#but most w time grew to just want to be freed and be able to pass on in peace. more hostile ghosts become vague wisps of what they were bef

[surreal-duck]

es rarepair week 2024 day 1 | AU/future

lil ghostic au of mine!!! yuzuru and the rest of fine are long since trapped souls in an abandoned mansion of which rst come across while looking for shelter during a storm :] it doesnt um. particularly end well

[obssessivethorn]

More Yuu Headcanons

Here are some more TWST headcanons of our favorite little shrimpy prefect that I pulled from the depths of my mind which needed to be freed. This mainly builds off of my first Yuu hc, so take a look at that if you'd like!

[Yuu Makes Constant References No One Else Gets]

[Masterlist]

Yuu humming/singing Two of Hearts if they’re in a relationship w/ Ace or just hanging out with him as a friend

Yuu refers to the cast as handsome as a casual fact and is surprised when most of them are confused/surprised/flustered by this 

“What? The guys in this school are handsome. That’s kinda just a fact.” 

Yuu being nostalgic on their Birthday 

Deuce: “I bet your family’s celebrating your birthday even if you’re not there.”

Yuu: (hopeful) “yeah. Or, who knows, this could be a whole Narnia situation and no time has passed there at all.”

Ace: “Narnia?”

Yuu: (somber) “oh, just some popular story back home. Maybe I’ll tell you guys some time.”

Ace and Deuce always wanting to hear about stories from Yuu’s home world but being too scared that it will make them sad 

Fem!Yuu being really excited to meet Deuce’s mom because they’ve been surrounded by  only guys at an all boys school for months 

Bonus: Dylla absolutely adores fem!Yuu and is more than willing to help fashion some more feminine clothing for Yuu if they ever wanted.

Bonus +1: fem!Yuu wanting to meet the cast’s moms and sisters whenever the boys mention them.

Bonus +2: All the boys’ families just accepting Yuu as their child regardless of whether they’ve met or not simply because of how often the boys talk about them 

Yuu getting really giddy and excited when they’re able to travel to a new place in twisted wonderland other than Sage’s Island (i.e. cast’s hometowns, etc.)

Yuu asking Crewel for help whenever/if they want to dye their hair 

Based on a voiceline, Crewel canonically bleaches half his hair white and maintains that to keep with his style (the dedication of that man is inspiring)

The moment Yuu realizes they’ve fallen too far down the rabbit hole and are now attached to everyone in twisted wonderland, meaning their leaving will hurt more and more with each passing day. 

The feeling of being incredibly torn between their previous life they were forced to abandon, years of work they had put in to reach the goals they wanted to accomplish, and the new friends, experiences, and opportunities before them in this new world. So they push the feeling down further with each day. Force themself to ignore the inevitable. 

They don’t want to think about the idea of who will take care of Grim when they’re gone? Or how Ace will get his assignments done if they’re not there to force him to do it. Or or who will calm deuce down enough before he gets into a fight and ruins his goal of being a perfect honor student? 

Who will be there if someone else overblots?

This one I kinda stole from Private Thoughts of a Moray Eel by @mochinomnoms, but I love the idea of Yuu, Ace, and Deuce being so close and completely comfortable with each other. I mean, they’ve gone through literal life or death situations together from the start, so it makes sense that they would be closer than most. 

But not just the closeness we see in game with them being a main friend group who always hangs out. But close physically, in the sense that there are few boundaries left between the three. 

For a few examples, I like the idea that the three will commonly be seen cuddling together or leaning on one another when they’re lounging in the courtyard or around Heartslabyul/Ramshackle. 

Ace often times has his arm around the shoulders of Yuu or Deuce. Sometimes leaning in to whisper something stupid or gossipy in their ear. 

Yuu has taken to giving the Adeuce duo kisses on their foreheads and cheeks as thanks or as a goodbye when they head back to Ramshackle with Grim. 

Deuce grew a habit of holding Yuu or Ace’s hand when he gets ticked off by some oaf he wants to punch. The two will respond by giving his hand a squeeze or rubbing a comforting thumb across the back of his hand. It’s a silent thing, no one outright acknowledges it, because it’s become such a common practice for the three. 

Another habit Deuce has developed is that he’ll face-plant directly into the lap of whoever is sitting down after a long day. The first time he did it, it was Yuu’s lap and it spooked them so much they accidentally threw their phone at Ace’s face. Deuce felt horrible after that, but after some reassurance, he started doing it more often. Albet, making sure the landing was softer than the first time. 

In response to Deuce planting his face on their thighs, Ace and Yuu both took to immediately playing with his hair and massaging his scalp with their free hand. 

Yuu’s way of asking for comfort when they're stressed or scared (which they will always refuse to admit, they swear, they just need them as a human shield! It’s just for defense!) is by hugging one of the two around their torso and ducking their head into the crook of their neck to hide their face. Most times, the hug from the back so whoever they’re hugging can’t see what they’re feeling. But they of course still love hugging from the front because the two will always respond by immediately wrapping their arms around Yuu and rubbing their back. 

Because of this slightly abnormal friendship, (I failed to describe the abnormal part here but I can always write more) there have of course been some rumors started about them being in a romantic relationship. Are they polygamous? Are Ace and Deuce fighting over Yuu in an epic and dramatic love triangle? Is Yuu playing both of the boys? Are there hidden feelings between the three they all refuse to talk about? 

While most of the school and some of their friends wonder this, the trio completely ignores it. As if the rumors don’t exist at all. When asked about their relationship or if anything being said is true, all three of them look at each other, shrug, and say completely different things. 

Jack: So, are you guys in a relationship?  Epel: Yeah, you’re all awfully close for just friends.  Sebek: Please, the details of their relationship have nothing to do with us! But if you three are romantically involved in a relationship with each other then I will support you entirely as long as it does not affect my lord.  Ortho: Well, let’s hear them out first, are you three dating each other?  Ace, Deuce, and Yuu: *tangled in a cuddle pile on Ramshackle’s couch with Grim asleep on the arm of the couch next to them* [simultaneously] Ace: Maybe. Deuce: No? why? Yuu: Only on Tuesdays. 

The main part taken from Private Thoughts of a Moray Eel is the idea where Ace and Yuu visit Deuce’s home one summer and Deuce’s mom Dylla immediately believes the three are an adorable couple. 

Regardless of whether they are, aren’t, or are secretly pining, Dylla would decide in that moment that she had two new children she would die for. (Whether through adoption or as an in-law, should secretly hopes she can have Yuu as her child) 

AdeuceYuu is probably my favorite ship in all of Twst but this concept of them being physically affectionate and comfortable with each other transcends simply being a romantic headcanon and something I personally believe to be true as platonic and any other relationship dynamic you can imagine. Because let’s be honest, all three of them need comfort from others after going through so many overblots. And who better to comfort you than the ones who stood beside you through most of those experiences.  

Yuu being seen by the cast as a very passive and soft-spoken individual who couldn’t hurt a fly even if they tried. Only, the projected image of the protag they’ve come to accept is shattered when they witness Yuu tearing a random student a new one after said student had pushed them over the edge after a very stressful day. (Separate HC post for that concept coming soon) 

Yuu, who stood against beasts, overblots, and literal titans and gods, being too scared to ask for extra ketchup in Mostro Lounge. 

Additionally, Yuu who lives with a direbeast, being afraid of squirrels (don’t ask me why, this just feels correct, so we’re going with it)

The first idea that got me to start writing twst headcanons: Yuu having a very different way of speaking in Twisted Wonderland than they do back home. Because many of the references and slang they typically use in everyday speech doesn’t make sense to anyone but them in TW, they talk less and have a very plain way of speaking compared to most people their age. Here’s how I imagine this specific scenario goes:

When hanging out with Adeuce and Grim one day, Ace brings up (jokingly) how boring the prefect sounds when speaking. 

Yuu makes a comment about how they speak very differently from how they do back home.

This piques Ace and Deuce’s interest. 

While Deuce is more reluctant to ask, Ace begins asking questions and hounding Yuu for examples and for them to say things in ways they normally would. Deuce and Grim eventually join in on the barrage of questions. 

Finally, and a little hesitantly, Yuu decided to give them one day where they talk in the way they normally would back home. 

In this case, that means a lot of references, stupid internet jokes, and generational slang.

While the majority of it goes over the heads of Yuu’s friends, prompting more questions than it does answer, it’s still a day in which they see a whole new side of Yuu. One that’s evidently more relaxed and natural for the beloved prefect. 

It’s a confusing day for most, listening to Yuu speak as if they’ve lost their mind and started spewing nonsense, but it also became one of the highlights of the school year for the cast.

I have plenty more headcanons i can rip from the crevices of my mind, so if you would like to see more let me know! I love thinking of these silly little moments and dynamics and overall making the main character feel a little more real and personal for myself and hopefully others.

@thisisafish123 (you asked to be tagged for a part 2, not exactly sure if this counts for you but I hope you enjoy!)

[astra-galaxie]

🫂😬👻💝💔❤️‍🔥 for zara tien??? ‘w’

I hope that when I write season 6, I can do Zara and the team justice! I appreciate getting requests like this because they help me think about their characters in ways I wasn’t able to while playing Travel in Time!

(Nothing against the season itself, the gameplay just sucked, and I couldn't get into it like I could with the other seasons.)

That being said, please enjoy these headcanons for Zara!

🫂 A friendship headcanon

Zara will always have her friends’ backs, no matter how big or scary her opponent is. She never backs down from a fight, especially to protect someone she cares about. She has given people countless black eyes, cuts, bruises and even some broken bones. If you think you can get away with hurting one of Zara’s friends, then you better have a good hiding spot because Zara WILL get her revenge!

👻 A headcanon about what scares them

Zara is scared of being alone. Growing up, she didn’t have many people she could trust or rely on; for the most part, she raised herself. And while she likes having alone time, that doesn't mean she wants to be alone. That is why she tries to spend a lot of time with Theo and Kai. Even when they’re apart, Zara doesn't feel alone, but she still prefers having at least one of her boyfriends or a friend with her to fill the void she fears.

💝 A headcanon about their love language

Zara loves giving and receiving physical affection. Head pats, hugs, kisses, holding hands, and cuddling always make her feel loved. She grew up touch-starved, and while she didn’t realize how much it was hurting her since she had gone without it most of her life, Zara came to use touch as a way to show her love. And with Theo and Kai, she can give and get double the affection!

💔 An angsty headcanon

SOMBRA nearly successfully recruited Zara. She was 12 at the time of their defeat by the Bureau and had been targeted as a potential recruit during their final year of operation. She hadn't gotten far enough into the program to be experimented on, but she did participate in The Hunt alongside other recruits. She thought the things SOMBRA was promising were good and that she would help the world become a better palace, but after the Bureau freed her following The Hunt and she was placed into the Spring Angels Foundation, Zara realized how terrible SOMBRA was.

She’s yet to bring up her past with SOMBRA to her team, mainly because of Jack and Marina. She’s seen them look at her as if they should remember her, but Zara’s always deflected their questions. Maybe one day she’ll tell them the truth, but for now, that secret is best left in the shadows…

😬 A headcanon about the worst thing they’ve done

(I moved this one to relate it to the angsty headcanon.)

Having been recruited by SOMBRA, Zara did many things to prove her worth to them. Along with participating in The Hunt, she also committed minor crimes for them, like stealing. One such crime involved her breaking into a small shop to steal their money. SOMBRA had given Zara a gun to defend herself, but she was scared to use it. Given the late hour, she thought she wouldn’t need it, but she got caught while stuffing the money from the safe into her bag. In the ensuing panic, Zara shot the man who caught her, thankfully not killing him, but she did shoot him in his kneecap. Zara couldn't believe what she’d done and ran before the cops arrived, but the man’s screams of pain still haunt her.

❤️‍🔥 A romantic headcanon

Zara HATED when Theo and Kai were fighting over her. She loved both of them but had no idea how to tell them or if they would accept her feelings. But being stuck on a time machine gives you plenty of time to figure things out. In the end, Zara confesses to Theo and Kai, and in turn, the men are able to set aside their rivalry and replace it with love.

The downside to being stuck in a time machine is that you're stuck in a ship with your teammates, which leads to them being almost caught and caught in several intimate situations. But Zara, Theo, and Kai didn’t care if they got caught; as long as they were being caught together, it was fun, especially when Jack once walked in on them making out and left screaming that he needed to bleach his eyes.

There we go! Another ask down and on to the next one! Thank you for the request!

[islesnucks]

hi bae can i request a barzy blurb based on dress by taylor swift? ty 🥺

a taylor swift song inspired barzy fic? hell yeah that’s like my two favorite things in the word together

requests are open so go send something if you feel like 

also this turned out a bit longer than I expected

I DON'T WANT YOU LIKE A BEST FRIEND - MAT BARZAL X READER

Word Count: 1.9 k

Warning: none

Summary: after Mat introduces you as his best friend and it affects you more than it should, you end up confessing your feelings for him 

Masterlist

Add yourself to my taglist!

His words hadn’t left your mind the whole night, they were on loop, replaying over and over in your brain. ‘This is Y/N, one of my best friends.’ That’s how Mat had introduced you when you arrived at his family’s friend’s wedding, to which he had invited you as he’s plus one.

You knew you and Mat were just friends, you have been for a long time, and it surely wasn’t the first time he introduced you like that. Maybe this time hit differently because you had just come to terms with the undeniable fact that you had fallen for your best friend, no matter how cliché that sounded.

You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when it happened. It just happened slowly without you even realizing. Suddenly seeing him hit on random girls at the bar made you feel sick. Suddenly his hand on your lower back guiding you through a crowded room felt different. Suddenly your name coming from his lips made the world stop. You didn’t know what turned the switch in your brain from platonic to romantic love and made you look at him with new eyes, but once you realized it there was no going back and the thought of Mat and you becoming something more was always there painfully present in the back of your head.

“Y/N?” you heard Mat call you, bringing you back to reality. You looked at him still a bit lost in your thoughts. ”Are you okay?” he asked with his eyes stuck on the windshield as he drove you home after the wedding had ended.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“I don’t know. You’ve been a little off all night.” He noticed, he obviously did. Because he’s Mat, he’s your best friend, he’s one of the most attentive guys you know and he knows you better than you know yourself sometimes. So he obviously noticed, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t keep on pretending.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” you replied failing to sound as confident as you wanted to. Mat didn’t say anything and the car fell back into silence. 

You looked outside the window, trying to distract yourself and calm down. You weren’t far away from your place, in just a few minutes you’d be in your apartment. Mat had noticed something but he didn’t know what it was, so you could send him a text explaining you had a headache or something to get him off your back and just move on.

At least that was the plan but then Mat turned off the car and got out of it with you. You thought he was walking you to the building door like he had done many times, nothing strange. However he walked into the building with you and got into the elevator.

That’s when you started to suspect something was happening. You looked over at him confused and he just smiled at you, like nothing was going on. So maybe he was just walking you to the door. You decided not to think too much into it because if you did your heart would start racing and would notice your nerves, the last thing you needed was to give him more reasons to believe something was going on.

As you opened the door Mat was quick to walk into your apartment and you watched him with furrowed brows as he took a seat on your couch, casually like there was nothing weird with it.

“Excuse me? Can I help you with something?” you asked, stepping in front of him.

“I know something’s up Y/N. You barely talked today and you didn’t cry, I’ve seen you cry at stupid commercials and you didn’t cry at a wedding.”

You rolled your eyes walking away from him because you knew you couldn’t lie to his face, he’d notice. “I’m fine Mat I promised I just had a headache.”

“No you didn’t. When you have a headache you massage your head and you get sleepy, that’s not what happened today. It’s more like you were gone.” You hated how much he knew you, it would be harder to convince him but that didn’t mean you wouldn’t try.

“Well I’m sorry I don’t always have the same gestures Sherlock.” you replied, irritation was clear in your tone. Mat let out a deep sigh and got up. It wasn’t his intention to argue and he could see you were getting mad, he just wanted to know what was going on.

“Y/N I know you-” he started to say as he approached you but you were tired of hearing that speech.

“Can we not do this right now? I’m tired Mat, I just wanna go to bed.” you said with a defeated look, lowering your town. He looked at you for a minute and decided to push his stubbornness aside. He knew he was right, he’d bet a million dollars on it, but he also knew you were exhausted, he could see it in your face.

Mat walked till he was in front of you, inches away, and suddenly wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest. He held you tight as one hand went up to your hair to stroke it. You were surprised at first but then he felt you relax in his embrace. He placed a kiss on top of your head as he balanced slightly from one side to the other, keeping his face buried in your hair.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on okay? Because I know something happened, don’t even try to pretend it didn’t. I just wanna know if it’s something I did, that’s all I need to know because I can’t leave you here alone knowing I may have done something to upset you.”

His voice was soft as he spoke against you. Tears started to build up in your eyes and you tried to push them away as you debated what your next move would be.

If you told him it wasn’t about him he'd leave and you could move on pretending nothing happened and dealing with your unresolved feelings. If you told him the truth you didn’t know what would happen. However you knew that regardless of how he felt about you he’d be nice to you. The man was hugging you tight about his chest, refusing you to leave until you told him it wasn’t his fault because he wouldn’t be able to live with himself knowing he did anything to hurt you.

Maybe it was the wine you had drank. Maybe it was because you were emotionally exhausted and unable to think clearly. Or maybe because you were tired of pretending. You didn’t know the reason why you decided to be honest and tell him how you truly felt, but you did that.

“You introduced me as your best friend today, that’s why I was off the whole day, I just kept thinking about it.” you mumbled against his chest, breaking the silence.

“Did you want me to introduce you differently?” He pulled away a little to be able to look you in the face, but his arms were still around you.

“Yes- I mean no. I-” You stumbled on your words, trying to find the right way to explain everything. “What you did was fine, I am your best friend, that’s right.”

“Then why did it upset you?” You rested your head face against his chest again, not having the courage to look him in the face as you confessed what you were about to confess.

“Cause I don't want you like a best friend Mat. I haven’t for a while now and I just don’t know how to deal with this. It’s not your fault, I don’t know what happened or when or how. I have these feelings for you and I guessed it hurt a bit to hear you calling me your best friend, even though that’s exactly what I am.”

After you spoke the room went silent again and you started panicking. You looked up at Mat who was already looking down at you and all you could see was shock. Suddenly your worst fear was real, you had screwed up your friendship with him. It was over. You felt the familiar knot in your throat and tears blurred your vision.

“Sorry ignore everything I said. Just forget it okay?” you said as you freed yourself from his embrace. Still no reaction whatsoever from him. “Shit. Shit. Shit. I feel so stupid.”

“Y/N.” he said, but you were too distracted pacing around the room and rambling to hear him.

“You know I even spent hours shopping for the perfect dress that would magically make you see me as more than your friend, do you know how stupid that sound? What am I? 15 years old?”

“Y/N listen-” he tried again but there was no getting to you, you were too lost in your own jabber. It was like once you started you couldn’t stop and you’d surely later regret all you were confessing.

“I’m an idiot. I really thought you could maybe by some miracle feel the same and-”

“Y/N!” he said now in a much louder tone so you would hear him and place his hands on your sides to stop you. You were surprised, not even realizing he had approached you at some point.

“Please stop.” he added now on a lower more tender tone, it almost sounded like a plea.

Now that you looked at him the initial shock had been replaced by something you couldn’t make out. His face was unreadable as he stated leaning in and before you could even question what was going on his lips were on yours.

You were surprised at first, eyes wide open not being to process what was going on. But once the initial shock was over you kissed him back. It’s embarrassing how many times you had thought what kissing him would be like, but it turned out to be even better than you could have imagined. His lips caressed yours gently, even a bit shily. Your hands met on the back of his neck and his slid down your sides to your waist, pulling you closer. 

Then a thought found its way into your brain.

“Wait.” you mumbled against his lips and he instantly pulled away. “I need to know you’re not doing this out of pity.”

He chuckled letting his head fall back before answering. “I’m doing this because I also don’t want you like a best friend. Because you do look amazing in that dress. Because I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long now. Because-” 

Your smile grew wider with every word and your cheeks turned red. You could tell he planned to keep on going, and you were surely going to ask him to tell you the rest later, but now there was only one thing you wanted.

“Ok, ok. I get it. We can go back to kissing now.” you said making him laugh, already tugging him closer by his neck and his laughs died in your lips.

-

hope you liked it! likes and reblogs are always appreciated!

taglist: @glassdanse @2manytabsopen @tazeboes @barbienoturbby @sweetlittlegingy @petey-patty @mcsteamylove98 @ttylfedora @chieflawyerpastatoad @iwantahockeyhimbo @cherrymaybank

[wakaoujisenhime]

girl you’re probably gonna hate me for this but can I get some steamy hcs with gojo in a skirt or in women’s clothing in general?? pls bby 🤲🏻

A/N: … (ಠ_ಠ)

Tags: Gojo x reader ✅  smut (18+) ✅  cross-dressing ✅  slight edging ✅ ❚ femdom ✅

image/art source: Pixiv (by bobobong)

━━━━☆ ━━━━☆ ━━━━☆

so, thanks to Jujutsu Tech which decided to host some kind of special event for its students and staff you were stuck with organizing the venue for this past few weeks

you were quite stressed out and had good to no time to talk, let alone meet, with your boyfriend Gojo who was one of the main stars of this event (or at least that is what Ijichi told you)

as the days to the event came closer you couldn’t help but be excited about seeing just what that white-haired man had come up with…

.

