#call me impatient but after only ever hoping forever

[ediblechalk]

Not waiting for a man anymore ive been told too many empty promises im only chasing the dudes that get things done.

[pit-and-the-pen]

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (Pt 2 to unrequited love)

A/n: HERE IT IS BESTIES!!! The official Pt 2 to unrequited love! I know the poll is still live but I’m impatient. So to make sure I’m still taking everyone’s votes into account there will be an alternate ending that should be posted right after this.

Read the Alt ending here, it's pretty similar in places

Read Pt 3 here

I'm still absolutely blown away by how well-received the first part was. This is going to be an ongoing series, all could be read individually but the "background" will be these two fics.

Warnings: Angst, Cursing, reader suffers from depressed thoughts

WC: ~3.4k

divder by @cafekitsune

The next morning I was in Rhys office. He barely even looked up from the paper strewn over his desk before I spoke. 

“I’m going back home.” 

He sighed, leaning back into his chair. His eyes raked over me, “Does this have anything to do with why Azriel was so huffy this morning?” His eyebrow raised and I felt the anger I’d been trying to quell since last night rise its head up like a sleeping dragon.

“Fuck off. Let him be mad if he wants to be mad.” I snapped. 

“Mad isn’t exactly how I would put it,” He paused looking at me. “What happened?” The High Lord questioned. I sighed not having the strength to recount the events from last night. 

“Nothing but the inevitable.” he frowned at my non-answer but didn’t press any harder. 

“I’ll miss you. We all will.” He said finally. I nodded. 

“You all should visit.” Not an I’ll visit. No. If I could avoid it I would never step foot into this miserable court ever again. 

I was gone by mid-morning. Mor had helped me winnow the things I wanted to take with me. What they did with the rest wasn’t any of my concern. Rhys or Feyre had bought it all for me anyways, let them decide what to do with their money. 

Once I had gotten settled into my room, I hugged Mor goodbye and thanked her for her help. She just gave me a tighter hug and told me she would visit soon. 

It was two weeks before I could see Helion.Two weeks of settling back into my court that I loved so dearly.  He was visiting Dawn court for some trade agreement that needed to be signed. I came by every day, asking if he’d returned you. His second would just silently shake her head at me. And I would stomp back to my room like an angry babe. 

Two weeks of checking before I finally saw her nod her head and I had to stop myself from running into Helions office. I had the control to at least knock on the door but not much else. I quickly shut the door behind me as he called me in. 

“Sunbeam!” He called out when saw my face. “I had hoped the rumors of you moving back home were true.” He walked around the desk and gave me a brisk hug. Very out of character for him. 

“You’re not an easy man to schedule an appointment with, Helion.” I smiled warmly at the High Lord of my court. 

“If you wanted a piece of me, you only had to say the words and I would have come running darling.” There's the flirt I remember. I thought, rolling my eyes.

“But judging by your urgency in requesting a meeting that my second expressed to me, I’m going to assume that’s not what you wanted to see me for.”

My smile dropped as I braced myself for the question I needed to ask him.

“I need you to break a mating bond”

His mouth fell open. For once in my life, Helion was speechless. “I don’t know if I can even do that. Are you sure that’s what you want?” His eyes saw right through me. I threw my head back, a sad laugh bubbling past my lips. 

“Yes. No. Gods I don’t know. I just don’t want it to hurt like this forever.” I felt treacherous tears starting to fall down my face. Helion grabbed my arms gently before I could wipe them away. 

“I know you well enough to know that you don’t run away from hard things.” He held me against his chest as I really started to sob. 

“Helion. Every second that I’m away from him it kills me. I’m over here dying inside over some male who only ever saw me as a second option.” 

“Then he’s an idiot. But the mother still saw fit to make you two mates. Give it some more thought, you’re clearly still not fully decided. I’ll do some research to see if it’s even possible and if you still want to, I’ll be here to help.” I nodded my thanks into his shirt. He takes my head between his hands and uses his thumbs to wipe the tears still streaking down my face. He gives me a gentle kiss on the top of my head before I walk out of the room. 

I sat on the decision for a month. A month of volleying back and forth. Weighting the pros and cons of my choice. I had started doing my own research through the tomes in the library I had access to. My eyes widened as I finally found the information I needed. 

Picking up the book I all but sprinted to Helion’s office. I didn't bother knocking as I pushed past the door. Helion looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow at me. 

Panting, I showed him the page in the book. “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my whole life.” I promised him. He still looked skeptical but walked around to where I stood anyway. 

“I can’t say this is going to be pleasant.” He said wearily as I laid down on the couch in his study. “I’ve never heard of anyone doing this. I’ve seen rejection but this is cutting off the magic at the source.”

I looked into the males eyes, eyes I had known my whole life.

“Please. Nothing can hurt more than this already does.” Sympathy washed over his face and he leaned over me, placing a hand to each of my temples. It felt like the worst headache I had ever had in my life. My head was being split open and I heard the whimper leave my mouth. The pressure of his hands lifted slightly and I fought to get out the words. “I’m okay. Keep going.” I couldn’t open my eyes to see his face but his hands didn’t move. The pounding broke to a burning heat. I could feel the moment it snapped, I could almost picture the scissors snipping that tight string that connected us. One last fleeting rush of pure pain pushed through the bond. And then it was gone. My head was still pounding, I opened my eyes and saw Helion panted above me. 

“How do you feel?” He asked, helping me into a sitting position. 

“Like I have one hell of a hangover.” I pressed a hand to the bridge of my nose. Like I could squeeze out the uncomfortable feeling. “But also lighter.” My free hand going to my chest. It would take some time to adjust to this new feeling. But I could not stop the smile that spread over my face. Before Helion could say anything else, I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck.

“I can’t thank you enough.” I said into his neck. He gave a tight laugh and hugged me back. 

“You should go sleep this off. Please tell me if any of the pain gets worse.” He held my face between his hands and I nodded as much as I could. I all but floated back to my room. 

I fell into a familiar routine back in the Day Court. I took up my old job as a researcher. My days were spent surrounded by the massive libraries of my home court. People would come to us with questions and it was our job to use the knowledge at our disposal to find them answers. It kept me busy at the very least, but I did have to admit that I love doing it. I felt more useful here than I ever had at the Night Court. Pangs of sadness would rip through me when someone snarked in a way that made me think of Cassian. When someone would smirk and I could only picture Rhysand standing in front of me as he beat me in chess. The art was so beautiful that I longed to show Feyre if only to see that twinkle in eye as she dissected the colors and shading used. 

I smiled as the pang in my chest at the thought of Azriel held no pain. It had taken me some time to get used to the emptiness in my chest, I had grown so used to the hollow feeling of the unreturned bond but this emptiness wasn’t pain but instead it was like a weight had been taken off my chest. 

Someone calling my name pulled me from my musing. One of the messengers, Dia, smiled brightly up at me. “Hey sunbeam. Helion asked me to deliver this to you.” I took the golden envelope from her. I thanked her and she turned around, leaving me back to my books. 

I slid my finger under the seal and pulled out the letter. He was flirty even in a letter. He had requested that I accompany him to the latest ball he was hosting. Helion, ever the charmer, even placed boxes for me to check yes or no. I giggled to myself at the juvenile nature of it, but checked yes with the quill sitting next to me. 

The ball was just a few days away and I was so excited as dress after dress were brought into my room for me to try on. The one that ended up catching my eye was a floor length glossimer dress, such a pale golden color it looked almost like sunlight itself. The bottom was dyed a light pink color that flowed into it seamlessly. It took my breath away as I smoothed out the light fabric. It fit like a glove and I knew instantly this was the dress I had to wear. 

My reflection looked like a stranger. My hair was pinned to one side, sweeping down over my shoulder and my back. A golden tiara was woven into loose curls. Long golden chandelier earrings studded with diamonds almost touched my shoulders. The sun had created a sultry blush on the high points of my cheeks. I looked happier than I had in years. I sensed Helion's presence in my room and caught his eyes in the floor length mirror. 

He let out a low whistle and I blushed, adjusting my tiara. I walked over to him and he held out his hand for me, twirling me around dramatically when I took it. “No one will be able to take their eyes off of you, Sunbeam.” His eyes hungirly raked over me, “If you ever reconsider my offer. I would take you to bed in a heartbeat. Just say the words.” I pushed his shoulder, I didn’t doubt his words. 

“Keep your pants on Helion. We have a ball to get to.” 

“I’m High Lord. I can be late.” His pupils had dilated and I rolled my eyes, pushing him out the door before I linked my arm into his. 

The ball was as lavish as I had expected. There was much to celebrate and this was mostly to welcome the new High Lord. Eris. Beron had finally died a few months back and Eris had officially stepped into the role with grace. The autumn court once known for its cruelty seemed to be taking a new direction and as I talked to nobility from the court, it was for the better. I had gotten to know him over the years, his frequent visits to the Night Court, plus a few flirty exchanges that I always brushed off, while he was helping us during the war softened me to him. Learning the true events of that night with Mor. 

I locked eyes with Eris across the room. He had been heartbreakingly handsome when he was just High Fae but as a High Lord? His hair had grown slightly longer, just touching his shoulders. Dressed in a deep maroon suit that showed off every single one of his muscles. The permanent scowl that had been etched into his face had been replaced with a smile that radiated comfort. My feet seemed to move without deciding to. Eris kept his eyes locked onto mine as I got closer. My cheeks heated up under his intense stare. 

“Hi little sunbeam,” Honeyed words wrapped around me. “Seems like you’re no longer hiding in the shadows.” He held out his hand, eyes flickering to the dance floor. I smiled up at him and gently placed my hand in his. 

His touch was firm and the warmth of his power radiated off of him. He clutched my waist, pulling me flush to his front. I felt every plane of his toned body pressed against me and goosebumps broke out across my skin having nothing to do with the temperature in the room. The two of us gilded across the floor. I could feel the eyes of the room on us but I only had eyes for the male in front of me. 

“If I had known you danced this good, I would have pulled you out of that miserable court a long time ago.” He spoke into the shell of my ear.  “I’ll never understand what the Shadowslinger was thinking, even I could smell the mating bond on you. Plus, one look at me with those beautiful doe eyes and I would have been putty in your hands.” He nipped at my earlobe and I felt it deep in my stomach. 

“Well good thing he’s not my mate anymore.” I whispered back to him, voice breathy. He responded with a kiss to my neck. All of a sudden I felt his warmth disappear. Before I could even process what had happened, I was standing half ways across the room. Eris just smirked, eyes twinkling with mischief. 

“Stand down, you overgrown bat.” The High Lord said and that’s when I heard the growl from my side, caught a glimpse of wings and sapphire blue. Before another word could leave my mouth, I was being pulled out of the ballroom and outside to the balcony. 

I thrashed against Azriel’s grip on my arm. His hand wrapped around my wrist tight enough to bruise. 

“What the hel was that?” He yelled at me, finally letting go of my wrist.

“You had no right!” I screeched at him. Anger seethed through me. I felt my palms heat up from the light trying to escape from them. He went to grab my arm and I ripped it back from his reach. “Don’t you fucking dare.” 

“Please.” Was all he said and suddenly it was like that night all over again. Me pouring my heart out and all he could say was please. 

“Please what, Azriel? Is that all you know how to do, beg and plead. For what? Was breaking my heart once not enough for you.” 

“Gods. What do you want me to say?” He ran his hands through his hair. He looked like he was about to lose it. Good. “Do you want to hear how I was fucking terrified. How any good thing that I had ever received had been taken away from me? That when I felt that twinge in my chest, that I knew what it meant but prayed to the gods that it wasn’t that.” I went to start in on him again. “Would hearing that I looked for you in every female I came across help us here?.” 

“Stop. Just stop. I’m sure you’ve rehearsed this all before but do you actually think I’m stupid enough to believe it?” I spit out between my teeth. 

“No. Gods this is coming out all wrong.” He ran a frantic hand through his hair. I clocked the shake in them “Why did you break the bond?”

I laughed at his audacity. “Why? You have the nerve to ask me why?” My voice dripped venom, “I did it because I couldn’t stand being tied to you like that. That night..” I started, he interrupted me.

“I said the most vile things I could think of. I panicked when you told me about the bond. If you could feel it too, I knew nothing good could have come from that so I pushed you away.” I shook my head, as if I could shake his words away from my ears. 

“You seemed so shocked when I told you.” 

His head sunk down, voice small “I was shocked because no part of me believed, believes, that I deserve you in that way.” When he stepped forward, I didn’t step away. Mind too busy catching up with his words. “Please say something. “ 

I turned my eyes up to look at him. Hazel eyes soft sparkling with unshed tears. I wanted to rip into him. I truly did. Some sick part of me wanted to make him hurt like he had hurt me but I know that wouldn’t fix anything here. What is done was done. 

“You don’t get to do this to me. You don’t get to say all the right things and just have me forgive you. You don’t get to say that you love me after everything you did.” He sighed. Leaning his head on top of mine. I frowned at the contact, but didn’t push him away, refusing to melt into him. “Whatever your reason. You said all those things that you knew would hurt me, you said them and some part of you had to believe them.” 

“I know. There isn’t a day that I don’t regret everything that I said, everything I had put you through over all those years. I took you for granted and I didn’t realize how much I loved you until you were gone. Until I felt that bond being snatched away from me” I wanted to push him back but something in me let his words sink into my bones. 

“I had dreamed for so long how it would feel when I finally heard you say those words, And do you know what I feel?” His eyes glimmered with hope as I took a step away from him, out of his grasp. “Nothing. I feel nothing for you. Not anger, not contempt.” Tears slipped out of his eyes at my harsh words. “Of course I remember what it felt like before. Maybe some part of me will always love you in my own way but I’m not tied to you anymore and I have never been so thankful for something in my entire life.” He flinched like I had hit him.

“Do you really mean that?” His voice was so small it almost made me feel bad for him. Almost.

“I do.” I sucked in a heavy breath. “Look, we’ll most likely still have to see each other so I don’t want to end on a bad note. You were still one of my best friends for over a century and this doesn’t undo all of that but this,” I gesture between the two of us, “Will never be anything else but that, a friendship.” He gave me a sad smile. 

“I’ll take whatever you are willing to give me.” I turned to walk away and he reached for my arm, I grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before I walked back to the ball that was in full swing. 

I weaved in between bodies easily. Finding Eris with ease. Despite being in the middle of a conversation, he stepped away the moment he sensed my presence. Not sparing a glance to the fae surrounding him. 

“That’s all settled then?” He asked, giving me a once over. I nodded and took his hand again.

“I believe we were in the middle of a dance?” I pulled him against me, not realizing how much I missed the feeling of his heat against my skin. I placed my head on his chest. We didn’t so much as dance, more so swayed in place. Arms wrapped around each other. He tapped my chin with a gentle finger and I let him guide my mouth up to his. The kiss was soft and sweet, like holding your hands in front of a warm fire after a day in the cold. When I tried to deepen it, he laughed against my lips. I let out a shameless whine as he disconnected our lips. As I looked into his eyes, I felt the stirring of something familiar and for the first time, welcomed it as that hole in my chest was filled again.

