#consequence that troubles our time i carry on and never once have even questioned why yeah im innocent the weight of the world is on my
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imabiscuitinthousandworlds · 1 year ago
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I HATE HATE HATE LISTENING TO OLD PUNK SONGS AND FEELING EVERY FUCKING SYLLABLE.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS ALBUM FROM 1996 IS GROWING MORE AND MORE ACCURATE AND IMPORTANT AGAIN. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I FEEL EXACTLY THE SAME ABOUT THE SAME INJUSTICES AS PUNK TEENS FROM THE 80s. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FUCKING GO FORWARD AS SOCIETY THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO GET BETTER I WANT NEW STRUGGLES! NEW! STRUGGLES!!
But, as Social Distortion put it so nicely in 1996: "Taking two steps forward and four steps back." (from Don't Drag Me Down, which is scarily accurate, h e l p.)
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moonlight-if-knight · 2 years ago
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Prologue ~ Derek's POV
How did I end up like this?
The others just left the library, leaving me alone with Father and that human. The pauses between each heartbeat are getting longer, a clear sign that they don’t have much time left.
“You know how to do it.”
It wasn’t a question but a fact coming from him. How am I supposed to be sure how to do it if I’ve never done it before?
“I do not know how,” I find my voice and tell him.
“You saw me turn the others into vampires.”
“Just because I saw you does not mean I know how to do it myself.”
“You have never needed to have things explained to you in order to do them.”
Have I had any other choice?
“I still believe this is not right,” I try to change the subject.
It would seem like my father didn’t hear me, but that’s not true. He only chooses to remain silent while taking out a handkerchief from his pocket and starting to clean the face of the human.
“Why is that seeing someone in this state doesn’t affect you one bit?” he asks me as he cleans dirt and blood from their face.
I’m not Jeremiah. I don’t have the immaturity to still see humans in an emotive or affective way. I can’t afford that.
Although, if I’m honest, even with myself, I would have to admit that even after all these years, I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that humans come and go. I would have to admit that one part of me, however small it is, freaks out seeing a person like this and screams for me to do something.
But I will not do it.
“And just because it affects me, I should turn them without knowing if this is what they want?”
“Is it better if they die?”
“Only they can answer that.”
Because I know there’s something worse. And is someone who’s suffering by their mere existence.
“Have you thought of the possibility of them ending up like Lady Madeleine?”
“And now you bring that up once again,” his voice sounds annoyed.
“How can we be sure that they can adapt as well as us?”
“You said that when I turned Alexandre and Jeremiah. And as far as I see, I think the results are obvious.”
“But Maxi-”
“Maximillian is also fine. He had a little more trouble getting used, but now he is as good as us.”
“And what if they have troubles, too? We know nothing about their situation and what they’ll be leaving behind when they wake up, and we tell them they can’t go back to their home. What if they don’t want to? Or if they can’t adapt to the night?”
“That’s what you will do for the rest of your existence?” his voice changes again, sounding like one scolding a disobedient child. “Will you never act for fear of the ending not being the one you want?”
“You were the one who taught me to think about the consequences of my actions before acting.”
“But not in letting your doubts control you. You will not always have all the time you want to act. If you keep like this, you’ll achieve nothing new because when you have decided, it will be too late. Time doesn’t wait for anyone, not even us.”
“And this is a case when I have to act first before thinking carefully?” I extend my hands towards the sofa, pointing at the person on it. “According to my criteria, this is a case when I have to think about what I’ll do. Because what I’ll choose to do won’t only affect me or our family but their life too. That person will carry the consequences of what I do today for the rest of their existence.”
“They will have a chance, and that is what matters most. When they wake up-”
“We aren’t even sure they’ll wake up.”
...
There’s a deathly silence after my words.
I don’t dare to look into my father’s eyes.
“You have your order. Do it already.”
He turns away sharply and walks to the door. He stops before opening it, sighs heavily, and exits the library, resuming his act in front of my brothers.
Again. I talked too much again.
I always have to keep talking. I can’t let things be as they are. If only I could remain silent for once...
A heartbeat interrupts my thoughts.
That’s right. Now I’m alone with the human.
I look at them. They’re still on the sofa, looking like they don’t have many heartbeats left. I have to acknowledge their tenacity for being alive as long as they have and with so little strength left.
If I’m going to do it, it has to be now, before...
May the Moon forgive me.
I walk over to them and pick up what my father was doing earlier. I start to clean the dirt that has gotten to their arms.
These cuts aren’t because of falls or hits. They’re too clean to be the reason.
Hits, bruises, cuts... What happened to you? Did someone do this to you?
...I hope that later you will like to tell me what happened.
When I finish cleaning their arms, I bring my thumb to my mouth and rip my skin open with my fang.
For us, vampires, to share our curse with humans, we must give our blood. We have to be the first blood they taste, and it also has to come into contact with theirs. Said human also has to give their blood, as it’s a reciprocal act. This is how both end up marked forever, sealing the pact with the most important thing we can give...
Blood.
I remember the words Lord Mond told us all those decades ago when we newly witnessed the world without human eyes.
I let the drops of blood fall from my finger to their arms. With this, it should close all those wounds.
Then, I cut open the palm of my hand with my nail, clenching my fist to draw more blood and let it fall onto their abdomen. With this, it should start to heal that deep cut.
I bring my hand closer to their mouth, letting my blood slip between their lips.
Will this be enough? Maybe just a little more...
After a few moments, I retire my hand and clean it with my handkerchief. When I look at my hand, there’s no hint of any wound in my palm or thumb. Also, I use the cloth to clean the stains my blood left on their arms, and once they’re clean, they don’t have any wounds at all.
There’s only one thing left. I clean the human’s hand and lean closer, bringing it to my lips.
Just a little bit. I can’t take too much blood for all they’ve already lost-
My fangs had barely pierced the skin, and the blood touched my lips when I jumped away with a start.
What was that? Why was it different?
I can’t find the words to explain what just happened. This is not the first time I have drunk blood from a human, but this time...
It’s because I turned them. I did it. What have I done? No...
Forgive me. I am truly sorry.
I’ve no idea when I opened the door and left the room. I walk without stopping towards my bedroom.
I have to do something, anything. I don’t want to think about what will happen if you open your eyes or even if you don’t.
The only thing I know is that if you happen to wake up, I’ll be the one who will take the blame for your mistakes and the one responsible for you. It’s the least I can do for you.
A sigh escapes my lips as soon as I enter my bedroom and close the door.
If you happen to wake up, you will surely hate me for what I just have done.
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christian-perspectives · 1 year ago
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Why Do The Wicked Prosper?
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Job asked an interesting question, one worth pondering over. First, let’s agree that not all wicked people prosper and not all prosperous people are wicked. Now, Job’s question; Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? Job21:7 For the most part, God isn’t against those who prosper. The first chapter of the book of Job reports that Job enjoyed great wealth. And after his terrible ordeal, he became even wealthier. - He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Job 1:3 - So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. Job 42:12 Let’s get back to the question at hand, why do wicked people prosper? We must first understand the definition behind the word wicked. It comes from the Hebrew word "rasha." The meaning of this word goes well beyond a person’s behavior. The word "rasha" is the opposite of the word for righteous. Therefore a righteous person conforms to God’s character and depends on His mercy. But the wicked person lives in defiance to God’s character and in independence of His mercy.
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Description of the Wicked
As chapter 21 continues, Job described the lives of the people he called wicked. - They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren. - Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. - Their bulls never fail to breed. And their cows bear calves and never miscarry. - They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance. - They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute. Job 21:8-12 It almost sounds like Job was jealous or envious but he was neither. He didn’t understand why God would allow wicked people to prosper. They didn’t care anything about the Lord. He on the other hand tried to please God in all he did. But it seemed to him that God, for whatever reason, had punished him. He even told his friends that he wasn’t upset with people. My complaint is with God, not with people. I have good reason to be so impatient. Job 21:4 People today, especially the ungodly or as Job put it, wicked people, live to enjoy life and prosper. And why not, they have nothing else to live for or look forward to. They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace. Job 21:13 Sadly they do not consider what lies ahead of them once they close their eyes for the last time. During their lives they wanted nothing to do with God, He served only as a swear word. And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways. Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’ Job 21:14-15
Who is Likely to Prosper, the Wicked or the Righteous?
The wicked don’t see a need for God at all because they can easily prosper without Him. According to Job, the Lord doesn’t do anything to hinder their prosperity. - Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. - Do they ever have trouble? - Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger? - Are they driven before the wind like straw? - Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? - Not at all! Job 21:17-18 When God created us He gave us the ability to choose. He doesn’t stand in our way when it comes to us making a choice, no matter the consequences. I know that some people don’t like to bring up the subject of Satan or the devil. But he is a reality and a major component in this story concerning Job. According to Jesus’ own words, the devil’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. So what I am about to say may come somewhat as a surprise. The devil wants ungodly people to do well while here on the earth. He wants them to party, enjoy life and be successful. He also wants things to go well for their children. Why does this being who comes to kill, steal, and destroy want the wicked or the ungodly to prosper? He wants their attention focused on anything and everything except God.
Do People Need God Today?
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Think about our culture today. People have an abundance of food. They satisfy their needs for entertainment. And if they can’t buy what they want, they charge it. They have no need for God or the church. In their thinking, they can make out fine without God. Satan doesn’t need their allegiance or worship, he just wants God to lose them for all eternity. Therefore when they enter eternity they will see that the devil did kill, steal and destroy their lives. The wicked will no longer prosper while the righteous will enjoy prosperity in the Lord. Jesus has called us to share His message of salvation to reach those the devil is trying hard to keep lost. By the power of the Holy Spirit, these wicked folks can begin to prosper in the Lord. Please understand, God isn’t against you or anyone else prospering. But He is against it when seeking prosperity comes at the expense of one losing their soul. His Word says that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory. Therefore we don’t need to question why the wicked prosper, just trust Him to take care of our own needs. Lord, forgive us in those times when we take the position that we can make it without you.  Help us to always depend on you for guidance and your provision. Check out these other posts related to the wicked. - Psalm 37 - The Wicked Will Soon Fade Away - God Takes No Pleasure In The Life Of The Wicked - God’s Justice Is Delivered To The Wicked - If We Confess Our Sins - Turn From Your Wicked Ways Read the full article
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jisungsmochi · 3 years ago
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favorite crime - na jaemin
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favorite crime - na jaemin 
this is the second installment for my SOUR series! you can read jeno’s one here! 
a little bad boy!jaemin x troubled (?) but still a ‘goodie goodie’ reader // strangers to friends to partner in crime to strangers again :/ 
word count: 7.2k 
summary: “It's bittersweet to think about the damage that we'd do
'Cause I was goin' down, but I was doin' it with you” 
who would have ever thought that, jaemin, the quiet boy you met in detention, would become your first love? getting involved with his shenanigans was probably the worst thing you could have done in your life. you were lucky enough to love someone like him, someone who excited you, scared you, and most of all, loved you back. but what happens when his actions suddenly have consequences? 
a/n: this summary sucks but i liked writing this alot,, explains why it took me so long to write it oops. 
tagging the bestie: @skrtbabe
//
Know that I loved you so bad
I let you treat me like that
I was your willing accomplice, honey
//
as you walked into the near-empty classroom, you made a beeline for the closest seat to the window. if you were going to be stuck in detention for two hours, you might as well have a nice view. you let out a short sigh to yourself, one hour and fifty eight minutes to go. the supervising teacher was lazily marking her class’ essays, completely choosing to ignore the entrance of na jaemin. he gave her a subtle scoff before stumbling past the desk, making his way to sit behind you. you heard him roughly place his bag onto the surface of his desk. you’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to look back and see what he was up to. jaemin was always a mystery to you, and to everyone else in the school. despite keeping himself away from the majority, people had quite a lot to say about the boy. you heard rumours that he got stabbed (which you didn’t believe at all) but your classmate, haechan, insists he had video evidence. if anything, you don’t think you had ever spoken to jaemin in your entire life, but that was all about to change.
thirty minutes into detention and you were beyond bored. everybody was either catching up on school work or trying their best to not be caught on their phones. you opted to staring out the window, eyes following the movements of a particular butterfly. eventually, the butterfly decided it was time to leave your line of sight, causing you to let out a short huff. you heard a soft chuckle, belonging to the previously silent boy behind you. you slowly turned to face him, his eyes immediately latching to meet yours. he had his chin perched on top of his right palm, a cunning grin on his face. you gave him a glare,
“what are you laughing at?” you faintly whisper to him. this caught him off guard, he didn’t expect you to sound so stern.
“an explosion is about to happen” you grew to be more confused, what is he talking about?
“wha-“
“i’ll be right back! s-stay where you are!” your teacher suddenly blurts out, rushing out of her room as fast as she could. the rest of the students all looked over at eachother, some even opting to leave detention entirely.
you turned back to the snickering boy, who clearly had something to do with it.
“what the hell did you do?”
“put laxatives in her coffee” your jaw dropped, how the hell did he manage to do that?
“w-what’s wrong with you?”
“what’s wrong with you? learn to live a little” he suddenly stood up, slinging his bag across his body. his eyes still stayed on you, silently asking for you to follow him. this was one hell of a first impression. you weren’t sure what took over you in that moment, but you found yourself trailing behind na jaemin like a lost puppy as he led you both out of the school gates. he didn’t speak much to you, aimlessly walking to wherever the hell he needed to be.
“so what did you get into detention for?” he suddenly asked you, causing you to stiffen. you weren’t a stranger to getting into trouble, your short temper often being the root of your issues. but you weren’t exactly the most comfortable talking to new people.
“ah you’re a bit shy? i’ll start then, i stole lee haechan’s clothes after gym practice” he smirked to himself, feeling some sense of pride.
“that was you? he was running around school butt naked because of you” you couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory of seeing two full ass cheeks after your history class.
“that’s what he gets for claiming that he has proof i got stabbed? which is ridiculous by the way” jaemin shakes his head before coming to a complete stop. you slightly bump into his right shoulder, quickly stabilising yourself before looking at the quiet cafe infront of you.
“hungry?” you nodded in response, following him into the cafe. he seemed to have known some of the workers, earning you a free croissant and hot chocolate.
“so, i told you why i got into detention, now it’s your turn” he chimed, clearly entertained by having you as company.
“i punched kim yuna in the face” you slightly cringed at your own words. you weren’t the one to be physical in your confrontations, but this girl really struck a nerve.
“sheesh, i saw her earlier, you gave her nose a good bruising, i must say” he couldn’t help but find the entire thing entertaining. this was so odd to you, every person that had witnessed it, thought you went crazy. but here jaemin was, laughing at the situation.
“you think this is funny?” you asked curiously, rather than in a judgemental manner.
“well yeah, i don’t know why you did it, but she probably deserved it” he shrugged, taking a bite of his own pastry. you felt your shoulders begin to relax, infact your entire demeanour had changed. jaemin was the only person that didn’t push you to admit your faults and apologise. he didn’t need to know the whole story, he just took your words for what they were.
the next hour consisted of you and jaemin, sharing stories on some of the mischievous things you had gotten up to in the past. from small things like setting off stink bombs during an exam, to running from the mall cops after stealing a pair of pants from a store. jaemin liked your reactions to his stories, at first your face would be full of shock, then turn into some sort of enlightenment. he found it quite endearing to watch. he wasn’t too bad on the eyes either.
“need me to walk you home?”
“i don’t need you to do anything for me” jaemin just smirked at your response,
“but i wouldn’t mind if you did”
“ah i see how it’s going to be”
“what do you mean?”
“our relationship, it’s going to be very push and pull” what on earth was he on about?
“you got that from just spending a few hours with me?” jaemin nodded, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.
“i think we’ll be spending a lot of time together” was all he said back. if you had told yourself earlier that day, that you’d become na jaemin’s partner in crime, you’d punch yourself in the face. but this was only the beginning.
//
from that day onwards, you would purposely seek out jaemin’s presence. whether it be you walking to the most isolated parts of school, or simply trying to get into detention in the case he was there again. as a result of the laxative prank, jaemin had earned a two week long suspension. you had caught wind of this information from the school’s chatterbox, haechan. you’d think after being humiliated by jaemin, he’d keep his name out of his mouth.
you decided to visit the same cafe you accompanied jaemin to, incase he was hanging out there. you weren’t sure why you wanted to be around him so much. if anything, you were more at risk of getting another detention, or becoming a social outcast. but you were going to take those chances.
as you entered the cafe, your eyes scanned near and far for any sight of the black haired boy. you were about to give up, when you heard a voice,
“stalking me now?” you immediately froze, too nervous to turn back. you felt jaemin’s hand on your shoulder, slowly turning your around to face him.
“i-i no it’s not what it looks like-“
“it’s fine, you must have missed me, no?” he let a cocky grin land on his face. you just rolled your eyes, ready to walk right back out that door.
“let’s get up to some trouble today” he gripped your wrist gently, dragging you out of the cafe. he didn’t let go of you, once again, you were aimlessly following him. why did you let him do this to you?
jaemin wasn’t too much of a talker, he tended to try and speak with his eyes. you found it interesting, the way he expected you to know exactly what was on his mind. he eventually stopped walking after reaching an abandoned building. you were beginning to feel slightly anxious, noticing that the sun was slowly setting and the breeze was getting cooler. jaemin plopped his carry bag on the concrete floor, you heard clinking sounds erupt from the bag. he moved to pull out a few spray cans.
“ever graffitied?” you shook your head,
“not spray painting, but i’ve drawn some not so pleasant pictures in the bathroom stalls” you shrug as he handed you a can of bright yellow spray paint. he slightly chuckled at your anecdote, which made you look down at the ground.
“well you won’t get in trouble for messing up this place”
“what is this place anyway?” you start to shake the can, watching as jaemin started spraying onto the blank wall.
“somewhere i come when i don’t feel like going home” you weren’t sure if you wanted to press him to elaborate, so you just nodded, beginning to spray a random design of your own.
jaemin found hanging around you quite amusing. you were always up for anything he wanted to do. you seemed so cheerful about the simplest things, and never pushed him to explain the questionable things about himself. you were a lot different than the people he would usually surround himself with. but like many things in na jaemin’s life, they often went sour very quickly.
//
And I watched as you fled the scene
Doe-eyed as you buried me
One heart broke, four hands bloody
//
jaemin had asked you to accompany him to the abandoned building one night. you were half asleep and freezing to death as you approached his car. it was quite beat up, making you worried,
“is this thing even safe to be driving?” you groan as you wrap yourself in your large puffer jacket. jaemin had previously insisted you bring a sleeping bag and pillow. you chose not to question it, too tired to argue back with him.
“don’t disrespect my sweet ride! be grateful i didn’t make you walk in the cold” he scoffed before starting the engine. the car ride was fairly quiet, you were drifting in and out of sleep, in which jaemin noticed. he thought you looked so peaceful, so he tried his best not to make any sharp turns or run over many speed bumps. in a matter of time, he parked the car, gently wiggling your shoulder. you woke up instantly, feeling his cold hand on your cheek. you furrowed your eyebrows before following him out of the car. he led you to the same wall you both had graffitied on before, but this time, it seemed to have become a complete picture.
“i wanted to show you this! isn’t it cool?” he gleamed, pulling you to his side, slightly rubbing your shoulder to warm you up. you quickly ignored his touch, focusing back on the wall. it was a mirage of different doodles and words that must have meant something to jaemin.
“this is amazing, you did this all by yourself?”
“yeah, i really wanted to see your reaction”
“what does it all mean?”
“it’s kind of a representation of what goes on in my mind? i’m not the best with expressing my feelings with words, so i decided to let it out on this wall” jaemin spoke with such ease, his voice filling your ears with warmth. he pulled you closer to him when he saw you shiver,
“care to share?” you slightly joked. jaemin never got too deep with you, so you assumed he would brush the comment off. but he just stares back at you, his eyes piercing into your own. you held your breath as he leaned in closer to you.
“sure thing” he slowly leads you back to the car, turning on the heater as you both wrapped yourselves in sleeping bags. you were huddled up in the back seat, your head leaning on his shoulder as he played with his fingers.
“i never had an outlet for my imagination. my parents weren’t the most warm or loving people in the world. i barely remember anything from my childhood, except for the unpleasant memories. when i started hanging out with some of the older kids, they showed me the ropes of their crew. they taught me how to graffiti, how to carve things with a pocket knife, you know, basic seventh grade stuff” he let out a soft chuckle, but you didn’t laugh. instead you placed your hand over his, feeling the coldness shoot through your body.
“i-i don’t like showing how i feel. because i think it makes me weak, or pitiful. that’s a bad way of thinking, but i can’t help it. so i let out my frustrations here, by either spray painting or smashing random things. it’s nice to get it all out” he stops speaking, his posture suddenly stiffening. you lifted your head from his shoulder, forcing him to look over at you.
“i’m here to listen to you. you don’t have to result to destroying things in order to reveal your feelings. you can just talk to me next time, okay?” you assured him, tightening your grip on his hand. jaemin just nodded, his eyes faltering from yours. why were you so considerate towards him?
“wanna know why i punched yuna in the face?” you saw jaemin crack a smile, nodding frantically.
“she said some things about my family, how they only took me in because they felt sorry for me. see, i’m actually a foster kid, my real parents weren’t in the ‘right state of mind’ to take care of me. well, in the eyes of the law atleast” jaemin didn’t know how to respond, opting to pulling your head back into his shoulder.
“i know she was just trying to rile me up, my foster parents aren’t terrible. but hearing those words just struck a nerve. how can people be so judgmental?”
“that’s just life, love. everyone will always have their own opinions, but it’s up to you, on how to respond. or you can simply choose to ignore them, it’s always worked for me” jaemin started tracing small patterns on the back of your hand, feeling his eyes become drowsy.
“but i don’t want to always ignore my problems. i want to be able to face them, how else will i grow as a person?” you sighed,
“we grow each and every day, most of the time we don’t notice. you’re doing better than you think. sure, you’ll grow up soon enough, you’ll develop your own identity, but for now, enjoy the moment. don’t care too much about what others think, this is your life to lead” jaemin looked down at you, feeling a warm sensation reach his heart.
“for someone who doesn’t like speaking his mind, you sure give some great advice. promise we’ll be there for eachother?” you pull out your pinky finger from his grip, watching as he blinks for a few seconds. you sensed some hesitation, but blamed it on him being tired. eventually, jaemin linked his pink with yours, sealing it with a gentle press of his lips. you couldn’t hide how flustered you had gotten, burying your head in his chest as he started stroking your hair.
“thankyou for being with me tonight” he mumbled as he felt himself fall asleep,
“anytime”
//
sometimes jaemin would leave you hanging for days on end. at first you would get concerned, mainly for his own safety. you were never sure what he got up to in his spare time, and to be honest, you didn’t want to know. but after a certain amount of days, he would pop back into your life that nothing happened, as if no time had passed. today was one of those days. he was sitting on your bedroom floor, flicking through your history notes. you couldn’t pry your eyes away from him, he looked so peaceful.
“you’re so much smarter than me” he huffs, scratching his head as he closed your notebook.
“no way, i’m pretty average. you’re more street smart than i am” jaemin perks up at your words,
“i guess i am huh” he smirks to himself, making you slightly smile.
“i can help you study if you want, you need a pass, right?” you scooted over to him, sitting so that your shoulders brushed against eachother.
“well yes, technically. but passing doesn’t secure i’ll get into college. not that i can even go” he shrugs, eyes focused on his rings, beginning to fiddle with them.
“what do you mean?”
“i don’t have the grades, my parents barely have any money saved for my college fund. i don’t have a job, you see the issue here?” you sensed him stiffen up next to you, this topic clearly striking a nerve within him. you placed a hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it,
“you know college isn’t for everyone. i’m sure you will be able to live a good life” jaemin knew you were trying your best to cheer him up. but these were constant thoughts and struggles he had been dealing with for what seemed like a lifetime. he knew you would never fully understand, and he couldn’t be mad at you for that.
“y-yeah, i’ll be fine” he sighs, linking is fingers with yours. you worried about jaemin so much, it slowly began to take over your mind. you caught yourself thinking about him more often, how you wanted to be there for him during his dark times. but jaemin always shoved off the idea of getting too deep with his emotions. sure, he trusted you with most things, but there was always a thought in the back of his mind. you were way too good for him.
//
“what is this?” you smiled brightly at the boy standing across from you. he was leant up against your locker, gift bag in his hands, shoving it towards you.
“a token of my appreciation for our growing friendship” you chose to ignore the last word, your feelings towards jaemin still being undecided.
you slowly open the bag, your eyes landing on a small box. you furrowed your eyebrows, before opening it.
“t-this is beautiful, jaemin. how did you afford this?” you gasped, pulling out the shiny necklace from the delicate box. it was a silver chain, that sparkled under the light at just the right angle. there was a small pendent latched onto it, a butterfly.
“don’t worry about that, do you like it?” he grinned at you, taking in your ecstatic reaction,
“of course! i cant thank you enough!”
you pull him into a warm hug, arms tightening around his torso. jaemin chuckled softly, bringing his arms to wrap around your frame, slowly swaying you side to side.
“being there for me is enough, i promise”
//
The things I did
Just so I could call you mine
The things you did
Well, I hope I was your favorite crime
//
the following few days, jaemin went MIA again. you were beginning to become annoyed by his lack of communication. you wanted to believe he was gone for good reason, but something in your gut sensed something worse was happening. that’s when you decided to go to the abandoned building, remembering he often went there when he wanted to be alone. not having a car of your own caused many issues in your life. like right now, you were huffing and puffing once you hopped off your bicycle. you quickly set it aside, making your way to the building. before you turned to the main corridor that you met jaemin in many times before, you heard hushed voices, one belonging to the boy in question.
“we need this deal done asap. no excuses” a deep voice echoes through the building. you couldn’t get a good look at them without being caught, so you remained hidden behind a huge slab of concrete.
“b-but what if they think i’m scamming them because i’m new?” jaemin squeaked. you had never heard him so worried before.
“well you better think of some way to get them to buy, we can’t risk anymore losses. take this as initiation into the big boys club” what the hell was going on?
soon enough, the small group of men had left the building, walking past the concrete slab you were hiding behind. you let out a sigh of relief before rushing to jaemin. his eyes widened at the sight of you, part of him wanting to yell at you for being so stupid.
“what are you doing here?!” he was mad.
