#but I‘m just glad that I can finally move on from the presentation

[osamusriceballs]

I had an important presentation today and it went well fortunately 💖💕🥹 I’m so tired today though, I’ll probably not finish editing the accident tonight, my apologies 🥺

[marvel-ousnesss]

Hand in Hand

Pairing: Harry Styles x reader

Summary: Y/N and Harry the night of the Brits.

word count: 2806

masterlist 

A/N: I wrote most of this on my phone so sorry for any typos or mistakes. Lots of love 💜💜💜

“Y/N, Y/N!”

You approached the source of the storm of voices with a wide grin on your face. You still couldn't hide the thrill that your fans brought you, nor you could stop yourself from just hanging with them for a bit. You ambled through the red carpet exchanging smiles and posing for selfies until you reached the end of the path.

When you stepped inside, you greeted a few other people who had arrived at the event and went to freshen up a bit so you could pose for some photos.

You looked at yourself in the mirror and grinned widely. You felt like the girl singing covers in her room, yet here you were, attending your first-ever music awards as a nominee —with one of the best albums of the year under your arm.

As you made your way back from the restroom, you felt a presence behind you. Before you could turn around, they spoke.

"Well hey, fancy seeing you here.” Harry's voice was raspy, tinted with mischief.

You stopped, turned toward him with an amused half-smile.

"Right back at you,” you joked back. “Do you come here often?"

He exhaled a fruity laugh and smiled at you, finally allowing his gaze to drift down onto your figure and then back to up to meet your own. "You look… wow."

He made you blush with almost no effort but you were quick to cover it up, doing your best to get rid of the tension that seemed to constantly glide around the two of you.

"Well, don't you look 'wow' yourself", you smirked.

It had been going on for a few months now; flirting here and there, hanging out at parties, and even a few dates which you had tried to keep out of the spotlight. Nevertheless, headlines hadn't stopped gushing on about 'the newest, freshest face of the industry' and the 'beloved, eclectic Harry Styles.'

Looping your arm around his you subtly prompted him to continue walking toward the awaiting cameras, where you were headed before bumping into him. He obliged, smoothly guiding you through the crowd of crew members, press, and artists.

After a moment of hesitation, his hand traveled to the small of your back. When you felt his tender fingers against the silk of your gown, you lifted your head to look at him.

"So, what’s the game-plan for tonight?”

“Y’know how ‘t goes,” he explained. “Step one: performance, step two: get hold of all the tiny statues, step three: world domination.”

You laughed, but insisted, “really, how’re you doing; ready?”

Even if he seemed to be perfectly collected, you knew that tonight’s show had his head spinning. This was gonna be his first live performance of the year, and, to be honest, you thought it was admirable that he decided to go through with it after what had happened that weekend.

“‘m just a mess of nerves and excitement right now. Tonight needs to be brilliant.”

He didn’t wanna talk about Caroline’s death and you were ok with it, so you didn’t push on the topic.

“I’m sure it’ll be. The whole album’s just amazing; and, you know, the guy who sings it isn’t that bad either.”

He chuckled lightly, then sighed, “just hope I make it justice.”

You smiled, “you will.”

That’s when you found yourselves between the gray wall upholstered with logos and brand names and the army of photographers equipped with cameras of all sizes.

You both faced them and quickly displayed your best angles.

Offering a smirk as he fixed the collar of his blazer, Harry asked, “what ‘bout you, eyes on the prize, I assume?”

You turned around with grace, so that the back of your outfit was visible, then faced the cameras over your shoulder.

“Well, yeah,” you sighed dramatically. “But, to be frank, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep them there with you looking so dashingly handsome.”

His eyes widened for a second and he let out a ringing laugh, his cheeks reddening slightly. It was truly a beautiful sight. However, no longer than a moment later, he concealed the gentle blush with a snort and a devious grin, which he directed at the cameras.

“I know ’m irresistible, love,” he smirked. “And I hate to tell you this, but I‘m ‘a be professional tonight, no funny business.” His tone was dripping with feigned seriousness.

"Your loss," you flipped your hair.

_______

You guided Y/F/N to the table where your team had been placed. Being honest, she was thrilled to be there with you, but also quite surprised that you had honored the promise you both made back in middle school. When you had first told her about your YouTube channel —after a fair amount of bugging on her part—, she had shown complete support and joked about being your date to the met gala. But, as the met was still clearly out of your league and you had missed the Grammys because of your mom’s birthday, here you were.

She already knew your manager so you introduced her to the rest of them before taking a seat, ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.

The first few minutes were full of laughter and conversation. When the event officially began, you watched the presentations with a gaping mouth and cheered hastily when every award was presented.

Before you knew, it was already time for Harry’s performance. You bit the inside of your lip when he climbed upstage, effortlessly rocking a lace jumpsuit that gave a deific, but simple air to him.

“Can’t believe you turned that down to bring me,” your friend whispered to you.

“Seriously?, my first ever-awards were something I needed to share with you, dork.”

“Awww, friend.”

“Aww”, you mocked, then hit her shoulder lightly. “Shush, let me listen.”

Everything happening on stage was truly breathtaking. You mouthed the lyrics as your gaze followed his every move. His eyes were full of stars and his voice was so flooded with emotion that it made chills run down your spine.

“I’ll rip his throat out with my teeth if he ever fucks up.”

Those words somewhat pulled you out of your daze-like state. Part of you wanted to ask her what she meant, but it was no use. For her, you were an open book, so you didn’t even try to hide how bad you had fallen.

Only with a glance your way, Y/F/N managed to catch the way in which your eyes twinkled when you looked at him and the way you blushed ever so slightly when she brought him up.

You tried to conceal the impact of her words with a sip of your drink, to which she responded with a smug wink.

The following half an hour or so went by uneventful. You nearly fainted when Lizzo performed, and it didn’t get better when you discovered she was but a few tables away from you, next to where Harry had been placed. A couple of categories where presented and the moment you dreaded the most arrived.

Celeste was flawless on stage, and you couldn’t be happier for her. Yet, as you listened to her song, your brows were glued in a frown and the corners of your mouth seemed to weigh a ton. It was time for the rising star award, and then came international female solo —to which you had been nominated.

You turned your head to the side when you heard the scratching of a chair against the floor, and offered a quivering smile to Harry, who had not so discreetly sneaked to your table.

“Hey,” he mumbled, taking hold of one of your hands under the table.

“Hey.”

Celeste’s speech, which ended before you would’ve wanted, was followed by Sporty’s introduction to your category. You tried to stay positive as the nominees were announced.

Y/F/N managed to dodge Harry and get her hand on your shoulder. She gave him an awkward attempt of a smile, then looked at you. “You got this.”

You nodded at her words but, not so deep down, you knew this wasn’t gonna be your year.

“I’m so excited, they’re all so brilliant,” Sporty began.

Harry’s grip tightened on your hand while she opened the envelope, and you barely heard him mumble, “come on.”

That’s when the winner was announced. Billie’s name echoed through the speakers across the place and your face fell for a few seconds.

You were quick to recover and clapped just as eagerly as you had for the rest of the winners, but the smile plastered on your face quivered a bit as you swallowed a wave of disappointment.

That changed when she got to the stage, that’s when utter pride kicked in. While Billie said a few words in acceptance of the award, Jack Whitehall made his way to the table and squeezed a chair between you and Harry. You let out a snicker as he clumsily tried to sit comfortably, then you moved a bit back.

He was given his cue by the camera guy and began.

“Congratulations, to Billie Eilish! Now, I’m just so excited to be here with this power couple who, for some reason, are not officially a couple yet.”

"Glad to have you."

His eyes drifted between the two of you, then settled on Harry. “Harold, you’ve been coming to the brits for 10 years. Not to make you feel old.” Then he looked at you. “Y/N, on the other hand, this is your very first time here.”

"Yup," you chuckled. "Total newbie."

“Sorry for the stock question, but how’s it feeling so far? Kidding, we don’t wanna talk about that, do we? I bet you’ve already got at least five rehearsed versions of the answer to that question.”

You snorted.

“Let’s get to the point here.“ Jack leaned closer to the table, to which you responded by mimicking his posture. “Ever since the ‘Up All Night’ era, when Harold here was just a lad with his little bow tie and a mop on his hair, he’s been a ladies man.

Harry scoffed and waved his hand dismissively.

"And, as such, he can only be paired to someone like you,“ he pointed his finger at you in mock accusation, “my dear Y/N, who has been leaving a fair share of lads and ladies’ hearts broken —including my own— ever since your very flare-up on that strange platform which somehow houses both Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ and your phenomenal album ‘Tears of Blade’. However, putting my broken heart aside, I wanna Know… you didn’t come as each other’s date, why’s that?"

Harry took a sip of his drink, "I tried, but she turned me down."

Jack faked shock. "Should I get my hopes up then?"

"Oh no, none of that."You shook your head. "I just brought a friend tonight."

His mouth opened in realization, then he smirked, wiggling his brows. "Not to intrude, but… a special friend of yours or a friend friend."

You threw your head back, laughing, then said, "Jack, this is Y/F/N. Y/F/N, Jack."

"Hi." She stretched out her hand, which the host gladly took.

“I like the way your hand fits in mine,” he gushed.

——————————

You struggled to stay awake in the car to your place, your eyelids didn’t seem to be obeying you anymore and your head was feeling too heavy for you to lift. Harry chuckled when he looked at you, bringing you closer to him so you could use him as a pillow. For the rest of the ride, he quietly hummed to the music playing and did what he could to ignore the feeling of numbness that was beginning to invade his arm.

You woke up when the car stopped and raised your head, scanning your surroundings. When your gaze met Harry’s, you smiled. He grabbed your purse and helped you out of the car, then you both took the lift to your apartment.

"Make yourself at home," you said, taking off your coat and shoes.

"Thanks, love." He hanged his blazer on the rack by the door, together with his vest and the purple pashmina that adorned his neck.

After changing into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, you made your way to the living room and found Harry, neck deep into your fridge. That's when you recalled you hadn't done any grocery shopping.

"Tell me if you find something, my fridge's just sad to even look at," you jested, standing behind him.

"S'not that bad. I mean, carrots, beer, tortillas, we could do wonders out of this," he scoffed, still looking for something worth looting.

After no avail, he closed the door.

"Or… we could order pizza."

He chortled, "Y/N/N, we ate like an hour ago."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

He sighed, letting himself fall to the couch in fake exasperation. "Woman, you’re a bad influence." Now, that was a yes.

You giggled when he ended up sitting on the floor, then taunted, "worried your Gucci suits won’t fit you anymore?"

"Ha-ha very funny." Harry settled on the floor, grabbing one of the decorative pillows.

"C’ mere," he patted the spot beside him.

"The couch’s right there."

"So?"

"So?" you mocked, "you come here." You clumsily sat on the couch, but he grabbed your ankle and pulled you to the floor. You let out a squeal but, taking advantage of the boost he had given you, managed to place yourself on top of him, caging his body between yours and the couch.

You were about to gloat, but he placed a hand on your waist and used the weight of his body to push you back, turning the cards.

"You got me where you want me, what are you gonna do?" When you spoke, your voice came out quieter than intended.

Harry's hand found the hem of your shirt and he began tugging it faintly, brushing your skin ever so slightly. He looked at your lips for a moment, then your eyes.

"'Ve got a few ideas-" his words were drowned by the doorbell ringing.

"Fuck," he groaned, head burying in the crook of your neck. Your fingers curled around his silky locks, then you mumbled, "I have to get up, you know."

He grumbled something else, but you pushed him off you.

You received the pizza and locked the door, proceeding to put the cardboard box on the marble counter. As you cut the tape with a small knife, Harry joined you in the kitchen. Stepping behind you, he placed his hands on your sides and a kiss on the line where your neck met your shoulder.

"Patience is a virtue, Harold," you teased.

"Don't care."He rested his head on your shoulder but his hands carried on with the feathery strokes.

Just then, you opened the box and swiftly turned around, giving him a quick peck before stepping out of his grasp.

"Help yourself," you instructed while grabbing two beers from the fridge.

After giving him one, you took hold of a slice and walked toward your previous spot on the living room floor. "Don’t know bout you, but I’m starving."

Harry followed with the box in hand, after settling once again, he placed the box between the two of you and grabbed the remote control.

You shook your head and scoffed, "all that wailing and you're just as hungry as I am."

"Not my fault that the bloody doorbell killed the mood." He took another bite.

Three beers per head later, as the credits of Dirty Dancing rolled up the screen, the pizza had been discarded long ago. You hummed to the credits song as your head rested on his lap, enjoying the feeling of his hands playing with your hair.

"Thanks for tonight," he mused.

"What d'you mean?" You adjusted yourself so that you were looking up at him.

"Just, you know, "he hesitated, finding the words. "You made sure it was a great night."

Your mouth opened in realization before you smiled, lifting one of your hands to his cheek. “That's what 'm here for." Then you sat up, and joked, "besides, 's only fair to admit that, for a business night, it was fun."

"You break my heart, love" he sighed, "all your business partners get after parties like tonight’s?"

"Nah," you avowed, "just the cute ones."

"I'm relieved, then." He pulled you to him by the waist.

You beamed, throwing your head back, "you're unbelievable."

When you straightened up, after your laugh died down, his gaze found your lips once more and he leaned in. "Can I kiss you?"

Your hands moved up to the back of his neck and, without a word, you pressed your lips to his.

Requests open!

[itsmespicaa]

Regrets

Summary: A deeper look into Cassandra Cain's life after the Anti-Life virus struck the whole Universe and her interactions with her family.

(Alternatively: Cass gets the hugs she deserves in DCeased)

Note: The art I drew for this fic is here.

Read this on AO3

There was no time to lose.

There was still so much...life in this building. So much to protect. Cassandra is beyond glad they‘ve all decided to stay—these children...are not like her. Or Jason. Or even Gordon-

"Jim," he sighed, wistful and...sad. Eyes briefly lost in what was no doubt a shrapnel of memory that cuts and pricks deep into your chest, pushed aside to focus on the present—to survive—no matter how painful it digs into your soul. She understood. He glanced at her and smiled. "Jim’s fine, Cass. We’re all family, right?”

These children needed them, and...perhaps a part of her needed them too. They all needed each other now, one way or another.

Nights are...the worst.

Sleep has never come naturally for her, even before...everything. Before their whole world fell apart. She was not unfamiliar with loss, but this- there was no time to mourn or- or even breathe. No time to look back and realize just how much was taken from them.

Survive. Move forward. Survive, kill, survive. Keep each other safe.

Her mantra—the only thing that mattered now.

She did not allow herself to think of Barbara‘s kind eyes, or the last time she heard Dick laughing in the manor. She did not think of the fistbump she shared with Tim on their last patrol together.

She did not allow herself to think about Bruce, of the comforting weight on her shoulder after another successful night a few days ago. An easy night—quick and simple. So...different from the nights now that her chest ached and ached-

Nor did she allow herself to think about Stephanie, who wasn't even supposed to be in Gotham now. Her mother too...surely...?

(But Batman was supposed to be invincible, and yet, and yet—)

No. No time to look back. No time for hope or questions with no answers.

Nights are the worst.

Beyond the stillness of the night, beyond the quiet of the sleeping children...the monsters lurk and scream. She could hear them, clear as day—sleep did not come to them...so nor would she.

Instead, she sat in a corner—not too close that she could be spotted instantly, but close enough to aide should anything happen—silent and watchful over the children now in her care. It soothed her, seeing them so peaceful. Their innocence not yet fully stolen from them.

A night without one of them waking up from a nightmare was all that she asked for.

"Cass."

She did not turn to the voice. As she waited, her brother finally came to sit beside her, knees drawn up to his chest as if to mimic her.

On a better day, she would‘ve smiled at this.

She didn't smile.

"You really should rest," murmured Jason after a while. "I‘ll watch over them tonight. We need to be in tip top condition if we plan on protecting them."

Facing him, face impassive, she signed: You? Sleep?

A huff, eyes dim. "Touché."

They sat there, side by side, watching the faces of those more vulnerable than them for a long time, the noise from beyond the walls momentarily cut out as her focus zeroed in on the children.

"I buried them," said Jason suddenly, breaking the fragile peace. Cass does not stop, doesn‘t have to ask who he meant.

"I should‘ve told you sooner, but with everything going on..."

Words were never her allies, and they weren't one now. Cass swallowed the lump growing in her throat, along with whatever words she was about to say.

I know, she touched her cheeks twice instead, trusting in her brother to see it.

Jason definitely noticed, because the next moment he was slowly wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. Like a puppet cut loose from its string, Cass melted into his side, finally allowing herself a small moment to just-

Mourn.

She and Jason were never as close as her and Tim, but they understood one another, possibly better than most in the family. They would spent rare moments reading together in the manor‘s library, comfortably co-existing. Now-

No more words were spent that night, the two of them silently supporting each other as they accept their new reality. She did not move to wipe the few drops of tears tracking down her cheeks, and Jason said nothing.

How cruel is it that the ones to survive are the people who had touched death before?

...Damian? Alfred? Her hand moved as she looked at him, mouth pressed in a thin line. The only ones left. And their youngest sibling. The expression that reflected back at her was just as grim, but the lines on his face were noticeably lighter, and Cass can tell from the loose grip on her shoulder—from the set of his jaw that it was not a bad news.

"Both are still alive in Metropolis last I checked yesterday," he said, fingers picking at a loose strand on his jacket—nervous, "and hopefully they’re with other heroes too. I...try not to check too often. Gotta save the energy of the car, y‘know?"

And I‘m scared to know, was unspoken, but she heard it. Saw the fear in his creases, the anxiety in his sunken eyes.

The regret.

Cassandra understood. There were regrets she would have to live with now too.

She nodded, looking back at the children again. A sense of tranquility finally settling in her chest, the anguish she felt not completely extinguished...but there was only so much she could bear at a time. These children are her priorities now, her new family, and...

Little brother, she tugged and signed at Jason before resting a hand on his back. "Keep you safe," she emphasized each words, tugging on his red hoodie—now splattered in different shades of red.

That...startled a laugh out of him. A small quirk of lips, but Cass saw it as what it is and beamed too, subdued as it was.

"I don‘t know about me being the younger brother," he chuckled softly, "but I'm glad I have a kick-ass sister like you. I have your back too, Cass. Always."

She would not lose any more of her family if she could help it. New or old.

Even if she had to sacrifice herself.

Her mother. She was-

Cassandra watched as the children exit the bus and can’t help the bittersweet smile tugging the edge of her lips.

She was a hero.

In the very end, she died a hero. Protecting the life of innocents and...her family.

Her heart felt too heavy to maintain it however, and after making sure all the surviving children are accounted for and comfortably settled in their new home, she wandered over to the newly chiseled statue the Green Guardian—Ivy had bestowed upon them as a token of respect. A gift.

She stood before the likeness of her mother, her last moments playing over her mind like a broken cassette.

Her eyes burned and she blinked, rapidly.

"Hey."

The white-haired lady. Moved with quiet grace almost as good as her. Almost.

She nodded back in lieu of a reply.

"Complicated parent issues?"

"...Yes."

A sigh. "Same."

They stood there, side by side, both lost in thought as they gazed upon the legacy their parents have left.

"Despite everything..." whispered Rose, "We still love and miss them, don‘t we?"

"She was...not a good mother," began Cass, trying to find the right words to describe the turmoil of emotions warring within her. "But she loved me. And I...loved her. In the end...that‘s all that matters."

A curt nod. "I get it. Really.

"I know loss is inevitable now," continued Rose, hand seemingly wanting to reach out before pulling back abruptly, "but...I‘m sorry you had to see that yourself. I‘m here if you want to uh- talk and all that. Or even just my company."

Cass was...touched. It was a sweet gesture, considering they haven‘t had much time to get to know each other before arriving here.

Smiling quietly at her, she pointed at herself and signed: Conversation. Not good. Rose‘ sign language skill isn‘t on par with hers or Jason, but it’s enough.

She smiled back, laughter in her voice: "So we won‘t have to speak. I can be a good listener when I need to be."

At that moment, Cass decided she liked this girl. Suddenly grateful to have her here—that her brother had her too.

It was probably that thought that prompted her to get her attention, her hands moving quickly: You. Jason. Happy?

Surprisingly, that brought on a small blush on Rose‘s already rosy cheeks, and Cass‘ smile widened.

"We- haven‘t made it official or anything but...yeah. Yeah, I think we are." Rubbing the back of her neck, bashful eyes cast downwards in a rare show of vulnerability, she reminded her so much of Stephanie that she had to bite down her lips to keep it from wobbling.

Instead she gave her the warmest grin she could muster, focusing on the person in front of her now. "Good," she said, before pulling her in for an earnest hug.

For a while Rose just stood there, letting Cass do all the work—but then she grasped her back just as tightly, finally realizing that the hug was for Cass herself as much as it is for her.

They both lost their parent, now truly orphans like everyone else, and Cassandra‘s...grateful she wasn‘t alone for this.

"I see you two are bonding already," came a familiar voice.

Lo and behold, Jason appeared from behind them with a smirk. He and Rose exchanged a look and before he even turned to her, Cass already knew what he was about to do.

She returned her brother‘s embrace, accepting it for what it was. I‘m sorry, his body screamed—sad, sad, sad. Sad for...her.

Standing toe to toe, he dwarfed her in comparison, and Cass was all of a sudden struck with the memory of the last time she hugged their father (Bruce, not Cain. Never Cain.) A sharp twinge of pain swiped at her chest, a simple wish that...she could‘ve hugged her mother too.

Physical affection did not come easy to Jason either, but Cass knew he was tired of regretting, tired of letting people go when everything you loved could be taken from you at any moment and...she felt the same.

Regrets seem to be the only constant in their life now.

After pulling away with a playful shove, she pointed at Jason then Rose, tapping her two 'K' hands together. Take care of her. She glared pointedly at Jason for a few seconds before her face broke into a smirk.

A cheer of laughter erupted from the three of them at Jason‘s indignant 'Of course!' sign.

It was definitely the highlight of her day.

---

Weeks later, when night fell and the world ran a little slower, Cassandra watched over them all as she always had.

Her small family is safe now—her brother and sister-in-law somewhere outside of prying eyes but still near enough for her to reach (Jason had reassured her himself). The marriage itself was nothing as fancy as the movies she watched with Tim and Steph had shown, but it was...festive. Magical. Beautiful. Ivy had gifted them with beautiful garlands and flower chains that grew from the earth, vibrant roses uncurling at every corner to celebrate their union—a symbol of hope that could flourish amidst the dreariness of their reality.

The sheer joy she felt and saw from the two newlyweds was enough to assuage her constant state of alertness. She kissed both of their cheeks and hugged them close, lips pulled wide on the happiest moment she had felt in a very long time, a comfortable warmth curling in her chest. Their happiness was infectious.

Yet now—

"You should rest, kid."

She wasn‘t the only one restless.

"...Jim. Rough...night?"

A puff of cigarette. "Something like that."

Silence reigned over the living garden, the stars above brighter than it had ever been.

"You were close with my daughter?" asked the Commissioner all of a sudden.

"...Yes." Her reply was careful—while time had done its magic, a balm to gaping wounds on the soul, their memories of Barbara were still fresh on both of their minds. It still...hurt, and no doubt even more so for him. "She was my...mentor. She was like...like a..." Mother, she did not say. Before Shiva, before Bruce truly stepped into his role as a father.

But Jim picked it up nonetheless, nodding to himself. "Good. That‘s- really good."

For once, she genuinely wondered what the aim of their conversation was.

"We might not be close, Cassandra," he watched the puff of smoke that formed around him, casual and honest, "but you‘re Batman‘s daughter, and my daughter...knowing her, she undoubtedly loved you too like one. So that's more than enough to make you family."

Nodding, already connecting those particular dots together, she tilted her head. And?

"And I would do anything to keep my family safe," he turned to her, pain in his eyes reflected in her own. "But you understand that more than anyone else, don‘t you?"

Cass looked away, his intention finally dawning upon her.

"I- don‘t want to lose them too," she whispered to no one, her fear carried over in the silence of the night, the huge vines and trees providing a shelter from the horrific wailing of the monsters lurking just outside the garden walls.

They‘re the only ones I have left, she did not say.

Instead of a reply, Jim squeezed her shoulder in solidarity.

Cass is eternally grateful he did not try to console her with empty words.

"SHAZAM!"

Electricity and raw, undiluted power surged through her, tingling in her veins with the telltale sign of ancient magic.

Fury. White, hot blistering fury.