..

you sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of your nose as you refused to look at the center of the venue’s room

there stood your tall boyfriend who had been dolled up in such a way that you almost didn’t recognize him as he came to greet you some moments ago

his hair had been ironed so that it resembled a bob, a black headband successfully removing the smaller strands of white hair from his face

the man’s lips were glossy and had a pinker color than what you were usually used to, whoever did his makeup had applied just the right amount of rouge to his cheeks that it seemed as if he was constantly blushing

the outfit with which he was so proudly walking around consisted of a baby blue shirt, which seemed to be a few numbers too small for him since it emphasized his taut body features; a tight and black pencil skirt that stopped a few inches before the middle of his thighs, covering almost nothing in the process; some dull black stockings that began right where his skirt ended, and of course a pair of red heels in which he surprisingly could walk almost effortlessly (emphasis on almost)

you couldn’t deny the fact that he looked good in that getup, but more importantly, you were more upset than anything right now

tonight the two of you were supposed to finally spent time by each other’s sides after such a busy week and yet your boyfriend had decided to play the clown once more

“Hey hey, cutie, why the upset face? Should big sis Satoru bring you something to eat or drink?” he asked in a slightly higher pitched voice

you simply glared at him before turning your back and joining Nanami and Ijichi who were standing in the corner of the room

.

some time passed and after greeting each visitor of today’s party you once again found yourself standing in a corner, sipping on your drink

“(Y/N), come with me for a sec”

your boyfriend came up to you, grabbed your hand, and was now dragging you off to god knows where without giving you even the slightest hint or time to protest

after literally throwing you in one of the empty rooms, the tall man slammed the door shut and glanced back at you, his normally beautiful eyes now harboring an enormous amount of menace within them

“What the hell was that Satoru?! I almost choked on my drink!”

without answering you, he turned to face you and kneeled, leaning his chin on the palm of his hand; “Ah yeah…? What a shame, but don’t worry, I’ll let you choke on something else instead”

you wordlessly looked up at him and watched as he raised his skirt, exposing the black lace thong he’d apparently been wearing for this entire evening, and you couldn’t help but swallow audibly at the sight of his slightly erect cock, straining the delicate fabric

he was quick to make you go along with what he wanted and didn’t waste any unnecessary time in stuffing your mouth before you could utter even a single word

as he slowly grew larger inside of your mouth you had to slow down his hips’ movement by either tugging on the hem of his skirt or pinching the soft flesh of his thighs

Gojo giggled at your pouting expression and finally decided to let go of the strands of hair he’d fisted, so that he could help you out with deep-throating him, finally allowing you to breathe for a couple of seconds

between your coughs, you tried to ask him just what the hell has gotten him so agitated, but he remained silent, pulled you up on your feet, and trapped you between himself and the table a few meters behind you

he let his finger run across your bottom lip, then proceeded to kiss your neck, going down to your collarbone while he slowly unbuttoned your shirt

luckily for him, your bra’s hooks were at the front so he happily undid them and started kissing your breasts

he played with your nipples for a short while before continuing his journey down to your trousers

the man didn’t lose any time in quickly removing the last few pieces of fabric which were stopping him from enjoying the view and pleasant smell of your most precious body part

as quickly as he’d freed you, his mouth and tongue were equally as fast to begin exploring your already wet insides, while his fingers probed around for your weak spot

the moment his eyes picked up the slight tremble of your thighs he knew he’d been successful, so he continued targeting that one spongy spot within you as his blue eyes looked up at you in curiosity

“W-Wait, Satoru! I’m going t-to–“

and just before you were about to cum he slowly licked your labia one last time before cheekily grinning up at you

This little…!

you took a tight grip on his collar, pulled him up on his feet, and looked him directly in his eyes

words were useless at this point, because not short after he aligned his precum covered tip with your entrance and slowly slid it in

Gojo wasn’t particularly thick, but the way his shaft stretched your walls never failed to make you mewl in pleasure 

you couldn’t deny the fact that the way he was dressed up tonight made you feel hotter than usual and you weren’t the only one

seconds after he’d bottomed out inside of you, he hissed out a silent god, yes, and swiftly removed his headband while you helped him undo the buttons on his shirt

now that the two of you were raring to finally let loose and let your accumulated desires free, you kissed each other passionately 

the rhythm your lover set for his thrusts was neither too slow nor too quick, but just perfect

you wrapped your legs around his hips, allowing him to penetrate you deeper and to continuously caress that one special spot of yours

since neither of you had reached a proper orgasm yet it didn’t take you long to find yourself in the same situation as before

“Just a little bit longer” he stammered as he wrapped his arms around your body, pressing your chest towards his own

the way your nipples rubbed against his own added to the friction and caused your walls to tighten up around Gojo’s shaft

he groaned and leaned his forehead on yours as he tried to keep his fast thrusts up, despite your tightness that refused to let him go

after a few precise thrusts, he pushed his entire body weight on you and halted as soon as he’d reached orgasm

the way his warm seed splattered against your walls made you cum not short after and you wrapped your trembling arms around his neck as you kissed him

while your tongues clashed against each other, the white-haired man continued thrusting at a slow pace, helping you ride out your orgasm

you looked at his face and noticed how all the sweat had ruined his makeup and smiled to yourself, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to return to the others in that state

“Are you still mad?“ he then asked softly, big and beautiful blue eyes looking directly at you 

you giggled and shook your head slightly as you gave his cheek a soft kiss

the way he smiled at you warmed your heart and you couldn’t help but engulf him in yet another tight hug 

Having him play the clown once in a while isn’t so bad after all...

· · ─────── · ❀ · ─────── · ·

.alternative ending for my dom moots out there (or those who simply wish to see this man get ruined):

Gojo slumped forward, leaning his forehead on your shoulder as he relished in the afterglow of his orgasm while you did the same

you came down from your high rather quickly, unlike the tall man in front of you, whose body was still lightly twitching from all the stimulation

a grin spread across your lips as you slowly let your hands wander down his lower back, way down to his buttocks

it didn’t take him long to realize what you were up to, so he mustered all the strength he had to stop you mid-movement and shook his head

“What’s wrong baby, got something to say?” you asked cheekily, knowing fully well that he wasn’t in the state to formulate a proper answer and only whine pathetically as some sort of retort

his weak grip on your wrists wasn’t nearly strong enough to stop you from lifting the slightly tattered fabric of his skirt up the curve of his rosy asscheeks and start massaging and spreading them apart

after a couple of seconds, you took a tight grip of his soft flesh and began moving his hips back and forth

“N-Ngh! No (Y/N), d-don’t! I- ah, a-am too sens-…sensitive!”

his pleading moans just turned you on even more and only motivated you to strengthen your grip

you took a glance at the man’s face and observed the way his eyes widened ever so slightly with every thrust you forced him to make, the way his beautiful white hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, and those beautiful glossy and parted lips

That’s not enough…I want to ruin him even more

with that thought in mind, you started meeting his thrusts at a quick pace

you could feel how his big hands gripped at your shirt and slightly pulled at it, teeth piercing your exposed shoulder as silent whimpers escaped his mouth

“You’re close, aren’t you? …So why are you holding it back?” you asked with a slightly annoyed voice as you took a fistful of his hair and yanked his head back, exposing his neck and the absentminded expression on his face

with a wide grin, you spread his buttocks apart and slowly slid your finger in until you found that one spot that was bound to make him cum whether he wanted to or not

not short after, he emptied his second load once again inside of you with a grunt, and unexpectedly for you his orgasm was way harder than before and caused his knees to buckle, almost making him fall over

out of instinct, you held onto him and if it weren’t for his quick reflexes the two of you would’ve fallen over

“I’m ok…don’t worry, j-just….give me a minute” he whispered as he tightened his grip onto the table‘s edges

with a warm smile, you simply nodded and gently caressed his hair, “Mhm, take all the time you need.”

[nautiscarader]

wendip 14

(Ao3)

Wendy Corduroy never expected *that* to happen in a weirder place. Frankly, she wasn't sure that it would happen any time soon, but if she would guess, she wouldn't have chosen their travel van, parked on an Appalachian trail, just a few hundred feet from a cave where they have just found proof that the Bell Pepper Witch was real (and quite a nice person, actually).

And yet, there he was...

Dipper Pines, her boyfriend, with whom she has spent the last two weeks on the road, was on his knee, holding a familiar object - a malachite, green ring, now definitely without any curses lingering on. Wendy now realised why did he need to visit that witch again...

- Wendy Blerble Corduroy - he spoke with quivering voice - Will you make me... - Yes!

Wendy didn't let him finish, before her strong arms brought him from his knees and let him collapse on her chest, as the two slumped onto the elongated seat, while their mouths kept searching for each other.

She was already a wreck of emotions, boiling inside her head, and his kisses were only bringing more of them. If someone asked her yesterday, if she was ready for marriage, she would have scoffed at them, saying she preferred her life the way it is now.

And yet, the moment she saw Dipper, her entire world view has changed, and once more with the help of the chestnut-haired man she would now be able to call her fiance.

As their kiss went on, Wendy's hand slipped between their heated bodies, reaching for his belt, but his hands were faster and soon her finger was adorned with the ring Dipper wanted to present her before they'd inevitably celebrate.

- There, now we can-

And once more, Wendy's lips were on his, but now her hand was gently pushing him down her body, back into the position he started with.

- If you like the tradition so much, then get back on your knee, lover-boy.

Her fingers entwined with his slightly ruffled hair, as she gently settled on the edge of their van's seat, spreading her legs to accommodate her lover.

Dipper's hands moved her hips gently into the air to slide her pants, together with her panties in one quick swoop. Instead of tossing them to the side, they just dangled around one of her ankles, as the two young adults were too preoccupied with each other.

Dipper's kisses adorned the underside of her thighs closing on her puffy lips adorned with her neatly trimmed red bush that guided him towards it.

It was a satisfying experience to hear Wendy's usually calm and restrained voice break and uncover the needy, impatient side of hers, while Dipper's tongue caressed her sex, ensuring that every square inch of her will not be left unkissed.

- Yes... yes... - Is that all you're going to say? - he asked suddenly, looking up from between her thighs, and seeing a mischievous gleam in her emerald eyes. - Yes. - she answered at once, pushing him back into place, as she relaxed against the pillows.

She didn't have to act at all; the feeling of Dipper's tongue moving in-and-out of her pussy made her repeat that word like a mantra, until her legs twitched, nearly bumping into one of the cabinets.

She almost lost it, when his fingers brushed and then circled around her clit, and his name as almost spilled out of her mouth, but when she was about to do it, their eyes met, and she saw a satisfied grimace on his face, or rather part of his face that was visible.

- You liked it, didn't you? You want me to keep teasing you for next week and a half, don't you? - ...yes. - she said somewhat sternly, commenting on Dipper's deliberate choice of prolonging the foreplay, receiving only a victorious grin in return.

But soon he was back on track, kissing, nibbling and sucking on her folds, while her ring finger slid across his head.

Wendy kept repeating her only allowed word, her hand pressing his lips against her sex, knowing well she will soon taste the results of his work in her mouth when they will kiss.

And indeed, a moment later her body shook with first, powerful wave of climax, followed by a few weaker ones that made her body thrash, and gently rocked the van from side to side.

- Yes! Yes! Yes! - she moaned, trying to stay within the silly predicament she's created for herself.

When Dipper emerged from between her legs, she expected him to tease her with more question she wouldn't be able to answer, but fortunately, he asked a much simpler one, as he started fumbling with his belt.

- I think it's your time to get down on your knees...

Dipper said cockily, and this time, Wendy replied without any hint of sarcasm or disdain.

- Yes.

And with that, she effortlessly slid to the ground, partially by how shaky her legs were, as the orgasm still radiated through her body. She looked up at her boyfriend, sitting now in her seat, one of the rare moments where he truly was taller than her. She reached to his zipper and slid down his pants and trousers in one go, freed his cock, sampling the familiar musk and just a bit of his cologne.

She remembered the first time she tasted him, on his eighteenth birthday. Poor Dipper couldn't last twenty seconds before erupting in her mouth. He did make up for his eagerness later, though, making the night unforgettable for her as well...

It was time for her to feel blissful moan from above her head, as Dipper proclaimed his love for her again, throwing his head back and letting her take care of him.

But Wendy wasn't going just to kiss and lick him. Her fingers slid up and down his shaft, making sure her new ring caressed every ridge it could find, contrasting its cold with warmth of her palm.

- Oh, yes... - he gasped, looking down at the red-head.

She closed her lips around his cock and as her tongue circled around his head, she murmured something, without taking eyes from her future husband. She spoke slowly, making sure that her voice vibrated along his cock, caressing him in the most delicate of ways.

- We-Wendy! - he moaned - That's-that's cheating!

And though he couldn't recognise her before, her next word that reverberated against his skin was definitely "Yes".

She continued praising him, telling him how much she loved him, and how she was afraid when he leapt off that mountain a few weeks ago... With all of her feelings rushing back, she bobbed her head, knowing what will happen soon.

Wendy took one more breath of air and welcomed the taste and smell of her nerd's seed in her mouth, slowly coating her palate, as he kept spilling her name over and over again.

- Wendy... Wendy...

And just to give him extra bit of pleasure, she talked to him again, with her mouth closed around his head, to ensure that not a drop of his saltiness would leak out.

- Did... did you enjoy the drink?

Dipper received a loud, guttural gulp, as Wendy swallowed his hefty load, and proudly showed her empty mouth, which answered his question better than any words.

She jumped from her knees into his laps in a split of a second, making their lips meet, allowing the two to taste each other's scents, while their half-naked bodies coiled on the small seat.

With her crotch sliding back and forth against his cock, he came back to full power in no time, and Dipper had no problem slipping in in, as the two began making love, for the first time no longer as just boyfriend and girlfriend...

- Wendy... - he huffed, feeling her warmth enveloping him - We're-we're gonna be living together... - Yes... - she replied,. unable to hide her excitement - And...and have adventures every day... - Yes...! - And... and file joined taxes!

Their eyes met, as she shot him with a piercing, icy stare, about to start their first row as an engaged couple.

- Sorry, had to test you.

Using her moment of indecision, Dipper flipped her to her back, watching as her eyes widen for a split of a second, before they were filled with the familiar warm and excited look. Though the angle wasn't as optimal as he wished, his hips rolled back and forth, making powerful thrusts, which resulted in Wendy forgiving him for tricking her.

- Yes... yes...yes!

Wendy spilled this word between kisses to her neck, cheeks and her breasts, while his grunts grew in intensity and volume, minute by minute, until they culminated with Dipper stuttering his warning.

- W-Wendy - he huffed - I'm gonna- - Yes! - But are you- - Yes...

Wendy spoke in a smoky, low voice, fixating her emerald eyes with him, mimicking the same, sly expression he wore when he taunted her..

- W-Wait, Wendy - he asked, stopping his hips, much to Wendy's disappointment - Was-was that a "yes" for "yes", or "yes" for "no"...?

Suddenly Dipper felt the lock of her legs tightening behind his back, as the red-head brought his face against hers and whispered.

- Yes... - Oh, gods, I love you, Wendy...

And just in case her soon-to-be-husband was going to chicken out, she crossed her arms behind his back and dug her nails into his shoulders, to ensure he would deliver exactly what she wanted, exactly the way she desired. Wendy's worries were unsubstantiated - as Dipper would find it very difficult to pull out, even if he wanted to. The sheer thought that he was making love not to his girlfriend, but his fiancée, gave him enough willpower to continue

His final cry was as shattering and embarrassing as every single one she heard so far, but now it came from the mouth of her soon-to-be husband, and her name made her tighten her muscles a moment before her body gave up together with his.

- We-We will need a proper, big house, won't we? - Yes...

Wendy's words kept spilling into Dipper's ears just as his seed flowed closer to her womb with each pulse. Her words mixed with Dipper's grunts, as the two slowly calmed down, enjoying the serene, quiet moment they've just made more magical.

For the longest time, the two lay in each other's arms, savouring their mixed scents and warmth, as their breathing slowly became regular again.

- So, mr Corduroy... - Wendy spoke, as she regained her senses - Did you like my gift? - Yes... - Dipper murmured, still buried between her freckled breasts - And would you like more of it? - Yes! - And would you like to actually set up the bed instead of doing it on this small-ass kitchen seat? - Yes... - And are you gonna do this to me every day from now on, and make me breakfast in bed?

Without hesitation, Dipper leaned forward and kissed her.

- Yes.

The two laughed before their lips met again, and the cycle of love began anew. Wendy never clarified what her "yes" meant, but a few weeks later she revealed what her wedding gift was - and to their excitement, it was definitely positive.

[mrsmaybank]

Midsummers But JJ x Reader -Everything

Content: Angst, Then Fluff, Then Smut, Then Fluff again. Kook!Reader

Summary: Misummers episode but make it JJ x Reader. 

T/W: Violence, Smut, Language, (Sexy) Use of the word slut, ignorant family

A/N: This is so fucking long (I’m sorry) but I like it! It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and its pretty packed. That being said, ty for reading at all lol. 

“Mom how could you even say that?” You gulped back tears and looked at your mother in both hurt and disgust. How could she be so insensitive, so cruel, and so nonchalant about the somebody you cared about so much. 

“I didn’t like you hanging out with those marina rats in the first place! It won’t be the last time one of your gross friends ends up in a jail cell. That boy is just like his father, a dirty degenerate.”

“Don’t say that!” you spat out at her, tears burning your eyes, “You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about.” 

She slapped your face hard, you felt your cheek burn and blood start to pour out of the little skin breaks. You knew that it was wrong to word it like that, but you couldn’t contain it. JJ was the love of your life. And he was nothing like his father. 

“Watch your damn mouth girl. Get dressed, look pretty, and smile. If you could stop being selfish for one minute, you can enjoy tonight. It’s very important to your family.” she rushed out and slammed the door. 

Midsummers was not your thing obviously, but you usually didn’t mind it. Kie was there, and Pope too, and a couple hours in, you and Kie would sneak off to the Chateau to smoke with JJ and John B, your parents too busy drinking with their obnoxious friends to notice. You’d text them later, Went to Kie’s. The only friend they approved of, solely because she was “A good girl, just confused about her place in society” just like you. Your parents were judgmental and snobby and it disgusted you. They really thought they were better than your friends because they had money. Your mother especially, and she grew up on The Cut. It makes you want to vomit. You sat down at your vanity looking in the mirror and all the nice things around you. You started to sob, five miles from here, there were people with no power or water, working harder than you ever would have to, just to feed their families. And another couple miles away, was your boyfriend, and best friend, a boy who would die to protect you, walk through fire to make you happy, and took anything that came at him, was in a jail cell, taking the blame to protect another one of your friends' future. And here you were, in your million dollar home, in your beautiful room, getting ready to go to a fancy party with fancy people. 

“Fuck.” You wiped your tears. Your heart beats hard in anxiety. JJ had the survival instincts of a cockroach as Kie would say, he had a way with words and could talk his way out of tricky situations. That wasn’t what you were distressed about. You were ridden with fear about what his dad was gonna do to him. You started to hyperventilate. You felt disgusted by your privilege, disgusted with your family, and disgusted by everything around you. But there was nothing you could do. 

You’d spend the night nodding courtley in your white dress, faking a smile and politely introducing yourself to random rich people. 

“Why do you still look like that?” Your mother bursted into your room once again. “Get ready right now, or I swear to god, you’ll never see the light of day again.” 

You nodded and started to put make-up on and slipped on the white silk dress your mother bought for you. It was long and tight at the top, clinging to your body perfectly. As beautiful as you looked, your soul felt empty. 

Your eyes were red with tears, and your lips were puffy, you looked in the mirror. You definitely looked like you had tried to cover up sobbing, but you didn’t really care. You remembered a moment before you and JJ had even started dating. 

You and JJ were watching the sunrise on the beach, you on one of your runaway episodes, trying to escape the tight grip of your mother. You both knew you police were searching for you everywhere, and that as soon as you were inevitably found, you’d be in a heap of trouble, but somehow on that beach, in that moment there was nothing that mattered except the sound of the waves and the company of each other. 

JJ asked you a simple question, “How do you feel?” 

Your response was genuine, “I don’t know. Everything is wrong. Things aren’t okay at all, and yet somehow, I feel alright.” You looked at him with a smile, his blonde hair sparkling in the sunrise’s glow. You put your head on his lap and looked up at him. “It’s ‘cause of you J. You make me feel like everythings alright.” Tears started to stream down your face, “You’ve treated me with more kindness then anybody I’ve ever met.” 

He wiped your tears and just nodded, happy to hear that he made you feel like that. “Always.” he said. 

“I must look so stupid,” you said trying to clean your face.

 “No.” he said. “You look so pretty, even when you cry.” 

You got in the car, your mother lecturing you on what was expected of you tonight. “Be who you are. A well brought up girl, with a beautiful smile, and manners, and etiquette. You are not the pogue delinquent filth you glamorize.” 

Your older sister added “Now that you actually look like you belong in this family, try acting like it.” she said with a fake smile. Your brother just snickered and your father nodded in agreement. 

You tuned them out, knowing if you listened you wouldn’t be able to control your mouth and would wind up with another dull bruise on the side of your cheek. 

Finally you had arrived, and your family practically fled from your side instantly. You’d think mom would have me on a fucking leash after that. You thought. But no, as much as your mother yelled at you about what you should be, and how you should act, nothing was more important to her than climbing up the social ladder and socializing with the Outer Banks bourgeois. 

Your sister and brother sat down with their Kook friends, making sure you knew that you didn’t belong, and they certainly didn’t want you anywhere near them. They act like I want to sit with them. 

You spotted Kie and Pope by Heywards oyster table. 

“You look gorgeous.” Kie said, You smiled and thanked her. 

“Not as gorgeous as you.” You tried to return the compliment, but it came out gloomy and monotone. 

“What’s wrong?” Pope asked. 

“JJ.” your voice cracked and tears swelled at the thought of his current state. 

“The last thing JJ would want you to do, especially while you’re dressed like that, is worry about him.” your friends reassured you. 

The night went on, but your nerves were anything but calmed. Kie and Pope tried their best to try and cheer you up, but it was to no avail, and they themselves were worried about him too. 

You sat on the stairs towards the back of the club, drawing circles in the sand. The dull throbbing of your head was starting to bother you. You got up towards the festivities, walking over to the bar to ask for a ginger ale that could maybe cure your dehydration. 

You sipped slowly, other than the lingering sting of anxiety, your mind empty. That was until you heard a familiar voice. 

“Mr Dunleavy! I see you got your drink, that's wonderful. I’m actually gonna down that.” It was none other than your boy, JJ, in a typical JJ situation, being escorted out by security. 

“JJ!” you ran to him and he freed his arms from the securities hold to spin you around and kiss you on the lips. “My pretty princess.” You smiled. “This is my girlfriend.” JJ started to tell the guard, who just scoffed. 

