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ari-cuno · 1 year ago

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HAPPY (LATE-) BIRTHDAY AIM!!!

To celebrate I spedran a little drabble to celebrate the boys day^^

***

Fresh snow fell gently outside the foggy windows in the living room, obscuring the warm light of the fireplace. Axel tossed a piece of construction paper into the trash can next to him, sighing heavily as pixels buzzed around him. Several arts and crafts materials were thrown out onto the coffee table in the center of the couches, and he made sure not to spill the several containers with beads and charms for bracelets all over the floor, knowing his parents would give him an earful for it.

The little skeleton found himself at odds with himself, a pen taped to the side of his skull as the young boy attempted to start on a new piece of paper, taking out one of his mom's several pencils. Snow continued to trickle down outside, despite the questionable weather conditions the Omega timeline provided its residence.

Winter was always one of his favorite times of the year. It was cold out and it made him sleepy ever since he was younger. It was still magical, of course, 5 years of growth didn't mean he wasn't a kid still. He liked the feeling of snowflakes landing on his face, and part of him wondered if maybe he should go outside, have some fun and think about this gift a little less. Axel frowned as he looked down at the drawing he'd worked so hard on, crayons and markers strung about as he'd forgotten to put them away before writing his card.

He continued to stare as he folded the paper in half, getting ready to decorate the front with stickers, tapes, and glitter. Did he get the features right? The drawing contained two little figures in the center with big, happy grins. It conveyed happiness and love, the pair surrounded by little hearts and stars. The little skeleton could recognize himself well enough. He'd drawn himself in his old clothes he'd worn up until recently, the warm coat, the simple yet comfy pants, and a scarf resembling his father's. But he felt his face warm up staring at the other figure, little orange pupils staring back at him.

He remembered they were orange, a sort of Mac and cheese color he found silly to point out, but the other skeleton had found his little joke funny, and something about that made him smile. Did he still wear overalls? Axel had worked hard drawing the set, finding it incredibly difficult and painstaking. No matter how much his mom taught him, he could never really get the hang of drawing certain things. Despite this, Axel was proud of his achievement.

“...I wonder how you're doing.”

“How who's doing?” A little voice asked next to him.

Axel made a sound of surprise, trying to jump up but catching his knee on the edge of the table, a small wince coming from the ten year old's mouth. “Ow!! Aelis! Don't do that!” He cried out, before her words registered in his head. “No one! I'm just- making…something.” He trailed off.

His little sibling gave him a pleasant little stare, a mug held in her small hands. The small of chocolate and cinnamon filled his nostrils, and he let out a little huff of disappointment. Aelis was holding a cup of warm hot cocoa, little drops of marshmallows and a swirl of whip cream sprinkled with cinnamon made his mouth water. But no, no chocolate for him, he was stuck with warm milk, or some other non-chocolate based beverage.

“...Writing?” Aelis asked with a curious glint, peeking over in an attempt to see, but noticing his drawing. “Mmm…who's dat?” She asked, pointing at the foreign orange skeleton. Axel immediately hid the drawing, his face a shade of soft, cool blue. “Go awayyyy! I thought you were supposed to be outside in the snow.” He pointed out.

“Mhm. Was cold so Mommy got us hot cocoa. They said to come tell you so dey can give you something warm to dwink.” Aelis said, taking a sip of her chocolatey goodness.

Axel blinked in surprise. Was he that focused on his word he didn't even see his sister or hear her open the front door? The snow sounded so much fun to the little glitch, his gaze held longingly towards the outside, where his parents were out with his sisters. But no…he had to put his feelings into words correctly!

It had been five long years since he'd seen the only skeleton he'd deemed a close friend, despite their short time together. Aim didn't make fun of him, or taunt him, or make him feel bad…he was nice, kind…and Axel had taken the time to make him a little bracelet.

Looking back, that little thing was held together by string and glue. It surely must've broken by now. But, he'd improved his craft and his string magic. His dad had been kind enough to teach him how to tie knots and use his strings like thread, much like how he made dolls and plushies for him and his siblings.

Axel looked towards a bracelet and a few other trinkets off to the side, tied together with blue threads and decorated with colorful charms and beads. Three letter beads were threaded together in the center of the bracelet next to two stars, the word simply reading: ‘Aim’. He felt all giddy just thinking about the orange skeleton seeing his creations and actually receiving them. Their time had been cut oh so short from each other, but Aim had no idea how much of an impact his presence made on him.

His dad didn't understand it, and his mom found his ‘infatuation’ or whatever that meant cute. Axel felt inspiration growing within him as he opened the paper turned card, getting ready to write his new ideas in the blank space.

“...Should I tell Mommy you don't want it?” Aelis chimed in as she watched her brother.

“Uh? Oh, yeah, no, I'm good… I don't want anything.” He reassured his little sibling, despite how nice of an idea something warm and sweet sounded. The sound of his sister walking off before heading outside barely registered in his head as he went back to work.

Hi, Aim.

If you're reading this letter, this means that my

m̶e̶s̶s̶a̶g̶e̶ letter got to you! Do you remember me? I'm Axel, the boy whose name sounds like that silly frog looking thingy? My parents call me that all the time! What's the word spelled? Axolotl! Yep! That's me! It's been 5 years, right? You said your birthday was today, right? Well, I wanted to-

Axel paused as his focus was taken away from the card, hearing the sound of the front door opening this time. He expected to see his younger sibling, but the actual person wasn't who he was expecting. Ink exhaled a frosty breath, wearing a warm coat and their scarf tucked more closely to their body to preserve warmth.

“You should be playing outside.” His mother said, multi-colored eye lights staring at him as they approached, light sprinkles of show sprinkled across their face. They were holding a cup that smelled sweet and creamy, topped with cinnamon. “Aelis told me you didn't want anything. But I figured I'd bring you something just in case.” The short skeleton said, walking over to them.

“I'm not hungryyy…” Axel whined, his face warming up as he attempted to hide his work in the making, although his workspace was far too broad to hide well.

“You haven't eaten since this morning, now drink this, it's eggnog, with no adult drinks, it's nice and warm.” Ink said softly, setting the warm cup down on the table. Axel made a sound of acknowledgement, knowing he couldn't really disobey his mom, besides, a sweet drink did seem really nice…

“If you don't wanna play with dad and your sisters, I'll keep you company here.” Ink said sweetly, offering him the mug.

“...Thank you.” The little boy mumbled politely, taking the mug, temporarily letting his protective grip on his prized work go. Ink eyed the little mess of art supplies on the table curiously, eyelights shifting shape and changing color as they blinked. They took a second to observe the drawing Axel had placed neatly next to the little charms he'd worked too hard to make on his own.

“Who's that?” His mom finally asked curiously sitting down on their knees next to him. Axel flinched, putting down his mug in a quick motion. “I- uhm…it's- gift- It's-its not done-” He stuttered out, partially hiding his face in the fabric of his scarf. Ink took a second to remember, looking lost in thought as they studied the features on the other skeleton doodle curiously. It clicked in their head finally.

“Oh! Is that the little boy you met when you were four?” Ink asked, picking up a pencil from the stack of supplies enthusiastically.

Axel felt like he'd been caught with a hand in the cookie jar. “...Maybe.” He fessed up, his face a darker tone of blue. “Wait…I was four? Ugghhh-” He mumbled, knowing he'd have to cross out and erased some words in his yet to be finished letter.

“Hm…I thought you'd stopped thinking about that kid for a while now, why are you doing this now? It's been a long time.” His mom pointed out, “I'm not saying it's wrong, but you don't even know if he'd remember you.” Ink said, giving his head a little pat of reassurance.

“It's his birthday today…”

Ink blinked in surprise. “You…remembered that?” They asked, looking a little stunned by his ability to retain that little fact.

“I don't know, I remember telling him about birthdays and how awesome it was for me. He told me didn't really know other kids his age and so couldn't have a birthday party…so uhmm…” Their son hesitated, looking towards their letter. “...I just…thought even though I can't see him…I want him to know I still wanna be his friend.” Axel said, sounding shaky and a little uncertain.

Ink's face softened more, “Ah, So what are you doing?” The painter asked, taking another look at the charms on the table. “You've been working with your strings I see.” They commented, picking up the named bracelet and staring at it thoughtfully. Axel gave his mom a hesitant look.

“I gave him a bracelet when we first met, but it's probably lost or broken by now, so I'm making a new one.” He said with a bit more confidence. “I practiced more like Dad told me, and It's done. I added some stars and sparkles too, and a ring with a star on it!” He said, sounding more comfortable explaining the layout of his work. His mother seemed a little puzzled, tilting their head slightly as their eye lights blinked to a new color. Ink noticed a hot glue gun off to the side, frowning. “Next time you want to use that ask me or Error, that stuff hurts to get on you.” They warned, before pausing. “Wait, huh?”

“Ring!” Axel repeated.

“Ring?” Ink asked.

“Yeah, like, the ones you and Dad have? I wanna have matching ones with him too!” Axel declared.

Ink looked down at the precious piece of jewelry on their finger, breathing out a little laugh. “Oh, Axolotl, I don't think you know the meaning of these rings at all, but do what you want.” They said, enjoying the innocent and puzzled look he flashed them. “Don't worry about it.” Ink said sheepishly, eye lights large with affection.

“Hmph…” Axel sighed as he looked down at the card he'd been working on, stumped on the little message inside. His look of disappointment was noticed by Ink, who scooted closer to look over the words on the page.

“Are you trying to write a thank you card?” Ink questioned, twirling the pencil they had picked up from the pile of art supplies.

Axel nodded, “Yeah…well…it's more of a feelings card…? I guess??” He said quietly, groaning as the pencil he was using to write with broke. He wiped the bits of graphite off the colorful card with slumped shoulders. “Oh? Feelings? Like…a confession?~” Ink said smoothly, giving the little boy a teasing look.

Axel gave his mom another puzzled look, “What are you looking at me like that for- wait-” He said, realizing what they meant. “EW. Not like that!! No! Nope! BLEH!” He huffed, sticking his tongues out in exaggerated disgust.

“Haha, if you say so.” Ink said, giving him a comforting nuzzle. “Here, why don't I help you?” They offered warmly.

“What?” Axel echoed in a puzzled tone.

Ink replaced Axel's pencil with the one they had taken. “I can help you write, or if you're having trouble figuring out what to say I can help you.” They said, smiling down at him. “You won't get anywhere without some help.” Ink pointed out.

“But what about playing outside with Oras and Aelis?” Axel asked with sudden 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗋𝗇, “I mean- I don't need…that much help…I don't know…” He trailed off, bringing the card closer to him as he thought about the importance of his words so carefully. It would be so…so much easier in person, but…

“Your dad can watch them, besides it gets lonely in here, and I can see none of the pets are keeping you company.” The small painter commented, looking around for Oras’ platypus or the family cat. “I guess…” Axel mumbled with unsure energy, blinking in surprise as the stress pixels around his body fizzled back to normal, or well, normal enough.

Ink gave him a little boop on the nose, a little smile forming on the boy's face as he looked up at his mother. “See, you stressing like that makes you all glitchy. Seems to me like you do need help.” They said, a smug look on their face.

“...Maybe a little bit?”

“Great, now, what is it we're writing here?”

“Oh- well, I wanted to write him a thank you note and just…tell him how I've been and how I feel and it just…isn't coming out the way I like.” Axel sighed, sticking out his tongues in annoyance, “I know what I wanna say from my mouth but-”

“You can't put it into words, right?” Ink concluded, getting into a comfortable position as they moved closer to their precious son.

“Yeah!” Axel huffed, “Mom, why can't I do it?” He asked innocently, eyes still filled with that same child-like curiosity and joy from all those years ago. “Well, what you put into words and what you speak can mean and sound different, do you want to copy everything you want to say onto the page?” They asked.

“Well…it'll be too much.” Axel mumbled sheepishly.

“Ah, well, why don't we leave the really, reaaally important things first? That way there will be room for extra things but you get your most important feelings out of the way first.” Ink said, helping the little skeleton erase some of the unwanted writing he'd started on.

“Okay!” Axel agreed.

Snow continued to fall outside, and Axel couldn't help but feel a little more at ease. “Okay then.” Ink said brightly, “Can you tell me the most important things you want to say? I'll write it down since my writing is neater, haha.” They said, tapping the end of the pencil against the wooden frame of the coffee table. Axel gained a deeper blue hue to his face, taking some of the leftover strings he'd been using, tugging and fidgeting with his magical threads. They snapped after a lot of tugging, but it helped calm his nerves.

“Uhmm…okay…” Axel sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself to get the raw emotions out verbally.

The minutes ticked by, and the soft crackling of fire mixed with their writing let a cozy mood form for the pair. Occasionally their cat came to offer a greeting, but Ink shoo'd the cat away, not wanting her to mess up the several bags of art supplies and ribbons that would be terrible to clean up from the carpet.

Axel felt much more relaxed now, a small smile on his face as he discussed with Ink openly, his mom listening with silent contempt before turning to write down the snippets of speech on the paper in a neat hand-writing. He'd nearly finished the eggnog his mom gave him before the front door was opened once more, a few sprinkles of snow being able to sneak inside. The little boy could see his dad in the corner of his vision holding the door open as Oras ran inside, dragging Aelis along with her, who was covered in snow bits, her hood looking as if she'd been pelted by a snowball gun.

“Okay, I think we got everything Axolotl.” Ink said, signing off the corner of the card, and taking the time to doodle a little drawing.

“Yeah!” Axel said, smiling up at his mother appreciatingly. He turned his attention to the card, a proud look on his face. “Huh?” He noticed his mother doodling, “What's that?” He asked.

It took Ink a second to respond, but the little being flashed a small smile, setting their pencil down once the doodle was done. Ink had drawned a neat little picture on whatever space was left on the page. There were 4 figures Axel recognized easily; himself in the center, his mother and father off to the side, and his sisters on his other side, all looking chibi and happy. Above the cute doodle was a small message surrounded by bells and ribbons.

‘Happy holidays from us to you!’

“Do you like it?” Ink asked hopefully.

“It's great!!” Axel cried out joyfully, giving his mom a big hug, causing them to flinch in surprise with his excitement. “Aw- I'm glad I could help.” They said affectionately, returning the little gesture.

“Did he finish da weird card?” Aelis asked, sounding exhausted before letting out a little sneeze, shaking some of the show off her body.

“Yeah- wait, why are you so covered in snow?” Ink asked.

“Snowball fight.” Error explained, wiping some snow off his shoulders. “That I won!” Oras declared after him, jumping up proudly in the air. He closed the door behind them, letting the warmth of the house take over. Error helped Aelis get some left over ice bits off her head, the five year old letting out another little sneeze to clear her nostrils of any snow.

“Why don't we eat something? Especially for you, before you catch a cold.” Ink said, looking towards Aelis. Error took his large coat off, hanging it up near the door as he helped Aelis take her gear off. Oras had already put her things by the door, instead focusing on her poor brothers little finished project that he was attempting to put in a little box. “Who's that for?” His older sister asked, gaining everyone else's attention.

“No one-” He said quickly, hiding the little gift box behind him.

“Oras, go wash your hands, me and your dad are gonna prepare something warm for you.” Ink said, the little skeleton huffing and running off to the nearest bathroom. “You too, Aelis.”

Aelis followed her sister, running past her brother with another curious look on her face.

Error offered a brief glance, but didn't seem to question his sons little present, instead accompanying Ink to the kitchen across the living room, their soft talking kept mostly muffled to Axel, who was focusing on cleaning up the mess he'd made with all the stickers and glitter and other little decorations. He grabbed the trash can, throwing away his scraps and other unnecessary objects. Axel could hear his father walking over, standing over him with an intrigued glint in his eyes. “There must be something really special in that box.” He said, taking a second to help Axel put all the art supplies back into the boxes neatly and orderly.

Axel gave the box a little shake, the card, bracelet, and ring inside moving about. “Mom helped me write my friend a super special card to go along with a present I made with my strings!” He said happily, finishing putting the last items, some sticker sheets, into the arts and crafts boxes.

“Are you gonna give it to your friend today?” His dad asked, putting the boxes away on a nearby shelf.

“Yeah-” Axel declared, before pausing. Wait…

‘How… How am I supposed to get this to him? The whole point is that I can't see him, but I want to give this to him anyway. Why didn't I think about this before? Oh no…’ Axel thought, his face visibly darkening. Error noticed, the tall skeleton frowning. “What's wrong?” He asked.

“...Nothing…I just…uhm-” Axel hesitated, before an idea blinked in his head. He looked away, fidgeting nervously. “I'll tell you during food time!” He said, trying to wipe the sadness and anxiety off his face.