“i could ask you the same thing” you scoffed. jaemin suddenly became quiet, eyes avoiding yours.
“what’s going on? and i want the truth. the whole truth” he just sighed, dragging you back to his car. you folded your arms, in disbelief from what you had heard prior.
“i-i’m helping them with some deals okay? it’s just a side hustle to get some cash, i want to get out of this town. this is the only way”
“what are you dealing? drugs?” you gasped, watching as jaemin snapped his neck to face you.
“yes, it’s not as bad as you think-“
“not as bad? they’re literally part of a gang. do you know what happens to people who don’t seal these deals?” you couldn’t believe what you were hearing.
“i know the risks. but i’m desperate. i just need enough to buy an apartment in another city and finally start my life” jaemin doesn’t know why he’s bothering trying to explain this to you. he brushed his fingers through his hair roughly, letting out a groan as he did so.
“when i said there are ways for you to live a good life, i didn’t mean deal drugs. i meant get an apprenticeship or something! literally anything but this”
“there’s nothing you can do to change my mind. i already swore i’d do this deal. i need the money. you wouldn’t understand” jaemin struck back, feeling attacked by your words.
“what the hell is that supposed to mean? i-i can’t do this. come back to me when you’ve come to your senses. this is stupid and you know it” you rush out of his car, causing jaemin to trail behind you as you stumbled to find your bike.
“come with me” you stopped in your tracks.
“pardon?”
“come with me to the deal. i-i don’t want to go alone” he says barely above a whisper,
“you’re crazy if you think i’ll follow you like a lost pup-“ jaemin pressed his lips on yours, hands stuck to your waist, gently rubbing your sides as he deepened the kiss. your words became jumbled as he continued to kiss you. as much as you wanted to argue back with him, feeling his lips on yours was only something you had experienced in your dreams.
“please” he whispered, pulling away from you momentarily.
“o-okay” you whispered back, hands now on his shoulders. jaemin smirked with pride before pulling you in once again. he led you back to his car, dragging you into the backseat. he began trailing kisses down your neck, erupting a pleased sigh from you. and just like that, you were wrapped around his silly little finger.
//
you were now seated in the passenger seat of jaemin’s busted ass car. your nerves were off the charts, and so were his. you had never seen him so anxious before, he was breathing in quick successions and couldn’t stop shaking.
“just get it over and done with...okay? get in and get out” you try your best to ease his nerves but how much could you really say? you were encouraging him to commit to a drug deal, this was not how you expected your friday night to go.
jaemin just nodded, clutching onto something in his jacket pocket. he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, gently stroking your hair as he did so.
“thankyou for coming with me” he mumbled. you just nodded, trying to ignore your intense gut feeling that something was going to go wrong. he led you by your waist into the noisy bar. you kept your head down, allowing jaemin to gain sight of the clients. he didn’t let you approach the group of men, so you tried to distract yourself with a random fruity cocktail from the bar. it wasn’t enough to push aside your worries.
after what seemed like hours, you caught sight of jaemin, who seemed like he was in a rush. he quickly scooped you away from your seat, swiftly leading you out of the bar. before you could even open your mouth, he interjects,
“no time for questions, get in the car now” he harshly shoved you into the passenger seat. now you were more worried than before.
“what the fuck is going on?!” jaemin didn’t answer you, starting the engine of the car. before you could press him any further, the same group of men rushed out of the bar, eyes scanning for the boy next to you. this wasn’t good.
“may or may not have given them the wrong amount...nothing a little hide and seek can’t fix!” jaemin tried to laugh it off, but you knew he was equally as scared. his dingy car wouldn’t start, adding to the panic in the atmosphere. the group of men were already in their own vehicle, approaching jaemin’s car rather quickly.
“fuck fuck fuck” he began shouting, slamming his foot on the accelerator as the car hurled forward. in a matter of time, he was speeding down the street. he probably ran a couple red lights and a few stop signs, but he wasn’t fazed. you on the other hand, were about to throw up. jaemin kept taking sharp turns to throw off the car chasing you, he barely looked back. you were terrified in this moment. anything could go wrong, one wrong turn, and it could all be over. soon enough, he stopped right outside the all too familiar abandoned building. he was out of breath, the adrenaline still present in his system. you were completely frozen, still in shock at what had occurred.
“wasn’t that riveting?” he smirked. he fucking smirked?
“are you kidding me? that was fucking insane. d-don’t do this again. i don’t want any part of this anymore” you began tearing up, feeling your heart pump out of your chest. jaemin’s face dropped as he tried to hold your hand, in which you pulled away immediately.
“t-take me home. please.” he didn’t say anything back to you. he respected your wishes and took you home safely. you didn’t even want to think about the punishment he would receive from the gang for messing up the deal. the only thought of your mind was your own safety. jaemin risked your safety this time around. you would have done anything for him, but in this moment, you were beginning to regret it. na jaemin was trouble. and you needed to stay away from trouble.
//
staying away from na jaemin was harder than you thought. subtle glances from across the classroom or school courtyard wasn’t doing you any good. so you sought refuge in the library. somehow he managed to find you there too.
“y/n, please, talk to me” you continued to read the novel you weren’t interested in, trying your best to remain angry. he sat across from you, pulling down the book from your face, eyes begging to meet yours.
“there’s nothing left to say” he just sighs, never seeing you be so stubborn.
“i know what i did was wrong, i shouldn’t have put you in that posit-“
“can we please not discuss this here? where anyone can hear us?” you quickly interrupt him, pulling him to the school parking lot. out of habit, jaemin led you to his car, opening the passenger side door for you. you got chills as you sat in the seat once again, the memories flooding back.
“i-i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have brought you into it. i just didn’t want to be alone...you’re the only person who doesn’t make me feel alone.” jaemin could barely look at you, too embarrassed of being vulnerable.
“you know how i’m against what you’re doing. and i know i can’t change your mind. i just can’t keep worrying about your safety. it hurts me knowing that you could get hurt one day” you began sniffling, which made jaemin’s heart ache. he pulled your face to meet his own, staring at your soft features. he slowly guided his fingers to wipe away your tears.
“don’t worry too much about me, love. i’ll be just fine” he pressed a soft kiss to your lips, and just like that, you were dragged right back into his arms.
“be careful” you whispered against his lips,
“always”
//
You used me as an alibi
I crossed my heart as you crossed the line
And I defended you to all my friends
//
jaemin wasn’t careful. not in the slightest. he showed up at your window, hands clutching to his lower torso area as he stumbled into your room. you hushed him to be as quiet as he could but you immediately knew something was wrong. he practically fell to his knees, soft whimpers and sighs leaving his mouth. you quickly moved to turn on your lights, taking a better look at the boy in pain. your eyes travelled along his face, covered in scratches and bruises.
“you good with playing medic tonight?” he joked, trying to relieve the tension. but you were not having any of it. you pulled him into your bed, allowing him to lay on his back. he had an array of cuts over his body, including a large gash on his lower lip. you swiftly rushed to the bathroom, grabbing your not so impressive first aid kit, but it would have to do for now. you tried your best to disinfect what you cold, until you reached his torso. you saw there were specks of blood leaking onto his t shirt, which made you more worried than you were initially. jaemin just sighed, lifting up his shirt slowly. your eyes were glued on the painful wound plastered on the right side of his body.
“d-did someone stab you?!” you felt tears prickle the side of your eyes. how could he be so stupid?
“n-no, its just a cut, it’s not even that deep” he tried to play it off, but the moment you pressed the cleansing wipe onto the wound, he winced.
“stop playing the tough guy. i hate when you play tough guy” you groan, trying your best to tend to his wound. jaemin watched as your expression changed from one of concern, to annoyance.
“hey, don’t be mad at me, okay?” he brought his hand to hover over your thigh, gently stroking his fingers on the surface.
“i’m sorry” he whispered, trying his best to sit up, but you immediately pushed him back down. you moved to lay next to him, allowing yourself to finally look him in the eyes.
“i can’t always be here to take care of you like this, jaemin. as much as i want to, there are going to be times where i just can’t. you have to understand that”
“of course, i didn’t expect you to be my personal nurse or anything. i just don’t want you to leave” his words sank deeply into your thoughts.
“i-i won’t leave”
“thankyou. i promise i will take you out and we will have fun. like old times. we can go on a road trip, or even that stupid homecoming dance you keep talking about. i’ll do anything to make it up to you because i ca-“ he immediately stopped himself, clutching his side.
“just get some rest, we can continue this discussion another day. goodnight jaem” you just sighed, turning on your back to face him. jaemin didn’t know why he couldn’t finish his sentence. he does care about you. more than anyone else in the world. but why couldn’t he just say it?
you on the other hand, were too busy imagining your future with jaemin. would he be there as your partner in crime for life? or was he just someone passing by to teach you a lesson? you weren’t too sure you wanted to find out.
//
“y/n, principal lee wants to see you in his office” your economics teacher informed you during class, eyes of classmates following you as you left the room. you swore you hadn’t done anything remotely mischievous lately, besides snatching a cheat sheet for the upcoming final.
“ah yes y/n, please take a seat” principal lee invited you into his office. you tried your best to stay focused on the stubby man in front of you but you couldn’t ignore the two police officers standing to the side.
“you wanted to see me, sir?”
“yes, these officers are here to ask you some questions. don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble. they just need some information for their investigation” he explains as best he could, shifting the conversation over to the two officers.
“as principal lee mentioned, we just need information. are you comfortable with us asking you a few questions?” you slowly nodded, hands beginning to clam up.
“we have reason to believe your friend, na jaemin, has been involved in an incident that occurred last thursday. he claims he was present with you that night. can you confirm this?” you immediately froze. you swore you didn’t even blink. that was the night he came to your window, all banged up a bruised. but you couldn’t tell them that part. so you went with a variation of the truth,
“yes, he was with me, we often study together and watch movies on thursdays.” you tried your best to maintain eye contact, not wanting to draw any more attention.
“have you noticed anything odd in his behaviour lately?” you knew they were just following protocol, but you weren’t prepared for any of this.
“not really. he is quite reserved naturally, but there hasn’t been anything too alarming, in my opinion” the officers just nodded, scribbling down your words.
“thankyou for your time, if we were to need any more statements from you, would you be okay with that?” you simply nodded, wanting nothing more than to get back to class.
“great, we’ll be heading off now, thankyou principal lee, and y/n” you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in. what in god’s name happened that night?
“why were the cops coming out of the office? did you do something?” your friend, jimin asked you as she rushed to your side.
“n-no, they were asking about jaemin” you sighed. you didn’t want to tell her much, knowing she wasn’t his biggest fan.
“y/n, you have to stop hanging out with him so much. he’s bad news. i mean, he’s got the cops questioning you? is that someone you really want to be with?” you knew she had your best interest at heart, but she didn’t know jaemin like you did. no one did.
“don’t talk about him like he’s some pest in my life. he makes me happy, okay? i’d do pretty much anything for him” you huff, beginning to walk away.
“but would he do anything for you?” her words made you stop in your tracks. she was right to question that. god, even you questioned it sometimes. would he?
//
And now every time a siren sounds
I wondДr if you're around
'Cause you know that I'd do it all again
//
jaemin insisted he take you to the homecoming dance — he even pinky promised you.
“jaemin! i’m so excited for tonight, what time are you coming by?” you excitedly squeal into the phone, making jaemin slightly chuckle.
“uh love, i-i don’t think i can make it tonight” you felt your heart drop.
“what? why?”
“i have some business to take care of. i promise you i’ll take you out soo-“
“i think you should stop making promises you can’t keep. hope you have fun doing whatever you’re doing” you immediately hung up, wiping the stray tears from your face. you quickly pulled yourself together. showing up alone to the homecoming dance after you told your friends you were going with jaemin, was probably one of the most embarrassing things you had ever experienced. they all felt pity for you, dragging you to dance, trying to get you to forget about jaemin. but nothing was working. you were beyond disappointed, partially in yourself, for believing he could actually keep his promise.
the moment you got home, you saw someone sitting on the steps just outside your front door. you let out a loud sigh, hoping he heard everything. you wanted to push right past him and go to bed, but jaemin trapped you in his arms. you felt something was off about him. he was stiff as a board, he didn’t say anything to you. you finally got a glimpse of his face, his right eye was swollen and there was a slight gash on his cheek. you immediately gasped, all your anger towards him had fizzled away.
“w-what happened?” you barely whispered, bringing your hand to the side of his face. jaemin winced as he felt the touch, quickly pulling away.
“finally got what was coming” he tried to laugh it off, but he knew you weren’t going to laugh back. instead, you allowed him to follow you to your room, hoping your parents were fast sleep.
jaemin slowly made his way to sit on your bed. you felt like he had something else he was hiding from you, but your main focus was yet again, tending to his wounds.
“i’m getting some real dĂ©jĂ  vu right now” you sighed, cleaning his face. jaemin tried his best to not move, but everything stung. he really got it bad this time.
“i’m sorry for breaking my promise. i know how much the dance meant to you” he softly muttered, eyes avoiding yours.
“i-it’s okay”
“no it’s not! you do so much for me, and i couldn’t even do this one thing for you. i feel so shitty. why do you even keep me around? i’m deadweight and that’s trouble for someone with wings” he scoffs, replaying harsh words he had heard from others in the past. you slowly plucked away the medical kit, turning to face him properly. (a/n: not me using a quote from the show ‘panic’)
“you’re not deadweight...you’re a good person, jaem. you’re good to me, that’s what matters” you gently push away the stray strands of hair that covered his forehead. he smiled at your touch, leaning into your palm as you brought it to cup his cheek.
“i love you”
you almost choked on your own saliva...he loves you?
“w-what?”
“yikes, not the response i was hoping for” he yet again, tried to relieve the tension with a joke. but you weren’t having any of it.
“can you be serious for one minute in your life? you can’t just say something like that and not expect me to freak out! i mean, do i love you too? of course i do! i would be stupid not to, but jaemin, you cant just spit that out of nowhere!” you began pacing around your room, which made jaemin smile even wider.
“well i just did. and i mean it” he stood to meet you, standing in the middle of your room as he held your shoulders in place.
“s-so what happens now?” jaemin hesitated for a moment, did he just ruin everything?
“we can’t be together”
“pardon?”
“i-i can’t do that to you. i can’t let you be with someone like me. i’m constant danger. the cops are going to get me one day, and i don’t want you to see it happen” he started rambling, you were barely understanding anything.
“this makes no sense. you’re telling me that you love me but you can’t be with me? why would you do this to me?” you started sobbing,
“i-i don’t expect you to understand. i just needed to tell you before...” he paused, pulling you closer to him. but you pushed yourself away. you didn’t want to hear anymore but forced yourself to listen. you needed answers.
“before what?” you gritted through your teeth,
“before i leave” your eyes widened, tears stopped flowing for a moment. you couldn’t make out any words, allowing jaemin to explain,
“i cant stay here, not in this town. i need to go somewhere else. somewhere they won’t find me. somewhere i can start over” he sighed, sitting back down on your bed.
“take me with you! we can go tonight, i don’t care where i am, as long as you’re with me i’ll be okay!” you begged, pulling out your duffel bag from under your bed. but jaemin quickly gripped your wrists, pulling you to sit with him on the bed.
“y-you can’t come with me. it’s not fair on you, or me. i want you to have a better life, a life with no regrets. you have so many goals, i can’t hold you back from them. i won’t” he insisted, holding your hands in his as he pleaded you with his eyes. you weren’t thinking straight, everything became so overwhelming.
“why are you doing this to me? i cant do this without you! i cant get through all of this without you. please don’t leave” your hands began to shake. jaemin brought them to his lips, placing soft pecks on each knuckle in an attempt to calm you down.
“you can. i know you can. because you’re you. an incredibly loyal, intelligent and courageous person. you don’t need me. if anything, i need you more” he smirked at the last part. you kept shaking your head, not believing anything he was saying.
“just promise me one thing?” he whispered, leaning in closer to you so that your foreheads touched.
“don’t forget me. don’t forget all the things we got up to. i had so much fun with you, more fun than i’ve had in my entire life. i can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me. i love you, okay? i’ll always love you” finally, he kissed you. his hands dragged to your waist, rubbing over the soft skin. you shined into the kiss, partially still upset with his departure.
“can we just have one last night together?” you pulled away, wiping away the rest of your tears. jaemin softly nodded, pulling you down onto the bed, wrapping his arms around you.
“thankyou for being my partner in crime. i’ll miss you” he sighed, gently scribbling random doodles on your arm with his fingers.
“i miss you already. maybe one day, we’ll meet again? i don’t know, am i being silly?” you didn’t want him to answer, afraid he’d break another promise.
“you’re not silly at all. we’ll see what life has planned for us” he responded. that was enough for you. you’ll leave it up to fate. you were just happy you were spending one last night with the boy you loved so dearly.
//
It's bittersweet to think about the damage that we'd do
'Cause I was goin' down, but I was doin' it with you
Yeah, everything we broke and all the trouble that we made
But I say that I hate you with a smile on my face
Oh, look what we became
//
you awoke the very next morning in an empty bed. your heart sunk, knowing jaemin was gone had finally hit you. your eyes drifted to where he once was, landing on a piece of paper.
‘go to the building for one last goodbye. i hope you like it.
- jaem <3 ‘
you quickly got changed and rushed there as fast as you could. would he be there to bid you farewell? you weren’t betting on it, but was still curious as to what he had to show you. you made your way into the building, your eyes cascading over all the graffiti. finally, you saw exactly what he left for you. he painted over the mural you both worked on. it had been replaced with a painting of a butterfly. its wings were all different colours, you could tell he spent ages on it. you finally reached the bottom of the artwork, a small inscription was engraved,
‘for the one with the wings, keep on soaring’
“so cheesy, i hate it” you joke to yourself, smiling at his words. this was his final gift for you. as you admired the painting once again, memories of all your little adventures came rushing back. everything you did together seemed like an eternity ago. although you wished you had confessed to him sooner, or kissed him harder, you knew that he was gone for good. jaemin wasn’t the time to keep many promises, so you’ve learnt. you started to put your faith in the universe. if you were meant to be, then you would meet again. but for now, you were content with everything you had gone through together. you were grateful to have known someone as amazing as jaemin, and you would never take that for granted. you only hoped he would do the same, no matter where you both were in life. you hoped you could both grow wings and soar through life without any regrets.
188 notes · View notes
opalesense · 4 years ago
Text
the last appointment
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zhongli & gn!reader
3.4k words ‱ ~25 min. read
summary: as a studious and credible fortune teller in liyue, you discover something about your last client of the week that completely derails your outlook on life.
warnings: liyue arc spoilers, little bit of existential dread, slight mention of family member’s death
notes: might make more parts to this idk?  just kinda wanted to dip my toes into genshin writing for the first time!!
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LIFE IN LIYUE HARBOUR seemed to be repetitive and mundane.  For the past few years, you would wake up, open your fortune telling shop, analyze the futures of your clients using your geomancy, possibly take a stroll around Liyue when you needed to run errands, and then call it a day.  You performed the same routine constantly, sometimes travelling beyond the harbor to collect crystals and magical supplies for your shop, but rarely did anything truly change in your routine.  If something was off in the slightest, it was never too exciting to note.
   As anyone would have suspected, you were tired of your state of limbo in life.  Other vision holders seemed to be going on adventures, travelling with companions and exploring the vast mountains and valleys of Teyvat.  Other vision holders seemed to be fighting against evil, helping citizens, and saving the world from imminent dangers.  You could even recall a recent event where the Qixing had evacuated the harbor to defeat a terrifying sea monster.  The Jade Chamber had been sacrificed for the safety of the people of Liyue, and yet here you were, playing with a bunch of rocks for a living.  Despite being able to grasp the glowing Geo vision that held your coat together, you could not grasp why you felt doomed to tend to this shop for the rest of your days.
   You didn’t know where or how to “start” your life.  The small, inherited establishment from your late aunt was located in the small alley of Chihu Rock, practically out of sight from most of the foot traffic in the harbor.  Not many people came to visit, though your name was still decently known.  In fact, most of your appointments were simply previous clients from your aunt, regulars that relied on her readings for years and believed you were the next best thing after she passed.  Especially considering you were the first vision holder in your family, it made your credibility even stronger.
   You still remember how you got your vision.  The morning after your aunt had passed, the elemental gift somehow made its way into your hand as if the timing was meant to be perfect.  You didn’t celebrate such a special and momentous occasion with pride or joy.  Your face stiff with tears, you instead reflected on why you received your vision at that moment in the first place.  With the shop doors closed upstairs, you gripped your vision and did what you felt needed to be done.  With your family’s legacy and tradition on the line, adventuring like other vision wielders was not a priority at the time.
   But after years alone of research, a social life consisting only of interacting with customers, and a constant state of grieving the experiences you could’ve had in your youth, you were now in your late twenties and closing the shop for the day.  Your last appointment was either extremely late or not showing up at all and you were tired of working today, just like every other day. Regret gripped you tightly as you wondered how you managed to get yourself in such a boring, slow burning loop.
   That is until the shop door opened, eliciting a gasp from you at the sudden noise, shattering the previous thought.  You accidentally dropped the basket of cor lapis you were refilling and immediately knelt down to pick up the precious pieces that thankfully hadn’t cracked on the way down.
   “Hello, [Y/N],” the tall figure practically glided through the doorway, “My deepest apologies for being late.”
   He closed the door behind him, “...and for startling you, it seems.”
   You sighed, checking for any scratches on the gems and sighed again with relief based on the good results.  You grinned to hide the fact you had just been in deep thought.  “It’s quite alright, Mr. Zhongli.  It’s kind of you to stop by at the very least, even if you’re late.”
   Mr. Zhongli was one of your aunt’s longtime clients.  Since you were a child, your aunt had always described Mr. Zhongli as a complex yet thoughtful man that had always shown kindness to your family for many years.  When Mr. Zhongli learned of your aunt’s death and began to receive readings from you instead, you quickly realized what your aunt meant by calling him complex.  Mr. Zhongli was truly a tough nut to crack in every single reading, his sessions taking longer than most other cases.  That is why Mr. Zhongli would always offer to take the last spot of the day at the end of every week as to not trouble any of your other clients.
   As you took a few of the best cor lapis from the basket, you could see Mr. Zhongli’s acts of kindness and thoughtfulness unfold in front of you.  He seemed to carry what was now clearly a gift basket at closer inspection.
   “This gift is for you,” Mr. Zhongli took a few steps forward to set the basket on a countertop.  “I brought you your favorites.  Slow cooked bamboo shoot soup, qingxin, glaze lilies, and all the crystals I could find
  needless to say, let this be a token of my appreciation for your patience and hard work from our last few sessions.  I know I am not the easiest to read, but you truly have a talent.”
   You were speechless at the gesture as your eyes sunk into the intricate detail of the handwoven basket and decorated items inside.  No one had ever done something so kind for you in so long.  It was astonishing enough that he remembered your favorite soup that you mentioned only once a few months ago, let alone your favorite flowers and crystals as well.  “Thank you so much, Mr. Zhongli!   I’m at a loss for words – this is so thoughtful of you!”
   “I even brought you that Rex Incognito series you had mentioned, although, I am not sure why you would need to read the series when I am fully capable of educating you on the history of Rex Lapis myself,” he flaunted, taking his seat on the cushioned chair in front of the reading table.
   “Now, Mr. Zhongli...” you picked out some prithiva topaz from another basket, following the usual protocol you had with such a personalized, frequent client like him. The required materials for his readings were imprinted into your memory like carvings in stone. “You know I don’t want to burden you with my curiosity.  And with such an intriguing topic like Rex Lapis... once I start asking questions I’m afraid I will not stop.”
   “I have all the time in the world,” he got comfortable in his seat as you sat yourself across from him, “I truly think it would benefit you to discuss the history of Rex Lapis with a learned scholar such as myself.  We can even have some tea as we discuss.”
   You chuckled at his eagerness.  He seemed more forward than usual. “You are too kind, Mr. Zhongli.  Perhaps I’ll take that offer someday, but at least let me put those books to good use first. Maybe I won’t need to bombard you with questions if I’m already well briefed on the subject.”
   He sighed happily.  “You make a good point. And you will enjoy them, I’m sure.”
   You settled into your seat as you arranged the crystals between the two of you.  “The usual for tonight?”
   “Yes, please.”
   Your hands meticulously placed the last crystal in its spot on the surface.  You closed your eyes and hovered your hands above the rocks, clearing your mind to make way for the usual reading: a reflection on the past, any significant events of the present to focus on, and some insight into the future.  You held this hand gesture for awhile, letting the energy from the rocks lift into the air and envelop your gloved palms.  When you felt there was enough energy to work with, you opened your eyes to reveal the manifestation of his thoughts in front of you, able to take its physical form using the powers from your glowing vision.
   No one had ever taught your this skill, not even your aunt.  If you had to bloat your own ego, one could say you invented this Geo fortune telling process yourself. The process indeed came to you naturally, a true display of pure talent.
   You slowly lifted your hands to allow the visual manifestation to settle on the table among the gems so Mr. Zhongli could watch his reading unfold in front of him as well.
   “Let us analyze the past first,” he spoke, already knowing the routine without you needing to ask him where to start.  You slowly waved your hands as if you were digging a hole in sand on a beach, the manifestation displaying ambiguous patterns that wouldn’t make sense to any commoner’s eyes but could be interpreted easily by yours.
   Two pairs of focused eyes fixated on the picture as you spoke your mind out loud.  “You have recently given up something extremely important to you, it seems.  I see you handing over something
  small, physically, yet unbelievably significant and personal.  I can’t tell what it is exactly, only that it glows like the sun with its energy.  But you have handed this important object over to a very... evil... figure?” you cocked your eyebrow, confused.  “You seem to be brooding over the fact that its aura is dark with malicious intentions.”  You hesitated, “Well, that can’t be right, can it?”
   He sighed.  “Unfortunately, that is indeed what happened recently.  But it had to be done.”
   “Didn’t we talk about a similar situation in a previous reading?  If I remember correctly, I thought I had advised you to not give up whatever that object was.”
   “I am aware of the consequences that will follow.  Especially with your future guidance, I’m sure the events following this one questionable decision will unfold in a better way soon enough.”
   “I will always be here to help you, Mr. Zhongli.  But please be careful in the future with these decisions.  The importance of this object seems to be off the charts.”
