#and the puppy just 'wag wag' with the tail next to the horse I love this I love it so much tinkfjyoh

[swimminginanunknownparadise]

Bittersweet reunions

pairing: Soren x f!reader summery: after you choose to join Callum, Ezran, and Rayla on their journey and travel the kingdoms so save the dragon egg, you finally get to see your best friend again, however the circumstances aren’t at all what you’d dreamed of.  a/n: so like, I binged tdp in like two days, maybe three. I’m obsessed to say the least, so ofc I had to write something for my favorite child of Viren! This is very much not edited so if there are grammatical errors I’m sorry but I’m only human… a very tired human. I’d give you an idea if what I’m gonna write next but I don’t know either! I am working my way through a very, very… very long Zuko oneshot however I have no idea when I’ll actually finish writing that so there may be more smaller ones coming in the future. I write when I feel like it, so there’s no telling tbh. I love all y’all, so please keep reading my shitty fanfics please *puppy dog eyes intensifies*

—

“Is this the afterlife?” You had been sitting with Bait and Zym shining your sword when you heard that all too familiar voice from the other room. Your sword clattered to the floor and poor Bait, who had been snoozing next to you glowed a nice berry red color when his eyes opened to look around for the source of the noise that had so abruptly pulled him from his sleep. Zym was already on his feet, eyes darting between you and the corner. His tail wagged back and forth eagerly, tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Your fingers ran across the smooth cloth you were holding, eyes wide and watery. 

The blonde man, who had been staring at the boy king, whipped around when he heard a loud clatter from the room over. His hand fell to the hilt of his sword, the unknown spooking him more than normal. Sure, usually he would exude confidence, pretending he knew exactly what he was doing. But after what he seen? What his father had done? The unknown was terribly frightening now. His eyes were looking around wildly now, like a spooked horse. The others just watched him, unsure of what they could say or do to help ease his troubled mind. 

You had left your sword laying there, too swept up in your emotions to care about it. You jumped up from the step you’d been sat on and flew around the corner, unable to compose yourself even slightly. Zym ran after, chirping excitedly. “Soren?” Your voice cracked when you finally saw him. He looked different, tired. The stubble on his chin made him look older, and there was no mistaking the sadness in his eyes that aged him even more. His shoulders were slumped, he looked troubled. Your heart hurt for him. It hadn’t been that long since you two last spoke but leaving him again nearly broke you. And now he was standing right there and it nearly left you breathless. “Soren, you’re here?!” You felt hot, happy tears well up in your eyes. 

“(Y/N)?” The anxiety on his face melted away, being replaced with just about the brightest smile anyone had ever seen him have. His whole demeanor changed, it was lighter now and everyone could see it plain as day. Before either of you could say anything you sprinted forward, no hesitation at all. His arms were open as you barreled into him. You nearly would have knocked him over if it weren’t for huge dragon arm that had been there and helped him find his balance again. He was too overwhelmed with all his emotions to notice he’d needed the help. His arms wrapped you up in a tight embrace and all he could feel was relief. Relief because you were safe and sound and all in one piece.

His hand cupped the back of your head while the other remained around your waist. He held you as close as he could, as if he was scared you would disappear like the illusions that Lujanne had conjured up back on the Cursed Caldera. You gripped at the back of his shirt collar and stood on your tip toes in an effort to bring him closer. “I’m here,” he said softly. “And this time you’re not leaving me again, got it?” He pulled away from you and you nodded. 

“Loud and clear, Captain,” you sniffled and smiled up at him. He looked you up and down attentively, just like he’d done every time you’d seen him. You looked exactly like you had the day you parted ways. Still so confident, the same kind smile that he fell in love with, your eyes still lit up like they did whenever you were really happy. The fact that you were smiling like that all because of him, it made him feel all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings.

“Erm… Soren, not that I’m not happy to see you but… why are you here?” You placed your hands on his shoulders and his face hardened. Your brows furrowed when all he could say was “we’re all doomed.” Rayla tensed up behind you and Callum frowned, neither knowing what to say. Soren just frowned, holding you as close as he could. This wasn’t like him, he’d never been eager to show so much vulnerability in front of people before, whatever he knew had really shaken him up. “Hey, let’s get you a nice hot cup of tea. Sounds good, yea?” You looked up at him again and he nodded, just glad he hadn’t been turned away by Rayla and the others. 

—

“It’s my dad,” he sighed, gazing into his mug. He looked… sad. Oh, what had that horrible man done now? Callum was the first to interject. “Lord Viren, he’s here? In Xadia?” He suddenly looked anxious and Soren continued, not looking up from his cup. “He’s rallied the armies of four kingdoms. And it’s not just that.” You placed a hand on his shoulder and he leaned into your touch as he continued. “We went to the Sun Elf place and- and my dad, he stole some kind of horrible power. And he used it to transform his armies into….” You squeezed his shoulder and he closed his eyes with a frown. “Into something else.” 

Rayla and Callum shared a look, both troubled and worried. You just listened, barely able to comprehend what you were hearing. You always knew that his father was very… abrasive. But you didn’t think he would do anything like this. “What do you mean?” Ezran looked up at him, he was apparently the only one brave enough to ask. Soren looked at him and licked his lips, as if the words would come to him that way. After a moment to collect his words he spoke again. “They’re stronger, angrier, big claws,” his eyes were wide and panicked now and it unsettled you. “He’s made an army of darkness! And he’s leading them here…” he looked ashamed but he nodded to Zym with a deep frown. “For him. The Dragon Prince.”

Everyone looked at one another, taking in the new information that Soren had just given. It was a lot, some of it was unbelievable, but with his father nothing was impossible apparently. The sound of tea slurping cut through the uncomfortable silence and you looked at Soren, he was unaware of everyone’s eyes on him and you just sighed. When he was done he looked at everyone again and shrugged. “I did use the word doomed.”

—

You had walked back to the other room and sat on the step. Zym had trotted along with you and curled up at your side as soon as you yourself were settled. Bait was already back asleep and you made sure you were being as quiet as possible when picking up your sword off the stone ground. “Hey, (Y/N)?” You looked up at Soren, he was standing in front of you with a timid smile. “Yes, Sor Sor?” You grinned up at him and he huffed at the nickname you’d been calling him by since childhood. 

“I don’t think you can shine your sword without this.” He presented the cloth square you’d dropped in all the excitement of his return. You smiled at it and took it, dropping it in your lap. And before he could pull away, you grabbed his hand and pulled him towards you, your face soft with worry. He looked surprised, but he sat next to you anyway, not about to complain about getting to spend some extra time with you. He didn’t know why you would turn him away, but he felt like it was something that would happen considering he basically invaded Xadia with his corrupt father and his army. The two of you sat in silence for a moment, there were a million things racing through your mind and you didn’t want to overwhelm him. He was in the same boat, though you weren’t aware.

His hands were in his lap and he was looking at the ground when you spoke up. “I can’t say I’m surprised.” His brows furrowed and you hurried to continue. “I mean, I don’t mean it in a bad way! I’m not surprised that you left, you’re too good for your father and what he does. You have a better heart than him, that’s one of the things that I love about you.” You glanced over at him and he smiled a little, but it was a sad smile and you placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man, Soren.” Part of him didn’t want to believe you, after all he was at one point fully willing to kill the princes to please his father. He didn’t think that was something a good man would do. “As bad as the circumstances are, I'm still glad you're here. I missed you, more than I care to admit.” Your cheeks felt hot and he smiled at you. 

“I missed you too. I didn’t exactly know you guys were up here so seeing you was a happy accident.” He scratched the back of his neck and you nodded quietly. “I didn’t even really expect you to still be in Xadia. You guys seem to work fast.” You giggled and shrugged. “We do work fast, but not that fast.” He nodded and kept on smiling at you. You smiled back at him and you felt something bump into your hand. You quickly looked down to find that his had been inching closer and closer as the two of you talked. Your face got hotter but when he rested his hand on yours you didn’t pull away. He was looking at you so you looked up at him and you just looked into those pretty blue eyes you loved so much. He intertwined your fingers with his and you couldn’t help but lean in. He met you halfway and pressed his lips to yours in an only slightly awkward kiss. 

You weren't exactly sure what to do with your free hand so you just rested on his cheek and he did the same. You pressed on and scooted a little closer and he moved his hand to your waist. You heard Bait grumble from behind you and you slowly pulled away with a dreamy sigh. You were both red and you couldn't help but giggle at the look of awe on his face. “I never actually thought that would happen.” He sounded like he couldn't believe it and you just giggled again, too flustered to form actual words. “What?” he wrinkled his nose up a little and you just shrugged with a big dopey grin. “I liked it.” He nodded slowly and smiled yet again. All the two of you could do was smile or grin because you were just so simply happy with each other, despite all the bad that was going on at the moment. Without a second thought you kissed him again and he pulled you closer. You guys were just getting into the groove of it when you heard an awkward cough from the other side of the room. You pulled away quickly and saw Callum looking at you with a burning red face and a sheepish smile. “Hey, uh, we're all talking about what our game plan is… are you guys ready?” You both just nodded in unison. He nodded and hurried away to leave you two alone again. You quickly stood up and went to leave but he caught you by the hand and pulled you towards him. 

“Hey, can you promise me something?” He wrapped an arm around your waist and you looked up at him with a questioning look. “Promise me you’ll make it back to me by the end of this, ok?” You nodded, despite your better judgment. Runaan had told Athari he’d be back and that didn’t end up that way. Anything could happen but still, you agreed and told him you would. “You better come back to me too, then.” He nodded and pulled you into another kiss, far more passionate than the previous ones. 

[srose-foxfire]

Damirae Week 2021 - Day 6

“Towards Home” Day 6: Pets / Animals  

Raven was very much exhausted as she reached a clearing in the woods. She leaned against a pine tree to catch her breath and steady her over-beating heart. Part of her was just tired from running non-stop but the other part had been scared. Raven had stood there in Damian’s study, he had brought her there to show her the enchanted rose that somehow regained its magical glow. She had thought some good had just happen instead Damian’s character completely reverted back to when they first met. The moon had passed over most of the night sky, dawn would be nearing. They needed to find shelter, rest, and continue on with their journey-

Raven had noticed Sombra had perched on a nearby branch and was staying rather very silently as it looked to the right where the forest was denser. The young girl managed to keep her breathing steady and moved around the tree she was leaning against. From the shadows of the forest, there it emerges very carefully. The creature she once saw, the first time she had fled from the castle, the one that had softened her fall, months ago. Scared Raven hid behind the tree, she heard Sombra squawk angrily towards the unusual invader.

The strange creature then lowered its head and whimpered. Raven peeked from around the tree and gaze at the creature, as it lay down, keeping its large head between it thick paws. Sombra from the top of the trees continue to squawk and swoop down, trying to scare off and protect its mistress.

“Sombra stop.” Raven said sternly as she carefully walked around the tree. “You are not trying to hurt me…” She stops just a foot away from it. “That day we met, when I fell, you saved me didn’t you?”

Whatever this strange creature was, raised it head to her height, perking up it ears. It looked almost like an overlarge dog but transformed into a terrifying creature to be feared by anyone who dared gaze at it. The large dog’s head was long and square-like, with black pointed ears, it had very short fine black fur, and its eyes were dark. It was definitely bigger than Damian’s beastly form.

Very carefully, Raven reached out a hand and stroked behind its ear. She gasped when the large dog started licking her hand and wag it large tail. Raven couldn’t help but giggle, Sombra then landed next to them and looked up at the creature with curious eyes. It hopped near it, before long the large dog, sniffed him and licked him. Sombra squawk and flew up on top of the creature’s head.

“I don’t suppose you know someplace we could stay. We happen to be homeless at the moment.” The large dog, only grunted turn it back and lay down. Raven knitted her eyebrows together but cautiously got on the large creature. She wasn’t sure if she was seated properly, she never once ridden  a horse or any other rideable animal. It took her through the thick forest but avoided any loose branches so she wouldn’t get scraped. The black large dog walked on top of a hill and in the distance could make out the point of the towers of Wayne Castle. Turning her head, Raven looked back to the path as she noticed they were nearing a cave.

-- -- --  

Morning came and Raven woke up to the smell of wet moss and dew drops. In the distance she could hear some playful barking, curious she walked outside the small cave which she came to conclude was the large dog’s home. Exiting the cave Raven found Sombra flapping and jumping as he played with their unusual friend. She gave out a laugh as it looked like the two were old friends despite their forms and size. How could this creature be evil, she wonder? Dick had mentioned that a large black monster, probably this large dog, guarded the castle.  Yet she didn’t see no monster, Raven just saw an oversized playful dog that only wanted to protect and play.

The large dog-like creature barked happily and zoomed past Raven, going back inside its cave. Sombra flew onto Raven’s shoulder as they both waited for the creature to emerge from its home. It return outside, holding some sort of round band in it mouth, walking gracefully towards Raven, it handed her the round band.

“What do you have here?” Raven asked ash she took the band in her hands and inspected it. A dog collar. Raven lifted a brow and examined the black band. It was a knitted black collar, with many threads out of place, probably due to being worked out. She noticed a silver rusty-round tag, both sides engraved. It took Raven a while to decipher the text since some words had been scratched from years of being out in harsh weather, or scraped against rocks; Raven could only assume. She was able to decipher one side and her eyes widen when she read, what was the address to the tag:

If found, please return to

Prince Damian Al Ghul-Wayne,

~ Wayne Castle ~

Raven looked from the tag to the large dog, she flipped the tag around and read the name engraved: Titus. This creature was Damian’s dog, she had seen an old portrait of a small black Dane puppy sitting in a meadow of dandelions. Raven would sometimes find Damian looking at that portrait in the parlor.

Raven’s chest suddenly starting aching remembering what Damian had told her last night. “When the witch cast the curse and she transformed me, she said she would take everything I held dear would be gone.” 

The witch, she took everything that Damian ever cherished. Then a sudden thought crossed her mind, Damian mentioned that the rose had become a symbol of good fortune, but even it’s light faded. Though last night it regained the light he had mentioned, after Raven touched it. Some good has come from the curse, them meeting was proof of that. Could Damian believed she would had been fated some terrible fate if she continued to stay with him? Could that be the reason why he ordered and scared her off from his castle? Raven only prayed that it was true, that he had acted the way he did to only protect her. No one had ever done that for her.

Raven had never felt like she belonged anywhere, she never had friends, or ever shared a holiday meal with anyone but herself. She always looked out for herself back in Trigon’s lands. Raven had always been alone till she befriended a lone raven during her travels, then she came upon Wayne castle. Where she met the most unusual cursed family who immediately welcomed her into their home, except their youngest member. Though over time even he opened up and they became friends.

Raven felt her chest ache as she thought of the Wayne’s, imagined what they were doing this late morning. She gasped when she realized she had started crying as Sombra and Titus watched her. It occurred to her Raven never once thought of leaving or asking Damian to leave the castle. Not after she learned so much from everyone, not after spending some ‘girl time’ with Kori, Cass, and Stephanie. Raven wanted to do more holiday meals and celebrations. She had so much fun when they all danced and laughed together. How could she think of leaving when each day, Raven wanted to read to Damian another book she discovered in the castle’s library.

Raven slumped down to her knees and continue to cry. Titus and Sombra came next to her, her pet raven perched on her knees while Titus whimpered and nudge Raven’s shoulder with his nose. Raven petted them both as her tears started to dry up, “let’s go home.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Damian hadn’t slept resulting him being very much tired. His siblings had tried to get him to eat but he was rather dead inside. He paid no one any attention. The places in his castle where he once found solace were no longer bearable, he couldn’t stand it. Everywhere he looked, he was reminded of her.

Damian needed to find a way to move on and forget all about the girl that came to his castle months ago. He should had made her leave that day she first walked into his home, then he wouldn’t be feeling like this. Damian felt his heart turned over inside of him, he left weak and vulnerable. At any moment he could break out into tears again. He had fallen madly in love with Raven, and now she was gone.

Damian laid in a corner of the parlor, the same parlor where they had all celebrated the end of the year’s celebration together. Where Raven had made Damian dance with her to the off-beat music his siblings were playing. How could he just erase those precious memories? How could he just forget the moments they had spent together where he wanted them to last a lifetime? When Raven would read to him, when they cooked together, when they take a stroll through the castle together and answer any question she had. He was a fool.

Damian sighed heavily, his face was between in the corner, but Damian knew too well that his nosy siblings were in the room with him, they were just – which was strange – keeping extremely quiet. Everyone was scattered in the room, Jason and Cass were playing a game of chess, Dick lay across an old sofa with his head propped on top of Kori’s lap. Stephanie was dusting an old tapestry that depicted the castle’s first annual masquerade ball. Tim was floating near the window, looking outside and the day dreaded on.

“Guys… you won’t believe who is riding towards the castle on a… what the heck is that?” Tim added rather out loud as he was able to gain everyone’s attention. At his statement everyone floated towards the window looking out to what caught Tim’s attention, they all gasped.

“It’s Raven?!” Kori added very delighted.

The mentioned of her name brought Damian out of his trance. He wanted to believe he was in some dream, where Raven turned back and returned to his arms asking for permission to stay. Could it really be her? Damian slowly walked towards another window and gaze outside, there up the main walkway of the castle’s entrance was Raven, she came in fast on top of the creature Damian had only once ever catch a glimpse of. It was the monster that guarded their castle to ensure no one came in or out. Beside them, Sombra was flying matching the creature’s speed.

Without even realizing what he was doing, Damian dashed out of the parlor and ran through corridors until he reaches the main doorways to exit. His mind was running all over the place, some were if he had gone to sleep and this was all just a dream his unconscious mind had created for him. Other thoughts were that Raven only returned to stock on supplies for her long quest to finding her mother’s homeland. Just one thought, one Damian was holding tightly to his aching heart was that she came back for him.To be with him.

Damian pried open the doors, he use his whole body to open them and stopped just above the doorsteps as Raven and the creature she was riding stopped right at the foot of his castle. Damian went down the steps slowly, with his brows narrowed, “you came back? I told you to leave and yet, you came back.” Damian didn’t mean to almost whisper his statement, but he couldn’t believe he would find Raven, standing right before him after last night’s incident.

“I had to… I know the curse took so much away from you and I wanted to return to you an old friend of yours.” Raven added softly before dismounting her strange steed. “Damian, meet Titus.”

“Titus?” The creature both bark and whimpered as it took three steps and give Damian a lick across his face. “Titus! It is you! I missed you so much friend.” The cursed prince wrapped his massive fur arms around the Titus’s neck. Damian had thought that his dog had died many years ago, he wasn’t able to find him when they all fell under the curse. To think his beloved dog, his great Dane had just been outside the castle walls all these years. Damian was both filled with happiness and sadness, realizing that Titus had been alone for such a long time. After petting Titus, Damian turned his attention to the raven-hair maiden that seemed to bring in light to his world. “You found him for me… thank you.”

“He actually found me.” Raven added timidly, she then folded her arms behind her back, almost as if she was embarrassed to speak to him. “Damian, I came back because I want to-”

Raven didn’t finish her sentence, out of thin hair a creature with blueish skin and arms covered in feathers swooped down and grabbed Raven. It screeched harshly and it ascended to the skies with the girl Damian loved. He was able to recognize the winged creature to be a harpy from the many books on mythical and enchanted creatures.

“Damian!” Raven screamed as she tried to land a hit on her captor.

“Raven! Release her!” Damian called out. Raven’s pet raven, Sombra flew up towards the harpy. He tried to peck the harpy, but the harpy managed to evade Sombra attacks and then slashed him with her claws. Injured, Sombra was falling down, Damian ran on all fours and then jumped to catch the bird in his paws. Titus ran and stood next to its former master, barking at the harpy. Damian grunted and ran towards back to the castle; there his siblings were waiting at the door. Their eyes were filled with anger and desperation wanting to help, but the curse did not allow them; their souls were forever bound to the castle. Damian handed Dick the injured raven.

“Damian what are you going to do?” His older brother questioned.

“I am going to go and save the woman I love.” Damian said through clenched teeth. Titus barked and turned his body, so his back faced Damian and his head was pointed at the harpy who was looking to be farther away into the skies, heading to some mountains in the distance. Damian leapt and mounted Titus, commanding his old friend to chase after the harpy. As Titus ran, Damian looked up, he could barely make out Raven anymore, she was disappearing between thick dark gray clouds.

Raven wait for me, I am coming for you.

[donutloverxo]

A week

Summary - You want a puppy. Ransom doesn't. You make a deal so you both get what you want.

Warnings - smut, anal, butt plugs, mean ransom

Pairing - Ransom Drysdale x reader

Word count - 1.9k

Masterlist

You cooed at the k-nines jumping up to kiss your face. You had always had a special spot for dogs but your busy job and hectic life never allowed you the leisure to ever have one of your own.

You stroked the German Shepherd under his chin as he wagged his tail, so excited to see you again. His brother launched at Ransom, biting and tugging at the helm of his long tan coat. “Hey! quit it” He scolded the poor pup shrugging it off.

You had to really strain yourself from laughing at the sight. He started at you, scowling at your amazement “You know what they say. Animals can judge your a persons true nature. Whether you’re good or bad” You squinted playfully at him. Although you knew if Ransom put the teensiest of effort in being friendly the dogs would like him just as they do you.

“I’ll show you just how bad I am” You yelped as he jerked you forward by grabbing your the curve of your waist, pulling you into him as the dogs barked at him.

“Ransom behave yourself!” Linda yelled approaching you both at the door “Honestly how do you put up with him” she despondently shook her head. She had always been nice-ish to you. Telling you she sees a lot of herself and Richard in you and Ransom, as you had a high powered job. Ransom definitely didn’t take too kindly to being compared to his father. Throwing vicious insults at her, blaming her for his fathers wandering eye, even if she sort of deserved it you felt bad for her.

As if to rebel against her, ever the teenager, Ransom bit your neck and gave it a suckle in front of her as she gasped at his insolence. You tried to push him away but he was too strong.

She said something along the lines of ‘you’re hopeless' and then left you both alone.

Compared to most Thrombey dinners this one was surprisingly tame. You made Ransom promise to be on his best behavior, and he did a pretty good job. So as a way to thank him you blew him on the ride home.

You choked around his dick as he thrusted his hips up with reckless abandon. You could only hope he was concentrating on the drive as you felt him spill in your mouth.

“Fuck” he cursed catching his breathe as you slipped his softening cock out of your mouth “See that’s a better use of your mouth” He chuckled at your frown “Be a good girl and tuck me back in” He ordered and you gave his cock a kiss, putting it back in his pants.

He seemed to be relaxed and elated as id he was in his post orgasmic bliss. You had to strike while the irons hot. “Ransom” You gushed giving him a sweet smile “how do you feel about... getting a puppy?”

He scoffed incredulously “Absolutely not” He spit tutting the T.

