#don't have a great spot for a tree in this house

[sunshinehaze1]

Unwrapped

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader (f. Marcus Acacius & Lucilla Aurelius)

Summary: You attend your friend Lucilla's annual holiday party and meet someone new.

Warnings: 18+, MDNI. Modern AU, no outbreak or battles in the colosseum, meet-cute, fingering, unprotected PiV (do better), creampie, no use of y/n

a/n: This is my Secret Santa gift for my beautiful friend @ak-vintage. Her Pedro faves are Joel, Marcus A., and Din. I hope you like it, Ash! ❤️ and that you'll forgive me for not elaborating further on the party bathroom smut 🤭 tysm to @80ssong for the beta! 🥰 and big time thanks to @pr3ttynpiink for organizing! ❤️

word count: 4,386

ao3 | ml

As you walk up the driveway, you admire the lights trailing along the edges of Marcus and Lucilla's house. They live in a large, luxurious home decked in over-the-top opulence. Roman columns frame the front porch, wrapped in garland and accented with gold bows and lighting. Glittery white lights perfectly line the edges of the house, and more are draped meticulously over the immaculately trimmed shrubs. Their house practically lights up the whole neighborhood. It's hard to imagine their electric bill; you're thankful you don't have to pay it.

You met Lucilla earlier this year while volunteering at the local food bank. You decided to volunteer to meet people after moving to the area recently. Lucilla comes from money; her father was the CEO of a local business, and she inherited a large amount of money when he passed. So she has plenty of free time to give back to those in the community who are less fortunate.

After one of your volunteer shifts, Lucilla invited you for coffee. You found her to be surprisingly down to earth. It's not typical of your experience with people who come from money and have had things handed to them. She's very grounded and wise. You quickly became friends, and she's like the big sister you never had. She has at least a decade on you, and you've often turned to her for advice as you assimilate to Austin. It's comforting to have a support system in the area.

You've been invited to her beautiful home for dinners numerous times and met her handsome husband, Marcus. He's around Lucilla's age with soft, greying curls, always perfectly coifed. His face is framed with Romanesque features and a prominent nose. Having retired a couple of years ago as a general in the Army, he still maintains a thick, sturdy physique that offers an intimidating presence. He's anything but. You've only seen him as soft, gentle, and welcoming. You've spent enough time with them that you've been able to observe their relationship quietly, and it's nothing short of "relationship goals." You hope to find a loving relationship like theirs for yourself one day.

They throw these holiday parties every year, and this is your first time attending. You're bound to have a great time based on what you've heard about past years' parties. And you look forward to meeting new people. Who knows, maybe you'll meet someone.

Lucilla and Marcus go all out. The outdoor decorations were only a precursor to what awaits you inside. It looks like a Christmas store blew up. Garland is wrapped around the staircase banister and the fireplace mantle with perfectly placed ornaments. Every door frame is adorned with mistletoe dangling over the threshold, waiting for unsuspecting guests to pass through. Santas and snowmen of varying sizes sit on tables and shelves. Silvery snowflakes decorate the walls, and you spot not one but three different Christmas trees. Each has its own theme.

The expansive kitchen island has a beautiful spread of charcuterie, wines, and liquors and a punch bowl of spiked egg nog; holiday songs, clinking glasses, and the smell of mulled cider waft through the air.

--

Joel is a good sport. He's not a fan of large gatherings. He'd much rather hang out in the backyard with a beer, catching up with his brother. Or when Sarah was still at home, a night on the couch watching a movie. Nights that would end with Sarah falling asleep halfway through the movie and Joel carrying her upstairs to bed. With his reserved nature, he tends to be a wallflower at parties and a quiet observer. This one, which his employee, Marcus, invited him to, is no different.

He's found himself in a corner, making small talk with another partygoer who, unfortunately, found out what Joel does and has since been bending his ear about house renovations. Joel spots you as you walk through the door, ignoring the man in front of him, who continues to prattle on how he can't decide which faucet to place in his half bath.

Joel finds himself gawking at you. You're a vision in your eggplant velvet wrap dress with a satin sash tied into a bow on the side of your waist. The dress hugs every curve of your body, with a skirt that falls to your mid-thigh, providing Joel a view of your shapely legs. The dress's neckline cuts into a deep v, hinting at what's underneath. You're a fucking knockout.

He observes as you juggle a wrapped gift box for the white elephant exchange and a hostess gift in your other hand. It's a lavender-scented candle. You've noticed Lucilla wears the scent often. You greet Lucilla with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Offering her a wide, glowing smile. Oh god, you're beautiful. Joel is shaken from his enamored haze when the sound of broken glass interrupts his thoughts. He must find a way to talk to you before he leaves tonight.

--

Over the last hour or so, you've had a chance to meet everyone at the party—neighbors, family friends, Marcus's old Army buddies, and their spouses. All of them were very nice, but the small talk was exhausting, so you're thankful when you hear Lucilla quiet the guests with a shout, "ALRIGHT EVERYONE TO THE LIVING ROOM! It's time for the gift exchange."

You enter the living room and look for a place to sit. Various chairs are lined up around the couches, almost all already taken. You decide to remain standing rather than scramble to find an open seat.

While Lucilla explains the rules, a basket with small pieces of folded-up paper is passed around the room, with numbers 1-30 written on each. You select yours and pass it to the man beside you; rough fingers graze your hand as you complete the handoff. He thanks you, and you turn to get a better look at the owner of the deep, gravelly voice.

You're struck by how ruggedly handsome he is. A sharp nose, plush lips, and patchy facial hair sprinkled with greys. He's wearing a crisp light blue button-up and dark jeans that hug him just right. It seems you haven't met everyone at the party yet. How did he escape your notice?

He catches you staring, "What number did ya get?"

"Um…" you look down at your paper, "29. How about you?"

"Looks like I got lucky tonight," he turns his piece of paper around to show you, "30." He winks.

Uh oh. He's handsome and charming. You're in trouble.

"Name's Joel. How do you know Marcus and Lucilla?"

You introduce yourself and tell him about your volunteer work and how you met Lucilla. "And you?"

"Marcus works for me." Your surprised reaction amuses him, and he continues. "After he retired, he was looking for part-time work to keep himself busy. I own a contracting business."

That explains his rugged appearance and calloused hands. You take in his broad shoulders and biceps, which cause the seams of his shirt to work overtime to stay together. Lucilla interrupts your thoughts, "OK, now that everyone has their number, we'll go ahead and get started!"

A woman named Simone starts things off. After selecting a gift from under the tree, she tears the wrapping paper to reveal a cat-shaped ice cube tray. The crowd erupts in laughter when she shows it around the room. It's not a very appealing gift, which likely means she'll be stuck with it. You doubt anyone will want to "steal" it from her, but at least it has practical use. 

The game continues with half the participants taking their turn. Lucilla's son, Lucius, is next. You met him briefly when Lucilla introduced you earlier. He's in town to spend the holidays with his mother. After over a decade apart, he reconnected with Lucilla a few years ago. The relationship is still in repair but moving in the right direction. You know how important it is to Lucilla to have him here.

You haven't gotten the full story from Lucilla, but you know it's a sensitive subject for her, so you've never pressed too hard. You've left the door open for her to share if and when she's ready. He and Marcus seem to have an agreeable relationship and get along fine, which you're happy to see. Stepparent and stepchild relationships can be pretty fraught. He's a handsome kid who resembles Lucilla, but you think he inherited most of his looks from his father.

Lucius takes his turn and decides to steal a gift that was already stolen, securing it himself. The game continues as the room works through the numbers. A steady din of laughter echoes through the room as the exchange becomes more cutthroat. It's all in good fun, though.

Finally, it's your turn. You walk over to the tree where two gifts remain. One is a box covered in teal wrapping paper with a gold diamond pattern and embellished with a twine ribbon. The other one is a tall, slender gift bag that is the perfect size to hold a bottle of wine. You choose the box and return to your spot next to Joel.

All eyes in the room are now on you as you unwrap the gift. Pulling the paper away, you squeal when you see it's a Funko Pop figure. You try to remain calm when you remove the rest of the paper and recognize it is The Mandalorian and Grogu.

This is a score, and you can't believe your luck. You love Star Wars, especially The Mandalorian. And it's not just because you have a crush on the actor who plays him. You love the storytelling and the world-building. This isn't something you'd buy for yourself, but you'll proudly display it in your home. With Joel as the last person left, you hope your brief interaction with him has earned you enough favor that he won't steal your gift.

However, you don't know that Joel and his daughter watch The Mandalorian over Facetime every Sunday night. It's a way for them to stay connected now that she's miles away. They're on their third rewatch, and he treasures these nights with his daughter. He eyes the Funko Pop in your hand and thinks Sarah would get a kick out of this cute figure. Even if he has no clue what a Funko is.

Joel hems and haws, trying to decide if he should go for the last gift under the tree, which he suspects is a bottle of wine. He wouldn't have much use for it as he's more of a beer guy. Or steal your gift and potentially derail any opportunity he may have had to get to know you better. After a few moments of quiet deliberation, he opts to steal.

You huff in defeat, bummed that you lost out on your gift, and hand the box over to Joel. You know it's all in good fun, and Joel had no malicious intent behind his decision. You retrieve the last gift from under the tree, confirming your suspicion of what was inside.

After the gift exchange is complete, the guests disperse throughout the house. You're looking over the wine's label when you feel an elbow nudge your bicep. Your attention turns to Joel, who has a sheepish look. "Sorry for that. My daughter and I love The Mandalorian. We watch it together every Sunday night while she's away at school," he sighs.

Now, how can you be upset about that? Of course, he had a heartwarming reason behind his decision to steal. "Oh, it's no big deal. I'm just happy he's going to a good home."

Joel chuckles. "Would you like a drink?"

You nod and follow him into the kitchen.

--

With your cup of eggnog, you settle at a threshold out of the way of party traffic. He tells you more about the contracting business he owns with his younger brother. You share more about yourself and how you moved to Austin for a job opportunity. He's incredibly handsome, and you get lost in his brown eyes. His quiet confidence and sense of humor are extremely sexy.

Joel recounts a time when his brother screwed up an order for a job. He ordered the incorrect size of lumber and set the project back a week. Joel took over placing orders after that. He shares his hunch that his brother purposefully messed up the order, so he no longer has to do it.

His retelling is endearing. Through it, you get a good sense of his love for his brother, but as with most sibling relationships, some things drive him crazy. You can relate.

A silence falls between you two for the first time since you began talking. You're not even sure how much time has passed. However, it's been long enough to cause a crick in your neck since you've had to look up at Joel this whole time. You tilt your head, rolling it back and forth to stretch it out. When you open your eyes, you're frozen as you realize where you and Joel have been standing. Your chest begins to warm at the implication of where this could lead.

Joel follows your gaze to see what's caught your attention. He gulps when he spots the leafy instigator. His palms sweat as he straightens, and you make eye contact.

The warmth in your chest has moved up your neck as Joel's eyes lock with yours. The swirl of the party moves around you two, and you feel frozen in time. At this moment, it is just you and Joel. A soft smile appears on his face. "Welp. Do you know what this means?"

You swallow, take a deep breath, and offer an inviting smile. "It can only mean one thing."

Joel leans in. You feel his hot breath as his face nears yours. This sweet, funny, handsome man is about to kiss you, and you remind yourself to breathe. His index finger lifts your chin toward him, his lips brushing over yours. It feels like hours have ticked by at this standstill when only seconds have passed. But your patience still wears thin, "Well…what are you waiting for?"

Joel laughs and finally closes the distance. His lips capture yours in a chaste kiss, aware you are not alone. You press your lips to his and let out a soft moan. The sparks you've only read about in novels start to fly, butterflies flutter around in your stomach, and you see fireworks shooting off behind your eyelids. You keep them shut out of fear that you'll wake up from a dream if you don't.

You blink back as you pull yourself away from Joel. Knocked on your ass over a kiss. If his kiss can feel like that, you can only imagine what more would feel like. And you would love to find out.

Wide-eyed, you coo, "That was a really good kiss."

Joel nods, brushing his thumb along his bottom lip. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind doing that again."

"Me either," you giggle, feeling bold, "and maybe more?"

Joel quickly grabs your hand, determination in his eyes, "Follow me."

--

There's no shortage of privacy in a house of this size. The large amount of guests allows you and Joel to sneak off unnoticed. With your hand in his, he pulls you behind him in search of a more conspicuous location. At the end of the hall, you spot an open door that leads to a beautifully appointed bathroom: marble countertops, travertine tile, and a glass-enclosed shower with a waterfall showerhead. Large mirrors with an intricately designed gold frame sit over each sink. This is just the guest bathroom?!

He whips you around to face him and pulls you in for a kiss, not chaste this time. This kiss is brimming with passion. A mix of tongues dancing around, exploring each other's mouths. Playful nibbles leave their marks on each other's lips.

Your palms flatten against his firm chest, and you grip the lapels of his shirt and yank it open. The top buttons fly across the counter's surface and bounce every which way—ping, ping, ting—until they land flat on the surface. Hiding your giggle behind your hand, you look up at Joel apologetically. "Hey! I liked this shirt!" he bemused.

You walk your fingers up his now bare sternum and pinch his chin mischievously. "Oops, my bad!"

"Oh, you're fucking trouble, aren't you?!"

"Only one way to find out," you tease.

"Oh, honey, you bet your sweet ass I will." His hands caress your waist and hips, enjoying the feel of the velvet over your soft curves. "But first, I want you to see how gorgeous you are." He kisses you before he turns you to face the mirror.

Joel stands tall behind you. His hands roam along your body when he captures your gaze. With pleading eyes, he asks, "Can I unwrap my gift now?"

You nod. He pulls down the neckline of your dress and frees your tits from the cups of your bra. You let out a small gasp. He looks at you in the mirror while he kneads them, tweaking your nipples between his thumb and index finger. He nuzzles into your neck and ascends with featherlight kisses to your earlobe, and whispers, "You're so fucking gorgeous."

With a gentle squeeze of your breasts, "gorgeous tits." His husky voice sends a shiver down your spine.

One of his hands moves down your body. His fingertips trail up the back of your bare thigh and underneath your skirt to your ass. A sly grin appears on his face when he doesn't feel any fabric impeding his exploration. You decided to wear a thong tonight to avoid panty lines with the way the fabric of the dress clings to your figure. With a firm squeeze of your bare cheek, "gorgeous ass."

You whimper at his attention and praise, overwhelmed by his adoration of your body. Both hands make their way to your neck, and he turns your face toward him, "gorgeous lips," and he devours you in a toe-curling kiss.

He hisses when your ass backs into him in response. His hardened cock straining the front of his jeans. You suck in your breath, apologetically, "I'm so sorry."

He chuckles, "It's ok, baby." He brushes his lips over your nose and tilts back with a glint in his eye, "You can make it up to me."

You quirk your eyebrow, "oh yeah, how so?"

He doesn't answer you. Silently, he grips your hips to turn you back to face the mirror. He grabs your hands and places your palms flat on the cool marble. He watches your tits bounce in the mirror and feels his cock get impossibly harder. "Stay. Just like this."

You feel the arousal pool in your belly at his command. His hands travel down the sides of your thighs and up under the skirt of your dress. His fingers slip under the elastic band of your thong, and you hear the lace fabric rip.

He slides a calloused finger through your slick lips. A growl escapes him as he feels how wet you are. "This pussy's just drenched for me, isn't she?"

You whimper out a strangled "yes." Overwhelmed by the feel of his thick fingers through your folds, teasing your entrance and brushing against your clit.

Finally, he shows mercy and slides a finger inside you. You clench around his thick digit as he enters you to his last knuckle, his fingertip reaching that spongy spot just right, sending an intense wave of pleasure through your body.

He leans forward, his whole chest pressed against your back. The heat from his body envelopes you. His husky voice vibrates in your ear, "Fucking dripping."

You groan when Joel pulls his finger out to taste you. "Such a sweet fucking pussy. I can't wait to make a whole meal out of her."

He breaches you again with two fingers, and you buck forward at the pleasurable stretch. He begins to thumb against your clit while his two fingers thrust inside you at a steady pace.

"Fuck. I can't wait to get you out of here. I want to take my time with you. The things I want to do."

"Tell…" breathless, "…me."

"I want to eat your pussy until your legs shake." he continues his exploration of your cunt. "Suck on your perfect tits. Fold you in half while I fuck into you until you scream my name."

"Yes, fuck…Joel, I want all of that." Your imagination is running wild at his ideas, the tension is building, and you're ready to snap.

"You'll get it, but I need you to come for me, darlin'." Desperation in his voice, "My cock needs to be inside this perfect pussy."

His words were all you needed to push you over the edge. You brace yourself on the counter as your orgasm moves through you, your walls fluttering around his fingers.

As you come down from your high, Joel quickly unfastens his jeans and lowers them along with his boxer briefs, releasing his throbbing cock. You feel his length bop against your ass. His fingers run through your pussy to coat his dick with your arousal. He lazily strokes his dick while bunching up the skirt of your dress over your waist with his other hand.

His palm runs over your bare ass cheek and slowly navigates your curves to your other cheek. You whimper when he pulls his palm away, already missing the warmth of his skin against yours. The unexpected strike of his palm causes you to jolt forward with a whine.

"Fuck! This is a juicy ass," he growls as his fingers dig into your flesh.

"Do it again. Harder." you pant.

You catch his devilish grin in the mirror as he lifts his arm with a flattened palm. The din of the party muffles the sound of it moving through the air before it lands on your other cheek. Harder. Just like you asked. You feel another wave of arousal rush through you.

"Oh, baby. We're going to have so much fun."

Joel takes his cock and runs the tip through your folds, You haven't seen it, but you can feel it's big as he teases your entrance with just the tip. Your mouth begins to water as you fantasize about taking him between your lips, the heavy weight of it on your tongue as you take him down your throat.

You're so distracted by the thought of choking on his dick that you yelp in surprise when his cock enters you with a forceful thrust; his pelvis slams into your luscious cheeks.

"Oh, she's fucking…" Joel pants, "she's fucking, tight."

He begins a steady pace of fucking you. His hands gripping your hips, fingertips digging in with a bruising force.

He reaches around your waist to rub your clit while he continues a relentless pace. Your walls clenching around him. Breaths increase, and your chest is slick with sweat. His thrusts push you into the counter, driving into you while he rubs your clit. The marble cooling your heated chest. "C'mon, baby. I feel you squeezing me. Let go for me."

You wail out his name as your climax takes hold. He pulls you up against his chest, his hand cupping your breast as he fucks you through your orgasm. Hot breath against your ear as he seeks his release. You wrap your hand around his neck and pull his head toward you. Your lips brush against his ear, and with a whisper, eyes fixed on him in the mirror so you can see his reaction, "Fill me up. I want to feel you dripping out of me."

Joel whimpers. He fucking, whimpers. He's at the precipice of his orgasm and grasps onto your tit tighter. You squeak at the pressure. One. Two. Three more thrusts before he spills into you, drenching your pussy with his seed.

His forehead collapses onto the back of your shoulder; his labored breathing begins to even out. When he looks up, your eyes meet his in the mirror. You both are completely fucked out. Half dressed, tits hanging out, disheveled hair, smeared lipstick. He leans back to get a good look at his spend leaking from your pussy. A boyish grin expands on his face into a toothy smile as he pushes his cum back inside with his finger. "Gotta keep my gift wrapped up."

You roll your eyes and laugh.

Joel grabs a clean washcloth from the towel bar and runs it under warm water. He gently runs the damp cloth over your inner thighs and sensitive folds, cleaning himself before tossing the washcloth in the hamper.

You notice it's after midnight, and you'll need to get home soon—even though you don't want the night to end. You both scramble to dress. Joel stops short when he realizes he can't button his shirt back up all the way. He looks around to find the loose buttons on the counter and pockets them. Softly, you brush his forearm and coo, "I can sew those back on for you."

He winks and kisses the tip of your nose. "Worth it."

--

You accept Joel's offer to walk you to your car, but not before you say your goodbyes. The two of you part to find Lucilla and Marcus to thank them for the party.

When you find Joel again, he guides you toward the door, holding his gift in one hand and the other against the small of your back. He leans toward your ear and teases, "We'll need to discuss visitation arrangements." shaking the figurine in the air.