Tagging people that seemed excited about pt. 2

@cleverzonkwombatsludge @yearninglustfully @myromanempiree @starsandsins @melmo567 @saltedcoffeescotch

[goldfades]

🌱 jack hughes calling you a really sweet pet name and luke and quinn cringing so hard when they hear it and then teasing jack relentlessly

𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐜𝐨𝐦 | jh⁸⁶

♡ ─ word count | 436

♡ ─ warnings | nothing but teasing and fluff!

♡ ─ ev's notes | i hope y'all enjoyed!

"This is why we don't ever get ready with Y/N, she takes forever." Luke let out a impatient sigh as he spoke bitterly, glaring at you as he pretended you weren't next to him. You returned the glare as Quinn and Jack exchanged looks, amused expressions on their faces.

"Shut up, Luke. You don't understand, you don't have long hair like me." You shot back, crossing your arms defensively.

Luke rolled his eyes, his frustration evident. "Yeah, yeah, blame it on the hair," he muttered, but his irritation seemed to simmer down a notch. "It only takes me like 30 minutes to get ready, max."

"Oh yeah, we can fucking tell." You let out a chuckle, causing Jack and Quinn to let out a laugh.

Luke shot you a mock glare, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Alright, alright, I'll give you that one. But seriously, can we pick up the pace? I'm starving."

"Okay, whatever fine." You finally put on the finishing touches on your make-up, causing Luke to let out another annoyed sigh.

Luke muttered under his breath, "It's like she's getting ready for the Met Gala, jeez."

"Luke, we get it, you're impatient. Just give her some time." Jack shook his head at Luke, causing a smirk to appear on your face.

"I'm not impatient." Luke mumbled, causing all three of you to let out laughs.

You finally put down your make-up and walked up to the boys, a smile on your face. "I'm done! Look, wasn't so hard to wait, huh?"

"Yeah, let's go baby." Jack looked at you with a proud grin as he grabbed your purse and hand, heading for the door. Quinn and Luke gagged playfully as they followed, the teasing seamlessly continuing.

"Oh, please. You two are like a real-life rom-com," Quinn teased, nudging Luke with his elbow.

Luke rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the amusement in his expression. "Sure, if the rom-com involves waiting for an eternity for the main character to get ready."

You linked arms with Jack, ignoring Luke's comment. "Well, aren't you lucky to be part of this cinematic masterpiece?" you teased, earning an eye roll from Luke and a laugh from Jack.

As you all walked towards the door, Quinn playfully pretended to wipe away fake tears. "I'm just so moved by the love story of Y/N and her makeup routine."

Luke smirked, joining in on the joke. "Truly a story for the ages."

Outside, Jack held the door open with a flourish. "After you, princess."

"Ewww!" Luke groaned, making you roll your eyes in annoyance.

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[anacdoce]

I Wish Chapter 6 - Bound by blood

Pairing: Astarion x you (f!reader, implied sorcerer)

Rating: T

Word count: 5.4k

Warnings: angst; hurt/comfort; some fluff

Summary: "After some time, Gale approaches slowly, his feet dragging on the floor. He kneels at Astarion’s side, lowering his head with his eyes closed, grieving. He lies his hand on yours, gently holding it, his touch reverent.

They remain like that for a while, side by side, mourning the loss of someone they both deeply cared for. That's when Gale senses something. Your ring is emanating some kind of vibration. He opens his eyes and he grabs your ring, on your finger, to confirm it. “Her ring is vibrating… How strange...”"

a/n: Here it is! The final chapter of this series! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

@bloodlessdarling thank you! Your screenshots are perfect and I hope to use them again in the future <3 thank you, thank you, thank you!!

(some more notes at the end of the chapter)

Read on ao3

Previous chapter

Astarion holds you close, his body trembling with the force of his sobs. His grip is desperate, as if he fears letting you go will make this moment real. He rocks back and forth with you, crying and screaming, calling for you, calling your name.

Only once had he been like this, but at that time you were by his side, ready to give him your hand if he needed it. 

Not anymore.

He’s broken, shattered. No words can describe his feelings at this moment. His whole world has crumbled. 

His savior, his friend, his love.

All is lost. 

Forever. 

No more will he hear you laughing, that precious sound he loves so much. No more will he feel your soft touch on his skin. 

Nothing, no more.

I secretly fantasized you would succeed and survive this. That we would celebrate together, you preparing my first meal after so many years without being able to taste anything but blood. You, sharing with me your favorite meal ever, while we watched the sunset…  Now I will have to do it alone. I will have to rediscover how to live a mortal life again, without you, my darling, by my side. You were everything, and now I have nothing, again. 

“I don’t know how to do this without you, my love…” He mutters in your ear, crying in despair.

Meanwhile, Gale waits. He longs to be near you one last time, but his suffering is nothing compared to what Astarion is going through, so he waits, giving Astarion some space alone with your fallen body. He waits, crying in silence and feeling the guilt consuming him. It was him who brought the ruin for you two. How could he? This is all his fault. Astarion would never forgive him, neither should he. Hells, he would never forgive himself.

After some time, Gale approaches slowly, his feet dragging on the floor. He kneels at Astarion’s side, lowering his head with his eyes closed, grieving. He lies his hand on yours, gently holding it, his touch reverent.

They remain like that for a while, side by side, mourning the loss of someone they both deeply cared for. That's when Gale senses something. Your ring is emanating some kind of vibration. He opens his eyes and he grabs your ring, on your finger, to confirm it. “Her ring is vibrating… How strange...”

Astarion, lost in his sorrow, has completely forgotten about his ring. But he can still feel it too. “Mine is doing the same.” He manages to say between sobs. 

Gale looks at him intrigued. Then, a thought rushes through his mind, and he holds your wrist, leaning two fingers in the inside of it, making some pressure. Almost instantly he widens his eyes in surprise.

He starts moving frantically, trying to take you from Astarion’s lap, urgently. 

“What are you doing?! Leave her alone!” Astarion shouts, his voice high-pitched.

“Please, humor me, will you? Lay her on the floor, please.” Gale pleads, his hands moving with impatience. 

“No! You should leave! I don’t want you anywhere near me! I don’t need you anymore!”

“Astarion, you will do as I say. Lay her on the floor. It’s a matter of life or death. Afterwards, if you still want it, I’ll leave. I promise.” 

Astarion glares at him with hatred, but if this is the way to get rid of him, so be it. He gives you a tender kiss on your forehead and lays your body on the floor, ever so gently. 

His hands haven’t freed you yet when Gale leaps to you, leaning his head against your chest. “All right, that’s enough… I don’t even know why I listen to you.” Astarion tries to shove Gale away from you, but he points him a finger to make him wait.

“Shhh! Shut your mouth for a second! Let me listen.” He instructs, closing his eyes to concentrate on what he may possibly be doing.

Astarion forces his lips to stay shut, but he’s growing impatient. Gale has no right to take you from him. 

Suddenly, Gale starts laughing, his ear still glued on your chest.

“Gale… I will kill you with my bare hands if you don’t leave her alone right now! Why are you laughing? There is nothing here to laugh at, you madman!” Now Astarion is angry and he wants to throw his hands so badly in Gale’s neck.

“But there is! Her heart, Astarion… It’s beating! She’s alive!” He shouts, still laughing.

Astarion is speechless for a moment. His mouth hangs open, and a faint glimpse of hope appears in his eyes. “But… but how? I can’t hear it…”

Gale straightens up and gives Astarion an understanding smile. “Astarion, you are not a vampire anymore. You can’t hear it unless you lean your ear into her chest.” And he points his hand to you, inviting him to do just that.

After hesitating for a bit, Astarion lowers his head to your chest and listens. And then he hears it, that soft rhythm he’s so used to. The perfect music that so many times accompanied him in his rest. “She’s not dead…” He says still in shock.

“She is not.” Gale confirms it.

“She lives…” Astarion lifts himself from over you and stays at your side, staring at you in amazement. 

“She does. And I think I know what is keeping her alive.”   

“You know?!” 

Gale holds your hand once again, directing Astarion’s attention to your ring. “Her ring. Your ring. I can feel some kind of magic around it. Around her.”

Astarion frowns, he looks puzzled. How is it possible? Yes, he knows that rings can have magical powers. He has some. And you too. But nothing like this. Nothing so powerful like this. 

Then he remembers. Astarion remembers what the forger said about the blood. It could grant the rings some kind of magic. Could it be? Your blood? His? “May the blood be responsible for it?”

“Yes! That's my theory. Well, of course I’ll have to study this deeper, but I think it's your blood that’s protecting her. Some kind of ward, like…”

But Astarion's mind is already far away. His blood? Protecting you? Is it possible? You are alive because of him? Because you have his blood with you, and he has yours. 

The blood had brought you together. The first moment of intimacy between you. And now, the blood is holding your life, keeping you in this world, keeping you together, again. 

You will always be bound by it. 

You granted him his life back. And he is keeping yours. He saved you.

He leans to you again, caressing your face. Your soft, velvety skin. You didn’t leave him. You're still here. 

Nothing is lost.

“We have to take her out of here.” He says, determined. 

“Yes. She needs healing. I’ll try to keep her stable until we reach Waterdeep. I think I can conjure a portal to my tower, but we need to get out of this fog first. Shadowheart will be waiting for us there. I’ve just sent her a sending spell.”

“Waterdeep it is then.”

Astarion removes his cloak off his shoulders, and gently he lifts your unconscious body, wrapping the cloak around you. Afterwards, he holds you again more firmly in his arms. He positions your head to rest on his chest, and walks out of the ruin, carrying you.

“Don’t you want help to carry her?” Gale asks.

“No. I will carry her to Waterdeep. I would carry her to the end of the world if needed. After all she’s done for me, this is nothing.” 

And they walk through the fog with Waterdeep as their destination.  

—

Your head is dizzy. You can’t think straight. Your body is sore and your left cheek is stinging and itching. As you try to move an acute pain invades your belly and you stop breathing for a moment trying to get a relief from the sensation. When it calms down you make an effort to open your eyes, but everything around you is blurry. Blinking your eyes repeatedly, you perceive that you’re in a room. But not yours, you’re sure of it. You have a sensation of safety, but it’s clear that you don’t know where you are. 

Harder as you try, you can’t remember what happened to you, why are you here, whatever here may be, and why you feel so godsdamn weak!

A familiar weight presses against your thigh. You lean your head slowly to the side and look down to your legs just to find a silver haired man lying there, with his arms crossed beneath his head and his face turned away from you, sitting on a chair next to your bed. Astarion. 

His hair seems more disheveled than usual, and his back is moving, rising and falling, like he’s breathing. The sight of him soothes you, he’s here, and you can ask him what happened.

He looks so peaceful, resting close to you, warmed by a sunbeam on his back, a gift from an open window behind him.

Suddenly, your faint smile turns into a scared grimace and you try to speak, but the words won't come out. The sun Astarion! The sun! Please get out of here! Please! You have to warn him, or he’ll burn. You try to move, but your body doesn't want to obey your will. Only the pain seems to remain.

Panic is rising. You can feel it cruising through your veins. With a big effort you reach your arm, finally touching his hair, his soft curly hair. You move your fingers but Astarion doesn’t seem to notice it.

Desperately you start to whimper, the only sound that seems to escape from your mouth. He shifts his head, turning toward you, but his eyes are still closed. You take a deep breath and concentrate all of the remaining strength in your body to make it obey you. Then, without warning you move your leg where his head is resting, letting it fall to the mattress.

This movement has cost you a great deal of pain and you whimper once more, louder than before. But it was all worth it, because Astarion is rubbing his eyes, you interrupted his trance and you can finally warn him.

He looks at you, worried, and holds your hand, rubbing it with his thumb trying to give you some comfort. Your fingers buried deep in his flesh.

“Darling! You’re awake! Finally!” He smiles at you. A beautiful smile, but a strange one nonetheless. Something is missing…

But you keep restless and you try to speak again, “Ast… arion… Star…” You manage to mutter as you cry looking at him, frustrated.

“What is it, my dear? What do you need?” He leans closer to you.

He seems… strange? Different? But your eyes are still blurry, so you can’t quite understand what it is. And why isn’t he burning already? 

You look to the window, then back at him, moaning with pain. 

And he smiles again, an understanding tender smile. He cups your face with his hand, his warm hand in your skin. “Shhh shhh, Darling. It’s fine. Everything is fine. Now, you should rest. Your wounds are still healing. You have a lot to recover. I’ll be here. Waiting for you. I will always be here, my love.” He rests his forehead on yours while he hushes you a little longer. His hand, still holding yours.

Confused. 

You are so confused. Your head is a mess. You try to argue with him but there is no more strength left. Your mind is drifting away, your eyes are closing. All you can feel is his presence, like a cloud of affection is enveloping you. And you couldn’t feel more safe. So, you give in. You stop fighting. Your body needs it. 

And everything fades away, again.

—

You feel something or someone moving you. Something cold rubbing your flesh, in your belly. Opening your eyes you see Shadowheart, tending your wounds. You can see clearly now, and you can move more freely too. 

“Well, well, look who decided to join us once again?” Shadowheart greets you giving you a warm smile.

“Join you once again? What are you talking about? Ahh!” You wince, reacting to Shadowheart’s healing methods.

“Sorry, but this will hurt a little longer. You almost died, my friend. You drifted between life and death for too long. I’m glad I arrived just in time. If it weren’t for Astarion, you wouldn’t be here now…”

“For Astarion? What happened?”

“Can’t you remember anything? Your crazy adventure?”

You try to focus, reliving the last moments you can remember. Then someone knocks at the door, opening it next, and Gale peeks in. “Do you need my help, Shadowheart?”

“Yes, please. I need to move her. And you’ll be happy to see that our friend is awake.”

Gale steps into the room, rushing to your side, his eyes, anxious. “Oh! So good to see you awake!” He gives you a clumsy hug.

“Ahh! That hurts! Could you?... Sorry…”

“Forgive me! I couldn’t contain myself!” His eyes are now wet with emotion.

And suddenly you remember. You remember Gale telling you about a certain scroll. You remember Astarion avoiding that theme. And you remember spelling that wish, your wish, in that tomb.

Your heart, skipping in your chest.

“Did it work?! Tell me it worked! Where is Astarion?!” You shout, trying to lift from the bed.

“Easy now!” Shadowheart holds your shoulder, preventing your movement.

“All answers in due time. First, Astarion is fine, and he can tell you later if your ridiculous and irresponsible demand worked or not... He’s resting. We managed to make him leave from your side for the first time in three weeks. And you choose to wake precisely when he’s not here. He will be furious.” Gale chuckles at the thought.

“Three weeks? I’ve been out for three weeks?”

“Yes, my friend… you were in a terrible shape. Between life and death, remember?” Shadowheart leans you to the side with Gale’s help, and you hold his forearm to ease your pain.

“You gave us a lot to worry about. Worries enough for a lifetime if I might say.” Gale scolds you. 