You knew he wouldn’t agree right away. “What if I let you put it in my ass?” He had tried multiple times to let him fuck your ass. Letting his tongue wander while he was eating you out, pressing his thumb into your bum while he was railing into you from behind, smacking and biting your bum. You couldn’t see the appeal of it. With how big Ransom was, to the point where you struggled to fit him in your mouth, it would probably hurt a lot, but you’d be willing to do it for a cute puppy.

“No. There’s a perfectly nice tight cunt right next to it I can use” You’d cringe at his crude words but by now you had gotten too used to them. “I’m not sharing you with a dog. You already work, even though you don’t need to”

You sighed at that smoothing your hair, having had this exact conversation with him multiple times. You’re not quitting your job. You’d be lying if you said his passive aggressive comments didn’t hurt you. “Whatever. I wanna go home”

“We are going home” He deadpanned.

“No I wanna go to my apartment” even though you weren’t sure if you had the keys to it. You hadn’t even been to your apartment in weeks, probably months. You stared out the window refusing to look at him.

“What? That’s it? You don’t get your way and now you’re throwing a fit? You’re such brat” He smirked thinking of ways he could fuck the brattiness out of you

“That’s amazing coming from you” You gave him a humorless chuckle “I’m just really tired okay? And – I think some distance would be good for now” You tried to reason with him.

“Let’s make a deal. So we can both get what we want” He proposed.

“I’m listening” You looked back at him.

“You let me do whatever I want to you for a month. And then we can go get your stupid puppy” He parked the car in his driveway.

“What do you mean whatever you want to me?” You couldn’t help but think the worst.

“Would you hold your horses? I’m not that perverted” You could argue with that.

“One week” You countered.

“I have to put up with a dirty dog for just a week?” he scoffed again

“It’ll be fun and special” you flutter your eyelashes at him hoping it’ll do the trick.

“Fine” He grumbled.

“Let’s shake on it” You offered your hand hoping he’ll shake it but before you knew it he was out of the car. He opened your door hauling you over his shoulder. “Ransom!” You squealed being taken by surprise.

“Let’s start right now yeah?” he harshly smacked your ass carrying you up the stairs to his bedroom. He dropped you on the bed, in a not so graceful way. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long” He smirked digging out what looked like a blue tube from one of the drawers.

“Is that a... “

“It’s a butt plug. We gotta get you ready babe” He said stroking the plug, feeling the silicony smoothness under his fingers.

“You’re not putting that in me if you’ve probablyput it in other girls” you puffed. “I didn’t want cooties, no thank you”

“Relax. I ordered it online. Now” he paused making you wait for it “let’s get down to business” before you could protest he crashed his lips upon yours, nipping and tugging on your lips.

You moaned into his mouth as his calloused fingers worked on your zipper taking your dress and panties off. If nothing else he was really good at undressing you. You felt his fingers teasing your folds, barely touching you. “Ransom please” you whimpered. You couldn’t really take any teasing not tonight. Or ever really. The little shit was too good at it.

You yelped as he unceremoniously flipped you onto your stomach, perching your ass up by putting a pillow under your hips.

He gave your ass a loud smack. You chastised him to be more gentle. “take off your stupid pinkie ring If you’re going to spank me. It really chaffs me”

He gently (well gently for him) pushed your head in the pillow muffling your voice. “I get to do whatever I want with you. Remember?” you didn’t have to look at him to know that he was probably evilly grinning at your helpless state.

You gasped as you felt his warm tongue lick a stripe up your folds, suckling on your clit. He drew patterns on it with the tip of his tongue. He was being too gentle, it made you fear the impending storm even more so. “Oh” you said as you felt his tongue on your pluckered hole. It was strange, not nearly as pleasurable as it was on your clit, but good in a different way. “Oh god” your breathe hitched as you felt him push two fingers in your bum. He dragged them in and out of you while sucking on your clit. “What the fuck?!” You exclaimed as you felt a cold substance on your ass.

“It’s just lube” He muttered pressing the plug in your hole. The plug invaded your ass. You were still getting used to it, wiggling a bit to see how it hits in different angles. “Looks so pretty babe” You cursed at the way your heart fluttered at his praise.

He pushed his throbbing hard cock in your weeping channel. His cock was so big, no matter how many times, and how hard he fucked you, the delicious burn when he enters you is probably the best part for you. Next to cumming around it of course. His pace escalated, encouraged by your moans and whines. And how you tried so hard to suppress them. He grabbed your hips pushing you into the pillow under you as he set a steady pace giving short shallow thrusts. “Harder Ransom” You pleaded fisting the sheets in your hands. Needing something to hold onto. You knew he loved it when you said that.

And then, suddenly he pulled out of you, leaving you feeling so empty. You clenched around nothing, your pussy missing the weight and warmth of him. “Ransom?” You called out looking behind to see what’s going on. You gasped as he pulled the plug out of your ass, making you feeling even more empty.

He pushed your cheeks apart before gathering your slick with his dick, coating it around your pluckered hole. He languidly pushed his tip in, holding still when he was halfway in as he heard you hiss.

The lube, his fingers and your slick did help but it was still painful. You powered through the pain, he was too big, the burn of the stretch was painful, you hoped it would get better.

“It’ll feel good in a bit” he said pulling his cock halfway out of you and slowing thrusting it into you.

You moaned as your body got accustomed to his size. His thrusts sending shivers up your spine. He pressed his fingers on your clit, pushing them inside your weeping channel. You couldn’t stop the cry that escaped your mouth. It was too good. His fingers in your pussy and his cock in your ass, you didn’t know what you should focus on or which one felt better. “I wanna cum. Please! I’ve been so good” You begged pathetically.

“I get to decide when you cum” He said curling his fingers inside you as you whimpered into your pillow. “Fine I’ll go easy this time. You can cum babe. Go ahead cum on my fingers. While I –“ he snapped his hips harshly against your ass pushing into the deepest parts of you “fuck your ass”

With the green light from him, you felt stars cloud your vision as he stroked and pinched your clit. You came undone screaming into your pillow, gushing on his fingers.

“Fuck!” He screamed pulling out of you stroking his cock as spurts of cum landed on your back.

“You did so good baby. We’re going to have so much fun” You heard him say as you felt a warm cloth between your thighs and ass cheeks cleaning you up. You hummed sleepily. Wondering how the week was going to go. It would be interesting if anything.

Taggies - @patzammit @onetwo3000 @peaceinourtime82 @stargazingfangirl18 @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @navybrat817 @what-just-happened-bro @thehumanistsdiary @cheeseburgersstuff @captain-a-rogerss @marvelousell @evnscvll @lilbabycee @mrspeacem1nusone @maynay43 @leaning-howto-be-myselfx3

@harrysthiccthighss @westanthebackstreetboys @sebslut

Join my taglist! Bolded can't be tagged😢 maybe you entered the wrong username?

Super cute divider by @whimsicalrogers 💮 gif belongs to @beardedchrisevans

Please do not steal or repost my fics. Reblogs are welcome.

This is set in the morning loving universe. But can be read as a stand alone as well. I feel my hatred for Ransom seeps into my fics for him. Maybe we should make a part two to see if you get your puppy and to find out what kind of troubles you get into 👀

[bergdg]

Strixhaven Students: Lorehold

In this five-part series, I’ll be creating a brand new Dungeons and Dragons character who would call one of the colleges of Strixhaven home. Each character will be built using content released in either published books or in Unearthed Arcana (UA) documents, such as the recently released Mages of Strixhaven UA.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Rufus, Dedicated Retriever.

Art by Ralph Horsely

When Rufus was still fairly young, he was adopted by an upper year student from Quandrix College named Cairu, who had a theory about exponential optimism. As the student studied the effects of different stimuli on the puppy's emotional state, they decided that their experiment's results would be enhanced if Rufus could communicate his own thoughts. One sapience spell later, Rufus was gifted with enhanced deductive thinking and telepathic speech.

A few months of research later, Cairu's project had come to a close, with several interesting data points backing up their theory. Rufus had grown as well, having taken a liking to reading nightly from various books students left for him. So, with the support of the student researchers and a surprising endorsement from Lady Kasmina, Rufus applied, and later accepted, to be a Strixhaven student himself.

After taking some introductory courses in archeology, Rufus found he had a knack for hunting down history. There was a certain scent that centuries old metal and sun-bleached bone had; he could just smell it faintly on the wind when it blew just right. And so, the halls of Lorehold became his new home.

Starting Stats (using the Standard Array)

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 15

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 14

Charisma: 13

Rufus loves to run around. He loves to play and interact with others; his enthusiasm is often contagious. And, his senses of smell and hearing enhance his acute awareness of his surroundings.

Race: Custom Lineage

Rufus is a sapient dog, which doesn’t have a direct character race in D&D. However, in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Custom Lineage option was presented, which we will use here. Most of the traits will play into Rufus’s dog nature: his Small size, innate strength, and proficiency in perception. The selected feat of telepathy is a result of the sapience spell placed on Rufus by Cairu, the Quandrix researcher. For the feat, I picked to increase Rufus’s Intelligence score, to show how the spell increased his abilities to read and think critically.

Traits:

Size: Small

Ability Score Increases: Strength +2

Feat: Telepathic (Intelligence). This increases Rufus’s Intelligence score by 1, and allows him to convey his thoughts to another creature within 60 feet. This also allows him to cast Detect Thoughts once per long rest, an interesting side effect of the sapience spell that allows Rufus to understand someone’s true feelings.

Variable Trait: Proficiency - Perception. Like most dogs, Rufus has a keen sense of hearing and smell. For this build, we’ll flavor that as being proficient in Perception.

Background: Athlete

While not an athlete in the traditional sense (at least at the beginning of his story), Rufus’s love of running and play were what drew Cairu to select Rufus and the subject of his optimism optimization research. Later on in his time at Lorehold, Rufus’s skills and speed impress the college’s Mage Tower team captain, and Rufus earns a spot on the team, the first non-humanoid to do so in any college.

Skill Proficiencies: Athletics and Acrobatics

Level 1: Rogue (Level 1)

Rufus begins his adventures as a rogue, as this would be the time directly after Cairu’s research ended and Rufus’s educational journey began. His first few classes introduced him to the basic concepts of magic, which will eventually lead to his second level being a spellcaster (more on that later).

Starting Class Proficiencies: Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Stealth

Expertise: Investigation, Perception

Starting Weapons: Because he is a dog, I would reskin Rufus’s weapons as bite and claw attacks, such as a dagger slash being a paw swipe and a shortsword jab being a vicious bite.

Level 2: Bard (Level 1)

Rufus’s general joyful demeanor and his interactions with fellow students are what drive his magical powers. As a Bard, he uses his magic primarily to help and encourage others, although he might use Mage Hand to grab a few snacks every once in a while. He also starts to learn more about archeology, which fascinates him: a whole career about digging up the past is more than enough reason for a couple of tail wags.

Proficiencies: History

Spells:

Cantrips: Friends, Mage Hand

Leveled Spells: Cure Wounds, Feather Fall, Heroism, Identify

Level 3: Bard (Level 2)

Rufus’s interest in history has cemented his desire to be involved with the college of Lorehold. He had remained in contact with Cairu as he had gone through the first year of school, and Cairu enthusiastically agreed that this would be the place that would be best for Rufus - “While mathematics is brilliant and precisely in my wheelhouse, I have loved seeing you learn an area you love. After all,” Cairu paused to give a little wink, “your continued happy optimism enhances the validity of my research.”

Within Lorehold, Rufus finds new friends and a new place of belonging. His impressive sense of smell helps him identify the origins of various artifacts and he soon becomes a mentor to other students.

Spells:

Leveled Spells: Thunderwave (an exceptionally loud bark)

Level 4: Rogue (Level 2)

One day, Rufus and a group of Lorehold students were playing a sport-like game that had once been played by an ancient civilization on Arcavios. Their activities were observed by Yovus, the captain of the Lorehold Mage Tower team. He was impressed by Rufus's Cunning Actions, easily dodging the other students as they ran around. There had recently been an opening in the team, as one of the team members had been selected to assist in an important archeological dig out in the Vastlands. After the game ended, Yovus approached Rufus, and offered him the chance to try out on the team. Of course, Rufus heartily accepted the invitation. The day came, and after some stiff competition between three other competitors and himself, he earned the spot on the team.

Level 5: Bard (Level 3)

After a year of lessons within the college, Rufus was prepared to enact the ritual that would summon an Ancient Companion. The day came, and even Rufus’s optimism couldn’t quite calm his nerves as he made his way to Effigy Row. After a moment of reflection, he sat back on his hind legs and drew out the sigils for “The Rousing” with his paws. The statue rumbled and cracked slightly, and then a golden light began to emanate from the stone. “Hello Rufus, I am she who is called Deianira. And you are by far the most precocious dog I have had the good fortune to meet.” She radiated warmth, and Rufus let out a yelp of excitement. “So tell me,” she continued as she stepped down from her pedestal, “What would you like to know? For my belief is that we shall discover great things together.”

Expertise: Athletics, History

Bard College: Mage of Lorehold

Ancient Companion. I’ll include a brief snippet from the UA. Whenever you finish a short or long rest, you can call forth and bond with one such spirit, who comes to inhabit a Medium, freestanding statue within 10 feet of you to serve as your ancient companion. See this creature’s game statistics in the Ancient Companion stat block, which uses your proficiency bonus (PB) in several places. When you bond with your ancient companion, choose the type of spirit you bond with: Healer, Sage, or Warrior. Your choice of spirit determines certain traits in its stat block. The statue determines the spirit’s appearance.

Spells:

Subclass Spells: Comprehend Languages, Knock, Locate Object

Leveled Spells: See Invisibility

Concept Art for Lorehold

Past level 5, I would continue to build up Rufus’s abilities as a Rogue. I could see him taking either the Inquisitive or the Scout subclass as his roguish archetype: Inquisitive would play into his nature as a budding archeologist, while Scout would play into his abilities as a Mage Tower athlete and traveler into the wilds of Archavios.

Now, I will turn it over to you. If you were to play a character from Lorehold College, what type of character would you build?

Next, we’ll be meeting a character from Witherbloom.

Creator tags: @flavoracle @kor-artificer @askkrenko @vorthosjay@wizardsmagic

[haven-raven012591]

Familiar and New

Pairing: Familiar! Yoongi X OC Witch! Lily (friendship) familiar! Yoongi X familiar Jungkook X OC Witch! Lily

Warning: Angst, mild fighting.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 2.5

The way this book read she could do a simple spell and see the red strand of fate. "Yoongi, have you ever heard of this?" Lily asked as she sat next to him. He looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, I've heard of it." Yoongi said bitterly. "What is it?" Lily asked. "The spell or the red strand?" Yoongi asked curiously. "The red strand." Lily said as she put the book down looking at him. He sighed and leaned back closing his eyes. "If you'd rather not say I can look it up." Lily said. His tongue darted out as he licked his lips.

"They say the strand connects you to your soul mate, the strand will never break it'll get longer or shorter, it may have knots in it but it never breaks." Yoongi said. She saw the distant look in his eyes and knew he was looking through her and not at her. The light he normally had in his eyes was gone. "Yoongi, what's wrong?" Lily asked softly. His hands were balled into fists as his chest rose and fell rapidly. She ran her hands through her hair. "Yoongi." Lily breathed.

He wanted to get out of his skin. She watched his eyes go green and then he started growling. She bit her lip nervously as she watched his skin sprout fur and his tail twitch like crazy. She closed her eyes and thought about him feeling the link between them. She wrapped her hand around the cord sending calming energy through it.

It was like he was fighting an old painful memory that threatened to swallow him. "Yoongi, take my hand right now." Lily panted as the memory swallowed him. He hissed and snapped the link. She gripped the couch and looked at him. Her body hurt but it was her heart that hurt the most. "I'm not giving up on you, Yoongi." Lily vowed. She sat on her knees and put her hands over his fists.

"Don't come closer, you'll be unhappy." Yoongi chanted. "Shh no I won't, I want to be closer to you." Lily said. Her hands ran up his forearms and hit the pressure points which made his hands relax. "Don't Lily, please don't." Yoongi whispered his voice horse. "I'm sorry Yoongi this time I can't listen." Lily said. She laced both their hands and gasped. Her mind linked with his and she closed her eyes letting it wash over her.

The energy swirled around them and as it hit them both they both blacked out.

"Yoongi, I have an idea." Jessica said as she bounced into the living room. "What is it baby?" Yoongi asked smiling at her. "I just created a spell to show you, your soulmate." Jessica said. She kissed his cheek as she sat next to him watching him play the keyboard. "How?" Yoongi asked as he looked over to her. "It'll show you the red strand of fate." Jessica said happily.

Yoongi turned to her and took her hand. "Don't do this, we're not meant to find it until we're ready." Yoongi said. "I'm ready, I know who my stand is connected to." Jessica said and kissed him. He caressed her cheek and laid his forehead to hers. "Alright let's do it." Yoongi said. They went to the herb shoppe and got what they needed. She wrote down the spell and he cut up the herbs and started mixing them.

"Ok, last but not least bless this." Jessica said. She handed him a rose quartz crystal. He took it and blessed it tuning it to his vibrations. "Jess, are you positive?" Yoongi asked. "Absolutely." Jessica said. She blessed her rose quartz. Then she put them together in a bag and put the in the pot. "Sit close, it shouldn't take long." Jessica said. He nodded and sat on the stool.

She closed her eyes and put in the last herb. "Show me the way, the way to my fate, show me the way, the way to my soulmate." Jessica chanted. The bag glowed and a puff of smoke came from the pot. She opened her eyes and clapped her hands together. "It worked!" Jessica squealed in pure joy. She took the bag out and picked up her stone. As she held it the red strand appeared. Yoongi took his stone and his strand appeared. "Ok, now let's look." Jessica said. He lifted his hand and so did she.

"What?" Jessica breathed. Yoongi closed his eyes and threw his stone to the table. "No, Yoongi it has to be you!" Jessica whined. "It's not, I'm just your familiar, the way it should be." Yoongi growled. "B..but I love you." Jessica said. "Puppy love." Yoongi said bitterly. He walked out.

The energy lifted from them and everything was silent, eerily silent. Yoongi's eyes were still closed. He was so handsome to her. The way his lips formed a pout. His cute little freckles under his eye and beside his nose. She loved his eyes and how they were shaped. As that thought crossed her mind his eyes opened. First they were green then they cooled to brown.

Lily looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Witches never learn, I asked you, I begged you not to!" Yoongi yelled and walked out. Lily rubbed her chest and shut the book. "Yoon, I'm so sorry." Lily whispered to the empty house. She got up and started cooking his favorite meal. Yoongi sat in the park with his head in his hands. "Hyung?" Jungkook asked. Yoongi's head snapped up as he heard that familiar voice. "Jungkook?" Yoongi asked. The young man before him looked different.

"It's me Hyung, I guess I've changed." Jungkook laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck. The smile he gave Yoongi was happy and bright. "Still the same happy pup." Yoongi said shaking his head. "It's my nature!" Jungkook said. He sat beside Yoongi and looked at him. "Are you ok, you look drained." Jungkook said. "I feel drained." Yoongi admitted. "Where's your witch?" Jungkook asked. "Home." Yoongi said bitterly.

"Uhmm, Yoongi." Lily said softly. He got up and turned to her. "What are you doing here?" Yoongi snapped. "I br...brought you your coat, I know you don't like cold, dinner is almost ready too I made your favorite." Lily said. Jungkook looked between the two of them and Lily smiled at him. "Aren't you a handsome husky, what's your name?" Lily asked. Yoongi knew the smile was forced, he also saw her eyes and felt how weak she was.

"I'm Jungkook." Jungkook said. "Hello Jungkook, it's nice to meet you, I'm Lily." Lily said. "She's my witch." Yoongi said. The way he said witch sounded more like bitch. Lily quickly looked down then up as she licked her lips. "I made enough if you and your witch want to come, I can see the friendship bond you two have." Lily said. The tear that rolled down her cheek was only one, the rest were in her voice.

Jungkook tilted his head and jumped over the rail. His tail was going wild and she giggled. "He's not a stray, you can't go around trying to take others familiars!" Yoongi snapped. Lily handed Jungkook, Yoongi's coat and bowed. "I'm sorry, I have to make sure dinner isn't burned." Lily said and ran off. "Hyung." Jungkook breathed. "What!?" Yoongi growled his eyes bright green. Jungkook's flashed ice blue and Yoongi blinked. "She thinks we're pets." Yoongi said. Jungkook tilted his head deep in thought.

"You're lying to yourself Hyung, Lily treats us or you like a person and would any familiar." Jungkook said. "She said you where a handsome husky not a handsome man!" Yoongi snapped. "I am a husky Hyung." Jungkook said matter of factlly. "She should have said you were a handsome man!" Yoongi said. "Hyung, she didn't say that because she likes you." Jungkook said.

Yoongi laughed at him and sat down. "Lily is pretty and sweet, much better than Jessica." Jungkook said. "Don't say that witches name!" Yoongi growled. "What happened between you and Lily?" Jungkook asked. He looked at Jungkook and then what was in his hands. She'd brought him his jacket. She'd seen what happened and hadn't said anything and he'd yelled at her.

"She saw what happened between I and Jessica, I was having a panic attack and she took my hands and wanted to comfort me, she'd sent me warm energy and it over took her." Yoongi said. "Hyung, she's a new witch she just wanted to help you." Jungkook said. Yoongi looked away and sat down again his head was spinning. "Hyung, at least you have a home and a friend." Jungkook said. Yoongi looked at him as Jungkook gave him his coat.

Yoongi sighed and looked at him. "Where's your stuff?" Yoongi asked. "I have to go get it." Jungkook said. "Go get it, you're coming home with me." Yoongi said. Jungkook's tail wagged hard. "Thank you, Hyung!" Jungkook said and ran off. Yoongi called Lily. "Can Jungkook stay with us?" Yoongi asked. "Yoongi, this house is yours if you want him to stay then he stays." Lily said. "Then he stays." Yoongi said firmly. "I'll go make up the guest room." Lily said. "We'll be home soon, Lily." Yoongi said. "Dinner is ready, I already set another place." Lily said.

He hung up and she let a few more tears fall as she went to the linen closet and found good sheets. She made up the bed and then went to living room. Yoongi and Jungkook walked in laughing and smiling. It took her breath away to see his bright and easy smile. "Welcome home." Lily said. They looked at her and she licked her lips.

Yoongi looked away and she turned away. Jungkook went to her and she looked up at him. "You're so tall." Lily laughed. "Thank you for allowing me into your home." Jungkook said. "It's Yoongi's home too, I didn't allow anything." Lily said. Yoongi went to her and took her hand. "I'm sorry." Yoongi breathed. "It's ok." Lily said and walked into the kitchen. He walked after her. "Lily stop I need to apologise." Yoongi said. "Listen, Yoongi it's ok I'm sorry I meddled into your past it won't happen again." Lily said turning to him.

