#come back soon please Dorian

[jennydolfen]

Blue boi

Dorian Storm. Can we get our blue boy back soon, please? Sketch started on an actual storm on a ferry across the English Channel. (Of the sort that says, "We're not sure if there'll be another ferry to Dunkerque today.") Painted with my latest watercolour brush set in Procreate (coming soon!)

[felassan]

Letters from Lovers

Transcriptions of the letters from the various gear store items. under cut for length.

Isabela:

“My dear Hawke, Do you know anyone with a flock of parrots? I'm trying to cheat on a bet with Varric and the stakes are exceedingly high. If you help me, I shall take you to that breathtaking beach you so crave. Free of ancient horrors, too. I think. I'd hate to take respite from all my adventures, but there are other ways to make the heart flutter. In fact I'm already imagining a few. Aren't you? Sailing there can be fatal, but Admiral Isabela will keep you safe. Are you interested? I would love to see you again. Yours, Isabela”

Morrigan:

“My love, Now before that grin reaches your ears, perish the thought that this letter was my idea. 'Tis Kieran who would not give me peace until I wrote to ask how you are faring. Regale us, if you please, with another of your tales that I might read to him in bed. He is particularly fond of those wherein you spur mischief whilst you save the day. Thank you for your most delightful gifts. I shall make certain to wear them the next time you come home. Dream of me until then, my Hero of Ferelden, and have a care. Morrigan”

Dorian:

“My dearest Amatus, Home is ever as it was: a glittering whirl of dancing, politics, and murder. I'm used to people staring daggers at me - I quite relish it, actually - but the glares seem to possess a new intensity since my return to Tevinter. Do they disapprove of House Pavus freeing its slaves while I work in the Magisterium to end slavery across Tevinter? Perhaps they simply covet my cheekbones, and who could blame them? Real reform will take time, but we're making inroads. I miss you terribly, Amatus, perhaps almost as much as you miss me. I treasure you and your belief in my work here. Yours always, Dorian P.S. I wouldn't take it amiss if you might send me another barrel of that dreadful Fereldan beer?”

Alistair:

“My love, How are you? Is it true that you recently killed darkspawn with only a mean glare and a pointy stick? Ferelden is ablaze with this rumor! You do give people so much hope. Tales of your heroism never fail to astonish me and almost ease the pain of going to sleep without you by my side. Almost. I can't wait to be with you again. I'd bring you some roses, you could give me a tour of the keep, we'd drink with the new recruits and then cuddle in a tent. Without the new recruits! Tent time is just for the two of us. I want to make that clear. Now excuse me while I practice my death glare and rummage through the dog's stash of sticks. I love you. Yours forever, Alistair.”

The Iron Bull:

“Kadan, You won’t believe what I did today. I got a guy to flip! Twice! So yes, all is well. Except for all the demons. And this whole thing in which I’m far away from the love of my life. Really keeps me up at night. Anyway, you hearing these rumors of a dragon on the loose? Yeah! The boys and I are on its trail. Last I heard, it was flying toward the Frostback Mountains. Can you join us? I hope you’re not uh… all tied up. Don’t worry, I’m fairly certain it’s not a Ben-Hassrath trap. And if it is, you know I’m prepared. Ataash varin kata! I love you, Kadan. See you soon. The Iron Bull.”

Tali:

“By the way, I left something for you up in your cabin. Go have a look.” - Tali’Zorah  --- “Dear Shepard,   As you may remember, I presented this picture frame to you as a gift on the Normandy. It was my way of expressing my admiration for you and our bond as comrades-in-arms. On the back of the metal frame, I've emblazoned a promise that will never fade - 'Shepard, wherever you go, I'm with you.'  I know it's not much, but...this is what I look like under the mask. I'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting. I know Quarian faces can be a bit...different. Every time you look at my picture, I hope you will be reminded of our adventures on the Normandy, from our battles against the Reapers to our intimate conversations in the privacy of our quarters.    I am not one to express my emotions openly, but thank you for being my friend, my confidante, and my inspiration. I look forward to many more adventures together.  Keelah se’lai,   Tali’Zorah”

Another letter from Tali:

"Whatever the galaxy throws at us, I'll be at your side. - Tali" --- "Shepard It's been a while since I last struggled to sleep. You must be dreaming of falling through a fish tank or starring in a hanar vid? I can hear you muttering about jellyfish. It's funny. I've spent my whole life hoping for the future, but these days nothing scares me more. Keelah, why can't we stop time? Even for just a little bit? No war, no Reapers, nobody counting on us. Just you and me, as free as the dust in the solar wind. When this is all over, will you settle down on Rannoch with me? I love you. - Tali"

Bonus:

Shepard's N7 acceptance letter, from Anderson:

“N7 Congratulations on your graduation From Captain David Anderson Shepard, When I graduated from the N7 program I had the honor of meeting Admiral Grissom, the man who inspired me to pursue a career in the service, and I never thought I’d feel prouder in my life. I was mistaken. Don’t get me wrong, it was a big day. An important day. But there’s something about welcoming driven young people like yourself into the ranks that’s also pretty damn satisfying. Your distinguished service record may have gotten you into this program - but it was your courage, integrity, and tenacity that’s enabled you to join an elite few. You represent the best of humanity, and I feel certain you’ll make the galaxy a better place. And I’m not the only one who feels this way. Becoming an N7 means the entire Systems Alliance is telling you one thing - we believe in you. Let me end by saying this. Welcome to the team Shepard. We know you won’t let us down. David Anderson Systems Alliance Interplanetary Combatives Academy N7 N7 Acceptance Letter”

[throneofsmut]

Sweet Little Prince

Dorian Havilliard x Reader || WC: 1.9k || Warnings: None

Summary: Dorian finds out he has a son he didn’t know about. Based on this req.

A/N: Whoever req this i hope you like it. Idk if this is what you expected but it’s what came to mind.

****

Your son had finally fallen asleep causing you to let out a relieved sigh as you brush back his raven-black curls from his face.

A smile gracing your lips before placing a kiss on his forehead and quietly making your way out of his room, heading down stairs back to the kitchen.

You find Rowan putting the chocolate cake into the oven to bake.

“You finished it?” you ask as you step up beside the oven. “You didn’t have to.”

“I know, but I didn’t know how long you’d be.” He replies without looking over his shoulder at you. “And I know you want to get the recipe just right for his birthday tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

He gives you a nod before rising to his full height again and moving to the sink to wash his hands. “Your sister wants to talk to you.”

“About what?” You lean on the island that’s in the middle of the kitchen.

Rowan turns around facing you as he dries his hands. He doesn’t say anything until he’s done and places the damp towel on the counter. “About you being Queen of Terrasen and ruling beside her. Together.”

You shake your head, brows furrowed, “Since the war ended, I think I made it pretty clear I don’t want to be Queen.”

“Why?”

“I told you, why already. You, Aelin and Aedion. I don’t want it.”

“Tell me again.”

“Rowan—“

“Tell me.”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, glaring at him for a moment before telling him. Again. “I don’t want to rule. I don’t want a crown or a throne. I have no taste for duty. I’m not suited for it.”

He crosses his arms across his chest. “Have you ever considered that, the best ruler, might be someone who doesn’t want to rule?”

A small chuckle slips through your lips earning a glare from him. “No, I don’t. Because I don’t want it.”

“Your sister just thinks that—“

Aelin walks through the front door of your cottage, “I just think that, it’d be safer for both of you if you moved into the castle and were crowned. She reaches the two of you in a few long strides. “You would be Queen and he”—your son—“would be the crowned Prince.”

Now it’s your turn to cross your arms across your chest. “He’s technically already a prince and I’m capable of keeping us both safe here—in our home. We don’t need to be in the castle.”

Your sister’s—your twin’s— face softens and she walks up to you. “I know he is,” she says gently. “I know you are. . . but please think about it. And if you don’t want to be Queen here, what about Adarlan? Dorian keeps asking about you.”

“Aelin,” you sigh, “you’ve been telling me to ‘think’ about it for two years now and I don’t want it. Or Adarlan’s”

She opens her mouth to say something, but before she can your son’s voice cuts her off.

“Mommy?” he calls out. “Mommy, where are you?”

“Coming, baby,” you call back.

Aelin steps back and you make your way upstairs to his room. As soon as you walk into his room he sits up in his bed. “I hear Aunty Aelin and Uncle Wowan, downstairs.”

“Did they wake you up?” You ask as you sit on the side of his bed.

He nods his head, rubbing his eyes—one sapphire blue and one bright ashryver blue, ringed with gold—“Can I say ‘hi’?”

You breathe out a small laugh, nodding, “You can say ‘hi’ but then you have to go back to sleep.”

He nods his head and lifts his arms for you to pick him up.

You head back downstairs with him in your arms. His head resting on your shoulder with his arms wrapped around you.

Aelin and Rowan both walk up to meet you, closing the distance. “How’s my favorite nephew?” Aelin coos.

“He’s your only nephew,” Rowan points out. Which earns him a glare from your sister.

“Say ‘hi,’ baby.”

“Hi, Aunty Aelin. Hi Uncle Wowan.” His little voice is still thick with sleep.

They both greet him back with loving smiles.

“Why are you awake, little prince? We trained a lot today.” Rowan asks him as he brushes a rogue raven-black curl behind his little pointed ear.

“I hear you and Aunty Aelin and I wanted to say ‘hi’.”

“That’s so sweet of you,” Aelin praises.

Your son smiles, his cheeks dimpling, and he turns to look at you. You can’t help but beam at him in return. Your own cheeks dimpling too.

He lightly tugs a golden blonde lock of your hair before whispering—not so quietly—“I go sleep now?”

“Yeah, baby.” You chuckle before giving Aelin and Rowan a quick look and they nod back at you.

And as soon as you’re done tucking him back in he’s sleeping. You kiss his forehead before heading back down stairs, “Sweet dreams,” your whisper into his night filled room.

“Fireheart!” Rowan scolds your sister as she shoves a forkful of steaming chocolate cake into her mouth.

She spits it out before even chewing it and you frown. “That bad?”

She shakes her head, brows furrowing sadly, “No. It’s too hot.”

“I told you to wait,” Rowan grumbles.

“Anyways,” you drawl out. “Why’d you come so late, Aelin?”

“My meetings ran long today and I had an unexpected visitor come.” She blows on a new forkful of cake to cool it down. “They’re going to be visiting for the week.”

You arch a brow, “Who?”

“A friend.”

Your gaze slid to Rowan, who shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’ve been here all day.” And he was right. He’d been here since the morning teaching and training your son because the raw magic he’d inherited from his father began showing.

And a two—practically three—year old with raw magic and fae ancestry needed to be taught control early it seemed.

Also because fae males—even half fae males were deadly. Rowan and Aedion knew that so they came and helped you teach your son control. Fenrys and Lorcan had given up after your son had learned to summon fire and burned off their eyebrows.

Aelin groaned as she chewed a new bite of cake. “Good?” you asked. She nodded, still not finished chewing her first bite before getting another. “Are you still going to be able to make it to his birthday tomorrow?”

She gave you a look as if to say, Obviously, before finally telling you with words. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Your sister and Rowan said their goodnights and Rowan had to practically drag her out because she was still trying to eat the chocolate cake. So to make it easier for both of them you just told her to take the whole thing with her. Her eyes glinted as soon as the words left your mouth.

You woke up early the next day to get everything ready for your son's third birthday and you had practically finished setting up and getting ready by the time Aedion and Lysandra came to help set up.

An hour later the rest of Aelin’s court—your little family—arrived.

Everyone was enjoying themselves and eating while your son and Lorcan and Elide’s daughter played together while Evangeline watched over them.

You got up from the table to go get the cake, still needing to frost it and add the candles.

Aedion rose with you, “Do you need help?”

Giving him a small smile as you gestured for him to sit back down, “No, I got it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll be quick.” You reassured him.

Setting the cake on the counter that was in front of the window where you could still see your son playing with his cousins. He was conjuring fishes with his water magic and making them dive in and out of the lake in front of him. His cheeks dimpled as he laughed along with the girls.

You were so distracted by your son and the cake that you didn’t hear anyone walk in until they called your name.

“Y/n?” He called.

You stilled as your heart dropped before slowly turning around. The frosting spatula clutched so tightly in your hand your knuckles were white.

“Dorian,” you breathed.

He was still as beautiful as you remembered him. Tall, tan skin, sapphire eyes and raven-black hair. But, he was broader now—more muscular. And in place of the black collar that was around his neck the last time you saw him was a pale line.

“Why— How—“ he stammered.

“Why are you here?”

“I’m visiting. . . I got here yesterday evening and Aelin said you were all celebrating a birthday and invited me.” You were going to kill her.

“You settled.” He pointed out, his eyes taking you in.

Even though he wasn’t necessarily asking, you responded anyway. “Yes.”

“How? You’re twenty, I thought you weren’t going to settle for a few more years.”

“I didn’t think so either, but, uh, I actually settled while I was pregnant.”

Dorian’s face flickered with so many different emotions before he schooled his features and simply asked, “Pregnant?”

“Yeah. . . and not only did I settle but my son’s magic made me fully fae.” You didn’t know why you were just telling him everything. “The healers don’t know how either, but him being half fae confirmed it.”

“Son?”

“It’s his birthday today,” you told him.

Dorian’s mouth opened, but before he could say anything your son’s laugh drifted all the way back to the cottage and cut him off. His sapphire eyes shot to the window and he sucked in a sharp breath.

There was no denying the resemblance. He knew he was the father of your son.

His gaze turned back to you and there was so much pain and regret in his eyes but hope too. Maybe even love. “Why didn’t you tell me?” was all he said though.

“I was going to,” you admitted. “But before I got the chance to,” your voice cracked, “your father ordered you to kill me when he found me trying to talk to you.” A tear rolled down your cheek and he stepped closer to you and wiped it away. “So I ran. To keep us both”—your son and you—“alive.”

Your words weren’t malicious, just honest.

“You don’t remember?”

His eyes were still on you as he shook his head before looking out through the window again. “I missed so much,” he whispered so softly you almost didn’t hear him.

“I’m sorry.”

Dorian pulled you into a hug, “Don’t be. You’re both here. Safe and alive. That’s all I care about.” His words made you cry harder and he only held you tighter and kissed the top of your head.

You both were so caught up in your own world that you didn’t hear the little footsteps that bounded into the kitchen.

“Mommy?” Your son called and you and Dorian pulled apart.

He walked up to you and you crouched down to get to his level. “Why you crying?” He asked, his small hands wiping away your tears.

“I’m just so happy, my sweet little prince.”

He smiled and turned to look at Dorian. “Are you mommy’s friend?”

Dorian chuckled as he crouched down too, tears welling up in his eyes, as he looked at a small version of himself. “Yes. Her best friend.”

Your son smiled impossibly wider and stuck his hand out towards him and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Dowian.”

Dorian looked at you and this time a tear fell. He cleared his throat, taking your son’s hand, “Hi, Dorian. My name is Dorian too.”

[hungermakesmonsters]

(Once Bitten) Twice Shy

Chapter Six

Plot summary : Desperate to get away from your controlling family, you take a job in New York as a wealthy vampire's blood source. A million dollars awaits if you can make it through a year, but life with Billy Russo is not going to be as simple as you think.

Pairing : Billy Russo x Reader

Story Rating : R  Chapter Rating : R

Warnings : [This is a fic for 18+ only, minors DNI] Smutty behaviour in a semi-public place. All chapters will contain mentions of blood. Please check the warnings on each chapter if you choose to follow this story. 

Word Count : 4.7k

A/N : I think I've finally sorted the tagging issue.

CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER FOUR | CHAPTER FIVE

MASTER LIST

Chapter Six

It felt like you were in a daze, like the night before had just been a fever dream. You’d almost been willing to write it off as a dream before you saw a note in your kitchen from Billy, telling you that the leftovers from dinner had been put in the refrigerator for you. There was no telling if he’d brought them through himself or if he’d had the maid do it, but you appreciated the gesture nonetheless. 

After your usual morning routine, you headed to the library to finally return Billy’s copy of Dorian Gray, exchanging it for Jane Eyre, another book that you’d never been allowed to read growing up.

By the time Billy emerged at sunset, you’d finished the leftovers and you were sitting on the sofa, with your nose buried in the book and your stuffed beagle on your lap. You’d even put tonight's blood in his thermal travel mug, hoping to keep it warm for him.

“Good evening,” he said as he joined you on the sofa, eyeing his travel mug before turning his attention to you and smiling all the more when he noticed the stuffed toy. “I hope I’m not interrupting the two of you.”

“Not at all, me and Bill were just reading.”

“Bill?” He laughed. “You can’t call him Bill.”

“But he’s Bill the Beagle,” you told him, biting your lip and trying your damnedest to stifle your own laughter. “It’s too late to change it, he’s used to it now.”

The both of you sat for a moment, trying to fight back the laughter but it didn’t last. You cracked first and, soon enough, the pair of you were laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Just the sound of his laughter had you smiling. It was nice, precious even. It was only then that you realised that you didn’t hear him laugh very often, at least, not properly. He seemed happy, honestly happy with no hint of smugness.

“Is this for me?” He asked, reaching for the mug.

You nodded, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious at how much thought went into the gesture. “I just thought…”

“Thank you,” he offered, obviously sensing your discomfort and not wanting to force you to finish the thought. After taking a slow drink, his attention turned to the book on your lap. “So, what are you reading now?”

“Jane Eyre,” you answered and caught a questioning look from him. “What?”

“Nothing, it’s just very... apt.” 

“Is it?

“I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you,” he answered. Then, a beat later, he changed the subject. “I’d like to ask you something; I’m throwing a party here next month, and I’d very much like you to come. It’ll mean taking you for a new dress, of course, but -”

“A new dress?” You repeated, barely keeping up with all the information he was throwing your way. “But I already have so many.”

“I want you to have something special, something you picked for yourself. And it means an evening out of the penthouse,” Billy explained. You didn’t need to answer, he could tell just from the look on your face that you wanted to. “We can go on Wednesday.”

“Okay,” you smiled.

“Great, now that that’s settle, what do you want to do tonight?”

You fell silent, wondering if it was a trick question, if there was an expected answer. It’d be a lie to say that some part of you wasn’t hoping for a repeat of the night before, but you couldn’t say that.

“We could watch something?” You offered and Billy almost seemed taken aback by the simplicity of the suggestion. “Just - you know, because we talked a lot last night and I haven’t exactly done anything interesting today...”

“If that’s what you want to do,” he shrugged.

“We don’t have to, if you’d rather...” you trailed off, cheeks starting to warm.

Billy reached for you, fingers ghosting your cheek as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. “No pressure or expectations, remember?” He told you softly. “If you want to watch a movie, we can watch a movie, okay?”

The only response you could give was a meek nod before quickly excusing yourself. When you returned a couple of minutes later, you had a blanket and a bowl of popcorn, explaining to Billy that they were crucial for a TV night. He nodded while fighting back a laugh and you realised that, while you’d been out of the room, he’d been and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses. 

“Why don’t you find us something to watch?”  Billy asked, handing you the remote.

And then began five minutes of mindless scrolling through Netflix, watching trailers, and trying to find something that you’d both enjoy.

“What about this one?” You asked, lingering on Black Sails, a show that caught your attention because it was about pirates and you’d been interested in pirates ever since you’d  secretly read Treasure Island as a child. “It’s a series but... well, we’ve got all year, right? Maybe we could watch TV together more often?”

For a moment, he just looked at you, the smile on his lips growing, like you were offering him far more than the occasional night in front of the TV.

“Okay, let’s watch some pirates,” he agreed, filing the two wine glasses and handing you one of them.

When you’d chosen the show, you’d thought that you’d be able to watch and talk but, within five minutes, you were hooked. 

It wasn’t long before Billy was awkwardly reaching across, trying to steal your popcorn, prompting you to edge closer and closer until you were pressed against his side. You were so caught up in the show that you barely noticed Billy draping his arm around you or the way your head had ended up resting on his shoulder. 

One episode finished and another started, then another. You made little comments to each other, but after the popcorn and wine were gone, you were mostly silent. There was more sex and nudity than you’d expected and you felt your cheeks warm every time. If Billy noticed, he was nice enough not to say anything about it. But, aside from that, you were enjoying it; you were enjoying the whole night. It was nice. And Billy seemed to be enjoying it too.

“Oh, now I see why you’re watching this,” Billy joked when a particularly muscled and shirtless pirate appeared on screen. You pulled a face. “What? He not your type?”

“I don’t have a type,” you confessed, playfully nudging him with your elbow. 

Billy retaliated by nudging you back and things seemed to escalate from there. You gave him a shove and he pushed back, his hand discovering a ticklish spot on your side and, once Billy realised you were ticklish, it was game over. You squealed as he started to tickle you, laughing and pushing against him but, somehow, you ended up on your back with him above you. The tickling continued for a moment, but it soon turned into kissing.

“What is it about you?” he asked softly. “How do you make me want like this?” 

Before you could answer his lips were on yours again, the kiss more eager than the last. He pressed closer, his hips between your thighs, and you soon felt the increasingly familiar press of his erection against you. A soft sound slipped from your lips and into his, your heart hammering in your chest.

“The things I want to do to you,” he muttered, lips pulling from yours to your neck, kissing and sucking, leaving little marks in your skin. “The ways I want you,” he continued. “I’d ruin you. I’d make you feel things you’ve never felt before.”

