#but the proximity to his father makes it a deeper feeling coming straight from his core

[perilegs]

It's not an immediate change. When the party arrived in Baldur's gate, Nøkk became quieter. Bit by bit. You could hear him sing to himself or tell tales by the campfire less and less. If he didn't need it to cast spells, Nøkk's violin would have started to collect dust. The night before the journey to the Bhaal temple was dead silent.

[golvio]

Something I noticed during my latest autistic/aspiring critical (as in “critical thinking,” not as in “needlessly negative fan wankery”) essayist note-taking playthrough of BotW:

On the Great Plateau, when Rhoam tells Link what happened to the Ancient Sheikah, he says “Their ancient technology disappeared long ago, or so it is said.”

But when I started making my way towards Kakariko Village as per the game’s recommendation, the second I get to the first sign of civilization, friggin’ Rensa, the stablehand at the horse tent, straight up says “That power put [the Sheikah] at odds with the king of the time, and they scattered across the land.”

The most generous interpretation of this is that Rhoam’s just reciting the super-duper sanitized version of the Royal Family’s history he got from his wife when he married into the family. But without that, well...that passive voice is sure doing an awful lot of convenient heavy lifting for you, old man.

I wonder which version of her courtiers’ history Zelda herself got?

Also, when Rhoam first tells Link about the calamity in his old man disguise, he’s like “For a century, the very symbol of our kingdom, Hyrule Castle, has barely managed to contain that evil. But just barely.”

UMMMM, HELLO? I KNOW YOU’VE GOT IT IN YOUR HEAD THAT TELLING LINK EVERYTHING OFF THE BAT WOULD OVERWHELM HIM AND YOU’VE GOTTA BE ALL MYSTERIOUS AND SHIT, BUT WOULD IT KILL YOU TO GIVE YOUR OWN DAUGHTER AT LEAST A LITTLE CREDIT? 😂

And the way Rhoam tells you to meet him at the Temple of Time. Like, sure, I get that this is the game’s way of giving you a tutorial about how to solve riddles and puzzles with your map, and the environment basically directs you to come back there if you haven’t figured it out by letting you see Goddess Hylia throwing a rainbow disco rave through the temple windows once you reach the foot of the mountain, but it feels like yet another dancer in the conga line of Rhoam being frustratingly obtuse. Like, we’re coming to the home stretch here and Link’s brain hasn’t exploded from all the cryptic hints you’ve been dropping, so can you please drop the riddles and just be honest and straightforward with me, peepaw?

Now, granted, I am extremely biased against Rhoam because I’d made up my mind to not like him during my first attempted playthrough, plus knowing that his stubborn maintenance of his pride never resolves meaningfuly through something like, oh, I don’t know, his having the humility to appear before his daughter and directly apologize to her for the way he mistreated her? But I digress.

The most interesting thing about this, for me, is that it suggests that the version of her own family’s history she got was extremely sanitized. Either her mom gave both Zelda and her husband an extremely abridged and propagandic version of the whole thing with the Sheikah, which Rhoam himself didn’t think to question either out of disinterest or his own obsession with keeping up appearances as someone who fucked his way to the top and needs to justify his leadership to the people as he’s not officially “of the bloodline” and merely acting as regent until Zelda’s old enough to take the reigns. But even the “nice, polite” version of the Sheikah schism we got from Cado at the gates outside of Impa’s house wasn’t that passive voice, outright saying the king and the kingdom turned against the Sheikah and banished them, even though as the “good guys” the Sheikah took great pains to absolve the crown of its responsibility and blame themselves for their own hubris in thinking they could be more powerful than the king.

Which makes me really, really intrigued about what convinces Zelda in TotK to both figuratively and literally “dig a little deeper.” Was she merely tipped off by her own goddess powers/proximity to Ganon, or is she actively trying to take a peek behind the curtain at the things her mother and father didn’t want her to see, for fear it would ruin their reputation as benevolent fairytale rulers or scar Zelda for life?

[marjorie189]

Happy Birthday, Love - A Louis Partridge Imagine

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you all know that this was written at the time of Louis’ birthday but I never got the time to finish it because of school, but here ya go! Better late than never :)

sum: come along as you’re louis’ girl giving him the sweetest birthday ever

contains: cute fluffy louis. definitely gemini louis!! (we all know geminis are something else. so, you’ll definitely see how quick his mood changes lol. have fun!)

word count: 15,091

this imagine will take you along Louis’ day with his family. so it’s not just going to be y/n and louis content. So just know to expect more than that! this imagine is written as Louis’ day, which will include his family, so it won’t just be filled with just fluffy y/n and louis content. but it still contains a great amount of it!

Enjoy :)

y/n’s pov:

It was a couple of minutes before midnight, marking a whole new day.

A special and wonderful day.

I have managed to climb up to Louis’s balcony from the ladder he leaves outside at all times. Which leads up to his room on the second floor, for me to sneak into.

I giggle at the thought of him wanting to have a Dawson’s Creek moment between us. He says “if Joey can climb up to Dawson’s room, then you can climb up to mine.”

I have managed to make it up safely and most importantly quietly so that Louis doesn’t catch onto the little sweet surprise I have up my sleeve.

I smile in excitement, waiting for the minutes to pass by. Which might I add are seeming to be the longest minutes of all time!

I stand against the hard exterior wall of the Partridge household, next to the sliding door which leads into Louis’s room.

My eyes are glued to the lockscreen on my phone that is portraying the time.

June 2nd, 2021; 11:57 pm  

Three more minutes!

I smile dumbly as I catch a view of my lockscreen, as I was previously looking at the time. The screen captures a funny looking photo of Louis and I. We both had the most ridiculous faces on planet Earth, but even if it was ridiculous and funny looking, the photo was everything I loved about us and him.

A couple of butterflies sparked up in my stomach. I was madly and deeply in love with Louis Partridge.

11:59

I was getting giddier and nervoud by the second.

I just wanted to jump in there and tackle him into a hug.

I started fidgeting with my fingers and I couldn’t stop my smile from getting wider and wider.

I looked down at my phone again but nope it was still eleven fifty-nine.

I just wanted to go in there and hug the hell out of him.

At last, it was 12:00am, marking it June 3rd.

I loudly and recklessly slid his balcony door open and jumped into his room.

He was laying in bed, phone in hand. His eyes jerked up at the sudden loud sound and the image of the human who is his girlfriend jumping into his room. He sighs in relief holding his chest and starts smiling uncontrollably.

“HAPPPYYYY BIRTHDAYYYY!!” I shouted at him with pure happiness and delight.

“Oh god!” He says with a wide smile, hands up against his face. “I did not expect that! You’re insane!” He giggled.

I smile a toothy smile and sprint up to his bed, jumping on top of it, landing on both him and his fluffy bed.

He lets out a loud laugh and immediately puts his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him.

I start playfully singing.

“happy birthday to you. happy birthday to you. happy birthday to my amazing, beautiful boyfriend whose name is Louis Partridge.”

His eyes fixated on his funny girlfriend. He lets out a loud laugh, head falling back, and all, as he hears the little twist of words she concocts to his happy birthday song.

Her voice changes as she’s now looking at him like he’s the only person in the world.

“happy birthday to you,” I whisper softly, ending it for only us to hear, intimately.

He smiles sweetly. He’s grateful for this gesture. He didn’t care for anything big or scandalous. He was happy that this is what he got. His foolish girl was in his arms at the very second of his special day.

“I loved that!” He says with a cheeky smile.

I smile a goofy smile as both of our faces are inches apart and eyes interlocked.

I smash my lips against him and within a few seconds, the kiss ceased from our two smiles against each other. We couldn’t help but let out laughs. We were both very happy.

I move away from him and he frowns.

“Welllll now I gotta goooo,” I say, keeping a straight face and voice. I hop out of his bed.

I caught a glimpse of his face as I was hopping his body on my way out of his bed and he was confused as ever.

“I know your parents are sleeping and I wouldn’t want to be here without them knowing,” I say looking at him with a frown as I was standing on the outskirts of his bed. He now is in the process of sitting up trying to figure out why I’m leaving. I turn around and smirk as I pretend to start heading out towards the door I entered.

I can sense his smirk and eye roll and right before I had a chance to go he grabs my wrist.

“Get your arse back over here!” He says with a widespread smile as he rolls his eyes in annoyance, knowing I had been joking all along.

He yanks me back onto his bed, close to his arms.

“Nice try.” He says as he holds me in a tight grip, as I'm now beneath him.

Our playfulness was out the door now.

His eyes had a different look in them. He was on top of me and I was laying underneath him. He held power and dominance over me, especially since he’s now feeling himself on the early morning of his birthday.

I let out a tiny laugh.

“C’mere,” I say, pulling him from his shirt down to me. He smashed his lips against mine. Within the kiss, we got comfortable under the covers. I wrapped both of my arms around his neck, getting him in closer proximity to me. His hands on my thighs, I could feel him moving them both a little open to get himself comfortable and adjusted in between my legs.

Our lips, wet and full of temptation. Hungry for one another. Louis lowered his body closer to mine, our exposed warm skin touching. I pulled him closer by the neck, wanting him even more, our lips crashing deeper into one another.

I pulled away, our lips sticking to one another as I let go, causing them to make a squishing kissing sound effect.

Louis and I’s pants of air were the only things heard in the now dark room.

Louis without a second passing by, intertwined our lips again, spreading and finding comfort in the open of my legs.

I huffed in the kiss letting go of our lips.

He looks into my eyes in confusion, wanting more, and oh how much I wanted to give him more.

“I love you and I love this but we gotta get some sleep. Remember we have breakfast early in the morning with your parents and sisters,” I say with a serious tone.

He groans and even in the dark, I can see his childish behavior as he rolls his eyes.

He lowers his body onto me squishing mine as his face lowers in.

He looks deep into my eyes with pleading ones.

“Please.” He whimpers.

I frown knowing I wanted to just make it the best night for him but I knew that if we continued to further this, it’d take a long while. It’d be nearing dawn and we wouldn’t get an ounce of sleep.

He realized I was in thought.

“Please.” He whimpers as his face starts nearing my lower neck. He plants some light kisses leading up towards the midst of my neck.

“Please, my love. I’m begging you.” He says as the kisses prominently get more stimulating. I had to stop him before they got too unbearable for me to stop him from continuing.

“Louis.” I slip out in content, trying hard not to let in.

He could tell I wanted to and he used that against me, knowing I didn’t want to resist.

“Please.” He begged in between the fulfilling neck kisses. He knew I couldn’t resist his whimpers and his imploring voice full of want.

And it was all up to me, but I couldn’t. I wanted to sooo bad but if we did within a few hours his parents and sisters would come bustling in this door to find us all sweaty and exhausted full of bliss.

“We can’t Louis,” I say quietly, sadness tracing along with my words.

He sighs. “I know.”

He pecks my nose as he’s still on top of me and gets off of me, laying beside me.

“I’m sorry,” I say sadly.

“Don’t be sorry.” He whispers pulling me in. “I know you wanted to. But you know what?” He pauses, looking over at me. “I know you mean well. Because any other girl would choose to instead of caring about my family’s breakfast and I love you for that. I really do.” He says softly and plants a sweet kiss on my cheek.

“Thanks, Louis,” I say just as soft and turn over to face him, cuddling him. “I love you.”

He places his hand on the side of my face that wasn’t placed on the pillow, caressing it. He leans in and I feel his plump lips on mine.

“I love you too.” He says as I feel his voice against my lips vibrating.

“Come on!” He says taking me along with him as he lays on his back, leaving me slightly on top of him.

I wrap my leg around him and reach out for his free hand that isn’t placed on my back. He instantly grabs it and holds it firmly. My head was on his chest.

“Happy Birthday Louis,” I say as I close my eyes.

“Thanks my love,” He says and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad I get to spend the start of my birthday with you. So thank you for barging in here,” He says with a smile, ending with a chuckle.

“Anytime,” I say with a laugh.

We both fall asleep in each other's arms.

-

Morning was emerging and Louis’s parents and sisters were already awake ready to walk into Louis' room to congratulate him on his eighteenth birthday.

“Shh!” Louis’s mother and father say shushing their two daughters who were laughing a bit too loudly. They were quite excited to finally have a good excuse to wake Louis up, without him getting annoyed at them.

Issie and Millie look at their parents with open mouths and shock in their eyes, ultimately speechless at their mother shushing them.

“You’re going to wake him,” Their mother whispered, scolding them.

The girls responded with another row of laughter as they were nearing his room. They just couldn’t help it. They couldn’t keep quiet.

Their father couldn’t help but smile at their foolishness.

“Okay. We’ll stop now,” Issie says, taking a deep breath, trying to stop their laughter.

Millie was trying to hold in her laughter, trying not to ruin their parent’s way of waking up their only son on his special day.

The four made it outside of Louis’ closed door. Liz enclosed the doorknob ready to open up the door.

“Ready?” James questioned the three females.

They all nod and all whisper ‘yes's’.

Liz turns the doorknob and slowly opens her son’s door.

The girls rush in quietly and the four see the boy before him peacefully sleeping with the girl of his dreams resting on his chest.

“Aww. I don’t know if I should feel disgusted or not,” Issie jokes.

“They look so adorable!” Millie says in awe.

“Our boy isn’t much of a boy anymore,” James comments to his wife, placing his arm around her shoulders pulling her into his chest.

“I know,” She whispers, shedding a few tears.

Issie and Millie give each other a look of ‘are you being serious’

“So are we waking him up or not?” Millie asks impatiently.

“You’re really looking forward to it. Aren't you?” Their father chuckles.

“Of course!” Issie says with a smirk.

“Okay. Let’s go,” Liz remarks with a smile

Issie immediately grabs a spare pillow and wacks it right onto Louis’ face making sure not to hit Y/N. Their mom gasps and their father laughs.

‘WAKE UP LOSER!” Issie yells smacking the pillow right at him, again.

Millie doesn’t even give it a second after Issie’s yell as she was already jumping on Louis’ bed.

After feeling the first hit Louis awakens from his peaceful slumber, feeling happy as ever from the last couple of hours. But now feeling displeased from the way he’s being awoken.

He feels y/n on top of him. He mentally rolls his eyes as he’s being interrupted from sleeping with his girlfriend.

He opens his eyes on the second hit, feeling Millie jumping on his bed obnoxiously. Oh, but she was doing it on purpose to annoy her older brother.

“The only bad thing about waking you up is waking y/n up,” Issie says, smacking the pillow on the now wide awake Louis.

He unwraps his arms from y/n quick enough to catch the pillow from hitting him again.

Y/N hears and feels the commotion and realizes what’s going on. She immediately starts laughing as she opens her eyes.

y/n’s pov:

I immediately open my eyes and feel Millie jumping on the bed. I, without a doubt, joined Millie, leaving Louis laying down in bed.

Millie giggles as she sees me jumping alongside her. We both give each other our hands and intertwine our fingers as we proceed to jump around with our hands laced with one another's.

“Wake up Louis!” I say looking down at him with a smile.

“I’m awake,” He says in a lighthearted grumpy voice.

“Come on! Stop being a party pooper!” I say bending down to grab a pillow and hitting him with it.

“Oh, you want to play it like that?” Louis says, eyeing me with a smirk.

He instantly stands from his seated position on his bed and tackles both Millie and I onto the bed. Millie and I both groan in pain, as we lay straight on his bed without a movement.

“Don’t think I forgot about you!” Louis says, turning his attention to Issie. He hops out of his bed, grabbing the pillow I previously had, and smacks her. She gets caught off guard and Louis grabs her and pushes her onto the bed, on top of Millie and I. Both of us, still trying to recuperate.

I let out laughs and so does Millie and Issie.

“Mornin dad. Mornin mom. Shall we head off to breakfast without them?” Louis says, giving them quick hugs and playfully walking out of his room.

“That was not what I expected at all,” Issie groans as she holds her stomach.

“Yeah… mom wanted to sing happy birthday like the happy peaceful family we are,” James trails, as both Liz and him are standing beside the door, with laughs.

“You can say that again,” Millie says with a straight face and monotone voice.

“Yeah. Sorry about that mum,” Issie says as she sits up.

“We can still sing if that helps?” Millie says with a hopeful shrug.

Louis turns to his mom and sees her somewhat disappointed face after her plans didn’t go her way.

“Alright. Alright. Come on!” Louis says, trying to complete his mother’s wishes. His arm over her shoulders.

James catches on and proceeds to count. “1… 2… 3…”

We all sing.

“Happy Birthday To You. Happy Birthday To You. Happy Birthday dear Louisss. Happy Birthday to you!” We all sang as Louis stood beside his mum and the three of us sat on his bed. James beside their mom.

We all stood up from his bed to congratulate him.

Louis towered over his mother and they both tightly hugged. They stood there for a while and they swayed side to side.

I melted inside at the sight of the two.

“Come here!” Louis’s dad says brightly with a proud smile opening up his arms. Louis forms a huge smile on his face and goes into a bear hug with his father.

James pats Louis back proudly and firmly in their hug.

I observed with a smile as Louis was in bare arms with his parents. It was adorable and loving.

He lets go of his dad and turns to the three of us.

He smiles and pulls his youngest sister into a hug. He looks huge compared to her. I laugh as Millie’s giggles escape her lips.

Millie's contagious laughter got Louis laughing as well.

Issie walks towards Louis and they both hug tightly.

As they hug I go and greet his parents, formally.

“Morning guys!” I say as I walk over to them.

“Morning y/n!” They both greet, each with huge grins.

I go in to hug Liz and she opens her arms widely.

I smile and blush at her kindness.

I go and wrap my arms around her as does she.

She pulls me in tightly.

“Thank you for joining us,” She says into the hug.

“Of course!” I enthuse and pull away to converse with her.

She grins.

“You’re such a wonderful girl honey! I’m glad Louis found someone like you! You truly make him happy,” She exclaims, and out of excitement she pulls me into another hug. I chuckle.

“Aww! Thank you, Liz! You’re such a wonderful mum. Thank you for raising an amazing boy,” I say. “Both of you!” I say and look over to James with a smile.

He smiles a toothy smile and takes me into a hug.

I chuckle.

“Thanks, honey!” James says into our hug.

I smile at him and nod.

“You both are great parents! You should be proud. You have amazing children!” I say to them and pull away from my hug with James.

I then feel two arms wrap around me from behind. I smile and blush feeling him close behind. He nuzzles his head into my neck.

“Don’t worry guys. I know you both adore and love her so much. I’ll be making her your third daughter soon,” Louis cheekily says to his parents as he smashes his lips onto my cheek.

“Louis!” I blush and turn my head slightly to look at him.

He smiles cheekily and looks over to her parents.

“Watch it,” Liz playfully warns with a brow raised.

Louis chuckles.

“Not any time soon, I hope!” She sighs, not wanting her kids to grow.

I giggle.

“Don’t listen to him!” I say with a playful eyeroll.

“Knock some sense into him, dear,” She says with a laugh. “You’re only eighteen.” She says eyeing Louis.

“Well… As of the law, I don’t need your consent to marry. Not anymore,” He jokingly says to his mother.

James laughs.

“We raised a witty boy. Didn’t we?” He says looking over to his wife. “Oh and son we know you love the girl but don’t marry yet. Makes me feel old,” He half jokes.

“Oh yeah! If we encouraged him one bit! He’d be down on one knee,” Issie teased.

“What! I kinda want a baby running around the house,” Millie says with pouty eyes.

“Don't encourage him!” Issie exclaims looking over at Millie.

“Well now that I think of it-” Louis begins to say.

“NO!” Liz, James, and I yell.

Louis stands behind me, arms wrapped around me, dumbfounded with his mouth open.

“I’m only joking…” He trails. “Kind of?” He says with a laugh.

“Okay! On that note, let's start getting ready for breakfast. Please!” Liz pleads as they start heading out of the room.

I laugh.

“I agree!” I say as I try to walk off but get enclosed by Louis tightening grip around my waist. His parents, now gone.

“Nooo!” He whispers into my ear with a pout.

I blush and look down feeling the butterflies.

“You’re so clingy!” Millie says in disgust as she watches Louis and I, catching what Louis has done.

“Let the poor girl go!” Issie says.

“She likes it,” Louis says as he smirks, looking down at me. And oh he’s right. I do like it.

Millie gives Louis an “mhmm sure’ look.

“Whatever you say, Louis,” Issie remarks in doubt.

I let out a laugh.

“Come on Louis. We have to get ready,” I say, trying to free myself from his grip. He loosens his arms and I manage myself out.

But I did miss his arms wrapped around me closely, his body pressed against me from behind, and his head propped on my shoulder as he lowers himself down to my height. The way I feel his arms against my skin and feel his soft hair brush against my face and neck. His occasional sweet and cute kisses he leaves on my cheeks and neck. My stomach erupts with butterflies by just thinking of it.

“Come on y/n. Let’s go,” Millie says, grabbing my bag that has my outfit and necessities to get ready.

I nod and without saying goodbye or looking back I start walking out with Millie and Issie.

Louis is left baffled.

“What?” Louis says right as we reach the door frame to head out. His ‘what’ sounding like a ‘wot’.

I turn around and so do they.

“Imma go get ready with Millie and Iss,” I say like it’s nothing.

Every time I’m over at the Partridges and we’re heading off somewhere, I always get ready with Millie and Issie.

“But… it’s my birthday,” He frowns.

My heart falls at his adorableness.

Millie didn’t quite see it as adorable though.

“Louis! Y/N, Issie, and I always get ready together. You know this already!” Millie sassily says.

“Yeah, it's quite practically tradition at this point,” Issie butts in.

“That’s precisely my point! It happens alllll the time! I would like my girlfriend to get ready. Here! With me! On my birthday!” Louis irritably says to his sisters.

“You’re so annoying!” Millie furiously says, rolling her eyes.

“Whatever! You can leave now,” Louis says and walks over and grabs the door, waiting for them to leave.

Issie sighs and rolls her eyes going out the door.

I frown.

“Bye,” I say.

“You’re lucky it’s your birthday!” Millie says and walks out the door as she hands me my bag.  

I grab it and peep my head out the door before Louis shuts it.

“If you need me I’m right here!” I shout into the hallway so that they hear me from their rooms.

Louis peeps his head out.

“No, she’s not!” He yells loudly.

I push him and he laughs.

“I’ll make it up to you guys! I’ll sit with you both on the way to breakfast!” I say to them.

“Yeah! She won’t be doing that either!” Louis yells right after me.

“Louis!” I say looking over at him as I laugh.

“What?!” He says like it's nothing.

He pulls me into the room and slams the door shut, locking it.

He immediately goes in and wraps his arms around my back and lowers his face into mine, pulling me in as close as he possibly can.

“Are you glad you got your way?” I say with a cheeky smile, looking up at him.

“Yes. Very!” He says looking deep into my eyes, with a huge proud grin.

After a few seconds of him looking into my eyes, he leans in for a kiss. Our lips meet. He tilts his head sideways, deepening the kiss. I tippytoe up to him and he pulls me in by the waist, closening all the space between us. One of my arms is around his neck and my other is roaming up to his messy hair.

I run my fingers through his soft locks and take in his luscious lips. The way they worked against mine drove me crazy. They worked perfectly with each other, lips perfectly in sync. I could never let go of his lips.

Louis groans into the kiss, driving me insane. He squeezes me and I could literally just melt in his embrace.

“This is the best birthday ever,” He says in between the kiss and I let out a giggle right as he goes to interlace our lips again.

I pull away. “And why is that?” I say now looking into his brown eyes.

“Hmm,” He says with a smile. “Because I’ve been fortunate enough to kiss you countless times these past few hours.” He says as he looks down into my eyes.

I smile and blush.

“Well! I’m glad I could help,” I say with a huge smile and tippytoe to peck his lips.

“Oh, you’ve done more than just help! You’re literally the reason why I woke up with a smile this morning and the smile I have on right now. You’re the one that went out of your way to be here on the exact second of my birthday and it’s the most adorable thing ever y/n!” Louis generously says with a smile. His eyes roam every inch of her face, taking in her beauty. He can’t believe she’s his.

“Aww, Louis!” I say with puppy dog eyes. “You’re gonna make me all emotional!” I say as I pull him into a hug. I place my head on the lower shoulder area of his chest, resting my face on him. “You’re the best boyfriend ever. You always manage to say all the right words that make me feel all special and gushy. You’re amazing Louis and I love you for it! You’re the best person in the world!” I say as I pull my head up and face him, telling him every word.

He looks at me with a pout, lips propped out, and eyes filled with adoration as he looks down at me.

“You’re incredible Louis. You’re a spectacular person. You deserve everything you have and more! You’re caring and sweet. Your laugh is literally the cutest thing ever! The way your head falls back when you laugh, it's the best sight. You’re literally adorable in every way! You’re so passionate about your hobbies and you always give everything your all. You have no idea how incredibly proud and amazed I am by you. You’re ambitious and driven. Like, you’re just fucking amazing Louis. You have no idea! I could go on and on about how incredible and great you are!” I say pouring out my heart to him.

He just keeps his eyes on mine. All he does is smile down at me.

He pulls me in and places his chin on the top of my shoulder. I smile to myself and lay my head on his chest.

“Thank you,” He whispers into my shoulder. “You have no idea how much it means to me.” He smiles into my shoulder now laying his head on me.

I know my words meant a lot to me. He always takes it all in and stays silent as he holds me close. I could tell he was thankful and happy for the way I felt towards him and the way I spoke so highly of him. His silence says it all and the way he’s holding onto me for dear life.

I smile into the hug and tighten my arms around him, knowing he’ll smile.

“Now, come on. I’ll tell you more about how amazing you are later. As of right now, we have to get ready for breakfast,” I say slowly pulling apart from him.

He chuckles and nods.

I know we both wanted to stay in each other’s arms but we had to get ready.

“Alright,” He smiles and heads to his closet.

I walk over to my bag full of necessities I brought the night before to ready myself. I go to grab my toothbrush and head towards Louis’ bathroom.

As I walked towards the restroom I could feel Louis stare at me from his closet.

“Are you drooling?” I say with a playful smirk.

“What?” He says getting caught off guard. “Oh. Yeah!” He says catching on to what I meant. “Definitely!” He smirks.

I laugh and roll my eyes as I make it to the restroom. I put paste on my toothbrush and look into the room.

“Might wanna unlock your room. Don’t want them trying to come into the room and them thinking we’re up to something,” I say with a chuckle.

“Right!” He says with remembrance. I continue to brush my teeth as Louis goes to unlock his bedroom door.

As I’m finished brushing my teeth I grab my makeup bag and I go and sit on Louis' bed. I grab my little mirror and put on some moisturizer as I get comfy on his bed.

Louis is now in the restroom styling his hair.

“Lord Tewkesbury or Sid?” Louis asks regarding his hair.

“Whichever one you’d like my love,” I say with a smile as my heart skips a beat.

He nods and goes on with doing his hair.

I start putting on some foundation and blending it into my skin.

He finishes doing his hair and jumps onto the bed with me, laying his head on my lap.

I giggle.

“You’re such a baby!” I gush looking down at him.

“Oh hush! I’m just glad you’re here with me. Getting ready,” He whispers as he cuddles his head onto my lap.

“You know I’m not gonna be able to play with your hair or baby you cause I’m doing my makeup,” I chuckle looking down at him.

He sighs loudly.

“You know, you can just not do your makeup! You don’t need it anyways!” He says grabbing the mirror and proceeding to take it from my hands.

“Louis!” I gasp, trying to reach for it.

He lets out a loud laugh.

I frown and he continues to laugh.

“You’re mean!” I say with a sad face.

He chuckles.

“It’s fine. I don’t need a mirror to blend in my concealer,” I say with a shrug.

“Mhm. Sure.” He says holding on sacredly to the mirror.

I continue to blend in the concealer under my eyes without speaking to Louis. He continues to lay himself on my lap, not taking his eyes off me with a smirk.

Once I’m done with my base, Louis is laying straight up looking up at the wall.

I lower my face down to him and frown.

His eyes turn to me and he smiles knowing what I’m about to say.

“Okay for this part I really need the mirror. Please!” I plead as I give him my puppy dog eyes.

He shakes his head and I frown.

“Please,” I beg.

“Look who’s acting like a baby now!” He smirks.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“Come on Louis!” I say and reach over to grab the mirror.

“Okay fine!” He groans and hands it to me.  

I’m taken aback by how easy that was and he notices. He now has a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

I furrow my eyebrows but choose to ignore it. I angle the mirror up to my face and start filling in my eyebrows. Then suddenly I feel Louis sitting on me, face on my chest. His legs are crisscrossed as he sits on my lap and puts his whole body weight on me as I’m trying to do my brows.

“Louis!” I yell at him as I couldn’t help but laugh.

He chuckles and replies with “What?”

“Oh my god!” I say as I place the mirror and eyebrow brush and pomade down.

He laughs knowing that would get my attention.

“You’re such a kid,” I say with a laugh as I kiss his head, which is below my face, laying on my chest. He’s so huge as he sits on me, his whole body leaning on me. His face and whole upper body against mine.

“This is how it feels when you come and sit on me, wrapping your legs around my waist when I’m sitting,” He says into my chest.

I chuckle.

“Well, it’s cute when I do it,” I tease.

He playfully gasps.

“See look when I do it at least I make it comfortable for the both of us. I wrap my legs around your waist and my arms around your neck. While you, just sit on my lap,” I laugh. “You’re not even hugging me or placing your legs anywhere comfy,” I say.

“Well seeee. I would buttt you’re doing your makeup so I can’t really get comfy or else you won’t be able to get it done cause I’d be in your way,” He says looking up at me. “I’m like wayyy bigger than you, so I’d be in your way of you doing your brows.” He says emphasizing on brows. “Anddd you’d make me get off of you so that’s why I’m doing the bare minimum!” He defends and mocks.

I laugh.

“Right ‘bare minimum’ when you’re literally sitting on me,” I say with a chuckle.

He lets out a laugh.

“Wellll when you put it like that…” He trails with a bright smile. “Alright I’ll get off of you now,” He says, going up to kiss my cheek.

“Okay! But only if we do this later when I’m not trying to do something,” I chuckle.

“Deal!” Louis says with a chuckle.

He gets off me and lays beside me slightly placing his head on my thigh. He trails his finger up and down my thigh in boredom. I let out a shiver and he looks up at me and smirks.

I smile and roll my eyes.

He looks back down and continues with his antics.

I finish off my brows and start to add concealer onto them to fix them up and complete them.

As I do, Louis continues to trace his fingers along my skin causing me goosebumps.

I could hear Louis giggle from below.

