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chronicallylatetotheparty · 1 year ago

Text

Ch.2 Let Me Show You My Play

There was a knock at the door.

Adrien specifically told them that he wasn't taking visitors but still there was a knock.

Which could only mean one person.

"Hey dude." Nino stepped tentatively into the room. Eyes widening slightly at the opened bottle on Adrien's desk and the untouched glass in his hands.

The déjà vu hit Adrien so strongly that in that moment he wasn't there but several months past. When Nino last barged in to the sight of Adrien nursing a different glass of wine...

"Bribed him with another action figure then?" Adrien asked.

"Nah, man." Nino gently took the alcohol from Adrien's hands and set it on his desk. "Y'know why he let me in."

Adrien scoffed, wiping at his nose. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Nino noticed that Adrien avoided looking him in the eye. "...Why didn't I know? Why'd you keep... this from me?"

Adrien's mask cracked and his hands started to tremble.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey!" Nino reached for them with his own.

Adrien's arms were around Nino's waist and tears dripping onto his chest. Nino's arms wrapping around his big shoulders as he let Adrien cry.

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

Emma is angry.

Angry at Maman for hurting Papa. Angry at Hugo for taking her side. Angry at her Grandparents for not choosing one.

But at that moment she was mostly angry at the swarm of vultures -no, that was mean to carrion fowl- swarm of reporters that made it impossible to attend school. Sure school sucked but she could see her friends there. And the fencing team was decent.

Anyways, it was her school and she didn't appreciate the thought of her classmates getting cornered by adults who should know better.

"C'mon, Emma! Help me finish this level?" Louis asked with big eyes even though he was too old for them to be (very) effective anymore. Out of the three of them Louis was the only one who inherited their Papa's wavy golden hair and light eyes.

Emma glanced at the controller before going back to staring out the window. "I'm not really in the mood for video games right now. Why don't you ask Hugo?"

Louis scoffed. "He's even worse than you."

Before Emma could ask what that was supposed to mean Louis was already gone. If they were home Louis would've asked Papa or Gregor to play with him while complaining about his siblings being no fun. Or roped one of the maid's into it.

"Louis have you seen- oh." Hugo paused awkwardly at the threshold.

"He's downstairs," Emma pointed.

Hugo frowned. "Going to bug Grandpa while they're working?"

Emma doubted it. "He wouldn't have to if you played with him."

"Or you," Hugo shot back.

"Mm," Emma made a noncommittal grunt.

"...We wouldn't even be in this mess if Papa hadn't said anything," Hugo said, picking up where they left off.

"So he should have just done nothing?" Emma snapped. "Is that it? Just pretend everything was okay!"

"Everything was okay! But now all of a sudden I can't see Grandma Emily? Aunt Kagami isn't coming to your fencing tournament? And Louis, y'know what they call him at school!?"

"Don't!"

"Monarch's Grandson!"

There was a clattering sound followed by a pair of feet stomping up the stairs.

"Louis!" Emma called.

The trapdoor to the upper level slammed shut.

Hugo looked stricken. Like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

Emma resisted the urge to twist the knife as she rushed past him and up the stairs. Finding Louis curled up on the balcony.

"Hey." Emma resisted the urge to hug him, remembering that he didn't like it. "You know Hugo's just worried about you. He didn't mean to."

"No one ever means to." Louis sniffed, wiping his eyes. "They just do."

She had the distinct impression that Louis wasn't just talking about Hugo. "Ok... fair," Emma sighed as she sat next to him against the brick wall.

Before she could think of anything else to say Hugo came up too.

Louis turned away from his brother as Hugo sat across from them.

"I'm... sorry, Louis." Hugo said as he offered back Louis' controller. No worse for wear despite the drop.

Glancing in it's direction Louis swiped it and gave Hugo a brief nod.

Hugo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "... I can still help you with that level if you want?"

"I can do it myself."

Emma sighed again as Hugo gave her a pleading look. "We'll both help," she bumped shoulders with Louis. "C'mon, it's been a while since the three of us played."

Louis pressed his lips together as he resisted smiling. "Well..."

"I'll even show you that trick I learned," Hugo added.

"...Okay," Louis rose to his feet. "I know how stairs work, Maman," he said in reply to Hugo's outstretched hand.

Who stuck his tongue out at the words.

Louis chuckled as he went back downstairs.

"...I still say we should tell Papa. Or Maman."

"No no. Remember how they acted the last time something like this happened?"

"They made it go away?"

"They were embarrassing! And not the regular kind of embarrassing. The 'buys an entire company to prove a point' kind of embarrassing."

"Good! They deserve it."

"Yeah, but Louis doesn't."

"... This is such billionaire problems."

"Bullshit."

"Shhhh! Not in Grandma and Grandpa's house!"

Their talk turned to character selection and teamwork as they caught up with Louis. Who was not as ignorant of his older siblings discussion as they liked to believe.

Louis knew this stalemate was for his sake. He wasn't stupid. But he also knew that Emma and Hugo could go back to arguing just like that.

If this was the only way they'd actually spend time together he wasn't about to argue.

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

Nino stared at Adrien with dawning horror. "...No. Hell no!"

"Nino..."

He snatched the untouched glass from Adrien's desk and downed it like a shot. Then started pouring another.

"Nino," Adrien repeated, standing. Laying his calloused hands over Nino's trembling arms.

"What- What the fuck, dude." Nino set down the bottle and glass as he turned to face Adrien. "I thought- You don't deserve this. You don't deserve any of this! God damnit!"

Despite being slightly taller Adrien let Nino pull him back to his chest. Breathing in his cheap cologne and listening to his ragged breathing. He didn't want to let go.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault."

Nino just hugged Adrien tighter. God he was lame. Here he was supposed to be comforting Adrien about his impending divorce yet it was all Nino could do not to breakdown with him.

Adrien merely returned his embrace.

The memory faded as, just like before, Nino held on tight. And Adrien, just like before, felt safe in his embrace.

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

It was almost ten when Papa went to pick them up. Grandma calling them down from Maman's old room.

Louis practically sprinted into Papa's arms with Emma close behind. His eyes looked red.

"Hugo?" Papa gave him a tentative smile.

"... Excuse me." Hugo went upstairs and locked himself in the bathroom. His face felt hot. Water. Hugo opened the tap and splashed water on his face.

Breathe.

In, one two three...

Out, one two three...

Hugo wiped at his face before heading back to the living room.

"-you've been like a son to us," Grandpa was saying.

He froze on the stairs.

"And you've been a good husband to Marinette," Grandma added.

There was a gasp like a sob from Papa. "Even- Even with all of this?"

"It wasn't my parents divorce that kept Rolland out of my life. It was his own stubbornness."

"And my side of the family is so far away I hardly see them. We don't want that for you two. Or our grandkids."

"I... I don't know what to say," Papa sniffed. "Thank you, Tom. Sabine."

"Please, son. We've told you."

"Call us Papa and Maman."

"O-of course... Maman... Papa..."

Hugo fidgeted with the charm bracelet at his wrist before stomping loudly.

"There you are son!" Grandpa boomed, raising his arms for a hug.

Bracing himself, Hugo returned the bear hug the best he could. Grandpa setting him down with hardly anything broken this time.

Grandma walked up and gave him a softer hug. "Take care of yourself, Hugo."

Hugo sniffed. "Okay... Love you."

"We love you too."

"C'mon," Papa offered his hand. "Emma and Louis are already in the car. Let's go home."

Grabbing his bag Hugo walked past him.

Papa let his hand fall. "...Thanks again for watching them."

"Of course, son."

"We're always happy to have them over."

Hugo's brow furrowed as he spotted the limo. "It's not home without Maman," he muttered.

#adrien agreste #ml #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #ml fanfic #nino lahiffe #adrien and nino #hugo dupain cheng #emma dupain cheng #louis dupain cheng #Perfect Paradise #Divorce AU #ml au #post recreation

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shadesofnavy · 1 year ago

Note

I'm a bit curious, what's the story with Adams Dankworth? Also, what's going one with Pico's... I guess you would call him biological father, but he doesn't seem like much of a parent.

I believe we'll need to sit down for this.. warnings for heavy topics. Tagging them first for heads up.

[-sigh-]

Also. I should clarify that this entire AU (...yeah my art au i need a fuckin name for this) takes place in an abo-based world. Why haven't I mentioned that before? Well, two reasons: it's not made for smut specifically in mind (or is it..?) and I... just never really thought of bringing it up. Didn't see a need to it until now. Why is it an abo-based world? Idk. I just like certain things about it, and there ain't many FNF aus with it so wth, though it's not just for smut. Abo doesn't always have to be about that. I focus more other stuff, and keep it more or less pg-13. So keep in mind that not all of my art resolves around that specifically.

Anyways. Needed to point that out for that y'all could understand somethings here (and that both Adams and that other deadbeat are Pico's biological parents).

Oki? Oki. Very long post up ahead.

Nothing in Adams' life ever went according to his favor. He grew up in the multi-generational Dankworth family estate somewhere in the bigger cities from the east coast. They were pretty known for their wealth, but the dirt within the name was always kicked beneath the rug.

His family believed only the strongest could achieve any success. Almost all of them were alphas and betas, and they believed omega were weak and incapable of wealth. Being how Adams was the youngest of seven, and the only omega, he was naturally smaller and flimsier than his other siblings. The family didn't believe he could ever be more than a "mere needy wimp". Only a handful of family members actually bothered to take care of him when he was younger, those mostly being an older sister (Otis' mother) and his grandparents from his father's side, though they passed away when he turned 7.

He lacked actual love from his family, proper education, true friendships, and never experienced the joys of childhood. He didn't know what it was like to love, or to be loved. He grew up with a dark perspective in life, often questioning why he ever came to be. When he turned 17, he snuck off and left behind everyone's backs.

Like his son would, Adams struggled to manage through the city, thankfully though he made a few unexpected friends that would help and offer him places to stay every now and then until he could get himself a semi-decent job for his situation. At 19 however, he got caught by an alpha during a heat, and in his frenzied state of mind at the time he gave into temptation, ultimately having Pico on accident. The alpha never stuck around, so Adam's was left on his own.

He took both roles as a mother and father for Pico, but with the lack of experience of a decent family, Adams could never truly love his son, only raise him and teach him how to survive. The only reason he even went through with having Pico was because he couldn't exactly afford another way out, and because of his primal maternal instincts bonding him with the child. Those instincts would be the only thing keeping Adams from leaving Pico, however as the latter grows up, those instincts will ultimately begin to fade as he grows older. Despite this, Pico would live his childhood loving his dad unconditionally, though, the older he got, the more he began to pick up on Adams' bluntness and depression. He'd start to think of himself of a burden because of this.

Adams tried his best to look after Pico, but it was never anywhere near easy. It only toughened when Pico began to develop schizophrenia as a teenager. At the time he wasn't diagnosed, and Adams had no idea. He began to think made he had messed up on something when Pico was still smaller, and he blamed himself. He didn't exactly love Pico per say, but he still felt bad knowing the boy was suffering from something.

Then the shooting happened.

That evening after when Adams came home from getting fired at work for the fourth time that year, having been notified of the event that happened by a friend whose kid was also at the school, he would find his son huddled in the corner of the dreary and cold single room of their apartment, covered in blood and muck, choking through tears and violent tremblings, an unloaded MAC-10 sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, specks of dried blood splattered across it.

Pico would not respond to anything he said or did for the following hours into the night, even when he stopped crying he wouldn't say anything besides the heavy breathing, distraught mumbling and constant jerks his body would do whenever Adams tried to comfort him.

Adams didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he failed Pico. He tried for so long, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't do it any longer. He knew wasn't going to be of help to Pico anymore. He didn't have a job, the rent of the apartment was overdue, and they didn't have any other place to go. He couldn't help his son now.

When Pico woke up in the morning after having the worst sleep of his life, he would find himself wrapped in the single gray blanket he had known his whole life and noticed Adams wasn't anywhere. His suitcase wasn't lying by the door anymore like it always did, and the second pillow over the mattress on the floor where they both used to sleep on was gone.

Pico was alone now.

He didn't like it.

But maybe it was for the best?

#tw #tw neglect #tw abuse #tw ableism #tw abandonment #heavy topics #pico dankworth #adams dankworth #long post #um fuck #pico had a complicated relationship with his dad simply put #asks

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weirdthoughtsandideas · 5 months ago

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Confession

I wanted to have another next gen come out to their parents, but tbh… I don’t think many of them would really feel the need to. However… there is also grandparents…

Read on ao3 or under the cut.

Germán was coming over for dinner. Violetta was in the kitchen, making dinner. She could never make as good food as Olga, but she was pretty decent.

Isadora came into the kitchen, looking for soda in the fridge.

“Hi, honey,” Violetta said, leaning in to kiss her. “Grandpa comes over in an hour.”

“Yeah…” Isadora made an unsure face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…”

“Isa. Tell me now.”

Isadora took a deep breath. “I… I just… listen, I love grandpa, but… he’s… I don’t like how he’s… asking questions sometimes.”

Violetta understood what she meant. She knew better than anyone.

She gave her daughter a hug. “I know he’s a lot. But I promise, if he’s too much, me and your dad will tell him to stop.”

“Absolutely,” Leon said, walking up to them. “I’ve never been afraid to put my guard down with him.”

“It’s true,” Violetta chuckled. “Your dad has had to fight with your grandpa so much just because he was in the same room as me.”

As Germán arrived, he gave Violetta a big hug, and a pat on the shoulder for Leon.

Then he noticed Isadora. “My beautiful granddaughter! Let me have a look at you!”

Isadora hugged him. It seemed fine this far.

They all sat down for dinner.

“I’ve cooked it all by myself,” Violetta said. “I followed Olga’s recipe, but I’m never gonna be as good as her.”

”I think it tastes wonderful!” Germán said.

”Thanks, dad.”

”So, Leon…” Germán turned to Leon. ”You got your hands full with Isadora? Hehe!”

”No, she’s pretty well behaved,” Leon said. He glanced at his daughter.

”No, but I mean… if she’s anything like her mom, boys should be swarming around her!”

”They don’t,” Isadora said.

”Ah, because your father is so protective, eh?” Germán laughed.

”No… dad is not protective over boys.”

”I don’t have to worry about boys, ever,” Leon said.

”But you must have a boyfriend, Isadora?” Germán asked.

”Dad…” Violetta said, noticing her daughter growing uncomfortable.

”I don’t.”

”A crush, then?”

Isadora barely moved a muscle, and yet Germán interpreted something from her.

”Eh? Yeah, you do!”

”She literally did not even react,” Leon said.

”Dad, she doesn’t want to talk about this,” Violetta said.

”If she doesn’t wanna talk, it must mean she’d hiding something,” Germán said. ”Come on, Isadora. You’re meeting a boy in secret, don’t you?”

Isadora shook her head. ”I don’t, and I won’t.”

”What do you mean won’t?”

Isadora could not hold it in anymore. ”Because I’m a lesbian. I like girls, ok?”

Silence was spread over the dinner table.

”Huh?” Germán said.

”Yes. So stop asking me about boys, because I’m not interested.”

”Ok… I’m sorry…”

Isadora had never said it out loud before. Of course, her parents did know - they had figured it out a long time ago, but never said anything.

Leon put a comforting hand on her.

Germán did not talk for the rest of the dinner, and left shortly after. As they had said goodbye, Isadora felt a sense of relief, but she also felt weird.

”I wasn’t too harsh on him?” she asked.

”No, you put him in his place,” Violetta assured her. ”He’s not gonna bother you about that anymore.”

Isadora smiled. ”I didn’t… plan for this to be my coming out to all of you. I actually hadn’t really had a plan to come out at all… not that I think you wouldn’t support me, it’s just that I didn’t feel like saying it.”

Violetta hugged her. ”We never wanted you to feel like you had to, anyway.”

”You knew?”

”Kinda,” Leon said, kissing her on the forehead. ”In the society we live in, I’d never assume anyone was straight. Especially not my own kid. I feel like no one should need to come out, because no one should assume anything, really.”

”But my dad is from another time,” Violetta chuckled. ”He’s supportive, but his default thought process is that everyone is hetero. The funniest thing is, I’ve been bisexual this whole time. He would only have noticed if I dated a girl.”

”Me too,” Leon said. ”If I dated a boy, that is. But Vilu, I think that if you dated a girl, he’d just think you were friends.”

Violetta laughed. ”That’s true.”

Isadora giggled at her parents. She was glad they were so supportive of her.

#violetta

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meowsgirldrawing · 1 year ago

Text

Dorian and his elven daughter

Word Count- 2,706

AO3- Link

Masterlist- Link

“Oh, fuck that.”

Dorian laughs, gripping the amulet in his hand tightly. His laugh echoes against the interior of his office, which is big enough to be considered a master bedroom honestly. He hears Bellatrix’s giggles emit from the crystal as his calms.

