#completely forgetting that hes always carrying something that happens to be on fire

[s0fter-sin]

circus/carnival au. ghost does extreme motorcycle stunts - globe of death, riding on his back wheel along tightropes that sort of thing - and soap is a fire swallower/dancer. soap is a roaming performer, he just finds empty spaces or bored people and starts twirling. he pretends not to notice that he always wanders towards a certain area at the same time every night to watch a certain masked daredevil defy gravity

[scmg11]

EMILY DICKINSON x READER

YOU CANNOT PUT A FIRE OUT

A/N: HELLO HELLOO! How are you guys doing? Missed me?

Enjoy this new chapter ❤️

Sending you love ❤️

-

Summary: Emily meets Y/N at the well one day and just falls in love for her. When she tries to find her again the next days, it seems like she just disappeared. She was ready to lose hope when one day she finds her in her house to start a job as her new maid with her aunt Maggie. What will happen then?

Warnings: just slightly groping, nothing too much explicit.

Word count: 15380 words.

-

The sun beamed all over the expanse of the Dickinson’s garden, warming up Emily’s face as she decided to spend her morning outside, leaning on her favorite three and just soaking up in the calmness that was the nature. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the tree’s trunk surface to take a few moments of quietness in, smiling widely when she heard a few birds chirping around her, setting a warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest that always put her in a good mood. "Emily!"

The brown haired girl sighed loudly at her moment being ruined and tried to drown the sound away, but she heard it again a few seconds later and inevitably opened her eyes and turned towards the source of the sound coming from her right side, right where her house was, "yes?" Emily had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes when her mother called her name once again, ignoring her answering to her calls and making her sit up and abandon her morning in the nature to go and see whatever she needed from her.

"Emily?! Emily?!" The brown haired girl scoffed under her breath on her way back to her house, she knew her mother had head her when she was leaning on the tree but called her over nonetheless and was keeping calling her despite seeing her walking over her house, "oh Emily, dear, you’re here."

"Yes mom, what did you need? I was enjoying my day out in nature."

"I am sure it can wait, honey. I need you to go fetch water."

"Why can’t Austin or Lavinia do it?"

As if on cue the blonde made her appearance from behind Emily’s mother with what Emily deemed her trademark adorable frown since they were kids, "I did it yesterday and Austin is a man. He can’t do it."

"Right, you would believe he would be perfect for it since men’s are always bragging about themselves being strong, stronger than women, when in fact they are staying all day behind a desk while women do all the physical, exhausting stuff."

"You’re talking nonsense sweetheart." Emily rolled her eyes right in her mother’s face and grabbed the two empty buckets she had in her hands and trudged begrudgingly outside her house to walk towards the well to go fetch water as her mother asked her to.

-

"Oh no, I’m so sorry! I should��ve watched where I was going! Oh no, your dress is completely drenched, here let me help you." In mere seconds Emily bumped accidentally into a girl carrying four buckets full of water, resulting in one of them spilling over her blu navy dress, but got also got flooded with a multitude of rushed words of regret and of apology, an adorable sight that made Emily forget about her dress being completely drenched in the late summer weather.

"Don’t worry, it’s totally fine. I wasn’t watching where I was going, I had my head elsewhere. So I should be the one apologizing." Emily smiled reassuringly at the distressed girl as she desperately tried to find something to dry Emily’s dress.

"No, no. It was my fault!"

Emily tried to look at the girl’s face but it was completely covered by her hair cascading in front of it as she had her head down in search of a cloth in her small apron’s pocket she had around her hips, "I insist on taking the blame. Hey, please stop worrying. It will dry up eventually, it’s not a big deal."

"No, no. It should be here. I had it here an hour ago!"

"Hey, please. Relax, take a deep breath." Emily tried to calm the girl down and for the first time she seemed to do listen to her, sighing loudly as she took her hands out of her apron’s pocket and lifted her head up slowly.

Emily felt like the world stopped existing for just a moment when her eyes met the girl’s ones, establishing a connection that send a thrill down her spine and that lighted up her whole body, a sensation she had never felt before. "Are you okay?"

Emily took her time to commit to memory every single feature on the girl’s face, from the perfect slope of her nose to the soft bump of her cheekbones, from the gentle but still defined angle of her jaw, to the smooth surface of her chin and finally focusing all her attention on the plumpness of her velvety lips. Emily almost got lost again in the vastness of the girl’s eyes when she met them again that she almost forgot to answer the girl’s question, making her appear a bit dumb in front of her for gawking at her, "yeah, yes. I’m fine. Totally fine. Great. Hm-." Emily cleared her throat to stop herself from embarrassing herself some more continued with a regained composure, "how about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine. Thank you."

"Good, I’m glad to hear that." Emily smiled gently at the girl before shaking her head as if she was the dumbest person on earth, "I’m Emily by the way."

"Y/N." The girl smiled gently at the poet while putting a strand of hair that fell in front of her face behind her ear, a gesture that made Emily’s brain melt as she took in the girl’s beauty.

"Y/N." Emily repeated, testing the girl’s name out, feeling a warmth spreading throughout her entire body as the name rolled over her tongue. "I like it. Y/N. It’s a really pretty name."

"Thank you. Emily is a great name too."

"Yeah, it has a Latin origin, it-."

"It’s a Roman name. It means laborious and eager among other things." Y/N interjected the brunette before she could speak and Emily had never felt so infatuated by someone in so little time.

"Yeah, how do you know that?"

"I like reading a lot. I do it whenever I can." Emily didn’t know it could have been possibile being interested in someone in so very little time, but she was starting to feel something for this girl, something she had only felt for one person only before.

"I like that too, a lot. What are you reading right now?"

"I just finished reading ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ by Dickens. I liked it. What about you?"

"I am in the middle of reading The Divine Comedy by Dante. I’m halfway through Inferno."

"Oh I liked it a lot even though Purgatorio and Paradiso are just as beautiful. I mean his writing style gets more complex and more refined after each part."

Emily felt like she was floating through a new dimension where only Y/N and her existed, instigating a myriad of new emotions Emily never felt before that mixed with a few ones she only felt for Sue. "Wow, I-. I don’t know what to say. It’s the first time I hear someone talk about Dante’s amazing work without it being repeated from some stupid journalist’s review. No one really care to really read it. Or at least comprehend its real meaning behind his words."

"Because not everyone can see through what’s in front of them. There’s beauty hidden in every single thing we know, creating something new that just awaits to be discovered, studied. Most people just waits for someone else to do it." Y/N reasoned with a shrug, like she just didn’t made Emily fall madly in love with her brain.

"Wow- I- I feel like you had been in my mind and found a way to make it speak for itself. You-."

"Y/N! Are you ready to go?!" The poet got interrupted by a loud voice coming from behind Emily and when she turned around to look at who was yelling, she found a middle-aged woman with blonde hair styled in a perfect, classy bun, a blue dress with an apron on her front similar to Y/N’s one waving at her from the grocery’s shop a few feet from them.

"Sorry, I need to go. It was great talking with you Emily."

Emily felt her stomach drop at the aspect of having to part ways with Y/N, trying to find a way to prolong their time together. As she closed herself in her mind to think she didn’t notice Y/N refilling the bucket she unwillingly spilled over Emily and walked towards the woman, saluting Emily with a small nod. The gesture pulled Emily out of her thoughts and coming up empty-handed with ideas to make Y/N stay with her a bit longer, she could only sigh out loud, resigned but also completely smitten for the Y/H/C girl, before letting out softly, "the pleasure was all mine Y/N."

-

"Emily, where is the water?"

"What?" Emily got ripped out of her own thoughts full of the mysterious and intriguing Y/N by her mother as soon as she entered her house, her mother stopping her in their small hallway in front of the door and the living rooms before she could run upstairs and let her thoughts flow freely as she wrote a poem or two.

"The water Emily. I sent you fetching water an hour ago. Where is it?"

"Oh shit!" Emily just then noticed she came home empty-handed, she forgot her empty buckets at the well after her encounter with Y/N. "I forgot them at the well!"

"How?! You went there just for fetching water. How did you manage to forget that Emily?"

"I- I gotta go. Later!"

"Emily!"

"I don’t have time mom, I need to-." Emily got stopped mid-sentence and in her track towards her house’s door by her mother’s authoritative voice calling her from the living room.

"Emily! Come here, now."

"Mom, I have everything under control. I got distracted and I forgot the buckets there. I will be quick. I will go get them, fetch water and come back here." Emily explained quickly, hoping her mother wouldn’t be so much angry at herself for not doing what she asked her to do and getting ready for her scolding when she sighed out loud, pinched the bridge of her nose angrily and closed her eyes.

"It’s not that Emily. You are always avoiding doing chores, always complaining about them and never doing them in the end. It’s time for you to grow up. You will need to know how to be a proper housewife."

"But mom, I-."

"No buts." Emily’s mother ended their discussion with those final words spoken with authority and nodded at her daughter when she nodded dejected at her not winning this argument. "Since Lavinia is going to get a few groceries from the store and I’m going with her with the carriage, I’m going to go fetch water, while you’ll go into your room and think about what you did."

"Okay, mom. I’m so sorry." Emily’s mother smiled gently at her daughter for apologizing and laid a soft kiss on her forehead before she walked towards the stairs that would led to the first floor where the bedrooms were. She smiled apologetically at her mother once again but before she could go up the stairs and into her room to think and most importantly let her mind flow with writing her poems, she got stopped in her tracks.

"What is happening here?" Emily turned around at the sound of her father’s voice reaching her ears as he made his way into the living room after exiting his office, where he had been holed up the whole morning.

"Edward, your daughter Emily this morning was tasked to go fetch water and after disappearing for more than an hour, she also forgot our buckets at the well. Unbelievable!" Emily hung her head down in shame and closed her eyes to get herself ready for one of her father’s scoldings, not particularly thrilled on having her good mood ruined right now, but she had a feeling it was coming anyway as it was well due after her forgetting their buckets at the well.

"But also hilarious." Emily lifted her head up in shock after hearing her father’s words, not exactly expecting them, and widened her eyes comically. What was actually hilarious to Emily was her mother’s bewildered expression that stretched over her face as she stared in shock at her father. If she wasn’t already walking on thin ice, she would have laughed at her mother’s expression, so she kept quiet and listened to the conversation unfolding in front of her.

"Excuse me, dear, what?!"

"Oh c’mon, Mrs. Dickinson. You have to admit, it’s funny." Emily laughed nervously when her father started laughing loudly while looking at her mother then at her.

"But-." Emily bit on her bottom lip to prevent her smile to widen when her mother tried to reason with her father but he waved her off with a few chuckles still coming out of his lips.

"Oh, come on now Mrs. Dickinson. I know you want to laugh." Edward smiled at his wife and pointed his finger at the blonde woman, not putting it down until she saw a small grin making its way onto the woman’s lips, "ah there it is!"

"Oh dear, always finding a way to laugh! Anyway, I’m going with Lavinia to the grocery store and to retrieve our buckets to fetch water for dinner tonight."

"Great, I’m coming with you girls. I need to go to speak to Ronald about a really important matter I worked on this morning."

"Oh that’s wonderful, dear. Emily, why don’t you make it up to us by starting dinner?" Emily almost let her jaw drop down on the floor at her mother’s request. She knew she wasn’t a great cook, she hated cooking and something always ended up catching fire. But she also knew this was her mother’s way to tell her she wasn’t forgiven for the fetching water fiasco as her father made it sound and as much as she wanted to fight over it, she knew there wasn’t a way out of this. Oh, well it was worth a try.

"Mom, I don’t th-."

"Oh what a wonderful idea Mrs. Dickinson! I can’t wait to taste what you will prepare for us Emily! Let’s go now, we are gonna be late!"

Emily sighed dejected while making her way towards the kitchen to start up dinner and as she tried to not set the whole house on fire, she let her mind fill with the few memories she had of Y/N. She was fascinating, captivating, alluring. She piqued Emily’s interest with just a few words and when Y/N expressed her passion for books, ignited a fire in Emily that had been extinguished since she had broken things off with Sue. Could that mean something? Emily was sure she felt their souls connect in such a raw and deep way she had never experienced before, but would that be enough for Y/N as it was for her? As she started baking the freshly made loaf of bread, a sudden need to know if Y/N felt the same hit her and with a renewed determination she set her mind to try to encounter the Y/H/C girl the next morning.

-

"Good morning my dear mother." Emily entered the kitchen with a grin so bright they could have used it to light up the whole house at night, arousing suspects from her mother that stared at her warily as she watched her make her way towards her as she prepared their breakfast.

"Emily, good morning to you too. Did something happen that put you in a good mood?"

"Nothing in particular. I just woke up like this today. Do you need help? I still want to make it up to you again for yesterday. Maybe I can go fetch the water again? This time I will bring back the buckets, I promise." Emily tried to be as subtle as she could without making her mother ask the real reasons behind her intentions on wanting to go fetch water, finishing with a joke to sell it better.

"Oh sweety, what a wonderful idea. You can help me with putting everything in the living room. And don’t worry about fetching water, Vinnie already went this morning."

With her heart sinking down in her stomach, she reluctantly grabbed the tray full of their breakfast her mother already prepared to the living room, trudging a bit in her steps as she tried to think of another strategy to meet Y/N again.

-

"Emily can you please help me with dinner?"

"I can’t mom, I need to write. I don’t have time to help you with dinner or chores."

"Well, I am sure it can wait." Emily snorted under her breath at her mother’s rebuttal as she made her way into her room.

"No mom, it sadly can’t. When words flow out of me I can’t stop them or ask them to wait to help with chores."

"It’s worth a try, isn’t it? I need help Emily, Vinnie is setting the table after cleaning the house, so you’re the one who will help me. C’mon, it will be fun!"

"I’m sure it will, but I really can’t right now. It would be so much easier if we get a housemaid to help you out."

"You are talking nonsense Emily, I am perfectly capable of doing it all by myself and with the help of my daughters everything can be done faster, so now please come down with me and help me out. You will write later." Emily sighed out as she let her pencil fall down on her desk, the soft clinking sound of the pencil hitting the wooden surface of her desk calmed Emily just a little, making a quick grin appear on her lips before a small frown took its place. The poet sat up slowly from her desk, placing both of her hands on it to slowly stand up, the screeching sound of the chair moving back filling the sudden silent room as her mother watched her movements with rapt attention.

"I will help you for just a bit, but I can’t take too long on helping you with chores because I’m really trying to finish a poem."

"That’s the spirit! C’mon honey, I will show you how to make the perfect roasted chicken that will make you the perfect housewife every gentleman would love to marry."

More like gentlewoman. Emily added in her mind and as soon as that thought came into her mind, Y/N appeared right after as she smiled lovingly at her. That instantly made Emily stop in her tracks on the stairs, watching blankly her mother’s back as she descended the stairs and rambled about roasted chicken Emily wasn’t interested in listening at the moment. What made Emily freeze in her spot was the fact that for the first time since she could remember she didn’t imagine marrying Sue. She imagined Y/N. And that thought excited her to no end, instead of scaring her. "Shit." Emily sighed dopily as she smiled with her eyes full of love as another image of Y/N waving at her entered her mind.

"Emily, hurry up!" Emily let her dumb smile linger a few more seconds on her features before shaking her head and resuming her way down the stairs to join her mother in the kitchen and help her with their dinner.

-

"We should hire a maid to help mom out in the house."

"What?"

"We should hire a maid to help mom out in the house."

"I heard you the first time dear, I was just shocked by the request." Edward smiled gently at her daughter repeating herself before going back to being serious as he regarded her with a curious look in his features. "Why should we hire a maid? Your mother is perfectly capable of doing a good job here."

"Ah- a great job dear! I told you this earlier Emily. We don’t need a maid."

"But it would be so much easier for you. For all of us! She would help mom with chores so she doesn’t tire herself out every single day. And she would do a lot of things mom asks me or Vinnie to do. C’mon dad, think about it!"

"Well-."

"Edward you are not seriously considering it, aren’t you?"

"Honey, she is not completely wrong. She would help you out, you know I hate how much tired you are at the end of the day."

They kept discussing it for a few more minutes as they enjoyed their dinner but when the dessert came, her mother served it in an unsettling silence so they moved onto a new subject Emily wasn’t interested in listening. As she ate her dessert she couldn’t help but let her eyes linger on her mother a few times and observed her as she stayed quiet for the rest of the dinner with a sad expression on her features. Despite her mother not taking assuming a maid to help her too well, Emily was sure she will come around eventually. Emily knew she was asking to hire a maid to have more time to write but she also really wanted her to help her mother and ease her load of work to do in the house.

-

"Good morning dear family."

"Good morning to you too Edward." Emily’s mother smiled widely at her husband as she finished serving everybody’s breakfast before her grin got ten times wider and brighter when Edward leaned over and kissed her gently.

"Hm, I can smell so many delicious things today." Emily watched as her father sat down in his chair and brought up his newspaper to read the news, his smile never dampening.

"I can see you are in a good mood this morning, dear."

"Because I am."

"I’m glad to hear that, honey."

"How is my family doing this morning?" Edward brought his newspaper down after reading a few paragraphs of the first news and took a sip of his tea, then moving onto taking a bite of her wife’s famous scones, humming in satisfaction at the taste.

"I am good dad, I just finished reading an article about financial management that I found pretty interesting." Austin was the first to speak up after taking a sip of his own tea, smiling at his father as he did so when he nodded at him in understanding.

"And what about my girls?"

"Last night I finished sewing a pillow for my cat, he loves it!" Lavinia announced with a bright grin, her enthusiasm filling the room as everyone at the table smiled at the ecstatic blonde.

"I finished a few poems I was working on."

"That’s great guys, I see everyone is proud of their achievements! But now let’s move on why I am in a good mood today. There is a reason and that said reason is- after considering it for the last few days, I decided that we will hire a maid to help in the house!"

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed at the table at the same time with excited tones, except for Mrs. Dickinson, who looked at her husband like he went completely nuts.

"Yeah!" Edward smiled alongside his son and daughters, not noticing her wife’s expression yet, "I thought about it and in the end it was a really great idea Emily!"

"I’m so happy to hear that dad!"

"Honey, why are you doing this?" Mrs. Dickinson finally found her voice to speak up and asked in a strained tone the first thing that came up in her hazed mind still shocked from the news Edward delivered.

"Oh dear, it will be good for the house and for you. You tire yourself up too much for this house."

"But- I’m fine."

"I know you want to make it look like it, but I know some days are really stressful. I see how spent you are after those days at night. I’m doing this for you too!" Edward explained calmly as he enjoyed his breakfast, his good mood still on.

"Yeah, I can be a little tired, but a great night of sleep sweeps it all away and restores my energy back."

"I am sure of that, but it will good! We can do more small trips or spend days differently when I am not working and you’re not thinking about doing any kind of chore in the house."

"Yeah, mom, it will be good for everyone here, you’ll see!" Austin butted in with a cheerful tone and nodded at her mother still looking worried and skeptic.

"Yeah mom, you can finally focus on yourself a bit more." Lavinia then decided to add her thoughts too, trying to encourage her mother on relaxing on this topic, although she knew it was a sore spot since she always aspired to be a great housewife and having a maid restrained her from doing that in her mind.

"Mom, think about it, you can find a new hobby with the extra free time you will have!" It was Emily this time that spoke up, encouraging her mother with a brighter-than-the-sun grin that unfortunately her mother didn’t reciprocate as she stayed frozen in her chair with her eyebrows furrowed together and a sad expression on her features.

"See? The kids have all good points!" Edward looked at his wife with a wide grin, nodding at her encouragingly, "anyway, the decision is already made. They are coming here tonight."

"They?" Emily wanted to snort under her breath at the outraged tone her mother used to pose the question to her father, but decided to stay still for once and enjoy the show in front of her.

"Yeah, two of them. One of my dearest friends is moving to Minnesota and he doesn’t need his maids anymore since he won’t take them with him, so they are coming here. He told me they are the best maids in Amherst. An Irish woman and her niece."

"That’s so exciting!" Lavinia exclaimed as she clapped her hands enthusiastically, making Emily and Austin smile fondly at her.

-

"Ah, good evening! Come inside please!"

"Good evening Mr. Dickinson." Emily could hear from downstairs his father greeting guests at the door but she shrugged and went back to her poem, but for some reason her attention shifted back to the new guests in their house and after a few more attempt of focusing to write a few more lines in vain, the poet gave up and sighed out loud as she placed everything in her small drawer in her desk, before sitting up from the chair and making her way downstairs to greet their guests.

"We’re so happy to have you here!"

"The pleasure is all ours Mr. Dickinson." An Irish accent waved through the air, increasing Emily’s curiosity and made her almost sprint down the stairs to go see the new maids as soon as she realized who their guests were.

"Oh Lavinia, come here. They are our new maids."

"Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you Miss Dickinson." Something like a familiar voice reached Emily’s ears as she descended the last few steps and almost fell down of them when she got at the top of the last set of stairs and her eyes met with a pair of wonderful, familiar irises.

"The pleasure is all mine, trust me!"

"Ah, Emily! You are here too. They are our new maids."

"Oh hello Miss Dickinson."

"Good evening Miss Dickinson."

"H-hello. Just call me Emily, please." The poet found the strength to descend the last few steps and even talk coherently before walking slowly towards the two new guests in her house, stopping right beside her father.

"You will meet my son soon. He is coming here with his wife tonight. And about my wife, I really don’t know where she is." Edward joked, making the two guests laugh softly under their breath, clear, wide smiles etched on their lips. "Anyway, they are Mrs. Maggie and Miss Y/N."

"It’s a real pleasure meeting you both." Lavinia butted in sincerely and nodded at them softly, meanwhile Emily still tried to properly kickstart her brain.

"It’s a pleasure for me too. I hope you will enjoy staying here."

"Oh Miss Dickinson, I am sure it will be amazing staying here." Maggie countered back with a warm grin, mirrored by Y/N right after with a small nod of her head.

"Alright, girls would you mind showing them around?"

"I need to finish a few things for my art lesson tomorrow." Lavinia admitted dejectedly and the fact that she could potentially be alone with Y/N again thrilled Emily to no end.

"I can show them around the house, no problem Vinnie. Dad we will see you later."

"Okay, have fun!" Emily smiled and nodded at her father before dorkily lifting her thumb up and saluted him before signaling Y/N and Maggie to follow her in the kitchen.

"Alright, this is the kitchen. A place my mom likes to call her kingdom." Emily joked with a soft snort that morphed into a squeal when her mother appeared out of nowhere.

"That’s right dear."

"Mom! You scared our guests!"

"I think you were the most scared here, honey." Emily rolled her eyes at her mother’s teasing and shook her head with an amused smile.

"Mom, they are Y/N and Maggie. Our new maids."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Dickinson." Y/N was the first to speak up, trying to look cool when inside she was freaking out about meeting Emily again. She thought she would’ve never encountered her again.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Dickinson."