It sounded insane but that didn’t stop you from wanting it, craving it.

Your hips pushed up against his while your fingertips pressed against his spine, holding him against you. A loud moan spilled from your lips when he pressed back, causing your body to tremble, your back arching against him of its own accord.

His head lifted from your neck, his dark eyes looked down at you, his jaw tense. 

“I want to make you mine,” but this time it wasn’t Billy’s voice, it was something closer to the way he’d sounded that night in the kitchen when he’d been hungry.

Every fibre of your being suddenly tensed, your heart stuttered and your breath caught. Your eyes were wide as he leaned to roughly press his lips to yours, his tongue dominating the kiss. His hips pressed down against yours again, grinding his clothed cock against you.

“I want to make you scream my name.” He growled before sinking against your lips again.

The whimper that escaped you next wasn’t one of pleasure, it was shock and, if you were honest, a little bit of fear. But that little sound seemed to be enough to snap Billy out of it.

His lips pulled from yours suddenly, and he buried his face against your neck. He was still and silent for a few seconds. All you could hear was your own panted breaths and the echo of your pounding heart in your ears.

The shock lingered but the fear was quick to dissipate. He’d stopped. You hadn’t even had to ask him to. He’d stopped the moment he realised that you were uncomfortable, even though you could still feel how unfulfilled he was. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered against your neck, then again; “I’m sorry.”

Your mind was racing, between this and the night in the kitchen, you didn’t know what to think. He’d been hungry that night - at least, that was the excuse you’d given for his behaviour, but now it was starting to seem like it might be something else entirely.

“Are you -” you dared to quietly ask, “- okay?”

“No,” he answered and that one broken syllable shattered your heart.

Without hesitation or pause to think, you started to run your fingers through his hair, wanting to soothe whatever it was inside of him that was hurting. You heard him take an uncomfortable breath, but you didn’t stop. 

After a few minutes, he finally started to relax a little.

“It’s okay,” you muttered. “You didn’t hurt me.”

His head lifted slowly and the look on his face caused your stomach to knot.

“I could have,” he told you, looking almost sick at the thought.

Finally, he moved, pulling away from you and sitting up, his head in his hands. You followed suit, sitting beside him, giving him a moment of silence to think.

But that silence quickly felt deafening and you felt worse for the part you’d played. You hadn’t expected the things he’d said and they’d unsettled you a little, but that was all. You weren’t used to men being so forward and borderline aggressive about their desires. But he’d stopped. He hadn’t done any of the things he said. He hadn’t hurt you. He certainly hadn’t forced you into anything.

“You could hurt me right now,” you stated. “You could’ve hurt me last night, or that night in the kitchen, but you didn’t. And I don’t think you will. I get that I’m fragile and weak, and that worries you, but -”

“I don’t think you’re fragile or weak,” he told you, lifting his head and fixing his gaze on you. “You’re not either of those things.”

It was your turn to drop your gaze, cheeks warming as you shook your head.

“Hey, look at me,” he said, and you did as he asked. “You being here is proof that you’re not

weak. Taking this job, being stuck here with me for a year, there’s nothing weak about any of that.”

Your head shook again. “You don’t understand. You were right, I am running away. I’m here because I wasn’t strong enough to do anything else.”

“Everything you’ve done since you got here - standing up to me, the night you helped me, that was reckless and dangerous. It was brave.” He told you, not giving you a chance to argue. “So, no, it’s not because I think you’re fragile and weak. It’s me, I...” he sighed, “I told you, control is an issue for me.”

Cautiously, you reached for him, taking his hand between yours and holding it tight. 

“I didn’t even have to ask you to stop, Billy,” you told him softly. “You stopped yourself before you took things too far. You were in control. And I - I don’t know, it’s not like I was scared, I’m just not used to things being that... intense.” You watched him swallow awkwardly and decided to cut him off before he could speak. “Why don’t we rewind this episode and finish watching?”

He gave an uncertain grumble and you reached for the remote, winding back the last fifteen minutes of the show, back to the last thing you remembered. Sitting back, you grabbed Bill the Beagle and pulled your blanket back up over your legs, and when Billy finally sat back, you snuggled into his side again. And, eventually, he wrapped his arm around you again.

The rest of the night passed without incident. Your eyes started to close and, for a few minutes, you even drifted off. Billy woke you with a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“Bedtime, sleepyhead,” he muttered softly, and you reluctantly agreed, stifling a yawn as you got to your feet. “I should see you briefly tomorrow, but I’m needed in the office pretty early.”

Nodding, you headed for your rooms, saying goodnight before leaving him.

True to his word, the next day you saw him at sunset for a few minutes on his way out. On Tuesday, he was almost late leaving because he pulled you into a hot and heavy makeout session in the kitchen that seemed to suggest he was frustrated about not getting to see you. But then Wednesday rolled around, and it was time for Billy to take you dress shopping.

The moment you stepped into the elevator with him, he took your hand in his and kept hold of it all the way down to the parking garage below the building, leading you to his car and opening the door for you. You’d never been in a Rolls Royce before, and you caught Billy smiling as you looked around the car in wonder as your fastened your seatbelt.

It wasn’t a long drive to the dress shop - a large boutique affair, filled with bespoke pieces as well as off-the-rack gowns and dresses. And, while you’d been in fancy dress stores before, you found yourself taken aback. Usually at times like this, you’d have your mother at your side, and she always had an idea of what you were supposed to wear; what colours were acceptable and how much skin a decent woman should show.

“Mr Russo, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” one of the assistants said as she approached.

You watched as she approached Billy and he kissed her cheeks in, what you could only describe as, a Parisian fashion. He introduced you and she took a step back, looking you up and down. Next to her you felt more child than woman - she was obviously a vampire, with perfect skin and hair that fell in natural tight ringlets, framing her face. She was another example of the stunning women who seemed to gravitate around Billy.

But it was her looking at you in an appraising way that really caught you off guard.

“Your pictures really didn’t do you justice,” she remarked and you quickly looked at Billy for clarification. 

“Hannah picked your wardrobe,” he explained.

“Oh.” Suddenly you found yourself looking down, thinking about the outfit you’d put together - jeans, a blouse and boots - wondering what the person who’d chosen all the items thought of how you’d decided to wear them.

“Why don’t you have a look around, see what speaks to you?” Hannah offered.

Billy gave a wave of his hand, indicating for you to do just that and, slowly you started to move towards the racks of dresses. It wasn’t long before you were looking at the sorts of dresses your mother might have picked for you; a-line dresses that showed a hint of your waist and with necklines high enough to cover any and all cleavage. You could practically hear her voice in your head telling you how no respectable man would ever want you if we went around showing too much skin.

While you looked, a bottle of champagne was opened and two glasses were filled; one for you and one for Billy. He kept hold of your glass while you looked around.

You pulled one dress out and looked at it front and back. It was like every other dress you’d had since you’d started to grow into your figure. It felt safe but boring, like it wasn’t really you but what you thought was expected of you. But you weren’t that person anymore - at least, you were trying not to be.

“If you don’t mind me saying, with your figure, I’d suggest something a little more fitted, something with some slink.” Hannah offered.

“Slink?” You repeated, looking at Billy, wondering what he thought.

“I think you’d look lovely in a slinky dress.”

“Can you help me choose?” You asked Hannah. “I don’t know where to even start.”

Rather than the expected look of judgement, Hannah just smiled. “Of course. Why don’t you and Mr Russo go sit down and I’ll put together a collection for you to try.”

“That would be brilliant, thank you Hannah,” Billy answered for you, handing you a glass.

Fifteen minutes later, you were in a fitting room the size of a small bedroom, looking through a whole rail of dresses. You started with a black dress, but hated it the moment it was on, then you half pulled on a short red dress but decided that you couldn’t stand the colour. Then you started to rummage through the rail again.

Your attention was quickly drawn to a  silver number, and finally you understood what Hannah had meant by slink. It had thin spaghetti straps and a neckline that plunged to a couple of inches above your belly button, and a slit running up one side from ankle almost right to your hip. Even the back of the dress hung low. 

You pulled it on and looked at yourself awkwardly in the mirror. Because of the way the dress was cut, you had to remove your bra to get a real idea of how the dress was supposed to look. You stood on tiptoes and turned this way and that, not sure what to think.

“How’s it going?” Billy called from outside.

You stayed silent for a few moments before sighing. “I don’t know,” you called back.

“Need a second opinion?”

You poked your head around the door, the awkward discomfort on your face drawing a sympathetic smile from Billy. He waited a beat before getting to his feet, you felt your cheeks warming as he approached you. You remained hidden behind the door, not sure you wanted him to see.

“I look ridiculous,” you pouted.

“Are you gonna let me see?” He asked, a hint of laughter in his tone. You shook your head and he gently pressed against the door with his hand. “Come on, let me see.”

For a moment more, you held the door in place before finally stepping back and letting the door swing open so he could see you. When he didn’t immediately say something, you took another step back.

“You hate it.”

“What? No, I’m speechless,” he told you, stepping forwards, closing the gap between you. “You look amazing.”

“I feel like a kid playing dress up.”

He kicked the door shut behind him as he stepped into the fitting room, his gaze roving up and down your body. Clearing the distance between you, he placed his hands on your hips, turning you to face towards the mirror.

“Look,” he instructed in a low voice, spoken into your ear, and you did as you were told, looking at your reflection. “You only feel like a kid because that’s how you’ve let people see you. But that’s not what I see. I see a sexy, elegant woman. I see curves and tits that get me hard, and it kills me that you don’t realise how amazing you are.”

His lips pressed to your neck before you could respond and your breath caught, watching your reflections. 

Whether it was his words or the way he was touching you, he made you feel more confident, like you really could wear the dress and not be seen as ridiculous. You pressed against him and felt his cock against your hip, and that felt like all the proof you needed that he meant what he was saying.

His hands began to move, one pressing against your stomach while the other moved to rest over your racing heart. You took a breath, filled with a sort of wanting that only he seemed to bring out in you. Not giving yourself a moment to second guess, you reached behind him, palming his erection through the fabric of his dark jeans.

“Can I -” you started quietly, voice little more than a whisper, cheeks starting to heat. Billy stared at you in the mirror, expectant but patient, letting you find the nerve to finish. “Can I touch you?”

He smirked at you through the mirror as he undid the fastenings of his jeans and pulled his cock out. Your eyes widened, watching everything through the mirror because you were too embarrassed to look down. Billy took your hand in his and wrapped it around his shaft, and you started to stroke him slowly. And, when your gaze dropped, you found Billy’s fingers beneath your chin, urging your head up.

“Don’t be shy,” he muttered in your ear, his breath catching as your thumb brushed over the tip of his cock. “See how amazing you look right now, taking what you want?”

You bit your lip, watching his reflection, seeing the way his jaw went slack as his breathing got heavier in your ear. Once he was certain you weren’t going to look away, his hand moved from your chin to your breast, slipping beneath the fabric of the dress. 

“You look so fucking good in this dress,” he groaned, returning his lips to your neck, “so confident and sexy. You’ve got no idea what I want to do to you right now.”

His hand moved, slipping one of the thin straps down your arm, causing the front of the dress to fall, exposing your breast to him. Your hand faltered for a moment, cheeks burning hotter.

“Don’t you dare look away,” he husked in your ear, his eyes meeting yours in the mirror. There was a seriousness about him that sent a shiver down your spine despite the smile on his lips.

Your hand started moving quicker as his cold hand moved to grope you again. And, finally, you started to see it; when you looked at your reflection, you didn’t see the shy, embarrassed girl, you saw the woman who had Billy Russo, desperate and groaning, in the palm of her hand. You felt almost powerful, filled with a kind of confidence you’d never been allowed to feel before, and it was all thanks to Billy.

“Fuck, that’s it,” he grunted, face pressed against your neck. Your hand moved quicker as his body started to tense. “Oh, shit...”

You felt him twitch in your hand and watched him come undone. It was a beautiful sight, even if you did go straight back to feeling embarrassed once it was over.

“Are you going to try any of the others?” He asked, pulling the strap back onto your shoulder and straightening the dress, before tucking himself back into his jeans.

“I don’t think I’ll like any of them as much as I like this one.”

“I don’t think I will either,” Billy agreed, smirking at your reflection. “Why don’t you get changed and we’ll have Hannah help you find some shoes.”

You nodded and Billy pressed one more kiss to your neck before pulling away from you. He left to speak to Hannah and, for a moment, you couldn’t even move. You kept your eyes on the mirror and the woman that was staring back at you; was that really you? Could you be the confident woman who took what you wanted? Eventually your gaze dropped, realising that Billy had managed to get cum on the mirror.

That got you moving.

You quickly, but carefully, dropped the dress and started to pull your clothes back on when, suddenly, the door opened and someone stepped in.

“Sorry, I -” you started to speak but stopped the moment she lifted her fingers to her lips.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” she explained in a hushed whisper. “My name is Agent Madani, I’m with Homeland Security, and I believe you’re in danger.”

“What? I -” you took a step back, head shaking. 

“Are you being kept against your will?”

“No, I - it’s my job, I -” you didn’t get to finish.

“Your parents believe that you’ve been kidnapped,” she sounded almost confused at the revelation you were there of your own free will.

“No, I left home. It was my choice,” you told her. “They don’t know I’m here, do they?” Your voice quickly turned frantic, trying to make sense of what was happening. Surely your parents wouldn’t have been able to get Homeland to look for you.

“No, they don’t know yet -”

“Yet? They can’t know at all,” you pleaded. “Please.”

“Your parents aren’t why I’m here,” she continued quietly. “Has Russo said anything to you about the other women who’ve worked for him?”

“No, I just know that they quit because they didn’t want to work for him anymore,” you tried to explain, your mind racing.

“Three of them are missing. All presumed dead,” she told you. “Each went to work for Russo and haven’t been seen since.”

“Billy wouldn’t, he’s not -” you stopped abruptly, noticing her eyes finding the mess Billy had left on the mirror and obviously putting the pieces together. When she looked back up, you could barely hold her gaze.

“Have you seen anything suspicious? Has he tried to feed from you without permission?” She asked. “Is he forcing you to sleep with him?”

“No - no, nothing like that. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you told her, so confused by everything she was trying to tell you.

“You need to be careful. He can’t know that we’ve had this conversation. He’s dangerous -” a noise outside the fitting room seemed to spook her, “- I’ll be in touch again soon. Don't worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

And, then, just as quickly as she’d appeared, she left. 

Your mind was reeling over everything she’d said. It seemed insane, ridiculous. Billy had been nothing but kind to you, nothing but careful and considerate. You couldn’t imagine him hurting anyone. There had to be some other explanation.

You must have been taking too long because, soon enough, Billy appeared at the door again. 

“Are you alright? You’re not having second thoughts about the dress are you?” He asked with that soft smile that caused butterflies in your stomach.

“N-no, sorry... I guess I just got distracted,” you told him, deciding not to mention Madani to him, not knowing how he’d take it.

“Come on,” he offered you his hand, “Hannah’s picked out some shoes for you to look at.”

There was something about him in that moment, something about the way he was smiling at you that made you want to believe the best in him. After all, you’d met monsters before, and Billy Russo just didn’t seem to fit the bill. 

Grabbing the dress, you took his hand and let him lead you across the store to look at shoes. Agent Madani was nowhere to be seen and, for that evening at least, you decided to try and forget all about it. Tomorrow you’d be having lunch with Karen, maybe you’d be able to find out something then. But, in that moment, you were content to hold his hands and look at shoes, trying to forget the stain on an otherwise amazing evening. 

End Note : Dun-dun-duuuuuunnnnnnnn. I have nothing to say because I don't want to potentially spoil what I've got planned. But, yeah, I decided that reader and Billy should watch Black Sails together because it's been showing up on my dash a lot and it's an a+ show if you haven't seen it already.

As always, thanks so much for reading (and also thank you so much for all the new followers) I've really loved all the feedback from this fic and for my last fic, and you've all just been wonderful.

Let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future chapters! If tagging doesn't work for some reason (aka Tumblr being dumb) I post most Fridays around 7:30 gmt. (I think I've found a way to get tagging to work properly again, please let me know if it doesn't tag you.)

Tag List : @vaguekayla @thdcre @rensolodriver @house-husband-of-castlemurdock

@snowkestrel @danzer8705 @noortsshift @aoi-targaryen @lincerad

@vxnity713 @readerinsertsaremyguiltypleasure @dreadfulxives18 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @glamourbabe17

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@countryday @weepingwitchofthewest @broadwaybabe18 @bunnygirlwriter876 @oliviaewl

@rosey1981 @benbarnesprettygurl

[ladynearthelake]

Bad Ending

The Feywild is beautiful.

Orym is aware of that objective truth as he sits atop the lofty boughs of Ligament Manor. Time remains a weird soup, and he isn’t sure just how much time has passed since the battle with Ludinus. For all he can actually remember of the event, he thinks it must have been centuries. But it can’t have been that long. The acute pain of loss is still present in his chest.

Covetous of her company, Nana Morri had extended Fearne’s life unnaturally. Orym knows the Fatestitcher enjoys his company, maudlin as he is. He wouldn’t put it passed her to do the same to him. Fearne still visits, but she had fallen in love with Exandria and the planes beyond. Orym relishes her visits, and tries not to hate her for leaving him when she flits away. His deal was his own choice. His chest aches. Nana’s bargain was sealed permanently over his heart when he returned. It shadows the other pain there, but cannot eclipse it completely.

The red moon is no longer in the sky in the Feywild, so Orym assumes that they defeated Ludinus. That brings him no comfort. He lost everything, so what does an averted apocalypse mean to him?

He remembers an elegant twirl of a familiar blue cape rushing forward. He remembers the world shattering around him as Dorian fell.

Orym’s memories grow soupy after that. With Dorian gone, nothing else could ever really matter, could it? He had only just managed to claw himself out of his choking grief for Will. He let himself think of a future beyond the battle. That had been his mistake. He should have known better than to look beyond the mission.

So, perhaps the battle was won, but Orym doesn’t really care if Exandria fell to ruin. His heart, impossibly, had been ripped out for the second time. Better to give the remains to Nana Morri. She could find a use for it.

Orym sits among the topiaries of broken promises and tries not to miss the moons in the sky.

He doesn’t remember closing his eyes, but he startles when a familiar hand presses to his cheek.

“Orym?”

He smirks as his eyes open. It’s always good to see Fearne.

But she’s panicked. Tears are gathering in the corners of her eyes. Her face is streaked with red, both sticky and sandy. His brow furrows.

“Fearnie, are you alright?”

She sobs, holding his face firmly in her hands. “You have to come back to us. You have to. We won. You have to come back.”

His body is heavy, and he cannot move. This doesn’t make sense.

She’s here with him, isn’t she? He hasn’t gone anywhere in ages. He’s right here.

Another voice, so different than when he would hear it over the sending stone.

“Orym, please…” Dorian’s voice is exhausted and tight with pain. “You must come back. There’s still…still so much we need to say.”

He feels something stir behind Morri’s seal. His heart shudders.

Orym isn’t in the Feywild. This isn’t Ligament Manor. Fearne’s hands are gone from his cheeks, and Orym looks behind him. He sees a blossoming tree in twilight with a familiar, loved shadow standing beneath it. Will raises his hand in greeting, but makes no move to go towards Orym. They’ve spoken about this before.

“Not yet,” Will whispers in his ear.

Orym nods, his hand raising in return. “Soon.”

“But not too soon.”

His heart beats again, and he feels a hook behind his navel pull his being back through the planes. He coughs, hacking up blood and sand. The arcane fissure across his chest knits itself back together.

“Orym?”

Drips of wet plip against Orym’s cheeks. There’s a body hovering above him, radiating the warmth of the sun. The ashari can’t help the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth as he opens his eyes.

Dorian looms over him, tears rolling down his eyelashes as he stares. His cheeks are blotchy and purple. There’s a wide stain of crimson across his ragged sheer shirt doing little to hide the healed gash on his chest.

The sight of that hurt has Orym springing to his feet. He regrets the movement immediately, but only for a second. He crashes into Dorian’s arms.

“I…I don’t…” Orym stammers.

Fearne appears beside him, wrapping them both in her arms tightly.

“That was worse than the last time.”

Oh.

“I was dead?” Orym asks.

He feels Fearne’s head nod against his, and Dorian’s arms pull him in tighter.

“I thought you both were, but Dorian was only unconscious. You must have thought…” She trails off.

The memory is clear in his mind now. Dorian falling, and then an unyielding rage consuming his small form as he charged screaming at Ludinus.

“You distracted him while Imogen finished him off.”

“We did it?”

Fearne smiles. “We did it.”

Orym can feel Dorian shaking against him. He draws away slightly to look at his beautiful face.

“I told you that you didn’t have to save everyone,” Dorian says, fighting off tears.

“Old habits die hard,” Orym says, his eyes dropping from Dorian’s crystal eyes to his lips. “Didn’t seem to matter much anymore if you weren’t there to save.”

“Orym…that’s ridic—”

The world is safe. There’s no reason to resist anymore. Orym presses his lips to Dorian’s, quieting his protests. He feels Dorian startle at the contact, but then he melts into the kiss, gripping the back of Orym’s shirt.

Orym pulls away, feeling lighter than he has in years. The unrestrained happiness on Dorian’s face makes him giddy. There’s still so many unknowns, but he’s be happy to find his way with the wind in his arms.

