your mouth.

Brian moved his mouth from yours and kissed his way down your jaw to your neck. There, he planted open-mouthed kisses interspersed with whispers and mumbles of “I missed you.” You shivered at the feeling of his mouth on your neck and his breathy words against your skin. Running your hands down his back and lightly scratching as you went, you held him close. After a minute though, Brian was more repeating “I missed you,” than kissing you, and he almost seemed to be shaking in your arms.

To investigate, you moved your hands to his shoulders and pushed him lightly back so you could see his face. The sight broke your heart a little. His face was red and blotchy, and his eyes were filled with tears that were just about to spill over.

“Bri, honey, what’s wrong?” you asked in concern, moving your hands to his face and wiping the one tear that did fall down his cheek.

“Nothing, I- I just missed you so much. I’m sorry about this” he said, relaxing slightly at your touch, but still a little fragile as he looked away from your face.

“It’s okay, you have nothing to be sorry for. You know you can always tell me how you feel. Plus I think I remember someone else crying at the airport. And I missed you too, Brian, so much,” you smoothed some stray tendrils from his face and then asked him to find out what would make him feel better, “What do you want?”

“You,” he replied, looking back to you with what almost looked like desperation in his eyes.

“Are you sure?” you asked, not wanting him to feel obligated by what you had said earlier.

He nodded in reply before adding, “I need you.”

Softly, you guided him off of you and so he was laying against the pillows at the headboard, “Let me take care of you, baby.”

You knelt at his side, leaning down and kissing him lovingly. As you rested one hand on his chest and the other on his side, he moved his to cup your face. You deepened the kiss but kept it soft, knowing that this was not the time for rushing.

After a little bit, you leaned back and pulled at the hem of Brian’s shirt so he lifted his arms and took it off. Then you did the same with your own, revealing yourself to him for the express purpose of his pleasure for the first time in months.

Gently, you grabbed his hands and guided them to your breasts before returning to the kiss. Brian reacquainted himself with your body, remembering what caresses made you moan and gasp lightly into his mouth. In another moment, you pulled Brian’s pajama pants and underwear off, doing the same with your own next.

After taking the next few minutes just to remind him of your love with passionate kisses, you decided it was time to move on. You moved your hand to his already hard shaft, stroking him softly but just enough so he was eager for more. As you slightly increased your pressure, precum started leaking from his tip, and you palmed his head to spread it around his length. As you did, his hips bucked up slightly into your hand.

Breaking away from his mouth, you started moving down his body, planting a kiss here and there on the column of his neck, the middle of his chest, and right above his belly button.

Just before you got to his cock, Brian lifted his head from its position laid back on the pillows, and stuttered out while you kept pumping your hand, “I-I- you-” before you stopped him.

“Just taking care of you, Bri,” you told him, looking into his eyes as you planted a soft kiss on the head of his cock.

He took in a shuddering breath but laid his head back down, submitting to the feeling of your mouth enveloping his cock. You started slow, bobbing your head up and down inch by inch, making sure to use your tongue along the underside to tease the head and shaft. As you worked him, he moaned softly into the air, tensing his hands on and off.

When you felt him just starting to tense up, you took his cock from your mouth and continued to jerk him off with your hands. You did this so you could pay more attention to his balls, knowing that they were one of his most sensitive areas. Pressing your lips to them, you opened your mouth and sucked lightly, causing Brian to moan out louder than he had all night. Knowing that you were making him feel so good made you enjoy doing so as much as you did. As you continued the ministrations of both your hands and mouth, Brian got louder and louder and his fists clenched in the sheets. You licked and sucked, moving around from his balls to the base of his cock repeatedly. You could tell he was getting close when his moans started rising in pitch as well as volume, and before he got to the edge, you stopped, stilling your hands and lifting your head.

Brian looked down in time to see you plant three kisses up the length of his cock before you sat up all the way and climbed up his body. Straddling him, you brought your lips to his again and he kissed you back in what seemed like gratitude. Not wanting to make Brian wait any longer, and feeling pretty needy yourself, you lifted yourself and grabbed Brian’s dick to position it at your entrance. You were already wet and ready from the way Brian had reacted to your ministrations, so you didn’t hesitate when you sunk down on him, taking him in until your bodies were flush. Feeling you slide all the way down caused Brian’s breath to catch in his throat, and his eyes almost started tearing up again with the intimacy he felt sharing this moment with you.

Before you started moving, you kissed him again, trying to express the same feeling to him. Resting on your knees, you began moving your hips up and down, riding him slowly but surely to get used to the feeling once again.

Even though it had been so long, it didn’t take any time for it to feel incredible. It’s like it was better than you remembered, and before long you felt that heat in your lower stomach starting to gather. The kiss you were sharing became a little off-center, but continued anyway. Neither of you wanted to break away from each other.

Wanting more contact and some guidance, you grabbed Brian’s hands and placed them on your waist. Gripping hard enough to help guide you, but not hard enough to take control, his hands felt like anchors keeping you from drifting away from the moment.

You felt yourself getting close, and could tell Brian was getting there too. His cock was hitting all the best spots inside of you, and when you shifted your hips forward just right, your clit ground on his base. You bit his bottom lip lightly and swiveled your hips at the same time and Brian let out a whine that made it so you couldn’t help but move faster.

The increase in speed and the friction it caused pushed you right to the edge, but you wanted to take care of Brian first.

“Bri, baby, come for me,” you moaned against his lips, clenching your walls around him as you did. The whole time, Brian had let you be in control and kept his hips still, only offering guidance with his hands on your hips. With your words and the feeling of your heat tightening around him though, he was helplessly out of control and his hands tightened around your waist, bringing you down on him harder and his own hips bucked up into you as he pumped into you through his orgasm.

All of it became too much for you. With the feeling of his hands almost bruising into your hips to keep you close, his breathy moans and whines as he came, the wonderful feeling of the head of his cock hitting harder against your g-spot with his thrusts, and finally the feeling of his cum painting your walls, you came apart on top of him. You felt the pleasure spread from your core up through your abdomen and out to your legs as you lost the ability to move on top of him and just tensed tightly and then released your entire body several times, moaning Brian’s name again and again.

As you were coming down, you felt Brian’s hands pulling you down to rest on top of him gently. You nuzzled your face in his neck, moving your left hand to caress his face and the right to hold his left. Brian hadn’t pulled out just yet, wanting to keep you close to him for longer, and you shifted your hips so you could relax your muscles while still keeping him inside of you. Settled, you kissed his neck sweetly.

“I’m always here to take care of you,” you lifted your head to look up at him, “however you need.”

Brian tilted his head down to kiss you, finally feeling completely relaxed with your weight on top of him and your warmth around him. He nodded, smiling softly at you, “You treat me so well, Y/N. Have I told you how I love you more than all the stars in the sky?”

***

“Do you mean more than you love all the stars in the sky, or more than the amount of all the stars in the sky?” you teased lightly.

He laughed at your ability to bring levity to any situation, “Both.”

“That’s a lot coming from an astrophysicist,” you pointed out and he nodded solemnly before smiling brightly at you. That was the response you were looking for, so you continued, “Well, I might not know how many or much that is, but despite my ignorance, I will confidently say that I love you that much too.”

With one more loving kiss, you laid back down on him, resting your face in the crook of his neck and sighed contently. Being away from the one you loved for so long and so often was hard, and that meant you were going to appreciate every moment of this beach vacation with your incredible astrophysicist husband.

★★★

Taglist: @somekindof-cheese @gwilyoubemine @deacytits @supersonicfreddie @siriuslovesmarlene @acdeaky @deakysgirl @sunflower-borhap-boys @deakyfordays @queensilveryrog @happy-at-home @ceruleanrainblues @briarrose26 @disasterdeacy @instantezra @laedymoon @riseetothesun

I just kinda created this taglist and added some people I thought might appreciate some sub!bri, so if you would like to be taken off or added, just send me a message or ask!

Reminder that my requests are open! If you would like something in a sort of one shot format/length or blurb, etc. send it in! I’ll write for any of the Borhap or Queen boys (Freddie only platonically), Lucy, Patrick Murray, Gardner Langway and adult!Tim Murphy or possibly any of the other characters these people have played if I know enough about them!

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itsthejuggernautbitch · 6 years ago

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You Look Like Trouble (Morning Glory Wine) - Cable/OC

Here’s chapter four! And the corresponding playlist! Believe me, y’all. From here, shit gets real.

(And as always, not to be that person but if you’ve got the time and the inclination, kudos or a comment would be greatly appreciated.)

Taglist: @this-that-and-every-thing-else @ptite-shit @lesbianyondu @chromecutie @gallifreyangrandtorino @ra-ra-rasputiin @akihecko

Wade always had a bad habit of showing up at the most inopportune times. He would ring the doorbell (and keep ringing it) right before Vivian had to leave for work, right before bed, in the middle of dinner. He barged in when she was in the shower, using the bathroom, literally whenever he could get in. Hell, he’d probably interrupt in the middle of a date, if she ever went out on a date.

His latest visitation time choice was eight a.m., which Vivian wasn’t exactly happy about. She wasn’t sure if his unusual early streak had anything to do with him living at Xavier’s mansion, but she was getting way too used to seeing him on her doorstep at the break of dawn.

At this point, she might as well just give him a key to her apartment.

Wade wasn’t exactly a morning person, either. He wasn’t necessarily grumpy when he showed up, but he could definitely use a cup of coffee (or several). He always showed up shuffling his feet, bedraggled in his drug-dealer-esque getup of faded gray sweatpants and worn black hoodie. He kept his hood up when he was walking the streets because he didn't like for people to stare.

Today was no different. Honestly, she’d seen him looking worse. In fact, he looked pretty good for eight a.m. on a Friday as compared to how he looked every other morning.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Vivian said as she closed the door behind him. As an early bird herself, teasing Wade was the highlight of her morning.