I shake my head and smile.

After a few minutes, I grab some blush and highlighter.

“Okay, I know you’re bored! So if you’d like you can add these onto my cheeks.” I trail on. “BUT, carefully!” I warn as his eyes widen.

He sits down immediately onto the bed and grabs the blush.

“Okay so be careful with the blush because it’s really pigmented,” I warn.

He makes a face of confusion.

“Okayy.. I think I know what that means,” He says, patting the brush onto the blush.

My eyes trail to his facial expression and his eyebrows and face seem really tense. I smile as I see that he really is taking this seriously.

“Okay..” He trails as he carefully swifts the brush on my cheekbones.

“Go on!” I assure and he nods.

He continues on with the highlighter and really seems to be concentrating on it.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Why are you smiling?” He questions.

I open my eyes and they immediately meet his worried ones.

“Nothing. It’s just you really seem focused. It's cute,” I smile and peck his lips.

He smiles and grins. His white teeth showing. It was adorable. He looked adorable. Damn, I really am lucky to have Louis.

“Okay, now I just gotta curl my lashes and put on mascara,” I explain. He nods. “And then once I’m done you can spray on my setting spray,”

“That sounds exciting!” He exclaims and I let out a laugh.

I curl with my lashes and proceed to put on a couple of coats of mascara. Once they’re where I want them to be I get Louis to go on with the final step.

He was already ready at hand, with the setting spray.

I chuckle and nod, giving him the cue to spray away.

I close my eyes and he clicks away. I instantly feel the wet sprays, which come to a stop once Louis is finished.

“Finally!” He sighs and lays down cuddling into me.

I chuckle.

“Louis, I still have to do my hair,” I say with a laugh.

He looks at me and lets out a loud groan.

“I’m sorry,” I say and get off the bed, heading to the bathroom.

“I’m just going to quickly curl my tips,” I say brushing my hair.

“Okayyy.” He says with a sigh as he finds a comfortable position on his empty bed.

I giggle and start to curl the ends of my hair.

Once I’m halfway through my hair I call out to Louis.

“Babe. You might want to start getting dressed. I’m almost done with my hair, so if you want some spare time for me to baby you, finish getting ready!” I say as he shifts in his bed.

“Okay!” He says getting off of his bed and going to grab his clothing for the day.

I go back to doing my hair and from the corner of my eye, I see him taking off his shirt.

I smirk but continue to do my hair anyways.

I hear his hums from the restroom as I finish curling the last end. I grab my outfit from the bag and start undressing.

Louis’ eyes make it to his girlfriend and sees that she's taking off her bottoms. He doesn’t know whether to continue his gaze or look away.

Eventually, he goes back to getting changed himself.

I look over at Louis and see that he’s only in his briefs.

I smile at how alluring and good looking he is.

“You’re so handsome,” I blurt out.

His eyes widen as they meet mine. He then chuckles.

His eyes meet my exposed shoulders as I’m only in a bra as I’m trying to get the straps on.

He smirks.

“And you’re so beautiful!” He says with a cheeky smile.

I smile and blow him a kiss.

As I’m finished putting my dress on, I head into his room and go in to hug him from behind. He has some khaki pants on, a nice dress shirt, a small gold chain, and sneakers.

He looks impeccable.

“Wow. You look amazing Louis!” I say and wrap my arms around him from behind.

I can see his smile from the mirror in front of him and he instantly turns over to me.

He picks me up slightly and kisses my lips.

I giggle and pull away.

“You’re adorable,” I mention and look at him in awe.

“No. You’re adorable!” He chimes.

I smile and kiss his lips right before pulling away.

He chuckles and puts me down.

“Now, you’re the one that looks amazing!” He says as his eyes trail down to me.

I blush and smack his chest playfully in response.

“Ow.” He winces.

I giggle and go in to peck his lips once more.

“You truly look amazing!” He says, not letting his eyes off of me.

I giggle and thank him.

I had on a casual floral dress. It wasn’t over the top but it wasn’t simple either.

“Thanks, bub,” I say cheekily with a wide smile.

Louis chuckles and bends down to peck my lips.

I giggle and straighten out his dress shirt.

“Should I wear a crew neck over the button up?” Louis asks as he looks down upon himself.

I think for a bit.

“I think you’d look good both with and without it. But take it just in case it gets chilly.” I advise.

Louis nods and goes to grab a charcoal brown crewneck.

“Perfect,” I say with a smile as I grab onto his arm.

He looks down at me and grins.

We both head over and lay on his bed.

He chuckles.

I roll my eyes, knowing he’s excited cause I can finally give him my attention.

He lays his head on my shoulder.

“Come here, birthday boy,” I say and motion for him to lay on my lap.

He does so and lays his head on me.

I go in to play with his hair, which I love.

“God, I love it when you do that!” He sighs as he closes his eyes, his head against my lap.

I chuckle and continue to roam my fingers through his hair, gently tracing my fingers through his scalp.

He rubs his head into my lap, as he cuddles deeper into me.

I smile knowing he’s enjoying my touch.

He looked adorable as his eyes were closed in bliss.

I lowered my head down to his lips and he puckered up his lips to connect the two. I smiled before proceeding to give into his lips. I grabbed onto the side of his face with the palm of my hand as I gently massaged it, as our lips created their own magic.

We were so into our own little world that we didn’t even realize that Issie and Millie had just entered the room.

“Aww! Look at you two, all dolled up, and sucking each other's faces off. Nice scene to walk into huh Iss?” Millie’s voice echoed through the room.

My eyes widened and Louis and I both broke off the kiss.

“Oh yeah! Definitely, Mills, especially since our brother is the submissive one in this case,” Issie says.

I bit my lip, trying to hold in my laughter.

Louis was still in my lap, rolling his eyes.

“And what? It’s my birthday!” Louis shoots back, sitting up.

“Eww! Gross! I don’t want to hear that!” Millie shrieks.

“I would prefer not to hear about your sexual life and how you want it on your birthday!” Issie says in disgust.

“What?! I didn’t even say anything like that!” Louis says to them in defense.

“Well.. you kinda did imply it, babe,” I say as I wrap my arm around his shoulders and give him a peck on his cheeks.

He rolls his eyes at his sisters again.

“Well, we’re all ready now. We’re just waiting on mom,” Millie says, completely changing the subject.

She shudders as she’s about to sit on the bed but backs off.

I laugh, shaking my head.  

“We didn’t even do anything! You were literally jumping on my bed not so long ago!” Louis speaks, with an eye roll.

I reach over to grab Millie’s hand and pull her into the bed.

“Here, I'll give you a kiss too,” I say and kiss her cheek once she falls into the bed.

“Gross! I don’t know where those lips have been!” Millie says.

“OH MY GOD!” Louis says as he lets himself fall back into his bed with his hands in his face.

Issie is dying of laughter, so I pull her in quickly and send her a kiss.

“Oh nooo!” She complains as my lips meet her skin. “No! No! No!”

“We are neither confirming nor denying your allegations,” Louis says with a smirk as he sits back up.

“Louis!” I shriek as I feel my cheeks go red.

Millie starts making gagging noises and Issie scoots farther away from us as possible.

“What!” He says with a growing smile.

“You know what!” I scold.

Louis pulls me by the arms and causes us to both fall back into his bed.

“As much as I’d like to admit you guys are cute. That was no fun topic to speak about!” Millie says with a worried expression.

Louis laughs evilly.

James peeks his head through the open door.

“Time to go!” He smiles and heads off.

We all stand up from the bed. Louis goes to grab my hand, he intertwines them and squeezes our hands gently.

I smile and pull our intertwined hands to my lips and give them a little kiss.

He cheekily smiles and we start heading out his door.

“You girls look beautiful by the way!” I say to them as we all walk down the hallway.

“Thank you! You look gorgeous,” Issie says to me with a huge smile.

“You do look amazing y/n!” Millie smiles.

“Aww thank you, guys!” I smile and we all make it down the stairs.

Liz gasps once she sees us all.

“You all look wonderful!” She gushes.

We all thank her.

“You look lovely, Liz!” I smile.

“Thank you, darling!” She smiles.

“Come on, let's take a few pictures before we head out!” She pleads.

The four of us pose for the picture. Louis and I in the middle, Millie beside me, and Issie beside Louis.

After a couple of photos were taken, I let them take a couple of photos of just the three of them. I then offer to take photos of them all.

James and Liz join in with Louis, Millie, and Issie. I snap a couple of photos to get everyone's good sides.

“Come on y/n!” James calls me in. He swifts his hand signaling me to join them.

I nod with a smile and Liz leads me over and squeezes me in next to Louis. I blush and thank her.

James was in the corner ready to take a couple of photos, camera held up high to capture us all.

Louis wraps his arm around me and I lay my head on his chest. I put one of my arms behind his back and one on his chest as I lay my head on him.

We all smile for the picture and James takes a couple.

“Alright let's head out. We’re taking the car even though we might get more traffic but going on the train is going to be a hassle,” Liz explains.

“Mum. There’s no rush!” Louis assures her.

“Louis, well what’s the purpose of a breakfast if we’re not going to eat early?” Liz comments.

Issie and Millie let out a laugh.

“Alright. Alright. I guess we are in a rush. Speed away father,” Louis says once we’re all settled into the car.

Louis is on the left side of the car, I’m beside him, and to my right is Millie and then Issie.

James starts the car and drives off.

Louis puts his arm around me and pulls me in by my shoulders. He puts his lips against my temple and sweetly kisses it.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” I whisper to him and he nods with a vibrant smile.

“So where are we eating exactly?” Issie asks her parents.

“To a nice restaurant that’s famous for their breakfast selection,” Liz explains.

“Famous?!” Louis says. “Oh mum, choosing an expensive place, am I right? Mum you didn’t have to. I’d be happy with anything!”

“Nonsense! It’s your special day,” James exclaims.

Louis smiles.

“Well thank you, nonetheless. You didn't have to but thanks,” Louis smiles.

James continues driving for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, the four of us in the back decided to play Who’s Most Likely To.

“Louis is definitely most likely to jump into a dumpster!” Issie exclaims.

Louis opens his mouth but nothing comes out of it. He’s just left with his mouth agape.

I giggle and nod.

“It’s definitely you, Louis! You literally have dove into a bunch of trash bags,” I say with a laugh.

“Literally everyone has seen that video!” Millie says in between laughs.

“Okay. Fine. I’ll take it I guess,” He says with a little eye roll.

I let out a laugh, as everyone in the car does as well.

We continue to foolishly ask questions which leads everyone in the vehicle to erupt in laughter.

James pulled up to a fancy looking restaurant. It looked full and impacted with many guests. It had both outdoor and indoor seating.

James found a place to park the car and we all stepped out of the vehicle. Louis hopped out of the car before me and lent me a hand to step out. I smile out at him and place my hands on him. As I make it out of the car, Louis closes the car door behind me.

“M’lady,” He cheekily says.

I smile and let out a cute laugh

James smiles at us as he exits the car himself.

“Okay let’s head in. We have reservations. Thank goodness cause look at the place,” She sighs in relief as we enter the doors.

Louis walked beside me as his hand was placed in my lower back. I smile at how he’s such a gentleman.

“Six for the Partridges,” James notifies the fancy main entrance.

Louis lowers his lips to my ear.

“See they already see you as a Partridge,” He whispers deeply into my ear.

I blush and look over into his eyes.

He has a huge smile placed on his lips.

I giggle and as I was about to respond we were already being led to our table.

Louis pulls out my chair and leads me to sit. I blush and sit on the comfy fancy looking chair.

Louis pushes me in a bit and pats my hair and he goes to sit beside me and across from his parents.

Right as we’re getting seated a couple workers were already handing us freshly squeezed juice.

I smile in thank you and simultaneously Louis and I reach for each other’s hands, from each other’s chairs.

We both laugh within each other and take in the freshly squeezed juice, which was delicious.

“Wow, mum. This is really good!” Louis shockingly says as he places the cup down.

Liz smiles and seems proud of her choice of breakfast.

We get handed the menus that we made of thick rich paper.

“Wow mum, even the menus are expensive!” Millie says as she opens it up.

I giggle and open up the menu myself.

I look over the breakfast selection and see they have everything anyone could ask for.

“Look over the menu if you’d like but we’re ordering the platter that gives us all the main dishes the restaurant offers for breakfast,” James notes to us as Liz nods.

“So we’re like having our own little buffet? Here at our table,” Issie questions.

“Precisely,” James smiles with a nod.

“Wow. Ok,” Louis says in amazement.

“You deserve it,’ I whisper to him with a smile.

He looks at me with love in his eyes.

“Thanks love!” He whispers back and he squeezes our hands.

I smile and we both face the table again.

Liz is ordering the platter and we all continue to drink the delicious not too thick juice.

We all start to converse once we’re settled and have placed our order.

“How does it feel to be an adult now?” Issie jokes.

“Oh! You know, life changing!” Louis claims.

I let out a giggle.

“I feel like a totally different person!’ He exaggeratedly says.

We all let out small laughs.

Soon various workers came over to our table. They all had huge platters of different breakfast dishes in their hands. They set it all down at our table. And man, let me tell you! There was sooo much food!

There were pancakes of all sorts of flavors with unique shapes, waffles, french toast, crepes, fruit, syrups of all kinds, breakfast burritos, bacon, mashed potatoes, hash browns, bacon, eggs.

“Mum! We are never going to finish all this food! I feel like I'm eating with the queen!’ Louis exclaims as his eyes gaze through the variety of food.

“Wow! I feel full just by looking at all of this food,” I say with a giggle.

“Let’s dig in!” Liz says, grabbing a plate.

We all nod in agreement and reach over to grab empty plates.

I reach to grab a plate but Louis was already handing me one.

“Here ya go,” He says with a bright smile.

“Wow what a gentleman,” Issie teases as she goes to grab some waffles.

I smile and grab the plate from his hand.

“Thank you, Louis!” I say with a pout. He’s so sweet and thoughtful.

“As he should!” Millie demands and I let out a laugh.

“I will always treat her right,” Louis says, grabbing a plate for himself.

“Well, I’m glad you do, Louis. I have always told you to be respectful and to treat a girl right and I am really glad and proud of you for treating y/n this way,” Liz says with a proud smile.

I turn over to Louis with a smile and he looks over at me. He looks straight into my eyes and squeezes our intertwined hands three times. I smile. Gosh, he makes me melt every time. I blush and smile a thank you to him.

Every time one of us squeezes each other's hand three times, it indicates us secretly saying I love you, to one another. Each squeeze represents each word. It was our thing.

I love him too.

I turn away as I feel my cheeks warm up.

“Aww she’s blushing,” Issie teases as she pokes my sides.

From the corner of my eye, I see Louis turn once he hears Issie’s statement.  

James and Liz laugh in awe.

Once Louis realizes that I certainly am blushing he lets go of our hands and pulls me into him.

“Aww. C’mere!” He smiles as he kisses my temple.

They all laugh and continue filling up their plates.

As they all place their attention on serving themselves breakfast, my face no longer turns red.

Louis gives me another temple kiss before letting me go.

I smile and go to serve myself portions from different platters.

As I finish filling my plate, I dig my fork into a pancake.

They look so delicious.

I placed the fork into my mouth and I was already in a food coma. The food was incredibly delicious. The pancakes were so fluffy and warm. Without a doubt, they were the best pancakes I’ve ever tried.

I continued digging into the other portions and it was all too delicious.

“Wow, this is really delicious mum!” Louis says with a full mouth of eggs and bacon.

I giggle as his parents scold him.

“Okay okay! I’m sorry!” He says quickly swallowing his food.

“This is why we can’t have nice things, Louis!” Millie scolds.

Louis is left with his mouth agape.

“It’s literally my birthday guys. I was trying to show my gratitude mum!” Louis defends.

I roll my eyes at him and Liz shakes her head.

“Point was you were talking with a mouth full of food and we’re in a high end restaurant, Louis,” Issie adds.

“I feel really attacked,” He says and digs into more food.

James and I laugh.

“Just eat your birthday breakfast, babe,” I say, patting his back.

“Mhm.” He says pretending to be hurt.

“Oh stop!” I say with a smile.

He couldn’t hide his smile anymore and let out a laugh.

“You’re such an idiot,” Millie says with a playful eye roll.

Louis lets out an adorable laugh and I couldn’t help but smile and feel warm on the inside.

He was my idiot.

Towards the end of our meal, an enormous group of employees surrounded our table.

“Oh no…” Louis whispered loud enough for me to hear.

I giggle and hold his hand.

“Who in this table is Louis?” A worker called out.

We all pointed at Louis and he rose his hand.

“That’ll be me,” Louis calls out.

They hand him a candlelit dessert.

As it was placed in front of him, all eyes in the restaurant were on him.

The employees erupted into a song to wish Louis a Happy Birthday.

“Woohoo!” James and Liz cheer from across the table.

I let go of Louis' hand and began to cheer him on.

We all clap our hands as the singing ceases.

“Thank you,” Louis kindly says to us all.

The workers nod and reply with ‘you’re welcome'.

Liz stands from her seat and goes to hug her boy.

Louis smiles appreciatively and goes in to hug her, as well.

He’s so sweet to his parents. He hugs her tightly and whispers words of gratitude only for her to hear.

She goes on to kiss his cheek and he flushes.

Her mom lets go and James goes in to pat Louis.

“Happy Birthday son. You know we love you and we’ll always be here for you. We believe in you and here’s to many more,” James says pulling Louis in.

“Thanks, dad!” Louis says holding onto his father.

“Happy Birthday Louis!” Millie calls out from her seat.

“Love you!” Issie smiles.

“Thanks, guys. Much appreciated!” He says gracefully.

We all stood up and headed out of the restaurant.

Louis and I walked behind everyone as we headed to the car.

“What are we doing now?” Louis cheekily says.

I turn over to look at him and smile.

“It’s a surprise!” I beam.

“A surprise?!” He exclaims.

“Mmhmm!” I nod.

“What kinda surprise?” He questions placing his lips on my cheek, hoping I’d give him more information.

“I can’t tell you,” I giggle.

He lets out a whine and lets his head fall back.

“Nope. Not happening!” I smile looking at his impatience.

“Can you at least give me a hint?” He pleads.

“You’ll eventually find out. As of right now you just can’t know,” I giggle.

“Ughh!” He groans as we make it to the car.

I roll my eyes and laugh to myself.

Louis opens the door for me and heads into his seat after me.

“Why is he being annoying this time?” Millie asks.

“Y/N won’t tell me my surprise!” He desperately says.

“Well it’s supposed to be a surprise,” James says, turning on the car.

“Wait! So you know what it is?” Louis says as his eyes glow.

They all nod.

“This sucks!” He says, crossing his arms.

“Alright here. I was going to wait until we got home. But since you’re upset about not knowing y/n’s surprise. We can give you ours right now,” Liz says, pulling out a black box from her purse.

“What is this?” Louis says as he holds the black box in the palm of his hands.

“Our first surprise,” James says looking at the back seat from the rearview mirror.

‘Why thanks guys,” Louis smiles as he opens up the black box, revealing an elegant watch.

His eyes widened in amazement.

“Mum! Dad!” Louis lets out in shock. “Thank you! I don’t even know what to say! I don’t even know how to react.” Louis says attentively, laying his eyes on the watch.

“I got my first watch on my 18th birthday and I wanted to do the same for you. Keep it going you know?” James says from the driver's seat.

“It's very grand. I can’t thank you enough!” Louis says looking up to his parents.

“Well put it on!” Issie clamors.

Louis carefully pulls the watch out and unclips it, placing it through his wrist. His other hand clips on the watch to his hand.

Louis flicks his wrist and smiles.

“Thank you, dad! Thank you, mum! Looks good doesn’t it?” He says to them and he shows them his arm.

“It looks great honey!” Liz smiles.

“It really does! It goes perfectly! James says as he looks at the watch on Louis’ wrist.

His eyes turn back to the road as we pull up to the Partridge’s neighborhood.

“Ahhh! Okay, time to close your eyes!” Liz says as she jumps in her seat.

“What?” Louis laughs nervously.

“Close your eyes quickly!” James warns.

“Bloody hell! What’s going on?!” Louis says not closing his eyes.

“CLOSE YOUR EYES!” Millie and Issie yell.

“No! Not until I know what’s going on!” He replies.

“Oh my god!” I reply as I see that the house is nearing our sight.

Everyone in the car is yelling for him to shut his eyes, so I do it for him.

I quickly place my hands over his eyes, right in time for him to not see his other present, parked in the driveway.

I gasp as I see the black sports car lavishly parked on their driveway.

“WHAT! What’s going on?” Louis questions as he tries to open his eyes, once he hears my gasp.

We all choose to ignore him.

Now I knew he was getting his first car but seeing it now in close proximity, I was excited. It was nice, really nice.

James parks on the sidewalk that leads to the driveway where Louis’ sports car is.

Everyone excitedly gets out of the car. James and Liz open the door so Louis and I can get off.

“Okay, step out of the car,” James speaks.

“Well I mean I can’t really see,” Louis mutters.

“Just get out of the car! Hurry!” I exclaim.

“Okay okay!” He rushes.

He places his feet out onto the ground and carefully stands, with me behind him. Eyes still covered by my hands.

“Keep walking…” I trail as I lead him from behind.

He does so and we all lead him to the front of the car.

“What is going on?” He asks.

“Okay in 1… 2…. And 3… !” We all yell and I let go of my hands. He flutters his eyes open and gasps in surprise.

“Bloody hell! Is it mine? No way!” He says as he runs his hand through his hair walking towards the black vehicle.

“All yours!” James smiles.

“No way!” He says in shock.

“But… As of right now. It’s y/n’s,” Liz says, handing me the keys.

Louis looks over to me in confusion as I smirk.

“I’m soooo confused right now!” He says as he looks around.

I walk to the driver’s side of the car.

“Get in, loser!” I say jingling the keys over the car.

He furrows his eyebrows with a growing smile as he walks over to the passenger side.

I smirk as I open the door hopping into the car. I grip the steering wheel once I’m seated and I take a look around at the black interior.

I hear Louis open the passenger door. He bends down, half of his body in the car, taking a look at it in astonishment. Hand on the open door as he looks in.

Fuck that’s hot. His large hand gripped onto the wide open door of the passenger seat.

Louis looks over at me, face close to mine.

“Is it actually mine?” He says with a smile.

“Yes!” I beam with a huge smile. “Now come on!” I say excitedly for him to come in.

He furrows his eyebrows and smiles.

“What are you planning?!” He asks deeply as he reluctantly gets in the car.

As he shuts the door I fasten my seatbelt.

“Be safe!” Liz yells from the driveway.

I start the car and lower the window. I wave out to them and nod.

“Why is she saying that? Why do we have to be safe?” Louis bombards with questions.

“BYEE!” They all shout.

“BYEE!” I yell with a huge smile.

I start reversing out of the driveway and Louis confusingly waves bye to his family.

“What’s going on y/n? Tell me!” He says with a huge smile.

“We’re going… somewhere…” I trail off and we wave goodbye before I drive off.

“Where are we going?” He questions annoyingly as he grabs my hand.

“You really want me to drive with one hand in your brand new car?” I question with a smile as I look over at him for a split second.

“I can’t even believe it’s my car. I haven’t acknowledged it as my car. It hasn’t hit me yet,” He explains, his eyes fixated on me.

“Well, it’s your car! Take it all in!” I say as I turn over to him, looking at him with a cocked brow and smile.

“Hmm.” He hums looking around.

“This day has been like no other! It's been fantastic!” Louis beams.

“I’m happy for you, baby,” I smile looking over at him and away from the road.

He looks at the road and sees that it's clear, so he quickly goes in for a kiss.

“Thank you, baby!” He says right after he pulls away.

I smile and continue to drive.

“God. I can’t believe this is my car! That’s crazy!” He says as a wave of shock comes back in.

I laugh and keep my eye on the road, Louis still not having a clue as to where we're going.

“Now I’ll be able to bring you food when you’re hungry, drop by your room uninvited, take you on more dates, and all the things we can get away with while we’re in this car alone. By ourselves…” He trails getting quieter at the end.

I let out a snort.

I shake my head and giggle.

He laughs too.

“That's all I’m sayinggg!” He says in a singsong tone.

I giggle and shake my head as he holds onto my hand.

“Okay, we’ve been driving for a while now! Where are we going?” He chuckles, looking over at me.

“We’re spending the day in London!” I shouted with a giggle. “We can go wherever you want and do whatever you want!”

“That sounds delightful. I get to spend the day with you in my town. What more could I ask for?” He says sweetly.

I blush and he goes to grab my face proceeding to squish my cheeks.

I giggle and pat his hand away.

“I’m trying not to crash your car,” I say with a giggle.

“Oh also did I forget to add that we’re staying the night in the city?” I say with a smile as we start nearing the big building of London.

“What? Louis baffles.

“I got us a room. So no need to worry about heading home or worrying about curfews. We’re all alone, to do whatever we want,” I smile brightly.

“Y/N! You’re literally the best! You know me all too well!” He smiles and takes my hand to his lips.

I feel all mushy as he places his lips against my skin.

“I knew you’d want a day all to ourselves, so I planned it out just like that. We have extra clothes in the back for the night, that Issie placed earlier this morning. And now it's just up to you. What would you like us to do!” I reckon.

“You’re perfect! Literally perfect!” He expresses and he continues to add kisses to our intertwined hands.

I blush and hide away as I focus on driving.

“Well, we can walk around the streets, sightsee, grab some drinks, some snacks. As of right now, all I want to do is walk around, you by my side as I hold your hand or have my arm around you,” He says with a twinkle in his eye.

“Aww Louis!” I say with a pouty face.

He chuckles and marks a kiss on my cheek.

I drive into the big streets and look around for a parking spot.

“Birthday luck,” Louis calls, pointing towards an empty parking spot.

I sigh.

“Thank goodness!” I say in relief.

Louis chuckles and I go to park his car in the street.

As I successfully parked I turn off the car.

Louis immediately stops me from doing anything.

“Don’t move!’ He ordered.

I chuckle and stay seated as he exits the car and goes to my side to open my door.

“M’lady,” He says in a posh accent, which really is just a deeper British accent for him.

I giggle and place my hand on Louis’ as he has it out for me.

I smile sheepishly as he’s bowed down.

“Louis…” I trail shyly.

“What? I’m being a gentleman to my girlfriend, soon to be wife,” He remarks.

I laugh and shake my head.

“You’re adorable!” I whisper as I have my face millimeters away from his. He smiles as he looks me in the eyes, his eyes full of love and adoration as he looks into me. I went in for a kiss, it was sweet and slow.

Louis pulls away, our lips still pressed on one another.

“I love you,” He whispers.

I swift my eyes down and smile. I look back up into his brown eyes and peck my lips onto his once more.

“I love you, too,” I murmur into our lips.

“Come on. Let’s go,” He says and grabs my hand, leading me into the streets of London.

He walks fast with his long legs.

“Louis!” I shriek. “You’re speed walking over here. While I’m like being dragged!” I say with a laugh.

He looks back at me and laughs.

“Sorry!” He says. “I just want to take you to this place. I’m excited.”

I giggle and go in to kiss his cheek.

“I fucking love you. You’re just too cute and adorable. I can’t handle it!” I say as I giggle into his cheek.

He lets out a laugh and turns his head causing our lips to interlock, as I was previously kissing his cheek.

He longingly kisses me and pulls away with a sly smile.

“I saw what you did there!’ I say with a smirk.

We eventually made it.

“Okay this place has the best and I mean best ice cream!” Louis thrills.

“Alright. I’ll take your word for it!” I say and I walk straight into the shop.

We both order a sundae that gives us the option of 5 scoops of our choice of ice cream.

“Okay we’ll get chocolate,” Louis starts.

“Vanilla,” I continue.

“Rocky Road.”

“Chocolate Chip.”

“And strawberry,” Louis ends.

The worker nods and starts preparing our sundae which has whipped cream, peanuts, chocolate syrup, and a couple of cherries.

“It looks delicious!” I say as I grip Louis' hand and lay my head on his arm.

He looks down at me and smiles.

“You’re so cute!” He says, looking down at me in awe.

I look up at him and blush.

I tippytoe barely reach his height and go in to kiss his beautiful lips.

“I love you,” I murmur into the kiss.

He smiles and murmurs it back.

Our names are called and we head out with sundae in hand. We find an empty bench that gives us a view of London’s Tower Bridge and its waters.

After a bit of silence and our sharings of the sundae, Louis lets out a sigh.

“I love this day,” He says, looking out into the distance.

My gaze stays fixated on him and he looks out into London’s waters.

I lay my head on his chest and wrap my arms around him. I look up and his neck calls out to me. I smile and press my lips against his neck.

He immediately looks down at me as my lips are pressed onto his neck.

“You’re really going to tempt me in the middle of London?” He smirks.

“I’m not even trying to tempt you,” I say with a playful eye roll. “Your neck is just right here as I’m laying my head on your chest and I just can’t help but kiss you.” I cutely say.

He chuckles and shakes his head.

After a couple of seconds of silence, he speaks up again.

“I could live like this forever and never complain,” He says and he puts his arm around my shoulder.

“As long as I’m in your arms I’d never complain,” I respond.

“As long as you’re in my arms I’d never complain.” He replies.

I smile into his chest.

Our ice cream sundae, now gone.

After a while of looking into the water and the Tower Bridge, we stood up to further our walk.

“Where to now?” I say from beside him.

He shrugs.

“I’m not sure.” He says as he holds onto my hand.

I nod and we continue to walk until we make it to the shops.

We randomly walk into a clothing store and we look around for a bit.

“Do you want me to buy you anything?” I gently ask, trying not to interrupt our comfortable silence.

He looks down at me like I’m crazy.

“Definitely not!” He exclaims.

“Louis. It’s your birthday!” I say.

“It’s okay! You've already done a lot for me today,” He explains.

“I haven’t done much!” I say looking up at him.

“Well you’ve done more than you know,” He says, bending down to kiss my lips.

He pulls away and I pout.

“Sorry sweetheart!” He says regarding ending the kiss. “I just need to get this point across. You’ve done a lot. A lot more than you think! Because all the little things you do, mean everything to me. Like your little surprise at midnight, the way you smile and look at me like I’m the only one you see, when you give me cute random kisses, hold my hand, when you baby me, when I ask you for clothing advice. Like the things you do, don’t go unnoticed. Because I notice and I’m aware of it all. You’ve done so much and now you bring me to London and tell me you got us a room. It’s more than I could ever ask for. Really,” He says as he holds both of my hands and looks at me as he speaks.