"You are so young Maggie." Emily smiled subtly as she sunk her teeth on her bottom lip to prevent to be caught laughing about her mother being so caught up in being mad for having maids in their house that she didn’t even pay attention remember their names, since she called Y/N Maggie.

"Mom, she is Y/N. She is Maggie." Emily emphasized the word ‘she’ as she pointed to the redhead and noticed, to her surprise, that both of their guests had amusement on their faces.

"Oh sorry, I have a terrible headache and I do not have my usual laser focused attention on anything today." Emily’s mother tried to cover up her mistake with a made up lie and laughed softly to light the air up quickly.

"Ah you should see me with an headache, I don’t even walk straight. I bump into things all the time." The redhead joked before moving on telling Emily’s mother an old Irish remedy for headache.

-

After a delicious dinner her mother prepared Y/N and Maggie disappeared into the kitchen to clean everything up, despite her mother’s protests, who in the end stayed still in her loveseat in the living room. The whole family stayed about an half an hour to chat, before everyone called it a night, saying goodbye to Sue and Austin, before going upstairs to sleep. Emily stayed in the living room a little bit more to pretend to read, staring at the words written on her book, as she waited for the perfect moment to ‘casually bump’ into Y/N before she could go to sleep in her room. Luckily she didn’t have to wait too long. "Go to bed aunt Maggie. We are almost done. I can finish the last touches myself."

"Are you sure?" Emily could hear the hesitation in Maggie’s tone, not wanting her niece to finish alone, but she could already picture Y/N protest with a resolute nod despite not knowing the girl at all except for a few details they shared a few days prior.

"I am sure auntie. Go. I will finish this up quickly and I will go to sleep too."

"Okay munchkin. Don’t wear yourself out. We have to wake up early tomorrow for breakfast."

"I won’t. Goodnight auntie."

"Goodnight Y/N/N." Emily immediately moved herself from her position on the loveseat as she was leaning over to take a small peak from the kitchen and eavesdrop as good as she could and pretended to casually read before Maggie could catch her. "Oh Miss Dickinson, still up?"

"Oh hey, Maggie. Yeah, I couldn’t sleep so I decided to read for a bit hoping sleep to find me."

"Ah, you should try the concoction my uncle used to make me when I couldn’t sleep. It was disgusting but it always made me sleep like a baby." Maggie delivered another one of her great and funny anecdotes to give her personal advice and Emily smiled kindly up at her as she caressed the pages of her book.

"One of these days you could make me some and we will see if it works for me too!"

"Alright. Goodnight Miss Dickinson."

"Goodnight Maggie." Emily smiled widely at the redhead before watching her walk up the stairs until she disappeared behind the wall. Emily stayed still for a few more seconds, listening for Maggie’s room’s door to close before immediately closing her book and sitting up, placed the book back in its designated place and almost sprinted into the kitchen, excited to finally spend some time alone with Y/N. She had been trying to do that for the whole evening, but she always had something to do with someone always in the way.

"Spying on people is wrong Miss Dickinson." Emily jumped up in fright as she had been caught staring from the threshold of the kitchen Y/N putting the plates they used during their dinner in the cabinet on top of the counter.

"Sorry, I was watching you work."

"Yeah, I noticed it." Emily smiled as her teeth sunk in her bottom lip at Y/N’s sarcastic counter back and walked into the kitchen, stopping right in front of Y/N, the kitchen’s wooden table separating them. The fire in the fireplace was still crackling softly in the silent room, bathing the room with an orange light that highlighted Y/N’s Y/E/C irises and almost made Emily faint at such ethereal beauty.

"Have you finished yet? You must be tired."

"I am, just a bit, but I am almost finished."

"Do you need some help?" Emily asked in hope Y/N would say yes, so she could prove to her she wasn’t the snotty rich girl that didn’t want to help in her house with chores. She didn’t exactly know why, but she just wanted to do it.

"No don’t worry. Aren’t you tired?"

"Not at all, I tend to have a lot of energy at night."

"Oh so you sleep during the day?"

"Not really. I am not a morning person, but I don’t oversleep."

"Oh I see." Emily detected a sarcastic lilt in Y/N’s tone and immediately wanted to prove to Y/N she wasn’t a lazy person.

"I swear I am not! Do you remember when we met a few days ago? It was around 7 a.m.! That was early in the morning!"

"Yeah, but I also remember that after that you forgot your buckets at the well." Y/N teased making Emily drop her jaw on the floor flabbergasted, making Y/N snort under her breath.

"I-I was distracted! I wanted to get them back but my mother prevented me to and did it herself."

"Yeah, I saw her." Y/N still had an amused grin on her lips but Emily could see the entertainment in her eyes that made Emily realize she was just messing with her and for a mysterious reason Emily wanted her to keep going, she wanted to be the subject of her teasing and entertainment just to see her smile.

"I tried to find you again at the well the next few days but I never did."

"Yeah, I was busy in the house helping Mr. Peterson with packing all his family’s stuff for their moving."

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense." Emily nodded in understanding before detaching her eyes from Y/N’s magnetic ones and focused instead on her wringing hands.

"Did you finish Dante’s Divina Commedia?"

"Yeah, last night actually. This morning I tried to find something new to start but nothing piqued my interest." Emily admitted after moving her gaze back on Y/N, who now placed the cloth she had previously in her hands neatly folded on the table.

"Ah I see. It happens to me all the time."

"Do you have some recommendations?"

"Hm, I need to think about it. I am a little bit tired and I can’t actually think about anything worth your while right now." Y/N chuckled after finishing speaking as she shyly made her way towards Emily, who stood a few feet from her.

"Oh then I won’t keep you away from sleeping."

"No, no. Don’t worry. I like talking to you but for now, as late as it is, I would like to keep our conversation as simple as possible."

"That’s fine by me."

"Do you want to stay here or-."

Emily didn’t let Y/N finish as she spoke up without thinking, blurting words out without any control, "we can go up to my room."

Y/N seemed taken aback for a few quick moments before a mischievous grin replaced the confused frown she had on, "oh I see where this is going."

"What-? OH! NO, NO, NO, NO! Y/N!" Emily exclaimed in shock before slapping Y/N’s shoulder gently, watching as she snickered under her breath at her joke.

"What?! It was a legit reaction from me!"

"I am not trying to seduce you!" But I would like to. Emily thought wistfully in her head as she tried to look as shocked as she felt a few seconds prior instead of looking like a kicked puppy yearning for cuddles.

"That’s not what your words sounded like Miss Dickinson."

"Ugh, you are unbelievable!"

"Let’s go now." Y/N shook her head with a small chuckle, making Emily’s heart clench at her cuteness.

"I-Okay. But it’s not done!"

"Whatever, now let’s go!"

"Okay, okay. Relax." The two made their way up the stairs as quietly as they could since everyone was already asleep and as soon as Emily closed the door behind herself, she felt butterflies fly around her stomach in excitement. She was with Y/N, in her bedroom, alone.

"Nice room." Y/N admitted as she took Emily’s bedroom in, walking around the small room to try to take in as much details about Emily as she could in the softly lit room.

"Thank you. You can sit on my bed, you are tired. I will take the chair."

"I can’t sit down Emily. I am your maid."

"I don’t care."

"I am serious Emily. It won’t be a problem-." Emily stopped Y/N mid-sentence by walking towards her and stopping right in front of her before placing her hands on her shoulders and pushing her gently backwards until the back of her knees touched her mattress, then she pushed her down and made her sit on the bed.

"There, it wasn’t so bad, was it?" Emily smirked proudly down at a shocked Y/N and following the bold thrill she had been hit on, she sat right beside Y/N and bumped their shoulders together.

"You are always so full of surprises Miss Dickinson." Y/N admitted and Emily called herself crazy because she saw Y/N blush slightly under the soft light coming from the fireplace. It must be her infatuated mind playing her games.

"It’s something you need to get used to from now on."

"Hm, I like it though."

"I’m glad to hear that." For a moment they just stood there, sat in silence in Emily’s room, gazing into each other’s eyes as small smiles adorned their features.

"I noticed all those small scraps of paper on your desk, what are those for?"

"Oh I write my poems on them. I am actually working on a poem right now."

"Are you serious?"

"Very." Emily nodded and smiled as she pushed her chest up proudly, "do you want to read a few things I’ve written?"

"Oh yeah! Absolutely!"

"Okay then." Emily sat up from her bed and walked towards her desk, opened the small drawer and grabbed a few poems she was sure Y/N would’ve liked, of course she didn’t grab the few ones she wrote about her.

"Wow, there are so many!"

"Yeah!" Emily smiled brightly like a kid on Christmas Day, just like every time she talked about her poems, and watching Y/N’s eyes fill with excitement warmed her heart.

"I can’t wait to read them!"

"Okay, which one do you want to start with?"

"I don’t know, you are the poet. You should tell me."

"I- I don’t actually know! Let me think- I want you to start with-." Emily trailed off to pick one out of the five ones she brought to Y/N as she sat back down on the bed, "this one, but then I also want you to read this one first." Emily pointed to another poem with her pointer finger as she held the previous poem she choose in her hand and smiled sheepishly at Y/N.

"Okay, let’s try with this. What is the poem you are the most proud of. Don’t think too much. Just point at it."

"Okay, hm- this one then."

"Alright." Y/N grabbed the poem Emily gave her and opened the small folded up paper, reading the words written in Emily’s elegant but a bit messy handwriting. The edges of the paper were a little bit dirty with ink but it only made the poem ten times better, full of raw emotions and vulnerability.

"What do you think?" Emily asked anxiously after a few minutes passed by and Y/N haven’t opened her mouth yet, her Y/E/C irises glued on the small piece of paper and her face completely blank, making reading her face a really difficult task for the poet.

"I-I-. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read, Emily. It’s so raw, so real. It opened my mind to new possibilities, it made my eyes see the world from another point of view. It felt like I was in your mind and I could see the world how you see it."

"Do you think so?"

"Absolutely!" Emily felt tears prickle behind her eyes at Y/N’s words, something really rare despite how emotional Emily was about her poems. She was very proud of them and when people complimented them it only helps to boost her self-esteem but it never happened that just a few words made her almost cry. Y/N was really special.

"Thank you. Truly." Emily smiled appreciatively at Y/N as she tried with all her might to not cry in front of Y/N. "No one ever complimented my poems that way."

"Well people are dumb and stupid. You are an amazing writer and your poems will change lives." Emily smiled bittersweetly at that as she picked at a thumbnail nervously. Those words. She recalled them being said by Sue.

"Yeah, I already heard that. Someone already told me."

"And why do you not believe in them?"

"It’s not that I don’t believe in them." Emily started slowly, swallowing the small lump that immediately formed in her throat as her mind filled with memories of Sue, of all the great time she spent with her, of how much she cared for her. "It’s just that- the person that told me that doesn’t tell me those words anymore."

"Why? Did they change their minds?"

"No absolutely not. We just- grew apart I think. She has a new life now. I’m not a part of it anymore."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Y/N asked in a soft voice, leaning her head to the side, in a cute manner Emily noted, and looking at Emily with a gentle gaze as soon as she noticed the poet’s sad expression on her features.

"Not right now. I will, I trust you. I just- I don’t want to ruin the mood or like- annoy you."

"You won’t ever annoy me Emily Dickinson. You have such a way with words that you make listening to you alluring." Emily felt her eyes prickle slightly with unshed tears again as she listened to Y/N’s words and smiled appreciatively at her.

"I- I don’t know what to say. I-thank you."

"You don’t need to thank me Emily. I mean that. I hope you know I am sincere."

"I know, I can sense it from your voice and your eyes." Emily pointed her words out with her brown eyes as she glued them to Y/N’s Y/E/C irises, noticing Y/N swallowing almost imperceptibly at the bold gesture but decided to not comment on it.

"You know-." Y/N started after a few moments of them just staring into each other eyes, both feeling the air around them charge with an unknown electricity but not dwelling or thinking about it too much, but got cut off by a big yawn. She promptly covered her mouth with her hand before placing it back on her lap and smiling embarrassedly at Emily with a small blush on her cheeks, "sorry, I am a bit tired."

"Don’t apologize. I should be the one apologizing for keeping you up this late at night after the busy day you had. Not to mention the busy early day you will have tomorrow. Shit, I am so sorry." Emily grimaced after she realized she had been keeping Y/N from her well-needed sleep, but Y/N, the cute self she is, only shook her head gently.

"No, no, no, Emily. It’s fine. I wanted to spend some time with you too."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Y/N smiled widely at Emily before starting to get up from her bed, "well, I should go to sleep now. I need to be up at 6 a.m. to start preparing breakfast."

"Do you need some help with that tomorrow morning?"

"Another one of these questions. Hm, are you sure you really needed a maid? You seem to want to do all these chores by yourself." Y/N questioned with a mocking tone as a small, entertained smirk appeared on her lips, mirth clear in her Y/E/C irises as they eyed Emily teasingly.

"I just-." Emily trailed off to ponder her options. She could easily lie about her real intentions behind her question or she could be bold for once and actually tell she just want to spend as much time as she could with Y/N to get to know her. She decided to be bold for once. She was tired not listening to her heart’s desires. "I like your company and I really want to spend more time with you."

"Oh Emily, we will spend more time together, I promise. My aunt Maggie established a few shifts between us. I have an early morning but I work till 6 p.m., then I’m done for the day. We can do something together after dinner like tonight." Y/N suggested as she idly played with her fingers, anticipation filling her whole body as she waited for Emily’s reaction to her suggestion.

"That would be great!" Emily exclaimed excitedly and had to really stop herself from jumping up and down in happiness at the prospect of spending more time with Y/N, just sticking on grinning widely at Y/N, who did the same.

"Okay then. Goodnight." Y/N nodded towards Emily and turned around to open the door, before turning her head back around to look at Emily once again, waiting her answer.

"Goodnight Y/N. Sleep well."

"You too."

Y/N opened the door completely and exited the room, smiled at Emily one more time before closing the door, sauntering into her room, across from her aunt’s one. As soon as the door closed, Emily sighed out dreamily and let herself fall on her mattress with a dopey smile on her lips, the soft thud filling the silence in the room. "Y/N." She whispered under her breath before closing her eyes and let her mind be filled with images of Y/N as she let sleep take over her.

-

"Good morning!" Emily exclaimed as soon as she entered the living room, her face illuminated by a big grin that lighted up the whole room, making her whole family, already seated at the table, look at her curiously.

"Someone is in a great mood today." Edward pointed out after he pushed his newspaper down and took a look at her daughter.

"I just slept good, that’s all."

"You are right on time honey, I was just telling your father that Austin and Sue will join us for dinner tonight again." Emily spit the sip of tea she was drinking at the news, not noticing the small snort that left Y/N’s mouth as she served the poet her breakfast, luckily only Emily heard that.

"What?"

"Isn’t it amazing? It’s been too long since they had been here with us. They are so busy with their sophisticated parties these days. It’s a rare occasion having them joining us for two nights in a row."

"Parties I am paying." Edward pointed out making Emily grunt in acknowledgement. She was avoiding Sue at all costs and she was glad the night prior they were all busy chatting, it made avoiding Sue easier.

"Parties we are not invited to. Em you are Sue’s best friend, why don’t you ask her to invite us?" Lavinia lamented with a whining tone, pushing gently on her sister’s shoulder but then crossing her arms stubbornly when Emily just gently shook her head.

"She has new friends now. She is not interested in hanging out with us anymore." Y/N couldn’t help but notice the bittersweet tone Emily used as she addressed her sister’s question and the sad expression that flitted over her features for just over a second before it got covered by a calculated blank expression, but she couldn’t dwell on it too much as she kept serving breakfast to the Dickinson family, so she made a mental note to ask Emily about it that night.

"Speaking of friends, Emily!" Emily’s mother caught the poet’s attention and continued only when she met her eyes, "I met George this morning at the grocery store. He is such a nice guy."

"I know where this is going mom. I’m not going to marry him. He is a great friend. That’s all." Y/N missed Emily’s mother counter back and she didn’t hear the rest of the conversation going between Emily and her mother as she returned to the kitchen to tidy up the kitchen a bit before starting up lunch, not having the time to notice her stomach jumping up in happiness at Emily refusing to marry her friend.

-

"Are you sure? I can help you with all this mess."

"Oh don’t worry Y/N/N, go get some rest. You had a very stressful day. It’s my turn now." Maggie assured her niece, waving her off as she tidied up the kitchen after the Dickinson’s dinner. "No, don’t try to convince me. Go!"

"Thank you. Goodnight."

"G’night."

Y/N exited the kitchen to go up the stairs and to her room, but unfortunately she had to pass by the living room where the Dickinson family was still chatting after their dinner. Y/N sighed out of relief when no one seemed to notice her presence and kept minding their business and continued her quiet way up the stairs, a little bit sad that she probably won’t spend some time with Emily like they planned. Despite good mood being slightly dampened by hers and Emily’s plans ruined, when she arrived at her door she sighed out wistfully at the mere thought of finally getting rid of her devilish corset and lay on bed, but before she could open the door a hand touched her shoulder and squealed in fright. "Shit- Emily!"

"Sorry, sorry! I thought you heard me." Emily reasoned with an apologetic grimace, warming Y/N’s heart at the cute sight when she turned around and was met with puppy dog eyes.

"No, I was just thinking about getting rid of my corset."

"Oh I know the feeling. Looking forward on breathing normally again, hm?" Emily joked, making Y/N snort softly as she nodded in agreement with the poet.

"You have no idea."

"I have actually, because I need to get rid of my corset too. I can’t stand having it on me for one more second. Do you mind if I change in my night gown and then we can hang out?"

Y/N looked a bit taken aback from the question, not really expecting it from the brunette, "don’t you have your entire family downstairs?"

"Yeah, but they will be fine. I spent enough quality time with them, now it’s time to spend some quality time with you." Emily admitted with the slightest rosy tint on her cheeks and for once she was grateful for the lightly lit hallway so she can hide it from Y/N, who didn’t seem to notice Emily’s shy behavior.

"You make me feel too special Emily. Choosing me over your family, wow- that’s flattering." Y/N felt the need to half joke with her hand on her heart as she tried to not show how much touched she was by Emily’s words, since she only met the poet a few days prior and she was her maid.

"Get used to it! Now let’s go, I’ll help you with your corset then you’ll help me with mine."

"Hm, so eager to see me naked. Are you trying to seduce me Miss Dickinson?" Emily felt her face heat up in a millisecond at the question, not sure this time she could hide it from Y/N, her heart skipping a beat before starting beating fast in her chest as her mind filled with completely not innocent images of a naked Y/N on h-. "Emily? Are you okay?"

"Oh- I- I was-wasn’t. I was just trying to help, y’know since corsets are so difficult to take off. I always ask Lavinia to help me because I can’t reach the strings behind me, but she is busy right now so sh-."

"Emily, it’s okay. I was kidding, relax." Y/N giggled softly under her breath and bumped her left shoulder with Emily’s one to help the girl calm down, effectively stopping her ramblings.

"Oh I- I knew that." Emily laughed awkwardly for a few moments before clearing her throat, "should we, I don’t know go in your room or-?"

"Oh yes, let’s go, so I can help you undress." The last part of Y/N’s phrase sent Emily’s brain out of control as it replayed those words over and over again and each time it only helped melting her brain into mush as far from innocent images filed in.

"O-okay, let’s go." Y/N nodded and opened her bedroom door, letting Emily in first then following her, closing the door a moment later to have some privacy.

"How was dinner?" Y/N asked as she tried to look as nonchalant as she could despite having a really pretty girl in her bedroom about to undress her. Okay that totally sounded really dirty and out of context it could sound like what it actually sounded like, but we all know the truth, right?

"It was good. I liked your special bread recipe, you need to teach me how to make it."

"Oh yeah, it’s actually aunt Maggie’s recipe, but I added a little bit of raisins to enhance its flavor."

"They definitely do their work because it was the best bread I’ve ever tasted. Do not tell my mother that." Emily was quick to whisper the last part with the hand on the left side of her mouth, making Y/N laugh heartily at her goofiness.

"Noted." Y/N nodded as she still smiled widely at Emily, before starting playing with her fingers nervously. "Hm-."

"What?"

"I- I really can’t resist another second in this. Can you please-?" Y/N trailed off, letting the half-finished question hang in the electrified air between them as she stared at everything around the room but at Emily’s magnetic brown irises, moving her hands to signal behind her back to hint at Emily she needed to take off her corset.

"Wha- OH! Your corset. Of course. Yeah. Yeah." Emily nodded as she stumbled over her words, grimacing inwardly at her awkwardness. "Hm- turn around please. I’ll help you out."

"Oh yeah, thank you." Y/N held her breath as she turned around and almost gasped out loud when a pair of slightly cold hands touched the skin of her back.

"Sorry, my hands are a bit cold."

"Don’t worry." Y/N let out in a breath as she tried to calm herself down and not look like she was actually melting under Emily’s touch. After a few moments, Emily succeeded in loosening the strands of Y/N’s corset and the girl visibly relaxed, "letting your corset loose is like- the best feeling ever, right?"

"Yeah, every night I feel like my soul comes back in my body."

"Yeah, they should be banned. Why women need to suffer this much while men wear the comfiest clothes ever created?"

Emily listened to Y/N talking as she focused on her fingers unfastening Y/N’s corset, "that’s what I’m always thinking about. I tried pants once, it was a breakthrough. Never had on something so comfy in my life. Even my night gown isn’t that comfortable."

"Wait- you had the privilege to try pants on?"

"Yeah! Of course my parents don’t know that, but yeah."

"Wow, I always imagined trying them! How do they feel?"

"Amazing! And I even tried a blouse with a vest. No corset on. Even better than having pants on." Emily admitted and watched delighted Y/N’s face illuminate like a Christmas three, full of curiosity and wonder.

"Wow, that sounds amazing." Emily focused on untying the last strand of Y/N’s corset with shaky hands even if she tried to stop her body from shaking with her nerves, the mere thought Y/N was a few beats away from being naked short-circuited her brain. "I always wanted to try men’s clothes on."

"When do you have the whole afternoon free?" Emily asked with excitement shining brightly in her eyes, almost jumping up and down in her spot in anticipation as an idea popped in her mind.

"Thursday. I start at 18 Friday afternoon then."

"Alright, I really hoped it was Thursday afternoon. My parents and Lavinia are going to some kinda spa thing my aunt Lavinia organized, I’m not going because I’m not in the mood to go, even if my mom and Lavinia have been trying to convince me for days. But now that I know we can have almost 24 hours together I’m definitely not going."

"Wait- hold on, are you serious?"

"Yeah, I can even convince them to bring Maggie with them or let her have a few days off. I think they will be back Friday night or maybe Saturday morning, I need to ask them."

"Wow, I don’t know what to say!"

"Well, my dear Y/N get ready for these days all by ourselves." Emily announced excitedly, finding the same amount of excitement she had in her eyes into Y/N’s Y/E/C irises, warming her heart to no end. She was afraid she could come off as too eager to spend some alone time with Y/N, but the Y/H/C girl didn’t seem to mind or she didn’t pay attention to it and it reassured Emily.