Wade didn’t respond, just flopped down on her couch and stretched out, making himself totally comfortable.

Vivian walked back into her bedroom and started dressing herself for the day. It was - hopefully - an extra special day: court day. She pulled on her nice professional suit (the one she wore to talks and panels) and fished her heels out of the back of her closet. She even put on earrings, something that she didn’t do unless absolutely had to do so (she couldn't wear jewelry to the clinic because kids were grabby).

She stepped back out into the front room with Wade, spreading her arms. “Alright, ego boost me, Wilson.”

Wade sat up and whistled appreciatively. “Look at you, all dressed up again! Looking snazzy, Dr. House! What’s going on today? Big date with Daddy Kink finally?”

“Not quite,” Vivian said, rolling her eyes. “Court notice. I’ve been summoned for a modification to my visitation rights. Potential modification, that is.”

Today was the day for the yearly review of parental visitation. Vivian would sit on her side of the room with her lawyer, Jack would sit on the other side with his. They weren’t allowed to talk to each other, so Vivian would glare while Jack avoided looking at her. Shelly and Benji would not be in attendance because it was a school day.

Wade clapped. “My girl! Might get the kiddos on the weekends now?”

Vivian slid into her heels and flopped down on the couch next to Wade. “Unlikely, but that’s the best-case scenario. I think this judge might be really special, so I might have a chance...”

The last judge she'd dealt with - the only one who would oversee child support court - finally retired. The replacement judge was rumored to be sympathetic to mutants’ parental rights, so she was hopeful that she might finally get visitation. Sympathetic could mean anything, though. She may get full visitation rights, or she may get good active listening skills from the judge and a door in the face anyway.

“Well, best of luck to you!” Wade said, stretching out across her lap. She wiggled into a better sitting position so that her suit wouldn’t get wrinkled. “Uncle Wade can’t wait to meet the niece and nephew in person finally!”

That would certainly be a disaster, the likes of which Vivian could only imagine. Shelly would love him. Benji would glare at him. Destruction would be imminent.

“It would be so great to be able to stay here with them on weekends,” Vivian opined. She leaned her head back against the couch, suddenly extremely tired. “Wade, I really need for this to go well.”

She did, badly. Over the last five years, she’d only seen Shelly and Benji a handful of times. In fact, she could count on both hands the number of times she’d seen them.

Vivian was starting to feel the years of stress settling into her bones. It seemed like she found a new gray hair every morning, which was totally unfair. It's not like she was old. But yeah, Wade always did tease her that she'd go gray early if she didn't find a way to relieve some of the stress. Not that he’d ever know that he was right - that’s why hair dye exists.

“I know, Viv,” Wade replied, yawning. “And if it goes well, I won’t have to take rolls of money to a middle school. I get funny looks every time I walk in…”

“Yeah, but Lucy at the front desk loves you,” Vivian said. Wade’s yawn was contagious, and she kind of wanted to just crawl back into bed. “And you get funny looks because you dress like a serial killer every time you go there.”

“True.”

Vivian ignored the weariness creeping over her. Contrary to popular belief, she was always glad to see Wade because he helped relieve some of the stress. He was literal comic relief.

Vivian checked her watch. She really needed to get out the door, but she supposed a few more minutes of relaxation wouldn’t hurt. “So why are here? Do you need me to do something? Did I forget to pay you?”

Wade snorted, stretching. His joints popped. “Oh, no, I just heard about your little incident with Cable. Finally.”

It had been a few weeks since then already. Vivian hadn’t told him because, frankly, she knew Wade would never let it rest. She could feel the teasing coming, ready to burst out of his chest like a nasty parasite from that alien movie.

“Oh. That.”

“Yeah, that. He hauled a guy into a bar to make him apologize to you? And then bought you a drink?” If Wade had eyebrows, they’d be wiggling. “I think our little grumpypants has a crush on you.”

“A crush? What are you, a teenager?” Vivian did have a crush and she was pretty sure that Cable did too, but she wasn't going to give Wade the satisfaction of hearing her say it just yet. “I’m thirty-four and he’s definitely older than me. There’s got to be a more age-appropriate term.”

“Besotted? Enamored. Horny?”

“How about doing his job, Wade? He just did what I asked him to do.”

“Oh, yeah, he went far and beyond the call of duty for you.” Wade crawled out of her lap and sat up, but he just went right back to leaning on her shoulder. “Look, if I know Cable, and I know Cable, he’s not going to drag a guy into a bar, make him apologize, and then not accept payment.”

Vivian had already figured that out.

“Come on, he’s just doing what I asked. He’s like you - he looks like a hardass, but he’s a marshmallow on the inside.”

“A marshmallow who wants to play doctor with you, McSteamy,” he replied. “And I think you want to do a little examination of your own.”

“I'm not going to be examining anyone who isn't bleeding.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Wade said. “What you had was the degenerate’s version of a date. Weasel was there. He analyzed the situation for me.”

“Weasel is always there, and he’s an unreliable witness.”

“I can’t refute that.”

“I know you can't. Now get off of me. I don’t want to be late for court.”

“Mama’s getting the kiddos back!” Wade exclaimed, stretching back out on the couch. “Can I take a nap here?”

“Yes. Don't break anything. Again.”

Cable’s day had been fantastic so far. Quiet, relaxed. All the things that Xavier’s mansion usually never achieved.

Wade had been mysteriously quiet. In fact, Wade had been so quiet that Cable actually started to wonder where he’d gone for the day. Not that Cable was ever going to complain about the silence. It was a rare day that he didn’t have a job to do and an even rarer day when Wade left him alone for long stretches of time.

The problem was, Cable didn’t really know how to relax, especially if he was alone. He’d never been one to lay around in bed all day, never one to just sit down and read a book. He’d messed around and cleaned his equipment, gone downstairs to workout, cooked lunch for himself. He received a lot of funny looks every time he went downstairs; clearly he needed to make an appearance more often if this many people were staring whenever he showed up.

Despite how great the relaxation was, he finally figured out (shortly after lunch) that he was fucking bored. He couldn’t imagine how maladaptive it must be to be bored when he wasn’t being shot at. Nevertheless, the boredom finally sank in.

It was still too early in the day to head to Sister Margaret's and try to drum up some business. The bar had a pretty steady circulation of regulars at all hours of the day, but the paying clients didn’t show up until late at night. Anyone who was there at lunch was an alcoholic or had just found themselves in the wrong place.

Cable was starting to wish that it was time to head over there already anyway. He thought about maybe going on over there to see if any paying stragglers were there, but he eventually decided against it. If no one was there, he’d have to talk to Weasel. He really didn’t want to talk to Weasel.

Too bad Vivian didn’t work this early in the day; Cable would head over there if she did. He’d finally found someone in Wade’s bubble of weirdos that he could relate to - someone he could actually talk to without rolling his eyes or making a snide comment.

Cable liked Vivian a lot. Too much, maybe. It scared him a little bit to think that maybe he’d grown accustomed to this time period finally - that he could maybe, sort of, kind of, think about a woman other than his wife. It had been a year already since he’d gotten stuck here, after all. He wasn’t exactly the type of guy to move on from things, but even he could agree that wounds do eventually heal.

He’d had a lot of wounds, and he had a lot of scars to prove it.

In any case, it made things easier to know that she liked him, too. She hadn’t said it in words exactly, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew how to read people, and Vivian was pretty easy to read. She was definitely reluctant to admit to any mutual attraction, even more so than him, but that gave him a little bit of comfort oddly enough. Her nervousness was endearing.

It was Friday night, so Vivian would come in and do her shift, then come have a beer with him. He enjoyed the hour or so of camaraderie, of just light teasing back and forth. She would swear up and down that it wasn’t a date and so would he. A beer at Sister Margaret’s was not the kind of date he’d take a woman like that on (or any woman, as a matter of fact); she deserved better than that.

Yeah, Cable enjoyed the Friday night beer. And if he could find something to alleviate the quiet, relaxing boredom until then, he’d be right as rain.

“And that’s what happened with the last guy,” Vivian said, waving her empty beer bottle. “It took thirty-two stitches to get him under control, and then poof, the other guy shows up and slits his throat wide open.”

Vivian was done for the night. She’d been at Sister Margaret’s all day, ever since she left court. It was just past midnight on Friday, which was usually her late night, but she’s been feeling pretty charitable when she left the courthouse and came into the bar for the entire day. Weasel was ecstatic, of course. Her presence and availability to treat people meant that the already-packed hub of degenerates was at maximum capacity the entire day.

“So if I walk in the med room, there’s going to be blood splatters everywhere?” Cable asked, draining the rest of his glass. He was just about finished for the night as well.

Cable had been at the bar for a couple of hours, but it was kind of a slow Friday as far as business was concerned. He’d been paid by a couple of people (that Vivian had seen), but so far, no black cards had come a-callin’.

“Looks like a bad horror movie in there,” Vivian replied, handing her bottle to Weasel. “I cleaned up the floor but the walls are going to need some extra attention.”

Weasel took the bottle wordlessly; he just looked over at Wade without comment. Vivian noticed his lack of snark and the mutual look, as well as the latent development on his tongue of what she was sure would be an asshole comment. She glared at him wordlessly, and he bit back whatever remark was brewing on his tongue.

Vivian and Cable had been sitting at the bar, flanked by Wade and Weasel, for about an hour. They’d each had a beer, but they’d been talking for so long that it had taken a while to finish their respective drinks.

“Damn, darlin’,” Cable said, laughing. “You sure you don’t want me to hang out back there so hitmen don’t take out their marks while you’re trying to stitch them up?”

“Oh, I’ll be fine. Hitmen don’t come after me,” Vivian said. “In fact, the guy paid me afterward because he felt bad that he got blood everywhere.”