She did not waste a blink at the corpse now lying beneath her, eyes already roaming to find Jason who- no.

No.

Rose knelt beside him, sobs rocking her frame, every inch of her body screaming pure sorrow and Cassandra reached out, denial on the tip of her tongue- before a hand stopped her.

Damian.

Now an adult, creases wrinkling his forehead so much like his father. He shook his head, still gripping her arm and unwilling to let go. Cass could push him away despite his strength, especially with her newfound powers, but—but she didn‘t.

Cassandra Cain, blood daughter of Lady Shiva and David Cain, adoptive daughter of the Batman, fell to her knees and hung her head in her palms, holding back the agony clawing at her inside out. Hollow, hollow, empty.

No.

She promised-

What good was all this power if she couldn‘t even save her own family?

No tears came forth despite the stabbing wound in her chest, an ugly rage building up in the back of her throat, threatening to lash out with the pulsing energy in her fingers.

"Cass," Damian‘s soft plea snapped her out of her haze of red and self-destruction, and she finally looked at him, truly looked at him—his locked jaws, the tremble masking his own shock and anger, and- she blinked, vision clearing. Stopped.

Nothing could bring him back. Not her anger, nor revenge.

She stood up to her full height, Damian on her elbow, and locked eyes with Constantine standing right across from them, hoping the daggers she sent him from her gaze alone is enough to convey the amount of hatred she felt at that moment and floated over to Rose, her cape billowing behind her.

Someone else needed her now—move now, mourn later. Rinse and repeat.

---

The last remnants of warmth lingered in Jason‘s crushed body as she gingerly carried him out of the pocket dimension, and Cass felt her resolve weakening for a brief second, her powers slipping and she- nearly dropped to the ground. No one noticed, everyone lost in their own thoughts at what had transpired in so little time.

Her grip tightened.

Flying over to an area she knew was designated for the ones who...passed, she laid him down as gently as she could, brushing away a strand of hair on his forehead with light fingers, despite how heavy it felt to lift them. Wiped away the blood on his face with care, her movements mechanical like the time she had to dress a corpse of a dead boy they had failed to save.

Then she waited.

And waited.

Jason wouldn‘t want to be by himself. All alone.

She sat there, waiting.

When Rose finally dropped noiselessly beside her, Cass stood up and walked away, giving them the privacy they deserved. Ignored the silent tears wrecking the younger woman, and the instinctive need to console and support her.

Let her grieve, she reminded herself.

Her youngest brother stood behind a large boulder just outside the area, gaze pointedly directed at the ground.

"Cassandra."

She stopped right by him, shoulder to shoulder, facing the opposite direction. Waited.

His fist clenched tightly, teeth scrapping harshly against each other- "If I had known this would happen, I would never have—"

Gloved fingers grasped his shoulder tightly, and his mouth clicked shut.

"Please. Do not blame yourself," she murmured, calm and quiet, so unlike the weight dragging her down to the earth, burying her under. The magic that coursed through the blood, singing and wild, untamed as the raging sea.

Her fingers trembled.

She did not cry.

"I wish...I wish I could have talked with him more before. Know this Jason better," spoke Damian again after a long pause. It was an admission, hushed, voice laced with a regret so potent, it was impossible to dismiss.

So much regrets. Always. Always, always.

Finally, he turned to her with his cowl taken off, the pain in his eyes open for the world to see, for her to see, and she-

"I‘m so sorry, Cass," he whispered, broken, "I‘m so sorry."

Maybe it was his understanding, the honesty a huge contrast from the young, haughty boy who would hide his emotions behind a wall of anger and righteousness all those years ago. Or maybe it was the way his hand hovered beside him, a language as natural to her as breathing itself. Whatever it was...it unraveled the last string keeping her together, and she—

Not again.

Somewhere between then and the ground, her mask had been pulled down, and Cassandra finally let the weight in her heart crush her soul to dust, Damian‘s arms somehow around her and holding her close. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her tears creating a wet patch on his shoulder.

It was so tempting to call upon thunderstorms and lightning to put an end to all their suffering, an end to the anti-life once and for all—but she didn‘t. That was not their mission. Instead she let her eyes run dry, heaving quiet sobs into her brother.

The last two siblings held each other, grief and sorrow amplifying the desperation Cass felt growing within her.

It was a necessary sacrifice, she would know later.

But all she felt then was the despair of losing another family. The only one she had since their whole world turned upside down.

Damian was a solid weight that kept her grounded, and she was...thankful. Rose deserved to be supported now, rather than have another mess of emotions thrown onto her lap after all.

She felt her not-so-little brother bury himself into her shoulder and knew he needed this too.

It wasn't fair. It wasn’t fair.

...but nothing was.

Later, they would give Jason a proper burial. Later, they would be there carve the loving words of the life their brother had led. They would pay their respects, just as he did for their late father and brothers in the cave.

Later, they would continue to fight for humanity.

But for now-

"Damian," her voice cracked, too soft, too strained even for her ears. "I‘ll keep you safe. I promise."

A finality. An oath.

Not just to herself, but to Jason—whom she had failed. To their father, who entrusted the Bat mantle to the both of them, in his own ways. If it meant him surviving...

Damian froze and she knew what he wanted to say: Please don‘t make promises you can‘t keep.

But he didn‘t. Instead, he breathed out just as solemnly, the timbre of his voice octaves lower than it was a lifetime ago:

"...Right back at you, Cass."

[melon-wing]

My Captain [Pirate AU]

[PIRATE AU MASTERLIST] This is part two of @gridoc ‘s birthday present, also based on a wonderful commission she did for me! This is set way after the other stories, when Grian just left the navy and joined Doc’s crew

~*~

Grian stood at the railing of the ship, looking at the first rays of the sun peaking out at the horizon, searching for any sign of a navy ship. He was now part of Doc’s crew… And wasn’t this a weird thing to even think about, let alone say out loud? Sure, he had wanted to do it. He never did anything this rash without thinking about it… It was still weird. Especially in situations like these, everyone asleep but him, the safety of a whole pirate crew in his hands.

He had been the last one to take the night shift and it was always a challenge for him, standing out here all alone with nothing but his thoughts keeping him company. He was only glad the others trusted him enough to put him on the night shift at all. It really spoke louder than a thousand words.

He heard the creak of a door and steps, making him tense a bit. He took a deep breath and forced his shoulders to relax again, before turning around.

Ren stood a few steps towards him, a bright smile on his face. Ren was always the first one to get up on deck and he was the only one who was always bright and cheery right after getting up. Ren walked up to him, but stopped about a metre away, leaving him his space, just like he always did. And Grian was thankful for that.

“Did anything happen? Any ships? Any scary magical feelings?”

Grian shook his head. “I would have called you if that was the case.”

Ren nodded and stretched a bit. “Good, good. Doc should be out and about in a few along with the rest of the crew.” Ren looked at him for a while, as if he wanted to say something but held back. Grian was pretty sure it was something concerning Doc and he was really glad that Ren never actually went through with asking. Because he might have joined the crew to get away from the navy, but he still got confused everytime he thought about his relationship with the crew’s captain. And they all must have noticed.

“Not now, Ren.”

“That’s what you say every time. One day you’ll need to talk about it… Or at least think about it.”

“There’s not a day I don’t think about it.” Grian smiled and looked at the sea, his loose hair flying in the wind. “I owe your Captain my life after all. He came when no one else did. He’s… He’s important to me. I just don’t know if I really...”

Grian stopped himself when the door to the deck opened again and Doc stepped out. His smile widened a bit, a warm feeling entering his chest as he looked at his… the Captain. Doc was rubbing his eye, his hair was a mess, his clothes dishevelled and a deep frown showed that he had probably once more been kicked out of bed by either Etho or False. Going by the size of that frown it had probably been Etho and Doc had most likely already heard more than one bad joke this early in the morning.

When Grian turned his gaze back, he realised that Ren was looking at him knowingly, a wide smirk on his face, arms crossed in front of his chest, one eyebrow raised. And Grian immediately knew what that look meant. “Oh, shut up.”

“I’m not saying anything”, Ren replied in a sing-song voice.

“You were thinking about it! Stop that!” Grian grumbled and when Ren started laughing he threw his hands up in frustration and walked to the door leading below deck. It was his turn to get some sleep while the rest of the crew started working.

This also meant he had to walk past Doc. Grian realised with annoyance that his heart started beating a bit faster the closer he got.

“Doc”, he said shortly when he was a few steps away from Doc.

He would never get used to this, the way Doc’s head snapped up to look at him, the way just uttering one word made Doc smile so brightly, his eyes sparkling with uncontainable joy.

Doc behaved so differently around him than around any other member of his crew, keeping him at the back at each and every battle. And Grian hated that. He was one of the best fighters on this ship. He had proven that, when he had defeated Doc a few years back. But Doc treated him like he was made out of glass and unable to protect himself.

“Grian, are you...”

“Going to bed. See you when we hit land”, Grian just replied shortly.

Grian didn’t look back when he went below deck, the route already so familiar. He walked past the Captain’s cabin and then stopped at the next door. This room totally wasn’t the place a newcomer like him deserved or would have gotten if it had been anyone but him. It was a miracle the rest of the crew didn’t hate him for this blatant favouritism.

Grian sighed and stepped into the room, taking off his belt and weapons, putting them all aside, except for a small knife that he laid down right next to his pillow. He took off his shirt next, keeping his eyes on the wooden wall straight ahead. He didn’t want to see the faint marks that were still covering his body. One day they’d fade or become just another scar on his body, but that day wasn’t today; that day was still far away.

~*~

There was loud knocking on his door and Grian awoke with a start, hand instantly flying to the knife, eyes searching the room.

“Grian? We put down the anchor. Doc wants you to get ready.”

Grian took a deep breath at the sound of Etho’s voice from outside and slowly put his knife down. The disorientation from having just woken up disappeared again.

“I’ll be out in a minute.”

When Grian stepped on the deck, the others were already busy unloading some wares to sell off and he immediately went over to help, when Doc stepped into his path.

“Not today. They can handle that, Grian. I really need someone to… accompany me into town and I’d like for you to come along.”

Grian knew what Doc was doing. He rarely let Grian go anywhere on his own, let alone have him somewhere out of his sight when they were off the Golden Goat. And it annoyed Grian that he went along with it every time. He never once went against Doc’s orders, no matter how stupid they sometimes were. But he felt safest when he was with Doc. No one else made him feel this way. That still didn’t stop him from arguing.

“You know that you don’t really need me. I won’t be in any danger here. My Captain let me go to town alone all the time.”

Grian noticed the way Doc flinched a bit and then he realised that he had slipped up… Again. 

“I am your Captain, Grian.” Doc’s voice was so gentle, but Grian still felt a tremble running through his body as if he had been reprimanded. He had been part of the crew for a while now. He still referred to his old Captain as his Captain far too often. He still referred to himself as a navy officer sometimes… And he had never once called Doc his Captain. He knew Doc had noticed… He had even once overheard Doc talking to Ren about it. He knew Doc blamed himself when Grian slipped up like that, thinking he wasn’t making Grian feel as a part of the crew.

“Sorry”, he muttered quietly and as an apology – and maybe as a way to change the topic - added on, “I’ll accompany you. We can leave right now, if you want to.“

Doc‘s face lit up a bit, but Grian could see the way his smile was strained just a little. They were both trying their best, but everything was still too new to work flawlessly. Grian really hoped he‘d get used to this sooner rather than later. It had been his decision after all. He had wanted this… Well, at least he thought that way. Doc always pretended that Grian hadn’t had any other choice. Maybe that was the reason he thought Grian didn‘t feel like he belonged. And maybe sometimes… Maybe sometimes he really didn’t.

“Let‘s go then”, Doc said and started walking, Grian right behind him as they moved down to the port. “This is a pretty neutral area, so They didn’t have to worry much. The navy doesn‘t drop by often and when they do, they never really get into fights. They are too scared to lose business here if they anger the traders. The traders got good wares and money and pirates are among their best customers.”

They walked past a lot of people hurrying around. The port was buzzing with activity, ships leaving and arriving, wares being loaded, repairs being made. It was chaos, but it was a chaos Grian was used to. Seeing everyone run around, busy with their own life made him feel calmer. Nobody was paying any attention to him and Doc. They weren’t a feared pirate Captain and a traitorous navy officer here. They were just two more people walking through the streets 

“So…”, Grian started when they left the port, moving on to the streets of the town, passing by some vendors trying to sell their wares. “What exactly are we doing here?”

“Oh, just some old acquaintance of mine I need to visit. She sells information, for a certain price, you know? I think she likes me enough. I never have to pay too much to get what I want.”

“So… You hussle her.”

Doc smirked slightly, taking the accusation almost like a compliment. “Well not exactly. I‘m just really good at bargaining, you know? I can be pretty convincing if I want to be. I also always try to get some nice jewelry for her. She likes that.”

Grian rolled his eyes a bit and turned his gaze back to the street. They were getting further away from the main road. The shops were becoming more run down, the wares in the window getting more and more illegal and Grian was pretty sure they had entered a blackmarket area.

He had been in those areas a lot back in the navy, but wearing his uniform, people had always been scared by him, trying to hide their more exotic and expensive items, seeing him as a threat to their business. Now everyone was looking at them with a calculating expression, some even trying to approach them with their wares. Doc made them all back away with one glance.

They turned another corner, the house fronts becoming even more broken, some of the vendors only using small blankets on the floor to show their wares. Finally, right in the middle of the street, in front of a black wooden door, Doc came to a halt. 

Grian looked at the building. It was small, the windows were covered with fabric on the inside. The glass had countless cracks and he wondered how it was still holding together. The black paint of the door must have been newer than the house and window, since it was the only thing not completely run down, only chipping off in a few places.

“This looks really welcoming. I‘m glad you took me along after all. Wouldn‘t want you here all by yourself.”

Doc glanced at Grian and shrugged. “I‘ve been alone here a lot before, don‘t worry. It‘s safe. She wants me to stay her customer after all.” Doc stopped, smiling sheepishly, probably remembering how he‘d told Grian that he needed him here. “It‘s still a good idea not to wander around here alone in case something does happen. You never know. And you’re one of my best fighters after all.”

Grian chuckled quietly and motioned Doc to go on, not even commenting on the rambling. Doc sighed and turned back to the door, knocking a few times in what might have been a pattern or a code… Or maybe just Doc being extra again.

There were steps on the other side and then a small window inside the door slid open. Gray eyes stared at Doc, then at Grian and back to Doc, squinting slightly, showing the deep wrinkles around them even more clearly. 

“Doc. Didn‘t I tell you not to show your ass around here again?” A voice croaked at them, sounding really pissed off. 

“Well nice to see you too! It‘s been so long! I brought you a present.”

The eyes snapped to Grian and seemed to take him in from head to toes. He shuddered below the almost invasive stare. “Didn’t take you as that kind of guy, Captain Doc. You know he‘s too old to sell. Although, given the right customer I might…”

Grian could practically feel the air around them getting darker as Doc growled in annoyance or maybe anger.

“You won‘t put your grimy hands on him. He‘s part of my crew. If you so much as touch him our business here is over.”

“As if I have ever wanted to do business with you, Doc.”, she grumbled and the small window slammed shut. Grian thought that would be it. Doc had managed to piss her off enough for her to cut ties, but a second later the door opened and the old lady stood in front of them. She was wearing a dusty worn out dress that had probably seen better days once upon a time.

She was still glaring at Doc, but then stepped aside to let them pass. When Doc had walked by her, she turned her eyes to Grian and her mouth twisted into a smile that sent shivers down his spine. He hurriedly went after Doc and inside the room. It was dark in here and the air reeked of dust and mold. There was barely any light, except for a few torches lining the walls. 

The walls were covered in dark dusty fabric. The room was lined with shelves containing a missmatch of items. There were books and maps, things floating in glasses. Grian really didn‘t want to look too close at them. He was pretty sure he’d seen some body parts.

In the middle of the room stood a desk and the lady wobbled past them again to sit on the other side of it. 

“So, Captain. What can I do for you? Treasure Maps? Love potion for your Navy toy?”

Doc flinched at the last part and Grian‘s eyes widened.

“How did you know?”, Doc‘s voice seemed calm, but Grian could tell how tense he was from the way he sounded. 

“Word gets around my boy. Some say you seduced a Navy soldier to join you, others say you fell for him and kidnapped him to have your wicked way with him. Poor boy in the claws of a horrible pirate, who doesn‘t care for anything but his own pleasure and not the well being of-“

“I‘m perfectly fine!”, Grian interrupted her, hands balled into fists. He‘d seen the shadow crossing Doc‘s face. He knew Doc still blamed himself for everything that had happened. He wouldn‘t have some old lady berating him. “I joined his crew because I wanted to, because he was there for me when the navy wasn‘t, because the navy is a bunch of arseholes. So stop your stupid gossiping. He hasn’t kidnapped anyone.“

The old lady‘s eyes stayed on Grian for a while and then she smiled softly, her eyes becoming more gentle.

“Oh. So it‘s you after all. I thought so. You don‘t look like you belong here. You look far too proper to mingle among pirates and us low lifes.“ She clapped twice and out of one of the dark corners stepped a young girl. 

Doc squinted his eyes at her, looking uncomfortable at the presence of a mere child. “I thought you worked alone.”

“I‘m not getting any younger, my boy. I took on an assistant. But don‘t worry. I‘ll send her away while we do business”, she said, scribbling something on a piece of paper with an old worn quill before handing it to the small girl. She couldn‘t have been more than 10 years old. „Go fetch this for me, dearie. Hurry along. You don‘t have all day. I want you back by the time these two gentlemen leave.”

The child nodded, not ever speaking up and just hurried out of the room. Grian looked after her and then sighed, turning back to the old woman.

“So, Captain Doc, I heard you came bearing gifts? If it‘s nice enough I might consider listening to your questions. Not promising any answers though.”

Doc didn‘t look too happy, but he took out a small bag out of his pocket, throwing it onto the desk. With a sudden burst of speed the old lady grabbed the bag, tearing it open and turning it around, a few necklaces and bejewled rings fell out. She looked at them for a while and from the sparkle in her eyes Grian could tell that she was very happy with her present, even when she tried to keep an emotionless face.

“Well. At least these don‘t look as pitiful as the last ones you brought me. They are almost halfway decent. I will listen to you, but I can‘t promise you any help. For a gift this cheap I‘ll only do it if I want to and if it‘s not too much trouble.”

“I need information. I need to know about a pirate raid. 10 years ago on Gedwyld

Island. Pirates attacked a small seemingly unimportant village. They were ordered by someone else to attack. It was no accident that those pirates were on the island that day. I need to know who was behind the attack. And I want to know why they attacked. Who was ordering them to do it?”

Grian‘s head snapped towards Doc, eyes going wide. He had thought that Doc would just ask for some maps or some inside information for the navy, not this. Why was Doc interested in his childhood home? Was Doc doing this for him? What would having this information even achieve?

“That is quite a lot of questions, my boy.”

The old lady looked at Doc in deep thought. Her eyes darted to one of the clocks hanging on the wall. Grian followed her gaze, the time on that one seemed off. According to the clock it was just a few minutes after noon, when it was already late noon. When he kept staring at it for a while he realized that the hand was going backwards. Huh… Weird.

“It is. If you have answers, I will reward you of course. If you don‘t have the information I‘ll pay you a small fee to gather them and we will return in a month to collect them.”

The old lady looked thoughtful, nodding slowly before turning around in her chair and grabbing a heavy old looking book from the shelf behind her. Her eyes darted to the clock once more. The hand had moved back another minute. She started to slowly flip through the pages, taking her time to trace the lines with her finger before flipping to the next. 

Grian could tell Doc was getting impatient next to him. He kept tapping his foot on the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists. And Grian could relate to this restless feeling.

“Well it looks like you will need a while, old hag. So how about we leave now and-”

“No! Stay!” The urgency in her voice startled Grian. Doc next to him raised an eyebrow.

“If you‘re so worried about losing business you should hurry up. I‘m a busy man. My ship doesn‘t run itself.”

The clock ticked backwards another minute and when the old lady looked at it again, she smiled in satisfaction.

“Ah, well. Looks like it‘s too late now anyways. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Captain, but the navy just pays so much better. You really shouldn‘t have pissed them off, taking one of their little stars into your greedy hands. They apparently had big plans for him. Plans that are worth a fortune.“

Doc‘s hand immediately flew to his sword, Grian had his in hand already, when the door burst open. Grian's heart immediately sank. Two navy officers stood in the door, the little girl right behind them, pointing a shaky finger in their direction.

"Surrender, Captain Doc!", the first navy officer shouted, glaring at Doc, before his gaze turned to Grian and he sneered. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen, haven't they, Lieutenant?"

Grian tightened his grip on the sword, casting a short glance in Doc's direction. Those two soldiers would be no problem for them, but Grian really didn't want to hurt them too badly. He knew he shouldn't think of them any different than all his other enemies, but it was still so hard. Seeing the uniforms sure triggered something inside him, but it also held him back. Fighting alongside people wearing those outfits had been too ingrained into his head.

"Well. I won't. I don't see the need to surrender to some poor weaklings like you", Doc replied, talking down to those navy officers with a smirk, but Grian could tell that he was worried from the way his fingers twitched a little. He got why Doc felt tense like that. They were still far away from the ship and didn't know how many navy officers were rushing over to their location right now. They were in danger and couldn’t tell how much would be thrown their way.

"Oh, there is some incentive for surrendering, you know. If you two surrender we won't hurt the traitor. The higher ups still have some use for the cursed child. But if you decide to fight I really can't guarantee for his safety. You know things happen in the heat of the battle. I never liked Lieutenant Grian that much. My blade could accidentally run through him and-"

The officer stopped, when Grian snorted loudly and turned to glare at him.

"Oh please, Henry. You couldn't hit a pirate dummy if it stood right in front of you back in our academy days. It's a wonder they let someone like you graduate." 

Just as Grian had expected of his hot headed opponent, he let out an enraged scream and charged forward without putting any thought into his action, blade outstretched to pierce Grian. 

“Idiot”, Grian just whispered with a smirk and ducked under the blade, grabbing the arm of the soldier and throwing him over his shoulder onto the old lady‘s desk. „Let‘s leave, Doc. We need to get back to the crew!“

Doc looked at the fallen soldier and then at him and nodded, before charging the remaining officer. Doc‘s blade pierced right through him and Grian winced as a cold shiver ran down his back, seeing blood pour over the white shirt of the navy uniform. Every fiber inside of him wanted to help the officer falling down. This was his comrade. This was a law abiding citizen. He should help. He could help. He needed to save him. But when Doc grabbed his arm, Grian averted his gaze from the body, looking into Doc‘s worried eyes.

“You good?”

Doc knew. Doc always knew. That was the reason he never let Grian fight alongside them when it came to going against the navy even though he‘d been with them for a month now.

“Yes. Just…” Grian motioned around them to the fallen officers, though the one Grian had attacked was mostly uninjured and just unconscious. “It‘s… Those are people I went to the academy with. Takes time getting used to. I’m just glad they aren‘t part of my crew and I don‘t have to fight my capt-“

Grian stopped himself, but he could still see the look of hurt flashing over Doc‘s face, before Doc turned away, dropping his hand from Grian‘s arm. “Let‘s hurry along.”

They pushed past the little girl and stepped outside the shop. Grian could hear shouts in the distance that were pretty unmistakably navy soldiers screaming out orders. A lot of the vendors along the streets were suddenly in a hurry, trying to hide parts of their wares.

The shouts were coming from the direction they had arrived from - the direction leading back to the port. Grian just prayed that the navy hadn‘t gotten to the Golden Goat yet. Not that he didn‘t trust Ren to take command and defend the ship, but it would just complicate things.

Before Grian could decide what to do, Doc had grabbed his wrist, pulling him along into one of the side alleys. Grian rushed along, but his eyes kept darting to the hand touching him. These last weeks, Doc had done his best to avoid any form of prolonged touch to give Grian space. Almost all of the contact they‘ve had, had been initiated by Grian. And not once since the rescue from… not once had Doc pulled him along by his hand.

They turned another corner. Doc cast a glance back at him and noticed the way Grian looked at the hand, letting go immediately.

“Sorry. We needed to hurry. I didn’t think… I shouldn‘t have done that.“

“It‘s fine. Let‘s keep going. Take the lead and I‘ll follow you.”

