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darkdevasofdestruction · 4 years ago

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The Tigress of Wrath and the Golden Dragon ~ Yin Zhen x Reader

This is a little fic in which the reader is a girl whose father is an important War General for the Emperor Kangxi, and since he has no sons, and the girl shows great aptitude in fighting and strategic thinking, he chooses to present her to the Emperor and requests to treat her as a man and use her skills accordingly.

When she was a child, she got along well enough with the 3rd and 4th Princes ( Yin Zhi and Yin Zhen accordingly ) yet, due to her more tomboyish personality, and the legend of a Tigress Warrior, they nicknamed her "The Tigress" both as a nickname, and a teasing too, as she seemed to be terrible at being feminine as well, as we know how life was like in the 17th-18th century.

Just like the 14th Prince, she was then taken by her father to train in martial arts and returned to the Palace many years later, when she was of age, and to prove herself, she has to go through some challenges…

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"Father...? Do you think...Those two will remember me? It's been so long, and I've changed so much and...I don't know." the girl asked her father awkwardly, as they walked casually towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the place where the Emperor would talk to the people requesting an audience, and solve paper businesses. "Y/N, dear, you may be scared that they won't recognise you, sure, but remember that you are about the same age, and if you've changed so much, imagine that you may not recognise them either. You know very well men change quite a lot when they grow. You were taller than them when you were a little munchkin, but now, I'm sure they will be towering over you." her father chuckled, seeing the horrified look on her face, only to pat her head reassuringly. "That's...So not cool...I'm sure that, with my eternal luck, I'm going to pass by them, and not realise who it is...Ah, father, look at that boy over there, in the red outfit! Do you think it's one of them? Yin Zhi used to like red, that much I remember! Ha, and he didn't grow up too much, I'm sure he's around my height!" the girl grinned triumphantly, her chin held high, which made her father laugh even more mirthfully. "Why don't you go ask him, then? Who knows, you may just be right!" he encouraged her, and with a smile on her face, she ran up to the boy with no inhibition whatsoever, convinced she was talking to her old friend.

"Hello! Sorry to bother, but are you, per chance, the 3rd Prince? I haven't been in the palace since I was very little, so I'm trying to find my friends." she asked the boy in the most carefree manner possible, only to have him chuckle at her and shake his head. "You're about 11 princes down the line, sorry to disappoint you, miss. I'm the 14th Prince, although, I have to say, I'm rather surprised to hear that my brother actually had friends. He's not the most sociable, as far as I'm concerned, but I'll give you a little tip on where to find him. Both him and the 4th Prince are busy devising some kind of plan or something with our Father, the Emperor, so that's the safest bet if you want to find him." the boy explained, as the cricket in his little cage made a cute, almost happy noise of confirmation. "...Yin Zhen is there too...? Oh boy, that's very exciting...Well, thank you for the information, Prince, I appreciate the help. See you around." she bowed quickly to him, in a manly mannerism, which confused the boy garbed in red, yet didn't quite question anything, as she bolted off to her father's side, quickly telling him what she found out.

And so, they arrived in front of the doors, and the Eunuch announced their arrival, allowing them to step inside and kowtow to the floor to greet the Eye of Heaven.

"May the Emperor live eternally." the two chanted in unison as they bowed down in reverence. "General Nian, I pray you have arrived safely. And I see you've finally brought your daughter with you as well. Just as expected, she grew up a real beauty, just like her mother."the Emperor smiled at them, as they nodded their heads as a thank you. "Your Majesty is kind and benevolent above all, yet I dare not receive just praise." the girl raised her sight so she could look at the old man, feeling awkward, yet unstoppable. "A humble one she is, General, you've raised her well. As I see it, she is of age. Are you here to request a good marriage for her? Perhaps with one of my sons?" the Emperor asked, earning a silent yet startled gulp from the girl. "Your Majesty, I dare not. My daughter, bless her soul, is not the most feminine one, yet, since she left the palace, she showed incredible aptitude in martial arts and fighting, and her teachers deemed her intelligence above average. While she is hopeless with a needle, I can proudly say that she can stab with a sword infinitely better than many of our soldiers. If you may have it in your heart to forgive such an obvious stray-away from our usual traditions, please consider using her skills, for she learnt a great deal and she wants to serve our country and the Emperor with her very brain and life.” her father pleaded, and it seemed like the Emperor was actually considering this move. “Very well, I understand your wish, and it makes sense, however, you will have to prove yourself in front of everyone. There are prejudices everywhere, and close to nobody believes in the resurrection of someone like Princess Pingyang or Lin Siniang. Should you prove them wrong, I shall grant you the title of Apprentice Detective. I believe you remember my sons here, the 3rd and 4th Princes – They, too, were here to volunteer to help solve a case in a province away from the palace, and you may join them.” The Emperor explained, making both the father and the daughter bow gratefully. “Your Majesty is kind and benevolent above all. I shall prove I am worthy of this position and make you and my father proud.” She spoke, and thus, the Emperor raised. “Today, you may rest, as you have come here from a long and tiresome journey, yet tomorrow, you shall be fighting the soldiers in training at the Academy, and depending on your performance, I shall make a decision.” Was the last thing the old man spoke, and then, he dismissed the young ones, as he wished to talk about the situation of the Army in the North-East province.

And so, the Eunuch guided them outside and guided her to the Palace of Everlasting Wisdom, which was awfully fitting for her, but she thought nothing of it, instead, quickly befriended the maids and had them tell her anything of relevance about life in the Palace.

But…Those two Princes…The Emperor said they were her old friends…But they were so grown up and looked so sharp and mature! How could that have happened? She still looks soft and youthful, while they look like hardened adults! How is that fair in any way? Not to mention…They’d be working together? On a journey, away from the palace? That’s insane! So exciting! …Hopefully.

That night, she slept like a baby, both eager and anxious for the next day’s challenge, whatever that may be…After all, she MUST get everyone’s respect, should she wish to have a nice life in the palace and not be constantly pressured into marriage or into becoming a concubine.

Y/N dressed in a nice, light blue dress, like those worn during the reign of the Empress Wu Zetian, since she found those kinds of outfits the best for martial arts, and styled the top of her hair in a simple bun tied in a blue ribbon, letting the lower part sway with the wind. Taking her sword in her hands, she unsheathed half of it, seeing the reflection of her beautiful eyes in it, and grinning, to hype herself up, she slammed the sword back and put it at her waist, rushing to the fighting area.

In the middle of the court, she bowed to the Emperor, who was there to watch the show, yet her gaze was nowhere close to him, but her eyes caught Yin Zhen’s ebony eyes watching her, and she could only smirk, very smug and proud of herself.

As she kneeled like a warrior in front of the Emperor, her eyes averted to His Majesty, as he started explaining what she had to do, as a few boys who must have been fresh out of the Academy, went on either side of her, in perfect sync, 3 on each side, 4 meters apart from her.

“I am aware that one must carry a sword to protect themselves and their allies, yet today, you must show that you are capable of doing so without using your blade in such a manner. Discipline, strategy, reflexes, wit and martial arts shall be what you will be tested on today. You may begin.” As he rose from his throne, he extended his hand up in the air, then abruptly let it fall to his side, as if to highlight the beginning of an entertaining show.

As soon as the loud “BEGIN” was heard from the echoing voice of His Majesty, the girl quickly made a few backward tumbles in a way to get out of the men’s way of harm, then got in a fighting stance, ready to take everyone out. The first 3 were easy to defeat, and ultimately, she grabbed the 2nd one’s arm and swung him around, kicking him into the 3rd, making the three of them fall to the ground – But then she got ambushed by the last three, and as she felt herself get grabbed by the light jacket over her blouse, she quickly twirled around, letting the attacker remain with the jacket in his hands, while she dropped to the ground, sweeping her leg over his own, making him fall to the ground. As she finished the 4th, she twirled around again, kicking the 5th in the jaw, then taking out the ribbon from her hair and choking the last one standing, and thus, she was standing tall surrounded by a pile of beaten up men who stood no chance.

However, no day is short of surprises, as she notices Yin Zhen’s sword get unsheathed and him walking towards her with an amused smirk, and she could only tsk in annoyance – This game of proving the others wrong seemed rather unfair all of a sudden – Going against a sword barehanded? Not exactly wise, she reckoned – And thus, she took out her own sword from her waist, extending it for the Prince to see.

“I believe what you are doing will go against the rules set by the Emperor, Y/N. Are you willing to point a sword towards the Crown Prince?” the 4th Prince chuckled very amused, but now, it was the girl’s turn to grin. “Who said anything about a sword? The Emperor told me not to use a blade, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m merely using its scabbard, correct?” she continued parrying the Prince’s swings with perfect accuracy, but she knew he wasn’t actually going full strength on her, she could feel it in the force behind each strike. “I’m not sure if I should be offended that you’re not taking me seriously in this fight, or if I should be concerned about the gold possibly getting whisked away.” She laughed merrily as they continued to dance the waltz of swords, each strike going harder and harder. “If it does, I will make sure the Imperial Blacksmith forges a much better sword for you, and the scabbard will be embellished fit for an Empress.” Their weapons were crossed while their faces were so close to each other that they could almost feel each other’s breaths, and their words, merely above a whisper, needn’t be any louder, for their conversation was meant to be intimate and away from anyone’s ears. “I’d be much happier if it was fit for a Prince.” She laughed in his face, ready to prepare for another strike, but somehow, the Prince’s hit made the scabbard fall off and rotate far away from their positions, looking at them as if mocking. “How rude and unfair of you, Princeling! How am I supposed to fight you now that I can only use the sword’s handle?” she shook her head in mock annoyance, as he sheathed his sword and stepped in front of her. “I win.” He spoke in a simple, teasing manner, flicking her forehead – An endearing and affectionate habit he used to do only to her when they were young and would sneak out of the palace to play around in the Plum garden. “You win nothing, Yin Zhen.” She scoffed, only to notice a glint of silver sparkling in the Sun, and realizing what it was, she jumped, twirling the sword around to pick it up by the blade’s edge, and stepping on his chest, she propelled herself in the air, hitting away a flying arrow sent into the Emperor’s direction. “…Was that planned too?” she asked, not even noticing the running blood coming from her hand. “No, it wasn’t. Father, are you alright?” the Prince ran to his father’s side, while the girl looked back in the direction from which the arrow was sent flying. “The five of you, don’t move! Guards, keep them still!” commanding the royal guards who obeyed her orders, she examined each of the protesting men who either cried out their innocence, or hollered it out. “You were the one who sent the arrow flying. You have a horizontal line across the middle of your fingers, which means you didn’t use a bow, since it would have attracted attention, but instead, most likely, a mini crossbow that many assassins use – Which makes sense, considering how the arrow is about half the size of a normal one. And the two of you are accomplices. You have the crossbow under your clothes – You’re not actually fat, you just stuffed your clothes to appear so, and you provided the arrows, there is a fragment of a coloured feather part which is used for arrows to fly properly.” She explained with ease, which made the Emperor and the other Princes gather around behind her, listening to her reasonings. “Yes, very well, that does make sense. Yin Zhen, Yin Zhi, what do you make of this situation?” the old man looked at his two Princes, who seemed to ponder the situation over, but came up with no other solution by the end of their brief investigation. “It seems to me Miss Y/N came up with the right solution, Father.” The 3rd Prince answered quickly, not wanting to stay there more than needed, but also being rather intrigued by what was happening. It wasn’t often that a court case would find itself before their very eyes so easily. “Very well, very well indeed.” The Emperor nodded in agreement, stroking his beard. “Father, if I may – I wish to express my opinion on Y/N’s

arrival here, at the Palace. I believe she will be the perfect Detective Constable. She expressed skills in combat, intelligence, tactics, wit and charm – I believe men will find it easier to confess to her, should they be found in a precarious situation. It will prove to be very useful in our mission in the Jiangnan province.” Yin Zhen’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and spoke without realizing. “Jiangnan? That’s pretty close to Hunan, where I spent most of my time. I heard it’s a rather interesting and developed city. What’s the problem there?” she asked, and it was then that the Emperor truly decided to assign her the case. “There has been a string of rather bizarre murders, Young Detective, and I would like you and my sons to go investigate and put a stop to the injustice taking place. You will be on the road tomorrow, these two will show you the book with the written statements about each singular crime that took place. Rest assured, I will inform your father of your departure, and later tonight you will be provided with the imperial token and any weapon you may be in need of.” The Emperor told his scribe to write the declared Royal Decree and had his personal eunuch give her the Imperial Token that will ensure her access to any place or information that she may otherwise have difficulty reaching. “Your Highness is kind and benevolent above all. May Your Majesty live eternally.” Young Y/N kowtowed in front of the old man, who chuckled and patted her head before leaving the place, and with him, the rest of the crowd…Sans the two eldest princes. “I thought tigresses would grow with time, not regress so much. How amusing.” Yin Zhi chuckled, making light of the height difference that was now reversed. “It’s not my fault I was born in the wrong body, is it now? No matter now, I can accomplish the same things with no difficulty or impediment. A tigress will forever be a tigress, be it a cub or a celestial one.” She smirked at the older prince, who could only scoff and walk away. “Great seeing you again, Y/N. As annoying as always.” He grumbled, leaving his brother alone with her. “It may be my imagination alone, but I believe he became grumpier than ever – Correct me if I’m wrong, though.”Y/N shook her head in disbelief, only to get her forehead flicked once again. “And you are as reckless and airheaded as always. If I don’t take care of you, you’ll die before you realise. The Palace life is a harsh one, especially for a woman, be it one in the harem, or merely one with ties to anyone from the Imperial family. Don’t be foolish thinking you are exempt from harm.” Yin Zhen warned her with a sharp and serious tone – She almost couldn’t recognize him, remembering how much of an air head HE used to be, and she had to scold him every time he’d get hurt by being careless and falling down a tree, or falling in the lake. “You don’t have a fever, do you, Yin Zhen? I don’t recognize you! Since when have our roles been reversed, anyway? Besides, what’s the harm done to me, considering I could prevent any from coming to you and your Imperial Father?” Y/N shrugged simply, before getting her hand taken in his and realizing his concern – Her hand was actually slashed and bleeding from when she held her blade tightly in her hand to deflect the stray arrow ready to claim an important life. “You, dummy. Good thing I learnt from the Tigress how to take care of my cub, otherwise, this little kitten would have been much tamer in the future…And that wouldn’t be fun, would it?” The prince took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it tight against the wound, waiting like that until it stopped bleeding altogether. “Marigold ointment will take care of it. Hopefully, no scars either.” She muttered, looking down at her hand with resentment at the idea of scarring. “Even if it does scar, it won’t take away your beauty and worth in this world.” This comment – so charming, spoken in such a suave way, as he drew closer to her – Made her heart beat like never before, and she was sure her face must show the warmth she felt. “I

didn’t realise you’d become such a smooth talker. Little Yin Zhen sure grew a lot since we’ve last seen each other. Undoubtly, you must have a lot of ladies swooning over you. Ladies with skin as smooth and pale as milk, that is. You don’t have to make me feel better, I am aware of this society’s beauty standards, and how people look down on women with scars. But thank you. I will be going now. Make sure you are well rested for tomorrow’s journey…It will be a long one.” With a small smile, Y/N drew back her hand, taking the handkerchief with her as well – She couldn’t possibly return it all bloody, right? – And went back to her assigned palace, not giving the prince any chance to speak back or refute in any way. How could he possibly find the woman he’s been pining over for so many years – In any way, shape or form – Disgusting, just because of some scar? He knew – It was true – He knew how people were…But not him, and not when it came to her. For so many years since she’s been gone from his arms, he’s been thinking of her and her alone. He wasn’t like his elder brother, so dissolute and indulging in his own pleasures, as far away from the Imperial family as possible, while also ensuring his favouring to their father…But He was different. Yin Zhen WAS going to be the next Emperor, and he WAS going to marry Y/N, no matter what. He just got her back…No way in hell was he going to let her go again.

When he saw her again, he couldn’t believe his eyes – She grew up so much, she looked so beautiful, like a woman – It was only now that he saw her with different eyes, it wasn’t just the old fondness from their childhood…But now, his heart was beating faster looking upon her face.

Stars were twinkling brighter in her eyes, than on the bright sky of Summer, her gorgeous visage rivaling even the Moon Goddess Chang’e – And she was as stubborn and nonconformist as always, wearing dresses from so far back – The Tang dynasty, ages ago – And they suited her so well, he was mesmerized watching the loose fabric fly around her so graciously as she spun around so gracefully, swinging her sword and taking down her enemies with perfect precision and stance…

And her expression…Gods, her expression…

It reminded him of his own.

She oftentimes looked to be ruthless, stoic, sharp and unforgiving…And yet, every so often, when not surrounded by people, he would see her eyes soften to the littlest of things, be it a beautiful flower, or a cute puppy yapping at her, wanting to be petted and played with.

He saw her that night – She couldn’t sleep, perhaps? Or maybe it was the night coming faster, awakening the lovely moon, in her honour – She saw her next to the lotus pond, bathing in the silver light of the Deity, as her finger so gracefully glided over the strings of the zither that she played with such nostalgia, that he felt his own heart weep.

Why was she so sorrowful, he wondered. No person who lacks a certain degree of a broken heart would be able to play with such vibrating emotions the instrument that holds the soul of the player, and of the listener. The fourth prince felt connected to her – A heart to heart and soul to soul connection – Solely through the sounds coming from every pinch of the strings…

He knew he would never again feel something so powerful with anyone else. It was his mother who once told him so many tales of heroes saving princesses and falling in love, and yet, those stories never explained in such detail what either of them felt. It was clear to him now that those authors were never actually in love to begin with. God forbid men feel or act with any vulnerability towards the woman they vow to protect and cherish for the rest of their days.

He wanted – Oh, how much he needed – To go to her, to accompany her melody by playing the flute, for those songs are meant to be played together, as a couple, in perfect harmony – And yet, he was afraid that, as soon as he’d approach her, the little tigress would flee from him. He was aware of how frail and afraid she was of admitting she held a more romantic side, and yet, this very fear of her was what was causing her so much distress, even if she was aware of it or not.

Perhaps, this woman wasn’t just a tigress, but a fawn as well, choosing which side of her to show to the world, depending on what her heart and mind dictated…In a world ruled by men, being a deer would only get you to become dinner, so play the role of a fiery tigress and make everyone flee in fear.

It was the perfect strategy, clearly, and yet…

Yin Zhen never showed fear.

“I never imagined my first case would involve something so complex.” Y/N spoke, almost without realizing, as she went over the case file once again, bouncing absent-minded in the horse saddle. “We immediately sent word to the constables in Jiangnan so they won’t touch the body more than needed. Congratulations, your first case will have you look at something gruesome.”Yin Zhi mocked her, and yet, he was shocked hearing her laugh lightly. “That’s gonna be fun!” she grinned, trying to imagine the way she’d find the bodies and whether she’d be able to make heads or tails of everything. “I hope all three of the bodies will be left in perfect shape, otherwise it would be such a pity, don’t you think?” she mused, a confident kitten-like smile creeping on her face. “Any man who hears you speak with so much glee about dead bodies will flee for you. I’d be more careful about what I’d say out loud before it’s too late and I end up all alone, old and ugly.”The 3rd prince’s comment made his younger brother frown in anger, shooting him a warning look. He didn’t want the girl to become even more sorrowful than she already was. Not being the stereotypical feminine woman wasn’t as popular now as it was hundreds of years ago, when the bravest women were, in the end, praised and beloved by everyone, going down in history, tales of their bravery being sung at events all over the country. “Then…Think I’ll find a pretty woman? If I can’t find a man to love me, protect me and cherish me, like in those nice stories our mothers told us when we were young, then might as well become the warrior seeking a beautiful, young maiden who would willingly sooth my soul and tend to my wounds. Doesn’t sound half-bad, does it? Women are very beautiful, maybe I can find the appeal a man feels when seeing one, if I imagine it long enough.” She chuckled carefree, but the prince knew that, deep down, she was used to such harsh comments being made about her, and in her heart, she held no hope of a future with someone by her side. “As if that would happen.” The prince scoffed at her breeze-like comment, only for her to laugh at him, tauntingly. “What is it, Zhi Zhi? Afraid I’m going to be more popular with the ladies than you? With how rude you are, I think it’s safe to say I would win, if that were the case.” A tigress, a fawn…And a smirking fox. Yin Zhen wondered whether he would come to discover more spirit animals residing inside her heart – He was fascinated, and also, satisfied with how she turned around to taunt back his brother with such perfect ease, that it angered the elder one. “We shall see…” oh, look at that, the 3rd Prince actually took that as a competition starter – How very serious of him! “Enough bickering, you two, we have arrived.” The 4th Prince scolded those two as they trotted inside the city of Jiangnan, admiring the provincial beauty and simplicity of the place, until they were greeted by the main constable of the place, who guided them to their quarters, offering them information about each case, only for then guide them to each of them, in the order they were done.

