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snippychicke · 2 years

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Evening chicky! I hope your day is going well. 😄 I wanted to tell you how lovely Moonstone has been! You are doing a fantastic job and I am completely in love. I always look forward to new snippets and chapters. 🥰 Regarding the few prompts you have done, would you mind me asking what would an interaction between Khonshu and Hathor be like? Brother and sister talking, no avatars. I have a feeling Hathor would know about the Bonding the evening of the festival, like, right away. A kinda "Oh that little shit" moment. 😆 Thank you sweetie! Keep being amazing!

My day went as well as a slow friday can! And oh my goodness, my dear peep, thank you for the compliments! You made my day so much brighter with this!

I really wanted to just write the two being shits together/towards each other. I really do imagine Khonshu being the rebellious younger brother and Hathor being the older sister who acts like she is above such things when others are looking, but is totally supportive (And slightly jealous) of his acts.

Instead, I ended up writing this angst-ridden piece that only shows Hathor being the big sister and telling her bro to knock it off before he gets in serious trouble.

(And I stg, trying to make sense of Egyptian deity's relations to one another via wikia is a fucking pain in my ass. I swear I read somewhere they were related, but now I can't, but hell, I'm running with it and making it my own. They're all related in some form and fashion, but at the same time they're gods so our ideas of familial relations don't really apply because fucking metaphysics logic.)

And, in case someone out there is thinking because of that statement, I condone incest or whatever. No. I do not. At all. This is a work of fiction, not at all based on my own morals or whatever. It is meant to be enjoyed by mature individuals able to understand that what they read in this fic is not something to base their understanding of normal or healthy society/relationships/whatever around.

Anyways, my lovely, I'm sorry for the tirade. Here is your prompt. I apologize if it isn't quite what you wanted. (It's not what I wanted either, but here we are.)

Hathor was lounging, watching as the festival continued deep into the night, basking in the music and dancing, feeling the radiant magic of mortals falling in love and lust and indulging in the feelings created. It had been quite a long time since she walked the mortal streets, enjoying everything herself instead of through her avatar.

It had been quite a time since she had blessed a union such as her brothers and his avatar. She had begun to wonder if she ever would again, and had long given up on Khonshu being one of them.

Yet here they were. She could feel the moon god's emotions of love and joy entangled and enmeshed with the mortals, like an instrument whose notes were just slightly more clear and louder than the rest of the symphony.

Except something made the notes tremble slightly, catching her attention. Hathor closed her eyes, focusing her power on the quivering distortion. She wouldn’t have caught it if she wasn’t so close to Khonshu himself, but…

Oh.

Oh no.

She could sense his power twisting and separating, and pulled her attention sharply away as she opened her eyes, a hand covering her mouth. Heavens’ forbid, he was always defiant, but to this point? Bonding with his human avatar, now? In this day of age, when they had barely begun a relationship? Isis had courted Osiris for decades before asking their father, Atum-Ra, for permission.

Yet here he was, forgoing such formalities. Granted, their father had withdrawn from this realm long ago, and would have never even entertained the idea before punishing Khonshu for even thinking about it.

She would keep her mouth silent, and hope, for his sake as well as his avatar’s, that one bonding didn’t create a seed.

----

“Hello Khonshu.”

Khonshu felt a shiver go down his spine as Hathor appeared beside him, dressed in her finery of her white wispy gown, her crown of the disk of the sun famed by heifer’s horns on her head.

“Hathor,” he greeted warily, turning his attention back to the mortals below. It was a few years after the festival, and he had hoped that it would be several decades, centuries, before he saw his sister’s face again. IT wasn’t that he disliked her, but he still didn’t trust her, just as he distrusted the rest of the remaining Ennead.

“So this is how you spend your days? Haunting rooftops as you watch over your little avatar?”

“No,” he answered defensively. “I typically have much more matters to attend to, however today is… different.”

“How so?”

He shifted his weight slightly, pointed not looking towards her. “Why are you here?” he asked instead with a faint growl. “Don’t you have things to do as well?”

“Oh yes. Weddings to bless, little ones to protect. Isis and I have our hands full, especially with Taweret serving in the Duat.”

Khonshu gestured with his hand, to silently repeat his question. “But the thing is,” Hathor continued. “Our queen is happily attending to such things, so she won’t miss me taking a break to speak with you. So, why are we here today?”

“Hathor,” he snarled in reply. “Just tell me what you want and then go away.”

“The thing I want is for you not to end up imprisoned like many of our kin,” she stated, her soft tone changing into something steely. “And what I don’t want another mortal’s life to be ruined by the love of her god, as pure as his intentions may be.”

That got Khonshu’s attention, making him look over to her as he stood to his full height, nearly a (relative) head taller than her. “I am not ruining her life!” He snapped. “Stay out of my business, sister.”

“Once, I could understand,” she snapped back, her calm demour fading completely. “Twice, I thought would be the end of it. But yet you keep bonding with her! You should be thankful that no one else has noticed thus far! But I have. You have created a seed with her spirit. Any more, brother, and it just may take root!”

Khonshu was silent, his grip tightening on his staff. Hathor knew she struck a nerve, making her sigh. “I know you must love her to do such a thing, but think of her. Her future. She is a mortal of this modern age, do you think she will dedicate her entire life to you, to nurturing her seed? Will she forsake the realm of her ancestors to stay with you?”

“Enough.” Khonshu softly interrupted.

