#but maybe if i cook it from scratch i might change my stance??

[rosecoloredknight]

is meatloaf worth learning how to cook??

[thisissirius]

because 4x01 happened and i had feelings about it. the therapy stuff is taken directly from my own counselling sessions. i might not have gone through a tsunami and a truck bombing, but i’ve seen some shit lol. ANYWAY. i hope y’all like this. 

for @capseycartwright who always deserves the best buck content and quality sassy eddie <3

need help (but can you help me? [ao3 link] buck, buck/eddie, hurt/comfort, therapy

Eddie leaned against the doorjamb to his bathroom, arms folded across his chest. “I hear you’re cheating on me with a Covid crush?”

Buck snorted. “You’ve been talking to Chim.”

“More like had to listen to him,” Eddie corrected. He met Buck’s eyes through the mirror.

“You know I would never—”

“I know, Buck,” Eddie said quickly. He straightened up, came to stand next to Buck at the basin. Buck looked to the left, lips quirking up. Before he could say anything, Eddie leaned in, resting his head on Buck’s shoulder, their eyes meeting in the mirror again. “I trust you.”

Fingers curling around the edge of the basin, Buck sighed. “I should just tell them.”

Eddie kissed Buck’s neck. “You don’t owe anybody anything.”

Silence lapsed between them.

“When you’re ready to tell people, you will,” Eddie said, sliding a hand up Buck’s back, scratching through his hair and then pulled back. “Breakfast in half an hour. Chris is already up.”

“Fuck you,” Buck said with a laugh.

Eddie blew him a kiss and tapped the doorframe on his way out.

_________

Buck wasn’t keeping it a secret deliberately.

Quarantine was difficult. It wasn’t as bad for him as it was for a lot of people given that he was still able to work, but he hadn’t been alone since the quarantine had started. It had started to get too much for him to handle around the second month.

“I used to think I was lonely,” he said, leaning on his desk.

Lisa nodded, sitting back in her chair. “And now?”

“I havent been for a while,” he said. “But not because of quarantine. That’s just made me realize I love my workmates but living with them has been difficult.”

“You’re ready for them to go home.”

Buck huffed a short laugh. “Yeah, I am. Well. I’m sad Eddie’s gone, but I know why he had to.”

Lisa’s face remained impassive. It was one of the reasons Buck liked her. “Do you miss him?”

Missed was an understatement. Though Hen and Eddie had gone home and Buck had been glad to have his apartment mostly to himself, that didn’t stop him missing Eddie like a phantom limb. It had been difficult without Chris around, moreso for Eddie, but Buck had missed him too. That would change now, as long as they were careful and took precautions, and Buck wanted to go back to having Eddie and Chris to himself—without Chm around. “I just wish Chim would leave.”

“Hmm,” Lisa said.

“Not because I’m sick of him,” Buck said. “It’s just hard when he’s here. I feel like I can’t be myself.”

Lisa stared at him. “You can with Eddie?”

“Yeah,” Buck said. “I can.”

“Then start with that,” Lisa said. “Keeping it a secret is taxing on you, and I can imagine on Eddie, but if the two of you have decided it works for you, then only you get to decide when you tell your friends and family.”

“I know.” Buck blew out a slow breath. “Thanks, Lisa.”

“It’s what I’m here for, Buck,” she said with a smile. “However, that’s the end of the session and I have to go. If you need anything, text me, alright?”

Buck nodded, thumb hovering over the mousepad. “I will. Thanks again.”

The sign off was always awkward over Zoom, but Buck hadn’t dealt well with face to face sessions. When he closed his laptop, he sat back in his chair, hearing Maddie’s laugh through the speakers of Chim’s laptop. Great. Rolling his eyes, Buck cast a quick eye at the clock. Not long and they had to be at work.

_________

“Well,” Eddie said. “At least it’s not a tsunami.”

Buck gave him a look. “Are you kidding me?”

Eddie was smiling, the dick, and Buck elbowed him. “Ow,” he said through a laugh. Sobering quickly, he reached out, squeezed Buck’s arm as best he was able in their gear. “It’ll be alright.”

“I can’t do it again, Eddie.”

Eddie turned. “Buck, look at me.”

Buck winced but did as asked. They didn’t have long before they’d be on the roof.

“I’ve got you, hear me? No matter what, you’re not on your own this time.”

I wasn’t before, Buck didn’t say. “Okay.”

“You hearing me?”

“Yes, Eddie, I got you.”

Eddie smirked. “Don’t sass me, Buckley.”

“I’ll do whatever Ilike,” Buck said mulishly, but he couldn’t stop the smile from forming. “Thanks, Eddie.”

“Anytime,” Eddie said, dropping his voice. “Now let’s get this done, alright?”

_____________________

Buck massaged his temples. “It was a disaster. Literally.”

“It was,” Lisa agreed.

“With everything that went on, it reminded me of the tsunami.”

Lisa nodded sympathetically. “That must have been difficult.”

It took Buck a minute to find his voice. “I had a job to do this time as well and I didn’t have Chris to look out for.” When he realised Lisa looked ready to speak, Buck powered on. “Not that I resented looking out for Chris. I know—you know how I feel about that and that I’ll probably always regret it, but I had Eddie this time. I had—a job and someone to help me.”

“Okay,” Lisa said. It wasn’t a dismissal, and Buck nodded. “I know how much trust you have in Eddie, Buck. I just wonder how much you have in yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve talked about the truck bombing, the tsunami. We’ve talked about the blood clots and the lawsuit,” and Buck winces at the reminder, “and throughout all of that you mention everything you’ve done wrong.”

Buck frowned. “Yeah?”

“What about the things you did right?”

There was a long silence.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I want you to do something for me, okay?”

Buck waited for her to finish, not knowing how to answer.

“Before you next call me, I want you to write down five things you’ve done right in the time you’ve been working. I would prefer it to be related to those incidents we discussed, but I will take other things as well.”

“I—” Buck started.

“If you can’t, it’s okay. I just want you to try.”

“Okay,” Buck said eventually. “I’ll try.”

_____________________

Maddie narrowed her eyes. “So when do I get hear about it?”

“Never,” Buck said, not having to ask what she meant. “It’s private, Mads.”

“Even from me?” Maddie sounded hurt. Buck hated himself just a little but he was taking to heart the things Lisa told him; he and Eddie were the only ones with the right to tell people that they were in a relationship, nobody else could decide for them.

Reaching out, he touched the screen, wishing he could hold her hand. “It’s not what you think, I promise you that. When I’m ready to tell you, I will.”

There was a long pause, but Maddie shut off the call and she didn’t look annoyed. “Okay. I am here if you need me.”

“I know,” Buck said. He missed his sister terribly, but was determined to make Chim leave before he met her himself. . “I wish I could convince Chim to come home.”

Maddie’s face shifted. She looked sad and Buck wished he could change that too. “I’m just as scared as he is. I shouldn’t be doing this alone.”

“Want me to kick his ass?”

Shaking her head, Maddie at least let out a little laugh, so Buck counted it as a win. “No.”

“Maybe this,” Buck said, waving a hand behind him to encompass everything that had happened. “Will shake him up. He hasn’t come home yet.”

“He hasn’t?” Maddie frowned. “Didn’t he finish work with you?”

“I think Hen took him out,” Buck said. “Maybe she’s doing the yelling for you.”

There was the trace of a smile on her face. “I just want him want this as much as I do.”

“Hey,”Buck said, leaning forward. “If there’s one thing I do know about Chim right now, it’s that he’s desperate to be a dad with you, Mads. He’s been going through all my parenting books while we’ve been in lockdown.”

Maddie paused. “Why do you have parenting books?”

“For Chris,” Buck said, rolling his eyes. “Stop it. They were so i could help Eddie.”

“Oh,” Maddie said, and there was the sister he knew and loved so much. “If it’s for Eddie.”

“I’m going now,” Buck said, waving a hand. “Go do whatever it is you and Albert do.”

Maddie laughed and cut off the call.

___________________

“It’s my therapist,” Buck said.

Eddie looked up from cooking dinner. “What?”

“The person I’m calling.”

Eddie didn’t say anything for a long time. Buck worried it was because he was mad, but realised he was just turning off the burner. “Come here.”

Buck went, standing awkwardly next to Eddie, until Eddie reached up, wrapping his arms around Buck’s shoulders. Like a string had been cut, Buck fell against him, sorry when Eddie had to adjust his stance or send them toppling. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“You didn’t have to,” Eddie assured him, ghosting a kiss across his head. “I’m proud of you.”

“For seeing a therapist?” Buck scoffed.

Eddie pulled back, touching a hand to Buck’s face. “For telling me. I know it’s not an easy thing to do.”

Buck’s breathing was shaky, he could hear it, and he wanted to look anywhere but at Eddie’s face, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. “I wanted to make everything less messed up.”

“You’re not messed up,” Eddie snapped, then sighed. “I’m sorry. You might feel that way, but I don’t see messed up.”

“What do you see?”

“I see the man I love hurting and struggling.”

The words came out so easily that Buck was almost physically struck by them. “Eddie.”

“I love you,” Eddie said quietly. Buck knew what a gift it was to be loved by someone like Eddie. “I’m behind you no matter what.”

“I know,” Buck said, just as quiet. “I love you too. I just needed—quarantine got to me and I know it did to you—”

“You’re allowed to feel things too. It’s not a competition.”

Buck shrugged. “I know you had Chris.”

“And you had Maddie and me.”

“You were there.”

Eddie nodded, but made a face. “Not in the way we both wanted. It killed me not to be able to touch you or hold you in the way I’m used to.”

“Same.” Buck leaned in, pressed a soft kiss to Eddie’s mouth. “We’re together now.”

“Yeah, we are,” Eddie said, the smile on his face as brilliant as Buck felt. “Come on. Dinner’ll be ready soon and then you can challenge Chris to a lego battle.”

Buck snorted. “I’ll lose. I always do.”

“The joy of being a father,” Eddie said.

Again, Buck was struck by the words, and thought of Maddie. “I am, huh?”

Turning back to the stove, Eddie looked over his shoulder. “You will be.”

It sounded like a hell of a promise.

The next time Buck spoke to Lisa, he was sure he would have those five things she wanted. But if he didn’t, he could talk about Eddie. About Chris, his family, the future. He had something to look forward to and that made everything look brighter.

[emilycollins00]

A3 Actors! Knight in shining armour

Type: Oneshot

Pairing: Omi Fushimi x Reader

Themes: Love-longing / Subtle / Bitter / Hope

“Nah, it can't be”

“I swear on my life”

“No way!”

“I'm telling you Kazunari, it's like that every time” 

The summer member laughed at the seriousness of your voice, leaning back on the couch of the dorm. Frowning at the lack of support you weren’t expecting, you opened your mouth when the bell from the entrance rang, the strong voice of the main cook of Mankai annunciating his arrival. 

Seeing this as an oportunity, you raised an eyebrow at the blond “Watch” 

Turning both of your heads towards the kitchen, you saw Omi entering with hands full of shopping bags. 

“Welcome back, Omimi!” 

“Hey, Omi” 

“I’m back. Oh, Y/N” he smiled as he left the food on the table “Didn’t know you were coming today. I decided to go buy some things on sale and time flew by” 

You paid no mind to his apology. You had been the one to come unannounced after all “It’s fine. Hey Omi, I like you, want to go out with me?” 

“Mhm?” Omi turned to you, blinking for a few seconds before he nodded, a warm smile on his face “Well, I don’t see why not, it’s early. That new camera shop you told me last week, right? I’ll leave my things and we can go” 

As the university student left, you didn’t even bother to look at Kazunari, moving your hands tiredly as if to say ‘what did I tell you’ 

Startled, he looked at you both confused and fascinated "What the…? That was high-key so-” 

Whatever he was about to say didn’t get to leave his mouth, the loud voices of other autumn members arriving from the hall. Banri was commenting something about stances as he pointed Taichi’s script when he noticed you, glass of soda on the table next to a bag of chips. His expression changed from a focused one to entertained. 

“Ah, If it isn’t the person who doesn't live here but it’s startin’ to look like it” 

You greeted them as if you took off an imaginary hat, not bothering to bite back “Hey there Mr. Joker, Taichi” 

Banri scoffed, heading to the table to steal the food as the red-head cried indignantly “Man, why does Ban-chan always gets to be called that? Y/N, I also want a cool nickname!” 

You laughed.

“Why would you want to be even called something by them?” Banri asked, taking a few chips. Frowning, you took the bag of chips from him and pinched him in the ribs “Hey!”

"Jerk"

“You say that because you got a badass nickname!”

“Whatever. Did you finally do something about Omi-san or what”

“Come on, not you too. I was talking about the same thing with Kazunari here two seconds ago!”

You had been Omi’s classmates in the photography club since your first year of university and falling in love with him was not something you had really planned. You were supposed to be friends. Nothing in between.

Easier to say than do, considering the boy’s personality and looks. Ever since his eyes kept locking warmly with yours, taking time to visit new places for panoramic shots or having lunch together to discuss your favorite ways to take photos at dawn… You knew you had pretty much fallen for that lovable and gentle giant.

He was kind, generous and was always a huge help whenever anyone had any kind of trouble. By the time you really started trying to show your feelings, you also discovered the reason why someone like him was still single.

"Why does everyone think I'm not doing anything?” you raised your arms, groaning tired “I’ve tried everything, he’s just the thickest person I've ever seen in my entire life! It's like God put all the good things to show him off and went ‘Hah, let's see who can crack this one!’ Can you believe yesterday he…”

You kept ranting. You were the first one who didn’t know how he had gotten so much into your heart. His obliviousness drove was driving you crazy. 

By the time you finished talking, everyone in that room was speechless. Banri, Kazunari and Taichi looked at each other. 

“I’m back” Omi appeared carrying a jacket and his camera “Ah, did you guys finish practicing? We were about to go out, if you guys want to join- everything okay, Y/N?” 

Even though you were mentally facepalming, you lifted your head and nodded. Taking you bag, you waved as you headed towards the main door. Omi watched your back and started to follow you when Banri called him out. 

“Omi-san, might wanna tell your significant other about tea, they seem more on edge than usual” 

He laughed, as if Banri had said some kind of joke “They do look tired, right? Anyway, I’ll try to be back before dinner. If I'm late there’s some stew on the pot so everyone can heat some rice to go with it” 

After closing the main door. The autumn members and Kazunari stood in silence processing what had just happened again. 

                                ……………………………………

“You were right, they had so many new adaptable lenses, I think I'll come here to buy the new stuff they told us they'll receive next week” 

After visiting the camera shop- which was true you had wanted to go- you and Omi wandered around Veludo Way. 

“Do you mind if we go to the park before we leave? I like the light it has around this time” he turned to you and watched you shrug, indicating you didn't mind. 

“Sure, you’re the boss now” 

He chuckled, and your heart skipped a beat at the sound. He was so not fair.

Arriving at the park during dinner time meant the playground was mostly empty. Just a few kids playing here and there and birds chirping along in the background. The sky was turning a warm toasted orange tinted with red, with the wind howling between the branches of the trees, as if it knew that in the world there was no sweeter music than that of the sounds surrounding a sunset.

You loved sunsets.

“That’s a great smile right there” 

You rolled your eyes as you saw Omi’s camera focusing on you. You tried to look mad, but knew the smile that was on your face said otherwise “You really need to stop doing those things. I already fell for you” 

Omi laughed turning and taking some other photos around you two. You lowered your gaze to the ground.

“Omi”

“Mmm?”

“I like you”

“Uh, me too?” 

“I know. I also have an important question” 

“Sure” he put the camera in front of him, focusing on the sun hiding behind the buildings. Your eyes followed his movement longingly.

Omi was kind, compassionate, diligent. He was something brought out of a fairy tell. The knight in shining armour everyone wanted. You pursed your lips together. You loved him. 

“Y/N? Everything okay?” 

But maybe he didn’t need someone like that at the moment. 

From the corner of his eye, Omi peeked at you, putting the camera down and staring at the view in front of him. None of you spoke for a while, the only sound heard being of the birds and cars in the distance.

“You… are an amazing person, Y/N”

You tried not to let the lump on your throat be noticeable and laughed, sitting on one of the empty swings around the place “I should be the one saying that”

He shook his head “Unlike me, you are not afraid of saying what’s on your mind, and you act on it. It’s... admirable”

As you gripped the chains of the swing, you thought about the concept of knights in shining armour again. 

They looked perfect, but perhaps they were like that because little things could truly find a way through their armour, hiding a self that was vulnerable and damaged.

“Will I be a bother… if I ask you to let me stay with you?”

The smile he had a few moments ago was replaced with a sigh when he looked at you “You know, my siblings used to say I always looked like a big tree, big and dependable” he chuckled “Don’t know were they got it from but I-”

“What do you feel like?” 

Omi scratched the back of his head, thinking about it for a few seconds “Sometimes I imagine myself as a leaf leaving a tree, you know. It… falls upward first, then slowly towards the ground” 

It was as if every ounce of breath was taken from your lungs and now floated in the air “Will... that leaf ever fully fall?”

“I want to” he looked up at the horizon once again “One day”

You smiled. You didn’t mind waiting.

“One day”

__________________________________________________________

I love Omi so much, he deserves everything good. I truly hope at some point he understands that too.

Hope you liked it! Have a wonderful day 💕

[kumeko]

A/N: For the @bnha-fantasy-zine ! Is it a surprise I wrote about big three and Eri again? I think not

…

…

…

…

“HAAAAHHHHH!” Mirio yelled as he charged forward. Shield raised, he blocked an incoming attack before deftly slashing with his own sword. His opponent, a rough-looking thief, grunted as she jumped back, narrowly missing a killing blow. Not that Mirio’s sword missed by much—the cut on her arm was sure to sting.

 “I can’t find their leader!” Tamaki shapeshifted into a wolf, pouncing on the thief before she could recover. His jaws tore through her flesh, leaving a bloody wound on her shoulder. It was too much for her—the wound, the blood, the wolf, and she fainted.