“How polite…” Weasel said. It was the first comment that he’d felt safe to say as of yet, mostly because he was a little perturbed that someone made a mess in his backroom.

“He felt that I deserved a little cash in return for the arterial spray.”

“That you do,” Cable replied, handing Weasel his own glass.

Behind him, Wade smirked; he looked just about as self-satisfied as a cat wallowing in catnip. Vivian glared at him, daring him gloat.

At that moment, one of the bar patrons walked up and handed Cable a black card - the first one of the night. He looked down at it, strangely unenthusiastic for such a lucrative job. Vivian knew the guy putting out the word; he was about as rich as it got and even more crooked. She suspected that Cable found some distaste in some of the jobs he was asked to do.

“Alright, let me go take care of this,” Cable said, slipping the card into his front jacket pocket. “See you next time?”

Vivian nodded. “Of course.”

She definitely wasn't ashamed to say that she watched him walk out of Sister Margaret's, gaze fixed on his retreating back.

Yeah, the end-of-shift beer had become a bit of a ritual between the two of them over the past few weeks. Vivian would close up for the night, and if Cable was still there, she’d cash in on a couple of IOU’s and sit down with him to talk about the day. It was nice to just… be friends. Nice to talk to someone who seemed a little bit lonely too, even if he didn’t let on that he was lonely in any way. They’d talk for an hour or two then part ways for the night, either because Cable had a job to do or Vivian was close to falling asleep on her barstool.

Wade and Weasel, of course, thought the whole situation was just hysterical.

“So, like, are these dates?” Weasel asked, leaning against the bar. “Because we’ll leave you two alone for the night.”

“No, you won’t, and it’s literally just a beer.”

“Because, I mean, he walks you out if you leave at the same time,” Weasel poured up another couple of beers and handed them off to Vivian and Wade. “Are you making out in your car? Fucking in the backroom when you don’t have patients? What’s going on here?”

Maybe in her dreams, not that she would admit it. Not so much in real life.

“That’s a negative on the making out and fucking. I’m having a beer with a friend,” Vivian replied, accepting her second drink.

Weasel snorted. “While making googly eyes at him the whole time.”

“Look, if I want to make googly eyes at the hot, scary guy, I have a right to do that. I haven’t even been on a date since I got divorced.”

“I think you wanna do more than make googly eyes at him.”

Wade had been strangely silent up to that point. He slapped the tabletop and leaned over Vivian’s shoulder. “Well, I fully encourage it! You deserve some good dick, and it’ll get him out of my hair for a while!”

“You don’t have hair, Wade,” Weasel said.

“You should make a move,” Wade continued, ignoring Weasel’s comment. “When’s the last time you’ve gotten any or had someone take care of you for once?”

“Not your business, and I don’t have time anyway. Two jobs, remember? My showerhead is my boyfriend right now. I bought one of those fancy jet-pulse ones and I’m perfectly satisfied.”

“I think the old man could fix that.”

“Who says he’s even interested?” Vivian asked, shrugging. “He might just think I’m good for business, which I am.”

Indeed. Cable seemed to get more jobs when she was sitting next to him, usually because whoever was bringing him a black card needed her to look at some oozing wounds.

“Ha! Daddy Kink was making googly eyes back at you, in his own special way.”

“Which means he was staring at you like he was thinking of drowning himself in the toilet to get your attention,” Weasel explained.

“This is why I don’t talk to you two about my intentional lack of a love life.”

“Why are you so back and forth with this anyway?” Weasel asked. “You like the guy - can’t imagine why - and I’m pretty sure he likes you. Just smoosh your faces together and make some babies already.”

“When do I have time to give a partner my full attention? I’m here, or I’m at the clinic.” Vivian said. “This is convenient because Cable is also always here.”

"Who said he had to be your partner? Just fuck him," Weasel replied, wiping out a beer glass he'd just washed. His advice was always so helpful.

"That's usually what partner refers to, Weasel."

“Hey, opportunity’s there. You’ve already made a step in the right direction.”

“Stop trying to be inspirational, please. I’m trying to figure my life out.”

Wade took that moment to interject. “Well, if we’re on the topic of figuring your life out, you know who’s great at helping with that?”

“Don’t say Coloss-”

“Colossus!”

Vivian massaged her temples. “Fuck, Wade, I already said no.”

“Come on, give him a chance!” Wade groused, leaning all over her shoulder. “I really want to stop wearing the trainee crop top!”

“No,” Vivian huffed. “He’s going to lecture me for two hours about the benefits of returning to the X-Men, and then lecture me about how my night job isn’t safe, and then he’s going to ask me to be the school nurse, which I won’t do because they won’t pay me.”

“Just do what I do and stare at him until he stops talking!”

“My brain doesn’t work like that.”

Wade laughed knowingly. “Don’t worry, once he starts lecturing, it’s like a light bulb just goes off.”

Vivian, of course, knew that she was going to give in, finally. Wade would never give up and stop asking. “Alright, fine, I have Monday off from the clinic. I’ll be there by lunch.”

“You’re my favorite!”

“You owe me, Wade.”

He made that awkward winking face that he’d been known to make on occasion. “Ah, you'll thank me after Cable gives you the good-good.”

“Not everything is about sex. I like to actually talk to him.”

“Yeah, well, the talking is better after the sex.”

“I’m done discussing this with you, Cupid.”

Wade gestured to Weasel for another round of drinks. “Topic switch, then. How did your court date go?”

It wasn’t the worst court date she’d ever experienced. This time, Jack didn’t even say a word to his lawyer when the judge handed down the decision. He just avoided Vivian’s eye with every fiber of his being, which Vivian was totally fine with. She needed to keep her temper in check - at least in front of the judge. That was easier to do if Jack wouldn’t look at her.

“I got Christmas.”

Wade grimaced. “One holiday?”

“Hey, small victories,” Vivian said as she accepted her third drink from Weasel. “Next time, I’m asking for all holidays.”

Wade offered up his glass for a toast. “Well, here’s to small victories, then!”

Vivian touched her glass to his. “Or any victory at all.”

#cable #MCU!cable #cable x reader #cable headcanons #cable imagines #deadpool headcanons #deadpool imagines #deadpool #MCU!deadpool #wade wilson #MCU!wade wilson #mcu!weasel

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calistapledger · 7 years ago

Text

Goodbye Love

[A/N: I guess y'all deserve some closure (I love how I pretend y'all care about Cal’s story) also props to @ariciaeast for helping me cowrite this. Her version can be found on her blog eventually]

I was glad I wasn’t complacent enough to spend the week away being idle. I took advantage of my extra time to spend time with my friends. I baked cookies with Dev - well I found out she doesn’t actually makes her own cookies but rather had the chef make them for her. We bonded over leftover cookie dough while watching him bake them. I felt the chemistry between Dev and the chef. I was happy that if she didn’t win, she had options.

Aricia, Isabella, Debbie, and I were lounging in the library every morning since my date. After breakfast, if we didn’t have any pre-established plans, we would walk towards the libraries and seek solitude in each other and in the walls of literature that surrounded them. Unfortunately, as the week progressed, there was a notable increase in the tension between us. With my looming departure, we realized that we were losing good friends and sisters. They all tried their best to bring the vibe back to normal. Debbie joked about desserts, Aricia tried to lighten the mood with terrible puns, Izzy just had to be her usual bubbly self. I admired them greatly for their efforts but that didn’t change the fact that Dominic was going to boot me.

I accompanied Emma around the Palace as she snapped her pictures and I temporarily took over Maddie in teasing her about Alec. Theia and I had a lovely time discussing her family life and her various potato growing techniques.

And Aly, oh Alystair. I don’t know where I’d be without him. He made the last week worthwhile. My friends were amazing and having Aly come over at the end of the day to review our days was a real treat. He would give me all the juicy details on what was happening with everyone in the Palace, talk about new recruits and some of the intense training they’ve had. No one would ever suspect it with his career choice but Aly was a talented musician. He was a Five before he was drafted to the Palace and was the most talented violinist I’ve heard. His music was appreciated even more by me because of my sensitive hearing. I could hear every string being eloquently rubbed against the bow. I could spend years listening to him play.

The last night, he didn’t play and I frowned already missing the bow pressed against the strings. The air was tense and somber. “The Prince had his last date today, he’ll be announcing the official eliminations tomorrow.” His tone matched the atmosphere. I fell onto my bed, in disbelief. Had a week gone by so fast? Instinctively the walls went up. What’s the point of letting him in when I’m going home tomorrow? I shifted into a faux happy mood. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. Like Vad said one bad date doesn’t necessarily mean a bad relationship.” He hummed in agreement but he seemed reluctant. I heard him take a breath and was going to say something before I interrupted him. “I’m exhausted, Theia showed me how to plant potatoes today. It’s harder than you think it is. I think I’ll sleep early today. Goodnight Aly.” I could tell he wanted to protest but I yawned loudly to avoid his protests. I practically pushed him out the door. I found my way back to my bed before I heard Isla’s clicking tongue.

“Oh don’t you start, Isla. I’m going to bed.” “Pushing him away isn’t helping anyone, Miss.” “What have I’ve said about calling me Miss, Isla?” I ignored her comment completely. By now, she should know that I was going to aggressively ignore the problem at hand. What does she think I’ve been doing the past week?

*** That thoughtless bastard! You’d think he himself would come to eliminate me officially but now as the butler stood before me uttering the news, I should have known better. In my fit of my rage, I dismissed the messenger rudely. He should be glad I didn’t shoot him. I felt bad when I heard him whimpering on the way out. I breathe and count to 10 to calm myself.

He had told me that I had to pack and leave by the afternoon. I brought the bare minimum of my aiding devices so I didn’t have much to pack. Father was going to be so disappointed. I’ve been so busy with the Palace life, I forgot to call my family. I can’t seem to do anything right. I’m a terrible date, daughter and friend to Alystair. I had Isla locate my aids and threw them into my backpack.