“Good golly, I never would have imagined a human could end up so fat!” the girl exclaimed, her jaw dropped in horror at the mountain of a man that sat in front of a table, his upper body engulfing the wooden furniture with the layers of fat as he was hovering over it entirely. “Be more respectful of the dead, Y/N…”Yin Zhen sighed softly as he went ahead to look around the room. “I’ll wait for you outside.” The constable muttered, doing as he told.

The girl then put a veil on her face to cover the bottom half of it, protecting herself as much as possible from the possible diseases and, most of all, from the stench of rotten food and flesh. With help from the two imperial brothers, she had the corpse lay on the floor completely, so she could perform an autopsy and see the cause of death – Not only a failing heart, as it was completely engulfed with a scary amount of fat, but…His stomach was burst open, and a concoction of digested and undigested food was disgustingly splayed all around his entrails.

Clearly, he ate himself to death, and yet, she wondered how come the constable didn’t deem this simply a heart failure, considering his appearance? Perhaps signs of forced entry would explain everything – But why would this one be killed in such a way? Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to have such a glutton starve to death? P’haps, even more…Cruel?

Maybe it wasn’t a hate-crime after all, but a way to teach this one that gluttony wasn’t, in fact, good…A twisted way to teach someone a lesson – Don’t steal away the starving people’s food - Y/N realized that, what he may eat at one meal, would be something she’d need for a whole week, and the thought of it had her stifle her chuckle at the irony.

Glutton…Gluttony…Interesting concept. Truth be told, she never met anyone so unhealthily, so morbidly obese – Especially for food was scarce in many provinces, and while there was abundance at the Palace, not even there, did she see anything more than slightly chubby.

Perhaps people who stood out with their wrong-doings were to be eliminated. This one was already an outcast from the rest of the citizens of this place, nobody would miss him, so he was a fair kill.

“Did you find anything relevant around the room?” she asked as she got up and went to wash her hands from the disgusting body juices she had to dig into. “No signs of forced entry, however, the culprit was definitely sitting in the chair opposite of him. What did you find from the body?” the younger brother asked as they all left the room. “Mr. Constable, have you seen anything out of the ordinary in this city lately? A new person, an event, uhm…People acting weirdly, or I don’t know, anything that would stand out from the usual.”She asked, not yet answering the prince. “Nothing that I would think from the top of my head, no…Things have been normal for the past weeks…Until these tragedies started happening, so quickly, one after the other…” country constables really are useless, the girl realized, as she merely smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll bring justice to the victims and this city. Until then, stay vigilant and tell us should you find out anything new.” Saying that, she decided to go on ahead to the next victim’s house, letting the running thoughts take over her mind.

Hurrying down the busy streets of Jiangnan, they found their way to the second house of the day – Once again, no signs of a forced entry – Yet this body was different. This man was built normally, so the chances of an accidental death due to natural causes was out of question. He was sprawled over his bed, his clothes dyed with his own crimson blood, his hands and feet impaled with golden ornaments, as melted gold was poured over his face, melting it, and in turn, killing him in such a gruesome way…And piles of golden ingots, silver taels and jewellery were piling over the rest of his body, almost suffocating him.

There was nothing to dissect here, the cause of death was obvious, so the last thing to wonder about was the reason for this atrocity.

So much wealth put everywhere on display…If this was the same person, then maybe…The lesson they wanted to teach this man was humility? Or…Altruism? Temperance? To give away his wealth to those less fortunate?

Perhaps this culprit thought he was trying to protect his city from these people who may taint it. Those who are too…Greedy…

Gluttony…Now Greed…

I wonder what the next lesson taught will be – Y/N thought to herself as she searched around the bed, throwing away all the riches from it, then finding a small, yet fat book that held stray specks of gold on its cover.

‘Bible’ it was called.

“I found one like this at the fat guy’s house, on the table. It certainly is the same killer, then.” Yin Zhi said, taking out the food-stained book from under his clothes. “…I’m onto something. Let’s go to the next one.” Y/N muttered, slamming open the door and bursting through it, going to the 3rd house.

This one, instead of being piled up with the obvious signs of their addictions, it was…Empty? Completely empty?

The victim was laid on the ground, on what looked like a comfortable bed with a pillow, but upon closer inspection, the person was heavily malnourished, looking like a rotting corpse, with its skin barely there anymore, and…

Hold up…

The corpse…Has a pulse…?

As Y/N touched her fingers to the veins on its neck, the corpse’s eyes shot open – They were blood shot, desperate, in complete agony - The girl let out a startled yelp as she fell back on the ground as she watched the…Victim’s chest heave up and down, a guttural scream let out as…The sown-together lips were torn open to allow the man to yell out his pain.

“What do we do?!” Y/N looked back and forth to the brothers, as Yin Zhen knelt and quickly slit his throat, making him go quiet. “Any complaints?” he muttered, watching the girl quickly shake her head. “What the hell was that…? Didn’t the constable say he was definitely dead? That means no pulse, no heartbeat, no vital function…Nothing! This wasn’t nothing!” putting her hand to her chest to calm down her breathing. “Someone wanted us to see him in this state. To act as a warning to us. They knew the constable here was good for nothing, and the culprit wanted to scare us away from this city. Too bad this won’t have the effect he so desired.” Yin Zhen scoffed as he brought his hand under the pillow, finding another book with the same name. “What a sadist…Whoever the killer is…Is sick. Very sick.” But…Why was this one killed? He was humble enough not to lavish himself in riches, not wasting food, or objects…Maybe his behaviour to other people was bad? Maybe he was a jerk? “Any idea about this one?” the 4thprince asked, as the girl shook her head. “No…This time, no idea. Let’s go out, I have to think.” She muttered, going out of the house, looking up at the bright sky and watching the fluffy clouds go by which way the wind wants them to. “I keep thinking on this…I have a feeling that…I read about this somewhere…Some long time ago. Someone is trying to teach these victims a lesson. Don’t be a glutton. Don’t be greedy. But…I can’t figure out what this one did…What did he do so wrong that he had to be induced in a coma and suffer so long…You could see his muscles, and they were in such a horrible state, from not moving…How could he have ruined this city that he deserved this punishment-lesson?” she tried to think out loud, hoping that somehow, the answer will come by itself.

As she walked down the cramped streets of this place, the two princes trailing down behind her, trying to make out their own theories, she got snapped out of her mind palace by the angry shriek of a woman, fighting a weird-looking man in front of a big house.

“You will never get us out of business, so leave already! Spread your mindless indoctrination in another city, you’ve already angered everyone else in this one!” the woman, very beautiful, despite the twisted expression of rage on her face, shouted at the man, who, instead of having matching anger…Looked rather…Serene? “Miss, what is the problem, please? May we help you in any way?” the girl rushed to the woman’s side, holding onto her to calm her down, which worked well. “Ah, yes, you can help me by getting that stupid foreigner out of our city! We never wanted him, but those useless constables let him spread the word of his false God around this place, and now, look at him! Walking around as if this is HIS country! The audacity!” she scoffed, before shaking her head and inviting the trio inside, which made Y/N realise this house was a brothel – In fact, a pretty rich one – “You three are new here. What brings you to our city? The blooming cherry blossoms, perhaps?” the woman, Ying Yue, asked them, as she poured tea for them. “We came here to investigate the series of peculiar murders that took place in this city…But I never imagined, in my life, I would see a foreigner in the flesh! My father and the professors I learnt under wanted me to keep a broad mind, so I am somehow familiar with some literature from Europe, and yet…This man looked…Out of it.” Y/N explained, taking a sip from the aromatic tea, as her eyes were fixated on the visage of the beautiful matron. “Ah, yes, him. His name is…Difficult to pronounce. Alexander, he insists on calling himself. He is from a different religion, worshiping this Deity called ‘God’, and he wants to convert us. He is truly shameless…He keeps preaching how we are all sinful and need divine retribution. Honestly, I don’t understand him at all…Sometimes, he starts talking in a weird language, and waves around that wooden cross of his. He’s creepy. And he’s trying to get our brothel to close down and all the women become nuns and repent.” She shuddered with indignation as Y/N gasped in realization. “Oh…Heavens…I think I know what’s going on…He carries around a book with black leather covers called “Bible”, correct? Does he have any copies?” the girl asked, feeling the fire of understanding surging through her bloodstream, remembering the three booklets found at each scene of the crime. “Gosh, yes, he does. In fact, he spent months translating it in Chinese and handing out copies to every household, and all that. We tossed it into the fireplace, but…I believe there are some who still have it.” The matron explained, and just then, Yin Zhi pulled out the three books from his bag. “Like these ones?” The prince handed the woman the books, but she refused to touch them, disgust splattered all over her face. “Yes, like those. I don’t know what written in them, as I said, I never bothered with them, but hopefully, they will help you in some way.” The matron sighed, as she heard many of her girls giggling, and looking back, they were on the floor above, leaning on the bannister, looking down at the two men bashfully. “You two, it seems my girls have taken a liking to you. Why don’t you go have some fun? It’s on the house. Miss, if you want, we have a few men too, very handsome.” The matron rose from the table, trailing her hands down the men’s shoulders, trying to allure them in. “Not bad…” Yin Zhi muttered, looking up at the beautiful young girls waving at him. “Ah…Hahaha…U-Uhm…Thank you, I’ll pass. Thank you for the offer, I-I have to go now. I’ll see you two at the inn. Bye.”With that, the young girl didn’t wait to see whether the 4th prince accepted the offer or not, instead, she bolted out of the brothel and continued walking around the city, admiring the light from the many colourful paper lanterns hung around the place.

Instead, for the remaining of the evening, and dead into the night, she hovered over the book, skimming through it, this time, more attentively for any key word, or phrases that may get her to understand what was going on.

And then, she remembered her own words – Sinful, gluttony, greed – she said to herself, and there, she found the meaning of those words.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Pride, Greed, Envy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth.

That means…

The fat guy was forced to eat until his stomach exploded – That was Gluttony. The rich guy was literally buried under his own wealth – That was Greed The coma guy…He had nothing in his home, except for a bed…And he didn’t move for months on end… - That must be Sloth.

Pride, Envy, Wrath and Lust remained…

Lust?

LUST!

The brothel!

That’s why the Christianity envoy wanted to shut down the brothel! God didn’t see lightly any sin committed, and lust was a sinful indulgence!

She had to warn them!

As she ran out of her room, back to the brothel, she noticed smoke rising from it, as it was engulfed in flames… Shocked, Y/N ran inside the burning building, covering her face with her long sleeve so she won’t breathe in the smokes and die while trying to make rescue attempt. She bolted up the stairs, searching every room and evacuating the fainted women who didn’t have the time to leave…But did she really want to see them fainted, on the ground? But maybe seeing them would bring her a certainty that at least they aren’t in a place even more dangerous than this one.

But he saw them, and all her worries were bundled together in the pit of her stomach – The closest escape was through the window, even thought it was to far up, she was confident she could manage to drag them somehow, despite how heavy they were, to safety, outside.

Thank goodness I learnt martial arts – She thought to herself – As she picked the 4th Prince first, jumping down the window, then climbed back up for the 3rd prince to bring back to safety. She hovered over both of them, trying to find out if they breathed in too much smoke, since they passed out like that, as she coughed a bit to eliminate the smoke she inhaled, and thought how Yin Zhi seemed to be okay, but…Zhen Zhen wasn’t doing as brightly…He was barely breathing… So she attempted a procedure she learnt from the monks – To press on the chest at a patterned pace, and the lift the head up a bit and breathe air into their mouth – If it was a different circumstance, she would have been very flustered, considering their lips would touch, but now, she had no time to think twice, as she took deep breaths and exhaled, praying to the Heavens for him to wake up already.

And after a few procedures repeated, he slowly opened his beautiful dark eyes, and Y/N could only sigh, collapsing on his chest, breathing in relief.

“Thank Heavens you’re awake…I thought you were going to die…” she muttered more to herself than to him, before feeling a hand on the top of her head. “Thanks…” the prince spoke out in a tired voice before he, with some help, got in a sitting position. “Your clothes are ruined. And you’re covered in ashes. Come here.” Taking out a napkin once again, he cupped her cheek as he gently cleaned her face, as she looked away awkwardly. “What happened? Neither of you would get caught in a burning building. You could have jumped out of the window. I know you, of all people, wouldn’t get distracted by anything.” She asked, frowning and putting one of her hands over his, stopping him from moving his hand – And he did, shifting his gaze, looking right into her eyes – He could see the worry, the gentleness, the wonder…The love and relief – And the lingering feeling of her soft lips on his own was worth everything, and yet, he’d have rather taken the initiative and kissed her in a more fitting place. “The sake and tea we got served was drugged. We didn’t realise until it was too late. We thought at first it was only the alcohol, but the girls fainted faster than either of us. By the time we felt hazy, we thought it was from the alcohol, Yin Zhi is much more of a lightweight than I am…But when we smelt the smoke, we tried to get up, but found out we couldn’t. But how did you get here? I was sure you’d stay at home and analyse that book the whole night.” He spoke, and the girl cleared her throat awkwardly, chuckling and scratching the back of her head. “So, uhm…That’s what I was doing…And then I realized what the crimes meant. All of them represented one of the seven deadly sins from the Christian Bible. Gluttony, Greed and Sloth being the ones already committed…And, well…Lust was one of them, and I remembered the missionary trying to close down the brothel. And since you were here, I was afraid the perpetrator might try something, attempting to get rid of his pursuers…And when I came by, the brothel was already aflame, neither of you was anywhere to be seen, the matron and many of the citizens were just standing by, screaming, but nobody was trying to put out the fire…I had to do something, you know.” She explained, unconsciously putting a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Give props to the tigress to figure out something like that and to be brave and reckless enough to risk her own life to save a bunch of people that don’t have anything to do with her.” The prince chuckled, only to see the girl’s brows furrowing. “You’re making it seem as if I did a bad thing. Besides…Don’t just say there were people who didn’t have anything to do with me, as if we are strangers to each other. It’s rude.” She muttered, getting up and turning to his brother and slapping his face. “Get up, Zhi Zhi. I know you woke up by now. Don’t just eavesdrop on people’s conversations, you, jerk.” “At least don’t hit so hard, damn…Don’t hit your future husband like that too, he’ll leave you.” The 3rdprince rubbed his now red cheek, only to have the back of his head slapped by his brother as well. “I don’t need to bother with a husband, anyway.” She muttered, walking ahead at the front of the brothel where the matron sobbing, hugging her girls who were crying as well – But at least they woke up, all alive and well – Unlike the crumbling building that couldn’t resist the forces of nature…Induced nature, that is.

The women jumped on their saviour, praising and thanking her for saving their lives, but Y/N’s eyes were glued on something else – The foreigner holding a Bible and a cross in his hands, as his eyes were fixated on the fire while his lips were constantly moving – Was he preaching, she wondered?

No matter – Her rage was bubbling inside her heart so badly that she pushed aside the women and stomped to the foreigner, yelling at him and picking him up by the neck of his shirt, shaking him roughly.

“HOW DARE YOU TRY TO BURN PEOPLE?! HOW DARE YOU KILL THOSE OTHERS JUST LIKE THAT?! YOUR RELIGION IS SUPPOSED TO BE ALL ABOUT LOVE AND CARING FOR YOUR PEERS, NOT ABOUT KILLING AND OPRESSION!” she screamed in his face only for the man to blink in confusion and fear, but…He didn’t seem…Guilty…?? “M-Miss, I’m sorry, I know I am a foreigner and I’ve been trying to convert people and show them how great our religion is…But I’d never kill! The Lord is against harming others, at all costs!” the foreigner tried to explain himself to the girl, but she didn’t stop until she punched him to the ground, only to stop abruptly. “…So…You’re claiming you are innocent? For all 4 crimes? Even though the concept of seven deadly sins is a Christian thing?” she muttered, looking down at him. “Yes, miss, yes! After all, everyone in this city could have read the Bible, I translated it in many books, and delivered them to all households. I made sure to do that for all of them!” Alexander explained himself, and the girl could only nod, seeing the innocence in his eyes. “…If that is true, then, you have my apologies for misjudging you and accusing you of such atrocious crimes. I am sorry that some evil-doer is using your religion is a misguided way, and speaking your God’s name in vain. I don’t believe there is any believer in any faith that would appreciate their belief being treated this way.” Sighing, the girl helped the man up, only for him to take both of her hands in his, looking up at her with delight in his eyes. “Miss, you understand what my religion is all about! I am so happy to see someone so open to new things! Miss, wouldn’t you consider converting to Christianity for the greater good? I would gladly guide you through the path of redemption and make sure no trace of wrath lingers in your blood!” the girl’s first thought was to snatch her hands away – Touching was an intimate thing only lovers should do, not someone like him! – And yet…Her mid was somewhere else, and it wasn’t until Yin Zhen came to slap away his hands that she came back to. “Don’t touch other people so lightly, foreigner, especially women. It’s an act of intimacy in our country, and it shouldn’t be engaged in unless both parties are familiar with. Better get more accustomed to our ways before you decide to act so freely.” Poison dripped from Zhen’s words as he put his arm protectively around the girl. “Well, what do you expect from foreigners, any way? Especially one so outspoken? They come here, trampling our lands, as if they own the place, then they take away our lands, our women, and then will demand to be kings. Tsk.” Zhi spoke, which made the girl snap her head up at the foreigner. “Alexander, I need your opinion! Just now, you said wrath lingered in my heart, correct? Other than wrath, there is only Pride and Jealousy left. Do you think there is any possibility that either of these two would be a victim to the Seven Deadly Sins criminal?!” the girl’s voice was evidently worried, thinking back at the brothel incident. “The culprit could have put the brothel on fire at any time, and yet, they waited until both Yin Zhen and Yin Zhi were there, and they were drugged, along with the girls. This can’t be just a coincidence, can it?” Y/N spoke out, worried for her two friends. “Miss, this one here reeks of pride and vanity, that much is obvious, while this one’s jealousy can be seen from miles away. Maybe people from around are used to such behaviour, it may be normal for you, and yet, from someone from abroad, with a different kind of lifestyle and society, everything is different. If you think either of you may be in danger, then please, do be careful, and please protect this city. It’s a beautiful place with beautiful people, but it’s been tainted by this killer’s darkness.”With a small smile, the foreigner left the place, as the girl’s hand fell to her side. “…Well, future Emperor, how does it feel to have escaped your first assassination attempt?” she asked dryly, walking back to the inn, while the other two were behind her. “Tsk, are you really going

to listen to that guy? Who does he call vain, anyway?” the 3rd prince scoffed, only for the other two to look at him with a bored expression. “Honestly…” they sighed in unison, not wanting to address the Envy part on Yin Zhen’s side – Why would he be jealous, anyway? And the foreigner only said that after the prince pushed him away from her…

The room was silent for the longest time, and they were ready to go to sleep, until the girl decided to go on the roof of the inn and look up at the moon, as she felt it helped her think better. Being alone always made her feel much better and to think clearer. The moon was full, and she could even see the bunny of Chang’e, the Moon Goddess, and she smiled, resting her chin on her knees.