“Louis,” I say as I look up at him in awe. “I do all these things naturally. I don’t keep my eyes on you because I expect you to notice or because I want you to pay attention to what I do. When those small things happen it’s because I genuinely do them. Like they just happen at the moment. It happens because I care for you because I’m in love with you. I hold your hand and kiss you randomly because that’s what my heart and soul desire. You’re the one that my heart desires. It will always be you and I will always love you. This little trip to London is nothing compared to how much I feel and care about you! We could spend the day in Bora Bora or in your bed and I’d be happy just to be with you,” I say, intertwining our fingers as our hands are already being held.

“And I feel the same way. As long as I’m with you I’m happy. It doesn’t matter where we are, I’ll always be glad to be with you. My heart desires you too. Like if the body was ruled by the heart instead of the brain I’d be kissing you 24/7, nonstop, all the time. I’d have you on me and against me for like ever!” He says with a cheeky smile.

I shake my head and smile.

“The workers are probably wondering if we’re going to buy something or if we’re just going to longingly look into each other's eyes the whole time!” I say with a chuckle.

Louis lets out a laugh. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here!”

“Before we leave. Are you sure you don’t want you to get anything?” I ask before we exit.

“Definitely not!” He says with a chuckle.

I giggle. ‘Okay.”

We exit the shop.

“Now the real question is do you want me to buy you anything?” He says holding onto my arms as he moves in front of me blocking my sight.

“If you don’t let me buy you anything, I’m not letting you buy me anything!” I say with sass.

Louis snickers and rolls his eyes.

“Why do you make things so complicated?” He says as we continue to walk.

“What? I’m not even making it complicated!” I say letting out a laugh.

He stays quiet and tries to hide the smile that’s daring to show.

I smile and roll my eyes.

“You’re-”

He quickly shushes me and places a finger onto my lips.

“I’m not complicated!” He immediately says as he injects my sentence.

My mouth is left agape.

“If you weren’t complicated and extra, you wouldn’t have shushed me!” I interject.

He rolls his eyes.

“Whatever,” He says.

I look away from him with a smile, shaking my head.

We walk around the shops with our hands intertwined.

“I still can’t believe I have a car now. That’s insane!” He beams as he looks down at me.

“I know, right? It’s quite nice,” I smile up at him.

He nods and hums in amusement.

My eyes wander around and I gasp once I see a bakery.

“What?” Louis questions at my gasp.

“We have to go here! Come on! Come on,” I demand as I pull Louis towards the direction of the cake shop.

Louis takes a look inside the large windows and realizes it’s a bakery in which you get to decorate your own cake.

He sees my large smile and shakes his head.

“If you insist,” He says with a laugh.

“Oh come on. It’ll be fun. We’ll get to eat the cake that we decorate!” I say knowing he wants to do it just as much as me.

“Oh alright.” He says with a playful eye roll.

“Yayy!” I say and tippytoe to kiss his cheek.

His cheeks flush and we both enter the shop.

We get handed a cake and get told where all the decorations and supplies were located.

“Let’s get started!” Louis smiles as we comfortably sit across from each other.

The round cake that’s covered in fondant is placed on the table.

Louis opens up a package that contains more fondant.

“I’m thinking of getting these cutters and shaping the fondant into random things,” Louis says as his focus is on trying to open up the fondant. I giggle at how hard he’s trying.

“Yeah, I grabbed a couple of cutters too!” I say placing them on the table.

“Ooo let me see!” Louis curiously says.

I smile and start explaining what each cutter is.

“So I got this star because you’re my star and because you’re becoming an excellent star in the business. Everyone’s going to know who you are!” I start and pause as I notice how interested Louis is in my choice of cutters, making me blush.

Louis hums for me to go on. His head in the palm of his hands.

I nod and go on. “Then I got this heart to represent how I feel about you,” I say, holding it up for him to see.

“Oh now you’re making me feel so basic about mine,” He gushes, causing me to laugh.

“I’m sure they’re great!” I say.

Louis picks up one of his cutters with a huge smile on his face trying to suppress his laughter but completely fails letting it all out.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” He says in between laughs. “So this one is of a little boy,” He says, holding it out for me to see. “I don’t know why I got it but I just did. I guess it can be me.” He dumbly says.

I furrow my brows and let out a smile.

“Okay?” I say letting out a small laugh. “Makes sense.”

“And then I got a ‘1’ and ‘8’’ He ends, holding the two numbers together to make an ‘18’.

“You’re so adorable you know that?” I say grabbing the fondant that Louis previously opened.

“Yeah, I think so,” He arrogantly says with a playful shrug.

I roll my eyes.

We start placing the cutters on the fondant and sticking them onto the cake.

“It’s coming along nicely,” Louis says as we finish adding all the shaped fondant.

I nod in agreement.

“Time for the icing!” I excitedly say, grabbing it.

“Take full reign,” Louis says, eyeing my next move.

I smile and start writing ‘Happy Birthday Louis’ on the face of the cake with an exclamation point. But instead of the exclamation point having a period at the bottom it has a heart.

“There,” I say with a proud smile.

“Perfect!” Louis softly says at the finished product and looks up at me. “You’re perfect.”

I melt at his compliment and pout. He goes to grab my hand from across the table and sweetly smiles.

“I love you,” He says with a voice to die for.

“I love you too!” I say softly to him. I lean over the table and sweetly peck his lips. He smiles.

“Shall we go now?” He asks and I nod.

Our cake gets placed in a box to go and I pay for the cake.

Louis frowns.

“It’s your birthday okay?” I say holding onto his hand.

He grunts to himself, causing me to laugh.

“Thank you!” Louis says to the worker as he gets handed the box.

We head out of the shop hand in hand. One hand was holding mine and his other was holding the box of cake.

“What time do we have to check into the hotel?” Louis asks as we walk mindlessly through the city.

“There’s no specific time,” I responded.

He smiles like he’s got something up his sleeve.

“Why?” I inquire.

“I have the perfect spot!” He beams with a huge toothy smile.

“Alright.” I say slowly waiting for him to reveal more of his ‘perfect spot’.

“So there’s this perfect place we can go to. It has a perfect view, it’s secluded, and we can eat our cake there!” Louis elated with beaming eyes.

“That sounds wonderful!” I say in awe as I swing our interlocked hands.

He chuckles and nods in agreement.

“We’ll have to take the car to our special destination,” He charmingly says.

I smile in favor and hand him the keys.

As soon as we make it to the car he lets go of my hand and jogs over to open the passenger side door.

“Aww. You’re so sweet, babe!” I say pouting and going in for a quick kiss.

He chuckles and closes the door for me once I’m seated in his car.

He gets in the car and places the cake in the backseat.

“Okay.” He says once he fastens his seatbelt. “It’s not too far from here but we’ll probably get stuck in traffic. Which isn’t that bad because we’ll kill time and make it right on time for the sunset,” He rants, pulling out of his parallel parking and onto the road.

“Wow, babe. That's kinda hot,” I let out. My eyes were on his hands that were placed on the fine black steering wheel.

He quickly looks over at me and chuckles.

His right hand leaves the steering wheel and firmly makes it onto my thigh.

“Hey! Both hands on the wheel sir!” I remark.

“Oh shove off!” He says with an eye roll which ends with my chuckle.

I place my hand on top of his and I see the smile that grows on his face making me feel the butterflies all over again.

“I can never get over the fact of how lucky I am to have you, Louis,” I softly say looking over to him.

“If anything I’m the lucky one, y/n,” He says looking over to me, taking his eyes off the road for a slight second.

I shake my head.

“I’m being serious, Louis,” I say just as soft. “I really am amazed with you. Everything about you,” I say intertwining over fingers and bringing our hands to my lips.

I sense his blush.

“Thank you.” He softly whispers. “I really appreciate it, love.”

I nod and hum in response.

I shift in my seat and lay my head on his right arm.

“You tired?” He asks, concerned.

I shake my head.

“No. I just feel comfortable is all.” I mumble out.

Louis nods cutely looking down at me in awe.

“This feels so surreal,” Louis says regarding driving his brand new vehicle.

“I’m sure it does!” I say standing up from my past position. “The sun seems to be going down,” I say looking out the window.

Louis looks out and looks at the sky.

“Good thing we’re here then,” Louis beams, turning off his car at the side of an empty street.

“Where are we?” I say unbuckling my seatbelt.

“You’ll see. Now come on!” Louis says getting out of the car and reaching out for the cake.

I chuckle in confusion as I get out of the car, following his lead.

“Come here,” He calls out to me with his hand out.

I skip over to him, grabbing his hand.

He leads me across the street to what seems like an abandoned parking building.

“The view looks amazing from up there!” Louis says as he leads me into the first floor of the parking structure. We make it to the stairs and start the venture up it.

“It’s a bit long but it’s worth it, I promise!” He says excitedly.

I laugh and nod.

Everything is worth it when I’m with him.

The flight of stairs was lengthy, it was around a dozen floors worth of stairs.

The sky was in full view when we finally made it to the rooftop of the building.

“Nice, right?” Louis says pulling me into him.

“Yeah. Nice.” I say looking around at the beautiful setting sky. “It looks beautiful.”

“It does and just wait for it to get dark! You’ll see all the lights from here. It really is an incomparable view,” Louis explains and finds a spot for us to sit that catches the view perfectly.

The sky showcased a nice array of deep colors. I hold onto Louis' hand and lay my head on his shoulder. I lay comfortably on him and he puts an arm around me.

“God I love you!” Louis sighs after a moment of silence.

I blush and look down.

“You’re adorable.” He lovingly says once he realizes I’m a blushing mess.

He pets the top of my head and looks out into the dazzling city of London.

“I wouldn’t trade this for the world,” I softly let out into the air.

“Me neither,” Louis hums, looking down at me and smiling.

“Your smile always kills me,” I say with rosy cheeks.

“My smile is just my body expressing and saying what I can’t form into words. I just look at you and I’m like damn.” Louis says, his voice lowering towards the end.

I smile and leave kisses on his hand.

“Shall we open our cake?” Louis asks, grabbing the box.

“Yes!” I beam out and situate myself up

Louis opens up the box and takes out the cake.

“Let me take one last look at it before it’s gone,” He says to himself as he takes one last look at it.

“Hey!” He calls out. “I didn’t know you added this?” Louis says with a surprised look on his face, pointing at the crown shaped fondant.

I geekily smiled.

“I added it while you weren’t looking! It signifies you being my prince, my king.” I shyly say, placing my hand on the opposite side of his face and placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Aww. Baby!” He says slightly putting his body over mine, causing me to lean back. “You’re my queen,” He whispers against my lips, his body threatening to push me against the floor.

He looks down at my lips and they flicker back up to my eyes and without hesitation he presses his lips against mine, causing me to fall back. Our kiss deepens once I’m in between the ground and Louis.

Louis' hand makes it to my neck and jaw, holding it softly. We were there laying on a rooftop with our cake awaiting us. Louis lays on top of me and he pulls away, looking deep into my soul.

“Come on, let’s eat some cake,” He mumbles, sitting up and holding out his arm for me to grab. I do so and he pulls me up and we both sit.

He hands me a fork and we both dig in.

“This is delicious!” Louis says with a mouthful.

I giggle as he has a mouthful of the cake.

“Gosh, it looks beautiful out here!” I say, mesmerized by the bright lights of London in contrast to the now dark sky.

Louis nods and wraps his arms around my waist.

He looks over to me and then back at the view.

He prompts a kiss on my head and smiles.

I turn to look at him.

“What’s in that head of yours?” I ask curiously.

Louis shakes his head looking away.

“Just thinking of how amazing this moment is,” He lets out.

My heart warms up to his sweet thoughts.

I look down and place my hand over his hand that is placed on his lap. While the other is still wrapped around me.

He smiles at my small gesture. Loving how it felt to have my fingers tracing along the top of his hand. It gave him a nice ravishing feeling.

He couldn’t lie, he did feel a bit irked when the tickling of the tracing stopped when I went to get another fork of cake.

I giggle once I notice the disheveled look on his face.

He wasn’t good at hiding his thoughts.

“Come here,” I say with a laugh as I go to grab his free hand.

He laughs and I start tracing my nails along the top of his hand.

“I’m not looking forward to walking down that long flight of stairs!” I groaned out.

“We should just stay here,” He chuckled.

“Or…. You could just carry me.” I smiled jokingly.

“Do you want me to die!” He exclaimed, but his eyes immediately widened once he realized how that came out.

“What?!” I rose my brows at him in surprise. “Are you calling me-”

“No, no, no! Not like that! I swear! I just meant like it’s a long flight of stairs and it’s tiring walking down it on your own. I- I swear I wasn’t calling you anything like that! Carrying even a baby would be tiring because you’re holding something. Oh, fuck me.” He sighs as he tries to explain his horrible wording.

I let out a laugh and roll my eyes at him.

“You have such an amazing way with words, don't you Louis?” I tease.

“Oh stop!” He says, rolling his eyes at me. His smile curled up into his cheeks after he let out a huge sigh in relief, knowing that I understood that he was in no way saying anything harmful.

“You’re such an idiot!” I say playfully shoving him.

“Wellll I’m your idiot!” He beams.

I giggle and nod.

“Okay. I'm just glad you didn’t take it the wrong way!” He says with another sigh.

I giggle.

“I know what you meant, Louis,” I smile, pecking his lips in reassurance.

“Oh thank god!” He says with another huge sigh, holding his hand over his heart.

I let out a giggle with another eyeroll.

“Come on. Let’s get going before room service ends!” I smile standing up and lending my hand out for Louis to grab.

“Alright.” He smiles idiotically.

-

I hope you all enjoyed it!!. This was my first Louis imagine. So if you all want more let me know and request! Love you all!

Don't forget to leave a like and reblog, it’d be greatly appreciated.

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Love you all and thank you!

[fangirlings-things]

When I look at you

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x female reader

Word count: 1.8K

Summary: Anakin is supposed to be protecting you, but it turns out he does far more than that

A/N: I was having some loving star wars days and this is the result. let me know what your thoughts are, lots of love 💖

gif is not mine

“Senator Vustolt” Master Obi-wan Kenobi nodded his head in respect at the man he was referring to. His expression was calm, stern. His light saber hang by the waist of his Jedi clothes. The smile on his lips was sympathetic, friendly even. He wasn’t distant and cold like other Jedi Masters you had encountered before in Coruscant. No, not at all. In fact from what you had learned about Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was quite a good, reasonable person.

“Master Kenobi” the Senator returned his respectful nod in appreciation, a small smile also taking a hold of his lips as he did so. “I suppose you’re here because the Chanceler asked you to accompany me to the meeting of the Senate today?”

“That is correct” Obi-wan replied, being capable of noticing the small hint of satisfaction in the man’s tone. Differently from many other members of the Senate, that thought the overprotection of the Jedi, that had been firmly requested by the Chanceler after some received vicious attacks, to be unnecessary, Senator Vustolt considered it to be 'quite essential in such troubled times', as he had said himself more than once. “I’ll safely escort you to the meeting and then bring you back here, to your quarters”

“What about my daughter?” the Senator placed one of his hands on your shoulders, the squeeze he gave on it making you smile at how worried he was. The Jedi had been protecting you both for more than a month now and still, he seemed to be always on the point of bursting out of nervousness. “I can’t leave her here without you any protection”

“My Master has ordered me to stay here with her, Senator Vustolt” Obi-Wan's Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, spoke for the first time ever since they had both entered your father’s quarters, minutes ago. He had his hands joined in front of his body and unlike Obi-Wan’s Jedi clothes that were light, his had a dark tone of brown. His eyes went from the Senator to you as he said. “Your daughter will be very well protected”

If your father noticed the intensity of the Padawan's gaze on you, he did not express any reaction at all. He only seemed incredibly relieved by the news he had just been given. “That is quite appropriate. Thank you, Master Kenobi and you too, Anakin”

“Anything to help” Anakin smiled tenderly at your father, eyes back on him. You could already feel your face getting less flushed, now that his eyes had finally turned away. Everytime he looked at you like that, it made you feel helpless in such a way that you couldn’t even explain. Nor did you want to.

Looking at Obi-wan, you saw that his gaze went from you to his Padawan and then back at you. He sensed something in there, of course. He knew Anakin probably better than anyone else and also, had the Padawan/Master force connection in his favor. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise you if Obi-wan already knew everything. Even if he did though, he did not say anything regarding the matter. Instead, his eyes went back to your father and he smiled again. “Shall we go, Senator?”

“Yes, immediately” your father turned back to you and kissed your forehead lovingly for a brief second. “Be safe, my child”

“I will be, father” you smiled at his affection and watched as Obi-wan and Anakin exchanged a look, a silent conversation made between two people that knew each other all too well. On the next few moments, the Jedi and your father left the quarters. Once the doors were closed behind them, you turned to Anakin. “I…”

You didn’t get the chance to finish the sentence, though. His lips were on yours before you could even notice his approach. They tasted just like you remembered, a taste so good and addicting that you felt like the Force itself was pulling you towards him.

“Anakin” you mumbled out his name from between your joined lips, eyes closed and body quickly heating up because of his proximity.

“(Y/N)” he replied, smiling against your lips as his hands went to the sides of your face, fingertips caressing your skin. Your hands moved towards his chest, like they had life of their own. The desire you felt for him was there as always, just growing inside of you by each moment. Too fast. Oh, so fast you could barely handle it. “I have missed you”

You deepened the kiss at that, tongue touching his as your mouths moved together in perfect synchrony. You kissed and kissed until air had completely left both of your lungs. “It’s only been a few days” you sighted happily when your lips disconnected, resting your forehead against his chest and breathing in his scent.

“And it has felt like forever” one of Anakin’s hands went to your hair, fingers going between the strands like he loved to do. “Have you not missed me at all?”

“You know I did” you said, fingers clenching at the front of his Jedi clothes like he would just disappear at any moment if you didn’t. Honestly, you feared something like that. Jedi’s had a very strict code about attachment and the sense of duty. What you two had… was already a transgression of the rules he should follow. You didn’t want to leave him but also, you didn’t want to cause him any trouble with the Jedi Council. You knew about his past, the fact he had been a slave once and got released at the time by Obi-Wan’s Master, who promised him the training of a Jedi. There was no way you would him to give that up because of you. “Very much”

One of Anakin’s hands went under your chin and he pulled it up gently, making you take your head out of his chest and face him eye in the eye. His had such a beautiful, electric color. From up close, the scar on his face seemed bigger and deeper. You raised one of your hands and touched it slightly, smiling at the wound. He had said before that he did not like it but you, you loved that scar. Just like you loved everything else about Anakin Skywalker.

He kissed you again, just as deeply and eagerly as he had done before. You kissed him back just as much intensely, mind being a blur because there was nothing else that mattered in that moment. Nothing that wasn’t Anakin and the way he felt and made you feel.

As the kiss went on, hands all over at each other, you knew very well where it was heading. It always lead you there. And you loved it, like he did. But something in the back of your mind bothered you, made you nervous and not in the mood for doing such thing.

“Anakin” you said his name between kisses, one last moment of hesitation before pulling away and with your hands on his chest, you looked him in the eye, face blushed and lips swollen due to the kisses. “Can we just… be together, today? Not this. Just…”

He realized what you wanted, and noticed the concerned expression you had on your face, your beautiful features filled with something he couldn’t identify. “Of course, my love. Here” he grabbed one of your hands with his and slowly walked you around the room until you both reached the closest couch of the hall of your father’s quarters. He sat down and pulled you with him. You then found yourself with your back pressed against his chest, his arms around you in a way that made you feel incredibly comfortable and safe. In that place, with him, it seemed like nothing in the entire galaxy could ever reach or hurt you both. “What’s concerning you?”

You sighted heavily, closing your eyes for a long moment and then opened them again, to face the door by which your father Obi-wan had left before. You could feel Anakin’s breath against your neck and it calmed you. “I had a dream. A bad one”

“What was it about?” he kissed your hair, inhaling the smell of it deeply. Many times before, he had told you that he adored your hair and for the way his hands would always be touching it and he would kiss the top of your head constantly, you had no reason to not believe it.

“You” you said, shaking a bit in his arms. The images of the dream came rushing back into your mind and they tormented you. “I saw you fighting. Losing. There was blood and so much pain” you fought the tears that wanted to escape your eyes hardly, but some of them managed to win.

“I am fine, my love. I have no interest of getting into a fight anytime soon” he squeezed you even more tightly in his strong arms and even though that didn’t sound like Anakin at all, you knew he was trying to comfort you. “You had dreams before, about me fighting. You told me about them” he said, and that was true. Ever since you two began to form a bond after meeting, even before you got together, you started to dream about him fighting. You would always wake up with the sound of his light saber still on your ears, and the effect would take a while to pass. “Why did this one disturb you so much?”

“Because you were fighting Obi-wan” you told him, moving around the couch until you sat straight, facing him. You could see the confusion on his beautiful features and eyes as he processed what you had just told him. “You were fighting your Master”

“(Y/N)” Anakin said your name with that tone that always got to you, the one who made clear the affection he had for you. With one of his hands, he cleaned the tears from your face one by one. “I won’t fight Obi-wan, ever. He’s my Master and my friend. Why would I ever do that?”

“Y-you had turned to the Dark Side” you said in a burst, fearing you wouldn’t have the strength to do so. You looked away, not wanting to see the hurt look that would probably come from those words. You feared he would think you did not trust him for even supposing such a thing, but you had to tell him. “I saw your light saber, it was red. You were a Sith. And I was so worried Obi-wan would hurt you and I would never see you again”

His hands grabbed yours, squeezing it. Still, you felt like you couldn’t face him. “(Y/N), look at me” hearing his request, you couldn’t say no. You turned your head to him and when your gazes met, you saw his expression was not hurt or angry. No, it was calm. He did not seem even slightly shaken by your statements. “It was just a dream. I won’t turn to the Dark Side. I won’t fight my Master, it won’t happen. There is nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing”

You nodded your head in agreement, trying to push away the dream that had been too real. Anakin pulled you into his arms again in a hug and you felt once again, safe in there. According to your dream though, he was the one who needed safety. “You know just how much I love you right?”

You weren’t looking at him, but you knew he smiled. You could perfectly picture that smile with your eyes closed. “Yes, and I love you too. More than you can imagine”

Five weeks later, your dream proved itself to be not only a dream, but a premonition of what was to happen.

Little by little, you began to see the Dark Side in Anakin.

[hains-mae]

Flowers - Pt. 4

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (end)

(Damian x Reader) Soulmate AU

The Flowers: @call-me-prodigy @annoylinglyaries @zphilophobiaz @comic-brew @biglilwing @awkwardspontaneity  @mariiecapo​  @distressedearie​@lozzybowe

(Feel free to shoot me a message or comment if you’d like to be tagged)

Rating: T

Ages: Damian and you are 16, everyone’s ages follow after.

Summary: Soulmate AU where the wounds on your soulmate turns into a flower tattoo on your skin, if it heals with no scars the tattoo goes away, if it heals with a scar then the tattoo stays.

Notes: Thank you so much, for all the wonderful comments, likes, and reblogs. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I do not own DC. If I did, I wouldn’t make it as confusing as it is now.

A floating feeling encompassed me as I slowly roused. It was dark, wherever this place was. I wasn’t sure if I was truly floating or drowning as I felt myself fall in deeper. There was a calm light at the far end. Warm, and inviting.

I heard a sound. It was soft and rhythmic, like a beat, or was it more of a beep? There was a dull ache around my stomach and my lower back, which prevented me from moving. Not that I could move. My body felt heavier than a ton of bricks.

What happened?

Memories starting to swim around my head as I tried to remember. There were fragments.

Soft lights, and music.

Laughter and many figures dancing.

Men in suits.

Fiery hair.

Forest green eyes.

Perfume.

Paint, animals…

An explosion – I gasped lightly as the fragments pieced itself together.

A fight.

Damian…

The thought of his name pulled me straight into the light, away from the watery hold.

“Damian.” I mumbled as my eyes fluttered open.

“Oh sweetheart.” I heard a familiar voice sob beside me. My body didn’t feel as heavy as it used to, I was greeted with the face of my mom when I turned my head.

“Mom?”

She sobbed harder and hugged me. “Oh god, I thought I’d lost you.” Mom peppered my face with kisses. Her tears kept falling.

I lifted a hand and hugged her back as much as my body would allow.

“You’re here.” I sighed into her hair, inhaling her comforting scent. Without realising it, I had started to blink back tears. Everything that had happened, it was all so scary. I was sure I was going to die.

“I didn’t know what to do.” She pulled away and I wiped her cheeks. She wiped mine return and we started to giggle in relief.

“Mom, how did you – ” She seemed to know before I could ask.

“Wayne. Mr. Wayne had called. Said it was an emergency.” Mom told me, her voice wavered and she choked up again. “The last time I received a call like that was because of your father. I couldn’t… I didn’t know what to do, I rushed here as fast as I could.”

We hugged again. It really felt good to have her physically by my side.

The doctor came shortly after to check on my vitals. I seemed to have luck by my side that night. “Any lower and they would’ve punctured one of her organs.”, she told us solemnly. “And any later, you would’ve lost… too much blood.” Or in other words, bleed to death.

Mom clutched my hand all the while. She nodded in all the right times, and pursed her lips to keep them from quivering. I knew she was trying to stay brave for the both of us.

Once we were alone she pulled her chair closer to my bed.

Tucking her hair back behind her ear, she asked me. “Can you remember how you got here?”

I shook my head.

“Well… apparently Mr. Wayne’s personal assistant brought you here himself.” Her voice was steadier now.

“Oh… Oh!” I gasped, quickly getting up, and regretting it immediately. I winced at the sharp pain.

“Honey be careful. You’ve had stitches.” Mom eased me back down.

“Damian. His brothers. Everyone at the gala, are they okay?” I looked at her slightly panicked.

“They are.” Another voice joined us.

We whipped our heads up, Mr. Wayne stood tall at the door. “Everyone managed to escaped with minimal damage. I wish we could have prevented this.” He lamented, eyeing the machines and IV drop I was hooked onto.

My mother shook her head and

smiled at him. “You saved her, just in time. I cannot thank you enough.”

“May we come in?” He asked politely.

“We?” I tilted my head.

The man strode in after my mother allowed, and 4 more bodies filed in after him.

“Y/n!” Dick was the first to rush up to me, balloons in hand a cheesy teddy bear with the words ‘Get Well Soon’ stitched onto a heart. Following him were his brothers.

Tim waved. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

“You gave us quite a scare, princess.” Jason came up next, with a silent Damian by his side. Damian held up a bouquet of flowers.

“You guys…” I felt so moved at their gesture. Stealing a glance at my mom, she looked so surprised it was funny.

“This is *insert your mom’s name here*, everyone. Mom, meet Mr. Wayne’s sons.” My mom gasped lightly and stood to shake their hands.

“It’s an honour to meet you.” She smiled at them.

“The honour is ours.” Tim answered for them. “Your daughter was very brave. In fact, she saved our little brother.”

Mom paused and looked at me for confirmation. I ducked my head to hide my flaming cheeks behind my hair.

“I did what I thought I had to.” I said in a quiet voice.

“Nonsense.” It was Damian who spoke up next, he tutted irritably. “Tt. Don’t downplay what you did.”

I could only stare at him, thankful that he was okay.

“These are for you.” He pushed the flowers to my face. “Thank you.”

The petals tickled my nose and I was sure I took in some pollen at the mere proximity. I sneezed a little, wincing again at the pain in my stomach.

“Ah, Damian, dear, I think you’re suffocating her.” My mom said gently as she pushed the flowers off my face.

The boy quickly apologised, turning a pretty shade of pink, as his brothers snickered behind him.

“They’re beautiful.” I smiled and took them from him. “I’m so glad you guys are all fine.”

Mr. Wayne cleared his throat. “My sons are right.” He smiled at my mom and gestured for the door. “Mrs. Y/l/n, may I please speak with you privately? I’d like to extend my gratitude. And the boys seem a little preoccupied with y/n.”

My mother looked a little flustered but got up anyway to follow him out the door.

As soon as they were out of hearing range I felt Damian clasp my hand.

“Why did you do it?” He didn’t face me as he asked, instead he played with my fingers.

I gave him a confused look. “Do what?”

“You took the blow. Why?”

His brothers had made themselves comfortable around me. Dick sat by the foot of my bed, Jason took up mom’s seat, and Tim stood behind Damian.

“I had to. He was going to hurt you.” I answered simply.

“I could’ve handled it.” His grip tightened slightly and he looked at me straight in the eye. “You’re not invincible.”

“And you are?”

“You still shouldn’t have.” He said, his voice firm.

“Why?”

“You know why.” His gaze was intense, and for a moment he stole a glance at the flowers beside me.

A wave of realisation hit me.

The soul marks. Oh – How did I forget?

“I’m fine.” I tried to keep my voice steady.

“Clearly.” He scoffed. “Being hospitalised is fine.”

I took my hand away from him, suddenly put off with his demeanor. “Why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry.” He defended. “I didn’t need saving.”

“You’re getting defensive.” I surprised myself when I answered back. Where was all this confidence coming from? “Do I need a reason to save a friend?”

“No, but now look at what you’ve gotten yourself into.” He lifted a hand and gestured towards my figure.

“You were in trouble Damian, I had to at least try!” My voice rose slightly.

“Need I remind you that – you could’ve gotten yourself killed!” He shot back.

“Well, that doesn’t matter! I’m here now aren’t I?” I snapped.

“What – of course it matters! If you had died –“

“And if you had died – who would’ve protected them!?”

I regretted it as soon as the words left me. Immediately I slapped a hand across my mouth, horrified that I just probably spilled the biggest secret I knew.

“What?” Damian looked at me in surprise.

All the angry tension dissipated, replaced with a feeling of dread.

“Forget I said that!” I blurted out quickly, suddenly feeling hot.

“No, continue.” Jason pushed as he leaned his elbows to his knees. “Why did Damian have to protect them?”

I darted my eyes across the room, looking for an excuse, praying my mom and Mr. Wayne would come back and break up this sudden tension. I caught Dick and Tim’s eyes, and they looked at me curiously.

“I – I really am not entirely sure. It was just a thought –“ The monitor stole our attention for a moment as my heart started to race. I shut my eyes and covered my face with my hands. Taking deep breaths I weighed in the decision of telling them. I was only 80% certain, after everything that had occurred, it was hard not to connect the dots.

His stature, his hair, his voice, and most of all that damn perfume. I guess no one really got that close to notice.

Should I?

Should you?

I mean this was inevitable.