Doc nodded and started running again, Grian hot on his trail. Doc made his way swiftly through the tiny alleys, jumping over more than one wall and Grian went after him, trusting him blindly. Doc knew these streets far better than him after all. The port was getting closer. Grian could see the mast of the Golden Goat in the distance, recognizing it among all the other ships even from this far away.

“We have to turn onto the main road next. Be prepared for an attack once we do“, Doc called back and Grian adjusted the grip on his sword. He was ready for anything the world would throw at him. 

Well… Everything but a navy officer jumping down from a roof of one of the houses framing the alley, landing right between them, making Grian stop in his tracks. Doc kept running into the main road a few metres before he finally realised that Grian wasn‘t behind him anymore. It was too late. A few soldiers stepped in between the two of them. Grian tried to search for a way around his opponent, but two others stepped up to him and he needed to back away a few steps, to get out of their weapons‘ reach.

“Grian! Fuck! Don‘t you assholes dare touch him. If you so much as lay a finger on him, I‘m gonna rip you apart, limb by limb!”, Doc shouted from down the street, but going from how far away his voice sounded he had also been pushed back a bit. There was no way they could help each other like this.

Those soldiers must have planned to seperate them. He just hoped that Doc would do the smart thing and rush back to the ship, even if that meant leaving Grian alone here. The crew‘s support would be so important now.

Grian had been in a lot of battles before. Alot of those battles had not been in his favour and he’d still come out victorious. He’d seen more than his fair share of fights, for someone his age. But this? This felt different. He wasn’t wearing his uniform anymore. He wasn’t fighting with the law behind him anymore.

This wasn’t even their first fight against a navy crew, but Doc had always kept him on the back line when things like that happened. Grian was pretty sure he would have put him below deck if he thought Grian would go along with it. In the short fight earlier he had been able to knock his opponent out, but if he held back here, he‘d lose.

Grian‘s eyes  kept darting between his opponents, holding his sword protectively in front of himself, waiting for an attack or maybe an opening for him to get rid of one already. A fight against all of them at once would be impossible.

“You really have fallen far. Look at yourself…“, one of the officers said. Grian thought he recognized him from somewhere, but couldn‘t really pinpoint it, until… “Captain Sam was really sad to see you leave. You were such an entertaining guest.”

Grian froze for a second, hearing that name and realizing that the man in front of him was part of Sam‘s crew. That guy had been there when Sam had sold him out. Was Sam here as well? Grian felt his heart rate increase at the thought alone, his eyes darting around. 

The officer smirked at Grian‘s reaction and jumped forward. Grian raised his own sword just in time to block the attack, eyes wide, arm shaking a bit from the impact he hadn‘t been prepared to take.

“It was a good look on you, Grian, tied up, beaten and bleeding. It made me want to do bad things to you. You‘ve always been so high and mighty. Watching Sam break you… It was like a work of art. Such a pity someone managed to put the pieces back together. I liked you more when you were a little puppet”, his opponent whispered, voice too quiet for the others to hear. Grian tried to tune it all out. He knew those words were meant to distract him from the fight and he shouldn‘t let it get to him. It had been so long. He was better now. He was with Doc now. He was safe. Doc had promised to protect him, no matter what. He needed Doc. He needed to get to Doc.

The muscles in Grian‘s arm tensed and he let his sword strike, pushing his attacker stumbling back, right into one of the other guys. Grian turned his attention to the third soldier. He looked younger than the other two and his uniform was less decorated as well. Grian almost felt bad, but he knew he couldn‘t hold back… He really really shouldn‘t hold back.

His sword flew through the air, past the other blade and cutting deep into the soldier‘s shoulder. The young man screamed and dropped his sword and Grian jumped back again, before the others could attack. He was holding back. He could have - no - he should have gone for the neck. He could have killed him with one attack. But he had hesitated, repositioning his blade just a bit before it could hit.

Why was he risking his own life for someone who was ready to kill him without a second thought? He shouldn’t be hesitating. “I won’t die here today.”

The two soldiers glared at him, one rushing to their fallen comrade, pulling him back, away from Grian. That left only him and the guy from Sam’s ship.

“No you won’t die. The order is to take you alive. Operation Cursed Child will begin once you’re returned to the headquarters.”

Grian looked at his opponent in confusion, but didn’t get the time to ponder on what he had said for too long. A blade came flying his way. Their swords kept clashing together and Grian had to admit that his opponent was a skilled fighter, but he also knew that he was better. He would win. He could end this. He didn’t even need to kill. He wouldn’t have to harm a navy soldier. He could just disarm him. He had the upper hand. He only needed a little more time to- 

There was a loud scream. A loud and pain filled scream. Grian knew that voice, but he had never heard it like that. And when his eyes searched the entrance to their alley, he saw Doc fall to the floor, lying on the ground face first, a foot on his back, a blade at his neck.

Something snapped.

“Oh, looks like your little pirate is-”

His opponent never got to finish his sentence as Grian’s blade pierced right through his eyeball into his brain. Blood sprayed as he pulled it back out, but Grian didn’t care, rushing forward. The second soldier tried to block his way, but Grian stabbed him right through the abdomen, before kicking him off his sword to the ground.

Someone bent down to Doc, handcuffs ready and Grian screamed.

“Get your dirty hands off of my Captain!”

His shout made the soldier above Doc snap up again, scrambling for his sword, but he was too late. Grian’s blade was already cutting deep into his chest. Now Grian stood above Doc, sword raised, turning around slowly, surrounded by soldiers. He let out a low growl, glaring at each and every one of them.

“You hurt my Captain and I will kill you.”

Grian knew they were heavily outnumbered, even when Doc slowly got to his feet again, standing back to back with Grian. Still the soldiers didn‘t attack, watching them with wary eyes. Grian felt dread rise inside of him. They wouldn‘t make it out alive… No. He would. For whatever reason they still needed him. But Doc wouldn‘t. They‘d kill Doc. 

Images flashed in front of Grian‘s mind. Doc‘s head on a block, an axe raised above him, flying down and-

A warm touch on his hand snapped Grian out of his thoughts and he just now realised that he had been shaking. He didn‘t need to look down to know that the hand gently holding his was Doc‘s. It was funny how one small touch calmed Grian down so much and helped him focus again. One simple touch made him feel so safe and warm. Ever since Doc had saved him that first time, holding that hand made him feel like no harm would come to him. 

„Let‘s go out with a bang, love“, Doc said and his voice was so soft despite their current situation.

Grian just nodded and pressed Doc‘s hand with his own to show him the same support. Someone shouted an order from the back row. Grian let his hand slip out of Doc‘s grasp, but the feeling of safety stayed as he faced the fight.

They would lose. They would fall, but they would give those guys one hell of a fight. They wouldn‘t go down without taking some of their opponents along with them.

Everyone was waiting, all muscles tensed. People around them were looking at them curiously. Suddenly one of the soldiers surged forward and the spell seemed to be broken. Grian barely had time to move, blocking one attack after the other, sword always making it just in time. He didn‘t pay attention to the things happening behind him. He knew his back was as safe as it could be and it filled him with determination. If he could at least hold them long enough for Doc to get away. They didn‘t want to kill him and the way they fought showed just that. There was just a slight bit of hesitance in the attacks. He could use that to his advantage.

Grian pressed on further, giving even more, fighting harder, deflecting attacks and starting counter attacks. He managed to hit one of them across the face, drawing a loud almost inhuman yell as the soldier stepped back, but his place was already taken by another one.

He growled and kept fighting. He stopped attack after attack, but  then he heard a pained sound behind him. He shouldn’t turn around. He needed to stay focused. He heard a blade clattering to the floor, far too close for it to be one of the enemies. Grian turned his head just slightly, to see Doc go down to his knees, to the floor, holding one hand to his bleeding shoulder, a sword at his throat.

Grian screamed, a shout tearing from his throat that didn’t even sound human to his own ears. He hit the blade on Doc’s neck so hard, he sent it flying into the head of another soldier.

“Don’t. Ever. Touch. Him.”

Grian glared at them, looming over Doc. They seemed to hesitate for a second, but the attacks kept coming again. Grian was able to deflect them, but as more kept coming from the front, he left his back open and suddenly he was grabbed by the shoulders, sword slipping from his grasp, as he was pulled back. Grian struggled, digging his heels into the ground, as he was pulled away from Doc. 

Doc stared at him, trying to jump up, but suddenly there were hands on him as well, digging into his wound. Doc froze and it didn’t take long to chain his hands behind his back. Grian suddenly felt the anger leave him and fear settle in. He couldn’t lose Doc. He couldn’t. Not now when he had finally decided to stay by his side.

And then something else started to rise inside of Grian. Suddenly he felt a primal rage inside. He looked at Doc and ground his teeth. Those soldiers were taking what was his. He closed his eyes and felt it. The same feeling he had felt under the sea when the siren had dragged Doc down below. The same energy was running through him. And he knew when he would open his mouth now he’d hurt everyone who was able to hear him, soldier and civilian alike. He didn’t even know why he knew, he just did. Everyone would fall. Just not Doc. Never Doc. He had to save his mate.

He took a breath, opening his eyes. He could hear Doc gasp in shock. He must have noticed some change in Grian.

“Grian… Don’t!”

Grian opened his mouth.

A loud shot rang through the street, before one sound left him, startling Grian out of his trance like state. He blinked a few times, every trace of the energy gone again. He looked around in confusion, searching for the source of that sound. The shot had been far too loud to be a simple gun. And that‘s when he saw it. The sails of the Golden Goat behind the crowd of navy soldiers. There was a smoking hole in the ground a couple of metres from them, navy soldiers rushing away to pull injured people to safety.

“Back off or we will kill you all! No hesitation.“

Ren‘s voice was booming loud. People around them started panicking. There were screams and chaos. 

And then Grian could hear steps rushing towards them and when he looked over he saw Doc‘s crew charging in, False right there at the front of them, her eyes filled with fury and a promise of pain.

Someone was pulling at him, trying to take him away. Grian dug his heels into the ground, but soon another pair of arms grabbed him and he stumbled backwards. His eyes searched for Doc in the chaos. He felt a heavy weight lift off his chest, when he realised that False was already by his side, her bloody sword raised as some other crew member was taking the chains off of their captain.

He kept getting further and further away. They were trying to pull him to one of the alleys and out of sight.

Grian opened his mouth to scream, but as soon as he did that someone shoved a dirty rag in between his lips. Grian only renewed his struggles, managing to land a few kicks on the two people holding him, but they didn‘t ease their hold on him.

He looked at Doc in desperation, trying to alert him that Grian was taken away in the chaos and panic. And as if Doc had sensed his terror, his gaze snapped up, searching and finally landing on Grian. His eyes widened for a second and then he smiled relieved. With just that one smile Grian immediately felt safe again. He didn‘t even have to wonder what would happen next. Doc smiling like that meant there was no danger for Grian.

There was a loud thud and one of the bodies holding him crumbled to the floor. Grian looked over his shoulder, only to see Etho, smiling softly at him, before he put a knife through the other soldier’s back. The hands holding Grian disappeared along with the enemy falling to the ground.

“You alright, new guy?“

Grian nodded and raised his shaking hands to take the cloth from his mouth, throwing it to the ground in disgust. “Yeah. All good. Thanks. You can go and give your medical expertise to our captain now.“

Etho's eyes widened a bit and then he smiled even brighter. “I see, it‘s no longer just ‘your captain‘ now. Welcome to the crew, Grian.“

Grian rolled his eyes, following Etho over to Doc who was already unchained and arguing with False who had thrown him over her shoulder.

“I can walk on my own!”

“You are wounded.“

“On my fucking shoulder! My legs work perfectly fine!”

“Struggle and I will change that.”

Grian laughed a bit at False‘s deadpan voice, until her gaze turned to him. “Don‘t think I have forgotten that both of you idiots got yourself into that situation. If you so much as smirk, I will carry you as well, boy. I‘ve got two shoulders after all.”

Grian felt the urge to salute, but just nodded and tried his best not to smile. No one ever dared to argue with False when she took that tone, and Grian sure as hell wouldn‘t change that tradition.

They hurried to the ship and boarded, sails lowered the moment Etho in the back stepped aboard. None of them wanted to battle a navy ship, especially not now when their Captain was already injured.

“False. Carry Doc below deck“, Etho shouted over the busy deck and False nodded, leaving through the door already. Grian wanted to follow, but was stopped by Etho.

“Not you. I won’t let you get away without a check up this time. Do you have any injuries? Anything that needs my attention now?”

„Just sore. Maybe a few bruises“, Grian replied, „Worst thing happening to me is that I can‘t get rid of the taste of that darn dirty rag.“ 

Etho laughed, and after some fumbling around in his bag, pressed a flask into Grian‘s hand. “Here. That should help.“

Grian looked at Etho‘s retreating form, before taking one swig of the bottle. His throat burned and he scrunched up his face at the taste, deciding against taking even one more drop. But oh well… It had indeed replaced the rotten taste the rag had left in his mouth and any reminder of being almost kidnapped again.

~*~

Grian stood at the railing, watching the moon rise and the stars come out. He was alone at deck once more, having insisted on still doing his shift of the night watch. He wasn‘t really wounded. And he could use the peace and quiet to calm down.

A light wind was blowing, whipping around his hair. When had it gotten so long again? He pulled out one of the strings on his shirt and pulled his hair back, tying them together. It felt weird after all this time. Weird and freeing at the same time. As if a chapter of his life had ended.

There were steps behind him. Grian didn‘t have to turn around. The sound was all too familiar to him, even before he had joined this crew. All the other nights, he had stepped away. All of the previous nights, he had stopped things from progressing. He hadn‘t even waited for what had been to come. He had always walked away, the message pretty clear.

He waited.

The steps stopped behind him.

Grian turned around.

“Doc…”

Doc looked at him, hand raised, seemingly hesitating, clearly intending to put it on Grian‘s shoulder, but not daring to overstep any boundaries. So Grian took the step over that line. He moved forward and the hand  was on his shoulder. 

Doc‘s eyes widened for a second, but then he smiled softly.

“I was scared I‘d lose you again, Grian.”

“You were the one lying on the floor about to be taken to prison, you know.“

Doc chuckled softly. The hand moved from Grian‘s shoulder, giving him a small pat and then moving away again. Grian felt dissappointed at the sudden loss of contact.

“I know. You saved me, Grian.“

“I‘d do anything to keep you safe, Captain.“

“Say it again...”, Doc whispered, his eyes so close, Grian could see the way they sparkled, his gaze so soft.

“Captain”, Grian repeated just as quietly, feeling happiness at just uttering this single word. “My Captain.”

Doc breathed in shakily, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. And he was so close. So close. The moon was high up in the sky, illuminating Doc's face. Doc's arms were moving, but he stopped and Grian could see how he resisted the urge to hug him. Always treating him like glass... Even now.

Grian took a hold of Doc's arm before he could lower it again and put it on his waist.

Grian moved forward, a sudden need to touch - to feel Doc - rising inside him. When their chests touched a second hand wound around him, joining the first on his back.

Grian smiled. He did feel some underlying nervousness. He felt his heart racing. He felt a slight urge to step back out of the embrace again. But above all of it - overshadowing all the other emotions - he felt safe.

"Grian. You don't have to..."

"I'm not doing this because I have to. I'm doing this because I want to. I... I should have done it way sooner. We live a dangerous life. Any day could be our last. Today could have been your last day. We both survived too much to let our worries stop us." Grian felt his heart beating in his throat as Doc finally tightened the embrace, and in return Grian put his arms around the other.

"Grian..." Doc smiled so brightly that it made Grian's heart only beat faster. He really should have done this sooner. He should have let Doc close again. Doc who had saved him, who had always been there for him and never expecting anything in return.

"I love you."

Doc's eyes widened, his mouth dropping open, before he closed it again, smiling even brighter than Grian had ever seen him smile.

��I love you too, Grian.“

[slashnatic]

May I request Jason, Bubba and/or Thomas losing their s/o by maybe them leaving or getting kidnapped. And lets say it's been a few months and they find them! What do our big bois do?

uhmm, so i divided this into two separate headcanons for each slasher, but the kidnapping one turned out different than it should. i only noticed when i was done writing it so i‘m sorry :) anyways, i like the request a lot and i possibly will write another actual imagine about this :)

Jason Voorhees Headcanons

How does Jason react when his s/o leaves him?

When he wakes up one morning without you there he immediately starts worrying, but he tries to calm himself down by telling himself that you probably only went for a “morning swim“ in the lake or something of that kind. He knows you’re strong and capable of taking care of yourself so he waits for you.

After he waits for a couple of hours without you returning he starts searching. His actions are calm but his mind is racing.

He knows the camp like the back of his hand so he knows something isn‘t right when he doesn’t find you. He doesn‘t care that he‘s been searching the forest for hours, he‘ll go on a second search.

Once he is certain that he won‘t find you he goes back to the cabin and just sits around numbly. He doesn‘t know what to do now, how he should react, how he‘s feeling. He only knows he wants you back.

When the sun rises again the realization actually hits him. He has mixed emotions, but he‘s mostly angry at himself and scared for you. His primary feeling is sadness though. He starts crying with the first thing he‘s doing which he usually would do together with you and it will happen a lot more times throughout the day.

He makes it a part of his schedule to look for you once a day. He always searches for you with the same determination.

After a few months go by without you he is almost completely back to his old self, acting like some kind of emotionless robot, but he never stops searching for you. He still loves you and he misses you everyday.

When he finds you one morning he doesn‘t believe it at first. Is he going completely insane now? He stares at you for a couple of minutes, no matter if you’ve noticed him or not, before he reacts. Then he suffocates you in a hug. He‘s overwhelmed by his emotions and starts to cry again. Without you being there to take care of him he‘s kept his emotions locked up and they all break free when he feels you in his arms.

He doesn‘t ask questions. If you went away because you wanted to be alone, if you needed a break, if you simply got lost on your way to your “morning swim“, he doesn‘t care. You‘re back now and that‘s all that matters.

Afterwards he always keeps an extra eye on you, making sure you‘re one hundred percent satisfied with your living situation in any way, shape or form and also making sure you don‘t get hurt or lost. If he didn‘t devote his whole existence to you before, he will now.

How does Jason react when his s/o gets kidnapped?

He knows something‘s wrong immediately. Jason knows you and the camp better than anyone else, so when you‘re not where you’re supposed to be he comes to your rescue right away.

He doesn‘t have any issue finding you. He‘ll track down whoever kidnapped you in less than an hour for sure. He‘s skilled and smart.

He is worried the whole time. He is scared of why they kidnapped you, what they want from you, what they might do to you. He beats himself up over this because he thinks he should have been there to protect you. Nevertheless he stays calm and he honestly believes he‘s going to find you.

Once he did find you he goes kinda crazy, but it won‘t last long. He makes short shrift of whoever dared to take you away from him. It‘s quite the carnage, actually. He basically rips them to shreds, but only takes a few minutes to do so. After he‘s done he takes care of you, going from maniac killer to romance novel boyfriend in the matter of seconds. After inspecting and most importantly hugging you he simply scoops you up and carries you all the way back to the cabin, stroking your hair, cheek, arm or really any body part of you he can reach.

He won‘t let you leave the cabin without him by your side for quite a while after...forever, actually. It‘s annoying sometimes, but he does it because he loves you. Because he is scared to lose you, because he can‘t live without you. He needs you. If he has to take extra care of you to make sure you‘re alright he‘s more than glad to do so.

Bubba Sawyer Headcanons

How does Bubba react when his s/o leaves him?

Panic. Absolute panic. Bubba and you have a routine for everything. And you do most parts of your routines together, so the moment he notices you are not there he freaks out.

He doesn‘t consider that you actually left at first, he rather thinks something happened to you, that you got hurt. When you don‘t return after a day his brothers start giving him shit for it, or at least declaring that they strongly believe you left him. Bubba understands. He understands what they mean and he understands you.

He thinks he did something wrong, but he doesn‘t think it‘s specifically about him as a person. It‘s not that he is extremely confident but rather that that‘s just his mindset. He believes he did something that upset you in some kind of way.

He searches for you often, not daily but around two times a week. He thinks about you the whole time. He doesn‘t believe that you will come back, but he hopes you wil come back and that feeling completely overpowers the thought of living without you forever. He basically tries to ignore that you decided to leave and just lives in his head, in his little wonderland which is built on the thought that you just went for a walk or something of that sort and will be back soon.

He spends a lot of time with making presents for you or cleaning your shared bedroom, really anything he can come up with which he thinks you would be happy about. After all he thinks he did something wrong and wants to make it up to you like that.

There are nights though when he lies awake thinking he wasn‘t good enough and you finally left. That he‘s going to die alone, craving your love until the day of his death. He cries a lot thinking about that, but when he wakes up in the morning he decides to just go back to his little wonderland.

When you come back his wonderland falls completely apart. He is confronted with every thought he tried to ignore when he sees you and he cries again, a lot. It‘s actually you who has to comfort him. He doesn‘t even have the chance to say hello to you because he breaks down before he could. When you hug him to comfort him he clutches you as if his life depended on it. He decides when the hug ends, not because he wants to force you to hug him, but because he is so lost in the feeling of your body embracing his, that he simply forgets to let go and he is too strong for you to get free.

He wants an explanation but he is too shy to ask for it. What matters most is that you’re back though, you can give him the explanation later anyway. Now, presents. He is very proud of everything he did for you while you were away and will patiently watch you unwrap every single piece (just pretend he didn‘t use human skin to wrap your presents).

For the next months you constantly receive gifts, but he will eventually go back to normal over the time. He‘ll make sure you‘re happy all the time though, he can‘t risk losing you again. When you are there his little wonderland is real.

How does Bubba react when his s/o gets kidnapped?

As mentioned before, Bubba and you have your routines. If something is different than usual he‘ll notice it immediately and he‘ll immediately think you‘re hurt.

There is basically zero need for you to worry, as he will grab the chainsaw and search for you. Sure, maybe you’ve only fell down the stairs and need a few minutes to recover, but he wants to make sure.

It‘s very unlikely that a kidnapper would get very far. Due to your routines you’re barely ever far apart, so he’d most likely find them almost immediately. It‘s pretty simple from there too, he kills them, takes care of you and for the rest of your lives there won’t be a single minute of your routines which you don’t spend together. Sure, he beats himself up over what happened, but he‘s also very eager to do what needs to be done to prevent that this will ever happen again.

If your kidnapper were to actually take you away though he‘d be a complete mess. He thinks it‘s his fault only, that he didn’t go after his responsibilities as your lover and caretaker right and will become super depressed. He sleeps less than usual, when he does he has nightmares, but when he‘s awake you‘d think he‘s actually sleeping. It‘s like he is a robot whose battery needs to be changed and now he‘s on low power mode, shortly before shutting down.

Of course he searches for you too, but he‘s more busy mourning than actually acting on it. That doesn‘t mean he doesn‘t search at all though. When he finds you he acts similar to how he‘d react if you left. He will kill your kidnapper first but he won‘t pay too much attention to them. All his attention is on you. He cries for what feels like hours to both him and you, he‘ll hug you and he won‘t let go. He also definitely carries you back to the house bridal style.

Thomas Hewitt Headcanons

How does Thomas react when his s/o leaves him?

He is broken, absolutely destroyed, but not surprised. It doesn‘t take long for him to put the pieces together and he honestly saw it coming.

He is sad, cries a few times, but forces himself to move on. It doesn‘t actually work, he still thinks about you every damn second of the day, he even dreams about you almost every night, but he is good at pretending to be alright. Or at least at pretending he isn‘t heartbroken.

He is also angry. If you think his past victims were suffering you don‘t want to know what happens to the people who came after you were gone. He is not actually a bad person. He started killing people at some point, he didn‘t stop and he doesn’t have a hobby, so this is the only way to cope with his feelings for him.

He doesn‘t blame you though. This isn‘t your fault, you did nothing wrong. You are perfect and it was just a matter of time until you‘d decide you wanted someone else. He understands you and he forgives you the second he realizes you are gone. Although he is sad and angry he still wants you to be happy.

Because of the mindset he has he won‘t search for you. You wanted another life and you deserve it. Who is he to stop you?

When you come back he has mixed emotions and is very distant towards you. Honestly, at first he thinks you just forgot something and came back to get it. When you declare that you are back because of him he just stares at you. Then he starts shaking. It‘s barely noticeable at first, but when he gasps you realize he is crying. It doesn‘t take much to convince him to let you back in from there. When he feels your arms around him and your lips on his forehead he is all yours again.

