#but floral heartache is still lingering in my mind

[vonabel]

Izuku is a nervous man, sure. But he is courageous. He jumps headfirst into battles, he puts up a good fight, he spent months breaking his bones while getting used to his power. He is nervous, but that will never stop him from taking what he wants.

So, really, it's no surprise when he kisses you first. It's gentle, a peck, just a brush of skin. But it sends a thrill of excitement up your spine nonetheless, makes you feel giddy and excited. He's soft, warm, and a little sweet from the soda he had been sipping on. Something with cherry, you think.

"This okay?" he murmurs, head still ducked close to yours and lips still against lips.

"Yeah," you huff, grinning when he exhales a trembling breath. His flush is high on his cheeks, beneath his spattering of freckles. He's so easy to rile up, to tease. A laugh bubbles from your chest when you notice the way his fingers shake against your neck, but still, you're sweet when you ask, "Do it again?"

And you're so– you drive him mad. Every single thing about you turns his brain to mush.

So he does. He kisses you again, firmer this time. The cherry on his tongue invades your senses, makes your teeth hurt. The hand on your neck slips up and into your hair so he can angle you better for himself. Greedy and selfish and needy, he curls himself around you, fills you up with him.

Izuku will always take what he wants. And he's wanted you for a long, long time.

[nyxienoya]

Innermost Thoughts

A KiraShino fic for all your angsty needs

Plot: Yoshikage Kira has fallen in love, but how will he deal with it?

TW; angst

Word count; 3.6k

Fic under the cut

Yoshikage Kira still didn’t understand how he got into this situation; it had been round two months since he escaped the grasps of Josuke Higashikita and changed his face to Kosaku Kawajiri. Unbeknownst to him, more time than he would have liked as Kosaku had passed.

As usual, he lived life with a day-by-day routine which he stuck to by the minute, but one thing Yoshikage Kira would have expected was for his new personal life to infiltrate his business plans.

Before taking on this guise, Kira had no clue what he was getting himself into regarding having a new personal life to fit himself into, living life as a stranger to himself. He was hoping he picked a sad misanthrope much attune to his own desires, to which Kira could continue with his daily life with nothing major interrupting his plans, but alas, the ambush he had received gave Kira a limited time to switch faces. Rather, he got himself into a situation where he was a businessman with a wife and child. This situation was clear to anyone who could psychoanalyze Kira’s behaviour when he was around this family. It was uncomfortable, but Kira quickly learnt how to adapt to having a supportive family life. His ‘son’ Hayato, only aged eleven seemed to remind Kira of himself in some ways, he was intelligent, with a hopeless case of snooping into business that wasn’t his. He seemed to catch onto things quickly, and regarding Kira’s mission, it was not ideal. Despite this, Kira found himself to respect the child, slowly growing a fondness towards him, even to the point of helping him with his schoolwork at the kitchen table in the mornings.

However, Kira was currently pacing back and forth in the attic where resided Stray Cat napping, meowing softly in its sleep. Grasping at his hair, pulling it slightly; Kira groaned. Guilt was pouring into his soul, and it was reflected into Killer’s Queen’s performance, he wasn’t as agile and quick as usual, and all for one small reason. Yoshikage Kira had fallen in love.

Kosaku was married to this gorgeous woman, Shinobu. At first, Kira could hardly tolerate the woman, she was overly clingy and hopelessly in love with this Kosaku, but over these past two months of living this new life, Kira found himself becoming less repulsed by Shinobu’s touches and acts of generosity. It all started when she started to make coffee Kira’s ideal way rather than Kosaku’s without questioning it. The mere thought of that made Kira’s heart flutter. Further on into the relationship, Kira kissed Shinobu on the cheek; seeing her shocked and flustered face made Kira’s stomach pool in anger in the moment. He knew nothing about the past life Kosaku lived with Shinobu and Hayato, but with hints through their behaviour he caught on with the fact that their relationship wasn’t all that healthy due to Shinobu’s compliance, and Hayato’s reluctance to have long conversations with him.

Kira stopped his pacing momentarily, the mere thought of Kosaku’s previous life whether healthy or not made Kira flood with jealousy. How dare that scum have ever laid his hands on his Shinobu. Wait. HIS Shinobu. “Oh dear,” he starts, resting his hand against his cheek. “Why do I feel this way about a meaningless woman. I need to focus on the task at hand, and that is killing Josuke Higashikita, I can’t-“ he stuttered, “I can’t fall in love. It’s not in my nature whatsoever, but when she touches me, or kisses my cheek.” Kira shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts, a faint blush cropping up on his face.

In Kira’s mind, he wasn’t worthy of love, nothing he had done in life could even start to warrant any emotion as strong as love, even from a young child he knew his parents didn’t ‘love’ him. They only had him for the sake of having a child and being parents, this only becoming more prevalent in these recent months with his father helping with Kira’s goal of creating more enemy stand users to defeat and kill more people for him, making it easier for Kira to live a quiet life with no repercussions.

But now, he had a woman who was there for him no matter the situation, loving him unconditionally. Kira almost couldn’t take it, this much exposure to genuine love had him flustered to even the thought of Shinobu giving him a kiss on the cheek every morning.

Taking a deep breath, Kira tried to recollect his thoughts. He cracked open the window shades slightly, letting a ray of sunlight hit Stray Cat, causing it to wake up with a loud hiss. Kira’s eyes widened partially, letting out a ‘hush’ to the same volume as Stray Cat. “Listen up, I need you to distract that boy Hayato, I know he’s aware of your existence and I have plans that I need to get to. Understand?” He asked the cat-plant hybrid, to which he got a response with a soft mewl alongside a nod. “Good. I’ll be sure to leave the shader open slightly so you don’t lose track of your task.” He stated, tightening his tie. He walked over to the exit of the attic and promptly left thoughts of Shinobu ubiquitous in his mind.

As he exited the attic, he saw Hayato hiding around the corner from the corner of his eye, “I can see you Hayato, not as sneaky as you thought you were.” Kira said, a joking tone shining through his words. Hayato then revealed himself from the corner and solemnly held up a sheet of paper, looking down in embarrassment, “Mom’s taking a nap so she can’t sign it; so, can you? It’s for a school trip I have next week.” He said, still refusing to make eye contact. “Of course, I’ll sign it, what kind of father would I be if I didn’t?” He asked rhetorically, he continued; “Just leave it on the kitchen table, I’ll be down in a moment, I just have something to do really quick.” Hayato nodded and scurried off downstairs to the kitchen, then more than likely left to his room.

After hearing the door to Hayato’s room click, Kira took swift steps towards his and Shinobu’s shared room and softly opened the door and entered, being sure to not disturb her nap. Standing by the door, he took in the sight of his ‘wife’, she was sprawled on top of the sheets, napping. Poor woman must have been so exhausted that she passed out right as she touched the bed, even to the point where she still had her slippers on.

Kira stepped towards her, the smell of her perfume wafting through the room. It was a soft floral scent, hyacinths with a mix of honey and limoncello sorbet concomitant to the white flower. Gently, Kira took off Shinobu’s slippers, placing them down besides the bed. He sat on the bed, the mattress dipping beneath his weight, causing Shinobu to stir slightly. He brushed his fingers across her face, brushing her hair out of her face. “You’re so gorgeous.” Kira softly muttered to himself. He was stunned that he even got himself to feel any emotion towards someone which wasn’t just pure lust for their hands, but love. A raw, intimate and genuine emotion Kira had never felt before, it was shocking that he’d even admit it to himself, let alone express it in the form of words of affirmation.

Noticing a blanket placed lonely on the dresser, Kira got up to grab it, unfolding it to place it over Shinobu’s unconscious body. Instantly, she snuggled up in the blanket, a tired smile flashing upon her face, round cheeks rosy. Walking back to her, Kira leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to Shinobu’s forehead before exiting the room, not before having a longing stare at her form first.

When he did leave the room, he remembered that he had still yet to sign Hayato’s slip, heading to the kitchen, he took a pen out from his blazer pocket and quickly signed it as Kosaku. More often than not Kira would forget that he was living life as Kosaku and not himself, the emotions he felt for the other two members of the household were too strong for Kira to ignore. He genuinely saw himself as a part of the family, as Hayato’s biological father and Shinobu’s husband. Alas, neither of which were true, he knew Shinobu would never love Kira for who he was; he was a serial killer after all. He knew that Shinobu fell in love with Kosaku Kawajiri, not Yoshikage Kira, and what Kira saw in his fantasies and dreams was a life with just that. Him, Shinobu and Hayato as a happy family. Though Shinobu expressed her love quite often to him, she would never know that it was being directed to a stranger and not the man she married. Yoshikage Kira would never feel love aimed towards him directly, he only acted as a barrier to Kosaku Kawajiri. She will never love him.