“Uhmmm, sure, kiddo.” Error said hesitantly, figuring he could trust his son enough and not press on the matter until he was ready.

The smell of warm soup and some sandwiches made Axel's soul flutter, his mouth watering at the thought of having a nice, warm meal after all that work. He noticed his sisters returning from their trip to wash their hands, looking to be talking. Axel would've paid attention, but he was too busy staring down at the gift in his hands. If he had skin his palms would be sweaty.

It felt like several hours went by with Axel blanking out, his whole consciousness entirely focused on the perfect little present in his hands. The boy knew his idea had a low chance of success, but..if his mom and dad were willing to hear him out, maybe…

“Axel?”

Maybe he could get them to-

“Axel!”

“Ah-” He yelped, snapping out of the little daze he'd put himself in. Axel hadn't even noticed Oras had walked over to him until he heard her call his name more than once to finally get his attention. “Y-Yeah?” He said to his younger sister, sounding distracted and a little uneasy. Oras gave him a little huff of exasperation. “I told you that the food is ready! Come onnnnn! You've been staring off randomly for the last…” She paused to count, “-Ten minutes!!” She finished in a lecturing tone.

“I was thinking!” Axel huffed, his sister dragging him by the scarf over to the kitchen where the rest of the family was already seated and served whatever food they wanted. “Okay, okay! I'm going! Stop pulling on my scarf!” He huffed, holding onto his gift for dear life as he was pulled against his will.

She finally let him go once they reached the table, the oldest plopping down next to her younger sister and digging into the warm chicken noodle soup served for her in a colorful bowl. Axel took a seat closer to his parents, looking down at the warm food on his plate. He would've eaten, but he knew he had to be brave and force out his question already. A few minutes went by of quiet eating and talking, mainly between the other's as Axel poked at his food, trying to distract himself and come up with the best way to ask, mainly his mom, his question and request.

“Axel?”

“Hm?” Axel said as his name was spoken, looking towards the one who called him; his dad. Error had a concerned frown on his look, mirroring Ink's own look of faint worry. “Are you gonna eat?” His father asked, gaining everyone else's attention.

Axel fumbled around with his scarf, looking away. “Yeah! Uhm… I just…wanted to ask…” He hesitated, before slowly bringing the little present out, setting it on the table. “I can't give this to the friend I have on my own…s-so I was wondering if you and mom could do it for me.” He asked shyly, fidgeting with his fingers.

“The orange boy we haven't seen in forever?” His older sister asked curiously. Error's frown deepened, “You're still thinking about that kid? I thought you'd move on from him.” The tall glitch said in exasperation, before sighing as he watched the look of pure sadness on Axel's face. “Listen, there's reasons why you can't visit him right now, he's somewhere far, faaaar away, and me and your mom aren't supposed to-”

“I promise we'll get it to him.” Ink said brightly.

“WH- honey please.” Error huffed, glitching with slight irritation, before his gaze softened at the pleading look on his son's face. Ink turned to look at him, eyes soft and optimistic. “Aww, come on Error, look at how much this means to him…” Ink pleaded, bumping against his shoulder in an affectionate manner.

“You know better than anyone the last time you interacted with that anomalies parents-” Error lectured, pausing as Ink and Axel gave him pleading faces, mainly Axel.

“Pleeaaaase?”

Error’s faces gained a tiny tint of blue. “Ugh, fine.” He grumbled.

“Yay!”

“Don't worry, I won't interact with them for more than ten minutes.” Ink said, taking the present from their son as he gave them a look of joy and appreciation, sighing in relief as he continued to eat.

“Oh you won't because I'm going with you, I'm not letting you get attacked again.” He mumbled quietly enough so that the other kids couldn't hear. Ink cringed, a nervous laugh coming from the smaller skeleton. “But we haven't seen him in years!” Oras cried out, swallowing a piece of the sandwich she was eating. “Why are you even doing this now?” She asked.

“Becoming 10- or 9 or whatever is big deal!” Axel huffed, before looking away, “It's his birthday…and I never was able to make anything that would actually reach him. I used to make little gifts that would lay around in my room or a floaty lamp I hoped would reach him but they never did…and ever since mom and dad said I should stop I just kind of forgot after all this time…” The glitchy skeleton said softly, feeling his mom give him a little head pat. “...I just want it to reach him in time.”

“We'll get it to him, me and your dad promise, right?” Ink asked, glancing up at Error.

“Don't get his hopes up…” Error mumbled before sighing, “We'll try, but let us eat first.” His dad said, a small smile on his face as he stared back at Ink.

“WHAAAT?” Axel cried out, his voice glitching.

Ink blinked in shock, “Eh- well you can't expect us to drop everything and go now- you gotta be patient.” They said teasingly.

Axel let out a groan, sitting back in his chair as Oras gave him a head pat. “Cheer up, Axolotl!” She said in a bubbly tone.

“Ouuughhh…” Axel mumbled, sitting back in his chair in defeat.

“Don't worry kiddo, we'll get it to him before the day ends.” Ink offered gently, a determined look on their face.

“If we can find him.” Error sighed, his arm wrapped around Ink's shoulders, earning an elbowing from his smaller spouse.

***

Aim moved through the pages in his book with incredible speed, his immersion and focus on the story being at its height as he neared the climax. The little boy sat on his bed, legs swaying back and forth as he turned another page. His Unclemare had given him a new load of books to read on his special day, and although Aim missed the way his uncle would sit with him and read the words out loud, this was fine all the same.

The taste of chocolate still lingered in his mouth from the slice of cake he'd cut on his own a few hours earlier. He'd heard from his parents about how birthdays were a time where those closest to you could come by and have a party and eat sweets to celebrate another year of your time alive. He…didn't exactly have many friends, but that didn't affect him as badly.

He had his fathers, his uncle, and when Nightmare had left, Killer, his other favorite ‘uncle’ to interact with had dropped by to give him presents and congratulate him. Reading books and playing and having fun wasn't so bad on his own, no matter how strange it felt seeing other kids playing with others on the rare times his dad's took him around other kids.

Aim had a whole stack of books left to read, all a wide variety of subjects. Some sci-fi, fantasy, historical fantasy, and even a little classic fairytale to spice things up a little. He hummed a little tune, quickly turning into a little whistle. He was happy his dad hadn't presented the idea of training him like last year. The thought of it made his focus cut away from the words on the page he was on.

No, he shouldn't think about that, especially when it was his big day. His parents were happy too, and that was good…so he needed to lighten up.

Aim blinked and shook his head, sighing in disappointment as he lost the spot he'd been reading, having to start all the way back up at the beginning of the page. The clock ticked quietly in his room as he finished the chapter he'd been reading, that excited investment finally back on his face.

There was the soft sound of some sort of glass shaking and moving next to his bed, starting off quiet and barely audible.

Aim turned his orange eye-lights to the sound after it got too loud to ignore. A glass container full of paint he kept for art purposes was shaken from the corner it was sitting in, one of the paint bottles inside rattling around quite unnaturally. The little boy stared in bewilderment and confusion, closing his book and sitting up. He grabbed the trembling glassware carefully, taking the lid off to get a better look at the paint bottle looking as if it was having a seizure.

“What…?”

Aim attempted to grab it, flinching as it magically jumped out of the container, landing on the floor with a hard smack. He fumbled, putting the glass container with all the other paints down, staring upon the still trembling and moving bottle. Did they have ghosts? Was there a ghost trapped in the bottle? He rubbed his eye a little, wondering if he was just seeing things.

…Nope, still moving-

BURST.

The paint bottle suddenly exploded, the green paint inside bursting out and somehow growing in size from the volume that was in the bottle initially. Aim let out a shocked cry as he watched the paint fall to the floor, coating a good portion of the floor an emerald green color. “Waaaaa! Oh no! The mess-” Aim cried out, rushing to go get a towel, before scurrying to a halt as the green paint began to…move?

The paint made soft ripples on the ground, little bubbles coming from its surface as it looked like something was…forming?

“Uhm…” Aim opened his mouth, but his confusion turned into shock once more as the paint suddenly shot up into two silhouettes, morphing with strange liquidly sounds until the paint melted off the strangers’ bodies.

“Oh good! Finally!” One of the…skeletons called with a light, high voice. The skeleton looked all too familiar, strange, multi-colored eyes and a signature splotch on the right cheek. Aim stared in shock, but noticed an even larger skeleton looming over them. He looked annoyed and disgusted with the paint on his body, strange blue streaks running down his face. Aim almost thought he was eternally crying.

“Ink hurry up-”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Aim screamed in fear, stepping back as there were two random adult skeletons in his room, one he knew all too well.

“Woah! Hi! Since been such a long time-”

“Leave me aloneeeee! I don't wanna be your friend you're mean!!!” Aim cried out, earning a confused look from the two skeletons before him. “Woah woah! Calm down! I'm not your Ink- or well, the one you know! I'm the cool one! Calm down-”

“Why are you in my room?!” Aim said, his nerves not calming down, trying to process what the slightly kinder looking Ink was saying. Hmmm…this didn't really look like the Ink he knew from his childhood, the one that had abducted him. That skeleton was scary, always having some weird unsettling feeling behind him whenever he spoke, as if his words or intentions weren't always clear in the end. Aim found that out very quickly, remembering the sting in his soul when his father grabbed him…

But this Ink… there was no maliciousness behind those eyes, in fact, their presence was strangely comforting, a sense of warmth surrounded them, and despite the obvious lack of natural feelings behind their eyes and very being, this felt more…genuine.

…Wait, when was the last time he met another version like this-

“Yeahhhh- haha sorry don't mind him.” Ink said, pointing at the scary and big skeleton standing behind them like a guard. “He's just here to make sure I don't get hurt again!” They said sheepishly. Aim had his hand on the door to his room, having been ready to sprint down the stairs and to his parents for help and safety. He halted, turning to look at them oh so slowly.

“...Again? W-What are you-”

“ANYWAY. Listen we don't really have enough time, so here-” Ink pulled out a little box from behind them. A little bow was on the top, carefully keeping the present closed. “We hope we're not too late, it is still your birthday, right-”

“AIM! Are you alright?!” A muffled voice came from downstairs, quickly rising as footsteps were heard approaching.

The man behind Ink tensed, “Ink let's go.” He said sternly, tugging on their scarf.

“Oh boy- okay listen- this is from someone who really wanted to give this to you! Please open it!” Ink said, handing the present to the little boy, although it was more of a toss. Aim barely managed to catch it, looking down at the little tag taped to the side of the box. For Aim only.

“Happy birthday and Merry Christmas! I hope you-”

“Ink!”

“I'm going!”

“Who is this- wait!” Aim cried out, hearing the sound of a portal of some sorts being opened. He turned around, watching as the taller skeleton jumped through the other side with them, leaving the paint mess on the floor. He tried to reach out, but the scary looking glitches made him hesitate. No, he needed to know who they were! Why did he feel a strange sense of deja vu he couldn't put his finger on.

“You can't just leave this here!” He shouted. , watching the portal close up, leaving the space around it back to how it was initially. Aim was left alone in silence, his emotions running wild. Confusion, fear, but part of him found things a little humorous, especially as the paint on the floor was left there. He was looking down at the gift with wonder, eye lights sparkling faintly the more his mind processed the information.

…Someone had given him a gift? Someone he couldn't remember or didn't know? Guilt filled his chest, maybe it was his uncle playing a prank, or his parents… ?

Aim yelped as his door was busted open, his parents looking tense and ready for battle.

All they saw was Aim holding a little present, and a puddle of green paint on the floor, soaking into the carpet the more seconds went by.

***

Aim looked down at the brand new, pretty bracelet in the box, the little ring tucked nice and close to it, a few decorative pieces of paper being stuffed inside to cushion everything. He held the little bracelet in his hand, eye lights large and full of silent, raw joy. On his nightstand were the remnants of an old bracelet, worn down through time but unforgotten.

He noticed a handmade card at the bottom of the box and carefully grabbed it, setting the box aside. It was cute and well made, little stickers and decorations littered the back and the front, everything from snowflakes to little peppermint stickers was sprinkled around. Glitter lines the border, and Aim couldn't help but let the excitement grow as he opened the card.

He saw a little drawing of a skeleton family in a big corner, before his eyes turned to the words written in neat handwriting. Aim's eyes widened.

Dear Aim,

My name is Axel! My mom is writing this for me because my grammar and handwriting isn't the best, so don't think it's mine! But I wanted to get you this because, well, it's your birthday, right? You may not remember me, but if you do, I want you to know that I enjoyed our short time together, and you made me feel, well, not weird. I tried giving you gifts before, but my mom says it isn't easy to get things for you, but If you're reading this that means they made it! I gave you a bracelet when I first met you, do you remember that? You were afraid of my mom but we took you back home and I made you a bracelet to make you feel better while they tried to find your home! Well, five year old me had terrible skills, so I wanted to remake it as a way to show I still remember you and want to meet you again, even if it's been forever. Sorry none of my other gifts from previous years made it to you, I promise I'll try to get more for you next year if you can respond somehow.

I asked my mom if we could invite you for Christmas next year, but your parents have to say yes, so PRETTY PLEASE ask them! Please don't forget about me :[ I miss you a lot. Can we be friends again, even if we might have changed?

From,

Axel

P.S. I luv you and Merry Christmas!!! Please visit next year!

__________________________________________

Aim belongs to @zu-is-here

Oras, Axel, and Aelis belong to me

Thank you Zu for creating such an adorable little man^^

#undertale au #utmv #sanscest #aim!sans #post dark cream #ink sans #error sans #axel #oras #aelis #ari writing #so sorry its so late! D:

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catsharkzzz · 1 month ago

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greifer beats up plant hunting guys for fun and his anger issues :3 also cause he’s forced to like plants , cause I personally think he has a plant curse like vine staff. except it’s a big plant not a tree. And like the venomshank aggravates his curse to become.. dat thang..

coming back to plant guys, he used to look at those posters on the town’s board or something to look for victims. he’s just really bratty and aggressive, and he wants a way to relieve it without riling up his dad.

I also think he was more nonchalant before he got corrupted by hatred.. like “does it look like I care?” type of person, Since mayor thaniyel says “Brad!!! This isn’t like you!!” so he wasn’t always like that .. nonchalant but a bit loud at times.

tho I will say, Brad has probably always had hatred for his dad. but when u go back to Griefers crib, him and his dad aren’t there anymore. like his dad took him to the hospital and that tamed some of his hatred .

I don’t rlly know why he has hate for his dad but it’s probably something personal he will never tell us. even tho we’re pretty good at keeping secrets , and we will become besties in demo 4 like the cruel king, confirmed by campy , pic is on the wiki. tho campy hasn’t completely decided whether we fight brad or plant separately.

what I’m begging for is that we visit post recovery brad in the hospital? or clinic? and he apologizes or something like that. and gives us the call card. If this happens, we might also get a gift from mayor thaniyel for helping them . I actually have another idea, but it’s a bit of a stretch. we cure/help him recover from the curse, or at least almost stop it from happening. ya it’s a stretch

- utensil

all of this is good and all, but i really dont think brad would have ever hated his dad. im so going to take this as an opportunity to dump stuff ive been holding onto for monthhsss bro all the scs below are from back when demo 3 like . first released, maybe a couple days after. for some prefacing, i have a whole headcanon about brad/greifers biological father being guest 666 (or roku, as i call him) ; who himself has fathered much too many children to count across multiple universes. and brad is one of them. brad doesnt know anything at all about his biological father, as he was surrendered to thaniyels doorstep as an infant. he's no idea who his mother is either, as a result.

none of this really has anything to do with your stuff you have going on at all, im sorry about that... i just have been WAITING to get all this stuff out. so thanks for the opportunity at least!

#blocktales #block tales #roblox block tales #greifer block tales #brad thaniyel #mayor thaniyel #mayor thaniyel block tales #block tales mayor thaniyel #block tales greifer #greifer blocktales #ramblesharkz #new tag !! because hopefully this wont just be a one off thing #you have no idea how much i have in my head #about like. everything #2 people tops know the full extent of my brainrot #if that #genuinely anon i cant thank you enough for givimg me an excuse

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princessleprechaunnn · 6 months ago

Text

But Daddy, I Love Him

Finnick Odair x Reader

warnings: typical thg warnings, mentions of prostitution, fake pregnancy, arguing

notes: hi! this is my first time writing for finnick, i hope i didnt do him dirty. also didnt do a grammar check. lowkey ass

You had thought your time in the Hunger Games was over 7 years ago, but the 3rd quarter quell proved you wrong. You had trained with your father for years, the victor of the 52nd Hunger Games, and decided to volunteer at the age of 16. Coming out victorious from the 68th Hunger Games, you had gone on home to district 1. Not long after that President Snow had approached you regarding your "duties" as a young and "desirable" victor, which is when you met the love of your life.

