#attire — i am a misfit too ; i suppose .

[ferinehuntressmoved]

TAGS 002.

visage — i am an excellent shot . attire — i am a misfit too ; i suppose . interactions — the answer is here ; staring me in the face . answers — my name is caitlyn . aesthetics — sometimes you have to go back to move forward . headcanons — we will make a new plan ; we have to try . character study — i will take responsibility . attractions — what about us . desires — i never miss a detail . skillsets — what are you shooting for . scenery — you would be well within your rights to keep it . playlist — we are going to have to be more careful . games — i had a break in the case . body study — do you ever say thank you . rl face claim — it is not your fault .

[feraldames]

[ caitlyn visage ] — i am an excellent shot . [ caitlyn attire ] — i am a misfit too ; i suppose . [ caitlyn interactions ] — the answer is here ; staring me in the face . [ caitlyn answers ] — my name is caitlyn . [ caitlyn aesthetics ] — sometimes you have to go back to move forward . [ caitlyn headcanons ] — we will make a new plan ; we have to try . [ caitlyn character study ] — i will take responsibility . [ caitlyn attractions ] — what about us . [ caitlyn desires ] — i never miss a detail . [ caitlyn skillsets ] — what are you shooting for . [ caitlyn playlist ] — we are going to have to be more careful . [ caitlyn games ] — i had a break in the case . [ caitlyn body study ] — do you ever say thank you .

[strvlveera]

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥.

pairing: royalty!oikawa x afab!reader

genre: royal au, angst w/happy ending, fluff

w/c: 10.7k (help me)

warnings: swearing (lmk if there should be more !)

synopsis: sick and tired of the looming castle walls, tooru decides to adventure outwards. somewhere he wasn't allowed to go. dressed as a young 'peasant' boy tooru comes across the delicious smell of fresh baked bread. considering he was starving he marched right in demanding a loaf of bread, forgetting he wasn't in normal attire. you, the daughter of the baker, found him a headache but also amusing. I mean what source of entertainment can you get when you're so poor?

"I am your prince!"

"...then why are you dressed like that?"

(lowercase intended)

slightly based on 'ceilings' by lizzy mcalpine

a/n: this isn't proofread so there may be careless mistakes! the synopsis doesn't comprehend how much angst there will be... I made this fic as an excuse to not sleep...got this idea at 2 am so T_T honestly since hq is coming back(?) soon I just want my home boy back...

I also apologise for not getting this done sooner i don't know why it took me so long.. anyways enjoy!

btw can you spot a manwha reference too?

NOT PROOF READ!

taglist: @tooruchiiscribs @qualitygiantshoepsychic @sillykawa @rukia-uchiha-98 @softcd @misfit-megumi @suzizanne

"sit here and reminisce about your actions. I have a lot of things to do today," the king calmly demanded tooru as he whined and grumbled, dragging him by the arm to his room.

"I just wanted to play, you're always so busy and nee-san is always holding tea parties with her friends!" tooru exclaimed, crossing arms.

"you'll understand in the future. when you’re king, you'll always be busy."

"what if I don't want to be king? I want to be a knight! I want to be free and keep my friends safe, as well as you and nee-san," tooru proudly said to his father, as if convincing him that taking the throne was what he wasn't destined for.

the king mockingly laughed, not taking tooru's words seriously.

"keep an eye on him, don't let him leave this room until I come back," stated the king to the guard outside who gave a quick nod.

"of course, your highness."

"i'll be off then tooru, behave."

with the creak of the closing door tooru sprawled his arms across the bed as he flumped down, a sour look on his face staring into the ceiling.

"behave tooru! oh, look at me being too busy being a king that I don't even have time for my son!" mocks tooru, reminiscing about his father's stern words rather than his own actions.

i mean, it wasn't his fault that he 'accidentally' hit his great-grandfather's statue. it wasn’t as if he was trying to catch anyone's attention. it wasn't his fault he was alone most of the day, except when the royal tutor came. it wasn’t his fault that the dreams of becoming a knight got disregarded as soon as he even said the word 'knight', as if it wasn’t an option.

tooru had to practically beg his father for swordsmanship lessons, even though he was so young, desperately clinging to his dream of becoming a knight. why? to be free from his fate, his destiny and yet his father still said no.

"king this, king that, why not knight this, knight that?" questioned tooru, still huffing from his father's words.

he doesn't even want to be king anyway. the responsibility of it seemed trapping as if he'd be a bird in a cage with everyone watching his every move.

silently staring at the ceiling with a blank face, tooru decides on an escape plan. except this time he'll escape to the city. the place where his father told him to never go.

"you'll catch a deadly disease! how will you train to be a knight?"

the memory passed through his mind.

"how am I supposed to be a knight anyway whenever I'm always confined in this boring palace?" tooru thought out loud.

knights are daring and dashing and most importantly loved by all. if tooru wanted to be a knight, he'd have to be a little adventurous and brave.

"if mother was here she'd let me go," says tooru, quietly reassuring himself that his decision was beneficial and ethical.

finding old clothes from the back of his wardrobe, he tried his best to make himself an unroyal attire. with a bit of tearing in certain parts tooru proudly stood in front of his mirror with his disguise, ready for operation: escape to town.

"soo original tooru.."

..·:*¨༺ ♚ ༻¨*:·.

tooru's ears perked up to the sound of the bustling streets of the city, his eyes lighting up with excitement as crowds of people strolled up and down the street. some frantically buying groceries from the local market, some sitting outside having a beverage of choice whilst talking with the person opposite, laughing at each other's comments.

this is way more fun than the palace thought tooru, as he gazed around.

alas, with the growl of his stomach, tooru then realised how he barely had any food that day as he was having too much fun causing chaos at the palace.

"i should've brought money for food, why am i so dumb?!," tooru whines, whilst ruffling his hair out of frustration.

the feeling of his empty stomach made tooru more impatient until he smelt a whiff of something delicious. following the scent like a delirious zombie, tooru came to a halt when he came across a bakery. as he opened the door a ding came from a bell and his eyes landed upon a girl, which he assumed to be his age, putting some sort of pastry in an oven until she realised the presence of tooru and quickly wiped her floury hands, rushing towards him.

"hello, sir, welcome to shokupan. unfortunately, you're visiting during our closing hours, would you like to leave in an order for tomorrow?" she asks with a click of a pen, smiling at tooru as he processes what she just asked.

"i need that loaf of bread," demanded tooru pointing to the freshly baked milk bread on the counter, ignoring the girl’s question.

following tooru's finger, the girl realised what he was asking for and nervously chuckled.

"o-oh! i'm sorry but that isn't to be bought by anyone except the man that ordered it earlier. may i ask again if you want to order anything for tomorrow?" she asks again.

by now tooru's patience was wearing thin. with an awful combination of an empty stomach and tired legs, he started to grow irritated but so were you. yes, you. the baker's daughter.

with your father off for deliveries, you had to look after the bakery; taking orders everyday, making the dough and baking most of the bread yourself. with a job like this, it can get very tiring easily. especially with ignorant customers but that was rare. until today, where you had the 'fortunate' opportunity to stumble across a hungry and grumpy tooru.

"i don't want or need anything for tomorrow. what i need is that bread - so would you just give it to me?" demanded tooru once again.

you sighed, putting a hand to your forehead being physically and mentally exhausted from the hard work and now him.

"as i've said before, sir, i can't just give you a loaf of bread. if you don't want to order anything i'll have to ask you to leave so that i can close up the bakery," and with that you began to head back to the kitchen.

"you don't understand, i need that bread now! i'm dying of hunger, don't you pity me?" pleaded tooru with furrowed eyebrows, desperate for a bite of that delicious looking bread.

"look, there are many people who wander in and out of the bakery looking for pastries but unfortunately i can't give you it without permission from my boss. it's just how business runs around here," you shrugged, used to the situation.

normally, you'd give him a loaf of free bread, however word got out that you gave out free bread to those who couldn't afford it and an upburst happened causing the bakery to be shut down for a whole week. your father was certainly not happy about what happened but was glad that you were charitable and sympathetic to the people.

of course tooru had no idea this happened, he never read the newspapers anyway as they were too boring to him. he'd rather run around the palace causing chaos.

with tooru in desperate need of food he decided to play his trump card.

he cleared his throat and proudly stated, "although i may not look like it, i am actually prince tooru of the oikawa family, ruler of this city and province. as of now i may not look like the part, because i am on a very special mission, but i can reassure you that this is your dear prince."

with a small hair flip and a smug smile tooru awaited an apology but instead found you laughing hysterically like a hyena.

offended, tooru immediately questions, "w-what's wrong? you should be cowering before me and asking for my forgiveness, why are you laughing like a maniac?"

obviously you couldn't reply, still holding your stomach as you try to catch your breath from laughing too much.

"b-because…." you began but immediately started laughing again.

tooru scoffed, flabbergasted at your behaviour and disrespect to him as a royal. you were just a commoner and he was royalty, how dare you mock him like this?

"i don't know why you think this is hilarious but i am not lying. i am your prince!" proclaimed tooru, tired of your actions.

calming yourself down with a shaky breath out, you look at (a very annoyed) tooru up and down.

"if you really are the prince, which is very unlikely considering that this is the west side of the city, then why are you dressed like that?" you questioned, suspicious of his manner and clothes.

confused, tooru stops glaring at you and begins to analyse his outfit and quickly realises what you meant.

"oh…."

you chuckle in disbelief and maybe even pity, thinking he's gone mad already as a teenager.

"yeah, oh."

embarrassingly, tooru took off the smug look off his face and cleared his throat.

"you're not doing a very good job at convincing me prince tooru," you mocked, cheekily smiling at him.

"maybe i need more time to enhance my skills," tooru replies with an eye roll.

what a pity you thought, he was really entertaining. you wondered if he did acting as a job.

“well, i guess this is the part where i go,” tooru awkwardly began as he slowly turned to walk out the door, mostly out of embarrassment and the need to get home. his father would be furious if he found him dressed like this.

"wait just a second," you frantically said, trying to catch up with him, after grabbing something from the counter.

he anxiously turns, not wanting to be humiliated even more. however, to his delight you handed him a paper bag filled with a loaf of milk bread. you could immediately see how his demeanour changed and how his eyes lit up, almost as if there were stars in them.

"c-can i really have this?" asked tooru, with saliva already threatening to drip from his mouth.

"of course, i'm not that cruel. plus, i saw you eyeing up the milk bread from earlier. you looked like you really couldn't live without it. i’ll just make another batch for the old man," you replied with a small smile, mentally reminding yourself to not tell your father about this. who knows what would happen.

relief spread across tooru's face.

"thank you…?"

"ah - i'm y/n."

"thank you y/n," tooru replies with a wide smile, grateful for the milk bread.

with a bright smile, you waved goodbye to tooru as the bell of the door rang once again, indicating he was leaving to your dismay.

"come back soon!" you called out to tooru, secretly wishing to see him again tomorrow.

happily chewing on the milk bread, tooru smiled to himself filled with content, glad of the encounter and his courage to adventure off.

his father certainly wouldn't be pleased if he found out.

..·:*¨༺ ♚ ༻¨*:·.

it was the following day and you couldn't help but secretly wait for a certain someone to come through the door. most of your customers were regulars so it was usually the same people saying the same things that you already knew about even when you'd make conversation asking,"anything new happen?" and with them replying with,"it's always the same old y/n."

it was pretty boring in the west end, except for all the crime that's been lurking around. the ring of the bell came and you turned around, only to be met by the same boy from yesterday. you were ecstatic to see the brown haired boy again. swiftly walking over to him you greet him with another milk bread you made just for him.

"well if it isn't the prince tooru, gracing me with his presence again," you sarcastically say, with a little courtesy.

it wasn't until you got a proper look at him that you realised how he was panting, trying to catch his breath and the plum bruise on his face.

tooru saw how fast your reaction to the bruise was, as your eyes started to fill with worry and concern. with furrowed eyebrows you hesitantly touched his face and he backed away.

"i'm so sorry tooru I didn't mean to-"

"no-no it's fine y/n don't worry, I don't know why I backed up in the first place," he reassuringly said.

although, in reality he backed away because he got nervous when you touched him. it felt comforting, which was a foreign emotion to tooru ever since his mother passed away.

"are you okay? how'd you get the bruise? did something happen?" you asked, bombarding him with questions, wondering how he ended up like this.

tooru found it really heart-warming how you only knew him for less than twenty-four hours and yet you showed so much concern for him. most of the maids in the palace only cared about his safety so that they wouldn't get fired by the king. to have someone genuinely worry about him made him feel as if he was valued as a human being, instead of "the king's son" or "the heir to the throne".

he actually got the bruise by accidently bumping into a gang that didn't look very pleased with him. he ran as fast as he could, screaming his lungs out.

"not very knightly of you tooru," he thought.

he made sure to not tell you about this.

he softly smiled at you as he said, "nothing, don't worry about it,"

not wanting to pry anymore, you let it go although you were still sceptical about the ordeal.

"well, if you say so. how about we enjoy the milk bread i prepared for you? it's a slow day today so we can sit down and have a chat outside," you insisted, leading tooru outside.

..·:*¨༺ ♚ ༻¨*:·.

throughout the next few months you both continued to meet each other. with tooru sneaking out the palace more often and you already having freshly baked milk bread just for him. your father would get suspicious, catching you smiling to yourself at random times of the day whenever he was at the bakery but brushed it off as he was glad to see you happy rather than tired from all the work he gave you.

with your father starting to help more at the bakery than doing deliveries, you decided to pick a new meetup spot with tooru so that you two could talk with as much freedom as possible. without your father glaring at tooru as he did with his first encounter with him.

you showed him your hidden gem, a place where you would run to when the world would overwhelm you. your safe haven. urging tooru to go in first, his eyes were blessed with a charming peaceful meadow, secluded from society which was a good thing, as its beauty was preserved for you to see and now tooru. surprisingly you haven't even shown your father this heaven but you willingly led tooru here.

there was something about this milk bread obsessed boy that made you feel as if you could trust him. you've had male friends before but they would always tease you that you were a one trick pony as you could only bake but barely cook to save your life.

“ugh! I keep burning the bacon….” you grumbled, looking over to the pile of burnt bacon on the counter.

"just stick to baking y/n, it's the only thing you're good at," matsukawa slyly said, with the classic smirk of his which resulted in a loud smack to his head. he deserved it.

they never took you seriously. until tooru came along and changed your perspective. yes, he would be very arrogant at some points but alas that was just how he was and without it he wouldn't be as charming. it also brought out a new side of you, where you would make snarky remarks to him which would end in the both of you hugging your stomachs from laughing or tooru pouting.

relaxing down on a light patch of grass, you began talking about the future, a common topic in your conversations to tooru's dismay but it ended up helping him release his bottled up problems.

"i feel bad," you began, in a soft tone.

"why? you've done nothing except give me happiness," he questioned, confused by your sudden statement.

flustered by the choice of words that he used, you averted your eyes. clearing your throat you continued,”i always complain about my life and talk about my problems and yet you never get the chance to talk sometimes, when we talk about the future or anything serious in general.”

realising how insensitive you sound, your eyes widen and turn to tooru to apologise.

“i didn’t mean that-i mean I did but not in that context. of course you don’t have to talk about touchy subjects in your life if you don’t want to,” you paused for a second, trying not to panic and calmly collect your thoughts.

“I guess what i'm trying to say is, you can talk to me. you can talk about anything, other than your love for the milk bread i give you,” that earned a chuckle from tooru.

You grin, pleased that you received a positive reaction from him.

“i know we’ve only been friends for quite a while and i whole-heartedly understand if you feel a bit uncomfortable with all of this. just know I’ll always be here tooru,” you concluded, slightly embarrassed by what you said.

"aww….y/n, you care so much about me huh?" teased tooru, although he secretly soaked up all your words.

you sulked, embarrassed at your actions and mostly how tooru reacted to what you said but also not very surprised by his antics. tooru was busy laughing at your demeanour.

"sorry y/n, i didn't want to ruin the moment by laughing but i am really touched I swear!" tooru explained.

"i poured my heart and soul into that and you're here making fun of me!" you grumbled, purposely exaggerating your words so that he'd apologise soon.

tooru's laugh rang in your ears and he quickly apologised for teasing you.

"don't worry y/n, i listened very carefully. you have no idea how much I appreciate you."

just as you were about to say "thank you", tooru continued.

"mostly because of the milk bread you bake for me but don't worry i also appreciate the company just not as much as the bread," he cheekily said, earning a smack in the back of his head from you.

"ouch! what was that for?" he whined.