He pulled her into his arms and she pushed him away. "Don't, I messed up ok, I wanted to help you and I messed up more." Lily said. He took her hand and she went to pull her hand away when he tightened his grip. "Please let go." Lily whispered breathlessly. He saw the fear in her eyes and let go. "His room is beside yours." Lily said. "I'd never hurt you." Yoongi said. She blinked and nodded. "I know." Lily whimpered.

He brought her close and she gripped his shirt. "I'm so sorry." Lily sobbed. He held her close as he stroked her hair. Jungkook walked into the kitchen and smiled. "Told you so." Jungkook said. Yoongi laughed and shook his head. Lily straightened up and wiped her eyes. "Follow me Jungkook, your rooms this way." Lily said smiling. "I'll put dinner on the table." Yoongi said. "Thank you, Yoongi." Lily said and kissed his cheek.

"Here it is, I picked the sheets but if you don't like them I can find some you'd like." Lily said. He put his stuff down and looked at the bed. "I...I don't need a room I can sleep on the couch." Jungkook said. "You need a bed Jungkook." Lily said. He sat down and she watched him closely. "I apologise for you having to come into the house when Yoongi and I had a fight." Lily said. "People fight." Jungkook said.

"I meddled into his life." Lily said. "You were trying to help." Yoongi said. She turned and looked down. "I shouldn't ha...have been so eager." Lily stumbled. "Lil, did you get hurt?" Yoongi asked softly. "Hurt?" Lily asked. She wobbled and hit her knees panting. "Lily!" Jungkook said as he moved to her. "It's not pain." Lily whispered. Jungkook looked up at Yoongi. "What do you see?" Yoongi asked as he sat with them.

"Red." Lily whispered. "Blood?" Jungkook asked. "Not sure." Lily breathed. "Can we see?" Yoongi asked softly. She took their hands and Yoongi closed his eyes. Jungkook followed suit and they all saw what Lily saw. Jungkook opened his eyes and saw it blink into existence. "Hyung." Jungkook called.

Yoongi opened his eyes and looked at his hand then Lily's. "Lily." Yoongi breathed. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "What is it?" Lily asked. He held up their hands and she saw it. "No, I didn't cast that spell!" Lily shook her head. "I know, this is what I was trying to tell Jess, it happens naturally." Yoongi said. The strand vanished as she took her hand away. "Does that mean you two love each other?" Jungkook asked. "No, just that we're meant to." Yoongi said.

Lily got up and went down to the kitchen getting water. The boys followed her. "Let's eat." Lily said. They all sat down and ate. "You're a good cook, Lily." Jungkook said as he finished off his third plate. "Thank you, Jungkook." Lily smiled as she took the dishes to the sink. Yoongi followed her and she jumped as she turned. "You scared me." Lily giggled. "We have to talk." Yoongi said. "Not tonight, Yoon." Lily said softly. He hugged her tightly. "Don't pull away Lily there's people in the yard." Yoongi breathed. She wrapped her arms around him. He nuzzled her neck and she shivered. "Yoongi I'm scared." Lily breathed. "I'll protect you." Yoongi vowed. "Not about those people, about our connection you're my familiar." Lily said. "That's why I'm your familiar Lily, and you're special." Yoongi said. She looked at him.

The windows blew out and they ran to the dinning room. "Jungkook are you ok?" Lily asked. "He's bleeding." Yoongi said. She ran to the hutch and grabbed a potion. "It'll heal you." Lily said. He took it and was healed in seconds. "Thank you." Jungkook said. She helped him up. "My pleasure." Lily said. She licked her lips and chanted a spell over him. "What did you just do?" Jungkook asked feeling invincible. "She protected you." Yoongi said. She did the same for Yoongi and he rolled his neck.

"Look at you three, aww it's a little family!" Katie said. Lily threw her out into the grass as the vines wrapped around her. Kate laughed and the vines exploded into fire. "Too bad." Katie said. "Lily get back!" Yoongi growled. His eyes went green and Jungkook's went ice blue as he rolled his shoulders back.

Jungkook's left ear that was partially folded over now stood straight up with his right one. Yoongi's ears were back and his tail was straight up. Claws extended from both Yoongi's and Jungkook's nails. "Don't fight us, you won't win!" Katie said. "All I see is you and I can beat you." Lily snapped. Katie laughed and John stepped out of the shadows and Yoongi jumped out of the busted window and stood with Lily.

John threw a throwing star and Lily reversed the air flow and it hit a tree. "Bitch." Katie said as she put her hand over her arm. John healed her and looked over at Lily. "Looks like you've improved." John said. Lily rolled her eyes and looked at Jungkook as he stepped beside her. John threw another star and Lily threw it back at him again. "It's not gonna work!" Katie said.

John snapped and three more guys came up behind them. "Shit." Yoongi breathed. Lily took out a metal spike and looked at Yoongi. "Jump!" Lily whispered in Yoongi's mind. He did and grabbed Jungkook in the process. She sent a shock through the ground to the other spikes and trapped them. "Lil!" Yoongi yelled as one guy stepped from behind her and bit her. Her hand slid from the spike and she passed out. "Jungkook get her." Yoongi's said softly.

Yoongi went after the snake and grabbed him putting him into a trance. "Damnit I hate black cat magic!" John spat. Jungkook took Lily into the house laying her on the couch. "I'll protect you." Jungkook said. "Yoon..."Lily trailed off. Jungkook ran out to the yard and attacked Katie pinning her to the ground trying to tie her up. "Kook!" Yoongi yelled. John grabbed him and knocked him out.

Lily got up and ran to the window panting hard fighting against the poison. She ran to Jungkook and then looked around. "Yoongi!" Lily yelled. She panted harder as she walked around the yard. "Yoongi!" Lily called. "He's gone." A male voice said. Lily turned and hit the ground shaking and panting.

"Wh...who are you?" Lily groaned. "Pardon me, I'm Kim SeokJin, but you can call me Jin." Jin said. "Where's Yoo...Yoongi?" Lily stumbled. "They took him." Jin said. "No, why didn't you stop them?" Lily snapped. "I just got here and found this." Jin said handing her a note. She opened it and tears ran down her cheeks. "No." Lily breathed. She looked at Jin and he knelt to her. "Allow me to help." Jin said. "You're human like me, but also not." Lily said softly. "I'm a little hard to explain." Jin laughed. "I can't feel anything." Lily said passing out.

The red strand is always there! Meaning love is always there just let it happen and feel it.

@alternateafterthought ​ @demonslunacy ​ @scuzmunkie ​ @alexnine @dolphinpink310 @soulofaravenheartofawolf @lauri3strode ​ @adriennegabriella ​ @ladylucksposts ​ @briqueenofthenorth ​ @2sweetqueen ​ @meremaidqueen ​ @susanleann1 ​ @bjjackson38 @ariana-winchester95 ​ 

[bambigoose]

Puppy Love - Tyler Seguin

The iron gates look like something straight out of the medieval ages, the intricate detailing never fails to take Mia’s breath away during the day despite their imposing stature. She’d moved into this community by per chance a little over a month ago and the judgmental stare of Mrs. Fredrick glaring at her currently stopped being intimidating on day one. That miserable old women had no problem letting Mia know she didn’t belong, not like she needed to be told, her older Chevy Equinox stuck out like a sore thumb in a neighborhood of range rovers, Cadillacs, and even a few Ferraris. Mia however knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Her mother was an angel and let her live with her until she was twenty six while she was working the nurse supervisor third shift at the hospital, paying off her student loans, and saving every cent she could with hopes of being able to buy a condo. Mia paid rent of course but it was about half of what she would have paid anywhere else.

Five months ago while searching on Zillow, in bed trying to fall asleep after her shift, her house popped up. It had been posted eight minutes ago and she immediately requested a showing saying she could do it that day while shouting for her mom to call out sick and come with her.

Four hours later, Mia was in love. It was a perfect little two bedroom house with an extra room in the basement that could make it three. Her mom had turned the house upside down searching for a reason it was on the market so cheap besides the fact it was about four times smaller than the average house on the street. Finding nothing despite checking every crack and crevice throughout the entire house, both Mia and her mom had their excitement grow. While having a discussion with the relator about the previous owner who passed suddenly at their summer home in Minnesota and their children were just trying to close everything quickly. Mia immediately put in the offer.

She met Mrs. Fredrick three weeks later while the woman continually walked her fancy poodle with her nose in the air around the entire street. Clearly she had less of a problem with the people moving in a little further down the street on the same day. Clearly they had money, based on the two moving trucks and friends luxury cars helping them move in. Of course according to Mrs. Fredrick his ugly dogs would be a problem in the neighborhood, but that was minimal crime compared to Mia moving in with only her three best friend’s and mother’s older cars.  Her nose went even higher seeing them unload a lawn mower, “You’re lawn will never meet the standards of the neighborhood.” The evil witch of the west finally disappeared after Mia just shrugged and stared her down.

Now she just took satisfaction watching her face scrunch up every time she pulled through and waved at her. She could only imagine the rumors she spreads about her being gone all night long most times. Pulling into her driveway, with her decently up kept lawn, Mia placed her head on the steering wheel and sighed. It was a long shift last night and in typical fashion she put off grocery shopping until the very last minute, forcing herself to have to go this morning in order to eat at some point today.

Stepping out of her car, Mia mentally debated whether to just lie down on the couch in her scrubs or expend the energy to walk upstairs to her bed and change into sweats. Opening her trunk, sleeping on the couch was looking even more appealing staring at all her bags. Resigning herself to making multiple trips, she headed in with the first one full of frozen foods, a habit ingrained in her by her mom. ‘Don’t let the frozen go bad in all this heat.’

On her return to the car she thought she could hear jingling as she past the driver’s door but she wrote it off. Turning around the tail end she was greeted by a chocolate lab whitening around his nose and tail wagging a mile a minute in her trunk laying on the cool spot where the frozen food was had just been.

Mia melted on the spot. “Hi baby! Where’d you come from?” She asked leaning down accepting the slobbering kisses all over her face. Her Golden Retriever used to do the same thing before he pasted, if someone opened a car door while he was outside he’d jump right on in. “Where’s your family buddy?” Pushing down a little hard while rubbing his ears, she got an even more enthusiastic tail wag and a tongue rolling out of his mouth.

“CASH! Where are you buddy?”

She heard shouted out from up the street, as his ears perked up. “Cash, is that your name buddy?” Getting one last lick he took up off the street, “Bye bud!” Mia laughed grabbing the last of her groceries before slamming her trunk door shut.  

**

Daylight savings was the ban of Mia’s existence. All she saw was darkness during the winter months; she might as well as move to Alaska with their twenty-one hours of darkness. A surprising winter blast had hit Dallas the past few days in October so she took a deep breath bundled up in a sweatshirt and scarf. All her winter clothes were still in the attic and she couldn’t convince herself to pull them down just for a few days.

Closing and locking her door she headed out into her usually abandoned street. Tonight though she could hear whispering toward the end of her driveway, “Gerry you gotta calm down bud, how are you still this hyper.” Looking up she could spot a man in what looked like a suit with a dog walking across the street from her house.  The dog appeared to be dragging him along popping from flower bed to flower bed smelling everything. Mia giggled quietly to herself, unlocking her car. The click and lights turning on brought their attention to her.  

The dog was clearly an excitable yellow lab, Gerry she believed it was called. The tail was wagging so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if his handsome suited owner would have a bruise on his knee tomorrow morning. “Gerry no.” The command was useless, Gerry had already taken off across the street at her legs, his poor owner practically running in order to not end up face planting on the ground.  

Mia dropped to her knees and readily accepted the puppy loving. The lab was so excited he was bouncing in place, weaving in between her legs before settling on her feet, head leaned back against her knee with the puppy dog eyes. She continually waved off the apologizes his owner was giving. “Hello love! Aren’t you just the most adorable puppy ever?” Scratching up and down his sides the lab start talking to her. Little yelps and excited yips coming out of him each time she rubbed him down. “Shh… gotta be quiet buddy. Mrs. Fredrick will come out and yell at me and your dad. She already hates me enough as it is.”

“Ahh… you’ve met the wicked witch too”came from the suited man, mischief shining in his eyes eliminated by the street light. Sharing a laugh he reached out with his hand extended, “I’m Tyler.”

“Mia. Would it be offend you to know I prepare to refer to you as the puppy father?”

Surprised laughter left Tyler, his eyes crinkling while his face scrunched up. Mia dropped his hand, not realizing how long she had been holding on. Last thing she ever wanted to do was make someone uncomfortable like that, her anxiety was rising just thinking about it. “Well I’ll just have to refer to you as the beautiful nurse.” He says pointing to her ID badge.

“Your daddy is a flirt Gerry.” She says leaning back down to his level getting a slobbering lick all up her face. “Your dogs clearly enjoy slobbering all over me.” She laughed.

“Dogs?” Tyler questioned, trying to think back if he had meet the cute neighbor before. The boys commented on her every time they saw her. The yard work in the yoga shorts and tank top was a particular favorite of the team, especially when working on her flower beds.

She looked up at him locking eyes, “Yes, Cash visited the trunk of my car just last week.”

Tyler went white, he was sure Cash had only taken off into the woods a bit, not all the way down the street and into someone else’s car. “I am so sorry. I can’t believe he…”

Mia cut him off, “Oh he was a love. Not to worry, my last name isn’t Fredrick, your cute dogs and their puppy loving kept you out of trouble.”

Tyler smirked, “Will the cute dogs and puppy loving be enough to get me a date with the pretty nurse?”

Mia looked down towards Gerry, “I don’t know buddy, should I go on a date with your daddy?” Unbeknownst to Mia, Tyler was actively regretting not listening to Jamie and teaching his dogs silent commands. He was banking on Gerry’s excitement and mentally promising him treats should he get him this date. His hopping paid off, Gerry licked her in the face. “I think that means yes.” Mia laughed. “Well puppy father, my next day off is Thursday, but you have a game the next night. Would it work if we do something before your curfew?”

Tyler’s eyes widened like saucers. “You know who I am?”

“If by that you mean know you’re the man with a ton of puppies that lives up the street and happens to be particularly skilled in hockey, then yes but I mean everyone has to be good at something right?”

Tyler release a breath, “And what are you particularly good at?” he joked.

“Loving on puppies, napping, and walking out on conversations so I’m not late for work.” She counted off on her fingers. “I’ll see you Friday?” she questioned.

Tyler smiled, “Come up around five? I’ll order us in something, that way you’ll stay for the entire time. Can’t disappoint the dogs by walking out on them.”

Mia beamed, “So what you really mean is I get to eat and go on a date with the puppies. You clearly know that way to a ladies heart sir.” She scratched behind Gerry’s ears “I’ll see you and your brothers on Friday for our date buddy and I guess we’ll let your dad tag along.” She waved goodbye, hopping into her car and reversing out of the driveway. Tyler watched her go until the tail lights disappeared.

Mia was finishing up her yard work Friday afternoon, she checked the clock sighing, there was about fifteen minutes before she needed to head in and shower for her date with Tyler tonight. She ran into him the next day and numbers were exchanged. They had been talking all week, him sending her different pictures of the dogs every day with reminders not to disappoint them and Mia was excited for tonight.

She grabbed her water and sat down on her steps with her eyes closed and face turned to the sun basking in the warmth. After a moment she felt something wet against her knee. Eyes opening she laughed seeing Marshall, the only Seguin dog she had yet to meet at her feet. “Did your dad send you down here to remind me about tonight huh?” She leaned forward and scratched behind his ears. Marshall galloped up the stairs and leaned against her side, “You’re just a cuddle bug, those young ones trying you out buddy.”  

Throwing her arm around Marshall she pulled out her phone, muting the music and opening the camera. She flipped the camera around and snapped a quick shot of them. Sending it to Tyler Lost dog?

Jesus, I’ll come down and get him.

Petting his side Mia looked at Marshall, “You wanna go home buddy or should I tell your dad I’m stealing you?” Marshall shook out his body and leaned heavily against her. Mia chuckled, “Staying with me then I guess.”

Nope. He’s mine now. He’ll escort me to yours later :P

You’re trying to steal my children.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Come on buddy. Let’s get cool inside the house yeah?” Mia called standing up, Marshall following behind her closely. He was practically attached to her hip. She almost tripped over him heading up the stairs. Sitting down on the edge of her bed she tapped the side next to her. Needing no further invitation Marshall hopped up and curled up almost in her lap. “You keep doing this I’m going to call you cuddle bug.”

Slipping out from underneath Marshall she gave him another ear scratch before heading into her bathroom. She made sure the doors to both rooms stayed open in case Marshall changed his mind and wanted to get her attention to leave. She showered quickly, debating what to wear throughout the duration. It was a first date but it was also only at his house. Her anxiety was spiking slightly in worry. Taking a deep breath she told herself he thought you were cute in baggy ugly scrubs everything else you own is better than those.

Rubbing a towel through her hair, Mia throw it up into a messy bun before brushing her teeth. Deciding just to do light makeup she was finished in just a few minutes. Returning to her room in order to check in her friend she paused in the doorway smiling. People say depressed people tend to have more blankets and pillows on their bed, in which place she must be denying the truth but Marshall does not seem to mind at all. He had all but tucked himself under her fluffy blanket, leaning up against her pillows with the ceiling fan circling slowly above him. He raised his head to look at her with a tiny tail wag when she headed to her dresser. "What should I wear cuddle bug?" Marshall was zero help, he just continued to sit there staring at her.

"So jeans and a tshirt with a pullover sweater sounds good then." Slipping into her clothes she nudged Marshall off the bed. "Let's go cuddle bug. Time to see daddy and your brothers." Mia would swear she saw Marshall sigh the same way older siblings do when resigning themselves to watching their little siblings for the evening. The duo walked up the street together never further than three feet apart. That would continue throughout the rest of the night. Tyler had to fight the dogs in order to weasel his way next to Mia on the couch.

…..

Mia sighed pulling into her boyfriend's driveway. Tyler and her had seen even less of each other lately. The hospital had been all hands on deck as the flu ripped through the area leading to a higher than normal admit rate and the Stars were in the middle of the season. Tyler's coach had harshly called out him and Jamie not to long ago so they were practically killing themselves at the practice rink.

Tyler had tonight off and Mia felt awful cancelling their plans to go out at the last minute but truthfully Tyler was relieved. Both of them could use a night on the couch with the dogs and food brought to them.

Turning off the engine, Mia waved to Mrs. Fredrick who of course was even more disgusted with her and Tyler now that the were dating and committing sins staying at each other's houses most nights. As per usual Mrs. Fredrick stuck her nose back up in the air huffing away with her miserable poodle.

Unlocking the door Mia laughed hearing thuds through the hallway. Pulling her phone out from the back pocket of her scrubs she started recording. The post on Instagram was the most liked of the year. Tyler and the dogs rushing down the hallway all but tripping over each other was one of the most hilarious things she had seen in a long time. The best response to her caption which puppy missed me more was Jamie's posted seconds after it went up.

The one with two legs.

[sydneytries406]

Princess Sky

My name is Sydney. I am in the process of grieving my dog. As of this Monday, it will be a month since we had to put her down. Her name was Princess Sky. I named her Princess, but my parents were worried that as I got older that I wouldn’t like that as much, so Sky was the backup plan (although I did not learn about this until years later). She was a golden retriever. She lived a long, happy 14 years. Despite this, I still was not ready. Frankly, I’m still not.

I remember when we brought her home when I was five years old. We took her home when she was 10 weeks old. Next week exactly would have been 14 years since we had her. My five year-old self wanted her as close as possible to me on the car ride home, so we put her in a short box lined with a towel and put her on my lap. She slept the whole way. I remember my legs hurt from the weight, but I didn’t care. The mid-October sun was setting and I did not have a care in the world, especially since I had a new puppy. Even as she grew old, the puppy in her never left. She was my puppy, and she forever will be.

She never really lived up to her name as a princess. She was a master escape artist, where she would run away to be with her boyfriend (a neighbor dog) or roll in horse poop. Every morning she would get her cookie (a milkbone), and proceed to roll on it outside before eating it. This was a ritual until her last few days. Her first few collars were pink with crowns and bones. She managed to somehow tear those off and shred them, so we gave her one with Grateful Dead bears on it, and she never once tore it off. A true Dead Head at heart.

The Saturday before we put her down, I got a text from my mom at 1 o’clock in the afternoon saying Princess wasn’t doing well. She hadn’t eaten her morning cookie the past two days, she was breathing heavy, and she was having difficulties getting up and moving. I was out the door in an hour and a half to make the four and a half hour drive back home from college. I got to see her and spend one last weekend with her. There were so many things I wanted to do in that short time, but I couldn’t do any of it. I can’t think of any words to describe how helpless I felt in that time. I slept next to her bed her last night, just to be with her. Our younger dog, Zinny, stayed close to her for most of the day too. Everyone in the house knew what was happening. Even Princess.

By the time we brought her to the vet, she could no longer get up or stand. We carried her to the car, and asked that she stayed there during her last moments so she’d feel comfortable and we could be there with her. Taking her collar off was one of the hardest things I know I will ever have to do. So was saying goodbye. And watching her be carried away, and knowing that was the last time I would be seeing her in this life.

I had to go back to school later that week, and while it was difficult, it was refreshing to be somewhere else. Today is the first time I’ve been home from school without her here waiting for me at home. I came to this realization two days earlier, and I haven’t really stopped crying since. Even on the drive over I was crying. After all, I didn’t just lose any dog. She was my best friend, and in a way, my sister. We grew up together, and she was always there for me. Through every time-out, heartbreak, smile, tears, hikes, vacations, you name it. She was there. She was around for the most pivotal moments of my life, and now she isn’t. I think that’s why I feel so alone. I can’t feel her presence anymore, and it’s such an empty and painful feeling. While I’m so angry that she had to go, I am happy she is gone, because I know she was ready. Every selfish bone in my body is mad that she was, because even after a month and being able to say goodbye, I still am not.

I miss her with every fiber of my being. I miss the way she wagged her tail and showed excitement. I miss feeling her fur. I miss hearing her old-lady bark. I miss hearing the click of her toe nails on the hard wood floor. I miss seeing her trotting through the yard. I miss knowing that she was here at home for me whenever I visited from college.

When my mom and I got back from the vet, Zinny started looking for her. I couldn’t help but think that it was stupid, but recently I have found myself doing the same thing. I loved that dog, and I always will. Just like how she loved us. She loved her little rhinoceros toy with three legs (I had to sew the fourth leg shut after she accidentally tore it off when she was a pup). She loved hiking, picking apples, eating bananas, finding the stinkiest thing to roll in, her morning cookies, and her favorite: the ocean. 