Upon arriving at your first victor party as a mentor, you saw how happy everyone seemed. It made you sick to your stomach seeing all the smiling faces of well dressed capitol citizens, like 23 children had not just died. Scanning the crowds of people, you searched for the man whose bed you would be in later. Getting distracted, you didn't even notice when a man tapped on your shoulder.

"You alright? You seem awfully lost." You turned to see a charismatic guy, who looked no older than 18 before you. You scanned him for a second and then smiled,

"I'm afraid so, but who might you be?" you asked him, flashing a toothy grin. The man smiled and looked away, then looked at you again.

"I'm quite hurt you don't know of me Y/N, I am quite famous around here." he said with an amusing glint in his eye.

"Hmm, let me guess. A pompous attitude, sea green eyes, Finnick Odair?" He smiles and chuckles softly.

"The one and only. Now that we've been properly introduced, may I ask why you look so lost? I'll always help a pretty girl in need." You blushed, then caught a glimpse of President Snow whispering something to one of his guards.

"Maybe another time Finnick, I've got to go." He smiles grimly, looking over at President Snow and walks away towards the open bar.

You walk to President Snow and his guards, a serious look covering Snow's face.

"We were just about to come get you princess, the man whom you were paying a visit to has become a bit of an issue. So tonight you will be free, take it as a gift from the capitol." You shudder in disgust at the name, as you've grown tired of being "The Capitol's Princess".

Remembering the eyes that are watching you, you smile and say "Thank you President, how kind of you." He soon gets distracted and walks away, toward who ever else has become of use.

You spot Finnick drinking outside alone, and walk toward him. You tap his shoulder and he is startled, but quickly tells you to sit.

Hours have passed, and the party has died down. You had talked to Finnick all night and had learned how kind he truly is. The alcohol had a bit of an affect one you, causing you to confide in him on your strained relationship with your father.

"I just don't think he even realizes how horribly we are getting treated, Finn." He watches your lips dazily, a soft smile on his lips. Upon seeing his expression, you get annoyed and try to get up.

"Hey, come back." he tells you, softly grasping your wrist. You felt butterflies in your stomach, intrigued by Finnick's reaction.

He smirks at how out of it you seem, teasingly saying "Look at the state of you! God, you can barely keep your composure." You look into Finnick's sea-green eyes, seeing a change in them once you did so.

You take another drink of whatever awful liquid the capitol provided, then said "God Finn, are you just gonna keep staring at my lips or are you going to kiss me?"

And with that Finnick put his hand on your cheek and kissed you passionately. What seemed to be years worth of pinning (that was only from a couple hours after meeting) was easily summed up by the dancing of your lips. When you broke from the kiss, You gazed into his eyes again, knowing they would haunt your life forever.

6 years had passed since that night, and you had been been dating Finnick for 5 of them. No one knew about your relationship except for Mags Flannigan, Annie Cresta, and Johanna Mason. You discussed telling your father about the relationship, but decided against it because of his "protective" nature. If your father knew of your relations with Finnick, he would have started spewing lies about how Finnick is a player who will ultimately break your heart.

You were currently training for the quarter quell as you volunteered to be district 1's female tribute. Finnick had somehow convinced Plutarch to let you join the rebellion after informing him of your shared hatred for Snow and the capitol. But the plan had gotten a little screwed up when your father decided to be a mentor in this years games. He was constantly near you, never giving you a second to converse with your alliance.

At the tribute parade, you watched as everyone exited their chariots in elaborate outfits. You were wore a long silver beaded dress that caught the attention of many capitol citizens. You used to feel naked under their gaze, but now you just felt disgusted by it.

You managed to escape your father's eyes, and walked swiftly over to Johanna Mason.

"Jo! I see your stylists were very creative this year." you said with a chuckle.

"Yes, yet another year the stylists have dressed district 7 as trees. Anyway, what do you want?"

"Johanna Mason, always gets to the point. Did you happen to see Finnick?" you asked.

"He is with the girl on fire, trying to get in her head." she states as she rolls her eyes.

You smile at Johanna and start walking towards Finnick.

"Unfortunately, I think that's true." You heard Finnick say as you stood behind him. Katniss glanced at you curiously as you stood there.

"Hello Katniss, we haven't met yet but I'm Y/N. Gosh, I love that dress you are wearing. I assume Cinna made it?"

"Um, yes. You won the 68th games, right?" she asked confidently.

"Yes I did, someones knows their facts!" You saw Cinna and Peeta walking over and decided to cut your visit short.

"Well, we better get going. Goodbye!" You said cheerily.

As you were walking away Finnick turned around and said "Sorry you had to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you."

Finnick turned around as your eyes widened. You whip your head around to look at him and hit his chest lightly. All you got in response was a giggle from Finnick.

Currently you were practicing your knife-throwing skills to see if they were still good (they were). Mid throw you decided you needed to speak with Katniss, so you told your father to go meet with Gloss and your stylist to discuss the outfits for the tribute parade. Upon his leaving, you speed-walked over to Katniss.

"Hi Katniss! I really wanted to talk with you regarding alliances." The girl turned her head towards you with a look of confusion.

"But you're from district 1?" she asked quizzically.

"Yes, but I would much rather be in an alliance with you rather than Gloss. Between you and me, he is quite boneheaded." You heard Katniss softly snicker as she turned her head for a moment.

Katniss met your gaze again and said "Well, maybe we-" until she stopped talking as a deadpan expression graced her features. She seemed to be looking at something behind you, so you turned around and were met with Finnick's eyes gazing lovingly at you.

"Oh god, you scared me Finn. you can't just sneak up on people like that." you said, lightly pushing his chest. Remembering what you were doing, you turned around to meet Katniss' judgemental glare.

"Hello Finnick." said Katniss coldly.

Finnick decided to loop his arms around your waist from behind you, and said "Oh! The girl on fire, almost didn't see you there."

It was quiet for a moment, until you piped up asking "So what were you saying, Katniss?" She shook her head and walked over to Peeta briskly.

You turned around to look at Finn and said "What did you do?"

He smiled at you, responding only with "I don't know."

You stood backstage with with your father before you went on for your interview with Ceasar Flickerman. You stood fidgeting with the top of your skirt, as your eyes met Finnick's from the other side of the stage. Tonight you would tell of Panem about your relationship with Finnick, as well as a fake pregnancy.

"Hey dad, I'm gonna go see my hairstylist. There is this hairpin that is stabbing my scalp." For a moment you panicked at your father's confused facial expression, but he quickly nodded his head.

You speed walked to the other side of the stage, and pulled Finnick into a secluded corner. "Hey handsome, are you ready for your interview?"

He smiled at the nickname, and said "Yeah, you look really pretty. How did you get over here?"

"Just told my dad I needed to fix my hair." His eyes scanned over your face as he tried to detect how you felt.

"You look nervous, come here." You laid your head on his chest as he held you in his arms. Too enamored by each other, neither of you heard the approaching footsteps.

"What the fuck are you doing near him? Get over hear right now." You broke from the embrace and turned around. Your eyes quickly met with those of your father.

Grasping his hands you pleaded with him, "Dad calm down please, let's have a conversation like adults."

"No, get on over to the right side of the stage," he slowly grabs your wrist and starts dragging you to the other side. "You stay away from my daughter, you hear me?"

At those words a camera man came up to you and said "Get to your side, you are on in 1." Hurriedly you walked over to your side of the stage as Caesar introduced you.

"Now folks, we will be graced by the presence of "The Princess of the Capital". The legacy winner of the 68th Hunger Games, having won only 18 years after her father. Give it up for out female tribute from district 1, Y/N Y/L/N!"

You smiled and waved to the audience as you walked onstage. You could feel your father's disapproving stare burning a hole in your skull. You sat down on the couch next to Caesar.

"Hello Caesar! Thank you for that marvelous introduction."

"Charming as always, Miss Y/L/N. Now, How has you father mentoring you been?"

"It has been very interesting. He pushes me to do my best in training, all he wants is for me to succeed in this years games."

"Aww, what a sweet relationship between a father and his daughter. Am I right folks?" The crowd uproars at Caesar's question.

"Now Y/N, what have you been up to the past couple of years? Other than mentoring, of course."

"Well there are a few things I have kept hidden from you guys. For the last 5 years I have been in a relationship with Finnick O'dair." The crowd shrieks with excitement.

"Oh my, that certainly is a secret. Has it been smooth sailing, pun not intended?" The audience explodes with laughter.

"For the most part there have been a couple problems. People in the districts have a bit of a rude opinion on Finnick. They tell me he is too crazy and chaotic to start a family with, but I disagree." You make your eyes teary to elicit a reaction from the audience.

"That is quite upsetting, but what was that about starting a family?"

"This is not how I wanted to announce this, but I'm having his baby. Before the Quarter Quell we were trying for a baby, and I got pregnant." You hear the audience gasp, and see a few capitol citizens faint. You meet Finnick's eyes from offstage and see him stifling a laugh.

"Oh well congratulations to the both of you! I'm afraid our time is up, but let's hear it once more for our princess and soon to be mother, Y/N Y/L/N!" The crowd goes wild, shrieking with excitement.

You walk offstage to your angry father. "Come with me now, we need to have a talk."

He leads you out of the backstage area to a supply closet nearby. He turns the light on a shuts the door. "First of all, are you really pregnant? 'Cause if you are, Finnick Odair is a dead man!" Your father said angrily.

"Of course I'm not! I just want the Quarter Quell to be canceled."

"President Snow is a good man who only wants to protect Panem. You need to come to your senses and leave Finnick, he is obviously spewing these garbage thoughts into your head!"

You laughed and said to your father "No, I'm not coming to my senses! I believe the Hunger Games is a stupid thing to make Panem do, especially the Quarter Quell!"

"Finnick is a playboy and I will not have my daughter be seen with him! This is the last time I will be telling you, you must end your relationship."

"I'd rather ruin my life than listen to any more of your complaints!"

"You have ruined your reputation, your good name! Imagine all the things the capitol is saying about you right now!"

"You wanna know something about my "good name"? It's mine alone to disgrace! And personally I don't care what any of those snakes say about me. They're only here to seem empathetic to the districts and to entertain themselves."

"Look at how you are speaking!, this isn't like you! Please sweetie I'm your father, I know what's best for you!"

"god you are so judgmental, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions! He is wild, and I love him. He makes me better."

AFTER PRESIDENT SNOW AND COIN"S DEATHS

The sun shined brightly through the window above your bed. You felt the light shaking of your shoulders, and opened your eyes to see to seagreen pair of your husbands.

"Wake up my love, your father came to visit." Finnick smiled warmly at you, softly caressing your head.

You quickly sat up, got dressed, washed your face, brushed your teeth and hair. Walking into your living room you were greeted by the soft smile of your father's.

"Hey kiddo! I was chatting with Finnick, we are gonna go have a beach day." You watched as your husband slowly walked next to your father, knowing now your father loves Finnick almost as much as you now.

#finnick odair #finnick odair x reader #thg #thg fanfiction #caesar flickerman #quarter quell

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onmyyan · 1 year ago

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🗡️Psycho🗡️ Anon, here again! #3?

I don’t think you’re ever gettin rid of me now that you’ve told me you like what I’ve submitted to ya. Ya bad for me n my ego. You’re enabling me hun. It does mean a lot to me though and I am very happy I’m makin you foam at the mouth. Your men make me go feral and I obviously have stage 4 brain rot for all your OCs. No treatment for me. No salvation either doc

So here some intense follow up appointment delulu I got from the long ass Ashley Hunt AU story with hard core city girl reader I sent earlier. Buckle up bitch…you’re probably always gonna be in for a long haul with me…

Leavin off from Ash and our HEA, we got twins on the way n shit. And Ash is gonna give us at least another 5 babies too since we his happy lil breedin sow. But we gon speed up in time and not focus too much on dat, cause in the end we got 6 sons and 1 lil baby girl who da youngest. All back to back pregnancies. Ash got dem sexy hot dominant genes and really just gave his sons all the gifts he himself has. Tall, handsome, strong, chivalrous, charismatic, intelligent, etc. (They probably god’s favorites too). And we were like a fuckin printin machine makin copies n wonderin why the fuck we havin so many sons. So we fuckin delighted when we finally got a baby girl and are finally able to put the towel in cause we were also done havin his babies too. We love him. But 7 is plenty…

And so our story is really gonna focus on our lil baby Princess, cause she’s basically gonna be the “new reader insert.” Lil baby Princess grows up as a total daddy’s girl and is also doted on by her 6 big bros. She knows how to do some farm work, though she mostly inside helpin us her mama doin domestic work as it’s a bit more tough takin care of 7 men by oneself and we can always use an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. And you bet Ash is drillin in the same work ethic into his own sons as his own pa did to him. Builds character...

Lil baby Princess grows up wantin more in life. Just like how Ash’s sons inherited near almost everything from him, she inherited near almost everything from us her mama. Princess wanna leave the small town fast and is dead set on doin so when she graduates with her associates degree from the local community college. Her daddy, Ash managed to convince her to stay at the community college first. Get out general eds, stay closer to home before makin the big city leap and potentially getting a bachelors degree. Reluctantly Princess agreed to it but still had to go to the next town over since that’s where the community college is. Her home town is still much smaller…

And so she finally got her associates degree at 21 and is headin to the city to find a job n new life once the summer passes. It’ll be her last summer at home with her family she’s decided. On one of her casual outings ridin a horse she finds a man stuck on the road. Flat tire. Nice car too. He’s very handsome, tall, and muscular…to everyone else. But to Princess he just average and nothin much to look at. That what livin with 7 men built by Greek gods for 21 years does to ya. Makes ya numb to everyone people will conventionally say is beautiful n attractive. And Princess grew up with every woman around her thirstin over one of her bros and her father too. Even women from other towns would find excuses to swing by and gawk at the 7 men workin on the farm. So needless to say Princess isn’t wooed by men’s appearances…

Princess decides to help the poor fellow out cause her daddy raised her right. Offers him up a ride on her horse and tells the man she’ll call a truck for his car later. The man accepts and thinkin she’ll have to help him up on the horse for some time, the man easily mounts on the horse like it’s the second nature? And in an expensive suit too? She shakes it off and they go back to the Hunt farm…

During the ride the man asks Princess her name and what not (and I guess it’d still be Y/N cause the excuse is that she was named after her mama by Ash’s demands). Princess asks his name too, he gives it to her, and then no more talking on her end. This confuses the man as all his life people have usually wanted to make conversation with him. Or have usually always commented on his beautiful appearance by now. But not Princess. She really doesn’t give a shit about a stranded man’s life story. She’s here to do a job and get on with her life. And of course she’s immune to beauty at this point…

They finally come to the Hunt residence where Princess puts away her horsie and fixes up the man some water and food, bein a good host and all. She calls up the local mechanic and informs them of the details. Princess then just straight up leaves the man and tells him if he wants to take a nap, shower, whatever, to help himself. This is a fuckin power move as Princess has truly run out of shits to give in life. And she still ain’t tryin to converse at all with the man. Man is livid right now. Seeing Princess’s eyes filled with indifference. He confused as fuck too. Wonderin if she mentally sound or this is some country culture etiquette he doesn’t understand…

Now for the good shit. The Hunt men all come in as with so many hands workin on the farm now, shit gets done exponentially faster even though they got more stock and stuff over the years. They a little confused at first seein a posh lookin man greet them. But nothin gets bad as the man quickly explains the situation that happened. And the man is stunned to lookin at all these 7 aesthetically gorgeous men. The man is very confident in his own looks and it rarely happens in his life that he starts to get a bit insecure about them…

Ash asks the man where his daughter is, and the man replies that she just left? Much to the laughter of Ash’s 6 sons howling that “they’ll have nothing to ever worry about” with Princess. The man’s ego is damaged at this point. Is he unattractive? Is he undesirable? But he easily keeps a calm and collected face and voice…

The Hunt men politely excuse themselves having to go wash up from workin all day, leaving the man all alone again. We the mama enter the area, having heard commotion n stuff. We were preparing dinner n stuff in the kitchen which was far away. We go through same process and introduce and meet the mystery man. The phone rings and it’s the mechanic tellin us that the car won’t be ready for quite some time and the man will have to hitch a ride out of town if he’s got somewhere to be urgently. We inform the man and also ask if he got a place to stay. He don’t since he was just drivin by the town, so we offer him our home for the time bein. He hesitantly accepts…