"I can’t wait." Y/N exclaimed excitedly before shivering slightly as cold air hit her hot skin, "I should put something on quickly."

"Oh yeah, it’s freezing!"

The two girls stayed looking at each other for a few more seconds before Y/N moved her gaze away to find something to put on, Emily quickly turning around as her cheeks warmed up and her heart beat loudly in her ears. "Okay, we can go now."

"Oh thank God, I seriously need to get rid of this corset as well."

"We better hurry up then." Y/N snickered at Emily’s whiny tone, ushering her out her room.

"Have you ever thought-." Emily stopped in her tracks when, after looking at Y/N for a moment on her way out Y/N’s room, she turned back around to look where she was going to not trip over something and she was met with a pair of familiar eyes.

"Emily."

"Sue." Y/N exited the room right behind Emily and stopped in her tracks too when she was met with Sue’s confused and also a little bit… jealous? - Y/N couldn’t tell - eyes, but she sure she could feel a little bit of electricity palpable in the air, especially when Sue detached her eyes from her and stared Emily down with an hard gaze, silence filling the small hallway for a few long moments.

"I- I hoped we could talk a bit. It’s been a while."

"Oh- can we do it tomorrow? I am a bit tired."

"Oh- oh y-yeah, s-sure. How is it going with your poems?" Sue asked with a bit of a shaky voice, her eyes full of a nostalgic glint that intrigued Y/N to no end.

"It’s going just fine. They are my safe place where I can hide when I need to be away from the world."

"Yeah, I remember. They were the most powerful way for your heart and mind to speak out loud. I miss them." Sue admitted with a nostalgic tilt in her tone that kept fueling Y/N’s curiosity about the strange dynamic that Emily and Sue shared.

"Well you decided you didn’t want them anymore. So it’s a bit hypocritical missing them, don’t you think?"

"I- I- uh, that’s why I wanted to talk to you." Sue started with her voice full of anxiety and anticipation, "it’s been too long and I-."

"You were pretty clear the last time we spoke to each other. If you want to tell me about your amazing parties and your new friends, fine. But if you want to say anything else, you don’t need to worry. There is nothing else to say."

"I-." Sue sighed out loud while her shoulders lost their tension and slumped back in their position, "I guess you are right. I have no right to want to make amends after what I did and said. I just miss my best friend."

"What? Aren’t your new friends enough? This explains your need to always want more."

"I guess I deserved that." Sue hung her head down a few beats before meeting Emily’s eyes again, "I didn’t want this. Us fighting."

"I didn’t want this too. I- listen, we will talk. Tomorrow. Okay?"

"Thank you." Sue went to hug Emily but she stopped in her tracks when she stepped back and shook her head a bit.

"Right. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Have a good night Mrs. Dickinson." Y/N chimed in for the first time since they bumped into Sue and smiled politely at the girl who looked her up and down before smiling politely too and nodding back.

"Have a good night too-."

"Y/N." Y/N finished for Sue, who trailed off waiting for the Y/E/C girl to help her out.

"Y/N." Sue repeated before turning around and going down the stairs where chatter was still going animatedly. Y/N watched the brunette’s back a few seconds as her mind replayed everything that went through in the last couple of minutes before focusing her attention back on Emily, finding her already looking at her, making her heart skip a beat.

"Hey." Y/N started with a soft voice, her smile widening when Emily grinned gently at her.

"Hey. Sorry you had to witness that." Emily apologized as she opened her bedroom door and lead them in her bedroom.

"That’s fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Emily sighed out loud and nodded gently at the Y/H/C girl while closing her bedroom door. She stared a few seconds at Y/N before turning around, "can you help me?"

"Yeah sure." Y/N’s voice was a slightly bit hoarse as she walked on shaky legs towards the poet, who was standing in the middle of her bedroom, but she paid her no mind as her brain played the conversation she had with Sue a few minutes prior.

"I can’t believe she told me those things. She had no right to tell me those things!"

"I’m sorry Emily but I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You’re right. I will tell you after getting out of this damned corset."

"I feel you." Y/N snorted as she started unfastening the knots on Emily’s corset to help her out of it faster, the poet already sighing out happily.

"Oh yes. This is wonderful." Emily moaned out in delight as soon as she felt the corset starting to loose around her upper body, creating a tingling sensation all over Y/N’s body at the unexpected sound, but she kept going instead of fainting embarrassingly behind Emily.

"Yeah, I feel you."

"I hope one day we can get rid of these things. They are awful." Emily admitted and watched as Y/N nodded in agreement when she turned her head around slightly to Y/N behind her still working on unfastening her corset’s straps.

"Yeah. It will take a lot but I’m sure they won’t be used anymore."

"We would wear something similar, maybe something that doesn’t feel so tight and that doesn’t need help to take it off."

"Oh wow, that would be wonderful. I still struggle trying to take it off myself." Y/N snorted under her breath as she shook her head.

"Wait, do you really take it off yourself?"

"Well yeah, most of the times I ask my aunt Maggie to help me, but a few times I had to do it myself when she is still busy or not around in that moment."

"Wow." Emily exclaimed, but furrowed her eyebrows when she heard Y/N chuckle under her breath, "why are you laughing?"

"Because I remembered I once struggled so much in taking my corset off that I didn’t see the bed and fell down on it and then on the floor." Y/N explained, giggling after finishing with Emily doing the same as she imagined the hilarious scene, "here you go. I’m done. You’re free from your corset."

"Oh yes! Thank you!" Emily moved without properly thinking and pushed the top of her dress and her corset down to her hip as she turned around, exposing her upper body to Y/N, who widened comically her eyes as they inevitably fell on Emily’s exposed chest. "Oh my God!"

"Oh- sorry, sorry!" Y/N immediately turned herself around and covered her eyes as a deep, burgundy blush fell on her cheeks. "Sorry for looking I- hm." Y/N cleared her throat and tried to find the right words that would not make this situation even more embarrassing but her brain seemed to be stuck in a spiral of images of Emily’s round and full breasts and was incapable of forming coherent thoughts, so she decided to just shut up.

"No, no. Don’t apologize. I should be sorry for- flashing my tits in your face." Emily turned around too, making now both of their backs face each other, and touched her cheeks to try in vain to subdue her scorching blush, while frantically searching her night gown to put on.

Y/N snorted imperceptibly under he breath and let the next, murmured words slip out of her mouth without her consent, "I should thank you instead."

It was almost imperceptible, but Emily caught it since the wired silence surrounding them was almost deafening and it made her stop in her tracks as she opened her drawer. She couldn’t have heard right, could she? Do those words mean Y/N felt something for her too? Or maybe that she was at least attracted to her? She needed answers. "I’m sorry again. I wasn’t thinking."

"Don’t worry. I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable."

"Are you serious? I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable." Emily countered back as she carefully took her dress and corset down her body, then putting her night gown on, purposefully choosing one that has a slight see-through fabric around her chest area. This way she could know if Y/N was interested in her in that way or not. If her eyes struggled to not stay focused on her chest, maybe she had a chance with her. "You can turn around."

"So, what happened with-." Y/N did as Emily told her but stopped mid-sentence when Emily turned around and she almost flashed her breasts to her again. The top half of Emily’s dress’ fabric was see-through, that much so that Y/N could see Emily’s erect nipples, but she wasn’t sure they were erect from the cold of the room despite the fire crackling on the right side of the room or from something else. Y/N immediately noticed her slip up and her ogling and forced her eyes to look at a portray on Emily’s wall, beside her head, instead as she cleared her throat, forcing herself to not stare at Emily’s visible chest again, "hm- with Sue?"

"Oh yeah, right, hm. Can I trust you?"

"Emily of course. I promise your secrets are safe with me."

"No, I know it. It’s just- nobody knows about this but- we had a thing going on." Emily admitted quickly, not exactly knowing how to put into words what she wanted to say, extremely afraid to watch Y/N’s facial expression at her revelation, so as soon as she finished talking, she focused her eyes on the fire crackling on her left and played around with her fingers.

"Oh wow."

"Yeah."

"Did you love her?" Y/N asked after a few beats of silence, completely taking Emily off guard.

"Wow, I wasn’t expecting this question."

"Sorry, it was too personal. You don’t have to answer me."

"No, I didn’t mean it like that. I-hm, I was expecting you- well I don’t know what I was expecting. Maybe you asking about our arrangement. Or maybe not reacting this well about this- new information about me."

"Oh yeah, I got it. You don’t have to worry about that. Like ever. I- I know what it feels like to like- love a woman."

Emily had to rectify her previous statement. That took her off guard. "Really?"

"I realized it when I was 15. I started working with my aunt Maggie in a beautiful house. Their owners were a wonderful family. Always so polite, never getting angry, very sweet with me since I was a kid but also with my aunt Maggie. They were treating us like we were part of their family. But Molly. Molly was the sweetest of them. Not to mention beautiful. We were close since we were the same age. But- hm- you were lucky enough to have some kind of something with the person I presume you loved. I wasn’t that lucky. I had to endure watching her loving someone else. For the entirety of my time as a maid in their house."

"I’m so sorry Y/N." Emily butted in as soon as Y/N, after turning around towards the fireplace, trailed off to stare blankly at the fire, too caught up in her thoughts to notice Emily approaching her slowly.

"Don’t be. It happens. Especially in the world we live in. Where people like us has to hide."

"I hope one day we don’t have to." Emily admitted a little bit wistfully, her heart aching for the pain she can clearly see in Y/N’s Y/E/C eyes when she finally looked into her brown ones. She had been lucky enough to at least act on her feelings somehow. Y/N hasn’t been that lucky.

"I hope that too." Y/N smiled gently at Emily, their eyes meeting a few seconds before Y/N’s Y/E/C one’s focused on the fireplace again.

"Did you tell her how you felt?"

"Oh God, no. Are you crazy? She would’ve ruined my life, my reputation, I could have lost my job."

"Yeah, but you broke your heart that way."

"Yeah. It will heal, eventually." Y/N shrugged like it was nothing, "it’s already healing."

"How long has it been since it happened?" Emily asked a little bit sadly, her eyes conveying as much compassion and sympathy she could to try to make Y/N feel a little bit better. Little did she know she was already making her feel better by healing her broken heart.

"About two years."

"Wow." Emily exclaimed as her brain wrapped itself around this new piece of information. She didn’t know what to say to Y/N to help her make her feel better, she had been broken hearted by Sue, but they at least had some kind of relationship.

"Woman full of words I must say. It must be easy being a poet."

Y/N’s joke made Emily snort under her breath, a gesture that she hoped distracted Y/N enough to not make her see the blush she triggered with her words. "Shut up. I was just shocked." Emily pushed on Y/N’s left shoulder when she snickered under her breath and pretended to be offended.

"Oh no, don’t be mad. I was joking. Well- not completely but- HEY! Don’t hit me with your pillow."

"Or what?" Emily smirked widely when, without Y/N noticing, grabbed the pillow laying on the chair beside her and lifted it up to hit the Y/H/C girl, but before Y/N could form any sort of warning, she got blocked by Emily swinging the pillow forward and hitting her on the face.

"Ok, you asked for it." Y/N stopped another hit with her right arm while she fumbled behind her to grab a pillow on Emily’s bed and as soon as her hand wrapped itself around the soft pillow she flung it around and hit Emily right on the face, stopping her movements altogether as she stared with a shocked but amused expression on her face at Y/N.

"You. Didn’t."

"Oh I did. I can do it again if you want."

"Don’t you dare! No! Y/N!" But it was too late. As soon as Emily finished threatening Y/N, a pillow hit her face and made her stumble a bit, but she regained her balance quickly and flung her pillow at Y/N, hitting her on her arm.

"Alright, alright. Truce." Y/N placed the pillow back on the bed and waited with an entertained smirk on her lips for Emily as she mirrored her gesture and placed the pillow onto Y/N’s one on the mattress.

"Anyway, before someone interrupted me, I was gonna say I am sorry for what you went through."

"It’s in the past now. I’m finally healing. I’m finally moving on." Y/N admitted, a slight rosy pink tinting her cheeks, something that didn’t go unnoticed from Emily but the poet decided to not ask anything about it, for now.

"I'm so happy to hear that."

"Yeah. It’s not that easy, but I will be fine. Hopefully soon." Y/N admitted with a shy smile, a gesture that Emily mirrored as she nodded in understanding.

"Good, you deserve to be happy."

"Yeah, you too. Speaking of which, how about you?"

"What about me?"

"You two had a thing going on. It must be painful calling everything off."

"It’s actually going good. I missed her a lot since we stopped our thing, but it got better in the end."

"I’m glad to hear that." Y/N smiled widely at Emily and nodded, igniting a fire within Emily that she thought it was extinguished when her thing with Sue was over.

"I- hm." Emily trailed off to ponder her next words carefully, not completely sure she wanted to admit out loud and to Y/N what she wanted to say. After a few beats of silence she made up her mind and decided she wanted to be brave, she wanted to take a shot and discover if Y/N actually liked her more than a friend. "I met someone. I- she made me feel things I thought I only felt with and for Sue."

"Oh." Y/N cleared her throat, successfully getting rid of the jealous lump it formed in her throat at Emily’s admission, but as hard as she tried no other words left her mouth.

"Yeah."

"How is- she?" Y/N stuttered, cursing herself for being so obvious about her jealousy, but it seemed Emily paid no mind to it.

"Perfect. Extremely funny, always so polite and sweet." Emily gushed uncontrollably, her eyes shining brightly with all the affection she felt for the other girl, "oh and she has a great mind too, full of ideas that fascinates me. We have a lot of hobbies in common. She is perfect."

"Wow, from what I’ve heard from your description she might be. Is she pretty?"

"No. She is beautiful."

"Already so smitten for her, hm?" Y/N teased with an arched eyebrow and a small grin to try to divert Emily’s attention on her to prevent the poet to detect her jealousy.

"How could I not? She is perfect. I think- I never felt something so hard for someone. Not even Sue."

"Does-hm-." Y/N cleared her throat when her voice wavered a bit, "does she feel the same?"

"I don’t know, but I’m trying to figure it out." Emily admitted a little bit cryptically, noticing every little reaction coming from Y/N to at least detect any kind of sign from her and if her instinct was right, she was jealous, so she maybe felt the same.

"Have you told her?"

"No. I’m a little bit insecure about it. She could feel the same but- what if she doesn’t?"

"Yeah, I know what you’re feeling. I felt the same way with Molly. I spent a year beating myself up for not telling her. Maybe we could have worked out in some way or maybe definitely not. I spent a year living on ‘what ifs’. But I have to be honest, now that I’ve moved on I think it was better that way. I don’t think she was the one for me."

"So you’re saying I shouldn’t tell her?" Emily smiled slightly at the girl rambling her thoughts out, finding all of that an extremely adorable sight witness and it became ten times cuter when Y/N blushed at her stare before shaking her head softly.

"No, what I’m trying to say is-." Y/N trailed of to take a deep breath as she stared intently into Emily’s brown eyes, "do whatever your heart craves. I’ve thought a lot about it and with a clear head I realized I was just deeply infatuated with Molly. I wasn’t actually in love with her. If it was true love I wouldn’t have moved on. So if you feel like she is the one, like you need to tell her because you truly want her, then do it. Don’t think too much about it." Emily looked at Y/N like a lovesick puppy as she talked, flaring up the fire she felt burning for Y/N, so with a made up mind and without properly thinking, as soon as Y/N finished speaking Emily surged forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips, lingering only a few seconds before pulling away abruptly, fearing Y/N’s reaction when she felt the girl completely frozen in her spot.

"I- shit- I’m so sorry- hmph." Emily got stopped abruptly when a pair of soft lips unexpectedly pressed themselves hard on her own, making her head spin out of control with a plethora of emotions she only felt when she wrote her poems. Emily felt her brain completely shutting off as she completely dived into the blissful sensation of Y/N’s mouth on hers. Their lips danced sensually over the rhythm their heartbeats set, their bodies burned from the passion the two girls shared but had to suppress for their own fears of losing the other if their feelings weren’t reciprocated, their minds were a delicious mess as their senses were completely filled with the other’s taste, perfume, essence. It was a perfect mix that both of them wished it could never end.

But Y/N had to reluctantly slow their kiss down and pull slightly away from Emily to take some needed breath as her lungs screamed for some air and she was pretty sure Emily felt if her heaving chest was anything to go by. "Do not apologize for that. Because it was so perfect."

"I was just panicking. I thought I read your signals wrong and I went too far."

"It was extremely impossible to read them wrong since I’ve been trying to not stare at your boobs for the past 20 minutes and I’ve been failing miserably." Emily snorted at Y/N’s admission, feeling a sense of pride swell in her chest as well as a familiar burning sensation in her lower stomach lighting her whole body up at Y/N’s admission.

"I think now is the right time to confess I chose this night gown on purpose." Y/N swallowed loudly when Emily winked seductively at her while puffing her chest up, giving Y/N the intoxicating view of her half exposed breasts.

"You like to torture me." Y/N murmured under her breath as her eyes never moved away from Emily’s chest, watching it move up and down with every breath the poet took and feeling her insides melt each time a nipple came in sight through the see-through fabric of Emily’s night gown.

"Why?"

"Because I can’t touch them."

"Who said you can’t?"

"Yo- wait, what?" Instead of answering verbally Emily smirked mischievously, grabbed Y/N’s wrist and pulled her hand towards herself. Just when it was hovering inches from her covered chest, she lifted her right eyebrow and silently asked Y/N if it was okay for her and smiled widely when the girl instantly nodded enthusiastically. The Y/H/C girl’s grin dropped as soon as her hand came in contact with Emily’s right breast and let out a small moan without noticing, making the poet groan at the unexpected attractive sound.

"Oh, Y/N." Emily whined and gripped Y/N’s wrist a bit more strongly when the girl squeezed her breast tentatively, but just right to light up her whole body with need.

"Come here." Y/N snaked her other hand behind Emily’s neck and pushed her harshly onto her lips to share a bruising kiss, reigniting the fire they set up a few moments prior. Y/N promptly swallowed another sound coming from Emily as she changed the angle of their kiss, full of passion but still chaste. But Emily needed more. She wanted to taste Y/N’s mouth fully. Just when Emily was debating with her mind to try to find the courage to deepen the kiss, Y/N beat her to it as her tongue licked the seam of Emily’s lips to ask for entrance. The poet granted it a few beats later with another small whine and her body got completely wrecked by a shiver running down her spine when their tongues met just as Y/N’s thumb and pointer finger found her nipple and pinched it gently but firmly.

"Oh fuck." They let their desire take over for a few minutes, giving their tongues time to explore the other’s mouth, licking every nook and cranny of each other’s mouth and swallowing every small sound they could pull from the other. As they kissed fervently, Emily’s other hand, until now placed meekly on her lap, sneaked into Y/N’s hair, after freeing them from the bun she had on all day and pulled on the Y/E/C girl’s scalp each time Y/N found a new way to stimulate her nipple or when her tongue moved just right. Their small moment was abruptly interrupted when they heard Emily’s family wishing each other a goodnight and they had to reluctantly pull away from each other, but not before sharing a few small, sweet pecks.

"I should go."

"No please, stay." Emily begged, leaning their foreheads together and sighing disapprovingly when Y/N removed her hand from her chest, only to smile widely when she grabbed Emily’s hand and intertwined their fingers together.

"I can’t. Your family is going to be upstairs any minute. We can’t get caught."

"You’re right." Emily sighed and nodded gently. Y/N had a point. "With Sue it was easier. My parents always let her sleep with me."

"Already talking about your ex with me Dickinson? Are you trying to make me jealous?" Y/N teased with a wide grin that widened when Emily blushed softly and pushed her gently on her shoulder.

"No, you jerk. I just wished it was that easier with you too. We wouldn’t have to stop this." Emily murmured seductively before leaning slowly towards Y/N and capturing Y/N’s lips in a slow but sensual kiss, making it last just a few seconds to tease Y/N and smirking widely when she accomplished her mission after hearing Y/N grunt in disapproval at her pulling away from the kiss and trying to follow her lips to kiss her again. "But you have a point. You sadly need to go. When do you have some time off tomorrow?"

"Around 11 a.m."

"Perfect, meet me here. I will tell my mom I need some help with my surprisingly ripped dress." Emily winked as she stressed the word ‘surprisingly’ and felt her heart swell at the sound of Y/N’s cute giggle.

"Alright. Goodnight Emily. Sleep well." They shared another kiss full of passion before Y/N quickly slipped out of Emily’s room, just a minute before Emily’s parents walked up the stairs to go into their room, followed right after by Lavinia.

Both girls had some troubles falling asleep that night as adrenaline still pushed through their bodies still burning with their passion, but after about an hour both girls fell asleep with wide grins on their lips, excited for the next day.

-

"Good morning my dear family!" Emily entered the living room with a brighter-than-the-sun smile, making the whole family stare at her weirdly.

"Should we get used to her being in a good mood every morning?" Edward asked his wife as both looked at Emily weirdly, eyebrows furrowed and confused expression on their faces.

"I like it." Lavinia interjected and giggled loudly when Emily run towards her and hugged tightly her over the chair. After a couple of seconds she walked to her chair and sat down, immediately stuffing her face with the delicious breakfast she had in front of her on the table.

"Hm, Maggie this breakfast is amazing!" Emily murmured with her mouth full of chocolate cake, rolling her eyes back in pure ecstasy as all the flavors hit her taste buds, completely ignoring her mother’s reprimand stare.

"Thank you Miss Dickinson, but I didn’t make it. Y/N did."

"Oh really? Where did you take the recipe?" Emily’s mother spoke up in disbelief as she too took a bite of her cake and widened her eyes comically at the tasty cake.

"It’s actually mine. It’s not that difficult to make. The secret is chocolate."

"Ugh, Y/N you need to teach me how to do this." Emily requested as casually as she could, this time waiting to swallow the cake and swiping the chocolate away from her mouth before talking, to not rise her family’s suspicions of her asking Y/N to teach her how to make a cake since she always refused to help her mom in the kitchen. "It’s delicious."

"Oh please Y/N if you succeed in making Emily do anything in the kitchen I will give you a week off." Emily turned her head towards her mother and stuck her tongue out, making her mother laugh at her in amusement.

"It would be a pleasure Miss Dickinson."

-

"Miss Dickinson?" Emily asked in a mocking tone, trying to make her best impression of Y/N, on Y/N’s lips after pulling away from the bruising kiss the two shared after Emily literally flung herself into Y/N’s arms as soon as they entered her bedroom, slamming her on the door.

"I can’t call you with your first name Emily, even if you asked me to."

"I know, but it was hilarious hearing you calling me by my last name. It’s weird."

"No, weird is being in a room with your parents when all my brain could think of was how good it felt kissing you." Y/N admitted with her eyes glued on Emily’s plump lips, biting down on her own bottom lip then to emphasize her appreciation of Emily’s lips.