“I'm sorry… I really am… I just wanted…” 

“We know. Don't need to be sorry. Now what you need is to recover. We’ll help however we can, the rest is up to you. So, no lifting from this bed until I say so.” Shadowheart interrupts you.

“Please, do as Shadowheart says. Whatever you need, you just have to ask. My tower is yours for as long as you need.” 

“So, we’re at Waterdeep?”

“Indeed we are.” Gale confirms it. “And tell us. How do you feel?” Gale asks.

“Sore. Tired. Weak. And I feel some numbness in the tip of my fingers. It's quite bothersome, really.” 

Gale looks sideways at Shadowheart, who momentarily stops what she's been doing. “And nothing else? Don't you feel like there's something missing?” He asks, carefully.  

“Hells yes something is missing! Astarion, for sure!” You answer impatiently. 

“Yes. No… I mean, do you feel something is missing in you?” 

You frown, puzzled. But as you're about to speak, you focus your attention on your fingers, brushing your thumb over them. Something was robbed from you. Something that was yours from birth. You try to cast light. That simple spell that you had cast hundreds of times before. But you can't. Somehow, you just can't. Your inherent magic is gone.

“How?” You ask, still not believing it.

“That’s what I thought.” Gale sighs. “We think that your wish consumed everything powerful in you. Your innate connection to the weave included. You paid the cost dearly, my friend. I can't tell you if this is permanent. This is all new to me too. But you do well to consider it lost, I'm afraid.”

“Oh…” All of your life you used your magic without even thinking. It was natural. It was yours. And now it’s gone. All for him. And you know you would do it again. All of it. “So… it worked. Didn’t it?”

“It’s time to tell Astarion you’re awake. He will kill me if I don’t warn him. Excuse me for a moment.” Gale leaves you alone with Shadowheart again.

Anxiety courses through you. How is he? Is he angry with you? Will he forgive you? He must have been through a lot of pain too… seeing you like that, tied to a bed, not knowing if you were ever going to wake up again. 

“Let’s see your ear now.” Shadowheart interrupts your thoughts, moving your head to the right side. “He's destroyed, you know?” She says, cleaning your skin near your earlobe.

You breathe deeply, feeling the weight of her words. 

All my fault. 

After a while, she continues, “I never thought I would see him like this… his hair unkempt, wrinkled clothes, not in a mood for sarcastic jokes… There were days he wouldn’t leave your side for nothing, and we wouldn’t hear a word from him. But there were others where it seemed the world was ending, and it was everybody's fault. On those days, no one could touch you but him. He tended to your wounds more times than I would like, but it was that or it was nothing. So, I taught him what to do. And I have to say I was impressed, really. 

What I mean is, back then, at your wedding, I doubted him. But I doubt him no more. He loves you deeply, my friend. His suffering was heartbreaking. And I hope to never see him like that again. I cried for you and for him, at your bedside, next to him, because everyday he asked me the same question, and everyday I didn’t have an answer to give him.”

“What was it?” You ask, your throat tightening. 

“If you would ever wake up again… You see, your wounds were severe, infected with necro magic from the blades of those skeletons. And you lost a lot of blood as well. You drifted for some days before reaching Waterdeep, just with Gale’s simple healing spells to help you. It was something, but it wasn’t enough. When you arrived, I was already waiting, and I did the best I could, but the effects of the necro magic were already deep in you, and the wounds seemed unresponsive to the treatment. Not to mention the spell you casted… it stripped everything from you. There were things I couldn't predict or knew how to deal with. And the only thing we could do was to wait. Because you were fighting, and we had to trust that you would make it. When Astarion ran to me last week, begging to check on you because you had awakened, we knew that we were on the right path.”

“I had already been awake? I don’t remember…” You mutter.

“Yes, it was quite an episode. You were a mess, full of open wounds, and your only concern was telling Astarion that he was exposed to sunlight.” She finishes her work on you and sits at the edge of the bed, at your side. “Since that day, Astarion has been more reassured. He started to eat properly…”

“Wait. So, Astarion was exposed to the sunlight and didn’t burn?” Your eyes widen.

“No, he didn’t.”

“And he eats properly now?” You ask slowly.

“He does. He’s quite fond of mushrooms, it seems. Always asking for them.” She gazes at you smiling, a big tender and compassionate smile. 

You reach for her hand, your eyes pouring tears. “Thank you. For everything.”

“There is nothing to be thankful for. We did nothing that you wouldn’t do for us.”

You hear a loud noise outside, some rushing steps approaching. The door of your room stands open, and Astarion is there, perplexed, looking at you. He freezes for a moment, his hands shaking.

“Well, I think it’s time for me to leave. If you need me, shout my name.” Shadowheart leaves your side, gently pushing Astarion into the room as she passes by him. She closes the door, leaving you alone with him.

“Hello handsome.” You manage to speak. Your heart seems to want to jump out of your chest. He’s there, your beautiful, not-so-pale anymore elf. Your husband. Your love.

He runs to you, leaping onto the bed, holding you in his arms. He brushes his face against your neck, smelling you. Every drop of your scent is his, and he wants to collect what is his. One of his hands supports your back and the other cradles your head, pressing it against him. He holds you like he never did before, and you hold him like you know you will do for the rest of your life. Because he deserves everything you did for him. He deserves to be loved.

Suddenly, he pulls back, leaning you against the bed. Holding your shoulders, he looks at you and his expression changes. Astarion is serious now. “What in the sweet hells were you thinking?!” His voice high-pitched.

“Astarion, I’m sorry. I didn’t want…”

But he doesn’t want to know anymore. He cups your face with his hands, and you see his eyes, his beautiful eyes, looking into yours intensely. Then he gifts you with a trail of clumsy kisses throughout your face. Your heart swells with emotion. He has forgiven you. 

Your face is a mess of tears, yours and his. But he doesn’t seem to care. Astarion is committed to giving you every single kiss that he couldn’t give in the last few weeks. And you are grateful for it. You need it. 

Still cupping your face, Astarion pauses at your lips. He touches them with his tongue, softly, making you shiver. You hold onto his forearms, pressing him to you. And he takes his time, savoring you once again, after so long. When his tongue finally meets yours, nothing else matters. Not the pain in your body, not the magic that you lost. Nothing. Just him matters. 

Astarion rests his nose on yours, his eyes closed. His warm skin against yours. “Please, don’t you ever do anything like this again. Ever.” His voice filled with emotion, trembling.

“I won’t. I promise.” 

You stayed like that for a while, holding each other. After some time you shift to take a proper look at his face. “Let me see you.” His skin, touched by the color of the blood running through his veins, his fangs are missing, and his eyes… oh his eyes are of the most beautiful color you could ever have imagined. He’s different but he’s the same. Your star. “How is it? How does it feel to be reborn again?” 

“Well, if you ignore the fact that you nearly broke my newborn heart…” 

“I know… It was stupid. I never should have gone there alone. But I didn’t want you to stop me. You made it clear you’d never agree with this.”

“It was very stupid, Darling. Very stupid!” He taps his hand on your temple. “But you’re right. I was stupid too. And for that I’m sorry. I’ve learned my lesson. From now on, I will hear you out to the end. And you will hear me too, hey?”

“That’s a deal.”

“But answering your question, it feels… nice. It was strange at first, I was always aware of my breathing, like I had to think how to breathe. The food has been quite a discovery, actually. I didn’t remember the taste of anything, but I remembered the smells, when you were preparing your meals. And some things don’t quite taste like they smell… Hurgh.”

You giggle. It’s quite a sight, imagining him disgusted for certain foods. “But I hear you like mushrooms very much.”

“Oh yes! My favorite so far. But… I haven’t been able to taste almost anything to be honest. My only concern was you, my sweet.”

“It seems I’ve robbed you the opportunity to properly savor my gift to you…” You murmur with sadness.

“Don’t you worry about that. I have a lifetime to savor it. And more importantly, with you by my side, my love. 

“I just wish I could have been…”

“No, no! No more wishes for you, Darling!” He chuckles, landing a finger on your lips.

You laugh, but with it comes the pain from your belly wound. “Ah!”

“You’re still in bad shape. How are you feeling? Can I do something for you?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ll manage. Nothing I can’t overcome when I look at you. When I remember why I did it.”

“Gale said you might have lost your magic, my dear.” He says, anguish in his voice.

You look at the palms of your hands, feeling that stubborn numbness in the tip of your fingers. “Yes, I did.”

“All because of me…” Astarion lowers his head, feeling guilty.

“And I would do it again!” You lift his chin, making him look at you. “Astarion, I was willing to give my life for you. This is nothing. You hear me? Nothing. I have no regrets nor will I ever have.”

“Well, I guess both of us have much to adapt to in our renewed life together.” 

“I guess we do.” Your smile, full with affection. 

Astarion holds your hand, his gaze never leaving yours. 

Suddenly, you remember something you need. Something you want so badly. “Is there any mirror around?”

Astarion smiles at you. He knows what you want. He reaches for a hand mirror standing in the nightstand, besides the bed, and gives it to you. You make an effort to sit on the bed, pulling Astarion closer to you. You lift the mirror in front of you, and like a dream that comes true, he is there, his reflection by your side, leaning his face against yours. “Now you can see how beautiful you are.”

“Darling, I never doubted that.” He smirks.

“Obviously not!” You chuckle. “This is so precious, Love… I can’t believe it…” You say, arranging a strand of his curly hair to the side.

“Believe it, because it's real. And all thanks to you, my dear. Thank you, this was a very precious gift. I won’t forget it.”  He takes the mirror away and looks directly at you, his eyes full of affection. 

He had thanked you before in your life together. But not like this. This has reached deep into your bones, into your soul, and you feel blessed by his words. You have given him the greatest gift. You had that honor. He’s free from his curse and he can live his life however he wants. Your life’s mission is done. Now, you can rest. 

You lean back on the bed and you start crying. Tears dripping at your face uncontrollably. “I would have lived with you in the shadows forever. But you… you deserved so much more. I couldn’t… I just couldn’t… and now it’s done.” You sob, hiding your face with your hands.

Astarion holds your hands, moving them away from your face, and wipes your tears, gently. “I know, Darling. I know.”

You gaze at him tenderly, reaching your hand to his chest. “Can I?”

Astarion holds your hand again and leads it to his heart. He presses it against his skin, and you feel it. You feel that glorious beating inside. That beautiful drum full of life. His heart.

“My love, you can do anything.” He kisses you again and lies beside you, embracing you. And for the first time in weeks you feel at home, and you know he feels the same. 

—

Day by day, your wounds get better. And in no time Shadowheart allows you to step out of bed for the first time. The first days you stayed in Gale’s tower, but soon enough you were able to go outside. Astarion was always by your side, giving you his arm to support you at first, but later because he couldn’t stand to be away from you. 

One day, you decide to go to the docks to watch the sunset together. Passing through the market, you buy some candies to enjoy with Astarion. You are determined to spoil him forever.

You find a secluded place to sit and watch the boats roaming through the waters of Waterdeep while the sun disappears into the horizon. 

Astarion lies on the ground, with his head on your lap, completely addicted to the candies you bought, while you run your hand through his hair.  “I think chocolate is my favorite. Hum… it’s so good!” He licks the melted chocolate from his fingers.

“Next time I’ll buy you a box full of chocolates.”

“I’d like that!” He says between licking and sucking his fingers.

“Astarion?” 

“Yes, Love?”

“What happened after I made my wish?” 

Astarion sets the bag of candies on the floor beside him and leans his face upwards to look at you. “Our rings happened.”

“Our rings?”

“When we arrived in Waterdeep, I gave my ring to Gale for him to study. We suspected that they had some kind of protective magic, and Gale confirmed it. The magic present in your blood made the rings very special. You see, you can feel when my life is in danger. The ring warns you. But more importantly, your blood protects me and mine protects you, my sweet. When you fell on the ground of that ruin, you were supposed to be dead. But the ring warded you, and you survived. So, you are forbidden to take that ring off your finger. Do you understand?” He points you a finger of his own, frowning.

“Your blood saved me?” 

“My blood. Me, Astarion, saved you, Darling. Isn’t it ironic how blood surrounds and binds our lives together, even now that I’m not a vampire anymore?”

“Do you miss it? Being a vampire?” A faint of fear invades you.

“Well, I would be lying if I tell you that I don’t miss to taste your delicious blood, the glorious sensation I felt after drinking it. I will never forget it, my dear. I felt more powerful back then, and surely I will miss that too.”

“Oh…” You break eye contact with him. You shouldn’t have asked.

“Sweetie, look at me.” Astarion sits beside you, holding your chin. “Nothing will erase my past, and I have enough scars to remember it. Some memories are terrible, but others were my solace through the storms we faced. So yes, I will miss some things. But I don’t miss being a vampire. I don’t feel that insatiable hunger anymore. I can see the sun rising without fear of burning. And I can live knowing I won’t have to survive your departure from me, remembering forever how perfect my life was, only for a moment.”

You lean closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder, watching the pink sky painted by the setting sun. “What do you want to do when I can leave Waterdeep?”

“I’m glad you asked because I have some plans for us, Mrs. Ancunin.” 

“You do? Do you have a schedule now?” You tease him.

“Silly girl. I don’t, but I could have, actually. First we’ll head north to visit Neverwinter. I heard it’s the most cosmopolitan and civilized city in all of Faerun. I can’t wait to spread some chaos there. Can you imagine?”

“Astarion!” You hit him playfully in his ribs with your elbow.

“What? I’m no saint, Darling.”

“Alright. And after?”

“After, I want to see the glaciers.”

“Do you, now? I never thought you liked the cold so much.” You giggle.

“Well, I don’t. But Gale showed me some paintings of them, and I’m curious, all right?” He waves his hands in the air as he lowers his voice, just a little.

“Sure, Star. And what else?”

“Then we go to…”

You hear him telling you his plans for the next few months, while the sun sets and the moon takes its place in the sky. Your heart swells at his voice. His confidant voice, telling you his plans.

You hold his hand, intertwining your fingers with his, and he leads your hand to his chest. To his beating heart. You don’t see his face, but you know he’s smiling. And you smile too. A smile full of love and tenderness.

He keeps talking, and you listen. 

And you will listen. And you will follow. And you are his. Until the day your heart stops beating.

Fim

a/n: Thank you to everyone who joined me on this journey! I never thought I would be able to write something like this, and although it's not a masterpiece, I'm so proud of it 😭

See you soon! Maybe :)

Thank you so much for reading my story. Likes, reblogs and comments are very welcomed!

Lots of love 🖤

[lynnslittlelife]

I've never requested something so sorry if none of this makes sense. Can you do alastor from hazbin hotel x male little please. You can decide the plot (or whatever it's called I'm not that creative sorry)

I'm happy you requested from me!!! No need to apologize ^~^ it's a safe place here! I love Hazbin, especially Alastor so it was fun to write for him! I don't write male readers much on any of my pages, so it was a fun little (pun intended) challenge! Hope you enjoy ^~^

Word Count: 1,101

You waited very impatiently for you dada to come home. When he met you, you made a deal. He saw your soul, and knew it was different than a lot of others down here. He was intrigued, and ended up spending more time with you until he figured out what made you different. It didn’t take him long, he was a very clever demon. You were a little, but he had grown a soft spot for you…at least…as soft as he could manage. 