 “Thanks.” Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Mirio glanced around the cave, the hideout for a gang that terrorized a local town. A huge system of tunnels and caverns, it had taken them over an hour to find this main chamber. Another twenty minutes to clear it of the thieves and rogues that called it home. Whatever ones were still alive would be taken into questioning, but considering how hard they fought, there might not be many. “I don’t see him either—they said he had a crow’s mask, right?”

“It might just be a beaked mouth, maybe he’s a shapeshifter too,” Tamaki suggested, his voice oddly gravelly. Maybe it was the wolf vocal chords. No matter how many times it happened, Mirio still couldn’t get used to hearing a human voice from an animal. “I’ll check.” Tamaki sniffed the air. “There it is!”

 Before Mirio could stop him, he bounded off down a corridor. Damn it, they weren’t supposed to separate. Mirio scanned the room: the bandits were all down, either dead or groaning with pain. None of them seemed capable of getting up, let alone fight. Satisfied, he ran after his friend. “I’m coming!”

 “Hurry up!” Tamaki howled, more wolf than man. His cry echoed through the shaft.

 That didn’t sound good. Gripping his sword tighter, Mirio sprinted down the dark tunnel. On the right wall, Tamak’s tail disappeared through a door. “Here!”

 Barely slowing down to turn, Mirio bounded into the gloomy room and slipped into a fighting stance. Just like the rest of the cavern, the lighting here was a single, flickering bar on the top. No one popped out at his entrance. “How many?”

 “One.” Tamaki ran toward a corner, where a bundle of blankets was piled up. He started nosing it. “Hiding. They smell—”

 “Smell what?” Mirio heard a hard crunch as he stepped forward. Looking down, he spotted a dirty doll. In a bandit’s hideout. Did it accidentally get mixed in with the loot? Tamaki still hadn’t responded and Mirio’s brow raised. “Tamaki? What is it?”

 “Mirio,” Tamaki replied balefully, wolf ears drooped down. He was sitting on his haunches now, his gaze fixed on the blankets. “What do we do?”

 “What do you mean?” Leaving the doll behind, he quickly trotted to his friend. They’d fought a whole gang together. Just what was left that could stump his friend? “We—”

 Catching sight of the bundle, Mirio cut himself off. Nestled in a cocoon of blankets was a little girl, fast asleep.

 -x-

 There were few things on this planet as magical as Nejire’s grove. Mirio would know—as a knight, he had travelled to lands near and far and almost nothing took his breath away as that first view as he entered her lands. Graceful willow trees and towering oaks ringed her field, a wide, open field littered with wildflowers. A dirt path led to a secret grotto, which was perhaps his second favourite place.

 It was a pity he couldn’t appreciate any of these things. Instead, most of his attention was focused on the little girl in his hands, sound asleep. In the few days he had known her, she had barely said a word, only looking at him and Tamaki with big, worried eyes. A kidnapped child? Possibly, but no villages had reported missing people or even a ransom. Most likely scenario, an orphan taken in or a child of the gang. Either way, she had to have seen terrible things, especially considering how she had trembled when he’d first held her hand.

 “We’re almost there,” Tamaki muttered, trotting nervously next to him. He’d taken on the form a giant elk, fierce horns jutting out of his skull. Only animals could find the way to Nejire’s home. “You have them, right?”

 “What?” Shaken from his thoughts, Mirio raised a brow.

��“My clothes!” Tamaki whispered nervously, his big eyes darting to and fro as though Nejire would pop out at his words. “I need to change before she spots us.”

 “Afraid to be caught buck-naked?” Grinning, he couldn’t resist the obvious pun. It was just there. And obvious. It’d take a greater man than him to ignore it. Patting the bag looped over his shoulder, he added reassuringly, “Don’t worry, I made sure to grab them.”

 Tamaki sighed in relief. “Thanks—”

  A breeze ruffled through his hair before he could add anything and Mirio could almost hear Tamaki’s groan. Within seconds Nejire appeared before them, forming out of the wind itself. She hovered over the ground, her simple white dress fluttering around her knees. At the tips of her blue hair, mini-tornadoes formed, harmless to touch. Her bright eyes were open and staring at them as she floated in the air. “Hey, you’re here!”

 Surprised, Tamaki transformed back into a human out of reflex. A burst of smoke rolled off him, hiding him from sight, but not before they both caught a glimpse of his bright red skin. With a yelp, Tamaki dived into the bushes. Nejire blinked, surprised. “Tamaki?”

 The bushes rustled and Mirio could just barely make out Tamaki’s eyes peeking out of the leaves. “My clothes.”

 “Hey, hey!” Nejire landed on the ground and crouched in front of the bushes. With a frown, she started to reach into the bushes. “I’ve seen you naked before.”

 “Accidentally!” Tamaki hissed, clarifying immediately. He swatted her hands away.

 “It was multiple times!” Nejire grumbled, rubbing her sore hand.

 “Every time was an accident!” Tamaki’s hand poked out of the bush, as red as a lobster’s. “Clothes!”

 Mirio chuckled. Well, that was to be expected as a shapeshifter. Animals didn’t really wear clothes, after all. Shrugging off his sack, he dropped it into Tamaki’s waiting hand. “Here you go.”

 “I don’t get it.” Nejire puffed her cheeks, sulking as she stepped back. “What’s the big deal?”

 “Uh…” Mirio scratched his cheek, not sure how to explain any of this. Especially to a sprite that only started wearing clothes because Tamaki was going to die of a heart attack every time they met otherwise. “Well, he’s shy?” It was partially correct, at least.

 “Sure.” Nejire clearly didn’t believe a word but she let it go. Rocking on the heels of her feet, she glanced at him. “What’s with the blankets?”

 “Right.” Mirio glanced at the bundle in his arm. He’d almost forgotten why they were here in the first place. Fortunately, Eri hadn’t woken up yet. “I need your help.”

 “My help?” Nejire clapped her hands excitedly, her powers spiking and making her float. “We haven’t gone on an adventure together in ages!”

 “Last month,” Tamaki corrected, emerging from the bushes fully dressed. “We went together last month.”

 “That was long ago!” Nejire argued, before grimacing. “Why are your clothes so bad?”

 Tamaki looked away, rubbing his arm uncomfortably. “It’s easier to slip out of them.”

 Mirio couldn’t argue about that—while everything Tamaki wore now was oversized and ill-fitted, he didn’t have to worry too much while he was shapeshifting. His pants, so loose they actually needed a belt to stay on? It’d just drop off as he transformed. An irregular tunic? Cheap material that wasn’t a loss if Tamaki tore right through them. They’d learned the hard way what happened to nice clothes the last time they attended a banquet.

 “Yeah, I get that.” Nejire rolled her eyes, leaning forward to poke at his chest. “But there’s fashionable baggy clothes.”

 An old argument. Mirio stepped between them before they got trapped in it again. “Anyways, I need your help.” He uncovered Eri’s face, showing her to Nejire. “This little girl—”

 “You’re pregnant?” Nejire shrieked, her hands pumping excitedly as her eyes darted from Eri to Mirio. “She doesn’t look like you. Is that normal?”

 “WHAT?” Mirio felt his ears burn and he was sure his skin colour was only a shade away from turning into Tamaki’s at this point. “I’m not…t-this isn’t…”

 “People don’t work like that.” Tamaki’s lips twitched, clearly suppressing his own laughter.

 “Yeah!” Mirio shook his head furiously. “Also, she’s three. That’s not what a human baby looks like.”

 “Oh.” Nejire’s shoulders slumped, disappointed. “I see.” After a second, she perked up again. “You got someone else pregnant!”

 “No, we were catching a gang of thieves and found her at the hideout!” Mirio clarified quickly, before the misunderstanding could get any worse. He knew nymphs and other magical creatures had different norms, but even this? Seriously? If his skin got any redder, any hotter, he could cook an egg on it.

 “You got a gang member pregnant?” Nejire looked at him pityingly. “Mirio…that’s a tragic romance.”

 Mirio hit his head against a tree.

 -x-

“We’re almost there,” Nejire chirped cheerfully, skipping ahead of them on the forest path. “But do we really need to talk here? What’s left to even discuss?”

 “Something important.” Mirio glanced down at the little girl clutching him tightly, as though she would get snatched away the second he let go. Her tiny hand wrapped around his finger. He’d never realized just how small she was until now. Even during the ride to Nejire’s place, he’d been more wrapped in on what he had to do. “I think the gang might try to take her back and we need to talk somewhere safe.”

 “Safe, huh.” Nejire grinned, turning around walking backwards. She rubbed her nose, proudly puffing her chest. “Hey, hey, nowhere is safer than my field.”

 “Yep.” Tamaki pulled his hood tighter over his head. Ahead of them, the forest path ended, opening up to a field of wildflowers. “I can wait here.”

 Eri glanced at him nervously, her lips curving down. As her wide, worried eyes bored into him, Tamaki looked away. “…I’ll stay.”

 “Hey, hey.” Nejire pointed at herself, feeling a little left out. “I’m a good person too.”

 Eri shuffled to her left until she was partially hidden behind Mirio’s legs. Her head peeked out as she studied Nejire. She’d been like this ever since she woke up in the middle of their reproductive argument. Which, in hindsight, was hopefully something she didn’t hear any part of. Not recognizing any of their surroundings or Nejire, she’d hid behind Mirio until he managed to coax her into walking beside him.

 To be perfectly honest, Nejire wasn’t really what you’d call a normal person, so Mirio could understand her fear. Crouching down, Mirio patted Eri’s head gently. “She’s a good friend.”

 “Your friend?” Eri whispered, her voice cracking from disuse. Her body pressed against his as she took in Nejire.

 “Really,” Mirio confirmed, straightening up. He held out his hand for Eri to grab. “I know you’ll like her.”

 Doubtful, Eri grabbed his finger again. Well, it wasn’t much, but it was a start. Though, clearly Nejire didn’t see it that way, with the way she dejectedly continued to lead the way. As they entered the clearing, she half-hearted gestured at the expanse. “Welcome.”

 “Wow!” Eri gaped as they entered the field of wildflowers and Mirio felt his own jaw drop. It was even prettier than last year. While the forest surrounded it, the field was filled with only flowers, more colourful than a rainbow. Her head turned this way and that. “Pretty.”

 “Very pretty,” Mirio agreed, crouching next to her. He broke off a pink flower and tucked behind her ear. “And now you’re pretty.”

 Eri’s chubby fingers touched flower tentatively before she broke into a shy smile. Glancing at Nejire, she leaned forward and whispered into Mirio’s ear, “She looks like a princess.”

 “Oh.” Mirio felt a wave of relief at that—so she wasn’t really scared of Nejire. Just nervous. Just shy. Nodding, he whispered back, “You should give her a flower, she’d like that.”

 Eri’s eyes widened. Her fingers nervously twisted her shirt as she glanced at him, and then at Nejire, before finally shaking her head and hiding behind him. Mirio laughed, maybe it was a little too fast for that then.

 “Mirio.” Tamaki tapped his forehead, worry colouring his voice. “We have to ask.”

 Mirio glanced at him, then at Eri. The reason they were here. A part of him was scared to ask, because he knew that once he asked, he couldn’t unask. Couldn’t unhear. Still, if he was scared, how much more scared was Eri? Putting on a brave smile, he asked, “Hey, Eri, could you show Nejire your forehead?”

 Eri pulled back and blinked. Her head cocked to the side, not comprehending.

 Nejire had an identical expression, confused. “What are you talking about?”

 “Eri has this little bump on her forehead.” Mirio gently coaxed Eri to stand in beside him, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Slowly, he pulled the hair away from her forehead, exposing the growth to the sunlight. Her little body trembled but she didn’t pull away.

 “There’s something magical about it.” Tamaki rubbed his shoulder, averting his gaze when Nejire turned to him. “I can smell it…it’s strong.”

 “Strong, huh?” Nejire crouched in front of Eri. Her hand on her knees, she peered up at the girl. “Is it okay if I touch it?”

 “Y-yes.” Eri swallowed, nodding her head slowly. Her big eyes followed Nejire’s hand as she reached up to touch it. At contact, she winced and squeezed her eyes shut. When nothing happened, she timidly opened her eyes once more.

 “Huh.” Nejire’s smile stayed on, but her tone dropped a notch, more serious than silly for once. Her eyes narrowed. “I can feel it.” She pulled her hand away suddenly, staring at it. “Interesting.”

 “Interesting?” Mirio wasn’t sure if that was good or not.

 “It’s…an erasing magic? Something like that.” Nejire tapped the horn again before sitting back on her haunches. Pulling a lock of hair, she drew it forward for him to inspect. “See?”

 “See what—” Mirio’s jaw dropped as he realized that Nejire’s hair actually looked like hair for once. No tornado curls, no bits and pieces disappearing and reappearing. Just human-like hair, to match a very human-like girl. All of Nejire looked human-like for once, even her usually sparkling eyes seemed dimmed. “Are you okay?”

 “I’m fine, I’m fine.” Nejire waved away his concern. “It’ll come back.” When Eri’s face fell, Nejire added, “Don’t worry, your magic isn’t that powerful yet.”

 “Magic?” Tamaki winced, pursing his lips together. “Then…a witch’s coven…”

 “That’d probably be the best place to take her. They can help her control it.” Nejire stood up straight now, stretching her arms above her. “But enough of that gloomy talk!” Tapping the side of her head, she grinned. “Hey, that flower looks really pretty on you.”

 Flustered, Eri brushed her fingers against the flower. A shy smile bloomed on her face. “T-thank you.”

 “And you’re all staying here tonight.” Nejire rested her hand on her hips, gazing determinedly at the forest. There was an almost predatory gleam in her eyes. “I’ll get food. Berries and meat, right? That’s what people eat?”

 “How do you not know that?” Tamaki muttered, staring at her in disbelief. “You’ve seen us eat.”

 “Yeah, but I haven’t seen little yous eat.” Nejire replied matter-of-factly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. After all that they’d discussed today, Mirio wasn’t sure what was common sense anymore.

 “That’s not what a…” Tamaki rubbed his forehead, a headache forming. Giving up, his shoulders slumped. “Fine, whatever.”

 Mirio chuckled. Nejire was a force of nature, it was almost impossible to argue with her. Even harder to win an argument against her. Feeling a tug on his shirt, he glanced down to find a bright blue flower. Eri held it out to him. At his stare, she mumbled, “So y-you’re pretty too.”

 His eyes widened, for once not sure what to say, how to look. When she shifted nervously, Mirio caught himself and curled his hand delicately around the bloom. “Thanks.” There was a burning sensation in his throat, his eyes watery, but he pushed it away. “It’s beautiful.”

 Eri’s expression brightened and she turned to the other two. Feeling a little more courageous, she took a step toward them. “For…you two.” She held out a hand, two flowers resting in her sweaty palm. “So you’re pretty,” she added, anxiously.

 Her other hand clutched the hem of Mirio’s shirt and he wiped his eyes before they got anymore watery at the sight of a tiny, brave girl.

 Nejire had no such complications. The second she spotted the flowers, her eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “Awww,” she cooed, taking a pink flower. She tucked it behind her ear immediately. “What do you think?”

 Tamaki picked the other one, an orange blossom. “It smells nice.”

 “…you look like a princess,” Eri mumbled, shyly looking down at her toes.

 Speechless, Nejire’s jaw dropped. Her arms flung around Eri’s, giving her a tight hug. “We’re keeping her.”

 “What?” Tamaki stopped sniffing his flower. “We can’t do that.”

 “Why not?” Nejire pulled back, gazing at Eri. “You want to stay with me too, right?”

 “Huh?” Eri’s eyes widened, the thought never crossing her mind before this. “I can?”

 “I see. I have to win you over.” Letting go, Nejire pulled back. She squinted, scrutinizing Eri. “You’re hungry, right?” Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and sprinted to the forest. “Hey, hey, you’ll have the best meal ever.”

 “What in the—” Tamaki sighed, his shoulders slumping. He glanced at Mirio. “We have to stop her.”

 “Yeah.” Mirio twirled the blue flower in his finger before tucking it behind his ear. “Yeah, of course.”

 Yet Eri’s hand was still holding his shirt and he wasn’t sure if he could tell her to let go. He wasn’t sure if he could let go himself. He was a knight. Nejire was a nymph. Tamaki, a shapeshifter. If the three of them couldn’t protect a little girl, who could? Maybe, just maybe, it’d be better if they all stayed together.

 “She’s so fast!” Eri chirped, looking up at him with a wide, bright smile. For once, she looked like an ordinary kid, open and eager to explore. Entirely unlike the child he’d found in the bandit hideout, shaking and terrified. 

 Maybe Tamaki was right, maybe they couldn’t keep her here. None of them had any skills with raising a child. Yet, for that smile, he wanted to try. Nejire could teach her magic and he could teach her everything else and maybe, just maybe, Eri could know a little about what an ordinary life was like.

[carbrakes-and-stakes]

Two brains are better than one | Morgan & Alain

Morgan insisted on going to the butcher herself sometimes. The stores of brains at home were plentiful enough, Morgan couldn’t remember a time when there hadn’t been a few specimens in the shed out back. But since accidentally having a taste of what, as Deirdre gently reminded her, she was meant to feast on, she found herself speeding up the time between meals, hoping that if she stuffed herself with enough squirrels and deer and racoons she might forget that people taste like a three course dinner meal at midnight. That angst didn’t even take into account that she was trying to space out her feedings a little more so she wouldn’t be caught with puny, mortal strength with a hunter again. The whole situation was a mess. But, as a reasonable, grown-ass zombie girl who was definitely not resenting the blandness of squirrel brain, she could go to the butcher and top herself off easy. She rocked on her feet in line, her number pinched between her fingers as she waited.

Sometimes she liked to wonder how many of the customers were like her. A woman had just left with a hefty tub of pig’s blood. And the man at the counter now was asking for brains too. Morgan watched him take his number and mosey to where she waited, comfortable as anything, if not a little tired in his bones. Had he been dead for long? Was it a new death weight, or something much older? Morgan smiled at him. “Don’t see  a lot of people asking for brains around these parts,” she said. “You cook like that a lot?”