“I mean, the guy acts like an indecent asshole-”

“Are there any decent ones?”

“ You would know. ANYWAY-,”

Dorian bursts into more laughter.

“then turns around, acting shocked when you give it back to him- mind you, in a civilized manner. Jeez. Tevinter sounds great. ” She retorts, causing him seconds from wheezing in his chair.

After a moment, he breaths. He leans back in his chair and chuckles finally evening out. His hand holds against his chin, smiling wryly, “Maybe you can come to the next Imperial sphere, it’ll be grand! We can comment on the man’s attire- scare him into thinking the worst.”

“ Oh dear! I saw the Inquisitor and Magister Pavus speaking ill, I hope my luscious seat still shines afterward! ” Her voice deepens, the scornful attempt at a Tevinter accent could make his grandparents and father turn in their graves.

“I thought you didn’t like your former title though? A change of heart maybe?” He teases.

“Dor Dor, I’ve had to accept by now that it will follow me to my grave and even afterwards, whether I want it to or not. Might as well get some use of it.” She shrugs in spite of the fact he can’t see it, “Especially against some entitled, fucking wise-ass who tries to insult one of my favorite nieces.”

“Yes well, you’ll be glad to know that he not only looked like the most miserable, silliest person there, but I saw him practically run out with his tail between his legs soon after.

She snickers, “Good.”

“Thankfully, there was no falter in the new arrangements so everyone matter-of-factly expected Briva and I at the next gathering without trouble.”

A low whistle, “Damn, Dor, look at youuuu! Already some change in the social rank. Metaphorically, of course.”

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Tis similar, still have much more work that will last well over a lifetime or two.”

“Yeah, well- good thing you- wait… FUCK! TURNIP, NO!-” A thud, Bellatrix coughs, and some shuffling. Dorian pauses, looking down at the crystal in his palm. It flicks from light to off, indicating more to the commotion. He hesitates, “Bella?” He taps it, all the same of knowing it’s alright- just something to check, “Bellatrix? Is everything alright?”

Soon, the crystal shines bright again with the elf’s voice coming through, albeit, breathless.

“The dog…jumped..on me.” More shuffling, “I think he heard my.. grt- whistling. …This is why I’m a cat person.”

He breaks into laughter as she huffs, “Are you alright?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, fucker.” She growls, her tone still light.

“Ass.”

“Shit-talker.”

He goes to continue their game when he notices Gilmi, one of the head servants of his household, standing nervously by the door, waiting patiently.

“Bella?”

“Yeah? Is everything alright?” She clearly picked up his change of tone.

“Not sure. I’ll send back for you once I’m done.”

“Got it, Dor Dor. Tell Briva her favorite Aunt said hi.”

He motions for the servant to come in, snickering, “You know she has close to 6 other Aunts, yes?”

“Un-noted. Take care.”

“You do the same.” The connection cuts and he stashes the amulet carefully back into his desk, giving the servant his full attention.

“Is something the matter, dear?”

“Not…exactly sir, Miss Briva is the library. Uhm, something occurred and now she’s scared. Mister Jervah told me to just come get you.”

The moment Dorian heard the second line, he jerked from his chair, his gut clenched. He doesn’t waste time, quickly thanking the elf before making his way down to the library. The clicking of boots doesn’t help his nerves. They only add to the ever-growing fear, his hands tight, and mind racing at any horror his daughter was frightened of.

Possibilities flood though. An assassin paid to kidnap or hurt her- Well, he knows the guards would have stopped and alerted him immediately, but still…. An animal at the window?- Briva absolutely adores them, she would have been running in, wanting to show him honestly. A book she shouldn’t have read, Then again, he holds all of the spell tomes or spell-based ones on a high shelf or locked in his office, safe……STILL-

Arriving at the doors, he makes haste in opening and coming through.

All right, time to throw all the previous worries out the window, along with his sanity- specifically the barely hanging nail one from across the room, shattered glass scattered around on on top of the window seal. One that completes the look of a tornado, fire, and ice-mixed wonderland.

Books are thrown off shelves, some burned with others frozen in crystal cold. The curtains scorched from the bottom up, continuous crackles hitting his ears. The floor has puddles of water, as well as short layers of ice in some spots- his foot almost slips but he steadies himself on a half-burned desk near the door.

He trudged slowly around the room, tensely looking everywhere with wide, fearful eyes, also casting out swift but small spells to counter the others. All the while, calling out for his little girl. Fear has him caged at this point; with all this mass of destruction, no wonder his little one was terrified.

“Briva, darling. Papa’s here, I-”

“Ser Pavus,”

He turns, presently holding a piece of paper, one that Briva had obviously been working on beforehand. The ink was fresh and oily.

“Jervah, where’s my daughter?” Maintaining his calm and ever-resounding nature in his voice. In spite of this, the older elf looks upon him with understanding. He motions towards the door across the library. It’s an extra room, made specifically for when he and Briva are focusing on her studies.

As Dorian crosses the foothold, Jervah speaks up assuringly, “I let the others know to leave you two be. You will need it.” Not understanding this but knowing he will soon, the Magister nods, before returning to his most important.

He casts a minor spell, a light orb that lights up the room. “Briva?...Briva, honey.” His voice is tight, trying his damndest to sound heartening- despite his own heart currently moving-

He stops at the shuffling. Moving the orb closer in its direction, he sees a small figure under the middle table- scooting further under it as if to hide from the light. He sighs, relief flooding over him when realization hits.

Dorian takes his time, hands behind his back as he sends multiple orbs around corners of the room, lighting it up more until it turns into a soft, light blue hue. Her favorite color.

“...Briva? Is everything alright, my dearest?”

She doesn’t respond, concealing her face in her knees, arms wrapped around her tightly. With a kneel, he takes notice of the ice around her fingertips.

Oh..

He blinks.

So that’s what happened….Another wave of relief, Her powers just manifested. That’s all..

Now, he speaks up, “Briva, dear, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

She takes a moment before shaking her head, just barely. “Do you want to come out?”

Another shake of the head.

“Alright,” He sits down and tucks his legs under him. His robes fell around him, touching the ice residue and crowding around the two of them. She moves her head up quickly.

“No!”

He stops, looking at her.

She gnaws on her lip. Her eyes were blotchy and red, with tears streaming down her bubbly cheeks as her pointed ears droop slightly.

“Y-you’re gonna mess up y-your outfit.”

Dorian can’t help himself- a short laugh escapes from him. Mae, the loving sport, was always saying how Briva could be his blood by how she acted at times; it’s clear as ever even now. Still chuckling at her confused and worried look, he gently coaxes her out from the table.

“Please, it’ll soon be water. It’s fine, I promise.”

She’s hesitant, bunching her light florid, green dress in her tiny hands. Reluctantly she moves and settles into his lap. Now sensing she wasn’t in trouble, she buried her face into his chest. Unfortunately, she starts tearing up again when his arms wrap around her in a tight, but soft cradle.

The patient quietness gets mellowed out as Dorian runs a soothing hand through her curly hair, “Are you alright, my dear?”

She doesn’t speak but nods. “What about your hands? Are they cold?”

A pause before another small nod.

“Here.” With an easy hand, he warms it just enough yet pauses when she flinches. He frowns, concerned. Briva has never been afraid of his magic. Nor Mae’s, Estel’s, or any other of her mage Aunts and Uncles. Curious yes, but never frightened. Only when she sees it in public or from other Magisters in general is when she gets somewhat nervous- that’s when he pulls her closer as to soothe her thoughts.

Kaffas- she just discovered herself that she has mage blood and after experiencing something such that is emotionally reeling to most young ones- especially at her age! Dorian curses inwardly at himself. The first thing I go and do is use one of the main elements.

Dorian moves his hand away an inch, “Is this alright, dear?”

She looks up before glancing down at his hand. She gives a small nod and lends her hand back.

As the frost disappears from her fingers, Dorian leans his back on the table side. It digs into his upper back, but he pays it no mind. He could care less when his daughter is his main concern at the moment.

“What happened?” Her body stills at the question.

“Briva?”

“... I-im sorry.. ” Dorian tilts his head, “Whatever for, my dearest?”

Her hands wipe her eyes, sniffling and whimpering. “I ruined the Library. The b-books are ruined! I-i didn't mean to- I was only reading what Mister Jervah gave me and then-,” A small sob escapes her, tearing at his heart. Every urge in his body fights against the instinct to hug her tightly to him, to hide her away from it; as much as he wants to, she needs some room to speak.

“A-and then! -Ice and fire came… I think I h-hurt Mr.Jervah!” Briva cries.

“Mr.Jervah said he was alright, dear. No need to worry.” He assures, brushing the curly hair from her face.

“B–b-but, in the Library! I-”

“The books, curtains, and any other affected object there can be replaced. You cannot, however.”

Briva looks down as her hands fumble in her lap. “..I’m sorry, papa..”

Dorian smiles, pulling her closer, “Briva, darling.”

She glances back up. The tears get gently wiped away by him, swiftly pulling down his long sleeve to dry her cheeks. As he does this, he continues, “Dear, you know what happened exactly, yes?”

She pauses. “I’m like Papa?”

He chuckles, nodding along, “Yes, you have what many consider, mage blood. You will learn more as you grow, but, “ He adjusts himself, still holding Briva in his lap, “You understand what that means, correct.” He checks.

“Yes, But,” She bites her cheek, “Isn’t it…dangerous? Aunt Mae said some people think mages are scary.”

He sighs, “Unfortunately people believe that, of course. It’s just like how many believe your other father is a scary beast all because of his appearance.”

“But father is nice! He’s not a beast.”

“I know that. But it’s an undeserving fact, sadly.”

She goes quiet again. A less tight grip on her dress, the same one that bundles around her, barely touching the ground underneath her father’s lap. She studies the way to fabric lay, thinking through her next words. Dorian is patient, only humming and brushing through her hair contently.

She’s hesitant, “ Can I…can I use my magic like yours?” She looks up, “Like how you used it to help Aunt Bellatrix and Estel?”

He smiles as she continues, “You said you only use it when the aid for people is needed, you helped people…I wanna do that.”

“With time and careful studies, indeed. It can be done, my dearest.”

It’s almost like she was never crying, never scared- her bright smile grew on her face before she erupted in giggles and hugged him. Like every time, he never hesitates to reciprocate, holding her close as chuckles leave him.

After leading her out of the study, Dorian and Briva find Jervah standing near the entrance of the Library. His grin matches Dorian's, as he greets Briva, who runs up to him with a worry in her brow. “Mister Jervah! Are you alright?”

The older man chuckles, kneeling down, “I am alright, madam. No need to worry.” She gives a shy smile and hugs him.

As Briva talks with Jervah, Dorian’s happiness starts to dwindle. Slowly and awfully as new anxiety kicks in. She’s a mage. His hidden gaze ponders over his daughter, who’s giggling as Jervah holds her up.

An elven mage….In Tevinter .

She’s going to have many troubles try and run through her. People are going to look upon her as nothing other than a unique piece for a stealer’s collection, or an unwanted soon enemy. People will want to hurt her.. His darling little girl. The dear one that his husband, Fuliz, saved close to 6 years ago.

Well….He perks up, “Briva?”

She looks over, smiling, “Yes, Papa?”

“Would you like to go with Miss Gilmi and get cleaned up? Papa and Jervah will take care of things here.”

She tilts her head, “Surely I can at least gather the saved books?”

Oh bless her , he instead shakes his head but keeps his smile plastered, “I’m quite sure, my dearest.” Leaning down, he welcomes her quick hug, placing a kiss on her head, “Run along now, we’ll be fine.”

With a nod and a small grin, she does so. Grabbing onto Gilmi’s outreached hand, she waves as the two leave.

He waves back, waiting for them to be completely out of view before he speaks in a quiet but firm tone, “Jervah, for now on: please notify the guards and staff to keep an extra eye on all entrances, no matter the circumstances. And if anything happens that concerns Briva or strange behavior from staff, tell me immediately.”

“Of course, sir.” Jervah bows, and makes his way out. Dorian turns, hands behind his back as he casts out spells. As chairs and tables float back to positions, the curtains being pulled down for replacement, and frost being melted and dried away, he stands near the window. His eyes ogle at the gate that guards his home.

He once felt shame and dishonor for who he was, for where he was from, for his decisions on who to love and be around. He feels his jaw clench, no matter what, he will make absolutely sure Briva will not ever feel the same still lingering feeling he feels now.

While his fears from before have just become stilling nightmares and comments he can now brush off without a blink,

While he now has a wonderful and sweet husband waiting to come visit him and their girl in between mercenary missions,

While he has multiple friends all over Thedas that wouldn’t think twice to help him when heeded-

The judgment and disdain from his peers continue like an endorsed flame. People look upon him and send assassins of words or people in their wake, in their distaste. People fight to stop his coming dent in their country, and all would turn towards his little girl when she joins his side. All for her pointed ears and now magic.

Well…he smirks lightly, spinning back to the room and out the door.

They best send their biggest armies at him and his own growing power, cause the Fade will have to destroy itself before he allows any of them to even step a foot near her.

She is his daughter, no matter the blood. As long as he lives and breathes, she doesn’t have to be afraid. Never like he once was.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #Dorian pavus #Brivia Pavus #Dorian is a dad #papa dorian pavus #oc insert #Dragon age fanfic #Post Tresspasser #male adaar #Fuliz Adaar #dorian x inquisitor #Dorian x male adaar

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ofdarkestdesires · 2 years ago

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This may not be the best place to put this, but despite my follower count being decently high (thanks porn bots /s) this blog is honestly pretty under the radar and a lot of my personal posts get ignored, so let me just vent for a bit.

Christmas was so good, but it was also so, so exhausting, and it is precisely because of two forces—my sister, and my grandparents.

For context, I have three sisters—let’s call them Thing 1, Thing 2, and the Grinch (just because I wanted to play up the Seuss theme). Thing 1 and Thing 2 are the ones I’m closest to—they’re dorky nerds just like me, and one of them is really good at animatics (if you’re interested, you can find her stuff under becky_weber on YouTube). But the Grinch and I were always a bit more at odds with each other. I’m the oldest, she’s the second, there’s barely less than two years between us, it comes with the territory.

Anyways, as far as the Grinch goes, Christmas time was alright…aside from the fact that she spent most of it on her phone calling up her boyfriend, chatting with him, texting him, and otherwise being curled up on the couch far away from the rest of us. She even left the after-dinner games early so she could FaceTime with him, instead of spending time with her family.

Mind you, the Grinch is already spending all of her free time with the boy. They’ve moved in together—with roommates, but still—and it has been implied that though she has a separate room she shares his bed instead, but even before that she’d spend every chance she got hanging out with him. What few times she came to visit the family, she is always on her phone texting him, or leaving early so she can spend time with him.

And even now, on Christmas—even in the middle of the gift exchange that was meant to be a nice little private family tradition—she not only called up but FaceTimed the boyfriend for a good chunk of the morning. I just…I know I shouldn’t throw stones when I’m perhaps the least qualified man to talk on relationships (me being an ace man and all), but can’t she go one day, one very special, family-centric day, without clinging to his messages like a hopeless little puppy?

Anyways, that’s my sister, and that’s an ongoing form of frustration. My grandparents, though, are another story.

More context, and we’re gonna need to turn the tone down a bit. Two years ago, my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s—and by the sounds of the tests, she’d been going through Alzheimer’s for a while already, but my grandpa had been putting off taking her to get checked because “it’s just old age, you get forgetful in old age.” Which, yeah, you do…but you typically don’t forget what your grandchildren and children look like.

My grandpa is a very proud man, too proud one might say so I’ll say it here and now. He doesn’t like the idea of not being able to handle something on his own, and he won’t admit needing help. He also lives in a house that’s larger than my childhood home, in the middle of the nowhere part of Utah, and refuses to move because it means giving up his big home, downsizing into a smaller place, and giving up all of the many, many things he has.

My grandpa is a lover of things, you see. One may even call him a hoarder of things which I will here and now.

All this is just set up to explain the shock we all had when my mom got a message from her brother, who had brought his family up to spend Christmas with the grandparents, telling her that my grandma had had a seizure during the gift-opening process. Seizures are apparently a part of late-stage Alzheimer’s, as the disease eats away at the motor-control section of the brain, and as it turns out this is not the first time this has happened.

It’s the first time we’ve heard of it, though, and only because my uncle and his family were at the house to witness it. Which means my grandpa has been understating how my grandma’s been doing, and giving false accounts to the doctors for my grandma, because he doesn’t want to admit it’s getting to be too much for him…or that his Jo is slipping away from him.

It’s…it’s sad.

It’s sad, but it’s also so…infuriating. I hesitate to say this, but I hate my grandpa. I hate him for the man that he is, the proud, selfish, stubborn man he is that refuses to sell his massive house that’s so big he can’t even keep it clean, who snubs his nose at the concept of moving to the city into a smaller home, who willfully obfuscates the truth about my grandma and unwittingly gatekeeps her from care and attention that could help her.