[yeonzzzn]

unbreakable: kim sunoo

a break the chain series: five / seven

pairing: sunoo x afab!reader word count: 3.9k

synopsis: after the explosion, you are trusted to heal the wounded as sunoo rushes to his family, but all might be too late.

genre: established relationship, vampire!sunoo, elf!reader

warnings: blood mentions, some stabbings, I think that’s it?

prt 1: vampires bleeding | prt 2: you complete me

☾ heeseung(1) | jake(2) | jungwon(3) | sunghoon(4) | sunoo(5) | niki(6) | jay(7) ☽

“It’s Lilly,” Heeseung snarled down the bond, “she’s here.” 

—

You and Sunoo were in the library, reading up on everything magic related to helping Jake and his mate, when the bomb went off. 

Sunoo sensed something was wrong before it happened. Quickly rushing to you, taking you in his arms, and rushing you out of the library and across the castle before the explosion happened. A massive hole now resides on the right side of the castle. Fires broke out and people were screaming. The servants, both vampire and human, were either dead from the blast or debris, were on fire, or were injured. 

Sunoo stared at the wall with widened eyes, his arms squeezing you tighter against him, “Sunoo!” you screamed at him through the ringing of your pointed ears. Sunoo could barely hear you, barely even register that you were talking. His head hurt from the ear ringing and the sounds and smells of people dying around him. It wasn’t until Heeseung was shouting down the bond for Sunoo to snap out of his daze. 

“WHERE IS EVERYONE?! ARE YOU ALL OKAY!?” Heeseung screamed down the pack bond, “ANSWER ME!!!” 

All the boys started shouting down the bond at once, Heeseung shutting them up and directing out orders. 

Sunoo faced you, “YN,” he said softly, cupping your face and wiping the dirt from your cheek, “You and __ need to tend to the injured, can you do that for me?” 

You stared at your mate, shaking your head, “No, I don’t want to leave you!” 

“YN,” he said sternly, the playfulness that was once on his face was long gone, filled with such seriousness as his eyes started to glow red, “I need you to do this for me, Heeseung needs you to do this.” 

You slowly nodded, dreading what was to come. Nothing felt right. You couldn’t shake the feeling something bad was about to happen. 

Sunoo smiled at you, “We’ll be reunited soon, my love.” All you could do was nod again, feeling his lips pressed to your forehead, “I love you.” 

“I love you,” you said back, wanting to say more but didn’t, or couldn’t because Sunghoon appeared at your side. 

“Sunoo,” he said quickly, “We need to get to the lobby.” 

“Where is __?” Sunoo asked, taking notice of his hyung’s witch mate not at his side. 

“She’s still outside the castle,” he looks to you, “I ran here as fast as I could, please make sure she gets inside safe for me.” 

You nodded, “Of course,” you looked to your mate, squeezing his hand, “Find your brothers, go!” 

Sunoo quickly kissed you and was gone, Sunghoon following behind him. 

You quickly make your way to the exit to the field, barely peeking your head out in time to see your witchy friend sprinting, you wave her in, “Hurry! we need to help those we can!” 

She nodded, adjusting the bag on her shoulder as she followed behind you. __ looked out of it, not completely there. But you understood why. This was a repeat of what happened to her coven. 

Jay and Niki were already moving the injured into a safer room, their screams and smells of burnt flesh filled your nose. You wanted to cry, to run out of this room and erase the images from your brain. War…this is what happens during war. What was happening now was nothing compared to the battle against Dorian that day…innocent people weren’t involved. 

“__ and __!!!” Jay yelled, snapping you from your thoughts, “Hurry!” 

You and the witch were at his side now. Jay was bent over one of the guards, his hands pressed tightly to his side above his hip and blood was everywhere. 

“He’s human,” the witch whispered, studying how pale the male looked, “how did a human become a part of the guard…” 

You quickly look at Jay, studying his eyes with concern. 

He chuckles, “I’m a doctor, YN, human blood doesn’t faze me. I’m okay.” 

You knew that and still shoved his hands away, replacing them with yours, the male's blood staining your skin, “What do you need us to do?” 

Jay directed what he needed from the both of you, to use what magic you could to help save these people but not to drain the magic out completely in case it was needed elsewhere. 

The witch hovered her hands over yours, purple magic leaking from your fingertips, “We got this, get Niki and find the others,” she said, giving Jay a look of confidence, “We can handle this here.” 

Jay nodded, leaving the two of you. He had to find Heeseung and the others ASAP. 

—

Heeseung had Jungwon at his side, directing orders to the guards and army that weren’t injured. Sending them to specific places throughout the castle. Heeseung had a feeling he knew what was happening, it was too obvious and too planned out for this to be some random thing happening. 

“I need everyone to meet me and Jungwon in the lobby,” Heeseung says to just his brothers down the bond, “As soon as you can.” 

Jungwon stayed on Heeseung’s heels as they marched to the lobby where the explosion happened. Both Heeseung and Jungwon had their jaws locked tightly and hands in fists. 

“This isn’t a coincidence,” Jungwon said through his teeth, “War is finally happening.” 

Heeseung nodded. Darting his eyes in every direction as they walked to the source of the explosion, barely turning the corner and seeing an army of enemies storming into his castle. Matching eye contact with the source. 

“It’s Lilly,” Heeseung snarled down the bond, “she’s here.” 

Sunoo and Sunghoon quickly looked at each other, dropping the broken wooden planks that covered an area and trapping people inside from the explosion, at the same moment Jake, Jay, and Niki appeared at their sides. 

Each of their eyes burned red, “Lilly…”Jay growled, his fists clenching. 

“We need to go, NOW!” Jake snapped, “He’s going to try and take Lilly on his own!!” 

“He has Jungwon with him,” Jay corrected, quickly removing the debris from the door, “he’ll kill us if we leave these people here, “Get a move on so we can get to him!” 

The five of them quickly made haste, moving as quickly as they could. 

“Heeseung,” Jungwon warned, taking a few steps in front of him, “Stand down.” 

Heeseung might be the king, but Jungwon is the leader of his pack. So he relaxed, keeping his eyes locked on Lilly. 

She tilted her hair, her long red hair falling over her shoulder, “That’s new, watching a king actually listen to people below him.” 

Heeseung’s eyes glowed golden, his fangs coming to a point, “We don’t have rank in my pack,” he hissed. 

“Oh, but aren’t you listening to Jungwon? He’s your leader, no? While you’re the king.” 

Heeseung took a step forward, Jungwon holding his arm out, “Heeseung.” he snapped. “Wait for the others,” he said to him through the bond. 

Lilly shifted her gaze to Jungwon, “How is __ holding up?” 

Jungwon was the one snarling now, his eyes bright red and fangs pointed, “Don’t speak of her!” 

Lilly pulled her knife from her hip, twirling it between her fingers, “She should be dead,” she looked between Won and Heeseung, a smirk on her face, “I would have killed your queen right after, where is she by the way?” 

Heeseung tensed, trying to keep his thoughts clear. His queen was with Jungwon’s mate at the furthest end of the castle, keeping her safe and away from harm's way. No one knows how well __ would do with her electricity powers right now. And since Heeseung already assumed Lilly was behind the attack, it only made sense for his queen and __ to be somewhere away from all this. Mostly if Lilly came to retrieve her.  

Lilly laughed, continuing to twirl the knife in circles, “Guess, I’ll have to go find your two mates myself.” 

So this was a planned attack. She’s here for our mates. 

“You won’t come near my mate!” Jungwon snapped, his weapon now appearing in his hand. He almost lost his mate once, and he’s not going to again. He refuses to feel that pain of feeling her dying. 

Lilly cocked her head and then moved. Heeseung didn’t have time to stop Jungwon before he was also moving.  His and Lilly’s blades crash together and Jungwon reaches for her neck with his free hand. 

Heeseung was moving now, pulling his double blades out. He cut deep into her shoulder, sending her back and away from Jungwon. Her skin burned from his blades. 

“How did you get weapons that were forged for only the king?” he hissed, stepping in front of Jungwon. 

Lilly held her hand tightly to her shoulder, her blood dripping out and she smirked, “It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you, now would it?” 

Heeseung lunged for her and Jungwon followed behind. 

All their blades crashed and sparked together with each hit, all three moving too quickly for the other to get any direct hits in. 

That was until…

“JUNGWON!!” 

Lilly dug the knife into his shoulder, his skin burned and blood dripped to the floor. Jungwon kept his jaw locked even as he screamed through his teeth. His fangs were on full display as his eyes burned their crimson. 

Heeseung felt it, Jungwon’s mate’s worry. How he was now fighting his queen. Heeseung needed to end this quickly. 

He reached for Lilly, taking a fist full of her hair and yanking her back. She kept a grip on her blade as it slid from Jungwon’s shoulder. 

“DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!” Jungwon yelled, his eyes glowing even more as he dropped to his knees, hands pressing tightly to his shoulder, “TAKE HER OUT!” 

Heeseung didn’t need to be told twice. His blade reached for her neck, but she dropped her weight to the floor, taking her blade and cutting the hair that was in Heeseung’s grasp, the red locks falling to the floor.

He chuckled, tossing the rest out of his hands, “Bold move, you definitely need to trim the rest though.” 

“Shut up!” she hissed, clearly pissed about her new haircut. 

Heeseung rushed towards her again but then time seemed to slow down. 

Jungwon’s breathing became uneven, his body crashing to the floor and his hands laying at his sides. He needed medical attention quickly. Heeseung’s eyes widened at seeing his second, his brother, dying on the floor before him. 

Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, and Sunoo made it just in time to see Won fall to the floor and…

Heeseung was now screaming. Screaming so loud his throat was hurting. Screaming as he shoved both his blades into the back of Lilly’s shoulders, even with her blade shoved deeply into his abdomen. His skin burned, worse than what her skin was, all because he was the king. 

She quickly pulled the blade out and shoved it back in, creating another wound and Heeseung’s scream got louder. Damn, it sucked having the king's power. Is this how it felt when he killed the previous king? How his skin burn and throb? 

“HEESEUNG!!! HEESEUNG!!” his queen screamed down the bond, “Answer me please, HEESEUNG!” 

But he was in too much pain to respond, keeping his jaw locked tightly. Lilly smirked through her pain, “I’m going to take your power,” with another slide of her blade being pulled out and back in, Heeseung was feeling dizzy. He dropped his arms to his side, and she pushed him over. 

Before Heeseung’s body could touch the ground, Sunoo caught him, while the other rushed at Lilly. 

“Heeseung,” Sunoo said, pulling his body away from the fight, “Stay with me!” 

Sunoo looked down at Jungwon, seeing just in time his mate and the queen running into the lobby. 

“Oh my god,” the queen cried, taking Heeseung away from Sunoo and in her arms. Heeseung gritted his teeth at the movement, clearly in pain, “Stay with me, babe.” 

“YN,” Sunoo called to you, “Get __ and come here now!” 

You and the witch were already on the way before Sunoo even called to you. You both felt it when Jungwon was hurt. You both felt and heard when Heeseung was stabbed. 

The fight had to be worse than you were expecting. Because when you and the witch reached the others, Sunghoon had got stabbed in the back. Niki got his bicep gashed, Jay had Heeseung’s blades in both hands with a gash at his forearm and Jake had blood running down his cheek from the small cut she swung at him. 

You quickly glanced around the room for Sunoo, seeing him still at the king’s side. 

The witch ran to Jungwon, pulling his mate's crystal out of her bag and handing it to her, “In case this gets uglier.” 

His mate held the crystal to her chest and tears streamed down her face, “Help my Wonnie.” 

You reached Sunoo and dropped to the floor by Heeseung and the queen’s side, hovering your hands over his abdomen sending as much magic as you could down onto him and you shake your head, “He’s lost too much blood. He’s fading.” 

Heeseung was barely able to keep his eyes open, using all the strength he had to stay alive. He’d be damned to let Lilly have the crown. 

Sunoo kept his eyes locked on the fight, watching his brothers one by one, fall due to their injuries. His hands were shaking as he watched Jay twirl Heeseung’s blades in his hands. Sunoo had to do something. Fast. 

You could feel Sunoo's pain and hear how fast his heart was racing as he watched his family fight Lilly. 

This fight was different from the one with Dorian. He didn’t have the blades Lilly did, he wasn’t able to fight and do the damage she was doing. 

And before you knew it, Sunoo was moving. You yelled after him, but he didn’t listen. He needed to help his brothers. 

He pulled his weapon out, gripping the hilt as he lunged for Lilly with Jay. Taking turns swinging their weapons. Lilly was definitely slowly down from the blood loss and the anger Jay was feeling was fueling him to keep going despite the gash on his forearm and the blood that dripped down. 

Lilly made a final twist, shoving her blade into Sunoo’s chest, he hissed and gritted his teeth but kept fighting, shoving his blade into her chest and jumping, wrapping his legs around her waist and shifting his whole body to the side, pinning her now to the floor. 

Sunoo pulled the blade from his chest and held it to her neck, ready to end it. 

“DON'T KILL HER!!” Heeseung managed to say with what little breath he was able to use from your healing abilities. The witch was now at his other side also pumping magic into the wound. 

Sunoo knew why his king wanted her alive. To torture her, ask her questions. Find any other army or plans she might be hiding. But at the same time, Sunoo didn’t understand. This woman caused enough problems. Jay was now at Sunoo’s side, and Heeseung’s weapons were also held to her throat. 

“What you expect us to do then?” Jay snapped. 

Lilly kept smirking even when three blades made of the king’s metal were pressed to her skin. 

There was the sound of glass breaking from it hitting the floor. Sunoo glanced over to see Jungwon’s mate and the yellow current flowing through her. The electricity pulsing at her hands and anger on her face. 

“Ahhh!” Sunoo smiled, looking down at Lilly underneath him, “Tap tap.” 

Lilly gritted her teeth, remembering how it felt like the time she was well, shocked. 

__ ran over, the flow of the current on her hands pulsated more but was completely controlled even had she knelt down to Lilly’s face and placed both hands on the side of her face, sending the electricity in her body and registering her unconscious. 

—

You and the witch did what you both could to heal the boys and their injuries. Jungwon finally woke up and was moving around before you all knew it. Jake’s mate bandaged his face. The witch was wrapping a healing bandage around Sunghoon’s back and chest, yelling at him to keep still. Jay let you heal what you could of his forearm, and did the rest himself. Niki was taken care of by the witch and his mate wrapped the bandage around his bicep. Heeseung lay in the queen’s lap, falling unconscious after he was healed and bandaged up. The queen played with his hair as she held him. The king might be unconscious, but he was alive. 

Sunoo leaned up against the staircase, watching you carefully as you finished up healing what you could of his wound and now placed burn ointment around where he was burnt from the blade, “YN,” he whispered, lifting a hand and cupping your face, “Talk to me.” 

You looked up at him, “I felt like my heart was about to stop at seeing you get stabbed.” 

Sunoo just smiled, placing his thumb on the other side of his chest, “But I am perfectly fine! See!” you tried to smile at his playfulness. But you couldn’t shake away the feeling you felt when he was stabbed. Sunoo was lucky he had anger and adrenaline rushing through him to be able to handle that stab wound. He was lucky it wasn’t deep either. “Hey,” he said again, bringing you back to him, “I love you.” 

You leaned into his touch, “I love you too, sun.” 

His hand trailed from your face to the tip of your pointy ear, “Everything is okay.” 

You wanted to assume it was. So you nod and hum in agreement, finishing putting the burn ointment on his chest and wrapping a bandage around him. 

The other five boys were now discussing where to put Lilly until Heeseung woke up again. 

You and Sunoo watched the boys discuss, and watched how their mates slowly walked away from them, leaving them to discuss in peace. 

“I probably should be over there,” Sunoo said with a sassy sigh. 

You helped him up to his feet and wrapped a blanket around his bare chest. Your fingers gripped the blanket, “I’m happy no one was badly hurt.”

Sunoo softly smiled at you, leaning down and pressing a kiss to your forehead, “You and __ did everything you could, and that’s all we could ask for. Everyone is alive because of you. We are unbreakable.”

You sigh, releasing his blanket and ruffling his hair, “Go join your brothers.” 

Sunoo pulled you in quickly, his lips making home against yours. Kissing you with so much want and need and passion and love. Sunoo was just as happy as you were that everyone was okay. That he was still breathing. He could only imagine the pain you were feeling. The pain Heeseung was feeling as he fought to stay conscious and watched his brothers get injured. 

Sunoo pushed the thoughts to the back of his head and focused on your lips and how his tongue slowly tried to push them apart. 

“Sunoo!” Jungwon yelled, “You are just as much as the family as the rest, get over here and join this discussion!” 

Sunoo giggled against your lips and gave you one final kiss before running off to his brothers. 

—

E sighed and looked around the room, “Thank you all for joining this meeting.” His eyes wandered between each of the six boys, barely stopping on their mates as he kept them moving. “The king is still unconscious,” he said with a sigh, “We need to discuss what to do.” 

“Let him rest,” the queen said quickly with poison-laced in her voice, “My husband was stabbed three times and only survived thanks to our magic members. There’s no need to discuss what needs to be done. Let. Him. Rest.” 

You look at the queen, loving how held high she kept yourself despite her mate being unresponsive. It’s got to be from the effect of being king and almost dying. His body took a massive blow. E cleared his throat and the queen looked at him quickly, the scar on her face turning red with her skin from anger. 

“I mean, my queen,” he said quickly correcting his attitude, “Until the king wakes up, someone needs to step in his place.” 

The queen chuckles, “Am I chopped liver? I’m his wife. Heeseung and I followed every protocol this place had for me to have just as many rights as him!” 

E looked away from the queen, “And you still have just as many rights, but you still need a king at your side.” 

“And that means, what? Exactly?” she hissed. 

“One of the boys in this room will have to fill his shoes until he wakes up.” 

The six vampires glance at each other. One of them has to act like a king? A false king? What for? 

“Can I ask why?” Jungwon said, shifting forward in his chair, “As Heeseung’s second in command and the leader of this pack, what need is there for a replacement king when we’ve been doing perfectly fine until we walked into this place?” 

E smiled, “Because if the world catches wind that the real king is unconscious and if Lilly has more forces out there, what do you think will happen, Yang Jungwon?” 

Jungwon narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. E was right, even if no one wanted him to be. 

“On that note,” E said, keeping his eyes locked on Jungwon, “Second in command, will you be the false king?” 

Jungwon’s eyes widened and looked between his brothers and shook his head, “No, I am not fit to be the replacement.” 

“As if!” Sunghoon shouted, “You’re our leader! The second in command to the king! What do you mean you aren’t fit?!?” 

“Exactly!” Jake added, “Won, no one else but you can do it!” 

Jungwon kept shaking his head, “No. I refuse.” 

Sunoo, Jay, and Niki sat in silence, listening to their brothers bicker. 

“Okay!” Jay yelled, standing up, his family quieting down, “Since I am the second oldest and have been with Heeseung the longest…I’ll be the false king.” 

Sunoo whipped his head to Jay, “Hyung! Are you sure?!” Sunoo squeezed your hand, clearly worried. 

Jay pulled Heeseung’s blades from the strap at his pockets, “Lilly has caused enough trouble. She broke into my apartment and threatened my mate. She stabbed Heeseung three times, almost killing him. I want to do this. For my family, my pack. For Heeseung.” 

E glanced around the room, seeing no one abjecting, “It’s settled then, Jay will be the false king.” 

—

They all sat in the meeting room. It was late at night and not a soul was around except for the six vampires and their mates and the queen. 

“You really think there’s a spy here?” Niki whispered, “Is that possible?” 

Jungwon nodded, “How else did she find the castle? And get the king's weapons? You can’t just find that information on the internet or at the store.”

All the boys nodded. 

“Who do you think it is?” The witch asked, “Who do we need to watch out for?” 

The queen nodded, “Not only that, we need to keep an eye on Heeseung the entire time too, if there is a spy.” 

Jay leaned back in his chair, twirling Heeseung’s blades, “I have an idea. But we need to be careful.”

— perm taglist; @alvojake @ikeuverse @woniebae @shawnyle @kangnina

@jwnghyuns @in-somnias-world @zyvlxqht @aaa-sia

@wonniethepoo @addictedtohobi @eneiyri @skzenhalove

@fakeuwus @cherry-park @vousty @ladyartemesia @criminalyun

@cmoundiamante @enhaverse713586 @wondipity @lhsvibez

@jaeyunq @rikizm @kaykay11sworld @pockettwinzz @vixialuvs

@seunghancore @enha-cafe @ohdeerhee @sunpov @zeeloveshee

@hxxsxxng @moonrisearies @brownsugarbaybee @nshmrarki

—tags: @jwnghyuns @en-happiness @aileeeeeeeeeeeee @honeybunnee @jaklvbub

[towards-toramunda]

Orym I’m begging for you to tell someone near you about how you feel instead of just picking up the sending stone and being sad for 25 words a day at a person you aren’t sure will answer the stone! I know you’re comfortable in talking to absent people because of your husband and father, but the rest of the hells are right there! Fearne is your best friend! You and Ashton promised each other you’d help pick each other up when you were down! Like please talk to someone about how you feel for longer than 25 words! And like sure! On a meta level we know that Dorian may be coming back soon, but orym doesn’t know that! What he knows is that the last time he used the stone he didn’t get an answer! And he keeps hiding his emotions from the people around him instead of being open! And I think it’s a good character choice on Liam’s end but it makes me want to grab Orym by the shoulders and shake him!