Man decides to converse with us instead since we’re the most hospitable and social person he’s met in the family. He asks about our family and we do him. He keeps his background vague and we get the hint not to pock around. He really is just curious about our daughter, the Princess of the family. And we happily tell him all about her. Her hopes and dreams n stuff. Much to his delight that Princess seems like a normal human being n not a mechanical doll…

And that when he get the idea to propose to Princess later to take her with him out of the town to see the city and new places. Cause while he hasn’t fallen in love with her at first sight or anything like Ash did, there’s something about us that’s drawing him near. Perhaps it is our absolute indifference to him, and the fact that he just wants to prove something to himself. He wants to “figure us out.” Princess is a bit of a conquest and trophy to him, and he’s not afraid to admit that. So what’s the harm in this mutually future beneficial relationship? He’ll provide for Princess to get out of town and be able to see the world, and in turn he’ll get us to fall for him. The perfect plan. Nothing can go wrong…

A Princess for a Grand Duke, isn’t that fitting? Though the man will keep that a secret for as long as he can. If she asks questions about his wealth he’ll just pretend he’s an investor or something. One things for sure, Princess will definitely keep him entertained for a long time. A really really really long time…⁄(⁄ ⁄ ⁄ω⁄ ⁄ ⁄)⁄

And scene! I just love imaginin different flavors of a yandere stories. Like dis one is obviously a much more slower burn than the whirlwind romance of Ash and his wifey. And it’d really follow the descent of madness of a Grand Duke yandere who’s truly falling into love and obsession over his lady. He thinkin he in control at first but realize steadily fast that he can’t live without her. And to make it worse, he never lose control of things in his life. Not his looks, his composure, etc. so it makes this predicament even nastier for him to deal with. But lucky for us Princess, havin grown up with Ash as our daddy and 6 big bros who also have some questionable “protective” tendencies, we have a bit of a contorted sense of love too. So our “normal” is much different than other people’s “normal”

Also did you like the hint I dropped in dis drabble about the mystery man’s background? It was about him being able to easily get up on a horse despite being in a suit and lookin all fancy and stuff. Cause not many people can do that. So you either know how to do it as a career…or as a hobby…

Final thought as to why a Grand Duke yandere ya thinkin? From your OCs ya got the Delmonts who are criminal flavor, then Ash who’s country flavor, and then other popular yandere archetypes tend to be royalty, famous, or CEO more often than not. So I thought that royalty would be fun since it’d give the new leadin man not just an abundance of financial power but social power as well that CEO power might lack. Ya know…since royals can have diplomatic immunity and CEOs pretty much don’t. Some new flavors for the spice cabinet is always good. Besides I also just wanna see a man abuse his absolute power with impunity in yandere stories sometimes…So if ya ever decide to make a new yandere OC. Here an idea. I don’t mind ya usin it and I’d be thrilled if ya did

Love 🗡️Psycho🗡️ Anon

A/N: OKAYA THE INSTANT BRAIN ROT THIS GSVE ME SBDJDKD YOU DID IT AGAIN MY LOVE OMG THE WAYYY I INSTANTLY FELL IN LOVE WJTH THIS PIECE EEEE THE SIX OLDER BROTHERS WHO ARE CARBON COPIES OF ASH??? HELLO??? AMAZING WRITING THAT DOWN Holy FUCK‼️‼️‼️💗👄💗 NOT TO MENTION THE DUKE EEEEEEEE AND PRINCESS IS SUCH A PERFECT NICKNAME FOR BABY GIRL I CANNOT YOUR MIND IS SO BEAUTIFUL THANK YOU FOR FEEDING ME AND US ONCE AGAIN😩😩😩😩❤️❤️❤️UR POOKIE FR HERE SUM V SMALL BEC MY BRAIN IMMEDIATELY STARTED HAPPY DANCING W THIS CONCEPT

Princess stared at the man, her hard (e/c) eyes unwaivering, unmoving in their glare. She sucked her teeth, hearing her father's voice in her head as she stuck her hand up waving the stranger over.

"Get on, we'll take you somewhere safe, get this all figured out yea?" Princess says, no hint of suggestion in her soft voice. The stranger staggered for a moment before offering her his famous grin, a smile that had gotten him far in his life, "Thank you- really you're too kind, what's your name?" He says smoothly mounting the horse, expecting some fanfare from the desert rose before him, but instead he got a stiff nod and, "(Y/n)." was all he got.

She clicked her tongue and the horse took off, she hadn't waited to see if he was situated, a small smile on her face as she heard him gasp at their sudden departure.

#yananswers #anon submission #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere oc x reader #new yanderes alert‼️‼️‼️‼️#psycho anon you have my whole entire heart

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sl-newsie · 1 month ago

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American Woman (Thomas Shelby x American OC) Ch. 47: Going Somewhere

Masterlist: https://www.tumblr.com/sl-newsie/739551758747090944/american-woman-thomas-shelby-x-american-oc?source=share

“Ahhhh!”

A scream pierces the house’s eerie silence and I jolt awake. Do I even want to know? Can’t I just have a quiet sleep without any violence?

I pull out my gun and slip into the hallway. No disturbances here. I peek into Charlie’s room. Nothing there. I quietly sneak down the cold stairs and turn the corner-

“Why is it that I always find you covered in blood?” I sigh and put my gun down to examine Thomas’ blank, blood-splattered face. “Are you hurt?”

“‘S not mine,” he promises. Then who’s is it?

I hear the front door open and am surprised to see Johnny Doggs walk in. Thomas waves him over and proceeds to show him towards the back of the house.

“Ah, there you are Johnny. The body’s this way.”

My jaw drops. “Body?”

He turns around and points to me. “Just wait here, love.”

Johnny tips his hat. “Good to see ya, Ms. Steenstra.”

“Merry Christmas, Johnny,” is all I can manage in my bewilderment. Thomas wouldn’t kill so drastically. Is the enemy within our own walls? There’s no way I can sleep now. I’m not going to sit and wait. I need to stand guard.

I retrieve my pistol and march straight back to Charlie’s room. He doesn’t even stir when I enter. If it weren’t for the recent threat, the sight of him in his blue plaid pajamas would be very sweet.

Click. The door opens and I stand ready in front of the bed, only to see Thomas rushing inside. His eyes adjust to the dark and notice me standing in his way.

“Time to wake him up,” he says without question. “I’m not waiting any longer. There’s a car waiting to take us to Birmingham.”

"Well at least clean your face!" I fuss and wipe more blood off of Thomas. "You're going to scare him."

Once most of the blood is gone Thomas leans over to wrap the child into his arms. Without any objection I sprint to my room and hastily change my night attire for proper clothes. By the time I finish Thomas is already making his way downstairs.

“Is it Christmas yet?” Charlie asks sleepily.

“Not just yet,” Thomas murmurs. “But let’s go, eh?”

“Mummy.”

Charlie’s observation draws his father’s attention to a picture of Grace. He swipes it off the table and continues his way to the front door. I follow him to the car and climb in the backseat. Is this what my last days might be like? Running and hiding until a bullet catches up with me and crosses my name off the list?

“Veena…” Charlie yawns as he stretches across Thomas’ lap and looks back at me.

Thomas looks between him and I. “Um, it might be more comfortable for him to lay back there. Do you mind…?”

I open my arms. “Hand him over.”

Charlie is placed across the seat with his head on my lap. Within minutes he’s fast asleep again.

“It’s Christmas now,” Thomas mutters dryly and holds up his watch to show the time. “Merry Christmas.”

“Vrolijk Kerstfeest,” I repeat distantly, still feeling tired and thinking random thoughts. “I’m afraid that I had no time to go shopping so I didn’t get you a gift-”

“No.” Thomas reaches over and puts a hand on my cold one. “Verena, you being here is more than enough.” His tone grows darker and he looks down. “And now you’re in danger all because of me. I promise I will do everything I can to protect you and your family.”

“I know you will. But I will not rest until I see my family again.” I continue to rub Charlie’s head and gently sing Dutch vocals.

“Heilige drie koningen, uit zo verre land

zij zochten onze Here met offerand.

Z' offerden ootmoediglijk myrrh', wierook ende goud

t' ere van dat Kinde, dat alle ding behoudt.

Kyrie eleis.

Three kings, holy, from a country far away

were looking for our Lord, bringing offerings.

With humility they gave Him incense, myrrh and gold

In honour to that small Child, who will preserve these gifts.

Kyrie eleis.”

In the front seat Thomas turns around to look at me. “Singing? In Dutch?”

“Don’t you speak to him in Rokka?” I reason back. That shuts him up.

“Slaap kindje slaap,

daar buiten loopt een schaap.

Een schaap met witte voetjes,

die drinkt zijn melk zo zoetjes.

Slaap kindje slaap,

daar buiten loopt een schaap.

Sleep, baby sleep,

Outside there walks a sheep,

A sheep with white feet,

Who drinks his milk so sweet,

Sleep, baby sleep,

Outside there walks a sheep.”

My own sleep schedule is starting to take its toll on me. No matter how hard I try to stay awake the rocking of the car on the gravel roads lulls my stressed mind to sleep…

“Wake up. Wake up!” A voice whispers.

Did I really fall asleep? How long was I out? My eyes fly open and I have to keep myself from jolting forward and knocking Charlie off my lap. Next to me Thomas holds the car door open and puts a hand on my arm.

“We’re here. Let’s get Charlie inside and you can go back to sleep.”

I sluggishly maneuver out of the backseat and cradle Charlie’s warm, limp body in my arms. In the dark, Thomas leads the way to the familiar front door and follows me to his old room. Nothing much is left inside. Only a small dresser and a bed with a simple quilt. Actually, most of the house has been cleaned and reorganized. Almost as if-

Oh. Right. This was supposed to be my house. My new home. Well, things don’t always go as we hope.

“Welcome home, I suppose,” Thomas whispers as I lay Charlie down. “Or at least a shell of it. We tried to keep it clean. Is it warm enough in here?”

“‘S fine…” I murmur sleepily and push him to lay down next to Charlie. “I’ll be in my room. Lay with him. You need your own sleep.”

He doesn’t look convinced. “I-”

“I mean it, Thomas,” I state firmly and pull the quilt over him. “Please. Sleep. We’re both tired and nothing good is going to come out of staying sleep deprived.”

“Alright, alright…”

He can’t keep his head up any longer. Thomas falls asleep almost instantly and I’m left with the sounds of his heavy breathing. As I stagger to my room and collapse on the mattress I cannot halt the disturbing anxiety plaguing my head. Yes, I am almost asleep. But my mind is far from eased.

When I open my eyes to Christmas Day it’s already past noon. Was I really that tired? The sound of chatter outside tells me Charlie is already awake. More than likely he woke up Thomas as well. God, can that man ever get a full night’s sleep?

Ring! Ring!

I’m about to tear that bloody phone clear off the wall. I almost don’t want to hear any news. But I still force myself out of bed and grab a robe before walking to the hallway. I pick up the receiver and know by the shallow breathing that it’s one of my broers. Do they know?

“Verena,” Liam states without a single greeting.

“Um, Vrolijk Kerstfeest. Liam, I-”

“What the Hell did you get into?”

So he does know. Maybe I can play dumb.

“What are you talking about?”

“I heard a rumor that the Sicilians have staked a Birmingham gang in a vendetta,” he growls. “Your boss.”

My throat tightens. “Liam, please! Do not tell moeder or vader!”

“Why the Hell not? So you can get yourself killed?! I’m calling Uncle Colon and having him send you back here.”

“No! I don’t know how deeply I’m pinned to this and it could be dangerous if anyone else interferes. The best bet is for me to stay hidden here until the Shelbys resolve this. My life is not worth all of yours.”

I hear him bang his head against the wall. “Verena-”

“Not. A. Word. Promise me!” I demand.

Liam groans. “Oké, oké.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Dank je wel. I promise to take care of myself. Don’t worry so much, broer.”

“I can’t help it. You’re my little zuster.”

“I will keep in touch, Liam. Vrolijk Kerstfeest. Tot ziens.”

He hesitates before hanging up. “Vrolijk Kerstfeest. Tot ziens.”

The line goes silent and I hang the phone up. As much as I want to deny it, he is right. If the rest of my family finds out they will be outraged. My place as a young, foreign bachelorette is not proper to be amongst this murky business. I can only stall for so long-

“Who was that?”

Thomas’ voice behind me makes me jump away. He still looks tired. And there’s something else… A deeper sadness in his eyes I can’t quite make out.

“My broer Liam,” I answer in a slightly shaking voice.

His expression doesn’t change. “Did he ask for you to leave?”

“Yes. I told him I’m staying,” I say firmly.

“Good. Good. It’s, um, it’s too dangerous to travel.” Even his voice sounds distant.

I step closer. “What’s wrong? You’re not telling me something.”

Thomas blinks and looks away to the wall. “There’s been an attack.”

Oh God. My chest clenches and my blood runs cold. It’s already happening. It’s all a guess of who.

“Who?” I demand. “Polly? Arthur?” Thomas looks up at me and now I can read his eyes. My voice becomes even more broken. “John…?”

“He- The Italians. They went to his house…”

“Oh my dear God. He’s…?” There is no answer to say he survived. “Oh, Thomas…”

I take his hand despite his attempt to look unaffected by the news. He immediately leans in and welcomes my touch. No tears, but the sense of grief is still felt from him. Thomas has seen so much death… and this might only be the beginning of so much more. He should not have to witness it alone.

“We’re headed to the hospital now. Michael’s in surgery,” he says and pulls away. “Can you watch Charlie?”

I nod on instinct. “Yes, of course. Please send my condolences to the others.”

Thomas gives a goodbye hug to Charlie and walks out the door. Charlie, still being too young to understand, looks at me puzzlingly.

“Daddy says Uncle John is gone. Is he going somewhere?”

Oh, Charlie. How can I explain this?

“Your uncle, he… He is going to see God.”

Charlie looks even more confused. “God?”

My face falls. “Your daddy hasn't told you about God?”

He shrugs. “Uncle Arthur talks about Him.”

It makes sense not to force such extreme religious routines in such a young child but could Thomas have at least told him who God is?

“Oh. Well… God is a spirit who’s always with us.”

Charlie’s eyes widen. “Like a ghost?”

“Not exactly,” I say calmly. “No one has directly seen Him, except for those mentioned in the Bible. That’s a book that tells stories about God from a long time ago. Do you ever get a sudden feeling of happiness, one that seems like you’re never alone?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s God. And his son Jesus took our bad decisions upon himself so we can be happy.” I pull out my silver pendant from under my shirt. “See this? It’s called a cross.”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll tell you more when you’re older. What you need to understand now is that even in the darkest of times you are never alone because God is with you.” I squeeze his tiny hand. “You are loved.”

Charlie thinks quietly and after a while looks up with concerned eyes. “Is daddy loved too?”

I kneel down and gently rub his back. “God loves all His children.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“And he loves your Uncle John. We need to pray for him, and your daddy, and your Uncle Arthur, and Aunt Ada.”

“Then can we play hide and seek?”

His antsy question brings a smile to my face. “And then we can play hide and seek.”

Charlie is serious about this game. We’ve been hiding and seeking for over an hour and he finds a new spot every time. Sometimes I’m worried that I’ll never find him and have to explain to Thomas how I lost him. Other times, like right now, I pretend not to notice him so he’s kept occupied. If this is all it takes to keep Charlie entertained then he is certainly much more agreeable than my young nieces and nephews.

Thud!

The sound of the door makes me freeze midstep. Thomas strides past me and immediately pours himself a drink. He doesn’t need to talk of his sorrows. His eyes tell enough. But I need to know how the other Shelbys are coping.

“Thomas?” I speak up gently. “How’s Michael? And the others-?”

“Michael’s pulling through. They all are. We’re having a family meeting tomorrow morning.”

I nod slowly. He doesn’t say how Esme is taking this. God, that poor woman. I can’t imagine… She loved John so much.

Thomas starts looking around the room. “Where’s Charlie?”

I turn to make sure Charlie’s hasn’t moved and whisper: “We’ve been playing hide and seek. He’s hiding in the parlor.” I put a cautious but empathic hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “There’s nothing here for you to worry about.”

He does not meet my gaze. Thomas keeps staring straight at the floor, comprehending that he just lost his young brother.

“Good to hear. Good to hear.”

“I’ll make some dinner. Do you want anything special?”

“Anything’s fine, love.”

With that I retreat to the kitchen and have to lean against the counter for support. A Merry Christmas, indeed. You said to take care of them, Grace. How can I when everything Thomas does leads to more misfortune? Maybe you were better cut out for this than I am.