He wants to know why you left but he‘s also scared of your answer. Nevertheless Thomas confronts himself with his fears, always, at least when it comes to you. He‘ll only ask after a few months have passed though.

Once you‘re back he needs time to process everything and you definitely need to repeat some steps which you took before you left (concerning your relationship). He is happy that you‘re back though and he gets very handsy. He was shy about that before, but now you‘re back here and feeling you is proof to him that it‘s real. That you actually want him. He unknowingly becomes a bit better at being in a relationship.

How does Thomas react when his s/o gets kidnapped?

In all honesty, he doesn‘t notice it at first. Relationship or not, he is busy with work almost all the time and you have to work too since you‘re now officially a part of the family. Not seeing you for a few hours is nothing special.

When you‘re not waiting in bed for him at the end of the day he knows something‘s wrong though. He knows you’re strong and independent, so he asks the family first if they have seen you. Then he searches for you. When he can‘t find you he knows something happened. As mentioned before he is able to put the pieces together, in this case there are a lot of reasons for him to know that it wasn‘t your choice to leave (mostly visitors from earlier and the family‘s statements after he asked if they had seen you).

He won‘t let them get away with you. There isn’t really any chance for them to actually kidnap you. He takes the chainsaw and runs. It will definitely get messy. He doesn‘t care about anything but your safety in that moment. But he is fucking pissed. It‘s definitely an unpleasant scene.

He carries you home bridal style, no matter if you‘re hurt or not. Although Thomas isn‘t an extremely sexual person, he will make love to you once your safe back at home. Don’t even try to repay him for his actions, he makes love to you, this isn’t about him. Feeling your body reacting to whatever he does is a sign that you’re alive and well, he can be extremely affectionate without talking and he can make you feel like heaven good.

But before that happens he needs to be calmed down, he needs to be comforted. And he needs to comfort you.

The event does change quite a lot. You will work less and spend more time with Thomas. He has an eye on you for one, and two, he can also show you affection more since the lack of that due to him always working is something he feels guilty about. Luda Mae makes sure that you work less and even if you wanted to help she wouldn‘t let you. You are part of the family and ever single member takes care of you.

[yandere-sins]

Hey!! I love your blog, I‘m excited to watch it grow 😍🙏🏻 Can I request reader getting severe anxiety of going out after something bad happened to her (rape, accident, or similar) and Hawks is just happy to take her in and have her all for himself? Maybe he‘s even the one behind the incident 😬 feel free to include lots of touching and possessiveness!

Aah, thanks so much! I am glad you enjoy it!! I hope you like your request!

»»————-———— ♡ ————————-«« 

“Better now, Angel?” Hawks cooed, brushing his hand through your hair, entangling the strands from each other. Leaning against him, you could not deny that sitting in his lap, his enormous wings surrounding you two - shutting you out from the world - was a comfort you hadn’t known before. And yes, at least for the moment, everything seemed better.

Sniffling, you rubbed your eyes, your tears long having dried up and leaving a painful crust before you nodded into his chest while taking a deep breath. “Yeah, better. I just don’t understand why this happened to me. I really... I-” your voice broke again as you felt the burning of your salty tears rise once more. His hand drifted down your back, gently rubbing over it. The warmth of the movement helped calm you, and you just nuzzled your face back into his chest.

“Bad things happen out there, you know. it’s not your fault, Dove.”

“I- I know. But that man, he... he...”

“No, no, don’t say it,” he mumbled, kissing your head while some more tears spilled over the brink of your eyes. “It’s alright now, you’re safe here, [Name]. No one’s going to hurt you at my nest.”

You couldn’t help a small snort escaping from your lips over the bird reference, but you knew what he meant. “Thank you, Hawks...” you mumbled. “Oh, you’re more than welcome!” he laughed, and you had to join in to the joyful sound vibrating in his chest - even though you didn’t catch on to how much truth was laid in his words.

“No-” you cut off once more, bringing your laugh to an end. Pushing away from leaning on his chest, you couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed for looking at him with such puffy eyes. Maybe you were looking ridiculous, not how you wanted to present yourself. But with his sharp glare, your worries disappeared as you found hints of real admiration in them, even if they were hidden behind his discontent of you moving away.

“No, I really mean it. Thank you, Hawks. For- For always being there and saving me from that villain. As if you knew I was in trouble, you were like m-my guardian angel coming to help.”

Your words were mere stutters as you realized they were quite cheesy, but you still had the need to tell them to him, doing so the best that you could. “And now you opened your home and listen to me, it really means a lot... to me...”

By the time you finished your speech, you weren’t even looking at him anymore, your face turning a few shades redder than they really needed to be. Unlikely, it didn’t allow you to see his expression changing ever so slightly. The ever prominent smile on his lips flinching every now and then.

You were so easy.

Just a little fright, and a little heroic action any you were picking the seeds out of his hand. He probably wouldn’t even have needed to hire such a dangerous villain - a small one doing the deed of scaring you to the bone just fine. But this would have more impact. This way you’d believe him when he said,

“There are many dangerous things outside.”

Your eyes snapping upwards to his real quick, he didn’t even need to put on some fake sincerity. He could watch the belief wash over you, fright and anxiety about having to go out again manifesting everywhere. “You’re right,” you mumbled, body slowly crumbling into itself. But Hawks knew what to do to use that to his advantage.

Pulling you back against his chest, he settled you comfortable in his lap, puffing up his wings a little more, knowing you liked that. “You can stay here for a while,” he offered, rubbing his hand over your back again. “O-Oh, I don’t want to be a burden to you.”

Cute.

“No, no. I insist. It must be scary to think about going out alone, living alone too. You know there are so many dark alleyways around your home, right? And I can’t always be there to save you.”

You gulped, realizing how true his words were.

“But I can be if you are here! It’s a big apartment, I am sure you will love it!” he chuckled, but you missed the menace swinging in it. “M-Maybe you are right,” you finally caved in, sending the widest, toothiest grin over on his lips, but you couldn’t see it as you relaxed in his hold. One arm slung around your legs and the other around your torso, it was almost suffocatily close, but he knew you wouldn’t refuse it right now.

“Good, it’s settled then!” he announced, adding a cheerful, “Roomates, roomates!” after it.

“Thanks, Hawks,” you mumbled, smile on your face too as his euphory was addicting to say the least. “You’re welcome, Dove!” he laughed back, his grip on your body growing a little too thight to not hurt.

“Might as well start to call me Keigo,” he suggested and you peaked up at that. “Isn’t that really per-personal?” you asked, red flushing back over your cheeks.

“Yeah, but I really don’t mind,” he assured you, grinning from ear to ear. “You’ll have to start on some point anyway.” The last comment irritated you, but you shrugged it off, instead leaning back against him, feeling warm and comforted.

“Alright. Thanks, K-Keigo.”

“Oh, anytime, my Angel.”

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Reiji Sakamaki (Story 09)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! I’m an amateur translator, but I hope you do enjoy it anyway!♡

Place: Scarlet mansion — Reiji‘s bedroom

Yui: Is it all right to put so much energy in your body already?

Reiji: Yes, there still is some dizziness in my mind, but it’s good enough to move.

More than that, there is something more important for us to finish.

Monologue

Reiji-san, who has regained his memory, has repulsed his consciousness and was relegated.

My state was also close to faint, so we decided to rest together… the cause might be my blood lose.

A few hours later, we woke up next to each other.

Rejoicing that his memory returned again, we tightened our expressions.

Place: Scarlet mansion — Reiji‘s bedroom

Reiji: I remember everything since we came to this strange place. It is indeed a mysterious situation that we are in.

For now, let‘s analyze our situation at once. We need to figure out what is happening to us.

Yui: Yes!

(Finally, I can consult with Reiji-san again. Even if it‘s not an encouraging topic)

Reiji: I was in the Sakamaki residence and the last thing I remember is, that I had tea with you.

After that, my memories were broken by an unnatural amount of magic.

And, I woke up at the Scarlet mansion right after this. As the eldest son of this house.

Yui: By that time, my memories were wrong as well. Seems like it happened at the same time.

When I came back to sanity, I woke up at that church… I couldn’t remember anything, except that I was Eve.

Reiji: Perhaps, everyone else experienced the same. They suddenly woke up with strange memories as well.

And still, nobody shows a sign of remembering…

Yui: First of all, where are we supposed to be? Is this like a demon world?

Reiji: Other than us, there is nobody in this place… It is clear that this is a quarantined place—

Could it be, that this place was made with magic?

Yui: With magic!?

Reiji: While I made this map, I noticed something strange about this place.

It does not seem to be a land which is made naturally, it has a well-shaped forest.

And, the three houses are located at the top of the equilateral triangle with the church as center.

Indeed, it is a beautiful map. But it is also seems too unnaturally.

Yui: In other words, is the place we are standing on more like a box garden?

Reiji: It might be a box garden. That’s a good expression. Exactly, that seems correct.

If so, the creator of this land must have considerable magic. It must be something comparable to my father’s powers…

Yui: No way, so he is the reason that our memories are like this?

Reiji: I’m currently sure it is the work of the creator of this box garden. It would be at least reasonable to think so.

Yui: That means, he is the one who locked us up in this box garden and made our memories go crazy…

But, why would someone do this… ?

Reiji: It is not possible to set up such plans for no specific reason. It is obvious that there is some purpose behind it.

However, I can’t see the intention behind this plan.

Yui: Me neither…

(Who would do something like this for no reason, I wonder if it has a certain reason behind it)

Reiji: Anyway, it would be foolish to continue fighting against my brothers in this kind of way.

I have to somehow overcome the situation.

Yui: If everyone, would just regain their usual memories this problem would be solved…

Reiji: It would be difficult to make everyone believe in it. I had struggles with believing it myself.

Besides, even if your blood was the trigger that reminded me, it does not necessarily apply to everyone’s memories.

Yui: That’s right…

Reiji: In any case, we might be too ignorant in this present situation. Let’s collect some information first.

Yui: Yes! Like this, we might find a way to get out of this space together.

Reiji: Yes, let’s search for that as well.

Yui: (Everything was so hopeless until yesterday, but because of this talk…)

Reiji: What’s the matter? Your face can’t stop smiling.

Yui: I’m sorry, I’m somehow happy. I thought that I was going to be alone in this situation for awhile.

Reiji: That is natural. I couldn’t express my feelings when I woke up either.

Also, me… I will be able to overcome any difficulties with you. I promise, I will surely break the current situation we are in.

Yui: Thank you, Reiji-san.

Place: Scarlet Mansion — living room

Yuma: HeyHey, when I heard that you collapsed, I was seriously worried. Are you okay now?

Reiji: Yes, there is need to be worried. This might be because of my fatigue. I slept well, so it is no problem.

Kino: I’m glad it was nothing serious, big bro Reiji.

Yuma: Next time, you better tell us if the same thing happens again. You don’t need to hold back just because you’re our older brother, you can rely on us.

Reiji: … I agree, I will be more careful.

Yui: Are you okay, Reiji-san? Your complexion…

Reiji: There is no need to worry. I just thought it was a little complicated. Yuma scolded me as the older brother once again.

I have done, unforgivable things to him in the past. After all, this is irreversible for now…

Yui: Ah … that is—

Reiji: Do not worry. This is not the case, I am not suffering from this guilt.

If they insist, I will join their play. Their “brother” act.

*Shu enters*

Shu: …Did something happen?

Reiji: … ! Shu…

Yui: (I see, he wasn‘t expecting to face Shu-san directly after the incident happened…)

(Besides, Reiji-san has already regained his memory. But Shu-san is still …)

Shu: Your loud noises woke me up. Keep your voice down next time… I’m going back to my room.

Reiji: Please wait, Shu!

Yui: (Ngh, Reiji-san… ?)

Shu: …What is it?

Reiji: No… it is nothing…

Shu: Hmh. Bye then.

*Shu leaves*

Yui: Ah…

(He left…)

Yuma: What the, are ya both still fightin’ or what? Just break the situation and talk already.

Kino: If you say something extra again, this won’t be over soon. Well then, I‘ll go back to my room as well.

*Kino leaves*

Yuma: Hey, wait. What’s up with that dude… well, I got nothin‘ to do either to be honest.

That means, I’ll go outside and take care of the garden.

*Yuma leaves*

Yui: Reiji-san…

Reiji: I am madly sorry…. I was confused, about how I should confront that man for now.

Right now, Shu considers me as his older brother. And, what should I do in this situation—

Revisions of memories, they are more frustrating than I thought they would be…

Yui: Yes … I think so too.

Reiji: Still, it would be confusing if we just tell the truth out of nowhere. There is no choice but to continue this act for a while.

For now I will continue the act of Scarlets eldest brother and leader.

Yui: (I probably don‘t understand it, but the situation looks complicated for him to handle)

(Reiji-san, the feelings he bears with himself, they must be painful for him…)

Reiji: Please don’t give me such a look. I am completely fine.

Yui: Huh? Did you notice my expression changed?

Reiji: It was just like, I could directly see through your entire thoughts.

*Reiji comes closer*

Yui: (Ngh, his hands… he is holding my cheeks with them, it feels good…)

Reiji: I know you have something you deeply think of, but there is no need to worry.

For now, you are the only one I can rely on. Don‘t let your thoughts ruin this.

Yui: Reiji-san…

Choices

1) — Can you I somehow help you? (black)

2) — I will continue to support you (white) ♡ ♡ ♡

— Can I somehow help you?

Yui: That means, I am able to help you as well?

Reiji: Just what are you talking about? Such a foolish question can be answered pretty easily.

In your presence, were you ever able to help me so far? I’d appreciate it, if you could show some awareness about your actions.

Yui: Y-Yes.

(Even if I won‘t be that helpful, I‘m glad he still accepted my offer of helping him…)

— I will continue to support you ♡

Yui: If you say it like that, I will definitely continue to support you. More than ever.

Reiji: As long as it is reliable. Probably, from the time being, it might be like a battle for the both of us.

I expect that to happen… No, this words are rather unimproved.

You are willing to go through this with me, I am really grateful for this.

Yui: …Yes!

end Choices

Reiji: At least, you got some redness on your cheeks. Even so, a lady like you should always keep her back and face a little up.

It would make you surely feel more elegant, but above all — I would like to see it myself.

Yui: Understood. I’ll show my body with those manners more properly.

Reiji: Yes, well done.

*Reiji pats her head*

Yui: (Wow … I never had my head pat like this)

(After all, I’m glad that Reiji-san’s memories returned to himself…)

*Reiji backs off*

Reiji: I want to get Shu’s memories back as soon as possible, so I can be freed from this uncomfortable feeling…

They seem to be strong at the first glance. Shu and Yuma are not having any guts, because I am always scolding them.

Yui: That’s right…

Reiji: No, let’s say it is only Shu. Even in this state, the harshness of this man does not change at all.

Yui: W-When I was at the Sakamaki family, I had a little more understanding for this behavior!

(They definitely are not good friends, but in this current situation, they all need to work together to get out of here)

(…maybe)

Reiji: Oh, by the way, there was something I wanted to ask you. Who is this man named Kino?

Yui: Eh! Don’t you even know about that yourself Reiji-san?

Reiji: I assume, that means you don’t know who that man is either.

Yui: Yes. I thought, it was someone I knew. But, if Reiji-san doesn’t know either…

Reiji: At least he is not a person who is involved in the Sakamaki family.

Nonetheless, this person seems different from what I thought, he might be someone we should keep our guard for.

Yui: Do you think, he could be an acquaintances of Carla-san?

Even if we want to know, I think even this person himself can‘t remember anything, which means it would be useless to ask…

Reiji: Exactly. Whatever he is, it seems like we have to leave this topic for the time being. But, we need to be careful to not neglect him.

Yui: Y-Yes. I’ll be careful.

(Kino-kun, he has been mischievous several times already… we better be careful in various ways)

Reiji: Then, that’s all for our talk today. Let’s get started with the important things right away. Our preparation to break through this situation.

First of all, I will let my familiars gather some information.

Yui: You mean, information from the other mansions?

Reiji: That’s right. Unlike from the past, everyday trivial matters from now on.

There might be a chance, to return their memories once we got some information.

Yui: Understood…

Reiji: One more thing. I’m going to complete the map to have a better view about the situation.

Yui: Huh? Was it incomplete until now? I was wondering, if it was already done.

Reiji: It was made for the purpose of hostile inspection. There are still parts which are definitely missing.

Yui: (Some parts are missing… ?)

Reiji: Anyway, I might return and ask you to help organizing the materials again. Can I count on you?

Yui: Yes, of course!

*Reiji leaves*

(We still have no clues how to break through this situation. But still…)

(I‘m sure we will find a way out of here. Together with Reiji-san—)

Place: Scarlet Mansion — Outside

Kino: Hmm… as I thought, Eve‘s memories seem to have returned. That includes Reiji as well.

This is damn troublesome. Like this, they will figure out a way to return to the normal world in no time.

*Reiji‘s familiar flies away*

… A bat? Is this a familiar from Reiji? …That’s it.

They won‘t be able, to follow this little devil around everywhere… hehe.

[jmeddows2]

Guaranteed to blow your mind  (Roger Taylor smut)

Notes: Bear with me, this is my first ever smut. I’m sorry for mistakes and bad writing. English is not my first languages. Inaccuracies can occur concerning the band. (including Deaky joining Queen).  I’m also planning on making more parts of this including sub!Roger. Let’s see how this goes :) Feedback is always appreciated, so I know how to improve my writing.. ALRIGHT let’s do it  Summary: Felicity is a well known and experienced groupie. Roger a rock star on the rise.    Words: 3.7k+ 

Warnings: cursing, sub!Roger  smut: a tiny bit of edging, blowjob, unprotected sex

Felicity, also known as 'fizz Fliss' in the Rock N‘Roll scene always knew what she wanted. She knew it since the day she moved out from her parent’s home at the tender age of only 16 years old. School had never been one of her interests, instead she loved getting in trouble and the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Fliss had a big dream, as well as many fantasies. Being a groupie.

Chasing rockstars from city to city, spending the whole night in clubs, drinking, doing hard drugs and having the time of her life with the musician of the night afterwards. She followed bands and artists such as Led Zeppelin, The Who, David Bowie, Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones, just to name a few.

At only 20 years old, she had already made a name for herself. Everyone knew her. Women/ girls wanted to be like her, and men longed to spend a night with her. The 'groupie chasing rockstar scenario soon changed to the opposite. It was the most famous men in rock that all wanted a piece of her and they somehow always gave her a piece of themselves in the form of presents. There would not pass a day without a few parcels delivered to her doorstep, containing the latest fashion, lingerie, makeup, booze, sometimes just money. Most of the parcels had a long journey behind them, many hadmade its way all the way from America and Australia to her flat in London. Besides the adoration and money that was spent on her, Felicity was the muse of many songs that later went on to become classics. When you asked her about how she attracted the attention of all the musicians, she simply claimed that it was all about the glam rock inspired clothes she wore. Beside her well known reputation as groupie, she wasn’t just a typical groupie you’d fuck and chuck. Felicity was often photographed alongside other rock musicians for magazines and ads.

Summer of 1971

 It was very hot day when Fliss stepped into the De Lane Lea Studios in London, to meet up with a band she’d been following since the beginning, which happened to be ‘The Who’.  They’d been there to record their fifth studio album titled ‘Who’s Next’.

 The room where the mixing board was situated was already filled with clouds of smoke, as she emerged and was quickly greeted with a hug.

“Ahh finally. Glad you could come. Missed you, love, how have you been?” Roger Daltrey, the lead singer greeted her with a quick peck on the cheek, while bassist John Entwistle beside them was just about to snort a line of cocaine from the tabletop, that was else covered in bottles of heavy alcohol. Glyn Johns, the producer had already been fiddling with some of the buttons on the mixing board, adding finishing touches to a record from a different band. It surprised her, knowing that Roger (D), John (E), Keith and Pete never liked sharing their studio time. They always used it to full extend, no matter what.

 “you really thought I would miss the opportunity to watch you guys record, huh? I wouldn’t even think about it. besides, I wanted to personally thank Keith here” she was pointed her finger into the drummer’s direction “ for the beautiful necklace. It must have cost you a fortune.” she laughed, clasping the little diamond that graced her decollete and she approached the drummer to place herself in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“yeah it actually did, honey.. but you‘re totally fucking worth it” he replied with a smug smile on his face, caressing her cheek with one hand.

“now come on, baby” Keith fiddled with the pocket of his jacket, only to pull out a pack filled to the brim with white powder. Fliss was quick to realize his intentions, so she pulled her top over her head and tossed it to the floor, leaving her in a red lace bra, another precious present.

 “fuck, see that‘s what I‘m talking about, baby” bringing his hand to lightly grope her breast

“I‘ll buy you 10 of those necklaces. No, I‘ll buy you anything you want, honey” he mumbled and managed to pour a line of the white gold onto the space between her breasts and rolled a 5-pound note to snort it from there. Keith didn‘t manage to catch all of the white powder at once, so he leant his head forward to lick the rest off and rub it on his gums. Their little get together was soon cut off by a loud thump as the door opened and 4 men stood there, totally caught off guard. 4 rather shocked faces. Newbies.  

 “seriously guys? Have you switched to male groupies now? “Fliss laughed sitting herself up in Keith’s lap, to get a better look of them.

 The men at the door seemed really embarrassed, with their heads turning as red as a tomato, except for one guy with long, dark brown hair and high cheekbones. He managed to step forward: “sorry are we interrupting something here? We can come back later?!”

“no, no, come in it‘s alright. Suit yourself” Roger (D) invited the men in with a gesture towards the little table with booze, cigarettes, pills and cocaine.

“Fliss, baby, may I present to you, her majesty: Queen, they‘re new, have some potential AND they are here to record some stuff today” Pete chuckled and winked at her.

 “oh really? And why haven‘t I heard of them yet?” she laughed while studying the men who were still stood by the door having not moved in the slightest. They seemed intimidated. It felt like a game for Felicity and hell, she loved to play. It was true, the band had only started to rehears songs for their first album a few months prior and received a little bit of recognition by playing rather small gigs. They were young, on the rise, seeking attention and where else could you get that from if not from one of London’s most iconic and definitely loudest rock bands of all time?

 “hey hey, I know you. Fuck dear, no I adore you... you are Felicity? Living the dream, right? damn... I bet this was also a present” he winked pointing at her bra. “I‘m Freddie by the way” he took a few steps forward to shake her hand, then heading back to his band mates who still haven’t moved in the slightest..

 “this is her Rog, the girl I told you about the other day” Freddie whispered to the blond-haired boy, gently nudging his side, he just nodded with flushed cheeks. His wavy, dirty blonde hair barely touched his shoulder and his bright blue eyes didn‘t quite know what to focus on, trying to play off the embarrassment. An awkward silence filled the room, until Freddie decided to plunge himself down next to Pete on one of the leather couches trying to lighten the mood. 

“and the others? Do you also have any names? “Felicity stood up from Keith’s lap and made her way towards the men as they introduced themselves to her as Brian, Roger and Mike. Mike was Queen’s bass player at the time and was very soon after replaced by our precious Deaky.

 As the tension and embarrassment settled, the "new boys" managed to get comfortable with a little booze. A magic recipe that always seemed to help loosen everyone up. Roger Daltrey was like the dad of the group, he didn’t take any hard drugs, just sleeping pills, but who didn’t? He also occasionally did a little pot. Roger Daltrey always felt the need to be the tough one, to look out for everyone. He had to, dealing with his bandmates which basically consisted of three addicts. Pete was an alcoholic, John (E) was an alcoholic. All three of them were doing speed and every other kind of drug you could imagine. Roger (D) never touched any cocaine, never had a try of it. He always felt responsible, as singing was his ‘instrument’ in the band and he felt like he would have never been able to master his skills while intoxicated. He tried to lead Fliss into another direction many times, away from her lifestyle, stating points that she would not have a future continuing like this, if she ever got out alive. He just wanted the best for all them, treating them like children of his own somehow.

 “what’s it like, darling?” Freddie asked curiously, he took a sip from his vodka-soda. “I want to know the details, any weird sex habits out there in the world of Rock ‘N’Roll? Any new kinks to know about “he asked flashing his unique, bright teeth at her with a smile. 

“Fred” Brian warned by shooting him a glare.

“Oh, come on Bri, stop acting as if you’re not interested in what this hot little thing here might have to spill” Freddie turned his attention back to Fliss.  “besides I think my good friend Rog here also might be interested” Freddie pointed in his direction, but his blond friend was too occupied having a chat with Keith.  It was obvious that one of his ears was always curiously listening to what she might have had to say. Roger’s eyes also betrayed him by stealing little glances, when he thought that she wasn’t looking.