Alain did not use to have a thing for cooking offals, but as years passed and he became more sensitized to the consequences of the meat industry, but could not bring himself to give up on eating meat, he had decided that he would start using parts who were usually doomed to end up to the trash, and to turn them into savoury dishes. Veal liver was one of his favorites, but sheep brain was a close second, and exactly why he had pushed the butcher’s door today. Fidgeting idly with his fingers, he waited for his turn, not paying too much attention to his surroundings but rather thinking of who had died instead of him. He had managed to convince himself that it was just an elder who was passing by the shop as Regan screamed, but not knowing for sure was far from pleasant.

He picked up the number given to him and moved to the side to wait. He eyed at the woman smiling at him and refrained a frown. Instead he raised an eyebrow, and scoffed in surprise as she started to talk about his order. Well, it was nice to see that he was not the only one who had taken in interest for pieces that most people would have deemed disgusting. “Oh. Ahem,” he cleared his throat. Well if this did not make it obvious that he was not  good at small talk, what would ? “I do, actually, what about you? I’m planning to make Pad thai with it,” he explained, uncrossing his arms and relaxing a bit in his stance. Talking about cooking was a nice way to start a conversation with him for sure.

Morgan was warmed by the man’s awkwardness more than anything else. Maybe if they had a secret sense, like the fae did, it might all be easier. Here there was no instant safety and, heck, for all she knew, there were hunters trolling the parking lot or working in the shop. It was only paranoia if she was wrong, right? She let out a breath, remembering that this was not the time to let her body return to its natural resting state of death, and smiled again. “Pad Thai?” She asked. “That sounds way more appetizing than the casserole I have planned. I’m uh, still kinda new to cooking this way. But you—“ she couldn’t get a sense of him beyond that he mostly wanted to go home, and who could blame him? “You sound almost like a pro at this, yeah?”

“Southern Asian cooking is really interesting,” Alain replied as she mentioned that she had planned to make a casserole with her purchase. It was not a bad idea, but she would get tired of it, eventually. “I’ve done quite a few casserole with those,” you could tell from his tone that he was not exactly thrilled about these anymore. “I would not say I’m a pro, although I did place second in the pie contest,” he scratched at his cheek and shrugged. He had not expected a win, considering his pie was possibly the most simple in the contest but he’d been glad to see that taste mattered more than aspect to the judges. “Anyway, I feel like cooking is about being able to turn something no one likes, into something great that people will want to eat no matter the ingredients.” Calf sweetbread was another one of his favourites, and it made him wonder if brains could be nice in a vol-au-vent. “I think you should try making Vol-au-vent with those. That might work  well,” he assured her, a bit too enthusiastic perhaps, than one should be about brains.

So brain casserole wasn’t a thrilling time for other zombies too, not just her. Morgan smirked at his knowing tone. It was kind of a shame. Nothing was more of a staple from her childhood suburbias like a baked casserole. She should have made more when she was alive. Now that brains were the only worthwhile food, all she could see them as were wasted tubs of mush. “Wait, you won the pie contest?” She asked, a little heartened that at least it was someone who had a hard time tasting. “With what? Don’t tell me a brain pie. Did you at least get a fun prize?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about his philosophy. She liked working with things she knew people would like, especially when she could taste so little of it herself. If she managed to taste anything that wasn’t brains or ‘why yes, my tastebuds can still catch fire,’ it was the kind of ghostly whiff of flavor she was used to getting at the bottom of a seltzer can, which was, more or less, nothing. “Okay, prize winner guy,” she said. “Tell me what a--” she hesitated, certain she was going to butcher the syllables, they were already turning fuzzy in her head. “Vole-a-vent? Is? And I’ll give it a try. Soon, even, with this order.”

“I’m pretty sure a brain pie would have earned me a place in the flop 3,” his shoulders jolted up as he held back his laughter. If Alain could avoid having the whole butcher shop look at him, he would avoid it. “I made a tatin pie. Apples, sugar and butter. I used to have that all the time when I was a kid,” he scratched at the stubble on his cheek and shook his head at her next question. Nope, a karkinoid was not really the kind of prize he wanted to win in a contest, but the certificate was nice. “A goddamn lobster. Not a big fan of seafood, unfortunately,” he gave her a shrug and let his eyes wander toward someone who was picking up bones for his dogs. Heh, now he remembered what he had forgotten to ask the butcher for. “Mmh?” He held up his finger and repeated slowly “Vole o vent. It means flies in the wind, in French. It sounds fancier than it is. It’s puffed pastry and a creamy sauce with sweetbread. I think you can replace this with brains and perhaps, to really enhance the taste of brains, you could mix some directly into the sauce,” his brows furrowed. This should work. It probably would make one hell of a recipe for people like them who enjoyed those parts the rest of people sulked at.

Morgan took out her phone and started taking notes on her phone. It sounded decadent. The texture of the pastry would at least shake things up, and a sauce--she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had anything for herself that came with a sauce. As she took it all down, she felt an odd twist of guilt, it was a lot of trouble for something she had to eat by herself. Maybe she could share it with Remmy if they would ever talk to her again, but that was a fat chance. She smiled kindly at the French zombie all the same. “It sounds like you’ve really got your stuff together,” she said. “Um, can I---” She hesitated and searched the shop. No one around screamed hunter, at least. “I just kinda wonder, don’t you ever find it hard? Getting up every day with your real life behind you, trying to figure out how to put all the days in front of you into some kind of sense. Even if it’s longer than what you had before it’s not the same. And you can’t really explain it to most people, because they’ll never understand what it’s like to be like you in the first place. Uuh...it’s okay, if this is too forward. We don’t actually know each other and---” She checked the order counter. One second, three seconds, five-- “Yep! That’s my number, so, we can be good, really.”

“Wow, this got quite existencial really fast,” scoffing to himself, he brushed his laughter hand with a motion of the hand, making it clear that he was not making fun of her at all, but rather surprised by this turn of event. “But to answer to your question, I make do. Besides, you never know what tomorrow might be made of,” he shrugged. Part of what she said made him raise his eyebrows. Could it be possible… that she heard about the banshee scream? It was true that he had more time left than a week ago… technically. “How did you…” he shook his head. Nevermind how she knew. “You’ll send me pictures of your vol-au-vent ? If you need tips, I can send you a copy of my recipe notebook,” he offered. She went to pick up her order and he nodded politely at her. Alain, who had never been one for small talk, had started chatting more easily with others recently. Maybe being happier had helped him open up to people. Either way, it was nice and he couldn’t recall the last time he felt as if things were nice. “It was lovely talking to you.”

“Sorry, just been thinking too much to myself probably,” Morgan said lightly. She hadn’t realized that he didn’t put together the connection between them and it was far too awkward, too public to say, oh, I’m a month and change on the other side of death, how about you? But she gave him a warm look and hefted her brain supply for good measure before tucking it into her woven grocery bag. “Oh, you know, lucky guess,“ she said. “I can be too forward sometimes, I know. But we can chit chat on main, like normal people, if you want. Even without the existential angst! I’m Morgan. And you are—?”

“Who doesn’t,” Alain brushed it off, and glanced away from her, looking up at the order counter. It would not be long for him either, now. The piece of paper with the number on was now all crumpled from him fidgeting with it. He took his eyes back to her and watched her pack her purchases. “No harm done. I tend to be the exact opposite of that, so that’s a nice balance,” he almost smiled. Still there was kindness in his eyes as he nodded in agreement. “Let’s. Be normal people with the right amount of existential angst only,” his lips pursed before he replied. “I’m Alain.”

[black-dragon1998]

Lost in another world part 3

thanks in advance for reading this. English is not my native language, so sorry for any mistakes you read.

part 3/3

part 1 part 2

The signal had been sent and the only thing you could do now was, wait. You did have to hand it to Stark he had good tech, not as good as the enhanced tech you and your mother had been able to develop with the knowledge you gathered from the fortress of solitude.

“So that’s it?” Tony had stayed by your side to see that you didn’t mess up his computers and was barely able to follow how you worked to access his satellite.

“yes, it’s that simple. I have a tracker in my suit that automatically sends a signal to my family every 10 minutes, the only thing I had to do was amplify the signal, coming from my suit so it would breach this space and time barrier.” You explained to him without looking at him. It really started to work on your nerves how much he doubted everything you did or said.

“Tony leave the girl alone.” Natasha said the moment she stepped into the lab. You quite liked her, she kind of reminded you of your aunt and it was a grounding feeling admits this chaos. This time you turned around in your chair and smiled at the woman.

“(Y/N), the others and I were going to start a little training session and were wondering if you liked to train with us for a bit?” at hearing this you jumped out of your chair. You had a lot of cooked up energy and were ready to blow off some steam.

 In the training room you saw that the rest of the Avengers had already suited up. “well if everybody is going to be in their suit, I might as well change too.” With that, you turned the watch you have on. Your suit manifested over your normal clothes and sealed itself around your faces. Like your mother, it bore the family symbol, but instead of a skirt, your suit was in one peace. Tapping the side of your head your mask disappeared and retraced itself into your suit. After that, you look at the team and smile.

 “so, who is first?” you say with a cocky smile.

“I will go first. Let’s see if you really can back up your talk.” Tony says while calling on his iron suit. you circled one another for a couple of seconds. You don’t know his fighting style, so you wait for him to make the first move. After a while, it seems like he was losing patience and charge at you with his suit hand raced ready to strike you in the chest. as he came close you saw the palm of his hand light up and it seemed like a powerful blast would come from it.

You just stood there and waited for him to strike. Just like you expected a blast did come out of his hand and you met it with your heat vision. It seemed like it was going back and forth with the blast for a while but as you grew tired of it you just intensified the blast. In no time your heat vision overpowered his blast and broke his metal arm.

“next.” Tony looked at you dumbfounded but didn’t say anything and stepped back. It were Steve and Bucky who stepped forward now.

 “let's see what you can do against the two of us.” Bucky said as he smashed his hands together. Steve in the meantime readied his shield. You could see that they were used to working together and moved like a well-oiled machine.

The stance they took looked like they were trained soldiers, and very used to fighting with one another. This could be fun, the only ones you were able to fight at the DEO were your mother and aunt. And both insisted it has to be under the effects of a red sunlamp. So, seeing how you would do at full force was kind of exciting.

You stood your ground when they advanced on you, ready to react when it was necessary. Unlike with Tony, this two immediately advanced on you so you, you took on a battle stance.

 A blue portal opened in the room you and the Avengers were training, you immediately recognized it for what it was and reassured them it wouldn’t harm them. “relax it’s not going to hurt you.” You say calmly.

“(Y/N) Astra Kieran Luthor Danvers Zor-EL!” at hearing your full name being yelled like that your calm demeanour was fast replaced as you turned to the team.

“about that not getting hurt, whatever you do don’t look her in the eyes and don’t interrupt her for anything, that only will make it worse.” You say in a hushed voice, afraid she might hear you. The Avengers looked confused at your reaction.

“(Y/N), who is that person?” Natasha asked. You took a big gulp before answering.

“my mother.” With that, a familiar blond stepped out of the portal. For a moment you forgot your fear and rushed to her to hug her.

“Jeju! I’m so glad to see you. I thought my signal hadn’t gotten true.” You confess burying your face in her shoulder. Kara immediately embraced you.

“I’m so glad to see you unharmed little one.” Your mother said holding you tighter. You stood there for a while holding each other tight.

“what are my chances, life in prison, death sentence.” You asked looking up at Kara while resting your head on her shoulder. You felled her body shake, for her trying to contain her laughter.

“that flair for the dramatic you so have from your mother.” She stated. Before you could respond Tony stepped forward.

“this the woman we shouldn’t make eye contact with?” he asked looking Kara up and down. “She doesn’t look all that intimidating.” He said with a raised eyebrow. this time Kara couldn’t hold in her laughter.

“Sorry sir, but I don’t think she is talking about me.” Kara said in all honesty. This made all of them confused.

“aren’t you’re her mother?” Wanda asked.

“yes, but not the one she is trying to avoid.” You had tried to sneak behind a couple of the Avengers, but she caught you red-handed. You stood up straight and gave her an innocent smile.

 “Kara! Where is she? She better be alright, because otherwise a whole lot of people are going to be sorry.” The voice of your other mother cutting the air like a knife made you try to hide behind Kara this time. You actually saw a couple of the Avengers take a few steps back, smart men.

“she is alright love, she is the one who sent us the signal,” Kara said while grabbing your shoulder and dragging you in front of her, so you were in full view of your mothers lasering eyes. You didn’t dare to meet her gaze as she stepped closer.

“Hey, mum.” You say shyly. Like with Kara you were pulled into another bone-crushing hug. This was the moment it hit you how much you had missed your parents.

“are you sure you’re alright? No scratches, no bruises?” she asked looking you over.

“no mum, I’m alright.” You say a little embraced. Your family reunion was disturbed by a very confused billionaire.

“hold on for a moment, so you are both her parents?” Lena stood in front of you and Kara, feeling this was a discussion that would require her CEO skills instead of Supergirl skills.

“yes (Y/N) is ore biological daughter, problems.” Lena glares at Tony with, which makes him gulp. Maybe you were right to tell to not make eye contact with her.

“Sweetheart, take it easy,” Kara whispered into her wife’s ear while pulling her against her.

“We don’t know who these people are and (Y/N) seems pretty comfortable around them,” Kara said, trying to reassure her wife.

“Stop saying me to calm down!” Your mother almost yelled stepping away from Kara. “I have been unaware of my daughter's whereabouts for 72 hours and I’m in no mood to calm down.” Lena raged. Kara raised her hands figuring she wasn’t going to win this fight.

Sensing it might be best for you to step in you hugged her again. “I’m okay mom.” You tell her again. like you hoped she hugged you back and held for a couple of seconds.

“feeling better?” you ask when you pull back. Lena can smile again, so you knew it would be alright again.

“now that I know you are safe, yes.” She says. “I like you to meet my new friends.” You say turning to the Avengers.

“mom, Jeju I like you to meet the Avengers. They are like the Justice League,” you beam as introduce them. “the one in the iron suit is Tony Stark, he is like ore batman. The one with the shield is Steve, he reminds me of uncle Clark. The man next to Steve is Bucky, his best friend. The woman with the red hair is Natasha, she is an actual assassin. Next to her is Clint her partner. The girl in the red outfit is Wanda, she has these crazy cool powers and finally next to her is Vision. Vision is an android.” You were rambling of these facts in your excitement, this made your mother smile. This was definitely a trade you had from Kara.

 Kara stepped forward stretching out her hand toward Steve. “I like to thank you for taking care of our daughter. It really means a lot to us someone was there to take care of her while we couldn’t.” “not a problem Kara. She is a sweet kid.” Steve answered while they looked at you, saying goodbye to everybody. “she can be a hand full, but she has a big heart.” Kara couldn’t help but smile.

 “bye, everybody.” You jell behind you before stepping to the portal that would take you back home. Seems your moms had opened one up in the Livingroom of your house. When the portal closed behind you three, Lena turned to you with a stoic face.

 “alright hand it over!” without protest, you dug the portal device out of your pockets and handed it to her. Hoping that would be it, you started to turn away.

“and the watch.” She did raise her voice when she said this, but you knew not to argue you had seen this coming. “you are grounded and released from superhero duties for three months.” Lena simply stated. You could help the pout ore the whine. “moooom.” “We could always make it four.” She answered raising an eyebrow. You quickly shut up, with Lena Luthor those were no empty threats. Instead, you turned to Kara. “sorry ukiem, I’m with your mother on this one.”

“I’m sorry, I know I scared you guy’s.” both your mother's eyes softened as they kissed you.

“We know you are.” Lena said into your hair. “the grounding still stands.”

want to support me Buy me a Ko-fi

[diredigression]

Abernathy Farm

The next installment in Sole’s post-frozen-dinner adventures!

You may notice I’ve changed tense and also some other dialectical details to better match the voice in Sole’s head. I'm also attempting to write Sole with PTSD, but I don't have actual experience with it so CC welcome!

CW: some violence, some PTSD

————————————————

The next day, all sign of the barely-sentient body that she had spoonfed for days is gone. Mr.. Garvey is once again the confident, in-charge Minuteman she met in Concord. “Sturges, great job on the construction! This place is practically draft-proof. And you’ve even got gardens and a water supply? Always knew I could count on you.”

Mr. Sturges hides a slight blush under a wide grin. “This place is really coming together, huh? I can’t take all the credit, though. Sole and Codsworth have really put the interior and garden together, not to mention taking over all the cooking duties!”

Mr. Garvey turns to her. “Thank you, Sole. I can’t say how lucky we are to have you with us.”

She smiles and bows her head delicately at the acknowledgment. “Just doing my part, Mr. Garvey. But, if I may, why did you call me Sole?”

He laughs, a belly-deep sound of delight. She recognizes this, logically, though her brain doesn’t connect with an echoing joy. “No need for ‘Mister Garvey’ here. Hell, you just saved us from a deathclaw and fed me for days. I think that puts us on first-name basis.” His tone suddenly switches to somber and hesitant. “He called you ‘Sole’ because that’s all you gave us instead of a name…You just said ‘I’m the sole survivor.’ What is your name? …Do you know it?”

I’m the sole survivor. She distantly feels a pressure in her chest, like the unease of far-off thunder. Name. She has a name, right? She fights to bring her mind back to the present question, racking her memories, but all she can reliably bring up is the past few days of work. And flashes of scenes, more feeling than picture. The desolation of her first view of the waste, from the top of the vault. The clinical unfamiliarity of the vault suit she still wears.

The vault of death.

Invisible chains suddenly bind her chest and she finds herself collapsing to the ground. Both men rush to her side, but her arm flails to swat them away as she buries her face in her knees and curls around herself as tightly as she can. She freezes there, unaware of the men watching or the passage of time, until the panic finally begins to ease its grip.

She raises her head, muscles still tense, and finds herself looking into the two men’s concerned faces.

“Sole? You okay?”