You playfully swat his chest at his teasing.

You and Joel are unaware that Marcus and Lucilla are watching this exchange from afar. Lucilla turns to Marcus and wonders, "Now, why didn't we think to set those two up? They're perfect together."

"It doesn't look like they needed our help anyway." Marcus wraps his arm around his wife and kisses her temple. "Another successful holiday party, my lady."

Lucilla rests her head on his shoulder and lets out an exhausted but contented sigh. "Until next year, my love."

--

Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to know what you think. Reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated. 🫶🏻

I've got an idea brewing to revisit these two (four)...if I get a wild hair, I may take a swing at it. 😏

npt for folks who were interested in this WIP: @baronessvonglitter @kilamonster @half-moon16 @peepawispunk

[astral-aromance]

Grandchildren

Imagine being Nerdanel, sure that your family is lost to you forever. You're completely alone. Even after over 6000 years, your bed still feels empty without your husband there. There's no noise in the kitchen where the brothers are fighting over the last apple, despite all of them knowing there's a whole apple tree right outside the window. No smoke coming from the smithy, no papers with blue prints and miracles scattered around. No dog hair clogging up the drain. No music at 3 am. Nothing.

But then, one day, this Elf shows up at your door. He's shorter than usual, and he looks older than you have ever seen an elf look. He says, "I'm your grandson," and suddenly, you are not completely alone anymore. Elrond is nice, you like him. The music room gets used again, even if only a little. It brings you joy.

A few decades go by, and a Raven brings you a summon from Mandos. You except Tyelpë is finally coming home to you, but instead, it's an elf you have NEVER met before. Tall, stoic, and dark-haired, Nolofinwëan in all ways, but his eyes are unmistakably those of your husband. Those of your eldest son. He is just as surprised to see you there, as is Anairë, but you work it out. Turns out Ereinion and Elrond always thought of one another as brothers, now they actually are. One morning, you go downstairs for tea, and you hear the King yell at the Lord about stealing his strawberries off his plate.

Elrond goes to the havens to meet his sons. Surprisingly, the Seagull carried a summon for you as well. Two identical faces greet you, and your heart stings with old grief. You turn to leave, but spot something unusual. Another Peredhil, shy and distancing himself from the others. He looks like Elrond in hair and build, but... Elrond didn't have any other children, did he? One of the twins tugs on his arm and tries to pull him into the crowd, and the newcomer scowls at him. His face turns bright red. Soon after, you find detailed descriptions of Finarfin's failure as a king when it comes to finances on your coffee table.

Tyelpë returns too, turns out he knew all of them, and they get along great. Maybe a little too well, because they start shutting you out. They stop talking when you walk into the room. They hastily hide documents beneath their robes when you pass them. You don't know what they're up to, but at least your house isn't silent anymore, and the forge burns again.

You realise that they are indeed of your house when it comes to stubborn determination when on a quiet Tuesday afternoon 8 Ravens show up to your house with summons, and none of the grandchildren seem surprised.

You are happy as you step out the front door toward Mandos, carrying a basket with 8 sets of robes, a blanket, cups, some bread, some cheese, and a very strong bottle of wine.

[freepassbound]

Grocery list or no grocery list?

Do you decorate your house for holidays? Which ones?

Favorite high-effort meal that you make?

Please :)

Grocery list or no grocery list?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends how desperately I need something (and thus must remember it) combined with how recently I forgot something because I wasn't using a list. 😅

Do you decorate your house for holidays? Which ones?

I haven't even ever really finished moving into this house, so, no. I've thought about doing something for Christmas (which is the only one I've ever decorated for), but... no family is around in the winter. Though I did up the old family house a few times when I was solo (for various reasons)... this place... for whatever reason it just doesn't seem worth it for only myself? Also, there's no tradition of doing it here, I think is a big part of it.

Favorite high-effort meal that you make?

I am not much of a fancy chef, but there is this dish called hamburger pie (which I make with ground turkey) that goes well with mashed potatoes... it's delicious, but it's a lot of work for a single person. Brown the ground turkey, wash potatoes, peel potatoes, cut potatoes, mix the turkey, prep the dish, pop in oven, drain potatoes, mash potatoes... it usually ends up being about two hours (though there is some down time waiting for the potatoes to cook).

[boop-le-snoot]

kinktober #2

Strange Candy

kinktober day two | aphrodisiac | 18+, cw: intoxicated sex (all consensual), female reader. both of them hella sassy, book-ish!thran because no angst in my house. this is very silly, just like the author. don't eat funny mushrooms you find in the forest! | wc 3,7k | want more kinktober? click here |

“Strange indeed.” Said the King thoughtfully. The group of hunters who'd led him to the newfound development traded a long look. Crouching down, the King's majesty eyebrows met in the middle of his forehead as he studied the newfound addition to his great Elven forest. “And the beasts have returned seemingly unharmed, you say?”

“Yes, my Lord. The bears had retreated into a den and so did the foxes, emerging approximately three days afterwards. All seemed in good health and very hungry.” The Silvan hunter replied.

“Then these must be harmless.” Deduced the King, taking out a thin blade to poke at a dense cluster of brightly coloured fungus.

At least, he guessed it was a fungus. Upending one cluster, he found no roots. The flesh of the mushroom was white and fragrant, pleasantly earthy and rich, with subtle floral undertones that made his mouth water slightly. The smell intensified tenfold upon cutting the mushroom down the middle. The King brought it closer to his nose, carefully scenting for any bitterness or rot.

“My Lord...” A concerned Feren piped up from his spot behind the King.

You offered the Captain a glance full of genuine compassion, without a doubt considering his job to be the most complicated and tedious in the whole of Thranduil's kingdom. Minding Greenwood's fiery monarch was not for the faint-hearted.

“Surely you are not thinking of putting it in your mouth?” You added a dash of sarcasm into your question, equally concerned.

You were sassed right back, eyeroll audible. “It is a mushroom, where else would I put it?” Thranduil straightened up, holding the newfound addition to the flora of the forest impaled on his knife. As soon as his eyes zeroed on you, you gulped. Thranduil gave you a nasty little grin. “What is the worst that could happen? I have the best healers of my realm at my disposal.”

Feren's fingers twitched, a tell-tale sign of his withering self-restraint. You sighed and contemplated the best time to begin backing away.

Thranduil simply raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge. “Worry not, the Kingdom has forgotten of your and Feren's...” Elegant pause, Feren's sigh. “Accident.”

“'twas no accident,” you said defensively. “You gave us your Ada's moonshine to see if it was still good. On purpose.”

Thranduil shrugged as the mushroom was evenly divided into two parts with the help of his knife. A perfect picture of innocence, he held up the treat in his palm, grey eyes sparkling.

“I am NOT doing it, my Lord!” Exploded Feren, and gave into his urge to take a step back. He, more than anyone, knew how insistent Thranduil could get. A seven-thousand year old elf giving huge puppy eyes! And it worked! The Captain shielded his own face with his palm. “Throw me in the dungeons for a fortnight, I care not!”

Contrary to your expectations, Thranduil simply rolled his eyes, and swiftly stuck one part of the colourful fungus in his mouth. Everyone gasped, including you, but the old Elvenking remained completely unbothered.

“Hm,” he blinked after a second. “That is not bad.”

Waves of impending doom washed over you with each contemplative movement of Thranduil's jaws. Looking first to the left, and then to the right, you found no immediate means exit of the situation. It was you, the resident human, and the tree behind you, which your King had no problem with crowding you against. Not that he moved or anything. He was just... Large. And very handsome. And spectacular at rounding his shiny, bottomless eyes with great purpose.

“We must know if this fungus is harmful to Edain,” he said, honey-sweet. You hated that he was right. “According to hunters, there is an abundance of it, and, knowing how curious you Edain are...”

“Ugh!” You shook your head. “Just give me the mushroom. If I die, I will haunt your halls for all eternity.” Obediently and with no small worry, you snatched the piece and stuck it in your mouth, chewing quickly, not even taking note of the taste.

Thranduil's last experiment that involved you and Feren still fresh on your mind, you turned back towards the Halls before you'd even finished chewing. You'd rather be in the privacy of your rooms least intoxication has you do something embarrassing... Again. Thankfully, the King conceded, and after giving the hunters a command to gather more of this mystery fungus, the party set out back home.

It was Feren's turn to offer you fleeting looks of compassion. You quietly smiled back, not feeling anything out of sorts. The ride back was pleasantly uneventful. Not a creature was stirring: even the ever-present spiders were absent in their bothersome scuttling.

Too smug for his own good, Thranduil entered his halls with a spring in his step. “The haunting of halls of Greenwood has been postponed indefinitely, I see,” he said in passing as he shrugged off his outer travel robes. A maid immediately offered him a silver robe of heavy satin which he politely declined. “Nay. The discovery has warmed me plenty.”

You noticed that yes, the weather has turned rather warm indeed and bowed before departing back to your daily business. Mid-way through your chores, a thin, translucent sheen of sweat glistened on your brow as you silently cursed the Vala responsible for such unusually pleasant weather. The Halls had already began to prepare for a long winter with covering unnecessary exits and patching up drafty areas.

What wouldn't you give for a gulp of fresh, cold air! Chores forgotten, you hurried to the nearest balcony. There was one not frequently visited by Elves as it was hidden behind a clever alcove; stepping aside and squeezing through the narrow opening, you sighed happily and deeply as your clammy skin finally felt crisp late night air.

Your shoulders dropped as you exhaled, finally shaking off some of that uncomfortable heat. A tranquil scene of swaying treetops and budding stars over a darkening sky emphasized the calamity of your solitude.

“Hm.”

“My Lord,” you greeted without turning, familiar with the timbre of voice and soft swishing of expensive fabric coming from behind you.

Thranduil's profile appeared within your field of view as he posted up next to you and demurely placed a hand over the stone railing of the balcony. “I was unaware someone had found the secret entrance to my private balcony.”

“Oh,” you froze. “I apologize... I was simply...”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “I take no offense. Indeed, it was quite clever. Even keen Elven eyes miss the opening behind the alcove.” Sans outer robe and clad in a simple but rich ensemble of sateen shirt and velvet breeches, it became evident you'd caught the King in a private moment of relaxation. His brow, usually tinted with concern with kingdom, was pleasantly warm.

You swallowed, looking away. He was a beauty even among his own kin, and like this - relaxed and comfortable - bordered on irresistible. A flash of heat spread through your body at the realisation. It took no small effort to squash these thoughts and steer them towards some semblance of propriety.

“The Valar have blessed us with good weather this autumn, my Lord. I was doing my chores and nearly felt faint from the heat.” You said, noticing Thranduil's eyebrows rise. “And the construction of your halls is incredible! Not a single drafty corner.”

“Heated, you say?” He interrupted suddenly, turning to face you fully. Etiquette (whenever you remembered it) dictated you should, too, and you two faced each other. Thranduil radiated curiosity, eyes lingering on your flushed cheeks and the warmth crawling down the neckline of your clothes. “Strange.”

“What is, my Lord?”

“I have said the same thing to Galion but he gave me a very pointed look and gestured towards Lady Anariel, who had been complaining to her maid about not lighting a fire in a timely manner.”

You frowned, too. The Lady Anariel was as Northern as Elves come and was fairly tolerant of wintery weather. When others wore furs, she got by with an outer dress of wool and, perhaps, a pair of gloves.

“Do you feel... Strange, my Lord?” You had a slight suspicion. Just a teeny-tiny one, that boiled down to those Eru-forsaken mushrooms.

In response you received an impish sort of shrug. “Not necessarily so. Do you?”

Your face blanched. Aside from suddenly finding him irresistible and feeling a little hot under the collar, nothing was amiss. But the longer you lingered on those two thoughts, the stronger they became. It was as if you were an adolescent again: barely any impulse control and all feeling.

‘twas a delicate situation. You could speak to a healer, of course, or let the strange circumstance run it's course. If it even could do that. Thoughts growing jumbled by the second, you said the only clear thing on your mind.

“Those cursed mushrooms.”

Thranduil was unperturbed. “I do not believe they are cursed. Potent, yes, but not cursed.”

Your eyebrows shot up. “... You too?”

He sighed. “I came out here in hopes of clearing my head from this fog of lust.” As you prepared to mutter- what, exactly? Apologies? - Thranduil's finger reached out for tour face to trace the curve of your jaw. “And in the process I found something much more exciting.”

Your bottom lip trembled. Such a simple gesture felt heavenly. Wherever his skin came in contact with yours, the heaviness receded briefly. Your breath caught in your chest as your heart picked up a hare's pace.

“Am I being propositioned?” You wished to say to yourself but in the fog, managed to sputter out loud.

“We could help each other out...” The King, unfurled to his full height and radiating heat equal to that you felt on the inside, grinned a crooked grin. It sat youthfully on his timeless features, just the right amount of flirtatious and reassuring.

You pretended to think about it. No, you really did, out of concern for your dignity. Throwing yourself onto the King was simply uncouth. Such was your next course of action, but the necessary amount of time had passed and the need, having been brought to the forefront or your mind, took hold of your sense. Slowly, you leaned into the touch and brought your hands to Thranduil's forearm, tilting his fingers to your mouth. Hot breath caused them to twitch.

“Does this answer your question?” You tilted your head, lips brushing against the multitude of rings he wore on his persona. It was most exhilarating to see his pupils widen and his mouth tremble.

Adam's apple bobbing, Thranduil swallowed. “No.” And smirked, the stunning bastard. “I need a clear, straightforward statement.”

You sighed, feigning annoyance. “I enthusiastically consent to having uncouth, untoward and potentially nasty things being done to my body by my Lord and King...”

You did not even get to finish. In a flash, Thranduil's hands had encircled your face and he bent himself over you, pushing your body into the balcony as he devoured your mouth with his. There was no grace and no finesse; something heavy and hard poking your stomach showed you just how much self-control your King had.

Seconds ago, you'd been having a perfectly normal conversation and now you found yourself airborne, having been unceremoniously picked up by the tall Elf and carried towards his chambers like the most coveted spoil of war while he devoured your mouth. You hummed into the kiss and responded with a groan, tearing the back lacing of your clothes clean off.

Your back connected with the mattress of his bed. Blinking at the rapid change of pace and scenery, you moaned out in frustration regarding your ruined clothes.

“I will commission more for you,” he said carelessly, throwing his own shirt Mordor knows where. His bare chest, chiseled with lithe muscle and pale as fresh milk, captivated your attention.

Previously having contended yourself with the occasional glance at the tiny window of bare skin where the sides of his robes met, you used your newfound opportunity to drink yourself full of Thranduil's fair skin. It felt as soft as it looked when he laid upon you, the weight of his body offering a delicious momentary reprieve from the tension building up in your muscles. Gossamer hair shielded you from the outside world as he leaned in towards your mouth again, this time capturing yours in a sensual dance of tongue and teeth.

A nimble hand took care of your bottoms, sliding inside your underwear as slick and cunning as a snake, to cup your mound. Thranduil groaned into the kiss, finding you soaked and willing, fingering the cleft of your lower lips with practiced gentle moves. The tenderness of it drove you crazy. Your need flared as a wall of standstill fire and you were surprised you did hadn't noticed it earlier. If the pulse in your cunt was anything to go by, you would come undone the very moment your King would finally allow you to feel full.

He was fairly content with sucking your soul out through your mouth and mapping the fat outer lips of your cunt. Never quite breaching and wholly avoiding your throbbing pearl, Thranduil simply basked in the amount of sticky juice your cunt was capable of producing.

The first loud moan of the night broke free if your lips and it was one of frustration.

Thranduil smiled into the kiss, your teeth clashing together. “What is it, mm?” He queried in-between wet pecks.

“I want to come.” You whined.

He chuckled. “And what's in it for me?”

Thankfully, your eyes were closed and he did not see your eyeroll. “You'll get to come, too?” Cringing at how lame it sounded, you were nonetheless powerless beneath him and overwhelmed from your desire.

“I prefer to play with my food.” He grinned a predator's smile, all shiny teeth and lidded eyes, but tugged down on your bottoms nonetheless. “Try harder.”

That became difficult as you were now bare; shivering in your King's arms, you cracked open a hazy eye to see him settle himself closer to your dripping center. It captivated him. Sliding two fingers along your lips, your eyes closed and head fell back as every nerve in your body came alight. Rewarded by a long moan, Thranduil gathered ample amount of moisture on his fingers and brushed over your quivering entrance.

Your back arched as he plunged them deeply within your aching cunt. The sticky noise it made was positively scandalous.

“I will-ah! forgive you for gathering the entire -ahh! King's guard to look at Feren and I!” You managed to form a quasi-coherent sentence through the moans and gasps spilling from your lips and were rather proud of yourself for it.

Thranduil's laugh echoed in the room as it did in his chest, a pleasant rumble vibrating through your core. “Whether Galion forgives you two for barking at him remains to be seen.”

Genuine amusement briefly overshadowed your shame at the situation of the past and at your own current neediness. The combination of emotion startled a laugh out of you, causing your core to clench around Thranduil's fingers and coat them in your wetness. He groaned low in his throat and rubbed your inner walls, reveling in the resulting moan. It did nothing to bring you closer to the peak.

“Sadist!” You accused and attempted to grind down on his hand, fisting the crumpled sheets.

“Slander!” He punctuated the rebuttal with an expert curl of his fingers. You arched. He smirked. “You should learn patience.”

There was no strength in your mind to formulate another witty comeback. Sensation, low and insistent, built up in the pit of your belly, an ache so sweet and tender you were sure it would be any second that you'd burst with it. Every pore on your skin open and receptive to touch, even the slide of silk sheets as your body bent with pleasure was overwhelming. You panted wetly through parted lips as a third finger joined in, the stretch of it making your eyes roll back into your head.

Thranduil would kill you. You were sure of it now. He would end you with a blinding smile and clever fingers never ceasing to move within you, the movement just shy of where you needed him most.

“Mercy!” You moaned. “Mercy, my King!”

You should have known his idea of it would be no less torturous than the ‘kindness’ that led you to your current place writhing atop his bed. Slowly, his tongue traced a path around your outer lips before dipping inside; it was hot and wet, like a summer storm, when it connected with your engorged clit and flicked it from root to tip. Electric feel of sensation pierced your body in a lightning bolt as your leg muscles seized. The King gave a pleased rumble and went for seconds and thirds, effortlessly holding your thighs open with one strong, long arm, palm digging into the soft meat.

Even the pain of it echoed with pleasure.

While the need within your loins kept steadily climbing with no end in sight, your King treated himself to a leisurely late night snack. His tongue delved in and out of your cunt, lapping up the waterfall of arousal. You would have been mortified, really, for the mess had you glued stuck to his face, your hips attempting to follow his mouth in circles.

Coupled with the digits slowly but surely stretching the entrance to your channel, brushing over the sensitive fornix, you knew the night would be long. Dark, but not cold. Hazy.

“Ngh!” You articulated through gritted teeth, feeling him pull away from a particularly sensitive spot in favour of sucking a bruise onto your inner thigh. Thranduil followed a path only he himself knew, marking your flesh with pulling, precise bites that left discoloured spot damp with spit. They pleasantly ached.

Over your stomach and at the underside of your bottom rib. The sides and bottoms of your breasts, all the way up at the root of your nipples. He took each one in into his mouth, suckling on it like a hungry babe, before releasing them with a wet pop just blow a gentle breath onto the pebbled nubs. Through parted lashes, you watched him, aptly fascinated by the lack of colour in his eyes, pupils blown wide and deep with lust.

You tasted your cunt on his tongue as he made way back up. Risking a glance downward, you saw Thranduil's cock hard, flushed and heavy, hanging out of his breeches. He hadn't bothered with removing them and that single detail had you nearly undone. How the King himself could not wait to he inside of you!

An understanding of his previous games had come too, for he was rather proportional everywhere. Just the slide of his weeping tip against your bruised thigh invoked a shudder in you, back arching. You presented yourself to your best ability, eyes shining with pleading as he rested his forehead against yours.

Thranduil held himself above you, weight on his elbows, as his cock nosed at your sopping entrance. Immediately, it tried to suck him in, coaxing his lips to bend into a smirk. Such proximity was putting your sensibility directly into negatives. With a wild look mirrored in his own darkened pupils, you petulantly stuck out your bottom lip and panted with all the sarcasm that you could muster:

“we'll get to the good part... About tomorrow?” You wished to add more, something about him being old, but that remark and many more drowned in the absolute extasy flooding your body as he slid into your cunt in one single smooth stroke. “Aah...” Left your lips instead, and with it, any remaining oxygen departed from your lungs as well.

