#disgustingly sappy behavior

[desi-lesbian]

“Would you love me if I was a worm?”

Baby, I would love you even if you didn’t exist because you are the kind of woman I usually daydream about coming home to..

[writing-blocked-me]

Hi!!! I just wanted to say I really like your writing! Especially your Chuuya fics! I was wondering if I could request from your flower series? Could you write a Ranpo x reader for number 4? I just need some clingy Ranpo fluff right now :)

Thank you so much! :D

Also yesss! Clingy Ranpo supremacy! The affection would just be immense :)

Jasmine

Jasmine - Attachment

Number 9 of my flowers drabble/one-shot series

Requests still open for the flowers series! So feel free to shoot me an ask!

Masterlist - Flowers Masterlist

Summary: Clingy Ranpo cuddles you on the agency sofa and the narrator (me) goes into a disgustingly sappy rant about how in love you are.

CW: Tooth-rotting fluff <3

Pairings: Ranpo x Reader

A/N: I still can't write dialogue, so excuse the poor quality of the spoken word. This one’s a short one, just a drabble, but I’d be happy to expand it if anyone wanted that :)

Enjoy :)

“Closer.”

“...”

“Closer!”

Ranpo whines as you sit beside him on the agency's couch.  His arms are wrapped around tightly, a clear sign you won't be allowed to leave any time soon.  You shuffle closer and closer, pressing into his side, until it is physically impossible to move any closer.  And yet…

“Closer!” He whines again, arms squeezing you tighter.

“I literally cannot get any closer to you.”  You roll your eyes at the detective's antics as he clung to you, pouting.  You were used to his ridiculousness.  As the World's Greatest Detective, Ranpo had special privileges within the agency.  He could pick and choose cases, spend all day slacking off, but, most importantly, he was entitled to, as he put it, 'unlimited affection' from his significant other.  On the daily, he would demand cuddles, kisses, any and all affection he could get.  

Today, however, Ranpo Edogawa was particularly attached to you.  He had spent the day attempting to get you to slack off with him, much to the chagrin of your other colleagues. With the president away on business, the responsibility to keep Ranpo on track ultimately fell to you.  Needless to say, this was a huge problem when you were also his biggest distraction.  The entire day was spent with Ranpo being assigned a case, him finding a way to ditch it or pass it off to another member of the agency, then Kunikida complaining and you having to shove the Greatest Detective back to work.  Rinse and repeat.

That was, until the end of the day, when Ranpo went on strike, making it clear he would not be doing anything else for the rest of his working hours.  He had sat himself on the agency couch, dragging you down with him and pulling you close, insisting on having your affection all to himself.  You were helpless to do anything but indulge him, offering apologetic looks to your coworkers. 

This led to your current situation, with Ranpo aiming to pull you impossibly closer to him, unsatisfied with your current position.  Despite you quite literally being squished up against him.

“Cuddles.” A demand more than a question, as it always was from Ranpo and, though you were exasperated with his earlier behavior, it was a demand you could never bring yourself to refuse.  You wrapped your arms around the detective, feeling his own arms tighten around you in turn.  It felt nice.  Comforting.  Warm.  It was an emotion that only reared its head when the World's Greatest Detective was around.  An emotion that reminded you why you were willing to entertain all these ridiculous antics. An emotion you were certain would never fade.

[10000-paper-nohara-rins]

I think a critical part of creating a Rin I would enjoy writing is that her mask should not only a source of delicious angst, but that she also just has fun with it. Deciding to inject fun into a not ideal situation sounds like her already.

As an aside, I’ve headcanoned for a while now that Kakashi’s famous “Haha, yup! <3,” in response to Naruto’s poisoning and imminent death was a stolen aspect of Rin’s attitude.(he really said it’s free real estate) That’s the kind of responses I’m imagining.

Anyways, let me explain. Most everyone has an impression that Obito and Kakashi are a pair of dysfunctional screaming cats and Rin is the long-suffering polite little angel. She notices this and decides to keep the charade up so that she can cash in on it occasionally. But her team can be a migraine making machine, and sometimes you have to be mean to people who are mean to you. For your health. In Rin’s case she has to do it in a way that can’t be perceived as mean(Now we don’t have time to unpack all of that) So her frustration manifests as cheery passive aggression, saying sappy things that she knows will annoy them, or not engaging with whatever concerning thing is happening(see above). It’s not that she’s never kind for the sake of being kind, it just gets tiring after a while, and it’s so fucking funny to be so disgustingly nice and oblivious it makes Kakashi go insane. He might even suspect it’s an act but she either gaslights him or nobody else believes him. He probably gets more of her ire than obito, who usually has good intentions and is just stupid about it. I think her act works especially well on Minato since he’s the unfortunate exhausted person who has to deal with their team. So pulling out the ‘easy child’ card gets her special treatment for sure.

Bonus points if Kushina figures her Nice Act out and she and Rin use it to cover for pranks.

oh yeah absolutely rin is a huge troll. when she is not seething/dissociating. i think,,, that minato of course falls for the "easy child" card very very hard. but i also think that obito and kakashi dont really see past her facades either. up until obito 'dies' at least. ok well obito is VERY tangled up in rin as like,,, an Ideal, even after he leaves konoha and she dies, and that doesnt ever change (in the canon timeline.) kakashi on the other hand,, i think he just. is bad at reading people for a really large chunk of his early childhood (its the trauma. and the autism). and like by the time he hits anbu/meets tenzo hes still a socially awkward gremlin but now he at least has basic observation skills!!!! but when he was hanging with rin,, i do not think he had the mental bandwidth to seriously examine her behavior or the capacity to interpret it.

anyways. this creates an odd dynamic where kakashi views rin as kind of,, childish?? naive?? actually kakarin dynamic is something i probably need to elaborate on in another post i have Many thoughts about them. but the important thing here is that all the other members of team minato seriously dont question whether or not rin is being sincere because it doesnt occur to them to question that since her facade matches with a lot of their preconceived notions of a girl like her VERY well. which means that a lot of time (for obito and minato, at least,) rin trolling results in them gritting their teeth and telling themselves that she doesnt mean anything by it and shes just trying to be nice (she is naught)

when it's just rin and kks post bridge, i think that 1-rin lets her mask slip by way of just. spending a LOT more time with kakashi than she has ever spent with anyone else and 2- kakashi internalizes a lot of her more trollish behavior, yeah, as like. A Normal Thing To Do. because he's in the process of rewriting his entire personality from scratch and rin's ALWAYS super normal!!! i know a lot of people headcanon the sukea persona to be based off of rin, and honestly i agree with that wholeheartedly. what is Rin if not a mask to be taken on and off.

on kushina: kushina is the embodiment of "fake it till you make it" to me but SPECIFICALLY in regards to like. being happy. if she is SMILING she is HAPPY and if she isnt happy then she will be soon!!!! yes i know theres not a ton of canon basis for this but kishimoto can get his women back as soon as he starts giving them personalities besides "mom". what was i talking about. oh yeah basically kushina and her weird personality stuff directly parallels rin and her weird personality stuff and so kushina HAS noticed that sometimes there is something a little Off about rin. but she dismisses it as the same kind of """"coping"""" that she herself is doing and never really sits down for a conversation about it with rin. fascinating.

anyways. i think more often than not rin indulges in trolling not because she enjoys the results(well she does thats definitely part of it) but also because she likes to prove to herself that even when she's not keeping up the mask she is keeping up the mask. especially because the way i see it most of her pranks would be like. entirely social. stirs the conversation subtly towards uncomfortable subjects For Fun. its her enrichment. i think one week she wakes up and decides that minato NEEDS to explain the birds and the bees to kks+obt (notable orphans). for her amusement. that kind of thing.

[animeyanderelover]

2/25 for my 25 Anime anniversary. This character was chosen by me.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, delusions, overprotective behavior, jealousy, violence, abduction

Yandere Katagiri Tamaki

💛Hotheaded and lovestruck, Tamaki finds himself nothing short of charmed by his darling, determined to get to know them better and take the spot as their boyfriend. His younger sister Yuzuki finds herself more than just once a day utterly annoyed with her brother because he is so disgustingly sappy. He often forgets to do his work and instead just twirls around in his chair with a lovesick grin on his face, a wistful sigh escaping his lips every few minutes. When he talks to others about you, he refers to you as his beauty or god/goddess even if you two aren’t even in a relationship yet.

💛The man is passionate, maybe a bit too hopeful which is why he starts turning delusional somewhere along the road. Hopes turn into conviction that you two will become at one point a thing, the way he treats you crosses the borderline of affection quite often which is why people mistake you as a couple more than once. He’s quite possessive, especially in front of people he just doesn’t like because of a gut feeling. He becomes awfully touchy at such times, constantly letting his hands linger on your shoulder or hip. Due to the dangers of Gastrea and his general infatuation with you, the Promoter is rather protective and thanks to his hotheaded and brash personality, he tends to react before thinking.

💛Tamaki is quite a little asshole to others when they’re around you since he is awfully cocky and arrogant and, most of all, incredibly smug once he’s managed to successfully woo you. Who knows, maybe he really thinks of himself as the best partner for you and for that looks a bit down on others. Whether you call this weird thought process of his a delusion or not, it is the reason why he isn’t exactly often seen jealous. It’s his possessive side that is shown more often, he wouldn’t worry that much since you’re already his. Other people can be a nuisance around you though if they don’t see what is obvious in bold letters. Tamaki has his hands on you quickly, presses a kiss against your lips before turning his attention to the other person, flashing them a cocky and mean grin. Excuse his choice of words, he might be just a little bit condescending. His confidence doesn’t really makes him immune against jealousy though and around some people Rentaro he might actually become jealous. He’s more hostile in such moments, passive aggressive and in the worst case he snaps a bit and let’s his hotheaded personality get the better of him.

💛Yuzuki and him are tasked to get rid of Gastrea but both have never harmed a human before. It’s no secret that Cursed Children are still highly hated, some even get violent or attempt to kill them yet Tamaki and Yuzuki still fight for mankind. The average person probably would search the distance if Tamaki winds up being with you since he has a unpleasant personality if he wants others to leave you two alone and is also a skilled combatant. His possessive and protective traits mixed with his impulsive side leads to him turning lightly physical as soon as someone has gone a bit too far. Anyone insulting you, looking at you the wrong way or making you uncomfortable usually ends up with Tamaki towering over them, clenched fist around their collar and warnings and threats spit in their face. If that person attempts to fight him back and land a hit on him they normally end up in the dirt with a blue eye and heavy blows all over their body that are guaranteed to leave bruises. The blond-haired man won’t hesitate to break bones either if the situation is serious.

💛The relationship is actually normal in the eyes of the average citizen. That Tamaki has to be such a cocky individual isn’t the fault of his darling after all and he is rather sappy when he is with them after all. The s/o themselves might be unaware of Tamaki’s obsession or how he sometimes convinces his little sister to stalk on them for him since she’s better at it than him. He sees kidnapping beyond him, truly loyal to his fantasies of a long and strong future together with you yet he’s only human. If there is something that is threatening the relationship, be it that you want to leave him or something or someone endangering your life, he might lock you up for “safety reasons”. The man might even talk his sister into laying a web to ensure that you won’t escape in case you’re kept against your will.

💛His sister is more tsunderish but likes you a lot as well. It’s unclear whether or not she actually knows about the unhealthy feelings of her brother and just ignores them since her bro is happy or if she doesn’t see his emotions as wrong. Tamaki likes to show you off a lot after you two are a couple, adamant to show the whole world that you are his now and to rub it into the faces of everyone who had their eyes set on you as well or didn’t believe you’d accept him. A tease and a flirt all at once, he chooses such cheesy lines and nicknames and wants to fluster you. He’s always cooing over you if he actually achieves his goal and won’t let you forget about it for a while.

[capricioussun]

I really want to hear more about Edge!! Do you have any info you’d like to share about him? Or could I perhaps ask you about your dating headcannons for him? What’s he like as a partner?

I’m in love with him

Oh boy. Oh man. Like. It’s probably weird to say this, but I’ve said it before in tags so it’s whatever; 99% of what I think about at any given time is UF, and usually mostly Papyrus specifically. Edge and Void preoccupy undoubtedly an unhealthy amount of my thoughts agsjshahfhfj

So of course I have a ton of headcanons about him, and for reasons I won’t talk about, even though I personally don’t really self ship, I have thought about him in a relationship a lot, so I would love to!

I have to preface this because I’m annoying and say that it also depends on the partner, like. Edge would be a different partner to Mettaton than he’d be to Blaze (UF Grillby), you know what I mean? Of course you do you write f/o stuff for the bros all the time BUT that’s beside the point.

The point is, ultimately, Edge is a lovey dovey dumbass with Too Much Love In Him disease. Like I’d mentioned in that prompt ask, he is, first and foremost, a nurturer. His partner’s comfort and health is essentially his top priority, to the point where he will even forgo his own comfort and well being, so he definitely needs a partner who would be considerate of him and simultaneously be stubborn enough to make sure he takes care of himself, too.

He learned a lot of bad habits from his underground’s society, and a long standing headcanon of mine is that Papyri in general tend to be very “reflective”, or another word may be “adaptive”. Barring trauma related stuff, Edge would actually have an easier time adapting to surface life than other Fell monsters, as long as he had a steady enough hand guiding him to better mindsets. Like Frisk. He was essentially the first monster to be swayed into believing there’s a better way, because at the end of the day, all of his “fellisms” (like not being allowed to openly show concern) are products of his upbringing. That’s not in his nature. He’s still Papyrus after all. He wants to believe in the greater good, no matter how deeply down that’s buried.