Your deal was that he would be the only one to see you. Aside from the other demons who served under him in his home. In turn, they served under you as well. But when at all possible, you had to stay in your room until he was home. He knew you could be sensitive, after all…hell was no place for a child. Despite being physically older, you weren’t always as old as you looked. Alastor knew this, and did everything in his power to keep you safe. 

You colored, and rolled around in bed with your favorite stuffies, but you wanted dada to come home! Being little alone wasn’t TERRIBLE but it was far from ideal. Dada always left you a lot of things to keep you busy while he was gone, but it wasn’t ever enough. He had been gone for weeks! WEEKS! You couldn’t wait to hear his stories and what he’s been up to in the extensive amount of time he was gone. He did have good stories all the time, and when you were big some of them seemed outlandish, but little? Anything was possible. 

Luckily you heard the front door open, and bolted out of your room to try and go meet him. He had been gone for so long! How were you supposed to entertain yourself for THAT long?!?! The other smaller demons were too scared to really play with you, in fear of what he’d do! So he was the only one you could really even play with! He didn’t “play” too much, but he did watch you play and make comments. Sometimes even compliments, about your drawings or toy piles. Anything really. 

When he was barely even in the door, you jumped at him. He caught you, of course, and let out his laughter. Not an evil laughter, but more genuine of one. He didn’t laugh like that a lot, but relatively frequently around you. He held you close to him, and carried you all the way to your room. He patted your head, having no problem with carrying you with only one arm. 

“Hello there, little one. Have you missed me?” It was rhetorical, because he knew no matter how long he’d be gone you’d always miss him. He admitted to you once or twice, how he felt as if you gave him another purpose in the after life. Made him feel special, and wanted, simply by being yourself around him. Allowing him to take care of someone else, something he never cared to do when he was alive. 

“Yes! Missed you so much dada!” You giggled and tried to hug him as tight as you could, but it was far less than what was needed to actually break or even hurt the demon. “You was gone for forever!” You giggled even more when he kicked the door shut with his foot and set you down next to the drawing you were making before he came back. 

“My dearest little boy…I was only gone for a few hours.” He chuckled and knelt down beside you to see your drawing. “Ah! Would this happen to be a gift for me?” He picked it up and examined it, before pinning it to the wall with many of your other drawings. It was more of a display wall than anything, almost exclusively used for your drawings. Though you had so many, you might have to get another wall just for that. 

“Hours? No! Weeks and weeks!” You said and pouted, crossing your arms. “Where did go?” You stopped pouting and instead stood up and ran up to him to pull him into another hug. “Stories?” Always wanting to hear about his latest adventures. Even if he would never tell you about some of the gorey details, when demons decided to test his limits. Some demons just had no common sense, and tried to push the buttons of the infamous radio demon. 

So he told you tales of his adventures, and you listened to each and every word. Whether they were true or not, was up for debate. Like the daughter of hell? Starting a hotel to redeem sinners? You didn’t believe it up to a point. But eventually he gave enough details about it, that it had to be true! If that was possible, he said he’d like you to try. But not until he had solid proof. 

“But…dada…you come too, right?” You seemed scared, not wanting to imagine “living” without him. It didn’t sound like he was coming, and that didn’t help your fears at all. “No leave without dada!” You scooted closer to the bed he sat on from where you sat on the floor. He looked to be his usual carefree self, but there was something more behind those eyes of his. 

“You see, little boy…I’m not made for heaven. You, however…are. You’re kind, pure, and how you ended up here I’ll never know.” He picked you up with ease and sat you on his lap. “I plan to stay here, and you’ll go somewhere much better. A kinder place. You’ll be happy, and safe there.” He secured his arms around you so you wouldn’t fall, but that was the least of your concerns right now. 

“No! I happy with dada!” You were trying not to cry, and when he saw that expression he melted just a bit. “Stay here with you!” He was already close to you, but you tried to make it even closer still. “No leave you! No…no no.” You shook your head before resting it in the crook of his neck. 

He smiled, and thought for a moment before saying, “No. It’s alright, I won’t leave you. Not now, and not ever. Down here I can make sure you’re safe.” He rubbed your back to soothe you. “If anyone touches you…” His voice turned to a deep static, and you couldn’t see it with your face buried, but symbols and waves of his power crashed around you. “You're my little boy, and I won’t let anyone or anything hurt you. You’re safe with me.” 

[supercriminalbean]

Bookstore

Aaron Hotchner x GN!Reader.

Summary: Aaron runs into the reader at the bookstore and has to ask them on a date.

Words: 1.8k

Warning: Kissing otherwise just fluff. (Let me know if I missed anything)

Aaron smiles as he glances back at Jack, enjoying the way his son rumbles about the book he’s looking forward to getting. Aaron chuckles softly in response as he focuses back on the road, driving to the book shop. The book shop, he was going to one a little far from his house, and why is that? Well simply because he knew someone

else was going to be there today, and even though he only saw them yesterday he couldn't help but want to see them again. He soon pulls up outside the shop, getting out, helping Jack out of the car seat, his boy full of joy as he pulls his father into the store. Laughter erupts from Aaron as he follows his eager son inside, taking him straight to the children's area.  They both look through the books, Aaron finding the books Jack has wanted forever, pulling them off the shelf for his son. 

“Oh you wanted ‘Charlie and the Chocolate factory’, right?” Aaron hums softly, a light smile across his face as he finds it on the shelf, his eyes leaving his son for a moment. Aarons eyes narrow when he doesn’t get a response.

“Jack?” Aaron calls for him, just as his eyes drop down to his boy, well where his boy is meant to be. “Jack” Aaron calls more panicky, his eyes scanning around him, but no sight of the small boy. Aaron has to hold himself back from going full agent, his mind spinning with every single missing kids case he has ever worked. He moves quickly to the end of the aisle looking around, to see where he could have gone. Luckily his panic vanishes quickly as he sees Jack in the arms of his coworker. A huge smile on your face as you hold Jack in one arm and a pile of books in the other, laughter filling the gap between you and Jack. 

“No need to panic Aaron, I got him” Smiling softly as your eyes land on your boss, making your way over to him, putting Jack on the ground who runs over to his dad with a sheepish look on his face. 

“Jack, you know better than to run off like that” Aaron gently scowls at him, pacing a soft hand on his shoulders.

“I know, sorry dad, I just saw them, and wanted to say hi” Jack pouts softly, glancing up as he gives his dad his best puppy dog eyes. You can’t help but laugh lightly at them, the way Aaron worries and fear just eases from his face as soon as he sees his son.

“He’s a fast one” Smirking faintly at him as you meet his eyes, your stomach feeling as it explodes as you do. Aaron can’t help but chuckle in response, a warm loving smile spreading across his face. 

“That he is, I swear I only took my eyes off him for one second” Aaron's smile grows as he looks at you, thinking back to how comfortable and lovely you looked while you held his son. 

“Can we go look at books now” Jack groans, squirming under Aaron touch, just wanting to run back to the kids section.

“Sure buddy let's go” Aaron smirks at his son's impatience.

“Wait, (Y/n), join us” Jack grins up at you, excitement boiling out of him.

“Oh I don’t want to intrude kiddo” You glance over at Aaron, hope that he also wants you around.

“You would never intrude, come on” Aaron eyes flicker down a small blush flutter over his cheeks, before he looks back at you. 

“I would love to then” Smiling brightly at him, before moving closer.

~~~

The rest of the afternoon is full of joy as you three search for books, Jack and Aaron demand to help you find the books you were looking for. Mainly because Aaron didn’t want this afternoon to end so soon, didn’t want the relaxation and comfort he feels with you to end. It's always different when he hangs out with you outside of work, or even at work, you are the only person to refer to him as Aaron, not Hotch and it feels nice. 

“So, Aaron” You smirk at him as you three make your way out of the store, and towards his car. “You know if you want to spend more time with me after last night, you could of just asked instead of running into me at the bookstore I mentioned to you” Smirking teasingly at him, your heart fluttering as you see his blush creeping up his neck at being called out. 

“I have no idea what you're talking about (Y/n)” Aaron smirks at you, a cocky look over his face.

“Yeah right Hotchner” Rolling your eyes as you laugh lightly, smiling happily as you read the emotions he’s trying to hide from you. “See you Jack” Smiling at the young boy, as you kneel down to give him a hug.

“Bye bye (Y/n)” Jack wraps his arms around you tightly with the biggest grin on his face, which just makes Aaron's heart soar and his mind made up. 

“See you monday Aaron” Turning to look at your boss, his face covered in  a smile full of love.

“Or tomorrow, maybe for a cup of coffee” Aaron clears his throat as his nerves start to show up, his eyes flicker down as he speaks, before glancing back up at you with hope. A smile breaks across your face as you bite your lip softly, your heart feeling like it's going to collapse with the love it's feeling.

“Are you asking me on a date Aaron Hotchner?” You can’t help but tease him, seeing the nerves of this man has got your heart wrapped around his pinky.

“Well I’m trying to” He lets out a small chuckle as he looks into your eyes, feeling at home in them.

“Then it's a date, I’ll see you then Aaron” Grinning happily to yourself, before walking towards your car, but just before your out of ear shot you hear your two favourite boys celebrating.

“Go dad” Jack cheers, followed by Aarons beautiful laughter.

~~~

The next morning, you couldn’t contain your excitement as you got ready for the day, but most importantly your date. This date feels completely different to all your other dates, for once you're not full of nerves, you're not worried about what to wear or what topics to speak about or avoid. Maybe that's because you're already friends with Aaron, or maybe because it's Aaron. The most sweetest and thoughtful guy you know, the one who isn’t afraid of deep conversation, the one who has seen you at your worst and never left your side. Maybe because you two already know each other so well so all the cards are already displayed, you both know what you're getting into.

When you walk into the coffee shop a couple hours later, your eyes automatically land on him, sitting by the wall in the middle of the shop. Your smile widens as your eyes meet, a grin erupting over his face as you make your way over to him. 

“Hey” Taking a seat across from him.

“Hey, you made it” Aaron grins back up at you, enjoying the view of you in front of him.

“What afraid I would stand you up, huh?” Laughing softly as you lean back into your chair.

“Not at all, I even ordered some drinks. I hope you don’t mind” Aaron smiles as he looks you over.

“You know what I drink?”

“A large caramel latte, extra shot and not too hot” Aaron smirks when he sees the impressive look on your face. 

“Good job profiler” 

“More about being around you too much than a profiler” Aaron laughs as they call out his name, which he politely excuses himself to go grab the drinks. He returns shortly with the drinks and conversation starts to flow on by.

“I always forget how much of a bookworm your kid is” Laughing at the story he’s finished telling you, about how he couldn’t get Jack to stop reading last night before bed time. 

“I don’t know where he gets it from” Aaron chuckles, before sipping on his coffee.

“Well seeing as your nose is normally stuck in a file I could probably tell you” Teasing the man again, enjoying the way his eyes roll backwards.

“You just love to tease me don’t you” Aaron licks his lips as he looks into your eyes. This is his first ever date that he has ever felt at home when looking into his partner's eyes.

“Oh I truly do” Chuckling lightly as you glance away from him.