I hope that whoever you are, you get the time you need with your animal family member(s), whether it’s a dog, cat, snake, lizard, horse, bird, or whatever. Because despite the sadness I feel now, I wouldn’t trade a second of it for anything in the world.

I’ve included a picture of Princess enjoying the ocean breeze during our annual trip to the Oregon coast every spring break. I took it in 2017. I hope you enjoy it as much as she enjoyed the ocean.

[the-awkward-outlaw]

A New Adventure - Pt. 4

Motion of Things to Come

Warnings: spoilers

Masterlist

Read on AO3

A week has passed since you found Arthur. He’s adjusted better than you thought to life inside your home. Over the weekend, you even took him to the grocery store for your weekly trip. You told him if it got to be too overwhelming to let you know and you’d leave and come back another day, but he took it very well. He asked a lot of questions that attracted funny glances from a few people, but he seemed fascinated by it.

He was even more fascinated when a guy on a motorcycle zoomed past you on the way home. Despite it being February and still the middle of winter, it was a warm day. Not unusual for Utah. People always take advantage of the warm weather when it comes around. 

You can tell Arthur’s getting stir crazy in your home, being cooped up all the time, spending long hours alone while you’re at work. Sage, your dog, is his only company. You feel bad, but you just can’t risk him getting into trouble. 

It’s Friday afternoon and you decide to take him for a walk in the park where you met him. Since it’s at the foot of a mountain, he’s welcome to explore it. It’s not pretty by any terms, mostly just dead grass and some dried up sage bushes, dormant in the winter, but it’s still outdoors. 

Arthur’s mood picks up quite a lot more than you thought it would as you walk down the street towards the park. You let him hold Sage’s leash (you’ll let her off once you actually hit the park). Arthur doesn’t stare as much as he did when you first met him. 

Despite his frustrations at being cooped up, he’s been sweet and kind to you. You know from playing the game he has a quick temper, but it hasn’t shown. Perhaps he’s trying to keep it down because he knows how much you’re helping him, how much you’ve already helped him. He’s responding extremely well to the antibiotics. 

Once you reach the park, Sage goes running off, barking wildly purely for the fun of it. Arthur watches her with a fond smile. 

You ask him what he watched on Netflix today while you were at work. He’s long since finished that history series you started him off with and has tentatively ventured into more adventurous shows. He recently stumbled into the Planet Earth series and has found it fascinating. You’ve come home the last few days to find him sitting on the couch with his journal in hand, his eyes staring amazed at the animals on the screen. 

He talks about the most recent episode he saw, one documenting the migration patterns of wildebeest in Africa.

After a short period of comfortable silence, Arthur asks you about your job and if you like it. 

“It’s alright,” you say. “I’m just a processor now.” You explain what that is. “But I only have three more months to go before they decide if they want me as an appraiser. I have to take some classes if they say yes and then I can start working from home.” 

Arthur’s eyes brighten when you say that you can work remotely. He’s probably just happy to know he’ll have a companion that can actually talk back. 

When you reach the cave where he came out of, with the funny drawing that ended up being the portal that brought him here, you both stop.

“You ever think of going back?” you ask, fearing the answer.

“Yes,” he says. “But I don’t know if I can. Not unless I wanna die.” When you ask what he’s talking about, he admits that a few days ago, he snuck out of the house and went back to West Elizabeth. Everything was exactly the way it was when he left. His horse was even nibbling on the same patch of grass. However, he said the full effects of his TB slammed into him. It was as though he’d never taken any of the medicine. When he returned here, he was back to healing and he did feel better. 

“Guess that means that unless I wanna die, I’m stayin’ with you,” he finishes. 

Your stomach does a backflip. Of course, you doubt anything will ever happen between the two of you. He probably finds you weird or is just uninterested in you in that way. Not that you blame him. It’s not like anyone’s ever found you attractive, desirable or even remotely interesting. 

“So I guess when it comes to your world, it’s like a Narnia thing,” you say. 

“A what?” he says brusquely. 

“Nevermind,” you say quickly. You’ll show him those types of movies when he’s a bit more familiar with movies that have a lot of CG and thick plots in them. 

You keep walking away from the cave, following the natural trails around the foot of the mountain. Sage looks back on the pair of you every few moments, wagging her tail furiously. 

“Shit,” you say, looking ahead. Further up the trail, you see a pair of female deer grazing. Sage isn’t afraid of deer at all. Most dogs probably would be because of their size, but you’ve lived out here since before she was born and you got her as a puppy. She’s used to deer and she even likes to bark and chase them. One time though, a doe that probably had a fawn hidden close by got mean right back with her and nearly kicked her in the head. It took everything you had to get Sage’s attention and she ran back with a furious deer on her tail. 

Arthur just chuckles. “Ah, I wouldn’t be too worried,” he says. “She’s a smart girl.” 

“Yeah, but she has her stupid moments.” 

As if to prove a point, Sage looks at the deer hard, sniffs and then looks back at you. She trots back to you and then stares hard at the deer again. Then she gives a loud “borf” and the deer look up. Upon spotting you, they leap away into the grass and disappear. 

“See? Smarter than you think,” Arthur chuckles. 

Suddenly your hands bump into each other as you walk. You both pass awkward apologies and “it was my fault,  you’re fine”. However, you can’t help but feel like your hand’s burning where his touched yours. 

The next morning, you take him to the Smith and Edwards Hardware store in the south end of the valley. You love coming here, it has all sorts of odds and ends for decent prices. It’s also definitely a store Arthur would like. There’s hunting gear, camping gear, things for owning and riding horses. And most importantly: clothes fit for a cowboy. 

After first meeting him, you bought him a couple of cheap shirts and jeans, but they were generic and, as mentioned, cheap. You could tell he didn’t like them and was fine wearing his blue button up shirt. 

When you get to the store and go to the shirt section, you spread your arms and say “Mr. Morgan, go find whatever clothes you like and pick to your heart’s desire!” 

“Morgan?��� you hear a voice say. Turning around, you find a boy in his early twenties maybe. He’s looking hard at Arthur. “Hey, you do look just like Arthur Morgan! Nice cosplay, man! You’re killing it!” 

He asks Arthur to take a couple of pictures. Since you’ve introduced him to the widespread functions of phones already, he’s not shocked by the camera in the man’s hand. He is shocked that he recognized him, but he graciously takes photos with him with a flabbergasted smile.

When the man thanks him and walks off, Arthur turns to you. “A’right, spill,” he says. 

“What?” you say, trying to sound dumb. 

“How in the hell do so many people know me? You knew my name the second you set eyes on me and so did he. What, am I a historical figure or something?” He scoffs at this thought. 

“Not exactly,” you say. You haven’t brushed up on the game or video games at all in fact. 

“Listen, Arthur, I know it’s not ideal, but I will explain it all when it’s the right time. When you’ve gotten a little more used to… this world, I’ll show you. You might not like it though.” 

He just huffs. “Fine. But at least tell me the general idea of it. I deserve to know that much at least.” 

You really don’t want to do this in a store where other people can hear you, so you tell him you’ll explain it in the car. 

Arthur just shrugs his shoulders and goes around picking out a few shirts and two pairs of jeans. You browse the isles of vintage candy for a moment, stalling to go check out. How in the hell are you going to explain this?

The inevitable comes and soon you’re in the car, driving home with Arthur. He brings the subject up again. 

“Okay, Arthur. There’s something called a video game. Video games are a sort of… type of visual story telling but not like movies. You get to play the main character of the game and kind of experience it as if you were them. Well, a couple years back, a game came out that focused on you after things fell apart in Blackwater for the game. It follows you until…” 

“Until what?” he says in a deep growl. This is clearly not what he was expecting. 

“Well, until you end up… dying.” 

He sighs heavily. “It’s the TB, ain’t it?” 

You nod, deciding not to go into the complications of the four possible endings in the game. “Yeah. Then the game switches perspective to John Marston a few years after. It won a lot of awards and people raved that it changed the industry of video games. It made a lot of waves. Think about it, Arthur. You’re famous!” 

He sighs again and looks out the window. “Famous for dyin’ or bein’ a damn fool, I guess. I think… Dutch has changed, Y/N. When we got back from Guarma, and when we were there too, he just… liked killin’ folk I think.”

You grab his hand and squeeze it reassuringly before you can stop yourself. “I know, Arthur. I’ve played the game. A few times, actually. And I know what happens to Dutch. But you try. You try your hardest to help him see reason and when that doesn’t work to get John and his family out. You’re a good man, Arthur.”

“I’m not, Y/N. You don’t know the things I done.” 

“But I do, Arthur. Obviously not everything, but I know a good chunk of it. I know a lot more than you think, in fact. Now I don’t have a lot of faith in people. Think everyone is out for themselves, more than happy to step on the little people. I’ve been one of them for longer than I care to admit. But trust me when I say I know you and you’re a good man. You may have made some poor decisions, but who hasn’t? We’ve all done things, said things, intentionally hurt people and later regretted it. But you try. You try to do better, to make up for them. Besides, no one’s inherently good or evil. We all have both inside us.” 

He sighs again and looks at you as you stop at a light. His hand flips up to meet yours and you swear you feel him squeeze it. “Thank you, Y/N. I got real lucky when I stepped out of that cave and bumped into you.” 

You’re glad the light turns green so you have an excuse to look away and hide your blush. 

[bleucolor]

Last time I tried to post a giyushino fanfic and since i navigate myself through Tumblr like a boomer, I accidentally deleted my story. I felt like a whole ass clown but I'm feeling hopeful and I'm back with another prompt using the moon. This takes place in a modern AU where both Giyuu and Shinobu are teenagers. A random drabble for Giyushino which was inspired by being quarantined at home. Hope y'all enjoy and please do send some love 🥺👉👈

Moonlight and Sunrise

Giyuu and Shinobu were friends, however this fact was quite shocking to others due to their Light and Day personas. Tomioka Giyuu was a loner, he had like maybe 2 solid friends being Sabito and Makomo and the others were at max labeled as acquaintances. Shinobu wasn't the most popular one at their highschool but she was well known. She would always be seen alongside her two best friends, Sanemi the oversized delinquent who'd actually bite your head clear off and Uzui the player; who'd get girls left and right. With attention at both sides of the bay it'd be obvious that Shinobu would be well known around their school, being head of the pharmaceutical research club and still being an avid member of the fishing club and the flower arranging club gave Kochou quite the recognition around Kimestu Academy.

Giyuu happened to be in a different class than Sabito and Makomo to his demise thus forcing him to be the lonesome sheep he is. His classmates didn't bother much about him either and nor did he. To him, Kyojurou was too loud, Sanemi was too reckless and Iguro was too emo. He once even referred to Mitsuri as a horse girl to Sabito, but he later concluded that Kanroji was just a rare hybrid of a Taki girl or a hot cheeto girl and Himejima was that one person who believed in horoscopes too seriously, sometimes he'd do tarot readings for his other classmates which Giyuu honestly found quite cool. Whereas Shinobu was someone Giyuu would've honestly never associated in the first place and truthfully speaking their duo wouldn't even exist if Shinobu hadn't approached him first. Shinobu was more of a bully to Giyuu primarily but later Giyuu had opened up to her about how he thought of her as a close friend and that softened Shinobu's heart and strengthed their bond. Although Kyojurou was the smartest kid in the class; even securing his title as class president; Ubuyashiki sensei always made sure to pair up Shinobu and Giyuu together during class projects thus leading to frequent study sessions together. Towards the end of the year, Shinobu became the third person in the entirety of Kimetsu Academy to be close to Giyuu, the 1st and 2nd being Sabito and Makomo and 4th being a special freshman called Tanjiro.

Even though his classmates were rather annoying, Giyuu never did hate any of them. In fact it was hard for Giyuu to genuinely hate anybody in the first place but then there was this one person and that person was Shinobu's oh so charming boyfriend, Douma. Giyuu saw through his pretty boy personality when she first introduced him. He ranted about it to Sabito the very night, complaining about how he's all fake and it's all just a matter of time before that facade comes of. Sabito didn't miss a beat and told Giyuu to suggest a suitable partner for Shinobu instead, to which Giyuu had no answer to. And as per said prophecy it didn't take long for Shinobu to see Douma's true intentions and she decided a queen like her deserved better than this.

It was finally summer break and Giyuu and Shinobu had finally completed 12 painstaken years of schooling along with the others of course. Shinobu decided to host a little get together and hang out with the people she cared about one last time before they drifted apart into adulthood.

Giyuu reached the mall at about 8 pm and walked straight to the food court since Shinobu informed him that's where they would be. To his horror, Shinobu had invited a great deal of people, including those who didn't like him, example being his whole class. As always his presence was ignored by his classmates but thankfully amidst the groups of people, Giyuu noticed a particular red head named Sabito, aka his best friend. Sabito and Makomo were both invited too. Giyuu and Shinobu's friendship caused Shinobu to become good friends with Sabito as well, both of them developed a special bond while they both took turns into bullying poor Tomioka. Shinobu was sitting next to Kimetsu Academy's mascot boy, Inosuke, who looked way too soft for his harsh demeanor. Shinobu had a soft spot for this freshman. She had told Tomioka of how he filled the gap of her need of a younger brother. Unlike Tomioka, Shinobu had a lot of sisters; Kanae who was the eldest, Aoi was a year younger than Shinobu and then came Kanao who was 2 years younger than Shinobu, and lastly were the triplets, Naho, Sumi and Kiyo who were just middle schoolers. Inosuke was a bratty kid who'd frequently get into trouble for having a foul mouth but he was close to Tanjiro and weirdly Kochou's little sister, Kanao's best friend. The butterfly sisters loved having brutes as best friends for some reason, it didn't make sense but somehow worked out for them.

"Inosuke, promise you'll leave that nasty reputation behind."

"I ain't making any promises till you promise you'll send me 3 boxes of foreign chocolate every month." he crossed his arm and looked the other side.

Shinobu softly smiled at him, she was definitely going to miss this kid alot. "Alright Inosuke, I'll make sure to send you the latest ps4 games as well."

Inosuke's eyes lit up as he shook hands with Shinobu to confirm the deal. A subtle smile tugged at the corner of Giyuu's lips.

Giyuu went over to the table Sabito and Makomo were seated at and took a seat opposite to Sabito. It didn't take long for Shinobu to note his presence and she went over to their table and took a seat next to Giyuu. "Aww Tomioka-san, look this is a good farewell party for you, all your friends are here right Infront of you." she snorted.

Giyuu sent her a painful expression. Must she do this even on the day when he supposedly bids her farewell? "Tanjiro's not here though."

"So Kochou, did you get your acceptance letter?" Sabito tried desperately to break the awkward silence.

"oh yes I did, luckily I got into the university I wanted to. I'll be shifting to Canada a few months from now."

"That's so cool. Congrats!" Sabito sent her a beaming smile.

Giyuu was quiet, he was silently studying Shinobu, maybe this was the last time he was going to see her. She was wearing a Yellow ruffle top that was paired up with skinny ripped jeans and her 5 pound white filas, her hair was tied into a half ponytail; she looked cute. Alot of people would've assumed Giyuu's sense of fashion was probably as bland as his personality but surprisingly the guy had drip. He wore a plain black shirt paired up with dark denim jeans and chains to accessorise. Giyuu was an eboy. His sense of fashion honestly made him look quite intimidating but it added a spice to his laid back bland persona, maybe that's why Shinobu had taken an interest to him in the first place.

And almost too soon the party had came to an end as the clock struck 11 PM. Shinobu was probably tired of getting squeezed everytime she got hugged goodbye. One by one, everyone started to leave and before they knew it, a very ominous pair was left behind, and that pair being Giyuu and Shinobu.

"Sabito-kun is a very nice lad. You have great friends Tomioka-san." Shinobu complimented.

"He's nice because he walked Makomo home at 11pm?"

"Well yes, that's rather a very gentlemanly behavior. Don't you think so?"

"You know I've been doing that to you in every single one of our study dates right?" Giyuu raised an eyebrow, right now he seemed like a puppy wagging his tail to receive pats from its master.

Shinobu's cheeks flushed a pale shade of pink when Giyuu had referred to their study session as study dates mistakenly. It was just a slip of a tongue that's all. "My Tomioka-san, are you waiting for me to compliment you?"

"It's nice to hear you say something good about me once in a while Kochou." he pouted like a child.

"If that's what you want...then alright. Walk me home one last time Tomioka san."

"No." he blurted almost too bluntly causing Shinobu to frown almost too evidently. "I'll take you home on my bike instead, this time."

Shinobu was quite taken aback to his sudden kind gesture. Her stomach swelled up with a weird feeling. A mix of happiness with sadness that this was the first and last time she'd get to ride behind his bike.

Giyuu had disappeared for a split second into the parking lot leaving a timid Shinobu pondering. He did mention he really liked bikes. Weirdly as a highschooler, Shinobu always wanted to cruise behind a boy's motorcycle at least once during her high school years and well this was her chance. In 3 minutes Giyuu showed up in a Ducati xdiavel Infront of Shinobu. He patted on the seat next to him gesturing her to come take a seat behind him and so she did after admiring Giyuu and his totally hot ride. Not gonna lie his attire went really well with his bike, she almost felt like she was starring in some music video as they cruised into the dark streets.

Shinobu shrieked almost losing her grip as Giyuu hit a speed bump.

"Kochou." he called out to her, getting her attention.

"Hm?"

"Hold onto me, or you'll fall." his words left Shinobu all flustered and hot but she was quick to oblige, she didn't want any broken bones right before her flight. She also silently thanked the gods that it was too dark for Giyuu to make out her flushed red cheeks.

"Tomioka-san? When did you get this sweet thing?"

"It was a gift from my dad."

"But what if you have to move away for uni? What will happen to it then?"

"I'll take it with me, I haven't gotten a number plate for it yet so I'll just ship it using a ferry or something."

Shinobu wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. She wondered if she was the first girl to sit on his bike. She also wondered about the other girls who would eventually later sit on his bike.

"Kochou, are you in a hurry to go home?" Giyuu suddenly asked.

"Not really, mom and dad are staying at my grandparents' place in the country side and Nee-san just wants me to spend my last few days as free spirited teenager."

"Spend this night with me." he suddenly blurted.

"What?" she choked on her words. Giyuu had become way to daring these days, saying whatever he wanted and bruising poor Shinobu's heart with his choice of words.

"Come on, I wanna show you something." he reassured her in a soothing tone.

"Alright Tomioka-san, as long as you don't get us into trouble I'm good."

He soon parked into a quiet neighborhood. Jesus, this placed seemed abandoned for God's sake, what did he have to show her here? the grudge or babadook?

"Tomioka-san are you sure about this place." Shinobu sent him a nervous look as she tugged at the hem of his shirt.

Giyuu looked into her eyes as he held his hand out to her,"Trust me Kochou." and so she did. They now walked into this dark neighborhood, her tiny hand still enclasped with his large ones. Giyuu knew Shinobu wasn't a big fan of places like these. Places that screamed paranormal activity but the fact the she obliged quite quickly did make him realize how much she trusted him and deep down it made Tomioka Giyuu happy.

"isn't this place restricted or anything? Are we allowed to come here?" Shinobu asked almost too loudly.

Giyuu quickly covered her mouth with his large hands and pulled her into a dark alleyway. Shinobu was quite confused at his sudden antics. She sent him a raised eyebrow as he pinned her against a stone wall, his hand still covering her mouth and almost immediately a Patrol guard walked right past them on the streets. He quickly let go of her and pressed his index finger against his lips gesturing her to stay quiet. "it's alright as long as you don't get caught." he whispered to which she rolled her eyes. He held her hand once again and walked to the biggest house in the area, the house was 4 stories high and Giyuu seemed to have a weird tactic of slipping by the backdoor without getting noticed every time.

"So Tomioka-san, you wanted to show me an abandoned house. Very funny."

"They're not abandoned, they're on sale." He replied walking towards the kitchen.

Shinobu followed him precautiously, "And you're treating it like you own it."

"Only for a while." he replied as he took out 2 bottles of flavored milk. He handed Shinobu the strawberry flavored one knowing that was her favorite and kept the melon flavored one for himself.

"Tomioka-san what's the meaning of this?" she asked one last time, quite getting tired of his shit, really.

Giyuu didn't reply but held her hand as walked upstairs, practically forcing her to follow behind him. They soon reached the attic.

Shinobu was a little taken aback seeing all the clutter of furnite up there. Giyuu pulled up the glass window revealing a beautiful full moon night, how come Shinobu didn't notice that before? And then Tomioka started doing something stupid, which was climbing out of the attic window. Shinobu quickly grabbed his arm as a result of an involuntary reflex, "Are you stupid, do you want to die?"

Giyu was now standing on the roof of a 4 story house with a nerve wrecked Shinobu holding his arm. "Trust me Kochou." he spoke holding out his hand to her.

She shifted her gaze from his moonlit eyes to his hand. Did she trust him with her life? Yes, yes she did. She placed her hand on his and he carefully helped her outside. "Tomioka-san I don't see any point in all of thi-" Shinobu was cut off with the picturesque view of the moon and its bright stars right Infront of her.

Giyuu took a seat next to her, observing the view alongside her. He slowly sipped his melon drink while Shinobu quietly enjoyed her strawberry drink. His gaze shifted from the scenic beauty Infront of him to the other scenic beauty next to him (im a little gay for Shinobu sorry) and there she was Kochou Shinobu, the stars reflected in her eyes as she absent-mindedly stared into the sky being lost in her own void and Giyuu just watched her, she looked even cuter now.

It didn't take long for Shinobu to catch him staring which almost made him choke his drink.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah." he replied after his coughing fits died down. He decided to lay down and enjoy the beauty the night had to offer and Shinobu copied him, laying down next to him. Giyuu had quickly slid his arm towards Shinobu, allowing her to rest her huge head on his arm.

"Tomioka-san." she called out to him making his gaze lock with hers.

"Hm?"

"Thank you. I needed this."

He sent her a soft smile as he tucked behind a strand of her hair behind her ear, "You're welcome."

"You know Tomioka-san, since you've been craving compliments I guess I'll finally give you one." Giyuu softly observed her, wondering what she'd say. "If i were to describe you to a person Tomioka-san. This scenery would suffice."

"Hm?" he raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"It kinda matches with your personality you know, It's as quiet and mysterious as the night but nevertheless if you observe closely it has all this beauty to offer." she smiled at him, and this time it hurt him. It made him feel weird. It didn't take long for Giyuu's cheeks to be flushed red under the silver moonlight. Giyuu couldn't reply to this, heck he couldn't even force any words through his mouth. Shinobu smiled and gazed back at the stars once again. She was hit a wave of familiarity, this was her and Giyuu's relationship, it was a bit complicated but it was a bit too beautiful to lose. She started to feel her stomach coil in sadness realising this was the last possible memory she'd spend with Giyuu or maybe they could meet up during the holiday seasons and have remakes of adventurous nights like these.