You’d never been so happy to see somebody in your life. Your smile faded when you noticed the bruises and cuts on his face, you started to say something, but the guard shoved him and kept moving. 

“Hey! You can’t do that!” you started. “I’m a member of this club! And I.. I invited him!” 

Your sister stepped in, “No she didn’t,” she tried to reassure the party goers watching. 

JJ pushed the guard into a table and smiled at you, you instantly grabbed his hair pulling him into a passionate kiss. His hands went to your waist and he smiled into the kiss. “You look fucking amazing.” 

You smiled and adjusted his tie, “Spiffy.” He jokingly gagged. 

More of the crowd began to stare at the situation, and you saw your mother walking with the intentional enunciated walk ever, stomping her feet and flaring her nostrils. You pointed it out to JJ and you both laughed out loud. “Don’t move a muscle young lady!” she shouted at you. 

JJ grabbed your hand and you both started running to the exit of the club porch. “Mandatory power hour at Rickson’s Kie!” he pointed with his free hand at her. “You too Pope!” 

You quickly let go of JJ’s hand to grab Kie by the wrist, and he kept running. “Lets go!” You smiled excitedly. 

You saw out of the corner of your eye Pope taking off his stuffy apron. 

“Workers of the world unite! Throw off your chains!” You giggled at JJ’s antics, the rest of the party looking in horror. 

Your mother was still doing her best to chase you while still maintaining her poise, and it just made you laugh more. You and Kie ran hand in hand, Pope by Kie’s side to JJ and John B across the field, you only let go when JJ pulled you into a hug spinning around, putting you on his back right after. 

You both turned around to face the party, most of the guests turning their snobby noses up in disgust, and you both peaked Rafe at the same time.You flipped him off together and you saw your mother practically faint. 

The rest of the night was insane. John B’s revelation and then him falling from a fucking tower and all. So many things happened, and your brain was having trouble processing. When JJ    had finally gotten word that John B was going to be okay, the pair of you left the hospital and headed back to the Chateau. 

You sighed and laid down in the bed that was now known as JJ’s, taking a hit of JJ's juul.

He took off his shirt, and laid down next to you, snuggling into your chest. 

“Hey baby,” you put the juul in between his lips and he inhaled hard, as you played with his hair. 

 You tilted his jaw so you could get a good look at him, his precious face littered in bruises and cuts, and you knew why. His father. 

“Jay-” tears started to stream down your cheeks. “It’s so selfish of me to cry I-” 

“Hey,” he sat up to cup your face, “Hey. I’m fine. It’s nothin that hasn't happened before.” 

Perusal, your boyfriend was trying to put on a strong face to keep you from worrying, but you knew him all too well. In the sense that he wasn’t okay, but also that he didn’t wanna talk about it, he just wanted you to tell him how much you love him. 

“I love you baby. You’re my world. You know that right? You know how much I care about you?” 

He nodded and pulled you into a kiss, “Yeah baby?” He slid his hand up your thigh and leaned in closer to your ear, “You know what my first thought was when I saw you in that dress?” You gasped as his hand worked up your leg to begin rubbing your clothed clit. Wetness pooled almost instantly. “I wanted to rip it off and fuck the shit out of you right there.” That sentence was enough to make your pussy throb, and you gasped as JJ pushed your panties to the side, dipping his two fingers into you. 

“Oh baby, you’re so fucking wet.” You nuzzled your head into his neck and shoulder, biting down on his shirt to try and have some control over yourself. 

“Nuh uh,” he tsked. “Wanna see your pretty face. And hear all your pretty sounds.” His free hand positioning your face so you were looking right into his eyes. 

At that, you were a moaning mess. Right before your release, he quickly removed his fingers and showed you all of your stickiness in his hand, dripping to his palm and down to his wrists. 

With one hand, he grabbed your throat, the coldness of his rings sending shivers down your spine. The other pushed his sticky fingers into your mouth, and you began sucking hard, closing your eyes and pretending it was his cock. 

“Oh my god. You’re such a good girl baby.” 

You heard him sliding his shorts down, quickly letting go of you to lie you flat so he was hovering over your body. 

 He started pressing wet kisses on your neck, sucking hard to give you purple marks, so everybody knew you were his. “Your mine, you know that?” 

You nodded and shimmied your shirt off. “You know exactly what I want huh baby?” 

He massaged your boobs gently, worshipping your body. 

“JJ. Fuck me already.” 

“So needy.” 

He placed his hard cock right in front of your entrance, sliding up and down before slamming into you with no warning. 

“Oh fuck!” you screamed at the pressure of his dick against your walls. You could feel every vein and ridge, every throb. 

“Be a good fucking girl and take it.” He said in between grunts. 

You felt your clit rub against his skin every time he was fully inside. He grabbed your waist so every time he bottomed out he could slam back into you even harder.

He kept saying the most insane things in your ear, each word bringing you closer to coming. 

“Good fucking girl.”

“Let me hear how good I'm making you feel baby.” 

“You take it so well baby.” 

“Such a good little slut for me.”

“Fuck” he moaned slamming into you, impossibly harder. You clenched around him as he buried his dick into you.Thrusting without bottoming out, hitting your g-spot repeatedly. Your walls began to converge, as JJ said, “Cum for me baby. Yeah, baby-“ he grunted loudly as you came on him, his sticky load began shooting into you, drenching your walls. 

“Jesus christ.” he said panting, flopping down next to you. “I love you.” 

“I love you too JJ.” You cuddled up to his chest, “More than anything.” 

He placed a quick kiss on your forehead and you both drifted off into a peaceful sleep. 

 Again, very sorry this was so long and if it sucked. 

[squidpro-quo]

For the prompt : Jaskier is kidnapped and used as leverage against Geralt (I'd be forever grateful if you did this op)

    Thank you so much for this prompt! A perfect opportunity for angst and whump and hurt and comfort, i can only hope i fit it all in here. This was a load of fun!

Jaskier strained against the rope tying his hands together, reminded of another time when the same circumstances had led to his life changing—he’d argue for the better most of the time—and now it might just happen again, except the change to his life will be that it ends. His fingers are turning numb, with how long he’d been held in the stone room it’s no wonder, only a question of how much longer until they figure out that it was all for naught. Bribing the innkeep, getting the herbs necessary to drug him, the fortified hold they’d decided to hole up in? It was all too much effort for a lost cause, but he’d kept his mouth shut for once knowing that if he spoke a word of the futility of their plan, then they’d have no reason to keep him alive anymore. 

    The door creaked; the sound of the key scraping in the old lock had him struggling to scramble as far away from the door as possible, his body protesting every movement even as he knew it wouldn’t help. They’d made up their mind. 

    “How’s the little songbird now? Ready to sing a sweeter song?” The man that entered had a grin with the curve of a sickle, sharp and cutting, to offset the fact that his lisp would have undercut any threats made in anyone else’s mouth. The sharp whistle of his breath through the cracked crags of his teeth accompanied his heavy steps and Jaskier bit back a retort about his singing’s quality in favor of staving off the inevitable by just a few seconds. 

    “No refrain? I’d heard it was hard to shut you up, not the other way around. Guess some things just end up embellished into lies, don’t they?” The look in his grey eyes grew hard.

    Jaskier knew what was coming, he might have found himself in trouble more times than he could count but he’d learned when to expect a punch by the set of a man’s shoulders. This time was no different. The blow caught him across the temple, leaving his ears ringing and the ache in his head redoubled after he’d just started to regain some peace from the pain. He slipped sideways down the wall, unable to catch himself when he couldn’t feel the stone beneath his fingers, to the hoarse laugh of the man he’d realized was the orchestrator of it all. Jaskier rested his forehead against the cool stone floor, hoping it would take away some of the pounding that he felt reverberating through his skull. Like metal clashing against metal, the clanging sounded deceptively close despite the fact that he knew it was only his tired mind playing tricks on him. 

    “Talk,” the man ordered, in a deceptively soft tone, forcing Jaskier to look up at him to read his lips and discern his meaning. “You can talk to that monster, but not to a human?”

“What do you want me to say?” Jaskier couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, though his own voice sounded muted and echoing inside his head. His fear had been a thin veneer before, but now it was being poked through with the usual thorns of irritation and the aching need to be glib. “That I haven’t seen him in months? That I don’t know where he is? That I doubt he knows, or really cares, where I am either? You didn’t understand it the last time I said it, but I guess the constant whistling can get in the way of listening comprehension.” 

“The entire continent knows you’re companions, traveling together, dining together… sleeping together,” the man raised his eyebrows, before continuing, “You know him better than anyone.” 

“Do I?” Jaskier swallowed, to get the dry taste of irony out of his mouth and to keep from retching at the way the world turned blurry before him. “If sleeping together was all it took, I’d have several dozen of those I’ve courted lining up at your doors. So I’d say you’re out of luck on that shaky limb of logic.”

It was a good joke, considering he’d likely die just from the surprise of Countess de Stael riding up so many months after leaving his poems as ash in her fireplace. Or Geralt, who last he’d seen was firmly in the arms of someone Geralt had risked his life for against all odds and against all wishes, her own included. Not that she’d seemed to mind at the end. 

“Is that a note of pity I hear?” 

“I can’t do many things, fight a murderous band of men for example, but I know when I’m not wanted. I don’t begrudge anyone that.” He didn’t, he loved freely and indiscriminately, pouring his affection into the world along with his quips and commentary as an inexhaustible resource. Because what better way to try and stay a memory in someone’s heart long after the flare of passion has gone cold. He couldn’t help it if Geralt had been a never-ending well for him to attempt to fill, not realizing how he’d fallen down into it in the process and the answer he’d been chasing had been merely his own deluded echo in return. 

“He might not come for you now then—” Jaskier had a brief moment of hope at the contemplative look on the man’s face, the sliver of mercy amidst the cold calculation. “But he’ll surely come for your headless corpse. If your songs have even a fraction of truth, he’s the sort to be mad about that kind of thing.” 

Cold ice slid down Jaskier’s spine, because the man was right. Geralt was nothing if not a righteous man, perhaps surly and grumpy to a fault, but he’d fight anyone that threatened the helpless, never mind that it happened to be Jaskier. He’d written songs about it after all, he’d know. Blood pounded in his ears, the sound seeming too loud in the confines of his terror and he could almost imagine the keep itself was resounding with it, the thump of his heartbeat bouncing through the walls in an irregular series of bangs. 

The man snatched his attention back when he slid his axe free of the belt at his waist, hefting it for a better grip and leaning down to yank Jaskier upright. 

“Wait! Wait, what if you just let me go? There’s a new idea, worth considering—”

“Don’t worry, if it really doesn’t matter who ends up dead as long as it’s someone he could’ve saved then we have an endless supply of who to use. As you’ve said, it doesn’t take anyone special,” the man said, rank breath wafting into Jaskier’s face, and he wished that wasn’t the last thing he’d ever hear. 

Axe shining in the flickering light of the torch, the man shoved Jaskier into the right angle despite his best efforts to scrounge together enough strength to resist. The man lifted his arm, already evident that he wouldn’t be able to make it one clean cut and didn’t particularly care, and swung. 

Jaskier had closed his eyes, content with the darkness if that’s all that was left of life anyway, and so the sound of wood breaking from close by and the short gurgle of a last breath was all he knew before there were hands on his face. 

Calloused, rough, and warm, familiar from the many years and he leaned into them so quickly they were all that held him up. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know, but he did anyway because he needed to see, to remember the sight of Geralt leaning over him, engulfing him in his shadow and tracing the bruises on his face with a touch so gentle he could’ve sworn it was a dream. 

“Jaskier,” just the rumbling timbre of Geralt’s voice was enough to make Jaskier realize that he’d been worried, chest heaving and sword bloodied from his rush through the keep. To him. 

“Cutting it pretty close, no?” Jaskier snorted, relief making him lightheaded. Relief that he wasn’t dead, that Geralt was there. “Did you get it? He was about to cut my head off, that  kind of death offers so many opportunities for pithy jokes. Would be a shame to waste it…” 

“I came as fast as I could,” Geralt said, tone not plaintive in the slightest but desperate, as if he thought Jaskier was really doubting him. As if he hadn’t been doing just that not a few minutes ago. 

Jaskier swallowed, this time to keep the words, all the damning and too honest words he wanted to bare before Geralt, down and keep what he’d been willing to carry to the grave with him just a while longer. 

Before he could find anything to say, Geralt pulled him close, palms brushing over his ruined doublet and down to Jaskier’s deadened hands, enveloping his fingers in a grip he could’ve sworn was trembling just slightly. His other hand slipped into Jaskier’s hair, until he felt the spot last touched by the man lying dead at their feet. 

Jaskier hadn’t meant to flinch but he saw the way Geralt’s eyes narrowed at the movement and tried to stand on his own to make up for the moment of weakness. 

“In the area, were you? I don’t think you’ll get much coin for this job.” He wanted to ask, wanted to see if he was more trouble than he was worth but he didn’t want to hear the ugly answer.

“I was already searching for you, when I heard.” Geralt’s hand stayed on his back, just like when he’d carried him around in the djinn’s aftermath. “Last time I saw you, you were covered in your own blood, like now. You left… and I didn’t know where you’d gone.” 

Jaskier stumbled, both from the way the room seemed to spin beneath his feet at the change in altitude as he got up and the fact that Geralt had followed him this time, sought him out and found him. 

“I got into yet more trouble, as you can see. Nothing new there.” He rubbed his newly freed hands and grimaced at the red welts the ropes had left behind. He’d have to wear his longer-sleeved wardrobe to cover those up. He looked up to find Geralt’s gaze still raking over him, the furrow in his brow the one that always formed when he was considering something. “Did you need something?”

“You shouldn’t be alone.” 

“W-what?” Jaskier stuttered. “What does that mean?”

“I’m trouble,” Geralt continued, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. “And you are too.”

    “Thank you for the astute observations… Where are you going with this?”

    “I already said it. That you shouldn’t be alone.” 

    Jaskier waited, but Geralt stared at him with the same set look on his face as when Roach gave him a neigh instead of a bump in the chest, unsure what to say. But words had always been Jaskier’s forte, even if he swallowed them down sometimes. 

    “Are you saying you think trouble loves company?”

    Geralt nodded, and that was enough for Jaskier. He’d never be empty of what he poured into the world, and so when something spilled into him instead, he overflowed. Geralt’s empty well might just have a bucket of water inside it, and he’d managed to fish it out after all. 

prompts open

[newtafterdark]

Taste of Metal - Chapter 2:   Safe Inside Familiar Walls AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157634/chapters/63644236

Summary: What if the overwhelming VR experience Gordon went through, had a deeper purpose than just being a simple simulation & a freelance debug job for him? But most importantly- what if Gordon Freeman listens to Metal & used to be in a band? aka. the "Metalhead Gordon AU"

- - -

Gordon couldn’t sleep, as much as his body wanted him to.

The pain was one thing, but the number of unanswered questions was the overwhelming main reason he had curled up in a blanket, staring at nothing with wide eyes like a startled cat.

Tommy had not moved much after he had teleported them both into Gordon’s apartment, aside from grabbing a water bottle and some painkillers from the kitchen for the shaken scientist.

“D-Do we just wait? I don’t… I don’t know what to do a-about any of this. What even is “this”? What happened? H-How are you even REAL?”, Gordon stammered.

Tommy gave him an apologetic smile from his spot at the end of the bed.

“I just am, Mr Freeman. We all were- uhm- we all are real! I… wanted to tell you during everything. We all did! B-But the code didn’t let us.”

“But you can talk about it now! What changed it?”

Tommy appeared a chunk more nervous at this question but continued anyway-

“You.”

“M-Me??”, Gordon stuttered as he found himself in the focus of Tommy’s vibrant glowing eyes once again.

“We didn’t think someone could alter the code of the simulation like you did, Mr. Freeman... Y-You freed us.”, Tommy said with a warm smile- “I… all of us will do our best to explain everything to you once everyone is here.”

“In my apartment?” Tommy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “We thought bringing you here would be the safest option for you. It’s a place you know and would feel comfortable in. I-In general but also to talk about everything that happened?”

Gordon nodded slowly.

“I… yeah, I guess that makes sense. And when you say “we”... are you sure everyone will make it out alive without our help?”

“Absolutely!”, Tommy's laugh lines deepened at the edge of his eyes- “I think they are just wrecking the place now for fun now! :)”

That left Gordon silent for a few seconds.

“Oh. W-Well… I…”, Gordon let out a short shaky laugh- “Sorry that I keep you from joining the fun... and that I can’t add support myself-”

Suddenly, Gordon found himself being held once more. Tommy hugged him gently, his chin resting on Gordon’s head.

“A-All of us want you to be safe first, Mr… … Gordon. Fun mayhem comes second! And… a-and I am rather here with you than g-getting overwhelmed with the noise… as fun as destroying a facility might be.”

Gordon chuckled, brushing away a tear he hadn’t noticed falling. “Oh… uhm, thanks. For being here and… the foresight and all that. I don’t think we’ll be safe here in the long run though…”

The taller scientist tilted his head at that. “Why would you leave your home behind? You don’t have to when anyone who could tell on us has other problems to deal with. Much... much bigger problems at that!”

“What… okay, you actually need to sit my ass down and explain what the fuck is happening. Because... this vague shit? Not helping with my still high-stress levels, my man.”

“Resonance cascade………....2”, was suddenly muttered too closely into Gordon’s left ear, almost making the man yeet himself off the bed-

“OH SHI-”

Gordon stared, almost frozen in place.

“B-BENREY?”

The guard (or former guard now? had he even ever been one, to begin with?) was propping himself up on the bed beside Gordon, his lower body no-clipping through it. Seeing this happen in real life turned out to be way trippier than Gordon could have ever imagined.

Yet aside from that… and the very much scary boss encounter they had had with him in the simulation, Benrey looked relaxed. Comfortable even.

“Yo, Feetm-”

Instantly, Benrey got tackled by Gordon. Aggressively, yes - but not with ill intent. Benrey let out a startled wheeze but soon stared in shock as he was tightly hugged against Gordon’s chest.

“I still have no idea how any of this is happening, but I am so fucking happy to see your annoying ass alive, holy SHIT!”, Gordon laughed, ignoring the pain in his stump as good as he could.

Tommy let out a snort as a few pink sweet voice orbs escaped Benrey.

“uhhhhhhhhhhhh… You too, man? Wasn’t sure if you’d make it on your own… decided that Tommy was the best. He always is, but… ya know. For getting you out. Smarter than all of us combined, ya know?”

Tommy waved Benrey off with a blush but smiled.

“Y-Yeah but all that matters is that everyone’s okay. Do you think the rest of the team will be here soon? I w-want us to tell Gordon what happened. He… he really needs to know. There were enough secrets in Black Mesa. :(”

Gordon slowly let go of Benrey and sat up, returning to cradling his arm. He let out a sigh.

“You can say that again. I… I don’t know how much you all know about my side of things, but the bastards never really told me the most important details on any of the projects they assigned me to. I always had to peace everything together myself… which was frustrating as all hell...”

Now it was Benrey’s turn to let out a huff as he pulled himself on top of the bed and got comfortable laying down with his hands behind his head. Gordon decided to look past the fact that the man was still in full guard get-up, including his helmet and boots. At least he looked surprisingly clean...

“Yeah, that was, uh… their whole schtick. Always has been.”, Benrey said, scratching his cheek with- … that was an entire third arm he just grew and Gordon decided to look past that even quicker than the full guard-getup.

Suddenly the door to Gordon’s bedroom opened, making Gordon jump and hold tighter onto his aching arm- until he recognized the friendly face of Darnold…and the very large golden retriever that pushed the door further open to let herself in.

Gordon’s tense shoulders relaxed a bit at the sight of both of them.

“H-Hey...”, stuttered Darnold, giving Gordon a nervous smile and wave- “I just wanted to let you guys know that Sunkist and I checked the area and the apartment. Everything’s clean.”

Sunkist let out a soft woof at the sound of her name and then opted to rest her head on the bed near Gordon. Man, she really was huge. And very much 3D now. Another thing to add to Gordon’s “oh damn I’m starting to feel real overwhelmed by this entire situation”-list.

Tommy pet Sunkist’s head gently and nodded. “Thanks, Darnold! And that’s good! We are several miles away from the facility... but it’s better to be extra safe and see if anything is weird here!”

Darnold sat down on the floor beside Tommy.

“I’ll go check again in a few minutes… I don’t trust this supposed freedom just yet.”

Gordon opted to just nod at that. Speech was slowly failing him as his senses dulled slightly from exhaustion. He leaned back against his bed frame.

He was about to close his eyes as the sound of space being wrapped and time getting bent to his left pulled him right back into high alert-

Dr Coomer and Bubby stepped out through the portal that had formed way too close to the boxes with Gordon’s vinyl record collection, followed by G-Man who closed the portal with a wave of his hand.

“Hello, Gordon!”, Dr Coomer exclaimed, eyes bright and happy as he spotted the man currently half bundled up in his blanket- “Looks like you made it here with good Tommy’s help without... ehm… further harm.”

Bubby scanned Gordon’s form with his eyes and frowned.

“They actually did it, the bastards. Shouldn’t surprise me, but...”, he motioned at the air without aim, seemingly not being able to put his frustration into words.

Gordon just smiled softly at them, exhausted to all hell and back but so relieved and happy that the entire Science Team had made it.

He also noted that Dr Coomer’s limb enhancements were far more visible in real life than in the low-poly form he had been used to. It was interesting to see and the tech guy in him really wanted to ask the man about the intricacies of how they worked. But… later. That could wait.

Bubby on the other hand… there was something off about how Bubby looked. Gordon couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but he supposed that Bubby’s lore of having been created artificially must have carried over into his real-life form as well.

But once again, this was something for Future Gordon to ponder about.

Present Gordon wanted to know about the general “ok, what the fuck just happened???”, before diving into information that he wasn’t even sure he had the right to know about.

He noticed G-Man giving his stump a glance as well before the suited man materialized a simple wooden chair for himself and sat down on it.

Bubby and Coomer opted to join Darnold and Tommy on the floor.

