#and yes it’s transparent why he’s choosing to speak out now (or rather why the Sunday times is choosing to reach out to him now) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

fandomsalive · 4 years ago

Text

So Listen Dear, Won’t You Meet Me Here While I’m Bringing in the New Year

So Listen Dear, Won’t You Meet Me Here While I’m Bringing in the New Year | Reddie | Teen and Up | 5,627 words

Summary: “Fuck you, I would have gotten it eventually,” Richie shoots back, even as he rushes to save the game quickly, and then tosses the controller to the side. “I’m bored," he declares loudly.

He stares resolutely at the TV the same way he’s been avoiding Eddie’s eyes most of the night, like he’s too nervous to meet Eddie’s gaze.

“You were the one who wanted to play video games all night,” Eddie grumbles, glaring at the side of his face. When we could be making out instead, he complains in his own head, but refuses to say aloud.

It’s New Years Eve, and Eddie’s just waiting for Richie to make a move already.

—

Title from "Bringing In A Brand New Year," by B.B. King. I was inspired by this (x) tik tok and I know it’s way too late for New Years but take this New Years fic anyway. This is also set 2016 but the boys are teens. Thanks to @imnotinclinedtomaturity for the beta I love you.

Ao3 Link

—

Stan (10:16 PM)

so has he made a move on u yet?

Eddie (10:16 PM)

fuck you stan you know he hasnt

Stan (10:17 PM)

i told u ud have ot be the one to suck it up kaspbrak

Eddie (10:18 PM)

I hate you.

Stan (10:18 PM)

ur just mad i was right. i knew richie wouldnt have the balls to follow through on his plans to jump ur bones tonight

Eddie doesn’t dignify that with a response, instead choosing to toss his phone onto the edge of Richie’s bed with a huff. Richie, who up ‘til then had been blatantly (and perhaps a little desperately) trying to pretend he hadn’t noticed Eddie was on his phone, glances at the discarded phone with far too much interest.

“Who ya texting, Eds?” he asks, feigning indifference but missing by a mile. Eddie wants to roll his eyes at just how transparent his best friend is, but he really shouldn’t be surprised. Richie has been on edge all night, more often than not turning to Eddie to say something, and then changing his mind last minute, so of course the moment Eddie’s attention isn’t on him, he’d be concerned.

“Your mom,” Eddie snarks back, crossing his arms over his chest in irritation. Richie snickers, but his heart clearly isn’t in it. He keeps darting his eyes towards Eddie’s phone, and then back to the TV screen, where he’s been playing Kingdom Hearts for the last hour, as if he wants nothing more than to take Eddie’s phone and find out for himself.

Do it, Eddie begs him internally, eyes narrowed at the back of Richie’s head.

Richie doesn’t, but Eddie hadn’t really been expecting anything different. Richie hasn’t been picking up on anything Eddie has been hinting at recently. It’s starting to feel like nothing short of screaming his intentions from the rooftop will work to knock some sense into him.

In fact, he’s been sitting at the head of Richie’s bed for the last two hours, sprawled as invitingly as he could imagine in a pair of sleep shorts and one of Richie’s jackets. He looks good, he knows he looks good.

More than once he’s stretched himself towards Richie, pressing their thighs together and tossing his ankle over Richie’s, but rather than encouraging Richie to just do something already, it had only succeeded in Richie giggling nervously and, after the third rendition, retreating half way down the bed.

Richie has been sat cross legged down there for the last hour and a half, and Eddie doesn’t know what to do to salvage the damn night. He can’t exactly chase Richie, because so far drawing any attention to Richie’s weirdness, or Eddie’s blatant attempts to flirt, has only seemed to spook him, and any attempt to broach the subject — that subject being the fact that Eddie wanted to date him — only made Richie clam up more.

Eddie has been waiting the last couple of months for Richie to just… come out with it already, ever since Janice had asked Eddie to be her date to homecoming, and Richie had gone into such a fit he hadn’t spoken to Eddie for a week. Eddie had been so mad at him for being a dick and ignoring him, but every time Eddie’d tried to catch him on his own, Richie would disappear. For three days straight he’d been to all of Richie’s favorite hang out spots and hadn’t seen hide nor tail of him until the end of October when Eddie stumbled out the back of the Chemistry building and accidentally overheard a private conversation between Richie and Bev.

He hadn’t intended to eavesdrop but… Richie was his best friend, and more than anything else, Eddie had been hurt by the sudden refusal to speak to him. He hadn’t even understood at the time, hadn’t made the connection to Janice at all, until he’d heard Richie confessing to Bev, his voice hesitant, quiet… hurt.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone asks Eddie out and he says yes, Bev,” Richie had sniffled miserably. “What am I supposed to do then, because I sure as fuck can’t pretend to be happy for him? It’ll break my heart.”

Ever since then, Eddie has been trying to tell Richie that Eddie doesn’t want a girlfriend. In fact, Eddie isn’t interested in girls at all. He’s far more interested in his foulmouthed best friend, despite his better judgement.

Richie doesn’t seem to get it, though. The following Monday, Richie had started speaking to him again as if nothing had happened, and any time Eddie attempted to bring any of it up, Richie would say something so nonsensical and infuriating that Eddie couldn’t help raising to the bait.

Now it's been over two months and Richie is still pussy footing around despite the fact that Eddie has been flirting with him this entire time. He’s dropped so many hints about his own fucking feelings that now all of the Losers know he’s in love with Richie, and their sympathy is quickly waning.

“You need to just tell him outright, Eddie,” had been Bill’s sage advice after the millionth time Eddie had practically sat on Richie’s lap in the hammock and Richie had responded by jumping out of it. “He’s an idiot, and obviously terrified you’re going to reject him if he so much as breathes on you wrong. He’s not going to realize you like him back when you’re flirting with him the same way you’ve been flirting with him your entire friendship.”

Eddie had told Bill to fuck off, and hid in his room for the rest of the night, frustrated at his own inability to sack up, as Bev would put it.

And truthfully, Eddie doesn’t know why he hasn’t just blurted it all out yet, but every time he’s even come close, he’s felt almost faint with anxiety. It hasn’t helped that everytime Richie senses a serious conversation coming, he diverts the conversation as fast as he possibly can. Richie’s lack of desire to actually fucking talk about this isn’t exactly comforting, despite the fact that Eddie knows Richie likes him.

But it’s New Year’s Eve tonight, and Stan, sick of watching Richie and Eddie dance around each other, had confided in Eddie that Richie was planning on confessing his feelings tonight, if he could only convince Eddie it would be worth pissing off his mom to spend the night.

Spending any amount of time with Richie was worth it, but if it meant Richie was going to admit to how he felt, Eddie wasn’t going to miss his chance.

Except… so far, Stan’s assumption that Richie wouldn’t have the guts to tell Eddie the truth seems to be the most likely outcome. Eddie sighs at the thought, unsure what else he could possibly do to make it clear to Richie that he’s more than receptive to Richie’s feelings..

All Eddie can really think about just then, however, is how shit Richie is at Kingdom Hearts.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Eddie grouses loudly, as Richie makes another attempt to defeat Luxord, and the loud death animation plays out on the screen.

“Fuck you, no I’m not,” Richie shoots back, stubbornly clicking “restart” and beginning the fight all over again. Eddie sighs loudly. This is the fifth time he’s seen Richie attempt this fight tonight, and each time he’s fallen to the same fucking trap. It's probably thanks to the fact that Richie hasn’t actually been paying very much attention to his game at all, apparently too busy fidgeting in place and sending Eddie obvious, but nonetheless longing, looks.

“You just have to pay fucking attention,” Eddie grumbles and shifts onto his knees, crawling determindedly over to Richie. Richie looks over his shoulder at Eddie, a nervous look in his eye, tongue sticking out in concentration. Richie shifts with Eddie, leaning forward like he wants to get away. Eddie wants nothing more than to shove him off the bed already. “Look, see, when he turns into a card you just have to —”

At Richie’s side now, Eddie reaches for the controller in Richie’s hands, and jerks it into his own.

“Hey!” Richie complains loudly, but doesn’t fight it. Instead, he practically recoils, and moves over on the bed so that he’s on the edge, a large gap between him and Eddie’s knees. Eddie does everything he can to ignore it, and starts mashing buttons on the controller.

“See, look, if you just fuck with the camera you can tell which card he’s and then —” Eddie unleashes a combo attack on Luxord in the few seconds that he’s stunned, before Luxord changes tacks.

Eddie doesn’t bother handing Richie the controller back, because Richie doesn’t ask and Eddie is tired of sitting around looking tempting when it’s clear Richie isn’t going to fucking do anything about it. Irritated, Eddie unleashes his anger on the game instead. “And then when he does it again, you just —” Again, Eddie manipulates the camera until he knows exactly which card Luxord is in, locks on, and beats the shit out of him all over again.

“Alright, alright,” Richie grumbles, pouting and reaching up to throw his hoodie over his head, casting his face into shadow. Eddie rolls his eyes at the way Richie fiddles with the drawstrings there. Eddie recognizes it as one of Richie’s nervous ticks, and if he hadn’t known Richie was working himself up to confessing tonight, that would have been a good red flag that Richie wanted to do something.

Finally, after three more rounds of doing the same shit, Luxord dies, and Eddie thrusts the controller back into Richie’s hands. Richie takes it cautiously, sneaking a look at Eddie’s irritated face.

“There,” Eddie exclaims proudly. “I told you you were doing it wrong,” he adds smugly, and settles himself more firmly into the spot he’s taken up residence in. Richie will just have to deal with Eddie in his space, and if he wants to sit on the very edge of his bed with one foot pressed to the floor, only barely keeping him up, then so be it. Eddie’s tired of making this easy on him.

“Fuck you, I would have gotten it eventually,” Richie shoots back, even as he rushes to save the game quickly, and then tosses the controller to the side. “I’m bored,” he declares loudly, and drags the remaining leg he has on the bed up to his chest, wrapping his arm around it and resting his chin on his knee.

He stares resolutely at the TV the same way he’s been avoiding Eddie’s eyes most of the night, like he’s too nervous to meet Eddie’s gaze.

“Yeah, but you’re so much better at it,” Richie whines, and tosses himself backwards on the bed. His hood acts as a halo around his face, dark curls spilling out of it, as Eddie turns his body to stare down at him. Richie meets his eyes for half a second before his cheeks turn bright red and he looks away again. “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” he declares suddenly, and sits back up. He turns giddily to Eddie and declares, “Why don’t you play Dark Souls?”

Instantly, Eddie groans. “Fuck no!” he complains, “The last time I let you convince me to play Dark Souls, you spent the entire time making fun of me when I got my ass kicked. I’m not doing it again!” Eddie practically shouts at him.

Richie is cackling on the bed, grinning like an absolute lunatic at Eddie. It’s the first time all night things have seemed semi-normal between them. “That’s the best part, Edwardo!” Richie exclaims brightly. Eddie groans loudly at the nickname, but Richie steamrolls past him before he can say anything. “No one wants to watch someone being good at that game, it’s boooooring,” he sing-songs, dancing in place.

“No!” Eddie refuses, reaching out to shove at Richie’s shoulder. “I refuse! Pick something else!” he demands.

With a pout, Richie turns and drops back onto the bed. This time, his curls are what halo his face, and they’re so cute that Eddie wants to bury his fingers into them. Eddie has to fight a blush at the stupidly cheesy thought, and turns away.

“Fine,” Richie grumbles, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “You pick something then,” he adds, still pouting.

Sighing, Eddie reaches out to pick up Richie’s controller, and exits out of Kingdom Hearts. He scrolls through Richie’s downloaded games in search of a different one — not Dark Souls.

The clock in the corner blinks 10:32 PM, inching closer and closer to midnight. Richie only has an hour and twenty-eight minutes left to follow through on his supposed plan (and, unknowinglingly, prove Stan wrong. Eddie’s not so certain he’s going to manage it).

“For someone who spends so much time on his PS4,” Eddie complains, “you don’t have very many games.”

“It’s not about quantity, Eds,” Richie snarks back, shifting to prop himself up on his elbows, “It’s about quality. Oh!” he exclaims as Eddie skips through his games, “Crash Bandicoot! Eds, Eddie, Edwardo, Eddie Spaghetti,” he rattles off, shooting off the bed and grabbing for the controller. “Come on, we have to play that!”

He’s so excited he doesn’t seem to notice the way his fingers cover Eddie’s for a moment, but Eddie sure does. It sends a spark of heat down his back and he swallows thickly, releasing the controller.

“Fuck you, that’s not my name,” Eddie complains automatically, frowning. Richie isn’t listening to him. Instead, he’s opening up Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, and debating between the three options. “Wait, I thought I was choosing the game,” he adds as an afterthought, not really caring but arguing out of habit.

“You were but you took too long,” Richie shoots back, sticking his tongue out. Eddie rolls his eyes, but doesn’t bother arguing. It had been thirty seconds at the most. Richie is just impatient. “Besides,” Richie adds, eager as ever, “We can take turns defeating the levels,” he insists, and finally settles on Warped.

“Take turns my ass,” Eddie grumbles, but settles himself more comfortably on the bed regardless. He’s taking up the majority of the middle of the bed again, and Eddie isn’t surprised when Richie chooses to fit himself back against the very edge again, one leg propped on the floor to keep him stationary. His leg is bouncing nervously as he darts his gaze back and forth between the game and Eddie’s face. “I don’t think you know what take turns means,” Eddie adds, stubbornly ignoring Richie’s gaze.

“I do, too!” Richie claims, pouting. A smile twitches at Eddie’s lips, but he chooses to ignore it. “I’ll even prove it to you. You can go first!” Richie insists, and this time presses the controller into Eddie’s hands.

Rolling his eyes, Eddie takes it and starts the first level.

It turns out that Crash Bandicoot is one of the worst decisions Richie could have made, because they’re both disastrous at it. Within the first ten minutes, they’ve lost every single one of their lives, and they’re forced to start the level over from the beginning, rather than from the last checkpoint they’d hit. This only serves to make the game even harder, and Eddie isn’t the least bit surprised when he and Richie end up fighting over the controller.

“It’s my turn!” Richie screams in Eddie’s face, giggling as he wrestles him for the controller.

“No it isn’t! I haven’t beat the level yet!” Eddie argues back, struggling against Richie’s longer arms. As is par for the course for the two of them, their wrestling isn’t the least bit careful. In fact, Eddie’s fairly certain he’s going to have a bruise on his jaw tomorrow from where Richie had hit him with his elbow, but Eddie doesn’t mind. It’s always been satisfying to roughhouse with Richie.

“Yeah but you used our last life!” Richie shouts at him. “That’s pretty much the same thing! It’s your fault we had to start the level over!”

“Like you haven’t done it a million times already,” Eddie growls, finally shoving Richie off of him.

Richie goes careening off the bed, and hits the floor with a loud thump. Startled, Eddie drops the controller on the bed, and crawls across the sheets to stare down at where Richie has landed, eyes wide. Richie is staring up at him dazed, blinking rapidly as if trying to reorient himself. Eddie bites his bottom lip.

“Fuck,” he whispers, and leans down to grasp onto Richie’s wrist. “Are you okay?” he asks softly, waiting for Richie to grip onto his wrist in turn before dragging him up and into a sitting position. Eddie lets go of him, and Richie reaches up to press tentative fingers to the back of his head. Eddie winces when Richie winces.

“I’m fine,” Richie groans, and drops his hands to the floor on either side of him. He takes another moment to gather himself, before leveraging himself to his feet. Instinctively, Eddie leans backwards until he’s sat back on the bed and out of Richie’s personal space. “You pack quite a punch for such a little guy,” Richie comments playfully.

“Oh, fuck you!” Eddiee screams instantly, reaching for the pillows at the top of Richie’s bed. As soon as he’s got one in his grip, Eddie starts pummeling Richie’s face with it. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!” Eddie shouts, as Richie laughs and bats futilely at the pillow. “See if I ever worry about you again!” Eddie complains, huffing loudly.

It takes another few smacks of the pillow to Richie’s laughing face before Eddie finally relents.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, sheesh,” Richie says, still laughing. “I didn’t mean to offend you,” he offers sweetly, using that stupid smile he always uses on grown ups to get out of trouble. Eddie huffs and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Yes you did,” Eddie argues darkly.

Richie laughs again. “Okay, yes I did,” he agrees, nudging at Eddie softly, and then shuffling onto the bed next to him, “But I only do it to rile you up,” he admits. The moment the words are out of his mouth, Richie starts blushing and looks away.

Eddie, shocked at the confession, can only stare at the side of Richie’s face, terrified of doing or saying anything in response that might scare Richie off.

They’re silent for a moment, nothing but the sound of their game echoing around the room. The sound is annoying, considering how many times they’ve died in such a short period of time, but Eddie can also hear his heart beating roughly in his chest while he waits anxiously to see what Richie will do next.

Finally, Richie clears his throat. “You know, Eds,” Richie starts, his voice soft and tentative, the way it has been on and off all night. Eddie’s eyes dart to Richie’s face, and he feels his heart clench up tight in his chest. Is this it? Is this the time? Is Richie actually going to tell him—

With a huff, Richie shakes his head and gets up off the bed. He doesn’t say anything else, wringing his hands at his sides again instead, and Eddie’s chest deflates.

“Come on,” Richie says, completely changing the subject, “Let’s see if we can get to the boss before midnight.”

With darting, anxious eyes, Richie looks for the controller he’d just been sitting on, and snatches it up quickly as soon as he locates it. Then he throws himself back onto the bed, this time pressed up against the headboard, curled into his small pile of pillows.

So, no. Not this time, no point in Eddie getting his hopes up again.

Freshly annoyed at Richie’s new positioning once again away from Eddie, Eddie reaches up and snatches the controller from Richie’s hands.

Richie lets it go without a fight, eyes wide and unsure.

“It’s still my turn,” Eddie explains tersely, and turns back to the TV screen, where he can see the time 11:12 PM sitting innocuously in the corner, mocking him.

Eddie doesn’t know why he thinks it, but somehow he feels as if Richie hasn’t confessed by midnight, Richie isn’t going to confess at all.

With a sigh, Eddie tries the level again. And again. And again.

They do make it to the boss, eventually.

Richie’s the one to beat level 5, though it takes him a good 50 times to do so, and only then because the fourth level had been pretty easy and Eddie had managed to farm more than a couple of lives. He’d gone so far as to play another round of keep away with Richie to play the level a second time, to which Richie had sat in his corner and pouted.

But now they’re on the first boss, and Richie has refused to hand the controller back over.

“You got two turns with level 4!” Richie argues defiantly, “We’ll take turns with the boss. Everytime one of us dies, we hand the controller off!”

Grumbling to himself, Eddie relents, and, starting to feel uncomfortable sitting in the middle of the bed, moves to the top to settle in next to Richie. Eddie leaves some space between them this time, unwilling to put himself through the depressing experience of Richie pulling away from him again.

Richie still shoots a terrified glance at him, and scoots over the tiniest bit. Eddie does everything he can in his power not to roll his eyes too obviously, and nods at the game instead. “What are you waiting for? Start it already, dumbass.”

So Richie does.