As the conversation carries on smoothly, full of laughter and comfort there is no doubt in either of your mind that you want to do this again. 

~~~

Of course Aaron's phone has to ring and pull you both away from this precious moment.

“We have to go in?” Your smile drops just a little as you watch the expression on Aaron's face, his professional boss face. 

“Yeah we got a case, it's a bad one” Aaron groans as he stands up, his face full of trouble.

“Hey, at least we don’t have to explain to each other the difficulty of our job” You joke, trying to lighten the mood, which you happily succeed in, a soft smile picking at his lips.

“I guess you're right” Aaron smiles, leading you both out of the store and towards both the cars. 

“Well I don’t know about you Aaron, but I really enjoyed today” Smiling up at him as you lean against your car, your eyes glancing down to his lips before settling back on his eyes. 

“So did I, maybe when we get back from the case we can do it again?”

“I would love that, ohh maybe we could go to the movies, the new spiderman is coming out and I know Jack would love to go to it” Beaming up at him as you remember how much his kid was rambling about it yesterday.

“That sounds perfect, I’ll see you back at the office soon then” Aaron smiles.

“Sure, I’ll race you” Laughing softly as he turns away, heading to his car.

“Don’t break any laws” He calls back.

“No promises sir” Laughing as you go to open the door, before someone is grabbing your arm and pushing you into the car. Your head swings up to see Aaron staring down at you, his hand cupping your jaw, before pressing his lips against yours firmly. You can’t help but melt into the kiss, closing your eyes as you enjoy his touch. Eventually he pulls away from you, a playful smirk playing on his face as he glances down at you.

“Don’t be late” He chuckles as he makes his way to his car, leaving you there speechless and breathless. Oh that man is going to be the death of you. 

[mekochansblog]

Really in an IKEA?

Five hargreeves x demon reader

- cursing, a slight of 18+

- this is also something new that took me a while.

Today was like any other day for Five Hargreeves. He started off his day by heading to Griddy’s for a coffee and a plain donut. Heading to his next destination; IKEA. After stopping 3 apocalypses, or trying he should say he finally got his retirement with his family around him. Klaus “nicely” asked if he could accompany him to IKEA to start buying Five and himself furniture for their new house. With a lot of complaining all coming from Five of course he reluctantly agreed. Going inside the store he headed upstairs to where they had all the models and stuff they had; hoping to find Klaus in the huge store that he told Five to meet him. He started murmuring the names of the furniture, some just coming out in gibberish. While purposely saying some of these names wrong a portal of some sort opened in front of him just a foot away from him. He mentally sighed and got ready to fight whatever the fuck was going to come out. He should have been used to all this weirdness, but then again it has been 10 years since everything changed. 

A rumble happens and then black smoke, then everything disappears as if a black portal like hole didn't just appear. Five heard a groan and looked down, where the portal once was, now a girl around his age was lying down on the ground. He slowly squatted down and looked at the mysterious girl. She stood up quick and looked at Five. Five startled backs up a bit; and also stood up. The girl then looked around then at Five. She tilted her head and scanned him up and down. Five gulped; he had no idea why this girl made him nervous. 

“Hi I’m Y/N you summoned me… in an IKEA? Let me guess you were trying to say the names weren’t you?” 

Y/N scolded Five while all Five could do was stare at her. She looked like an angel that fell from heaven. Maybe she was, he still didn’t know, but looking at her black wings and small tail and horns kind of gave it away that she probably wasn’t from heaven at all, not even close. He zoned her out while still staring at her. When Y/N finally catch on that he wasn’t paying attention to a word she was saying; she finally stopped talking. 

“Well are you going to introduce yourself or am I just going to call you a fucking nickname?”

Y/N finally said. Five finally zoned back in and let out a sigh.

“I’m Five. Five Hargreeves.”

 He finally murmured. She gazed at his emerald green eyes; the eyes that made her want to search every leaf in the planet and see which one matched his eyes. His hair; chestnut brown hair that reminded her of her favorite chocolate. When she looked at him all she saw was a lithe body. She mentally smirked that he was going to be a great treat for you. You slowly walked up to him and leaned a little too close to comfort for Five. She then thought of it. A great idea.

“I’m feeling quite generous, you know? So I'll make you a deal; you can keep your soul if and only if you ask for something nobody has ever asked for.” 

He looked at you and then thought about your deal; he didn’t mean to summon you, so he thought about it long and hard. You slowly felt yourself getting impatient. How long does it take for someone to make up their fucking mind. Then he smirked and looked at you.

“Fine, be my girlfriend and stay with me forever.”

Five finally said his wish. Your eyes widened; well then. You did say he can keep his soul if it’s something no one has asked for; that being said. It’s something you clearly haven’t heard. You gulped and looked at him. Well he is handsome and he looked like he could probably rock your body. You took your hand out for him to shake. He looked at your hand and then you. He shook his head and leaned to you and kissed you; well you didn’t expect that; but you let him be and kissed him back.

That was two years ago; yet here you were still with Five. You didn’t mind. He was really affectionate once you both got comfortable with each other. You later on told him what you were and how you became a demon. He never judged you, never put on a face with you. He understood in his own way. For the first time you genuinely felt love and cared for. When the first year passed he dropped the big question. You were ecstatic and said yes a million times. The wedding reception was small, with it just being his family and their partners. Of course you didn’t know your own parents, being born a demon didn’t really help the situation. While thinking about the past year, Five finally got home to you. You admired the way Five looked coming from work. You slowly savor the way he was looking; Five was taking off his tie and ruffling his hair, he then leaned his head back and sigh.

“Well fuck me pulcher, you look mouth-watering.” 

You said while still eyeing him. He side eyed you and smirked; that smirked that made your knees weak and your pussy aching. You groaned and wined. He was doing this on purpose; and you knew it. You gulped and choked on your own saliva. That’s when Five started chuckling at the way you were acting. 

“Stop laughing at me it’s not funny at all podex!”

Y/N playfully threatened her husband while he headed to the kitchen. She then stood up from the couch she was sitting on and walked to the kitchen also. Five was looking for something; what Y/N didn’t know. That was until Five took out the cat treats and lightly shook them. You heard your cat meowing and a little pitter patter of tiny paws heading your way. You and Five looked down to see your cat Luci short for Lucifer; after finding out your dad was the king of hell. It shocked you more than your husband surprisingly. Once you found out he started visiting more often. Five for some reason looked like he was used to the supernatural and things that were not from this world. When you found out why he was used to it; it did not surprise you. Turns out your husband had powers ten years ago. You shook your head and stopped thinking about the past. Looking at your husband made you fall in love with him; you would do anything for him.

“Stop looking at me like that.”

Five said softly to you.

“Like what?”

You murmured, still staring at him.

“ Like you’d give me the world if I wished for it.”

Five finally confessed to you. All you could do was smile fondly at him and softly grabbed the cat treats he still had in his hand. You put them down on the counter and grabbed his hand with so much tenderness and care. As if he was a porcelain doll, that will break if you weren’t gentle. 

“Because vir meus i will do anything, I would burn the world just for you, I would let everyone and anything die just to see you happy.” 

All Five could do was smile at you with so much love and kiss you with so much passion.

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

Heading to Your siblings-in laws house; you reminded yourself that you brought everything. Being in public didn’t really scare you; you were able to hide your wings and tail and horns. You pretty much looked like any other young adult. Knocking on the door one of your favorite brothers-in-laws opened the door. He grinned and grabbed your arm and hugged you.

“Y/N it 's been a while, como estas, y Five?”

Diego said while he stopped hugging you and lightly pulled you to the living room where everyone was except your husband. You shrugged your shoulders, because you actually didn’t know. He didn’t tell you; you didn’t find it weird he tended to do that for some reason. All Diego did was shrug his shoulders also. Once getting to the living room you saw everyone and your husband. You and Diego blinked and you walked up to him and hugged him. While you sat down Klaus sat next to you and had a small talk with you about anything that will pop in his mind. Diego walked up to Five and saw his brother’s face. He had that face when he saw Lila. He smirked and lightly elbowed him on the ribs. Five huffed hating that he got interrupted looking at his wife. He turned to Diego with an annoyed face.

“What Diego?” 

Five lightly growled at Diego. All Diego did was put his hands up in surrender.

“Nothing, nothing it’s just… I’ve never seen you so in love; not even with Dolores man, I’m just happy for you; you know.”

Five processed what his brother said and lightly breathed in.

“Did you know that she wears the smell of blood and death like a perfume; but the smell intoxicates me. This might have sounded weird and not even related to what you just said. I love her and she made me the happiest I've been; but thank you, not that you needed a thanks.”

Five murmured to his brother. Diego looked at him weirdly with the comment about the perfume but shook his head lightly. He knew his brother was deeply in love, so he’ll let him be. After all…

He did found his love in an IKEA.

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

pulcher: handsome

podex: asshole

Vir meus: my husband

como estas: how are you

y: and

[ganondoodle]

I just wanna say firstly that i adore your artwork and takes6on Zelda in general! Secondly, much as I wish you never had to deal with the frustrations of creating (especially when you tack on the stress of being on any kind of social platform), I'm glad you talk about your struggle. I've heard people talk about art block every day since I learned what Art was, but nobody ever mentioned "painting oneself into a corner". It's such an apt description that is so infuriatingly relatable that I had to stop eating to thank you for putting it into words. I really appreciate that you're willing to talk about your setbacks in a place like Tumblr, and still share your arts and thoughts. All the best from US of hellscape A, i hope you're doing well.

Thank you!

i used to call it artblock as well, its the most normalized term i guess; i randomly started calling it painting myself into a corner when i got stuck or frustrated on a painting bc welll, it sure feels like it, you painted the walls all around you and dont know how to get out now

it usually happens when i stop having fun and just draw what i want and instead keep subconsciously forcing myself into arbitrary rules; in my case its usually trying to be too perfect, i try to adhere to the sketch, i try to make every block of color have a perfectly clean edge, separate the drawing into way too many layers and am afraid to delete or erase anything, i tense up my whole body as frustration builds bc of impatience as this method of painting does not work for me at all and in the end lose motivation on it all and my nerves are stretched thin (i work best when i think as little as possible, just kinda loosely letting my hand do what it wants on few layers and no specific plan, after losing that its hard to get it back)

having those low moments with your art is normal as your skill grows, but even knowing so, and having gone through it countless times, it never stops making you feel like shit, and its especially frustrating when it happens when you just got enough time to work on stuff or have alot of ideas but you cant get it to work

(and funnily enough it also tends to happen after another work of mine got more attention than i thought .. even worse when it was just a sketch bc now i got the pressure on me to actually finish it and the fear of it doing worse once done looms over the whole thing- which doesnt mean i dont want people to interact with my wips, bc that also has an extremely demotivating factor to it bc it makes me think no one cares or it sucks and doesnt deserve the time i would need to spend on finishing it; also .. alot of my wips stay wips forever, which is fine, but like .. you cant always expect a finished tm version to happen)

i do find it a little funny you praise me for talking openly about it bc i am notoriously unable to shut up ever and only recently got better at NOT talking as much about it when i feel as shitty as this bc it doesnt really help anyone and gets annoying really fast xD (im also notoriously unable to not post absolutely everything bc i got no one to show it to and otherwise it will just collect dust on my harddrive so i might as well throw it out there no matter how much i might hate it, someone else might still enjoy it anyway)

and greetings back from the -not really much less of a hellscape- that is germany o/

[baby-xemnas]

if gin and sanji crossed paths again what would happen........ would sanji figure it out.. would gin confess ...... who would move first or would it even be either of them?? do they stay in mayne pining forever?? would they ever have a first kiss???? shaking and trembling on the ground i miss them so much. oh fellow ginsan believer please share your visions 🙏

sanji would have no choice but to figure it out because IM HOPING when they meet again Gin is at least slightly less mangy and hobo-esque.

Sanji having an avalanche of Oh god Right you had Feelings for me and i didn't hate it 😳💘

Having someone who is so focused on YOU gotta made you feel some type of way. And Gin still calls him "Sanji-san" and no way that doesnt make Sanji tingle you know....thats a scary older man..

Confession comes from Gin but its not direct he is just very "ah yeah ive thought of you the whole time and never forgot what you did for me, meeting a kind man like you changed my life" but hes kind of subtle-ish about it - expressing those things as compliments that Sanji can be like thanks and move on - Gin very maturely giving Sanji an out (and it kinda pisses Sanji off because if Gin had been more persistent - Sanji would have an excuse ^^ But noo Gin is being annoyingly mature about it while not hiding his obsession at all...what the fuck

Gin feels crazy that he has Sanji within reach but he holds back because Sanji is amazing and important and he cant just jump him so Sanji has to....oh it makes him so mad to have to be vulnerable and confront Gin like "Are you done messing around or we will decide this like grown men" he cant Not recognize how Gin makes him feel - Gin is the only one who have ever been truly His and of course he is attracted to him (despite his best efforts. Gin couldn't be further from being a beautiful woman if he tried) but he is more shocked that this connection they've made in the brief time after they met, is still there and strong, stronger somehow because it's been tested.

my vision is that Gin kisses Sanji first once he confirms that Sanji does reciprocate his feelings somewhat (Sanji just got done bitching at him about acting like a vague weirdo) and of course all hell breaks lose because after Gin puts his hand on the back of Sanji's neck to kiss him - theres no stopping - Sanji's surprised faceis too cute and Gin waited too long for this - he held him in place cuz he didnt want to slam their mouths together suddenly and having their teeth clash - that'd ruin it! (he thought about it a lot) but holding Sanji by the nape is so intimate Gin is worried for a second he is about to get a rejection and a beating. But Sanji braces himself and allows it but starts kissing back few seconds later. Gin is trying his best not to rush, worried if he's a bad kisser (he is, Sanji will undoubtedly tell him so later) he waits for Sanji (who's got plenty impatience in him as well, it turns out) to take the lead while he wraps the other hand around Sanji's waist and admires his strong and lean body, knowing how deadly it is (getting hard cuz its SANJI!!! He is holding Sanji!!!! holy shit!!!)

When Sanji leans away to catch a breath he calls Gin a bastard and Gin is more in love than ever

[niall-ate-mynamee]

note: well…here’s a little one shot for Nialler’s birthday (let’s pretend i didn’t post this 3 days after, yeah? ;))

hope you enjoy! <3

i haven’t proof read this, so any mistakes, please let me know!

It was Niall’s 30th birthday. He was alone. Sure, he had plenty of friends he could’ve invited over and drank until he passed out, but he wanted to be alone. He was missing his boys today. His boys.

Louis, the idiot, the prankster, his partner in crime. Oh, how he missed the laughs they had on and off camera. Louis was the one who could make him laugh in the midst of a breakdown.

Liam, “daddy direction” as everyone called him. His best friend. The man who had a heart of gold, but had demons he had been fighting and overcame. Liam would hold him tight when things got too much.

Harry, his younger-older brother. The man who Niall knew would always be loved by millions around the world and could be on tour every single day for the rest of his life and still have sold out shows. The man who would stay up all night when Niall couldn’t sleep.

Even Zayn, his brother from another mother. The man who protected Niall, no matter the circumstance or consequences. Who showed his love every single day. He would sit silently when Niall would rant and rave about the difficulties he experienced.

Niall missed them. Beyond anything. He knew they were all living their best lives and he was forever proud of everything they achieved. He’d follow their journeys. Their music was indescribable. He had all their albums, listened to them every single day. He’d watch back old interviews and One Direction videos just to feel closer to them.

But, all he ever wanted, was to see them again, hang out with them again, have a massive party, just the five of them. Was that too much to ask?

He was turning 30 now, and the only gift he wanted was them. Don’t get him wrong, the gifts, cards, texts and countless messages he’s received already from friends, family and fans are so amazing and he feels so cared about…but, there’s only four messages he’s yet to receive and if his heart is cracking every hour that passes with nothing, well, nobody has to know.

It’s nearing 5pm, the time his friends had asked him to be ready for because they have some surprise planned for him before they take him out for the night. Niall found it quite pathetic really, how a now-30 year old man was alone in his home moping about the past, but you’ll have to forgive Niall, because he’s never exactly been “normal”. He was always the odd one out.

When he was changed and ready, about to open up a beer to celebrate on his own before he would spend the rest of his day surrounded by people, there was a knock on the door. He bit back a groan, quickly taking a gulp from the bottle, while walking towards the door.

There was a second knock, and Niall rolled his eyes. Sometimes, his friends were so impatient. They knew he was in, and knew he was expecting them, so there was no need to knock more than once, dammit!

“I’ve told you before, if you keep knocking, I won’t-“ He froze as he opened the door, nearly dropping his beer, thinking he was going crazy, because there, standing right on his doorstep, grinning cheekily and arms full of gifts, and alcohol, were the only four people he wanted to see.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIALLER!” They cheered, holding up various gifts wrapped neatly, cards with his name on, Louis of course had enough beer for them all to spend the entire next 12 hours drinking, and every single one of them had eyes sparkling with joy and love.

“Wh-what?” Is all he could choke out.

It was Liam who explained, “You didn’t think we’d ever forget your birthday, did’ya, Ni? Your mum had said you were celebrating alone this year, and we couldn’t have that, could we, boys?” Liam threw a wink to Niall as the boys nodded, “Thought we’d drop by and make sure you had some company. After all, you only turn 30 once!”

Niall was shocked. He couldn’t believe his boys were really here and standing just merely inches away from him. He could feel the tears gathering in his eyes and he thanked the gods his house was protected from any public passer-by’s.

“We love you, Neil, and we miss you…can we have the honour of celebrating your birthday with you?” It was Louis this time, and Niall choked on a sob before nodding frantically and launching himself on them and bringing them all into a group hug.

He could hear their laughter as their arms wrapped around him and held up tight. His nose was hit with all their scents and he breathed them in, making sure it was real and he hadn’t just gotten so drunk that he was hallucinating.

“You idiots…I miss and love you so much,” He whispered, not letting go. He felt a pair of arms under his thighs and he jumped slightly, wrapping his legs around whoever’s waist and feeling them carry him back into his house.