“Not until you admit that this has gone on long enough,” she stated firmly. “I will intercede on her behalf. Have you even talked with her about the implications? Of the consequences of your actions because you couldn’t stop yourself? Do you think this is right, bonding with her when she doesn’t know what it is you’re doing?”

“I said enough!” he roared, the winds whipping dramatically around them, not that she was very impressed by his rather petulant display. “You’ve made your point!”

“Have I?” She challenged, meeting his vacant glare with the fury of an enraged mother. “Do you finally realize what you’ve done? How obscene and dishonest you’ve been to the one you claim to love?”

“I do love her!” He shot back. “I care more for her than anything else in this cosmos! And yes, I realize what I’ve done! But heavens, Hathor, do you know what it’s like? To have someone love and understand you so? Her soul reaches and begs for mine just as much as I yearn for her. I-I would have never pushed her to do anything she didn’t want. I would have never even touched her, had she not wanted it.”

Hathor touched his beak, feeling the ache that his face couldn’t express. “If you truly love her, then you know that this cannot continue. For her sake as well as yours. I am sorry, little Khons. I wished that the fates would have allowed you to find such a partner before these times. If it were in the days of old, I would have happily sponsored and adopted her as kin. I would have given her my title of Mistress of Heaven, Lady of the Stars so she could be your queen.”

“She has become my everything,” He whispered. “I’m sure I would break if I left her.”

“You are a god, Khons. The god of the moon, of vengeance, and of healing amongst all your other titles. Become yourself once more, and allow her to live her own life, no longer bound to you. You will live, as will she. For as brief as their lives are.”

#khonshu #fanfic #khonshu marvel #khonshu moon knight #khonshu x reader #moon knight #mcu moon knight #mk moonstone

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miss-writes-a-lot · 5 years

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Fair Game Babies: The One Where Raven Turns Into a Bird And Shouts At Another Kid

(Decided to write a fair game baby fic with my little guys. This one is where Briar meets Raven in the woods.)

Fandom: RWBY

Ship: Fair game/ Qrow x Clover

Summary: the young Branwen twin Briar encounters a strange woman in the woods of Patch who mocks her family. A screaming match ensues.

WARNINGS: Violence (most against a child.), some threatening of a child, mild cursing, and overall, it sucks.

--------

Briar was prone to getting lost. A lot.

Whether it was in a supermarket, or a school field trip three cities over, if she wasn't holding onto someone's hand, she most likely bound to get lost.

Patch was really the only exception. It was a small island and she pretty much knew everyone there, so the chances she would get lost somewhere unreachable would be slim when she was out exploring.

On this particular visit to her cousin's house, she went out exploring in woods behind their house-something she had done a million times both with her brother and on her own.

She was using a random stick that she had found to poke around at the various mushrooms she discovered growing on the sides of trees.

"Come on, do something! Explode, turn me into a zombie, anything!" She mumbled, whacking this one particular blue mushroom with a weird spotted pattern.

"Is this really it?"

Briar whipped around at the sudden voice of a woman. She searched the trees, but no one was there.

"H-hello...?"

"I really can't believe that this is it..."

Up above, a corvid landed on a branch on the same tree that Briar was stood under. Briar was still lost. "A....bird?"

"I'm not surprised that my brother would raise such a weakling."

She jumped back in surprised. The bird was talking!

"W-who are you?!"

"Look at you. You're just like your father. A scared, weak, blind little kid that will eat from whatever hand will feed it." The bird snarled.

"How do...how do know my dad? Why are you saying such mean things about him...?" She asked, her cluelessness shining through.

The bird scoffed, "Are you that stupid?! Has that idiot really made you so soft?! Open your eyes, kid! Your father is a failure! He's a traitor!"

Briar balled her fists, feeling her blood boil. "S-stop it..."

"He married a fool. He married a soldier who blindly followed orders and look where it got them. He had two kids that can't tell their own heads from FUCKING holes in the ground!"

She shook her head, covering her ears. "N-no! You're a liar! You don't know my dads! They're the best! And you have no right to talk about them like that! You don't even know my dads! Or my brother!"

"Believe me kid, I know a lot more about Qrow than you ever will!"

Briar picked up the stick and threw it at the bird, knocking her out of the tree. "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A NO GOOD GRIMM!"

"AND YOU'RE WEAK!" The bird shouted, know a full grown woman with long black hair and burning red eyes. She looked exactly like Yang. Now she was really scared. She was horrified. She could feel her hands tremble as she caught a glimpse of the large sword she was brandishing.

"Look at you...You're scared!"

"Yeah, because I'm ten and you're some crazy old bird lady thing! I don't even know you or how you know my dad!"

The stranger gritted her teeth. "Isn't it obvious? He's my brother."

Oh. Shit.

This was her. This was the aunt that her dad and papa never talked about. The one that first left uncle Tiyang. This was her, leader of Branwen tribe. Raven Branwen.

"You...You're her? My dad's sister?"

Raven nodded. "That's right."

"Why are you here? To kill me? Torture me? Or are you just here to keep telling me how terrible my dad is? Because if that's the case, just get out of here! I don't want to hear it!"

"Briar, your father is sheltering you. When you grow up, they are just going to keep lying to you!"

"They're not lying! You're lying!"

"ENOUGH WITH YOUR CHILDISH CRAP! Your fathers are nothing but traitorsa and liars! They know nothing of strength!"

Briar scoffed. "This coming from the woman who left her husband and daughter for a bunch of dumbasses! You're not strong! You're the coward you're saying I am!"