Was it?

I groaned to myself feeling even more conflicted.

“Am I allowed to say it out loud?” I whispered meekly. “Wouldn’t it… you know… alert people?”

Damian looked even more confused.

I carefully took his hand, and held it closer to my chest, regarding the camera situated at the corner of the room. Steeling my nerves, I drew a small initial on his palm.

R

Dick’s breath hitched. His eyes growing wide.

Tim’s was next. Jason leaned back on his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“But, how?” Damian looked stunned.

I tried to calm the heat on my cheeks that had now spread down my neck and ears. Playing it cool I  shrugged, and bit my lip.

“Your perfume.”

-x-x-x-

As soon as Mom came back with Mr. Wayne I felt a sense of relief wash through me. But he narrowed his eyes slightly, and I knew that he could sense the tension that was there earlier.

I gulped.

Then he broke into a smile. “I’ve taken the liberty of inviting the Y/l/n’s for dinner as soon as Y/n get’s better.”

My eyes grew into saucers.

Ah, shi-

“That’s great, dad.” Dick grinned broadly at us.

Their father’s phone beeped once and he fished it out of his pocket, his crystal blue eyes scanned the screen.

“Well, we best be heading back. It looks like we’ve got company waiting.” He told them.

They all nodded and got up.

“Get well soon Y/n.” Tim said as they all passed.

I was nearly astounded by their sudden change in character. It was as if the last five minutes didn’t just happen. Very good actors... but that was probably the price to pay when you were rich and famous. They played their part well.

Dick sent a dashing smile my way, and Jason did a mock salute. Damian on the other hand looked at me with calculating eyes. Brows slightly furrowed. He stuffed his hands in his pocket before following his brothers.

“Well isn’t this exciting?” Mom beamed at me.

I did my best to smile back with the same enthusiasm.

That night, Mom came back with her luggage, saying that she was able to take a week off from work to stay with me. I was secretly glad she did.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Damian being Robin though. Something was poking me at the back of my mind, like I was missing a connecting link to make the picture whole. I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.

Everyone knew the Bats were related, brothers and/or what-not. At least that was the news circling around. But if it were true, then that would mean Dick, Tim and Jason were...

No, that can’t be.

Can’t be?  My inner muse scoffed at me. Are you serious right now? Damian Wayne is freaking Robin. And you’re thinking it can’t be?

Still, it’s purely speculation. If they’re who I think they are... then Mr. Wayne is...

I sighed deeply and pushed the balls of my palms into my eyes till I saw stars. My head started to hurt from putting too much effort. It’s not like they wanted me to know.

Would I be in danger because I know?

Would they try to erase my mind?

How much trouble am I in?

I don’t want Mom pulled into any of this.

I was reeling with anxious thoughts.

They didn’t react much when I had told them. It was more awkward than the silence Damian and I endured during our first encounter. When mom arrived they just smiled politely and waved me goodbye.

What did that mean? Or am I looking too much into this?

Maybe you’re looking too much into it, my muse’s words echoed.

I decided sleep was for the best. My mother had taken a cushioned chair at the far corner of the hospital room with her feet propped up the coffee table. I giggled, despite myself.

Finally after fidgeting for what felt like forever, my eyes started to grow heavy. It was nearly 2 in the morning. I yawned and slowly let myself slip into the embrace of sleep.

Until I heard a tapping on the window.

All traces of fatigue vanished as soon as I saw the shadow. It opened the window and slipped in soundlessly.

“Robin.” I breathed.

I pressed a button beside my bed to push myself up so I was in a more seated position.

He didn’t respond. We stared at each other for a good few minutes. Neither of us really knowing what to say.

“Tt, this is ridiculous.” He grumbled under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll say.” I said without humour. “In just a short time I found my soulmate, then learnt he’s living a double life.”

Robin stole a glance at my mom and arched a brow under his mask. It crinkled to the movement.

I shifted my head from side to side and told him, “Mom’s a deep sleeper.”

Hoping I reassured him, we lapsed into silence again.

I bit my lip nervously.

“I’m not in any trouble. Am I?” I hated how weak I sounded.

Robin regarded me for a moment.

“No. I’m actually impressed with your deduction skills.” He answered, making his way to the chair beside my bed.

My heart rate sped up slightly.

“I wouldn’t expect any less from my soulmate.” He smirked at me as the heart monitor picked up my gradually speeding heartbeat.

“I’m not sure if I should thank you or...” I gasped only realizing then. I pointed at the camera.

“Don’t worry. Hacked it before I entered.”

I gave him an incredulous look.

“What happens now?” I tried to decipher his emotions under the mask. I suddenly found myself wishing I could see his eyes.

“I don’t know.” Robin leaned into the chair to make himself more comfortable. “How do I know I can trust you?”

I looked away, tilting my head just low enough to let my hair fall and create a curtain between us.

“My dad used to be with the GCPD.” I started. “Ever since I could remember he was always chasing after justice. Dad used to talk about you vigilantes a lot. He admired the Bats. Said he wished he could do more to make Gotham safer. Better. Greater.

He played fair. But corruption and crime were better at the game.” Fisting the sheets, I willed my hands to stop shaking and to keep my voice even.

“He paid for it with his life.” I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. “So I created the marbles. I’m not great at fighting, not the best with a weapon either. But I know science like the back of my hand. If I could help, even just a little — I would be honouring my dad’s memory. He believed in you. All of you. And I guess it was contagious because I started believing in you too.”

I gathered my courage and faced Robin. “That’s why I took the blow. And I’d do it again if I needed to.”

...

...

... to be continued ...

[simpforfictionalboys]

Struggle Part 2

Summary- Peter Parker isn’t the only one that is keeping secrets at Midtown high. Much less being the daughter of Stephan Strange and one of the only females in her coven, Y/n is in for a little surprise. (YOU ARE SMALL AND LOOK LIKE YOU COULDN’T HURT A FLY)

Pairing- Peter Parker x reader, Peter Parker x witch!reader, Peter Parker x Strange!reader

Warning(s)- Language, Action, Gore

Part 1

Circe started to bolt as she was in a form of a great Dane when you motioned for her.

“Circe, shift.” The animal shifted this time into a smaller- cat?- before walking closer to you.

“Whoa- this is the witch that is holding the time stone. What are you 15? You’re the size of a tooth pick.” You were tempted to snap something out.

“Bit of advice, don’t say that. Especially since I can manipulate everything around me including you.”

He seemed to look either annoyed or impressed by your boldness- but you had to guess that it wasn’t the impressed part.

“Play nice, Y/n. And Mr. Stark I would encourage you to listen to what my daughter said. Witches tend to have as big as a bite that they do a bark.” Your eyes slid to your father with a grin.

“So what is the plan? I mean why don’t we just shove this thing down a garbage disposal and problem solved.”

The plan was to kill all of the bitches that came after this little object that was hanging around my neck. The garbage disposal thing was sounding pretty damn good to me.

“We took an oath to protect this stone, and with that comes our lives. We take oaths very seriously. Our plan is to-”

“Try not to die while fighting a psychotic alien who is planning on killing half of the universe.” Matthew muttered out a curse as you slid down next to Wong as he looked over around the room.

“Well Hermione Granger's plan seems good to me but how the hell are we going to know when he comes.” A small smile crossed your face at the mention of the Harry Potter character. 

“And how come we have never heard of you guys before?”

“Because we deal with the more-”

“Bat shit”

“Supernatural issues. There are a lot more people in this universe than you think there are Mr. Stark.” That is so freaking true. Matt excused himself to go back to the Mastery half way across the world as his father sent for him to come.

“I’m going to build a stronger barrier around the mastery. It’s getting weak, that way I will figure out when something unknown enters our gravitational circumstance.” 

As you walked away you found Spider-man kind of- strange. He wasn’t talking much- well you haven’t really seen him talk at all he just kind of stood in the middle of the room watching the conversation with his mask on. 

“C-can I help?” You turned abruptly hearing a voice that you thought you wouldn’t hear for a hell of a long time because of the stone- even with his mask still on you could tell it was Peter.

“Peter?” You turned abruptly rushing to him pulling off his mask. “No-no.” He looked shock at the discovery at you finding it out so fast.

“I tried to make my voice deeper- I guess it didn’t work.” He said coyly as he gave you a shy smile before you launched yourself onto him. Him grabbing you with ease.

“No. You shouldn’t be here. You could get hurt-” Before you could ramble anymore he stopped you.

“You are the one who shouldn’t be here. You are innocent.” You loved Peter for that very reason he was so kind and innocent himself.

“I’m a witch, Peter.” You stated looking towards Peter with a coy look on your face reaching up to touch his cheek. “Is there any way I can convince you not to do this. Thanos will not hesitate to kill you. I can’t loose you, Peter.”

“I will be fine, and there is no way that I am leaving now.” He pulled you into a comforting hug that you seemed to love more than most things in life- you were in love with him of course.

“When this is over we are having a serious conversation.” You didn’t want to bring up that the chances that one of you (aka you) weren't going to survive were really high.

“Oh, yeah. You are going to teach me how to blow up things.” There was the Peter Parker that you knew and loved. “Is there a way that I can help?”

Yeah, there was, but you blushed even thinking about it. 

“Y-Yeah. I usually have one thing but it might feel weird. Matt usually does it for me but you will work just as well.” Better than Matt.

Slipping his hand carefully above your heart you noticed how he seemed to stop and get all freaked out by the proximity that he had close to your boob but he relaxed when you put your hand over his.

“et oblinito domo hac in praesidium.” You muttered under your breath until you felt a wave of power wash over you calming you down in the power surge. 

He looked over to you amazed his mouth open so much that you let out a horse laugh, not feeling weak from the power.

“So, um, you and Matt seem close.” Matt and you was a conversation that you didn’t want to have with him.

“We- we are kind of complicated. There are less and less female witches in the world and usually when one is born they- um- are kind of coupled up. When we turn 18, we develop our full powers but along with that as a- a offering of sorts...” 

You were hesitant to tell him the truth, it wasn’t easy to understand for people outside of the coven.

“You what? Sacrifice a lamb or something?” You laughed at the mention of the old timely sacrifices that you learned from Wong- to be honest you were pretty sure he was 1 million years old but that was besides the point.

“This is normal not for humans but for witches okay? We have to- ah- lose our virginity on the night of the first full moon after our 18 birthday. Witches are- very sexual.”

“What?!” Peter virtually screamed to you but as soon as you released the information. 

“We are not talking about this right now, Peter. We have to focus 

“Your birthday is less than a year away, Y/n/n. Why- why him? Are you guys dating?” He seemed to be hurt by even mentioning it when you brought it up.

“NO. We are not dating, we just- we have been friends since we were 5 and um-” He looked toward you to continue as your face blushed a deep red 

“Sex with witches is sometimes so mind blowing that it can drive mortals insane. Witches can’t always handle themselves that we can use magic during it. So it is worrying to have sex with mortals and usually we have to have a witch- You know what I am so done talking about this.” 

You couldn’t stop blushing so much that you had to turn around. You were always very shy and this didn’t help as you put hands over you head.

A pulse went through the air as you got a bad feeling in your gut undoing your small amulet you muttered a small prayer under your breath, “praesidium ut purgaret ventrem ego ad te”.

You turned back to him there was a look that you couldn’t quite place in his gaze as you as you reached up slinging the amulet around his neck before tucking it into his suit.

“You never take this off okay? You have to promise me that, Peter.” You fiddled with the amulet in between your two fingers as he nodded profusely. What you didn’t expect was for him to lean down and kiss your cheek as though to thank you but he pulled back and looked at you straight in the eyes.

“I’m not entirely mortal you know.” You were speechless, your heart beating fast but before you could make a move a loud crash sounded causing you to jump. Shit.

[imasimpforstevengrant]

Why do we like this clown so much?

Change the "we" for "I" and you get an usual tag I use whenever I post my content in Tumblr. And it sounds funny at first but whenever you start diving into that phrase, the deeper it becomes. So, I finally have decided to share my thoughts about this strange but wholesome attraction to this deeply flawed character. It's not something I usually do since I don't know how to write down my feelings properly and also in english so please forgive any typos (I'm from Chile so don't be surprised lol).

So...Why do we like this clown so much?

Why was it that a character precisely designed to scare and to disgust the fuck out of us ended up unchaining a series of feelings that shouldn't have taken place in a beginning?

Let's take a look at the background: Joaquin Phoenix was cast as Arthur Fleck/Joker in 2018. The first image of him as the aforementioned character revealed a deeply disturbed man. We knew the plot. A man driven to insanity after a brutal history of abuse, creating concern in people if the upcoming film would inspire real life violence. Incel violence and mass shootings, more specifically.

(the image in question)

As 2019 arrives, the two trailers generated so much hype that media needed to fuel its concern about it. Since it wasn't your typical comic book film, media basically bombed our minds making us believe this film was going to be a total disaster, an excuse to cause harm to others among other nonsense, as if the film would justify everything Arthur would do in the film, eventually. As the release date is closer, the film receives thunderous applause and unanimous praise from critics. At this, fans rejoiced and expressed impatience to watch the film.

October 5th.

People left the theaters amazed, shocked and genuinely moved by the inhuman treatment Arthur received in the film. The fear media tried so desperately to infuse in us with all the incel bullshit and such turned out to awake one of the most positive, best feelings in humans:

E M P A T H Y

The word that so gloriously cleared away any dark thoughts or actions not only proves media was wrong but it turned out to ridicule it in way nobody will forget: Hundreds of people advocating for mental illness, calling out to the kindness that could change a person's bad day and questioning how politicians and rich people are indifferent to social problems proved how much as a society we have changed in comparison with the one shown in the film.

However, since we are on Tumblr, I'll get straight to the point and try to explain why the fuck does this clown has us dying out of love and compassion (and lust).

I. Background.

As nurturing as we women are for a biological matter, we see a man deprived of a good job, is on seven different medications, working like a slave to sustain his ill mother, putting aside his own health and well-being to look for her, struggling to make his dream of being a comedian despite everyone stepping on him, underpaid and treated like a freak for a disorder he did not ask to suffer, which makes it impossible to be indifferent to all the horrible ordeal that eventually will reach the limit of what he can tolerate without going insane. It is impossible to not say or think, at least, that someone (even if it's just one person) should stand for him just as it is impossible not to feel the need to throw ourselves at him to shield him from people who hurt him or simply offer him our shoulder whenever he has had a bad day, specially when he learns he was sexually assaulted by his step father.

This horrid behaviour terrifies newer generations because they get a taste of what being a social outcast was like more than thirty years ago in comparison with today, where there's more acceptance and treatment for mentally ill people like Arthur. We see in him someone who could have been saved with a proper education and emotional support instead of descending into madness as a criminal. Others simply saw themselves being treated like him at some point in their lives and couldn't help but put themselves in his shoes.

II. Personality.

TRUTH BE TOLD:

There's something called "attraction by proximity". It is the explanation to the eventual love you feel whenever someone doesn't catch your eye at first terms of physical attraction but his/her personality does attract you. This happens to be the base of this situation. His shyness, introverted nature, tenderness and innocent desire to make people laugh and put on a happy face awake some kind of tenderness we cannot resist. This combined with the gloomy background increases our understanding (but not justifying) of the bad decisions he'll eventually take during the course of the film. This traces a line of harsh, almost hurtful contrast of the violence he shows later on the film. Once again, it is not justified in any way but it is certainly understandable.

III. Appearance.

Arthur Fleck is unconventionally attractive.

This happens to be a plus for most women. He is out of the male beauty standards (no abs, not too muscly or particularly tall), which makes him even more unique. It is precisely the fact that he's not a model one of the reasons women love him. He could easily be your man next door or your colleague or the guy you always see but never dare to talk for fear to bother him Because it's about proximity. Arthur looks like your common neighbour. He's not meant to be your typical desirable male protagonist at all.

... And yet.

Jesus Christ, he's so fucking hot I can't even---

It's not about how beautiful his green eyes are, his long slender fingers, his hair or his smile only. It's the charm behind it.

Another "magnet point" is the way he dresses. I know he's impoverished and his wardrobe tend to be repetitive but it is so unpretentious, so simple that is hard to not fall for. The modesty of the shirts, ironed trousers reminds us of a mature man deeply withdrawn into himself, love starved and longing to be seen and loved by others, like a war veteran who still fights the most important war: with himself. Is someone who needs to be listened and understood.

AND OF COURSE WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ABOUT IT?

He's also brought back the old gentleman outfit, white shirts, red/yellow vest, red suit and elegant dancing moves and the retro style of the film boosts this attractiveness.

People keep comparing him with the previous interpretation of Joker (Leto's) whose costume appealed to young women with a tattooed, gangster, mumble rapper crazy-guy wannabe which didn't connect with the audiences (young people in general). This supposedly was to match or even have a sexy, tormented and desirable villain like Marvel's Loki. We all know how that story ended but it's the link for the next point below.

IV. Transformation

This is a particularly strong point considering how much we loved to watch the process of this weak, powerless, forgotten caterpillar into a beautiful and visible butterfly that will gracefully stir its wings for everyone to see its colours.

When Arthur transitions to the Joker, it's so cathartic to see taking revenge on those who wronged him (even when we're not supposed to root for him) like seeing his shyness fading away into a vivid confidence when dancing half naked in the bathroom, or witnessing him making way to make his name known to people in Murray Franklin's Show:

Adding to this newly gained confidence, there's another turn on: the way he walks.

At the beginning, his pace is hunched and limping, displaying his submission to violence, which makes the viewer more satisfied to see his broken yet beautiful soul turning the past pain of his existence into art: he lets music guide his moves as a way to tell the world he's a new man by cutting most of the sick, evil roots that harmed him, that he's invincible, that no one can stop him. Watching this cathartic display of euphoria was the most iconic scene in the film, following his speech at the TV and the inevitable meltdown that caused Murray's death.

Going to further appreciation, even his clown make up is beautiful. Why? Simple. The combination of colours, shapes and the intimidating glare just embellishes even more the character.

The dark blue triangles in his expressive eyes makes the light green colour to highlight, specially in dark backgrounds, giving the impression he's piercing your soul whenever he stares directly at the camera. Same can be said about the red smile and emerald green hair. They boost an already intimidating look.

The cold and warm colours paint a picture of a man full of intense emotions, mirroring it in a simple yet masterful artistic way.

Another interesting point is the way Joker dresses. Usually we had almost every single live adaption of this character in purple coat, hat, etc. But this particular version is not following any comic, which gives more freedom to creativity and once again, out of the standards of what we could have expected.

Red is a colour related to passion, action, love, strength, motivation and excitement. As for yellow, it indicates freshness, happiness and enlightenment and finally, green. Green is renewal, growth and regeneration. Colours that represent a new stage in his life, a mirthful chapter at last. We finally get to see our battered, always humiliated protagonist (or hero) descending into madness, but finally free from his repressed man who held his soul captive like a bird to fly away, to never come back. An insanity that despite being his downfall, turned out to be his ticket to freedom as he walks to the light in Arkham Asylum dancing at the end.

Ladies and gentlemen: behold the film nobody asked... But the film we fucking deserved.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

❤️💚💛

[ardentprose]

Chapter 4 - Eggnog

I can’t decide if this counts as a legitimate chapter or a filler, but it exists so here it is. 

He clicks the screen of his phone off and lets his hand fall to his side. A sigh escapes him as Yoongi musters the courage to rejoin the party downstairs. He can hear laughter and the occasional shout through the walls. 

Glancing around your childhood bedroom once more, Yoongi shakes his head at the amount of memorabilia you have of k-pop stars. The last person he expected to be a fan of that type of music was you, but at the same time, he wasn’t put off by it. If anything, he was glad such a kind and respectful girl took interest in his pop culture. Not that he did much himself but the point remained-

Alright, alright. Quit stalling and take your ass downstairs. They’re just people. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Rather than walking towards the door as he berates himself however, Yoongi finds himself shuffling towards one of your windows, eyes taking in the serenity of falling snow and white whirlwinds drifting over the hills of what was already built up. 

“I like her. I like Y/N.” The words echo around his head sending pulses to his heart. Your smile, your scent, your gentle touch and affection. It all silently compounded upon itself, slowly chipping away at his heart until all at once the evidence was before him and overwhelming in your favor. 

These newly admitted feelings had him giddy and terrified. 

And slightly sick. 

Where did she say the bathroom was? 

The only one he knew was downstairs and he didn't want to go snooping around your private quarters of your home. 

Which meant downstairs was his destiny. 

With one last glance, Yoongi shuts the door of your bedroom and heads for the staircase. 

Each step down, he repeats to himself. They’re just people. 

They’re just people. 

They’re.

Just.

People. 

I like Y/N. 

Unheeded warmth flashes through him again. His cheeks are aflame as he rounds the corner and comes to the edge of the living room where most have gathered. There you sit surrounded by a halo of beaming faces watching you sing. Your eyes are closed as you sway in your seat, your fingers dancing lightly over piano keys. Yoongi waits at the edge, feeling like a renaissance picture had come to life and all its beauty lie in the brush strokes of your hair grazing your cheek. 

I like you. He thinks to himself a smile crossing his features. It wasn’t so much that you were different from any of the other girls. Rather he gave you a chance and you had proved him wrong. You were unrelentingly kind when he was rude. You took his cold stares and curt words patiently, knowing there was more to him than the walls he had built up. 

It took your smile and your touch to make Yoongi reflect on himself for the first time in America. He had come with his guard up and despite having a few ignorant people treat him poorly, he wanted to belong, he wanted to fit in. He wanted a place here to call his and now, with those pretty eyes of yours winking at him and familiar hands waving him over, he knew that place was right beside you. 

“Yoongi! Come on, we’re going to play Monopoly!” You say as the family disperses from the piano. Yoongi shuffles to the piano bench and offers his hand for you to take as you stand. 

Your palm slips over his and his breath hitches in his throat. Everything felt new and yet the same. Now that he had this truth brewing in his chest, now that he had admitted to his harbored crush, every interaction took on a new meaning. His heart had raced before whenever you grabbed his hand, but instead of excitement there were nerves. Was he too forward? Was he too stand-offish all this time? Having you like him back wasn’t even on his mind yet, but wanting to impress you - or at the very least be a good friend - was all Yoongi could focus on. 

“How do you feel?” You whisper, your breath tickling the curve of his ear. 

He offers you a tight-lipped smile. “I’m okay.” He whispers before clearing his throat. 

“Wh-What’s next?” He asks, hoping your proximity will grow so he can think straight. 

“Monopoly! D’you know how to play?” You ask, tugging him along to the dining room where the game was being set up. Half your family had opted out in order to catch up on sofas or watch the football game on television. 

“Kinda…” Yoongi did know how to play. But it was an entirely different ballgame when you added English to it. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” You hum. You guide him to an empty seat beside you and hand him a piece. Yoongi takes the small thimble in hand before nodding and placing it at the start.

Turns out English wasn’t an issue at all. Half an hour later, two of your cousins are arguing with you about nearly a thousand dollars missing between properties being dealt poorly. Boldly defending your honesty you fire back accusations on where the money had truly gone. 

Meanwhile Yoongi sits with a Cheshire’s grin, knowing the missing grand was in the two little red houses he had placed on his property. Between feigning ignorance and their assumptions Yoongi had no idea what was going on, he had managed to embezzle the money right under everyone’s noses. But no one would suspect the innocent exchange student. 

“I swear if you’re lying to me I won’t buy you Christmas presents this year!” You threaten your cousins who are just as perturbed. 

“Yeah, well we won’t get you anything either you thief!” 

“Alright, game’s over. Clear the table. It’s dinner time!” Your mother walks in with a heavy tray of turkey in her hands. Yoongi moves first to clear the game board, swiping the tiny houses into his palms and dumping them into the box. 

“Someone’s excited to eat.” Your older cousin remarks. 

Or to get away with the perfect crime. Yoongi places all the money back in its rightful place and your other cousin takes the game to be put away. 

In its place a beautiful golden turkey is laid before you. Glaze drips over the expanse of the bird and settles at the bottom of the glass plate. The sweet and earthy aroma is tantalizing and draws even the furthest family members into the dining room. 

More dishes are carried in and each finds its place on the red tablecloth as guests shuffle past one another to find a seat. You remain by Yoongi’s side, having slipped your hand into his under the table. 

Yoongi feels you squeeze his hand and he squeezes back, the action erupting heartbeats a mile a minute. He hopes the steam from the marshmallow yams is enough to account for the flush of his face. 

“And the salad! Yoongi did all the work, chopping up the vegetables for us.” Your mother announces sending eyes his way. Yoongi flushes deeper, instinctively squeezing your hand on his thigh at the new attention. 

“So he can cook too! Nice.” One of your male cousins winks as he slides into his seat. 

“Yeah he’s actually useful.” You don’t hesitate to quip back at him. Another short round of insults ensues until your father claps his hands settling everyone down to eat. 

Dinner goes by with multiple conversations echoing around Yoongi. Having already been through the routine questions, most of your family left him alone, which he was thankful for. 

Scooping mashed potatoes into his mouth a small satisfied hum leaves his throat. Licking his lips, he cuts off a piece of turkey and has to suppress a groan at the way it melts in his mouth. He would have to thank Hoseok for convincing him to go. American food was rich and sweet, not lacking in any flavor department. Although he missed the familiar seafood aroma of homemade dinners, Yoongi felt like a king at a feast with the amount of food laid before him. 

The salad was pretty damn good too.

After dinner the party separates, some peer through the curtains at the brewing storm and call it an early night. Cousins are rounded up and hugs are exchanged. Yoongi stays with the party that’s decided to stay for another round of drinks, choosing to brave the storm at a later hour. He cleans the table of plates and discarded silverware, handing them off to your mother who smiles generously at him. 

“Here you are, hon.” Taking the last handful of spoons from Yoongi, your mother hands him a glass of thick white substance with the consistency of a milkshake. 

“Thanks.” He nods respectfully, too deep into his food coma to gather the English words to ask what it is. Thankfully your mother reads his expression. 

“It’s eggnog.” 

“Egg?” Yoongi quirks a brow, swirling the cup in his hand. 

“Spiked too, so don’t get too carried away with it. I would stick to two glasses under my roof, alright? Go on ahead in the living room. Y/N should be finishing up her goodbyes by now.” 

Yoongi nods and follows her instructions. He rounds the hall having become familiar with the layout to your house over the course of the night. 

You are just hugging the last cousin and waving them off as Yoongi approaches. 

You close the door after another round of promises to talk soon with a resound click. Slumping against the door, you peek over your shoulder at Yoongi and offer him a small smile. 

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” You laugh lightly but the exhaustion is evident in your voice. Yoongi stretches out his arm and offers the glass in his hand. 

“Eggnog?” 

“Oh, yes please.” You take a sip and hum at the creamy taste reminiscent of holidays past. 

“Hey, you need to try some of this.” You grab Yoongi’s arm and escort him to the kitchen. There, you quickly pour him a glass and watch excitedly for his reaction. 

The taste is unique - creamy - and surprisingly doesn’t taste of egg at all. The rum sends a warmth through Yoongi’s body that is welcome and pleasant. He takes another sip, yet another, and then finds himself downing the glass. 

You’re on your second - which you set aside to get him another. 

“Did you have fun tonight? I hope it was not... overwhelming.” It’s a relief to hear you switch to his native tongue after a long day of English. You top off his glass and he takes it back with grateful hands. 

“No, it was fun. Your cousins are entertaining to watch.” He says over the rim of his glass.

“Oh my word, they get so...so competitive over monopoly.”

“It’s a shame you never found the missing money.” 

Another sip.

“Wait…”you never found”...?” 

Amused, Yoongi watches realization shift over your face. 

“Holy shit, you douche! You’re such a jerk. Leaving me alone to defend my honor when you had it the entire time! I should have known.” You laugh and smack his arm. The touch is innocent but nevertheless, Yoongi winces as if it had actually hurt him. 

“Here, let’s take this up to my room.” You snatch the bottle of rum and tilt your head toward the stairway.

“Goodnight dad...mom!” You call as Yoongi follows you up the stairs. 

“Where’s Yoongi sleeping?” Your mother comes to the bottom of the steps, but not before you tuck the bottle behind your back. 

“I’ll set up the couch for him!” You smile. Yoongi sneaks a glance at your child-like smile in wonder. Had you ever lied to his face so smoothly like that? He quickly pushes the thought from his mind, not in the mood to spoil his night. 

“Alright. Goodnight.” Your mom nods, returning to whatever task she had been in the middle of.

You close the door behind Yoongi as you enter the bedroom, making sure it locks with a click. Then, you settle down on the carpet, gesturing for Yoongi to sit across from you. Idle conversation passes between the two of you, recalling the night’s highlights which lead to recalling funnier moments from college and complaining about the load of work due to be expected after the break. 

An hour passes and half the bottle is gone, most of it consumed by you and although both your faces are flushed, your cheeks are a deeper red through your complexion. 

“You know….” You smirk which leads to a short fit of giggles. Leaning forward you reach over to tap Yoongi’s knee but the momentum sends you cascading over into his lap. 

Yoongi balks, clearing his throat and lifting his hands as if touching you would set him on fire. Despite the fact your head is cradled in his crossed legs and you’re still mumbling as if nothing changed. 

“You’re nothing like her…” 

“W-who?” Yoongi slowly lowers his arms, blinking rapidly and trying to believe you’re actually cuddling his stomach right now. 

You puff your cheeks out and close your eyes. Humming you shake your head slowly. “You’re nothing like Bon-Hwa. Not at all.”

“Is she your friend?”

“She was. In...in high school.” 

“Oh.” Yoongi swallows, at a loss since you fell into his lap. He looks down at you to find you’ve turned onto your back and are gazing up at him with a soft smile. 

Silence falls between you and Yoongi doesn’t know whether to press the issue when you’re clearly not sober or just say something to at least cover the sound of his beating heart. 

You take his hand without warning.  Your fingers curling around his wrist. 

“W-Wh-What are you doing?”

“My hair.” You whine. “Please.” 

You set his hand on your forehead and close your eyes. Yoongi shifts beneath your weight, ignoring the feeling of his legs beginning to go numb. With the softest of touches, trembling fingers settle in your hair. Slowly, afraid you’ll come to your senses and smack him, Yoongi runs his hand over your head, repeating the motion and gaining a steadier pace as you hum in contentment. 

“She was my friend in high school.” You continue after a few minutes. 

“Korean student?” 

“Yeah. An ex- ess- she came to America for school. I was so nice to her.” 

You whine the last part and Yoongi suppresses a laugh. You were the last one to ever give yourself compliments so it was endearing to see you do so now. 