So, basically, a partner would have to learn to identify his “fell-type” behaviors and be patient in reminding him that isn’t how things are anymore. Remind him that communication is important, even help teach him how to communicate in a healthier way. Verbally express their opinions on things, or ask him to do things, like sit with them, or hold hands, or if they can keep him company while he’s doing something. Communication was next to nonexistent in his culture, so he’s not likely to ask until he’s been told to, or he’ll just tolerate something he isn’t comfortable with because his partner started doing it. Once you’ve reached the level of being in an actual relationship, Edge is entirely convinced now that he is solely responsible for making you happy and keeping you satisfied, lest he be deemed a bad partner and left, and if he’s come around enough to you that you’re in a relationship, he’s probably already in love with you, and the aforementioned thought of abandonment is terrifying.

He is prideful and takes too much responsibility for…everything. So honest communication is so incredibly important with him, because he’s really fucking bad with social cues and communicating for himself.

Over time, once he’s eased more into the relationship though, when he’s more comfortable knowing the boundaries and where he stands with someone, he’s honestly just disgustingly sappy. And he’s very clingy. Well, behind closed doors. Not a big fan of pda, beyond hand holding usually. But at home? Forget about it. When he’s burned off enough energy to be able to relax more, you basically have a seven and a half foot tall moony cat on your hands. And he’s a brat, too. If he wants your attention, and he’s certain you aren’t actually annoyed, he will get your attention. He will hold you prisoner at his desk if he needs to work, or simply lay on top of you on the couch to prevent your escape, hold you from behind at the counter and either nuzzle or curl into you. Always one with little kisses, too; hands, cheeks, forehead, wherever, whenever you part from a pleasant interaction, he will likely give a little peck even if he’s only going into the next room over. He lingers with any hugs, and loves to just. Watch his partner. Whatever they’re doing. He’s deeply charmed by all the goofy little things his love does, and he loves to let them know it. If you catch him staring, he just continues doing it, perhaps smiling a bit more, or making a cheeky comment about whatever it is you’re doing. He’s also quite the artist! So there’s likely sketches of you in his sketchbook.

Once it’s far enough along for him to be entirely relaxed in a relationship like that, he is really a total sweetheart. Thoughtful gifts just whenever, probably has all your favorite meals memorized, he’s literally a better, happier person for having someone take that kind of time to teach and take care of him, and it shows in how different he is from when he first surfaced. He’s got a lot more patience, even with strangers, he’s a lot less stressed out, and he even communicates better overall, especially with his brother and friends he still has from the old days. He’s still of course very sassy, and isn’t above a lot of fond teasing, but he’s an open lover, meaning that he isn’t shy about how much he cares for his partner, and they’d definitely have to be the type to be okay with that.

He still worries, of course, and still has his own demons, but with a well nurtured bond, he is a very loyal, honest, and trusting partner.

Also some unrelated random headcanons because why not!

-he can play the piano, but doesn’t usually, for reasons he won’t talk about

-he has a soft spot for plush, and keeps a small collection once he’s on the surface

-he has special cut resistant gloves because his claws are sharper than they should be, it’s why he never really takes them off

-his vision in his damaged socket is fucked up

-he can see souls (no one else knows this)

-when he’s very upset, about to have a panic attack, or really relaxed, his eyelights go out

-he purrs baby!!!

-has more of a sweet tooth than he’s willing to let anyone know

-loves hair. Loves doing someone’s hair, loves the texture of it, loves brushing it, it’s so neat to him

-he also wears gloves because he has sensory issues lol

-his natural scent is kinda like cherry candy and campfire

-has an incredibly high spice tolerance he could eat a ghost pepper and be like ‘huh, tangy’ don’t ever ask him how spicy something is he is an unreliable source of information

-what the fuck is Minecraft

-he’s not actually that loud usually, he mumbles a lot

-he also pouts (grumbly pouty drama queen)

-he does NOT wear heels even though he likes them because he also likes to not hit his head off every light fixture in existence

-says he prefers cats but he also begrudgingly loves dogs

-he will read a newspaper I’m not kidding he’s spiritually an old man

-he tasted chocolate milk once and was so torn on if he liked it or hated it he decided on hates it purely because it confused him so much

-he’s scared of bunnies sort of because they look very delicate and he’s always afraid of stepping on one

-has never eaten an apple like a horse (sadly)

-loves train rides!!! Flights are okay but he really likes trains!

-deals with sensory overload issues =^(

-likes scented candles but is very picky about the scents

-lies about drinking his coffee black

-cuddly…

[rexscanonwife]

💖💖 double hearts so we get two👀

Oh gosh, you spoil me!! x3 thank you so much!! These are gonna be Rebels Rex themed cause thats what I associate you with the most hehe

💖: in the Rebels era, me and Rex are absolutely disgustingly sappy in public! Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but now that we don't have anyone to hide from anymore we're finally free to be open about our love for each other. He was always so reserved and careful during the clone wars, but he's actually very affectionate deep down 🥺 it's partially because we think it's funny that others are grossed out by it, but he will 100% ask for good luck/goodbye kisses before missions or have his hand on my waist or around my shoulders where he wouldn't have DARED do anything like that in front of others before.

💖: Rex is ABSOLUTELY the 'that's my wife!' guy and he's not afraid to show it! He'll show me off or boast about my accomplishments as a General in the rebellion because he's proud of me and he's proud to be my husband!! He also absolutely does NOT tolerate any sort of disrespect aimed at either me or our children and he's quick to correct that sort of behavior. His captain instincts are still deeply ingrained in him after all, he leads with respect but that means putting your foot down from time to time x'3

[sleepypaladiknight]

OK FIC IDEA:

that one au where you can hear your soulmate singing out loud in your head- but leopika

leorio wasn’t much of a singer as a child- the impoverished corner of the world he lived in didn’t have much music to sing to, either. the closest he’s got were the staticky, muffled and clipped tunes that rattled out of the neighbor’s radio. that’s why he’s always preferred listening- listening to his soulmate’s songs.

it was in a language he didn’t understand, but it was the clearest, sweetest music he’s ever heard. he memorized those humble tunes and lullabies, tracing the foreign syllables over and over with his tongue and humming the melodies nobody but him and his soulmate knew. he carved his soulmate’s voice into his mind, bragging to Pietro about his melodic partner and how he couldn’t wait to meet him.

then one day they stopped.

he found it coincidental- that it was on the same day Pietro passed away from illness. but it was fitting- it was a day where all the music and life left him.

as years went on his hopes of hearing his soulmate’s comforting tune dwindled away, but the music and the tunes he cherished so much as a boy remained, even as he learned new songs to sing to in the world around him. he’d sing out as loudly as he could, the raunchiest and most irritatingly popular songs he knew on some days, hoping offhandedly to lure the music from his partner again and hear that kind, soft voice just one more time. it never worked.

so, he swore to never sing that song, that one soft melody, until he heard it from his soulmate themself.

then he met kurapika. a guy who didn’t sing at all, and whose expression alone sang out his melancholies. his voice was prim and strict, the annoying, uppity kind that made Leorio’s blood boil, but it was familiar.

in the confines of trick tower, the topic began to stray.

“your soulmate must love your singing.” he teased.

the blond seemed to hesitate, and didn’t meet his eye. “i don’t care about soulmates.” kurapika’s voice sounded almost sad. “it would be for the better if mine never meets me at all.”

“yeesh, that’s real positive of you.”

“and what about you?” he said almost accusingly. “what do you think of your soulmate?”

“i don’t care about my soulmate, either,” he bit out, “but it’s for a good reason. mine stopped singing to me.”

“they must have their reasons.”

“which are probably as pompous and bratty as you!”

then they were back to their usual bickering. life went on, and his ambitions neared with every step of the journey he completed. their little group parted ways to chase after their own interests and dreams, and for around a year, leorio never saw one of them face to face.

then kurapika showed up on a cloudy evening, after billions and gazillions of ignored calls and texts left on delivered. they exchanged apologies and grievances and angers, embraced each other and shared glances that lasted a few seconds too long as they talked.

for some reason, kurapika had a strained look on his face when leorio began to sing the lyrics to some queen song. he wouldn’t even look at him, but leorio shrugged it off as usual angsty behavior.

they found themselves on the rickety balcony of leorio’s cheap apartment, looking out over the city.

“so, still given up on your soulmate?”

kurapika said nothing.

“well, me too, i guess.” he sighed out. “i lied to you- back at the exam when i told you i didn’t care about my soulmate. i,” he laughed, a bittersweet sound, “i actually cared a lot. it just felt easier to deny it. it’s... pretty damn hard facing the idea that maybe my soulmate really doesn’t care anymore, doesn’t want to meet me. maybe they’re gone. maybe they hate my voice or something- from what i remember, they were a hella good singer. nice, bright voice and everything. maybe they didn’t wanna end up with someone musically talentless like me. maybe that one time i sang ‘call me maybe’ in the shower was the last straw.”

and to his delight, it drew a soft chuckle from the blonde leaning against the railing next to him, arms brushing and shoulders touching. his hair looked like silver in the moonlight. still, kurapika didn’t reply.

so leorio forged on.

“i, uh, already told you my soulmate stopped singing. like, completely. but i still remember the songs they used to sing. they were a huge comfort to me when i was little, when things were hard and a little bit of song was something people couldn’t even afford. i didn’t even know what the words mean, still don’t, but all i know is that they meant the world to me.” leorio glanced at kurapika with a sheepish smile. “wanna hear? so maybe you can hunt down the bastard that left me hanging?”

“sure.” his voice was scratchy, almost pained.

and leorio began gently. kindly. he was sure his accent was off- it didn’t roll off his tongue as fluently as it did for his soulmate all those years ago. but the sounds and the tune was the same- the one that he’s devotedly committed to memory, the one that he hastily wrote down on a piece of binder paper as a reminder of the comfort his soulmate used to bring, the one that he swore to never forget- it was his soulmate’s last song.

when he tapered off into absentminded humming, he realized kurapika was crying. his eyes were blown wide, flecks of magenta shimmering across the deep, scarlet hue of his irises. tears rolled down his soft, pale cheeks, glinting like diamonds in the moon’s embrace, falling on a dampened shirt that clasped trembling shoulders. leorio felt clumsy and dumb, trying to soothe kurapika, asking him what was wrong, if he was okay- then kurapika began to choke out words, rubbing away at his eyes with his arms.

“how do you know that song.” it wasn’t a question, it was a demand.

“i already told you, my soul-“

“no. you don’t understand. it’s a very personal song. a traditional song.” kurapika teared up again, liquid sadness welling up in his eyes. “it’s a song- a lullaby- that i’ve forgotten for the longest time. it’s my mother’s.”

leorio gaped, “your mom was my soulmate?!”

“no, you idiot!” Kurapika couldn’t help but laugh through his tears, beating a fist against leorio’s chest. they burst into a fit of laughter, boisterously cackling in the silence of the night, overpowering the honking cars in the streets below and the sound of their worries adrift in their heads. nothing but them existed.

kurapika’s hand remained there, on leorio’s chest, starting to clench at the fabric of his dress shirt. they were silent, for seconds, minutes, maybe hours, until Leorio’s hand drifted up to meet it, brushing gently against the soft, scarred skin of Kurapika’s slender fingers.

“i’m sorry.” kurapika whispered softly, barely above his breath. “i wasn’t fair to you. you were always trying, always singing to me.”

leorio couldn’t speak.

“i’ve been hearing your voice for years now. you and your- your stupid songs-“ he laughed out, but it sounded more like a choked sob.

leorio couldn’t breathe.

“i didn’t mean to make you lose hope. but i was hoping you would, so you wouldn’t chase after someone like me.”

leorio couldn’t think.

kurapika was leaning closer, voice growing quieter and quieter until they had to be inches apart to hear, to exchange words.

“i couldn‘t bring myself to sing. i didn’t have a reason to, not anymore. not after what happened to my clan. i noticed you stopped singing for a time, too. but it only took months before you began again, gaining more momentum with every song. i envied you and your strength.”

kurapika had started to shake, small frame shuddering against leorio’s. without thinking, he brought his other hand up to thumb away a tear that had begun trickling down kurapika’s face.

“i wanted to sing to you too, but all the songs i wished to teach you had disappeared from my memory. i was so preoccupied with my goals, that i... i began to forget the things that mattered more. what the faces of my family and my old friends looked like. what the lukso sunlight felt like on my skin, or how the grass felt underneath my feet. what the croons of a happy piko bird sounded like, or how beautifully blue the sky was on a sunny day. what my mother’s voice sounded like, what the words to her songs were, i, i-” kurapika sobbed, “i betrayed myself and my entire clan. i thought i had truly lost them and the part of myself that i swore i wouldn’t let die.”

their foreheads fell together, touching reassuringly. kurapika’s eyes fluttered closed as he spoke, body rendered as fragile as his voice, his feelings, his heart. leorio held each with careful, treasuring hands.

”i’d become a monster. a stranger in the same body i walked my home with. i thought- i thought that my soulmate didn’t deserve someone like that. someone like me.” he heaved out, chest shuddering with every quiet breath, “you don’t deserve someone like me, and i could never-“

and leorio shut that bullshit up with his lips.

they slotted together perfectly. call him disgustingly cheesy, sappy, any romantically insulting insult you could throw- but it felt like harmony. it felt so beautiful, his emotions crescendoing and his heart thrumming mercilessly in his chest as it fitted against kurapika’s. those soft, slightly chapped lips, damp from the tears that had trickled past them, felt perfect on his, like his lips were made to meet them. and just as easily as he had lost the music and life all those years ago, it was returned to him, in the form of a blond, pressed up against him and demanding for more, more, more with his mouth, hands all over his shoulders, fingers tangled in hair, breathing in each other, kissing like it was the very last thing they could do.

when they parted, leorio let himself get intoxicated by the sound of kurapika’s panting, drunk on the soft sounds that spilled past his lips like music.