“You shouldn’t be out alone.” The familiar voice of the 4th Prince came up from behind her, but she could only shrug simply. “I can take care of myself. You’re the one who got drugged and almost died. You were careless and distracted.” She didn’t look at him – In fact, she didn’t shift her gaze from the moon at all. “I admit my mistakes. I was careless. I hoped that I would find out vital information on the people around here – Brothel girls are always the best people to ask for dark secrets, since men are intoxicated and speak freely around them – Alas, all I found out was that the constable is a frequent guest there…But never as a client. They said he was concerned about their well-being. They also said the ones who died deserved to die, since they were dead beats. And the last victim was a lazy who never in his life worked, so his lesson was to contribute to society in any way.” The prince explained, but the girl already figured out as much. “You would know best about being intoxicated and being vulnerable around women, wouldn’t you?” she muttered softly, but her mind was in a complete other place. “Do you blame me for remaining there with my brother?” he asked, sitting down next to her. “No.” her answer was simple and blunt, but he could tell, it didn’t come from the heart. “You should.” He admitted his mistake without a second thought. “…You’re a man. That’s what you do. Besides, you should get used to having lots of beautiful women around you. You’ll be the Emperor one day. You have no choice.” She said in a cold, rather impersonal tone, not wanting to dwell further into this awkward and tragic discussion. “One man can only love a woman alone. His heart is his own, while his body is the country’s. Men who truly love more than one woman are feeble, and should not be trusted.” He explained softly, but the girl didn’t spare him any glance. “In Europe, a King has only one wife, who is the Queen…Only their child is legitimate and the heir to the throne. Any…Mistake the King might do is swept under the rug, and the bastard is hidden from the world, or even killed. And the Queen…The poor Queen is all alone. Her sole role is to bear children and continue the lineage. They are not allowed to do anything, while the country abuses her body and soul, but the King can do anything he pleases, for the whole power is in his hands. Meanwhile…Here, the Emperor is forced to have multiple women as wives, and all can bear legitimate heirs…And yet, ask any woman, and you will see just how lonely and desperate for affection they are. They are not truly loved…But the Emperor goes to them when he remembers them…And sometimes, doesn’t even stay the night. The visits are brief…And when she grows old…She is forgotten, just like a wilting flower. I wonder…Which fate is more cruel? And also…Why should it be cruel at all? The Sun and the Moon are both beautiful, and yet, all alone. Maybe it’s better to be alone than heart broken.” She sighed, getting up and turning to leave, only for the man to stop her by embracing her from behind. “Y/N…Can you feel my heart beating? This heart belongs to you and you alone. It has been that way since we were children. I won’t deny, what you said is true in its whole entirety, but I never felt and thought the same way about a woman as I do for you. I am a man of my word, Y/N, and I vow to you – I vow on this country, and on my name as the next Emperor, that to me, there will never be anyone more important to you. So please, allow me to protect your heart, and I shall gladly give you mine for you to hold. Please trust me as much as you did when you let me catch you whenever you’d jump from the top of a tree, or when you’d find out a secret from your spying around the palace, and you couldn’t help but tell it to me, and me alone. I am yours for the rest of my life…So in turn, be mine, and mine alone.” His embrace tightened, and the girl felt hotter and hotter, her face became flustered, and she could feel her heart beating faster from emotion…And worry. “You are asking a great deal, you know, don’t

you? Something like this can’t be given away so lightly. It’s my heart, and I have only one. Only I know how to protect it…If I give it to you…Any wrong move can make it fall to the ground and shatter. And trust me, there is no remedy for a broken heart. What will you do then…My dear Zhen Zhen?” the term of endearment that she hasn’t used since they were children…How melodious and loving it sounded…The little fawn came back to him. “I would never let that happen. If it falls, I will fall with it, so I can catch it before it reaches the ground. If water rains on it, I will cover it with my own self, so it won’t get wet. If it’s too hot, I will fan it myself, and if it’s too cold, I will make sure to warm it until it’s not trembling any longer. So trust me, just one more time, and I promise you, you will never regret it.” He kissed her temple softly as his hands reache her own, intertwining his fingers with hers – He could feel her trembling softly – He knew the effect he had on her, and of her conflicting thoughts. “…Let me think on it, and I will tell you my answer by the time we reach the capital. Until then…Let’s catch the culprit and be rid of this pestilence. Actually…Let’s visit the constable, for a change. I believe that…He is not as innocent as he seems…And his uselessness may be just an act. If you can’t trust a constable, then who can you trust, the saying goes. So, what do you say? Are you in?” she turned around, failing to meet his eyes, but she could see his smile…As beautiful and confident as ever. “Let’s catch him.” He nodded, and together, they went around the house, their sword in their hands, carefully, and they were going to meet at the back of it, while they investigate every little bit of it – And yet, by the time the prince got to the back…There was no sign of the girl at all. “Y/N? Where are you?” he tried to look around for her…And yet…The only clue that indicated the girl was ever around this place was the blue ribbon that used to hold her hair up.

However, the darkness of the night became an even darker abyss for the prince as well, as he was hit in the head with a metallic object, which had him hazy enough to be dragged into the warehouse just behind the constable’s house. There, he got tied to a chair in the back, as the place was illuminated by a bunch of paper lanterns – And then he saw her – In the same state as him, only she seemed much…Out of it?

“What did you drug me with?” her voice sounded like a drunk man – Slurred and groggy – And yet, his eyes were only set on the small, shiny object in the constable’s hand. It was foreign, and strange…It was…Weird. “It matters not what I did to you, Miss Detective. What matters is that here, you and your dear Prince will face your demise!” the constable, Rui, grinned creepily at her. “…A constable from hell. How unlucky for the people here. Why bring us here?” she continued asking, trying to keep a grip on reality. “Once the verdict is done, I will execute the law. Imperial Detective Constable Y/N. You protect the law. But what have you done wrong? Go on, tell me. I know you know. That friendly foreigner already told you.” He insisted, crouching down to her level. “…My heart is filled with Wrath.” She muttered, feeling her head swimming and spinning in a vertigo mixed with a hurricane. “Yes, good, good, the sinful wench acknowledges her evil-doings! Then, you know that I have to kill you, just as I killed the others! They only brought misfortune to our beloved city! And you…You are the worst of them all. Wrath is the reason everything good gets destroyed. Women, of all people, should be gentle, calm and understanding. You? You behave like a mad war criminal who seeks blood alone!” he screamed in her face, as she could only roll her eyes at his stupid allegations. “Oh, spare me the bullshit. You are the one who bent the law, punish yourself first. You are stupid.” She groaned, feeling a headache creeping. “SHUT UP, BITCH! Who do you think you are, speaking like that to me?!” he said, slapping her face and snatching away the Imperial Token given to her by the Emperor. “You think if you have this token given away from that conceited fraud you call an Emperor, you will be protected from anything? NO! In fact, you and your two silly princes just signed a death sentence coming here! But, alas, I couldn’t do away with them when I wanted to, you just HAD to folly my plans! Very well, then, I shall do away with you first, while he watches you physically feel the very same wrath you inflicted upon this world!” and thus, he took a syringe and, despite all her struggling, she was still bound to the chair, and he had no problem injecting her with more of whatever that horrible liquid was – It made her even hazier than before, and her vision became blurry – Not even by straining, could she see well in front of her anymore – And it made her panic, trying to breathe faster, as she felt the cold metallic barrel of the weapon placed cruelly on her forehead – It only made her skin feel even hotter than it already was. “So, I’m guilty…For being alive. For trying to save people. And you…You are…Innocent. You are a hero…For killing. You are no God. You have no right to take away the lives God gave to those people. You are not the Judge, nor the Executioner. If you so firmly believe in Christianity, you would know that God hates no one – In fact, he loves all he created, equally – And would never approve of such senseless killing. You just chose to pick apart a few paragraphs that suited your narrative… And you went with it, using a foreign Deity as your scape goat. You are absolutely pathetic and a sorry excuse of a man and a constable. You should be ashamed of yourself.” Her words shocked the prince, but also made him afraid for her – Unlike her, he could see the twisted look of anger on his face – And he could anticipate his next move – As he saw the culprit strike down the girl once again, with such force that the chair tipped over and she fell on the ground with it. “I shall now pass my verdict to this witch! Those who are foolish and arrogant are unreasonable. It is from excessive arrogance, for deceiving the holy court and committing falsehood…I declare Y/N, the Imperial Detective Constable, to be executed at exactly 2:00 in the morning.” He declared, looking at the sand falling down in an hourglass, and leaving the room just briefly. “Yin Zhen…Is there any way out for us?”Y/N asked, hoping she was loud enough for the prince to

hear. “Yes, there is. I just need a little more time. Y/N…Do you know what that metallic object was?” he asked, trying to cut away the ropes with a stray nail he found on the chair. “It’s a gun. Horrible European invention. Honestly…I’m so tired. I just…Want to rest for a while…And get this over with…I want back home…I want to see the mountains in Hunan again…And the flowers bloom. I want to play in the river and catch fish…And pick fruit from up the tree…And make wine and cakes…And have them with you….Yin Zhen?” she let her head back on the chair’s seat, looking up at the wooden ceiling, as she sighed deeply. “Let’s get the hell out of here, I’m so done with sins and whatever.” And thanking herself for training to be flexible, and that the ropes were tied as neatly as they should have been, she bent down enough for her tied up hand to reach into her hair and pull away the hair ornament that had a very sharp needle, so she could cut away her restraints with moderate ease.

However, as soon as she got up and tried to take a step forward…She stumbled and almost fell down. “Is this what it’s like to be drunk? Because if it is…I hate it.” She groaned, gripping her head, as everything began to spin in around her at an even faster pace, so badly, that she had to catch onto something. “Y/N, look out!” the prince yelled at her, as the constable came back, ready to pounce on her, but she turned around, slamming her needle hand into his flesh, as she tried to pull away his gun-hand from her as much as possible.

However, the needle was very old, and it broke from all the commotion – Her drugged self was none the better either – And with just a bit more strength put into it, the constable wrenched his gun arm from her grasp and he punched her to the ground, knocking out the air from her lungs. It really pissed her off, and she wanted to rip him apart limb from limb, but the drugs were too strong still to allow her to do anything that she wanted to do.

As she struggled to get up, she heard the unfamiliar sound of the gun cocking, and then, a demonically loud explosion – Was that the sound of the gun shooting? She wondered, and yet, why didn’t it hurt her? Why didn’t she feel anything? She was sure that, should he shoot, he would shoot her – He wanted her to be in pain and feel the physical consequences of implied wrath.

“Y/N, are you alright?!” ah, that’s Yin Zhen calling out her name like that! And he was struggling…Yes, he must be wrestling the killer. “Yeah, I’m good, but be careful with that gun! One shot and it could kill you!” she called back, and got on her knees as soon as she heard the sound of the heavy, metal object fall to the ground.

As she heard the two men struggling to take the other down, she searched around almost blindly for the gun, and after some time, she finally managed to catch a hold of it, and with shaky hands, she properly held it in her hands, the barrel pointing forwards. The killer was dressed I dark colours, while Yin Zhen’s whole outfit was a bright gold, so, as Y/N strained her eyes to see better, she took a deep breath and pulled the trigged – And then static – Her ears were ringing, and she groaned, the gun falling from her hands as she gripped her head, covering her ears, hoping the horrible ringing noise would stop already.

“Yin Zhen, are you okay?!” she called out, struggling to get back to the shaky reality, hoping the drug’s effect would go away faster already. “…Yeah. You killed him. It’s finally over.” He sighed, going to her side and picking her up bridal style, leaving the place and going back to the inn. However, instead of going back inside, the prince made a detour, and chose to go to the highest hill, where the flowery trees were untouched by the city. “How did you know where to shoot, despite being drugged and not seeing well?” he asked, very curious, as they sat down on the grass, at the bottom of a tree. “…I may sometimes make fun of you for wearing such bright and colourful clothes…But if it was Yin Zhi, I wouldn’t have been able to pick apart the two silhouettes. So, to answer your question…Pure luck, I guess.” She shrugged, sighing and leaning her head on his shoulder, looking up at the moon, seeing it fall down, as the dawn was beginning to come, and the sky was painted in the most beautiful colours there were – And even better, her vision was beginning to clear up. “Let’s hope we won’t have to deal with anything foreign again. This was more of a drag than it should have been.”The prince said, and the girl could only grumble in agreement. “Ah…Right. Uhm…This…It broke. I don’t think it can be repaired anymore.” She muttered sadly as she took out the broken hair pin from her pocket. “This…I didn’t realise you still had this. It’s been so long since I gave you this pin.” He gingerly took it in his hands, but it wasn’t sorrow on his face – No, instead, he was smiling, realizing the feelings she had for him were as strong as ever. “…It’s the only piece of jewellery I wore since then.” Her voice was soft, the little fawn was brave, and speaking. She was honest with herself, with her heart…And with him. “No matter. I can give you any jewellery you want. This was old and I’m surprised it lasted as much.” He chuckled lightly, but the girl shook his head, confusing him. “…I don’t want any jewellery, Yin Zhen. You don’t get it. This…You picked this, thinking of me. You wanted this hair pin to be mine. To wear it. You thought it suited me. You thought it would make me think of you…And it did. And I only wore this one, and every day. I knew it would keep me safe…So I put it on again just before approaching that house. Guess your heart will always protect me. So, you understand? I don’t want just any jewellery. I want a piece of your heart, soul and thoughts to be in anything you give me, otherwise, it’s completely worthless to me.” She explained, snatching back the pieces of the broken accessory, making the prince smile fondly at her. “Very well, I understand what you mean, and I know just what to do. So, for the first gift I will give you…Have this jade pendant. I had it made for me a long while ago. It’s been mine, so, it’s a part of me. And now, I give it to you, to watch over you and protect you. I held it on my sword’s scabbard, I think it suits the black and gold of it very well…And so will yours.” He declared, taking both his and her swords, and trading the two pendants on each sword. “And I shall take yours, as a gift, so I can have a piece of your heart with me as well, wherever I go and you’re not next to me.” His teasing smile crept on his face as he heard her chuckle, snatching her pendant from his hand, tying it to his sword by herself. “That’s much better. It counts when the other gives it to you themselves, dummy.” She let him hold her to his side, as they watched the sky in silence.

When morning finally came, they got up, ready to wake up a very grumpy 3rdPrince, then went to the brothel matron to tell her they will be leaving, and who the real killer was, so they can find themselves a new law enforcer…This time, not a homicidal one.

“Are you sure you won’t be staying one more night, cutie? I mean, we didn’t even have the time to get acquainted with each other…It’s pitiful.” The woman whined, but the prince was indifferent. “There is only one woman alone who owns my heart.” He chuckled, waving the girls goodbye as they got on their horses and went back to the capital. “Very smooth, Princeling.” The girl laughed at him, kicking the horse to go faster, almost as if she was challenging him for a race. “I know what I want in this life.”He declared, and for the remaining long journey, they’ve been teasing each other enough for the 3rd prince to curse them regularly…More so than usual.

“I am very proud of the three of you for solving such a horrible crime. And to think the constable himself was the perpetrator all along! To attempt to commit such a horrible act of regicide…I am glad he got killed by his own weapon.” The Emperor sighed, stroking his beard and shaking his head in disbelief and disappointment. “Father, without Y/N, we couldn’t have done it. She played the crucial role in all the mystery-solving and having the courage to fire such a dangerous and strange contraption. It was lucky she was versed enough in foreign culture and literature for her to pick up on the hints given by the killer at each crime.” The 4th Prince praised the Detective girl, who merely cleared her throat awkwardly. “Your father will be very proud of you when I tell him of your brave deeds! I will have to think of a reward for you, but if you have something in your mind, do tell, and anything shall be granted.”The Emperor spoke, dismissing them. As they bowed, ready to exit the room, the girl smirked, turning around playfully. “I want to marry your son.” She laughed, running away from the Palace of Mental Cultivation, back to her own small place, leaving the two princes and the Emperor to blink and gasp in shock at her boldness. “About time.” Yin Zhen huffed, smirking, as he rushed to catch up with her as well. “Those two are such idiots…But I guess…Together, they will be good rulers in the future. Don’t you think, Father?” the 3rdPrince smirked in amusement, looking out at those two. “This youthfulness and open-mindedness is sure to be a great addition to this country in the future. Until them, let them be children at heart, for just a little while longer.” The Emperor chuckled whole-heartedly, closing his eyes and reminding his own youth, as it was so long ago.

Back at her palace, she hid behind the heavy drapes as she quickly and very skillfully fidgeted with a red rope – She’s been practicing it for a long time, and by now, she could say she was sort of an expert at this – And before she realized it, the drape was strongly pulled away, and in front of her, an amused prince towered over her, not caring about the poor maid’s pleas to get out.

“Found you.” He watched carefully as he noticed her face raise, and her eyes directly look into his – She got more courage, this fawn – He wondered if she really was just a sweet fawn anymore, or if another spirit animal found its way inside her heart. “Found me.” She mused, holding up the red knot for him to take. “This…This is the Love Knot, isn’t it? I’ve never seen it before.” He spoke, taking it from her hands. “And now, you give it to me. When did you even have the time to make something so intricate and complex, anyway?” he asked, looking at it with adoration. “I practiced it a lot when I was in the mountains, training. And besides…You sure took your sweet time getting here. Were you really so stunned by my statement that it took you so long to move?”she teased him, only for the man to quickly cup her face and kiss her – Her lips were as sweet as the last time they touched, and yet, now it was a proper kiss, and now, he felt her slender, small hands over his, as she deepened it with even more love, not wanting to let go of him any time soon. “I’m not the only one who loves to surprise.” The prince let out a soft, content breath, as he watched her eyes sparkle brighter than the moon itself…And she looked very much kissed – And her lips…They were plump, and in very need of more attention. “Clearly.” The corner of her mouth sprung upwards, very amused by his statement. “So, princeling, if your Father decides not to kill me after the stunt I pulled at the palace…Then, you got your answer. But, be very aware, I am not afraid to commit regicide on you, should you be a jerk to be at any time, understood?” she glared at him, more or less seriously, as she grabbed the front of his clothes, dragging him down to her level. “Crystal clear, darling.” He chuckled, nodding in understanding. “Good. Then, kiss me again.” She ordered, and he could only comply. “Any time, Y/N. Any time.”

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imagine-docx · 5 years ago

Text

for b.

Summary: The three times Bucky was insecure, and the one time you proved you loved him with your entire heart. [continuation of sneaky] [chubby!neighbour!au]

Warnings: body shaming, self doubt, swearing

A/N: the amount of love i got on sneaky is astronomical! thank you all for reading my work, and for those of you who asked, here’s a lil part 2 for you. - amanda 💛

if you haven’t read sneaky, click here to read it. reading it isn’t necessary, but many highly recommend reading it.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

You’ve made thousands of horrible decisions over the course of your life, but dating James Buchanan Barnes is not one of them. Dating him is probably one of the best things to happen to you. You still get butterflies anytime he picks you up from work, spontaneously calls you, random ‘i love you texts’, the entire works.

Since dating Bucky, you’ve seen his insecurities at an all time high. Which was completely understandable considering what happened to him in his last relationship.

For the first three weeks, he always tried hiding his metal arm. That was until one night you two were watching a movie in your living room and you practically had to crawl into his metal arm and reassure you loved him, metal arm or not.

He constantly shied away from your cell phone’s camera. Which ultimately resulted in you taking cute couple photos when he was asleep, and his face was buried in your neck, but he doesn’t know those photos exist.

One night the two of you were working at your living room table and he bent to give you a slice of pie, and his stomach accidentally brushed your arm. Which resulted in word vomit from him apologizing, and you opening the floodgate of reassurance telling him not to apologize and he was the cutest thing to exist.

The longer the two of you dated, it got slightly better, but still your heart ached at the fact that he doesn’t see himself as worthy enough to date you.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The morning after the first time you two had sex, was probably the worst you’ve seen him at.

That morning he rolled over to wrap his arm around you, but that was until he was greeted with a cold and empty space next to him. He opened his eyes and realized you were gone. He rolled back onto his back and covered his eyes with his flesh arm, and felt the tears form in his eyes. He knew you would be too disgusted at his naked body, and were right to run when you could.

He suddenly felt a weight straddling him, as well as a pair of soft hands cradle his face, “Baby? What��s wrong?”

His eyes snapped open, there you were in one of his old red henleys and your panties, “You’re here? I thought you left,” he managed to stammer out.

“Alpine looked like he was about to kill you if you withheld food from him for another twenty minutes. Though I love Alpine, I love having a super cuddly boyfriend more,” you said stroking the stubble that littered his jaw, “Now what’s got my baby boy upset?”

“I thought you left after seein-” you cut him off before he even got to his point.

“Nope, and I never will,” you looked into his eyes, “Buck, I love you for you. Six pack or not. Metal arm or not. That doesn’t change the fact that I love you, and will continue to love you.” You pushed the stray strands of hair out of his face, “I fell in love with that heart of gold you have. The one that cooks me dinner when I work late because he’s worried I'm not eating good. Or when he comes and picks me up out of nowhere for coffee. Or all those times we’ve cuddled while watching movies and you pretend you don’t fall asleep. Hell even when you’re pissed off at Mario Kart. I love everything about you.”

Bucky teared up once again before pulling you into his arms and engulfing you in the tightest hug you’ve ever gotten. He buried his face into your hair, “I love you so much doll.”

“I love you more Buck, don’t forget that,” you said stroking his back.

“Can we stay here all day?” He asked.

“As much as I want to say yes, we need food,” you said, as he pulled away and looked into your eyes.

“All the food I need is here,” he said squeezing at your hips.

“Listen babe, as much as this is fun, you worked up an appetite. I’m gonna need to eat if you’re gonna be jumping at my bones all day,” you said stroking his hair, “I got Wanda to drop off bagels and coffee, so we need to eat.”

He groaned before letting out a, “Fine.” He untangled himself from you, and got up and put on a pair of boxers, he looked back to see you looking at him biting your lower lip. “Are you checking me out?”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the hottest thing to walk this earth,” you said getting up from the bed.

He wrapped his arms around your waist before planting a peck onto your lips, “I love you.”

You wrapped your arms around his neck, “I love you more. Now go brush your teeth and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

He planted another soft one before releasing you, and the moment he turned around, he felt a light tap on his ass. He turned back to see you practically ran out of the bedroom giggling. You would be the death of James Buchanan Barnes.