   He nodded.  “It is as you say.  Please, have faith in me now. I cannot change what happened in the past, after all.”
   You hovered over this image of the sacrifice.  You couldn’t make out what this object was, no matter how close you tried to inspect it.  It had the likings of a chess piece, but surely this wasn’t simply a chess piece, was it?
   “Let us move on, if that is alright with you,” his low voice cut the silence.
   You wiped the image from your mind and waved your hands again, as if you were slowly putting the sand back into the hole you dug before.  If the last image wasn’t enough bad news, this new one that formed was even more painful to witness.
   “You have been grieving your losses very recently,” you said gently.  “Your mind is currently weighed down by your past.  I see you looking out at the sea in deep thought.  There are flashes of
”
   You stopped as you inspected the graphic images that suddenly appeared beyond your hands.  You gasped at the terrifying horrors.
   “What is it?” the low voice tried to search for understanding of what you were seeing.  Even though the image was clearly laid out in front of him, it was still too ambiguous to tell when he lacked your years of experience.
   “There are flashes of war,” your breath stifled as you watched his thoughts splayed out in images of lifeless bodies and destruction.  “Very graphic details of war and death.  Mr. Zhongli, I believe this image of suffering has been weighing over your mind like an anchor in the sea.”
   He paused to process your comparison.  “That is... a very good way to put it.”
   “Though, I believe that despite the sorrow that emanates in this image, you are in a state of relief and tranquility.  It seems you are grieving, but you are simultaneously at peace,” you hesitated again, “Yet I wonder what these graphic images of war are meant to represent.  Surely we are not in an actual war, are we? Perhaps you are at war with your past, wanting to move on but haunted by your memories?”
  Mr. Zhongli unfortunately knew the images you were seeing were, in fact, real events he had experienced in his life time and the truth was that lately he had been reminiscing on these events.  Mortal life is kind to humans for them to be blissfully unaware and carefree of these harsh realities, he internally commented.
  He still put your analysis into thought, though.
  “I am haunted, indeed.  I have been attempting to come to terms with my troubled past, just as you advised me only a few weeks ago.  I have tried to follow your guidance, and although they resurface what I have been trying to repress, I believe I am coming to peace with what happened.”
  You grinned.  “That is very good to hear, Mr. Zhongli.  I believe you are currently making good progress when it comes to moving on.  Just remember that it is okay to remember your sorrow.  Let your emotions pass through you instead of repressing them or rushing to move on.  It is okay to take your time and let the thoughts bubble inside of you for awhile.”
  He closed his eyes as you continued, letting your advice seep in.  You continued. “Imagine the stillness of the sea.  Many creatures and lost remnants take their place in the depths of the waters, but on the surface we see constantly moving yet serene waves wash over what is hidden below.  Your memories are there to stay, Mr. Zhongli.  But your present self, the surface of the water, can peacefully coexist with whatever is hiding deep within.  Let these thoughts weigh you down momentarily, but rest assured, you will find balance and acceptance in due time.”
  His eyes fluttered open as he reflected over your words.  You always seemed to know what to say.  “Your words have truly resonated with me, [Y/N].  And you are absolutely correct.  I have been fighting these memories to avoid the pain, but it had not dawned on me that sorrow is... what I am meant to feel, not push away.  I suppose your advice has put my mind at a bit more ease, and I suppose I am focusing too much on when I will be able to move on rather than allowing my thoughts to coexist for a moment.”
  “Now you’re getting it,” you grinned with the relief that washed over his face.
  “Shall we move on?” he offered.
  You got to work on the last segment of the reading.  If manifesting the other images didn’t take long enough, reading one’s future always took the longest.  Interpreting an event that hasn’t happened yet always made you a bit nervous with your words.  You never wanted to let a client down with an inaccurate reading.
  On the contrary, this reading, despite taking quite awhile to appear on the surface on the table, was very clear.
  “That is undoubtedly an image of me,” your eyes glazed over the facial features of the person in the manifestation.  “I apologize for the delay, Mr. Zhongli, I must have accidentally let my thoughts seep into yours–“
  “Do not fret, I believe this is accurate,” he interrupted.  “Keep going.”
  Your perplexed expression remained as you continued the reading.  “I am admittedly stumped.  There is nothing left in this image.  I suppose it is simply me standing in what looks like some ruins.  I am holding a staff, or some kind of long object.”  You paused to think out loud.  “Why am I in your reading?  What could this possibly mean?”
  Mr. Zhongli chuckled as you thought out loud.  “Perhaps this is a good time to tell you why you are in my thoughts.”
  “I’d love to hear it, I have never appeared in someone’s reading in my last decade and a half of experience.  This is quite unique.”
  He folded his hands in his lap, “For some reason, I have had this strange vision of training you.  I’m not sure why, since you don’t seem like the fighting type, but there is some voice inside me that is telling me you are destined for something great and i need to take some part in it.  What do you think, now that you see this vision as well?”
  Your eyebrows rose in shock.  “Training me?  I guess this does relate to something I have been pondering as of late.  I do not want to lay out my troubles on you though, my job is to interpret your life, not mine.”
  “Our lives have clearly intertwined in this vision,” he insisted, “Please do not hold back for my sake. I have the time.”
  You thought for a moment.  How could you form the words without seeming too selfish? How could you maintain professionalism by talking about your personal problems?
  “I am not the fighting type, Mr. Zhongli.  Though, lately I have been quite depressed about the fact that I am not doing as much with my vision as other vision holders are.  My life is uninteresting.  The truth is that I am a simple fortune teller that plays with rocks.  I hope you can understand why I am failing to interpret this reading,” you apologized. “It’s because this doesn’t seem characteristic of me at all.  And with all due respect, after giving you readings for years, I would have never guessed you were versed in combat to train me!”
  He chuckled.  “I respectfully disagree.  To tell you the truth, your talents surpass the abilities of many other vision holders.  Not everyone can read thoughts or tell the future.  Now that I mention it, I know of one talented astrologist in Mondstadt, but think about that.  You are one in hundreds of thousands in Teyvat,” he reassured.  “You did not receive your vision for no reason and I truly believe you are destined for something big.  I regret not being able to realize this before.”
  “How are you so sure of this?  I would love to believe you, but I’m afraid I am not destined for much, really.  Again, I am simply a fortune teller.  What could I possibly do for Liyue other than read some rocks?”
  He sighed and connected his palms with yours, interrupting the reading and wiping the manifestation off the table.  The hovering crystals dropped onto the surface, making you gasp at the sudden sound.
  “I am not who you think I am,” his amber eyes finally met yours for the first time this evening, which sent a chill down your spine.  “Promise me you will not fret, for what I am about to show you may shock you.”
  “What do you mean?  What are you doing, Mr. Zhongli?” you slightly panicked as he firmly grasped your hands.
  Suddenly, the room was engulfed in golden light that emitted from the seat across from you.  Scattered, distorted images of a mystical dragon, a devastating war, and seven seats in Celestia flashed across your eyes as you stared at the beams of light.  Death seemed to swallow you, but not take you.  The baskets of crystals around the room shook with the surge of energy.  The world seemed to destroy itself then remake itself over and over again within fleeting moments.  These thousands of years of memories made your body tremble.  It all happened within fleeting moments, and after a few seconds of your senses being overwhelmed, you finally pulled yourself together and connected the dots.
  His expanded knowledge of Liyue’s history.  The sudden gift of your vision immediately after your aunt passed.  Grieving his losses and having flooded thoughts of war and death.  Offering combat training.  Remembering your favorites the same way he would remember Liyue’s customs and traditions.  His glowing amber eyes alone.
  Mr. Zhongli was the God of Contracts and overseer of Liyue.  Rex Lapis, a being that lived for millennia, sat in the seat across from you. He had been posing as a mere mortal for years, taking readings as if he were any normal customer. The realization shook you to your core as you sat there bewildered, grateful, and horrified at the same time.
  He let go of your hands after seeing that the information successfully processed in your mind.  He saw something in you that was yet to be awakened, where the sky was the limit under your own expectations.  This daydream of his was no simple vision – it was a calling.  Internally, whether you agreed to it or not, he vowed that he would not leave your life until your true destiny was fulfilled.
  He would see this vow fulfilled by offering you a contract that would change the course of your life forever.
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acciocriativity · 4 years ago
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You and Me || Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Slytherin/Reader
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Summary: It's always been you and Draco since you can remember, the invincible duo, the two of you against the world but some things have changed along the way and it's not news to any soul at Hogwarts but it's time your parents knew too. 
 Word Count: 2,8k
A/N: I took a bit to finish but here it is your story @x-dratie-x. I hope you all like it! Tom Riddle is not Voldemort in this oneshot, Voldemort didn’t exist at all but the events of the first war and its consequences still is valid, but with another wizard.
Warnings: A very very slightly sexual conversation and that's all
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1987  
  I didn't want to be at that dinner, I didn't want to have to listen all day long to how well I should behave because the Malfoy's were such an important family or something. 
I had plans for the week, I would go with our elf to buy more art supplies and I was allowed to spend the day outside the house, just drawing the landscape. 
My parents never let me participate in events like this, because I might mess up, say something inappropriate for the moment, or whatever excuse they decided to make up. But out of the blue, I was told that I would have to be there. Why? I couldn't understand and I didn't even ask them, what good would it do? None. 
The day was only getting worse and worse by the hour for me, I just wanted to take off that dress and go play but I couldn't, obviously. So I did what was left to me, smile and eat politely without making any noise or comments, not that there were any comments I would like to make. I had no idea what they were talking about, it was absolutely boring. The only thing that made me feel slightly better were my own thoughts and the fact that their son was as bored as I was. 
We knew each other because of some casual encounters between our parents but never had the opportunity to talk to each other, because of course, only grown-ups talk.
But it seems that I drew the long straw after a horrible day, after dinner Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were invited to stay a little longer and I was excused along with Draco to play.  
I could hardly believe it, I wouldn't have to sit there and smile for another 45 minutes, my happiness couldn't be measured at that moment. Not even waiting for my mother to say it again, I stood up and said goodbye politely with a smile before walking up the stairs and I could hear footsteps following me somewhat hesitantly but I didn't care at the moment. 
"Come on, let's go play in my room", I exclaimed with a huge smile and threw the bow tie, which was pinning my hair, on the floor and quickly walked over to it uncaringly.
 I missed his shocked expression but as soon as we reached my door, he made sure to make it clear to me. 
"Do your parents let you do that?", the question made no sense in my head but stopping to think about it now, it makes sense, he should always be flawless. 
"They don't care as long as it's not in front of guests, you won't tell them, right?", his greyish blue eyes reflected mine and for a few seconds I thought that was a beautiful effect.
 He looked away from me and nodded slightly in agreement, his face covered in shyness and I just squealed with delight. I opened the door and pulled him inside, his hand was so cold that I thought about taking one of my jackets and handing it to him. 
"So what do you want to do? I have some toys in my closet, I'll get them", I walked happily to the door and proceeded to try to decide what I would want. Some was not the best word, there were a lot of them, far more than I would ever use. 
 I came back with a big mulberry box that I've only been able to carry within the last year and placed it on my bed but he didn't even notice, he was looking at my drawings. 
"Oh, you liked them. I wish I had done one more today, do you want to try?", I asked him and walked over to the table where my sheets were. 
"Yeah, they're not too bad", he stated nonchalantly and I didn't believe him for a moment but I chose to keep my mouth shut for once. 
 I picked up two white sheets, two quills and sat down quietly on the floor, since I didn't have two chairs for the two of us but it seems he wasn't used to that. 
"Come on, hurry up, your parents won't be here forever", I patted the seat next to me and soon he sat down as well, I noticed his posture still uncomfortable and my goal for the day turned to change that, if only for 5 minutes. 
 From that day on, we became closer and our parents obviously understood and liked that, because we were strengthening their relationship and at no point that crossed my mind. I was just happy to be supported by my parents to visit Draco. 
1991
 My Hogwarts letter had arrived some weeks ago and I hadn't let go at any point, going to Diagon Alley had become a completely different experience and I couldn't wait, but I had to because I pleaded with my and his parents so that we would go together.
But the day had finally arrived and I had to contain all my energy to not look like an out of control little girl, nothing out of the ordinary but today was more difficult because I was genuinely happy. I was always genuinely happy with my only real friend. 
"Y/N, you must hurry or we are going to be late", I could hear my mother's voice from downstairs just as I finished putting on my flats. 
 As it was a very important occasion I had chosen my favorite outfit, even my parents were a little excited too. They had told me that they had met at Hogwarts and that I would find someone from a good family at Slytherin as well. This part was completely ignored by me but they never found out about it. 
"I'm here mom, we won't be late", I said as soon as I came down the stairs and approached them without running. We were near the fireplace and I mentally thanked them for not having to apparate, because it was always a horrible experience for me.
"Okay, I'll go first and you two right after", my father made sure to announce although he always goes first when we go out like that.   
 After a few minutes, we arrived in front of Flourish & Blotts and there was the imposing Malfoy family. After a small talk in which I had no interest in paying attention to, we all went inside and we were finally able to talk while our parents were engaged in a conversation with the attendant. 
"I've already said it once and I'll say it again, I honestly don't understand how you're not that excited, it's Hogwarts", I whispered to him as we walked through the messy shelves full of books. 
"It doesn't seem like a great thing after hearing it so many times", I could clearly see that there was something more there, I had known him long enough to know that and also that he wouldn't tell me easily. 
"Okay, so you're telling me that you're not the least bit excited to leave Malfoy Manor to start your life?", his lips twitched trying to hold back a smile, his eyes shifted from mine, looking for something to distract himself. 
 But I could stop him, my cunning little hands went to his waist tickling that area before he could prevent me from doing so. That was enough to make him laugh, although he denied that he was ticklish every time I asked. 
This attack did not end well for me, because revenge existed in his vocabulary and was even overused. I had to run, as fast as I could, and it still didn't work. 
And why? Because I went to a dead end corridor upstairs, I had never even visited the second floor of that store, the day I went there I had to get unlucky. 
In short, I was attacked twice more without mercy, my glasses almost got broken and we were so noisy that the owner gave us a scolding and our parents did the same as soon as we left with our packages, but this was not enough to ruin the day and our good mood. 
1993
 It was already expected that we would both end up in Slytherin, which was great because we didn't have to be separated, on the opposite, we became closer than ever. It also didn't take long to form our group of friends, actually not more than a month but the thing that made us truly close started in the third year when I had a genius idea. 
We all had a reason to dislike Harry, mine was nowhere near Draco's, no one's was but we shared it anyway. It was always fun to pick fights with him, make pranks and get him into trouble on purpose, so why not make it a little game? It was so easy that the idiots, Crabbe and Goyle understood the first few times, you can't expect more than that from them, and this was certainly a record for both. 
The game had three main objectives: 
- Take the most materials from Harry or his friends: ink, quill, books, whatever they were carrying would be a prize and would get a point.
- See him or his friends more often, with the intention of spying on them just for fun, of course. It could be in class or in the corridors, each time would be an extra point. 
- Pick fights with him or his friends, each minute was worth one point and to be proven, had to have someone to confirm it. 
 Of course, there was no room for lies, and I made sure to put a spell on our board to prevent this. Yes, I had made a small board that stayed with me but each team wrote down their own score.
To make it more fun, we split up into pairs. Draco and I, Pansy and Blaise, Grabbe and Goyle, Astoria and Millicent and Tom and Theo.
And finally, the best part, whoever had the most points at the end of the year would win 5 galleons from each person, as well as having a celebration party financed by the losers.  
Needless to say, Draco and I always won since the day I created the game. Our friends always complained about us playing dirty but it was never necessary and deep down they knew it, it must be hard to lose every year so I don't judge them.  
1995
"Are they still complaining?", I remained with my eyes closed, it was comfortable to lie curled up against Draco on the couch in the common room. We had two free classes, which was being put to good use to get some rest after a year of N.O.M.S. and a devastating victory in our little game.
"They'll get over it when we come back in September, I guess.... You're missing the best part", his voice came out whispered directly into my ear and I couldn't help but smile.      
 I didn't need to see the scene to know what was going on, Tom and Theo blaming each other for the defeat, everyone standing back from them because no one wants to get involved in their ego battle and our other friends trying not to laugh because it was a funny scene, even if they didn't know it.
"They're taking longer than last time...", I commented slightly annoyed by the noise. I had no idea what had happened to me, because usually I spent the afternoon celebrating my victory but not today. 
"Let's get out of here, you seems so good", he hadn't even completed his sentence when I agreed and painfully got up to go to his room. 
 But before I could take two steps, I felt his arms go around my waist and legs, leading me up the stairs in a bridal style.
I smiled wider and snuggled into his arms, enjoying more of the warmth and good feeling it gave me until we reached the bed.
"Thanks honey, I don't know what happened today", I commented under my breath as soon as he had me lying on the bed, but I knew it was a lie.
"Are you sure? This isn't related to the fact that our parents will know about our relationship in a few days?", I hoped he would pretend he didn't know but that wasn't the case, I wasn't going to be able to run away from the subject.
"It's just that I don't like them meddling in our lives, of course I have nothing against your parents, I'll love to be introduced as your girlfriend but my parents will be twice as unbearable", I sighed and hugged the blond once more, if there was one thing that made me better it was this. 
"Like my mom isn't going to start a 3 year planning for our wedding after she finds out, but at least they'll be used to it by the end of the summer and we won't have to go through this again", he began to fiddle with my hair and curl the strands between his fingers, slowly my shoulders relaxed and a considerable chunk of my worry faded away.
"Yes, I think so but it's going to be a lot harder for us to be alone now. You definitely won't be stepping foot in my room like you did when we used to play together", the memories flooded back and I felt him smile too, it had been a while since this had escaped my thoughts. 
"I don't need to worry about that, we slept together for almost the entire year at Hogwarts and they can't do anything about it and we'll keep doing it", I couldn't see him since my face was buried in his neck, but the perfect image of his mischievous grin formed in my head. 
 "The question is, will you survive for two months without me? Because I don't see that happening", I teased with a huge smirk as I turned to look him in the eye. 
"It won't happen because your father won't be enough to stop me love and I'll make sure you don't have to resort to your hands, because we know it wouldn't be enough", smugness was all over his face and as much as I searched for an answer to that, I didn't have one. Not in the first few seconds. 
"Good love, that's good because I'm sure your hands wouldn't do a better job either. In fact, I'd be a little worried if they actually still work, in case we get separated", I had managed to wipe the smirk off his face but I also knew it wouldn't stay that way, revenge was still an overused word in his vocabulary. 
 A week later, there I was on one of the Hogwarts Express cars with Draco, since we couldn't fit all our friends there anyway, we decided to enjoy the last hours of freedom we had together. 
And how quickly it went by, one moment I was chatting with my boyfriend while my puppy slept peacefully in her travel bed and the next, we had arrived and a wave of students were trying to get through the doors at the same time. 
We stepped off the train holding hands, while I carried only my baby in the other, and this detail did not escape the trained eyes of our parents who were talking side by side but as soon as they noticed us they stopped.
"For Merlin's sake, you two finally decided to listen to me and are in a relationship now?", my mother's eyes sparkled with excitement and I could already hear her voice asking me all sorts of embarrassing questions. "Narcisa, our family is finally becoming one, this is the best news I could ever receive", she could jump for joy now but because of the good posture of a London high society woman, she did not do that.
"How about dinner at our house today? We have a good reason to celebrate," I had seen his mother smile at me several times but even Lucius Malfoy seemed satisfied enough to show a little bit of his teeth, which is indeed shocking.
 My parents agreed to the idea immediately and only one look was exchanged between Draco and me, it only took a single look to know that we both acknowledged it would be an insufferable night. 
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Harry Potter Masterlist
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hellotherekenobi · 3 years ago
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───there’s a reason.
summary: you think you might have feelings for your master, but you can’t be sure unless you do something about it, which happens to be having a long conversation with him.
cw: padawan!reader, master kenobi. i can neither confirm nor deny whether feelings are reciprocated (or understood.)
requested by: @the-devils-littlegirl
ONESHOT. ⟶ 2,145 WORDS.
· · ─────── ·𖄞· ─────── · ·
Having a close connection with your master came in handy, helping you out on more than the one occasion when you’d be on the ropes in a tight mission, but feeling close to your master was more tricky than any mission you have ever been on. It was forbidden and, quite frankly, dangerous. You couldn’t even imagine being caught out for it, or even worse being called out. Imagine that, getting fired from the Jedi because of how you feel for someone. No, it was better to not give in and to not say a word. Maybe the feeling will fade away in time? Or just maybe, you’ll start to lose your mind from keeping it all bottled up.
“So there’s this guy,” you say casually to someone you randomly met at Rex’s diner. “I really like him. He’s always there to protect me, you know? But it’s complicated.”
“What’s more complicated than having a crush on someone and not telling them?” they ask, sipping from their coffee. They looked groggy, like they had just woken up or were trying to recover from a hangover.
“Age, duty, the fact that he probably doesn’t even like me beyond our partnership.”
“Who cares about duty? I’ve always gone with my gut about these things and I’ve been just fine. Look—” they hold their hand up to show you a wedding band on their finger—“Eight years.”
“That’s a long time, good for you both.”
“Ah hell, we’ve been divorced more times than I can count, but we always find our way back to each other. It’s the love that matters.”
Suddenly you feel as if you shouldn’t be getting relationship advice from a total stranger, but before you can make a move to get off of your chair, a hand plants down on your shoulder and you don’t even have to turn around to know that it’s your master.
“I’ve got what we came here for. You ready to leave?” He asks, smiling politely at the person sitting beside you.
They suddenly look very awake, their eyes wide before they cough out, “You’re a Jedi?”
“Padawan.” You correct, almost wincing at saying it out loud.
“But I doubt you have much more training left.” Obi-Wan smiles.
When he turns his head to wave at Rex behind the counter, the person points at him and mouths, “he’s the guy?” to you, causing you to awkwardly shrug your shoulders and whisper, “yes?”
They groan, “Good luck.”
“Thank you.” Obi-Wan says, turning back into the conversation. He thinks they were speaking to him. “We should get going.”
You nod your head, slipping off of the chair and following Obi-Wan out of the diner and back to the speeder parked around the corner. As soon as you hop into the passenger’s side, Obi-Wan lets out a sigh mixed with a groan that you know all too well by now.
“I know that grumble,” you almost chuckle. “What’s wrong?”
Obi-Wan sighs as he settles himself into the driver’s seat. “The information I got wasn’t exactly the information I was hoping for. Looks like we’re headed out to a no-fly zone.”
“No,” you groan. “You don’t mean we have to do this all on foot, do you?”
“My young padawan, our missions are never easy.” he starts the engine up, passing you a small device. “This is the map. Do make sure to tell me which turn to take in advance.”
“That was one time, master.”
He chuckles, turning out into the traffic and flying as far as he can with your aid, before having to park between a thicket of bushes in what looks to be the middle of nowhere. You hop out one at a time, glancing over the area, hands on hips, eyes squinting, as you stand in a thick mist that about covers the sun, yet the brightness still breaks its way through.
By the time Obi-Wan and yourself are settled in the corner of a cave, after the wind suddenly picked up and almost blew you both off course, the sun is starting to set. You knew not a lot was going to happen on this mission in the first place—it was a study mission, or as you like to call it a lurk mission, as all you have to do is keep hidden, keep watch, and report back to the Council with your findings. You had hoped for something more comfortable, like a bed, or at least a room, but it will have to make due, especially because if you were going to be sitting in the middle of nowhere alone with anyone, you’re happy for it to be Obi-Wan.
He takes the first watch, then you take the one after him. You liked the silence, though it wasn’t really quiet with the wind. It was more so the silence of your master’s mind, as opposed to your own. When he was asleep, you didn’t have to put up a wall so high as to when he’s awake. You’ve trained under him for some years now and have learnt much, and have also used what you’ve learnt to keep Obi-Wan from the truth. Honestly, how embarrassing is it that out of all the people in the galaxy you could ever form a crush on, it was your master?
You don’t ever plan on telling him. You just hope it will pass with time. Unlike some other padawans you know, or even some Jedi (shh, don’t tell anyone), where all they want is for their crush to like them back, you just want this feeling to go away. You know it’s wrong, you know it can get you in trouble, and above all, you know the consequences if anything followed through. But, when you think of that in itself, you shudder. That’s new.
“Any updates?” Obi-Wan mutters, turning onto his back.
Thank heavens your lightsaber was not in your hand otherwise the sound of his voice would have startled you so much that you would have tried to slash him down. Your fight instincts always kick in first and more aggressively than you flight instincts.
“Oh no,” he chuckles. “I hadn’t meant to scare you.”
“Surprised,” you retort, pointing a finger at him and then twirling said finger around your padawan braid. “I was only surprised.”
He says nothing in reply, doesn’t make a sound. He simply stares at you, furrows his brows a bit, and then leans up on his elbow. “What’s the matter?”
“What do you mean? I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You’re twirling your braid. Something’s on your mind.”
Damn it. Sometimes you forget how well he knows you.
He sits up, hissing a little bit from the ache in his back from lying on a hard surface. “Talk to me.”
Should you actually tell him? No, of course not. Hadn’t you only just reasoned with yourself how you would never tell Obi-Wan the truth? You’re keeping your mouth shut.
“I’m just a bit confused,” why the kriff are you talking?
“That’s only normal. We’d hardly be human without questioning some things.” He’s ever the supportive master. “What are you confused about? Perhaps I can help.”
Well, you don’t exactly want him to help. Goodness, the last thing you need right now is to be stuck in the middle of nowhere after confessing your feelings and have them rejected.
“Attachment.” It’s the only word you speak, just letting it sit in the air long enough for it to sink in with your master who, once you look over at him, looks like a Bantha caught in speeder lights.
“What about it...?”
Good. He’s unsure. He doesn’t have a clue where you could be going with this and that’s exactly how you want to keep it. You want to be able to twist your words if need be, without him already being two steps ahead of you like he always is.
“I understand why we as Jedi don’t explore that, and I have no intention of furthering my interest, but... aren’t we, like you say, only human for questioning such things?”
Maker, you’ve got him in a tight spot, don’t you? You’ve seen your master face armies of troops, even Sith Lords, but nothing has made him paler in the face than what you just said. It’s almost hilarious, but you happen to have enough sense in you not to laugh at him.
“Well,” he clears his throat, sitting up. “I can’t argue with that.” Himself. He means he can't argue with himself. “How long have you thought this?”