“Mouthy,” Thranduil remarked, sounding unfairly put together for someone who's mouth was as slippery as wet stone and cheeks brighter than a ripe beetroot.

You forgave him then and there. In awe, you watched him give you another one of his impish grins and nudge at that spot deeply within you. And he did it all over again, plush mouth releasing the sweetest, quietest of moans as he did so. Time got lost in the tug of war tour cunt played with his cock; like this, your release was imminent and fast approaching.

You grabbed Thranduil's arms, rubbed his shoulders as your legs wound up around his narrow waist while he contentedly and systematically unraveled you apart with rapid, smooth snaps of his hips. For a while, there was nothing in the room but the two of you and the lewd noises of damp skin slapping against skin. Clutching harder, you felt yourself tighten around his girth. Each measured stroke abused your engorged clit, heavy sac adding extra sensation on your perineum.

A low, feral groan joined the thrilling cacophony of sex. Thranduil fucked you through your first orgasm with gritted teeth, barely slowing with the new resistance of your cunt attempting to milk him for his worth. Hair hanging over your faces like a curtain, he claimed your lips in a searing kiss as you whimpered with overstimulation. Evenly, his thrusts became shallow, grinding.

Having become a acquainted with your bearings somewhat, you made a confused noise. The King just grinned. His palm connected firmly with the side of your hip as you squealed. He withdrew.

“Present yourself to your King.” He ordered, both smug and slightly breathless, helping you along onto all fours.

You chuffed into the damp bedding and obeyed, arching your back at a sinful curve. Within seconds, you were once again blissfully full.

a/n: I am way too horny of a person to write anything LACE compliant. Or is that my commitment issues talking? Anyway, ELVES FUCK SEVERELY! At least this October. mwah 💋

I once ate like 12 grams of cubensis and was a cat for 3 hours, so Feren barking at Galion with the help of some 3k+ year old mushroom infused moonshine isn't that far-fetched.

[webslingingslasher]

jbae!! if you're taking requests, can I ask for something with trouble comforting peter? maybe he's had a terrible week and loads of things pile up and he just collapses (maybe he even cries out of frustration cause I'm a sucker for that) and trouble just holds him to her chest and runs her hands through his hair 🥺 only if you want to though!! have a great day ily

*you always ask when peter knows he's in love with trouble...* (cleaning out my drafts)

peter's been m.i.a. all day.

rumor is he skipped class and slept past breakfast... and lunch. the unanswered texts you have string along with the theory. you were talking to peter last night so you don't think he's sick, at least not with a cold.

he'd been pulling back the last few days because he's been so busy. you haven't seen him in three days because of a test or a frat meeting or dinner with his aunt - in your opinion, he's spread a little too thin and you think that caught up to him today.

if peter can cut class and hang out at the frat house so can you. unsure if he's taking another nap. you're not risking a phone call that'll wake him and settle for a quiet entry with slow steps up the stairs before silently opening his door and sliding in.

peter's not asleep; he's awake and staring at his ceiling. he knows you're here but he can't bring himself to make believe happy. so he doesn't.

you softly shut his door and rest your back on it. 'do you have a case of the sads?' peter stays in his starfish position for way too long, you think he's building the courage to speak for the first time today. when he does, it's raspy and riddled with depression.

'i have a case of the sads.' even saying it makes him want to curl into a ball. it's times like this he wishes he was home and still small enough to crawl into his aunt's bed.

you've never seen peter this depleted, all spark in him has fizzled. 'do you want to cuddle?' you don't need to ask what's wrong, you already know. and you're getting the feeling he really just wants silent company.

peter sits up to open the space next to him, he's not moving until you're settled because he's about to rest his entire weight on you. the second you steal his spot, he lays on top and buries his face into you while you warmly accept the pressure.

peter only hides in you like this when he's sick or really tired. you don't say anything while you gently tuck a curl behind his ear, you lightly smile and graze the outer edge with your finger- a small twitch tells you he doesn't like it.

normally, you'd double down. today, he needs nice.

'you have cute ears.' it's barely above a whisper, 'i should see them more often.' peter doesn't respond, you didn't need him to.

it's a peaceful quiet, you think it's nice just being in peter's presence sometimes. you keep dragging your hand up and down his back, you're trying to tell him he's okay with your touch. your other combs through his hair over and over, you think he might be falling asleep and you gladly welcome it.

you're not sure how peter's breathing he's tucked into your chest so tight, but as long as he's able to you won't complain. you start to trace little squares over his skin while slightly zoning out on a bird on his balcony collecting what looks like twigs from the overhanging tree.

your shirt feels like it's clinging to you, peter's washing his hot breath into it. you change your shapes to squiggles. the bird hops around, another twig is scooped up. you glance down at your chest and stop your hands.

it's not just choked breath.

'are you crying?'

the floodgates burst.

peter digs into you, holding you so tight you almost wheeze. his shoulders shake as he sobs into you, your heart shatters as he breaks down. peter's never cried in front of you and it's fucking terrible to see.

you don't know what to do, you just act on instinct and try to wrap your arms around him like he always does to you. it always makes you feel protected and secure, it makes you feel like peter's a safe place and nothing can hurt you in his hold.

'you're okay, petey.' you're saying it for the both of you. 'you're okay.' peter thrashes his head back and forth, he doesn't agree. you steady him and say it again. 'you're okay, i promise you're okay.'

it's a little weak because you don't feel like you're fixing much but it always helps when peter says it.

'i'm here. you're gonna be okay because i'm here.' you hear a trumpet in your mind when peter crawls further up to tuck his head under your chin. it's working, you're doing good.

peter's never cried in front of a girl before. his aunt doesn't count and neither does- he doesn't let his mind go there, he's already spirling hard enough.

but you're warm and soft and really fucking loving and it's making him cry harder because it's all he wanted today and you showed up with an abundance of it.

you're crushed at the sound, if you could suffocate the sad out of him you would've already done it. 'please don't throw yourself into a panic attack.' he wasn't going to, but now that you said it he thinks he's approaching that territory quickly.

you can sense it too. you press him closer and breathe deep, his head sinks with your chest. 'do one with me.' it's weak and followed by a cough.

'one more.' he mimics you, it's better this time. peter does the third on his own, you praise him with a back rub. 'see? you're okay.' the smallest of nods, a short stutter of breath and he's sniffling to hold more in.

'let it out. you broke yourself to get to this point, let it out.' it's another wave but it's not as brutal, it's bordering on the verge of pitiful. 'you're not allowed to do this to yourself anymore, peter. i didn't say anything but next time i will. you can't stretch yourself like this, it isn't healthy.'

'i'm sorry.' he doesn't know if he's sorry for crying or for making you care this much. it's a blanket statement, he thinks. you won't let it be one. 'don't you dare say sorry. there's nothing to be sorry about.'

peter can't fathom why, but he almost spews out an i love you and it terrifies him. he feels it in his chest, there's a level of care and affection you're giving him that he's never had before. if he knew he was dying, he'd do it right here in your arms.

peter's never felt safe in another person's hold before. you'd protect him at all costs, even from himself and you just proved it. he needs to see you, he needs to see the face he calls home. he needs you to smile softly at him like he's your world because he promises this time he'd do the same.

you do exactly what he wishes and he feels a pang to his heart when you lightly wipe under his cheeks. 'are you all cried out? if not i'll bully you into more.' god, he wants to swarm you with a thousand kisses.

'i'm okay now.' he hovers over you, an arm on each side of your head. you accept a tiny kiss where your neck and collarbone meet, it's a delicate marking. 'good, you needed it. you also need to eat, and please tell me you had some water today. i'll make you anything you want, or i'll buy you dinner- anything you want, you deserve good things when you have a case of the sads.'

you don't recognize the look on peter's face but it makes you a little self-conscious, you might be a tad overbearing. 'why are you looking at me like that? am i being a little over the top?'

he's still wearing it. 'not at all.' you feel good about it, you're sticking to your guns about standing up to him if you need to. 'okay, good, because even if you said i was, i wouldn't care. i know you're mr. big strong tough man but i swear you need someone to check you sometimes because you get-'

'i really need to kiss you right now.'

you stop yourself and blink at his words. 'oh.' your cheeks feel warm, you nod one time before peter's pressing his bottom lip to your top one and lowering himself until his chest brushes yours.

it's a different kind of kiss, there's nothing behind it except just wanting to do exactly as he said. a cluster of pecks before he pulls back to look at you, you can't place what he's thinking.

'what?' peter shakes his head before going in for another, after the third time he'd failed to remove himself from you, you stop him. 'i don't care how many times you kiss me, mister. you're not getting anything until i see you eat something.'

funny. your request just makes him want to kiss you more. 

[strawberryblue-blog]

Sea of ​​love —Fermin Lopez.

summary: After being in love with Fermin for many years being Gavi's sister, he finally confesses and the sea is a witness of your love.

warnings: none. (mention of alcohol, discomfort, bad language)

word count: +4k.

#SEXYNOTE: I'm sorry for the delay :( I was taking exams. How is everything going? Kisses, love you <3

Laughter erupted in the living room when you saw your brother do something stupid. Everyone knew that Gavi was the life of the night and that his 'guess what' attempts were not something he did very well, even more so when he was drunk but he still ended up being the funniest thing in the world. Unfortunately your mood wasn't the best these days and you were just drowning your sorrows in alcohol.

Trying to forget.

Bottles of beer lay on the floor, on the living room table, sofa and even on the kitchen counter. Summer vacation was something you really loved when it came to coming to your house by the sea, where everything was surrounded by trees, beaches and flowers, a swimming pool with beautiful views and a summer barbecue.

Your parents and sister had gone on a trip and your brother had thought of coming with his friends and inviting your girlfriends for a great vacation. Something you couldn't say no to, as you had been looking forward to it for a long time but weren't excited enough to really enjoy it.

You loved this place but you hated being here right now.

Laughter and screams could be heard all around you, but you weren't really listening to them, not when your eyes were anchored on the boy sitting a few feet in front of you, as if he was the only person in the world. Trying to get his gaze back or at least a little bit of interest from him.

You felt empty, forgotten, ignored and trampled on. You couldn't take it anymore.

"Let's dance" your friend tried to take your hands, but you refused. "Don't be an old lady!" she shrieked snorting.

You smiled a little trying to hide your pain. Your spirits weren't very high today, nor were they a few weeks ago, not after he rejected you like that. You just wanted to drink until you passed out drunk and forget everything.

Falling in love with one of your brother's best friends was a myth for some but a reality for you. A reality that hurt.

Fermin Lopez was the typical young prodigal and kind, who has all the girls at his feet and with that angel face and smile that bewitches, you could not blame them. You had also fallen into his net.

But he would never touch you, his words, not yours.

"Did you come to cry for a man or to fuck three others instead?" your flirtatious friend whispered and pointed to the other members of the group, Ferran, Joao and Pedri.

Your gaze wandered to three drunken boys laughing and joking with each other, playing with your brother and your other friends. You laughed in denial they were just like that, a couple of idiots.

"I'll pass" you whispered. She nodded and kissed your forehead tenderly.

"Well if you don't, i do" she joked with an amused grimace. You laughed before finishing your bottle of beer and watching her walk off after the partying soccer players.

You got up from your spot and walked barefoot around the dining room to your slippers, quickly putting them on. You needed air or to get out of this place before you exploded.

Unseen, you opened the back patio door and stepped out hugging yourself as the evening breeze hit you. It was a pleasant night, the stars were shining brightly overhead, the moon was lighting up the sand on the beach, the tree branches were barely moving.

You sighed a breath of air and took it all in hard. You had been putting up with it all, the journey here, days eating at his side, nights criss-crossing him in the bathroom, evenings and mornings enjoying your own home. It was hell.

You were rethinking to yourself if it had been a good idea to come or if it would have been better to stay in Barcelona, in your small apartment with your studies and your strong emotions. You walked without fear, down from your house until you reached the beach, feeling the waves lapping on the shore. The lighting was dim but at least you could see perfectly where you were stepping and even the moon helped with that. You sat on the sand feeling it grainy under your body, sniffling dejectedly.

It had been at least a couple of years since you had felt this. The feeling of having everything but at the same time nothing, that everything was out of your reach and there was no escape. A tear fell down your cheek and you blamed it on the alcohol that had undoubtedly taken its toll on your body.

You closed your eyes smelling the warm scent of the summer night enjoying the feeling of your limbs burying in the sand when you took off your shoes and the salty of your tears sticking to your face when they came out uncontrollably. Feeling the sensation of being alone in front of the sea with only your feelings drowning you and your bad decisions.

You didn't want to go back to that living room knowing that Fermin was there. You had been on good terms but it was clear that you didn't want to be just his friend and he ignored you completely, except that he felt obligated to greet you when you met in the mornings or ask you for something because he was at your house when Gavi was busy.

After a while behind your back, you heard someone walking by but you ignored them. It was probably one of your friends, your brother or the boys seeing you leave.

Your body was surrounded by a thin layer of clothing, over your summer bikini, giving you validity when the breezes blew your hair. You touched the jacket on your shoulders and its scent came straight to your nostrils, making you bristle.

Damn it.

"What are you doing here?" you heard his voice above your peace.

Your body froze.

You hadn't expected him to come at all, he hadn't even seen you leave, in fact he had never seen you. What was he doing here? Why did he come? To keep hurting you? How dare he? First he ignored you worldwide as if you didn't exist for him and now he appeared out of nowhere with some concern?

"Y/n..." he called out to you when he heard silence. "It's late, it's not safe for you to be alone here, come in the house" he asked from behind.

You raised an incredulous eyebrow.

A hand from his hands touched gently, calling out to you. A shiver ran down your back but you removed your shoulder as if you were a capricious child. Fermin removed his hand quickly at your discomfort.

"I like being alone" came out of your mouth with some wariness.

"I know" he affirmed. Again there was silence but this time, Fermin moved and sat a little away from you. He was respecting your space, you had always liked that about him. He was cautious and kind.

"I like you too" you kept saying. Again you were sure it was the alcohol talking but it was so true.

Fermin sighed. "We talked about... this."

You clicked your tongue. A wry chuckle escaped your lips at the memory.

"Yeah, i know. I'm not your type and you only see me as a friend" you blanched your eyes sighing.

Suddenly, again tears invaded your eyes. But you weren't going to cry, not in front of Fermin.

"It's not that Y/n, you're confused and don't know what you want" he reasoned lifting his shoulders.

"What do you know what i feel?" you snatched raising your voice. "What the fuck do you know what i want!?" you shouted.

The situation was starting to make you desperate and to see him there, so calm with his soft voice and confident feelings. He clearly didn't want you.

"Gavi would never agree to this, it's not right. He's my best friend" he kept excusing himself.

Rage started to build up in your body every time a word came out of his mouth. Why the fuck did he keep making stupid excuses? First you weren't his type, then your brother and now what?

You loved Fermin. Since you were eleven you were in love with him but he never looked at you with different eyes. Was it so hard for him to tell you? Was he such a coward?

"Go away" you asked hugging yourself in the cool night. "Forget everything and fuck off" you spat.

The urge to scream got stuck in your throat when he looked ahead and sighed without saying anything. You were letting him go, why the fuck wouldn't he leave. He didn't want you to come closer, he had asked you explicitly, but why did he come here? He wasn't looking for explanations or he wasn't going to give them either, why had he come in the first place?

He had broken your heart into a thousand pieces from day one. You knew he went out with other girls and that didn't bother you but sometimes it was unbearable, it hurt. Even so, you always kept choosing to love him because the heart doesn't decide who to fall in love with. It just happened.

He had been Gavi's friend since you were little and with that, you also knew him. You had no memories where Fermin was not present as you became a teenager. He was the person who protected you and took care of you, the one who beat up idiots when they tried to get with you, the one who took you home when you were drunk, the one who covered for you when you went out with friends, the one who defended you from Aurora and Pablo when they played with you.

How could you not fall in love? If he was always sweet to you, always watching you with that smile on his face, always worried about you. Fermin wasn't just your brother's best friend, he was like your brother. But you hated that part. Because that was the answer to everything, you were just that to Fermin Lopez.

He knew everything about you and that was your weakest point. He knew how you felt, he knew you liked him and he knew how you were suffering. And that you were a disaster.

You got up from the ground and started walking to the sea. You wanted to get away from him as soon as possible, besides it was all he wanted but he was still there. Sitting silently with his head hidden between his knees like a coward.

Fuck it. Your feet came in contact with the water and you shivered as you felt it was freezing but you weren't going to stop. You were going in deeper and deeper as tears slipped down your cheeks, love was cruel and it hurt to be in love. Why couldn't it be reciprocated, why did it have to end like this?

I guess this was the end. Your end. Not the end you wanted but the only one fate had for you.

Shit fate.

You took a last breath before sinking into the freezing cold water shivering but when you submerged everything disappeared. Your clothes got wet and your hair floated but you didn't care that you were shivering underwater, you didn't hear anything anymore, you were just there. Sinking under your feelings with your broken heart.

The water surrounded your body and tried to push you up but you held steady under it, feeling the silence and darkness beneath you.

At least when you came out Fermin wouldn't be there. Or so you hoped because it would be really embarrassing for him to see you a mess. The mess he had made. He didn't care and it was okay, it was already a hopeless case. You were going to get over it.

Maybe Fermin was right and your feelings were confused or maybe you were infatuated and it would all pass. At least you were praying that when you surfaced it had all been a dream.

When your lungs began to feel the lack of air, you stayed in the water. You weren't going to do anything crazy but you needed a little adrenaline to take your mind off it. Your limbs were cold and the tears had stopped flowing and had mixed with the deep sea water.

Arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you up, pushing you out as your lungs took in air again in desperate gasps.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, y/n!" he yelled trying to help you float, his hands holding your waist tightly as you continued to gasp for air.

Your vision was a little blurry, because of the darkness and the drunken state but your body recognized that touch. His soft fingers pressed against your skin and you trembled.

"It's fucking freezing!" he shrieked again at your silence. "Are you crazy?" he continued. "What would have happened if i left?"

"Nothing, stop acting like you really cared" you replied dryly trying to pull away. You wanted to swim away from him, back to shore and go far away but his arms stopped you.

"I fucking care about you, Y/n!" mentioned harsh. You moved your shoulders catching your breath but when he said your name you were out of breath again.

"Tell me what you want" he said angrily. It was one of the few times you had seen him like that, his eyebrows were furrowed, he was worried but you could tell his neck stood out and he was red, he was definitely angry.

"I told you to leave me" you said again gritting your teeth from the cold.

"I'm not doing it!" he replied but you denied and turned to resolutely get out of the water.

You heard it hit against the water but you tried again to get out, it held you again stopping you. The breeze hit your body and your skin bristled under the water.

"Tell me what the fuck you want!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and you looked up at him until you faced him.

"You, Fermin!" you shouted just as loudly. "I want you" your voice was choppy but you still screamed euphoric.

You weren't afraid to scream. You knew what you wanted and compared to him you weren't going to be quiet no matter if your brother or anyone else could hear you. Even though you were literally inside the sea, there was no one else around but the two of you and your friends were too busy partying to notice what was going on outside.

Your chest was rising and falling and despite feeling your heart almost explode, you dealt with it. Fermin was speechless and then you sighed in denial. Was that what he wanted? To humiliate you again? He had. It wasn't the first time you had told him how you felt but here you were still, feeling your heart break with every feeling.

"You don't understand" he murmured slowly. He was already calm and you were still on fire.

"What, Fermin?" you replied exhausted from the situation.

"I can't choose between you and your brother" he whispered and your heart jumped. "It's not fair" he said taking a step forward.

Why would he have to choose you? You weren't asking him to choose you, you were asking him to love you. This wasn't about Gavi but in some part you understood. And that terrified you too. But it wasn't a valid excuse when it came to love, it didn't matter at all when it was true. You understood perfectly well that sometimes love was unrequited but he always came close and made you feel special, as if he knew exactly what you felt having him around. As if he felt the same but ended up walking away or excusing himself.