[50calmadeuce]

Ch. 42: Court - Max

Warning: Mention of miscarriage. Some chapters have sex.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Top Gun: Maverick world, trademarked by Paramount Pictures Corporation. I do not claim ownership of the characters and the world that I am borrowing.

The story and situation I am creating are a work of my imagination and I do not ascribe them to official story canon. This work is for entertainment only and is not a part of the storyline.

I am not profiting financially from the creation and publication of this story, but I do hope it gives you happy thoughts.

These stories are my own, so please do not take them and use them for yourself without my permission. If you see them somewhere else, please let me know. :)

The next morning at the courthouse, Dunby met you, Max, and Chuck outside the courtroom door.

"Y/N, I talked with Jake last night," he began.

"And?" you prompted.

"He said he’d text or call, depending on when he gets a chance to speak with his superior."

You nodded. "Hopefully it doesn't take too long, but depending on his mission, only time will tell."

Dunby then looked at Max and Chuck. "That’s why I’m putting both of you on the stand today."

They both nodded in agreement.

"Just keep your answers simple. Max, I know you’re used to this, but Chuck," he turned to him, "you okay with this?"

Chuck nodded firmly. "Yes, sir."

Dunby gave Chuck an encouraging nod. "Good. Just stick to the facts, and you'll be fine."

You took a deep breath, feeling a sense of relief knowing that Max and Chuck would be on the stand today. Having them testify would help expose Dorian’s manipulation, and you hoped it would turn the tide in your favor.

"Let’s get in there and get this done," Dunby said, leading the way into the courtroom.

As you all entered and took your seats, the weight of the upcoming testimonies settled over the room. The judge soon appeared, and the bailiff called the court into session.

Dunby stood up, ready to call his first witness. "Your Honor, I’d like to call Agent Maxwell to the stand."

You watched as Max walked up to the stand, raised his hand, and swore to tell the truth. Your eyes widened in surprise when you heard his first name—Atticus. You had only ever known him as Max. A quiet sigh escaped you, realizing how little you actually knew about him. It reminded you that Max would only ever be a friend. In contrast, you had learned more about Jake in just one night at the bar in Austin than you had ever learned about Max.

You watched as Dunby approached Max.

"Agent Maxwell, how do you know Dr. Seresin?"

"We met in college and went out on a couple of dates," he answered as he looked at you and then back to Dunby.

"So, how long have you known Dr. Seresin?"

"Almost eight years."

"So, you've known Dr. Seresin for awhile?"

"Yes."

"And you never continued the relationship because why?"

"Y/N, or Dr. Seresin, was really concentrating on her studies for Veterinary medicine. We also had different ideas about life, so we knew we'd be better off as friends."

"And what kind of job do you have that your relationship with Dr. Seresin didn't work?"

"I worked for the government for a few years and now I work for a private company."

"Are you employed by Dr. Seresin?"

"Yes, actually. She is one of the client's my company works for."

"Did she ask for you personally?"

"I do not know the answer to that question, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did."

"And why do you think that is?"

"We may not have dated long, but we did build a great trusting friendship."

"So, when Dr. Seresin met her current husband, how did you feel?"

Max shrugged. "Happy for her. Any man that can get into Y/N's heart is lucky."

"Did you attend her wedding?"

"No. I was sent on a work trip, but I did send a card."

"Did Dr. Seresin's husband know about you?"

"No, but I knew about him."

"And why is that?"

"That would be a question for Dr. Seresin."

Dunby nodded. "I apologize. You are correct. Let me rephrase that. How come you knew about Dr. Seresin's husband?"

"After she lost the baby and the Lieutenant didn't talk to her much, I figured I'd keep an eye on him."

"Was this your decision?"

"It was a mutual decision between Dr. Seresin and I."

"Why was that?"

"Dr. Seresin was alone. She had lost her parents in a tragic car accident a few years into college, so when she lost the baby and her husband didn't talk to her, we thought it would be best."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"Dr. Seresin was given an inheritance. She didn't sign a prenup with her husband."

Dunby raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying you advised Dr. Seresin to make certain decisions because of her inheritance and the lack of a prenup with her husband? Are you implying this influenced her professional decisions as well?"

Max, sitting confidently on the stand, didn’t waver. "No, sir. The decisions we made were about her well-being. Financial matters had nothing to do with her career or how we collaborated. I was concerned for her as a friend and colleague."

Dunby pressed further. "But by advising her to cut ties with her husband at a time of emotional distress, you were influencing more than just her well-being, weren't you?"

Max shook his head. "I never advised her to cut ties with her husband. I only suggested she take care of herself first. If Dr. Seresin was distant from her husband during that time, it was because she was grieving the loss of a child and needed space."

"And when did you become associated with Dr. Stryker?"

"I knew of Dr. Stryker while Dr. Seresin was in Wyoming for the grant work and book she worked on with him. I actually met him in Wyoming the past couple of months when he kidnapped her."

"And how were you contacted about Dr. Seresin's kidnapping?"

"Her ranch hand Chuck contacted me."

Dunby nodded, glancing toward the jury as he continued. "So, you’re saying Dr. Seresin’s husband, Lt. Jake Seresin, was not contacted when she was kidnapped. Instead, it was you, Agent Max, who was informed. Is that correct?"

Max shook his head firmly. "No. Lt. Seresin was there in Wyoming when Dr. Seresin was kidnapped, but he did not know about me so Chuck contacted me."

Dunby nodded, processing Max’s clarification. "I see. So Lt. Seresin was present in Wyoming during the kidnapping, but unaware of your involvement. Chuck contacted you because he knew you could help and act quickly. Is that correct?"

Max confirmed, "Yes, that’s correct."

Dunby took a moment to pause, then asked, "And when you were informed about the kidnapping, what was your immediate course of action?"

Max replied confidently, "I immediately mobilized resources to locate Dr. Seresin. After contacting the local Sheriff's department, I noticed a bunch of conflicting stories from the department."

Dunby raised an eyebrow. "What kind of conflicting stories?"

"Well, two Deputies were paid by Dr. Stryker to make it seem like Dr. Seresin didn't want to be with Lt. Seresin anymore."

The courtroom buzzed with murmurs after Max's revelation. Dunby leaned forward, his voice steady but sharp. "So you're saying Dr. Stryker paid local law enforcement to create false narratives about Dr. Seresin's intentions, specifically to mislead Lt. Seresin and others involved?"

Max nodded. "Exactly. The deputies made it seem like Dr. Seresin had left on her own accord and no one was to question her whereabouts or intentions. It was all part of a larger manipulation orchestrated by Dr. Stryker."

Dunby glanced at the judge. "Your Honor, this indicates not only coercion but also deliberate and unlawful manipulation of law enforcement to conceal the true nature of Dr. Seresin’s kidnapping. I believe this adds to the gravity of Dr. Stryker's actions."

The judge looked stern, clearly noting the severity of the situation. "Continue, Mr. Dunby."

Dunby turned back to Max. "Did you uncover anything else during your investigation that supports the claim that Dr. Stryker had manipulated others to cover his tracks?"

Max nodded. "Yes, after further investigation, we found records of financial transactions between Dr. Stryker and those deputies, proving he bribed them."

Dunby turned to the judge. "No further questions, Your Honor."

Dunby sat down in the chair beside you, and you watched as Dorian's attorney approached Max, still seated in the witness stand.

Mr. Rowe stepped forward, his demeanor more measured. "Agent Maxwell, you mentioned that Dr. Stryker manipulated the local deputies. Isn’t it possible that these payments could have been misconstrued? After all, Dr. Stryker is a reputable doctor. He may have paid for legitimate services."

Max shook his head firmly. "These were not legitimate services. The timing of the payments and the content of the deputies' reports indicate clear collusion with Dr. Stryker to create a false narrative about Dr. Seresin's intentions."

Rowe pressed on, "And you claim that Dr. Stryker had personal motives for these actions. Can you elaborate on what those motives might have been?"

Max hesitated for a moment. "Dr. Stryker was obsessed with Dr. Seresin. His motivations stemmed from a desire to control her life, including the narrative around her marriage to Lt. Seresin."

Mr. Rowe adopted a more condescending tone. "Isn’t it true that your opinions on Dr. Stryker could be biased, given your close association with Dr. Seresin?"

Max's expression hardened. "My loyalty lies with the truth and Dr. Seresin's well-being. Any bias comes from the evidence we uncovered during the investigation."

Rowe sighed, shifting tactics. "So you're saying you have a personal vendetta against Dr. Stryker because you care for Dr. Seresin?"

Max's response was swift and unwavering. "My concern is for Dr. Seresin and ensuring she is safe. Any actions taken against Dr. Stryker are based on his misconduct, not personal feelings."

Rowe took a deep breath and continued. "Agent Maxwell, you testified that you were looking out for Dr. Seresin's well-being during her time of emotional distress. Isn't that correct?"

Max nodded. "Yes, that's right."

Mr. Rowe clasped his hands behind his back as he paced slowly. "And during this time, did you ever suggest to Dr. Seresin that perhaps her marriage was adding to her distress?"

Max frowned slightly. "No, I never directly said that. My focus was on helping her cope with the loss."

"But you did suggest she take space from her husband, didn't you?"

Max kept his gaze steady. "I suggested she focus on her healing, not to distance herself intentionally from anyone. She made her own decisions about her relationships."

Mr. Rowe nodded, his voice softening. "Wouldn't you agree, though, that after going through such a devastating experience, Dr. Seresin might not have been in the best state to make such decisions?"

Max leaned forward slightly. "I trusted that she knew what was best for herself, and I supported her through it."

"During the time Lt. Seresin didn't correspond with Dr. Seresin, did you ever think about asking her out?"

Max shook his head. "No. Y/N was very much in love with her husband even though they didn't talk much after the loss of the baby."

"How do you know that?"

"When she built her house, she incorporated her husband in every room."

Mr. Rowe raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by Max's response. "Incorporated her husband in every room, you say? Could you elaborate on what you mean by that, Mr. Max?"

Max nodded confidently. "Yes. Even though Lt. Seresin wasn't around physically, Y/N made sure his presence was felt in the home. Pictures of him, things that reminded her of him, and even the design choices reflected memories they shared together. She was still very much connected to her marriage."

Mr. Rowe paused for a moment, pacing again. "So despite the distance, you believe Dr. Seresin was still holding onto her marriage?"

"Absolutely," Max replied firmly. "It was clear to me that no matter what she was going through, she wasn’t letting go of her love for Lt. Seresin."

Mr. Rowe glanced at the jury before turning back to Max. "Interesting. No further questions, Your Honor."

Mr. Rowe returned to his seat as Max stepped down, and the courtroom remained quiet, the weight of his testimony lingering in the air.

Tags: @buckysteveloki-me @bellyliveslife @tgmreader @callsign-barbell @86laura11 @dizzybee03 @kmc1989 @guacam011y @nerdgirljen @hookslove1592 @dempy @djs8891 @smoothdogsgirl @devil-angel-winchester

[throneofsapphics]

Hey hey, as someone who also speaks fluent angst, I was hoping to make a request?

Reader is injured and tries to hide how bad it is?

Could work for any character soo you choose! I do love your poly fics though 🥺🥺🥺

THANK YOU!!

knocking on death's door

poly!Manorian x Reader

Summary: You knew you weren’t dying, but by the looks of it everyone else seemed to think so.  

Warnings: major injury, descriptions injuries/mention of blood, angst-ish

Word Count: ~1.7k 

A/N: ah thank you! I love this request, thank you for sending it! honestly I love writing poly fics. also anyone if you hit your head please go to a doctor 

You took a small tumble down the stairs. You’d been injured worse before, but knew you likely had a concussion and would have some intense bruises on your back and legs. You could already feel the giant one blooming on your upper thigh, and felt the ache in your lower back. But, a good salve and a discreet healer could fix a majority of problems. 

The only problem that might come your way is Manon and Dorian. Both of them have the tendency to be fussy. The last thing you wanted was to be on bedrest for a week. 

You crept down towards the healing rooms, taking a few servants' passageways, and peering through the door. Just your luck, the only healer you trust not to report to them, a close friend of yours, wasn’t present, and you decided to go back tomorrow - right after they left. 

-

Manon and Dorian weren’t in your shared rooms and wouldn’t be back until later. They had a plethora of negotiations and meetings today and the next few days. A part of you did feel guilty hiding this from them, but they already had a lot going on - you didn’t want to add any extra stressors. 

You slipped into the bathroom for a quick shower, washing off the blood from a few cuts, and snatching some of the salve and a pain tonic you kept in stock. With that, hopefully the bruises will fade in a few hours, and the headache should disappear. The small scrape on your palm … that you’ll just have to wait out, but it’s easily explainable. They know you can be clumsy sometimes. 

You fell asleep on the couch quickly after. 

-

Manon scented something was off as soon as she entered the rooms - blood. She stalked right for your side, one arm dangled over the edge of the couch, the other curled under your pillow. You were sound asleep, your breaths deep and steady, and only mumbling as she carefully lifted your arm, turning it gently to see a small scrape on your palm. Falling. Again. You were so clumsy it worried her sometimes. She called your name, quietly at first. Poking you when you didn’t wake. Your eyes fluttered open, blinking heavily once you saw her. 

“Falling, again?” She raised her brow, looking at the slightly guilty smile on your face. “You need to be more careful.” She exhaled sharply, going to find something to bandage it with, and disinfect it. 

“I already took care of it,” you called after her, but she ignored you. Dorian came back shortly after, frowning at Manon wrapping a small piece of cloth over your hand. “It’s over kill,” you insisted, but one sharp look and your mouth snapped shut. 

“Did you hurt anything else?” 

“No,” you sighed, rolling back to shove your head into the pillow. Manon was a bit suspicious but … she knows you get annoyed when she fusses, and left it for now. 

-

The three of you collapsed into bed, all tired, and a slightly longer than usual nightgown hid the bruises. Your head still ached, but you took another tonic to fight that off. Apparently their day had been incredibly exhausting because they didn’t question anything too much, and the three of you fell into a deep sleep within minutes. 

-

Dorian rose first the next morning, smiling at the sight of you and Manon curled up together. Your nightgown bunched slightly at the side but … purple, he caught a sliver of purple skin. Carefully, he pulled down the blanket some more, shifting your clothing as well. A giant purple bruise bloomed on the side. 

He called your name, but you didn’t wake - he woke Manon, however, who spotted the bruise as well. 

“Y/n.” She called this time. Nothing. He shook your shoulder slightly, and you still didn’t stir. 

A quick scan with his magic showed some kind of swelling in your brain. That’s beyond anything he could handle. He scooped you in his arms, darting out the door as quickly as possible, not caring he was only wearing a pair of long sleeping pants, and sprinted for the healing rooms, carefully cradling your head against his shoulder. Manon caught up to him quickly, thankfully having thrown some clothes on, and asking questions but he couldn’t answer - his only focus was getting you there, as fast as he could. 

-

It took most of Dorian’s self restraint to keep both him and Manon from interrupting the healers working on you. 

“She said she didn’t hurt anything else.” Manon’s voice was barely above a whisper, her hand clutching onto his arms, nails digging in slightly. Maybe it would’ve hurt, but he was too focused on the scene in front of him to notice. 

You can be a bit clumsy, and Dorian knows that - it’s not unusual for you to come in with some sort of scrape or bruise once in a while but … neither of them asked what happened this time. The day had been long, and they’d been tired. Guilt ripped through him. And you’d lied too - to Manon, saying nothing else was injured, then a dark bruise on your leg and back, and somehow you’d hit your head. 

He felt his magic starting to bubble underneath his skin. One of the healer’s noticed as well and turned sharply to them. “We’re taking care of her. Both of you out.” 

-

Manon’s eyes narrowed at the woman ordering them out of the room, but her face was firm, no-nonsense, and unyielding. Dorian pushed her back gently, and she left, somehow without snarling or hissing at any of the healers. They found a small bench no less than 20 feet from the door, and waited. She leaned her head against his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her. The warmth provided an anchor, kept Manon from spiraling too deep into her thoughts. But she can’t help thinking she should’ve checked, she should’ve pushed further. Dorian’s absolute panic had filled her with dread. He always seems to keep his head, always calm. 

-

You knew you weren’t dying, but by the looks of it everyone else seemed to think so. 

It was strange, seeming to float outside of your body - watching everyone move around you. You were in and out of this semi-conscious state for days, watching as healers would fuss over you - take your temperature, check your heart rate and breathing, scan for any additional injuries. Swelling in her brain, you heard once - and winced. 

The worst part was watching Manon and Dorian. They were pale, their eyes lined with worry, and the bags under their eyes were heavy enough it looks like they might have punched each other. You were never alone, one of them was always there unless the healers kicked them out. Either holding your hand, or sitting next to you. 

Once, when Manon wasn’t present, Dorian brought a book. Your favorite, and read outloud to you - his eyes darting over to your face with every other line. All you wanted was to reach out, to grab his hand, touch him and let him know you’re okay, but you couldn’t. Your body was stuck there, limp and pale. 

You’d never felt this kind of hopelessness before. Knowing your loved ones are in pain and only able to watch them suffer, not give a comforting squeeze, word, or even blink. 

Five days passed, and you were back in your rooms. 

At dawn, on the seventh morning, Manon laid next to you, curled on her side, eyes closed, but you could tell she was awake. Dorian was awkwardly spread over a chair, his chest falling and rising in even breaths. Asleep. You watched as tears dripped down Manon’s cheeks. Not once had you seen her cry. She didn’t say a word, no sobs leaving her chest, but the silent tears broke something in you.

You blinked, and you were back in your body. You stayed perfectly still, trying to figure out if this was real or not. Slowly, you opened your eyes. Manon was there, tears still lining her cheeks. 

It took more effort than you cared to admit, but you reached your arm up, brushing a tear off her cheek. She leaned into your touch for a few seconds, before those beautiful eyes shot open. 

She grabbed your hand, holding it gently between both of hers. “You’re awake.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and hoarse. 

Dorian was up in an instant, sitting on the other side of the bed and taking your other hand. 

“Hi.” Your voice was so weak it came out as a croak. Dorian let out something between a sob and a laugh. 

Reluctantly, Dorian left to grab the healers as quickly as he could. Manon had refused to move - holding onto your hand like a lifeline. 

He returned with them, and it was a whirl of questions that made your head hurt, and further instructions. Rest, rest, and rest. Enough rest to drive you insane. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Manon finally asked after the room cleared. 

“It .. it didn’t seem that bad.” Your voice was rough and your throat scratchy but you managed to get the words out. 

“You hit your head, you’ve been out for a week.” Manon hissed, but kept her voice low. You could have died, went unsaid. Dorian handed you a glass of water, helping you sit up against the pillows. You could sense the … not quite anger, but hurt coming from him. Hurt and fear. You clutched the glass, forcing your hands not to shake, and took a small sip. 

“I know,” you whispered. She blinked in confusion. “I … I wasn’t here, but I could see it, sometimes.” Your hands began to shake, water starting to slosh over the edges

She pressed her lips in a tight line, and took the glass from you, pressing it up against your lips. “You’re not getting out of bed until I say so,” was her response. 

You glared at her, opening your mouth to say something, but Dorian spoke before you could. “This isn’t a battle you’ll win. I’m on her side.” 

“Traitor.” You mumbled.

[bookishgirl21]

A whole new world

Azriel x TOG!reader

PT 1 ?

Summary: You are Dorians half sister who goes with him and Aelin to forge the lock but you don't return with Aelin as tumble down to an unknown world

Being the bastard daughter of the king of Adarlan has never been easy, especially being half fae. The only reason why my father ever kept me around was because the believed me to have no magic, my mother said that I must never let anyone l know of my magic . So I've kept it secret for years until recent months.

"Close the wyrdmark once I've finished" Aelin says to Rowan, his nod is his only answer, as Aelin puts the wyrdstones in her arm and we're transportded to a place thats not a place and we begin fordging the lock...

"We can go home " I say with a smile on my face Aelin looks at me with a smile as big as mine " Lets go home" then we begin falling through the worlds , but we are falling to fast and as we see the world their are two fae standnig on a balcony we though out our arms as to signal them, thats when I feel my hand loose its grip on Aelins then I'm falling into the world, I hear Aeiln shout my name but its to late, she disappears into the next world.

I'm tumbling down from the sky, thinking this would be my end when I feel someone catch me , I open my eyes and look up to see who had caught me and see the man from the balcony, he's speaking to me but I don't here a word he is saying over the roaring of the wind.