“ok well... so sorry to disappoint you, but a lady never tells, but” she winked at Freddie and his eyes widened for more gossip as she continued.

“there’s loads of traveling, fine booze, the best cigarettes, expensive clothes and meals, you know the drill” she made a gesture at her body signaling great sex. “a real killer queen” Freddie smiled at her while pouring yet another glass for both of them and they clinked them together, getting lost in another conversation about antiques and all things expensive and glamorous. All of which Freddie admired. “Splendid! I already know we are going to get along perfectly, darling.”

 Freddie moved on to talk to his own band mate Brian again, but the spot beside her on the couch was soon filled by Roger. He clutched his whiskey on the rocks in his hand and was quickly caught off guard.

 -Aren’t you a little too young to drink, Roger? I mean how old are you? 16? 17??? - Fliss asked loud enough for the others to hear as she placed her feet onto his lap, resting them there, while the others started to laugh once they overheard her assumption.

 “no...no I.. I‘m actually 22”  he nervously stuttered.

“Hah I never thought to see the day that Rog can‘t get a word out to impress a girl” Freddie laughed, taking another sip from his alcoholic beverage.

 “no wonder. He‘s probably starstruck, keeps all your pics from the newspapers in his bedside drawer, ever since Fred told him about you” Mike laughed loudly while Roger was getting slightly embarrassed and his cheeks turned pink. No, not embarrassed, he felt humiliated.

 “oh, is that so Roger?”  Fliss said as she got up with a G&T in her hand.

“don‘t mind, do ya Rog?” batting her eyelashes at him, he shook his head and she placed herself onto his lap. Once she was situated comfortably, she smiled at him.

“hi” threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “hi” he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her touch burned into his skin and within seconds his semi could be slightly felt on her thigh. The effect she had on him made her want to play this game even more.

 “oioioi, someone‘s gonna get lucky, huh?” Pete teased, making her playfully shake her head and roll her eyes. “And he might be the only one tonight” she replied, making all of them go quiet. Felicity felt kind of bad for all the teasing Roger had to bear. It was meant to be her job. Hers only.

“I’m not making you feel uncomfortable, am I?” she asked the blond boy with a hint of concern in her voice, brushing his soft hair over his shoulder.

“nnn no, not at all. I’m fine, perfectly fine” Perfect.

 Roger was quiet and frozen as Felicity constantly shifted in his lap. It made him even harder, painfully hard. Of course, she knew exactly what she was doing, as teasing was her specialty. But this boy was different, quiet, nervous, a perfect prey.

 Roger’s eyes nervously scanned the room, silently praying that no one would notice his now throbbing bulge in his pants. Felicity saw it all and felt him violently throb against his pants as her core was pressed up against him. So, she decided to fuel the fire even more. Another specialty of hers.

 She scanned Roger‘s face with her eyes, then slightly started nibbling his ear, which earned a light moan from him.  She continued kissing along his jawline, making his eyes tightly shut. He was trying his best, not to buck into her. “you’re almost too pretty to be rockstar” Roger opened his eyes as she caressed his right cheek, while her other hand was playing with his hair.

Roger swallowed hard, trying not to moan any louder. He was frustrated that he couldn’t do anything about his miserable situation, the fear of getting caught any second creeping up on him. His only goal at this point was trying not to come in his pants right then there.

- Oh I.. I.. thank you.. you‘re p..pretty- he stuttered.

She continued lightly bouncing in his lap, purposely grinding her ass against Roger‘s clothed length, while the most innocent look on her face. A smirk was plastered on her face as she earned another groan from him.

"What‘s wrong, Roger?" she asked innocently.

"You alright, mate?" John (E) asked from the sofa on the opposite side, he answered with a little nod, trying to keep it together.

Leaning closer to Roger she whispered in his ear: "you‘re so hard down there, huh? Do I really have such an effect on you? I didn‘t even do anything."

Felicity kept tracing patterns into the skin of his neck and chest, which was exposed due to his unbuttoned shirt. It was cute how every little touch and pattern traced along his sensitive skin made him shiver.

 - let‘s go out to eat something, guys, we‘ve got the studio all day long, you can record later- Roger (D) clapped his hands together and jumped up from his seat.

 “Roger are you coming or you glued to that couch? “Freddie joked as Roger glared back at him. Roger knew that he couldn‘t get up, not like that, not with a massive hardon. That would be too embarrassing, and the boys would forever pick on him.

 “actually, we‘ll join you later, King‘s pub it is?“ Felicity asked, shooting them a wink.

 Keith nodded, leaning down to her: “alright, honey, take care” the brunette drummer said as he stole a kiss from her. 

 A wave of relief rushed over Roger as there was only him and Fliss left in the room. Well, as much relief as he could possibly get, despite the problem in his pants.

“so, are you a bassist? singer? “Felicity teased as she brought her face close to his, caressing his right cheek, lightly rubbing circles with her thumb.

 “no I‘m m.. 'm the drummer” he stuttered nervously. “you know it‘s not very nice to not look at me when you’re talking to me” she shifted even more back and forth in his lap, feeling his hard cock through his pants. “you’re lucky, I have a thing for drummers” speeding up her movement, adding even more friction.

 “uhh please” Roger groaned looking deep into her eyes. “what Roger, what do you need?” leaning forward, breathing into his ear. “Is this what you need?” she placed a kiss on his left cheek, he violently shook his head in response.

 “what have been doing with those pictures your band member mentioned earlier, huh? Have you been a naughty boy?” she teased, continuing to torture him further, pressing even harder into him.

“y.. yes, been naughty, touching myself to your pictures...want you.... wanted you since the first time I saw you” he whined, eyebrows knitted in frustration.

“oh really?” Felicity definitely had her fun with this. She often adopted the role of the submissive, in fact, a willing sub. But dominating a guy, making him practically melt in her hands, was just another level. Nothing could ever compare to that.

Roger didn‘t manage to get a word out so she grabbed his cock through his pants, palming him that it nearly made him jump out of his skin. He never felt like this before, never this intimidated by any girl, he usually was the one to charm them, tease them, make them squirm.

 “yeah, yeah” he finally admitted “was so bad, wankin’ my cock every time to you mmmm, please, please, want you so bad” Roger cried out, but she brought her face close to his, kissing soon turned into a quick but heated make out session. Her hand made its way between their bodies into his pants, slowly starting to pump his bare length with her hand, brushing her thumb over his tip, making his eyes roll back.

 “alright pretty princess, let‘s see”  

Felicity got off his lap, kneeled down in front of him, he lifted his hips for her to remove his pants and underwear all at once.

Roger’s cock sprung free, hitting his tummy, the red, swollen tip leaking pre cum already. He was slightly bigger than average with a perfect girth, which surprised her, due to his overall tiny frame.

“fucking pretty cock, princess” his cheeks turned pink once more. It was the most vulnerable state, being all exposed in front of her. She ghosted her hand over his length, making him squirm even more and buck his hips. He was frustrated. But she kept on admiring his cock, taking her time. “Please, please I’m begging you! DO something. I- I can’t take it anymore” Roger whined. 

He hissed loudly when her hand was suddenly wrapped around his length, his eyes falling shut.

“ fuck.. fuck feels so good mmm” he moaned in ecstasy.

Roger’s moans were music to her ears “look at me, princess” his eyes fluttered open and she leaned forward to kiss the tip of his cock gently, staring deeply into his eyes. “mmm more please”

She licked the salty pre cum off that was already dribbling off the tip due to his horniness and it spread on her lips. Licking it off, tasting him. Salty and sweet at the same time. Felicity used her tongue to gently lick his frenulum, making Roger cry out her name. She lowered her head once again, taking all of him into her mouth, rubbing his tummy with her right hand.

“oh yess, fuuuuck feels so good, your mouth... you do it so good I’m not gonna last.. mmm” Roger groaned.

Having him beg for her, motivated Fliss to go not even faster, but also deeper, bobbing her head up and down, having him down her throat. Thanks to much practice, her gag reflex was gone, giving him the full experience.

“fuck m’ gonna c..cum m’ gonna cum” she pulled away, earning a disappointing groan. “You didn’t think I was going to let you come that fast, did you?” his eyebrows knotted into a frown. “Please, I was so close” “aww look at you, all red and desperate to finally get off, princess” Rogers hair was sticking to his sweaty forehead as she was undressing herself. “Roger” he flinched,letting his cock fall from his hand as she caught him pumping himself in a fast motion while watching her naked frame.  “I’m so sorry, please, do something. It’s really starting to hurt now. It’s way too much” salty tears started dribbling down his cheeks. He was so desperate for her.  “ok baby” she climbed into his lap, taking his thick cock into her hand rubbing his tip through her folds and the tears kept streaming down his face. She sank all the way down on him, staying there a few seconds to adjust. Roger rested his head on her shoulder as she managed to swipe a few of his tears away with her thumb.  Fliss started bouncing up and down his cock, Roger’s breathing slowly got louder when he was nearing his orgasm for the 2nd time that night. He felt weak, too weak to be able to thrust up into her.  “Fuck Roger, I’m close. You’re filling me up so good” she groaned, speeding up the tempo and circling her hips with one of his hands resting on her hips for support, the other on her breast, toying with her nipple. “mmm coming, you need to get off” “Come for me, princess” tangling her fingers in his blond locks. He started to whimper at the feeling of her still on his cock, one final bounce and she sank all the way down on him, sending both of them over the edge. Roger came with a cry of her name as he released warm, thick ribbons of cum inside of her. His eyes were fluttering, head on her shoulder, as he slowly came down from his high, relishing every wave of pleasure, not wanting the moment to fade away.

 Roger was snapped out of his little trance when she released his cock, making his him squirm at the sudden loss of contact. Being the little tease Felicity was, she reached down between her thighs, capturing some of Roger’s thick, sticky cum and brought the finger to her mouth to taste it. “so good” she hummed against her hand. “Fuck, you look so hot right now” he watched her in awe, mouth slightly open, not believing his eyes, making his cock twitch one final time.

(kind of inspired by this min 3:00) “Marry me” Roger blurted out. She looked at him, expecting him to be joking but his face remained serious. “You’re fucking nuts, Roger” she laughed as they both dressed themselves again, trying to hide every evidence of their previous studio ‘adventure’. He took a seat on the couch and pulled her into his lap again, giving her a passionate kiss. “Will you at least stay with me tonight then?” “Sure, Roger." he held her close, making the throbbing problem in his pants reappear.

[revengeworld]

My King IX

Kylo Ren x Reader

Words: +2.800

Warnings: Just pure Fluff this chapter MY MASTERLIST - Can be found in my Bio if you´re interested in more of my work! 

-

As soon as Kylo stepped out of his Ship he knew something was wrong. Knights were running around the palace while he made his way to his room, not even being noticed by anyone.

Entering the empty and dark room, Kylo was more than confused. He had expected that Y/N would rest in bed with a book if she really wasn't feeling well what Indo had reported.

When he wanted to turn around to look for her, Hith was already standing in the doorway.

“Where is she?” Kylo growled while Indo and Lydie appeared behind the other Knight.

“She disappeared on us and we can't find her.”

“For star's sake... Are you force users or what?!” shaking his head, he was already pushing his way through them while searching for Y/Ns live force.

With quick steps, he was walking down the stairs to the cells while his cape was waving behind him.

She didn't know why her feet had brought her here, but now she was quietly entering the solidarity ward.

Every Knight on this floor had disappeared, probably because they were searching for her in the wrong areas.

Stopping in front of the last cell, the young man on the cold floor almost didn't believe his eyes, quickly making his way to the glass door.

“Y/N… what are you doing down here?” not answering his question, she looked into the eyes of the man who had left her behind, who had traded her suddenly for someone better even after all his promises. The man who had brought her in this situation in the first place and all of a sudden demanded her back.

“Why? Why did you leave me behind? Even though you promised me ...” her voice broke.

“I had no choice, Y/N! No choice at all!! When Charvi found out that I wanted to escape with you, she threatened to tell the Masters about it unless she would come with us. In the end … I couldn't get to you in time, but now I'm here! We could still go. It's not too late for it Y/N...”

Kylo, who stood in the shadows and listened to their conversation, felt a sharp pain in his chest. What should he do if she said yes? Should he just let her go? What would be the right thing to do? But in the end, it wasn't his choice to make. He couldn't keep her here against her will, even if he wanted nothing more than for her to stay by his side.

For a while, the silence in this room felt unbearable for him, until Y/N spoke up again.

“I can't …” unintentionally she let her hand run over a stomach, a small gesture that Anwir almost didn't notice until he realized.

“You're carrying his child? But that other women...” he whispered shocked. Slowly she looked up at him with a sad smile, the hand that was gently resting against her stomach dug into the fabric of her dress before she nodded slightly.

“And even if I wouldn't, I couldn't come with you. No matter which woman would be his wife or no matter how many, I would be always right beside him. For him I would always be glad to be his second choice.” quickly brushing away the tears that tried to roll down her cheeks, Y/N slowly began to shook her head.

“I'm sorry… The only thing I may be able to give you is your freedom, but I will be staying here by his side where I belong.” turning around, she made her way back, not noticing the dark figure in the shadows who wasn't able to move, too shocked by what he had just witnessed. Not only would she stay with him, but there was a child growing inside of her. His child.

Quickly following her back to their room while defusing the situation with the distressed Knights, making sure nobody interrupted her walk.

When she entered the room, Y/N almost run into the mountain of presents that were stacked in their living room.

Surprised she brushed her tears away until something small rubbed itself against her legs with an excited chirp. Taking a few steps back confused she looked down at the cat until she collided with someone behind her.

When she met Kylos eyes, Y/N immediately embraced him and he pulled her into his arms.

“You're back...” he could hear her muffled whimper against his shoulder and calmingly started to stroke over her trembling back.

After a while where they stood there in silence, Kylo slowly separated from her. “Is it true?” Slowly reaching out for her belly to feel the live energy from his child, his hand suddenly was slapped away.

Y/N had instinctively protected her unborn child while laying her arms around her stomach. Shocked how he could even know about this. She just knew herself since yesterday, so how could he possibly gather this information from? It didn't matter, what mattered now was to ensure her childs live, not knowing what Kylo might do to it now that he would have a wife.

“Please… Don't hurt it. Don't take it away from me.” she whimpered, not daring to look into his eyes.

Confused the Supreme Leader furrowed his brows before his outstretched hand slowly sunk.

“We can just say it was from someone else. Nobody needs to know just … don't take it away from me.”

The words reached his ear but somehow they made no sense to him.

“Y/N what are you even talking about...”

Surprised she looked up into his face before Y/N glared at him. Grabbing the next best thing she threw it in his direction.

“What I'm talking about?! Your goddamn future wife!!” grabbing her pad, Y/N searched quickly for the picture before throwing the device at him. With one movement of his hand, it stopped mid-air and he looked confused at the picture. Kylo knew Hux had told the King of Guaru nonsense about a marriage alliance, but he never would have thought it would spread through the galaxy. Looking down at his chest where Y/N had started to hammer against, while tears were streaming down her face.

“You could've just told me! Why did you leave me in the dark!”

Gently grabbing Y/N by her wrists, Kylo pulled her into his arms to calm her down.

“Shh… everything is okay...” he whispered in her ear.

“No … nothing is okay....” muffling her sobs against his chest, her fingers dug into the fabric of his shirt.

When she heard a soft chuckle from him, her head immediately shot up to glare at him, while he gently leaned his forehead against hers.

“Did you really think I would even consider looking at another woman when you were waiting for me?” he spoke with a smile and her eyes slowly softened.

“There will be no marriage. It was just a miscommunication with the Planet. I promise you… everything is fine...” leaning closer, Y/N let Kylo pull her into a soft kiss, which made both their hearts flutter.

Gently brushing her tears away, Kylo waited until she had calmed down and they took a seat on the couch in their living room.

“So … since when do you know?” laying his hand on her stomach, Kylo could feel this tiny little life force inside of her.

“Since yesterday, just before Hux showed me that stupid… But when it was just a stupid misunderstanding, why are you embracing her?” he could hear from her voice that she was still angry and jealous, which was understandable.

“She was about to fall if I hadn't caught her, that clumsy oaf probably had split her head open. You can thank this little creature for that. She wanted to make her fall.” looking down at the striped cat that was standing on her hind legs to find a way on either of their laps.

“So there was really nothing?” Y/N asked while picking the feline up and petting it gently.

“I swear. I couldn't care less about her.” looking into her eyes, Kylo placed his hand against the side of her face.

With a small nod, she cuddled up against his chest.

“I missed you so much.” Y/N admitted.

“I missed you too, believe me. But now I'm back and I won't ever leave without you by my side.” brushing through her hair with his fingers, she finally started to smile.

“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” he asked after a little while, now that he knew that she was pregnant it made him even more protective of her.

“I'm fine. I just need you right now...” feeling a little nudge against her hand, the small feline looked disappointed up at her.

“And you too.” Y/N corrected and just now really noticed all the small packages and bottles.

“What is all of that anyway?”

“Presents for you. Dresses, Books and other … stuff” looking around he didn't even know what half of it was himself. He just send someone away to get everything that would be suited for his lady.

Hearing her sudden laughter he looked surprised down at her.

“You can be so sweet, my King.” pulling him down into a loving and soft kiss he could only smile. Now having him finally back made her feel so much safer, even after the unnecessary little heartbreak.

“Do you know what it will be? Did the Doctor say anything? When will it arrive?” Kylo couldn‘t keep his hand away from her stomach, his head automatically sinking down onto her chest where she started to play with his hair.

„I‘m just 6 weeks along. Nothing much to tell for now, but it will take a while until we can finally meet it.“ she chuckled softly until the door to their room was pushed open. Lydie, Hith and Indo were standing in the doorway before they almost choked Y/N with their hugs.

„We were so worried!“ her handmaiden sighed relieved that nothing happened to her.

„I‘m sorry…“ hugging all three of them back, Kylo loudly cleared his throat. In their haste to embrace Y/N, all three of them had pushed Kylo and a hissing cat aside.

„I see I‘m already expendable.“ he grinned into their scared faces and they quickly hugged him too.

„That‘s not what I meant!“ he shouted and Y/N only laughed at them.

After this whole situation calmed down and the two women were playing with the wild cat, Kylo turned to his Knights.

„I want you two to bring me Hux. It seems like he needs a reminder where his place is.“ seeing the sinister grin on their leaders lips they only nodded and left the room to find the General.

Leaning back on the couch, Kylos eyes were now fixated on Y/N. He had made his decision, now he only needed to make his plan reality.

„Would you help her with her presents?“ looking at Lydie, she quickly nodded.

„Of course, Supreme Leader.“

While the mountain of presents decreased, Kylo got rid of his cape and slipped into something more comfortable, Y/N sneaking a few kisses in between as thanks for all these things he had brought along with him.

A knock on the door announced the arrival of the General. Kylo waited until Y/N sat down next to him, his arm wrapped around her while he let his fingertips run along her side before he called him in.

„I see you returned earlier than planned… Supreme Leader.“ the Ginger spoke, obviously displeased with this development.

„Yes, then I heard a few interesting things. Would you care to explain to me why the King thought I would be marrying his daughter?“

„That is what he thought? I only mentioned that your current status is unmarried.“ Hux explained himself.

„That you actually might consider it, that I really didn’t expect.“

„Oh because I didn‘t consider anything, General. Besides that a month in a nice cell would be a good opportunity for you to remember your place.“ Kylo spoke calmly but cold.

„You can‘t do this! I had nothing…“

„Nothing to do with this? Oh, General, I thought you would be more clever. I‘m actually quite disappointed in you.“ glancing at his Knights behind the General, the Supreme Leader only nodded.

„Bring him in his cell. Solitary.“

Escorting a cursing General out, Kylo only shook his head.

“Well, then I will bring you two some breakfast. It was a long night for everyone.” Lydie announced while taking care of the last dress.

“Thank you. Would you be so kind and help Y/N later with her luggage? I think a week or two away from the palace would be a good idea after all this.”

Surprised Y/N looked up at him, but he already had his head buried in the crook of her neck.

“Do you really think this is a good idea? Nobody would be in charge. The villagers need you.” letting Kylo slowly press her down into the couch, he soon laid his head onto her stomach.

“We can be away for a bit. You did a great job, so there is not much trouble at the moment. I read the reports on my way back.” he only mumbled, before closing his eyes.

“Alright, everything my sweet King wants...” pressing a kiss onto his scalp, she gently brushed through his hair.

“But… you still disobeyed my orders...” Kylo suddenly growled and she froze in her movement.

“Sneaking into the cells and leaving the palace in chaos. That means you need to be punished too...” pushing himself up, he let his lips lightly graze against hers before he sat up.

“No Kisses and Cuddles for you.”

Laying one leg over the other, Y/N only scoffed superior.

“That means no Baby Bonding for you Mister.”

“You wouldn't dare….” he hissed low, but she only grinned at him.

“Don't underestimate me, my King. The one on the throne right now is still me at least for the next three days. Your own fault for giving me too much power.” very slowly she brushed up his neck with her finger to push his chin up a little.

“I see, I taught you well.” Kylo suddenly grinned and leaned over to her, silencing her sweet chuckle with his lips, this time not letting go of her until Lydie came back with their breakfast.

“For what occasions should I pack your things, my Lord?” the handmaiden asked after placing the tablets with food down on the table in front of them.

“For the Island Estate. I rather not want to fly with you, especially with our baby inside of you.” he explained his choice to Y/N, who nodded with a smile.

Both of them flinched when cutlery suddenly landed on the ground with a loud clank.

“You… You are pregnant?” Lydie and two other voices suddenly asked. Hith and Indo were back from imprisoning the General.

“I haven’t told them yet… I wanted you to be the first to know.” Y/N explained to Kylo while she chuckled lightly before the three hugged her a second time on this day.

“You understand that we can’t leave you alone on your little vacation. Then now we need to protect the little prince-”

“-or princess.” Lydie ended Hiths sentence and nodded with determination.

“Besides I need to take special care of Y/N now.”

“Fine, as long as you little pests stay on the other side of the estate.” the Supreme Leader rolled his eyes with a light smirk, too happy to be really grumpy at them.

In just a few hours they were already on their way to the island estate.

While Y/N was standing on the front of the ship, gushing over the waves, Kylo sat in the shadows just watching her.

After this little vacation, he would go through with his plan and he hoped everything would play out like he hoped.

“Kylo! You need to see this!” she suddenly called over, the skirt of her dress flying in the wind while she tried to hold on to her summer hat.

Standing up from his chair he rolled his eyes at the two knights and Y/Ns handmaiden who was just grinning at him. He was still a bit disappointed that he couldn't be completely alone with Y/N, but he knew it was better like this.

Lydie would take the best care of Y/N especially now that she was carrying a baby in her belly.

Laying his arm around her waist, Kylo pulled her closer while she was just smiling up at him, so much excitement glimmering in her beautiful eyes since it was the first time she left the palace and the city.

“Are you alright?” he whispered while placing a gentle kiss against her temple.

“Yeah … I… We’re completely fine.” watching how her cheeks blushed a little while she was gently stroking her stomach, Kylo could feel his heart flutter in his chest which only strengthened his decision. She was the woman he wanted to marry, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

-

Tags: @celestiaelisia  @sdavid09  @attorneyl  @ayatimascd  @acunningstargazer  @agirlwithlonelymusic  @ev3e @luna-xial @ellie-emb

[azeroth-and-beyond]

Broken Bonds

Athaea stood on a small balcony, overlooking the barracks grounds. She was wearing her warden armor, her hands on the railing. Below her, dozens, maybe even a couple of hundreds of kaldorei were standing at attention. In a normal day, those might’ve been watchers honing her skills. But it wasn’t a normal day. Today was the first day of bootcamp. It was the day where kaldorei who believed themselves to be warden material gave their shot at it. Athaea knew that most, if not all, of those present would be rejected. Wardens were the elite fighting group of the watchers after all, and they had very high standards. 

She pushed herself off the railing, walking into the door behind her. As she moved through the corridors, a few watchers ran back and forth with supplies. Others were finishing the last minute preparations for the recruitment. Athaea didn’t pay them much attention; she was a warden herself, and the watchers were far below her rank. They had their own job to do, as did she. She moved downstairs, into the entrance and then to the field grounds. She saw Maiev standing tall ahead of the potential recruits, staring them down. 