With everyone finally seated, G-Man opened his briefcase and pulled a very heavy-looking folder out of it. Its casing reminded Gordon of the pattern and colour of a missing texture error.

“I am… certain you have a lot of questions, Mr Freeman.”

Gordon closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes again, looking at everyone in the room over once more before nodding.

[the-gedonelune-times]

Happy Ending: By My Side

Summary: Gedonelune, the prestigious royal magic academy is waiting just for you! The door has opened a whole new world of possibilities for your future. For the next thirteen days you’ll be undergoing the provisional trial to see if you have what it takes to become an official student. Along the way you’ll be meeting new faces and going on exciting new adventures. But be warned, shadows are being cast on the land, if you dive to deep, you may find yourself being swallowed up by the chaos. Your journey begins now, will you be able to banish the darkness?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Unhappy Ending

Normal Ending

The minute the two forces of magic collided came a powerful explosion that sent Lily and I flying backward, our barrier completely destroyed. When we got back onto our feet, Raspatil was readying his next attack, his arm gripped his bladed staff before swinging it down with a force so powerful that the ground below shattered, sending large debris in every direction. He used this to his advantage to charge at us. Despite his size, he was rather fast, giving us a small window of time to plan our next attack. 

“I need your help.” Lily looked at me with serious eyes. 

“Tell me what I need to do.” I gripped my wand tightly.

“I’m going to transfer some of my magic to you, I need you to set up a barrier. I just need a little bit of time to be bought, but I have a plan.”

I nodded. “Alright.”

A light began to shine dimly by her heart. Her hand gathering that light as she pressed it to her chest before holding it out to me, showering me in particles of light. Immediately, I could feel a surge of incredible power wash over my body. It was around that time when Raspatil attacked once more. I quickly recited an incantation, putting up a barrier of light. It wasn’t as strong as the one Lily had put up, but it was at least proving useful in buying her some time. 

Small cracks began to form as Raspatil continued to bring his bladed staff down on the barrier, I tried to keep the flow of magic as steady as I could, but to no avail, the barrier was going to shatter soon. I could only hope that what Lily was planning to do would be ready soon. Behind me, there was a bright light, followed by a gust of warm air. When I peeked over my shoulder, I saw multiple summoning circles surrounding Lily, as the light grew, ropes of different colored light began to shoot out, striking the sleeping golems in the room. 

I felt a hand on my shoulder. “You can go ahead and let the barrier break now, we need to get to to higher ground.”

“But how? There’s no stairs or even walls to scale up on.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll take care of it. I just need you to hold on tight and trust me, okay?”

I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but despite that, I decided to take a leap of faith as she scooped me into her arms, her wings flapping behind her as we took to the air. Once we were at a good height, we watched the battle that was unfolding down below. Raspatil was cornered by the now awakened Golems. Each one wielding a large stone sword as they began to fiercely attack the snake-like being. The sounds of the weapons and magic clashing left a ringing in my ear, even from this height, the noise was almost ear-splitting. 

I could see that Raspatil was getting frustrated, its annoyance clearly showing as it slid its tail along the ground before shooting upwards, knocking most of the golems to the ground, some even shattering from the force of impact. I thought it was over, but the remaining golems began working together, each one shooting off rapid magic attacks. Raspatil managed to dodge a majority of them, but he ended up faltering and found himself in a losing battle. A cloud of smoke enveloped it and with a scream, Adonis was on his knees, clearly wiped out from his exertion of magic.

I was impressed he was even able to last that long. 

Lily’s wings began to flap slower this time as we gently touched back down on the ground. She told me to stay put in case something bad was to happen, but I refused to leave her side. 

“Why do you insist on still putting up a fight?”

“Why do you?” Lily asked while raising an eyebrow.

“That…” Adonis smiled “...is none of your damn concern, now is?”

“Actually it is.” With the wave of her hand, vines began to grow from the cracks of the stone floor in the Ark; coiling around Adonis’ arms, binding him. “What business do you have being here?”

“I was looking for something, but it seems that something is right in front of me.”

“Huh?”

Adonis laughed dryly. “Who would have thought the seal of life, was right here in front of me? All this time I thought it was that damned crystal. I guess this makes things a little harder on me. Point is…”

Tendrils of darkness began to coil around his ankles and up the vines that Lily had summoned, tearing them with a simple attack. Once freed, Adonis began to get cloaked in a dark miasma.

“Lily, he’s going to transform again!”

“We have no other choice then…” Lily looked sad as her voice trailed off.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to summon a powerful attack, but when I do, I need you to start running as fast as you can, don’t stop, don’t look back, okay? I’ll be there to get you.”

“What are you-”

A golden light began to form at her feet while small electric-like currents began building up. Her whole body was being showered in particles of light and I watched with bated breath when a beam of golden light shot out into the air. I could hear Lily calling out to me, telling me to start running and I did. I know she had told me to just keep going, not to look back or anything of the sorts. But I couldn’t do it, what if something happened and I needed to go back and help her. What I saw though was incredible. Multiple beams of light were now shooting into the sky, sealing off any means of Adonis escaping. Meanwhile one of the beams had formed right above Adonis and shot downwards before creating a barrier-like object that trapped him. 

Within mere moments, I could hear Lizzy scream out as a loud blast shook the entire area. Massive pieces of the Ark were falling down all around me and I had to act fast to avoid them. I looked back once more to see a figure charging at me before scooping me into their arms tightly before sending a magic blast at one of the Ark’s walls, creating a massive hole before flying right through it.

“Lily?”

May your souls be finally free from that cursed place. It’s no longer a home, it is but a horrifying reminder of the suffering you all faced.”

“You intentionally brought the Ark down?”

“I had to. If I didn’t, Adonis might have beaten us. We can’t keep fighting like that without one of us getting tired. You were already being put in a lot of danger and to be honest..” Lily sadly smiled. “I also did it because I want my people to finally seek a peaceful rest. They died there...and in a way, that Ark was almost like a cursed tomb for them. I…”

“I’m sure they’ve found peace, Lily.”

“I hope so. “ She spoke with softness as she held me tighter.

“What about Adonis? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know. Knowing his power though, I’m sure he’s found a means of escaping, but he definitely won’t be unscathed from it. Let’s not worry about that now, okay?” Lily smiled. “We have a trial to get you to.”

I looked at her with widened eyes and then up at the sky, which felt like an eternity since I had last seen it. The sun high in the sky, making it already noon. “How are we going to get there in time? I don’t know if we’ll catch a train in time!”

“Who says we’re going by train? I can get us there faster than any train!”

Lily giggled while her wings began to flap harder, drastically increasing our speed. It didn’t take long for us to make it back to the Gedonelune. In fact, withing a few minutes we were already flying over the town and headed straight to the academy. Once there, Lily gently got us back us to the ground before letting me down. She had wanted to come and be there for support, but given that she wasn’t a student, she wasn’t sure how that would go. Nevertheless, I grabbed her by the hand, leading her to the auditorium where Schuyler, Nadia and Persephone were, all of them widened their eyes when they saw Lily come in.

“I-Is that a…”

..dragon?”

Nadia had asked while Persephone had finished her sentence. I saw Schuyler cross his arms.

“I would like to know who this is and why you’ve brought them here.”

I was about to answer when Lily stopped me. “My name is Lily and I’m here to offer my support to them. I would go into more details, but I think it would be best to leave that for after the trial is over, wouldn’t you agree?” Lily’s sweet voice was offputting considering that she had left even Schuyler speechless.

With the clearing of his throat, he beckoned Persephone to hand over my acceptance letter that she had retrieved from my room and explained what I needed to do. The minute I put my letter on the scale, it began glowing, teetering left and right until it finally rested on one side. I held my breath and looked at the others, Nadia was the first to congratulate me.

“You made it! You passed your trial, I knew you could do it.” She beamed while giving my shoulder a playful nudge. 

Next came Persephone who gave a small pat on my back. “Good to see you’ll still be around. As much as it pains me to say it, you Day Class students can make things a bit more lively around here.”

Next, I turned to Lily, who had her arms wide open, which I ran into for a hug. “I knew you’d be able to do it, I’m so proud of you.” She smiled while her eyes began to water.

My acceptance letter disappeared in a puff of smoke and I was then asked to head back to the Headmaster’s office and wait to receive my cloak, it was the one thing I didn’t get during my trial. I was a little hesitant to go when I realized that Lily was asked to stay behind and have a conversation with Schuyler. Persephone and Nadia urged me to go and were kidn enough to walk with me there.

I felt like I had been sitting there for hours despite it being only about 15 minutes since I had gotten there. When the door was opened, I quickly jumped to my feet. Inside walked not only Schuyler but Lily as well.

“Miss Bloom here has explained the entire situation. Normally, punishment would be bestowed upon any student who broke Academy rules, but considering the circumstances, that won’t be necessary. In fact, considering the info Lily has given us, it can be used to help the Ministry track down the person responsible for the holding cell incident.”

After a little while, both Lily and I were sent on our way. I was to go back to the dorms and Lily had to go back to the village. I offered to walk with her and she wasted no time in accepting that offer as we now headed to her house.

It was quiet when we got there, not to say that it wasn’t quiet the first time I came here, but coming back after the terrible incident that had occurred a few days back, gave this place an eerie feel. We had made it to the stairs leading to the porch when I felt Lily’s hand let go of mine. She walked up and went into the house first, I followed closely behind and nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I knew it wasn’t Lily’s so I quickly whipped around, drawing my wand out on the possible attacker, only to take a step back away in surprise.

“Hey, do you know what time it is?”

A sleepy Lacan rubbed at his eyes as he dropped his hand from my shoulder and looked over at Lily.

“Oh hey Lily, how are you….” Lacan’s eyes went slightly wide as he began rubbing at them, trying to make sure that he was imagining things. “...your….wings! Lily!”

Suddenly he ran and gave her a hug. As if on cue, Willem and Felix had entered the room we were at, asking what all the commotion was about. They stopped right in their tracks when they saw Lily. Lacan dropped his hold on Lily, giving way for her to run and hug the others. She began to cry causing Felix to do the same as he held onto her. 

After the heartwarming scene, Lily and I explained the situation.

“So, when Lily broke the curse, the ones on the tampered Belladonna leaves broke as well?”

“Looks that way.” I answered.

“Lily I- huh? Hey, what’s that?” Felix asked curiously.

A small piece of paper floated down and landed in Willem’s hands. His eyes scanned over the contents while a grin spread on his face. 

“Willem, what has you smiling like that?” Lily asked before taking a sip of some of the tea that Willem had mad, after doing some thorough checking of course.”

“Lily, this is an acceptance letter, addressed to you. It seems it’s not the best with navigation and found me instead.”

Lily, practically choking on her drink, quickly put her teacup down before reaching for the note. Her smile was bright when she read the note for herself. She then looked at me and threw her arms around me before kissing my cheek. Drawing a few gasps from the others as she began shouting in glee.

What started as a journey of trials and dangers had finally came to a happy ending. Fears were shared and tears were shed, but we managed to make it through….together….

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

In the future

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

A few years had passed since I had graduated from the academy and a lot had happened. After graduation, Willem had given Lily word that there may be a way to revive the Dragonkin and her own species. The two of them worked tirelessly for an entire year before their efforts had finally borne fruit. They managed to resurrect a few of each species, some who ended up enrolling in the academy which surprise! I was a professor at. I was in charge of their classes, I taught them about the modern world and about a human’s way of life. They, in turn, taught me about their ways of life. 

Lily had opened up her own flower shop in town after the only one in town had closed down. She’s popular in town for how well she takes care of her flowers. On her days off, when I was working, she would come and see how I was doing.

Speaking on how we were doing, Lily and I were officially engaged and living happily in the village. We had our own house and garden which Lily and I took care of, pouring the love we had for each other, into making sure the plants grew strong. 

“You’re off tomorrow, right?” Lily asked as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“Yeah, are you?”

Lily nodded. “I was thinking we could go out. We haven’t done that in a while.”

“I’d love nothing more.” I smiled before giving her a small kiss.

Lily, even though her hands were covered in dirt, wrapped around my neck as she kissed me back lovingly. Our journey before and during the academy might be over. But that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be more down the road. There were still so many memories and adventures that I would be making with Lily in the future. My heart and mind beamed with excitement at the thought. We had come this far because we had done this together, with Lily by my side, I knew I would accomplish anything. 

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 25

The story continues, and we’ll be doing a bit of a character moment in this one, I’m trying to think about how to introduce it, but honestly it may just be better to jump right in...

    “You’re lost, aren’t you?”

    “Just means no one can find us easily!” With a cheerfully raised finger, Rosy drew forth a groan from Draw.

    “Just what is wrong with you, you weirdo girl!”

    ~Draw didn’t have to keep calling me names, but it was starting to feel like a nickname by now. But he wasn’t wrong either. I was lost.

    ~It wasn’t the bad kind of lost though. I had collected a lot of Rings while running to the rescue of the odd little creature that called for help, so I could always make a Ring Gate to leave at any time. Though I guess that could make me more lost. But really, Draw and I are fine!

    ~Somewhere under the pretty mountains, the winding caves and tunnels had led us into an amazing place! Water shimmered like the night sky underfoot and massive crystals grew out of the walls. And… well out of everything. There were trees growing everywhere too, but not enough to feel like a forest. The occasional cloud drifted by overhead as well blocking out how the cave walls themselves looked like the night sky. Fireflies and other glowing bugs looked like shooting stars as they sped about, and it was all really well-lit to as the crystals glowed and made it kind of like it was daylight. Of course, all the floating platforms and grass lined tunnels boring into the fake night sky made me want to go exploring, but I couldn’t leave Draw behind and he was tired of the piggyback ride I was giving him.

    ~Admittedly, I was getting kind of frustrated too. The weird little creature we rescued was avoiding me and kept hiding behind Draw whenever I tried to look at it. If I looked out of the corner of my eye though I could see it letting Draw look at it before it noticed me and hid again though. It was really starting to ruin our walk through these pretty caves.~

    “You don’t suppose it doesn’t like me, do you?” Rosy asked as she tried to lean back to catch sight of the tiny flying creature before it ducked behind Draw again. Her cheeks puffed up in response and Draw laughed at her expense.

    “Keep making faces like that and it definitely will be!”

    “Ooh~! This isn’t the time to be mean Draw,” Rosy chastised her koala companion. “Someone stuck it and all of its friends inside of those robogolems–”

    “Autogolems,” Draw interrupted Rosy with his name for the clockwork golems.

    “And that reminds me too much of that mean old Eggman from back home,” Rosy continued, her cheeks growing even larger at Draw’s correction.

    “I still don’t get the name. It just sounds like you like food too much.”

    “Ooh~! It’s not like that at all!” Rosy whined thrusting her hands down at her side coming to a stop. “He really is a mean old man and shoves animals into his robots. He wants to shove me and my friends into his robots too, and if not for Sonic he would succeed too! He’s really scary, even scarier than Ix.”

    “If you say so,” Draw shrugged and put his hands on the back of his head. Looking over his shoulder he spotted the glowing creature staring at him and smirked. “She really is a weirdo, isn’t she?”

    The creature nodded its head, which comprised the entirety of its body, and Draw’s smirk grew even larger. “Oh, so you can understand us. Shame you don’t have a mouth to talk with. –Gya!”

    “It can understand us!” Rosy excitedly tackled Draw as she tried to get a look at it. Naturally, it ducked away and Rosy’s face started to grow red as she puffed her cheeks up even further. “Ooh~! If only I could make Ring Bonds like Sonic and Ix! Then we could get over this problem and talk, and you could tell us why you’re following us even though you seem to be so scared of me! Why didn’t you go with all of your friends anyway when we freed them?”

    Rosy’s tone and demeanor became much more sympathetic as she directed a more curious question at the creature, but it simply continued to hide from her. With a sigh she stepped away from Draw and reached into one of the sleeve puffs of her leotard.

    “I’m really trying to be nice and just want to help, but maybe I should just ask my cards. They seem to be able to hear you so maybe… Though it’s a little hard talking that way.”

    Looking back, Rosy saw the creature peak out from behind Draw and looked right at her. Her face lit up with joy believing she finally got through to it, until it shook its head in denial. Absolutely crestfallen, Rosy whined her disbelief aloud. “Why~! I don’t get why you’re being so mean! I’m just trying to help!”

    With a defeated sigh Rosy slumped to the ground, her legs forming an awkward “W” shape as her rump hit the ground.

    “You’re not actually giving up, are you?”

    “No. I’m just taking a break,” Rosy looked up at Draw summoning back up the positivity from her endless supply. “I just need to take the time to think of how to get through to it and help it realize I just want to help and be its friend.”

    “It could just be you?” Draw suggested earning a new cheek puffing look from Rosy. He was not ready to be dismissed so easily though and offered a bit of help in his own way. “When I asked it if it agreed that you’re a weirdo girl it nodded in agreement.”

    “What~!” Rosy whined in further disbelief. “It thinks I’m weird too? Ugh! You two should just make a Ring Bond you’re already so close.”

    Flopping onto her back and kicking her legs out before letting them flop down, Rosy stared up at the faux night sky of the cavern. It looked beautiful to her, and the Rings spinning on the ceiling made her think of holding one as Sonic held it opposite of her. She could see the depths of his green eyes and had a terrible feeling of yearning for him.

    “Ooh~! What am I saying? Only Sonic and Ix can make Ring Bonds and neither of them are here. Though I’d definitely rather have Sonic here.”

    “I’d rather have your golem,” Draw shared his opinion curtly. “Then I could destroy it and we could go our–”

    Draw did not finish his thought as the Ring-colored creature flew out in front of him and shook its head. “What? You think I should keep traveling with this weirdo girl?”

    The creature nodded and Draw wrinkled up his face. “You’re turning out to be a bit of weirdo too.”

    “Don’t call people names,” Rosy reminded Draw and was promptly ignored as the creature shook its head.

    “Well, talking like this isn’t normal either.”

    The creature nodded in agreement.

    “So, what do you want to do about it?”

    Looking around a moment, the creature bobbed in the general direction of a string of Rings that was within reach for Draw. Tilting his head, Draw took a guess at what the creature wanted to do.

    “You want to try one of those Ring Bond things?”

    The creature nodded and Draw grew even more curious. Rosy also grew curious and sat up. “It wants to try? Can it really do it.”

    “Dunno,” Draw shrugged, but the insistence of the creature as it flew in circles around him, always stopping for a moment to align itself and his line of sight with the nearby Rings, seemed to assure it. Draw however frowned. “I guess this thing wouldn’t know that Rings are taboo.”

    “Well, it shares the same color as one,” Rosy laughed not knowing what else to really say to demonstrate it. She knew nothing about the creature, despite how much she wanted to learn. Now though she had an opportunity and stood up, dusting off her bottom as she did.

    “Why not just try?” Rosy attempted to prompt Draw into giving in to the creature’s request. “At most nothing will happen, and you won’t even collect the Ring. Though if you do, I could always give you a good slap and knock it back out of you!”

    “You’re just saying that because you want to get back at me for always calling you names!” Draw panicked at Rosy’s playfully mischievous toothy grin.

    “May~be,” she winked at him teasingly making him take a panicked step back.

    “In that case no way! Those things are taboo and cursed anyway. And knowing you’d hit me… I definitely don’t want anything to do with them!”

    “Come on!” Rosy pleaded but Draw shook his head fiercely.

    “Uh-uh!”

    “Ooh~! You’re just helping out. I promise you it won’t hurt at all!”

    “And why should I believe you? You just want to hit me!”

    “No I don’t. I was just teasing you a little. It’s only fair with how often you call me names.”

    “Well, you’re a weirdo girl! Of course I’m going to call you names!”

    “Ooh~! That does it!”

    “Wait, what are you…?”

    Taking another step back as panic started to fully set in, Draw watched Rosy’s hand as golden motes of light formed before giving way to the sudden appearance of a Ring. “Helping!”

    With a frustrated shout Rosy moved to throw the Ring and Draw turned and bolted. Rosy was ready though and threw the Ring so it would come down in front of him. Her bad mood was serving her especially well as she glared at the creature and prompted it to chase after Draw. Even more impressively, her throw resulted in Draw’s pumping fists to accidentally reach out for the Ring as it came down in front of him.

    “Oh no~!” Draw cried out as he could not stop himself.

    As his fist collided with the Ring, the creature smashed into it from the other side, staring directly into Draw’s eyes as long as it could. As the two touched it, the Ring stayed a moment and glowed brightly before dispersing into a flurry of golden motes. There were far more than would normally appear from a single Ring being collected and they swirled around Draw and the creature before being absorbed into them both.

    As the spectacle ended Draw looked down at himself in horror, his hands shaking with disbelief. “What did you do to me?”

    “It’s a Ring Bond! You two really made one! I can’t wait to find out what it shared with you!”

    Excited as Rosy was though, she stopped short of taking a step forward as sounds in the distance caught her attention. Turning her head to follow the sounds that made her ears twitch she paused a moment before speaking. “Voices?

    “Wait here Draw,” Rosy instructed the mortified child. “I’ll go check it out while you figure out what our little friend shared with you~✩”

    “It is not my friend!” Draw shouted after Rosy, who had already bolted off with a wink. Draw could never keep up with her speed and felt helpless. Though not entirely.

    Turning his head Draw gave the creature an angry glare. “So, what dd you do me?”

Scene 25 · CLEARED An Elusive Companion, to be continued

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And how’s that for a little surprise. I’ve introduced yet another character that can create a Ring Bond! There is obviously more going on, but I’ll save the answers to those mysterious for next time.

I hope everyone enjoyed and I hope I’ll be able to keep entertaining you! Thank you!

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Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – What Makes the Sky Blue – Tsutomu Narita – Granblue fantasy Original Soundtrack: Promise

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

[ttooccaa]

Seeing the Ups and Downs

I just wrote a Soulmate AU bartuardo fic! I hope somebody likes it.

It’s under the cut. Here’s the Ao3 link as well.

Summary: Almost everybody gets a tattoo (or tattoos in some cases; also known as soulmarks), either when they are born or when their soulmate’s born, that represent their soulmate(s), the tattoo is just an outline, until the soulmate is met, afterwards it fills itself with colour.