The rest of your day consisted of random love making on random surfaces, cuddling, napping and eating.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The second time you’ve caught his insecurities at a high was one night that the entire office had to go for drinks late in the evening and he shot you a ‘SOS’ text.

You let yourself in with the key he gave you and made your way up to his bedroom, walking in, you saw the amount of clothing that buried his bed, and Alpine snuggled against one of his military green t-shirts.

You saw Bucky’s back in the closet, you quickly lifted up Alpine who meowed at you, and took the shirt and hid it under your body.

He didn’t know you were there, because he walked back and threw yet another set of clothes and yelped when he saw you were there, “Jesus Christ doll, warn me when you’re here next time.”

“Now as much as I love fashion, I didn’t think you were into it. So what’s happening?” You asked him, as he held up two shirts against his body in the mirror.

“Office drinks, and I have no clue what to wear. I was hoping my fashionable girlfriend would help her clueless boyfriend out,” he said turning around and pouting at you.

“I guess I have to put my job to use,” you jokingly said.

Looking at the pile of clothes on his bed, you knew he was searching for too long before he sent you the text. Kind of like how you can tell how old a fossil is based on how much material is on top of it.

“Did I break my girlfriend? Does she not even know where to start?” He jokingly asked.

“No, just my boyfriend being stupid and not realizing he looks cute in everything he wears,” you responded, looking under his pile of clothes.

He could feel his cheeks burn up, he wrapped his arms around your waist and buried his face into your hair, “Thank you.”

You managed to pull out a military green bomber jacket, a black t-shirt and some black jeans. “Bam, an outfit.”

He kissed your hair before pulling away, “Thank you doll.”

He was about to walk into the washroom to change, “Where do you think you’re going?” You asked.

“To change in the washroom?” He said, confused.

“Change here,” you said.

“A-are you sure?” He stuttered out.

“Buck, I’ve seen you naked thousands of times, this isn’t any different,” you said reassuring him.

He walked back to the bed, and slowly peeled his current outfit off of his body and replaced it with the one you provided him.

“What do you think?” He asked.

“I think that this would look better on the floor,” you said slyly.

He chuckled before throwing the shirt he was previously wearing at you, “Jokes on you, you’re never getting this back.”

“That’s fine with me doll, you look better in my clothes than I do,” he said.

“Are you sweet talking me to avoid paying me for styling services?” You faked offence.

“Is it working?” He joked back.

“A little,” you said fanning yourself.

He laughed, before coming around the other side of the bed, and wrapped his arms around your waist, and you instantly wrapped your arms around his neck. “Will you be here when I come back?” He asked.

“Can I borrow your Disney plus then?” You asked.

“Of course doll, you can have anything you want,” he said kissing your forehead.

“I think you made the worst decision telling me that,” you responded, burying your face into his chest.

“And why’s that?” he hummed out.

“I’m stealing your entire closet, and maybe your cat,” you said.

“I said what I said doll, you look better in my clothes.”

He felt this sense of warmth knowing his girlfriend picked out this outfit and he wore a smile with confidence, which didn’t go unnoticed by Sam. And Sam being the number one hype man he is, kept telling Bucky that if he didn’t have a girlfriend he would have snatched him by now.

He came home later than he anticipated, and heard the soft sounds of the tv playing from his room. He walked into his room hoping you were awake, but his heart melted at the site of you curled up in his bed, wearing his shirt, with his cat next to your sleeping form.

He let the TV softly play while he went to shower so he doesn’t wake you. He came back, moved Alpine to his bed on the floor, and crawled underneath the covers with you.

He thought his heart couldn’t get anymore mushy after seeing you in bed, but the moment he laid down, you curled up into his arms, and his heart exploded.

Turning off the TV, he got comfortable with you before falling asleep.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky sat on your couch reading over one of the files for work, while you were typing away at your laptop. Your eyes were starting to hurt while you were finishing the final details for the fall fashion show that is supposed to happen within the next month.

Pushing yourself away from your laptop, you turned to study your boyfriend. He was in sweats, had his hair pulled back in a low bun, and were innocently chewing on the tip of his pen. “Babe?” You called out.

“Hmm?” He hummed out.

“I need to talk to you,” you responded.

He was still staring at the file in his hand, “Shoot doll.”

“I need your attention,” you responded.

He looked up, only to have you throw yourself into his arms and stay there. “Okay what do you want to talk about?” He asked.

“Nothing,” you responded.

“But you wanted my attention?” He asked, even more confused.

“That’s literally it, I needed your attention,” you said burying your face into his shirt.

He chuckled before tossing the file and pen onto the coffee table in front of him, he wrapped his arms around you. “And I thought I was the needy one.”

“How can I resist myself when I have a hunk of meat sitting on my couch?” You asked.

He rubbed gentle circles into your back, “Hunk? Never heard that one.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“I guess you’re right about that part doll.”

“Have you ever been to a fashion show?” You asked.

“Not in my lifetime,” he responded.

“Come to the one I have next month?” You asked.

“Will my pretty girlfriend be there?” He asked.

“Of course,” you responded.

“Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said squeezing you.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was the morning of the fashion show, and Bucky once again found himself panicking and not knowing what to wear. But this time he couldn’t send a ‘SOS’ to you because you were at work doing last minute touches on the show.

He turned around from his closet only to be greeted by Sam and Steve, “Jesus Christ,” he put a hand over his heart, “Do you knock?”

“No,” Steve responded as Sam dangled the spare key Bucky hid outside.

“Fuck both of you,” he grumbled.

“Listen, your girlfriend sent us because she knew you would have a heart attack picking out an outfit, and she also sent us tickets,” Steve said.

“And I’m gonna make sure my baby boy is dressed real nice,” Sam said, “Now move and let uncle Sam work his magic,” Sam continued before going into Bucky’s closet.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

It was 4:30, Sam, Steve and Bucky were standing in the venue sipping champagne whilst waiting for the hall to open for seating. Looking around, Bucky felt so out of place, “You look good Buck,” Steve noticed and reassured him.

“Of course Buck looks good, my man looks good all the time,” Sam said.

“Your man? I’m convinced he’s mine,” he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He turned around and had the air knocked out of him.

There you were, in a long sleeved black sequined shirt, that was tucked into your black shorts, and a pair of knee high heels. Even though it was simple, you were the only person who stood out in the room.

“Sam may be wrong about that, I’m only yours,” he said wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you into him.

“Sorry Sam, I won this round,” you joked.

“I got the two of you together and now you’re the sole owner for him? I call bullshit,” Sam retaliated.

“Okay fine, you get him Monday to Friday, and I get him weekends,” you negotiated.

“Now you’re talking.” Sam responded.

You heard someone call out your name, knowing you had to be pulled backstage yet again. “I gotta go, I’ll see you after?” You asked.

“Of course,” he said, before you pecked his lips and disappeared to where Carol called you.

“Tinman got some game,” Tony said coming up to the group.

“I didn’t know you were invited,” Steve said.

“I’m always invited to these things Cap, and lucky for you I am sitting next to you guys,” Tony responded, stealing Bucky’s champagne.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky didn’t realize what was happening until Sam nudged his ribcage, “All of those look like things you would wear.”

And yes it was. There were henley’s, t-shirts, sweaters, jeans, sweatpants, hell they were in colours he would wear too, black, red, navy blue, military green, etc. It looked like someone took Bucky’s entire closet and remade all of his clothes and put it on display for him to see.

He also realized there were models of different sizes, some with prosthetics, and he felt his heart swell. He knew you managed to convince everyone there to do this. He never thought you would do it on such a grand scale of doing it at a fashion show.

For the remainder of the show, he sat there with the biggest smile on his face and it didn’t even falter, not even once.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Bucky waited for you to finish up before taking you out for milkshakes and a walk in the park. Since it was colder than when you left this morning, he draped his suit jacket on you, and held your hand. You were sipping on your milkshake before Bucky asked, “Did you put together the entire show for me?”

“What gave it away? The fact I literally stole your closet to do this? Or the fact it’s called ‘For B.’?” You asked.

He nearly choked on his milkshake, “You named it what?”

You stopped and looked him in the eye, “‘For B.’ because it’s for Bucky. I know you always talk about how you aren’t as pretty as models, which is a complete lie might I add and they don’t wear what you wear. So I thought, why not make it for you. I’m sorry if you don’t li-”

You were cut off by Bucky engulfing you into his arms, “Doll, no one has ever done that for me.”

“I love you Buck,” you said looking up at him.

“I love you more doll,” he said, kissing you.

644 notes · View notes

obxdrewseph · 4 years ago

Text

Tik Tok - Rafe Cameron

Description: Rafe Cameron falls for a girl he often sees in a cafe and is too nervous to talk to her, so his best friend, Topper, decides to take matters into his own hands and makes a tik tok asking if anyone can identify Rafe’s crush. Of course, she sees it and confronts him.

P.S. pretend covid doesnt exist in this LOL

---------

“Bro, just do it.”

“No.”

“Rafe, c’mon man. When did you become such a pussy?”

“Shut the hell up man, I’m not.”

“Then ask her out!”

“No!”

It was your typical Wednesday afternoon-- the college cafe was bustling with students coming in and out from classes and from students mingling with their friends.

Rafe and Topper sat in the midst of all the chaos, ignoring their econ homework to stare at Rafe Cameron’s current obsession.

“How is this girl different from any other you’ve liked? Just man up and ask for her number or something.”

Rafe Cameron.

Notorious player on campus. And douchebag. He was the type to sleep with a girl and kick her out of his room at 3 in the morning. He never had strong feelings for a girl, which is why Topper was baffled at the fact he kept staring at the dark haired, brown eyed plain Jane in the corner of the coffee shop.

“Look, she’s just a pretty girl. And she just looks... shy I guess.” Rafe lamely said. He didn’t know why he wasn’t just barging up to her like he normally did at parties. Of course, those girls were clawing to get to him. He didn’t have to work as hard.

Topper sighed loudly. “Fine, fine. If you’re gonna force my hand.”

Rafe raised a brow as Topper slowly pulled his phone from his pocket.

He then began to film the girl and zooming in on her face.

“Top, what are you--”

“Ssssh.”

After 30, long, agonizing seconds for Rafe Cameron, his best friend finally stopped filming the poor girl.

“Does anyone know this girl? This loser wants to ask her out...” He spoke as he typed.

“No wait--”

“Done. Just posted on tik tok.”

Rafe’s jaw dropped.

“What?”

“Now, we wait.”

-------

You had a long day of classes and all you wanted to do was fall in your bed.

But no, as a history major, you had to read 250 pages (the entire book needed to be read by the end of the week, but you were spacing), write detailed notes on them, and then start on your essay that is due next week.

You always liked to get ahead of schedule so that your work wouldn’t pile up.

After sitting in the cafe for an hour, you had to go home to cook dinner. You hated eating at cafes since bread just wasn’t your thing.

Once you hit your dorm room, you checked your phone that seemed to have hundreds of notifications.

"The fuck?” You whispered out loud. As an RA, you could say whatever you wanted to in your room, but you still felt weird swearing in front of others. Which is why you whispered the words to yourself.

You dropped your bag at the door and quickly opened your phone.

GIRL, CHECK TIK TOK

Congrats, you’re famous! don’t forget me lol

rafe cameron ?? honeyyy get itttttt

Confusion. That’s all you felt. You quickly clicked on the link on of your friends sent you.

You watched the video set in as Topper, the owner of the account, zoomed in on your face at the cafe you were just in. You didn’t think you looked pretty as your hair was a mess and you hadn’t showered in a couple of days.

Not to mention you were wearing jeans and a baggy t-shirt-- the normal college attire.

As you read the caption, you felt your heart race at an abnormal rate.

The words became blurry fairly quickly as your stress started to build up. You set your phone down on the counter to avoid dropping it-- you were rational enough to do that.

You kept getting texts from your closest friends saying two words: Call me. But at this point, you couldn’t even think straight. What was a hot, popular guy like Rafe Cameron doing pining over you? And apparently being too afraid to ask you out?

Honestly, you had never been hit on in your first two years of college and you didn’t think it was going to start with Rafe Cameron, the richest guy at the school. And every straight college girl’s wet dream.

You heard your phone buzz on the counter and you checked caller ID. It was your best friend.

You took a deep breath and answered it.

“Hey, you didn’t tell me you were dating Rafe Cameron.” She joked.

“Shut up! Tell me what to do!!” You screamed.

“Ok, ok, I can tell you’re freaking out and nervous, but this is a good thing! A happy thing! A guy liked you so much that he put a video--”

“His best friend posted the video--”

“As I was saying, put a video out about YOU! This is your chance to finally have the romance you’ve always dreamed of, right? You’re always pining after those book boyfriends or whatever who AREN’T REAL.”

She emphasized the last part which made you cringe. Your obsession with fictional characters was justified-- if she read, she would know.

“Dude, this is Rafe. Rafe fucking Cameron.” She gasped at your swearing, a joke both of you had because you’ve known each other since you were children.

“Exactly, it’s Rafe motherfucking Cameron, meaning, you HAVE to go after him.”

“No, you’re wrong! He’s Rafe Cameron! If he was really into me, he would’ve asked me out already. Literally no one can say no to him nor does anyone want to.” You bit your lip, thinking of ways to get out of this. “You know what? I bet this is a prank or something.”

“A prank?”

“Yeah, like Topper trying to embarrass Rafe by making an ugly girl ask him out--”

“First of all, don’t talk about yourself like that. And second, no, tik tok is not the place to embarrass girls. They would get roasted so hard. And third, THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.”

Contrary to your best friend, you never seriously wanted a relationship. You were the type to fantasize about falling in love and hyped up all of your friends when they had crushes, but you never truly found someone you wanted to get to know or wanted to date.

It just seemed so outlandish to you.

Plus, you wrote off college boys when one followed all of your roommates on instagram besides you. That kinda knocked your ego down.

“Look, I’m just going to ignore this. I don’t think it’s going to be the love story you think so I’m gonna go.”

“Wait, y/n--”

You hung up before she could finish.

You just couldn’t deal with her hopeless romanticism right now.

You sighed and tied your hair into a messy bun. How could you finish your homework now?

--------

“I don’t think she saw it.”

Topper laughed at his nervous looking friend.

“Dude, she definitely saw it. It has thousands of likes the last time I checked and I’m pretty sure people were tagging her in the comments.”

Rafe fixed his hat so it covered his face. He definitely didn’t want his friend to notice it turning beet red.

“I hate you dude.”

“No you don’t.”

Once again, the two rich boys were sitting in the same cafe they were in yesterday. They had been sitting in there for two hours now, and there was no sign of the mysterious girl who did or did not know she was tik tok famous.

“I don’t think she’s coming.” Rafe commented. On one hand, he was relieved he wouldn’t have to talk to her. But on the bigger hand, he desperately wanted to see her again. He didn’t know why he was so captivated by her brightly dyed hair or the 10 pins stuck on her backpack. She seemed so normal, yet she stuck out with all the book stickers she had on her laptop. Rafe would never tell a living soul that he liked reading YA romance novels but he felt like he could confide in this mysterious girl.

“I don’t know. It’s still early.” Topper noted.

“Um, excuse me?”

The two boys’ heads shot up at the dainty voice.

You were wearing black ripped jeans with a white top; it was the most simple outfit Rafe had seen you in as you usually dressed in bright colors. He would never admit it, but he even noticed when you changed your nail polish.

What Rafe didn’t know was that your best friends held an intervention last night and told you to dress “more to his style” which included simple attire. Yet, you couldn’t fully immerse in the role and wore your favorite bucket hat that was covered in white daisies.

“Hey,” Rafe said lamely.

Topper immediately gathered his stuff and left you two alone. What a homie.

At Rafe’s bland answer, you smiled politely.

“Can I sit?” You asked. Rafe nodded and gestured towards the seat. He didn’t know why he was acting so weird, but you were just so much prettier up close.

He could see the bright red earrings you wore that matched your Nikes and noticed your clumsily applied makeup (which he knew because his sister was so good at it). It only made his heart race even faster.

“Um, so I saw the video... I’m sure you know which one I’m talking about.”

The boy blushed.

“Yeah?” He tried to act suave and calm, but his nerves were all over the place. He felt a bit calmer seeing the girl start to play with her hair: a nervous trait his sister said most girls had.

“Um, well, I... I was wondering...” The girl trailed off, her face turning a darker red. He almost felt bad for her, but she was so darn cute and wanted her to continue.

“Look, I’m really bad at this... and I know you’re good at it, so...”

The boy’s ego inflated slightly.

“So?”

This wasn’t going the way you wanted it to go. You felt frustrated that you couldn’t even get the words out that you practiced. Your eyes prickled with tears from embarrassment; you wanted to get out of the situation as soon as possible. You didn’t know what you were thinking approaching the hottest guy in campus and expect not to be tongue tied.

And his lack of words made you think he was just messing with you.

You felt a gentle hand on top of yours which burst your drama bubble. You looked up and saw Rafe’s bright blue eyes full of concern, and... something else.

Dammit, he probably thinks I’m a weirdo.

“Hey, it’s ok. Honestly, it was my friend, the one who left earlier, it was his idea to put the video up and he did it without my permission. If it were up to me, it would’ve taken a lot longer to pluck up the courage to approach you...” He confessed.

This shocked you. Rafe Cameron... tongue tied around you??

“Look, let’s start over. I’m Rafe Cameron, junior, business major, and fun fact: I’m on the hockey team.” You knew all of those details, but you let him give a formal introduction. You thought it was cute that he felt the need to explain all of this to you because there wasn’t anyone at your campus who didn’t know who he was.

You held out your hand.

“Y/N, a sophomore and a history major. Fun fact: I’m an RA.” His eyes brightened at your response and shook your hand with a smile.

He had to practice his stern handshake with businessmen his father forced him to meet, but your hands were gentle and soft, like they were afraid of hurting him. It’s been a while since someone has treated him so delicately. He liked it.

“Well, y/n, it’s a good thing I don’t live in the dorms because I definitely would’ve tried to act up to get your attention.” He teased.

You laughed at the response because you knew a couple of the young freshmen who made a ruckus in the lounges so that you had to come in and yell at them.

You shrugged. “I don’t know, we could’ve met sooner if you were.”

The flirty words flowed from you naturally and you wanted to take them back as soon as they left your mouth.

But they made Rafe Cameron blush, so you let it go.

Suddenly, his watch buzzed and he swore under his breath.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I have a business meeting to get to. Can I get your number for uhhh... for future purposes?”

His slight fumble of words made you grin.

“Of course.”

I guess tik tok is good for something.

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron scenarios #rafe cameron imagines #outer banks #obx #obx scenarios #outer banks scenarios #drew starkey #drew starkey scenarios #drew starkey x reader #rafe cameron x reader #obx rafe #obx rafe cameron

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villainsblog97 · 4 years ago

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Victon as your Boyfriend

(Hello my sunshines! It's currently 11:30 PM and I'm laying in bed thinking about the types of boyfriends our precious 7 boys would be, so of course I've gotta write about it!!!)

Scenario: Pure, fluff and sprinkles! 🥰

Seungsik

Our brave and fearless leader!

He's the mom of 6 boys! (Seungwoo included)

You're no exception!

Seungsik is always taking care of you

The full mom experience too

We're talking cooking with a pink flowery apron

Always telling you to be careful

He loves movie nights (idk why 🤷‍♀️)

He loves having a blanket over the two of you

You curled up in either his arms or on his lap

You are his baby (along with Subin)

I feel like he would tell you when your outfit is too short or revealing

"Don't you think that outfit is a bit.... short Jagiya?

Other times

"You're not going out like that!" 🤨

He doesn't like arguments

But he doesn't want people touching what belongs to him either

Would definitely be you DD or pick you up when you've been partying with your friends.

Lays you in bed

Sets a tray down with a cup of water and Tylenol next to the bed.

Hangover soup the next morning!

Seungwoo

Seungwoo is that all around perfect boyfriend!

He's always hyping you up.

New outfit?

"OH MY GOD! HOW IS THIS MY BEAUTIFUL BABY!?!?!" 😱

Cooked something?

"YAAAAH! THIS IS DELICIOUS!!!"

He's always complimenting you

Even when you're in sweats, his hoodie and a messy bun.

Boys got hearts in his eyes

Speaking of hoodie...

He loves to see you swim in it!

Because he's so tall

He absolutely hates when you guys fight

He sometimes snaps under stress

Right after, he's pulling you into his arms and holding you

You're his rock

You keep him sane

But every now and then, you just let him break

He loves laying on your stomach or chest as you run your fingers in his hair

Vice versa 💯

Chan

Chan is a switch

Not the way you're thinking either 🙃

I mean he can be either really sweet and goofy

Or very serious and stern

Mostly its sweet and goofy

He loves seeing you smile

You are his pride and joy

But if you piss him off

He's gonna let you know

Like the others, he hates fighting with you

But what couple doesn't

You two usually need a couple hours away from each other

But after you both cooled off you Apologize

I get the feeling he loves back hugs (both giving and receiving)

He loves holding you in his arms

Anytime of the day

In the kitchen, outside, in bed after a long day

You'd be lying if you deny you love it too

I'm just gonna say it

This man loves 10000000X more when he's drunk

He already loves you to the moon and back

But he gets really touchy and clingy when he's drunk

"Baby... I love you so much"

Sejun

My boy! My dork! My favorite!

