#he dreamed about it many times and woke up sad and needs reassurance that this is in fact reality and not a dream

[keets-writing-corner]

wait wait wait wait wait

hold up

hold on

hold the phone

we were already theorizing that Jaune is going through some mental issues, the whole crossroads thing hints at it BUT uhhh can we talk about 2 things that were mentioned/confirmed???

right at the beginning, Jaune trails off and doesn’t complete the thought but “Is it really you? when I saw you in the market I...” as in, he’s not entirely sure they are real. RWBY needed to console and confirm to him that it IS them they ARE real

and then later one when they’re having that confrontation with the cat, the cat literally says “These days Jaune is a few dingle berries short of a picnic” aka mentally, Jaune hasn’t been all there, or at least clearly has demonstraited SOMETHING that implies mental issues (granted we now know we can’t exactly trust everything the cat says either so this COULD be false)

but friends

FRIENDS I NEED TO KNOW

HAS JAUNE BEEN HALLUCINATING???

[hellparkri]

Kevin Stoley

-They are just bad dreams, nothing more. Just fall asleep at once, Kevin, you're almost eighteen, you're going to school and you have a girlfriend, you've got to grow up-...

 These were his sister's words to reassure him after a nightmare. Kevin was a weird guy, but weird in a good way, Kevin was very interested in science fiction and comics. His room reflected this very well: From posters of  giant Star Treks that filled the entire ceiling of his room, to a complete collection of Star Wars lightsabers. If you needed someone to tell you about a universe that involved a minimum of spaceships, whether it was any comic, book, movie or video game, chances are Kevin Stoley had you covered. This perhaps doesn't sound so bad; But Kevin's sister: Esther, I knew Kevin was a bit of a person... "Sensitive", Kevin used to present constant nightmares with monsters from video games and movies, this would not have any problem if Kevin was still in his childhood, but the problem that his sister had was that her brother was seventeen years old, this was just almost sad, and although Esther was always happy to comfort her brother,  Even she was starting to get irritated from getting up at one in the morning every night to tell her brother that the stain wasn't real and that she wasn't going to kill him.

"I know, but you really have to treat me like a little boy because of that?"

-Listen, just try to fall asleep today without getting up, OK? I have an online exam tomorrow and I should be **super** rested. Esther smiled at her brother one last time and kissed his forehead.

-Argh! Esther, you know I don't like this, it's embarrassing and I'm too old for you to kiss me. Kevin complained while frowning a little. His sister still treated him as if he were ten years old. Although well, he was the one who asked her for help when she woke up from a bad dream

-Kevin, first of all I remind you that I still have to come to comfort you almost every night, second: You shouldn't act like that with those who give you love. His sister asked as she looked at him with that smile that his brother had seen so much before falling asleep.

-Well, obviously not... Maybe because she's not my sister! Kevin shouted in a friendly tone and somewhat sorry for having to wake up his little sister practically every night.

"Look, Kevin, you shouldn't feel ashamed that your sister shows you care, if she didn't, she wouldn't come to wish you goodnight. Besides, who knows if this will be the last time I'll see you, who knows and I'll die in my sleep. we should not be like this with anyone, much less your old reliable little sister! Esther made jazz hands while spreading a big smile on her cheeks. Kevin, on the other hand, just smiled and hugged his sister, that smile of Esther's had now stuck to him too, and he couldn't help but just hug his sister for a while.

"Esther, I promise I won't wake you up today, you always worry about me, it's the least I can do..." Kevin was about to shed a tear when his sister stroked his hair and said:

"Oh, Kevin, you don't need to, just for today, will you?" Someday I'm not going to be there for you, and I hope Red is there to take care of you, I don't know. I only ask you to give it a try tonight. His sister winked at him confidently and left his brother's room, but not before turning off the light in the room and closing the door.

The hours passed; Kevin was already asleep in a light sleep, barely four hours had passed since he had gone to sleep. It was two in the morning, that day it rained incessantly for hours and hours, from morning until almost sunset, it was really an extraordinary event, at first he was relieved not to have school, but "as happened to almost all the children in the town and its surroundings" he realized that the signal was unstable and the light was even worse,  It was almost a miracle that their computer or TV had not short-circuited so many times that they were victims of sudden blackouts. That rain was an event that the whole town would remember for several years to come... And even more, he suffered the tragedy of not being able to play any of his video games for long and agonizing hours, he was truly sure that he had suffered more than everyone in the village combined.

But that didn't matter anymore; The rain had ended a few hours before he went to sleep and all he could hear now was only the loud barking of a dog that seemed to be trying to scare something away. Those loud screams were enough to wake Kevin, who had been sleeping too light for as long as he could remember, so anything no matter how insignificant it seemed was almost certain to wake him up.