Realising he was still gripping the pen, Kira cleared his throat abruptly, slipping the pen back into his pocket. Slapping his face quickly with both hands, he brought himself back to reality. Externally, it would look as though those thoughts didn’t affect him, but internally, it felt like an eternal heartache, knowing that he would never be significant enough in someone’s life for them to say those three meaningful words ‘I love you’. However, rather than dwelling on it, Kira decided to make something impactful out of it. Heading towards the front door, grabbing the car keys off a little hook hanging by the door and left.

The plan was to book a reservation at the fanciest restaurant in Morioh and treat Shinobu how Kosaku never did like royalty, it’s the least she deserves for essentially acting as a single mother to Hayato. Stopping by at the restaurant, he booked the reservation for 8pm. Looking down at his watch, he saw that it gave him five more hours to prepare the rest of the night. Next, he drove towards the centre of Morioh, where all the high-class stores were situated. Afterall, he was still Yoshikage Kira, he was able to effortlessly spend copious amounts of money at once and his bank account would hardly break a dent. Kosaku would’ve only wished to buy something as expensive as Kira’s signature suit which he no longer bared. Parking his car, he stepped out and locked the doors quickly before walking towards one of the stores, instantly being blasted by the overwhelming scent of lavender and sandalwood. Shooting a look of disgust to no one in particular, Kira remained stoic and walked over to the women’s section of the store, shooing off any retailer who came up to him. Kira knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t going to let anyone sway him otherwise.

There it was, the perfect dress, it was a long-sleeved, burgundy velvet dress that stopped just above the knee, it lay baggy on the slender mannequin, meaning it was a perfect fit for his wife. He could already envision it. The night was going to be perfect. He took the dress off the rack and laid it over his arm, “Can’t forget about some shoes,” he spoke to himself, walking over to where various pairs of shoes of different colours and heel heights sat. Kira could pride himself on one thing, and that was that he knew the exact styles of shoes Shinobu felt comfortable wearing and what she didn’t. She was a woman in her thirties, married with a child, high heels had no business being in her closet, rather, she was more suited to a kitten heel and pumps as they were less strenuous on her ankles. Perusing all the shoes, Kira came across a black kitten pump, so simple, yet so classy. He found the shoes in her size and took the box as well as the dress to the front desk. “That’ll be 46,294.19 Yen, sir.” The cashier said in a monotone voice. Taking his wallet out, he handed over five 10,000 Yen notes to the cashier, promptly receiving the change. “Have a lovely rest of the day.” Kira called out to the cashier as he left, bag in hand.

He placed the bag in the passenger seat of the car before checking his watch. It had already turned 4:30pm. “Hmm, that took longer than expected, by now Shinobu must already be awake, I can’t surprise her with this now.” A frown formed on Kira’s face before entering the driver’s seat. “Oh well, I’ll just find a way to sneak this into our room.” The car drive home was silent, but Yoshikage didn’t mind it, he tended to live his life in silence prior to changing his life, he almost missed it, but the sound of Shinobu’s voice sparked joy in his heart, Kira couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the melodic tone of his wife’s voice.

Before he even knew it, the drive home was complete, before he exited the car, he looked down at his watch once more; 4:50pm. Three hours left until the date.

He exited the car, bag in hand walking towards the front door, not before locking the car door. He unlocked the door and entered; the house was silent apart from the faint sound of the television playing a news channel in the living room. “Shinobu?” He called out, after ten seconds of no response he kicked off his shoes and walked towards the kitchen where he called out once again; “Shinobu, darling?” To which he still got no response. “She must not be awake still, surprising.” He muttered, placing the bag on the kitchen table and turning to one of the draw and pulled out a notepad and ripped out a page and took out the pen from his blazer pocket once more and started to write:

‘Shinobu, my darling wife,

On the dresser is a bag, be ready by 7:10pm, I’m taking you out on the best date you’ve ever been on.

- Love, Kosaku ♡

Taking the note as well as the bag, he walked upstairs to the bedroom where Shinobu was still sleeping and placed the bag and note on the dresser and promptly left to go do some office work.

Approximately an hour and a half passed before Kira’s trance-like state was broken by hearing a shriek come from Shinobu, a soft smile appeared on Kira’s face. “Well at least she’s awake,” he looked up to the clock 6:20pm “perfect.” He allowed ten minutes to pass for Shinobu to put on the dress before leaving his office and heading to the bedroom. He knocked twice before entering the room.

He was starstruck, stunned in place by the sight of Shinobu in the dress. Shinobu’s curves were accentuated through the dress, even the bulge of her post-partum stomach which had remained over the past 11 years stuck out in the dress. It made Kira more attracted to her than he typically was. Her plump thighs making the dress skin-tight made a soft blush form over Kira’s cheeks. “You,” he stumbled over his words; “you look stunning.”

Shinobu turned to face Kira, a bright smile plastered on her face. “You did this? All for me?” She questioned, just as starstruck as her husband. Kira could only muster a nod in response. He stepped towards Shinobu, cupping her face in his hands, causing a large blush to spread across her whole face. Kira leaned in and pressed a quick, but passionate kiss to Shinobu. The first of which Kira had ever shared in his life, and clearly through Shinobu freezing up in response, it was more than likely the first time she was kissed like that since hers and Kosaku’s wedding.

Pulling away, the two were flustered, they shared a momentary silence before Kira broke the silence by clearing his throat and looking away. “You should probably continue to get ready, you do look beautiful darling, gorgeous even.” He stated, a soft smile present, He placed a kiss to Shinobu’s cheek before exiting the room and heading into his office where he held a spare suit just in case. It was a matching burgundy suit with a black shirt with a tie being reminiscent of Shinobu’s favourite dress, black with white polka dots.

It took almost no time before it was 7:10, and the two of them was in the car, Shinobu did a natural makeup look, deciding to embrace the features she already had, her hair was in a low messy bun. She had never been faced with the need to get all dressed up for a date to the point where she stressed herself out so much that she ended up doing the bare minimum.

The car drive held some small talk about how their days had been thus far, all whilst Kira was holding Shinobu’s thigh, stroking it softly with his thumb.

As they got to the restaurant they were quickly seated in the back of the restaurant on the balcony, only for the upmost private of dates. Like a gentleman, Kira pulled the chair out for Shinobu before seating himself. The sound of a piano, violins and a harp played together synchronically creating a beautiful tune which Kira caught himself humming along to every so often. Shinobu found herself opening the conversation whilst picking up a menu; “Did you really mean it when you said I was gorgeous earlier? It’s just that you haven’t said that since our wedding, Kosaku. And all of a sudden, you’ve reverted back into your old self, pre-Hayato, pre-marriage, what’s up with it?” Shinobu questioned.

Kira feigned a look of shock, he knew Shinobu could quickly pick up context clues, that’s where Hayato got it from, of course, but Shinobu could pick up on it this easily? Despite the fake look of shock on his face, Kira himself even felt stunned slightly. He thought for a moment before responding, “Of course I meant it, love. Why would I fake that, I’m not a liar you know this?” To Kira, that statement was obviously applicable, but regarding Kosaku, he had no idea whether or not he was truthful. He continued; “Plus, I just felt like rekindling the old spark we had, it’s been lost in a mist for so long, and even to this day, I’m still surprised why you’re still with a man like me. You could do so much better-“ He was abruptly cut of by his wife’s voice, anger lacing her words, “Don’t even say that, you know in hopelessly in love with you Kosaku” she went silent for a moment, “even with how you’ve treated me this past decade, I’m not quite certain what I’d be like without you in my life. You mean the world to me.” Tears were brimming at Shinobu’s eyes.

Kira froze, for the first time in his life, he didn’t know how to react to a situation, it was this one woman who finally had the Yoshikage Kira stumped and not the masterful plan from an enemy of his.

How could a woman as perfect as Shinobu fall in love with scum like Kosaku to the point of not being able to leave him out of pure desperation of not knowing where her life would go. Finally, with what felt like eons, Kira finally plucked up the courage to respond to Shinobu’s outburst; “You really are the perfect woman Shinobu, my wife, I know it must have felt like forever ago when I last said this to you, but I love you Shinobu Kawajiri, and I’m proud to call you, my wife. I’ve always loved your feistiness, and how nurturing you are towards Hayato even when you are at the worst point in your life. You are indefinitely the most perfect person I’ve set my eyes on. From your stretchmarks to your eyes, to how much you cling to me, Hell, even to how your nose crinkles when you laugh, it’s all perfect.” Kira ranted, every word he said coming from the bottom of his heart, words laced with love and passion.

As he ranted, Shinobu sat there, stunned. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t the Kosaku she married, but hearing those words that spilled out of Kosaku’s mouth, it made her fall in love all over again. For years on end, Shinobu was longing, waiting to just hear those three meaningful words of ‘I love you’ and at last, after eleven, painful years, she finally got to hear them once again. Tears spilled from her eyes, rushing down her cheeks uncontrollably. As soon as Kosaku had finished his rant all Shinobu could muster to say was; “I love you too, unconditionally Kosaku. My heart has been aching for you to say that. Thank you.” She smiled, tears still streaming.