“A fair while.”
“I see. I must commend you on your curiosity, my young padawan.”
There it is again, the shudder. This time, with Obi-Wan awake, he notices it. His furrowed brows could almost snap in half at this rate. You better let the poor man breathe.
“It’s alright. Don't worry about it, master. Staying up this late just has me in my thoughts and I got carried away. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t worry if you didn’t just tell me not to. Twice.”
Alright. Can he just give you some space? How come he always knows what you’re thinking or feeling before you even know? How come he always runs ahead of you, even though you were in front literally moments before?
“You’re unbelievable.” you shake your head, lifting your knees up to wrap your arms around them.
He smiles. “Simply doing my part.”
“Would be nice if you didn’t do it so well.”
That earns a chuckle from him. It makes the air around you two just that more breathable, just that more lighter. It doesn’t feel as heavy now.
“You don’t have to tell me.” Obi-Wan speaks, leaning over to pat your leg comfortingly.
Good. You won’t tell. You won’t ever tell.
“I think I have feelings for someone.”
What happened to the original plot of the movie!?
“Feelings?” Obi-Wan asks. He wants you to say it.
“A crush.”
You know you’re screwed the second he starts playing with his beard. Did you go a little too far? Is this too much to handle, even for the renowned Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi? You’re not even anxious about what he might say, or how he might feel, you just want this to be over.
“Why do you think it’s a crush?” he finally says, yet doesn’t spare a glance in your direction.
“Why?” you ask, a bit confused. “Because... I think about them a lot, about what they’ve done for me, about who they are. I think about how safe I feel with them—how I like being by their side.”
Obi-Wan lets your answer settle in. He waits, in case you have anything further to add. Then, finally, he looks at you.
“A crush.”
Is that all he has to say? You know you didn’t exactly let all the chips fall, but you did just open up to him. A crush. Yes. You have a crush. On him. The fact that the one time you want him to be two steps ahead of you and yet he’s two steps behind is about to send you over the edge if you’re not careful, or if he’s not careful. A crush. Yes! You have a—
“Oh.”
It’s only now, after getting carried away in your head, that you realize Obi-Wan wasn’t stating a fact, he was posing a question. He asked you if you have a crush.
“Oh.”
“Oh.” Obi-Wan confirms, and you just sit there in silence.
With how long you let it sink in, completely quiet, not even moving a muscle, you could convince yourself, and maybe your master too, that you’ve turned to stone. Wasn’t that a turn of events? But even so, what a relief. You let a breath out just as Obi-Wan leans over to tap his finger against your arm. Tap, tap, tap. He’s chipping away the stone. He always knows.
You run your hands down your face, burying yourself in them for a moment and then groaning out, “Thank, maker.”
Obi-Wan begins to laugh, nudging you with his elbow that almost topples you onto your side because you weren’t ready for it. You don’t have a crush! Yes, you like Obi-Wan. Yes, you’re attached to Obi-Wan. But it’s not love you feel, it’s admiration. Being a padawan and a person who’s never felt anything outside what you’ve been taught (or, really, shielded against), it makes sense that you blurred the line between the two. What. A. Relief.
“That was a close one.” you laugh alongside your master, making him shake his head. “I can’t believe I almost thought that I had a crush on you.”
Silence. The laughter stops, the wind kicks up, and you’re about to reach for your lightsaber to run yourself through.
Obi-Wan coughs. “You never told me who it was.”
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holly-fixation · 3 years ago
Text
Ink Clouds: Chapter 17
Summary so far: Cloud is sent back in time by the calamity, and is now half squid that constantly spews ink that carries Geostigma. Tifa broke into the lab to find the creature. But Sephiroth and Zack took her out, and showed her her Cloud: the trooper who never made it into SOLDIER. But her stunt has consequences, for them all.
Based on the prompt by @im-totally-not-an-alien
Please Enjoy!
Chapter 17: Inquiry
A knife could cut the tension in the office of the Director of SOLDIER. On their way there, Angeal explained to Cloud all that he knew about the situation: the creature speaking a few words, its affinity for Sephiroth, how its ink causes geostigma, how it corrected the name they called him to 'Cloud'.
The young troop listened and tried to understand the situation, and, once the explanation was over, he found himself taking in his surroundings: the office he would have stood in by now if he made SOLDIER.
Tifa stayed by his side, taking the explanations with a grain of salt. Of course, they don't know everything. But she refused to believe that this creature was a near perfect replica of her childhood friend by coincidence.
Zack, who despite throwing out some jokes and light hearted comments, was mostly silent, staring and watching his mentor carefully. He couldn't read Sephiroth's stone cold expression for the faintest hint of emotion that lay beneath.
Sephiroth hadn't spoken a word since they left the simulation room. He was shocked into silence when he saw This Cloud in person, terrified of what he may do if this child triggered a message, a feeling, a reaction. Despite the initial jolt of preventive destruction when first spotting him, he thankfully felt nothing. But he couldn't take chances, not daring to glance at or speak to the child since entry.
Finally (furiously) the Director of SOLDIER, the best martial artist on the planet, and the remaining First stormed into the room.
The First made a beeline to the girl, his supposed student for a week. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He questioned with venom.
"I told you," Zangan interrupted before Genesis could verbally assault his student, or his student could physically assault the First, "This was our plan."
"And what advantage does ruining the SOLDIER name bring you, Zangan?" Lazard inquired as he took his place behind his desk, not even bothering to sit.
"After that video went viral, we couldn't trust Shinra to tell the truth," Zangan explained. "And we couldn't send any warning that we were looking for 'Cloud Strife'. Shinra would shut down everything that has to do with the creature to hide the evidence, If our theory was correct."
Lazard busted out a loud, frustrated sigh. "So you used us as pawns?"
"If we didn't get caught, or at very least information doesn't get out, I'd stay longer and do more publicity stunts for you as compensation for the trouble."
"‘If’?" He spat.
"Well, not an 'if' anymore."
"Do you think there won't be consequences for this?" Genesis questioned.
"We're not surrounded by guards," the deepest voice explained, and all eyes turned to the general. "Then R&D hasn't reported anything. They need to keep a low profile; a sixteen year old girl breaking in is detrimental for their image."
"We don't know what R&D is going to do, so don't get confident," Lazard countered. "Now I know Zack tried to explain this on the phone, but I need a better explanation: why didn't you take her out of the lab immediately?"
"The creature responded to her," Sephiroth stated as if it was obvious, getting a look of disbelief in response, "Since it acts in unpredictable ways, any sudden change in our or its behavior was a threat and a risk."
"And they didn't have the announcement for intruders when the alarm went off either," Zack added. Right on cue, his phone rang.
"Don't you dare pick that up."
Zack glanced at the number but didn't recognize it and turned off the ringer.
Immediately, a long black haired Turk entered the room, holding his phone away from his ear. The rest of the room heard it begin Zack's voice-mail message. The Turk spoke over it, "SOLDIER, First Class: Sephiroth. SOLDIER, Second Class: Zack Fair. Trooper: Cloud Strife. Tifa Lockheart. Your presence is requested by R&D."
This wasn't a request. "Can you at least tell us why?" Tifa questioned, but regretted it instantly and took a small step back and lowered her eyes when he glared at her with deadly serious eyes.
"Doctor Hojo wants you to interact with the creature for some tests, in return for not writing an incident report of today's event."
Cloud and Tifa looked to Sephiroth for a response. Zack glanced at the children.
"We'll go," The general complied.
"Then I believe this meeting is over. My apologies, Director Lazard." He gave a short bow to the man before looking to the rest and flicking his head toward the exit.
* * *
"I am so, so sorry," The head assistant began, "but these are the direct instructions from Hojo."
None of the summoned four were happy about that name.
"We have a list of questions we must ask you. Some of them will change depending on your answers. You must answer in as much detail as possible," Ace explained. "You'll be heading to the side testing room individually. To waste the least amount of time, the order is Tifa, This Cloud, Zack, then Sephiroth. The rest of you will wait until everyone is done out here in front of the creature's tank. We want to know how it reacts to each of you as well as a group, and this should be an efficient way to do that. Accomplish this, and SOLDIER as well as R&D will ignore today's incidents."
They all looked to the creature, which seemed to be asleep on the farthest wall, its face and body turned away from them. They could see the tentacles move slightly and its blonde hair bob in the water.
"Why am I going first?" Tifa asked in a pout.
"Because you cause the most trouble so he wants you to have the least amount of time to prepare," They explained simply, before gesturing to the testing room. "Follow me."
The teenage girl complied and tailed the scientist into the room until they shut the door behind them. Most of the lab equipment was already moved to the side, leaving a table with one seat for her and two interrogators opposite of her. She hesitantly took the seat and clamped her hands together on her lap.
"We'll skip the small talk," the brown haired man spoke first.
"Unless you have anything you want to tell us before we begin?" The blonde woman verified.
Tifa shook her head.
"Then let's," He looked at her with a penetrating gaze. "How did you get into the lab?" Before she opened her mouth, he specified. "We have you on video, and your friend's goal is on the line."
Would they really prevent Cloud from joining SOLDIER because of her responses today?
"How did you get in?"
"I followed one of the scientists. They were running late and panicking. They didn't see me sneak behind them," she answered truthfully but tried to hide from their intense gazes regardless.
"When did you notice the Firsts following you?"
"Pretty quickly. I barely made it to the second room when I heard them."
"And where were you going?"
She hesitated and took a deep breath. "I was trying to find the stigma creature."
"What is the stigma creature to you?" The blonde asked calmly.
Tifa paused before shaking her head. "...A coincidence. Certainly not what I thought..."
"What did you think it was then?"
She realized her mistake immediately. She glanced up at them, before returning her haze back to the table. "A friend from my hometown."
"Where are you from?"
She won't be able to hide everything from them, she realized, if she keeps revealing things. "Nibelhiem."
They showed her absolutely no reaction, but she knew that location mattered to them.
"Who did you think the creature was?"
"Cloud Strife. The blonde troop outside."
"Why did you come to that conclusion?"
She sighed. "The video that leaked on Warker. Where Sephiroth calls the creature that looks almost exactly like him: 'Cloud'."
"Why would Cloud be at Shinra?"
"He left to join SOLDIER two years ago."
They paused. The brown haired one spoke, "Didn't make it very far, did he?"
Tifa glared but kept her mouth shut.
"What did you say to the creature to make it scream?"
"You have three video, why are you asking me this?" She bit back.
"We want all the information we can get," the brunette spat.
"And the alarm messed with the microphones," the blonde explained softly. "But remember there were witnesses, and any lie you say will be caught immediately."
"I told him
" she started carefully, precisely considering every word coming out of her mouth. "That I would protect him
 but it doesn't even matter, because that thing isn't Cloud Strife."
"Why do you feel this strong need to protect him?"
She paused again. "...because we grew up together. I don't want to see him suffer like this. But again, that's not Cloud Strife." If she acted sorry, maybe they'd believe her. "I made a terrible mistake..."
"Lastly," he continued, "how did you manage to sneak away from the First Class and the Director of SOLDIER?"
Tifa looked up at them with her young eyes, this wasn't worth hiding anymore. "We were in the conference rooms for the tour. And I heard complaining about the smells from the bathroom. It didn't take me long to find a vent, and use it
"
"Into which room?"
"One of the side conference rooms."
They nodded. "Thank you. You're dismissed. Send Cloud Strife next. He has thirty seconds to enter. Keep all the information we talked about quiet while in HQ, understand?"
She nodded in confirmation. "Yes, I understand."
* * *
"Cloud Strife. You've worked here for nearly two years now, correct?"
Cloud nodded. "Yes sir."
"And in your time here, you never contacted your family or friends from your hometown?"
He sighed softly. "I swore to myself I would only contact home when I made SOLDIER. Hasn't happened yet."
"Did you know about the video of the stigma creature?"
"No," He answered honestly. "I don't use any social media, and I've been so buried in trying to get stronger that I... somehow missed it." He shook his head softly, disappointed in himself.
"When did you learn about the creature, then?"
"Today." His answer surprised them. "Maybe half an hour ago."
"And what was your response?"
"...Really, really confused
" He didn't say anything else as he crossed his arms in front page him, as if that would protect him from his own darkening thoughts.
"Do you have any idea why the creature looks like you?"
"None. I haven't donated blood or anything like that in my life."
"And the girl, Tifa," the brunette started. "What is she to you?
He paused and turned away, a slight red forming on his cheeks. "...She's an old friend."
"What did she do when she saw you?"
"She hugged me. She cried," He spoke too quickly, hindsight making him realize how close she was to him when it happened.
"Did she say anything weird?"
"She thought I was experimented on and turned into the creature. Then they told me about the creature."
"Who told you?"
"Angeal Hewley and Zack Fair."
They nodded. "Is there anything else you think we should know?"
Cloud shook his head. "Sorry. I don't know anything else..."
"Then, thank you for your time, Cloud. Send Zack in next."
* * *
"SOLDIER, Second Class: Zack Fair. You're on your way to becoming a First, correct?"
Zack nodded. "That's correct. I'm currently training under Sephiroth himself." He tried to sound excited, to hide the burden that came with it.
"That's very impressive. How did that come to be?" The blonde saw him force eye contact rather than shy away. "You were originally Angeal Hewley's student, correct?"
"Yes. I was Angeal's apprentice. But when we captured the stigma creature, Angeal got sprayed with the ink. We knew geostigma was coming, but he seemed fine until his lab results came back
"
"Did you ever take out the frustration of changing mentors on your new one?"
Now Zack glanced away. "Yes. The day I was switched."
"And how would you describe your relationship with Sephiroth?"
"...odd," He finally answered. "Sometimes we get along, but he's impossible to read."
"You've accompanied him through every incident with the creature since the beginning, correct?"
"That's correct."
"Has anything odd happened as a result of this?"
Crap. He froze, and he paused too long to go unnoticed.
They knew. "What happened the second time it broke out? The first time it showed you a carving."
"He
." Zack struggled to find an explanation that wouldn't make him insane or lead to more questions. "He grabbed the creature and questioned it. I tried to pull him off but it didn't work."
“Why would he do that?”
“...I don’t know, you have to ask him,” He lied.
“What’s your best guess, Fair?”
He turned away and thought quickly. “Shinra keeps a lot of secrets. It’s the only way the company to survive, we all know that. But the creature may know things Shinra doesn’t want the public knowing. Maybe Sephiroth realized this and tried to get an explanation out of a pawn?”
“Hm,” was their only response. “What about the third time? When it begged him for forgiveness?”
Zack felt alarms ring in his mind. “It could have been anything. Maybe a bad past experience?”
“What about the last one?”
He clenched his fists. “What about the last one?”
“Why did Sephiroth attack you and the creature? Why would the hero of the Wutai war do something like that?”
“You already knew the creature pulls some kind of weird reactions out of him, this was absolutely your fault for not being ready for this.”
“It pulls reactions out of you too.”
His eyes widened.
“What does the word ‘live’ mean to you?”
Zack shrugged and forced himself to be casual. “Survive. Push on. What else could it mean?”
“You understand the condition of lying in this inquiry, correct?”
He had to think, and came up with what he thought was a believable lie, “My mother always talked about me being her ‘living legacy’, and for some reason, when it said ‘live’ I thought of that memory.”
They didn’t nod this time. “You’re dismissed, SOLDIER Fair. Send Sephiroth in.”
* * *
The last SOLDIER took a deep breath before opening the door to the room. He was surprised to find no one was there as he stepped inside, the door sliding and locking behind him. His senses sharpened as he focused on all the differences of the area than the previous interrogations. There were only two chairs, each on very far ends of the table. A transparent field of octagons flowed down the center of the room, to protect the investigator. Where were they? And why was there only one chair on the other side?
Then the opposite door opened, and a man with greasy black hair in a ponytail, black circular glasses, and the most revolting face Sephiroth swore he would never see again entered the room with an intrigued, disgusting grin.
No.
.
.
.
.
Thanks for reading!
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miraculous786 · 4 years ago
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A prompt with Alya Redemption. After one lie too many Alya or her family gets hurt by Lila’s actions. No bashing anyone, but Lila salt is encouraged (incident in not Akuma related(
Masterlist
You Were To Babysit, Not Abandon
"Thanks again for this, Lila."
"Oh, it's no problem!" the Italian enthused, bright smile on her face. "It's just a shame that Marinette couldn't babysit your little angels."
"Whoa, dude! Might not wanna be calling them that!" Nino chuckled.
Alya shrugged. "Yeah, well, my girl had a commission she needed to work on for a big client. I don't blame her for not wanting any distractions."
"But...don't you think that, well- I don't know...she should make time for you? Shouldn't Marinette want you two to be happy on one of your dates?"
The reporter rose a brow, before gaining a more stern expression. "Hey, don't say that about my best friend. She already does so much for our whole class for free. She deserves a break from our needs every once in a while."
There was a flash of surprise and something akin to a snarl from the brunette, yet it went as soon as it had appeared. "Oh, of course! Silly me! It's just that one of my cousins from Italy, the one that was the daughter of a famous pianist, always offered to look after her family-friends when their parents weren't home. I guess I just expected all good friends to do the same."
She shrugged, apparent guilt on her features, making Alya laugh slightly and rush to assure, "It's fine, Lila. Trust me. Anyway, we better get going now. We don't wanna be late for our reservation. Be sure to keep Ella and Etta safe! They can get into so much mischief sometimes."
"They won't be any trouble," the teen brushed off. "Have fun, bestie!"
Nino rose a brow at the nickname, but nonetheless waved with his girlfriend as they walked out. The door slammed shut behind them, causing a slow grin to stretch across Lila's cheeks.
"Well, isn't this perfect!" she exclaimed with a clap of the hands, turning to the curious kids nearby. "How about we go visit the park to pass some time?"
~*~*~
"Lila! Lila!"
Said person fought off the urge to snap at the twins in her care, and instead replied in a sugar-sweet tone, "Yes?"
"Can we go on the carousel?"
"Pretty please?"
She glanced to the side, catching sight of the functioning ride. On it were a few children - a notable one being Manon - who were screaming excitedly at their parents nearby.
"Of course you can!" the girl allowed, whilst pressing a finger to Ella's nose in a playful manner. "Go on for as long as you want! I'll be right here."
They cheered with their arms in the air together, then proceeded to run off, giggles trailing behind them.
"Finally..." she scoffed beneath her breath. "How does that Mari-Brat deal with them when they never shut up? 'Angels'? More like devils if you ask me. No wonder they were akumatized into them."
Lila stood up from the bench she was sat at. Her head twisted to the scene at the other end of the park, and her legs soon brought her over to it at a fast pace.
There, set up in a way so as to not disturb anyone in the vicinity, was a photoshoot. Cameras of all sorts were pointing in the direction of a fountain, where a blond boy with emerald eyes was posing.
She smirked. Her gaze scanned over both him and the photographer close by. Thoughts of how she herself could be added in to the taken pictures flooded her mind, until she heard an accented voice speak.
"And that's a wrap for now! We'll have a half hour break and carry on after."
Adrien sighed in relief. He faced the woman to his far left and questioned, "Nathalie, is it okay if I have lunch now? I'll stay in the park."
"Yes you may, Adrien," his father's assistant droned. He didn't catch the way she snuck a peek to Lila, nor how a glint of something sinister shone on her glasses. "I have some business to attend to."
"Thank you, Nathalie!" he enthused, before suddenly gaining a pained look when gazing to where the Italian nearby was. "H-Hey Lila, how's it going?"
"Oh, I'm doing great, Adrien. Thank you so much for asking," Lila answered, coming forward to grab hold of his arm to further show her gratitude. However, she was halted by Nathalie opening her mouth to talk.
"Miss Rossi, if you would come with me, please. We have very important matters to discuss on the terms of your modelling contract."
"Of course!" she agreed - her smile only getting wider when she gazed upon the limousine that the female was gesturing to. She strolled over with her head held high, then entered with one last victorious smirk.
The only person to see it was Adrien, who narrowed his eyes.
~*~*~
"Excuse me?"
Adrien jumped. He turned to the source of the two voices that had called in unison, only to see a pair of familiar siblings.
"Ella? Etta? What are you guys doing out here by yourselves?"
Ella sniffled, rubbing her nose. "Alya's friend isn't here and she said she would be. We don't really know this park good. Can you help us please?"
"Please?"
The model rose an eyebrow. "But Marinette doesn't even live around here," he pondered aloud. "And she's responsible enough to not leave kids on their own. Are you sure she's not around?"
"No, Marinette isn't babysitting us. Lila is."
He grit his teeth. His fists clenched. "She's on her way to my father's mansion right now. It'll take at least fifteen minutes to walk back to Alya's," he revealed, tone laced with underlying anger. "I can't let you go by yourself, you're too young."
Etta's lip wobbled. "B-But how are we going to get home?"
After a moment, he pulled out the phone from his pocket. "Don't you girls worry yourselves. I have the perfect person to call."
~*~*~
"Hey, Alya? Are, are you okay?"
The reporter hummed with a serene smile, though Marinette couldn't help but furrow her brows at it. It was suspicious in her eyes, to say the least. The corners of her friend's mouth were slightly up, in a way that suggested that she was both happy and angered at the same time.
"If you say so, I guess..."
Alya turned her head to the baker. "Sorry, girl. It's just that, well...something happened yesterday that's had me worried for a while."
"Oh, gosh! Was it something bad?" Marinette quizzed, concern overtaking her. "Did someone get hurt?"
She chuckled dryly. "I guess you could say that they almost did."
Before the bluenette could say another word, the door to the classroom opened up, revealing a figure adorning an orange jacket. Their demeanour radiated pride and confidence, as they strut to the desks that the two best friends were at.
"Hey, bestie!" the newcomer greeted, ignoring Marinette who was sat with a subtly disgusted expression. "It's great to see you! I wanted to just tell you that I have a new exclusive for your blog if you want to record it after school today. It's about my job as a model for Gabriel Agreste, which I'm sure your fans will love."
"That's great to hear, Lila," Alya praised. "It's a shame that I have to go straight home after school. I am grounded, after all. I guess that means that I can't interview you or anything."
A flash of resentment shone in her green eyes. With a blinding smile, she spoke, "Oh, I'm sure your parents can un-ground you if you just tell them the situation. What you done couldn't have been that bad."
No one noticed how Adrien smirked from his seat.
Since everyone was focused on how Alya's smile disappeared in an instant, and was instead replaced by a look that screamed danger.
However, it seemed that Lila didn't catch on. At least not until the teen spoke up again.
"What I did was very bad, I assure you," she drawled, standing up from her table. "I trusted you, out of all people, to look after my sisters."
The Italian reared back. False tears pricked at her eyes. "W-What? What are you talking about? I thought Marinette was the one who did that, doesn't she?"
"Hey! I'll have you know that Uncle Jagged commissioned-"
Alya slammed her hands on the desk in front, making most in the room flinch. "Lila, I specifically told you to stay at home with Ella and Etta until me and Nino came back - not bring them to a park to play."
"I don't know what you're talkin-"
"You were supposed to babysit them! Not abandon them in a place where they could have been in danger or kidnapped if Adrien wasn't there to tell me where they were!"
"A-Adrien did? But-?"
Lila faced the blond, only to see him grinning in amusement.
"He, he must have made a mistake! I didn't leave them on the carousel at all! I just-"
"First of all, I didn't even mention a carousel," Alya started, finger held up for her to pause. "And second, I'm done with this conversation. I'm afraid that we can't really be friends if you lie so easily to me to get out of the consequences of endangering children."
Marinette gazed with a look that could best be described as awe at Alya. She watched with a sense of delight as Lila flickered her eyes back and forth, before deciding to humph with a flick of the hair and make her way up the stairs beside them.
"...So that was why you were in such a mood earlier."
~*~*~
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wordsablaze · 4 years ago
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5 Times Witchers Were Too Asexual For This

and the one time Jaskier firmly got it through their lovable and yet ridiculously thick skulls that a little confusion here and there doesn’t change how much he adores them.
A/N: self-indulgently inspired by the sheer amount of times i've mentally gone "aha nope, i am too ace for this" - happy ace week <3
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1 - Geralt
Geralt can never comprehend how Jaskier gets into so much trouble.
He’d always thought the worst kind of threats came from mages and their ridiculous games of illusion and power but travelling with Jaskier makes him reconsider because it’s genuinely concerning how many people have death wishes on his behalf.
“Who is it this time?” Geralt asks, folding his arms and promptly cursing at himself for doing so as it proves he can be just as dramatic as the bard he’s trying not to concede to.
Jaskier grins, clearly picking up on the same thing. “It doesn’t matter, my dear witcher, because you already know you’re coming with me!”
“I do not!” Geralt argues, unfolding his arms and glaring.
“Oh come on,” Jaskier scoffs, winking at him, “we both know you’re already trying to figure out how to get out of wearing the clothes I’ve already had made for you.”
Geralt sighs. “Jaskier
”
But said bard has already left the room to return downstairs and as the sound of his lute travels through the inn, Geralt groans to himself.
He’s still groaning to himself when he’s dressed in three different shades of blue but he and Jaskier arrive at the feast the next day. He hadn’t bothered to ask what the occasion was so he just settles in the corner and watches as Jaskier weaves his way between everyone, biting down the part of his heart that yearns to be right by Jaskier’s side.
Hours pass before he’s forced to move, spotting a rather tall stranger crowding Jaskier against a wall and feeling the subtle scent of fear radiating from them.
“-idn’t mean to, I swear! I’m certain you can also appreciate the beauty of-”
“My wife?” the man interrupts, practically spitting anger.
Jaskier laughs nervously as Geralt makes his way over, clearly stalling for time. “You must believe I had absolutely no inkling that she was betrothed and while I’m aware my apologies will not undo our actions, I implore you to perhaps-”
“Jaskier. There you are.” Geralt says, glancing between him and the angry husband.
“And who are you?”
At that, Jaskier bristles. “Were you not listening to my performance? I just sang about-”
“A Witcher. What, did he also sleep with your
 uh
?” the man falters, clearly deciding that he’d rather not offend someone who carries around swords.
Geralt and Jaskier share an amused look before Geralt shakes his head. “My bard was cursed with
 irresistible urges
 by a mage. You can’t blame him for it.”
He’s almost certain Jaskier will grumble about this particular excuse for days - to which he’ll remind him that at least it’s not the one where he was kicked by an ox - but the angry husband seems to buy it, throwing him a pitying look.