"i’m not give you milk bread anymore," you replied with a stone face.

tooru gasped and started pleading for your mercy, trying to flatter you with compliments as you got up from the dented grass and started walking away from him.

"y/n you're an angel, you know that right?"

"yes tooru i know i am. now stop clinging onto my cardigan or else I'll feed you raw dough instead."

you only gave into his pleas when he started bowing down to you in the middle of the street when you were trying to ignore him.

"almighty y/n, i am a sinful man begging for your forgiveness. please give me a loaf of milk bread."

"tooru people are starting to look, please get up," you hurryingly pleaded.

he gave you one last glance and in return you gave him a dirty look, already fed up with his act.

"almighty y/n, please listen to my prayer-"

"fine, fine! i'll give you free milk bread again…"

"oh thank you! almighty-"

"i'm seriously going to punch you."

--- ⁠✧

the day ended with tooru beaming with happiness as he ate his milk bread, and you sat across from him once again with your hand resting against your chin gazing upon his figure. you never understood why your milk bread was so special to him but you were glad that you could make him happy in some sort of way.

"maybe I should start charging you, we might just go bankrupt from all the free bread we've given you," you teased, already knowing what he'd say.

"well it isn't my fault that they taste so good!" tooru whined.

you giggled and went back to staring at him, appreciating his beauty. the way his smooth skin glistened against the withering glows of the sun, the way his lips parted to take a bite of the bread, the way his brown eyes would melt into golden rays as the sunlight hit his face. how on earth could this boy in front of you be a commoner when his looks alone could help him get a job easily?

"you know you're really pretty tooru, even when you have a lot of crumbs on your face," you randomly said as you focused on specific parts of his face.

tooru almost choked on the milk bread, surprised at your sudden statement.

"of course i'm pretty. i am a prince after all," he nervously chuckled trying to cover up his flustered expression.

"are you still acting as if you're a prince?" you questioned, amused that he’s still keeping up the act.

with a smug face, tooru replied,"when the time comes and you see that i am a prince, you will be so shocked and i'd laugh right in your face."

you rolled your eyes as you thought,"yeah right. as if a prince would be sitting right in front me, stuffing his face with the milk bread that i baked. tooru is seriously unbelievable."

it wasn't until a year later that it became believable. specifically, on his eighteenth birthday.

..·:*¨༺ ♚ ༻¨*:·.

"be careful with those plates!"

"which colour would you like your highness? celeste or baby blue?"

"would you like chocolate or vanilla frosting on the cake, your highness?"

the palace was clearly bustling with noise and excitement. why? because it’s tooru’s special eighteenth birthday tomorrow.

tooru hadn't realised it until a while ago but his heart started to soften more and more at every encounter you two had.

maybe it was because of the countless amounts of milk bread you would prepare for him which made tooru question if you were making it with the intent of seeing him (probably not). sure, all the chefs and maids in the palace prepared the most luxurious food for him but it just felt the same with every meal but it was somehow different with you.

maybe it was because of the uplifting conversations you would have, where you both could voice your thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects with no worries of being judged. tooru swore at himself, wondering what he'd gotten himself into and yet he still consciously ventured further, wanting to learn more about you, other than you being a baker's daughter. you didn't know his true identity and yet you were so thoughtful towards him.

although, it felt selfish as he couldn't truthfully tell you his identity, he continued to pursue a growing friendship whilst walking home with a guilty heart each time he saw you. he was addicted. now that he was turning eighteen, tooru couldn’t hide it any longer. he had to tell you, one way or another. before it was too late and before he’d have to go back to the life he had without you. a boring, uneventful life.

--- ⁠✧

“why didn't i sleep early last night?” you questioned yourself, yawning for what felt like the hundredth time.

honestly, you stayed up last night because you knew it was tooru's birthday tomorrow and you were crocheting a scarf for the first time, even though it was the middle of summer. you couldn’t just bring him to the meadow and eat ice cream and milk bread all day like all the other years you spent celebrating his birthday. no, it had to be something different, something that no one else could give him and something that you've never done before especially since he was now getting to the age of marriage.

you were in the middle of putting the classic milk bread that you’d make for tooru in the oven when you heard the ring of the doorbell as it opened. you didn’t recognise the person making his way towards you but he looked oddly familiar.

with another yawn you groggily said,”hello welcome to shokupan, what can i get for you?”

“uh- y/n?” he spoke, as if he was confused.

you lazily smiled and looked up to the man, “yup that’s me, what can i-,” it was only then that you realised that this stranger knew your name and only then you realised who exactly it was.

your tired eyes quickly shot open, as if you got electrocuted. it was tooru, but he was dressed so magnificently. a bright, shining suit adorned his figure; gold shoulder pads showing off his broad shoulders; perfectly combed hair that would usually be messy and unkempt.

"t-tooru?" you whispered, wondering if you were still dreaming. was this really your tooru?

he chuckled,"yes n/n, it's really me," whilst sarcastically posing for you. however, you couldn't respond. you were speechless.

"y/n? are you okay?" tooru asked, concerned but also amused at your unresponsive state.

as tooru's words went in one ear and out the other you got out of your tranced state and started firing questions at tooru, "why are you dressed like that? where'd you get the money? did you loan the money? tooru you can't use all your savings on a suit, what about food?"

tooru couldn't contain his laughter any longer and bursted out laughing.

"what's so funny about spending all your money on something you don't even need?!" you exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed as you tried to make sense of tooru's actions.

as tooru's laugh died down, he gazed at you with a smug smile.

"i told you before that one day i'd show you that i'm a prince and that you'd never believe me. so here i am y/n, prince tooru of the oikawa family, inviting you to attend a ball tomorrow to celebrate my birthday," he gracefully bowed down whilst holding out an envelope towards you which you hesitantly took from him.

carefully, you observed the envelope, wondering if tooru was actually a prince or if he was just playing one of his silly games on you again. you knew your answer as soon as you flipt the envelope to shockingly fix your eyes on the royal seal, a four leaf clover crest. anybody could recognise as the city was adorned with the symbol. in disbelief, you lifted your head to tooru with wide eyes.

“you…” you started, trying to comprehend everything with your already jumbled mind.

“i’m?” tooru replied, anxious to see your reaction.

“you’re a prince,” you whispered, not believing your own words.

slowly, the cogs were starting to work in your brain, the pieces of the puzzle were connecting. why haven't you noticed? tooru always implied it even in your first encounter. there were many other reasons too on why he’d be a prince; he always had to leave early or he was late; the amount of times you’ve patched him up without you knowing that it was because of his swordsmanship lessons last year; the way he was able to read sophisticated words and write with very neat handwriting, which commoners couldn't do simply because they didn't have the money for the education; the way he never showed you where he lived or where he was from; the way he never talked about himself during your conversations. it all made sense and yet you were too dense to even realise it. you were angry and disappointed with yourself.

“why didn’t you tell me sooner?” you questioned, wondering if he thought of you as a person who couldn't be trusted.

“well, i guess i just…” he paused and took a breath in.

“i was scared, y/n. maybe even terrified, that you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore or that you’d hate me, and i completely understand if you do now because i just basically lied to you throughout our whole friendship which is so stupid and idiotic of me and i’m so, so sorry y/n. i cherish you so much and i don't want to lose you, so please don't ever think that i never trusted you because i do, wholeheartedly.”

tooru finished and waited for you to talk or say anything, but you just stared at him in disbelief.

"y/n, please say something," tooru pleaded, his fist tightening against his chest as he grew more anxious.

"does your father know?" you asked.

"what? of course not he'd go crazy if he did-"

"oh my god tooru, you're unbelievable," you muttered, with your fingers pressing on your temple.

"what? y/n i just told you why i didn't want to reveal my identity, you know my father would go crazy if he found out i was sneaking away," tooru reasoned, trying to calm down the situation by reaching out for your hand but you slapped it away, still not comprehending the situation.

"yes tooru, and i understand that, if you weren't a prince. this completely changes everything, you know that right? what if someone saw us and reported it to your father? you'd be in great trouble and don't even get me started on how i'd probably be the talk of the city. a laughing stock. i mean, a commoner being friends with a prince? ha! how ridiculous," you rambled, looking away and staring down at your feet.

"y/n, look at me," tooru softly asked, gently lifting your chin up so you could meet his eyes. your breath hitched as he stared right at you, as if he could read your every thought.

"it doesn't matter if i'm a prince or if you're a commoner. even if my father finds out, I won't let any harm come to you. i'll do everything in my power to make sure you're safe."

"tooru-"

"i'm not done. just because you're a 'commoner' doesn't mean you aren’t worth anything less. you're y/n, my y/n and that's all that matters. i don't care about titles. fuck being a prince, it doesn't matter as long as i'm with you. as long as you're here."

you both became silent as tooru awaited a response and you were still processing what he just confessed to you. tooru sighed and let go of you, turning away and hiding his face from you, embarrassed at himself.

"tooru," you started, still finding the right words to say to him.

"if i have to be honest, i'm disappointed not only in you but for myself. it feels as if you just used me as a way to escape from your own life. i really, really enjoy your company tooru and you made my life so much more exciting and enjoyable, and even thinking about what we’d have in plan to do helped me get out of bed in the morning but now, i do not know what to think anymore. not only that, but the fact that you’ve hinted at it all this time and yet i was too dumb to even realise it. was this all a joke to you?" you questioned, your chest tightening at your own words, hoping he’d contradict with you.

“y/n…none of this was ever a joke and i can’t even truly express my gratitude to your very own existence with just simple minded words. from our first encounter to even now, the only person i’ve wanted to see was you. you’ve never once left my mind,” his eyes softened before his mouth came to a fine line, you could physically see his lips quiver as he awaited your response.

you finally let go of the breath you’ve unconsciously been holding and came face to face with the boy who made you feel an array of emotions that you couldn’t comprehend and simply gave him a gentle hug, with your head resting on his chest hearing his quickened heartbeat drumming in your ear.

with an awkward smile you looked up to him,”you really are scared huh?”

“god y/n, you have no idea how many times i was planning on telling you, but i would just end up getting lost in the moment and keep putting it off, until now, i really thought i screwed things up,” tooru frantically explained, letting out a sigh of relief.

although, to his horror you pierced his ears, saying, "you kind of did."

the atmosphere shifted to a chilling silence, with tooru’s bug eyed expression processing the words that you just announced and you fidgeting nervously with your hands.

“what?” tooru meekly asked, needing affirmation.

”look tooru, even if we remain as friends and keep meeting up, we’ll never go back to normal. you have to understand that. even if titles don't matter to you, they matter to everyone else. in their eyes, i’ll always be a ‘lowly’ commoner and you will always be a prince, hell maybe even king!”

“don’t you dare say that about me, i will never be king nor will i ever want to,” tooru defended, slightly raising his voice over the sensitive subject but that didn’t stop you from continuing.

“come to terms with reality tooru, this isn’t some fairy tale where i randomly get gifted a fairy godmother for christ sake. sure, it was okay when you were younger but now, really? you’re turning eighteen tomorrow, you can’t just keep skipping out on your duties as a prince,” you continued, pleading with him to see your point of view.

tooru scoffed, ”what do you know about being a prince? you’d never understand how shit i felt every time i get told off for every little mistake i made and how i know everyone secretly wished my mother survived instead of me.”

you stood still with a withering expression, your mouth parted and heart clenched with tears pricking your eyes. he never talked about this before.

“tooru, i didn’t know-”

“i was suffocating in there y/n, and you were the only one that made me feel like i wasn’t drowning with responsibilities and yet now i’m getting reminded of it again by the only person i could rely on,” he painfully expressed, solemnly looking at you, catching your watered eyes.

alas you stood your ground,

“well, as the person that you can rely on, i'm only telling you this for your own sake tooru, and yes i’m not a prince and i’m sure as hell not educated enough to understand what a prince does. however, i do know that you’ll have to get married soon now that you’re turning eighteen and i can’t keep distracting you tooru and you can’t keep running away. you’re going to have many people wanting to speak with you and important meetings to attend and you won’t have time to see me. we both know that,” your heart breaks at your own words.

tooru stood still with a pained expression. he couldn't argue with you, knowing that everything you said was true.

“wake up tooru. we aren’t fifteen anymore.”

silently, tooru sets down a wrapped box on an empty table and walks to the door without a word. all you could do was watch his doleful figure. before he stepped out into the street he stared at you without his warm brown eyes with a disappointed smile and said, ”you’re still invited you know? i already booked a carriage for you, so please come.”

The ring of the doorbell came at last, indicating his presence was gone and with that you burst out in tears with you crouching down against the counter recalling the argument between you two. were you too harsh? did you even consider tooru’s side? were you being insensitive? all these questions left your mind swirling like a spinning wheel to the point where you just laid lifeless with stinging eyes from all the salty tears.

finally finding the strength to get up, you dust yourself off the floor and spotted the clean and elegant box tooru left for you. carefully, you raised the lid upwards and you gasped surprised. sitting in the box before you was the most luxurious dress you’ve ever laid your eyes upon. sophisticated patterns adorned the purple gown with numerous delicate jewels stitched on, where if one was sold you’d no longer be a baker but instead living more comfortably.

“i’ve never seen a gown this shade before,” you astonishingly admitted, surveying the gown in your hand gently touching the rich fabric. unbeknownst to you the shade was specifically tyrian purple, a shade only the royal family wore.

peering inside you see a little rectangle note. you delicately placed the gown down on the table and opened the note.

“you’re royalty too.”

slightly grinning at the sentence you let out a light hearted sigh, letting it convince your tender heart.

“i guess i’ll be going to a ball tomorrow.”

..·:*¨༺ ♚ ༻¨*:·.

it was the day that everyone anticipated for and yet tooru wasn’t excited at all. he lost sight of all hope as of yesterday, after the argument he had with you. even his best friend iwaizumi hajime tried comforting him, in his own unique way.

“oi, it’s your own birthday try to lighten up. you look like a rotting zombie,” he pointed out.

tooru gave iwaizumi a sour look at him and miserably said, ”she isn't coming so what’s the point?”

“she? oh, you mean y/n?” iwaizumi asked, tooru gave a small nod.

“she’ll have to come, you prepared a gown and a carriage for her. how could she refuse? won’t most girls like that?”

“maybe the fact that i screwed everything over plays a major part,” tooru explained.

iwaizumi gave a puzzled look to tooru, clearly not informed of the events that happened yesterday morning. with a heavy sigh, tooru began to catch up with iwa on the unfortunate argument that occurred.

“oh i see now.”

“yeah, you’d think she’d still come?”

“after what you did? no way. i reckon it’ll take a miracle for her to attend,” iwaizumi blatantly replied, making tooru hopeless as he let out another heavy sigh with a blank stare at the floor.

“but, you’ll never know tooru. miracles can happen,” with that iwaizumi stood up from the cold cobblestone step and gave tooru a pat in the back, his steps echoing behind tooru as he continued to remain alone with his thoughts.

don’t lose hope, he thought.

it was definitely easier said than done.

--- ⁠✧

thankfully, you weren’t alone while you were getting dolled up. your trusted friend yachi was here to help. you were fortunate enough for her to stumble upon your bakery as a middle class girl visiting the city and you both instantly connected, although you both barely saw each other as she lived outside the city but you both kept in contact with letters. as of now you both were struggling on putting on the corset.

“y/n you have to breathe in just a little bit more so i can tighten the corset fully!” yachi exclaimed, while tugging the strings to the best of her ability.

“i know yachi i’m trying my hardest!” you cried out, in pain from holding your breath in for so long.

“and…done!” yachi cheered, clapping her hands.

“how can girls wear these things everyday? i’m about to pass out,” you said, exhausted already trying to reach for a chair.

“wait y/n we aren’t done yet, you have to put the petticoat on and then the actual gown,” yachi explained, encouraging you to keep standing.

with a groan you got up and yachi assembled the gown with a blink of an eye.

“oh my god y/n you look so pretty!” yachi praised, admiring you with stars in her eyes.

you bashfully smiled at her and asked,”you really think so?”

“you’ve always been pretty y/n, oh i’ve got something for you,” she said, going into her purse to fetch an object of some sort.

“what is it?” you aksed, curious of what she prepared.

yachi hid the object with both her hands behind her back sneakily and began by saying,”well, in the letter you said that you had been given a purple gown…”

“so..?” you questioned, urging her to continue.

“so i thought i’d glamour you even more,” she explained before showing you a white sapphire necklace with a wide smile. you stared at it, mesmerised by the sheer shine it gave.

“what do you think?” yachi asked, lifting up the necklace.

“i-it’s gorgeous yachi. are you sure i’m allowed to wear it? where did you get it in the first place?” you said in disbelief while yachi laughed at you with your gaze transfixed on the necklace.