Again, they live in the middle of nowhere Utah. My family is a good two and a half hour drive away from them, and I’m a good three hour drive. If something happens—if she has another seizure, a bad one, or a fall, or she tries to run off because she doesn’t know who my grandpa is—they don’t have the high-end medical attention readily available to them, and it’ll take hours for us to get to them too! If they were closer, everyone could feel a bit more at ease, but as it is…

…I genuinely don’t know what day will be the day my mom calls and tells me my grandma died. And when it happens, nothing in my mind will be able to stop my heart from hating my grandfather for letting her waste away and perish so far away.

I love my family, I truly do…but gods, some days really let me see the parts of them that are the worst.

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rosepetalkitty · 12 days ago

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oh boy tw for family trauma 🫠

yeah no that's. damn.

my dad only ever hit me once, and he probably doesn't remember it, but i do. i never told anyone because i didn't want him to get in trouble — he was always the parent who was less of a threat.

that's the only physical thing that ever happened (thank god) but there was a lot of other shit and moving away to uni really helped me realize that.

my mom would sit on my bed behind me while i worked on homework and shout at me if it seemed like i was falling asleep. she would keep me up until 1am some nights, and when she was tired and angry in the morning she would tell everyone it was my fault no matter how much i tried to say that i wanted her to just go to bed, that i didn't want to keep her up, that i was tired too... that started at the beginning 9th grade (during quarantine) and lasted until the beginning of 11th.

before that, in middle school (i was 12) when i first got a phone, she told me one of the expectations was that i would give her the password and let her go through it. i did give her the password, but even at that age i didn't really trust her, so i used another app to put a second password on my home screen. if you put it in wrong it took a photo of you and emailed it to me.

a few weeks later she told me she wanted to go through it, and i told her that was fine, but because it was past my bedtime she wouldn't let me stay up and sit with her while she did. i asked if we could do it in the morning so that we could go through it together, and she said that was fine. guess who woke up to an enraged mother and an email with a picture of her face in the morning...

i brought that one up in therapy four years later in response to her telling the therapist she didn't know why i didn't trust her, and she interrupted me to say, and i quote, "that was so long ago that it doesn't matter anymore." she then turned to the therapist to tell her about how when i was in middle school i wouldn't let her go through my phone "to make sure i was safe", and that that was evidence that the trust issues were my fault. the therapist just looked at me like 😬 and quickly moved on to the next topic. my mom now refuses to acknowledge that she ever said that.

in high school my parents always kinda treated me like a toddler. i wasn't allowed to leave the house unless it was with them because they didn't trust public transportation and our neighborhood wasn't safe to walk out of (giant road all around the perimeter). i didn't get to take a bus until i was 16, and that was only to the mall a few minutes from my house. it took until i was 17 to be able to actually go and hang out with my friends without her supervision or that of another parent who she would expect updates from.

now that im in uni living on my own, she takes every opportunity she can to berate me about my ability to take care of myself. ive been living alone for three months now and have been perfectly fine, doing what i can to get decent nutrition on a college campus that makes it somewhat difficult, and she argued with me about whether it was "responsible" to get a hamburger when she brought me to shake shack while was home to visit for a weekend. "you probably only eat stuff like this, anyways, order something healthy!"

and honestly, speaking of that trip, y'know what really showed me how much less stress i've been under in uni? having a nice brunch at a fancy-ish restaurant that we used to go to with my grandparents when i was little and being low-key appalled when my parents parents started having a not-so-quiet back and forth in which my mom was saying "oh you just think everything i say is wrong, just tell everyone that, be honest, this is ridiculous" over the fact that my dad had asked "hey just to make sure we did mean to get two orders of potatoes, right? just want to check before the server comes back in case that's too much."

those arguments were normal to me a few months ago. and they wonder why i don't tell them things...

(also for context, it's one of those places where two or three small plates is enough for one person and you share stuff, so he was counting up what we were planning to order to make sure we got the right amount — the answer was yes, everyone in the family loves those potatoes, and the second my brother said that my dad was like "oh cool okay, anyways-" before being cut off again by my mom going nuclear over being interrupted by my brother)

and also, final footnote before i post this, there is so much more. this is like. not the worst of my childhood. plus im not including anything from before i was like 12 because i don't remember any of it besides a couple snippets, so there's that...

#rosie rants #rosie rambles #family drama #family trauma #childhood trauma

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the-diary-of-an-introvert · 5 months ago

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Recently I’ve reconnected with my little sister on my dad’s side.

She’s sixteen now and I’m hoping she understands why I was absent for so long.

She says she’s does.. but sometimes I just get worried that she completely blames me.

I’m not saying that I’m not to blame.. I could have tried harder. I could have put up with my dad’s antics. I could have just dealt with it long enough for her to turn 18 so she could have made the choice herself.

However, I couldn’t. He always wanted me to change everything about myself. He wanted me to do everything he wanted me to do. All the way down to the college I went to, the man I was engaged to. He wanted me to cut off my mom’s whole side of my family.. which, I get it. I eventually ended up doing anyways. However, I needed to be the one who made that decision all on my own.

And you’re probably wondering or thinking, he’s your dad. He was just trying to do what’s best for you.

Not necessarily. My dad was always in and out of my life. I would do something super small and he would lose his shit and decide that he never wanted to talk to me or see me again.

He would drop me off back into front of my grandparents house with all the crap he had bought me, in tears and completely confused.

There was one time in particular where he got mad because my step mom at the time started messaging me on MySpace.. yeah, I was THAT young. She baited me into saying something that upset him and told him about it.

I immediately heard him start yelling and he forced me to pack up the room he had made for me into trash bags and again, took me back to my maternal grandparents house.

Surprise though, my grandparents weren’t even home. Neither were my brothers. I was locked out of the house scared to death…

Thankfully one of our neighbors, whose kids we played with often found me and brought me into her home. She comforted me and let me call my grandparents. She just so happened to also have my little brother with her. So I’m guessing they hadn’t been gone long.

But can you imagine the fear that I went through in that moment? I was twelve years old. I was terrified.

He didn’t even stick around long enough to make sure I got inside okay. What kind of parent or even decent adult does that to a child?

Then there was the thing with his friend.. we’ll call him Joe. He was 20. I was 15 almost 16.

It had been the magical number of two years and my dad came back around wanting to get to know each other again.. he took me and my little sister, who was 3 or 4 at the time to San Antonio along with my step mom.

We had a great time. Things were going so well this time and I had so much hope that I would continue.

However, one night Joe was over hanging out with us. I thought he was cool. The dude was hecka tall. I was and am still only 5 feet tall. So he was a giant to me.

We got close, like sibling or cousins do. He was the only person close-ish to my age that I could hang out with. I mean, I loved hanging out with my sister.. but she was little. And yeah.

Anyways, one night I went to bed early. I was watching a movie about to fall asleep and he came in. He asked if he could watch the movie with me and I said yeah. Which, all honesty, I’m surprised I even chose to sleep in my actual room that night because I usually would just sleep on my sister’s top bunk.. but for whatever reason, I chose not to this time.

Anyways, he went from sitting on the edge of my bed to laying down next to me, then he got under the covers and began to touch me. Rubbing me all over until eventually he put his hand in my pants.

I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t want my dad to hate me because this was his friend. Things had been going so well between us and I just didn’t want to cause any problems and make him hate me again.. so I just pretended to be dead asleep. Yeah, I know.

Not the smartest thing to do.. but still.

And don’t get me wrong, I lost my virginity when I was 14. However, I had dated that guy for like a year. And honestly, it had only happened once. There was a time before the initial one time, but we apparently didn’t do it right and yeah… so technically one and half?

And it wasn’t anything like leading up to something. It legit was, in, out. It lasted like 3 minutes.

I had never been touched or caressed the way that Joe had done to me. Or even touched down there by a boy with their hand.

Anyways, the next day I decide that I HAVE to tell my dad and stepmom.

So I do.

My dad legit laughed at me and said, “are you sure? I think you may have been dreaming.”

And he never took it seriously. I didn’t want to press the issue because, again, I didn’t want him to hate me.

I never spoke about it again. I never told my grandparents because I just assumed that they would have the same reaction my dad did.. and again, I didn’t want to lose my dad again.

Anyways, I figured I’d give some background about me and my dad so that everyone could understand why there is so much animosity here.

Once my little sister was born, he continuously used her as a weapon to hurt me even further.i waited over 13 years for a little sister.. when she was born, i felt like my life was complete.. even though she was born early and was so small and fragile, I loved her with everything in me. I always wanted to be there for her and protect her from anything bad that could possibly happen to her.

Unfortunately, my dad put up all these walls and kept us away from each other..

He let his issue with his CHILD get between me and my sister. Yes, I don’t care what anyone says, he was the adult, I was the child. He was the parent. He should have protected me.. instead, he became one of the people who hurt me most in the world.

Anyways, my sister is 16 now. Her mom and our dad divorced years ago. She lives with her mom and thankfully her mom finally realized everything he was doing and how he influenced her. We’ve somewhat made amends, I never honestly never blamed her. I know that she was being hurt just as much as I was.

I remember this one time, I was maybe like, 8 or 9. They lived in the little 3 bedroom house. I don’t remember where it was. I do remember it was close to my grandparents because the drive wasn’t that long.

Anyways, he and my step mom were arguing and he started throwing glass vases everywhere and at her. I stayed in my room because I was scared. I remember sticking my head out because I was curious, and I just remember my step mom side stepping a flying vase that almost hit her in the head.

I closed my door then and just sat on my bed waiting for it to stop.

So yeah, we no longer harbor any resentments towards my step mom. She had it most likely 100% worse than me as she lived with him everyday.

Anyways, my sister is 16 now.

She’s a young writer, like I was. 🥰

She’s been working on a book and has asked me to help her with it. So we’ve been bonding over it.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy or excited about something in my life.

I’ve waited 16 years to have a good solid relationship with my sister.. and it’s finally happening. I’ll be 30 this year, better later than never.

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sunflowergirl522 · 2 years ago

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Yours Truly 1

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 5516

Warnings: slight mentions of a toxic relationship

Series Masterlist

When Bucky put the ad for a roommate in the paper Sam made fun of him. “Only old people read the paper now Buck! You’re gonna get stuck with someone who’s just as old as you.” The jokes only continued when someone reached out to him about it via letter in the mail.

Dear James,

I’m reaching out about your roommate posting. I would be almost the picture perfect roommate. I’m relatively quiet and would never come home super late and wake you up from being too loud. You’d probably won’t even see me much because I'd mainly be in my room if I was home. I also would be willing to be the designated cook of the apartment, I like to feed people. And since it’s only fair to include the cons of me being a roommate here’s some of them. I would probably make the place a bit of a mess because I get distracted while in the middle of things sometimes, though I will clean it up so you don’t have to. I deep clean things when I get anxious or stressed so you may come home one day to me hyper fixating on a stain on the counter. I know it can be annoying, my last roommate hated that so it’s a con not a pro. Sometimes I stress cook late at night but that would rarely happen at the apartment and even if it did I try to be as quiet as possible. Also I have a bit of a duck obsession so you might find a stray statue or two around in the living room while I find space for it in my room. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Y/n Y/l/n

“Dude, ducks?” Sam laughed when he read it. “That’s an old person's hobby. And she likes to feed people? I bet she’s a mom whose kids have all grown and flown the nest.”

“She had a previous roommate Sam, I doubt she’s that old.”

“Yeah, probably in an old folks home.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway she’s the only one who reached out that seems like a decent roommate.” Bucky shudders at the thought of Chad the ex frat boy who spent the whole time talking about ‘his boys’, Darla the girl who spent the entire time flirting with him, and Chris the stoner who showed up to their meeting high as a kite. They weren’t awful people, just not anyone Bucky would want to share an apartment with. He wastes no time in getting a pen out and writing his response asking you when you would be able to move in while Sam raids his fridge. Bucky doesn’t even feel the need to meet you after the letter, the other candidates had all sent him emails asking him when he would want to meet for an interview without stating anything about themselves. He makes sure to throw the letter in a mailbox while on his way out with Sam to road trip to Steve's place for the weekend.

When you get his response in the mail you immediately call up your friend Kate to help you start packing. You’ve been desperate to get out of your apartment since your ex cheated on you with your roommate and he kept coming over after the breakup. You’ve mainly been crashing at Kate’s place since then.

You’re quick to save his number, that was included in the letter, in your phone and shoot him a text telling him you could move in as soon as he was ready for you, typing it up as if you were sending him a letter. It was something you had started doing with your grandparents after they finally got smart phones and figured out text to speech. You had always sent letters back and forth to each other, but so much time would pass between letters getting to them and coming back to you so you had brought up texting to keep in touch since you barely had time to call them anymore. They had issues with typing responses out and would always type it out like a letter when they did. And now they speak letters into their phones and you respond to them in the same fashion.

It has become second nature to you now to respond to people that way. Kate and her roommate Yelena found it endearing while your ex and almost ex roommate found it annoying. They had told you it made them hate texting you. But that was fine, you didn’t care much about them anymore anyway. Your roommate had always been a bit of a bitch and you could tell your relationship was nearing its end when they began to say things that hurt your feelings and called you a baby anytime you confronted them about it.

James responds to your message hours later while you’re piling boxes in the back of Kate’s SUV. There doesn’t even seem to be a hint of annoyance at how you formed your text in his response.

“Did he answer you?” Kate asks as she notices you standing in the entrance of your building holding a box on your hip and smiling at your phone.

“Yeah, he said I could move in Tuesday.”

“Perfect, we’ll get the rest of your stuff in the car today and then it's sayonara assholes. You’ll stay with me and Yels till move in day where we’ll unpack your shit and run to Ikea.”

“Don’t you have to work on Tuesday?”

“I’ll call in and tell them something came up. What are they gonna do, fire me? I’m not gonna let you go meet a stranger by yourself.” She shrugs and you roll your eyes at her as you shut the trunk.

“I’ll be fine. I’m going to be living with him for goodness sake. I think it’s fine if I meet him by myself.”

“How are you even getting there if I go to work? You don’t have a car.”

“I’ll drop you off at work and pick you up when you’re done so we can do Ikea.”

“Let’s just get your last couple bags and get out of here. Maybe Yelena will be able to go with you.”

That night when you’re back at their shared house Yelena helps you convince Kate that you’ll be fine going alone. ‘She knows how to defend herself Kate’ and ‘you’ll meet the guy after you go to Ikea’ really helped sell it. She can’t go with you because she has a sister date with Natasha since she’s back in the country from vacation.

“Text me when you get there, after you meet him, and in between trips to get your shit out of the car.” Kate demands as you pull up to the restaurant she works at.

“Sir yes sir.” You salute her while smiling at her protectiveness.

“Good, I love you, don’t get serial murdered.” She gives you a quick hug before running out of the car and leaving you alone. You take a big breath in to calm your nerves before sending James a text and pulling out of your parking space.

“What are you doing here again?” Bucky asks Sam as he exits his building, his friend close behind him.

“Because I gotta see who shows up and your reaction when you see that I’m right.” An SUV then pulls into a parking lot close to the building and Bucky’s phone pings with a text stating that you’re here in the form of a letter that he’s catching on that you do. It brings a smile to his face anytime he sees dear James pop up in his notifications.

“That’s her, are you going to be any help or are you gonna just stand around?” Bucky asks Sam as he takes a few steps closer to the car.

“I guess I’ll help.” Sam mutters before the car door closing catches his attention and his head snaps over to look at you walking around the back of the car. “Dude no way that’s your new roommate.” He whispers so only Bucky can hear, earning him a shove. As you approach the men a big smile takes over your face and Bucky can’t help but think you look like a ray of sunshine in the yellow sundress you’re wearing.

“Hi! You must be James.”

“Hey there little lady, I’m Sam.” He intercepts the handshake Bucky was about to accept. “I’m this brooding asshole's best friend so I’m sure we’ll get to know each other in no time.” He winks at you causing your face to heat up before Bucky shoves him away.

“You’re not my best friend. Y/n?”

“Yep, that's me.” You’re taken aback when you finally get a good look at the man you’ll be living with. You definitely weren’t expecting it to be someone this attractive.

“Do you want a tour of the place before or after we bring your stuff in?”

“Oh, um preferably after since we’re already out here if you don’t mind.” He gestures toward the car and you hurry to open the trunk. While you start to swing multiple duffle bags onto your shoulders James stops you and slides them off.

“Here Sam, be some help.” He hands them all to Sam before sliding you out of the way gently so he can grab a small stack of boxes. “Don’t worry about grabbing so much at once doll, we’re more than capable of taking most of the load.” Your eyes widen at the pet name and you quickly grab the two boxes marked ‘Ducks’ before following your new roommate while Sam shuts the trunk for you.