"Not as good as feeling your hands on me." Emily countered back, purposefully arching her back to flush their chests together but whining in frustration when their corsets and dresses prevented them to feel anything.

"Yeah, it’s pretty much a tie." Y/N joked and thanked the door behind her back holding her up when Emily giggled on her mouth and the cute sound made her almost faint. "You are so beautiful." Y/N spoke up without even noticing as she stared at the poet with a loving gaze, creating goosebumps all over Emily’s skin.

"Not as much as you Y/N. That’s the first thing I thought that day at the well. I’ve always been fascinated by the beauty of the nature, but as soon as my eyes landed on you, it was like threes and flowers never existed. It was just you."

"Shit, do not say things like that." Y/N shook her head as she bit hard on her bottom lip while closing her eyes and leaning her forehead on Emily’s one.

"Why?"

"Because it makes me want to kiss you."

"Then why are you not doing it?" It was all the validation Y/N needed. After opening her eyes for a brief moment to meet Emily’s brown irises for confirmation, finding in them only affection and entertainment, she surged forward and captured Emily’s lips in a slow kiss, full of passion. Y/N decided to keep the kiss as chaste as possible to savor the softness of Emily’s lips, caressing her back with both hands to feel Emily’s every curve she could despite the dress and corset in her way, but when Emily’s fingers dug in the back of her neck to silently ask for more, Y/N whined softly into the kiss and immediately bit down gently on Emily’s lips. Y/N shivered at the poet’s whispered whine but took advantage of that to slip her tongue into Emily’s mouth and lick every angle she could reach. "Oh."

"Shit." Y/N murmured into the kiss when her mind finally stopped spinning from Emily’s moan and shivered wildly when the poet took advantage of Y/N’s dazed state to suck harshly on Y/N’s tongue, pulling a whine from her throat. After a few moments Emily had to pull away to take some needed breath, not too far away, just enough so their noses could brush together gently. "That was so fucking hot. And fuck- that sound." Emily giggled at Y/N’s murmured words, her eyes staring lovingly at the her and a dopey smile adorned her kiss-swollen lips, and she thought about how happy she felt in that moment.

"Ugh, I wish you could stay here all day." Emily admitted out loud after a few seconds of them basking in the comforting silence, the two girls just existing together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, with their forehead leaned together and with their breaths mingling, sighing out sadly and leaning into Y/N touch when she caressed her back comfortingly.

"I know, but your mother and sister will be back with my aunt soon." Y/N sighed out sadly, caressing Emily’s sides gently as she committed to mind every small detail she could.

"Yeah and Sue will be over in an hour. We still need to talk."

"She just wants her best friend back, Emily. Give her a chance to be a good friend. You two were friends before having what you two had."

"You’re right. I want to talk to her too. I want my friend back, but I just- want to spend more time with you."

"You will, tonight." Y/N nodded encouragingly and smiled widely to hope to make Emily do the same and when she did a few seconds later her own grin widened ten sizes.

"Do not forget we have the house all for ourselves on Thursday."

"Already trying to get under my dress Dickinson?"

"Maybe." Emily winked with a mischievous grin, making Y/N laugh heartily before kissing her gently and slipping out of her room.

[sashi-ya]

𝑻𝑶 𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑨𝑳 𝑨 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻. Trafalgar Law x F! Reader

🌨 a/n: so I recently been to Austria, a country I often visit since it's literally like a dream. (plus, my mom knew she was pregnant with me there, so I was used to come back to Innsbruck as much as I could with her). But in any case I got inspired there to write this little fic, that might -or not- be a multi chapter one if you all like it. The place exists and the scam part, happened to me -kinda, the airbnb existed, but not as it was listed :P- but in any case, please enjoy and don't forget to leave some feedback if you want more~ ❄ tw: a very sfw story, that might evolve into something else if you want me to keep writing about their trip 😏 ☃ wc: 2.6k

Hijacking for the first time, what could go wrong? Maybe everything, maybe nothing.

A two-month long trip all around Europe has found you on a little village of Austria. Your boots are cold, but luckily they are snow proof ones. Your skin all bumpy, your cheeks irritated. It’s been snowing all night, and despite the sun rising for now, some clouds in the sky menace with more white blessing to fall upon your shoulders very soon.

Those little mountain streets around the Alps are wonderful, they surround mountains going up and down and in a spiral way. But those are wonderful, as long as you can drive a car with heating. And you don’t have one right now.

The crunchy sound of the snow beneath your boots mix with the melody of a glacial river running in between the mountain and the road. It is certainly beautiful, the little rocks and stones being bathed by such pure and cold water, the rests of dry leaves and some moss growing on an everlasting shadow casted by tall, enormous peaks.  Everything is worth taking a picture, but you should prioritize your battery life this time around. The GPS is sometimes wonky, being that high can affect the service.

Many cars have passed by, but none of them have stopped. Little lorries carrying logs pass, cars completely drenched in dirty snow and that mix of salt that roads have during winters.

However, just when your hopes for finding someone to at least give you a ride to the next village were about to run out, the yellow shine of an old VW ban flashes before your eyes.

There, behind a curve -a very dangerous one if you ever went to the mountains- something smells like smoke and a tall man of white furry hat swears up to the skies.

You walk towards him, carefully. Who knows what is happening? Who knows who that man is capable of? There is one thing you are sure, however, and it is that this man is absolutely mad at his old van.

When peaking behind a dark wooden tree that’s now covered in spots of white snow, you discover the annoyed man is a young -handsome- one.

His van, a little rusty but still cute, seems to be having problems to keep going and the smoke coming from it shows it very well.

“Sir? Sir! Your van is catching fire!” you announce, realizing the smoke is indeed a very serious issue.

The guy of chocolate skin and tattooed hands turns around to look immediately at you and then to the back of the van. Those 70’s vehicles had actually their engines right in the back instead of the front.

And Indeed, you were right. Apparently the climb had been too tough for the poor old VW and its engine couldn’t take it any longer.

He quickly opens the back door, maybe searching for a fire extinguisher while you grab fistfuls of snow in an attempt to put down the incipient flames. Quickly enough, and with not many damages to count, the fire stops, and the only thing left is a big black spot on the back of the caravan.

“Thank you” he says, as dry as hopefully your socks. “No problem. What happened? Did the engine over heat?” you ask, curious despite his “I don’t want friends” face. “Yes; these hills are no joke. This never happened to my Polar, but there is always a first time…” he sighs, assessing the damage with a sad expression.

Apparently his van has a name; “Polar”. That’s very cute, and his eyes too. A golden shine in them looks even beautiful with the pristine white around. His tattoos do as well. You wonder about his name, and what is he doing on the road, but you are not sure if it’s proper to ask. However, he asks first.

“What are you doing here? do you have a car?” he mumbles, his voice is as attractive as he is. His eyes scan the place, but nothing catches his attention.

“No, I am actually hijacking. No one stopped so I started walking before the sun starts going down. I definitely got scammed; the Airbnb I was supposed to stay in didn’t, in fact, exist.

He grunts, almost silently. Apparently he is not happy with what happened to you but that’s it.

“Well, that’s so unsafe. I am sorry I can’t give you a ride right now. Apparently none of us have been blessed with good luck today” he says, walking around his vehicle with long legs covered in spotted jeans.

You nod. Your tongue is aching to ask about him, but you clearly catch the hint… he doesn’t want you there.

“Yep. Well, I wish you luck! I must keep going” “Same to you, be careful”

He doesn’t even look at you, something that makes you -somehow- very sad. In any case, you start walking away. There is no point in staying there… even if you have great mechanical skills that could help.

And as you do, you also have a very, very loud consciousness voice screaming at you on how could you leave him with no solution if you know it…

“Sir, you should check your water level…”  you shout, a few meters away from him. The sound of your voice echoes in the huge natural immensity of the Alps and his golden eyes finally fall upon you.

He stops moving for some seconds, lost in you. You, as well, wait for him to say something else. Something like “stay with me” or “don’t go”. A total stranger you want to hang up with. A total unknown woman he wants to protect.

“You know how to fix this?” “I do…”

Or so that was what you thought.  

No more than a couple of minutes took you to help him out. VW vans are noble machines; they are durable and easy to fix despite their particular design. And soon, as a part of your payment, the man that you learned is called Law and you drove away through intricate roads and huge snowflakes.

“Where are you going, (Name)-ya?” he asks, handing you an old cover from an old comic, Germa 66.

“I was supposed to stay for a couple of days in Bad Goisern, and then I thought of visiting Salzburg. I am on a long trip through Europe. What about you?”  you ask, cuddling with the blanket. A certain blessing for your freezing hands.

He nods, checking the breaks before going down the hill.

“I am too. I just graduated medical school and I thought of taking a little vacation before my residency starts. I’m going to be a surgeon. A cardiac surgeon” he tells, full of dreams he fails to cover up behind a tough guy expression.

You celebrate his success, and the next couple of hours become a ping pong of questions and answers. A smile on your face that leaves your cheeks hurting accompanies you until the sun hides and the little lights on the mountains start to scatter.

You didn’t want to go down in the first village, nor the second, nor the third. Law, didn’t want you to go down his van either. You named Salzburg, and he promised you to take you there.

But the night found both of you, and apparently your mechanical skills weren’t as good as you thought the would… Polar decided to stop, in the middle of nowhere during a dark, very dark winter night.

You close your eyes as the sound of rusty gears fail and Law’s annoyance grows stronger than ever. When Polar finally loses all of the power, Law manages to agonizingly park on the side of the road and a huge sighs escapes his lips.

You peak through your left eye; his DEATH tattooed fingers squeeze the wheel, and you know he will snap at any moment. But he doesn’t…

“I’m sorry. I thought- I-“ you try to give a plausible apologize, even though you had nothing to do with it.

“No. It is not your fault… it is mine- As we didn’t stop, I have completely forgotten to fuel Polar up” Law says, absolutely mortified for such stupid mistake. Apparently you were enough distraction to keep him from the basics of road tripping.

You breath alleviated and try to stop your upcoming laughter. Your grimacing did nothing to hide it, and a big burst of laughter took over the van and everything around.

Law looks at you pissed, but a soft smirk garnishes his lips. You can’t stop, perhaps it isn’t that funny… but you feel so happy right now. And you have no idea why, since you are literally stranded in a very dark wood with temperatures below 0C and snow pooling on top of that van.

“Welp, it’s ok. We should wait until tomorrow, then” you say, knowing the risks. “You- you prefer spending the night in here? aren’t you afraid of dying?” he asks, surprised.

“I am, in fact, scared of dying. That’s why I know very well I can’t walk during a snowstorm in the middle of the night in the Alps. Plus, you are too sweet to be considered a threat” you joke, searching for some chocolate inside your backpack.

Law narrows his eyes, deepening his frown. Apparently being called “sweet” and “not a threat” is not something he enjoys.

“I could cut you open and took all of your organs out during the night” he says, serious as hell. “Go for it. Don’t forget to steal my heart, doctor” you laugh, taking your jacket off.

Law is flabbergasted; he has never confronted someone like you before… but he is beginning to like it now.

A bar of chocolate that you had kept in your backpack for too long lays too close to his nose. You shake it, offering its sweetness to him.

He takes it but doesn’t eat it. Instead, his hand gets pressed against the window behind you. Law has pinned you against the door of your side. He is not a very muscular man, but he is indeed very tall and lean… if he wanted, he could do anything to you.

Your eyes widen, big as the moon. You swallow, thinking maybe walking through the forest might be a safer option.

“L-Law… I- didn’t mean to-“ you tremble, asking yourself where did you put the Victorinox blade you bought in Switzerland… it should be enough to defend yourself, right?

You notice his chest is also tattooed as his clothes open just a little. His arms, are too. His scent, despite the danger, smells deliciously tempting…

“Don’t trust strangers that easily, (Name)-ya” he whispers, a few centimetres from your lips. Letting you go after and biting the chocolate bar as if nothing has just happened.

You remain there, frozen up with your eyes widen and your lips softly trembling. He is, in fact, very right. Law is indeed a stranger, after all.

When oxygen finally begins to reach your lungs and brain again, you move and blink the dry eyes away. Silently you sit back, properly. You aren’t able to say anything, somehow you have run out of words.

You squeeze the blanket he gave you, covering you as much as you could, making yourself as tiny as possible on that old leather seat.

“Are you ok?” he asks, so nonchalantly.

“Ye-yes, I’m… ok” you mumble back, almost sticking yourself to the passenger door. “Is it ok if I go to sleep? I’m tired”

Law nods, confused. Maybe he was just joking around, but it did scare you big time. He goes down the van and opens the back doors. You look at him disappearing in the darkness until a very little glimpse of silver light coming from the moon filters through the doors.

But, soon after, fairy lights illuminate the back allowing you to discover a very cozy space behind the front seats.

“I am glad I installed this independently from the fuel tank. I have a little power generator for the back. It’s not a hotel bed, but it does the job” he says, showing you a precarious mattress covering the entire floor of the vehicle.

You smile softly, it looks cozy and pretty. The walls are full of random posters and maps, and there is even an old picture of a younger Law with three more guys wearing fancy hats with something written in the snow. You take a closer look at it, to discover it says, “Pirates of Heart” and you giggle. What a peculiar gang name.

“Law, this is really cute. You even have a lot of blankets and cushions!” you chime, easing a little bit.

“My best friend Bepo decorated it for me, I only helped him with the lights” he says, a little embarrassed.

You jump right back, leaving your backpack in the front seat and forgetting everything for the moment. What a reckless lover girl.

“I am going to sleep in the front seat, don’t worry. Use as many blankets as you need” he informs you, closing the back doors and leaving you there. You most probably were to say “no, stay here” but you simply couldn’t.

After all, this tattooed doctor is a gentleman. Right?

You let yourself rest for a bit on that improvised bed, with your sight blurring while looking at the fairy lights. The scent of the blankets and pillows is the same as him, something you secretly enjoy without even knowing. You catch a glimpse of the reflection of him sitting in the front through the back windows, at how he takes his hat off revealing a dark shade of onyx spiky hair.

For the next half an hour, or maybe less, you both become silent. The only sounds are the huge slaps of snow falling from the sky against the van and the subtle whistle of the wind filtering through the doors.

It is cold, but it’s probably colder in the front as Law is only using his Germa 66 blanket to cover up…

“Law? Are you awake?” you ask, shyly.

“Mh? Yes... why?” he asks back, with not much emotion but a soft tremble on his voice. He is probably cold, very cold.

“I feel bad for you; you must be freezing. There is plenty of room back here, you could sleep here. It’s ok with me” you say, taking advantage of not being in front of him.

Law takes a few minutes to move, but he ultimately does. He hops to where you are and sits there crossing his long legs. He is not wearing his black leather boots, so you can see Sora’s socks.

“Cool socks” you say, sitting right in front of him watching his cheeks go blushed. “Here, cover up. You are freezing, doc”

Both of you cover up with heavy blankets and fall into the mattress at the same time, facing each other.

Maybe, it is too strong to deny it. The attraction is natural, and you both can’t stop it… Exactly like the wind and cold reaching your skins.

“I am still cold” you mumble.

“I read in one of my books that the best way to keep the warmth of our bodies is to share it… skin to skin” he whispers, unable to take his eyes away from your lips.

“Is that so?” you breathe, coming closer to his embrace, allowing his arms to surround your frame and your hips to join with the other’s.

His forehead slowly touches yours, the bridge of your noses do as well. Your fingers, playfully but slowly, crawl to the crook of his neck. While his, squeeze your waist with delicate dominance. A leg that snake into the other’s, crossing, tangling…

Lips coming closer, so close. Breaths warming up, going faster and bumpy. Hearts that indeed had been stolen, the first kiss of two strangers, meeting for the very first time like two snowflakes join while falling from an endless sky

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤWill they continue their journey together? 🦢

[ju1cyfru1t]

Yellow!! How are you? Hope you are doing good! Just wanna say your whipped Donnie?? Soft Donnie?? Headcanons?? :((( it was so cute :((( literally I’m like your pfp rn :((( absolutely adorable

Idk if you are accepting requests (if not you can ignore it!!) but could you do a similar one for either Raph or Mikey?? I adore the disaster twins, but Raph and Mikey get so little recognition, Headcanons or scenarios :( if you are not feeling it that’s totally ok!! Hope you have a good day! ♥️🧡💜💙

I’m so glad you liked it!!! Have some soft Raph hcs 🫶🏻❤️ hope this is alright???

Rise! Raphael x reader

fluff :D, gn reader, romantic

soft raph hcs :(

- the first time you told him you loved him he just said “thank you” out of panic but tbh it was the funniest shit ever and his brothers never let him live it down.

- More than happy to help you with anything, he is doing it ALL for you.

- Opening and holding every door for you

- You can’t reach the top shelf? Don’t worry, Raph’s got it.

- You need help carrying your groceries in? You need help changing that lightbulb? You need someone to walk you home? Literally anything at all? He’ll be there in 5.

- You’re tired? Sure, he’ll carry you!

- He would pick up hot coals directly from a fire with his bare hands if you asked him to.

- He loves quality time and the little things! Like watching movies, playing games together, having lunch together, almost anything! All that matters to him is that he’s with you.

- He is so scared that he’ll accidentally hurt you yk cuz he’s big and spikey :( so, so gentle

- Treats you like you’re made of glass sometimes

- you make him very nervous, he’s scared he’ll say or do something wrong

- he lacks confidence sometimes, poor Raphie

- will explain all of the Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim lore to you as best he can + would insist that you watch all of the movies together (he just wants to spend time with you but he doesn’t know how to just say that)

- tries really hard to think of gifts that you would like

- protective and always looks out for you, not in a possessive way but in the way that he just wants to keep you safe yk? they got a lot of enemies

- “LEO! I told you not to make a mess!” “It was me, sorry-“ “don’t worry about it, let Raph take care of everything.”

- He wants to take care of you. It’s just how he’s used to showing his love.

- esp from his dumbass brothers (Mostly Leo. Donnie and Mikey USUALLY let you live in peace)

- -> “I thought I told you to leave Y/N alone!” “Whaaat? I was just saying hi!”

- Softens and completely drops his usual intimidating, angry demeanor whenever he sees you and the quick switch is painfully obvious. He just thinks you’re so cute. but don’t worry his brothers won’t forget to point out how obvious he is (LEO)

- idk why but I feel like he would have some kind of stuffed animal that you guys act like it’s your child and you take turns taking care of it 😭 yk what I’m talking abt?

- one time he accidentally called you babe in front of Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and April but denies it ever happened

- -> “Hey Raph! Remember when-“ “NO THAT NEVER HAPPENED IDONTKNOWWHATYOURETALKINGABOUT-“

- would never let anyone say anything bad about you

- really appreciates your private moments when you two are alone, he feels much more comfortable this way

- Hesitant, but he will be vulnerable with you because he knows he can be without judgement.

- Please give Raph any kind of reassurance and he is misty-eyed. Tell him he has nothing to worry about, that he is a great leader and boyfriend and you’re proud of him, too many things to list. TELL HIM HE’S PRETTY.

- He LOVES to hold you to his chest, it makes him feel like he’s keeping you safe that way.

- Stares at you all the time, and is embarrassed if you catch him. “sorry-“

- if he were to call you a pet name, most likely to call you ‘baby’ or ‘babe’, maybe even a ‘babydoll’ if he’s feeling bold

- very very sweet overall :(

——————————————————————————

ty for reading <333 rlly appreciate all the notes on everything

still working on + accepting requests !

[pablitogavii]

Hey i really need another story of gavi as a dad/about to be a dad (family masterlist)

It's the thought that counts, amor

Pablo was struggling so bad right now to make something for breakfast since never in his life has he had to cook for himself. There was always a cafeteria in La Masia and later, his mom always made linch she wanted the whole family to ear together.

When you and Pablo moved to your new apartment, you would always have a meal ready after his trainings and he really appreciated you for it secretly loving your cooking the most. When you got pregnant, he made sure you got your rest and his mom agreed to help with any home work that needs to be done including the cooking cause you can't stand long on your feet.

"Porque es tan complicado! Mierda!" he was cussing himself while trying to crack an egg for the past twenty minutes completely forgetting about the oil un the pan that started to smoke and cause a fire alarm to go off at seven in the morning.

You jumped at the loud sound looking around in fear when you couldn't find Pablo but luckily he was quickly rushing to your side and placing his hand on your stomach helping with the kicks.

"Amor! Shhh it's me..it's your Pablito..I'm right here preciosa. Everything is fine, I promise!" he was consulting you while the alarm was still basting all around you. When the smoke vanished through the window he opened, the sound stopped finally and you were both relieved.

"What happened!?" you said sitting up and drinking some water trying to calm yourself down while Pablo looked at you nervously while scratching the back of his head.

"You're doing it again Pablito..." you say after putting down the bottle of water on your nightstand.

"Doing what amor?" he asked acting dumb but you both knew what's up.

"Scratching your head when you do something bad. What happened out there???" you asked and he chuckled that you knew him that well already.

"I tried to surprise you...and..um well, why don't you come see it for yourself?" he said taking your hand as you both walked to the kitchen where was the biggest mess you ever saw. Untracked eggs on the counter, half burnt pan on the stove and cups of water all over as he tried to stop the flame.

"Amor..." you said shocked at what he menage to do in less that half an hour. You are definitely forbidding him from ever entering your kitchen again!

"I'm sorry! So sorry amor! I wanted to make you cute breakfast in bed...to surprise you cause you always cook for me..but I never knew it's so hard! Are you mad at me???" he asked pouting and you sighed walking up to him and holding his face while making him look at you instead of the mess.

"Tu eres tan mono Pablito!" you say with a smile and he blushed shyly leaning down to capture your lips glad you were not yelling angrily at him right now.

"But let's make a promise right now, bueno? I do the cooking and the next time you want to surprise me with a breakfast in bed, just order it from a bakery downstairs, vale amor??" you say starting to giggle and he nodded wishing he came up with that idea from the beginning. You were his smart girl always!!!

"I can try to make you coffee if you'd like princesa?" he said wanting to do at least something but you quickly pulled him back thinking it was probably a bad idea to leave him in the kitchen alone again.

"Just come back to bed and give me cuddles, vale?" you giggle and he nods grabbing you things and your legs wrapped around his waist as he carried you back to bed.

"I'm sorry the surprise didn't turn out good amor..." Pablo spoke while cuddling with you and playing with your hair as you checked your phone.

"It's the thought that counts, amor" you answer looking up with a smile and he nodded also smiling before kissing your lips lovingly.

Hope you liked it! <333

[underscorewriting]

Never miss.

Simon ‚Ghost‘ Riley x Reader

Warnings: mentions of character dying, angst, gore? but not really

Word count: 2 173

bang.

as soon as his bullet left his gun he knew something was wrong. He couldn’t describe the anxiety that was blossoming in his stomach but he knew, whatever it was, was going to be fatal.