Raven stepped forward, opening her mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by Clover's voice.

"Briar! Time to come inside!"

Briar glanced back at Raven, scowling at her. "My dad is a hero. He doesn't run away. Even when times get tough, he fights. He's amazing. You're nothing but a wannabe."

"Briar!"

"Coming!"

Briar turned to walk away but she barely took a few steps away before she felt Raven's hand pull her by the hair while the other clamped her mouth shut. Briar kicked and screamed, flailing around as Raven dragged her back.

'Papa can't hear me. She's gonna hurt me of I don't do anything! But I haven't unlocked my semblance yet...what do I do?!'

Raven grabbed her shirt and pulled her up to her face. "Keep your mouth shut and maybe I won't hurt you too bad." She snarled.

Briar growled, when a plan came into her head. She kicked off one of her shoes and flung it into a nearby bush to draw Clover's attention to their direction. She then wiggled her arm out of Raven's grasp and elbowed her hard in the face. She dropped Briar and stumbled back in pain. For a moment, Briar was proud that she made a grown woman bleed.

But there was no time for that. She took off running, never looking back to see if Raven was chasing her. She only stopped when she collided with Clover's chest.

"Briar? What-?"

"Papa! Papa! She-she had me! She was trying to hurt me-!" Briar cried.

"What?! Who had you?" He questioned, panicked.

"Ra-her! Ra-I-" she tried to get the words out but it seemed that she was both in shock and exhausted from running.

"Easy honey, easy. Breathe. I'm gonna take you inside, okay?"

She nodded as Clover picked her up and carried her back inside. Reed immediately ran up with a smile on his face, which soon disappeared after seeing how distressed his twin was.

Qrow came up to them, taking Briar from Clover's arms. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. Someone in the woods attacked her or something. I'm going back to check."

"Be careful."

Clover went out with Kingfisher in hand as Qrow moved Briar to the couch.

"C'mere, sweetheart. Let's calm down."

"Daddy...y-you're a good guy..." Briar murmured.

"What?"

"Y-you're a good guy...you're the best dad ever. I like the way you fight, the way you read us bedtime stories and tell us about your missions. You're the best. I love you-"

"Bri, sweetie. Calm down...."

Briar hugged her father tightly, never wanting to let him go.

Raven was a liar. She was a big fat liar. And worse, she was a stalker.

She had been watching them. All of them.

Why was she watching them?

What did she want with them?

What did she want with her?

[A/N: apologies to everyone who was either triggered by this fic or found the way I portrayed Raven offensive or terrible. I'm not totally happy with it either and I might rewrite this but I want your feedback on what I can do much better or different. Have a nice day/afternoon/night.]

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kaen-ace-of-diamonds · 5 years

Text

In Nitrous Veritas

Words: 5700+ (oneshot)

Genre: Fluff/Romance

Pairing: Hakuei/Paimon, background Judal/Hakuryuu

Characters: Ren Hakuei, Paimon, Ren Hakuryuu, Judal (technically), Ren Gyokuen

Summary: When her girlfriend has to be put under anesthesia for the first time, Paimon is a nervous wreck thinking of what might go wrong. She doesn't stop to consider that everything could go perfectly right, in more ways than expected.

...Or, the one where having her wisdom teeth removed unlocks Hakuei's full gay potential.

(Takes place in @mayelamker‘s and my RA Family AU!)

~0~

Paimon still looked very suspicious at her lack of concern.

“Hakuei, they are going to yank your bones out with pliers.”

Hakuei resisted the urge to sigh in annoyance. Again.

“It’s fine, Paimon. I’m just getting my wisdom teeth out. It happens to everyone, no need to worry. And no need to press so hard on the gas, either.”

“Yeah, the turn’s coming up right there,” added Hakuryuu from the backseat. “And they don’t use pliers, they use...regular stuff.”

Paimon grumbled unintelligibly as she pulled into the office parking lot, but didn’t say anything else until after they had filed into the oral surgeon’s waiting room, checked in, and sat down. She fidgeted in the rough cushioned chair, one Ren sibling on either side of her, and after a few minutes opened her mouth to say something else.

Accustomed to this after weeks of her poor girlfriend’s fretting, Hakuei laid a hand on top of hers and murmured before she could respond, “I’ll be fine, hon. Don’t worry.”

“...I’ll worry anyway. Routine or not, anything could go wrong, you’ve never been under anesthetic before!” Her lips twitched as if she wanted to chew at one, but she resisted the impulse. “It could be like that movie — you know the one where they cut Anakin Skywalker’s heart out? Or that one X-Files episode — ”

“Hakuei Ren?” the nurse said from the doorway, and Paimon jumped as if she had shouted it. Hakuei gave her a quick peck on the cheek and squeezed her hand, before letting it go and standing up.

Hakuryuu, earbuds firmly in, lifted his head from his notebook to nod to his sister as she crossed the spacious waiting room. “Good luck.”

Hakuei gave the two a reassuring smile as the nurse led her into the hall and closed the door behind them. The last thing she saw before it shut was Paimon, swallowing a whimper as she watched her go, and she felt a small pang of guilt in her chest. Maybe she shouldn’t have tried to brush off all Paimon’s fears so easily...But it would be fine. When she got out of surgery, she’d make up for it somehow.

~0~

For the next forty-five minutes, the waiting room was in a sluggish state. Patients passed through, but Paimon barely saw or heard any of them. The rapid, muffled tapping of her heeled boot against the carpeted floor as her leg bounced nervously was unceasing. She had tried to distract herself with her phone, but an email notification from her own doctor’s office made her jump, and she’d shoved it back in her pocket where it stayed. That was the last thing she needed right now.