Her eyes drop. She breathes. Out, in. Out, in. Until she knows her panic is locked away again.

Then she plasters a carefree smile on her face and begins struggling to push herself upright. Mr. Garvey offers a hand, which she accepts.

“I’m so sorry about that, I’m perfectly alright. Just a little lightheaded. Yes, please, just call me Sole. I’m afraid I’ll need to rest for some time, but I’ll see you gentlemen for dinner, yes?”

The concern stiffens on Mr. Sturges’ face and deepens on Mr. Garvey’s. The two men look at each other.

“Very well,” says Mr. Garvey. “Sleep well, Sole.

———

After breakfast the next morning, Mr. Garvey begins filling a pair of packs. Mr. Sturges raises an eyebrow.

“Where we headed?”

Mr. Garvey frowns at the small pile of goods in front of him. “I think I heard of a settlement just west of us. We’ve made a really good start here, but we’re running out of supplies. I figure we go see if they have anything they can spare.”

Mr. Sturges nods. “I could use some materials for crafting too.”

Sole listens to their conversation from the kitchen, where she washes breakfast dishes in a bucket of water. More survivors nearby?

“Hey Sole, you met the neighbors yet?”

She starts. “Nossir, I haven’t.”

“Wanna join the welcome party?”

“I’ll come along if you’d like.”

“It’s a party then!”

Sole helps pack some food for the trip. Pretty soon they’re ready to go. As they pull on their packs, a round silver robot floats into the room.

“Mum? May I have a moment?”

“Of course, Codsworth. What is it?”

The robot lifts two of his long, jointed arms towards her. In the end clamps is held a silver softball bat. It’s clean and shiny, but scratched, and the Red Rockettes logo is still faintly visible. The handle is wrapped in athletic tape that has greyed and lost its stickiness, beginning to unravel.

“Oh, Codsworth! My bat, you kept it ready for me!”

“Of course, mum, I know how important your softball is to you. I’d hoped you’d have a chance to use it again.”

She takes the bat and automatically shifts into a casual batting stance. The weight of the aluminum is familiar in her hands, and a smile appears on her face as she takes a careful practice swing.

“Nice swatter you’ve got!” says Mr. Garvey. “That’ll be a good weapon for you, since you didn’t seem too comfortable with guns.”

Her joy turns to disgust and she clutches the bat to her chest, forgetting her manners. “What?! No, this is for softball! This isn’t a weapon!”

“Haha, what? I don’t know what vault you came from, but no one’s played softball or baseball in two hundred years. Surprised they didn’t mention it. Weapon’s all it’s good for now. I bet Sturges could mod it for you to make it more effective.”

There’s a lot to unpack in his statement, but Sole chooses to focus on the simplest part. The rest gets locked away. The rest, for now, doesn’t exist. “No, Mr. Sturges is not touching my bat. Codsworth, thank you, now please take this back and keep it safe for me for now.”

“Yes, mum.”

Mr. Garvey frowns. The bat safely out of harm’s reach again, Sole has lost her bravery and feels a familiar fear and shame begin to knot in her stomach at the sight. Dammit, she’s spoken out too bluntly. She’s hesitant and worried now. “What is it, Mr. Garvey?”

“…It’s just Preston, and I just want you to have a weapon. You need to be able to defend yourself. You know that, right?”

She does not, and she doesn’t know how to respond either. She folds her hands together in front of her and looks at the floor.

“Okay…do you know how to fight with a knife?” A head shake no. “A 10 mil?” No. “…knuckles? Can you punch?” No.

He sighs. “Even Diamond City residents are better prepared than this. Okay. Do you think you could swing a crowbar?”

She has nothing else to do, so she nods.

“Good. Sturges should have one lying around, and I’ve got some spare armor we can at least put you in. I’m not letting you go around unprotected.”

She allows herself to be dressed in the bulky leather armor. Soon she’s following Mr. Garvey out of Sanctuary, the heavy crowbar hanging awkwardly from her hand.

—————

Sole is harvesting melons, young miss Lucy Abernathy’s request in exchange for a few stims and some other supplies Mr. Garvey had requested, when she overhears him and the family patriarch talking in low tones.

“Most of them died. They gave their lives to protect the Commonwealth. It’s just me now.”

“That’s a damn shame. Those were brave men and women. If y’all had been here when those raiders hit, my daughter Mary might still be alive. Then again…feels like we’ve been on our own for a long time anyway.”

“Damn…I’m sorry to hear that. I wish we could’ve helped. You have my condolences. Is there anything we could do to help now?”

Mr. Abernathy had been despondent, hanging in the air as if the only thing keeping him upright was an invisible string at the nape of his neck. At first he just shrugs, head drooping and swaying gently. Then he pauses, then straightens slightly.

“I don’t have much to offer, but…Those raiders that killed Mary, they took her locket, too. It’s been in Connie’s family for generations. If you could get it back…it’d mean a lot to us.”

Mr. Garvey straightens his hat proudly. “I’d be honored to. You have my word as a Minuteman, I will do everything in my power to return that locket to you and Connie.”

Mr. Abernathy nods, a specter of a smile finally appearing on his face. You might be the one to make me believe the word of a Minuteman again. Thank you, Garvey.”

They shake hands and part. Sole gathers up the melons and heads towards the ramshackle house.

—————

They crouch behind a barbed-wire fence, watching the forested, still remains of USAF Satellite Station Olivia. Mr. Garvey watches the station from her left, while Codsworth hovers at her right, his thruster humming in the quiet. She’s not sure why she’s here or still armored or why Mr. Garvey is suddenly so cautious. He had just assumed she would join, so she did. They had stopped briefly at Sanctuary to reorganize their new supplies, talked briefly with Mr. Sturges, who had chosen to stay behind, and also talked with Codsworth, who had insisted on coming with Sole. Mr. Garvey’s laser musket is in his hands, while Codsworth’s three eyestalks scan the surroundings fretfully. Sole grips her crowbar tighter as their tension fills her.

Mr. Garvey turns to her. “The place looks empty, maybe they’re out somewhere else, but we can’t be sure,” he whispers. “We’re gonna try to just get in, find the locket, and get out. No heroics, no unnecessary risk. Stay well behind Codsworth and me and try to stay out of trouble. Got it?”

She’s not sure she gets much of anything. She nods anyway.

“Alright. Stay here for the moment until Codsworth and I give the all-clear.” He looks at the robot, who bobs an agreement. The two cross the fence and stalk towards the structures.

They’ve made it halfway when the ground erupts beneath them. A pack of malformed, dog-sized animals surrounds them, attacking. Sole screams, forgetting their attempts at subtlety. Mr. Garvey roars too, and the area lights up with his laser bolts and Codsworth’s flamethrower. The creatures’ screams are added to the din.

Then Mr. Garvey pauses and gestures wildly past the robot. “It’s mined!”

A massive explosion erupts. Sole is knocked backwards, and she scrambles to get her head under her hands. She huddles there where she’s landed, hiding under her hands, waiting for the next attack.

There’s only silence.

After several moments of frantic heartbeats, she summons the courage to turn and crawl back to the fence. The area in front of the station is now a dark blast zone, animal carcasses scattered around. She doesn’t look too closely at them. She releases a breath as she finds Mr. Garvey and Codsworth, singed but alive, picking themselves off the ground. Mr. Garvey rubs his ears, shakes his head vigorously, retrieves his musket, then looks towards her and gestures Come here. She crosses the fence and hesitantly picks her way forward, scanning for more of the creatures.

“Don’t worry, I think we got them all. You okay?”

“What on earth just happened? Are you okay? Codsworth?”

“These idiots apparently decided that strapping mines to a molerat was a good defense mechanism. It’s amazing they didn’t blow themselves up. We’ll have to keep an eye out for more traps inside.”

“Molerats? No. They don’t get that big. No. They must be…uh…”

Mr. Garvey frowns as she flounders, but Codsworth floats up and pats her shoulder with a claw, awkward and a little overly aggressive. “No worries, mum, they’re gone now. You don’t have to bother with them anymore.”

She stares at him, searching for confidence in the large glass eyes and finding enough to ease her panic slightly. “Alright. Um. I left the crowbar…” She runs back to grab it from where it dropped and returns. Mr. Garvey looks to the station door, breathes deeply, and opens it.

———————

The station is quiet. They make it to the bottom with no problems. They separate and begin searching the scattered toolboxes and desks for the locket.

“Hey, I found a key!” Mr. Garvey calls. “Think it opens that security door?”

It does, and he murmurs a small “Yes!” at the sight of the room and the supplies it contains. He quickly loops it, throwing the assorted weaponry into his pack. One item—is that a mini nuke?!—he cradles gently and wraps in a cloth before carefully stowing.

Then Codsworth’s aggressive shout from where he’d been stationed on guard in the hallway. “Hello! Fancy a bit of fist-a-cuffs, do we?”

Mr. Garvey whips around to Sole—”Stay here!”—grabs his musket and charges into the hallway. Sole freezes in a corner of the room. Yells come from the hallway.

A man charges into the room where Sole cowers. She notices the remarkably straight mohawk on his otherwise-bald head. She notices the cloth strips wrapping his arms and the armor pads on his legs and chest. She notices the knife in his hand. She notices the gaps in his teeth as he grins rabidly at her and shouts, “Come on, little girl! Let’s do this!”

Sole is frozen. The man dodges towards her, almost like a herding dog expecting a sheep to flee, but then realizes she’s not moving. His wild grin widens. “Too fuckin easy.” He moves closer.

The sound from the hallway fades as Sole’s world spirals down to the filthy face approaching her. Her breathing is rapid; his is heavy and gasping. He approaches until his face is right in hers. He raises the knife to her face. She can smell his rank breath and, separately, his rank body. He looms over her, and she manages to move just enough to stumble back, away from him, into a corner. He follows, never letting the distance increase. The sharp tip of the knife gently scrapes down her face. His eyes follow, and descend lower down her body, the grin never fading. “Ain’t you a pretty little thing.”

She can feel the crowbar in her hand, but she can’t manage to use it, even in the face of certain danger. His eyes return to her face. As he meets her eyes, she realizes that his are a startling light blue. They would be handsome, if he weren’t currently pressing a knife against her face. She realizes that he’s very young. Certainly much younger than she is. Just a boy, really. What is he doing here? What is he doing with a knife?

“Sorry, girly. It was fun while it lasted.” The boy’s grin turns to a snarl as he retracts the knife and then shoves it into her side.

————————

“Sole! Sole!”

“Mum!”

Her consciousness slowly returns to her body. Her arms are still flailing, and she stills them. Mr. Garvey rushes towards her and grabs her shoulders, pulling the crowbar from her limp hands.

“I’m so sorry we let him get through! There was a minigun…ah hell, you’re bleeding! Where are you hurt? Here, sit down…maybe not here…come over here…” He leads her to a chair, catching her when she takes a step and nearly falls. The stumble pulls her side, and she realizes it hurts. Mr. Garvey pulls off her armor and Codsworth digs through a pack. A blinding pain in her side; then, slowly, the pain is replaced by the itch of flesh stitching back together, beginning from deep under her ribcage.

Her eyes begin to clear. She watches Mr. Garvey replace the top on a bottle of alcohol. She glances over his shoulder.

The man—the boy—is there. He’s on the floor. His head has been replaced by a bloody pulp.

She leans over and vomits.

[chickenscript]

Rottmnt guys teaching their friend or s/o how to fight?

A/N: you got it anon~ had a lot of fun with this one since it gave me an excuse to look up stuff on ninjutsu. there is an alternate version of this in a headcannon style, but i ditched it in my drafts and went with these scenarios instead

Leo:

“Come on, you’re moving about as fast as my grandma.”

You huff, bringing your leg back down under from the high kick you just attempted and finding the bokken - a wooden training sword - in your hands hard to hold onto.

“You don’t have one Leo.”

Leonardo chuckled, weaving past another swing of the bokken you sent his way.

You barely manage to snake by one he threw at you in response. The bokken tip breezing by your nose and forcing you to widen the berth between the two of you.

“I mean, I had to have had a grandma turtle- I think.“  

You roll your eyes and take a defensive stance, trying again to look for an opening- 

Leo taunts you again, “You gonna stand there all day or-”

You sweep a leg at the back of one of his, nudging his knee out. He makes a startled squeak and you crash your bokken against his, smirking past the swords.

“Keep it up and I might best you.”

Leonardo smirks too and pushes back, “We’ll see about that.”

He breaks out of your cage and you’re harried to block his swings. The clatter of wood irritable with each meeting of the bokkens. You can see it now; the set concentration in his sharpened eyes as he let his focus be absorbed completely by the motions he knew on a very intimate level. You keep blocking but you know there’s gonna be some give to you if this continues the way it is, so, you do what you think he might expect least. 

You duck down on one of his swings and shoot your bokken up, catching his chin at edge point.

A smile breaks across your face and you guffaw.

“Got ya!”

Leonardo smiles back, slinging the bokken over his shoulder.

“And like that, the student becomes the teacher~ I think some celebratory skating is in order.”

You prop the bokken back with the rest of its set - Leo unceremoniously tosses his somewhere near the rack - and grab your skateboard and bookbag where you’d piled them on the floor a couple hours ago.

“Definitely.”

Donatello:

In lieu of bo staff training, you were doing taijutsu katas today and they weren’t very easy.

“Shit.” you grumble, your stamina was picked away at with how stretched out this session was proving to be.

Donatello still looked like stone in that regard, but he was beginning to chip. Breathing not nearly as heavy as you were, but enough to show he needed a break as well. All the more reason for you to try to get this over with already- preferably by winning. Most days you weren’t able to get an inch on him, but recently, the tides have changed and you were improving in skill. 

It showed with how long you were able to avoid getting felled during this spar, and that was a real accomplishment because Donnie was something of a master at empty hand combat.

You hold your hands close toward you, making them voluntary fists. Donnie kept his in this half grappling pose, shoulder blades knitted together, and there was an unwavering glint to his eye. Both of you were poised to strike, but you were trying to make sure you knew exactly what plan of action you had next.

Problem was, could Donnie catch onto your thought process?

Could he detect the little twitch under your skin and predict your next move, or assume maybe it was just from exhaustion?

You cant’t worry so much in a real fight- and it’s not like you have in the past, but with how serious you are about fighting and how the turtles are with training you, you can’t help it.

You softly puff through your nose.

Stop thinking and bring yourself back to what you’re doing.

You want to win for once.

You dart forward and there’s this flurry of movement as you and Donnie seek to counter each other before a blow can be landed. You can feel your heartbeat thumping in your fingertips and the back of your throat, and every bit muscle you’re moving. As Donnie launches a hard strike toward your midsection, you skirt around "Heck yeah- I have a few new high scores I wanna set." you grab your shirt and throw it on over your sports bra as you follow Raph to the other side of the lair, doing your best to creep by his brothers.on light feet and land right behind the back of his shell. You shoot an arm forward and

you tag him.

“H-ha.” you pant, shocked as your face lights up.

You did it.

Donatello cranes his head to look back at you, quirking a thick brow. He cracks a smile and nods.

“Nice one.”

“Heh, thanks teach.” you remove your offending hand and loosen up your tense body now that you could move around freely.

You crack the crick in your back that you’ve been waiting to get to for the past hour.

“Can we break for those pancakes you promised me now? I haven’t even had breakfast cause you wanted to train so fuckin’ early.” you’re also really sweaty and want a hot bath, but food could definitely come first and since you found out that Donatello had this secret recipe for pancakes, you were dying to try them.

It wasn’t like he was the family cook after all, and Mikey said they were awesome.

Donatello stretches his lanky limbs and nods.

“Sure, sure.” he flaps his hand around with his eyes closed, then cracks one open and smiles slow at you, “You’ve earned it.”

You hook arms with him and point a finger toward the door. He snorts on a giggle as you march the pair of you out.

“To the kitchen!”

Mikey:

Today was a spiritual training day.

But you’ll be honest, focus wasn’t on your side and you weren’t able to settle into meditation. It wasn’t typically anyway, and while Mikey went easy on you with everything during training no matter what, you didn’t want to trouble him. It’s borderline painful as you shift for the fifteenth time to scratch a phantom itch on your nose bridge and you inwardly huff at yourself. You wonder if he was annoyed as you were.

“You okay?”

You jump and look at Mikey who’s broken meditation form, hands clasping onto his padded knees and eyes on you.

“Uh, well,” you verbally stagger and loosen up too. You weren’t even sure how much longer you could have sat here, eyes closed and body still. There was just too much going on inside.

“Can’t concentrate?”

You blow out air, “Nope. I don’t get it- some days I can and others I just,” you grip the skirt of your baggy shirt, “it’s like there’s turmoil inside or something.” you say a little quieter.

Mikey hums and takes your hand, rubbing the center of your palm with his thumb.

“That’s why you gotta let yourself meditate- so you can sort through your feelings. There’s probably something bothering you that you haven’t let yourself address. It’s okay to feel jittery sometimes- all of us do.”

Mikey lets go of your hand to clasp his together, thumbs aiming straight ahead, and you mimic the pose. He breathes in and so do you.

“You just need to slow down and go with the flow.”

You try to, letting the mess of thought streaming through the highway of your backed up mind come into focus. You give each inkling a chance to come into definition and you’re able to see what bothers you. And it hurts, recalling some of the memories that putter by and the worries, and doubts and sometimes self deprecating feelings but-

you feel yourself detach.

You find peace among the internal chaos, a blip of light, hopeful and warm.

You breathe and feel free of all species of tension and hyper strung wires life used to hold you down.

This is why you loved finding your zen with Mikey.

Raph:

You raise your fists, keeping them close to your chest.

Raph is standing, ready for any tackle or run you might launch at him.

Aside from building more on the integrity of your body, you’ve learned a lot about chokes, throws and defensive katas from Raph. They were the techniques of his focus and, while you were still knew at the things you’ve learned from the turtles, in no way did you see yourself as still the beginner you started out as however many months ago. You’ve grown and with each spar, and morning kata, you felt yourself growing even more. But, that wouldn’t allow you to be cocky. You still needed to remember timing, concentration and what you had over your enemy.