A quiet gasp broke him out of his stare, out of his feelings, feelings he should not have at this very moment. Your hands were clenching your stomach tightly, blood oozing.

It didn’t make sense to him… why were you bleeding?

The dots connected and his eyes widened. Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley never misses… until now. The man he tried to kill, decided to kill him. Decided to pull the only thing that could make him, make Ghost loose all senses of life or death, in front of him as Simons finger pulled the trigger.

When had you gotten here? His heart was beating fast, he didn’t understand what just happened. His hand was shaking, his gun was shaking. It wasn’t before he was sure. His aim wasn’t off he knew that.

His eyebrows furrowed as he took in the scene. It felt like hours were passing as he watched you fall to the ground.

It has been five seconds since his bullet hit you. Since he signed your death.

Simon felt like he couldn’t breath, like the air he was breathing was mocking him, telling him that you won’t be the only thing to die today.

The man had already gotten away. He did not think that his plan would work, after all ‘Ghost’ was known for his coldness, he didn't think the deadly soldier would stop in his track for a mere girl. But this wasn’t ‘Ghost’, not in this exact moment.

The moment he saw the blood, your blood, in comparison to your skin, he was Simon. Your Simon.

His eyes were glued to you as your form was about to hit the ground, the dirty ground who is not worthy of your being. He felt like he was going to throw up, was this normal? He wanted to forget what fear tastes like, he thought he did forget it.

Has it always tasted this bitter?

He couldn't remember. He felt numb, felt. Not in this very moment though. As if something snapped inside him, his feet carried him towards you in an instant, his strong arms catching you before the damned ground could even think about touching you. His teeth were gritted, anger and anxiety climbed their way up his throat like bile searching for a way to torture him for the crime he just committed.

"Lieutenant..?" Your voice was weak as you looked up to him, shock clear on your face, lip trembling and paling. He wouldn't let you go, not like this. You were going to be okay, he knew it. Fuck, he was going to do everything to make sure that you survive this.

"Y/N..."

Who was this talking? How did he feel his lips move, but not his voice coming out? Who was this man talking?

His voice was unsure, shaking almost. If he was in the right state of mind right now, he'd have called it 'whiny' maybe even annoying.

A soft smile pulled at your lips, before you winced quietly. "Hey at least you didn't miss completely?" You couldn't help but giggle weakly as you squeezed your eyes shut. Your skin burning like you were set on fire.

Never had Simon wanted to bathe in something so pure and innocent as your laughter, he would be on his knees begging for you to laugh carefree in this exact moment. For your eyes, how he wish you would open them right now, he couldn’t get enough of them. The way you expressed everything, every little emotion, through your eyes made him feel dizzy at times.

Fuck, not only at times. Every time he found himself staring at you he wished he could've stopped. He wished he could've forced his eyes away from you, from your smile, your eyes. Your everything.

Right now he was too scared to even look away from you.

"Don't say shit like that." His voice was barely above a whisper, he was scared. Scared like a kid, like he was as a kid. "You were just starting to like me, Gh-." He shook his head.

He never even disliked her to begin with, how could he? You were everything he could ever long for, but he couldn't have you. He couldn't infest your pureness, but now? What was all of his protection of your light from his darkness worth if you would die, because of him?

"Stop saying that shit right now, Y/N. I never once disliked you, angel...." His voice broke slightly. He had to call you this at least one time, even if it would be the last time.

"Ghost-" "Simon. Call me Simon, angel..."

How was he ever able to call her something else? Calling you 'angel' felt right, it felt like it already belonged to you ever since you stepped into his life, annoying the shit out of him.

"Simon..."

A weak smile formed on your lips. They were tinted with your own blood, tears gathering in your eyes as you coughed up blood.

The blood splattered onto his masks, marking him with the blood of his victim.

He felt sick to his stomach, he couldn't care less about the blood on his masks. The emotions were too much for him, how could he survive with the guilt if he was already suffocating?

"It's okay, Si... I'm okay." You had always wanted to call him that, now seemed like the right time.

"N-no you're not, love."

He reached for his pager. "Man down, sent medical troop to location." His voice was shaking as he informed the base of your situation. "They're gonna get here soon, okay? You just stay with me, okay?" Simon was panicking.

You couldn't help but look up to this wonderful asshole above you.

Your eyes felt heavy.

As soon as the doors opened your eyes closed.

As the medical team arrived they saw the silhouette of Simon and you. He was holding your wound and caressed you hair softly, you head was rested on his lap. His hold on you was tight, protective. No one could hurt you anymore.

"Her pulse is weak." He said cold and low. His eyes not darting away from your blood covered face. "Take her to the base and treat her." He picked you up with ease before handing you to someone he trusted.

Simon didn't look back at you.

A few weeks later you were finally able to leave the hospital bed to walk around a bit. Luckily Simon didn't hit any important organs, but even if he did, they said they still would've been able to save her.

Counting the days you waited for Simon to visit you. He didn't, not once, nor did anyone mention him asking about you. You still looked rough, your rib cage still bruised from the impact of the shot, the shot wound wasn't completely closed yet, but it was covered by a bandage.

Looking at the wound it caused something inside you to go into a state of shock sometimes. It reminded you of death, made you taste the foul taste of dying over and over again.

It reminded you of the pain, the pain you felt knowing that Simon would have to live with the guilt of killing you if they wouldn't have been able to safe you.

Walking around the halls you can't help but notice that somehow Simon wasn't here either. Normally you'd be able to find Simon wander around the halls every minute of the day.

The hope was starting to leave you, had he forgotten about you?

As you walked into the group room you couldn't help but smile slightly. He was there. He was sitting with König and Soap. Walking towards them you smiled exhausted.

It’s as if your presence upset him, because the moment you were in front of him, Simon got up brushed softly against your arm and left. His whole body was tense as he brushed past you.

Why?

Why were you being treated as if you did anything wrong?

Anger flared up in your stomach as you turned away from Soap and König, quickly following Simon.

“Get lost, Y/N.” He sounded rough. His voice raspy and hoarse.

“No. What’s wrong with you?”

You arrived at his room door and he sighed leaning his forehead against it. “Nothing, just get lost.”

He wouldn’t look at you.

He just couldn’t.

“Why didn’t you visit..?” Your voice was quiet, vulnerable. You had wanted him there, wished he would’ve been there for you.

Treating your wounds alone hurt so much more than it did whenever Simon helped you.

Dealing with pain was so much worse than it was when Simon was there to annoy you with his sarcasm.

A low sigh escaped Simons lips as he shook his head.

“Don’t even try saying the ‘you were busy and you couldn’t’ bullshit. Because we both know you could’ve.”

Simon chuckled dryly.

“You shouldn’t be close to me.”

Your features softened as your lips parted in a silent gasp, immediately understanding what he meant.

“Simon…” Your voice was soft. Compassionate.

“I almost fucking killed you.” His voice was shaking and unsteady.

“But you didn’t, Si.“

“Whenever I close my eyes I see you laying there… in your own fucking blood. My bullet dragging its way through your chest”

His words left a burning sensation in your chest. You should’ve known it would be bad for him, maybe even worse for you. But you hadn’t thought that Simon, the Simon even you knew to be cold towards who he shot or killed, would be close to tears at the memory of you laying in your own blood.

Almost dying. Almost.

„Simon look at me.“

Your voice was determined. You wanted him to look at you, to see and realize that you’re still here.

That he did not kill you.

His hands were trembling as he held onto the doorknob. He shook his head. He couldn’t.

„Simon.“

You could hear him curse. He was fighting himself. He knew he shouldn’t be close to you, shouldn’t even be breathing the same air as you.

But he had to know. He had to make sure you’re okay and see that you’re still alive. That you’re here and breathing.

Simon slowly turned around, it was visible on his face that he was fighting against the fear, the guilt.

As he turned around you slowly walked closer to him, wanting to make sure he feels you being here as well.

His eyes would focus on every part of you except your eyes, he would not look into your eyes.

The moment he first looked at you, his shoulder suddenly stopped feeling so heavy. His heart sped up. His eyes felt weird, he didn’t like how they felt.

„I’m here Simon…“ Your voice was quiet, gentle, as you reached up and softly touched his cheek, leaving him enough room to pull away.

You saw his eyes filling with tears as they finally connected with yours a quiet sob which you barely caught made your lips part as you looked up to him with admiration.

„I’m so sorry, angel…“

His voice broke as he held onto your hand on his cheek, tears hitting your skin leaving a burning behind.

His eyes held so much pain it hurt your heart. It made it unbearable to look at him but somehow it made your heart grow even fonder of him in this special moment.

„I know…I’m not angry at you Simon.“ A soft and gentle smile graced your lips. „I never was, I don’t think I would’ve been if you did it on purpose. That’s how much power you have over me…“ The last few words just slipped out of your mouth, but oh did you mean them.

A quiet chuckle came from the man in front of you. „You got me crying in the hallway in front of my room, angel. Think about how much power you have over me…“

His hand came up to your cheek caressing it softly, the calluses on his hand felt rough, leaving a tingle in its awakening.

Closing your eyes you leaned into his touch, feeling protected and safe.

„I never thought I’d say this, but I’m happy you shot me, Simon.“ Your voice held a teasing tone as you heard him huff in mock annoyance at your words.

„Fucking hell, maybe I should’ve aimed better- Hey!“ A chuckle erupted from his chest as you hit his shoulder, looking up to him in mock anger.

His arms wrapped around you like he was a touch starved little boy. His embrace felt warm, safe. He rested his head on top of yours closing his eyes. A soft sigh of relief left his lungs as he squeezed you softly, being sure to avoid your wound.

„You’re here…“

„I’m here.“

[t3a-tan]

New Perspectives (1/?)

Word Count: 4,915

AO3 | First | Next | Previous

Size-swap au for Oliver and James because unintentional fearplay is beautiful. Let’s be honest the only one learning anything here is James. Comments and reblogs are what keep me writing, so any help with motivation is appreciated ^^

@entomolog-t you asked me to tag you so here--

-----

Oliver wasn't sure how it happened exactly. Everything had been normal up until this point: he had harvested some of his tea leaves in the morning, made another jar of jam at noon, made some cornbread over a fire at night. And when he fell asleep in his cozy cotton stuffed bed he woke up—

Well… Not in his burrow, to say the least.

In fact, he woke up sleeping on the dewy grass— which was remarkably odd considering grass was not something he really could lie on top without laying it flat. Not to mention the grass was tiny; small enough to grab fistfuls of it at a time.

The situation became clearer once he looked up more, and despite the fact that the trees were still larger than him, they weren't complete behemoths as usual. Oliver could even see the entrance to his burrow— which was unharmed thankfully.

He was human-sized. But how?

Oliver prided himself on being extremely knowledgeable about the human way of life in comparison to most borrowers who preferred to stay sheltered, but after becoming closer with James he found that there were plenty of unwritten rules of human life too.

James… I should go see him like this. Maybe he knows something? If not, he could always help me find a solution…

Oliver had no interest in remaining human sized— it was just unnatural and too different from what he was used to. He didn't mind it, but it was more like a day's enjoyment kind of thing rather than life long.

On pure instinct he whistled loudly, before spotting a bird swooping down and landing at his feet. She was unbothered, and Oliver tilted his head, crouching down and lightly scratching at the buzzard's head, as she chirped contentedly in response.

"Apologies for calling you, Gail. I don't think you'll be able to carry me like this.." He remarked softly, enamored by just how small the graceful bird had now become. She squawked out in response, something Oliver liked to think was agreement despite knowing logically that the bird could neither understand him nor respond back to him.

Standing back up, he watched as she flew off again before starting his trek to find James's house, trying his best to recall the route.

Along the way he was enamored seeing how humans were interacting from the same level– but he knew better than to approach strangers like this as that was socially unacceptable. Once he had met up with James then it would be more productive to have that kind of conversation and experience with him rather than making random humans uncomfortable.

It took about twenty minutes to arrive, but knocking received no response. Oliver recalled the time James had mentioned keeping a spare key hidden behind a false brick after forgetting his keys at work for the seventh or eighth time, and so once he figured out which brick in the outer wall was fake he found the keys and unlocked the door, taking a few moments to relish in the new experience.

He made sure to lock the door behind him too before realizing that James wouldn't have a clue who just entered and would probably presume an intruder had just broken in.

"James? It's Oliver. I don't know what happened, I need to talk to you though…. Are you in?" Oliver began to explore the house, trying not to be too intrusive or snoop around too much, but he couldn't help but make mental comparisons between everything at the moment. Humans saw the world in such an odd way…he felt huge. Too big for his liking, but he knew that to a human this would be completely normal instead.

Oliver saw that James must be home, considering all of his shoes were still sitting in the shoe rack, and his wallet and keys were sitting on the shelf near the front door. Humans didn't generally leave without those essentials… So then why wasn't James responding? Was he potentially injured??

At that thought Oliver hurried up the stairs, this time not taking any time to make observations on his surroundings and instead searching specifically for an unconscious human… and he found nothing.

Peculiar. The windows are locked and shut, so where has he gone…? Did someone take him? There's no signs of a struggle, so that can't be it. Oliver was growing admittedly worried about the circumstances here. That was when he saw a shadow in the corner of his eye.

It disappeared quickly, but Oliver's attention had already focused onto it— expecting to see a house spider or something of the sort which he was very interested in inspecting close up now that they were very much harmless… but what he found instead was utterly perplexing.

"James..?"

Oliver dropped down to a crouch, eyebrows raised in surprise and eyes locked onto the shadow on the floor…. Because right there was not a shadow at all: instead he saw his friend, who looked about as pale as a ghost, back pressed into the corner of the room and staring up at Oliver with heaving breaths.

Oliver wasn't sure how it happened exactly, or what he did to inspire such terror in James's eyes, but he quickly set about fixing it.

"James? It's alright, James, just breathe... I'll do it with you, okay? In for four….hold for four….out for four…." He kept his tone low and soft, trying to coax the older man out of his fear-stricken state. Oliver stayed completely still, breathing in time with his instructions until James began following along, gasping slightly as he tried to regain control of his breathing, but soon enough he was taking deep breaths and leaving his fight or flight state.

Oliver waited, staring down at him with a concerned but curious gaze, waiting for James to say something or to explain what had him so frightened in the first place… but instead all he got was silence. Oliver's expression faltered, eyebrows furrowing slightly, leaning down a little closer now only radiating concern over his friend's plight.

"Keep breathing, it's okay… Are you struggling to find words at the moment? Do you need water?" He asked, keeping his voice gentle to avoid causing any other outbursts. He relaxed a bit when James managed to nod, and so Oliver pushed himself up to a stand, still looking down at the now borrower-sized human. "I'll go fetch some— woah… hm."

Oliver went completely still again as he saw the way James had flinched and shielded himself just as Oliver stood up. It took the human-sized borrower a few moments to put it together, but once he did he quickly lowered himself to the ground again.

"James... Do you think I'm going to hurt you..?" He asked, not offended in the slightest but saddened by the idea. Oliver couldn't imagine hurting an innocent person ever… and by the way James was reacting, it was probably more than just 'hurt' he was afraid of.

Instead of receiving a response though James just stayed curled up and trembling, so small and vulnerable. From Oliver's perspective, he was smaller than an ant would usually be from borrower size, which was surreal in and of itself. But he wasn't an oddity to be marveled at…he was a person in need of reassurance.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I should have considered my actions with a bit more grace… But there's no need for you to be afraid. I'm your friend, I wouldn't dream of laying a finger on you without your permission, especially not with the intent to harm." He assured softly, keeping his hands to himself as promised.

James held his head in his hands for a few more moments, anxiously dragging his fingers through his hair as he often did when he was stressed about something. Oliver had picked up on it when he would stay at James's house for a prolonged time and end up walking in on phone calls with his ex wife. But it was never this bad…James had always maintained some control of his emotional state. Oliver wasn't used to seeing him this way.

He tilted his head, leaning down a bit more whilst keeping his hands on his knees, non-threateningly.

"I'm not upset at you for your reaction at all. You have experienced quite a dramatic shift, so it's only natural that stress comes along with that. I understand that you are reacting on instinct, not logic, so there is no need to feel anxious that I may feel hurt by your fear." Oliver clarified, rambling as he often did when he wasn't fully certain of the most succinct way to put it; he would rather over-explain than miscommunicate.

James took a few moments before he nodded slowly, though he kept his gaze averted for now. Still, it was progress, so Oliver couldn't help but perk up slightly.

"I imagine it would be quite shocking to go from human height to borrower height, isn't it..?" He lowered his voice to a whisper, trying to coax a verbal answer from the man in order to test the waters. He waited patiently, observing his body language.

"Y-yeah….you can— you can say that again, mate..." James finally managed to stammer out a response, his gaze hesitantly shifting in order to focus on Oliver. Oliver offered a reassuring smile in turn.

James's eyes narrowed slightly, and although he was still quite shaken up he pointed an accusatory finger up at Oliver, causing the enlarged borrower's eyebrows to raise in withdrawn surprise.

"H-how in the hell do you keep it together..? Especially when we first met… I.. I…" He trailed off, expression wracked with guilt of his past callous treatment of Oliver. "...how..?"

Oliver hummed, unsure of how exactly to respond at first. It was a question even he himself didn't really know the answer to. He had always been quite emotionless, even more so when he was younger…and he simply didn't feel fear. Not in the same way— Oliver was extremely logical and curious, so he found that when he saw new things he would always be more fascinated than terrified.

The first time he saw a human he had been only 8 years old, collecting water from the creek, when he saw a gigantic hulking beast approach the water on the other side. He had at first moved to take shelter as he was taught to when facing predators, but stopped when he noticed that the so-called beast was a woman. A woman 30 or so times his size dressed in odd clothing, but a woman nonetheless.

Oliver watched after the woman. Despite being so close and in the open he was unafraid and oh so intrigued— he had never seen someone outside of his family before…not until now. He hadn't realized others were so big, thinking perhaps that she was simply very old and had never stopped growing like his parents had. He wondered if she had just moved nearby…he wondered how big her family's burrow would have to be.

"I'm not sure how. I don't understand the level of fear everyone else experiences because I don't… but I imagine I lack a majority of instincts. Most borrowers I know would likely pass out in the presence of a human… Especially when being handled by one." Oliver responded after some thought before swiftly adding, "and I'm not going to be handling you in such a rough manner, if that's something you're worried about."

"Oliver, I don't— I don't think you'd do that at all…" James was quick to interject, finally looking up and meeting Oliver's green eyes with his own brown ones, but Oliver could see that there was some doubt there. Nothing personal, clearly, but it was still there. He couldn't help his frown.

"I've not been scary a single day in my life, I don't think. It's odd. It's…uncomfortable." Oliver sighed. "Whatever has happened to us, I hope it reverses back soon. As intrigued as I am about viewing things from a human perspective, I would rather not scare you in the process."

He glanced around, and for the first time James saw Oliver genuinely unsure of what to do. Vulnerable, ironically enough, considering he was currently almost 500 times the size of what James was used to seeing him as. James tried his best to take a deep breath and calm his heart again, though he was still weak in the knees from the instinctive fear that came with it.

"We're friends, Oliver. I know you won't do anything to me… I just…my head keeps telling me to run— t-to get away as fast as possible…but my heart knows you are safe… okay? So don't feel bad, mate…" He addressed Oliver directly this time rather than just thinking his paranoid thoughts aloud. Oliver blinked, then stared for a few moments, eyes narrowing in confusion and distaste…his judging face. What had James managed to do wrong now?

"...your heart doesn't know anything, it's an organ responsible for pumping blood around the body…" The borrower murmured, genuinely confused by that description. James couldn't help but facepalm. That was what Oliver was taking away from what he had said? Oh well, it was embarrassing the first time, he's not going to repeat himself again…

"You are a bloody pain in my ass, you know that?" James grumbled in return, as Oliver blinked and now only looked apologetic, leaning in closer.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't think I had touched you before, but I'm sorry if I hurt you." He apologized, concern in his gaze. James was tempted to square him in the nose— but he also knew that Oliver wasn't ridiculing him whatsoever, and simply didn't understand a lot of the idioms that humans used all the time.

"That's it. You've officially killed me." James sighed in exasperation, dragging a hand down his face. Despite his fed-up expression though, he saw it as endearing because Oliver was so genuine and so…him, 100% all the time. The smile appeared on his face and he couldn't help it. The absurdity of this situation was starting to make him crack.

Oliver's brows pinched together, with one subtly raised.

"Well now I know that's just spurious." He kept still, only slightly cocking his head as his observative gaze bored down upon James. The officer wouldn't even bother asking what the hell 'spurious' meant. "Does your joking mean you're more comfortable now? Because I suggest a lift off of the floor may help things look a bit less daunting from your perspective."

James hesitated, glancing towards Oliver's hands and shrinking back against the wall. The idea of fingers larger than his entire body reaching for him like the mouth of some beast was terrifying…but then he looked at Oliver's face, reminding himself of who those hands were attached to.

Since they had met, Oliver had been patient and gentle. He had taught James just as much as James had taught him back— and they were friends. Officially.

Just as he would never hurt Oliver even when it would have been so easy to do so, he knew Oliver was the same. If anything, the safest place for him to be at all at this size was probably in Oliver's hands. So despite his instincts screaming no, James nodded yes.

Oliver's expression softened again, moving slowly as he reached his hand forward, lowering it onto the floor in front of James so he could climb on by himself. He was quiet, allowing James to think, and giving him time to back out again if he wanted to— a yes could be withdrawn at any time, after all.

Eventually though, James stepped away from the wall and slowly climbed into Oliver's open palm. He marveled at the feeling. Oliver had very rough and worn skin— he worked with his hands quite often obviously, but they weren't uncomfortable by any means either. Not to mention that they were warm…

James looked down at his own minuscule hand as he brushed it over the creases of Oliver's palm, mouth agape. It was like he was standing on top of an alien— the floor beneath him pulsating with the calm beating of the now-giant borrower's heart. He couldn't imagine this being normal for anyone… He wondered how Oliver was able to be so casual around him.

Oliver was slow and careful with his movements as he stood up, keeping his hand stable and moving at such a pace that it wouldn't disturb James too much. Once he had stood up he turned and began to very gently make his way down the stairs, before entering the kitchen. He hummed, recalling how exactly James made his coffee and getting out the doll mug that the officer had bought a while back to make drinking easier for Oliver.

He lowered his hand again, but kept it still as he got to work on making the coffee, allowing James to stay on his hand since it was clear that the human was intrigued by it. Oliver had to admit that he was quite interested in how it felt to hold someone so tiny too, though he never moved his fingers to close in on James. He wouldn't do anything more without explicit permission, regardless of his curiosity.

Eventually the coffee was done, and Oliver very carefully managed to tip just a few drops into the tiny mug.

"Drink your coffee. I'll make some crumpets for us to eat…" He spoke, prompting James to finally give Oliver his hand back as he stepped off. Oliver smiled again, seeing that his friend was a bit embarrassed by his fascination— he didn't mind in the slightest. The enjoyment of discovery should be encouraged, not mocked.