“But…” You inhale. Exhale. “She was a bitch.”

“Oh.” Yoongi nodded as if he knew who this Bon-Hwa girl was and let you slowly ramble your way through the story. 

“I talked to her first...before anyone else did. We became the best of friends. But-but then she started talking behind my back to other girls. She always acted so- so innocent and like she needed help. I bought her lunch and...and I gave her...gave her my clothes. She slept right there.” 

You point to the corner of the room where Yoongi assumed the space for an air mattress would lie. 

“But she told everyone I was a r-rude American. She even took my Suga poster.” You pause and it takes Yoongi a second to figure out you’re genuinely upset by the stolen merchandise and waiting for a response. 

“I’m sorry. That’s awful.” 

“It’s gone forever.” 

“I’ll get you a new one.” Yoongi promises without knowing when or how but as long as you stop quivering your lip he’ll do anything. 

“Okay…” You mumble. 

“Should we go to bed now?” Yoongi suggests while grabbing ahold of your shoulders and sitting you up. 

“Yeah, we can.” You lift your eyes to look at him and his breath catches. Are you going to kiss him? Can he kiss you? You’re not drunk but you’re not sober, definitely buzzed-

“Do you wanna sleep in here?” You whisper, as if your parents will appear out of thin air to drag Yoongi out the room. 

“I shouldn’t.” 

“You can. They’re asleep. Besides, my bed is cozier than the couch. And it’s cold. Look at the snow.” You point to the window and Yoongi’s gaze widens. You stand up and he does with you, walking over to peer outside. 

Despite the sun having set hours ago, the blanket of snow reflects enough moonlight to cast a blue haze over your backyard giving just enough light to realize there’s a good foot of snow outside. 

“Wow.” Yoongi breathes.

“C’mere.” Turning away from the window, Yoongi finds you’ve changed and are holding up the covers for him. He looks at his jeans and then back at you, causing you to roll your eyes and turn your head so he can shimmy out of them, leaving him in modest boxer shorts. 

You slide in first, growing impatient with his hesitancy but scoot over to the far end of the bed tucked against the wall and wave him over. 

Gingerly, Yoongi slides in next to you. 

“Wait.” 

Yoongi’s heart leaps into his throat. Did you change your mind? Are you going to kick him out? Accuse him of coming on to you?

“I forgot to turn out the light. Can you get it?” 

Releasing his breath, Yoongi nods. Quickly, he slides out of bed and flicks off the light, coming back over and sliding beneath the covers to escape the cold nipping at his legs. 

“Night, Yoongi.” 

“Goodnight.” 

[everything-is-by-design]

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Female reader. I had an urge to write some smut after a long hiatus. I hope it’s not too shit. Enjoy!

Word Count: 5k

Castiel x Reader

Warnings: Just straight up smut, dom!cas, some kinky shit too.

Reader has been suffering from nightmares while a horny Castiel dreams about everything he wants to do to the reader. Cas gets his wish and the reader finally has a good dream. Duel point of view.

Castiel sighed as he thought about his day. The four of you had gone on a hunt and things had gotten rather hairy. He remembered doing his best to protect you from harm and the feeling of relief when he knew you were safe. He looked down the hallway and it seemed to stretch out before him. He wanted to go into your room and check on you. But no, he wanted to do more than that. He wanted to hold you and touch you. A shiver passed through his body as he daydreamed about being more than a little intimate with you. He wanted to push you up against the wall and hold your hands above your head. He wanted to pleasure your cunt and make you look at him while he did it. Castiel leaned against the wall of the bunker for support as his breathing quickened exponentially. “Why, Father? Why her? Why someone I can’t get away from?”

Castiel walked down the hallway slowly, thinking of your naked body up against his, your hands tied behind your back. He thought of fucking you senseless and you screaming out his name like some kind of unholy prayer. Castiel covered his face with his hands, “If I knew having a Mate was going to be this infuriating, I would have opted out of it all together.”

He hung his head low and slumped his shoulders down. As if in defeat. When suddenly, he heard distress coming from your room. You were his first priority, he could worry about his urges another time. He walked quickly to your room and knocked firmly on your door…

“I’m coming to get you. I’m coming to get you. I’m coming to hurt you. I’m coming to kill you.” A horrible smoke beast shrieked at the top of its lungs as it hurdled towards you. You ran as fast as you could until reaching the end of the road; a cliff. With the monster close at your heels you had two choices. Fight or die. Unfortunately, you didn’t have time to decide because the earth crumbled underneath you. You tried to scream as you fell, but nothing came out. Then everything went black.

You shot up in bed, breathing ragged and sweat pouring down your face. Your pillow was soaked with sweat and you noticed your fists curled around the blankets, knuckled white as a sheet. Before you could get your barring, you heard three raps at your door. You slowly started to realize where you were; the bunker. Your voice shook when you answered, “Y-Yes?”

“Can I come in?” You heard a gruff voice say from the other side of the door.

“Yes,” You said, trying to keep your voice steady. The door opened and a confused Castiel entered your room. He shut the door behind him which, oddly, made you start to hyperventilate. You couldn’t help but feel invisible walls closing in around you. “Hi, Cas.”

“Are you alright, Y/N? You’re heartbeat is elevated and your breathing is rapid.” Castiel’s brow was slightly furrowed as he studied your current state. You gestured for him to sit on the end of your bed and he complied.

“I’m f-fine,” You cursed yourself for stuttering in his presence. You never liked to show weakness around angels, especially Castiel. You’d been drawn to him since you first met the Winchesters but you refused to show it. There could be nothing good regarding loving an angel. And yet, you always found yourself entranced.

“If you tell me what’s wrong, maybe I can help,” Castiel offered.

“I had…a bad dream,” You said, making eye contact with him for a split second and then looking away.

Shock spread over his face, “Does this normally happen when you have nightmares?”

“Every time, yes,” You nodded.

“How often does it happen?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned for your wellbeing.

“Every night,” You said, feeling a rather unpleasant shiver run down your spine.

His eyes widened slightly. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

You shrugged, letting go of your blankets and gestured towards him. “What could you have done? Made some warm milk? Made me a lavender eye pillow? Nothing helps. Look,” you paused, opening your bedside table’s drawer. You reached in and pulled out a small pill bottle. You shook the canister in front of him. “Even these little fuckers don’t help.”

“Clearly, this has gotten out of hand. We could have called Rowena, she might have had a spell that would help.” Castiel moved a little closer to you in an attempt to be comforting.

“That wouldn’t have worked either,” You spat. You drew back, shocked at your attitude towards this whole thing. It wasn’t like it was Castiel’s fault. You didn’t apologize to him but you tried to relax your tense muscles a bit.

“Why not?” Castiel asked, getting a little frustrated with your attitude.

“It’s like the monsters in my dreams know that I’m alone. They know that I’m an easy target. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. I don’t know if I’ve been cursed or what, but I’m so tired, I just want to sleep.” You couldn’t help the few tears that escaped your eyes and ran down your cheeks. This seemed to greatly alarm the angel and he reached out a hand and laid it on your arm. The moment his skin made contact with yours, you felt an intense jet of energy spread through you. He looked at his hand, did he feel that too?

He moved even closer to you and using his other hand, wiped away your tears. He drew back his hand and a bright shine of blush passed over his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly and didn’t make eye contact. “Uh, would it be helpful if I stayed with you for the rest of the night?”

Your heart, that had relatively calmed down by now, started beating faster again. But this time it wasn’t from fear. He seemed to notice and gestured as if to take back his offer. You did something out of the ordinary and grabbed onto his hand. “Stay, please.”

He blinked and his flushed cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. He stood and grabbed a chair and brought it to face the bed.

You narrowed your eyes, “So, what? You’re just gonna sit there and stare at me?”

Castiel looked at the chair and then to the empty side of your bed. “Do you have another idea?”

It was your turn to blush this time. You ran your fingers through your hair and shrugged, “Well, um, you could sit next to me, on the, uh, bed.”

He gulped, looking nervous. Cas thought about what he’d rather be doing to you instead of sleeping. A small bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck, betraying him. Castiel cursed himself as this was not the time to think about such things. He nodded and walked around to the other side of the room. He kicked off his shoes and took off his trench coat. Shit, he was taking off his clothes. You felt pressure welling up inside your lower abdomen and silently scolded your cooter for getting excited. He was an angel, he probably had never been intimate with a human before. He probably looked down on such a carnal act. You drew back the blankets for him and he blinked a few times at your action. The bed sunk where he sat and he leaned against the headboard.

You put the blankets up over him and yourself as you got cozy again. Castiel shimmied down the bed so he was lying down too as if to copy you. Like he didn’t know any sleep etiquette. He put his hands behind his head and let out a slightly shaky sigh. Cas found himself almost in a state of prayer to himself as he fought with his own mind. How he’d love to drive you into the bed, pumping in and out of your tight, wet pussy like a jackhammer. Castiel glanced downwards and was glad the blankets were covering his erection. You decided to just take the plunge into being extremely uncomfortable and asked him the question that had been burning through your head. “So, is this your first time in bed with a human?”

He drew in air sharply and held it there. You stared up at him while he kept his gaze on the ceiling. He exhaled heavily and replied, “No. Well, sort of.”

Instant jealousy spread through your body which made you prop yourself up on your arm to get a better look at him. “Who popped your cherry?”

This time he did look at you, “My what?”

You widened your eyes in embarrassment. How on earth were you going to explain that in a different way? “Uh, your virginity?”

And just like that he snapped his gaze away from you once again. His chest rose and fell slowly, like he kept holding his breath and forgetting to release it. “It was with a reaper. I thought she was a human at the time. I was human too back then. So, I wouldn’t have even known what she was without my Grace. We had intercourse, which was enjoyable,” He paused and rubbed his eyes with his hand. “And then she stabbed me.”

“Like literally?” You gaped at him, feeling a little less jealous.

He kept his hand over his face but you could see a faint smile on his lips, “Yes, she actually stabbed me. In my chest. With my angel blade.”

You covered your mouth with your hand. “Why? Was…was it because of the sex?”

A small chuckle escaped his lips and he met your eyes with his again. “No, she enjoyed that part. She wanted information from me and used sex and warm clothing to seduce me. I was living on the street at the time.”

You let all of that information wash over you and then smiled at him, “I was definitely not expecting any of that.”

“What were you expecting?” Castiel asked, looking sideways at you.

“I don’t know, maybe something a little less violent,” You offered. He turned on his side to face you. You leaned back a bit, becoming a little flustered by his proximity.

“Well, is this your first time in bed with an angel?” He asked and then immediately  recoiled, as if he felt his question was inappropriate. He silently begged you to say yes. Castiel cringed at the thought of another angel claiming you. You were meant to be his.

“It’s okay,” You reassured him. “It’s only fair. Yes, this is my first time, uh, in bed with an angel.”

You both were a little flustered and laid on your backs away from each other. “Maybe we should—”

“I’m glad it’s you,” You said before you could stop yourself. You turned and saw that he was watching you. You were sure that your face was beet red by now but you couldn’t help yourself.

“I am too,” Castiel said very quietly, almost inaudible.

“Would you be upset if my answer was different?” You asked, more to yourself then to him.

A strange kind of rage pulsed through him and he grabbed onto your arm. He pressed his forehead to yours and breathed heavily. “You’re not meant for anyone else, Y/N.”

You blinked, “What? What does that mean?”

Castiel couldn’t help himself at this point. He lifted your chin and your lips met in a very intense and desperate kiss. When he broke the kiss, he felt out of breath. He wanted you. He needed you. “You’re meant to be mine.”

“Says who?” You asked, a little exasperated.

“My father, he assigned our Mates,” Castiel said in a low and hushed voice. He imagined bending you over the desk on the other side of the room. He couldn’t control himself.

A thousand questions spread through your mind but as you looked in his eyes, you felt relief. You had felt a pull to him too, a great longing, a burning lust. And now that he had confirmed his feelings towards you too, you knew there had to be a reason behind it. You answered him by kissing him again, passionately. You laced your fingers in his hair and bit on his bottom lip. He moaned into you and you could feel the atmosphere getting lighter by the second. All that fear and pain from before had vanished. He was meant to be yours. You broke the kiss and he looked a bit shaken up. “I don’t want to spoil the moment but—”

A yawn hit you in the middle of your sentence and his eyes softened almost instantly. Cas didn’t want to stop. He wanted to ravage you right here and now, but he remembered how exhausted you were. Cas wanted you to be awake and alert and able to enjoy him fucking you. He let out a soft sigh, “Get some sleep, Y/N. We can continue this tomorrow.”

You snuggled in close to him and wrapped your arm around his chest. He held onto your back with one hand and with the other he held your arm. He kissed your forehead as you relaxed into him. Castiel eased up a bit, feeling relieved that he got a chance to tell you his feelings. He sighed happily, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

As you both drifted off to sleep you found yourself in another dream world. This world was different than the last though. There was no darkness, and no panic or fear. And absolutely no smoke creatures trying to eat you. You stood in a field of white and yellow flowers. You walked through it, letting your fingers touch the tall plants on your way. You stopped after a few minutes when you came to a four poster bed with white mesh-like drapes. You studied the bed; it had white crisp sheets, fluffy pillows and a lush duvet.

“Hello?” You heard a voice from behind the bed. You looked closer and saw huge feathered appendages appear from around the corner of the bed. They were attached to a very familiar face. “Y/N?”

You giggled, “Cas? What are you wearing?”

Castiel was clad in a white dress shirt, that was unbuttoned to reveal his torso and white pants. He was barefoot. He looked down, “Uh…”

You took that moment to study your own attire. You wore a light ivory sundress. It flowed around you gently. You wondered how because there wasn’t a breeze. You looked back up at Castiel, “Why are you hiding?”

He mumbled something inaudible.

“Yeah, I didn’t hear that,” You said.

“My wings, they’re kind of private. I can’t make them go away.” Castiel tried folding them behind his back but they kept popping out, almost like they were trying to get a better look at you.

You scratched your head, “Well, aren’t we supposed to be Mates? Shouldn’t I be allowed to see them?”

You heard him sigh, “Yes, you are, but I don’t want you to be afraid.”

This confused you a bit. You made a move forward but he held out his hand to stop you.

“Don’t,” Castiel urged.

“Cas,” You said, concern filling your voice. “Why would I be afraid?”

“This body is not my true form. For some reason my wings have come through in their true form. Not size wise, I mean my true form is colossal.”

“Okay, well I’ll be open minded then,” You said, hoping he’d let you see them. Castiel looked at you for a solid minute, his thoughts running through his mind at full force. You looked at him expectantly. Eventually he nodded and you approached. The angel stepped out from behind the bed post. You stood in front of him, a few feet apart. Castiel made a twitch-like movement and unfurled his wings. They spread wide, stretching and reaching as far as they could.

You stepped back, not out of fear, but out of wonder. You wanted to see all of them. They weren’t plain or white either. The huge wings stretched about eight feet long. His wings aren’t what you’d expected. Two sets of deep blue wings protruded from his shoulder blades. They weren’t a light blue or a navy blue. No, they were so dark it seemed as if they were black. A beautiful midnight blue, and contained within each feather were stars, some bursting into supernovas and some swirling into small galaxies. Along the top of his wings, where the bones resided were eyes. You couldn’t tell if they were human or animal eyes but they seemed to be cat-like with an amber iris.

You were stunned, mouth gaping, and a hand outstretched. Castiel flinched when your fingers made contact with his feathers. “Oh, I’m sorry, did that hurt?”

He watched you closely as you marvelled at his wings. “No, it’s just that…no one has ever touched them except me.”

“Oh,” You withdrew your hand, feeling a bit embarrassed that you’d done that. Castiel caught your hand though. He held your arm firm in his grasp but not tight enough to harm you. You looked up at him, he seemed a bit taller in this world. “I’m sorry, I should have asked first.”

His gaze was cast down upon you hungrily, “Don’t stop.”

He released your hand and you proceeded to run your fingers through his feathers. As you moved through the long yet light feathers, you stared in awe at the stars held within. You had so many questions. You could barely comprehend them as it was, you were sure that nothing would help you understand them, so you just took them in as they were. You looked up to the angel and were surprised to find tears rolling down your cheeks. Castiel wiped them away and held your face in his hands. He looked concerned. This was not the reaction he thought he would receive.

“You’re s-so beautiful,” You stammered. Castiel enclosed the both of you in among his wings, wrapping them around you as he pulled you into his chest. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”

“It’s alright, little one, I understand.” Castiel kissed your forehead and slowly unfurled his wings to release you.

You pointed at the eyes on the wings, “Can you, uh, see out of those?”

He smiled lazily, moving to lean against the bedpost again. He folded his arms across his chest. “Not really. They see events of the past, present, and future. They are the Eyes of Knowledge.”

You nodded. You looked around the field and then up into the sky where twin suns shone on the flowers below. “Where are we?”

“I’m not sure. I know we’re asleep. This must be some kind of dream realm.” Castiel said, looking around.

“Why the bed though?” You pondered, walking closer to the middle of the it. You caught the angel staring at you.

“Can you not think of a reason?” A sly smile creeped over his face. This was not a side of Castiel you were used to seeing.

You were a little shocked, “So, did we both conjure the bed or am I just that horny?”

“I think it was a joint effort,” Castiel said, slowly walking towards you. He placed his hands on your hips when he reached you and squeezed. The sensation sending shivers down to your core. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you?”

More shivers. “But it’s not even real. We’re asleep.”

“Well, we can always do it again when we’re awake,” Castiel shrugged. “Who said dreams weren’t real?”

He spun around, picking you up, and tossing you on the bed. You let out a small yelp of surprise. You sighed happily a little as you realized that maybe angels did enjoy primal acts of passion such as the one that was soon to follow. And the idea that Castiel was dominant and strong in bed rather than soft and gentle was a huge turn on. The hunger in his expression elicited more pressure in your abdomen, a familiar sensation that filled you often when he was around. “What are you thinking about?”

He shrugged, “Tearing off that pretty white dress of yours.”

You half laughed, “O-Okay. How often have you thought about this?”

“Ever since I laid eyes on you. We’re both able to sense the Mate bond but I feel it more intensely than you. So, I’ve been in heat for a few months now.” Castiel managed to shrug off his shirt over his wings. Your eyes glazed over as you took in his chest and abs. Holy abs. Not too defined but still chiseled to perfection.

You snapped out of your daze when his words washed over you again. “Wait, you’ve known about this for months? Why did you wait until now to tell me?”

“Would it have made a difference?” Castiel asked, sounding a little sad.

“Yes! I have feelings for you, I want to be yours, I want you to touch me like how we both daydream about. I’ve been going to bed for months with a vibrator when I could have had the real thing?” You were a tad exasperated with him.

You playfully smacked his shoulder. He caught your arm once again, “Play nice, kitty.”

Castiel moved over you, climbing up onto the bed, still holding onto your wrist. He gently, but firmly pushed you down onto the bed. Oh god, was this it? After months of waiting for this very moment, this was finally it? You prayed silently to not wake up and find him missing from your room. You felt the anticipation building and your pussy was slick with excitement and arousal.

Castiel raised your wrist above your head and then nodded at the other one. You willingly gave the angel your other arm. He held both of your wrists with one hand while his free hand wandered downwards. Before he reached your pussy, he paused, “Do you want me?”

You breathed heavily, “Uh huh.”

He shook his head, “I need an actual answer, Y/N.”

You smiled, “Yes, Castiel, I want you.”

He grinned, “That’s a good girl.”

You arched your back up and pressed your body into his at the sound of his words.

“Ah, you like that, don’t you?” Castiel asked as he lightly pressed his fingers against the white lace panties you were wearing. Your answer came as small whimper but it wasn’t quite the answer he was looking for. Sarcasm heavily coated his words, “Sorry, I didn’t catch that, try again.”

“Y-Yes, I like it,” You shuddered.

“Better, could use some work though,” He breathed into your ear. “Can you tell me your safe words?”

Your breathing was fast, “How do you know about safe words?”

He looked a little offended, “I’ve done my research. Go on.”

“Green is go, yellow is slow down, and red is stop.”

Castiel nodded, keeping his eyes trained on your panties. “Are you going to do as you’re told, Y/N?”

“Yes,” You answered audibly this time.

“Yes, what?” He asked, pressing his thumb into your clit over your panties.

A slight panic filled you as you hadn’t discussed a title for him. What should you call him? Angel? Lord? You had no idea and you were sure that any wrong answer would earn you a smack on your ass. Not that that would be a problem for you, but still. You took a short breath and just went with the most generic title you could think of. “Yes, Sir.”

“Good girl,” Castiel said, sitting up and undoing his belt. He motioned for you to move up to the head of the bed and you complied, shifting up towards the headboard. “Give me your hands.”

You did as you were told. Castiel bound your hands with the belt. He grabbed your ankle and yanked you down so you fell on your back. He lifted your hands above your head. You tried to slow your breathing as you awaited further orders.

Castiel lifted your chin with his hand so that you were at eye level with him. “Move your hands and I’ll stop touching you, understand?”

Excitement and anticipation rolled through you and you answered him breathlessly. “We wouldn’t want that now would we?”

Although Castiel was smiling, his grip on your chin tightened and he cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes, Sir. I understand.” You said. Castiel’s lips hovered over yours. You tried to reach for them but he pulled away. His hand traveled downwards again. He tugged on your panties and slowly slipped them down your legs. Once they were off he moved back up to your head.

“Open,” He ordered, seeming to get a thrill out of your obedience. You opened your mouth and he stuffed the panties in. Pins and needles shot through you and you revelled in the sensation, pushing your hips up against the angel again. Castiel slipped his hands between your thighs and studied your reaction. “Spread you legs for me, little one.”

Once you opened yourself to him that animal hunger returned to his expression. He lifted your dress up and over your head and hands. He kissed your chest, grabbing onto your breasts and giving your nipples a hard pinch. You moaned against him, desperately trying to lean in closer to him. His lips trailed kisses down your chest and abdomen until he reached your folds. “Oh my god, Cas.”

Your words were muffled by the panties but you couldn’t help it. He ran his tongue up your slick cunt and began to suck on your clit. You flinched, almost bringing down your arms but catching yourself. No way in hell did you want him to stop now. He pushed your legs further apart as he pleasured you, eventually slipping a finger into your pussy. He curled it up and and thrust it in and out of you. You moaned desperately against the fabric of your panties. He didn’t hesitate before slipping in another finger, stretching you a little. On and on he went until waves of bliss threatened to betray you. You trembled which clued him in. He lifted his head from between your legs, still pounding his fingers into you.

“I’m sorry, were you about to cum without permission?” He growled. Three fingers now. You fought your orgasm, desperately wanting to please him but also wanting the punishment. Your toes curled as he pushed in a fourth finger and you writhed and squirmed beneath him in desperation. You mumbled against the panties. Castiel removed them, “I didn’t catch that.”

“Please, Cas. Please can I cum?” You almost shouted. His hungry eyes cut into yours like a knife.

“Go on, then,” He offered. You released the pressure holding you there and your orgasm hit you like a train. You cried out in serene pleasure, your body twitching from the sensation. Castiel then removed his pants and tossed them on the ground, crawling up over you. He pressed the tip of his cock against your folds and held himself there. Cas revelled in the moment. For so long he had wanted this, wanted you, and now you lay before him completely at his mercy. He couldn’t bare it anymore and with one swift thrust, he was inside of you.

You let out a guttural moan at his entrance into your body. He started slow, with rough thrusts every few seconds. He pushed into you, going deeper and deeper with each thrust. “Oh, Cas, fuck—”

“Tell me what you want,” Cas growled, leaning over you. He tugged at your hair, pulling your head back so that he could kiss your neck. You felt a new sensation enter the mix. A high vibration hit your clit and you yelped at the contact. It felt like a vibrator, but so much more powerful. You tried to reign in your senses to get a better feel at where Cas’ hands were. He had one on your hip and the other gently grasping your throat. Then what the hell was that vibration. It picked up speed to the point where you were sure you were going to cum.

“Cas, I’m going to cum, I can’t help it,” You whimpered.

“Resist it,” He urged. The vibration seemed to split into two and with another thrust it penetrated your ass. You couldn’t help but cry out at the top of your lungs. What was happening? You were so overwhelmed by pleasure you thought you were going to black out. Castiel thrusted harder and faster into you relentlessly and without mercy.

You were moaning so loud you were surprised that you didn’t wake your sleeping self. You tried resisting the urge to orgasm but to no avail, it was coming and it was going to hit you hard. Castiel’s body twitched as he felt his own orgasm begin to consume him. You weren’t sure how much longer you could last and begged him to let you cum. “P-Please, Cas.”

“Yes, cum for me,” He said breathlessly as your orgasms hit you with a force unlike any other. You cried out desperately and Cas growled into the nape of your neck. He bit down hard on your skin as his cum filled your pussy. He moaned against you and fell next to you. He undid his belt and threw it aside, bringing your wrists to his lips and placing soft kisses there. He then drew you in and wrapped his wings around you to keep you warm.

The soft feathers tickled you. “Cas, what was that vibration?”

He chuckled, “It was my Grace.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as you marvelled at the idea. You both breathed heavily and Cas kissed your forehead gently as you both fell off to sleep.

You both woke up back in your bed in the bunker and your eyes met. Your panties were drenched with cum and his eyes were tinted dark as if the hunger had never left. You rolled over and moved to straddle him, “My turn.”

Castiel let a devilish grin streak across his face before the intensity started all over again.

[spnsmile]

"They're still talking. War room."

Dean nods absentmindedly, expression solemn. "Better give them some privacy, Cas."

Castiel shifts his attention to the hunter seated adjacent to his chair. A proximity they found solace after the frightening events of Purgatory still fresh in their memory.

Dean drinks and makes a hissing sound at the bitter taste. Castiel watches his every move, before the angel lowers his eyes on the table.

"They're kissing." he whispers, frowning.

"Cas." Their eyes meet and the hunter sees it coming- Castiel's on beat inquiry.

"I don't understand. If they want to be together... If they can kiss with so much passion, then why is she leaving, Dean? Why isn't Sam stopping her?" slight confusion, not harmful, only one unable to grasp the scenario.

Dean gives his best friend one of his longest look, and pray if Castiel cannot keep up. His angel best friend, the notorious eye-killer. Only Dean drops out quietly, pain etched on his expression, arms folding on the table.

Maybe because things are dire. Maybe because any moment they could lose each other. Maybe because its times when they need each other the most that Castiel is struggling to understand.

Dean falls silent, lost for words. If there's anyone better to explain the strike of fear and the crippling feeling of doubting one's reality, Dean thinks its him.

He's gone there. Drowned there. Created monsters of himself.

He swipes his thumb on the tip of his glass, before he raises his eyes to meet the squinting blues.

"Because..." his voice gets an octave deeper, "she doesn't know what to believe anymore. She doesn't know if what they have... If it's her choice or god- willed. She doesn't know if her feelings for Sam is real."

It's weird having to be the one to explain Sam's feelings but it's all a cycle.

A poignant silence where they hear the sound of the metal door opening.

Both angel and hunter look towards the kitchen door like they can see the entrance from where they are seated.

A beat of silence. Then sound of the metal door finally closing rings in their ears.

"Doubting yourself is hard." Dean says, his eyes closing slowly. He remembers when Cas left, "And Sam can't stop her even if he wants to. He's giving her freewill because, Cas... Not everyone stays just coz you ask 'em. Just cause you stop 'em. Sometimes no amount of pleading can do that, Cas."

Well, it didn't work for Sam going to Standford. Didn't work for his father always leaving them for a hunt... Not even when his mother returned. Dean smiles weakly at the memories, the hollowness deep inside his heart wrenching.

"I will."

Dean studies the angel's face for a moment. Castiel is staring at him like they haven't had enough staring contest since they've returned.

But just the thought that they returned safely. The joy of being in each other's company again. The closeness almost too comfortable just being there. Being together is enough. Dean isn't asking for more.

Then again, there are always his hopes.

Dean smiles a little and pours contents in his glass. Castiel's hand suddenly grabbing his right wrist takes him by surprise.

"I will as long as you want me. I will stay." Castiel repeats, deep voice rumbling between them straight to Dean's body, into his soul. Dean is taken a back for a moment. Then he smiles and nods.

"Okay."

"Dean, I won't go." Castiel insists, "So don't go away... Please, stay."

"I don't go anywhere, Cas. I'm the one people leave behind."

"Then this is where I will stay. With you. Because I never doubted for a second that we are real."

The amount of sheer will of Cas making Dean believe him while he gives the hunter's hand another squeeze. And it's this warm hand Dean covers with his own, the hand he nearly lost he takes to his own assuringly.

"Okay, Cas... I believe you. This is real."

He intertwines their hands.

Castiel stares at him, his lips splitting to a smile. Dean beams back and sighs when he tugs the back of Cas' hand's up to his lips.

This is real.

Full version: Hey, purgatory pt 5 ✨ao3 #aftermathCoda

#how do you cut this stuff 🔪

[jackidy]

Saturated Sunrise

Rating: G Pairings: Demyx/Ienzo, others implied Characters: Various Setting: Post KH3

Summary: Observations were his thing and, in all honesty, Ienzo was a very interesting person to observe.

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

Ienzo was strange.

Not in a bad way, Demyx thinks, watching the other flip through lab notes for something that he’d explained at least three times already, distracted by far too many things to take in most of the words. How could he not be? Recognisance had always been his forte, few people ever spent too long looking at strange folk with instruments playing for change in the town square, regardless of what world he was observing, it was always the same.

But now…but now he didn’t have an instrument to distract his fingertips, watching how something deeper than annoyance flickered onto Ienzo’s features, eyes break from the hastily scrawled pages of a report to the offended hand before back to his reading, muttering something quietly under his breath.

He’s switched his breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth. A calming technique. Was Ienzo anxious or something else? Demyx cocking his head to the side as he tried to figure out his new found puzzle. As Zexion, he’d simply fix him a flat stare and sigh to exhibit his annoyance with him, name him a fool and go back to ignoring him but with Ienzo it was different, his reactions more extreme in the short term before simmering off into seemingly nothing.

Demyx wanted to know more.

Wants to know the differences between the two, were they as similar as Axel and Lea or were they the polar opposite, Ienzo had already provided evidence for this. The shock of seeing him and the hesitation to move forward, the way he’d cried when reunited with his father, it was different but good, an unexpected surprise that had only served to hook him in.