By the smell alone, he could tell it was Liam he was clinging onto, and he started to blush. It’s been over 8 years since he last was carried around by any of the boys like this, but he didn’t care in that moment, because he had his boys again and he’d be damned if he was letting them go now.

When they made it to the lounge, he lifted his head from where it was buried in Liam’s neck, and looked around. Louis was putting all the beers on the table (the one Niall had already was amongst the bunch and for a moment, he wondered how it got there because he didn’t remember putting it down or even letting go), Harry was placing all the gifts they had brought in a neat pile in the corner of the room, Zayn was putting multiple games (board and video), DVDs and CDs he had with him in separate piles on the other table and Liam still had a hold of Niall.

“What did ya wanna do first, Nialler? We’ve got films, music, games? Or we can give you your presents? The choice is all yours!” He heard Zayn ask, and Niall finally let go of Liam to look around at them all. He grinned and wiped at his eyes, making sure to take it all in and laughed, truly laughed, head thrown back and eyes sparkling with so much love and joy.

“You lads better have got me the most expensive gifts you could find, after all, I’m your favourite Irishman ever!” He joked, and everyone burst into laughter.

“Nah, I prefer Bobby Horan!” Harry smirked, earning himself a playful glare before being attacked by Niall and the two “babies” of their group ended up on the ground, and the laughter was even louder.

Five boys who grew into men back together. Their hearts beating as one, once again. Niall wouldn’t change anything for the world, because even though they’ve moved on from their past, and are all doing their own things, they’re family. No matter what life throws at them, they’ve always got four brothers ready to catch them.

Niall spent his 30th birthday with the people who meant more to him than he could ever describe. Niall would never celebrate another birthday alone ever again. He had his boys there for him, and he’d forever be grateful.

Maybe one day in the future, they’d make music together again, maybe they won’t, but either way, Niall had four brothers who he’ll forever love and cherish.

note: Happy birthday, Nialler <3

sorry it took me slightly longer to post, writers block has hit me hard lately!

i hope you guys enjoyed this, anyways! it’s slightly different to what/how i usually write, so let me know what you think! :)

i’ll be working on some prompts over the next few weeks, so there’ll be more coming very soon!

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 23

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 3365

Warnings: Swearing, reference to sex

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: Long Hot Summer American Country Love Song

****

Hangman

Sleep evaded the Texan all because of three little words spoken days earlier: "Fine. I'll come." Coming from anyone else, they would've meant nothing. This, however, came from Ghost. The girl who refused to speak to him, let alone be around him, ever since Ghoul's death. The girl who discarded him from her life like an undesired weed in a garden. He understood why, of course. Why would Ghost keep him around? The guy who killed her best friend and nearly killed her? She'd made it clear their first night at the Hard Deck that she still blamed him, specifically after her 'watery grave' comment. He'd given up hope that night that they could ever be more than 'old acquaintances.'

Therefore, when Ghost agreed to have him pick her up on Saturday morning for dogfight football, he'd been more than a little taken aback. Even if he'd used a cunning argument in an attempt to get her to agree, Hangman had not expected it to actually work. Ghost hadn't called or texted him to cancel the pickup and say she'd changed her mind, deciding to drive herself; she hadn't canceled the plan altogether, either. No. She had confirmed the pickup with Friday evening, to which he naturally responded yes.

By the time Hangman was meant to head over to Ghost's place, he'd been up for four hours already, spending most of that time working out to alleviate his nerves over being alone, truly alone, with Ghost for the first time since the accident.

"Come on, man," Hangman mumbled to himself, shouldering his duffel bag. "You've faced a fifth-gen fighter in a fourth-gen and won. You can handle a twenty-or-so-minute car ride to get coffee and to go to the beach."

He tossed his stuff into the back and slid into the driver's seat. Country music blaring, he cruised over to Ghost's apartment. He texted her: Here. Hangman exited the truck and waited impatiently at the passenger side door, keeping his hands tightly clasped in front of him to stop himself from mindlessly fiddling his thumbs. Ghost appeared a moment later, somehow holding her guitar case and tote bag in one hand, locking her door with the other, and having her phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulder, a smile lighting up her face. As she approached Hangman, he heard her say: "That sounds great! Listen, my ride is here, but call me later, and we can talk more about it... sounds good. Bye!"

"Hey, stranger," Hangman greeted happily, relieving Ghost of her baggage and opening the passenger door for her.

Ghost returned the sentiment with equal enthusiasm. "Morning!"

"You're in a good mood this morning," he said after putting her stuff in the back and sliding into the driver's seat. "What gives?"

"Do you remember Leo Wolfe?"

Hangman thought back to the chubby, baby-faced cadet he'd sat next to a decade ago. "Yeah, he's Wolfman's son, right?"

"Yeah. You only met him once at my high school graduation dinner, but we've stayed in touch. He's in San Diego for his friend's bachelor party and wanted to visit. I haven't seen him since a little after we graduated from the Navy, so it's been a long time coming."

"That'll be nice. Isn't he a pilot, too?"

"WSO. Followed in his dad's footsteps. Callsign Wolfie."

Hangman chuckled. "Fitting. So, let me guess-" he pulled into the Starbucks drive-thru- "venti iced chai and a ham and Swiss croissant?"

"Yeah, how do you remember that?" Ghost queried, tilting her head.

"You've ordered the same thing for as long as we've gotten Starbucks together. The only time you differ is when the weather turns cold, or Fall hits because then you order a hot chai latte or an iced pumpkin chai latte, respectively."

"Why try something new when my current drink orders are perfection?" Ghost scoffed in mock offense. Hangman shot her an impish grin in response, then leaned out the window and put in their order. As he pulled to the window, she asked, "How much do I owe you?"

"It's on me," he said nonchalantly. 

"Jake-"

"No protests. You can repay me by explaining why you're bringing your guitar to dogfight football. Pretty sure we can't throw it, nor do I think you want us to."

"Thank you. That's sweet of you." Ghost shoved her cash back into her wallet. "As for the guitar, Juliette said Penny was hosting an open mic night today, and I thought if I wasn't too sweaty and gross after football, I might do a set or two."

"If you want a partner-"

"You'll have to fight Rooster and Jules for those spots, but you're welcome to try."

"I'll take my bets with Rooster. I know better than to go against Princess."

"Don't we all. How did you two become so close? I know you two became friends during the training detachment, but she seems closer to you than the other Daggers."

Hangman shrugged, hoping to convey indifference despite having had deep feelings for Juliette at one point, feelings that still occasionally arose. "We had a very short, what did you use to call it... flirtationship?"

"You and Juliette were a thing?" Hangman could've sworn Ghost's voice went up an octave.

"Not unless you count a couple of spontaneous kisses a thing before Bradshaw reeled her back in. I don't know... we just kind of clicked. It probably helped that I saved Rooster's life." Hangman did not elaborate further, but the words he wanted to stay remained on the tip of his tongue: Juliette reminded me of you, and I fell for her because of that before I had the chance to stop myself. Unable to gauge how Ghost would react to such a statement, he decided silence as the best option. "What about you and Bradshaw?"

Ghost flushed. "Oh, well, uh, we were always friendly, but we both were going through some shit after we graduated Top Gun. We got drunk together, one thing led to another, and we- we might've hooked up..."

Hangman gasped over-dramatically, clutching his heart. "You didn't!"

"I wasn't friends with Juliette yet! I didn't even know they had dated!" Ghost protested, her cheeks flushing an even deeper maroon. 

Hangman laughed good-naturedly and patted her thigh. "Don't worry. I'm messing with you. I already knew about it."

"You- how?"

"Word spreads fast, and one of my associates saw you two leave the bar together and then also saw y'all leave Bradshaw's apartment the morning after."

Ghost narrowed her eyes, mulled over her thoughts briefly, then said, "It was Firefly, wasn't it?"

"It was Firefly. Gotta ask, though, does Princess know?"

"Oh, yeah. Jules could tell by the absolute evaporation of color in my face when she showed me a picture of Rooster that I knew him. It didn't help that I'd literally told her maybe five minutes beforehand how I'd had the best one-night stand of my life right after Top Gun. To say I was mortified barely covers it."

"You getting with Rooster isn't surprising. In fact, I'm shocked you two never dated. No, I'm more surprised that you had a one-night stand with him."

"He's the only one-night stand I've ever had, and I swear to God, if that leaves this truck-"

"I'll be the victim of friendly fire. Don't worry; your secret's safe with me," Hangman promised, handing Ghost her drink and food. Grabbing his, paying, and thanking the barista, he pulled back onto the main road and headed toward the Hard Deck. "Speaking of dating, outside of Kyle, have you dated anyone recently?"

"Not really. Dated one guy for a few months, but he got shipped to a different place, and we broke it off because of the long distance. Maybe if we'd had more time to spend with each other, it could've worked out. I met him because of Leo, actually. He asked me to keep an eye on his friend because he'd just lost his mom." Ghost leaned her head back against the seat and rolled it to look at Hangman. "What about you? Any girlfriends?"

"Nah. You know me. I don't have a habit of settling down. I did have a couple of potentials, but those crashed and burned."

"How come?"

"One loved another man, and the other girl hated me." Hangman purposefully left out the girls' names, considering they were, respectively, Juliette and Ghost. 

"Their loss," she said. Jake tried not to think about the irony of the statement coming from her. "What about Coyote? Has he dated anyone?"

Jake frowned. "I thought you two stayed in contact?"

"Not religiously. We'd wish each other happy birthday, happy holidays, and whatnot, but that was it."

"He's dated, but no one serious. Longest one lasted maybe three months."

Ghost nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing else, munching on her croissant. Hangman tried to formulate a new topic of conversation but failed miserably. For him, an awkward silence fell over them, but thankfully, it lasted only a short time because he pulled into the parking lot not long after. The pair hopped out and grabbed their belongings.

"Where is everyone?" Ghost asked, scanning the near-empty beach.

Hangman tossed a football in his hands. "I think we're a little early. Don't worry; they'll be here soon. Want to toss this around for a bit? Warm up?"

"Yeah, that sounds-" Ghost jumped at her cell blaring Lily Allen's 'Fuck You.' She scrambled to turn it down, but Hangman caught a glimpse of the name on the phone and felt his blood boil. Not even bothering to hide his annoyance, he growled, "Kyle's still calling you?" 

"Yeah," Ghost muttered, rolling her eyes and hitting decline. "Thought I had that turned down."

"If he calls again, please let me take care of it. All I need is thirty seconds. If that."

Ghost raised an eyebrow at him. "And what exactly are you going to say to him?"

"Let me answer that ringing phone and find out," Hangman insisted, nodding at the phone in her hand, which had started ringing again. Ghost hesitated, then handed the phone to him. Grinning, he happily took it and answered. "Hello?"

"You're not Annalise. Who the hell is this?" Kyle's irritated voice caused an unhealthy rage to surge into Hangman's blood. He sounded more irritated that Ghost hadn't answered rather than being concerned that some "random" guy had picked up her phone instead.

"You're right; this isn't, Annalise. She didn't pick up for a reason, and the hundreds of unanswered calls should give your tiny brain an insight as to why."

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I will be your worst God damn nightmare if you continue harassing her." Hangman glanced at a guy shouting that the Hard Deck wasn't open yet. "Listen carefully because I'm only going to warn you once: they call me Hangman for a reason. If I see you call her one more time, or if Ghost tells me you've reached out to her again, I will rain down living hell on you."

Kyle scoffed. "Yeah? You and whose army?"

"How about the US Navy? Now, I may not have the power to set nine four-star admirals on your ass myself, but-" Hangman smirked at the sight of the blonde hopping out of the familiar blue Bronco that parked next to his truck- "I know the person who can, and they don't take kindly to people messing with their family."

"... Seresin, is that you?" The amused drawl in Kyle's voice caused Hangman's lip to lift in a snarl. "I'll be damned. I thought Annalise cut you out of her life after you killed her wingman."

"She did, and you know what? It speaks volumes that she'd rather hang out with me, the guy who killed her best friend, than answer one of your phone calls."

Ghost stiffened. "Jake-"

He ignored her and continued, "I will say this only once more: leave Annalise alone. Do not call her, do not text her, do not reach out to her. She does not want anything to do with you. Move on or find out what happens when you don't have my brother and father to back you up in a fight."

Hangman hung up before Kyle could utter a syllable in response. He turned to Ghost and said, "He shouldn't bother you again. If he does, let me know. I'll talk Princess into setting some admirals on him."

"I'm not worried about that. About Ghoul-"

"I said what I needed to get the point across to him." Hangman then pointed out that Rooster and Juliette had arrived, declared they should head over to greet them, and then clapped Ghost's shoulder as he left the conversation. He didn't want to talk about what he'd said with Ghost, not now nor ever. He already knew she blamed him for Ghoul's demise and required no reminder, let alone a conversation about it. Hangman didn't need to hear the blame straight from her lips.

Upon approach, Juliette chirped, "Hey! You're here early."

"Yeah, I thought the line would be longer at Starbucks, so Ghost and I got here pretty quickly." Noticing Rooster's brow shoot up, Hangman said, "Put that back down."

Rooster failed to oblige. "So, you two are hanging out?"

"She offered me an olive branch, and I took it." Hangman knelt to pet Raptor and Lightning. "Are the others on their way? I haven't checked my phone recently."

"Weren't you just talking on the phone?"

"He was on mine to my stalker of an ex-fling," Ghost replied, walking up to the group and kneeling next to Hangman to pet the German Shepherds, who had both rolled over onto their backs for belly rubs. 

"Kyle?" Juliette asked.

"Kyle," confirmed Hangman and Ghost simultaneously.

"Have I missed something?" Rooster queried.

Juliette patted his shoulder. "I'll catch you up later, honey. What-"

A buzzing phone caught everyone's attention. Judging by how Ghost flinched, Hangman guessed correctly that it was hers. He growled, "If that's Kyle, I swear to God-"

"Hey, Wolfie," Ghost said, placing a calming hand on Hangman's shoulder. His heart lurched at the voluntary, gentle contact.

"Wolfie?!" Jules exclaimed, perking up.

The muffled voice on the other end said, "Is that Juliette Kazansky?"

"Yep, that's her! We're waiting for the rest of the Daggers to get here for dogfight football."

"Dogfight football?"

"I'll explain it when we see each other. What's up?"

"I was standing next to this blue Bronco, looking out over the ocean, and I noticed the most beautiful girls petting some extremely happy German Shepherds." At his words, Ghost stood instantly, scanning the parking lot eagerly. She seemed to zero in on an unfamiliar figure beside Rooster's vehicle. Hangman stood with her just in time to hear Wolfie ask, "Should I go talk to them?"

Ghost beamed broadly. "There will be hell to pay if you don't."

Hangman watched a man jog over, and as he closed the gap between them, he recognized the 'unfamiliar' figure, and his heart inexplicably sank. A ripped man had replaced the former chubby cadet, albeit with some of his baby face left. He was a spitting, younger image of Leonard "Wolfman" Wolfe.

"Wolfie!" Ghost gleefully exclaimed as he swept her up into an air hug. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"I swear this is just a coincidence. We're meeting here for our day of shenanigans. Considering we're inevitably going to end up drinking copious amounts of alcohol, we're all taking Ubers here." Wolfie turned to Juliette and glanced down at her bulging belly before leaning forward and gently hugging her. "I'd greet you more exuberantly, but I don't want to hurt you or the babies! It's good to see you, Kazansky!"

"You too, Wolfe." Pulling away, she said, "You remember Bradley, right?"

Wolfie snorted. "How could I forget Bradshaw? How you doing, man? Long time no see. What's it been? Ten years?"

"More, I think. And I'm doing good. Yourself?"

"Never better. Good to see you two back together." Then, turning to Hangman, he said, "You look familiar. Where do we know each other from?"

"This is Jake Seresin," Ghost introduced quickly. "Jake, this is Leo. You two met at my graduation party."

A flicker of recognition flashed in Wolfie's eyes. He extended his hand and replied, "Oh, yeah! Callsign Texas, right?"

"It's Hangman now," Jake corrected with a charming smile as he shook the man's hand. 

"Hangman?" Wolfie repeated. "Why Hangman?"

"Fly with me and find out."

Wolfie chuckled. "Not sure if I want to find out with that callsign. Well, listen, I won't keep you guys from whatever you're doing, but we need to catch up before I leave."

"I'm not sure what you and your friends have planned, but you're welcome to join us for football. The more people, the better. I'm sure Mav would love to see you, too!" Juliette said sincerely, leaning into Rooster. The color in her face had drained a little, making him wonder if she was getting nauseous or dizzy. Both were concerning to Hangman. Rooster subtly slipped an arm around her waist, his eyes flicking to her to gauge the situation. Whether he observed anything or not, his gaze reverted back to Leo.

"Let me check with the boys. There are six of us, myself included," Wolfie explained, taking out his phone and shooting a text off to a group chat labeled 'Bachelor Blowout.' "There's my pilot, Jackal. You don't know him, but we do have four other eighty-six legacy babies: Sunrise and Diva-"

"Who are they related to from the eighty-six flyboys?" Ghost queried.

"Sundown and Hollywood, respectively. And then, of course, y'all know Jack and Joey Kazansky."

Juliette stiffened. "Oh God. My brothers are with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ooooh, I'm going to get an earful from them about a few things, mainly how I kept some of my pregnancy complications from them."

Wolfie blinked. "Uh, excuse me, what pregnancy complications?"

"Just a few fainting spells and some high blood pressure, all of which I have under control now. I didn't want them to panic if they learned I had more than one blackout, but they did, and now they're pissed. Shit..." Juliette's eyes locked onto two buff, blond men approaching from the distance. "I'm going to take care of this early on. I'll be back."

Juliette hurried off. Rooster excused himself to join her, stating he should help, leaving Hangman alone with Ghost and Wolfie. He felt like the odd man out between them. Hell, between the current group at the beach, he was the only one that didn't have a relation to the infamous "Flyboys of '86." Even Ghost did, being the daughter of Charlotte Blackwood. Where was Coyote when he needed him?

"I'm going to call Jackal and see what he wants to do. I'll be right back!" Wolfie clapped Ghost gently on the shoulder and walked off, talking to his pilot. For better or worse, this left Hangman alone with Ghost.

"Well-" she began- "this morning has certainly turned interesting."

"I know. Feeling kind of like the odd man out with all you legacies," Hangman teased in an attempt to hide his insecurity about it. He moved to stand next to Ghost, watching Juliette and Rooster with the Kazansky boys and Wolfie chatting on the phone.

Ghost caught onto his hidden concern immediately, though. "Don't worry. I feel out of place with them, too. Rooster, Wolfie, and the Kazanskys all grew up together, even if they didn't live next door to each other. Mom never really stayed in touch with anyone except Wolfman, so I never met anyone but Wolfie. I met Sunrise and Diva a handful of times and heard about them through Wolfie, but never met Bradshaw and Jules until I joined the Navy. Funny, considering how close our parents all were at one point."

He turned his head to look down at her. "Guess it's you and me against the legacies today."

Ghost met his gaze, the corner of her lip tugging upward. "Forever?"

Hangman's heart soared. "And always."

****

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[nar-nia]

8:30 pm

word count: 1.7k

warnings: none