Shockingly, the boss is pretty easy to beat. He’s so easy, in fact, that Eddie doesn’t even get a go at it, and while Richie laughs and cheers for his own victory, Eddie swipes the controller from his hands and starts level 6.

It’s inching nearer and nearer to midnight. He can see the clock glaring 11:47 at him. The year is almost over, and Richie still hasn’t confessed to him. Eddie isn’t sure if he should even be expecting it anymore, given how many times Richie has stared at him and then clearly chickened out without saying anything. It’s disappointing, when Eddie had come over that night feeling so hopeful.

Stan had warned him to keep his expectations low. None of their friends seemed to have any confidence in Richie’s willingness to confess, regardless of whether or not Richie had said he was going to do it. Eddie had just been hoping…

Well, he’d been hoping that maybe, by midnight, they would have talked about their feelings and Richie might have kissed him. The longer the night goes on, though, the less and less likely it seems that Richie actually will.

Eddie is so deep in his own thoughts that he doesn’t even notice it when he runs out of lives on level 6. He sighs, frustrated, when the game starts back over outside the level, and he turns to hand the controller off to Richie.

Their eyes meet. Richie’s are wide and terrified. His hood is pulled up over his head again, hiding part of his face in shadow, and he’s playing with the strings again, tightening and untightening his hood over and over again. For a moment, the look on Richie’s face is so startling that even Eddie feels nervous.

And then Richie says, “It’s almost midnight,” with a tremble in his voice.

Eddie nods his head slowly, feeling that familiar quiver in his chest that tells him the hope is building.

This time? he wonders.

“Yeah, it is,” Eddie agrees after a moment, unsure.

He does his best not to make Richie feel any more uncomfortable than he already does, and stays as still as he dares. He wants to reach out and take Richie’s hand in his, wants to drag his fidgeting fingers away from the strings of his hoodie, wants to shift forward so their thighs are pressed alongside each others’, wants to lean his forehead against Richie’s and beg him to kiss him.

But he doesn’t.

He doesn’t, because he knows that Richie is scared, and he knows what it’s like to be scared. Eddie’s spent his whole life being scared. He’d grown up being told all the ways he could get sick if he wasn’t careful, being told that he had allergies he didn’t have, and illnesses that wouldn’t stick. There had been a time in Eddie’s life where he couldn’t go one hour without taking another set of medications, and his inhaler had been his best friend.

So he understands being scared, and maybe that’s the real reason he hasn’t pushed Richie on this. Eddie knows that forcing someone to get over their fears isn’t going to fix anything, not in the long run, anyway — they have to want to get over them themselves. And Eddie is willing to wait.

“Fuck,” Richie mutters to himself, fingers tangling tight in his hoodie strings. His hands look like they might be shaking, but Richie is fidgeting too much for Eddie to know for sure. “Fuck, uhm, Eddie?” Richie asks nervously, eyes darting all around Eddie’s face, avoiding his eyes completely.

“Mm?” Eddie replies, breathless, his own eyes wide and nervous. He flattens his hands down hard against his thighs, and begs himself not to touch, to not scare Richie, to not push him.

“I’m—” Richie starts, cuts himself off with a sharp inhale, then starts again, “I’m going to do something now, but if you hate it, just tell me, okay?” he babbles nervously, finally detangling his fingers from his hoodie strings, only to clench them deeply into his jeans.

Eddie’s breathing speeds up, and his hands are shaking now too.

“Richie,” Eddie whispers, aiming for encouraging and falling short. He can hear that his own voice is shaking.

Richie doesn’t seem to notice, barreling on, “I promise it’s fine if you don’t like it. I just want to — I just want to try…” Richie’s voice trails off as he gulps, eyes darting all over Eddie’s face. He opens his mouth to say something more, but hesitates, and then starts to retreat into himself, clearly losing his nerve.

Eddie panics.

Before Richie can try and back out of it once again, Eddie blurts,“Kiss me.”

The words are half garbled with breathlessness, almost a gasp between them, but Richie seems to catch on. His eyes go wide, and he inhales sharply, struck dumb. For a long moment, they just stare at each other, Eddie with his heart in his throat, and Richie absolutely stunned. Finally, Richie bursts into a flurry of giggles.

He releases the strings of his hoodie to instead press his fingers to his mouth, laughing loudly around them, and gasps, “oh my god.” Richie is trembling all over as he drags his hands away from his mouth and wheezes, “holy shit,” the shock more than a little apparent.

Unable to help it, Eddie starts smiling as well, fingers clenching tight into the fabric of his jeans. “Richie!” he demands, giggling. “Come on, asshole!”

The I’m waiting feels heavy between them.

“Dude!” Richie shoots back, absolutely beaming now, and without another moment of hesitation, he reaches out and threads his fingers through the hair at the back of Eddie’s neck.

Eddie will never forget the way it feels when Richie tugs him into their first kiss. The sensation is like a shot of electricity to his spine, and he gasps before their lips even touch. He can feel his heart in his throat, beating so hard he shakes with it, and then Richie’s mouth is on his, and the feeling is like fireworks going off in his head.

Eddie doesn’t mean to groan. The sound is just ripped out of him, shocked and needy. Richie’s lips are hot against his, and he despite all of his previous nervousness, he doesn’t seem nervous of this at all. Maybe it’s because the scariest part is over, or maybe it’s because Richie knows Eddie wants it too. Regardless, he doesn’t seem to be holding back now.

Richie is a shockingly good kisser, and he takes Eddie’s bottom lip between his instantly, sucking so softly and sweetly that it's more a tease than anything. When he introduces teeth, it's the tiniest nip, and it drives Eddie absolutely crazy.

The way Richie sighs against his lips makes Eddie shiver. It takes Eddie a moment to realize that he’s raised his own hands to fist his fingers into the back of Richie’s curls, knocking off his hood and holding on tight in an attempt to prevent Richie from pulling away even the tiniest bit. Richie’s other hand has found Eddie’s waist, and it’s only when Richie yanks Eddie in closer that Eddie realizes he’d begun to melt backwards into the bed.

Gasping at the feeling of being held tight, Eddie shoves himself further into Richie’s personal space, until the warmth of him is seeping into Eddie, and Eddie is practically in Richie’s lap.

Their mouths come together again, and again, and again, their breathing hot and heavy between them.

Eddie’s heart feels like it’s going to burst. HIs entire body feels like it’s on fire.

“Fucking finally, asshole,” Eddie groans into the kiss, pulling lightly on Richie’s hair in punishment. Shocked, Richie laughs, and kisses Eddie even more enthusiastically, the wet sound of their mouths loud in Eddie’s ears. It’s almost all that he can hear, the faint sound of Crash Bandicoot so far away it might as well be in another room.

It feels like they make out forever, making up for all the lost time they could have spent doing this. Richie’s fingers dig deep into Eddie’s hip, and Eddie tugs on Richie’s hair unapologetically. Richie’s tongue sends sparks down Eddie’s spine every time he drags it against his lips, against his own tongue, against the back of his teeth. It feels so good that Eddie never wants to stop kissing Richie.

With every shift of their mouths, Eddie shifts his body closer to Richie’s, until finally Eddie manages to knock Richie over and lands on top of him with a small oof.

“Holy fuck,” Richie gasps, shocked as their mouths pull apart. His eyes are hazy when they meet Eddie’s, his mouth wet and red.

Short of breath, Eddie can only manage to gasp back, “Holy fuck.”

For some reason, this makes Richie laugh. He slams his head back against the bedsheets with the force of it, and lets his eyes drift closed.

Hovering on top of him, Eddie releases Richie’s hair to instead prop himself up, unable to help the way he grins down at Riche.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for months,” Richie admits breathlessly, grinning as he finally opens his eyes again and looks up at Eddie. Eddie laughs and rolls his eyes, knocking his forehead gently into Richie’s.

“Yeah, I’m not an idiot, I could tell,” Eddie admits a little brashly, leaning in to peck Richie’s lips before Richie can tense up too much.

“You could?” Richie asks into the kiss, sounding shocked at the admission. Eddie nods, and kisses him again, and again, and again — soft little pecks that don’t turn into anything more.

“Yeah,” Eddie agrees, nuzzling their noses together. “I’ve been waiting for you to grow a pair and do it already,” Eddie adds teasingly, and drags his head away from Richie’s long enough to look him in the eye. “Seriously Richie, I’ve been waiting for months,” he complains good naturedly, some of the irritation gone now that it’s out there — now that Richie’s kissed him.

“Oh,” Richie replies, eyes furrowing until he’s frowning. Surprised at this change in demeanor, Eddie pulls back from Richie again and shoots him a worried look.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, panicked.

Richie glares at him. “What the fuck, you asshole!” he whines, scrabbling at Eddie’s back until Eddie falls fully on top of him. “You knew this whole time, and you didn’t say anything?” he groans, wrapping his arms tight around Eddie and squeezing the life out of him.

The hold makes Eddie giggle, and he shoves his face into Richie’s neck, breathing hot there. “I’ve been trying, fucknuts! You’re just too fucking stupid to notice when someone’s flirting with you!” Eddie argues back, giddy with it.

Richie shakes his head against Eddie’s neck and says, “You know, you could have kissed me, too.”

The words are softer than the rest, a little coy and shy. Eddie feels his heart melt at it, and he pulls away from Richie’s neck slowly.

“I guess,” he agrees quietly, but doesn’t explain himself. He doesn’t think he has to, with the way that Richie is looking at him. Despite Richie’s grumblings, he thinks that both of them know Richie had to be the one to kiss Eddie first.

Sure enough, it takes a moment, but eventually Richie rolls his eyes and says, “Alright fine.” Then he lifts one hand to press it into Eddie’s hair, and pulls him in close, “But did you know that I love you?” he whispers right up against Eddie’s lips.

Eddie shivers, and laughs softly, eliminating the last few inches of space between their mouths with a searing kiss, before whispering, “Yeah, and I love you too, dumbass.”

#reddie #reddie fanfic #Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak #it fanfiction

34 notes · View notes

disengaged · 3 years ago

Text

tagged by @62kh !! 💘💘💘 (thank u !!)

1. why did you choose your url? oh u know... jason :-)

2. any side blogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. yeah i got uhhhhh @hellmoths for assorted halfway-edgy shit that doesn't belong on main, @violent-j for ICP/Juggalo shit, & a few more i'd rather not disclose

3. how long have you been on tumblr? late 2013 or early 2014 i think ?

4. do you have a queue tag? nah, but it's safe to assume that 97% of the shit on here is queued or scheduled at all times

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? honestly just to geek out about fandom shit ..... à la "emo trinity", superwh*lock etc

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? i just think he's neat :-)

7. why did you choose your header? got bored of my last mobile theme so i was scrolling thru my camera roll for the first transparent photo i could find (it's me & my friend, very stoned, many good memories)

8. what’s your post with the most notes? oh god, i don't even want to know ??? i've had a bunch that have gotten ~10k+, i think one shitty lyric edit that got 20k+. they pop back up every once and awhile & i'm forced to recall how obsessed i was with pierce the veil when i was 13

9. how many mutuals do you have? is there .... is there a way to count ??????? idk ???? lots i guess

10. how many followers do you have? uhhh yknow .... some. a couple thousand

11. how many people do you follow? 209, but probably a quarter of them are inactive now 😔 my dash has been dead lately tbh :-///

12. have you ever made a shitpost? nah, i barely even post any original content anymore. also i'm not funny ! 🥴

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? wayyyy too often :-/ i don't have ig/tiktok/twitter/reddit/etc, so it's kinda become my sole social media (oooof)

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won? nah, i've never had much of an issue with anon hate/drama/bickering with other blogs & i'd like to keep it that way ... it's all just incredibly asinine imo :'-)

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts? not to sound like a dick but uhh ..... quickest way to make me not reblog a post ! same with "why aren't people talking about this" or "i don't care if this post doesn't fit your blog theme" like ..... man. chill

16. do you like tag games? love them !!

17. do you like ask games? yes !! >:-)

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? my mutuals are all celebrities

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? yes, all of them. if we follow each other u have an open invitation to come over & kiss me on the lips

20. tags? @maggotbrainz @metallicasbian @mondsterne-kuesst @metalshockd @msgwendolenfairfax @the-mighty-het-speaks , no obligation ofc ! :-)

#💘💖💕💘💗💕💘💖#tag games #long post -

6 notes · View notes

nastasyafilippovnas · 4 years ago

Note

2 prompts. he / she will never be you, and I would rather do difficult with you than easy with someone else. For santhony

Thanks for the prompts! I chose to do the second, hope you like it! <3

santhony + “I would rather do difficult with you than easy with someone else”, set during 1.08, after Siena agrees to go with the ball with Anthony, wc. 1.9k (ao3)

She checked the time on Anthony’s pocket watch on the bedside table and groaned. Siena swore the damned thing moved faster than any normal watch. By this rate, she was going to be terribly late and wouldn't have any time for a quick warm-up before her performance tonight.

The man to blame for her lateness stirred behind her and proceeded to place light kisses on her shoulder, his hands around her waist pulling their bodies closer, his front against her back.

“I am not done with you yet.” He said, his mouth moving up, trailing kisses from her shoulder up to her neck and sucking on the spot just below her ear that he knew drove her crazy.

Siena couldn’t help the moan that escaped her lips.

“We can’t.” Her protest came out weaker than she would’ve liked. They had spent most of the afternoon in bed, and she still felt hunger for his touch, his warmth next to her. She had tried giving him up, but the time apart hadn’t helped at all. She wondered if there would ever be a time where she would be immune to him. It seemed unlikely. “I must get ready for my performance.”

His kisses stopped immediately, though his mouth still hovered on her neck and she could feel his breath caressing her skin as he spoke. “I thought you would get someone to cover for you. How will you be performing if we’re going to the ball?”

Siena bit her lip. He got her there.

“Well, I thought I would do my show and meet you at the ball later.”

Anthony frowned, though she couldn’t see it. What she proposed wasn’t unheard of. The ton’s parties were known for extending well into the evening and many people in fact attended the opera or the theater first before arriving fashionably late at whatever ball they had also be invited to. But it wasn’t what Anthony had in mind when he invited her to go with him. He was planning to meet her at her door, with the prettiest bouquet of flowers he could find - he had never given her flowers before, not even to congratulate her on her performances, and he knew she would understand the importance of the gesture. They would ride on his carriage (during which he would have to contain himself to not kiss her and ruin her dress) and enter the ball together, arm in arm, so there wouldn’t be any mistakes about the current status of relationship. Then proceed to dance the night away. Just the two of them. In no part of his scenario, he expected to spend spend half of his evening sulking in a corner and waiting for her to finish her performance. And there was the way she had said it…

“But you’re still coming, right?”

“Of course!” Her voice was too high and her answer came too quickly. She realized it at the same time Anthony turned her around so he could see her face.

“Siena…”

She tried turning back and getting out of the bed, but Anthony was faster, his hand on her chin, keeping her in place and their eyes locked. “No, don’t do that. Don’t turn away from me, Siena. Tell me…what’s going on?”

She hated when Anthony went soft on her. It made it so much harder to be logical and practical. But she knew she had to.

“Maybe going to the ball wouldn’t be the best idea.”

“I told you, no one will say a thing.” He answered confidently, smiling at her.

Siena sat properly in the bed, his hands falling from her face to her thigh as she started speaking.

“And I said, not to you. Not directly. But are you ready for all the gossip and the whispers? For the men commenting about how they had me, with my legs open in my dressing room?” Before Anthony could even think of defending her honor, she added, “And it will be true! In some cases at least. Are you ready for that? And the women, your mother and your sisters…maybe they won’t say anything to you. But they will say it to me.”

Anthony sighed. Siena had always been the most pragmatical out of the two of them, his brave soprano who still didn’t call him by his first name despite sharing his bed for the last two years. And, as always, she wasn’t wrong to have concerns. He wanted them to have their happy ending. It wouldn’t be as easy, or as painless, as he had initially told her, but it would be worth it. Of that, he was certain.

“Is that what you’re worried about? The gossip?"

She bit her lip. It wasn’t. Not exactly. Being the talk of the ton would be nothing new - she was the most notorious opera singer in London, after all -, and it would have been worth it. If she had been certain of the outcome, that is.

She wasn’t.

“You can change your mind, my lord. At anytime.” Before Anthony could contest, she continued, “You did it already! You promised you would always take care of me! And you changed your mind.” Regret quickly crossed his face and Siena could feel the tears forming in her eyes at the reminder of that morning, when he had tossed her aside as if she had been nothing more than an inconvenience. It wouldn’t do to start crying now. She was stronger than that.

“Right now, you’re happy we’re back together and you think we can overcome anything. What’s going to happen when everyone you know and respects turns against us?”

“You're right.” Anthony answered quickly and Siena couldn’t hide her surprise. She had wanted him to come to his senses and agree with her, of course she did. His idea had been utter foolishness after all, born out of the high of being in each other’s arms once more. But she had expected him to at least put up a fight. It was okay, though. It only confirmed she had been right all along. She wasn’t disappointed. She wasn’t.

“Of course I am. So we can forget ever going public…”

“You're right that it won’t be as easy as I said.” He interrupted her. “Me being a viscount…my sister being a duchess…none of that will stop the talk of the ton. In fact, my mother might be the one to most strongly oppose us being together.” Anthony couldn’t hide his grimace. His mother’s reaction to his choice was the one thing he had tried to avoid thinking about at all costs. Violet Bridgerton wouldn’t give up just because he and Siena went to the Hastings’ ball together. As a matter of fact, it might only serve as further motivation on her relentless pursuit of a suitable bride for her first-born. He could count on Benedict to be on his side (his brother was pursuing Siena’s closest friend, after all) and Eloise’s curious nature would endear Siena to her, he hoped. But what about Colin? Would his brother be accepting of their relationship, when Anthony had so adamantly opposed his engagement to Miss Thompson? And Daphne and Simon, would they come to his aid as he expected, or would they worry about their own status first? Simon only referred to Siena as his mistress and Daphne wanted nothing more than to be a proper lady of the ton. Maybe neither of them wouldn’t be willing drag the Hastings' name into another scandal just for Anthony’s sake. His own family might not offer the support he craved, though he hoped they would come to understand his decision. He couldn’t keep hurting his own heart in the name of duty and honor. “It won’t be easy. But, Siena, I would rather do difficult with you than easy with someone else.”

She shook her head. “You don’t mean that, my lord. You can’t mean that.”

Anthony let out a small laugh of incredulity, “Can’t I? And may I ask, why not?”

Siena opened and closed her mouth, at loss for words. Before she could come up with an answer, though, Anthony's hands enveloped her waist and he pulled her back to the bed and on top of him, kissing her quickly in the mouth. Surprised, it took her a moment to respond, but he was already pulling away, though his arms remained around her, his hands positioned low on her back.

“I know what this is.” He said, smiling at her. “You're scared. Scared I’m going to leave again, break things off once more and let you deal with these people’s snide comments on your own. That I’m going to see you the same way they do and I’ll turn away.” Her brown eyes looked at him with surprise and she wondered if she was indeed so transparent or if he just knew her that well. Sometimes she dreamed of the life she and Anthony could have together. More often than not, these dreams turned sour as the Anthony in them realized she would never be more than a lowly opera singer, only good for entertaining him at night between the sheets.

“One day you will.” She murmured softly against his chest.