Y'all already know where this is going

Sejun is an absolute crackhead

So obviously you're gonna have one crackhead of a boyfriend

You literally can't take him ANYWHERE

You love being silly with him too

But sometimes

You feel like you're babysitting more than dating him

He doesn't know your real name anymore

Hes got so many pet names for you

Baby, princess, sweetheart, my love, cupcake, (tried to call you mochi then got really hungry)

Always taking you to restaurants

Because he loves food! (Sometimes you think more than you)

But then he would give that 😮 face and tell you no

He's also a big tease

Never fails to make you blush or get flustered

You're always using his full name to scold him

You two don't fight a lot, but if you do

Its probably because you ate his food

If it's something serious, he wants to work it out IMMEDIATELY

He's always gotta hold you in his sleep

You comfort him

Don't forget the voice that was given to him by God himself!

Hanse

Do Hanse is a whole package deal!

He's the E-Boy you didn't know you needed

He's the dork you didn't know you needed

He's the romantic you didn't know you needed

This man L-O-V-E-S you! 💕

Everything you do puts a smile on his face

He's a Slytherin (you know what that means)

Harry Potter marathons

IN COSTUME! (Wands, robes, plushies, butterbeer, the whole thing)

Fights with him rarely happen

Because he's a pretty understanding guy

They do happen though

You always hug him and apologize for your behavior, or vice versa.

(Gonna get a little PG-13)

Hanse can never kiss you without getting into a heated make out session

It always ends with the bedroom door getting locked (I'll leave the rest to your imagination)

He loves taking pictures of you

And loves being your model (who wouldn't wanna snap some pics of this beautiful human being)

You're a sucker for his tattoos and piercings (don't deny it!)

Byungchan

Byungchan is no doubt the sweetest boyfriend ever!

He loves everything you do

EVERYTHING

He points it out all the time

He loves being next to you

Rather its watching a movie

Cooking

Cleaning

Or just chilling in bed

Byungchan would be hella clingy

But not the annoying clingy

Just when he's touch starved of you

He loves cuddles

He'll pull you into his chest and hold you

He loves playing with your hair

And singing you to sleep

He'll stay beside you until you fall asleep or He'll fall asleep beside you

If you guys have a fight

It doesn't last long

Because he has things he needs to tell you

"Jagiya... can we just forget our fight and go get some Boba???"

You'd laugh and nod before running into his arms

He loves forehead kisses too

He feels like they'll protect you

He whines a lot when wanting your attention

Of course you can't resist him 😂

Subin

I feel like because Subin is the baby

He's a little more shy

Like the first couple of dates, he'd ask to hold your hand

He'd also ask you everytime if he could kiss you

He never wants to overstep his boundaries

He's kind of slow with everything

Like putting an arm around you when you're watching a movie

He likes to test the waters

Fights absolutely kill him

He always shows up in front of you

Puffy cheeks and red eyes

This sight hurts you and you just fall into his arms

He does get these little bursts of confidence and just goes in for a kiss every now and then.

Leaves you speechless, and he'll just stare at you until you ask for more.

His hyungs are always teasing you.

"Yah! You can't have him he's our baby!!"

You're the baby now too 🤭

He just loves you so much (you're his first love)

He doesn't want to mess anything up, and neither do you

#victon #Seungsik #seungwoo #chan #sejun #hanse #byungchan #subin #fluff #kpop scenarios

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esmealux · 4 years ago

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The Devil Doesn’t Do Children

Part: 2 / ?

Setting: About a year after 5a

Word count: 3.5K

Rating: T

Summary: ‘I certainly did not choose to impregnate the Detective, Doctor!’ In which Lucifer doesn’t know how to cope and goes to see the one person who might be able to help him.

Warnings: Mention of death, murder (and, quite indirectly, foeticide)

When Chloe parks the car a little outside the film set, Lucifer has finally got his thoughts and the threatening sensation in his chest under control. He had stared silently out of the window the entire ride, calculating, weighing the different possibilities; which one was more likely—him impregnating her after being sterile since the dawn of time, or her getting food poisoning from a hole in the wall filthier than medieval England? The latter. Definitely the latter. It is the only logical—nay, possible explanation. He has no doubt.

But then she asks him to get her a gum from her glove box (she still has a bad taste in her mouth), and when he looks inside the small space to find the pack she always keeps there, something catches his eye, something pink and flat, something he usually associates with mood swings and five days of limited access—something that reminds him she’s more than a week late.

He grabs the gum between his fingers and hands it to her, smacking the glove box shut as if it will erase what he just saw and the distressing epiphany it led to. He searches for alternate explanations in his panicking mind, something, anything, that will ease his returned and now stronger fear that she’s… That they’re… But he comes up with nothing. Just obscure theories that even he will admit are far-fetched.

He doesn’t say anything—not because he knows she doesn’t want to have the conversation on their way to talk to a potential suspect, but because he can’t. So he just follows after her like a lost puppy, until they’re suddenly sitting in a cramped trailer, facing former child-star, current man-child Max Steinfeld.

‘Why did you walk away when we asked you about Laura?’ Chloe asks the actor. He had fled? Lucifer hadn’t noticed. Then again, he’s not entirely sure he would have remembered if they’d been in a car chase, or a gunfire.

The sad example of a man slides a tabloid towards them in response to the Detective’s question. The front page shows a picture (undoubtedly shot by a paparazzo) of him and Riley walking down the street hand in hand, smiles plastered on their polished Hollywood faces. Next to the headline promising insight in ‘all the details about the magical wedding,’ there’s a close-up of an offensively distasteful diamond ring.

Lucifer sees a chance at escaping the cacophony of disturbing thoughts in his head and takes it. ‘What, because you’re marrying Miss Riley and didn’t want a murder case spoiling your-’ he takes the magazine and swiftly flips through the pages till he finds the right one, ‘uber-romantic seaside wedding? Is that it?’ Lucifer leans a little forward and stares intensely into the man’s eyes, his best cheshire grin playing on his lips. ‘Come now, Maximillian, what is it you truly desire?’

‘I…,’ he begins, not blinking as he’s sucked into Lucifer’s stare, ‘I want to stop pretending.’

‘Pretending that you didn’t kill an innocent woman because you put a bun in her oven?’

Steinfeld’s brows draw together in confusion before they arch up in worry and disbelief. ‘Laura’s… dead?’

Lucifer’s just about to call him out on his charades, when the Detective jumps in and confirms that she was found in her home, stabbed to death.

Max’ face turns white. His jaw goes slack. Then a cry of raw agony fills the confined space.

Once Steinfeld has calmed down enough to continue the conversation, Chloe decides to go easy on him and begins by asking him where he was between 9 and 10 PM last night.

‘With Moni,’ he says, looking almost ashamed. ‘I had a date with Laura—we were gonna see each other for the first time in weeks—but she didn’t turn up. I figured she was still mad.’

‘Mad?’ Chloe prompts him to elaborate.

‘Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly handle the whole pregnancy-thing very well. I couldn’t- I just- I panicked.’

‘So you killed her,’ her partner concludes beside her. She gives him a stern look and a reprimanding ‘Lucifer.’ He ignores her.

‘No! I would never hurt her! I love her,’ Steinfeld tells them, all kinds of emotions swimming in his eyes. ‘But when she told me, I just couldn’t… deal with it, so I ignored her, for five weeks. One thing was trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m-’—he gulps and takes a deep breath—‘was gonna be a dad, but I also had no idea how I was gonna tell them.’

Chloe is just about to ask who he means by ‘them’ when Lucifer opens his mouth. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake. I’ll refer to them as Mx Riley from now on.’ He sounds genuinely apologetical. Chloe side-eyes him, confused.

‘What? No,’—Steinfeld shakes his head—‘Moni goes by “she”. I meant the studio. They made us sign a contract at the beginning of production in which we agreed to pretend to be a couple in public to-’

‘Build hype around the movie, sell more tickets and boost your personal career?’ Chloe finishes. She’s familiar with the concept.

‘Yeah, something like that,’ Steinfeld mutters and rubs his brow, his hand still visibly shaking from the shock. ‘But I was growing tired of it. I like Moni, she’s one of my best friends, but nothing more than that, and what I had with Laura was so… real. It was all pretty new, but she made me happy. I wanted her in my life—to share my life with her. Still, I was nowhere near ready to have a baby with her, to become a dad! I mean, I still have a bad reputation in the business, I’ve spent all my savings on drugs and alcohol and a mansion I can’t afford, and sometimes I get so stressed I don’t eat for days. How am I supposed to take care of a kid?’ His voice is laced with frustration and tears stream down his stubbled cheeks. She expects Lucifer to scoff at the ‘dramatics’, or at least show some kind of disapproval of the emotional display, but he doesn’t.

‘Look, I get it,’ Chloe says, laying her arms on the table. ‘When I was pregnant, me and my ex-husband were absolutely terrified too.’

She senses Lucifer looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She’s not sure why, or what it means, so she ignores him and continues.

‘Is that why you did it? Did you go to her place when she didn’t show up for your date and then when she brought up the baby you lost your temper? You got scared?’ She wills her voice to be calm, knowing the man is vulnerable.

Max frantically shakes his head. ‘No! No, more the opposite! I was gonna tell her that I loved her and that I was gonna try. That’s why I went to Simone’s when she didn’t show up. Moni knew about Laura, what she meant to me, so I went to her to talk about how we could escape this fucked-up PR stunt controlling our lives,’ he points angrily to the smiling picture of him and Riley on the cover of the tabloid, still on the table. When he continues, his voice is calmer, but also more emotional, ‘so we could be free, and I could do right by Laura… and our baby.’

Chloe turns to look at Lucifer—to see if he, too, believes Steinfeld is innocent—only to discover that her partner is glowering at the now frightened man across from them. Lucifer is breathing heavily, his fist clenched between them, his knuckles white. His voice is sharp and venomous when he speaks, almost hisses, ‘How exactly were you gonna do right by them? How could you just accept that you were gonna be a… a father, even when you knew, in every cell of your damned body, that you couldn’t?’

He’s standing now, his tall frame shaking, heat rolling off him. She reaches for his hand to calm him down (Steinfeld has faced enough trauma today as it is), but he quickly draws it back, as if he’s burnt by her touch. His eyes remain brown and his face smooth and tan, anthropomorphic—still, a lump settles in her throat. Before she can say anything, he speaks again, his voice lower now, only a few octaves from demonic and flaming with something she can only describe as wrath. Wrath and pain. ‘How could you ever pretend to love something you never wanted?’

He storms out of the trailer, surprisingly elegantly considering his emotional state. She excuses herself to Steinfeld and rushes out to talk to her partner, comfort him, ask him what the Hell is going on.

But he’s gone.

Vanished.

Sighing, she bends down to pick up a large, silky feather from the ground.

The door bursts open, the hinges shrieking in protest as it slams against the wall and knocks down a picture frame in the process. Linda takes a deep breath and slowly turns around to face her intruder. ‘Lucifer, what have I told you about barging-’

The words get stuck in her throat when she sees him. His hair is dishevelled, his clothes wrinkled and disarranged. A dash of colour is missing where a pocket square usually sits and completes his outfit—whether he lost it without noticing or he didn’t pick one out in the first place, she can’t tell, but either way, it’s concerning. Even more so when combined with his face. Oh God, his face. He looks pale, too pale—ghostlike. His pupils are mere specks, his eyes manic. His chest heaves rapidly as he takes in short, ragged breaths.

Last time she saw Lucifer in a state similarly chaotic, dark, leathery wings were sticking out of his back. Before she can ask him what’s wrong, his tremulous voice fills her office.

‘The Detective’s pregnant.’

Not what she’d expected, but his reaction seems about right.

She goes to his side to help him sit down on the couch, pours him a glass of water, and doesn’t sit down till she’s made sure he’s drunk some. Once in her chair, she takes a deep breath, partly to prepare herself for the incoming conversation and partly to make Lucifer mirror her so they can get some oxygen to his head. She’s not sure if angels can pass out, but she’s not gonna take the risk.

‘Okay,’ she says calmly, ‘and how do you feel about it?’ The question sounds kind of absurd as he’s sitting there, practically radiating distress. Nevertheless, he needs to put his feelings into words.

‘How do you think I feel about it, Doctor?’ he growls.

She doesn’t answer that. Instead, she looks at him with a slight smile and raised eyebrows, inviting him to tell her.

‘I feel betrayed, for one,’ he spits, feeding her plant with the sparkling water she’s provided him—before emptying his flask into the glass and taking a large gulp.

‘By whom?’ she asks.

He glares at her and takes another sip. ‘My father, obviously.’

Linda suppresses a sigh of frustration. She’d thought God coming to Earth and their subsequent bonding time had finally made Lucifer bury his manipulative daddy issues. Guess she was wrong. ‘What do you think your father has to do with Chloe getting pregnant?’ She doesn’t miss how he winces at the last three words before his face sets into taut lines.

‘Oh, I don’t know, Doctor.’ His voice is thick with sarcasm. ‘I mean, it’s not like he has ever sent down one of his pathetic thralls to “bless” a barren couple with a spawn.’

‘How are you so sure you’re infertile?’ she asks him with narrowed eyes, leaning back in her chair. They’d thought Amenadiel was infertile, but she has 31 pounds of pure joy at home to disprove that.

‘Well, it’s simple maths,’ he replies. She gives him a curious and mildly sceptical look, and he leans forward, putting his now half-empty glass down on the table. ‘Right, I’ve been practicing safe sex since the first ever condom came about—you know, for the sake of my lovers’ health—but condoms are only 98% effective at preventing conception, and the ancient prototypes were much worse, which means that, had I not been sterile, I would have fathered one hundred thousand children, give or take, throughout history, and I haven’t. I would have noticed; they would have flocked around me like little rats to get a piece of my fortune every time I appeared on Earth. Ergo, infertile.” He gestures towards his crotch with a dead-serious expression.

‘Right,’ she says, forcing herself to look at his face. ‘And what makes you think that that trait, or whatever you wanna call it-’

‘I call it a blessing,’ he interrupts her, the slightest glint in his eye as he peers at her from over the brim of the drinking glass.

‘What makes you think it’s everlasting?’ she asks him, a theory suddenly forming in her mind.

He furrows his brow. ‘Beg your pardon?’

‘Well, you’re not completely immortal anymore,’ she reminds him, her eyes shifting to his thigh where his first (not self-induced) scar is covered by his creased suit pants. He sends her a hurt look. ‘What a positively shitty way of trying to cheer me up,’ he huffs before downing the remaining liquor.

‘What I mean is,’ she begins to clarify, ‘what if your infertility is like your immortality?’ She lets the words sink in before she continues, ‘What if your aversion to having children, to becoming a dad, has affected your ability to physically father a child? But just like you chose to be vulnerable around Chloe, you’re now choosing to have a baby with her, to grow your family.’

He scoffs, almost laughs, but there’s no trace of humour in it. Only torment. ‘I certainly did not choose to impregnate the Detective, Doctor!’

‘Maybe not on a conscious level,’ she argues. ‘But maybe after the personal development you’ve been through, after seeing you’re worthy of being loved, not just by Chloe but also by Trixie, you’re finally realising, somewhere deep inside, that you’re also worthy of being someone’s dad.’

‘That is…’ he whispers, gazing out into empty air with a thoughtful expression, only to ultimately conclude, ‘absolutely preposterous!’ He sends her a dirty look, as if he’s accusing her of humbug. ‘I don’t want to be someone’s dad, Doctor—I don’t want a baby! The Devil doesn’t do children. I despise them. Always have. You know that.’

‘That doesn’t mean you always will. I mean, do you despise Charlie?’ She waits a couple of beats, watching him intently. ‘Do you despise Trixie?’ She nods in the direction of his chest, knowing his phone is in his breast pocket, nestled against his heart, the screen lighting up with a picture of himself and his two favourite girls every time he gets a notification.

‘Your son appreciates my devil face,’ he defends, ‘and the Detective and her offspring are a package deal.’ Linda knows he tries to appear indifferent, but he can’t hide the fondness suddenly twinkling in his eyes. If Linda wasn’t sure before, she’s now absolutely positive that Lucifer loves Trixie nearly as much as he loves her mother. She sees it all the time; it’s in the way his eyes flash red with hellfire when Trixie is hurt or sad; it’s in the way his chest puffs out with pride whenever he talks about her; it’s in his jealous stare when she and Dan laugh at an inside joke; it’s in his jubilant eyes when he’s the one who makes her laugh; it’s in the immense effort he constantly makes to always be there for her, to never disappoint her.

‘You might call them a package deal, Lucifer,’ she says softly, making him look at her, ‘but they call you family.’

He’s snatched the empty glass from the table and is now nursing it in his hand, unintentionally mimicking his nephew with his security blanket. His eyes are downcast, but she can tell his heart swells at the mention of the F-word. He’d dropped by her place about a month ago, shock all over his face. ‘The urchin referred to me as her family,’ he’d said. Linda had smiled and replied with a simple ‘Of course she did’. As narcissistic and self-indulgent as he is, he is surprisingly oblivious to other people’s affection for him. Then again, what else could you expect from a person who was abandoned by his parents, literally pushed into the abyss, and for eons deprived of any kind of love?

With Lucifer’s background in mind, Linda steers the conversation back to his feelings about Chloe being pregnant. ‘If you’re being completely honest with yourself, Lucifer,’—she stares at him until he lifts his head and looks her in the eyes—‘what do you think is the main reason you’re having this reaction to Chloe being pregnant? Is it because you don’t want children?’ She lets him think for a couple of seconds before adding, ‘Or is it because you’re afraid you’ll let your child down like your dad let you down?’

Sadness flashes across his still ashen face before the muscle in his jaw flexes and hot fury fills up his eyes. ‘My father didn’t let me down,’ he snarls, putting the glass down with an alarming clank, ‘He banished me from my home and sent me to Hell—after my mother wouldn’t let him kill me! No words cover that immense extent of neglect, Doctor. That cosmic measure of betrayal!’ His voice is shrill and rough as he shouts the last word, accompanied by the jarring sound of the drinking glass shattering to a million pieces as it collides with the wall behind her.

Lucifer takes a few heavy breaths and, once he’s gotten his anger somewhat under control, pointlessly adjusts his jacket and straightens his spine. ‘No one should have to endure even a fraction of that,’ he tells her, appearing strangely remorseful. ‘Especially not an innocent child.’

And there it is.

‘You are not your dad, Lucifer,’ she reminds him. ‘Or your mom. You’re not gonna abandon your child. You’re not gonna hurt them.’ She waits till he looks up at her (his brown eyes are so sad it makes her chest ache) before she says, ‘You’re gonna love them with every piece of your heart and go to the ends of the earth, or Hell, to protect them, because that is who you are. Maybe you weren’t that person when you cut your wings off on the beach eleven years ago, and maybe not even when you first started assisting the LAPD. But that’s who you are now. Just ask Chloe and Trixie.’ She would add all the other people around him who know this to be true, who know him, but there are only two people whose opinions matter to him in this case.

He doesn’t answer. His lips part, a smidgen of hope and belief appearing in the sea of fear in his eyes.

‘You referred to it as a “blessing” before, the fact that you couldn’t have children.’ He grimaces at the past tense. ‘Based on that, I assume you think having a child would be a curse?’

He raises an eyebrow, questioning her intelligence.

‘Right. But why do you think that is? I mean, if you think about it, is it really so bad that you and Chloe are having a baby? Someone who’s a beautiful mix of the two you, created out of your love for each other?’

He stops tending an invisible spot on her couch to look up at her. Colour has returned to his face, and the anger from before is gone; only a crease of worry remains. He looks tentative, but not scared to his core like earlier, his gaze warm and soft.

‘I…’ he says, musing. After a few seconds of silence, he answers, ‘To be frank, Doctor, I don’t know.’ His lips settle into a crooked line, stuck between a smile and a frown.

Linda lifts a friendly brow, her own lips tugging up at the corners. ‘Can’t know till you try, right?’

‘Right,’ he admits. It’s still not exactly a smile she sees on his face, but it’s close enough.

‘Have you talked to Chloe about all this?’ she asks him.

‘I haven’t, no. Do you think I should?’

Linda blinks, a little dumbfounded he’s even considering it an option not to talk about his fears with the woman who’s carrying his baby.

‘I’m joking,’ he says then, the smallest of smirks playing on his lips. ‘Of course I’m gonna talk to her! I just thought it best to, you know, sort out my own thoughts on the matter first.’