That’s great and all, but Ed has never had one and just as he’s accepted that he’s probably never going to get one, it happens, problem is it’s 14 years too late, he’s been kidnapped by aliens, so he’s still unconscious and has no idea he even got one. On the upside, he might die long before he has to meet them and deal with everything so that’s… just peachy.

Santa Fe

December 14, 22:45 GMT-3

Ed had just officially ran away from home, it was surprisingly easy, he just had to wait for his abuelo to fall asleep in front of the TV, Ed had gotten really good at sneaking out, practice made perfect as the people say.

He had ran away before, but it was never serious and the police always found him anyways, but this time was different, it felt different. Honestly, he still didn’t know if it was real or not, as of right now he had one goal, get to America (and his father?) without being caught by the police.

Well, first stop, the bus station.

As he was walking through the dark streets, barely lit by the street lights, he once again thought how lucky he was not to have a soulmate. He had just recently convinced himself it was  something good, before he was sad, sure that he simply didn’t deserve one, that he was not worth it, but after seeing how restricting it was to have one, Ed started thanking his lucky star he was born without a tattoo. He was free to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted without caring if somebody might or might not be upset. It was also lonely, but recently he has really been trying to see the bright side of things.

Downside: I will probably be alone and lonely my whole life.

Upside: I am free.

Porto Velho

January 21, 20:16 GMT- 4

Ed was quietly sitting on the ground in an old, decrepit building, surrounded by other runaways and homeless people. He was eating a very stale and disgusting sandwich from a local gas station, while listening to other people talk or at least trying to, Portuguese was definitely not his forte, good thing their group was a mixed one and most everybody either knew spanish or english.

The person next to him moved and a guy took his place. “Hey!”

“What’s up, Lucas?” He greeted, mouth full with bread.

Lucas was one of the few people Ed had met while in this city, Lucas was older, twenty something, really skinny and tall, dirty blonde hair and a lot of small and medium sized scars all over his body, a few on his face. He was a nice enough guy, but really sad, he tried to hide it, but he couldn’t, Ed had seen him go into his depressive state once and it was more than enough. From what he heard it happened often.

They stayed in silence, until Lucas broke it “Have you met your soulmate, Edu?”

The Argentinian swallowed the last of the sandwich and answered “Don’t have one.”

Lucas nodded his head “So you’re one of those people.” He smiled gently, his gaze far away.

“What about you?”

“Oh, yeah.” His smile grew and his eyes started to glisten.

The silence stretched for a bit, until Lucas continued “She was perfect, god, I would’ve done anything for her, I did do everything I could and more for her. She was beautiful and smart and absolutely perfect.” He was still smiling, though tears were forming in his eyes.

Ed has started to feel uncomfortable, but his curiosity got the better of him “What happened? If… ugh… you know, you want to tell me…” He was blushing a bit.

Lucas nodded his head “Don’t worry, it’s not like it’s a secret. She left me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Hahha, not like that! I meant, she just left me, for another, said I wasn’t good enough for her and she was right, you know, I really wasn’t, still am not, now more so than ever.” Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks, he looked like he was no longer in the room mentally. He probably wasn’t, relieving the good ol’ times he had with his soulmate. Lucas spoke up once again “Only reason, I’m still here, I hope she will take me in one day.”

Ed was shocked, he had heard of soulmates leaving before, but he mostly thought that they stayed together, no matter what. He had always thought that your soulmate was your perfect person, the one always here for you, the only one you can truly trust with everything, turns out he was wrong… very wrong.

Downside: I’m still going to be alone and lonely my whole life.

Upside: I will never have an abusive psycho for a soulmate.

Mitú

February 10, 23:01 GMT-5

The Argentinian had just arrived in the city, thanks to a bit of hitchhiking and a lot of walking, being on the run was exhausting and miserable…

He walked through the streets, the only thing he wanted was to find a somewhat safe spot and just crash over there and fall asleep. It’s not like he was afraid of somebody stealing his things, he didn’t have anything valuable left. Also no money, but right now that really wasn’t current Ed’s problem.

Just as he was considering passing out on a street corner and hoping for the best, he saw it, a bench! But not just any bench one in a secluded but still pretty lit part of the park in front of him. Ed gathered whatever strength he had left and walked to it. He took a blanket out of his backpack and laid down on the bench, his skateboard against his back and the backpack a pillow. He quickly felt sleep overtake him.

It felt barely like minutes had passed, but suddenly he was being woken up by a hand over his mouth and strong arms wrapping around him, he barely had time to register what was happening to him, yet alone panic as he lost consciousness once again.

Downside: I got kidnapped.

Upside: I (most likely) will not live long enough to be alone and lonely my whole life.

Taos

April 1, 18:15 MDT

Now Ed felt like even more of a freak, not only was he one of the few thousand people without a soulmate, but he also had weird, superpowers thanks to a gene inside his body… because aliens. He didn’t think his life could get any worse, at times like these he almost regretted running away from home.

Ed did, in a way, reach his goal - he was in America and with his father. He had forgotten just what a hoot his dad was, but Senior quickly reminded him by throwing his only son inside STAR labs like a lab rat.

He was walking towards one of the changing rooms at STAR labs, it wasn’t enough that aliens had experimented on him and the other abductees, apparently his dad also wanted to take a stab at it

Ed rounded a corner and opened the door of what he hoped was a changing room, he also hoped he would be alone, but no such luck was found. He opened the door, while Virgil was mid tacking his pants off.

Ed quickly started to close the door “Sorry, dude, I’ll leave you be.”

Virgil quickly recovered “Nah, it’s cool.”

The Argentinian went inside and opened one of the lockers, all of them contained the same white jumpsuits.

He took his vest off, then his scarf and finally his T-shirt. He started unzipping the jumpsuit.

“Damn, dude, cool soulmark.” Virgil whistled.

Ed looked at him like he was seeing him for the first time “What…?”

The other teen rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly uncomfortable “Well, ugh, you know, the thing on your back, unless it’s just a tattoo, than cool tattoo, but aren’t we a bit young for tattoos, I-I mean you do you… hahha.” Virgil was bright red and rambling.

“Calm down. Look, I don’t know if this some kind of American humour I don’t understand, but I don’t have a soulmate and therefore a soulmark. Whatever you’re talking about was probably a parting gift by the Reach.” Ed was trying to reason, feeling a little nervous, like he had ever since he’d been freed from the Justice League and been able to form more coherent thoughts than ‘Everything hurts.’

He tried to deny to himself over and over again the weird itch he’d been having on his back, hasn’t even looked at it, scared at what might be or might not be there.

Virgil looked thoughtful for a second “I’m not an expert, but it sure looks like a soulmark to me. Wait, I’ll take a picture, so you can see it.” He took his phone out and snapped a picture, before even Ed realised what was happening.

The phone was suddenly in front of his face and there it was right in the middle of his shoulder blades… a round clock? He took the phone from Virgil and zoomed in on it. It was a clock alright, but missing both of his handles, in the middle of it was a big lightning bolt, almost like the one the Flash had on his costume. He started at it for several minutes straight, then even tried to twist his head around to see it.

Ed threw the phone back at Virgil, who caught it while panicking a bit and dashed to one of the bathroom mirrors. Ed turned around and then twisted his neck uncomfortably and there it was - a clock…

Virgil approached him once again “Hey, man, you feeling good?”

Ed blinked rapidly, overcome with emotion, it was neither a happy or a sad one, tears were forming in the corners of his eyes “I-I… I didn’t think I had one, I don’t how to feel, I don’t even know what’s going on anymore.”

He had started to breath rapidly “First I lived months on the streets, absolutely miserable, then I w-was kidnapped and experimented on by Aliens! Then I got superpowers, and now I have a soulmate tattoo.” Everything was becoming blurry, he didn’t even know what he was saying anymore.

Virgil rushed in and helped him sit on the cool ground, he helped him with his breathing and Ed slowly started to calm down.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah, yeah… thank you.”

Virgil slowly reach out and hugged Ed, the later hugged him back and buried his face in the place between his neck and his shoulder.

Downside(s): I’ll probably never meet him(?), while I’m trapped in START labs and also WHAT KIND OF AN AGE DIFFERENCE IS 14 YEARS?!

Upside: I’m not alone.

The Warworld

May 30, post-03:36 UTC

‘Why did we have to listen to Virgil and come back to save the superheroes or whatever they called themselves?’ Ed thought for the what felt like the hundredth time, while teleporting behind a couple of Reach soldiers and taking them down.

Asami signalled to him in which direction to go ‘Finally, we’re getting out of here.’ He teleported next to her and they took off.

That’s when he saw him or at least felt him run past him, Ed suddenly felt this pressure on his back, his skin felt thigh and sensitive. He was so confused, but decided to chalk it up to the adrenaline from the battle and think about it later.

When the door burst open and Ed saw Nightwing, Miss Martian and a sphere he couldn’t be happier.

Everybody quickly got onto the ship.

Ed couldn’t help but steal a couple glances at this Impulse character, he hadn’t met him, but that’s what the others were calling him. He didn’t know why he was so nervous around the guy, he felt dizzy and like he might throw up. His stomach was in knots, he wanted to talk to him, but something was stopping him.

He sweared he felt Impulse’s eyes on him.

After Nightwing’s dismissal of Arsenal, they were just about ready to leave, but Ed wasn’t so sure, he wanted to leave, but he also wanted to stay, not because of Nightwing and his offer of joining some Justice League for kids thing, but because of the speedster, he felt this pull towards him. But still, he walked through the portal created by the Fatherbox in tow with his friends and Arsenal.

Before that he stole one last glance at the speedster and saw that his eyes were also trained on him.

Downside: My back really itches.

Upside(?): Is it possible for soulmate tattoos to appear late without a reason?

Taos

July 5, 09:37 MDT

Ed was currently once again at Star Labs, this time luckily not as an experiment. After what happened those few months all he wanted to do was lay down somewhere and sleep for as long as humanly (meta-humanly?) possible. But that wasn’t an option, at least not now. He was helping his father move some stuff around and get settled into STAR labs, after it was rebuild.

In the end he had decided to stay with his dad, maybe they will grow closer, maybe they won’t, no matter what happens, he was just happy that everything was over and that getting a citizenship was easier than ever, thanks to being kidnapped by the same aliens the American government trusted before their attack. It was a sort of “Sorry the Reach experimented on, want to not sue us, but instead live here, you illegal immigrant?”

The teen’s mind quickly drifted away and he started focusing on more interesting thoughts, such as the speedster. He still couldn’t explain why the guy wouldn’t get out of his head, he had a speculation, but that was impossible, right?

Just as Ed thought that, a strong gust of wind hit him from behind and Kid Flash was standing right in front of him, though it didn’t quite look like him.

Ed blinked a couple of times “Ugh, hi?”

Kid Flash smiled, a bit awkward “I just wanted to… thank you! You know for freeing us and helping out after.” He rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah, yeah I mean, I guess you should be thanking Virgil for the rescue, he insisted.” He cringed at himself ‘Wow, Ed, real smooth.’

Impulse blinked, awkwardness settling between them “Anyways… I’m Impulse! Well Kid Flash now, rebranding.” He said proudly, but full of sadness, while extending his hand towards Ed.

Ed looked at it for a second than took it in his own “I’m Eduardo or just Ed for short.”

The moment he said that and their hands touched Ed felt a burning, yet calming sensation on his back. He flinched and so did the speedster.

Without thinking the Argentinian teleported to the bathroom/locker room close by. He poked his head out of it and signalled for the new Kid Flash to follow him inside.

The brown haired speedster was currently looking at the inside of his left arm, but quickly followed Ed inside.

The stared at each other, neither saying anything.

The Argentinian swallowed and shook his head ‘Dios mío, this is so awkward.’ “So, ugh, there’s no other way to say it, but I’m going to take my shirt of to check something, yeah?” He felt like he might die of pure embarrassment alone, he was bright red and fidgeting awkwardly.

Kid Flash also grew increasingly red with each second “Yeah, of-of course, I’m gonna see something for myself as well.” He nodded once and reached for his left glove.

Ed quickly took his arms out of the T-shirt and left it hanging around his neck. He looked in the large mirror, twisting his neck uncomfortably and that’s when he saw it from the corner of his eye – his soulmark completely filled in. The clock was simply black and white, but the lightning bolt was like a real one, full of oranges and yellows with little sparks flying all around the clock.

His emotions were so mixed up, he was happy, ecstatic even, but also nervous and definitely scared… very sacred.

He put his shirt down and turned towards the superhero, who had taken his glove off and pushed the sleeve of the yellow costume up, exposing his inner arm. There right above the inside of his elbow was a stylised sun – a golden sun, simple, yet very beautiful.

Kid Flash slowly ran his fingers over the tattoo “Wow, I mean - I just –“ tears were gathering in his eyes.

Panic overtook Ed “Hey! Is that from happiness, is something wrong? Are you unhappy? You know I’m also very emotional right now.” He was rambling.

The hero sucked in a big breath, clenched his eyes shut, then exhaled, opened his eyes and looked straight at Ed. He smiled slightly “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Ed also returned the smile, his cheeks growing hotter “So, we good?”

Kid Flash grinned “We good, well I think proper introductions are in order!” He reached for the cowl.

The Argentinian was definitely a bit surprised, he wanted to know his… soulmate’s identity, but he also didn’t want the other teen to be uncomfortable or feel like he was forced to reveal it.

“It’s fine, if you don’t wanna, I mean I’d like to… but you know, if you don’t want to, that’s cool too.” He tried to sound nonchalant, he wasn’t sure he succeeded.

Kid Flash shook his head “If not now, then when?”

He took the cowl off “Name’s Bart Allen!”

Ed studied his face for a bit, he was quite simply, pretty damn attractive, not that it mattered, but it was still a nice touch. He smiled brightly and shook his hand once again “Pleasure to meet you.”

Bart winked “Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”

Ed raised one of his eyebrows, still smiling, his cheeks had a light dusting of pink. Then it hit him, after all of the emotions of meeting his soulmate and confirming it was him, logic had started kicking in once again.

He let go of Bart’s hand “Sorry, I have to ruin the moment, but why did my tattoo appear just a couple months ago? No offence? But you don’t look like a one year old.”

The speedster rubbed the back of his head “Well, if it makes you feel better I was also quite shocked when I came here from the future and suddenly had a soulmark.” He was smiling brightly.

“Wait! The future?”

“Hah, let’s say we have a lot to talk about.”

Ed didn’t mind that at all “How about we have that conversation some place other than the bathroom?”

Downside: I don’t know anything about my soulmate (from the future?) and neither does he about me.

Upside: I am more than happy, that we can do that together.

[eclecticstarlightconnoisseur]

Edinburgh To Boston - Chapter 11 - Redux

Good evening all, Here is the next chapter of Edinburgh To Boston. I hope you all enjoy it. We met some old friends and a person oft-spoken of but never seen.

Chapter 12 is nearly done.  It is in the revision stage then off to my lovely beta @curlsgetdemgurls whom without her, this would not exist. Many, many thanks Emma for everything.

As always, I look forward to your thoughts, comments, and respectful criticism.

Without further delay, I give you...

Edinburgh To Boston

Chapter 11

Redux

“Rabbie, ye wee gomeral! Dinna stick yer brother’s head in the snow, aye. He canna breathe in there.” 

Rabbie MacLennan was busy shoving his brother Davey’s head deeper into a snowbank. At his grandmother’s reprimand, he let go and ran off cackling to himself.

There must be something wrong with that boy, she thought. She hoped she wouldn’t see him on one of those Most Wanted Shows when he grew up.

Davey freed himself from his frozen entombment and found himself covered head to toe in snow looking rather like a scrawny snowman. Shaking himself like a dog, he removed much of the fine flakes sticking to his hat, hair, face, and clothes. 

“Wait for me,” the lad called racing after his brother to see what other devilry they could stir up.

Maizie gave a long-suffering look toward her husband that said: Do something.

Harry, in the language of the long-married, returned the look, asking: Like what?

She glared back at him, I dinna ken. They’re your grandsons, do something. 

Jamie and Claire observed the mayhem headed their way. They turned and looked at each other smiling.

“Lass, it’s Harry and Maizie. I dinna think we would ever see them again.”

Jamie raised his arm waving it furiously loudly calling out, “mo charaid.”

“Come along a nighean,” he said laughing and pulled her along. He moved toward the elderly couple with a decided determination.

Harry looked up recognizing their acquaintances from the plane, took off his cap and began waving it in his own brand of frenetic gesticulations calling out, “Hallo.”  

“Ye see who it ‘tis, my love? ‘Tis the lad from the plane with his lass,” he said with a broad smile plastered across his face.

Smiling she began to wave as well. “So ‘tis. They look happy, do they no’?”

“Aye, they do.”

The men reached each other and began the time-honored male ritual greeting composed of handshakes, hugging, and back pounding.

Observing this male disposition, it occurred to Claire that this habit of pummeling each other in a form of welcome might be the reason that men were impervious to superficial pain.

The ladies, however, greeted each other more genteelly, clasping each other’s hands, kissing a cheek, and exchanging pleasantries. 

Of course, it was just like men to wander off in pursuit of their own conversations while leaving the women to mind the store. This entailed clearing the snow off a bench for them to sit and keep a watchful eye on the two rapscallions. Bloody men.

“How goes it, lad? Ye look happy and I might add so does the lass.” Harry cast a glance back toward Claire.

If it were possible, Jamie’s cold-reddened cheeks would have turned scarlet.

“We, ah, talked, and found the truth between us. She, um, weel, she loves me as I do her. So, we are together,” he smiled so brightly it would have rivaled the sun. “I still dinna ken how ye were so certain about such things.”

“Laddie, it is as plain as the nose on yer face.  A blind man could see that ye love each other and belong together. ‘Twas not hard at all.  All ye two needed was a push in the right direction.”

Harry turned his eyes to gaze intently upon Jamie. His expression hardening like a stern schoolmaster about to chastise an errant student.

“Remember lad, she is a braw lassie, strong, capable, independent. Dinna underestimate her. But, she can be very fragile, delicate, and her heart, once given, can be easily broken. Take care of her, love her rightly and if ye do sae she will be yers forever.”

“Aye, sir I will. Ye can trust me.”

A snowball whizzed by Harry’s hat, missing it by a fraction of an inch. He looked up and saw his grandson Rabbie hanging upside down, monkey-like from a tree. His younger brother stood below with a stockpile of frozen missiles.

“Oi, ye wee scoundrels, what are ye about then?”  Harry stormed toward the tree where the lads were. Jamie keeping pace brought up the rear as reinforcement.

Davey hopped up and down trying to get his brother’s attention wanting him to pull him up into the tree and away from his Grandda’s grasp. 

“Jump Davey, jump.” 

Rabbie extended his hand as far as he could and with one final long stretch, he just managed to grasp his brother’s hand. With a mighty pull, he brought Davey up and out of reach of his grandsire.  The lads sat swinging their legs back and forth from their high perch enjoying the view of their frustrated and angry grandfather below.

“Do ye want them down?”

Harry snorted, “I do.”

“Now listen here, lads.  Either ye come down or I come up. And ye willna like it if I do.”

“Yer auld. Ye canna climb up trees,” said Rabbie with a smirk on his face.

“Aye, I can. I climb trees, mountains, and rock walls.”

“Are ye Spideyman then?” asked wee Davey with a hopeful look on his face.

“Nay, but I ken him.”

“Ye do???!!!” The little boy’s eyes widened becoming positively goggle-eyed. 

“Aye, he came to the hospital where I work to visit with the sick bairns. He told me all his secrets for climbing. If ye come down, I’ll tell ye.”

Davey looked awestruck.  Rabbie looked at Jamie with skepticism.

“I dinna believe ye,” he said eyes narrowed to slits and glared.

“I have pictures of Spider-Man and me. He taught me some of his spidey moves.  I have a video too if ye want to see it.”

Davey was beside himself with excitement. Rabbie, however, more of a doubting Thomas required proof. The two laddies were busy trying to scramble down the tree. Rabbie older and bigger pushed his way forward wanting to be first. 

Davey had another idea.  He hung down from the branch by his fingertips, “Catch me, Grandda,” and let go dropping five feet straight down. 

Harry ran forward hoping he would be in time to catch the rascal and not drop him. Jamie got there before Harry, opened his arms and caught the boy in the nick of time, saving him from serious injury. 

“Lad, do ye no’ ken that ye weigh as much as a good draft horse when ye fall from that height? Ye nearly broke my back.”

The wean laughed, “Can I see the pictures now, please?”

He set the child down, pulled out his phone and scrolled through the pictures. The lads were enamored by them and began acting out the poses they saw.

Jamie Fraser had convinced a friend to dress up as Spider-Man and come to entertain the children. He posed, signed autographs, took pictures, and gave out little gifts. At the end of the wee party, a spectacular Spider-Man cake was rolled out and happily and messily consumed by all.

Each year Dr. Fraser planned a different event for the children.  Wherever he worked or trained he would manage to beg or borrow, cajole or arm-twist enough money to plan a wee party for the weans. All done in memory of his brother Willie. The children broke his heart.  For some, the hospital was their home, for others they would never leave it.  Some of the lucky ones would get well enough to live their lives but not without experiencing more than any child should have to.

Claire and Maizie sat on the bench talking of this and that while keeping a watchful eye on their men.

“Are ye happy then, lass?”

Claire looked up first to Jamie then to Maizie. 

“Yes, very happy.  Happier than I have been in a long time. Probably happier than I have ever been in my whole life.”

“Aye, I thought so. I can see it in the way ye look at him. And in the way he looks at ye,” she chuckled softly.

“Yer man, he is a Highlander, is he no’?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Weel, they are proud men, strong of body and spirit, honorable to be sure, disciplined, loyal, courageous, patient and honest. Can ye handle a man like that lass? He can and will be a handful at times.” She looked at Claire searching her face for the truth. “Oh, and did I mention stubborn? Once they have made up their minds, there is no turning them back.”

“How do you know all this?”

“My man is a Highlander too. It has been a bonnie life with him, never dull,” she chuckled. “I wouldna change him or the life I had with him for anything. He has been a challenge at times, but I set him straight,” Maizie said with a wink.