”cut- cut the crap,” he breathed out, pulling kurapika closer by the waist and burying his head in his head of gold. ”for the rest of my life, stop talking. and start singing.”

[wtf-yoongi]

Warm inside. / MYG

pairing | yoongi x reader

summary | yet another one that features yoongi being cute in bed

genre/warnings | disgustingly fluffy + one suggestive line towards the end

words | 1,080

note | i was thinking i need to find a way to mention cupping therapy and the only way to do that is by having yoongi shirtless somehow… yeah all that bc of some cupping marks on his back i need help?

edit: this was posted the day before bh released the statement about yoongi’s shoulder and it features yoongi complaining about it. bad timing i guess but i just wanted to say it wasn’t my intention to take advantage of the situation. sorry!

You’re only three minutes into the ride home when you notice you miss the feeling of Yoongi’s hand on you while you drive.

It’s such a simple and familiar action — his hand on your tight, fingers caressing lightly whether it’s you or him driving —, so common you’ve associated being in a car with his unsettling hands on you at all times. So automatic you’re confident it’s one of those endearing things Yoongi does without thinking — one of the thousands you’ve had and still have the pleasure and privilege to figure out, one by one.

Time slows down when the only thing your brain can focus on is the fact that, this time around, these thoughts don’t immediately translate into a permanent pout on your lips, feeling miserable for a whole weekend or longing for something you know won’t happen anytime soon. 

This time, it calms your heart to realize he’s home. To think he’s such a close distance from you makes the world look a bit more colorful, almost as if someone has adjusted the tones to be brighter and a little bit more saturated. Just enough for the silliest of things to bring a smile to your face. Suddenly, everything’s in bloom, there are nothing but happy dogs walking down the street and sappy love songs playing on the radio.

You hate it how much you love them.

This is only intensified when you get home, by the way Yoongi’s shoes are haphazardly thrown by the door and the obvious perfume trail he leaves behind despite not wearing much of it. How ridiculous is it to think you’re so weak for him and having him around you notice and list these little things all the time — the laptop on the sofa with headphones on top of it, the leftover iced coffee above the sink, the shirt on the back of one of the dining room chairs, keys and wallet on the table. None of this happens when you’re alone — they only happen when he’s home.

It should drive you mad, yes. You would be the first to give whoever it is a dirty look, show how much you disapprove of such messy behavior. You know this because you’ve done it before — to people you have shared an apartment with, to your closest friends when they visit, to your parents whenever you go back to your hometown, to past boyfriends who could never clean after themselves. 

But, for some reason, not to him. You never got mad because Yoongi would be the first to apologize for being sloppy and leaving things behind. He’d place a kiss on your shoulder and say he would clean up later like everyone else says, but he actually does. Not because he’s an inherently neat person, but because you like it that way. You are the orderly person in this relationship and he just wants to see you happy at all times.

So, instead of picking up all the things and taking them to their correct places by the door, in the office and hanging in the closet, you leave them behind as well. You laugh at yourself for doing this — for adding your own mess to Yoongi’s by leaving you shoulder bag dangling just next to his shirt, your keys on top of his, sunglasses right next to the bunch. Like him, you would deal with them later, when your priorities have been taken care of.

Today, your priority is him. Just Yoongi. Nothing else.

The trail of perfume you felt earlier is replaced by that grapefruit scented shower gel he loves the closer you get to the bedroom. There, you notice a pile of body half covered by the white sheets and you open the en-suite door just to confirm Yoongi has taken a shower before going to bed. You desperately want to join him and move around quickly and quietly to gather some clothes to freshen up. Even showering when the bathroom is already humid and slightly steamy makes you warm inside and you swear to all the gods you’ve lost it this time.

When you leave the bathroom with nothing but a loose and thin t-shirt, the steps that take you to the bed seem longer than ever. You pull the sheets to cover yourself, snuggling closer to Yoongi’s body, and that’s when you finally notice there’s nothing covering his back. You touch the skin there, hands hot from the summer weather and the shower against cold skin, and pull the sheets further to cover his shoulders and avoid a cold.

“Get your burning hot hands off of me,” Yoongi hums lowly, contradicting his words by reaching for your hand with his and dragging it across his bare chest, bringing you closer. “Do you know how long it took for me to cool down after the shower?”

“Of course…” You giggle, draping a leg right where his hip began. “You take boiling hot showers, what can I do?”

“Boiling hot showers are the best,” Yoongi defends himself, sighing contently and pulling your hand even closer. “Almost as great as you are.”

Yoongi is a little bitter he can’t see the smile he’s feeling on his back right now.

“Did my jet lagged baby get some rest today?”

“He did.” Yoongi nods and lets out a breathy laugh that moves his shoulders and makes your chin collide with it. His smile immediately disappears from his face to be replaced by a cute frown. “That… Is a little sore.”

You whisper a tiny sorry before creating a small distance between you and the round reddish bruises near his shoulder blades. You’re a little more delicate now, touching them gently and leaving a soft kiss there. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Ah,” he moans again, clearly dissatisfied. “I’ve had it worse before, it’s fine. It’s probably a good thing we have some time off of performances now. It’ll give this thing some rest.”

You kiss the cupping mark again, wishing with all your being it would just fade and stop feeling sore. “Good.”

“It’s also probably a good thing we were very slow and lazy yesterday, because I don’t think this thing could have taken anything harder than that.”

You chuckle, leaving yet another kiss on his back. “Noted. All soft until this thing heals. I’m totally okay with that.”

“Yeah, yeah… Now will your body to cool down too, otherwise I’m going to have to let go of you and I don’t want to.”

Read more ›› masterlist

[chrisevansgoodgirl]

hey there, so i have a question. who would you, as a scorpio, date from chris’ characters? i am a scorp and i loveeee Andy so so much, and I know he would be an amazing daddy to me, I know he would take care of me and dote on me, but…based on my real life experience, I think I could only imagine myself dating Ransom tbh. The toxicity? The meanness? I feel like he wouldn’t put up with my bullshit. I mean he would, but not in the way “now i’m offended and i’m gonna go cry bye”. He would just put me in my place and omg yeeesssss just fuck the attitude outta me. On the other hand, would he cheat? That I wouldn’t tolerate. Like the whole relationship would be a nasty sex, throwing insults at each other and at our weakest moments we would be disgustingly clingy and sappy. (Also, bonus question: what sign do you think Andy is? 👀 I wanna know our compatibility)

Sorry for taking so long, I was really thinking about it lol.

It is hard to just pick one and stick with it. When I’m in my dark, angsty moods, I fucking want Ransom. I think he can be so sweet if he really wanted and I think the way that he shows his version of love would be so unique and fun. The issue is, who would stop the argument? I think Ransom is very sensitive. Too sensitive. If you hurt him a little, he’s going to try to one up you. And scorpios are all about revenge (lol guilty) and it’s just never going to get resolved.

But then I know I want Andy like most of the time. I love him, I think he’s a beautiful person who just wants to help and make things better. That’s why he became a lawyer. And I can’t get over the fact that he loves his son so much and his wife and how badly he just wants a good, happy family. Andy would definitely love me the way that I should be loved, the way that would keep me long term happy. And I LOVE that he truly believed Jacob was innocent. I feel like that’s the loyalty that Scorpios crave. Bc idk about you, but I know people. I can read them pretty fast and I know pretty early on if something is well within their behavior. You know what I mean? It’s just about that unshakable trust that not many people have, but Andy does! he doesn’t trust many people, but the ones he does trust, he 1000000% trusts them.

But at the same time, I can’t pretend that he’s not a little closed off! That would be hard for me. That would start to weigh on me and that makes me feel like I would love Steve! He’s a cancer (and I’m currently experiencing a real life cancer obsession 🙄 and honestly, I love how emotional he can be!) so with Steve, there would be SO MUCH and I know he can get consumed by things, I know he can get busy, but when he’s present, I know he would be the most loving person to ever exist.

Sexually, this might sound weird but I don’t think Ransom would always be perfect. Hear me out, I head canon Ransom as a Libra. Can they be good? Yes. Sexually, are they going to change to match your moods? Not unless you make them super mad. The problem with Ransom would be that sometimes he would be into his own emotions so much that he just wouldn’t care what’s going on with you or yours.

Andrew, on the other hand, would be so accommodating. And it’s just the fact that he has such a messy job. Like he constantly puts people in their place and like yeah, if Ransom yelled at me, I would be so fucking down, but like Andy wouldn’t need to yell at me. Like Ransom has to work for my respect, Andy just has it. If I was in a mood, I would push Ransom. I would never push Andy without his permission lol. And Steve, well, we know that that’s going to be a little different. I don’t head canon him as someone who isn’t into rough sex—like, he comes from the generation of war PTSD being ignored. Y’all wanna tell me they don’t have unhelpful coping methods? Steve is definitely an angry sex kinda person, but then he can be the softest bitch to ever exist.

Let’s get into the smaller characters. Dating? Not sure. But I would be down to be Freezy’s phone slut. Dead ass, he calls and I’m there. And I’d prob get super attached and he wouldn’t give me any reason to, but I’d still do it. Any day, any time. And I would talk about other guys to get on his nerves even though there are definitely no other guys.

Frank is an interesting one. He’s busy but when Mary is older, when life is a little more settled, I think he would be perfect. It might be irritating to a Scorpio how slow he is to trust and let them into his life, but idk I feel like he could definitely grow into a really great partner. He looks like he craves the same things Andy does—a perfect family.

So! Andy’s sign. I’m torn between two. The obvious part of me wants to say a Capricorn. His work ethic, his determination, his need for control. At the very least, a few Caps are in his chart. But I could also hear the case for him being a Virgo. Something about his modest vibes, his reserved nature, how quiet he is, but also still, how he handles himself at work. I would love to hear what you think, too! Are there any other signs you think would work?

I’ll also tell you which ones I definitely know he’s just not! Not an Aries—if I talk shit about Aries a lot, I do apologize. I didn’t have great experiences with them but currently, I have two friends. That’s it. They are both Aries lol. So, my opinion of them has been corrected BUT Andy has enviable control of his emotions. His anger, specifically. Sure. He had his moments, but he also tested positive for that gene. He wouldn’t be able to control himself if he was an Aries. I don’t think he’s a fire sign at all. He’s too controlled.

And as much as I love Tauruses and as compatible as I am with them, deep down, I just know he’s not a Taurus. There’s something missing that I don’t necessarily think he’s as earthy as they usually are.

And listen, as much as I don’t like them (except Daddy!), I am willing to admit, he could be a Gemini. Laurie felt like he didn’t listen sometimes, def a Gemini thing. And I do feel like sometimes there were two different versions of Andy, not wholly different, but just sometimes he was a little unpredictable.

Definitely not a libra or cancer. I don’t know a lot about Pisces. I don’t think he’s weird enough to be an Aquarius lol, but I could be wrong about that. So yeah, I’m leaning toward Cap or Virgo.

[ashleyswrittenwords]

Subtleties of a Suitor (Part 2 of 2)

Summary: Pre-calamity AU where Zelda’s powers awaken in time, but not everything is back to normal after Calamity Ganon is defeated.

Note: This has NSFW themes (such as sex and really disgustingly sappy fluff), tread carefully!

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

Later in the day, the Labrynna royalty retired to their chambers early. Understandably, due to their long travels and eventful day. Prince Tyrion had been among them, apologizing vehemently for cutting her explanation of Guardian mechanics off and bidding goodnight from Princess Zelda’s study. It was more of a workshop with all the gears and equipment lying about. The sun almost entirely over the horizon through the tall windows.

Zelda sighed when he was far down the hallway and allowed her shoulders to relax. The disadvantage to entertaining royalty were the constant expectations. The Princess was consistently on her guard with speech and posture that talking turned into an exhaustive sport. She absently stared at the detached Guardian sensor she had been showing him, although she wasn’t ignorant to his straying eyes and his bored gaze.

The door to her study made her jump as it opened loudly and her immediate thought was that Prince Tyrion had left something, but it wasn’t him.

“I’m surprised to see you alone,” Link said, genuinity in his tone.

She shrugged, a tad put off by his presence. “His Highness was tired before I dragged him here. My interests seem to put him to sleep.”

“I’m sure you showed no mercy,” he jested.

“Oh, surely not. He did yield to his bed.”

He matched her grin, but she let it devolve into a cough quickly after. She was all too aware of his footsteps crossing the room where he sat in the stool Tyrion had left vacant.

“Did you need something?” Zelda asked, defaulting into formality out of nervousness.

“Actually,” he started, weighing his words as he spoke. “His Majesty wanted me to see if Prince Tyrion was willing to join him for dinner since his family retired.”

“Oh. Seems that won’t be the case.”

“No,” he reached to scratch the back of his neck. Link’s eyes drew to the sensor on the table and his brow furrowed. “When did you get that?”

Tension in Zelda’s face relaxed and an involuntary smile graced her, “A month ago. I recovered it from Hyrule Field. Do you remember when Ganon’s malice began extending across the ground and the Divine Beasts began to act oddly?”

He nodded astutely, “I do. It was when that Guardian attacked us.”

“Well, I want to know how the malice infiltrated it’s mechanics. Since the sensor is where it operates from, I might be able to find something.”

Unabashedly, she began to ramble on about circuits and Sheikah technology. Topics that Link has heard hundreds of times, but he spurred her on. Most times he nodded at her points, smiling as she did, other times he asked questions that launched her into an entirely different science.

“I don’t get it,” he said, leaning on his hand.

“What?” she followed up with the full intention of explaining her points better.