The scene reminded her of her own recruitment day; it had been almost two thousand years since it took place. Back then she was still a priestess of the moon, handpicked by a recruiter to become a full blown warden. Of course, that didn’t mean her training was any less demanding. If anything, that just meant more eyes were on her than for most wannabe recruits. This was her first year volunteering to take part of the warden boot camp, and she knew how it went.

“Sergeant Winterlance.”

“First Lieutenant Amberblade. I‘m ready for my assignment, ma’am.” Athaea responded after she turned around and saluted her superior. Amberblade looked up and down, inspecting Athaea armor and posture. She gave her a curt nod, giving the cue for the lower ranked officer to relax. 

“Glad to have you helping us with this. Your assistance will be more than welcome. Also, speaking of which, I believe your sister is here. Lyeenya Winterlance, correct?” The lieutenant looked straight into Athaea eyes, 

“My...sister?” A chill ran down the warden spine, her entire body tensing up. Athaea didn’t know her sister wanted to become a warden at all, much less that she would be here tonight. She felt her blood draining from her face as she tried to look away from her superior. Amberblade raised her eyebrow at Athaea, slowly crossing her arms. 

“Well, either way, she’s in the third column, so go and send her your best wishes before she’s officially a recruit. She’s a priestess of the moon, correct? Like you were when you came to us. Well, I’m sure you know the rules and how you are expected to treat her then. Dismissed, Sergeant.”  Amberblade nodded and left her vicinity, leaving her alone. 

Athaea closed her fists, her metal gauntlets screeching as it scraped against itself . She turned her head toward where Lyeenya was. Her face was now growing hot, the paleness replaced by deep shade of purple as the blood rushed back in. She started moving toward the supposed location her sister was at, furious. Her movements were stiff, the warden doing everything she could to not explode. She moved across the field, barely acknowledging anyone around her,

“Sis! I’m here!” The voice rang in Athaea head as she looked to the side. She finally sighted Lyeenya, as she was a few feet away from her, coming in for a hug. But Athaea immediately put her hand forward, grabbing her shoulder and holding her in place. The younger sister looked at the hand holding her in disbelief, and then up to Athaea eyes. “A-Athaea?” Lyeenya yelped out, wide eyed.

“Look, I don’t know why you are here, especially after what I told you already. I don’t want you to come and besmirch my reputation like you did in the sisterhood. I’m not sure if I wasn’t clear enough the last time I talked to you, but I didn’t expect you to be stupid enough to actually do this.” Athaea immediately lashed out, her hand holding Lyeenya shoulder a bit too tight for comfort. Her brows were furrowed, a furious expression covering her entire face, even if she had managed to hide it in her voice.

“I…” It took a few seconds for Lyeenya to process everything she had heard. Her eyebrows trembled as she held back tears. “I’m not here to screw you over! What happened at the Sisterhood happened over a thousand years ago sis, and it was an accident!” She answered in a slight panic, taken by complete surprise by her sister's reaction. “I’m not copying you, I’m not stalking you! I… I just want to serve the Kaldorei as a warden!” Athaea squinted her eyes, giving her sister a light shove, enough to push her back a couple feet.

“If we are really doing this, then I’ll be straightforward. You’ll call me Sergeant, or ma’am. No ‘sister’, or ‘sis’, or ‘Athaea’ or anything else, got it? None of that shit. I’m not your sister here. I’m your sergeant, and you are nothing. Not even a recruit yet. Don’t you dream of receiving any kind of slack for being my sister. Preferably, don’t even look at my direction.” She spat out, pointing her finger toward Lyeenya face. “I’m done here and I’m done with you. Get in line, meat.” The warden turned around and walked away, leaving Lyeenya behind as she called for her.

Athaea muscles were sore due to how tense she was. But she couldn’t shake off what just happened from her mind. She walked to her position, watching over a group of the kaldorei waiting for the boot camp. Athaea barely heard anything of the speech. She only realized it was over when the other wardens broke off to leadthe prospects.

While most of the initiation day went well, Athaea couldn’t take her mind off of Lyeenya. She made sure to avoid her sister as much as possible, but she could still feel her hands trembling every so often. It was hard to contain her anger, especially in front of all other wardens and the recruits.   

As the days went by during training week, it became harder to avoid her sister. Every once in a while, she caught a glimpse of Lyeenya’s training. In one of those times, she saw her sister sparring with a fellow hopeful recruit. It had been several years since she last saw her, but as she moved back and forth in her spar. Her memories rushed back into her mind. Instead of her recruit armor, she saw a younger Lyeenya, in her old priestess robes.   

Athaea body froze for half a second, enough for her sister to land a decisive blow on her training partner. And as Lyeenya reached to help her partner get off the ground, that past image on Athaea head solidified. Her eyes saw the priestess kneeling to help a familiar kaldorei, a smile covering her lower face.   

“I’m sorry, that was my fault.” Athaea could hear, but her sister’s mouth hadn’t moved at all, even as she helped her partner to get back on her feet. The warden shook her head, pulling herself out of this flashback. And as soon as she did so, she walked away from the recruits, not wanting her sister to see her. 

The training was intense, and about half of the recruits that started it had already dropped out. She could hear some of her fellow wardens talking about her and her sister. But the topic was dropped whenever Athaea approached them.

“She left the last trials just a few minutes ago. I’m sure you’ll be able to track her down, Sergeant. Unless you have any questions, consider yourself dismissed.” Amberblade said before turning to a few other scrolls, stamping them with a few wax seals. Athaea finally managed to force her legs to work and leave the room after several seconds still. She pressed herself against the wall just to the right of the door, her hands sweating. Not wanting to make this last any more than it needed to, she rushed into the corridors, searching for her sister.

“Sergeant Winterlance, do you know why I’ve called you?” Warden Amberblade looked into her subordinate eyes, sitting on a wooden chair. Her stare was cold, her expression indecipherable. Athaea had no idea if she was about to get punished or lauded. 

“I’m afraid not, ma’am. Was I supposed to?” She did her best to keep a neutral approach, even if she was somewhat suspicious of what was going on. She stayed on her feet, looking straight into Amberblade eyes, waiting for her to continue. 

“Very well. I called you here to talk about your sister. As I’m sure you are aware, she’s currently undergoing the last part of the training. Staying until the very end of our warden recruitment process is already an achievement in and of itself. But there’s more to talk about, when it comes to Lyeenya and her performance.” Athaea ears perked up, the warden swallowing. She had tried her best to avoid her sister altogether this week, and she definitely didn’t want to deal with that situation now. “While going through the results of all the recruits, I inevitably ended up seeing her results as well.” The lieutenant touched a rolled up scroll laying on the table, just ahead of her. 

“I remember we once had a conversation about your sister. You said you didn’t want her to become a warden. Which, to be completely honest, is understandable. Being a warden is not for most people, and only we can see that as clearly. Being a warden means, oftentimes, a life of solitude and service. I won’t preach to the choir here, Athaea. But I decided that, as a token of gratitude for your service, I should give you the chance to talk to your sister before presenting her the results.” She tapped the scroll with her fingers. The sergeant looked at the scroll for several seconds, silent. She did say those things to Amberblade some time ago, but for different reasons.

“Take the scroll to her, and give her your viewpoint before giving her the results. I think that way she’ll have a more neutral view of your personal opinion if you do it that way. We are not hurt for wardens badly right now, so I will not put any blame on you if she doesn’t end up joining us over it.” Amberblade pushed the scroll across the table, toward Athaea. “Ah, by the way, just to make it clear, she passed. Her scores weren’t as high as yours, but, well, very few are.” The lieutenant said with a playful smile, grabbing the scroll and offering it to Athaea. Her eyes were still locked, staring at the scroll. She slowly reached for it and then pulled it back to her, almost mechanically.

“She left the last trials just a few minutes ago. I’m sure you’ll be able to track her down, Sergeant. Unless you have any questions, consider yourself dismissed.” Amberblade said before turning to a few other scrolls, stamping them with a few wax seals. Athaea finally managed to force her legs to work and leave the room after several seconds still. She pressed herself against the wall just to the right of the door, her hands sweating. Not wanting to make this last any more than it needed to, she rushed into the corridors, searching for her sister.

“Lyeenya.” The warden voice carried across the small field her sister was in, sitting against a tree. Lyeenya looked exhausted, in more ways than one. She took a few deep breaths as her older sister approached her, expecting the worse. Athaea held her sister scroll in her hands, but she had yet to hand it to her. “This here has your results, Lyeenya. And I’m supposed to present them to you.” The warden looked down at Lyeenya, not kneeling or sitting down with her.

“You are not going to become a warden, dear sister. And I’ll make this clear for you. I don’t care what got in your head for you to even try to become a warden. Especially after I left you behind in the Sisterhood. I don’t care if father and mother are telling you to reconnect with me.” The warden raised her finger, pointing it directly toward Lyeenya face. 

“I don’t want to reconnect with you. And especially, I don’t want you following my footsteps, and I don’t want you copying me. I don’t care for the Winterlance name. If it were up to me, I would never see you again. You are an incompetent brat, and there’s nothing connecting us but a thin and meaningless bloodline. I’ll spare you the shame of receiving your results with all the other recruits around you. Instead, I'll let you leave on your own, so maybe they’ll just forget about you, Lyeenya. Just like you should do with me.” Athaea didn’t mince words. She kept the scroll close to herself, holding it against her waist as she lambasted her sisters. 

“B-But… s-sis…” Tears starts to spring from Lyeenya eyes, immediately inundating her face. She pushed herself off the ground, sobbing and scrambling away from Athaea. She almost fell over on the ground as she ran, her cries filling the forest. Athaea sneered, shaking her head. Later that day, she returned the scroll to her superior for storage. She took the rest of the day to enjoy the feeling of knowing her sister wouldn’t bother her again, hopefully ever.

[bts-fantasy]

Would You Still Love Me The Same

Pairing: Taehyung/Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Angst

Previous — Next

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

Take Care Of You

***

Three years ago...

„So you guys got that close in such a short amount of time?“, Jimin asked while he was trying to stuff the folder into his small backpack. You nodded ignoring the skeptical tone in his voice and walking out of the classroom. „Y/N, I know that girls like this whole bad boy image but I never thought you‘d fall for that too.“ His words made you stop in your tracks and turn around. „Jimin, I know what you‘re thinking. I know what people say about him. ‚The strange kid that lives in one of the abandoned train containers outside of town. The kid that just appeared out of nowhere and has no friends or relatives here.‘ But you don‘t know him like I do so you shouldn‘t judge him just like that.“

You could tell that he was lost for words from the way his mouth was slightly agape. He certainly didn‘t expect you to snap back like this but it needed to be said. You were sick and tired of people judging him without even knowing anything about him and you were tired of the worried look on Jimin‘s face whenever you said you were going to meet him. It just wasn‘t fair and you hated how they misunderstood him every time.

„I’m sorry Y/N, I‘m just worried about you“, Jimin admitted after a long pause. „Yeah, I know but I‘d be glad if you just gave him a chance, you know?“ Jimin nodded and opened the large door that separated you from the outside world.

Finally, out in the sun, you looked around and immediately spotted the tall guy leaned against his motorbike. „I‘ll try but I can‘t promise anything“, Jimin answered fixing Taehyung with his eyes. He was dressed all in black and had black beanie covering his ears even though it was hot outside. Jimin had never met him before so you got more and more nervous with each step you both took towards the motorbike.

Will they get along? You were hoping they would.

After the masked ball, Taehyung and you started talking day and night and also hung out a lot. You always felt so alive when you were with him and he‘d drive you to random places with a nice view so you could lay there and watch the stars together while talking about random stuff. It was almost scary how well you both understood each other but you loved the thrilling feeling. It was exciting and new and you couldn‘t get enough.

Even though he didn‘t have much money he’d always bring a little picnic with him and would just ignore your worried protests about him spending all his money on you.

When you finally reached him he pulled you into a tight hug while Jimin just stood awkwardly next to you. „Who‘s this?“, he asked after letting you go. His deep voice was intimidating and Jimin pushed his chest out trying to appear taller but he was still a lot shorter than Taehyung. You wrapped your arm around Jimin‘s biceps trying to calm him down. „Tae, this is my best friend, Jimin. Jimin, this is Taehyung“, you introduced them both watching them nod at each other with clenched jaws. The tension was visible on their faces and you sighed letting go of his arm. „Please guys, there‘s no need to stare at each other like that. Can‘t you guys at least try to get along? For me?“, you added looking between both of them and relaxed when the finally agreed shaking hands. „For you, Y/N“, they both said.

After saying goodbye to your best friend you hopped on the bike and wrapped your arms around Taehyung‘s waist while he let out a giggle as always because you tickled him. He drove out of town and up to the hills and an hour later he parked on top of the hill and you got off admiring the beautiful view in front of you. You stood there and looked down at the city lights and the sun disappearing behind it.

His arms wrapped around your waist from behind and he planted a soft kiss on top of your head before resting his chin on it. Usually, he‘d keep his distance so the sudden act of affection made your cheeks heat up.

„So... what do you think?“, he asked you quietly soaking in the moment. You couldn‘t find the right words to describe the moment and how you felt to be held in his arms.

„Tae... it‘s beautiful...“, you breathed out. „How do you even find these places?“ You turned around in his arms to face him and he looked down at you with a smile. „When I want to be alone I just drive around on my bike and go wherever it takes me.“ His hand ran up and down your spine leaving a warm tingling feeling on your skin. You‘d always wondered what he did all day long when you weren‘t with him and what was going on inside of him. You’d often caught him space out and whenever he did he had a sad look in his eyes that made you want to hug and protect him from whatever that was haunting him.

„I used to come here because I thought that when I stand on top of this hill I‘d feel like I am on top of the world... that I‘d finally be happy...“, he continued and his eyes wandered to the city below the lights reflecting in his dark eyes. „But ever since I met you, Y/N, I know what true happiness feels like and I wanted to thank you for that. After all these years I‘ve finally realized that I can be happy too.“

You were taken aback by his sudden confession and your heartbeat increased rapidly when his eyes were staring directly into yours. „Y/N, I want to be with you. I want to protect you and make sure that you‘re fine. I don‘t care if you reciprocate my feelings or not, just know that I‘ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.“

Taehyung‘s POV

Even if that happiness doesn‘t include me...

I finished the thought which I didn‘t dare to say out loud. I didn‘t want to worry her. It was clear that she didn‘t expect any of this. Her eyes were big and slowly filling with tears as she just stared at me. I meant it when I said that she didn‘t have to reciprocate my feelings, I would still love her the same no matter what. And I‘d always look out for her even if she didn‘t love me back. I was used to not being loved back but for the first time, I wanted to take care of someone other than myself. Not that I ever had someone to care for. Looking at her I just knew that she was worth it. She was the first one that looked past all my flaws and actually gave me a chance without thinking twice about it.

She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before starting to talk. „I... I don‘t know what to say“, she admitted finally. „You don‘t have to say anything. Just let me be there for you and I promise you won‘t regret it. Seeing you happy is what makes me happy.“ I relaxed when she nodded with a smile. „Only if you let me take care of you as well, Tae.“ I felt my heart skip a beat at her response. Pulling her in by the waist I leaned down to kiss her. God, I‘d been waiting for so long to finally feel her lips on mine. My hands wandered from her waist up to her cheeks and I cupped her face in my hands and at that moment I truly felt like I was on top of the world. To be exact, I was holding it right there with both of my hands.

I was happy...

***

Present day...

Thinking back to that day I felt like I‘d failed to keep my promise. I did the quite opposite, to be honest. I made her cry and broke her heart because I didn‘t know any other way. I stared up at the ceiling where previous occupants had left their marks with black pens and felt a tear roll down my cheeks. I didn‘t make the effort to wipe it away and it wandered down to finally hit the hard pillow my head was resting on.

It‘s been two weeks since I’d been in prison but it felt like I was in there since forever. The only thing keeping me sane was the thought of her. Or maybe it was actually making me go insane. I couldn‘t tell.

Was she happy?

The only question that‘s been running through my mind all day long. The only thing that mattered in my life. Images of her teary eyes when I last saw her flashed in front of my eyes and I closed them to forget about it. I hated the sight of her crying. Then I remembered the way she kissed me back that day. I groaned covering my face with both of my hands. That was a stupid move I told myself and shook the memories off again. My feelings took control over me and I messed it up again. I just hoped that she forgot about it already.

I also thought back to the day I saw her in that café with another guy. I used to be so jealous because he could make her smile the way I used to. But thinking about it now I was glad that there was someone there to take care of her and make her happy.

Because I wasn‘t able to do that anymore...

Masterlist

[tbehartoo]

Marshmallows and Mistletoe

for @haru-no-hikaru  and @mlsecretsanta​ for ML Secret Santa 2017 Characters: Alya Cesaire and Nino Lahiffe

Rating: General

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Nino knows that Alya hasn’t always had the best history with happiness at Christmas time. He’s determined to make their first Christmas together in their first apartment perfect.

Word Count: 3580

On AO3              on FFN

“What the-” Alya stopped in the middle of the doorway looking down at her barking pomeranian puppy. When she left in the morning he had been a tan little puff ball, but now all that could be seen was his little foxy face and tiny tail, everything else was covered in a hideous, knitted confection of forest green and crimson. “Malin has an ugly sweater! My life is complete!”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Nino said as he gave his wife a kiss. “I guess that means we can cancel Christmas and I can return your presents.”

“Don’t you dare Lahiffe!” she said with a mock growl. “I need that Himalayan salt scrub and those fizzing bath bombs.”

“You weren’t supposed to know about the bath bombs,” he tutted at her as he took her computer bag and briefcase to put them on her desk in their shared office.

“Don’t leave your Amazon page up and not change any of your passwords,” she replied as she checked the pans on the stove. She inhaled deeply and her mouth started watering at the scent of onions and ras el hanout. She knew the other pan on the stove would be a fluffy couscous to go under the simmering stew in front of her.

“Babe, have I ever told you that I love it when you make me Moroccan food?” she said when Nino returned to the kitchen and dining area.

He stepped up behind her to give her a hug. “Just about every time I make it.” He gave her a quick squeeze and kiss on her neck. “Have I ever told you how much I love being able to kiss you at the end of a long day?”

Alya put the lid back on the pan before spinning around in Nino’s arms and putting her own arms around his neck. “Maybe you should remind me,” she said with a grin.

Nino happily obliged.

Eventually they had to disengage to keep the food from burning.

Nino moved the chickpea stew off of the hot burner while Alya got the dishes. They served themselves at the stove and moved to the couch. Nino set his plate on the coffee table and returned for glasses and something for them to drink, while Alya fetched utensils and napkins. Once they were seated Malin whined until Alya picked him up so that he could sit with his people. Ultimately both humans and puppy were situated in comfort and dinner began in earnest.

Nino decided to wait until after dinner was over and the dishes were done before broaching the subject that had been on his mind all day. He wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up as Alya was touchy about things like family and Christmas being mentioned in the same sentence.

“Stop eating all the marshmallows Lahiffe, I want some too,” she teased as they made some hot cocoa before watching their saved tv shows. She looked closely at her husband. He was shoveling the mini-marshmallows into his mouth on automatic and didn’t even seem to be chewing them.

“Hey,” she said quietly as she put her hand on top of the one reaching for another one of the fluffy, white squares. His hand stopped moving.

“Nino?” she started brushing her thumb over the back of his hand. “What’s bothering you, hon?”

“Huh?” he looked down at their hands and then into Alya’s concerned face. “Oh, um, just thinking about something.” He picked up his mug and headed back to the couch, “But I‘m pretty sure you’re not gonna want to hear it.”

She picked up her mug and grabbed a handful of the marshmallows as she followed him back. “Come on Nino,” she said gently, “If there’s something worrying you, I want to hear about it.”

“Okay, just hear me out,” he said as he turned and only partially faced her. “This is our first Christmas in our own place and it might be small, but it’s ours.” He gestured to the tiny apartment. “And Christmas is a big deal in my family.” He set his mug down and picked up Malin. He started petting the puppy, he continued talking but didn’t look up. “I’d like to be able to have a family Christmas party-” Well she hadn’t said no right away. Maybe this could still work? “-and, and invite everybody.” He continued to pet the pomeranian but side-eyed Alya.

Alya reached out and gave the dog a pet on his soft head. He started to lick off the remains of the sugar still stuck to her fingers.

“You want to invite my family over for Christmas,” she said blankly.

Nino nodded.

“All... of my family.”

Another nod.

“You do recall our wedding reception?”

Nino just continued to pat the dog while Alya’s fingers were thoroughly inspected for any sugary molecules by the puppy. The silence continued to stretch out. Nino was about to tell her to forget about the whole thing when Alya sighed.

“If you want to invite my family over for Christmas, be ready for somebody to get stabbed.”

And that was all she said before grabbing the remote and turning on “Scène de Ménage.” Nino smiled as he riled Malin up then set him free to dash around the room.

He grabbed Alya and pulled her into a hug. “Thanks babe,” he choked out. “That really means a lot to me.”

Alya hugged him back. “I know.” She gave him a kiss on his temple. “You wouldn’t ask to do it if it wasn’t important to you.”

He let her go and heard her grumble as she sat back, “It’s a good thing I love you.”

Nino couldn’t help but grin at her. “I love you, too.”

From that moment onward Alya could look forward to new holiday surprises every time she came home. Nino put out garland and candles one day. The next evening Alya found ropes of twinkling lights crisscrossing the ceiling. Marinette had been called in to decorate the tree within an inch of perfection, and she succeeded beyond the wildest of expectations. Unfortunately, no one told Malin that the tree was not for his personal amusement. Marinette was called in again to do damage control and a childproofing gate was erected around the base of the tree. Late in the week Alya came home to find brightly wrapped packages in every nook and cranny.

“Nino, what happened here?” Alya asked in disbelief.

“Adrien brought over some boxes and we wrapped them up,” Nino said as he fished for the scissors under the couch where Malin had knocked them.

She tried to pick up one of the larger boxes and couldn’t even lift it. “Nino! What is in here?”

“Huh?” he looked up to see what she was talking about. “Oh that,” he said as he ducked his head and finally managed to snage the scissors. “You don’t want to move that one or any of the other big ones covered in red with gold bows. We decided to wrap my speakers so it would be safe to stack stuff on them.”

Alya smiled down at him. “You’re really going all out for this, babe.”

Nino stood and wrapped Alya in a hug. “Well you deserve the best first Christmas ever,” he said earnestly.

“So do you,” Alya replied. “Listen Nino, you don’t have to keep killing yourself over this.” She looked around their apartment. He had turned it into a scene that wouldn’t look out of place in one of those home and garden magazines. “Our place looks amazing. Please don’t think you have to keep adding to this.”

Nino simply smiled at his his wife, having not let go of her it was easy to swoop in for a few reassuring kisses. “There’s just a couple of more things and then it’ll be perfect.”

Alya sighed against his lips, “You’re perfect already.”

“Thank you, my lady, my light, my love,” he gave her a light kiss between each phrase. “But it takes one to know one.” And with that he cut off all other conversation for awhile.

The last decoration that Alya noticed were the stockings that Nino hung across a faux fireplace mantle. The fireplace had a fake fire inside with a light and fan to make the fabric flames flicker. Across the mantle were stockings that Marinette had to have sewn since they were far too personalized for him to have found at any store. His had musical notes, his DJ table, tiny flickering lights, and was embroidered with his stage name at the top. Hers was made from what looked suspiciously like one of her old shirts from lycée and was embroidered with Ladyblog articles and the name of the first magazine to hire her after she graduated from university. Malin had a stocking that was bigger than both of theirs combined and was covered with animated, foxy faces along with pictures of all his favorite toys. Alya had looked at the arrangement and laughed. It’s like her best friend knew that they both would be stuffing their dog’s stocking full of his favorite treats. She sighed as she looked around again at all of Nino’s hard work and resolved that nothing was going to ruin it.

The day of the party dawned with Paris covered in snow! It wasn’t completely unheard of for them to get it, but it often didn’t last. Nino was determined to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Alya had taken a few vacation days so she wouldn’t be stressed about this whole party thing and wanted nothing more than to stay bundled up in their warm, comfortable bed.

“You can’t force me to go outside!” she yelled from inside her cocoon of blankets. “It’s gonna be cold and wet and miserable. I’m staying here.”

“It’s Malin’s first time to encounter snow!” Nino yelled back as he struggled to get the ugly sweater onto the excited puppy. “So either you put on something willingly or I’ll throw you in the snow without your pants.”