"I can't put you in that situation, i can't put Pablo in that situation either" he kept saying. "You don't understand, you're beautiful and i really like you but it's not the right thing to do."

You nodded slowly. Your belly churned and your eyes threatened to tear up but you stopped them. You really had a hard time deciphering if his words were true or if he was trying to comfort you and excuse himself, either way it didn't make sense anymore.

"You are the most beautiful girl i have ever met, you are funny and caring, you loved your friends and family, you always take care of everyone and expect nothing in return" his hands cupped your cheeks and lifted your dull face. The waves gently lapped your bodies and the sound was music behind his words.

Your eyes were watery and your heart pounded, their cold bodies surrounded by water and their fingers were icy but nothing mattered. His touch burned your skin and you felt the closeness of their body, making you sway.

"You drive me crazy" he whispered. "You know what it's like to see you every day? With that beautiful smile but then when you see me it disappears, to see you sad and not being able to hug you, i can't touch you, i can't tell you how i feel about you" he confessed so close to you and your face cradled in his hands.

Were you still in a dream? was it true? or was it a lie? you no longer knew if this was true or if your unconscious was creating a parallel reality to your pain. Although his skin over yours indicated to you that this was really happening, you had never felt it so close, so true, so real before.

"Why?" you asked defeated. "Why don't you?" you pleaded.

Fermin caressed your face, shaking his head, his eyes lowered to your lips and looked at you hungrily, desperately.

"I can't" he barely said.

He wanted to kiss you. Those words were an attempt to converse to himself, Fermin wanted to kiss you. His voice trembled and he refused holding back.

"I can't" he repeated and you didn't let him think about it.

You were probably going to regret this but you couldn't help yourself and kissed him. You took his face and pressed your lips against Fermin's, taking him by surprise. But as if it was an instinct, he reciprocated a few seconds later.

The feeling of happiness invaded your stomach and you felt how the whole world revolved around you. It wasn't the first time you kissed a boy but it was definitely the first time you felt something like this. A shiver ran from the tips of your toes to your last hair and made you bristle. Fermin's hands took your waist delicately groping the area before placing them there.

The kiss was delicate, awkward and tender. As if it was a first time. Because it really had been, it was the first time you kissed Fermin and you knew it was going to stay engraved in your heart. The waves moved your bodies but Fermin's hands held you tight and made you feel safe.

"You have no idea what you just did" he whispered as your foreheads pressed together.

"I didn't do anything" you jokingly defended yourself.

"You do everything" he said again and cupped your face in his hands.

His eyes shone like headlights and you wondered was that if how the stars above you looked. The touch of his skin against yours was familiar, Fermin always touched you but this time it felt different.

Again his lips sought contact with yours but you stopped him, pulling away a little to make space between you. It was obvious you wanted to kiss him but you were afraid that after he kissed you, Fermin would run.

"You said we couldn't" you murmured biting your lip.

Nerves were itching in your belly and you were desperate to feel his lips but you couldn't let him hurt you again.

"You kissed me first" he replied whimpering. You smiled in denial.

"Because i know what i want!" you squealed determined. You had always known and not because you wanted to meant he could use you.

Fermin sighed releasing your cheeks. The chill ran through your body again as he moved a little further away, pulling away from you.

"Pablo is my best friend" he said scratching the back of his neck.

"So what?" you snatched, you were going to get it all out today.

It was all or nothing.

"Don't do this to me, y/n" he pleaded worriedly.

You weren't doing anything. Nothing he didn't want, was he going to blame you? Couldn't he set the record straight? For not wanting to admit how he felt?

Pablo was not an obstacle, you knew that if this was real he would support them. Of course it would cost him, first he would get angry and act offended, then he would too but in the end he would accept his. And if he didn't he'd be damned, it was your damned life and Fermin's.

"Aren't you afraid?" he asked taking a step closer. You lifted your shoulders.

Of course love was scary. Everyone painted it as something beautiful but after being ignored several times by Fermin you were beginning to believe that love was just part of Disney stories.

"It's okay if you want to let me go but you have to at least try first" you complained disappointed.

"I don't want to hurt you" he mentioned and his arms grabbed your forearms again. You wanted to pull away but Fermin took you in his arms and wrapped his arms around you against his body. Again you felt his overwhelming warmth and the cold disappeared, at times you felt on top and at others underneath.

"You already do..." you whispered so slowly that the words vanished on the breeze.

"I'm sorry, Y/n" he apologized squeezing you. "I love you and I don't want to lose this thing we have" he said in one ear.

"We won't lose it if you really want me" you admitted.

"I really want you" His eyes spoke before yours.

Your heart was pounding a mile a minute. You were agitated and excited at the same time, you wanted to kiss him, you wanted to touch him, you wanted Fermin to hold you and not let go. Your fingers caressed his locks of hair and his hands took your waist, rising up to surround it and stay on top of him.

"Let's not tell Pablo yet" he whispered kissing your forehead softly.

His words made you raise your head until you could see his face. Had he really said that?

"Tell him what, Fermin?" you asked pretending not to notice.

"About us" he murmured clear and precise.

Every atom in your body began to jump with happiness. A smile was marked on your lips and quickly spread it towards the boy.

About us. It sounded unreal coming out of his mouth. You had always had feelings for each other but only you would admit them. Now he was the one saying it and you began to wonder if that's what love felt like.

Fermin grabbed you by the face again.

"I've been in love with you for as long as i've known you, i don't understand how i could endure these years, i don't understand how i could push you away like this" he whispered caressing you.

Your eyes watered. The night was perfect. You surrounded by darkness, under the starlight with the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the water surrounding your bodies, it felt like a real dream you had ever had.

Only this time it wasn't.

You were here, in the sea, your favorite place, with your favorite person.

"I really love you, Y/n" he said firmly.

He couldn't hold it in any longer and brought their lips together again.

[pensat-i-fet]

His very own real princess (Pedri x Reader)

**I'm back with another imagine! This one was requested many moons ago and the anon who sent it might have forgotten about it so sorry 😕 but I got the inspiration for it and so I wanted to share it! I'm not so used to writing short format anymore so I feel everything could be a series. Let me know if you'd like this concept to be one! ☺️ And enjoy! ❤️**

Word count: 3675

Masterlist

Wattpad

Being famous was not as great as people made it up to be. For Pedri, it meant leaving the house was too much sometimes. He had to deal with people following him and even getting in front of his car just to get his attention. He was asked to sign autographs and to take photos every couple of minutes. While he loved his fans, it could be a bit much. Especially when he could tell they were filming him so they could post the video on TikTok for a couple hundred likes. So, one day, he tried to avoid those people by going to a park. He could probably lose them there. There were so many trees and dogs that made it harder to move quickly around the area.

For you, it had been a bit different. Growing up your family wanted to keep you a secret almost. For security reasons…or so they said. So, naturally, you wanted to rebel against them and do the complete opposite. Still, it wasn’t until you turned 18 that you started to show up at official events. And now you were 20, you realised maybe your parents had been right all along. But you weren’t going to tell them that. Of course. So while some paparazzi were chasing you, you spotted a park and thought you could hide there for a bit. Maybe even call your chauffeur so he could pick you up and save you from the vultures.

“Oh! Sorry”.

Pedri turned to look at the girl who was apologising to him. You had bumped into each other and he hit you in the head with his shoulder without meaning to. He hadn’t even seen you there.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. Are you alright?”

And then, it happened. You looked up to see his face and you couldn’t believe who it was that you were talking to.

“Oh my God…oh my God”, was all you could say.

“I take it you know who I am”.

“Yeah, who doesn’t?”

Pedri chuckled. “I guess there are some lucky folks out there who don’t. But really, are you ok?”

“Yes, it’s fine. Just more shocked to see you here than anything else”.

Pedri smiled at you and you were trying hard not to swoon. Being hidden from the public eye meant you hadn’t been around a lot of famous people before. Your second cousins were way more used to this and always told you famous people were just normal people. To them…not to you. To you, famous people were…fascinating.

“I was planning on hiding here for a bit”, you said.

“Me too, but I don’t want to ruin your plan so I could leave…”.

Pedri started to look around, getting ready to leave so you stopped him. “You don't know who I am so that makes you good company. Perfect company actually. So you can stay. Also, you got here first”.

“Should I know who you are?”

“I guess not”, you shrugged. Not everyone followed your family. Thankfully.

“Are you a singer?

“Babies cry when I sing”.

“Actress?”

“Nope”.

“Influencer”.

“I only influence how much money there is left in my dad's bank account”.

You thought it was really cute how he concentrated, trying to guess. “Then…a model?”

“No, but I appreciate the compliment”.

“What compliment?”

“If you think I could be a model, then you think I'm pretty”.

“Well”, he started. “I like to invite pretty girls to eat or have a drink so…which one is it going to be?”

“There is an ice cream ban there…if you dare approach it”.

It made you laugh how Pedri looked around the area, making sure no one who could know him was there and then he turned to look at you again.

“What flavour?”

“One ball of coffee and one of vanilla, please”.

“Sounds sophisticated”.

“I guess you’re getting closer to my identity”, you laughed.

“What are you? A princess?”

“Nah, the princesses are my cousins”.

Pedri laughed before going to the ban to get the ice cream. The funny thing about being part of the Royal family was that it was so weird that many thought you were joking when you said that. But you weren’t. Not many people knew your parents but they still were part of the family so…they got attention. And now, you got the attention too.

“Here is your ice cream, your Majesty”.

“Thank you, Golden boy”, you joked back.

“Does that make me royalty too?”

“I guess. Football royalty so less hated than real royalty”. “Less hated? You clearly aren’t on Twitter”.

No, you weren’t. No amount of therapy would heal you after reading what people wrote about you or your family there.

Sitting down on the grass and eating an ice cream while chatting with Pedri was something that healed your mood. It was so nice to be with someone who didn’t know who you were but that also understood how you felt. Even if he didn’t know it yet.

“There are a lot of kids and parents around now. I feel no one will even look at us while we leave”.

You looked around and agreed with his assessment. “Ok, where should we go?”

“I don’t know. Wanna go walk near the beach? It’s usually where I end up when I go out. It’s not often I do but it’s nice to go there”.

“I like the beach”.

“Where are you from?”

“Well…it’s a funny question that one”, you sighed.

“How so?” “I was born in The Netherlands, then lived in Madrid for a bit, went to school in Switzerland and Wales and now I’m back in Spain. I go to different cities all the time. I like travelling”.

“Wow, that’s a lot. Was it a boarding school you went to?”

“Yeah”.

“Maybe you are a princess after all”.

You giggled and looked down to hide your blush. Yes, your life sounded very much like that of a princess. Even if about 40 family members needed to die for you to become one for real.

“I love this”, you said, looking around and feeling so…normal.

“Yeah? That’s good”.

Pedri smiled at you and you realised maybe it wasn’t so normal what was going on. Sure, you were on a walk like a normal person but you were walking with a very famous footballer. That didn’t happen every day. At least not to you.

“And I see pizza there. Do you want a slice?”

“I probably shouldn’t…”.

“But Pedri! Today everything is possible! You’re not a football player but just Pedro from Tenerife. And I’m not a princess”.

“What are you then?”, he asked, smirking.

“I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy…asking him to get some pizza”.

The excitement of the crazy afternoon made you lose a bit of the control you usually had and you grabbed Pedri’s arm to take him to the pizza ban. It wasn’t like holding hands but…once the physical contact started, you were both very aware of it. But pretended it was all normal.

After buying the pizza slices, you didn’t wait a second to start eating. You were so hungry and it wasn’t often you got to eat greasy pizza with your hands.

“That burns!”, you complained, opening your mouth and using your hand as a fan.

“Maybe wait a little to eat”.

“I was hungry”, you pouted and that made Pedri stare at your lips.

“You got some sauce on your mouth”.

“I think I have a mirror on my bag…”.

But before you had time to find it, Pedri used one of his napkins to clean your face. When you looked up at him, you noticed he seemed to have done that without even realising.

“Sorry”.

“No, don’t be. Thank you for not letting me look dirty while we walked”.

“Princesses have to always look perfect”.

“Exactly”, you told him, laughing.

But good things had to come to an end and soon Pedri started to notice people looking at him. That meant it was time to go home.

“I’m sorry. It just…that’s my life”.

“I get it”, you told him, wanting to explain to him how much you actually got it. “It was fun to spend some time with you though”.

“Would you like to do it again?”

“I would. But maybe somewhere more private”.

“Do you have Instagram? So you can follow me and we can talk about meeting”.

That made you pause. You had an official account controlled by people hired by your family but also a private one. So maybe you could use that one to follow him.

“Yeah. I’ll follow you later and send you a message”.

“Cool. See you…soon?”

You nodded, not knowing what to do. Should you hug him? But then all the people ready to surround him showed you that no, a hug wouldn’t be a good idea. So you said goodbye and left.

Pedri was entering the dressing room a couple of days after you met, not really looking at his teammates but at his phone. You two had been texting ever since you separated. And he was constantly checking to see if you had sent him a new message.

“Hello, your Majesty”, said one of Pedri’s teammates and it took him a second to notice he was looking at him.

“Sorry?”

“I just said hi to your Majesty. Would you like us to find a throne for you to sit on?”

“What are you on about?”

“Haven't seen the cover of the magazine yet?”, asked Frenkie.

“I haven't done any covers lately…”.

“The gossip magazine”, pointed out Lamine. “It’s all everyone is talking about”.

“I don’t get it. I haven’t done anything to be in one of those magazines”.

“How about going out with a pretty girl the other day? Paparazzi are everywhere. You should know that by now”.

So people had seen him when he was hanging out with you. Great. You didn’t seem like someone who’d enjoy the attention. But why make such a big deal out of him being seen with someone unknown?

“You also chose the wrong girl to date”.

“I’m not dating her but she's just a normal girl…”.

“Who's related to the Royal family. And here we were worrying about Gavi being the one who could become king”.

“I would have made a great king”, said Gavi, raising his chin proudly.

“You would have made a terrible king”, told him Fermín, shaking his head.

“What do you mean Royal family?”

Pedri was about to start freaking out. You joked about being a princess but…was it not a joke? What? He knew the princesses! Leonor, Sofía, Victoria, …none of them were you. So what the heck was going on?

“She’s like a second or third cousin of the real princesses but the media has been trying to find out everything about her in the last few years”, explained Pau.

“How do you know so much about that?”

“My mum loves the Royals. I live with her and she talks about it”, shrugged the youngster.

The jokes continued but Pedri didn’t care. He just kept thinking about how you had lied to him. And he got it in a way. It couldn’t be easy to be in your position but…you had spent two days talking to each other about a lot of personal stuff. Didn’t you trust him enough to tell him the truth?

When he finished training and picked up his phone again, he saw a text from you saying “I’m sorry”. A part of him wanted to ignore it but you didn’t deserve that kind of treatment despite your lies. So he asked you to meet instead. But you were in Madrid for a couple of days so it’d have to wait. You apologized multiple times and Pedri told you it was ok but…you weren’t so sure.

“What’s wrong?”, asked your cousin Sofía, who was a real princess.

“You saw the magazines, right?”

“Yes. Wanna talk about it?”

“I…we bumped into each other randomly and it was so good to meet someone who didn’t know who I was. You get it, Sof. If someone gets it, it’ll be you”.

“I do. Is he mad at you for lying?”

“Not really”, you said, frowning. “I expected him to be but he seems to understand why I lied. He also gets it”.

“I bet he does. So, what are you going to do?”

“We’ll meet when I get back to Barcelona in a few days”.

Sofía laughed looking at you. “That smile…someone is smitten!”

“How could I not be? Have you seen him? And he’s super nice too, not just handsome. But I fear I’ve ruined it”.

“Don’t be so negative. Let’s just get ready for the match and forget about your Barça boy for a couple of hours”.

It wasn’t a secret that the king of Spain supported Atlético de Madrid and a lot of people suspected his daughter Sofía did as well. However, it was very hard for her to attend matches without people noticing but she had become a bit of a pro at it. And now she was taking you to the match too.

The match was fun and Atleti won so Sofía was very happy. And you didn’t get spotted by anyone…or so you thought.

“Pepi!”, called Ferran when Pedri was entering the dressing room in the morning.

“What?”

“Your princess is a traitor, she doesn't even support you”.

“What are you talking about?”

“She was at the Atleti match yesterday with Princess Sofía. But I bet you can turn her into a Barça fan”.

Ferran’s wink didn’t stop Pedri from feeling so weird about this whole situation. Or more like jealous. What if you had your eye on an Atleti player?

But he could only stare at the photos in the article. After your meeting, he had only the memory of how you looked that day. Your private Instagram only had a handful of photos and a few were of your dogs. The official Instagram only had a few official photos and…even though that was you too, it wasn’t the you Pedri knew. The girl in the photos from the Atleti match was you. Laughing with your cousin and looking so happy.

The article…he didn’t like as much. After the photos of what the press called “a date” were published, they just assumed you were seeing Pedri. So what were you doing watching a rival team? It wasn’t as if you went to see a Real Madrid match, God forbid. But still…shouldn’t you be supporting “your boyfriend”?

“Hi”.

A few days later, you were back in Barcelona and Pedri invited you to have lunch with him. Finding a place where no one would see you was hard, but your family knew a few tricks to achieve that.

“Hey. It’s good to see you again”.

This time, you did hug as a greeting. Even if you had spoken only via texts, it still felt like you knew each other so well now. So a hug seemed like the right thing to do.

“I’m sorry about everything that happened. I just…I don’t know, Pedri. Being with you made me forget who I was for a second and I didn’t think about how this could affect you”.

“It’s ok. You know I get it. It’s the same for me. My every move is overanalysed. Though I guess being a princess is a bit more important”.

“Not this again”, you shook your head, laughing. “I’m not a princess. I’m a nobody, really. But the press was waiting for a moment like this. A scandal or whatever”.

“Eating pizza in public is very scandalous. I don’t know how your reputation will recover”.

You laughed at Pedri’s joke but also remembered what you had been told. “It’s not so much what I did but who I did it with”.

“Oh…ok”.

When the photos were published, your parents talked to you about all the reasons why you should stay away from Pedri. Before you even had time to say nothing was going on…at least not yet.

“It’s stupid. I told you I’m a nobody. But family connections dictate this or that…I don’t want to date a politician or another royal just because it’s what I’m supposed to do. I don’t have it as bad as my cousins. You know, the real princesses. But still…it’s boring. I want to be able to make my own decisions”.

“You don’t want to date a politician…but would you like to date me?”

Being so annoyed with your family and their restrictions, you didn’t realise Pedri wasn’t stupid and could easily read between the lines.

“You’re better than a politician so…”.

“Look”, said Pedri, grabbing your hand to hold it. “No relationship was going to be easy for me. I knew that. So…this doesn’t scare me”.

“Really? I was actually worried it would”.

“I could see it in your face”.

“Can you read minds now? Is that how you know where to shoot the ball?”

“No, that’s because I’m a generational talent”, joked Pedri, making you laugh. “But I mean it. I’m not scared. Are you?”

“Not as much as I probably should”.

“But…are you an Atleti fan? These are the important conversations we need to have before trying to date”.

“That’s my cousin. I don’t really have a team. So I might let you convince me to become a Barça fan. I already support Spain so…”.

“Even against The Netherlands?”, he asked. Your mum was Dutch so it was a fair question.

“Only if you play for Spain that day”.

And so you both forgot about what people would say, what people would demand from each of you and started to date. There was no need to hide since there were photos of your first date online already. Even if back then you didn’t want to admit it was a date.

Being together compensated for any comments or insults…but Pedri was starting to get a bit tired of his teammates curtsying in front of him and calling him Majesty. They did it with you too, which only made you laugh.

“I told you, guys. I’m not a princess”.

“No. Not officially”, told you Pedri. “But you are my very own princess. My queen even”.

Your blush made everyone laughed. It was so obvious to everyone how in love you both were.

However, the media was going to try to find anything that could make it sound like your lovely love story wasn’t so lovely.

Something your family always had to do was attend charity events. It was probably one of the few things you liked doing, since many of those events raised money for great causes. So when you were invited to one to raise money for cancer research, you said yes immediately. It being organised by the Atlético de Madrid foundation didn’t matter to you. But for the press…it was a different story.

“Hi, it’s nice meeting you”.

