#hat what has happened has been good. and i hope you sleep well at night and always have the love you crave for around.

[lunasilvis]

Been writing someone I care about a phantom letter because my heart has so much to say still (but won't send because space is still called for both ways - doesn't mean I'll become forgetful :) )

[holidayinhell]

The Laundry Room

Characters: creepy/intimate Whumper, captive Whumpee CWs: captivity, noncon (mostly implied but eh), sexual/noncon nudity, food denial, discussion of amputation, classic whump shiz

In the early days of his captivity, Whumpee was allowed to sleep on the couch in the basement. Now he spent his days chained up on the floor of the wash room, tethered to the column in the center of the laundry room with a radius of no more than twenty feet to roam about. The cold of the cellar was inescapable. Sometimes, late at night, he would secretly turn on the dryer on its lowest setting and press his face to its warmth. It was one of the only good things left in his life anymore. Now all he had to look forward to was the sweet release of sleep and laundry day once a week.

“Whuuuum-peeeee!” Called a singsong voice from the top of the steps.

Whumpee swallowed. No matter how many times this happened, he was never prepared for it.

The wooden steps creaked in protest under Whumper’s heavy boots. The tall man rounded the corner of the basement into the subterranean laundry room, where he found his favorite captive chained to the central support beam, exactly where he’d left him.

“Got a little something to keep you busy.” Whumper grinned, dumping the contents of the laundry basket he was holding onto the floor. “Turn around.”

Before he finished giving the command, Whumpee had already presented his captor with the zip ties securing his wrists behind his back. Normally Whumper would remove the binds the moment he got home, but he'd had already been back for hours. Maybe he was busy with something else. Or maybe he did it on purpose.

Whumper retrieved his switchblade from his pocked and flipped it open.

“So I saw something on the news again today.” Whumper informed his captive, snapping the plastic ties with his knife.

“Apparently someone found an old hat in the woods. They think that it’s one of yours. It started another search for you, if you can goddamn believe it, and it’s even bigger than before. There’s helicopters and scent tracing dogs and all.”

Whumper unbuckled his belt, sliding the leather strap through the loops of his pants. “That’s some crazy persistence, all for one person. Like, move on with your lives, people. What’s it been, a whole year now?”

“Ten months.” Whumpee replied weakly, rubbing the red marks on his wrists.

“Shietttt, has it really been that long? I was just kidding.” Whumper said playfully, his voice laced with something sinister. “Well, you know what they say: time flies when you’re having fun.”

Fun. Is that what this was?

“I’m just glad they haven’t given up hope yet.”

Whumpee knew he’d misspoke the second the words left his mouth.

“Wrong, Whumpee.” The air went heavy. Whumper shot a disdainful glance at Whumpee, his eyes narrowing with contempt. “People need to stop searching. They need to give up already.”

Whumper was still clutching his leather belt in his hands. For the sake of his physical wellbeing, Whumpee decided to ignore the comment completely.

“Uh, so separate these by color, then?” Whumpee asked as he pawed through the dirty laundry on the floor, desperate to change the subject.

Whumper’s mind was still on the search. “Hmm? Oh, yeah, like usual. Remember to run the sheets—“

“On delicate mode?” Whumpee finished his thought. “Mhmm. Got it.”

Whumpee busied himself by sorting through the dirty laundry pile while Whumper loomed by the room’s entrance. Whumpee watched him cautiously from the corner of his eye. The sociopath was silently brooding, his eyes fixed on Whumpee’s form.

He wished Whumper would fuck off and go back upstairs.

Doing laundry once a week was one of the only tasks he was allowed to do, and as depressing as it was, he actually looked forward to it. It was one of the only things he had to keep himself entertained with. 

In the early days of his captivity, Whumper had allowed him to watch the small tv in the basement living room and provided him with an endless supply of magazines and books. And to think, Whumpee thought he was a prisoner back then. Like most everything in Whumpee’s life, his privileges had been taken away one by one. 

Whumper removed the tv within the first month. He never gave Whumpee a reason why. Next were the books. Then the couch. And soon enough, Whumpee found himself chained to a pole with his wrists zip-tied behind him for ten hours at a time, praying that his captor would at least remember to feed him that day.

Whumpee started a pile of lights, darks, and colors, sorting each garment into its designated pile. Whumper remained in the doorway and watching his captive intently, his presence entirely unwelcome.

“So, um. Did you make something good for dinner?” Whumpee piped up, breaking the tension of the silence.

Ever since he’d been captured all his brain would fixate on was food, and the only thing he could think about currently was the sumptuous meaty smell that had been tantalizing his tastebuds for the past hour.

“Mmm.” Whumper nodded, crossing his arms and stepping into the room. “Roast chicken and mashed potatoes. Garlic bread too, just from the store.”

Whumpee’s eyes widened hungrily.

“No leftovers I’m afraid.” He added.

“Oh.” 

Whumpee crumbled in on himself. That meant no dinner tonight.

Whumpee opened the cabinet above the sink to retrieve a box of detergent. He popped off the lid and scooped the plastic measuring cup into the powder, leveling the mountain of excess with a swipe of his finger.

“You should wash your clothes as well, Whumpee.” The tall man remarked from across the room.

“Uh, yeah. I will.” Whumpee agreed, continuing to avoid eye contact. He placed the pre-measured cup of detergent on the counter, turning to gather up the sorted pile of white clothes from the floor. He chucked them into the washing machine, sprinkled the soap crystals on top, and closed the lid.

He really wished Whumper would go away now, but the tall man stood firmly in place. Whumpee knew where this was going.

“I said you should wash them, Whumpee. That means to take them off.” 

Whumpee stiffened. God fucking damn it. 

Not right now. Not that he wanted to go through this shit ever, but Whumper seemed to be in an especially odd mood this evening.

Whumpee did as he was commanded. It wasn’t worth the fight. He lifted his pale blue button-up over his head, not bothering to unclasp the buttons, and tossed it into the pile of colors. He removed his socks and pants and did the same. Finally he stood in nothing but his white boxer-briefs, awkwardly shimmying them down his thighs until they slid down his legs and hung at his ankles. Blushing, he stepped out of them and walked over to the washing machine, chucking the underwear into the load of whites as it filled with water. 

A chill rocked his body when Whumper approached from behind.

The larger man pushed his hips into Whumpee’s back, pinning him squarely against the machine as it hummed to life. “Mmm. I should make you walk around naked all the time. Don’t you think?”

“It, uh… it gets really cold down here.”

“Psht.” Whumper draped his arms around Whumpee’s neck. “So I’ll buy you an electric blanket. That’d be nice, right?”

“Sure. But, please, I really do need my clothes.”

Whumper’s arms traveled down the sides of Whumpee’s torso and trailed inwards to find his ass. One hand delivered a crisp smack, which immediately left behind a glowing red mark. He smiled, scooping a buttcheek into each palm, jiggling what little flesh was there.

“Your ass is so tiny.” Whumpee quipped.

Yeah, that’s what happens when you average 400 calories a day for nearly a year.

“Yeah. I’m pretty skinny now.”

“You look good like this.” Whumper purred into his ear as he delicately stroked the length of Whumpee’s back. “But I do miss the ass.”

Time to go away now, Whumpee thought. Please, please just go the fuck away.

Whumper smacked Whumpee’s ass again, scooping it up and grinding the denim fabric on his crotch against the thin man’s perfect, bare skin while caressing his neck with his hot, wet tongue. He took Whumpee’s earlobe into his mouth and suckled it lightly, biting down on the soft flesh with only a tiny amount of pressure.

“Mm, you have goosebumps.” Whumper murmured with a self-satisfied grin. “Did that turn you on?”

Two of Whumper’s fingers traced the curvature of his ass and found Whumpee’s entrance. The digits dabbed at the hole gently, teasing and prodding the skin but never pushing inside. The firm touch sent an involuntary shiver up Whumpee’s spine. Whumper smirked at his reaction and nibbled at the side of Whumpee’s neck.

He was so cold, the warmth on his neck felt good. But nothing else did.

“I keep thinking,” Whumper cooed, Whumpee melting into him for heat. “Maybe it’s finally time to give your friends closure. Feels cruel to keep dragging things out like this. They need to stop looking for you.”

For the first time in months, Whumpee felt a vague twinge of hope. 

“What? You mean that you’ll--?”

“What I mean is, they’ll be looking for a body.”

Oh. Oh no.

“W-what?” Whumpee stammered. He twisted out from under Whumper, his chain rattling against the floor as he side-stepped his captor. “What does that mean?”

“I feel a little guilty about it. The search for you has been going on for ages, and now they’re bringing out helicopters and shit? That’s a waste of taxpayer money. The cops could be out there doing real good.”

“No. What did you mean by ‘body’?”

“I was thinking we could chop off one of your legs or something. Maybe just a foot.” 

“No!” Whumpee shrieked. “You can’t!” He delivered a feeble push against Whumper’s chest, pivoting out from underneath him. His heart was pounding in his ears so loud, he pressed his hands to cover them and doubled over in fear.

The reaction took Whumper by surprise. “Bad joke.” he offered, placing a calming hand on the other’s shoulders. 

It wasn’t a joke.

The tall man rubbed his captive’s back until Whumpee’s breath finally evened out. It felt like a betrayal, the way his body responded so well to Whumper’s comforting touch. He jerked away from the sociopath’s reach.

Whumpee blinked incredulously at the man, his cheeks burning with anger. “Don’t.” he spat.

“What?”

“Don’t you fucking dare--”

“Excuse me? Don’t I fucking dare do what?”

“Don’t fucking joke about mutilating me!” Whumpee shouted.

“Hey.” Whumper cautioned. “You’re being too goddamn loud right now.”

Whumpee was frenzied, his chain skittered around as he paced around in a tight circle, pulling at chunks of his hair.

“How long are you going to keep me here?!” Whumpee demanded. “How much fucking longer!?”

“As long as I goddamn like.”

“Just let me go. Just please…” Whumpee pled tearfully, his emotions see-sawing violently between anger and complete despair. “You got what you wanted from me. Why won’t you let me leave…?”

Whumper shrugged. “It never was a part of the plan.”

“Fuck you!” The captive yelled. “I fucking hate you!”

“Whumpee.” Whumper warned with a stern finger, “it’s time to shut the fuck up.”

“I HATE Y—!”

Whumper grabbed a length of chain from the floor and yanked it towards him, forcing Whumpee to the ground by the shackle around his ankle.

Whumper continued pulling the chain into himself, dragging Whumpee’s body across the cold cement floor with every tug. It all happened too quickly for Whumpee to process.

“I should bash your face into the concrete again.” He growled, standing over his collapsed body. Whumpee could taste blood in his mouth. “But I’ll give you one last chance. I guess I didn’t say it explicitly enough last time, so hopefully this time it fucking sinks in: you are here to stay. There will be no more talk of kidnapping, or rescue, or freedom, or fucking escaping. No more of that. You’re here. You’re mine. This house--no--this room, is your whole fucking world, and I am your god. Get used to it.”

Whumpee lifted his head slightly and shot a fiery glance in Whumper’s direction.

“You better wipe that look off your pathetic face while you’ve still got one.” Whumper flicked his switchblade open.

He lifted one of his boots and rested its rubber sole on Whumpee’s back, pressing him into the floor. Brandishing the knife overhead, he commanded Whumpee: “Show me why I choose to keep you around. Remind me that you haven’t fucking forgotten your sole purpose in life, or I’ll saw your leg off right fucking now.”

Face-down on the floor, Whumpee let out a sigh so small only he could hear it.

He knew what he had to do. He didn’t have any other options. Silent tears rushed down his cheeks and fell soundlessly to the floor.

And so out of self-preservation, Whumpee thrust his hips into the air and pushed his face to the floor, his bare ass on full display. He shifted weight into his palms and spread his legs out, his dick and balls tumbled forward, swaying slightly while he found his balance. His hands reached back behind him, blindly tracing the outsides of his thighs, following a line up and over to the round cleft of his butt cheeks.

Choking down a sob, he forced his ass apart. He disgracefully presented his hole before Whumper’s shining, ravenous eyes.

The captor’s jeans fell to the ground. The man dropped to his knees, settling himself in the space between Whumpee’s open legs. 

“When I’m done with you, you are going to fucking thank me like your life depends on it.”

The sudden, high-pitched beep of the washing machine pierced the quiet of the room, signalling that the washing was done. 

Whumpee didn’t dare move an inch.

“And after I’ve filled you up,” Whumper’s hot breath hit his ear. 

“You’re going to tell me exactly which limb to cut off.”

((more Whump oneshots))

[polakina]

evenings in the east

pairing: javier escuella x reader

rating: explicit

outline: a job takes you to saint denis, and you take the perfect person for the job. who also so happens to be your favourite person in camp. one night away from camp couldn't do any harm, right?

warnings: fluff, flirting, cursing, pining, smut, unprotected sex, oral (fem recieving), canon typical racism, illegal shit (but we've all robbed someone in the games, let's be honest)

requests are open! hope you enjoy, petals <3

a/n: this is a looong one. and also my first rdr2 attempt (but there will be more). so i took my sweet ass time with it. javier has had me in a fucking chokehold for years and i'm not even complaining

masterlist

II

When the team wanted revenge, it was you and Arthur on a mission. When they wanted chaos, Sean was the best to take. But for a little finesse, Javier was your go-to man.

Walking over to him, you noticed how he put down his weapons on the table, his eyes already on you before you reached him. Poncho draped over his shoulder, hat tipped down half his face, only his lips on show, he looked so elusive. Unapproachable to an outsider. But not to you.

“Good morning, cariňa,” he said softly, the words rolling off his tongue. His accent was always a little huskier in the morning. You’d learned over the years you’d known him that he wasn’t a morning person at all. It wasn’t in his nature. You often had to kick him awake, and even then he’d roll over at you and curse in his native tongue. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

You smiled, taking a seat with two cups of coffee in your hands, sliding one across the wooden table to him. He nodded appreciatively, taking the cup and sipping a small amount. “Hosea’s sending me on a job. Should be fun. It’s a pretty lucrative deal, out in Saint Denis.”

“And…my role?” He asked, waving his hand in the air expectantly.

“Uhm��well…” you hadn’t really figured out his role. Just that you wanted his company for the job. 

“Wait. Let me guess,” he smirked. “You want me to be the charmingly handsome distraction while you steal from a bunch of big money spenders in a high class bar?”

Rolling your eyes, you sipped your coffee. “Idiota. I need someone calm. Someone sneaky. You were my top pick.”

“Sneaky is not my talent, hermosa. I steal things with style,” he gestured to himself with his free hand, and you couldn’t help but chuckle. But he wasn’t wrong. He had a certain way about him. He always liked to put on a show. Not as much as Trewlany did, he was more subtle with his methods. 

“Do you want the job or not, Javi?” You asked, leaning over the table, eyebrows raised.

He nodded almost immediately. “Very much so. Anything to get me out of this camp and away from sleeping in the tent next to Bill.” You laughed, and you both finished your coffee in comfortable silence.

-

Your relationship with Javier was a complicated one. And a long story. Your first encounter, he tried to rob you. It was a good lift. Any regular person going about their day wouldn’t have noticed. But the best of the best taught you to steal. To lie. To scam. So you noticed. 

So when he tried to walk away, you didn’t stop him immediately, which confused Marston, who you were riding with. “What are you doin’, darlin’? He’s gonna get away.”

“I wanna have a little fun with it. I haven’t been robbed before,” you smiled sweetly, looking over at John innocently. “Wanna make it special.”

He looked at you in bewilderment. “You’re fuckin’ weird, doll.”

So you followed for a while, at a safe distance, while this mysterious Mexican rode his horse away, none the wiser. It’s only when he paced faster into a gallop that you finally decided it was time. Speeding past him on your horse you roped him with your lasso, tearing him off his horse and hitting the floor hard. Really hard. 

John laughed at the man, and you dismounted your horse, wandering over to him, pulling your rope taut as you approached the thief. 

“Hijo de puta, who the hell are you?” He groaned, rolling onto his back, his face painting a pained expression.

“The lady you robbed. Now give me back my shit and you can walk away from this,” you crouched down to his level, tipping your hat up to look him in the eye. 

“How the hell do you know I robbed you? Huh? You accuse every Mexican you see of being a criminal?” His accent was thick, syllables rolling off his tongue effortlessly. 

You smirked, flicking his hat off his head in one swift motion. “No, but I know a thief when I see one. Yeah, you’re a pretty good one, honey, but I’m better.” You held out your hand expectantly, and he sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling a leather pouch out. It landed in your palm with a soft thud.

“You finished, darlin’? Or you wanna pack him up and take him with us? Either way, can we get moving? My ass hurts and it’s getting dark out.”

“Stop your whining, Marston,” you chuckled, standing up and releasing the man from your rope. What he’d said wasn’t actually a bad idea though. Taking him with you. He’d be an asset, sure. But it’d definitely take the camp a while to warm to the idea of it. You weighed the idea for a few minutes as the man stood up, brushing dirt off his knees. “What’s your name?”

He looked at you, slightly confused. You just lassoed him off his horse, and now you wanted to get to know him? “Javier.” You shook his hand, replying with your own name. He noted how gentle your voice was, as opposed to how harsh your actions were just moments ago. 

“Where you headed?”

He walked back over to his horse, mounting it with a grunt and putting his hat back on his head, adjusting his poncho to sit comfortably. “Not sure yet. Wherever this road takes me, I guess. It was nice…getting thrown to the ground by you, I guess. But I got places to be. I’ll see you around.” He tipped his hat and jutted his heels into the sides of his horse.

“There’s a camp,” you said, watching him turn back to you with a curious expression. “About a mile east of Blackwater. You ever find your way out that direction, come introduce yourself. There might even be a place for you there.” He smiled and nodded before riding off west.

“Think that was a good idea?” John asked, walking his horse up next to you, looking down as you watched Javier leave. “Telling him where camp was?”

You shrugged, mounting your own horse and setting off into a trot back to camp. “Can’t do any harm, right? Besides, who knows? Maybe he really will stop by.”

He did. Two weeks later. He never ended up leaving. He became part of Van Der Linde’s most trusted and years later, still managed to prove himself one way or another.

-

“This dress hurts my lungs,” you complained. For the forty sixth time, Javier had been counting since you left camp in search of Saint Denis. “Can’t fucking breathe in this thing. How do ladies wear these all day?” You shuffled in your seat on the wagon, trying any way to get the pressure of this corset off your chest.

“Keep moving around and that corset is going to pierce an organ or something, hermosa,” Javier chuckled. He was lucky. He got to wear a suit and tie, and his hat, of course. What you wouldn’t give to switch this dress for your riding pants right about now. Or your hat. God, you missed your hat. You felt naked without it.

“I’ll pierce your organs with it if you keep laughing at me.”

That just made him chuckle even harder. “We’ve got to play the part. Distinguished members of society.” He looked over to you and was just met with a blank stare.

“I hate every word that just came out of your mouth,” you said, rolling your eyes. Coming into view was the city you were heading for. The tall industrial looking buildings, the rows and rows of streets and train tracks and stores. It was occupied by more people than you think you’d ever come across in your life. “Jesus, that place is huge.”

“Just look like you belong, we’ll be fine.” Javier patted your thigh comfortingly. It made your stomach flip.

Parking the wagon by the side of the saloon Hosea had told you about, you looked up at the mountain of a building. “How the hell are these buildings so tall?” You muttered to yourself. A quiet cough pulled you out of your thoughts and you looked to your right, where Javier was standing, a hand extended to help you off the wagon. “Such a gentleman, aren’t you?” You smiled. 

“I’m always a gentleman, thank you very much,” he joked. “You’d do well to remember that.” Holding out his arm, you took it, looping your arm through his and making your way to the entrance. But he stopped just before opening the door, turning to you. “Hold out your hand.” You did, confused, but also trusting him completely. “Other hand, hermosa.” You switched for your left hand.

“What are you doing, Javi?”

He said nothing, slipping a ring onto your finger. A wedding ring, from the looks of it. Your confusion was now fully recognisable in your features. “Playing the part,” he replied, winking. He switched one of his own rings to his ring finger. Then he pushed the door open with a smile.

The hotel clerk gave you a strange look, but it immediately washed away when he saw your hardened glare. “Evening folks, how can I help you tonight?”

You took point on the situation, as planned. “Good evening, sir,” you beamed sweetly. “We’d like a room for the night. We were recommended this establishment by friends and our expectations certainly seemed to be met from just the look of this place.” Javier loved your way with words. You’d taken after Hosea in that regard, able to smooth talk your way into anything you wanted.

“Well, ma’am, we certainly do have rooms available. Is the room just for yourself, or is this…gentleman joining you?” He looked to Javier with uncertainty. Your blood boiled a little, and Jvaier’s finger interlaced with yours, squeezing your hand gently. He could sense anger in you. 

“You mean my husband?” It felt strange saying such foreign words, but you powered through it. “Yes, he will. Is that a problem for you? Sir?” Venom laced that last word, and the clerk realised he fucked up. A lot. 

“No, no of course not. Here, the key to your room,” he said, handing a key with the number 4C etched into the key chain. “And a bottle of wine at the bar, on the house.” You and Javier looked to one another, he smirked and turned back to the clerk. 

“Make that a bottle of whiskey and you have yourself a deal, amigo,” he flashed a smile in the clerk’s direction. He still hadn’t loosened his grip on your hand yet, you’d eased into his touch over time. 

“Of course, sir,” the clerk returned with an awkward, tight lipped smile, gesturing to the stairs leading to the first floor. “Your room is on the fourth floor, folks. Enjoy your night.”

You smiled sweetly, leaning over the desk, closer to the clerk until he saw the fire simmering in your eyes. It scared him a little. “Thank you, sir,” you spoke quietly, too quiet for Javier to hear. “But you insult my husband again, and I’ll take your tongue for good measure.” The clerk’s face drained of all life. You walked away, Javier leading you up the stairs.

“What did you say to him?” Javier asked, unlocking the hotel door and entering inside.

“Nothing, really,” you vaguely responded, “Just…commenting on his customer service.”

-

The bar was pretty quiet. A group of young ladies sat in the corner, eyeing up the married men who were sat on the right side of the bar, smoking and laughing amongst one another. It had been a long time since you’d been somewhere like this. So civilised. So populated with the high end of society. It made you uncomfortable, but your face read as calm. Collected. You belonged here. Javier guided you to the bar, his hand on the small of your back. You felt comforted by the brief touches. 

Your targets were all around you. Rich folk visiting from New York for the yearly Saint Denis festival and theatre house. They came like clockwork, swaying through the city in their frocks and suits, casting eyes down at the lower class occupants as they sat by the road, only a few coins in their hats.

The bottle of whiskey was waiting for you on the bar, the one gifted from staff for your previously rude introduction with the clerk. The bartender poured two glasses of whiskey, adding ice for yours. You took a seat at the bar, Javier on your left, situated at the corner of the bar so he could see the entire room. You sat yourself where the mirror hanging on the back of the bar was situated, giving you a perfect view of those behind you.

“Some pretty good shit we could get off these people, I think,” Javier whispered, leaning close to you. You hummed a response, twisting the ring on your hand between your fingers. The metal felt strange, cold. But you enjoyed the feeling.

“Agreed. But we gotta keep it quiet. Split up, maybe?” You cast your eyes out to the unknowing victims you were planning to rob. The ladies in the corner had since turned their attention to Javier. Whispering words between them, they giggled, and you saw an opportunity. “Group of women, over my right shoulder. Seems you’ve got their attention. Maybe you should go say hi.”

He smirked, tipping his hat to the ladies with a flirtatious edge to his smile. You ignored the pang of jealousy that seeped through you. “What, and leave my lovely wife at the bar alone? That’d be a poor husband you’re making me out to be, amor.” He was seriously leaning into this act the two of you were playing out. You were eating up every second of it.

Turning to face him, you locked onto his eyes which were fully focused on you. “I’m sure I can handle myself, darlin’. Go mingle. Perhaps a kind gentleman will come over and give me a moment of his time.” His smile faltered at the thought of another man having your attention, but he brushed it away.

“I’ll keep an eye out, just be careful.”

Then he kissed your cheek and walked away. You were left sat there, stunned. But Javier had an enormous grin on his face as he walked away.

It didn’t take long for a drunken man to stumble over to you. But you ignored him, sipping your whiskey and occasionally sneaking a glance to Javier, who had all four women swooning at his charm. You’d noticed the way he’d taken their hands, slipping the bracelet off their wrist and pocketing it in swift, simple motions. You were glad to have brought him along. Anyone else would have been caught in an instant.

“Ma’am, how are you doing on this fine, lovely evening,” the man slurred, standing directly behind you. You looked into the mirror, seeing the tall, brutish looking fellow with glazed eyes, swaying slightly as he looked at you. You turned your head slightly to look at him.