You can’t help but look around the lobby of the building with your mouth slightly open, it was already so much nicer than your previous apartment building. And you get excited as you watch him press the call button for the elevator, thrilled that you won’t have to lug everything up to the new apartment on the stairs like you did getting it to Kate’s car.

“So what made you reach out in a letter?” Sam asks as the doors slide closed.

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess I’m not actually much of an email person and letters just seem so much more personal.” As you explain you miss the glare Bucky shoots his friend. “Whoa!” You exclaim after entering your new apartment. You walk into an open floor plan with the kitchen straight to your left. “This is like a dream come true.” You run your hands on the marble countertops after placing the boxes you had on the island.

“You’ll be in the master bedroom, it comes with your own bathroom and a walk-in closet. There’s a bed in there already but we can get you a new one if you don’t want to use one Sam’s slept on.”

“Wait hold on, the master bedroom? James I-”

“Bucky.”

“What?”

“Call me Bucky.”

“Oh well, Bucky I couldn’t take the master room, you were here first so it should be yours.” He just shakes his head at you.

“I don’t need a big space, I picked the regular room when I first moved in. Your room has just acted as a guest room for when Sam decided to crash here.” He puts the boxes in his arms down after he speaks. “If you want we can finish unloading your car while you start to unpack.”

“Yeah that sounds good.” You dig around your bag for a second before pulling out the keys and placing them in Bucky’s outstretched hand. “Just please don’t steal the car, it's not mine.”

“Don’t worry doll. Feel free to look around the place before starting anything, you’re right through there.” He points to a doorway before leaving. You grab your bags Sam put down near your bedroom door before opening it up. You squeal at the big bed in the middle of the room, tossing yourself onto it while grabbing your phone to tell Kate about Bucky and how you won’t be needing to buy a bed after all. You look around the room smiling at the tv already mounted on the wall before a door catches your eye and your curiosity takes over even though you could never leave that bed again and be happy. The master bath you walk into is huge but you can’t help but feel a little disappointed about there only being a tub, being more of a shower person, but you could make it work.

You keep going, then opening the next door and finding it to be the walk-in closet Bucky had mentioned. You don’t have nearly enough clothes to fill the space up so you decide in the moment to turn it into an office and where you’ll set up your gaming systems. Your phone rings as you think about what you could do with the space and you answer it without looking at the caller id.

“Dude you got a master bedroom!?”

“Kate? Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Nah I got out early so I’m on my way to you now.”

“I just dropped you off like twenty minutes ago, how’d you manage to get out already?”

“Faked being sick.” You can tell that she shrugged while she answered you, you could practically hear it in her voice.

“You’re ridiculous.” You make your way back to the actual room and open the bags you brought in before realizing you can’t actually unpack anything due to not having any dressers or anything yet. You can hear her tell the cab driver the address. “You know I could’ve just come back to get you.”

“And miss the chance to just appear in your space? No thanks besides your new roommate should get used to seeing me pop up all the time.” You chuckle at her words while heading back out at the same time that Bucky and Sam were coming back in.

“Is there anything else in the car? Do you want some help getting it?” You pull the phone away from your mouth while you question Bucky who's placing more boxes down in the living room area.

“There’s a few more boxes and a container but we got it don’t worry.” He smiles at you and you send one back his way before he’s pushing Sam back out the door.

“Was that him? He sounds hot.”

“Oh, I didn’t mention that in the text? Whoops.” You make sure to sound as innocent as possible while you make your way to the set of doors across from your bedroom. One being Bucky’s room that you take no more than a one second glance in not wanting to cross any boundaries, the other being the regular bath that you’re glad to see has a shower tub combo. You’ll have to see if he’ll care if you mainly use that one.

“Have I mentioned how much I hate you lately? Oh I’m here, I’ll see you in a minute, love you!” She hangs up while you laugh and shake your head at her.

“I’m just saying she could be good for you.” You can hear Bucky groan at whatever Sam was talking about as they come back again.

“Shut up Sam.”

“Hey Bucky, do you care if I use this bathroom to shower, I’m not real big on baths.” You turn the corner to see Bucky putting down another big stack of boxes and notice for the first time that he has a metal arm. “You'd obviously be free to use the master bath anytime you’d like too.”

“Feel free to use whatever you like, just give me a heads up when you’re gonna be using it. And feel free to spread out your stuff, it doesn’t need to all be confined to your room, you should be able to feel at home anywhere you are.”

“Are you sure?” You bite your bottom lip as you glance around the place and Bucky’s gaze shoots down to watch the action.

“Positive.”

“Alright, I’m out of here! Y/n it was great to meet you, I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah you too, bye Sam.”

“See you at work grandpa!” Sam waves as he leaves your new home.

“Grandpa?”

“Sam likes to say I belong in the fifties because I’m an old soul or some shit like that.”

“So you’re not like a sixty year old man? Bummer.” You fake a pout before moving to look at what boxes you could start unpacking. A knock on the door interrupts you just as you’re lifting up a box filled with your kitchen stuff.

“Can I help you?” Bucky opens the door while you start looking through cupboards to get a feel on where to put everything.

“Hi I- Woah!” Kate brushes past your new roommate and comes to a full stop once she sees the place. “That’s it Y/n, I’m coming over every morning to have my coffee on that balcony.” You make a face not even realizing there was a balcony.

“Who are you?”

“Kate Bishop.” She thrusts her hand in Bucky’s direction.

“Sorry Bucky, I guess I forgot to mention in the letter the con of my clingy best friend always being around.”

“I am not clingy!” Kate fake gasps walking over to you while scooping your keys off of the counter. “I just like to be around you every chance I get. Yelena’s the same way.”

“Yeah but she makes it less obvious.” You laugh at the look on her face and pull her into a hug. In full honesty you were all equally as clingy as the next when it came to your trio. You’d all been dealt hands in life that were less than ideal and upon meeting in college you all instantly clicked and were basically inseparable.

“You ready to head out, I think Yelena said she was gonna meet us there.”

“Yeah, I’m ready. Do you need anything while I’m out Bucky?”

“Nah, I'm good doll. I put your copy of the key on your keychain by the way.” Kate mouths the word doll at you with wide eyes while you push her towards the door.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a bit then. Probably with some Ikea meatballs that I’ll cook for dinner!”

“Yelena I’m telling you the only thing we need to worry about her living with a stranger is them falling in love and Y/n suddenly having no time for us.”

“We’re not going to fall in love Kate. Which dresser should I get?”

“Get the gray Huaga storage combination with the wardrobe. Why do you think they will fall in love?” You nod at Yelena and take a picture of which aisle you’ll find it in.

“Because he’s hot! And called her doll on our way out!”

“That does not mean anything.” Yelena scoffs at Kate while grabbing your arm before you can start looking at book shelves. “Don’t forget that we already have bookshelves from last time we were here. They’re in my car right now.” She turns back to your shared friend. “We’re hot and call Y/n pet names, we haven’t fallen in love with her.”

“Yet.” You wink at the blonde next to you while grabbing her hand and heading in the direction of desks. “Kate, relax hun okay? Even if we do fall in love, which we won’t, we’d still see each other just as much as we do now. And if we fall in love and the breakup and things get awkward, I’ll just move in with you guys.”

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t just do that in the first place.”

“Because we all know how much of a disaster that was in college. None of us ever slept, Yels made our diets almost strictly mac and cheese, and any time there was a minor inconvenience one of us would whip out the alcohol since we were all there already.”

“Alright come you two, I’ve picked out your desk let’s go get everything and get out of here.��

“You picked out my desk? What if I don’t like it?” You knew you’d love it. Yelena was always the fashionista of the group and has done phenomenal things as an interior designer.

“You’ll like it.”

“Why don’t we just call that strong hunk upstairs to come get these?” Each of you are carrying a bookshelf box into the building wanting to get the stuff from Yelena’s car out first since she was going to have to leave first.

“Because he’s already helped me so much today, I don’t want him to get annoyed with it.”

“I don’t think he would get annoyed with it. You are a damsel in distress, call on him like he’s your knight.”

“Not you too Yels.” You groan and drag your box out of the elevator to the door so you can open it. “My room is to the left, go ahead and put the boxes in there and we can go grab more.” You stay back and shut the door once they’re in and start trying to get the much taller than you box to your room without dropping it.

“Let me help with that.” The next thing you know Bucky’s taking it out of your arms and walking towards your room.

“You don’t have to keep helping me, you know.”

“I know, I want to.” He smiles at you over his shoulder and your heart skips a beat.

“We’re heading out for more boxes. Hi Bucky!” Kate smiles at him and sends you an ‘I told you so’ look when he’s not looking.

“Barnes? Is that really you?” Yelena asks as she passes him, stopping in her tracks once she recognizes his face.

“Belova? What are you doing here?” There’s a small smile on his face as he speaks. “It’s been a while.”

“Oh you two know each other? That’s cool, really cool. So remember when I said I come with a clingy best friend? I actually come with two and Yelea’s the other one.” You nervously chuckle not expecting this at all and feeling a twinge in your heart at how they’re looking at each other.

“C’mon guys I don’t want to be the only one hauling boxes up here. There’s only three left, let's go.” Kate yells from the door oblivious to what’s happening inside.

“Coming!” Yelena breaks her gaze from Bucky’s and rushes out while he shakes his head as if breaking out of a daze and keeps going into your room. You’re still standing there when he exits, staring at the wall lost in thought.

“Doll, you okay?” His voice is laced with concern while his hands lay on your shoulders.

“Huh? Yeah I’m good just zoned out sorry.”

“Alright, let’s go get the rest of your stuff.” He takes your hand in his own, sensing that you’re still in some sort of daze and leads you out of the apartment and into the elevator. “You with me Y/n?” That breaks you out of it completely.

“Yeah, yeah I’m here. So, how do you know Yelena?” You look down at your feet, digging into the ground with your toe.

“We grew up together, me, her, her sister, and my friend Steve. I haven’t seen her in a couple years now but we talk every now and then.” A feeling you know far too well from your previous relationship starts to fill you up. You know that there’s no reason for you to feel jealous of Yelena. What? Just because she knows your hot roommate more than you do, more than you might ever know him. Or because of the smiles and looks they shared before Kate interrupted the moment. You’re just being ridiculous, you shouldn’t feel jealous, even if there is a possibility that they dated.

“That’s cool! I met her through school but it honestly feels like I’ve known her forever, her and Kate. They’re two of the most important people in my life.” You beam up at him quickly getting rid of the jealous feeling at the thought of your best friends. Bucky smiles back at you, starting to believe that your smiles are contagious because he’s never smiled this much in one day ever.

“Took you guys long enough!” Kate exclaims as you approach her and she pulls a box from the back seats to hand to Yelena. “There’s just one more box and the bag.” Bucky grabs the box before you can try to get him to take the bag instead and heads towards the building with your friends leaving you to lock the car. You rush to catch up with them so you can hold open the door.

“Thanks.”

“Thanks babe! You’re the best.” Kate smiles at you and you laugh while she tries to wink at you. Bucky gulps while he watches shoving away whatever odd feeling that was starting in his chest. He suddenly gets a caveman-like urge to claim you.

“Thanks dollbaby but you go ahead.” Bucky repositions the box in one arm while taking the door from you in the other. You ignore the butterflies at the new nickname.

“No, you’re the one with the box. You go.”

“Pretty ladies first.” He leans down slightly and lowers his voice so only you hear him. When you don’t move he speaks again. “I can stand here all day.”

“Fine.”

“C’mon lovebirds you’re making me jealous. And Yelena can’t keep the elevator open forever.”

Once back in the apartment Kate and Yelena immediately start ripping into boxes to start building furniture while you look for the angel hair pasta you’re sure you brought with you. When you can’t find it in the boxed marked kitchen you head to ask Kate if she remembers where you put it.

“Hey Kate, do you know where I put all the food I brought with me?”

“I marked the box Y/n’s magic ingredients.” She doesn’t look up from her pile of pieces. “I think we both opened up bookshelves instead of the dresser.”

“That’s fine. Do you guys want me to help build and I’ll just order a pizza or something?”

“Y/n I swear to god you better make me spaghetti and meatballs.”

“You ladies need any help in here?” Bucky comes in before you can respond to Yelena and before you can answer him Kate does for you.

“Yeah I think we could, that way Y/n can make us a delicious dinner. You can help Yelena out so she can leave when she has to instead of feeling like she has to stay until it’s done.” You stop yourself from glaring at Kate at her suggestion so as to not let her catch on to what you’re feeling and because it makes sense.

“I’ll come get you when foods ready then I guess.” You make your way out of the room and start looking for the box Kate told you you’d find your food in. When your phone beeps with a message from Kate saying ‘don’t forget food is the way to a man's heart’ you can’t help but burst out laughing.

You’re pouring everything in the sauce and beginning to mix it together when you yell out that the food’s done. Kate comes running out to you hugging you from behind and resting her chin on your shoulder while Yelena makes her way out next immediately searching for a bowl. Bucky follows after he rests the bookshelf he just finished against the wall. Upon exiting the room and seeing you and Kate his hands ball into fists while he ignores the feeling that he wishes that was him holding you.

“The bowls are to your right.” He announces causing the three of you to look his way. He had taken his jacket off while helping your friends build your furniture and you notice how his black shirt hugs him in all the right places.

“Just wait till you try this Bucky, Y/n’s some sort of witch when it comes to cooking.” Kate’s always been your own personal hype man.

“And baking.” Yelena chimes in while handing Kate a bowl and putting the other two to the side.

“You two give me way too much credit.” You step away from the pot so they can help themselves to the pasta, always wanting to make sure everyone else is fed first. “You first Bucky.” You motion for him to get a bowl once Kate and Yelena go sit at the table in between the living room and the kitchen. “If you make me go first I’ll just make you a bowl instead of myself one.”

“Go sit down with your friends.” And with that Bucky picks up both of the bowls in front of you and starts to fill them both up. Your mouth is parted the whole way to the table because no one has ever made you a bowl of something you made before.

“I have to leave when we’re done eating but one of the bookshelves is finished thanks to Barnes. I have an early meeting tomorrow and then I’ll be with Natasha but I’ll see you the day after right?”

“Yeah.”

“I should head out soon after my bookshelf is done, I told Clint I’d meet him at the training facility early. But I’ll be back tomorrow to help you build whatever isn’t done tonight.”

“Don’t worry we’ll get it all built before you’re back.” Bucky says as he sits down, placing a bowl in front of you and scooching his chair a little bit closer to you. Your stomach fills with nerves as you watch him take a bite of spaghetti, anxious to see what he thinks of it. He groans as he chews the sound music to your ears and you can’t stop the giant smile from invading your face.

“You like it?”

“Like it? Doll, I don’t know how I’ve lasted living this long without it. It’s extraordinary.”

“I told you!” Kate’s hand slams down on the table and Bucky shoves another forkful in his mouth. “It’s all thanks to her amazing sauce.” You duck your head down not being able to handle all the compliments getting thrown your way.

Bucky insists on doing the dishes once everyone’s down eating and doesn't give you room to try to tell him he didn’t have to. Yelena gives you a big hug and tells Kate to behave before leaving. And you follow Kate back into your new room to help her do the last few steps of the bookshelf so she could go get some rest.

“I’m gonna start operation get you two together once I get home by the way.” She whispers in your ear before heading out leaving you to shake your head at her words. Upon getting into your room you spot Bucky starting to put together the last book shelf.

“You don’t have to do that, Buck.” You don’t even realize you shorten his name and you let out a yawn after speaking.

“You’re tired.”

“I’m fine.”

“How bout you go change into pajamas and then you can help me with this.” It wasn’t a question, you could tell by his tone and how he shoved the duffle bags of clothes at you. You just shrug your shoulders and start digging through bags to find the one that has your sleep clothes in it. You slip into the bathroom once you find them and change into the big tshirt that once belonged to your friend Peter and a pair of sleep shorts. When you come out Bucky’s eyes go straight to your bare legs and he swallows before speaking again. “Tell me exactly where you want each shelf to go.”

“Umm, I like the idea of them being on each side of the tv. Maybe two on one side and one on the other. Because I want to put the dresser under the window.” You sit on the bed while you talk and Bucky smiles a little at how distracted you are so he can build on his own.

“What are you going to put on the shelves?” You hum before yawning again.

“I know you’re just keeping me talking so I don’t try to help you. I can see through your deceit. But I’m gonna put my books on the two that’ll be next to each other and movies on the one by itself.”

“I’m gonna be hammering so it might wake you up a bit.”

“I’m not even asleep.” As he hammers the back onto the shelves you watch his arm flex with each swing. You stand up once he’s done to help him stand it up and move it where it needs to go. “Thanks for all the help today Bucky.” You tell him after all three shelves are in position.