You turned to see it was Álvaro Morata, the player who presided the event, saying hello to you.

“Thank you, it’s nice meeting you too”.

“I heard about you and Pedri…sorry if it’s too informal of me to say this”. “It’s ok, don’t worry”.

“So…you two are really together?”

“Yes”, you said, blushing.

“Good. He’s a good guy. I’ll see you around the Spain matches then”.

“You will”.

Other players were there too and you were introduced to all of them. Mario Hermoso, Marcos Llorente, …they were all very nice to you. But it was a younger player you had to sit next to at your table. One that you hadn’t met before but that introduced himself as Rodrigo Riquelme. However, that wasn’t what his teammates called him.

“Should I call you Rodrigo or Roro?”

“I feel I can’t ask someone of your station to call me such a nickname”.

You laughed seeing the Atleti player blushing. “I don’t mind. I’m not really that important”.

“You are the most important person here”.

“Depends on who you asked”, you shrugged.

It was lovely having someone young to chat with at such an event. You were usually surrounded by old politicians and entrepreneurs who bored you to death with their conversations. So you had a great time…Pedri didn’t have as much fun seeing all the posts on social media talking about how his girlfriend was being too friendly with another player.

He knew it was stupid. You were just chatting with Riquelme. Pedri knew you now and realised that was how you talked to his friends too. That was how you talked to Ferran, for example. It was nothing like how you talked to Pedri.

But still…it wasn’t nice to see so many people doubting your relationship. And, what was worse, insulting you.

“You look unhappy”, you said when you met him again in Barcelona. “Is it because of the articles? Nothing happened with Riquelme. I swear”.

“I know”, he sighed, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your forehead. “I just hate how people will try to find any excuse to try and hurt us”.

“We knew it was going to happen…”.

“It’s not nice anyway”.

“But we’re fine?”, you asked, worried.

“We’re fine. I missed you a lot”.

“I know. I missed you too”.

Knowing Pedri trusted you was so important and you felt you needed to prove you were worth that trust. So, even though you knew you were likely to get in trouble, you forgot about protocol and attended his match wearing his shirt.

It wasn’t even the most important match but when it ended, you went as close to the pitch as you could and called Pedri so he could go meet you. Every one of his teammates that walked past curtsied and called you two “your Majesties”. But you didn’t care. You looked around, noticing the cameras were all pointed at you, and kissed Pedri.

“Making sure everyone knows you’re just my princess?”, he whispered.

“Yes. And while we’re at it, everyone can also learn you’re my prince”.

[maiko-san]

The Chain + TP! Reader (1/?)

Linked Universe belongs to Jojo

Part 2 >

Plot : You are Twilight's childhood best friend, who like Twilight can turn into an animal, that is a crow. You just happen to follow Twilight into the portal in your crow form and meet the Chain.

( Fem Reader )

You and Link have been friends ever since you were kids, always went on adventures together. After the event of Twilight, Link had gone out on a quest to find Twilight Realm, to find Midna and usually he brings you along with him but this time he didn't.

You asked him why, 'It's too dangerous, (N/n). I don't want you to get hurt....' he said. You know he cares about you...but you know how to protect yourself. He has been acting differently, as if he's hiding something from you.

.

.

"I'll be going now, (N/n)" Link said, holding your hands. "Be careful, Link" you give him a smile as Link returns the smile of his own before pulling you into a hug. He takes a deep breath, burying his face into your soft hair and taking in your scent before pulling away. "Wait, before you go!" you said, grabbing his face and kiss his cheek.

This causes Link to turn red from embarrassment, "What's a hero without his good luck kiss?" you smile. Link coughs lightly as he plants a kiss on your forehead, "Love you" he whispered in your ears. NEIGH! Both of you hear a whining and turns to see Epona sticking her head through the window, "You want one too, girl?" you questioned. The chestnut horse nods as you give a kiss on her forehead. "There you go, my lovely" you said, rubbing your cheek against her.

Link smiles at the interaction as he opens the house, "Next time, I'll be staying home for a few days" he said, caressing your cheek before mounting Epona's back.

"Bye!" you said, waving at them as you watch Link rides away. As he disappears around the corner, you quickly go to your room and take out your drawstring bag.

"I'm going to follow him, whether he likes it— or not!" you said. You open the door and close it behind you, making sure to lock it. You make a sprint and jump, your body shifts and turns into a crow. Your bag shrinks along to make it easier for you to carry it on your back. It was a gift from Midna which she enchanted so it can shrink whenever you turn into a crow.

You fly high up in the sky to locate Link, it takes you a while to spot him and you finally see him along with....

A group of men.

You land on the tree branches and hide away from view, you observe the situation and you were shocked. 'Why...why do they look almost like him?!' you thought. All of them almost look alike, blue eyes, blonde hair well it's in different tones but the face!

Are they his brothers? Distant relatives. No wait— both of you grow up together and there's no way he has relatives. If he does, he would tell you!

'Doppelgangers?!' you gasped in your mind. Oh wait— he had told you about meeting people during his adventures. Are they the ones he was talking about?

You couldn't hear what they're saying but they're heading in the same direction. You follow them and make sure you check the wind's direction to avoid Link to pick up your scent.

The group stops as you perch on a branch, your eyes widen at the sight of a large swirling portal.

'Is this why he doesn't let me come?' you thought, it looks dangerous and your crow instinct tells you to stay away from it. You watch as they enter the portal one by one, the last one was a man in armour and has a scar over his right eye. He shares the most resemblance to Link.

He checks his surroundings as if making sure nobody is following before entering the portal. You wait a moment before you dive into the portal, you close your eyes and go through. You feel the breeze hit your feathers, you slowly open your eyes and see that you're no longer Faron Woods but instead an unfamiliar one.

'Where am I?' you thought. 'Urgh...I feel sick all the sudden' you cover your beak with your wing to hold back your breakfast.

"It feels great to be back" a voice said, you panic a little and quickly jump into a nearby bush. You take a peek to see the group up close, "Since we're at my place, lets gear up and start our search for Shadow" said the one in multi coloured tunic. "I want to pay my grandfather a visit before we go" he said. The group walks away and you quickly fly after them, you're not risking getting lost in an unknown place.

You follow the group from above and you can see a small house ahead, yet again you hide in the trees and watch them enter the house but others decide to stay outside and wait.

That would be your Link, a blonde with pink shades, a young boy, a dirty blonde with white cape and a man with a blue scarf.

"So, Twilight. What took you so long anyways?" questioned the one with the blue scarf. "I went to fetch some stuff from my house and talk to my friends" Twilight said. So, they called him Twilight instead of Link? Weird....

"Oh really? Then, what's that on your cheek then?" pinky said with a smirk on his lips. Twilight's hand touches the cheek and turns to look at the window to see lipstick on his cheek.

Twilight blush lightly, "Oooh~ our rancher has a special someone~" teases the scarf boy. "Wait what—really?!" gasped the little boy as he stared up at Twilight. "Do tell why you are keeping a maiden all to yourself, hm?" he smirked. "Oh hush it, Wars." Twilight said. "Haha, come on guys, stop teasing the rancher" smiles the one with the cape.

You hold back a snort as they tease Link or Twilight about his love life with you. The others come out from the house, "What's with the ruckus?" questioned the one in armour.

"Hey, Time! Guess what! Our rancher here has a girlfriend!" Warrior said, bringing Twilight in a headlock, pointing the lipstick mark on his cheek. "Oh—" Time was surprised and gave the rancher a teasing smile. "Malon would be delighted if she hears this" he said.

"Time!" Twilight shouted, face now burning from embarrassment. You watch the men laugh wholeheartedly, causing you to smile at it.

[ End of part ]

[specialagentartemis]

Citizen Science and Contributing To Scientific Endeavor When You're Not "A Scientist"

Comments on some of my posts about science and misinformation express frustration with scientific establishments, and want to see more accessibility and attention given to amateurs participating in the scientific process and having their scientific voices heard.

If being involved in the creation of knowledge and discovery is something important to you, that's something I strongly encourage! It's absolutely possible. Amateur researchers with a passion and an eye for detail have made some fantastic discoveries - but what is often glossed over in stories like these are the years of work, the patient dedication, and the collaboration with university researchers that often underlie such discoveries.

The search for truth and information and the passion for science is present in a lot of people who aren't official "scientists" - curiosity is natural! And if participation in scientific observation, hypothesizing, experimentation, and discovering new things about the world is important to you, there are lots of ways to go about contributing - and the new year is a great time to start.

What are you interested in?

Ecology

Observing the world around you is for everybody. Getting invested in the environment of your hometown is for everybody. And, as the Mythbusters famously said,

Some ideas for a local ecology project:

Record the temperature outside every day at the same time - at sunrise, or noon, or sunset, or midnight. Depending on where you are, the local weather recording station may be miles away or on top of a mountain - measure the temperature yourself and compare it each day to what your app says. When is it accurate? When isn't it?

Record the weather every day. How much precipitation? What time of day? What kind?

Record what animals you see every day, where, when, and how many. Or choose a specific animal, like birds, or bees on flowers, or turtles or frogs in a local pond, or whiptail lizards vs. invasive house geckos, and record the numbers you see each day.

Record when in the year you see the first, or last, of a plant or animal. When the crocuses sprout, when the buds appear on the maple trees, when you see the first clover flowers or prickly pear flowers, when the first robin comes out or the first lizards come out of hibernation.

If you have an outdoor cat or a free-roaming dog, attach a GoPro or similar small camera to its collar to see where it goes and what it does.

Identify the plants growing in your neighborhood, and check in on it regularly to keep track of how each one fares in different weather conditions, or if any animals particularly like or don't like to eat it.

Bulk order some test strips, then take a small sample of soil from a local park or water from a local waterway each weekend and test them for PH, lead, chemicals, or whatever. See if it changes over the year, or after a heavy rainfall, or during drought.

Take a photo of the same spot every day for a year.

Linguistics

The study of how people use language! Everybody uses language in some capacity.

Do you have any small children near you? Talk to them! Record how they pronounce things and what they call new (or even familiar) concepts. Look for patterns.

Ask people you know if "dog" and "blog" rhyme, or if "Alohop" is a good pun for a pineapple beer. My family gets ENDLESS amounts of mileage out of this one with each other. Ask people you know questions about how they pronounce things, or what they call things. Make maps of dialectical differences between generations, neighborhoods, etc. Track linguistic shifts in the modern world.

History

Everyone and everywhere has a history, and accurate history is pressingly relevant always.

See if you have a local historical society, library archive, or history museum that is looking for volunteers to transcribe or translate collections.

Get elbow-deep in local archives. You likely have some sort of local archive near you that has not been fully digitized. Go in with a topic you want to learn about - Black families, Jewish communities, how your hometown transferred from Indigenous hands to settler ones, women who owned their own businesses, immigration, inter-racial relationships, sports, ice harvesting, farming practices, contemporary opinions on a major world history event that now seems so inevitable, sports and people's reactions to sports - and read everything in newspapers, wills, deeds, photographs, or other available records about your topic of choice. See if you can find connections that you haven't seen anyone else talking about.

These are just some things that occur to me immediately as something that anyone can do, if you're sufficiently interested in a question and want to discover more about it. The more local your topic, the less likely anyone has a solid answer to whatever you're wondering - and the more immediately relevant to the people around you your discoveries may be!

Combining it with a New Year's Resolution can also get you more motivated to do the things you want to do. Is your resolution to get more exercise? Take a brisk walk each morning and take a picture of the same area every day for a year. Take a walk every weekend down to the lake and count the turtles and frogs you see. Is your resolution to keep a daily diary For Real This Time? If nothing else, resolve to write down the weather and precipitation each day! Do you want to volunteer more or meet new people? Look for citizen science or local history groups! Feeling like you're working toward something Real is a great motivator.

Henry David Thoreau's detailed descriptions of the nature each day around Walden Pond in the 1840s provides a valuable benchmark for modern ecologists to compare environmental and climatic changes since then on a granular level. Silly rhyming poems and idiosyncratic spellings in letters and diaries help linguists track dialectical and pronunciation changes across time. Amateur science is great and valuable! We all can have a part in understanding and paying deeper attention to the world around us, if we want to.

[novvasgalaxy]

𓏲 ࣪₊♡𓂃 flowers for you part one - pick a flower, get a prompt

[ roses ] - "i don't know how you can't see i'm clearly in love with you and everything you do." a says this while b has headphones on, but b hears it and gets flustered.

[ tulips ] - a is hardly home, always constantly working. one day they come home and overhear b crying in the bedroom. "what's wrong?" "just stay home for a few days... please."

[ carnations ] - b and a are such amazing best friends that their families know each other. one day b is over at a's house helping a's mom with the dishes and mom spills a secret. "i'm just so happy a asked you out. you have no idea how hard it was to watch you two do nothing but be obvious." "a never asked me out..." *cue a walking in with a bouquet of flowers*

[ azaleas ] - while at a park, a's dog gets loose and runs off to a spot near a tree. a chases right after but when they get there, they see a stranger, b playing with the dog as if it's theirs. a's dog isn't open to strangers.

[ lilies ] - b's parents passed away a few months ago and a is doing their best to support their grieving parter. a decides that they'll make b's favorite meals. "what is all of this?" "i just want you to relax and eat. you haven't been eating well." *b takes a bite and breaks down crying* "it tastes just like mom's cooking." *sobs harder*

[ peonies ] - b has a big crush on a, and a has a big crush on b. their friends set them up a date, that goes terribly wrong, but has a great result. "we f*cked up." *an hour later* "they're making out in the rain, so i guess it worked out."

[ sunflowers ] - a finds a letter with their name on it. turns out it was a letter b wrote to confess their feelings but never gave it to them. "you weren’t suppose to read that." "is it too late for me to confess my feelings?" "wha?"

[ dahlias ] - b spent hours making a large paper bouquet of flowers because a says they don't get flowers because they always die in the end. "what is this?" "flowers that will last. ignore the mess behind me."

[ chrysanthemums ] - b is allergic to flowers but doesn't have the heart to tell a. "thank you so m-" *sneeze* "is everything okay, love?" "of course, it was just a tickle." *sneezes again once a walks out of the room.*

[missmarveledsblog]

It's only pretend right ? ( Bucky barnes x reader) part three

summary : kitty ( y/n) brings bucky to one of the spots in her life she can just breathe and take it all it , while the two enjoy the time alone soon realize that they been gone far too long get back only for bucky to take a tumble and learn more and more about her , he even get asked to bring her grandmother to church and a surprise shows up that makes her happy to be home

warnings : this is actually unlike me to have a tooth rotting fluff piece but i ain't mad at it , grammatical and spelling errors ( whats new)

previous part

Maybe it was the scenery , maybe it was the company  or even it was the both that had her instantly more calm more settled , the fresh green grass  , trees and  fields as she passed by was something she did miss even though the compound was surrounded by some trees and stuff it wasn’t like this . it wasn’t the great outdoor of home she always looked forward to .  The two stopped near the meadow just an hour from her house. She felt calmer being away from the judging gazes and comments, finally being able to breathe fully and it was like bucky could see the shift himself .

 “ You know they have no idea about who you are,” he spoke up.

 “I used to think they did , they used to make me doubt myself so much that when i was on my own I thought I was a disappointment so when i was left in big city i was afraid to come home, until I met fury  , he showed me I was worth something then I came on to the team and even more, I mean my dad's side they're awesome they let me know i'm loved , they tell me all time that their  proud of me” she smiled brightly. 

“ I understand you more” he nodded “ huh ? “ she felt herself suddenly doubt kicking in.

 “ Why you make everyone's day better, let them know their worth even when they don't themselves “ he smiled softly watching the horse move to the little river.

“ I make sure they never feel the way I once did,  sorry also I didn't know dickface was here” she grumbled . 

“ gotta be a specific doll” he chuckled .

 “ Good one but I was talking about my ex,” she laughed.

 “ He's the one who hurt you badly huh?” He knew of him , Knew it was bad but never pushed her to tell him .

 “ he left me in new york two days after arriving found him with another girl when I went go get my stuff out of hotel room and he didn't care like they waited for me to leave” she scoffed.

“Well  he never deserved you , he  screams of  what is it Parker says , small dick energy “ he mused as her laughter filled the meadow. The way the light hit her honestly looked like an angel,as he knew one week was gonna be hard , two was going to definitely kill him . 

 “You know I'm glad fury found me “ she sighed  flopping on to the ground staring up at the clouds above. 

“ As am I,  you know you still never told me that story either” he flopped down beside her .

 “ you make it  through these days without killing my family or ex and well then I'll tell you both stories “ she giggled .

 “ you got yourself a deal doll “ he held his hand out as she took it, sealing their deal 

 “ so Is this your spot , you know  that one spot that everyone has to feel free , The one that is just for them ” he asked, eyes watching her reaction. 

“ It's one of them only Jessie knows my real spot, the one I went to  as a kid when they would visit or when I had a tough time,  he’s the oldest and in the army  but he got leave so be here tomorrow ” she smiled softly.

“  Are you two  close?” he asked . 

“ He was the first best friend I've ever had and the first person I rang when I got both jobs then my dad” she smiled. 

“ I mean I love izzy and jack to death and we’re close too, we bond over different things , she is closer to  Jack ,twin thing “ she explained . He could listen to her rambles even for hour , days even and not get tired of sound of her voice .

“ I get what you mean doll” he held her hand and two just looked up at sky enjoying the comfortable silence. She even had a nap before the buzzing of her phone startled her seeing the sun setting .

 “ shit mama texting to say it almost time for dinner” she yawn as he stood holding his hand out for her to take pulling her up . “ just us and grandma “ she added .

“ the evil one?”.

“ The devil lady , she ain't so bad I mean she's quiet and grumpy and judges everything most of the time and ignores everyone. My dad convince she sold her soul to the devil to live forever hence the nickname , she’s had a few close calls ” she chuckled easily mounting her horse as bucky got up on the moon easier.

“ I would say race you but this one is too far gone” he chuckled as she walked a head and moon followed.  

“ I'll see if I can keep you guys together” she cooed to the horses . 

The sun completely set as the two pulled back up on the ranch. All the cars were gone meaning they were gone too . 

“ I can't believe this,” her dad stared as they approached.

 “ What are you about, old man?” she laughed.

 “ the rebel stallion walking like a show pony , you know he bucked Jack off” he said coming to the two .

“ he's misunderstood , hard at trusting but once he does , big softy plus jack in the box is annoying  “ she giggled, flickering a glance towards the man beside her.

 “ We think he's after star too “ bucky patted the stallion not realizing he was going to sneeze once horse head went down bucky tumble after hitting the ground with a thump.

“ shit bucky you ok “ she hopped down so quickly honestly her father never seen her move so fast  .

 “ is it dark enough that neither of you saw that” he groaned, eyes not  wanting to open. 

 “ it not even dark enough to hide the red of your cheeks son” her dad's hand slipped into Bucky's, pulling him off the ground.  

 These two stay together  from now on , you get in and rest that was quite a fall I'll check you over once I get these settled “ she called back .

“ come on son we get you in “ her dad led the super soldier in suppressing his laughter.

“ Are you ever gonna tell her how you feel?” he asked. “ I mean we're together “ he panicked.

“ I may be old but I ain't dumb  , plus the team clued me in “ he chuckled . 

“ steve?” He asked .

 “ he and Natasha , they rang three nights ago” , his words making Bucky stop. 

 I only found out last night.” His brows furrowed.

 “ she only found out that morning” he winked, heading into the house leaving the door open once the super soldier let the words sink in.  

“Come on before she kicks both our asses,she a cute little thing but shit never get wrong side of kitty ” he walked faster into the house as bucky followed . 

“ about time … wheres kitty “ her mother turned to see two men .

” Bucky here took tumble off the moon so she gone get them  set for night while I checked over lover boy here” he patted the man's vibranium arm . 

“ shit” bucky huffed. 

“ What's broken , we ain't got insurance for that '' her dad said  his first proper look at the metal arm he's only ever seen in pictures. 

"Nah the plates and calibration is out of whack ,makes it off” he explained lifting the glasses up and instantly smashing it. “ I can feel pressure with it “ he winced as they jumped at the sound of glasses shattering .

 “ hey who’s making a mess in here” she walked in seeing their worried expressions set on bucky . 