Having drifted out of awareness of her surroundings so, it took a few calls of her name before she recognized the word and looked up.

“Hey.” Hakuryuu held a Hershey bar in one hand and a Snickers in the other, and was offering the latter out to her. One earbud was still in, the other hanging loose over the front of his sweater, and she could hear the faint strains of violins streaming from it. “You hungry? Because you’re not acting like you.”

Paimon rolled her eyes as she accepted the candy. “Great. Hakuryuu’s a comedian and Hakuei’s ignoring me now.”

Hakuryuu snorted as he sat back down and returned to his science notes. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“You are the last person I want to hear that from,” Paimon declared with an aggressive bite of her Snickers.

Hakuryuu gave her a ‘that’s fair’ tilt of his head, but pressed on anyway. “She knows you love her, and that’s why you worry. She knows.”

“Hmph. Never thought I’d see me more worried about her than you.”

“I’ve had mine out already, and I can rest in the assurance that it can’t possibly be as bad as my operation was,” Hakuryuu reminded her, grimacing. “I’ve always had issues with anesthesia, and they were all in there so damn deep. It hurt so much that even my mother didn’t have a joke to make about it.”

Paimon, who had repeatedly borne witness to Ren Gyokuen’s great love for making fun of her sons, immediately understood the significance of this.

“And I’m trying to be less panicky in general, anyway. Hakuyuu says it isn’t good for my blood pressure,” he continued, with the haughty tone and slight upswing of the head he always took when repeating the words of his older siblings. It never failed to sound as if he were quoting a sacred text, and it never failed to make Paimon stifle a laugh. Now was no exception.

“...What?” Hakuryuu’s brows furrowed in confusion and mild offense. “Something funny?”

“No, no, nothing, I was just, uh...thinking maybe I shouldn’t have brought up Anakin Skywalker to prove my point?” she offered.

“Oh. Well, you should still do what Yuu said, too. It will probably help.”

“Fine, fine,” she said, trying not to smile. “Fine, then. I’ll try to relax. Get my blood pressure down.”

“You promise?”

“Hell no,” said Paimon immediately, taking another nibble of her chocolate and knowing better than to make a promise she couldn’t keep.

And it was well that she did. Not two minutes later, a nurse opened the door again to inform them, “Miss Ren is in the recovery room, if you’ll come with me?”, and Paimon inhaled the remainder of the Snickers bar as she leapt to her feet, eyes going wide.

Hakuryuu rose more slowly, and asked the nurse as they proceeded down the hall, “How did she do?”

“Oh, just fine. She’ll be pretty loopy for the next few hours, and she’ll need you, Miss Naifeh, to look after her closely until the effects of the gas wear off.”

Paimon nodded vigorously, heels clacking on the tile floor. “I can do that.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s all she wants to do,” Hakuryuu added, slipping his earbuds case into his pocket with one hand and patting Paimon’s shoulder with the other. Not as nice as Hakuei shoulder pats, she decided, but it would do. “Walk, don’t run, okay?”

Paimon nodded again, but that did not stop her from jumping when the nurse opened the door to a side room and she could see Hakuei, looking considerably less together than she had when they had arrived. She was lying like a wet leaf against the large padded doctor’s chair, the room’s only real feature, with vacant eyes and a mouthful of red-stained gauze. She had known that this was how she was going to find her, but she still had to quickly bite her lip to keep from yelping.

The nurse stayed with them as they stepped inside, and with all three of them in there, it was something of a tight squeeze. Paimon heard her talking, Hakuryuu responding and shuffling around with something, but she barely registered any of it.

“Hakuei?” she said, stepping up to the chair. “Sweetie? Can you hear me?”

Hakuei twitched at the sound of her voice, and her head roved slowly around to its source. Her pupils were so huge that Paimon could barely see the rim of blue around them.

“Ohh...” she breathed, somehow both clear and dazed. “Oh, you’re so pretty.”

She said it with such awe that Hakuryuu snorted behind his hand and Paimon felt her face heat right up.

“Uh...Yeah,” she responded intelligently. “You are, too.”

Hakuei nodded slowly, as if this was a brilliant point. “Who are you?”

“H-Huh?!” Paimon startled. “Me? You know who I am!”

“No need to be alarmed, miss,” the nurse said, while Hakuei gave her a supremely puzzled look. “She got quite a heavy dose of nitrous oxide, so I told you she’ll be out of it for a while. But it’s not at all permanent.”

“Oh...” Paimon shifted her feet nervously. “So what do I — ”

Hakuryuu rolled his eyes. “Just talk to her. You — ”

“You’re beautiful,” Hakuei cut in loudly, as if she couldn’t hear or see anyone but Paimon. “Who are you?”

Paimon found a smile on her face in spite of herself. “I’m Paimon,” she reminded her, loud and clear. “I’m your girlfriend.”

Paimon hadn’t thought it possible for Hakuei’s eyes to go any wider, but go wider they did, as her mouth shaped into a perfect O of shock. The nurse promptly reached over to nudge the gauze back into place, but Hakuei didn’t seem to notice.

“My? You’re my girlfriend?!”

“Yeah,” Paimon blurted again. Hakuei was a naturally affectionate person, but Paimon was still wholly unused to being gazed upon like she was a divine being. “Yeah, I am!”