“I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.
Jaskier clears his throat. “Yes, well, it’s not something that one should sing about publicly, is it? You know how troublesome rumours can be
”
The man nods understandingly before leaving, at which point Jaskier punches his arm. “Geralt, you prat!”
He shrugs, a tiny smirk on his face. “I wasn’t entirely wrong.”
Jaskier seems to consider this before humming, leaning forward to plant a kiss on Geralt’s cheek. “Thank you.”
He doesn’t get a chance to reply before Jaskier has slipped away to continue performing but really, it goes without saying that although Geralt doesn’t understand Jaskier’s actions half the time, there’ll never be a day where he doesn’t want to protect him from the consequences.
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2 - Eskel
Eskel can never predict when the scent of watermelon will fill the air.
It’s a strange scent that he thinks should probably please him but for some reason only serves to surprise him every time it radiates from Jaskier at seemingly random moments.  To his credit, Jaskier tries his best not to make it too obvious or slip away before it becomes too overwhelming but sometimes it catches both of them by surprise and there’s no avoiding it.
He and Jaskier have been travelling north for a few months when they reach a town that Jaskier seems to recognise, immediately elbowing him. “Eskel! Eskel, darling, this is the town I was telling you about with that absolutely magnificent tailor!”
Eskel hears the question without Jaskier having to ask and smiles. “Yes, we can make a quick detour.”
Jaskier grins, squeezing his hand in thanks as the two of them continue walking. As expected, Jaskier launches into a comprehensive description of every doublet he’s had made by this one specific tailor as they make their way there, Eskel only really half paying attention.
“Jaskier!” someone calls out excitedly.
“Mikhail!” Jaskier calls right back, waiting until Eskel nods in amusement before letting go of his hand and embracing the man who must be the tailor.
Leaning against a wall, Eskel watches as the two of them start discussing the latest fabric patterns and shapes of buttons - he’s not even remotely interested but if Jaskier can learn how to take care of goats for his sake then he can stick around during a discussion about fashion.
And anyway, it’s a rather nice workshop, quiet and calm in comparison to the rest of the town. He doesn’t mind waiting, focusing on the sound of Jaskier’s excited voice as he lets his eyes close, one hand on the hilt of his sword just in case.
It’s only when he hears Jaskier gasp and the cool scent of watermelon fills the room that he opens his eyes again, raising an eyebrow automatically. Jaskier glances over to him immediately, clearly about to explain, but Mikhail whispers something to him and he reddens, biting his lip.
“Really? Buttons?” Eskel asks, equally as confused as he is amused.
Jaskier just shrugs. “I’ll, uh, catch up with you later?”
Part of Eskel wants to know what in Melitele’s name Jaskier finds so appealing about buttons but also, he really doesn’t. He’s learned from experience that sometimes - almost always, actually - not knowing certain things about Jaskier is better for both of them.
“Don’t get in trouble, bardling,” Eskel warns as a way of politely taking his leave.
“Love you too!” Jaskier calls after him, and not that he’ll admit it if asked but Eskel doesn’t stop smiling even after the scent of lust fades away entirely.
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3 - Lambert
Lambert can never figure out why Jaskier flirts with almost everyone.
Not that he has anything against Jaksier’s flirting and the way it seems to plant warmth inside his chest but really, it seems pointless to flirt with so many strangers. And yet Jaskier does it the same way he breathes, which is to say he does so without really thinking about it. And every time, Lambert watches as he trades carefully constructed compliments in exchange for food or wine or coin or literally anything else.
“Lambert? What are you frowning about?” Jaskier asks, flopping into the space across from him.
When Jaskier raises an eyebrow, he only frowns harder. “I’m not frowning,” he lies.
Jaskier snorts. “And I’m a witcher.”
“You wouldn’t know what to do with a sword if your life depended in it,” Lambert retorts.
“Depends what kind of sword,” Jaskier replies, stealing a potato from his plate.
He tries to think back to a single time where Jaskier has successfully beaten anyone in a swordfight but when his memory draws a blank, he frowns again. “You’re bloody useless in fights unless we give you daggers.”
He doesn’t realise that Jaskier is trying really hard not to laugh until he does exactly that, almost choking on the potato before shaking his head. “Sorry, sorry, just- gods, you witchers are so adorable.”
“Adorable?” Lambert echoes incredulously, seemingly destined to frown for the entire evening. “Like f-”
“Jaskier!”
“Fabiann! It’s been too long!”
Lambert grumbles under his breath but tunes out their mindless flirting out until Jaskier abruptly stands and coughs pointedly. “Lambert, I’m afraid I might need to leave for a little while.”
What?
Oh.
It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out that for some reason, simply talking to someone is apparently far too appealing for Jaskier to handle.
“We leave at dawn,” Lambert reminds him.
Jaskier blows him a kiss before grinning and leaving with Fabiann. Sighing, Lambert turns back to his plate only to find that he doesn’t have any potatoes left. For some reason, that annoys him far more than the bard’s departure.
He ends up turning in early but the other patrons are too loud and he hates every second of each minute that passes. That is, until the door to his room opens and lets in not only the one person who won’t be punched for entering without knocking but also the soft scent of lavender.
“Are you still awake?” Jaskier whispers.
After a moment, he hears Jaskier sigh before the bed gently dips behind him and one of Jaskier’s arms settles on his waist.
“I’m sorry for leaving,” Jaskier murmurs into his skin, shifting even closer.
Only because Lambert can’t stand the subtle guilt in the air - they’ve talked about this but the bard stubbornly refuses to continue feeling bad - does he place his hand over Jaskier’s and feign a yawn. “Shut up, Jaskier.”
“Adorable,” Jaskier replies, kissing the back of his neck before pulling the blanket further onto them both and proving that okay, maybe he can accept that adjective under very specific circumstances.
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4 - Vesemir  
Vesemir can never understand why Jaskier loves Kaer Morhen so much.
He loves the place more than anything himself, of course he does, but there’s always a lingering bitterness in each room, a lingering reminder that the walls had once been witness to pain and sorrow and heartbreak.
Jaskier doesn’t see any of it.
Instead, he fills any room he walks into with music and smiles and displays of affection that Vesemir hasn’t seen witchers indulge in for decades. It takes a few visits but soon enough, he’s on the receiving end of those displays as well and it's just as beautiful as it is surprising.
He finds himself loving the keep more when everyone smells of happiness and training sessions are filled with laughter instead of grumpy insults but those are aspects of life that he’s almost certain only a witcher can appreciate and as far as he knows, which is pretty far thank you very much, Jaskier is not a witcher.
“Who stole my salts?” said bard yells, jolting him out of his musings, “I know you can all hear me! Give me back my salts, you handsome thieves!”
Vesemir chuckles to himself as he hears the telltale sound of Jaskier running through the halls, no doubt going to fail in locating his bath salts because he’s almost sure he smelt them in the springs yesterday. He goes back to reading, ignoring the general noise of Jaskier hunting the others down in the name of bathing justice until the bard bursts into the library, flushed and breathless.
He looks almost guilty as he spots Vesemir. “Apologies, Vesemir, I didn’t mean to intrude. I was merely- well, you most likely heard everything, right?”
When he nods, Jaskier glances around again, a small grin blooming on his face. “Does that window overlook any training grounds perchance?”
Vesemir sighs. “No, you cannot attempt to throw something at them from the window.”
Jaskier has the audacity to pout but judges his tone well enough, making his way over to the window anyway. It’s only when the unmistakable scent of arousal appears that Vesemir somewhat regrets his decision; he looks over to Jaskier, who seems torn between wanting to flee out of embarrassment and wanting to continue staring out of the window for the rest of the day.
“I- I don’t really have an explanation for this but uh, witchers?” Jaskier manages, gesturing outside to where Vesemir knows the other three are probably mid-brawl.
“All I wanted was to read in peace, Jaskier.” Vesemir pinches the bridge of his nose, closing the book.
Nodding quickly, Jaskier places a hand over his chest. “I swear I won’t even think of entering the library for
 for a whole week! Yeah, I can do that, I’ll make sure to stay as far as possible for as long as you like but just um, could you maybe not hold this against me, please?”
Vesemir wants to explain that he couldn’t possibly hold Jaskier loving his boys against him but he’s pretty sure Jaskier knows that and is just nervously rambling so he walks over and gently claps the bard on the back of his head. “As long as you’re not stupid enough to jump into a fight just because you’re attracted to it.”
“No promises,” Jaskier replies, winking.
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5 - Kaer Morhen
Kaer Morhen can never shut its doors to Jaskier.
And really, none of the resident witchers would want to do anything of the sort since they love bringing their bard home for the winter and they love having a non-witcher around because he brings comfort with him. Unfortunately, he also sometimes brings about immense exasperation.
Nobody’s complaining, of course, because they’d rather die than disrespect one of the few people so openly welcome at the keep, but that doesn’t stop them from sometimes needing to walk out of the room to avoid punching something or someone.
Naturally, a bunch of wolf witchers walking out of the room wherever Jaskier confuses them is utterly hilarious to anyone else who visit.
Especially Aiden.
He and Jaskier get on remarkably well, much to Lambert’s relief, and it only ever takes a few days for the rest of them to get used to the scent of Cat once again. They never get used to the way the two of them interact though, trading words at rather worryingly high speeds. It’s usually not a bother until Aiden starts showing off his swordsmanship.
“Wait, you’ve never done that last one before!” Jaskier exclaims, closing his journal as he leans forward, his eyes wide.
Aiden grins. “Glad you noticed, I learnt it last season.”
Lambert throws an apple at him, scoffing. Aiden simply catches it, taking a bite before throwing it to Jaskier, who may or may not loudly yelp as he receives it.
“Show off,” Lambert grumbles, folding his arms.
Taking a moment to bow, Aiden turns back to Jaskier. “Want to see the rest of my sword tricks?”
Jaskier chokes on the bite he’d taken of the apple but nods even as he coughs, ignoring the concerned looks he gets from the wolves. He gets about halfway into the apple before Aiden’s movements are just a little too smooth and intricate for his heart to handle. Well, not just his heart.
“For gods’ sake, Jaskier,” Geralt mutters, swiftly standing up and making his way out of the room.
“I’m not to blame here!” Jaskier calls, trying his best not to think about everything he’s practically being baited into thinking about.
Eskel is the next to sigh. “You think too loudly sometimes.”
Aiden watches in utter bewilderment as both he and Lambert make their exit too, the two of them grumbling about wanting to eat in peace. He turns to Jaskier with one eyebrow raised.
“They’re not fond of when I smell like sex to them,” Jaskier explains sheepishly, “and I’m pretty sure it’s a wolf thing.”
There’s a slight pause before Aiden nods slowly. “That explains a lot actually. Why didn’t I pick up on that while travelling with Lam?”
Jaskier’s not sure if that’s meant to be a rhetorical question or not so he takes a chance. “I’d be surprised if you did, they feel bad about it so they act as if they’re allergic to discussing it.”
Then something seems to occur to Aiden and his eyes widen comically. “Wait, all the wolves?”
Catching on immediately, Jaskier goes red. “I’ll have you know, Vesemir was somehow the easiest to communicate with about all this.”
“You’re crazy,” Aiden laughs, bounding over and taking the apple back despite Jaskier’s half-hearted protests even as he decides to respect the bard just a little bit more.
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+1
Jaskier can never guess when he’s going to have a crisis.
He wishes he had some witcher-like ability to detect trouble before it arrives but alas, he doesn’t. He doesn’t have the power to stop himself panicking and he doesn't have the power to prepare for every possibility and he doesn’t even have his witchers and by the gods does he yearn for their presence.
But he’s not selfish, he isn’t going to ask them to accompany him to bardic competitions because a city full of bards being bards is most definitely too overwhelming for them. He’s sure they’re more than happy killing drowners and bruxae and wraiths and who knows what else wherever they are but he’s certainly not happy.
Although that’s a lie, of course he is.
He loves being around his fellow bards - some more than others, of course - and he loves that they can effortlessly switch between discussing chords, sharing the latest court scandals, and making fun of one another’s love lives. What he doesn’t love, however, is being alone at the end of every day.
“I hate this room,” he mutters to himself as he flops onto the bed.
“No you don’t,” Geralt says quietly.
Jaskier is loath to admit that he jumps so badly he literally falls off the bed.
“There’s that grace and dignity we all love,” Eskel teases.
“What the he--eyy!” Jaskier manages as Lambert all but tackles him, sending them both back to the floor he’d just picked himself up from. Neither of them move to get up though.
“There is a perfectly adequate bed right beside us, if you would kindly give me a moment to recover from your pleasant but wholly unexpected arrival!”
He hears Geralt and Eskel laugh and the next thing he knows, he’s sandwiched between three witchers on the bed that’s mercifully large enough to accommodate all four of them. He’s almost entirely certain Priscilla had something to do with that upgrade and makes a mental note to thank her later.
“You smell sad,” Geralt says eventually, frowning.
Jaskier sighs. “I’m not sad, my dear, I’m just worried that three of you won’t enjoy your stay here, what with all the
 bardic watermelon.”
Eskel’s arm around his waist tightens. “We don’t mind if you don’t mind.”
Jaskier’s face scrunches up as he tries to make sense of that and Lambert, who’s curled up in front of him, snorts. “You’re gonna give yourself wrinkles.”
“Take that back, I am not!” Jaskier argues, pouting. Before he can be totally distracted, he manages to turn his entire body around so he’s now facing Eskel and Geralt. “Are you going to explain what I’m meant to be minding?”
Surprisingly, Geralt finds his words first. “Just that
 that we can’t always help you. We can’t be what you need or what you want and-”
“I am going to stop you right there before I end up punching you,” Jaskier interrupts, his voice a strange mix of cold and loving.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Lambert supplies reassuringly, now from behind him.
Jaskier groans, butting his head against Eskel’s in frustration. Not even particularly hard but Eskel looks so confused that Jaskier ends up wiggling out of their cuddle pile and glaring at three of them when they sheepishly sit up.
“Did the lot of you trade all your marbles to get here?” he asks, folding his arms.
Lambert opens his mouth to reply but Eskel clamps a hand over it, correctly assuming that they’re not meant to answer that.
“I won’t lie and tell you I’ll only say this once because I will gladly repeat it whenever any of you act like you’ve forgotten but, my loves, I do not care. I do not care if you don’t enjoy all the same things I do and I do not care if your desires are different to mine. The only thing - and you must believe me for I would never ever lie about this - that I truly care about is you. All three of you.”
“But we don’t always know how to take care of you,” Geralt whispers, his voice filled with enough emotion to rival half of Jaskier’s ballads.
“Don’t you?” Jaskier asks, tilting his head to the left. “Tell me this, Geralt: why are you here?”
“You don’t like being alone after important performances,” Geralt replies without missing a beat.
Jaskier grins at him before turning to Eskel. “And you?”
“You deserve to have our support,” Eskel says softly, as if it were a common truth.
Lambert shrugs when Jaskier turns to him. “Why would I let you get drunk alone?”
Waiting until they’re done being amused, Jaskier glances between the three of them. “Don’t you see? You already know exactly how and when to take care of me. I can manage what little you can’t and I am more than happy with that because I am more than happy with you. Each of you. Just as you are. Do you understand?”
“If we say yes, will you stop being so bloody dramatic?” Lambert asks, definitely not swallowing an obvious lump in his throat, definitely not.
“We understand,” Eskel adds before Jaskier can reply, a soft smile on his face.
The four of them settle into their cuddle pile once again, Geralt reaching over Eskel and placing his hand on Jaskier’s waist as he whispers, “Thank you.”
Jaskier wants to laugh because he honestly can't see how his gorgeous, kind-hearted witchers continue to think they're not the most perfect bunch of people on the continent despite the flaws they actually have and the ones they only think they have, and he has no idea why they can't see that if they're lucky to have one of him loving them, he's thrice as lucky to have three of them loving him.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Jaskier whispers back.
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credit to that one post i can’t find atm about what lust smells like to witchers as well as @cloudspeck for giving me names for minor characters !! also, sorry for the canon divergence / ooc vibes but i just wanted some fluffy ace validation, yaknow? 
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thanks for reading! masterlist | witcher blog: @itsjaskier
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acourtofsnakes · 4 years ago
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Aliit ori'shya tal'din - Rogue, Chapter 11| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f)
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Summary: Following on from the argument and the hot and heavy moment on Nevarro, you and Mando return to the ship, where you manage to have a conversation without ripping each others throats out. 
Warnings: 18+ because there are mentions of sex but nothing overly explicit or directly happening, weapons, swearing, Fllllluuuuffffyy times~
AN: Short and sweet for this chapter as the next one will be longer and have a lot more detail – things are really gonna start kicking off from here. Drama, powers, feels, it’ll aaallll be going on. 
Also, the next chapter might be uploaded a little later, as I’m waiting on a replacement charger for my laptop and Apple are taking forever.
Word count: 4k+
Rogue Taglist:
@snipskixandbeskar @weirdowithnobeardo @the-bottom-of-the-abyss @jackgrzs @sarahjkl82-blog @boomtownboy @goldielocks2004 @seninjakitey @what-iwish-you-knew
Rogue Masterlist | Introduction| 1: Solus| 2: Arir | 3: Tor | 4: Gaa'tayl | 5: Kyr’am | 6: Cabur | 7: Ret'urcye Mhi | 8: Haran| 9: E’tad | 10: Tome | 11: Aliit ori'shya tal'din| 
As always, credit to whoever owns the gif. I usually find them on Google or Pinterest, so message me if it’s yours ((my gif this time around))♄
Mando’a Translation: Aliit ori'shya tal'din – family is more than blood
He knew he had her from the moment she saw the sword. 
Curiosity had bloomed in her eyes, fighting with the wariness and in the end – winning. 
If he was honest, he hadn’t planned on telling her he knew about her powers yet. 
But she had been as hesitant and defensive as he expected, and the moment seemed to fit. 
Why else did he put the sword across the table?
They said she had no recollection of the powers – or rather blocked them out entirely. And again, they had been wrong. 
The symbols had called to her and she had recognised that pull, she just didn’t know why. 
And he was more than happy to aid her on her journey. 
The Mandalorian showing up did somewhat complicate things. He was a key player that would ultimately determine the path she chose. And if she was as headstrong and stubborn as he believed her to be, there was only so much he could do to edge her along and keep the Mandalorian from messing up his plans. 
But, she had instantly fired up, even going as far as to defend him to the shiny bodyguard. 
That’s why he sought the Marshal out afterwards, to ask Cara to pass along his comms code. 
If she didn’t use it straight away, that was more than fine. He would wait. And so would Gideon. 
All she needed was a little time, to process what he had told her. 
And then, when it had cleared through her mind, maybe when she realised she would never be able to tell the Mandalorian the truth
 then she would come back to him, seeking out the help he had promised. 
And then he would have her

Forever.
~~~~~
“So, how long?”
The Mandalorian looked at Cara as she sat back down at her desk, “How long what?” The frown of confusion he wore was evident in his voice. 
Cara raised an eyebrow at him, as she leant back in her chair, “How long are you two going to keep dancing around each other?” 
Mando scoffed, turning away and wandering across the room, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We are not dancing around each other.”
Cara laughed from behind him, “No? So that whole
 whatever that was out there, that was nothing? If I hadn’t shown up, you’d probably still be going at it against a torn down building.”
Heat prickled along his skin, reminding him of the tightness of his trousers that hadn’t long since loosened. If he closed his eyes, he was back against that building with you, his hand over your mouth, to stop the utter filth you were spitting out at him. He’d wanted to deny it, but as always, you were right. 
Of course, he was terrified for your life but
 He had been jealous. Completely jealous. 
And
 maybe a small part of him did believe that Haran and you had
 done those things. 
The images your words created in his mind were so vivid, so crystal clear that he was nearly on his knees before you. 
Only stubborn pride had kept him upright – pride and the urge to get you back, to see if you felt even an ounce of the same need that plagued him, that patrolled his sleeping and his waking hours. 
Part of him was terrified you were all talk, all vicious teasing but then he’d pressed into you and you’d made that soft, earth-shatteringly beautiful moan, and he thought he might explode. 
He saw it in the way your eyes clouded over and rolled back into your head. 
Maybe you did want him just as much, maybe that tension between you was as electric and hypnotic as he thought. 
If only you hadn’t been interrupted
 What would have happened? 
Would you have done anything?
Would he have taken off his gloves and felt your skin again but this time, facing you so he could see just what his touch did. 
Maybe you would have shredded each other’s clothes off, and he would have lifted you up, wrapped your legs around his waist and sunk into you, like you had spoken about. 
Would the heat of you have felt like home? Just like he imagined in his darkest, guiltiest dreams? 
You would have ravaged each other against that wall, until you were clawing at his back and he was gripping you tightly as the galaxy crumbled around you, until you were the only two left. The beginning and the end of everything, joined together in both body and soul- 
Ping!
Something bouncing off his helmet brought him out of his lusting thoughts, along with Cara’s amused voice.  “Anyone in there? Do you want me to leave so you can continue with your little daydreams?” 
Mando cleared his throat, turning back to Cara and he shook his head, even if his voice did come out a little husky, “There’s nothing between us, really. We drive each other insane half the time. She never listens to me. And she’s reckless.” 
Cara crossed her arms, kicking her feet up onto her desk, “So are you.”
The Mandalorian rested a hand on his waist, “She runs headlong into danger before. Can even take one step and doesn’t think about the consequences, or the risk to her own life.” 
Cara raised both eyebrows this time, looking pointedly at Grogu and then back at him, “Do carry on.” 
He made a noise, “Look, I still don’t even know why she has such a high bounty on her head. I’ve never asked her, and she hasn’t ever brought it up.”
Cara examined her gloves, “Does it matter? Surely, if it did, you would have found out by now. You wouldn’t have let that one go so easily.” 
She had him there. 
“I
 No. It doesn’t matter. Of course it doesn’t. If she doesn’t want to tell me then that’s understandable. And I wouldn’t force it out of her. She’s
 She has a dark past. It troubles her
 There were times when I would her hear her awake and screaming on the ship but
” He trailed off, thinking. 
Cara looked up and tilted her head, “But what?”
The Mandalorian leant against the wall, “Despite all of that, the fear and the nightmares
 it doesn’t consume her. She still blazes through life and see’s the good in everything. Even if its hard, she still tries. We were talking about our favourite planets once
 she was telling me about Hoth being one of hers.”
Cara looked surprised and amused, “Hoth? Really?” She shook her head, something affectionate about the gesture, “Why does that not surprise me.”
Mando couldn’t help the soft laugh, “I know.. but she was describing the snow and the ice in a way I’ve never heard before and
 I just thought
 She just looks at the world so differently. She wants to absorb it all, every little thing, Whether it’s this new fruit in a market or flying a certain way past a cluster of stars
” He looked off into the corner, staring absently through the visor. “There’s a word for it in Mando’a
 Shereshoy. It means a lust for life. I thought that about her for a while now
”
“Would you take off your helmet for her?” 
Mando snapped his head back to look at her, his body going rigid with shock, “What?” 
Cara was watching him with an unreadable expression, “Would you take off your helmet?” Her voice was soft as she repeated the question, as if she knew what his response would be.
He blinked at her, even though she couldn’t see it, “What kind of question is that? You know I can’t take this off, not for anyone. Mandalorian’s only take their helmets off after saying their vows to each other. You don’t just.. I can’t-“ He was flushed, his heart pounding uncomfortably even at the mere mention of removing his helmet.
Cara shook her head slightly, “I don’t mean like that
 But
” She seemed to be phrasing her words carefully, “If.. there were things you wanted to do.. there are ways round the Creed
 no?” 
He said nothing. 
Again, she had hit it right on the head without even trying. The words she was saying were ridiculous but
 
He had already thought about it. 
In those quiet moments, where he granted himself a reprieve and let the thoughts wash over him, he had stared into the darkness and worked all the ways in which he could remove his helmet without breaking the Creed. 
You couldn’t see his true face
 which was more than easy enough to work around. 
A blindfold, the lights off in the ship so it was pitch black, your back to his chest

All he would need to do is trust you. Trust that you wouldn’t turn around or reach for the lights. 
Did he trust you? 
The answer to that question had plagued him as much as the dreams. 
Of course he trusted you. He left his life in your hands back in that alleyway. 
But that was before. Before this
 tension between you. 
And now he was certain he could trust you, to an extent but
 to give over a part of himself, even if it wasn’t fully him

That opened him up to a lot of things. 
A lot of danger and a level of vulnerability he had never shared with anyone. 
Cara sat up slowly, perhaps somehow reading everything going on in his head, “Maybe you should think about how you feel about her. What she means to you
. And what your answer to that question might be.” She rose from her chair, looking at him with that same unreadable expression, “Don’t let it slip past, Mando
 Don’t let her slip past.” 
~~~
You spent the next couple days in Nevarro, before bidding farewell to Greef and Cara. 
You promised to come back soon and that you’d all take care of yourselves. 
As you had walked up the ramp, you’d noticed Cara give Mando a certain look and mutter something to him, something you couldn’t hear or place. 
Upon seeing you eyeing her suspicious, she simply gave you an innocent smile and waved. 
You had a pretty good idea what it was about, and you didn’t – couldn’t – unpack that right now. So, you mentally tucked it away in that same box that the moment with Mando resided in and hurried up the ramp. 
That was a couple hours ago, and you spent that time mooching about the ship, avoiding the cockpit. You weren’t sure that a confined space was necessarily the best place to be after earlier. 
Especially since Mando had sought you out before you took off, informing you that you could have his sleeping quarters back if you’d like them. You had tried to refuse, but he’d simply taken your bag, placed it on the cot, and left. 
So that was another room to avoid, full of the scent of him – and the knowledge that he had laid in here and
 thought about you at night?
Unfortunately, you could avoid it no longer. 
Walking to the ladder, you told yourself to grow up. It was just a bit of sexual tension from an argument. That’s all. It’s nothing different to what hung around you both all the time. 
Besides
 you’d missed him and Grogu. 
There was little noise in the cockpit as you ascended the ladder. There was the usual soft beeping of the instruments, the dim whir of the engines and Grogu’s occasional coo. 
The familiar expanse of stars swept past lazily beyond the glass, a sight that you had been missing for weeks. 
The sight bought a smile to your lips as you walked across and took your usual seat, scooping Grogu into your lap. 