"Hell, is it that no one is capable of going to calm their dog?" Kevin said quietly as he rubbed his eyes somewhat irritated. After a few minutes of trying to go back to sleep Kevin noticed that he was simply not able to do it anymore, but it did not seem strange to him nor was it like that in general, once something woke him up it was almost impossible for him to go back to sleep without someone asking him. That was mainly the reason why his sister always had to come and make him sleep. "Or at least that's what was always said in his mind."

Kevin got up: He was short in stature, his hair was straight but extremely soft, his face had some acne marks and he had to wear glasses because of his myopia. He wasn't the most attractive guy, but that didn't matter to him, Kevin used to be quite friendly with everyone around him and "even though he never wanted to admit it" he always thought of others and others thought of him. This had given him quite a few friendships and he was generally appreciated by everyone around him. Kevin put on his glasses and walked to the window of his room and silently admired the stars for a while; With his hands he began to draw the face of his beloved Red MacArthur in the air. She thought for a while what she would think of him if she found out that he still needed someone to comfort him before sleeping, that was the most precious secret Kevin Stoley had, because if someone found out, well... I only knew that at least I would be the laughingstock of the school for five painful months. He quickly shook his head and forgot about that thought, still in his pajamas he decided to go out to his backyard and walk around a little until he got sleepy. But even worse was that she felt that her sister was lying to her, she felt as if she only wanted him to grow up and stop waking her up every blessed night just because a dog barked too loudly or because she dreamed that a monster was devouring him alive. That was indeed the most troubled in his mind. The teasing was temporary, but feeling like a martyr to someone you love was truly the painful thing.

Again he tried to forget those intrusive thoughts and went down in silence so as not to wake anyone up to his backyard. He felt something strange in that place, the screams of that dog had stopped, there was not a single hint of sound in the whole place... Kevin felt a déjà bu, it seemed as if he had already experienced this before; In a dream from many years ago, perhaps. He could not remember for sure what it was that bothered him so much, he felt that he was going to die soon, that there was something extremely wrong in that tranquility of the night, he simply felt... false.

His thoughts short-circuited when he heard something go up near his house, he turned to his right corner; from where the sound had originated and he saw a person climb the fence. He stepped back a little frightened, but it seemed as if the person who had just crossed the fence of his home was not very uneasy or scared.

"Tally-ho, Kevin!"

"What, who the hell are you!?" - Kevin slowly backed away as he watched as the person approached him. It looked like it had some strange fake "wings" and "horns" on its back and forehead as it tried to hide its teeth with a short smile.

"Oh, don't you really remember my name?" Oh Kevin, look how much you've grown! Are you still with Red? Or even better, do you happen to know where Damien is?" said the intruder as he approached with a big smile; His teeth being somewhat long and even somewhat sharp, his clothes were too clean and shiny, but he noticed that there was a little bit of what seemed to be a strange black liquid in one of its corners.

"D-Damien!?" Eh-listen~ j-just get out of here! I-I'm going to call the police if you don't leave~-

"Oh Kevin, would you really do that with your old friend Pip?" I doubt it, now be a good boy and tell me if you've seen Damien anywhere, he's been spending a lot of time on earth and I'm starting to worry already!" Pip started to walk nonchalantly towards Kevin, staring at him, penetrating into Kevin's soul with is purple eyes, even when the boy with glasses tried to scream, Phillip was just getting closer and faster towards him,  until finally stopping for a second; Kevin watched as Pip's expression for the first time denoted some anger and frustration.

-Kevin Kevin Kevin... Do you really not remember my name mhm? Okay, I get it, I was never the most popular or the most loved. That doesn't make me angry... What makes me angry is that you don't want to cooperate..." Pip quickly approached Kevin; Who, helplessly, looked at a great and sharp smile, the blond one formed on his face; his teeth opening massively until revealing that in his mouth there were only rows after rows of sharp teeth, Kevin heard how the jaw tore and stretched to inhuman reaches; Phillip's skin stretched and revealed Phillip's red-hot skin, you could even see Phillip's throbbing veins, the two long horned ones began to slowly expand on Pip's forehead as he laughed maniacally in an increasingly distorted and heartbreaking voice, two long tongues that looked as if they belonged to a snake peeked out before Kevin's helpless gaze; Who only tried to struggle in vain and scream for help.

It was a great and agonizing scream that woke Esther up: it seemed that it came from her backyard, but first she went to check her brother's room as a precaution. "He's not there..." she said to herself in her mind. But Esther didn't feel real panic, the fences in her neighborhood were not very long and this meant that rodents and other wild animals often scurried around the yards, Kevin was already quite afraid of animals such as raccoons and mice, so knowing his brother he had probably only met one of these animals and got a good scare... and, hearing no more screams, he assumed that Kevin had calmed down and probably only admired the nightscape.

She calmly went downstairs and turned on the lights in the living room, but her expression changed completely when she saw what appeared to be a monster on top of her brother's inert body.

That demon looked at her with blood in her mouth for a few seconds; Their pupils were extremely small and luminous: of which a mixture of purple and red light was visible through them. Esther screamed and rushed to save her brother, Pip on the other hand fled the scene quickly. But that was the least that could matter to Esther at that moment, she went to see if her precious brother was still alive, but a quick inspection of what was left of his face and torso was enough to confirm that nothing could be done to save him.