“Just fine, sir. And yourself?” You turned to face him fully, but you caught Javier glancing over as you swivelled on your bar stool.in one hand, you held your almost empty whiskey glass, in the other, you were slowly reaching for the drunk’s pocket.

“Even better now that I’ve seen your pretty face. Say, what you doin’ out here all alone? That greaser you were with earlier left you. Suppose he wasn’t great company, was he? No surprise there.” Your pulse quickened, and your grip on your glass tightened.

“I think you should go find someone else to pester, honey,” your gaze darkened, and you retrieved everything you could from your pockets, slipping them into the pockets that Abigail had sewn into your dress for this mission. “I don’t care much for company right now.”

He just smirked. But there was no charm in it. It was an ugly smirk. A gap toothed grin that you would see again in your nightmares at some point, you were sure of it. “Come on, sweetheart, you’d love my company, I promise you.”

You turned back to the bar, slightly leaning over to get to the bartender’s attention, pointing to your glass for a refill. The bartender nodded, turning away from you to collect the bottle. But as you moved to sit back on your stool, you felt a large, warm slap on your ass. You almost broke the stool with the speed you leapt off it, turning to the man who was significantly larger than yourself. “Keep your hands to your fucking self,” you seethed, your hand gripping his wrist. You saw movement out of the corner of your eye, and eyes on you everywhere. “Touch me again, and I’ll break your fucking wrist, you understand?” He just smiled, chuckling slightly.

“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.”

“I’m pretty sure she didn’t, amigo,” Javier appeared at your side, his eyes practically red with rage. But he kept it all in pretty well, somehow. “You best move along. Unless you want more than that wrist of yours snapping in two.” The way Javier spoke made him seem bigger than he actually was. More confident, but more dangerous.

The man saw his chances were slim and made his way over to a free table, slumping down in it while muttering something about can’t even be nice to people anymore. You weren’t really listening. A finger tipped your chin over to Javier, his eyes softening in your gaze. “All good, hermosa?”

You nodded, heart beating faster as his fingers moved to the side of your neck, his thumb caressing your cheek. “All better now,” you smiled.

The night went on, and you filled your pockets, Javier did the same. With half a bottle of whiskey left, you decided to turn in for the night. You led the way back to the room, the key in one hand, your glass in the other. Javier followed close behind, holding his own glass and the rest of the bottle.

Locking the room door behind the two of you, you both emptied your valuables onto the desk opposite the bed. It was a good haul. A really good haul. Over five hundred dollars in cash and at least another four hundred in jewellery and personal belongings. 

“So what do we do for the rest of the night?” you asked, heading to the balcony doors and opening them, letting some air into the room. “We did the job, and it's not even midnight yet.”

Javier thought about it, moving over to join you on the balcony, sitting on one of the chairs beside you, pouring whiskey into the glasses on the table. “Well, we could enjoy the rest of our night away from camp. I, for one, am happy to not having to lie on the ground for one night, if you feel the same?” He looked over, slightly hopeful in a sense.

“That…actually sounds like a nice idea,” you admitted, taking a drag of the cigarette you had lit. You both sat there for a short while, listening to the wind whistling, the town bustling, the horses braying in the street. It was peace. Peace was not something you had felt in a while, or been able to enjoy. You planned on soaking up as much of it as you could before morning.

After an hour or so, the whiskey bottle had been poured dry, and you and Javier had chatted away until silence consumed you. But the pain of that fucking dress was ruining your whole mood. You stood slowly, huffing as you turned back to the room. Javier watched as you went, furrowing his brows as he saw your hands fiddling with the lace knot at the base of your spine. “Everything okay, hermosa?” He called out, following you into the room.

“Need to take this damned thing off, can’t feel my back at all,” you laughed. But you couldn’t untie the knot. It was intricate and fiddly, even with a mirror, you wouldn’t even know where to start. “Can you…please…” You were out of breath already from sucking in your stomach as though that would somehow loosen the lace.

“Stop fiddling, you’ll make it worse.” You heard his voice in your ear. He was right behind you, batting your hands away and taking the tie in his own fingers. He struggled for a second, you heard the laugh in his voice as he cursed at the dress in Spanish, it made you silently chuckle with him.”You’re laughing at me? I see your shoulders shaking. Keep it up and I’ll leave you to sleep in this dress, amor.”

“Please, no, get this dress off me,” you managed to say between giggles. 

“Por el amor de dios,” he muttered before slicing through the lace with his knife. “Hope you weren’t planning on wearing this again.”

“You cut it?!” You exclaimed, flipping your  head to the side, glaring at him amusedly. “You were defeated by a corset. We’ve found your weakness, Javi. It’s lace.”

He smiled. “Cállate,” he mused playfully. Untying the rest of the lace, you let out a huge breath as the bone corset loosened, allowing you to intake breath comfortably.

“Oh, my hero,” you whispered, breathing deeply. He murmured a ‘you’re welcome’, continuing to untangle the lace all the way up to your shoulders. He watched as the dress peeled off your body, showing your back, your spine, your shoulder blades, all encased in soft, pretty, perfect skin. He was mesmerised as he watched as you rolled your shoulders, relieving the tension in your muscles.

Javier couldn’t help but reach out, pulling your dress to the side, pushing it off your shoulder. He hadn’t noticed the way you’d stopped breathing. Hadn’t noticed the way you’d turned your head to the side, peering at him through your peripheral. Hadn’t noticed the look in your eye. Curiosity? Anticipation? Excitement? He wouldn’t have known. Didn’t know you were waiting to see what he was doing. Or what he would do next.

You felt his fingers run up your spine. Soft, yet calloused fingers dragged up your skin, running over your bones and your muscles. Your scars felt strange under his touch, but you said nothing. You didn’t want him to stop. You felt the dress slip off your other shoulder, the only thing holding the clothing up was your arm, your hand pressed flat against your chest, the fabric bunching as you supported the weight of it.

His other hand came to your waist, and you shuddered under the feeling, seemingly snapping Javier out of the trance he had locked himself in. His hands fell from your body, and he stepped back slightly. “I…sorry,” he spoke quietly. Meekly. “I’ll leave you to change.”

You turned on your heel, your eyes gazing at him. “Or you could sta-” Your words stuck to the insides of your throat as his hands cupped the sides of your neck, his head dipping down, connecting his lips to yours. He smelled of smoke and whiskey. He tasted the same, and you revelled in the taste as your tongue slipped into his mouth, melting with his own. His hands drifted to your waist, his lips travelling to your neck, to your exposed shoulder and you let the dress fall to the floor with a soft thud. His eyes explored every inch of you. But it didn’t make you feel uneasy, or uncomfortable, like when other men had laid their gaze on you, eyes filled with hunger. Javier’s eyes only shone in affection, taking in every feature, every part of your body.

“Tan hermosa, amor,” he mumbled, kissing you once again, his lips slotting against yours perfectly. He walked you backwards to the bed, and you stepped out of your shoes, kicking them aside as your thighs hit something solid. He guided you to lie on the bed, his body hovering over yours, his leg slipping between your thighs as his kisses grew heavier, passionate, hungry. Your fingers unbuttoned his shirt with ease, and he shrugged it off, his soft honey skin mixing with the candlelight across the room. Soft, fuzzy hair on his chest tickled your skin as his body pressed against yours, his right hand firmly pressed into the mattress, holding his body above yours so he didn’t crush you under his weight.

His other hand drifted to your leg, cupping under your thigh and pulling it up until it wrapped around his waist. You felt his thigh softly shift in between your legs, brushing coarsely against something sensitive, pulling a soft gasp from your throat. He smiled against your lips. “What was that, cariňa? Something feel good, hm?” God you could hear the cockiness dripping off his words. But you loved it. He knew what he was doing. Exactly what he was doing to you. So Javier repeated the motion, a little harder this time, and you moaned this time. It was like sweet nectar to his ears. “Fuck, I love the noises you make. I haven’t even started yet, sweetheart.”

His lips trailed south, down your stomach, over your tits, nipping and sucking at your flesh until it was blemished red. His beard tickled your stomach, but once he reached below your navel, every thought or feeling exited your head. He pried the underwear off your body, pulling it painfully slowly down your legs and tossing it to the ground. Looking up at you from where he was kneeled between your thighs, only inches from your already wet cunt, he looked for signs of discomfort. You gave him none. You had none. All you wanted was this. So he dove in. He couldn’t help himself. Like a man starved, he licked his tongue up your soaked pussy, groaning at the taste of you on his tongue. God, he fucking loved it. But when he found your clit with the tip of his tongue, he wished he could play the noise you made on repeat in his head forever. It was a sharp gasping moan. A pleasurable realisation that he’d find the most sensitive part of you. So he focused on it like a hawk focusing on prey. The tingles that ran through your veins overtook your senses, and you ran a hand through his hair, pulling the tie that bound it together apart to grab a fistful between your fingers. 

He stayed right where you kept him, right where he wanted to be. His right arm wrapped around your thigh, pinning you in place. You didn’t know where his other hand went until you felt his finger teasing your hole. Your mouth fell open, silently begging for him to do what you knew he was thinking of doing. As though he could hear you, he slipped his finger in with ease, curling it upwards and hitting something devastatingly perfect in your core. “Shit, just like that. Please,” you whined. He gazed up at you through hooded lids. It was the first time you’d spoken since he’d kissed you. Just the way you spoke made him want to ravage you right there and then. But he couldn’t. He had to take his time with you. He didn’t know when he’d next get time alone with you like this.

Adding another finger, he felt your juices coat him, drown his fingers inside you. His jaw ached, but he couldn’t stop, not when he felt your thighs clench around his head, caging him in. His fingers moved with deft precision, hitting that spot inside that made your legs shake against his ears. Your moans filled the room, urging Javier on. You felt his fingers speed up, thrusting harder and deeper inside you, his tongue toying with your clit and sending shockwaves up your spine.

You felt the cusp of something perfect building up inside you, and your back arched against the sheets, your grip tightening in Javi’s hair. “Yes, yes, fuck. I’m close, Javi,” you whispered into the darkness, the sun completely gone from the sky for the night, letting the moon take the limelight right outside your window. 

But Javier had different plans, his fingers forcefully pulling out of your cunt and leaving you feeling empty. Your head lifted off the mattress in an instant, seeing the smirk playing at his lips. Javier kissed your inner thigh, kicking off his boots as he crawled up your body. “What are you doing, Javi?” You whined, leaning into his deep kiss. Tasting yourself on his tongue felt strange, but you liked it, you learned quickly.

“Well, I want you to come. But not on my fingers, darlin’.” His voice was husky, needy. God, you could have cum at just his voice at that point. Your hands drifted to his pants, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his trousers. “That’s what I thought.”

He tilted your face back up to his as he felt your fingers drift along cock, confined beneath his underwear. “Please, Javi,” you breathed, palming his erection gently.

“Let me take care of you, hermosa.” His hand enclosed around your wrist, pulling it away from his cock and over your head, doing the same with your other hand. Holding himself up against the mattress once again, he freed his cock with his other hand, teasing the tip of it through your folds. God, you needed him. Your pussy was practically begging for him.

The second he pushed inside you, you knew you wouldn’t last long. He was thick, filling you as he eased his dick to the base inside you. Javier groaned once fully inside you, his hand coming up to grip your wrists, holding them firm against the mattress. “God, you feel good, amor. Too fuckin’ good. Need to fuck you. Please, let me fuck you.” Fuck, he was begging you now. It made you clench around him, causing him to grunt against your neck.

You wrapped your legs around his waist, closing him in, pushing his body further against yours. Your foot nudged against his ass, grinding his dick into you. “Javi, please. Please fuck me.”

Without warning, he thrust hard and deep in you. You cried out his name, and it set him off in a feral kind of motion. The tip of his cock brushed against your core with each thrust, balls slapping against your ass with each movement. Javier propped himself on his knees, his hand gripping your wrists, his other hand gripping the outside of your thigh, fingers kneading into your ass. He rocked into you at an animalistic pace, the bed shaking and creaking, the headboard knocking against the wall in perfect rhythm with his hips. Words escaped you, his cock rendering you to a moaning mess beneath him. God, you were a perfect sight. He cursed in Spanish, nearing his own high. Javier watched as you fell apart, your face contorted in pleasure, your leg sliding off his back and onto the mattress, completely spread for him to see.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop,” you managed to say between thrusts. You were close. So fucking close. And so was he. You could feel it. The way his hips faltered sometimes, his laboured breathing, the strength in the way he held you pinned against the mattress, completely submissive underneath him.

“Come on, hermosa, come for me. Come on my cock, I know you can,” he gritted through his teeth, pushing a few more forceful pumps inside your sopping pussy until you finally clenched around him hard. You flooded his cock, your insides tensed and clamped around his dick. Javier followed not too far behind, his cum spurting out and painting your walls in white. 

The only sound in the room was your matching breaths. Heavy, and desperate. His face buried in the crook of your neck, kissing your salty skin, his teeth dragging along your pulse. Javier rolled onto his side, pulling you with him so he didn’t have to pull out of you just yet.

You laid on his chest, the sweat on your skin sticking you together, but you didn’t care. The breeze of the open balcony doors would cool you both eventually. 

“I’m glad I chose to come on this job with you,” Javier whispered to you. You couldn’t help but giggle, hearing the smile in his voice. 

You turned your head to look up at him. His hair was slicked back, you never saw it like this. You only saw him with his hair tied back. “Me too, Javi.” He leaned down to kiss you softly, gently brushing his lips against yours. 

“We should go on jobs together in the future. Gotta keep eachother company, you know?” He smirked as you rolled your eyes. 

“Oh, so just on jobs, Escuella?”

His eyebrow quirked up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You smiled. “Your tent is off limits?”

“Absolutely not. After this, I’d be honoured to have you in my tent whenever you’d like, amor. You just say the word.”

-

Camp felt different after the job. Javier was more open and affectionate with you. Kissing the top of your head when bringing you coffee if you were on morning watch. He’d sit with you at the campfire and let you play around with his guitar. He fucked you gently in his tent at night, covering your mouth so Bill had nothing to bring up at breakfast. Everyone noticed. But said nothing. It’s almost like they had expected it to go exactly like this. Hosea especially.

[imamotherfuckingstar-lord]

what he deserves, chapter 2

Sanji x Reader, a bit of Law x Reader

Warnings: angst, one-night stand, not really a love triangle – law and reader are mature about the situation. Some implied smut. !!!WANO SPOILERS!!!

a/n: this will be several parts. Leave comment for tags.

Summary: Witnessing all the suffering Sanji went through on Whole Cake Island, all you want is for him to be truly happy…even if it means not with you. Set after the fight in Wano, you go through the motions of an endless fight and end up in bed with the Hearts Pirates’ Captain to distract yourself from the one thing you want the most – Sanji.

MASTERLIST

Sleep came effortlessly after being with Law; bodies entangled throughout the night, back against his chest as he held you. Snores filled the room, you two were just that tired – it was evident that it hadn’t just been the tryst, but the endless fighting and near death that had you two sound asleep well into the afternoon. Eventually, a soft knock on the door woke you up.

Law groaned, removing his hand from your stomach. Fighting sleep as you climbed over him, his hand holding your waist as you stumbled. Getting off the bed, you grabbed the nearest article of clothing – which happened to be Law’s yukata. Quickly placing it on, you held it shut and slightly opened the door. To your horror, it was Sanji. He looked perplexed at the sight of you, and he let out a low laugh.

“So that’s how you look the morning after, gorgeous as expected.”

He sounded so sincere, and you moved into the hallway, holding the door closed behind you. “What’s going on, Sanji?”

“I’ve cooked everyone lunch, you missed breakfast. Luffy wanted everyone there, we’re going over plans for our next move.”

“Right…lunch…” Law and you slept well into morning; you hoped his crew wasn’t worried. “Downstairs in the dining hall?” He said yes. “Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Something seemed off about the man standing in front of you, but then he grinned and said Law was welcome to join breakfast. “But he probably has to leave before we discuss things.”

“Of course.”

Promising to be down in a few minutes, you waited until Sanji was gone to go back into the room. Law was now seated on the edge of the bed, blanket wrapped around his waist. He stood up when you closed the door, pointing to your outfit. “I need that.”

Laughing, you agreed. “How about some breakfast with the crew?”

He declined. “Thank you, but it’s late, I should have been back hours ago.” You apologized and he said there was no need to. “That was the best night of sleep I have had in a while.”

“I could have slept the remainder of the day…”

Law moved to you and reached for your hand, giving it a squeeze. “Me too.”

The two of you got changed and said your goodbyes at the door of the inn, away from the dining hall. Unexpectedly, he kissed you on the lips once and departed. There seemed to be an air of maturity in the situation, and you knew nothing more would come of it, and both of you were fine with that. It was just nice to spend time with each other, even just for one night. And you were no fool, even though in the beginning Law was reluctant to ally with the Straw Hats – the previous night cemented his willingness to help Luffy and the crew in the future. Although that wasn’t the expectation or goal, nothing about last night with Law felt arranged. It was nice, in fact, it was blissful.

Closing the door of the inn, you made your way to the dining hall and found everyone already seated, eating. There was an open seat between Robin and Nami and you quickly sat down – everyone asked where you had been. Zoro grinned, shaking his head. “We all know where you’ve been and who you’ve been with.”

Chopper whined and asked if you were going to join the Heart Pirates now. Robin giggled and Nami leaned in, asking something so vulgar, you pinched her arm. Franky called for everyone to leave you alone. “Sis is just having a good time. Hell, we all deserve to have a good time!”

“Well, if Law and you get married, we could have a super nova conjoined pirate crew!”

Usopp high fived Luffy, the two of them shouting in excitement but you begged for them to stop. They only did when Sanji yelled at them, cursing them as he placed a warm plate of food in front of you. He demanded for them to be quiet. “Let her get some food in before you start planning her wedding.”

Luffy frowned and Usopp mumbled something under his breath. Sanji seethed, asking what he had said. The sniper grinned. “If you had married Big Mom’s daughter, we would have had a super-duper super nova conjoined pirate crew!”

Sanji frowned, but your hands shook at your side. Staring down at the plate, you shook your head. “No.”

The word came out hushed but then you said it again, slamming your fist onto the table. “That’s not even funny! How could you even say such a thing after everything Sanji’s been through!”

Your voice was filled with venom and rage, and when you stood up your chair fell onto the ground. The sound of it hitting the wood floor ripped through the room and you held back tears, very angry tears. Nami touched your wrist, but you pulled it from her. Just the mere thought of Sanji marrying Pudding, marrying anyone he didn’t want to – it pissed you off. Usopp quickly apologized but your appetite was ruined. “You weren’t there, Usopp. You have no idea what he’s been through! You should know better than to joke about such awful things. You should apologize to Sanji. And while you’re at it, grow up. I don’t want to hear any kind of idiocy about Law too. We’re all adults here, try acting like one.”

The room fell silent as you excused yourself, but Sanji called to you. “You should eat.”

You smiled softly at him; eyes watery. “I’m not very hungry, thank you, Sanji.”

…

The bath house was nearly empty, when you checked in you were given a clean towel and pointed towards the women’s area. Thanking the lady at the desk, you started down the hall when a few familiar faces appeared around the corner. Law and a few of his men were coming back from the men’s bath house. His eyes met yours with reluctance, you bet his crew had given him a hard time too for the previous night. Then his shoulders dropped in resolve, and you smiled, the two of you meeting in the middle of the narrow hall. You pointed out, jokingly, that the two of you needed a good cleaning and he blushed but agreed – barking at his men to be quiet when they snickered amongst themselves. Enjoying the teasing, you asked if he already had lunch.

“I was thinking about finding a place to eat after my bath.”

“What happened to lunch with your crew?”

You sighed. “It’s a long story.”

Law nodded, glancing over to his men before agreeing to meet in an hour. You waved at the men as they left the bath house, leaving you to spend the next forty minutes soaking in warm water and allowing the anger to wash away. A damp towel laid under your neck; head dipped back against the edge of the bath. The water was warm, and all your muscles eased as you wiggled your toes in the air. After twenty minutes you started to feel guilty for lashing out at lunch and you knew an apology was due to Usopp, even if he was wrong. Even if he was just joking because none of it was a joke to you. Sanji’s suffering could never be a joke to you.

“Let’s just say, my family life wasn’t so great.”

“I guess most of us have suffered, maybe that’s why we’ve all gravitated toward Luffy. He feels like a hope I haven’t had in a very long time.”

Sanji offered his cigarette, and you took it, giving it a long hit before handing it back. The Sunny swayed against the wave and his shoulder bumped into yours, but he didn’t apologize, and you didn’t mind. Instead, the two of you stared out into the ocean in a comfortable silence that was made of perfection.

“Do you miss your family?”

His question ricochet against the waves and you stared hard, contemplating the patterns of them – anything to avoid answering because the answer was yes. You missed you family even though all they ever did was mistreat you; abused you to near death until you were able to escape. Instinct had a lie on the tip of your tongue, but instead, you inhaled the salted air and told him the truth.

“Yes. I miss them. Terribly some nights, especially the happy memories – although they were fewer than many but still. And…sometimes I want nothing more than to go home. But I could never go back there, it would be too hard.”

“I understand.” Sanji reached over for your hand, held it gingerly and he smiled warmly and something inside you bloomed. “But you can’t go somewhere you already are.”

Tears filled your eyes.

He was right.

The two of you were right where you belong – home.

The dumplings in front of you looked delicious, but just the by smell you could tell they wouldn’t compare to Sanji’s but that didn’t stop you from digging in. Law sat across from you, waiting patiently for his food to cool down but you lived on a ship with Luffy. If you didn’t eat fast, you didn’t eat at all. Well, not really, because Sanji would never let a soul go hungry, ever. The dumpling warmed your stomach and Law listened as you explained, in between bites, everything that occurred from Whole Cake Island to now. Even how you felt about Sanji, to which you looked at him for a reaction, but he just listened.

“I know it’s probably insensitive to confess my feelings for another man after we…”

“That doesn’t matter, what happened happened...” he flung a hand in the air and took a sip of water. “I know what it was, and I was perfectly fine with going through with it, were you?”

“I was.”

“Good.” Law finally ate a dumpling, and you could see his insides melting. He relaxed and asked if you had ever talked to Sanji about your feelings. “Talking can be helpful, people aren’t mind readers.”

“I wish they were.”

He chuckled. “I guess that would make things easier. By the way, we’re leaving in two days. We were able to secure some supplies, Momonosuke has been very generous.”

Your thoughts drifted to the meeting that was supposed to occur at lunch, wondering what Luffy had decided. Law asked if you knew when you all would be off, but you said no. “I threw a tantrum and stormed out of lunch. I should go see Luffy after this.” He pointed out that Luffy seemed patient, and you laughed. “Our crew doesn’t run like most but yes, he’s pretty patient with us. He doesn’t rule with an iron fist, he’s a kind leader.”

Law admitted he could tell how close the Straw Hats were and you agreed. “We’d do anything for each other, we have out disagreements but it’s never that serious.”

The doctor gave you a sincere gaze, placing his spoon down. “Then why are you having lunch with me and not them?”

…

The inn was in plain site as you walked down the cobblestone; sandals clicking with each step. Approaching the building with a basket of baked goods you picked up on the way back, you saw Luffy out front. He was with Sanji and you stomach turned when the two men noticed you. The captain waved and smiled when you presented him with the basket, apologizing for storming off like that but he just grinned and patted you on the head.

“No biggie!”

He promptly disappeared into the inn before you could ask about the plans, so you turned to Sanji. “What’s going to happen next?”

“We’re leaving in a few days, we just keeping moving on. That’s what our dear captain says.”

Makes sense. Wano was just a stop in a very long journey, and you relaxed but then Sanji asked if you still wanted lunch. You politely declined, explaining your lunch with Law and Sanji nodded. “So, what’s up with you two? Don’t freak out on me for asking, just curious.”

“We’re just friends, it’s always good to network…”

He seemed satisfied with the answer but then he grew quiet, drew closer to you. “About earlier, thank you for saying all that.”

“Well, it’s true.”

Heart racing, you could hardly breathe out a syllable and he was standing there with sad eyes, lingering so close you could implode. He then whispered that he was sorry for causing you so much trouble. “I know you went through a lot to get me back and to help my family…I haven’t had the chance to say thank you.”

He was so close; you could feel him reaching for your hand but then Luffy emerged. He wanted you to go with him to see Otama and who were you to say no to your captain. Moving away from Sanji, you started toward Luffy but then turned back to the cook and smiled.

“Never be sorry for existing, Sanji. There was no way we’d ever leave you behind…I would never leave you behind. Even if it meant helping the people who hurt you the most.” Luffy shouted for you to hurry, and you started running to him, waving Sanji off. “We’ll be back for dinner!”