While you couldn’t block many blows from Raph and weren’t as strong as him, you’re much more fleet.

You take a run at Raph, dodging the heavy arm that gets slung at you, and pivot on a foot as you get to his side.

You grab the beefy arm that was aiming for you and strike his elbow, bending the limb back as it goes limp for a moment. Then you kick out one of his legs, holding his arm as it buckles and he lands on his knee with a loud thud that rack through the floorboards and reverberated through your gums.

Raph chuckles and bears a snaggletooth grin. You release him feeling flush but pleasantly successful.

“You’re gettin' good lil buddy. Told ya you would.”

You offer Raph a hand and shrug off his compliment.

“I’m learning from the best of the best.”

A husky chuckle rings through Raph’s barrel chest as he stands and gently claps a mammoth hand on your back.

“I don’t think we’re that good yet.”

You softly hit the inside of his thick wrist with the back of your hand.

“Certainly better than an amateur like me- otherwise you wouldn’t be my teachers, now would you?”

“Eh, maybe. But you’re probably past the Kyu grade by now if we’re measurin’ your skill.” he winks and then hunches down some with this mischievous look.

“Wanna hit the arcade before my bros hog all the good games?”

"Heck yeah- I have a few new high scores I wanna set." you grab your shirt and throw it on over your sports bra as you follow Raph to the other side of the lair, doing your best to creep by his brothers unseen.

[nyllae-shiverflame]

Learning to Track [ Pt.3 Final ]

 A collaboration piece between myself and @amorthonblackwood . You can find the other parts of the story here(pt.1) and here(pt.2).

“As for the bit about ‘relying’ on others...I think it’s nice to have people you can rely on, people who know how things have gone, and the like - so you don’t have to do it all on your own. At the very least, I think having the choice must be nice.” He glanced down at the bandage and then back to her. “...And thank you, Lady Shiverflame. I - as I mentioned before - certainly didn’t think this morning was going to end up this way, but I do appreciate you bandaging me up. I promise I won’t take advantage of your hospitality.”

“It might not mean much but to trust knowing you can count on me should to feel you need to. That is a choice of yours.”

She smiled lightly and her hand lifted to motion towards his core and indicate his wound, “Well at least you’ll have another scar for the books and it will be a day to remember. That day when Cibor didn’t listen and the silly Mage-woman got ordered around by a little cub. All in all, we all came out fine -- for the most part. If there is anything else there can be done, you are more than welcome to it. You are also welcome to rest if you wish, I do know your time is important especially with your work tasks at hand.” she smiled still and gazed down to Cibor and Savage with her hands cupped into one another, “Of course all company is welcome.”

“‘Silly mage-woman’, huh? I can assure you that’s not how I think of you in my head.” He reached over for his shirt, tattered and blood-stained as it was, and pulled it back over his head. “My time isn’t -that- important. As I believe I mentioned earlier, I travel light, so there isn’t much preparation to be done. Generally have to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.” He reached over for the chest piece he’d discarded earlier.

“I also owe you an archery lesson at some point, I leave that to your discretion.” He offered a small smile, before narrowing his gaze at Cibor, who appeared set to pounce on Savage. “None of that here. I don’t need either of you breaking anything.” The cub wandered over and sat down by the ranger’s feet with a huff. “...and when would you like to start your...um, ‘cat-sitting’ duties?”

Nyllae’s brow craned, piquing at his previous comment though she did not follow in suit with a question, most thought of her as grumpy or intimidating but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what might have been in the place of silliness. A regal stance found her posture and both hands clasped to her front, “Perhaps when you return? I suspect you will be well mended by then and have completed your tasks.” Nyllae’s eyes ticked to Cibor for a moment and she watched the little cub, “If you are not opposed to leaving him at your departure I welcome the idea. He...might serve as some company for me and might be less of an issue for you regarding your other obligations such as the poachers and recovery.” “I uh…” she looked around, “Have already prepared various rooms for him. Some beds and food bowls and I had our cook see to a protein based diet for him assuming that it is what you prefer for he and Savage?”

He caught the eyebrow quirk and the change in her stance, which let to him tilting his head, but he didn’t push - choosing to follow her gaze down to Cibor. “That would probably be best, honestly. It shouldn’t take him long to adjust. I just wouldn’t be surprised if you wake up to a cold nose once or twice.” He sat back down, reaching down to scratch behind the cub’s ear.

“He doesn’t take up much space, and generally just likes being around someone he knows. Usually myself or Savage, but in this case it would be you.” He moved his hand to scratch under Cibor’s chin. “He’s good at staying out of the way though...I hope he won’t give you any trouble.”

A smile came and Nyllae shook her head, “Not at all, if anything I’ve been enjoying my time around him, Savage as well. It has been able to teach me many things though most of those lessons have also come from you. I’m not about to hang up my Arcane and Stave any times soon for a bow but to understand something is to carry a new and profound respect for it. I believe Cibor might be a little gentleman. If anything he did keep us from getting our legs clipped off by traps in the woods so I suppose I do owe him….a teenie bit.” she joked lightly and looked from the Tiger to Amorthon, “How long do you figure your work is bound to last?”

“Since I haven’t actually seen you shoot yet, I do believe it’s best that you stick with the arcane and staves.” He glances up at her, “Not that I’m doubting your abilities to utilize or learn to utilize a bow.” He tilted his head from side to side in an attempt to stretch his neck. “As far as how long I’ll be gone...I’m not sure. It’s been months before, but I don’t imagine more than a couple of weeks. I’ve heard there are plenty of portals available.”

He rolled his eyes as Cibor turned to pounce on his foot. “I promise I won’t leave you to deal with the little furry terror for too long.” He tilted his head with a grin. “Or deprive you of my company.” He paused...taking a moment to process what he’d just said before clearing his throat and turning his attention back to Cibor.

“Who is depriving who exactly? I was going to suggest an offering of letters to keep in touch but I suppose with portals…” and tilted her head and her hand lifted to move about in circles as she spoke, “and depravity and all -- Cibor’s company should be enough but I can also take a hint should be feeling yourself a little suffocated by my presence.”

He gave a tentative look up. “You wound me, lady Shiverflame. You wouldn’t be suggesting that I be easily replaced by a tiger cub, would you?” He’d gone and opened his mouth, might as well follow through. “And I can’t imagine being ‘suffocated’ by your presence. I think you might kick me out well before that ever has the opportunity to occur.”

Nyllae blinked several times then looked between Amorthon and the cub, “That is debatable considering much remains to be seen but at this rate, the animal doesn’t talk back either.” she licked her lips trying to hide the budding smirk but she seemed quite terrible and out of practice. It seemed a certain cheeky Monk was rubbing off on her, “So you’re saying that you enjoy my presence and aren’t too tired or overtly disgusted by my nagging-type nature and quirky humor? Either that or you are quite patient.” She took a few careful steps forward and challenged his height the best she could, looking up to him with her hands still folded to her front. If anything she carried an air of 6’6” without being the wiser that she actually stood a good 5’7”, “Do you still feel wounded?”

“Debatable that you’d kick me out, or debatable that I’d be...suffocated by you?” He tilted his head noting the smirk, but focusing on her gaze. Eyes were safe...right? “One, he absolutely talking back, just in a different way. And two,what if I were to say that I do enjoy your presence and your quirky humor?”

He straightened up, still a good six inches taller than the mage. “And...what happens if I say no? That I’m not feeling wounded?”

“Neither I was talking more in the sense of his company over yours. He has cute and cuddly working for him even if he does talk back in some sense.” her brow rose yet again which seemed to be a small habit of hers which either indicated a piqued interest or that she was thinking and mulling over the venom for words she often had at the ready, “Well I suppose if you enjoyed my presence and quirky humor then maybe suffocation isn’t all that bad. I’ll take your word for it then. In addition to that well, I’m glad you don’t feel anymore wounded than you already are.” her finger flicked out towards his core where she pointed to his bandaged half.

“And are you suggesting that I’m not cute and or cuddly? Now you have wounded me. It is far greater than that wound left by that arrow from earlier...Nyllae.” He quirked an eyebrow, ignoring Savage (who was covering his face with his paws) and Cibor’s curious glances. “And I get the sense that you appreciate a challenge...someone who does talk back, at times.”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never seen you cuddle someone before.” She furrowed her brow a little and shoved her hands to her hips. “Really now? You should tell me how you really feel then since you seem to have it all figured out.” for a second she considered jabbing his wound just to show him how wounded he could be and how she could inflict real pain but of course, it was a fleeting idea that was best not acted upon.

He licked his lips quickly as he considered the abrupt shift, trying to get a read on her...and failing miserably. “I’ve been told that I’m decent enough at it. Apparently I provide lots of heat for chillier nights.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “And as I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’m not the greatest with words. Telling people things tends to get me in more trouble, rather than getting me out of it.”

“Well I hate to break it to you but you kind of already unscrewed that lid to that specific jar.” Nyllae pursed her lips tightly, almost scowling and while he looked vulnerable with his hands clasped behind his back trying to be the epitome of a gentlemen she took that one step forward and tucked her arms between his and his body, “Well…” her shoulders shrugged and her eyes indicated them, the space in between and whatever else their person consumed, “Assume the cuddling position then and I’ll be sure to let you know if you’re telling the truth or if you failed. Of course, cuddles from Cibor will have to be your competitor and I’m sure he’ll get more time to make a lasting impression, I mean you have to test the couch before you buy, right?”

“Are you planning on ‘buying’ me?” Ah, deflecting with humor. Whatever response he thought he was going to get, this had not been it. He gulped, hoping it was noticeable, before slipping his arms around her smaller frame. “I would like to point out that cuddling while standing is one thing. Cuddling while sitting or laying down is another.” Mindful of her size versus his own, he pulled her to him, but not flush. “I feel like this may be more of a trial for a hug, rather than cuddling…”

“Then you’re already failing.” she muttered and then eventually looked up, “Okay, You’ve convinced me. I’m not buying.” she taunted and she pulled away already realizing how silly they looked even though they were the only people present -- aside from the two tigers, “You’d make a terrible salesman.” she pointed out and turned to crouch and give Cibor some pats along his head, “I’ll be well looked after I think. The two of us are set in our ways I suspect but there is a first for everything and there is always room for improvement.”

He frowned, jaw clenching for a moment. “That maybe because I’ve never been one to ‘sell myself’. I find that people are either interested or they’re not.” He glanced down a Cibor for a moment before leaning offering his hand to her. “And sometimes people can be too quick when making decisions about...furniture. Perhaps a second chance? Set in your ways or not, you might be surprised.” Nyllae chuckled gently, “There is grey areas in between, I promise you that selling yourself isn’t always a bad thing either.” She took the hand offered after one more pat to Cibor’s head and stood to adjust the sides of her slacks, “You aren’t wrong though and I can certainly appreciate that you are someone who sticks true to who you are and a very ‘take it or leave it’ sort of guy.” she looked him over a minute, “I mean, it’s not a bad couch.”

He quirked an eyebrow as his thumb brushed over the back of her hand before releasing it. “‘Not a bad couch’? I’m wondering what one might have to do to be considered a ‘good’ couch or what one might be interested in ‘purchasing’.” He took a small, cautious step forward, leaning down just enough to make easier eye contact.

Of course proper mannerisms taught Nyllae to look directly at people when they spoke to her and as of yet she hadn’t noticed the brush atop her hand. “Well, I mean…” she began and she shrugged a shoulder towards her jaw, “-- I suppose it has to be great quality and sturdy. Among other things but I suspect those qualities are just an added bonus. Is it cozy? Does it have a smell? Well I mean the most important question might be how big is it and does it match the rest of the room?”

“How b-,” he stopped himself, fighting off a small grin as he tilted his head. “So, tell me Nyllae...how would one REALLY know if the couch is cozy and how well it...fits unless they were to really give it a shot. Not just a quick test run.” He straightened up to his full height. “Or, and this is just an outlandish possibility...what if the couch one looks at and they initially aren’t all that fond of is the one that might fit the room perfectly? How would that person know without giving it a try?” “I suppose that would be on the buyer. I mean, in hindsight it doesn’t sound like it would be buyers remorse but the only person at fault would be the buyer if they hadn’t tried.” the Mage paused a moment and furrowed a brow, looking down to notice her hand, ‘Why are we talking about couches again?” she then managed to look back up, “My, this is some odd and mild way to flirt, I cannot say I’ve ever compared people to a couch before or the action of buying one -- not that I would buy a person of course.”

“We were talking about couches because I believe you compared me to one, and because projecting and talking about couches is easier than talking about myself?” He reached up to rub the back of his neck as he exhaled slowly. “And talking about couches also keeps me from doing or saying something excessively foolish...well, more foolish than talking about myself as though I was a couch.” He let his hand drop away from his neck, clasping his hands behind him once again.

“Right.” she opted to agree in such a short phrase. Perhaps she was the one to blame but in the end, the two had something to chuckle over at the very least. Almost in tandem, her hands weaved behind her and held firmly there, “I’ll be sure to send you progress up dates on Cibor then, I’m sure familiar letters couldn’t go astray? I use to get them from my mother quite regularly when I was away but I never had much time to reply to them. In hindsight, I should have done more but we learn from such mistakes that better prepare us for the future, hm?”

Inhaling deeply, Nyllae finally looked over her shoulders to the two tigers. Deep down she was sort of going to miss the lot of them even though a third of their trio was going to be her house guest for some time.

“So they say. The past can be an excellent teacher if we allow it to be.” He turned and glanced at Savage and Cibor before leaning down to gather up his things. “Well...Lady Shiverflame, you have survived your first tracking lesson and have learned the basic commands for attempting to manage a small rambunctious tiger cub. I look forward to see what nonsense he gets up to. Savage, let’s go.”

He walked over and kneeled down in front of Cibor, stroking the top of the cub’s head lightly. “You be good. We’ll be back before you know it. And no tearing up furniture...or dresses….or clothing of any kind, alright.” He waited for an acknowledgement from the tiger before turning to face Nyllae once more. He paused for a moment, clearing giving some thought lots of consideration before shaking his head and moving forward. He stilled again in front of her, started to speak and then cut himself off, leaning down and pressing a light kiss to her cheek...and then promptly putting a bit more distance between them. “...I’ll write once we’re settled. Have a good rest of your day...Savage, come.”

For a time, Nyllae simply watched Amorthon and his tigers and the pure devotion and love he seemed to give each of them. It wasn’t hard to sense some tinge of worry that might have lingered, then again he was trusting one of his companions with someone they didn’t know. At first she considered a hug or a simple hand shake but it was the kiss to her cheek that left her a little taken back and by the time she had noticed his reverted distance, she already wore a pleasant smile and her hand lifted in parting, “Do try to be careful? Cibor will be in good hands here.” she then looked to Savage and offered a nod knowing full well that Savage wasn’t bound to let any hard come to the pair. If anything they were a force all their own, a working pair of what seemed like a hivemind. Perhaps all in all, that is what it meant to work in tandem with another spirit. A rare connection she had never seen between mortal and beast.

Her cheeks grew warm and in that motion of a wave and departing, her eyes finally settled to Cibor who, for some reason, was staring right back at her.

The cub tilted his head as he looked up at the mage, curious. He wandered over and plopped down by her feet before pawing at one of her boots. This was going to be interesting.

[han-jumins]

RFA Greek Demigod AU Part 1

I’m back after quite a hiatus! jeez, school + writer’s block is horrible. Anyways this is part 1 of this series, i need votes on who the other rfa member’s godly parents should be and i might get some ideas ooooo

Set in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Series but not quite a crossover

ZEN:

He was the son of Apollo and the shining sun cabin counselor

Was often mistaken for Aphrodite’s son because of his incredible handsomeness and is swarmed by girls constantly

He is an expert archer, one of the best among his siblings but he specializes in singing and healing

His position and contribution to the camp is being one of the best healers and girls use this as an excuse to meet him, often faking an injury

New campers arrived and and one of them was MC, a daughter of Ares

Despite being a child of a war god, she had a lithe body and a face worth being claimed by Aphrodite

Zen’s heart sped up a bit when he saw her, admiring her looks and her shy demeanor, totally unlike her brute siblings

Everyday he would watch her train from a distance, it was no mistake who her godly parent was now, she possessed the skills yet had an elegant aura to her

“You’re totally gawking at her man” One of Zen’s brothers waved a hand over his slightly pink face

“I’m not, I was only judging her archery. I mean that posture was kind of slack” He spouted an excuse and continued to read, now completely distracted 

“Is your eyesight alright? She had perfect stance!”

“She did not” 

“Yeah she did”

“Did not”

“Well if you’re so superior with your bow and arrow why don’t you teach her right now” 

“Well then I would!” Zen stormed out of where he came from and was slightly stomping towards her

Now realizing the situation he was in, with his brother smirking in the distance, his steps slowed and his breathing became ragged at the sight of her training, her hair being tossed in the wind and her demeanor changing into that of a war goddess

He gulped and stopped just beside her

“Your arm is a little off” He squeaked, the confident aura completely disintegrating

“Oh thank the gods a son of apollo! I was getting frustrated with this thing, can you help me out Zen?” 

“You know me?” He asked

“Well I mean yeah, who doesn’t?” She slightly giggled and Zen’s heart warmed at the sight

Finding his confidence again he started showing her the proper way of holding the bow, telling her about projectile and the wind factors 

Engrossed in his passion for explaining the sport he didn’t realize that he had his hand over her waist and his other around her shoulders guiding her

His face completely burned but he tried to stay calm and speak without stuttering

Once they were over and MC was getting bullseye by bullseye they had to part

And Zen was quick to come back to his cabin to greet his brother with a punch

“You’re horrible” His face burning a fiery red

“I’ve never seen you so embarassed before it was quite entertaining”

“Shut up”

The following weeks they were as close as ever, often training archery and him showing her around the campus whilst telling stories

One time she asked him so sing for her and he was shocked

“I mean, you have to be great at singing right? You probably are” She scratched the back of her neck in embarassement and Zen was completely smitten

He was so inlove

One day, a group of people holding an unconcious girl came up to the infirmary

But he was more alarmed to see that it was MC they were holding and prompted them to lay her down

They said she hit her head in a game of capture the flag and Zen started working immediately

His hands trembling as he sang his sweet tune of healing

Making her drink nectar, he clasped her hand in his, kissing it over and over again and whispering words like “You’re going to be okay” “Please be okay”

When she finally opened her eyes, she found him sleeping with his hand on hers

She stroked his white hair and his head immediately shot up

Overwhelmed with relief he tackled her in a hug 

“How are you feeling? Do you need more nectar?”