“Anytime. Now get some sleep doll, I’ll help you build the other stuff tomorrow.”

“Okay, goodnight Bucky.” You give him a soft smile and he gives it right back.

“Goodnight angel.”

Bucky Taglist: @starbxcks @koressecretidentity @stevieintheimpala @unmagically @peachytea01 @the-chocoholic-writer @perksofbeingatrex @vanillamaa @strawb3rrydr3ss @that-sarcastic-writer @spideyycents @dissectiontime @yoongisdumplingcheeks @sailormajinmoon @collywobbl @alina02 @toothhurtyam @the-lady-vanora @eliwinchester99 @ijustneedpopcorn @engie115

Marvel Taglist: @its-the-autism-innit-luv @milkiane @rorysreallyrandom @lieswithoutfairytales @sugarbutterbailey @1-800-ch3rry @neenieweenie @rocketxgirl @fluffy-bnny @bunnyweasley23

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #yours truly

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artemissunn · 2 years ago

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TopGun ff/1

Well, I still don’t have a title, anyways the first chapter is here, enjoy! The chapters will get longer I swear!

Fightertown, US.

We arrived to dad’s house. It was a few streets away from the beach. It was how I remembered, even my room looked like how I left it. He didn’t change a thing. Probably because he was working most of the time. It was the reason mom left him, he wasn’t a family man. And I knew that now, I was the last thing he needed. Now that he became an instructor at Top Gun.

Maverick was a legend, and after his last mission they signed him for full time. The only condition he gave in was him still being able to fly. They let him, because they needed him and they knew that that was the only thing that nobody could take away from this man. He was living for the sky. When he was on his feet his eyes were turned upwards.

He was a good man, not a good dad but I could never blame him. Sometimes I kind of wished that he’d take me flying too. But never really asked, not wanting to be turned down.

I wish we spent more time and this wouldn’t be this awkward. Neither of us is talking in the car. He’s trying but doesn’t really know what to say, so he opens his mouth then closes. Glancing over to me.

I don’t know how many time he did it but I speak up.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.” My voice is raspy and quiet. Throat is dry and achy a little.

“I’m here for you.” He finally says something.

“I know.” I nod.

It took a few days for me to have energy to get out of my room. Dad was patient. He gave me space and time, we both were quiet. And we were trying to get to know each other’s routines and presence. As more days passed we talked a little more everyday. He went back to work today leaving me alone. I knew it was hard for him to get used to this all.

He talked to Iceman every night. I’ve heard them a few times. He always went to his little study when they talked.

After another week of only being around and in the house I decided that I needed some air. The other reason was that all the ice cream was gone. I checked myself in the mirror.

A white v neck cut T-shirt and black sweatpants. It was around 8pm. Started to get dark. I got my sneakers on and house keys were thrown into my pocket.

Walking in the windy weather felt nice. I got shivers as the cool breeze touched my skin. The small market was big enough to have a decent selection of ice cream. Dad’s favorite was the rocky road one. If I remember correctly. I didn’t know what I wanted. Something with caramel probably.

I reached for the rocky road one but somebody wanted to grab the same one. We both pulled back our hands.

I looked up at the man and wasn’t really ready to see who it was.

“Bradley?” He grew a mustache and definitely grew up. He was tall and the lose white shirt he wore suited his body amazingly. He had jean shorts on and just some flip flops.

“Lace? Are you back? I haven’t seem you in ages.”

“Yeah.. we can say that.” I forced a smile.

“How come?”

“Mom died.” I plainly said. What was the good way to explain what happened.

“What? What happened to Charlie?” He froze.

“About a month ago. We were coming home from my grandparents and a truck driver pushed the car into the river. My door got ripped off, that’s why I survived.” I looked away. It was so hard to control my voice and tears at the same time.

“Gosh Lace..” he hugged me to his chest. My hands were shaking again.

“It’s okay.. that’s how I’m here.”

“I wish it was because of something better… I’m so sorry. And how are you and Mav?”

“We’re fine. He’s not really used to somebody being around. So it’s new for him too.”

“I’m sure things will settle. He loves you.”

“And what’s up with you?”

“As I said back then, I joined the Navy and I’m stationed here. Months ago got engaged and that’s mostly it.”

When I heard him say that, it was like another knife in my chest. Seeing him made me feel things. Made old feelings come back but him being engaged hurt so bad.

I could have expected it, he was 28, looking like the sun. He was absolutely handsome. It should surprise me that only now engaged. Not married or having kids.

It was still pain on pain. He was smiling down at me and I was just not ready to face life. It was just coming down too fast.

#rooster bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw x reader #top gun #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw x oc #pete maverick mitchell #pete mitchell #rooster x oc #rooster x you #jake hangman seresin #hangman x oc #talk to me goose #iceman

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atlabeth · 3 years ago

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everything happens for a reason part 6 - zuko x fem!reader

The thing about forever is that it's a fucking lie

part 5 | masterlist | part 7

a/n: you all know whats coming lmao i got nothing to say for myself

wc: 3.5k

warning(s): pakku's usual sexism, typical siege of the north stuff, mostly angst but a lil bit of fluff in there

chapter title comes from forever is a lie by bea miller!

“I can’t believe that your tribe doesn’t teach waterbending to women!” Katara fumed, the snow beneath her feet packed tightly from her continuous pacing. “I mean, how can they even do that? Master Pakku’s all about ‘his culture and his teachings’ but his teachings are completely sexist!”

Y/N just nodded along as she listened to Katara — Master Pakku had refused to teach Katara, and after a disappointing healing lesson she had found Y/N to rant. “Yep. It’s unfair, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

Katara frowned and stopped in her tracks. “Don’t you want to learn how to fight too? I love being able to heal and help people, don’t get me wrong, but healing isn’t all I want to do.”

A shaky sigh fell from her lips and she shrugged, adjusting her position on the platform of ice she had made to sit on. “Well… yeah, I guess. I know a couple of martial moves, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to know more. But Katara, I—”

Y/N was silent for a moment as flashes of the past played behind her eyelids. “I’m not like you. I’m not the kind of person to challenge the rules. Not anymore.”

Katara shook her head, already back to her pacing. “I think you’re selling yourself short. I saw your healing during your class — you’re really talented, Y/N, and I know that skill will transfer over to fighting.”

“Thank you, but— but it doesn’t matter how good we are. Master Pakku is just as stubborn as he is talented, and I think he’d rather die than be a decent person. It’s a shame though. I’d really like to see someone knock some sense into him.”

“Yeah…” Katara sighed. “Hopefully Aang is having a better time than I am.” She looked up at the sky then fixed Y/N with a wry smile. “Speaking of Aang, I should probably get back to him and my brother. Sorry for talking your ear off the whole night.”

Y/N waved her hand around nonchalantly. “Don’t worry about it. You have my permission to rant to me any time you want while you’re here.”

Katara grinned and offered her hand, which Y/N took with a small smile as she got up from her ice platform. With a slight movement of her hand she bent it back into the ground, and the two girls began their walk back to the city. “I just wish I knew how to get Pakku to let up.”

“You’ll think of something,” Y/N reassured.

Katara did indeed think of something. Y/N’s wish of Pakku getting some sense knocked into him was granted when Katara challenged him to a fight, which was quite possibly the best thing that Y/N had ever witnessed. Though she ultimately lost, he still decided to take her on as a student — and in a move that Y/N would forever be grateful for, Katara had gotten Pakku to take her on as well. Katara made history that day, and she felt a shining sense of admiration for the girl for shaking things up.

And now, her days consisted of early mornings spent training, afternoons in classes, and nights doing homework, as well as fitting in time to hang out with Yue — it was a miracle she had any free time at all.

Lately though, it seemed like all Yue could talk about was Sokka. She liked him just as much as he liked her, but Yue was good — no matter how much she cared for someone, her tribe would always come first.

(“Did I hear that you and Sokka have a date later tonight?” she teased. “Aren’t you moving a little too fast?” Yue was silent at her attempt at humor and Y/N frowned. “Yue, are you okay?”

Silence lingered in the air for so long that Y/N almost thought she didn’t hear her, but finally the princess spoke as she pulled down the collar of her jacket to reveal an engagement necklace. Y/N gasped.

“It’s from Hahn,” she said quietly. “He proposed an hour ago, and I accepted.”

“You what?” Y/N cried, prompting a slight grimace from Yue. “Hahn— you can’t stand him!”

“Y/N, please,” Yue sighed. “He’s not that bad — he’s handsome, I guess. And he’s the son of a noble, and he’ll be really good for the tribe.”

“Yue, you’re the one who has to deal with him. He proposed to you, not the tribe — Spirits, half the boys in this tribe like you, why him?”

“It’s best for the tribe,” she repeated, her words an attempt to convince Y/N as much as herself.

“But what’s best for you?” Y/N countered.

Yue hadn’t answered, and had made up some half-baked excuse that she had to be somewhere. She had watched her go sadly, hoping that she would figure something out with Sokka.)

And it’s not like she wasn’t happy that her friend had found someone, it was just…

Y/N was upset that someone wasn’t her. And she didn’t know how to deal with that revelation.

But one morning, while making idle conversation with Katara as their lesson came to an end, a matter much more pressing came to hand.

Black snow. Soot raining down from the sky, tarnishing everything it touched.

A feeling all too familiar brewed in her chest as she met her friend’s eyes, and one thing was clear.

The Fire Nation was coming.

The air was even more frigid than usual with the knowledge of an imminent invasion, and Y/N had parted ways with her friends once they reached the town hall to be with her grandparents. The tension in the air was thick as Chief Arnook stepped up to address the people.

“The day we have feared for so long has arrived — the Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sokka stood up. “Count me in.”

Her eyes widened as she met Katara’s from across the room, and she looked equally surprised. “Sokka…”

“Be warned: many of you will not return.” Several other men stood up after Sokka, including her grandfather. Despite his age he was a skilled fighter, but that was no comfort to Y/N. She reached up for his hand and shook her head almost desperately, but he smiled sadly and squeezed her hand, a sentiment to express words unsaid. “Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task.”

As he walked forward to join the line, she found the only solace she could in her grandmother’s open arms, burying her face in the fur of her jacket. “He will be okay,” she soothed. “He’s just as strong as he is brave. You have to have faith.”

She hoped that her grandmother was right. She couldn’t handle another loss.

Once all the men had received their marks, they left to confer about the battle plan. Y/N found her way up to the stage where a tearful Yue sat. It pained Y/N to see her in such a way, and when she sat down and offered her hand the princess immediately took it.

“I saw that your grandfather volunteered,” she said after a beat of silence. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. For Sokka.” Y/N adjusted her position so their shoulders were touching, and she sighed heavily. “I can’t stop thinking about my village. My father.” She met Yue’s eyes, her own beginning to tear up.

“What if it happens again?” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I can’t— I can’t do it again.”

Yue let go of her hand to wrap the girl in a hug, the warmth of the embrace managing to chip away at some of their hopelessness. “You won’t have to do it again,” she stated, the reassurance seeming like the truth when coming from her. “You’re not alone this time.”

She finally pulled away from the hug as she wiped the tears off her face, and Y/N nodded. Yue somehow always knew exactly what to say. “What would I do without you?” she asked, her voice slightly watery.

“You’re never going to know,” the princess smiled. “Because whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.” That got a laugh out of Y/N and the two of them stood up as Yue gestured outside with her head. “I think I saw Aang and my father out there. It’ll help to talk with them — I think you need some fresh air anyways.”

Y/N nodded and the two girls walked out hand in hand, a small reprieve from carrying the weight of the world.

Things were so much worse than she had been anticipating.

After a short talk outside the hall with Katara, Aang, and the Chief, Yue had been transported somewhere safer as Y/N steeled herself for the front lines. After all, as a student of Master Pakku, she could fight damn well — it was just a matter of putting it into action.

But a line of warriors and children alike were no match for the strength of the Fire Nation from afar, and the first few fireballs had done their job at disrupting both the fighters and the wall — Seeing her home get destroyed hurt nearly as much as constantly getting thrown around.

After Aang had taken off on Appa and Chief Arnook took a section of his soldiers off for a different plan, the work on the ground began. The fleet of ships seemed endless , and the same went for their artillery — the fight went long into the day as Y/N worked with various other waterbenders to stop fireballs and repair broken parts of the city’s infrastructure, but just as the full moon began to show, the attacks stopped coming. Limbs heavy with exhaustion from their work in the field, Y/N and Katara met up with the princess back at the balcony of the palace.

“They’ve stopped firing,” Yue noted as they all gazed off into the distance.

“Thank the spirits,” Y/N muttered as she worked out a knot in her shoulder. “I don’t know how much longer I could’ve kept going.”

Just then, Appa came into view and a grin spread across Katara’s face. “Aang!”

He landed below them and the three girls hurried down to meet him. Aang landed on the ground, exhaustion clear in every part of him. “I can’t do it,” he muttered as he placed his head in his hands. “I can’t do it.”

“What happened?” Katara asked as she ran up to him, Yue and Y/N close behind.

“I must’ve taken out a dozen Fire Navy ships, but there’s just too many of them!” His large grey eyes were full of hopelessness, and Y/N’s heart ached for the boy. “I can’t fight them all.”

“But— you have to!” Yue pleaded. “You’re the Avatar.”

“I’m just one kid,” Aang countered wearily. He buried his face in his arms and Katara kneeled next to him in an attempt to comfort him. Y/N could almost forget about the pain in her body at that moment, feeling an odd responsibility to this boy as she looked down at him.

“Aang,” she muttered, following Katara’s example and kneeling next to him. “You’ve already done so much for us. Just by being here, you’ve inspired hundreds of people — you’re a beacon of hope all on your own! We don’t expect you to take out this whole navy by yourself. As long as you’re here, fighting with us? You’re helping us more than you know.”

He managed a slight smile at that and he took her outstretched hand, getting pulled back to his feet with her help.

“We’ll have a better view from up there,” Katara noted, pointing back up to the balcony. “You can help us keep watch, Aang — in case they start attacking again.”

He nodded and the four of them began the walk, the Avatar in slightly better spirits.

“The legends say the moon was the first waterbender,” Yue said once they had reached the balcony, all of them gazing at the sky. “Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves.”

“I’ve always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night,” Katara mused, causing Y/N to hum in agreement.

“Our strength from the spirit of the moon, our life from the spirit of the ocean,” she said. “They work together to keep balance.

Aang’s expression brightened at her words as he popped up from the ground. “The spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!”

“How can you do that?” Y/N questioned.

“The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World,” Katara explained excitedly. “Aang can talk to them!”

“Maybe they’ll give you the wisdom to win this battle!” Yue exclaimed.

“Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!” At that, all three girls met him with strange looks. Aang coughed and straightened his posture. “Or wisdom. That's good, too.”

“The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident,” Katara said with a frown. “How are you going to get there this time?”

Yue’s eyes lit up and she looked at them with a smile. “I have an idea. Follow me.”

A few minutes later, they were standing in the Spirit Oasis, the most spiritual place in all of the North. Yue, Y/N, and Katara all shed their coats as Aang walked around, marvelling at the beauty.

“I can feel… something,” Aang said as he sat down, getting into a meditating position. “It’s so tranquil.”

Soon enough, after a few moments of silence, Aang’s eyes as well as the arrow on his head began to glow.

“Is he okay?” Yue gasped.

“He’s crossing into the Spirit World,” Katara reassured. “He’ll be fine as long as we don’t move his body. That’s his way back to the physical world.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Y/N whispered, astonishment etched into her face. For as much as she had been taught about the ocean spirits, she wasn’t well-versed in the Spirit World as a whole — she was thoroughly fascinated by every part of this.

“Maybe we should get some help,” Yue suggested, still on edge as she took a few steps away from the gate.

“No, he’s my friend. I’m perfectly capable of protecting him. Besides, I already have some help here.” She smiled at Y/N, a sentiment that she returned happily.

A deep voice, almost mocking, broke the silence as it echoed throughout the oasis. “Well, aren’t you a big girl now? Even got yourself a little student.”

The three girls all whipped around to find the source of the voice, and Katara’s whole body stiffened. “No…”

“Yes. Hand him over and I don’t have to hurt you.”

Y/N immediately eased into a bending stance along with Katara as the princess fled to get help, but her confidence faltered when she took the time to focus on their assailant.

She almost didn’t recognize him — it had been nearly four years since she had last set eyes upon the boy, but it was as if he had become a completely different person. His head was shaved completely save for a ponytail, and blues and reds marked his skin in various cuts and bruises. His eyes held an anger she had never seen before, an expression only heightened with the addition of a large red scar across his left eye.

“Zuko?” she breathed, her chest tightening up beneath the weight of the revelation. Katara stared at her in bewilderment — she had no idea that Y/N knew the prince that had chased them halfway across the world, but Katara supposed that she had no reason to ever suspect she did.