“of course you can wear it, that’s the whole reason why i brought it anyway and don’t worry about where i got it from, just be excited to wear it,” she said with a mischievous giggle that worried you, and before you could even reject her offer she was already putting it on you.

thinking you were finished you went to sit down but to your dismay yachi was in front of you holding hair pins and a comb with an ecstatic expression.

“we’re only getting started y/n!”

you nervously gulped, getting ready for the amount of pain you were about to go through.

--- ⁠✧

chatter filled the ballroom as it continued to fill up with hundreds of guests from around the nation. tooru was trying his best to answer all the questions from all of the women surrounding him in a polite manner. although, they all were obviously there for two main reasons: status and power, as they wave their fans at him with a leering expression. however, he was solely looking for a certain someone to walk through the grand doors and for a certain someone to apologise to.

“do you have someone already in mind prince tooru?” one of the ladies asked which made the rest of them quiet, anticipating tooru’s answer.

he knew he couldn’t say yes without upsetting them all and causing a scene so he chuckled and declared, ”no, i don’t. not yet,” which caused them to erupt in ‘oohs’ and giggles, clearly glad with tooru’s response and the chance they all had to court him. although he knew in his mind that he definitely had someone he wanted to court himself.

unfortunately, that certain someone was running late. the carriage was already patiently waiting outside the bakery when you were trying to find the invitation tooru gave you yesterday but you somehow lost it. if it wasn’t for yachi’s help you probably wouldn’t have made it out the front door.

“have fun y/n! don’t forget to say yes when the prince asks for your hand in marriage!” yachi shouted to you in a cheery tone.

“oh be quiet yachi,” you jokingly said, your face heating up at her joke, embarrassed.

“i’m so sorry i’m late, i just couldn’t seem to find the invitation,” you explained to the coachman who gave you a small nod whilst helping you into the carriage.

you’ve never been in a carriage before but you’ve seen many travel back and forth from the palace at the city centre. you’ve always been in awe of them and dreamt of being in one someday and here you are now, admiring it in all its beauty. in contrast to the outside it was much smaller than you’d imagine but the seats were very comfortable for your already sore feet as they weren’t used to high-heeled shoes you were wearing.

i wonder what tooru would think.

--- ⁠✧

it was getting further into the night and there was still no sight of you. tooru looked over to iwaizumi who was trying to communicate to tooru.

“is she here yet?” mouthed iwaizumi, as he stared at tooru still being bombarded with women.

tooru gave him a frown and shook his head. were you ever going to show up?

it was time for the first dance as the string orchestra began playing a waltz for the guests and tooru to dance to. he immediately had a line of ladies encouraging him to dance with them until one troublesome women decided to ‘accidentally’ trip into tooru’s arm into a dramatic pose that wasn’t impressive, but before he could ask if she was alright the orchestra suddenly stopped playing at the sound of the grand doors abruptly opening and everyone’s attention was averted.

“y/n, from the l/n family!” declared the attendee.

as you slowly emerged and came into everyone’s view. they all gasped and started murmuring to each other at the site of the colour of your gown.

“does this girl not have any idea what crime she’s committing?”

“she’s clearly mocking the royal family, how disrespectful!”

“who does she think she is?”

“i’ve never seen her before.”

fortunately, you couldn’t hear them as you were trying your best not to trip as you descended down the flight of steps, holding onto the railing for dear life, but you could feel all the judgemental stares they were giving you in the corner of your eye.

tooru’s heart began pounding in his chest as he saw your descending figure. muttering a quick,”i’m sorry,” to the woman he caught and helped her onto her feet and swiftly began to approach you with haste. he couldn’t let this chance slip from his fingers. not when he has a million things on his mind to say to you.

finally, you stepped down onto the polished marble floor and let out a sigh of relief and glanced up to find a pair of familiar brown eyes with a million hues, belonging to the man of the night, growing larger until they were right in front of you. not once did your eyes break contact with his.

“you made it,” he gawked, astonished at your arivial.

“i wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you beamed at him, forgetting how much you’ve wanted to see him again.

he bowed down. “would you grant me the greatest honour of joining me for my first dance of the night? only if you can handle it,” he teases, thrilled to be in the presence of you.

“you may, only if you can handle having your toes stepped on,” you tease back whilst curtseying, causing the both of you to erupt in laughter.

as tooru led you to the dance floor, all eyes were on you both as the orchestra began to play a waltz again. realising how nervous you must be, tooru gently placed his hand on your waist and held your hard reassuringly.

“just focus on me y/n. let me lead you.” you nodded, trusting in tooru to guide your inexperienced self.

tooru was true to his word as you both glided gracefully around the dance floor. he led you effortlessly, not even flinching when you would accidentally step on his foot for a brief moment. he just kept smiling at you with his gaze transfixed on your face. you couldn’t help but feel bashful.

“you look breathtaking,” tooru began, causing your face to heat up from his compliment.

“oh stop it tooru, you don’t have to say things you don’t mean,” you said, smiling down, still grateful for the compliment.

“it’s true y/n,” tooru affirmed, looking at you with a caring gaze that sent your stomach into a whirlwind.

“well, thank you. you don’t look bad yourself,” you admitted, wanting to compliment him too.

“of course, i am a prince after all,” he jokingly said, making you chuckle.

“did you plan this? us wearing matching colours,” you asked, realising the way he had the exact same shade of purple on his suit as your gown.

“and what if i did? it’s all part of my master plan,” he replied.

“your master plan of what?” you wondered, curious on what he was planning.

“you’ll see~” he retorted, causing you to sarcastically roll your eyes.

you both continued to dance in a comfortable silence until tooru abruptly broke it when he cleared his throat, getting ready to speak.

“i’m sorry y/n, for everything. i’m sorry for the lies i’ve told you about why i was always late to our meetups and why i was always getting bruises and cuts. i’m sorry for not opening up about my life sooner like you did, that wasn’t fair for you and i’m truly sorry for being the reason you cried,” he apologised.

“you saw me?” you asked, surprised that he knew.

he smiled and gazed at you,”how could i leave without taking one last glance at you,”

his words had a way of lifting an invisible weight off your chest. it felt surreal. the way he was able to enchant you with a few meek words that anyone could say, but he had his own unique charm that made you euphoric.

with a pause, tooru closed his eyes for a second, getting ready to say something.

“y/n…i-“

“tooru.”

a sudden rough, deep voice caused both of you to stop dancing and turn to see what you assumed to be tooru’s father. his demeanour sent chills down your spine as he looked at you with a stone cold expression. tooru looked irritated and turned around to face the king with a serious face as if he just switched personalities.

“father,” tooru said, in an expectant tone.

“come with me,” he demanded, turning around with his royal cloak following as it fluttered in the air.

tooru gave his father a small nod, his palms starting to become mildly sweaty. before he followed his father, he promptly turned around and held both of your shoulders and whispered,”there’s a side door near the back of the hall, exit from there and you’ll see a small stone shelter. go there and wait for me. i’ll try to be quick.”

the smell of a faint rosemary scent grew stronger as he leaned closer, his breath tickling your skin and an unexpected warmth resided on your cheek. with that he left, with you looking at his figure slowly fading away. you placed a hand to your left cheek where he laid his soft lips and rigidly exhaled. you’re full of surprises tooru, you thought.

you made haste, trying to ignore all the eyes that were on you. to your demise the same girl that tooru caught stood in your way, not moving an inch.

“excuse me ma’am, i have to get through,” you politely asked, starting to become impatient.

"you're not royalty," she accused, looking at you up and down.

"what?" you asked confused, just wanting to get out of the hall.

"you're clearly not royalty. your manners are ridiculous and you certainly don't know when to be on time, you attention seeker," she taunted, causing the crowd around you to gasp and snicker at her accusation.

to say you were peeved was an understatement. she irked you in a way no one has before. her voice was like a nagging child throwing a tantrum. it made your ears bleed. you wanted to grab her fake hair and strangle it around her neck. you would’ve if you had the chance. alas you sadly had to remain calm and collected.

“you’re just being hypocritical, miss. i’m sure everyone here saw the way you desperately threw yourself at the prince,” you retorted with a smile. the woman’s cocky expression quickly dropped to a glare.

“you lowly bitc-”

“i think that’s enough lady ayame,” iwaizumi cut in, his words silencing the crowd as he stepped out into the open.

you turned around to see the owner of the unfamiliar voice walking towards the two of you. he stopped and looked down upon the ayame with cold eyes.

“l-lieutenant iwaizumi,” she cowardly said in fear, curtseying while avoiding his gaze.

he then turned to you. you slightly jumped, scared that he’d glare at you too for causing a commotion. you were frozen in place.

“see lieutenant, she isn’t even showing her manners towards you!” ayame pointed out, trying to justify her actions.

iwaizumi didn’t bother wasting his time by talking to her. instead he raised his hand in a way to silence her in which she immediately stopped talking as he kept his eyes on you. at this point you were sweating bricks, trying to not move an inch. this isn’t what i was signing up for.

“go,” he sternly said, nudging his head to the direction of the door.

all you could reply with was a nod then you grabbed a handful of your gown and ran out, not daring to look back. i’ll have to thank him later, i almost got into a cat fight.

you were amazed at the scenery in front of you when you frantically left the hall. you suspected it to be the royal garden. you stepped down onto the footpath, hearing the therapeutic sound of flowing water from the fountain surrounded by an abundance of radiant flowers. from the dim street lights illuminating the garden, to the warm summer breeze brushing against your skin you felt ethereal and nostalgic at the same time. finally, you entered the stone shelter, still admiring the scenery in front of you as you patiently waited for tooru to arrive.

--- ⁠✧

it must've been more than five minutes now and slowly the rain droplets began pattering against the cobblestone paths and yet it wasn’t cold at all. the summer night prevented it. you hated the humid air as it clung onto your skin, feeling sticky.

you speculated on what kept tooru so back. did his father need to talk to him about an important matter that they had to speak about in private? a thousand questions began to swirl in your mind as you started to worry.

in deep thought, you saw a tall figure approaching through the heavy rain. you stood up, squinting to make out who it was. it was tooru. you immediately started shouting his name whilst waving your hand, encouraging him to run faster. you couldn’t help but beam at his presence, excited to what he was going to tell you. he stood in front of you panting, his hair covering half his face as water dripped from his hair and clothes. he shook his hair like a dog, trying to dry himself. you screamed as you tried to backed away from the water droplets attacking you while tooru evilly laughed trying to get closer to you.

“ugh, tooru get away from me!” you shouted with a light hearted laugh, running around in circles from the small space of the shelter.

tooru laughed in response, catching you from behind with a hug. immediately, your gown started getting wet. you tried hitting his arms so he would let go but he didn’t budge.

“come on tooru, let go of me!” you whined, attempting to pry his arms open.

“hmm, i don’t think i will,” he teased, resting his head on your shoulder.

you huffed and roughly turned yourself around so you could see him, and lifted his damp hair up trying to clearly see his face until you saw a harsh red mark on his cheek. your lips parted at the realisation of why he took so long and cupped his face. this time he didn't flinch or back away.

“tooru…” you painfully started. how could he just stand there and smile at you?

“yes y/n?” he asked, gazing at you with a warm smile, not bothering to hide what you saw.

not finding any words to reply with, you just gave him a warm embrace to which he accepted. you cried deeply inside. why did you always have to see him bruised and battered?

“you don’t deserve this tooru,” you sighed.

“don’t worry about it y/n,” tooru reassuringly replied, stroking your hair.

“ it’s all my fault,” you began.

“if i hadn’t showed up none of this would’ve happened. you would still be in the hall celebrating your birthday, having the time of your life with everyone. but instead you’re stuck with me and now your reputation is most likely ruined. i mean, did you see everyone ogling us? they definitely didn’t enjoy seeing me dance with you,” you concluded with a heavy heart.

“if the world were to suddenly end in the next minute, i wouldn’t regret being stuck with you,” he professed. you couldn’t help but let out a breath of unbelief, marvelled at his statement.

“well tooru, as the next heir wouldn’t you think that you should be spending your time wisely?” you sarcastically asked, eyebrows dramatically raised trying to make him laugh.

“well y/n, i’d be glad to tell you that i’m not the heir to the throne anymore,” he retorted, mocking the same face you made to him.

“yeah sure tooru, nice joke,” you rolled your eyes at him smirking but he kept a straight face.

“that wasn’t a joke y/n,” he claimed, causing you to furrow your eyebrows.

“you’re pulling my leg,” you said dumbfounded.

tooru hysterically laughed at your expression while you stood there wide eyed.

“tooru, please tell me i heard that correctly,” you asked, wanting affirmation on the words you processed.

“what do you think i said?” he teased smirking at you.

“i think you’re lying,” you retorted.

“and why would i ever lie about that?” he asked, enjoying your flabbergasted state.

“y-you’re really not lying?” you questioned, not wanting to fall for another joke. tooru gave you an honest smile. you knew he wasn’t lying anymore.

“holy shit,” you swore out of disbelief. tooru laughed at your reaction.

“is that how you got that?” you pointing to his cheek, looking at him with empathy.

“maybe,” he teased.

“I’m being serious tooru,” you sternly said, having enough with his antics.

he sighed,”well, father called me out to talk about you first and foremost. he scolded me about inviting you and giving you that gown but i didn’t care. that wasn’t the reason why he did this though. i said that i didn’t want to be king and that i was going to leave the palace to join the army like iwaizumi and was the result,” he bashfully said scratching the back of his head.

“does this mean you’re no longer a prince?” you wondered.

“i still am by blood. i'm just not going to be king. i never intended to stay anyway,” he explained.

"then who's going to step up in your place?"

"that's where my sister came in and explained how she's already prepared to be a queen since she's older than me and smarter too. father just never shown her favour because of mother. he wanted her to live a calm and peaceful life. it's quite a twist of events that all came out to my fortune," he smiled to himself, thankful his sister stepped in for him.

"i wish i met your sister," you said, thinking of her as a role model already.

"you really wouldn't. she gets mad at me all the time for the littlest things," he grumbled, remembering all the times he got scolded by her.

"i can understand why, you are like an annoying little pest," you teased with a giggl, to which tooru pouted and whined.

as the two of you died down, a comfortable silence took over as you two listened to the pitter patters of the ongoing rain. i've missed this. what a coincidence that you both thought it at the same time. tooru looked over to your calm figure as you gazed out onto the garden.

"y/n?" tooru called, seeking your attention.

"mhm?" you responded, turning around to face him. he was closer than before.

"remember before i left, I wanted to say something to you?" he asked nervously.

"hmm, oh yeah, you were about to say something to me. what was it?" you recalled, curious onto what he was going to say.

"well, the sole reason i wanted to be a knight was because i couldn't protect my mum. of course no one was able to save her, but the burden and guilt that was left held me accountable from my perspective. it has always been my goal to protect everyone i love," he stopped, catching his breath. you gave him a nod, motioning him to continue.

"y/n, my heart aches everytime we depart. every goodbye you say to me makes me want to come running back to you. every lingering touch made me yearn more from you. i only experience the goodness of life through every second i get with you. truth be told when i say i live now to serve you," he expressed, pouring his heart and soul into every word he said.

"w-what are you getting at tooru?" you hesitantly ask, your heart racing for an answer.

"i love you, y/n. i'm not trying to force you to love me. i just…" he momentarily paused gathering his thoughts before continuing, "i won't ask you to love me, so please just give me permission to love you."

you had the utmost authority right now. he was pleading to you. he loves you. with all these realisations, you stood there, opposite a lovesick tooth, filled to the max with mixed emotions. good ones, where one of which swayed you to leaped into tooru's arms as you held him tightly close.

"is this a yes?" tooru asked with a grin as he gazed at you longingly.

what followed, your weren't entirely too sure. your brain fogged as the proximity between the two of you came to a close. tooru's soft, puckered lips collided gently against yours. you both could exhaled at the contact, releasing all your tensions as the world came to a stop for both of you. sparks of joy leaped from tooru's chest as he cherished the moment. this was his reward for waiting so patiently for you. the strong scent of rosemary intoxicated your lungs as you breathed him in. your hands found its way to his hair, your fingers carding through his locks. you were each others addiction, craving for more, not letting go until you were both satisfied. pulling away, you both took deep breaths whilst gazing at each other fondly. tooru still holding you close.

"that was…" tooru began between small breaths.

"amazing," you finished, a wide smile forming on your heated face.

"of course it was, aren't i a great kisser?" tooru praised, returning back to his charming self.

"oh stop it," you rolled your eyes as you tried to turn away from him.

"look at you becoming shy because of me," he teased, grabbing you by the hand and pulling you towards the rain. you decided to just let him take you, knowing you wouldn't have enough strength to defy him.