“I’m fine thanks to you” She placed her hand on his cheek and he leaned against it, feeling on the moon being with the woman he loves

“Tell me if you want me to stop, I just- I want to do something”

Leaning in to her face he placed a chaste kiss on her lips

She smiled and grabbed the front of his shirt meeting his lips again as her hands toyed with his hair

YOOSUNG:

Yoosung is like the baby in the Demeter’s cabin

Though he is the cabin counselor, his siblings are wary of his mood because of the blessing his mom has given to him

Demeter being the goddess of seasons bestowed upon him a gift of altering it though in a miniscule scale

Depending on what he’s feeling would determine the temperature of the area he was in

When he was feeling happy, his cabin radiated a sunny flowery aura rivaling that of spring 

And when he’s feeling gloomy, the temperature drops and they all suffer what it would feel like to have winter

So his siblings feel the need to always satiate him and keep him happy for the sake of everyone

He is an expert gardener like the rest of Demeter’s children and possesses the natural ability to cook well so he is often seen at the cafeteria giving people food with a smile

“Delicious as always Yoosung!” A girl smiled at him and his face reddened

He really really likes MC

She’s a really bubbly girl who seemed to always brighten Yoosung’s day

His siblings take note of this thus play a little matchmaking to keep him happy which worked all the time

They were best friends and would often train together and cook together

He loves her so but was failing to find the courage to confess to her 

“What on olympus am I going to do?” He sighed and continued watering some plants 

Then an idea hit him whilst looking at the lilies, her favorite flower

He had picked and gathered the loveliest ones he’d grown and was currently coming over to MC to profess his love

okay calm down deep breaths you can do this yoosung

When he got there, his face dropped at the sight

MC was smiling, holding another boquet of flowers that certainly did not come from him 

“Yoosung! Look at this, someone got me these beautiful flowers”

“Really and who’s it from?” He spat bitterly

MC didn’t quite get the tone of his voice as she continued

“I really don’t know, it came with a little card saying that it came from my secret admirer, how sweet!”

“Yeah how sweet” He looked down and the flowers he got and was hiding behind his back wilted, turning dry and darkened

“Look MC, I gotta go”

“Are you okay?” She looked up at him with concerned eyes but that just made his heart ache even more

“Yeah”

“You don’t look fine to me”

“Just mind your own business”

“And when did you ever tell me to mind my own business! Yoosung this isn’t like you what happened” She stood up and they were meeting eye to eye with hard gazes at each other

“Well maybe you never knew me at all! 

“Maybe I haven’t! All I ever done was care for you and now you’re treating me like this?”

Yoosung’s eyes pricked with tears knowing what he said but he didn’t stand down

“You know what forget it”

He left feeling crestfallen as he threw the flowers away near the forest and stomped on it

When he arrived at the cabin, all the members were in a panic, the weather turning awful with constant blizzards and the accumulations of ice

They had to stay out that night but Yoosung sulked, indulging in the cool temperature

“Yoosung what has gotten into you?” They all asked once morning came, he didn’t really get much sleep so he had dark beneath his eyes

“I don’t really want to talk about it so you can all go enjoy your day”

“Not when the cabin freezes in the evening, gods!”

They dragged him out and attempted to have him enjoy his daily activities such as cooking and gardening but all were in vain when they still felt the temperature drop when they were around him

“Can’t you guys see? He’s obviously been dumped by the love of his life” An Aphrodite kid tells them when she too sensed what was going on

Both MC and Yoosung didn’t speak with each other for a week and for a week Demeter’s children either had to wear coats to bed or sleep in other cabins

They finally snapped when they noticed the plants surrounding the cabin beginning to wilt and practically banished Yoosung to stay in the forest to think

MC noticed how everything was wilting and was hurt at the sight

She frantically looked around for Yoosung to apologize and found him 

“Yoosung!” She called out as she crashed into his body, hugging him tight despite the cold around them

It took him a couple of minutes before he raised a hand to stroke her hair

“I’m so sorry Yoosung, I shouldn’t have snapped at you this is all my fault” she sobbed on his chest

“I’m sorry” He took a breath as if he was only beginning to fully take in air as he wrapped is arms around MC and hugged her as tight

“I’m such an idiot I’m so so sorry”

“I don’t like seeing you this way, I care about you truly” She lifted her head up to wipe the tears from his eyes 

“Gods MC I love you so much”

Feeling her tense under him, he was about to take back his words when her lips slammed against his in a passionate kiss

Yoosung returned it with the same fervor, a fire igniting in the pit of his stomach and his former glow returning, the warmth finally being felt

“I love you too Yoosung” She smiled at him

(a/n btw before y’all roast me for his personality, it’s easy for him to get carried away by his emotions because his gift is too great and his body sometimes cant handle it)

My other work in here: MASTERLIST

[queen-scribbles]

Shelter

For @pillarspromptsweekly​ prompt #6

It was, at least, a summer rain. That was the only charitable comment Emiri could give on the abrupt downpour as she and her companions ducked into a cave.

“Well, that came about real sudden-like, didn’t it?” If they hadn’t just been caught in the opening salvo of a deluge, she’d have sworn Edér sounded cheerful.

“You could say that,” Emiri said wryly, running her fingers through her dripping hair. Another flash of lightning brightened the sky and she shirked toward the back of the cave, joining Aloth further away from the storm.

“Here.” He handed her a blanket. “It’s the best we have for drying off. You look like you need it.”

“Thank you.” She shuffled to the side as Kana and Edér settled in nearby and reached up to tap the faintly glowing growth that encircled her head. “This does make hoods a challenge.” Emiri sighed as she squeezed water from her hair and looked toward the cave opening, the curtain of rain visible past Hiravias and Sagani’s silhouettes. “And today was shaping up to be a pretty decent birthday ‘til now...”

Aloth looked at her in surprise. “Today’s your...?”

“Well, not officially,” Emiri conceded, drying her hair as best she could with the blanket. “But since I don’t remember when my birthday really is, just that it was summer, this is the day I usually count.” Thunder cracked and she flinched. Ondra’s Teeth, that was close by... “Might move it this year...”

Aloth chuckled. “Being able to move your birthday, there’s a silver lining for you.”

She laughed as she set aside the blanket, skin and hair as dry as they were going to get. “True.” After a moment’s silence, she gave in to her curiosity.  “When’s yours?”

Surprise flickered briefly across his face, visible even in the faint light of her halo, and it took him a moment to answer. “Next week.”

“Next week? And you weren’t going to say anything?!” Emiri shrugged off her soaking cloak so she could better adopt  a reproachful stance.

Aloth raised an eyebrow. “Says the woman who didn’t mention until moments ago that today is hers.”

“Yeah, well, I did most of my growing up as a slave on a pirate ship. I’m used to people not car- Oh.” She stared at him in the flare of another lightning strike.  “Aloth.”

He shifted uneasily, picking at a hangnail and looking out at the downpour as if wishing it would stop so he could bolt. “It’s not that important, Emiri.”

“To me it is,” she contradicted. “I know what that feels like, Aloth.” She hesitated, tugging at a loose thread on her shirt. “Would you mind, since today is proving unsuitable-” she glared at the pouring rain- “if I said my birthday was next week this year? Not the same day as yours,” she added hastily, “just closer to it, since we both do have someone who cares this year. We can celebrate together.”

“I-” Aloth hesitated, then nodded, tucking his hair behind his ears. “I would like that, I think. Depending on what you mean by celebrate.”

“Nothing fancy,” Emiri promised. “Neither of us like big fancy social situations. Maybe I convince the cook to make us each our own batch of those dark chocolate Rauatai cookies.” She heard Kana muffle a laugh and whipped around to mock-glare at him--”There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of a sweet tooth!”--before turning back to Aloth. “Anyway. Cookies. And we’ll take the day off from adventuring. To do things we enjoy. One day won’t hurt that much.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Aloth agreed, small smile tugging at his lips.  “Next week, then.”

“Next week,” Emiri nodded, and they settled in to wait for the storm to pass, safe in the shelter of the cave.

>O<

Emiri’s plan was easy enough to enact, except for one thing. The Dyrwood sky stayed a threatening shade of grey even after the initial storm had passed. And, sure enough, the day she and Aloth had decided to celebrate was pouring down rain. Again.

At least this time they were safely ensconced in the shelter Caed Nua offered. The rain wasn’t so bad when you were watching it through a window with a roof over your head.

“Someone is determined for you to have a dreary birthday,” Aloth commented wryly as they sat in the library, several books spread open across the table. The black cat from Raedric’s dungeon strolled between the tomes, occasionally making a show of stretching over whichever one Aloth was trying to read.

“Well, then I’m sorry for dragging you down with me,” Emiri said, reaching over to pick up the cat. “Fluffy, stop it.”

“I still can hardly believe you named it that.”

“I didn’t name her,” Emiri protested good-naturedly. “That’s Edér ’s doing. I think he meant it as a joke, but it’s stuck.” She scratched the cat behind the ears, earning a loud, happy purr. “She seems to like it.”

“Mm. Emiri... may I ask you something?” Aloth fiddled with one of his rings, looking unsure of himself as he spun the silver band.

“Sure,” she nodded, perching sideways in her chair, legs hanging over the arm, so Fluffy could curl up in her lap.

“Why the diligence marking your birthday? I’d think the reminder you’d spent another year someone’s slave would be... disheartening.”

Emiri was quiet for a long moment forming her answer, long enough Aloth’s ears started to shade pink and she could almost see him regretting the question. “For some--most even--it probably would. I never knew of anyone else who kept track. For me...” She sighed. It was difficult to explain. “It was a way of proving to myself I’d survived another year. And there was something about it, made me feel safe. Protected isn’t quite the right word--stronger, maybe--but the whips and yelling and the names they called us never seemed as bad that one day out of the year. Like I was sheltered from the worst of it, I guess. It was a small victory to look forward to. I know that probably sounds weird, but it kept me going.”

Aloth shook his head “Oh, no, it makes perfect sense to me.”

Emiri thought back to Brackenbury’s basement and grimaced. “I s’ppose it would... but that’s a dark line of conversation for a day that supposed to be us celebrating, so I’m changing the subject.”

He shot her a bemused smile. “To what?”

She shifted in her chair, almost dislodging Fluffy, so she could dig in her pocket. “I made you something.”

Aloth blinked at her in surprise. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Emiri shrugged. “I know. I wanted to. It’s part birthday present, part thank you for everything; having my back, teaching me to read, all that.”

“Oh. That was no trouble.” He smiled. “You’re a quick learner.”

Her cheeks warmed and she felt more than saw her halo flicker brightly with embarrassment. “Thank you.” Her fingers curled around the item she sought and she pulled it out to hand to the wizard. “And happy birthday,”

Aloth rose halfway from his chair to reach her outstretched hand. “Thank you.” He gently worked open the small pouch and pulled out an intricately woven blue band, half an inch wide and decorated in the middle with several flat black beads. “You made this? That’s rather impressive.”

Emiri shrugged. “It’s just tying a whole bunch of really small knots, Aloth. I grew up on a ship; I’m good with knots.”

He ran his thumb over the woven pattern. “I feel like that may be oversimplifying things a bit. It’s beautiful, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “I made it long enough you can use it to mark your place in a book or grimoire or tie it around your wrist.” Her smile turned sheepish. “You’ll probably have to wrap it twice if you wanted to do that. I may have forgotten until halfway through about the size difference between aumaua and elves. Probably didn’t help that I made a test one for me first to work out the pattern.” She pushed up her sleeve so he could see the one she wore; adra-green with silver beads, the pattern a good bit rougher but basically the same. “Just to make sure I had it down.”

“I appreciate that,” Aloth said, smiling. “And the gift in general. I’ll put it to good use. Now...” he dug under a stack of books he’d had piled on the table when she entered the library. “I actually have something for you as well.”

Emiri sat up properly in her chair, causing Fluffy to hop down and stroll away. “Aloth, you didn’t-”

“I know.” He smirked slightly as he echoed her earlier words. “I wanted to.”

“Well, in that case, thank you,” she laughed as she accepted his gift.

“You’re welcome.” Aloth fiddled anxiously with his sleeve as she untied the ribbon and pulled back the wrapping. “You are... the first true friend I’ve had in a very long time. I don’t think I can ever adequately express what that means to me, but I did want to show my gratitude.”

“You’re gonna make me cry,” Emiri said frankly, then promptly gaped when she saw the present. “Aloth, it’s beautiful.” The book’s cover was a rich, dark brown leather, embossed with a flowing pattern around the edges. It took her a minute to work her way through the title and determine this was a collection of equal parts legend and history for the Dyrwood. “Thank you!”

Blushing slightly, Aloth shrugged. “I figured if you’re going to be ruling over and protecting a section of this region, best you know the people’s history and beliefs, yes?”

She hesitated, biting her lip as she stroked the cover. “D’you really think I can handle this? On my own, I mean...” It was an intimidatingly thick book, reflecting the rich and diverse culture present in the Dyrwood.

“Oh, yes, certainly,” Aloth nodded, smiling and tucking his hair back behind one ear. “As I said, you’re a quick learner. I have faith in you. But, if you get stuck, you know I’m always here to help.”

“And I appreciate that.” Emiri rose and hugged him. “Thank you, truly. Both for the present and your friendship. Both mean a lot to me.” She glanced out the window as she let go. “Oh, hey, it’s not raining so hard. I vote we dash over to Brighthollow an’ see if those cookies are ready.”

“Seconded,” Aloth said with a small laugh, deftly looping her gift twice around his wrist and tying it off faster than she’d ever seen kith or folk do anything one-handed.

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on it as she clutched his present close and the two of them hurried out of the library, hoping this gap in the weather would last at least long enough for them to reach Brighthollow’s shelter.

>O<

As she’d hoped, the cookies were done. They had, in fact, been cooling just long enough to still be warm was Emiri and Aloth divvied up their shares. Grinning like a little girl, Emiri took her leave of Aloth and retreated to her bedroom with the bundle of cookies. Having sweets in any quantity to herself was still something of a novelty to the Watcher, and she couldn’t help but giggle as the door closed behind her. She was going to spend the rest of the day curled up in bed, nibbling her way through the still-warn cookies as she read her new book. Best. Birthday. Ever.

That was the plan, anyway. But she was distracted by the neatly wrapped bundle sitting on her bed, tied up with a wide red ribbon and currently being used as a pillow by a very content hound dog.

“Lottie, are you keepin’ that safe for me, girl?” Emiri cooed as she dropped the book on her desk and sat on the bed to unwrap the large bundle. Lottie whined at the loss of her pillow and rolled over to sprawl across the actual pillows. Emiri smiled and shook her head at the dog before returning her attention to the gift. The wrapping fell away easily to reveal a beautiful blue cloak. It had obviously been worn before, but was well-cared for and clean. Best of all, when she unfurled it, it was the proper size. Aumaua were uncommon enough in the Dyrwood, she and Kana both had trouble finding clothes and  gear that fit comfortably. And when they did, it usually cost an arm and leg.

And then, upon closer examination, she noticed the hood. Someone--she was pretty sure she knew who--had deftly sliced it open down the middle and added an extra panel of matching fabric. Grinning ear to ear Emiri tested it out, and sure enough, the extra fabric gave plenty of room for her to pull the hood up over her halo, sheltering her as was normal for a cloak. A small piece of parchment fluttered from the cloak’s folds as she pulled it on, and Emiri paused to read the short message.

I hope this serves you even better than it did me. Happy birthday, Emiri.

Even if she hadn’t recognize the handwriting, it was written on the back of a discarded page from a chanter’s hymnbook, making her list of suspected givers exactly one name long.

Emiri pushed herself to her feet, barely remembering to grab the sack of cookies so Lottie wouldn’t eat them, and practically flew from the room. “Kana!”

The distance from her room to his wasn’t great, and she barely paused long enough to knock and receive a bemused Come in before all but tumbling into the room. She regained her balance and hugged Kana with enough force he almost lost his.

He laughed as he returned the hug, gently pulling back the hood so he could see her face. “I take it you approve, then?”

“Effigy’s eyes, yes!” Emiri squeezed tighter for a moment, then let go to shoot him a concerned look. “Does this mean you don’t have a cloak now?”

“Oh, no, I’ve a couple more,” Kana assured her. “This one was simply in the best condition, and thus best suited to be given as a gift, that’s all.”

She stood grinning for another few heartbeats before remembering the sack she clutched in one hand. She shook it open and held it out to him. “Cookie?”

“I thought those were just for you and Aloth.”

Emiri pursed her lips, then grinned again. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Kana chuckled. “Well, in that case, I suppose one wouldn’t hurt...”

By the time she returned to her room, the sack of cookies was lighter by three, but Emiri didn’t care in the slightest. She did a little twirl after closing her door, watching the cloak flare out. Best birthday ever.

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

Yes, Emiri totally gave Aloth a friendship bracelet as a birthday present. I have zero regrets.

(they look like this btw)

[exmachinus]

WIP Wolves of Yellowstone Ch. 2 Preview

As per usual, this is the fault of @melissaknowsthings @solivar and @hhgggx, credit where credit is due. 

In which Jesse is snuck up on, and finds himself accordingly pounced on, if you will. 

Jesse was still unconvinced he wasn’t going insane.