As we land on the balcony , I take a moment to catch my breath when the man speaks to me in a language I've never heard, my confusion must have shown on my face because he stopped and looked to the female. I then spoke to them in the old language " Where am I ? " the male looked at me and said in the old language " You are in Velaris the city of starlight, who are you? "

" I'm y/n , can you help me get back to my please? " he looked towards the female again and spoke to her before answering " Hello y/n my name is Rhysand, will you please follow me and meet some of m people who might be able to help you"

I follow the two inside to what looke like an office " Please sit down, the others will be here shortly" the male Rhysand said, I took a seat on the lovely couch. There was a Knock on the door when two winged males walked in and a female with short black hair, as I looked at the males one was handsome in a rough way and the other male.....he was the most beautiful male I've had ever seen, he had shadows around him, they almost seemed alive.

the male said in the old language " Y/n this is Amren she is the most likely to help you home and these are Cassian and Azriel " Amren sad to me " Where are you from girl ? " "Erilea" I reply, I look at the male Azriel and see that he is already looking at me with some emotion in his eyes that i cant place. " It will take some time to find a way for you to get back home in the mean time Azriel will take you to a room here in the House of wind, where you may stay while we try and find a way home for you, we will have dinner soon Azriel will come by and help you to the dinning room" "Thank you for your kindness and willingness to help"

Azriel leads me to a room that will be my bedroom for the time being. ''This will be your room, my room is right across if you need anything'' I look around the room, its cozy theres a big bed in the middle of the room with creamy white sheets, their is big floor to celling windows, there is a door on the other side of the room which leads to a bathroom. '' There should be some clean clothes in the dresser over their and the bathroom is stocked with all the bathing things you'd need, I'll stop by later to take you to dinner'' I turn to him ''My Azriel I am here for about half an hour and you're already taking me to dinner'' I say with a sly grin on my face, he looks at me with shock clear on his face and stumbles with his words ''No, no, th-thats not what I meant, I'll come and-'' I laugh and say ''I know what you meant I was just pulling your leg'' he looks at me again and huffs a laugh '' I'll leave you to your bath''

I walk over to the dresser to see what cloths I could get, I choose a white with blue flower dress that looks comfortable, and can't help but think of how the blue looks likes Dorians eyes, tears fill my eyes, how long will I stay here in this unknown world with these people , I hadn't realized I was crying until I felt a tear drop on my arm. I wipe away my tears and head for the bath room.

I emerge from the bath room feeling slightly better after being clean and having a good cry, I didn't know exactly when dinner would be served so I decided to have a looked around what was to be my room, a bookshelf in the corner of the room caught my eye, was running my hand along the titles that I couldn't read when someone clears their throat behind me, I turn quickly my magic rising in me, ''I didn't mean to scare you'' Azriel apologizes, he's standing by the door ''It's alright, I didn't hear you knock or enter? '' he looks at me with that same look from earlier '' What '' I ask '' Nothing , it's nothing, come lets go to dinner and introduce you to the rest of our court''

My palms begin to sweat as we walk to the dinning room, nervous to meet these people, I can't help but wonder whats going on back home, is Aelin alright did she find her way back ? is Dorian alright? did they make it in time to save Terssasn? will I ever see any of them again? ''I can hear you thinking, I can promise you as crazy as these people may be we will not harm you unless you prove to be a threat'' I look out the corner of my eye towards Azriel and give him a tight lipped smile '' that was not at all what I was thinking but thanks for the input'' we enter the dinning room and Rhysand, Cassan, Amren and the female from earlier are already seated, then there is three new females at the table as well one sharp looking female sitting next to Cassian and the female sitting next to her looked like a softer version of the sharp female, sisters possiblely, and then there was the third female wearing a red gown.

Azriel guides me to a seat and pulls out the chair next to mine, '' know that we are all here let me introduce you to my people, this is my mate Feyre and those are her sisters Nesta ( the sharp one) and Elain ( the soft one, who is glaring at me from across the table) and my cousin Morrigan . Everyone this is Y/n'' I smile at them and give an awkward wave to them ''It's nice to meet you all''

After the introductions where done food just appeared out of thin air, my shock must have shown on my face because Cassian says with a grin on his face '' what they don't have magic where your from? '' I look at him with shock still in my voice '' we do have magic we're I'm from it's just...I've never seen things just appear from thin air'' ''They just come from thin air it was just simply moved from the kitchen to the table'' Rhysand says amusement  shinning in his face.

As dinner comes to end I can't help but feel as Elain has a problem with me, she has been giving me dirty looks the whole night, as I look over at her now she is whispering something to Nesta who looks me up and down, with a sneer on her face, I look away quickly, and Azriel bumps me with his elbow , I look at him and he leans in to whisper '' if you wish to leave you may just ask and I am more then happy to take you back to your room'' I nod slowly and rise from my seat '' thank you for the dinner I would like to go back to my room and rest'' Rhysand looks at me and gives a gentle smile of course, tomorrow I'll have Az come by your room so that we may start our course of finding you a way home''

As we walk back to my room Azriel is quiet, and I let curiosity win over me'' what are these shadows around you?'' he looks shocked at my question but answers my question '' they are... like companions they also help me with my job.'' ''oh, I like them.'' and as i say that one breaks away and comes close to my face and it almost looks like it tilts it head in curiosity , I giggle and it goes around my neck before returning to Azriel, ''they're adorable'' he looks at me with a soft smile and says ''we're here'' he opens my door for me and as I go in I turn to say goodnight when I bump right into his muscled chest, ''oh I'm so sorry I-'' I stopped talking as I look at him in the eye and my breath was knocked right out of me, he looks down at me with his mouth slightly parted, his warm breath hits my face and I feel myself heat up, we slowly start to lean in and I close my eyes when a voice breaks the moment and we pull away from eachother to see who it was, Elain stands a few feet from us with a innocent look on her face and speaks in her language towards Azriel. He looks back at me and says '' I.. I'll see you tomorrow morning'' its takes me a minute to reply ''yes, yes uhm right I'll see you tomorrow''

As I enter my room I groan, what was I thinking, I was just about to kiss him, this man who I barely know, I run my hands over my face and head to the dresser to look for some thing to sleep in. As I climb into my bed I can't help but think of that almost kiss with Azriel.

Part 2

AN: alright thats all for now , I will make a pt 2 if you all enjoy this part, the next pt will defiently have more Az x reader scenes, hope you enjoyed this fic, and feedback is greatly welcomed, also if there is a scene you would like to see I will definitely add it , sorry if there are spelling mistakes it's like 1 in the morning so😅

[vaguely-concerned]

I listened to the first episode of vows and vengeance and... god. god forget waiting for veilguard, how the fuck am I going to survive the wait between each episode of this???? tl;dr: I loved it, I love dragon age, I love audio dramas, I love voice acting and music, I love thedas, I am IMMEDIATELY painfully invested. if nadia doesn't get her sweet fancy lad back whole and unharmed by the end of this I am killing everyone in tevinter and then myself.

more thoughts under the cut! not a lot of deep analysis just flailing and feelings today haha

I hadn't realized that elio would be a magister! idk if it was in any marketing beforehand, but if so I didn't pay enough attention to remember it lol. he sounds like he might be prime lucerni-material politically, so I'm a little sad we didn't get even a subtle dorian or maevaris easter egg in there, as far as I could tell, but hey, you can't have everything. (honestly unless BIG changes are upon us (which tbf they probably are) it might be just as well that this went down as it did, b/c I'm not sure how long elio would survive in the magisterium that we've heard tell of, he's quite -- either soft and shortsighted, or politically reckless, I think nadia was right there.)

I found nadia, elio and their dynamic very effectively introduced -- the fact that they haven't quite figured out how to be good to each other yet but so clearly both desperately want to be and are willing to work for that is a smart place to start the story. it makes it feel all the sadder if they never get the chance to work it all out, because I think they could have every chance to, given the time.

The voice actors for the central characters are all wonderful (orin's was. fine! doing a good enough job with a slightly more thankless role, let's call it that.) also so nice to hear people humming the tavern songs we heard in inquisition. god I love thedas I'm so glad we're getting to go right back in there soon

The episode was longer than I thought they would get, and it was all the better for it! I'm so happy it seems they'll get the space they need to tell this story, especially since nadia appears to be setting out on quite a continent-spanning odyssey here (I'm so sorry about your life nadia)

SOLAS solas solas! solas. solas!!!! he is such a BITCH and I love him so much. he is being aggressively himself and I didn't realize just how much I'd missed him. no one gets me frustrated quite like you baby you know better than this I KNOW you could know better than this why do you never learn a single thing I know you have the capacity somewhere in there. patron saint of endlessly fucking up. WHERE do you get off being condescending to nadia when all your ~*brilliant*~ plans backfire catastrophically on you every single time solas. yeah of course you're sorry, and you fucking better be, if she stabbed you I'd be sad but also like 'yeah I mean you had that one coming sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯' about it!!! what the fuck. come home please

such a weird feeling to have him be an ominous stranger on the road to elio and nadia while I was standing there with my arms crossed and my foot tapping irritably like 'oh so now he shows his face, there he is. my husband. my ex-husb -- my nemesis and poor little meo -- it's complicated alright. he's in the dog house, but the dog house he's in is still mine'. I do adore how unstoppably solas clearly wants to be a teacher, he works so hard to be mysterious and aloof but the lonely insufferable chatterbox knowitall jumps out at every turn.

neve trying and almost succeeding in freezing the whole bay I'm

like. okay then! much to think about

the only thing I'm not a big fan of is the characters calling out in-game spells in sort of a self-indulgent way, but hell if I know how else you'd communicate exactly what's going down magically in an audio format like this so y'know. very easily forgiven from my side honestly

[thechildofmythal]

The peacetalks of the Orlesian Civil war and the ball at Winter Palace finally finished, the Inquisition’s main figures retreated to the mansion near Val Royaux they had rented to use as a base for the operation.

Commander Cullen was seen escorting the Inquisitor, who had been absolutely radiant and the talk of the whole event, to her carriage. The dashing Tevinter mage of Pavus’s bloodline (whose fashion choices would soon come to influence some of the younger Orlesian nobles) joined the Inquisitor in her carriage. The others of the Inquisition mounted their horses and carriages in neat and efficient order. As they rode off, the Commander was seen riding his impressive white horse close to the carriage, personally ensuring the Inquisitor’s safety.

The rumours were already spreading - the Commander and the Inquisitor had been seen dancing, but outside, alone on a balcony! Had he mentioned something about being taken? He was not married, that much they knew. The rumours would not stop dozens of Orlesian nobles from writing to the Commander, whose silent charisma, tall and muscular build and reputation of having been at many crucial moments in recent history of Thedas had enchanted nearly everyone. Including, it seemed, the Inquisitor herself.

[ Continue under the cut for Dorian being a friend, Cullen being a gentleman, and general pining and cuteness ]

Arriving at their rented mansion, Dorian gently nudged the Inquisitor. She had drifted to sleep in the carriage during the short ride - that’s how exhausted and emotionally drained she was after the whole ordeal at the Winter Palace. Sleepily she apologised to Dorian as the carriage stopped to the courtyard. Before either of them could do anything more, the door of the carriage already opened. It was Commander Cullen again, extending his gloved hand to her much in the same way he had escorted her into the carriage.

”Inquisitor,” he prompted simply, and without hesitation she took his hand and let him help her out.

Dorian waited for her to get out, an amused smirk on his face. Cullen had been acting so brusque and tough before the ball, stomping around and huffing about not getting into any Orlesian tomfoolery. And here he was, suddenly, in his formal attire, looking like a prince and acting like a true gentleman around her. Dorian couldn’t wait to tease the living daylights out of the good Commander, but now he gave his friend this moment. He saw how weary she was, and he knew how she adored the Commander, but he was pretty sure they had only been, well, courting, and not sharing a bed yet. So let him court and be adorable, Dorian thought, as he got out of the carriage and watched Cullen tuck her hand under his arm and walk her up the stairs to the main entrance.

”They’re disgustingly cute, aren’t they,” Leliana said to Dorian as she stood beside him to watch the two of them enter the mansion.

”I was just thinking the same thing,” Dorian admitted.

”Oh stop it, you two. I think they make a very handsome couple,” Josephine said happily as she joined them. ”Have you noticed how the Commander’s voice changes when he speaks with her?”

A disgusted noice from Cassandra’s direction served as a reply to Josephine.

Inside the mansion, Cullen waved the Orlesian servants away and kept the Inquisitor by his side. ”You look like the only thing you need is sleep. May I walk you to your room?”

”Yes, please, Cullen,” she sighed, thankful that she had his safe bulky form to lean against as they slowly ascended the marble staircase. ”But why is it up on the third floor?” she whined.

Cullen paused on the next landing, looked over his shoulder, and then bent his knees to slip one arm behind her legs and one around her back, and hauled her into his arms in one swift move.

The staircase echoed with a surprised shriek and giggle, and Cullen hushed the Inquisitor as he continued up the stairs now carrying her. He made it look so effortless too, thought the Inquisitor, who wriggled her arm around his neck.

”I understand this isn’t the first time you’re carrying me,” she said, still giggling. A red fluster was rising from her bosom to her neck.

Cullen tried not to look, but kept his eyes on the stairs. ”No, but I find it easier now that you’re conscious and I’m not wading knee deep in snow.”

”I don’t think I ever thanked you for it so…” the Inquisitor said softly. Cullen felt her eyes on him and her fingers brush the hair on the back of his skull. Now he was getting flustered too. ”So thank you. Still, let’s try and not repeat those conditions again.”

”I would appreciate it,” Cullen replied all matter-of-fact, but he did glance at her with a lopsided smirk. ”But you don’t mind me carrying you again, do you?”

”Oh I could get used to this!” she laughed.

”That one is my door,” she pointed out, and Cullen carefully set her down on her feet in front of it. When he straightened up, his breath hitched at how close they were, their faces but inches from each other. She was already getting on her tippytoes to reach up and kiss him, but Cullen took a small step back, grabbed her hand and brought it to his face, bowing for her with his other hand behind his back.

”Forgive me. I feel the walls have ears and eyes here, and I don’t trust the Orlesians as far as I can throw them,” he mumbled darkly, his lips brushing the back of her hand.

”Oh,” was the only disappointed sound the tired Inquisitor managed.

”I can’t wait to talk with you in Skyhold. Good night, Inquisitor,” he said, and kissed her knuckles. ”I hope you get some rest.”

”Good night, Commander,” she replied faintly, as Cullen straightened with an apologetic smile.

The Inquisitor opened the door to her room, glanced at him one more time, and then closed the door, vanishing out of sight.

Cullen was left alone in the corridor - or so he thought.

”What are you doing!?” he was startled by a hissing sound from the staircase. Dorian reached the top floor and look at him with a bewildered expression. ”I thought you would be naked by now! What is wrong with you, man!?” he whispered at the Commander angrily.

Cullen rolled his eyes. ”Please mind your own business, Dorian.”

”My best friend’s business in my business! And now she’s in there alone, without your divine pectorals to delight her!” Dorian continued whispering, sounding like a mad hissing cat.

”Andraste give me strength…” Cullen muttered and quickly escaped to his own room further along the corridor.

Dorian stood alone in the corridor now, shaking his head. It’s one thing being gentlemanly but another to deliberately not put out, he thought and headed for his own room. It’s like they’re choosing to pine for each other? Madness!

[danikamariewrites]

Right Where You Left Me

Dorian x reader

A/n: this takes place like halfway through Throne of Glass when shit starts to get really crazy lol. Dorian is another character that deserves the world but the world doesn’t deserve him.

Warnings: Angst

It had been months that you had this weird feeling that Dorian was keeping something from you. You tried to get him to talk about it but he wouldn’t open up to you. You tried to follow him during the day, and at night even but you were never successful.

Today you have finally reached your limit. You knew it had to do with the champions contest for the king. Dorian didn’t want you anywhere near that mess but you didn’t care. There was dangerous and creepy stuff happening all over the castle, people were dying!

If you couldn’t be near it, then you wanted him away from that mess too. You couldn’t bear to lose Dorian for something so stupid, especially if his father was involved.

You stood outside his room, taking a deep breath praying you didn’t cry once you saw him, and knocked. You entered without waiting for a response from your boyfriend.

Dorian was sitting at his desk, pouring over a large ancient book. He looked up as you got closer to him. He noticed you were upset, “y/n, what’s wrong?”

You weren’t going to hold back. You were always honest with each other and that wasn’t going to stop now. “I don’t think I can do this anymore Dorian.” His eyes widened in shock and worry. You could tell he wasn't expecting this. He stands, taking your hands in his.

You close your eyes and gently pull away from him, you don't want to touch him again, not when you knew it would be the last time. “You’re keeping secrets from me, and it’s killing me.” Guilt takes over his face. Like he knew this conversation was coming.

“There’s weird shit going on around here. And that damned contest is the root of the problem. I know you said you didn’t want me around it and that’s fine I don’t want any part of that.” Taking a shuddering breath you continue, “But, I can’t stand by while you put yourself in danger too.”

Dorian stuffs his hands in his pockets, “Chaol is always with me, I’m perfectly safe.” You shake your head. “It doesn’t matter if Chaol is with you or not. I have a bad feeling about all of this.” Tears start falling fast. “Dorian, I can’t keep worrying about you. You won’t tell me what’s really going on and quite frankly, I don’t even want to know anymore.” Dorian looks down at his feet, you can feel the guilt coming off him.

“You’re sneaking off, getting into weird situations with Chaol and Lillian, and we’re not even spending time together anymore.” There was finality in your tone. You could tell Dorian knew there was no changing your mind but he had to try.

“I’m sorry y/n. Please, please let me make it up to you. I can’t lose you.” He steps closer to you but just back away, shaking your head.

You wipe at your face trying to stop the tears still falling. “There’s nothing to do. We’re past that. I want to break up, Dorian. I think it’s for the best.” Truly, he knew it was too. Dorian knew deep down there was something bigger than a few strange murders and odd marks on the walls. And whatever was coming he wanted you far away from it.

Even if you didn’t love him anymore he would always love you. If something ever happened to you he would never forgive himself. He nods, “I am truly sorry, for everything. And if this is what’s best…” he couldn’t finish his sentence. It was too painful letting you go. And saying it made it real.

All you could do was nod. You walk towards the door before you break down. If you did break down you knew he would comfort you and that wasn’t fair to either of you.

Before you shut the door you looked at the prince one last time, “Goodbye, Dorian. I’m sorry too.”

As soon as the door shut Dorian began to cry. He would never forgive himself for how things ended between you two.

[secret-smut-sideblog]

The Dove

Lavellan x Blackwall

18+ fantasy racism, death, explicit violence, implied abuse, fear, tenderness, injury, hurt/comfort, fingering (f!), oral (f!), p-in-v, unprotected sex

Using the full force of her foresight and the strife within decisions made, Celene's Grand Ball proves to be bloodstained and venomous. Leaving Vella exhausted to old and new injuries, tenderly caught by his soft love...

Masterlist, Prev Chapter

-

"And now, presenting..."

Blackwall leaned low into her ear.

"If you are... underdressed under that cloak, please warn me now."

Vella slid him a teasing salacious smile.

"Grand Duke Gaspard De Chalons, and accompanying him..."

"Maker, Vella..." He sighed, giving her a knowing glare.

"Lady Inquisitor Lavellan!"

"That's my cue, take my cloak, will you?" She purred, pulling her arms behind her back. Dropping her shoulders to let the heavy fabric fall.

As she stepped forward, Blackwall's breath choked, followed by a rattled sigh. The sweetest sound to her entrance. Striding forward with dark cherry red silk trailing her silent step. Gasps of shock risen on balconies.

The dress had, naturally, been Leilana's idea.

The agreed upon silhouette of Orlesian dress was a structured bell with layered fabric and steel boned corset.

The garment that Josephine had brought to her, special made by a seamstress who must've had a terrible amount of amusement fulfilling, was all draped fabric.

Falling from her hips slick as oil, the plunging back tight to her waist and draped on the sides by bishop sleeves. Only girded by featherbone stays with rich indigo beading, matching the traditional Dalish boots that Blackwall had sewn her. The silhouette was all her, only partially hidden by the heavy drape of a shoulder cape, the red and blue of her entourages color coordinated uniform. The cape hung over her left shoulder, leaving her marked hand to only tantalizing glances.

"Nothing makes one more desirable company quite like tasteful scandal." Vivienne appraised the dress, running a finger over the high neck.

"Yes, a beautiful woman who steals the show and clearly holds thinly veiled contempt for the whole affair? They'll be staring like awestruck children." Dorian's eyes glittered with delight.

It certainly appeared to be working.

Vella strode with cold grace. This ball, this whole disgustingly ornate mansion, was beneath her, and she made little effort to hide it. Moving with the momentum of her hips. Letting uninterest carry on her face under her black blindfold.

By the time she reached the stairs, a quiet murmur surrounded like insect song.

Unbothered, she stared up at Empress Celene. Giving a graceful bow instead of the glare her heart called for.

Gaspard's shit eating grin was barely hidden under his ornate mask. Clearly pleased with the devious spectacle of it all.

After all the indulgent pleasantries were exchanged, Celene stared down her nose at her.

"You've certainly come dressed outside of our custom. Is this Dalish fashion?"

Vella laughed lightly behind her left hand, the gash of green light pulsed deep between bone. All eyes on her.

"Certainly not! I'd be wearing much less your Highness."

"Is that so? I'd be a shame if you couldn't see the decor beyond that blindfold."

"Oh, I can see everything I intend to."

The silver glow of her eyes shielded behind the molded black mask. Tied behind the fall of her golden hair with long silk.

The court was quiet in rapture within their exchange.

The whole of them laid out to her. All she needed to know unfurled behind the curtain of her mind. Bordering on overwhelm that she would need to muffle soon. The rolled elfroot cigarettes in their gilded tin assured in the taut garter on her thigh.

The secrets of all of these hateful people displayed to her at rapid speed. Especially Celene. Simmering rage seared under her easy smile.