“No, no, never.” He protested, holding her face up, and hoping she could see the truth in his eyes and in his voice. “Siena, I wish you could see yourself as I do. The most talent, incredible, funny, smart woman I’ve ever met. There’s no one but you. Not for me. I’m sorry that I hurt you and made you ever doubt that.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and Anthony saw a single tear escape as she sighed, her hands on his chest shaking for a moment. “You make it so hard for me to do the right thing.”

He kissed her cheek where the tear had dried before turning towards her mouth and kissing her again, hard and desperate.

“I want you to do the right thing for us. For us and no one else.” His hand was in her hair, their heads as close together as they could without touching. “Choose us, Siena.”

It sounded so simple when he said it. He made her believe anything was possible. But she knew this thing between them was fragile, powerful and uncontainable, yes, but fragile. It had been broken and mended together by sheer force of will, and any strong push could shatter it for good. If they wanted it survive and flourish, then they first had to protect it.

“I can’t go to the ball with you. Not tonight.” She saw the disappointment flash through his eyes and be replaced by a mask of cold indifference as he nodded in understanding, already starting to pull away from her.

“But I am not going to the opera either”, she quickly added and Anthony looked at her in confusion.

“I thought…maybe we could stay in tonight? We can have dinner with your brother and Genevieve later.”

Siena looked at him expectantly.

A compromise, that’s what she proposed. Maybe they weren’t ready for the harsh light of day and the deep cutting remarks of society, but it didn’t mean they would never be. In the mean time, they could allow a little light in as they grew stronger in the dark.

“I suppose…Benedict and Madame Delacroix shall make for a decent conversation.” He answered and the smile Siena gave him was so bright it was almost blinding. “As long as you’re by my side, my lady.”

And, because he knew she would, Anthony kissed her before she could voice her protest over his choice of endearment.

#anonymous #answered asks #bridgerton #anthony x siena #santhony #anthony bridgerton #siena rosso #my fics

11 notes · View notes

b-mydarling · 5 years ago

Text

[01] MASCARA

I am still dwelling in self pity over a break up with my super hot ex-boyfriend, Sehun when my best friend decided to give me a replacement mascara to make up for all the loss that I've had from crying over that jackass (as referred by Byun Baekhyun himself) for the past one week. It was a normal gift to be quite honest, but little did I know, that one normal gift is the thing that made me realize just how drop dead gorgeous my best friend is. And to Baekhyun, that three boxes of Fenty Beauty mascara are the same exact thing that have made him realized that even after years, he has never lost his feelings for me.

🍰 pairing: baekhyun x OC

🍰 characters: baekhyun, OC, sehun, yeri, irene

🍰 genre: what else if not FLUFF 😭

🍰 aus: university student! baekhyun, best friends to lovers.

🍰 contains: Playing with makeup with some cute music as the bgm but definitely not in this chapter :>

🍰 word count: 3K

― note: this is my first time cross-posting my fictional work on this platform. (I guess), posting this chapter will help me to understand Tumblr's algorithm better 😔✋ oh and fyi, the main idea of this oneshot was actually inspired by my dream 😭😭 Yes, I dreamt of Baekhyun in the midst of a pandemic and during an online semester like I’ve had nothing better to do :)

p/s: let me know if you want to be tagged for the next chapter.

Best friends.

That is the perfect term to describe and explain my relationship with Baekhyun. We used to live in the same apartment complex and his mother used to babysit me while my parents went to work. The babysitting lasted for almost six years (from when I was still a wee child at the age of 7 and until I turned 13) before his family moved to Incheon from Seoul. Even though we didn’t get to meet as often as we used to, our friendship is still intact and growing strong until now, when we are both a university students.

It was fun and easy being friends with Baekhyun. He may be older than me by two years, but I have never mind the fact because befriending Baekhyun was so, so much easier than befriending his little sister, Yeri. Although we are of the same age, I’m not close with Yeri because she used to think that my presence was a nuisance to her family; stealing her one and only brother from her, stealing her mom’s love and affection away from her, and she hated it when her dad brought back matching toys or playset for us to play together. And yes, of course we didn’t play together. To conclude my relationship with Yeri, we don’t hate or loathe each other but we have come to agree with the fact that we just don’t click with each other very well.

Presently, it is a Friday evening and I am laying on the couch at my family house’s living room. I am beat from living off from only few hours of sleep and a lot of coffee for the past two days because I was trying to perfect my assignment that holds 30% weightage for one of the subjects that I’m currently taking as a second year university student majoring in Beauty and Hairdressing studies. And now that I have submitted the assignment, it feels like all the burdens have been lifted from my shoulders and all that I want to do is sleep. I shift a few times on the long couch, trying to find a comfortable position to take a nap. I don’t want to sleep in my room just yet, afraid that my parents might forget to take the house key with them and I don’t hear their knockings if I sleep in my room. That, and I’m just too scared to sleep in my room knowing that I’m all alone in this house. It only feels like a few minutes have passed since I fell asleep before the incessant ringing of my phone wake me up. I grumble in my hazy state and reach for my phone on the coffee table.

“Hello?” I mutter into the phone without even looking at the caller id or even opening my eyes, sleep already calling back to me.

There’s a small chuckle coming from the other side of the line, the caller’s voice so deep and warm; alarming me about who he is. My lips automatically curl to form a smile just by hearing his velvet voice. There’s a few beat of silence before he starts to speak to me. “Did I wake you up from your nap?”

“Yes, yes you did.” I jokingly say with a pout while putting the call on speaker before I put my phone down to sit up from my laying position. “I’m so tired, Sehun. Mrs. Kwon has finally approved of my dreamy makeup look sketching after the fourth consultation. I’ve just submitted the assignment too. But anyway, why are you calling me? Are you done with labs?”

Sehun fakes a cry and says “My poor baby. But hey, at least you’re done with it now, right?” I hum, enjoying the comfort that my boyfriend is giving me. “And yes, I’m done with lab and my basketball practice too.” Sehun says with a teasing voice. “Can you come down for a while, princess? I need to talk to you about something.”

I look at the wall clock and frown. It’s nearly 7pm now and I’m too lazy to change out from my comfortable lounge wear. “Now?”

“Yes, now. I’m already waiting in front of your apartment complex.”

Still feeling lazy to change my clothes, I try my luck again. “Can you come upstairs then, Sehun? My parents are not home yet. They went out to have dinner with my father’s colleague.”

There’s another beat of silence coming from the other side of the line before Sehun sighs into his phone. I couldn’t decipher whether his sigh is rather affectionate or because he’s just tired from a long day at university. But I guess whatever that he’s going to talk to me about is pretty serious from the way he responds to my invitation.

“I can’t do that, baby. I need to tell you something without having to face the possibility of your parents walking in on us and disrupting our privacy. I’m also kinda in a rush to meet my friends later.”

I pout. “Okay, I’ll be down in a few minutes. See you, Sehun.” I say and after receiving a hum from him, I end the call while getting up from the couch and walk to my room to get change into something more appropriate to wear. I choose to wear Sehun’s grey hoodie that he has given me before and a legging. The hoodie is two times bigger than my own size so it’s really comfortable too. I grab my phone and lock the door before going down. Once I arrive down at the lobby, I can already see Sehun’s parked car a few metres from the apartment’s entrance. I walk closer to his Audi and knock softly on the window. Sehun is busy playing game on his phone that he gets startled by my soft knocking. He then unlocks his car and I get into the passenger seat next to him.

“Hi,” Sehun smiles at me and scans my face, his head tilting bit by bit the more he spends his time analyzing my countenance. Sehun then crinkles his nose. “Damn baby, you really look super exhausted. I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s okay since I need to wait for my parents to come home too.” My reply is cut short because my mind is being clouded with the smell of freshly baked dessert in his car. I turn half of my body in Sehun’s direction before I turn my head to look at his back seat. I see that there’s a white transparent box of brownies from the bakery that I frequently go to and a big bouquet of my favourite red and pink roses. I turn my head back to look at Sehun and grin up at him. “Are those for me?”

Sehun grins back at me before he takes my hand into his big one. “Of course those are for my favourite girl. You can even share the brownies with your parents too.” His other hand stretches behind him to grab both the flower bouquet and the box of brownies before he places them in my lap.

“These are my present for you because you have been such an amazing girlfriend for me for the past six months. Now, let me talk about the thing that I have wanted to tell you.”

Sehun has broken up with me.

Before this, it only took him 15 minutes to gather his courage to express and explain his feelings for me and now, it only took him 10 minutes to tell me that he wants to break up with me. Because apparently, his basketball coach has strictly forbidden him and the rest of his teammates from dating to ensure that their performance will not be affected if anything were to happen to the relationship. It was an absurd reasoning, I know that. But how can I not agree when Sehun has reasoned with me so well. He is on a full basketball scholarship so he must give his very best to basketball and to his major studies too. So yes, I agreed to break things up with him (although a part of me is hoping that we could still work things out).

After I went back to my house, I just sat idly on the couch thinking about what have just happened. There are three thoughts that are currently running through my minds and I could not just brush away this three facts:

My hot and athletic boyfriend has broken up with me.

I still love him

Should I wait for the both of us to graduate so we can be together again? But that will take two more years.

My parents came home at half past nine in the evening with take-out food for me. I only thanked my parents and proceed to eat my dinner in silence before asking for their permission so that I can leave for my room first. I even told them that they can eat the brownies on the coffee table because I don’t feel like eating it. As a result, my parents got worried over me because they could sense that something is wrong with me and Sehun from looking at the abandoned bouquet of roses and the box of brownies on the coffee table.

Now that I’m all alone in my bedroom, the realization just hit me like a bullet train. I feel suffocated. I feel restless. I feel like there is nothing else that is worse than this breakup. But boy I was wrong, there is something that is even worse than this shitty feeling that I’m having right now.

Because at half past 10 pm, my phone gets bombarded with a lot of messages and screenshots from my close friends in university. And the content of the messages were all the same, two screenshots of Irene’s latest instagram stories with one of it being a picture of hers and a man’s legs on a bed, watching Netflix together and the other picture being the same exact white box of brownies and a bouquet of red and pink roses like what I have gotten earlier. The caption in the story was:

“First date. Thank you, my sweet boy @oohsehun”

And that was the exact moment when I feel like the world has crashed on me. I feel like I could not breathe with all this new information that I just get. I need to save my sanity and I need to see the person who understands me better than anyone else. I hurriedly change my clothes before telling my parents that I need to see that person because of an emergency. My parents allowed me to go out despite it being so late at night, partly because they’ve seen how shocked and restless I am, and partly because the person that I’m going out to see is my best friend.

Byun Baekhyun.

Baekhyun has just returned home from his daily night run when he saw me standing in front of his door. He was shocked, of course. Because I have never really went to his apartment without noticing him beforehand. But upon seeing my blood-drained face, he ushered me inside before he rushed through his shower so that he can talk to me. After he’s done showering, he brought me to sit across of him at the small dining table that’s just enough for two people. And when he was seated too, he only crossed his arms and placed them on table. He doesn’t open his mouth, but his eyes are demanding me to open up. And I was right because in the next second, Baekhyun is ready to be on his best friend’s duty.

“Okay, spill it now. Every single thing.”

“You know what? Just cry.”

“Why are you asking me to cry?” I ask, annoyed that Baekhyun has been telling me the same thing ever since I was done telling him what happened. Baekhyun was also shocked to know just how much of an asshole Oh Sehun was. But he then said that I should have at least expected this since Sehun is a popular guy at university.

“Because,” Baekhyun uncrosses his arms on the table and leans back on the chair. He closes his eyes before continuing. “It’s not healthy for your mental health, you know? You don’t have to put on a strong facade in front of me. Acting like this when you’re hurting deep inside will only hurt you even more. I’ve seen you cry before. Multiple of times too, if I may add.”

I brush his words off and only stay silent. My eyes roam around his grey and red themed apartment, taking in the minimalistic interior of the house that belongs to the 24 year old man sitting across of me. He has a grey coloured two-seater sofa, his coffee table is full with his macbook, ipad, some of his still opened law text books, some documents and stationaries. His television that was originally brought from his family home is connected to the internet and his playstation 4 is still plugged into the television too.

When was the last time I visited his house? I couldn’t recall the memory but I know that it has been quite a while. Ever since I started dating Sehun, I only met Baekhyun at our university or anywhere else that is not his house because Baekhyun thought it was a little inappropriate for me to go to his house since I have a boyfriend. My little inspection of his house was interrupted after a short while when Baekhyun sighs a little loudly. I focus my eyes on him now and shrug my shoulder.

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Baekhyun asks. “I don’t want you to get anymore hurt by whatever that jackass is doing or about to be doing after this. I know how much you like him and how much you cherish the relationship that you’ve had with him. It’s completely normal to be hurting by this news and it’s definitely okay to cry too. Cry until your eyes get swollen, cry until you fall asleep and wake up feeling a lot better than tonight.”

I bite my inner cheek and shake my head. Although I admit that I am hurt deep inside, I refuse to cry. Not because I have too much pride in me but because of these mixed feelings bubbling inside. Hurt from being lied and cheated on by the person whom I thought I was going to have a long lasting relationship with. Confused because out of all people, I didn’t expect Sehun and Irene to be together. Irene was my seatmate and one of my assignment group mates throughout the whole of last semester where I had taken an elective subject not related to my major. Appalled because this would have not happened if I hadn’t asked Sehun to join our group celebration dinner for getting an A last semester. These feelings just keep on brewing inside me and it was too much to comprehend, leaving me to not be able to even shed a tear.

“I don’t know, Baekhyun.” I say while standing up from the dining chair.“I thought I should tell you about this and feel better, but I still feel like I have just gotten hit by a car. I guess breakup really sucks.” I laugh soullessly. “Hey, do you mind if I crash here tonight? I’m too tired to drive again.” I don’t wait for Baekhyun to respond because I straight away walk to his couch, not realizing that Baekhyun has also stand up from his chair to follow me.

I’m only a few steps away from the couch when I feel a soft tug on my left hand, turning me around before I am being pulled into a bear hug. My eyes widen in shock because my best friend has never hugged me so closely and so tightly like this. But his embrace is just so perfect and warm and very much comforting that I can feel all these mixed emotions inside of me are swirling all over the place before I feel something triggering the most wanted reaction from me. And just like his warm embrace, my dams of tears exploded.

“I really like him, Baekhyun.” I say with tears streaming down my face. Baekhyun doesn’t say anything but lets me cry on his shoulder. I take a long time to stop crying and when I am slowly sniffling, that is when Baekhyun starts speaking.

“That wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it?” He asks while stroking my long hair. “You silly girl, you’ll feel a lot better after this. And oppa will make sure that jackass will regret doing what he did to you.”

135 notes · View notes

muwi-translates · 4 years ago

Text

Collar x Malice Short Story: Inside the Box

Christmas Shiraishi-centric short story.

HEAVY SPOILERS. Only read this AFTER you have finished the first game.

**Please don’t move this translation or claim it as your own.**

Generally speaking, the thing called ‘Memories’ is not clear.

Unlike memory as information, it has no fixed form. Its content can depend on the person.

Sometimes sad memories turn into hatred, and happy memories sometimes turn into delusions.

The human brain can't be trusted. It can automatically rewrite itself for its own benefit.

I, who did not require ‘Memories’ —— surely it is the same for Shiraishi Kageyuki the human.

◇ ◇ ◇

This was when I lived in the ‘Facility’.

Every day, every minute and every second, I lived like a machine.

For me, who knew how to suppress pain and happiness as soon as I understood how, all I had was ‘Curiosity’.

The vast amount of knowledge grew with each passing day. Memories of the outside world were written in letters. Like events of a distant world, even the difficult to read special books were simply ‘Unknown Stories’ to me.

I thought that my desire to know things defined my personality. However, when I think about it now, it may have been a desire planted in me as part of my training. Training to become a perfect doll.

"Christmas. The festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, coming from the word "Christ mass", it takes the form of many activities in Japan—...”

Inputting information was simple. However, I was also trained how to ‘Use Memory’. If a huge amount of information stayed on the surface of the brain, it will become confused, so if it is not necessary, there was no need to take out the memory sealed in the deeper layers.

(Gifts are put under a tree, and you gather with your family around the dinner table…)

Perhaps this information will also be stored in a box that is rarely retrieved from.

Of course I knew the basics, it was only carefully investigated because it was related to other information.

(Giving love to each other...for what...?)

The outside world is full of as many far-fetched, mysterious customs as mountains. If you had questions about everything, it would only make the processing slower. But this time, I was not sure why I was so interested in this subject.

"Are you interested in Christmas?"

——Suddenly hearing a sound coming from behind, my shoulders moved unconsciously.

Points are deducted if you are seen reacting. I immediately pretended to be calm and looked back, only to see an unfamiliar face.

“Your hand, it’s been paused on this page for a while now.”

What peered at me was a pair of eyes full of serenity, transparent no matter where you looked — like glass balls.

"No, I'm very sorry. I memorised it without any problems."

"I’m not blaming you for anything. I know you have good scores here."

He was a high-ranking person who has inspected this ‘Facility’ many times.

But his appearance did not match his position, with his youthful face. He appeared to be younger than me.

I remembered his name, because it was necessary for me to do so. —Mikuni Rei. He was a human who worked with those who ‘control’ us.

“I’m interested why you, someone that’s like a precision machine, showed interest in ‘that’, that’s all.”

"I didn't become interested... I just had questions."

"Like?"

“......”

What was the meaning of his response? Was I being tested, or was he being whimsical? Either way, I had no right to not reply.

"Why do humans, who aren’t related to that religion, choose to give each other love on that day? What for?”

"...I think there are many other things similar to it but..."

"Yes. But... after reading this information, I think for the average person, this part seems to be more special than others."

As I finished speaking, he— Mikuni Rei’s eyes became slightly dim for some reason. Careful observation of the facial expression can lead to an answer.

【Pity】

A boy in the ruling class felt compassion for a stray cat trapped in a box.

A sense of superiority, a desire for control, and empathy. There were many times where I wanted to give it a name, but it was difficult to understand because I was immature.

"Human feelings... cannot be explained by theory alone. If you feel special, it must be because it touches your heart.... If the other person is the object of your envy and admiration, they are not bound by rights or wrongs."

Thoughts continued to sound as the words continued.

If ‘we’ have feelings for a particular thing, in his viewpoint, it is not a good thing. However, he agreed.

“Why do you treat me like a human?”

“Eh?”

Asking questions is normally prohibited. But now my curiosity had prevailed. This was a serious error. There should be no more curiosity beyond the rules.

"You said these things about a pawn, things impossible to explain with theory."

"...You are right. I don't know why. It's just..."

After speaking, his bewildered gaze stayed on me, and then he spoke unwaveringly.

"Number 14. I... don't want you to be unhappy."

...At that time, he smiled.

But what kind of smile it was— I can’t remember.

Pitiful? Loathing? Hateful? Kindly?

I don’t remember. I can't remember.

Because it's stored in a box that can't be taken out, deep and deep inside.

◇ ◇ ◇

In my dream, someone is calling my name.

“————Shiraishi-san.”

Did I always have this human-sounding name? I want to lie and tell myself that this is true.

But it's impossible. Even my name, which was supposed to be just a code, has become so dear to me.