Alya threw back the covers and glowered at him. “You try that Lahiffe, and I will end you.”

“There’s my girl,” he said as he threw a hoodie and some jeans in her direction. “You know you’re going to want to get pictures of the dog seeing all that cold white stuff for your blog. It’s going to be adorable.”

“You’re right,” she said as she scrambled to get dressed. “It’ll be too cute for words.”

“I’ll make your coffee,” he said as he left the room with Malin in tow.

Nino had been right. Malin’s first confrontation with snow was enchanting. He had stayed under the awning of their apartment building as he sniffed at the white stuff. Then one paw ventured a test and was quickly pulled back. He sniffed again getting his nose thoroughly covered and pulled back shaking his head. Alya held her breath while the puppy stared at the vast expanse that was the little courtyard between buildings and then he dived into the drifts head first. He romped and played with the snow as if it was an old friend that hadn’t been seen in far too long a time. Nino had brought down Malin’s favorite ball and Alya was able to record several moments of Nino attempting to teach the puppy the concept of a game of fetch. If the dog wasn’t cute enough to go viral, the sight of her tall handsome husband loping around the tiny square calling for the dog to drop the ball certainly was. Eventually everyone was wet and cold and Alya called for a return to the house.

Nino put Alya on Malin duty while he made breakfast and she was glad she had taken the time to give the dog a bath and blow dry. She found more than crepes and coffee waiting on the kitchen table. There was a whole scene from the North Pole laid out on her best platter. Santa’s elves made with fruit faces and crepe hats were gathered around a giant Christmas tree festooned with more fruit and topped with powdered sugar.

Alya sighed, “Your pancake skills are certainly improving,” she said as she sat down at the table. “Did you already Instagram this for Adrien to see?”

“Do you doubt me?” he asked with a mild scoff. “The Agreste-Lahiffe breakfast battle is trending again.” There was a twinkle in his eye. “Just because his croissants came out looking perfect doesn’t mean he won today.” He sat down as he placed mugs of hot cocoa topped with both marshmallows and whipped cream in front of them. “Besides, he has an unfair advantage with Tom helping him all the time.”

Alya dug into an elf and made an appreciative moan. “I can hardly wait to see what you two come up with for your combined holiday spectacular,” she said through a mouthful of fruit.

“It’s going to be epic,” Nino agreed. “I think we’ll definitely break the internet.”

Alya laughed. She loved to see Nino like this, enthusiastic and passionate. She had worried at times last year that she wouldn’t see him like this ever again, but they had both learned to roll with what life gives you and to help each other out of the morass of despair.

The first people to show for the party were Marinette and Adrien, of course. They had left Emma with Tom and Sabine so that they could help with wrangling any disgruntled guests. They also brought a ton of cookies and a couple of costumes for Nino and Alya. Nino had changed immediately but Alya had taken one look at what Nino was wearing and locked herself in their room. It had taken Marinette half an hour of talking to the locked door and then several more minutes of one-on-one conversation to convince Alya to at least look at the clothes she had made for her.

“Mari, he’s dressed as Santa!” she exclaimed for the hundredth time. “There is no way I’m going to dress up as dowdy old Mrs. Claus for a party that I’m worried is going to turn into World War IV.”

Marinette simply hugged her friend and tried to reassure her. “We made it through World War III at the reception, you can make it through this.”

Alya shook her head, “This means so much to him Mari. He’s put so much time and energy into this and my folks will be in the same room and won’t be able to be civil to each other, while the twins take sides and my aunt will just …”

“Alya, you’ve got to trust Nino,” she gave her another hug. “Besides if anyone starts getting out of line, Adrien or I will politely escort them from the building.” She opened the box containing the costume. “Now come on and try out what I’ve made for you. I promise if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it.”

Alya sniffed a little. “Okay, but the only reason I’d ever dress as Mrs. Clause is for the cookies. I want to make that clear. It’s absolutely the only reason.”

Marinette laughed. “Understood.”

In only a matter of moments Marinette was standing in the hall that led to the bedroom and proclaiming, “Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs, the Lahiffe-Cesaire Christmas party proudly presents...Mrs. Alya Clause!”

The strains of “Santa Baby” began to play from all of the speakers, wrapped or otherwise, and Alya stepped out into the living room. She was wearing a red, sequined, strapless dress that hugged and accentuated her figure. There was a trimming of white, faux fur at the top of the dress and a slit in one side that ended at mid thigh. The red high heeled sandals matched the color of the dress perfectly and showed off the pedicure that nino had treated her to the day before. The straps on her shoes looked to be made of satin ribbons and ended in red bows at her ankles. Her hair was down and curling softly at the ends while an ornate red Santa hat finished the outfit.

She started moving to the music and Nino’s mouth dropped open.

“Dude,” he said to Adrien who was sitting next to him, “I’m gonna marry that girl.”

Adrien merely nodded at him. “You better do it soon,” he agreed as Alya slinked toward them, “before someone else does.”

Alya ended by draping herself across Nino’s lap. “Do you like it?”

“Babe, you are the most gorgeous woman in the world,” Nino whispered. “The dress looks nice, too.” He started kissing his wife passionately who returned his kisses just as enthusiastically.

“Calm it you two,” Marinette said with a practiced air. “Your other guests will be arriving soon and there’s still one more thing Nino wanted to put up before anyone else got here.”

“Oh yeah,” he said as he moved back from kissing her. “There is one more important thing that has to go up.” He stood up and planted Alya’s feet on the floor before moving away. “Come on Adrien, I need your help.”

At last everything was in readiness and the guests started arriving. Once it was determined that all the guests who were going to show were already in attendance, Nino stood before the front door with Alya at his side to make an announcement.

“Dudes!” he began. “Welcome to our first Christmas in our new home.” He waited for the murmuring to die down. “I’d like to bring your attention to the decoration hanging over Alya’s head,” he said pointing to the giant ball of mistletoe and ribbon that hung there. “From the the times of the Druids and on down mistletoe has been considered a magical plant. Branches used to be placed over doors to ward off evil spirits and to prevent the entrance of witches. Since all of you were able to enter I guess we can assume that none of you are witches,” There was a polite smattering of chuckles.

“In Scandinavia this a plant that represents peace. Standing underneath it is a place to declare a truce, or even to kiss and make-up.” He gave Alya a slight peck on her cheek. “Since it is a custom that is hundreds of years old I’m going to ask all of you to honor the tradition to bury old grudges and declare a truce here, if only for the night.” He smiled at all his guests. “I know that not everyone in this room gets along with each other, but please for tonight just try it. After all, you’re already dressed up and here.”

His face grew stern, an unusual expression for him to wear, “If any of you cannot abide by our terms, you and your warring party will be brought to stand under the mistletoe. If you find it in your hearts to kiss and make-up you can stay, if not then maybe an evil spirit snuck in with you and you’ll have to go. Santa has asked his elves to help with this endeavor,” Nino pointed at Marinette and Adrien who were wearing green Santa hats with elf ears on the sides. “They are making my list of naughty or nice children, and depend on it, they will put you on the correct list.”

Nino then smiled again at his guests. “You are the most important people to us so let’s get this party started!”

Suddenly Christmas music began to play and everyone began talking to each other again.

“Do you think it’ll work?” Alya whispered in his ear.

“It’s worth a try,” he said as he gave her another kiss. “We’re still under the mistletoe,” he answered to her unasked question.

“You’ve never needed that excuse before,” she smirked.

“If only Mari hadn’t threatened me with grievous bodily harm if I started a make-out session with you during our party,” he sighed.

“I guess we better attend to our guests,” she said as she tore herself away from his arms.

He nodded and turned to start working the room.

Many hours later, when the last guest had been ushered from their home, Nino turned down all the lights except for the ones on the tree, started the playlist he’d put together just for this moment, and grabbed Alya. As the strains of Michael Buble’s “I’ll be Home for Christmas” began to play, he started serenading his wife. She stood there with the lights twinkling behind her smiling serenely at him and he thought he’d never seen a more beautiful sight in his entire existence. Alya pulled him in and started swaying with him.

“You did good, Lahiffe,” she said as she laid her head against his shoulder.

“It was all for you,” he said as he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

She shook her head. “It was all for us.”

“Yes, all for us,” he echoed gently.

It took a moment for Alya to realize where Nino was steering them, but once she caught on she couldn’t help but laugh. As they stood beneath the mistletoe again, she couldn’t help but remember one more tradition associated with the magical plant. It was said that if a couple in love kissed beneath it, they could expect a long life of happiness. Keeping that in mind, Alya determined that she and Nino would have a happy eternity together.

[firenationskydominion]

Chapter 7: The Dawn of Ozai

After Azula had been briefed and left with her pod and soldiers, I left to pick up Ozai. He was meditating when I knocked. But he got up and bowed in front of me.

  M:        What is that for?

O:        My anger and lust blinded me. I haven‘t thanked you yet for saving me and Azula. Your plan was brilliant, but when did you decide to replace me with a ....

M:        SIM, we call them SIM. When Zuko said that he‘ll take you back, I alerted Amon to activate plan B. I took you all to the observation deck where you got the Asteroid presentation in full darkness. A lot of soldiers were walking about. A good disguise to replace you. Amons men took you to the command control to brief you how to voice control your SIM.

O:        I am not easily scared, but seeing myself coming in from the door while a soldier led me out on the other side was eerie. I always considered myself unique.

M:        You‘ll get used to these things.

O:        Why can’t you send a SIM who’ll sit in prison for me?

M:        SIMs need a energy source to transmit them, like our ship or a pod. This is why you vanished when the pod came up again. We need to go now. We‘ll descend on an ice planet to train firebending in space. Azula has already left with team one.

O:        Oh, I had hoped that we could...carry on where we stopped last time... I love to feel the real you. Did we make love for the first time today?

M:        I was real until that day when you retreated, the day before you violated me. I knew that you were in turmoil. Amon feared for my life and convinced me. So I sent my SIM instead.

O:        I am so sorry. It felt so real...

M:        I wore a bodysuit and the SIM materialises itself. I felt everything, good and bad.

O:        I am sorry.

M:        We can move on...ok?

  I took off my uniform one by one. His fingers moved over my body.

O:        Your SIM was not as warm as you and you smell so good. Like milk and honey.

M:        Your tongue is always very welcome to taste me...

  ** explicit scene deleted**

  M:        My love, I could make love to you all day, but we got to go. A whole tact team is waiting up on us...

O:        You‘re the commander. They can wait all day.

M:        But your daughter can‘t.

O:        Sex interruptions by kids, does this never end?

M:        We can carry on in the pod. Promised.

O:        And the soldiers?

M:        Someone has to navigate...

  Ozai put on his black officers uniform reluctantly. We then left for the pod.

  The soldiers navigated the pod out of the Eternity and into open space. The Eternity had already approached the ice planet Turing 478 and our pod moved into a trajectory to land on the ice planet. I excused myself and Ozai from the crew to show him the handling of the space suits and how to bend fire with them. We had developed a suit with particle filter gloves which allowed a benders fire to exit from the gloves without exposing the hands to the harsh climate of the ice planet. Today on a peak summer day the temperature outside was around -20C. The oxygen was also secured in a fire resistant way.

  Ozai undressed to put on his space suit, but I reminded him of my promise and we had a hot little quickie behind the spacesuit lockers. We had to be silent and quick before any of the soldiers decided to check on us.

  We descended on the ice planet. The pod of team one had landed. But the crew had already left.

  O:        Where is Azula?

M:        Given the choice between angry Ozai and gigantic angry iceworms she chose the latter.

O:        ... iceworms?

M:        Let‘s hope we can steer clear of them today. Though it‘s kind of fun to fight them.

  We went out into the chilling cold. Our spacesuits were warm, but the chill was coming through the particle gloves. Ozai produced tiny flames to warm his hands.

O:        There is too little sunlight on this planet. My bending powers are limited here. And I‘m freezing.

M:        The sun will rise in a few minutes. Let‘s see how things work out then.

  They walked further afield near a crevice where another tact team had prepared a dozen gigantic ice blocks, thirty feet in diameter. There was a wooden three dimensional star within each ice block. The quest was to melt everything away without burning the wooden star. The molten water would flow into the crevice. They had dug little canals to the crevice for that. Azula was already on top of her ice block. Trying to melt anything, but her flames were tiny. The sun wasn‘t up yet and there was no moon redirecting sunlight either.

  O:        How do I get up there?

M:        We climb, like mountaineers, with ropes.

I showed Ozai the ropes. How to fasten, secure and how to climb with an ice pick and attachable spiked climbing soles. Finally we were each up on a ice block. A few moments later the sun rose on the horizon. The ground on the ice block got slippery. We were glad to wear spikes! Ozai tried to bend fire, but the flame was lame. Azula‘s flame was spectacular, but she slipped and almost burnt herself. Finally the sun warmed Ozai enough for him to relax and let out a strong flame.

O:        Try to keep the flame small, start from the edges.

A:         It‘s too slippery!

  Suddenly we heard a strange hissing noise.

  M:        Iceworms! To the weapons!

  An iceworm is about twenty feet long and lives in the crevices. It has sharp teeth and jumps out from the crevice to catch its favourite prey: icecrabs.

Ozai was terrified. He had never seen anything this hideous. He tried to produce lightning, but then he remembered that his bending powers were blocked for harming other creatures. But saving others might work.

  He targeted an ice worm which was threatening me and his lightning came and struck it down. Azula sent hers to save her father. The worms jolted up and we tried to fight them with our laser guns. One of them caught the leg of a tact team soldier and pulled him into the abyss. We used fast fire laser launchers to cut them in half. Finally the worms retreated. Our cubes were smoking, one man was down, one wooden star was burnt... we had failed.

  Then suddenly Azulas half molten cube started to slide towards the crevice. Everything happened very quickly. The cube slid into the crevice and we heard Azula cry out. Ozai jumped from his cube down to the edge. The cube was jammed in the crevice and sliding down slowly. Azula was stuck between the cube and the crevice. This is when Amons pod landed and he ran out to help.

  O:        The ice will crush her!

Am:      We need to go down there on ropes and melt her out.

A:         My leg is broken. Get me out!

The soldiers fixed ropes on which Amon and Ozai climbed down. They secured Azula with a rope. She was in pain, but didn‘t seem severely injured except for a broken leg.

  Amon worked side by side with Ozai to remove the ice. Finally, the cube fell into the crevice, but Azula was safely on the rope and pulled out. Amon took her in the pod and left.

  We also wrapped things up.

  Back on Vega Eternity we went to see Azula. Ozai felt very awkward and the silence between us all in the room became unbearable.

M:        Doctor, how long will it take for her to heal?

Doctor: About two weeks.

A:         Great! How will I train to melt now?

M:        We’ll find a way to use your skills, don’t worry. We have to go back to the drawing board. We need to find a way to stabilize ourselves midair and bend without having to stand on the slippery ground.

I saw that Ozai was not that angry anymore - or good at hiding it. Hence I left for the prep for a tact meeting.

Ozai and Amon watched Azula, who had been sedated as the doctor was recalibrating her metal healing sleeve which straightened her broken shin.

  O:        I know that you enjoyed yourself with my daughter.

Am:      I have caused you great distress, I apologize. Your daughter is just wonderful.

O:        Spare me your sweet talk you child molester. She‘s just barely 18.

Am:      You my dear friend Ozai, are happily fucking my wife of 700 years.

O:        .... Mya is your WIFE?

Am:      We separated after a good 100 years and remained friends. She remarried, I did too. We still hang around with eachother because we are both very rare and old beings and after your partner dies, you need a trusted shoulder to cry on.

O:        So I‘ll age and die, she‘ll remain young? And you‘ll console her?

Am:      Sorry, friend. She really loves you.

O:        She is really a thousand years old...

Am:      So am I.

  Ozai was sad on many levels. A sense of loss burdened his heart and Amon would have hugged him had he not feared a painful punch or a fireball.

Silence.

  O:        So once we have broken the asteroid... what will happen to us?

Am:      I sincerely don‘t know.

O:        Mya and you will leave to another time and space and we will be back in jail to die, we puny mortals.

Am:      No. Mya is prepared to stay. I have spent seven hundred years by her side and she tosses everything we built - for you. She has asked me to end her life when you die.

O:        She can‘t do that. She has a responsibility for her crew. She can‘t be serious about that.

Am:      She is...

O:        I will not allow her to do something so reckless for me. I love her, enough to let her go. She gave me enough wonderful memories for a lifetime and a peaceful death. I can’t believe we’re even discussing this.

Am:      There might be another way... Be assured that I will do everything I can to find a beneficial solution for all of us.

  Amon put his hand on Ozais shoulder. Ozai felt a sting in his heart, Amon was in his mind, like a earthworm wiggling through the soil. Ozai felt at peace and felt a deep feeling of belonging and friendship. Amon nodded and left.

  When I returned from my meeting Ozai was in his chamber, deep in meditation or sleeping. I did not want to disturb and was prepared to leave when he bid me to stay. I sat down on the floor facing him.

O:        Come, sit with me. Let‘s drink tea together, like when we met, my love.

M:        Which tea, how do you feel?

O:        The tea of life, the one you brought me the first time. When I fell in love with the way you pour the tea. Careful, respectful and slightly hesitant as if you were touching a fragile snowflake midair.

M:        I have it here. I wish we could be in the house again, forever, drinking tea...

O:        ... and making love. And some firebending. But mostly love.

M:        Ozai, my love, this house is real. It is my summer home on an island called Ibiza. The weather is always pleasant, the pool is warm and you can see the Milky way from the rooftop at night. You see the sea and big ships passing by and dolphins jumping out of the water. Once we‘re done here I want to go home, with you.

O:        Amon told me that you both were married...

M:        Yes, several centuries ago. It did not work out. After hundred years we had become estranged.

O:        And yet you are still sharing house and hearth... why didn‘t you tell me? It‘s an odd secret to keep...

M:        I was afraid, you‘d toss me aside like a vial of poison. You had been burnt once by the ghost of an Ex-Lover. You would have left me.

O:        What makes you think that I would leave you? But you omitted to tell me the truth.

M:        Ozai, you’re the one I love. I know I cannot make you believe me, but it’s the truth. Imagine I die, your children die, your grandchildren die, your house crumbles, your society collapses, all you loved and knew is gone. Even the landscape has changed and is unrecognizeable. And there is just one person you know who shares your experience, would you let him or her go? And be utterly alone in spacetime again, only to see your children and your loved ones die over and over and over again?

O:        How many children did you have?

M:        With Amon? A son and a daughter, but I saw their grandchildren die, their greatgrandchildren until the bloodline was watered down and they became strangers. And I was alone again. When my first husband died I looked for his reincarnation for a hundred years. I had gone crazy when I met Amon. He straightened me up again and explained to me what was going on. Then we fell in love, married and a hundred years later we were so bored by eachother that we happily divorced. When his second wife died we decided to travel together. We then built the Eternity and since then work side by side.

O:        I am sorry... I was jealous about Amon but now I just pity both of you.

  I looked at Ozai. Was there pity or disgust in his eyes. I did not know. We rose and I was ready to leave. My heart was broken and I feared that all had been lost for me. I just let him stand in the room and left, but he followed me and embraced me.

  O:        Tell me that you‘re mine alone.

M:        I am yours alone.

O:        We might both die in this mission. I have neither wealth, nor land, nor title, nor wreath. Not even a ring but will you marry me?

M:        Yes, Ozai.

  We went to the chapel of Eternity and called in two of the bypassing soldiers as witnesses. We stood in line with all other soldiers who had decided to tie the knot before the big battle. We said our vows, kissed.

  An hour later we were all summoned to a tactical meeting. Ozai and Azula were also present. Amon looked worried.

Am: The Asteroid is bigger than we anticipated, its shadow was hiding a lot of mass. It has several huge cores of iron ore, around it different types of stone and finally a crust of fourhundred meter thick ice which keeps the whole thing together.

M:        We learnt in our first melting mission on the ice planet that we need to be able to float freely in space to tackle the ice.

O:        We can‘t melt it with firebending alone. We need earth benders to move the soil and waterbenders to remove the water...

M:        No one will help us without seeing the comet. We need to be ready, and in three weeks, if all does well, we will get support from the waterbenders and from the earthbenders.

  Once the meeting was over Amon took Azula to her quarters.

O:        Mya, can we go to the simulation bay? I need to firebend. I need to think.

M:        Do you want to go by yourself or do you want me to come along?

O:        Please, come with me. I will continue to teach you forms.

  We went to simulation bay and restarted the simulation of the house. As soon as we had arrived Ozai kissed me and pulled me to his room. His jealousy fueled his passion and he was very stormy.

O:        I want you to be mine alone, forever. Or at least as long as I live.

M:        I will find a way so that we can stay together.

I feared to have promised too much.

[bragiart]

Being a hero definitely is easier

Daddy!Bakugou in da place ! READ ON AO3

Being a hero definitely is easier.

Katsuki was here, sitting on a chair, body completely limp, arms dangling in the void, his face resting on the table where today’s groceries had been abandoned. You couldn’t see his expression, and you thought for a second that he was asleep before he turned his head to see you. You repressed a laugh. God, he looked perfectly exhausted.

« You do this everyday ? » he murmured, eyes wide opened in horror.

« Everyday, » you confirmed.

    It was really late when you came home that night. The neighbourhood was completely silent, the only perceptible sounds being the ones your feet made when they met the cold bitumen. Tiny puffs of hot air flew away from your mouth each time you breathed, and you nuzzled your frozen nose deeper in your large scarf, shivering a bit.

It’s been forever since you could spend a day outside your house, busy as you were with two kids in early infancy who wouldn’t even let you pee in peace.

You finally had the opportunity when your co-workers told you that your heroes’ agency was having its annual dinner paid by the boss, and that it would be great to see you again.

You hesitated first. It wasn’t like you were being an active hero since you were still in parental leave, so you felt a bit like a freeloader to join them, but they had been very persistent. Truth to be told, it felt like the last time you could enjoy an adult discussion was during your previous life. Even when your friends dropped by to see you at home, the meeting was always short-circuited by two spiky-haired tornados requesting your complete attention.

Actually, it was Katsuki who convinced you to go. He knew it’s been a while since you had time alone for yourself, and probably felt a bit guilty for not being as present as he wished to help you raising the troublemakers he made you. So when you told him about the dinner, he took the day off right away to look after the boys for you. If you were originally planning on being absent for the sole evening, your husband managed to talk you into taking the whole day outside the house. He could be great when he wanted to.

    You finally arrived to your house, slightly surprised to see that some lights were still on. It was past midnight, you didn’t think someone would still be up this late. It better not be the kids. Unlocking your front door, you took your boots, cloak and scarf off, leaving everything in the doorway before heading to the kitchen, the room you saw lit from the outside. What you saw was beyond your expectations.

Katsuki was here, sitting on a chair, body completely limp, arms dangling in the void, his face resting on the table where today’s groceries had been abandoned. You couldn’t see his expression, and you thought for a second that he was asleep before he turned his head to see you. You repressed a laugh. God, he looked perfectly exhausted.

« You do this everyday ? » he murmured, eyes wide opened in horror.

« Everyday, » you confirmed.

You actually felt a bit proud to see how he acknowledged the toughness of your job. But boy, he really looked like if he just came back from war.

« What the hell have I done to you, » he mumbled as if he realised he inadvertently killed you or something.

« Kids, » you answered with a grin. « Hyperactive ones. »

« They never run out of energy, do they ? »

« Never. I don’t know how they do that either. But I bet they’ve been even more extra today, they must have been so happy to spend the day alone with Daddy… doesn’t happen that often. »

« They went Plus Ultra on Daddy, if you ask me… God. I feel dead. I‘ve known busy days where I arrested sixteen fuckers and went to bed less tired than that. »

« I know the feeling, » you laughed and patted his shoulder. « So… What’s all this on the table ? You’ve been staring at that carrot for how many hours now ? »

« I dunno, three, maybe four… I‘m pretty sure I can draw it from memory now… See, since the little goblins have been asking me if we could eat pizzas tonight from the very second they woke up, I followed my haunch and made them pizzas. Coz I’m a risk taker. »

« I can see that, » you smiled. « And ? »

« And they ate it all, and they liked it, and then they wanted to play a little longer and then it was bath time and then it was story time and is there really a kid on this goddamn planet who actually falls asleep at the first story ? Coz ours were just as pumped up after the sixth one. I had to kill everybody in a rush at the third page so I could just… escape. »

« No kid settle after one story, we’ve been bullshitted the whole time, » you shook your head.