Kira took one of the napkins and as gently as he could, tried to wipe away her tears to no avail, she was so happy that she couldn’t stop crying. The sight of her made Kira smile, she was finally happy after 11 years, but with him, Yoshikage Kira and not Kosaku Kawajiri, if only she knew that, though. Thinking about that made Kira’s heart shatter, but for now. He’ll keep up the fantasy of Kosaku to keep her happy.

Maybe one day, he’ll tell her. Just maybe. Whatever makes Shinobu happy, Kira will abide by, for Yoshikage Kira had fallen in love.

[lapinbunwrites]

My Heart Is Yours

Ratings: GA

Warnings: None

Fandom: Fire Emblem Three Houses

Relationship: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Annette Fantine Dominic

Word Count: 6,222

Ao3 Link

Felix took a deep breath and exhaled, seeing his breath. He missed Faerghan winters. It was his favorite time of year. It was much like him; cold, harsh, and sharp. But underneath all the ice, there is a warmth and kindness that makes your soul happy and brightens your day. It was like waking up in bed, during the middle of winter, being warm because you’re under a lot of blankets. Though, Felix was finally able to withstand the summer. Not that he minded, it reminded him of his love, Annette. Sweet, kind, and shining, but both can be chaotic and messy. But he loved them anyways.

He sighed, it was rather rare for him to do this, but he walked into a floral shop to pick out some flowers. Even though it was hard for the florist to keep running their shop, they still had the flowers Felix wanted all four seasons. He purchased the flowers and walked out of the shops. He made his way back home and made his way to their graveyard. Felix stood in front of a grave...his father’s grave. He placed the blue and yellow violets by his tombstone before sitting down. He felt his heartache as he shed a few tears. It may have only been a few months since he had died, and it may have only been a few years since he had died, and it may have only been a few years since he became the new duke, the feeling of losing him still lingered. He wished he was still here, especially now that he was slowly entering a new phase in his life.

Felix wanted him to tell him how to be the new Duke of Fraldarius and he wanted to tell him to back off and enjoy his retirement and to enjoy it with his wife. Felix wanted to tell him that he was dating Annette and to tell him that he was going to propose to her one day. He wanted Rodrigue to recount the tales of his betrothal to his mother. He wanted to tell him that he was going to be a grandfather and that he could babysit his children. But none of that was going to happen. He could only hope that he was watching over them...over him.

Felix took a deep breath, “I want to propose to her,” he let out. “I love Annette with all my heart.” He looked up at the sky. He felt the warm winter sun dry the tears he had shed. “I will love her with all my heart much like you loved mother with yours.” He paused. He sighed. “Goodbye for now, father.”

He left the cemetery, walking back into town. He saw Annette sitting on the edge of the water fountain, surrounded by children. He smiled as he walked closer towards them. Felix heard her sing her songs to the little kids. Her songs eased his worries and cheered up children who were having a bad day. Annette glanced at Felix, giving him a smile as she continued sining. He quickly looked elsewhere not to show her his blushing face. She stopped singing to start giggling. To see him blush was always a gift.

Before the concert even ended, the children ran up to Felix. Anette smiled and giggled as she watched her boyfriend play a game with the little kids. They played a game the children call “Big Bad Wolf” where Felix pretended to be an evil wolf stealing goodies. The children would pretend to be heroes saving the town from the evil wolf and they would either “kill” or “capture” the wolf. Most of the time the children would “kill” Felix and he would lay on the ground motionless until one of the kids sat on him or did something naughty. While Annette was watching them play, she placed her hands on her stomach and fiddled with her ring finger. Watching them all play got her thinking, she wanted children. She always wanted kids, she knew that having children was a lot of work but she also knew that they were fun, spritely, and cheerful with their own highs and lows. She still wanted to have them, to love them, to fight with them, to grow with them. Though, she doesn’t know how Felix feels about it. They have talked about their future together but they never talked about having children. He said his goodbyes to the kids as their parents came and picked them up. Annette walked up to her boyfriend giving him a kiss on his lips. Judging by the fake smile on her face he knew that something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” Felix asked, squishing.

“Felix!” She laughed, genuinely. “I’m fine.” She took his hands off of her face and avoided eye contact with him.

“From your smile and the way you are avoiding eye contact with me,” he started, moving his head along with hers, “it doesn’t look like it.”

Annette sighed. He could always see through her. “I want children.”

“You want to make them?” He asked plainly.

Her face became a deep red. It became an even deeper color because when she remembered that they weren’t married. “W-We aren’t ev-even married!” She flusteredly yelled.

“We can change that,” he said nonchalantly.

Annette could no longer function after hearing his words. Felix felt around his body to grab the Fraldarius engagement ring only to realize that he didn’t have it. He let out a low growl at his own incompetence. To distract her from his terrible proposal, he started to sing a little song about their future together as they walked back to their home. It didn’t help much, it only made Annette more anxious. For the rest of the day, she didn’t speak to him out of embarrassment. She didn’t know how to take the situation, his proposal, if you want to call it that. At night, before they went to bed, Annette placed Felix’s head on her lap and started to sing him to sleep.

“You are my Big Bad Wolf!~” She sang softly. “With a heart of gold, gold gold!~ You are my Big Bad Wolf!~ You have cold dead eyes!~ You have sharp teeth, sharp tongue, sharp claws!~ But you have a heart of gold, gold, gold!~”

She stopped singing her song since she knew it would take one verse for him to instantly fall asleep. She took his hair out of the ribbon and started to play with his hair as she continued to hum her song. Annette thought about his song and his proposal, she wouldn’t mind spending the rest of her life with him, to cook with him, to sing with him, to dance with him, and the most important thing, to rule over Fraldarius territory with each other. She knew it was going to be a lot of work but she didn’t mind it so much. She was willing and wanting to put in the effort into it. Hearing Duchess Fraldarius had a really nice ring to it. By the end of her thoughts, Annette wanted a better proposal and she can wait for him to plan the perfect proposal. She gave his head a little kiss before she snuggled up with him before going to bed.

The next morning Annette woke up to an empty bed. As always Felix was up and gone doing Goddess knows what. She felt her heart become heavy as she left her room, walking through the big house by herself. She knew he was a busy man and she knew that he could never stay idle, she just wished that he would stay in bed with her in the morning, she wished he would shoulder his burden with her. All those thoughts went through her mind as she grew closer to the kitchen. The air started to smell stronger and sweeter as she stepped closer to the kitchen, someone was making breakfast, maybe one of the maids. Annette was pleasantly surprised to see Felix was in the kitchen making food. Seeing her big smile, he smiled himself. Once he was done cooking, he walked over to the kitchen placing a plate in front of her. With one bite of his food, Annette was transported to another plane of happiness and serenity making his smile grow ever bigger when she enjoyed his food.

“Oo, so good!” She said happily.

“I’m glad you enjoy it,” he smiled.

“I love it when you cook!”

Felix had no more words to say, he was just happy that she enjoyed the food he made and he was just happy to be home with his beloved girlfriend. After breakfast, Annette changed into something else, meeting up with Felix to spend a nice, relaxing day together before going to Fhirdiad. As the two walked through town, they watched as the children played, laughed and cried together. She placed her hands on her stomach, thinking about having children again. She didn’t know what he thought about it. He didn’t exactly make it clear the day before. Felix looked at Annette’s expression, seeing that she wasn’t satisfied with his answer, not that he could blame her.

Taking one big breath, Felix spoke “Annette,” softly.

“Yes?” She asked.

“Are you sure you want children?”

She became flustered. “F-Felix, we st-still aren’t married! Y-You still ha-haven’t proposed t-to me proposed to me properly!”

He sighed, he knew she would never let him live that down. “Not what I was talking about.”

Annette’s face became a deep red in embarrassment. “S-Sorry.”

“Are you sure you want children? They will be around us for the rest of our lives and parenting is very difficult.”

She knew that but she loved children, she was willing to put in the effort to love them, to teach them, to fight with them, to care for whatever children they might have. “Yes, but we don’t have to have them now,” she reassured him. “I know I’m ready to have children but I don’t want to force you to have them if you’re not ready.”

Felix smiled, giving her a kiss on her lips. He was so busy with taking over his father’s position and helping Dimitri out with official matters that it would be awhile before he could give their children the proper attention they deserve. “It probably won’t be for a couple of years until we start having a family of our own.”

“That’s fine, I can wait as long as you need me to.”

Annette took a hold of Felix’s arm as the two walked further into town, stopping at the edge before walking on a long stretch of land, there wasn’t another town for miles. The two stayed on the trail, walking further down the road, stopping again only a few miles away from town. Felix grabbed Annette’s hand and started to dance with her. As they danced, she giggled when he spun her out of his arms and when he spun her back into him. Hearing her laugh brought a smile to his face and hearing her laugh was music to his ears. They spent most of their day on the open road dancing and singing songs that she wrote and when the son set until it was there no more, it started to snow, adding to the already snow covered ground.