The seat creaked reassuringly under you as you settled, and you realised that these were all little things that had come to mean comfort to you. 
A chuckle escaped your lips when you saw Duru asleep on the panel in front of the Mandalorian, her tail swooping down over the buttons and occasionally getting his way. 
She was definitely the same as you – made her spot and stood her ground, no matter if it got in anyone’s way. She was comfy, and that was that. 
Mando startled just slightly at your chuckle, not turning round but you almost felt his attention rest on you, “Hey, settled back in?”
Stars, you had missed that too. The soft, easy rasp of his voice in the gentle quietness. It danced along your bones, soothing them and any anxiety you had about the mood between the pair of you. “Yeah, I am, thanks
 It’ll be like I was never gone soon.” 
It was the Mandalorian’s turn to chuckle this time, “Oh believe me, I knew about it. Not just from how silent it was, but from the little womp rat’s temper tantrum for the entire afternoon after we dropped you off.” 
You raised your eyebrows, looking down at the happy green bundle on your lap, “Really? He threw a tantrum?” 
Mando nodded, flicking a few switches, “Yep. He kept throwing things at me for hours. I put him in his crib, but he kept crawling out of it. He was really sulking. He missed you.” 
Something rose in your chest, warmth and joy, maybe. You hadn’t quite grasped how much you meant to the little creature, “Well, I missed him too. I kept looking around for him, to see if he was getting into trouble and eating frogs again.” 
Grogu tilted his head backwards to look at you, innocence radiating from his glossy black eyes and he lifted his cheeks into a matching smile that had your heart melting. 
You grinned, tilting your head down and you pressed a kiss to his wrinkly forehead, between his eyes, “I’m here now, you tiny troublemaker.” 
He gurgled softly, holding your thumb in his three miniature fingers. 
The Mandalorian had turned to watch you, and he was silent for a few moments before saying even softer, “I missed you as well...” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, “A lot, actually.” 
You lifted your eyes to him, unaware that betrayed just how much those words meant to you, the way they made your heart melt and a wave of delight sweep through your belly. 
You felt a different kind of smile curl your lips, gentler and almost shy, “I missed you too
 It was too quiet at night. No screaming or tantrums, no running up and down the ship after escaping their bed and having to be sung back to sleep...” You blinked, “Oh, and I missed Grogu too.” You laughed, leaning back in your chair and hugging Grogu closer. 
Mando shook his head, even if his breathing did turn a little funny at the way your eyes crinkled a little at the edges when you laughed, and joy burst in your eyes in such a way that was far more breath-taking than the stars that surrounded you. “Like we discussed before, I’m not the one who’s noisy in the middle of the night.” He remained looking at you, his head slightly tilted, and he sighed softly. 
Without realising, you mimicked his head tilt, an action that hadn’t gone unnoticed by Cara back on Nevarro, “What is it?”
He looked away and fiddled with the edge of his vambrace, the nervous gesture you had noticed when you first met. He seemed be toying with the words in his mind and for some reason, it made you a little nervous.  
You swallowed, a smile still on your lips and humour still in your voice though, “Credit for your thoughts?” 
It was still a few more seconds before he spoke again, his voice so quiet you almost didn’t hear it through the helmet. “I shouldn’t have sent you away.”
You blinked. There was no way you heard that correctly. “What?”
He lifted his head to look at you, “I said, I shouldn’t have sent you away.” There was no mistaking it, his voice was stronger this time and full of conviction. 
Well, shit. What do you say to that?
You gazed back at him, words fumbling through your mind but none of them seeming right – or rather, none of them words you should say. So, instead, you opted for sarcasm and humour. 
A look of mock shock stretched your features and you gasped, “By the stars.” You looked down at Grogu with wide eyes, “Did you hear that?” 
Grogu cooed in similar astonishment, his ears pricking up. 
You nodded quickly, “I know! He just admitted he was wrong! I’m as shocked about it as you are.” 
Mando sighed again softly, but it wasn’t his usual playful exasperated sigh, “I’m being serious.”
The laughter died in your throat, and you carefully lifted your gaze back to him. You bit your lip for a moment, just reading the emotion in his posture, “I know
 But
 like you said, it wasn’t safe for me here. You did the right thing.”
He made a pained noise in the back of his throat, shaking his head and he leaned closer to you, “No, please don’t. Please don’t repeat my words back to me. It was a mistake. I
 I was running from my own problems.” His hand twitched, like he was going to reach for yours but then he hesitated.
Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest, this conversation one of those deep ones that the pair of you only seemed to have after a near death experience, or whilst you were at each other’s throats. You let go of Grogu, letting your hand rest on the edge of the armrest, a silent encouragement, a plea. “What do you mean
?”
The Mandalorian took a soft breath, reaching out and he slid his hand under yours, enclosing his fingers around your own. “I thought I could keep you safer, if you weren’t with me. The price on mine and the kids head was as much a siren call for hunters as yours was.” He shook his head, “No, that sounds like I’m blaming you.” He blew out a breath, pausing to reassemble his words, “On your own, you might stand a better chance of hiding. I mean, look how well you did before I came along. It took me a month to find you. You were a ghost.” Something like pride lined his voice. “Throw me and the kid into the mix, and we were broadcasting you to the entire galaxy.” 
You said nothing, holding your tongue for once. This was the most you’d ever heard him speak, topping the other day. This was
 big. He was building up to something. 
He began to gently massage your palm, almost an absent motion like he didn’t realise he was doing it, “That night in the kitchen
” 
The delicious pressure of his hands and the friction of the leather simultaneously soothed you, even as your blood heated at the mere mention of that night.  
“That night in the kitchen, I began to realise. How much
 I had come to value you being here. And not just because you help with the kid but the other things. When we go on hunts, you watch my back. You see things that I miss. It feels.. not fun but
 something more, with you. I don’t often have anyone to watch my back. A partner, someone to rely on. And that terrified me. That I had come to look forward to our evenings, the drag of being in hyperspace. Both of us liked having you here
 I liked to have you here, princess. You’re the first true friend I’ve had in years. The others are my friends of course but
 with you, it’s different.” He didn’t lift his head, focused on your hand but you had the feeling he wanted to. 
“It terrified me because caring about something, about having a friend like that
 it means it’ll get hurt. Or taken away. And I couldn’t beat the idea that I signed your death warrant. Not because of the guilt, but because you have such a joy, such a way of viewing the world that it would be devasting for that to be ripped away. So, I thought sending you to Nevarro, putting you under the protection of Greef and Cara
 I thought it would make you safer. I thought
 that I could handle it.” His hands stilled momentarily, before tracing over your knuckles. “And I couldn’t.” 
He seemed to be finished for the moment, so you jumped in softly, “I couldn’t stand it either. I haven’t slept properly since the last time I was here. Everything is too quiet. The bed was too soft
 I missed looking out of the window and seeing the stars go past, or hearing you talk to Grogu.” You watched him trace down your fingers, “I was scared too. And I still am. Every single friend or companion I’ve had ends up being murdered. And it’s my fault.” There was no anguish in your voice this time. It was fact, after all. “And I still wake up screaming, seeing you and the kid on the floor and your blood on my hands. I taste it. “ You took a slow breath, “But
 I want to stay. I want to stay here with you both, and we can hunt down whoever is after all of us.” 
Mando chuckled a little at something, merely a huff of breath, “You always know exactly what I’m thinking.” He straightened, gently letting go of your hand to rummage behind him for something. “Here
” He held out his hand, something resting in his palm. 
Heart in your mouth, you looked down at his hand. 
And nearly stopped breathing. 
Nestled against the leather, lay a necklace. A small charm, attached to a thin leather cord. But the charm itself
 
It was the sigil of Mythosaur, gleaming softly in dull metal. 
Your breath was still caught in your throat, and your fingers trembled as you carefully reached out lifting the charm, “Lori
” 
He watched you intently, drawing his hand back to his body. “It’s a Mythosaur
 They are said to have run wild over the lands of Mandalore long ago
 I was given one myself when I was a foundling..” 
Grogu made a soft noise from your lap, and he clumsily tugged something from his tunic. It was a matching necklace, and you surmised that this was the one the Mandalorian had received. 
You were at a loss for words. 
Truly. 
When the threads of your lives had entangled back on Sorgan, you never could have pictured this. You never would have pictured yourself now with
 a family? 
The Mandalorian seemed to know what you were thinking, because he slid from his seat, kneeling down in front of you. He gently took the necklace from your hands and drew it down over your head, letting it rest just between your collarbones, “I know we had a rocky start
 I mean, I did knock you out and you did try to kill me.” 
You couldn’t help the laugh, even it was a little choked, trembling a little as you beheld the sight of him kneeling before you. 
His voice sounded like he was smiling, but it too, was full of emotion as he gently pulled your hair free of the cord, “Aliit ori'shya tal'din.” The rich baritone of his voice melted into honey as he spoke.
The sound of the language in his voice was so beautiful, so oddly comforting that you could have listened to it forever. You swallowed the lump in your throat, your own voice hoarse, “What does that mean?”
The Mandalorian reached for something behind him in a pouch, “It means
 family is more than blood.” His hand trembled as he held it out once more in front of him and this time, resting between his fingers was a pin. 
A pin representing the Mudhorn. 
The very same sigil that was embossed onto his pauldron. 
The symbol of his and Grogu’s clan. 
Mando watched you, his voice tender, hand still trembling, “Will you stay with me and the kid?” 
Tears shone in your eyes, blurring your vision slightly as you looked at the new pin in his hand, and everything it symbolised. 
Friendship, hope, a place to call home. No, people to call home. Lori and Grogu.. they were your home. Your new clan. And maybe, in time, you would be able to tell him your secret. Tell him about your powers that called to you stronger and stronger every single day. 
You reached out, carefully scooping up the pin, “Yes
 It would be an honour.” A teary smile swept across your face, at the same time as Grogu’s happy cry.
The Mandalorian made a breathless noise, and if he had no helmet on, you would have seen the smile on his lips that made the edges of his eyes crinkle. You would have seen the tear that rolled down his cheek and the joy in his eyes, mixed with something else he hadn’t quite acknowledged yet. 
“We’ll be a clan of three.” 
Previous| Next
(Here is the necklace, and here is the pin)
131 notes · View notes
little-sweethearts · 3 years ago
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The Locked door
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Tags: No relationship, fluff, agere, little!Ciel, Caregiver/daddy!Sebastian, timeouts, just ciel being the cutest little brat ever
Summary: Ciel thinks he’s gotten away with his baby crimes, but his Caregiver finds out as usual and reminds the baby of their rules when little. 
Authors note: my first actual agere fic! We all know it had to be baby Ciel. I’m just waiting on my ao3 invite then I will be posting it there as well
“Ciel?”
A gasp from behind the bathroom door, followed by shuffling.
“Yes, Da- Sebastian?”
A stutter. Unsurprising since the boy had just slipped not an hour ago, it was unlikely he is already feeling big enough for that name to escape his mouth easily.
“Are you alright in there my love?”
More shuffling, followed by the sound of splashing in a washbasin. It seems likely that his young master is up to no good and was washing his hands of it. 
“Just fine Sebastian...Now go ‘way!”
Another slip of the tongue, surely is master was feeling entirely too small to be all alone at the moment. All sounds in the bathroom had stopped now, it was time to see what the boy was up to. 
“Well then if you’re fine, surely you will have no problem with me coming in. Correct?”
“Um
”
Sebastian turned the knob. It clicked but did not open. The butler raised an eyebrow, and he could practically feel the little boy grow more nervous as he tried the knob again. For a moment, Sebastian considered just unlocking the door and striding right in, but that would be doing the young lord a disservice. As his caregiver, he ought to be teaching him accountability for his actions. 
“Ciel? Come unlock the door.”
It clearly was not a request, and he heard the boy take a few steps closer to the door before stopping. 
“No Da- Sebastian! I- I said go away!”
Clearly trying to sound as big as he most certainly was not, the words were practically forced out. Sebastian almost laughed at his antics. 
“Little boy, If I have to unlock this door myself, the consequences will surely be worse than what you are already going to receive for whatever trouble I know you’ve gotten into.” Sebastian said neutrally. “Unlock. The door.” 
To the untrained ear, his voice didn’t sound any more frightening or sinister than it did any other day, but Ciel knew better. That was not the voice of his butler, but his Daddy. His Daddy set rules and expected them to be followed, who expected his little boy to listen and be polite. Both of which he had certainly not been today. Quickly wiping his hands on his pants once more just to be sure they weren’t damp, he turned the lock and stepped back. 
Sebastian opened the door standing tall, but his height was not the only thing that made Ciel feel so small. His red eyes were narrowed and his thin brow raised. Ciel stood in front of him, wringing his hands nervously. “And what were you doing with the door locked? I do believe that is against one of our rules to keep you safe isn’t it?”
“Those rules are for when I’m feeling small and-”
Sebastian placed a hand on the boy’s jaw gently (of course, he was always gentle with his baby even when he was being a brat), and leaned down to force the boy to look in his eyes. 
“Do not even think about lying to me little boy,” he said calmly. “We both know that is one of the rules I expect you to follow and I don’t believe breaking another today will do you any service.”
He leaned back but kept his hand on Ciel’s chin, tilting his head so they would maintain eye contact. The boy swallowed before whispering; “Sorry Daddy.”
Sebastian was silent, clearly waiting on the answer to his original question.
“I was jus’ washing my hands,” Ciel said softly. 
An eyebrow arched impossibly higher. “Washing your hands of what?”
“Um. There was dust on my toy...I wiped it off though
” The child mumbled.
Sebastian blinked slowly. “Hmm, I see
 That’s rather odd. I know for a fact that all your toys are kept in pristine condition, tended to by both myself and Miss Mey-Rin.” Sebastian’s tone did not sound surprised at all. “Unless of course, you’re lying to me and you have in fact been in here washing stolen chocolate off your fingers?”
Ciel gasped, his eyes going wide in surprise and cheeks blooming with guilt. He had been caught, but how?! He was sure nobody saw him take the chocolate from the kitchen, Bard was napping in the pantry and Sebastian was outside speaking with Mey-Rin and Finny! Even Tanaka was occupied, engrossed in a book in the library.
Sebastian suddenly pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the smallest spot on the corner of Ciel’s mouth. It came back stained with chocolate. 
“Daddy I-” Ciel hastily tried to defend himself but was cut off by Sebastian sweeping the guilty boy off the ground and striding into the master bedroom. 
“I believe I have heard quite enough of your lies today little boy. Now, it is time to face your actions.” Said the butler, placing Ciel on his feet right in front of the dreaded corner. He was still facing away, but he knew it wouldn’t be for long.
“No Daddy I-“
Sebastian cut him off; “Now. You are going to tell me all of the rules you broke today, right now. I’m quite done with your little game.”
Sebastian always managed to look so stern and authoritative as a caregiver, but never intimidating. Ciel never felt scared of Sebastian, even when he felt his smallest or when Sebastian was handing out punishments. His Daddy was not mean or cruel, he would never hurt him. As a caregiver, he would only discipline him and guide him. As he stood small in front of the man, that was his only reassurance, as he was admitting to his crimes. He would try to run or lie again though, because, underneath all his brattiness, he hated the idea that Sebastian might be disappointed with him, he still wanted to be good.
“I...I lied. And I locked the door. And...And I stole chocolate from the kitchen.” He mumbled the whole way through, but Sebastian heard him just fine. 
“And what did you lie about?” Sebastian prodded. Ciel took back all his earlier thoughts, his Daddy is cruel.
“I lied ‘bout why I was washing my hands...an’ I lied that I was feeling big...and...and-” He stuttered and mumbled, the regret and guilt were heavy on his shoulders now.
“Okay, that’s enough. Thank you for now telling me the truth.” Sebastian said, smiling just a touch at the adorable little ‘you’re welcome’ Ciel breathed. His smile dropped and then it was time to dole out the consequences.
“You’ll have 5 minutes in time out for all the lying, and no dessert after dinner tonight. I think you have had quite enough sweets today.”
Ciel barely suppressed a long whine at the idea of losing desert, 2 measly squares of chocolate certainly would not have compared to whatever extravagant dessert his caregiver would have prepared that night. Before he could make his displeasure known beyond the pout of his lip, he was gently turned around and tucked into the corner. 
“5 minutes young man. I’ll be right here to tell you when it’s over. Sebastian said, and Ciel could hear him settle on the footstool beyond Ciel’s bed. A small comfort that they both knew the little needed, having Sebastian leave the room would just kick the boy’s anxiety and guilt into full speed either resulting in him working himself into a nice tantrum, or send him into a sobbing mess of toddler and panic.
Ciel hates time-outs. He hates staring at the stupid wallpaper in the corner and he hates that he’s not allowed to have any toys or talk or anything. He just has to stand there. Sebastian explained that he was there to think about his actions the first time, and every time he spent the first minute trying not to think about exactly that out of spite. By minute 3 his wrongdoings were the only thing on his mind. At that point, he was feeling rather ready to be out of the corner and properly chastised in his opinion. 
“Daddy?” he asked in a watery tone. He wouldn’t shed a tear, but he could certainly use comforting. 
“Two more minutes, Lovely” Sebastian said softly. 
His kind tone only made Ciel feel worse as he quieted down and went back to studying the wall. There wasn’t even a chip out of place, Sebastian kept everything so pristine. Nothing to occupy his mind but what he did wrong. It was a long two minutes before Sebastian stood and turned him back. 
“All done Daddy?” Ciel whimpered.
“All done Darling, you did splendidly,” Sebastian said, stroking the boy’s chubby cheek. With another wordless whimper, the boy collapsed into Sebastian’s arms to silently revel in the comfort. His caregiver lifted him with ease and carried them to the rocking chair, whispering to the little boy about “What a good boy you are, taking your time out so well. My perfect little master
”
After 5 more minutes of comforting the silently sad boy, he lifted his little blue head. “I’m sorry I was bad Daddy.” He whispered. 
“Oh, little love.” Sebastian pushed his hair back to see the matching lilac-colored eye next to the beautiful sapphire one. “You were not bad, just a little naughty. All is forgiven now.”
The boy nodded before cuddling back into his Daddy’s warm arms. 
“But still no Dessert?”
Sebastian chuckled. “Still no Dessert baby boy.”
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dreamescapeswriting · 4 years ago
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BTS Reaction | Interactions With Paparazzi [Request]
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Seokjin:
Jin was rubbing your hand trying to reassure you that this was going to be fine and everyone was going to love you. BigHit had announced that they had an announcement to make regarding one of their employees and it was Jin. Well, Jin and you. Your relationship was finally going to be made known to the public after four years of dating, you were having mixed feelings about it. You couldn't decide if it was a good idea to do this or not, you thought people were going to hate you for hiding it for so long or maybe they would just hate you anyway.
"It's just a small interview, then it's all over and we can leave." He reassured you kissing your cheek and then looking over at his manager who was still talking to the interviewer about what they could and couldn't ask you,
"What if they hate us together?" Jin looked at you and could see you were seriously worried about it. You were overthinking every small detail you could think of and he didn't want you to have to carry that on your shoulders.
"They won't but even if they do, I love you and nothing that anyone can say will change that." You smiled feeling a little better now that he was reassuring you it was okay and the interviewer walked over sitting on the table in front of you while his camera crew got ready.
"So you and Y/n have been together for how long?" The interviewer questioned, all of the questions were going to be directed at Jin since he was the famous one in your relationship which gave you a sense of relieve.
"Four years, five in December." He answered the interviewer turned to look at you with a giant smile on his face.
"How were you feeling after your first date with him? What was it like?" You smiled at the memory you had of your first date and you looked at Jin to make sure it was okay to talk about and he nodded,
"Our first date was a mess," You laughed as you remembered it more and more, Jin had made you promise that it wasn't your first ''official'' date since it was such a disaster but you still counted it as such.
"We went out for a walk around the Han River and he was so nervous that he actually ended up falling over one of the metal railings and into the river." Jin groaned hiding his face in his hands while you continued to tell the story,
"I went to help him out and he ended up pulling me in with him and we were freezing since it was the middle of Winter." The interviewer was laughing along with you while Jin cringed in the corner.
"I don't even think the boys know about this, he made me promise that it wasn't our official first date." You all finished laughing and Jin was still cringing at the memories he'd thought he'd erased from his memory and the interviewer moved on to more questions.
"So what was your official date then?" You looked at Jin who went on to explain that after the disaster of the first one he took you out to a restaurant, nowhere near water, then he took you out to see a show together and go to do a little sightseeing.
"We ended up getting stuck out in Busan though because the car I was renting broke down so we spent the night walking along the roads trying to find somewhere to stay and we found a cute b&b." You smiled at the fond memories that you had with Jin and the interviewer continued to question you both while you were only half paying attention to everything happening.
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Yoongi:
"Yoongi I don't know if this is such a good idea, anyone could be watching the house." You said as Yoongi packed up his bag ready to head to the studio. He'd stayed over the night before, something you both promised never to do because it could lead to things like this happening and you would be in the position you're in now.
"I'm sure no one saw me coming," He chuckled walking over to you, you were trying to look through the blinds for anyone that was watching the house but Yoongi wrapped his arms around your waist and was resting his head on your shoulder.
"No one's there." The car that was picking him up pulled into the driveway and you sighed not wanting him to leave just yet.
"I'll come back later and we can do this again." He told you once he saw the sad expression on your face,
"Yoongi you can stay over again what if-" You didn't get to finish your sentence because he started kissing you to shut you up. He was sick of hiding from everyone he wanted everyone to know that you were the one he loved and if getting caught was the way to do it then he was going to deal with the consequences.
"We've been together for two years, I'm sure if they were going to find me they would have by now." You agreed with him on the part but it still didn't stop you from worrying, you didn't want to be the reason that he got in trouble at work and you didn't want to upset Army in any way either.
"Here." You handed him a spare key to the apartment and he stared down at the small key with a frown on his face,
"Front door key, for when you're working late and I won't be awake when you come around." He smiled at the gesture and handed you a key,
"To the dorms." You handed the key back to him but he insisted you keep it, placing it in the palm of your hand and nodding that he wanted you to have it. He wanted you to feel like you were always welcome at the dorms because you were, everyone loved you and you loved them.
"I'll see you tonight, I love you." He kissed your temple and opened the front door, as soon as the door opened you were greeted by yelling and flashing cameras. People all over your front garden asking so many different questions you couldn't quite catch what they were trying to say or ask you. You were starting to get nervous because no only were you on the photos but so was your house number and your address, was it going to be that easy for everyone to find you now?
"Y-Yoongi?" He looked back at you and then over at the cameras he put his bags down on the floor going back to your doorstep and reaching for you, kissing you passionately in front of everyone not caring about hiding it anymore. The camera shutter noise slowed to a stop and he pulled away looking at them all,
"Any more questions?" They all stayed silent awkwardly looking away from what had just unfolded in front of them and Yoongi walked over to the car that was waiting shouting that he would see you later and he'd have someone come to the apartment and make sure no one was going to be on the property anymore.
"Bye! I love you!" He screamed trying to add to the effect that he was in a serious and committed relationship with you, you, on the other hand, were getting more and more nervous the longer people stared at you.
"I love you too." Once the car was gone you slammed and locked the front door too scared to do anything until Yoongi came back from work, but he was texting you the whole day keeping you updated on when a guard would come to check on you.
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(*CHOKES*) 
Hoseok:
Much like Hoseok, you were known to be the friendliest person that Army knew. They would always come up to you if you were alone in the shopping mall but if you were with friends or family they would keep their distance not wanting to interrupt your time with them.
"Not to alarm you," You frowned looking up to see someone you didn't know standing there, she was wearing a BTS shirt so you knew she was Army, she had a worried expression on her face.
"There's a photographer and he's been trailing you for twenty minutes." You glanced over your shoulder to see a man following you and taking photographs. It was nothing new since they normally followed you and Hoseok together but you had no idea why he was following you alone.
"Why are they following me? He's not here, he's not even in Korea right now." You groaned walking closer to the Army who introduced herself and you began walking around the shop getting to know her and waiting for the man to leave but as more time went on more photographers joined him.
"Maybe there's something they know that I don't." You laughed, another girl walked over to you and asked what was happening when she saw you and another Army together.
"Paparazzi." You told her as she looked over at them,
"Do you deal with them a lot?" You shook your head biting down on your lip,
"They only normally come to us when Hobi is here, I'll message him." As you were typing a message to him the cameras began flashing and you frowned looking up to see them all aiming their cameras at you carefully and making sure to get you on screen.
"Back exit." The girls said in unison pulling you out of the shop and into the streets,
"I know a small cafe down the road, we can sit at the back?" You nodded in agreement and followed along with them in a rush to get away from photographers.
You'd been sitting in the cafe with both of the girls for an hour when Hoseok finally replied to your frantic texts asking him for advice on what to do,
"Hobi said they're trying to see what I'm like without him, what I do when he's not here and I should just go about business as usual." You laughed putting your phone on the table and ordering another coffee and something for the girls to have while they were sitting with you.
"Business as usual? As though you aren't being watched on your every move?" You giggled at them and shook your head glancing over at the window to see a couple of photographers still standing outside and waiting to get a glimpse of you again.
"They'll get over it soon and leave." You laughed getting up and going to the counter to order you all something to eat since you were going to be there for a while.
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Namjoon:
"Namjoon! We could get seen!" You giggled as he pulled you over to the Louvre, he'd brought you along to France for the weekend since he had some time off. He wanted to spend it all with you and so he flew you out to the most romantic place he could think of, you thought you were going to be cramped up inside a hotel the whole time but were surprised when he told you he had the whole weekend planned out. Today you were dressed in baseball caps and hoodies trying to seem like normal tourists and not Kim Namjoon and his partner, he was taking you around to different tourist spots and getting photographs for your family and friends as well as your Instagram.
"It'll be fun." He chuckled holding your hand and buying you both tickets and heading inside of the giant glass building with your hand interlocked with his,
"No hats inside sir." The man at the door said in a thick French accent as he stared at you and Namjoon, you were sure it would be fine since you were indoors anyway and if anyone inside spotted you it was no big deal. You both took your hats off and walked inside you were over the moon by everything around you, it was hard to believe that you were standing in the middle of the Louvre building with the love of your life. You;'d expressed to Namjoon about your affection for the Louvre and just France, in general, it had always been your most loved place in the world, beside Namjoon's arms of course. But France was your dream holiday destination and thanks to Namjoon you were finally getting to live it out.