His eyes flashed with recognition as they ran over her, and it seemed as if he had a similar epiphany as he staggered backwards. “I… I thought you were dead.”

“You’re with them,” she muttered, blood turning to ice. “Your nation is invading, and you’re helping them— you’re after the Avatar? What are you doing, Zuko?!”

The momentary surprise was replaced by steely determination as he shifted his weight forward and kicked up his leg, sending a blast of fire that she barely managed to dodge. “You know nothing!”

Y/N fell back into position next to Katara, but the newfound knowledge was like a fog over her mind. “Whoever he was when you knew him, that’s not him anymore!” Katara yelled as she bent water out of the pond and blocked his following attacks. “He won’t hesitate to hurt you, so you can’t either!”

“O-okay!” she stammered. This was the moment she had been waiting for, wasn’t it? After training with both Katara and Pakku, her martial skill had increased tenfold, and she was desperate to try it out — she only wished her first opponent didn’t have to be him. But another fire blast snapped her out of her paralysis, and she jumped into action.

The two girls worked impossibly well together, one stepping forward when the other fell back, the bending between them nearly seamless. Any fire that the prince sent their way was quickly extinguished, and with two against one on home turf, Y/N and Katara were able to hold him off with relative ease.

Y/N bent another jet of water up from the oasis and shot it at Zuko, the force of which knocked him several feet back. Katara took the opening and froze his feet to the ground, then began to move her arms about as she formed a ball of water around him — one more movement and it was frozen solid.

“You little peasant,” he growled. “You’ve found a master, haven’t you?”

The orb of ice began to glow, the air around them becoming hotter and hotter until it melted around him. Blasts of fire were flying at them as soon as Zuko hit the ground, and they were forced to retreat back towards the oasis as they grew more intense.

Y/N drew up a shield of water, extinguishing the flames on impact. Zuko dodged around them, his fingers inches away from Aang’s collar. Y/N propelled the water already at her fingertips towards Zuko with a grunt of effort, which sent him flying into the shallows on the other side of the oasis. She conjured up a large wave and sent it towards the prince, sending him up the side of the wall and trapping him once Katara froze it.

She breathed a sigh of relief and let her arms fall, a part of her wondering how they were still connected after the tediousness of the earlier battle. But this, one on one in a fight with real stakes? It was as exhilarating as it was nerve wracking, and she had never been so thankful that Katara had gotten her in with Master Pakku. Y/N felt intensely guilty over the pain she had inflicted on Zuko, but she tried her best to push it out of her mind — like Katara said, he would’ve done worse if she hadn’t fought back.

“You fought well,” Katara smiled. “I told you that you were talented.”

She chuckled and shrugged, cheeks heating up slightly at the praise. “It’s not exactly my first fight, just… the most intense.” It reminded her of the early mornings and late nights spent sparring with Zuko, a memory that only twisted the dagger in her heart even more.

The two girls smiled at each other as they began to walk back over to Aang — it seemed the boy was undisturbed by the fight by virtue of his glowing tattoos and closed eyes — when Y/N found herself squinting from the rays of light filtering in.

“Huh,” she mumbled. “The sun’s out. The sun’s out— Katara!”

Y/N turned to find the prince free from the ice, and the pair barely had time to draw water from the pond to shield themselves from the impending flames. But it was too little too late, and the power of the blast sent them back several feet. They slammed into either side of the gate, the force of it immediately knocking Katara out.

Y/N gasped in pain as she tried to push herself up, but the fight combined with the impact of her landing had taken a toll on her and she collapsed once more against the gate. When the smoke from the fire cleared, Zuko was there with Aang’s collar in his grasp.

“You rise with the moon,” he muttered, his face tinged with the slightest bit of guilt as he met her eyes. “I rise with the sun.”

The last thing she saw before her consciousness faded out was the boy she loved escaping with the Avatar.

why did i make yue and y/n like this when i KNOW what i have to write next omg i hate myself

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy

atla: @marianne1806

#zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #zuko x reader fic #zuko #zuko fic #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #atla fic #avatar fic #avatar the last airbender fic #avatar x reader #sadie writes #ehfar #i already had this chapter half written so thats why its out so soon lmao #SOMEONE doesnt know how to hold their chapters and wants to release them as soon as she finishes them #its me. im someone

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bokutosworld · 4 years ago

Text

sick day | tsukishima kei

pairing: tsukishima kei x gn!reader word count, genre: 1.7k words, college au, fluff, childhood friends to maybe lovers. warning: none! summary: you and tsukishima have been friends for as long as the both of you can remember. and when you’re down with the flu, he’s left with no choice but to take care of you.

“Can you drop by their home and give them this paper?”

Tsukishima stares blankly at the piece of paper and back at the girl who approached him. He hasn’t even gotten up from his chair when Yachi stopped him.

He already knows who she was referring to and was quick to turn her down. “Move. I’m packing my bag.”

The girl grumbles, moving out of the way but continues, “Come on! You know where they live.”

“Correction, you know it too.” Tsukishima retorts. He walks past her, striding with his long legs over to the door and exiting. But Yachi was hot on his trail. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”

Yachi groans, “I would but I’m too busy with the school paper right now. I have to head to the office to assist in lay-outing this month’s release.” She stops in her tracks, catching Tsukishima’s wrist and turning him around. “You live in the same neighborhood. Please, I promise I’ll repay you.”

She waves the paper in front of him, and eventually, he’s left with no choice but to do the task. He sighs before snatching the form and turning on his heel, “You owe me.”

—

As he walks the familiar route towards home, he wonders about the last time he saw you in campus. It had actually been three days since then. Worried, his mind runs about hundreds of possibilities about why you hadn’t showed up in classes.

The only possible thing that he could think of was that you were down with a flu. This predicament that he was in right now oddly reminds him of a time in middle school when you were absent for a week because of a severe cold. Growing up, he’s noticed that you were extremely prone to getting sick and Tsukishima always berates you for not taking care of yourself properly. Especially during flu season.

When he passes by a convenience store, he decides to buy some instant porridge, water, and medicine. He wonders if your family were at home but gets the answer that he was looking for when he’s arrived in front of your house with the lights off.

He eyes the building and notices the faint light coming from the side which he knows was your room.

Tsukishima enters the door, unlocking it with ease as he inputs the passcode he’s known since the both of you were kids. He feels for the switch on the wall and turns the lights open.

He makes his way to the kitchen and places everything on the counter. He’s in the process of boiling some water when he hears footsteps walking closer.

“Who’s there?” Your voice sounds weak and when Tsukishima turns, he sees you, cozily bundled in a hoodie and holding on to a blanket as you lean on the wall for support.

He’s quick on his feet to help and sit you down on a chair. “You shouldn’t have left your bed,” he mutters under his breath.

You recognize the voice, “Kei? What are you doing here?”

He was back on the counter, opening the pack of porridge and filling it with water to cook for five minutes. He hands you a glass of water and you down it. “Yachi told me to tell you about our final project in Literature.” He takes the paper from his bag and sticks it on the refrigerator with a magnet. “Here’s the reference. Don’t lose it.”

You manage to let out a small chuckle. “Look at you, being kind for once.”

“Shut up.” But his words say otherwise when the look in his eyes are soft, watching over you to make sure you didn’t fall from the chair. “Where’s everybody?”

You put your head on the table and groan. “They’re out to visit the grandparents in the countryside. Said I couldn’t make it because of school requirements but here I am.”

“You’ve been alone this whole time?”

“Yeah,” you say with a yawn.

He tuts at you to show his disapproval, “Why didn’t you tell anyone you were sick?”

“Eh, no one would have bothered anyway.”

He hands you the hot dish and you take it with a whispered thanks. You devour it in silence, relishing in the warmth that fills your body. Tsukishima hangs back, saying nothing and only observes as you eat what looks like the first decent meal you’ve had since you’ve been sick.

“I would.”

His sudden answer almost makes you sputter the food out from your mouth. You look at him, and though it was dark, you could make out his features and the way he was staring at you with such intensity.

“I mean, I’m here now, aren’t I?” He takes a seat beside you, taking the cup from your hands and feeding you the last few scoops. “My parents would have made me come here either way to check on you.”

You curse the way your heart flutters at his words. The heat on your cheeks not anymore caused by your fever but by Tsukishima who was sitting way too close for your comfort and helping you finish the porridge. After he gives you the medicine, he extends his arm out and you look at him in question.

“Come on, I’m bringing you back to your room.” When you don’t make a move, he pulls you up to your feet and hooks one arm around your waist to keep you steady by his side. The two of you begin the slow trek to your room.

He’s careful to lay you down on the mattress, cradling your head as he fluffs and positions the pillow under you. You seem to be already lost in your dreams when he pulls the blanket over your body, tucking you in and making sure you were warm. When he’s done, he kneels down by the side of your bed and gazes at you.

He’s transfixed on memorizing the outlines of your face—the one thing he’d never admit he always liked to do whenever he went to your house for sleepovers years ago. Absentmindedly, he traces your features, sighing as he wanted so badly to tell you off about not properly taking care of yourself.

“Kei.”

Surprised, he pulls back his hand, “What?” He knows you’d tease him to no end when you saw what he was doing.

“You should be like this all the time,” you say sleepily with a smile. “Who knew you had a sweet and caring side in you?”

He smirks, “Don’t push your luck.” He puts the back of his hand on your forehead to determine whether your fever has gone down. It was still hotter than normal and Tsukishima only sighs, “You should really learn to look after yourself.”

Burying yourself deeper in the blankets, you hum, “But I like having you take care of me.”

He’s surprised, mostly at the way your voice sounded so calm and soft when you said those words. Because he knows that on any other day, you’d have responded with a smart quip and maybe a punch to his arm. He’s aware it could be the flu talking, making you bare your true feelings similarly to how a drunk man would reveal their sober thoughts. But will you remember them when you wake up tomorrow?

He laughs quietly before leaning to press a kiss to your temple, “I don’t mind it too.”

But you were already fast asleep to have heard anything.

—

The following day, you woke up as if you never had intense fever the night before. The bad headache and chills that you felt was gone and you could move your body without feeling heavy. So not wanting to miss out more on lectures, you got ready and finally went back to school.

To say that Yachi was overjoyed to see you was an understatement. Your friend sighed of relief and ran to tackle you with a hug the second she saw you step foot on campus. She caught you up to speed about everything that has happened and the tasks that your professors on your shared classes has assigned.

The two of you were settling in your seats when she remembers, “By the way, did you receive the paper about our Literature project? I had Tsukishima bring it to you.”

“Really? I didn’t receive anything.”

And just as she was about to complain about Tsukishima, the door opens loudly and the said boy enters the room.

“Oh, Kei! Great timing, we were just talking about you,” you greeted as your childhood friend headed straight to your desks.

Meanwhile, Yachi complained, “Tsukishima, I told you to pass over the reference to them.”

The boy just walked past her, and stopped in front of you. He stuck out a pack of banana milk (your favorite drink) and some fruits, making you confused at the sudden gesture.

“What’s this?”

“You skip your breakfasts, right?” You were shocked that he knew about your unhealthy habit. “I don’t want you getting sick again so make sure you eat properly.”

Yachi’s jaw dropped at his nice attitude. You’re wary as you take drink and snacks from his hand, looking at him as if he grew another head on his body. “You’re being suspicious, Kei. What do you need?”

He takes the seat beside you, laughing when he turns towards you with a wicked smile that has your heart beating faster.

“I’m just doing what I need to do as your friend.” He resumes to fix his things on the table. “Besides, weren’t you the one who said you liked me taking care of you?”

You stutter, cheeks feeling hot as vague snippets from when Kei visited you and took care of you came flashing in your mind. Yachi was now giggling and congratulating you for finally confessing. As you watched the grin on his face, you wished for a hole to appear on the ground and swallow you whole.

Because your crush on your longtime childhood friend was something you never wanted him to know.

But that thought was quickly erased when Tsukishima leaned close and whispered,

“For what it’s worth, I like you too.”

And since then, Tsukishima started keeping you close and took care of you in the little ways he knows how just so you never have to experience a sick day again.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu imagines #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima imagines #haikyuucreations #haikyuucafe #tsukishima fluff #haikyuu fluff #tsukishima x you #tsukishima x y/n #haikyuu fics #haikyuu x you #tsukishima kei x reader #hq tsukishima #haikyuu!!

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jaceyneedsabetterusername · 4 years ago

Text

As Usual

Pairing: Mando x Reader

Summary: When Mando finds himself in need of some help in a tiny village on Arbiflux, he may leave with more than he expected.

Warnings: Violence, mentions of sexual assault (or at least alluding to it), a lot of unimportant OC’s with names to fill the town

Word Count: 5700

A/N: This is my first Mando fic so I’m really sorry if it sucks. I tried though and if you guys enjoy this, I have an idea for another one.

_____________________________

The Mandalorian caught your attention the moment he walked into your family’s blacksmith shop. Tall, angular, and mysterious, the man landed his ship in the large clearing just on the other side of the river from where your town was and made his way across the utilitarian wooden bridge directly to the shops. You watched in curiosity as this new stranger made his way into your village, a small bundle of something you couldn’t make out walking right next to him.

You had heard stories of the Mandalorians and the Great Purge, though you were no expert by any means on anything other than simply knowing they existed. Seeing one in person though felt surreal. For all you’d known, they’d been killed off years ago. But apparently not all because one was approaching you quickly.

“Can I help you?” You asked, taking your worn protective leather gloves off and walking towards the open mouth of your family’s forge where the Mandalorian had approached.

“I need a part for my ship to be fixed.” He answered shortly in a vaguely robotic voice.

Tousling your fingers through your locks, you attempted to blindly force the stray hairs into place, “Well, we don’t get too many visitors with ships here. Your best bet for finding someone who can fix your ship would probably be in the city.”

“Where is the nearest city?” He questioned, lifting a small bundle of tan fabric off the ground. Your brows furrowed when you saw that there was a small wrinkly green baby but the Mandalorian tucked the child further into his chest, almost shielding him from your view for some odd reason.

Writing the action off, you pointed to your right with your thumb, “About ten miles west.”

“How long is it to travel?”

“On foot, about four hours. With a kaadu, maybe two.” You explained, gesturing to the large reptilian creatures in the pens around town. Mando sighed heavily and you got the impression he was on a limited time constraint, “What do you need fixed?”

The man shifted, “The ventilation system. The fins on the fan are damaged, blocking it from spinning. The oxygen is hardly circulating throughout the ship.”

“Broken fins? They metal?” You asked, to which the man just nodded, “I might be able to help if that’s the only problem. Can I see?”

The Mandalorian led you back to his ship and you walked inside, skin crawling with excitement. You’d never been on a ship before. Like you’d told the man earlier, they never really landed in your little village and you seldom traveled to the bigger cities. It was like a metal maze, cramped but still somehow roomy enough to be comfortable.

You took in your surroundings as he led you through the small hallways, stopping when you saw an almost book-like assortment of massive sheets of a black substance with what appeared to be carvings of screaming people. An uneasiness settled in the air that the Mandalorian noticed, glancing back over his shoulder to see you looking at his assortment of bounties that had been frozen in Carbonite. Since people had come after him, he wasn’t really sure what to do with the criminals he had yet to deliver but the thought was always pushed off. It wasn’t like they were going anywhere.

“They’re alive. Just should have cooperated.” Your brows furrowed in confusion at his words so he continued reluctantly, “Bounties.”

“Oh, you’re a bounty hunter?” You asked, relaxing slightly. Knowing that whoever these people were were both criminals and still alive, you felt a little better. They must have been pretty bad people if they had bounties on their heads.

You were far from naive but you weren’t well experienced in matters of the universe. Arbiflux had been your only home, and, even then, you seldom left your small village. Always work to do, anything to help your family. You’d always dreamed of adventure though, getting off the forested planet and exploring the galaxy. The Mandalorian must have travelled all over the galaxy in his line of work and seen so much. It made you envious. You took his silence to your first question as an agreement so you continued, “I’d imagine work would have taken you all over the place. I’ve never left this planet. Hell, I’ve only ever left the village a handful of times.”

“I have been to quite a few planets.” His modulated voice humored your musings, turning to continue his way to the ventilation system.

You trailed behind, vague metal echoes following your boot covered footsteps, “What are they like?”

“A lot of desert planets. Some have swamps. Some have forests. Some are just cities. A few are all ice. Some are a combination.” As he spoke, you fantasized about all the planets that could be out there. You had done so many times before and every time the new planets became more and more fantastic, sometimes to an unrealistic degree. But how could anything be unrealistic when you didn’t really know the constraints of reality in your own universe?

“I’ve always wanted to see them.” You mused out loud, “Your ship is really nice by the way.”

Mando looked back at you and, although you could see no hint of expression behind the helmet you immediately recognized as being made from beskar, he had an eyebrow cocked at you. It didn't sound like you were making fun of him but he knew the Razor Crest was anything but. "You haven't seen many ships before, have you?"