@meadows5

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silent-raven13 · 1 year ago

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Omega Miles

Petie from Earth 2010 playing with his daughter, May in the daycare center. He saw Mayday from Earth 616 and Gerald, Jess' son playing together. May went over to play with them. "Dad, I wanna play soccer!" The toddler saw the big kids playing video games.

"Okay, come on, sweetie. Come here." He saw his three year old wobbling over to get a ball to play. He sat on his knees being more feminine the way he sit.

Mayday being seven years old and Gerald six years old were busy playing with their Nintendo Switch, "Ohh, good one, Gerry." Mayday giggles.

The dark Auburn little girl caught interest from the big kids, she went over to look over. "Hi, May!" Gerald said to the little girl.

"Hi. Hi!" She happily smiles.

"Wanna play?" Gerald being the kindest boy around, always happy to share his things.

Mayday nodded, "Yeah! We got Mario?"

"Wats dat?" May asked being confused.

Petie said, "Sorry kiddos, May is too young for those games. It might be hard for her."

"We can show her, Mister Petie!" Mayday said.

"Oh yay! I wanna learn!" May went over to sit between the two big kids.

"Okay, but remember, she's only three. She's learning." Petie said being concern, yet saw how May being so happy.

"It's fine. Brat and Berserk aren't good, too." Gerald said.

"Who?" Petie look confused.

In the front of the daycare, the daycare Spider-man sat in front desk. Then the door slides open, "Oh, hello, Morales. Dropping off your kiddos, again?"

"Yes." The Spider-man pushes a carriage with his massive baby bags. "Three." He types into the tablet.

"Alrighty." The Daycare teacher nodded.

Petie looks over spotting a certain friend, then smiles. "Hey, Miles." He could smell the strong Omega's scent filled with protection and calmness. It's sweet and soothing.

The Omega smiles happily being spotted, "Oh hey, Petie! Awe, you finally brought May!" He went to the carriage to pull out three hyper toddlers, ahh yes, the triplets! They all have Spider-hero powers.

One triplet climb on Miles' shoulder while two being in each of his arms. "Finally, they can play together again."

"Oh hi, frens!" May's head pop up to spot her friends.

The triplets being so hyper to spot May. "Oh daddy, daddy! May is here. Hurry up, we wanna play!" One of the triplets being the only girl tug her dad's suit.

"Okay. Okay, Mariana." Miles said having to go over towards the other children. He finally settle his triplets down letting them run wild.

"Oh hi, May and Gerry!" The triplets went over to the big kids.

"Oh hi, guys!" Mayday and Gerald hugs them. The triplets are very cuddly and always friendly yet so hyper. They always love games and never seem to lose energy.

Miles finally sat down being able to relax, "Ugh, finally! I was so tired this morning. My hubby had to work early today."

"Same. My wifey had an important business meeting." Petie said, "But I feel like yours is more busier with those pups."

"Oh yeah, they fell asleep at three in the morning because they wanna tussle." Miles watches his pups playing with the other children. I'm so glad they have friends to play. It's hard for them to make friends, especially with their gift."

"I know, what you mean!" Petie chuckles. The two Omegas watches their pups playing around with the big kids.

Then being unaware of another guest, "Papá, I'm fine on my own!" The nine year old pouts by her dad, "I always come here."

"Mija, I worried for you. Last time, you got lost or wonder off." Miguel 928 said to his daughter while holding his daughter's backpack filled with all her items. "You may be a Spider-hero, but you still need to master your skills." He carries her with one arm being a protective father.

"Okay. Okay." Gabriella hugs her dad, "I promise I'll be safe!"

"Good, mi vida. Tu papá te amo mucho!" Miguel hugs his daughter being happy. "I only worry for you."

"I know." She giggles. Miguel sign in his daughter, being in a wonderful mood. The older Spider-man had his life changed when his Gabriella came back to him.

Gabi spotted Miles, "Oh it's Miles! He must've dropped off Billie. HI MILES!"

The Omega turns his head being confused by the little girl. Gabriella gasps, "Opps, that's not Miles?"

"Gabi that's Miles from Earth 2020, he's an Omega." Miguel casually said.

"What's an Omega?" Gabi asked being confused.

Miles 2020 got up from his spot, "Hello, Miguel. Is this your daughter?" He tilted his head being confused. Maybe he was out of the loop with the latest news around Spider Society.

"Hello, Morales. Yes, this is Gabriella." Miguel said with a sincere smile being happy to introduce his daughter to other Spider-heroes.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella from Earth TRN 1042! I am a Spider-woman!" She grins widely at the tall and very slim Miles. This one is so different. He's thinner, slimmer with wide hips probably from child bearing and such a lush skin that makes him look so soft. He's taller, too. There's like a soft pink glow on this Miles Morales.

"Ohh how nice! Hey, Gabi. I'm Miles. It's nice to meet you." He smiles sweetly.

Gabi smiles back at him, "Hi, you look so different from Miles 1016!"

"Oh, I do. That's the famous one... the one that prove you wrong, huh?" He turns to Miguel with a smirk on his face.

Miguel seems to never live that down especially with all these Miles variants teasing and joking about him. Or the way some Spider-heroes would giggle about canon events and joke in front of him. "Yes. Yes. He was right and I was wrong, so very wrong." At least he can suck it up and face it.

Petie giggles, "I bet. Which is good that you were wrong. Don't you think?" His eyes on Gabriella.

The little girl went into her bag to pull out her juice box to drink, Miguel stares lovingly at his beautiful daughter. "Yes, I'm glad." He kisses his daughter's cheek. "Mi vida!"

"Papá!" Gabriella giggles, having to hug her dad.

Miles 2020 smiles widely until he heard loud crashing. "Brat! Ohhhh, you gonna be in trouble!" Mayday shouted out loud.

"Shh, don't tell daddy!" Brat hushes her.

"I heard that! Mariana, what did you do?" Miles 2020 went back to the daycare room to find his daughter dropping a picture frame off the wall. "Mariana, I told you to behave or I will tell your papi about your behavior!"

"Nuuuuhhh! I'll be good. Don't tell him." She pouts being upset that she started to burst into her tears. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" Then her brothers started bursting into tears.

"Ugh, I swear. They only act like this when their dad isn't around." Miles 2020 pinch the bridge of his nose.

Miguel came in to find the triplet suddenly stopping when they felt his presence. Sometimes they wonder if he was an Alpha, his large size and mean look just spook them. "Thanks, Miguel." Miles 2020 pick up Mariana to comfort her. "it's not easy with triplets."

Gabi gasps at the triplets, "Wow, triplets! Are these yours, Miles?"

"Of course! They got their amazing looks from me!" Miles 2020 grins widely being smug about it. Mariana sniffles having to suck her thumb as her daddy comforts her.

"Who's the mommy?"

"I am?" Miles grins.

"Huh?" Gabi never looked so confused in her life.

Miguel clears his throat, "Gabriella, nana... Miles 2020 is from a world where there's a second gender. He can have babies."

"Saayyy what!" Gabi never thought that was a thing. Then again, this was the multi-verse, anything is possible.

"Gabi, I gave birth to May, too." Petie said. "Me and Miles 2020 are Omegas."

"Huh?" Gabriella felt like she was trying to do math in her head. There's that word again.

"Gabi, it's... their second gender. Petie y Miles are Omegas. Omegas can give birth to their Alphas." Miguel tries his best to explain to her about it.

Mayday saw how lost Gabi looked which made her laugh out loud. The two boys from the triplets were turning their heads at Mayday who fall over on the ground cracking up. Gerald merely mutters as he plays his game, "Just say yeah, and pretend you know what they mean. It's pretty confusing."

May said, "I'm an Alpha!"

"And girls can be Alphas?" Gabriella asked, "But? How can they have babies?"

"Mmm..." Miguel didn't want to explain sex to her yet. "From a stork."

"Huh?" Gabriella never felt so confused. She study human anatomy before but that as much as she went. She knew the basics of male and female sex, but second gender? Oh she's much too young to get it.

Petie giggles, "Gabi, it's okay if you don't get it. It's hard when your not in the Omegaverse."

"Tell me about it. I had to tell Ben Riley about it five times already." Miles 2020 said then planted a kiss on his daughter.

Miguel nodded, "Yeah, see."

"Okay... so that means Miles 1016 is an Omega?" Gabi asked.

"No, bebe. Only a few Spider-heroes are. You'll when you see them." Her dad tries to explain, it's just complicated.

Gabriella said, "I'm just gonna agree."

Miles 2020 giggles, "I bet." He set his daughter down, before going to clean up the mess she made. Mariana went over to Gabriella, "Hi, wanna be my fren!"

"How about I be your big sister!" Gabriella smirks widely seeing Mariana reminding her a lot like Billie 1016.

The little toddler's eyes gleam and gasp, "For real! YEAH!" She climbs on Gabi's back being excited, "I got a sista!"

"Mari be careful, Gabi is still young." Miles 2020 worries for Mariana being too rough with Gabriella.

"She can handle it, Morels. Don't worry." Miguel tries to assure the omega.

"Alright. Mari and the boys love horsing around. Ben got the marks on his leg to prove it." The dark skinned Omega hums.

Petie giggles, "They are all Alphas, huh?"

"I believe so."

Miguel whistled being surprised, "Three Alphas? isn't that a big thing?"

"Yeah!" The Omegas nodded.

Miles 2020 proudly said, "Alphas have more power so to see my babies being one, I can be at ease."

"Same. They will have an easier life." Petie nodded.

Miguel never thought it that way, then again, he always saw Omega Spider-heroes struggling during their heat. Or they need to be alone from missions because they are preparing for their nesting for their heat. It's all too complex. Yet, Miguel did try to help them as much as he can to provide a safe place for them.

Gabriella, Mayday and Gerald all were playing the triplets and May. They had a games for them to play. The adults didn't seem to want to leave seeing how their children were having fun with each other.

It brought smiles to their faces, especially Miguel. "Now, that's a face I can get us to, Miguelito!" Miles 2020 smiles being more handsy, which is his love language when he felt safe around a man that isn't an Omega. His hand got a hold of the large man's jawline and squish it, "You use to be so grumpy and now your a beautiful swan!"

Petie laughs, "He does look better now. No more sleepless moody Miggy."

Miguel rolled his eyes at the twenty seven year old Omega, "Morales. Parker... I never been any more happier." Her grins widely showing off his canine.

The Omegas blushes then giggles. "You're such a flirt, O'Hara." Miles 2020 playfully shove the large man, which Miguel didn't budge.

The older Spider-man chuckles with amusement, "What did you expect?"

"I was hoping a threat, not you being charming." Miles 2020 had his arm on Miguel's shoulder using him to lean on while talking. "You practically begging me to leave my hubby for you."

"Careful, now. You know, he's a jealous Alpha." Petie couldn't stop laughing.

"Please, you would never leave." Miguel snorted.

"You right, but you are handsome, O'Hara. I'm surprise you haven't dated anyone yet."

"I rather be single. Been through too much." Miguel casually said. "It's better that way."

"Well, if you need emotional physical touch- of course, platonic! We're here." Petie offers. Nothing like an Omega present to sooth down their friends.

"Yup. I don't mind hugging you, Miggy-poo." Miles 2020 jokes.

"I hate when you call me that." Miguel sighs.

The Omegas laughs at him again. "Miggy-poo! Miggy-Poo!" They teased.

Mayday looks over at the adults and said to Gabriella, "When are they leaving? I thought they had to work?"

"I dunno! I guess the chisme is good. My daddy loves good gossip." Gabriella whispers to Mayday and Gerald.

"Daddy needs to leave so we can run wild!" Mariana said as she plays with Gabriella. Her brothers nodded.

Yet, the adults never left. They spend the rest of the morning talking and watching their kids play. They sat by the seats having conversation about anything their life as parents and as Spider-men.

Soon one of the triplets rushes over to his daddy, "Daddy! Daddy! I'm hungry! Can we get food?"

"Oh gosh, what time is it?" Miles 2020 saw his watch being so confused, "Did we really spend all morning talking?"

"Looks like it." Petie said.

Miguel said, "Really? Hilo del la..." He stop himself from cursing then sighs, "I wanted to catch up on my paper work. Whatever, i'll figure it out." He looks at his watch seeing the time, "Gabriella, are you hungry?"

"Yeah." She munches on her bag of chip being so hungry for lunch. "I'm starving!" She shared her chips with Mayday and Gerald.

Mariana said, "I want chicken nuggets!"

"Oh me too! And-and a free toy!" May said out loud.

Miguel said, "We can go to the food court and get lunch together. Seeing how our children are enjoying each other presents."

Miles 2020 picked up his son, "Yeah, they are getting along very well. So you three can behave, huh?" He tease his baby boy.

His son giggles being bashful and hide his face into his daddy's neck. "No..."

"No? What do you mean no?" Miles 2020 chuckles at his baby.

"Hehehe." His son giggles.

"He's get it from his dad, Miles. You know that." Petie watched at the little boy being funny.

"Oh for sure!"

Then, Jess and Peter came to get their own kids. They greeted Petie and Miles 2020 seeing how their children were hanging out most of the morning. "Yeah, we can do lunch!" Peter said to his friends. "Right, May?"

"Yeah! I want food!" Mayday got up to head to her dad.

"Me too! Me too!" Gerald said to his mom."

"Okay. Okay. We'll all go to lunch." Jess said to her son. The group head out.

Miles 2020 had to use his web as a leash, they were excited to be free from daycare. One of the boys climb on Peter B. Parker, "Hey, easy, kid. Your pretty fast, huh?" He tries to catch the boy.

"Hehe!"

"They are pups." Petie giggles as he watched Mariana and her other brother walking about being so interested by the high advance hallway. His own daughter wanted to walk with the triplets to be part of the group. "May, don't walk too far from me."

"I won't!" May hums as she saw Mariana trying to rip the web from her.

"Mariana, stop it." Miles 2020 warned his daughter.

"I don't want dis!" Mariana frowns.

Jess said, "She's ready to tussle?"

"Always." Miles 2020 keeping a close eye on the ring leader of the triplets, "She's just like her dad and he always say no!"

Miguel said, "You need to invest into a well quality leash."

"Why? I did it with my web. Look at May! She's fine." Peter 616 said.

Petie grunts, "You have one kid. Miles got three!"

"And you can't even catch Aaron." Jess said to Peter seeing he failed to catch the crawling kid around his body.

"Well, it's because I'm not use to him! I need practice." Peter said trying to get the boy.

Mayday laughs, "Daddy's funny."

"Mommy that's not Aaron. That's Karl!" Gerald said, "Aaron is over there."

Jess looks at the two boys being confused, "Wait, I thought Aaron got green eyes?"

"No, that's Karl." Miles 2020 said, "Aaron has my eye color."

Aaron hugs his daddy's leg while sucking his thumb. "Daddy, up!"

"Okay baby." Miles 2020 lifts his son, then felt his spider sense tingling, he looks over at Mariana biting through the web on her back, "Mariana! Don't bite that?" He went to pick her up with his other arm, "Ugh. Young lady, you don't know what's that web made of!"

"But I wanna be free, daddy!" Mariana scowls having to wiggle around.

"No, you will run off and will never find me again!" Miles 2020 scold her.

"No! I am safe!" She pouts.

May went over to Mayday and said, "Mayday, you gonna get chicken nuggets?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Um... Um... I dunno!" May said. "Maybe... sandwich."

"Gabi, what are you getting?" Gerald asked Gabriella.

"Hmm, maybe chicken sandwich or- or Empanadas!" She answered.

Miguel saw Miles 2020 saw the way Mariana moving around. "Here, I'll hold them."

"Oh thank you, Mig!" Miles 2020 handed his two children, "My back is hurting a bit." The two children happily got on Miguel. They felt so small compare to him with their tiny bodies they started climbing all over him.

"Hahaha, it's like a mountain, daddy!" Mariana giggles.

Miguel let them crawl all over him, he's use to this. Jess grins widely, "Your doing great papa bear."

"Hahaha, that's a cute name for Miguel. Papa bear!" Petie said out loud.

Miles 2020 chuckles, "Papa bear are you able to handle my pups?"

"Yes..." Miguel 928 slowly said.

The group wasn't aware of the slim young teenager coming down the same hallway they stood. She stop herself spotting a young man that's similar to her brother! Big brown eyes widen as if she felt as time had stop. Her voice gone for the moment, removing her mask to get a better look. "Miles?" She asked out loud.

The other man didn't hear her. "MILES!" The whole group stopped being startled by the shout, who was that? They all froze even the triplets.

#punkflower #miles morales #hobie brown #spiderman #across the spider verse #spider verse #flowerpunk #fanfic #spiderverse

29 notes · View notes

restlessmaknae · 2 years ago

Text

never forever [jinyoung]

Just as much as you would have liked to delude yourself into thinking that you could have anything together with prince Jinyoung, it would be simply impossible as long as you were a servant and he was a prince. Which meant that you could never do so.