“How he could get tired of you. I don’t understand that.”

Zelda blinked owlishly.

He shrugged and straightened at a realization. “I forgot that your father is waiting on me.”

“Unless that’s an excuse and you’ve gotten tired of me.”

His eyes widened when he stood, “That’s not the case at all, Zelda, I swear to Hylia.”

“I know,” she laughed, “Can you tell him I’m heading to bed, too?”

“Of course,” he said, sobering from her laughter. “Goodnight.”

When he left, she felt a warmth that hadn’t filled her in awhile. She found that she missed that feeling desperately. Zelda wondered if he felt that too. Her legs straightened as she stood and she allowed herself a long moment to stretch. A large sigh filled her until her eyes spied something that hadn’t been on the stool before.

Link must have left it.

It was a small paperback book that looked worn with use. The pages were rounded from being carried around often and she picked it up.

The title was “The Conduct of Courting” and everything made sense. His behavior must be off recently because he’s involved with someone else. I would have realized it faster if I had thought about it. Why else would he suddenly have the gall to be so preformative during court?

Then I realized it must be someone important. The visit a couple days ago is evident that he’s courting, and possibly betrothed to, Princess Aurra. This entire time must have been a show of sparing my feelings. It makes sense why he acted so casually around her. At the duel, he could have easily been looking at Aurra and not me.

Thus why Father invited him to dine with us for supper. Since that night, it’s become a regular event. From a political standpoint, it makes sense. Their marriage would be incredibly advantageous and agreeable. Princess Aurra wouldn’t be inheriting the throne and it’s typical that royal siblings marry nobility and now Link has a proper title. Sure, he’s in the army, but he’s elevated enough to attend our court. Why not a princess too?

Zelda paused, feeling anger rising in her. No, it wasn’t anger, but it hurt just the same. Sorrow built up from the pit of her stomach. She was tired, too, as this was the last day before the Labrynna royal family left for their home country. Maybe if she marries Tyrion, Link would be her brother-in-law.

No, wait, that made her feel sick to the stomach and exponentially worse. In a series of flurried words, she ended her diary entry.

Andthat’sfantasticforhimandIshouldbethrilledforhisfuture.

KindestRegards,

Zelda

She didn’t include a heart this time.

A knock at the door caused her to slam her journal shut with a jolt. She groaned. The ink hadn’t dried yet. With perhaps too much force, she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. That’s it, she was simply tired and will attempt to seem presentable.

Unceremoniously, she rose from her seat and opened the door a crack. The sight through the doorway made her want to scream.

Link opened his mouth before an odd look crossed him. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” she said, not fine and positive that red rimmed her eyes. Zelda allowed the door to open enough to fit her frame. Hopefully it politely communicated her desire for his goodnight wishes to end swiftly.

“You don’t act like you’re perfectly fine,” he deadpanned.

The mixture of annoyance, anger, and sorrow built up around her throat and beat down her previous inhibitions. She crinkled her nose and spoke curtly, “It would have been nice if you had told me about your courtship.”

He stayed silent under her searing gaze until, “I… thought you would be happy about it.”

So she was right.

The Princess swallowed dryly. That wasn’t the response she was expecting, but maybe he assumed she had recovered fully from their affair. After all, it had been months since. Three months where it was now apparent no progress had been made. Zelda straightened.

“You misunderstand me. I’m thrilled.”

Link tilted his head in the way he did when he was confused. “You don’t seem thrilled.”

Then, he paled and watched his feet.

“I mean, we can call it off if you’re opposed. I just assumed…” he said with pain tinged words.

Zelda winced. She hadn’t thought her opinion had that much impact. It was obvious he was happy with Aurra and here she was, angry at his good fortune.

“No, Link, I,” she faltered and placed a hand on his arm. “I didn’t mean it that way. I apologize. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Slowly, he shook his head, “Uh… are you sure about that? I must have misread something or misinterpreted. I want you to be happy for yourself, not just because I was.” He was miffed for reasons that escaped Zelda altogether.

Now, she was just as vexed. “No, no what I think doesn’t matter. I’m only happy that you managed to rebound  from what we had. In a solid relationship there are only two people that have meaningful input: you and her.”

“Wait, what?”

“I said, in a solid relationship-”

He shook his head, “No, Zelda, who do you think I’m courting?”

Her mouth fell closed and she looked at him as if he had two heads. “Princess Aurra.”

“Oh, Hylia,” he breathed out, putting a hand on his chest.

Zelda’s brows knitted together. “Am I wrong? Oh gods, I’m wrong. Who is it? Is it… the maid you always get along with?”

“No.”

“The woman who hit on you at court?”

“Gods no. Zelda-”

“Are you sure it isn’t Princess Aurra? She’s very pretty.”

“Yes,” he was laughing now. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Her shoulders slacked, “Stop laughing, Link. This is serious. I don’t know why you’re mocking me.”

“I understand and I’m sorry,” Link reasoned, attempting to bite down on his lingering smile. The grip on his arm tightened. “I thought about what you told me when you wanted… us… to end.”

Zelda watched his boyish smile upturn at the thought. So, her rejection was what caused him to look elsewhere.

“Of course, it made sense. Though I was beyond heart broken, I knew you were right. You always are,” Link pried her hand off his arm to hold it. “I took your father’s promotion. In that time, I felt worse than I ever had being away from you. You had told me the King would never approve, but I asked anyway.”

His fingers traced over her knuckles as he spoke. Green eyes widened and she could barely whisper out, “You did?”

He nodded with a short smile, “I did. And I was terrified. I told him about how I felt about you and he went so quiet that I thought he’d hang me. Then he asked if you loved me and I told him you’ve said so many times.”

Tears she had been holding back surfaced for an entirely new reason. Zelda’s face scrunched up and she held a hand under her nose. With a trembling lip, she bubbled out, “What did he say?”

“He said that as long as you still held those feelings, I have his blessing.”

She retched her hand from his grasp and flung them around his neck, bursting into a sob. Link buried his head in the crook of his neck and hugged her tightly as she cried.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “I should have told you.”

“So… So…” she sniffed between her attempted words, falling into a sob and back. “So you’ve been courting me this whole time?”

She felt him nod into her.

“You love solving mysteries and I know you like surprises. I’m so sorry.”

“Are you kidding me?” she pulled back, a wide and watery smile met him. His princess was a mess. “This is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.”

They sank into an embrace once more as reality fell onto her. Never was she so happy to be so wrong. Together, they stood like that in the hallway for a long moment. Zelda breathed him in all over again, her subconscious somewhat hesitant to dive headfirst back into the bucket of emotions that had been pooling for months.

“Zelda.” She heard him say, feeling his voice against her ear.

Full of reluctance, he pulled her away for a moment. His eyes met hers and his movements were small, but they were all too familiar. Link’s hand moved from her waist to her jaw and looked at her like she was the last thing he would ever see. It was so intensely reminiscent of their first kiss that her throat threatened to close up for the second time.

“There’s no Calamity,” she said with a sweet smile.

His thumb drew circles on her skin and he looked down at her with an emotion like no other.

“No,” he finally whispered. “There isn’t.”

Without intention, they drew closer. Her mouth tugged further upwards, “I can be with you.”

Link’s response was pressing his lips to hers and she fell into them easily. His hands cradled her head and pulled her impossibly closer. A whimper from deep within came from her and he swallowed the noise without care. The sound of someone approaching down the hall gave a jumpstart to her heart, but she was too intoxicated with him to respond with reason.

Awfully, his lips pulled away and in her ear, “Someone’s coming.”

His voice, gods his voice, was thick and almost raspy.

“Let them.”

All he did was let out a low laugh and let the heat of his fingers sear through her nightgown. The echoing footsteps were growing louder now.

“Can I spend the night with you?”

It could be her guard. It could be a servant. It could be the Prince.

“Please.”

Just like that, he heaved her into his arms with arm around her shoulders and the back of her knees. She yelped, falling into laughter as he hurried into the room and shut the door behind him. The closing hinges signified their safety and he peered down at her with pure adoration.

“I love your laugh.”

Zelda already had her hands in his hair, bracing herself for a bruising kiss. For a moment, his arms faltered and she thought she’d fall, but they tightened around her instead. When she parted her lips, he invaded her senses so greatly that she moaned in the ecstasy of feeling something she thought she’d never get the chance to feel again. Disbelief, overwhelming amazement, inexplicable happiness.

A groan against her lips sparked a deep burning in her stomach that made her sigh. Link’s tongue was gentle against her mouth. He wasn’t hesitant, but savoring and it made her want to cry from the simple fact that they were here.

She fell onto the bed with a light bounce and watched him remove his tunic, seeing skin tanner than when she last saw it. Emotion welled in her chest and a dry sob made her heave.

“I missed you,” she nearly whined. Her brows drew together as he dipped down to capture her lips again.

He parted shortly, “I missed you.”

Zelda’s hands felt down his shoulders, feeling everything from the smooth skin to rough scars and loved it all. She wasn’t blind to know that she was hopelessly attracted to him. The day where he sparred held a night where she held that memory while pretending her fingers were his, trying to resurrect the moment where they truly were and he whispered small encouragements in the nights where she doubted herself too much for his ears.

“I thought about you every night.” She gasped a gasp as smooth as the sheets she laid upon when his hands felt up her thighs.

His mouth laid claim to the side of her cheek and breathed hot breath over her ear. Link’s grip increased when she shivered. “In what way?”

Her nightgown had long hiked up to her hips. As he laid flush against her, standing between her parted knees, she wrapped him in an embrace that coaxed him to melt into her.

“Sometimes like this.” She smiled softly, sweetly enjoying his warmth and the fact that - yes - this was okay and he was hers.

Then she rolled her hips against his clothed crotch, the sudden friction making Link groan against her neck. Breath hitched in her lungs, the sensation so much better than she remembered.

Zelda sighed from the pleasure, “Sometimes like this.”

Link rose to swiftly catch her in a slow kiss that clouded her mind. His lips moved against her in slow waves, giving hints of what she knew he was capable of. Carefully, slowly, he took her hips and ground down against her heat. Zelda moaned and Link pulled away to watch her face. The warmth in her sparked and she tried to fill the space he left with her hips, and much to her frustration, he held them down.

Then, he looked upon her with reverence in his eyes. His kiss-swollen lips upturned to whisper hints of his mischief. Wheat blond locks were coming undone around his face and he was perfectly kissable if he were to let her.

Barely audible, she frowned and voiced her grievances. “Why’d you stop?”

The hints turned to undeniable devilment. “Can a man not watch his…” then his brow furrowed and he looked above her head. “It’s not suitor, right? Suitress?”

Her nose wrinkled at the word. “I don’t recall vying for your hand.”

“You don’t?” he gasped, extending his arms so that her view of his disbelief was clear. “Because I distinctly remember your many tears over how it was impossible for me to be with you.”

“Link!” she fumbled to the back of his neck, but there was no avail to her tugging. “I had the purest intentions!”

“Oh yes,” he sighed. “To turn me away so you could accept Prince Tyrion’s proposal.”

“Link! I wouldn’t have done that when I still loved you!”

“I can’t help but notice you’re using past tense, Princess.”

Zelda squirmed out of his grip and further onto the bed. Curiosity danced in blue eyes as she felt along the hem of her nightgown. Innocently, she tilted her head and let her long hair pool to one side. The change in tone was immediate.

“You know, Hero,” she leered, pulling her gown to her hips. His gaze followed it, searing up her thighs with his amusement. “I could have you arrested for spreading such slander about me.”

The fabric balled up between her fingers, inching to reveal her lacy white panties. Despite herself, she smiled when he placed his knee on the bed to follow her. It was hard to ignore the way his hard stomach flexed with his movements. Her gown tightened further in her fists and her innocent smile widened; his attention rapt to her suddenly revealed curves. Link’s mouth formed her name.

“Or perhaps…” Zelda bit her lip as his hands tried to coax hers to move faster. He was close enough for her to kiss his neck and breath out, “You would like me to show you my love?”

She couldn’t help the bout of giggles when he pushed her against the pillow and explored her exposed stomach. His smile was hidden from view, but it was in his words.

“Gods, I adore you.”

Zelda lifted her arms as he yanked the gown off, careful to avoid snagging her hair because he had done it before. She had always been somewhat self-conscious of her body. And now as her nipples hardened to the chill that tended to eternally linger in her room, she could only be reminded that there wasn’t the need to visit holy springs that required a certain amount of labor and that she didn’t feel the incessant want to leave the castle when there would be a man who wasn’t Link alongside her.

Surely, she had her fair share of sweets after Calamity Ganon.

The insecurity brought her hands to rest on top of her tummy and a thick blush to sweep up her neck. Link, however, didn’t pause for one second and planted a firm kiss to her collar bone.

“Is this okay?” he asked, enveloping her hands in his and enticing them from her body.

Zelda nodded, but followed up with an audible, “Yes.”

The way he touched her was both cautious and bold, kneading the flesh of her hips in a way that made her shiver. His fingertips surfed up her skin to her breasts and he tasted the heartbeat at her throat.

A million sweet nothings vaguely reached her ear as he felt the skin before the waistband of her underwear. Link didn’t allow breath to stay long in her lungs and she lifted her lips in the hopes he would be merciful. It should’ve been expected when he drew away.

“Please,” she breathed, reaching for the buckle of his trousers only for him to pull in back against the pillow above her head. “It’s been so long.”

Love was in his eyes when he came up from her neck. Link worried his bottom lip between his teeth and the sight turned her stomach in the best way. He searched her face and seemed to consider her words before deciding on a, “No.”