"Tomioka-san, did you get your acceptance letter?"

"Yeah I did."

"Where are you going?" she wasn't facing him, she didn't want him to see her sad expression.

"Same place you are." Giyuu tried his best not to smile while he said that.

Shinobu quickly turned to him in surprise, "That's a horrible joke, Tomioka-san."

"I'm not." he said, pulling out his phone from his pocket and scrolling through his email to show her his proof. And to Shinobu's surprise there it was, and it was legit. Shinobu was quiet, this was what she wanted but in was a bit too much for her to take in all at once.

"Thank God, now I don't have to worry about you not having friends and getting left alone." she snapped back almost too quickly,

"Shut up."

The air was light and heavy at the same time, Shinobu was a bit too happy to be falling asleep but it didn't take her long to doze off in Giyuu's arms, or on Giyuu's arms. Ouch.

He mentally cursed himself for suddenly exhibiting simp behavior, but today was Shinobu's day and he just had to oblige even though he had to sacrifice his arm.

It didn't take long for Giyuu to doze off alongside Shinobu. Falling asleep under a star-filled sky did have a romantic touch to it.

Giyuu was the first to wake up as the sun slowly started to rise amongst the clouds, creating a magnificent hue of purple and orange. Thankfully Shinobu had shifted from laying on his arm to laying on his chest instead which was definitely more comfortable, but surely Shinobu wouldn't be able to sleep long against his chest with his heart pounding like that.

Giyuu took a moment to appreciate a sleepy Shinobu alongside the beautiful sunrise. Her sun-kissed face was just art in its own form. If Giyuu was anywhere as skilled as Sabito in art, he'd use this masterpiece lying beside him as a prompt and then that's when it hit him. Shinobu basked in the golden rays of sunlight, Shinobu was the golden sunrise in early mornings and if Giyuu were to describe her to someone he'd say something along the lines of; "Shinobu you're the morning sunrise. You're annoying but your presence brings warmth." he whispered softly patting her head. And as most cliché scenes this was no different, much to Giyuu's ill fate, Shinobu was seemingly awake the whole time, and she heard every bit of that.

"That's quite harsh Tomioka-san, but I'll take it." she replied causing a frantic Giyuu's heart rate to sky rocket.

With the sun out, Giyuu and Shinobu realised they better be getting home now since they both had guardians to explain their whereabouts to. It didn't take long for them to pack up and reach Shinobu's house. They shared a small hug on Shinobu's front porch along with Shinobu thanking him for giving her an unforgettable journey. This was a nice end to her highschool life. With a wide grin plastered over her face Shinobu walked into her house to 5 very amused and interested sisters.

[sweets-fanfics]

Homecoming 10

Title: Peacemakers

Wordcount: 2425

Warnings: Violence, and sweet sweet revenge.

Tags: @rollyjogerjones

Remember to let me know if you want to be tagged.

-----

 Bear licking your nose is how you awoke the next morning. You scrunched your nose up and hugged him close to you. “You okay?” You ask him half asleep. You can hear him sniffing your face making you open your eyes.

 You scratch his head as you sit up and stretch. You knew what you were going to do today. Bear sat up and looked at you with his head cocked to the side. “I gotta do somethin’ tough today. I can’t bring you with me but you’ll wish me luck right?”

 Bear puts his paws on your chest and licks your nose. “I’ll take that as a yes.” You pick him up and place him on the ground. “Let’s get some food.” You slip your boots on and walk out with the little brown pup flopping along behind you.

 “Good morning Pearson.” You say as you grab a bread roll.

 “Morning!” He looks down at Bear and cuts off a tiny lump of meat he had been cutting and tossed it towards Bear.

 “Thank you, Pearson.” You smile and walk towards Suzie.

 You pat her softly as you eat the bread with your free hand. Bear lets out a small bark making you look over your shoulder. Arthur is walking up to you with a strained look on his face.

 “You’re already going?” He asked as he got you.

 “Yeah… I want to get it down now…” You looked down for a moment half expecting him to tell you to wait.

 Instead, he lifted your chin softly and placed a long kiss on your lips. “You teach that bastard a lesson.” You smile as he helps you on to your horse. “I’ll be nearby. Shoot in the air three times if ya need any help.”

 “I will, can you ask Henry to watch Bear?”

 “Of course… Y/N I love you.”

 “I love you too.”

---------

 As you road into Rhodes, you knew the best place to check first would be the saloon. The scent you still can’t get out of your mind is how that monster smelt like beer and whiskey.

 You walked into the bar with your pistol drawn. You glanced around as you walked up to the bartender. “I’m looking for someone.” You say in a stern voice.

 “You a bounty hunter?” He asked without looking up from the glass he was cleaning.

 “Yeah, anyone here by the name of David Santiago?”

 The man finally looked up at you. He looked at you suspiciously. “He’s one of my regulars. What’s his crime?”

 “Rape.” You said in a flat voice.

 “That’s quite a serious charge. Do ya have proof?”

 You aim your pistol at the bartender. “I’m proof. Where the fuck is he?”

 The bartender put his hands up quickly while his eyes bugged out of his head. “He... He’s upstairs. He sits at the game table all day.”

 “Thank you.” You say sweetly and head up the stairs. You stomp your feet a bit so you’re able to get some muddy footprints on the carpet.

 That’s when you see him. He’s sitting at the game table as the man had said. He seems invested in his game but when he sees you he grins and stands up opening his arms.

 “I knew you enjoyed it.” He cheers.

 For a moment you are too afraid to move. A flood of memories of him attacking you makes you wanna turn and run. But then that new anger you have been feeling rises up and you feel like a completely different person. You raise your pistol as you click back the hammer. His eyes go wide as he starts to back up.

 “David Santiago. I’m here for somethin’.” You announce as you walk up to him and push him onto the balcony.

 He raises his hands up and seems to start begging. Sweat is dripping down his face as you aim the gun at his head. “Please. Please, no. I’m sorry. You didn’t say no though.”

 “I said no!” You snapped, starting to see red. “I said no over and over to the point that you knocked me out so you wouldn’t have to hear it.” You had the gun pressed to his chin as he leaned back over the railing.

 You heard a gun click behind you. When you glanced you one of his friends aiming a gun at you. “How about you calm down you little whore. You’re just mad cause he didn’t pay ya.”

 Before you had a chance to rip that guy a new one Arthur’s pistol slowly pressed against his head. “How about you don’t call her names. Let her and ya friend there have a nice chat.”

 You turned your focus back to David. “Now tell me again what you were sayin’?” You ask kindly.

 “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I should have stopped.” He was crying. You glanced at him as he acted pathetically. That’s when you noticed the pee mark on his pants.

 “Seems you are understandin’ how I felt that night. Maybe I should when it felt like physically.” And before he could beg again you fired your gun. Blood and brain splattered on you as his body went limp and fell over the railing landing in a heap below.

 You took a handkerchief from your pocket and wiped your face off. When you turned around everyone in the saloon was staring at you. Even Arthur looked a bit shocked.

 “You all got a starin’ problem?” You ask scaring everyone back to their business.

 The man that had aimed a gun at you had ran down to the monster’s body. Arthur walked up and placed both hands on your shoulder.

 “Ya good?” He asks as you take a deep breath trying to calm down.

  “I think so…” You look up at him as he took the cloth in your hand and finished wiping your face. “I think I wanna go…”

 Arthur put an arm comfortably around your waist and led you out of the saloon. He walked you to Suzie and helped you up. “I want you to head to camp, I have to do another stupid thing for your father and go to the post office, and then I’ll come back to ya.” You grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He smiled at you and kissed your hand. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

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

 When you hitched Suzie back at camp Dutch and Hosea were already walking up to you. You sighed a bit but turned towards them.

 “Well?” Dutch asked. You could see him struggling to keep his anger low.

 “It’s taken care of.”

 Both men seem to let out a sigh of relief. Dutch pulls you close and hugs you tightly. “I’m proud of you, Y/N.” He says in your ear.

 You pull back and smile at him, “Thank you Pa.” You notice it seems he is leaving. “Where are ya going’ though?” You ask him.

 “Going to try to suck up to the Greys with Arthur and Bill,” He whistles and the count trots up to him. “Hosea make sure Miss Grimshaw isn’t too hard on our girl today.”

 “You got nothin’ to worry about Dutch,” Hosea waves.

 You and Hosea stand and wave until he’s out of sight.

 “You give it to him?” Hosea asks still smiling and waving.

 “I shot him in the head in front of his friends at the saloon he frequents.” You turned to look at him.

 “Ah, it seems you got the anger your father has.” He pats your shoulder as the two of you walk into camp.

 “Is that good or bad?” You ask as you grab a plate of stew.

 “Depends on the situation.”

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

 You ended up trying to train Bear. He got sit down but just seemed to want to play after. Micah walked up and kicked Cain that had been sitting nearby. “Beat it ya parasite!”

 “What the hell is your problem?” You ask standing up from your spot on the ground.

 “We already got so many damn mouths to feed. Why do we have to add two more mutts to the mess.” He gets up in your face but you don’t stand down.

 “You are absolutely right Mr. Bell. You should go first.” You say through your teeth.

 “Little fireball, huh?” He puts his hands on his sides. “Though your little accident in the Bayou woulda’ taught you enough of a lesson.”

 You take your knife out and start to go for him when two hands pull you back. “Say that again you dirty rat.” You threaten.

 “Y/N, please calm down,” Henry asks patting your shoulder.

 “Your brother is right,” Arthur says as he helps Henry push you back. You seemed to be putting up a fight by how much they were struggling. “Micah ain’t worth a bullet. They are way too expensive so you should save them for better things.”

 Bear is in front of you growling at Micah. “Bear, down.” You order. Your puppy instantly turns to you with his tail wagging.

 “Ah, cowpoke your here. I need to speak with you and Dutch.” Micah says as if Arthur and Henry weren’t fighting to keep you off of him.

 “What could be so important?”

 “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” Micah says with his hands up, “Or it goes somethin’ like that.”

 You roll your eyes and go to sit in Arthur’s tent to try and calm down. Henry looks at you confused. “Why not go to your tent?” He asks.

 “I’d have to pass Micah’s bed and I’m not sure I’d be able to not throw it in the lake.” You grumble and give Micah one last dirty look as he talks to Arthur, your father and, Pearson.

 You notice he keeps calling Pearson ‘fat man’ which just ticks you off even more. But when you hear what they are saying you get even more annoyed.

 “Peace with the O’Driscols!” Dutch says in disbelief. You stand up and go lean against the table next to Hosea who is sitting at it reading.

 “They want to meet for a parle.” Pearson urges.

 “They want to meet?” Hosea asks.

 “It’s a trap,” Both you and Hosea say together.

 “Of course it’s a trap,” Micah exclaims. “But it wouldn’t hurt to see if it’s not what do we have to lose?”

 “They could shoot us?” You say earning you a side-eye from Micah.

 “This is a man’s duty, princess.” He teases.

 “No, if you are going to meet him I want in.”

 “No,” Arthur, Dutch, Hosea, and Henry all say in unison.

 “Oh come on.” You groan. “I’m a great shot.”

 “Mr. Morgan should be our back up,” Micah suggests. “We leave the kids here.”

 “Father I would like to go,” Henry says which earns him a smile from Dutch.

 “Of course, my boy,” Dutch says patting Henry’s shoulder and heading towards the Horses.

 “Henry doesn’t even know how to load a gun let alone shoot one.” You stomp your foot.

 “Shut it, Y/N. Mr. Bell has been teaching me in his free time,” Henry explains as he climbs onto Lightning.

 “He’s a great student. Too bad your sister ain’t.” Micah rolls his eyes.

 Before you have a chance to snap Arthur pulls you to his tent while he grabs some things.

 “My love,” Arthur says softly so only you hear. “Please stay, it’ll give me some damn peace of mind if I know you’re here.”

 “I could really be helpful,” You sigh.

 “Oh, I know you could. But Micah will do nothin’ but annoy you, and your Father and Brother will be worrying too much about you to pay attention.” He holds your face in his hands and kisses your forehead, nose, and finally a long passionate kiss on the lips. “To make it even how about you sleep in my tent with Bear and you can have my big cot all to yourself.”

 Damn, Arthur knew your weakness. His cot was wider than yours. You always found it just a bit more comfortable. “I’m... worried.”

 “I know,” He sits you on his cot and gives your forehead one more kiss before pulling away. “I love you.” He says as he starts to leave.

 “I love you too.”

 As the night drew on you began to feel tired. You collected Bear in your arms and laid back in Arthur’s cot. Before you realized it you had completely drifted off to sleep.

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

 You woke up to the sounds of horses thundering into camp. You peaked out of Arthur’s tent but only saw three bodies shadowed in the darkness. “Pa?” You ask recognizing his silhouette.

 “My dear, You should sleep…” He says. You can tell something is wrong.

 “What happened?” He gets close enough so you can see his face. “Oh god, what happened? Is Henry okay?”

 “Henry is fine, he already went back to his tent.”

 “Then what’s wrong? Did somethin’ happen to Micah? He probably had it comin’,”

 “It’s not Micah…” Dutch looked down at you with sad eyes.

 “What…? How… I thought he was hidden?”

 “We couldn’t find him.” He mumbled.

 You turned around and started sliding your boots on. “Now hold on, Y/N. Let’s gather our thoughts and make a plan.”

 “A plan?” You look at him in disbelief, “From what I gathered you didn’t seem to have a plan when I was taken.”

 “We don’t know if he was taken. Maybe he just made a stop somewhere.”

 “He would have said somethin’.” You could feel that new anger of your growing again. You stopped yourself and tried to take a long breath to calm down. “Pa… I… have really strong feelings for him.” You admit to him.

 He seemed a bit ticked off. Perhaps he thought it was a fling that would burn out. “How do you mean?”

 You looked up at your father, “I love him. And before you say it’s too soon, don’t I’ve had enough bad past experience to know when it’s different.”

 Dutch threw his hands up, “But an Outlaw? I wanted more than that for you.”

 “Mother loved an outlaw.”

 “Your mother was an outlaw.”

 “So am I now, I just shot a man in the middle of a damn town. Two towns, in fact, thanks to you.” He looked a bit hurt so you sighed, “I’m sorry, I’m worried about Arthur. I won’t do anythin’ dangerous. I’m just gonna ride around and see if I find him.” Before he could tell you no you climbed onto Suzie and rode off.

[gnoodle-studios]

The Grim: Chapter 2

The old lady lived nearby, in a short, square building made of stone and wood. 

The not-fire continued to fall from the sky as the hellhound trotted after the old lady. As soon as they reached the aforementioned building, the woman carefully folded her portable roof and opened the door, beckoning it inside. The hellhound stood on the welcome mat just inside and dripped sulkily. 

“Stay there for a moment, will you?” the old lady said, walking further into her house. She retrieved a flowy rectangle and draped it over him, using it to soak up the not-fire that was forming a puddle around it. 

“That rain really was something, huh? It hasn’t rained that hard in years.”

Hellhound narrowed its eyes. Rain. Its enemy had a name. 

It glanced over to a spot of the house that was inexplicably see-through and glared at the rain, its eyes glowing a slightly brighter shade of red.

The old lady patted him on the head a few times, effectively breaking his glare. 

“There we go, all dried off. Let’s get a fire started and warm this place up, what do you say?”

She shambled over to a pile of wood and began steadily moving a few into a large recess set in the side of the house, coated in ash. A few minutes later, there was a small fire blazing in the empty space. 

It was different from the fire in the afterlife. That fire was big and angry and liked to destroy things. This fire was… comfortable. And cozy. It smelled like a Home, whatever that was.

The hellhound moved forward to lie down in it, as hellhounds do, when the old lady placed a grate down in front of its bed. 

“Wouldn’t want you to burn yourself,” she offered cheerfully. “I’ll get you some pillows to sleep on for tonight. Tomorrow… ” She trailed off uncertainly. Afraid the human might be broken, the hellhound lightly poked her with its nose. She smiled and patted its head again. 

The hellhound decided it liked head pats, and added them to the somewhat short list of things it liked, which included Good Smells, Green Not-Fire, Fire, and Home. The hellhound wasn’t entirely sure what the last one was, but it had a feeling and some smells to go off and when it came down to it, wasn’t that really all you needed? 

While the hellhound had been considering what it did and didn’t like so far, the lady had gathered some larger rectangles and set them on the ground. These ones were… poofier than the one from earlier. Thinking back, it vaguely remembered her calling them ‘pillows’? Or something similar, at least.

The hellhound turned in a circle to further evaluate these ‘pillows’, before its legs suddenly stopped working beneath it and it sort of… fell over? Into the pillows. Which were nice, and soft, and not much like fire at all but they were comfortable and close enough to the fire that it was still warm, and as it settled its head down it figured that sleeping in pillows for just one night couldn’t be all that bad. 

The old lady sat in a chair and watched him before sighing and putting her head in her hands for a moment. “Edith, what are you doing? Don’t get attached, he probably has an owner. And taking care of a dog… I don’t know if I can even...” 

The hellhound looked up as she trailed off again. Once again worrying this meant something bad was happening to the human, it (he? She had called him a ‘he’. Did he want to be a he, instead of an it? Maybe he wanted to be a he.) stood up and set his head in her lap. The human (Was her name Edith?) smiled again. (That was getting dangerously close to being put on the ‘like’ list) and scratched his ears. 

“Good boy.” 

His tail once again started to move back and forth, completely without his permission.

“We should get you some dinner, shouldn’t we?” She stood up from the chair, joints and wood creaking alike. She walked over to a box that smelled like fire and something else he couldn’t quite place. 

The hellhound stalked behind her, trying to puzzle out the contraption. Before he could solve it, Edith opened a hatch in the side and grabbed thick squares of something similar to what she had used to dry him off earlier and used them to pull out whatever had been in the fire-box. 

The hellhound was in love.

He thought be had smelled good things before. This surpassed all of them.

“You look excited,” Edith noted, amused. “The butcher gave me a chicken in payment for some baby shoes I knitted for his newborn. Cute little thing. His older brother is a menace though.” 

The hellhound belatedly realized he was drooling on the floor. Edith either didn’t notice or didn’t mind and began carving the chicken into slices, setting some on a plate and some in a bowl, which she then placed on the ground for him.

“It really is nice, having someone to talk to. An old lady like me often goes unnoticed or disregarded, you have no idea the number of secrets I have about the people in this town.”

She carried the plate over to a nearby table and sat down. “I guess that only matters If you end up sticking around, huh?”

The hellhound finished what was in the bowl and sat down next to the old lady, staring at her intently.

“Your puppy eyes need some work, dog. You look like you’re going to glare a hole in the table.”

The hellhound cocked its head. ‘Puppy eyes’? That certainly wasn’t a term he had heard before, but the way Edith had referred to it made it seem like it was some sort of evil deed meant to separate objects from their owners. Apparently he had not yet mastered this nefarious doing, but it must be useful!

Vaguely, the hellhound remembered he should be tracking down a running soul. But Edith reached out and scratched behind his ears again and he quickly reconsidered.

Now wait a minute, let’s not be hasty. There were many skills he had yet to learn before he would be ready for this difficult mission! Like puppy eyes! And how to defeat his mortal enemy; rain. 

The large black dog stared into space as Edith scratched its ears, before coming to and plopping down next to her. 

Edith was not a weak woman. She had held her own against her nemesis, Agnes, for years. Not to mention losing her husband before that, watching her children move away, and dealing with a town of people she had watched grow up, who would dismiss her as soon as help her. So no, she wasn't weak, but she was… well, it wasn't lonely, exactly. But it had been several years since she’d had anyone to really talk to, even if the most recent prospect was just a very large black dog that may be more trouble than he was worth.

He looked up at her, head in paws, clearly hoping for more chicken. Something in Edith’s chest twinged. It wasn't a heart attack, she knew that much, but it may have been just as serious. 

She was attached.

“If I let you stay with me, will you be good?”

Good! Good! Good!

Hellhound liked that word, and as a result, he lifted his head up and his tail once again metronomed back and forth rapidly, slamming between two wooden surfaces.

Well, this may be a good a sign as any, thought Edith as the dog’s tail attempted to beat a chair leg into submission.

“Alright, you can stay. But no running off, my old heart can’t take it. Tomorrow we’ll take a trip into town and get you a collar and a bed.” 

Edith got up to place the dishes in the sink and the dog scrambled out of her way. She paused a moment. If she was keeping him, she really needed to find something to call him other than ‘the dog’.

“You need a name, don’t you?”

The hellhound cocked his head. A name? That sounded new. He didn’t think he’d ever had a name before. Except for ‘good boy’, which he didn’t think really counted.

Edith pondered for a moment. She briefly considered ‘Shadow’ or something like it as a name, which would match up to his coat color, but somehow didn’t fit the dog. He certainly wasn’t stealthy or quiet like a shadow, and seemed to move his body with no regard for the space around him. In fact, the way he picked up his legs when he walked and the habit of just flopping onto the ground reminded her of a certain animal she had seen at a farm many years ago. ...he was about the right size, anyway.

“How about Horse?”

Horse wagged his tail, this time on purpose

[malumsmermaid]

Kids in Love (Prince!Calum)

This got way out of hand. Was originally just going to be a platonic thing of friends reconnecting, but not anymore oops.

Warnings: smut (told you it got way out of hand)

Word Count: 6,609

Prince Calum let out an excited whoop as he and Michael raced across the castle grounds, their horses at full gallop with their two hunting dogs running after them. They flew towards the gate and up the path into the woods. Once they got off of the path they slowed their horses to a walk. “Finally fuckin’ free!” Calum sighed, gently patting his horse’s neck.

Michael laughed, shifting in his saddle to look at the prince. He was happy to only be in riding clothes, no chain mail for a small hunting trip in the woods just a few hundred feet outside the castle. Plus, neither of them were actually hunting, Calum just wanted an excuse to get out of the castle without a huge entourage. He understood his best friend’s sentiment towards being in the woods. It had been a long morning as he followed the young man through the castle, checking up on the parts of the festival he was responsible for, as well as security protocol for whenever they were to make an appearance.

Calum’s eyes were focused on the two dogs now trotting ahead of the horses, their noses trained to the ground. A gentle breeze played with the prince’s hair, and he shifted his slack grip on the reins to one hand, holding the other out to enjoy the gentle wind blowing by, eyes closed as the fresh air washed over him, having complete trust in the animal beneath him. Calum opened his eyes when the horse paused, his dog having stopped directly in front of them, nose in the wind and ears perked. The hound suddenly tore off and Calum looked over at Michael. He simply nodded as Calum tutted to the horse. “Meet you at the gate by dusk.” the blonde man said, calling to his dog and continuing further into the woods.