The werewolf-slash-okami-slash-intruder that was actually real and inside his house AGAIN stared at him from the couch with the same vaguely-amused expression from that morning as Jesse sputtered. The stranger- Hanzo’s- expression didn’t change as Jesse felt behind himself for the chair near the door he’d just burst through twice in the span of a handful of minutes, and sat heavily, staring back at Hanzo, who was now calmly sipping grape soda and watching him in return. His legs were folded neatly underneath himself, both hands, one of his forearms bearing swirling intricate marks as gold as those under his eyes, sweeping across his cheekbones, holding the can with a kind of effortless dexterity Jesse knew only came from a life of using one’s hands.

“Okay-” Jesse started, pressing his hands together in front of his face. Best to take this slowly and carefully. The okami/werewolf/crazy-person-with-a-wolfy-home-invasion-fetish was armored, and could easily be armed. No surprises, slow and calm. Be ready to de-escalate the situation if it happens. But…

Too many odd things had happened in the past day or two for Jesse to let this go too quickly. If the intruder somehow had answers…

“Okay, okami. How do I know you aren’t some stalker wolf-enthusiast with a wig collection?” Jesse began again, quietly. “Prove I shouldn’t call the cops right now and get you back to the cosplayer convention you prolly strayed from.”

The intruder blinked, considered Jesse. “What is a cosplayer convention?”

Jesse sputtered again. “What do you- you mean you- Look, I’m not-”

“Is it like a party? A convention is like a party, is it not?”

“No, well, I guess, I’ve never been to one, but-”

“Then how do you think I am from a cosplayer convention, if you have never been to one?”

“I know people, okay, and-”

“Oh, I see, you think I am a furry of some variety.”

Jesse choked. “How th’ hell do you know what furries are, but not-”

Silver brows lifted, eyes flashing conspiratorial. “All kinds are drawn to the seclusion of the woods, it seems.”

Jesse couldn’t find anything to say to that. Couldn’t bring himself to consider how that concept could possibly affect his job and the amount of paperwork he could be facing if there really were furries gallivanting in the woods. Jesse ground the heels of his hands into his eye sockets.

“What the hell was that last night?”

The stran-Hanzo tipped his head to one side, taking another considering sip, wise eyes still amused. “You had seemed not un-receptive to my presence beforehand, I am surprised you grow so wary of me now.” A small smile pulled at the okami’s- Hanzo‘s- lips and his eyes glittered with mischief. “My apologies for the theatrics. I have been told one of my great flaws is a penchant for dramatics. My extended apologies for disturbing you.” A short, neat bow from the waist. “Nonetheless, it is flattering you thought of the encounter as a dream.” The smile grew, might have edged on becoming a smirk. Definitely a smirk. Jesse felt his neck and cheeks reddening with embarrassment the okami-Hanzo knew what kind of effect he had on Jesse. Fantastic.

“I still don’t know that you’re really a- what did you say you are?”

“Okami. A deity; in my case, of wolves.”

Jesse met his gaze, refusing to drop that yellow stare. “I stand by what I said before. Prove it.”

The stranger tipped his head slightly to one side, the motion slow and deliberate and inhuman, eyes endlessly dark and rich, as that same strange energy deepened and tingled along Jesse’s skin and said lightly, “My apologies for disrupting your device in the woods as you walked to your vehicle yesterday evening, my presence can have an adverse effect on technology. Also, now that I have you here, what was that song you were humming last night? It is from a film, is it not?”

Jesse sucked in a breath, the hair on the back of his neck going entirely on end again, feeling once again the strangeness of the woods as he walked yesterday, the feeling of being watched or followed, and how he’d felt watched all during the storm and the encounter last night, the same electricity that had run down his spine and fogged his mind that morning in the Visitor’s Center…

“My god. You’re telling the truth, aren’t you,” Jesse breathed. He faithfully ignored how his hand shook as he ran it backward through his hair.

The oka- Hanzo blinked at him again, suddenly serious. “I am.”

The sudden sound of a car door slamming made them both jump, and Jesse bolted upright out of his chair. He crossed the floor to the window in three long strides, and saw Fareeha Amari kicking the door to her jeep closed behind her, bags of what could only have been groceries sent from her mother on her arm.

Jesse groaned. “I thought she said she was going to be gone until Monday,” he growled, aware of how few seconds he had before Fareeha came in the door and saw his that tale from the night before was not as much of a dream as she had thought it was. He chewed on his lower lip and glanced back at Hanzo, the wolf god still watching him with that same innocuous expression and sipping his grape soda. Shit, shit, shit.  Fareeha was going to lose all of her shit and her goddamn mind too and call the cops and the last thing Jesse needed was cops-

He opened the door enough to stand in it, one hand on the knob and one on the doorframe. He prayed to whatever deity might be listening, Hanzo or otherwise, that he could talk his way out of this one. He knew with absolute certainty he couldn’t physically stop her from coming in, despite having five inches and a good forty pounds on the woman. Fareeha had far too many blackbelts in far too many types of hand-to-hand combat to not be admitted in an immediate manner to wherever it was she wished to go, her five-foot-eight frame and clunky uniform generally doing an excellent job of belying her incredible athleticism.

Jesse dared another glance at Hanzo. “I guess if I ask you to disappear again, you won’t, will you.”

Another sip of soda, a sly smile. “I wish to meet your friend.”

Jesse glared as Fareeha climbed the steps and began chattering.

“Surprise! Turns out Ma is taking Rein to that spa in Denver he really loves so I’m off the hook for festivities and she instructed me to get everything on this list for you and to make you actually cook and eat it so apparently we’re going to actually using your kitchen so I really hope it’s clean for once and- what are you glaring at, Jesse McCree?” Fareeha asked with a smile as she mounted the stairs.

Jesse did his best to smile normally. “Nothin,’ the TV. Cable’s going in and out again.”

Fareeha paused on the last step, took in Jesse’s stance in the mostly-closed door with an unperturbed eye. “Jesse McCree, I have known you since you were a gross seventeen-year-old. Don’t think you’re keeping me and my gift of green organic plant matter out because you haven’t picked up your dirty boxers.” Jesse sweated a little.

“No, ‘Reeha, it’s not-” Just like that, a hand -had she grown another one, where the hell did it come from? - and a leg had insinuated themselves between Jesse and the door and he found himself suddenly and irresistibly simply moved aside.

“Look, Jesse, if there’s someone clutching the sheets in your room right now I’ll just drop these and come back later, maybe after shaking their hand, honestly, because-” Jesse reached out, grabbed her shoulder, tried to stop her, but she’d already stopped, was already staring. Jesse braced himself, cringed a glance at the couch-

And found a big white dog lying there, muzzle resting on his elegantly crossed forelegs. Probably sensing them looking, Hanzo opened his eyes and lifted his head, his tail picking up a slow benign wag. Jesse’s mouth fell open. That son of a-

“Oh,” Fareeha, a notorious lover of all things canine, breathed. Hanzo pushed himself up onto all four legs and shook himself, getting white hairs all over Jesse’s couch, then hopped down off the couch and paced across the room to sit at Jesse’s feet with an expansive and obviously completely-at-ease yawn.

Fareeha, her voice still soft and breathy with the kind of all-consuming love only dogs could inspire in her, said, “So, is this guy that same… animal?” She crouched and offered a hand, which Hanzo offered a polite perfunctory sniff and small lick. His eyes went half-closed as Fareeha began to rub and scratch behind his ears, obviously drinking in the attention.

Jesse coughed. “Uh, yeah, that is- He showed up this mornin’ outside, just hangin’ out with me and was acting very, uh, docile. I think those Fish and Wildlife people, um, put the collar on wrong because he was… showing signs of… mild distress about it. So, I took it off him and brought it home and… he followed me and, uh, he saw the open door and trotted in like he owned the place.” As he finished the thought, Jesse shot a short glare at Hanzo, who entirely missed it due to closed-eye reveling in the best chin scritches Fareeha could provide.  

[hitsugikuro-blog]

tagged~

From @thedarkestcrow , thank you for tagging me!

1. How has your opinion of yourself changed over the years?

I’m definitely more confident and easygoing than I was as a teenager/young adult.  I was an only child and had a period of severe self-esteem issues brought on by bullying that took me a long time to overcome.  But I got help, worked through my issues and am now relatively healthy!  Or as healthy as a huge geek can be I guess.  xD

2. If you had to pick one book to read for the rest of your life, which book would you pick?

JUST ONE??? What kind of sadistic question is this?  

If it isn’t cheating, I’d opt for The Lord of the Rings trilogy because I’ll probably never get tired of reading them.  If not... whatever.  NEXT QUESTION?

3. What’s your favorite season? Do you have a particular reason for liking it?

I love Fall/Autumn because of the warm colors and the relief that comes from summer turning to cooler weather.  There’s just something about the season that’s magical and makes me want to drink cocoa and cider and go for long walks.  Plus it has Halloween, which is the best holiday. :)

4. What’s your favorite thing to do when you want to relax?

Put on a calm playlist and play a game.  I’m a big fan of collection or repetition games where I don’t have to engage my brain too much but I still feel like I’m doing something.  I’ve never been the type of person who can just like... draw a bath and soak for a while.  I get bored too easily and then I’m not relaxed anymore.  ^^;

5. Do you consider yourself lazy?

Eeeeh, it depends on the day?  I’m pretty self-motivated but sometimes I just say screw it and let things slide until I decide to pick them up again.  There’ve definitely been days where I’ve skipped doing laundry or cooked for myself when I really should have.  And I’ve procrastinated on projects and papers before.  But it’s not something I chronically do.

6. What’s your view on morality?

Everyone’s morality is different but there are some universal truths to it.  My personal view is that everything is fine as long as it isn’t actively causing trauma to yourself or someone else, whether it’s physical, mental or emotional.  This might seem like a very relaxed stance on morality but eh, I think people jumping down one another’s throats and arguing over minor details that really don’t matter in the long run is more harmful than not.  You might disagree with someone and judge them for it, but you probably do things they judge you for too so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. When are you most productive?


Afternoons, evenings and nights.  I’m not a morning person and it takes me about two hours and a couple cups of coffee or tea to wake me up every day lol.

8. Do you have any strong opinions about things most people don’t think much about?

Just fandom things, probably?  Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions though, so idk if I’d call mine ‘strong’. 

9. How do you handle stress?

Usually by throwing myself into something that will distract me from the stress, whether it’s music or a good book or a good meditation session or whatever I’m feeling like.  If none of that’s available I do my best to remove myself from whatever’s causing the stress and allow myself to come down from it.  I don’t get extremely stressed very often though, luckily enough.

10. What would your ideal world be like?

I’m gonna have to go with the typical response of a kinder, gentler world than we live in now.  If everyone had more compassion for one another and squabbled less over petty differences it would be so much better.  Also just less greed and power lust in general.  People could still have their differences and their unique identities, but I dunno... I just feel like if more people realized that they could be happier by not being quite so selfish, it would do a lot of good.

Extra Questions:

1.) What’s one story that you want to write/create but won’t (or haven’t yet)?

I’ve started writing like 10 different books before but never got that far with them.  I’m better at coming up with ideas and bouncing them off of other people than sitting down and writing out an entire work from scratch.

2.) What’s an interesting moment of self-discovery in your life?

When I realized that happiness is attainable when you’re doing something positive with your life, even if it’s something small.  Greatness and renown aren't as important as touching the lives of the people around you; friends, family and strangers alike.  

3.) Dream job? 


Forensic Anthropologist, hands down.   I majored in physical anthropology and took a heavy load of science courses and I loved it.  One of my professors was really into criminology as well and gave us really interesting lab work related to forensics.  Plus, it’s usually benefitting the families of missing persons.  If I ever go back to Uni for a Masters degree I think that’s what I’m going to aim for.

4.) What’s a book/movie/show that has had a large influence on you?

Oh man, I dunno if I can just pick one.  This probably won’t come as a surprise after that last question but I was an avid reader of Sherlock Holmes and other detective novels as a kid.   My parents and grandparents let me read anything as long as it was classic literature, so I read all of the Sherlock stories when I was 8 - 10.  As far as movies go, I also loved the Indiana Jones series and it got me really into studying history and different cultures.  And I guess anime and manga, in general, has influenced me a lot and helped cement that desire to travel and learn another language.  

5.) Has music ever changed your life, or at least your outlook on life?

Yes, definitely!  Some songs have always stuck with me and I still find songs with lyrics that impact me in some way.  Music is a powerful way to convey messages (haha, Blue Sect Arc got it 100% right) and invoke emotion in people. 

6.) Imagine you’ve become an established author/artist/creator. What would you want the fandom for your works to be like?

I would want them to be chill and nonargumentative with one another, but I know that’s only like a .0001% probability.   Maybe if I had a fandom of like 5 people it’d be okay.

7.) Same scenario as #6. What would the fandom actually be like?

Probably like every other fandom out there.  Mostly casual consumers but a good chunk that’s very invested.  A smaller chunk of those would be the ones that rock the boat and make everyone unhappy.  

8.) What’s a subject that you think should be taught in schools but typically isn’t taught at all?

It might sound odd, but responsible money management and how to save for retirement.  Responsibly managing my money was one of the biggest issues I had to overcome when I went to University and was living on my own, and it was the same for quite a few of my friends.  I think the spending lifestyle in America is mostly to blame for this, and businesses want to make as much money as they can off of the public so I doubt a class like that will ever be implemented.  But it would be nice if we taught kids and teens how to live comfortably without being so materialistic.  I think things are slowly changing on their own though, and the youngest generations are realizing this (see: all the whining about Millenials ‘killing’ everything lol).

9.) What’s a subject that you think should be taught differently in schools from how it usually is?

Difficult to say!  I don’t know how schools in other states handle all of their subjects, but the ones I went to had a few issues.  I think math and algebra are in the one area that’s most often complained about.  In my experience, I either had an excellent teacher or an amazingly awful one with no exceptions.   Which is a shame because algebra can be interesting and fun if the teacher enjoys the subject and has good lesson plans.

10.) Are there any patterns in your interests/works that wouldn’t be immediately obvious to an outside observer?

I really don’t look like the type of person who’d be into the things I’m into, I suppose?  I’m just your average, small person who dresses in T-shirts, jeans, and trainers with earbuds in. ^^;;

And that’s it!  Tagging  @lapyn @beautifulbloomingblossoms @trollintrancy @justanotherfandomjunkie along with anyone else who’d like to answer it.

[a-fandom-reimagined]

My Love for You

Word Count: 1447

Summary: When Elena Gilbert walks in on you and your husband, Elijah Mikaelson having an intimate moment, Elijah relays a bit of your past and expresses to her his feelings for you.

Requested By: @badhippiehabits

Can you do an Elijah Mikaelson imagine? Where the reader and Elijah were together and married before he was turned and when he was turned she was turned too. And when Elijah and the reader go to help Elena with Klaus, Elena walks in on Elijah and the reader having a cute moment and when the reader is leaving she over hears Elena asking Elijah about their love and he gets all glossy eyes and tell her about their story and how their love will never die. Please and thank you❤️

Pairings: Reader x Elijah Mikaelson

Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long it’s my first request and I wanted it to be as perfect as I could possibly make it!

 It was Elijah’s night to make dinner and as always the delectable scent of his cooking lured you downstairs and into the kitchen.

“Mm.” You said upon entering the kitchen. “I don’t know what you’re cooking but as usual it smells delicious!” You walked up behind him and wrapped your arms around his waist.

He chuckled. “Thank you, my sweet.”

You kissed his shoulder blade, spreading your hands along the strong, muscular planes of his chest. “I love you Elijah Mikaelson.”

He turned off the stove and spun around to face you. Taking either side of your face in his hands, he leaned down until your faces were mere inches apart. “I love you more, y/n”

“Impossible,” you smirked.

He wrapped his arms around you. You placed your hands on his chest. He leaned in further and kissed you. Slowly, your eyes closed and you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him closer.

That kiss was perfect. It could have gone on forever and neither one of you would have noticed. And then you heard it. A soft knock at the doorway.

You broke apart, startled. Elijah shoved you behind him. He tensed, barring his fangs ready to protect you from the world itself if necessary.

Elena, stood wide-eyed in the doorway of the kitchen.

Elijah relaxed his stance and began straightening his shirt collar. “Um, hello Elena.”

You dipped your head in greeting. “Elena.”

“Hi.” Elena said in a meek voice followed by a tiny wave.

You laughed breathily.

“How did you get in here?” Elijah asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Elena’s lips moved but no words came out.

A smile tugged at your lips. You wondered if it was Elijah making her nervous or if her own embarrassment had left her tongue-tied. Maybe both, you decided.

“Elena!” you exclaimed.  

“I knocked but no one answered!” she finally said. “And both of your cars were in the driveway so I figured that either you two were avoiding me or something terrible happened to you! I’m sorry! I don’t usually go barging into other people’s homes but I really, really need to talk to Elijah! So I tested the door…and it was unlocked…and then I found you guys…in here….kissing…”

When Elena finished she was nervously wringing her hands and looking down at her shoes like a child who’d gotten caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. It was so adorable that you were nearly in tears trying to keep yourself from laughing.

Elijah cleared his throat awkwardly. “And what is that you need to speak to me about, Elena?”

The doppelganger sighed, throwing her hands in the air. “Klaus is up to his old tricks again.”

You and Elijah groaned in unison. You’d had enough of Klaus and ‘his old tricks’ to last you a lifetime.

“Well, in that case I’m going back upstairs to—“

“Keep the bed warm?” Elijah finished.

You gaped at him in shock. He was rarely so playful in front of anyone outside of his immediate family.

From the corner of your eye you saw Elena’s cheeks turn bright red.

“Elijah! We have a guest,” you scolded, gesturing to Elena.

“What?” he laughed.

You playfully swatted him on the arm. He returned the favor by swatting you on the behind. You yelped in surprise.  

“No, no! It’s fine. I did break into your house after all…” Elena’s cheeks reddened further.

“What is wrong with you?”

Elijah shrugged. “I love you. That’s all.”

You smiled and pecked a kiss on his cheek.

Striding past Elena and out of the kitchen, you spoke, “Just yell if he steps out of line, Elena.”

The two snickered as you made your way upstairs and into the master bedroom.

“Please excuse my crude behavior, Elena.” You heard your husband say from below.