The two were only a few feet from their door when a smirk crept onto Annette’s face as she grabbed some snow, molding it into a ball before throwing it at an unsuspecting Felix. He turned around to see her stifling a laugh and trying to play coy. He licked his lips as he thought to himself, did he really want to be a child and play in the snow or not? He picked up some snow, rolling it into a ball and threw it at her. She pretended to be mad at him as she watched him smile and shrug it off. She laughed a bit cockily as she grabbed some of the snow and threw it back at him. She laughed loudly as he chased her around, throwing snowballs at her. In retaliation, she dove behind some barrels, poking her head out, baiting him every time. Each time he threw a snowball, he would miss and every time he missed he heard her giggling. Annette’s giggle was irritating him, it was taunting him. She was taunting him.

Every once in a while Annette would throw a snowball at him not seeing whether or not she hit him. Like Felix, she missed him every single time. Felix got close to the barrels, he slowly stepped to the side where she was hiding, she wasn’t there. He looked in the corner of his eyes, she was planning an ambush. It didn’t work as well as she hoped, he was able to hit her with a couple of snowballs before she was able to do anything. He grabbed her with one arm, twirling her around and held her close to him. Her laughs now were more pleasant, loud like she was having a good time, she was laughing uncontrollably. Annette’s laugh was infectious, Felix couldn’t help but laugh. He picked her up, smushing snow in her face, teasing her instead of giving her a kiss. When she didn’t get to feel his lips against hers, she pouted. He smiled and chuckled as he wiped the snow off of her face before giving her a loving kiss. She smiled again, returning his kiss.

Instead of putting Annette down, Felix carried her back home. He walked into one of the living spaces placing her near the fireplace. He put some wood into the fireplace letting Annette set fire to it and for added warmth, he grabbed a thick blanket to wrap around them. She placed her head on his shoulder, bringing a smile to his face as he started to hum a low tune. Hearing both the cackling fire and his little tune, she slowly closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep. His smile turned into a gentle, soft, kind smile as he watched her fall asleep. He kissed the temple of her head before he looked out the window seeing the still and calm night with a sky filled with stars and the Northern lights. It was beautiful, much like her.

He put out the fire before picking her up to take her to their room. Felix placed Annette on their bed and made sure that she was warm and comfortable. He changed and sat on his side of the bed looking at her while she slept. He wanted to spend every day with her, to wake up every morning with her right next to her, to cook her breakfast every day that he could, to have more days like these, playing in the snow with her. He wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but she already knew that, he just wanted to give her a proper proposal. He gave her a little kiss on her head before cuddling up with her as he fell asleep.

The next few months the two spent their time in Fhirdiad writing drafts of treaties, training some of the knights, teaching some students in magic. With time flying, Felix got annoyed that his proposal he planned out failed. There was no more snow and he still had no engagement ring. He had the Fraldarius ring that his father gave his mother when they were betrothed, but that was not the one he wanted to make the whole thing perfect. He wanted to make it the most romantic and make it the perfect proposal he could. He had given himself one year to do so, he could only hope that she could wait that long.

Within the next year, the two were going back and forth between Fraldarius territory and Fhridiad finalizing treaties, training even more knights and teaching more students in magic. In what little time the two had they spent with each other. They danced with each other, sang with each other, trained together, they did anything they enjoyed together. And in the rare occasion they weren’t together, people would bother them about when Felix was going to propose to Annette or when was the wedding. It came to the point where Felix severely injured one of his knights and it came to the point where Annette set fire to one of her knights. They were done with people snooping into their private lives. Some parts of their love life was private and their engagement was part of it.

Annette walked into their room, wrapping her arms around Felix’s shoulders as he was finishing up some paperwork, feeling his warmth and the warmth of the candle light. “I was at the infirmary.”

“Oh?” He asked, shifting the chair back so he could sit her on his lap. “And?”

“They will be fine,” she replied, placing her head in the crease of his neck and fidgeted with one of the buttons on his shirt. “I don’t think they will annoy us about this anymore.”

“Good,” he said, kissing the temple of her head.

“Though, one of the healers hates us now.”

“Heheh. They probably want us to talk to them about it.”

“That didn’t work so,” she said, holding out her hand to make a fire.

Felix let out a low chuckle as he showed him what she did. When the flame burned out, there was only silence only to be broken by Annette’s soft singing. At this late at night her songs made her sleepy which always prompted Felix to carry her over to their bed. As he walked away Annette held his arm with one hand and placed her other hand on his.

“Please come to bed,” she pouted.

“I have one more thing to do,” he pleaded.

“Felix,” she said softly, “you are going to bed very late these past few weeks and I’m getting worried.”

“I know but I really need to get this paperwork finished.”

“It can wait. Your sleep is more important,” she said, pulling closer to her.

“It won’t be long, I promise,” he said, giving her a kiss of reassurance.

Annette let out a little groan as she thought it over. “Oh alright. This better be the last time you do this,” she said, giving him a kiss.

“I make no promises.” He gave her one last kiss before returning back to his work.

Felix looked at his “paperwork” and sighed. In truth, the reason he was messing up his sleep schedule was to write a song for her. When Annette wrote songs she made it look easy but when he wrote a song, it was agonizing, he didn’t know how she did it. He placed his hand on his chin and smiled at his song, he knew it wasn’t the greatest song, but he wouldn’t change any of the words he wrote down. He just hopes that she loves the song every bit as he did. When he was done, he blew out the candle and headed to bed. Annette pulled Felix close to her, holding him tightly.

He woke up the next morning with an empty bed. He smiled knowing that Annette must be in town for another concert that was planned. Along with both of them restoring Fraldarius territory, there were times when she would hold a little concert for children and adults to give them some rejuvenation and cheer. He knew that he wasn’t going to see her until late in the night, maybe after all of his errands he would see the end of her performance. Felix ran through a mental checklist of what he needed to do, with concert he didn’t have to overlook any building repairs, making sure taxes were paid, fending off bandits, the proposal, he had the proposal to finish. He ran through a completely different checklist making sure that he had everything prepared, the date was all set up, he had the ingredients for the meal that he planned, he had everything, everything except the ring.

He let out an irritated sigh as he walked out of his room. He was going to be by himself today so it gave him plenty of time to get the ring and still make it a surprise. Felix stayed close to home when he walked into the jewelry store. Looking around, none of the rings that he was seeing was catching his eye. After a few more minutes of looking around, he was relieved when he found one that Annette would love. The ring was two rose gold rings, one of them had little jewels covering most of it. The other ring had a moissanite stone with a circlet around it that had tiny jewels on it. One the sides of the ring had leaves that had a gem in the middle of it and had a gem further down the sides. He knew that she would absolutely love this ring. He paid for the rings and made his way back home to hide the ring from her. He would never admit it, but he was happy that he was able to get everything for the proposal, he now just had to wait for the day he set for the occasion.

Felix rode into town to where Annette was performing, he always tried to make the time to see all the performances that she had and every time that he saw her sing, his heart felt full and warm. Even though he was only able to catch the last part of her concert, he was still happy that he was able to watch her make everyone happy, especially now with the war over and with people’s heart broken due to it. After everyone met her and sang her praises, she walked over to him, giving him a kiss. She was happy that he was able to catch some of her performance and to see her biggest fan smile his rare big smile.

“You sounded amazing,” he said, kissing her back.

“Thank you.”

“You should become a songstress.”

“Ahaha, you’re funny,” she laughed nervously.

“We’ve been over this, I’m not funny. I really think you should become one.”

“Hehehe, I-I don’t know. I’m not that great.”

Felix raised one of his eyebrows. “That’s not true. Your performance tonight proves otherwise.”

Annette blushed heavily and started to fidget with her hair. She knew that he loved her singing but she knew that he thought she could be a songstress. “I don’t, I don’t know. I-I’ll think about it.”

Felix smiled. “I will support you if you go through with it.”

She smiled as she gave him another kiss.

A couple of days later, and as always, Felix woke up before Annette, but this time he had a reason he wanted to be up before her and not sleep in. Before he left the room, he faintly smiled, today was going to be the day he was going to propose. It wasn’t much longer that she woke up. She woke up to the smell of her favorite breakfast carrying its way towards her room. The only person who knew how to make it the way she liked was Felix...who was not in bed. She yawned and stretched before walking to the kitchen where her boyfriend was. She wanted to help him but he insisted that he would do all of the work. No matter how much she wanted to help him, he wasn’t going to let her, he wanted to make this day all about her.

“So what do you have planned for today,” Annette asked.

“A day spent with you,” he replied.

“Oh,” she blushed.

“It’s going to be a surprise.”