~~~

Jay Park was a horrible ice skater - and that was putting it nicely. He was more stumbling than gliding, his outstretched arms shaking in an attempt to not fall forward. The problem? You couldn't skate either.

It sounded like such a cute date idea. The two of you ice skating together, holding hands while you glided over the ice… and it turned into a mess of intertwined limbs when you crashed into each other again.

"No. No no no," you shouted when you saw Jay coming close to you again.

"I don't know how to stop!" he shouted back, his eyes ripped wide open. "You need to move!"

You saw him coming closer, your feet trying to take some steps to get away. And it seemed like you succeeded, Jay crashing into the barricade right behind you. At least until you suddenly felt something against your foot, causing you to lose balance and fall onto the ground. Before you could even properly realize what was going on you saw another body landing next to you- Jay.

"Hi," you grinned. "Any idea how we'll get up again?"

"Let me catch my breath first", Jay panted. "Whose idea was it to go ice skating again?"

"Mine… sorry."

"Next time I will pick! If we ever get up again," Jay groaned, trying his best to at least get on all fours again.

"I think we're stuck here forever." You started giggling again, Jay joining in after a bit. "At least there's not a lot of people here."

You didn't even want to imagine how embarrassed you'd be if there were more than three other people on the ice rink with you.

Jay nodded, slowly crawling towards the exit. You mimicked him, both of you slowly getting forward, until you had reached the end of the rink and managed to get on solid ground again.

"That was fun!" you grinned.

"Never again," Jay groaned.

"Come on. It wasn't that bad."

Jay didn't seem convinced, he was too busy taking small, wobbly steps towards the next bench.

"Jayyyy," you pouted, your arms closing around him from behind. "Did you really hate it that much?"

He sighed, slowly turning around to look at you.

"No, it was fun. But we really need to get lessons from Sunghoon."

You started smiling again. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I'm glad."

Jay smiled back, leaning forward to press a soft kiss on your forehead. "I'm always having fun with you, y/n."

"It's the same for me. Even if we're just crawling on ice." With another giggle you tried your best to get rid of your skates so you could finally walk normally again. "Any ideas what to do now?"

"I do actually," Jay smiled, his hand grabbing yours again to pull you with him.

"Oh? Tell me!"

"Patience."

Your pout was only met with a smirk. You had never been patient, and Jay knew that, but he found great joy in teasing you with it every time.

Jay pulled you along the hallway, his hand not letting go of yours- not that you wanted him to let go anyways. You tried to come up with an idea of what Jay might have had planned, but you couldn't come up with anything.

"Jay what is it," you pouted, hoping that some puppy eyes might convince him to give in, but nothing. He just shook his head, his lips still curled up into a smile.

"Jayyy." Nothing. "You're so mean."

You suddenly got pulled forward, stumbling towards Jay who trapped you in another hug. Before you could open your mouth to say something, you felt his fingers running through your hair, the endearing action successfully shutting you up.

"You really are the most impatient person I've ever met," he mumbled, but his eyes gave away that he didn't really mind. "Bet you won't call me mean later."

Too fast to say anything he turned around again and pulled you with him to his car. By now it was covered in a thin layer of snow, just like everything else around you.

"Do you think we'll get a white Christmas this year?" you asked Jay, who held up the door for you.

"I hope so. That would make our first Christmas in our home even more special."

You nodded, a smile spreading all over your face. Your home. You and Jay had only moved in a few weeks ago, but it already felt like your home. Especially now with all the Christmas decorations you recently put up. You loved it, your heart still felt like it would burst every time you entered the door. Or every time you looked at Jay, which might be the reason why you kept staring at him while he drove you home. You could see him smiling, his eyes rushing over to you occasionally to check on you.

"Jay," you tried again, but he just shook his head.

"Patience." His tone was teasing, so you pouted again, sinking deeper in your seat with your arms crossed in front of your chest.

"You're so mean." All you got was a chuckle and a hand ruffling through your hair.

About half an hour later you finally arrived home, but instead of opening the front door Jay pulled you into your small garden. You were half expecting a picnic, anything to explain his weird behaviour, but nothing.

"Are you gonna tell me now what we're doing?"

"Well, someone whined all month about building a snowman. And since we finally have enough snow now…"

"Oh!" You almost screamed in excitement, grabbing Jays hand to pull him forward. "What are we waiting for then?"

Jay just laughed, his eyes sparkling with joy as he watched you build a small ball.

"Are you going to help me?" You furrowed your brows, hands gesticulating towards him.

"I think you're doing amazing on your own." He couldn't stop laughing, especially when you looked even angrier at him. He just found you very cute right now.

"Help me!"

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up in defeat, before he joined you rolling the ball around in your garden. It grew bigger in no time and soon it got too heavy to move. That didn't stop you from forcing Jay to push it all the way back through the garden, though, until it was placed in front of the huge windows from your living room.

"Now we can look at him every night!"

Jay pushed some stray strands of hair out of his face. "Let's finish him first please," he huffed, but he didn't have to mention it anyway. You were already starting to form another ball.

"Are we making two parts? Or three."

"Two, please." Jay groaned, following behind you.

"Three it is!" you grinned in return, a teasing look on your face.

Before you could react, Jay had gripped your shoulders, holding you in place while his lips attacked your face.

"Noooo," you whined, unsuccessfully trying to get free. "Your lips are so cold."

"Too bad," Jay grinned. "That's what you get for all this complaining."

"I'm sorryyyy." Your whining turned into laughs, your hands moving up to shield your face from the attacks. Jay didn't seem impressed, however, grabbing your wrists to move them away from your face. "...I'm sorry?"

You gulped nervously when Jay stepped closer, his eyes focused on your lips. They scurried up to your own eyes for a second before his look moved down again, his hands suddenly on your cheeks, pulling you closer. This kiss now was different, more intense, more sincere. Not just a way to tease you. You almost melted into it, your hands wrapping around Jays waist to pull him closer. He just smiled into the kiss, his kiss only getting more passionate, the cold long forgotten. You didn't know how long you stood there, lips moving against each other like they never did anything else. You only stopped when you felt coldness, hit your face, eyes looking up to the sky.

"It's snowing," you said in awe, stretching out a hand to catch some of the flakes. Jay did the same, but his eyes were still focused on you.

"Let's finish the snowman and then hurry inside." You nodded, both of you hurrying to finish the snowman. And you were happy with the end result. You had found some sticks for the arms and stones for eyes and mouth, and while you got a carrot from the kitchen Jay had put his scarf around the snowman. He looked cute.

"He needs a name!" you declared, already deep in thought.

"How about Snowie?"

"Oh!" Jay was taken by surprise when you suddenly pressed a kiss on his cheek. "I love it. Mr. Snowie!"

Both of your smiles only grew bigger. You stood there for a while, Jay hugging you from behind, his face on your shoulder, until you remembered that you actually wanted to head inside. You excused yourself towards the shower, trying your best to warm your body up again, before you changed into a warm pair of pyjamas. When you came downstairs you saw that Jay had done the same, two steaming cups in his hands.

"I made us some hot chocolate!"

"I love you," you pouted, taking one of the cups to warm up your hands. "Do you have any other plans for today?"

"Spending time with you," he grinned. You could swear your heart was melting at his words.

"Funny, I have the same plans. Do you maybe want to watch some Christmas movies?"

"I'd love to."

And that's how you ended up on the couch, you comfortably sitting between Jays legs while his hands were running through your hair. It was a peaceful atmosphere, the sounds of the movie quiet in the background while you focused on the feeling of his hands in your hair.  You noticed your eyes slowly closing, the whole situation making you more and more sleepy. The last thing you felt before drifting off was Jay pulling you downwards, his arms wrapped around you while you both lied down on the couch.

for minnie 💖 you wanted to experience this with jay and i hope this makes it a bit more real.

permanent taglist: @maeum-your @sunoona @hoonsmarsbar @soobin-chois @sjyuniverse @taekbokki

[groenendaelfic]

Regarding the Fate of As Long as We Have Each Other

Dear Anons,

First let me say that I absolutely love your wonderful messages and compliments. They give me life and I treasure them and few things cheer me up more than a nice word or two about my fics and knowing I'm not just typing into the void.

I'll keep trying my best to answer asks if they include questions or bring up interesting points others might be interested in as well (in fact there are quite a few I have been putting off answering because I want to do it properly and that'll probably take an hour or two each, but I haven't forgotten about them!) and you can always message me with other stuff so I don't have to answer publicly (although admittedly it sometimes takes a while for me to reply because irl and anxiety), and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but please,

PLEASE stop sending me melodramatic asks regarding the fate of As Long as We Have Each Other. I get that you are impatient, but they aren't helpful and I got eight of them over the past ten days.

Don't get me wrong, a 'btw I still love that fic, will there be an update anytime soon?' is totally okay and appreciated, those are not the kind of asks I'm talking about.

Now I'm not sure if it's one anon or multiple ones, but my answer hasn't changed so let me copy/paste it from a previous post:

I have decided to finish A Pack of Two first,

Not because I love it more, but because it'll be a MUCH 'shorter' fic than ALaWHEO and I simply cannot keep switching between feral!Wille pov and official boyfriend!Simon pov, especially because both have a very narrow pov and are only aware of like a third of what's going on, and it's driving me bananas.

So yes, As Long as We Have Each Other is going on a short break, but I will definitely get back to it once APoT is done because I'm as enthusiastic about the story as I was on day one, maybe even more so.

ALaWHEO is my favorite fic across all of my fandoms and my baby, but I simply cannot write both it and APoT at the same time. I thought I could or else I wouldn't have started APoT, but I can't and so I had to make a choice.

If it helps, both my notes doc and my outline for ALaWHEO have grown significantly over the past seven weeks and it will definitely end up being over 400k, but only AFTER APoT is done.

Also in all my 23 years of being in fandom (in fact my fandom anniversary will be in 4 days! wtf is time even?) I have only ever given up on posting one fic that made it over 20k and that was because the fandom was an absolutely toxic dumpster fire and not because I lost interest, and even that fic I one day plan to go back to and post in its entirety once the fandom has shrunken considerably and all the 'I might not speak the language or have ever been to the country, but I've read a fan translation with footnotes and a few background posts and so now I totally know the time period and topic you've written your thesis on better than you' people have lost interest. So I promise ALaWHEO will get finished. I'm a completionist. I have all Civ6 steam achievements and believe me that was not fun. The only reason ALaWHEO will not be finished is if I am suddenly for whatever reason unable to write anymore (aka dead or gravely ill).

Anyway. Sorry for the rant. I don't want to call anyone out or seem unappreciative, but my anxiety can only handle so many versions of 'have you completely abandoned ALaWHEO? do you hate it? do you hate me personally for once stating that I didn't like abo fic? I don't know how my poor heart will be able to cope if you give up on ALaWHEO forever and ever but my hope lives on' (no that was not as much of an exaggeration as you might think)

So please stop or I'll disable anon asks, which I'd hate to do because I love hearing everyone's thoughts and comments and also it'd be unfair to everyone else who has been so absolutely lovely, motivating, encouraging and most of all inspiring.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk. (are those still a thing?)

[tribrvd]

❝ I've been through hell and back but I've emerged STRONGER and more determined than ever. I won't let my past define me ; I'll create my own D E S T I N Y. ❞

✧.* { DANIELLE ROSE RUSSELL & SHE/HER & CIS WOMAN & 19/52 } Is that HOPE MIKAELSON? I’ve seen them hanging around town here and there, I’ve heard they can be pretty STUBBORN. How typical for a TRIBRID. I guess they must rely on their FIERCE side shining through.

CHARACTER STUDY.