Sanji watched with near tears in his eyes as Luffy and you ran into the crowd on the street, disappearing amongst the people. He stood there shocked by your kind words, but worse, shaken by the erupting feelings that were gripping his entire soul. The way you smiled at him, was it the same smile you gave Law last night? He shook his head, as if to get rid of such silly thoughts. Yet, just now, his hand was so close to yours – like the day he held it on the ship, talking about your families…. Sanji could feel his world shifting and he couldn’t move past the lie Nami told him when talking through the mirror dimension. He knew you were there; he just knew it, but Nami said you weren’t. Then after everything, you still couldn’t manage to look him in the eyes for more than a few seconds. It hurt him more than anything he had gone through, and he realized, as a brisk wind blew out his cigarette – that he might be in love with you.

He felt shocked to his core because the gravity of what happened at Whole Cake was finally settling into his bones. Things had been crazy for the last few weeks, months, and now it felt like everything was finding a home on his shoulders. But all he could think about, all he could focus on was that he had to get you to talk to him…he had to. Inhaling deeply, as if that would relive his shoulders, Sanji stared at the spot Luffy and you disappeared into before going back into the inn – already planning dinner in his head.

.............

tags:

@stuckinthewrongworld @theyluvmesblog

@synchronised-beat @hi3431

@fandomsunited @ghostercy

@yuki190 @bowscale @utakamo

@fire-child-kira @cheshireshiya

@teenyforestfairy @sukilovesyou

@69cocktimusprime @littlemissfiore @kodzuchim

@angeiisa @bitchycoffeepainter69

@secretlife028 @idiot-sanwich02

@abandonedbrat

want to be tagged in next part? leave a comment!

if you want off, let me know!

[postwarlevi]

Happy Christmas/Merry Birthday III

Content: 2.3k words. A second sequel (part I, part II) of dad Levi's birthday and Christmas in one.

A/n: Why do I rush each of these out?! I hope you love it and the idea for Levi's present!

It's warm and cozy in the house. Outside there are piles of newly fallen snow overnight.

You yawn as you wake up and stretch, opening your eyes with a smile. It's the best sleep you've gotten in nights.

"Morning." You hear the mumble of your husband who has been awake waiting for you. He reaches over to hold you in his arm.

"Morning Levi. Merry Birthday." You snuggle into his chest for a few minutes.

In your mind you know you should be up and out of bed already. It's daylight and your little ones must be ready for you.

"Eveything is fine." Levi tells you, knowing your thoughts.

Your ten year old daughter is up, it is Christmas morning after all. She's watching her six month old baby brother in his swingset while having some oatmeal, after helping her father feed the baby.

"Did you sleep okay?" You ask, kissing Levi's cheek and stroking his arm, taking his word for it that all is well.

"I did, love." He leans in to kiss your forehead. He came back to bed just a few minutes before.

Yesterday, an old injury of Levi's acted up quite a bit. He limped around some before you got him into a warm bath.

He felt bad about not being able to help around the house much, and on Christmas eve, but you told him not to worry. He always takes good care of you and your children, you are happy to be there when he needs you.

Plus your daughter is a big help. She adores her baby brother as much as you do and would do anything to assist, especially when she knows her father isn't feeling well.

It put a big smile on her face earlier in the day when she saw he was feeling better today.

"Come on, let's go see our babies." You finally say after a bit of cuddling time.

You and Levi get up and put on our robes and go out to the living room.

Your daughter who just finished her oatmeal comes over to hug you. "Happy Christmas mama."

"Happy Christmas my sweet girl." You kiss her head and hug her.

"Merry birthday daddy." She goes over to hug Levi again and they sit on the couch together as you go see your bright eyed baby boy.

"Hello my little prince!" You light up at seeing him and he makes happy babbling noises at you.

Picking him up you join your family on the couch.

You bounce the baby on your knee while your daughter plays peek-a-boo with him. Levi smiles at the sight and reaches out to stroke your hair.

"I'm so happy you're feeling better." You tell him.

"Thanks to you I am. Thank you." He gives you an adoring look reserved just for you.

You've gotten used to what to do to help him through when his leg pains start in again. Of course you all wish it wouldn't happen, but it's more bearable for him with you there.

After some sweet silent looks pass between you, you turn to your daughter.

"Sorry I'm a bit late today. What do you want to do this morning?"

"Uncle Jean and Connie are coming over to take me sledding later! Can we bake some cookies for them?" She asks, looking between you and Levi.

"Well of course! Come on!" You grin and stand up with the baby.

Levi pulls his swing into the kitchen, a safe distance from any appliances, and you put him back in so you can keep an eye on him while you bake.

Last night the boys called to see if it would be okay to come over. A few hours in the early afternoon wouldn't interrupt family time, and they themselves are considered your extended family.

You'd already started exchanging a few presents Christmas eve, and would finish the rest in the evening, while also dedicating some of the day to Levi for his birthday.

You put on your "world's best cook" apron you unwrapped last night while Levi puts on a chefs hat, both presents from your daughter. She giggles and claps at seeing you wear the things.

"Daddy, it's your birthday, what type of cookies should we make?" She asks him, pulling out pans and spatulas.

"Hmm, those almond cookies we made recently were pretty good." He knows everyone likes those.

"Yes! And we have all the ingredients." You smile and together begin baking.

Soon you're all humming along to holiday music on the radio and laughing. Somehow the baby sleeps through most of it, once in a while giggling along with you.

With everyone helping you're able to make a second type of cookie, and you insist on an apple pie recipe that you found in an old magazine you got at a thrift store.

You see Levi's eyes light up. Apples are his favorite fruit.

"It is your birthday after all." You give him a kiss as you pass by to get more ingredients.

Levi stands back a moment, taking in the scene of his wife and little girl dancing around the kitchen, with his sleeping baby boy being rocked by the swing set in the corner. Somehow he's still the luckiest man alive.

"Daddy! We need another bowl!" Your daughter calls to him, snapping him back with a blind.

"Yes my little reindeer, coming right up." He is glad the pains of yesterday are gone and he is able to participate in the fun.

Just as the new cookies are coming out of the oven there's a knock on the door.

"Yay!" Your daughter tears off the oven mitts and heads to the door.

"Ouch!" Levi grabs a hot apple cookie for himself before anyone else can get to it, burning his fingers slightly, tossing it back and fourth from hand to hand.

"See who it is first!" You yell out to your daughter. "Levi!" You turn to him next, getting a plate for him.

"Sorry. Thanks." He says a little sheepishly.

Your baby boy is up now making a fuss from the commotion.

Levi washes his hands and picks him up while you finish laying out the goodies on the counter, smirking at your husband as he uses his free hand to pop the apple cookie into his mouth.

You go into the living room to find three new faces.

Jean and Connie are laying out presents they brought for everyone as Sasha is hugging your daughter.

"You've grown!" She says to her.

The trio then turn to greet you.

"Hey all." You smile at them, thanking them for the gifts, and let them know before they head out there's cookies in the kitchen.

"Awesome!" Connie cheers and goes over to greet Levi and the baby before going to get some goods.

Jean does the same, but Sasha comes over to tickle the baby a little bit, making him giggle. She has been a great babysitter since your daughter was little.

"Go get some before those bums eat them all" Levi tells her, knowing she really wants some sweets.

She doesn't need to be asked twice and now you're all back in the kitchen eating cookies.

"These are delicious!"

"Thanks for sharing!"

The younger trio may cause a ruckus at times, but really are a big help when you need a bit.

"Come on princess, ready to go sledding?" Jean asks your daughter who lights up.

"Go on, we'll put your brother to bed first then be out." Levi tells her, and she and the guys head out.

"Can I help?" Sasha asks you. She has lots of little siblings and will babysit for you again soon.

"Sure." You thank her and head up to put your little boy down for a nap. Making sure he's comfy you take the baby monitor and go out into the front yard.

You find the instant camera that you got for Christmas last year and take photos of all the fun.

There's sledding and snowman building and a small snowball fight leaving everyone laughing.

"Thanks for coming over guys. What else do you have planned?" You ask as you head back inside after a while.

"We have a few other places to go. But of course we had to stop here!" Sasha says happily.

Before they go everyone asks to see the baby again and you wake him from his nap. He's slept enough that he's not too fussy and is content being passed around for a few minutes.

You open up the gifts from them, both your children getting more spoiled, and a couple things included for you and Levi.

"Here, for you." You give each of them a little something too, and a couple cookies for the road.

You say your goodbyes soon after and are back down to just the members of the household and make something for lunch and put on a movie while eating. You let Levi pick.

"How about we watch a home movie?" He suggests, and you and your daughter think that's a very good idea.

You spend the rest of the afternoon cuddled on the couch, watching scenes of your and Levi's wedding, some of your daughters birthdays, and a trip to a national park.

In between you put your son back down for another quick nap to stay on schedule and finish the rest of the gift giving before dinner.

"Oh! The slippers I wanted!" You laugh at the furry cushioned slippers in bright yellow.

"It was the only color in your size." Levi says, kissing your cheek.

"I love them." You hug him as your daughter opens up a new puzzle.

A few more rounds reveal books for everyone and some homemade accessories your daughter made at school.

One last present has Levi's name on it.

"For your birthday." As is custom, he gets the last gift of the night.

"I don't know what else I could need or that you could give me." He says, taking the thin box.

You turn to him and your daughter sits at his feet.

"It couldn't possibly be…" He trails off, and you laugh and shake your head.

"No, no more upcoming children. That was last years present." Not to say there wouldn't be another one in the future.

Levi unwraps it and looks at it a moment.

"It's not quite as personal as a few others, but it's… well, I hope you like it." You look at your daughter who is grinning. She knows her daddy will love it.

"It's a… comic book." He realizes this but can't seem to grasp it.

The hero, is him. Somehow you have put an animated Levi on the cover of a comic book.

He flips through the pages, that have him having his own superhero identity, fighting crime, saving the day, and coming home to his family. You. You're all in this book. Even your son. Every detail down to Levi's missing fingers from his accident years earlier.

"It's our way of saying, you're our hero. Everyday, sweetheart." You say, brushing his hair back as he quietly flips through it all.

"You're a superhero dad!" You daughter says, laying her head on his knee.

"I'm… I'm your…" He's speechless. It almost would seem like a silly gift, that you would give a teenage boy, not a husband and father of two with an injury that acts up sometimes.

"Thank you." He says quietly, sounding a little emotional.

Levi loves it. He loves that you're all in it. That he can save the day, come to the rescue, and live out his days with his family.

"The suit's a little corny." He jokes, making you and your daughter laugh and hug him.

He puts the book down and hugs you back.

"I'll, I'll need an updated one in a few years." He tells you, voice a little shaky. One for when the kids are a little older.

This is how you really view him. Even though you tell him, for some reason, this finally makes it sink in. He's your hero.

You settle back in and look over the book together. It warms all your hearts. Especially the parts that you're all together.

You don't realize the time until you hear your son babbling on the baby monitor.

You put all the gifts aside and stand up. Hugging Levi you kiss his cheek. "Merry birthday, my love." You head up to get your son.

Your daughter leans on her fathers arm as they walk into the kitchen.

"You really like it, daddy?" She asks him.

"I do. I really do." He kisses her head.

"Daddy, I was thinking. I know right now isn't a good time, cause a baby is a lot of work…" She trails off with her thought.

"They are. What are you thinking of?" Levi asks her.

"Next year, maybe if we both ask, mama will let us have a dog." She looks up at him.

He chuckles and looks down at her.

Yes, babies are a lot of work, so now isn't the right time. His daughter is a smart one. She also has very good ideas.

"That could be something I could get behind." They share a knowing smile, just as you come into the kitchen.

"Ready to eat, my loves?" You ask with your son on your hip, feeling like maybe you missed something, but adoring the moments Levi gets to share with your daughter.

"Yes, let's eat!" They both exclaim, helping around the kitchen.

The plan for next year is put out of their minds. There is a lot of time for that. Tonight, you are all a happy family, another successful Christmas day and birthday. With many more to come.

[silent-sanctum]

✧ Polaris ✧ - Jotaro x Reader

PART 9: Get to Know You

— The previous parts of the fic can be found in the pinned post of my profile. Hope you enjoy! —

I rise from the dead yet again! But sorry for the wait! College's been rough with the workload but I've managed to put out a new part! No warnings this time, just joot's emotional development and a bunch of jotaro and reader fluff interactions~ But what if I told you that there's 2k+ more story over in my AO3? It's exclusive over there because it contains my OC's lore (aka the character the reader's standing in place of here). However, I promise you it's worth reading with jotaro gradually learning to open more to you and both of you just basking in peace. Regardless, hope you enjoy!

word count: 2.6k

Bright light dawned beyond his shut eyes.

Already? Jotaro stirred from where he lay on the grass, flexing his arms to stretch, though he did expect his left to be a bit heavy. Through his early morning squinting, he turned to the spot where a girl should be lying only to find it unoccupied and his arm free.

“Morning~”

Jotaro sat upright and turned to look at you sitting cross-legged across from him. He quickly swept his gaze over you to check how you fared- faintly flushed cheeks, puffy eyes, fixed hair, smoothed-out uniform. You appeared good compared to the state you were during the night prior but-

“How are you feeling?”

You looked up in thought, humming as you planted your hands on the ground to lean on them. “Better? But admittedly still like shit. As expected, I couldn’t sleep for long and ended waking up shortly after falling asleep but,” you glanced at him with a soft smile. “Company was able to get me through the hours.”

Jotaro nodded once at the words with the smallest of smiles on his face responding to yours.

“So yeah. I somewhat patched bits of myself back to… this.” You gestured to your body with one sweep.

“That’s good.”

You tilted your head with concern. “How about you?”

The probable bruises spotting all over his back and arms as a result of the chaotic whipping ached at the mention but he paid no attention as he shrugged with casual ease. “I’m fine.”

“Jotaro,” he paused at the mention of his name. He stared into your eyes and felt the weight of your gaze towards him. One that, paired with a gentle smile, carried an array of sentiments unable to be conveyed through words. “Thanks for last night. Really…”

You had a lot going on behind your confident strides, and to this moment Jotaro has yet to know about them. But with the shared look of trust between him and you, he was in no hurry to figure them out.

He tipped the visor of his hat down as a sign of acknowledgment and as means to cover his warming cheeks.

“Alright,” And as if nothing happened, you were up and standing with a clap and dust of your clothes. “Enough with the sappy stuff, we should head back to the others. They must be starting to think we did something freaky last night knowing them.”

Getting up as well, Jotaro rolled his eyes at the thought of the Crusaders poking fun at them for the nth time. “Definitely.” Though, by the feel of the mellow sunlight on his skin, it wasn’t too late in the morning and a bit more exchange of words would be nice before returning to the annoyance that was the group itself.

It’s been a while since you’ve properly talked to him like this after all.

“Let’s?”

He nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets.

With you leading the way back, they both returned to the main campsite and was greeted with the bizarre sight of Kakyoin dropping what looked like a literal piece of shit into a bowl Joseph’s breakfast pudding, before offering the bowl to the old man to feed the evil-faced baby with enthusiasm.

Jotaro didn’t question what the reasoning behind it was nor did he care that much, though you were about to if it wasn’t for Avdol, the moralistic guy that he was, politely telling you that infant was devious for some reason and what the other student did wasn’t entirely wrong.

You glanced at Kakyoin’s arm, read the “BABY STAND” carved on the skin, and understood, joining them to watch the whole feeding happen.

Polnareff woke up minutes too late to witness the child suffer from feces-tasting food.

Letting that be a bygone, the Foundation managed to track the group by the time the sun was high in the sky. In two separate teams, one transported the grimacing infant to a nearby village while the other brought the Crusaders to a remote island where they would wait for another vehicle departing for Egypt.

A submarine if he heard right.

The island itself wasn’t all too bad- Fine sand, lush tropical trees, and the tranquil ambiance of the sea. Jotaro wouldn’t mind waiting here. In group fashion, everyone kept themselves preoccupied to pass the time. The Frenchman ran off to god knows where, you and the older adults engaged in simple conversation, Kakyoin probably went to look for Pol to make sure he didn’t get himself into any trouble-

While Jotaro was left sitting by himself on the sand, a lit cigarette in hand when finding some temporary peace in the near-rhythmic crash of waves.

It felt… strange.

Even though he’d asked for breaks numerous times during their battles, a weight grew heavy on his shoulder at the fact that with each passing second, his mother’s life was slowly dwindling away and all the times they got blocked off by either an enemy or mundane inconveniences were seconds thrown away that could have been used to further progress this damn trip.

He took one long drag of his cigarette and sighed deeply, letting out a small plume of ashy gray into the air. All those times he cursed at her, dismissed her motherly affections, downright ignored her… Jotaro placed his hand on his nape, scratching lightly as if it would alleviate the rising guilt in him once he realized what he’d been doing.

What was this for? Why was I so mean to her when she did nothing but love and care for me? For a well-kept facade I didn’t even want in the first place? He hated that it took a life-or-death situation for him to ponder like this. Mom… I should call her soon…

“The young Joestar is in deep thought I see.”

Jotaro snapped out of his thoughts to notice Avdol taking a spot beside him. “So?” He took another drag.

“There’s nothing wrong in self-reflection from time to time,” he said. “For someone in their youth, all this chaotic fighting and constant travel must be starting to make you wish you’d be in school right now, right?”

“It’s fine,” the teenager shrugged. “School sucks and it bores me.”

“The high grades Holly-san told me you got throughout your academic years says otherwise.” Jotaro grumbled something incoherent that he himself didn’t know what the words were. “You’re thinking of her, aren’t you?”

“It’s shitty to think about how much of an asshole I was…”

Avdol chuckled. “I’m not going to say you’re wrong. You definitely disrespected your mother most of the time all of us were in the same room together, but as terrible your behavior was-” he patted the delinquent’s shoulders. “I know you still love Holly with all your heart. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t the case.”

Jotaro remained silent. He wasn’t wrong…

“Toss all my other wisdom talk aside if you wish, but I hope this advice would stick with you,” Avdol turned to his clasped hands. “Holly’s still here and when you return to her, I suggest you let her know how much you love her the way you can instead of pushing her away. Cherish the ones you love while they’re still here with us.”

If it were weeks ago, Jotaro would have done what Avdol said seconds ago and dismiss this sagely talk as nothing but some sort of “respect your parents” propaganda. Oddly enough, he didn’t feel the urge to ignore his words now that he’s stuck worrying over his mother’s life.

The spark in his cigarette dimmed down to ashes. “What’s with the random inspirational speeches? You a counselor or something?”

The Egyptian smiled. “Teacher actually. If I wasn’t doing readings or fortune telling, I worked with children, especially the troubled ones, and guided them with the right knowledge and values to live through life. That is until DIO found me and I had to seek Mr. Joestar for protection.”

Jotaro scoffed. “You see me as a kid then? Is that it?”

“Are you not? You’ve yet to mature past your rough edges after all.”

He clicked his tongue, thought not entirely disagreeing with the adult. “Whatever.”

“An answer expected from you.” Avdol stood. “You’ll understand when you’re older. Who knows? You might be a teacher in the future as well if fate deems it to be.” With that, he walked back to the others and left the reserved teenager alone with his thoughts.

Yeah right… like that would ever happen. Time continued to pass as he remained sitting on the sand, mulling over what Avdol had said to him together with memories of his mother stirring in his thoughts. At some point, Jotaro had dozed off, leaning on his propped-up knee with the remains of his cigarette left somewhere on the sand beside him.

When he came to, the sun was halfway down the horizon, dimming the sky above as the stars slowly made themselves visible. He expected to wake up by himself as is the case every time he took his naps, but with one glance to the side, he found you watching the sea beside him.

You noticed him staring so you spoke. “You’re awake.”

“I assume the sub’s not here yet?” The pointed stare and silence you gave him the answer. He sighed. “Figured.”

“Mr. Joestar and I took one stroll around the place and there’s a bunch of neat little hideouts on the island you could have slept in. It’s more secluded and quiet, has enough wind to keep cool, and the grass is short enough to not be itchy,” you said. “Why choose this spot by the water?”

“Ambiance,” he said in return. “I like the sound of waves. It’s… calming.”

He took one glimpse at you to gauge for your reaction. You weren’t looking at him when you had that soft smile on your face as you had this faraway gaze facing the mellow movements of the ocean. “The waves make me relax too. It’s what helps make it so beautiful aside from its glittery surface.”

Jotaro thought about what you said to him back in Singapore. The ocean looks beautiful, don’t you agree? Fresh from his talk with Avdol, he couldn’t help but be nostalgic for a second. “Mom used to take me to the beach when I was little… usually when I felt like shit. And it helped somewhat.”

“Lucky you. My birthplace is by the sea and by this point, you already know I had a rough past. So, I’d watch that huge body of water sway with the breeze and let myself listen to the waves as a mean for comfort.” This time, you faced him and locked his gaze with yours. “Looks like we’re not so different from each other, huh?”

“You tend to overshare though.”

“But you’ve gotten used to it by now, huh?”

He shrugged. “A bit.” A bit? A complete understatement considering his level of tolerance to her numerous bouts of talk. “But it’s either that or spend the rest of lunch bored out of my mind.”

You cooed, cupping your cheek with a small tilt of your head. “Are you saying you miss the simple times of lunch with yours truly? Or am I hearing things?”

Though he hated admitting it, he thought about what Avdol said and with some heat to his cheeks, Jotaro tipped his hat over his eyes and gave one small bob of his head. Not allowing him the silence to wallow with self-embarrassment, you giggled as you shoved him lightly.

“And here I thought you wanted this bitch to shut up.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Jotaro looked at you this time, finding some sort of relief in the fact you blushed deeply at the sentiment despite the teasing you were fond of doing to him. “I still prefer some peace and quiet.”

“Hey I’m not judging,” you raised your hands. “Not when I also miss our mini rooftop breaks. It’s… a nice breath of fresh air. Literally.” You let out a breathy laugh, eyes closing from your smile.

Jotaro could feel his heart beat a bit faster than before. One that always came with warmth on his face, his hands turning clammy and his stomach feeling a sensation similar to that of fluttering butterflies. It happened more often the more they made progress to Egypt.

Fuck. I don’t want to think about this. He took in a deep breath and sighed, blurting out the first thing that came to mind to divert the subject away from the familiar banter. “Admitting you like the smell of smoke now?”

“Huh?”

“It can’t be a breath of fresh air when I smoke next to you every time.”

You rolled your eyes. “The winds blow them away from for most of the time so I don’t really care, but don’t think I’ve noticed you’d smoke less and less the more we hung out.”

Jotaro cocked an eyebrow and fished through his pockets, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. To prove a point, he flipped the lid open to reveal five sticks remaining inside out of 20. “I beg to differ. This is my 3rd pack this trip.”

Which was a lie. It’s his first and is this empty only because Polnareff wanted some to smoke and practice the delinquent’s parlor trick for the nth time.

“Yah!” You leaned forward to try and snatch the box off his hand. “Are you trying to kill yourself on purpose?!” You swiped again only for Jotaro to lean back and stretch his arm away from you with a smug smirk. My turn to tease. “You can’t do that now, we have unfinished business!”

“I don’t care.”

You deadpanned. “Liar. Now give me.”

Without anyone noticing, you ended up sprawled over his lap still struggling to reach for the pack of nicotine in his outstretched hand. Too preoccupied with making sure your grabby hands won’t reach it, Jotaro didn’t notice the slim strip of rose-gold creeping up behind him to snatch the box off his hold.

The delinquent clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. “You cheated.” Though you didn’t care as you leaned back with cheeky smile and tiny shimmy, pack of cigarettes now in your hand. “Doesn’t matter. I can always buy another.”

“To practice your little cigarette trick for the masses?”

“I can do 5 at once.”

“Shut up. You’re lying.”

“I can show you.”

You scoffed, tossing the box back at him with defeat. “Unbelievable. You really do have a death wish.”

Jotaro grew acutely aware of how much closer you got to him without you noticing, so close that he felt his shoulders brush against yours and the back of his hand overlapped with your smaller, softer one. His chest tightened and his pulse increased yet again beneath his aloof expression.

As the two of them watch the sun set below the horizon, he stilled as you leaned your head on his shoulder. Respecting the quiet air of the area, you said to him in a hushed voice. “I’d rather you not die on my watch. I don’t think my heart can handle any more of those.”

You said it with nonchalance and a smile, but he knew better. He slowly turned to glance at you still facing the ocean. Any trace of playfulness you had minutes ago dissolved, making way for that tone of sadness and longing to make its appearance just as it did prior to your breakdown.

Under the touch of your hand, his fingers twitched ever so slightly, wanting to graze your skin as minuscule means to soothe you. But Jotaro had a feeling you just needed company and nothing else at the moment.

He allowed you to rest your head on his shoulders, peacefully watching as the sky grew dark and its stars started to twinkle.

“I won’t.”