By the time Isla dressed me, I had hot angry tears running down my face. The door opened and I caught a whiff of Paris and Valencia’s perfume. They sat me down and worked silently. Paris wiped away the tears with a warm face towel and started applying the necessary makeup. “At least leave in style, Miss- I mean Cal.” Paris smiles at me and I can feel her positivity spreading to me. As Paris’ blush brush tickled me, Valencia started pulling at my hair. The heat of the curling iron prickled against my neck.

“Do you want me to get the Captain?” Isla asked just as Paris and Valencia laid the final touches on me. My head helper thought she was so cheeky wanting to bring Aly along to mend my heart. I couldn’t so I shook my head. “I’d like to see my friends first.” I stood up as my make up artist and hair stylist stepped back. I gripped my dress, feeling up the texture. It was silky and blue, it fell to my knees. It was perfect.

When I stepped out of my room, I heard echoes of footsteps. I caught whiffs of their various perfumes and I instantly knew it was my usual book gang - consisting of Cia, Izzy and Debs. The tense and sombre air hung awkwardly amongst us. We regrouped and made our way to the Dining Hall for Breakfast. My last meal, we’ll call it that. Normally during our walk to the hall, we talked about all the things that had happened, cracking jokes and laughing noisily, getting strange looks from the guards, but today was a different day, with none of us daring to break the silence, until I spoke.

“Hey, could one of you help me get downstairs? I wouldn’t want to go home with an injury.” I forced a laugh. Izzy moved to my right side while Cia walked to the other, grabbing my arms and leading me down the stairs, while Debs walked beside us, possibly watching the steps. Once we reached the end, the girls let go of my arms, and started walking towards the dining hall, the blanket of silence drifting on top of us once again.

Once we arrived at the dining hall, we waved to all the other girls, who were also sitting silently, eating their food. We all walked over to join the rest of the Breakfast Club - Emma, Dev and Theia seemed to have gotten up earlier - and sat in our normal seats, helping ourselves to the food on the table. Izzy and Aricia both silently talked about small things, while we all occasionally snuck glances at the royal table. They all seemed happy, talking animatedly amongst each other, which clearly wasn’t the case amongst some of the Selected - particularly our group.

Once breakfast was over, the four of us bid the other three goodbye while they went off to go on with their daily affairs. Emma and her impromptu photo shoots, Dev probably went off to her Chef friend and I’m fairly certain Theia was raising a Potato Army in the Royal Garden. We walked towards the library, not wanting to break our normal morning tradition. We walked in, sat down, and waited for someone to bring up a book first.

“Well, I read this book last week-“, Izzy started, but Aricia interrupted her. “Please, Izzy, not now… “She started and must have shot her a pleading glance at Izzy, who automatically understood, and changed the topic. “So, Cal, what are you planning for after the selection?” She asked, voicing the question that I’m sure was on all of their minds. I shrugged, fiddling with a stray book I found, “I’m not sure. I just want to live out my life without any burdens or pressures.” Debbie nodded, “That makes sense. It’s a good time as any to discover yourself right now.” We all chorused in agreement, before sinking back into silence again.

“When are you leaving, Cal?” Aricia asked, I heard her running a hand haphazardly through her blonde locks. I smirked slightly, “Wow, Cia, you sound eager to be rid of me.” My defense mechanism, ladies and gentlemen. Aricia rolled her eyes, “That not what I meant, and you know it Cal.” She said, I heard the corners of her mouth tugging up ever so slightly. Debbie and Izzy laughed, shaking their heads at us.

“You make us laugh even in the darkest times, Cal.” Izzy said, moving towards me to give me a hug, “I’ll miss you so much” she mumbled into my shoulder. I wanted to cry and not let go of her. I didn’t want to go. Debbie and Aricia both got up, wrapping their hands around us, enclosing us into their embrace. “I’ll miss you guys as well. You were the highlight of my stay here, and I will never forget any of you.” I said, pulling away, “You better write, or else” I threatened, which sent the four of us into a state of delirious laughter. We kept laughing, until they heard a throat clear from the doorway, which caused them to stop laughing. The girls turned around to see Aly standing by the door, waiting to be invited into the room. But I had smelled his aftershave before I even heard his throat clearing.

“Come on in, Captain Costas, no need to be shy,” Aricia said slyly, which causing me to blush slightly and Debbie, Aricia and Izzy to laugh. “Haha, very funny Cia,” I said, rolling my eyes, but you could hear the laughter in my voice. Aly walked further into the room, coming to a stop in front of us. “Ladies, if you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Lady Calista for a minute,” he said, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. He was nervous which calmed my own nerves. “Oh, of course! We’ll give you both the alone time you need,” Izzy exclaimed, dragging a laughing Debbie and Aricia out of the room before I could murder them. I rolled my eyes at my friends, “I’ll get you back later!” I yelled after them, before turning to look at Aly once the door shut. “So, Alystair, what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked, knowing full well what he wanted to talk about. He ran a hand through his hair, before taking the seat opposite to Cal, “Were you honestly going to leave without saying goodbye?” he asked, his voice strained. So his nerves could be blamed on my friends’ presence. He was annoyed.

Well, he doesn’t beat around the bush.

I sighed and gave it to him straight, “I thought it’d be easier that way.” “What would be easier?” His eyebrows shifted to a frown, brushing against his forehead. “Leaving without saying goodbye would make the goodbye easier, wouldn’t you think? No emotional sobbing, no empty promises, nothing.” I said bluntly. “Easier for you, but not for me,” He exhaled exasperated, but before I could answer, he stood up, “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Calista. I must get going now, have a safe journey home.”

“Wait! Where are you going?” I asked, and silently reprimanded myself. What did I care that this man was walking away from me? “I do have a job here, you know,” Alystair said mockingly, “I hope we meet again Calista Ledger, I hope we meet again very soon” he added, slipping out of the room before I could get one word in against him. I caught brief muffled conversations between him and my friends before they came tumbling back in.

“Cal?” Debbie asked, walking into the room first, “Are you ok?” I nodded, unsure as to how I was feeling at the moment, “I have to go to my room and grab my stuff. It’s almost time for me to go.” “Cal-“ Izzy started, but I held up a hand, definitively silencing her, “Not now, Izzy. I’ll talk to you all later when I’m doing packing up, okay? I’ve got some things I need to think about. Now if you’ll excuse me,” I said, storming out of the room and leaving my friends dumbfounded.

In all honesty, I felt bad about what I did. All my friends wanted was to help me out and spend time with me, but I couldn’t even allow them that. I shook my head, shaking the thoughts out of my mind. If I started thinking like this, I knew I’d go back and spill everything to the girls, and I couldn’t handle that right now. I walked up the stairs slowly, getting assistance from a guard who was standing by the railing. I thanked him when I got to the landing, and walked towards my room.

I thanked the Gods when my helpers were still there. I would get to say my goodbye. The three of them stood before me, not knowing what to say. I broke out into a smirk directed at Isla. “It is my last day, this warrants a hug don’t you think?” I heard her rolling her eyes.

“You’re an odd one, Cal.” “I’ll take that as a compliment, Isla.” I teased, pulling the three of them into a bone crushing hug. I whispered my thank you softly into their ears. I hope my hug said it all. I would be nothing without these three. We soon had to break up the love fest because it was nearing noon and I had to leave. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and walked out the door with my head held high and the walking stick in my hand. Just because I decided to leave with grace doesn’t mean my blindness was magically cured.

I was just exiting the Hall when I felt the loud thud of his steps and smelled the scent of his aftershave. His steps were louder and rougher than usual. He was mad and I don’t blame him. The sound stops and I hear his deep breathing. He can’t even speak because he’s so mad.

“You’re actually going to leave without saying goodbye, aren’t you,” Aly said, with a structure in his tone that caught me off guard. I took a moment to reevaluate my situation, knowing that if I responded, I’d give into my vulnerability, which was the last thing I needed right now. But, the smarter part of me screamed to give him an answer and walk away, acting unaffected.

“I was going to send you a postcard.” I blurted, trying to ease the tension. He was not amused, evident from the exasperated sigh that escaped him. “I know you’re blind but surely you’re not an idiot! You know how I feel about you, Calista. I know you feel the same.”

What. The. Hell.

I stood there, rendered speechless. What could I say to that? That I loved him back? Truth. That I didn’t want anything to do with him? Lie. I knew that I couldn’t say either of those, because my truth would give Aly everything he needed to hold me back, but he would see through my lie instantly. Quickly making my decision, I donned a face of indifference, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, repeating the same lie I had told countless times before.

“Ah, I know what you’re doing” he said, his voice as gentle as the morning wind. I placed my hands stubbornly on my waist, staring him down the same way I did when we first met. Its funny how our story both started and seemed to be ending the same way. “What exactly am I doing?” I’m not going to patronise you, Cal. You don’t have to push me away. I want you to stay.”

“You’re crazy! Dominic would never allow it!” I scoffed. He laughed and suddenly all the tension between us dissolved. He ruffled my hair, and I shook my head trying to get rid of his touch. He was such a weirdo, why do I even like him?

“AH HA! You do fancy me!” He exclaimed, sounding happier than a kid on Christmas morning. I ran over what I had said in my head and I groaned when I realised I had said it out loud. “It doesn’t matter, I’m leaving.” I hitch up my backpack and make a move to go around him when he pulls me towards him. I try to resist but end up melting into his arms. I could feel his soft breath on my forehead, and the thundering of his heart beneath his uniform. I start to blush, I had made that happen.

“I want you to stay but not in the Palace, that isn’t my call but I do have an apartment outside the Palace. You could stay and study in Angeles University so we’d still be close. Please, Cal. We could be happy.” The last part of his sentence was what broke me out of my trance. I knew that with the way things were going now, I couldn’t be happy. Not until I could have some time to heal and sort out everything back home.