“Ohhh.” Her hand twitched over towards Paimon’s on the arm of the chair, and Paimon took it and held it delicately in hers. “Oh, that’s amazing. That’s just amazing!”

Paimon giggled, surprising herself, and it was easy to slip back into a familiar teasing, loving tone. “Nooo, you are.”

“No, you, you’re...!” Hakuei shook her head so hard in defense of her point that she swayed dizzily for a moment, her face turning slightly ashen. “Oh, whoa, don’t like that...”

Paimon took her shoulders in her hands to still her. “Hey, it’s okay. Just relax, I’ve got you.”

“Wow, you’re an angel...!”

“This angel’s here to take you home, come on...”

“Home?” Hakuei staggered a little, as she was helped up out of the chair. “We have a home?”

“Yeah. You put all those ceramic vases and flowers and weird pattern wall blankets everywhere. You think it gives the place character.”

“Does it?” Hakuei asked, eyes big and bright as the blue galaxy painting in their bedroom.

Truthfully, Paimon could take it or leave it, on its own. Her eye was for fashion and body art, not interior design. But all the stuff kept Hakuei in their home even when the woman herself was gone, and the calm that brought Paimon surpassed beauty.

“It’s the best place in the whole world.”

Hakuei made a soft, comforted chirruping noise at the back of her throat. Her legs were gelatinously shaky and her arms hung in the air in front of her like a T-Rex’s, as Paimon guided her back down the short hallway back into the waiting room. She seemed more interested in trying her best to fall against Paimon’s side than she was in walking.

“Oh...Oh, you are just a wonder, you are...” Hakuei was nuzzling at her neck and collarbone, while Paimon and Hakuryuu waited at the checkout desk listening to the receptionist’s short spiel about post-surgery care. Despite the newly limited ability to move her mouth and speak coherently, she was determined to keep talking. “Did I tell you about that before? I should.”

“Yeah, of course you have,” Paimon assured her, knowing damn well that that was not on Hakuei’s extensive list of sweet words, while trying to keep up with the receptionist. “Yeah, we got the painkiller prescription — she can eat that soon? Then yeah, I can start her on liquids when we get home, so — ”

“I’m glad. I should,” Hakuei said again, sounding fascinated by the very concept and still blissfully ignorant of all that was not Paimon. “I can’t tell you anything through all these...fluffy peanuts in my head...”

Then, if Paimon had been paying attention, she would have noticed the expression that suddenly struck Hakuei’s face: that of one who has just been visited with a life-changing epiphany. And she would have seen it coming when Hakuei’s head shot upward to kiss her far harder than was probably intended, right on the jawline.

“Oof!” Paimon stumbled for a moment, her arm reflexively tightening around Hakuei’s waist. Hakuryuu and the receptionist both glanced up in concern, but quickly shifted to trying not to laugh at Paimon’s predicament. “Take it easy on me, honey.”

Hakuei gave her some truly devastating puppy dog eyes in response.

“You mean I can’t kiss you through these fucking peanuts either?!” she cried, and Hakuryuu went red and burst into laughter.

“Shh, yeah, those have got to stay in, babe. I’ll take care of all the kisses for now, too, okay?” Paimon said through her own fit of giggles, planting one on Hakuei’s cheek to prove it.

Hakuei whimpered. “Didn’t even feel that...”

“All set,” Hakuryuu managed, while he fiddled with the phone in his slacks pocket some more. “Come on, let’s get going.”

“Feel better soon, Miss Ren!” chirped the receptionist, waving with a set of long cyan nails, and Hakuei spun around so fast Paimon was momentarily afraid she’d fall right out of her grasp.

“This is my wife!” she shouted, and it damn near echoed off the waiting room walls. The elderly lady in the corner said nothing, but did grin into her knitting magazine. Hakuei, on the other hand, kept at it: “This is my wife Paimon! She’s the best ever!”

From Hakuryuu’s gleeful snickering as he one-handedly held the door open for them, Paimon could only assume that the look of shock on her face was truly priceless. “N-No, honey, remember? I’m your girlfriend.”

Hakuei just grinned, entirely unfazed, and Paimon had to stick the gauze back into position in her mouth yet again. “Oh? Then I’ve still got to make you my wife, huh?”

“Huh?!” Oh, Paimon had to put every bit of focus into not tripping straight over the curb on that one.

“Yeahhhh...” In all the years they’d known each other, Paimon had never seen such a smug smile on Hakuei’s face. She was partially remembering how to work her arms, and using them to cling to Paimon’s waist in a vice-grip of a hug, which would have been nice if it didn’t mean they were in danger of falling all over each other as Hakuryuu brought her car over to the edge of the sidewalk. “Paimon, I wanna marry you!”

Paimon was very grateful that she didn’t blush, because she felt her cheeks burning something fierce. “Not saying I don’t agree with you, hon, but — ”

“You don’t want to?”

“No, I’d love to, honey, I just...” Paimon sighed, as she dislodged her girlfriend from her waist and bundled her into the passenger seat of the car. “Let’s just save that question for when you’re sober, okay?”

Hakuei glared up at her as sharply as she could, edges dulled as they were by copious amounts of drugs. “I’m not drunk!”

“No, you’re not, my mistake,” Paimon laughed. “Just wait until we get home, then, okay?”

While she got in, took the wheel, and started to drive them out of the medical park, Hakuei busied herself pawing at her empty jeans pocket. “Where’s my phone? I’ll get us home...”