"i've always wanted to do this with you," he shouted through the booming sound of rain.

"do what?" you shouted back, trying to block the rain from your view with your hand.

he took your hand and placed it on his shoulder, intertwining his remaining hand with yours. a familiar scene playing out again. instead, this time you both looked ridiculous. clothes soaking wet that whenever tooru would twirl you around your gown would project droplets of water like an umbrella. but you both didn't care. laughing carefree, acting childish, knowing you'd be sick the next day and yet you both had no regrets. the rain began to disperse and you both came to stop, finally tired from all the dancing.

smiling up at him you greeted, "happy birthday tooru," before pulling on his collar and giving him one final peck on his soft pillowy lips, as the summer breeze flowed by and the cicadas buzzed in the trees.

it didn't feel real. it felt heavenly.

[twinkleallnight]

Isle of Misfits

Chapter 10: Dealing with the Paparazzi.

Fandom: TRR x Platinum x OH x CoP x TNA x ?

Series: Isle of Misfits, Round Robin 24, hosted by @choicesprompts

Characters:

TRR – Liam Rys, Leo Rys, Olivia Nevrakis, Madeleine Amaranth

RoE – Katie Rys

TNA – Sam Dalton

Word count: 1240

The phone pinged.

‘1 new message’

Leo sighed and picked up to read. He was tired of explaining himself to Katie. The world never understood him or his desire to live a care free life. The paparazzi won’t let him breathe. But he thought Katie would understand. She would always know. He had tried to be honest with her, always.

He was struggling to stay abreast sailing through the rough waters when his brother decided to take the corrective action for Leo’s deeds . He was forced into this PR stunt of a circus with his childhood friend, Bertrand, playing the ring master. And as if Gods had not had enough of entertainment, he was paired with his ex, Madeleine! Just perfect!

Coming out of his reverie, he tapped his fingers on the home screen to check the new message .

‘Meet me at the beach restaurant in 10minutes to collect your dossier .

Countess Madeleine .’

“Better than having Sam Dalton as a mentor” he consoled himself. “His brains function through that Rocket in his pocket. At least Madeleine has her head over her shoulders.”

He dragged himself out of his bed. Sharp after 10 minutes he presented himself in front of the Countess.

“What do you plan to do with this?” He lifted the heavy bundle of papers filed into a folder neatly. ‘Prim and proper. So much like Madeleine.’

But Madeleine’s reply was totally off beat. “why you have not shaved?”

Leo shook his head as if trying to decipher. “What?” He moved his fingers through the over grown messy beard.

Madeleine scoffed, “ Let me make it clear Leo. You are constantly under lens.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t want.” He cut her off.

“You were the crown prince.”

“And I abdicated.” He tried to prove his point.

“Doesn’t matter. You can’t change who you are born as.”

“Why?” He pulls his fingers through his sandy blonde hair In frustration.

“Prince Harry abdicated too. But he is always in news.”

Leo scowled, “For heavens sake! Can’t they let me live in peace?”

“Only if you don’t give them chance to rip through your peaceful personal life.” She air quoted.

He nods in agreement. “And I can see, you are here to tell me, how.”

“Now you are talking business.” Madeleine smiled.

Leo closed his eyes for a moment. He had to do this for Katie, for his children. He took a deep breath. “Okay. Tell me what am I supposed to do?”

“You need to look perfect when you walk in public. It shows that you are leading a perfect and happy life.”

Leo smirked, “Yes it’s a very happy life.”

“Make it look like one and I can tell you, they will stop chasing you.”

“Fine! What next?”

“I have appointed a valet for you. He will help with your attire, hair and your over all appearance. You will not leave your room before he checks you.”

Leo rolled his eyes. He had no other option but to accept what was thrown at him.

For the next hour he went back and forth over the plans Madeleine had laid out for him.

******************************************

Bertrand’s office next day

Olivia was seated across Bertrand, discussing their next modus operandi. Olivia had successfully completed her task with Raleigh Carrera and was now assigned to the case of the exiled crown prince, Trystan Thorne, of Drakovia.

An urgent knock on the door brought them to a halt. They both looked at each other. Bertrand voiced, “Come in” , wondering who was their uninvited guest for the meeting .

Leo stormed in and slammed a tabloid onto the desk in front of Bertrand. Olivia stared back at Leo’s fuming face while Bertrand looked in confusion, “ What does this mean?”

“Open and see for yourself.” Leo pointed out his finger.

As soon as Bertrand picked the newspaper and unfolded it, his eyes went wide with shock. Olivia leaned towards him to peer into the news.

The newspaper had images of Leo and Madeleine sitting in a cafe. The first one had Madeleine gleaming at Leo and the second one showed them shaking hands near the exit. The tag line read ‘Former crown prince Leo Rhys, spotted with his ex, Countess Madeleine, at leisure on a private island. Do we smell something burning in Katie Rhys’ sweet home?”

A smile played on Olivia’s lips.

“Seriously?” Leo asked looking at Olivia’s reaction.

“It’s not about you.” She fanned away with her hand.

“From what I can see, it’s definitely about me.” He turned to Bertrand angrily, “This is how you were going to help me save my image and my marriage?”

Olivia spoke instead, “Its not his fault. Madeleine should have been more discreet while planning her meetings.”

Just as on clue, Madeleine stepped inside the office. “Speak for yourself. I know my job well.” She snatched the tabloid from Bertrand’s hand and glanced at the pics, dismissing it in an instant.

She focused on Leo, “ This is the reason I insisted you need to dress up properly. Had you been in a formal attire, this would have been ignored by the media as just another business meeting.”

“Great ! So now it’s all my mistake? You know what my mistake is? Trusting you guys with my future.”

Bertrand replied in a calm note, “I think you are over reacting. It’s just two pics, we can change the flow of events. My PR company can assure you, we are good at turning the waves in your favour.”

Before he completed his sentence, the doors to his office opened with a bang. Drake barged in raging in anger. “The hell you turn things only in your favour. You Beaumonts are the most mean and selfish men walking on this damn planet.” His voice echoed across the halls outside the office.

Bertrand’s eyes roamed behind Drake to check if there were any audience at his doors. He settled his gaze back on Drake. “May I know the reason for this intrusion?”

Drake sneered, “You call yourself CEO of a PR firm yet you don’t have updates of the newsflash on TV channels across Cordonia?”

Bertrand gave Drake an irritated glare and picked up the remote to switch on the flat screen hanging on the wall across his table. The screen brightened up with flashes of red haired lady bouncing on a dance floor. All of them in the room knew that was Olivia but the next few moments left everyone’s mouth hanging open.

Bertrand came into the frame trying to dance. He made some lewd gestures and then grabbed Olivia into a smooch.

Leo and Madeleine jolted back at Bertrand. Even Olivia had shock written all over her face. Definitely she was drunk that she didn’t remember this incident.

Bertrand gulped and fumbled with the remote to switch off the TV. He didn’t want to listen or let others in the room listen to the reporter’s remarks.

“I... I ... I can explain”, he said nervously.

Drake sprinted to him in two steps and held him by collar. “How many times are you going to explain? First my sister, then your back stabbing brother took Riley and now you target my girl friend?”

“Riley is with Max?” The baritone voice from the entrance of the office brought everything to standstill. They all turned to see Liam standing in a thunderstuck state.

Tags : @angelasscribbles @alj4890 @tessa-liam @lizzybeth1986 @3pawandme @annabellewynter @bascmve01 @bebepac @busywoman @dcbbw @choicesficwriterscreations @harleybeaumont @iaminlovewithtrr @karahalloway @kingliam2019 @lovingchoices14 @nestledonthaveone @neotericthemis @mom2000aggie @phoenixrising0308 @princess-geek @sazanes @secretaryunpaid @sfb123 @sillydg @tinkie1973 @txemrn @walkerdrakewalker @rubiwalker @703cowbarn @kyra75 @likealotus @kskvb20 @marietrinmimi @aussiegurl1234

[imagine-loki]

Threats and Collateral

TITLE: Threats and Collateral CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: One-Shot  AUTHOR:  wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki’s reaction to his SO being brought in to the TVA as a way to control him.

RATING: General Audience NOTES/WARNINGS: None

Loki scowled at the contraption around his neck, limiting his power. Looking around the containment area, there were many creatures and beings with similar around their own necks. Since being captured by the TVA, he had been stripped of his armoured clothes and placed in grotesque and frankly uncomfortable attire and given food that he assumed the palace hounds would turn their noses up at.

He was yet to be spoken to by anyone of notable seniority as to what was the counts of which he was being held. They mentioned him altering the timeline but nothing more. He had to wait until he had a trial to know what was going to happen. Or so he thought.

Loki never liked being manhandled, as most beings tended not to, but being grabbed and forcibly handcuffed made him eye those around him carefully. The guards that did so, did it quickly while another man stood back and watched studiously which brought Loki’s attention to him. There was no manner to age the man in front of him, not with where he was, so there was no telling if he could defeat him or not in hand-to-hand combat, though being handcuffed and collared also was to his disadvantage.

“Follow me.”

That was all the man said before turning to walk towards one of the elevators that dotted the walls of the room Loki was in. He had known better than to attempt to go near one before, the singed clothing and black burns on the floor and the unconscious what he assumed to be corpses of different beings telling him to do so without authorisation was not to be recommended.

Though he did not trust the official of the TVA, Loki knew that whatever they wanted, they had no reason to burn him as they would not be so dim as to do so in such a fashion, ergo, he followed sceptically. Passing through the white line on the floor without being harmed and into the metal contraption to bring him to Norns’ knows where in the building.

“I am Mobius M Mobius and you, are Loki.”

“You heard of me, I’m honoured?” Loki eyed him carefully.

“Do you know where I am taking you?”

“You’re taking me somewhere to kill me.”

“No, I’m taking you some place to talk.”

“Well, I don’t like to talk.”

“But you do like to lie, which you just did. Because we both know you love to talk. Talkie talkie.”

Loki eyed the man with utter disgust at the juvenile and irritating manner in which he spoke.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, bringing the two men to a room bare of all objects bar a table, two chairs on opposite sides of it and some stationary equipment.

Mobius indicated for Loki to sit at one side while he sat on the opposite side. “This is the TVA.”

“I know exactly what this place is.” Loki interrupted. “The Time Keepers have built quiet the circus and I see that the clowns are playing their parts to perfection.” “Big metaphor guy. I love it. It makes you sound smart.” “I am smart.” “I know.” “Okay.”

“Okay.” “What do you want from me?”

Mobius replayed the footage of Loki taking the Tesseract and explained how that was not the original timeline and then showed him what his actual timeline was, the events on Asgard with the Aether and the Dark Elves, him taking the throne under the guise of Odin, Odin’s death, the return of Hela, the destruction of Asgard and finally, the less than comfortable scene were Thanos choked him and snapped his neck in one fell swoop. With an unconscious rubbing of his throat, he looked at the agent across from him. “And you want me to help you because?”

“We need your unique Loki perspective.”

“I don’t believe you.” Loki shook his head slightly. “I don’t think you believe anyone. This Loki variant needs to be fixed.”

“But why is it the Loki variant when those misfit Midgardians clearly are the ones that altered time. How was I supposed to know that what I did was altering time when they were the ones altering it?” Loki pointed out. “The breaking of reality was not my doing, but theirs, have them fix it.” “But you don’t want us to do that, not really. Because if we did that, you would have to be imprisoned indefinitely as you are not the true timeline Loki and you know that you will face a less than pleasant end soon. But if you help us, you get to use all these traits you love so dearly to actually do something and not be destroyed. “ “What happens if I help you and fix all of this, let me guess, you’ll imprison me then?” “No, then you will be offered to stay here and work for us and fix mess after mess for…well, who knows how long. Time works a little differently here.”

“So, I help you, I‘m free to work for you, I don’t help you, I sit in uncomfortable clothes waiting to die of old age, which, if I am correct, may never actually happen here?” Loki checked.

“Something to that effect.” Loki thought over his options. “I am not interested.” “I thought you might say that.” Mobius activated his computer screen and clicked on buttons. With how he was doing it, Loki was suspicious that he was not actually typing anything at all but pretending to do so to try and get Loki to change his mind. But after a few moments, the elevator door behind them rung out and opened.

At first, Loki did not care enough to turn around. He suspected it was either someone to forcibly get him to comply, in which case, the ignoring served its purpose of not acknowledging such or it was guards to bring him to holding once more or to his new prison cell, which again, he did not care to acknowledge. But then, he felt the urge to look, especially when he sensed someone looking at him. When he turned, his eyes widened. “What?” He tried to rise from his seat but was pushed back down by a guard that seemed to just appear beside him. He glared angrily at Mobius. “How?” “We knew there was a high probability you would say no, we really needed you to say yes, so we brought a little incentive here for you,” Mobius explained. “I have studied practically every moment of your life. There is one single being in the universe you will willingly do anything for.” He pointed behind Loki. “Your adoptive parents, your adopted brother, sure, you’ll do stuff for them, when it suits. You used to be far more compliant, but then you grew up and realised your brother mattered more. You killed your biological father but her…you would do anything for her, wouldn’t you?” “No.” Both answered immediately.

Mobius looked at them both as sat back slightly before pointing to Loki. “He’s the better liar.” “I told him not to do anything stupid and he thwarted that coronation and literally did the most stupid thing possible letting go at the Bifrost, so no, he would not do anything for me.” She glared over at Loki who looked at the table shamefully.

“Yes, there’s enough time for domestic arguments at a later point, but we really need to get started on this.” Mobius focused on the matter at hand again.

“Wait, isn’t bringing her here altering the timeline even more so?” Loki pointed out. “I feel as though there’s a significant case of double-standards going on here.”

“It’s not really affecting the timeline because the timeline is already altered,” Mobius explained boredly.

“How could it possibly not be affecting the timeline when having her being here instead of being where she would actually be is affecting the timeline?” “Because she is integral to getting you to fix the timeline,” Mobius argued. “But she was doing something when you took her, now that is not going to get done and that affects the timeline.” Loki countered.

“We need her here to get you to say yes so you fix the timeline you broke, ergo, she fits this timeline.”

“Wait, I am here because Loki broke a timeline so to fix the timeline he broke, we have to break the one I was in?” She clarified.

“I didn’t break it,” Loki explained. “Thor and his Midgardian friends went back in time because they wanted to change the future but I touched something I was not supposed to touch while they were doing that because their attempts to get it went awry because they are idiots, so technically, they broke the timeline and I am being forced to fix it because it apparently my touching the Tesseract goes against TVA rules but them going back in time and altering the whole future does not.”

“By breaking the timeline I was on, which in itself is a breach of these rules?” She asked in disbelief.

“Exactly,” Loki confirmed.

“No,” Mobius stated a mere nanosecond after.

“It seems like it to me.” She looked at Loki for confirmation. “Me too.” Loki concurred.

“Well, it’s not.” Both looked at Mobius sceptically. “So, you help us and everyone is happy.” Mobius clapped his hands together. “So, let’s get you started as an agent.” Mobius pressed a button and Loki fell through a portal in the floor. Mobius rose to his feet and straightened his jacket boredly. “These men will bring you to the guest rooms.” “I think I rather do something while I wait.” “I don’t think so.” “I wasn’t asking.” She gave a smile that said she would not be dissuaded. “This is a big place, I am sure you can find somewhere for me and good luck trying to control him.” She laughed before walking out of the room.

Mobius sighed. “I immediately regret this decision.” He rose to his feet and went into the elevator. After a few minutes, the doors opened to show Loki looking at him in a shirt, tie, jacket and pants. “That better?”

“It will suffice.” Loki walked in and stood next to him.

Mobius remained looking forward as the elevator moved again. “I just need to grab a few things, and we will begin.”

Loki said nothing in response.

Mobius walked out of the elevator and the door remained open until his return a minute later, in entirely different attire and looking almost as though he had showered. He fiddled with his tie as he walked back in.

“I have to say,” Loki stepped towards him and centred his tie as he spoke. “I think it’s adorable that you think you can manipulate me. I am ten steps ahead of you.” “Is that right?” Mobius barely had a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Oh, it is.” Loki sneered. “Nor can she. Though, I am curious, where is she?” “Gone to dictate to whoever is stuck dealing with her.” Mobius looked straight ahead. “She will be fine.” “She had better, or else,” Loki snarled. “Or else what?” Mobius glanced sideways, no emotion in his voice.

“Or else I am going to burn this place to the ground,” Loki swore with a smile.

[wolfpawn]

Threats and Collateral

Based on a request sent to me from an Anon - One shot ideas (if this is cool, please, thank you): how about Loki's reaction to his SO being brought in to the TVA as a way to control him?