She started to giggle as he handed her breakfast, it was yummy. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but she was really excited, even if it might not be productive. After she ate her food, she quickly changed, meeting up with Felix to go into town. Lately, they have spent more time in town then they have spent with just each other. Maybe today was going to be that. They walked around the bustling town to go shopping, or at least window shopping. Annette stared at all the items that she wanted but never bought. Felix was trying to calm his nerves as they inched closer and closer to a certain place he had in mind. He wanted to make it a surprise even though she picked up on what he was thinking. She found the gazebo that he was eyeing.

He took her hand and led her into the gazebo and placed his other hand on her hip and started to dance with her. After a few seconds of silence, he started to hum a little tune that he created. Annette tried to hum along with him, humming in some places and not humming in others. And it wasn’t long before he started to sing a song that he wrote.

“I love the way you sing!~ I love the way you talk!~ I love you,” he sang and danced.

She smiled as he heard him sing, she loved his low tone when he did. He had a beautiful singing voice and it was always nice when he sang. After a few more words, she started to sing along with him.

“Marry me,” she sang as they danced. “I love the way you move!~”

Felix's face started to become a deep red. How did she not know what she was singing? She was so cute and oblivious. He took a deep breath and kept singing because it was the only thing he thought he should do. “I love the way you think!~ I love you!~” His breath became shaky as he kept singing, she was so oblivious. For some reason it wasn’t calming his nerves. “Marry me!~”

“I love your red hair!~ I love your...blue eyes,” Annette questioned. She looked up at Felix with a confused looked. She slowly realized what she had been singing.

“I love you!~ Marry me!~”

Her face became a deep red as soon as she heard those words. She was really embarrassed.

Felix followed her face as she tried to avoid eye contact with him. He pressed his forehead against hers to look into her eyes. “Annette Fantine Dominic,” he said, pulling a box out, “will you marry me?”

Annette let out a loud gasp as he asked her the question and revealed the beautiful engagement ring. She put her hands over her face to hide her face and not to show him how flustered she was. She couldn’t believe she was caught off guard, she was completely surprised. She took a few breaths before she answered.

“Yes,” she said excitedly. “Yes, I will marry you!”

When Felix heard her words, his chest was filled with cheer and warmth, he was so happy. It was like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He placed the ring on her finger, picked her up, twirling her around before giving a kiss of joy.

“I love you so much!”

“I love you too,” she said, happily, giving another kiss.

Felix took a rose hairpin off of his shirt and fiddled with her hair.

“Felix,” she said, softly, “isn’t this…”

“Yes, this hairpin was my mother’s. It was a betrothal gift to her from my old man. She gave it to me so I could give it to the person I love.”

Annette blush became a deeper red. It was a beautiful hairpin that she cherished.

They danced and sang until the sun started to set. As they walked home, they told none of the townspeople that they had gotten engaged, it was going to be their little secret for as long as it could be. Once they got home, they went straight to the kitchen and thought about the many recipes that they both liked and instantly settled on one, fish and turnip stew. It was a perfect dish for the season, it would warm them up in this colder winter weather. Annette grabbed all of the ingredients while Felix grabbed all the utensils. In silence, she chopped the onions and the garlic, putting it in a large pot. While she was doing that, Felix cut up the fish and the turnips adding it to the pot. When she was stirring, he added a few spices like black pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt.

At every chance she got, she would give him a little kiss, and every time she did, he gave her a little smile. Once they got everything into the pot to simmer, they set up the table. The food started to fill the air and it started to smell familiar to him. Felix held back tears as memories started to flood back to him. It was concerning to Annette and all she could do was hold him close and hold him tightly.

“Felix,” she said softly.

“This, this stew,” he said, choking on his tears. “My parents used to make this stew when I was younger,” he cried. “My brother and I would watch the two of them cook this and sometimes we would help them make it. I miss them so much.”

It was a rare sight to see him like this but she would never make fun of him for it. Annette held him close as he cried and consoled him the best she could. When he was done, she gave him a warm smile as she took her thumb to gently wipe the tears off of his face.

Annette didn’t say anything, she knew it was best not to. She took the bowls, putting the stew into them. As the two ate, they reminisced about the past. He talked about the things he and his brother used to do and how they would prank their father every once in a while. Rodrigue would get so mad but he never would be angry for very long, especially not seeing his two boys sleeping close together. Annette would talk about how her and her mother used to bake treats together and surprise her father and her uncle with them. She would tell him stories of how lonely she had felt after he left. It had been just her and her mother for the longest of time and it only hurt more when he wouldn’t come home after seeing him again. Felix reassured her that she was no longer alone, she had a family and it was him and all their friends.

Within the next couple of months, the pair were always so busy, whether they were rebuilding, singing in a concert, of moving between territories for one reason or another on top of their wedding planning. When planning, they agreed on a lot of plans and they vetoed a lot of plans, but all in all, they did have fun planning their wedding. The best part of it, especially for Felix, they got to annoy their friends about it.

Annette woke up, on the morning of their wedding, feeling the humid air flow into their room. She looked outside to the grey sky, it must've rained when they were asleep. It would explain why it was so humid, Garland Moon was a rainy and humid month. The biggest surprise so far was when she realized that Felix was still asleep and clinging on her hips. She couldn’t believe that he was still asleep. Annette let out a little laugh before she kissed his forehead and got ready. She spent most of the day with Mercedes getting ready for the wedding. She helped with her hair, her make-up, her dress, anything that she needed.

On the other hand, it didn’t take long for Felix to get ready, he didn’t put on anything too extravagant, just a simple dark blue tux. Him and Dimitri walked around the venue talking to people making sure that everything was set up and perfect. The only thing missing was the red and white rose garland that Annette had woven for him. He looked in the mirror trying, and failing, to put it on perfectly. Dimitri eventually helped him out after hearing his many irritated groans. Once everything was set up, Felix waited in a room close by. He jumped up and down to get rid of any last minute jitters.

His heart ached knowing that he was going to walk down the aisle by himself. It was going to be hard going into his next phase of his life without his father. He had been in every part of his life whether he liked it or not. But he knew in the depths of his mind and his heart, he knew that Rodrigue was proud of him and he knew that if his father was alive, he most certainly would have expressed how proud he was. He was alone but he knew that he wasn’t going to be alone for much longer, now that he was getting married and now that he was going to be a father himself.

Once everyone entered the chapel, and when everyone was seated, the music started to play. Felix walked down the aisle, looking straight down, seeing Mercedes at the altar. She gave him a kind smile as he stood close to her. Much like him, everyone patiently waited for the beautiful bride to come out.

Annette took a few deep breaths to get rid of her nerves. She paced throughout the room, sang a couple of songs, did anything to get rid of them. Thankfully a few words of encouragement from a friend, she wasn’t nervous anymore. She couldn’t believe she was going to have a family of her own soon. Part of her life it was her and her mother. Then it became her, her mother, and Mercedes, then everyone at the academy, and now, it was everyone, Felix and the child they were going to have in a few months. She was so happy that she was going to have a family and a future with the man that she loved so much.

Her parents came and got her to walk her down the aisle. As she walked, Felix’s eyes grew as he saw her beloved bride walked towards him. She looked beautiful in her white dress that faded into orange and her own red and white rose garland that was connected to her veil. She was so beautiful. When she got to the altar, Gilbert moved the veil over her head to the other side and she turned to face her beloved Felix with a warm, kind smile. Mercedes read a few lines of a script and read their list of vows as she placed a chord on their hands.

“Annette Fantine Dominic,” Mercedes said, “ do you take Felix Hugo Fraldarius as your husband?”

“I do,” she said, happily and cheerfully.

“And Felix Hugo Fraldarius, do you take Annette Fantine Dominic as your wife?”

“I do,” he said with tears in his eyes.

“Then I pronounce you as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Annette and Felix kissed each other before walking down the aisle one last time, arm-in-arm. They rode to their territory to set up everything before everyone came to celebrate. After they set up, and as time went by, people started to flood in, bringing them gifts. The music started to play and Gilbert danced with Annette as their father daughter dance. Moments later, Annette and Felix had their first dance as a married couple, after that, everyone started to party. They danced, they talked, they sang, did whatever people do at a party. Felix stayed close to Annette, and from time to time, she danced with him and got him to mingle with people when he really didn’t want to.

And after everything, and when everyone was finally gone, the two walked to the graveyard. They stood in front of his parent’s grave and Glenn’s armour.

“Hello,” he said, “sorry I haven’t come by and visited. I’ve been busy with a lot of things.”

Annette squeezed his hand tenderly as he tried to speak.

“I’m married now,” he sighed. “I wish you were here.” There were many things that he wanted to say but he didn’t know how to say it.

“Uh, hello,” Annette said nervously. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to you guys.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “As Felix said, we are married now and that we are expecting. You’ll be grandparents and an uncle in spirit,” she said, smiling. Much like him, she had many words but didn’t know how to say it.

Instead of trying to say something else, they took their garlands off and placed it on their graves.