Calum knew that he was going to spend some time by the river before making his way closer to the gate so they could return to the castle together. He urged his horse into a trot and helped her maneuver through the forest as they looked for the dog. He figured he’d picked up the scent of a rabbit or fox and listened for the dog’s barks. He became worried when he didn’t hear any sort of incessant baying that would indicate that the other animal had been cornered. The hound wasn’t his personal dog, no, Duke was safe back in the castle, probably napping on Calum’s plush bed, but he couldn’t help but worry that this dog could’ve gotten hurt.

He felt his anxious heart slow when they came into a clearing in the woods, the riverbank a few hundred feet away, and he saw the dog laying on his back, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he was pet by a young girl. Calum easily slid from the horse’s back, placing the reins over the nearest fence post. “Stay right here Phantom.” He whispered, hand gently rubbing her muzzle before walking over to where the child was playing with his hound.

The dog rolled over when Calum was just a couple steps away from the pair of friends, shaking some grass from his fur. Calum laughed softly, crouching down and stretching his hands out to the dog. “Gave me a good scare Copper. Didn’t hear you barking at anything and thought you got hurt. Glad to see you were having a good time.” The prince’s tone was affectionate and he gently scratched behind the dog’s ears, his eyes crinkling as he smiled at Copper.

Calum slowly sat down in the grass before turning his eyes to the little kid, who had picked up a small stick from the grass. She looked down at the tall man sitting in the grass, quietly fidgeting with the piece of wood. Copper’s eyes were on the stick in her hand, tail wagging before letting out a single bark. She smiled quickly, throwing the stick as well as she could at her age, no more than seven. “My name’s Ella,” she stated, holding her now empty hand out to the prince. He smiled as he shook it, clearly she had no idea who she was talking to. “Copper is my favorite doggy to play with in the doggy pen when my sister lets me go with her to the castle.”

Calum chuckled at her matter of fact tone, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the little girl. “That’s how I felt about Copper’s great grandpa. Took him home with me when he was just a puppy. My mum freaked out when she saw him when she came to put me to bed that night.”

Ella’s eyes widened, staring at the prince in shock, “How’d you get him away from the castle? What did the king do?”

Calum chewed his lip, thinking of how to respond to her question when another girl came out from beyond the fence he’d tied his horse to. “Ella!” she called, “Mum says if you want to wear that dress to the festival tomorrow you best not be getting it dirty!”

“M’not gonna get it dirty.” Ella retorted, “was playing with Copper but I’ve got a new friend now too!”

“What do you mean you’re playing with Copper, Copper is at the castle, you know you won’t see him again until midwe—“ The approaching girl froze and Calum turned his attention to her, watching her as she took in the emblem embroidered into the saddle blanket on the horse tied to her fence. Then her gaze fell on the golden skinned man lounging in the grass. He sighed slowly as she ran over, gently grabbing her sister by the shoulders before turning back to Calum. She dipped into a curtsie, head bowed as she said, “I’m so sorry Your Grace. She's been told she’s not supposed to play with or distract the dogs when they’re in the woods.” “Didn’t distract Copper Lizzie! He came to me!” Ella protested, looking up at her sister.

Calum caught the discreet motion of Lizzie gently nudging the back of Ella’s leg with her foot as she leaned down to hiss at the younger girl, “Annabella, not in front of the prince. Do you know how much trouble we could get in.”

Ella’s eyes went wide and her gaze turned back to Calum. “You’re the prince?” She exclaimed, gaping as she waited for his response. Calum simply nodded, whistling to have Copper return from where he had laid down, chewing on the stick. Ella stared a little longer after he had confirmed that fact before turning to her sister, “Does this mean I don’t get to play with the doggies this week?”

Her voice was so sad and Calum’s heart about broke as he looked at the tiny blonde girl. His eyes drifted to her older sister. She looked nothing like the young girl standing between them, her hair a dark brown and curly, while her sister’s was straight, though tangled.

Copper had rested his head in his lap, eyes on him when Calum got an idea to soothe Ella. He beckoned for the girl with his finger, eyes locking with Lizzie’s. She gently turned her sister around, barely breaking eye contact with the prince. “Ella, you asked me something before your sister came over, didn’t you sweetie?” he asked, smiling as she nodded. He took her hand, pulling the child to sit in his lap where she could pet Copper. “Mum and dad definitely freaked out a little that I had brought one of the hounds inside the castle, even if it was just a puppy. But my dad told me if I really wanted the dog, I’d have to learn how to train him. So I did. I’ve trained a bunch of other dogs since then, even weaned Phantom over there and helped her get used to having a saddle and bridle on, taught her how to listen to her rider.”

He glanced towards Lizzie, who had a fond look on her face as she watched him. Ella was smiling at Calum, shy now that his identity had been revealed to her. He gently squeezed her hand, still in his, and said, “Since Copper clearly likes you a lot, I’m gonna give you the same chance my dad gave me. One of our dogs is gonna have puppies soon, once they’re old enough, would you like to help me train them? I’ll teach you everything I know whenever I have the time.”

She gasped, staring up at the prince with an open mouth. He laughed softly, gently combing her hair back out of her face. “Really?!” she squealed, staring.

Calum nodded in affirmation, “Copper will be there too, he’s always been a good teacher to the pups. I’m hoping he’ll be even better for his own pups.” Copper sighed, tail flopping on the ground, looking for attention from either of the people he was sitting with. Calum smiled, patting the dog’s shoulder before adding, “Why don’t you and Copper go play, I’ll talk to your sister about it more, ok?”

Just like that Ella was off, running around the clearing, Copper bounding after her. Calum patted the spot on the ground next to him, smiling at Lizzie. She carefully sat down, gathering her skirt so it wouldn’t get too dirty as she sat. “I don’t know how to thank you, your highness” she started, but Calum waved her off.

“None of that Lizzie. We’ll just call it a favor for an old friend, huh?”

Now it was Lizzie’s turn to stare at the prince. “What, you thought I forgot you just because it’s been a while since we last saw each other?” Lizzie turned red, glancing over her shoulder at his horse. Calum followed her gaze, smiling at the horse. “I don’t have to be anywhere for a while, is it ok if we untie her, take her tack off?”

Lizzie nodded, smiling at him and they both got up. He led the way towards the dappled grey mare, gently holding his hand out to her. Phantom turned toward him and he gently gave her neck a pat, reaching up to remove the bridle and halter. They worked together to get the saddle and blanket off of her back. They hung everything on the fence and Calum gave his horse another gentle pat before walking back to where he had been sitting originally. Calum leaned back, laying in the grass and stared up at the clouds for a few minutes before asking, “So, how’ve you been? How’re your mum and dad?”

Lizzie hummed, looking down towards the prince. “We’re doing alright. Mum still works in the garden, dad died in the war back when we were 12 though. Mum asked your dad if I could work in the castle a year later, he told her I was too young, mum was too proud to tell him we really needed the money after losing dad. After that I started working for Ol’ Miss Harvey, doing little things for her around the house and farm, then she died a couple years back and now I work in the castle stables, her highness brings me in sometimes to fold things or help with her fittings and just tells me all about your little schoolyard crush on me.”

She smiled when she finished, laying back in the grass as well and looking at Calum. He blushed at the last sentence, chewing his lip before mumbling, “Mum loves to embarrass me. Guess it’s what mums do though, regardless of their status.”

Lizzie laughed, nodding a little as she did and he hummed. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad though. I never knew.”

Lizzie shook her head, “We were kids, of course you didn’t know. I just stopped coming to school, lots of girls around our age at the time did that. We’re happy now, mum remarried, had Ella, life goes on.”

Calum nodded and they both turned their attention to the clouds. Occasionally one of them would talk, reminiscing on their school days. After one story about Ashton, Luke and Michael, Lizzie turned to look at him, “Speaking of those three, shouldn’t one of them have come hunting with you?” Calum laughed, nodding. His three best friends from school were legacies of some of his father’s guards and they were now part of his guard. “Yeah, Michael is probably swimming somewhere upstream. Used to take Ashton on my fake hunting trips, but he’d go into town when we decided to split up, and his horse kind of got notorious for being tied up outside some poor girl’s house. The gossip got to my dad and now I switch between Michael and Luke so he doesn’t get too suspicious.” Lizzie laughed at that, nodding and Calum smiled, “Speaking of which, I should probably make it look like I at least tried to catch something.”

She hummed, watching as Calum got to his feet, watching as he jogged over to where Ella was playing with Copper. The prince rolled around, playing with the pup while Ella giggled, clapping and jumping while Calum riled the dog up. He rose to his feet, running around with the dog and Lizzie cringed at the dirt she could make out on his shirt. It may have been a riding shirt, which he would be allowed to get dirty, but she figured it still cost more than her entire wardrobe, and that was before factoring in his breeches, boots and the embroidery of his initials and the royal crest that adorned the lapels of his shirt. She heard the two calling her name and slowly got up, Ella already running over. She let the little girl take her hand, following behind her as she excitedly told her that they were gonna play in the river. She noticed that her sister had already taken off her shoes and smiled, toeing her own off once the little one finally let go of her hand and ran for the water. She kept an eye on her, barely getting more than her ankles wet while she waited for Calum. The prince had seated himself on a tree stump to take off his riding boots and stockings and was currently rolling his pants legs up.

Once he was ready he ran towards the water. He scooped up Ella, spinning around before gently setting her back in the water. Copper came running in to join them, carrying a large stick with him. Calum grinned as the hound dropped the stick into the water in front of him. He reached down, picking it up before the current carried it away and threw it out into the middle of the river. They all watched as Copper bounded through the water before beginning to paddle his way to the stick. Ella began clapping and jumping excitedly when the dog had caught up to the stick, taking it in his mouth and making to loop back to them. They continued to play fetch until Copper left the water, shaking the droplets away from his fur before going to curl up beneath the tree, closing his eyes to take a nap.

Lizzie continued to watch from her spot at the edge of the water as Calum and Ella played. Calum would pick Ella up and spin her around before setting her back in the water, letting her soar through the air while still holding her arms. Lizzie smiled, enjoying how good he was with the small child and allowed for a moment to entertain the thought of Calum with his own children, more specifically their children. She quickly shook the thought from her head, remembering their difference in status, even though she had been his friend when they were both kids, she doubted it would be ok now that they were both adults.

But now he was splashing around in the water, in a battle with Ella, something that would’ve definitely been something he was told not to do years ago, it being an unprincely activity. She smiled a little as she watched them, both giggling and squealing as they were hit by the water.

Then there came the sound of trumpets coming from the direction of the castle. Calum froze, straightening up and looking that way, focused even as he got hit with a face full of water. He quickly scooped up Ella, carrying her out of the river and Lizzie stared as he passed by her, carefully setting Ella down at the shore. Ella stared after the prince as the trumpets continued to blast. He was fixing his pants back to their usual length, pulling his stockings and boots over his wet feet. He jogged back over when he was ready, crouching down and letting his arms envelope Ella. “I’m so sorry sweetie, I have to go back to the castle. We have guests coming and they weren’t supposed to get here until sunset, so I guess they’re early. But that means you have more time for your pretty dress to dry off before the festival tomorrow. I’ll keep an eye out for you. And I’ll make sure to tell your sister when the puppies are ready for training so she can bring you with her.”

Ella nodded against the prince’s chest and he smiled, running a large hand through her hair before letting her pull away. He stood and turned to Lizzie, sighing. “Can you help me get the tack back on my horse?” She nodded quickly, walking alongside him as they went to where they’d left Phantom.

She had her blanket and saddle in place while Calum was still buckling the bridle around the horse’s face, so she ducked down to cinch the girth, one hand resting on the horse’s shoulder so she wouldn’t spook. As she finished securing the saddle she felt Calum’s hands on her hips, helping her come out from under the horse. He gently turned her around to face him and she almost gasped at how close she was to the prince. His eyes quickly flicked to her lips before he sighed, bringing on hand up to run through his dark curls. “M’guessing that you know about the wedding this weekend and that you’re working at it.”

Lizzie nodded slowly, looking up at him. She knew that Princess Mali was getting married during the summer festival, a perfect time for a wedding in Lizzie’s opinion and she was excited, even if she had to work during the event. Prince Calum nodded, slowly licking his lips before continuing his thought.

“If you get the chance to sneak away during the reception, or you’ve just finished everything you needed to do, meet me in the barn, ok? Wanna talk to you more.”

Her dark eyes met his, and something about the look on his face and the feeling of his hands on her waist had her agreeing, forgetting where he was riding off to, who he really was. He nodded at her affirmation, hand quickly finding her own and bringing it to his lips.

As he mounted his horse, Lizzie remembered herself and dropped into a curtsy. Calum smiled, shaking his head at her before whistling to Copper and urging his horse back into the woods to meet up with Michael.

~~~~~

The next afternoon, the entire town was gathered along the main street for the parade. Lizzie stood next to a bouncing Ella, who was watching the performers go by in their brightly colored outfits, celebrating the arrival of summer.

Finally, as the end of the parade was approaching, there came the sound of the trumpets. The trumpeters were followed by a line of guards, the sound of their heavy boots hitting the ground as they marched in unison seemed to match the beat of Lizzie’s heart as she looked beyond them for the prince. Following the first line of guards was a new family, the guests of the royal family, the other half of the wedding party. Everyone stared at them as they made their way past, waving to the townspeople as they continued along the route. Then, more trumpet blasts and Lizzie saw him, his golden crown glinting in the sunlight.

Prince Calum was on a pure white stallion, riding alongside his sister’s carriage, he was smiling and talking to her as he rode, sword strapped to his side despite being surrounded by Michael, Luke, and Ashton. He was wearing a deep blue button down, embroidered with what was likely thread made of actual gold. His pants were dark, a matching blue stripe going down the side of his legs.

As though Calum could feel her gaze, he turned his head to the crowd, eyes searching until they landed on her. Lizzie smiled and he returned it, giving her a quick nod before dropping his gaze to Ella, giving her a wave and a bright smile. Lizzie felt that if the guards didn’t have strict instructions to keep him on the path that he would’ve ridden over and picked up Ella to ride with him for the rest of the parade.

Lizzie watched Calum turn his attention to one of the guards, nodding her way with a quick smile. She looked on as the golden-haired man glanced her way, giving her an obvious look over, obvious if you were paying attention anyway, before turning his attention back to the prince. She wished she could hear what they were saying, but soon enough she was only looking at Calum’s back.

~~~~~~~

Mali’s wedding was as beautiful as could be expected for a princess like her. Lizzie had helped her get into her dress and braided flowers into the princess’s hair before other servants put her tiara in place, along with the wedding veil. Hearing the princess gush about her partner as she was getting ready reminded Lizzie that, as it was peacetime, that the royal children were actually able to marry those they loved, rather than for a treaty and expansion. She felt her cheeks warm at the thought of the possible meeting she’d have with the prince later that evening. Princess Mali had glanced at Lizzie in that moment, the mischievous glint filling the princess’s eyes in that moment telling Lizzie that not only did Mali know exactly who she was, but that Calum had told her about their encounter a few days earlier. She turned her face from the princess’s gaze and focused on fluffing out her dress, hoping to not betray any other thoughts she’d had since that day.

During the reception feast, Lizzie walked around, taking care of her two assigned tables. As she carried dishes back and forth from the tables her gaze would find its way to the wedding party’s table. The king and queen weren’t seated in the center as they usually would be, it was Mali’s wedding day after all, so they were sitting next to her, Calum next to his mother, and a few times she made eye contact with him as she passed.

Everyone enjoyed the wedding cake and soon after began pairing off to go dance in the middle of the field where they’d set up the feast. Lizzie continued serving until her table was empty, about four songs in, and then began cleaning up, taking the dishes to the cart sitting farthest from the tables, waiting to take everything back to the kitchens to be washed up. As she was making a third trip to her table to pick up, she felt a hand grab her arm and turned. Calum was right there, and he leaned down, “Whenever you’re ready, Lizzie, you know where I’m heading.” he whispered, his eyes meeting hers.

She swallowed, nodding at him before bowing her head. “Of course, Your Grace.” she answered, reminding herself that there were others around who could possibly hear them.

Calum nodded, smiling as he released her arm and continued on his way. She took a deep breath before continuing to finish clearing the tables.

Once all the dishes had been put into the cart, Lizzie took a last look around the area, making sure she was no longer needed before slipping away. As she walked, she removed her apron, folding it neatly before allowing it to rest over her shoulder until she found somewhere to leave it.

She walked into the stable and smiled as she was greeted by its familiar warmth, the sweet smell of the hay in the horses’ troughs hitting her nose, everything having already been cleaned out before the wedding, most of the horses left in the pasture until it had started getting dark, then all the stable hands not involved with the wedding had brought them in before going home, or joining the festivities. She went into the tack room, knowing there’d be somewhere to set her apron there. She was right, finding an empty space, but was shocked when she saw Calum’s clothes that he’d been wearing during the wedding sitting on the shelf too. She calmed herself, reminding herself that Calum did work in the stable whenever he had time, so he likely kept clothes more appropriate for the stable in the tack room. She let out a quiet sigh before going to look for the prince, having a feeling she knew where he was.

She was right, she could hear his voice as he neared Phantom’s stall, his voice quiet as he spoke to the grey mare. She stood in the doorway of the stall, watching as the prince rubbed the curry comb on his hand in circles through the horse’s hair. He was back in his riding clothes, probably a different set from yesterday, however. Lizzie hummed as she looked him over, still standing in the door quietly. It seemed that Calum was having a conversation with the horse, speaking before pausing and looking towards her face. Lizzie smiled as she waited, deciding whether or not she would alert the prince to the fact that it was no longer just him and Phantom.

Finally, she does so, saying, “I had no idea you could talk to animals Calum. Makes sense since you spend so much time with them, I suppose.”

If there hadn’t been a 2,000 pound, easily frightened animal next to him, Calum probably would’ve jumped. Lizzie smiled, stepping further into the stall. He sighed, giving Phantom a pat before rising from his stool. “How much of our conversation did you hear?” he asked, smile playing over his lips as he got closer to Lizzie.

“Your and Phantom’s secrets are safe with me.” she stated, just smiling at the tall prince as he stopped directly in front of her.

He hummed, nodding taking her hand and leading her out of the stall, closing the door behind them. He led the way up to the loft, helping Lizzie as they reached the top of the ladder, both of them settling into the hay that was stored up there. They both laid there quietly, Lizzie could tell that Calum was gathering his words, so she let him think, their hands just barely touching as they stayed still.

Finally the prince spoke. “I don’t need you to answer this and I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything, this is just something I need to get off of my chest, ok Liz?”

She nodded slowly, staring at him as he began to continue what he needed to say.

“I know I just saw you for the first time in ten years two days ago, but there’s something about you that I don’t think I’d ever be able to stay away from you. I’ve been around princesses and ladies and duchesses from other towns and countries at balls and festivals that we’ve hosted or gone to, but none of them make me feel like I did Friday. They don’t make me forget I’m a prince, allow me to have fun and be free. I-I never forgot you when you stopped coming to school. I wondered why you left, if I’d ever see you again. Mum says I was heartbroken, but I never asked what happened, because, like you said, there were girls leaving school at that time anyway.

But I’m so happy to have gotten to see you again, and I don’t want to go without seeing you again, without feeling how I felt Friday again. I don’t want you to think that I’m caught up in the feelings from my sister’s wedding though, but I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”

He stopped, chewing his lip as he looked down at Lizzie. Her expression was gentle as her brown eyes gazed into his. He carefully reached up, combing his fingers through her dark curly hair. His mind cast back to their childhood. She looked a lot like her father from what he remembered of him. He had been one of his father’s closest guards and he hummed. “I know we can marry whoever we want, but if it worries you about what people would think, your father and mine were extremely close. He was one of the top guards, so when we lost him, just know he was very likely directly protecting my father. He died protecting king and country. If anyone in town has a problem with us, which I doubt they would seeing how they all came together for Mali, they can ask me about it themselves.”

Lizzie chewed her lips, looking at the regal, sure, look on Calum’s face. She didn’t doubt that he would’ve defended her regardless of her father’s status if they did get together, but his words did calm her a little. She knew he was waiting for at least some sort of affirmation from him that she wanted a relationship like he did, but she couldn’t find the words to put to an answer. She felt his hand slide down her face, still gently cupping her cheek as he began to turn away and she leaned closer, taking his face in her own hand. His eyes flicked up to hers as she turned his head toward her. She smiled up at him shyly before connecting their lips.

Calum moved quickly pulling her into his lap as he leaned into her kiss. A smile threatened to break over his face as they continued kissing.

They both pulled away after a moment, foreheads pressed together and arms around the other’s shoulders.They both sat there, eyes closed as they caught their breath. Calum slowly moved his head after a minute, nestling into the crook of her neck. He slowly began pressing kisses to the skin there, hands beginning to wander. She allowed it, tilting her head to the side and leaning into his touch. He groaned against her skin, pulling away just enough to tug his shirt over his head, casting it aside before beginning to busy himself with getting her dress undone. Fortunately it was just a simple servant’s dress, all he had to do was get the top layer off and it’d just be her undergarments below it, he’d had to go through more difficult puzzles during balls.

Lizzie hummed as he pulled the dress sleeves down her arms, trying his best to help her out of her clothes. Once he’d gotten her dress off and tossed where his shirt had gone had returned his lips to hers, hands roaming along her bare arms, before wandering the thin white fabric that was covering her body, ending just above her knees. He yearned to just allow his head and shoulders to disappear beneath the fabric, but he also wanted to take it slow, let it drag out.

“Cal,” she whispered, and Calum reveled in the sound of his name from her lips, no title, and not even his whole name. “What if someone comes in the stables?”

He hummed, pressing more kisses to her skin before answering, “Luke is sitting outside, making sure no one tries to come in, and Michael and Ashton are making sure no one tries to come this way in the first place. Not too odd, pair of guards keeping people from roaming the castle grounds outside of where the party is.”

She nodded lowly, reaching down to pull at her underdress, and he groaned as he watched her remove it. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to kiss her lips again. They sighed into each other’s mouths, Calum shifting his hands to remove his breeches as well. Once he’d kicked them away, he brought his hands up to her breasts, gently kneading the flesh before moving to kiss down her chest. He attached his lips to each nipple, sucking at them and giving them attention before continuing his journey down to between her thighs. One hand found its way to Lizzie’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he gently pressed his lips over the inside of her thighs. She whimpered, staring down at him as he spread her legs, gently setting them over his shoulders, completely focused on what he was about to do. His eyes flicked up to meet hers as he slid a single finger through her slit, licking his lips as it came back wet.

He shifted a little beneath her, slowly pushing his finger into her, watching as each knuckle disappeared. She let out the softest moan at the feeling and he smiled, looking up at her. He could tell that, at the very least, she had never been treated like this before and he hummed as he thrust his finger in and out. Adding a second finger had her gasping his name, a hand flying to touch his hair, and she seemed to go into shock when her wrists hit the cold metal of his crown that he’d yet to remove, the sudden reminder of who she was with hitting her hard.