[bellafragolina]

I just found your blog and Ive been binge reading the whole thing this entire weekend. I love how you write Ingo and Emmet! and if I may humbly request a drabble about Warden Ingo x a motherly reader who fell through the Rift into Hisui. She dotes on all the village kids, always worrying over Lain and Rei, and is always cooing and fussing over her pokemon.

And the moment she’s introduced to Warden Ingo she just-immediately starts fussing over him. Poor man doesn’t even get out a hello before she’s asking if he is alright, what happened to his coat, when was the last time he slept, etc etc. From then on she’s always making a point to check in on him to make sure his taking care of himself and offers to mend his coat if his alright with her trying to fix it. Just smothers him in affection.

thanks for reading this and hope you have a good day!- Sweetea Anon

Aww! Motherly characters are the best! Very very good!! And thank you!! I’m glad you’re enjoying what I got so far

🍓🍓🍓

Hisui is a dangerous world, and you’ll be damned if the Galaxy Team sends out children with no support. Hell, you’ll be damned if the clans make children wardens without any time to be simply children. You put your mom jeans on (or perhaps just mom pants as denim has yet to be invented) and storm after the kids, Kamado be damned

All the kiddos love you. Akari and Rei lean heavily on you when things grow to be too much. It’s a lot of pressure to withstand, so you always offer them a place to rest their heads and cry their tears without judgement. You feed them too, bandage their wounds, kissing them so they heal faster. Neither really believe the superstition, but their injuries always seem to ache more without your kisses.

Sabi and Lian similarly rely on you. Your visits to their stations are always met with cheers. As much as Lian tries to act grown up, he’s still a young boy, and he often joins Sabi in barreling your over with hugs. The two love you, love that you listen to their rambles and indulge their wants to play. You wrestle them and play pretend so well, always kissing their heads and saying how proud you are of them. It means more to them than you realize

Ingo sees this, before you properly meet. He lingers on the outskirts of your interactions with the children, warmed by how attached to you and your care they seem. When you’re finally introduced by Rei and Akari, Ingo tips his hat to you. You respond by immediately fluttering over and fussing over the bags that hang below his eyes. Ingo flusters from the care, and the kids only laugh as you guide him to your abode for a warm meal and a good night’s sleep

From there, your relation blossoms. You make it your mission to take care of him, and though Ingo worries about you traveling all the way to the Highlands for him, he has to admit he melts at your softest touch. He’s been very alone at his station, so you coming in with your warmth and gentleness, it soothes the ache that seems to never leave Ingo’s heart. He’s quick to grow attached to you, your cooking especially, since his own skills are a little lacking in that area. In return, he finds you rare materials you need, bringing them to you with doed eyes

Every time you visit, before you leave, Ingo takes your hand in his weathered palms, and presses a firm kiss to the valley of your knuckles. His lips are chapped but warm as well, and never fail to make you shudder as they brush the sensitive skin. It makes you ache, a want to kiss him back buried deep within your heart. When the need grows to be too much, you dive foreword, sealing your lips together as he rises from your hand

Ingo jolts, but eagerly leans into you. Finally, he thinks to himself. Now his daydreams of having a family with you don’t feel so shameful

🍓🍓🍓

Ingo is definitely the guy that daydreams about having kids with his crush. Wants to be a dad so bad

~Renee

[shdo-xplosion]

Hi Dove! The event is so cute 😊 welcome to Tumblr babes we're glad to have you here.

I'd like to do scenes from a witch hat 👀 if I may have Bakugou, in case you don't want any repeat characters I'd love to see Nagi

I couldn't pick between 13 or 7 so which ever calls to you!

🖤🐈‍⬛🩷

hi, thank you! i appreciate the warm welcome ♡

since i have a few bakugou asks already, i think i’m gonna write for nagi on this one. (◠ω◠✿) plus the prompt fits well because it is…

💛 13. SLEEPOVER • s. nagi

no warnings, just cuteness

It happens quite often that Nagi falls asleep in one place and wakes up somewhere else. He could swear he just barely let his eyes rest shut at the restaurant, wasn’t even planning on taking a nap, but now he’s blinking himself awake in an only slightly familiar room.

Sitting up, Nagi rubs bleary eyes with the palms of his hands then glances around. Yeah, he knows this apartment, knows it’s yours, and feels his sleepy heart start to beat just a little harder at the thought.

Where are you? And where’s Reo? Surely he’s gotta be somewhere nearby, wouldn’t just dump Nagi at his crush’s house like some kind of stupid wingman.

Actually, yes he would. Reo’s whole thing is keeping Nagi happy, so yeah, he absolutely would do something like this on purpose.

“Oh, hey, you’re awake,” he hears you say as you glide into your living room. “There’s some soup on the stove if you want some. It’s raining outside so I thought something warm would be nice.”

Right. The rain. Nagi remember it tapping on the window of the café. That’s what made him shut his eyes. He can still hear it now, pattering against your apartment building, and almost immediately he feels drowsy again.

“Thanks,” Nagi mumbles. “S’Reo here?”

You shake your head. “He went to play soccer with some friends.”

“But… rain.”

You shrug your shoulders where you now sit perched on the arm of the couch. “He seemed especially excited about that. Said mud makes it more fun.”

Nagi wrinkles his nose. No wonder Reo left him behind. He knew there was no way he would have been able to convince Nagi to play with him.

“He should be done soon. It’s getting pretty late,” you hum. Nagi checks his phone and finds a message from Reo—a selfie—of his friend splattered with mud and the caption ‘no idea what you’re missing!’. He also sees that it’s nearly ten o’clock.

“Dang. Guess I should head home then.”

“You don’t have to,” you say quickly, and when Nagi looks at you, he sees a hopeful glimmer in your eyes. “I mean, I don’t mind the company. Plus, it’s so gross outside. Just… stay the night.”

His heart picks up its pace again, reminding Nagi of the way he always has to push himself during soccer matches. Just a little harder, a little faster, it’ll be worth it. The goal is in sight.

Is it with you, though? Is tonight a pivotal point between you and Nagi? There’s been what he thinks might be flirting—sly glances, badly hidden smiles, cute giggles—but it could all just be normal friendly behavior. Reo has tried to tell him time and time again that ‘bro, she has a thing for you, just make a move!’ but Nagi has never been the proactive type, and honestly he’s just kind of scared to ruin anything. What he has with you now is good. It’s easy. It’s low maintenance friendship.

But like… he also wouldn’t mind being able to hold your hand and kiss the tip of your nose so… a sleepover, huh?

He wonders what it’ll entail. As he slurps the warm, homey soup, a million cliché possibilities run through his mind.

Movies? Boring. Pillow fights? Exhausting. Are you about to give him a makeover? Wasteful. Makeup is expensive.

No. It turns out sleepovers are way more fun now than Nagi remembers. Or they are with you.

Instead of rom-coms and eyeshadow, he spends his night with you wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, the weight of you against his chest soothing him in and out of sleep. It’s definitely something he could get used to. Even if in the future you do decide to test out shades of blush on him or chuck pillows at his head, Nagi doesn’t think he’ll care as long as the night still ends up like this.

event masterlist ✿

[littlelesbinonny]

The Devil's Den

Chapter 28: In Which There Are Many Stairs to Climb

::UNDER 18? DO NOT INTERACT. This chapter contains material NOT SUITED for you::

You can read this also on Ao3 at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46831621/chapters/117962293

"Alcina?"

The study was quiet and quite dark; only the small antique brass and jade colored stained glass lamp was illuminated as Alcina had perched at her desk.

"Of course," she smiled," the girls tell me you stopped by?"

"Yes, I was hoping to speak to you in person."

"Oh... is something the matter?" she asked feeling a little heavier.

"Well - I don't know. I..."

For Donna to hesitate was unusual to say the least. Alcina's alertness kicked into another gear as she waited silently on the other end.

"I apologize for taking action without your consent and knowledge, but I've sent Angie to Connecticut."

Ok. That wasn't entirely what she had expected to hear, but yet she had not let on any other part of this decision and she seemed to be waiting for inquiry.

"For?"

Donna sighed audibly, "I can't shake the feeling that something isn't adding up with Mother Miranda. I spoke to her on the phone tonight to requests she send her troops to patrol her properties while she was away... she declined. And while we were speaking I could have sworn I heard Salvatore in the background, but I saw him just yesterday here in the city... I hope I am mistaken, because I can't explain that possibility or how I could have misheard it."

Alcina thumbed the dark red wood of the edge of her desk as she thought on this. Moreau had a very distinct voice, and Donna had keener hearing than her own, but the coincidence would be impossible; Mother Miranda was in Romania, that was the line she was being reached at, so what could explain such a thing?

"And you sent Angie to investigate?" she asked quietly, her own mind trying to fit the mismatched puzzle pieces together.

"Yes. With the utmost secrecy."

Nodding to herself, she pursed her lips and let out a full but silent breath, "Has Heisenberg returned yet?"

"Uh - yes - tonight as scheduled," Donna responded a little confused, "why do you ask?"

"His uses, few and odd as they may be, have enough niches to come in handy. I will speak to him personally about checking the phone lines for interference, anything that might explain this."

"Thank you for hearing me out on this, I've felt perplexed and unsure of myself all night."

"You of all people should know I will heed anything and everything you tell me. Don't lose sleep over this, if there is something to be found, we will get to the bottom of it. I - I too, have had my reservations about Mother Miranda's reaction to all of this... it stays between us. Do not fret, sister, we will uncover whatever is happening, I promise you."

"Thank you," she sighed softly, "I'm so happy you're home. I trust you're feeling... better?"

Oh, well, Alcina knew that hinting tone anywhere. She was well aware Donna knew exactly where she had been and Alcina softened her snort.

"Yes, I'm feeling much, much better, if you must know. Now, off you go, it's late - almost 9 AM. Get some rest, we'll speak later."

"Good niiiight." Donna sang sweetly.

Alcina rolled her eyes and hung up the phone.

While Donna was insufferably cute, and insufferable all at the same time, Alcina couldn't corral her thoughts from running loose on what she'd just been told. She really just wanted some peace and quiet for a moment. Was that too much to ask? There was always something happening in the underground, but the happenings of late seemed far more unusual than ever before. It was once again reminding her of what life had been like when the wars were active; always something to look over ones shoulder for, unknowing who could be trusted, unsure what land mine might be stepped on inadvertently next, what fight would drop itself at ones feet at the tip of a hat. It only reinforced her desire to leave this all behind; Matriarchy, governance, control, power, peacekeeping - Alcina just wanted a life of simplicity now. A life with you and her girls. That was it, that was all.

-

Work was absolutely not going to happen today.

You hadn't slept since Alcina left and you didn't care to, and you certainly could not have cared less than to get ready and go into work. It was Thursday. It'd been a slow, uneventful week outside of the random mishappenings, and you were so caught up in Alcina being back that you could pretty much not entertain your mind with anything else.

She was back, she was home.

Not unscathed.

The visions of those scars continued to waft through your head and it made you shudder almost every time. Were you grateful you'd healed her? Absolutely. Were you still chewing on the fact she had not, and was likely not, going to tell you what happened to her? Definitely. 

And were you still tripping over the uncanny event that happened to you and your own back several nights back? One-hundred percent.

Sure. Life had gotten weird as shit since she had come into your life. You were not complaining. But your hunches had always been part of you and they had never been wrong, whatever they happened to alert you to. And there was something, something deep, hiding from you and you could feel it but you could not fucking see it. As much as you wanted to find it, figure it out, there was also something telling you it wasn't going to happen within your control. That definitely didn't help the agitation of that nagging feeling. Still, what was there for you to do?

Maybe it was the way Alcina looked at you after she healed. That lost, concerned, fleeting, calculating, what-the-fuck look in her eyes as she peered down at you... it was so short lived. But it was there. Was it really so far-fetched your blood could do that? Was that not normal? Was she just not expecting it at all for some reason?

And who or what did that to her, and what the fuck did she look like before she came back to you? You shuddered again, the heat of anger rising in you like lava thinking about whatever harmed her like that. 

You knew you couldn't stop it from happening again, or stop her from doing what she needed to do, but there was something you could do, even if it was seemingly insignificant.

Rising from the couch you headed to your bedroom to get dressed.

-

"Heisenberg."

"Chriiiiist!" he shouted, jumping back from his contraption and soldering tool, "can we put a fucking bell on you?! You'd think with your size you'd be a hell of a lot louder," he blurted flipping up his welding visor.

Alcina raised a brow at his comment and placed a hand on her hip, "oh, pardon me for interrupting your newest little tinker toy - "

"Is it not a toy!" he bit back mimicking her own flick of the wrist, "it's a - a, uhm -"

In fairness he wasn't entirely sure what to call it just yet, it was indeed a new weapon he had envisioned recently and was tirelessly working on, but trying to explain the mechanics and function was escaping him in the moment. He'd been on go-mode ever since the mutant attacks and his brain really was on overload. Karl wasn't about to be caught unprepared again.

"It's a fuck-you-very-much-mind-your-damn-business; I ain't wastin' my time trying to school you on my genius. Wha'd'you want, Lurch?"

Unamused and in a hurry, Alcina let it slide and stepped through the threshold of his shop, making sure the door was closed securely behind her as she took only a few more steps.

"Are you still familiar with the electrical wiring of the communication systems down here?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked wiping his brow with the back of his arm.

"Could you find time in your undoubtedly busy schedule to have a look at them to make sure nothing has been tampered with?"

He squinted at her, "I mean, I am awfully busy. But... I suppose I can make it happen."

"Good," she replied without missing a beat, smirking at him smugly, "please do it quietly."

"Quietly? Do you forget who you're talkin' to?"

Deadpan, Alcina remarked, "no, that's why I said it," and turned on her heels towards the door.

"Pfff, ok Addams family reject - you gunna tell me why I'm looking for said tamperings?" he called after her.

"No. Don't solder yourself to your toy. Let me know what you find."

Karl began to chuckle to himself as the flatness in her voice trailed off as she walked down the corridor, "Nice chat, vague-asaurus!" 

He was so grateful she was healed and back to her old self.

~

Alcina certainly had plenty on her mind as she waltzed her way back through the city, regarding the other vampires she passed with a returned nod, holding herself high and regal as usual, brushing off the weighty guilt that came with the knowledge that these people had no idea what had happened outside their borders; the attack upon the lycans and herself. But, how does one alert a city to such information without causing an uproar? Would the chaos be worth their awareness? Being a leader did not come at an easy price.

And then there was the issue of Mother Miranda.

And you.

You.

What you really were.

Not fully human.

It didn't matter, at least not at this time. She had to tell herself that repeatedly to alleviate the utter cacophony that ensued whenever it came up in her mind. It didn't matter what you were, what only mattered was that you were safe and loved and protected and secret. That's all.

That's all.

Alcina barely noticed the bustling of New York when she entered it. The church was a blatant barrier from the world outside that always hit her like a bag of bricks; stepping through an otherworldly threshold, yet tonight she hardly noticed. Tonight she was wrapped up in trying to return to a previous reality that was, quite clearly, unreachable. Pretending she had not almost been killed and torn to shreds and your blood being the only thing to heal her was, well, a task all on it's own. But she had to, she had to make it her reality.

Her heels clicked on the pavement and added into the instrumentation of the night music that was the liveliness of Manhattan life. She could feel the crispness of the autumn air against her face and gently began to notice everyone else bundled up in their scarves and coats and jackets, gloves, boots, and hats. The leaves had not yet begun to turn but it was not far off. Before long winter would approach and another year would come to an end. Time seemed more linear now than ever, with you in the picture. 

Time.

Time that would slip by like the stupid proverbial sands and once they sifted through the cracks, one could not get back.

While her mind tried to take a turn for the melancholy, her eyes drifted up to the very familiar apartment complex before her; the warm light of your windows aglow in the dark sky. 

She smiled.

~

You didn't feel like wasting time tonight; the realness of the unseen world around you made itself very clear to you today and several things had shifted.

The moment Alcina stepped foot through your balcony door you were shoving her against the wall.

"Draga m- "

Was all she got out before your mouth was smothering hers; desperate to steal her breath for your own as the fire inside you clawed through you, hands tugging and pulling at her outfit.

No. Wasting time by not expressing everything you felt would no longer be the norm. This was precious, she was precious, every moment you had with her was precious.

Soon the two of you were panting and whimpering as clothes were discarded completely. Hot naked flesh of yours melding into hers that was much cooler and just as soft. Neither of you made it to the bed. You slid her down the wall and tossed her to the floor with barely a breath broken apart as you coaxed her lips open with your tongue.

Alcina moaned as you crawled between her legs, the passion in you brimming to the very top, every ounce of you screaming your demand and desire. She whimpered deep and dark in her chest, gasping as your hips collided your torso with her core, moaning as your teeth grazed her neck down to her collar bones, nipping, kissing, teasing as you went.

She leaned back into the carpet and let you have your way. Each love bite left in your wake slapped awake the beast inside her, the thrill and hunger begging for release.

You wasted very little time. Slithering your way down her buxom, perfect body you perched between her thighs and dove in. Alcina moaned out as your mouth engulfed her. Your tongue ran long, slow, heavy licks up and down her folds repeatedly, relishing your favorite flavor as you moaned right back. There was nothing so satisfying as watching her writhe before you. Her chest heaving as you hit every spot, hearing her nails dig into the floor as you picked up pace just to slow down, drag it out, dangle her over the ledge before you gave her more, everything she wanted.

"Oh yes, yes draga," Alcina whined, one hand prying from the carpet to sink her fingers into your hair, "just like that."

Everything inside of you began to burn. If you didn't know any better you'd think your eyes were glowing just as Alcina's did; boring your way through her the way she did to you, fueling and filling to the brim with the sensual need to combine and mix all that was you, and all that was her, into the perfect color to paint the rest of your life with.

You hooked your arms over her hips and buried your face as deep as it could go, absorbing Alcina's glorious whimpering cries as you fucked her senseless with your tongue. Continuing to watch her quiver and squirm you couldn't help but bask in the tremble you felt in her thighs around your head, humming into her core which only egged the fluttering in her stomach on.

"Draga..." Alcina whined, grabbing at your arms held tight about her as she felt the completion coming on fast, "h'ohhh - my god!"

With the wilting tone in her voice cracking and tumbling, your name escaped her parted lips over and over until the cry of her climax pinned and finished her with passionate convulsion. She gasped and panted as you and that skilled tongue gently brought her down, the warmth spreading through her flesh like the caressing wind on a hot summer day. Alcina didn't want to open her eyes yet, still attempting to collect the pieces of her shattered consciousness as a sly smile twisted her crimson lips upwards in total satisfaction. 

There was something so comforting and immobilizing about being wrapped up in your vampires arms, sunk into your mattress together in peace and quiet. Well, mostly quiet. After the two of you had successfully worn each other out, you grabbed your phone and put on an easy listening instrumental jazz compilation you'd found on YouTube a couple days ago. It was smooth and relaxing and fit the mood perfectly. 

But, all good things have to come to and end.

"It's late, draga, I should get going."

You nuzzled your face into the crook of Alcina's neck and sighed, "what time is it?"

"2 AM. You have work in the morning..." she cooed, pressing her lips to your head, "I've stolen so much of your sleep already."

"You can't steal what doesn't want to be stolen," you grinned lifting your face to look at her.

Arching a perfect brow she traced her fingertip over your cheekbone, "well, some thief I am then - you whittle away my menacing nature too easily."

"You're only menacing trait is your wicked allure and beauty. The teeth, blood-thirst, towering height, and you know, otherwise vampiric tendencies, are just minor details at this point."

Her laugh was bliss to your ears.   "Oh draga, you are too much," Alcina laughed, delicately cupping your cheek as she kissed your lips repeatedly, "I love you."

"I love you, too.

She was dressed in no time and you hated to see it; you hoped one day in the future she wouldn't have to leave you. How that future could ever be, you weren't sure. Despite your rain cloud, you slipped on an oversized shirt and went to your bookshelf in the corner on your room and retrieved a small black box.

Alcina was ruffling her perfect black locks as you approached slowly, a bit of the inside of your lower lip between your teeth as she turned to look at you with a smile fading from her lips. 

Her eyes dropped down to the item in your palms, silently awaiting your pending explanation.

"I uhm," you sighed, thumbing the wood, "I hope this isn't super weird, but... in case something bad happens again, I want you to have this," you said, slowly handing the box over to her, "I hope it can come in handy if you're far away from me."

Confused was beyond the term. Alcina eyed you carefully before taking the box from your hands, her curiosity fully in control as she unlatched the hook at the front and opened the lid. There inside were 9, 4 inch glass vials, each with cork tops sealed with a dark purple wax. Her long fingers traced the top of one and plucked it from it's slot - whatever was inside was dark and she couldn't make it out in the low light of your room.

"It's blood," you stated softly, "my blood. Travel size. For emergencies."

The pause was bloated to put it kindly. Alcina was utterly speechless.

Her slate colored eyes flickered with an emotion you couldn't quite place, but you were standing your ground as she peered at you. 

She swallowed, "how did you... draga -"

"Don't worry, I got it done safely. There's a little vampy, goth, witchy hole in the wall shop in Queens that does it; they have medically trained and certified phlebotomists that work there. I had no idea the vampire scene was as intense as they were, but I did some research online before - "

Alcina had placed the box on the bed and had you in her clutches with her lips pressed to yours before you could finish your thought.

There was no coherent phrasing of words for her to express in this moment. Overwhelmed and stunned that you had gone to such lengths had her wholly stumped. She could not fathom one thing in her life she had done for her to deserve you and your beautiful, thoughtful soul. Fear brimmed in her belly at the whole of it; your selflessness, your little vials of blood in her possession, the possibility of someone finding them stashed in her manor, the firm knowledge of just how much you loved her and how far you were willing to go to take care of her even when you weren't near.

What could she say to this?

"You did not need to do this," Alcina whispered against your lips, still holding your face with such reverence.

"I know," you whispered back, "but I want to. I know I can't be a bigger part of your world, I can't be there to do the things I want to, I can't know what goes on, I can't go with you on missions, I can't be there when you get back... but I can at least do this. I can have some reassurance that part of me can be there if or when shit goes south."

Pressing her forehead to yours, Alcina held you there as she breathed in your calming scent, her mind rushing through a quiet chaos.

Sensing her in such befuddlement almost made you chuckle. You'd only rendered her speechless and harmless in the bedroom, so you'd chalk this up to another win.

You smiled against her and kissed her lips feather light, "I'll see you tomorrow night, yeah?"

Alcina nodded, slowly pulling back to gaze upon your beauty and wholeness. 

~

The manor was silent. 

The girls were out and Alcina stood in the middle of her room, little black box in hand.

After a moment she placed the box on her vanity and began to remove her coat. Still swimming in a deep, dark sea of muffled thoughts, Alcina stepped towards the head of her four-poster bed and grabbed at the dark wood and pulled. With her strength it took very little effort to move the giant thing away from the wall. Behind the headboard in the dark rock of the wall, was a compartment she had dug out and made herself when she was given the manor. With one strong slam of her fist, the concrete seal around it crumbled and she was able to remove the block. Inside was a few relics from her past: two black and white photos of her and the band, an emerald necklace from her grandmother, a ring and handkerchief also of her grandmothers with the Dimitrescu crest, three locks of hair from her girls tied with the finest silk thread, and Madeleine's gold locket. 

These were stored here so no one could or would ever touch them, at least, one individual in particular. Mother Miranda couldn't take from her what she didn't know existed.

Retrieving your box from the vanity she tucked it into the nook and placed the block back where it had stood. She would have to seal it at a later date.

Alcina swept up the mess from the floor, pushed her bed back into position, and sat on the edge. 

While her thoughts were pelting themselves at her like a paintball gun, she wasn't listening. But after a while she grew tired of the barrage and headed for the bathroom to draw herself a bath.

~

Central Park was completely vacant.

The sky was black and the clouds were orange, lit from below like a fire was blooming all over the city, and yet there were no flames to be seen.

The trees were dressed in the blackest shadow you'd seen, the grass was dead and crumbling beneath your feet, the plants and tree limbs swayed in a wind you couldn't feel and somehow you felt like you were slowly suffocating.

You need to move. Flee. Get out of the park.

But where were you going?

The park became entangled with the city and suddenly you weren't sure where you were. It looked familiar but the buildings stretched all the way to the sky now, the shadows seemed to be creeping through the streets ready to gobble you up, but your legs were heavy and you couldn't cover the distance fast enough.

From the darkness behind you, you could hear a woman's voice. Muted. The shouts carrying themselves sluggishly on the dense air.

You turned down another alleyway and you were back into the park. The trees now more mangled and rugged looking, the grass still as dry and brittle but longer as you trekked through.

The voice echoed still behind you and instantly you knew you needed to find Alcina. She was somewhere near, you could feel her. But then the shouts became sharper, closer, and you looked behind you to see pairs of white glowing eyes emerging from the shadows eating up the scenery behind you, running, converging.