“Oi, Okazaki! There’s no room for you here for dinner!”

"How mean. But it's okay, I'll eat some from Mineo-san’s.”

“It’s NOT okay! No one told you to come!”

“I’m sorry, Enomoto. ...I was the one who called Okazaki here today.”

“Geh! Yanagi-senpai?! When did you fall this guy’s wily ways—!?”

"His voice was so loud we heard it from inside, obviously he’ll attract attention. Yanagi-san probably didn’t want to disturb the neighbors."

“Yanagi-san let me in when I kept saying ‘I’m so cold… I’m so lonely…’, fufu, he’s so nice.”

“So you just left Yoshinari outside? Talk about pitiful…”

“I'll bring him a souvenir later. It's food that Yanagi-san and Ichika-chan made together. It'll definitely be delicious."

“I don’t know if it’ll suit your tastes but… Ah, but Yanagi-san’s food, I promise it’ll move you! It’s definitely not inferior to food you’ll find at high-end restaurants.”

"Why does the stupid cat look so proud?"

"It looks good thanks to Hoshino being particular about the arrangement."

“Yanagi-senpai…! I’m getting a little jealous watching you two compliment each other, please stop it!!”

Ah, so noisy. Completely unproductive dialogue. There’s no calculation and no falsity, the boring everyday that I like.

When did I get used to this warmth and treat it as part of my everyday?

While I was thinking in a daze, Ichika-chan reached out to me.

“Shiraishi-san, come here. The party has already begun."

——Party? ……Is that so? Has it started?

"These were all made with everything we had. Let's have a good meal today."

——Fufu, as usual, Yanagi-san takes care of others like this.

“......Though I really don’t understand what’s so good about a bunch of us adults coming together.”

——Although that was what Sasazuka said, he also stayed behind to join in.

"Hey, don't stand there in a daze! You’re the protagonist today!"

——Hm? Did Enomoto-kun just call me ‘you’?

“I heard Ichika-chan is giving you a present, right?”

——Even Okazaki is here… Fufu, he must have come in by force.

"Yes. It’s a wonderful gift I prepared with everyone."

I took a box from Ichika-chan who was smiling as she spoke.

I felt strange rather than happy. I was looking right at Ichika-chan, instead of looking down.

Yanagi-kun patted my head, and it also seemed to feel very big. No, maybe it's because I have shrunk.

Thin limbs, short hair. I am the same age as when I talked to ‘Him’ about Christmas.

(Ah. Is this… a dream?)

It seems I dream too much at Christmas.

"But Ichika-chan. I haven't prepared a gift."

"No, Shiraishi-san. We’re...returning you what you gave us."

“...? What I gave you?”

"Yes. You gave us… a lot. It's only natural that we want to return the favour."

“I see… so this is what it means… to exchange gifts…”

"Yes. We want to share it, because we cherish each other. Please open it, and take a look."

“Okay.”

I slowly opened the box, and inside was——、

◇ ◇ ◇

When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar scenery.

This was their base, called the ‘Detective Agency’. It also became a place I could feel comfortable as well.

“Ah, Shiraishi-san, you’re awake?”

A pair of eyes I seem to always see somewhere, someplace, were looking at me. Crystal clear—like glass balls.

“Ichika-chan…? Ah, huh? Where’s... the present box…?”

"? Fufu, it's rare to see you half-awake. If you sleep in a place like this, you’ll catch a cold. Are you going to the office to stay overnight?"

I realized the reality as my consciousness gradually returned from my awakening.

That’s right. The collar—in order to protect herself from those who had declared to ‘pick her up’, she had taken refuge here with her brother.

The deadline announced by Adonis was approaching soon. In order to make her forget this fact temporarily, I had been talking to them about Christmas. When I thought about the gift she gave—and the only gift I could make, I fell asleep.

(Truly... the ‘Heart’ is so difficult to understand. I… must have been scared to have a dream like that.)

—Everything will end soon.

That smile of his I had gently stored away was blacked out.

The contents of the boxes I had received from her and everyone had been badly damaged and dirtied.

But I decided not to regret it, even if I was scared or in pain.

Because I got the most precious gift in the world.

"Ichika-chan...Thank you."

"Eh?"

"You taught me my first Christmas, right? So, thank you."

"What are you talking about? The real fun starts from now on."

"...Fufu, yeah."

In a few days, we won’t be able to greet Christmas as we promised. Regardless of what happens, it will only make you sad.

Even if I understand that, I want to see it. I don't want to give up. I want to make my wish come true.

This is certainly not a sad story.

I, who had received such a present, could not be unhappy.

Even if I get it dirty with my own hands, this warmth will not disappear.

There’s no reasoning. It’s because I’m human. ...Because I am special.

A shining, sparkling gift for me, who was supposed to be called Number 14.

An opened box filled to the brim with tender memories.

#otome #otome game #otomate #collar x malice #cxm #shiraishi kageyuki #mytranslations

63 notes · View notes

woogurl · 5 years ago

Text

WOOSAN’S RELATIONSHIP ANALYSIS

yeah, it’s your girl, it’s me again, i’m back with another analysis, ‘cause i’m bored in quarantine.

so, basically, i wanted to share my opinion on what i think woosan’s relationship is. as a woosan shipper, obviously i’m biased, but i’m going to be as practical and as impartial as i can possibly be. i wanted to do this because i know people think they’re either best friends, friends with benefits or actually romantically involved. i can say that i’m actually pretty uncertain about it, but i want to argue why i do think think they are at least in a intimate relationship.

again, i’m not a professional body language reader/psychologist/analyst or whatever. these are solely based on my observations.

REASON ONE: woo’s body language/relationship with yeosang is completely different than his relationship with san.

Now people argue that they’re both woo’s best friend. which i agree that you can certainly have two best friends. however, in this case, it’s still different? woo puts a lot of emphasis on his relationship with both san and yeo.

yes, i know you can all hear this picture, woo always needs to emphasize his four years of friendship with yeo, and even picked yeo when he had to choose between him and san as his bestfriend. also keep in mind that woo left bighit bts for yeo. that’s a real ass friend.

which left san devastated, i mean look at the way he looked at mingi, like wtf, you’re not woo. lmfao.

woo and yeo have been friends for four years, yet i think most of us can agree that the nature of his relationship with san, is just different.

woo sees san as his other half/twin, by the way he’s been friends with yeo for five years now. again the language is completely different. on the other hand, san wrote:

i’m not entirely sure what he meant by you also, the not sure was the translator’s note. but as you can see their responses for the chemistry that they have for each other is entirely different.

Let’s move on to the legendary asmr video.

again, they’re super physical, just look at the way san touches/grab woo. anyhow, we aren’t there yet.i wanted to emphasize something else. that being the talk after. i’ve highlighted the parts that i think are important to take note of.

WY: You always go along with whatever I do

WY: And you take interest in the things I like

WY: I'm very thankful for that

WY: No one takes care of me better than you

WY: If you think I'm exaggerating, it's to the point where even my parents asked him to take care of me

ummmmm.....

WY: Take care of me in the future, too, please

S: You're cool

S: You’re cool and

S: I honestly

S: Now I can sincerely

S: To the people around me or my relatives

S: I can proudly say that my friend is Wooyoung!

S: You're that kind of friend

S: To that point where I'm not embarrassed

S: Or rather say you're my friend that's worth showing off!

S: I think this is more than enough!

you can’t tell me that this doesn’t legitimately sound like a love confession.

Next, the handshakes man? i don’t think i should include all of their handshakes as this would get too long, it already is, but you guys get the gist. they have so many like jesus christ. whyyy?

Lastly amicus and aras. The fact that woo really went searching for a word or saying meaning a friend forever is very telling to me. also note here they were the only ones in each others fancams which was super sweet.

REASON TWO(yeh, we JUST got here): woo’s obsession with san, now a lot of people think woosan is one-sided because woo is very good with hiding his emotions on cam. but a lot of us now are a lot more aware that woo sticks to san like gum.

san literally asked him if he was a piece of glue, also hi baby yunho.

literally like glue, you can’t tell me this isn’t boyfriend culture.

as soon as seonghwa leaves for the mission on wanted film woo goes back to san. lol, i know he was prob just tryna get a better view but i wouldn’t put it past him. anyway, like glue.

woo’s leg over san’s, like glue. or that time woo ended up in san’s bed, even though he was supposed to be with hongjoong/yunho/etc?

don’t believe me? then just take san’s word for it.

also, it’s supposed to be, “you really like me more than i thought.” so even san is surprised by woo’s clingyness.

i don’t even much to say about this interview it speaks for itself. woo was literally all over san during it. this is also one of the interviews that completely solidify my beliefs of them being in an intimate relationship whatever it may have been. i just felt like this interview was like, “yeh, we’re together.” that’s just the aura i got from it also it was valentine’s day or at least themed?

also, i’ll mention but not add all the times san has said that woo comes to his room. it’s very often there’s plenty of vids that we avid woosan shippers know of. moving on with woo’s obsession with san.

that time the members were supposed to post pics of themselves, and most of woo’s at least three pics were of him with san. don’t you like san too much woo?

REASON THREE: Body language in general

The stares man, the stares...You just don’t look at friends this way.

including these stares:

i’ve also noticed in a couple of videos that wooyoung tries to avoid san’s stares, there are times where he just doesn’t even look at him even though he knows san is staring at him. sometimes he literally turns his face completely away from san and i think it’s to avoid getting lost in san’s eyes. i want to express that woo does this very intentionally, as i said before he’s much more aware of the camera than san. it’s hard to notice because these aren’t motion pictures, but i want you to watch their moments and you’ll notice that most, if not all the time that woo always turns his head away first while san stare’s linger for at least one second longer.

otherwise, we’d just get more moments like this:

REASON FOUR(very important): How touchy they are with each other.

san’s nono is square on woo’s ass, that’s far from straight. anyway, moving on, they’re very touchy and the fact, that they’re even more touchy when the cameras are off is very telling to me. like i said the valentine vlive was enough to convince me that they’re physically intimate and the fact that san said woo likes to come to his room a lot. i also want to note that anytime san mentions this woo gets incredibly uncomfortable? why? you can just say you like playing games together or whatever, but woo always freaks out. lmfao. also apparently they were in a room together and in bed together according to woo. i think something may happened, because woo was more clingy than usual on camera, and their expressions were quite transparent.

REASON FIVE: The time they spend together off camera

Since the vlive from a while ago, the christmas one, we learned they spend a lot of time together off camera. i already did an analysis about this for the woosansang drama post. but the fact that the members felt so pouty about how much time they spend together tells me that they spend a lot of time together. i also want to note that i think mingi’s comments are important because after watching him stuff his hands in his pants and literally reading off the piece of paper that the staff writes telling them to do something it’s obv this boi skipped idol training. ‘cause he fcking pours tea. lol but anyway mingi said that one day while with yeo, yeo said, “san really likes woo, huh?” and they all started screaming that’s weird ‘cause obv, it’s so gay.

here’s another moment, where mingi is exposing their asses. lol. even the members say they’re constantly afraid that he’ll say something he’s not supposed to. mind you that they’re probably having a semi-casual convo.

lol. why bring up woo so suddenly mingi?

mingi’s like btch stop lying.

so, mingi laid it all out for us, but san said, “no no no, he’s the clingy one, woo’s the one always following me--WELL, we follow each other.” anyway, i do feel like san brought this up because people always assume that he’s the clingy one, after all he didn’t have to read it i felt like he read it to check us lmfao.

REASON SIX: people may not all agree on this, i get that this will be extremely controversial but i honestly do believe the escape woosan vlive was solid proof enough for me that they are physically intimate.

i know i said before that i think they were tired, but someone said it was apparently only 4pm, so now i’m convinced they were drunk. lmfao. anyhow, there’s a lot of moaning, and “stop rubbing”, as i already made an analysis about this i’m just gonna comment about the part that sold me and that was the part where san literally shouted woo’s name as he was holding in his voice. which convinced me that woo was being a little shit rubbing him inappropriately. let’s be honest, woo is THAT type of person(to secretly rub someone off in public) lol. there’s just no explanation for that shout, and the “you want me to tell?” and woo’s “no!” yeah, no, you can’t convince that they weren’t doing some freaky shit. lol

lastly.

REASON SEVEN: Their commitment to woosan.

now we can agree that most ships do not like being shipped, but woosan came up with their own ship name and handshake, as well as phrase for it. amicus ad aras as well as san: WOO woo: SAN. also, the time they walked together holding hands on tour with little umbrella’s that read woo and san. your ship could never.

do i think some of it is fanservice? sure, i mean KQ even made an entire woosan vcr.

but, definitely not all of it, and woo has said himself during the lie detector test, that it isn’t just business.

they even have a fandom name, i mean? come on? i’m sure the company isn’t forcing them to do it lol. i think they really just are committed that much to each other. also, when someone asked about woosanhwa, they said they’d think about it. lmfao. what woosan share is something entirely different than what we’re used to.

anyway, thas it. thank you for your time. c;

#ateez #wooyoung #san #woosan

129 notes · View notes

siren-dragon · 4 years ago

Text

1,001 Lucian Nights -- Somnus x F!reader fanfiction (Ch.5)

Oh my gosh, it’s a chapter update! I know it’s been over a year since I posted, but I kinda lost a bit of interest in the FFXV (the alternate ending makes me confused and isn’t my favorite). Anyway, I decided to finish this story thanks to @LuminaReal on AO3 convincing me to continue. So here is chapter 5! Also, if anyone would like me to do art for this just let me know.

WARNING: there is a mature curse in this chapter

Tagging: @maty-yami

AO3 - story link

Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The first thing you were able to register was the warmth that caressed your skin as you were slowly pulled from unconsciousness and rejoined the land of the living. Squinting at the brief assault the sunlight brought upon your senses, you sat upright from your simple bed and glanced outside the small window that resided to your right as you mentally reviewed the previous night’s events. You recalled Gilgamesh escorting you back to the Oracle’s chambers where your mistress lay resting upon the chaise; having attempted to wait for your return. Once you and the King’s Shield had awoken Lady Selene and managed to calm her unease, both of you decided to retire for a long-awaited rest. The exhaustion you felt not only from the evening’s harrowing experience but the previous night as well was so great, you barely registered Gilgamesh taking his leave as sleep overcame you mere moments after your head fell upon the plush pillow.

Yet now you sat awake with a far more refreshed mind-set after the small reprieve. The idea that Somnus was more or less robbed of such a simple yet principal pleasure made you marvel at how the black-haired king had managed so far. Truth be told, he has not. You thought ruefully, gently rubbing your wrist which was now bound by a fresh cloth; masking the dark purple hand-print bruise and subsequent sprain you gained from Somnus’… displeasure. While you did extend a bit of sympathy toward the young Lucis Caelum’s ailment, you could not help the brief vexation and fear that rippled within your mind at his actions. Of course, there was no denying the sliver of gratitude you felt, after all; it could have been your neck bearing the bruise instead….

“I should not hold my breathe on that account, if I cannot continue my stories, I may find myself receiving such a mark.” You spoke aloud softly, moving quickly to dress for the day.

As you exited your small bedchamber and entered the Oracle’s personal sitting rooms, you were surprised to find not the Speaker for the Gods herself, but rather the young servant girl Ceres instead. The adolescent girl jumped in surprise at your sudden appearance, bowing respectfully to you, “L-Lady (f/n), you should be resting! Her Ladyship the Oracle said to-“

“It is quite alright Ceres, and there is no need for titles; I am merely a handmaiden, not a noble of the court.” You corrected kindly, glancing around the sitting room in search of the Oracle, “Lady Selene is not here, is she?”

“No, my La- I mean, (f/n). She left to perform blessings and asked that you not be bothered so you may rest; she said you had a rather harrowing night.”

“I see… Ceres, would you mind doing me a small favor? I need you to deliver a note to someone within the bazaar; a Master Sidolfus.”

“The storyteller?” Ceres exclaimed in giddy delight, her enthusiastic reaction making you chuckle. It seemed the master storyteller’s fame continued to grow with each passing day.

“The very same. Please ensure that he receives this letter,” you replied, quickly scrawling out a short message upon a spare piece of parchment.

“You can count on me (f/n)!”

=============================================================

There were few pastimes that Somnus ever took part in, but falconry was the one he held most dear. It was the sole avocations he and his mother had shared before her death- the late Lady Rhea Lucis Caelum having been a great admirer of animals, birds especially. He remembered once as a child trying to lift the falcon his mother had held so effortlessly upon her slender arm, only to shake and tremble under the fowl’s heavy weight while it crowed angrily at him for being an unsteady perch. Now he barely took notice of the bird’s presence upon his hand, having grown accustom to the falcons residing upon his hand or shoulder.

“I thought you would be here.” A voice spoke, accompanied by the sounds of moving fabric and the clink of metal upon stone.

“May I ask what brings you here, your Ladyship? I doubt it is to observe the crafting of a falcon hood.” Somnus asked, showcasing the small, half-finished leather hood he was currently sewing.

A rather sheepish expression briefly flittered across the blonde’s face. “Forgive me, your Majesty, I did not think myself to be so transparent. But you are correct, my motive for being here is more than mere socialization between friends.”

“I take it this is in regard to your handmaiden, (f/n).” Somnus shot back before turning to face the blonde Oracle.

Clad in full regalia with trident in hand, the blonde priestess looked as if she were a divine being herself; descending upon the mortal realm to invoke her will, though she possessed a polite smile rather than the cold indifference often seen upon the Messengers of the Astrals. Somnus knew many of the nobles believed Selene to be a little naïve and gullible due to the kindness she displayed to any who sought blessings from the Oracle but that could not be further from the truth. Beneath her sweet disposition was an intelligent and fearless leader ready to fulfill her calling despite being a second choice. And Somnus knew more than anyone that the Oracle was an individual not to be trifled with.

“Indeed,” Selene answered, resting the bottom of her trident upon the marble floor. “Your Majesty…. regardless of what you choose to believe, you are my friend and I do care greatly about your safety, as does Gilgamesh. That would be why I was supportive of (f/n)’s assistance regarding your insomnia and night-terrors. However, that young woman is not only my handmaiden, but my dear friend as well. Which is why I am curious as to how she received a bruise upon her wrist in the shape of a man’s hand last night.”

The Lucian sovereign flinched briefly at the sharpening of Selene’s tone as if struck, “It was… a lapse of judgement Selene.”

“A lapse of judgement? You attacked a woman, Somnus. I know that you’ve been having a difficult time of late and I sympathize, but this is an action I cannot condone.”

“Then you should have your hand-maiden watch her tongue when speaking of matters she does not understand- “

“Somnus Lucis Caelum!” Selene snapped, crystal-blue eyes colder than the Ghorovas Rift, “I will not have you debase a woman who has been trying to help you out of nothing but the kindness in her heart, only to suffer physical harm! Now you will control your temper and act like the king you are, or I swear to Shiva you will be the first to face my skills with this trident!”

A tense silence fell between the two that seemed to stretch on for an eternity before Somnus nodded in understanding. “…. Forgive me, Selene. I- I have over-stepped my bounds.”

“I am not the one who needs to hear those words, Somnus.”