With a small shrug and slightly twisted face, you shook your head, "We don't get too many people coming through town and I don't make it into the city often."

Mando almost felt bad for you. He had learned how to read people easily and you were an open book. It was in the way you stood, the words you spoke, the way your eyes twinkled in amazement at the smallest things on his ship. You were a girl who loved her family and had a sense of duty to them. He assumed by the look of the shop you worked in that blacksmithing was a generational career, probably dating back to your grandparents, at least. He could see the love for your community and home but he also saw a fire for adventure, for anything other than what you knew. With every word, every little subconscious movement, his image of you became clearer and clearer.

"This is the fan." Mando stopped suddenly and pointed to an open panel in the ship's wall. You halted quickly, having almost forgotten why you entered the Razor Crest to begin with. "The rest of the system works. I was able to fix the wiring. It's just this part here that was damaged and now it won't rotate. It won't circulate the oxygen."

He stepped to the side, allowing you to step in and inspect the damage. It was a long cylindrical metal piece with five slanted blades evenly spaced around the circumference. There was a mechanism in the middle that led you to assume that it spun around on some metal rod and the blades circulated the oxygen throughout the ship. Sure enough, two of the blades were bent and crumpled, so much so that when you gave the device a little test nudge to see if it would spin at all, it only rotated an inch or so before the crumpled fans hit another part of the system with a klink, preventing it from moving more.

"As long as these just need to be flattened and straightened out, this should be a breeze. I could have it done by the end of the day." You continued to inspect the blades to get a full understanding of the damage. "So what happened to it anyway?"

"There was an altercation on board with a passenger. A stray shot from her gun hit the panel that used to cover this and it bent everything up." Mando remembered the fight with the Twi'lek woman. She was a fellow bounty hunter, yet another person who wanted the money for the Child.

The slight black scar from the laser on the wall confirmed the report and you ran your finger over the smudge, curious to see if it would wipe away. It didn't. "Sounds like such an interesting life."

“You said you could have it done by the end of the day?” The Mandalorian ignored your wistful comment and set the Child on the ground, making sure he stayed in eyesight. He didn’t see you as someone who would harm the baby but he also couldn’t be sure after everything that had happened.

You nodded, “Yeah, this looks pretty simple. But you’re going to have to take it apart. I have no clue how any of that works and I don’t want to be responsible if it breaks.”

“That’s no problem.” The Mandolorian stepped over and pulled on a few wires, disconnected a few fuses, and before you knew it, the overall fan had dislodged from its place with a hiss of decompression. He turned it in his hands until he found the button he had to push to unlock the mechanism holding each blade in place. It took no time before he handed you the broken blades one by one.

You held the blades in your arms, moderately sized at about 18 inches long and 9 inches across. Leaning forward, you inspected the intact ones to get an idea of how these needed to be shaped. “Well, there’s not much to do in the village while you wait, I’m afraid. There’s a little bar you could hang out at I suppose. They serve some decent food.”

“Thank you. I’ll be around.” He responded in his typical concise manner.

The blades really were quick work, like you’d expected. What took the longest was the order you had before, which was making the metal wedges of Naz Ta’ron’s ridge plow that he’d ordered to be made last week. Farm equipment made up most of your work, unfortunately, aside from the occasional weaponry. The weaponry never took too long, definitely not as much as you’d like. Making swords and hatchets was a hell of a lot more interesting than manufacturing plows and wheels.

By the time the sun had just begun to set, you had finished the third blade, dipping the last blazing orange, newly repaired fan blade into the large bucket of water, bubbles sizzling aggressively at the contact with the nearly molten metal and cooling it rapidly. After setting it down on the workbench to cool, you untied your leather smock and brushed the loose strands of hair out of your face. As far as you could remember, these looked exactly like the intact fans back on the ship, though in better condition. You had no idea what they looked like new but this had to be close.

Throughout the day, you’d watched from afar as the Mandalorian had wandered through the booths before returning to the ship with what you presumed to be a basket full of supplies. That was earlier in the day and he’d since been waiting in the bar you’d told him about earlier. You powered down the forge and gathered the fans before walking over to the bar. It was only a few buildings down, no more than a few hundred feet away, so the walk was quick. People meandered around town on their usual paths, the ones you came to know each person in the small village to take by heart.

When you entered the bar, the usual people were in there. K’jann Ving, Jared Amavia, and Haera Kiwai all sat in their usual seats with their usual drinks. All so usual. The only thing out of place was the Mandolorian sitting at the booth in the corner with his little baby whatever-he-was.

He noticed you enter right away, which wasn’t saying much considering the small size of the room. You walked right up to the table, “Fans are all finished up. Figured I’d drop them off.”

You placed the sheets of metal on the table. The Mandolorian reached down beneath the table and pulled out a small brown bag, “How much?”

“30 credits?” You estimated, not really knowing how to price such a repair. Compared to other weapon repairs, though this was only slightly more because there were more than one things needing repairing.

The Mandolorian began to sift through his bag, presumably counting out the coins. The little green baby by his side stared up at you with adorable large eyes and cooed. You couldn’t help the smile that crept on your face when his tiny arms reached out towards you, though you made no move to pick him up, opting to give him a tiny wave instead. Babies had always seemed to like you. Your nieces and nephews had loved you from the moment they were born.

A commotion sounded from outside the bar that stole your attention away from your payment and the Child. Your brows furrowed when you made eye contact with K’jann, who looked equally as confused as you did. Jared stood up from his spot at the bar and walked to the door, “What the hell is going on out there?”

Before he could find an answer, a bright flash of light struck him in the chest and he fell, lifeless. You shrieked and jumped at the unexpected attack. “Get down!” The Mandolorian demanded, pulling you closer to him before shoving the table over. He pushed you to the ground, scooped the child up, and placed him beside you hurriedly before you could comprehend what was happening. You were lying on the ground on your back, using the table as a wall of sorts to shield from the gun shots that were assailing towards you.

“Protect the Child!” The Mandolorian demanded of you, his voice surprisingly calm considering he had just been randomly attacked.

The baby reached up and clung to your shirt, struggling to pull himself up into your arms for protection. You reached around his body and scooped him up, flinching when a blast of laser zinged a little too close to your face for comfort.

“You’ve been a hard one to reach, Mando. You could’ve just given us the Child and it would all be done with but now we’re gonna kill you, take the kid, and your shiny armor.” A man’s voice taunted from the other side of the table barricade.

What the hell kind of trouble was this guy in?!

The Mandolorian jumped over the table and you reached out for him, his cape slipping through your fingers as he disappeared into the fight “Wait!” You called out to now avail. What the hell was he doing? There were a few grunts and groans. The laser blasts stopped being directly in your direction and began to be shot more erratically around the room.

“Get him out of here!” The Mandolorian’s modulated voice yelled at you from the other side.

This was it. You were going to die. This was what you got for craving adventure.

The baby squirmed against your body, making little fearful noises. Rolling over onto your knees, you scooped up the baby and held him tightly against your chest before reaching into your pocket and procuring a blaster. Peeking around the corner of the table first to ensure that it was clear to run, you took off like a bullet, darting as quickly as possible to the door.

The Mandalorian was fighting against two humans, a Rodian, and a Cerean woman at once. It appeared like he had them until the massive Cerean woman pinned him on the table, hand crushing over a part of his forearm that he seemed in a struggle to have access to.

You didn’t know anything about this man other than the fact that he was a bounty hunter with a broken ventilation system. Why did you want to help him? Why were you putting your life on the line to aid him when you knew damn well he could very clearly be in the wrong? Why did you trust him so much when you knew literally nothing about him?

The Cerean woman fell on top of the Mandalorian the moment you pulled the trigger. He groaned at the heavy weight but used her body to knock one of the human men down. He quickly tapped on his forearm, right where the woman had been pressing, and a large flame shot out towards the Rodian, who shielded his face.

You began to run towards the door again, so close to escaping with the child, but something hard suddenly knocked your feet out from under you and you crashed to the ground with a painful thud. You clutched the baby close to your chest as you fell, using your body to shield him from the impact. Your eyes opened to see a tall Zabrak woman that you hadn’t seen previously standing over you.

“Aw, Mando! Using some little village girl to save the kid? That’s a new level of low.” She chuckled sadistically, rolling her eyes from the Mandalorian and back to you, “Sorry, babe, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. Hand over the kid so I don’t have to kill you.”

You froze in fear for a moment, brain stuck buffering in a desperate attempt to comprehend the situation you were in.

“Guess I have to kill you.” She continued with an unapologetic shrug after only a second or two. She had a large staff in her hand that she spun around with skill, picking up enough momentum for the black metal rod to look like a blur, before slamming it down right where your head was. Thankfully, you rolled to the side just in time for the stick to slam into the ground with enough force that it very easily could have killed you.

Without a second thought, you aimed the blaster that was still in your hand just in time and shot her square in the chest. Her body crumpled into a heap of black robes, her staff clattering to the ground. It took you a moment to realize that the commotion had ceased.

The Mandalorian hurried over to you, “Are you okay?”

Your whole body was shaking but you nodded, adrenaline pumping through your veins, “What the hell was that about?” You demanded, sitting up finally. When you looked around, you noticed that everyone who had attacked was dead. The other patrons of the bar had seemed to escape.

Mando reached to take the kid from your grasp but stopped when he noticed how the small alien snuggled into your body like it was the safest place in the galaxy. You looked down to inspect his little body for injuries but he thankfully appeared unharmed. “I’ve been quested to bring him to the Jedi. He was originally a bounty I was supposed to bring in but I learned that the man who wanted him was going to hurt him. I couldn’t give him up. It’s my duty to protect him. People all over the galaxy like this have been trying to get the bounty on both of our heads.”

“What’s so special about him?” The baby looked like any other baby alien. You hadn’t necessarily seen many baby aliens but this one didn’t seem particularly extraordinary.

“I honestly don’t know for sure. I do know he can do things with his mind when he wants to, though. I figure it has something to do with that.” He extended a hand, pulling you up to your feet, “I’m sorry you got involved.”

You shook your head slightly, looking around at the bodies littering the bar, two of which you were responsible for killing, “You said they were going to hurt the baby?” You asked rhetorically, “It’s no problem.”

“Do all small town blacksmiths just carry blasters on them?” He asked, nodding towards the gun that was still in your hand.

You tucked it away again, “We’ve gotten a few less than pleasant visitors from neighboring cities and towns. Just some jerks who come to town looking to pick a fight with the men or take what they want from the women. Pull out a blaster, it’ll usually put them in their place.”

Mando thought about what that actually meant for a moment and a few more pieces of the puzzle that was you began to click together in his head. He couldn’t help but wonder how many times you’d had to pull the gun on a man who was trying to take advantage of you and the thought made his heart sink. He didn’t know you nearly at all but nobody deserved that. There was a twinge of protectiveness in his chest that made him want to track down anyone who’d ever threatened that sort of harm to you and show them just how good at killing the Mandalorians really were.

There wasn’t time for that, though. If these five bounty hunters were here by now, there’d be more soon. He couldn’t risk getting caught up with any more people who wanted to take the Child. “Well you’re a good shot,” He complimented with a small nod of his helmet, “Anyways, we need to take off now. If they already knew we were here, others will be here soon. You said the parts were ready?”

You nodded, “They were. I’m not exactly sure where they are now, though.” Your face twisted as you gestured around the freshly wrecked bar, furniture pieces just as strewn out of place as the cups and plates that were on them.

The two of you looked around for the fans and people from around town slowly funnelled into the bar, also helping to clean up the debris from the attack. “You need to go.” Zim Golu, the bar’s owner stood over Mando, who was crouched down to pick up one of the fans that he’d finally found. Zim Golu’s arms were crossed, his cheek bleeding from being hit with something during the fight.

“I’m sorry about the damage,” Mando stood up, “I just need to find a part for my ship and we’ll be off this planet as soon as it’s installed.”

Zim Golu stepped closer, “I don’t care about your part. I want you out of my bar.”

You looked over from the next table over, setting down the chair you had picked up where it was supposed to be. “What’s the problem?” You questioned, walking over to the pair with furrowed brows.

“There’s no problem.” Mando responded calmly, “We’ll be leaving as soon as I find the pieces I need.”

“No, he’ll be leaving now.”

The Child, who had been wandering around the building while you all cleaned, came up and held onto your leg. You glanced down before gently running your fingers over his head. “We cannot leave without these pieces. The oxygen can’t move through the ship without them. We barely made it here as it was.” Mando again was calm but insistent.

“What don’t you understand, Mando? Look at the trouble you’ve caused my bar and this whole town.” Zim Golu clearly had no intention of backing down, despite the fact that the intimidating Mandalorian towered over him.

You stepped forward and extended your arm between the men, “Mando, why don’t you go back to the ship and wait there. I will look for the pieces and deliver them when I find them.” You sent Zim Golu a look that told him that that was what was going to be what happened, whether he liked it or not. “How’s that?”

The bar owner shot Mando a dirty look before pointing to the door, “Don’t come back to this place again.”

Mando stood strong and emotionless under the shield of beskar and stared down Zim Golu as he walked away.

“I’ll meet you at your ship in a few. We’ve already found two so the last one shouldn’t take long to find.” Mando looked down at you while you spoke. You handed him the first two fans you found, “Maybe you can get these installed while you wait. I’m sorry about Zim Golu. He’s always cranky.”

“No, I understand. I’d be mad if my bar was destroyed by strangers too. Thank you for looking. We’ll be on the ship,” He beckoned for the Child to follow him out the door but the baby was hesitant, only wanting to be near you for some reason, “C’mon.” Mando picked up the baby and carried him out.

Finding the last fan was more difficult than you had hoped. When the table was pushed over, it had been kicked under a shelf in the corner and it took you lying face down on the ground to finally see it.

When you got to the ship, you awkwardly stepped up onto the ramp that led up to the Razor Crest and just up to the entrance of the main hull, “Uh, hello? Mando? It’s Y/N. I found the fan.” You announced, looking around while you waited for the man to appear before entering the ship.

He climbed down a small ladder and approached you. You extended the fan blade out to him, “Here it is. Sorry it took so long.” You apologized, following Mando as he took off down the hall towards the ventilation system. “How did the other two fit? Is it working?”

He stopped by the busted open wall panel that was supposed to conceal the ventilation system and pulled out the cylindrical piece that the blades attached to. He slipped the last one into place and it fit perfectly, “They fit nicely. Now we just need to see if it works.” He slid the mechanism back into place and reattached all the wires that he’d removed earlier. “Stay here and tell me if it spins properly. I’ll head up to the cockpit and activate it.”

With that, he disappeared before you could protest (not that you were going to) up to where you assumed the cockpit was. You waited patiently until the low hum of the ventilation system kicked on and the fan began to rotate without a hitch. The Child waddled around the corner and right to you, arms up, asking to be held. You lifted him into your arms with a smile and held up your palm to him, “We fixed it! High five, buddy. Or, well, high three, I guess.” You chuckled, counting his fingers. The baby didn’t understand what you were trying to achieve so you gently tapped the palm of your hand against his in a forced high five.

“Is it working?” Mando’s robotic voice asked from behind you and you spun around to face him.

You nodded, “Everything’s looking good.”

Mando immediately noticed the Child in your arms but, for once, he didn’t tense up at it. You felt safe, which perhaps was an error to assume such characteristics, but he couldn’t help it. Besides, he’d never seen the Child so affectionate with anyone other than himself. “Thank you for all of your help. I’m sorry about the trouble we brought with us.”

“It’s no problem. If I’m being honest, it was kind of thrilling.” You chuckled, looking away with a small blush. That probably made you sound crazy.

A silence settled over the two of you and Mando watched as your attention quickly turned back to the Child in your arms. “He really likes you.” Mando noted, “He’s not usually like that.”

A small smile appeared on your face, “Well I must say I’m pretty fond of him too. He’s adorable. And, for what it’s worth, I think what you’re doing is really noble.” You told the Mandalorian. Why did complimenting him give you butterflies? You had no idea what the man looked like. For all you knew, he could have tentacles for a mouth or four eyes. But, regardless, there was just something about him that made you uncomfortable in the best way - in the sort of way that left your skin crawling with excitement and a constant little urge in the back of your head that made you desperate for him to like you.

“I appreciate that.”

Another small moment of silence again left you rocking back and forth on your heels. “Where are you off to next?” You inquired curiously.

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out though. Tatooine isn’t too far from here. We might go there and lie low for a day or two.” Mando responded.

A question had been whirring around your mind since the Mandalorian first arrived and enlisted your help but you didn’t realize how hard asking it would actually be. You knew, though, that this was your last chance. “Can I come with?” You asked, the words coming out quickly.

“This isn’t a passenger ship.” He answered simply.