‘Oh,’ she mutters, realising she might not give him enough credit. He really has come a long way since their first session. ‘That’s very mature of you, Lucifer,’ she praises him.

The minuscule smirk from before spreads out into his cheshire grin. ‘What can I say? All good people know everything below an M-rating is boring and worthless.’

He smooths his pants over his thighs and checks his cuffs before standing and walking to the door. Just before he leaves, he turns to her with newfound courage in his eyes and says, ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a detective I need to have a chat with.’

Part I | Part III | Part IV (coming soon)

#deckerstar fanfiction #writing #The Devil Doesn't Do Children #lucifer x chloe #lucifer morningstar #chloe decker #dr linda martin #lucifer goes to therapy #hurt comfort #pregnancy #murder case #trixie espinoza #post 5a #established #angst #deckerstar #lucifer on netflix #lucifer fanfiction

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crowdedimagines · 5 years ago

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Falling - Harry Styles

*obviously inspired by Falling, which i am OBSESSED with! *italics are from the past, a lot of this story will be from the past. *also, see if you catch some mini easter eggs to other songs from fine line (this wasn’t intentional, but for the timeline to work he never dated camille)

There’s no point in stopping the tears as they slowly stream down my face. As soon as I saw the tracklist to Harry’s new album I had a feeling this one would bring on the waterworks. Now that the album is officially released, I can hear what he’s been working on the past few months.

Falling.

A simple word with so much meaning behind it. It’s hard to fight off the memories of our relationship.

“-and this is the lovely, Y/n.” A friend introduces me to a small group of her friends at the party. She managed to drag me away from a conversation I was having to ‘meet some friends’. I smile and wave to all of the new faces, they go around and give me their names in return.

“Harry.” The last one speaks up, he raises his glass in a wave.

Our eyes pull together like magnets. I’m thankful for the darker lighting that is hiding the blush that creeps over my cheeks.

We all quickly dive into a conversation, everyone present being easy enough to talk to. They’re all lovely and fun people.

“I’m gonna go get another drink.” I announce as I get up from my spot.

“I’ll come with, mine seems to be empty too.” Harry grins and follows me back to the bar.

We both order our drinks and wait for them to be made. It takes a while, seeing how busy it is with all of the people here, but neither Harry or I mind. We immediately jump into a new conversation ranging from music, acting, and travel.

“You’ve never been to the UK?” Harry asks, utterly shocked.

“No.” I shake my head, laughing at his appalled reaction.

“How is that even possible? You’ve never had to film over there or anything?”

“I’ve been to Italy and France, but never your neck of the woods I suppose.” I let out a laugh.

He takes a sip of his drink, neither of us have made an effort to move back to the group since receiving them. I can see my friend giving two thumbs up over Harry’s shoulder. I’m sure this was some plan of hers to try and get us to hit it off.

“Well, you tell me when you’re free and we’ll go.” He smiles, “I’ll be your tour guide.”

God, I would love to take him up on that offer.

“Aren’t you going to be awfully busy with your first solo tour?”

“Ahh, you keep up with me then?” He smirks, I’m sure he’s enjoying that little ego boost.

“Pretty hard not to.” I roll my eyes, as if the pop star was so under the radar. “I can hardly leave my apartment in New York without coming across a billboard with your face plastered on it.”

“Well I’m sorry about that, love.”

“Don’t be, it’s a nice face to look at.”

It’s my turn now to smirk and notice Harry slightly thrown off.

“Tour doesn’t start for a month, pick a date before that and we’ll go.”

“You’re putting an awful lot of faith into someone you just met a half an hour ago.”

“I have faith in you, Y/n.”

“And why should I have faith in you?” I tease, “For all I know you could be a very creepy man.”

“Hey!” He laughs, “Haven’t you ever heard of treating people with kindness?”

The first time Harry and I ever met. That first night even, I knew that he was going to mean so much. I was proven correct a few weeks later when we actually did go to London together.

“Home sweet home.”

Harry opens the door wide enough so both of us and our luggage can fit. He’s invited me to stay at his flat, claiming it’s nicer than any hotel anyway. It’s also an obvious excuse for us to spend more time together just the two of us.

“It’s awfully gloomy here, strike one for London.” I joke.

“Hey! It’s late, you can’t judge it yet! Plus we just got off of a ten hour flight, you’re not in the right headspace.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes.

Harry and I have managed to grow so close in the short amount of time we’ve known each other. We met up several more times to somewhat plan the trip, Harry helped me pack claiming he would know what I would need better than I would.

We both laughed until we were crying, trying on the various clothes from my closet. Many random gems, things I’m almost positive Harry wants to steal.

We still haven’t defined what we are. Friends is the easiest way of putting it, but it doesn’t feel quite right. We flirt constantly and were touchy with each other, but we’ve never acted on anything.

“Alright, let’s find you a room.”

Harry takes my suitcase with him as he leads me into the rest of his house. We go up to the second floor and he opens the door to a large room. It’s decorated in simple white with hints of yellow.

“Cute.” I grin looking around the room.

“Y’like it?” He almost seems nervous. Giddy like an unsure child.

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

For the first time there��s an awkward pause. Just a few seconds of what to do, it’s really late and by the sounds of it we have plans for an early morning.

“Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, H.”

Harry leaves me to my room and goes to his own, which is conveniently across the hall.

He wasn’t lying, the next day we are up bright and early. Too early, I might add.

“Y/n.” He taunts my name on the other side of the door.

“Too early.” I grumble, my face still half smashed into a pillow. I don’t even flinch hearing the door open.

“C’mon, Y/n. If you get up now we can go out for breakfast and go to the farmers market.” I feel the bed dip as he settles on the bed.

“Why can’t I sleep in and we just eat here?” I finally turn to face where’s he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, he has an amused look on his face.

“Because I’ve been in Los Angeles for the past two months. There’s quite literally no food here.”

I let out a groan and drop my head back down.

“I’m amazed with how cute you still look while so angry and having just woken up.”

“You’re such a kiss ass.” I grumble.

“Only for you.” He lightly smacks my ass before walking back out. “Let’s go, Y/Ln.”

I get up and look out the large window to see that it’s raining, but it looks like the sun is trying to come out. I settle on a comfortable outfit, tucking my hair back into a low bun. I wash my face and throw on a pair of sunnies.

“Ready?”

I nod and we take off. We walk to a diner that Harry loves going too, he claims that he gets cravings for it when he’s back in the states. I have to say, after eating there, I understand his hype.

Once were no longer hungry, we take off for the farmer’s market.

It’s cute to say the least. We pick up some organic veggies to cook with for dinner and we find some cheese and fresh bread.

“H, look!” I cross over from the tent we had been in to the one across the street.

“They’re beautiful!” I trail my fingers across all of the different bundles of flowers.

“I almost lost you.” Harry says after catching up.

“Look at how pretty they are!” I pick up a bundle of sunflowers.

“How much?” Harry asks before handing over more than enough for them.

“Gotcha!” Harry smiles looking down at his phone. I’m sure he’s taken yet another candid picture.

“For someone who doesn’t post on social media, you take an awful lot of pictures.” I bump his shoulder as we continue walking.

“Yeah, still like to have the memories.”

Harry and I spent two more days in London exploring more of the city before we decided to take a road trip to Holmes Chapel to see where Harry grew up. It was a long drive, but it was worth it to see Harry light up.

“That’s the bakery I used to work in.” He points out the car window.

“Don’t you want to stop?” I ask, watching him drive right by it.

“No, it’s kind of become a fan beacon now.” Harry explains.

We continue to drive through the town as he points out more spots from when he grew up. Or we sit in a comfortable silence just looking out at the scenery. I don’t notice we’ve arrived somewhere until Harry puts the car in park.

“Where are we?” I ask, looking at the house in front of us. It’s grown dark out, but the house looks warm and inviting.

“My mum’s house.” He quickly gets out of the car before I can ask a question.

“Harry!” I roll my eyes, following him to the door.

“What?” He grins looking over his shoulder. He knocks and it doesn’t take long for an answer to follow.

“Harry!” She pulls him in for a hug, the woman I can only assume is his mother.

They talk softly to each other and I feel as if I’m invading a very private moment.

“You’ve brought someone home?” She shouts with an excited voice. Without a pause, she pulls me in for an equally tight hug. She knocks the air out of my lungs, but I let out a laugh.

“In all these years, Harry’s never brought a girl home!”

“Mum!” Harry groans, a pink color taking over.

“Come in come in! I’m just finishing up supper.”

She disappears further into the house, once Harry and I step in, I can feel the warmth of the home and smell whatever she’s cooking.

“You brought me home to meet your mom!” I tease, turning to smack Harry lightly on the chest.

“No, she would just be upset if I was here and didn’t see here before leaving for a world tour.”

Bullshit.

“Harry, you’ve never brought a girl home before.” I smirk.

“Alright alright, I really like you. As if it wasn’t obvious enough before.” Harry admits, he successfully knocks the smile clear off my face.

“Are you going to say anything?” He asks, suddenly twisting the right on his fingers around out of nerves.

“I like you too.” I smile, “Duh.”

“Thank god.” He sighs, pulling me in for a hug.

“Alright, supper is- oh! You’re having a moment, I’ll go.” Anne rushes back to the kitchen. It would take a blind man to miss the smile and happy dance at seeing us like this.

“She’s a sweetheart.” I pull back so I can look up

“Yeah, we’re a pretty charming family.”

“I can see that.”

After that it was bliss, Harry and I finally got together. Just in time for him to leave on tour. But we made it work, thankfully. Either I would fly out to whatever city he was in, or when he had extended breaks he would come see me on set. Any time we weren’t performing, we were facetiming. Or when the time differences didn’t work, we would leave each other long voicemails, just longing to hear the other’s voice.

By the time he finished his tour, and I finished my movie, we finally got to date like a normal couple and see each other regularly.

“Coming, coming!” I yell, rushing to my door to see who’s in a huge rush that causes them to knock repeatedly.

“I said-” Before I get a chance to yell when I swing the door open my jaw drops at the sight.

“Hi, love.” He grins, a bundle of sunflowers in his hands.

“What are you doing here?” I peck his lips with mine and pull him in for a long hug, “You had things to finish up! I wasn’t supposed to get you home for another week!”

“I’m sorry, love, but I lied. I always knew I could sneak away.”

“That’s kind of evil.” I laugh pulling away, but still holding onto him.

“Which is why I have these.” He hands my the flowers.

“Thank you.” I grin, he follows me into my kitchen and watches as I put them in water.

“So, how does it feel to be all finished?” I ask.

“Good, it was really rewarding, but really exhausting. I’ve just been waiting to come home to you to be perfectly honest.”

“Well, here I am.” I smile, I take a seat on his lap. It’s good to have him here.

Beachwood Cafe. The coffee here doesn’t taste as good when it’s not filled with our laughter and deep conversations. It seems bitter without the games.This was our spot in Los Angeles. Early in our relationship we had stumbled upon the place and it became ours. The baristas growing accustomed to our orders and our stardom.

“You’re absolutely mad if you think that’s a word.” Harry says, his voice getting louder and gaining the attention of people around us. As if we weren’t already doing that. The cafe is always busy, but today it seemed like there were lots of people here.

“Have you ever played Scrabble? Of course this is a word!” I argue. Part of why we like the cafe is the bookshelf filled with board games. Every time we come Harry and I pick a new one we’ve never played together before. Today we settled on Scrabble even though it led to us bickering.

“I don’t like playing with a cheater.” He can’t even get away with it without smiling, but we continue the teasing fight for the fun of it. Banter is always entertaining.

“A cheater?” My voice raising as well, “Look it up!”

We both breakout in laughter over how stupid it is to be arguing about.

Still blissfully aware in our honeymoon phase which lasted way longer than any other relationship either of us have been in. If only I had known then how much worse the arguing would get.

“Harry, what’s happened to you?” I ask, tears freely falling to the floor. The tears being caused more by anger than hurt at this point.

“What do you mean?” His words slurred.

“You’re drunk again, of course.” I roll my eyes, leaving him on the bathroom floor to deal with himself.

“You’ve made a fool of me Harry!” I shout, letting my temper get the best of me, “Do you know how embarrassing you were tonight? Tonight was a big deal for me, I’ve never been the lead actress. You now what this premiere meant to me.”

“Love, I-” Harry follows me out of the bathroom into our bedroom. My attitude and hurt seems to have sobered him up a bit, though he is still far from dry.

“You got hammered before the movie could even start!” I huff, “You were loud and obnoxiously shouting about nonsense! Not to mention the fact that you flirted with nearly every person at the bar.”

“Y/n, it’s fine we-”

“No, it’s far from fine. I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, since when have you felt most comfortable with a drink in your hand? Or a stranger on your arm? This isn’t new for you anymore, you’ve been acting like this for months.”

The silence coming from him proves I’m right.

“If it’s been months, why haven’t you said anything before now. We’ve been dating for nearly two years now, we live together. I would think you’re comfortable enough to tell me you think I’m a drunk.” Harry sasses back.

“I’ve tried! You just get rude or you don’t even remember it in the morning.” I push my hair back out of my face, “The only difference it, tonight was my breaking point.”

I walk to my closet and grab a bag and start shoving essentials in it.

“No, Y/n, wait.” Harry follows me, he takes the bag from my hand and starts pulling things back out.

“Harry stop!” My voice rising louder than it ever has in this house, “Enough. I’m done. We are finished.”

Harry suddenly drops the bag and stumbles back out of the closet. I manage to repack the bad come out to see Harry sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at his shoes.

“I’ll send someone to get the rest of my stuff. You can buy out my half of the lease.”

After that night, I never looked back.

The song ends and I turn off my phone and set it down. I wipe away any remnants at eyes, the tears long dried. Before I can spend any more time thinking about him or the way things used to be, I get dressed for the day. Harry was right about one thing.

I’ll never need him again.

#harry styles imagine #harry styles x reader #angst #harry styles angst #Harry Styles

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pixelatedrose · 5 years ago

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Brilliance Part One

Brilliance Of a Dying Star

Part 1 | Next Part

Pairings: Roceit, background Intruality, eventual background Analogical

Word Count: 2,577

Warnings: uncensored swearing, break in, knife mention, panicking, if there’s anything I missed please please tell me, and if there’s anything you would like me to tag, don’t hesitate to ask!

Summary:

Roman Prince lives in a world where the population is split between super powered people and normal people. These super powers were soon named Flaire. And even though he desperately wished he had a Flaire of his own, Roman lives life working in a cat cafe alongside his coworkers, a few of which have Flaires. His life is fairly normal and tragically mundane until a local superhero crashes into his apartment.

Chapter 1

Roman Prince walked along the side of the street in the brilliant red and purple light of the quickly dying sun. His guitar slung over his shoulder and the people in the streets dwindling. His yellow converse he had drawn leaves and flowers on, now starting fade. A particular scuff mark on the toe of the right foot encased with a fond memory.

Above him, a young girl with wings for arms flew scarily close to his head. “S-Sorry!!!” She yelled behind her, her flight wobbly.

Roman turned and called back, a smile on his face. “It’s fine!! Keep up the good work, Auri!!” He kept walking before he heard a crash and a rustle of leaves a ways behind him, followed by Auri's yelp. He smiled at the ground and shook his head.

He walked on as a boy with four sets of eyes passed him by. He walked on when a person made entirely out of rocks sat watering his plants. He walked on when a girl with hooves and spiraling horns sat playing hop-scotch with her little friends.

He only paused when he reached the door to the small, beat up apartment building.

“Home sweet home!” Roman smiled, opening the pale and faded green door. He walked around to the stairs, shooting finger guns to the man at the front desk. Roman climbed the steps to the third and top floor, trying not to internally complain about the elevator being broken. Only two rooms on this floor, roman turned to the one on the left and put his key into the lock.

He greeted his house with a bright smile, knowing no one was there to return it. “Hello, house…” He whispered, throwing his keys into the bowl near the door. He pulled off his jacket and slung it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs as he made his way to the solemn couch in the room, flopping down on it over the arm, letting his feet dangle off the edge. He removed his earbuds from his pocket and took out his phone, selecting spotify as he plugged in the buds.

Pressing play on his playlist, Roman sat and took in the last of the day.

~~•~~

The world where Roman lived was an exciting one. Or at least it had been. Things had much lost their glamour after the first age of powers showing up.

In this world, the population was at a fairly equal split between people with Flaires and people without Flaires. No one quite knew who first started calling the powers popping up ‘Flaire’ but it was clear why. All these new people surely had much flair, so the world thought it was clever to start calling the powers Flaire.

Flaires worked and presented themselves in many different fashions. A few of the kids in Roman’s neighborhood had physical Flaires, like Auri. Roman knew of more that had Flaires that let them shoot lightning from their hands or could bend light with their hands.

Roman though? He didn’t have a Flaire. He was okay with that, but it did make him upset from time to time. As a kid, he’d always wanted to be a hero. He wanted to help and save people so badly it almost crushed him when he found out he didn’t have a Flaire. But he managed. He was happy. He liked where he worked, he'd come to terms with his financial situation, and he was alive. He was alive and alive was good.

~~•~~

It had been a few minutes and Roman was starting to drift off into sleep when he heard something shatter from his bedroom. He tore off his earbuds and bolted upright, his heart pounding.

He listened closely as he heard someone curse from the room, the door only barely cracked open, so small you couldn’t see in.

Roman quietly got off his couch and moved into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the counter and swiftly slunk behind the cracked door. From outside, he could hear something else- something big- moving around. He tried to ignore it and crept up behind the door, holding his breath and calming his heart, gripping the handle of the knife till his knuckles turned white, he threw open the door and swung wildly.

“WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?!” Roman shouted, his voice cracking slightly. So much for a manly approach to this… he thought with fear latching onto his heart.

But after seeing the intruder, he had to reevaluate everything.

The intruder was dressed in an elaborate costume, a black and yellow hood thrown up over their head and a yellow scarf wrapped around their neck and obscuring the lower half of their face. They wore a loose yellow shirt that tucked into their black gloves, over the shirt they wore a baggy, sleeveless black top that tucked into their pants. In fact, everything about the outfit seemed loose and baggy, including the black pants they wore which tucked into their knee high black boots. They almost looked like some sort of fantasy assassin.

The intruder was on the ground, ducked behind Roman’s bed. When Roman had barged in loudly yelling, they bolted upright and grabbed Roman’s wrist, twisting it and forcing him to drop the knife. They put a hand over Roman’s mouth before he could scream and pushed him hard against the wall, still holding his wrist.

The something big moved again outside, it sounded almost mechanical. The intruder slowly sunk to the ground, forcing roman down with them. As they shrunk, a grey sheet seemed to materialize over them. Roan could see through it though, the way you can see through normal cloth from one side, but not be seen from the other.

If Roman’s mouth had been free, he was sure he would have shrieked when a bright shining light, reminiscent of a large eye, peered in through his broken and tattered blinds.

The intruder moved in closer, pressing up against Roman, making them smaller. It seemed they were like that for forever, the tension so thick you could spread it on bread and eat it.

Finally, finally, the thing passed and the two listened soundlessly to the thing retreating. And finally, the intruder got up, the grey sheet vanishing.

Roman stayed on the ground, in shock. He silently watched as the intruder peered out the broken window before sighing and starting to climb back out.

“W-wait!!” Roman shouted, finally getting a hold on himself. “You can’t just leave!!”

The intruder stopped and turned, their golden-amber eyes not quite matching one another, the cold venom string out at Roman. “Yes.” They said, their voice slightly husky and rough. “I can.” And without a warning, they leaped back out the window.

Roman rushed to try and catch them, but found himself watching as the intruder ran on the air as if it was as solid as the ground below them.

And in a moment that only someone that lived in Newflower City could experience, Roman huffed to himself. “That fabulous bastard broke my window!!”

~~•~~

Roman woke up shivering. He had placed cardboard sheets over the broken frame and taped it, but that wasn’t going to help much with the cold. He sighed and rolled out of bed, thinking of the obvious hero that had crashed into his apartment the night before. I hope they caught whoever they were trying to fight...And I hope no one else was hurt by that thing… Roman thought as he got ready for the day. He shook off any anxiety he had in his heart and glanced over at the clock before panicking. He was going to be late for work.

Roman rushed out the door, and started running. He only just caught the bus when he texted his boss and coworker.

Hey, Vee, I’m running a bit late today. Tell Logan to save me a muffin or something for me, will ya?

Roman let out a puff of air before remembering something.

Oh yeah, I have one hell of a story for you later, don’t let me forget.

A few minutes passed before his phone buzzed again.

Emo Nightmare: Ight, I’ll make sure specs saves you something. And what could possibly happen between last night and now that merits ‘one hell of a story’?

Roman closed the chat with his friend and hyped himself up for the story he was going to be able to tell.

He walked in the door of the Catfé and quietly rushed himself into the back to put on his apron.