Hakuei’s phone was, as per her sober request that morning, lying safely on their nightstand at home, where it could not be used to send any potentially embarrassing messages. “I know the way, hon, don’t worry.”

“Would you drop me off at the mall first, though?” asked Hakuryuu from his new seat in the back. “I promised Judal I’d meet him there.”

While Paimon agreed, mentally calculating their new route, Hakuei’s head jerked backward, looking shocked to realize that there was someone else with them. “Oh! I’ve met you!”

Hakuryuu grinned. In the rearview mirror, Paimon noticed him holding his phone upright. “Yeah, you do know me. Who am I?”

Hakuei’s face screwed up in concentration. “You’re...we have the same name.”

“Not quite. What’s my name?”

“Uhh...Haku...yuu?”

“Nooot quite,” Hakuryuu snickered. “You missed a letter.”

“No, I didn’t! I have a brother Hakuyuu!” Hakuei froze, and then let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh my god, I have brothers!”

Hakuryuu’s raucous laughter filled the car, and Paimon was struck with another giggling fit. “Yes, you do, babe,” she said, grinning as she turned onto the expressway exit. “You’re getting your memory back fast.”

“I lost those?!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

~0~

After dropping Hakuryuu off at the mall food court, where he was excitedly ushered over by Judal (waving with both arms to make up for his huge mouthful of cheesy pretzel nuggets), Paimon got back on the expressway towards their apartment complex. Hakuei’s father, bless him, had offered to at least assist in paying their rent. But it wasn’t an exorbitant luxury place like the Ren family home, and between both of their jobs, they managed expenses well enough on their own. Hakuei had always been a little embarrassed about being born a rich girl, and Paimon would have felt weird too, asking for handouts from her future father-in-law.

In-law...

Paimon glanced over at Hakuei, now quietly whimpering to herself in the passenger seat as she tentatively poked at her own sore jaw. They had talked about their love before, of course, how could they not? They were both fairly free with affection in their own ways. But they’d never really talked about marriage, and she was wondering now if that had been a mistake, just drifting along like that after all these years. Hakuei hadn’t gotten drunk enough to spill her guts like that since college, and laughing gas wasn’t exactly like alcohol. Still, in vino veritas: maybe Hakuei had had more on her mind lately than Paimon had realized. More than she was willing to let on...

When they parked in front of their building and left the car, the gas had worn off not completely, but just enough to make Hakuei aware that there were now four bleeding wounds in the back of her mouth. “Ungh...Paimon...”

“Shh, it’s okay, honey. You’re walking great, just stick close to me...”

The stairs to the third floor were slightly perilous (the ascent made poor Hakuei dizzy again), but with some more clinging and low moaning they made it through the door. Their bedroom was at the back of the place. With one quick stop to the freezer for ice packs, Paimon guided Hakuei there and laid her gently down on the neatly made covers, the throne of pillows she’d put together that morning to keep her head elevated. She tucked a soft throw blanket over her, and leaned down to lay a kiss on her temple.

“There. You okay, sweetheart?”

Hakuei’s eyes were still dark and hazy, pupils dilated with the residual high. But as Paimon continued to tend to her — removing the blood-soaked gauze and replacing it with clean folds, wrapping a neck pillow around her head to hold the ice packs against her jaw — they glittered with starry affection while she tried to smile up at her.

“‘Mmm fine...You’re fine...You’re...”

Paimon ran gentle fingers through Hakuei’s loose hair, warmth swelling in her chest. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world, you know that?”

“Aww, you’re just saying that!”

“Oh, no, I mean it. You just rest now, okay? I’ll be checking on you to change your gauze and ice, so don’t feel like you have to wake up for it, okay?”

“Soon?” Hakuei murmured, body limp and eyes drooping shut as Paimon got up and turned the light down.

“Yeah. I’ll be back soon.”

She couldn’t sleep off the pain, sadly; they had been informed that Hakuei was in for about a week of recovery time. But she could sleep off the hold of the gas, and while she did, Paimon made herself busy.

She left the bedroom door halfway open so she could keep a watchful eye on her sleeping beauty, as she set about doing the morning chores that she had been too fretful to do in the actual morning. She dusted and Magic Eraser-ed, did the dishes, mopped the kitchen and bathroom tile. Somewhat unnecessarily, too, she arranged the food in their fridge (none of which was anywhere near old or spoilt enough to toss) and triple checked to make sure that she had all the ingredients necessary to fix up some soft meals, ice cream, and smoothies to soothe her girlfriend’s ailing mouth, when she felt able to try and eat. She had enough to snack on herself, as well.

So when there was nothing more to occupy her brain, Paimon sat on the freshly dried kitchen counter to work through a small bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, liberally drizzled with chocolate sauce, and finally let herself dwell on the thoughts she had been trying to avoid.

She and Hakuei had lived together for years, and been together even longer. They had settled into a comfortable routine, and life wasn’t exactly a lazy river (that was impossible, between both their families), but it was great. Content and loving. Paimon had never felt anything more right in her whole life than coming home to Hakuei’s open arms. Of course she intended to stay by her beloved’s side for as long as she was welcome there; she no longer cared to imagine her path going any other way. So why did the thought of making their bond official — making it legal — send such a ripple through her body?

The first theory she hit upon was that she was just taken by surprise and blowing it all out of proportion. Again. Life, especially their life, was no cheap whirlwind romance, no trashy drama. Even in their families, that was a reach. Exactly what kind of disaster was she expecting the words “Hakuei, will you marry me?” to bring?