“I miss you all,” Felix said before they left.

When they got home, and got comfortable in bed, Felix placed his hand on Annette’s stomach and rubbed around.

“You’re going to be a great father,” she giggled.

Felix only smiled and gave her a kiss before they went to bed. He couldn’t believe he was going to be a father. He was so happy about it. He couldn’t wait until they were born.

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Yay!! I can finally post up this fic for FeliAnnie Mini Bang on Twitter! I was partnered with @tamyonmyonmyon! It was really fun to work with her! It's been a while since I've read this fic to name it so, afhafkljsda this the title I'll die with. Her lovely artwork!

[mind-reader1]

Queen of Hearts (Ch. 28)

Drake x MC (Emma Barnes)

TRR AU: What would happen if Emma loved Drake but had to marry Liam?

Catch up here

Warnings: harsh language 

Note:

Word Count: 2,166

Summary: This is it! The big fight! The one you’ve all been waiting for, what will it mean for our lovebirds? 

Chapter 28: Natural - Imagine Dragons

That's the price you pay

Leave behind your heartache, cast away

Just another product of today

Rather be the hunter than the prey

And you're standing on the edge, face up 'cause you're a

Natural

A beating heart of stone

You gotta be so cold

To make it in this world

Yeah, you're a natural

Living your life cutthroat

You gotta be so cold

Yeah, you're a natural

Deep inside me, I'm fading to black, I'm fading

Took an oath by the blood of my hand, won't break it

I can taste it, the end is upon us, I swear

Gonna make it

I'm gonna make it

She was dancing by Drake and Liam when Maxwell made his way over, keeping with the beat.

“After all that excitement I'll bet you're glad I secretly married you!” the three of them froze, Emma and Drake shooting daggers at Maxwell, Liam looking between them.

“What?” He asked through clenched teeth.

“It's nothing Liam. Just Maxwell being Maxwell.” Emma tried to lie, but she wasn’t convincing anyone.

“It's not nothing. He said secretly married. What is he talking about?” No one answered.

“Maxwell what are you talking about?” Liam raised his voice and people began to notice.

“Let's take this somewhere private.” Emma walked towards the hall where they would be out of view and earshot of the ballroom.

“What are you hiding from me?” She rolled her eyes as she looked at Liam.

“Seriously? Just let it go Liam!”  

“I will not! We're friends, aren't we? Or are we back to not being friends? I can't keep up anymore. Besides, if you and Drake have done some ridiculous thing to ruin this marriage I need to know!”

“That's rich Liam. You're not our friend and we're not the only ones risking this image! The way you look at Olivia, everyone sees it!” He was taken aback, but Emma was sick of it, she tore into him.

“If you were Drake's friend you wouldn't have dipped me to kiss me like that. Oh, the super romantic vows were also a very nice touch.” She said sarcastically.

“What else? Oh yeah, you wouldn't have made me dance with you to a song that was important to me and Drake. You told me I could be with Drake but make us feel guilty every time we're together! You wouldn't have put us in this position in the first place if we were your friends Liam! I’m stuck pretending to love you because your family can’t keep their shit together! Maybe you’re not deserving of the crown Liam. I thought I knew who you were when I signed on for this, but now I’m really not sure, not like I ever had a choice in the matter anyways.” Liam looked like he had just been punched in the gut.

"Oh really? If he was my best friend, my brother, he wouldn't have fucked you behind my back!"

"Drake was a better friend that you ever were! Not that it's any of your business, but he wouldn't sleep with me until after my name was cleared. He wanted me to have a chance to choose freely unlike you! You never gave me a choice Liam!"

"You expect me to believe that? The staff saw Drake leaving your room that night after Tariq! Maybe the rumors were right about you after all! I've given you everything you could've wanted Emma and you're acting like a spoiled, ungrateful court whore!" Emma slapped him, leaving a bright red handprint on his cheek, stinging, they could've sworn it echoed through the ballroom.

"How dare you speak to her like that! For once someone didn't choose you and you really just can't understand that!" Drake got in his face, shoving him. His blood boiling, he couldn't believe Liam claimed to love her, but would speak about her like that.

"Get out! Get out of my palace! Your traitorous backstabbers!" Liam looked like he might punch Drake, instead tears welled up in his eyes, tears of frustration and hurt, everyone's emotions still heightened and raw from the fight with Anton. Drake grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her out of there, straight to a car. Drake gave the driver and address and they pulled up in front of a secluded cabin, only a short drive from the palace. Emma was emotionally spent, crying as she stepped out of the car. Drake grabbed her hand and started to walk in, but Emma didn't budge, he scooped her up and carefully opened the door, carrying her inside. It wasn't how he imagined carrying her across the threshold, but none of this had gone how he hoped. He gently set her down and Emma clawed at her zipper desperately, Drake stepping over to help her undo it. She shed the dress and latched onto Drake, getting it all out as he gently ran a hand over her hair, pulling her close with his other.

“It's okay Em. It's going to be okay.” She pulled away, her makeup all over his suit jacket.

“I can't believe he said those things to me Drake! I hate him! I hate his guts! The way he talked about you!” Drake tried to keep his voice even, his blood was still boiling though.

“Me too Walker, me too. Let's not think about him anymore. This is our space, our refuge, you and me. No one else.” Emma nodded and kissed him sweetly.

“Thank you Drake. For everything. I thought I might lose you today, I thought it was over for us. It's not though, we survived, and all I want is to curl up with my husband and forget about it.” Drake kissed Emma gently and nodded, stripping down before climbing into bed beside her and pulling her close. They could feel the others heart racing, as they laid there though, they finally slowed. The only sounds were crickets and their even breathing as they finally fell asleep, exhausted from the day’s events.

Back at the palace, Liam had made an announcement about Emma not feeling well, he said she had gone to lay down, after that the reception was basically over. He was heartbroken, Emma and Drake had betrayed him worse than he ever thought possible and so in his anger he took it out on them. Now he had probably lost her forever, sure he liked Olivia, but she wasn't Emma, she never would be. They were probably together right now, enjoying what he wished was his honeymoon with her. He'd never been with her and he wanted nothing more than to show her how much he loved her, to make her understand, but he had ruined it all. He drank himself to sleep that night, feeling sorry for himself.

It had been weeks since he'd seen Emma or Drake, they had been holed up in their cabin with the exception of Anton's court appearance. Each encounter was cold and brief, Emma's body tensing any time he touched her for the cameras. People had already started to comment too, no one had seen Emma around the palace or Drake, but they had seen an awful lot of Olivia. He knew he needed a save face and he had the perfect idea in mind.

That morning Emma woke up before Drake, he was laying on his back, the sheet covering only up to his waist. Emma trailed gentle kisses down his chest until he woke up.

“Walker!” He smiled and brought her face up for a kiss.

“Marshmallow.” He grinned, she knew that he loved when she called him that, their little secret.

“You sure do know how to wake a guy up.” He rolled over, so he was on top of Emma who giggled, married life had been bliss since the palace was leaving them alone. It was easy to forget she was queen, until they had to go back. Anton's trial had been happening and the press was all over it, they were like vultures. Emma couldn't stand to be near Liam, especially since the last time. The press had asked when there would be an heir, they played it off, but as soon as they were behind closed doors Liam had turned on her. She could still hear his words.

“They're right. I need an heir so nothing like this happens again, I'm sure you and Drake have been working on that plenty though.” His voice was cold and mechanical, she turned without a word to find Drake and go home, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist. He handed her two sealed envelopes with her and Drake's names on them. It had been invitations for later today. She was broken out of her thoughts when Drake began to whisper in her ear.

“I can tell you're someplace else right now. We need to get ready anyways.” He started to climb off her and out of bed, but Emma pulled him back groaning.

“No please. Let's just skip it and stay in bed all day.” Drake turned and gave her one last lingering kiss before walking to the closet.

“As much as I'd love that Walker, you're queen and you've got responsibilities for it.” She rolled her eyes, but she knew he was right. They went to the boutique as instructed and found the rest of their friends waiting for them. Before they really had a chance to talk, Madeleine was there instructing them all the change. Hanna chose her beautiful floral dress, Drake wore his classic grey suit, Olivia wore her black and red one shoulder dress that was repaired since Anton stabbed her, Maxwell wore his squid suit proudly and even handed over Cooper's suit! Emma carefully dressed him up before dressing up herself. Madeleine handed her a beautiful red wine gown, it was off the shoulder, long sleeve with gold accents along the top and skirt. Drake was practically drooling as she twirled for him, even Olivia was impressed, but not for long as Madeleine whisked then off to the throne room. It was decorated elegantly, fit for a royal ceremony, trumpets began to blare, and Madeleine arranged everyone in a line as Liam appeared. He wore a suit with the same color as Emma's, suddenly she hated the dress, no doubt Liam's doing, but of course it made sense for the King and Queen to match during a royal event.