There was no time for her to respond because he wasn’t done with that special spot on her neck. He laved his tongue over the places he nipped at and she had no problem leaning her head away to make more room for him to work. Zelda bit down on her back molars to swallow a moan when she realized his intentions; he had never dared to do this to her before.

“You’re- you’re going to leave a mark.”

All he did was hum against her throat while her breath hitched as he palmed over her clothed folds. The hint of the pressure she so desperately needed was applied. Link paused his sucking, groaning at her wetness. The sound burned the need brighter at her navel. His movements grew hesitant, as if at war with himself before disappearing down her all at once and wrestling her panties from her body - a struggle due to how entangled her long legs were with his.

Cheeks already flushed grew darker as she watched him watch her. Link sunk low with eyes of blue fire, any signs of mischief dashed for determination. Anticipation burned with a fire she hasn’t felt for months and the way his hot breath smoothed over her navel.

The back of hers knees rested on his shoulders and he licked slowly up her cunt, making her head hit the pillow and a low moan dredged from her throat. Instinct brought her hands to his hair, but she refrained from pulling by using what was left of her sanity. The flat of his tongue made her fingertips tremble, further threading to graze his scalp.

Her chest heaved his name with the vulgar sounds and she could dimly hear the sound of his trousers falling off the bed. Impressions of his fingers pressed deeply into her upper thighs. Her Hero worked her like he did most things, with purposeful motions that made her lose all reason and allowed short gasps to escape her as he hummed a smile against her.

“Link,” she repeated, need and warning in her voice. Blue, blue, blue gazed at her. She hadn’t even noticed the absence of his dominant hand that had long left her thigh for what was between his own legs; his shoulder and arm making suggestive movements. It was as if Link did this for his own pleasure rather than her own. The thought snapping the coil that had been building with his tongue.

This gasp was different, sharper, mixed with his name and words even she couldn’t decipher as she shortly visited the heaven he took her to. Even enduring her climax, Link held her tighter. When she fell slack against the cushions and he finally released her, a well of emotion surged in her breast.

In a slight daze, she sat up and pressed a languished kiss to his lips, already wet. His arms securely circled her and she parted with knitted brows. Zelda’s lip trembled when concern crossed him.

“What’s wrong?”

Zelda held his face in her hands. A rosy glow was on her cheeks and warmth filled her breath as his eyes tried to decipher her thoughts.

“I love you.”

It barely registered to her that they were both naked. If anything, there was rightness in his soft azure gaze and the way their bodies touched beyond the intent of seeking pleasure. There was a slight lift to Zelda’s shoulders and his forearms fell on either side of her torso so Link could bear more of his weight. “That’s all,” she said. “I love you; I missed you.”

With a grin, he snaked his arms around her and buried his head within the crook of her shoulder. Strands of hair tickled her ear and his soft breaths pulled a series of giggles from her. Link’s embrace strained her laughter, only to cause more to burst from her chest.

He echoed her with murmured words, drawing soft circles on her shoulder blades. Zelda sighed into his arms and simply enjoyed his voice. As lovers entangled, every movement was languished. Time didn’t exist.

But she didn’t oppose the kisses that were now peppering her cheek. The fervent compliments from his lips conjuring a deep blush across her face that he tried to kiss away. It was a fruitless endeavor, of course, as it only permeating further on her skin as they touched one another in the way only familiar lovers could.

Their love was made in soundless motions. Learning one another as if three months were three years. It had been an affair that was born of fleeting touches and an impending expiration. It was a haunting kind of love that tended to plague more than pleasure. Now they had so much longer than months, a whole lifetime if they wished.

That was the fact they reassured  one another in breathy laughter and loving embraces.

Time drew on with or without them and as she peered at him over the pillows of the morning dawn, she saw him looking back with a happiness she could only pinpoint in her heart.

“I’ve spent all this time convincing I would go on without you,” she said, almost mournfully.

He spoke unabashedly, because nothing was left to hide in the state they were in. “You could have,” he smiled a smile that mirrored her tone. “And I was fully prepared to walk away at the door.”

He gathered her loose hand in his. “I don’t have much to offer,” he spoke with a languished grin, “I have a modest home and will inherit my family’s farm.”

Zelda watched him with an indescribable softness. A sleepless night brought a misty haze over her, but it couldn’t stop the thrumming of her heart. She didn’t need to voice her answer if he had been asking because the simple picture of them living modestly was one that made her curl into his side.

Eventually, he would need to leave before anyone would find out he was in the Princess’s chambers. They would need to arrange a formal announcement and the idea of a public wedding was another beast that needed to be slain.

But for now, Zelda let the morning bring its own subtleties of what subsequent mornings promised.

[winryofresembool]

Love Can Melt the Ice, ch 23 (the Grande Finale)

Summary: I think the title says it all ^ it’s time for the goodbyes ;___;

A/N: This is it. The final chapter before the epilogue. I can’t believe we have finally gotten here. I’ve had a bit of a skitty day but at least I finally managed to finish this so I’m very happy about that. Please, please, review because now that we are at the end, I really want to hear your opinions. I guess that’s all for now. I’m probably gonna repeat this once it’s time for the epilogue, but thank you to everyone who has supported me and this fic through this long journey! Without the lovely comments, I wouldn’t have been motivated to continue. Oh, and special thanks to the amazing @roboticrainboots for the amazing art ♥ 

Now, get ready for a monster chapter (I will post this on ao3 tomorrow!). But make sure to read A Letter to Winry before that if you haven’t, because it has a role in this chapter.

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22

Next chapter: coming

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Words: 5700+ (yup.)

Genre: mostly floof.

Warnings: there is one scene where things get p close to M-rated but... there’s nothing explicit imo...

Most of Ed’s team plus Winry and Gracia gathered together to watch team Amestris’ ladies play for bronze. Winry was wearing her green jersey again, earning a cheek kiss from Ed, even though he refused to tell her what the kiss was for. Alphonse, who was sitting next to them, just giggled at his brother’s behavior before turning his attention back to the ice.

The first two periods of the game were even, with team Amestris tied 1 – 1 with team Drachma at the end of the first 40 minutes. Apparently, coach Olivier Armstrong managed to encourage her team in just the right way during the intermission, though, because in the third period the audience got to see a whole new team Amestris.

“Is it just me, or do they look like they’re almost ready to kill?” Winry asked when Rebecca Catalina gave a Drachman forward a particularly powerful tackle. A few moments later, Riza Hawkeye shot the puck from a spot she had never failed to score from, and the Amestrisian side of the audience got a reason to get loud.

“She’s better at that than I am,” Roy gawped at his long time “friend” who coolly fistbumped her teammates after the goal.

“That doesn’t really mean a lot, though, Mustang,” Ed remarked and made everyone laugh. “Isn’t your shooting percentage like… 0,05?”

“Funny how you remember stats like that… but you don’t remember how much I’ve sat in the penalty box because I’ve had to defend you.”

“Now now, everyone cool down a bit!” Hughes yelled over the roaring audience. “Ross is on a breakaway!”

And she was. She had managed to outspeed two Drachmans and was just about to get face to face with the goalie, when someone tripped her. A penalty shot was called, and Maria Ross used the opportunity to her advantage, making the situation 3-1.

“You guys could learn a lot from them,” Gracia teased, and the men around her couldn’t help but agree.

At some point Ed and Winry started wondering why Al was being so quiet, but when they turned to look towards him, they noticed Mei had finally arrived. She and Al were throwing disgustingly sappy looks at each other, something that Ed would probably call “eye sex” when Al wasn’t hearing.

Riza scored one more goal (from the corner of his eye Ed could see Roy’s badly hidden excitement), and team Amestris ended up winning the bronze medal with a 4-1 game. As they got their medals, no one on the ice looked prouder than Olivier Armstrong, and Ed guessed she would soon start sending smug messages from their celebrations to Roy. They had a weird rivalry going on, having known each other since they were kids. Ever since having to finish her playing career early because of an injury, Olivier had acted bitterly towards Roy and used every opportunity she could to brag him about her coaching achievements.

Roy didn’t care about Olivier’s expressions, though, because his and Riza’s eyes met and his expression turned softer than Ed ever remembered seeing.

“Could you be any more obvious?” Ed asked with annoyance, but then a familiar arm wrapped around his, making Ed forget all about the googly eyes around him.

…

Ed tried to talk himself out of the ending ceremony of the Olympics, because having played only one game and having to walk on the crutches, he thought he would feel out of place there. However, his teammates kept insisting, and when the goalie Armstrong offered to carry him on his back at the stadium, he knew he was fighting a lost battle.

Since it was a known fact that these were Gracia’s last Olympics, she got the honor of carrying the flag of Amestris as one of the most successful figure skaters the country had had so far. Her fiancé was next to her the whole time, gesturing towards her every time a camera went past. Winry, who also walked near her, glanced at Ed on Alex Louis Armstrong’s shoulders every once in a while. He looked a bit embarrassed but was still smiling and waving at the audience just like everyone else in their group. Winry knew he was actually happy to be able to participate and grinned at him when she noticed he was watching her.

A bit later, they were sitting in the stands next to each other, and when the fire on the giant torch went out, and the final fireworks formed colorful shapes above, Ed said: “Can’t believe it’s over.”

“Yeah,” Winry agreed. “But let’s not be sad that it’s over, let’s be happy it happened, right?”

“Sounds good to me.” Ed looked briefly down and saw Winry rubbing the knuckles of his real hand through the glove. Something warm that he couldn’t describe started bubbling in his stomach, making him happy he was there in that moment.

…

”Hey, granny!” Winry answered her phone at the airport. It was a day after the ending ceremony, and everyone had packed their things and left the hotel after the breakfast to start their trip back home.

”Hey, dear.” Pinako Rockbell greeted her granddaughter. “Are you on your way home yet?”

“We just arrived at the airport. Uh, that’s sort of why I’m calling.”

“Oh.”

“You see…” Winry started a bit hesitantly, “we get back to Central City quite late and there aren’t any trains leaving to Rush Valley until tomorrow…”

“And? Are you going to stay at the hotel for the night?” Pinako asked.

“Actually… I was going to stay at Ed’s place. If that’s OK with you.”

Pinako had to admit she still saw Winry as her little girl, but it was a fact that she was already 18 and way smarter than Pinako had been at Winry’s age. So in a way, it would be hypocritical of her to deny her this.

“Ed’s? So, are you two a couple now?” Pinako asked curiously.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Winry still blushed when she stopped to consider the fact that she really had a boyfriend now.

“Oh. I hope that runt is treating you well,” Pinako stated coolly.

“He is! I mean, he’s nothing but respectful…” Winry reassured her.

“Good. Well, you are an adult now so you have to make your own decisions. But remember to be careful. And use protection!”

Winry’s eyes widened. “Granny! Just because I’m staying a night there doesn’t mean… ugh… Sleeping is all we are planning to do. He’s recovering from a pretty bad injury.”

“I believe you,” Pinako said. Winry thought she could hear a bit of laughter in her voice. “Somehow, I still have a feeling that’s not the only reason why you are calling. You wouldn’t listen to your old granny even if I had said no. So, what’s on your mind?”

“Granny… I think I’ve made my decision about the next step in my career. But I want to hear your opinion before telling anyone else…”

“Go ahead, tell me.”

The two women spent a good while chatting about Winry’s plans before finishing the call. When Winry joined the others in the waiting area, Ed asked what Pinako had said.

“She called you a runt,” Winry snickered, loving to tease her boyfriend.

“She what?!” Ed looked mortified.

“Oh relax.” Winry waved it off. “She didn’t mean it like that. In fact, I think she approves of us. At least she allows me to stay with you.”

“Why wouldn’t she? It’s not like we…” Ed stammered.

“I know, Ed.” Winry sighed. “Anyway, I’m quite excited to see where you live. Although… I bet you don’t remember to clean and have sweaty clothes all over the floor.”

“Oh? I’ll prove you wrong then.” Ed smiled at his girlfriend mischievously and grabbed her from her shoulder, so she had to face him. Before he could pull her closer, though, Winry stopped him.

“Ed… There are cameras everywhere. Are you sure you want to do this?”

He looked around quickly, noticing that she was right. Clearly their group drew a lot of attention, with two Olympic figure skater medalists and two well known hockey player siblings in it. Sighing, he admitted: “Fine. Let’s save it for later.”

“Looking forward to it,” Winry ruffled his hair and turned her head to see what Al and Mei were doing. Clearly, they didn’t have any problems showing public display of affection. It looked like they had known each other much longer than the 5 days they had actually spent together. Mei was hugging Al tightly, and it wasn’t until then that it properly hit Winry that once Mei would leave to her own flight, they probably wouldn’t see each other in months. She and Ed had it easy compared to those two; at least they lived in the same country.

“So, how is it going with you two?” Ed asked when Al returned from the gate behind which Mei had disappeared. “Plans to move to Xing yet?”

“C’mon, brother, we haven’t known each other that long yet. I did promise to visit her in the summer, though. It’s not that far anymore… After that, who knows. She is from a wealthy family that is expecting her to make a name for herself… it’s not that simple for her to move to Amestris. Not that I’ve seriously considered asking her that yet,” Al blushed slightly. “It’s way too early. But I guess the summer will tell a lot…”

“I can’t wait to see dad’s expression when you just one day announce you’re going to move to Xing,” Ed teased. “Make sure to tell him when I’m there too.”

“Don’t be mean, brother. It might bite you back one day.”

“Har har. Anyway, we should go,” Ed nodded towards the gate where people had already started gathering to show their passports and tickets.

 …

“So, this is where you live?”

“Yup.”