“Life isn’t a fairy tale, Aly. I have a family to get home to. I’ve disappointed them enough” I said, wrenching myself out of his hold and walking away. This time, Alystair didn’t stop me. I walked down the hallway, and in my haste, bumped into someone, sending us both sprawling out on the floor. “Oh my, I’m so sorry! Are you ok?” I asked, getting up and dusting herself off. “Cal?” A voice said, coming close to her, and I recognized it as the voice of Aricia.

“Hey, Cia,” I started, and tried to walk around herl. Unfortunately for me, Aricia knew what I was planning on doing and grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. “Where are you going? You just ran away without any explanation, and we’ve been looking for you for the past half hour!” She exclaimed, incredulous. I sighed, and turned to look in Cia’s general direction, “I’m sorry, Cia, it just…” I trailed off, and Aricia started guiding her down the hallways.

“Where are we going?” I asked, continuing to match Aricia’s brisk pace. “Well, you’re leaving soon, and Debbie, Izzy and I want answers, so you’re going to give them to us,” she said forcefully. I was shocked, I’d never seen Aricia behave this coldly before. Whatever was bothering her, I made it my mission to figure out. “Here we are,” Aricia said, leading me into a room. “Where are we?” I asked, trying to gauge my surroundings “The library,” Aricia stated, the edge coming back into her voice again. What was up with her?

“Izzy? Debbie?” Aricia called, looking around the library. “Back here!” Came a voice, and Aricia guided both of us to it. We walked silently, Aricia’s hand still clasping mine with a vice like grip. We kept walking until we reached a small nook in the corner of the library - Aricia was feeling generous enough to describe it to me. “Oh, you found her,” Debbie said with a breath of relief, as we approached them.

Aricia nodded I heard her hair brush against her neck, and let go of my wrist, as if it were poison. She walked over and took a seat beside Izzy, who looked at her with concern. They whispered amongst themselves before turning to me. I turned my full attention to them when they started to question me. “So, Cal,” Izzy started, shifting her gaze from one friend to another, “Why did you storm out?” I shrugged, “I was going to leave without saying goodbye to Alystair, which made him upset.” Debbie gasped, “How could you? You know he cares about you, right?” I groaned, hating the way the conversation was going, “What do you mean, how could I? Just because he cares about me doesn’t mean that I’m going to drop everything that’s going on in my life and be with him!” I yelled, my voice getting louder with each word, and a deathly silence followed my outburst. I instantly felt guilty.

“Debs, I’m sorry, I know you want what’s best, but I don’t know what to do,” I apologized. Debbie sighed, “It’s ok, Cal, but that didn’t give you the right to yell,” she said. Always the peacemaker, I thought, but the irony of her words didn’t get past me. So, it was alright for Aricia to be upset for no reason, but not for me to be upset with one? “Speaking about people not having the right to do things,” I started, looking around the room, “What’s wrong with you, Aricia?” Aricia tensed, her body going stiff as a rod, “I don’t want to talk about it,” she forced out, her gaze steely. “But-“ I interjected, trying to get an answer out of Aricia, but was interrupted by the latter. “I said, I don’t want to talk about it,” She stated, her words getting icier by the minute. Honestly, what was her damage? I felt my temper rising but quickly calmed myself, not wanting to ruin my last day with them. She will tell me in due time.

“Come on, Cal,” Izzy said, checking her watch, “it’s almost time for you to leave, let’s walk you to the front doors.” We got up and walked towards the doors speechlessly, as if there was an invisible force that kept our mouths shut. When we arrived there, all the other ladies who were eliminated were standing there, with the girls still in the Selection saying goodbye to each of their friends. We walked up to my haversack where Emma, Dev and Theia were waiting and stood there speechlessly. I went around saying my individual goodbyes to each girl. I hugged them tightly, I was going to miss them terribly. After I was done, they circled around me in sombre silence.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye then,” Debbie said, breaking the ominous silence. “No,” I stated, “not goodbye, just… the start of something new.” All of us stood together, looking at each other before coming together for a brief hug. When we pulled away, I could hear sniffles and tears rolling down cheeks from all around. “Here’s to forever,” Izzy whispered, looking around at all her friends “Here’s to forever.” We echoed.

#Elimination Fic #Goodbye Love #Calystair #Calista P Ledger #Alystair Costas #Aricia East #Isabella Faulkner #Debbie Varker #Cia #Izzy #Debs

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yaminerua · 8 years ago

Text

I Need A Favour...

Pairing: Shou Suzuki/Ritsu Kageyama

Word Count: 5200

Notes: I got a prompt from @science-boner a little while ago for a fake-dating AU and this is what I eventually did for it. It’s more like the set-up to that scenario though. First time writing these two so I can only hope they turned out ok.

Summary: Shou has a favour to ask of Ritsu and it’s one that he could never have possibly seen coming.

(on Ao3)

If Ritsu had learned anything from knowing Shou it was that it was best to always be prepared for unexpected surprises. It had been the same when they’d first come to know each other and it remained that way even now.

There was an explosive spontaneity to his thoughts and actions sometimes that somehow always seemed to catch him off-guard no matter how hard he tried to be ready for it, to be ready for anything that he could possibly say or do. And just when he was beginning to think he knew what to expect, something new and entirely unpredictable would happen instead.

Some things, however, were thankfully much easier to predict than others. There was a certain regularity to their occurrences that he’d grown used to after a while, a pattern he’d learned to recognise, like the sudden visits in the middle of the night or random phone calls in the early hours of the morning… At least he knew to expect those. It made it a little easier to accommodate them when they eventually happened.

And there were other things too that he’d picked up on and adapted to. It was a given, for example, that when they hung out he’d find an arm slung casually over his shoulders, or feel the press of Shou’s weight as he leaned comfortably against him. He didn’t really seem to have any concept of personal space and although that had irked him greatly to begin with he’d found with time that it didn’t bother him so much anymore. It was just what Shou did. He was used to it.

What he was still not used to – and he suspected that he was probably never truly going to be - was the sheer absurdity of the things that left his mouth sometimes. It was as though a spark would suddenly ignite in his brain and he’d just let it shoot up like a firework, too caught up in the spontaneity of the moment to actually pause and consider just what kind of nonsense he was coming out with. It wasn’t necessarily a frequent occurrence, but it happened often enough for him to accept that he needed to learn to be ready for it.

Dragging his fingers through his dark hair, Ritsu bit back a yawn and rubbed his eyes. Last night’s study session had been a strenuous one and it had lasted well into the early hours, his head finally hitting the pillow at around 5 in the morning and remaining there uninterrupted for the next several hours.

He awoke at 11 to discover that he had one missed call on his phone and somehow he knew without needing to check that he could probably guess who it was from. Who else would attempt to call him at 6:15 in the morning?

There was an unread text notification too, also from Shou:

Man you must be tired if you slept through 10 rings. Catch ya later then!

Pulling himself upright into a sitting position, he dug the heel of his palm into his bleary eyes, still heavy from sleep, and frowned groggily at the screen. He’d never understand where all of Shou’s boundless energy came from, especially considering how frequently he stayed up late.

Dragging himself to his feet, he fired back a quick, Long study session, sorry… as an explanation and made his way downstairs for breakfast.

Shigeo, it seemed, was already out. Probably an early exorcism job over at Reigen’s office, Ritsu assumed and he physically felt his face twitch into a grimace at the thought.

A light breakfast and a quick tidy-up later he was soon heading out the door himself. The weather was bright and pleasant out and likely to stay that way. A little on the chilly side, perhaps, but not enough to warrant heavier clothing.

His phone vibrated in his trouser pocket and he flipped it open to be met with an array of various emoticons and an unreasonably elongated spelling of the word ‘nerd’. He rolled his eyes.

Wandering about for a bit he eventually settled for sitting himself down on one of the benches at Ankle Park, watching his breath make little miniature clouds in the chilly air. He received a message from Shigeo not long after, telling him that he’d likely be back late because one of Reigen’s clients lived further afield.

It took far too much effort to keep from rolling his eyes. He was probably never fully going to appreciate or understand what his older brother saw in his master – especially since all he seemed to do most of the time was use him for his psychic powers – but if Shigeo really didn’t mind all that much he supposed it wasn’t his place to complain…

He busied himself typing out a response for a bit, asking whether he wanted dinner left out for him or whether he’d be getting food on the way back and if he could estimate roughly when he could expect him home.

At some point in the middle, his brows knitted together in a frown as he became aware of a sudden strange prickling sensation spreading along the back of his neck, a sort of barely-detectable resonance present in the air, like static, reaching out and tickling the hairs on his skin in waves. If he’d been anyone else, or the person he once used to be, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it. He certainly wouldn’t have recognised it.

Sending his message away promptly, he then flipped his phone shut with a click and let out a heavy, exasperated sigh.

“Morning, Suzuki…”

As expected, there came a sharp huff of disappointment from behind him, followed almost immediately by the sound of movement as Shou Suzuki clambered his way over the back of the bench and sat himself down in the vacant space next to Ritsu. He was pouting a little but his blue eyes were shining with amusement.

“It’s no fun if you’re not at least a little surprised,” he whined, a playful moodiness to his voice. “I thought you’d be too caught up texting to notice.”

Ritsu scoffed at that. “Speak for yourself,” he said, a discreet little smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

Shou seemed to almost consider holding his pout a little longer but decided against it and traded it away for a grin instead, laughing heartily as he leaned back and draped his arms lazily over the back of the bench.

They fell into easy conversation after that, Shou talking away inanely about his latest misadventures while Ritsu listened and provided commentary wherever an opening presented itself. At one point, in response to a particularly sarcastic remark, Shou gave him a light-hearted nudge in the side and fell against him laughing and when he finally straightened up again he made no effort to re-establish the distance between them, instead opting to remain close, his elbow resting comfortably on Ritsu’s shoulder and his right knee lightly grazing Ritsu’s left.