“Oh, and one more thing lass, if ye dinna kent it yet. They have hearty appetites in bed!”

Claire opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it and shut it. She felt the heat of her embarrassment rising up her face.

“I see ye ken what I say is true,” she laughed heartily. 

“Well I...ah, well, mmm, damn.” Claire flushed a lovely shade of pink.

“Enjoy his love for ye lass. ‘Tis a blessing. I still do,” she said with a lascivious smile.

She looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun had begun to lower, checked the time on her watch. 

“‘Tis late. I need to get my lads home, dry and fed.”

“Harry! Harry! Get the lads, ‘tis time we were going home.”

The boys and the men’s heads snapped up at the words going home.  

“A leannan,” he said in his most silky voice, “the lads are having such a good time. Might we be able to stay a little longer?”  All four members of the male contingent shook their heads in unanimous agreement to this request.

“Ye can have ten more minutes, then we must leave. ‘Twill be getting dark soon,” Maizie said with a shiver.

Claire had been watching Jaime play with the boys, roughhousing, laughing, throwing snowballs at each other, helping to build a snowman, and generally acting like one of the boys. Her hands went reflexively to her belly. He was meant to be a father, she thought. She worried if she couldn’t give that gift to him would he hate her? Worse yet, would he leave her?

“Dinna fash, lass. Yer time will come too,” she observed Claire’s hands protectively on her abdomen.

 “I wasn’t able to before with, with my ex-husband.”

“If he’s yer ex, then perhaps it was for the best. Looking at yer lad there, I think things will be different this time.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said with a hopeful look on her face.

Looking toward the men hard at work making the most of the last few minutes of playtime, Maizie called out, “Come along lads, ‘tis time for our suppers.” 

The male heads rose up at the mention of food.

They bid farewell to each other, repeating the ceremonial handshakes, hugs, and backslaps. The boys were counseled to listen to their Mam, Da, Grannie, and Grandda, eat their vegetables as Jamie would be seeing Spider-man again when he got back to Scotland. Rabbie and Davey nodded their heads solemnly and promised to be on their best behavior and (Blah!) to eat their veggies too. 

The women embraced, Claire, thanking Maizie for all her advice. She kissed her cheek softly and bid her goodbye.

“Come along Spider-Man, let’s get you back to the hotel and out of those wet clothes, shall we hmm?”

“Will ye help me out of my wet clothes then, mo ghràdh? I’m so cold and wet that I think my cock will snap off.”

“That my dear would be a catastrophe,” Claire said with a smirk.

Jamie began to speak, instead, he wrinkled his nose, squeezed his eyes together, and let out a volley of sneezes. He began to sniffle. 

“Hmm, things seem more serious than I thought. Let’s get you back to the hotel and warm you up.”

“Aye, sounds like a good idea.  Will ye warm me then, Claire?” There was a twinkle in his eyes as Jamie waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Men!” she snickered.

**********

They lay nestled together in the twilight of sleep, neither fully awake nor fully asleep. Warm. Complete. Filled with love. His arms enclosed her.  One hand cupping her breast while the other drew around her waist bringing her closer. A finger idly traced the slope of her breast coming to rest on a nipple. Stroking it lightly, it came alive under his touch hardening, rounding, wanting. Her arse settled fully in his groin wanting to eliminate any space between them.

“Does it ever stop, the wanting you? Even when I've just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my fingers ache with wanting to touch ye again.” 

She wiggled closer feeling the effects of her movements against him. 

“I want you too, always,” she mumbled sleepily.

His lips pressed soft tender kisses to her neck and felt her quiver.

He turned her onto her back raining a succession of heated kisses along her chin, chest, down the hollow between her breasts.

“Mo nighean donn, I hunger for ye.”

He blazed passionate kisses down her body paying homage to her.

Reaching her navel, a distant grumbling sounded from within the depths of her abdomen.

Jamie startled, “Sassenach, yer making wee noises, but no’ the ones I was hoping for.”

“Hmmm, seems I’m famished.”

“For food?”

“Mmhm. It’s been a long time since breakfast and we did have a busy afternoon.”

 “Aye, we did.” He rested his head on her belly. “Would ye like me to order room service or would ye like to go to the restaurant?” He hoped she’d pick room service.

“Well, I bought a new dress to wear for the last dinner at the conference. It would be a shame to not get to wear it.”

“Alright then, lass, the restaurant it is, but first I must have my dessert.”

********

Jamie sat on the end of the bed showered, shaved, and dressed in his charcoal grey suit, white shirt, and blue tie.  He hummed a rhythmless tune while his foot tapped in a futile attempt to keep time. Taking out his phone, he idly scrolled through the news, and his social media accounts watching the videos of dogs and cats engaged in ridiculous antics.

His eyes drifted back toward the closed bathroom door wondering what was taking Claire so long. To save time they had showered together. He had soaped her up, sliding his hands over her slippery body becoming captivated with each curve, and rounded area of her body.  Ah Dhia, that sweet fat arse of hers. He would never tire of fondling it. And what she did to him. Lathering him, she stroked him with her soft wee hand turning his legs to jello. Christ, the lass knew just how to… His pants were becoming uncomfortable. He stood up adjusted himself and walked to the bathroom door.

“Claire, are ye alright, lass?”

“I just need another few minutes, Jamie.”

She’s been in there for at least a half-hour. What takes women so long to get dressed?

He walked to the large window and watched the lights of Boston twinkle like fireflies on a warm summer’s night.

He heard the sound of the bathroom door open and Claire stepped out.

She was a vision in red. The dress was floor-length, long-sleeved with a high neckline. It hugged every curve of her body in a sensual way. Her hair was up with tiny tendrils draping around her face and neck. Her makeup lightly done except for the red lipstick accentuating the bow of her lips.

“Do you like it?”

He mouth opened and he gaped at her. His eyes sweeping over the sweet long lines of her body. 

Her walk was sultry. Her hips swayed. She exuded sexuality. Jamie placed his hands on the swell of her hips. He swallowed, “Yer beautiful, mo nighean donn.” She was mesmerizing. He could not wait to have her on his arm walking through the hotel and into the restaurant, the envy of every man there.

 She lightly pressed her mouth on him leaving a trace of her scarlet kiss on his lips. Seductively she traced her thumb across his mouth erasing the crimson mark. 

“Claire, I... ”

She gave him a knowing smile, “Let’s go then.”

She turned to reach for her clutch and then he saw it. The dress was backless. The gown laid her bare from the nape of her neck to just above her gluteal cleft exposing the dimples of Venus on her back. It hugged her buttocks emphasizing the roundness, the fullness of her.

“Sassenach! Yer no’ going downstairs like that are ye? Christ woman, I can see clear down yer arse.”

“No, you can’t. I had the sales girl take a video of me moving in all different directions in it and you can’t see anything. I checked. Want to see?” She said smugly.

He didn’t want to see and he didn’t want any other man to see either. The woman would be the death of him.

Deciding to use another tactic, he inquired, “Won’t ye be cold then?  Would ye want my jacket, lass?”

“Oh, you’re right, I forgot my wrap.” Walking over to the garment bag she took out a matching stole and wrapped it around herself.

“Better?” she asked batting her eyelashes at him.

“No! It only covers half of ye. Claire, ye canna go out like this,” he sputtered.

“Hmm, I see it’s doubled.” She gave it a little shake to open it completely. She swirled the silken fabric around her back like a matador twirling his red cape in front of a snorting raging bull.

“Is it better now?”

The edge grazed the top of her natal cleft.  Any movement she would make exposed her.

“Aye, ‘tis better,” he conceded, “but no’ by much.”  

Seeing that Claire would not give up on going to the restaurant wearing that, that dress Jamie conceded defeat. 

“My Lady, may I have the honor of escorting ye to dinner?” He extended his arm offering it to her to take.

“I would be honored, my Laird.” She reached out placing her dainty hand in the crook of his elbow feeling him draw her close to him.

He hoped they would make it through dinner without incident.

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

Brian Fraser looked at his youngest son, drooping and moping about over some lass who would not give the lad the time of day. To make matters worse, Jamie had seen the girl kissing another boy in a remote part of the school library. “Laddie, if the lass is no’ interested in ye, then mayhap she is not the one for ye.  Pining away for her will no’ help.  Remember, be careful about what ye wish for, because ye may just get it. When ye find the right woman to love, ye will just ken it.”

Jamie Fraser got just what he had hoped for.  Male heads turned as they walked into the restaurant.  He was the envy of every man there and he didn’t like it. In truth, what he didn’t like was the way men looked at Claire. Some looked at her with a straightforward appreciation of her beauty while others leered at her with outright lust on their faces. It roused his jealousy and need to protect her. His eyes, a search beacon, swept across the sea of men on guard for any potential threat to her or her virtue. Being in love with Claire Beauchamp would not be easy. 

Jamie so deep in his need to be on guard that he missed the way Claire looked at him. She was fully aware of how the women looked at him. He was beautiful. That fiery mane with soft curls at the nape, ocean blue eyes that you could drown in, broad back, lean muscular body, and his hands. Ahh, his hands. Hands that held her and played her body like a fine instrument. Stroking it, coaxing it making it crescendo. He is perfect in every way.  And yet, he doesn’t know it.

The maî·tre d'hô·tel seated them in a secluded area of the restaurant thanks to the generous bribe, er um, tip Jamie gave the man.

Finally, he felt he could relax. They were seated in at a cozy table for two away from the general traffic of the hotel. 

The restaurant L’Orchidée was beautifully appointed. White and violet linens dressed the table while a napkin folded into the shape of a flower sat upon a gold charger awaiting their dinner choice. Candlelight created an intimate mood. Crystal goblets and wine glasses sparkled as they waited to be filled.

The Sommelier appeared suggesting wines to pair with their dinner. Jamie fluently speaking French ordered for them.

“Are ye happy, mo ghràdh? I mean that we are together? Do I make ye happy?” He reached over picked up her hand and began to rub his thumb across her knuckles.

“Happier than I have ever been in my whole life. Do I make you happy?” she asked shyly.

 He interlaced their fingers together, “Sae happy.” He hesitated for the briefest of moments then continued, “My heart has been yours since first we met. In truth, you hold my soul in your hands. I am yours, my Sassenach, body, and soul forever.”

The waiter came to serving their dinner. A lovely glazed salmon with a tomato romesco seasoned with garlic, almonds and spices, heirloom carrots and wild rice for Jamie. Claire chose roast chicken rich with a sauce of garlic, herbs, and butter, potato mille-feuille, summer squash with wild mushrooms.  The Sommelier appeared pouring their wine selections and bid them bon appétit.

They ate and drank, savoring their meal as much as each other’s company. They talked, laughed, touched, cast shy glances at each other, acting like lovers do.

Jamie’s other vice, besides whisky and Claire, was chocolate. A dessert of a triple chocolate mousse cake accompanied by a froth of whipped cream flavored with Frangelico and a scattering of crushed hazelnuts completed their meal. He insisted on feeding her. He cut off a piece of cake swirled it in the flavored cream offering it to her. She opened her mouth accepting the sweet morsel. Her mouth became coated with the intense taste of dark chocolate and fatty hazelnut whipped cream. An unctuous drop lingered on her lips. His finger swept across her mouth removing the offending particle.  Her pink tongue peeked out and licked the tidbit from his finger.

He brought her hand to his mouth pressed a tender kiss to the palm of her hand. His breath warm and moist on her skin making her quiver and her heart flutter. 

“Mo chridhe,” he whispered huskily. “I need ye, Claire. I need ye sae bad.” He licked his lips looking at her with darkened wanting eyes.

Jamie was intent on his love and did not see the man approach.

“Hello, Claire,” said a male voice with a cultured English accent.

Claire felt ice run up and down her spine. She knew that voice all too well.

She set her lips in a taut grim line. “Hello, Frank.”

[mythicalartisttm]

GOODNESS GRACIOUS, IT’S DONE.

You guys really seemed to like the Lost to Legend idea post I made, so Imma try to keep expanding it! For those of you who didn’t catch the original post, it’s kinda like linkeduniverse but for the Links without games. 

(now a blog!: https://losttolegend.tumblr.com/)

I’m still not really sure about many, MANY things for this au, but I don’t plan on following a story so I think I’ll make stuff up and edit as I go along.

These are the boys that are featured in the au so far, if there are anymore Heroes w/o games that you know of, hit me up!

Random Info under the cut :3 (top row -> bottom row, left to right)

Kishin (Hero of Termina)

- yes, that is Fierce Deity in mortal form (the Hero of Time’s victory over Majora freed him from the mask)

- very protective of his land, especially after being sealed in a mask and not being able to do anything

- feels forever indebted to the Hero of Time for saving Termina when he couldn’t (see above)

- doesn’t really care what you say about him for the most part but if you insult any of the others in the group you might want to watch your back

- that’s a nice necklace you got there- (it’s not a necklace, the gold band is hollow to hide that the gems are embedded in his neck)

- apathetic to lots of things (almost everything)

- but the boys are the cause of him learning to feel again

Adam (Hero of Men)

- technically the first Hero after the former residents of Skyloft settled on the ground so he grew up listening to tales of the city along with it’s Hero

- dude’s short (he’s 16 but only 4′10″)

- kind but won’t take your carp

- he used the Picori Blade to seal the monsters away, but made a new blade that looks similar to it. the Minish enchanted it after it was forged so he can still shrink (haven’t played minish cap yet i don’t know how that shrinking business works)

- good leader

- adventurous

- go to him if you need to pick a lock

Clam (Hero of the First Calamity)

- I’m trying to not develop to many ideas for him because of botw 2 but HOW ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO BUILD HIS CHARACTER- (to late i have waaaaay to many headcanons hhhhhhhh)

- Zonai born, Sheikah raised

- the Zonai and Sheikah were working together at some point to combine the former’s magic with the later’s technology

- he likes to tinker, so was sent to live with the Sheikah in hopes of learning to use his skill for the greater good

- actually worked with his Zelda and a few close Sheikah friends to blueprint the beta Sheikah Slate

- really hecking good at nature-based magic

- his scarf-thing was made by his tribe

- he’s got an item for that

- low-key afraid of heights

- good with all sorts of weapons, but is at peak performance with a spear

Div (The Dividing Hero)

- I want to use the first line to apologize for the my misconception in the other post, he wasn’t the original wielder of the Four Sword; he used it after the Hero of the Minish but before Four Swords (see the Four Swords prologue)

- I don’t want this nickname to stick but I don’t have any other ideas rip

- called Hero of the First Calamity ‘Clam’ to tease him but the nickname stuck so yeah

- can come of as salty

- loyal

- likes climbing trees

- has some serious willpower

- can and will kick ur arse into next week

Isle (Hero of the Flood)

- the youngest, also failed to kill Ganondorf, leading to the events of Wind Waker

- wasn’t recorded in history because of this

- is very self conscious about his failure, particularly around the other Heroes

- anxious and somewhat shy

- loves to help where he can

- can’t swim, the ocean reminds him of what he couldn’t do

- surprisingly good at dancing

Light (The Mage’s Apprentice)

- ok so I found out yesterday that apparently there was no Link of the Imprisoning War because downfall timeline, I just got waaaaay to attatched to all my boys and was determined to find a way to make him stay (see the Imprisoning War)

- he was the Light Sage’s apprentice and was to be the leader of the next Seven Sages should events occur that a new generation must rise up

- was trained to be a knight at a young age before discovering his magic abilities, so he’s good at both magical and non-magical combat (also the reason he wears chain mail, old habits die hard)

- extroverted

- the one in the group who can fall asleep the easiest

- they all like music, he just enjoys it the most

- idk what to do with his clothes, plz be patient ^^’

[spacegate]

The Best Revenge - Ch 1

An Undertale Fanfiction

Chapters: 1 / AO3 / FF.NET / Characters: Sans, Grillby, Papyrus, Royal Doggies, Gaster, Undyne, Alphys, OCs Setting: Baby Blaster AU Fic Contains: Mentions of past child / medical abuse. Hurt / Comfort. Kids going through therapy. Healing. Dadby. Flashbacks to bad things. Synopsis: It's been almost a full year since little Sans and Papyrus were rescued from W. D. Gaster. Scarred from their experiences, both children will need extra care to come to terms with what happened to them. Now as their father, Grillby needs to guide them through both their recovery and life outside the laboratories. Life is full of ups and downs, but Grillby will try his best. After all, they say that living well is the best revenge. Part two of the TRUST trilogy.

It’s been nearly a whole year.

Grillby could barely grasp just how fast time has flown. His days had become routine in a way, and blended together. Not that it was a bad thing at all: he just found it strange how easy it was for things to become normal again after the ‘incident’.

Months before, his adoptive children suffered terribly at the hands of one of the most prominent scientists in the underground. Dr. Gaster was now dead, his dust consumed by the molten foundation of the CORE. He might be dead, but it didn’t mean that he still didn’t affect his victims. Nightmares and anxiety were common for his children and still would be for some time. But...life goes on, and he could honestly tell that they were happy and healing.

In a way, isn’t that the best revenge? Despite everything Gaster tried to do, he failed. He was dead, and both Sans and Papyrus would grow and live. They had their whole lives ahead of them where they could experience all the love and happiness that they should have gotten at the very beginning. They both already had friends and more family than they could count in the good people of Snowdin. They could be whoever and whatever they want to be. Grillby would be sure to give them everything they could ever ask for.

Gaster would be forever remembered for his crimes and reviled for it. There was nobody to mourn him. In time, his presence would fade, and he would only exist in a textbook. In time, the scars he inflicted on both children would fade, and he would have no more presence in the world that really matters.

Sounds of scraping claws and giggling snapped Grillby from his thoughts.

“i’ma get ya!” Sans could be heard, stomping around as loud as he could. “gonna get ya!”

“AAAAAAAAAAA!” Papyrus’ yelling interrupted the stomping. Grillby could hear him running as fast as he could around the living room, claws catching on the carpet.

Grillby opened the oven to take a quick peek at the item baking inside. He decided it could use five or so more minutes, and closed the door again. He moved away from the oven to the kitchen door, peeking in to see just what his kids where up to.

Indeed, it seemed they were playing some sort of chasing game. It seemed a little one-sided, but they were having fun despite it. Sans never quite got back up to speed after his injuries healed. Being blind on his right side made him more cautious in his movements, especially after bruising his face a few times running into furniture he couldn’t see. He seemed to tire very quickly and napped often. Dr. Frank, their doctor, decided to give Sans a few more months to see if his energy levels would pick up again. Sans had the hardest time out of both of them. Constant night terrors and bouts of panic meant more than one sleepless night for all of them. But Grillby could see the joy and happiness on the little skeleton’s face as he slowly stomped after his little brother.

Papyrus, on the other hand, seemed to recover rapidly. He still had bad dreams and instances where he would just cry for hours at a time. Sometimes he would just be completely silent and nervous, but time helped immensely with that. Unlike his brother, he wasn’t physically injured in the incident, so he was free to focus on growing, and grow he did. Grillby imagined he put on at least three pounds of weight in the last few months, and that was a lot for a skeleton monster. For now, the little monster was running about in his canine form, yelling as he zipped around. It seemed like the game was that he would run between Sans’ legs and around him while Sans tried to catch him in a very dramatic way.

Sans eventually ‘gave up’, flopping to the floor where he lay on his back. He remained sill enough that Papyrus grew curious, creeping closer to his older brother. Once he was in range, Sans grabbed up the pup in his hands and began to mercilessly tickle him.

“gotcha! haha!”

“AAAAAAA!”

Papyrus could not escape despite all his wiggling, so he resorted to yelling. Yelling, perhaps, was one of his greatest strengths, as he was perhaps the loudest toddler in the whole town.

Grillby couldn’t help but start laughing when the pup finally yelled loud enough to make Sans drop him.

“owie.” Sans rubbed the sides of his head, looking up when he heard the laughing. His grin spread across his face when he saw who it was. “hi dad.”

“Hello Sans, what kind of game were you two playing?” Grillby would forever be warmed by the sight of Sans’ smile. It was once a rare event becoming more common as time wore on.

“we were chasin’. but pap cheats.” Sans rubbed the sides of his head where his ear holes were.

“Ah, how can he cheat if you never told him the rules to the game?” Grillby folded his arms with a grin.

Sans went to respond, but before he could say a word, his little brother slammed into him from behind. This time Papyrus traded paws for hands, so he could wrap himself around his older brother and cling like glue.

“GOT CHU!” He yelled proudly.

“yeah bro you did!” Sans could only mumble through the carpet. Papyrus was fast enough that he knocked Sans clean over. “good job.”

Grillby clapped, which made the youngest skeleton beam with happiness.

“T’ANKS! NYEH HEH HEH!” Papyrus rolled off his brother and onto the floor. He had begun picking up new words here and there. Grillby was sure it wouldn’t be too long before he could begin stringing together full sentences. His volume control, however, was unlikely to change.

Grillby was about to walk over to check on them when the door began to shudder from pounding knocks. Spooked, the boys immediately rushed to hide behind the couch, as they did with most loud sudden noises. But then a familiar voice began to yell from outside: “HEY! HEY NERDS! MISTER GRILLBY? HEY!”

The loud rough voice of a little girl accented the pounding, making a terrible racket. Grillby had to rush over quickly to save his door from being dented. He opened it up and narrowly dodged a fist coming at his leg as the owner prepared to knock again.

“Oh...hello, Undyne. Alphys.”

Before him were the kid’s two best friends. Undyne, Gnash and Frank’s daughter, was bundled up in a coat and wearing a hat to cover her fins. She was the spitting image of Gnash, being a fish monster, but inherited the blue and red coloration of her other father. Being more like Gnash, this was a really rough-and-tumble kid. He was opposed to her playing with his children unsupervised at first, due to their condition. But she proved to know her own limits and could be surprisingly gentle, despite her brash nature. He figured that since one of her parents was a doctor she could recognize when someone wasn’t able to handle her rough style of play. After all, she was brought along to the house with Frank several times during the boys’ checkups, so she had seen what state they were in.

“Heya Mister G! Can Sans and Pap come out to play?” Undyne flashed Grillby an incredibly sharp grin.