 What's wrong, do we need to go to the hospital?” she rushed in front of the man. Eyebrows furrowed as her face laced with worry checking him over. 

“ my arm just acting up” he smiled softly loving the doting attention she was giving him .

 “ Pop, can you get my tools please?” she asked softly .

 “ You need to take the arm off , I can clear the table” her mother rushed over .

 “ No, he doesn’t easily do it while on so he can feel it’s in the right balance” she shook her head . Bucky couldn’t help laughing when her father pushed in the heavy trolley neon purple in color.

 “ nice choice color doll” he winked making her chest flush.

“ Jessie and Jack got them for me” she rolled her eyes . 

“ She and my dad used to fix cars when she was growing up , little tiny thing picked quickly. I mean she was fixing engines to her daddy’s machines at 10” her mother chuckled.

“ Ok, you ready buckaroo?” she asked, opening the trolley. 

 as i’ll ever be” he saluted with his other hand.

Her parents watched as she was lost in her task. It was like watching her as a kid working with her grandfather again. While bucky was lost in her , just the presence of her alone.  “ ok …more or less” she asked as he flexed the metal appendages. 

“ nearly there a little more” .   He loved when she was this close, how he could see every detail of her face, little freckles that littered her cheeks, how he could enjoy the full beauty of the color of her eyes. When the tip of her tongue peaked out when she was fully concentrating on a task.

” ok how's that” she asked.

 “ Perfect thanks doll” he kissed her cheek . 

“ y-y-your welcome , food time” she turned so fast she felt dizzy but she was sure if it was his lips or smell of his cologne , the way she had to force her eyes to stay on task at hand or get lost in his beauty but boy did her knees feel weak. 

 “ kitty dear, could you get me a blanket” her grandmother asked . 

“ Yes grandma, which one ?” she asked softly. 

“ surprise me dear” she let a little smile on face. 

“ She needs to teach me to do that,” her father whispered to bucky. 

“ Mama is always sweet to the grandkids” her mother rolled her eyes.

 “Mr Barnes,  would you bring me to the church tomorrow? '' the elderly woman asked face showing nothing .

“ I can indeed ma’am” he nodded . 

“ Mama, he doesn’t know where it is, '' her mother protested.

 “ They got computers for that , thank you mr. barnes'' she nodded before bowing her head, not waiting any longer saying her own grace and tucking  into her food .  

“your immortal right” her dad Frank teased.  

“ Why, '' Bucky asked.

 “ Don’t mind him '' Beth's eyes rolled, swatting her husband as Y/N walked in with a flowery blanket. 

“ Perfect dear, thank you, '' her grandmother cooed. '' Bucky is taking me to church tomorrow” she added as the woman froze while sitting down. 

“ He doesn’t know where it is , we don't have a car here” she began. 

“ your fathers car and he’ll find the way” she dismissed easily.

 “ good luck, you know what buckaroo it was nice meeting you ” she gave him thumbs up dodging her mother swatting her . 

Once dinner was done and everyone was retired for the night, Bucky found her sitting on the porch looking up at the skies . 

“ i was wondering where you went to , nat is wanting to facetime” he held his phone up . 

“ ok park that ass” she patted the spot beside her. What they weren’t expecting was the team sitting in the living room, even Tony .

“ Hey you two, how did the first day go” nat asked . 

“ he survived the first day with the vultures” she joked.

 “ I went horse riding too,” Bucky beamed.

 “ fell off the horse too” she burst out laughing .

 “ last time i was one was the 40’s” he rolled his eyes but didn’t hide his loving glance at her laughing.

 “ Two weeks guys” she said as they all looked away from the camera. 

“ you haven’t had your vacation yet and neither has the cyborg so yes two weeks pretty girl” sam sassed. 

“ Hey little pyro you haven’t seen my black card have you” tony asked arching his brow.

 “ Remember that hug?” she asked . 

“Little shit , buy anything good even? ” he asked, chuckling.

 “ nah not yet might buy my horse a new saddle you know the luxury brand” she mused playfully.

 “ Her little accent is so cute , you can hear it more,” Wanda cooed.

 “ I dont have one , anyway funny find out you got my parents involved in the ploy” she asked softly. 

“ you both need a break ok so shut up and enjoy it , not much happening here anyways” nat rolled her eyes. 

“ I mean it is good to be home , just can’t wait til the rest of them leave, especially dick face” she huffed. 

“ What is your brother thinking?” Nat crossed her arms.

 “Honestly jack doesn’t think” a gruff voice called, making her head shoot right up.

“ JESSIE” She ran off the steps, almost knocking the man to the ground. 

“ her older brother is here i’ll ring you guys later” bucky hung up before standing up.

 “ Hey kitty, good to see you,” he smiled, holding her tighter to him . 

“You're supposed to be here tomorrow” she sniffled.

 “Hey they best be happy tears” he pulled her into a hug. 

“ very happy tears i missed you so much” she almost climbed into his arms .

 “ sergeant barnes” he saluted while still holding his sister close to him .

 “corporal” he saluted back .

 “ Are you being safe?” she asked, checking him over.

 “ I should be asking you that,” he arched his brow. 

“ I'm safe,” she smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.

 “Sorry you had to deal with them today” he smiled sadly knowing his own family. 

“ s’okay i mean dad was there” she shrugged. 

“ They give her a hard time?” He looked to bucky.

 “  hey i’m right here i can handle it , how long's the leave for” she asked.

 “ It was a bit harsh,” Bucky smiled sadly.

 “ dickface saying anything? And I got two weeks, funny that ?  ” he asked. 

"No, I mean anytime he did Helen answered, even though she doesn’t like him and I didn't influence your leave ” she giggled. 

“ Jack just thinks her family should be there , her parents are gone so he’s all she has” Jessie rolled his eyes still not liking it hell he almost left his post to get her  in NewYork when he found out. 

“ Come on mama and papa haven’t been in bed long” she pulled the men into the house , she and bucky stood on the landing watching the reunion. She grabbed his arm when she saw her mother crying at the sight of her son making him move his arm lacing his fingers in hers . 

“I'm glad i didn’t miss this” she whispered seeing how happy her parents were.

 “ Me too,” he smiled, eyes locked on her , seeing how happy she was. 

part 4

taglist : @vicmc624

[mountkennedie]

Evening Stroll

Anakin x fem!reader

Summary: Anakins first fall

Warnings: none

A.n. THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN EVER EVER EVER EVER EVERRRRRRR

Anakin finally got some highly needed time off. And you both knew exactly where you wanted to spend it.

It was truly a beautiful sight on Naboo. The leaves were changing from green to rich orange and red. They were scattered in every street and on every building. Anakin had never seen anything like what was before him.

"Is this natural?" He asked when the ship landed on the landing pad. It was by his expert piloting that you were able to find the pad at all. Itself was covered in fallen leaves.

You smiled, "Every year. Though more leaves fall with the years. I don't think the trees ever stop growing."

"It's beautiful." He walked slower than usual through the city. Hand in yours, but eyes looking all around. There was a small smile on his face as he gazed. He looked so at peace. "I've heard of this season. Autumn. But I've never been to a planet that has experienced it yet."

"Really? Even after exploring the galaxy on jedi business?"

He shook his head. "We don't really 'explore' on business. Really, just go to specific locations and wait. But even then, most places have extreme seasons or weather conditions." His tone took a sadder dip. You squeezed his hand in response.

You both made it to the house you shared. Before opening the door, Anakin turned to look at you, "Can we come back out this evening?" His voice was full of longing.

"Of course we can. Strolling in the final sunrays is my favorite thing to do around this time of year."

The time had come. It was 5 pm in the afternoon, and you and Anakin were getting ready for your walk. You noticed Anakin only wore a long-sleeve and some simple pants. "Oh no, put a robe on. The air only gets crisper as the sun sets."

"Yes ma'am," he smirked before grabbing a simlle robe from the closet. It was a dark green and matched yours. He came back out, and you nodded in approval.

He stood at the door waiting for you. Placing the lid on your thermos, you took it with you and held onto his arm. Once the door was open, you both felt the chill nipping at your noses, and you walked out into the world.

"I see why you made me wear this. I wasn't aware the temperature would drop this fast." His breath made a little cloud in the cool air. "But I love it even more."

You chuckled to yourself and then opened the thermos to take a sip of your drink. You sighed as the warm liquid defrosted you on the inside. The smell of the cinnamon and apples inside perked up Anakin's senses.

"What have you got there?" He asked in a gentle tone.

"Apple cider. It's a seasonal drink. Try some," you offered him the thermos.

"It smells delicious," he took a sip. "And tastes delicious," he took two and then tree gulps.

"Stop it!" You had to rip the thermos from his hands. Anakins' laughter hit your ears like the best song you've ever heard. But you still had to give him a light smack on the arm for nearly devouring the drink you planned to SHARE.

"Follow me. I know a place you'd love." You were a little nervous at first. The sun was beginning to set. You didn't want Anakin to miss the beauty he was about to see.

He held your hand in his as you guided him to this new location. Your house was on the outskirts of town, so finding solitude was very easy. You had found this spot the last time the two of you were here. You planned to show him but didn't know the perfect time to until now.

There was a singular bench on an empty hill. It was high enough that you were able to see a bit of the local village. It faced west, so the sunset was in perfect view.

Anakin and you cuddled close together. His arm draped around you, and you rested your head on his chest. You finished off what was left in the thermos, then set it on the ground between yalls feet.

Anakin, a slow kiss on your head. His hand rubbed small circles on your arm. "You know how to pick 'em," he whispered. You hummed in response. He was silent for a moment, just watching the sun dip beneath the horizon. The oranges and reds matched in the sky matched the scenery below. A small "I love you" was heard from under his breath.

"I love you too," you sighed contently. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest lulled you into a place of complete peace. A peace you knew he also shared.

The following day, you both woke up on that same bench. Except Anakin had laid back fully on the bench. He had you on top of him, snuggled into his jacket. His head was angled in your hair. His sleepy eyes met yours as you looked up.

"Ani, it's morning," you said groggily. You tried to sit up, but he pulled you back down. He bent his left leg, caging you in.

"Good morning," he muttered.

"We slept outside all night, Ani."

"We did," you both stared at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter. Anakin rubbed his eyes and then sat up, taking you with him. "We should do this again."

"No, we should not," You shook your head playfully. "That's how you get sick. But... I'd be willing to show you more fall things people do here. If you'd be up for it."

"Yes," he looked so serious. Maybe this will be the beginning of a love of this season for him.

[intimacyequalsdeath]

Bubz's 12 Days of Ficmas fics: Day One Decorating (Poly!Sinclair Brothers)

Hello all and welcome to my first 12 days of Christmas fic event! This is going to span from the 13th to the 24th to make 12 days even. With fics going up on both the 13th and Christmas itself. I came up with this idea back when Fictober was happening so I've been really excited to get it out to you guys, I hope you enjoy your Christmas present! <3

Notes: Minors DNI, Fluffy, no specific pronouns or descriptions of reader used. This is a Poly fic so if you aren't into that then this isn't the fic for you. SFW.

"Oh come on Bo please!" you pleaded from your spot on the couch. Bo sighed dramatically.

"Darlin' no, It's a stupid idea. who is even gonna see it ?" Bo questioned. You had asked Bo if you and your boys could decorate Ambrose for Christmas this year and maybe even the main house too.

"You, Vinny and Les would see it! plus Les thinks it's a great idea" You argued back.

"Honey of course Les thinks it's a good idea, He's not gonna be the one who's gotta clean it up" He deadpanned.

"No the four of us would put it up together and take it down together, I promise, We could start a new Sinclair family tradition with it!"

Bo rolled his eyes at you and took another drink out of his beer as the front door swung open revealing Vincent coming back from a day at the museum.

"Vinny!" You exclaimed jumping up to hug him "Don't you think we should decorate for Christmas?" you asked him, he shrugged.

"Why?" He signed "No ones around to see it" You groaned and Bo chuckled.

"Thank you Vince, that's exactly what I said" Bo snickered from the couch.

"Vinny WE would see it though! We could start a new family tradition and actually have fun for once instead of working all the time. Lester's already on board with it and if you're with us then we outvote Bo"

Now it's not clear if your convincing worked on Vincent or he was fueled by sibling rivalry and just wanted to oppose Bo. Either way with that, he was convinced.

"Yeah sure, sounds like fun" Vincent signed to you, you grinned and hugged him.

"Thank you Vinny" You said pressing a kiss to the cheek of his mask then turning to look at Bo with a smug grin painting your face.

"It's now 3 against one Bo and the ball is in your court" You said smugly. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I'm the only adult in Ambrose, Ya'll 3 are children" He muttered "Fine, if you want to decorate have at it, but like you said I'm not going to be the only one taking it down when Christmas is over"

You walked over to Bo and planted yourself onto his lap for a moment to press your lips against his.

"Thank you baby" You said gratefully once you pulled apart. Bo tried to hide his grin as he wrapped his hands around your hips.

"Yeah, It's whatever"

================================================

"We look like fuckin' idiots" Bo grumbled from his spot on the ladder.

"You said it yourself Bo, it's not like anyone can see you besides us" You snickered from your spot on the ground, making sure Bo and Lester hung the lights straight.

Vincent stood next to you with a light sweater on and one in his hands just incase you needed it, despite Louisiana's lack of cold weather in the winter.

"Sweet pea does it look good?" Lester called from his ladder opposite of Bo's as they held the lights up to the roof of the house.

"Yeah it looks perfect Les" You called back, the two men nodded and started hammering the lights into the house.

"Vinny did you start making those candles I asked you for?" You asked him, He nodded.

"Yeah their almost done, just need to put the etchings in them like you wanted" He signed.

"Perfect Vinny, and we've found the old Christmas tree up in the attic right?" Vincent nodded.

"Yeah all the indoor decorations are still up there, mixed with mine and Bo's junk" He signed once more.

"Dammit Les can't you hold the lights straight!" Bo yelled sucking on his thumb from where he hit himself with the hammer.

"Sorry Bo! I didn't mean it!" Lester exclaimed biting back a laugh at his older brother's misery.

You smiled at their antics before motioning for Vincent to follow you inside to work on the Christmas tree. The boys had taken the liberty of moving the tree and a majority of the decorations into the living room for you to pick through.

Vincent helped with the heavy lifting of setting the tree itself up, while you went through all the ornaments. You smiled to yourself finding the ornaments the boys had made when they were kids.

One particular ornament caught your eye, it was a photo of all three Sinclair brothers before they were separated into foster homes. Trudy must've put it together one year before the boys were taken you figured. You didn't know if the boys would like it being on the tree as their mother was still a sensitive subject.

"Oh Jesus Vince!" You exclaimed when he suddenly put a hand on your shoulder. You could see his eye make it's way to what you had in your hand.

"Oh- i was just-" Vincent placed a finger to your mouth, silencing you before taking the ornament from you. For a second it looked like he was about to put it back in the box before he walked it over to the tree and placed it right in the middle.

He turned around to you to get your approval, you nodded at him with a smile.

"That looks perfect Vinny" He puts and arm around you pressing the lips of the mask to your forehead for a moment as the two of you gaze at the decorated tree.

The peace was disturbed by the front door swinging open.

"Bo I said I was sorry! I don't know what else ya want me to say" Lester said as he made his way into the living room.

"I want you to-, well would ya look at that" Bo stopped when his eyes landed on the tree. More specifically the ornament with the photo.

Lester made his way to the side of you not occupied by Vincent, also giving you a kiss on the head as the 2 of you waited for the oldest Sinclair to give his verdict.

"Whaddya think Bo?" You asked softly with baited breath. Bo's eyes were still glued to the picture of him and his brothers attached to that "stupid" as he would put it, ornament his mom made when they were kids.

"I-I think that maybe...Maybe Christmas ain't that bad" He finally said, his eyes tearing away from the ornament and landing on you and his brothers.

You smiled and walked over to wrap your arms around him in front of the tree.

"So can we do this every year?" You asked with a grin.

"I didn't say all that, I still wanna make sure I'm not the son of a bitch that's gotta take all this shit down" He said putting back on his facade as quick as he lost it.

You grinned at him never the less before laughing, Vincent and Lester joining you in laughing at their grump of an older brother. Though you could've sworn you saw a grin cross Bo's face maybe that Christmas miracle would have to wait until another year.

[skelly-words]

more bf!sukuna hcs, but he’s insufferable and stuck in my head. this is part 4…

warning: some NSFW, slight intox, minors DNI

NEVER lets you drive. he’s so misogynistic. “females are bad drivers” ass bitch. "you're gonna wrap us around a tree."

claims to despise when you baby him e.g. forehead kisses, scratching his back to put him to sleep, even fucking cuddling. don’t believe that shit for a second but pretend to and stop until he starts acting grateful.

way too confrontational to be taken out in public. just pretend you don’t know him when he’s pulling a gun on someone who stepped on his shoes.

you’d be broke if you bailed him out of jail every fucking time. at least let him marinate there all night before folding or call his dad to do it instead.

so messy. it's unintentional, but sukuna just leaves a trail of disorder in his wake. throw pillows on the floor, shoes in the walkway, and always leaving the lights on despite complaining about the utility bill.

throw him outside to do yardwork or something. he loves that shit. putting in a couple fruit trees, maybe stepping stones. by the end of the summer you have a tiered garden with slate retaining walls and an automatic irrigation system.

why does he have a green thumb? he's in a secret competition with the neighbors for prettiest lawn. and yet, you manage to kill the little succulent garden he planted for you.

a minimalist (derogatory). sukuna is always trying to throw your trinkets and knickknacks away when you're not paying attention.

he loves getting a little fashion show after you buy new clothes. it's one of the few cute things he'll admit to enjoying. it doesn't matter if the outfit is skimpy or modest, hearts are popping out of his eyes like in a fucking cartoon.

doesn't apologize under any circumstances. the word 'sorry,' isn't in his lexicon. however, he will leave his card on the counter before heading to work and pick up flowers on the way home and make reservations at your favorite restaurant. don't expect to hear a real apology though.

super duper tender-headed. you can't even detangle it without him whining. might cry if you try to do braids, twists, any kinda style. fucking pussy

irritating asf. actually hate him, idk why i’m writing this. i'd probably poison him and collect the life insurance.

UMM nsfw

calling sukuna something corny and dominant in bed (sir/daddy/king/etc.) out of the blue would make him nut. and he isn’t even embarrassed about it at all.

incapable of pulling off a quickie. i think this is more endearing than aggravating. he can't hit it right in just ten minutes. he'll ask for more time. and a little more. then it's been an hour and you're likely running late for something.

thinks you're hottest bent over (i'm not even projecting rn bc my ass is flat). don't worry, he thinks your face is cute, missionary is great too. but if you wore one of those pillow case ass house dresses with no panties he'd go crazy. i hate to air him out like this, but it's true. i gotta link this shit so you know what i'm talking about. makes him feral. maybe i am projecting bc i luv those dresses.

but anyway, he'd fall for the 'bend and snap' so bad (legally blonde reference). these are basically crack, sorry

occasionally forgets that foreplay is a thing and tries to go straight from light frenching to stickin it.

i feel like sukuna’s sunday nights are spent getting really high and kissing on you for hours. he just gets the munchies dude. leaving dewy spots of saliva on all your exposed skin. once he’s tasted that, your clothes is peeled off so he can drool on the rest of you. he doesn’t even realize how much of a tease he is. his mouth suctioned to your inner thigh… maybe i should just write this as its own thingy

p sure i said this already, but he’s a biter. gnaws on you like a mf chew toy. it’s an oral fixation thing, if you don’t like it buy him lots of lollipops and tic tacs.

ok i have to stop before i gross myself out. tyty for reading <3<3<3 have a wonderful day.

masterlist if you wanna read the rest

[rkay07]

The Traveler

c!Technoblade x fem!reader

(I don't have time to put warning so read at your own risk I guess and this is an UNFINISHED fanfic so sowwy (:)

Word Count: 6.1k (that's a big number)

Living alone has its benefits, privacy, everything and anything is on your own time, and you don’t have to worry about anybody. At least almost anybody.