Ritsu made no comment on this, nor did he attempt to push him off. This was normal for them and truthfully, their close proximity was also helping to minimise the bite of the air’s chill so he really couldn’t complain. It was just the same casual intimacy as ever except - Ritsu noticed with a slight frown - that Shou’s leg seemed to be a lot more restless than usual.

He shot a sideways glance at him, watching as he told some story about something funny his hamster had done. His ears were red at the tips, as was his nose, and he was probably just a little less appropriately dressed for the cool weather than Ritsu was. His frown deepened.

By now he felt he could say quite confidently that he had become fairly good at recognising when someone he knew was feeling off. It was almost second nature to him at this point to be able to spot when his brother was troubled by something and over time he’d learned to recognise Shou’s tell-tale signs of unease too – the crease in his brow, the downward tug at the corners of his lips and an increased fidgety restlessness to name but a few. At the moment he currently seemed to be displaying only one of those.

Sensing his stare, Shou’s words trailed off and his expression faltered slightly, a single eyebrow raised in curiosity. “What?” he asked cocking his head to the side, his lips quirking awkwardly into a lopsided smirk. “You’re staring at me all funny, what is it?”

Ritsu didn’t say anything straight away. He wasn’t really sure what to say. He could ask what was wrong, of course, but he somehow doubted Shou would really give him a proper answer, especially here in public. It would, however, let him know he was free to talk about it later if he so wished, which was better than just ignoring it he supposed.

As it happened, it didn’t really matter what he decided to say. No sooner had he opened his mouth to speak than he was interrupted, a yawn tearing its way ungracefully through any words he might have been going to say.

Shou snorted loudly beside him in response and burst into laughter, the sound erupting forth before he could do anything to stifle it, not that he would have tried very hard. From their close proximity Ritsu could feel the way his body quaked and though he met his amusement with a glare he couldn’t really say he felt any genuine irritation over it. It was his own fault for staying up so late after all.

With a gentle shove and a half-hearted mutter of, “At least I spent my time productively,” which garnered another snort of amusement from Shou, the two settled into a companionable silence.

A reply from Shigeo came through soon after and Ritsu busied himself typing a response, and likewise Shou seemed comfortably preoccupied with his own phone, nimble fingers tapping away with practiced expertise at some game app he had open, his leg still jittering away rapidly - though Ritsu suspected it was more from excitement now than whatever it had been previously. He was still curious about that but he figured that he’d find out what had been behind it in due time if Shou decided to disclose that information - and if he knew Shou, he knew he could probably expect a call later tonight that would explain everything.

Sending his response off to Shigeo, he relaxed a little on the bench and let out a slow breath, watching it spill out into the air, coiling like tendrils of smoke and lingering for a few moments before a soft breeze whisked it away.

The park was relatively quiet today, the only other passing visitors having been a few dog walkers and an elderly couple. Even the little playground, which on warmer days would normally have children clambering all over it and playing happily, was quiet and still. The sky up above was a pale wintry blue, dotted here and there with thin splotches of cloud and the trees all around the park were mostly bare, their leafless limbs swaying gently with every little gust of wind.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ritsu saw Shou lower his phone, slipping it away into his pocket and resting the palms of his hands on the tops of his thighs. Both his legs were moving now, his feet tapping the ground incessantly as his fingers drummed an erratic rhythm into his jeans. He looked uncomfortably restless and it also seemed as though he was deliberately attempting to avoid making eye contact, his head turned just enough away so that his face wouldn’t be visible from where Ritsu was sitting. If he were to guess, though, Ritsu was sure that that little crease had formed in his brow by now and a look of seriousness had taken up residence across his features.

He watched quietly for a few moments, pretending not to have noticed and wondering what in the world was making Shou so antsy. He’d seen him like this a few times in the past and ordinarily he’d just brush off any questions about what was wrong only to call him up later to finally spill the details. Ritsu had just assumed he liked the detachment that a phone call offered. It felt less personal that way and sometimes that was better. Ritsu could get that.

With a brief flash of guilt, he recalled the fact that he had slept right through Shou’s attempt to call him this morning. Had that call been related to whatever this was about?

He frowned, recalling those previous times where Shou had called at some ridiculous hour at night baring a much more vulnerable side to his character that Ritsu had never encountered before. They’d spent hours talking over the events of the attack on Claw and the mistakes Shou’s father had made and Ritsu would listen to him talk it all over until he’d exhaust himself and fall asleep with the call still live between them. It had opened his eyes to say the least and made him much more careful to ensure he didn’t sleep through his phone’s ringtone if it went off.

It had been a while since the last time they’d had one of those calls though, and even longer ago since the battle with Claw had met its conclusion. Ritsu had thought that perhaps Shou had come to terms with the way things had turned out and found some sort of solace in the way things were now but as he sat there feeling him positively vibrate with nerves beside him he was almost certain he had been mistaken.

Lost in thought and gearing up to finally ask what was wrong, regardless of whether he’d be answered, Ritsu didn’t even notice the way Shou anxiously rubbed his palms down his jeans before balling his hands into fists so tense his knuckles turned white, nor did he notice the very abrupt and sudden way that his jittering motions ceased.

Sitting very still and quiet, Shou sucked in a slow, shaky breath in through the nose and then exhaled heavily, forcing the tension he’d been holding in his shoulders to depart with his breath.

“Hey, Ritsu,” he said suddenly, startling Ritsu out of his thoughts, his voice a little hoarse, his throat uncomfortably tight. “Can I ask you a favour?”

Ritsu hesitated to answer, surprised by Shou’s sudden question and curious about what he had in mind. He wasn’t really sure what to expect. It could be anything, really. It could be as simple as asking him to buy something because he’s got no money on him or it could be something much more extreme and much more dangerous. There was just no way of knowing for sure.

His brow creased into a frown as he considered it and then he nodded once, slowly, before realising Shou couldn’t actually see him and instead opting for a cautiously asked, “What kind of favour?”

There was a moment’s pause in which Shou took in another steadying breath, evidently steeling himself for whatever it was he was about to say and Ritsu felt his hands tighten their grips on each other ever-so-slightly in apprehension. He was a little anxious to know what this was all about but he was at the very least certain that he could handle whatever it was – that he was ready for it.

Ritsu Kageyama, it seemed, had still not learned that it was impossible to be entirely ready for anything that might come out of Shou Suzuki’s mouth.

Whipping round very suddenly to face him, Shou’s hands planted themselves firmly upon each of Ritsu’s shoulders, gripping him tightly as he looked him dead in the eye and said with absolute seriousness and a hint of desperation, “I need you to be my boyfriend!”

A beat passed. Then another. Ritsu sat transfixed, frozen in an utterly stunned silence, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging slightly agape as his mind attempted with great difficulty to process what had just happened. It was like adding two and two and ending up with spoons. It didn’t make sense.

He was floundering, and with every new second that passed by he was also becoming acutely aware of how awkward it was that he wasn’t responding but what could he say? What could he possibly say when Shou had just asking him to… to…

The penny dropped and comprehension flooded him instantly, a sudden intense heat shooting up his neck and spreading up into his cheeks and out to the very tips of his ears setting his entire face ablaze. Internally, his stomach seemed to flip so violently that he wouldn’t have been surprised if it had twisted itself into something more reminiscent of his misshapen spoons. Of all the things he could have expected Shou to say, of all the things he could have possibly asked of him, this was honestly the last thing he would have ever thought he’d hear.

He was blinking rapidly now, his mouth flapping uselessly as he grappled desperately to find something – anything – to say in response to this. His whole expression was contorted in a mixture of utter consternation, astonishment and something that looked a little bit like horror.

Shou seemed to notice this, because his freckled face suddenly flushed a vibrant red colour that rivalled his hair and he waved his hands around frantically in front of his face in a sudden panic. “No, no no!” he cried. “Not like that! I mean – yeah, kind of but, like, not official! I just– It’s just– I mean– Ugh…”

He lowered his head and dragged his fingers through his hair, a heavy groan escaping him as he attempted to get himself back under control with little success.

Ritsu on the other hand seemed to have at least managed to recover from his initial shock enough to be able to speak again. He sat stiffly, a curious but wary stare fixed upon Shou’s hunched form as he waited for him to compose himself. “You’re… uh… going to have to explain,” he said quietly, cursing the pounding of his pulse in his wrist as he gripped it tightly with his other hand.

Shou let out a frustrated sigh and sat up, pulling his hands down his face and breathing in deeply. His ears were red with embarrassment and his cheeks had a rosy dusting of pink across them. His hands repositioned themselves either side of his head, index and middle fingers pressed to his temples as he took in another steadying breath and let it out. “Okay,” he said, trying to relax his shoulders a little. “Okay, okay. That came out a little– kinda– you know…”–he gestured vaguely with his hands, trying to find a way to explain himself– “But I didn’t mean it to come out like that! I mean, I did but I also didn’t? I just…”–he paused, frustrated, and pinched the bridge of his nose–“Boyfriend. Fake boyfriend, I mean. That’s what I meant.”

Fake boyfriend. Okay. That still wasn’t making a great deal of sense but it did alleviate some of the initial panic that Shou’s words had injected into Ritsu’s system. It took away some of the gravity of the request, made it something a little lighter, a little less serious, and relieved Ritsu of the frankly terrifying prospect of having to genuinely figure out his own response. A fake boyfriend request he could handle much easier than a real one.

To be quite honest, he wasn’t even all that sure what he’d say if this had been the real deal. The very fact that he couldn’t with 100% certainty say that his answer would be ‘no’ made something strange and unfamiliar flutter inside him and he wasn’t sure he liked the feeling.