I know what you did.

"With your lineage, you must certainly hold opinions on Halamshiral."

How many had to burn to soothe your ego?

"Oh, it's all quite beautiful. I'm sure much thought went into the conversion of the scenery. Sculptures and hedgemazes don't sprout up as easily as the humble orchid tends to."

It was a volley of elegant strikes. Words tossed with the air of nonchalance but beheld with bated breath by their audience.

Vella may be Dalish, but she was no stranger to appeasing the sensibilities of people she hated with the whole of her chest. Years held in the gilded prison of the Chantry taught her very quick that a sweet tongue kept you some semblance of safety.

"I wouldn't imagine keeping your company from our guests any longer, Lady Inquisitor. We look forward to watching you dance."

Vella gave another gracious bow and a sweet smile to her enemy. Striding up the stairs with eyes set only on Leilana as she approached.

"Well played." She whispered as a small smile pulled her cheek. "A word, when you have a moment."

Vella nodded, her own smile already fallen. "I'm going to need a cigarette after that."

"You and me both." Leilana sighed. Stepping back into shadow.

"Please find a balcony first." Josephine urged in a quiet rush. "There's only so much rule breaking that will be taken as alluring here."

Vella cupped her cheek with a gentle hand. "You worry too much. I'm only a savage wandering the most proper of society."

The use of the hateful word was deliberate. Many eyes held on her. Their power to cut her down taken from their mouths.

"Such an awful word!" A younger woman standing at Josephine's side gasped. "I couldn't imagine anyone calling you that!"

"Then you're better mannered than most, but I would expect no less from a lady Montilyet." Her eyes burned with near constant light behind the dark shield. The torrent of Dirthamen unveiled things untold to her as cacophony she focused to discern.

"This must be her!" Yvette giggled brightly behind her hand, blush pink in her cheeks.

"Your reputation certainly proceeds you." Josephine sighed, giving her sister a soft glare. "She's been insatiable for details on... well, you."

"Josephine writes, but she never tells me anything." The sweet yearn in her voice pulled a soft smile from Vella.

She had always wanted a sister. Though she knew that experience varied wildly between siblings, the accusatory stare of endearment from Josephine made her heart twinge with things she could never know.

"What would you like to know?" She offered with a gentle laugh.

"Please don't encourage h-"

"Is it true that Dalish women dance naked under the full moon?"

"Yvette!" Josephine hissed.

"Well, I certainly do." Vella laughed.

This seemed to delight the sweet girl and got her a stern clearing of the throat from behind her. Practically feeling the heat rising up Blackwall's neck.

"My lady, would you like accompanying for some air?" He led in the monotone gruff of his voice.

The flat delivery of his words irked most but she found it endlessly endearing. Especially when her teasing or tenderness softened the cadence.

"Oh, do I need escorting?" She teased, eyeing him beyond the black mesh shrouding her eyes, only seeing the shadow of things. The dark of it staving off the near constant threat of migraine from her untethered foresight.

"We both know that you do." He tried for aggravated, but affection was thick underneath.

"Oh, and who is this?" Yvette batted her lashes at him.

"Go while you still can." Josephine urged.

"I'll find you later, Josie." Vella laughed, led forward by the small of her back through the halls to a balcony.

"You seem to have caught many young ladies' eyes." Vella teased, lifting the fall of her dress to thigh to take a cigarette from the tin.

"Vella, please..." He hissed, sliding behind her to shield the full length of her leg from view.

"Oh, let me have my fun." She shushed, bringing the cigarette between her fingers. "It's going to be all downhill from here. Damn, I've forgotten matches. Where is Dorian when you need him?"

Blackwall pulled a matchbook from his breast pocket.

"Oh, you're so thoughtful." She smiled, leaning into the flame he struck. Speaking through a contented sigh of smoke. "My savior."

"How do you feel?" He leaned down to her.

"Held together with twine and a wish." She sighed, feeling the incomprehensible barrage of information battering her mind dulling. Taking another grateful pull of burning relief.

"But I'm well stocked for tonight, don't worry." She patted her thigh. "Though, if actually do start undressing, I give you permission to tackle me."

"Like at Haven..." He sighed.

The fever of madness had always been terrible. Gods, that whole night weighed so heavy in memory. But it could only be more painful for him.

"We've never really talked about that night, have we?" She whispered, taking in his sweet eyes so creased with worry.

"No, and we're certainly not going to here." The monotone growl filled his voice again, glancing at several suspiciously still backs that had gathered.

"If one more person calls me rabbit... I suppose I should mingle." She sighed, taking a deep pull of smoke. Offering him the cigarette which he waved away, a silly ritual at this point. Another way they played. How dearly she loved playing with him.

She pinched out the cigarette and leaned in to whisper conspiratory to him.

"Don't tell anyone, but you're my favorite."

She could feel his smile as she pulled away.

"I'm going to need a dance from you, my lady!" He called as she strode back inside.

"I'll try to squeeze you in!" She chirped, biting her lip in a smile.

With her heart dizzy with love, she steeled herself to begin her rounds.

-

The loop of Vella's stride made him exhausted by proxy. With each circle, she passed his post and leaned in to leave a whisper in Elvhen. Often making him stifle a laugh.

"I hope they all choke."

"This place sucks shit."

"That's it, I'm burning it down."

"With us inside it."

He nearly laughed out loud at that last one. Having to stifle it into a cough, nodding in feigned interest at the man prattling on in front of him.

Her echoed resentment of their situation was the highlight of his night so far, but he couldn't help the prickling concern.

She had slept hard the previous night. He wanted nothing less than her to rest, but the longer she slept, the stronger her condition held. He could only imagine the sheer noise that was filling her mind.

She could only hold like this for so long before it started to burn. Until it held her down in that terrible seize. Dropping her to the floor to pull rigid as her body shut down, knocking her unconscious to protect her mind from boiling.

It made him furious how the others seemed content to let her do this. The only steadfast objectors to using her as prophet being Cole and himself.

He wasn't naive. He understood the stakes at hand. They were at war, and even a small misstep could be catastrophic. But the way the others saw her suffering as regrettable but acceptable collateral...

He knew her foresight was an invaluable asset, but Maker, how could he not worry? How could he not wish it would stop whispering madness into her, no matter the advantage?

She approached him again just as a man strode forward. Pointing at him as if he knew him. Panic rose higher and higher in his chest as this noble danced around his identity with drunken ignorance. All while she stood studying the exchange with unreadable eyes.

The other concern, the one he was ashamed to acknowledge: Would it whisper to her the truth of him?

Of course she knew he was keeping something from her. She was too clever, too attuned with other people, to not see it. To not feel it writhing under his skin.

Maker, he nearly buckled under the weight when she confessed her own crime. Kneeled cradling the flowers of her dead family, killed by men like him, then taken in turn by her. Shame so hot in his belly he almost vomited when he had a moment alone.

He had to believe he had atoned in some small way. Maker, please let him have. Please let her not be broken by him.

The man finally wandered away, and he steeled himself to dance around her question. He couldn't stomach lying to her anymore. She shouldn't love a man who lies to her.

"Someone from your past?" The gentle prod of her voice made his throat clench. So sweetly asking him to open to her. To unfold into the warm of her.

I wish I wasn't the one you love.

"Drunks think all men with beards look the same." He grunted. A statement he felt true, at least.

"Hey, I didn't know you had a medal of valor!" Her eyes brightened, so delighted to know more about him. "What is that for again?"

She leaned in that adorable way, like she was telling secrets. "I'm Dalish, fill me in."

Darling, please don't trust me. Not like this.

"Valor, mostly."

She laughed, the sound so bright.

Why did you choose me. Anyone but me.

"Fair enough."

Her demeanor fell back to solemn. Hitching her head to follow.

He nearly sighed in relief.

-

The silent sprint of her feet was the rush of wind through trees. Torn dress whipping behind her. The clash of her party at her back.

Run, girl. You're out of time.

Venatori tried to rush her, but she had already run through them. Dodging through their fingers seconds before they reached. Arrows and blades seeking to strike before she entered the fray.

The toll of bells striking. She could see the precious seconds ahead of their arrival. The pounding of her blood-soaked step a trail led in a circle of time.

Circled. All spiraled.

No, focus. You're here.

She squeezed her eyes. Leaping onto the banister invisible, she sprinted into the ballroom. Running along marble, pulling her bow from her shoulder. The sea of people gathered wouldn't see her until she struck. Ripping the arrow tied from her thigh.

Florianne stepped forward, a wicked smile on her face. Blade poised on Celene's back.

Vella notched her arrow as she slid to a knee. Drawing back in the same breath. Locked in the tunnel of her prey.

But her hand paused. Time she didn't have. Arrow poised waiting.

She saw it.

The future that Briala would bring puppeteering the hand of Gaspard. The Elven Queen in Shadow. It would bring revolution and civil war, further shattering Orlais.

But her people would be free. Free.

But only if Celene fell.

Her fingers held steady on the string.

Breath a hot wave over her lips.

You're out of time. Decide.

She clenched her jaw to ache. Leveling her sight on Florianne.

She pursed her lips and whistled death. An ancient promise of a spirit.

All heads turned up. The Elven servants gasped and covered their ears.

Florianne's gaze wavered as she froze, just as Celene began to feel the threat. Her eyes wide as the blade met her back.

Florianne's head turned.

She released her fingers.

The arrow snapped into the thin bone at her temple. Florianne's eyes rolled up into her skull as her body dropped. Several shrieks rose.

Vella's body appeared under her again. Kneeled in a torn dress and blood smeared.

Here it comes. Relax.

She let her arms fall, sighing out the tension in her body as the guards arrow ripped through her shoulder. Her drawing arm fell useless at her side.

"Good shot!" She laughed, finding the shaken guards eyes.

The pain unfurled then. Her shoulder screamed, the nerve that ran through a lightning bolt. With breath ragged, clutching the wound, she stood. Left arm tremoring uncontrolled at her side. Arrow still lodged firm under the blade of bone.

Good, it would keep her blood.

The guards swarmed around Celene, discovering the knife that had scattered out of Florianne's hand.

Vella rushed forward one last time. Dagger poised along the back of her forearm.

She drove the blade under Florianne's jaw. Straight into the base of her brain. Her body went limp and gave a few short convulsions. More shrieks rang through the air.

Good girl. It's just the muscles. They're gone.

But they shake like me.

It's mercy. You've severed their tie. They'll get to the Beyond kinder now.

Vella released the hilt. Falling to a kneel, letting her arm fall loose at her side with its twin. Gasping hard into the air with head thrown. Blood pooled up the tear of her dress.

The guards backed away from her. Celene's shaken hand gripped her good shoulder.

Vella slipped the locket into her palm as she pulled the blindfold. Celene's empty hand flew to her mouth.

As the last of the silver fell from her sight, she folded Celene's fingers over the locket.

"Find her."

-

"Twas a clean strike."

Vella smiled, her eyes meeting amber.

"The blade or arrow, Morrigan?"

"I hadn't gave my name, Inquisitor." She leaned against the balcony. "But you realize that."

Vella offered her a cigarette, which she took. Placing the tin inside her sling again. Letting Morrigan spark her fingers in flame to light both of them.

"You're left-handed. A sign of a witch." Morrigan appraised her, cupping her elbow under her breast.

"Dual-handed. Not sure what superstition that's associated with, though."

"Spirit? Siren? Shapeshifter?" Morrigan offered with a sly smile.

"How many of your clan knew about burning elfroot?" Morrigan appraised the rolled paper between her fingers.

"Not many. Our hahren had me chew bark as well."

"Smart. And this gift you have, I presume it has a price? The Pantheon does not give with two hands."

Vella laughed. She already adored this woman. They both spoke as they had known each other for a long time. Perhaps they had.

"Do you even have to ask? Though, I'd rather take a two edged gift from the gods than whatever the chantry worships."

Morrigan slowly spread a smile.

"Oh, I think you and I are to get along beautifully."

"Then you're joining us?"

"For the time being."

"Naturally. I'd never try to pin you down."

"You are sworn to another, yes?"

"I am."

"A pity." Morrigan sighed. Letting her eyes wander Vella's svelte frame. "I will find your apothecary in Skyhold. That shoulder 'tis too valuable to sqaunder. I will be eager to sate my curiosity of your... condition, upon your return. And, do try to have fun tonight. You've earned it."

"You know, I realize I never caught your name." Morrigan paused at the door.

Vella spoke in Elvhen.

"Nothing is more vulnerable than the named."

Morrigan laughed.

"Of course."

She appraised Blackwall as they crossed path. He stared hard at her in distrust, slowing his gait.

"That poor guard is still shaking. He's insistent on apologizing."

"He shouldn't." She smiled as he leaned down onto his forearms on the banister. Finally close again. "It was a clean shot. We could use another marksman."

He chuckled low.

"Celene's terrified of you now. Don't see her giving much fight to recruiting a guard."

Vella leaned her hip against the banister. Closing her eyes for a moment. A full night's sleep, wretched thing that it was, could only go so far.

"Care to share your thoughts?" Blackwall led.

Vella shook her head. Cupping gently under her elbow.

"It went well. I should be celebrating."

"With these snobs?"

Vella snorted a laugh.

"We owe everything to you, my lady. You deserve to take a moment of respite."

"I'm just..." Vella sighed. Her decision heavy on her mind. How she hated this outcome. That anger she couldn't stifle anymore flared in her chest. How she wished to burn this place to cinder. "No... it's nothing. Nevermind."

Blackwall paused. His eyes steady on her.

"What?" She whispered, bristled up her back. Trying to not feel the resentment that sat in her belly.

"You did the right thing." His hand cupped over hers. "Gaspard is a fucking bastard. And Briala will be a good influence."

Tears pooled on her waterline. She blinked them away.

Traitor.

"Would you still like that dance?" He pulled close, cupping the small of her back. Steel blue eyes staring down so soft with concern.

"I'll make a poor partner." She mumbled. Her arm hung limp in its sling agreed.

"Impossible. You're the belle of the ball. Blood soaked and beautiful."

She knew he was trying to cheer her. She wanted to be cheered. But all she could do was lay her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped around her, kissing her temple. Swaying them in a slow circle. A dance all their own.

-

"Ah!"

Vella dropped her folded elbow. The sharp pain a clear signal to stop.

She dropped her good arm. Hanging her head.

Not even able to undress herself.

An old shame filled her chest.

The helpless get eaten. Stand up, girl. You are more use to me as meat than weight. And don't you dare cry.

Could she pull her bow again? Oh Gods...

A badger will chew through a leg in a trap. If it doesn't bleed out, it will be hobbled in the cold. Better to go head first.

The cold of shock unfolded along her spine. She tried to flex her fingers.

"We might need to cut you out of that dress." Blackwall's warm voice came to her back. Kissing a tender greeting on the curve of her neck.

"Vella...?"

"I can't feel my arm."

"The healer said that would fade. You'll get mobility back soon." He wrapped his hand around her front. Pressing assurance against the crest of her ribs.

"I can't..."

He circled around her. Concern tight in his eyes.

"Vella. Please, speak to me."

Something bad was coming. She didn't know it, then she did. Closing her eyes tight to the silver. Her senses too exhausted to make it take shape. But it was coming. Soon.

"Please, can we get a drink? I want to have a quiet night."

I want to pretend. Pretend this isn't the last of something.

He smiled, kissing her forehead.

"I'm sure Cabot has some good shit stored somewhere. I'll break cabinets if need be."

She gave a small smile and he tilted her chin up with his fingers. His eyes creased in adoration.

"There she is."

Vella tried to lockpick the door of Herald's Rest with one hand, but Blackwall simply shoved it with his shoulder. The latch gave with a whimper of a click.

"You're more battering ram than man." She smiled. Looking him up and down with trailing eyes.

"The chivalrous thing to do is smash down doors." He growled.

And just like that, they were playing again.

She sauntered inside, giving him a beckoning stare over her shoulder.

"Oh, this is what you've always wanted." She hopped up onto the counter, crossing a leg over her knee. "Me all vulnerable, needing a big strong man to help."

"I am going to enjoy this." He agreed. Circling around the bar to rummage a high shelf. Coming around to sit on the stool in front of her.

"You mind spreading your legs, darling?"

She leaned back on her palm, smiling wide as she unfolded her legs. He set the bottle down between the spread of her thighs as if this was standard.

"Oh, if I was a barmaid..." She laughed.

He full belly laughed, nearly spitting out his drink.

"The men would work here for free."

"The chantry would come with torches and rope." She agreed, her own laugh picking up contagious to his.

It wasn't that funny, not really, but they kept going. The back and forth of their joined laughter reignited the other until they were both doubled over. The song of her high keening melded to his deep bark. Collapsed into each other.

"Ow! Ow!" She laughed breathless. "My shoulder! Mercy!" Weakly kicking his side.

Blackwall wiped his eyes, still breathless in his own laughter. "No kicking!"

"I'm down an arm!" She kicked with both feet.

"Alright, that's it!" He climbed up on the bar and nipped at her throat, tickling her with his beard.

"No!" She shrieked, pushing his bicep. "I'm injured! I can't fight back, you asshole!"

He fell into his laugh again. Bracing on his forearm.

"Maker, my side!" He gripped at his ribs.

"Hah! Take that!"

His laugh fell away again, smiling down at her. Cupping her face so tenderly in his rough palm. Then his brow knitted together, letting out a deep sigh.

"Hmm, the brooding look is doing something for me." She teased.

"Is it?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. I like men sad and wet."

He rolled his eyes but didn't fully return to her playful. His eyes still heavy with something.

"Hey..." She hushed, pushing back up onto her palm. "What's wrong?"

He lifted her in assistance behind her ribs. Leaving his hand there as she sat up close to him.

"Moments like these... when things feel so simple. When it all seems so clear..."

She waited, seeing something building in his pause.

"Like I could do anything with you by my side. Be anywhere. Be someone bigger than myself. It's hard to imagine anywhere without you."

Her heart pounded against its tender cage.

He could feel it too.

"Could you take me to your bed?" She hushed. Her unspoken question clear to both of them.

He cut away the dress with a soft pull of a blade along her spine. Peeling it down her shoulder as gentle as tending a torn petal. Kissing above her bandage in a line.

"My dove with a broken wing." He sighed.

Her eyes flooded with tears. Being treated so soft too much. Too vulnerable. An effort of will to not pull away from it. To allow herself be carried in his palm and not try to bite.

He gently folded her arm back in its sling. Leading her back onto the pelt with the strength of his hands cupped behind her.

"I love you. You're more than I could ever hope for. So much more than I deserve."

He marveled mournfully at her bare fallen under him. Spreading his hand along her ribs reverently.

"There's no future for us with me as a Warden." His palm moved to lay flat above her belly.

She nearly laughed. Then remembered he didn't know.

There's no future with me, either.

"If you're worried about getting me pregnant, I'm going to ask for something from Morrigan in the morning."

"Hmph, that woman... Not sure about her." He grumbled.

Vella smiled and pulled at his tunic, lifting it over his shoulders.

"I like her. She's trouble."

"Of course you do." He sighed, kissing above the curve of her breast. "You're trouble all the way down."

"All the way down?" She wiggled her hips, giving him a grin.

"Cheeky." He scolded. Trailing his fingers down the curve of her hip bone, over the seam of her thigh.

"Oh, if you want cheeky I can turn over." She made to flip onto her belly.

He pushed his fingers into her clit. Rocking slow, mind-numbing waves into her.

"You're staying right here."

"Oh..." She breathed, falling back again. Her eyes glazed as desire pooled warm in her pelvis. Rocking her hips slow into his fingers.

"There we go..." He smiled, kissing around her breast. Trailing over her heart, kissing it with deliberate tender pulses, then returning to her pebbled peak. Pulling the sensitive bundle into the curve of his tongue as his fingers pushed slow into her. Curving up into the place that made her legs shake.

Her mind emptied of all but pleasure. The languidly pulled silk of it wound around his fingers.

"Oh, my love." She sighed in Elvhen, staring down at him with the tender of her heart laid open. Carding her fingers through his dark hair. "My gentle bear."

He looked up at her under his brow. His eyes grew glassy as he trailed kisses down her belly. His gaze steady on her through the water.

"Why are you crying?" She whispered, reaching for his hand.

He wove his fingers into hers as he reached her center. Kissing the golden curls above her sex. His fingers still stroking so perfect into her.

He only shook his head, rubbing her palm with his thumb. Too overcome to speak.

"Then speak to me here." She smiled. Resting their joined hands on her belly.

His eyes closed softly as a crease formed in his brow. Nuzzling into her clit with his nose. Spreading his tongue flat to lap slow waves into her. Savoring each pull like it was the last supp of soup licked from a bowl.

She shuddered with each stroke as his fingers joined with his mouth. The rhythm set to unravel her at her very core. Calling out soft cries as her body slow writhed. The tender touch building to unfold a flood from her pelvis.

"Oh, Gods." She moaned. Starting to feel that delirious pleasure only he could pull out of her.

He moaned into her, the deep of his voice sending tingles of pleasure up her back.

"You're giving me chills." She smiled, closing her eyes to fully fall back. Falling into only her body and the feeling of him washed over her. Not certain he could understand her anymore, but not finding it impossible.

She let it be only her body and his. The devotion of his fingers and mouth. Everything else fallen away. A being of only pleasure.