NAME: Hope Andrea Mikaelson

BIRTHDAY: May 2nd, 2012

AGE: Forever 9teen / fifty-two

SPECIES: Tribrid (Werewolf, witch & vampire)

HOMETOWN: New Orleans, LA

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Mystic Falls, VA

FAMILY.

MOTHER: Hayley Marshall

FATHER: Klaus Mikaelson

STEP-FATHER: Jackson Kenner

GRANDPARENTS: Esther Mikaelson, Ansel, Mikael Mikaelson, Hayley's parents.

SIBLINGS: Marcel Gerard (Adopted brother)

UNCLES: Finn Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Henrik Mikaelson

AUNTS: Freya Mikaelson & Rebekah Mikaelson

HONORARY FAMILY: Davina Claire (Aunt), Keelin Malaraux (Aunt), Mary Dumas (Grandmother)

PERSONALITY.

LABEL: The Catalyst

POSITIVE TRAITS: Brave, ambitious, compassionate, determined.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Guarded, impatient, impulsive, unpredictable.

FEARS: Not living up to her families expectations, losing the ones she loves.

AESTHETICS.

Uncertain paths, tears from laughter, spirited debates, never taking no for an answer, confidence that could kill, driving fast with the windows down and music loud, dancing in the rain, worn leather jackets, paint stained hands, blood stained hands, living up to be her families legacy, drunkenly dancing on tables, voice sweet as honey, saving everyone but herself, stargazing on the lawn, thunderstorms and combat boots, black lace, watercolors, a blank canvas, the smell of acrylic paint, fierce loyalty, late night runs in her wolf form, grimores full of rewritten spells, soft glow of candles.

ABOUT.

Hope's wiki can be found here, everything about her is canon until the end of the show.

Hope's entire life was flipped upside down when she lost her parents, and in losing her parents - she felt as if she lost her entire family. Immediate, and pack.

She never felt as if she belonged anywhere in the school, but that changed when Greyson showed up. Though he was older than her, she felt closer to her pack than she had before. Seeing Greyson also gave her the hope that there was still some Crescents around.

While he was at the school, Hope grew protective over him and the friendship budded between the two.

Try as she might, Hope ended up falling in love with Landon. As time went on, Hope learned that Landon was the son of the very thing that wanted her and every other supernatural creature dead. Landon was to be the vessel for Malivore.

Time went on it was revealed that the only one who could kill Malivore was Hope, with her tribrid blood. The problem was, Hope wasn't a full tribrid yet. With the help of her Aunt Freya, she became the full tribrid. She searched endlessly for ways to kill Malivore without killing Landon, but couldn't find any other way.

It came down to saving the supernatural world, or saving Landon. Hope knew she had to make the hard choice, so as she struck Landon/Malivore with the blade made of her blood, Hope turned her humanity off.

She was an absolute menace without her humanity.

When it wasn't one thing, it was another. The school was now dealing with a world ending God.

In the middle of dealing with the God's, Hope's humanity switched flipped back on just in time for the final battle.

She very hesitantly made a call to Greyson to see if he could come help, the more hands the better.

After the battle with Ken was won, the school celebrated in their victory as well as mourning the loss of those who've they lost.

Hope began to make a pack of her own in Mystic Falls, recruiting wayward wolves who had no pack, wolves who once had a pack but got hunted down, and when things finally settled down enough, Hope went back to New Orleans to visit the remaining crescents. She recruited them as well, blending the pack into one as she took her spot as alpha, making Greyson her second.

New Orleans still wasn't safe for the crescents after everything, so Hope suggested they move to Mystic Falls. When they did, Hope acquired a piece of land in Mystic Falls near the lake. Soon, she had small cabins and houses being built. A new home for the crescents.

One night, while Hope, Lizzie and Josie were all consoling each other over the loss of Alaric, Josie wished her dead could be brought back, and Hope agreed, wishing they were all back. Unknown to them a jini was eavesdropping.

The dead came back with a rush, then a slow trickle but still no Alaric. Reaching out to Landon, they came to the realization that Alaric was never in limbo.

Years went by, people went missing and according to Landon never showing up in limbo. They realized they were dealing with yet another new monster.

As the years went by, Hope grew closer to Greyson, the friendship between them blooming into something more. It scared Hope, because she didn't have the best luck when it came to that department, in one way or another they always ended up leaving. However, she wasn't always subtle about the way she felt for him.

Just when it seemed like they were both going to admit their feelings for each other, Greyson died.

Hope was never good at dealing with the death of those she cared for, so she held off on the Crescent's funeral for Greyson and magically preserved his body until she found a way to bring him back. Finding a way, Hope brought Greyson back and since then things have been different for them.

Doing her best to distract herself, Hope's been focusing on strengthening the Crescents, keeping them safe while the soul harvester was out and about, and trying to find a way to figure out what it was that was holding souls from crossing over.

[torreshalstead]

You make the miles worth it - Epilogue

Summary - The Chicago Marathon had always been a dream for Hailey. And when she meets a stranger in pink running shoes whilst training, she realises maybe she had been dreaming for more.

Chapters - 24/24

Notes - I can’t believe this story has come to an end! I’ve learnt so much writing this, it’s the longest thing I’ve ever written, 4x longer than my dissertation! But thank you for all your support, it’s meant the world to me. I hope you enjoy just this little epilogue to close it off ❤️ AO3 Link

One year later

‘Jay!’ Hailey called loudly from the front door, ‘we are going to be late’. She already had her shoes on, her gear bag and Jay’s thrown over her shoulder and was tapping her foot impatiently, the sound echoing down the hallway.

‘I wasn’t late last year and look how well that turned out,’ he said with a smirk as he walked out of their bedroom and gave her a quick peck on the lips as he grabbed his shoes.

Their bedroom. Hailey had only just got used to thinking of it as such as they had finally taken the plunge 3 weeks ago and moved in together. They had been spending every night at either his or her place for the last 6 months. And as Vanessa had so kindly pointed out, there was no point in paying two rents if they weren’t using both of them. Hailey had debated on it for a while as she didn’t want to abandon Vanessa, the two had been roommates for years. Vanessa reminded her that she wasn’t abandoning her and they had never planned on living together forever. Just as Hailey had started to argue the point, Vanessa had added quickly that she and Kevin had been talking about moving in together too so it made perfect sense.

On the day of the move, everyone had shown up to help them. Hailey had smiled and thought to herself how lucky they were to have such a group of friends who were always there for them. That was until Adam almost dropped the box with all her mugs and he was banished to only being allowed to carry pillows and clothes.

It hadn’t taken them long to settle in, they had been pretty much living together already but every time she walked through the door it felt more like home than anywhere else ever had. He was her home.

However, today he needed to hurry up. They had to be there in 30 minutes and it was a 15-minute walk. And being late was not something Hailey enjoyed doing.

‘Okay, I’m ready,’ said Jay as he finished tying his laces and stood up. ‘Let’s go run that marathon’.

It was the day after the race that Hailey had realised she wanted to run the marathon again, despite the blisters on her feet, her painfully tight muscles and the fact it had taken over her life for the last 6 months. She wanted to feel that high again when she crossed the finish line, it was like nothing she had ever experienced before. Jay was immediately on board, not needing an ounce of persuasion, she got the feeling if she hadn’t suggested it to him that he would have.

So here they were, one year on from the day of their long awaited first kiss, living together and heading to the start line of their second marathon. This time they walked hand in hand to the start area as there was no urgent case in New York that Jay had been pulled to. She felt calmer than last year somehow, happier, and overall incredibly excited to run 26.2 through the city she loved side by side with the person that she loved.

When they crossed the finish line this time and she turned to kiss him, he was getting down on one knee and was pulling a ring out of his pocket. She didn’t hear anything he was saying, she was too busy nodding wildly and saying yes. Yes. Of course she said yes.

The marathon was special. It had been special to Hailey for years, even before she made it to the start line the year before. But now it was something else. Something more. It had given her so much, so much hope, so much love. It had given her Jay. And now as he slid the ring onto her left hand, stood up and spun her around, she realised it had given her the world.

[elliewiltarwyn]

FFXIV Write 2023 | Prompt #16: Jerk

is it anachronistic to have ffxiv OCs call each other jerks? maybe, however have you considered [throws down a smoke bomb and vanishes]

-1338 words

----

Elilgeim’s in an alcove down the hall, staring out the window at the frozen landscapes, when Mia finds her. She doesn’t need to wonder particularly hard about what’s on the other woman’s mind.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she needles lightly as she approaches, the candlelight emanating from the plate in her hand flickering across Elilgeim’s Roegadyn features.

Including the side-eye she gives Mia as she takes a seat on the bench next to her. “As if it’s possible to sleep after a day like today.” She can’t argue with that. She can’t really think of another thing to say, though, and so they sit there, the Roegadyn white mage and the Hyur free paladin, brooding in silence to themselves in the depths of Camp Dragonhead in the middle of the night.

What a pair we make, Mia sighs to herself. Out of all of the fellow Scions and Archons she had fought alongside, for her, Elilgeim, and Alphinaud to be the only ones to escape the banquet turned bloody must be… some kind of irony. She can’t think of a time any of them has had a kind word to say about the others, between Elilgeim’s insubordination, Alphinaud’s pompous impatience, and Mia’s virtues constantly clashing against theirs… and yet here they are cooped up for refuge in the same camp. If it wasn’t for Tataru, Mia wouldn’t be wholly certain they’d live through the night without ripping each other’s throats out.

…No, that isn’t true, Mia admits to herself. There’s too much self-blame and grief going around for any of them to truly aggravate each other anymore; the sight of poor Alphinaud with his head in his hands, weeping over the crushing weight of responsibility, had broken Mia’s heart. Even now: Elilgeim usually refuses to share a meal or a table with her, yet here they are sitting side-by-side, because who else is left? Her eyes burn as she squeezes them shut, the painful parade of the faces of their lost friends refusing to cease their march through her mind’s eye. 

(Each and every Scion they had been forced to leave behind in their flight stings painfully, but it’s Lilyana’s stand in particular that breaks Mia’s heart. Surrounded by Crystal Braves and Brass Blades at the entrance to the sultana’s secret tunnel, the miqo’te rogue had stepped forth and urged the others into the tunnel first—only for her to make several hand gestures they had never seen before and blast the entrance with a bolt of levin the moment the others had made it in. Through the crumbling rubble now cutting them off from each other, Lilyana had shouted at them to go, I’m going to hold them all off—I’m going to prove I can protect you all, the way you’ve protected me! 

As if Mia hadn’t been the one best suited to that role, as if dear sweet Lily hadn’t already proven her worth several times over…

There had been a small gap in the bricks through which Mia caught Lilyana’s eye for the last time, and the sad smile on her face before she turned and, with a savage war cry, leapt forward into the mass of soldiers before her, knives flashing and untested magicks exploding. She knows that smile is going to haunt her forever… All these friends, lost, for what…?)

“Hey, Mia?”

Mia jerks back, stunned, and stares at her seatmate, who is resting her cheek on the knee of her leg drawn up onto the bench, and—for the first time ever—is looking upon her with something beside frustration or even anger. Mia feels it may be a bit optimistic to read the way her face is arranged as trust, especially given who it is, but she really hopes it is. With tears brimming in the edges of her eyes, Elilgeim swallows a lump in her throat and quietly says, “Thanks… for surviving with me.”

It’s literally the first time she’s thanked Mia for anything, and with the enormity of this gratitude’s source, she has no idea how to process that. She blinks rapidly for a moment until she can finally draw out the words “Same… to you.” And it’s true: as frustrating as Elilgeim has been, as much as they’ve butted heads… she’s genuinely glad the other woman is here with her.

A tiny, wry smile quirks on the corner of Elilgeim’s lips. “Bet you wish it was anyone else, huh?”

Mia rolls her eyes and elbows the other woman in the side, eliciting an exhausted chuckle. “Someone with a sense of propriety and respect, maybe.”

“I have a sense of them; I just don’t pay them any mind.”

“Obviously.” She groans in exasperation and lays her head against the stone wall. “Jerk.”

“Heh. Sorry.” Mia blinks rapidly again. Truly a night of firsts. “I suppose I shouldn’t antagonize one of the few friends I have left.” Just one after another, really. On multiple levels…

“Friend, huh?” The word itself isn’t strange on Mia’s lips; the thought of directing it at Elilgeim is.

There’s a strangely warm glow in Elilgeim’s eyes as she looks upon Mia. “Somehow, in spite of everything… aye. Friend.”

“Interesting.” Mia can’t help but smirk at her. “Does being your friend grant any special privileges?”

“I suppose I could prioritize you with my curative spells,” she drawls, raising an eyebrow like the suggestion is most absurd.

“I’m generally taking the brunt of the damage. As far as I can tell, you already do.”

She winks. “So imagine what it’ll be like now that I actually consider you a friend.”

Mia throws her hands up and shakes her head in long-suffering resignation at her. “Truly, beyond mortal ken.”

“What, were you hoping for something better?” Elilgeim teases, nudging her back.

“I don’t know, it’d be nice to get nickname privileges or something.”

“I hate to tell you this, but Mia seems like an incredibly difficult name to abbreviate.”

“Not me, you jerk,” Mia sighs in exasperation, shoving the toe of her boot against the side of Elilgeim’s leg and eliciting a chuckle. “If I got to call you something only friends can.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Ellie.” It just slips out, easy as a breeze.

A sudden silence falls over the both of them, and when Mia looks up at Elilgeim, she seems frozen in place, staring right back, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. It dawns on Mia what she just said then, and she feels a horrific blush creeping up her face.

“...Huh.” Elilgeim shakes her head, waking from her reverie, and squints down at her hands, considering. “...Yeah, I guess that is a name you could derive from Elilgeim.” She blinks, then looks up at Mia, whose face feels like it’s on fire. “Funny. We ran with an Ellie for moons, and I never thought about that.” Her mouth twists a little. “...I liked her. Shame she wanted to zombify Ul’dah.”

That’s right, the false Mythril Eye reporter. “On the other hand,” Mia says slowly, grinning sheepishly up at the other, “you have to admit zombifying Ul’dah sounds pretty appealing right now.”

Elilgeim blinks down at her for a moment, and Mia wonders if she went just a step too far—and then suddenly the Roegadyn bursts into laughter, and that snaps the cord of tension winding Mia tight and lets her crack up too. “You’re not wrong there,” Elilgeim chuckles, wiping her face. She favors Mia with an interesting side-eye, like she’s carefully observing something before coming to a decision on what to do about it. “...I must admit: I don’t think I’d mind Ellie.”

A small excited thrill ripples through Mia’s veins then. “So… I get nickname privileges after all?”

“...Sure. Yeah.” Elilgeim—Ellie winks at her. “Though—maybe not in front of everyone else. Wouldn’t want them to think anything’s changed between us.”

Mia rolls her eyes and elbows her again. “Of course you wouldn’t. Jerk.”

“Couldn’t possibly be anything else to you,” Ellie says, with the most fondness Mia’s ever felt directed at her. “Could I?”

“Somehow, no. I guess not.”