"Joonie this is insane." You whispered as you walked around viewing everything inside, translating some of the plaques for Namjoon since his French wasn't as good as his English and then going over to more things and being amazed by everything you saw.
(X)
Once you both came out of the Louvre you were greeted by flashing lights like the ones Namjoon got whenever he went to the airport.
"Someone must have told them we were here." He told you taking your hand and running through the crowds of photographers who were all yelling different questions at you both to see what was happening. You were glad you'd worn converse shoes instead of anything else, the comfiest shoes to run in. You'd dealt with all of this before when your relationship was first revealed to the public but Namjoon knew how you got around big crowds and he didn't want you to have to go through all of it again,
"This way." You laughed pulling him down a small alleyway and holding him against a wall, no one bothered looking down there when they ran past and you giggled up at Namjoon who was sweating and panting more than he ever did on stage.
"This wasn't on the plan for today." He chuckled looking down at you as you stared up at him, he ran his hand along your cheek and smiled as you blushed at the small action,
"Cute." He whispered to you before leaning down and connecting your lips together, you blushed and wrapped your arms around his neck standing on your tiptoes so you could kiss him back properly. A camera flash went off and the sound alerted you that you weren't alone anymore,
"Run?" You questioned looking at him and down the other side of the alleyway, it was a clear shot and if you ran fast enough you could make it to a taxi bay and getaway.
"Run." He confirmed squeezing your hand and pulling you along with him laughing as the cameras continued to get photos of you both being so happy together.
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Jimin:
Jimin had been texting you all morning warning you that there would be photographers at the airport and to be ready when you got there for them. Your relationship had been out in the open from the moment it started three years ago so you were used to the cameras by now but he still liked to let you be prepared first. You had a cap and mask ready to cover your face after the long flight you'd just had and you were ready to go home to your shared apartment with Jimin and sleep all day.
"Are you waiting inside or outside?" You questioned him over the phone and a pair of hands on your waist made you scream,
"Jimin!" You whined turning around and hugging him tightly, no photographers were allowed inside and you debated staying there with him for an hour before going out into the freezing cold Korean air and flashing lights for a while.
"We have to leave at some point." You nodded in agreement but dragged him over to the shops that were inside,
"Stay here I saw something I really want to get first." Jimin groaned reminding you of your evergrowing collection of items that you got whenever you left or landed in Korea. It had been growing since your first trip out and he was running out of room in the apartment you shared to store everything.
You came back out clutching a bag in your hands and smiling, hiding it so he couldn't take a look inside.
"Let me see." You pulled it in front of you jogging ahead of him so he couldn't grab it from your hands but he caught up to you leading to a chase out of the airport and in front of the cameras.
"No." You giggled as he took the bag from your hands and looked inside revealing the stuffed BT21 teddies that were inside. It was all of the newest line of stuffed animals that they had released and you hadn't gotten them until now. You giggled at him as he stared at you with a playful glare knowing you had nowhere to put them when you got home and they would probably take pride spot on the double bed in your room. Looking around for the black SUV that would always come to pick you both up you frowned now spotting it,
"Probably had to move around before he got a ticket," Jimin said as you both continued to act as normal as possible in front of the cameras, it was silent except for a couple of them asking for you to turn and look at them and another bunch asking how your flight was. Once the car pulled up you both began walking towards it and a photographer knocked over your bag,
"Sorry!" She began ranting but you assured her it was okay and bent down to pick everything back up and put them inside, people capturing the moment that you were being nice to them and then getting into the car. Stories ran about how kind you were to the photographer who had walked into you and Jimin was smiling at how nice the articles were about you, it had always been that way though. There was never a bad article about you anywhere.
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Taehyung:
Taehyung and you sat across from each other in the cafe and you stared down at the food you had ordered suddenly feeling uneasy.
"You okay?" You nodded trying not to think about it too much, Taehyung was used to this kind of life but you weren't. You weren't used to being followed around by people with cameras all of the time and they were currently stationed outside of the cafe trying to get photos.
"What is it?" He asked he knew how to read you like a book so he knew there was something wrong the moment that you looked at him or rather didn't look at him. You were never a good liar so to avoid it you would stare down at the floor or your hands to stop him from getting the truth from you but he caught onto that trick soon.
"The cameras...They don't make you uncomfortable?" He shook his head and then realised how you must have been feeling. Your relationship hadn't been out in the open for long and you were nervous that you would do something to make them angry,
"I can ask them for privacy if you want?" You shook your head knowing it would probably make them angry and make you seem like the bad guy.
"No, it's fine." You lied trying to seem a little better than you were but he knew you weren't okay and so he moved to sit beside you instead of across from you. Slightly blocking the views so the cameras wouldn't reach your face as much and you smiled at him thanking him and reaching for a chip from your plate.
"Where do you want to go after this?" You asked looking at him and smiling, he'd been wanting to do some shopping before he went away on tour but he could tell how uncomfortable you were being out in front of the cameras,
"We'll go home and watch some movies," He suggested moving some hair from your face but you shook your head telling him you would be fine as long as he didn't leave you alone anywhere,
"We should try that couples painting class tomorrow though, I saw it on the cafe board." You said as you remembered seeing it on the board on the way in. You were so lost in conversation with Taehyung you'd forgotten about the cameras that were all taking photos of you both laughing and joking together, photos of you kissing his cheek and him staring lovingly into your eyes acting like a really sweet couple from one of the dramas you watch all the time.
"I heard there's a new book shop down the road, we should check that out too." He told you remembering that he'd promised to pick up something new for Namjoon to read while he was out and about.
"Sure," You told him as you got up from the small sofa you were sitting on in the cafe, you both began walking towards the exit when you got nervous again. He linked your hands together and gave you a squeeze, promising you it would be fine and that he was there if you got too nervous for it.
"Y/n! Tae! What are your plans for the day!?" They all started to yell at you and Taehyung could tell you were getting more and more anxious so he turned to face them and began to ask for a little more privacy with you, telling them that he just wanted to be alone for you a while not mentioning that it was you that was uncomfortable and they all agreed to back off and leave you both alone.
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Jungkook:
The paparazzi knew how shy you got whenever they would follow you around with Jungkook, you would constantly hold onto Jungkook for support and whenever they directed questions at you you would turn into a blushing mess hiding further into your hoodies or into Jungkook's arms so they tried to make it as easy for you as possible.
"You going to be okay?" Jungkook questioned, you were sitting in the black SUV outside the airport. You were going home for the holidays and everyone had caught wind that he would be dropping you off at the airport so they wanted to get some photos.
"Yeah." You lied looking out of the window, they were all standing on the other side of the road like they did whenever the boys and other idols were travelling. It was making you anxious thinking about going out there but you were trying to remember what Hoseok had told you he thought about when he was walking through them all.
"I'll be there the whole time." You nodded and he took your hand in his opening the door and letting you get out first and then getting out behind you. Reminding you that everything was fine and you were going to be okay.  You just had to smile and be kind, you were kind anyway so you just had to put it on display for everyone to see, Hoseok had been giving you tips on handling the paparazzi and you were going to put them to good use.
"Have a nice flight Y/n." Some of the photographers said as you walked past them all they were still taking your photos but they were respecting that you needed a little distance because you weren't used to it, you were smiling at them as you walked hand in hand with Jungkook dragging your suitcase behind you as you did so you didn't have a mask on like you normally did when you did this.
"Happy Holidays." Another greeted and you bowed to them all smiling brightly whenever they would talk to you,
"Happy Holidays to you all too." You said before going into the airport and slowing your walk down to a stroll, Jungkook smiled at you and told you how awesome he thought it was that you decided to try and talk to them. You had been trying to get a little comfier with it since it was how your life was going to be whenever you were around Jungkook.
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Tagline: 
@writingdreamsnottragedies @yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @kpopfanfictionhoes @lyoongx @mitzwinchester @callingmyangel @rjsmochii @fan-ati--c @btsiguess-kpop 
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sj-thefan · 4 years ago
Text
The Tragedy of Y/n of Asgard
Masterlist
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Can be read as a sequel to The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard, but it isn’t necessary.
Warnings: Angst, major character death, fighting, pregnancy
Y/n carried her sleepy toddler in her arms as she made her way to his room. With Loki off retrieving Odin with Thor, she was in charge. They shouldn’t have been gone long, but after waiting for over half an hour, Bromm had started to yawn. It was time for his nap, so she left the Bifrost and Skurge to be watched by Volstagg and Fandral, knowing Loki would return to her as soon as he got back.
Her mind drifted to the thought of having another child running around. She could picture that life now; the quiet halls filled with children’s laughter, toys thrown all over the palace, and her husband, finally his true self. She felt the child in her belly was a sign of good things to come.
If only she could know how wrong she was.
As she reached Bromm’s bedroom, she heard the sound of boots running on the stone floor. She turned to see Hogun running towards her. Bromm perked up at the sight of his honorary uncle.
The warrior stopped in front of her and gave a brief bow. “My lady, there’s trouble at the Bifrost.”
Y/n knew she didn’t have much time to think. She placed Bromm on the ground and looked into his eyes. “Sweetheart, I need you to go to your room. I’ll send Ingrid, but I need you to stay there. Mummy has something she needs to take care of.”
With a nod of his head, Bromm went to his room. Y/n turned to Hogun. “What’s happening?”
The couple marched through the hall while Hogun explained a woman had shown up and killed Volstagg, Fandral, and maybe even Skurge. They didn’t know exactly what had happened.
Y/n instructed him to take the men that were currently available to stop the stranger at the bridge and to send word to the remaining soldiers to go to the castle in full armour. She would lead those men to the bridge once they had assembled.
Hogun ran off while Y/n entered the chamber so she could get ready.
As she strapped on her sword, she felt a presence in the room. She gripped her sword and swiftly turned around, ready to take out the intruder.
Heimdall blocked the swing with his arm.
“Heimdall?” Y/n exclaimed. The man cocked his eyebrow, and Y/n sheathed her sword with a quick apology. “What are you doing here?”
“I see all, my lady.” Y/n smiled at him before returning to getting ready. “We must leave.”
Y/n stood up straight. “I can’t leave. We’re under attack. Until Thor, Loki, and Odin return, it is my duty to—”
“Do you know who is at the gates?” Y/n shook her head, returning to strap on her boots. “Hela, goddess of death.”
Y/n paused. “It doesn’t matter who is attacking. The people of Asgard deserve to be protected by their leaders.”
“She will not hesitate to kill anyone.”
Y/n thought for a second. She couldn’t abandon the people, even if that meant she would die. “Take Bromm,” she suggested to Heimdall. “Take my son and however many people you can get out. Keep them safe, and don’t return for me until everyone is safe.”
Heimdall nodded and started towards the door.
“Heimdall,” Y/n called, halting his steps. “Are they okay?”
He had seen Hela come through the Bifrost and how she pushed her brothers out. The princes of Asgard were thrown out and tossed to the place of lost things. They were okay. But Odin hadn’t been as lucky. It was his death that set Hela free, and he would not see the consequences that followed. Heimdall knew Y/n was asking after her family, so he told her anything she might need to know about what had happened. Then he left the room.
Y/n knew she would have to act fast. Her mind was racing with the overload of information she had been given. Odin was dead. Thor and Loki were lost somewhere across space. Hela, the goddess of death, was here to take control and wage war against the realms. Hela had killed two of Y/n’s best friends and had threatened to kill any who opposed her. Y/n’s life was in as much danger as her people, maybe even more so due to her royal status.
It was a price she was willing to pay, though.
She felt a tear run down her face as she left the room and marched to the throne room where she would meet her soldiers. It wasn’t fair. She had been nervous, happy, fearful, and ecstatic all in the span of a few hours due to the life in her belly, but now—now she was terrified, hopeless, and scared beyond her wildest dreams at the thought of her child. It wasn’t fair that today had to be filled with such madness and that to protect her people, she might lose her child. It wasn’t fair, but it had to be done.
As she joined her soldiers, a loud bang was heard just outside the grand doors. Y/n knew that Hela had reached the gates. She held her head tall, took a deep breath, and ordered her warriors to be ready. She unsheathed her sword and waited for the door to open.
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Y/n stood on shaky legs. All around her, the soldiers lay bloody and unmoving. She looked to the woman responsible for this death. “Why?” she spat at the woman. “What did you hope to accomplish?”
Hela turned to face Y/n. She had seen her when she entered; she was the only one wearing something other than the standard Asgardian armour. Her eyes scanned the girl, coming to a stop at the gold circlet atop her head. Hela smirked. “Let me guess,” she drawled. “You married one of my idiotic brothers, thinking life would be tea parties and silk dresses, but now—” she gestured to the chaos around them, “—it’s a dangerous job.”
Y/n scoffed. Her life had never been easy. She and Loki had fought for everything they achieved.
“I bet everyone loves you.” Hela looked back to Skurge to see if her assumption was correct, and he gave a nod of his head. “That could be useful.”
Y/n yelled as she raised her blade and charged at Hela.
Hela stepped to the side, sliding Y/n out of the way with a blade of her own.
Y/n stumbled but quickly regained her balance. She thrust her sword with all her might. It connected, making its way through Hela’s stomach.
Hela laughed, and Y/n stepped back in shock. “You’re pretty good,” Hela took the blade out of her stomach, “but I don’t have time for this.”
Y/n watched in terror as Hela approached her, aiming the hilt of the sword at her face.
Everything went dark.
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Loki stood at the door, entering the code he had stolen and memorized, while Thor stood beside him.
“Hey, so, listen,” Thor said. “We should talk.”
Loki looked up. He knew what was coming. He had dreaded this conversation since he first saw Thor in the Grandmaster’s place. “I disagree,” he blatantly stated while returning to his work. “Open communication,” the door opened, “was never our family’s forte.”
The brothers picked up their weapons, heading towards the guards in front of the elevator. “Oh, you have no idea,” Thor said. “Been quite the revelation since we last spoke.”
They both loaded their weapons and aimed, sending an ironic greeting towards the guards before opening fire.
As the guards start shooting back, Thor and Loki hid behind a wall. They shared a look as they heard the sounds of the guards reloading. Revealing themselves, the brothers start shooting their opponents again.
Eventually, they made it to the other side of the room, where Loki began entering the second code. As soon as the door opened, a guard came out, pointing his gun at Loki. Thor, sensing the guard was about to fire, pushed the gun down. As the shot went off, the guard flew up into the air from the force, and the boys happily walked into the elevator.
Loki couldn’t take the tension hanging in the air anymore, so he spoke. “I don’t think I can go back.”
“Asgard needs us. You left it defenceless when you took father to Earth. We need to protect our people.”
“You think so little of me?” Thor gave Loki a look of confusion. “I don’t want to go back because I can’t see their lifeless bodies. I can’t be in a place where we were happy and pretend things will be okay.” Loki breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally said it out loud. His wife was dead; there was no way Hela would keep her alive. She was a threat to the thrown. And so was Bromm, for that matter. Hela had probably killed them both.
“There’s still a chance—”
“—And if they’re dead, what then, Thor? I won’t—I can’t do it. I’m better off staying on Sakaar.”
Thor glanced down. “If there was even a slim chance that I could save mother, or father, or any of our friends,” Thor looked back to see Loki watching him, “I would take it.”
The elevator was silent for a few moments.
“What if—”
Thor put a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Then I’ll be here. They’re my family too; I won’t abandon you or them.”
Loki smirked. “You’re a sap.”
Thor began laughing. “Never one for sentiment, were you?” Loki chuckled at him. “Hey,” Thor interrupted. “Let’s do ‘Get Help’!”
“What?” Loki questioned, wondering what brought this change of conversation.
“’ Get Help.’”
“No.”
“Come on, you love it.”
“I hate it.”
“It’s great. It works every time.”
“It’s humiliating.”
“Do you have a better plan?”
“No.”
“We’re doing it.”
“We are not doing ‘Get Help.’”
Less than a minute later, the elevator doors opened, and the brothers came out, performing the ‘Get Help’ act.
Thor carried Loki draped over his shoulder. “Get help!” he shouted to the guards. “Please! My brother, he’s dying!” Loki remained still as Thor began picking him up with both hands. “Get help! Help him!” Thor threw Loki at the guards, knocking them all out. He chuckled to himself. “Classic.”
“Still hate it.” Loki stood up. “It’s humiliating.”
“Not for me, it’s not. And it’s very effective.” Thor glanced back to the guards but spotted one of them getting up and running to sound the alarm.
“Apparently, not effective enough.”
The guard hit the alarm. Minutes later guards filtered into the room.
Loki turned to his brother. “Thor, you have to go. If they have a chance, it’s getting smaller with every second that passes. I’ll hold them off. You,” he gestured to the yellow ship behind them, “take the Commodore, and save my family.”
“I won’t leave you; we can take them.”
“It will take too long, Thor. Go!”
Reluctantly, Thor ran to the ship. He knew Loki wouldn’t change his mind, and the guards that started spilling through the doors hadn’t stopped. He just hoped Loki would follow on the other ship.
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When the skeleton soldiers came for her, Y/n was afraid. Most of her armour had been stripped from her, along with her sword. She was powerless against them, and she had no idea what they wanted.
As they marched her through the castle, she pleaded with them. “Please,” she begged. “I am part of the royal family. As soldiers of Asgard, you serve me.” There was no response. “I have a child; he needs me.” Again, nothing. “Please, I’m with child. Please.” Still, there was no reaction.
When she realized she was being taken outside, she seized her crying and replaced her terror with a mask of bravery. She was still terrified, but if she showed a brave face to her people, they might feel calmer.
The soldiers led her to a courtyard filled with many Asgardians. On the steps to the castle stood Hela with her monstrous dog and Skurge. The soldiers threw her down.
Y/n tumbled down the steps, only to be met with more soldiers who dragged her to her feet. She glared at Skurge, the man she had trusted to guard the entrance to their world.
Skurge glanced at Hela before starting his address to the people. “Asgardians,” he yelled, “some misguided soul has stolen the Bifrost sword. Tell us where it is, or there will be consequences.” He stole another glance at Hela. “Bad ones.”
The people were silent, glancing between each other to see if someone would break.
“Well?”
Hela stepped forward when again no one responded to her executioner. “Bring her forward.”
The skeleton soldiers dragged Y/n forward and pushed her to her knees again, making sure her head and neck were exposed. Some of the people in the crowd cried out at the sight of their princess in danger. They knew she had fought to protect them and that she hadn’t run to the mountain because she wouldn’t abandon them, but the soldier held them back.
Hela gestured for Skurge to do his job. He stood beside Y/n, hesitant in raising his axe.
“You’re a coward,” Y/n spat.
“Well?” Hela drawled. “Executioner?”
Skurge lifted his axe. It was about to come down when someone in the crowd shouted.
“Wait!” The crowd parted, revealing the man who had spoken. “Wait. I know where the sword is.”
Y/n yelled and screamed while the man told Hela everything. She wasn’t angry at the man, not even disappointed; he had done what he could to save a life. Yet Y/n was afraid, more than she had been earlier. If Hela found Heimdall, she could discover Bromm. His life was in danger now.
Hela sent her back to the dungeons, the skeletons carrying her thrashing body.
Y/n calmed herself when they got inside. She knew that to get free, she would need to think it through, and the best way to do that was with a calm mind. As she stopped squirming, the soldiers’ grasp on her lightened—no longer needing to be as tight. Y/n scanned her surroundings, making a note of everything that might help her. There were only two guards with her; the rest were either travelling with Hela to get the people in hiding or with Skurge, prepping for war. Y/n felt her muscles tighten as she clenched her fist. That’s when she noticed it. The soldiers’ grip had loosened enough for her to move.
With quick movements, Y/n elbowed one soldier before swinging her body around and tripping the other.
She grabbed a sword from one of the suits of armour lining the hall. It wasn’t sharp, nor was it meant for actual use, but it was the best weapon she could find on short notice. With a few swipes of the heavy sword, one of the soldiers crumbled. The other grabbed her from behind, causing the blade to fall from her hands. Throwing her weight forward, she flung him over her back and onto the ground in front of her. She quickly grabbed the other skeleton’s sword and decapitated the soldier still moving.
Y/n glanced between the two unmoving soldiers, ensuring they were really dead. When she was sure, she headed to the weaponry to stock up before joining the fight.
As she ran out the door, she was shocked to find her brother-in-law heading in the opposite direction. She quickly grabbed him in a hug. “You’re alright. Oh, thank Odin, you’re alright.”
“I’m fine, Y/n.” He pulled back, scanning his sister. She was pretty bruised with several cuts all over, but she was standing and clutching her sword. She was okay. “You’re okay?” Y/n responded with a nod. “Where’s Bromm?”
“I sent him with Heimdall. Hela is headed to the right now. I have to go—”
“No, Y/n,” Thor soothed with a hand to her shoulder. “They’re headed to the Bifrost. I have some friends who will help you, but you should go too. I’m going to distract Hela.”
“Is Loki
” Y/n trailed off as she looked towards the Bifrost.
Thor shook his head. “I’m sorry, Y/n. He stayed behind, so I could get out. He sacrificed himself for you and Bromm. He said I had a better chance of saving you than him.”
Y/n choked back a sob. This wasn’t the time. Her son and her people needed her. “Okay,” she took a deep breath, “I’ll see you soon.”
They both took off in opposite directions.
Heimdall reached the bridge at the same time as Y/n.
“Heimdall, thank Odin,” Y/n breathed out. “Where’s Bromm?”
“Mommy?” his little voice rang out.
Y/n quickly fell to her knees as her son ran into her arms. “My baby, you’re okay.” Heimdall led the group around the mother and son and further down the bridge; they didn’t have time to waste. Y/n pulled back and checked over her child. He had no scrapes or bruises, no injuries that she could see. “This mess is almost over, sweetheart.” She stood up, keeping her hand locked with his, and moved with the crowd.
When the crowd stopped moving, Y/n knelt down to her son again. “Stay in the middle here; I’ll find you when it’s safe, but mommy has to go help Heimdall keep everyone safe.” Bromm nodded as his mother walked to the front of the group.
Y/n brandished her sword as she saw what had caused the group to stop. Hela’s giant dog was charging at the group.
Heimdall held his sword up, ready to fight.
Suddenly, a man fell from the spaceship that had been shooting at the dog. He crashed to the bridge, a crumpled heap.
The dog paused for a moment to sniff the body before he resumed his charge.
Y/n and Heimdall readied their stance, but just before the dog reached them, it was pulled backwards.
It was thrown back by a giant, green man.
Y/n was sure he was the Hulk. Thor had told stories of a scientist who could turn into a strong monster that had joined him in the fight on Midgard. On the other side, Loki claimed the Hulk was a savage giant with no respect. Whoever he was, she was impressed. He and the dog soon disappeared from view as they tumbled off the bridge’s side and into the water below. Y/n would have been worried if not for the hoards of Hela’s skeletal army that were rushing at them.
Y/n and Heimdall fought with everything they had, but there were too many of them.
Heimdall was slashed in his thigh, bringing him to his knees. With one swipe of his heavy sword, he took out three men, but another pushed him over.
Y/n rushed to help him but was stopped by another soldier. A loud blast startled her, and she jumped, narrowly missing the swing of his blade. She thrust her sword through his stomach, and he collapsed to the ground.
She turned, seeing a Kronan helping Heimdall to his feet. Beside him was a creature she couldn’t quite name but looked to be supported by a metal skeleton with knives for hands.
A loud noise called everyone’s attention. Through the fog, a spaceship appeared, and standing in front, with his arms raised, was Loki.
“Your saviour is here,” he called to the crowd. The ship was parked, with a ramp leading to the bridge. Loki climbed off. “Did you miss me?” he asked. His eyes scanned the crowd, and Y/n could tell he was looking for her and Bromm. Masking his fear, he directed everyone to climb the ship.
Y/n sheathed her sword and ran to her husband. “Loki!” she called, and he turned to her. She had never been so happy in her entire life. She launched herself into his waiting arms and breathed in the scent of her husband. She felt safe and comfortable in his arms, but she knew the time to celebrate was later. She pulled away.
Loki, not yet ready to let go, pulled her back. He cupped her face and kissed her like it was the first time. The rest of the world faded away as they got lost in each other.
It was only when Loki felt his leg be embraced that he was pulled back to reality. He looked down to see Bromm, hugging his leg. He bent down and picked up his son, hugging him close to his chest. “My boy and my wife,” he sighed happily, caressing Y/n’s cheek and bringing her closer. “I was so scared I had lost you.”
“We’re okay,” Y/n reassured.
The sound of fighting soon found its way back into their blissful minds, and they were pulled back to reality.
The adults shared a look of fear.
“Bromm, my love,” Y/n cooed, caressing his small face, “I need you to go on the ship and stay safe. Mommy and daddy will join you in a bit.”
“Y/n, you need to go on the ship, too.” Loki’s expression was stern, but so was Y/n’s.
“I’ve come this far; I am not going to sit back and relax until everyone is safe.” Loki knew she could not be argued with, but his eyes flicked to her belly. “We’re okay, Loki,” Y/n reassured, with a hand to her stomach. “The worst is over, but we’re not finished.”
Loki nodded with a huff. He set Bromm down, who joined up with his friends and made his way onto the ship. He gave one last look at his parents before he disappeared inside the giant vessel.
Y/n and Loki joined Heimdall and the rest of the new soldiers as they began fighting.
A bright lightning bolt filled the sky, and Thor jumped from the castle to the bridge, knocking down soldiers with his lightning blasts.
It didn’t take long for Thor to reach his brother.
Y/n was fighting one of the skeleton soldiers. As her sword thrust into its chest, she let out a breath of relief. She could see the brothers reuniting, and it filled her heart with warmth.
She didn’t even feel it at first.
All she knew was that she couldn’t breathe.
She looked down to see the sword protruding from her stomach.
The world went silent as the pain flooded her senses. She could see Loki running towards her, and she felt when he caught her, but she couldn’t hear his pleas. She didn’t hear him begging her to stay awake. Nor did she hear the whispered, ‘I love you’s.
As she started to fade, she could see his face. She smiled at him, raising a hand to his cheek. “I love you,” she whispered. She had no idea if he heard her or not, but seeing his smile, even though it was filled with sadness, was the perfect view as she drifted into darkness.
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fromthedeskofelizabeththird · 4 years ago
Text
Habanero
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You're a good girl, well behaved.