“Hey! You’re late, Prince!” Roman’s coworker, Alice, hissed. “You were late last Saturday too! Why don't you just set an alarm?” She asked, handing him a blueberry muffin.

“It messes with my beauty sleep! If I’m awoken by that horrible beeping, I’d never look good again in my life!” Roman said, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t had time to brush his hair that morning, instead opting to take a bite of his muffin. “God, this is good…” Roman said under his breath. “Hey, Lo!! You’re the best baker ever, you know that!!” He called to the baker who was taking bread out of the oven.

“I know, now if only you could manage to get here on time.” They said, sighing and pushing their glasses up.

“Hey!! A man needs his beauty sleep! It’s hard work to look this pretty!” Roman said, heading out to the front to begin his shift.

“Oh, is that right, Princey?” A teasing, smooth voice asked from the counter.

Roman huffed. “Hey there, Virge. And yes. It is right.” Roman watched his friend laugh softly before yelling back to Alice to get Virgil’s coffee.

“So what’s this story you have for me?” Virgil asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

Roman smiled. “Well-”

Someone on the other side of the counter cleared their throat. A woman with a neat hair bun and slim suit stood near the order counter, her prehensile demon tail flicking back and forth in impatience.

Roman sighed. “I’ll tell you during break, I gotta run. Besides, don’t you need to let the cats out?” He asked before sliding over to take the woman’s order. By the time he was done, Virgil was gone.

Soon, little feline figures began to file out of a cat door in one of the back rooms. Five, six, seven- ten!! Eleven cats poured out and around the area, climbing on cat towers built into the structure and flopping down into cat beds on the ground. One particular cat wiggled his butt and launched himself onto the counter towards Roman. That is before being caught midair by Virgil.

“Sorry, Ro! Merlin missed you yesterday, you know how it is.” He apologized.

Roman laughed and reached forward, petting the grey ragdoll. "I missed you too, buddy!"

~~•~~

Roman loved his job working at the cat cafe. It was owned by a nice man who had a big heart. And even though Roman was just a small time barista, him and Thomas got along splendidly. Thomas had known Logan for a very long time and wanted them to be his baker and Virgil had gotten recommended by Logan, Roman however, had only known any of them for two years.

Of course in those two years he’d gone camping twice with Logan and Thomas, gone to the aquarium twice times with Virgil and once with Logan, and spent every break they had sitting on the counter in the back talking, laughing and teasing one another as Logan baked raspberry thumbprint cookies for the three of them and the golden haired boy they obviously had a crush on.

And on the weekends, Virgil and Logan and sometimes Alice and Thomas would agree to let Roman drag them to the gay bars he played at with his small time band. And when everything was all over, they’d all relax and have a few drinks before parting ways. They had started to become a tight knit family of sorts.

Roman couldn’t be happier with his friends and his job. He had left his desires for a Flaire behind him. He was okay being normal if normal meant his friends.

~~•~~

“So,” Virgil started, pulling himself up onto the counter in the back with a blackberry soda in hand. “Tell us about this crazy thing that happened to you last night, Ro. What was it? You broke a plate? Your neighbor is actually ten giant bees in a trench coat? Oh oh oh!! I got it! Aliens!” Virgil began laughing as Roman swatted at him.

“Har, har.” Roman said flatly.

“Honestly, Virgil, the only mystery here is how you manage to find the strangest flavored drinks. Last week it was mint.” Logan said, amusement twitching the edges of their lips as they dodged under Virgil’s pitiful blows. “Roman? Do tell what happened to provoke such a dramatic reaction from you.”

“Thank you, Logan!” Roman flourished and jumped onto the counter next to Virgil.

He relayed the break in and his encounter with the hero, embellishing a bit here and there.

“Wow…” Virgil said, crushing his soda can and tossing it at the recycling can across the room, cursing when he just barely missed. “What a bitch...See this is what I’ve been talking about,” He jumped off the counter and picked up his can. “Heroes are just stuck up bastards who have no consideration for everyday people like us…” He tossed the can away and turned back toward Roman, leaning against the wall. “You should sue for property damage, Ro. Find out who they were and sue.”

Roman waved his hand. “Honestly that just sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. And they were kind of hot though…” He said dreamily.

Virgil snorted. “Your pansexual ass is attracted to literally everything that’s ever breathed in your general direction.”

“And what’s wrong with that when everything is so pretty?!” Roman huffed.

Logan checked their wrist, smiling fondly. “Roman, Virgil, it’s time you two get back to work.”

“Awh!! But the cookies!!” Virgil whined. “They’re not done yeettt!”

“And they won’t be for another ten minutes, Virgil. I’ll make sure to set some aside for you and Roman once they are completed.” Logan reassured their friend.

“Fiiine.” Virgil relented. “But I expect one free drink as compensation tonight!!”

“Expect no such thi-”

“Thanks, Lo!!” Virgil stuck his tongue out at Logan and left with Roman.

As the two came out to the counter a familiar bubbly voice caught Roman’s attention. “Hello!!”

“Ah! Right on time!” Roman said to Virgil, not needing to face the counter to know it was the cute golden haired boy that Logan had a crush on. “The usual-” Roman started, turning around to face him before abruptly stopping himself.

“For me, yep! What about you, Dai?” The boy said.

The reason Roman had cut himself off so violently stared at him with the same cold gaze and golden-amber eyes, one not quite matching the other. He wore a beanie with a yellow and grey hoodie. His ears were pierced multiple times and he now had a nose ring where it had been absent last night.

Roman bristled and so did the stranger. And at the same time they yelled, the stranger’s voice making it all the more clear it was the same person from the night before.

“It’s you!!”

Tag list:

@iwillsithereandtrytocontribute @gattonero17 @soupgromlin @melodiread @septiplierdantisanders @just-a-hufflepuff @themagicheartmailman @awesomefanderhufflepotato @lofinnfish @dabookwormcat

(I kinda tagged everyone that said they wanted me to write this fic, (As well as my general tag list) is that okay? if you didn’t want to be tagged, please let me know!!)

Edit: I’m so fucking sorry I forgot to add the warnings

#Brilliance Of a Dying Star #deceit sanders #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #ts deceit #ts logan #ts roman #ts virgil #thomas sanders #sanders sides #ts sides #sanders sides fic #ts sides fic #super hero au #roceit

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pahsmina · 4 years ago

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Wardrobe post 2021 part 1 - dresses (image and text heavy)

For years I have wanted to tag along the trend in the EGL community to make a wardrobe post. But I just never took the time and effort to go through with it. Perhaps it’s because I’m so used to writing about merchandise that I sometimes feel a little lost what to write when it comes to clothes?

So let’s go 2021, let’s do this!

In this post I will focus on dresses, so get ready for a lot of pictures, along with my endless ramblings. 🙏

Rabbit Circus by Zhijinyuan - Release unknown

Now this dress is a walking mystery for me, which most offbrand dresses often becomes for me. I first saw this on google image search while checking out different circus cords, and I fell in love with it instantly.

However every site I managed to find it on seemed to be a bit shady, so I was a little bit cautious if I would end up with something similar to the stock photos of it, or a nightmare of cheap fabric.

At the end I stumbled across it on a Japanese lolita store called Alice Doll, which seemed to be a reseller of some taobao dresses. The price was around 4000 yen, which made me think “at least it’s not a too good to be true deal” and placed an order.

And I’m so glad I ended up ordering it!

Yes the skirt part of the dress does feel a bit cheaper in the fabric than my other brand ones, but there is such a lovely attention to details in it! Plus I’m a big fan of the jacquard texture in the fabric.

Jewelry Print Chiffon JSK by Alice and the Pirates - 2007

Being an adult means I can purchase old dream dresses I used to have as a teenager. And this is one of them!

Funny story, I used to own this print in another model and colour. But sold it because I mostly bought it as a compromise for not finding this specific model.

So here I am, years later and owning that exact dream. It fits wonderfully, and the asymmetrical cut is even more beautiful in person.

Sadly mine is missing the pearl chain in the front, so I replaced it with a navy coloured bow instead.

Twinkle School Tartan JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2007

This feels like a piece of Swedish lolita history.

Over the years I have seen several people in the community all over Sweden own this dress, and also bought it secondhand from a Swedish lolita.

I wonder if this is the same dress that all those people have owned before, or if there are more Twinkle School Tartan jsks floating around here?

Titel unknown by Mary Lolita - Release unknown

I’m a really big fan of balloons, especially hot air ones. It’s just something about them that always makes me smile.

So when I found this dress I immediately had to get it, despite not knowing too much about the brand.

It’s easily one of my most comfortable dresses, and works perfect for more casual, yet colourful outfits.

Miracle Rabbit by 由纪的八音盒 - 2020

My absolute favorite theme for lolita dresses are circus and rabbit prints, so I was overjoyed when I found out the existance about this dress.

And not only that, I was quite lucky since it was sold out in almost every model, except my most desired cut, colour and size. A match made in heaven 🐰

Holy Night Story Switch JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2010

Another old dream dress of mine!

I bought this after my last breakup to cheer myself up a lil bit, but despite being purchased during such a sad time I never feel sadness whenever I look at it.

Except for circus themes, I’m a huge sucker for anything reminding me of marching band outfits. And also rats, rats are very important too. (Yes they are probably mice but let a girl dream)

My favorite detail on this one is that it’s missing one of the original buttons, and the owner before me replaced it with this crown button instead. I don’t know why, but I just find it super cute haha.

Dot Jacquard Circus JSK by Innocent World - 2008

More circus dresses!

I ended up loving this dress so much that I am actually on the hunt for the black one as well.

Bertille OP by Mary Magdalena - 2009

Despite often dressing in OTT sweet lolita prints, this dress often makes me feel a little bit too overdressed sometimes? It’s just so elegant that I feel a little bit out of place sometimes haha.

But I don’t have the heart in me to sell it, because when I do end up wearing it I just love the silhouette way too much to even consider parting with it.

(I do have the bow for the front, I just forgot to dig it up from my accessory boxes)

Dressing Up Bunny-Chan Corduroy JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2006

Time really has taken it’s toll on this dress.

I love it to death, but it makes me a little sad to see how much the blue has faded to more of a grey colour. The zipper is also broken and have to be replaced.

Sadly it’s not a hyped enough old school dress to ever see a re-release. So I will continue to care for it till the day it finally gives up.

...and then buy a new one , because boy oh boy, I love it so much.

Sugary Carnival OP by Angelic Pretty - 2009 or 2011

I was SUPER lucky when I purchased this dress last year, even if it arrived to me in a condition that is unacceptable in my eyes.

Always imagined myself buying the JSK version of this colourway, but I ended up liking the OP more than I thought.

The fabric is quite faded over the years, and I’m a little bit worried it might not match too well with the 2020 re-release of the headbow, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Tiara Rose Tiered JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2009

My very first Angelic Pretty dress, and it’s still with me.

Originally purchased to wear to a wedding I was gonna attend, and kept ever since.

Dreamy Dollhouse Switching JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2009

Another dress from my breakup phase.

Purchased this while I was hospitalized as a “Bitch you’re gonna get though this”-gift to myself.

I was quite lucky with this find, since I managed to get the JSK and headbow in a set for 5000 yen.

Frederick Party Picot Lace JSK by Innocent world - 2007

I used to own this skirt in pink many many years ago, but sold it when I was getting into figure collecting and desired money for that instead. Big regrets on my part, since I ever since then desperately wanted it back.

Since then I have not managed to decide on which cut I desire for the pink one, but I was 100% about the blue one. And luckily that exact cut and colour is hanging safe and sound in my closet 💖

Milky-Chan the Fawn Ribbon JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2009

It’s kind of funny that for SC my plan was to get the JSK, but ended up with the OP instead. And it’s the complete opposite with my Milky-Chan.

This is another dress that I might not use too much, but it’s mostly because I’m a big slob and terrified of spilling something on it. Plus it’s a nightmare to iron with the ribbons on the straps and the pearl details haha.

Lyrical Party Going-out JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2011

My love for bunnies of course includes loving Lyrical Bunny. The design of this lil bun is just so cute and I can’t get enough of seeing it. I want to get more items such as accessories and novelties, but there’s always something that stops me from getting them. Like when they do pop up i’m out of cash for the moment, or sell out super fast.

So I feel lucky to at least own the Lyrical Party JSK. At first I planned on getting this in lavender, but I’m quite happy I ended up with the pink one instead.

Melty Chocolate High Waist JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2010

My pride and joy, my absolute dreamdress.

I was on the hunt for this colourway for so long that it drove me crazy. It popped up secondhand on sites not quite perfect for my timezone, so it often sold out while I had been asleep.

But a few days after Christmas in 2019 it finally showed up while I was still awake, and I purchased it with no hesitation.

Sugary Carnival JSK by Angelic Pretty - 2021

Not yet in my wardrobe, but I want to mention it anyway. I can’t wait till October😭😭

#EGL #Sweet Lolita #Innocent world #Angelic Pretty #Alice and the pirates #wardrobe post #Mary Magdalena #Taobao

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hollands-poppet · 5 years ago

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Don’t Make Me Choose// Chapter 7

Mob!Tom Holland and Mob!Harrison Osterfield AU series

A/N: Hi guys! I’m usually not this dark and Tumblr is usually my escape from everything but I have to say what I believe and stand for. Black Lives Matter, and if you’re with the ‘alllivesmatter’ shit then you can just go ahead and unfollow. I will always stand up for what I think is right, I will be reblogging a bunch of resources and anything to do with the cause. But hopefully this story can also be an escape for you, even if its just for a couple of minutes. -Amy 💛💛💛

Word Count: 6.4K 💛

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

playlist

Warnings: angsty, alcohol abuse, cussing, Italics is flashback, I didn’t proofread this at all

It was around 5:40 a.m. when the twitters of a hummingbird at the window woke Y/N from her sleep. She rubs her eyes to help soften the blur from her sleep, the peaking light coming from the window softly highlighting her facial features. She turns to her side and keeps her focus on the bird that continues to tweet at her window. All she could think was how beautiful the bird was, and why it had chosen to come to her window.

That’s when Tom’s arm comes around Y/N’s waist and he pulls her in, his head resting on the top of her shoulder. “Darling,” he kisses her shoulder. “Why are you awake so early?” She brings her cheek to his, “I can’t sleep.”

“Mm…” Tom lets out as he dozes off.

“Tom?” She questions as she holds onto his arm tightly, he keeps his eyes closed as he responds to his wife, “Hm?”

“Do you promise that you’ll never leave me no matter what happens?”

It didn’t even take more than a heartbeat for Tom to wake up from his sleep, he turns her over ever so gently, “Hey, hey… what’s going on?”

Y/N faces the ceiling, she was legitimately nervous that Tom was going to be upset that she was pregnant, “It’s just I had a nightmare and I broke one of your antique vases-”

She was lying, she couldn’t tell him the truth even yet.

He lets out a quiet laugh, “Love, I will never leave you over anything dumb like that- especially over something easily replaceable.”

She wipes a few tears that escape her eyes, “I know, it’s just… it felt so real. I just don’t ever want to lose you.”

He sighs and kisses her forehead, “I will always love you, Y/N. Remember that, I will never leave you. I promise you.” He snuggles into her and holds her tightly, and even though what he spoke was the truth this was something that he couldn’t really promise her. This lifestyle was too dangerous to promise anything and she knew that too. He felt terrible for making a promise that he couldn’t keep.

She rests her chin on his messy chocolate curls, she really took in this moment because it was going to be one of the last moments they had before Tom found out about the baby. This was the new home she had come to know and love and she knew what she had gotten herself into. She was going to do whatever it took to convince her husband to leave the lifestyle.

It only took Tom about 10 minutes to completely doze off and Y/N couldn’t go back to bed. She got up very slowly, removing Tom’s grip gently as she could so that she wouldn’t wake him up. She grabbed her robe from the floor as her feet hit the ground. She tiptoed as she covered her body and made her way to her bedroom balcony, slowly opening the sliding windows. The hummingbird chills around the ledge, almost as if it was leading her that way.

She had wanted some fresh air before she got changed to leave for the rest of the day, and just watched the hummingbird as it hovered right in front of her.

“You’re a cute little guy, aren’t ya?” She giggles as the hummingbird leaves her sight and makes its way down lower to the backyard. She continues to watch it fly around as she gets lost in her thoughts, she knew she was going to be busy for the rest of the day because of the ball.

And in all honesty, it was going to get cancelled because of the threat Y/N had received from this so-called Ceez. The only reason why this was continuing was because a virus outbreak was taking over the world, and this ball might be one of the last times a gathering at this proximity was going to be allowed for a while. It was a big goodbye to a lot of what was formally going to be known as normal. Tom decided that security was going to be amped up to filth, no one that wasn’t on the list was going to be allowed in.

As she stands on her balcony watching the hummingbird fly around, she notices Harrison’s guesthouse door open. She picks up her robe from her shoulders and watches closely as he exits his front door and just stands there. He doesn’t notice Y/N on her balcony but is noticing the sky change from purple to a blood orange. It was a pretty morning, and the two of them were taking in the beautiful morning from separate sides of the house.

Just as she is about to go back inside, she notices Bella come up behind the blonde and hug him. Y/N can’t help but smile, they were sweet. They both looked truly happy, and Y/N thought maybe tonight her and Harrison could at least be cordial. Maybe there was a way all of them could live without tension and forget about the past. Harrison and Bella share a kiss beneath the color changing sky, and Y/N decides to walk away. She gave them their privacy, and now was the time to start getting ready for the day.

She made her way into her closet and dressed herself in a matching black two piece outfit, and some slides. She was going to be decorating and directing everyone for the first part of the day so she wanted to be comfy. Her glam squad was going to be at the location in one of the rooms that was rented along with the ballroom space. She puts her hair into a messy bun as she walks into the bedroom, she grabs her keys and bag but before she reaches the door she hears her name.

“Y/N?” Tom says as he sits up with only one eye open.

She makes her way to the bed where her husband lies, “Morning love, I have to get set up for later.. I didn’t want to wake you up again.”

He gives her a tired smile, “You’re good, Y/N. I just wanted to tell you that I’ll meet you at the ball as soon as you reach the bottom of the stairs.”

She smiles, “I’ll see you there.” Even though she wanted to give him one kiss, she simply gave him a quick peck on the cheek to build anticipation between them.

As she walks away, he calls her name once more. “Y/N?”

She stops at the door and looks over her shoulder, “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to get another look at you.” Tom knew A Star is Born was one of her favorite movies so he knew she would love this cheesy shit.

“Shut up, I’ll see you later.” She lets out a giggle as she leaves her husband, she probably wasn’t going to see him til later that night. She makes her way down the stairs, and as soon as she reaches the end she sees Bella walk in from the backyard.

“Hey girlie.” Y/N remarks as soon as she sees her. Her friend laughs suspiciously, “Yikes, this looks really bad doesn’t it?”

The two girls laugh, and an awkward silence carries a bit between the two.

Y/N breaks the silence, “ Honestly, I understand. Harrison is a great guy… you two deserve each other. You really do.” Bella smiles and actually feels thrilled that her friend is happy for her, and without a doubt in her mind she hugs Y/N. And without hesitation, Y/N hugs her back.

“Well,” Bella pulls away from the hug. “Did you want some company today?”

Y/N nods as she digs through her purse for her keys, “Are you sure? I’m gonna be gone all day which means no Haz for awhile.”

Her brunette friend laughs, “I can live with that, I’ll just have my things dropped off at the location later.”

Y/N smiles, “Cool, we’ll get some pink drinks on the way there.” The two friends leave, and look forward to a night they both won’t forget.

Even though Tom basically had the day off, he decided that he was going to finish up some of his paperwork. He had finally taken a break after hours of work to get ready for the ball and he had picked out his best burgundy suit to correlate with Y/N’s pink dress. He wished he had gotten to spend more time with her today but he knew that tonight was going to be special.

As he rolls lint off his suit, he hears a knock at the door, “Tom?”

The brunette turns around to see his best friend Harrison all cleaned up and dressed up really nice, this was only getting him hyped up even more. He made his way towards his best friend, “Haz, mate you look dashing!”

They both give each other a bro hug, “Thanks, man. I’m just happy this stupid day is finally here.” Haz remarks as he pulls away and fixes his collar.

Tom nods in agreement and crosses his arms, “I feel you there but we got to make the best of it especially with this virus taking over the world.”

Harrison bites his lip, “You’re right about that. The world is changing so quickly, who knows what will happen in the next few months.”

Tom sighs, “It’s a lot to take in but we’ll take it day by day.”

“Speaking of change, I wanted to show you something really quickly.” Haz remarks as he makes his way to his friend’s office door and shuts them. He turns around and reaches into his tuxedo pocket and pulls out a tiny blue box.

He holds in front of him and at first Tom doesn’t understand but then it clicks in his head that it wasn’t too long ago his friend said he wanted to propose to Bella.