And then you started to run.

You screamed for Alcina but you heard no sound, just a rough, hushed, bleat of a voiceless cry. 

Why couldn't you run faster?

Where was Alcina?

The trees were coming nearer and you pushed with all your might. The shrillness of the woman's scream behind you echoed louder, though, you couldn't place who it was. It wasn't Alcina, no, no that wasn't her voice at all. If it were you wouldn't be running in the opposite direction.

As you tripped and fell your way through the mangled root system of the dense forest, you could hear the rushing footsteps behind you. Again, you called for Alcina, feeling your voice desperately clawing its way out of the fog - and yet, still you could make no sound.

And then the rush and blur of bodies ran passed you. All you could make out feature wise of these blobs were the glowing white eyes. And then a scream you did know.

Alcina.

Trapped and seemingly glued to the forest floor, you were held captive and immobile as her cries echoed around you. In the rising pool of fear and rage you broke loose and clawed your way through, still no sign and no real direction where she was. 

Calling her name over and over until you felt your voiceless cries made you hoarse, winded and tired, you tumbled through a clearing to find a black mass of bodies huddled by the entrance to a cave.

'Alcina!' your voice finally rang out.

A cackle.

The mass broke apart and you were met with 4 sets of white eyes. 

Through the darkness you could see her now. You could see Alcina on the forest floor beneath them all.

Screaming now with an utter fury you've never felt before, you dug your heels into the first and lunged.

[twentydaysofdrabbles]

The Concierge Returns To Work (Part 27)

Once upon a time, when you were younger, you would have been able to go without sleep for days on end, subsisting on an hour of sleep at a time, your body adjusting to your every need. Alas, you are older now. Your body broken down from the abuse of your younger days.

And so despite a full night’s worth of rest, a sumptuous meal and some isotonic drinks, you still feel its effects when you come back to your counter the next morning. Aching. Tired. A shell of your former self.

Or, well, more than usual.

Polite smiles and dead eyes greet every one of your guests, help them check out, help others check in. Your staff don’t treat you any different than they usually do, but the shine of respect in their eyes and on their faces don’t escape your notice. 

It has, after all, been a very long time since you’ve taken to the field. So much so that it invites questions from all sorts of people. 

“You working again, Concierge?” a man in a dapper suit asks as he slides back his room key to you. “I heard...”

You accept the key. Drop it into its assigned box. And wait for him to complete his sentence, your gloved hands folded before your belly. 

When he does not, you tilt your head politely. “I hope you have enjoyed your stay, sir. We look forward to seeing you again.”

The man takes the ending of the conversation on his chin, tipping his hat in goodbye as he leaves. You can only exhale slowly through your nose to avoid sounding like you are sighing. What a mess.

But beyond that...

Your guests are restless. You see it in the way they check their phones when they linger in the lobby. The way they hold themselves as they roam the Hotel. 

Your staff, too, feed off this restless energy. You can see the footmen and bellboys flicking you glances, their eyes roaming the lobby carefully. It’s the sort of head-swivelling that you recognise. Hunters on the lookout for a fellow predator. 

Something must have happened while you were resting. You can only surmise it had something to do with Toriel, with Asgore, and Sans being called away. Part of you regrets not listening in on Sans’ conversation with his brother, but a bigger part of you respects his privacy. If he wanted to let you know, he would. You would find out if you decided to pay the Mail Room a visit anyway.

The ringing of the phone stops you from ruminating further. It’s the Manager’s ringtone. 

Without any hesitation, you pick up the receiver. “Good morning, ma’am.”

“Good morning, my Heart. Could you come see me in the VIP Bar, please?”

“Of course.”

It doesn’t take you long to find a replacement for your counter, or to make your way to the bar hidden in the depths of the Hotel. 

Normally this place would be teeming with folk, but given the hour of the day it is empty save for the Manager who sits at a table in the back. Soft music wafts through the air, enough to dispel the silence but not enough to mask your footfalls on the carpet. 

“My Heart,” the Manager greets you as you stop by the side of her table. “Would you join me for breakfast?” She gestures to the table where there is another place setting.

You eye her carefully, then at the empty Bar, then back to her again. “I’m supposed to be working.”

The woman snickers behind her teacup. “And you are,” she says, sliding over an inventory list. “While we’re having breakfast.”

Why can’t you ever say no to this woman. A cavernous sigh leaves you, one that you don’t bother to hide as you slide into the offered seat. Gloved hands raise the inventory list to your eyes and you note the red highlights. Highlights that include items needed to stock the armoury. 

You frown, look up at her serenely sipping her tea. “You’re preparing,” you say matter-of-factly. “Are we to anticipate a surge of business?”

Her eyes cut to yours. Piercing eyes to dead ones. “The former Queen has stirred up a bit of trouble, my Heart. It’s not just her fellow monsters out for her blood now.”

You know only what Toriel told you, what you observed that day. Which reminds you...

Checking your phone reveals that someone from the Mail Room had responded to you - the contract on Toriel’s head had been opened by one of the first-rate seats on the High Table. Not the seat-holder themselves, but their Family. It wasn’t a high prize by any means, but enough to catch the attention of most assassins and trackers. All but the best, anyway.

Something something pandora’s box, wasn’t it?

You slide your phone over to the Manager, who picks it up and peers at the screen with an interested look on her face. “Ah, as I suspected,” she hums aloud, sliding your phone back to you. “They were warned.”

“They’re getting bolder,” you comment, serving yourself a small stack of pancakes and eggs. “Conducting business on Continental grounds. Just a year ago, it would be unheard of.”

A sound of agreement. “Which is why...”

“You sent me out.” As a message. You flick your dead eyes up to her and her self-satisfied grin. “And why you allow them close.” To you. 

She only nods behind her teacup. It was not necessary to bring you to revoke a guest’s membership, nor was it necessary to send you to retrieve the former Queen. It was a show of her power - that she held the leash of a former Emissary whose claws and fangs were sharp as ever. That anyone who toed the line, who showed disrespect, would be summarily dispatched. 

Letting Sans and Frisk, and by extension the monsters get close to you in particular sends the message that they were accepted by the Continental and thus its protection while on consecrated grounds. Whether she knows exactly what you and Sans got up to last night is genuinely a mystery. Or whether she cares.

You decide to ask. “Did Mister Sans return to the meeting yesterday?”

“After he left your room?” She has a look of fond amusement on her face. “Yes. His brother dragged him back, though I would have thought he’d have tried harder to stay with you.”

Hm. That wasn’t very useful at all.

Still, the Manager would tell you if she disapproved of this...dalliance with Sans. And she hasn’t yet. 

You just shrug. “Duty called.” After all, if the Manager had summoned you, you’d have hopped off Sans’ cock and gone to her side. 

The woman smiles, as though understanding where you’re coming from. “Mmm.” 

For a while, there is only the sound of cutlery clinking against porcelain, of teacups settling into their saucers. Then, when you are done with your meal, she leans forward to slide you a business card without saying a word.

Goodness, the Manager is feeling quite cryptic today. Taking it into stride, you simply take the business card and raise it to your eyes. 

Grillby’s Cocktail Bar Grillby Ignis

Its address is in the heart of monster territory. 

“...you want him to come work for you?” you ask, your neutral expression cracking to raise an eyebrow. The Manager was fair to her employees, yes, but your roster could not boast any monsters.

She waves her teacup in a noncommittal response. “If he’s so inclined, then I would be happy to welcome him into the fold. But no. I’d like an ear to the ground.” The teacup is quietly set back down into its saucer, allowing the Manager to lace her fingers under her chin, her brow slightly furrowed.

Ah, here it comes.

“It seems not all is well within the monster Family,” she murmurs quietly, her voice slipping in neatly with the music - almost incomprehensible unless one is next to the table. “His Highness did not want Miss Toriel found, wanted her where he could see her, safe and sound...at all costs.” Judging by the active bounty on her head, perhaps that fear was not unfounded. Yet...

“Miss Toriel doesn’t seem the sort to take to chains very well,” you comment carefully, pouring yourself a bit of tea, doctoring it to your liking. 

“No.” The Manager smiles. It seems that she thinks well of the former Queen. “But does he do it out of love, or out of fear? Or perhaps politics.” 

Word on the street was that the former Queen, though faded in the memory of her subjects, was still beloved. Perhaps remembered more fondly than her estranged ex-husband. With her gone, the King would not have to jostle for rightful leadership, did not have to fear someone usurping his position when he least expects it.

Then, the thought comes to you. “He fears Mx Frisk.” Rightfully so. Even you are wary of the young-but-not monster ambassador. 

The Manager nods. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I cannot rightly tell, but Mx Frisk is much like you, aren’t they?” She holds your dead gaze with her own knowing one. 

There is no one else on this earth who knows you as much as she does, and vice versa. “Close, but not quite,” you answer her. “Their hands run red, or rather are filled with dust. How that is possible is still a mystery to me.” Considering that the monster population did not seem to be lacking, nor did they regard Frisk with such fear. Only the King did.

A low hum of agreement. The Manager does not know either. “You were younger than they were when you started,” she states idly, knuckling her chin. “But yes, I see what you mean. Close, but not quite.” 

There is a quality about young-but-not Frisk that did not match the early maturity of most other child soldiers. Like a teenager trapped in a child’s body.

“Nevertheless, it would be wise to stay in that ambassador’s good graces.” The Manager reaches for the small jug of milk, which you push closer to her. “Even if it won’t save us down the road.”

You flick your eyes up at her, a spark of light within them. “We speak for the City. They’d be foolish to make enemies of us.”

The Manager shrugs. “As would anyone.” Including the High Table, whose disrespect was beginning to rankle. 

Eyes deaden back into their flinty state and you lift your teacup to your lips to sip at the lukewarm tea. “What would you ask of me?” 

Out there, she gives you an order. You obey. 

When it’s just the two of you, she can only ask. You can only choose. 

“Keep them close,” she begins slowly, as though rolling the words over in her head. “And when the time comes, I want them to hesitate. I want them to choose.” She wants you to leverage this blooming friendship. The blooming connection between you and Sans. She wants protection for the Continental...perhaps for you as well.

A part of you rails against it. You want one thing that you can keep for yourself, that no one else will touch. 

But a larger part of you is resigned. You will only ever belong to the Manager, to the one who holds your leash. You cannot keep anything; that is the one thing that does not change. But for however long you are permitted to do so, you will cling to what you have.

So you nod, place a hand on the hollow of your throat in a subtle salute. “Of course.”

The Manager eyes you carefully as you raise your head back up. After a long silence, she breaks it with the softest of voices, “Love makes fools of all of us. It drives us, makes us stronger. Makes us brittle.” Her gaze flicks down to the table. She knows more than anyone what it is like. “I want you to be careful, my Heart. You only have so much to give...make sure it’s worth it.”

You don’t know why she’s telling you this. Your heart, your soul, has been beaten into the dust a long time ago. But you know she cares for you, as much as anyone can, and so you let out a shaky exhale. “You’re under the impression I have more to give than I actually do,” you mutter under your breath. “But...very well. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“See that you do,” she says as she leans forward to pat the back of your gloved hand affectionately. “So...” Her tone lightens, changes into one more fit for casual conversation. For teasing. “’Sweetheart’, hm?”

For fuck’s sake.

[ggsworldstory]

Chapter -1 Act Jangle: how the government (tried to) steal Christmas

It was christmas eve aboard the Toppat submarine,everywhere you could look holiday spirit could be found, sweet cocoa wafted through the air, Lively decor around every corner, even the two who’d always bicker about what music to have playing agreed to have their playlist on one side and the other’s on their side. Meanwhile, atop the sub, Jess practiced her waterbending tricks, with each wave of her hand, little orbs of the ocean arose before quickly freezing into all manner of shapes and sizes,from snowflakes, to gemstones and much more! while GG watched and gave thunderous applause, “You’re really getting good with that!” he said

“Heh, thanks” She replied with a shiver “but it’s getting pretty cold, we should be heading back inside”

“I guess, unless…” GG said as he got an idea, he folded his fingers into a taut fist preparing to release a warming fire for the two of them, he flicked his fingers open and… nothing.

GG chuckled awkwardly before he tried again, and again, and again several more times, “Dammit!” he cried out in frustration 

“Oh, don’t be so down, you’re bound to get better sometime,besides,I think it’s sweet of you to try that just for my little water tricks.”

“Thanks, but what if what wasn’t just for those tricks, what if there was more at stake and I messed up, I don’t how I’d live with myself…” 

Suddenly, the two felt the loudspeaker go off inside the sub, though somewhat muffled, they could hear the captain announce “All members, please report to the front of the submarine for an important meeting!” 

“Huh, wonder what’s this ‘bout?” GG wondered as the two made their way to the sub’s front, taking seats next to GG’s parents, soon enough, Captain Sharkbite presented themself

“Hello everyone, I know yer all in the holiday spirit especially with our annual holiday heist tonight, but I’m afraid I come bearing bad news, the sub’s autopilot is on the fritz, I’ll need someone else driving this thing through the night” 

GG attempted to inquire, “Wha- why can’t you just keep driving?”

“Ye can’t be serious,I need to be here to get a full eight hours of shuteye. Do you have any idea what happens when I haven’t gotten my sleep?”

“Don’t remind me…” Gerald mumbled with dread

“Just be glad you weren’t born yet at the time” Gabrielle elaborated

“Anyways, ye know just as well as I that I wouldn’t trust any of you bozos alone within 10 feet of my steel baby! But, in times this dire, I’m begrudgingly willing to trust two of ye and we’re deciding who the same way we decide everything else; picking names out of a hat!”

The captain rustled their arm through the hat, as the Toppats in the audience waited with bated breath, hoping for anyone to get picked but them, eventually they picked up two slips of paper and read them aloud

“Gerald Maxwell and Gabrielle Maxwell, welp that settles that, meeting adjourned”

While every other Toppat rose from their seats, relieved to get out of a lousy job, the four elemental wielders did not share their joy

“Oough, this is gonna be painful…” Gerald sulked

“Is it really that bad?” GG asked, concerned

“We’ll be fine, George” Gabrielle tried to assure, “we'll just stay here and not get to go on the holiday heist like we've done every year since before you were born…”

“No way! What if me and Jess took your places?”

“We’ve stayed up so many times, we may as well be nocturnal!” Jess remarked

“No, that’d be far too irresponsible on our part-”

“Gerald, can I speak with you in private for a moment?” Gabrielle interrupted as she pulled her husband aside, “Gerry, maybe we should let them have this?”

“What? Why?”

“Think about it, you know how much George has been so down on himself lately, pulling off something like this could be the confidence boost he needs! Besides, the path is so simple, you could do it in your sleep!”

“Yeah but… oh I can’t say no to you, but what about the captain?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea”

The parents turned back to the two “Alright kids, here’s the plan…”

[Later that night]

 Every other Toppat was on the surface for the holiday heist, while Gerald and Gabrielle arrived to the front of the sub where Sharkbite was waiting for them with groggy, barely awake eyes, “ah, good… yer here” they said with a yawn before reaching into their pocket, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to the two, “Just… follow that path, get back here, watch out for rocks and it should be good…”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

"Yeah, yeah, Harry Fish wash and such…" they continued as they trudged to their room flopping into bed, dead asleep near instantly

"Alright, kids, come on!" Gabrielle announced and prompted GG and Jess to peek their heads out from the hallway, proceeding after they saw the coast was clear

“Now, did you get all that?”

“Follow the path, don’t crash into crap, get back to the dock at 8:30 before the captain gets up, easy as pie!”Jess remarked

“Great, take care, you two!” Gabrielle replied as she and Gerald began to make their way to the hatch and catch up with the others

“enjoy the heist, Merry christmas!” GG added as he watched his parents head out

“Are you really sure about this, Gabbie?”

“Have some faith, think about how happy this’ll make him!”

Gerald turned back to his son, waving at him, looking jolly as St Nick himself “alright…” he admitted as a smile began to spread across his face, “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?”

[Meanwhile]

In a government base, not too far from shore, two people were up to their necks in files of all kinds, one continually grumbled to himself as he sorted through them, the other noticed and asked, "hmm, what's wrong, Larry?" 

"Still can't believe you talked me into this crap…"

"Hey, don't be so glum, this is gonna get us back on the general's good side! Y’know, after what happened" 

"Hey, that time was NOT my fault, Jarvis! How was I supposed to know that wasn't the Motor Mafia?"

"Well those kids' bikes did have the same colors" 

"Doesn't matter, like sorting some papers of our fuck-ups is gonna get us back on the general's good side…"

“Oh, lighten up! Our luck’s bound to change any moment now, we just gotta keep a keen eye out for an opportunity!”

[back on the submarine]

GG took great joy in his role as de facto captain as he held the steering wheel, tapping his foot in rhythm as he whistled a jolly tune. Soon Jess walked in, carrying two steaming hot mugs of cocoa, “Care for some cocoa a la Jessica, Captain Maxwell?” She playfully remarked as she handed GG one of the mugs

“Why, thank you, uhhh… what’s the term for captain’s 2nd in command?”

“Co-captain?”

“I don’t think that’s a thing… but as Captain, I hereby make it a thing! Great thinking, Co-Captain Wagner!” 

The two shared a laugh before taking sips of their respective mugs of cocoa “Mmm, ya can really taste the espresso!” GG complimented, “Alright enough goofin’ around, what’s the map say?” 

Jess took the map out of her pocket and looked closely for instructions, but the longer she inspected, the more confused her face became

“Is something wrong?”

“Uhhh, you might wanna take a look at this…" 

GG took the map to have a look on his own and while it was simple at first, but the closer the two looked, the more obvious what parts the captain wrote while they were half-asleep, or fully asleep in some areas

"Crap…" GG muttered, "ok, no need to panic, let’s just steer to these X’s, X marks the spot, r-right?

“Makes sense”

With that hasty decision, GG made the turn, unfortunately in this instance X may have marked the spot, but it wasn’t a desirable spot in the slightest as they ended up hurtling towards a large pile of rocks!

In a desperate bout to correct his error, GG reeled the sub’s helm back as hard as he could, steering it to the surface, once up their, the two took a moment to catch their breaths and take a sigh of relief

“That was too close…” GG said as he tried to process what had just happened

All of a sudden, the two heard a loud screech that sent shivers down their spines and forced their eyes as wide open as they could go

“Jess, you heard that, right?” GG said in a deadpan tone

“Yeah” Jess replied, equally devoid of emotion

“Any idea what it was and why we stopped moving”

“Not sure, maybe check the windows”

“Yeah, good idea”

The two both walked to the windows on their respective sides, saw what was out and proceeded to walk back to the spot they started at

“So what’d ya see?”

“Giant sea stack” 

“Same here”

GG then grabbed his hat, held it up to his face and let out a massive, muffled scream into it

Larry and Jarvis were in the middle of their organization as before when Larry would notice a peculiar sight out the window “hey Jarvis, hand me that telescope”

“Sure, what for?” 

Looking at the protruding top hat shaped hatch that laid in the distant ocean,an awful, awful idea began forming in Larry’s head “cause we’re about to save christmas…”

Just then GG had finally stopped screaming, “ok, calm down” Jess said, as she pushed a button on the Sub's dashboard, activating a pair of drills on the side, “just give it a couple hours and we'll be back in business in no time” 

At that moment the two noticed something strange appearing on the radar

“Please tell me that's Santa…” GG pleaded as he pulled down the periscope to investigate with GG looking through left lens while Jess took the right, unfortunately instead of Jolly old St Nick, they only saw a boat headed straight for the sub, brandishing an all-too recognizable green circle and white star, with two eager looking passengers aboard

They stepped away from the periscope, turning to one another, attempting to take a moment to process the situation they'd gotten themselves into

GG began to slowly reach upwards and scream into his hat once more

Losing patience, Jess grabbed his shoulders “Pull yourself together, George!” She hollered as she locked eyes with him, they stood there for a moment before awkwardly stepping away

“Uh, thanks I needed that” GG said “so what are we gonna do?”

“From the looks of things, there's still a decent amount of time left before they get here and I think we’ve both seen enough christmas movies to know what we’re gonna do next” she said as she turned to see the many decorations hanging throughout the halls 

[Some time later]

The boat had reached the sub at last “you really sure about this?” Jarvis said nervously, hesitant to go through with his partner’s idea

“Hey, you’re the one yammering about ‘looking out for opportunity’ yet you can’t see when it’s staring you in the face?” Larry snapped back, approaching the Sub’s hatch, “we’ll just go in, find our evidence, and be right out”

“I guess, still, I can’t help but feel a little scared…”

“Please, chances are, they’re all asleep with visions of stolen goods dancing in their sick little heads”

At the same time, GG and Jess were putting the finishing touches on their plans as they stood beneath the hatch

“Ok, let’s go over this one more time” Jess said as she pulled out a map of the sub “when those bozos come in we’ll coax 'em through the sub and lead' em all the way to the front, get them into position, then blast 'em out!” 

“Easy enough” GG replied

At that moment, they heard the handle of the hatch twist and creak “they’re here! Get into position!”

the two hastily scrambled as the government goons made their not-so-graceful descent inside

“We’re really going through with this…” Jarvis nervously muttered

“Oh for the last time” Larry snapped as he began walking “nothing is going to happen-” immediately, he found himself face planting on the floor, tripping on a wire tied to the sides of the room “it’s a sign” Jarvis said with fear in his face “it’s a damned string!” Larry began walking again only to trip once more on a line of unlit christmas lights “if these chuckleheads think I’m gonna be stopped by a couple childish pranks, they got another thing-” Jarvis pulled Larry back, right before he tripped on some tinsel and fell into a pile of jagged Jacks “ok, maybe you lead” now in this new formation, the two entered the main hall, they walked slowly and with caution

Suddenly, Jarvis jumped with shock at the sound of a quick pitter patter that echoed throughout, instinctively, shined his flashlight ahead, revealing GG and Jess standing at the end of the hall, holding up a large ruby hoisted from a rope, before they promptly released it

Jarvis instantly ducked while Larry remarked “Hey, those are just a couple of kids-” Before getting smacked across the face and falling onto the floor “are you alright?” Jarvis said, before subsequently getting smacked by the gem swinging back, Larry soon got up right as the ruby was raring to swing back again, but he managed to dodge this time as Jarvis got up, realizing what was gonna happen, he went “Oh no you don't!” Before grabbing the gem before it could strike

They were both almost immediately hit by an equally massive amethyst, sandwiching them between the gems before they both slumped on the floor

The two toppats let out a couple laughs and hi-fived at a job-well done, but the infiltrators weren't quite down for good

“Why you little!” Larry angrily grumbled as he rose once more and began to chase the duo, with Jarvis following close behind

“Scatter!” Jess exclaimed as she and GG split up to opposite paths of the hall's fork with Larry pursuing the path Jess took, while Jarvis opted for GG’S side

Jess soon arrived at the submarine's armory, immediately, her eyes lit up with a mischievous joy as all the possibilities rushed through her head and hid into position, Larry soon caught up, looking around slowly, both to preemptively spot any potential traps and seek trouble making Toppat teen “where are you, little brat?” He whispered, looking back and forth, when in reality Jess was above, having scaled the tallest shelf, she grabbed some of the armories many blades and tossed one down, landing right next to Larry who responded with shock as tried to get away, only for another blade to fall in his path, prompting him to run away again, this continued for some time, with several blades, spears, swords, shears, machetes, even chainsaws! Till eventually, Larry was left circled in, looking frantically as to where the blades would fall next, but they had seemingly stopped

Deflated from fear, Larry lied down trying to catch his breath, only for Jess to toss down a massive hammer with a jet engine built inside, right in the center of the circle, by the time Larry noticed, it was too late, as the hammer dropped on him like an unfortunate nail

At the same time, Jess climbed back down before letting out a playful “oopsie!” Snickering as she made her getaway

Larry would not take kindly to the girl's taunt as he got up and gave chase once again��

Meanwhile, Jarvis would find himself in the sub's lounge, initially he felt relieved “this place looks pretty nice!” He thought out loud as he went to take a seat on a comfy looking chair “little rest can't hurt” he assured himself but as he went to rest his weary self, he found the chair had a tack on it! Immediately getting him to stand back up and eliciting a sudden “ouch!” but not deterring him fully as he moved on to the chair right next to it, only to find an identical issue and letting out an identical “ouch!” Despite everything that had just transpired, he still persisted and made his way to the third and final chair of the row

This time however, he took some precautions, feeling the seat carefully with his hands, once he assessed the chair was fully tack free, he breathed a sigh of relief as he turned his back and prepared to slump down for some well needed relaxation 

Just as he turned however, GG appeared from behind the chair and swiftly dumped a handful of tacks onto the seat

As Jarvis sat down, he couldn't even bear to get up, he was utterly paralyzed by pain and could only give a soft whimper instead of a shrill shriek, taking him a second to finally get back up, and by then GG had already placed another splurge of spikes onto the floor in front that pierced through his pitifully thin shoes “I was wrong, a little rest CAN hurt…” he said in pain as he tried to waddle away

This pattern would continue for some time, room after room, trap after trap, each somehow getting more sadistic and painful then the last, by the end of it all, Larry and Jarvis were battered, beaten, yet somehow still alive

The two reluctantly opened the door to the cafeteria, wherein immediately they ended up getting struck by what was a bucket filled with water that had frozen very and became a cylinder of ice

After that blow, they stood back to back, shuffling in circles with their flashlights, looking out every which way for potential traps

“I wanna go home…” Jarvis cried

“No! We've gone TOO far and suffered TOO many concussions to quit now!” Larry aggressively replied as they passed into the kitchen, where they became really on edge, sharp knives, hot stoves,eye irritating spices, anything and everything seemed it could spell danger for the poor saps

At that moment, Larry noticed he'd stopped feeling Jarvis’ back pressed against his, he turned to find him with some cookies in one hand and a glass of milk in the other “How can you think about eating at a time like this!?” 