➳ Characters: prince!Jinyoung x female court lady!reader/you

➳ Genre: romance, angst, fantasy, magical realism, kingdom au

➳ Words: 11.8k

➳ Warning: mentions of minor character deaths, poison, political tension, attacks

➳ A/N: This story had the most votes in my poll, so I hope it lives up to your expectations. 🥰 It can be read on its own or with Seunghun's story that took place before this one. ❤️

➳ CIX taglist: @wccycc, @dat-town

When you had been younger, your favourite word had been ‘forever’. Warmth had always invaded your heart when you thought of this particular word, and how your parents had promised each other that they would love each other forever. Your mother had told you multiple times too that her love was not only infinite towards your father but you as well. Forever was like a precious friend to you, a little gem that you would try to keep safe as much as you could, holding it close to your heart, holding it dear.

Then, forever had turned to never when your mother had died. When you had realised that you would never see her again, your world had shattered, the little gem slipping through your fingers, falling to the ground and breaking into tiny pieces. Even though your father had reassured you that your mother would love you even from the spirit realm, you hadn’t been convinced because forever had seemed so far away. You had decided that it was stupid to have a word that didn’t make sense. After all, forever didn’t exist.

You had been 6 at that time. Your mother had been a lady-in-waiting to the Queen at the royal palace, so you hadn’t seen her during the week, only on the weekend. You had spent your days at home reading books and practising writing while your father had been teaching his pupils in a different room. He had been a great scholar, teaching those at your home who could not afford the institutions he had taught at most of the time. For some time, you had resented the royal family for keeping your mother away from you when you had known all too well that your mother had been deeply grateful for the royal court for providing her with a high status job and a very decent pay that allowed her to shower you in gifts.

On the other hand, when your mother had died, and the court had organised your mother a funeral, more glorious (thus more heart-wrenching) than you could have ever imagined, your feelings had completely changed. When the Queen had come up to you afterwards and lowered herself down to be at eye-level with you (disregarding the gasps from the court ladies around her, warning her of her dress potentially becoming smudged because of the muddy ground), your tears had fallen even more fervently. You had wanted nothing more than to hide during the ceremony, so to be seen and acknowledged by the Queen herself brought on a handful of different emotions.

“When I was around your age, I also lost my mother. I thought of it as a great shame on top of being a great loss. A young girl growing up without a mother? I thought people wouldn’t take me seriously, they wouldn’t look at me for who I am, they would always see the girl without a mother,” she had shared, and you had watched her with tears streaming down your face, your mouth slightly agape. You hadn’t heard of the Queen losing her mother at such a young age, but you had been young, and your parents hadn’t told you stories about the royal family back then.

“And they did?” You had asked between little sobs that reverberated through your body.

The Queen had given you a gentle smile, and you had wondered if all mothers smiled the same - so lovingly, so forgivingly, so reassuringly. Her smile hadn’t been exactly like your mother’s, but you could feel the genuine affectionate behind the delicate curve of her lips, something that mirrored your own mother’s. The kind of smile that parents gave you when you admitted that you did something wrong, but all that mattered to them was that you were safe and sound.

“No,” she had shaken her head. “I proved them wrong, and I showed them what I can do regardless of what happened. You can do, too,” she had added so confidently that your little heart had welcomed the undeniable hope that her words had brought along, newfound warmth spreading through your veins until you had realised that…

“But… I am not a royal.”

“Where you come from doesn’t matter, whether you have a positive impact on just one person or a whole nation doesn’t matter either. You are valuable as you are,” the Queen had pointed out, her words like a wise scholar’s. You had just blinked at her, wide-eyed and amazed, and you hadn’t even realised that you had stopped crying in the meantime, you had been so focused on what she had been saying.

You had been so awestruck that you couldn’t have spoken up, and you didn’t remember whether it had been what had prompted the Queen to bid her goodbye or she had been told by her court ladies to presume her duties for the day, but you remembered one thing very clearly.

That day, you had decided that you would have a positive impact on the Queen’s life, and you would try to be there for her just as much as she had been there for you at that time. So when a year later, the royal court had announced that they would hold their annual recruitment day for new servants, you had applied.

You had read every book on royal etiquette, you had learned embroidery, sewing and all sorts of activities that might be tested during the recruitment process in that year, determined on making the cut. You hadn’t even been the youngest candidate, there had been girls as young as 5 trying to secure a future for themselves (or more like pressured by their families), but you had been dedicated for a different reason: to serve the royal family and to repay them for all they had done for your family including sending your mother on her last journey so graciously.

Even though you hadn’t succeeded on the first try, you had done so a year later. Since then, you had been trying to live up to your mother’s memory, hoping that she would be proud of how you were serving the royal family, living to make their lives as comfortable as possible, living for them.

Little did you know, one day, that would be the exact same reason you would feel so torn to fall in love.

The first few years at the palace, you spent learning. Then, you applied what you learned. Then, you practised everything over and over again until you wouldn’t make a mistake. Finally, as years went by, your service to the palace became a valuable treasure, an important part of the operations. Your loyalty and diligence meant that you were keen on doing the best you could, and your perseverance didn’t waver even in hard times.

However, no matter the many lessons and learnings during those years, the greatest teacher and the dearest compliment you could get for your hard work was when you could upgrade your rank. After 15 years of service and being over the age of 20 meant that you could rightfully start serving one of the royal family members directly or one of those who stayed at the palace. For instance, a few girls who were at the congratulatory ceremony beside you would assist the royalty that were visiting the palace from time to time, and two of those now stayed beside a princess who came from a kingdom further up north, who was currently spending her time in exile at your court. Due to the trade agreements and favourable business partnerships, it wasn’t uncommon to provide a shelter or a hiding place for those who came from different kingdoms, but couldn’t stay in their own residence for whatever reason.

You, on the other hand, were assigned to the Queen herself, and even though you would never brag about your conversation with the Queen at your mother’s funeral ceremony, you knew that the smile she gave you when she handed you your new gown and your matching hairpin - engraved with a lotus symbol for prosperity and a dragon mimicking the ones that guarded the palace for safety - was telling tales about her positive feelings towards your future services.

After an elderly lady-in-waiting had passed away, two female servants took her place including you. You knew that you were still fairly young compared to the other court ladies, but you had been serving at the palace for so long already, and you excelled at every task they had given you. You knew though that the major reason that you had been assigned to the Queen was because you could read and write well, something that would be needed to discreetly handle the letters the Queen received and sent.

However, following the Queen almost everywhere meant that you had more interactions with the other royal family members and those who were close to them - soldiers in higher up ranks, master magicians and magical creature tamers. In passing by, you caught glimpses of the royal family members while serving them in the past years, but that couldn’t be compared to the experience of being in the same room with them, to see them from up-close.

When you first accompanied the Queen to the practise field where prince Jinyoung was receiving his training, you realised that he still lived in your memories as someone around your height with a cheeky smile when he was running around the court, making his nannies run after him, and you were taken aback by his height and his built now. He was tall and slender, but when he reached his sword out to attack, his muscles clearly showed through the thin fabric he wore. Drops of sweat rolled down his cheeks while he was concentrating, and his features were solemn and hard.

His practice partner was Seunghun - a soldier you saw around the court frequently. Rumour had it that he was courting one of the medics, but you didn’t know whether to believe that because all sorts of gossip were flying around. Besides, others’ love life was none of your business, but since you and Seunghun had joined the court around the same time, you knew him and his way of talking to the ladies - all smooth and flirtatious. He had that cheekiness to him even when he was younger, no wonder he was on good terms with the prince.

The Queen halted by the side of the field, and you did, too, a few steps away from her. The prince and the soldier were so engrossed in their practice battle that they didn’t even take notice of her presence until they finished with their round of sword fight, Seunghun coming out as the winner.

“What is the purpose of today’s practice?” The Queen raised her voice, confident and unwavering, while looking at the boys. Seunghun didn’t fail to bow upon seeing her, but his grin was still a bit cocky when he helped the prince to his feet.

“Just some… friendly duel, Your Majesty,” he answered joyfully, and he patted the prince’s shoulder when prince Jinyoung straightened up. “Even if he were to be seriously hurt, one of our great medics would tend to his wounds,” he added in a friendly manner, but you could hear the Queen’s voice hardening when she spoke up.

“Not so much if he can help it himself.”

“Of course,” the soldier’s smile faded immediately, and he bowed his head apologetically. Prince Jinyoung tensed a bit beside his friend, but his eyes were trained on his mother, not on his friend. You didn’t spend enough time around him to tell what his eyes could show, but you had a feeling that he wasn’t that delighted about the Queen’s words. If your assumption about his power was right, you knew why.

“Well then, keep going,” the Queen made a waving gesture with her hands, indicating that they could move on, and turned on her heels to head back to the palace. You bowed to the prince and soldier alongside the other servants, signalling your departure.

Afterwards, you waited for the older ladies to follow suit as they were the first to follow behind, you were supposed to be the last as you were the youngest one. Even though your rank was the same as theirs, age order was still important.

You took a few steps forward when you felt your hair loosen, and you instinctively reached for the back of your neck, gasping when you couldn’t feel your hairpin. You were about to turn around just at the same time as a figure slid into your vision, and put your lotus and dragon carved hairpin into your hands. It was for the briefest of a second, so was his rough touch, but you felt like you could feel the ghost of it on your skin even after he yanked it away.

Your eyes frantically went to the figure’s face, and you were about to open your mouth to thank him, but he put his index finger on his lips. Why couldn’t you thank prince Jinyoung for helping you out? Why wouldn’t you?

You were so baffled by his indication that words died on the tip of your tongue, and he was out of your reach as quickly as he ran up to you, so there was no way you could go after him. You were already behind the other servants, so you needed to catch up to them.

However, as you were hurrying after them, you looked back at the field, the prince and the soldier already in another round of a fight, no remains of the recent incident, only the ghost of his touch on your hand and the mystery in his pitch-black eyes when he handed you your hairpin.

In a magical kingdom like yours, you were grateful that you could be of help to the royal family even though you didn’t possess magic. The magic in your kingdom lied in healing, hence there were two types of medicine in your kingdom: magical and non-magical medicine. Magical medicine was mostly used on the members of the royal court including the royal family and the royal army, plus magical creatures that lived in the woods or in the mountains - such as fairies, unicorns and such - or serving the kingdom - such as dragons guarding the palace.

Non-magical medicine, on the other hand, was used on humans to treat their wounds, and that was what most medics practised outside of the palace, though it was applicable at the court as well in non-emergency cases and subtle illnesses. Magical medicine was also extremely rare since only magical practitioners could deal with it because they were the ones born with the ability to tame magic, but even they needed thorough practice and extensive training to be able to make use of their abilities to their full potential. Magical medics were also almost exclusively serving at the palace. The royal family was also said to be possessing magic in their veins, though they didn’t have to use it on themselves because the most powerful magicians were already in their court, serving them.

Neither of your ancestors had magic, so it was unlikely that you would, but having a scholar as a father and a royal servant as a mother meant that you knew that you could use other skills and strengths to your advantage, so you never felt any less than those who were born with magic. You were merely in awe at what some people could do, and when you could see for yourself how magical medics worked at the palace, you were mesmerised. Even if the Queen had a headache, not a physical injury, all the medic needed to do was place their hands above her core - the centre of her energy - and she was healed, though advised rest for the night.

For that reason, you could leave the Queen’s chamber earlier than usual after helping her to bed, and while the rest of the ladies were heading to their own rooms in the courtyard, you were staying back to stroll around the garden that separated the palace from the court. A part of the garden was reserved for the royal family only, but the other was accessible by everyone, and you liked walking around the pond dotted with a palette of colours, a different type of fish hiding behind each distinctly shaped creature, water lilies breaking the smooth surface of the water and lanterns lighting up the sideways like little stars on the sky.

When you walked these parts of the palace, you wondered if your mother had been the same. She hadn’t really talked about her time at the palace - what she was doing when she wasn’t on duty, how the place looked like and what was her favourite part of the court -, if she did, she only talked about the Queen and her admiration towards the woman. Ever since being part of the court though, you couldn’t help but imagine your mother walking down the same path, looking at the little bridge connecting the path to a pavilion as you did now, walking the same corridors and feeling the same sense of belonging as you did now.

“I hope you’re proud of me, mother,” you mumbled to the dark sky above you that seemed like a blanket covering the palace grounds, your words carried away by the gentle breeze of this fine spring night. You hoped that she was at peace in the spirit realm, and looked over you fondly. No matter how many years had passed by, there was still a part of you that missed her.

With a resigned sigh, you looked down at the pond in front of you, and decided to leave. However, as you were about to walk back, you crossed paths with prince Jinyoung who seemed to be walking around as well. You were surprised that he was alone, no soldiers guarding him, but maybe he had time to himself at these late hours just like the Queen did after you left her in her chambers.

“Your Highness,” you greeted him immediately, bowing out of respect. When you straightened your back, you looked up at the prince, and he was already looking at you, his deep, dark eyes boring into yours. It seemed that he was about to say something, but he changed his mind, and pressed his lips into a thin line. You blinked up at him, uncertain what to do or what to say for it was scarce that you were alone with a royal family member. In fact, it was the first time that it was just the two of you, and the thought sent a shiver down your spine.

“Are you done for the day?” Prince Jinyoung broke the silence after clearing his throat, and your heart was both heavy and light upon his question. You didn’t know what you had expected him to say or if you had expected anything, but his inquiry still caught you off-guard. In a positive way.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He bobbed his head, acknowledging your words, and you had a feeling that he wanted to say something but couldn’t this time either. Or maybe it was because he seemed so out of reach usually; the mighty, ethereal prince Jinyoung who was said to be cool-headed and reasonable, a great fighter and a hard-worker in whatever he did. He was said to excel in everything, making him the perfect heir to the throne. From a young age, he had the watching eyes of the people, the weight of the kingdom’s future on his shoulders, and a responsibility that could crush anyone, let alone a boy so young. In passing, he had always seemed so composed, knowing exactly what to do and what to say, and you had heard only good things about him.

On the other hand, he seemed so humane now. A human being searching for the right words to say with secrets in his heart and mysteries in his eyes. Libraries of tales were about him, but when he was standing there in front of you in his white royal attire, he seemed nothing more than a boy around your age. The thought soothed your nerves and scared you at the same time.

You shouldn’t look at him that way, you work for the royal family after all.

“Well then…” You broke the silence that fell upon the two of you, bringing him out of whatever stupor he was under. “Good night, Your Highness!” You bowed yet again, ready to continue your walk to the court.

Nonetheless, before you were out of hearing range, the prince spoke up, though his eyes weren’t trained on you, but on the pond in front of him.

“Your mother would be proud.”

The words made you halt and turn to the prince who was examining the water as if he was pondering how to describe the sight properly. The lanterns lit up the way of the footpath, and amongst them, one was shining directly onto him, and now with you in the shadows of a nearby tree, and him in the light, you wondered how the two of you from two different worlds could be having this conversation now.

“How… How do you know about my mother?” You blinked in confusion. You didn’t believe that he could have heard you before, but maybe he could.

“You are not the only one who likes to go to the pond late at night,” he replied without any shame or any cheekiness in his voice as he turned towards you, and even though you were further away than before, you could see the end of his lips curling upwards. Before you could grasp onto this moment though, the prince turned on his heel and walked towards the pavilion, walking away from you and from the light that was shining onto him.

Afterwards, it happened a few more times that you and prince Jinyoung met in the garden, around the pond. Truthfully, when you hadn’t been serving the Queen, and you had been working in the courtyard instead of the palace, you had come to the pond, but not so late at night. However, it felt good to take a bit of a walk somewhere aside from the walls within the palace, and the garden was truly mesmerising under the moonlight. So you could believe that you hadn’t crossed paths with the prince before because you had been walking around at different times.

On the other hand, despite knowing that you might meet him in the garden these days, you didn’t back away. After all, you weren’t doing anything shameful, and no one else was around, so rumours couldn’t fly around regarding you two. At least, you tried to tell yourself such reasonable words, but you were conflicted just how far this could go. A court lady and a prince talking late at night around the pond? No matter how many times you told yourself that this wasn’t wrong, you felt oddly at unease whenever you heard something crackling or murmurs rippling the night air - even from far away.

Yet, when you were in the act of talking to the prince, you couldn’t feel more at ease. Talking to him felt natural and he didn’t seem so distant while sharing stories with you even though you two came from very different backgrounds. Beside you, he seemed like a boy turning into a young man, knowing the responsibilities of his actions yet letting the childish side in him come to the surface when his duties didn’t call for something else.