Shaking himself from his thoughts and realising Shou was probably expecting him to speak, he gathered his expression into something he hoped looked calm and collected and fixed his friend with a searching stare. “Fake boyfriend?” he echoed, looking for confirmation that he’d heard correctly. “That’s what you said, right?”

Shou nodded twice, stiffly, his expression unreadable. Ritsu, momentarily at a loss for words, simply mirrored the action, processing this information slowly. “Okay…” he said quietly, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “And you need this because…”

He saw Shou breathe deeply and look away, a sheepish expression across his face. Bringing one hand up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his head, he left the other to tap anxiously against his knee, which was starting to jitter again ever-so-slightly. A strangely shaky laugh escaped him, his lips quirked in a shape that was trying its best to resemble a smile and honestly Ritsu didn’t think he’d ever seen such an uncomfortable display from Shou in all the time he’d known him. It was more than a little disconcerting.

“Well,” he started eventually, evidently struggling to find the best way to explain his situation. “I guess you could say I messed up.”

That didn’t really clear anything up – Shou knew that – but it was a start. Under the weight of Ritsu’s expectant gaze however he couldn’t help but feel like the whole explanation was going to sound a heck of a lot dumber than he’d like it to. He really regretted getting into this mess now…

“Okay, so… I’ve been speaking to mum a lot more recently. You know, fillin’ her in on how I’m doing and stuff. And, well…”– he glanced at his knees, fiddling with a stray thread on his jeans, clearly reluctant to make eye contact – “I might have… accidentally told her I had a boyfriend.”

“Accidentally,” Ritsu responded flatly, a dubious expression across his face. “How do you accidentally do something like that?”

“It was an accident though!” Shou cried defensively, brows pinched together in a scowl, his ears reddening again in embarrassment. “I swear! I was just going to tell her I’d made some new friends, that’s all, but… well…”

He trailed off with a shrug and Ritsu knew he didn’t necessarily need to hear the end of that sentence but he finished it for him anyway. “But you said ‘boyfriend’ instead?”

Shou hummed in response, apparently fascinated by the fraying edges of the holes in his jeans, and Ritsu resisted the urge to drag his fingers through his hair in frustration. So Shou had slipped up. Big deal. He could fix that easily couldn’t he? All it would take was a little clarification and then-

“I know what you’re thinking,” Shou said suddenly, dragging Ritsu out of his thoughts again.

“Oh?” was all he supplied in response.

“You’re thinking I could just tell her it was a mistake and clear the whole thing up that way, right?” He didn’t wait for confirmation on Ritsu’s end. “Well, sure, I was gonna do that. Soon as it left my mouth I knew I was gonna have to do something about it but…”

His shoulders sagged and his head lowered and he fell silent again, his expression clouding over into something unreadable.

“But…?” he pressed gently, leaning forwards slightly. “Suzuki?”

Shou closed his eyes and sighed heavily, letting his whole body sink lower into a slouch against the bench. His gaze was fixed skyward, a dull, distant look in his usually bright and clear eyes. “I couldn’t do it, Ritsu,” he said quietly, in a voice he usually only reserved for those private, deeply personal phone calls. “She got so excited the moment I said it and I couldn’t just let her down. After all the stuff that happened with me and pops… hearing something like that was probably some pretty great news for her, you know? So I just… went with it.”

Ritsu blinked. “Went with what?”

“The boyfriend thing. I just rolled with it. Made up some stuff to tell her. I figured I could just keep it going for a little while and then at some point pretend it’d just gone back to friendship or something like that.”

“Why can’t you still do that? Why do you need to get me in on this now?”

Ritsu felt he had a point with that question. Why did Shou need to get him involved? Or anyone for that matter? If he was just feeding her some make-believe stories with a view to gradually talking his way out of this mess then why did anybody else need to come into the picture at all? The only thing he could think of was if perhaps Shou’s mother had asked to see a photo of this ‘mystery boyfriend’ her son was telling her about. He could understand then if maybe Shou needed someone to pose for some probably deeply embarrassing fake couple selfies with him or something but it all still just felt very unnecessary. Shou was clearly making a bigger deal of this than he needed to.

The redhead’s face had crumpled into something resembling a grimace at Ritsu’s words and as he watched he saw him swallow thickly. “Well,” he said slowly, peeling his eyes away from the sky to fix Ritsu with another sheepishly awkward stare. “She’s kind of… coming to visit… Soon.”

Oh.

Oh…

Shit…

Ritsu’s mind blanked. She was coming to visit!? Well, that changed everything. Now it made sense why Shou was so urgently in need of someone to play the role of the fictional partner he’d fabricated but why of all people did it have to be him? And why was this all being thrown at him on such short notice? He had virtually no time to prepare. This wasn’t like a test that could be studied for in advance. This was more like being pulled to the front of the class and being randomly quizzed on a topic you know absolutely nothing about…

Shou seemed to sense the sudden heavy block of icy dread that had dropped into Ritsu’s gut because he let out a short laugh and seemed to nod his head in understanding. “Yeah, I didn’t see it coming either. She messaged me about it last night and I freaked out. Threw all my plans right out the window…” He tilted his head slightly, eyebrow raised and a kind of desperate curiosity burning in his eyes now. “You’ll help me out though, right? You’re the only one I think can pull this off.”

That wasn’t necessarily true was it? Hanazawa actually had dating experience and seemed like the type to be able to fake his way through something like this pretty convincingly. The only problem was that he wasn’t all that well acquainted with Shou. Maybe that was why Shou had gone straight to him instead. That and the fact that past experience had shown Shou just how reliable Ritsu could be, both as an ally and a friend. This obviously was important to him if he was trusting him with it…

He stayed quiet for a moment and then, eyeing Shou warily, enquired, “What exactly will I have to do?”

“Ah, I dunno,” Shou replied rather unhelpfully. “Nothin’ too crazy. Just enough to look convincing, you know? Like…” He placed a hand to his chin, brows knitting together in concentration as he considered what exactly he was going to ask of his friend. The rosiness of his cheeks darkened several shades and his expression twitched oddly a few times before he shook himself and spread his arms in a broad shrug. “I dunno, just simple stuff. Just try to look like you like having me around, yeah? And don’t flinch if I try to hold your hand or something.”

Ritsu felt the palms of his hands heat up automatically at the mere thought of that and he stuffed them stiffly into his pockets, his stomach doing some weird somersault inside him that left his insides feeling very disorientated. What was with all these nerves? It was just Shou, damn it!

He took in a long, steadying breath and let it out again, cursing the tension coiling in his chest and the heat rising up his neck making him feel uncomfortably warm despite the chilly air around him. Okay, he told himself firmly, willing himself to calm down and mulling over his options. If he agreed to go through with this he’d probably only need to keep it up for just a little while and even then he wasn’t going to need to do anything too drastic. Shou had said so himself. He could probably just let Shou handle most of it anyway and just follow his lead. He’d just play his part, help his friend out and then everything would go back to normal.

“Okay…” he found himself saying before he’d even really come to a final decision himself. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it.”

He heard Shou breathe an appreciative sigh of relief beside him and saw him visibly relax where he was sitting, his expression softening into something a little less on-edge, the curve to his lips easing into something a little more natural and a lot more familiar and then it cracked open into a toothy grin and he slapped a firm hand to Ritsu’s back with a yell of, “Thanks, Ritsu! I knew I could count on you!”

Ritsu rolled his eyes and forced his shoulders to loosen up a little. He hadn’t even realised how tense they’d become. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, brushing Shou’s hand off and pushing himself to his feet, deciding that he could really do with something that would settle his fluttering stomach right about now. “You can start paying me back by getting me a hot chocolate or something. Come on.”

There came a whine of protest from behind and Ritsu couldn’t help but smirk at the reluctant pout that formed across Shou’s face at the prospect of paying. “No fair! I didn’t bring enough for both of us!”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to go without.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m starving! I didn’t eat this morning!”

“Is that my fault?”

“Ritsu!”

“Is it?”

A gentle elbow in the side pushed a laugh out of Ritsu’s chest and all of his lingering tension seemed to depart right along with it. It felt good to fall back to their usual rhythm again after the weird start their morning had taken.

As Shou fell into step beside him, elbow resting on Ritsu’s shoulder trying to pull him down to his level and a moody scowl boring into the side of his face, he was already starting to forget what he’d been so worried about. Maybe he’d even have a little fun with this whole thing. How bad could it be?

“Oh, hey actually I was thinkin’ I should maybe use a nickname or something for you while my mum’s here, you know? To make things more convincing. How about Ricchan?”

Scratch that. He was clearly making a big mistake…

“Call me that and I will fake break up with you right in front of her…”

But then again… he’d made worse mistakes than this hadn’t he?

#ritshou #shouritsu #shou suzuki #ritsu kageyama #mob psycho 100 #nerua fics #im sorry if this is a little off. i tried

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lizzy-matthews · 8 years ago

Text

Challenge 3 Part 2

So this is a little extra that was rp’d by @alessiamabo and @haidenschreave. I’m calling it challenge 3 part 2, but it’s not entirely connected and I’m not going to reblog it to the heiroc chat.

With only one more foreign diplomat to talk to, I make my way over to Princess Alessia Mabo, Haiden’s cousin.

I hold out my hand to greet her. “Hi. I’m Lizzy Matthews, possible future Queen of Illea. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you! Haiden has told me so much about you.”

I give a nervous laugh. “Really? Good things, I hope?”

“Of course they were!”

“That’s good to hear. Though, I can’t imagine Haiden saying anything too rude about any of us. But maybe with family he’s a little more outspoken.”

“Oh no, he’s quiet and still as can be. It’s a wonder he’s related to his sisters in any way.”

“Yes, I have noticed that Elaine and Eloise are a bit more outgoing.”