Her orgasm pulled from so deep in her she wasn't sure where it could end. Letting out a whine she had never made before as her legs curled up. Even the clenches were slow, dragging out until she was panting up into the night air. Barely lucid through the endlessly unfolding torrent.

"You still with me?" He murmured as he rose up her. Undoing his trousers and stroking his cock with the hand that had been soaked with her pleasure, kissing the side of her neck.

"Mm-hmm." She hummed, words still beyond her. Gasping slow labored breath. Holding his wide back as anchor.

He pressed a hand to the back of her knee, angling her open with a gentle push.

"I adore you, thank you, thank you endlessly for this gift." He sighed, lining up below her. Cupping the curve of her face in his hand as he pressed his forehead to hers.

He pushed in slowly. His eyes strained up into lids, groaning low into her mouth.

She let out her own soft cry. The stretch of him sent her pelvis tremoring. Stroking up into that same undoing his fingers found, but beyond that. Pressing into the pleasure deep inside her walls. Filling her to the brim.

"Oh, fuck." She cooed, staring up into his eyes. Her lips fallen open almost in pleading. "Please, slow again."

He nodded, pulling his hips back to rock into her. Kissing her softly in little pulses.

It was unbelievable. Her body sang with pleasure. Babbling out soft cries in Elvhen with each thrust. Pleading in the tongue she was born with. Her own half formed words a new song that she didn't know the words to, but came from deep within the seat of her soul.

She came around him in another keening cry. Grasping his strong shoulder, astonished how fast it had happened. Another building on the collapsed ruins of her as it still crumbled. Tears of ecstasy dripped down her temples. Staring up at him as he unmolded her entirely.

He kissed her cheeks and her forehead, returning his to press against it. Huffing out breath as he picked up speed. His arms braced around her. His face tightened as he started to break.

"Yes, yes." She urged in a fast whisper, cupping his face in her hand. "Cum inside me, please."

She locked her legs behind his back.

"Don't you dare pull out. Fill me until I'm leaking you for days. Please, bear."

He buckled fully into her as his body tensed up into a bow. Gasping out at her words. His eyes lost in his skull.

He pressed his face into her neck, muffling his deep cry of release there. His hips stuttered as he flooded her, grasping with bruising fingers into the other side of her neck. Rushing inside her again and again as his end struck through him. Weeping into the nape of her neck.

-

Vella woke warm and heavy with rest. Swaddled in what must have been every blanket. Smiling as sleep fell from her as gentle as rain dripped from leaves. Blinking into the soft light.

Then it all fell away in an instant.

Bolting upright, she felt it. Pulling a hand tight to her chest as her eyes lit silver.

The bad thing was here, as certain as the pound of her heart.

This wasn't foresight, this was a premonition.

She glanced down and was confirmed by the carved wooden dove that sat on the pillow. The indent of his head still pressed.

She snatched his tunic and fast draped it around her, struggling with her sling as she rushed downstairs.

A scout met her at the barn door, quickly averting his eyes to her undress.

She pulled him inside, uninterested in propriety.

"Where is he?"

~

Next Chapter

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 98 (THE LIVE SHOW!!!)

BRENNAN?!!! Hi! Mah boy! We're feeling so great, Bennan! Even those of us who AIN't in LA ... yes, we are excited. There's AUSSIES here? You mad bastards, that is COMMITMENT ... and he has NNOUNCEMENTS!!! Okay, then ... yeah, please don't jinx us, Brandan, we DO NOT want a live TPK right now ... oh the cosplays ... THE COSPLAYS!!! :3 Oooooh ... SOCKS?!!! Sweet ... ROLE!!! ROLE!!! YOU!!! YOU!!! DO THIS!!! DO THIS!!!

Oh, here they come ... ASHTON LIVES!!! Holy fuck, Travis! And the booty! Orym! LAUDNA!!! IMOGEN!!! My god Laura you're so CUTE!!! Nice suit, Rob! Awwww ... so Fearne! And then there's Matt ... so chill and casual ... I mean he COULD have cosplayed Essek at least ...

NordVPN? Oh dear gods ... what's it gonna be, then? oh, it's ALL the girls? Nice ... we're imaginary? Interesting ... yeah, we pretty. Yup! Happy Pride to YOU TOO ... boogie? Oh dear gods no ... a ZUNE? So early 2000s ... oh boy ... yeah, this is getting surreal now ... oh, now Marisha's getting in on the act ... of course she is ... I love how she's doing Laudna's Bane dance ... XD

LIVE recap this time ... okay ... ah yeah, the purple Hot Boi gets a cheer AS HE SHOULD ... oh, the howling ... that's so cute ... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT DORIAN!!!

No, that's not it, no, he DIDN'T do that, Cyrus WASN'T his fault ... wait, so ... that WASN'T an attempt to taunt him, then? What WAS that?

FIRST ROLL!!! OKay ... 24? Of course it is. How is it Liam ALWAYS rolls so well? It's almost uncanny, is he a halfling FOR REAL?

Laura: "Mmmmm ... I'm gonna make a mistake and ..." O.O Oh shit ... "... cast Detect Thoughts." Holy fuck, Imogen ...

A Wisdom save? Of course ... here we go, then ... PLEASE roll decent, Laura ... A NAT1?!!! Holy fuck ... O.O again ...

CRAP!!! That fucking Ruidian storm again ... her mother? Oh hell no, there's NO WAY she'd EVER say THAT to Imogen ... yeah, she doesn't believe that FOR A FUCKING SECOND ... seriously, Imogen don't trust ANYTHING this fake ass bitch has to say ... yeah, that's my girl ... "destroy the Pinion"? Hmmmmmm ...

CHetney: "You talked to your mom? That's what the demon showed YOU?!!! I'm going to hell." Ashton: "Probably pretty soon!"

Oh yeah ... Tevan is SEXY ... "Roleplay?" Oh boy ... REALLY, Laudna?

Gods yeah. Fearne really DIDN'T think this shit through, did she? Oh, she's so adorable in her cluelessness, I love it ... and now Dorian's trying to help "lawyer" her way out fo this ... XD

Tevan: "When it's done, I'll be waiting." Oh boy ... so she's, like ... BETROTHED now? Really? O.O

Which way to go? Yeah ... decisions decisions ... oh, split up? Really? Don't you know the Gold Rule?

To the left, then ... hmmmm ... oh ... that's not, like, OMINOUS or anything ...

Laura: "We're gonna DIE at the Greek!"

Matt: "Iogen sends her little balls into the room." Uh huh ...

Perception check! What do you smell, Chet? 17 ... okay, then ... a silver door? SILVER? Yeah, that's rather pointed ...

Burgandy scalemail? Interesting ... is that loot? Or is Taliesin right? "Chemical goop" ... Matt questions his good friend's past in knwogin what THAT smells like ... as he should ... O.O

Oh, it's a CLOAK? Interesting ... oh yeah, that's definitely loot ... IN THE BAG!!!

Orym hears something move VERY SUBTLY close by ... of course he does ...

"Read the Runes" ... Laudna uses Eyes of the Runekeeper ...

Travis really is rolling BALLS tonight ...

So what IS that breathing behind the door ... somebody's anxious and ready to run, apparently ... but they're definitely NOT a demon, interesting ...

Dorian just does "Shave & a Haircut" on the door ... and somebody finishes it? ALSO Interesing ...

A guest? Oh cool ... SAM RIEGEL?!!! Sam's back? SAM'S BACK!!! He's back! Oh my fucking GODS!!! Cute jacket, Sam! It'sd very loud ... not to mention the fucking HAIR ... Liam: "I do hope this doesn't awaken something within me ..." Yeah, you and the rest of us ...

He's a MINOTAUR?!!! Wow ... oh yeah, our boy's FINALLY playing to his ACTUAL height ... oh man ... he's had his throat cut? FUCK!!!

No, I don't think THIS is Dominox, somehow ...

His deception roll is a 4 ... so EIGHTEEN? Holy shit ... Divine Sense? Whoa ... okay, so is he a cleric or a paladin? Wait ... this guy KNOWS who Tevan is? Hmmmm ...

Who's his god, then?

Yeah, they already KNOW all this, new guy ... Ashton gives him a health potion ... so he's able to regain 4 HEALTH POINTS because Tal rolls balls ... XD

Dorian's Cure Wounds works a lot better ... 24 points back! Okay ... he Lays Hands on himself to cure himself the rest of the way ... Yeah, that's JUST as dierty sounding as you THINK it is ...

He's flirting with Fearne already ... oh boy ...

Oh, he infiltrated the Vanguard? With some friends? Oh, the rest of them died? Oof ... yeah, Dominox has been BUSY ...

While they talk Ashton gets a little needle from the evil demon ... 14 WITH advantage ... great ... oh no ... NO NO NO NO ... don't do this to him, PLEASE ... no, not FCG ... Matt Mercer you evil fucking bastard ...

Go off, Rock Boy ... you are SO awesome for this ...

Braius Doomseed ... oh, cute character art ... oh, the PLatinum Dragon? DID HE? Chetney Insight Checks ... wow, that is QUITE the fakeout cockblock, Riegel ... I mean who does he REALLY serve?

Something tells me Tevan's more invested in this "relationship" than Fearne is ... XD

Oh he is DEFINITELY the servant of some DARK GOD indeed ... yeah, Dorian's right, he's gonna fit RIGHT IN here ...

"Herald champion" ... oh yeah, definitely a paladin, then ...

Dorian's already trying to "mentor" him ... this is adorable ...

Oh, that is DEFINITELY the ancient Aeorian engine in question, isn't it? PURPLE CRYSTAL!!! Yup, that's definitely it ... the Pinion of Service, yes ...

Robbie: "I've literally never done this ... Insight check?"

Yeah, I DO NOT like the way those chains are moving AT ALL. That is just a nightmare waiting to happen ...

And now Braius is starting to flirt with ASHTON ... yup ...

The door was already open? Oh yeah ... that's great ...

Oh, Ludinus went TOWARDS the engine room? So he might already be ahead of them in this ... great ...

OF COURSE Ashton just wants to BREAK IT ...

A small girl? Oh great ... Travis is ALREADY noping out ...

Ah ... so she's a really CREEPY little girl ... yup, that's Dominox ... Imogen: "She's kind of cute." Laudna: "Yes! She's fun scary!" Orym: "But what's the ratio of that?"

Laudna really is tempted to just ADOPT this freakish little Japanese horror movie icon, isn't she?

Braius casts Bless on the group ... in a really cheesy way ...

Laudna: "We should've had him when we tried to do the porn." Dorian: "Some things are better off missed."

Fearne casts Locate Creature on Ludinus ...okay! Ah shit ... it's REPELLED? Oof ... bad sign ...

Chetney and Tevan are going into the chamber with their weapons at the ready ... okay, then ... Fearne and Ashton follow ... then Orym and Essek ... now Dorian's fluttering above for cover ...

This really doesn't feel like a smart place for a fight, people ... oh, and now they're clearly locked in ... Chet wolfs out ... MIrror Image for Laudna ...

Did Dorian just quote Hasbin Hotel? :3

Persuade the Grand Demon? Marisha rolls a Dirty 20 ... okay then ...

Matt makes Travis nope out again ... yeah ...

Fuck, Ashley ... INSANELY good roll there ...

Important door alert! Yeah ... oh, she doesn't like THAT at all ... oh, and now she's ATTACKING?!!! Fuck ... OUCH!!! That's nasty ... wait ... 21 FAILS?!!! Holy fuck ... NO!!! Chetney's been caught!

Wait ... Braius is climbing straight up for the Pinion? Hmmm ... this is going to be interesting ...

No, she's really NOT single ... O.O whoa ... Imogen WHAT?!!! Careful there ...

The TRUE form of Dominox ... oh yeah, no, REALLY don't set THAT SHIT free ... that's just HORRIBLE ...

Imogen casts Telekinesis to try and grab the crystal ... Laura: "Oh, there are so many dice in front of me!" Liam: "Who did that?" And he's FREE!!! Nice ... but now he has to follow through ... yeah, that didn't go well at alll, did it?

And now we got a massive demon thing in the middle of the room INSTEAD of the little girl from the Ring ...

CAREFUL, Orym ... crap, he's been rumbled ...

A|nimate Object ON THE DOOR?!!! That's SERIOUSLY bold, Laudna ... Robbie: "It's Doorie! Brother!" XD

Laura has to roll for repurcussions ... what did she get? How bad is it?

Roll Initiative! When we get back from the break ... O.O

BATTLEMAP!!! Sweet fuck that is an EPIC creation ... and it's moving an everything ... FUCK ME that bastard is TERRIFYING ... Robbie: "I always knew I'd die by furry!"

Time to roll Initiative, then ... cue Marish'a Wizzkids plug!

Sam: "I missed this!" The audience loses it ...

Tevan goes first ... oh, he's going RIGHT for the kill ... Divine Smite! 68 points of Radiant damage? Holy fuck ...

Orym holds his action for JUST IN CASE ...

A FUCKING LAIR ACTION?!!! Now EVERYBODY has to rolls dexterity? Fucking chains ... Oof ... Laudna, Ashton, Imogen and Fearne are now grappled with chains, but Braius' Aura of Protection saves Dorian, Orym, Essek AND Braius himself ...

Holy fuck Dominox is an EVIL fucker with this brutal attacks ... suddenly it's starting to look like a TPK may actual be genuinely IN THE CARDS for the night after all ...

Wait ... Dominox is SUCKED INTO A VOID by Ashton? Where the fuck did it just go? Oh, he drops the demon ON THE CRYSTAL ... which just BOUNCES IT RIGHT OFF some invisible forcefield ... right onto Fearne? Oof ...

Travis (chuckling): "A Grand Demon just fell on your ass!"

Dorian casts Shatter at the centre Spire ... 18 points of Thunder damage! Nice! Whoa ... this that ALREADY spring the crystal free? Holy shit, Flyboy! Bardic Inspiration!

TWO Legendary Actions? Holy shit ... he tries to BANISH Tevan but LAUDNA COUNTERSPELLS!!! Wow ... Perception Check to make sure she CAN ... 14 ... YES!!! It works! Fucking badass, Dead Girl!

Braius is the Herald of ASMODEUS?!!! They group go apeshit as their suspicions are confirmed! Poison Pen? Interesting ... so THWWACK with that massive flail thing ... oh, it's IMMUNE to poison damage? Balls ... so only 22 points of damage ... okay ... second strike WITH Inspiration ... Divine Smite means another 23 points! POW!!!

PAINT IT BLACK, RIEGEL!!!

The door is now Animate! NIce one, Laudna! The room beyond is now OPEN!!! In she goes with Orym in tow! Oh, there's somebody inside ... fuck, is it Ludinus? Perception check! 17 BOLLOCKS!!!

Laudna (screaming: "LET HIM OUT!!!" Tevan: "You will do NO SUCH THING!"

Form of Dread!

Fearne is free, at least ... she Wildshapes into a little mint-green wombat? Wow ... interesting choice ... she bolts to the crystal and stuffs it into her marsupial pouch ... bloody hell ... and when Dominox tries to swipe at her Matts CRIT FAILS THE HIT!!! Awesome ...

Chetney charges at Dominox ... Misty Step! He retrieves the crystal from Fearne and stuffs it in the Bag of Holding ... wow ... this is bizarre ... Dominox is now REALLY PISSED at Chetney and makes the post terifying threat possibel at him and the wolf starts to BRICK HIMSELF ...

Essek unleashes a Lightning Bolt right into Dominox ... 38 points of Lightning damage ... but it's HALVED due to resistance? Okay then ...

Ashton shifts into black and white as he charges and drops into the ground, books it towards the open door but attempts to destroy the engine on the way ... 19 hits! Phew ... 21 points of damage cracks it BADLY ...

Travis: "Does Dominox have an opinion?" LIam (as Dominox): "I'm big on crypto!"

Ahston makes another heavy slam into the engine ... another 16 points of damage! it's getting VERY messed up ...

Imogen gets as close as she can to Chetney and uses Telekinesis to pick him up and YEET HIM towards the door ... he barrels RIGHT THROUGH IT ...

Ludinus (almost REIGNED): "My goodness ..."

Yeah ... Ludinus almost CASUALLY baps him away from him with a Shield spell.

Oh fuck ... the tether yanks Domiox away and INTO Braius? Oof ...

Tevan attacks Dominox twice ... Smite away, Hot Boi! 22 damage from the first, then 36 for the second! Nice! And NOW the monster is FINALLY starting to look messed up ...

Orym chugs down his Speed potion and STREAKS back towards to Dominox to attack him ... 20 damage for a GOADING attack which he FAILS to resist ... second hit lands 9, then he hastes but the next THREE miss ... Action Surge! 19 points of damage and he trips it ... and then he Crit Fails ... oh shit ... so he skims away and BRAINS HIMSELF on the wall ... ricochets back and comes right back with another attack and SLICES AWAY at him again ...

Now Wee Man is just spinning like a dizzy top ...

OF COURSE Dominox IMMEDIATELY attacks him right back ... oh fuck ... 46 points of slashing damage ON THE FIRST HIT?!!! Dear fucking GODS ... MInd Feast? Sweet fuck ... this one's aimed at Ashton ... and he fails to resist ... 14 points of Psychic damage ... and he's drawn right towards him and HEALED?!!! Son of a BITCH!!!

Ludinus FUCKING Da'Leth swoops into the room right behind Dominox and casts Gate ... O.O ... wait, he's genuinely trying to HELP right now? Is this for real?

Dorian's turn ... oh, Robbie can't BELIEVE it's now up to HIM ... so he psyches Dorian up and casts Otto's Irresistable Dance on Dominox at SIXTH FUCKING LEVEL?!!! And Braius uses Sorrowful Fate to CHANGE DOMINOX'S SAVE so it's a FOURTEEN, which is a FAIL!!! Holy shit ... it FORGETS to use Legendary Resistance, so the Grand Demon starts to BOOGIE ... Matt has SO MUCH FUN describing what happens ... and even starts BOPPING HIMSELF ... I am IN AWE of the moment ... LOL

Braius turns his focus to Ludinus and casts Moonbeam at him ... oh my gods and Sam DOESN'T EVEN KNOW what that does ... O.O ... Dominox saves, but Braius still inflicts five points of Radiant damage ... so he Bonus Actions Hammering Horns to PUSH Dominox ten feet back ... which he ALSO fails to save against ... holy FUCK Samuel, HOW OP'd is your new character? Now the demon is IN HELL just inside the portal ...

Laudna tries to work out if this is THE Ludinus or just SNOWdinus ... no idea ... okay, she tries something COMPLETELY untested on him now ... she conjures up the spirit of Vess Dorogna as Spirit of Death to attack him ... only for him to Counterspell ... so she just Counterspells RIGHT BACK?!!! Holy shit ... so she succeeds in her plan ... HOLY SHIT ... so now, FOREVER he is permanently HAUNTED by this vengeful ghost? HOLY SHIT, Dead Girl! You're so awesome!

Fearne casts Polymorph on Ludinus ... SWEET FUCKING FUCK!!! This is BEAUTIFUL ... 25 on his save? BALLS ... that was almost SO awesome ...

Chetney turns back and turns Invisible, then holds his turn ...

Essek casts Gravity Fissure on the remaining spires, shatters them so they pierce into the portal and IMPALE Dominox ... damage is halved bu that's STILL 20 piercing! Holy fuck ...

Ashton takes a passing swipe at the engine ... 22 points of damage ... oh shit ... it just slowed to s stop! He takes one more swing ... 23 points and it is SHATTERED!!! Nice ...

Imogen runs as close as she can to the gate, tries to grab holdo of Ludinus with Telekinesis ... and he FAILS to save, but instead uses his Legendary Resistance to wipe it off instead! Asshole ... so she Lightning Bolts him at 7th Level instead ... most of the damage is deflected, but she still deals 12 points ... it's something, at least ...

Tevan charges in to attack Dominox, misses his first hit but catches the second ... oh, and it's the KILL hit? The live audience goes NUTS ... Matt: "How do I wanna do this?" He carves the demon in two and it just ASHES ...

Orym runs up the wall and then uses Grasping Vine to swing himself up behind Ludinus ... Pushing attack! 18 damage and he fails his save so Ludinus is SHOVED towards the gate! Ludinus drops the gate so Orym just attacks him hard with his sword instead ... come on, Wee Man! Kill this bitch!

Ludinus flies into the tunnel just past Chetney, then turns back to face them all ...

Wow ... fanboy Braius actually GETS HIS AUTOGRAPH from Tevan ... nice ...

Here we go ... cue arrogant self-important monologue from the supreme douchebag ...

Wait ... Imogen's goint to FOLLOW HIM?!!! Well OF COURSE Laudna's gonna follow her ... looks like they're ALL going, then ... I hope this isn't a problem ...

And now Braius is flirting with ORYM ... Orym: "Bro, you're HUGE." Braius: "It's okay." Wow ...

Heading deeper in, then ...

The Occultus Thalamus, then ... here we go ...

Here comes ANOTHER overblown monologue from Ludius, then ... he really does LOVE the sound of his own voice, doesn't he? At least we're getting some information while he's at it ...

Blah de-blah de-blah-de-blah ...

Okay, FINALLY something's happening ... hmmm ... "the memories of Aeor"? And now he's ACTIVATING this thing ... oh shit ... is this a BAD THING? Are we too late?