« Fucking knew it. Anyway, once they finally chilled out a little, at least enough to get that no, playing Mario Kart on your DS doesn’t count as sleeping, even if you’re in the dark in your bed, I decided to clean the kitchen before passing out on the couch. And that’s when I made the biggest mistake of my whole fucking life… »

« You sat down, » you deduced in deep voice.

« And never found the strength to move again, » Katsuki confirmed. « I haven’t even done a single shit around the house like put a load on or something… »

« Don’t worry about it, Katsuki. I’m sure the kids were happy to spend the day with you and that you did great. »

Standing behind him, you started to massage his shoulders, earning a deep sigh from his lips. You smiled, fingers prodding his exposed flesh in the gentlest way.

« My poor husband, » you laughed in compassion, arms coming around his torso as you nuzzled in his neck. « It’s hard to be a housewife, huh ? »

« Fuck yes. Can’t wait to be back at work tomorrow, it’s fucking holidays compared to these two. »

« Tell me about it, I can’t wait to get back to work either… » you sighed. « Want a cup of tea ? »

« Yeah… »

He felt you nodding in the crook of his neck and kissing his cheek before heading toward the cupboard. He watched you from the corner of his eye, ash-blond strands sometimes hiding his view. He expected the day to be tiring, but not that much. It was true that you looked exhausted when he came home most of the time, but you didn’t look like a living corpse like him. To think that all your days were like this… He felt like he could sleep for the whole next week, so how you managed to wake up the next morning was beyond him right now.

« You’re going to be the fucking Terminator once you get back in action, » he said as you poured the hot water in his cup. « I think you’re getting a harder training than the Marines. »

« Sometimes I thought so too. The days where I actually manage to put them to bed for the nap and they do actually sleep I feel like I just won over the universe. Like, if someone broke into the house with a gun screaming to me to hand over my money and jewelleries, I would just look at them right in the eyes and go ‘Ha ? You think you can take on ME ? Bitch please, I just put my kids to bed and it only took me forty-five minutes’. »

« Fuck, I got you. »

Katsuki groaned loudly as he used his remaining strengths to lift his upper body from the table, sitting more properly as his hands curled around his cup.

« Hey, I didn’t even ask, how was your brats-free day ? »

« Magical, » you answered, wiping a fake tear from the corner of your eye. « For once I could go window shopping without the fear of having one of them throwing a tantrum. There was another mom whose kid was rolling on the floor for whatever reason and she looked just so… done with everything. All the others customers were looking at her and making nasty comments like ‘Well that wouldn’t happen if she raised him right’ and I was like ‘Shut the fuck up you know nothing‘. She heard it all and looked at me and asked right away ‘How many ?’ and I answered ‘Two. You ?’  and she made a face and answered ‘Four‘, and we gave each other the ‘Hang in here’ mom’s look and shook hands and the best part was that the other customers had no idea what we just talked about. »

« Tch… Childless people making comments about education, what the fuck ? Just shut your goddamn mouth, you literally have no clue what you’re talking about. »

« Yeah… But well, that was nice having the day for myself. I’m glad I could see my co-workers again, even if some spent the dinner asking me mom stuff or making me talk about the kids. I mean, I love them, you know ? They’re my kids, my bones and flesh, I’d do anything for their safety and happiness but sometimes I’m just… tired of moms’ speech. I ended up trapped between two others moms at my table and like, can we stop talking about diapers and bottles ? Even just for one minute ? Remember that we moms do exist as persons with hobbies and opinions too ? Please ? »

« Damn, I don’t get parents who never stop… parenting. Even when there are no kids around, » Katsuki frowned, emptying his cup.

« That’s not the best. One of them had the nerves to ask me if we think we’ll be empty-nesters. »

« The fuck is that ? »

« People who get really sad when their kids leave the house. »

There was a silence. A short one where the two of you just look at the other’s eyes before bursting into laughter. Katsuki’s laugh soon turned into a yawn though.

« Aw, let’s go to bed, » you said. « And don’t worry, tomorrow I’m back being the housewife and you’re free to go ! »

« Well, that’s maybe for the best. If I hear one more time the ‘Daaaaaad, Mom doesn’t do it this waaaay‘, I’m going to blow a fuse and maybe kill myself. Plus, I tried to go easy on the curses today with these two fucking parrots around, and lemme tell you it’s nerve-wracking when you find one colouring himself with felt pen to match the wall so he can become invisible. »

« Oh my… No way, » you muffled your laugh behind your hand. You could only imagine how hard it’s been for Katsuki to not swear once he found out.

« And it was after the bath. Obviously. Because it’s no fun if Dad can fix your shit right away. I was about to yell when I had this flash of a newspaper saying

‘Angry father tells his four-years old to go fuck himself, kiddo later asks mom what it means. Shit ensues’

. » You stifled your giggles the best you could in your sleeve, Katsuki’s hand coming to smack your ass as you both headed to the bedroom.

[survivorreelsmagicwithin]

Episode 1B - “I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first boot.”-Jess

no words.

LITERALLY

NO WORDS.

Two points. TWO FUCKING POINTS.

I'm praying to Yoncé I survive and don't get first foot. That ain't a cute look xoxox

i'm already forgetting to search for the idols, i'm already getting paranoid about if i need to start making alliances instead of just enjoying the really cute convos i'm having with ruthie lily and kevin (max is kinda dry and annoying but... we'll try to make it work ig).... and i'm already hating every challenge we do especially this one although i actually really liked the challenge it was so creative and fun, i just hated that i have bad luck and am stupid with the deduction things, HENCE why i havent looked for the idol yet. LOL. so.... tl;dr - things are going perfectly! this hufflepuffle is workin exactly as he should!

I just wanna say we really are the hufflepuffs. 114 moves in like 5 hours, but we did it.  Really proud of Ruthie, Landen, Kevin, Max, and I! Sending positive vibes to slytherin. Hope they are okay in this madness.

Yo my tribe? Kinda dope. I think that everyone worked really well together today! I think Joanna kinda took the lead and some of her ideas were... a choice. But! It got us first place! I think that this tribe has a good shot of getting to swap unscathed.

With Slytherin going to tribal, I really hope that someone I don’t know goes, but at the same time I’d be okay with Jess going? I feel like she’s such a sleeper threat in most games I’m in with her and I really just don’t want to compete with that this time around.

I kind of snapped and got myself an idol good until final 6 teehee.

I knew that the Snape's letter or writing or whatever that freak was up to was SOMETHING. Did I get lucky... hell fucking yeah.

A crackhead like me SHOULD NOT have all this POWER.

I also gave Jacob literally the worst clue ever because we are sharing clues ladies xoxoxo

The clue was:

"Snape is taken aback. “That wouldn’t be any business of yours now would it? I wouldn’t want to find out you are spreading false information. I trust you won’t have any issue with that”. Congrats! You’ve discovered Snape Storyline 2! That’s all for the moment, and will end your search for this round."

BOTH ARE HALF TRUE. Just in case he doesn't put 2 and 2 together and now I went from place to place on purpose. He's gonna think now I gave him something of value and I know he's gonna think "No way someone go an idol on day fucking 3".

CONFESSIONAL 1.1 — Walking into the Great Hall, I saw a few familiar faces... for not good reasons!

First Jacob, who I know from tengaged. He and I were in a similar friend group for a short period before he left it, but we had a rocky relationship. We flirted a bit (blame 16-year-old Nicholas), but that is in the past.

Secondly, Jess... who I just directly sent home in Eve’s The Challenge: Fresh Meat. She did not have great words to say to me (such as I’m condescending), so I was very wary and, honestly, unhappy with her being here.

But, as Kylie Minogue says, it’s better the devil you know.

Flash forward to the Sorting Ceremony, and I’m so happy to be.. Slytherin? I told Mister Vintage (Sammy) and Mister Heinen (Caeleb) that I’m either a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, but I suppose I’ve been lying to myself.

Then, I see my tribe: both Jess and Jacob are present. This is a curse wrapped in a blessing wrapped in an enigma. And, I love it.

I hate, hate, hate conflict and bad vibes, so I directly spoke to both. Jacob did not easily recognize me, but remembered me fondly; so, a successful reacquaintance. Jess, on the other hand, was definitely more apprehensive (as was I), but I made one thing clear: the past is the past, and I am declaring my loyalty.

I have been hurt in previous games by shoving the past aside while the other is still grudgingly aiming for revenge, but I feel Jess is different. She apologized to me about her words, which did hurt, and I apologized to her. What I said was honest, so I’m glad to see a fateful blossoming.

The first reward challenge is revealed, and honestly, I’m really bad at participating in pre-merge competitions, because I do not mind tribal. However, I do want to, since we are such a small tribe, focus on maintaining our numbers in case of a swap. We came in second this reward, and honestly, I’m glad to have eaten cupcakes (although I hate cherry). The fact we all chose a dessert and were privately messaged makes me assume someone received an advantage, but who knows...

What I DO know is that I had two separate relationships, so I wanted to lock a trio down (Me, Jess, Jacob), but I obviously did not want to gamebot this early and make the chat day one. So, naturally, i waited until after immunity.

Speaking of immunity... I took charge, because I like it, but also, I wanted to be able to take blame if we lost. I hate the whole “let’s vote someone out cuz they cost us a virtual challenge” this early in the game, it’s a cheap way to vote. I want to vote on loyalty and activity instead. That’s why I am probably going to target Jessie or Vi, but I‘m unsure as to which will be my vote. On one hand, Vi is much less social, but she also contributed a lot to the challenge. I do not want to judge a book by it’s cover, so I will reach out to her and assess her vibe.

I like going to tribal first, because my philosophy is that it’s better to test loyalties now, rather than guess loyalties later.

Regarding other players, Jules and Juls just played in a mini with me and sheeped the majority alliance to screw me over, so I’m not feeling them right now. Bitterness doesn’t exist in my mind: play well and I respect it; sheep and be stupid, and I will gladly dish out the karma. 

I’m satisfied with the happenings of this game so far, and I hope to make it further!! This is one of my first real orgs so, I’m em definitely excited. x. nick

Yay we won immunity. Raffy do be carrying our tribe though!

WELL WELL WELL!!!!!!! as far as my relationships go which is where i left off last round, really nothing much has changed about how i feel about or view my tribemates, but in exciting news... we won immunity!! i am not going to be first boot that is so nice, and im hoping that we can keep winning immunity until a swap so I can feel more secure. I think I could stand a shot if we lost on this tribe but i think if so the vote would split 3-2 i dont think i can get a unanimous vote on anyone unless its myself which is NOT WHAT WERE TRYNA DO HERE !! if anything i feel like i have the best chance to wiggle myself in with the girls (lily and ruthie) Max would probably be my ideal first vote if we ever lose an immunity because I know landen can be useful in challenges, but he YET AGAIN addressed me with a name that does not sit well with me he called me a "challengewhore" yet another reference to TS 2020, so this is not a good sign. Ideally I could get landen out and still be set but i know he has a relationship with juls who i also have a relationship with and wish to continue to have in this game, and us going against each other could make that more stressful than it needs to be because i know landen avenged beck for voting juls out maybe juls would do the same for him? Much to think about, but thankfully i dont have to think about it all that hard because yet again we ARE SAFE !!! woo, anyways thats pretty much it hopefully we can keep winning :D

Ahhhh safety feels so nice, I’m glad that I’m not in danger of being the first boot. Also I love the fact that ravenclaw won the first challenge with so little moves HAHA!

I want to go far in this thing with lily and with kevin, my goal right now is to get to merge and owen be alive so I can work with him!

I am very happy to have won this immunity challenge. We barely won, but I managed to pull my tribe to a victory. Emphasis on the "I" part. I am very frustrated with my tribe's lack of challenge activeness and ability. If the time did not work for them, then I do not know why they even suggested doing it at 2 PM. This challenge would have gone faster if I had done everything myself. In the end, though, I hope this helps in me staying in the game because I am a necessity if they want to ever win a challenge in first place. I highly doubt that they could do it without me.

So I’m currently writing this with one hand because my cat decided to lie on my other one  anyways Nobody is really talking about the vote which means it’s probably me going but I’ll see what I can do to change that

Here's a breakdown of my first few experiences since I am writing this a few hours before the first tribal council.

FIRST I was cast in this game along with a BUNCH of people that are icons across different formats of Tumblr Survivor - so that's intimidating. Mostly because my play style is kinda vanilla in comparison. I gotta find a way to stand out or I'm going to be thrown out fast.

SECOND There's a twist that will probably have some major effect at some later point in the game where everyone is added to the Great Hall. I think that it's for convenience of posting things like results and challenges so it only has to be sent to one chat... but also so that we can feel THEMATIC which is a lot of fun.

The game started in the Great Hall and we got sorted into our houses and the implication was that it's random but.. I don't think it's entirely true if I can read into what the hosts said to me once I was sorted into Gryffindor (something about running out of room in Hufflepuff) - because I definitely didn't say Gryffindor in my application.

THIRD My tribe has the following people: Joshua, Juls, Raffy, Autumn, and myself. 

I do not know how many of theme said Gryffindor when they applied but also did not want to bring it up to them as I am masquerading as a brave idiot. :D

Anyway, I started conversations with all of them and they all seem very sweet!!

I've played in a game before with Raffy where he was super snakey but also a great ally until he tried to snake me. So there's that... he's also an "over the top" type of person so he takes charge a lot of the time and voices his opinions about everything. I hope we can create some sort of working relationship in the game, but I think that he will tell me the truth if he does align against me.

Autumn is super chill and super strategic-minded. She puts lots of thought into all of her decisions and makes calls that benefit her getting to the end while trying to align with the right people. If I can't get to the FTC of this game... TBH I want to make sure she gets there. I played with her in one game and we both were tossed out one after another when the game turned on our "side". I don't think that relationship will factor into this game as it was forever ago and we both kinda play "new" every time we start a game but I'm hoping she will want to try and play with me just because I've seen how great she is at the game.

Juls is a very fun person who seems to always be having a great time! I found out she lives in Texas too and that she was excited to get to know me because we are from the same state. I was like.. do I know you? Because when she messaged me the way she did implied that she knew who I was and I was thinking OH NO what have people said.

Joshua seems really sweet. He hasn't added incredibly much to conversations so far with him but he has contributed some fun things. I love that he tries to be entertaining, but as I see it so far he's the first person I'd be willing to vote out if it came to our tribe going to council... though of course, having said that I bet they've all declared me their first choice.

FOURTH The reward challenge was the Letter plus Number challenge so as predicted...

I did terribly and earned 0 points for our tribe and was SO happy it was not for immunity.

The immunity challenge was a Choose Your Own Adventure Puzzle.

We got a slow start in that I feel like everyone was afraid to make a move because that would put a target on whoever "failed for the team". Then me and Raffy kind of got things rolling with him taking the main leader role and me taking on a secondary role either agreeing with his suggestions or contributing a suggestion for what we should do.

There was a misunderstanding with the competition and we ended up making a whole bunch of extra moves because it was unclear to us that the letters we found at a later part of the challenge were able to be changed into numbers at a lockbox so we did a bunch of extra stuff... and I was resigned to the fact we were going to the first tribal when we go surprised that Slytherin... DID WORSE!!! O_O

Anyway... I still have no alliances or confirmed "working game" relationships and I really don't feel like starting those conversations at the moment so if I am out of the ones established or on the bottom of one that will add me to "pick me up" for later votes then I blame myself for not trying hard enough in that category.

FIFTH I definitely didn't just now search for the idol and waste two days that I could have searched other times. Nope! Not me!! :)

Anyway I went on a trip to Hagrid's Hut because I love me some Hagrid and I figured he'd let me in since I"m a Gryffindor and he loves us the best (you know, like a reverse Snape)... I dug through all of his junk and found his umbrella. Apparently I liked that it was pink and then left his hut. 

To be honest, I probably should have taken his dragon's egg and turned him in... maybe could have gotten him fired.

Someone finally got me to come out of retirement- can you believe it

It's been cute so far and I have no complaints, probably cause the hosts wisely put me, Owen, and Dan in separate corners lmao. Yooo if we all make it to merge?? Hell hath no fury. But we will cross that bridge when we get there! And for now I enjoy the calm before the storm. I deadass forgot how to be an org so I need all the time I can get to socialize and reacclimate. Me checking Skype more than once a year? Don't remember ever doing that. I love Raffy, it's always good to see Chips, I think I like Juls, and I'm not sure how I feel about Joshua but it's fine. I like Gryffindor cause we have no beef and I hope it stays that way.

ok so my tribe lost :( big sad. but im def ok bc jess is soooo close to me and we made a threesome with nick so. i think jessie is an easy first boot bc shes not around as much as vi. but really its our decision at the end of the day!

here’s the hot goss.. i’m a little upset i didn’t get anyone i Know on my house/tribe but also grateful HSBSNSNN all i know is that so far i’ve been doing pretty solid in securing relationships with those on my team (at least.. i hope so :flushed:) and i’m hoping they all like me hehe. kinda praying to just mist my way to merge where i can be united with people who like me enough to keep me around still.. >:D 

[theseventhhex]

Azar Swan Interview

Zohra Atash & Joshua Strawn,

Photo by Angelle Leigh Breaux

Azar Swan’s latest release entitled ‘Savage Exile’ is as much of a reflection of the band’s personal experiences as their professional ones. Unlike previous Azar Swan records, which had been collaborative in the sense that both band members had usually contributed something substantial to each song, ‘Savage Exile’ is more starkly divided between songs which Zohra Atash wrote, performed and recorded almost entirely herself and those where Joshua Strawn did the same. The album is a journey rather than a message, one made in the belief that truthful art made is still a dagger in the heart of pervasive evil. The album’s title refers both to the exile of “savages” and the savagery of exiling, as well as the need to create a home when all the forces around you don’t seem to care if you’re homeless. When people don’t have a sanctuary, they create one in their mind. ‘Savage Exile’ is not intended to be an easy listen. It’s both comfort and wound, blood as balm and evidence… We talk to Azar Swan about overcoming restrictions, using logic and downtime…

TSH: How do you feel your creative partnership has evolved in the lead-up to ‘Savage Exile’?

Joshua: I guess the evolution of our creative partnership has been organic, but it does feel different than before. Previously, Zohra would write a bulk of the demos and send them to me and I’d add my two scents with my production capacity. But now things feel even more collaborative than normal...

Zohra: Yeah, I think we have different ways of expressing ourselves. However, I could never do this without Josh. The collaboration factor is so important between us. It’s not about who plays what, we are very much a team.

TSH: What sort of ideas were you passing along to each other for this current release?

Joshua: Zohra was sending me videos of horrific plane crashes, but not in a distasteful way, she’d had an unfortunate experience which lead her to looking into this. All in all, most of the songs were written before Trump and Brexit. We were mainly obsessing over this fragile space, where you feel vulnerable and everything could fall apart.

Zohra: Yeah, so I was fascinated by pilot aviation in duress, in particular how when a plane crash is about to happen how the pilot and passengers react to the problem. I had this fascination with the way that people interact in those final moments when you know you’re going to die. It’s unlike a car accident and you even have time to pray. I looked into this because I had a fire scare in my building, which lasted for like 45 seconds. I was fortunate that a neighbour let me in to his house because I thought I was going to die. It was really bizarre, the thoughts that went through my mind. I fell to pieces without any survival techniques.

TSH: Did you decide early on to sequence ‘Shock’ as the album opener?

Zohra: Yeah, it was definitely intentional. We wanted to open with intensity and I really like how the song has a disruptive narrative as an opener. For that one, Josh was soundtracking textural parts of my voice to give it more of a cinematic feel. We were trying to find a natural way to express my voice without steeping on toes and bringing to mind the styles of other female vocalists.

TSH: What are the origins of ‘Territorial’?

Joshua: Well, the original version of ‘Territorial’ was completed a while back and it was mostly mixed too, but Zohra went back to the drawing board with that one. She decided to start again, much to my frustration, haha! The original was very was hooky and less pop-oriented. Nonetheless, I like how Zohra came back with a weird, twisted and dark throbbing version that you hear now.

Zohra: With this one, I wanted to convey what my favourite artists do, where the words are falling out of their mouths as they are singing. I wasn’t interested in making it simple ear candy to enjoy, so I purposely annoyed myself with this song ... and I hit a block. I just really wanted to compose a complexity with this song and find the cadence of the lyrics to the melodies. It took me a year to get this one right. In that time I almost lost my voice. I definitely had to go into a focused headspace to get it sounding musically satisfying.

TSH: Josh, you must have been very impressed seeing Zohra dedicate herself in this way?

Joshua: You know, I’ve made many records in the last 10-15 years and I’ve done a lot of different collaborations with various musicians. However, I’ve never seen somebody re-write music quite like Zohra with this record, haha! Regardless, I admire her dedication. Zohra can be so meticulous with her re-tweaking - it really is fascinating to see. It was frustrating for me initially, but I really feel that she nailed the end product.

TSH: Did you feel liberated having pushed your boundaries to excel with this record?

Zohra: Only now! I normally hate it when people use hyperbolics when they talk about creating music, but this album really was difficult and like a birthing process for me. It was tough for me to get out of a frame of mind where I wasn’t doing analysis paralysis. I really wanted to make this body of work something that was not an overthought, which lead to me chasing my own tail with constant overthinking. I was so focused on forming art that would move me, alongside expressions that come from an honest place. I’m just glad that I got there in the end.

TSH: How did you overcome the restrictions that you encountered with this record?

Zohra: To be honest, I thought I was going to lose the few people I had around me in life that relied on me. I had held up this record for over a year and I had this constant fear that if I didn’t make music no more, I’d go crazy. It got to a point where I was so deep into it and at the same time being surrounded by such awful political and personal issues made me really weak and put me in an emotional place. Once it was done, I was really thankful to Josh, who I’d made wait for so long. We had a timeline worked out and I messed that up, which is a serious issue in a partnership, but I‘m so grateful that Josh was supportive towards me the whole time.

TSH: You’re both very vocal about the injustices in America and lobbying for positive change. How do you stay upbeat amidst the bedlam?

Zohra: We’ll always be proponents for using logic in every situation. You have to be aware of the world around you - baby steps and patience is the only way to remedy the deep primordial fear we have of one another. It’s not as simple as just loving each other, it takes understanding. I believe a great deal of positivity will come into play if we use simple logic. Overall, I just feel that interacting with people helps. I mean not everyone is an awful YouTube commenter.

Joshua: For me, it’s been encouraging to see people I follow who have good political minds and are good political writers making positive steps and offering great advice amidst so much chaos in America. After all, everyone goes out into the real world and acts different to what they do on the internet. Also, I recently found myself thinking about why we are so bad at talking to one another these days. I went into this headspace and obsessed over technology and the history of the internet. I soon discovered how a lot of political philosophers are dealing with technology and the internet, which gave me some clarity. I do feel that I have a better understanding of where problems stem from and I feel like I can walk out into the world with a better understanding of what life is about.

TSH: Did you guys find out if Azar Swan Avenue in Las Vegas really exists?

Zohra: Haha! Well, I chose the band name before this was even discovered. Azar Swan is definitely an original name. But yeah, this neighbourhood is right off of Rhiannon Court. Oh, and they never offered us one of the houses, haha! It’s all really strange and funny to me.

Joshua: It definitely exists. I know someone who went past and snapped a photo of it.

TSH: What’s downtime like for you both?

Zohra: I tend to make sure that I don’t allow myself to be in a state of constant rumination and mulling over anxiety. So I stay positive and surround myself with loved ones.

Joshua: Well, I have a four year old daughter and I like to go camping with her at his time of year. My life consists of being present and responsible as a parent. It can be difficult to compartmentalise art and the frustrations of the world with family life, but I’ve managed to create switches that I can turn on and off which help me.

TSH: What’s the Azar Swan ethos for future plans?

Zohra: Our music has to be something that is useful to us in the making of it, because if it’s not, then it’s not going to resonate at all. The idea of being able to creatively traverse in a way that’s respectful to our art remains essential. Art can be such a healing expression and to be able to sing is truly great for the soul. Josh has always been there for me and the trust I have in him musically has been so integral.

Joshua: I’m really excited because I feel the field is really open for us to explore. I love that this record is an evolution and extension of our artistic intentions. Looking ahead, we can satisfyingly go into completely different and experimental directions with future music. We don’t know where we’ll end up next, but the door is wide open for us to discover new possibilities.

Azar Swan - “The Golden Age of Hate”

SAVAGE EXILE