You were having some time up in your attic reading about potions, even though you’ve read that book about seven times already. You zoned out, staring off out the window. It took you a second but you came back and focused on the snow that was falling outside, you smiled at yourself knowing that you haven’t gotten fresh snow for a good couple days. Admiring the scenery, you stared off into the distance at the trees. Beautiful spruce trees, covered in white powder is something you couldn’t get enough of when you looked out from your house. In all the years you’ve lived here alone, you never took them for granted. You get up from your chair and stand in front of the window, opening up your view to the whole field of snow you had. You leaned on the window sill and closed your eyes as you felt the coldness from the glass pane kiss your face.

You grinned and opened your eyes. But as your eyes adjusted, you could see wrestling off to the side of the tree line. The tree branches tossed and turned with leaves falling from the disturbed sticks, you were eager to see what it was but you didn’t have a great view. So as fast as you could possibly go, you booked it for your ladder, sliding down and hopping over your stairs to get to your front door windows. You grabbed your bow and arrows as you flew through your room, setting up right in front of the tree that was still moving rapidly. Honestly, you weren’t scared but confused, you thought the thing was trying to get something out of the tree but what? There was no food in the spruce trees. It was very strange to you. You thought about it again and took a deep breath setting your bow and arrows down under the window. You unlocked your door and headed out onto the porch, you had your sword with you in case of an emergency.

The tree line was a great deal away from your house, 25 yards to be exact. As you slowly walked up to the forest you thought it might be your horse that had gotten lost a couple days earlier while you were hunting for rabbits in the same forest but he could have been anywhere. You got a few feet away from the forest when you heard murmuring like someone was talking to themselves so you held your ground, planting your feet in the snow and having your sword ready behind you. You hesitated to speak but then it stopped, the talking had stopped. You froze at the sound of silence, your eyes narrowed in on the trees, jolting at the slightest movement. You held your breath but your heart rate sped up, skipping a beat when a rabbit jumped out a little ways down the tree line. You focused on the place in front of you trying not to become impatient with the lack of noise. You took one step forward but a voice from beyond the trees' bold and thick vibrates your head, “Don’t.” It said. So you stopped, daring not to take another step for the sake of not knowing what’s back there. The voice speaks again but sounding softer this time, “I’m just passing through but I think I have something that’s yours.” You scrunch your eyebrow together, not really thinking of what this person might have.

You hear sticks crack and see branches move as the person steps closer towards you. You take a big breath and a single step back when you finally see what was talking to you, tall, short pink hair, and tusks. Wait, no, he’s wearing a mask but still tusks? Huge cape too, gosh he looked like royalty. You slid your sword back into its spot and straightened up, “Sorry.” Was all you could muster at the sight of him. He continued to walk out from the forest, making a path with his sword through the branches. He had a horse with him, it was walking behind him, slow and tired, it looked like it hadn’t rested in days. When the man finally got into a good spot off the tree line, he turned around and clicked his tongue, “Is this your horse?” Your horse came running out of the trees, bucking and trotting around the snow like he hasn’t seen snow in forever. You chuckled and smiled at the sight of your horse prancing around, “Oh my goodness, Rusty! Where have you been?” You glance at the man petting his horse and decide to walk over to Rusty, your horse.

When you got Rusty settled down you walked back to the man and stuck your hand out, “Thank you, sir.” He looked at your hand, finger tips red and cold from standing outside for a little too long. He took your hand and firmly shook it. His hand was warm despite it being frigid outside. You took your hand back and turned to look at your house and back to him, “This sounds odd but would you like something to eat? I just got done making some mushroom soup and I think your horse would enjoy hanging out in my barn for a little bit.” You gave him a weak smile and cocked your head. He looked over your shoulder towards your house and at the barn that was a bit farther away. He looked at his clock and finally back at you, “I don’t think so.” He started to walk off, every step going deeper into the snow. You press your lips together at his statement, “It’s the least I could do for you because you found my horse.” He shook his head and kept on walking but his horse stopped behind him. The man turned around to his horse and gave the reins a tug, signaling that he wanted to keep going but the horse had other plans. His horse turned around and walked back to you. He nudged your arm and rubbed his face against it, “How long have you guys been walking?” You tried to sound caring more than anything. He exhaled and walked to his horse, mumbling under his breath, “A day or two.” He took his horse by the reins and pulled him away from you. “Have you rested at all?” You ask, trying to look around his horse and at him. You could hear him murmuring to himself again, the same exact tone you heard earlier behind the trees. You could tell the horse was tired the moment you saw it and now questioning if he’s even rested for a straight day or two. You look at Rusty and signal him to go to the barn, he stomps his foot and trots off to the barn as you walk with the man and his horse.

“I think you would get to wherever you’re going faster if you rest for a couple hours.” You said quietly, wondering if he even heard you. It takes a couple seconds before the man stops in his tracks making the horse bump into him. The man turns around and faces you. Not prepared for you to be so close to him, he stepped back, “Fine. But when I’m done, I’m gone.” You smile and start walking to the barn.

You made a bowl for you and the man as he sat over at the table, you occasionally looked back at him sitting there very quietly. You hadn’t had another person in your house for a very long time and it felt weird but not uncomfortable. You grabbed the two bowls and took them to the table. You sat across the table from the man, you had so many questions and you didn’t know why. He probably didn’t know the answers to them anyway so you asked a more relevant question to break the silence, “So where are you traveling to?” You had looked up from your bowl but he didn’t, he kept his eyes on his bowl. Looking at it like it was going to be the last meal he was going to eat. You put your eyes back on your bowl and took a sip from your spoon, you were a little surprised, you had made the soup very good this time. You got a little excited because you got to share with someone else but you kept your cool and kept eating.

He looked up from his bowl and at you, seeing that you were eating the soup, that made him feel a little better about eating it but it was still questionable. His skepticism got in the way of him actually enjoying a meal with you, he couldn’t go anywhere without feeling like everyone was out to get him. He was looking at you longer than he should have, observing a person that he had never seen before. His eyes widened when he realized that he might have a crush on you, he immediately looked back at his bowl and started eating. He had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time he would see you. And next time wouldn’t be an accident.

He did what he said, he was gone when he was done. You watched from your porch as he galloped away on his horse, set off down the field and into the forest again. He was gone in a blink of an eye. You felt this warmth inside you that you had never felt before, you were outside on your porch in freezing temperatures and you felt warm, you thought you were going crazy, it was so unknown to you. You walked back inside and closed the door behind you. You sighed leaning against your front door. You thought about the man and buried your face in your hands, you never got his name. You were ashamed of yourself, asking where he might be going instead of asking him what his name was. You couldn’t believe yourself. You pushed off the door and started to walk to the stairs when you saw a napkin still on the table where the both of you ate. You picked it up to throw it away in the trash but it had writing on it, you couldn’t help but read it. 

The name’s Technoblade but you can call me Techno, I’m headed off to the town a few miles from your house. If you don’t mind, I'd like to stop by your house again on my way back.

You smiled at the note and walked up to your room, happier than ever.

You waited for him to come back, you were excited to see him again but got a little worried when it hit the fourth day. You tried your best not to think about it like hanging out with Rusty and moving hay bales but it was hard not to.

You were outside when you heard trotting in the distance, a big smile was plastered on your face when you saw Techno on his horse. You stopped what you were doing and walked to your porch to greet him. You took your gloves off and set them on the thick railing of the porch and crossed your arms. You grinned as he slowed down. He got off and whispered to his horse, the horse pranced around finally making its way to the barn where it found Rusty eating some hay. He took one step onto the stairs but stopped, he looked across the field from where he came from and took a second to stare. You noticed he had a little more emotion on his face than last time, he looked worried. You pressed your lips together, “What’s wrong?” You asked, taking a step down. He closed his eyes and was still facing the field, he didn’t know how to put it but he wasn’t at all worried. He turned back to you, “Nothing.” A smile tugged at his lips but never seemed to form. You nodded your head and walked into the house, he followed close behind, closing the door to not let the nice warm heat escape the house.

It was colder than usual at your house so you had the fireplace going. Techno sat in the seat he sat in the previous time, staring at the fireplace. He couldn’t tell if the heat was coming from the burning wood or his blushed cheeks. To be honest, he was also delighted to see you again and he was hoping that he could spend more time with you and not just on this occasion. He liked the company, and knew you did too but he didn’t know if you liked him. He whipped his head towards you when he heard you speak, waiting to hear that lovely voice of yours for days. “So do you have family? Brother, Sister, Father, Mother?” He was caught off guard by your question, he thought about an answer, one that wasn’t so complicated. He didn’t want to lie so he only said the basics, “A Father, a wonderful Mother, and…” he paused, you thought you heard him sniffle but it was probably you. He rubbed his chin before he finished his sentence, “And a little Brother.” You smiled at yourself, knowing he had family made him seem not so big and scary but a lovable giant. You picked up the board of bread, cooked chicken, and two wooden plates and walked over to the table sitting in the same spot as last time. You notice that he took off his big cape, exposing the rest of his figure. You thought you were prepared to see but he looked too hot. He was wearing a tight wool long sleeve making his arms seem massive, and brown wool pants that looked comfy as clouds. You didn’t know if he knew what he looked like but if he didn’t you would show him one day.

It seemed like the both of you talked for ages but when Techno checked his clock, only three hours had passed. He wanted to hit the road but he didn’t want to leave you here all alone. He was tempted to ask you if he could stay the night but his mind quickly discarded it. When you saw him check his clock you knew it was time for him to go, you got up and stacked everything. You made your way to the sink, rinsing the board and plates off. You rinsed your hands, drying them off with a towel. You started walking back to the table but Techno was already sitting on your couch watching the wood pop and sparks flying in the air. A smile tugged at your lips as you looked at him, you walked over to the couch across from him and sat down. You looked at the fire mesmerized by its light, your gaze trailed off to Techno. Your eyes met his, that made heat rush to your cheeks and your eyes widened slightly. He had taken off his mask before you guys ate but his facial feature glowed in the light of the fire, you couldn’t help but stare.

He leaned back onto the couch, putting his foot on his knee and resting his arm on the back of the couch. You had to look away before you walked over to him and kissed the living daylight out of him. You grinned as you looked down at your hands, “You’ll be traveling in the dark if you don’t leave soon.” You sounded as if you were trying to convince not only him but yourself too. He nodded and tapped his leg. He knew he had to go but he was convinced that you liked him back. He didn’t want to push it though and tapped his leg again. He got up and walked over to you. He held his hand out and waited for you to take it, “Thank you for letting me stay.” You took his hand but didn’t expect him to pull you into his arm and hold you by the waist. You were starstruck looking up at him, he was so tall and muscular, at that moment you didn’t know what to do.

Your brain froze for a second from being so close, his body was at your fingertips. But you knew better if you wanted him to at least have some sun for his travels you would have to let him be for the time being, “Anytime.” He leaned down as if to kiss you but hugged around your waist, bringing you up on your tippy toes. You hugged him back, wrapping your arms around his neck and burrowing your face into the crook of his neck. He hugged you back even tighter when you did that, moving his hand from your back to the back of your shoulder basically strapping you against him. You felt safe, that was something you didn’t feel very often but with him you were never going to get hurt. You ran your fingers through his surprisingly untangled hair, you leaned back but he held you close. You chuckled, cupping his face with your hands, “Would you like to take anything for the road?” The words of your request slipped your mind but he took notice of your ‘mistake’. He opened his eyes and looked deep into yours, if looks could kill. He tucked some hair behind your ear, “You.” Your lips curled into a soft smile and butterflies formed in your stomach. You shook your head and patted his shoulder, not believing what he said, “I meant food, Silly.” You made your way back to the kitchen and he followed you, walking incredibly quiet, “And I meant you.” You shook your head once more.

He ended up not taking food but he did take some night vision potions you had and some fire resistance. He was impressed by how many books you had of, well, everything. From potions to cooking, from ruins portals to strongholds. He had mentioned earlier that he was the boredest man alive when he was traveling through the tree because he couldn’t go fast unless he wanted to hit a tree at 35 mph. So you gave him a book of his choice because you don’t like being bored yourself and that gives him a reason to come back but to be honest he didn’t need a reason to come back to you.

It was over two weeks until you saw him again. It was a relief to see him and his horse walking out of the forest and finally getting to have time with him. You weren’t letting him leave until you got at least one kiss. You leaned on the porch watching him signal his horse off to the barn, the horse trotted away behind the house but you kept your gaze on Techno. He kept his eyes on the ground for his own reasons, walking up the stairs and finally looking at you. He looked sad but smiled anyway. You smiled back at him as you cocked your head, tilting up when he got close to you. You blinked at him, you would never get used to his massive stature, you were tiny compared to him and you think he liked it. He moved some hair out of your face and behind your ear. He glided his thumb across the skin of your cheek, you were cold and hot at the same time. You closed your eyes as you melted into his touch, “We should get inside.” Your voice soft and shy. He was taken aback with the sudden change of appearance, he nodded and let you lead the way with his hand on your back.

You went to the kitchen as usual but he followed this time. He hung his cape and mask up and walked over to the counter that you weren’t using and leaned against it. Your back was turned to him but you knew he was staring, tracing your body with curiosity and affection. A slight smile appeared on his face as you turned to give him a bowl of beetroot soup, your shocked expression came across your face when your eyes met his. And it didn’t help when you saw his smile get bigger, his canines showing and his hands on the counter. You raised the bowl to him and he took it, sipping on it as he looked at you. You didn’t know what to make of it, you stood there quite flabbergasted and he liked every moment of it. You stepped closer to him and leaned against the same counter he was, you finally felt ok to eat. You didn’t if you were uncomfortable with it or if it was just awkward to you but it didn’t matter because you snuggled next to him and he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. He rubbed your arm and took a sip from his bowl. The both of you sat in silence for a while before speaking, enjoying each other's company.

You guys had a few things in common, like you both lived alone, you both lived in snowy areas, and you both liked reading. Not much but it was enough to get on topics you could talk about for hours. You and Techno were sitting across each other on the couch, the fire going ablaze and your conversation getting hotter by the minute. You felt the tension between you and him but you were nervous, you didn’t know how he was going to respond so you stayed put, holding your tongue every time you thought your remark was too much.

He saw how jittery you were and wanted to make sure you were ok, “How long has it been since you’ve had someone else in your house?” He leaned forward his elbows on his knees, your mouth parted slightly at the sight but you were brought back instantly, thinking about his question for a moment. You messed with your fingers as you spoke, “Honestly I can’t remember the last time I had company other than you in my home…” you trailed off, your gaze landed on the very bright fire, dancing in the fireplace. You had the sudden urge to cry, tears filled your eyes and you didn’t know why. You quickly rubbed your eyes and face, trying to remove any evidence of sadness off. You felt the couch shift and strong arms wrap around your shoulders, big hands softly rubbing up and down your back. He was unbelievably soft to the touch, he wasn’t scary at all to be clear, someone couldn’t be any further from the truth if they said he was scary. Sure, he was humongous and built like a spruce tree but that wasn’t even close to his heart, he cared, he cared about you. He had one leg on the couch and one foot on the ground, you moved in between his legs and leaned against his chest. It didn’t seem like he was phased but he was, but not because you were close to you know what but because you were so small, you fit perfectly between his legs and he couldn’t get enough of it. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you as close as possible which was actually quite close but you didn’t care. You settled into him and held onto his arms, you couldn’t believe how thick his forearms were so you stared at them as you tried to calm down.

He couldn’t help but think that it was his fault that you started crying. He nuzzled into the crook of your neck and whispered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He nuzzled even further into your neck to hide his flushed face. You chuckled lightly, “No…no, you didn’t make me cry.” You brought your hand up to his hair and ran your fingers through it. He chuckled and came out of his hiding place, resting his chin on your head for a second. You looked up at him and gave him a soft smile, he cocked his head and smiled back. You moved your hand down to his jaw and gave his lips a couple glances. He took notice and cupped your cheeks with a free hand, wiping a tear that had escaped from your eye. He examined your face and gave your forehead a gentle kiss. You looked up at him with pure fondness, you didn’t kiss him, it wasn’t time but maybe you should have because before you know it someone’s knocking on your door.

You looked at the door shocked, almost scared. You never get visitors, never. This was frightening. You look at Techno, he saw how scared you were and told you to either not move or go up to your room and see if you can see anything. You nodded and quietly sprinted up the stairs, finding your bow and arrows and peered out the window. You had a perfect view but the porch was covered by the awning. You saw no horse standing out in the snow so you were confused by how anyone could get to your house from anywhere if this person didn’t have a horse. You sat up there, waiting for absolutely anything, then you heard Techno open the door.

Techno watched as you ran up the stairs making sure you got up before he pulled anything out. He was silent, not making a sound whatsoever, he picked up his cape and satchel from the bench next to the front door and pulled out his sword. He looked through the window next to the door, being as stealthy as possible. How could he miss the guy standing outside? It was the last person he ever wanted to see, especially at your house. It was like seeing a ghost, this guy was thought to be dead but he was standing right outside the front door. He took a deep breath and gripped his sword behind his back. He put on his mask and opened the door slowly. “Hi.” The man spoke as if he was waiting for this moment his whole life. He had a huge scar across his eye that the one and only Technoblade had given him not so long ago. Techno held the blade by his side to show that he wasn’t messing around. “Oh come on, Techno. I’m just here to chat. Nothing more should happen unless you decide to be difficult.” Techno narrowed his eyes and scanned the man, he trusted him once but after what happened, after he tried to execute him, it would be the last time he could ever trust that man again. Techno stepped out onto the porch, appearing much taller than said man, “What do you want, Quackity?” Quackity grinned looking all around the porch, the floor, the walls, the windows. He sighed, “Techno, you know how it goes- I find you…I kill you.”

You stared at the tree line, questioning if this person had more people with them. You could hear muffled conversation, a short conversation, from downstairs. You slowly opened your window to pull your bow back, ready for some action. You stepped back to be more in the room, hidden in the dark shadows. Straight away you saw movement in the trees and pulled back all the way. You saw a person, who seemed to be taller than Techno, walk out of the forest holding an axe. Then right after him was another person, shorter than the one before, holding a crossbow already loaded and pointed at the porch. You had multi-shot on your bow so this was a piece of cake, it seemed as if time slowed to a snail’s pace. Your eyes jolted around the treeline, no one else was coming, you could feel it so you lined up for a shot but they dropped their weapons.

Two guys emerged out of the trees, one after another. One holding an axe and one holding a loaded crossbow. Techno chuckled at their gesture, “You really think you can kill me, after you failed to do it the first time.” He steadily raised his sword, resting it on Quackity’s chestplate, “Put it down Tubbo.” He said looking over Quackity’s shoulder, “You too Ranboo.” They only gripped their weapons tighter, eager to get a hit but knew they had to wait for the signal. Techno breathed out in disappointment, he really thought after everything they’ve been through he would put it down, for him. Techno leaned down to Quackity’s ear, “I can kill all three of you in a heartbeat.” Quackity gulped as Techno leaned back, straightening up he let the tip of his sword drop to the ground. Making quite a loud thud but surprisingly you didn’t hear it. Techno glanced at all three of them knowing they weren’t leaving until he was finally dead, “Fine. One last fight. But first let's get even, you take off your armor and I’ll take off mine and we’ll only use swords.” Quackity stared at Techno for a second to see if he was kidding but he was not. He turned around and gestured to lower their weapons, they dropped the weapons in the snow. The axe sank lower than the crossbow into the fresh blanket of snow that came that morning. Techno watched as they threw the weapons, taking a breath as a sigh of satisfaction. Techno and Quackity took off their armor at the same time, not breaking eye contact from one another. An evil grin appeared on Quackity’s face, “You’ll be lucky if you even get a scratch on me.” He threw a right hook to Techno but it couldn’t compare to his reflexes as he caught the punch and twisted around to his back, making him walk towards the porch stairs as Techno’s sword was held across his neck. They got to the first step of the stairs, Tubbo picked up his crossbow but it was too late, an arrow went straight for his shoulder, sending him to the ground. Ranboo looked up to see where the arrow came from but he saw nothing but an empty window, he went for the crossbow hoping to grab it before the next shot came but another arrow went right through his forearm. It sent a shock of pain through his arm up his shoulder making him wince and grip where the arrow was. Techno pressed his lips together, “See, told you I could kill all three.” Quackity stared at the aching bodies in the snow, “Well where’s the third one?” His breathing was now heavy, probably from adrenaline and the lack of heat running through his body. Techno shook his head and pushed Quackity into the soft snow, “I was going to spare you but I guess I’ll have to put another scar on you for you to understand.” As Techno talked he took a small step down the stairs, one after another after another and after another, making each second more painful than the last. Until he was standing over Quackity with his sword in his face, waiting for him to make the last snarky remark he would ever make for the rest of his life.