Winry looked around with mild surprise. She didn’t know what she had expected. A mansion? A penthouse in one of the most expensive apartment buildings in Central? Wasn’t that what most rich hockey players bought? She wasn’t stupid, she knew Ed’s salary had at least one 0 more than hers, because unfortunately female athletes still didn’t receive the appreciation they deserved. But when she stepped into Ed’s apartment, it was almost like she had come back to Resembool (if you ignored the view from the window); it was surprisingly modest, with only the “necessary” furniture such as a small wooden dinner table with a couple of matching chairs and a black leather couch for two in front of a TV and a video game set. The bed in the bedroom was thankfully big enough for two to sleep, Winry noted happily. The cover on it wasn’t the most charming, though; it was black and had skulls printed on it.

“Where have you gotten that from?” Winry pointed at it, looking quite amused.

“Do I sense a Judgey McJudge raising her head?” Ed set his hands on his hips and tilted his head a bit. “Anyway, I think I got it when I first moved away from home but it’s been a few years so I don’t remember which store it was anymore. Why? Do you want to buy one too?”

“Nah, just wondering which store I should bribe to never sell anything to you again.” Winry retorted and stuck her tongue out.

“Is this it?” Ed pretended to be shocked. “Our first real fight as a couple, over my bed covers? I guess it was fun while it lasted.”

Winry pushed his shoulder lightly. “You’re such a big baby. Keep that thing if you want, but please let me bring my own pillowcase and duvet cover here so I won’t have to see nightmares.”

“Y-you’re already considering bringing your stuff here?” Ed asked, this time actually surprised.

“We agreed to be a couple, didn’t we?” Winry asked pointedly. “Couples visit each other sometimes. So yeah, I’m just meaning my visits. I’m not planning to move here any time soon. I have my career and friends in Rush Valley.”

“Right. Of course. Sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.” Winry softened, covering his cheek with her warm hand. “I know you don’t just magically get over your fear of commitment even if we did agree to do this. I… should also be better at remembering to not push it.”

“You’re pretty wonderful,” Ed gave her a gentle smile, very different from his usual one that went from ear to ear and often implied mischief.

“Thanks. I’m trying my best,” Winry said happily and continued taking in the rest of Ed’s apartment.

“I have to say, I’m surprised it’s this clean here. I expected a huge mess. You know, based on your hotel room and stuff.”

“Nah, it’s only because Al was staying here before the Olympics. Don’t get too used to this.”

“I’ll try to remember to thank him the next time we see him,” Winry noted. “Hey, is it OK if I use the shower? I’m feeling quite gross after that flight.”

“Yeah, go ahead. There are clean towels in that closet there if you need any.” Ed showed her the right door.

“Thanks,” Winry said before leaving her stuff in Ed’s room, grapping a towel and disappearing from his view.

Ed remembered the similar situation from a good week ago, when he and Winry had shared their first night together. Back then his thoughts had immediately gone to the dirty track, and he had secretly wished his leg wasn’t in a cast. But something had changed in such a short time. He understood now that what he felt towards Winry wasn’t purely physical attraction anymore. He respected her, admired her skills and personality and wanted her to be happy. Preferably with him, of course.

So while he still blushed fiercely at the thought of his naked girlfriend in the shower, he could focus on the more respectable details: the content smile on her face as the warm water eased the stiffness of her muscles after a long flight, the way she hummed happily one of her favorite songs while she rinsed off the soap (not that he’d admit ever hearing her humming).

Ed started taking in his surroundings, and something caught his eyes: a picture of his family, all together before his mother had fallen ill. For a long while Ed had hated that picture because it reminded him of what he could never have, what he so deeply wanted; a full family. But suddenly his parents’ looks towards each other caught his attention; their smiles told him they must have loved each other a lot. Briefly, he wondered if he and Winry could achieve that…

Love was something Ed understood only vaguely. Apparently, when you’re in love, your brain produces certain chemicals that makes you act like an idiot (or that’s what it sounded like in Ed’s opinion). Thinking back to his recent behavior, he certainly had acted quite weirdly (even more than usual, Al’s voice said in his head). He was blushing and stuttering and sometimes even sweating for no good reason, and he wanted to do things he had never wanted to do before (simply kissing had felt a bit absurd in his head). In Ed’s opinion, it was against all the chemistry rules he had learned so far. How could simply being with another person make your brain go drugged? But now that he was falling into that “trap”, he supposed not every reaction had to make sense. If being with Winry made him feel this happy, then to hell with equivalent exchange.

Was he ready to use the big and scary L-word yet? He was worried he would freak out both her and himself if he said it out loud (after all, it had only been 3 weeks since they were reunited), but he wished his actions were clear enough that she knew how he felt even without saying it. Winry had already been honest about her feelings and he felt he owed her for it…  

Suddenly Ed remembered his letter. After Winry had asked for the break before her competition, Ed had decided to write down some of his thoughts to clear his mind, and wrote a letter for Winry that he however had never intended to give her. But with them leaving to their separate ways tomorrow, he thought that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. He hopped to his suitcase that was yet to be unpacked and found the slightly worn piece of paper from one of its pockets. He added a couple of lines at the end of the letter before he heard the shower turning off, making him push the paper into his pocket. Soon Winry stepped out with only a towel around her, a smaller one around her wet hair. She sneaked behind Ed and wrapped her arms around his torso before leaning her head against his shoulder blade.

“That felt nice,” she mumbled. “You should probably take a shower too, though… You smell like sweat.” She let go of Ed and started drying her hair with the towel.

“Hey, it’s just my masculine scent!” Ed tried to protest but pulled his bandage protector and a folding shower chair that he had gotten from Drachma from his luggage and focused on getting the protector on. When he got up, he noticed Winry was sporting a silk robe she had gotten from Xing, only underwear under it. He may he already seen her nearly naked, but that didn’t stop his mouth from going dry as the robe didn’t really leave too much room for his imagination.

“You’re staring,” Winry pointed out suddenly, not knowing how she should react to the fact that her form seemed to cause quite some interest in her partner.

“Can you blame me? You are hot as… OK, let me rephrase that: I am one lucky bastard to have a girlfriend like you.”

“You hockey players are so cheesy,” Winry said as she ran a finger on his cheek briefly. From her expression, though, Ed read that she was actually quite pleased by the compliment.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’mma take that shower now.”  He hopped into the bathroom with the chair in his hand.

Once he came out clean and refreshed some minutes later, he found Winry watching the picture of his family curiously.

“Why are you looking at it?” he asked.

“I’m just… trying to remember what it was like when we both still lived in Resembool,” Winry answered dreamily. “Do I remember correctly that you used to walk with stilts a lot? Because I was nagging about you being shorter than me.”

“I was not shorter than you!” Ed protested immediately.

“You were too!”

“Was not!”

“OK, let’s finish this before it stops being fun. I also remember your mum baking a lot of delicious pies, and my favorite part of hanging out at your house was always when she called us to get inside to taste them.”

“Yeah… it was nice,” Ed admitted, although there was a hint of sadness in his voice.

Winry sensed the change in his energy right away. “I’m sorry, you probably don’t want to talk about… I mean, it must be super painful to you… I should know.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry because I sometimes forget how much you have gone through too because you are so positive and helpful and energetic most of the time.”

“I… I don’t know how I do it sometimes. Maybe I’ve gotten good at putting on a smile even when I hurt. But I’m lucky to have such supportive people around me. It’s you guys who keep me going.”

She turned embrace him and placed a soft kiss on his jaw. Ed’s face heated again when he felt the silk against his bare skin and remembered she was wearing very little under it. He had to take the situation in control before something else would happen, so he broke the hug and tried to change the topic.

“So… Would you like to see more photos? I have some from our old house. Haven’t really looked at them since we moved out, but… who knows? Maybe you are in some of them too?”

“Are you OK with that, though?” Winry asked, trying to read his expression. What if the photos triggered some bad memories in him?

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Maybe it’s time for me to face the past…”

“In that case, we can do it,” Winry accepted and soon Ed pulled a photo album from one of the drawers.

They sat down on the couch and started flipping through the pages. On one of the first pages, there was a picture from Ed’s fourth birthday party, and Ed recognized a familiar blonde-haired girl among the guests.

“That’s you! I can’t believe I didn’t remember…”

“You didn’t remember me when we first met at the Olympics, right? Well, we were really small back then…”

“True… Woah, look at this! Did you… did you just throw that piece of cake on my face? What did I do to deserve that?” Ed asked, faking offended.

“You were probably the same brat as usual…” Winry said with amusement. “We had played the donkey’s tail game and you were bragging because you managed to get the tail closest to its rightful spot… because you peeked. I couldn’t accept that.”

“Sounds like something I would do,” Ed laughed and turned the page. Suddenly he exhaled sharply, and Winry didn’t have to look at the photo too long to understand why. In it, Ed was around 15 years old, and he was smiling widely at a little girl playing with her big white dog. Winry guessed Al must have taken that pic when visiting Ed, because she doubted Ed would have saved anything that Tucker took.

“That’s her, right?” Winry asked, and instinctively took Ed’s hand into hers, to comfort him.

“Yeah, she is…”

“If you want to… I would like to know more about her. Some happy memories?” Winry thought that maybe remembering the happy times could help Ed to get over the guilt he still seemed to carry.

“Well…” Ed seemed to consider it for a moment. “When it was her 4th birthday, her biggest wish was to get a birthday cake. With a bastard father like that, and mother gone, it was no wonder she hadn’t ever gotten to eat birthday cake before that. Since I had no games that day, I had plenty of time in my hands and decided to make her wish come true. Yeah, you probably guessed right that I hadn’t ever baked before that. But I decided to take it like a chemical experiment, and weirdly enough, it became edible. When Nina saw the cake, her expression… it was the happiest I had ever seen on her face. She came to me, hugged me and said: “Thank you, big brother.” It was the first time she called me that. This picture was taken that day, Al came to help us eat the cake too and he had a camera with him. I didn’t expect that picture to… I mean, Al must have put it there.” He continued to stare at the living room wall with a blank expression.

“That was very sweet of you. You look happy in that photo,” Winry noted calmly to drag Ed from his thoughts. “You must have really cared about her a lot…”

“Yeah… Ugh, dammit!” He slammed his fist on the couch suddenly. “Even now when I see this… it makes me so fucking angry… It makes me wish there was something I could do, but…”

“Hey, what if I told you maybe there IS something you can do for her?” Ed threw Winry a suspicious look, so she continued: “I mean, I know they both are long gone, but… I’ve been thinking… we can still help to prevent other kids from suffering the same kind of fate.”

“How?” Ed asked curiously.

“Well, I was thinking of giving some of my prize money to this organization that helps kids of abusive parents… They search for kids who might be in need of help, offer therapy and just talking company, a safe place to be… and so on… What do you think?”

“I think that sounds amazing… So, can I ask you how much exactly you are planning to give away?”

“Well…” she blushed. “Most of it… I mean, it’s not like I need…”

That was all she managed to say before he crashed his lips against hers. This kiss was more passionate than any of the ones they had shared before that, stirring a brand-new feeling inside them. At some point the album fell on the floor because the couple’s attention was elsewhere. They leaned against the arm of the couch, Winry sitting between Ed’s legs trying to avoid touching the cast, her upper body pressed against his. As Ed deepened the kiss, his hands started traveling on her robe, going from the waist towards her chest. Before reaching her breasts, he stopped to meet her gaze.

“Yes, Ed, you can touch them,” Winry confirmed even though Ed hadn’t voiced the question. She raised herself from her spot to give him a better access.

At first he just felt them through the fabric, but the small gasp Winry made encouraged him to inch his fingers under the garment. He seemed a little too proud of himself when he noticed how much Winry seemed to enjoy the automail hand, but suddenly he stopped and put his hands down.

“Not this chivalry again,” Winry sighed. “Do you trust me?”

“I do.”

“Then how about you let me take the charge? We don’t have to go all the way, but a little exploration won’t hurt, right?”

The eagerness from before returned to Ed’s face. “You’re right.”

Winry stood up from the couch and offered her hand to him. “Should we go to continue in your bedroom? This couch is kinda small and uncomfy…”

Ed agreed, letting her help him up. She gave him his crutches, and he hopped into the bedroom after her.

They didn’t sleep for quite a while.

…

The next day, Winry, Ed, Paninya and Rosé all gathered to the Central Station, where the train to Rush Valley was waiting for the figure skaters. Ed was planning to travel to Resembool once he had gotten his leg rechecked at the Central hospital. Paninya and Rosé were already looking forward to the next Grand Prix that would be held in North City, Amestris in a few weeks and they wondered if Garfiel would give them any time to recover from the jet lag before they would be forced to return to the ice. Winry just shook her head at their attitude; while she admitted she was pretty tired too (the reason for which was probably something entirely different than jet lag, though. She blushed as remembered what had happened last night. They hadn’t gone “all the way”, but their physical relationship had still taken a step forward), she was also excited to return back to the regular life, with the familiar people and tasks around her.

Suddenly, she felt Ed tap a finger against her arm and saw him nod to the side, trying to tell her he wanted to say something without the others listening.

However, the words seemed to have a hard time coming out. Ed just stared at his feet for a long while, so Winry finally decided to break the silence:

“I know I’m not your mechanic yet but remember to take care of your arm! It frustrates me to no end when people don’t…”

“Automail geek… just listen to what I have to say, OK?”

“Ugh, Ed, I’m listening the whole time, it’s you who doesn’t say what’s on your mind…”

Ed shifted in his spot uncomfortably. “You’re not making this easy, are you?”

“When have I ever done that?” Winry asked sarcastically.

“I wrote you a letter,” Ed pushed an envelope into her hand, ignoring her question. “I didn’t know if I should give it to you or not, but… I think it might open my mindset during… this all… a bit. I wrote it before your competition. But I also added something new into it.”

“Oh… thank you…” Winry started opening the letter, but Ed stopped her.