Absolutely not the type to rail random guys in nightclubs.
Until you are.
Fandom: BNHA
Pairing: Aizawa x Reader, eventual polyamorous Erasermic x Reader
Rating: Explicit. Minors BE GONE
Trigger Warnings: None in this chapter.
AO3: Here | Want to support me? I have a Kofi
Chapter: 2/16 (all chapters)
“Oh...do you two know each other?”
Principal Nezu glanced from you to Shouta, eyes bright with curiosity. You didn't blame him. In his shoes you too would wonder why such a thing hadn’t cropped up during the application process. Why hadn’t you named him as a reference? Why hadn’t Shouta mentioned knowing someone with your skillset the moment the role became available?
“No, no,” you said, conscious of how defensive you sounded.
Nezu was now your boss and there was no appropriate way to explain the circumstances of your first meeting. You were the new guidance counsellor, hired for your good sense and professionalism; the perfect role model for teenagers in line to become the next generation of pro heroes.
Good guidance counsellors didn’t fuck strange men. They didn’t sit in nightclub toilets for twenty minutes, scrubbing away a seemingly never ending stream of cum. You had thought having a guy cumming inside you would be the least messy option. Oh, how wrong you were.
Nezu didn’t seem convinced, but he didn’t press it any further. Instead he dismissed himself, leaving you and Shouta alone in the corridor in an awkward silence. He clearly hadn’t expected to see you again either.
“This way,” he said, leading you to his classroom, which had erupted into chaos in his short absence.
You wondered what sort of teacher he was. He must have been a respectable one if Nezu had asked you to observe him specifically.
The change in atmosphere as you entered the room was enough to answer your question. The classroom fell silent, all eyes on you.
“This is (Name). She’s the new guidance counsellor and the Principal wants her to observe us for a while. Don’t embarrass me,” he said, before turning to you. “Take a seat.”
He wasn’t even your teacher, but you hurried to obey, taking a seat at the back of the classroom and reaching into your purse for a notepad and pen.
You tried to concentrate and ignore the elephant in the room. Every time you tried to focus on Shouta’s words, though, your mind wandered to how he’d sounded groaning with pleasure.
You crossed and uncrossed your legs, trying to ignore the heat pooling between them. It was inappropriate for you to be thinking of such things at work, in a classroom no less.
Unfortunately, that only seemed to make it worse. You wondered how it would feel if he bent you across the desk; what it would be like to ride him on it.
You were only too grateful when class took a short recess and Professor Nezu returned to show you to your office.
“You look a little flushed, (Name),” he said, “are you feeling alright?”
“Oh, yes,” you said, “it’s just...new job, lots of information to process. I’m fine, really.”
You got the feeling Nezu knew you were lying, but he didn’t say so. Instead he left you to log into your computer and rearrange your desk, safe in the knowledge that someone would come in to check on you in an hour or so.
Reshuffling the office turned out to be a bad idea. The previous guidance counsellor had a collection of pamphlets behind her desk that covered all manner of issues, such as drug use and bereavement. Your gaze lingered on the one about unprotected sex.
Somehow, even the office was judgemental.
You reached for your cell phone and opened the group chat.
>> I’m in trouble
Sayaka was the first to reply.
>>Why? What happened?
>> The guy from Ego. He works here.
At that, everyone in the group started to type at once.
>> Omg is he your boss?
>> No, he’s a teacher here.
>> Kinky ;) does he have a cane
>> Of course not!
>> Shame.
You put your phone down on the desk, rubbing your temples as it continued to ping with each new message.
Your mother had always told you to be mindful of your actions and their consequences, but she’d never told you what to do when it was too late.
You thought you’d gotten away with it. You weren’t pregnant, you weren’t sick and you were never going to see him again.
You picked up your phone again and skimmed through the new messages before typing yourself.
>> What do I do?
Aptly enough, Rei was the first to respond.
>>Talk to him. You said he didn’t like games, remember?
She was right. You remembered the straightforward way he had asked what it was you wanted from him and how flustered it had made you feel. You got the impression he would want the same treatment under the present circumstances, no matter how awkward it was.
>> Alright. I’ll try and get him alone at some point.
>> Good luck!!!
You switched off your phone and sat back down at your desk, running your fingers through your hair.
It was the right thing to do and you knew it, but you got the feeling it was going to be easier said than done.
━
Five minutes after the final bell of the day, Present Mic walked into your office.
“(Name),” he called out, “con-grat-u-lations on surviving your first day!”
“Thank you, Professor,” you said. “I’m looking forward to working together.”
If Shouta worked here, then the guy you saw at Ego must have been the real Present Mic and not just someone with a passing resemblance. You wondered if he recognised you, though soon dismissed it. He was direct in a completely different way to Shouta, who didn’t waste a single word. Present Mic didn’t seem to have an off switch, but all of his words came straight from the heart. If he recognised you, he certainly would have said so.
As if sensing your thoughts, he thrust a hand into your face and waggled his finger.
“No, no, no! This will not do! Call me Hizashi. Hi-za-shiiii.”
“Okay,” you said with a small smile. “I’ll make sure to call you that from now on...Hizashi.”
“Cute! So cute,” he cried out, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. “Now listen. The school day is over, and you know what that means?”
He didn’t give you a chance to reply, instead squeezing your shoulders.
“It’s time for the after party!”
“A-after party?”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “You’re the newest member of the faculty and the principal has asked us to be as welcoming as possible, so we’re going to take you for beers!”
“Beers?” You said, suddenly wondering if they were going to take you to Ego . You hoped not.
He led you out of the classroom, arm still wrapped around your shoulders.
“Yes, yes...no need to thank me,” he said, “it’s our duty as your colleagues. You are but a cute duckling stepping out onto our riverbed
soon to be a beautiful swan.”
You chose to ignore the implication that you were an ugly duckling.
“Hey, Eraser!” he called out across the corridor. “Eraser, this way!”
You wondered who he was talking to, only for your heart to skip a beat when you actually saw. Shouta was standing in the doorway of the staff room, a pile of folders under one arm. His gaze drifted from you to Hizashi and then, as if he already knew what was coming, turned the other way and let the staff room door close behind him.
“Hmmm, maybe he didn’t hear me,” said Hizashi and you had to fight to keep the smile from your face. This was exactly how things had played out at Ego .
Hizashi led you to the staff room, where the professors were packing up for the day.
“Everyone,” he called out, “grab your things, we’re going for drinks!”
“You really don’t have to make a fuss,” you said, feeling incredibly self conscious. “It’s very kind of you, but
”
“Nonsense,” said Midnight, strolling over. “We should get to know one another, we’re going to be working together, after all.”
“Eraserrrrr,” whined Hizashi, “you’ll come too, won’t you! It’s 2 for 1 on drinks!”
You hoped he’d say yes. There would be plenty of opportunities to get him alone at a bar.
“I’ll pass,” he said.
“Awww, come on,” said Hizashi. “It’ll be fun. They have those fruity drinks with the umbrellas that you like!”
Shouta shook his head and dumped the pile of papers he had been carrying onto his desk.
“I have papers to grade.”
Hizashi let go of you and scooped the files up from Shouta’s desk.
“These papers?”
“Give them back.”
“I will,” said Hizashi, an enormous smile across his face. “At the bar.”
Shouta’s face fell, as if they had had this conversation a dozen or more times before.
“Fine,” he said. “Let’s go.”
━
An hour and a half later, you were sitting at a table in an izakaya, cradling a lukewarm beer. You’d taken only a couple of sips since your arrival, partly because of how self conscious you were about being in the company of your new colleagues, but also because you wanted to keep your wits about you in the hopes of getting the opportunity to speak to Shouta alone.He had had even less to drink than you, spending the time glaring from the sealed bottle in front of him to the papers Hizashi had confiscated.
Questions had been rapid fire from the moment you sat down. What was your quirk, where did you go to college, were you local, had you relocated for your new job?
Midnight, Nemuri as she had told you to call her, asked the question you had dreaded the most.
“So,” she said, leaning over the table, “are you seeing anyone?”
“No.”
“A cutie like you? Single?”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly curious.
“I was seeing someone,” you said, thinking back to the dinner that had changed everything. “We were together for years, actually, but we broke up a little over six months ago.”
You didn’t miss the flicker of recognition in Shouta’s expression as he no doubt did the maths. You cringed, realising too late that you had indirectly admitted to him being your rebound. He picked up his drink and took a long sip, all while your coworkers murmured between themselves. Your gaze drifted to the edges of his jawline; the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.
“Don’t tell me...did he cheat?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Did he travel overseas?”
“No, no
”
“Did he die in a horrific accident?”
Everyone turned to Sekijiro, who shrugged defensively.
“What? Someone had to ask.”
“He didn’t die,” you said, “he didn’t leave the country either
 he just
wanted different things I did, that’s all.”
Not so long ago just the mention of your ex left you in floods of tears. Even now, after so long had passed, it brought tears to your eyes if you didn’t catch them fast enough.
You had found one of his sweaters in the back of your wardrobe only a matter of days before your interview at UA. You had no idea how long it had been there, or how you had managed to miss it during your clearout, but it still smelled of him and you buried your face in it before you could stop yourself.
“Men are dogs,” said Nemuri, raising her glass and clinking it against yours, “you’re better without him.”
“We’ll find you a new guy,” said Hizashi, “what’s your type?”
“I
”
You didn’t know and you didn’t want to admit it.
“I um
”
“I think I know a guy,” said Nemuri, “how do you feel about dog hair?”
Shouta sighed loudly at that.
“This is a waste of time,” he said, “I’m going home.”
He reached across the table for the papers Hizashi had taken, only to receive a slap across the knuckles.
You were grateful for the interruption, especially as it seemed to distract everyone else from your love life.
“A toast,” Sekijiro said, lifting his glass, “to our new guidance counsellor!”
Nemuri lifted her drink and you lifted yours, clinking drinks together.
In that moment, embarrassing one night stand aside, you felt less like an outsider and more like you belonged.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be as complicated as you thought.
“Cheers!”
━
You parted ways another hour later, Nemuri and Hizashi drifting away for karaoke and Sekijiro saying something about chicken wings. 
“I’ll walk you home,” grumbled Shouta, “I have business that way anyway.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to put you out.”
“I told you. I’m going that way.”
“Okay, well, if you’re sure.”
You hadn’t had the chance to get him alone at the bar and knew this would be the only one you got that day. Perhaps that was his plan as well. You found it difficult to get a read on him.
You stood in awkward silence as you took the train, body close to his. You thought about making conversation a few times, though very few subjects came to mind. You didn’t know him well enough to make small talk that wasn’t immediately obvious.
“Well, this is me,” you said as you arrived at your front door and fiddled with your keys. “It’s not much but it’s home!”
Relax, you told yourself, we’re adults and more than capable of an adult conversation. If you show your professionalism then-
You dropped the keys.
Fuck
“Haha, sorry about that,” you said, scooping them up all but shoving the door open. “Butterfingers.”
Up until recently you had been proud of your apartment. Originally it had belonged to a great aunt, who let you rent it for a discounted rate. You had painted the walls yourself, built cupboards and shelves and painted those too. You’d crocheted your own throw blanket and stuffed every single cushion you owned.
Since your boyfriend left, though, all you could think about were the hopes and dreams you had lovingly worked into everything: the corner you had left empty to make room for a future moses basket; the wine rack you had bought for when you hosted dinner parties. It was surely a direct contrast to anything Shouta might have expected, and almost embarrassingly so.
“Uh, would you like some tea?”
“Mhmm.”
This was your chance and you were determined not to waste it, reaching for some snacks as the kettle came to a boil.
“Make yourself at home,” you said in an attempt to distract yourself from how badly your hands were shaking. You had no idea how to broach the topic with him. No matter how you phrased it in your head, it sounded awkward.
Shouta had taken a seat at your kitchen table and nodded his thanks as you carried over the tea tray.
“I wanted to talk to you about my students,” he said, reaching for the folders Hizashi had taken from him. “Just seeing them isn’t enough. They keep their problems to themselves.”
Only then did you realise that he hadn’t got papers to grade at all. These were student dossiers- gold dust for a guidance counsellor. Had he meant to discuss these with you all along?
“Sorry if it’s not a good time,” he said. “But I wanted to give you an overview of the students in my class and my points of concern.”
It was the last thing you might have expected from this conversation. In class he had seemed distant, almost hostile. Here he was, though, giving you a head start on how best to support them. It was not at all what you had expected from him, yet you weren’t sure why. You had left almost everything you knew about him in Ego’s bathroom.
“Of course,” you said, taking each file he offered.
He took the time to go through each one, going through every grade, every quirk, every weakness. You had never known a teacher with so much insight into their students, from Todoroki’s difficult home life to Midoriya’s self destructive need for success. You could see you had your work cut out for you.
“Thank you for all of this,” you said, turning a page as he nibbled a rice cracker.
“Don’t mention it.”
Even now, in the process of giving you a cheat sheet, he was straight to the point. It brought a smile to your face.
“What is it?”
“Nothing,” you said, “it’s just...you’re a surprisingly nice person.”
He sighed at that and the pair of you fell into a heavy kind of silence.
“About what happened,” he said, “at Ego 
”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m not gonna say anything about it at work.”
“Really?”
He raised an eyebrow and you realised just how excited you had sounded.
“What, did you think I was going to compare notes in the staff room or something?”
He genuinely did sound offended and you instantly felt awful. You’d admitted to him being a rebound, expressed surprise at him being kind and now this. You’d insulted him so many times today without meaning to.
“No, no,” you said. “Nothing like that. It’s just...well...I’ve never...done anything like that before. I don’t know what happens next.”
“Nothing,” he said. “That’s what happens next. Today is our reset.”
Reset.
You quite liked the sound of that. It was the best case scenario and more than you could possibly have asked for. You could shelve the events at Ego as something someone else had done.
It was perfect, so why did it leave you feeling empty?
Your heart was heavy as you showed him to the door and you leaned against it after you closed it behind him.
You had never dated, so why did it feel as if he’d broken up with you?
You told yourself you were happy for the reset, even as you ripped the door back open. He hadn’t gotten far, walking along the street with one hand in his pocket and folders under his other arm.
“Shouta,” you called out.
“Hmm?”
He stopped and turned to you, perhaps wondering if he’d left something behind.
“Tomorrow,” you said, “tomorrow is day one.”
He smirked.
You wanted your life to go back to normal and the rational part of you protested even as you took two steps back through your front door, dragging off his shirt. He hadn’t undressed much at all at Ego and for the first time you saw exactly how many scars cobwebbed his body. You wanted to run your fingers over them all, but he reached for your hands and lifted them above your head to pull off your shirt.
You dragged him closer, adding fuel to the flames. You’d never wanted anyone quite this much, running your lips over his jawline and throat.
You led him towards your bedroom, fiddling at your skirt zipper and kicking it to the floor. Fittingly enough, you were wearing the same bra as when you went to Ego, though that realisation lasted all of half a second as you ripped it off and threw it across the room.
You were wearing only your panties and a smile now, but it didn’t occur to you to be modest. Instead you crushed your lips against his and reached for his belt buckle, sighing at the feel of his chest against yours.
He lowered you onto the bed as if you were made of bone china before stepping out of the rest of his clothing. It was the first time you’d been exposed to a fully naked man in well over six months and you couldn’t stop yourself from staring.
He really did have scars everywhere, though your gaze drifted past that to the trail of hair beneath his belly button. He was already hard, and your mouth ran dry. If you hadn’t already had sex with him you would have been very daunted.
He reached down to grip his cock and you crawled up the bed, reaching into your bedside drawer and tossing him a condom. He tore the foil with his teeth and your insides turned to jelly; it was probably the most sinful thing you’d ever seen.
He put on the condom and got down onto his hands and knees, crawling towards you until you were able to stroke his face with an intimacy that didn’t cross your mind until much, much later. He grazed his lips over your cheek and you giggled as his stubble scraped your skin.
He lined his hips to yours and pushed in, so slowly that you thought you were going to die. You gasped, running your hands down his back and tracing every scar.
“Please,” you whispered, loud enough for only him to hear. “Please
”
At that he pushed himself in all of the way and you cried out as your bodies connected, digging your nails into his back and earning a moan from him in response.
He sat up and took hold of your bed frame, steadying his weight and giving you a dark smile before slamming his entire length into you.
“Oh...my g-“
You never got the chance to complete that particular train of thought, for he did it again and again until the bed rocked from the force of his body.
You knew you were being loud, but you didn’t care.
Tomorrow everything would be reset, as if you were perfect strangers. You finally understood why people got so desperate in movies about the apocalypse. This wasn’t remotely the end of the world, yet you dug your nails into his back in the hopes of never letting go.
You held onto him as the coil inside of you snapped and left you in free fall, frantically rubbing your clit in the hopes of loosening up even more. He lifted one of your legs over his shoulder and took you even deeper, though it still wasn’t deep enough. You wanted to lose track of where you ended and he began, though settled for the impact when his hips hit yours.
Just like the first time, he lost almost all of his rhythm as he grew close. You stroked your clit, chasing the shivers of pleasure running through you and making sure to catch his eye as he sucked in one breath and then another, losing himself in his own release as well as yours.
“Ahh, F
” he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut in a failed attempt at keeping his composure. He bit his bottom lip and gave a few more shallow thrusts, dragging out his orgasm for all it was worth.
He rested his forehead against yours the moment it was over, stealing several lazy kisses that you would have been only too happy to give away.
He pulled out of you and rolled over onto his back, gasping from the exertion even as he pulled off the condom and tied a knot in the middle before dropping it in the waste paper basket at the side of your bed.
“I’ll just...catch my breath
” he said, resting his head on the pillows. He closed his eyes, basking in the same happy afterglow that had so thoroughly overtaken you both.
You caught yourself reaching to stroke his hair, though stopped yourself just in time.
Before long, he was snoring softly and you glanced around your bedroom. It had been immaculate when you left that morning. Now, though, it was a mess of discarded clothes and heady with the smell of sex.
You glanced across at your bedside clock and took note of the time: 1:02 AM.
Well
 you thought, glancing across at the man sleeping beside you. So much for Day One .
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wlw-lovestruck-fiction · 4 years ago
Note
Hi! Long time lurker, big fan of this blog. Can I request either a headcannon or a fic of Viv Tang?
Basically, it goes like this, it's an AU of some sort, where Viv and the Poppy leave MC. MC tried to hate them and forget them especially Viv, but couldn't do it. So out of spite and care, MC creates a whole organisation that revolves around protecting Viv and the others. (Making sure their heists go well, the police/government never finding them, making sure that their old enemies never get to them etc.) They've been doing this in private, but Viv and the others catch on, and that thought bothers them. Enough to make them distracted in their latest heist.
Their heist went down in shambles, leaving MC's crew to step in and made sure they're safe, leaving MC's mark to take the blame.
They were confused ofc, but MC's crew was just giddy and happy that they get to meet their leader's old crew.
Basically, they meet MC, MC makes them make it up to her.
And we know how in the original Viv route, we try really hard to pry her open and get her to trust us, well Viv does the same, trying to get MC to forgive her. And just angst ending with fluff please?
Lots of Love <3
This will contain both HC and story parts.


·         After Vivienne leaves MC poisoned in Paris, of course she’s pissed.
·         A talk with Jace (and some stress painting) later, MC feels like she has a pretty good grasp of Vivienne’s decision
“She was scared,” she muses, idly playing with one of her brushes, a thoughtful frown on her face as her mind wanders to the other members. “And they were
 willing to give her a way out, I guess? Pretty messed up, considering they got me in this whole thing to begin with
”
Thing is, they hadn’t left her without something. Zoe had made sure MC could return to her normal life ‘after you lay low for a bit, probably two months’, advice left in a letter alongside some cash. Enough to buy a few plane tickets around the world. First class.
Even after their most recent decision, MC could recall how careful and welcoming everyone had been. Vivienne was always a mystery, of course, lingering at the edge while MC got to know Jett and Zoe in the Art Club they had formed, or as MC debated with Remy and Leon about a movie they had been watching. With Nikolai, it was mostly challenges Nikolai loved to issue and MC was too proud to deny. But she was always there, in the background. She had become a rather comforting presence, as MC had formed bonds with everyone.
“This was not the best course of action, but they took it anyway.” Vivienne’s choice had been driven by emotion, raw panic, but MC just couldn’t wrap her mind around Nikolai or Zoe, both logical to the bone, supporting it. “There must have been something else, there.”
·         With the anger slowly cooling off, MC thought she could almost begin to understand their reasons. The Poppy isn’t the sort of group to taint their hands with blood, not unless it’s absolute necessary.
·         Celine had pushed everyone, even if the heist ended on a positive note.
·         ‘I believe you have a place with us’, Nikolai had said. MC remembered the heist and how everything could have gone wrong.
·         Their talent and quick-thinking are the only reason they got out of that situation relatively unharmed.
·         No doubt the rest of their heists carried the same danger.
·         MC thought of Celine, gun aiming at her chest, eyes glinting in Vivienne’s direction and made a split-second decision.
·         There was no way, no way at all, that she was going to let anything happen to them.


·         When Vivienne had first noticed the sudden lack of danger in their heists, she was instantly suspicious.
·         She couldn’t afford to brush anything off in her line of work.
·         Zoe finds the source in no time.
·         To say they were confused as an understatement.
“I thought she was back in New York?”
“I don’t understand, why would she choose this?”
“We’re hardly so incompetent as to need a guard.”
“How long has this been happening?”
“Couple months, so maybe they started operating around March?” Zoe throws them a withering look so they’ll shut up, and lets out a long sigh once they do. “Point is, we’ve gained a new stalker, even if it’s her. She got a whole organization going, she’s pretty dedicated.”
“Of course she is, it’s why we choose her in the first place.”
“Technically, Vivienne did.”
“Well, yeah. Still, this is insane. So little time, and yet
”
“MC was always a fighter,” Vivienne says, quietly. “It’s certainly an
 interesting choice
”
“She seems to have very good intel,” Zoe continues, eyes glued to her laptop’s screen. “Too good. She knows our every movement.”
“Which means she will be lurking around this heist.” Nikolai drums his fingers against his armchair, a frown firmly in place. “That might be a problem.”
“She’s been doing this for months, but we’ve never caught a glimpse of her. It’s safe to say she won’t approach us, right?”
“We probably shouldn’t, either. Not for now. We need more info on this organization of hers.”
“We’ll proceed as planned.”
·         Except nothing goes as planned.
·         Jett’s bombs don’t go off when they should, providing no distraction and thus no way of escape for Vivienne and Nikolai.
·         No safe way, at any rate.
·         The guards get suspicious of their malfunctioning equipment remarkably quick, moving to search the place.
·         Remy gets found out first, though he stalls as much as he can.
·         It’s enough time for Leon and Nikolai to think for a way out, though Remy is still with the guards.
·         The bombs go off at that moment, and Vivienne is trapped.
·         It’s at that moment that MC’s crew intervene.
·         The guards are the most important issue, and so most of her crew go handle it.
·         MC takes care of Vivienne personally.
“Well, that went great.” MC says, flashing Vivienne a cheeky smile when she finds her. Vivienne looks up at her with wide eyes, brown eyes glinting under the light of the room.
“How did you
”
“Questions later, darling. Can you walk?”
Vivienne blinks, taking a deep breath. The motion helps her get rid of most of her surprise. She knows she doesn’t have time to lose, so she accepts MC hand and follows her out. The trip is quiet, of course. Vivienne keeps a carefully neutral expression on, eyes flickering from the woman in front of her to the rest of their escape route.
It’s hard, trying to compare this woman with the one she had kissed all those months ago. She remembers how her hands grasped at her robe, passionate, truthful, those sweet words MC had muttered against Vivienne’s mouth, before the poison had taken effect.
MC had said she would never hurt Vivienne. Vivienne had poisoned her, afraid she would hurt MC.
It didn’t feel like she could hurt the woman before her, though, standing tall and strong and confident, a leader, someone made out of stone. For a moment, Vivienne had the impression poison wouldn’t even work on her anymore.
·         MC had changed. It was as clear as the water glimmering outside the organization’s HQ.
·         She wasn’t the same bubbly, hopeful girl Vivienne had taken around Paris, teaching everything she could about thievery.
·         She wasn’t the same passionate, proud artist she had been, brush in hand, smiling in wonder and then frowning in concentration when she tried to capture something beautiful. Somehow, most of the time, the subject of her painting was Vivienne herself.
·         She was steely, snarky, commanding the room with her very presence. All eyes followed her as she went, speaking clear orders for the crew to follow.
·         In the beginning, they had stuck to the Gilded Poppy like glue, curious. No doubt they were trying to see why MC cared about them so much to go through this kind of trouble.
·         One look from MC was enough to get them to disperse.
·         This change
 everything it entailed
 Vivienne wanted to know more.
“So, how did it feel?” MC had asked her as soon as they got a moment alone. Vivienne shot her a glance, trying to decipher something in her expression.
“How did what feel?”
“Thinking you could force me out of this. You got me in this life.”
“I gave you a way out.”
“But I told you, didn’t I? I wanted this, and you
”
“I’ve lived all my life like this. I didn’t want you to face-”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have chosen me, then. Ever think of this little thing called consequences?”
Isadora flashes through her mind, quick, too quick. It leaves a trail of golden hair in the back on her mind, all too real when she closes her eyes. Vivienne presses her lips together, forces herself to focus.
“This organization
”
“Don’t let it get to your head, darling. It’s not you I’m worried about.”
“
The others, then.”
“Yes. Quid pro quo, and all that. I’ll see what I can ask in return later.”
“We didn’t ask you to intervene.”
“You didn’t ask before poisoning me, either. I feel like doing drastic things without asking for permission are common place around here.”
“That doesn’t even-”
“Ah, ah, ah. Did I save your lives, yes or no?”
Jett had said, before they got released from the medical ward, that the plan failing was entirely his fault, after getting too distracted thinking about MC to get his usual formulas right. Vivienne didn’t doubt him – Jett was, after all, very dedicated to his craft. A mistake was unthinkable, unless something of this magnitude managed to get to him.
He felt guilty and weirded out, probably, she thinks bitterly, despite everything being my fault, as per usual.
“
you did.”
The smile that stretches over MC’s face is almost predatory, brown eyes glinting with satisfaction. “That’s what I like to hear.”
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