“If...if that’s okay that is!” Alphys nervously fidgeted with her claws. Well, as much as she was able too. She was bundled up with so many coats and scarves that she could scarcely move her arms. Grillby wondered  whether could even get up again if she fell down: she’d be like a turtle on their back due to all the bundling.

“I will ask them.” Grillby turned and opened his mouth to call for them, but the boys already were attempting to get out the door around his legs.

“hey guys!” Sans seemed happy to see his friends. Papyrus just yelled with enthusiasm as per his usual greeting.

“Coats first, then you may go out and play.” Grillby caught them before they could outright run into the snow, helping both kids get into their coats and scarves. He had long since given up on giving them hats and mittens. They tended to always lose them. There must be at least ten hats and a handful of mittens scattered throughout Snowdin. The boys could scarcely stand still enough for the last of their coat buttons to be fastened. With that, their father turned them loose.

Once freed they both rushed out of the door to tackle their friends, laughing and tussling in the snow.

“Be back at four o’clock.” Grillby told them. “Stay away from the river, and be sure to stay close to town.”  It was the same thing he always told them when they went off to play. This time, he’d let them stay out for an hour longer than usual.

“thanks dad! we will!” Sans grinned and grabbed up his brother, who was floundering around in the fresh snow.

“Come on! Let's go sledding!” Undyne had already brought a sled with her.

“yeah! i’ll grab ours!” Sans was quick to grab the ropes to his own sled, putting Papyrus snugly on it. With that, all three children rushed off into the snow, Papyrus laughing from his spot on his sled all the way. Grillby watched them as they vanished around the corner, heading to the hill next to the Bunny shop. It was safe there: the store owner tended to keep an eye on the kids who went to sled. Squashing down a lingering worry, he shut the door.

It was something King Asgore told him before: “As a father, you’ll always worry, even if there is nothing to worry about.” Grillby trusted the girls, as he had seen them interact with the boys when they were at their worst. They’d be fine. The whole village would be there.

He wouldn’t spoil their fun because of his paranoia.

Once he was sure they were gone, he headed back into the kitchen. Only a few minutes had passed, and he opened the oven door to warm heat and sweet smells. He had no need for oven mitts, so he reached in to grab the pan, setting it on the counter to cool.

It was quite a nice marble cake. He wasn’t too sure if the boys would prefer vanilla or chocolate, so he decided to mix them both. He opened his cell phone and dialed in a number, holding it to his head as he started grabbing bowls.

It only took a few rings before the other end picked up with a click.

“(Hello Grillby!)”

“Hello Dogaressa. The boys are gone.” He grabbed some sugar and some butter, intent on making some icing.

“(Oh! Where are they now?)”

“They went sledding with their friends. I told them to come home at four.”

“(We’ll have some time then. I’ll send Greater to keep an eye on them.)” Barking broke out in the background, which was quickly shushed. “(We’ll bring over the supplies right away.)”

“Thank you, the door is open. See you shortly.”

With a click, the call ended, leaving him alone again. Soon everyone would arrive, and things could really get started.

He smiled as he worked a little faster.

Now...where did he put those candles again?

Snow crunched under boots as the kids marched on through the fresh snow. Papyrus rode on the sled, being pulled along behind them. Alphys stuck close. She wasn’t a big fan of the ice and snow, but she put up with it all the same. Sans felt grateful for that. He would miss her if she couldn’t visit as often as she did.

“Hey, ya know what we should do first?” Undyne was grinning as she looked back at her friends.

“yeah?” Sans was curious on what she might want to do.

“We should build totally awesome snowmonsters! Like...right down at the hill where everyone can see them!”

“But, wouldn’t that get in the way of the sleds?” Alphys piped up from the back. She was dragging along the second sled.

“That’s the point! We’re gonna crash into them!”

“We can’t do that! Sans ‘n Pap are s-”

“it's fine.” Sans cut Alphys off with a small smile. “really. we’re fine now.”

“Of COURSE they’re fine!” Undyne threw up her hands, eyes shining. “They have my papa as their doctor! And he’s the BEST! See?”

She balled up her fist and landed a punch on Sans’ arm, before she yelped in pain. “OW!”

“come on, i’m a skeleton. you knew you’d be punchin’ solid bone.” Sans couldn’t help but flinch at the action, but after the initial scare, he was amused. He was right, hitting solid bone couldn’t feel all that great.

“Undyne!” Alphys scolded the fish monster, who was rubbing a hand that was sure to bruise. “You scared him! Don’t hit them like that!”

“Nuh-uh! He’s fine! He hurt me worse.” Undyne snorted, “Right Sans?”

Sans just shrugged. “it wasn’t my idea to punch bone. technically, you hurt yourself.” To be honest, it was a little scary. But, not as scary as before. He knew Undyne wasn’t going to hurt him, but sometimes the act itself spooked him. The more she roughhoused with them, the more things became...okay. Less scary. Not everything had to end in pain.

“NYEH!” Papyrus grumped from the sled. He was wondering why everything stopped. He wanted to play, not stand around. He pounded his fists on the sides of the sled to make a racket. “NYEEH!”

“You heard the lil’ nerd! Let's get movin’!” Undyne shook out her hand and broke off into a run.

The kids quickly ran after their friend, chasing her through the light snow. Footprints of other monsters began to criss-cross their path, and it wasn’t too long before they approached the hill. The hill itself wasn’t a dramatic slope. It was gentle enough for little kids, but steep enough to still give a bit of a thrill. There were already sled tracks packed down into the snow. Several other kids were around with their parents, playing or sculpting snow. A few adults stood about or sat on benches, keeping an eye on everything going on.

It made Sans feel a little safer.

Undyne frowned. “Darn...looks like we won’t be able to crash into stuff. There’s too many adults around.”

“Yes, what a shame that we can’t do dangerous things.” Alphys snarked back. Sans giggled in agreement. Undyne opened her mouth to reply, when someone made it clear he was tired of doing nothing.

“NYEH!!!”

Papyrus had enough with sitting, and so decided for everyone what to do. The snow was packed up enough where he could toddle around without sinking, so he rolled himself off the sled. He then broke off into a run, intending on rolling himself over the edge of the hill before Sans scooped him up. Papyrus kicked in his older brother’s grip.

“sorry pap, can’t do that.”

“NO! AAA!” Papyrus wiggled, wanting to go down the hill. He could see other kids sledding or just rolling down the hill. It looked tons of fun to him, so he fussed even louder about it.

“no bro, not like that. like this, see?” The older brother carried the younger, kicking and yelling, back to the sled. He settled down with Papyrus safely held in front of him, securing them both on the sled. “look, we sit here. it’s safer like this. you’re still a baby bones.”

“Not for long I think.” Undyne snorted and got behind the sled. “You guys ready?”

“yeah!”

With that, Undyne shoved the sled down over the hill, laughing when Papyrus, for once, was shocked into silence. As soon as they were at the bottom, he was demanding another go. Thus began a long session of sledding. Sometimes they crammed themselves all on one sled. Sometimes they raced other kids. They might have been scolded a few times by the adults around, but it came with the territory. One kid lent them a bowl-shaped sled that went a little too fast for Sans’ comfort, but Undyne loved it all the same. When they got tired of trekking up the hill, they stayed near the bottom.

“Hey Sans?” Alphys asked while they took a break. It didn’t take long for them to find a bench to sit on, watching the other kids sled down the hill. Papyrus was busy sitting in the snow, making shapes that only really made sense to him.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you could pull a sled?”

Undyne perked up her fins from under her hat. “Yeah! That sounds awesome! Can you?”

Sans could only shrug. “i never tried...and i dunno if can pull everyone at once.” He rubbed at the arm that was previously broken only months before.

“You could pull Pap.” Undyne pointed out. “He’s a weenie. He weighs practically nothing.”

“but then you guys will be left out.”

“Maybe it would be best to wait until you get bigger.” Alphys suggested. “Um...you’re kinda..small. I just...thought it would be neat.”

“No worries, Sans!” Undyne slung an arm around the skeleton’s shoulder. “You won’t be shrimpy forever! Heck, you might even get huge, wouldn’t that be cool?”

“um…” He coughed when she tightened her grip, pulling him into a stronger hug.

“Naw I’m serious! With the way your dad feeds ya, you’ll be HUGE!”

Sans shook his head with a snort. “i don’t think so. i’m shorter than you guys.”

Before Undyne could retort, one of the bunny children ran up to the group.

“Hey! We’re gonna get a snowball war together! You guys wanna join up?”

The look on Undyne’s face was quite unnerving at that. She lived for competition in all forms. “Yesss.” She clenched her fists together and gave the poor bunny a truly terrifying look.

“As long as we can be on her team.” Sans shrugged. Alphys nodded along with that. Papyrus was still busy making a snow tower and thus couldn’t care less about what was going on.

“Uhh...okay. We get ten minutes to prepare. My mom is gonna let us know when to start.” The bunny backed away a little from the terror child.

“Then you better get hurrying cause we’re gonna cream you nerds!” Undyne popped up from her seat already, already gathering snow.

To his credit, the kid took off running back to his group before Undyne could dunk him with snow. Sans and Alphys snorted.

“Well if there’s going to be a whole war, we need to get our fort up before everyone else.” Alphys tootled off her seat, waddling over to what looked like a good spot. “See? We got the high ground!”

“We do! Great thinking Alph!” Undyne scooped up an armful of snow and hurried over to their spot. Sans lifted up Papyrus and carried him over to the growing snowpile.

Together, they began to build.

“How does this look to you?”

Dogamy had just finished stringing up a large paper banner marked ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’. He had to twist around his wife, who was hanging up streamers at the same time. It made them bump into each other quite a few times, but knowing them, they were doing it on purpose.

“It looks good.” Grillby looked it over where it was positioned on the living room wall. Once the children had gone out to play, all the dads and dogs had gathered together to prepare for a party.

A birthday party, in fact, for the boys.

There were detailed records about them, but it was hard to tell what exactly counted as their birthday. Was it the day they were taken out of the tubes? How does one really measure a birthday for someone with a radically different way of being born? So, he compromised, and picked the clearest date he could figure. Sans and Papyrus never did anything without the other, so it made sense to celebrate them both on the same day.

The Dogs, Gash, Frank, and Bertram were all helping out. They were doing everything from hanging up decorations to moving furniture around. With the kids being a little skittish still, the party was going to be very small and as low-key as possible. Still, they could have decorations and the like, but since the kids have never experienced a party before...it was going to be for the best to not overwhelm them.

Bertram fussed. “They aren’t going to try and eat the paper, are they?” The dinosaur eyed the tissue paper streamers taped just about everywhere.

“They’re skeletons my dude. It’s not like they can actually eat them.” Gnash frowned as he struggled to keep balloons tied down so they don’t float away.

“Oh they can, dear.” Frank took the balloons from his husband and tied them to a chair. “But it’s not going to really hurt them.”

“Well, consider me corrected then.”

Lesser Dog barked from his position on the couch. He had finished filling up a bone shaped piñata with candy, holding it up to show everyone.

“Nice, gonna hang it up?” Gnash eyed it. It was decently sized for four kids, with plenty of the ‘good’ candy. No fruit packs or pretzels, just straight-up sugar.

“(You don’t hang up piñatas for pups.)” Dogaressa laughed. “(You put it on the floor so they can rip it up!)”

“That’s actually pretty badass.” The Captain grinned, impressed.

“Well it’s also because mixing sticks with pups never go over too well.” Dogamy added. “It stops becoming a piñata party and more of a fight over who gets the stick.”

Grillby merely hummed, looking everything over. He glanced over at the present pile. The pile was, on second glance, more like a present mountain. When he called everyone and explained his plan for a nice, quiet birthday party, they all decided to go for broke. Everyone had a soft spot for the little skeletons, and were determined to make their very first birthday party a memorable one. That included spoiling them rotten. The pile of presents were stacked as well as they could be without getting stepped on. He went over a checklist in his mind as everyone added the finishing touches.

Enchanted balloons that wouldn’t pop and thus frighten the boys? Check.

Decorations that weren’t too overwhelming and could stand some nibbling? Check.

Cake? Check.

A piñata and enough candy for four kids? Check.

A mop and bucket at the ready for Papyrus? Check.

A pillow fort prepared in their room just in case things got too overwhelming? Check.

He checked off other things in his mind, checking and double-checking. A white paw on his shoulder stopped him before he could run through the checklist a fourth time.

“(Relax Grillby, you look like a hen with all that fussing you’re doing!”)

Grillby took a moment to collect himself, his flames tingeing a soft pink in embarrassment. “I just...want it to be special.”

“(And it is. These are little kids, not the King himself! It's not like they need perfection, just love and validation. That’s what this day is all about, right?”) Dogaressa winked at the flustered father and withdrew her paw. (“You don’t need to worry so much, just let things happen naturally. Trust me.)”

Grillby took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. The flames of his head were wild with worry for a time, but the once again became the usual, gentle, fireplace-like flame. A thousand things could go wrong and the last thing he wanted was for them to associate bad things with birthdays. Or even parties all together. The kids were skittish enough as it was with new things. A birthday for them would certainly be new.

He glanced back over at the other adults. They all were standing back and admiring their own handiwork. Of course, everything was bone-themed. Bone-themed tablecloth. Little bone-patterned plates. Even little dog treats were scattered about, which the dogs insisted upon.

“I think it’s done,” He finally said. “What time is it?”

Frank checked his watch. “Around three-thirtyish. Should we go out and get them?”

“Nah, I’ll call Greater. He was sent over to keep an eye on them. He’ll be able to herd them all back.” Dogamy flipped open his phone, and exited to the kitchen to place his call.

“Are we going to hide and yell ‘SURPRISE’ and all that?” Doggo squinted. His sight was too bad to help with decorations, so he elected to be the one to guard the presents. He took the job very seriously, knives and all.

“No.” Grillby shook his head. “They don’t like to be startled like that. I will stop them at the door and explain.”

“That’s a good idea.” Frank agreed. “Let’s all sit and rest a spell. I doubt all of us standing around will be good for their nerves.”

Mutters of agreement echoed through the group, all of them taking seats and being as non-threatening as they could. The boys were still very young and had yet to start therapy. Frank was the one that suggested they all be careful and mindful of their actions. So far, it had prevented what could be a perpetual state of anxiety for the kids.

Grillby fussed one last time over everything.

He still had yet to find the candles.

The snowball war ended in mutually-assured destruction.

It was an hour-long fight and the kids went all out on it. Snow trenches were dug. Forts were made. Snowballs were stockpiled up. Everyone hunkered down with their team until the signal was given.

“Alright y’all, let's have a clean fight!”, one of the parents shouted. “Ready? GO!”

The air quickly became white with snowballs. Snow was flinging everywhere, even hitting some of the parents who were unfortunate enough to get caught in the cross-fire. It was madness.

Undyne made snow boulders instead of snowballs, and took great delight at being a one-girl siege engine. Many walls crumbled to her wrath. Many kids were buried under piles of snow. It was pure devastation.

Sans and Alphys were just happy to make the ultimate fort. Sans didn’t know all that much about playing war, but Alphys was more than happy to help. Soon they were hunkered down, weathering incoming fire and dealing it back just as quickly. At one point they ran out of snow, and Sans had to sneak out under fire to get more.

Papyrus ran out to chase all the snowballs, borking all the way. Small kids were were under a mutual agreement of protection. Nobody threw snowballs at them and they were herded away from the more intense part of the war. Papyrus might be too small to really participate, but he was more than happy to chase the snowballs that flew past him. He was joined with some other small kids who just happily rolled around in the snow, not really caring that much about the war around them.

In the end, the fighting was too intense, and there wasn’t a single fort or trench left standing. The kids lay where they were felled in the snow, too worn out to continue. Nobody won, but it wasn’t like they were playing for wins anyway. It was at the time the other parents started to collect their kids. It was time to come in from the cold, and one by one, Sans watched the other kids leave.

“I got Pap!” Alphys waddled through the snow, holding a surprisingly still pup. Papyrus’ eye lights were crossed as he shivered. He made a loud sharp gurgle and tilted his head straight up in the air, muzzle open wide.

“what happened?” Sans was instantly on edge, rushing over to examine his little brother

“Hey, no need to worry he just um...ate a snowball or two.” Alphys giggled. “He got a brain freeze.”

“...brain freeze?” Sans looked at this brother again, who was clacking his jaws together.

“Yeah, it’s when you eat cold stuff too fast and it gives you a weird feeling in your head.”

To show he was alright, Papyrus eventually shook his head and wagged his tail, normal again. “NYEH!”

Sans relaxed. It seemed his little bro was alright. “phew…”

Undyne stomped over, laughing. “Heh, did you see that great big snow boulder I made? It took out a whole fort!”

“yeah, but then everyone within range hit you at once.” Sans smirked. Undyne frowned. Her coat and hat were covered in snow. It wouldn’t be long before everything would start to melt and make everything chilly and damp.

They were just gathering their sleds and brushing themselves off when a white dog bounded over the snow and skidded to a stop in front of the children.

“<Hello children!>” Greater Dog barked a greeting and wagged his fluffy tail. He was without his armor for now, it seemed, and it was honestly a little difficult to tell him apart from the snow without it. He was practically two black eyes and a nose floating above the snow.

“hi greater.” Sans smiled. “what are you doing here? I thought you had guard stuff to do.”

“<I have off today!>” Greater shook his coat free of some snowflakes. “<I am here to bring you all home!>”

Undyne and Alphys watched the interaction, giving each other looks. It was still weird to them that Sans could just... understand the dogs like he could. Not that it was anything more different than talking to someone else with a different language, but Dog was very hard to learn by non-dogs. They tended to not think too hard about it. They had more important stuff to worry about, such as when dinner time was.

“i guess we were out here a long time.” Sans rubbed his fingers together. Now that playing was over with, the cold and damp was starting to seep in, causing him to shiver. It wasn’t as bad a chill as when he and his brother were homeless: now, he had the warmest coat that his father could get for him. He felt worn out a little, eager to go back indoors, and he could expect there to be hot cocoa waiting when they got back.

“Yeah! I don’t even know what time it is!” Alphys struggled to get out her phone, but couldn’t bend her arms down enough to open her pockets. Undyne took the pup from her, and laughed as Alphys flailed around for a few seconds.

Greater dog barked and started hopping through the snow, waiting for them all to catch up. Thus began the cold and tired trek back to the house. Papyrus was thoroughly worn out, so he was content to be carried. Sans was slower, as always, so everyone took time to match his pace. The snow had been packed down as they left, so the walk home was easier.

The hill wasn’t too far away from home, and soon the group arrived back at the house. To the boys’ surprise, their dad was out on the porch waiting for them.

“Hello, did you all have fun?” The fire dad smiled. Greater barked a greeting and slipped past them all and into the house.

The kids crowded close, eager to steal a little heat from a literal fire-person. “We did!” Undyne was first to talk, throwing up her arms. “We played so much! And there was a snowball fight! And Pap ate a snowball!”

“Did he now?” Grillby reached down to pat the little pup on the head. “I bet it didn’t taste very nice.”

Papyrus transformed with a soft click, allowing him to speak again. “NO! EW.” The toddler made a dramatic face. Truth be told, the snow tasted like nothing. But the cold was something he wasn’t too fond of. He held up his arms and ‘nyeh’d’ at his father until he was picked up and held in the fiery warmth.

“Undyne, Alphys...how about you both go inside and get warm? I have to explain something to the boys.”

“Sure!” Both girls shuffled past, stashing the sleds on the porch and eagerly shedding coats and scarves inside the warm house.

Sans was puzzled. “explain what?”

“Well,” Grillby sat down on the bench on the porch. He had it installed not too long ago, so he could have somewhere safe to sit while he watched the boys play outside. Sans jumped up along with him to sit, wondering. “Do you remember when I explained what a birthday was?”

Sans thought for a moment, before nodding. “yeah, it’s when you get a party on the day you were born.”

“That is quite right.” Grillby smiled widely. “Do you know what today is?”

“uhhh…..” Sans tilted his head back in thought. “um...is it Alphys’ birthday?” He fiddled with his fingers.

Grillby laughed lightly. “Oh no, it’s your birthday.”

Sans’s eye lights went wide in his sockets. “really?”

“Yes really. Today is for both you and your brother. I wanted to tell you both outside, so you did not get spooked once we go inside. There’s a party for the both of you.”

Sans’ eyelights were practically stars for how bright they were. “for us?”

“Yes, for you both.”

Sans looked like he was about to ask something, before he shook his head and smiled up at his father.

Grillby stood, moving Papyrus to one arm and holding out the other hand to Sans. “They should be all ready now. If you get overwhelmed, your bedroom has a hiding spot I set up. Leave whenever you need to, okay? Everyone will understand.”

Sans took the offered hand and hopped over to his feet. “thanks dad!”

“Of course, son.”  With that, he lead Sans to the door and pushed it open.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” “(Awoooo!)”

Sans couldn’t help but jump a little at the sudden noise, but relaxed once he saw who caused it. The Dog Guard, Alphys, Undyne, and their parents were there, all wearing paper hats and grinning. His eye sockets were wide as he took everything in. The decoration. The big pile of presents. The enormous cake on the table. It was just...so much!

Undyne took another paper hat and sat it down on Sans’ head. “Here ya go birthday boy.”

Sans could only beam with happiness.

“Come along, we’ll have some cake and cocoa to warm up first.” Grillby gently nudged the boy forward, which seemed to jump-start him. It was a struggle to throw off his coat so he could run off and look at everything. Papyrus was set on the couch and helped out of his own coat. He too regarded everything with wide eye sockets and a wide smile. Still tuckered out a little, it seemed that he was going to make his father carry him everywhere.

To Papyrus’ surprise, he was carried over to the table and set in his high chair. In front of him was a huge frosted cake. Papyrus indeed knew what cake was, and wiggled in excitement. He gnawed on his fingers and drooled, eyeing the cake. Sans was set next to him on his own chair. On front of the cake were some candles, and ‘Happy Birthday Sans and Papyrus!’ written in icing. Grillby simply had to touch the candles to have them lit.

“Now, before we begin, there is a birthday tradition.” Grillby explained. Sans was looking at him in confusion over the candles. “On someone’s birthday, they make a secret wish, and then blow out the candles. It's said that the wish will come true.”