Not to mention that it was, in a way, fluttering to be able to talk to him in the first place, let alone get to know him. You realised that he was both very different and not so different from you. He didn’t care about your rank, or that you might tell others about what he was telling you because he trusted you enough, and you trusted him the same. Maybe this was why he was open to talk about the disruptions in the kingdom, and how much the royal family would try to protect peace within its borders.

And maybe this was why he wanted to let you know about the secret you had suspected some time ago.

“The truth is, I don’t have magic,” he blurted out one time after silence had taken over the two of you.

You had been looking at the ripples across the pond, watching the many colours dance under its surface, hiding fish in all shapes and sizes, but your eyes found their way to the prince’s delicate features when he spoke up. He looked ahead of himself, his lips pressed into a thin line, and it wasn’t a different image from his usual self. However, instead of his hands resting in his lap, his hands were balled into fists, clutching a part of his snow-white robe.

“Why… why are you telling me this?”

You tried to keep your voice as gentle as possible because you had a feeling that this was a confession that must have been living in his heart for so long, trying to break out, but it was a caged creature - forced within the bars by his family more than himself. Even though not all of the members of a family had magic if one person possessed it since it wasn’t hereditary, it seemed that the royal family wanted it to be true since the King had magic in his veins, and princess Jinhee was said to possess it, too. However, you had a feeling that prince Jinyoung didn’t do so because you had never heard him use it whereas princess Jinhee was frequently praised for her skills.

What was more heartbreaking than this was the fact that the Queen tried so hard to hide his lack of magic - as you had experienced it on the training field when she had claimed that prince Jinyoung would take care of his wounds if he got hurt -, and maybe it was because she came from a different kingdom and thus didn’t have magic, but you had a feeling that she didn’t know the weight of her actions. She didn’t realise how much she was denying something that the prince didn’t wish to talk about to begin with.

You didn’t act like a fool, that’s why you didn’t ask him if it was true for you had a feeling for some time, and he seemed to notice that, too.

“Because I know you’ve figured it out yourself, and it feels good to tell someone else about it apart from my friends,” he explained as he averted his eyes from the scenery to you, and you gulped when you saw the hurt in his pitch-black orbs. Maybe it was that you mistook his pain for secrecy before, but now instead of a stern, out of reach, almighty prince, all you could see was a boy grieving something that had never been his, feeling guilty for something he had no control over and being vulnerable to someone who shouldn’t have mattered to him.

Yet, since he was willing to share his secret with you, you didn’t want to think about whether it was right or wrong. Instead, you wanted to be there for him, comforting him with words.

“You aren’t any less because you don’t have magic, Your Highness,” you whispered to him, afraid that your words might open up his wound instead of tending to it, but he didn’t seem to take it to heart.

“And you aren’t any less because you’ve grown up without a mother,” he added similarly quietly, and you felt your heart drop. You were about to say something, but then, you closed your mouth, pondering how to word this feeling. “See. It’s difficult to believe it no matter how many times others tell you.”

It was difficult, he was right, but you assumed that no one really knew how much the absence of your mother still impacted you, and the way you thought of yourself. He did, it seemed. He might have been reserved and didn’t like to pry in other’s business, but he was perceptive, even more than you would have thought so.

“How do you… Why does it feel like you know me so well, Your Highness?” You furrowed your eyebrows, not accusing, merely curious. Prince Jinyoung, as if he was waiting for you to confirm, let his lips curl a bit upwards before leaning a bit closer to you, as if he was telling a secret.

“I’ve told you. I’ve heard you talk to yourself at this pond. I just never wanted to interrupt you,” he explained matter-of-factly, but that was not enough for you. You didn’t know what took hold of you, but you were persistent, so you asked:

“So why tell me now?”

Prince Jinyoung looked back at the pond, then shrugged his shoulders. After some silence, you decided to drop the topic, and excused yourself to head to your room instead. Your heart was in mayhem already, you didn’t want to continue this dance that had started between you two because you were afraid that all it took was a few more turns to fall into his arms, to fall into him.

Thankfully, he didn’t hold you back, nor did he come with you, so you could walk to the courtyard, your heart still hammering in your chest. That's how you missed him saying to himself after you had left:

“Because you aren’t that unreachable now.”

The fact that you served the Queen directly meant that you knew more about the kingdom’s business affairs than before as the royal family including the King, the Queen, prince Jinyoung and princess Jinhee often attended business meetings with and without the royal council. It was said that it was, so that they knew exactly what was going on in the kingdom, and it was a merit for the children of the royal couple as well. Trading, business affairs and politics were fields that prince Jinyoung would be involved in as the future heir, and princess Jinhee would be considered a knowledgeable young lady if she knew of such topics, making her an even better wife candidate. When the council had a meeting, you were supposed to wait outside along with the other servants, but when it was just the royal family members, you could stay inside and possibly help the Queen to write letters and contracts for her or to read them for her.

The main issue these days was the unjustifiable attacks on a royal carriage sometime ago and a recent revolt near the borders - both lead to the assumption that rebels from the nearby kingdom were behind the attacks. It wasn’t very concerning for now, but the royal family wanted to be prepared for every scenario, and they tried to put out the fire before it could burn down their reputation. That’s how you found yourself accompanying the Queen and princess Jinhee to visit Naturalia that offered favourable trade in exchange for the princess marrying into the family.

You, a few other servants, soldiers from the royal army and two magic medics - including Byounggon whom you frequently saw around prince Jinyoung - accompanied you, so you ended up going in three different carriages, and the plan was to stay for two days and one night. You tried not to look around too much, but you hadn’t travelled outside of the kingdom before because you had started working at the palace from such a young age, and this particular kingdom boosted the magic of nature, so all kinds of surfaces were covered in colourful plants, vivid trees and rainbow-like herbs. You had read that there were people who regularly went to collect such magical plants, but the trading of their magic was limited to their kingdom only. Unless princess Jinhee would marry prince Jaehyeong.

However, your awe was cut short when upon the introductory tour around the palace, you were invited for some tea, and the servant - Hyeri - who tried the so-called immunity boosting drink to test it before the royal family would do so started gasping for air.

“What is it? What is the problem?” The Queen immediately rose to her feet, but you and another court lady were already there to hold onto the woman whose face turned purple. She looked like she was struggling to breathe, constantly hitting her chest with her balled fists and struggling to keep upright.

Bewildered, you found yourself hyperventilating for a moment, but then, you tried to remember what your father had always said. Do something about a problem first, and panic only if the consequences are not in your favour.

“I’ll call for the medics,” you suggested hastily, almost falling over your feet as you picked up the hem of your robe and ran out of the dining room to call for the two medics who were stationed outside in the hall. You quickly explained the situation, but they didn’t waste time either, they immediately came rushing with you. By that time, the woman was already on the floor, lying seemingly unconscious.

You felt your heart beating wildly against your ribcage, like a wild horse that didn’t know where to go in the unfamiliar woods. You couldn’t help but think of the worst case scenario, and you felt blood rushing to your head, making you dizzy. What if it was a trap? What if this was the plan of Naturalia’s royal family all along? What if your Queen was in danger? What if all of you were in danger?

Despite being wary and conscious of the many reasons behind this incident, prince Jaehyeong’s mother was seemingly shocked as well, trying to come up with different scenarios as to why it could happen - maybe the court lady was allergic to the ingredients in the tea -, but the Queen was suspicious, and didn’t let it slide even when the joined effort of the two medics and princess Jinhee’s magic helped Hyeri to regain consciousness.

“It was too strong of an effect for it to be accidental. If three of us needed to use magic to help my court lady, it was intended to kill one of us. Even if the incident was out of your control, it is not safe for us to stay here,” the Queen concluded rather indignantly, and at least the other royal family members didn’t protest, and reassured her that they would do everything in their power to get to the bottom of this case.

The ride back to the palace was a tense one because it meant that even if the Naturalia royal family didn’t want to kill the Queen or the princess, someone in their royal court would want to do so, someone who had the power to get inside their walls and put some kind of poison in the tea. They should have known that such royalty didn’t just drink or eat before testing it out with their servants, so maybe it was a kind of warning. First the carriage incident, then the rebels, now this… Was it all because the two kingdoms were to be united by the prospectus wedding? Did a group of citizens from the other kingdom have anything against your Queen?

You kept thinking about the what ifs, signs you should have seen, but you still couldn’t rack your head around what had just happened. Upon your arrival back at the palace, the Queen asked you to accompany the startled Hyeri to her room instead of walking her back to her chambers since she had other servants who could help her now. You obeyed her, but your voice was shaky as you responded to her, and your hand trembled when you reached out to hold onto the court lady. It could have been you as well, you could have died that day…

“It’s all okay. You’re safe now,” you mumbled to Hyeri nevertheless, trying to soothe her nerves, but you could still see how frazzled she was. Even when you left her after she had thanked you for your assistance and denied that she needed anything else, you could clearly see how terrified she was. You told her that she shouldn’t hesitate to call for you if she changed her mind and needed anything. Afterwards, you left her behind and started aimlessly walking around the court until your legs didn’t feel wobbly anymore. You needed time and some fresh air to clear your mind.

You were just about to head to the court ladies’ house when you walked into prince Jinyoung who looked just as shaken up as you deemed that you had been some time ago. His usually delicate locks sat on top of his head messily as if he had been running his hand through his hair more often than it was necessary, his jet-black eyes were painted with agony, his facial expression alarmed and his voice shaky when he spoke up.

“Are you… alright?” His words came out raspy, as if he was still trying to catch his breath. Did he come to the court ladies’ area after hearing the news? Why did he seem so uncharacteristically concerned? The usually stern and reserved prince didn’t usually meddle with the servants’ business as you had seen. He was on good terms with his soldier friend, Seunghun, and one of the magical medics, Byounggon, but he usually didn’t worry about the court ladies’ safety. Some said that it was because he didn’t want to be swept up in rumours while you deemed that it was only natural since he was royalty, and of the obedient type.

You bobbed your head, though you were at a loss for words seeing him in this state.

“Are you sure you don’t need more medical assistance?” The prince continued, taking a step closer to you as if to examine if you had visible injuries. However, the way he worded himself sent waves of warmth through your body.

“Oh, it was not me who drank the tea. It was court lady Kim,” you justified to the prince whose lips formed a surprised ‘O’ in return. Other than that, he didn’t seem taken aback, more like a bit coy, but his features softened as if he had been relieved by your answer.

“Oh… is she alright, too?”

“Yes, I helped to accompany her back to her room,” you explained, trying to keep the shaking out of your voice. You had never thought before that being in the court could mean that you were in direct danger because you weren’t a soldier or a bodyguard, but it seemed that there were multiple ways one could weaken a King on the throne.

You heard a door opening and carefree chatter coming out of a house nearby, so instinctively, you grabbed the prince’s robe and pulled him to the wall of the nearest house, into the shadows. You couldn’t really tell what took hold of you, but it felt oddly wrong to be so out in the open with just the prince. It was different in the garden when there were just the two of you. It was like your little hideout, an island of solace, a place of security, however now, you felt like you were stripped bare.

Prince Jinyoung’s eyes widened in surprise at first, but he must have guessed your reason for bringing him with you out of the public eye because he didn’t protest, nor did he ask why you had acted this way. Instead, he peeked out from behind the wall, then back at you.

“And you? Are you alright?” He asked as if he had just continued from where he had left off. “This must have shaken you up.”

The way his words were so gentle, so caring made you feel things that you shouldn’t have. If the prince was the moon that lit the way for the people of the kingdom, the light in the darkness, the hope in the unfamiliar, you would be the sun that shone only during daytime, shining bright until night came, and the moon took its place. You two weren’t supposed to encounter each other, let alone seek out time to see each other.

He shouldn’t have cared about you, and you shouldn’t have let him, but still… You couldn’t lie straight to his face.

“I am… I just…” You wanted to say so much, yet the words died on the tip of your tongue. Your heart was way heavy, the flashbacks of the scene in the dining room even heavier, and you felt a drop of tear sliding down your cheeks as you were trying to pull yourself together. You had to stay strong, you couldn’t show him vulnerability. He couldn’t care about your vulnerability. “I am sorry, Your Highness. I do not want to bother you anymore. Please, go on your way,” you said instead, keeping your eyes down as you bowed.

You wanted him to go away, to stop caring, to stop looking at you, but he didn’t budge, and it was a rule that you could straighten up only when a royalty took the first step. However, he didn’t do so, instead, he tapped your shoulder, and helped you straighten up.

“You don’t bother me at all,” he mumbled like a secret, a feeble attempt at diminishing the gap between you two that should have always mattered, but he crossed it as if he didn’t see it at all.

And you, you weren’t strong enough to push him away. Not that day, not in the comforting shadows under the faint moonlight, not out of the public eye when he looked at you as if he was ready to give you the world. The hand that had rested on your shoulder before now slid to your back as he embraced you, holding you strong, holding you steady

The walls crumbled down, the shield of your heart taken away, your rational thoughts tossed aside. Now, there was only his comforting touch that put out even the tiniest flicker of resistance within you, and for a moment, you believed that this could be your reality, your present and future, and your forever.

After the incident, the palace was in uproar. They couldn’t let it slide as promised, and so the investigation started to get to the bottom of this. The royal family of Naturalia was helpful though, and soon enough, they found a group of rebels who didn’t want your kingdom to be in alliance, let alone in union with their kingdom because of the special magical plants they possessed. They deemed that it was their gift and their gift only. It made sense why the attack on the carriage had happened when a letter had been delivered to Naturalia, then around the borders when news had gotten around that a marriage deal had been proposed to princess Jinhee, then when the Queen and the princess had actually gone to visit the other kingdom.

They didn’t find all of the rebels though, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t attack again no matter the fact that peace was in both parties’ favour. So for now, the marriage proposal was put on hold, and instead, your kingdom tried to strengthen its ties with other alliances. After the passing of the King in Elementalia - the land of elemental magic where people could possess the ability to control fire, earth, water and air -, his rather young heir took place, but it meant that marrying one of their princesses off to another kingdom would secure their power with a boy king on the throne.

That’s how you found yourself in the room with the Queen, prince Jinyoung and other servants, listening to their conversation about prince Jinyoung marrying the princess in question.

“They are in a tight spot, and we are in need of securing our safety. Who knows when those rebels would attack us again? It is best if we do not push your sister’s marriage with prince Jaehyeong now, but rather, we reassure them that we will not make moves towards their kingdom. The best way to do that is to shift their attention to our other affairs… such as your possible marriage with the princess from Elementalia,” the Queen concluded confidently, but you could hear the indignation in her voice. Seeing one of her court ladies almost getting poisoned took a toll on her as it did on all of you. One of her court ladies had even resigned, feeling like her safety was threatened.

Needless to say, prince Jinyoung was also aware of the tension in the kingdom, and while you had only met him once since that embrace, he had seemed rather troubled then and now as well.

“And princess Yunkyeong is said to be a very intelligent, obedient young lady. You might not be interested in her now, but at least, give her a chance. Let us arrange a meeting with her, and see how you feel about her being your wife. I will not force you to make any rash decisions, but we-”

“We need this marriage deal now to reassure our people that our kingdom isn’t threatened. I know, Mother,” the prince cut her off, his voice void of any emotions. His face was also void of any emotions, save for the slight wrinkles forming on his forehead.

You wished you could do anything to help this situation, but in cases like this, your hard work didn’t mean anything. These affairs were bigger than you, bigger than anyone in the royal court. Plus, the Queen was right. Despite not talking explicitly about what had happened in both the carriage and the tea incident, word had gotten out, especially with the rebels making a ruckus around the border. The people were confused and scared, questioning what the royal family’s next move might be. It was best to reassure them with such prosperous news rather than talk about any uncertainty.

“I will come back when you feel ready to give me your answer,” the Queen suggested as she rose from her seat, and so the servants lined up behind her. As you got in line, you made the mistake of looking at the prince, and he looked back at you, though you couldn’t exactly say you knew exactly what he was feeling. However, a shadow of sorrow passed through his features, but you didn’t know what it was for. Or rather, you didn’t want to know.

So you kept your eyes on the ground even after straightening your back from bowing at the prince, and didn’t look back.

You purposefully didn’t go to the garden afterwards. You could have said that you didn’t have time or you were too troubled by the recent events, but the truth is, you merely wanted to avoid meeting the prince. If you hadn’t had conscience before, now you would have felt like you had betrayed the Queen and all that she had worked so hard for if you had kept up your encounters with prince Jinyoung, and the people had gotten to know about it. Such news might even prompt princess Yunkyeong and her family to step back from their marriage proposal. After all, a prince and a court lady should never meet under private circumstances, let alone embrace in the shadows.