Rating - General. 

Note - copious stills and gifs from the Loki Trailers and a lot of lifted dialogue from there too.  If anyone has other requests do not hesitate to ask :)

Loki scowled at the contraption around his neck, limiting his power. Looking around the containment area, there were many creatures and beings with similar around their own necks. Since being captured by the TVA, he had been stripped of his armoured clothes and placed in grotesque and frankly uncomfortable attire and given food that he assumed the palace hounds would turn their noses up at. 

He was yet to be spoken to by anyone of notable seniority as to what was the counts of which he was being held. They mentioned him altering the timeline but nothing more. He had to wait until he had a trial to know what was going to happen. Or so he thought. 

Loki never liked being manhandled, as most beings tended not to, but being grabbed and forcibly handcuffed made him eye those around him carefully. The guards that did so, did it quickly while another man stood back and watched studiously which brought Loki’s attention to him. There was no manner to age the man in front of him, not with where he was, so there was no telling if he could defeat him or not in hand-to-hand combat, though being handcuffed and collared also was to his disadvantage. 

“Follow me.” 

That was all the man said before turning to walk towards one of the elevators that dotted the walls of the room Loki was in. He had known better than to attempt to go near one before, the singed clothing and black burns on the floor and the unconscious what he assumed to be corpses of different beings telling him to do so without authorisation was not to be recommended. 

Though he did not trust the official of the TVA, Loki knew that whatever they wanted, they had no reason to burn him as they would not be so dim as to do so in such a fashion, ergo, he followed sceptically. Passing through the white line on the floor without being harmed and into the metal contraption to bring him to Norns’ knows where in the building. 

“I am Mobius M Mobius and you, are Loki.”

“You heard of me, I’m honoured?” Loki eyed him carefully. 

“Do you know where I am taking you?”

“You’re taking me somewhere to kill me.”

“No, I’m taking you some place to talk.”

“Well, I don’t like to talk.”

“But you do like to lie, which you just did. Because we both know you love to talk. Talkie talkie.”

Loki eyed the man with utter disgust at the juvenile and irritating manner in which he spoke. 

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, bringing the two men to a room bare of all objects bar a table, two chairs on opposite sides of it and some stationary equipment. 

Mobius indicated for Loki to sit at one side while he sat on the opposite side. “This is the TVA.”

“I know exactly what this place is.” Loki interrupted. “The Time Keepers have built quiet the circus and I see that the clowns are playing their parts to perfection.” “Big metaphor guy. I love it. It makes you sound smart.” “I am smart.” “I know.” “Okay.”

“Okay.” “What do you want from me?”

Mobius replayed the footage of Loki taking the Tesseract and explained how that was not the original timeline and then showed him what his actual timeline was, the events on Asgard with the Aether and the Dark Elves, him taking the throne under the guise of Odin, Odin’s death, the return of Hela, the destruction of Asgard and finally, the less than comfortable scene were Thanos choked him and snapped his neck in one fell swoop. With an unconscious rubbing of his throat, he looked at the agent across from him. “And you want me to help you because?”

“We need your unique Loki perspective.” 

“I don’t believe you.” Loki shook his head slightly. “I don’t think you believe anyone. This Loki variant needs to be fixed.”

“But why is it the Loki variant when those misfit Midgardians clearly are the ones that altered time. How was I supposed to know that what I did was altering time when they were the ones altering it?” Loki pointed out. “The breaking of reality was not my doing, but theirs, have them fix it.” “But you don’t want us to do that, not really. Because if we did that, you would have to be imprisoned indefinitely as you are not the true timeline Loki and you know that you will face a less than pleasant end soon. But if you help us, you get to use all these traits you love so dearly to actually do something and not be destroyed. “ “What happens if I help you and fix all of this, let me guess, you’ll imprison me then?” “No, then you will be offered to stay here and work for us and fix mess after mess for...well, who knows how long. Time works a little differently here.” 

“So, I help you, I‘m free to work for you, I don’t help you, I sit in uncomfortable clothes waiting to die of old age, which, if I am correct, may never actually happen here?” Loki checked. 

“Something to that effect.” Loki thought over his options. “I am not interested.” “I thought you might say that.” Mobius activated his computer screen and clicked on buttons. With how he was doing it, Loki was suspicious that he was not actually typing anything at all but pretending to do so to try and get Loki to change his mind. But after a few moments, the elevator door behind them rung out and opened. 

At first, Loki did not care enough to turn around. He suspected it was either someone to forcibly get him to comply, in which case, the ignoring served its purpose of not acknowledging such or it was guards to bring him to holding once more or to his new prison cell, which again, he did not care to acknowledge. But then, he felt the urge to look, especially when he sensed someone looking at him. When he turned, his eyes widened. “What?” He tried to rise from his seat but was pushed back down by a guard that seemed to just appear beside him. He glared angrily at Mobius. “How?” “We knew there was a high probability you would say no, we really needed you to say yes, so we brought a little incentive here for you,” Mobius explained. “I have studied practically every moment of your life. There is one single being in the universe you will willingly do anything for.” He pointed behind Loki. “Your adoptive parents, your adopted brother, sure, you’ll do stuff for them, when it suits. You used to be far more compliant, but then you grew up and realised your brother mattered more. You killed your biological father but her...you would do anything for her, wouldn’t you?” “No.” Both answered immediately. 

Mobius looked at them both as sat back slightly before pointing to Loki. “He’s the better liar.” “I told him not to do anything stupid and he thwarted that coronation and literally did the most stupid thing possible letting go at the Bifrost, so no, he would not do anything for me.” She glared over at Loki who looked at the table shamefully. 

“Yes, there’s enough time for domestic arguments at a later point, but we really need to get started on this.” Mobius focused on the matter at hand again. 

“Wait, isn’t bringing her here altering the timeline even more so?” Loki pointed out. “I feel as though there’s a significant case of double-standards going on here.” 

“It’s not really affecting the timeline because the timeline is already altered,” Mobius explained boredly. 

“How could it possibly not be affecting the timeline when having her being here instead of being where she would actually be is affecting the timeline?” “Because she is integral to getting you to fix the timeline,” Mobius argued. “But she was doing something when you took her, now that is not going to get done and that affects the timeline.” Loki countered. 

“We need her here to get you to say yes so you fix the timeline you broke, ergo, she fits this timeline.” 

“Wait, I am here because Loki broke a timeline so to fix the timeline he broke, we have to break the one I was in?” She clarified.

“I didn’t break it,” Loki explained. “Thor and his Midgardian friends went back in time because they wanted to change the future but I touched something I was not supposed to touch while they were doing that because their attempts to get it went awry because they are idiots, so technically, they broke the timeline and I am being forced to fix it because it apparently my touching the Tesseract goes against TVA rules but them going back in time and altering the whole future does not.”

“By breaking the timeline I was on, which in itself is a breach of these rules?” She asked in disbelief. 

“Exactly,” Loki confirmed. 

“No,” Mobius stated a mere nanosecond after. 

“It seems like it to me.” She looked at Loki for confirmation. “Me too.” Loki concurred.

“Well, it’s not.” Both looked at Mobius sceptically. “So, you help us and everyone is happy.” Mobius clapped his hands together. “So, let’s get you started as an agent.” Mobius pressed a button and Loki fell through a portal in the floor. Mobius rose to his feet and straightened his jacket boredly. “These men will bring you to the guest rooms.” “I think I rather do something while I wait.” “I don’t think so.” “I wasn’t asking.” She gave a smile that said she would not be dissuaded. “This is a big place, I am sure you can find somewhere for me and good luck trying to control him.” She laughed before walking out of the room. 

Mobius sighed. “I immediately regret this decision.” He rose to his feet and went into the elevator. After a few minutes, the doors opened to show Loki looking at him in a shirt, tie, jacket and pants. “That better?”

“It will suffice.” Loki walked in and stood next to him. 

Mobius remained looking forward as the elevator moved again. “I just need to grab a few things, and we will begin.” 

Loki said nothing in response. 

Mobius walked out of the elevator and the door remained open until his return a minute later, entirely in different attire and looking almost as though he had showered. He fiddled with his tie as he walked back in. 

“I have to say,” Loki stepped towards him and centred his tie as he spoke. “I think it’s adorable that you think you can manipulate me. I am ten steps ahead of you.” “Is that right?” Mobius barely had a hint of curiosity in his voice. “Oh, it is.” Loki sneered. “Nor can she. Though, I am curious, where is she?” “Gone to dictate to whoever is stuck dealing with her.” Mobius looked straight ahead. “She will be fine.” “She had better, or else,” Loki snarled. “Or else what?” Mobius glanced sideways, no emotion in his voice.

“Or else I am going to burn this place to the ground,” Loki swore with a smile. 

[wizardofrozz]

The Perfect Pair

Warnings: swearing, violence, angst, blood and gore, character death

Pairing: Loki x OFC

_____________________________________________________________

Chapter 18: Hello Brother

I shot up into a sitting position gasping for air despite the burning in my lungs. Slowly, breathing became easier, suppressing the spike of anxiety but only momentarily as I stared at Violet’s unmoving body; I dropped my head, rubbing at my eyes, waiting. I heard a gasp then coughing a few feet away; quickly, my mind caught up, and I crawled across the floor to Violet.

           “Hey, you’re okay,” I soothed, rubbing her back as she choked on fresh air.

           “That was fucking miserable,” she hacked, pressing a hand to her chest. I burst into a fit of laughter, sitting back on my heels, and dropped my head onto her shoulder to steady myself.

           “Gods, I love you,” I managed through giggles.

           “And don’t you forget it,” she shot back, snickering. “Now, where the hell are we?” I lifted my head, breathing through the last of my laughter to look around the room but still having no answer.

           “No idea,” I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter; missiles are probably already flying towards the Avengers compound.”

           “Son of a bitch. Odin really couldn’t make that any less uncomfortable?” Violet swore, rubbing her chest.

           “Come on, you pain in my ass,” I laughed, getting to my feet. Violet grumbled in protest but grabbed my outstretched hand, gingerly getting to her feet. “Get changed, and we’ll go.” I took a deep breath and my simple attire started to morph; green and black leather crawling over my skin, my cloak fluttering down behind me, the familiar weight of my helmet settling on my head. I looked over at Violet, watching her armor materialize; her raven black hair braided tightly, charcoal breastplate swirling with purple accents appeared along with rich black cloak that fell around her. “Add some new designs?” My eyes followed the soft swirls of purple that littered her cloak.

           “Shut up, plain black is so boring,” she mumbled.

           “Ready, my love?” I reached for her hand, smiling softly; she thought for a moment before meeting my eyes.

           “Almost,” she whispered. I raised an eyebrow, but my silent question was answered when her lips met mine. “Now I am.” I laughed, shaking my head as my eyes fell shut; I reached for my brother, magic tendrils flowing in all directions in hopes of finding him.

           “There you are, brother,” I whispered, teleporting us with ease.

           “Oh gods,” Violet gasped. I opened my eyes slowly and was met with a sight that could only be described as apocalyptic; the compound was in shambles, falling in on itself, smoldering debris everywhere.  

           “It doesn’t even look like we’re on Earth,” I whispered, squeezing Violet’s hand.

           “Are you scared?” she asked suddenly.

           “Terrified.”

           “Thank god I’m not alone,” she whispered. I looked down at her, fear creasing her beautiful features, only adding to my panic. “We have to get moving. Do you know where Thor is already?”

           “Not exactly. I followed him to this point, but I didn’t try for an exact spot,” I explained. Violet and I jumped when a blinding bolt of lightning exploded a few hundred feet below us, signaling we found Thor.

           “Safe to say we found him,” Violet laughed. Her laughed died off when Thanos slams Thor on his back, beating down on him repeatedly. “When are we supposed to step in!” Violet whispers harshly.

           “When we can get to Thor without running face-first into Thanos. Even with five of us, we can’t beat him,” I bark.

           “We may not make it to Thor,” she gasps. I snap my gaze to my brother to see Thanos leaning over him, pressing an ax into his chest.

           “We have to help.” I grabbed Violet’s arm, but she ripped away, her eyes still glued to the scene unfolding.

           “Look,” she mumbled to the left. I flicked my gaze away from her in time to watch Captain America catch Mjolnir; I almost choked on my own saliva, causing Violet to snort. Thanos kicked Thor through a pile of debris before facing Captain America; Thor tumbled a few feet away, landing with a thud on his back.

           “Now’s our chance,” I stated, grabbing her hand. When I opened my eyes again, my beaten and bloody brother lay unmoving a foot in front of me; Violet pulled me closer, nudging Thor’s leg.

           “Hey! Get up!” she half-yelled, kicking him harder. I ran my eyes over Thor, noticing his larger body shape, thick braided beard, and dreaded long hair.

           “I didn’t know we were taking on the likeness the Vikings imagined,” I snorted, keeping my eyes on his face. Thor’s forehead wrinkled, his eyes moving under his eyelids before a deep groan escaped his lips.

           “I was thinking the same thing. The beard is pretty impressive though,” Violet added, raising an eyebrow.

           “Usually, he keeps it short, makes him look younger,” I snickered.

           “W-wha…” Thor tried, his arm shifting at his side.

           “Come on, big guy, open those pretty blues,” Violet called, kicking his leg again.

           “Hey!” I protested, slightly hurt.

           “Are you really going to doubt me now? I’m your wife that came back from the dead to rule with you,” she deadpanned.

           “…alright, got me there,” I admitted, rubbing my neck. Thor screwed his eyes shut tighter, his arm finally moving, very slowly, towards his face, rubbing between his eyes.

           “I’m losing it,” he whispered, scrubbing at his face. “I'm still hearing their banter from beyond the grave.” Violet glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow as she tried to hold back a laugh; I covered my smile with the back of my hand, moving my gaze back to Thor.  

           “Can you lose your mind later? We have shit to take care of,” Violet grunted, shifting to place her hands on her hips. Thor froze, his eyes flying open, trying to adjust again; his eyes slowly grew wider as he looked back and forth between Violet and me.

           “What the fuck…” he whispered, his eyes still moving.

           “Woah, he uses that word?” Violet laughed.

           “But…” Thor tried again, only to fall quiet.

           “Listen, Lebowski, if you yell that we’re alive again, I’m putting you back to sleep.” Violet popped a hip out, her hands still resting on them as she glared down at Thor.

           “Lebowski?” I asked, my face scrunching in confusion.

           “What, I’ve watched movies before,” she shrugged.

           “How did you escape? I-I watched you both…” Thor stumbled over his words, tears forming in his eyes.

           “Come on, let’s get you up,” I offered softly, reaching a hand to him. I pulled Thor to his feet, throwing his arm over my shoulder to steady him; Violet wiggled her way under his other arm to help him walk.

           “To answer your question, you should probably thank your father for sending us back,” Violet said, smiling up at Thor. He turned to look down at her for a few seconds before turning his gaze to me again.

           “Odin did this?” he mumbled, supporting more of his weight on his own the longer we walked.

           “Yes, but we can discuss this later. We have a Titan to take care of.” I smacked Thor’s back, stopping in my tracks, not wanting to get too close before Thor could hold himself up.

           “We can’t win,” he groaned. Thor straightened up, rolling his head on his shoulders, stretching his arms; he already looked better than a few minutes ago. “Five of us isn’t enough.”

           “Good thing there are more than five of us,” I smirked, pointing towards the growing portals. I stepped behind Thor, resting my hand on his shoulder and grabbing Violet’s hand, teleporting us next to where Captain America stood.

           “Thor,” Steve said with a relieved sigh. “Wait, I thought you two were….dead,” he stumbled.

           “Doesn’t stick,” Violet joked, jabbing me with her elbow.

           “We’re here to help,” I added, glaring at Violet, who only smiled back sweetly.

           “Thank you,” Steve said with a smile. “I mean it.” Steve turned to look at the growing army but turned back to us. “You’re going to need earpieces.” Then, with a flick of my wrist, I felt a pressure in my ear and noticed Violet flinch, touching her ear.

           “Done,” I chirped; Steve smirked, shaking his head. I looked over my shoulder, noticing more people pouring out of portals, getting closer; a Pegasus circling overhead, caught my attention.

           “Hey.” I nudged Violet, pointing above our heads; Violet’s face lit up when she recognized the flying animal.

           “Bea? Bea!” she screamed, waving her arms. The winged horse descended, landing gracefully a few feet away, trotting towards us.

           “No fucking way!” Bea shouted, a huge smile spreading across her face. Violet blew her a kiss then turned back towards Thanos’ army, taking a deep breath.

           “You ready, trickster?” she asked, looking up at me.