Without another word, Selene exited the aviary, leaving the thoroughly disciplined king to his thoughts. Selene’s anger slowly flooded her mind as she proceeded to return to the East Wing while a sliver of guilt began to take its place. Perhaps she was a bit too harsh on Somnus, not to mention immature for having lost her own temper so easily when trying to teach her friend to reign in his own. Regardless, Selene only hoped that (f/n) was willing to continue with her meetings and that Somnus’ mental health did not deteriorate too far…

“Ah, Lady Selene! You look positively radiant this day, your ladyship. I wondered, perhaps, if I could discuss a rather growing concern with you?”

The young Oracle bit her lip and said a silent prayer for strength to the Astrals before turning to face the individual who had addressed her, polite smile on her lips. “Thank you, Lord Aldercapt, you are too kind. How can I assist you this day? Is something wrong?”

=============================================================

You were glad to see that Ceres was successful in her task as Sidolfus arrived not long after you yourself at the small but private eatery not too far from the Citadel. And much like your previous encounter, the elderly man was more than happy to have accepted the invitation for a meeting; likely knowing you were eager for advice. “Greetings Lady (f/n), it is wonderful to see you once more.”

“Likewise, Master Sidolfus, I am glad you were able to come.”

The older storyteller chuckled, “well, your messenger was quite insistent that I accept your invitation. A rather spit-fire of a girl you have there.”

“Oh dear, I do hope Ceres wasn’t too… erm, passionate about my request.” You frowned, the slight embarrassment you felt tinting your face pink with blush.

“Not at all! If anything, that girl gave me some inspiration for another story of mine. And speaking of stories, I assume you asked me here for assistance with your own fables. Tell me Lady (f/n), how have your tales been received by your nobleman patron?”

“Far better than I had hoped, but he is not as enraptured as I would have wished. I managed to finish my current story and spoke of beginning another the previous night, but I am not quite sure how to hold his focus…until I recalled your own tale.”

“Ah, you are speaking of my encounter with Death,” Sidolfus replied knowingly, gently blowing the steam from his cup of tea before taking a tentative sip.

You nodded, “yes, you mentioned you had meet him once before.”

“I did not meet him, I passed him on the streets of Altissia- but only for a moment. I had told a close friend what had happened, and he said… that he too had seen Death too and that Death had given him a horrible look. He was so frightened that he was leaving for Caem that very night.” Sidolfus answered, his eyes bearing an intense focus as he recounted his tale to you, as if he were speaking of an event that had occurred merely hours ago.

“…And?” you questioned, eager to learn more of the storyteller’s fable.

It was then that Sidolfus allowed a small smirk to twist at his lips, knowing full well that his tall-tale had already claimed your attention. “Another time perhaps. You must learn how to keep your audience in suspense Lady (f/n). But you must ensure that he does not know what is to happen next.”

“Truth be told, even I am not aware of what will happen next,” you admitted honestly, not quite sure if you were referring to your story or the continuation of your meetings with the king.

You spent the remainder of the time speaking a bit more with Sidolfus before taking your leave, knowing full well that Lady Selene would likely send out a squadron of glaives to locate you. Quickly you hurried back toward the East Wing to continue with your chores but was surprised when the doors opened to reveal not only Lady Selene, but a nobleman accompanying her as well. “Please, will you not consider my proposal, Lady Oracle. We only wish to secure the continuation of this kingdom.”

“Lord Aldercapt,” Lady Selene answered with polite grace despite the irritation that reflected within her ice-blue eyes. “I understand your concerns and I am ever grateful for you placing the needs of the people above all else. But from what I have seen, I do not believe his Majesty to be incapable of performing what duties he has been charged with by divine providence.”

“The council is fully aware of His Majesty’s prowess and skill, my Lady- he has done admirably despite the heavy burden placed upon him. But one cannot help the concern felt as to whether or not the king can continue his duty as sovereign with his current health. Should his Majesty’s constitution continue to decline…. we will be forced to act; regardless of divine providence.”

“Those are treasonous words you speak,” you quietly interrupted, unable to mask your outrage at the old man’s cruel murmurs and causing both Selene and the old man to face you.

The old nobleman swiftly turned his gaze to you; his dark blue, nearly black eyes reminded you eerily of a deep abyss glaring coldly at you in cold fury at your sudden appearance. He took in your simplistic attire and stared down at you with a withered sneer as if you were nothing more than a mere insect beneath his boot. “And who are you to interrupt private conversations? I believe servants are taught to hold their tongue, are they not.”

You flushed briefly in shock and anger at the man’s cruel words but was halted from retaliating with an aggressive response when Selene came to your aid. “Lord Aldercapt, I would kindly ask you to please refrain from insulting members of my staff.”

“Your… staff?” The ivory-haired man looked at you with an expression of surprise until it morphed into an oily smile that barely hid the displeasure in the nobleman’s eyes. The falsified expression sent a cold chill of unease down your spine as if the Glacian herself had frozen your very bones. You did your best to keep your expression neutral; though the nobleman’s twisted smile made the task nearly impossible. “Forgive me, your Ladyship; I was not aware this…girl served our dear and beloved Oracle. Tell me, who might you be?”

“Permit me to introduce my handmaiden and dear friend: (f/n).”

“At your service, sir.” You replied stiffly, your bow of greeting barely low enough to be considered polite.

Whether or not Lord Aldercapt took notice of your lack of courtesy, he did not care to comment and instead turned his gaze back to Selene. “Please consider my words, your Ladyship, for the good of all.” He bowed graciously to the Oracle and tossed you another venomous but subtle glare before disappearing back down the empty corridor and out of the East Wing of the Citadel. Once Lord Aldercapt had proceeded out of sight and earshot Selene released a heavy sigh of relief while you continued glaring down the corridor at where the aristocrat once stood.

“That man makes me uncomfortable.” You spoke, at last relaxing once more with the return of privacy.

Selene frowned, “I did not think Lord Aldercapt would speak so directly regarding Somnus' ailments. This is rather unsettling….”

“Would he and the other lords really try to contend with the Will of the Gods regarding his Majesty’s throne?”

“Not all of the council heed Aldercapt's honeyed words, but I would be lying if I said he had no sway over the other nobles. I do not believe they would be foolish enough to contend against Somnus and myself directly… but the hearts of men are often blinded by material vices.” The Oracle sighed before turning a questioning gaze onto you, “but it seems that issue is not the only concern I have.”

“Oh? What might the others be?”

“For starters, would you care to explain why you arrived back with a bruise upon your wrist so severe it caused a sprain.” Selene questioned with narrowed eyes.

You swiftly turned your gaze downward and bit your lip in thought, knowing there was truly no use lying to your friend. “It was merely an accident, my Lady, nothing more.”

“And I suppose the man whose hand it bares the shape of meant no offense.” Selene added sharply, her words causing you to flinch ever so slightly. “(F/n)… perhaps it would be best if you stopped meeting with Somnus.”

“I will not try to fool you Lady Selene and say His Majesty is merely a misunderstood and tragic man. He is cold, rude, stubborn, possesses' a foul temper, and carries a well of secrets greater than any sinner; but he is a good man. One that needs more help than he realizes.”

Selene frowned, “as Oracle and the mistress you have chosen to serve, you have my deepest gratitude for choosing to continue with this task (f/n). But as your friend… I am concerned that you or Somnus may get hurt from this endeavor. However, you asked for my trust in this matter and so I shall continue to give it. I will not interfere….for now.”

You smiled brightly and bowed respectfully toward Selene, “I am at a loss for words my Lady but, thank you.”

The blonde answered your show of gratefulness with a matching smile before continuing down the corridor of the West Wing with you fast on her heels. “Now then, I must speak with Gilgamesh in regards to Lord Aldercapt and the rest of the Council, I sense there may be more than mere nightmares working against the King. I shall leave His Majesty’s health to you; I trust you’ve a tale in mind for your next meeting?”

It was then that a look of amusement flittered across your face, though the determination in your (e/c) eyes burned brightly. “Yes… I believe I do.”

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

As day turned to night, and the brilliance of the sun was replaced by the illumination of flame from every candle and brazier, you found yourself being escorted once more by Lord Gilgamesh toward the King’s chambers. Similarly, to the previous evenings, the tall warrior beside you remained silent; but for once you were glad for the quiet as it allowed you to collect your thoughts as you sub-consciously rubbed the bandage about your wrist and hand. “My lady, we have arrived,” Gilgamesh gently placing a hand upon your shoulder; causing you to jump as you returned to the present.

“Y-Yes, thank you Lord Gilgamesh.”

“Lady (f/n), while I admire your courage in continuing with this task; there is no shame in feeling fear.”

That caused you to pause as you turned to face the aged warrior, “… you do not think me foolish for fearing my own sovereign? Or cowardly wondering if this may end with my neck upon the headsman’s block.”

“No, my lady. Fear is an important aspect to possess as well as overcome. In battle, one may discover what their enemy fears most by the means he uses to frighten you. Such knowledge is crucial if one wishes survive against their combatant.”

“You believe I should treat the king as my enemy?” you asked, curious and surprised at his words.

“Is your life not in danger from this endeavor?” Gilgamesh replied, a brief teasing smile tugging at his lips at your disbelief. “You have seen Somnus through all manner of emotions over the course of the past few nights that only a handful of individuals have and that knowledge can aid you. What I am saying Lady (f/n)… is that it may not be you who is the one that is truly afraid.”

You pondered the swordsman’s words as he moved to knock heavily upon the door and opening it when the king’s familiar voice muttered a muffled, “enter.” Nodding your head in thanks to Gilgamesh, you entered the expansive quarters while the door closed behind you like the bars of a prison cell. Across the room the king stood waiting for you as you approached. “Good evening, your Majesty,” you greeted as you bowed politely.

“Yes… good evening Lady (f/n).”

Those words certainly caught you off guard, the kind greeting causing you to immediately look toward the ebony-haired man. For once the harsh lines around Somnus’ face seemed to have softened with the lack of the usual sour expression that seemed to have permanent residence upon his face, making him look far younger. His arms were crossed as his dark-blue eyes seemed to avoid your own as his left foot seemed to shuffle back and forth in the slightest of movements as if he wanted to race away; giving the king the appearance of a young boy who had been caught stealing sweets and forced to confront the shop-keep. After what felt like an eternity he let his eyes shift briefly toward you, glancing at the bandage wrapped about your wrist and hand; causing a micro-expression of regret to flitter across his face so quickly, you would have believed you imaged it were it not for Somnus’ next words.

“I do hope you are well enough to continue your tales, Lady (f/n).”

You stared at him with a look of pure confusion, one that he noticed and caused him to immediately growl in anger and turn sharply away. Did he… Did he just inquire about my health? Is this about my injury?

“Y-Yes sire, I am well; thank you for your inquires.” You responded awkwardly, unused to the strange pleasantries the two of you were exchanging.

“Good. I do hope the… the fool who has caused such an offense has asked your forgiveness. Though none would fault you if you choose to withhold such a privilege due to this man’s actions toward you; as they were nothing short of cruelty.”

If this wasn’t a serious apology from the King of Lucis himself, you may have laughed at the look of nervousness and embarrassment on Somnus’ face. His face had contorted due to his expression of anger, but it was less cold and severe than you had previously witnessed; which caused it to appear pouty and brooding. You tried to fight down the giggles that threatened to spill from your mouth by biting your lip and smiling brightly at the proud king who seemed to have been chastised by another to give this rather humiliating and unusual apology. You briefly wondered if this was what Gilgamesh meant by the king experiencing fear; perhaps beneath it all he was just as frightened as you were. Well, you supposed it was time to overcome your fear and give the poor man a chance… but only a chance.

“I believe he has earned my forgiveness… for the time being. But one can not be too careful, another incident may leave him with a proper scolding.”

His eyes quickly shot up to meet your own, surprised at your acceptance of his apology and playful teasing of his behavior. There was no need for outright proclamations or tearful confessions of ‘I’m sorry’, he was too stubborn for that and you wished not to have a bold statement spoken in false tones if he did say those words. But you both understood what one was trying to convey and knew that such words have returned you both to even playing fields. He smirked as midnight blue eyes sparked with mischief as the golden-orange glow of the braziers danced across his pale face. “Oh? And I suppose you will inflict this scolding yourself? And just what might such an action entail… Lady (f/n).”

You prayed to every Astral there was Somnus did not see the rose shade of blush that suddenly crept up your face at his less-than innocent innuendo. Though judging by the growth of the smirk on his lips, you were not so fortunate. “Perhaps that will be a story for another time, your Majesty.”

“I look forward to it.” He spoke as he settled upon the plush pillows and soft rug within the sitting area, the small table already laden with refreshments and the dim glow of candlelight. “Now… I trust you will continue your unfinished tale.”

“Yes sire, I shall continue.” You answered, settling across from him against the lush furnishings.

============================================================

‘As the crowd was leaving the courtroom, the most famous magician in Galahd, Glauca, passed by on his way to Tenebrae. He was a rather intimidating yet charismatic man with piercing blue eyes and a gravelly voice that could command anyone into performing his bidding. When he came into a room, the Sabertusks jumped on chairs…. But he is not the hero of this story.

‘And who is that?’ Somnus asked.

‘Um… Erebus- no.’ You muttered, trying to think of a name as images of your character flashed through your mind. Young, old, tall, short, male, female, blonde, redhead, and brunette all swirled about within your head until the image began to emerge and become clear.

‘Nyx… Nyx Ulric.’

“NO!” a brunette man with dark-blue eyes and unshaven face cried out in despair as the chocobo’s raced down the track, with a particularly vibrant orange one claiming victory and with it, his money. Cheers or shouts of outrage that echoed all across the pavilion of the races from what seemed to be every gambler within the vicinity. It was clear to see by the worn and dirty tunic he wore that his social status was not one of wealth, though not uncommon in the sprawling coastal city of Pagla; Tenebrae’s famed trading hub. The young man groaned as he jumped off the pile of crates, he had claimed to watch the outcome of his bet, only for another man- this one a bit more rotund than Nyx, to heave a heavy sigh as well.

“Ugh, that race was fixed Libertus!” Nyx exclaimed in outrage, while a few of those in the crowd they tried to move through agreed whole-heartedly.

Libertus laughed, “that’s no question; anyone could have seen that Nyx. It just goes to show that honesty doesn’t pay.”

“They could have been a bit more subtle about it. Tch, who picks orange anyway?” Nyx sighed before tossing a grin to his friend. “Guess it looks like we’ll have to get back to work, huh?”

“Looks that way, let’s go.”

Swiftly moving through the crowd, Nyx glanced about the sea of faces until he finally found the perfect target. A middle-aged man dressed in fine, silk with expensive accessories draped upon his hands and neck; strutting like a proud peacock amid the poverty of Pagla. Ensuring there were no royal guards patrolling the streets as one really didn’t want to be a guest within the dungeons, Nyx took action. He quickly bumped into the man, who stumbled and glared at him while haughtily turning away, not even noticing as Nyx quickly slipped his purse away from his belt with skill and ease. “Sorry, excuse me…” he muttered half-heartedly before claiming his prize and racing away.

“What? My purse- I’ve been robbed!”

“Hey, are you alright sir? Someone robbed you?” Libertus asked, immediately drawing the noble’s attention away from Nyx.

“Th-That rogue who bumped into me, he stole my money!”

“Umm, I think I saw where he went- this way, quickly!”

Unknown to both parties, a pair of cold blue eyes- like twin pieces of ice, watched the scene before him with intrigue. As the thief quickly raced away with his prize, the man couldn’t help but smirk, believing himself quite fortunate to have found just the person he needed….

When Nyx and Libertus met once more, after having found a safe place away from guards or their mark, they began to split their earnings. Both were far more pleased to find that the man carried a decent amount of money that would tide them over for a time. As the last gil was finally split, a loud shout of angry voices and squabbling of chocobos began to fill the air as people stampeded away from a small battalion of guards escorting what looked to be an elegant carriage; a rare sight in the less-refined region of the city and likely the result of poor directions.

“Who’s in a coach that needs that large of an escort?” Libertus scoffed, unimpressed by the obvious display of wealth.

Nyx shrugged but curiosity got the better of him as he grinned to his friend, “no idea; but let’s find out.”

“And deal with all those guards? Hell no.”

“Come on, we’ll take the rooftops to leave. Besides, you love messing with guards.”

Libertus groaned, knowing there was no use arguing with Nyx once his mind was made up. “Fine, let’s do this before they leave. And if we end up spending a week in the dungeon, I’m blaming you.”

Together the two men hurried closer to the carriage, careful to avoid the eyes of the guards until they were crouching behind an abandoned wagon filled with Cartanica Melons. Keeping an eye on the carriage and waiting till it was closer, Nyx and Libertus heaved the wagon upward, causing the fruit within to sprawl across the dirt street and startle the chocobos while halting the carriage. The guard escort soon realized their charge was now stranded while the two thieves quickly moved to leave the scene. Yet as Nyx was moving to climb onto the rooftop, the small window of the carriage slowly opened and he felt himself freeze as his eyes met the those of the passenger.

Inside the carriage was a young woman, her skin pale and fair while her lips were a pale pink and a bit wide; but it only complimented her heart-shaped face. Though she appeared to be wearing a small headdress; Nyx could see dark blue flowers and shinning pearls twisted into her blonde hair- which only showcased that whoever she was she was certainly wealthy. But what caused Nyx to pause as the rest of the world faded away from his mind was her eyes- a shade of bright blue that caused the color of the sky to appear dull and lifeless by comparison; eyes that were currently locked upon his own showing only curiosity and kindness dancing in their depths.

“Who is that?” He asked softly, lost as if in a trance.

Libertus frowned, looking briefly at the person who had stolen Nyx’s attention, “oh, it’s Princess Lunafreya; she’s Queen Sylva’s daughter. I heard she’s quite kind-hearted, but apparently it’s nothing compared to her beauty- guess the rumors were true there.”

Nyx could barely hear Libertus talking as he continued to hold the princess’ gaze, who offered him a small smile that caused Nyx to only grin. She’s beautiful….

“Nyx… Nyx… Nyx! We’ve got to go!” Libertus called, pulling his love-struck friend up toward the roof as the guards began to give chase.

After being harshly returned to the reality of their situation, Nyx reluctantly turned away from the divine beauty of the young woman and quickly followed Libertus away from the guards as they raced across the rooftops. Within the carriage, Lunafreya watched the scene in awe and with a small laugh as the guards attempted to give chase. “My Lady, are you alright?” her attendant asked.

“Yes, I am fine. I was just… saying hello to a friend.” She smiled, wondering if she’d ever meet the young man again as the carriage continued onward.

Nyx quickly vaulted over a stone railing onto an abandoned rooftop, having split from Libertus to avoid tails before meeting again, only to see he was not alone. Standing across from him with his arms crossed and a smug, knowing look upon his face was a man a fair bit older than himself clad in well-worn traveling clothes. “What the- where the hell did you come from?” He asked guardedly, surprised that the man had seemed to appear from out of nowhere; an action that placed Nyx on high-alert.

“From the other side of the world: Galahd.” The man replied dryly, moving his hand in an half-hearted movement to mockingly convey wonder into his words. “and stay calm Nyx Ulric, do I look like one of the royal guards?”

“I am calm, and how do you know my name.”

“I was a friend of your late father, my name is Glauca.”