Sans took a moment to ponder about it. Grillby could immediately see the confusion and thought on his face, and then, a quick flicker of sadness. The nature of wishes was something difficult for them both to grasp. How many times did they lay in their cages, wishing for freedom, only for it to not come true? He had it in mind to skip it, but Dogaressa convinced him to go on with it.

Thankfully, she stepped in. “(These wishes only happen during birthdays, and you need the candles too. Wishes may not have worked before, but they will now. We can all promise that.)”

The group nodded along to that.

“Go ahead son. Make a wish.” Grillby gently encouraged him. “You too Papyrus.”

Papyrus was too busy wiggling to pay attention, his eyelights firmly locked in on the cake.

“Er...Sans. You may have to make a wish for Papyrus too.”

“i can do that!” Sans closed his eye sockets, looking like he was trying to solve the most challenging of math problems. He finally opened them up, and with a determined look, blew out the candles.

“Very good!”

Everyone clapped as an embarrassed-looking Sans sank a little lower in his chair. Embarrassed, but pleased at the attention. It was a strange feeling to get used to, liking attention.

“Okay, then, it is time for cake. Everyone get a plate.” Grillby took up his cake knife and prepared to cut the cake.

Papyrus, however, had other plans.

“CAKE!” He yelled, and then slammed his head face first into the cake. Frosting flew up and splattered the ones closest to the carnage as he seemed determined to eat his way through the cake. Afraid that his son could possibly drown in cake, Grillby quickly pulled him away and lifted up his head.

Papyrus just beamed through a mask of crumbs and frosting. He pulled fistfulls of cake off his face and shoved them into his mouth. “IS GUD!”

Sans broke the silence by cracking up so hard, he almost fell out of his chair. “it does look good pap!”

That earned another laugh, as Grillby looked over the portion of cake that wasn’t destroyed. Well, he could work with this. It wasn’t the worst cake-related disaster he’d ever seen.

After all, he’s a bartender. He’d seen much worse.

Interesting….

Very, very interesting…

Somewhere outside the realm of reality, a shape began to pull itself out of the ground. But it was not really a true ground: up and down did not exist here. Nor was front or back.

Regardless, the shape came from somewhere, oozing outwards like black bubbling tar.

The partygoers couldn’t see it. Not where they were. But on this side, the blackness infected the space around them and sucked away all the color. Almost like static, a perfectly normal, happy birthday party became something unreal. It was like looking at a show from the TV with the gains incorrect. Pieces of lines and shapes were just a smidge out of place; not enough to be noticeable unless one had a lot of time on one’s hands.

For the disgraced W.D Gaster, he had more than enough time.

After his first manifestation with some semblance of sanity, he spent time trying to understand the hell he was in. There was no heat and no cold, just a numbness that went on forever. He could touch himself with his hands, but he felt nothing. He had tried to pull his soul out to see if it was still there, but all that came of it was a black stringy mess that he couldn’t see through. It was still unclear whether his soul was in that mess or not.

He tried screaming, but all that resulted was more static.

He also found his limitations.

He had found himself forever chained to his creations.

It was quite maddening. Once, he saw his subjects napping on the couch like the animals they were. Bored of the sight, Gaster tried to leave, only to find that he destabilized as soon as he crossed the house threshold. Seeing himself fall apart was quite frightening, and it took what felt like hours to pull himself together enough to have rational thought again.

When not together, thoughts slipped in and out like oil. He could try to grab them, make sense of them. But they slipped out of his grasp to warp and stretch across the void. Concepts, words, and even semblances of self flew just out of reach: close enough to have a ghosly memory, but too far away to truly remember everything.

He had only tried to leave their space thrice, and he wasn’t keen to do so again.

Experiments showed that as long as he was within a few meters or two, he could manifest. He could think again. Even if he couldn’t physically feel it, he felt like himself. When he cared not to look at his killer anymore, he could simply just stop existing for a little while. Once he thought it would be for the best to stop existing, and he tried to simply be nothing. But without fail, he would find himself back here, around them.

It didn’t happen too often, but it was enough to be extremely annoying.

He was annoyed now, watching the creatures, creatures he made with his own two hands to kill humans, eating cake. It was sickening. He had made them to mimic monsters well enough that they could fool a human. But fooling other monsters? That wasn’t something he intended.

So much waste.

They were the best work he had ever done, and now they would sit around opening presents like real children. What a waste. So much work for nothing. He had hoped that even in death, someone would see reason and continue the project. But it seemed like his brilliance died with him.

He hadn’t been to the lab or the CORE since his fall. He had no idea what was happening there, but he could be sure that he wouldn’t like it.

He had nothing better to do, and he was a scientist. He could continue his work, and once he could figure a way out of this place, he could resume it.

But getting out?

That would be the hardest part.

But...

He already had a few ideas.

[madamquacklemore]

Chapter 5 Truths unspoken

a/n apologies for the slow update! In this chapter we will see the motives of the Celts a little more light shed on Tarian’s past and some more FinanxTarian time.This is a direct continuation from chapt 3 Tarian leading Finan away hand in hand. Major S03 spoilers and language warnings

Let's pretend I told you what I wanted Make believe it fell within my reach Would there be a place for what I hoped for? In the end would there be a place for me? ...show me what to do I get by on nothing as long as something keeps me close to you Black lab-close to you

Finan

When she let go to fetch some ale Finan was acutely aware of how much colder he felt,  how he already missed such a simple guesture that it left his hand tingling. By the time she returned with a pitcher he regained his composure.

"Well Finan I may have sworn an oath without knowing what is going on but swear it I did. I've never sworn an oath to one person but I'm fairly sure you don't back out when the going gets tough." she said simply.

Finan ran his hand through his hair and sighed what kind of people were Celts if they didn't believe in oaths and the promise of their honour and word? It mattered little Tarian was in the here and now and what ever she was running from was of little consequence. He debated on reaching for her hand again but instead to the beverage she offered and took a big gulp.

"It's no short story Tarian nor for the faint hearted." he said, for the first time there was no humour in his voice. Where did he even start?

"Do I look feint of heart?" she laughed.

"No I s'pose not. I don't even now where ta begin to be honest wit ya."

"The start. Osferth mentioned you and Uhtred were...well were.." she seemed to struggle with the last of her sentence. He didn't want her pity and he didn't want to feel the shame,  the inhumanity of it all again.

"When we were on the slave ship. " he finished for her.

"Yes." she replied softly.

Finan new sooner or later they would have this conversation it was inevitable. She was running from her past as was he the only difference was it was in his dreams.

"Righ' so Uhtred and another Saxon man by the name of Halig were betrayed and sold to same ship as I under a bastard named Sverri. After several failed attempts we were eventually freed by Uhtred's brother Ragnar under the orders of Alfred. Ragnar and his woman Brida were taken prisoner by Alfred after the Danes were defeated at Ethandun." Finan began. "But the funny ting is if Uhtred had never been sold I probably woulda died on that ship." he laughed bitterly. Finan paused to take another sip. He wouldn't wish slavery on his worse enemies-no that's bloody lie i'd send everyone of those bastards to that ship.

Finan had been looking into his mug when Tarian reached for his hand. There was no pity in his eyes he thanked the virgin mary for but rather something else burning behind those beautiful green eyes that he often found himself lost in. Finan caressed her fingers neither of them letting go as if the very action gave him the strength to continue. Uhtred and himself very rarely spoke of their time in slavery. It was over they had survived it there was nothing else to say on the matter. He continued telling her how he made good on his promise and killed the slave master  how they went on to rescue the woman he later then went on to marry- Gisela the sister of the man who had been responsible for his slavery in the first place. That Uhtred had promised another year's service to Alfred,  how he had given of them a choice to follow him or not. He told her his confrontation with Guthred,  of their journey to Dunholm how he was of Uthred and Ragnar's vengeance and the rescue of their sister.

"I was surprised he didn't kill the bastard. Brida the woman who turned up today she's ballsy I'd say she woudn loved ta of killed him herself. You'd probably like her or wanna kill her. She's that kind of woman." he laughed to himself reciting her nickname for Guthred. The atmosphere was lighter now and she was still holding his hand. "Did the lady Aethelflead tell ya of what happened to her with the brothers?" This part of the story wasn't a necessity nor did Finan feel it was his place to say.

"Yes she had mentioned her kidnapping. Poor woman I can't imagine what that was like. But she earned herself a reptuation that night. Tales of her battle prowess that night spread as far as our lands." Tarian replied. They laughed a little while Finan the great story teller that he was renacting Aethelred after waking up in a pig sty.

"She left that part out!" Tarian nearly choking on her ale. Finan without a moments thought wiped the spittle from her face with a table cloth. Tarian looked down was she blushing or was that the firelight? Did every touch set his body alight as it did his? She held his gaze and in that moment the world ceased to exist.

Laughter from the other side of the room brought them back to reality and Finan continued his story right up until the exchange of Skade for Aetheflead and the cursing of Uhtred once again.

The hall grew quieter and colder Finan had spent several hours telling her the events that lead up to now. She said very little and it seemed nothing could shock her which was a relief but did he expect anything else? She was a warrior after all. These pass months he had made it known he wanted a woman and not just an endless string of tavern wenches at that. Finan new in his heart of hearts he wouldn't be with a pious Saxon woman who'd flinch at the mere sight of blood and now it seemed God had delivered a heathen warrior to their doorstep. Fate Uthred would call it. He watched her get up to stand in front of the dwindling fire. There was something he needed to know of her though.

"Why were your people trying to kill ya?" he asked softly joining her.

Tarian pressed her lips together frowning into the fireplace. "It is a long story and one i am not even sure of myself." She turned round to face him "How did you come by to be a slave?"

He had wondered if she would ask that question and that she had asked it Finan wasn't sure if he wanted to answer it or not. Looking around the hall he saw that most of the men had replied,  "that m'dear is a story for anotha' time. It's gettin' late and we've a long journey tomorra."

Finan offered to walk her back to the room she shared with Liliwen. "It's on me way back anyway." The silence was not an uncomfortable one but it wasn't exactly at empty either. There was so much he wanted to know of her and to tell her. Finan suspected she was the same. He hadn't seen her like this before as if walking on hot coals unsure of what to say, she would open her mouth to speak then close it again and bite on her lip.

In no time at all they reached her room both of them pausing at the door. Tarian had yet to look him in the eyes. "Something you wish to say?" Finan chuckled.

"Sorry? Oh yes goodnight Finan, "she turned to walk away when he gently reached out to her.

"Tarian?" he frowned.

"Yes?"

He closed the space between them in half a step his left hand cupping the side of her cheek thumbing it gently. Those eyes those lips Gently he raised her up to meet his gaze. "Tarian?" her name was all he needed to say. She nodded ever so slightly and his lips came crashing down on hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him closer to her. Finan had intended on taking this slowly if she felt the same but that plan went out the proverbial window as she returned his affection with undisclosed desire. His hands dropped to her waist pulling her even closer, working their way up her tunic, his cold hands on her bare skin only encouraged her further. If they kept going at this rate anyone walking by would be sure to find them in a state of undress. Finan didn't care and by the looks of it Tarian didn't either. He could feel himself growing harder,  Tarian was pressed so tightly against him she was was sure to feel it too. Rather than repel her it seemed to driver her on, kisses were faster and her fingers ran through his hair his shoulders his neck it was if she couldn't quite decide where or how or what.

"Tari..?" sound of her door creeping open brought them back down. Finan jumped back as if he had been burned and Tarian flattened her hair and pulled her tunic down. "Tari is that you?" Liliwen's sleepy voice called out her half opened eyes adjusting to the hallway torches.

"Fin?" she yawned noticing the Irishman first on the opposite wall.

"Hello lil one. Did we wake ya?"

"Tar-"

"I'm here Lil" Tarian replied.

"You...late. Dont you go somewhere morning?" she rubbed her eyes,  mumbling in broken English she yawned again.

Tarian crouched down. "Tomorrowing morning. Yes. I am late. It is time for sleep indeed. Say goodnight to Finan."

"Nigh' nigh' Fin." she yawned taking Tarian by the hand she pushed her way back into the room,  Tarian giving Finan wordless goodnight and smile.

Finan nodded and made his way down the corridor after the door had shut. Holy mother of Jesus he thought to himself running his hands through his hair. Oh sweet Jesus.

Tarian’s POV

The sun had not risen but she had woken. Liliwen’s snores had woken her and Tarian marvelled at how someone so small could take up so much of the bed for she was barely able to lie flat on her back without falling off the edge. Tarian smiled to herself touching the lips that had passionately kissed only mere hours ago. What was she doing? Should she even be entertaining this? It was just a kiss. Now that she had a taste of him she new she wanted more as did he that much was obvious. Smiling to herself she got up sleep was not going to come again she knew that and besides there was much to prepare. Tarian dressed herself in the clothes and armour that had been provided for her. Boots and cloak on daggers attached she made her way to the stables and then on to the forest. She would not be warrior nor die a warrior's death without the body paint that showed the gods just who she was.

Tarian had been trotting through the forest her eyes sharp for the isatis tinctoria plant -surprised it grew here- she felt it. Someone was following her. Tarian knew she fought better on her feet than horse back so she dismantled. Were her people still here? Watching her every move? Or was it Danes? The full moon was both an advantage and a hindrance as she made her her way into the thicker woods. They were so close now. So close she could nearly here them breathing. One was certainly within reach but were there more? 1 2 3... She spun round dagger unleashed and it met a Celtic shield. "Tarian!" the voice cried out from behind the shield. Recognising that voice she prepared to fire the second for she had recently aquired a third. Yet she hesitated. "Why are you still here Arthfael?! Come to finish what your assassin started?" she spat. "That was not on my orders." Arthfael replied from behind the shield. "Give me on reason why I should believe anything you say!" "If I wanted you dead child you would be." Tarian snorted. His words were not a comfort despite how true they were. "Put down your dagger child there is much to discuss and very little time to discuss it." "How many more are out there?!" "None I came alone. I have been watching you since you left the estate. I would have killed you already if I wanted you dead." Tarian sighed. She should've known. Arthfael despite his age was one of the best archers in their kingdom and he done her grandfather a great service during his reign. Tarian sheathed her dagger. "Speak your peace." Arthfael lowered his shield taking out the dagger he walked towards her handing it back on the promise she would not attempt to kill him again. "Your assassin has been dealt with." "Who was it?" "According to Arawn it was a warrior of Dyfed by the name of Gwenlith." "Arawn?" Tarian asked Arthfael nodded both of them knew the man was not to be trusted. "Her husband had died in a manner similar to what would have been your fate. You had the good sense to teach Liliwen a thing or two." "Yes it saved my life as did she." The was a pause when Arthfael did not speak  Tarian added. "Is this what you risked your life to tell me?" Arthfael laughed "No child. You are being watched. Every step you make." "So order them home." "While those currently here are mine more will come. Everyone has an interest in the kingdom's take over since the death of the your grandfather. You should now your mother's brother has fallen." "What? How?!" "Illness." "Illness?!" "It is suspicious yes. His heir was is too young and your uncles are now fighting for the throne. Everyone is looking for you as your marriage may will settle the dispute." "Marry one of my uncles?! How would me marrying settle any of this?" The very thought disgusted her but it was not unheard of in their lands. "It's not just your uncles who see take over. There are others from Gywnedd and Dfyed who all say they have a claim." Tarian scoffed at the idea. "And for this I was nearly killed?! Surely I am not the only woman with an apparent connection to the throne eligible for marriage?" "No you are not but you are the best prospect. You battle prowless has garnered much attention not to mention your father." Tarian stared at him stunned. He had never mentioned her father before in fact no one had mentioned him-ever. How Tarian came to be about on this earth was never spoken of. "My fath-" "Yes the great Jarl Jurgen. You didn't think it was chance those Danes were able to take you did you?" Tarian remembered the events of that day and had at some stage realised it was a trap. "So it was a set up by whom and why?" "I have some theories." Arthfael sighed "But the most plausible one is that your father offered a great reward for your return and whoever had organised this clearly got wind of it." "Why would a great Danish lord want his bastard child-a woman at that- from a slave that badly?" "You are not a bastard." "I-I'm wh-" "You are not a bastard."  Arthfael replied. "Explain. Please." her voice was barely that of a whisper. "After your mother was taken it was sometime before negotiations begun. As typical with Danes they asked for too much. Your uncle Merfyn who had inherited our land from your grandfather declined. He knew he was going to have a fight on his hands to keep his crown so he told the Danes no." "Shit eating coward." "I offered to rescue your mother. I said I would shadow walk-I believe the Saxons call it? And kill everyone of them. Merfyn wouldn't allow it. Your mother was my greatest friend and her brother wouldn't even let me rescue her." "Probably worried about the threat if she married or-" "Exactly. We had many battles in the upcoming weeks two attempts on his life directly. By the time I could get to your mother she was pregnant with you. I journeyed to their stronghold and waited days and nights I knew how much she loved the forest-you are so much like her" he reached out to rub her hair. "She was picking berries with your father and his guard. She was happy laughing stroking her swollen belly as did he. I left her a message on the tree and she came one night alone. Your beloved mother told me she had been free to leave a long time ago but chose to stay. She knew the political upheaval and despite your brother quite happy to leave her in the hands of the enemy she did not wish to endanger his life or rule by returning. So she stayed." "She's a better woman than I. I would have had his head." Arthfael laughed "Well you are part Dane." "So the night we were rescued." "You weren’t rescued. Your mother loved her husband that I am sure of. I went bac once or twice to see her always in secret of course. You were both so happy and healthy. You look so much like her in beauty and in battle.That temperament however" he teased as they both laughed. Tarian's face sobered "Then who is responsible for her death? And why is my father only coming for me now?" "I know not but I shan’t rest ‘till I find out. As for your father well you are now of age and perhaps he has heard of the threat to your life. Who knows of his reasons? One thing is for certain you cannot ignore this forever." A twig snapped in the distance. Footsteps approaching. Arthfael held his arms up in the air as he felt the end of a sword in his back. "I am no threat to you Saxon." he said in their language to the surprise of Tarian but what surprised her even more was the man on the other end of that sword. "Who are you and why are you in the land of Mercia Celt?" The voice belonged to that of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. "He is a friend Lord." Tarian replied yet Uhtred still had his sword pointed at the elder's man back. Should Arthfael resist Uthred would kill him. Tarian eyes wide stared at Arthfael silently pleading with him. The older man was quite unpredictable but he was not stupid. Surely he knew resisting against the land's greatest warrior could only mean death. "Correct me if I am wrong Tarian but was it not your own people who tried to kill you?" "Yes Uhtred it was-but not on my orders" Arthfael said exasperated. Tarian wondered if he was starting to tire of saying that. Uhtred looked to Tarian who nodded. "Is there any danger to the lady of Mercia or those who reside with her?" "Believe it or not Dane Slayer  the Celts have no interest in your activities provided they stay on this side. The perpetrator has been dealt with I have no quarrel with you or those under your protection and it is mostly my people that watch these woods." "Why do you linger?" "Has Tarian sworn an oath to you?" Arthfael asked Uhtred ignoring his question. Tarian who was beginning to get annoyed with them acting like she wasn't here responded. "Yes Arthfael I have sworn an oath to this man and I will not go back on it. Liliwen is to stay she is safest here they have sworn to keep her safe." Uhtred looked and Tarian with surprise. Did he honestly doubt her? Tarian felt hurt rather than offended at the thought. He still did not trust her fully. "Yes you are right." Arthfael replied. "Liliwen wouldn't come willingly. She is happy?" "Yes." "Then I will leave. I have said all I need to say. I will withdraw with my people and head back home." As Uhtred lowered his sword Arthfael went to embrace Tarian he whispered in her ear "You will have to face your past eventually. I can only keep them away for so long. They will never stop as long as you are still breathing." He kissed her the way a father would a child and retreated to thicker part of the forest. Even though the sun was rising Arthfael disappeared almost instantly in the shadows. Uthred raised an eyebrow at Tarian she would have a lot of explaining to do. "Why were you out here lord?" she asked as they headed back to the forest. "You ask me that question?" Uthred asked almost teasing. "I could ask you the same. I could not sleep and saw you heading to the forest. I was curious." he added. "You do not trust me do you?" "I trust you more now. What did the man say to you?" Tarian told Uhtred that likewise she could not sleep either and of what Arthfael had said to her. She delberately left out the part of her father not wanting to cast further doubt over her loyalty. "I would be lying to us both if I said I didn't expect this. Our kingdoms have always been at each other 's throats. More so than Danes or Saxons they do not hesitate to kill their own blood. My grandfather was the one who inherited the great kingdom of Gwynedd and Powys thus ruling over the majority of Wales. There are lesser kingdoms who naturally were not happy with this." "Well on the upside Tarian should you perish in the battle to come it will no longer be your problem." Uhtred laughed as they mounted their horses. Tarian glared at him. "I will as you one more thing" Uhtred added. "Yes?" "It is about Finan." Tarian blushed and looked away. Had Finan told the men about their passionate embrace outside her door? Probably he is a man is that not what men do? Boast of their conquests? Why did she believe him to be any different? Was Uhtred going to reprimand her? She had been silent for too long. "What about him Lord? "I saw you both in the hall yesterday evening. Normally I wouldn't intervene in these types of things with my men-warriors-" he corrected himself. "But he is one of my dearest friends and a good man. I ask you for his sake should you become his woman and he your man that you do not keep him in the dark about this he will need to know if he is to remain at your side." Tarian paused for a moment looking at the lord trying to remember what had happened to suggest anything. The grabbing of his hand when he wiped my face.. And what of Finan? Do I truly desire him that much? To put his life in further danger? Tarian cursed herself for being too forward. He did not mention the kiss did that mean Finan didn't tell him? "Should it go any further I will tell him what he needs to know." Tarian replied after much thought. "Does this mean you approve?" "I do not disapprove." Uhtred shrugged. "Speaking of good men my Lord Finan brought me up to speed in regards to everything with this curse. I offer you my condolences for your brother lord that and the head of this Norse witch." Uhtred smiled sadly and looked  towards the gate they were now approaching. "My thanks for your offer Tarian but I must be the one to end her life if I am to end this curse."

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