“It's called stress eating and this is a VERY stressful situation!”

“And have you learned nothing from it? Those cookies could be poisoned for all you know!”

“Well if anything in this awful place is gonna take me out, it could at least give me a bit of joy beforehand!”

They argued for some time while GG and Jess eavesdropped on them from behind the door

“Wait, did we put any traps in the kitchen?” GG inquired

Before Jesa could answer, they heard a loud “AGH, THIS MILK'S EXPIRED!” 

“Guess we did!”

Hearing the oncoming foot traffic, the toppats bolted away and prepared for their big finale

Larry burst through the door, fuming mad, “when I get my hands on you two I swear-” when he was once more tripped and fell over “another trip wire? These kids are running out of ideas” Jarvis quipped

“Hey, mind getting me outta here?” Larry said as he found himself tangled in the large pile of christmas lights placed for him to fall into

“Oh sure thing!”

While this was happening, the toppat teens stood just to the side of their last trap, a massive rude Goldberg machine with a large bag of fake snow hanging from a rope “alrighty” Jess said “now all that's left to do is smoke their eyes, and while they're distracted, we shove em in the cannon and blammo! We're home free!”

“Thank goodness” GG replied “you really pulled through for us when things looked awry”

“Aw, thanks” and with that Jess placed down the marble which rolled along the track and knocked down the cup that released the race car which continued along until knocking over the dominoes that would go on to tip over the ball that fell on the scale and weighed it down just enough to touch the broomstick which grazed the toy plane hoisted by string and tied to a knife that swung by the rope and…

Completely missed

As GG and Jess saw this, they were nothing short of befuddled, “what happened?” GG asked

“We were out of string! I thought it'd be just enough”

“Well what are we gonna do now?”

“Uhh, uhh, maybe there's still time, try to get up there and burn the rope”

“O-ok, I'll try”

And with the clock ticking and chills down his spine, GG began to precariously climb the apparatus, trying to move fast but also be careful, to make a mad dash while not making a sound and seeing Jarvis slowly and steadily untangle Larry only piled on the pressure

Soon enough, he managed to get to a point where he could reach out his hand and attempt to get a flame going, he stretched his arm as far as it could go, flicked his finger and…

Nothing

“No no no”

He tried again, nothing

“C’mon, not now!”

Nothing

“please!”

Nothing

He shook his arms and hands every possible way he could think of, trying his hardest for even the faintest spark that could light up the rope to appear but no matter what, nothing

As he continually waited for Jarvis to detangle him, Larry noticed the peculiar sight from up above, immediately recognizing that it was one of the kids that had been torturing him all night, he wiggled his arm into his pocket and pulled out a pistol, with which he shot at beside GG, causing him to lose his balance and fall from the contraption and right in front of the two

“GG!” Jess cried as she rushed over to his aid, only for Larry to point his gun at them both with a triumphant chuckle as Jarvis finally managed to untie the string of lights with only one thing to say “both of you, hands in the air”

GG and Jess soon found themselves tied up to the christmas tree “as much as I'd love to give you little pests hell right here and now for what you've done to us all night, you're lucky I'm not above going through the legal channels first, so we'll just find some evidence and be on our merry way, for your sake I hope Santa can deliver your coal to the prisons you'll be spending Christmas and the rest of the year, rotting away like the FILTH you are!”

“Larry, I found some evidence” Jarvis announced as he handed Larry a photo

“Oh, this is rich, this is really you?” He said, holding the photo up to GG, it showed him as an infant, held up by his parents, in front of many various stolen treasures

“And to think, you managed to grow up into something more pathetic”

With that last snark, the government goons made their way back the way they came, ready to turn in their evidence and put the poor toppats away

While Jess struggled and raged, trying to get out of their confinement, GG could only stay there, still with his head down and utterly defeated “I can't believe it” he muttered as his voice began to break down “this is all my fault, I couldn't drive the sub right, I got us stuck on these rocks,and even after everything you did to help, I couldn't even burn a stupid rope to fix the problem I caused why cant I do anything right?”

“GG!” Jess exclaimed “look at me! When I first ended up here, I thought it was all over, I didn't know anybody, anything about stealing, or even if they'd keep me around for long, but then you happened, you showed me that there was hope, that I couldn't see before, heck, when you saw that you're parents were gonna miss the holiday heist, you didn't hesitate to offer yourself to take their places for their sake and if you're willing to do all that and more, there's no way I'd ever let anyone talk to you like that, ESPECIALLY yourself!”

GG's heart was absolutely touched by what he'd just heard “you really mean that?” He said with a sniffle

“With every fiber of my being, no matter what happens, no matter where we end up, there's no one I'd rather spend christmas, or any other day of the with than you and the rest of the clan”

From what Jess said, GG couldn't help but perk up, tears rolled down his cheek, but this time of joy, he began to struggle and strain until he could reach his arms out of his constraint and firmly grasp the rope 

And what happened? In the Toppat clan, they say: GG’s heart glowed alight that day

And with a swift pull, he burned through the rope, freeing both him and Jess, with no time to waste they made haste to the hatch but when they climbed up, they found the boat already a great distance along

“No, we can't be too late!” Jess said

Thinking quickly, GG said “we're not, raise a sheet of water”

Not entirely sure where this idea was going, Jess did so and with the freezing cold night, the water froze quicker and more solid than ever, at that point they both knew what to do as Jess raised an arc of ice that the duo promptly hopped on and ran across continually as Jess raised the ice for them to race across

Soon, they'd quickly catch up to the boat, but not without catching the attention of Larry, noticing via the rear view mirror “don't know when to quit, do you!? Jarvis, gun em down!” 

Immediately, Jarvis complied, rushing to the mounted gun at the back of the shape, he took aim and began firing, the two noticed this, knowing they'd be toast if they just kept moving forward so Jess waved her aims in a special motion and raised a towering, swirling spire of ice before grabbing tight to GG's hand

Together, they'd slide and scale the spire, grabbkng and twirling one another to and fro, narrowly avoiding the barrage of bullets coming for them until they reached the top and spun with a grand jump

Holding each other hand in hand, spinning through the air as they made their descent towards the boat like a mighty drill about to pierce a heart of wood

Seeing this, Jarvis bolted for the other side of the boat, but this proved a very bad idea, as the two landed, the boat was rocked so quickly, it immediately launched Larry and Jarvis into the night sky like an aquatic catapult 

Soon after, the boat finished rocking and GG and Jess found their footing, they noticed something floating gently back down, GG grabbed it and lo and behold, twas the photo Larry and Jarvis tried to steal, prompting him to breathe a sigh of relief before putting it safely beneath his hat

All seemed well until Jess looked at the time: 8:15

“Crap!” They both said in unison as they realized there was no time for celebration just yet, as quick as a flash they drove the boat back to the sub

Once inside, GG rushed to clean up everything he could, placing the decorations back where they were before, cleaning up all the littered tacks, weapons and other junk all over the floors and FINALLY getting rid of that long expired carton of milk

Meanwhile, as the drills had finally freed the sub, Jess set a course back to the dock and drove as fast as she could 

It was down to the wire, but with only a minute to spare, everything was as it should, the two opened the hatch for GG’s parent and made sure everyone got into position 

With that, the clock struck 8:30 and on the dot, Sharkbite instantly burst out the door and started screaming “I should have known you couldn't do it right! You let me down, you… you… kept everything ship-shape…” 

“Just doing our Job, Captain” Gerald remarked

“Well, consider me pleasantly surprised, I shouldn't have doubted you, Maxwells”

Gerald and Gabrielle looked around the corner to see GG and Jess peeking from the side, they gave a wink, which they promptly returned back

“Now, what are we waiting for? It's christmas! Let in the rest of the crew!”

And so the hatch opened and all the Toppats came flooding in to start partying and exchanging the gifts they got one another for holiday heist, Gerald and Gabrielle came up to GG and Jess

“We can't thank you enough for doing this for us” Gerald praised

“and I'd do it all again in a heartbeat” GG snapped back “so what'd you get from the heist?”

“Oh I don't know” Gabrielle replied “why don't you see for yourselves?” She continued as she and Gerald reached out their boxes

“Aw, ya shouldn't have!” Jess said as she and GG grabbed the gifts

“Please, we insist, Merry christmas you two” Gerald remarked as he and Gabrielle walked off

“Ahh, we did good, Jess”

“That we did” Jess responded “hey, wanna know what my favorite part of Christmas is?” She said as she pointed up with a cheeky smile, GG obliviously followed her direction, his face glowing redder than his hat as he saw the mistletoe. 

[The end, Merry Christmas!]

[lostonehero]

So another one this time vampire themed.

Museum rules and Clara is the evil one k cool

He remembers the bite. He was a shy 22 year old, in his first gay bar and wasn't even truly out of the closet yet. He was about to start his new job on his father's request, and he hasn't spoken to that man in years, but the note was in his mother's handwriting which actually made him take the job. It was an older man he slipped something into his drink, and then a younger one playing hero took him home, well, not home.

He woke up in the woods shirt covered in blood, a note taped to his chest, and a weird necklace. The note said good luck and try not to burn if you actually turned. He didn't really understand it at first, but when the sun started to poke through the trees, he put on the necklace, and that seemed to stop the burning.

Then came job he barely survived the beginning, he ran into another right before his new job started, he was starving and nothing helped. The older woman took pity on him and helped him out in exchange he described the man to the best of abilities to her, and she shoved a note in his pocket and gave him a cup of red liquid that seemed to fix his hunger.

He has seen enough horror films to know what happened, but a lot of fiction got things wrong. Like turning another person isn't erotic unless you're soul mates, garlic isn't deadly, you can eat normal food, and it just won't do anything. You can see yourself in mirrors because there is no more silver. Welcome mats are enough to let you into a house. It has to be wooden to kill you. He learned that in the scooping room.

Things fiction got right was the bloodlust. If he misses at least one maybe two days, he can not be around the living. Coconut water does work, but it will only work for a week before you have to drink blood again. If you drain a person, there is only a 25% chance they will turn, but giving them your blood is a 100% chance. That's where the erotic nature comes from. The sun will turn you to ash if you don't have a protective charm. They are pretty hard to make. He has three extras just in case. Silver burns like a bitch along with religious objects.

There is some weird something that he has confirmed himself to be fake, like the river thing and salt. He couldn't turn into a bat, but he did have bat wings and could turn to smoke. Also, not all vampires have red eyes, his turn purple when he can't control or uses his powers. He does have a coffin to sleep in for when he's traveling, but he prefers to sleep upside-down.

There is a system in place he has joined. It took him a bit, but he has a steady job of helping out other creatures. The money is decent, and he has a constant food source. He doesn't mind it, and he has gotten information about his family and the truth of what happened. He doesn't blame his father, and he does want to talk to him. It's also his partner, his soul mate, that convinced him to go to the museum. He wasn't ready to speak to his father, let alone explain why he hadn't aged. He hoped his uncle had passed on.

......

A blonde with a scar over his eye waved his hand. "Hey Mike, I'm over here! I saved you a spot on the line."

Micheal smiles and moves forward next to his partner. "I didn't think this place would be so popular, especially at night."

"You didn't have to bring that big thing with you." Jeremy huffs motioning to the coffin on his back.

Micheal gives a sheepish smile. "I don't know what else would have been a good example if he asked." He sighs. "I don't want someone to steal it again, I just put new straps on it."

Jeremy chuckles. "Alright Mr paranoid. Ooo, we're up next." He smiles. "Two people, please."

The man at the window smiles. "Of course, enjoy the horrors of the fazebear underbelly."

Micheal raised his brow and let him put the bracelet on. "Uh, right." He slips in with Jeremy. "I didn't think they would actually embrace the truth."

Jeremy puts his old security hat on. "There now you're acting the part, too."

Micheal snickers. "Yeah, yeah, come on." He grabs a map. "My father should be in the center. If his spirit lingers on."

"You know he has too. Maybe the kids moved on, so he's the only one left." Jeremy hums as they spill into the first attraction. "The mirrors are a neat addition. Look, they even have holograms of the children."

Micheal looks up at the first exhibit. It was the security puppet he recalled when his uncle made it. He said it was to protect the kids, but he knew it was for his daughter. Micheal crouched in front of the mirror. "I wonder how they got them so life like."

"I'm not life like I'm dead." The speaker crackles. "You have blue eyes like...." The girl jumps from the mirror and vanishes.

Micheal blinks. "Extremely life like, and they respond to voices too." He stands up straight. "Alright, on to the center."

"Wait, can we stop by foxy? I wanna see if there are any news articles about me." Jeremy smiles as he grabs Micheal's hand.

Micheal freezes as he hears static by his ears. "W-wait." He looks around but only sees the crowds of people. "Never mind, I must be hearing things."

"You probably need a new seal charm." Jeremy pauses. "Come on, let's go."

Micheal laughs. "Yeah, yeah."

.....

"Daddy, Daddy!" The dirty brown hair girl jumps into the mirror by the spring trap exhibit.

The old man gets up from his bench and walks slowly to the mirror. "Charlie, what's wrong? Do you need me to close up?"

"No!" Charlie huffs, crossing her arms. "Guess who's visiting?"

Henry smiles. "Your mom isn't due out for another week, and your aunt Jen is with your cousin."

"Nooooo, Daddy. Mikey is here." Charlie giggles. "Mikey's here."

Henry pauses. "Oh sweetie, I don't think that's possible he got scooped. Remember what Lizzie told us?"

"No, it's true." Charlie points to the tall brunette in an old security hat and a blonde man attached to his arm. "See, that's Mikey. He's got the same scar on his face."

Henry looks back, adjusting his glasses. That man did remind him of William. He was approaching said man as he stood there.

Springtrap stood up as the man approached. He tilted his head. He was carrying a coffin. "Who are you?" A raspy electronic voice layered with a familiar British one alerted the brunette to the moving animotronic.

"Huh, I didn't think you would actually stay." Haunting blue eyes stared at the rust impossible moving machine. "Hello father, it's been a while, and it looks like you've kept yourself busy."

The springlock suit twists and stares at the taller man. ".... Micheal?"

Micheal nods. "Yeah, it's me." He gives a small smile. "I thought it would be nice to drop by for a visit. I didn't think it would be so busy."

Henry taps Micheal on his side. "Excuse me, are you going to ignore your uncle?"

Micheal whipped his head around. "You're still alive?"

"Micheal, that's rude." Jeremy huffs. "Apologises, Mr. Emily. It has been a while."

Henry pauses. "Jeremy, I'm glad to see you're doing well." He smiles. "I'm in my 70s, Micheal. I'm not quite in the grave yet."

Micheal rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sorry..."

"That being said, why do you have a coffin on your back?" Henry raises his brow. "You don't look like you need it."

"It's a bit morbid." William sighs. "Are you doing penace?"

Micheal shakes his head. "Well, it is for me, and I don't want it to get stolen, I just fixed the straps." He frowns. "I didn't expect this place to be so busy either."

Jeremy shakes his shoulder. "Don't be so nervous. Your father is literally a corpse, and I'm sure the other spirits here want to know why you have such a young complexion."

Micheal sighs. "Ok, ok." He takes a breath he doesn't need. "I'll uh show an example." He makes sure his father and uncle are looking even Charlie was watching. He opens his mouth, and his fangs double in length. "I uh well, uh." He retracts his fangs, looking at the shocked face of his uncle. "So it turns out vampires are real, and I uh was turned in 92, so I'm stuck at this age."

"He turned me by accident in 93. However, I'm not mad it fixed my brain injury for the most part." Jeremy hums rocking on his heels.

Henry takes a breath, unable to speak out of shock.

William pauses. "To be fair, I am a corpse trapped in a rusted spring lock suit, so I'm not as shocked as you are." He sighs. "So you're taking your bed with you?"

Micheal crosses his arms. "Do you have any idea how expensive coffins are? I'm not going to buy a new one every time someone steals mine, so I made straps, and I carry it with me."

Jeremy chuckles. "To be fair, he has to pay extra because of how tall he is."

Micheal huffs. "Jeremy, stop it." He pauses. "We do die if we are exposed to the sun, or it hurts very bad. Depends on the exposure. We do have these protective charms that allow us in the sun and dampens our abilities and cravings." Micheal waves. "We ate before this, and uh, our blood supplies come from rejected or expired blood donations."

"Or coconut water if we're in a bind, but that's a temporary solution." Jeremy adds.

Henry chuckles. "Micheal, you're both in a crowded museum, I trust you two to be safe." He sighs. "Maybe come by my old home tomorrow night open invitation. We have to talk when there aren't hundreds of people."

Micheal nods. "I think I would like that."

.....

[reilbec]

Saturday - reil bec

1 eyes

I saw her at the coffee shop quite reading a book

I saw her but we did not meet

Later I saw her again and she saw me our eyes met

2 we interact

All that had to happen was make eye contact and now i start to build a Fantasy

She goes back to reading but now all I can do is think I look up,

again our eyes meet

She starts to walk toward me with paper in hand

She smiles and puts the paper down on my table

I blush I wait for her to walk away

3 we text

On the paper it said her name and had a phone number

In my mind it said so much more

I look at the paper then back at her

and at the paper

I put in in my contacts but what to say

What what what

I’ll start with a name my name

4 I wait

I send my name but what now

Do I say say something or wait for her

I’ll wait after all I need to go to work

5 anticipation

I’m on the store floor not able to look at my phone

I can’t wait for my break it felt like an eternity

6 break

She asked me out

What do I say do I say yes

Of course I say yes

Now when am I free

I’m free Saturday night

Is she?

She is it’s a date

7 Tuesday

I am on the moon

Feeling like I can fly but limited time to breath

8 Wednesday

I’m afraid my fantasy will be so wrong

What if she’s crazy

What if she’s toxic

What if what if what if

9 Thursday

Well maybe she is for me

Maybe she’s the love of my life

Maybe she’s a crazy person

But I’ve got to try

10 Friday

We text to decide tomorrow

We gonna go to a guided paint night

At 9

11 Friday night in bed

Anticipation, fear, butterflies but mostly

Little sleep

12 Saturday morning

What’s for breakfast

Never mind I can’t eat

I look on the map to see where we’re going tonight

13 Saturday afternoon

I should eat

I make a sandwich

What to wear?

This or that or maybe this but definitely not that no one wants to see that

We’re painting so not this

That one it is

14 an hour before

I pace the floor I need to leave in 30 minutes to get there on time

Back and forth

Here and there

Only 15 minutes now

Should I wear a scarf

It’s not to cold

A hat

no that will mess up my hair

Well I said these shoes but maybe these ones no no go with you gut we’re wearing the first pair

15 the walk

It would have been good to wear a scarf

but it’s to late to go back

I hope she’s close to what I dream her to be

but I understand it’s just a fantasy I made up

16 the door

I’m at the door I don’t know if we want to meet outside or inside

I wait at the door

I decided to text her

17 she texts back

“She’s almost there” she says “to head inside and save us a spot”

18 we meet for real

She met me at the spot I kept for us

Were near the front

19 eyes

We link eyes and talk

We ask all the questions

well we wait for it to start

She is beautiful

Her eyes have a sparkle

Her hair in braids

Her smile so gentle so natural

20 paint

The painting begins

we start small put a little on her hand she put some on mine

Then a little on her face

She put some on my nose

We laugh

She smile we paint

21 the end of the date

We walked out paintings in hand she asks if we could trade

she has mine

She asks how I will get home

I say “I’m gonna walk”

22 she drives me to my block

She drove me back it wasn’t far when your in a car but she cracked a few jokes

Then we say good bye

23 that night

What now

What should I go to bed?

She was amazing I hope for another date

[redeemingvillains]

cold comfort - mattheo riddle

summary: mattheo has one rule: any girl can share his bed (and there's been plenty) but none can stay the night. when the unexpected happens, and you're begging to be the first, you find out why he had the rule in the first place.

word count: 4k

soundtrack: between the sheets - imogen heap

a/n: wait this is kind of a saga! it just kept flowing and flowing, but i'm obsessed with it! hope you enjoy!! ♡♡

When Mattheo heard that a first year in Charms cast a spell that backfired so badly it rendered Hogwarts unable to regulate the temperature in the castle, he'd nearly spit out his firewhiskey. The mental image of Flitwick, McGonagall and all of his other professors frantically trying to fix it to no avail gave him sick pleasure as he thought about all the times they'd looked down on him because of his last name. Fuck 'em he thought. Serves them right.

He'd enjoyed his twisted happiness for several days until an unexpected early spring snowstorm rolled off the mountains, leaving the castle a veritable chamber of cold. For two days now it had nearly been cold enough for him to see the white puff of his breath inside. As others scrambled for a place in front of the fireplaces, his mood darkened, making him even more sullen than usual as talk of canceling classes and sending everyone home began to circulate; home wasn't really a place he was looking to go back to.

So now he was sat in the Great Hall in a large sweatshirt with his hood drawn up around his face, the standard dress code long since forgotten, one hand wound tightly around his second cup of black tea in an effort to warm himself while the other rubbed his tired face as he listened to the incessant chatter of his friends.

He was quietly zoned out until he caught a glimpse of you walking through the large entryway. Everyone in the castle looked in disarray: mismatched sweaters, hats and gloves in haphazard layers to stay warm, but not you, you looked like a perfect snowbunny. You were wearing tight black leggings, fur-lined boots, a thick sweater and a headband to keep your ears warm that complimented your hair. Anyone looking closely enough would see the imperceptible tug of his lips into what could almost be called a smile as you made your way to the Slytherin table and slid onto the bench next to him.

It wasn't lost on him that his best friend was beautiful. He was well and painfully aware of the fact and had been for as long as he'd known you. But, despite the thoughts that ran rampant through his mind at the sight of you, he was determined to keep you at an arm's length. Simply put, you were too good for him, too pure. You had a smile that radiated a warmth that he could feel even now, you were caring and compassionate, smart and sweet, quick with a hug and a kind word. You were everything that he wasn't. He told himself, constantly, on repeat, that it was better to have you in his life at all than to fuck it up trying for anything more.

He subtly traced your face through the corner of his eye: your long lashes, the curve of your smile, and your warm, rosy cheeks, and just like no one but you could see his smile, no one but him noticed the tiredness in your eyes. He nudged his shoulder into yours.

"Alright?" he mumbled.

You glanced up at him, his groggy morning voice and the way his curls stuck out from his hood making you feel like you'd swallowed a pixie. You felt yourself flush, your exhaustion wearing down the mask you normally kept up around him, determined to never let him know how you really felt.

"Just tired s'all" you smiled kindly, nudging him back, coaxing what could almost be another smile out of him as you met each other's eyes. "I can't sleep for shit. No matter what I do, I can't get warm, even under a pile of blankets, in my fuzziest pajamas and a jumper" you shivered.

"Skin to skin is really the only solution" Pansy chimed in with a smirk as she sank further into Draco's arms and you rolled your eyes at the two of them. She had snuck out of your room the last few nights, leaving you not only cold, but alone too.

"Couldn't agree more" Theo said, smirking, before lifting an eyebrow at you "ready, able and at your service, babe" he said, opening his arms to you as you swatted him away, laughing at his attempt to flirt with you. He smiled widely and laughed back before glancing over your shoulder at Mattheo whose eyes were narrowed in his direction.

"What, mate, it's not like you're any help, what with your strict 'no sleepover policy'" Theo chirped at him, referring to the fact that regardless of how many girls came in and out of Mattheo's bed, (which was a sizable number) not one had ever stayed the night, always kicked out in the end, despite the fact that they hoped to be the one to break his streak.

You turned to see Mattheo shooting daggers at Theo.

"S'my bed" he muttered, "more than happy to have someone in it for awhile, but a lad's got to get his rest, yeah?" he laughed and the guys laughed back.