“I’m not sure where they get it from, as all my experience with Tante Alize and Oncle Ashton has been rather demure, as well.”

“Well, King Ashton seems like he used to be a bit more outgoing, though I supposed he’s matured a bit since his Selection. But the signs are still there. He jokes around with Haiden a lot.”

“That’s always good to hear. Their relationship was rather rocky the last time we chatted.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. They seem pretty close now, though. I can feel Haiden trying to open up more to people, so that’s great for him. He just hasn’t entirely opened up to me yet. But perhaps he’s opened up to some of the other girls, for which I would commend him regardless. I just hope he can find someone with whom he can be himself, and share his whole self, even if that person isn’t me.”

“That’s incredibly… beautiful and kind of you to say. If you say these words to him, I’m sure he’d appreciate it greatly.”

“Thank you. And yes, I should talk to him again soon. Probably before he makes a decision on the results of this challenge.”

“Oh yes! Something like this could very much determine your future.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to him soon. Thank you for the advice.”

I decide that there’s no time like the present, and I excuse myself from Alessia’s company to go search for Haiden. I quickly find him in one of the halls of the palace.

“I just had a fascinating talk with your cousin, Your Highness,” I tell him.

“Um, should I be worried?”

I shrug and smirk at him. “Probably not, though we were talking about you.”

“Well, care to enlighten me?”

“Eh, mostly just about how quiet you are. I asked if you’re like that around family, too, and she said you are.”

“Ah, I see.”

“I told her that I just hope you’re able to open up to someone eventually—and maybe you already have—and find someone in this Selection who helps you do that, whether or not that’s me.”

“That’s, uh, very gracious of you.”

I’m not sure what else to say. That’s kind of all I had planned, and he doesn’t seem to be continuing the conversation. “Um, yeah. Alessia just thought I should tell you that…”

We stand in a somewhat awkward silence for a few moments before Haiden speaks. “Alessia doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She likes to tease me because I’m ‘a child’.”

“Oh is that so? And why would she call you a child?”

“Because she’s older than me and that apparently makes me a child. I mean, it’s true, but she doesn’t need to say that.”

“My brother likes to make fun of me for being younger than him, but he doesn’t really call me ‘a child’.”

“Aw, but you’re small enough to be.”

“Hey, I’m not that much smaller than you!” I exclaim indignantly.

“Eight inches is a lot.”

Oh boy. Does he realize he just totally set himself up for a dirty joke? I smirk at him. “I can handle eight inches.”

“Yep, just wear really tall heels.”

I raise my eyebrows. Is he really that innocent? Did he not understand what I was saying? I start laughing. “Yes, of course. Definitely high heels.”

“Did I say something wrong?” He asks.

“No! Of course not!”

“Um, I don’t believe you, but okay.”

“No, it’s just an… inside joke, I guess.” I work to control my features to stop laughing.

“Right.”

“Yep…”

“I think I made it awkward,” Haiden comments.

“Only because you wouldn’t let me make it awkward.”

“I don’t know what that means, but okay.”

I sigh. “Do I really have to spell it out for you? EIGHT INCHES???? What else is around that size? Typically?”

“Lady Elizabeth, please stop.”

So maybe he did understand it. “Oh come on, it was funny!”

“No, no. I got it the first time.”

“Alright, I apologize if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

“No, you’re not. I suppose I walked right into that one, huh?” He asks.

“Yes, you definitely did.”

Haiden gives a little shake of his head. “Didn’t know you were the type of person to make those jokes, Lady Elizabeth. Or should I even call you that?”

“You shouldn’t call me Lady Elizabeth; it’s Lizzy. Or Lady Lizzy if you so prefer. And I will make jokes if I want to make jokes. Like you said, you walked right into it.” That sounded really harsh, didn’t it? I regret the words the moment they leave my mouth.

“Ouch, deserving.”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry. I’ve been talking to a lot of the diplomats lately and acting all formal and professional and I just need to let it all out and be weird for a while.”

He nods his head like it all makes sense now. “Ah, I get it. How did that go, anyway? Any of them make you cry like me?”

I laugh. “No, there were no tears. A lot of them were really nice, and even the ones who were a little more… abrasive… I think I won them over. It’s just been stressful making sure I say everything right and don’t make a fool of myself. Do they really make you cry?”

“A few have in the past. They can be scary, which is why I tend to avoid them as much as possible.”

“Yeah, I definitely agree that they’re a little scary. Especially Mika, though I think I managed to win her over. And you can’t avoid them forever, you’re the future King of Illea for crying out loud!”

“I know, I know. I’m just sticking to avoiding as much as possible.” He sighs. “For the time being.”

I shrug. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you, especially after spending so much time talking to them all. It gets a little exhausting.”

“Being formal gets old after a while. Eventually you just want to get into your pajamas, call someone by a nickname, put your feet on the coffee table. You know, relax.”

“Exactly. That’s what I feel like I need to do now. I don’t know how you can handle being formal so often.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t handle it. I just forget I’m doing it, and eventually it’s just second nature.”

“I suppose that’s what you’d have to do in order to get used to it. Otherwise it’d probably drive you insane.”

“And that’s probably why I never relax,” he says.

“Well, that’s a bit of a problem. You do need to relax sometimes,” I tell him.

“It’s not for lack of trying, let me assure you.”

“Well maybe you just need someone to help you relax more.” I didn’t mean for that to be an innuendo or dirty joke, but I suppose it could be construed as such.

Haiden leans down to scrutinize my eyes, and not in any sort of loving way. “Forgive me for asking this, Lady Elizabeth, but are you drunk?”

I almost gasp at the accusation. “No! Of course not! I’ve only ever been drunk once in my life, and let me assure you it is not something I’d like to experience again.” Many of the other girls in the Selection enjoy getting drunk, but after a bad experience back in Clermont with my brother’s friends, I have resolved myself to only have small tastes of wine or alcohol, so I will not become drunk ever again. Or at least, hopefully not.

“Okay,” he begins warily. “I’m just asking because you’ve made two dirty jokes in a span of ten minutes.” I sigh. So he did see that as a dirty joke. I didn’t mean for it to be. I just meant that perhaps being around someone he cares about could be relaxing enough to shake off all the tension of being a royal. And I meant relax as in being calm, not relax as anything else.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” I apologize. “I’m trying to be more… outgoing.” And perhaps I’m not so good at talking to other people if they think I’m making dirty jokes when I’m not.

He laughs. “No, it’s fine. It’s just… different.”

“What? None of the other girls have been throwing themselves at you and making lots of innuendos?” I smirk, thinking of certain other girls.

“A few, but it’s unexpected.”

“Unexpected as in you didn’t expect me to do it or unexpected as in you didn’t expect anyone to do it?”

“Both.”

“Well, as for the rest of the Selected, you should’ve expected SOME to be like that. I understand not expecting me to make a dirty joke, I’m not even sure I would’ve expected myself to be making dirty jokes like this. But it is what it is…”

“I guess I didn’t realize people would be interested in me like that? I don’t know… it’s weird.”

I shake my head a little at him. How could he think that? “Well obviously people are interested in you like that! What did you think, that everyone here signed up for the Selection just for the crown?”

“Would it be bad if I said yes?”

I sigh. “That’s not necessarily bad.” Suddenly, I’m curious about his motives in this Selection. All the girls have been asked by countless interviewers whether we’re here for the prince or the crown, but no one has asked Haiden. “Were you or are you just looking for someone to fil the role of Queen, or also someone who you could fall in love with?”

“I wish it could be both, but I’ve always doubted that was the case.”

“Based on those of us still in the Selection, do you think there could be someone who fills both positions?”

“I don’t really know yet. I know I love some of you in some way, but that particular kind? No.”

“Hmm. I hope you do manage to fall in love with someone though… Everyone deserves to find love.” I know I’ve found love with Liam, and I do feel a little bad about using Haiden like this, but it’s for love! That makes it a little better, right? I just hope Haiden can find someone.

“And have you, Lizzy?”

I freeze. Surely he doesn’t know about Liam. I mean, he may know that Liam and I are friends, but we’ve been careful not to let anyone think that there’s more than friendship, right? I just have to play this cool, and everything will be fine. I feel the heat rush to my cheeks, though. I hope Haiden sees it as embarrassment about talking about love instead of nervousness.

“Oh, umm…” I hesitate. “I don’t know. I was just talking from the experience of my writing. Everything I write has some sort of romance in it because of my beliefs about love, so…”

“Okay. But if you do, I’d like to know,” he says. He shifts his gaze away from me and lowers his voice. “Even… even if it’s not me.”

My heart is racing in my chest. I can’t tell him about Liam. I just can’t. Now I’m sure he wouldn’t punish us for our treasonous act, but I can’t hurt his feelings like this. I know it may be just as bad to string him along, but I have to at least try to keep up this façade… for Haiden’s sake now. “Right. Yeah, definitely. I will… let you know…” I finally manage to say.

Haiden’s gaze meets mine again. “I’m serious, you know.”

“Yeah I know. But you have to tell me if you fall in love, too.”

“I will. Thank you, Lizzy.”

“For what?”

“Nothing. Just… thanks.”

I just realized Haiden called me Lizzy, not Elizabeth. I don’t know what to think about that.

“Umm… you’re welcome,” I tell him with a shy smile. What does he mean by all of this? “I… should probably go.”

I shake my head a little to clear my thoughts. “Um… yeah, sure. I’ll see you again soon?”

“Definitely.”

“Great.”

He walks away, leaving me more confused than ever. I’m making the right decision choosing Liam right? I mean, I’m going to be honest with myself, one of the main reasons I was so okay with declaring my love for Liam was because I knew there was no chance for me with Haiden. But what if Haiden does have feelings for me? Does that change anything? Should it? I don’t know, but I think I’d better figure it out soon.

#mine #challenge #selectionoc #c3

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