Now more than ever, you regretted letting prince Jinyoung console you in your state, you should have known that it would lead to nothing good. You should have stayed strong, you should have never shed tears in front of the prince. On the other hand, you knew, you knew very well with prince Jinyoung’s personality that he wouldn’t have felt compelled to embrace you even if you had been crying. He had done it because he had wanted to, but this thought only weighed down on you even more. What were you two doing anyway? Even if you had moments when you could have believed that your feelings would be reciprocated, the question wasn’t whether they would be reciprocated, but just how wrong it would be if they were reciprocated? You couldn’t fall in love with a prince.

Nonetheless, it was too late. You felt that bittersweet tug whenever you walked to your room straight after finishing your duties for the day without wandering around in the garden, you felt a wave of childish thrill go through your body whenever you caught sight of similarly pitch-black locks as the prince had - though you knew that it couldn’t be the prince for the royal family always wore white and the court members always wore burgundy-black -, and you felt your heart yearning for him, like a person coming up for air after being underwater for too long.

No matter how many times you tried to tell yourself that you could only make things worse if you felt everything so deeply, so grandly, your heart was at war with your brain, and it seemed that your brain was at defeat. Despite everything, you longed for what you had, for what you could have and for what you would never have with prince Jinyoung.

It didn’t make things any easier that you were there when the prince gave his answer to the Queen - that he would meet the princess in person -, you were there when they were arranging for the arrival of princess Yunkyeong and the Queen of Elementalia, and you were there when they arrived. You even needed to be the one to notify the prince that they arrived, and you felt a lump forming in your throat as you walked closer and closer to the prince’s chamber. You felt like your legs were made of steel, your limbs numb and your heartbeat as erratic as it could be.

Even though you had never been to the prince’s chamber, you knew where it was for it was the room closest to the Queen’s own chamber. Knocking on its door made you think of scenarios where you could do the same, but you quickly got rid of all of these silly fantasies. After all, they were nothing more than fantasies, irrational wishes and ultimately bullets through your already fragile heart.

When the prince answered, you opened the door to his chamber, and you made your way inside, bowing immediately before letting him know about why you were there. You could see that prince Jinyoung was both surprised and reassured by your presence, but he pursed his lips into a thin line when you explained the reason behind your visit.

“What do you think about this marriage?” The prince asked abruptly, and for a moment, you felt like icy thorns were invading your throat, making it impossible to speak, gulp or even breathe. Why did he have to make this even more difficult?

Deep inside, your rational side managed to break free from all the fantasies, and reminded you that you would only make things worse if you acted as if you were affected by the possibility of prince Jinyoung marrying a princess. As he should have after all. So you pulled yourself together, and tried to word yourself very diplomatically.

“I believe it is a very beneficial one, and princess Yunkyeong is said to be a lovely young lady as well, Your Highness,” you reasoned, keeping your voice steady. You even managed to keep eye-contact with him, and you saw confusion flash across his features. He seemed weary, someone who hadn’t been sleeping well because of his tormenting thoughts, and you wished to soothe the wrinkles on his forehead, to feel the warmth of his touch again, and to hold his hand to reassure him that everything would be alright, but you knew it was all just wishful thinking. It was all just a lie.

The prince took a few steps closer to you and you took a few back because you didn’t know what he was about to do without saying a word. Your back almost touched the door, and in a fraction of fragile seconds, he closed the said door, and turned back to you. This way, no one in the corridor could see you or listen to you two.

“Is that what you honestly think?”

His gaze was piercing, almost burning, and it felt like he could see right through you. His usually warm orbs reflected sadness, sorrow and bitterness - something that you saw reflected in your own ones recently. Seeing him in this state made you feel even worse for lying to him, but you had to. Words were your only defence now.

“Yes, Your Highness. I wish nothing but the best for you.”

“Do you believe it would be the best for me if you kept this up, and I would lose you in the meantime?” He kept going on strong, almost demanding, but you could detect the thorn in his words, you could detect his fear. Even though he wasn’t as close to you as he had been when he had embraced you in the shadows, you still felt like he was about to break down your walls. You couldn’t let that happen. Not this time.

“I do not believe that my presence should matter that much, and besides, we should hurry to-” You tried to direct the conversation back to the way it had started, but the prince cut you off, and the sincerity, the pain and the same longing you felt laced his words, and you were rendered speechless.

“It does matter that much even if you might not think so. So just once, can’t you be honest with me? Can’t you tell me what you really feel?”

Amongst many, there was one thing about prince Jinyoung that made him a likely successful heir to the throne: no matter what he said, he could make others believe it, no room for doubts. His voice was always confident, no cracks or wavers, but now, his voice shook. It shook like a man’s during prayers, during struggle and during darkness. As if he was desperate.

You physically ached to give him the answer he wanted, but you were already hurting so much, so you made a promise to yourself that no matter how and when you would meet him again, you wouldn’t let it continue the same way as it had done before. The sooner you could put an end to it, the less it would hurt.

Or so you assumed.

“I do not understand what you intend to say with it, Your Highness, but my duties lie with the Queen, and I always, always put her commands first,” you emphasised sternly, masking your tone in a coldness that you had never found within you before. “So if you could follow me now, that would make my job easier,” you added, strictly drawing the line between you two, and before waiting for his answer like you should have according to the etiquette, you walked around him, opened the door and walked out.

You expected him to follow you, and he did, but you were thankful that he didn’t walk beside you because you had to bite your cheek to keep your tears from flowing. It hurt for you to be so rigid to him, but that was the only way you could put a distance between you two.

So why did it hurt so much? Why did it pain you more to lie to him than if you had just been honest with him? If this was love, why did it hurt so bloody much?

It turned out that princess Yunkyeong was indeed a lovely young lady, and seeing her interact with the prince made you feel undeniably bitter because she was so bright, so considerate and so patient, you wished you could have turned back time to never make him feel anything because you knew why he was so distant. Even though he was trying not to appear stern, you could see the way his facial expressions changed in a fraction of a second when he turned away from her. You knew that the reason was you.

Nonetheless, you hoped that he wouldn’t cling onto the foolish hope of you two ever having your own happy ending because just as much as you would have liked to delude yourself into thinking that you could have anything together, it would be simply impossible as long as you were a servant and he was a prince. Which meant that you could never do so.

So when you heard after the princess’ visit that the prince had given in to the marriage, you should have felt relieved, yet you would be lying if you said that you were. After all, it would mean that you would see the princess around all the time because she would move into the palace after the wedding, and though the pain might numb after a while, her presence would always remind you of what you could have had if it had been for different circumstances.

You tried not to think about it, you really tried, but there was a pang in your chest whenever you and prince Jinyoung were in the same room when he met up with the Queen, and despite not catching each other’s eyes, your heart couldn’t sit still. The same went when you walked by him in the corridor, just one look at him and the fact that you could never be close again almost felt like the consequences of getting burnt. You were too close to the fire, but you were tempted, so you touched the flames, and now you were hurt, yet still yearning to do it again. Now you understood the expression that you would walk through fire for someone, you really did.

You were almost glad that the Festival of Day and Light happened a few days before the wedding because you could get time off to visit back home, to visit the festival because the Queen was preoccupied with the wedding arrangements, and hence, she would stay inside her chamber for most of the day.

It was the usual yearly festival for the fall equinox, and when you had been younger, you had been ecstatic to spend this day with your mother, to commemorate the gift of light, and to light a candle for all your loved ones, wishing them a bright year. There were all kinds of games for kids, stalls of delicacies lining up on the main market square, people lighting candles and placing them on the riverside that crossed the capital of the kingdom, and white or yellow decorations in the shape of stars, the Sun and the Moon.

Despite the usual joyous atmosphere of the celebration, ever since your mother had died, you hadn’t gone out to celebrate it as your father wasn’t the kind to believe in such things. So this year as well, you went home for the day, had a meal together with your father, helped him around the house, talked about everything that came to mind, then headed back to the palace later at night. Yet, there was no way you would be able to go around the celebrations on the main market square, so you mindlessly walked through it.

To be precise, you wanted to, but an elderly woman with an impossibly wide smile shoved a candle into your hand, and looking down at it, you didn’t have the heart to not light it up. So you walked to the edge of the river, a less crowded part of it, and crouched down to touch your candle to the wick of another one, watching as the flame moved from one candle to the other.

Then, you placed yours on the ground, closed your eyes and wished for your father’s health, your mother’s comfort in the spirit realm, the court ladies’ perseverance, the Queen’s well-being and even for prince Jinyoung’s happiness. You really wished nothing but the best for him even if you weren’t a part of it.

When you opened your eyes to the world around you and straightened up, you didn’t expect to find a familiar pair of jet-black eyes staring back at you. Your heart and mind didn’t even have time to protest, the words already rolled off your tongue.

“Your Highness,” you greeted him with your mouth slightly agape, then pulled yourself together for a proper bow. He placed his index finger on his lips - just like the time he had picked up the hairpin for you -, and the déjavu of the whole situation sent a chill down your spine.

He indeed looked like he didn’t want to be seen as he didn’t wear his trademark white robe, but a burgundy-black one with a hood that now covered most of his face, but you could never mistake his orbs for anyone else’s. You had stared into them, you had gazed at them and you had daydreamed about them enough times to be able to recognise them anywhere.

“What are you doing here?” You inquired quietly. It wasn’t unheard of that the royal family members went out for such celebrations, but then they walked into the sea of people in their usual clothes with bodyguards around them. This time, the prince seemed to be alone, and you expected him the least out of anyone since his wedding was just around the corner.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to light a candle. I’ve gotten Seunghun’s clothes, so that I could come here in peace, and then I saw you here…” He trailed off by the end as if he wasn’t sure that he should have said so much, but you could understand him. Especially after how you had lied to him last time.

“Should you be here so close to your wedding?”

Your question might have been assumed to be laced with malice, but you didn’t ask about it out of spite. You were concerned about him, that’s all. You knew how fussy the Queen was about the whole wedding, and it took a toll on prince Jinyoung (or was it that he still didn’t let go of you?). The last thing you had expected from him these days was to see him at the festival.

“Probably not,” he replied, and despite the tense question, the corner of his lips curled upwards, a bit childish and a bit bashful. Not the expression you had expected to see on him given his general state nowadays.

However, the prince didn’t seem guilty now, but there was definitely melancholy in his features. His lips couldn’t bloom into a full smile, his eyes weren’t twinkling, and his limbs were all tensed up as if he was ready to bolt anytime. Maybe he really was, seeing how he covered himself up.

Your heart ached for him, for all the possibilities that were crushed by the sole difference between your ranks, and for all those endless fantasies he had been a part of, ones that popped into your mind whenever you let your mind wander off, whenever you caught sight of him at the palace, and whenever you walked by the pond in the garden. Even though the latter had become a place of solitude, a safe haven for you, now it was just another thing that reminded you of your pain. The wound was there, and it was still open, it was still bleeding, no wonder it was difficult to wait out the time it would start to heal.

And in a way, something in your gut told you that he was the same. His following words proved it, too.

“But I’ve wanted to wish for someone’s bright future even if I won’t be a part of it,” prince Jinyoung suddenly broke the silence, his voice coming out raspy. He crouched down to light his own candle as he continued, but you were glad that he couldn’t see your face because his words struck you to your very core. “I felt like I wasn’t supposed to tell her after what we’ve been through and that she wouldn’t let me tell her how I wish the best for her, so I came here instead. I was hoping that my wish would somehow be carried forward.”

The more he talked, the more certain you were that he was talking about you, and instinctively, tears began to spill. You tried to hold them back, but they found their way to the surface, and all you could do was to sob silently, hoping that prince Jinyoung would look at his candle for a long enough time, long enough for your heart to prepare itself for a response, for your heart to prepare itself for a possible goodbye.

You reached to wipe the tears off your face, but as the prince straightened his back, that’s exactly what he caught you doing, so there was no turning back. You let your sobs reverberate through your body, your words following the rhythm of your tears like raindrops on a windowsill.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled through tears, not being able to look him in the eye. So you just stared at your shoes instead while your tears dropped to the ground one after another. Drip… drop… drip… drop… “I thought that being harsh would be the only way I could make it hurt less, but it still hurts so much.”

“I know. I don’t blame you,” came the answer almost immediately, and when you looked at prince Jinyoung through the waterfall of your tears, you saw the same kind of longing that you dressed your features in these days. If anything, that just made you feel worse. Why couldn’t you be as heartless as last time?

You sobbed quietly, hoping not to attract unnecessary attention, but this part of the riverside was pretty quiet, and the stillness of it all magnified the loudness of your beating heart. You felt like it would break through your ribcage to find the prince’s own heart because it was what it sought after. Too bad that you couldn’t listen to your heart now…

“I’m sorry, too,” prince Jinyoung added, his voice cracking by the end.

You knew what was to come even before it happened, but as opposed to last time, you didn’t feel warmth, you didn’t feel comfort. When the prince embraced you, there was pain; because when you share the same kind of pain with someone, your pain is amplified by the other’s pain. It was a gawking, raw, soul crashing kind of ache, one that you felt in your bones, in your veins and in your heart. You couldn’t even do anything about it, your arms just hung idly by the prince’s body, your tears spilling endlessly, words abandoning you and sobs scratching your throat instead.

You couldn’t tell how much time had passed by when the prince let go of you, but you had a feeling that it was for good. When he squeezed your hand gently, you could feel the hesitation only for a short moment, and then, he slowly slipped through your fingers, all of your remaining hope leaving with him.

The walls that he had broken down now laid at your feet, lifeless and in multiple, messy pieces.

You somehow pushed through the wedding, but afterwards, you kept coming down with something, and even Byounggon’s healing and the medics’ tips couldn’t help because it just kept coming back, so the Queen granted you indefinite leave to go back home and to recharge yourself.

The truth is, once you were off the palace grounds, you got better, and you had a feeling why. On top of that, your father was also feeling poorly, so you were glad that you could be at home during this time. The truth is, ever since you had left for the palace 16 years ago, you hadn’t spent more than a week straight at home, so now that you were there, you realised just how much time had passed by, just how lonely your father must have been, how worn out your old shoes had been, and how loaded all your bookshelves were.

You made yourself busy in and around the house, cleaning up, buying new pillows for yourself and new clothes for your father (it seemed that he didn’t like spending money on himself, rather on books), picking up some herbs for your father from the nearby medics - from two young men, Hyunsuk and Yonghee, who were said to be good friends -, cooking, sewing clothes that were torn, reading the books you had not yet read from the shelves, and daydreaming about how you would take prince Jinyoung to your home, how you would lead him around the house and how you would introduce him to your father… if the circumstances had been different, and he hadn’t been a prince married to a princess.

The news of the royal family reached your neighbourhood as well, so you knew that the prince was on a trip to Elementalia with his wife, and maybe that’s what prompted you to go back to the palace then to formally hand in your written resignation.

The Queen didn’t seem taken aback by your decision, in fact, she rose from her usual sitting position, put her hand on your trembling ones, and gave you an almost motherly smile.

“Thank you so much for your service in the past 16 years. Your mother would be exceptionally proud of you. I wish nothing but the best for you and your father,” she said as she sent you on your way, and when you walked out of her chamber and passed by prince Jinyoung’s own chamber, you knew that it was for the best. Maybe some would say that you ran away from him, but you knew that you couldn’t have run away from the pain even if you had tried. So you had tried to give yourself space and time to decide what would be the best for you, and both your body and your heart thanked you for this decision.

You couldn’t help a teardrop roll down your cheeks though as you stepped through the gates - probably for the very last time -, flashbacks washed into a wheel of events; so much laughter, so much learning, so much love and so much pain. Like the different colours of a rainbow, all of these were needed to make you who you were today, and even though you didn’t believe in forever anymore, you would always, truly, deeply wish for nothing but the best for prince Jinyoung. He had given you so much care and affection, and this was the only way you could repay him.

A/N: I managed to finish writing and proofreading this story in time for the comeback, but I didn't think that it would top all the pain that the comeback might cause. Sorry for that, but I hope that you enjoyed the angst of it!

How do you like the comeback, the MV and the album? Do you have a favourite song? I love suffering, and I love emotional MVs, but the MV and the whole album were on another level in the best way possible. I think the boys outdid themselves again, and I'm super proud of them!

All in all, I hope you enjoyed the story! Thank you so much for reading it! ❤️

If you want to read more stories of mine, let it be for CIX or for other bands, consider signing up for my taglist here.

On top of that, keep your eyes out for the other boys' stories set in this universe! 😉

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