           “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I sighed, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. Violet twirled the impressive long sword that materialized in her hand, squaring her shoulder. I sucked in a deep breath, deciding to use a long sword as well, and relaxing slightly when the weight settled in my hand.

           “Avengers!” Steve screamed. I chanced a glance back, swallowing a gasp at the sheer number of people filling the space behind us. “Assemble.” The misfit army erupted, battle cries filling the air as everyone took off towards Thanos’ army. Chaos commenced as the armies clashed, bodies slamming together with loud thuds; Violet was thrown back into my chest, roaring in anger.

           “Throw me up!” she yelled. I responded without hesitation, launching her in the air and using the momentum to throw a ball of magic at an approaching Chitauri. My sword materialized in my hand again as I slashed through an Outrider, pushing closer to Violet, who was jumping and spinning like a deadly dancer. I jumped out of the way of a giant fist as a man, who I assume was the Falcon, slammed into the massive creature’s chest, stabbing his metal wings into the gorilla.

           “Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?” Hawkeye’s voice erupted in my ear.

           “Get those stones as far away as possible!” Steve answered. I ducked, dodging another large punch, knocking the gorilla back with another blast of magic.

           “No! We need to get them back where they came from,” Bruce shouted.

           “Bruce!” I heard Violet’s voice next.

           “Violet?! You’re alive!” Bruce exclaimed. “Loki?”

           “Hello, Bruce!” I yelled, grunting as an Outrider slammed into my chest.

           “No way to get them back. Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel,” Stark’s voice cut in, interrupting our greetings. I struggled against the weight on my chest, holding back the creatures snapping jaws; suddenly, the weight was lifted, and the Outrider was knocked away.

           “Now’s not the time for rest, brother,” Thor laughed, pulling me to my feet.

           “Hilarious,” I snorted, shaking my head as he flew off again. I shook my head, landing a kick against the chest of another Outrider, sending it flying back. I heard the faint sound of music from somewhere off in the distance.

           “Anyone see an ugly, brown van up there?” Steve’s voice came through again.

           “Yes! But you're not gonna like where it's parked!” Bea shouted. Ignoring the intercom system, I glanced around, catching a glimpse of Violet, eyes glowing an unnerving bright purple before a blast of magic burst from her chest, knocking numerous Outriders back. I tore through the few Chitauri between us, almost stumbling into her from the force of ramming my blade through one a Chitauri.

           “Hey baby!” she yelled, yanking her sword up through the upper body of an Outrider. I noticed her cloak was gone, and she was covered in gore but smiling so brightly, it could put the sun to shame.

           “You’re incredible,” I laughed. Violet winked before yanking me forward, twirling to bring her sword down on another creature. I regained my footing and fell into a rhythm with Violet, gracefully moving around her as we tore through the endless hoard of creatures. When the first cannon exploded from above us, Violet and I froze, watching missiles rain down on the battlefield.

           “Well shit,” Violet grunted. I huffed a sigh, close lining a passing Outrider before stabbing it in the chest then spinning to avoid being tackled.

           “What the hell is this?” Falcon’s voice erupted in my ear. I backed up into Violet as I looked at the ship, seeing the canons changing direction.

           “What the hell?” she mumbled, narrowing her eyes.

           “F.R.I.D.A.Y., what are they firing at?” Stark said this time, but I didn’t hear the answer.

           “Something’s coming through the atmosphere,” Violet said, pointed at the crackle of light flying through the clouds. A figure emerged from the clouds, bursting through Thanos’ ship, tearing a hole through it, causing an explosion.

           “Oh yeah!” an unfamiliar voice screamed.

           “Danvers, we need some assistance here,” Steve’s voice cut in.

           “Danvers?” Violet mumbled, raising an eyebrow at me; I shrugged. “I think it’s time,” she says, nodding over my shoulder. I glanced back, realizing how close we got to the van everyone was looking for and catching a glimpse of the Titan stalking through the battlefield.

           “Go, I’ll watch your back,” I stated, ushering her forward. Violet jogged towards a group of three women I didn’t recognize, stepping into Thanos’ path; I couldn’t fight the terror that seeped into my bones as I watched her face off against the Titan again. I fought off two Outriders, catching a glimpse of the blast that threw Thanos back as a streak of light flew past. I jogged closer to Violet, meeting her halfway, only to be knocked back slightly by a wave of energy.

           “What do we have here?” Thanos laughs, his eyes falling on Violet and me. I closed my eyes, forcing as much of my magic as possible into a compact ball between my hands; quickly seeing Violet mimicking me, I nodded, pushing the magic forward. The green and purple wave of magic launched Thanos back, sending him skidding through the dirt; I tried to step forward, only to fall to my knees, head spinning. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Violet is bent at the waist, close to falling too.

           “Brother!” Thor yells, wrenching me to my feet, smacking my face.

           “Go!” I yelled, pushing him forward when I noticed Stark slamming into Thanos. Thor hesitates for a second longer before attacking Thanos with help from Captain America. “Vi?” I called, still a little unsteady on my feet.

           “I’ll be okay,” she pants, swaying as she stood again. We tried to move forward, only to notice a second too late that Thor’s body was flying right for us, knocking us off our feet; the three of us rolled a few times, landing in a heap.

           “Damnit, Thor!” Violet cried. I tried to blink away the black spot in my vision to find her; I shouted at the sharp kick to my kidney. Well, that’ll clear my vision.

           “Hold still!” Thor yelled at Violet. Thor gently rolled onto his back, relieving the pressure from my chest and the weight off Violet’s legs.

           “Everyone okay?” I panted, pulling myself into a sitting position.

           “Wonderful,” Thor grunted, sitting with his back to me.

           “I’ll live,” Violet groaned, getting to her knees next to me.

           “We should go….” Thor vaguely gestured towards Thanos. “It’s-“A blinding white light cut off Thor. “No…” Thor blanched, snapping his head towards me, scrambling to his feet.

           “Thor!” I called desperately, reaching a hand towards him. Thor pulled me to my feet and reaching down to yank Violet to her feet by her arm.

           “No, Odin told us how it should go!” Violet whispered harshly, jogging after Thor. I stopped as I rounded the corner of the debris, causing Violet to run into my back. “What…” she broke off.

           “It did,” I whispered, slowly dropping to one knee next to Thor. Violet followed my lead, dropping her head forward, sighing raggedly. Thor sniffled next to me, wiping at his face aggressively; I threw an arm over his shoulder, pulling him close. He froze for a moment before sagging against me; Violet crawled around to his other side, rubbing circles on his back. Thor wrapped an arm around her, letting her head fall on his shoulder while he rubbed her arm.

           “It’s over,” Thor whispered.

_____________________________________________________________

Series Masterlist | Chapter 19

Taglist:

@criminalyetminimal​ @marvelfansworld​ 

[sorryimviolet]

 Heatless Fire Summary: Lilith had gotten a job at a haunted house in hopes of scaring the shit out of at least a few people, but she had no idea what was in store for her... or who. Warning: dom/sub situation, degradation, bloodplay, cursing, kinky sex, roughness, mentions of drugs and alcohol use, knifeplay, daddy kink, smuttiness, various kinks. (Can you guess my kinks yet?) All characters in this work are above the age of 18. Authors Note: Ever since I saw that clip of LoC on V’s instagram I wanted to write a Faust fic, and I finally had some time on my hands to write one! I would like to thank @dreamtherapy​ and @ill-skillsgard​ for providing me with inspiration for this lovely piece of work, and all of you for supporting me! It means so much that you read what I write, I love you all so much, and as always, any form of constructive criticism is appreciated. Love and Hugs, -Vi ˗`ˏOne-Shot requests are open!ˎˊ˗ 

Lilith wasn’t one to complain, even in the most dire of situations, so when she’d heard about a job opening to work at a haunted house, she was elated beyond measure. It was something for her to look forward to after she had gone through a tough breakup a few weeks prior, and to make a little bank while she was in town. She had packed up everything and moved back to her hometown in hopes of starting over and forgetting all about the fuckboy who cheated on her. The lights were hung, all of the props were in place, the costumes were ready, now all she needed was to wait for her first victim. It was about a 15 minute walk through the house from where the entrance was to where she stood, but she was anything but bored. Lilith observed her surroundings, dumbfounded at what an amazing job they all had done of decorating the entire three story house. She heard large footsteps down the hallway, beginning to approach where she was and she made sure she was hidden, just before jumping out and screaming. The man seemed unimpressed at her costume and her facade overall. “A bloody nurse? Really? How am I supposed to be afraid of someone who’s dressed like such a nice piece of ass?” His comment was derogatory and sexual, but she couldn’t deny her intrigue of the man before her. He was definitely unique in the way he dressed and carried himself, and she suspected the bullet belt, chains, and black apparel was his usual attire. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, acting as if his lingering gaze upon her breasts weren’t luring her in. “The exit’s down the hall asshole.” He seems to ignore the fact that she even spoke at all. “You wanna party? My friend is throwing this wicked party at the record store down the street if you want to swing by after.” He proposes, licking his lips and sizing her up. “Not a chance.” “Well, if you change your mind sweetcheeks, ask for Faust.” He winks and leaves without another word. Lilith had thought it over again and again for the next hour and she determined it was a bad idea. Yet, when her shift ended she found her way to the record shop and the party was in full swing by the time she arrived. There was screeching loud black metal playing in the speakers, she had heard it before she walked through the door. Lilith peered around looking for Faust, but all she saw were people smashing bottles, smoking, and yelling over the too-loud music. She seemed so out of her realm, as if she had stepped through a portal from the outside world and arrived in another dimension. She felt almost normal in the overcrowded vicinity of the record store, filled with misfits of society reigning in chaos. She waded through the waves of people, scanning the room for a familiar face, but failed to come across one; in turn, she located a small flight of declining stairs to the right of the room. Her curiosity and anticipation had gotten the best of her, causing her to descend the steps in search of the mysterious man by the name of Faust. Lilith’s long, black curls bouncing with each step of her heel-clad feet. “Well, well, well, look what we have here,” Faust said, his lips smirking before downing the rest of what was in his beer bottle. “I knew you would come.” “Don’t flatter yourself,” she said, glancing around the room, “Pretty nice setup you got here.” Lilith’s eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the basement-like area, and was able to read the obscenities scrawled on the wall, many in other languages. He walked closer to her, the further he came to her, the more she backed up until her back hit the brick wall. She was pinned in the corner like prey. “I think we both know why you came here.” Faust’s voice lowered, and his breath reeked of beer. “And what’s that?” She fired back, unamused by his attitude. “You want me to break you—hurt you—fuck you—make you scream,” Faust said, wedging her legs open with his knee. She was at a loss for words, his face inching towards hers one of his hands grabbing a fistful of her hair, wrenching her head back to expose her neck. “Tell me I’m wrong.” He smirked when she didn’t answer and let go of her, motioning to a back room in the basement. “Let’s go Repunzel, I don’t have all damn day.” Faust said when she hadn’t moved, and she felt a twinge of regret spark inside of her. They turned once they were inside and looked at each other for a moment, and Faust was the first one to speak, “Why don’t you be a good whore for me and get on your knees?” “What?” She asked, even though she had heard him clear as day. “Did I fucking stutter?” Lilith shook her head no and took the initiative to kneel while he unbuckled his belt, her wide green irises glinting in the dull light. She felt the need to retaliate, but this is what she came here for, isn’t it? He freed his cock from the tight confines of his pants, giving himself a few strokes and popping her cheek with his free hand. She opened her mouth and licked from the base of him to the tip and swirled her tongue around the head. When he was at full solidity, she took him in her mouth using her other hand to grip his cock as she bobbed her head up and down his length. Faust tilted his head back and let out a deep moan when he felt his cock hit the back of her throat, lacing his fingers in her hair and thrusting his hips forward violently. She gagged and held onto the sides of his hips, letting him use her mouth for his pleasure. The more she struggled for air, the more it seemed to turn him on, the way Lilith moaned around him and the way redness entered her face made his cock twitch. He let go of her briefly, allowing her to gasp for air and she immediately returned to pleasing him, as if she had never stopped; encircling her hand around his shaft and jerking him into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the head, savoring the bubble of precum that began to seep out, before taking him back into her mouth and sinking all the way down. The faint trail of hair from his navel to the hilt of his cock tickled her when it grazed her nose, but she didn’t dare stop. She flattened her tongue against him and moaned, creating a sensitive vibration around him. “Fuck baby, I’m gonna bust.” Faust groaned, taking hold of her hair and forcing her to take him deeper as he released into her mouth. When he finished, she let go with a wet pop, standing back up onto her feet. Lilith’s eyes widened when he produced a switchblade from the back pocket of his black jeans, “Are you going to hurt me?” She said, trying her best not to let her fear show. All she got was a dark laugh and a smirk in return. Faust walked behind her, grabbing her by the hair and holding the knife to her throat, “You’ve messed with the wrong guy little girl,” he said with a click of his tongue. Her heartbeat sped up ten-speed, she didn’t know what this man was capable of, it was as if the fear and adrenaline was turning her on and she hated herself for it. An attractive, psychotic metal head puts a knife to her throat and she likes it? What was she thinking? Her thoughts raced, and it was only a matter of time before something bad happened. “Is that supposed to scare me?” Lilith said, her defiance angering him. Faust dug the knife a little deeper into her skin, threatening to draw blood. “You better watch your mouth, little girl. I’m not someone you want to fuck with.” He began to drag the knife down from her throat, scratching the surface of her skin with the tip, until it dipped down in between her breasts. “You’re a bad girl aren’t you? You want me to hurt you, want me to use you, isn’t that right?” He sheared the front of her nurse costume, exposing the swell of her breasts. “Answer me.” Faust demanded, getting irritated at Lilith’s lack of response. “Or what? You’ll ‘kill me’?” She spat, her attitude disguising all fear she had towards him. He was amused at her defiance towards him, usually girls are easily molded like putty in his hands the second they see the knife, but this one bit back, and it intrigued him. Faust dragged the knife across the swell of her breast, creating a long, narrow gash upon it, and Lilith gasped. “You’re full of bad intentions aren’t you?” She said as the cut began to bleed, Faust wrenching her head back by her hair once again, bending her over a nearby table littered with papers. “You have no fucking idea.” He said, ridding himself of his clothes. When he was fully nude, he ran his fingers up the back of her thigh, and clicked his tongue when he remarked she wasn’t wearing panties. Little did he know that she had taken them off and placed them in her car on her walk to the mysterious record store. “You came because you wanted to get fucked dirty didn’t you?” “What can I say,” she paused, “the danger gets me high.” Lilith said it and she wasn’t lying, she always had a knack for getting herself into trouble, and she always extracted satisfaction in it. Faust smacked her ass and rode the skirt of her dress above her hips, smirking as he kneaded the flesh beneath his fingers. He stroked his cock a few times to bring himself back to full solidity and then guided himself into her before snapping his hips into her and sinking himself deep within her walls. The velvet warmth caused him to release a gruff moan, relishing in the feeling of her tightness around him. Faust grabbed onto her hips, pulling her back onto him with each thrust of his hips. Her moans and gasps fueled the fire within him, his adrenaline rushing through his body. “Fuck me like you mean it, bad boy.” Lilith says glancing back at him, her eyes glazed over with pure lust and desire for the strange man before her. He growled and thrusted his hips harder and faster into her, causing her to let out a tiny squeak every time he hit her g-spot. “Tell Daddy you’re his little whore, sugar.” Faust moaned out, his pace unrelenting. “I’m your little whore, Daddy, all yours.” Lilith gasped, pushing her hips back against him. “I want all of you in me.” He didn’t hold back, giving her all of him, and he then snaked one of his hands around her and began to rub circles on her clit while he pounded into her from behind. “You like it when I rub that little clit of yours while I fuck your pussy?” He says, in an almost rhetoric manner. “D-don’t s-stop” She muttered, her brain in too much of a state of bliss and euphoria to give a straight answer. But it all ended too soon, Faust retracted from her and flipped her over, walking over to the couch. She whined at the loss of contact, and quickly followed him to the dingey couch that had no doubt been vomited on several times. Lilith couldn’t bring herself to care though, she climbed atop of him and sunk down until her cunt swallowed each inch. She grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him as she rode him, his hips trusting up into her. Lilith moaned into his mouth, as a result of his resumed stimulation on her clit. She felt herself rapidly reaching her peak, and she didn’t know how much longer she could take his abuse to her sensitive core. “Faust I’m gonna come, I can’t take it anymore.” She pleaded, and he landed a firm, hard smack to her ass in return, “Daddy.” She corrected herself. The closer she got to her orgasm the more she clenched down on him, and he couldn’t resist the urge to choke her as he began to reach his too. “I’m not on birth control.” She managed to weakly say with his fingers constricting her throat. Faust didn’t care, he continued to fuck her with all of his strength, ravaging her insides. She was so close to her release, all she needed was one more push to help her lose control. “Fuck I love the way your pussy clenches when I choke you, it makes me so fucking hard.” He grabbed her hips and made one last rock of his hips and she shook and convulsed around him, her orgasm ripping through her body. Faust grunted and pushed her off of him, using his hand to finish himself off. Lilith lays her lead on his broad chest and stays there for a while, absorbing the moment; the sweat, the silence, and the lust. When she moves away from him she glances over at him, watching him intently as he reaches for a cigarette and leans back against the pillows of the dank couch. It was the silence that bothered her most. There hadn't been a vast majority of conversation between them, and even when there had been, it was accompanied by snarls or smirks. But she soon left without a word, and found herself wondering if they’ll ever cross paths again. Taglist: Please let me know if you would like to be tagged or removed, I kind of assumed on this since I have no idea who would want to read it. @bskarsgardlove92 @billdreamy69 @ill-skillsgard @lovesickbill @skrsgvrd @ohtheangst @pennywise-girl @xandrane @dude-leave @crazylittleladyforbill @spitch0 @dreamtherapy @chloefran @exemplaryonly @smug-austrian-bitch @wheremyjuice @odinsravendutchess @sweetskarsgard @skarsguards-up @burningspy

[thereluctantinquisitor]

Still On My Mind (pt. 2)

A continuation of this wonderful fic by @lavellanlove, based on our novel-length RP. In which Cyrus finally has a chance to realise he’s developed more feelings than he expected for Maleus...