“No, not now. On the train. Or whenever you have a peaceful moment.” Ed glanced at Winry’s two friends briefly. They had started gossiping about Garfiel’s new boyfriend and if Ed had to guess, that chatting wouldn’t end in quite a while.

“OK. Will do.” Winry put the letter into her bag , wondering what exactly Ed told in that letter that he couldn’t say aloud…

It was quiet again for a while. Suddenly Winry realized she hadn’t told Ed about her plan yet.

“You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“Hmm?”

“My parents, they always put helping other people ahead of anything else. I want to do the same. That’s why I’m thinking I’m taking sort of a break from figure skating once this season is finished.”

“What? But I thought you love skating?” Ed asked with disbelief.

“I do!”

“What about all those people who come to see figure skating shows because they want to see you?”

“Just because I want to have a break from competing, doesn’t mean I’ll completely stop skating,” Winry pointed out. “No, I’ll still make sure to stay fit, and if someone asks me to take part in their exhibition, I might do it if it fits my schedule. There’s also a good chance I will continue competing after that year is over, only time will tell. But after hearing your story, I feel I want to do something more than just performing. I want to learn to make the best automail there is, to help the people who need them to smile again. Besides… Since I won’t have to travel that much… Maybe I can visit Central City more often.”

“I won’t complain about that.” Ed grinned.

“So… what do you think of my plan?” Winry asked cautiously.

“I think if that’s what you want to do, then I think it’s great!” Ed reassured her.

“Thank you.” Winry gave him a relieved smile.

“Now that we are on the topic… I have some plans too.” Ed noted suddenly.

“Oh? Tell me more.”

Ed started explaining his plan, and Winry had to brush a few tears away when she understood what the plan meant for him.

“So… will you be a part of it?” Ed asked finally.

“Gladly,” she answered before burying her face into his collar, smelling the earthy scent that she would sure miss while they were apart from each other.

It was so comfortable in that spot that Winry didn’t want to move for a while, until she heard Paninya and Rosé talking about the train leaving soon. She disentangled herself from Ed and took a few steps back so she could look at him in the eyes.

“I guess this is it…”

“I guess so…”

“Uh… you know… I had an amazing time at the Olympics… lots of it thanks to you… I know your tournament was a…”

“Disaster,” Ed helped. “No need to deny it.”

“But I selfishly hope I managed to make you feel a bit better.”

“You did. More than you know. And you taught me something important. I explain it in that letter.”

“Ok,” Winry said quietly, on the verge of tears again. “I’ll… I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. But hey, didn’t someone say phones exist? I think I managed to figure out how to use it… Maybe.” Ed gave her a crooked grin, trying to comfort her.

“Idiot.”

That was all that was said before Winry closed the space between them again and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. It was entirely different from the kiss the previous night, which had been needy and passionate. Instead, with the kiss she was trying to tell him how happy she was to have met him. With the way he reciprocated, she realized he was probably trying to tell her the same thing. When she tried to pull away, he grabbed her arm, making her stop in her spot.

“Thanks. For everything. Let’s not say goodbye, let’s say ‘I’ll see you soon’ instead.”

“That does sound better,” Winry agreed and started fiddling with her bag to find her wallet. When she finally found it, she let out a small yelp.

“What’s wrong?” Ed asked.

“I think… I think I forgot to get cash before coming here… I was so sure I had some… How will I get my ticket now? They only accept cash…”

“I may have some…” Ed said slyly as he withdrew his wallet from his pocket. “But you will have to pay me back one day. Actually, I’m gonna make you buy me a ticket to Rush Valley at some point.”

“Huh?” Winry stared at him with confusion for a moment before she realized it was his way to promise her he’d visit her soon enough. “Oh! Right. You and your equivalent exchange…” she pretended to be annoyed as she accepted the money, even though she was happy to buy him that ticket. “Thank you. I really need to go now, though, so… see you soon.” She gave him one last kiss on his cheek before climbing into the train and turning to wave at him.

“See you!”

Ed was already about to leave the platform when he saw Winry looking at him from the window, and some weird urge made him yell: “Don’t you forget that promise! And read that letter!”

Winry just waved at him until the train started moving, and soon she didn’t see him again. She pulled the piece of paper from her bag and started reading.

“… I could continue longer, but Al is waiting, so I should stop writing. Just know that somehow, you have managed to break my shell even though I’ve tried to rebuild it so hard. But I’m not gonna do that anymore. It’s still too early, and besides, you need to focus on your competition, but one day, I hope I’ll be able to be brave enough to tell you this: I’m falling for you too.

Edited 23.3.: I realized I never said those words back to you, so here we go. You deserve them. And more.

To quote Mr. Magpie: “It’s funny how sometimes you have to fly away, so you can find your real home.” I think you know what I mean there.”

Winry pulled her phone from her bag quickly, and typed:

“I do know.

♥”

A/N: Here we are! What is Ed’s plan though? Find out in the epilogue!

[rixwrites]

The Chaser gets chased (Noorhelm) (3/4)

Author’s note: Hello everyone! Here it is: a drama-filled third chapter to this fic. Hope you like it! Do let me know what you think: I love reading your thoughts. I hope I can write the fourth chapter this week and have it uploaded by next weekend, but I’m not going to promise anything. I’ve got a French exam to study for and I still have a way to go... Anyways, enjoy the third chapter! It’s almost 3k and entirely full of Noorhelm! Hope I lived up to your expectations! Thank you for reading!

CHAPTER 3

Noora’s last class of the week is Astronomy. At midnight. On Friday. She’s not happy about it. The entire week has been hellish: classes were hard, she fought with William, it kept raining buckets all day every day, if she happened to run into him by accident William glared at her, Eva and Chris were being disgustingly cute celebrating their anniversary, William pretended she was completely invisible. All in all, Noora was proud she hadn’t hexed anyone to release some of her pent-up frustration.

Despite it all, she still showed up to class tonight. Her fellow Astronomy N.E.W.T. students are an interesting bunch. One more so than all the others combined. Noora wasn’t about to not jump at the chance to drink in as much of William Magnusson’s presence as she possibly could while he couldn’t run away from her. It would take more than some spiteful words and some – admittedly heartfelt – glaring to scare her off.

She chooses a workspace that’s a few spots down from William’s – he’ll be less likely to notice her staring if she isn’t directly beside him. She sets up her telescope and folds out the chart she’s working on, weighing the parchment scroll down with her inkwell and her textbook. She also sneaks another glance at the Ravenclaw Prefect.

William’s wrapped up in his thick winter cloak and fingerless gloves, his beanie and scarf in matching Ravenclaw colors keeping his head and the lower half of his face shielded from the icy winds. Noora thinks he looks cute and huggable – and wishes she could snuggle up to him. The sharp look she receives from Professor Sinistra alerts her that her wistful sighing wasn’t as internal as she’d hoped. She quickly looks away from the aging woman and through the lens of her telescope.

Noora works diligently for the next hour or so, but during the last thirty minutes of class her focus slips away from Astronomy. She tries really hard, she really does, but she’s had a long day and and an even longer week and every single movement William makes just draws her attention.

When she sees him shivering, she imagines running her hands up and down his arms to get him warm again. When he blows on the frozen tips of his fingers, she wishes it were William’s instinct to slip his cold hands under her knit Gryffindor sweater and heat them up against the bare skin of her back while smothering her entire face in kisses to distract her from the uncomfortable feeling. Noora’s so caught-up in her daydreaming of sharing body heat that when Professor Sinistra dismisses their class, she notices she named one of Saturn’s moons ‘William’ instead of Atlas. She blushes.

That’s what I get for zoning out on William’s shoulders. His broad, broad shoulders that could probably carry the weight of the world… Even the voice inside her head sounds lovesick. And maybe a little ashamed. But mostly lovesick.

Their classmates eagerly leave the classroom, descending the Tower’s narrow staircase, and make their way to their respective Common Rooms. For the first time this week, the universe works in Noora’s favor when only she and William are left standing underneath the night sky. This week’s never-ending rain has let up, allowing a thick blanket of stars to illuminate the two and she thinks the starlight turns William’s pale complexion angelic.

(Noora’s glad Legilimency isn’t a course taught at Hogwarts – she’d probably disgust the entire student body with her sappy thoughts. Sometimes she wonders whether people would look at her weirdly if she were to slap herself in order to stop the nauseatingly amorous thoughts.)

Noora shakes off her musings, opting to focus on packing away her stuff and getting to her bed. Her stomach grumbles loudly – loud enough that William surely must’ve heard – and for once, Noora’s lovesick brain comes up with a somewhat realistic romantic scenario involving both her and William. She clears her throat and turns around. The Ravenclaw is still furiously scribbling away at his own chart.

“Eh, William?” Noora calls softly. He ignores her. She tries again, a little louder this time. He can’t pretend to not have heard her. “William?”

Noora doesn’t need to see his face to know that he’s recognized her voice. To know that he’s aware of who exactly it is he’s left with in the classroom. She can see him squaring his shoulders, most likely mentally preparing himself for another round of Noora’s flirting. He takes his time closing his ink well before turning around to face her.

“What is it, Sætre?” He’s got his walls up, an obvious defensiveness to his voice. Noora tries not to be hurt by his behavior.

“I’m planning on stopping by the kitchens on my way to the Gryffindor Common Room, see if the elves have any hot cocoa to warm up a little.” William raises his eyebrows questioningly – the only indication that he’s actually paying attention to what she says and doesn’t just pretend to be listening. “Would you like to join me?”

The distance between her and William has been killing Noora all week. She misses being around him – even if their conversations rarely go beyond her asking him out and him rejecting her. This is her extending an olive branch to him, hoping that it’ll get rid of some of the tension between them. William clearly misinterprets her intentions. He sighs deeply – clearly exasperated.

“Really? We’re back to this?” His face is stony when he looks her in the eyes. “The first opportunity you have, the first moment we’re alone together, and you’re asking me out? Again? What is it about you that doesn’t understand the words I’m not interested?”

And after the week she’s had, Noora could’ve foreseen herself making a joke out of his comment, maybe she might even have bet on her fleeing from the Tower. Hell, she’d sooner have guessed she would’ve started crying (and Noora Amalie Sætre does not cry – it’s never gotten her anywhere in her life) than what actually happens.

She yells at him. Loud. Unashamed. She channels all the hurt from his cutting remarks and allows it to feed her heartache-induced fury.

“I’m not asking you out, you pompous… prick!” She bellows. “I’m waving a white flag at you, Wilhelm! I want us to bury the hatchet, to put Monday’s argument behind us! I want us to no longer force our best friends, our best friends who are dating each other, to have to choose sides!”

William’s eyes have widened: he is obviously more than a little surprised by her outburst. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, struggling to find words but Noora doesn’t let him. He’s opened the gates; now he’ll have to listen to her flood of thoughts.

“What is it about me that disgusts you so much? That makes you lose your appetite when I join you for breakfast or lunch or dinner? That makes you turn on your heels as soon as possible whenever I walk into any room? That makes you lose your patience when I so much as breathe?”

Noora imagines that her head must be as red as the Hogwarts Express at this point. Still, it’s difficult to care about her looks right now. Even if she’s standing in front of William Magnusson. “I’m sorry, you know. For whatever it is.”

William blinks, still wearing a shocked expression, and for a moment the duo just stare at each other in silence. Noora trails her eyes over the Ravenclaw, re-learning and memorizing him as if she’d never see him again. When she speaks again, her voice has lost all resemblance of anger and fighting.

“But the one thing I won’t apologize for, William Magnusson,” By using his full name, Noora forces William to look her in the eyes. It’s important that this next bit rings through. “The one thing I refuse to apologize for, are my feelings for you.”

His eyes turn to slits when she says that. Noora wonders what it is that makes William go in lockdown whenever she puts her heart on the line.

“I agree that maybe it isn’t ideal that it grew to be so public. That it might make you feel uneasy: everyone having their own opinion about it, pushing you one way or another, shoving their input down your throat. I get that. I can understand that it might make you feel like you’re a zoo animal, stared at and pointed at. And I’m genuinely sorry for that, William.”

She breathes, deeply, before continuing. “I’m loud and I’m unapologetic and I voice my thoughts and opinions. And I wear my heart on my sleeve, William. I don’t hide my emotions or my feelings.”

And then William finds his voice again. He clears his throat, voice still a little shaky but progressively growing stronger. “So, what then? We forget Monday’s whole scene and become best friends? Braid each other’s hair and have sleepovers?”

Noora’s answering grin is a little hesitant but William isn’t joking. “What is it you want from me? Am I supposed to believe that you care about me? You don’t care about me.”

Noora feels as if he’s slapped her across the face. She balls her hands into fists – suddenly grateful that she’d forgotten her gloves. The pain of her nails piercing the flesh of her palms gives her something to focus on, something to distract her from the angry tears that are threatening to roll down her cheeks at any moment now. Not even William Magnusson is going to make her cry – no way in bloody hell.

“You care about putting on a show for your admirers, for the masses who are amused by your theatrics. You don’t care about me, Noora Sætre. You only care about yourself.”

“I do.” She closes her eyes. She needs a second without his piercing gaze boring holes into her face. “I care about you. For real.”

“You don’t know me.” William scoffs. “You know nothing about me. How could you possibly care about me?”

“I’ve been trying to get to know you.” Her eyes are open again and she smiles at him. A gentle, but sad smile. “You haven’t exactly made things easy.”

“You have to give up, Noora.” Normally, the sound of her name rolling off his tongue sends shivers down her spine. Now, it just makes her feel empty – empty without the swarm of butterflies in her stomach. “You’re wasting your time. It’s never going to happen between us.”