Perhaps its selfish to want more, Demyx contemplates, deciding to put his focus elsewhere, the computer he’d more or less draped himself across, the tea stain on Ienzo’s lab coat on the cuff of his left sleeve, maybe even the black screens on the other side of the lab that had put themselves to sleep about twenty minute ago. Anywhere other than Ienzo before his mind started to-

“You keep frowning like that and I’ll start to think you’re not Demyx.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been quiet for thirty minutes and now you’re frowning at nothing.” He teases, Demyx enraptured by the small, almost shy smile on the other’s lips to the point he forgets to react to the comment, seeming frozen in time as he takes it in. Oh, he could get used to Ienzo smiling at him like that oh too easily Demyx staring dumbfoundedly as Ienzo spoke again only for nothing to register, Ienzo raising a brow at him as that smile almost, almost, broke into a grin.

“What did you say Zex- I mean Ienzo, I didn’t hear you.”

“Nothing important.”

He’s teasing him again, standing from the desk and stretching, a resounding crack that made Demyx wince whilst Ienzo just sighed, as if relieved to hear it as opposed to somewhat horrified. “I think…I think I need a cup of tea; I’ll be back shortly. Please don’t touch anything.”

And he doesn’t. He just sits and watches the way Ienzo goes, wondering if he had missed truly was important or not.

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

It becomes routine, after a while, for Demyx to come by the lab after he’d finished his rounds, watching the shorter man as he worked, making mental note after mental note of the little changes in emotion and watching for the flashes, as Demyx now referred to them.

Fleeting yet fascinating, it feels strange this role reversal, where Demyx becomes the scientist and Ienzo the unknowing test subject, watching anger flash in blue eyes before resigning quickly to neutrality and ultimately to something sadder, guilt perhaps? Demyx had felt it enough himself but had never really seen it worn by someone else so clearly.

“You need a break.” He states, eyes flicking up from the screen to fix the Nobody with a reluctant stare, looking torn between arguing against the request and accepting it, pale hands coming up to Ienzo’s neck, picking at something just hidden by the collar. Another new thing he’d noticed, he picks at his neck when nervous or overloaded, Demyx contemplating stepping down before shaking his head. “A small break might clear your head and help you think straight.”

Ienzo snorts, rolling his eyes insolently like he’d heard this a thousand times before, no doubt from Aeleus or Even, the latter always seeming to hover around like a mother hen whenever the older scientist was with Ienzo, seemingly unaware of Demyx’s presence or, the more likely, choosing to ignore him all together. But still, the young man gets up, shedding his lab coat before discarding it on his chair and walking away from the desk, pausing to turn only when he didn’t hear following footsteps.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

He clicks his tongue, fixing Demyx with a stare only a fraction less intense than something Zexion would wear when scolding him. “You, me, break.” Short and sweet, straight to the point with little room to argue, not that Demyx ever would have, scrambling upwards to his feet, practically bouncing along with Ienzo to first the kitchen and then the gardens.

They take seat by a wall fountain, the stress in Ienzo seeming to melt away with the sound of the flowing water, slouching against the cold wall and nursing the cup of tea in his hands like it was the only thing still tethering the scientist to the mortal coil. He looks younger somehow, pinning his hair back with one hand as he sipped his tea, the slight breeze seemingly an ever-present threat to tarnishing both Ienzo’s drink and hair.

“You know, I could probably get you a headband or some clips after my next shift.”

“Wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

You’re never a bother, he thinks, a thought and belief he’s held for long enough now that he’s fairly certain it was incapable of changing into anything but. He’s talking again, eyes lighting up with almost childlike curiosity as Ienzo talks about his latest project, the thing that had been bothering up until the point Demyx had requested he take a break.

“Aerith asked me to look for someone.” The flower girl, a sweet woman who always brought flowers into the office when he dropped by to pick up the mail for the day, the only person he’d seen so far that could lecture his new boss on something without the Blonde glaring as fiercely at her as he had done with any irate customer who came in to complain about a delay or lost delivery. “Something about your boss and an old friend.”

“He has friends?” It’s a jest and he’s thankful when Ienzo smiles at it, unsure of it the younger man had ever met his grumpy boss, Cloud, to fully grasp the concept. Probably not, he only left the lab to eat, sleep and when someone bothered him enough to get out of his chair but, even then, he only went as far as the gardens. “I thought finding someone would be easy, you’ve got the database all set up, right?”

“Right but…” Ienzo pauses, the guilt creeping bag in as he seemingly sags under the weight of it, “but most of them are on world or I have a decent description of. I only have a name to go by and the barest hope that maybe one of the keyblade wielders has heard of him.”

Again, he’s scratching at his neck, frowning at the flowers opposite the pair almost intense enough to make them wilt under the seer force of it. A distraction, perhaps, to get his mind off of the thoughts of anxious and inadequacy that were surely plaguing him. “It’s a weird name don’t you think?”

“What is?”

��Cloud.”

There’s a pause, Ienzo freezing before he laughs, genuinely, Demyx struck by just how magical it sounded as shoulders quaked, racked by humour. He wants to hear this again, never thinking that he’d ever get the other to laugh so mirthfully, Ienzo wiping his face before fitting Demyx with a look like he was about to break down into giggles at any moment.

“Really?”

“Well yeah, it’s a dumb name”

“Your name is Demyx.”

“I didn’t pick my name!”

He starts laughing again, leaning against Demyx this time as he tried to temper the amusement down, covering his mouth as giggles threatened to bubble up all over again. “I don’t think he picked his name either, besides people in glass houses should not be throwing bricks.”

“I will throw bricks and stand proudly in the shattered remains of my hypocrisy.”

Ienzo is silent for perhaps a moment too long, Demyx shifting unconsciously under the gaze before shrugging and laughing to himself again. “I never knew you to be so eloquent.” It feels like a compliment so he’ll take it, Demyx hating the bubbling embarrassment at the other’s words, wondering if there would ever be a moment he doesn’t fluster at praise. It didn’t have to be from Ienzo, he’d nearly crumbled under the kind words of an elderly lady over a simple flower delivery.

“Might have picked up a thing or two from some guy I know.” He huffs, hoping Ienzo doesn’t pursue the subject and, much to Demyx’s relief, he doesn’t, simply humming and sipping his tea, a silence descending on the pair that is neither uncomfortable or stifling, just he sound of birds, the town below and the pouring water of the fountain acting as the only thing rupturing the otherwise serene silence.

The scientist is still leaning against him, Demyx choosing not to focus on the proximity, the way Ienzo seemed to fit just right there or the way the cavity in his chest seemed to thud, the echoing thunder within it hopefully not that noticeable either on his face or to the man leant against him. It might have been just minutes but, honestly, Demyx wishes it had been hours, Ienzo finally removing himself from Demyx to stand, offering a hand to the other.

“Thank you.”

“What for?”

“Making me take a break and listening.”

He takes Ienzo’s hand then, pushing himself up more than letting the other pull him up but he finds he doesn’t mind, hesitating before letting go of the hand in his and mentally cursing himself as Ienzo, seemingly oblivious, made his way back to the castle without him. So much for observing his emotional changes, Demyx conceded, running a hand through his hair and refraining from just pulling at it. It’ll be fine, he supposes, following after Ienzo slowly as he attempted to get his thoughts together.

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

They meet outside the lab for once, Demyx finding the scientist in the kitchen as opposed to his usual place, lab coat abandoned once more in favour for an apron, the Nobody wondering how long he could linger in the doorway before Ienzo spoke up and summoned him forward. Maybe a while, he thinks, laughing under his breath, Ienzo was by no means unobservant but often lost himself in things, leaving him open to surprise on an almost regular basis.

His observations have become interesting, to say the least, notebook now brimming with excerpts and examples of how Ienzo reacted to things and how they differed from a typical human. Examples of how he’d exploded at Even in an argument the week before and how he’d crumpled as soon as he was away from the older scientist, looking to Demyx of all creatures to help him assess how he’d reacted.

A Human asking a Nobody how to feel, life truly was stranger than fiction.

“You know it’s rude to stare.” So Ienzo had noticed him, a small smile betraying the amusement the smaller man had in interrupting whatever it as that Demyx was thinking about. He’s wearing the headband that Demyx brought him, an admittedly joke purchase of the most ocean-based thing he could find in Radiant Garden, never expecting Ienzo to ever wear and yet, here they were, clownfish still visible even with the mass of hair doing its best to obscure it.

“Just thinking.” No lie to his words but not exactly a full truth either, Ienzo giving him an almost sceptical look before turning back to the chopping board, ignoring the blonde in favour of some shallots and garlic. Coming over to the join the other, Demyx takes seat at the worn kitchen table, far enough to be out of Ienzo’s space but close enough to notice the changes in body language, perhaps for the best considering his upcoming questions.

“Don’t strain yourself.” Ienzo retorts without hesitation, a small bounce in his step as he scraped the food from the chopping board into the frying pan, stirring once then twice before turning his attention back to the pile of ingredients nearby. “Should I even ask what about?”

“You, actually.”

Had he meant to be so honest? Demyx has no idea, biting his lip as he waited for Ienzo to react. Would he laugh or sneer? What response was he due to receive from the scientist who was simultaneously an open book and an enigma to him? He’s not entirely sure he wants to find out now that the silence has dragged on.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, about the conversation we had the other day.”

The silence is back, nothing but the sizzling of oil filling the air as Ienzo fell still, as if Demyx’s words had short circuited him, only moving when food began to catch, quickly chopping the rest of the meat on his board before adding it, a shaky breath before hands are under the tap. “I thought…we’re less likely to be interrupted in here, aren’t we?”

He’s never been here when Ienzo is cooking but he knows the labs and gardens at least always lead to another apprentice making an appearance and, if not them, then a keyblade wielder or former colleague that only served to quickly change the subject into something less important or for their conversations to die all together. Maybe Ienzo’s room but then, no, it wouldn’t do, someone would still interrupt them there.

“Yes but…” Ienzo trails off, rubbing his hands a little too harshly dry and swallowing, looking almost like a lost child as he looked between the stove and the kitchen table. “But I’m not sure if I…”

Demyx is ready for it this time, grasping the hand as it comes up to his neck, weaving fingers together where possible and giving his hand a light squeeze. Were his hands always this cold? Demyx wonders, taking in the shocked look of Ienzo and offering a small smile in response. No time for grins or quips, just open expressions and apprehension, pans moved off the heat before the smaller man can further burn his food. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, not until you’re ready.”

A tanned thumb rubs lines into the side of a pale palm, the focus back on breathing correctly in a bid to calm nerves and settle his old soul, Demyx watching as eyes closed and breaths came in slowly, a face slowly easing back into calmness after painting a picture so anxious it tugged and tangled his heart strings. He could kiss him, lord knows she wants to, biting his lower lip as he went over why that would be a bad idea over and over again, an inner mantra that he could not ignore.

He’ll be mad at you. He doesn’t feel the same way. He won’t want to be near you again after this.  Just because he’s nice to you and treats you humanely doesn’t mean he wants you.

Demyx has taken risks but this time, this time he’s not sure it was worth it.

“I want to I just…”

“You just can’t get it into words?” Demyx fills in, Ienzo sighing and nodding, finally opening his eyes only to avert them to the side, face screwing as if trying to process a thought before Ienzo sighs. Hit the nail on the head there, Demyx surmises, giving the other’s hand yet another squeeze in hope of either encouraging him to speak or reassurance, which ever Ienzo had the most need for at that moment. “Or is it something else?”

“Something else. Maybe. I’m not honestly sure.” He pulls his hand away then, wiggling it out of his grasp and pulling the pan back onto the ring, breathing slowly, exhaling and continuing on like the exchange hadn’t just happened. It’s not long before the sizzling is back, Demyx feeling somewhat lost in the kitchen as he waits for Ienzo to do something, unsure as to where his sudden cowardice to chase the conversation had come from. “It’s easier to ramble my thoughts if I keep my hands busy.”

It clears up nothing and yet everything, Demyx’s mouth forming a small o as Ienzo hums, adding more ingredients to the pot, the tension in his shoulders seemingly melting away with every movement and stir.  

“I’ve gone from bare traces of feelings for so long that now that I feel them at the level I should, it almost feels like drowning. My annoyance is anger and my anger is loathing, my insecurities scream at me deafeningly during the long nights and the moments alone in the lab when I can’t find answers.” He whispers his words, barely audible over the hissing of oil meeting stock, Demyx about catching the sight of downturned eyes and the accompanying frown. “Things that bring me joy make my heart pound louder than sirens and bells, my excitement and happiness over the littlest of things exceeds expectations in displays that are hard to tamper down.”

He sighs, anger bubbling back to the surface, movements becoming jagged, aggressive almost as he spat out his next words. “It’s ridiculous, I’m not- “

“I don’t think its ridiculous.” Demyx intersects, hand taking rest on Ienzo’s forearm as the other freezes once more, biting into his lower lip in a way that looks a touch too painful but now wasn’t the time to lecture, not that Demyx would have done that anyway. “You’ve gone from drips to an over spilling sink, you’re bound to struggle.”

The laugh surprises him, somewhat strangled and a bit raw, like Ienzo is using it to hide another emotion entirely from spilling from his lips. “When did you start making sense?” He chokes out, the heel of his hand wiping his eyes, perhaps wishing he hadn’t pinned his hair back so entirely.

“I always have,” it’s just nobody ever cares to listen.

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

The market is simultaneously busy enough for him to blend into the crowd but also empty enough that he’s had the ability to occupy the bench by Aerith’s for a solid 40 minutes without being interrupted by anyone beyond the aforementioned shop keeper who had simply brought him a drink and left after asking him if he was okay, slipping a flower behind his ear before leaving after confirming he was.

There’s something unnerving about her, though what caused Demyx to feel on edge around her he couldn’t place, assuming it was down to how she always seemed to know what had, is and would happen in the foreseeable future if you so much as stepped within five feet of her, her comment of how he could always give the flower to his friend if he didn’t want it making Demyx ask himself if he was so obvious that this practical stranger had sussed him out already.

It’s been eight days since the kitchen confession, Demyx knowing he wasn’t intending to ignore Ienzo but his feet had led him to this bench as opposed to the castle, pouring over his notes on Ienzo’s emotional state and the table of differences he’d made between both Zexion and Ienzo. The table was simple, almost childlike, one worded differences in lists under a name and a poorly drawn doodle of both sides of the coin, Demyx cursing himself as he realises the small hearts he’d drawn as almost a halo around Ienzo.

Oh, he’s a fool, staring at the page, blinking rapidly as if trying to erase the obvious signs of his affection as if Ienzo would ever see his scrawled notes that he was the subject to. Why would he? Demyx knew better than to expose himself like this to anyone, never mind the other, already shuddering at the imagined looks of the other apprentices and the laughter of everyone else.

“Looks like a twelve year old when hair is pinned back…is that supposed to be me at the bottom?”

Demyx jumps, yelling as he sends his notebook flying, scrambling to catch it, preparing to turn and shout at whoever had surprise him only to falter and clamp his mouth shut at the sight of Ienzo, still leaning over slightly and looking only marginally apologetic for scarring him. He’s lucky he’s cute.

“Is what you?”

Acting oblivious is perhaps not his best move, Ienzo fixing him a look that is filled with scepticism as he undoubtedly sees through Demyx’s façade, taking seat beside Demyx on the bench, slouching as he sighed. It’s not stressed this time, relieved, ecstatic almost, barely able to hide the pride from his features, relaxing in the silence that stretched between them. “Anyway, what brings you down into Radiant Garden? You normally don’t leave the castle unless I bribe you.”

“I found him.” He’s not seen the other’s eyes ever light up like that before, Demyx leaning back slightly as Ienzo leaned towards him, almost blinded by the sheer enthusiasm. Normally he’d make a comment, tell Ienzo to calm down for a second but the saccharine hit of endorphins that seemed to be flooding the human’s system was simply too irresistible to try and dampen. “I found Zack Fair!”

That would explain the lack of fanfare that would have come from finding Sora, he supposes, Demyx looking over Ienzo’s shoulder to his work place, Cloud in conversation with Leon and Cid looking stressed, before looking back to Ienzo and swallowing. The urge to kiss him is back, seemingly stronger than ever. “Knew you could, where was he then?”

“Game Central Station. Can’t say I’ve heard of it either but I got a name match at least.”

He continues to talk, Demyx just watching how animated Ienzo became with every word over what the finding of a new world meant, explaining his work with such vigour that Demyx responds without thinking, tucking a flyaway piece of hair back where it belonged having dislodged itself during the enthusiasm. Fingers trail along a pale jaw, tilting Ienzo’s chin up, swallowing thickly as his movements came to a standstill.

Maybe he should kiss him, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing after all.

But, as with all things, he’s interrupted, wincing at Cloud calling his name before sighing, dumping his notebook into Ienzo’s hands unceremoniously, huffing as he stood before giving the other an apologetic look. “Sorry, duty calls.”

He’s going to regret giving Ienzo his notebook, isn’t he? Perhaps, but the flushed look of Ienzo was a fair enough trade for him, silently hoping he hadn’t ruined the one friendship he truly cared for.

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

Three days until he sees Ienzo again and, for once Demyx isn’t sure if he’s unhappy that it took so long or that the break hadn’t lasted longer, still fighting the urge to run as he stands in the courtyard, holding what felt like a suspiciously empty box, the fragile stickers slapped across the brown paper being the only thing stopping the Nobody from just shaking the package.

From off world too, memories of Marluxia mentioning the Kingdom of Corona when he was still with the Organisation and Xehanort, a place of flowers and a princess with long hair trapped in a tower. Half the other worlds sounded like fairy tales, myths and legends but then Demyx knew full well they were. The Underworld still made him shiver, an itch he just couldn’t scratch.

Which wielder sent it? He wonders, Aqua being the safest bet of the lot of them, having gained enough of an impression of her from those talking about her to know she seemed the type to send something between worlds. Though, why she had to address it to the lab and not somebody specific he does not know, Demyx glaring at the package like it had gravely insulted him before heading in.

Perhaps the lab would be empty, Ienzo may spend most of his time in there but not all of it. He’s on a tea break, Demyx reasons with himself, finally took the initiative on his limits as a person and acted before he over worked himself yet again. It had, in part, been the reason for Ienzo’s argument with Even and Demyx can only dream that the message Even had been trying to get across had stuck.

Apparently not, Demyx sighs with resignation.

Sat at his desk as opposed to a computer, Ienzo had, of course, elected to take his break not outside of the lab but still in it, one hand nursing a chipped cup of tea whilst the other tapped a pen against the note book he was writing in, taking a brief break to think before noting something down again.

Maybe if he’s quiet he won’t be noticed, his cowardice coming back full force in the face of his feelings and it’s ridiculous, he believes, knowing full well he would have kissed the other the last time he’d seen him had the pair not been interrupted. Depositing the box is not the issue, the pen he sends clattering to the floor is, the noise seeming to become the loudest thing in existence, echoing beyond the walls of the lab and maybe out into the town square.

“If this is how you are when you’re trying to be stealthy, I see why you were always on public reconnaissance.”

He teasing him, still looking down at whatever he’s working on but humour still pulls of his lips to create some endearing mix of a smile and a smirk. Only on Ienzo would he find that expression endearing. It wouldn’t be wrong of him to think that maybe Ienzo hadn’t read his notebook after all, Demyx edging closer akin to a caged animal, swallowing back his fear of the situation.

Ienzo hadn’t read it. Ienzo was not aware he’d kept a notebook on his emotional ticks. Ienzo hadn’t delved into an admittedly creepy book containing both his thoughts about the newly reformed human and the differences between both himself and Zexion.

Only he had.

Demyx pales as he sees the notebook open, swiftly turning on his heel and making way to leave only for a hand to stop him, gripping the back of his jacket tight enough to stop him but loose enough to let him leave if he wanted to. He doesn’t. Despite the shame and feeling of regret welling up in him as Ienzo continues to hold the back of his jacket in silence.

Should he break it or leave it hanging? A spike of panic rising in his chest as the hand gripping him tightens, mumbling an inward prayer to himself for a favourable outcome as the silence is finally shattered. “I added another column, you’re rather observant when you want to be.”

He…What?

Turning back to face Ienzo and his work, Demyx takes note of the additional page ripped out from elsewhere in the book and stuck in, creases along the tape where the page had been folded in to keep it from sticking out. So there was another one, Demyx just about able to make out the words Child Ienzo from chicken scrawl, biting back a laugh at both the way his writing was better than an apprentice of Ansem’s but also the words written.

Little Weirdo. Quiet. Shy. Withdrawn.

Words from the other apprentices no doubt, Demyx sure he could place who had said what from what he had known of them whilst in the Organisation. But before he can even voice his guesses he’s distracted by the small doodle at the bottom, better than his vague barely Ienzo or Zexion doodles, of what Demyx guesses to be a child Ienzo. Miniature lab coat, neutral if not sour expression and ice cream? He’d never taken Ienzo to have a sweet tooth.

“There was one other thing…” Ienzo’s voice is gentle, fingers pulling at the hemline of his sweater vest as he looked down from the desk to his lap, breathing in the nose and out the mouth as he always did whenever the anxiety seeped into his system.

This was it. This was the time of his rejection, Demyx preparing himself to act like it was nothing, just water off of a duck’s back and nothing to be concerned about. “Look, you don’t have to-“

“I don’t really have days off but Even and Ansem both force me to take the afternoon off on Tuesday and Friday.”

Demyx can’t see his face but he can see the colour creeping along the other’s neck, hands still wringing the sweaters hemline almost to the point of distortion and oh.

Oh!

It finally clicks, Demyx biting his lip to stop himself from shouting in triumph, leaning down in one fail swoop to press a kiss to Ienzo’s cheek as the giddy energy eviscerated any self-doubt and regret he’d been stewing in for the past three days. “Then I will see you tomorrow, Zo.” The skip in his step is unmissable, practically bouncing out of the lab to finish his round so he can plan for tomorrow.

And if Ienzo hears his shout of celebration as the lab doors close, he doesn’t mention it.

[dahvangogh]

and empty word are evil| Jason Todd

[ prologue | one | two | three | four ]

[ao3 link] [masterlist]

note: hello, there! I KNOW, I KNOW. I'm a day early but I finally got two new comments on this story: one on AO3 and another here in Tumblr, so I got excited and decided to upload it a bit earlier.This chapter sets in motion many things for this story. Also, despite perhaps not being as exciting or long as the others, it is key to the development of the whole thing. As usual, I apologize if there are any grammatical mistakes. I corrected it myself but I'm no English native.Please, could you leave a comment or kudos? It really helps a lot! 

Much love xx

CHAPTER THREE

There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.”

― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss

“She hasn’t called me yet… why hasn’t she called me yet? This never happens to me!”

Lisa throws her hands to her head and messes the blonde tresses even more than they are, pacing back and forth in Grace’s open concept kitchen and living room, her posture completely straight.

“Oi, chill!” the raven-haired tries not to laugh, biting her bottom lip “People have jobs and lives, so it’s most likely she is busy!”

The blond turns to look at Grace, who is sitting comfortably on her big comfy sofa doodling in one of her many sketchpads, and crosses her arms under her chest.

“I also have a life, you dumbass. But not even a text? C'mon!”

Grace rolls her eyes.

“Yeah, it’s been a week… perhaps you are getting sloppy in the flirting department?” She tries not to laugh at Lisa’s indignant face and quickly picks up a pillow seconds before the blonde starts hitting her. “Kidding! Just kidding!”

Her friend keeps hitting her, not as if to hurt her but in a playful manner.

“I will have you know that I’m the fucking best at flirting… and other things.”

Grace looks over the rim of her pillow and makes a face as if throwing up.

“Dis-gus-ting” the raven-haired accentuates each syllable, then raises a hand to stop her best friend from starting hitting her again. “No, but for real. Who cares? It’s her loss… you are amazing and the day you date someone, that idiot will be a lucky girl.”

Lisa moves her head to the side and her shoulders drop as if exhausted. Then, she bites her bottom lip while tapping her foot for a few seconds.

At last, she nods and sits next to her on the sofa. The blonde leans her head on her best friend’s shoulder. Grace smiles softly and leans her head on her friend’s crown.

“After hooking up, she told me to wait until her shift was over… then we went to eat tacos.” Lisa’s voice sounds soft and dreamy, not loud and humorous as usual; after a long week, finally telling the ink-haired girl what had happened that night. “We were there for three hours, talking and laughing, and we even closed the fucking place… And it wasn’t a simple hook-up on a nightclub, there was a connection there. I swear.”

The raven-haired smiles while imagining the scene.

“If she saw you eating tacos and didn’t leave your ass there immediately, she is clearly interested.”

Lisa raises her head a bit and looks up at her while Grace looks down, a mocking smile on her plump lips. They hold each other stares for a bit, now the raven-haired is biting her lower lip while the blonde presses her lips together.

Three…

Two…

One

They both burst out laughing, even both keep giggling after a few minutes pass and their laughter has died out.

“Shit, that's true.”

She nods, giggling about how a messy-eater her friend is and pictures it in her mind.

Grace picks the discarded sketchpad and pencil from beside her on the sofa, not the side where Lisa is sitting, and turns a page over.

She quickly draws Lisa’s face, starting with her high cheekbones tinted with hundred freckles and then her petite cute nose, following with her soft-looking jawline. In the drawing, her best friend's big blue eyes are filled with wonder, staring at something they –the viewer of said drawing or the drawer– can’t see, while her thin lips are curled in a lovely smile. Her blonde head, framed with soft long waves, is resting on her hands on the table and Grace adds a napkin holder near.

“Should I draw guacamole smeared all over your chin?” Lisa giggles at that, so the raven-haired quickly draws it. “Perhaps a bottle of Tears of Llorona No. 3 Extra Añejo Tequila besides you?”

“Nah… that thing is 233 bucks.”

Grace huffs, then asks out loud: “Who pays 233 bucks for a bottle of Tequila?”

Dad does, I saw him drink a glass of that thing many times while watching tv or reading.

“Your dad.”

Both laugh while Grace also shakes her head, her father’s expensive tastes never ceasing to amaze her.

“But not me, girl.” Her friend answers back, which makes both of them laugh again. “Desperados is more on my budget… Though sometimes I spend a bit more on a Jose Cuervo one if I feel like treating myself.”

Grace smiles sadly.

Two months after her kidnapping and before she went to Berlin, they both had graduated from their prestigious and expensive private high school. The blonde had decided it was time to come out to her parents and Grace had completely supported her, thinking that Adam and Mary would be open and accept her daughter.

She had been mistaken.

The Addington’s had completely lost it and kicked Lisa out of their home. Thankfully, Lisa’s aunt Marissa had welcomed her in her own home and called Grace to tell her what had gone down.

Three days later, Lisa had been notified that she had been written out of her parents’ will and she wouldn’t be able to get a single penny from the family’s fortune. Plus, to add salt to the wound, she should never call her parents or even step a foot on her old home.

The raven-haired remembers how heartbroken her best friend had been, crying loudly on one of the beds of her aunt’s many guest rooms, while Marissa explained what the family lawyer had informed her.

She hadn’t been sad about the money but her parents’ hatred and lack of love for her.

Despite all of that, Marissa had sat down at the rim of the bed and had helped Lisa sit down. When she had calmed down –Grace remembers running to the kitchen for a glass of water and some chocolate–, her aunt had announced that she wasn’t going anywhere. Marissa unofficially had adopted Lisa, using her own wealth to help and support her niece.

Yet Lisa didn’t like asking for much, too independent and still licking her own wounds.

“Next week, I will buy a few bottles of the expensive ones and we will drink them all while watching RuPaul Drag Race: All-Stars, how does that sound?”

The raven-haired hears her friend harsh breath as if holding her cries.

“Fucking amazing, Gracie.”

She smiles, understanding what her friend is truly saying underneath coarse language, and pats her on the hand.

Thanks.

[ – – – ]

It has been a few hours and they both have just finished eating Chinese Takeaway, sitting in the same position as before but with a big and fluffy warm blanket wrapped around them. Grace is drawing again while they both watch the new season of  Peaky Blinders  on the big living room TV.

Grace is drawing from memory one of her favorite paintings of Empress Sisi, with her beautiful half-braided hairstyle decorated with silver flowers, and lovely white wedding gown. Don’t mistake her, she prefers others over this painting of Sisi, but someway somehow she had memorized only this one.

So beautiful, poor heartbroken Sisi.

“I’m a proud lesbian, okay?” her friend says, her blonde head moving on Grace’s shoulder as if she speaks with her whole self and not only with her mouth. Grace stops her pencil moving. “But I totally understand why so many people want to be dicked down by Tommy Shelby.”

She laughs at that.

“Yeah, he is hot…”

Suddenly, Lisa raises her head from her friend’s shoulder and mimics her friend’s posture, sitting cross-legged and reclining her back against the sofa. Then, the blonde starts arranging the blanket better around her.

“But?” she asks, still busy arranging the big blanket.

“I don’t know... ” Grace sighs loudly and looks at her friend, shrugging her shoulders. “He is handsome, in an i-would-draw-him-time-and-time-again way, but I never thought, and excuse my vocabulary, oh I would totally such his dick.”

Lisa now leans her head back, now looking at her best friend with a sad smile, the TV series completely forgotten or unimportant to them.

“How long has it been since you dated someone?” her voice sounds rueful, though the blonde knows the answer already. “Or kissed someone?”

Grace shakes her head, almost embarrassed about what she is about to confess, and even feels herself blush.

Here we go.

“Since I was eighteen.” the raven-haired sighs, then rubs her hands together, forgetting her drawing for the moment. “I can’t still stand someone touching me that way… It’s hard for me to trust any men. I mean, when you start a relationship you expect to have sex or at least close skin to skin proximity… ”

The last words make Lisa laugh loudly.

“Why do you say it so… formal and weird?”

“Because it’s true!” Grace feels her smile completely gone, her feelings and worries pouring out of her mouth without a stop.“People expect to be able to touch, hug, kiss or do sexual things when in a relationship with someone. But I can’t… I couldn’t possibly stand it. I want to, but I can’t!”

Lisa instantly hugs her tightly, caressing the arm her hand rests on.

“Well, that’s okay. Your mental health is above any fucking relationship.” her friend’s voice is soft and kind, still hugging her tightly. “One day, you might meet someone who will understand and maybe you might try.”

Grace sighs, though weirdly enough something in her stomach starts moving.

I hope it's a stomachache... better to have diarrhea than a relationship.

“Or maybe, you might meet an amazing hot dude with a big dick and only want to kiss him until you die of lack of oxygen… ”

That last sentence makes her laugh loudly, Lisa quickly joining her.

“Doubt it, but hey… if it happens, it’s not a bad way of dying.”