At the sound of a knock on his door, Cyrus stirred, groaning softly as he pried his face from the surface of his desk. The tourney, and everything that had happened, had left him utterly drained. Rubbing his cheek roughly, he cleared his throat and called, “What?”

There was an uncertain pause. “Ser -- uh, Ser Cyrus?” the voice beyond the door asked. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Take away the family name, and suddenly Orlesians didn’t know what to do. But he answered in the affirmative and the door creaked open, revealing a young woman in serving attire. “Apologies, Ser. You have a parcel.”

Frowning, Cyrus looked her over once then turned away. “If it’s from someone called ‘Joustis’, just toss it over there.” He gestured sharply to the left side of the room. In the silence, he could practically hear the slow, uncertain movement of her eyes.

“The... fireplace?” 

“Yes.”

She seemed taken aback, but recovered quickly. “My apologies, but it is not from, ah... anyone by that name.”

That was truly unexpected. Who on Thedas would be writing to him? Curiosity piqued, Cyrus turned and stood, tugging his shirt sharply back into place as he moved. “Fine. Give it to me.”

They met halfway across the room, and with a hasty curtsy the servant practically fled for the safety of the hallway. Inspecting the letter and small package, Cyrus turned it over in his hands. The penmanship was... well, excellent, frankly. The letters of his name seemed to come alive on the front of the envelope. 

He set down the parcel and reached for his belt, tossed haphazardly on the side of the desk, he slid out a small blade and slit the top of the letter...

Dearest Cyrus,

Fuck, that alone was enough to give him pause.

You have been on my mind, perhaps even more than I expected you to be. I’ve been thinking of our conversations and how far we’ve both come from where we each began. Wondering how you are doing with all that you’ve been through and all that’s yet to come.

I am sorry I could not stay for the Tourney. Truly, I am. More than anything, I hope that its events grant you peace. You deserve that much, and more.

Regardless of how it turns out, know that I wish to be here for you, and would like nothing more than for you to allow me to be.

All the best,

Maleus

At first, the words made no sense - he read them with such haste that they blurred together in his mind. Then, frowning, he read them again, this time with the purpose of finding some hidden meaning. A code. A cry for help, perhaps, concealed within a heartfelt letter. Something. After all, that would make sense. It would be a reason. A purpose.

This... didn’t make sense.

The conversation he’d had with Maleus wasn’t something Cyrus dismissed the moment he’d left the embassy. In truth, he’d played it over and over again in his head the entire way to the Tourney; first as a matter of practicality, as the man had offered some valuable insights, then in shame as he realised how utterly pathetic he must have sounded, unloading his problems to the son of Ianto, the Terror of Llomerryn. As though the two could ever hope to compare.

Now, this letter...?

In truth, he had felt a connection to Maleus. Something he couldn’t explain in the moment, and had put down to a specific kind of shared misery, born from ruminating over less than ideal childhoods. Eventually, his attention pulled in other directions, he’d tried everything in his power to forget the conversation; the comforting touches, the wise yet caring words. Maker, he’d even tried to forget the swiftness with which Maleus had spirited him from the Winter Palace, getting him out of harm’s way the moment a threat had been made. The man had acted without hesitation. Without care for his own safety. Shit, he’d even put himself at risk by going out to negotiate with Silana Lorvain; saved Darren’s life without so much as raising a sword. 

What could a man like Maleus possibly see in someone like him?

With that question in mind, Cyrus re-read the letter. Slowly. Purposefully. His chest tightened at the apology; at the sincerity behind those written words. The hope that the duel between his father and Silana had brought him peace. 

It was better Maleus had not been there. Better that the whole affair go forgotten, for what good it had brought.

He was still holding the letter when another knock at his door interrupted his thoughts. “What?” he snapped, sharper than he intended. “What now?”

The door opened, far more confidently than before. “Good to see you’re as chipper as always.” Ralon stepped into the room as though it was his own. Just fucking typical. “Just checking in, prickles. You’ve been cooped up since...”

He trailed off. Cyrus knew why. Regardless, now was... this wasn’t...

The letter suddenly felt heavy in his hand.

“This isn’t a good time, Ralon.”

“Yeah, didn’t really expect it to be. Kinda why I’m here anyway.”

“No, I...” Cyrus set the letter down, as though that would somehow cause it to vanish. It had quite the opposite effect, with the tall Antivan craning his neck to take a look at the objects on the desk.

“What’ve you got there, huh?”

Some part of Cyrus screamed at him to lie. But... what good would that possible do? If this was something he... no. He couldn’t lie. “A letter,” he said simply. He might not lie but that didn’t mean he was champing at the bit to divulge everything. “And a... parcel.”

“Already?” Cocking a brow, Ralon wandered over and sat on the edge of the bed to the right of the desk. “That was quick. Shit news travels fast, huh?” He paused, a frown suddenly pinching his brow. “Unless... is it from your father?”

“No.”

“Then who?”

“Maleus.”

There. It was out in the open. Ralon cocked his head. “Abano?” he asked. A smile spread across his lips. “Guess you two got along, back at the embassy, huh? How’s he going?”

Cyrus swallowed. Fuck, why was this so hard? “I... good, I suppose.” He fingered the edge of the letter, unsure of what to do with it. What to say. “You two are together, right?”

Ralon snorted, kicking one leg over the other as he leaned back on the bed. “Since when did you start taking an interest in my love-life?” When Cyrus didn’t rise to the bait, Ralon sighed. “I mean... we catch up, whenever he’s in town. Exchange letters sometimes, checking in on each other. That sort of thing. I wouldn’t say we’re together. We just... get together.” He waved a hand absently. “Port in a storm, and all that. You know I’m not one to pass up a good opportunity with a good person. They’re hard to find.”

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Cyrus bit back the urge to just demand a straight answer. “So... what? Are you a couple or just screwing around?”

Ralon barked a laugh. “Is that all there is? Tethered at the hip or heartless fuck-buddies? Like I said, we get together, we have a good time, we go our separate ways. But we’re not looking to tie the knot, if you get me.”

It took a moment, but Cyrus supposed he got him. However, Ralon appeared to be catching on, the line of questioning sparking a curiosity in him. “... What’s the letter say? You never told me.”

Cyrus smoothed the edge with surprisingly unsteady fingertips. “It...” He tried to find the words. There was a good way to do this, wasn’t there? A right way? “He’s checking in on me. Seeing if I’m alright.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus could see Ralon tilt his head slightly, regarding him. “Yeah? That’s thoughtful of him.”

“Yeah.” It... really was. Outside of the small band of misfits he called a squad, Cyrus had never had anyone do that for him. “But... I don’t know what to make of the rest of it.”

“Shock of the century. You want me to translate? Mal sometimes waxes poetic when he gets carried away.”

Maybe that was the easiest way. Was it the right way? Cyrus had no idea. But before his mind even had a chance to catch up, he was handing the letter over, and Ralon’s brown eyes were flicking through it, scanning the neatly penned lines. 

Cyrus watched him. Watched for any sign of... Maker, he didn’t know what. Bitterness. Betrayal. Anger. Something. After all, serious or not, Ralon and Maleus had been hooking up. It was possible...

A smile spread across Ralon’s lips. “Cyrus, this is pretty much a love-letter.”

The news was like a slap to the face. “I... what? No it’s not. Is it?” Cyrus shook his head as if to clear it. “How the fuck did you get that?”

“Oh, come on!  ‘You have been on my mind.’ ...  ‘ You deserve that much, and more.’ ... ‘ I wish to be here for you, and would like nothing more than for you to allow me to be.’ ” The smile spreading into a full-blown grin, Ralon waved the letter in the air. “I don’t know what you two talked about, but you sure as hell left a mark.”

At first, Cyrus’ mouth just opened and closed. He had no idea what to say to that. He’d assumed he’d read too much into it; that he’d interpreted affection where there had simply been amiable concern. But Ralon knew Maleus as well, and as much as Cyrus hated to admit the Antivan was better than him in anything, relationships were much more his forte. 

In the end, he asked the first thing that came to his mind. “That... doesn’t piss you off?”

Glancing back at the letter, Ralon’s smile faded slightly, but it didn’t fully leave. “Ah, not really. I mean, sure, we had fun, but it was never some big exclusive thing.” He folded it carefully and held it out to Cyrus. But, as Cyrus tried to take it, Ralon held on. “What about you, though?” When Cyrus just fixed him with a confused look, the Antivan continued, “Are you just looking for a port in a storm, or...?”

Heat rushed to Cyrus’ cheeks, surprisingly for the first time since their conversation began. It seemed shock and nervousness had kept the flush at bay. “I... don’t know.” Brow pinched, Cyrus tugged the letter out of Ralon’s grasp and shifted in his chair. “When we spoke... I’ve never talked about that shit with anyone else.”

“What shit?”

“None of your fucking business.”

Another grin flashed across Ralon’s face. “Okay, so that’s a point for I’m into him. What else?”

It felt ridiculous, sitting there discussing his potential love-life with Ralon of all people. “He... gets it. The shit we talked about.All of that...” He made a vague gesture out the window, where the Tourney continued into its final days. It was clear, from his solemn nod, that Ralon knew he was not referring to the tournament itself; rather, a specific duel. “I don’t talk about it. Not to anyone. But with him...” Cyrus groaned, reaching up to rub his eyes. “I don’t fucking know - it just felt like I could.”

“Mal’s got a way of getting people to open up.”

“It wasn’t just that.” Lowering his hands, letting them rest in his lap, Cyrus gave a sharp sigh. “He talked about... finding my own way. Being my own Captain. It just... made sense. He knew how it felt to be defined by some other asshole’s actions, and for the first time...”

When Cyrus trailed off, Ralon give him a moment before prompting him gently. “What?”

“It felt like I didn’t have to be.”

Silence fell in the room. It was heavy, but not painful. Profound, but not uncomfortably so. Ralon was nodding to himself, a strange look on his face that Cyrus couldn’t quite place. As for Cyrus, he was so caught up in feelings he’d had no time to consider that he had no idea what else to say.

Luckily, Ralon always had an excess of words. “What’s in the package?”

The parcel. Remembering its presence, Cyrus reached for it, sliding it towards himself. He unwrapped it with fingers that shook slightly; why, he couldn’t for the life of him say. But soon he was holding a box, its weight solid and comfortable in his palm. “He didn’t have to get me anything,” was all Cyrus could think to murmur. His eyes were focused on the object, so he didn’t catch Ralon rolling his.

“Just open it already.”

Cyrus did. Inside the box, nestled in a soft foam, was... an ornate compass. Mesmerised, he lifted it out, turning it towards the light from the window. The needle swung around, red tip honing in on north until it pointed firmly in that direction no matter how he turned it. 

“Guess you can find your own way now.” Ralon’s words were soft, and when Cyrus finally tore his gaze from the compass, he could see a strange warmth in the Antivan’s eyes. He reached out and patted him twice on the knee, the action reassuring. Comforting. Approving. “You should write back,” he suggested, then stood, the bed creaking slightly beneath him. 

Something in Cyrus twisted at that moment. Panicked. “What the fuck am I supposed to say? I...” His stiff fingers curled around the compass. “I can’t match this, Ralon.”

The Antivan’s hand came to rest on his shoulders. “You can thank him, for a start. Tell him what happened. Tell him how you are - and don’t lie about it for once, okay? At least give the guy the truth.” He released him and headed towards the door. However, just before he left, Ralon paused, then added, “If I were you... I’d also tell him you want to thank him in person for that gift he sent you. It’s a damn nice compass.”

[anytaintedcreature]

help help i am in [REDACTED PROJECT] hell and I need my headcanon fix, i'm getting the jitters. how about this wildly specific request: what is the most awkwardly gorgeous and/or gorgeously awkward thing our various misfits have ever worn (or, heh, not worn, as the case may be)

Shit I was totally supposed to do this yesterday but I got distracted so here we go, like a whole 24 hours too late

so this one is weirdly specific and I’m having a hard time coming up with stuff other than the different outfits they wear in game so I’m gonna wax poetic for like a whole hour about how much I fucking love Erik’s corsair coat, I mean I’m always a slut for pirates but damn so in my universe he wears his pirate stuff everywhere he goes forever. Spectacular.

The most gorgeously awkward thing Jade wears is her warrior princess dress. Gorgeous because it’s amazing, awkward because it must be hard to kick the crap out of someone with all those ruffles in the way. I’m picturing a day at the castle, monsters attack, and BOOM Jade’s got to rip some of that fluff away and Hendrik passes out. Such is life.

Now Rowan’s most awkward outfit is definitely the parade set. SORRY. Sylv can pull off feathers like a champion but Rowan, at least, is not a feather type boy. They probably freak him out. Just imagine how much Erik would have made fun of him if he’d seen it.

Can we talk about how awkward Serena probably felt in that dancer’s outfit for a second? Like I almost felt bad for putting her in it but, ya know. Armor Stats.

Says the girl who left Rowan in his Drasilian Armor waaaaaaay past the time to take it off and move on 

For Hendrik, most awkward outfit, I only have two words: Drunstan’s. Armor. Why

so my opinions on their in-game attire is probably not what you were angling for but alas, that’s what came out of the headcanon slot machine this evening, let’s play again soon

[marvelousbirthdays]

Happy Birthday, masquerade122!

December 22 - Daredevil/Sif, Continued from last year’s prompt, Matt introducing his soulmate to everybody? Just the thought of Foggy meeting Lady Sif makes me cackle inside, for @masquerade122

Continues from http://archiveofourown.org/works/6561112/chapters/20483767

Written by @ozhawkauthor

Explaining to Sif that he was a lawyer by day, undercover vigilante by night, took quite some doing. Apparently legal representation wasn’t a thing on Asgard, since Odin just looked into your soul and decided whether you were guilty or not. Matt almost had palpitations at the mere thought.

“I still do not understand why you do not allow others to know your identity,” Sif was sitting cross-legged on his kitchen counter, munching on an apple. “Surely your city guards would welcome you working among them?”

“Police. We call the police. And no, the NYPD don’t look kindly on people who take justice into their own hands.”

“But they were not there when those three planned to attack me. What was I supposed to do?”

Smiling tightly, Matt shook his head. “You’re allowed to fight back to save yourself. You’re just not supposed to intervene on behalf of other people. Especially not pre-emptively.”

He was pretty sure she still didn’t get it, but she didn’t ask any more questions, just bit down into her apple with another juicy crunch.

Foggy. Foggy, his phone announced loudly, and he fished it out of his pocket.

“Hey.”

“So are you spending the night on the rooftops, or did you forget it’s Wednesday?”

“Wednesday?”

Foggy’s sigh was exasperated. “The first Wednesday of the month, Matt. You remember? That regular thing we do when Danny buys us all the Chinese food and we argue about who did what and I figure out how to keep Jessica out of jail?”

Matt scowled and pressed his fist to his forehead. “Oh. That Wednesday.”

“You really need to be here. Danny has his Existential Dread face on again, Karen thinks Frank’s been up to something, and Jessica’s already three sheets to the wind.”

“Jessica’s always like that.”