“Give up?” She echoes. Noora call feel the incredulity painting her face. “I won’t give up, William.”

“Why?” He sounds utterly bewildered. “Why won’t you give up on this little game of yours? What is it about me that makes you want to have me so much? Is it the chase? You want me because you can’t have me?”

Minutes ago, her stomach was a pit full of raging fury. Then it felt empty without the usual fluttery feeling. But now, in this moment, Noora feels as if her fondness for William has been injected in her bloodstream. It’s everywhere. Every part of her body glowing with affection for this confused boy in front of her. She wonders if this is what it feels like to fall in love with someone.

“Listen to me, William Magnusson,” She smiles again. This time it’s amused. “You’re a Ravenclaw, a smart guy. So you have to realize that this,” she waves between the two of them, “is more than me wanting you just because you don’t want me. This isn’t that clichéd love story of ‘every time you reject me, I only want you more’.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know.” She grins, shrugging her shoulders.

“If you don’t know, then why won’t you give up?” He asks. They’ve stepped closer to the other, staying just out of arm’s reach. Noora shivers because of it – delights in this little dance they’re sharing.

“Because I only give up on lost causes. And this, whatever it is, doesn’t feel like a lost cause. I don’t believe it is, refuse to believe it. So, I won’t give up.”

William’s carefully constructed walls have crumbled down during their conversation – and Noora has become even more enamored with the Ravenclaw. They could be so good together if only he’d give them a chance.

“You can’t force me to like you.” He mutters. Every bit of maliciousness and biting snark gone from his voice. Noora nods.

“I can’t. But you can’t force me to not like you.” She points out. “That’s practically impossible.”

William leans against his forgotten desk, his classwork still spread out on top. Noora lets him gather his thoughts.

“I won’t give up, William.” She repeats her earlier words. “Not without a good reason to do so. Not without a fight.”

They’re quiet for another moment. Noora notices how cold it’s become and how an icy wind has picked up. She wonders how long it’s been since the Professor dismissed their class. She’s surprised they haven’t been found yet. The silence stretches out and eventually, Noora’s had enough.

“Alright,” She puts her hand on his shoulder, tugging, and turns him around. He faces her and she squares her shoulders, licks her lips before speaking. “This is what we’ll do.”

Now or never. The voice in her head whispers. This is it.

“Look at me.” He doesn’t. “Don’t make me call you Wilhelm, Wilhelm.”

It works. He looks at her, a half-assed glare thrown at her. She would wink if things weren’t so intense between them. She takes a deep breath, gets ready to once again offer him her - bruised and battered - heart.

“Just… tell me you don’t like me. Tell me you don’t want me. Look me in the eye and tell me you feel nothing, not a single thing, while we’re standing here. We’re standing here, shouting at each other at the top of the Astronomy Tower, Hogwarts’s number one make-out spot. Tell me you don’t like me, William, and I’m gone.”

William looks at her, studies her entire being, and Noora lets him. She sees all kinds of things pass through his eyes, all sorts of thoughts reflected in his gaze, and she stays quiet. Eventually he shakes his head. “I don’t. I don’t like you.” He croaks.

Noora’s mouth twitches, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, but she doesn’t let it show through. Instead she picks something off the ground and takes a step closer to him.

“I don’t believe you.” Noora hands William the cap to his telescope lens, closing his numb fingers around it with one hand and raising the other to stroke his fringe out of his face. “But I’ll let it go… for now.”

Her fingers shake where they’re resting on his cheekbone. She notices how irregular his breathing is. The tension between them thickens, both are aware of it, and neither pull away from the other. When her fingers slide down his jaw, resting below his chin for a second, and before she can take a step back to finally leave the Tower, he grabs her wrist – keeping the physical contact intact. Noora holds her breath.

“You don’t care for rules, you don’t do anything without an audience to applaud you for it, you disrupt class and…” He sounds frustrated. Noora’s doesn’t know if it’s with her or with himself. “And you have a head bigger than the Giant Squid! That’s why I don’t like you.”

“Was that all?” She whispers. William looks her in the eye and they’re so close now that she feels his breath hitting her face. Their foreheads rest together and despite the difficult nature of this conversation, Noora’s pretty sure this is what it feels like to drink Felix Felicis, Liquid Luck.

He whispers a “No” so soft it’s almost lost in the wind. If it weren’t for their proximity, Noora would’ve missed it.

The hand not holding her wrist, the hand not keeping her hand pressed to his face, touches her cheek. Strokes the soft, chilled skin. Neither looks away from the other: Noora vows that they’ll have a moment, someday, where she’ll count all the stars reflected in his eyes.

William leans in and Noora swears he’s about to bridge the slight gap between their lips. She doesn’t move, frozen in this little bubble they’ve created, scared to spook him. They’re so unbelievably close, closer than they’ve ever been, and Noora begs her heart not to give out on her now.

“Who’s there?” A voice rings through the Tower. “The last class has been done for well over an hour now. What are you still doing here?”

The light of a lantern is floating up the staircase, Hogwarts’s caretaker’s voice drifting towards them. Noora curses the man for ruining their Moment.

William jumps away from her, tripping over his bookbag and almost knocking his telescope off its stand, before hurriedly grabbing his belongings and storming away from her.

Noora can hear the caretaker yelling something after the Ravenclaw, but she’s trying too hard to make sense of what had just happened to understand what’s being said. She feels as if she’s floating, drugged on William’s scent and his touch, and barely registers the caretaker now scolding her.

“Straight to your Common Room, you hear me, missy?” He shouts at her back. “And don’t think your Head of House won’t hear about this! I’ll personally suggest some punishments!”

Noora’s so out of it she can only focus on setting one foot in front of the other. Somehow, she makes her way to the kitchens. There’s never been a problem a cup of hot-gone-cold cocoa wasn’t able to fix.

She sits there, at the copy of Gryffindor’s House Table, mulling over the conversation she and William had, until long after the House Elves start preparing breakfast.

Author’s note: And there it is! The third chapter. So sorry I didn’t upload it sooner: I got home late last night and fell asleep before I could finish proof-reading... Hope you enjoyed it and do let me know what you think! I love reading your thoughts!

[taejinchronicles]

Answering asks #4

l-der asked:

What kind of bf do you think Tae/Jin is?

Hypothetically speaking, I can answer your question.

We have to consider the Taejin timeline to understand what kind of hypothetical boyfriends they are right now. Because it took so much time for them to finally become a couple I think they are different from most couples that start a love affair right away.

If you take a moment to compare Jinnie & V's dynamics before and after, it's like 2 different duos. Before, there was the tension of that platonic love and mutual admiration from a safe distance, using the group's friendship to hang out and kinda gravitate around each other. Those long years of becoming friends and spending almost 24/7 together but not "together" probably made both of them so frustrated... perhaps this is why now they are totally a mellow couple and like superglued. I also think they feel really protective of what they have now, cause it was a struggle to get to this point.

So let's analyze both individually at this new taejin "love conquered" phase.

TAE

My boy V has changed drastically over the past year right?! He has matured and became more sophisticated, calmer and kinda like more sensual...it connects with the taejin timeline. From my point of view, the boy became a man. To experience his first relationship gave him a self-assurance he did not have in the past. The fact he really had to conquer that love, to finally date the one he was into for so long gave him that permanent sense of pride he sports every time he's with Jin. Jin was his grand prize and he won him.

His usual behaviour, that most of us have noticed of pulling Jin to himself on back hugs or hooks is a clear body language sign of dominance and possessiveness. Unconsciously V is saying "Jin is mine and he is not going anywhere". And to the shoulder pulling thing, Jin usually responds accordingly, but I can explain that later...

Biting his shoulders and touching Jin's lips in body language means an instinctive act of claiming the object of affection as your own. 

There is also a sense of protectiveness towards Jin. All the boys love to scold Jinnie, but V never does that. He is always defending him (from verbal or physical attacks) like Jin I his damsel in distress and he is a brave knight lol...

He is constantly praising Jin, from his looks to his ideas or silly things. He is always paying attention to what he is saying and some times recently, even completing his sentences in interviews.

JIN

My petal Jinnie also has changed a lot on the "love conquered" phase. He is much more comfortable in being louder, funnier and express his joie de vivre. I guess dating his longtime love + being worldwide hansome dork = happiness! 

When the pulling by the shoulders (or head or arms or whatever part of Jin's bod V can reach) happens Jin's default behavior is to stay still and obey. He never avoids the hugs or tries to overpower V with a "bro hug" or something.

To accompany the shoulder pull, Jin loves to caress V's leg. As seen on the Mama vid, bowling, board game, sb mv and several bangtam bombs Jin has a thing for V's thigh.

When he touches V he gives him the softest, most lovely butterfly wings touches...

Jin has the need to express his feelings with impromptu intimate compliments and love declarations like there is no one else but them in the world...

TAEJIN TOGETHER

I mean these dorks walk around holding hands, shopping at Gucci and going on secret dates...They also did a freaking love song duet and an homoerotic live performance at MAMA... it's safe to say they are the explicitly ‘romantic kinda of couple’ ya know...those kinds that are super glued and so sappy you kinda get second hand embarrassment lol. Plus they legit constantly wear (that's a trend in Japan and Korea) couples outfits like here, both in Burberry + Gucci:

Analysis (psychological):

Tae is dominant, possessive, protective and loves to praise Jin.

Jin is passive, pliant, soft and loves to spoil Tae.

Veredict (fangirlical):

Tae & Jin are those dream like couples that make you believe in love stories again but who are so disgustingly in love that you kinda know that they have raised the bar too high and you will never find a love like that so it's ok to be forever alone as long as Taejin is thriving together. 

Thanks for the asks. So what kind of couple do you think taejin are?

Lots of love.

[thoroughlymoderncamilla-blog]

burning the letters

Camilla age 8

Dear Lilliy

I miss you, I don’t think I have ever missed you as much as I do right now. Its getting worse. They don’t speak to me for days and then he gets drunk and yells at everyone. She just sits there with this dead look in her eyes. I think I am blamed for every little thing that goes wrong. Can you come home early for christmas? Will you bring me a gift from school? I think i should run away, but i am to frightened to be alone. I did not mean to spill something on his friend, and I said I was sorry. But he didn’t care and I am sorry for when he hit you and not me. I did not know the ring hurt like that. 

Please come home, Loulou

Camilla age 10

Dear Cillian,

I have a countdown on the wall until you come home for the summer. I can’t wait to hear about all the things you are learning. I hope I will make friends like you did. Should my letter be coming soon? Or will it not be until after my birthday in June? Can you ask them to send it early so they will be proud of me? I do not think i am clever enough to be in your house even though I would like to be, but maybe in Slytherin. I did some more magic the other day and she almost smiled, but he was angry because I broke that ugly vase in the dining room. He did not like when I said he should fix it. I loved the book you sent me, did you really steal it from the library? Should I return it next year if I get to go? Sometimes I hear him say that he does not think they should waste their time on me but I do not let him see how much that hurts me. It hurts almost more than the ring. 

See you soon! Camilla

Camilla age 15

Lil, 

They said I can’t come and stay with you at all this summer, apparently someone sent a letter to him about who I have been spending my time with. As if I got to choose where I was housed. Its not my fault all the mudbloods are there, what am I supposed to do, leave? He would probably like that, just like he threatened to last year. I am going mad here alone, won’t you come visit soon? They are always nicer when you are around. And you can bring Andromeda, then they will be on their best behavior. I know you are busy at work, and I know you like that a lot more than being here. But please don’t forget your suffering little sister all alone in this nightmare of a house. Adrian is being annoying because apparently I was rude to him a few weeks ago when I told him I preferred pearls to sapphires. How was I supposed to know they were his great-grandmother’s or something? If you don’t come visit me soon, I might throw myself off the roof to get a bit of excitement around here. Perhaps I could stay at St. Mungo’s for a few days then. I am only joking don’t worry. But seriously, its getting harder to stay quiet, to listen to him ramble on about how useless I am. I will likely snap soon, and you know that will end poorly.

Your poor suffering sister, Lou

There was a collection of letters on her desk, kept in a box that did not draw attention. It was a collection of her pain, all those time she was alone, old tear stains and her trembling penmanship. She never sent them, even at the age of 8 she did not want to worry her brother. She could not have him be concerned with her when he was supposed to be focusing on school. She wrote of her little struggles, tiny wishes for a better future. And when he graduated, got the freedom to move out and live his life, she wrote to him of feeling suffocated, complaining, threatening all sorts of things in that dramatic way of hers.

And now the night before her wedding, she was back in her childhood bedroom. Camilla had not let herself feel this in a long time, she’d separated it, home and school. But now, on the last night as a Selwyn, she mourned for this child. The little girl who clung to her brother, writing letters she would never send in an attempt to make herself feel better. Sometimes it worked. But tonight she gave herself permission to feel, to cry. And then she lit every single letter, watched the paper curl up in the flames, a cathartic release of the child she was. She wrote one last letter, in Greek, and sent it to him before she could change her mind.

Cillian, 

I don’t know if I have ever thanked you for everything you did for me. And maybe I’m sappy, and a little drunk, but I need you to know. For every letter I sent you while you were at school and after, there were two I didn’t. Maybe I should have told you everything, but even writing it down made me feel like someone cared. You are far too good to me, and I can never make up to you all the times you have saved me. Having you as a brother has saved my life. Thank you for all the times you stood in front of me, stood up for me. Thank you for making me feel important, for teaching me to be proud of who I am. Thank you for forcing me to learn this stupid language so people will think I am smarter than I am when really I know you just like talking about people in front of them. And thank you for a million other things I am surely forgetting. Don’t worry, I hate how disgustingly sappy this letter is too. 

Love, Camilla

@cillian-selwyn