Both laugh again.

“Now, seriously. Have you talked to anyone about it?” her friend looks at her, worry all over her freckled face. “I mean a psychologist. Or perhaps participated in a PTSD group therapy or rape survivors group therapy? It might help, you know... ”

She can’t help but whimper when hearing that word.

“No.” Grace closes her eyes and leans back against her sofa. Despite being best friends, she didn’t like talking about what had happened those three days, though she did explain a bit so her friends, family and police would understand. “My dad made me see a psychiatrist for a few years in Berlin, it was one of his many conditions so I could stay there. To give him peace of mind, you know?”

The raven-haired snuggles into her best friend’s side, searching for warmth and acceptance, then continues explaining.

“I still get in touch with her once or twice every few months.”

Dr. Louise Bell had been like an angel sent from Heaven. She had been kind and patient with her, explaining how the impact of that incident goes far beyond any physical injuries, supporting her and never judging her. Also, the psychologist had been right.

Grace had spent a month in the hospital because of her physical injuries but to this day, she was still recovering from the internal ones.

The world will never feel like a completely safe place ever again.

Nor will she trust others as much as she did before.

Neither does she stop self-degrading herself or questioning her judgment from time to time.

She still has nightmares, a few flashbacks and unpleasant memories coming back to her from time to time. Nevertheless, time helps to heal.

“You are not dirty, Grace. Neither are you damaged goods or unworthy of love.” she always replays Louise’s words in her mind when she is feeling bad about herself or in one of her depressive episodes.

She has improved a lot in many aspects. Grace doesn’t shower three times a day anymore, nor does she start shaking when seeing a man and she has been able to go to a park again.

Not Central Park, though. Not yet.

The raven-haired has gained much confidence and self-love through her friends, Louise’s help and her powers –the last thing helping a lot.

But relationships and intimacy are yet impossible for her.

She had tried but it had gone wrong so soon.

“I did try… I went on a couple of dates with this guy in Berlin and…” She sighs, the memories fuzzy in her mind because of how scared and anxious she had been back then. “All was going well until we kissed but… he touched my waist and I flipped out.”

He had gone flying, but Lisa didn't need to know about that.

Lisa, always kind to her, hugs her closer to herself; letting Grace confide and vent if she needs to.

“Dr. Bell told me to talk about it, to challenge myself from time to time, to reconnect with my body and feelings while not avoiding or numbing them,” Grace explains, thinking back about all she learned in her sessions with Louise. “You know I also took some self-defense lessons, learned yoga and even did massage therapy to not be so uncomfortable with being touched.”

And became a night vigilante of some sort.

“I can stand people touching me but... ” she rubs her hands together, taking a deep breath and exhaling loudly. “A relationship means trusting someone and having intimacy… I’m not ready for that. Not yet.”

“And that’s okay, Grace.”

“Yeah, I know. Dr. Bell always reminds me that everyone deals with trauma in their own way. So even if it has been six years, I can take all the time I need.”

Lisa pats the arm her arm is draped on.

“Please, don’t think I’m pressuring you into going around hooking up or dating random people… I just worry about you sometimes.”

Grace looks up at her friend and gives her a soft smile, nodding. Then, she rests her head on her shoulder, looking at the TV.

“He really looks hot while smoking though.”

She is talking about Tommy Shelby, who is currently smoking a cigarette in front of a nun, looking like a dark prince.

“Fuck, he really does.”

[ – – – ]

Grace is an early bird, she had always been one and probably will always be. The raven-haired likes sitting on her balcony, the views of her skyscraper apartment always being better than any morning News program, with a cup of coffee or even a smoothie.

The building, all constructed with glass and sustainable materials, has forty floors and her apartment is in the thirty-nine. Each floor is divided into two apartments, her thirty-nine neighbor is a nice woman recently divorced who works in an expensive and reputed law firm.

The raven-haired doesn’t usually interact much with her neighbors, though she knows that the five low floors are used for work purposes and that her neighbor from the forty bought his whole floor to make his apartment bigger because he is an eccentric millionaire who doesn’t like sharing that much.

Also, he sometimes likes to use the stairs instead of the elevator.

Imagine using the stairs in a skyscraper of forty floors and with your apartment being in the last? Can’t relate at all.

She looks around her balcony, which is quite bigger than a standard one, and smiles proudly at her good taste in furniture. The raven-haired selected white and black furniture for this place, plus added many plants. A low garden glass table is in the center, a big white sofa placed against her big glass windows and looking directly towards the table and subsequent views, a big white armchair on the left of the table looking at the low table and all big beautiful pot plants through the floor of the whole railing, surrounding it.

“Grace, do you prefer having breakfast here or we go and hit Pauli’s Diner for a quick meal?”

Her blonde friend asks from the kitchen. The big balcony is connected to the living room, which is open-concept with the kitchen, so her voice sounds quite close to her. Grace stands up, places her coffee on the glass table, and folds her fluffy grey blanket on the white armchair.

She picks her cup and walks inside, seeing Lisa in the kitchen preparing more coffee, her stereo on in the WXYZ Radio channel.

“Good morning, Gothamites! It’s me, Alan Scott and currently, it is seven AM of this fine Saturday morning. If you have been paying attention to social media or the News, you probably already know that last night things went crazy in our dear city. But to those who don’t know, last night Poison Ivy was being personally delivered to Arkham Asylum by GCPD until things went BOOM!”

Both Lisa and her look at the stereo with interest, confusion across the blonde’s pale face while the raven-haired waits for confirmation of Harley’s plan succeeding.

“Fuck, what happened now?” her friend mutters.

“I don’t know” she says a white lie, after all she truly doesn’t know what really happened.

“Literally, things went BOOM. The crazy bird Harley Quinn blew up many of GCPD car patrols and the SWAT van where Ivy was being transported allowing the eco-terrorist to escape. Five policemen died on the spot and other seven are in critical condition. Unfortunately, two passed away on their way to Gotham City General Hospital. Despite Batman and Robin trying to help, as of now Harley and Ivy are missing. Commissioner Gordon and Mayor Sebastian Hady’s joint press appearance is scheduled at 10 am today and we will get further information. Now, Molly. What do you think about this horrible incident?”

“God, the Hospital and the clinic are probably bustling.” Lisa’s hands go to her head as if going insane just thinking about it. Then, she turns towards her best friend. “Yesterday and today are my free days, should I call my boss and offer my help?”

Grace is completely in shock.

She had specifically asked Harley to not kill any policeman. The raven-haired had done so when they first talked about the plan in the nightclub VIP room, then twice at their “sleepover” and another time after delivering the explosives.

Harley had promised her she wouldn’t.

That damned harlequin...

“Grace?” her friend calls her, looking up with concern towards the kitchen ceiling where the lights are flashing on and off nonstop. “Grace?!”

I’m going to fucking kill that lying harlequin and make myself a carpet with her hyenas.

The lightbulbs in the ceiling explode, Lisa lets out a very high scream and protects her head with her hands while bending over a bit.

You are a dead man walking, Harley Quinn.

[triforceangel13]

An Accidental Mating Ch. 6 (A SidLink Omegaverse Story)

Chapter 6: Behind Closed Doors

“Remember Link, since this baby is part Zora you do need to adapt to a Zoran diet,” Zelda said, snapping the book shut on her lap.

“Isn't it just mostly rice and fish?” Link asked.

“Yes, though lots of fish. Test out what the baby likes and avoid what he or she doesn't,” Zelda said happily. “You want this baby healthy right?”

“More than anything.” He wanted nothing more than to bring a happy child into this world even if it meant they wouldn't have a father.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about this Ezra being the father.

“Then fish, fish, fish.”

And fish it was. Several days had passed since Link had found out who his alpha was and he spent most of his time with the cooks in the kitchen if he wasn't doing research with Zelda. Ezra lingered in the kitchen with him, attempting to warm up to him but Link would not budge. He still didn't believe he was the father to his baby. There was an itch at the back of his mind but the proof was in the mark on his neck.

Maybe one day he would warm up to him but for right now he would keep him around, but at a distance. So far Ezra was being respectful of that.

That day however Ezra had a double shift doing guard duty, leaving Link to his own devices as Zelda was doing her own thing as well. Link had gone to the kitchen as he normally did, this time so happy with the dish they had prepared that he had asked for seconds.

Salmon meuniere. He had gobbled the first dish  quickly and had asked for another. This time they had loaded the bowl for him and instead of sitting there eating like the glutton he was in front of them he decided to take a walk, wanting some piece of mind.

The library sounded like a good place to sit for a while.

He slipped into the room with the bowl in his hands, leaning forward to get a small taste of the salmon from a small taste when he collided with someone coming out of the room.

The bowl slipped from his hands, his body toppling over as well quickly.

“Link!” came a gasp, an arm wrapping around his body, keeping him from falling hard onto his bottom and hurting him self. Link expected to hit the floor. He had also expected to hear the clatter of the food he had been wanting to eat but a slow peek of his eyes saw the bowl clutched in a large red hand, the food only spilling a little on the floor.

“I'm so sorry. I should have looked before I stepped out,” came Sidon's voice. Link's cheeks flushed as he looked up at the prince. He hadn't seen him in so long and now here he was, cradled in his arms. Just his touch sent tingles through him.

“No, I should have been watching,” Link said, settling back on his feet with Sidon's help. The prince hovered over him, helping him into a chair at the table in the room and then set the food in front of him. Silence passed between them, the only sound coming from Sidon as he let out a sigh.

That look of pain was back on his face.

“I should get going,” he finally said.

Link quickly reached out, grabbing onto his arm which caused him to pause, looking down at him longing eyes.

“No, please stay. I haven't seen you in a while. Perhaps...maybe we can catch up?” he asked. He knew it would be hard. Sidon knew exactly what he had been up to in his past.

“Link, I don't know if I can...” Sidon said sadly, but the sudden sight of Link's eyes filling with tears had Sidon sitting in the chair next to him quickly.

“No, no. Please don't cry my friend.”

Link gazed at him confused until he felt the tears leak down his cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his hand, a tad embarrassed that Sidon had seen that. Damn his hormones for making him so unbalanced.

“It's the hormones,” he explained with a sigh, going to wipe more away when Sidon wiped them away himself. His cheeks rose with color, eyes watching the Zora before him.

“I'm sorry that it's become such a pain,” Sidon said to him. “I can't say I know you're pain. Though I am a little surprised if I'm honest.”

“How so?” Link asked, feeling the lack of warmth as Sidon dropped his hands and gathered Link's bowl closer to him.

“Well I never thought you would be an omega of all things. Not that it's a bad thing. It just proves that even the strongest man of Hyrule can be an omega as well,” Sidon said, wiping the spoon handle off with his hand and then licked his fingers. “Mmm. Salmon meuniere?”

Link nodded, taking the spoon and scooping some into his mouth with a happy hum. “I found out the baby really like's it.”

“The baby has good taste I'd say,” Sidon said with a small laugh. “That's actually one of my favorite fish dishes. Especially since I was a child.”

“Did you want some?” Link asked, holding the spoon out for Sidon with a smile. The prince quickly looked at the door and then leaned down, taking the spoon into his mouth as Link still held it. Link swallowed thickly at the close proximity of the prince.

Why couldn't Sidon be the one? From being there to do the mark test with the melons Sidon was clearly unmated to anyone, as well as an alpha. What better person could he ask for? And he loved him to the ends of the earth, but Sidon didn't know that.

“Delicious. Clearly the child knows good food,” Sidon laughed as Link set the spoon back in the bowl. “Despite that this child came as a surprise to everyone, you should be proud of him or her. They also get to have you as their parent.”

Without even thinking Sidon rest a hand on Link's stomach. Link flushed but remained still. His hand was warm against his bump, bringing a sense of comfort with him.

“Sidon...about what you said back at the castle. Did you really mean that?” Link whispered, afraid to speak any louder than that. Gold eyes flicked up to meet his gaze, holding him there. A blazing sense of  protectiveness rolled off of him in waves.

“About wanting to be the one in that room with you?” Sidon asked, his voice just as low, his voice wavering a little as he spoke to him as if telling a secret. “I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be in there with you.”

“But why? Was it because I had been in heat and you had been acting out on instinct?” He wouldn't be surprised. That was how Ezra apparently found him.

“Goddess no Link,” Sidon said quickly, his other hand coming to rest against his cheek. “Link I had no idea you were an omega, I would not act upon those things just because of that like someone had back then.”

Clearly Sidon did not like Ezra.

“An act like that should be between two people who are in love,” the prince continued, shifting a little closer as his other hand stroked his stomach. “I cannot deny my feelings for you Link. I know you are marked for someone else and with his child but, I must say it. I do love you Link. Very much. So much that it hurts seeing you with him.”

Link was at a loss of words. He had known but he hadn't though the prince would actually say it out loud to him like this. So intimately...

“I-”

“But you are meant for someone else. I'm not about to steal someone else's omega,” Sidon interjected, starting to pull away. Link quickly grabbed onto the hand on his face, leaning his warm cheek into his palm.

“I may be marked, but in the end I decide who I want to be my alpha,” Link said firmly. “I did something stupid. I'm going to fix it.”

“Link...”

“Sidon, I love you.”

The prince's jaw dropped open, his cheeks rising in color against his pale scales. “Link you...you...what?”

Link stood up from the chair, his arms sliding around his neck. In the eyes of everyone else this was wrong. He was claimed. But behind these closed doors where they were the only ones there, this was their moment. Everything felt right and no one could tell them no.

“I love you,” he said again. “And I always will no matter what happens.”

Sidon smiled gently, still cradling the little bump in his hand as Link leaned forward and kissed the prince tenderly on the lips.

His breath hitched as their lips made contact, his smaller body instinctively shifting closer into his arms. Sidon's arms wrapped around him, pulling him up against his torso, arms protecting and clutching in a way he never thought he would.

Their kisses turned deeper, tongues seeking one another, grazing gently against each other. Link felt his body tremble, moaning gently against his lips. Sidon groaned softly in response, his hand clutching the back of his head, claws tenderly threading through gold locks of hair. Link gasped for breath as Sidon shifted to kissing his cheek and then to his neck, inhaling slowly. That was where he stopped with his touches, pausing as he inhaled again.

A flash of memory sparked between them. Feverish kisses, the sound of the bottle of wine clattering against the floor as Sidon pulled him flush against him just like he was now.

This wasn't their first kiss.

“We've done this before,” Sidon mumbled to him as he rose his head, his thumb coming to run over Link's bottom lip. Link nodded a little, feeling his heart beat like it was pounding in his ears. They had done this before. They had talked before about what they were. “But...what happened after that? I can't remember anything.”

Link shook his head, leaning in to kiss him again when the door to the library started to open. Sidon quickly set Link back down in the chair and stood straight, grabbing the first book off the shelf that was next to him.

“Ah, Link, there you are,” came Ezra's voice as he stepped in. He bowed his head to the prince before settling at the table, a basket covered with a towel in his hand. “Someone said they saw you come in here. Are you alright?”

“He's fine,” Sidon said, snapping the book he held shut and setting it on the table. “He told me he came in here to research Zoran children to get an idea of how to raise the little one. You should be proud, he will make a good parent.”

“That's wonderful Link. What have you learned so far?” Ezra asked, though a dark look crossed his dark green scales. “And I'm sure my mate can answer for himself.”

Sidon glared at the other Zora, the tension rising between the alphas quickly.

“I-I learned that I should eat more fish. The baby likes Salmon,” Link said, hoping to ease the tension in the room with baby talk. It helped, slightly.

“Salmon, now that's a good choice,” Ezra said, ignoring the prince as he stepped to the door, knowing right now it was a battle he couldn't win against Ezra.

“I must attend to my duties. We can catch up later Link,” Sidon said, leaving the two of them alone in the room together.

Link held back a sigh, leaning back in the chair as he looked to the man who was his alpha. He wanted to ask what he had seen that night but he was sure he had to warm up to him a little bit first. If he asked him now he may never get any answers.

“I hope you still have room for these,” Ezra said, pulling the towel off of the basket to show it full of chocolate chip muffins. Link's eyes widened at that, his mouth watering at that which caused Ezra to chuckle. He plucked one up and held it out to him as he knelt next to him.

“Cute,” he said, resting it in his hands and then cradled the stomach before him. “You must grow big and strong little one.”

Despite the touches that he gave did not feel right Link had to admit that Ezra really was just acting like an expectant father. Maybe, just maybe he could at least let Ezra be the father, but not the alpha to him. That role was assigned for Sidon if he ever got out of his mess. It would be a bit of a mess later on but he knew what his heart wanted.

Ezra lifted his head, a lopsided smile coming to his face. “I was able to have Bazz switch my shifts so I could spend more time with you. I'm glad I came when I did.”

Before Link could ask Ezra leaned forward, kissing Link slowly. Link froze at the feel. His brow furrowed as he closed his eyes tightly, kissing back slowly but he could not shake this feeling. The feeling that he was doing something wrong.

This wasn't Sidon.

Feeling the hesitation, Ezra slowly pulled back. He laid a hand on his cheek, petting it lightly It took all Link could to not flinch away from the caressing touch on his cheek. “Can I ask something of you Link?”

“I mean...sure?” he said.

“As your alpha I want to express a concern. Quite frankly I don't like the way that the prince had been staring at you. He knows that you belong to me yet he looks so..predatory. I do not want you alone with him again,” Ezra explained, his expression darkening. “Can you do that for me? Can you not be alone with him? I know he's your friend but since you came to the Domain he has been acting differently around you. I fear for you as well as our baby. Just if you are going to see him, could you at least take me or Zelda with you?”

Link's brows furrowed a bit. Was he using his status as an alpha to try to control him? That was a thing though wasn't it...He wouldn't be able to say no?

“I'm sure he means no harm-”

“Link please,” Ezra said, his expression softening. “For the sake of your safety and the safety of our child, please don't be alone with him.”

He knew for a fact though he couldn't stop seeing Sidon. But for the sake of Ezra's mind he would at least promise him, fake as it was.

“I won't,” he said to him. Ezra smiled and leaned in to kiss him again. Link clenched his eyes tightly, wishing that this was Sidon.

I’m open for written commissions

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[myulalie]

Malec & Bridgerton AU

Thank you for this challenging prompt anon, I had a lot of fun! Read on AO3 here, else here is what I came up with ♥ Hope you like it!

Days we shall not soon forget

The sun lays a gentle caress on Alec’s back, one he hopes will not leave an angry mark between his shoulder blades. The light leaves a delicious sheen on the expanse of smooth skin beneath him, like the most precious quartz, smoked to a gorgeous radiance Alec cannot grow tired of. Green and yellow grass cradles Magnus’ body and Alec’s as he lowers his head and swallows around his lover’s length.

He runs his fingers over Magnus’ abdomen, flat and mellow, nothing like Alec’s, Magnus is warm beneath his hands, his shirt hanging from his chest like slowly melting snow in the field of dried grass. Magnus arches his back, pushing his hips up to press his erection deeper in Alec’s mouth, and gives a breathy moan when Alec bobs his head obediently.

The rustle of leaves above them reminds Alec of the passing of time, and he glances at the clock ticking in the grass next to them, a silver pocket watch that ticks too close to the time of the social gathering. Alec will be late. He can feel Magnus writhing beneath him, spread under the oak tree, both of them half naked from fooling around in the field and laughing.

“Alexander. One day I shall seize that watch and take it apart bit by bit,” Magnus pants above him.

“That belonged to my father,” Alec breathes out, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ hip, “should it disappear, I would miss it sadly.”

“Then you shall know precisely how I feel every time you disappear.”

Alec snatches the hand crawling up his sideburns and to his dark hair before Magnus can mess up his already unruly curls, and kisses the bright stains of red and blue and green paint, a blend of yellow and orange on the edge of the artist’s knuckles. Sunlight flashes off his rusty rings, and Alec shifts uncomfortably in the grass, willing his own erection to disappear. There is no time left for him.

“Stay with me today,” Magnus pleads.

“I’m afraid I cannot, my sister must be chaperoned at the Morgenstern ball this evening.”

Magnus throws his head back when Alec laps at his length, and falls silent as Alec swallows down around him again. Alec lets go of Magnus’ hands to brush the artist’s thighs and slide up to the sensitive skin beneath, and Magnus comes with a muffled cry when his length hits the back of Alec’s throat.

Alec swallows, letting go reluctantly, and kisses Magnus’ stomach, making his way up to nip at the exposed throat, throbbing with the breath Magnus has yet to catch. He covers Magnus’ body with his when they kiss, and tangles his hands in the artist’s charcoal hair, too long for the current fashion in the aristocracy. It suits Magnus’ strikingly handsome features though, with his slanted eyes and sharp cheekbones, the glow of his eyes like black tea.

“What might be like, these grand affairs you must attend?” Magnus sighs, wrapping his arms around Alec’s shoulders.

“You would hate them,” he chuckles, and feels the familiar, throbbing sting on his shoulder blades. Alec blames his pale complexion for the sunburns, “Every eligible lady of breeding dressed in some lavishly trimmed frock, bloodthirsty mamas at their sides and wary fathers making arrangements for only the most advantageous of matches. And of course, without my father here, that responsibility falls upon me.”

“A significant duty, no doubt,” Magnus agrees with a stifled laugh, nodding wisely.

“Someone must guard my poor sister from the bucks and pinks, ensure her virtue remains free of any kind of defilement.”

“Isabelle, yes?” the artist interrupts, arching his eyebrows, “She is fortunate, although I doubt a woman of her stature is in need of such gallant protection.”

“Isabelle is a lady,” Alec shrugs and sits up, grabbing the pocket watch.

“Of course, my lord.”

Magnus gathers his shirt around him, though he does not quite button it up and adjusts his pants on his waist with a sigh. He avoids Alec’s eyes, no doubt in an attempt not to overstep, Alec knows that Magnus doesn’t care much for the intricacies of high society, and the artist would probably be in jail if it weren’t for his protectors, ladies and gents alike, and their influence. There are twigs in Magnus’ hair and on his shoulders, so Alec reaches to brush them off, and ducks his head in order to meet the artist’s eyes.

“Magnus,” he starts, but it goes unanswered, “angel, you have me, protecting you. I will always protect you.”

Finally, the artist peers at him, and Alec leans in to steal a kiss, savoring the wet slide of their lips and the taste that is distinctively Magnus. The wind sends a handful of leaves swirling down, and the clock is ticking in Alec’s hand, so they part reluctantly. Alec’s horse awaits him, attached to a nearby tree, and he winces as he buttons his shirt, the fabric suddenly rough against his abused back.

“Have you worked on that oil painting of my family joining the Queen for dinner like I requested?” Alec asks as he unties the reins.

“Of course my lord,” Magnus lies smoothly, his lips tilting up at one corner.

“Be sure you have something ready for me when I visit.”

Magnus gives a mock military salute as Alec gets on the horse, and the artist saunters through the field, back to the apartment Alec pays for on the other side of town. The lord cannot help but spur his horse on until they catch up with the artist, and offers Magnus his hand.

“May I show you to the main road, at least?”

The artist gives Alec’s horse a wary look. A beautiful animal, with a black coloring, lustrous, that flows over powerful limbs and a muscular body. Magnus is not around horses as much as Alec, of course, and to commoners, horses are more likely to trample them than carry them around. Yet, Magnus trusts Alec, and takes hold of the lord’s offered hand so Alec helps him up, and gives Magnus a second to settle behind him before spurring the horse on once again.

Magnus holds on tightly to Alec’s waist, plastered to the lord’s back, and Alec winces at the pain from his sunburn coming back with a vengeance. He cherishes the proximity though, the smell of sandalwood that surrounds him every time he holds Magnus close. Alec loves Isabelle dearly, and he would never leave her alone at the Morgenstern ball, but he wishes he did not have to leave Magnus alone either.

They send dust flying as they come up to the main road, and the horse slows down to a stop in the shade of a nearby plane tree, snorting. Magnus doesn’t relax straight away, still holding onto Alec, and it takes a little nudging before the tight embrace loosens enough for the lord to glance over his shoulder.

“Will you be alright, angel?”

“Yes,” Magnus shakes his head, strands of dark hair falling over his eyes, “thank you, my lord.”

Magnus tightens his hold on Alec’s waist again as he flings his leg over the horse and slides down to the ground, before looking up to Alec. Long eyelashes throw dancing shadows on his cheek, and Alec wishes he could kiss them, alas the clock is ticking inside his breast pocket. He nods once, and Magnus steps back, off to the side and out of the way of a fancy carriage.

Alec scowls at the carriage, and races it to the Morgenstern’s townhouse. A beautiful building, covered in anemone flowers, and when Alec dismounts swiftly the sound of his heels hitting the cobblestone echoes in the yard. The Lightwood’s carriage comes round just as he leaves his horse with a groom, and Alec bows deeply as Lady Maryse steps out of the white and gold flame work on the carriage.

“Mother.”

“Alec!” Isabelle interrupts before Maryse can scold him.

She hurries out of the carriage as well and Alec barely has time to offer his hand to her as she steps onto the cobblestones in a white frock, the white fabric luxurious and immaculate. Her hair curls beautifully over her shoulders, leaving her face and doe eyes on display as Maryse tied the long strands of dark hair back on Isabelle’s head with a brand new silk ribbon.

“You came,” Isabelle goes on, grinning.

“I could not possibly leave you to fend for yourself here,” Alec replies.

“Yet, you are late,” Maryse scowls.

She wears a frock and a dark blue Spencer, her hair, dark like her children, up in a tight bun, and Alec ignores his mother to escort Isabelle inside. His sister looks very proper, nothing like the girl Alec knows, he used to tug on her pigtails and shove dirt in her hair, but she’d knock him out with a single punch if he tried now.

The Morgenstern town house is dimly lit for the ball, and Alec leads Isabelle across the polished wooden floors as around them, young women offer to show their suitors watercolors, and their mothers add a little something about pianoforte and flowers. Alec moves past them without a glance, holding Isabelle’s arm firmly when she makes a grab a drink.

“You are not allowed near this table,” Alec whispers, and she huffs.

“He is rather pleasing,” Isabelle comments as they move past a man carrying a monocle.

“He is rather here to shuffle about hunting fortunes. Trust Mr Lewis knows of your sizable dowry, leave him be,” Alec dismisses.

“I presume you know him too?” Isabelle goes on as though Alec has not spoken, pointing at a blond man.

“Mr Blackthorn, second son,” Maryse replies, scowling at Julian Blackthorn, “we shall find better.”

The Carstairs girl will probably end up with Julian, and Alec agrees with his mother. He has no intention of leaving Isabelle with the oldest Blackthorn either, Mark is a cheat, a man of any honor ensures his debts are fully paid, but Mark left an unpaid balance on the gentlemen club’s betting books last winter.

They veer out of the way of the Morgenstern children, Jonathan and Clarissa, they look nothing alike, him with a head of golden hair and stark features, her with a mane of red hair and freckles. She cleaned up well, Alec notices distractedly when Isabelle makes to pause and introduce herself, but he keeps walking, Maryse following. She pushes Isabelle forward.

“He is of dubious parentage,” she whispers in her children’s ears.

Alec has heard the rumors that Valentine frolicked with his domestic, who looks strikingly like Clary, when his spouse revealed unable to bear children. Alec himself is wary of Jonathan, whom a few ladies have been caught with, unchaperoned.

“I shall not have you making a life with a poet, heaven forbid,” Alec mutters to himself.

“Nor an eccentric,” Maryse adds.

Isabelle rolls her eyes and they chastise her for the unladylike behavior, when a polite cough attracts the Lightwoods’ attention, and Alec comes face to face with Lady Morgenstern. She is sickeningly pale in a silver gown, her beady eyes are dead black, cold and empty and her hair looks like a nest of snakes, yet they all bow respectfully to their host.

“Good evening, Lady Lightwood, Miss Lightwood,” she pauses disdainfully, “Lord Lightwood.”

“I believe you have already been introduced to my daughter Isabelle,” Maryse replies evenly.

“Indeed. You look rather,” another pause, “lovely this evening. Is there a reason I have yet to see you on the dance floor?”

“All in good time, Lady Morgenstern,” Alec cuts in smoothly.

“Allow them to come to you,” Maryse comments offhandedly as their host leaves them be.

The rustle of fabric is overwhelming for Alec, and he hides a wince when someone slaps his back, right over the sunburn. The strong palm belongs to a familiar individual, with fair blond hair and bright eyes, the man is shorter than Alec, clad in white and gold like a knight in the old legends.

“Alec!” the blond exclaims, beaming.

“Jace!” Alec replies excitedly, momentarily letting go of his sister.

“Come here, old friend,” Jace exclaims again, slapping Alec’s back one more time.

Alec conceals his wince of pain and slaps Jace right back, over the head with the size difference, which sends Jace’s blond streaks of hair flying and some people give them odd looks, displeased with their behavior, Alec’s mother among them.

“I heard news of your father, you are no longer a Wayland nor a Morgenstern,” Alec says, lowering his voice.

“Herondale, Prince Herondale, can you believe it?”

Jace smiles again, and his joy is infectious. Raised in the Morgenstern manor, among the grooms and servants of his late, adoptive father the humble Sir Wayland, many believed Jace to be another son of Valentine as he grew up pale and fair like Lord Morgenstern, until he was revealed to be the grandson of the Queen, Imogen Herondale herself.

“Right,” Alec smiles until his cheeks hurt, “have you met my sister? Isabelle, Jace and I know each other from our days at Oxford.”

“Days we shall not soon forget!” Jace adds.

“Yes, I am well aware of the company you keep, son,” Maryse interrupts, and makes to shoo Jace away.

“I am certain your days with His Royal Highness were most civilized, indeed,” Isabelle chimes in.

The blond grins at Izzy, ignoring Maryse, as he very well can, and Alec admires his mother and her social standing for doing such a thing, as Maryse is not only inferior to Jace, but also a widow. He misses Lord Starkweather approaching them as Isabelle steps aside to fetch a glass of lemonade, and by the time Alec notices, it is too late, especially when Maryse who has laid a warning hand on his arm, holds him back.

“Good evening,” the older man greets Izzy, “small glasses.”

“Lord Starkweather,” Isabelle replies and Alec turns around at the tension of her voice.

Jace slaps Alec on the back one last time before bidding him goodbye, and Alec takes the opportunity to move away from his mother, ready to fly to his sister’s rescue. The lord is a small man with a beaky nose that appears even more prominent because of the scar that runs down his face, Starkweather is a close friend to Maryse, and both her children have met him several times growing up.

“Tiny little things, are they not?” Hodge insists.