What the fuck ... BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN IS TAKING OVER FROM MATT?!!! For real?

Brennan: "Light!" Yup ... here we go indeed ...

So ... are we setting up another Exandria Unlimited flashback game? "Is it Thursday yet?" Oh shit, yeah, I think we might be ... sweet ...

What an AMAZING way to end this most interesting Live Show ...

Oh ... so we gotta wait until SECOND WEEKEND in July for more? Makes sense after a LIVE show, I suppose ... I was already half prepared for the wait, really ...

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Poets and Painters (Early Morning) - Wolffe x Reader [Mature Fic]

Warnings and Information: In desperate need of just one day to take his and his men's mind off the war, Plo Koon orders that everyone make a stop on a relatively uninhabited planet in a peaceful sector of the galaxy to… have a picnic? Just what does he have in mind? A certain flint-gray Commander is finding it hard to believe that they're just on the planet for a day of R&R in the middle of a war, so he isn't letting his guard down. Perhaps someone will help Commander Wolffe find some way to help him relax before the day is over… 2nd person POV. Reader is undescribed save for minor details like personal touches to a uniform, and has a gender-neutral alias. Allusions to canon-typical violence, mention of injury and loss, and Plo just being a dad to the 104th Battalion in the background. Swearing. Discussion of more adult themes and some lewd jokes the more the fic progresses (this is not an Explicit fic but it is Mature; Minors please DNI). Takes place on a fictional planet.

Word count: 4,390

Early Morning

It's unclear if someone perhaps made the suggestion to the General, or if he devised this idea on his own, but Master Plo has decided that the best use of the day today is to do… nothing at all. You are drifting through space in an area of the galaxy that has been seldom touched by this war. You didn't even recognize the name of the planet when you regarded the astronav aboard the bridge of the Jedi cruiser. Small, and relatively unpopulated according to what the scanners had picked up. There was hardly any record of this planet being here, in fact. It was puzzling to mostly everyone. 

"Yeah, well it was the same for Big Stormy in the Jedi archives according to the General, but Kamino was still very much there…" one trooper complains to his brother in the chair beside him with an unimpressed roll of his eyes, his arms laced tightly across his broad chest. "Who's to say other planets won't show up on the kriffing maps if not a lot of people come here?" His neighbor glowers at him in warning, hissing back under his breath to shut up or he's going to distract the General. 

To this, Plo Koon encourages the two young troops to settle themselves before Sergeant Sinker tells them to cut it out. "Come now, young Tack. Orchid is right, in a sense. There are perhaps even other galaxies we do not know about, or have a way to get to. This planet… Little Archossi… seems to be safe. We'll set down on the planet, away from what appears to be one of the settlements, so as not to disturb the inhabitants." Inhabitants that are assumed to be humanoid and sentient, but they have no way of making contact with them. Everyone is cautioned to not appear threatening to them should these Archossi (Archossian?) make an approach. 

They would surely notice a ship of this size over their home planet. 

The Triumphant looms imposingly above, just out of reach of the planet's atmosphere and gravitational pull. 

Disembarking the gunships, you step into the soft, springy grass of the large clearing on this forested planet. The atmosphere is breathable, and it's welcomed after so long in the presence of oxygen recyclers. 

The air is cool, and fragrant with a diverse bouquet of blooming wildflowers. Some are familiar, others are surprising and entirely unknown. Clone researchers, though they are not asked to, task themselves with determining these botanicals out of caution. "Just being preemptive, General Plo." Tack explains when the Kel Dorian Jedi comes to remind him that the Clones and crew of the Triumphant who joined him on the surface of the planet are here and meant to relax. "Just in case these flowers turn out to have irritants or strange pollen. Don't want any surprises, sir." 

Plo hums thoughtfully, the sound a deep, warm rumbling. "Very good, Tack. I hope you find what you are looking for soon so you may join your brothers." One of his steady hands makes a slow, sweeping gesture out to another part of the clearing, where several other brothers of the 104th battalion have gathered around the Commander.

He appears to be laying out a few ground rules with his men, from where you sit on a small, grassy knoll here in this break in the trees. You can catch words and small fragments of what he's saying, but you don't pay him much attention. Being just one of the crew aboard the cruiser, words like emergency flares and what must be the word holster don't pertain to anything you've brought along with you. There's no expectation of danger from the native people, but they say you can never be too prepared. Well, you're not too sure about that when you hear what was definitely the words stun setting and do not stray far. 

Surely the Commander was being a little overboard about all this… 

But that's not your business. You turn your attention back to the small canvas bag at your feet and root through it to find the personal belongings you've taken with you for today just as the researcher named Tack assures his General once again that he's perfectly content to spend his day like this. 

"Don't worry about me, General. I never mind spending a day researching things. Besides, I'm not the only one who's brought my usual gear with me. Looks like Arcadia brought their own datapad." Hearing your name, you pause just as you're pulling out the datapad since putting the spiral-bound sketchpad and graphite pencils you've thrown in the bag in your lap, meeting Tack's eye. 

"Oh this is just in case I want to read later," you explain with a laugh. "My, uh, older family members gave me some serious art supplies to take with me before I joined aboard the Triumphant and I just haven't had a chance to use 'em yet. Figured while we were on Little Archossi I'd give them a try." 

"Cool, cool. Have fun with that." Tack replies, smiling as he turns back to a dazzling blue flower with thin, silky petals. You've caught the interest of the Kel Dor, and he makes a request to sit beside you for the moment. You've been told by others that this Jedi Master makes a point to try to get to know as many people who serve alongside him as possible, that he's polite and seems to just radiate calm and wisdom.

"Yes of course, go right ahead." you tell him, moving the bag to the other side to make room beside you on the knoll. "Here." 

"Thank you," he starts, dipping his head in a slow gesture of gratitude, "I won't take up too much of your time Arcadia." 

"I don't mind if you do, General. I don't really know what I want to do with… all this." you assure him with a mild laugh, indicating the spiral-bound and the pencils resting on the thighs of your slate-gray, form-fitting uniform. You chose not to wear any of your casual-wear today, though it would be more comfortable in the long term. You were due to wash your uniforms soon enough, spending a day on a strange planet would expedite the need to do so in case of any contaminants.

You let him take one of the pencils to examine, noting how Master Plo takes such care with your personal property. "These were a gift to you, you said?" 

Your head bobs in answer. "That's right. I guess they thought I'd have a lot more opportunities to get back into artwork or something while I was stationed with the one-oh-fourth on the cruiser. But maybe I'll break in the new sketchbook today, with a little, uh… oh, what do they call it? Plein air sketching." You imagine the inquisitive blink of his eyes under the anti-ox mask and eyewear worn by the General when he does not say anything at first, and can only guess there is some sort of smile before the pencil is returned to you. "Most intriguing. Perhaps I will have to come by another time when you have made some progress." 

"You're certainly welcome to." 

"Thank you, Arcadia. I believe I should warn young Soapsuds to remember the Commander's warning about not straying too far…" There's a shared chuckle between you. Soapsuds is a darling, and a very courageous soldier for what are nicknamed "shinnies", but he can be a little bit forgetful. Perhaps with the Force, Plo Koon can sense what you can only assume: Commander Wolffe is having some difficulty with the primary objective for today. "Until later." 

You bid him farewell for the time being, too, and tuck back the cover to the sketchbook. The pages are surprisingly thick, and if you had a more serious artistic inclination, you could guess that the pages of this book could take a variety of mediums. Graphite pencil, for certain, and perhaps a number of other dry mediums like pastels or charcoal or coloring pencils. You're not certain it would do well with wet mediums at first glance. Maybe a layer or two of gouache? Looser styles of watercoloring? But probably not oils or acrylics, they would likely warp the pages and make everything tacky. 

It's admittedly been some time since making any use of traditional supplies for anything other than scribbling down a note to pass to a colleague, or taking records of serious instructions on the bridge. Before putting the pencil against the page, you mentally coach and coax yourself to take the plunge. 

I'll probably be a little rusty. That's okay. Just give it a shot. Maybe I'll surprise myself. 

The lead within is buttery-soft, and lays down a bold line without any skipping after it sweeps over the fine, toothy hills and valleys in the texture of the page. Oh. Oh wow. That's quality. You'll have to thank the gift giver for their generosity, and you promise yourself in a moment of wishful thinking to never use this for anything but artistic endeavors in the few fleeting chances you'll get for it.

(Would you keep this promise in a standard week from now, or a month at most? Unlikely.)

There's a groan of great annoyance from Tack to your left, still studying the beautiful blue flowers. "Not having any luck, Tack?" 

"No. It's not showing up on any of my catalogs." 

You frown sympathetically, lifting your head to meet his eye. "I'm sorry." 

"I'll figure something out…" Tack grumbles, lightly raking his nails along the back of his neck. "I just don't want to find out that this can make anyone sick, or something, before it's too late." 

"That's very sweet of you, Tack." you tell him with a kind smile as you continue to sketch loose shapes and lay down lines to break in this first page. Tack was rough around the edges, and could frustrate easily, but did not back down from a challenge just because he met a little resistance. "Say, can I ask you something?" 

"Shoot." 

"Does the Commander seem on edge to you this morning? I have to admit I'm having trouble telling." You feel you need to tread a little cautiously with this question. If you express that you think the leader of the 104th with a silver, cybernetic eye and a prominent stripe of scar tissue down his face is being a bit overbearing or uptight in any way when you don't know him quite so well, it would not make for a great first impression should word get back to him. 

Tack shrugs after a moment of thought. "Oh, Commander Wolffe? Yeah, I suppose so. He's a rather diligent man. Nothin' wrong with that of course-" 

"Of course, no." you cut in hurriedly. "I was only curious." 

"Don't know him so much, I'm guessing?" Tack makes a sound of understanding as you shake your head, "Ah, well, you haven't been here that long. Not many of us have been either, truthfully." He lays down a short summary of the battalion's history to you, answering questions best he can. Things changed dramatically after the Battle of Abregado; they lost so many brothers, there were only a few survivors of that encounter, and they were not always the flint gray they are now. 

"Maroon? Really."

"Mhm." 

"I see… And, his scar?" 

Tack suppresses a deep wince, but only just. "Sith." 

Your veins turn to ice momentarily in spite of the gentle warmth of the nearest star. "Maker." 

You've had your fill of the questions for the time being, wishing him luck as he tries his hand once more at identifying his mysterious flower. You're going to do your best not to stare at Commander Wolffe as he paces the perimeter of the clearing, keeping a vigilant watch for trouble. The General repeatedly invites him to have a seat and clear his mind for a moment, but he is turned down time and time again, politely but curtly. "No thank you, General Plo." 

The trooper you know to be Sergeant Sinker thanks to the pale, silver hair leans in closer to whisper something to the General, which only makes Jedi shake his head almost pityingly. "I was afraid of that… Thank you, Sinker." 

"Don't worry, General. He'll probably only pace for so long," Boost says in an attempt at comfort, "if the people of the planet were gonna come and investigate, they'd've done it by now. But we know to show them we mean 'em no harm." 

So was the Commander pacing the perimeter because he wanted to see any approachers before it was too late? Would he be keeping this up all day when they were meant to clear their heads for a change? Yes, they were advised to be aware of their surroundings, but securing a boundary might be a little much. What was driving him to be so watchful and defensive on a sparsely inhabited planet? 

Paranoia? Selflessness and love and concern for his brothers? Was this perhaps a sacrificial gesture: pacing and patrolling the circumference of the clearing to ensure that his soldiers, and some of the crew of the Triumphant, could be out here largely undisturbed without any rest for himself? 

If that was the case, it did not tug at your heartstrings gently. 

For someone with such a gentle name, Orchid has one of the worst swearing habits in the one-oh-fourth. "Oh karking Maker, the Commander finally sat the kriff down." Tack warns him to keep his voice down in a sharp-ish manner, and to take it easy on the language. 

You were glad that the man did finally decide to rest his legs and perhaps finally enjoy the day with the rest of you, but not so much where he decided to sit. 

You'd been trying to draw one of these interesting trees here on Little Archossi, where the sprawling crown of the canopy cascades down in thick, full plumes of leaves in multiple shades of red and orange. You had a few pencils for coloring in the bottom of the bag, and a decent pen that you could add a little ink to the page to outline some of the details, but now Commander Wolffe has plunked himself squarely in the middle of what you have been trying to draw for the last hour and a half. 

Of all the hills in this clearing, this is where he decided to sit? In front of the one tree in this entire area largely free of them? Everyone else has stayed clear of it when they realized they would be getting in the way of your artistic subject, apologizing and instead coming to sit beside you to watch for a few minutes. But he doesn't seem to notice you just across the way, just on the other hill. 

Well… it's not what you had in mind, but, maybe you could make this work, still. The armor and the anatomy won't be perfect by any means, though. You're thankful you kept your pressure light on the page, making it easier to erase a large area of the trunk you'd drawn previously and fill that space with the Commander. You just had to hope he didn't get up anytime soon.

Most of his body and the basic shapes of his armor are sketched out before the ceaseless skritch of the graphite must finally catch the Commander's attention just as you're warring with yourself on the matter of the codpiece. 

How much detail do I include here? Oh Maker if he sees this he'll probably realize I've been staring at his crot-

"What are you doing over there?" The voice from across the other grassy hill jolts you from your thoughts, and you are grateful you did not have your drawing implement against the page in that moment.

Oh, Maker, please do not let your face be red. "Ah, just doing a little outdoor sketching, Commander." Please do not let him ask you what you're drawing…

"What of…?" The Commander draws out his question, pausing when he probably does not remember, or know, your name. That's not super surprising, you tell yourself. You're just a crew member, and not one of his many men he interacts with on a regular basis. He not knowing your name is by no means personal. 

"Call me Arcadia. And the tree, sir."

"Am I in your way, Arcadia?" he asks, one of his eyebrows lifting just slightly with the question. 

"No, sir. You're not. You're included with the tree." you answer, stretching the truth. You have to hope that it doesn't come across in an unsettling or creepish fashion to the Clone Commander. Good impressions. Good impressions were important. "I, um, hope you don't mind." You don't want him to get up when he's just sat down. You don't want to feel like you're doing something unwelcome either. Something that would disrupt his enjoyment of this rare occasion in wartime; a peaceful day, among flowers and a grassy, hilly field surrounded by trees on all sides. His brothers are enjoying themselves, laying on their backs in the grass, faces warm in the golden sunlight with the day just beginning. 

The General is enjoying himself, and looks to be spending a little time with some of the other troops, showing them how to calm their minds with meditation. You heard one of the shinnies ask Master Plo about it not too long ago, and he was happy to oblige. 

Commander Wolffe should get to enjoy this day, too. 

"I don't mind." he answers. The tonal quality of his voice does not suggest begrudging agreement, a thinning veneer of patience, or complete indifference. "How long do I need to hold still?" He asks, the same eyebrow as before lifting again. 

"Not very," you reply, quickly returning your pencil to the page to begin sketching him again now that you were assured he would not be opposed to this, "the idea is to be quick when drawing outdoors, for the most part." 

"And why is that?" 

The graphite continues to skritter and skritch along the surface of the page, you do not stop what you are doing to answer him this time. You will get this done quickly, and you will take your work somewhere else to add color to it. "No two days will ever be the same, sir. Plein air painters and artists only have one day to complete what they work on." One day that you did not want to force being a live subject upon him. Agreeing to let you sketch his likeness into the sketchpad is one thing. Asking him to stay there as you added layers of color and ink to the page would be taking advantage of his agreement. His "day off". 

Resting his head back against the scale-patterned bark of the tree, Wolffe nods slowly in contemplation, closing his eyes. "And which are you, Arcadia?" You missed the question, so absorbed in the general shape of his face, and recalling that in order to draw eyes you need to keep them an eye's distance apart. 

"S-sorry, sir?" 

"I asked which one you are. A painter, or a different kind of artist." 

You shake your head softly, doing your best not to stammer terribly in shame for not hearing him. "Oh. I-I'm not much of a painter."  

"So a different kind of artist then," he suggests, tilting his head back just slightly for a moment while adjusting his legs in front of him, "a sketcher, perhaps." 

Your eyes meet with his for a fleeting moment when you glance back up from the page to finalize a few details of the position of his legs, the width of his thighs, and once again do not linger on the codpiece. "Um, I suppose? It's been a long time since I…" you trail off and shrug half-heartedly, unsure how to explain. Or if he even wants to hear it and is just making conversation to be polite. A man of his position and status in this war is busy, his mind must always be occupied with stratagem and contingencies and, recalling what Tack has said… loss. 

The Republic did not win that battle, and Wolffe lost so many brothers on top of it all. And an eye to a Sith. How much more would he lose? How much more would this galaxy take from him?

You frown, brow furrowing, at the thought. 

"What's the matter?" the man on the other hill asks you, expression neither puzzled or concerned. 

Quickly, you look back down at the page in your lap, and you choose something to lie about. "The detail on your shoulder plating. Unfortunately I think a lot of the finer details will be lost in the sketch." 

"Unfortunate." 

"Mhm…" 

You are thankful that you got most of the details down already. What you are not expecting is that when you look up again to make sure you have what you're looking for, you are now almost eye level with the white codpiece and the belt which his kama hangs from. Your heart is now hammering madly in your throat, and the rush of blood pounds steadily against your eardrum. Much like the silhouette of the Triumphant above Little Archossi, Commander Wolffe stands above you, and you feel small and almost frightened. (Almost.) 

You hadn't meant to, but you flinched to find him looming over you. He frowns. "Did I scare you?" You admit that he had, yes. You didn't even hear him move from under the tree on the other hill and come up to the top of this small knoll for all the armor he wore. "You need to pay attention to your surroundings at all times." Wolffe replies coolly, now dropping to sit next to you on your left. He removes the shoulder pad from his right upper arm, and holds it up beside your sketchpad. 

It feels a little insulting to be talked to like that, like one of his soldiers, when he told you to pay more attention. How dare he? "Sorry..." you mumble as you use the sharpest side of the pencil to try to copy down the wolf icon from a side-view on the graphite likeness of the man now next to you. "I didn't think you'd be moving so soon." 

More like at all. 

Maybe he can sense the subtext, and he becomes slightly apologetic. "Only thought it might help you to see it closer, Arcadia." Wolffe explains. He does not watch you, or respond in any way when you give a short sort of oh sound in reply to that; instead he visually sweeps the clearing for dangers or signs of trouble. You know he's listening to you, at least. The sound of short and terse scratches and more drawn-out, fluid, sweeping marks against the page keeps the moment from completely collapsing into uncomfortable silence. 

"...thanks." 

You've done the best you can to capture the face of the wolf, and the crescent moon-like shapes of the pad closest to you. You could probably stand to fine-tune Wolffe's face on the page, but that seems daunting to ask him to return under the tree on the other hill now just so you could get the proportions right. It wouldn't exactly come across well, you imagine. 

Thank you for showing me your shoulder pads up close and all but could you kriff off, now?

"You're welcome. Do you need anything else, Arcadia?" 

"No sir." you lie to the Commander through your teeth. You're just going to have to make do. This hill is taller than the other, and from here, you can see the whole clearing. This probably makes for an excellent vantage point with his strategic inclinations. "Thank you. I think I've gotten the right amount of detail, now, before I want to add some color." you continue, praying to all manner of galactic deities that you can now excuse yourself without any issue. But no such luck: you start to gather your datapad and other things, and he puts a stop to it with a single, simple question. 

He'd like to watch for a moment, if that's alright. 

Shit. 

"Sure." 

You put aside the graphite, and root through your bag for the coloring pencils. The bag has been largely untouched since it was given to you, but through one mishap or another the package of coloring pencils has been damaged, and the contents are now scattered in the bag. You have to hunt down all the necessary colors you need before any progress gets made. Sage will have to do for the grass, and Fawn will be your closest match to the color of the bark. For the leaves of the tree, Terra Cotta, a deep Marigold and Sunflower are your best choices. Regarding the Commander's armor… 

There's no gray. There is not a single gray pencil in the entire package. There's Lamp Black. But no gray. 

"Oh, kriff me sideways." you swear under your breath, forgetting the man beside you for the moment in your frustration. "Are you kidding me?" 

Wolffe just believes for the moment you can't find something, and takes the canvas bag from at your side without a word of permission. "Are you missing something?" 

You let it go that he's taken the bag to look, it's not that big of a deal. He's only trying to help. "Yes and no. I need gray for your armor, but the package doesn't have it." Giving him the broken carton, you let him see for himself that trying to look in your bag is a kind, but ultimately fruitless effort. 

An alternative is quietly pointed out. "... it does have maroon." 

Your heart hangs heavily in your rib cage knowing what you do now. You can only imagine his own heart will be heavier still. You have never seen the 104th battalion in that color of paint; only ever heard the tales of their escapades and exploits when their armor must have gleamed in that handsome and deep, warm red. 

But tragedy and loss has stolen the color out of their coats, and they move in shadow. 

Now when the Wolves run and hunt and fight, it is only in gray.

Note from Frost: I, uh... hoo boy. I don't know how to explain where this one came from. I feel a little out of my element, here, knowing what's coming and how under-practiced I am when it comes to writing more mature themes. Any pointers and/or feedback at all would be appreciated, honestly. Appreciate anyone who took the time to read this, too!

Don't have a fic taglist for the time being, but I'll likely start one soon if I can figure out how to make those forms some people have since I write a variety of stuff. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

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