After shooting a couple shots, you saw a man fly down the stairs of your porch into the snow. Techno walked down the stairs, talking while he was taking steps, finally getting to the man and looking down at him with the sword in the man’s face. You had your bow ready for another shot, ready to take it whenever. You saw Techno kneel down to the man, gliding the sword not even an inch over his skin. Your eye caught the guy with the crossbow, trying to take a shot again. You fired and missed by a centimeter, as you quickly grabbed another arrow you heard someone gasp in pain. Pulling back and firing again. You sent the arrow straight through the guy’s other shoulder, he poofed into thin air before he hit the ground. 

Techno knelt down to the ground and glided the sword across Quackity’s face, “You can avoid all pain if you leave right now.” Two arrows were fired, one missing and one hitting Techno’s right peck, he hummed in pain trying to keep his noise level to a zero. There was a moment before another arrow was fired hitting Tubbo and sending him back to respawn, wherever that may be. Quackity looked to see who was shot, his eyes widening when he only saw Ranboo. He looked back at Techno, who was trying to stop the bleeding, he looked up past his shoulder and saw you standing in the window with your bow pulled back aiming at him. He tried to squirm out from under Techno but he pierced Quackity’s leg before he could get away, “Finish him!” Techno yelled, knowing you were up at the window. You breathed out and let go of the arrow, it went flying straight for him, penetrating him and he was gone in a cloud of dust with only a blood stain left behind in the white snow. Techno was unbalanced and dizzy from losing blood. Stumbling to get up, he used his sword as a cane to help him. He looked up at Ranboo, “Go. It would be a waste of your time to try and fight me.” Ranboo honestly didn’t know what to do, he could either fight and die or run and hide. And he chose the better option. Run and hide. He disappeared back into the woods and ran for his life.

You ran out to Techno to help him get up the stairs, he was slow but ‘stable’ as you took off his mask. You got him inside, setting him on the ground with a pillow to rest his head. You laid him down on the floor and took a look at him, it didn’t hit anything severe which was great. You moved some hair out of his face and slid your hand to his neck, “You’re going to be fine.” He nodded and let out a light cough. You got up and ran to your kitchen, grabbed your box of potions and pulled out regeneration and healing potions. You also grabbed a bunch of bandages from your box and quickly get back to Techno. You set all the bottles down and gave it to him one by one, you could already see he wasn’t so tense anymore. You asked him if he could take off his shirt, for medical reasons, and he said yes but he also told you that this wasn’t the only way to ask him if he could take it off. You scoffed and helped him take the shirt off. He was more handsome than you could ever imagine, his pecs were huge, his shoulders also huge and those light abs. You blinked away the images and carefully pulled the arrow out, you tried your best to be soft but it was an arrow. You swiftly wrap him up in the white bandage, applying all your pressure to the wound so it would stop bleeding.

When you were done, he took your hand. His touch was gentle as he ran his thumb up and down the back of your hand. His hand was cold for once, it felt like you were holding ice that was never going to melt away. You put your hand under his, raising it up and rubbing it against your cheek. He looked at you with love in his eyes, “Thank you.” He gave you a small smile and you smiled back. You set his hand down beside him and leaned down, giving him a kiss on the forehead. He leaned into the kiss wanting you to stay there for a little longer. You gave him a couple more kisses on the forehead before resting against his. You moved more strands of hair off his forehead as you spoke, “You need to rest.” He looked up at you, lightly gliding his fingers up and down your arm. He nodded and you nodded as well, you got up to go make something to eat but he held onto you. You looked back at him concerned but he had a smirk on his face, “Stay with me.”

[auncyen]

say what you mean

this post finally got written out. except halfway through the comedic potential turned into angst? oops? it's vaguely related to my no loops au but with a happier outcome.

-

'Za's the first to tell you he's going to take you home to Bambouche so you can see your sister. He finds you in the middle of the party, when you're hanging out to the side with the Drawing Kid because they don't coo and aww at you like the adults do or ask "what was the House like? what was the King like?!" the way the other kids do. The Drawing Kid just draws all the happy people, the Housemaidens and the villagers and your friends, and they're happy when you tell them they draw good, so you're happy to grab food for both of you and hang out by them. 'Za happens to spot you when you're getting eclairs and waves, getting you to stop so he can catch up. "Bonbon! Hey! Oooo, tasty--"

"They're for me and the Drawing Kid," you tell him. "Get your own!" The boulangere made a bunch, so 'Za can definitely have some. You just don't want to have to go back and forth again.

'Za laughs. "Will do! But listen, Bonbon, I've been thinking, uh. We're all going to be going our own way soon. Mira's staying here, M'dame's going back to Ka Bue, and Sif's..." 'Za frowns.

Frin's a crab who wouldn't tell you what he's going to do now. He just made dumb jokes about going to space instead. And you don't like thinking about how everyone's splitting up. Of course you want to see your sister again, but... "So what?" you ask.

Za's still frowning, but he keeps going. "Well, I just thought, why don't I bring you to Bambouche? Everyone else is going a different direction."

"...Isn't Jouvente a different direction, too?" You've never been there yourself, but. Bambouche is along the coast. Dormont's further inland, but you can still see the coast from the top of the House. Jouvente's near the south border. You've heard people say you can't see any ocean from ANYWHERE in there. No wonder Za's weird, growing up somewhere like that.

He keeps being weird by waving your logic away with his hand. "Oh, well! I've never been to the coast, and I'd like to see it! Plus..." He smiles down at you. "It'd be nice to see your hometown, and spend a little more time with you before you go home. But if you don't want me to take you home--"

"No!" you say quickly. Way too quickly, because 'Za's smile gets just a little wider and the Drawing Kid giggles quietly where they're lying in the grass with their paper pad. You fold your arms and look away, annoyed to feel the shade in your cheeks. "I mean. Sure. You can come with me to Bambouche. I'll tell you all about the ocean! I'm a cert-ived expert." You think that's the word 'Dile used.

"I'm looking forward to it!" Za says. "Just, um, can I ask a favor? I know you're probably really eager to see your sister, and there won't be any side trips once we're on the road! But...can we wait to leave until M'dame and Sif leave Dormont? I'd like to see them both off."

...You do want to see Nille right away. But... "Yeah. I can wait." You want to spend a little more time with 'Dile. And Frin, even if he's being dumb.

(You...don't know if Frin wants to spend more time with you. Frin always acts like losing his eye was no big deal, but you know that can't be true, and he hasn't called you 'Bonbon' since.)

"Great!" 'Za says. "I'll see you later. Time for some yummy eclairs~"

He wanders off toward the tables with all the food the villagers put together for the ultimate party. You see Frin near there, looking a little overwhelmed, swarmed by a gaggle of Housemaidens--they've all been curious about Frin, first because they dress funny and then because Belle and 'Za mentioned how they guided everyone through the House with a wish granted by the Favor Tree. Za starts to change course toward them, but before he gets there the really tall and pretty Head Housemaiden comes up to the group. She says something, and the group of Housemaidens opens up even before Frin turns toward her. She walks away, and they follow, and you wonder what the Head Housemaiden wants with Frin before you notice the Drawing Kid is drawing 'Za waaaaaay too cool. That's just. Wrong. 'Za's not cool, and you make sure to tell the Drawing Kid that. They seem skep-ti-cal, but they laugh when you tell them about the times Za's freaked out at bugs.

'Dile comes up while you're looking at a cool new drawing the Drawing Kid's done (they know how to draw the BEST spiders. they're amazing) and clears her throat to get your attention. "Boniface."

You look up. "Yeah?"

"I've been thinking, with Mirabelle's quest complete and our journey done... you'll need someone to make sure you get safely back to your sister in Bambouche."

"Yeah." You're about to tell her that Za's already got you covered, but then she looks to the side, and you've never seen 'Dile look...is she embarrassed? Shy? 'Dile??? You're distracted trying to figure out what that face means.

"I was thinking we'd find someone in Dormont who might be headed that way, but...well, all things considered, I think it best if I take you myself."

Huh?

"Don't you gotta go to Ka Bue? And it's, like. On the other side of the world?"

The Drawing Kid stops drawing to look up at 'Dile at this. The weird shy expression drops from her face and she smiles. Or 'smirks', you've heard the others describe 'Dile's kind of smile that way, when it looks like she's holding back a laugh.

"It is, but I'm on my own timetable and not beholden to anyone. There's a chance your sister might be upset that we took you along, and if she is, it's probably best one of us explains."

"You don't gotta explain to her. I came with," you say, folding your arms, and that gets you a small 'Dile chuckle from behind the smirk.

"That you did. Practically strong-armed us into taking you along. Nevertheless, your sister might appreciate an explanation from one of us....and, well." Her eyes dart away again just briefly before she smiles at you instead of smirking. "I never thought I'd teach someone as young as you, but you're the most enjoyable student I've ever had. We can see if there's anything more for me to teach you on the way there."

"Yeah! I bet there's loads more you can teach me, 'Dile! You're super smart!" And you like learning from her. It makes you feel really warm that she enjoys teaching you.

It's not often that 'Dile smiles like this, not for so long. "Just one thing, Boniface. It...will likely be the last time I see you all, so I plan to wait until Isabeau and Siffrin have left. I hope that's not a problem."

"Oh, 'Za--" You shut your mouth, and both 'Dile and the Drawing Kid look at you with confusion. You shake your head. "It's fine!!"

"Alright then. Enjoy the festivities, Boniface. Try not to go too wild on the desserts." With that, she leaves you and the Drawing Kid in the grass, though she stays at the edge of the crowds herself, letting any curious villagers come to her to ask questions rather than wandering into the thick of things.

The Drawing Kid looks at her, then at you. You can feel the question. "...I want both her and 'Za to come with me to Bambouche, but what if they're just volunteering because they don't think anyone else is gonna?" you explain. "If it's only gonna be one of them, then..."

...Then you're not sure.

If 'Za were here, you'd tell him 'Dile's wa-a-ay cooler and you're going with her. Because. Well, because 'Dile is cooler, and teasing 'Za is fun. But you like traveling with 'Za too! Sometimes he gives you piggyback rides, and he's really calm. 'Dile's calm too, but it's a different kind of calm. Like...if you had a big problem, you'd go to 'Dile because she's smart and can solve it. But if you needed a good laugh, you'd go to Za. And maybe he's not as cool as 'Dile, but that's not his fault. No one's as cool as 'Dile.

You want both of them to go to Bambouche with you.

At least the Drawing Kid doesn't pressure you to answer. They just give you a little nudge before handing you a dark gray crayon and some paper so you can draw too. You doodle the Head Housemaiden for a bit after you spot her back in the party (which isn't hard with how tall she is!) You look lower, but you don't see Frin. They must be done talking about whatever she wanted to talk about.

Maybe you can give Belle a drawing as a goodbye present? It'd last longer than food, anyway. ...You don't know what to draw, though. And she's still surrounded by so many people, all the villagers and Housemaidens wanting to congratulate her or thank her or catch up with her. You leave your big hat with the Drawing Kid so it won't get knocked off and thread your way through the crowd to see her.

"Oh! Bonnie!" Belle looks a bit tired when you first see her face, but she smiles fondly at you and reaches for your hand. "Bonnie, there's something we need to talk about! Just a minute, everyone...!"

The crowd parts as soon as Belle says that, people recognizing that she wants a break. ...By how quickly Belle pulls you to the side of the party, you think she must have been wanting a break for a while now. Good thing you went to check on her! "Are you thirsty?" you ask her. "Hungry?" You know the adults kind of made up the job to keep you busy, but. You liked being Snack Master. And you think Belle might need a snack.

"...Some mint water would be nice," she admits.

You get her mint water. She smiles and thanks you when you hand her the glass, and after three long sips she sets the glass down on a nearby barrel and claps her hands, refreshed.

"So, Bonnie! I wanted to talk to you about how you're getting back home."

...? You've heard this before.

"I was thinking I could take you back, if you don't mind? I'm sure Isabeau's family and friends are worried about him back in Jouvente, and Madame Odile and Siffrin have their own homes to get back to--and you have yours!"

You've. Kind of heard this before, too. Not exactly, because it's Belle and not 'Za, but. Hey, wait, 'Za thought-- "You're not staying in Dormont?" you ask.

Belle shrugs, looking unsure before she smiles. "You know Housemaidens go on pilgrimages, right? It might finally be time for mine!"

Wasn't she just on a pilgrimage. Aren't pilgrimages just long journeys??? Is there something you're missing?? But also why'd Za say she's staying in Dormont if she's not???

"Plus, everyone here knows I'm fine and not to worry about me. I don't want to keep your sister waiting--th, though! I also don't want to rush our goodbyes with the others!" Belle rushes to add, watching you nervously for your reaction. "T, that is, if you can wait just a little while, until the others are ready to leave..."

You have heard this before, and now you're super questioning the adults who've been taking care of you the last couple of months. Because you're really happy that everyone wants to go with you to Bambouche! ...It also sounds like everyone doesn't want to leave the others yet? But? They haven't talked about it? At all??

Your teachers tell you you should speak up and all this time you thought Frin was just the weird adult who didn't but it turns out all of them are like this????

...Does. Does Frin--

He probably doesn't want to take you to Bambouche.

But. They'd probably like hanging out with Belle and 'Za and 'Dile for longer. And even if they're frustrating (because they won't speak up, because they'll always pretend it's fine you got them half-blind)--

Belle's face falls. "I'm sorry, is that selfish of me? Or would you like someone else to take you? I, I--"

"No!" you say quickly. "I want you to come to Bambouche!" Belle and 'Za and 'Dile! But also-- "I just--I gotta find Frin! Have you seen them?"

"O, oh!" Belle's pendants jangle and chime as she spins about, looking. "No, I can't say I've seen them recently, but maybe Isabeau has?" She points him out by the tables, and you run to him--not full speed, but fast enough you've got his full attention.

"Bonbon? Something the matter?"

"No, but I need to find Frin!"

Za scans the party, a frown slowly growing on his face. "Where is he...? Maybe M'dame knows. Hey, M'dame!" He waves and starts making his way to 'Dile. You jog past him to her, because you want to find Frin so you can talk about everyone going to Bambouche together!

"'Dile! Have you seen Frin?"

She frowns. "Not in quite a while. Maybe the celebration was too much for them? They could be resting..."

"Excuse me," the Head Housemaiden says from behind you, except you don't realize it was her talking until you look behind and see her looming, because. She sounds nervous. You haven't heard her sound like that yet. "Your Traveler, Siffrin--is he not with any of you?"

"No," 'Dile says, with a good long look at the Head Housemaiden. She thinks that tone is weird too. "Do you need something with them?"

"She was talking to them earlier," you tell 'Dile, and she stares at the Head Housemaiden even harder at that.

"Euphrasie...?" Belle asks uncertainly.

The Head Housemaiden claps her hands twice, firm and loud enough to get the attention of most of the party. "Sorry to interrupt the fun!" she says with a broad smile. "But has anyone seen Siffrin? Our bright Savior, with a cloak and pointed hat."

"I saw them! They jumped across the river!" a kid calls. "At the broken bridge."

...He forgot about the unbroken bridge, didn't he.

"Thank you, Evrard," Euphrasie says, her voice bright and sunny until she turns back to them. Then, hushed and low: "Please check on him. He was quite upset when we parted ways. I thought they were going to talk with one of you, but if none of you have seen them..."

"What did you say to him?" Odile asks, and you flinch at her voice.

The Head Housemaiden doesn't. She just looks sad. "Their Wish Craft--I knew where it came from. I thought...they knew too. Please, go talk to them."

'Za doesn't need to hear any more than that, and as soon as he starts moving, so do you. 'Za's usually good about keeping pace with you, but right now he's worried about Frin and books it, past the field and then around, to the bridge that still works. You just follow as fast as you can, your shoes clomping across the wood planks. You hear Belle right behind, and even 'Dile's hurrying, and then--

And then you see Frin, and your heart wobbles because they're trying to smile at 'Za hovering over them, even from here you can faintly hear him insisting he's fine! He's fine! But his shoulders are trembling and he's got a hand pressed against his good eye, he can't see at all like that, why...you figure out why just as 'Za points out as gently as possible that people usually don't cry when they're fine. Belle gasps when she realizes too, jogging up to the two of them. "Siffrin!"

"Sorry," Frin says, like a dummy, because it's not like they made anyone else cry. "Sorry. I'm being--selfish--I should be smiling--everyone's going home--that's great! That's--" He tries to force a smile again, but it immediately twists and breaks just like the other bridge, and he pulls back from 'Za, grabbing at his head. "It's fine! It's fine! I always knew we were going to say goodbye! So--"

"We're not saying goodbye yet!" you shout, running up to him. "Frin! FRIN! We're going to Bambouche!"

They stare at you, their eye wide as they breathe in and out. "...Huh?"

"Everyone else said they're going to take me to Bambouche, but they also said we had to wait until everyone else left," you explain, looking over your shoulder at the others. "And that's 'cause no one wants to say goodbye yet, right?!"

"Well, yeah, but..." Za looks at Belle and 'Dile, embarrassed. "Uhm. I know I said that. But it sounds like..."

"...It sounds like we also said that, because we did, didn't we?" 'Dile says. "Mirabelle? I assume you're included in 'everyone else'?"

Belle makes a very embarrassed noise as she covers her face. "I didn't want to assume anything! I didn't want... to be selfish and force you on another journey..."

"And you couldn't ask?" 'Dile says, but then she sighs. "I suppose I'm in no position to talk."

"Uh HUH," you say, turning back to Frin. "You don't have to say goodbye to them yet! Come with us to Bambouche!"

"...Do you. Do you actually want me to come with?" Frin asks, which is silly. Of course you do--you're telling them to come with, aren't you!

"Frin, if you don't come with us I will be super duper mad. ...Unless you have a good reason. Like. ...People missing you at home, I guess." That would be a good reason. That would be a reason for him to say goodbye, even when the thought of goodbye makes him cry. Because you would be sad to leave the others too, but if it was the only way to see Nille again, you'd do it.

Even though it's a good reason, Frin bursts into a laugh. Their eye also wells up with tears again, and 'Za looks so worried. "Sif, buddy, can you--do you want to try breathing? Like you usually do?"

"Hah, ha-ah, huh?" Frin gasps, and it's only when 'Za does a slow breath in and out that Frin seems to remember the thing they do to calm down. They breathe in. They breathe out. In, and out. They set the bag slung over their shoulder down on the ground. ...Why do they have a bag?

"Were you planning to leave tonight?" 'Dile asks incredulously. Frin hunches in on himself.

"I didn't--I didn't want to ruin the celebration--"

"We're only able to celebrate because you helped us, Siffrin! You really think we'd want to party with you upset like this?" Belle shakes her head. Her hands are twisting each other, one picking at a nail on the other without her realizing. "What did Euphrasie even say to you?"

Frin pulls his hat brim down against his face. "She--she didn't say anything mean. She just told me the truth."

"The truth? About what?"

When Frin shrinks back even more, 'Za steps in. "Hey, hey. We all want to go to Bambouche together, right?" You nod, and Belle and 'Dile agree, and then 'Za leans over to get where Frin can see him. "Sif?"

"Yeah. If...Bonnie wants me, then...of course I want to go."

Of course I want to go. Is it really that simple? Even when Frin's upset, they don't hesitate to stay with you?

"Okay. Then...why don't we sleep in the clocktower one more night? I'll run back over real quick, tell them we're tuckered out from everything today and they can keep partying without us. And then...maybe we should have a little feelings talk in the morning," 'Za says, and the way he's looking at Belle is pleading for help because. Yeah. Whatever got Frin this upset is bad. "But we can start heading for Bambouche tomorrow."

"You can meet Nille!" you tell Frin. "And I can show you the cool places in town!"

Frin takes another deep breath in and out. He still looks shaky, but he's got a small smile. "That sounds great, Bonbon."

-

as for what euphrasie said, it goes back to this, just with a nicer ending (in terms of Euphrasie realizes OH SNAP sooner and someone finds Sif in time to keep him from leaving).