Oliver got out two crumpets and placed them in the toaster before getting the butter from the fridge and setting it out to allow it to soften. He then got out a plate, now just waiting for the crumpets to toast.

With that sorted he looked down at James again, inspecting him lightly as the man dipped at his coffee, in a much more relaxed state than he had been before. Oliver was relieved. He hadn't meant to cause any emotional distress in the first place, and he was thankful that James was no longer suffering from such paralyzing fear in his presence. Friends should not have to fear friends.

"Did I make it how you usually do? I've not made coffee before, I'm afraid." Oliver asked, his tone still soft and non-threatening even though James had already calmed down. The shrunken human hummed in acknowledgement of his question, taking another sip before answering.

"It's actually alright, believe it or not. I'm surprised you managed it, if it's your first time. Good on you." The man responded, managing a smile up in Oliver's direction. He had a very different way of smiling than Oliver: whereas the borrower's smile was gentle and calm, his was much more light and playful. Their distinct personalities on display.

Oliver slowly leaned down, resting his elbow on the countertop and then his cheek in his hand as he gazed down at the human. He inspected the man for a few moments, before looking elsewhere.

"I'd like to go to a library. Perhaps I can find some new books to record." Voice contemplative, he hummed to himself as if considering the idea.

Oliver wanted to go to a library, but he couldn't exactly leave James here to fend for himself as the human didn't have the necessary skills or tools to get around by himself. He could bring James along, but it may be overwhelming for the man to be in an area with other comparatively giant people…not to mention he'd have to remain hidden the entire time, and Oliver had learned that James got bored quite easily.

James's nose wrinkled in distaste at the idea.

"Didn't you say you grew up in a library? Why do you need to record so many books, anyway? Is that your idea of fun..?" He wasn't necessarily judging, but he never understood why Oliver was so determined and able to focus on such tedious things like copying down books, or making maps. It was admirable, definitely, but also extremely boring-sounding.

"I may have grown up in a library, but I didn't have the necessary supplies to write down what I read, nor did I have many opportunities to read as it was usually quite dark when the opportunity did arise." Oliver began, not taking any offense and instead over-explaining his answers, not recognizing that James meant it all as more rhetorical.

"Borrowers do not have books, and many borrowers are not able to read either. If there were more books accessible to our kind, that could change…and there would be much more information available as a whole about our world, since very few borrowers can go out and explore it for themselves. Currently my library is in development, but I hope that when my colony is established it will be in full use by borrowers living in it." Oliver continued.

"And yes. It is enjoyable to me. I get to learn, and I know that what I record will become valuable to others of my kind later on." He finished, before raising an eyebrow at James. "You humans may see that as odd, but there was a time in your history where things were very much the same for your kind. Now you're more focused on getting an education and getting a good job— borrowers haven't even reached the education stage yet."

James could tell thanks to many experiences of Oliver lecturing him about the differences between their kinds that the borrower wasn't putting him down for not understanding. He'd be a good teacher, James couldn't help but think… The way Oliver had mastered explaining things without making the other person feel stupid or put on the spot was impressive, to say the least.

"What's stopping you then?" James asked, taking another sip of his coffee. Oliver watched him silently for a few moments before releasing a sigh that rustled through the shrunken human's hair.

"I don't want to risk overwhelming you in such an environment. And I don't want to leave you on your own in this state either. You do not have any of the skills necessary for survival as a borrower, and I'd rather not risk your safety to satiate my own curiosity." He explained, trying his best to let James down gently. He didn't mean to call the human effectively useless at this height…but he kind of was. It didn't change how Oliver saw James, but it changed the way Oliver considered the human's new needs.

Before, James didn't need Oliver's help at all other than emotionally, but now he was practically dependent on physical aid. Oliver didn't mind in the slightest, but he had come to learn that James was quite a prideful person— not to a fault, but enough that he was understandably frustrated by his lack of autonomy. Oliver would try his best to keep his actions in consideration of that: he felt fine regardless, but James would probably appreciate having control as much as possible right now.

The crumpets were finally done so Oliver began to spread them.

"What? It can't be that hard, mate. I see you do it all the time." James remarked with a frown. He probably didn't think much of Oliver's feats because to borrowers they weren't feats at all, but at a human scale borrowers were definitely performing incredible feats of strength, agility, and coordination on a regular basis. It was understandable that James couldn't see it like that because the scale was so different. In this case, experiencing the difficulty himself would be the only way he'd understand what Oliver meant.

Oliver hummed, finishing spreading the crumpets before setting the butter knife down and pointing over the edge of the counter 

"Try climbing down the counter. Borrowers are capable of climbing up and down this height without tools by the age of about 11." He instructed, not directly communicating that James could choose to or not because he believed it was for the best that James should make the attempt. Still though, if James chose not to, Oliver wouldn't force or pressure him into it at all.

James walked over to the edge, not thinking much of the idea until he realized just how massive of a drop it was. He couldn't believe that Oliver did this so often… he made it look so easy. But James wanted to try anyway, if only to prove himself as capable— he didn't want to be a burden to Oliver by proxy of being this height.

"Just watch me." He snarked, before turning and dangling himself off of the edge, trying his best to keep his trembling contained as the effort it took even to do just that was causing his muscles to ache. Oliver raised an eyebrow, keeping an eye on James for any signs of him losing his grip or slipping so he would be able to catch him in time. It was inevitable. If the man was already shaking at the top, he wouldn't make it down before his muscles were completely worn out.

"Don't injure yourself by pushing too much." Oliver reminded gently, not realizing that those words only had the opposite effect. James was more determined than ever to make it all the way down no matter what, and so he began the climb.

Embarrassingly, he only made it a few inches before losing his grip and falling— promptly getting caught into Oliver's hand and lifted back up to the top of the counter. Oliver wasn't smug about this fact at all. He didn't like seeing his friend's hurt pride, but he didn't want him to overestimate his abilities and injure himself as a result.

James groaned, holding his arm and gritting his teeth in pain from the ache in his sore muscles. He definitely pushed too hard… which was even more upsetting knowing that he hadn't even made it a quarter of the way down. Oliver's expression became concerned, bringing his hand up closer to his face and inspecting the human closely to make sure he hadn't seriously injured himself.

"Are you alright..? Do you want some ice? Perhaps I could run you a bath..?" Oliver spoke, not fretting so much as simply offering assistance. James shook his head, slightly flustered at how poorly his attempt had gone.

"Jesus, Oliver… I can't believe you do that all the time. You said 11 year olds can do that??" James brushed past Oliver's concern for the moment. Oliver always fell for trying to answer every question and further explain certain topics.

"Well, although there are currently no scientific studies I'm aware of on the matter, it is not a stretch to conclude that we have slightly different biology. Borrowers have greater stamina than humans, a lower metabolic rate, and I presume that our muscles are more focused on climbing and carrying. Of course though, this could be a byproduct of our environment rather than a significant biological difference… either way, to borrowers, this is very normal, but to humans at our scale it's practically impossible." He rambled.

James listened with interest, but was more so relieved that Oliver was no longer fretting over him. Oliver moved the plate of crumpets to be in between him and James before starting to eat the breakfast. He made sure to chew and swallow, incredibly intrigued by how different the textures of the food felt at this size, before talking again.

"Anyway, as I stated before, you don't have the necessary skills for survival as a borrower, so I would rather not leave you vulnerable. I don't think you're incapable of taking care of yourself…but the world is very large. Even trained borrowers get caught up in it. As you know…"

James knew that Oliver was referring to his own family, and he winced as he remembered the amount of loss that his friend had endured. He forgot, sometimes, because Oliver rarely ever mentioned his family or dwelled on his emotions… but it was a stark reminder. As much as James didn't like having to depend on others, he recognized that Oliver only wanted to prevent him from having a similar fate.

"Okay, I get it. It's fine, we'll…figure something out." He relented, deciding to forgo some of his autonomy for the sake of alleviating Oliver's concerns. He knew that the man wouldn't take advantage of that.

In all of the time that James had known him, which to be fair it wasn't that long, Oliver was always respectful, polite, compassionate, and receptive. He may take things too literally at times, and he may ramble on and on about things that James couldn't even begin to understand— but he was a good friend. James trusted him a lot…even more so now: when it became clear that Oliver didn't just tolerate him and wasn't only polite because of the height difference.

This situation was freaky as all hell, but it confirmed that Oliver was a genuinely good and trustworthy man. James was thankful to be friends with someone like that…

Suddenly, James's phone could be heard ringing upstairs.

[ananxiousgenz]

TPP HADESTOWN AU PART 8: song for a caged lovebird

IT'S PART 8 WHAAAT this is absolutely insane, i'm having so much fun rn <3

this is a lil shorter but it's very interesting, so as usual, enjoy

EDIT THAT I FORGOR: this is now gonna be titled "song for a caged lovebird" from here on out, thanks for the idea jay <3

all my tpp homies in the house!!! if you are in my walls, please leave (jk i love you i'll bring you snacks)!!!! @smidgen-of-hotboy @ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @one-joe-spoopy @urjover @waters-and-the-wilde @demonic-panini

His eyes fluttered open at the sound of the door. It was dark.

He wasn’t quite sure of the time or his location. He was laying on something soft, he knew that much. A bed, maybe? He had been sleeping, or so he thought. He felt groggy, disoriented, still tethered to the world of dreams by a song that he couldn’t quite seem to shake out of his mind. Was it his own voice singing it, or someone else's? He almost thought he heard a train whistle in the distance, but knew the train line hadn’t run in months, not since the rails had frozen over with ice so thick it couldn’t be melted.

The world felt so strange. There was a heavy knot lying in the pit of his stomach, like something horrible had happened, but he couldn’t quite tell what. Was it his own doing? Someone else’s? He felt almost completely certain it had to do with someone going missing, but no more details sprang to mind.

The person who had entered the room was talking. He didn’t process what they said. 

He tried to sit up to face them. He knew whatever was being said was important. He had to pay attention. But a wave of dizziness overtook him, and he fell back down. They asked a question, and when he didn’t respond, they turned and left.

He let them go. He didn’t have the energy to stop them or ask them to repeat themselves. Sleep was already tugging his eyelids closed again. He let it come, and gently slipped back into a world of dreams.

—------------------------------

Far below the ground, there was a factory town.

This town was old, old enough that no one could really remember when it began. All anyone really knew was that it was hell on Earth. Giant metal works spun rusty gears through all hours of the day and night, and blast furnaces and refineries threw their dragon-fire heat out into the town. Housing was small and cramped and never used, stacked like smashed crates in the rare cooler corner of town, right next to the assembly lines for cars and TV screens. Mines worked overtime to produce rare gemstones and pure gold, and on the outskirts of town, there was a wall. And that was where most of the people worked.

There were a lot of people. Maybe millions, if one really took the time to count. Backs bent to their work, eyes milky white with focus, pickaxe or shovel or wheelbarrow in hand. Different ages and races and genders, but they all had two things in common: they kept their heads down, and they belonged to the king of this land.

Some had signed their souls away in an attempt to avoid their own death. Some had done it in the name of a loved one. Some had even done it in the hopes of getting paid. But that didn’t matter now. None of them could remember anything about their lives before Hadestown anyway. They did what they were told, and they had been told to forget and to work.

So they did.

At the center of town, in a grand office in a high tower, staring out a window at his beautiful city, was the king.

He had always been a crafter, an inventor of sorts. But this was on a far greater scale than anything he had ever imagined when he was a child. He was proud of his beauty, his greatest creation. But it had always been missing something to him. As grand as his factories were, and as many souls as he and his executives had gained to carry out the work, something was just never quite right. He had always hungered after something else, something from his past he hadn’t been able to take with him into the underworld.

Now, though. Now he had finally acquired the missing piece, and everything would finally be perfect.

One of the executives appeared in the doorway behind him. “The target you requested is nearly here, my associate.”

He nodded, not turning away from the window. “Very good. Bring him up to the office as soon as he gets here. I need to speak with him.”

“As you wish, my associate.”

He grinned a bit to himself. It had been years, but he was certain the man he was bringing here would be happy to see him again. They had been so close when they were younger, and he had never forgotten the time they spent together. He hoped that, even for old times sake, the man would want to stay with him a while. He hoped he would be impressed by everything he had created in his absence. It was all for him, after all.

The door creaked open behind him. “You have a visitor, my associate.”

He finally turned away from the window to face the door and watched as the man stumbled through into the office.

The years had certainly changed him. He was tall now, not short as he had been, but still as thin as ever, hair dark and messy and heavy circles beneath his eyes. One lens of his glasses was shattered, his clothes were ragged and torn, and there was a large dark stain cascading down the front of his shirt, coming from a mostly closed wound on his neck. Gods, even looking as terrible as he did, he was still as handsome as he had been when they were kids. He looked tired and frightened and horribly angry, but as soon as he saw him, he went completely pale in disbelief, jaw working furiously as he struggled to find something to say.

The man by the window grinned. “Hello, Petya. It’s been a while.”

[ralfmaximus]

Interviewer: So what's your favorite memory about time travel?

Historian: What, besides the obvious? Seeing 'history' come alive?

Interviewer: *laughs*

Historian: Let me think...

Interviewer: Take your time

Historian: Ha!

Historian: Um... well, there was this one time. It was in the 1200s Common Era, I forget the exact date. But one of the profs was really super into illuminated manuscripts. You know, those things monks are always depicted as copying by hand

Interviewer: uh huh, with the haircut

Historian: Yes, with the haircut! And we had some unused time machine credits in the budget, so I figured 'why not?' and went back to 1200-something CE to snatch a transcriptionist

Interviewer: Wait, you what now

Historian: Well 'snatch' is strong... more like, borrowed

Interviewer: ..is that legal?

Historian: *laughs* oh goodness me, no

Interviewer: So should we be talking--

Historian: Oh, it's fine! Everything worked out fine, you see. The little guy spent five months here, illuminating the prof's boss's PHD thesis

Interviewer: Their what?!

Historian: You know, the summary of his doctoral dissertation, in printed form. Boss had copies of that thing laying around that he'd give out as gifts. Cases of them printed up. I dunno why... vanity I suppose

Interviewer: But he illuminated...?

Historian: The monk, yes. We set him up with a full period-accurate suite of writing instruments, completely accurate because *laughs* we snatched those too, you see

Interviewer: So he spent five... months... illuminating

Historian: Transcribing by hand, yes. Well you know, many of those original volumes took years to complete, so five months--

Interviewer: But... why?

Historian: Because it's funny, you see! The plan was to present the prof's boss with this historically accurate illuminated version of his own dissertation, created by--

Interviewer: Okay, I get it. So what happened? How'd it turn out?

Historian: Ah. Well. He never finished it. Made it maybe two-thirds in, then somebody made a critical mistake

Interviewer: A mistake?

Historian: Uh huh. Yes, we'd been extremely careful to keep the chap contained within our little historically accurate lab. Told him it was part of Heaven, and that God had a little project for him, nevermind the strange letters and words... it all worked out pretty well. Until one day containment was, ah, broken

Interviewer: Oh no

Historian: Yes. And one of the interns showed our visiting monk a tablet computer

Interviewer: OH NO

Historian: Microsoft Surface Pro 9 I think. With 16 gig of RAM

Interviewer: ..what happened?

Historian: Oh he loved the stylus

Interviewer: No I mean... what happened?

Historian: OH. Yes, well, he flew into a rage when we took it away. Wrecked his writing station. Accused us of deception, demonic influences. Destroyed his work. Literally set fire to it, actually, set off all the fire alarms. We had to sedate the poor guy in the end

Interviewer: Oh noooo

Historian: Yeah. Tranquilizer dart in the ass, just like at the zoo

Interviewer: So where is he now?

Historian: Safely returned to 1200-something CE, not even thirty seconds after the original snatch! Absolute precision time machine work. Probably thought he dozed off, the whole thing a bad dream...

Interviewer: So why is that your favorite time travel memory?

Historian: Oh! Because... let me show you this

Historian: *operates Microsoft tablet, brings up image, zooms in*

Historian: from Nativity with Six Dominican Monks circa 1265 CE... take a look at... THAT page, there

Interviewer: Oh my.. is that? Are they..?

Historian: Yes! All the monks are carrying Microsoft Surface tablets

Interviewer: oh no

Historian: Yeah well, at least they're not fucking iPads

*recording stops*

[s0fter-sin]

soapghost circus au

ghost’s an extreme motorcycle stunt performer - globe of death, riding on his back wheel along tightropes, that sort of thing

soap’s a fire breather/dancer. he’s a roaming performer; he just finds empty spaces or bored people and starts twirling

he pretends not to notice the way he always wanders towards a certain tent every night to watch a certain masked daredevil defy gravity. he thinks he's slick and that ghost won't notice him in the crowd, completely forgetting that he's carrying something that happens to be on fire

ghost couldn't miss him if he tried

one day off, soap's trialing fire whips; he loves the loud crack and the way the flame licks through the air and maybe he's a little too impatient to practice with non flaming whips first, even though he's never used one before

he's covered in soot and fine welts where the tip of the whip keeps flicking back up at him, cutting through his shirt and stinging his skin but he doesn't let that stop him. it starts to stick to him, damp with sweat and blood and he's quick to strip it off; throwing it to the side to keep practicing

when soap finally gets a few good cracks in a row and breaks to celebrate, he almost jumps out of his skin when he sees the masked rider leaning against a trailer watching him

of all the times he's wanted ghost to talk to him, this is not one of them

he wanted to impress him, dance for him with his flaming batons and be mesmerised by his fluidity and skill

not catch him filthy and struggling with something as basic as a whip

he's ready for ghost to ream him out for not having control over the whip - he's known throughout the circuit for expecting utter perfection in his routines - but when ghost finally does speak, it's only to ask if he's done for the day

soap falters for a moment. he wanted to get some consistency with the whip before he stopped, but he's starting to feel the hours of practice; muscles aching and skin blistered with minor burns

he says he is and ghost pushes off the trailer, nodding his head to make soap follow. he brings him back to his trailer and tells him to clean up then takes out his personal med kit to treat the grazes on soap's skin

soap's shocked; for all that he loves to watch ghost perform, they've never really talked before

part of why he joined the circus was so he wouldn't be a burden on anyone, the oldest in a family with too many mouths to feed and not even time to nurture, and here he is taking up ghost's valuable practice time bc he wasn't good enough to handle his own discipline. he tries to brush him off, downplaying the burns and tries to leave before half them can be treated but ghost just glares and orders him to sit back down

ghost does expect perfection from himself but it isn’t out of any malice or ego; it's bc he knows if he isn't perfect, he could very easily die. he’s picked a dangerous profession and he gives it the respect it deserves. there isn't any shame in being a novice or failing at something; he thinks there's a lot of beauty in having the courage to get back up again and again

so every day he watches soap practice and bullies him into his trailer to put him back together bc he knows he won't do it by himself

and every night soap wanders over to ghost's section of the fair grounds, in awe of his skill and wishing he could be worthy of the care he gives him

[pardi-real]

Butler's Halloween / Chapter 2 - Too Enthusiastic

Prev | All | Next

~ The next morning ~

[Devil's Palace, Hallway]

I put on the costume that Flure made me and took a walk around the mansion with Muu.

Muu: "My lord! That outfit suits you very much! You look great in any outfit!"

> "That's not true" > "That's way too much praise"

Muu: "No, no. I really think so! Because my lord is so wonderful! My lord is my pride and joy!"

> "Thank you, Muu"

Muu: "Fufufu. Oh? Is that…"

> "What is it?"

Muu: "It looks like Mr. Nac and Mr. Flure are talking over there. Seems to be a somewhat serious conversation…"

> "I wonder what's wrong…"

Nac: "I see… Certainly. You're right, we're way over budget."

Flure: "I-I'm sorry. I got carried away... I didn't realize it until I saw the bill for the fabric. It was completely my fault."

Nac: "No, it's fine. You did great with your works, Flure. I'll take care of the rest… Please return to your usual work."

Flure: "O-okay. I'm really sorry."

Nac: "Don't worry about it.  Thanks to you, Flure, we have the best costumes."

Muu: "Ah… Mr. Flure left. He looked kind of down... I wonder what happened?"

Nac: "Oh? If it isn't my lord. Good morning."

> "Morning, Nac"

Nac: "I see, you've changed into your Halloween costume. It suits you very well. The lord is always beautiful, but today they are even more so... You look even more beautiful today."

> "Thank you, Nac"

Muu: "Excuse me, Mr. Nac.  What were you talking about with Mr. Flure earlier? It seemed to be something serious."

Nac: "Oh… so you saw that. No, it's not a big deal. It's about the finances of the mansion."

Muu: "Finances, huh… It sounds complicated."

> "Could it be… declining?"

Nac: "Don't worry about it, my lord. Even if there is a problem, I will take care of it properly. Please rest assured."

> "If that's what Nac says, then I'm at ease."

Nac: "More importantly, my lord. I believe Mr. Boschi and the others were decorating the yard for Halloween.  If you would like, we can go see them together."

> "Sure, let's go"

Nac led me to the Devil's Palace's yard.

[Devil's Palace, Backyard]

Every corner of the yard was beautifully decorated. It must have been quite the task to set up that many decorations. 

Boschi: "Hey yo, my lord.  So you've come. Hm? You've changed into the costume Flure made for you.  Looks nice, huh. I think it suits you."

Haures: "It suits you very well, my lord."

Fennesz: "As expected of Flure, he knows which outfit suits the lord. You look stunning, my lord."

> "If you praise me that much…"

I was too embarrassed to receive any more compliments. I switched the topic to decorations.

> "These decorations are amazing!

Boschi: "I know, right? It's my idea of decoration. Since it's my first Halloween with the lord, I got a bit too fired up."

> "It looks so pretty"

Boschi: "Hm, I see. Well, of course it does.  I'm in charge of the interior design and I prepared this just for you.

> "You went through that much trouble, for me…"

Haures: "Hey, Boschi. You designed the decorations… But me and Fennesz helped you with them. Don't forget that."

Boschi: "Hmm. You sure are nitpicky, aren't you? You want the lord's praise that badly, Haures?"

Haures: "That's not what I mean. I'm just saying that we respect each other's work--"

Fennesz: "N-now, calm down, you two. Let's talk about it later.  The important thing now is for the lord to enjoy the view."

Haures: "Hmm... W-well, that's true."

> "Thank you, guys"

Fennesz: "N-no, no. It's only natural if it's for the lord."

Nac: "The lord is right, it really is beautifully decorated. I think you did a wonderful job, both for the decorations and for Flure who prepared the costumes… As long as it pleased the lord… It was well worth going over budget."

Boschi: "Hmm? Over budget?"

Fennesz: "What do you mean by that, Nac? Over budget…?"

Nac: "R-right. About that… My apologies for talking about this in front of you, my lord, but....  The cost for decorations and costumes exceeded our original expectations.