Barring storm, fire, terrorist attack, runaway semi truck — no, no, no, she was already starting to feel her pulse pounding, she had to stay realistic here. The worst thing that could conceivably happen at their wedding was Hakuei’s mother getting wine drunk at the reception, either sobbing all over her only daughter or starting a fistfight with her twin and having to be dragged out by her sons, and to be wholly honest the former was likelier than the latter.

And if she was being wholly honest, they were good at this stuff, if having a healthy relationship could be considered a skill. Sharing responsibilities, working out disagreements, supporting one another, simply finding happiness in each other...They had it pretty well down, in her opinion, as well as any two people could do. Their feelings for each other weren’t set to change anytime soon, no matter what they did with their lives.

Thoughts of death and disaster she would banish from her mind one way or another. Her future brothers-in-law were right: it would do nothing but raise her blood pressure, and she refused to ruin this relationship with a premature heart attack of all things. It was change, that was all. A big one, but a natural one. Looking at it as rationally as she could, perhaps it wasn’t quite as big a hurdle to clear as she had feared it might be. Perhaps it was no such thing at all.

A small noise from back in the bedroom drew Paimon’s attention, and she set the half-finished bowl on the counter to go and attend to her beloved.

Hakuei was still lying out on the bedcovers, awkwardly holding her head and tensed in every muscle. The pain must be starting to make itself known, Paimon realized.

She stepped softly up to the bedside, taking a moment to remove the gauze before reaching down to lay a gentle hand on Hakuei’s shoulder. “Hey. How’re you feeling, hon?”

Hakuei murmured incoherently for a moment, before opening her eyes a fraction and trying yet again to smile up at Paimon. It was a shaky attempt, but passable. “Sober.”

Paimon laughed. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Hurts — my mouth and head hurt a lot — but the cold is nice. Really nice,” she explained drowsily.

“We’re going to be replacing those every twenty minutes, okay? And you just tell me when you feel up to me fixing that bowl of ice cream you ordered this morning. You need to take your medicine with food.”

“Okay...”

“Attagirl. You mind if I come down there and hang out with you?” When Hakuei gave her a short and careful nod, still wincing when her swollen jaw did not agree with the movement, Paimon settled down on the covers next to her and reached her arms questioningly out. “In the mood for a cuddle, or are you gonna puke on me if I touch you?”

Before she was even finished talking, Hakuei was already snuggling up to her as closely as her ice-wrapped face would permit. “I would never. Am I too cold?”

“Not at all. Don’t you know you’re always warm?”

Hakuei hummed contentedly at that, and they laid in silence for a long while. Paimon was just starting to feel her eyes droop and her body turn numb and heavy, when Hakuei’s voice woke her back up again.

“Paimon?”

“Mm? Yeah?”

“Thank you. For taking care of me today. I...think I was trying to say that before, when you were bringing me home, but it didn’t come out quite right.”

“Oh, honey, no need to thank me for that. I’ll always take care of my girl.”

“But that’s just the point. All you’ve been doing is being worried about me, and I was just brushing you off like you were annoying me...” Hakuei nestled closer up to her, eyes turned guiltily down. “You weren’t, I was just — ”

“Shhh.” Paimon ran a hand over her hair, from head to ends. “It’s okay. In hindsight, I’m sure I was laying it on a little thick.”

“You care about me. You want me to be safe. I shouldn’t treat that like...like...”

Paimon kissed the top of her head. “Hey. You’re going to have to get used to telling me when I’m being too much of a worrywart, if you’re going to spend the rest of your life with me.”

She had spoken without thinking, and a much more pregnant silence fell on top of them.

“...Yeah. You’re right.”

“Hakuei...Do you remember what you told me? When you were, uh...high?”

Hakuei snorted. “I remember thinking you’d descended out of heavenly light just for me. Did I say that out loud?”

“Well, you did call me an angel, so technically yeah. But...the other stuff. About wanting to marry me.”

“...I said that?”

“Yeah. Really loudly, too, actually. The waiting room was quite amused.”

Hakuei made a breathy noise that was trying to be a nervous laugh. “Do you ever think about it? I’ve...been thinking about it a lot. What it would be like to call you my wife.”

The words, soft and sweet from her love’s voice, felt like fingers playing lightly down her neck and spine. They stopped her breath for a moment, sent a frisson of shock over every inch of her skin.

“I like that,” she said faintly, her tongue feeling as if she’d just run ice water over it. “I love you.”

She never wanted Hakuei’s arms to loosen their grip from around her waist. “I love you too. No matter what we do, I love you. So...let’s sleep on it for a while? Then talk when we’re both wide awake. And my mouth’s not numb.”

Paimon wrapped her arms more snugly around her, one around Hakuei’s shoulders and the other around her hip. She ran her fingers over Hakuei’s hand, imagining what it would be like to feel a warm ring on that left hand. Her ring.

“Sleep on it. Yeah. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

“...At least until my ice melts and gauze soaks through.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’ll set an alarm for those...”

~0~

“Did you thank your Aunt Sheba for driving you two back home?”

“Yes, Mother. Every time.”

“Good boy.” Gyokuen did not turn from her vanity mirror even while addressing her son, briskly running a comb through her loose hair. “And more importantly, did you get that other little task for today done? All of it?”

Hakuryuu smirked, leaning back against the doorway of the master bedroom. He took his phone out of his pocket and waved it triumphantly. “Oh, absolutely. Recorded every last second of it. It definitely beats Yuu and Ren’s wisdom teeth videos, that’s for sure.”