Nyx raised a skeptic eyebrow at the proclamation, “I didn’t know he had any…”

“Very few: just me.” Glauca laughed, “your father, he was so crooked he could hide in the shadow of a corked screw.”

The two remained silent, as if sizing each other up before Nyx grinned widely; “you did know him. So, why are you here looking for me and not him?”

“I wish to discuss business with you that requires your unique skillset in the art of thievery.”

“I assume this business you’re offering of the shady variety?”

Glauca nodded, “shady, shifty, and shadowy business. But… very profitable.”

Though he wished it took him longer to ask to show his trepidation with the offer; the word ‘profitable’ had immediately caught Nyx’s attention as he spoke. “What do I have to do then?”

“Meet me tomorrow outside the city gates at dawn. And here, consider it a token of my faith in you, do not keep me waiting.” Glauca then retrieved a small, but heavy purse from within his robe and tossed it to Nyx; who caught it deftly and opened to revel in the plentiful amount of gil within. He then looked up to thank Glauca, only to find the man gone.

============================================================

Despite his unsavory career choice as a thief, Nyx was never one to be obscenely greedy. He grew up with practically nothing, only to gradually lose everything as his parents and sister died one by one; which is why he strived to share his ill-gotten loot with those in similar circumstances. That often caused many to call him the rogue with ‘a heart of gold’ but Nyx preferred to see it as just simple kindness; after all, he could take care of himself and get by fine- not everyone had that luxury.

Making his way toward the humble and decaying building that was his home, he waved hello to Crowe. Unlike Libertus and Nyx, Crowe was not necessary a thief but a fence for their ill-gotten goods and friend who roomed with them. The brown-haired and brown-eyed girl held such a simple appearance that it often caused no one to glance her way, if Libertus’ overprotective nature didn’t stop them first. Indeed, Crowe’s true skill laid in being unseen and the connections she carried; a true gift for a thief. “Looks like the Hero Thief has returned. So, how’d work go today Nyx? Libertus just got back.”

“See for yourself; and make sure to spend it all and give the food to the others, okay.”

Crowe gasped when she saw the amount of money inside, “By Ramuh’s balls Nyx, where the hell did you get this?! There’s got to be at least 1000 gil in here.”

“1200, actually. It’s a down-payment for a job I’m doing tomorrow.”

“1200 gil to start?” Libertus spluttered, biting one of the coins to ensure its authenticity and causing Nyx to roll his eyes. “That’s the first thing I did, you idiots.”

Libertus snorted, “hey, it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion. So, who is the man that hired you for the job; 1200 gil is a ridiculous amount to pay? Hell, he could have had 3 men killed for that kind of money.”

“His name’s Glauca and he said he knew my dad. As for the job, I don’t know what it is yet but I doubt it’s anything like murder. And if it is, I’ll just back out.”

“And did you believe him about knowing your old man?” Crowe asked.

“No, but I did believe his money.”

“If he’s willing to pay the same amount or even more, I’d do whatever he says- the man is clearly loaded with coin.”

Crowe frowned, “just be careful alright? This job seems shady at best and I don’t think this Glauca man is the most trust-worthy of employers.”

“Trust me, everything will be fine- and profitable.”

Those words only caused Libertus and Crowe to laugh, “famous last words.”

‘And so, the following morning, Nyx and Glauca left the City of Pagla behind. He didn’t trust Glauca in the slightest, but when there was money involved… Nyx was prepared to take a few risks.’ You explained to your captive audience while Somnus only smirked as you continued.

Leaving the still sleeping city of Pagla, the two men traveled upon Glauca’s chocobo south-east and further inland toward the mountains before allowing the bird to rest. As they continued on foot, Glauca finally began to explain the actual task of what the job entailed. “I don’t want to boast, but I’ve not met another who can match me in combat; magic to magic.”

Nyx had to withhold a snort of derision at the magician’s arrogant tone, “so why ask for my help if you’re so powerful.”

“All power has its limits, Nyx Ulric, which is why you are here. What I want is for you to retrieve a certain object that I cannot collect myself for reasons… too complicated to explain. It is due to the rules of magic; they are often tiresome, but must be obeyed without question.”

“So why did you choose me?”

Glauca laughed as he turned to face Nyx, “you did not believe I was a friend of your father?”

“Not for a moment, and stop avoiding the question.” Nyx shot back with a smirk.

“I choose you because you have larceny in your soul. Now, the task I wish you to undertake is this: I want you to go into a tomb, retrieve an old amulet, and bring it back to me.”

“A tomb? What tomb?”

“Right here,” Glauca spoke, waving his hand at the site before them.

Nyx watched in as they came to a halt beside the base of river where a magnificent waterfall cascaded down the mountain side. Crystal, clear water danced across the rocky shoreline while on the other side of the river a herd of wild chocobos were drinking or resting in the shade of the sparse trees that dotted the area. The small batch of wilderness looked far too picturesque to hold something as morbid as a tomb. However, when Glauca waved his hands the shoreline soon began to split as earth and stone rumbled and groaned to reveal a dark enclosure beneath their feet. “How much are you paying me to do this?” Nyx asked, suddenly very weary of whatever was down in that dark abyss.

“2000 gil,” Glauca replied a bit smugly.

“Please, don’t insult me! And don’t ask me to trust you, thieves trust no one… 5000 gil or no deal.” Nyx countered.

Glauca frowned at the rogue’s attempt to haggle, but shrugged and relented nonetheless. “Done, here’s half.”

Nyx stared a gapped at amount of money Glauca easily parted with as he hurried after him. “Wait! You gave me this too easily, no one would ever do something like that- you’re not telling me everything!”

“I gave you the money, now do your job rogue. And here, take this with you.” Glauca added, taking Nyx’s hand and slamming looked to be a small, wooden charm bearing the shape a fox, which was painted in a pale blue that beheld a soft glow in the sunlight. The simplistic design nearly made Nyx believe a child had made crafted the charm were it not for the small horn on the fox’s forehead that appeared to be an actual ruby. “Consider this a small precaution, simply rub the charm if any trouble or complications should arise.”

“Trouble? What sort of trouble, 5000 gil is not enough if there is going to be problems!”

“A deal is a deal, so off you go. And do not try to betray me or I swear by Garuda’s feathers, you will never see your wedding day.” Glauca snapped, gesturing to the chocobo they had ridden here on.

Nyx frowned and looked at the bag of money and fox charm in his hand before tying the charm about his wrist and pocketing the money as he moved to the edge of the cavern entrance. He took a deep breath and soon jumped, landing skillfully upon the start of a stone staircase descending further down into the tomb. Looking back up to see Glauca nodding for him to continue with less than encouraging words of, “go on now,” Nyx slowly began to climb further and further into the cavern.

‘Nyx didn’t know the extent of trouble he was getting himself into, if he had he wouldn’t have taken the 5000…’ You spoke before you gave a soft laugh, “On the other hand, he probably would have.’

The deeper Nyx climbed into the cavern, the colder the air became. It was not long after his descent that he was able to see his breath appear as heavy, white clouds before his face while his flesh soon began to shudder from the frigid cold. As he moved to take another step, his foot soon slipped which caused a foul curse to slip through his lips as he slid down the last three rungs of the ancient stairwell until he fell into a heap upon the cavern floor. “Damn it, what the hell was that- wait… is that ice?” Nyx spoke aloud, staring in bewilderment at the sight that lay before him.

The cavern certainly was large, expanding at least fifteen feet above his head before continuing on into naught but darkness. Before the young thief laid an elaborate and elegant stone antechamber, leading up a small carved staircase surrounded by empty braziers and statues of monstrous beasts’ Nyx had never seen before all frozen in mid strike as if they were to descend upon him at any moment. Against the far wall that lay before him was an expansive corridor that continued further into the cavern; yet the strangest aspect of all was the fact that the entire tomb seemed to be encased in ice. The clear, blue crystal seemed to wrap around every surface like twisted claws trying to consume everything it touched in the cold bite of winter.

“What in the hell is this place?” He muttered, shivering slightly as he slowly approached the entrance as he observed the ice that was currently wrapped about a particularly life-like statue of what bore similar resemblance to a Skarnbulette. “The sooner I find that amulet, the sooner I can leave. Looks like I’ll have to head further inside.”

Rifling through the brazier, which was comprised of nearly fossilized wood, Nyx quickly took a stone and drew one of his daggers and moved the rock across the blade’s edge. When the sparks finally caught and smoke began to emerge, he quickly cultivated the embers until at long last a flame emerged providing much welcomed warmth and light. Taking hold of the torch, Nyx continued onward through the antechamber and down into the open corridor; the unease he felt causing his grip upon his dagger to tighten until his knuckles turned white. More statues stood as silent guardians in their prisons of ice as he walked further before the corridor expanded into a large, circular room with a timeworn sarcophagus resting on a raised dais in the center of the room; surround by four empty braziers. However, Nyx was more than surprised to see that the ice seemed to only begin where the dais ended; leaving the sarcophagus completely untouched.

“5000 was definitely not enough,” he sighed heavily as he quickly moved toward the coffin, moving around a looked to be a frozen coeurl. “There it is, thank Bahamut.”

Atop the lid of the sarcophagus looked to be a damaged and worn carving of a feminine figure, though clasped within the statue’s outstretched hands laid a small ebony amulet with a dull, golden interior and small, dull glass snowflake set within the center hanging from a thin leather strap. Nyx frowned upon the obviously mediocre piece of jewelry and immediately moved to claim his objective for his bout of tomb-robbing.

“This is it? You’d at least think there’d be a real diamond with a tomb this size. Alright, time to get the hell out of here and get the rest of the money-“

CRACK!

Nyx halted in his examination of the simplistic amulet, blood draining from his face as he slowly turned to the source of the sound that still echoed gently throughout the still chamber. The coeurl statue he had walked past previously had remained still as before… but the ice encompassing the figure held a large and vicious crack within the crystalline surface. With torch in hand and his dagger within the other, the skilled rogue expertly approached the disturbed statue as tense as a bow string. Raising the torch higher to observe the statue, Nyx could see firelight illuminating the smaller cracks appearing within the icy surface surrounding the beasts head until they suddenly stopped.

“What is going on? Alright Nyx, you’re just being paranoid- it’s best time to leave.” He chuckled softly to himself, though he refused to loosen his grip upon his weapon.

And then the statue’s eye opened, reveling a slit pupil amid a green iris.

“Fuck!” Nyx shouted, quickly jumping back as the sound of ice cracking filled the entire chamber. A loud roar could be heard from the now animated coeurl statue as the ice binding it in place began to shatter and crumble.

Scrambling to his feet in panic Nyx quickly raced out of the chamber and down the corridor as glacial stalactites dropped from the darkness above. All around him the statues within the chamber began to shudder and quake, more than desiring to chase the thief in their midst. Heavy footsteps soon approached as Nyx quickly glanced back to see the stone coeurl giving chase after its escaping prey. Swiftly Nyx evaded a swipe of rock claws from his adversary, the beast managing to tear part of his tunic but leave him unscathed. He blocked another strike with his dagger and slammed the torch into the beast’s face before racing away- the fire doing little to damage the monster.

“Come on, quickly!” Nyx berated himself as he managed to step back upon the staircase toward the entrance, only to feel the stone sliding beneath his feet as it began to pull back into cavern’s wall. “What- oh come on!”

Doubling his speed and climbing the steps as quickly as he could, Nyx rushed up toward the exit and with it- safety. His fingers hurriedly grabbed onto the last step that remained intact, causing him to haul himself up on the platform as he panted heavily from exertion. He was safe… for the moment.

“Nyx! Do you have it? Do you have the amulet?” Glauca called from above, elation coloring his tone.

The brunette thief sighed heavily before reaching into his pocket and showcasing the amulet from its leather tie held tightly within his fist. Glauca grinned in triumph as he reached down with his hand extended, “hand it up to me; it will make it easier for you to get out.”

“It’s no trouble, I can get out myself.” Nyx snapped, jamming the jewelry back into his pocket.

Glauca smiled, “pass it up to me, there’s a good lad.”

“Ha! I’m not a good lad.” Nyx called back angrily, “Do you truly believe I’m stupid enough fall for that old trick? You running off with your prize without paying me what I’m owed!”

“Give it to me now, or you’ll feel my wrath!” Glauca snarled.

“I’m angry already! After the monsters you sent me to deal with, you think I’d give you anything? If you want this necklace, you’ll get it AFTER you’ve held up your end of the deal.”

“You really think I’d ride off?

Nyx glared at the older man, “yes! You have shifty eyes!”

If Glauca was not angry before, he certainly was now- his face turning a vivid shade of plum as he growled angrily at his hired help. “You cheap, street FILTH!”

“I am not cheap!” Nyx protested irritably.

“I was going to raise you up and reward you; now you shall suffer for your transgressions! You wish for the amulet? Then keep it!” Waving his hands across the stone, the entrance soon began to diminish as the opening started to close, sealing Nyx within the cavern.

It only took a few moments afterward for Glauca to realize the foolishness of his actions as he groaned and slammed a fist against river’s rocky shore, startling his chocobo companion. “Damn it! Glauca, why must you always lose your temper? Why?!” He sighed heavily, his rage having left and leaving the sorcerer deflated. “At least that thief will suffer for his betrayal. Come Garuda, it’s time to go.”

Now sealed within the cavern with no means of escape, Nyx’s alarm at his current situation had increased ten-fold. Below him he could hear the roars of the tomb’s now animated statues, each one desiring to tear his flesh to shreds as they clawed at the bottom of the platform. Yet luck seemed not to favor the thief as a loud boom echoed throughout the chamber, causing the staircase to shake and begin to sink and lower slowly to the demanding beasts below. Nyx attempted to think of some method out of the danger he had thrown himself into when he unconsciously began to rub the small fox charm wrapped around his wrist.

‘This was a crisis, a true catastrophe for Nyx Ulric,’ you related calmly, eyes glowing with barely concealed mirth as Somnus seemed to be on the edge of his seat as you continued your story.

‘So, what happened? How could a thief escape such machinations?’ He demanded; his curiosity dancing in the depths of his eyes despite his expression of disinterest.

You gave the Lucian King a knowing smile, ‘it is during such a crisis where all seems lost that powers beyond our own are required. In such despair… there is nothing more effective than magic, your Majesty.’

‘Magic…’ Somnus echoed quietly as his brow furrowed in confusion.

‘Yes, magic.’

The small charm soon began to admit a bright light that illuminated the cave, blinding Nyx as he moved to shield his eyes before it vanished, allowing him see once more. Sitting before him on the stone platform was a small fox- though it resembled none that Nyx had ever seen in the wilderness or in the streets of Pagla. For one, this beast’s fur was a vibrant pale-blue shade that seemed to literally glow in the darkness of the cavern. Its fur was quite lush and silky in appearance, making the already large ears upon its head far greater in size while a small horn that seemed to be luminescent, crimson ruby protruded like a horn from the beast’s forehead. Nyx stared at the animal that yawned widely as he kneeled down to observe the creature in greater detail, though keeping his blade aloft incase it attacked. “W-Where did you come from?”

“You were the one to summon me, I thought you would already know that,” the fox replied in a high-pitched voice as its tail swished back and forth in a similar fashion to a temperamental cat. “Or perhaps you’re not that bright of a summoner.”

Nyx could only stare with shock at the fox that had replied to his question, mouth opening and closing in a manner rather similar to that of a fish. “I… You- You just talked.”

“Well, I am educated, so of course I talk.” The fox chortled, as if his verbal response was the most natural occurrence in the world. “Don’t tell me you summoned me from my sleep without intending to actually do anything. If so then I’ll be leaving now-“

“W-Wait! Don’t leave, please. I don’t even know who, or what the hell you are.”

“There is no need for your cursing. And as to who I am; I am the summon of that charm you have coiled about your wrist. Carbuncle, at your service; purveyor of my summoner’s desires. Now what do you wish for?” Its head tilted upward as the fox proudly puffed its small, furry chest out.

Before Nyx could even reply with another question as to what a Carbuncle even was, a loud roar and the crack of stone as the pillar they were standing upon began to slowly descend. Beneath them upon the frozen ground, the previously crystalized beast statues were clawing at the stone pillar eager to devour their trapped prey. Nyx released a torrent of curses while Carbuncle squeaked in alarm, it’s tail doubling in size as its fur stood on end.

“Sweet Bahamut, we’re going to die!” the fox squealed in distress as the bestial roars below grew louder at their gradual approach. Quickly, the fox Carbuncle scurried up Nyx’s leg and nestled atop his shoulders as the thief tried to balance his new passenger.

“Get off of me! And what do you mean purveyor, what are you- a genie or something?”

“Please, don’t insult me. I am far more powerful than some meager djinn.” Carbuncle grumbled, still attempting to hide from the monsters within the cavern as he moved from Nyx’s shoulders to his head. “Now, what is it you want. Hurry up human; I cannot do anything until you ask for it now what do you want!”

“What do you think I want?! I want to get the hell out of here!” Nyx exclaimed. And while he doubted the fox’s words about its supposed ‘wish-granting’, he was willing to try anything if he could escape alive and intact.

The fox bit his ear in warning, causing Nyx to yelp in surprise before jumping back onto the stone platform. “I, I, I, I, I! And what of me?! You cannot just summon me here and abandon me, you humans are ridiculous. ‘Get me out of here.’ ‘Take me home.’ ‘Please put me out, I’m on fire!’,” Carbuncle snapped back with its mocking words and turned away in a huff. “Just because you are my summoner doesn’t mean you can be rude and treat me as some slave. Have some curtesy.”

Nyx took one deep breath in an attempt to prevent himself from doing something rash to the fox before replying. “Fine, I’m sorry. Now will you PLEASE get us the hell out of here!”

By now, the platform had already reached the cavern floor and a pair of stone coeurls that had nearly claimed Nyx early snarled and raised their claws to swipe at their now vulnerable prey. Nyx immediately raised his dagger aloft in a vain attempt to block the attack while Carbuncle merely shook its fur out before the ruby on its forehead began to glow and bathe the pair in a bright glow. Within the next second the icy tomb was replaced by the beautiful waterfall that resided outside the tomb- with Nyx and Carbuncle both standing safely above the sealed entrance. The rogue stared about in a daze, adrenaline still racing in his veins while the blue-furred creature beside him yawned and tipped its head to him.

“And there you have it- safe at last and out of that dreadful tomb. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will take my leave. Farewell, Nyx Ulric.” And in another flash of bright light, the fox was gone within its wooden charm. Nyx stared down at the charm in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief before pocketing both it and the stolen amulet back into his tunic.

“Now how am I to get back to Pagla?”

==========================================================

“I don’t get it though,” Libertus spoke, looking at the amulet resting on the table between the three friends. “Why would Glauca ask you to get that piece of junk? It’s a little insulting for the best rogue in Tenebrae.”

After Nyx managed to beg for a ride back to the city by a passing shepherd, Libertus and Crowe were pleased to see he was safe until the rogue told his tale. After a lecture from Crowe about the dangers of taking random jobs from shifty strangers and Libertus ranting about pummeling Glauca if he ever saw him again, they all wondered why he would pay so much for something so plain. There were no jewels, embellishments, or anything of value decorating the simple trinket; if fact if Libertus and Crowe didn’t trust Nyx they’d have believed he nicked it from some 2-gil market stand.