You faked a bitter smile, returning your attention to your breakfast in front of you. You weren't naive but that didn't mean you had to sit here and listen to this, you nibbled a piece of dry toast, the mental image of Mattheo with other girls making you nauseous.

Mattheo's smile fell from his face as he watched your reaction, and wished for the thousandth time that he could tell you that he made that rule because of you. Because if he couldn't have you, then he wasn't going to waste time getting closer than necessary with anyone else; the nights he spent alone his bed his punishment for who he was, the fact that he'd never be good enough for you.

You stood abruptly and shot him a small smile as you moved to leave. He said your name quietly and reached for your hand, but you were gone before you realized it.

That night you crawled into cold sheets that felt almost damp with a chill. Despite the pile of blankets and your thick pajamas, you couldn't get warm or comfortable, tossing and turning as small shivers ran through your body and Pansy's words echoed in your head. You were desperate for warmth at this point, desperate for a good night's sleep, but there was only one bed you wanted to crawl into, and it was with the only person who refused to share it.

Surely he would break his rule for you, for his best friend? you thought; things were different between you two. But were you willing to try, to embarrass yourself if he said no? You rolled around for another hour before climbing out of bed.

Mattheo was in a fitful sleep, which was not unusual for him; his nights were frequented by nightmares, leaving him constantly groggy and grumpy, but when he heard your voice, he was sure he was dreaming, a good dream, a great dream at that.

"Mattheo" you were whispering.

He turned to see you standing at the other side of his bed and was incredibly confused, until you moved to get in... and then he panicked. He panicked because he had thoughtfully planned every way to avoid this exact situation from the moment he met you, knowing that at this proximity he wouldn't be able to control himself. And he was right. You were close, too close. He could smell your shampoo, like warm vanilla, and his hands moved on autopilot towards you, his fingers twitching to bring you closer to him before he stopped himself, inches short.

"Whatareyoudoing?!" he whisper-mumbled in frustration, the words coming out angrier than he'd intended at the range of emotions he was feeling.

You froze, your heart shattering. He was angry. He didn't want you here, he didn't want anyone here. He was going to kick you out and you'd be mortified, your friendship would never be the same, you'd taken things too far. You felt a scratch in your throat as tears threatened to spring forward.

Even in the thick darkness, Mattheo could see that he'd upset you, able to read your expressions better than his own. He could see the wobble of your bottom lip as your wide eyes looked at him and he hated himself and the situation all the more for it.

"Please Matty, m'just so cold, I can't sleep" you whispered, using the nickname that was strictly forbidden for anyone but you that made him melt.

He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed deeply, trying in his sleepy state to figure out a solution as he felt his strength waning; the figment of his every daydream was literally begging to be in his bed and he was certain he couldn't trust himself, certain that this only ended one way.

You took in his rigid form and his frustration and began to backpedal, moving to leave.

"M'sorry, it's okay, I'll go, maybe Theo—"

And you didn't even get a chance to finish your thought before you felt his large, warm hands wrap around your middle and tug you across the bed and into his chest, quickly but gently.

"C'mere" he mumbled as he settled you against him, chest to chest, your head tucked under his.

Your arms wound around him naturally, your legs intertwining, the two of you fitting together effortlessly, perfectly, like puzzle pieces. You let out a small giggle as you nuzzled into him, making yourself comfortable.

He could feel your warm breath as you let out a contented sigh, the innocent sound somehow sinful to his ears as he willed his mind to stop wandering in every direction it wanted to as he felt every dip and curve of your body against his own despite the layers of clothing between you. He kept his hands at your back, unmoving, for a moment unsure if he was even doing this right, unable to remember the last time he'd cuddled with anyone.

"Thank you" you whispered, your voice already sounding relaxed and sleepy to him as your fingers traced patterns on his back, a lavish feeling that released every ounce of tension he had been holding.

You could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as his arms hugged you to him firmly and you felt a sensation like melted honey spreading through every inch of you, as he rubbed your back, warming you from your heart to the tips of your toes for the first time in days as you fell into a hazy sleep.

The first thought Mattheo had was that he felt heavy, his limbs felt weighted and his mind felt calm. Rested he realized after a moment. His brain was slowly turning back on, piecing together the dream he'd had, it was a dream, right? You, in his bed, in his arms, pressed against him, nuzzling into him, contented and happy. It felt so real, real enough that he could still smell you, the intoxicating scent of your shampoo, could still feel you in his arms, could still ghost his fingers down your back. You hummed in response and his eyes fluttered open only to realize it was definitely not a dream.

You were here, with him, in his bed, had been all night, your body still wound perfectly in his, neither of you having let go of one another or moved an inch; if anything, it was like you melded together even further. Fuck this is nice he thought as he looked down at you curled into his chest. This was everything, everything he'd hoped it would be. He wanted to stay like this for as long as physically possible, the looming fear of it having to come to an end already upon him.

Suddenly, a pillow came flying onto the bed, askewing the thick curtains that draped around his four-poster.

"Oi wake up, will you, Riddle? Shit, it's almost noon and we've got practice in an hour" came a shout as a cacophony of voices followed behind it into the room.

You stirred in Mattheo's arms just as a hand reached through his curtains to pull them aside.

"Oh. My. Fucking. Days" Blaise drawled, annunciating every word as the others gathered around him.

"I knew it, I fucking knew it"

"Let's gooooooo!!"

"Mattttyyyy!!!" each of them shouted as the jumped up and down in excitement at the sight of you in his bed.

"Fuck off" he said, grasping the pillow they'd thrown at him and hucking it back at them, causing them to disperse as they fell apart with laughter and more cheers.

He felt you shift next to him and looked back to see that you had pulled the covers over your head, just the tips of your fingers and the top of your head visible. He yanked his curtain closed before leaning back towards you and gently grasping the blanket near your hands to pull it back.

While not the wakeup you had hoped for nor expected, Mattheo pulling back the blankets with a soft sleep-ridden smile on his face and his rumpled curls to see you was a mental image that you were sure you would think about every day for the rest of your life. You were swimming in a sea of him, engulfed in his smell, like pine and amber, and you were delightfully warm; he was going to have to pry you out of here.

"Hi" he said quietly in his morning voice.

"Hi" you whispered back.

You looked perfect. He may have thought about waking up to you, with significantly less clothing on and significantly fewer onlookers, but he'd never considered how beautiful you would look, your eyes not all the way open yet, your hair spread like a blanket of its own and fuck if he didn't want to kiss you. His eyes drifted lazily to your lips and back again and he swore he saw a flash of something in your expression in response, curiosity, or perhaps confusion.

"I should—" he started, shaking his head clear.

"—Yeah, of course! Sorry, I didn't realize the time—"

"No problem, take your time—" he said as he rolled out of bed to more cheers and shouts as he shepherded his friends out the door to give you some privacy.

You pulled the sheets back over your heard, burying yourself further into his blankets, reveling in the warmth his body had left before squealing with excitement at the way your day had started.

You were afraid that things would be awkward, but surprisingly they weren't, you were in your easy, unbothered rhythm together. Besides the giggles and teasing from your friends, nothing had changed... including the temperature. As the day went on the warmth you had woken up in faded and you felt progressively more cold settling into your bones, already dreading the cold night ahead of you.

Spending the night with Mattheo was a nice reprieve, but not something you intended to make a habit of, certain you didn't want to live through more teasing nor get your hopes up trying to read into how intimate it had felt.

You were leaving dinner, arms wound around yourself at the chill in the air when you heard a voice calling for you. You turned to see Mattheo jogging after you.

"Hey!" he called.

"Hey" you smiled back, glancing up at him as he fell into step with you.

He smiled readily back at you; he'd seemed peppier today, letting the ceaseless taunting roll of his back with a shrug of his shoulders, the unwillingness to turn everything into an argument or fistfight very uncharacteristic of him.

"Yeah, so—" he started to say, as he looked around for a moment and carded his hand through his hair. He took in how cold you looked and all he could think was how badly he wanted to fix it. "—About last night or whatever...I know it's still fucking frigid, if you wanted to come by or sleep with, er, stay with — in my — yeah, you could do it again if you wanted?"

You couldn't hide the smile the spread widely across your face, nor the way your eyes sparkled mischievously as you stopped walking to face him.

"Mattheo Riddle, are you asking me to sleep with you?" you said flirtatiously, leaning towards him.

He stopped breathing. Your proximity and the words coming out of your mouth snatched every last breath and every last thought he'd had.

"Don't fuck around with me" he said through smirked lips, his voice low and measured, holding a hint of playfulness, but also a warning.

You laughed softly back but didn't back down.

"I'll see you tonight" you said as you continued your path back to the common room, leaving him gazing after you.

Your new outfit that night wasn't lost on him. You were wearing a form-fitting pair of soft pants and a matching top that hung slightly off your shoulder, revealing the lace of a bralette. You crawled into bed beside him, smiling contentedly and curling into his arms like you were married, like this was the most normal, easy, simple thing in the world, and yet it still took him a minute to really comprehend the situation, to relax.

He barely had a minute to catch his breath before Blaise shouted across the room, "Goodnight Theo!"

"Night, Blaise!" Theo shouted back.

"Night, Enz!" Blaise said again.

"G'night!" Enzo replied.

Mattheo rubbed a hand over his face at the antic.

"I swear they don't do this every—" he started.

"—Night, Draco!" Blaise shouted.

"And Pans!" Theo chimed in.

"Full fuckin' house in here" Enzo said.

"Goodnight!" she giggled back.

"Goodnight Mattheo..." Blaise said slowly, drawling out his name.

Mattheo didn't reply.

"GOODNIGHT YN" they each shouted.

You laughed, "Goodnight!" you said back and they cheered as Mattheo turned and buried his head into your shoulder in embarrassment, letting his body weight fall on you in exasperation.

You laughed at his reaction, instinctively bringing a hand to tangle in his curls and hold him to you before you could stop yourself. It was decidedly more intimate than anything that had happened between you before, but it had just felt right, something about pulling him into you, comforting him. You paused after a moment, catching yourself... running your hands through his hair should not make you feel this way; suddenly, you were very very warm.

As if he could sense your reaction, he lifted his head just slightly to meet your eyes, his face inches from yours.

He had to feel your heart hammering in your chest at this proximity, right? As he searched your face, it felt like a veil had come down between the two of you after a night spent together on top of years spent dancing around one another like you didn't know exactly what this could be. On cue, the room around you fell deeply silent as the others settled into sleep.

Your hand slowly dropped to trace his cheek.

"YN" he said in a low voice, cautious, guarded, his tone roughly translating to "Don't".

"What?" you whispered.

"I can't" he said.

"Can't what, Matty?"

The nickname made his heart beat double-time, an impossible feat based on the way it was already drumming loudly in his ears.

"You know what" he said sternly.

"Why?" you asked, innocently, the tips of your fingers moving to trace his jaw, nearing his lips before his hand grasped yours firmly, stopping you, making you jump slightly.

His body was rigid and taught, his expression was serious, maybe even threatening to anyone but you, but all you could see was the look in his eyes that were burning with something else, something much more passionate than anger.

His words were strained, like it was a physical effort to form them.

"I. Can't. Alright? Just let it go" he said as his eyes continued to beg otherwise.

Your next words were so soft, he almost didn't hear them, might have missed them if his entire being wasn't fine tuned to hear the exact phrase.

"Kiss me" you said, somewhere between a plea and a demand.

He caught your eye and his breath caught in his throat at the way you were looking at him: your eyes wide, soft and focused on him, your chest visibly rising and falling underneath him, your body pressing against him as you wiggled your hand out of his grasp to trace his cheek. Surely he couldn't have heard you right?

"I'm not—I can't— that's not a good idea. I can't just kiss you" he said, stumbling over his words uncharacteristically.

"Why?" you asked quietly, sadly.

"No—not—fuck—" he started and stopped, trying not to upset you again.

He paused, trying to collect himself.

"Why do you think no other girl has slept in this bed?" he said seriously.

You pulled your hand back at the mention of other girls at a moment like this, but he responded by reaching to cup your cheek, to force you to look at him.

You were shaking your head.

"Because if I couldn't have you, then I didn't want anyone else. You're fucking it for me, always have been, but girls like you don't end up with guys like me and it's best I don't waste your fucking time and ruin our friendship in the process, alright?" he said resolutely, with finality.

"Matty—" you started

"—Please stop calling me that, please" he said, slamming his eyes closed, "I'm trying to maintain a semblance of self control here."

"Stop holding back!" you whisper-yelled, which caught his attention, causing his eyes to flutter open. "That's what I'm trying to tell you. I want you. I've always wanted you, ask any of our thickheaded friends, they've all known for a long time."

He blinked slowly like each individual word had to register in his head. You could see him swallow, could see the sentence process in his brain as the pad of his thumb traced your cheek and you leaned into him, pressing further against him.

"Kiss me, Matty" you said.

And the last thread of his self control snapped. He leaned in, hovering close enough that you could feel the faintest touch of his lips as they ghosted against yours, teasing you.

"If I kiss you, that's it then, you're mine" he said, like it was a threat, an ultimatum, and not the best thing that's ever happened to you.

A smile spread across your lips and you nodded against his.

"All yours" you whispered back and he caught the last of your words with his mouth, his lips taking yours as both of his hands came to grasp your face firmly but gently, pulling you into him.

You could barely suppress the hum of pleasure that left you at the sensation, the relief of the feeling of his lips pillowed against yours, the tenderness and softness so opposite of everything that he was, the duality of it all had your body tingling. One of your hands grasped at his sweatshirt while the other wound around his neck, attempting to pull him impossibly closer to you as he moaned into your mouth. His tongue tangled with yours and you swore there wasn't anything in the world but this moment, this feeling with him as you tasted the lingering flavor of cigarettes and peppermint that you would come to associate with him.

It was all grabbing, desperate hands and crashed lips at first, trying in moments to catch up on years of wanting, until it was tantalizingly slow, languid, purely achingly perfect and intimate. You were certain you would kiss him like this every single day, given the chance.

It could have been minutes or hours that you were lost in each other before he pulled back, and the whine that left your lips at the loss of contact nearly had him throwing you over his shoulder and marching you to the first broom closet he could find.

"I've spent just about every day for the last 5 years thinking about this, and I cannot believe I'm about to fuckin' say this, but I'm not gonna rush it. At the very least, I'm not gonna hook up with you in a room full of people" he said, before tilting his head, "Well, at least not the first time... after that, no promises."

You laughed quietly and swatted at his shoulder.

"C'mere" he said, pulling you into him.

You curled into his arms, head nuzzling into his neck, your head resting on his chest as he held you tightly, brushing soft kisses to your temple as you fell asleep.

E P I L O G U E

You had been so caught up in the events of the evening, you hadn't really stopped to consider what happens next, namely, how would you tell your friends? Just make an announcement at breakfast? Put on enough PDA that they drew their own conclusion? Take off the scarf you were wearing that was covering the innumerable hickies on your neck? Your mind was in a heady fog about it all as the group of you wandered towards the Great Hall.

You were glued to Mattheo's side, but that wasn't really unusual; his fingers brushed against your own as he shot you a look out of the corner of his eye, a mischievous smile on his face.

"YN!" a voice shouted behind you.

You turned to see Cedric Diggory jogging towards you and you slowed your pace, as did everyone around you. Boys had to be either brave, stupid or naive to approach you when you were with your guy friends, and you weren't sure which category to put Cedric in as his eyes met their unwelcome stares but addressed you anyway.

"Sorry— yeah, I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to—" he started.

Oh no you thought.

"—Cedric, really, that's so kind—" you interrupted, trying to prevent a scene from breaking out as you felt Mattheo tense beside you.

"—You didn't even hear what I was going to say?" he said with a laugh, somewhere between offended, annoyed and amused.

"Well, think that makes the message pretty clear then, mate" Mattheo said, the anger palpable in his tone.

"Excuse me?" Cedric replied. "I was talking to—"

Oh no you thought again.

And you weren't quick enough to intervene before Mattheo had Cedric pinned against the stone wall of the hallway, his forearm at Cedric's chest, nearly lifting him off the ground as his feet dangled for purchase.

"I don't fucking care who you were talking to. From now on, you don't talk to her at all, alright?"

"What are you, her bodyguard?" Cedric sputtered as he gasped for breath.

"No" ... a pause... "I'm her boyfriend" Mattheo growled.

You tried and failed to hide the huge smile on your face behind your manicured fingers as your friends shouted behind you.

Well, that's one way to do it you thought. ♡

[hiatuswhore]

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑀𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝓎 𝒪𝓃𝑒 𝐼𝐼 — 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝒹𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓉𝑜𝓃

♕ A/N: This is so much longer than the first one holy cow. This has been so much fun to write so far. Thank you so much for all the messages of love and support. Let me know what you think of the OC’s!! Also who do you think I am envisioning the Duke of Wales as. Feedback please!

♕ SUMMARY: Oh, the most scandalous season of the year has come to pass. After quite the successful year for the Bridgerton’s the eldest son plans to throw his hat in the ring. Concurrently the Sharma sisters do just the same. One a spinster, the other hopeful romantic, and the middle daughter? What can be said about such a force that is not said when she enters the room. Good luck to all who pursue her.

♕ WORD COUNT: 6.9K

♕ WARNINGS: None

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THE SHEER NIGHTGOWN ALLOWS A COOL BREEZE TO BRUSH YOUR SKIN AS YOU LINGER ON THE TERRACE. All the guests are long gone and despite the late hour you find yourself rather bored. Edwina’s rambles in excitement make you tired but in bed you lay awake and Kate’s brooding becomes the only thing of interest. Rather than poke the bear in the midst of her sour mood you take note to ask her upon your return to bed.

“Wandering at this hour,” Lady Danbury breaks you from your empty thoughts as she stares out at her manicured land.

“My apologies. My mind wishes to sleep but my body lays awake,” You explain but when she does not meet your gaze so you turn your attention back to the dark of night. The stars stare down at you both and you find yourself releasing a deep sigh.

“Does something trouble you?” Danbury asks. You shake your head, mentally scolding yourself for allowing your fingers to fiddle in front of you. The night sky brings a cool ease and you bask in it with Danbury for mere minutes, thanking the heavens she does not push you any further. Before bidding her a goodnight, you thank her for all her help and hospitality. Back in your room Edwina now rests in her bed peacefully, you chuckle as even in her sleep she smiles.

“Where were you?” Kate scolds, her eyes bounce between you and Edwina’s sleeping form. Her whispers make you giggle at her failed attempt to patronize you. “We are not at home (Y/n). This is not our space and Appa is not here to get you out of trouble. You must act with decorum.”

“Will you allow me to explain or continue to insult my character? I was simply on the terrace with Lady Danbury,” You say, chuckling as you take a seat on the edge of her bed. Kate narrows her eyes to which you only shrug at her skepticism. “What has put you in such an unsavory state? Is it your bleeding?”

“You cannot be serious,” Kate scoffs as you shrug once more and lay on your side. You take up the bottom half of her bed while resting your head on your hand.

“You have been moody and rather dreadful since you returned back in. Did something happen out there with the Viscount?” You wiggle your eyebrows to which she glares at you. The ice in her eyes tells you whatever occurred, Kate now has written him off.

“I overheard his many requirements for a wife. He does not desire a love match but seeks to fulfill his duty as Viscount,” Kate says. You do not hesitate to point out that you are all well aware most people marry out of obligation, especially women. Kate shakes her head with persistence before listing the ridiculous standards Lord Bridgerton voiced. You stare at her as you listen diligently but when she stops a loud laugh leaves your lips that radiates from the base of your stomach. Kate places her hand over your mouth as she glances at Edwina who remains unfazed by your incessant laughter. “It’s not funny, (Y/n)!”

“Oh but Didi it truly is. Now I must vex the Viscount, it is only right,” You rise to your feet moving to your bed parallel to Kates. She tells you to stay away from Bridgertons to which you roll your eyes and climb into bed. Sleep greets you with a tundra of exciting adventure and dreams. Your father accompanies you and the life you desire becomes a reality for the few hours you are allowed to cherish in the dead of night.

The next morning you wake to cold water to which you chase Kate out of the room and Edwina whines for you both to play nice. Your mother forces you into a soft white dress and styles your hair with lavender roses. The day remains in constant preparation to greet the Queen in hopes to be named the season's diamond.

“You complain often sister but you did impress the Queen. What shall you do if you are named the season’s diamond?” Edwina says as the two of you practice your dance. You frown at the silly notion to which you carry no intention of entertaining. “Didi, I am serious! You are funny and beautiful. People here find you charming!”

“Edwina dear, I would simply rather die than be given that title. Maybe Appa will greet at the great gates,” You trail off as you try to focus on not missing the steps. One step to the left, chin up, and twirl. Edwina scolds you as she follows the steps without a care making it seem almost easy. Though you say nothing, you thank Kate in your mind as she reminds you both to cease conversation and focus.

It’s your mother who announces you both have done enough for the day. Kate vanishes and you linger about on the terrace once again soaking in the view. Your eyes follow the tree line for its many miles of forest. The vibrant greens and glimpses of flowers display a false sense of adventure, freedom. Your shackles to society stay tight as your mind drifts into the wild. Edwina calls your name three times before you acknowledge her at your side. She frowns before inquiring of your well being which you respond by taking her hand and giving a soft squeeze. Your smile does not reach your eyes but still she does not push.

“Mama wants us all in the tea room. Is Kate not here with you?” She scans the empty terrace to find her answer but still you shake your head. The two of you enter the tearoom to find no one else, the fireplace burns and your eyes sit on the large portrait above the mantle. It’s nothing short of breathtaking, so much so neither you or Edwina notice your mama joining your side. Kate enters with Lady Danbury and a smile takes your lips at the sight. The dresses you all wear resemble each other with noticeable differences. To finish each of your looks Lady Danbury places gorgeous tiaras upon each of your heads. Your reflection dazzles back at you, a version of yourself you love to hate, you recognize her and choose to despise her. You are certain she will never be real, the girl who stands before you will never be free.

Entering the Queen’s ballroom, you take Kate and Edwina’s hands as several eyes look toward the three of you. Lady Danbury leads the three of you in front of the Queen to which you all properly curtsy.

“I do hope you are finding everything in town to your satisfaction, Lady Mary.” Your mother responds with decorum and poise. Like your sisters, your gaze bounces between the Queen and your mother. Lady Danbury dismisses the four of you as she trades words with the Queen. You scan the room to find the Viscount greeting the Queen with his family and William entering from the far side door. When his eyes meet yours, you smile and wave but your mother grabs your hand.

“Dear please no mischief. Not here,” She says, frowning as you open your mouth to speak she offers you a pointed stare. You cross your arms in front of you glaring at nothing in particular as the party goes on rather dull in your opinion. The music’s nice but you dread the proposal of a dance and irritation nags at your core from the constricting corset.

“I will return,” You speak quickly, darting off before your mother can object. No destination in mind, you move with haste avoiding the dancing patrons and onlookers in the crowd. Your mind blinds you with the need for an escape so much so you mutter a slew of apologies as your body crashes into another. “I am so sorry! I am rather an idiot at times or maybe just going stir crazy from this circus.”

“It’s quite alright. I love the flowers in your hair!” She stands much shorter than you and the red of hair compliments her eyes. Your eyes catch sight of the small spill of her cup onto her dress.

“Thank you and I am so sorry about your dress. Is there any way I can fix it?” You ask but she shrugs stating her disdain of the sunflower-like dress. The comment makes you chuckle before a smirk takes your lips, “No worries my mother has dressed us as if we are to wed at this very night. I think I’d prefer the sunflower and if I were truly lucky I would blend to the bouquets on the wall to avoid the hellish possibility of dancing.”

You watch as she laughs at your words before offering her name, Penelope Featherington. Telling her your name the interaction’s cut short as a girl rushes to Penelope’s side.

“Hello! Eloise Bridgerton. I hate to cut your conversation short but I am in dire need of my friend. Good night,” Amusement across your eyes as the girl speaks faster than lightning. She rushes Penelope across the room leaving you to watch the two in curiosity. By sheer accident you catch your mothers gaze and you have no choice but to rejoin her side.

A huff leaves your lips as you trudge back over, William dances with a girl on the floor. You wonder who suffers more as he keeps a cordial smile on his lips but discomfort sits in his eyes. A worker greets you all with glasses of champagne to which neither Kate or Edwina reach for. You glance at their unmoving statures with furrowed eyebrows before shrugging your shoulders and grabbing at a glass. At the touch your mother intercepts your pursuits and places the drink back on the servers tray. A loud huff leaves you before the sound of the horns halts all movement and music within the room.