Calum hummed, pulling himself away from her. He slowly took the crown off of his own head, and instead of adding it to their pile of clothing, he leaned up and put it atop Lizzie’s head.

He smiled up at her before laying back down between her thighs, slipping both fingers back into her without warning and she gasped, actually taking hold of his hair this time. He let out a groan as her nails grazed his scalp, his eyes fluttering shut as he continued to work her over, fingers curling up in search of a way to make her absolutely lose it. He knew he finally found it when she let out a high pitched gasp, fingers pulling at his hair and knees locking around his head. He smiled, working to keep his fingers there as he attached his lips to her. With the addition of his tongue and lips sucking at her he could feel her absolutely quaking around him and knew she wasn’t too far from reaching her high. Instead of letting up, he added a third finger, this one wearing his signet ring, the added ridges from it seeming to add to the pleasure she was feeling, because soon after, she fell over the edge. He detached his lips from her, letting his tongue run through her folds, helping her ride out the high before removing his fingers from her.

He moved her legs from his shoulders, pressing a kiss to each knee before he moved to be crouching in front of her, sliding her legs to rest around his waist instead. He reached up to fix her hair, watching Lizzie’s chest rise and fall. “Feel good, love?” he asked, a smile crossing his glistening face. She slowly opened her eyes, nodding as she took him in. He smiled, fixing his crown on her head so it wasn’t falling over her face. “Look better in that than I do, sweetheart.” He whispered, letting his hand trail down her neck. He moved his hand to her left one, taking off his ring and placing it on her finger. He smiled again, bringing her hand to his lips for the second time that weekend.

Lizzie hummed, looking at the man whose eyes were so filled with adoration as he held her bare body to his. She gripped his hand gently, carefully running her fingers through his curls before he brought his lips to hers. They both let out low whines as he entered her, Calum digging his fingers into the soft flesh at her hip. His teeth dug into her lip and she hummed quietly, eyes fluttering as she got used to the feeling of Calum inside of her.

He slowly began moving moments later, keeping an eye on Lizzie to make sure she was ok. “All mine.” He grunted as he found his rhythm, “gonna be mine forever, right princess? Gonna be my queen one day.”

Lizzie just nodded, barely able to form any words. Calum nodded back, attaching his lips back to her neck and shifted his grip on her. A few minutes later he felt her begin to flutter around him, “Fuckin’ hell” he groaned, “ok love, it’s ok, let go.”

Lizzie barely responded, crying out as her back arched, head leaning further back into the hay pile they were laying in. Her grip on his hand was deathly tight but he wouldn’t pull away from it. His head dropped to her chest moments later, his hips stuttering in her as he came. He just laid on her for a long time after both their highs had faded, enjoying listening to the sound of her heart beat slowing back to normal. He didn’t know how long they’d been laying there when he finally pulled out, moving to help Lizzie get dressed again.

Once both looked mostly presentable, having gotten all the stray hairs back in place and removed all the bits of straw sticking to their bodies and hair, they climbed down the ladder. Calum collected the clothes he’d been wearing earlier before they left the stable. Lizzie was still leaning into his side, his crown on her head, as Calum nodded to Luke. The broad guard walked alongside them as they made their way into the castle, disappearing to tell Ashton and Michael that their job was done once the door shut behind Calum.

He walked Lizzie through the empty halls, smiling to himself as he held her to him and walked to his chambers. He closed the door when they made it, setting Lizzie into the plush blankets as he began to draw a bath for the two of them. He found a bottle of wine still in his room and opened it again, pouring two glasses while he waited for the tub to fill. Soon enough it was ready and he helped Lizzie change out of her clothes again, pulling her to join him in the bath.

They each drank their glass of wine as they sat in the water, Calum gently cleaning Lizzie up and kissing every bit of her skin he had access to as they sat there. She was about asleep on his chest when he finished cleaning them both up and he smiled, drying her off and putting her into his bed. He went into his closet and pulled on his sleep clothes before finding a sleep shirt for her as well, carefully putting it over her shoulders and getting her arms through before he tucked them both into his bed, then tucking Lizzie under his chin, smiling as her breathing slowed and she drifted off, happy to finally have her with him again.

Tags: @astroashtonio @flannelpunkcalum @roselukes @asht0ns-world @cunnillucas @burncrashbromance @slimthicccal @5-secondsofcolor @colourfulcalum @babylon-corgis @fallfrxmgrace

[atths--twice]

So this will be the last of the Year of Firsts series. It seems fitting and tomorrow will begin the next year into their lives. Hope you enjoy it! 

Faith Meets Bella 

With a new puppy in the house, it’s time for Faith to meet her playmate.

Mulder woke to the sound of whining and thought for a second it was Faith crying. Sitting up, he looked at the monitor and saw she was still sleeping and knew it could not be her. Grinning, he remembered Bella was downstairs and he quickly and carefully left the bed, closing the door behind him.

Walking quietly down the stairs, he saw her in her crate and he smiled. Once she saw him, her whining increased and she began to wag her tail. Well, more like her entire body as she could not seem to control her excitement.

“Hey now… calm down there, girl. Shh. We don’t need to wake the whole house, not just yet. Let me get your leash and I’ll let you out.” He picked up the leash and unlocked the crate, reaching for her and petting her as he clipped on the leash. “There we go. Hey, Bella. Our little ball of dark magic. Let’s head outside and take a little walk.”

He slid on his tennis shoes, grabbed a jacket, and opened the door. It was chilly outside, with the sun just coming up, and he smiled. Bella pulled at the leash, excited to be outside and he closed the door, heading down the stairs.

Stopping to let her pee, he put on his jacket, shivering as he did. Taking a deep breath, he looked at all the decorations that would need to come down soon. It had been a wonderful month and now it was time to look ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“You ready? Want to check out your new home? Come on, girl.” He gave a gentle tug to her leash and she bounded along beside him.

They walked down the driveway and to the left, heading along the property line. Bella jumped and bounced, barking with happiness. He smiled as he watched her, thinking of what Faith was going to think of her when she woke up.

Not wanting to tire her out too much, they did not walk far. As they came back up the driveway, he looked at their fence situation and realized they would need to do something about it. It was definitely not pet friendly and losing her was not an option. One night with them and he already loved her to bits.

Stopping to let her pee once more, they walked up the stairs and he sat down on the top step to pet her. She jumped over him, into his lap, onto his other side and back again. She stood on his thigh, her front paws on his chest and licked at his face. He laughed and held her close, her little body wiggling.

“Oh, Faith is going to adore you. What do you say we go see if everyone is up yet?” She licked him again, her cold nose at his neck, and he unclipped her leash, holding her in his arms.

He opened the door and heard Faith and Scully upstairs. Scully was speaking to her in a silly voice and Faith was laughing. Bella looked at him and then cocked her head to the side.

“Yeah, we need to wait. This is a big moment. She will be your playmate for the next ten or so years. You’re going to love her, I promise,” he said and stood by the stairs and called up to them. “Hey, we’re ready when you are.”

“Oh… did you hear that, Faithy? There is a surprise for you downstairs.” Mulder heard Scully say. “We’ll be down in just a minute,” she called down and he smiled.

He hung the leash on a hook by the coats but kept a hold of Bella, waiting until they came down to set her on the floor. Hearing Scully on the stairs, he turned around and smiled again, meeting Scully’s happy eyes.

“Dada!” Faith shouted and reached for him but then noticed he was holding something in his arms. Scully came closer and Faith looked at Bella inquisitively.

“Faith, this is Bella. She’s going to be part of our family now. She’s a dog and she’s very excited to meet you.” Bella wiggled, trying to get to her, and Faith looked at him and then reached out to touch Bella.

As she did, Bella licked her hand and she pulled it back in surprise. Her eyes were large as she looked at him and he smiled with a nod.

“It’s okay, honey.”

She touched her again and this time Bella was calmer, for a split second anyway, before she licked her again and Faith screamed with excitement. They all laughed and sat down on the floor, letting Bella walk around and come to Faith.

Faith sat on Scully’s lap and Bella barked and bounced around them. Faith stared at her and then stood up and Bella stopped bouncing and sat, impossibly still, as she stared up at her. Scully looked at Mulder and he raised his eyebrows at her. Faith squatted down and she and Bella were face-to-face.

“Mulder,” Scully whispered and he nodded, aware that they were witnessing something unique.

Bella stretched her head closer and very gently licked Faith’s nose, who smiled and touched Bella’s head. They stared at each other and then stood up, almost as one. Bella barked and Faith laughed, clapping her hands. As Bella began to bounce around again, Faith toddled after her babbling away.

“I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that. It was like they were talking to each other or… she put a spell on her,” Mulder said, stunned as he watched them playing together.

“Who put the spell on whom though?” Scully asked, her tone just as incredulous.

“What?”

“Mulder, we’ve both noticed how animals seem to behave around her. The duck at the park, the horses at the orchard, the goat at the petting zoo,”she said and he stared at her. “What if… what if she has a way with animals?” She shrugged and he looked back at Faith, who was now chasing Bella as best as she could on unsteady feet.

“You know,” he said, thinking of something that had not crossed his mind in years. “I had a friend in school, Kip Stevens-”

“Kip?” Scully asked with a smile. “Kip and Fox… such country club names.”

“Yeah, shut up,” he said and she laughed. “Anyway, your comment made me think of him. He always had a way with animals. He lived close to us and during the summers, he would set traps and catch animals- squirrels, rabbits, snakes. There was something about him that even wild animals calmed around him. Some of the boys teased him and called him Doctor Dolittle, but I was always fascinated by his ability to do it.” Bella barked again as Faith dropped to her hands and knees and crawled after her.

“I’d say that sounds like our girl, and well, Belladonna seems to have fulfilled her namesake,” she said with a cheeky grin and he nodded.

They watched them play for a couple of more minutes, each of them struck with the beauty of the obvious friendship the two would share. Rising from the floor, they set about getting breakfast ready for everyone.

Mulder took out Bella’s food dish and filled it, setting it in front of her, and then set her water beside her. She ate hungrily, happily, and hurriedly. Taking out a couple of snacks, he told her to sit and when she did, he gave them to her. He smiled and rubbed her ears. Scooping her up, he grabbed her leash to take her outside once more before he joined them at the table.

As they ate, he told Scully about the fence situation and she looked at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, Mulder,” she said, covering her mouth. “I didn’t even think about that. Oh my God.”

“Hey, it’s something that’s needed to be done for a while now. Even without a dog, we have a little girl who should have a proper fence to keep her safe. I’ll call around… or maybe Skinner knows a guy.” He shrugged and refilled both their coffees. “Until then, we do have some things we need to do, what with Faith now walking and wanting to avoid any catastrophes.”

“Hmm… what are you thinking?”

“I’m glad you asked…”

A couple of hours later, they came home with some new items for the house. A stake for the yard with a twenty foot cable, allowing Bella to be outside without worrying if she would run away or become lost. After measuring the staircases on the porch and inside the house, they had bought four gates, two for the porch and two for inside, which would lock in place and keep both Faith and Bella safe.

They had also bought some different food for Bella and despite a look from Scully, he had added more toys, and a larger bed she would need eventually. He had picked up two, one for upstairs in their room, but she had put a stop to that plan.

“She has her crate, Mulder. She’s used to that and if you put it in our room, it will confuse her,” she had explained, and he was set to argue when she made a point he could not ignore. “Besides, I don’t want to be stared at by our dog while we’re having sex.” She had raised her eyebrows and he had set the second bed back on the shelf, unable to argue with her logic.

Coming into the house with their new items, Bella barked, standing on her hind legs, her front paws on the crate, her tail wagging. Scully set Faith down and she walked to Bella, looking in and smiling at her. As soon as she was that close, Bella calmed down and waited for Scully to open the door, coming to Faith first and licking her hand.

“I swear to God, Mulder,” Scully said as she shook her head and watched them. “It’s remarkable and almost…”

“Spooky?” he teased and she shook her head.

“For lack of a better word, yes. It is damn spooky,” she said, clipping the leash to Bella’s collar and taking her outside to pee.

Mulder picked up Faith and grabbed the stake and cable to install outside. Setting her down in the grass, he opened the package as she toddled over to Scully. Within minutes he had it screwed into the ground and clipped Bella to it, allowing her to run and play within the set length limits. While she did not seem to mind the restrictions, it bothered him.

“You know, I’m sure Alan would know about a fence guy more so than Skinner. I’ll text him,” Scully said, taking out her phone and typing quickly.

“Why would he know of one more than Skinner?” he asked, frowning at her.

“He has a house, as you know, and had to have the fence put in, so it seems more likely he would know someone.”

“I don’t remember a fence around Alan’s house.”

“Around the backyard? By the hot tub?”

“Oh, I remember the hot tub,” he said fondly and she looked him up and down.

“Yes, the hot tub was nice,” she said and he raised his eyebrows. “Very nice. But there was also a fence around the yard so I’m just putting out feelers. You can still ask Skinner. Mulder?”

“Hm? Sorry, I was just thinking about that hot tub. Goddamn, Scully.” He shook his head and let out a breath.

“Language, Mulder.” She winked and picked up Faith, kissing her cheeks and taking her inside for a nap.

Mulder tossed a ball for Bella until she, too, seemed to need a nap. He unclipped her and brought her in to sleep on the new bed they had bought, as he took out his phone to text Skinner and sat down on the couch.

“Aww, we tired them out,” Scully said, sitting beside him with a smile. She leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. “She’s really a cute dog. The fence will be pricey I know, but if we factor it in to the next ten years at least, well…” He nodded and she sighed.

“You made a good choice with Bella. We didn’t have her at this time yesterday and it almost seems wrong that we didn’t. She’s already firmly established her place in the household. I mean, just look at that face,” he said and she laughed.

“I quite agree.”

“I’m glad they have both fallen in love with each other.”

“I put a spell on you…” Scully sang quietly. “Because you’re mine.” He laughed and she lifted her head to look at him. “Guess the version.”

“Of that song? Please… do you even know me? Annie Lennox of course, even if CCR sang it first.” She looked impressed and he raised his hands in a shrug. “Come on, at least challenge me.” He shook his head and she smiled.

“I have a challenge for you,” she said in a low sultry voice, biting her lip as she turned and straddled him, snaking her arms around his neck. “I’m not sure you can handle the task at hand, but I trust you will try your very best.” She shifted in his lap and he groaned.

“What’s the challenge?”

“Hmmm. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Scully… I can handle anything,” he said, his hands around her waist.

“Well, you think you can handle four times?” she purred and his eyes widened.

“Before she wakes up? I… I don’t know, but I’ll give it the old college try,” he said, smirking at her, as his hands began to move lower.

“Great, I’ll go get the tools.” And with that, she abruptly climbed off of his lap, leaving him stunned. “I mean those gates won’t put themselves up.” She started to walk out of the room, grinning at him over her shoulder.

“Oh, you tricky little minx,” he said, standing up and adjusting his pants. Her laughter rang in his ears, as he followed behind her, ready to do her bidding.

__________________________________________________________

I adore the thought of them finally having another dog, well more like a dog together, as Scully had one in the past. Daggoo, or the dog WE knew as such, was a cute and nice idea, but we never saw him nor any sign he lived in either of their homes, after Scully began to steal him from the animal control center.

I love that they will have this puppy and a little one simultaneously, so they can grow up together and be the very best of friends.

[the-canary]

Good Timing - S.R (10/10)

Summary:  The music always starts at 5 am every morning since your new neighbor moved in leading to your dog promptly as soon as he wakes up. What will you do with that time spent with him? (Modern!Reader/Steve Rogers)  

Prompt: The guy living below me has a really loud alarm clock that always wakes me up at the crack of dawn.

A/N: This is for @sebashtiansatan ‘s writing challenge. i’m sorry that it took awhile, but hopefully you’ll enjoy it!

Feedback is always welcomed.

Ollie leaves his little apartment and Steve is at a loss for the next two weeks.

It’s takes him awhile to realize of this loss though. He had been excited over the fact that there was a little girl and her dad that wanted to see Oliver during an upcoming adoption event, and Steve was sure that sure that they were going to love the little scamp either way.

“He’s the sweetest thing,” he remembers you saying to the mother and stepfather who were a bit more on the cautious side, as they watched him interact with Sugar, “All the neighbors love him and even Sug too, though that took him a little more work.”

All three adults look at you and then at the girl --Cassie, if he remembers correctly-- getting along with the two dogs. Then, they look at Steve since he was the one that actually took care of him.

“She’s right,” he feels himself saying, but he isn’t quite there as well, “He does great in any situation. I’m sure they’re gonna be great pals.”

The mother leans down to take a closer look at Oliver and that’s when he does it -licks her and lets out a happy, welcoming bark. The scene all melts from there as the family soon welcome its newest member into the mix, while also patting and greeting Sugar as well.

“They love him,” you whisper to his right side, as Steve can only nod while watching the heartwarming scene as he feels a small lump in his throat that stops him from talking completely. He feels something slip into his hand and grasp onto it tightly as Sugar sits at his feet.

“He’s gonna be so happy,” you try your best to reassure him, as Steve sees the family keep loving on the little dog that for a short time was his best pal.

You aren’t surprised that Steve doesn’t show up the following day after he had left your apartment that evening he had given Oliver to his new, permanent family. As much as, Steve hadn’t wanted to admit it, he had grown close to the little fella in a very short amount of time.

Sugar whines at the front door once more, as if trying to catch your attention.

“Come back to bed, Sug,” you state while grabbing your mug of coffee,”I don’t think he’s coming today.”

She lets out a sad whine, before following you to the back of the apartment for more naps and cuddles.

While, deep down you were hoping to share some time with him, you also understood that Steve needed some time to handle everything on his own as well.

“So...is this about the dog or the young lady, Steve?”

“....”

“Ah, both then.”

And thus with a little help, Steve is finally able to settle his thoughts about everything and for once in a very long time, he knows how he wants to move forward in life.

You can’t help but wonder if this was how Steve felt when he didn’t see you in that one week, however that also meant you thought that he was in love with you. And over the course of your time with him and Ollie, you thought that your feelings might be mutual -- you shared your apartments and time. You talked about your dreams and fears late into the night. He and the pup had become a fixture in your apartment through different times through the day, almost everyday.

But now, you weren’t so sure. maybe , it had just been the idea of having the two dogs together, that you were helping him with Oliver that set the happy make believe that you could be together -- that you could see yourself like this...with him for a very long time.

There wasn’t anymore late night visits, any morning texts or messages, there wasn’t even any loud music to brother from up above.

Steve had left just like he has entered your life and you weren’t sure how to do in the aftermath of it all, but you were sure that as long as you had Sugar --like you always did-- everything was going to be alright.

It’s goes on like this for a month between work and taking Sugar out to new places, you don’t really find time to be at home and while you hate it -- you have new memories with her and the others that you care about. Hell, you had even gone to see Ollie and Cassie twice now, much to Sugar’s displeasure. However, there was still no sign of Steve -- that was until one fine Saturday morning.

Like always, Sugar notices it before you though, as she wakes with excited barking and shuffling around the front door as you let out a yawn -- still too tired to fully understand what was going but knowing that Sugar wouldn’t stop unless you did what she wanted.

“Hold your horses, Sug,” you yawn out as she lets out what almost sounds like a yip in your hazy brain.

Once you open the door, it takes you even longer to comprehend that Steve is standing there a little worse for wear in his familiar outfit of sweats and a hoodie, but his hair was longer and he was now sporting a beard. He gives you an awkward and timid smile, as Sugar’s need for attention brings him down to her level.

You stand there confused, unsure of what is going on until he gets back up again and his eyes are all on you.

“Hey,” he manages to say as you echo it back to him, “I was wondering if we could take Sugar for  a walk today.”

“I--” you stutter out, ready to reject him out of fear and a mixture of emotions you still aren’t used to handling, but Steve seems to notice that as well as he cuts you off.

“Just a talk, please,” he adds with a tone of desperation and longing you aren’t used to from the man, “There’s a lot I want to explain and if you don’t like what ya hear...then I’ll never bother you again. But, please.”

At least he knows that he is on thin ice, though maybe not fully understanding that a simple talk wasn’t going to fix anything you guys had had before Oliver had been adopted -- you were to afraid to question those feelings and his all over again. However, as you glance at Sugar --her tail wagging and her eyes full of adoration for the man-- you knew that you had to take a page from her book and at least give him a chance.    

“Could you wait in the living room while I get ready?” is all you say before opening the door a bit more and letting the man in, though he gets the feeling he isn’t allowed anywhere -- you had closed off your home to him, but at least you hadn’t such the door on his face like he thought you would.

Without another word, you go back into your room and leave Steve to sit on the couch with Sugar to get ready to pounce on him when he does -- if only everything was just that easy.

You end up talking a long walk around one of Sugar’s favorite parks -- not the one with the large puddle but the one with the friendly dog coffee just across the street. Though, Steve in a mess of nerves starts talking before you even reach the place, settled on a bench with the perfect amount shade as you watch Sugar play with some of the other dogs.

You’re staring at her when Steve starts talking -- about the his mom, the war, and a lot of other things that seems to muddle together in his nervousness. However, his blue eyes are always on you -- watching how you take everything in without any judgement and even a small hint that you might understand him and this unbearable fear he has of being alone but pushing people away all at the same time.

“It came back when Ollie got adopted,” Steve goes on to talk about the beagle puppy, “All the fear came rushing back and I needed to pull away, though it wasn’t right for me to do so without telling you.”

You frown, but you understand him a bit too well since you had done the same thing as well. If you really thought about it, you both were just lonely people starved of human interaction. It was luck that you had found each other, but to make it all work -- well, that required a lot of work from both your ends.

“Steve,” you start off and he swears his heart jumps just a little at the sound of his name from your lips, “Why are you telling me all this? What do you want? ”

He smiles at as he turns to look at you -- really look at the way your skin colors takes in the sun, how sleep deprived you are from working so many others, how you closed yourself in but still held a sympathetic look in your eyes. There were so things he knew, but there was so much more to learn as well. And he would be willing to take all the time in the world to do so, if you let him.

“I’m tryin’ to say that I wanna spend time with you and Sugar again,” Steve explains as he takes your hand into his and rubs your knuckles with his thumb, “I don’t wanna keep losing the precious things I have because I was afraid. Gotta take life and make it my own for once.”

“If you have me as a friend, I’ll be okay with that,” Steve answers back in the softest voice possible, “But I’ve realized that that I really like you and I wanna try this with you, if you’ll have me,”

Your mouth drops for a second, as he keeps looking at you earnestly and in the moment you know that Steve is being honest and that even though it might hurt, he was ready for your rejection. And while you knew it was at the time of your tongue, you had also realized that Stevee made a point -- you couldn’t live in a bubble your whole life and even if he didn’t know it now he had certainly opened it for you since the day you had heard that too loud music from the upstairs apartment.