I thought about asking you all to reduce the cost of materials for the decorations and costumes, so that we could stay within our budget…

But, when I saw how hard everyone was working "for the lord's sake"....

I can't say such a thing. In the end, I decided to have everything made according to everyone's wishes."

Boschi: "Is that so… I didn't know that... I used a lot of materials."

Nac: "No, no! There is nothing to worry about. It's true that we're going to have a bit of a deficit this month…

But looking at all the wonderful decorations and costumes... I think I made the right decision. 

I feel the same way as you all do, that it is best to make the lord happy."

Muu: "Yes! You are right, Mr. Nac. By the way... What happens when that "deficit" increases?"

Nac: "Hmmm… Starting next month, we will have to cut back on some items.  For example, reducing the amount of tendies for Muu's snacks…"

Muu: "What!? Th-that's... I'm fine with that!  It's no big deal at all!"

> "I feel kinda bad for everyone…"

Fennesz: "Oh no...You don't have to worry about it, my lord!"

Haures: "Yeah. We did it because we liked it."

Boschi: "If we're short on budget, we can always make up for it somewhere else. Hunting for food, for example.

Fennesz: "That's right. We can gather a lot of food from the forest at this time of the year."

Haures: "Maybe we can also go into town and do some work for the festival."

All the butlers are offering each other ideas to make up for the financial crisis.  I am glad that they have made all these preparations only to please me, but....  I think we could make use of the wonderful costumes and decorations.

> "Maybe we could have a costume party...?"

Muu: "What… A costume party?"

I had just thought of the term "costume party", but Nac's eyes lit up the moment he heard that.

Nac: "I see… That's wonderful! It is true that with such beautiful decorations and costumes... You could even throw a costume party at the mansion and make some money!"

Boschi: "I see… There's that method too, huh. We have the location, the personnel, and enough experience to entertain guests at parties. Sometimes, it's not a bad idea to host a party for those townies, instead for those noblemen."

Fennesz: "But... if we throw a party here, do you think the town's people will come? They're afraid of us."

Haures: "Yeah, but not everyone is afraid. Some of the residents are even very understanding of us…  And I'm sure the children that Mr. Miyaji is teaching will come."

Fennesz: "Oh, I see. ...Speaking of, Halloween is a festival where children can participate too, isn't it."

Nac: "Yes. I will make a lot of sweets and give them to the children. If children come, their parents or guardians will also come... I hope they will feel more familiar with us through this party. The misunderstandings they have towards devil butlers should also be eased. In turn, their respect for our precious lord will deepen.... Fufufu…"

> "I don't know about that…"

Nac: "I beg to differ! I am sure they will."

Haures: "Then all we have to do is to act. Let's tell everyone about this and start preparing for the costume party."

Boschi: "That's right. It will be faster if we all work together to prepare."

Nac: "We would need attendants, cooking staff, …. We also need bartenders and dancers to liven things up…"

Muu: "Fufufu. In no time at all, we've decided to have a costume party. I'm looking forward to it!  What kind of party will it be?"

> "I'm looking forward to it too."

After discussing with the butlers… We decided to officially hold a costume party at the mansion. All the butlers divided up and started preparing for the party.

Prev | All | Next

[missielynne]

CBS Ghosts Reviews: A Traveling Agent

I found the penultimate episode of this season to be delightful. Pete discovering his super awesome power completely on accident (I agree with Alberta that he got his power because he was a travel agent who never traveled and here's his chance now, but I also think it's fun that they gave one of the most practical ghosts one of the most practical and useful powers.) And plus, Isaac and Nigel had the perfect shocked looks when Pete went over the ghost boundary.

As I said before, I applaud the writers for trying to give us Pete and Jay bonding time, but it was obvious that Jay would lose him, although through no fault of his own since he has no way to see or communicate with Pete the way Sam can, and for Pete's first trip, the three of them should have gone and worked out a system if possible for Jay to be able to see or otherwise communicate with Pete away from Sam.

However, Jay's descriptions of where he went after he left Pete were just SO Jay and SO funny (especially Sas and Hetty's different reactions to hearing about all the fast food Jay is consuming, *especially* Hetty's "You are a *chef*, sir!") I also loved how Pete not wanting to go on errands with Jay reminded her of her butler not wanting to go out during the consumption outbreak of '84. They gave her some funny lines in this episode!) Also, Sas saying that all the fast food means Jay is living his best life definitely puts him in position as Pete's second ghost friend and I would like to see more development of this relationship in the future.)

I always love to be taken to new places and see what sorts of ghosts are outside of Woodstone and I think the deal mart or whatever they called it did not disappoint. I *love* that they had trampled Black Friday shoppers as ghosts, who seemed like really lovely people on top of it. That poor woman has to carry the tv around for all time now but let it be a lesson to her. And I love the guy's ghost power to make people forget why they were in aisles.

Deal Mart after Dark was intense, and was I surprised that they actually gave us a ghost with a Cleaver in his brain like something out of Ghost Whisperer or the Sixth Sense? Yes I was, and no wonder Pete was terrified. I would have been too. Especially since at first I thought they would be nice like the fish in the tank in Finding Nemo but...nope. Thank goodness for Gloria and her TV holding them off.

I was a little worried for him when he was out there in the dark but as Hetty says, he has a good sense of direction and other skills from scouting that got him home, so that's good. (I wonder how he doesn't know who Barack Obama and Eli Manning are, though. I realize he died in '85 and has never left the mansion since but I'm sure Sam's had the TV on or that it's just generally been on with them talked about on it. Or not? Or did he just not pay attention? Curious thing.)

Loved seeing him mad when he finally got back because as someone who's a bit of a homebody, sometimes it DOES feel weird when I got out to somewhere other than work and it takes time to get acclimated in ways that more outgoing, outdoorsy people wouldn't understand. So I was glad to hear him say something. (I also loved him smelling the s'mores, that was funny.) And Sas' "Describe a bus" and Isaac describing a fire truck instead was just one of my favorite parts.

Also, making them all a throple was an interesting way to resolve Flower/Thor/Nancy and I'll be interested to see how their different personalities all play out, although I've lost faith in Thor being genuinely compelling in a romantic relationship and would much rather just see Flower and Nancy doing something but who knows what's gonna happen with that?

All in all a good episode, like I said, and now we have a wedding to prepare for next week (hopefully interrupted by Patience the Feral Puritan, please, please, please!) Also I really am nervous about the cliffie that Asher Grodman said we're gonna see. It's gonna be even more intense than the season two cliffie. I'm just gonna prepare to cry or be outraged. I don't know about the rest of you. Cheers!

[bluebblurry]

More desert duo bits that i want to make into a full story but i’m working on like six other things lmao

“Scar.. c’mere for a second.” Grian said softly. The swiftly setting sun was making him nervous of the phantoms yet to come. Grian sighed; he’d already caused one of Scar’s deaths, he didn’t want to be responsible for more.

He pulled Scar by his sleeve into one of the houses in the village. It was quite rundown, missing bits and windows, but there was a full roof and a door, so that had to count for something.

Scar laughed, just amused and somehow content with being dragged. He hummed and leaned down a little, smirking. “Is there some reason you wanted to get me alone, Gri…?”

Grian blushed, spluttering as he tried to recover. “Wh- no! That’s– that’s not-!”

Scar giggled, “Oh calm down, I’m just teasing.” He bopped Grian on the nose, to which the avain grumbled. “So what’s up?”

Grian sighed, “I wanted to apologize.” He looked up at Scar with a troubled expression. “A-about getting you killed and all..”

Scar tilted his head, still just smiling. He looked calm and happy, silly as always. “G, I told you it was okay.” He laughed. “It’s no big deal, I know you didn’t mean to.”

“Still.” Grian looked exasperated, biting his lip. “I feel like I need to make it up to you. I owe you.” Grian had already made up his mind, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. A thought crossed his mind, but he pushed it down, but not without considering it. He decided to take half of the idea, however.

So with shaking legs, Grian dropped to his knees in front of Scar.

It was Scar’s turn to blush, confusion crossing his brow. “Woah– Grian, what– whatcha doin’?” He looked slightly panicked, but Grian didn’t miss the spark of another emotion he couldn’t place. Excitement? Embarrassment? Both?

Grian took a breath, looking up at the tall brunet in front of him. It was an angle he’d never seen Scar from before, and he had to be honest, it was an angle he wouldn’t mind seeing all the time under different circumstances.

He cleared his throat. “My life is yours. I will… carry out your orders and do your bidding until I lose my first life. I will protect you, I will steal for you.. I will kill for you, if you want me to.”

“So.. you’ll do anything I want?” Scar was grinning, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Grian nodded. “Yes.” He felt breathless, bowing his head in submission. “Anything.”

Scar hummed. “Well, that’s good, because I already have some ideas.”

*****

Grian startled awake in bed, scrambling in the empty space around him. He couldn’t breathe, his head was spinning. It felt like his skin was on fire, needles seering through his veins. He wiped at his face, expecting blood, but his hand came away completely clean, save for the sweat.

“Sc- Scar?!” He called out, his voice a broken, tearful expression of fear. He sounded like a little kid, all small and terrified.

Scar poked his upper body around the corner, not looking up from the glass cup he was cleaning. “Yep?” He answered, blissfully unaware of the panic in his companion’s mind. When he was met with no response, he looked up from the glass to see Grian breathing heavily, his wings scrunched up behind him. Scar put the glass in the sink, quickly rushing down the hall. “Hey hey hey, G, it’s okay.” He whispered.

Grian clung tightly to him, gasping for air with his cheek against Scar’s chest. He wasn’t crying now, but he almost wished he was; it would help get rid of some of the tightness in his chest.

“Nightmare..?” Scar asked, his voice soft. Grian just nodded, unable to speak. Scar hummed quietly, playing with the hairs on the nape of Grian’s neck. “Wanna talk about it?”

He wanted to. He did, but he couldn’t. Not only was it difficult to speak, he was rapidly forgetting what had even happened in the dream. There was fire and a ring of cacti, but he couldn't remember what actually happened. He knew he’d been fighting someone, but he didn’t know who or why. So Grian just shook his head, shrinking a little in Scar’s arms.

“Well, I just made some cookies if you want any?” Scar offered, gently lifting Grian’s face. “They might help you feel better.”

Grian finally smiled a little. “Yeah.. th-they would, thank you, Scar.”

And there it was, that patented Scar grin. He simply shrugged. “It’s the least I can do for you after you spent literally five days building this house.” He giggled, leaning down and kissing Grian’s forehead. Grian blinked in surprise, speechless. “Thank you for that, by the way. Monopoly Mountain couldn’t be what it is without you.”

Grian smiled bashfully. “It was no problem. I had a lot of fun building it.”

Scar chuckled. “Yeah, but you’re exhausted, Gri, I can tell.” He released Grian, standing up. The avian almost chased after him, his fingers still curled around a fold in Scar’s sleeve. “I’ll go grab some of the cookies and come back.” He became bashful, his golden-yellow eyes soft. “A-and we could like, cuddle, o-or whatever, when I come back.”

Grian tilted his head, a smile growing across his face when Scar wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I’d love that.” He gave Scar’s arm a little flick with his ear feathers. Scar just blushed in return, scurrying back to the kitchen.

*****

Grian stood at the top of the ravine, still in shock. Scar’s body hadn’t regenerated yet, instead sitting at the bottom in a crumpled heap. Grian had heard his legs break on impact, a sound that kept replaying and replaying in his head. He hoped the injury wouldn’t carry over into Scar’s third life, as injuries like that tend to stick.

He had something much worse to worry about now.. Scar was Red. Would Scar try to kill him now…? He still owed Scar a life, but his companion was Red! All relationships are broken… Maybe he should get out of here while he still can. Maybe it’d be better for both of them if he disappeared.

“Gri..?” He heard behind him. He whirled around to see Scar. His skin was dulled to a pale gray, his eyes now red as blood. His shirt was ripped, practically draped around him like a cape. He took a step, almost falling down.

Grian rushed to his side, helping him stay up. “Woah hey, Scar, I’ve got you, it’s okay, it’s alright.” He whispered. “Here, sit down for a second.” He helped Scar sit down in the sand then started searching around for a solid stick that Scar could use for a cane. When he found one, he brought it over to Scar, no longer afraid. He was just worried now, hating that look on Scar’s face. “Are your legs alright..? Or is it just revival shocks?” He asked, his voice impossibly gentle.

Scar didn’t answer. He was just staring at the ground, fidgeting with his hands in his lap. Grian hated the silence. Scar was never silent, he was always talking and laughing, trying to get everyone else around him to laugh too. But now here he sat, distracted scarlet eyes following a lizard crawling across the sand.

“S-Scar…?” Grian asked, gently cupping Scar’s cheek. “Please, you’re scaring me.”

Scar looked up at him instantly when he said that, fear in his red eyes. “Scared? Of- of me?” He asked, his eyes all big and puppylike. He looked small, almost fragile, like that.

Grian shook his head quickly. “No, of course not, Scar.” He promised, gently stroking the brunet’s cheek with his thumb. Grian’s mind was racing a million miles a minute. He couldn’t bear to see Scar like this. He wanted to make it all okay. To go back in time and stop him from falling. To fix his legs. To at least make him smile. “Just.. are you okay?”

Scar took a breath. “I-I… I think I am. Walking kinda hurts…” his voice was quiet, shaking a little. He was still spooked from death, but Grian knew it would wear off. Come tomorrow, Scar would be himself again, just a lot more.. dangerous. Murderous.

Grian gave Scar the stick he’d found, helping him stand. The brunet was shaking, but he could stand now. Scar looked at him, his eyes soft. “Gods, Grian… you’re so amayzin’.” He said quietly, his eyes starting to shine with tears. “I’m so glad I have you.” He shuddered, breaking down into sobs.

Grian hushed him, hugging him gently as Scar practically collapsed into his arms. “Shh, Scar…” he whispered. “C’mere, let’s get you to bed, yeah?”

His heart ached as he brought Scar up to the house. It killed him to see Scar in pain, and why did he have to say that..? He always said things like that– sweet things, things that Grian didn’t understand how he could see. Scar was so kind to him, so very loving. Grian always found himself relishing in it for a few moments, before asking himself why Scar even cares. He didn’t deserve Scar’s love, so why was Scar so good to him..?

Grian couldn’t love Scar. He couldn’t. He wanted to, gods, he wanted to so badly… But he knew that he could never be a good partner to Scar. Grian was horribly selfish and closed off, how could someone like Scar love him? Scar was so wonderful. He was selfless, kind, caring, sweet…

And he was Red now. He was dangerous. He could turn on Grian at any moment. So Grian shoved his feelings back down.

Scar’s bed was all the way upstairs, so Grian tucked the brunet into his own bed, pulling the red comforter up around Scar’s shoulders. He handed Scar the plush he always loved to steal, a pink rabbit with a black handlebar mustache. It reminded them both of a friend.

Grian started to walk away, but Scar quickly grabbed his hand.

“Wait..” the brunet said softly, “..stay with me?”

Grian hesitated. Of course he wanted to stay, but it’d been because of him that Scar died. He was supposed to protect Scar and watch out for him, but he hadn’t been watching. He hadn’t seen the ravine. It was his fault…

“Pl-please…” Scar begged, his voice breaking. Tears were forming in his eyes again.

Grian nodded quietly, lifting the covers to slip in next to Scar. Grian snaked an arm around his waist, tucking his face between Scar’s shoulder blades.

He knew that Scar liked being the little spoon, but sometimes he wanted to be the little spoon. He physically couldn’t, though, because of his wings, and that made him a little sad, but he didn’t complain. It made Grian happy when he could make Scar happy, so perpetual big spoon he would be.

*****

Grian was backed up against a wall, both physically and psychologically. Scar was in front of him, red eyes seeming to glow in the low light of the candles. Grian didn’t know what to do, his mind getting fuzzy from Scar’s hot breath on his neck.

“Grian…” came Scar’s low growl of a voice. It made Grian shiver. “What happened to our enchanter…?”

Grian swallowed the lump in his throat. “I-I..” he cleared his throat, but it didn’t help. “Cleo came a-and took it,” his voice was a shaking whisper. Was Scar about to kill him? Grian certainly deserved it; he’d gotten the enchanter stolen! “Sh-she dropped it into a lava pool.”

Scar frowned. He didn’t look right with a frown. “Hm..” he looked pensive, glancing away for a moment, “now that just won’t do, will it?” His eyes snapped back to Grian, pinning him in place. Grian felt the heat behind those scarlet eyes, and he wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or utterly aroused, because holy moly, Scar was so close to him right now

“I-I, um, wh-what– h-how can I f-fix it?” Grian offered up, hand shaking as he brought it up to Scar’s chest, placing his palm flat. “D-do you want me t-to steal Ren’s? Be- because I can do that! I-if you want me to! I-I’ll be so good, Scar, they w-won’t even notice I’m–”

He was cut off by Scar’s finger over his lips. The brunet gave a shushing sound, smirking. Grian was already caught off guard, so he was definitely not prepared when Scar slotted his knee between Grian’s thighs, pressing his body flush against the blond’s. Scar hummed softly, his hands traveling down to Grian’s wrists. He lifted them above Grian’s head, holding them there with just one of his much bigger hands. The other came back down to hold Grian’s chin by his thumb and pointer finger. He turned Grian’s head slightly to the side, leaning down to his ear. “You’ll be good, huh..?”

“Y-yes,” Grian breathed, hearing just how whiny his own voice had become. “I-I won’t let anything happen this time, I–!”

“Grian.” Scar smiled. “I don’t want to risk your life, but if you get that enchanter for me, then I’ll give you a reward..” he softly grinded his hips against Grian’s, making the blond gasp. He exhaled shakily, his jaw hanging open slightly.

Gods, those eyes… Grian’s own eyes fluttered closed, his head tipping back against the wall. His face felt as red hot as Scar’s eyes.

Scar grabbed his chin, tugging his attention back. “So.. are you gonna be a good boy, Gri..?”

[bangtanloverboys]

red roses // ksj

summary - in which you attempt to ask your crush, kim seokjin, to be your valentine

pairing - seokjin x gender neutral!reader

genre - fluff; high school au

word count - 2.1k

warnings - slight embarassment, feeling like you’re rejected, kissing, high school, mentions of medication

author’s note - inspired by ‘red roses’ by aj rafael. i never go to experience a cute high school valentine’s day so i’m making up for it in fanfiction abt a 30 year old korean man lmaooooo

On paper, the idea of confessing to your crush on Valentine’s Day with a bouquet of roses seemed like it would be easy. In actual execution, that was a completely different story and you weren’t even sure if you could do it. 

You’ve had the biggest crush on your closest friend Kim Seokjin for years now, it was obvious to anyone around you since you’d both started high school. But the only one completely oblivious, was the man himself. How he was unable to see the heart eyes you gave him and the small bird songs that played any time he spoke to you, you wouldn’t know. But after years of secretly pinning, you had enough. On Valentine’s Day, you were finally going to confess and let your feelings be known.

The morning before school, you stopped by a local flower shop and bought a dozen red roses. You had to come up with some excuse for Seokjin, telling him some bullshit about grabbing your prescription from the pharmacy; as normally the two of you would drive to school together in his car. But upon buying the roses and rushing to get to school on time, you felt everyone’s eyes on you. You thought you would’ve blended right in, seeing as the school halls have been decorated floor to ceiling in red and pink hearts and various fake red flowers. But the fact that you were the only one actually carrying a bouquet of flowers, you were the center of everyone’s attention. 

Originally you had planned to give the roses to him first thing as he was in your very first class of the day. But feeling as if you were under a microscope, you decided against it, shoving the flowers into your locker, telling yourself you’d do it before lunch. Just tell him you left your food in your locker, walk there with him and boom. You’d pull out the flowers and confess. 

Okay, maybe you should’ve thought this through a bit more. 

“Hey!”

“Gah!” You slammed the door to your locker shut. You cringed at yourself for such an overreaction, but upon seeing it was Seokjin who startled you, you felt relieved. 

He was laughing at you, smiling widely. “Did I scare you that badly?”

The tips of your ears felt like they were on fire as you shook your head. “No, sorry. Just a bit on edge,” you said, shouldering your bag as you started heading in the direction of your first period, Seokjin following you.

“Ah, you started your new meds today?” 

“What?”

Your friend frowned at you. “You said you had to pick up a prescription today.”

“Right, right.” Idiot, forgetting your own cover story. “No, just crazy drivers. Almost got hit crossing the street.” Not a complete lie. You were almost hit by a car crossing the street, but that happened a few days back.

“Y/N!” Jin hissed at you. “Why didn’t you just let me take you?! You’ve been almost hit twice in one week! You can’t die on me!”

“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” you chuckled a bit flatly. Both of you had stopped right in front of your classroom, not saying anything, just looking at each other. You’ve always known that Seokjin was a beautiful person, but something about the fluorescent lighting at 8 in the morning, he looked even more handsome. He opened his mouth to speak but wherever he was going to say was drowned out by the peeling of the bell. “Sorry, you were gonna say something?”

He shook his head. “It’s fine, I forgot it. Let’s go to class.”

The next few hours until lunch felt like they took centuries. Normally the first classes of the day went by pretty quickly. But you kept finding yourself looking up at the clock, then to Seokjin who sat across the room from you, and silently hyped yourself up to give him the roses. Only as the clock struck closer and closer to noon, you found yourself dreading it. Your mouth felt dry, your body felt like it was sweating buckets, and your heartbeat was in your stomach. By the time lunch hour finally started, you felt like you were going to shit bricks. 

“Did you pack a lunch or getting hot lunch?” Seokjin asked you as you began packing up your backpack. 

This was your chance! You could give him the flowers now-!

“No, I’m getting hot lunch.” 

“Sweet, me too. Let’s go before the line gets too long,” he said as he shouldered his bag and headed towards the door. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” You muttered under your breath, hitting your forehead.

“Did you say something?” Seokjin turned to see you.

“Nope, didn’t say a word.” You shook your head. God, whilst you missed your chance (again), you didn’t feel as if your entire body was going to explode anymore. 

The two of you made your way towards the cafeteria, decorated in dozens of paper hearts and roses. Everyone seemed to be carrying on as usual, as if the decor didn’t change the fact it was still just another average school day. But as you two waited in line, you could see couples out of the corner of your eye. Exchanging chocolates and gifts and flowers, being sweet and romantic. Your heart fluttered at the sight of it, hoping that you could maybe have that with Seokjin (if today went well, that is).

“Hey are you doing okay?” Seokjin’s voice pierced through the noise of the cafeteria. Facing him, you could see concern written all over his face. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“You just don’t seem like you’re all there, that is.” His words were nonchalant as you continued down the line, but you could tell he wasn’t going to drop it. 

“Bad-bad day, I guess? I dunno. . .” You knew you didn’t sound very convincing, judging by Seokjin’s continuous staring, but as you approached the front of the line to pay, he stopped you. “What are you doing?”

“I’m paying for your lunch.”