Gyokuen grinned. “Good boy. Her surgery was just wonderful timing; this year was so dry in decent content for the New Year’s video reel.”

“You still might want to save it, though. I’ll take a boring family party show over passing up the chance to show Hakuei’s original proposal for the first time at the wedding reception.”

Gyokuen laughed. “Yes, of course! She really did that?”

“Oh, she did, just like I told you. Paimon may or may not have noticed that I was taking a video, but Hakuei and the nurses sure didn’t.” Hakuryuu’s smirk broadened. “They had a No Recording sign up in the recovery room. I was breaking the law for you, Mother.”

“Yes, well, you know how much I appreciate a flawless crime,” Gyokuen agreed with a snicker, as she set the comb down and reached for her hairpins. “It really is about time one of you went ahead and gave me a wedding to plan. Hakuyuu isn’t an option, but what’s holding you and Hakuren back?”

Hakuryuu rolled his eyes. “Because Ren is still playing will-they-won’t-they with his roommates, and Judal has made clear his intentions to propose to me with a Ring Pop and I know that if he tries that you’ll kill him.”

“Indeed I will, his father be damned. My boys deserve finer.”

“And I don’t recall either Hakuei or Paimon saying they’d let you be in charge of any part of it.”

“Ridiculous. I am the mother of the bride, of course I’ll be involved.”

“You know,” Hakuryuu said slyly, “Hakuei might have mentioned something about wanting Aunt Arba to run the show instead.”

Gyokuen’s head snapped around so fast that Hakuryuu swore he heard a crack in her neck. Her glare was made twice as unsettling by one eye bare and the other turned sharp by mascara and liquid eyeliner. “Don’t joke with me, boy. I will kill her if she does anything to ruin this.”

Privately, Hakuryuu was fairly sure that for once, Arba was not the more threatening Abraham twin here. “Mother, do not kill Aunt Arba at Hakuei and Paimon’s wedding.”

“Of course I won’t,” Gyokuen scoffed, returning to her makeup. “Not without reason, at least. We will all ensure that my darling’s wedding is perfect. She’s not likely to have another one, after all.”

“...You’re aware that she hasn’t technically proposed yet, right?”

“Well. All the more time to plan, then. Now, you head off, but text your father too: we’ve had this dinner in the books for weeks and he had better be on his way home to pick me up for it.”

“Yes, Mother,” said Hakuryuu, detaching his back from the doorway and starting to make his way to his bedroom.

“And call your sister!” Gyokuen called after him. “Make sure she’s feeling all right.”

“Yes, Mother,” he called right back, from the stairway at the end of the hall.

On the short walk, in which he sent the instructed text to his father and was satisfied to receive a “Driving — Do Not Disturb” automated message, Hakuryuu considered whether or not he ought to be making that call tonight. It was before the hours when such a thing would be considered rude. But then again...

He sat down at his nearly arranged desk and woke his phone with a soft click. The lock screen behind the open keypad had been the same for months on end: Judal with a delighted grin on his face and his long arms thrown around Hakuryuu, the two of them pressed cheek to cheek. The barely visible background was simple blue sky and trees; the second Judal noticed Hakuryuu’s camera open, even a simple walk in the park could and would turn into a combination cuddle-fest and photo shoot.

Judal would hold him tight, never seeming to get close enough to fully satisfy him, and pepper his face with kisses. Hakuryuu, for his part, could never seem to stop smiling. Nor could he quite put a finger on the feeling that washed over him at times like this, but words like security and love came to mind. Whatever it was, he was quite certain that his sister was feeling it too right now, miles away and safe in Paimon’s arms, and he would not intrude on that for the world. Once, he hadn’t thought that he would be able to trust his only sister to anybody. Now, he knew he would be perfectly happy to see her given away to Paimon.

Tomorrow, then, he decided, setting his phone face down on his desk and beginning to dress down for an evening of reading. His disturbance of their peace could certainly wait until tomorrow morning.

~0~

The next day, Paimon had an afternoon shift and Hakuei had, of course, taken off. So the pair of them only blinked awake in the late morning, both roused by the soft buzzing of their nearby phones.

Paimon worked her dry-tasting mouth for a moment, as Hakuei retrieved her phone from her pocket. “Ugh, God, we slept in our clothes...”

“So we did, but it’s not going to kill us.” Hakuei squinted at the bright screen, winced at the soreness still in her mouth, but half-smiled at the message she saw there. “Oh...Good morning to you too, Hakuryuu.”

Paimon smiled as she unlocked her own phone, following a second notification about the update on her medical chart. “You gave him quite a time yesterday t — oh...”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“I...” Paimon’s smile had slid off her face as she read the doctor’s message, and she sighed. “Remember my last checkup? When they looked at my throat? It looks like my adenoids...are going to have to come out.”

“Ah, I see.” Hakuei paused. “You’re nervous about this, too?”

Paimon looked down abashedly at the bedspread. “I...A little. I mean, it’ll hurt, and I’ll have to take more time off, and you know, they’re gonna go in my mouth and cut pieces out of my throat...”

Hakuei listened intently, and then leaned over to delicately kiss her cheek. “Whatever happens, I’ll take care of you this time. You can count on that. Now, is there anything else you were worried about...?”

#i had my own wisdom teeth removed about a month ago so of course i spent my recovery indulging in best rarepair #RA Family AU #ren hakuei #magi paimon #ren hakuryuu #magi #kaen's fics

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