You let out a small laugh and grasp his hand a little together, “I wouldn’t mind if we take is slow and steady.”

A beautiful smile blooms on his face as he nods, “Anything you want.”

You nod and seal the deal with a peak on the cheek before bursting in a nervous fit of laughter with him. Sugar -dirty but still full of energy- running over to you in excitement over the noises you were making, understanding that her humans were once again happy with each other, though maybe a little mad at her once she shakes and gets mud on their clothes.

And maybe on way back to the apartment, you’ll take a detour to Clint’s or maybe that dog cafe if they allow dirty patrons. Surely, you’ll talk and laugh along the way as you talk about Oliver and Cassie while Steve thinks about fostering another dog a little the road.

It was awkward but you would surely get there because you had each other and Sugar along for the ride -- the timing might be a little rough, but it would lead to nothing but happy and loving memories...you both knew that now.  

[thrandilf]

Old Dog, New Friends

Some days, it felt like Julian owned a cat more than he did a dog.

Brundle loved sleeping in the sun, wrinkly face resting on his pillow and keeping his bed company while he was away. The old light brown, floppy eared bloodhound would usually only rise to greet clinic patients to give them love, and to move to a more comfortable spot throughout the day. Julian couldn’t entice her to go on walks with a sweet voice and holding the leash some days, but he did appreciate her willingness to cuddle and be endlessly affectionate. She’d always been somewhat wrinkly, and in her old age she took things at a slower pace.

Brundle surprised him by padding up to him while he was packing his medical bag. Julian sighed, dreading the mandatory encounter with Lucio. He looked down and smiled at her, eyes widening when he noticed she was holding her leash. “Awwww, do you want to go to the gardens? I- uh, don’t have time. I have to go check up on Lucio.”

Julian knelt down and pet her head and Brundle made a low “boof” noise in her throat. He swallowed hard and admitted defeat. Julian attached the leash to her collar with a soft kiss on her forehead. He could never say no to his dog, especially when her big cute eyes looked right into his. “Okay, okay. You’ll meet Lucio then, if you want to go for an outing so much. You’ll be a good girl, right?”

Brundle licked her nose in reply, and Julian figured that was a yes. Her tail wagged lowly as they left his clinic. Julian beamed with happiness as she sniffed the ground with interest, enjoying the sunny weather and busy palace grounds with interest. Her short coat shone golden brown in the sunshine despite some grey hairs here and there. She inspected the path so intently Julian had to gently guide her back on track every once and awhile.

He wouldn’t have normally assumed it was alright to bring an animal into the palace, but Lucio had so many pets Julian hoped Brundle would be okay.

“Oh, Lucio has dogs. You like making friends, right?” Julian nervously led Brundle up to Lucio’s wing, grimacing at the idea of having a skirmish with Brundle in the middle.

As usual, Julian heard Mercedes and Melchior before he saw them. He stopped at the base of the stairs as he heard wild barking from the floor above as the two borzois careened down the stairs, almost howling as they ran up to Brundle and barked. They sniffed and tried to snarl at the same time, red and black eyes blown wide.

“Be gentle!” Julian chewed his lip worryingly. Mercedes’s tail whipped and she raised her hackles and barked while Melchior growled, both imposing but not physically touching them. Julian thought about leaving, punctuality be damned, when Brundle simply sat down and yawned.

Mercedes cocked her head and Melchior stopped growling. Brundle woofed a low “boof” and the other dogs finally settled down. The cloudy borzois sniffed her curiously and Brundle nosed them too, licking their faces.

“Are you teaching them manners?” Julian smiled as Brundle and Lucio’s dogs made friends, tails calmly wagging as they all nuzzled in a roadblock in front of Julian. Julian took a couple steps and Mercedes and Melchior bounded away towards Lucio’s room, yipping and playfully racing down the hall.

Julian and Brundle walked casually down the corridor as Brundle sniffed and stayed close to Julian. He opened the door to Lucio’s massive bedroom to see Lucio himself grinning and exasperated as Mercedes and Melchior licked his face and whipped the bedding with their tails, excited and barely able to contain themselves. “Sheesh! You two found a treat stash or something? You’re so energetic today!”

“Oh, uh, Lucio.” Julian rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s my fault. My dog usually isn’t up to much, but she really wanted to go outside when I needed to see you, so I brought her.”

Lucio’s face somehow lit up even more. For a moment, Julian could’ve forgotten how deathly sick Lucio actually was as he looked between Mercedes and Melchior’s long snouts. “Hey. Hey! Let me see the new dog! Good dogs, yes you are!” Lucio’s own excitement comically matched the two panting, happy dogs on either side of him as they all looked at Brundle. “You never told me you had a dog, Jules! Awwww, look at those ears! She’s so cute!” Lucio gushed with delight.

Julian couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face, like a proud pet owner at a dog park. “She’s a little too old to want to go outside much. She usually just stares at me reproachfully when I try to get her to play fetch. I’ve had Brundle ever since she was a wrinkly sweet puppy!”

“So. Cute!” Lucio patted the bed with his human hand. “C’mere!”

Brundle sat exactly where she was next to Julian.

Lucio chuckled. “Awww, stubborn hound, huh? She’s still adorable. I would’ve liked to have meet her when I could go out and play with Mercedes and Melchior. You ever seen a sighthound sprint? They’ll outrun a horse! I bet you’d be the best puppy sitter, huh? Brundle clearly adores you, Jules.”

Julian moved to his usual spot at Lucio’s bedside and gave him doses of medicine, checking his heartbeat and weak breathing. Lucio was in the best spirits Julian had ever seen, shamelessly cuddling his dogs and rambling about them, complimenting Julian’s from afar.

It occurred to Julian that behind the ego, selfishness, arbitrary cruelty, and general bad aura Lucio tended to radiate, the man he was seeing deep underneath could’ve been someone kind. Someone Julian didn’t think anyone at the palace had ever glimpsed.

He wondered if even Lucio knew who he could be, as if a totally different person was beneath.

Brundle finally shuffled over to be closer to Julian and flopped on the bed, instantly falling asleep on Lucio. Lucio gently stroked her head and soft ears, a smile on his face as Mercedes and Melchior sniffed her and laid down too. Julian smirked. “I hate to say it, but Brundle is probably not going to move for a few hours.”

“Don’t worry. Neither am I.” Lucio yawned and gave Julian a tired grin that felt so peaceful and out of place on his face. “You should bring her more often, Jules. It’s good for Mercedes and Melchior to have a new friend. They protect me a little too well, you know?”

“Yes. They’re quite passionate.” Julian still hadn’t ever tried to pet the borzois, knowing how fierce they were. “I’ll just be doing some of my research over here at the desk, I suppose.”

Lucio didn’t reply, already fast asleep under Brundle’s warm weight. Mercedes and Melchior curled up and kept watch over Lucio, occasionally nosing their new bedmate with affection. Julian smiled, actually enjoying being in Lucio’s room for once as he spread his books out and got to reading, sparing glances over at Brundle giving his most difficult patient the comfort of a blissful deep sleep.

[mrs-i-have-too-many-biases]

Runaway prince// Na Jaemin Chapter one

Prince!Jaemin AU

Genre: Fluff/ Angst Summary: Na Jaemin, a young prince who isn’t ready for the real royal life. One day when he finds a way to escape, he grabs it and ran. The young prince met a whole different world, one his parents never allowed him to see or experience. What happens when our runaway prince meets a village girl, who has wrapped him around her little finger without her knowing? Will Jaemin ever go home? And what would his parents think? Word count: 3,5k Pairing: Na Jaemin X Reader Warnings: none

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Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom where everybody lived in peace lived a young prince named Jaemin. He was a charming young guy. The servants in his palace were smitten for him and he knew it.

As the sun was rising in the dawn of day, Jaemin was sleeping as charming as ever in his bed. Well, that’s what you think. In reality he was laying on the edge of the bed, almost falling out as a little drool passed his lips.

Charming, I know right.

As the young boy was still running through a field in his dream, the royal dog, how Mr Voss likes to call her, into Jaemin’s room. The young pup tilted her head curiously to the side when she sat in front of the prince, who snored right into her face. She waggled closer to him and licked his face and barked right after, making Jaemin wake up in surprise and to fall out of his bed in process.

He groaned as he lifted his body back up from the ground, but was smiling at the little pup in front of him. How could he be mad at her? She was just too adorable.

The young prince looked at the time and saw that he was almost running late for his class. “Thanks for waking me up in time.” He chuckled, giving the pup a quick pet before he ran out of his bedroom.

Jaemin’s days went on in a routine: normal classes like learning a new language and math. Later he’d have material arts class and dance class, but ‘sadly’ for Jaemin was his dance teacher on a honeymoon. So, that meant no classes and more freedom for the young prince.

Jaemin wasn’t the most serious person when it came to classes. He’d try to concentrate, but the tree outside the window always seemed more interesting. Eventually the teacher would give up and let Jaemin leave. The prince would always go straight to the kitchen and bother the chef and servants, wanting to play around with them since he was still bored from his classes earlier.

“Your majesty, I love you, but please go bother someone else.” The chef would chuckle as Jaemin kept eating the ingredients for the lunch that the chef was making. “But it tastes so good!” “It’s an apple your majesty.” “So? You picked them.” He winked, making the chef laugh. “Don’t let my wife hear you.” He laughed once again.

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After Jaemin had eaten half of the food supply he went to his parents, the king and queen, who were having lunch as well. His mother was a lovely woman. The kingdom idolizes and adores her for her kindness and for her beauty. Jaemin never said it, but he always preferred his mother. Not that his father was a bad man, no. His father was a great king. He was strict, but righteous. Jaemin just had a better relationship with his mother than he did with his father.

The king was usually working or on a business trip across the country. So, Jaemin also never really had the chance to build a relationship with his dad. And now that he’s older they both feel a little awkward trying.

Something Jaemin and the king did have in comment was a love for material arts and sword fighting. They were also both excellent at it. They never trained together though. Jaemin had his best friend in the palace for that: Jeno.

Jeno and Jaemin grew up together in the palace. Jeno grew up as a knight whilst Jaemin learned how to be a prince, but in their free time they found each other to battle till the death. Well, that’s what they’d yell at each other, when in reality they’d just fight or the last piece of cake the chef’s wife had made.

“You’re going doing pretty boy!” Jeno would yell with the wooden sword in his hand. “Not if you’re going first handsome?” Jaemin unsurely yelled out, making Jeno laugh. “I’m getting mixed feelings from you dude.” “I don’t know either what that was.” Jaemin laughed before he surprised attacked Jeno. “The last piece is mine!” The prince would yell out victoriously.

“You know, I could make you a new one, right?” The chef’s wife says after she watched the whole scene take place.

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After a ‘busy’ day, Jaemin was back in bedroom. His head was rested on his hand, looking outside his large window. He wondered what it would be like outside the palace walls. The king and the queen had forbidden Jaemin ever since he was young from going outside the walls. 

As Jaemin grew older and became a teenager, he was ordered to bring a knight with him every time he wanted to go outside the walls and those times would usually only be for horse-riding.

Jaemin had so many drawings he has made through the years, only being able to fantasize about what the world is like. His parents never told him the exact reason why they forbid him from exiting the walls.

“Because we said so.” “For your protection.” Was usually what they’d say.

The servants would gladly tell Jaemin stories about the life outside the walls. They were free to go wherever they wanted, unlike him. They would tell him how they lived in harmony and how happy they were with his parents as their rulers.

“You’re not just telling me this, because they are my parents, right?” He’d ask. “No, your majesty. We’re very grateful for your parents. They are wonderful loving people. They truly care for their people and you can feel that in the atmosphere that lays above the kingdom.” The chef told the young prince honestly.

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Jaemin sighed as he laid his head down on his desk. He could see the village from his bedroom window. The walls, that were covered in vines, made his view look like a painting, forming a frame. As he was daydreaming, his dog was crying next to him. “What’s wrong girl? Do you want to go outside?” He asked, the young pup wagging her tail excitedly. “Alright, let’s go outside then.”

They ran through the palace, hearing Mrs Voss behind him to be careful.

As soon as the warm evening sun hit his face, he forgot his worries and enjoyed the warmth for a while. He also greeted the servants who were working, before making his way to the stalls.

“Hello beauty.” He says to his mare. She whinnies happily when she saw her owner. She was ready to go for a run and Jaemin noticed. “Are you ready to go for a run princess?” “Not without me your majesty.” The knight behind him reminded Jaemin, who jumped in surprise. “I know.” He sighed. “Sorry sir, Royal orders.”

Even though Jaemin was eighteen, he wanted more freedom, but he knows what respond he would get from his parents.

‘Please, I just-‘ ‘We’ve talked about this Jaemin and the answer still remains no.’ ‘Then just tell me the reason why you won’t let me go outside the walls.’ The young prince would beg to his father in confusion. ‘I don’t have to. As your father and the king, I have the say in this household as well as in this kingdom. End of the discussion.’

Jaemin could ask his mother, but she’d always tell Jaemin to ask his father.

‘Honey, I would give you all the freedom in the world, but you know what you father thinks about this.’ The queen would say to her son.

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After a nice ride with his horse and the knight, the sky had turned pink-orangish. He would give his mare a hug, before he made his way back to the garden. He giggled to himself to see his dogs playing in the grass.

They ran after each other, biting in one another’s tails. When they noticed Jaemin’s figure walking up to them, they sprinted to him with toys, wanting his attention.

“You guy want to play fetch?” The puppies wagged their tails, their eyes fixed on the ball that Jaemin was holding. Jaemin would tease the pups, receiving whiny barks from them in return. Later when they had played fetch for a while, Jaemin had thrown the ball a little too far. The puppies would be searching in confusion, looking at Jaemin for help. Which he gave eventually.

Jaemin walked around the big garden, but for the longest time there was no ball to be found. Until he searched closer to the wall, that separated the village and the palace. Jaemin smiled blissfully, when noticed the ball behind the vines.

‘Did I really throw it that hard?’ He asked himself as he kneeled down to pick it up. And in mid-action he was slightly blinded by a stray of sudden sunlight. He looked up to see where it came from and it seemed like it came through the wall?

“The walls are made of a type of concrete, how is that possible?” Jaemin wondered out loud. He moved the vines away and to his surprise a door was revealed. The young prince looked around to double check if no one was watching him, before he peaked through the wholes of the secret wooden door he had found.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a door to the field, where he’d run with his horse.

‘Was this a trap?’ He asked himself. ‘It could be.’

He swiftly hid the door underneath the vines again and picked up the ball before he walked away.

Jaemin tried not to think about it, but when he was settled in his bed, it was the only thing that was stuck on his mind.

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The next morning went a little different than usual. Instead of going to his class, that he was almost always late for, he went straight to his parents.

Jaemin barged inside their office and started to bombarded them with loads of questions about the outside world.

“Jaemin, sweetheart, what are you talking about.” His mother would ask him confused. “It’s just… I wish I could see more of the outside world and no I do not mean the garden. I want to see what’s going on the other side of the palace walls-“ “Jaemin, we’ve talked about this. You’re not leaving these palace walls unless you have a knight along with you. End of the discussion.” His father coolly says, cutting his son off.

Jaemin sighed, knowing he wasn’t able to win that fight against his father, before he left their office, making his way to the kitchen where everybody was busy as always.

“Good morning young prince! You’re earlier than we expected!” The chef roared in cheer. 

“Good morning to you too chef, I wasn’t feeling like going to class.” Jaemin admitted as he took a bite of a fresh baked bread. 

“So, you decided to hide here?” The chef smirked to the boy, who grinned back.

“Do you have fresh stories like these pastries for me chef?” Jaemin asked hopefully as he took another bite.

“I do your majesty, just last night there was a wedding anniversary of this elderly couple, it was absolutely amazing. People helped the two recreate their wedding. I was honoured to make their wedding cake and they were so joyful. So, generous as well. They handmade little bags and they contained tons of cookies and a thank you note. It was honestly so sweet.” The chef sang.

The boy sighed, jealousy washing over him as he listened to the adult talking. Just like the chef he wanted to experience things. He wanted to be closer to his people and form a bond with them personally as somebody from royal blood. He was tired of being basically hidden behind the tall walls.

Jaemin snapped out of his own thoughts when the chef slid pictures on front of him. “These are some pictures of our garden at my home, that my wife had taken care of. She was so proud of the many flowers she had grown, that she handed bouquets out in the village so everybody could enjoy them.” The chef smiled. 

Jaemin’s heart heated up by the wholesome story and was also glad to hear that there were pure and sweet people like her still in existent.

“Chef, we got the orders of the king and queen’s breakfast.” One of the servants announced through the kitchen. 

“Duty calls me majesty.” 

“I know, I know, you’ve got a job to do. I guess I’ll just spend my time outside today.” Jaemin yawned, before he grabbed an apple and made his way out.

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The sun was beaming and the feeling was warm. Not the one that made you feel uncomfortable. There was a soft breeze and birds were chirping happily. It was perfect-like.

Jaemin had his arms rested under his head, enjoying the sunlight on his pale skin. Since he didn’t go outside all the time and the tall wall created shadows most of the time over the garden, Jaemin never really tanned. All of the sudden an image flashed before his eyes, before they shot open. It was the door that he had found the day before that rushed through his mind.

The familiar feeling of distress filled his body. He just wanted to experience the true feeling of freedom. He just wanted his parents to give him the freedom he wanted.

And to Jaemin’s luck, he kind of got what he wanted. A ‘runner’ as Jaemin liked to call him, was terribly ill and was send home. That ‘runner’ would go out to the village and back to the palace for small and bigger tasks. Things from ordering fabric for a new dress that would be made for his mother to getting flower for on the dinner table, were the kind of tasks that the man would have.

It was evening now and the palace was out of fresh bread. Yes, the chef could make some himself, but the king and the queen loved this little bakery in the village and were regular customers. And since they needed more bread, somebody needed to go.

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“Mom, I can do it.” Jaemin would debate. “Jaemin I’m not sure about this.” “Please mother. You can send as many guards as you want along with me! I just want to get out of these walls.” He cried.

The queen looked at her only son, who had put his famous puppy eyes. “You really have some nerve now your father has gone on a business trip.” The queen snickers as the young boy smirks. “Please mother, father wouldn’t mind if a lot of guards came along.” Jaemin tried again.

“Alright, you can go, if the guards join you,” she began until Jaemin yelled out victoriously, “but you also have to take Mr Voss with you.” 

“Ah, c’mon.” He whined.

“Do you want to go?” His mother asked with a raised eyebrow, smirking at her son who looked at her in defeat. 

“Mr Voss! We’re going on an adventure!” Jaemin yells as he walked out of his mother’s office.

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Jaemin wasn’t forced to wear a hooded cape, since sadly nobody in the kingdom knew who he was. Jaemin’s handsomeness definitely caught people’s eyes, even though he was out of his prince clothes. 

The carriage that took the men across the village drove slowly, giving Jaemin a chance to see what his family’s kingdom was up close. When they drove past the tall gates his mouth dropped open. He thought the field where he rode were stunning, but his village was beautiful in his eyes. The streets were busy and he heard people roaring in laughter everywhere he looked. He smiled to himself, thinking about the words the chef had told him. 

“They seem happy.” Jaemin mutters with a smile on his face. Mr Voss looked pleased at the young boy, also glad to see him so happy. 

“You seem very happy as well majesty.” He chuckled when he heard Jaemin gasp when he saw a ton of dogs. 

“I am.” Jaemin admitted with a soft sigh. 

“I remember the last time my parents took me outside the palace walls.” Jaemin started before he told Mr Voss the story. 

Jaemin was around the age of seven when his parents had taken him out. They went on a business trip to another kingdom and it was the Spring-Summer Festival. The village was celebrating that the agriculture was successful and that the weather was in the favour of the kingdom. There were flowers everywhere, the fragrance of fresh bread was filled in the air. 

Jaemin could vaguely remember the taste of the warm bread that the citizen would make. He hasn’t tasted it in years, but every year he would remember and crave the snack. Jaemin doesn’t know what, but something happened that day, because after that day Jaemin was made clear that he wasn’t allowed outside the walls anymore. He didn’t remember much, which made him feel sad and disappointed in himself. 

But right now, that didn’t stop him from having a great time. Jaemin was also quite shocked that nobody noticed him, but in the back of his mind he knew that nobody had seen him ever since he was seven. He looked at his guards who were greeting people casually. 

‘Of course, they would Jae, they live here.’ He facepalmed himself mentally. Even though people didn’t recognise Jaemin, he didn’t mind since he could talk to the villagers more comfortably. And the guards couldn’t really stop him or else they would blow his cover. 

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“Here handsome young man, have some strawberries. My husband picked them this morning.” An old lady would kindly offer. Jaemin was flattered and politely took the strawberries from the woman. Mr Voss looked at the young prince, who was struggling to hold the heavy basket. “She was nice okay?” Jaemin murmured as he stuffed his face with the strawberries to ‘make the basket lighter’.

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When they finally arrived at the bakery, they had been traveling for over half an hour. The bakery took place far out of the village. There was a time when the Royal family weren’t their regular customers and they were struggling to maintain the business, they were very grateful and shocked when the Royal family wanted to become regulars. 

The family, who owned the business, had now enough money to open as many bakeries as they wanted to, but they liked where they were located and the customers often didn’t seem to mind. Their breads were that good. 

Jaemin was mesmerized as he looked around the bakery, until he was told to sit down by one of the guards. That’s when he started to pout. Jaemin of course, wasn’t allowed to work yet. He just sat there and watched like ten people run over the floor. 

Jaemin admired the hardworking people and watching them made him realise that he had never worked in his life. He never had to; everything was provided for him. Yes, he did some tasks every now and then, but that is all the ‘work’ he has done in his entire life. 

Before Jaemin knew it, they were on their way back to the palace. They received extra baguettes for their journey, which the young prince ate as he stared at the sunset. He could feel the freedom rushing through his veins, even though the feeling hasn’t reached its maximum yet. 

The sun was beaming brightly, until it disappeared under the horizon. The birds were spreading their wings for the last time, before they called it a day. 

And just like that was Jaemin back inside the palace walls. He helped the guards loading out the goods, before returning to his bedroom. Not bothering to speak to his mother. He felt the distress returning to his body, the more he walked through the palace halls. He was on an emotional rollercoaster and he didn’t know how to handle it.

He was so happy that he got to go outside after all this time, but now it was over he just felt sad and stressed. 

‘I wish it could’ve lasted longer.’ He thought to himself.

A swift flash of an image of the secret door crossed his mind as the young prince made himself ready for the night, but he just tossed himself on his king-sized bed and closed his eyes. 

Ignoring the thoughts of the possibility of more freedom, right now all he just wanted to do was go to sleep and call it a day and he’d see tomorrow what the day would have in store for him.

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The first chapter of the Runaway Prince Series! I hope you liked it!