“No, Jin, you don’t have to-”

“I want to.” His eyes met yours. “I’m not fighting you on this, if you say you’re having a bad day, it’s my job as your best friend to make it better.” You felt heat rush to your cheeks as he handed the student at the cash register a couple bills. “Besides, it’s Valentine’s Day. Figured I was gonna treat you anyways.”

If your face was warm before, it was on fire now. “What-what does that mean?”

He was quiet for a moment, as if he didn’t realize what he said. “I mean, you’re my best friend. And I love you. Valentine’s Day is a day of love, platonic love and all that jazz. You know?” His ears were pink, but you could barely process that, only focusing on his words. 

Platonic love. Is that all he saw you as? A friend?

“Right. . . thank you, Jin. Let’s-Let’s just go eat.” You tossed your head in the direction of the tables, blinking back tears. You felt stupid. If you confessed now, all it would do would make everything awkward. Just muscle though the rest of the day, walk home, and maybe give the flowers to your mom. Yeah, she’d like that. 

“Meet you after class?” He asked as the end of lunch bell rang. 

“Nah, I’ll walk. It’s fine.”

He furrowed his brows at you. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, I promise I won’t get hit by any cars,” you added, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, you better not. Or else I’ll come after your ass.” He pulled you into a hug before walking towards his next class. “Bye!”

“Later. . .” You called out after him. After lunch, the rest of the day went by in a blur, all while your heart laid heavy in your chest. You were almost glad that you didn’t have any more classes with Seokjin the rest of the day, leaving you alone and giving you time to be sad. 

Once the day was over, you waited back until most of the crowds had left school grounds (or more specifically, until you knew Seokjin wasn’t going to be waiting in the parking lot). You made your way out of the school, roses in hand, walking slow. It was going to be a long walk home.

The brisk February air kissed your cheeks, but you didn’t mind it. It was an oddly pleasant distraction from your own emotions. Unfortunately, your mind kept circling back to Seokjin, and his words. He’d friendzoned you (unintentionally), but as you took the time to collect your thoughts, you realized that even though you couldn’t be with him in a romantic sense, you knew you still wanted him in your life. You didn’t want to lose him, so perhaps after a healthy amount of distance and getting over him, you could go back to seeing him as only a friend. 

At long last, you were almost home. You were relieved, ready to get out of the cold and warm up (and maybe get these roses into a vase for your mother). You were about to cross the street to your house when you stopped dead in your tracks.

Seokjin was there waiting for you. You didn’t even have time to hide, as he noticed you right away. As he jogged over to you, you tried to hide the roses behind you. “I just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”

“And you couldn’t do that in a text?”

Ignoring your question, he focused on the flowers you were failing to hide from his view. “Where did you get the flowers?”

You could feel your heart begin to race again, as you brought the roses in front of you. “I, uh, got them at the flower shop a couple blocks away.”

“When did you have time to get them?” He questioned.

You watched as his eyes flickered down to the flowers, then back to you. All thoughts about getting over him and hiding your confession went out the window. Unable to think of any more lies on the spot, your shoulders dropped with a sigh. “This morning.”

“I thought you were at the pharmacy this morning?”

“That was. . .that was a lie. I lied to you.” You cringed at yourself, but might as well rip the whole bandaid off. You held the bouquet out for him to take. “They’re for you. I. . . I like you, Seokjin. I have for a while and while I realize you don’t like me back, that’s okay! You’re my friend and I care about you-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.!” Seokjin cut you off. “Back up, where did I say that I don’t like you back?”

You blinked at him. “Literally today? You said you love me platonically.”

Realization washed over Seokjin’s face. “Oh. . .”

“Yeah, oh.”

He was quiet for a moment, looking at the roses in his hands. “What if I said I lied about that?”

Your head snapped up. “What?”

“I like you, Y/N. Romantically,” he clarified, a shy smile playing on his lips. 

“You- you like me?”

“I didn’t get you roses to commemorate it, but yes, I do. I have since like the third grade.” In shock, you punched him in the shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?!”

“The third grade?!”

Seokjin’s ears turned pink again. “What was I supposed to do? Unless you wanted to go on dates sitting on my handlebars?”

You laughed at that, feeling lighter and more giddy with each passing second. “I don’t know, but I feel like we wasted so much time.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to make up for it.” His voice was softer now, and he was leaning down towards you. 

“Are you gonna kiss me?”

“If you’d let me.” You could feel his breath fanning across your lips, waiting patiently for your permission. 

“Please.”

With that, he pressed his lips to yours. Dropping the flowers, Seokjin wrapped his arms around you, pulling you in closer. Your hands wrapped around his shoulders, holding on to him as tight as you could, fearing you might float away. 

“Ahem!”

Both of you suddenly pulled away, heads snapping in the direction of your porch, where your mother stood, cup of tea in hand. “Whilst I’m glad you have finally stopped dancing around your feelings, get inside before you catch a cold please!”

You and Seokjin stared at each other for a moment before bursting into a fit of giggles, your mom vanished back inside as you straightened out your clothes. Crouching down, Seokjin picked up the fallen bouquet of roses (poor things have been through so much). Standing back up, he gestured to your front door. “Why don’t we put these in some water and watch a movie?”

“Would you like dinner too?” You questioned as you started towards the door. 

“Roses, dinner, and a movie? You’re spoiling me before we even go on our first date.”

“Well, like you said, we have a lot of time to make up for.”

[seeyouafter]

SYA Extended Notes Ch. 39-44

Or: Acceptance and healing - some thoughts on Shouto's post-war journey

Notes for "See You After" Chapter 44: August 2: Shouto's Journal - Unsent Letter

I can’t forget what happened but maybe someday I’ll be able to forgive you so that I can put all of it behind me and move on. I don’t know what that means for us or for our family, but I hope that someday I’ll be able to show you that I’m proud of who I’ve become in spite of everything you did.

I originally started typing this up to post with chapter 39 but decided to wait until after this chapter, and Shouto's unsent letter, to share my thoughts on how I imagine he and his family might begin to navigate the healing process.

In essence, I think that a post-war arc for Shouto involves him taking the time to process the things he went through and to decide for himself what he wants to do going forward.

This fic inevitably contains my personal headcanons of what Shouto's healing journey might involve after the war ends. Of course, there are as many interpretations of what "should" happen next as there are readers, but these are a few of my thoughts in relation to "See You After" so far.

Acceptance is the first step

I talked a bit about this in the extended notes for Chapters 10-11, but up until this point, I really don't think Shouto saw what Endeavor did to him as abuse. Even if he knew it on an intellectual level, he probably didn't want to accept it for various reasons. Although he did acknowledge that what his father did to his mom was abuse, when he expresses his anger toward his father, it's always framed around what he did to his mom (and later Touya).

BNHA 192: The Todoroki Family & 249: The Hellish Todoroki Family

One of those reasons probably has something to do with the way Touya revealed Endeavor's abuse of his family, specifically Shouto, very publicly and out of spite toward their father.

BNHA 291: Thanks for Going Strong

Shouto never had a say in the matter and Touya didn't do him any favors. Rather than viewing him with sympathy for being a victim, the public views him with suspicion because of his blood ties to a mass murderer and an abuser. Of course, that's not fair, but that's the cultural context of the society they're living in.

BNHA 325: The Bonds of One for All & BNHA 327: Rest

Guilt, Blame, and Responsibility

Shouto has been the one carrying the burden of his father's mistakes for his entire life, but even moreso since Touya reappeared. Unlike Touya, he blames his father completely, but I don't think Touya is entirely wrong when he says that Rei is guilty too. She's a victim, of course, and most of it was beyond her control, but she agreed to the marriage, knowing what it was. Moreover, it is a parent's responsibility to take care of their children, and she wasn't able to do that. Even though it wasn't her intention and Shouto refuses to blame her for hurting him, there's still a lot to unpack and a lot of trust that needs to be rebuilt.

BNHA 249: The Hellish Todoroki Family & BNHA 302: The wrong way to put out a fire, part 2

Natsuo and Fuyumi's guilt about not being able to do anything was realistic and understandable, but they were also children and it wasn't their responsibility to fix everything, which makes their experiences heartbreaking in a different way. There's a lot for all of them to reconcile on their own and as a family.

Rei showing up at the hospital and meeting Endeavor face to face again took a great deal of courage, and I don't think we can fault her for the things she says. Although it shouldn't be any of the children's responsibility, they do all have to deal with the fallout, which I think was the point she was trying to make here. But once again, the burden fell on Shouto to be their family's hero.

Shouto believes that he has to be strong because he's a hero. And while that's admirable, that mindset is part of the larger problem. So far in canon, we've mostly seen Shouto protecting his mom, not the other way around. And that's part of his character, his foundation as a hero - the way he had the instinct to protect when he was just a child, and his decision to take the first step after the sports festival to reach out and save her.

But it still kills me that their reunion scene in the hospital post PLF war was skipped over just so there could be a big reveal when the family went to confront Enji.

BNHA 298: Sounds of Collapse & BNHA 300: The Hellish Todoroki Family, Part 2

In this scene, Shouto had his hand on Rei's back to support her, meanwhile not once do we see him get a hug or any comforting touch from any of the people who should be there to support him. (A lot of Chapter 39 of "See You After" came from my desire for just that)

Identity and the choice to become a hero

BNHA 39: Todoroki Shouto: Origin

Shouto's fight with Izuku during the sports festival was the start of him reclaiming his identity as his own person, separate from his father, and reaffirming his desire to become a hero on his own terms. Still, the fact that he never really had the choice to try to be anything else is something to consider, especially as we see the rest of the world question the role of heroes and the overall system.

Names are important

BNHA 45: Time to pick some names (+anime ep. 26)

I really love the symbolism of Shouto's hero name. By using his real name, he's essentially refusing to separate his identity as a hero from who he is as a person, which is important because of how he makes a clear distinction between Endeavor (the hero) and Enji (the father). But something that's often lost in translation is Shouto's choice to use the phonetic spelling: ショート instead of the kanji characters: 焦凍 (meaning to burn and to freeze), which I've always interpreted as a statement of his desire to exist as an individual beyond the context of his quirks.

It was hard to convey in this fic because I'm obviously writing it in English, but I wanted to make it clear that he signed the unsent letter as ショート because of what it symbolizes.

I feel like Shouto would probably have a complicated relationship with his given name because Endeavor valued him solely for his quirk. Meanwhile, "Todoroki" is a constant reminder of his family's legacy in the aftermath of Touya's broadcast.

I like to think that even before their conversation during the long phone call at the end of chapter 39, Katsuki understood this on some level. That's why in this fic, even though he rotates through a variety of nicknames (in their earlier letters, he uses a different one each time), he rarely calls Shouto by his last name, unless he's trying to make a point (like in his letter in Chapter 11 and the phone call in Chapter 19).

That's something I leaned into when I started writing the transition to them using each others' given names back during their text conversation in Chapter 36. (Originally, I thought it was going to happen quite a bit later in the story, but writing is a funny thing and characters sometimes have minds of their own.)

[thatfangirlofsb]

T/W: Spoilers of grishaverse.

Your highness (VIII)

"So you and Zoya..." Jesper took off his hat, putting it on Wylan's head who seemed to have seen something very interesting in the water. "Is clearly that there has been something, but... I didn't expect you to blurt it out so easily."

"Good plan." Kaz said grabbing his cane and hitting Matthias with it, trying to wake him up. "Making them focus on something completely different from what they wanted to know. Embarrassing, but effective." He hit him again, harder this time, and the fjerdan seemed to snap back to reality. "Welcome Helvar, we are in the middle of nowhere and the ship has moved away."

"And your weight is sinking the only way we have not to float away." Jesper looked to his left; where Nikolai stood with his head between his legs, surely regretting what he had said, and then to his right; where Wylan continued with his gaze fixed on that liquid that was soon going to gulp them. "And surely Tolya, Tamar, Inej, Genya, Nina and Zoya end up more meters under the sea than we are going to do."

"Nina?" The drüskelle's voice was as usual again, with contempt and fury; he was already fine.

"Yes, the one you tried to kill in Hellgate." Jesper sighed, grabbing the hat again and putting it back on. "Lots of muscle but no brain, Nina is right."

"I have an idea." Wylan spoke, drawing a smile to Jesper. "But we'll probably end up soaked and with water everywhere."

"I'll wait for you to finish before showing my satisfaction with you, merchant boy."

"Kaz will stay rowing. And we'll get out of the boat." The zemeni's face was no longer one of joy, but of doubt. "The bodies float in the water, if we hold each other's legs in a row the boat will be able to carry us all without sinking." Jesper's grimace was lowering the corners more and more. "Only one will have to hold on to the boat, the heaviest, and leave the rest of his weight on the sea while the others hold on to the feet from largest to smallest."

They all looked at Matthias, but only Nikolai dared to speak; coming out of his little trance for a few seconds.

"And we trust the fjerdan completely?" He raised his hands in surrender when he saw Matthias's face. "It's not for nothing, just because you're from Fjerda, drüskelle, you've tried to kill two grisha several times and you don't mix colors well."

"Everything but the last." Jesper said looking at Kaz, searching for an order. "Boss?"

"Wylan…I'll leave it in your hands." He gripped the oars and looked back with his planning face. "I have to take revenge on Zoya Nazyalensky."

"Nina..." Matthias stated as well.

"What kind of education do they give you in Fjerda? You only know how to say names and short phrases."

"Is a man of not many words." The zemeni answered Nikolai, getting up and ready to jump into the water. And he would have if Wylan's hand gripping his jacket hadn't stopped him. "What happens now?"

"There is a small disadvantage." The explosion expert gave a slight nervous smile while tilting his head slightly. "The weight of the clothes would be a problem, so..."

"If you wanted to see me naked, you could have told me earlier, market boy." And everyone but Matthias and possibly Kaz would have laughed if they weren't in that situation. But they weren't on sofas in a living room with a fire going; but in the middle of the sea, completely lost and in a boat that was sinking more and more.

"No." Matthias spoke, but Jesper had taken off his jacket and was already reaching for the shirt. "I'm not going to..."

"Sea."

"Sea?" Wylan's voice made the gunman forget about the fjerdan's refusal for a few minutes.

"Sea."

"I'll always love you." He gently picked up the plaid jacket, which had been left on the boat, and balled it up, throwing it far with his long arm. "Now the next thing."

"No, I'm not going to undress."

"You can keep the underwear." Wylan spoke, trying to help the fjerdan with words to follow the plan.

"No, I'm not going to..."

"Take it off or I'll rip it off." Nikolai stood on his toes, trying to get at the same heigh with the fjerdan but he couldn't. "My shipmates, grisha under the crown's protection, and your Wraith are there. So you can take it off now." Matthias's crossed arms intimidated him a bit, so he lowered his feet to the ground as normal and stepped away slightly. "You, fjerdans, aren't very familiar? Well, I have part of my family there. My companions, with whom I've experienced many things. And, if that's not enough for you, there's also my future baby. And if I die without seeing it , Zoya dies or we both die... I swear I will chase you wherever and however." Matthias left his arms hanging, though he was still fully clothed. "I know that for your fjerdan culture what we have done is wrong, but I don't care. Do you know why? Because I love her and that's what I've always dreamed of with her. And now I'm going to fight for that and to save all of us. Will you join or not?

Without saying a word, Matthias began to remove his shirt with disapproving looks towards everyone. Wylan was about to clap, but remembered something was missing.

"And the tracker?"

Kaz stepped back slightly, letting them see his curled up body inside the boat before explaining.

"He hit his head when the squaller threw us." With a single glance at the drüskelle, he tossed his shirt into the water and approached Mal. "Matthias, do the honours." The fjerdan grabbed the limp body by the shirt and lifted it slightly. He pulled his spare hand away and hit him open-palmed on the right cheek; with such strength that the boy from the orphanage snapped his eyes open.

"Alina!"

"It's not Sunshine, Oretsev. It's Fjerdanshine." Nikolai said, placing a hand on Helvar's back in gratitude, it didn't quite reach his shoulder, but he quickly removed it when he saw his face. "We need you to take off your clothes."

"What?"

"You can keep the underwear." Wylan smiled slightly, though he felt like a bad support despite showing all his teeth. "And jump into the water afterwards."

[°°°]

"Come on, with more energy." Kaz said mockingly as he watched them from the calm of the boat, in his clothes and not sinking as he rowed.

"The fjerdan is moving his foot too hard."

"How can you have such thin ankles, Nikolai?"

"Why is your hand so cold?"

Wylan heard everything from the end of the line. He didn't know how much time had passed since the beginning of their strange journey, the only thing that came to his mind was how, from the first to the last, they moved their legs up and down in slightly rhythmic movements.

"We need to copy the same pace, otherwise we're not going to get anywhere." He raised his head a little, which was above the water, trying to see a reference point in which he could support his calculations about the distance. "It is easier than it seems to be."

"We are in our underwear, floating in the sea and we don't know if we are going in the right direction." Jesper spoke, between sad, for the loss of his beloved hat, and tired; but more the first. "Is that simple to you, little merchant?"

"Dje janin ess."

"Thank you." Nikolai said, still not understanding a word Matthias had said. "But even though my mother is of Fjerda... I don't know anything about fjerdan."

"And you know kerch?" Jesper was moving his long legs in movements that were too strong for the blonde to be lifted out of the water a bit by his arm.

"I have had to talk with too many merchants for loans for the crown." But then he decided to add something. "Mal only knows ravkan and a few other words from other languages."

"How do you say 'move and don't stand there like a fucking stiff stick' in ravkan?" Wylan asked, watching as he had to exert more strength in his legs thanks to the tracker's almost lack of movement.

" 'Kei onolich yash?' " Nikolai laughed, and the demolition expert took it as madness or nervousness; although he hoped it was the last one. He repeated it, and Mal's question to the king was not long in coming.

"Why did he ask me if I want to marry him?"

"I don't know, it will be a way to ask for a little commitment in a mission. Kerch stuff."

"I need you all to follow the same rhythm." An idea passed through Wylan's head and, as a last resort, he decided to release it. "From Kaz to the end, each one say what gives you energy to keep swimming and move the legs up and down at the same time. But we all have to be fast." Nikolai began to translate it for Mal, who sighed in surprise.

"I'm not going to do that..."

"Boss, please." Jesper begged a bit, visibly desperate already. "It's our last option."

"Money." Kaz began in a monotone tone of voice.

"Nina." Matthias roared.

"Help the Wraith." Jesper blurted out.

"Zoya!" Nikolai shouted with joy. "And save everyone, of course."

"Get out alive and see Alina." Mal continued.

"Not drowning without anyone remembering me and just being fish food." Wylan finished.

"Are you ok?" The king asked with concern. "Even you have lowered my hopes."

"Keep going." Mal said in Ravkan, and immediately Nikolai began to translate. "We are close."

"You could have said it earlier." The king complained.

"I like to see you desperate."

[°°°]

They all fell to the ground as soon as they finished climbing the height of the ship until they reached the deck. And they would have continued there if they had not encountered such a warlike scene.

Some bodies were already on the ground, and they took advantage of it. They hid behind some boxes and stole all the weapons that two grisha and two already dead otkazat'sya had on them. There weren't enough to go around, so some were left without any weapons. That wasn't going to stop them though.

"Okay, this is the plan..."

"I do not follow orders from a ravkan." Ignoring Nikolai's words, Matthias got up and grabbed a gun. He hadn't come there to defend those drüsje; but to fulfill the mission that had been entrusted to him a long time ago. "Nina Zenik!" When he came out of hiding, and by shouting his name, he managed to make the heartrender turn her head towards him; although keeping her gaze fixed on the drüskelle was already taken care of by his lack of clothing.

"Matthias?" Nina asked in surprise, although she quickly came out of her stupor when she saw how one of the mutineers was approaching from behind and he didn't notice. "Matthias!"

Her scream was useless, he was ready to shoot and finally kill her. But the grisha spread out her arms to summon. The mutineer quickly fell to the ground struck down and Matthias, seeing how Nina lowered her arms again and nothing had happened to him, turned his head to finally look at the man who had tried to kill him.

"Nina?" Matthias said, still doubting the grisha's clear actions.

"You'll thank me later, try not to die first." She made puppy eyes at him before running off, to which the drüskelle yelled her name angrily again.

The others were already struggling when he snapped out of his stupor and hatred for the heartrender, and they weren't doing so badly. Except for Nikolai, who every second checked the face of the dead and if it weren't for Kaz and his cane, he would have been stabbed in the back by now.

"What are you doing?" In a move he would call stupid for the rest of his life, he walked towards the two of them and began to protect the opposite side of the king. "

Zoya... ring." Nikolai looked up for a few seconds and quickly fired at a grisha that was approaching them, barely feeling the slight squeeze he had cause in his heart.

"If you and her weren't the way to my pay… I would have let you get shot in the back of the head, Lantsov." Kaz struck at an otkazat'sya, hitting one of the arms while he dealt with the other, and then the head.

"Remind it to me when we're all safe, everyone."

"I never forget debts." He looked, swinging his cane again as Matthias fired at the same time. "And less about one of a million kruge."

"Nikolai!" Tamar called his name, approaching the group with Tolya. "Weren't you...?"

"Change of plans." The ravkan king answered him, as they hid behind a pile of sacks. "Where do I find Zoya?"

"Down." Tolya was breathing hard, touching his side while holding his sword up with his other hand. "With Genya." He didn't understand anything, and he would have kept thinking about it if the shots and screams hadn't started to sound louder. "They were beating us, thanks for coming. Without Zoya we thought we…"

"Without Zoya?"

"Hey, Inej and Nina are fighting alone." Jesper came up behind them, accompanied by Wylan. He fired before ducking next to them to get a better look at his next target. "Why don't you stop worrying about her for a few minutes and we'll try to get out of here alive? Bomb, Wylan." A large explosion sounded after a few seconds, letting them see how Inej took advantage of the mist and began to use her knives on some opponents. She moved like a gazelle, carefully and covertly; but at the same time with a great speed that didn't allow the path of her daggers to be seen. "Come on, we have to finish this."

It only took Kaz to get up for everyone to follow. And, with the new components in their group, Inej and Nina managed to attack the same person together while the others did the same. Shots, cuts and blows were exchanged between the two sides. But on the contrary, thanks to the lack of grisha and the surprise with the arrival of reinforcements, these were reduced until none were left alive.

"What are you all doing, but without Kaz, in your underwear?" Nina fixed her gaze on them, and Tolya and Tamar did the same; realizing that detail for the first time. "But I'm not complaining to you, Matthias."

"Nina!"

"I'm going to have to teach you new words." Nikolai chuckled a little at the fjerdan's response, but quickly fixed his gaze on the group that had remained on the ship after their departure. "Information for another time. Zoya?"

"She's..." A very loud cry was heard, and Nina quickly pointed to the hatch that led to the storage room. "Genya and Zoya. Downstairs. Storage."

And Nikolai ran there, followed by the others.

—————

You can see the list of fanfics where all the parts of this fanfic are found so far HERE.