Crowe frowned, “well it has to have some value or he wouldn’t go through the trouble. Plus, all that magic in the tomb that was protecting it makes me a little nervous. Spells like that aren’t exactly easy to perform and usually are only in place to guard against something dangerous.”

“He was rather angry when I didn’t give it to him,” Nyx replied, picking up the amulet to observe any details that would give the trio a clue to its purpose. “I think something written here but I can’t read it, hang on a moment….”

Wiping the smidge of dirt away the amulet began to give off a faint glow and an immediate chill filled the air that reminded Nyx horribly of the frozen tomb. Immediately he tossed the amulet away to the corner of their small hovel as fog and ice began appear around the discarded piece of jewelry. Libertus and Crowed quickly scrambled behind Nyx who had drew his dagger in defense as the temperature dropped and frost encompassed parts of their home. Through the growing fog a figure began to take shape, though it was much taller than the Carbuncle that Nyx had summoned in the cavern- in fact it looked to be taking on a far more humanoid shape. And as immediately as it had appeared, the fog and ice vanished to reveal what was perhaps one of the most beautiful women Nyx had ever seen. Her long ebony hair was darker than the night sky and clashed sharply yet beautifully with her pale skin and vivid crimson lips. Clad in black, gold, and ivory fabric woven into a robe-like dress Nyx had once seen from travelers of distant country in the marketplace, she had rather regal appearance. Her feet were bare of any shoes, but an elaborate anklet with bells gave soft chimes that sent an uneasy chill down Nyx’s back. The woman’s eyes remained closed but she turned to face them as if she and sent a piercing gaze toward the three with her sightless eyes.

‘Were you the one to bring me here, summoner.’ The woman spoke, her soft tone oddly gentle but hiding a rather sinister undertone. It reminded Nyx of a winter’s snowfall- lovely yet wrought with danger.

“Nyx… s-say something.” Libertus muttered, shoving his friend forward a little.

The younger rogue spluttered, “what? Why me?”

“You’re the one that stole that stupid amulet, so talk to her!” Crowe hissed, though staring fearfully at the other woman.

Giving a polite bow, as his experiences with Carbuncle taught Nyx to at least be respectful to any magic-wielding entity, he cleared his throat and spoke. “Good evening… ma’am.”

‘Fear not Nyx Ulric, I shall not harm you and your companions while you hold the title as my summoner. You may be at ease.’ The woman replied, settling onto a chair that seemed to conjure itself out of thin air.

Nyx blinked in surprise at the woman’s reassuring words. “I see… um, may I ask who you are?”

The woman raised a curious eyebrow at his question, ‘you summoned me yet know not who I am? They call me the Glacian, the Frostbearer, and Empress of Ice. But you… you may call me Gentiana, summoner. Now, what is it thou desire’s?’

“Desire? Are you going to grant his wishes or something?” Libertus asked, both he and Crowe a bit more relaxed now that the woman would cause them no harm.

‘Yes, I am.’

“Are you like that other summon Nyx mentioned? The Carbuncle?” Crowed added.

At the mention of the fox’s name, Gentiana’s smile dipped ever so slightly. ‘I see thou art acquainted with that… fox. While his powers are strong, they are nothing compared to my own.’ As she spoke, frost seemed to spread from where her foot tapped against the floor of the thieves’ home- as if the mention of the smaller summon irritated her.

“….Are you two related?”

‘No!... perhaps, I am not sure the tests were inconclusive,’ Gentiana sighed heavily.

“You mentioned you wanted to know my desires. What can you do?

It was here that Gentiana opened her eyes and let them fall upon Nyx. They were a dark shade of olive green but looked far colder than even the iced waters of the Ghorovas Rift. A small smile fell upon her lips as she settled her hands delicately in her lap and meet the trio with a knowing gaze and answered with one simple word.

‘Anything.’

===========================================================

“And that, was where it all began,” you spoke, giving a small yet sleepy smile. “Nyx Ulric, a rogue, son of a rogue, from a family of rogues found he could have anything his heart desired. All he had to do… was ask.”

Somnus remained silent as he let your words wash over him before shifting his gaze to you, eyes sparkling with excitement. “So? So! So, what did he ask for?” He asked, eagerly wishing to know more.

You had to resist the urge to chuckle at his oddly childish behavior and it caused a brief feeling of sorrow in your heart knowing you would have to cease your story lest you fell asleep mid-sentence. “We can safe that for tomorrow night, your Majesty.”

Delight quickly vanished as brief flash of anger took its place though disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Somnus immediately rose from his place among the various cushions and paced about the large bed chamber, rubbing a hand down his exhausted face. “But I wish to know now, not tomorrow night! You make your stories sound so wonderous with your wit, and charm, and beauty-“

“What does my beauty have to do with storytelling?” You asked, surprised by the sovereign’s choice of words.

It appeared not even Somnus himself realized he had said that, for he quickly halted his movements and turned to face you. “It is because if I lose interest for even a mere moment I must face those accursed nightmares yet when I turn to see your face, Lady (f/n)… and I find myself at ease from them.” His intense gaze causing a slight dust of blush to appear upon your cheeks. “Please, continue your tale.”

“Lord Somnus… I shall continue it tomorrow night.”

“I order you!” He snapped, frustrated with your refusal.

You frowned, “it would not be the same story if I was ordered to tell it.”

It seemed even the king noticed your growing anger, knowing he had pushed you too far. Somnus stared miserably at you and realized that despite his earlier apology, he had repeated his mistake that earned your ire; and that caused him more pain than the blasted nightmares ever did. “(f/n)… please continue your story. Please.”

You sighed, gently taking hold of his hand much to his shock, and guiding him toward his bed. Silently he complied with your wishes and eased into the soft blankets as sleep soon began to cloud his mind. “I am sorry (f/n), I truly am.”

“I know, sire.” You replied kindly, your earlier anger at his outburst gone.

“No, I meant… for everything.”

You remained silent for a brief moment as Somnus’ body relaxed and his breathing evened out- signifying his escape from the waking world. “I know what you meant, your Majesty.” You whispered softly, pushing back blue-black bangs from his eyes before rising from the edge of the bed. “Just wait till tomorrow night. Sweet dreams, Lord Somnus.” Blowing out the remaining candles you exited the room and found yourself being escorted once again by Gilgamesh toward Lady Selene’s chambers to rest.

#ffxv #final fantasy xv #fanfiction #my writing #somnus lucis caelum #somnus lucis caelum x reader #somnus x reader #gilgamesh ffxv #ffxv oc's #arabian nights au #1001 lucian nights ch.5

16 notes · View notes

itsclydebitches · 5 years ago

Note

I will personally never understand why the "bird conversation" happened. Qrow basically shut it down, by (I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he did) saying they agreed to taking the ability. It feels like we're being told to take Raven at face value, despite other, more trustworthy charecters speaking to the contrary.

He did. Basic rundown of the conversation: Yang enters it pissed off, they learn all the revelations that the rest of the group got a few episodes back, Ozpin asks if this was “more or less what your mother told you,” Yang straight up ignores him and Weiss has to answer for her with, “for the most part.” This finally makes Yang angry enough to respond with “You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother,” there are gasps and horrified looks from the group, but we get a shot of Qrow smiling and going “oh great”---he knows this secret isn’t a big deal but that convincing the others of that won’t be easy.

Ozpin explains about the power while Yang pouts on the couch. Nora angrily accuses Ozpin of “messing with us” (even though you all took way stranger things at face value... like reincarnation...), Jaune crosses his arm and adds “What else is new?” Despite these explanations with no downsides mentioned, Yang is still furious: “Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?”

She gets antagonistic enough that Qrow shuts her down and then explicitly states, “We made a choice. We wanted this.”

Ozpin then looks to Qrow and asks permission---“May I?”---in order to explain further, detailing that he needed allies to search for Maidens and keep an eye on Salem’s movements. The question heavily implies what should already be obvious: this was Qrow’s secret to keep and tell. Why is everyone gunning for Ozpin when Qrow, the person with the actual ability, likewise made the choice to keep that from his family? These explanations segue into the reveal that Ozpin created the first four Maidens and he ends his speech by admitting that “it was never my intention to lie to you.” He and Qrow share a knowing look as he admits that he “plays things close to the chest” which honestly, to me, reads as two war-worn adults acknowledging that this shit is complicated. You keep secrets, you tell lies, you do what you need to in order to survive and keep others safe. Look at these youngsters who think that non-stop honesty is always the way to go. Or is in any way easy even when it should be done:

Yang still looks pissed as hell despite thoroughly being proven wrong

and then makes her announcement that she’ll stay if Ruby stays, but no more secrets or half-truths. Ozpin agrees with “Understood.”

Which, obviously, the fandom has used as the go-to moment to damn Ozpin. You promised not to lie and then you did! Which yeah, that isn’t great. He should have been honest here in his inability to promise such a thing. However, that’s not the only factor in all this. We also have the fact that “no more lies or half truths” does not equal “tell us every single detail about this war right now that includes your very personal and traumatic history.” We have the issue that Yang and many of the others (notably Jaune) were unwilling to judge Ozpin fairly from the get-go. They decided that he was guilty before the trail even began and, when faced with evidence that proved all their assumptions wrong, decided to ignore it rather than admitting they were wrong. You’re going to trust a group like that with world-altering secrets? And we finally have the issue that Yang herself clearly doesn’t believe in her own ultimatums. Or doesn’t think they should apply to her. Keeping Raven’s Maiden power a secret? Turning on Ironwood to spill the beans to Robyn and letting her escape? I don’t put must stock in a character’s outraged, “You kept secrets and lied?” when they’re keeping secrets and lying too. The group’s inability to make the jump from “Wow. Sometimes we do need to keep information close to the chest” to “Oh. I guess it makes sense then that Ozpin would do the same thing” is one of the things that still characterizes them as naive, hypocritical, and downright dangerous given the stakes.

From a fandom perspective though, I’m not at all surprised that a completely unambiguous admission from Qrow---“We made a choice. We wanted this”---holds no weight. 1. Because he’s another adult that can’t be trusted (see: the group turning on him with their weapons in the snow) and 2. Because the concept of a “choice” apparently disappears whenever Ozpin is thrown into the mix. This is the same thing we’ve seen regarding Pyrrha, the claim that she couldn’t really make a choice. It was never a choice at all. She was manipulated/pressured/steered into being a Maiden so the choice is only a “choice.” Ozpin is still at fault. Now here’s Qrow, saying he made a choice, and fans tend to talk over that with, “No. You only thought you had a choice but I’m sure Ozpin did something off screen that puts him at fault” (see: Qrow saying straight out that Ozpin doesn’t know what happened to Summer and everyone jumping to, “No he definitely does and just lied to Qrow.” Ozpin’s off screen villainy is brought up with a shocking amount of frequency) The fandom takes headcanons and assumptions as fact, leading to an inability to attribute agency to anyone if Ozpin was at all involved in their choice. Ruby entering Beacon, Pyrrha deciding to take on the power, Qrow choosing to be a bird... all of it has been re-framed as Ozpin “forcing” them in one manner or another, which is not only untrue but a real disservice to all their characters. The only time Ozpin “forced” someone to do anything is when he forced Oscar to get involved in this fight, and that’s only “forcing” via unavoidable circumstances. Yeah, technically you could let the farm boy live out his life and just screw the rest of the world... but that would make you a villain via inaction. As someone who was given an actual uninformed choice via the God of Light, Ozpin does a great deal to make sure people know what they’re getting into. Checking at the very last second if Pyrrha is still willing to go through with this. Telling the group to leave now if they’re not wiling to help secure the relic. It’s just that he has to balance that transparency with the never ending risk of information falling into the wrong hands/someone else betraying him... which is no easy task. Do you look at the angry teenager who took her bandit mother’s words at face value and go, “Yes, now is a great time to tell them information that as of yet in no way affects them and would absolutely decimate their mental health at best and lead to them screwing me over at worst”? No. That’s stupid and dangerous and, based on how the group has reacted thus far, just going to make the whole situation that much worse.

#rwby #mymetas #oddnub

85 notes · View notes

minervahopebeyond · 4 years ago

Text

Blood Daffodils.

Chapter 11: Her. (Part 1/2)

Theodore:

I think that I’m finally dying... Don’t get me wrong, I know She has to wait to take me away, but I saw Her.

It happened at the beach, we were already packed, ten days was our limit for being away from home, and Weasley suggested to go to the beach at night... Of course I said yes.

Everything was good, at first... I just had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that made me kind of nervous. Then, I saw Her.

Her long silky black hair and her dress seemed to shine with the light of the moon reflecting on them. I have to admit that She is a beauty... Her smile isn’t, though, it paralyzed me.

Death just stood in the middle of the sea, the waves were playing with her white transparent dress. It reminded me of the curtains from the veil, like she was carrying the doors to the other side with her... Like she could just walked up to where I was and take me.

I was scare, and Weasley was too. He couldn’t see what was happening but he kept trying to make me come back, apparently I just stared at the water for thirty minutes, just breathing and barely blinking.

We had to stay after that, Bill Weasley is a curse-breaker and Ron was convinced that what I experienced counted as curse-breaker territory. It didn’t, clearly, he was just too worried to care. We agreed to stay for a few more days, to check that it wouldn’t happen again. Yes, we are that naive, Theo; thanks for asking.

For the most part, it didn’t happen... Death presented herself when we were about to leave again, this time she took a few steps forward and I practically run inside of the cottage and had a coughing fit right there. I think she made me have one, does that make sense? I never had one not ‘Potter-related’, it was the first one, and I would very much for it to be the last.

I was kind of a mess so I asked Weasley to stay a little longer. I didn’t want her to follow me back home, not with Mr Potter there... She can’t take it back but I don’t know how a returned soul could react to her presence. I did every bloody ritual of protection that I could, hoping that it would be enough. I don’t think they worked. The feeling in my stomach is there... I think she is near, waiting.

She can’t take me until June, can’t she? Help me, Theo, you always knew the rules of this, way better than me.

Please be safe, I have enough dark and sad in my life as it is, I don’t need for you to die first too.

Draco.

Dear Theodore:

Merry Christmas. I made it through almost two months and she hasn’t taken me so yey! If you are asking wether I’m using jokes and sarcasm as a defense mechanism or not... The answer is yes, obviously.

It was my first Christmas without presents ever, I think it was what made it special, though. We danced and cooked and we forgot about this war for the last two days.

Did you know that the whole ‘complementary Patronus’ is actually a lie? It was invented by the pureblood families to ensure heteronormativity in the marriages. Part of me is shocked that we’ve been lied to and the other is not surprised at all. I’ve found out because Mr. Potter told us the truth. Turns out that finding the person who complements your Patronus is rather rare but not impossible... Potter’s mother had a doe as her Patronus, James’ is a stag.

I didn’t want to ask in front of Sirius, just in case, so I waited and then I asked Mr. Potter about it when we were alone doing the dishes (yes, I do the dishes now, how common). I asked him if Lily was his soulmate then, do you know what he told me?

‘Oh, kid. No. Don’t believe that crap. Women’s patronus tend to be female and men tend to have male ones, that stupid story is just made up to invalidate any same gender relationship.’ The only thing that’s true, is the fact that your Patronus shiftes and changes with love. Harry’s Patronus is a stag too, for example.

Have you ever tried to cast yours? I wonder what shape it would be... Probably something that runs fast, you always loved the feeling of freedom and the adrenaline. I honestly can’t imagine you with something domestic, like a cat or a dog, as your Patronus.

I have to go now, Weasley is forcing me to sleep for a while, at least.

As always, be safe.

Draco

————————-

He felt gentle fingers caressing his cheek, his mind tried to focus on the sensation... Was this a dream?

His eyes fluttered open and he narrowed them, the sparkling green eyes and the smile he loved so much were the first things he saw. The flowers danced happily around his lungs, like they were greeting the gorgeous boy that was kneeling beside his bed.

Draco grabbed his hand and placed a little kiss on Potter’s palm, whispering a soft ‘Hi’, knowing that Weasley would kill them if they woke him up.

“Good morning.” Harry answered with a smile before tugging the blond boy’s hand, guiding him to leave the warm of his bed and follow him. Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Draco complied.

He put on his night robe and went to the bathroom to wash his face and teeth, a lame attempt to try to wake up and look like a person at this ungodly hour. Potter said that he would wait for him in the kitchen so he climbed down the stairs as quietly as he could and slowly made his way towards the room. When he opened the door, Harry was already heating up the water for the tea.

“Do you want me to prepare some eggs? Or pancakes.” The blond boy asked as he closed the door behind him and walked towards the boy. Potter didn’t respond at first, but when Draco was close enough, he took his hand and pulled him near.

“You didn’t even kiss me good morning, Malfoy. Where are your manners?” The blond boy let out a soft chuckle before their mouths connected.

To be fair, it started off being pretty chaste, just their lips touching. They tried to keep any PDA to a minimum, Draco didn’t like the idea of disrespecting Mr. Potter by snogging his son right in front of him. Harry didn’t seem to give a damn, though.

They kept on kissing. With each brush of their lips, the kiss seemed to deepen. It was too early in the morning and his brain wasn’t working quite properly yet to tell him restrain himself. A soft moan escaped Potter’s mouth and the boy pulled him even nearer. The dark-haired boy was now trapped between the kitchen counter and Draco’s hips. Harry separated their mouths for a second to catch some breath but quickly moved to attach his beautiful lips to the blond boy’s neck, mixing his fingers in his hair. He tried not to whimper at the feeling but it was in vain.

“Shit.” The grey-eyed breathed out and Harry chuckled, pleased with himself, and stopped kissing his neck to bit him softly. Draco kind of hated that he was at the other boy’s mercy... Or he loved it immensely, he couldn’t decide. Nonetheless, he grabbed Potter’s waist and lifted him to sit him at the counter with ease. What was he thinking? They never did something like this... Was it too much? His thoughts were interrupted completely by Harry moving to make room for him between his legs and slamming their lips together again.

He couldn’t even begin to explain what he felt inside of him, pure bliss, the flowers were fluttering around him in a haze. The tickles and the warm feeling spread from his lungs, to his heart and the rest of his body... Like an unstoppable sensation that he was growing addictive of.

Potter wrapped his legs around Draco’s waist and, much to the daffodils disdain, he stopped kissing him to speak. Harry groaned in annoyance.

“Don’t you think that this is a bit too much too fast?” He asked, his breath still agitated from before. The green-eyed boy just leaned to connect their lips together again but Draco stopped him. “Words, scarhead.” He heard him groaned again.

“Isn’t it obvious enough? No. Now, fucking kiss me before I hex you.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

Between the kisses, Harry (being the bloody prat that he was) unbuttoned the blond boy’s shirt, one button at a time. By the time that he had realized it, the green-eyed boy was running his perfect hands slowly from Draco’s neck to his stomach, making him shiver.

That was how James and Sirius found them. Potter’s legs wrapped around him, his shirt undone and snogging on the kitchen counter.

“Excuse you.” Mr. Potter’s voice echoed in the room and Draco automatically removed himself from Harry’s personal space, trying to cover his bare chest. His face must have been red as the bloody Gryffindor flag.