“Your presence is noted, and your Queen most appreciative. Allow it to now be my honor to present to you the seasons diamond,” The Queen stands with her hands clasped in front of her and a smile ghosting on her lips. She scans the room and your stomach drops as her eyes lock with your own. The room feels ridiculously warm and you are certain your corset may very well cause your end. In the corner of your eyes you see Edwina’s eyes light up as she looks between you and Queen. Kate takes your hand as you stand as still as a statue. You do not hear the words as they leave the Queen’s mouth, only the sound of the breath that leaves you. Edwina Sharma. A gasp ripples through the room and a large smile breaks across your features.

“I can’t believe it! This is amazing dear sister!” You exclaim with a large smile as Edwina’s already looking up at you, mirroring your expression. The chorus of clapping sounds faint and uniform but yours are loud and rambunctious garnering glances from around the room.

“Give me that,” Desisting your clapping you snatch a glass from the workers tray, downing it before anyone can stop you. Elation fills every crevice of your body as Edwina’s escorted to the Queen. You bring your fingers to your mouth whistling loudly to which your mother throws you another pointed stare before returning to smiling graciously.

“Are you alright?” Kate asks, nodding your head you assure her if the Queen said your name it would be a much different answer. You snag a second drink at the sight of Anthony publicly asking Edwina to dance. Kate grumbles at the sight to which you cannot tame your giggles.

“Miss Sharma,” William joins your side with a grin on his lip and you curtsy in his presence. “Always yourself I see. Even at the Queen’s ball. How will you ever secure a husband with such madness?”

“Well you still attract women, do you not?” You tease, turning your attention back to Edwina on the dance floor.

“Call me a mad man but for a second I thought the Queen intended to call your name. Then we would both have a line outside our door,” He says and you grimace at the memory of the mere minutes prior.

“Let’s not trouble ourselves with the horrors I just experienced,” You say as silence takes the space between the two of you. Watching Edwina and Anthony, you recall his words that Kate spoke of. “I know Lord Bridgerton is your friend but can you truly vouch for his intentions with my sister?”

“No Miss Sharma, I cannot. Though I can vouch for his honor. He is a firm believer in doing what is right,” Willliam says, joining you in watching Edwina and Anthony dance. The two appear in comfortable conversation and your sister appears enamored.

You tilt your head at the two before turning to William with an indiscernible expression. After a few seconds he asks what goes on behind your eyes and a chillingly sweet smile takes your lips, “I hope you are right, Duke of Wales. If you are wrong I carry full intention to make a mockery of the Viscount. I implore you to not take light of this promise nary a threat. Beyond that you and I are going to be great friends!”

Leaving him to sit on your words you rejoin Kate just as Edwina and Anthony catches sight of the rest of you. Lady Danbury makes the formal introduction to which you curtsy and acknowledge your introduction through Lord Beauregard. You revel in the look of realization as the Viscount looks between yourself and Kate.

The interaction lasts mere seconds before Kate wastes no time in pulling Edwina out of the room leaving you with Danbury and Anthony. Lady Danbury watches your sisters disappear before turning to you and Anthony.

“Well Lord Bridgerton it appears you find yourself in another circus. Do you regularly partake in such entertainment?” You question, raising your eyebrows you watch his own furrow. Lady Danbury excuses herself leaving the two of you in the middle of the floor.

“Miss Sharma, may I inquire of your peculiar nature?” He asks, crossing your arms your smirk remains unmoving.

“A woman with her own mind and opinion is of a peculiar nature?” Narrowing your eyes the playfulness dances around your irises. Anthony’s jaw falls slack as he stares at you, his confusion consuming him.

“Why do you challenge me so?” Neither of you take notice of the way he lowers his voice and steps closer. The proximity from the outside looking in paints a subtle picture that eludes you.

“Is that not my place?” You question, stepping back before he can speak, you wear a mocking smile. Your curtsy’s drawn out and your voice drips in sarcasm, “My apologies, Viscount Bridgerton.”

You walk past ignoring how his eyes follow you. He analyzes every piece of you like a child struggling with a puzzle. When you are out of sight his mind still wrestles with how to best you.

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇,

𝐼𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓈. 𝒲𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝒾𝒻 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝑔𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑜𝓃'𝓈 𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝑒𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽, 𝒾𝓃𝒹𝑒𝑒𝒹. 𝒜𝓃𝓎 𝓈𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑀𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝐸𝒹𝓌𝒾𝓃𝒶 𝒮𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒶 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝓅𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓌𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇. 𝒲𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓁𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇, (𝒴/𝓃) 𝒮𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝒶. 𝒪𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓁𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅. 𝒮𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓁𝓊𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝓇'𝓈 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝓇𝓈, 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝓇𝓎 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒.

You frown while reading Lady Whistledown’s report of your family. At the bottom of the stairs none of your family or Lady Danbury turn from their debate of Edwina’s possible suitors. Though you bask in the invisibility you believe Edwina’s diamond status brings you, Kate wastes no time in thrusting you into the light.

“And for you dear sister. Suitors have asked for your audience as well,” Snatching the paper from her hand you grimace at the list of names you fail to put a face to. The Duke’s name does not appear on the list resulting in your furrowing your eyebrows. Lady Danbury takes the paper from your hand, observing with Edwina and your mother over your shoulders.

“The Duke appears to be missing from this list. (Y/n) appears to have a lovely time in his presence, do you not (Y/n)?” Your Mama questions. All eyes fall on you to which you shrug muttering away it’s nothing to fret over.

“While the Duke is wonderful he actually sent flowers and a message that he will not be in attendance today. I did my best to put suitors I believed our dear (Y/n) would not frighten,” Kate says, rolling your eyes at her Edwina takes your hand with a giddy smile. Though you want to grimace you cannot help but reciprocate her excitement in hopes your sour mood will not kill her cheeriness.

“I may be the diamond but I swear it to you sister, you have caught many suitors' eyes. If our dear sister believes in these men then so shall we,” Edwina says, sharing a look with Kate as you bite back a long slew of complaints. Taking a seat Lady Danbury acknowledges the lack of the Viscount on both your lists.

“He had a dance with Edwina and is already familiar with your sister through the Duke,” Lady Danbury says as your Mama points out he can make a fine suitor for Edwina. You narrow your eyes at the comment, finding yourself going quiet. Though you do not have any interest in the process, your mothers doubts in your ability to secure a suitor of such stature wounds you more than you care to admit. You take a short step back carrying every intention to hide away before they let the first suitor in the room. Lady Danbury catches your elbow with a tauntingly sweet smile, “You and your sister may have a seat before we allow Lord Lumley and Lord Norris in.”

On the couch you twiddle with the ends of your dress as you quietly remind yourself how to hold proper posture. Edwina joins you, taking your hand as you silently grumble to yourself of the day's events. When Lumley and Norris enter you both curtsy in perfect sync. Norris focuses his attention on you as Lumley talks closely with Edwina. Your mother and Lady Danbury sit on the other side of the room as Kate lingers by the fireplace.

“—in doing so I obtained more fortunes to continue to support my family,” Norris says, nodding your head you take in not a single word. He rambles mostly about himself and fails to give you a moment of respite or to even speak. In the corner of your eye you catch sight of Kate opening the doors, rising to your feet you let out a nervous chuckle.

“My apologies, my lord I will return with haste I believe my elder sister Kate requires my attention,” You say, walking quickly toward Kate you shove her through the doors before she can discredit you. The hallway appears to not be the asylum you seek as the line Lord Beauregard joked of now sits before you. A swarm of Miss Sharma’s fills your ears making you stumble behind Kate.

“Am I to only catch the sight of your sisters at this very moment? Norris and Lumley have already had an inordinate amount of time in there,” You are uncertain of his name but he offers you a smile as he speaks to Kate to which makes you grimace. Kate holds her composure as she reminds them that she shall not interrupt their time with her sisters unless they insist upon it.

“Miss Sharma if I may present you with these lovely flowers,” The man bows his head in front of you while holding out the bouquet. You try to force a smile onto your lips to which appears more painful than joyful.

“For future reference when presenting a gift to a lady you do not define it as lovely yourself but allow the young lady to define it on her own accord. While of course we wait with the grace our hostess affords us,” You release a breath you do not realize you hold. Anthony turns the corner as he ascends the stairs with a smug grin and his eyes lock with your sisters as she begrudgingly thanks him.

“I’m afraid you are much too late, my lord. You now find yourself at the back of a very considerably long queue,” Kate stands with her hands clasped in front of her as the many suitors watch the three of you intently. Anthony looks from Kate to your observant eyes before looking back to your sister.

“And yet Miss Sharma stands in the corridor with you instead of inside,” Anthony says, scoffing you vocalize how he speaks of you as if you do not stand before him. His gaze shifts back to you and you narrow your eyes at the grin that sits on his features.

“Lord Bridgerton, you believe yourself to be of more importance than actuality. You show up with your hands clasped behind you and your arrogance well in front of you. My place in this home is of no import to you, Viscount Bridgerton,” You state, ignoring how the others watch you carelessly berate the Viscount. Though every word you speak drips in honey coated venom still he smiles down at you. At first he says nothing, so much so that you frown, “Are you without words. I tend to have that effect before I send men crying for the hills.”

“Running for the hills,” He says but you shake your head assuring him your wording was of no mistake. Crossing your arms you watch him glance at the other men before walking you and Kate out of their earshot. “You aim to embarrass me, Miss Sharma. For that I would like to present you with an entire afternoon's worth of opportunity. Allow me to escort you to the races and take my flowers as a gift of my affections.”

He steps aside revealing his worker carrying a rather large bouquet to which you raise your eyebrow at. The smirk on his lips fans the flames of your aggravation as your mind struggles to make sense of his ploy. Kate chuckles as she smiles once more, “Both my sisters already have escorts this afternoon.”

“Do tell,” He says to which she tells him of Lumley with Edwina and the Duke with yourself. The lie flows off her tongue easily and you quickly catch her miscalculation as soon as it occurs.

“Lord Beauregard finds himself tied up in pressing family matters. My dear friend has no escort to the races nor does Miss Sharma leaving her no viable reason to not join me in such festivities,” His hands behind his back he sways like a child quite proud of outwitting their peers. You narrow your eyes at him as Kate stumbles to cover her tracks.

“It is quite alright dear sister. How can I say no to the opportunity of bending Viscount’s nerves until they inevitably break. I can assure you my lord I will in no way meet your rather stringent qualifications for a wife,” You enunciate your words with the clear intention of making your knowledge of his words in the gardens known. He glances at Kate but holds his confident expression with his own glint of mischief in his eyes and you miss how Kate grimaces at the sight of you both.

“Fret not Miss Sharma this is merely a public outing not your hand in marriage. I presume if you were my wife I would put arsenic in your tea,” He says and you cannot stop the laughter that leaves your lips as the others in the corridors escape your awareness.

“How presumptuous of me to jump so far ahead, you are almost certainly correct indeed my lord. If you were husband you would be aware I prefer coffee but if I were your wife aware of said arsenic in my cup, I fancy I’d drink it with impetuosity,” You say. Much like a chess match you wait for his witty response in return as his arm ghosts close to your own. So much so you can feel his warmth radiating from his body. Kate pulls you away asking when Anthony shall arrive to get you, rolling your eyes you allow the two to step on each other's toes before you are ushered back into the tea room.

You do your best to try and reclaim the ferocity in conversation you gain with Anthony and William but it proves to be fruitless. Every suitor that enters the room finds themselves speaking with themselves and you rather a placeholder next to them than an actual participant in conversation. The few that draw interest in you either inquire about Edwina or shift uncomfortably under your playful scrutiny. For mere minutes you bask in the freedom of no longer entertaining suitors before Kate announces the Viscount to be your escort.

“Viscount Bridgerton?” Edwina questions, looking at you with wide eyes a smile ghosts upon her lips as your mother smiles at you with a pride you are not familiar with. Lady Danbury reminds you of the status and wealth the Bridgerton family carries.

“Enough all of you! Make no mistake, there is no courtship of any kind between the incorrigible and I. He is merely escorting me today to vex me,” You announce earning a huff from your mother as Lady Danbury quietly smiles to herself.

“Are you certain?” Edwina asks, glancing at Kate, the nonverbal communication does not fail to convey her message. She wants you to expel Anthony from any hopes in Edwina’s mind but as your younger sister stares at you so desperately you cannot deny her. You cannot ignore the feeling of the hammer hangs above your head growing heavier and heavier by the second.

“He brought a rather large bouquet of flowers and I can say with utmost certainty it was not for me,” You say, watching as her eyes light up, the weight above you seemingly vanishes. Your mother focuses her attention on making sure you are presentable for your evening with the Viscount. She pays little attention to Edwina and you yearn for her to forget your existence. When the time comes, you thank the heavens as they leave ahead of you, you bounce around anxiously awaiting the arrival of Anthony.

“Miss Sharma, Lord Bridgertons carriage has arrived,” Taking a deep breath you stare at yourself for several seconds before a devious glint shines in your eyes. Stepping into the foyer, Anthony stands with a second bouquet of flowers this time much smaller.

“More flowers—how predictable,” You say while curtsying and he bows as a low chuckle leaves his lips. Taking the flowers from him you place them on the stairs before turning back to find him standing with his arm out to you. “What? No cutting remarks or attempts to outwit me?”

“Not at all Miss Sharma. I have actually been scouring my brain in attempts to understand what makes oddities such as yourself tick. You are incomparable because you give the facade of being fearless but we all fear something and I know what that is,” He says, taking his arm as the two of you walk slowly down the stairs and toward the front gates he wears a large grin. Your eyes note the movement in the window of the large carriage and your nerves splinter almost instantly.

“Since you are so privy to the inner workings of my mind, do tell me Viscount Bridgerton. What troubles me so?” Though you still hold your confident persona and insolent tone your eyes stare forward as though the devil awaits you. A lamb to the slaughter.

Anthony’s smile grows larger before he stops in front of the carriage and looks at you. The driver opens the door just as Anthony says, “The prospect of courtship.”

“Miss (Y/n) Sharma! It is quite lovely for you to join us!” You turn to Anthony as your mind realizes your vital mistake. Edwina being the season's diamond and now taking a stroll with the Viscount will bring more suitors in pursuit of your hand.

“Is it too late to take you up on that offer of arsenic?�� You whisper, before ignoring his hand and climbing into the carriage with the help of the driver. Anthony chuckles to himself calling out it was indeed far too late. All of his siblings quickly introduce themselves and his mother welcomes you kindly. “Why thank you for having me!”

“I hear you charmed the Queen. How so?” Lady Violet asks with full curiosity and a genuine smile on her lips. You scold yourself as you openly shrug your shoulders. Stating you merely ramble the first contents of your mind it’s just as much of a shock to you.

“It appears we are one in the same Miss Sharma. May I ask why someone with such personality finds themselves with my dreadful brother?” Eloise says, chuckling at her, Benedict seconds the assertion as Colin asks you to excuse the two of them. Before you can say a word Anthony scolds his two siblings as Hyacinth and Gregory compliment your hair. Much thicker and curlier than your sisters, it takes twice amount of effort.

“Well I find the adjective dreadful, rather the perfect descriptor of the prospect of your brother and I pursuing anything more than being in laws in the future. That is if the future my sister Kate envisions does not come to fruition,” You state, earning a chorus of laughter even from Lady Violet, Eloise inquires about the nature of Lady Whistledown’s report. “Though I like Lady Whistledown, she spoke rather harshly of my eldest sister. Kate has spent her entire life investing in Edwina and I’s future. Our dancing, education, and etiquette. Now upon her report of I, I find your society rather odd. I carry no charm, only partly rude remarks and the improper following of formal customs.”

“Well if Lord Beauregard and my brothers tales of conversation with you are true then you are very sharp of wit Miss Sharma,” Colin says as Benedict chimes in on finding you absolutely hilarious to which you thank them both for their flattery.

As the carriage rolls to a stop Lady Violet leans forward taking your hand with a warm smile. You mirror her expression as Anthony and his siblings silently watch the interaction, “I must say Miss Sharma the Queen and Lady Whistledown may not be right on all but they are on you. Give yourself more credit, it's been a mere few minutes and you are as lively as the rest of my children. I wish not to be too forward but if you seek no courtship with my eldest son I just wish to remind you I have two more.”

“Alright mother. Now shall we attend the races?” Anthony says, allowing everyone to get out first he has you go before him. White tents greet you as you step down onto the grass of the bright day. Several patrons glance in your direction whispering amongst themselves. Before the day's end you are sure everyone will be buzzing of your attendance with the Bridgertons. Anthony steps out and once again holds his arm out to you with a lopsided grin on his lips, “Miss Sharma.”

“Lord Bridgerton,” Rolling your eyes, the two of you take the forefront in your stroll into the royal races. You all stop at an opening as Eloise argues with her mother of how she will spend the day. Scanning your surroundings a large gasp escapes your lips as a smile breaks your features and your eyes lock onto Kate’s blue dress.

“Dear are you alright?” Lady Violet asks before she and her children follow your gaze. Kate stands with a man you do not recognize conversing rather pleasantly.

“My apologies I didn't mean to startle anyone. I just—Kate is extraordinary and will spend her days focusing on all but herself,” You speak more to yourself than you do the Bridgertons as you do not move your gaze. Mid smile Kate turns and catches your eyes. You wiggle your eyebrows at her before she rolls her own and turns back to the man in front her. Lady Violet and Eloise make their way toward the markets as Hyacinth and Gregory go take seats. Colin and Benedict chat amongst themselves and you find yourself well into your own mind.

“Will you take a walk with me?” Anthony asks his arm once again up for you but this time you do not take it. You begin walking without destination and call out asking if he plans to just stand there or actually walk with you. He takes a small jog to rejoin your side, “Must you make everything difficult?”

“Must you constantly complain?” You ask to which he huffs before continuing forward without a word. The glances from others around you makes your stomach turn but you hold an at ease demeanor. Despite your efforts you struggle to shake their burning gazes on your skin. A shudder rushes up your spine as you glaze over wandering eyes, “Why do I fear we are the main attraction of this evening.”

“Do not fret over others' inquisitive natures. Be here with me, Miss Sharma,” Anthony says, taking your hand he stops the two of you in the middle of your stroll. You accept his hand staring at him with one raised eyebrow.

“You continue like this and word will spread you are courting me rather than your charted course to Edwina,” You point out but he chuckles at your assertion.

“Are you sure you have not indeed drank arsenic on this day?” He asks, bringing the back of his hand to your forehead. You swat his hand away, ripping your other hand from his own and a boisterous laugh leaves his lips. “If I were courting you Miss Sharma I would ask you questions of importance.”

“Such as?” You tease, continuing your slow walk as the whispers around you evaporate to the back of your mind.

“First and foremost would be your thoughts on children,” He says, it would be a lie to say you were expecting such a question. You shrug your shoulders as a smile ghosts upon your lips, nostalgia makes Anthony vanish from your attention as you think of your father. “Miss Sharma?”

“Sorry I—uh my late father used to joke of his excitement of many grandchildren. Besides that I have never given much thought to children. If I am to marry then I desire them but to set a number is absurd. What occurs between myself and my husband's marital bed shall decide the amount of children I have,” You explain, looking off at nothing in particular you miss how intently Anthony takes in your every word. An ache lightly throbs in your chest as you think of your father.

“I miss my father as well. As a man of many children I know my father undoubtedly would have been joyous at the prospect of many grandchildren,” Anthony explains, nodding your head you now look at him to find him staring off. The long look on his face you are more than familiar with. “Um, do you play any instruments?”

“That is a question of import for you? How utterly ridiculous,” You say, lightening the mood you grin as his downcast look turns into the rolling of his eyes.

“So the answer is no,” Anthony says to which you tell him anyone can play an instrument the real question being if they can play them well.

“Edwina excels in matters as such. I am an okay pianist but an amateur at best. Make no mistake, in need of a distraction or to temporarily occupy a crowd I am of service. According to the Lady Whistledown I am quite charming,” You mockingly curtsy as Anthony raises an eyebrow at you, the seats for the race are within view but at this pace you both have a bit to go.

“Well do you at least read. Modern language, classic literature, anything of the sorts?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at him, you smirk. Your mind thinking of the dreadful hours spent scouring the boorish pages.

“Much to my dismay I was indeed forced to partake in the workings of classical literature and its ridiculous notion of men being some higher being. I find modern languages rather tiresome. I am modern and English is my language. What more should one desire of me?” You say earning another laugh from Anthony. He shakes his head before continuing forward. “What say you? Am I not the vision of your perfect Viscountess?”

“If so then God save us all,” He says, looking up to the sky earning a light nudge to his side. Your sisters come into view as you pass many of the ton on your journey to them.

“Well I must credit you Lord Bridgerton. This outing has proved to be more enjoyable than I believed it would be and your family is quite lovely,” You say but he has no time to react to the notion before you both stand before your sisters and their accompanying gentlemen. Lord Lumley quickly rises to his feet, greeting you both to which you curtsy. Anthony addresses both your sisters and Lumley before the man that accompanies your eldest sister rises to his feet.

“Lord Bridgerton and Miss Sharma, allow me to introduce myself. Mr. Thomas Dorset,” He says, curtsying once more you state any friend of Kate’s must be an individual of the most respectable level. “That is very kind of you Miss Sharma. It has been most pleasant to make your sisters acquaintance.”

“Miss Edwina I was hoping to call on you this morning—“ Anthony says and you quickly grow bored of both himself and Kate attempting to speak at once. Your eyes wander the event before setting your sights on a familiar mop of curls and boyish grin. You excuse yourself with haste before walking toward the Duke, your stride slowing at the sight of an older gentleman at his side.

“My lord,” You say, curtsying under the gentle eyes of the older man who shares many characteristics of William. He bows graciously before William compliments your dress and turns to the older gentleman.

“Miss (Y/n) Sharma, this is my grandfather Adolphus Frederick IV, the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Papa this is Miss (Y/n) Sharma I spoke of,” William speaks with his hands clasped behind his back and you find yourself curtsying once more at the title. You stand before the older brother of the Queen, you know little of the scandals in the succession in their family.

“My grandson has spoken very highly of you and my dear sister speaks of your fiery nature. She compares it to our late mother,” He says. You do your best to cover your anxiety with a light chuckle as he casually compares you to the late Queen.

“Your flattery is incomparable. I have been compared to much but never a woman of such stature. Now if you were to call me insidious I think I could find your words more believable laughably so,” You cannot stop the words as they pour from your lips without pause. Every second that passes you regret retreating from your sisters in the crowd. Lord Adolphus only stares for a few seconds before a hearty laugh leaves his throat and William chuckles lightly as he observes the two of you.

“It seems your reputation comes to not be a mere rumor but fact. Dear do not cower nor become uncertain of yourself in the presence of title. You did not with my dear sister and it set you apart in a great light with her and with me as well. I apologize that we cannot chat longer but I do hope to see more of you. Miss Sharma,” He says bowing before he leaves you and William with each other. When the Duke finally falls out of your view you bring your elbow harshly into William’s side.

“You put me before the Queen’s brother with no warning, I thought we were to be good friends!” You exclaim, no honest malice sits in your tone and William furrows his eyebrows as he clutches his wound. A laugh leaves his lips as you glare at him awaiting to know what humors him.

“I do apologize but I presumed my reputation preceded me. My place in the royal family was seemingly no secret. My great aunt the Queen favors me over her children, hence my title Duke of Wales. I’m the chosen heir, though I have thirteen imbecile cousins. I do not laugh at you as a person per say but your dramatics are rather amusing,” William says and you consider asking him to further explain but it evades you as the race begins and the crowd cheers so loud you can no longer hear your thoughts. You turn watching the horses cross the finish line. Your mother stands in the distance with a content smile at the sight of you, which you return.

“William?”

“Yes (Y/n)?”

“What are the chances we can escape this boorish day? I grow hungrier by the second and rest sounds more delightful.”

[sp1tkink]

HII LUFFY HEADCANNONS NO ONE ASKED FOR !

|cw: maybe spoilers for some earlier watchers but nothing deep, fluff fresh for the pickin

|tw: none

☆Luffy who will wake up in the middle of the night to get food, on a good night, Sanji’s trap won’t be there. On nights like those he scribbles a small picture for Sanji to find the next morning as a thank you

☆Luffy who will dance around the ship to his hearts continent to a song that Brook played that’s been stuck on his bead, tapping his foot, then swaying his hips, then full blown spinning around and singing

☆Luffy who’s favorite ‘color’ is white but he keeps it a secret to seem mysterious even though he’s bragged about it before—questioning the crew on what his favorite color only to hear them guess it correctly

☆Luffy who’s tired from a battle, holding himself awake just to see his friends revel in the victory as well, his eyes finally shutting when the last crewmate falls asleep

☆Luffy who occasionally gets an ego boost, walking around and flaunting his friends to random island goers that he happens to meet on new adventures

☆Luffy telling his notorious straw hat about his day before happily patting it and saying good night as if it were Shanks, expressing that’s he’s gotten stronger and is happy to have the life he has before drifting off to sleep

edit: the original message was deleted while i was slightly editing the format of this post ): but i hope you enjoyed! feel free to request anything in my inbox! :]