“The glasses? I suppose,” Isabelle agrees.

“Then the matter is settled.”

“I’m not entirely sure the matter in which we discuss, my lord,” she deflects smoothly.

Alec praises his sister internally, Isabelle is clever, and she can handle herself, but he’s seething. The nerve of this man! He hates the smile on Hodge’s face, and in the dim light of the reception room, Hodge looks even more predatory.

“You’ve always amused me, Miss Lightwood. Ever since I was a schoolboy and you were...”

“All but five?” Isabelle replies innocently. This is the last straw, Alec steps forward, and Isabelle scurries away from Lord Starkweather, “My brother, he summons me!”

Isabelle flings herself at Alec’s arm and he leads her towards the exit in spite of their mother’s protests, the most perfect thing would be to let Isabelle dance, leave her suitors all wanting more after holding her in their arms, but Alec has not intention to marry Isabelle off to one of them, and his sister would step on their feet anyway.

They leave the Morgenstern townhouse behind and Alec helps Maryse climb into the Lightwood carriage, the yard is empty except for them, music playing in the house still, and echoing against the cobblestones. Isabelle hides behind his back when Maryse glances at them, fiddling with her brother’s shirt.

“May I ride back with Alec?”

Maryse sighs and waves them off as a groom brings Alec’s black horse forth. He goes first, and helps Isabelle climb up as well, they can afford a new frock, and her laugh when he spurs the horse on is worth Maryse’s disapproving gaze as they race the carriage back to the Lightwood townhouse. The wind rushes past them, tangling Isabelle’s hair as it comes undone, and above them, the night sky is speckled with stars.

The Lightwood townhouse is alight with candles and Lydia, the governess, her hair pulled tight over her scalp with a silk ribbon that looks suspiciously like one of Isabelle’s, welcomes them at the door. She keeps Max, the boy is much younger than Alec and Isabelle, from running outside and ruining his night clothes, and their brother shrieks in delight at the sight of them dismounting.

“How was the ball? I cannot wait to go and court a lady!”

Alec smiles, ruffling his brother’s hair on the way inside, while a groom takes care of his horse, and the carriage Maryse just came out of. Max rushes past Isabelle and Lydia to throw himself at Maryse, and the matriarch freezes on the doorstep as the boy buries his face in her white and blue skirts.

“Mama! I want to marry Miss Madzie,” Max tells her, his high pitched voice muffled by the fabric.

Madzie is a distant cousin of Lady Loss — Catarina is a spinster and kind enough to take the girl under her wing— and Lady Loss’ ward is rather dowdy, in no way the potential prospect Maryse wishes for, but Alec will gladly arrange the marriage if Max so desires when he comes of age. Lady Loss is a dear friend of Magnus, and Alec himself cares for Madzie deeply.

Max emerges from his mother’s skirts, his dark hair at disarray, and Lydia holds her hand out to lead the boy back inside as Alec nods politely at the governess. He would trust her with his siblings’ lives, Lydia is a woman of duty and responsibility.

She is Isabelle’s confidant too, and ever since she became the Lightwoods’ domestic, she has done nothing but good in honor of her late fiancé’s memory. John tried and failed to save Robert Lightwood’s life when he went hunting, and a horse made a mad dash for survival upon facing a sounder, but the wild boars trampled both Lord Lightwood senior and his groom.

Alec sighs at the memory and offers Maryse his arm to lead her inside. Isabelle follows along, moving with ease among mahogany furniture covered in family heirloom, but as Alec makes his way towards his father’s study, Isabelle veers towards her bedroom instead. She cannot bear the sight of a red velvet and mahogany wooden chessboard, that brings forth memories of Robert, a loving father, but distant husband. Maryse and Robert had one single thing in common, their desire to spare Isabelle the misery of a loveless marriage.

“You were a reasonable mother until your daughter came of age,” Alec says, keeping his voice low, “this matchmaking scheme you rather transparently concocted, it will not work.”

Alec pats the silver watch in his breast pocket at the sight, and trails his fingers along the back of beloved books, their servants dust the shelves every so often, but it has been a long time since Maryse laid a hand on the precious collection. Even Max avoids the study, he who used to sit on the desk chair while Robert perused their family’s account books.

“I can think of worse matches for Isabelle than Lord Starkweather,” Maryse replies tightly, “we are good friends.”

“He will not make her happy!” Alec argues.

“Your father-”

“Do not bring Father into this.”

Maryse and Robert did not love each other, and Isabelle deserves better, this has always been the consensus among the family. The matriarch steps away from Alec, and turns her back on the bookshelves to pace the room instead, her skirts a flurry of white and blue around her, not unlike her silent fury.

“Do not make this any more difficult than it already is,” Alec adds, whispering.

“I wish to know something, Alec. Tonight, when you leave this study, are you to return to your bedroom, that you continue to keep at your family home, or will you pay a visit to a certain artist that you tend to, in an apartment that you pay for, on the other side of town?” when Alec denies his mother of an answer, Maryse stops pacing, “You like to speak of responsibility, my dear son, of duty, pray tell, what should we do about this?”

“I am in possession of something most are not, a brother,” Alec loses patience.

“So you’re merely an older brother, and not the man of this house?” Maryse cuts in, “Relying on your younger brother to one day do the job that you cannot-”

“Enough!”

Maryse startles and Alec storms out of the study, there is no use in arguing with his mother, she does not have the power to make decisions anyhow. Someone snuffed the lights in the withdrawing room, but Alec has grown in this house and makes his way to the stable without trouble, where he saddles his horse. They leave running, and disappear into the night.

The streets are busy in the evening, and the horses’ hooves echo on the cobblestone as Alec slows down to a stop in front of the apartment. He spies Lord Fell coming out of a carriage with soprano singers on both his arms, and Alec shakes his head to hide a smile. He is not the only bachelor in town, and Fell has been unattached for the longest time.

The front of the house is covered with Daphne flowers, shades of white and purple Alec can’t appreciate in the evening as he ducks inside. The rickety staircase whines beneath the soles of his feet and Alec smiles as he pushes the door open to reveal Magnus reading by candlelight, his brow furrowed in concentration.

Lady Loss and Lord Fell’s combined efforts to teach young Magnus how to read are a story Alec much prefers to listen to than Magnus’ occasional attempts to play some sort of instrument, which are the most unpleasant. The lord snort inelegantly at the thought, and Magnus finally takes notice of him, looking up.

The artist looks delightful in the glow of dancing flames, and Alec pauses to take him in, enjoy the shades that linger on Magnus’ cheeks and throat, the way his clothes, more comfortable than expensive, hang down his lithe frame, snug and inviting. Alec rubs at his sideburns, unable to conceal his smile. There is nowhere he would rather be.

“Alexander!” Magnus exclaims.

He tosses the book over his shoulder and Alec conceals a grimace, hoping this is not a priceless edition of the volume. There are half completed paintings stacked against a wall, and glass jars dangle from a peculiar garland above their heads. Alec peers at them with interest even as Magnus steps up to him.

“I hope the painting is ready,” the lord can’t help but say, knowing the commission is nowhere near complete.

“No, but I built something the Queen has never seen, or imagined!” Magnus pipes up.

The artist points at the garland, turning away from Alec for the briefest moment, but a grin obvious in his voice and Alec smiles, glancing at the glass jars too.

“What are these?”

Magnus brushes past him to move near his cluttered desk, rummaging to find a tinderbox to kindle a fire, and he brings a spark to the end of the garland. The fire crackles as it goes up, then flashes along the garland and suddenly all the jars light up like fireflies. Alec blinks slowly, surprised, and swivels around in wonder, staring at the garland like fireworks in the sky. The wooden floors sigh tiredly when Magnus steps closer, touching Alec’s waist, and the lord relaxes into the embrace, watching the display of lights above them.

“This is quite magical,” he breathes out.

The artist chuckles, kissing his cheek, rubbing his face against Alec’s sideburns with what sound suspiciously like a purr, and Alec turns slowly, bringing his hands up to cup Magnus’ face. They kiss in the amber glow of the fire trapped in glass jars, and Alec cannot believe, for one second, that he made the wrong choice.

This is all he needs.

[pettyelves]

the man on fire

[boy on fire] [ vacationing ]

She had come home to a quiet house, kissed her children, and immediately gone to the bath. There she drifted in and out of sleep. By the time she caught wind of Kurel’s return home. It was too late. 

In the living room, Kurel had leveled a pistol at Silthas-- who had fallen asleep on the couch and gone undisturbed until the Admiral’s return.

"I explained this all to Eilithe already..."  Silthas paused, like he was hoping she'd come out of the shadows and help him, only to resume a moment later. "... I'm the son of Shadeala Moonsong. She... And my grandmother Morinthe, tricked me, manipulated me, forced me... Into coming here. I bear the scars of their abuse, of their attempt to mold me."

 Another long pause and he reached beneath the couch, slowly, quietly, to grab a box of Kul Tiran cigars and a bottle of fine bourbon. At some point he stashed a cutter and glasses, which he now tried setting on the coffee table, so he could open the bourbon and pour. "Want a drink? A smoke?"

Oh you sweet, foolish boy. 

"Kurel," Eilithe's voice came from the hall. She had come all the way down the hall, without a sound. Wrapped up in a black silk robe, her hands at her side. There were a dozen things she might've said, knowing that one of them might soothe him, while another might give him whatever he needed to pull the trigger.

"Remember Vol'Dun. When you almost stabbed me. It doesn't count if I'm not in control'.” She recited his own words when he'd almost ran her through while under Morinthe's strings.

When the gun lowered, Eilithe was filled falsely with a sense of security. "Pick up the box an' the bottle. Come with me,” Kurel commanded and turned for the door. Silthas obeyed.

She was just about to call her daughter from the shadows, knowing the girl was spying. It happened too fast. 

Kurel lifted his gun just enough to aim at Silthas’ thigh. The trigger pulled, the bang came loud. The door shut in the boy’s face. Upstairs, Karkah came barreling out of her room, bow drawn. Down the opposite hall Malik screamed, frightened. But none were louder than Eilonwy, who shimmered with arcane out of invisibility long enough to scream in horror with such force that the window rattled. In Tanari, she screamed, “Father, no! Stop! He is good! I saw him! He is good!” In a second, she was gone-- teleported out and into the world after the boy. 

"Well, surfal, at least you didn't shoot him in the head, right?" She stalked for the door. Not with her usual temper. It was more concern and a surprising amount of understanding. If Kurel had meant to kill the boy, he would have. She attempted to push by him and straight for the door to go out it. "Karkah, please go sit with your brother until Lady Mirin gets here. Everything is fine." “No’ yet.” 

Everything wasn’t fine. She stopped to mutter to Kurel, in bubbling rage, “I would think, that you of all people, would understand what it is like to bare the mark of your father. And if not for mercy-- then think of this as an opportunity. He knows where his mother is. How many men she has. What resources she has. It took balls and stupidity to tell you, stop to think what the fuck he stood to gain from telling you all that. A bullet. Apparently."

Their exchange was one of epic, petty proportion. Him storming out onto the porch to scream at her, her flinging a flower pot in his general direction. 

When she found Eilonwy and Silthas, she was still in the shadows-- watching as her daughter summoned thick ice around Silthas to protect him from her father’s lackeys. The girl, bold and brave, stood with her fists up against Kurel’s explosives expert. “Just leave us alone!” She screamed. 

For only a sturdy bandage meant for the boy, Perry backed off.

Eilonwy lowered her arms and was about to drop the barrier when she heard footsteps. When she saw it was Eilithe, still the girl kept her fists up. "Mai, leave us alone! He didn't do anything."

How important he must be to her, that she would raise her hands against her mother. "Drop the dome, Eilonwy. He needs to see a doctor. If you must, you can stay with him."  "Will I be safe there?" Silthas asked as Eilonwy melted the ice from around him.

In her ear, Kurel argued with her and she could tell by the proximity of the half of her soul residing inside if him. Each pushed it further, cutting deeper and deeper until Eilithe was the first to say something she would come to regret:  Go home, Kurel. Go home. Get a drink and a cigar and I will stay the fuck out of your way. I should have just let you leave again for another eight months and handled it like I always do when you decide there's nothing here for you.

"As long as I am alive, you have my word that I will put myself between you and harms way." There were tears in forming in her eyes, which likely were directly correlated to whatever Kurel was seething into her ear. "Come on, we have to move." 

After Silthas was treated and almost to sleep, Eilithe left to return home to a powder keg. And so, with a cigarette she awaited Kurel’s fury on the balcony which faced the harbor. "Helpin' the enemy now? Been ou' there a long while, did you dig ou' his bullet an' cauterize the hole? Then tuck'em in with a kiss on the head-- then leave my daughter ou' there with'em?" His head shifted as though barely affording a glance back over his shoulder towards her. He was paranoid as he was suspicious.  Wrapped in an anger that for the moment was bundled and controlled. "You shoul' know better." He sneered.  "Our daughter wouldn't leave that boys side if I demanded it. She is angry at both of us. I won't make her hate us." Eilithe stood firm on that for as long as it took for her to inhale on a joint. "They are not alone and yes. I instructed that he be mended." 

So then, she doubled down.

"No reason. No explanation. Nothing I say will be good enough for you right now. I could explain, in detail, how I know Morinthe is no longer with him. I could explain that I didn't just leave the children to chance. None of it will suffice, so I won't waste your time." Eilithe swallowed, her throat tense. 

"I wrote you. Because I need you here and I had hoped, by now, you were starting to need me too." Hurt and guilt showed only in that sentence, so she quickly covered it with another. "The more pressing matter is that Morinthe's soul is in two more pieces. They are far from here, but when Shadeala finds that her son is converted and that her plot is foiled? What do you think will happen?" "Wha' will happen. She will come righ' here. An' I'll shoo' her firs' an' then him second-- You shoul' have pu' him on a fuckin' boat an' sen' him FAR from this fuckin' place. Bu' instea', you're entertainin' this idiocy-- why? Because Eilonwy feels somethin' for him an' you don't want to break her hear'?" He turned, to face her. Arms crossing as he leaned his hip back against the guard rail. "Cause you can't stop yourself from takin' in ever stray an' straggler?”

"Where are they." It was not a request.

“You..said that, when you left. Gone until you could find a reason to come back. I shouldn't have said what I said." And that was as close as she got to admitting guilt.

Eilithe shook her head, "She will come here. Regardless. Not even herself. She will send lackeys and she will expend every resource. Because we took everything from her. And no, I can't bring myself to kill another child based solely on the blood in their veins. I cannot sentence him to death by my hand, yours, or by shipping him off. He is an asset, not a burden."

She shook her head, "Why? So you can go finish it? So you can get yourself barred from the home we built together?"

"Oh we didn't take everythin'-- Bu' now we have. Thanks to you. I can agree he's an asse'--- an' asse' to be used. Bait, to be used. A fuckin' carrot to dangle. One ain't gotta sentence him, jus' have to pu' him on a ship an' sail a fuckin' long ways ou' from here. An' a' the very leas' if Shadeala was goin' to be comin' here regardless, she'd be comin' for us." He gestured angrily between himself and her.

"Boy ain't even a fuckin' child-- He's practically grown, Eilithe! You talk like he can barely fen' for himself. An' if gettin' barred from this place is wha' it costs to keep you an' my children safe, then yes."

"He was a tool." Eilithe said, in calm tone that did not match the way that she shot up from her seat, clutching his shirt in her right hand. "He means nothing to her, less than nothing now that he failed." She took to stomps in his direction, but stopped herself in a good-old-fashioned Darnassian stand-off. "He is powerful and could help us. He can protect her too. She threatened to take Eilonwy many years ago now, Kurel. That was always a horrifying possibility. So put one more thing between our daughter and a woman that's willing to send a child to his death in order to bring me pain."

It was the last part that made her close the gap between them, two freezing hands place on his rough cheeks. "I need you,so please.. remember that day in the wheel when you told me you loved me and needed me too. Don't. Do this. Hate him. Distrust him. Shun him. If that it was you must do. But please. Don't do this."

Whatever went through his head, whatever paranoid scheme, he did not speak. Because if anything, he understood why she couldn’t bring herself to harm a child. "If he so much as missteps or if I think he missteps in my presence, I will aim higher an' I won't miss." He threatened. "An' wherever you have hidden them away-- Eilonwy is no' stayin'. She is to come home. Now or I will wake every dockhan' across this islan' an' have them join hands to comb this place until she is foun'. An' dragged back here. Willin' or not. She can hate me for i'. She is not grown an' she is no' ye' free of this house an' my command."

"She doesn't hate you. She won't. You are hard to hate. And she loves you--idolizes you." Shadows sucked Eilithe away from him and the distinct feeling of her soul moving away and into the night.

Eilonwy did return home that night, refusing to speak to either parent before she hid herself in her room to sob. After her mother had done the same, in a similar fashion, Eilonwy clutched the moon pendant on her bracelet. Until the door to her bedroom opened and her father’s footsteps fell against the wood floor.  "You will no' be alone with him. From now until I decide otherwise, when you leave this house a Warden or an operative of my choosin' will go with you. Every where. A' school. In Stormwin'. This islan'.”

"If you disobey this. I will pu' tha' boy on a ship. I will sail tha' ship to the edge of the Malestrom, where I will sink i'. With him on i'. If you think tha' you can ou'smar' me, the Wardens, or whoever I have pu' as your chaperone. An' evade them. I' will no' be they who suffer the consequence. It'll be the boy."

Eilonwy flinched, audibly at the tone that he rarely, if ever, took with her. She let out the softest of whimpers, before she balled up in the bed. The words that came out of her were pained and echoed the very same defeated tone that her mother held when all felt hopeless.

"Okay, Ah'vey," she said, just loud enough that he would hear her, before she buried her face in the pillow and bit back a spurt of silent weeping. @kurel-andiel​ @revthepunchbear​ (silthas) @deadsunharbor​

[thecosmicsen]

✮ ┆  D-? COUNTDOWN TO INÉS’ BIRTHDAY WITH @shesin​

there is something quintessential about Inés’ presence as a mother bringing a certain type of solace adorning their home.  whether it is the way how her overpowering hypnotic presence exudes the sheer larger than life force of her charisma that fills up the high ceilings of the apartment or the way how her eyes uplift in a smile each time she is engaged with a family-related task,  it strikes a bow to the heart when she leaves.  as the primary breadwinner for the family,  she does need to go out every now and then to overview her assets and do whatever  “  business-y  ”  tasks that need to be tended to.  ultimately,  her lack of presence is immediately noticed by her twin baby boys who take it as personally as a fatal stab to the heart.  Jaewoo couldn’t help but feel a little left out when Inés confirmed that their boys do indeed possess her aura sense detection which enables them to seek out their mother’s presence by attuning themselves.  at the same time,  his chest tightens to think about how terrifying it must be for the boys to suddenly notice that their mother’s spectacular energy is nowhere to be found within their close proximity anymore after waking up from their routine nap.

which is exactly why Jaewoo wastes no time with the distractions as soon as he wakes them up from their designated nap.  his heart still flutters each time the twin boys stir and grunt idly as they slowly arise from their groggy state,  their bambi eyes still heavy with sleep as they drowsily rub at their eyes.  

“  daddy . . .  where is mama  ?  ”  Incheol is the first to gain some comprehension as he slowly sits himself up on his bed,  still tightly clutching at his stuffed green bear with his eyes struggling to stay open.  apparently his mother is the first thing that comes to mind upon awakening.

“  she is out for work but she will be back soon.  did you sleep well  ?  any nice dreams  ?  ”  Jaewoo hastily switches the subject after pressing multiple smacking kisses to his reddened cheeks before moving over to Iseul who is still slumped but still receives an onslaught of peppered cheek kisses from Jaewoo.  “  Iseul,  the faster you wake up the sooner we can start our Friday movie night !  ”  in attempt to limit screen time without going overboard,  he decided to have a family movie night every Friday so at least there would be coordinated time spent with the family whilst watching something.

“  movie  ?!  ”  is all that it takes for the other twin to instantly bolt upwards,  his drowsy-weighted features perking up straight away.  “  where is mama  ?  ”

“  she is out for work but she will be back soon anyway should we get started with making the popcorn.  sweet or salty today or do you have any new ideas ?!  ”  Jaewoo enthuses as he curls an arm around Incheol to lift him up before grabbing Iseul with his other arm.  now with both sleepy boys perfectly perched on either hip,  he kisses the top of their little heads in turn before sorting out basic needs before they can start preparing for the movie. 

once the twins are refreshed and their once heavy-lidded eyes are rounded open with infectious sparkling delight,  Jaewoo perches them carefully on the kitchen counter so they can aid the simple popcorn making process and watch the tiny acorns burst open into something heavenly.  the initial first boisterous pop jump alarms Incheol who jolts in shock whose eyes immediately well with tears but when Jaewoo and Iseul laugh it off and attack him with tickles instead,  he is grinning from ear to ear in the next moment.  

“  pop pop pop  !  ”  Incheol happily sings along and taps a random wooden spoon that Jaewoo handed over to him on the lid of the pan,  still visibly flinching each time a particularly rowdy popcorn pops aggressively against the closed lid.  Iseul finds this exceptionally funny so he begins to to tap on Incheol at the same rhythm Incheol lightly taps the spoon on the pan.  grabbing one of Iseul’s hand and Incheol’s free hand,  Jaewoo starts playing with their arms about in the arm to make them wiggle about.  as if all three know what is going through each other’s mind,  they all begin to start wiggling and chanting in unison at the exact same time.  “  POP.  POP.  POP  !!  ”

they get so caught up in their fevered mantra for the popcorn to pop faster that they don’t realise that the bursting noises stop until Jaewoo stops to realise that the popcorn is almost burning.  swiftly flicking the fire shut,  he plunks Incheol on the other side of the counter so Iseul and sidle up to eagerly drizzle the tufts of white with honey.  since they all have a sweet tooth and Jaewoo knows Inés isn’t keen on the twins having too much sugar overload in their diet,  he shuffles out the popcorn for wobbly honey drizzle before transferring it for all one bowl to share.  

“  so,  what movie shall we watch today  ?  ”  Jaewoo enthusiastically claps his hands together after setting the little boy’s feet back on the solid ground again.  the baby duo immediately look up at him with cheeks flushed with excitement and duplicate doe-eyes glimmering with zeal as they begin babbling at the same time as each other yet again.

“  the good dinosaur  !!  ”

“  finding nemo  !!  ”

“  ——  no,  dinosaurs !!  ”

“  ——  no  !!  fish,  fish  !!  ”

before the twins can get into a deeper ardent argument,  Jaewoo cuts them off with a laugh as he holds up a palm.  “  whoa whoa,  wait.  didn’t you you guys get to choose before   ?  mama had her turn to choose too but I still need to have my turn too  !!  let’s watch the new Shaun the Sheep movie  !!  ”   to incentivise them,  he jangles the popcorn in the bowl for emphasis and the twin’s eyes shift to his hands straight away.  

“  okay let’s watch sheeps  !!  ”  they simultaneously chirp in agreement before padding to the living room for the movie night set up.  plunking the popcorn on the couch set’s designated popcorn holder that Inés specifically purchased for this routine,  he sits down on the couch first before holding his arms open out wide for the babies.  usually one twin goes with a parent but since Inés isn’t home yet,  the twins will probably want to sit on his lap at the same time since they usually intensely dislike not having a hand or foot if not sitting on their parents lap whilst doing anything together at the same time.  first,  Incheol climbs up with panting cooing noises of excitement to get the movie night started and he comfortably settles himself on one of Jaewoo’s thighs before leaning back against him all nice and snug.  

upon seeing this,  Iseul is sparked up with defiance as his cheeks blush a deeper shade of red of annoyance although he channels out his irritation by hurriedly climbing onto Jaewoo as well.  since he is perched on Jaewoo’s left leg,  he has access to the popcorn bowl which he instantly shoves his hand into to start munching on the treat.  Incheol does not like this at all,  as evident by how he arches his back off Jaewoo in protest accompanied with a huffy whine.  “  give me some pleeeaase !!  ” 

initially Iseul either pretends like he cannot hear his twin brother or he simply doesn’t care when his mouth is relishing the taste of freshly sweetened popcorn so Jaewoo has to gently nudge his side.  “  your brother politely asked for some popcorn.  please share it with him too.  we made this together so we can all have it together  !  ”

nonchalantly, Iseul shoves five more bits of popcorn in his mouth and holds out only two for Incheol who makes another high-pitched complaint.  when he finally realises this,  he carefully brings the whole bowl in front and starts munching at a faster pace as Jaewoo starts the movie.  but now the twins seem to be more engrossed with finishing the popcorn within the first five minutes of the movie starting as they quibble slightly each time their little hands knock against each other.  when Jaewoo imperceptibly shifts to get into a more slack and relaxed position,  the twins are reminded of their father whom they begin to eagerly feed the popcorn too.  humming in delight to have two little hands feeding him,  Jaewoo gives their fingertips a quick kiss of gratitude to be fed before heaving out an exaggerated,  “  this tastes too delicious  !  who made this  ?  I need to hire them as the new cook for the house  !  ”

his words are highly appreciated by the twins which elicits amused giggling and happy wiggling as they both happily share the credit don’t be silly daddy you helped us too but we made it  !

at one point,  Iseul grasps at Jaewoo’s cheeks with his slightly sticky fingers for his attention as he hushes out during the scene of Shaun the sheep trying to get familiarised with the control of the alien’s UFO,  “  daddy,  I want my elephant and blankie.  can you come with me to get it  ?  ” 

Incheol’s ears perk up and he casually grabs hold of the remote so he can hand it over to Jaewoo to pause.  “  me too me too don’t leave me alone  !!  ”

“  let’s take a quick break !  ”  Jaewoo sets aside the bowl before gingerly interlocking fingers with either twin who grip his hand with an almost crushing force.  giving them both gentle squeezes,  picking up on their slight insecurity to not have their mother around,  he jauntily hums as the twins direct him back to their room so they can gather their cuddle materials.  once satisfied,  they hand over their blankets and stuffed toy of choice so that they can go back to clinging to Jaewoo as they walk down the hallway to flop back on the couch.  only this time,  Jaewoo sets out a mini blanket fort with extra blankets and cushions so they can all lay down together to watch the rest of the movie in utmost comfort and bliss.  once everything is smoothened out,  fairy lights decked and twinkling,  lights dim,  remaining popcorn on the side,  unobstructed view of the massive projector set,  Jaewoo props himself up on lots of pillows so the twins can huddle up on either side of him.  

everything is snuggly since the twins spend five minutes finding the optimum cuddle spot up against their father and their stuffed toy blanket combination until the movie draws towards its final conclusions.  Shaun the sheep and the gang has to help reunite the baby alien with its family and as they successfully guide the alien’s worried parents back to planet earth,  Jaewoo feels stinging tears prick at his eyes upon the emotional sight of the lost alien baby finding its way back to its fretting loving family.  

however, his valiant efforts to suppress his tears are in vain when they easily trickle out in incessant streams of heated emotions.  with his lips pressed tightly shut,  he forces himself to hold it in as he attempts to discreetly rub at the corner of his eyes with the ends of his sweater.  a few sniffles cause his chest to heave more than slightly which catches the attention of the twins.  Incheol flops back with a hum to watch the rest of the movie but Iseul notices the faint dampness on Jaewoo’s cheeks.  perhaps the pooling of the tears in his eyes is what gives him away since Iseul’s expression instantly transforms into a contorted face of wailing helplessly misery as he starts beginning to hysterically cry at top volume.  this significantly alarms Incheol, who in turn,  begins to panic and also breaks out into heartrending sobs of distress. 

shit. 

“  I am fine,  I am fine  !   nothing is wrong,  everything is okay.  ”  Jaewoo tries consoling his inconsolable babies through his tears that only seem to intensify to hear his children crying because they saw his tears first which were provoked by the movie scene that yanked him into a nostalgic place he is too afraid to delve into.  “  my cute boys,  I got a little . . .  these are happy tears  !!  look at how the alien found its mama and daddy again  !!  hurrayy  !!  ”

apparently these are the wrong words to say since the word mama ignites Iseul’s innate mama’s boy in him which escalates his crying to a high pitched sobbing cry as he starts whimpering out,  “  where is my mama ?!  ”

as if on cue,  Inés herself,  the mother of his crying adorable children,  walks through the front door and makes her way towards the centre of hubbub and emotional outcry with a bemused look of astonishment to see all three of her boys sniffling and crying with the sounds of animated sheep bleating in the background.  to add to the scenery of chaos,  Incheol is clinging onto Jaewoo’s hair whilst rubbing his teary face against his cheeks whilst Iseul is writhing about in Jaewoo’s lap as he tries to get some sort of weird hug dance from Jaewoo’s arm who is trying his best to calm down his babies with soothing back pats and combing his fingers through their hair.  

“  what is going on here  ?  why are all three of my babies crying  ?  ”  she inquires with concern,  her brows only creasing the slightest bit as she basks in the details of the sight unfolding in front of her.   

“  mama  !!  ”  the twins are overjoyed to hear the sound of their mother’s mellifluous husky voice as they immediately bounce towards her with renewed vigour and zest.  they both raise their tiny little arms up for her,  their tiny rolls of tears still mattifying on their chubby rounded faces and she swoops them up to kiss away their dying tears.  making her way over to rest besides the makeshift cuddle fort,  she rests besides Jaewoo as she assuages the slight trembling of her baby’s bodies with her emanating heat.  with his ever euphoric grin to see the love of his life again,  he dives in to press a hearty but gentle welcome back home kiss to her lips before aiding her with her doting reassurances to the twins who also demand for similar kisses.  mama,  kiss kiss !!

"  so does daddy want to tell me what was going on before I came home  ?  ”  Inés now eyes him with amusement,  making sure to rub down the backs of her babies and kissing the tufts of their hair adoringly.  

“  Shaun the sheep helped his little alien friend reunite with his family since he got lost from another planet and ended up on Earth so we uh . . .  got a little emotional seeing that happen.  but it’s a cute happy movie ending,  did you kids enjoy it  ?  ”  a sheepish smile takes over his features bashfully as a hand makes way to rub the back of his head before he flops down properly to cuddle up with his very own reunited family.  Inés kisses the hands of her baby’s sticky hands and they giggle mischievously as they try pressing their fists to her face but only switching tactic last moment like their father to steal a quick kiss from their mother.  just like the on-screen family reunited in high spirits and overflowing love and joy,  the same reflection is mirrored to the family on the heaped up blankets on the floor where they will no doubt cuddle for the next few hours for their next movie with mama.

life is good.