“What is all this?” Olivia asked. Liam smiled and looked at them.

“All will become clear in a moment.” He turned to address the crowd. He gave a speech about how they were there on 'honor their national heroes,’ and thank them for their bravery. One by one he went down the line starting with Maxwell for his optimism, he was deemed 'Guardian of the Realm!”

Hana was also deemed Guardian of the Realm for her grace and companionship.

“Duchess Olivia, for your determination, invaluable help, and honorable fighting aptitude, I hereby dub thee Guardian of the Realm!” Liam placed her medallion around her neck, his fingertips grazing her skin as he looked into her eyes just a moment too long. Madeleine cleared her throat and Liam bowed gracefully before moving on.

“Sir Drake Walker, for your selfless sacrifice for Cordonia, to its citizens, its king and most importantly taking a bullet for my wife, the queen,” Drake jaw clenched when Liam called Emma his wife, Liam's eyes gleamed knowing the rise it got out if his former best friend, “I hereby dub thee Guardian of the Realm!”

“Guardians step forward and be recognized!” They all stepped forward and Emma watched as the cameras flashed around them, everyone wanting to get the perfect shot of Cordonia's heroes.

“Finally, Emma Rhys!” Emma repressed a flinch as he used his last name, he knew very well she wanted to be called Emma Barnes still.

“From the moment you stepped foot in Cordonia, you treated it like your home and the people as your family. You were promised the chance at a better life and I believe you've found that, but really you made everyone's lives in this nation better by being here. You fought for us, unified us, and stole our hearts, especially mine. I hereby dub thee Champion of the Realm, the highest title bestowed by the crown.”

Liam placed an even more ornate medallion around her neck, Emma was stunned. She wasn't sure why Liam was doing this, the more she thought about it though, she was sure there was some ulterior motive behind it. It was only a moment before Emma figured it out, Liam decided to form a Royal Council, all of the guardians were to be members as well as Kiara and Madeleine. It was a way to make Emma have to come to the palace more, gave Olivia an excuse to hang around, and Kiara more chances to throw herself at Drake. Liam couldn't just leave them alone, they walked to the ballroom and Liam whisked her onto the dance floor.

“Why are you doing this Liam?” She leaned away from him as much has she could without drawing attention.

“Doing what Emma? This will be beneficial for Cordornia.” she rolled her eyes.

“Why us though? Why won't you just let us be happy? You have Olivia.”

“I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about Emma. I have some business to attend to. I'll see you for the first council meeting.” He surprised her with a kiss on the lips as the song ended. Emma was fuming, she made sure she greeted everyone who was important and slipped out with Drake.

Next Time: We jump forward one year and check in on our 2 favorite (and 1 least favorite) people as the topic of an heir becomes a hot button issue. 

Tag List:  @notoriouscs @brightpinkpeppercorn @ooo-barff-ooo @leelee10898 @princesstopgun@choicesyouplayandmore @sleepwalkingelite @roonarific  @indigo39@skyila @speedyoperarascalparty @andy-loves-corgis @furiousherringoperatortoad@drakewalkerfics @findingdrake @sue9659 @smritysriv @larryssunflower @likethetailofacomet @zaffrenotes @mrsdrakewalkerblog @agent-bossypants @endlessly-searching-for-you   @cgd03 @simsvetements @jovialyouthmusic @jlouise88 @bettys-mom

[asdfghjklicia]

These Bloodied Flowers In My Lungs

She met him at the end of September, when autumn had stolen into nature and set everything ablaze with red and gold. 

His name was Kenneth. His eyes were darker than a sun that had burnt out, and his movements flowed like water. His laugh warmed her from the inside out. 

The already short days sped up, and mid-October found her spending her alone days wishing she wasn’t. 

She knew something was wrong when she woke up choking on the thin white petal lodged in her throat.

She coughed it up, and with that one more followed as she raced to her laptop to find out what was happening. Her trembling fingers could barely hit the keys and the loading sign seemed to linger for far too long, but after a short eternity, the search results appeared in blue and black text on the screen. 

It was supposed to be a myth. Something conjured from the mind of a lovesick sicko. And yet here she was, a bent petal between her shaking fingers, trying to swallow what felt like a whole flower as she read through the definition of the Hanahaki Disease. 

“Are you sure you’re okay to sing today?” her friend asked, watching the president of the school choir cough yet again. She only nodded, not trusting her voice to come out strong enough to be convincing. It had only been a few hours since that first petal in the morning, but her throat was hoarse from coughing, and it had taken several trips to the water cooler to try and wash down the same white petals. She’d Googled them- daisies were symbolic of purity and innocence. How cruelly ironic. 

Singing that morning was painful. As president, she conducted the choir in front of the school on Friday mornings, and she had to be the perfect example for her girls. During high notes, she forced the flowers down, during low notes she forced the tears back. When she took her seat for assembly, she hid her face in her notebook so that nobody would see the tiny white petals that escaped her.

The victim regurgitates and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from unrequited love.

Watching him dance was like being near an active volcano. It was beautiful, but it was like every time she breathed, she choked on her awe like smoke. 

Kenneth had two songs for this year’s school showcase, one upbeat hip-hop song with four other people and one slightly slower solo dance. 

As the lyrics for the solo played over the speakers, she began coughing up something that felt different. Rounder. 

As the chorus hit, she bent her head and coughed. Yellow petals. 

As the bridge hit, she hacked up the broken-up fragments of an entire yellow flower. 

Discreetly, unwilling to tear herself from his dancing for too long, she googled it. Daffodils, the floral equivalent of unrequited love and someone being the only one that mattered. 

She dared not catch his eye as she kept watching, a tear falling as the music ended and he looked elsewhere. 

The illness can only be cured through surgical removal,

The days turned into weeks. Daisies turned into daffodils, innocence into the knowledge of unrequited love that hurt her almost as much as the flowers growing in her lungs. 

And all the while, they got closer. The longer they talked each night, the more they texted, the more she bent over her toilet, hacking up petals of betrayingly cheery daffodils and bright white gardenias that represented secret love.  

however, any existing romantic feelings are also removed with the infection.

“Hey, will you sing for my solo?”

The question caught her off guard. She could already feel a petal tickling the base of her throat as she asked him to clarify himself. 

“My solo- Trade Hearts? By Jason Derulo? I’m not really feeling Jason for my dance- I think I’d prefer you to sing it, even as a recording that plays as I dance on the day. You have a great voice.”

It was creeping up her throat, twisting what she wanted to say like a vine.

Despite the tears and flowers choking her up, she forced herself to reply, if only to hear the smile in his voice over the phone. 

“Okay then, just a fair warning that my voice is getting kinda hoarse these days.” she said, the lightheartedness in her voice covering up her misery. 

“That’s awesome, Fab. Thank you so much.”

After he hung up, she was still smiling as she coughed up almost a whole red carnation, the incarnation of heartache, and kept her smile plastered on as she noticed the first tiny specks of blood darkening the red petals. 

The Hanahaki Disease, without surgery, is fatal.

So she recorded the song for him. The lyrics struck a chord within her, and she poured everything into recording it before she sent it to him. The messages she got back were short, but they made up a broken paragraph that was punctuated with emojis. 

THIS IS SO GOOD! 

WHOA HONESTLY I KNEW YOU COULD SING BUT DAMN 

I’LL HAVE TO USE THIS WHEN I DANCE

ACTUALLY

COULD YOU 

DO IT LIVE?

IT’S IN TWO WEEKS.

WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE 

AT ALL?

IT’S SOOO GOOD

She laughed, doing the best to ignore the feeling of flowers pressing against her lungs and onto her ribcage. 

Then it occurred to her. 

Live?

In two weeks?

She stared down at her hand, the carnation petals that were flecked with blood, the same petals that she had twisted to death in her fingers’ trembling vice grip.

Would she live that long?

She did. 

The afternoon of the showcase, she chose her outfit- blood wouldn’t show up on a black dress.

But then she hesitated as she looked herself over in the mirror. If she didn’t have long left to live, maybe she needed to live a little. 

She took out a lavender off-the-shoulder skater dress. In the past couple of months, she had learned a lot about the significance of flowers and colours. Light purples meant romance- and nostalgia. 

Just in case, though, she packed the black dress. 

In the cab to school, she felt what she recognized now as carnation petals clawing up her throat, and she forced herself to swallow it repeatedly. 

Once she had paid, she ran to the school bathrooms. 

It was drenched in blood at this point, but as it dripped off, she saw that it wasn’t red, it was light pink. 

Pink carnations - I’ll never forget you. 

She hurled it into the garbage. She didn’t have a lot of time left. 

From her high stool on stage, she sang, pouring the same emotion into the song as he danced with the same passion- although her singing perhaps had more desperation than his dancing did. 

As the music ended and the hall erupted with applause, he gestured to her to stand. Hopping off the stool, she began to take her bow- but he pulled her forward to centre stage, holding her hand as they took their bow together. 