“No, it’s fine. You and y/n are adorable together.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you think so.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Since I was human,” you could almost hear the grin in his voice.

“Wow… What’s it like?”

“What’s what like?”

“Being with the same person for over a thousand years… I can’t imagine being with just the same person for one thousand years.”

“I suppose that it’s all about the person. I can’t imagine a day without my y/n at my side.”

Climbing into your bed you beamed with pride and pleasure.

“That’s beautiful, Elijah.”

“It’s true too.”

She laughed. “So how did you meet y/n?”

“We sort of grew up together. Our fathers were in business together, my father was a wealthy landowner and y/n’s father was a contractor. My father owned the land and y/n’s father built the houses on the land.”

“So your family was supportive?”

Elijah snorted. “Our mothers were supportive and so were my siblings. Rebekah especially. Y/N is like the sister she never had. Our fathers on the other hand were furious.”

You shuddered at the memory.

“Why?”

“Who knows? I remember Mikael went out of his way to make y/n uncomfortable every time she visited our home. Y/N’s father, thankfully at least tried to be civil when I was over.”  

“That was nice.”

“Yes, but when I left he would yell at y/n so loudly that the whole village could hear.”

A chill crept up your spine, you could still hear the roar of your father’s voice in your ears.

“Oh.” She said flatly.

Elijah snickered lightly. “It’s okay though. We got through it. And we’ll get through anything else that life throws at us so long as we are together.”

Your lips twitched, fighting a smile.

“That’s really beautiful.” Elena said softly. “You really, truly love her, don’t you?”

“That woman up there is my world,” you heard him say.

“That’s amazing. When I was little my mom used to read to me stories about princes and princesses finding their soulmates and true loves. When I grew older I tossed the whole idea of true loves and soulmates aside. It all sounded so…childish and unrealistic. And yet here I am looking right at in you and y/n.”

Elijah released a breathy laugh. “Well if true loves and soulmates are indeed real then there is no doubt in my mind that y/n is mine. I love her like I have loved no other. Her very existence completes me. Her eyes, her scent, her personality bewitches me… I remember that on the night of our hundredth wedding anniversary party I looked upon the face of my wife with such overwhelming love that I was afraid I might burst before the first toast could be made. Just days before the celebration I was wondering if it would always be like this, if my love for her would ever fade. Nine hundred years later I think it’s safe to say that the answer to that question is no.” He laughed.

But you weren’t laughing at all. You were crying. Your husband’s words had brought you to tears. His voiced feelings hit you where you needed it most. You too had shared your husband’s worries and for centuries you dreaded the day when your husband would lose interest in you or when someone new would manage to catch his eye. Now you knew that that day would never come.

You heard Elijah sniff a couple of times.

You swallowed your laughter. He felt it too, you realized, the relief, the overwhelming euphoria of being and feeling completely content and satisfied in your relationship and in the one you love.

“So what was it you needed, Elena?”

X

 When Elena departed, Elijah resumed cooking dinner and made a quick and sharply-worded phone call to his brother, Klaus.

When he was done, he entered your bedroom with a gleaming silver tray in his hands. He grinned at you, sitting the steaming tray with your dinner on it at the foot of the bed. “I thought we might eat in bed for a change.”

He leaned down and kissed your lips. His lips were soft and warm against your own but kiss remained strong.

You stroked his cheek, his stubble scratched at your palm. “I love you with all of my heart, Elijah Mikaelson.”

His cheeks colored a tad. “I knew you were listening.”

“You meant it? All of it?”

“Every last word.” He confirmed.

“I feel the same,” you told him. “I’ve never felt as strong, or as confident, or as beautiful or as…whole as I have in these last one thousand plus years I have spent at your side. When I’m with you no matter where I am the world is brighter, kinder. Thank you for being my husband, Elijah and thank you for making me your wife.”

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading. And thanks to @badhippiehabits for requesting.

[gakupoid2m]

Title: A true warrior

Word count:1285

Pairing: Gintsu

For: Ykchahine, who suggested the headcanon that Tsukuyo’s opinion of Gintoki changes after she sees his scars. I  hope you like it~~~

“You moron… Why did you go out in the rain?”  

“I had to get jump.”

Tsukuyo sighed. She knew what she was getting into when she married him but sometimes Gintoki surprised her. At thirty, He still acted like a child, read jump and drank strawberry milk religiously before going to bed. Yes, he really was a kid trapped inside an adult’s body. Tsukuyo guessed she should have paid heed to Kagura and Shinpachi’s warnings before marrying him.

Well, not like she could change anything now.

She collected the dirty tissues around him into a pile and adjusted his pillow. Gintoki let out a small sneeze and covered his face with the blanket up to his nose.

“Tsukki….everything hurts.” he whined in a muffled voice. His nose was stuffy; his throat was sore and his head hurt. He wouldn’t have gone out in the rain if he had known this was going to happen. Well, maybe he would’ve since it was for jump but he would’ve taken an umbrella.  

Tsukuyo frowned at his remark. His face was slightly flushed and his eyebrows were furrowed. He winced every time he changed his position. She had warned Gintoki the day before about catching a cold when he returned home drenched from head to toe but he waved her off by saying that he had somehow grown immune to them.

She helped him sit up and handed him a glass of water and medicine she had placed beside his bed earlier. After making sure Gintoki had swallowed the pill, she got up and went towards the door.

“Where are you going?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“To make you porridge.” She answered simply. Although she did not know how to cook much, she had learnt the basics from Hinowa because the older woman had pestered her about it.

After she had left the room, Tsukuyo went towards the kitchen to get all the ingredients and utensils out on the shelves. When she had set everything out, she began to wash the rice. Being involved in quite a tedious task, Tsukuyo could not help but wander off in thought. She began to think back on the time when Gintoki visited Yoshiwara the second time around. To be honest, it still sometimes baffled her how wildly different her life turned out than what she expected it to look like.

                                                             ****

Hinowa had invited Gintoki for tea in order to properly thank him for yorozuya’s help. Well, that and to ask him to help Tsukuyo with maintaining the order of the city. The opening of the ceiling had been a great joy for the courtesans but now that it was gone, many of them wanted to leave and return to the surface. While the Hyakka was busy in terminating their contracts and accommodating the changes, A certain drug syndicate had decided to avail the opportunity and expand its business.  

Hinowa was in the middle of her explanation when Tsukuyo returned from her patrol.

“Ah, good thing you’re back” Hinowa smiled politely at the ninja. She knew that Tsukuyo was tired with work and was keeping quiet about it. However, she couldn’t hide anything from the Sun of Yoshiwara.

Tsukuyo greeted Hinowa, and then turned to look at Gintoki. She nodded her head a little as an acknowledgement since she did have a certain amount of respect for him considering what he had done for Yoshiwara but the lone wolf façade she put up, stopped her from showing any other signs of friendliness.  

“Cold! I felt a shiver run down my back. Can’t you be a little nicer?” Gintoki commented while picking his nose. Although he knew how the Shinigami Tayuu usually was, it would still feel good to be greeted by someone as pretty as her. And since all the other girls he knew acted like gorillas, Gintoki prayed that she was somewhat more refined than them.

“Right, thank you.” Tsukuyo replied simply and went towards her room. She was tired and didn’t feel like talking much.

“I called him to help you out with work.”

The death god courtesan stopped in her tracks turned around to look at the older woman. Tsukuyo took a deep breath, so you already knew Hinowa….

She had taken out most of the people involved with the group but she was having trouble locating their hideout. It had already been a month and she had no leads as to where they hiding.  As much as she hated to admit it, she really did need help.

Hinowa told her that Gintoki might be of assistance in her task as he knew a thing or two about drug dealers and after getting the required information from The Shiroyasha, Tsukuyo was ready to drag them out of their hiding spot but Hinowa stopped her and forced to rest for the day.

****

She met Gintoki the next day and they both set out for their destination. After asking around here and there for a while, they finally reached the hideout. Everything was going up to plan, until the enemy ambushed them out of nowhere. Someone had seen them hiding around and had reported it to the gang boss.

Gintoki sighed loudly. He had been planning on settling the matter quietly by handing them over to the police but with the way things were he didn’t really have much of a choice than to fight.

“I want more money, just so you know.” Gintoki took his bokuto out of his belt and got into his fighting stance.

“Money huh? Good for you a job just opened up in a gay bar down the street.” Tsukuyo also squared up and turned her back towards Gintoki.  Ignoring the protest coming from him, she glared at her enemies and even if they had a numerical advantage, Tsukuyo knew that the fight was going to be over easy.

****

They were nearly finished when someone managed to slash Gintoki on his shoulder after finding a small opening. He took care of him immediately and leaned against the wall. Tsukuyo ran over to him and tore the sleeve of her arm to tie up the wound. It was deep enough to leave a scar but the Gintoki insisted that he was fine. The ninja quickly finished off the rest of the  insurgents and Hyakka arrived.

When the drug dealers had been handed over to the Hyakka, they both returned to tea shop and Hinowa immediately called someone to treat Gintoki’s wound. He took off his shirt so that his cut could properly be taken care of.

It was then that Tsukuyo first saw his scars. His body was painted with them. They were all over his back, his arms and chest. She guessed he had earned them from his war days, probably while protecting his companions. She felt like she had gotten glimpse of his past. A sad and broken one faced with a lot of difficult choices and losses. Tsukuyo realized for the first time after meeting him that hero-like person that saved Yoshiwara was carrying so much weight on his back and what he was fighting for right now became so much clearer to her than before.

The door opened and Kagura and Shinpachi ran inside while calling out his name. Gintoki looked up to see them walk over to him and bombard him with questions. After assuring them it was nothing but a scratch Gintoki patted them on their heads with a smile. He looked up to see her leaving the room.

“Where?”

“On patrol.”

Tsukuyo walked out of the room and started smoking her kiseru. And unbeknownst to her, her feelings of admiration for Gintoki had started changing into something else.

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Catherine Lowe from ‘The Bachelor’ used to be a vegan food blogger

When Catherine Giudici saw Sean Lowe on Emily Maynard’s season of “The Bachelorette” via her TV, she was smitten. A year later, the Seattle native landed a spot on “The Bachelor” as a contestant competing for Sean’s heart. For her introduction, producers wanted her to ride in on a unicycle. Instead, she exited the limo, walked up to the man of her dreams and said, “Meet me inside for a dance” — something she now finds embarrassing considering nobody’s dancing in the California mansion.

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“My first impression of her was, she’s super cute and kind of giggly,” Sean told The Daily Meal during a recent press opportunity as part of an upcoming Subway promotion. “She had this energy about her where I knew I wanted to spend more time with her. I want to hang out with this girl. I don’t know much about her, but I want to hang out with her.”

The Lowes have been happily married for five years now, living in Dallas with their two sons, 2-year-old Samuel and 8-month-old Isaiah. While the baby’s primarily eating pasta (because it fills him up, which makes him sleep longer), Samuel has an appetite for whatever’s on the menu for Mom and Dad. Catherine commandeers the kitchen though, while Sean promises a trade-off of doing the dishes.

“I love to experiment with anything we have in our pantry or in our fridge,” Catherine said. “I’m always trying to think of, like, how to make it into something. So I always have to find a protein, a carb that goes with it and then a vegetable.”

Filipino, Italian and Thai foods made from scratch are just a few of her culinary specialties. Prior to her career as a graphic designer, the now 32-year-old worked in a Thai restaurant and blogged about vegan fare for the The Seattlite.

“Really any food is so exciting to me because the seasoning is so different for every cuisine and it just gets me so excited,” she said. “I love talking about food, I love making food and he [Sean] loves eating food.”

What he doesn’t love is picking up all the sticky rice Samuel spills on the floor, he says with a laugh. Every Saturday morning, the father-son duo have a sweet tradition of walking down the street to Top Pot for apple fritters and chocolate and blueberry cake doughnuts. Coincidentally, the bakery launched in Catherine’s hometown of Seattle before expanding to Dallas.

As far as date night goes, the couple enjoys going out for casual Tex-Mex or a nice dinner at a steakhouse. They both like their meat cooked medium-rare. Anything above that “is a sin,” Sean jokes. Ideally, the meal would end with a warm chocolate chip cookie baked in a skillet with ice cream on top.

When they’re just relaxing at home — watching murder documentaries or the Smithsonian Channel, depending on who has the remote — takeout options typically include pad thai or pizza.

“We’re so embarrassing with pizza,” Catherine says, to which Sean reveals, “We order Dominos a lot. I think Dominos is great. Their pan pizza is awesome.”

So what’s on top? For Catherine, it’s mushrooms and olives. Sean is aware his order is slightly controversial. The 35-year-old says, “A lot of people have a hard stance on pineapples, but I’ll do Hawaiian.”

Apart from risky pizza toppings and the fact that they met and fell in love on TV, the Lowes are refreshingly normal. He calls her Gaya (a nickname given by her family) and Mama, and she calls him Daddy — “in a sweet way, not a creepy way,” she insists, because of their kids. The only complaint Sean has about his wife is that if she tries on 10 shirts, instead of hanging them up, they’ll all go on the floor. Girl problems, right? And Sean’s bad habit is that he… uses too many Q-Tips?

“People tell me it’s bad, but I don’t care. I have to use a Q-Tip on my ears every time I get out of the shower. Every time,” he said. “Because I can kind of feel the water in there if I don’t. People always tell me how terrible Q-Tips are, but I love them.”

“How many people are you getting out of the shower with to tell you that Q-Tips are terrible?” Catherine asked, to which Sean replied, “I’ve had a few tweets about my love for Q-Tips and inevitably, people tell me they’re awful.”

Another bad habit, he adds, is that he just won’t let up with the super-cheesy dad jokes, “especially if I can tell it’s just starting to aggravate her. It’s a lot of puns. I think dads enjoy puns, but sometimes I think it just starts to get under her skin.”

Funny enough, Catherine’s familiar with pun usage, too. On Sean’s season of “The Bachelor,” she famously slipped him a note that said, “I’m vegan but I like the beef.” Now, she uses similar sayings on cards made by her stationary brand, Lowe Co.

Anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows that those aren’t real problems. But that doesn’t go without saying there weren’t challenges to overcome after stepping out from in front of the camera.

“She had to give up her life in Seattle, move away from friends, family, work,” Sean said. “Any time you meet in an unorthodox way and you’re kind of melding two lives together, it’s going to bring its own set of challenges, so in the beginning there was a learning curve.”

Piggybacking off of that, Catherine said that after moving from Seattle to Dallas, “you don’t know the people you’re hanging out with, you don’t have a lot of friends in your new city, so there are definitely a lot of factors that can bring about conflict in relationships. That’s why it’s so hard to keep a relationship from the show because you really don’t have anything going for you except your own love, and maybe that’s enhanced because of the circumstances. You’re thrust into this real-life situation and are like, ‘OK, figure it out,’ and you don’t have the assistance that hopefully you would’ve thought you might have. It’s really just about committing, and that’s why we’re together still — because we decided we would be together and that was just the end of it.”

In addition to being committed and overcoming the obstacles that come with great change, both Catherine and Sean are aware of and grateful for how loving and compassionate they are. Sean’s favorite quality about his wife is not her shiny hair, her pretty face or perfect lashes. It’s how big her heart is.

“When she cares about someone or something, she really cares about it on such a deep, intense level,” he said. “I don’t have that, personally. I would say most people, 99.99 percent, do not have the ability to love as deeply as she loves. So that’s a testament to her love, not a knock against me. It’s really, really impressive.”

Similarly, Catherine points to her husband as a genuinely caring person. When they were filming “The Bachelor” together, she took note of how Sean knew the entire production crew by name.

“He knew everybody’s names and was very respectful of them,” she said. “Knowing that’s how a person treats other people — it’s so sweet and it’s like, I look up to that in him. You see that in a partner and you’re like, ‘Wow, you’re a good person.’”

For anyone who’s thinking about sending in an application for an upcoming season of “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette,” Catherine says it’s important that it be a supplement to your life instead of banking everything you have on the opportunity.

“You can tell when people want to be famous and when they want all these perks from the show. They might get voted off the first night, then you’re going to be really humble after that,” she said. “So the way I thought of it is, I have a great life. This is just a really fun experience that I’m getting to have and to kind of think of it as a supplement and not as your only way of living.”

Sean’s advice? Just have fun.

“Back when we were on it [the show], Instagram wasn’t nearly as big of a thing as it is now. So people weren’t doing it to make money on Instagram ads after the show, so it’s probably a different beast now,” he said. “But it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You might be able to travel the world and do a lot of cool things you wouldn’t experience otherwise, so just have fun.”

If you are single, but the limelight (and potential drama) isn’t quite for you, don’t sweat it. Sean says to “be patient and try to enjoy the chapter of life that you’re in. Marriage is awesome and it’s fantastic and so rewarding and things like that, but being single has its advantages. I can look back on my 20s when I was single, and I spent a lot of time with friends and it’s just a different chapter and that chapter’s also fun. Don’t be in a hurry to rush to the next chapter. Enjoy the chapter you’re in.”

“Enjoy your family while you can and doing things on your own time, because now, you have to think about the other person, you have to think about your children, and of course that’s amazing, but go be selfish and go travel and experience life,” Catherine added. “It’s so much fun when you get to do things by yourself and have something a little more to bring into a relationship like more worldly experiences and a different outlook.”

To experience one of “The Bachelor” franchise’s most beloved couples in real life, fans can feel the love on February 14 when the pair will appear at Subway’s Ultimate Valentine’s Day Experience from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Tickets are currently sold out, but there’s an option to sign up for the wait list for free. The event serves to promote the chain’s Meatball Marinara and Ultimate Spicy Italian sandwiches on cheesy garlic bread.

After the event, the couple literally has no other plans to celebrate the commercial holiday. They just really love food, so the timing and nature of the partnership works. If you want to treat your sweetie to a nice dinner at a chain restaurant, give it all you’ve got with these 20 places offering dope V-Day Deals.

Source: https://www.thedailymeal.com/entertain/sean-catherine-lowe-subway/021219