“I don’t mean like a taxi or whatever. I mean... “ You struggled to figure out how to ask, “Can I come with you guys? Wherever you go, I don’t really care. I don’t have any money to pay you but I can help however you need. I have some survival skills in the wilderness. I can sort of fix some things. I have child care experience. And I’m a fast learner for anything else you might need.” You chewed your lip while waiting for the Mandalorian to respond.

“Why would you want to do that?”

You sighed, “I just… I don’t want to die here knowing I never did anything but smash metal with a hammer. I don’t want to spend my whole life stuck in this little village when there’s an entire galaxy out there to see. I understand that joining you would mean a life of danger but I think I’m willing to risk that.”

Mando pondered the proposition. He had no actual need for a companion on his journey to deliver the Child to the Jedi but he could see the potential luxury in having one. Clearly, the Child really liked you. Fighting and caring for the Child was difficult at times and having an extra pair of hands would definitely prove helpful. Although you weren’t a trained warrior, you could hold your own in a fight and had no problem pulling the trigger when the moment called for it. You did have the ability to fix things that he wasn’t able to, at least when you had the proper tools.

Beyond that, he could see your desperateness to leave this planet. Mando had never been what many would call a “softie.” He did what needed to be done and would do whatever it took to meet those ends. He had his ethics, of course, and obviously he felt bad for the people that he couldn’t help but he had to admit that he often had the “not my problem” mentality. Perhaps it was attributed to his newfound position as a father figure or maybe it was because he actually cared about you for some unknown reason, but he found himself sympathizing with your situation. He could see in your eyes that you saw hope in him and the Razor Crest as a way to get off Arbiflux. This was your opportunity to leave behind a life of “the usual.” But he still couldn’t help but find himself stuck on what you said earlier about the men from neighboring towns coming in to take advantage of the women here. The fact that you carried a gun in an otherwise safe community simply to defend yourself against men like that actually enraged him. His “not my problem” mentality seemed to be receding to his yearning to help you in some way, especially after all you’d done for him.

He couldn’t believe he was doing this. “People try to kill us almost everywhere we go. You will never be safe. Can you handle that?”

With a hard swallow, you nodded your head.

“We are leaving in thirty minutes. Take only what you need.”

Your eyes widened with surprise and a big smile spread on your face, “Wait, are you serious?”

“Yes. As long as you understand what coming with me entails, I could use the help.” Mando didn’t actually hate his decision to allow you to come with. Part of him was actually a little excited to have another person, an actual companion, on board. Of course, he would gladly kill you or strand you on an icy planet the second you indicated any harmful intent towards the Child but that seemed highly unlikely at the moment.

The way you did a little excited jump made him smile under the helmet. Your enthusiasm and gratefulness gave you a humble, real, and, frankly, slightly adorable energy, despite the badass edge of literally forging blades and shooting people. “Thank you so much! You won’t regret this. I will be right back!” He watched as you ran off the Razor Crest, presumably to your home to grab a bag of personal belongings.

Mando moved to the main hold and sat on a box, the Child standing on the ground and looking up at him. He could have sworn that the little green baby was giving him that look. It was the look that kids gave their friends when their crush walked by. “Hey, knock that off. You better be on your best behavior for her. She’s willing to help you not get killed so be thankful she’s coming along.” Mando told the tiny being, who just giggled in response. “We’re just helping her! It’s not like that.” Mando insisted to the Child, exasperated with his silent (imagined) insistence. It didn’t occur to him that he really was just arguing with himself.

He stood up and did a once around the ship to try and work out the logistics of living with you. Frankly, he wasn’t sure where you’d sleep or how living with another person was going to work as it had been so long since he’d spent more than a few days with someone. All Mando knew was that he wasn’t totally dreading your company.

#mando x you #mando x y/n #the mandolorian x reader #the mandalorian #din dijarin x reader #din djarin #din djaren #din djarin fics #mando imagine #mando fic #pedro pascal #star wars

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ideks-on-mars · 4 years ago

Text

Half-Brothers?

The Taichi-Naoyasu Situation

Taichi and Naoyasu are half-brothers and here's how lol

Taichi's mother and father had both met in their birth country of Germany. However, his grandparents on his mother's side hadn't approved of his father. The two had then decided to study a good amount of Japanese before saving up for plane tickets and running off to Japan. They changed their last names and had a completely fresh start. The two were madly in love, or at least that's what Taichi's mother thought. She had figured out she was pregnant, with who we know as Taichi, and she was ecstatic. She quickly told Taichi's father and his reaction was the exact opposite of what she expected. The man was furious and didn't want anything to do with the woman or baby. After hours of begging and yelling the man had left the German woman to fend for herself and her unborn baby. She picked up a few different jobs at small stores, extra shifts and she would make good friends that were more than happy to help her, two of those friends being the Shirabu's who also had a baby on the way. Her life in Japan was getting better. And on April 15, 1995, her baby Taichi, was born. She had changed her name after the "Love of her life" had left. Her last name was Kawanishi. And now, all she had was her, her friends, and her beloved baby.

Meanwhile, almost exactly 4 months before Taichi was born. A small, fragile, pale woman, had been another victim of the man. She had found out she was pregnant by him during January 1996. The woman was, just like the last, left soon after. The woman was young and hadn't even been in Japan for too long. She had came to Japan from her home country of Finland due to that fact that it had always been a dream of hers to move in with her grandmother, who moved to Japan when she was two. She was intelligent though, and knew languages like Finnish, Slovak, German, and Japanese. She could also keep up a normal conversation in English and Danish. She was confident in her ability to take care of a baby and she studied extra hard, wanting to be able to get a decent job for her and her baby.

After graduating from college, she was now about seven months pregnant. She lived with her grandma and she was working as a translator for people visiting Japan. She had, who we know as, Naoyasu Kuguri, not long after. However, the older he had gotten, his mother had taught him more Finnish, Slovak, and German than Japanese. He knew some Japanese, of course, they lived in Japan. However his mother thought that all he needed was her and the only person he should feel the absolute need to talk to was her.

TIME SKIP

Multiple years later and Taichi is now seventeen with Naoyasu being sixteen. STZ was having a practice match against Nohebi and they were having a small break between the first and second set.

"Kawanishi-Kun~...doesn't number twelve over there remind you of yourself~ hehe~"

Kawanishi turned to the place his upperclassmen, Tendō Satori, was pointing towards, curious as to what he was talking about.

Taichi scanned the other team until his eyes landed on number twelve. The boy had a lean, yet muscular build, his height similar to Semi's. He had a bored expression on his face and a water bottle in hand. His eyes were pointed at the end, very similar to Taichi's. The only difference was that number twelve's eyes rounded into the point. Taichi's were more of a obtuse angle that lead to the point. Their eyelids were both very pointy. His eyebrows were thicker than Taichi's and his pupils were a lot bigger and more circle shaped, compared to Taichi's oval shaped pupils. Taichi's eyes were silver gray, number twelve's eyes seemed to be green with a hint of grey. Taichi's hair was a darker ginger, thick, and messy. Yet number twelve's hair was...interesting. His hair was a blonde mixed with brunette, leaving him with a very light brown bedhead. However his eyebrows were darker.

"He does look...kind of like me..."

"Kind of", was a bit of an understatement, Taichi could go around telling his team that they were related and they'd most likely believe it, except for Kenjirō of course, who knew the whole situation with Taichi's family.

"You should talk to him! You two seem equally as uninterested."

Some of his teammates laughed at Yamagata's joke but Taichi, for once in his life, actually considered going up to the boy and talking to him.

As if God himself had granted him an opportunity, Nohebi's captain walked up to the team, his hand placed on the back of the stoic winged spiker.

"Hey, sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but would any of you mind helping Kuguri-Kun here find the restroom?"

The captain, who they knew was called Daishō, patted the boy's, now known as Kuguri, back twice. Kuguri didn't react though, he stood there beside his captain quietly, slouched and staring at the ground blankly, his hands stuffed into his volleyball jacket pockets. Before anyone could speak, Tendō, not surprisingly, did.

"Oh! Well our dear Kawanishi-Kun would love to escort Kuguri-Kun! Right Kiwi?"

Kawanishi looked at Tendō with an expression that said "are you serious?" but Taichi wasn't one to go against an upperclassmen's wishes, especially Tendō's. Taichi sighed.

"Yes, Tendō-San."

Daishō smiled a snake-like smile, however Taichi didn't think he could help it, and walked away leaving his teammate with the monsters known as Shiratorizawa. Taichi could tell he was uncomfortable so he quickly walked past him towards the exit.

"C'mon, Kuguri-Kun."

He said, his German accent slipping a little. He glanced behind him and saw that Kuguri was sauntering behind him. Taichi stopped, waiting for the slightly shorter male to catch up with him and began to walk at the other's pace.

Taichi got to the door first and held it open for the brunette. He glanced up at Taichi and nodded. However Taichi could've swore he saw the other's eyes widen for point two seconds before he looked back down and walked through the door way. Taichi, even though it was barely audible, heard Kuguri speak.

"Thank you, Kawanishi-San."

The thick, obviously European, accent was clear in his words. Taichi could tell that it was slightly German, but it just had to be another Northern European accent. Taichi quickly shook it off and nodded. They silently headed down the hall, the occasional Shiratorizawa student walking past them. Suddenly, and surprisingly, Kuguri spoke.

"So...where are you from?"

Taichi was taken aback, the other's accent was thicker now. Taichi seemed confused but figured the the other thought he was from somewhere else due to his accent.

"Oh, um, I'm from Japan. It's just that my mother is German and...I knew how to speak German before Japanese."

Kuguri nodded.

"Oh. I was just asking. I spoke Finnish, Slovak and German before I spoke Japanese. I'm still not as good as I should be at it."

Taichi understood. Japanese was no joke, and neither was Finnish, Slovak, and German.

"Well, if speaking in German makes it easier for you, then I don't mind."

(Bold + Red = Speaking in German)

Kuguri smiled happily. It wasn't the biggest smile, more of just the sides of his lips curling upward, but still, a smile.

"Thank you...Naoyasu Kuguri."

Taichi smiled back, a similar smile to the one Naoyasu had shown him before.

"Nice to meet you...I'm Taichi Kawanishi."

The two smiled, happy that they had someone that they could relate to.

"Anyways, I didn't see you on Nohebi last year, are you new?"

"Yeah, I'm a first year..."

TIME SKIP

It was now the end of the match and Nohebi was about to get on their long trip back to Tokyo.

(I looked it up and from Miyagi to Tokyo is 4-6 hours 👀)

The two teams thanked each other for the practice game, all waving as they piled into the bus. Naoyasu was the last one to get on. He turned around and waved at Taichi one more time. Taichi waved back and watched happily as his new friend had drove off. He was glad they had exchanged numbers.

"So you really did make friends with him?"

Taichi looked over at his teammates.

"Yeah. He was pretty chill."

They nodded.

"Did you catch his name?"

"Yeah. Naoyasu Kuguri."

TIME SKIP

The two boys ended up being good friends. They didn't get to hang out as much as they wanted but it was good enough for them due to the fact that they weren't very social people anyway. Though, when they found out that they both got to go to the same training camp, they were excited. In the training camp you actually got time to lay back and chat with people from other teams, giving them the chance to hangout with each other.

The thing was, at this training camp they allowed parents and/or siblings to come. The parents would come watch their children play, help with lunch and dinner, and help with other fun drills and activities, and if they had younger children they were allowed to bring them. That's how a lot of the parents and siblings made good friends with the others. Taichi's mom, Annike, had always come, due to the fact that, 1) she loves and wants to support her son, and 2) she was great friends with most of the moms of his teammates and other teams. She would always bring Taichi's little six-year-old half sister, Takara, who enjoyed playing with the other little ones. She was the result of of Taichi's old stepfather. He was a cool guy and him and his mom were on good terms. Taichi never really gave him a chance though. However, Taichi would never deny the fact that he adored his little sister.

Once they arrived, Taichi quickly scoped out his teammates and joined them whilst his mother conversated with the other parents.

The coaches informed everyone that they would take the first day to let everyone get settled in, eat, and conversate.

Earlier into the day, Taichi heard his name being called.

"Kawanishi-San. Hello."

Taichi turned around, already having an idea of who it was.

"Hi Kuguri-Kun, how've you been?"

"Alright. You?"

"Fine, thanks."

"Naoyasu! Don't run off like that."

(Bold + Blue = Speaking in Finnish)

"Sorry ma."

Taichi looked a little behind Naoyasu and saw a short, pale woman with blonde hair that fell beautifully over her shoulders, he could've swore she was made of glass. She had on light blue jeans and a grey shirt on. Her eyes were the same color as Naoyasu's.

"Who's this?"

Taichi had no clue what she was saying, considering she was speaking in Finnish. Suddenly Naoyasu moved to the side, so that he wasn't between the two and they could meet eyes and Taichi didn't only see one half of her.

"Ma, this is Taichi Kawanishi, a friend of mine. Kawanishi-San, this is my mother."

Taichi remembered that Naoyasu only had his mother and knew that she knew and taught him German, plus Naoyase was just speaking to her in German so he responded in German.

"It's nice to meet you Kuguri-San. I'm good friends with Naoyasu-Kun."

Taichi stuck his hand out. The woman grabbed it, firmly shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you Taichi-Kun. You can call me Aino."

"Taichi!"

Taichi looked behind him to see that his mother had come up behind him. She walked up beside him, a smile on her face, Takara beside her. Taichi's mom had curly, long, ginger hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She had on jeans and a t-shirt just like Miss Aino. She turned over to Aino and now the womans' jaws dropped.

Taichi and Naoyasu looked confused while Takara didn't seem to care all the much, only hugging her big brother's leg. Taichi patted her head, still not taking his eyes off of the two women.

"Aino?"

"Annike?"

Now the boys were beyond confused. They knew each other. Both the women nodded to each other and began to walk away. Taichi tried to call out to his mother.

"Mom-"

"Watch your sister Taichi. I'll be back soon."

Naoyasu tried too.

"Mom where are you-"

"Stay with Taichi, help watch the girl."

"Hi!"

Taichi and Naoyasu both looked at each other, shrugged, and looked down at the little girl, who was now looking up at Naoyasu.

WITH THE WOMEN

The two were behind the building now, staring at each other.

"It's been a while."

"It has."

They both were quiet for a few seconds.

"Is that...his son?"

Aino nodded.

"Yeah...it is. Naoyasu is his. I'm sure Taichi is his, correct?"

"Yeah, he is."

The two women chuckled.

"They're half-brothers."

"Yeah they are. They deserve to know."

Annike nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I can't lie to Taichi any longer."

The two talked more. Catching up with each other and talking about their respective sons. They were nervous to tell their sons, yet excited and happy that they at least had met and are good friends.

AFTER THEY HAD SAT THE TWO BOYS DOWN

Both Taichi and Naoyasu were now sat down on the curb of the parking lot near the building where the training camp was being held. The women were leaning against the Kawanishi's car, both smoking a cigarette. Takara was being watched by some of the Shiratorizawa moms.

Annike dropped the cigarette onto the asphalt and stepped on it, putting it out.

"We have to tell you something important."

The two boys nodded.

"I don't think you both realize how much this will affect you both. This will shock you both tremendously."

The two were hesitant, but nodded. The two women looked at each other and Aino gestured for the other to go ahead and tell the two.

"You two are half-brothers."

The two brothers paused completely. That was until Taichi slapped his thigh and stood up.

"I knew we looked alike!"

He didn't say it in German, causing some other people to look at the usually quiet boy out of curiosity. Taichi bowed towards them apologetically before returning to the situation at hand.

Naoyasu was in shock. Half-brothers? He was just being told now? He assumed that they had the same dad. He wasn't stupid. He put two and two together.

Naoyasu stood up beside Taichi. The two looked at each other not exactly knowing what to do. However, Taichi, who was already a big brother, now of two, had his instincts kick in. Whenever his little sister was confused and was completely lost on what to do, he comforted her, so that's what he did to his new, well new in his life, little brother.

Taichi wrapped his arms around Naoyasu tightly. Naoyasu seemed genuinely scared at first but calmed down quickly. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around Taichi, resting his head on Taichi's shoulder.

The two women smiled gently at their sons, both extremely pleased that the two seemed happy. Taichi pulled away and patted both Naoyasu's shoulders.

"Let's go introduce you to your new little sister too."

Naoyasu looked confused.

"But...I'm not related to her."

"You're part of the family now. No escaping."

Taichi and Naoyasu both laughed and began to make their way to the little girl. The moms watched before Annike started walking too. She noticed that Aino wasn't following her and turned around.

"You too, Aino. You're part of the family too."

Aino couldn't even fight the smile creeping onto her face and dropped her cigarette, stepping on it. Annike reached her hand out and Aino grabbed it.

They both rounded the corner and smiled widely when they saw Takara walking between her two big brothers, holding both theirs hands and talking about something with a big smile on her face.

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