“You should reach out to Bella, I’m sure she would love to be your date to the ball.”

Haz shakes his head, “There is no way she would even answer her phone after what I did to her. I was an asshole.”

“Mate, she understands… We explained everything to her. You should reach out to her when you start feeling a bit better.”

The blonde smiles, “Maybe so…” He looks at his broken yet healing body, I don’t know, I might just fuck around and propose to her.”

Tom lets out a breathy laugh, “Shut the fuck up, Harrison. You sure you’re still not drunk?”

Haz lets out a small laugh while trying not to make any sudden movements and trigger any pain, “I don’t know, man. I just need something to hold me down, you know?”

Tom laughs nervously, “Damn, man. I don’t know what to say.” He walks towards his friend slowly, “I didn’t think you were actually serious.”

Harrison lets out a heavy sigh, “You don’t have to say anything mate, just be happy for me… that would be enough.” He lets out a defeated smile and plays with the box in his hands, “At first, I really was joking but these past few days I’ve spent with Bella have been amazing. I can’t- I just decided that I wanted to start something new with her.”

Tom puts his hands on his friend’s shoulders, “Dude, I’m happy for you. I really am, this is amazing news. Let’s see the ring.”

The blonde opens the box and reveals a heart shaped ring, even Tom knew that Bella would love it and say yes in a heartbeat. “She’s gonna love it, mate! Just make sure Y/N and I are there to see it all.” Tom says as he makes his way back to his desk to collect his phone and gun from the desk.

As soon as Harrison heard Y/N’s name, he wanted to ask his best friend a serious question without revealing her pregnancy. He knew she wanted to surprise Tom so he was going to try to be as discreet as possible. “So…how's married life treating you?”

Being discreet was not in Harrison’s vocabulary.

Tom tucks his gun into his mid waist, “What are you trying to get at, Harrison?”

He looks at himself in the mirror in the office, “Well, I mean you did mention that you would possibly want me to take over the mob one day for you.”

The brunette turns from his desk to face his friend who is still checking himself out in the mirror, he was a little suspicious of Harrison but he still couldn’t get at why he was asking him these things.

“You know the more I think about it, I don’t think that would ever be possible… no one would ever let me live in peace and I couldn’t even think about raising a family in this life.” And that was the honest truth, he wanted what Y/N wanted but normal wasn’t ever going to be possible with him.

Harrison nods, he knew this was going to break Y/N. He faces his friend, “You know I would take a bullet for you man, if you ever wanted to raise a family… I would be here to run shit for you.”

Tom smiles, “Don’t worry, mate. We’ll have fun tonight, we can talk about more heavy stuff on a different day.” He knew Harrison had his best interest in mind, it was just very odd that they were talking about this right now but he wasn’t going to question his friend’s intentions.

“Did you mind if I ride with you Tom? I fucking forgot Bella is already with Y/N at the location.” Harrison asks as he readjusts his gun and pocket knife in their appropriate spots in his waist belt.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.” Tom says as he grabs his keys to lock his office doors.

The duo make their way across the mansion and to the limo that awaits them outside, Harrison didn’t know what to think. He knew that tonight should just be fun but he couldn’t help but feel like something was off tonight and he couldn’t pinpoint what felt off.

“If you can please make sure that food starts going out at 7 p.m, and no exceptions...it’s either salmon, chicken or vegetables.” Y/N remarks as she finishes setting up the utensils at her table, she was becoming nervous as the night grew closer. The venue for the ball was just beautiful, it was all gold with an angelic painting on the ceiling, with stairs that had a circular balcony that connected some stairs.

The ballroom itself had a huge space for eating and a dance floor in the same room which Y/N loved because everything was connected. “Y/N! It’s time, you have to start getting ready!” Bella yells from the top of the stairs, “Hurry up!”

Y/N laughs as she gently fixes the spoon on her mother-in-law’s spot in the table, “Just a second..I’m coming!” She backs away and finally feels at peace with the way her table looks, “Okay, I’ll leave everything else to you guys. If you need me, please give me a call!” She says loud enough so that the workers around her can hear.

She makes her way through the tables to eventually reach the staircase, and as she makes her way to the top everything starts to feel as if everything is coming together perfectly.

As soon as she reaches Bella, her friend hands her a water “Y/N, you need to just chill now. You’ve been working hard all day.”

She nods and opens her water bottle, “I know, I know. I’m just a perfectionist.” She takes a sip and pulls out her phone to check the time and she had run a bit behind on time because it was already past 4. Guests were scheduled to start arriving at 6 p.m. and she hadn’t even started hair or makeup.

Y/N and Bella finally reach the room that was booked for hair and makeup, and are immediately greeted by their glam squad that did Y/N’s hair and makeup for her wedding.

“Wait, before I start let me give Tom a quick call-”

Bella snatches Y/N’s phone from her hand, “Nope! Take a seat, we’re already running behind, Tom will just have to see you when he gets here.” She tucks Y/N’s in her pocket, “ Relax and get ready. I’ll be in the restroom if you need me.”

Y/N rolls her eyes and laughs, “Fine, I guess you’re right.” Before she takes her seat, she gives her artist Sarah a quick hug and kiss. She has always trusted Sarah with her face and she knew she wouldn’t fail her tonight.

She rests her feet on the vanity while Sarah begins to rub some primer on her face. She planned to have her eyes closed for most of the makeup process, she was feeling a mixture of things. Y/N felt nervous because the ball was still happening on risk terms and conditions. She wanted to cancel the ball too but with the coronavirus uprising, she agreed with the continuation for one last hoorah.

She brings her hands to her stomach, she has yet to show a bump but she was excited for the new life that was growing inside of her. She was hoping that this new beginning would lead to a somewhat normal life with Tom, a possible life without the mob.

A sort of a gateway to a new start, it was wild to think she was carrying a piece of Tom inside of her. A little bit of nausea starts to peak but it’s also manageable enough for Y/N to hold down.

“Are you okay?” Sarah asks as she starts to apply her foundation.

“Y-yeah, just a bit tired from setting up all day today.” Y/N says as she opens her eyes to look at her artist in the mirror.

Sarah smiles at her through the mirror as she applies her foundation, “Don’t stress, it’s going to be a night to remember.”

Tom and Harrison exit the limo at the entrance of the venue, their pinky rings shine bright as they strut past all the guests to the entrance. James stands at the head of security at the door, “Good evening, Mr. Holland.”

“Hello, James. Everything going well I presume?” Tom says as he stops at the door to look at the line.

Jame responds, “Yeah, everything is going just as planned. All these people are trying to get in but they don’t have invites but they all are trying hard to get in.”

“Remember, no invite- no entry. Keep me updated.” Tom remarks as he walks past James with Harrison following behind him.

The moment the doors are opened for Tom and Harrison, the immediate smell of gardenia hits the two men. And they look around the huge ballroom to see the hints of gold and gardenia flowers decorated everywhere, all Tom could think was that Y/N had completely out done herself.

“Tom!”

The brunette turns back around to see his family walking through the crowd, the first person to see is his mom Nikki because of her fiery red hair. “Mum, it’s good to see you.” He gives her two quick kisses on the cheek, “Father, how are you?” He gives father Dom a stern handshake.

“Tom, it looks amazing in here. The clients are going to be truly impressed.” Tom’s father had retired almost 10 years ago but he still knew the business in and out. He wished he hadn’t left but he knew his son was doing a good job of keeping up the family tradition.

“This is really all thanks to Y/N, she is the one who ran the whole event.” Tom says as he looks around to see how perfect everything really is. Before he can continue, he is interrupted by his little brother who gives him a huge hug.

“Padsterman! You’re almost as tall as me now.” He shags his little brother's hair as he turns back to his father.

Dom nods in approval, “I always knew you picked the right girl, son. Where is your wife?”

And almost as if it were a cue, Y/N appears at the top of the stairs scanning the ground for her husband.

Harrison is the first to notice her and gulps at the sigh of her, “There she is.” The small group looked up at her all at the same time, they were all in awe of her because she did look like a queen tonight.

“I’ll meet you all at the dinner table.” Tom says as he makes his way to the bottom of the stairs where he promised he’d meet her. Most of all the guests turned their heads as well, they all acknowledged their hostess and her beauty.

Y/N slides her hand down the arm rail as she goes down step by step, really taking this moment in. Her beautiful pink feathered dress really accented her skin, her hair and makeup was just perfect. She holds her dress up with her left hand so that she wouldn’t trip on her dress, and even then she still had a train.

As she reached closer to Tom, she felt like this moment was always meant to happen. She smiles as she gets closer to him, almost as if she can’t get there fast enough. He reaches out for her hand and she reaches out for his, their hands touching for the first time in hours.

Y/N leans in to kiss her husband and their lips fit exactly where they are supposed to be. Tom pulls away and whispers into her ear, “You’re a queen you know that right?”

She giggles into his neck, “Let me go say hi to your family really quick.”

Tom doesn’t let her go, “It’s okay, we’re going to sit with them. You can say hello after you dance with me.” She smiles at her husband and gives him a quick eskimo kiss, “Fine.”

As they walk to the dance floor, Harrison watches them go and had this been a couple of weeks ago he would have said that this hurt his heart but it didn’t. He only took this as a sign that he was finally moving on, and when he looked at the top of the steps there was the girl he was slowly falling in love with.

Bella looked stunning, her dress was beaded with sparkles and dazzled in every which direction she moved. The dress clinched so perfectly on her body, and the V-Cut design fit just snug against her. It’s not a secret that Harrison wasn’t blown away by her appearance.

He makes his way through the crowd of people and almost runs his way up the stairs. He meets her halfway, his hand connecting with hers on the rails.

“Hey.” He lets out as he tries to catch his breath.

She lets out a small cackle, “Hey.. the ball is down there by the way.”

Harrison looks back at the people that are going about there night and he looks back at her, “Listen, do you mind if we talk? Away from everyone?”

She looks at the man in front of her, he had changed so much from the first time she had met him and he had matured. He was sober, he was present and she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to be alone with him for a few minutes. “Sure, I can spare a few minutes for you.”

He lets out a laugh, “Good, it’ll be worth it.” Bella grabs his hand and leads him back upstairs and into the room that her and Y/N had gotten ready in.

Back downstairs Y/N and Tom are in each other’s arms slow dancing while Young and Beautiful is recreated by the band. Her right hand in his and her left one resting on his shoulder while his left hand rests on her waist. Their faces close as they dance, they sway together and take in the full moment.

A hired photographer passing takes a quick photo as they pass by, the two not even acknowledging. To be quite honest, it felt like it was just them two in the room.

“Can you believe this day is finally here?” She asks as bites her bottom lip, she really just wanted to be alone with her husband.

He holds her tightly as he can even though her dress is bigger than her, “I’m just happy that I can be here with you.”

Tom spins her and catches her with her back towards him, “You look so stunning. I just want you all to myself.” She holds onto her husband tightly, her arms wrapping over his as they sway.

“Thank you, Tom. I’m really happy that you’re happy.” And as Y/N finishes her sentence he spins her back around and they are face to face.

Their hands back in place where they’re supposed to be, “I’m more than happy, darling. I can’t wait to just be with you after this is all over.”

They sway a bit more in each other’s arms, and she honestly felt like this was heaven. This was a moment that she never wanted to end, it all became like a fairytale. “I’ve never wanted you more than I do right now,” She exclaims as she stares into his eyes.

They give each other another kiss, a long passionate one. He pulls away slowly, “I would make a baby with you right now if I could.” And that’s when Y/N see’s the opportunity to bring up the baby to Tom, she can feel herself beginning to sweat from the most random places because she’s getting nervous.

And with no hesitation because she knew she would chicken out if she didn’t say anything now she wouldn’t mention it later, “Tom, what if that already happened?”

They continue to sway but he’s honestly taken out of the blissful trance they had both created, “What?” He didn’t sound upset or happy, it was just an honest response.

“I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.” Y/N admits as she says it for him again, they continue to sway but he has no words. They both look at each other while she waits for another response.

“Tom!” Dom yells out as he makes his way with one of his friends.

The couple both let each other go and look at his father who introduces his friend, “This is Jimmy! Him and I go way back! Why don’t you come and chat with us for a bit?”

Tom looks back at Y/N who looks a bit annoyed because their conversation was interrupted, “I’ll be back in a bit, darling.”

Y/N lets out a fake smile, “No worries, you know where to find me.. I’ll be catching up with your mom.”

The two looked at each other for a good while, this was a moment that they both didn’t know how to feel. He had a bunch of emotions that were rushing to his head but he couldn’t show them, at least not right now.

She walks away and meets her mother-in-law at their assigned seating, Y/N gives her kisses on the cheek. “How are you, Nikki?”

“I’m wonderful, love. Everything looks beautiful.” She says as she takes a sip of her wine, “Did you want me to pour you some? It’s honestly delicious.”

Y/N plays with her hands, “I can’t, I can’t have alcohol actually.”

It takes a second for her mother-in-law to understand what she is implying but it eventually clicks, “Oh, Y/N. Does Tom know?”

She sits down next to Nikki and holds her hands, “I just told him, he didn’t get a chance to tell me what he thought.” The two women look back at Tom who is socializing with his father and people he does business with.

“I don’t want to burst your bubble dear but I don’t think this is the right environment to have a baby in.” Nikki remarks as she holds her daughter-in-law’s hands tightly, “Tom’s experience as a child with a family in the mob wasn’t the most pleasant for him.”

Y/N sighs, “Harrison said that too…” She looks into Nikki’s eyes looking for direction in this certain situation, “I-I thought this would make him happy and maybe a gateway out of this lifestyle for him.”

The beautiful redhead nods her head, “I understand…and I’m sure that’s what Tom wants too. He has such a good heart but-”

Y/N was only looking for an answer with hope but she knew she was only getting the truth, “but he’s already mixed into the mob mess, even if he did leave.. all of his enemies will be after him.”

Nikki rubs her back, “Maybe Tom would raise this child differently than his dad raised him but he can’t control what this child will witness and would eventually have to take over for Tom at some point.”

Y/N keeps getting constant waves and nods from the guests so she is trying her best to keep it together, she smiles and waves back giving it all she can not to cry.

“Tom wanted to be a carpenter, you know?” His mother tells her as she rests her hand on Y/N’s shoulder.

She shoots up and grabs her pink dress from the front, “I’m just going to look for Bella really quick, I’ll be right back.” The truth was that she wasn’t and that was because she just needed a moment to herself. Maybe this life she was bringing into the world wasn’t going to be able to live a normal life but was only destined to run a mob.

Y/N turns around and covers her mouth almost to hold down the nonexistent vomit she felt coming up. Maybe Harrison was right, maybe this was all wrong and Tom wasn’t going to be happy about this. Or maybe he was but regardless she had to wait for an answer, there was going to be a lot to talk about no matter how her husband felt.

As she wipes a quick tear from her cheek she accidentally bumps into a guest, “Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry.”

He smiles as he holds his drink, “No worries, you’re the hostess. How about a quick dance?”

She turns back around to see Tom chatting with his father and his friend, and before she could respond he inserts, “Come on, I’m an old friend of Tom’s. Just one dance.”

She turns back, she would admit that this man was quite charming and he had really nice hair. “Why not?” She says as she takes his hand, he sets down his drink and immediately spins her back to the dance floor.

Her hands feel uneasy in his, the coldness from all of his rings makes her chill down her spine. “I’m surprised your husband let you out of his sight.”

She laughs, “Hm, he’s just handling some business with his father.”

The two begin to sway, Y/N could only think that his dancing wasn’t as graceful as his looks. She felt really uncomfortable too, like something felt off about the man she was dancing with but she continued to dance with him because he was one of Tom’s alleged old friends.

The silence became a bit awkward as well, he stared at her so intensely and it seemed like he was trying to insert some sort of dominance on her. “You really are a piece of art, aren’t you?”

Y/N clears her throat, “So, how long have you known Tom? I’ve never met you before?” She gives him fake a smile.

He spins Y/N and brings her back quickly, “He keeps me hidden, as he should keep you.”

She frowns, “I’m not meant to be hidden but you sure have no problem expressing that.”

He gives her an obnoxious laugh, “Listen, if you were my wife..there would be no way that I would let you out of my sight.

He brings his hand from her waist to her neck, “It would be ashamed if anything happened to this pretty face.”

Y/N slaps his hand off of her neck, “Who the hell do you think you are?” She crosses her arms, she felt a little violated considering this man felt comfortable enough to touch her that way.

He laughs as he adjusts the wrist buttons on his suit, “Maybe you missed my message… Does Ceez sound familiar?”

Y/N didn’t even a second thought to look back for her husband but he was already lost in the crowd of people. As she turns back, he’s already flashing the gun that is tucked into his waist, “Yell and you’re dead.”

She swallows the big lump that was chilling in her throat, her eyes watering with fear.

“Keep dancing with me, please.” He remarks as he closes his blazer, “I still have a lot to say.” He holds out his hands for her to hold.

She takes it reluctantly, holding back tears so that she wouldn’t cause a scene. “What do you want from us?”

He spins her around and brings her back forcefully, “I want your husband to pay… for a lot of things actually.” He touches her neck again, bringing her in ear close to his mouth. “Starting with you.”

She tries to pull away, “Let go of me.”

Y/N is able to let go of his grip and actually is able to take about two steps until she’s pulled back in and he pokes something into her side, the only thing she can assume is his gun.

“I thought I told you not to make a scene.” He says into her ear, “You’re so naive, Tom isn’t going to be able to save you this time.”

Bella leads Harrison into the room where she and Y/N had gotten ready. He shuts the door behind him and she stands shyly by the bed, not really knowing why he wanted to talk privately but also excited to see him.

He makes his way to her slowly, “Bella, before anything else you look stunning.” He reaches for her hands and she places them in his, “You really do, Bella. I’m not just saying that.”

She looks down and she was blushing because she wasn’t used to him being so generous with his compliments, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t totally vibing Harrison right now.

“Thank you, Haz. You’re very sweet but I have to ask why you’re keeping me from the party?”

He clears his throat, his face is getting red because he is nervous. So he sat in the center of the bed that was in the room and brought her in between his legs.

“I know, we’ve been on and off these past couple of months and I know that I was always fucking everything up.” He gets a bit choked up, he was thinking about the dark place that he was not long ago but Bella was there for him from the start.

She puts her hand on his cheek, “You know I’ve forgiven you for all of that right?”

A few tears roll down his cheeks, “Yeah, I know but I know I hurt you and I never, ever meant to do that to you.”

Bella nods and lets out a sad smile because it was true. He did hurt her but for whatever reason, they always came back to each other. She looks down at him and without thinking about it she leans in to give him a kiss.

He kisses her back, his hands making their way up her thighs and to her waist. Haz makes his way back up, Bella’s heels not even tall enough for her to not tip toe on her feet. Her hands lie on his chest as their lips continue to brush against each other.

Haz pulls away, “I have to ask you something..”

She looks into his blue eyes, “What is it?”

He lets go of her waist and reaches into his pocket to reveal a tiny blue box. She covers her mouth almost immediately knowing what it is and he begins to get down on one knee.

“Tom is gonna kill me because he wanted to see me do this but he’ll live.” He remarks as he grabs Bella’s left hand, her right hand still covering her mouth.

“Bella, I don’t know where my life is gonna take me but I would love to ride it with you as long as I can. Will you marry me?”

She takes a second to answer, she wipes the couple of tears from her eyes and she takes another look at the ring being put right in front of her. “Are you sure?”

He takes a look at the ring, realizing that his life was taking him in a different direction than he could ever imagine and then he looks back at her.

“I have never been more sure if anything in my entire life.”

She smiles, letting out a giggle as she nods her head, “Then yes. A thousand times yes!”

He began to laugh nervously, she had said yes. Fuck, this was going better than he would have imagined.

Haz gets up from one knee and his hand is shaken the whole time he pulls the ring out of the box but he manages to slide the ring onto her finger.

Without question, their lips meet again and imaginary fireworks are spurring around them but within seconds of this happy moment their moment of happiness is interrupted by multiple, loud gunshots.

A/N: I hope you’re enjoying the story, pls pls let me know your thoughts, predictions, anything! The world is heavy, dark place right now but sometimes these stories can be a good escape. ily. -Amy💛

p.s not everyone that is on the taglist asked to be tagged but if you want me to remove you let me know!!

Taglist: @ladybirduris @thedaydreamingwriter @a-walk-in-silence @tomhaz @mischiefmanaged49 @tomshufflepuff @smexylemony @musicgirl234 @spidey-pal @greenarrowhead @superheros-and-others @captainbuckyy @kawaiigothfishpasta @hollandechart @thollandx @glader-witch-wolf @amren-rhyssecond @peteryesparker @hazhasmycoffee @the-queen-procrastinator @hollandroos @spiderboytotherescue @hotsterfield @thedaydreamingwriter

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