Her grip was loose on his hand, but like a vice on the mic as she struggled to keep it together. 

As they walked off stage, she couldn’t hold it off anymore. 

I’m sorry, Ken. 

“That was amazing, Fab- where are you going?” he began, as she ran backstage. 

“You okay? Fab?” she could hear the alarm in his voice as he knocked on the door of the female stall, her coughing and choking resonating around the cement walls of the backstage bathroom. One by one, they forced their way up her throat, overflowing from her mouth, their already incomplete, broken petals breaking apart further as they fought their way out of her and onto the bathroom floor. 

Three cyclamens. 

Three poisonous flowers that meant resignation, defeat and death. 

Three flowers that meant goodbye. 

[obstinatewit]

~“I’ve Fallen in Love with This Middle Ground at the Cost of My Soul”~

{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNUR0fOMpCs}

~~~

“не колебаться. Если ты остановишься, ты умрешь.”

(“Don't hesitate. If you stop, you die.”)

“Смерть не вариант...”

(“Death is not an option...”)

Knuckles covered in blood. Dark hazel eyes locked on a nearly lifeless man on the ground. Jaw muscles twitching involuntarily as deadly oculars followed strained movement. “ворон” watched as yet another target strained, groaned, and writhed on the ground, one shoulder brushing against steel-toed boots that had cracked bones and broken teeth. Murder wasn't in the ledger, but victory was always the path most taken. None of the others had died, at least not by the hand of the victor, and nor was the one on the ground at that moment. With one final stomp, one of the steel-toed boots caught a hand and mercilessly crunched through bone, and a piercing scream filled the air as the “ворон” accepted victory and turned to walk away, dark orbs fixed straight ahead as the sound of boots clunking against cement progressively got more distant. It was “dog eat dog”, and the one that had gotten to walk away was the same one that did so every time, after every fight. Targets paid up, either with money that they owed for drugs or other “services”, or they paid with their lives. The latter wasn't in the hands of “the weapon”, that simply entailed beating assigned targets until they paid up like they were expected to. Death that came to those who had it written as their fate went to “хозяин” to meet their fate, and “ ворон” only did the near fatal work.

Chocolate brown eyes flashed seemingly through nothingness, but were gone with a frown and a swift head shake. It had been a while since those eyes came to mind, eyes that brought strong feelings of loss and yearning to the surface that were close to impossible to stomp back down again. The one that possessed those striking orbs had been taken away a long time ago, and had yet to come back, which didn't seem likely by that time. A shred of humanity broke through after a hellish act, and that made the ache come back more prominently, much more taxing and difficult to dim and push back down again. There was no room for feeling in the pursuit of targets that owed debts, in the wake of trying to self-preserve and simply survive, especially so inhumanely. Love wasn't something that fit into a weapon's ledger, wasn't a feeling that could have occupied his time without there being dire consequences that came with it. So the feeling was simply blocked out once again, after much intense and aggravating effort, and the ledger was once again wiped clean of any such feelings...for the time being. They were bound to come back again, just to then have to be forced back down.

“истребитель! Подождите!”

(“Fighter! Wait!”)

The sound of boots moving on cement didn't falter or slow down, even as a voice that was known and had been caught by ears that yearned for it rang out in the weapon's ears, hazel oculars sliding closed for a moment before opening and focusing ahead again, trying to push the owner of that voice out and simply focus on reaching the next destination, the location of another assigned target. The scent of her floral perfume suddenly invading a desperate nose as heels clicked progressively closer. Electricity shot through skin like lightning as her hand made contact with his forearm, and freedom from the grip was forced, not wanted. The footfalls that had stopped echoing on the pavement below foot continued as if nothing had occurred, and that much too familiar voice rang out again, much more pleading and desperate.

“ворон, стоп! Угождать!

(“Raven, stop! Please!”)

Footfalls on concrete once again halted, and hazel oculars darkened and snapped open again as the weapon turned to face her, and his voice rang out much sharper than desired but it couldn't be taken back. Heartbreak echoed through the air as the words came out, but an effort to swallow it down was made in vain.

“Не называй меня так! Вы меня так не называете!”

(“Don't call me that! You don't call me that!”)

Hearing that name slip past those lips was like a stab through the chest with a rusted knife, and like the knife was being twisted painfully slow as the sound reverberated through a dubiously jumbled mind. It was soul crushing, the pain that came with the realization was unbearably heavy as it struck clear down to the core of the weapon's being. Dark and foreboding eyes soon shifted and became haunted and tortured, full of pain and anguish as they took in every aspect of her being. The way her brown tresses fell elegantly onto her shoulders, her piercing brown eyes, the smoothness of her silky olive skin, how her hips swayed with each shift of her weight, the graceful way her taut legs carried her just a few steps closer, the lilt of her voice that echoed through the air around her as she spoke.

“Почему ты избегаешь меня?”

(“Why are you avoiding me?”)

Her voice faltered and cracked as she spoke, and at the same time, his heart followed suit and did the same. That fact remained hidden from the Earthbound angel standing before him, and all that was given in way of acknowledgment was a slight left shoulder shrug and a shift from one leg to the other, the weapon's intention of moving again peeking through the cracks and making itself known. A voice that sounded a fraction weaker than was intended spoke out in response after a slightly drawn out silence, attempts at hiding lingering heartache still being made.

“Мы больше не можем видеть друг друга. Мы не можем говорить. Это не сработает. ничего другого.”

(“We can no longer see each other. We can't talk. It won't work. Nothing else.”)

A single tear gliding along olive skin caught hazel hues and held their attention, and they suddenly snapped shut before footfalls could once again be heard growing further away. There was no spot in the ledger for feelings, for emotions, for someone else to become a distraction. The desire to protect her and keep her out of harm's way ran deep and burned like wildfire, so being involved and letting her in any further wasn't an option; the only plausible option was also the most painful one. He simply had to push away and keep her even further than arm's length away, despite how tightly it made his chest constrict in anguish. Previously light and anguished hazel orbs suddenly became cold and calculated as the destination for the retrieval of the next set of targets came into the weapon's view, and the thought of her anguish and the brown hues that flashed through his mind before her echoed cruelly through his clustered and darkened mind as he lengthened his strides, shortening the distance between him and his targets hastily.

Один. Два. Три. Четыре.

(One. Two. Three. Four.)

The sound of droplets hitting concrete echoed through the air, blood pooling near steel-toed boots stained in dirt, soot, and blood; dark, foreboding hazel oculars taking in each target that lay on the ground, incapacitated as the number of victims at victorious feet was long forgotten and not fretted in the least. Unbridled anguish coursed through his veins like molasses, and knuckles collided with bone with a loud crack before the sound of yet another body hitting the ground sent vibrations through the air and into calloused ears. Free of any sign of emotion, his eyes took in every drop of blood on the ground, every target writhing in pain on the ground at his feet, still rooted in their original spot.

“Вы хорошо поработали, но мы должны идти.”

(“You did a good job, but we have to go.”)

Tired legs strained against nearly dead weight as exhaustion washed through his entire body, but he managed to carry himself to the “getaway” vehicle that sat waiting for them before he slumped over in the back seat and heaved a tired sigh, once dangerous hazel orbs slowly sliding closed as his eyelids began to get unbearably heavy. As sleep took him into its firm, vice-like grasp, her eyes and everything about her came back to him and flooded his jumbled mind, and he furrowed his brow deeply in his sleep and moved his head from one side to the other before the images began to shift.

Deep brown eyes shut everything else around him out and held his gaze, and he was suddenly face to face with the one he'd loved for so much of his life and had cruelly been robbed of at a young age. It made shocks of excruciating pain radiate through his frayed heart, and a sobbed threatened to rip its way out past his lips as he slept, but he refrained and tried to take in every aspect of those eyes that he had loved so much for so long. The deep intensity with which they took in everything that was around them, the way they seemed to pierce right through him and bore straight into his soul, which he had long since lost. When accompanied by the curly black tresses and puppy face that he had known as a child, the chocolate hues took him back to a better and simpler time, a time when he wasn't seen as a weapon and was treated like a person, a time when he was free to have fun and be a kid. It made the realization of how heavy and constrained his heart had been come up to the surface of the murky waters that represented all of the emotions he was trying to keep out of his ledger, and it bore down on him with a weight that was excruciating.

What had happened to him? Where had Tamerlane Jameson gone? All of the feelings he felt before...where were they? He had somehow fallen in love with the middle ground he found himself in at the cost of his soul. Even as that realization struck him, he knew that there was no way out, that he was in too deep at that point. Escape wasn't an option, and if he tried, death would have been inevitable. He wanted his soul back, but he was trapped in the iron grip of a toxic society, a poisonous group of vagabonds who would have tightened the reins and pulled him in even further if they suspected so much as a flutter of a doubt coming from him. So he had to stay...and he did. There was no way out, not that he could see on the horizon.