“I’m so so so sorry, Mr Potter. I don’t know what came over me I-“ his stutter was cut short by the other boy’s response.

“It’s not such a big deal, dad.” He said, Draco couldn’t disagree more. He imagined being in James’ place right now... It couldn’t be fun at all to witness that, not fun at all.

“Little cousin, why don’t we leave and let these two talk, huh?”

“Actually, Padfoot, I would appreciate it very much if you didn’t try to escape from having this awkward talk with your godson. Kid, please go to your room.”

All orders, no place for disagreement. He knew better than to respond so he just started to march off the room, his eyes fixed on the floor.

“You can’t just send him away! We are both adults, you know? I can do what I want with my own body-“

“Harry, we are going talk about this. Next time, maybe you will think about it a little more before choosing the place where we all cook to do that.”

That was the last thing that he heard before he closed the door.

#drarry #fanfic #fanfiction #prongsfoot

8 notes · View notes

fanficsaremylifeline · 5 years ago

Text

I’ve got homework...

For the fantastic @fictional-worlds-are-exquisite, who prompted this story :)

It’s on AO3 too:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22450930

***

“Hi Mr Stark!” With an excited grin, Peter skipped into the workshop, and, after throwing his backpack into the corner, he turned to Tony. “How are you doing?”

“I'm good”, he smiled. “And you?”

“Me too, thanks.” Peter sat on the table, letting his feet dangle. “You remember that robot we made last week? You know, the one for physics class?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“No big deal, but I got an A for it”, the kid smiled, and blushed pinkish in pride.

“Wow”, Tony nodded, “that's something...”

“No need to be impressed or anything”, Peter grumbled as he crossed his arms and the blush was substituted with creased eyebrows.

Tony walked up to the kid, trying to bite down his grin. “I mean, it's not like you did it all by yourself...”

“Well, Mr Stark, I'm very grateful for your materials and your time and your assistance, but...”

“Assistance?”, Tony snorted. “I ain't nobody's assistant.”

Peter just looked at him and gave an exaggerated and exasperated sigh. “Yes, sir.”

They held the stare for a moment or two, before Tony burst out with laughter and put his arm around Peter's shoulders. “Good job, I'm really proud of you. All the planning and shit, that was you. And, even though it might pain me to admit it, but it's not like you really needed my help for it, did ya?”

With a meek grin Peter looked up and just shrugged.

“Yeah, thought so”, Tony chuckled and gave his shoulders another squeeze. “Change of topic, though. And please, just stay calm, don't freak or anything, alright?”

“Ok...” The curiosity was written clearly all over Peter's face, and, sitting so close to the boy, Tony could almost feel him vibrating with anticipation. Oh boy, maybe he should put some safety distance between the two of them...

“So, there is a mission...”

“OMIGOD!”, he squealed, definitely a few octaves too high for Tony's liking, and all but jumped up, until he stilled all of a sudden, when remembering Tony's earlier plea. “I'm sorry, Mr Stark”, he remarked after a moment of silence, clearly giving it his all to sound nonchalant. “Please continue.”

“Of course.” In all fondness, Tony couldn't help but shake his head at the excitement; it distinctly reminded him of a little puppy, or a child on Christmas morning. “As I was saying, there is a mission...” Tony decided to ignore the little jump Peter did and the high pitched squeal. “Low-level stuff, a right-wing terrorist group, SHIELD has been monitoring. Swoop in, secure the guys, and done.”

“That sounds very good”, Peter nodded; his forced casual diction was absolutely ridiculous, as was him grabbing so hard onto the table, he actually warped the metal.

“Figured, that's why I thought that you would like to... Oh, shit.”

“What is it?”

Now it was Tony, who had to practice all his restraint and not burst into laughter. “I totally forgot!” Shaking his head, he turned to Peter, who looked all worried about what might have happened. “Sorry, of course you can't come along!”

“What?” And cue the face drop. Wow, this was what a kicked puppy looked like.

“Don't you have homework?” At this remark, Tony couldn't help the smug grin breaking through.

“Wha... You're the worst.” With realization came the creased eyebrows again and a look that could probably kill.

“Peter, your education is important, and I understand if you need to take a step back and...”

“Shut up!”, Peter moaned and boxed Tony's arm. “Nazis are worse than geometry.”

“I know that”, Tony nodded, “but will your teachers understand?” As hard as he tried, Tony couldn't keep up the concerned facade and let the grin shine right through.

It did drop at Peter's counter-measurement, though.

“I'm gonna tell May that you haven't been nice to me.”

“I can't believe you”, Tony grumbled. Playing the woman-Tony-is-afraid-of-card? That was low.

“Thought so”, Peter grinned; that damn shit-eating grin that warmed Tony's heart and made him want to tousle those unruly curls. “So, how about some light engineering, before you brief me on tomorrow's mission?”

***

“Hi Pepper!” Before Tony had even realized her walking inside, Peter had already wrapped himself around her in greeting.

“Peter, really good to see you.”

“You too”, he beamed up at her.

“Should I leave you two be?”, Tony deadpanned, seeing that nobody seemed to realize or care that he was there, too.

Peter turned immediately bright-red, let go off Pepper and jumped a bit away.

“Drama Queen”, Pepper rolled her eyes, before smiling at Tony, that perfect, breath-taking smile, that still robbed him of his breath.

“Still said yes”, he beamed back. When that epitome of amazingness stood in front of him, Tony couldn't help it; he somehow was a lovestruck teenager again, who couldn't stop but smile at the wonder that was Pepper.

“Lucky you. Anyways, I was looking for the two of you.”

“What's up, then?”

“Crime Stats. Since you're legally an independent contractor to the Avengers and have therefore no real connection to SHIELD and we're your contact people it's on us to get that information to them.”

“Why?”, Peter asked, “are they trying to keep tabs on me?”

“In a way”, she admitted. “Though the are really mostly interested in the numbers and statistics; for transparency reasons. Those numbers will be published, and passed onto authorities, as was agreed in the Accords.”

“Huh. Alright”, he nodded, “but you can just get all the stats from KAREN.”

“Yeah, I just need a hand to sort through the masses of information, so I can turn her log into an official document, which is why I need you too.” Now she turned to Tony. “He's a minor and as his employer, you're the one to sign.”

“Why not May?”

“Because then we'll reveal a bit too much identity”, Peter explained in her place and locked eyes with Tony. He could see it clearly in Peter's face: he was not in the mood for that right now. And neither was Tony; they were about to head to the lab and work on a spider-suit update. He was just about to shrug at the kid, á la 'guess we'll have to go through this', when something in his look changed to downright mischievous. Even before the boy started to speak, Tony knew he was not gonna like what he was about to say.

“That sounds like just Tony would be enough”, he remarked and turned back to Pepper; the grin gone, instead he shot her his best puppy eyes. “It's just... You know, I have a lot of homework...”

That little shit. Tony knew for a fact that this was not true.

“Oh, of course”, Pepper nodded. “School stuff is more important.”

“You need help with that?”, Tony asked, shooting the kid a look, communicating all the 'you better get me out of this'.

“Nah, I'm good”, Peter grinned. “It's history homework, you know?”

“Oh, yeah, you don't want Tony's help with that.”

“Hey!” He turned to his still perfect fiancée, and even managed a reasonably angered glare. “I am a genius for a reason!”

“Sure you are, honey”, she smiled and patted his shoulder. “Come on, let's get to the crime stats and leave Peter to his homework.”

“Fine...” He followed Pepper out of the room but, just before the door closed, he turned one more time towards the very smug teen, who just waved after Tony.

Oh, he was so gonna get him back...

***

“Hi Mr Stark!”, Peter chirped as he skipped into the kitchen.

“Heya kiddo”, he grinned back and downed the rest of his coffee. “You ready?”

“I hope you are”, Happy answered instead of the boy. “I gotta take you to SHIELD; monthly meeting, remember?”

Shit, now he did. Ugh, Tony'd rather cuddle a cactus that sit in there, listen to Fury and Rogers go on about... Something, probably; Tony never paid attention. And, since that has never caused any issues whatsoever, he didn't really have to go there now, did he?

There was one way though, he might just get out of that.

“I honestly didn't remember, and I already promised Pete to help him with his homework.” He turned to the kid, who didn't quite get what Tony was playing at; understandably, since it had been their original plan to tinker around with Mark XVI. “Didn't you say it was for a grade?”

“Oh yeah”, Peter nodded, catching onto Tony's plan and unpacked the one sure-fire way to get Tony out of having to attend; the mightiest weapon the Avengers could offer: Peter's puppy eyes. “I really need his help to get this right.” For good measure he patted his bag.

“Fine”, Happy groaned, not really trying to fight the puppy eyes, “I'll get Rogers to excuse you.”

“Thank you so much”, Peter beamed, “you just saved my life.”

“Yeah, right”, he grumbled and, after nodding at Tony, he turned and walked out of the kitchen again.

“Thanks, Pete”, Tony smiled, “saved me a world of pain.”

“Not so sure about that...” The skew grin Peter shot him was... Tony wasn't sure.

“Out with it.”

“I do have homework, for a grade and I could do with some help. It's just in English...”

Oh fuck. The puppy eyes Peter had just shot in Happy's direction were now aimed at Tony. And English? Well, Tony knew how to speak it, but other than that... Besides, comparing poems and shit? Who the fuck had time for that?

“Fine. Let me see what you got.”

“Great”, he giggled. “So, it's basically choosing an important happenstance in my life and comparing it to a similar situation from a book. Issue is, most important things in my life are kinda arachnid-powered and I can't write about that, can I? I mean, Batman, right? Watching Uncle Ben being... you know, and then becoming a superhero... But secret identity.”

Peter didn't even give Tony the chance to interject, which he'd like to do, since the kid got more and more morbid.

“Then I thought Hamlet, because you know, my parents, but my Uncle isn't evil, so nope.”

Shit, that was depressing.

“Then I thought Frankenstein?”

“What, engineered superpowers and now everybody wants you dead?”

“Maybe?”

Tony just shook his head, and Peter jumped up with a groan.

“This sucks so much! You know, I could do Alice in Wonderland! But no, it's all top secret.”

“As I take it, you don't have to fit with an entire book.”

“Fine. Then I feel like Bilbo Baggins”, Peter continued. “Just want to be left alone, but no...”

“Come on, now, we're two certified geniuses, we can figure this out. What do you want to write about?” Maybe this way they would get somewhere.

“I mean, I don't want to write about my parents or Uncle Ben, because if I do, I'll be sent to see a shrink again.”

“Which isn't a bad thing...”

“Mr Stark, focus. If I write about getting together with MJ she'll dump me right away, and I don't want that. Then I thought about you know...” He turned away and started to blush. “About... meeting you.”

“Well, it is a world-changing happenstance”, Tony smirked.

“OMIGOD!”, he cried out, “I got it! My Fair Lady!” With an excited grin he beamed at Tony. “Because, well, you, scooping me up from the streets, teaching me the ropes, not the societal ones, but like engineering and shit. And superheroing, too, but again, nothing I can write about.”

“So, you're Eliza Doolittle?”

“Yeah!”

“And I'm Higgins?”

“I mean, sorta...”

“No”, Tony shook his head, “I'm not taking part in that.”

“Come on! It's perfect! And, like you said, I don't have to fit the entire book!”

Damnit, Peter might just have a point with that story. Him, tracking down the kid; Peter over and over showing up, literally nagging Tony into becoming an official Avenger. And he did learn and work hard to improve. “I guess it fits. So fine. As long as you make it clear that I am not such an asshole towards you as Higgins is towards Eliza.”

“I will speak of you only in the highest reverence”, he grinned and got to his bag, to get out his pen and paper, softly humming: “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain...”

Oh, what the hell did Tony get himself into right now? Well, at least it was better than sitting at SHIELD.

***

Tony was spread out on the couch, waiting for Peter to finally pick up.

“Hi, sorry”, he chirped eventually, just before Tony was about to hang up. “Was just changing, couldn't answer.”

“So I don't need to take it personally, good”, he chuckled. “You civilian or vigilante right now?”

“I'm just myself, Peter Parker.”

“Right then, Peter Parker. I had an idea for an upgrade for your other personality, wanna come over and check it out?”

“Uhm, no, sorry, I can't.” All of a sudden, the giggles turned into almost nervous stuttering. “I... I got homework, you know?”

“Oh.” Tony didn't buy that. Not at all. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Tony still didn't buy it. “You need help?”

“Nope.”

“Right then.”

“I can come tomorrow, though and we can work on that upgrade then, ok?”

“Sounds great.”

“Perfect. See you!”

“Call ended”, FRI announced.

Huh. Peter was keeping things from Tony now? Yes, 'having homework' was their excuse for every kind of meeting they wanted to avoid, but Peter had never used it on Tony. Should he worry?

Tony could just track Peter's phone and be at where or whatever the kid hid from him. And then Peter would never trust Tony ever again.

Probably it was just some weird nerd stuff with his nerd friends, nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing. This weird feeling in his stomach? Absolutely nothing that deserved another look at or that needed to be divulged in.

Only question: was Tony worried that the kid was in danger, or was he pissed that the kid kept it from him? Neither of those options were fair to Peter, though; he was old enough to make his own life choices and had every right to keep some things private, after all. If only Tony wasn't so curious...

“Hi Mr Stark!”, the kid beamed as he waltzed into the lab the next day with the widest grin on his face.

“Hey Pete.” Tony looked up to see him dance around Dum-E, before hugging Butterfingers and all but jumped over the workstation, landing right in front of Tony. “Wow, you're chipper.”

“Why wouldn't I be? Isn't the world just wonderful?”

“You really had fantastic homework yesterday, didn't you?”, Tony smirked at the teen that immediately turned beet-red.

“Uhm, yeah...”

“Kid, you're allowed to say no to me, you know that, right?” He put his hands on Peter's shoulders who looked up with wide eyes. “If 'having homework' is your way of doing that, I'm cool with it. Just don't feel like you have to lie to me; I can accept a no.”

“You sure?”, he grinned, still blushing, but a lot more cheeky now.

“I am. You wanna get to work then?”

Instead of giving an answer, Peter blurted out: “I was on a date!” He was somewhat embarrassed, somewhat proud, but mostly so damn smitten...

“I assume with Michelle?”, he smiled. The kid barely shut up about the amazingly smart captain of the Academic Decathlon Team, who was so badass and really funny and oh so pretty...

“Yeah”, he cooed and, if it was possible his entire face turned into one giant heart-eye. “We went to the Natural History Museum, they have an exhibition about Murderous Animals, like the serial killers of nature. Like Meerkats for example. They kill each other ten times more than humans kill each other! And like chinchillas, they're on fifth place. That's so weird, because they seem so adorable!”

“And your paramour liked that?”

“She loved it! It was like the perfect surprise.” Now it was pure pride that Peter exuded. “And then we got takeaway and watched the sunset from a roof top and it was so romantic.”

“Sounds absolutely perfect.”

“It was. And I'm sorry I said the homework thing... I just...”

“It's alright. Like I said, you don't have to justify yourself to me. Bigger question, though: Are you too caught in thoughts about your girlfriend or are you able to concentrate on not blowing us up?”

***

Tony thought he knew what pain and torture felt like after Afghanistan. But watching Peter like this, sorrowful and almost heart-broken, managed to top it off once more.

Today's patrol went absolutely disastrous. Tony hadn't managed to get the details out of the kid yet, but what he did gather was that during a bank robbery one civilian, trying to take down a robber, got shot, and that only moments before Peter had the chance to get there.

And now the kid was wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, curled in the corner. All Tony could do was stay close, and he was ready to get or do anything Peter might need from him.

“Hey Tony.” Steve walked up and sat next to Tony on the couch. “How's he doing?”

Tony just shot him a stare á la 'what do you think', but didn't get the chance to say just that.

“He can hear you, you know?”, Peter grumbled from his blanket pile.

“Sorry, kid.”

“Yeah, whatever...”

“What's up?”, Tony turned to the super soldier, who should actually know better than to crowd Peter when he was upset; it had unfortunately happened a few too many times.

“We need his statement.”

The wince coming from the blanket pile was quiet but Tony clearly heard it.

“Seriously Rogers, now?”

“I know, I know. But if we don't get it signed now, we'll be in a lot of trouble with Ross and the Accords.”

Shit. Peter stayed silent, but he balled himself up even more if it was possible. There was no way in hell, Tony was gonna let anybody force Peter to do any official shit.

“Well, first of all, since he's a minor, his signature is useless anyways. And besides... Peter has homework.”

“Homework?” Steve creased his eyebrows, until he got it. “Oh, right”, he nodded, “homework. Yes, that's important, I agree. And yes, since he's not a legally grown-up, my signature should more than suffice. ”

“Thanks.”

Steve nodded, got up and, just before he walked out of the room, the blanket pile moved a little. “Thank you, Mr America.”

“Anytime, Pete.”

***

“Peter, good you're here”, Happy smiled at the bushel of brown curls that peaked out from a bunch of wires.

“What's up?”, he called and only then resurfaced.

“Meeting Room C. In five minutes.”

“Aw, shit”, he groaned.

Tony couldn't blame him, Meeting Room C meant that it was some politic representative from City Hall. And that equalled deathly boredom. Thank the heavens, Tony was no longer responsible for all that.

“Come on”, Happy urged him.

“Sorry, Hap, I can't”, he decided. “I've got homework.”

It was silent for a moment, then Tony burst out laughing. The kid grinned cheekily at Happy, who looked like he just wanted to quit.

“Peter. You're 25, you're no longer in school.”

“Sorry, kiddo”, Tony wheezed, “doesn't work any more.”

“Aw, man”, he moaned but still got up and begrudgingly followed Happy. “This sucks.”

***

“Seriously”, Tony groaned for the umpteenth, “time for bed!”

“No, it's not”, Peter decided, “I'm a grown-up, remember?”

“And I'm almost a grown-up!”, Morgan stated. That she was only 11 didn't seem to matter right now.

“I'm a grown-up, too”, Tony shot back. “And I'm tired, want to sleep and you crazy kids are keeping me up.”

“But Daaaad”, Morgan moaned, “I can't go to bed! I've got homework, and Petey has to help me!”

Oh fucking hell. Morgan and Peter looked up at Tony with the smuggest grins and damnit, Tony was not in the mood to start arguing with them.

“Peter Benjamin Parker. I thought that joke died with your graduation.”

“Clearly not”, he shot back.

“Right then.” The quickest and easiest way was just to play along. “Homework, and then bed.” He sat himself at the table and looked expectantly at his daughter, who started to blush. Peter on the other hand had to bite down hard to keep from laughing out loud.

“Ugh, fine.” Morgan rolled her eyes and got up. “Good night.” She leaned over and put a kiss on Peter's cheek.

“Was a nice try”, he chuckled. “Sleep well, sweetie.”

“Come on, Morgoona.” Tony held his hand out and, albeit with an anger glare (as intimidating as the anger glare of a tired 11-year-old could be), she took the outstretched hand. “Don't worry, tomorrow morning you and Peter can do all the homework the world can possibly offer.”

#avengers #irondad #spiderson #ironman #tony stark #spider-man #peter parker #Pepper Potts #happy hogan #steve rogers #morgan stark

53 notes · View notes