“True. Still, it’d be awesome if you got here before I have to beg Luke to carry her home.”

Matt turned towards Sif, who’d finished her apple and was now prowling around his apartment looking at things. “It’s… complicated tonight, Foggy.”

“It’s always fucking complicated with you.”

“This is… different. I met my soulmate.”

“You what?” Foggy’s shriek was girlish. “Matt met his soulmate!” he said loudly, and there was a sudden cacophony at the other end of the phone. Wincing, Matt held it further away.

“You’d better get down here, or we’re all coming to you, and I’m certain you don’t have enough booze,” Foggy said, laughing.

Matt could hear Claire and Karen in the background, both loudly making plans to come over to his place right that moment. “Okay, okay,” he said with a chuckle. “I give. The thing is, Foggy… she’s Asgardian.”

There was a shocked silence for a moment, and then Foggy said “If you’re not here in ten minutes, I’m not gonna be able to hold them back.”

Sif was perfectly amenable to going back out to meet Matt’s friends. He suggested that they’d be a lot of extra eyes to help look for Odin, Jessica in particular as a PI, and Luke’s network of informants in Harlem.

“I am eager to meet your friends even if they are not able to help, Matthew. Am I suitably attired to go to the place where you meet?”

“Well,” he cracked a grin, “you’re a lot better dressed for it than most. It’s just a Chinese restaurant. Not far, a couple of blocks away.”

He made a quick change into jeans and a sweater, aware of her watching him peel out of his suit. Every fibre of his body was aware of her, of the almost-silent grace of her movements, the strange density of her body, the powerful boom of her heart. She was so different to a normal human, even though outwardly she might seem the same. Fumbling his boots on, he picked up his cane.

“What is that for?” Sif asked curiously as he unfolded it.

“Well… I don’t actually need it, but…” He ended up spending the entire walk to the restaurant explaining the aesthetics of using the cane and how the simple fact of carrying it made people believe he was truly completely blind even if he accidentally did something which should otherwise clue them in to the fact he was more aware of his surroundings than someone who should not be able to see them.

“This smells good.” Sif sniffed the air outside the restaurant as they arrived.

“We hire the whole place out once a month. Well. Danny does. He’s the one with the money. Er…” it occurred to him that the Asgardians might know about K’un L’un and the Immortal Iron Fist and the dragons. He had no idea how old Sif was, but he knew Asgardians were basically immortal themselves.

“Er?” Sif said, pushing open the door.

“Never mind.”

His friends were seated at one big table at the centre of the room, all rising to their feet with cries of greeting as they entered, Foggy approaching first. Matt could hear the shit-eating grin in his best friend’s voice as Foggy said;

“So you’re the unlucky lady who’s stuck with Matt as a soulmate.”

Sif smiled, and Matt sensed Foggy actually taking a half-step back, knocked sideways by the impact of her beauty. “I do not consider myself unlucky. I have been searching for Matthew for centuries.”

“Usual rules apply,” Matt grabbed Karen’s arm as she stepped forward, her mouth opening. “You can’t write about anything you hear in this room.”

She pouted, but nodded. “Is she staying? Another Asgardian in New York is news, you know that. Can she do stuff like Thor?”

“Well, I have no hammer with which to fly and cast lightning bolts,” Sif said, “but I am considered a superior warrior in my own right.”

Colleen seemed edgy, sidling towards the pile of weapons left at the side of the room, at least until Luke made a small movement and was suddenly standing between her and them.

“Don’t do anything foolish now,” he rumbled softly, and Colleen stilled. Danny reached out to catch her wrist, pull her back to his side.

“I’ve heard about the female warriors of Asgard. The Valkyrie,” Danny said, and Sif immediately turned to face him, her posture stiffening.

“The Valkyrie have been gone for three millennia. Who on Midgard still recalls their legend?”

“The monks of K’un L’un,” Danny offered her a small bow.

Matt heard Sif’s breathing change, sensed her shift in posture. “That is a name I have not heard for a very long time.” Her tone was lower. Steady.

“If you’re going to fight,” Jessica said from her seat at the table, from which she was the only one who hadn’t bothered to rise, “take it outside? I have the feeling you guys would really mess this place up and I’m actually enjoying these dim sum.”

Sif was the one who laughed first, relaxing. Danny hadn’t taken a defensive stance, which probably helped, Matt thought.

“Are you Jessica Jones?”

Jess tilted her head, smiled curiously. “I am. Somehow I didn’t think news of my fame had reached Asgard, though.”

“Not yet,” Sif said diplomatically, “though when I first met Matthew, he said that ‘even Jessica Jones’ didn’t hit as hard as I do.”

“Interesting.” Jessica kicked out the chair next to her with a grin. “Maybe we could find a way to test it out. Luke might volunteer.”

“Thanks, I’ll pass,” Luke said dryly, retaking his own seat across the table as Sif accepted the offered chair.

Claire was the only one who hadn’t said or done anything, just watched with an intrigued expression on her face. She turned her head towards Matt and he heard her speak under her breath, too quiet for anyone but him to hear.

“She’s stunning, Matt. Did you know?”

He hadn’t, not really. Oh, he knew she was long-limbed and slender, and he’d sensed plenty of heads turning as they walked along the street together. Even the way Foggy had stepped back as though knocked sideways had been a clue, but he hadn’t yet touched her face, explored her with his hands.

Sif reached out and took his hand in hers, pulling lightly. “Come and sit down, Matthew. You must be hungry. Tell me, what is in this?” She drew a plate towards her.

“Pork,” Matt said automatically, “in a spicy sauce.” He slipped into the seat beside her, sensed Foggy taking a seat on his other side, peering at Sif in utter fascination. Danny set a beer bottle down in front of him, offered one to Sif.

“It’s beer,” Matt said, wondering if they even had beer on Asgard. “It’s a mildly fermented beverage made from hops and barley…”

“I remember beer! They still have it? It was all anyone drank, back in the eighth century.” Sif took a long swig, sighed with pleasure. “Aaahhh. Well, I must say that Midgard’s brewers have certainly improved their craft!”

Just about everyone around the table was spluttering at Sif’s casual mention of the eighth century. Matt sat back, grinning. It was very clear that his soulmate was going to fit right in with his happy band of misfits.

[suzanneshannon]

Getting to the Heart of Digital Accessibility

Quick! Think of the word “developer” or “coder” — what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe a whiteish male in his twenties living in a busy metropolis, wearing a nerdy t-shirt and hoodie? Someone a bit like Mark Zuckerberg? Or maybe a younger Bill Gates or Sergey Brin? Any of the dudes from the HBO series Silicon Valley, perhaps? Certainly no one like me.

By tech standards, I’m old. I’m also female and a mother. I live in a midwestern town you’ve never heard of and will never visit — a town where the cows vastly outnumber the people. My hair color is (almost) natural and is no longer part of the ROYGBIV collection, so I have no perceived conference street cred. I own about a thousand geeky T-shirts, but never actually wear them in public, opting for more “girly” attire (or so was pointed out by a male colleague). On the surface, I look more suited to taking notes at a PTA meeting than writing code. I’m a bit of an outsider. A tech misfit.

So when my 11-year-old daughter finished her recent coding camp and excitedly declared, “Now I’m a real developer, Mom, just like you!” there was the usual parent pride, but also a small piece of me that cringed. Because, as much as I support the STEM fields, and want the next generation of girls to be coding wizard-unicorn-ninjas, I really don’t want my own daughter to be a developer. The rationale behind this bold (and maybe controversial) statement comes from a place of protection. The tech world we live in today is far from perfect. I’ve endured my share of misogyny, self-doubt, and sexual harassment. Why wouldn’t I want to protect her from all of that?

The (diversity) elephant in the (computer) room

You’ve heard this story before: there is not enough diversity in tech. This puzzling trend seems to continue year after year, even though numerous studies show that by including more people from underrepresented communities, a company can increase its innovation, employee retention, and bottom line. Even with the recent push and supposed support for diversity and inclusivity from many Fortune 500 companies, women and female-identifying people still only hold 20% of all top tech jobs.

The data from FY 2018 shows that the number of women in technical roles at three of the top tech giants was 24% for Adobe, 26% for Google, and 22% for Facebook. While these numbers show that there is still not enough representation for women, these numbers do reflect a slight increase from the previous year (FY 2017: Adobe 22%, Google 25%, Facebook 15%). But even with this upward trend of hiring women in tech roles, the marginal growth rate has not caught up with the real world. The tech workforce is seriously out of touch with reality if, in 2019, a demographic (women) that represents more than half the global population is still considered a minority.

Sometimes this lack of diversity at the top level is blamed on a “pipeline” issue. The logic being: “If there are not enough girls who learn to code, then there will not be enough women who can code.” However, programs aimed at teaching girls how to code have skyrocketed in the past few years. Girls now make up about half of the enrollment in high-school coding classes and are scoring almost identically to their male classmates on standardized math and science tests, yet, young women make up only 18% of all Computer Science degrees. I have to wonder if this steep drop in interest has more to do with lack of representation in the tech sphere, than with girls and young women simply not being “smart enough” or “not interested” in working with code? At the very least, the lack of representation certainly doesn’t help.

Of course, the diversity picture becomes even more abysmal when you consider other underrepresented groups such as people of color, people from the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities. And while I really don’t like glossing over these deeper diversity issues in tech, because they are abundant and are much more grotesque failings than the male/female ratio, I also don’t feel qualified to speak about these issues. I encourage you to look to and value the voices of others who can speak with higher authority on these deeper diversity issues, such as Ire Aderinokun, Taelur Alexis, Imani Barbarin, Angie Jones, Fatima Khalid, Tatiana Mac, Charlie Owen, Cherry Rae, and so many others. And for those readers who are new to the topic of diversity in tech, watch Tatiana Mac’s recent conference talk How Privilege Defines Performance — it’s well worth the 35 minutes of your life.

The four stages in the digital accessibility journey

However you look at it, the numbers don’t lie. There are some pretty significant diversity issues in tech. So how do we fix this issue before the next wave of young developers join the tech workforce? Simple: teach developers to write accessible code.

This may seem like a joke to some and stretch to others, but hear me out. When we talk about accessible code, what we are really talking about at its core is inclusiveness. The actual process of writing accessible code involves rules and standards, tests and tools; but inclusive development is more abstract than that. It’s a shift in thinking. And when we rethink our approach to development, we go beyond just the base level of simple code functionality. We instead think, how is this code consumed? How can we make it even more intelligible and easier for people to use? Inclusive development means making something valuable, not just accessible, to as many people as we can.

That line of thinking is a bit abstract, so let’s go through an example. Let’s say you are tasked with updating the color contrast between the text on a webpage or app and the background. What happens at each stage in the accessibility journey?

Stage 1: Awareness — You are brand new to digital accessibility and are still trying to understand what it is and how you can implement changes in your daily workflow. You may be aware that there is a set of digital accessibility guidelines that other developers follow, but you are a bit hazy on what it all means in a practical sense.

Stage 2: Knowledge — You know a bit more about digital accessibility and feel comfortable using a few testing tools, so you run an automated accessibility test on your website and it flags a possible issue with the color contrast. Based on your awareness of the guidelines, you know the color contrast ratio between the text and the background needs to be a certain number and that you need a tool to test this.

Stage 3: Practice — Feeling more confident in your knowledge of digital accessibility rules and best practices, you use a tool to measure the color contrast ratio between the text and the background. Then based on the output of the tool, you modify the hex code to meet the color contrast ratio guidelines and retest to confirm you have met the accessibility requirements for this issue.

Stage 4: Understanding — You understand that the accessibility guidelines and tools are created with people in mind, and that code is secondary to all of that. One is the means, and the other is the end. In the color contrast example, you understand that people with low-vision or colorblindness need these color contrast changes in order to actually see the words on your web page.

This is a bit of an oversimplification of the process. But I hope you get the gist — that there are different stages of digital accessibility knowledge and understanding. True beginners may not be to even stage one, but I am finding that group rarer and rarer these days. The word about digital accessibility seems to be out! Which is great; but that’s only the first hurdle. What I’m seeing now is that a lot of people stop at Stage 2: Knowledge or Stage 3: Practice — where you are aware of the digital accessibility guidelines, have some testing tools in your back pocket, and know how to fix some of the issues reported, but haven’t quite connected the dots to the humans they impact.

From the standpoint of getting daily stuff done, stages two and three are okay stopping points. But what happens when the things you need to do are too complex for a quick fix, or you have no buy-in from your peers or management? I feel that once we get to Stage 4: Understanding, and really get why these kinds of changes are needed, people will be more motivated to make those changes regardless of the challenges involved. When you arrive at stage four, you have gone beyond knowing the basic rules, testing, and coding. You recognize that digital accessibility is not just a “nice to have” but a “must have” and it becomes about quality of life for real people. This is digital inclusion. This is something you can’t unsee, you can’t unlearn, and you can’t ignore.

Making digital accessibility a priority — not a requirement

In my role as an accessibility trainer, I like to kick-off each session with the question: “What are you hoping to learn today about digital accessibility?” I ask this question to establish a rapport with the audience and to understand where everyone is in their accessibility journey, but I am also evaluating the level of company and individual buy-in too. There is nothing worse than showing up to teach a group that does not care to be taught. If I hear the words “I am only here because I have to be” — I know it will be an uphill battle to get them anywhere close to Stage 4: Understanding, so I mentally regroup and aim for another stage.

In my experience, when companies and their leaders say “Digital accessibility is a requirement,” nine times out of ten there is a motivating factor behind this sweeping declaration (for example, impending litigation, or at least the fear of it). When changes are framed as mandatory and packaged as directives from on high with little additional context, people can be resistant and will find excuses to fight or challenge the declaration, and any change can become an uphill battle. Calling something “mandatory” only speaks to Stage 1: Awareness.

By swapping out one word from the original declaration and saying “Digital accessibility is a priority,” companies and their leaders have reframed the conversation with their employees. When changes are framed as “working towards a solution” and discussed openly and collaboratively, people feel like they are part of the process and are more open to embracing change. In the long run, embracing change becomes part of a company’s culture and leads to innovation (and, yes, inclusion) on all levels. Calling something a priority speaks to Stage 4: Understanding.

Some of the excuses I often hear from clients for not prioritizing accessibility is that it is too difficult, too costly, and/or too time consuming — but is that really the case? In the same accessibility training, I lead an exercise where we look at a website with an accessibility testing tool and review any issues that came up. With the group’s help we plot out the “impact to user” versus the “remediation effort” on the part of the team. From group to group, while the plots are slightly different, one commonality is that close to 80% of the errors plotted fall into the quadrant of “simple to fix” for the team, but they also fall under “high impact” to the user. Based on this empirical data, I won’t buy the argument from clients who say that accessibility is too difficult and costly and time consuming anymore. It comes down to whether it’s a priority — for each individual and for the company as a whole.

What will your coding legacy be?

The infinite monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter for an infinite amount of time will eventually type any given text, such as the complete works of William Shakespeare. So by that same logic, a programmer hitting keys at random on a computer for an infinite amount of time will almost surely produce a website that is accessible. But where is the thought process? Where is the human element? While all the things we’ve already talked about — awareness, education, and prioritization of accessibility are important steps in making the digital world more inclusive to all — without intent, we are just going to keep randomly tapping away at our computers, repeating the same mistakes over and over again. The intent behind the code has to be part of the process, otherwise accessibility is just another task that has no meaning.

Maybe I’m naive, but I’d like to think we’ve come to a point in our society where we want our work lives to have meaning. And that we don’t want to just hear about the positive change that is happening, but want to be part of the change. Digital accessibility is a place where this can happen! Not only does understanding and writing purpose-driven code help people with disabilities in the short-run, I believe strongly that is key to solving the overarching diversity issue in tech in the long-run. Developers who reach Stage 4: Understanding, and who prioritize accessible code because they understand it’s fundamentally about people, will also be the ones who help create and cultivate an inclusive environment where people from more diverse backgrounds are also prioritized and accepted in the tech world.

Because when you strip away all the styles, all the mark-up, all the cool features from a website or app — what’s left? People. And honestly, the more I learn about digital accessibility, the more I realize it’s not about the code at all. Digital accessibility is rooted in the user; and, while I (and countless others) can certainly teach you how to write accessible code, and build you tools, patterns, and libraries to use, I realize we can’t teach you to care. That is a choice you have to make yourself. So think for a moment — what are you leaving the next generation of developers with all that inaccessible code you haven’t given much thought to? Is it the coding legacy you really want to leave? I challenge you to do better for my daughter, her peers, and for the countless others who are not fully represented in the tech community today.

Getting to the Heart of Digital Accessibility published first on https://deskbysnafu.tumblr.com/