[littledollll]

🕊️

My darling I’ve been stalking and I must confess I need more lucifer x reader with dream content so here’s my suggestion

Prompt~ r is dreaming and dream is with then cause they are sad. R feels like a burden to luci and just wants them to know how truly special they are, but in their little state they can’t seem to find the words. So dream comforts them and suggests r draws lulu a picture.

R wakes up and instantly scurries off to her old room and draws the picture and gives it to luci. all cute fluffy goodness to end~ shy anon🕊️

#shyanon🕊️

Little artist (pt 1/2)

(Little angel universe, side shot)

Morpheus x little!angel!reader

Lucifer x little!angel!reader

A/n: i decided to make this a two parter bc the dreaming part was originally supposed to be a lot smaller, ya boy got excited at the chance of writing for Morpheus, Reader is mostly big in this fic and it’s honestly just fluffy conversation between two good friends, I like how it kinda gives backstory on the relationship Morpheus and R had/have

Warnings: none really, r gets judged for being little in the very beginning and maybe insecurities and overthinking?

Read part two

Dreaming, you noted when you “woke up” missing the warmth of Lucifer wrapped around you.

“You’re still carrying around a stuffed animal? What are you 4? Grow up, you’re so weird.” A voice you recognized, you couldn’t pinpoint who exactly it belonged to but they used to be your “friends” when you still lived in the silver city.

People wouldn’t believe how mean and cruel angels can truly be, they were no better than humans, perhaps even worse.

“At first it was cute but now it’s an every day thing. I can’t deal with this anymore it’s annoying and it’s weird.” A different voice. Your very first caregiver. Slowly you realized your setting, you were back in heaven, and it was more of a playback of memories than a dream.

Your mind ran rampant with insecurities and doubts. What if Lucifer felt that way about you? You never stopped to think about it much since they offered to be your caregiver. But you did kinda push the responsibility what other options did they have? you questioned yourself.

“I never did like him.” Morpheus’ voice brought you out of your thoughts.

“Must you be so dramatic? Do you enjoy plaguing me with nightmares before announcing yourself?” You argued. The scene faded into a new view, fiddlers green. Walking over to a tree you sat under it, Morpheus followed.

It immediately made you smile, your defenses going down as you felt calm. You really did love this place. It was safe and comforting. Most of the time when you regressed in the dreaming it would be here, that tiny feeling running through your bones as you replayed your lovely memories.

“I’m only opening a conversation, giving you a chance to talk, I don’t recreate memories as dreams, little star, that’s all you. You’re worried. Yet when they sleep, they dream of you.” Morpheus always knew just what to say. Maybe it’s because he’s been by you for so many years, probably because he’s been here since time began.

“me?” You laid your head on his lap and hummed happily once Morpheus started petting your hair. You needed to know, maybe it would finally reassure you enough to make the anxious thoughts stop.

Ever the ominous being Morpheus ignored your question and answered with his own. “You’re worried, about what, little star?”

You threw a rock his way with no real intent to hurt him, not that you could, he caught it anyways. “’s like you want me to slip.” The way he was talking to you was intentional, and the petname was a dead giveaway.

“I’ve been replaced, are you blaming me for missing it? And if you want to, allow yourself” His smile told that his words held no real offense, yet you felt the need to reassure him. “There’s nothing stopping you from seeing me, just like you are now.”

Nodding, he countered. “I’m not really needed am I?” His flash of innocent jealousy made you giggle. “I’d miss you, visit me anyways.”

You closed your eyes. Drinking in the familiar peace of the dreaming, you would’ve drifted off had you not already been asleep and quietly, confessed your concerns. “I’m too much, they have so many things to take care of and ’m jus adding more n I feel-” You hated talking about your feelings. You couldn’t go two words without feeling like you’re going to cry or slip, probably both.

He listened intently, he always does, he allowed you space to continue though you seemed against it. “You are not a burden, little star, it has been a great pleasure to take care of you and you can rest assured knowing they think the same.”

you gave him a little hum in question. “In every dream and nightmare, their greatest joy is you and biggest fear is loosing you, never have I seen this in Lucifer, little star.”

If the look on your face said anything you were overjoyed hearing this. “realy realy?” Morpheus was starting to wonder when you’d fully slip, finally. He gave you a nod and you sprung up hugging him tightly. “Hm..”

“What’s on your mind, little dreamer?” you took a moment to organize your thoughts. “wana tells how much I lovs n n preciate!”

“But you don’t know how to tell them?” you nodded. “Well you’re quite the little artist, what about you draw something for them and give it as a surprise?” Your face lit up in excitement.

“Thanks you! Star wakes up?” He tilted his head at you, already? “wana wakes before n make gift!” You stated like it was the most obvious thing ever, of course this was a priority, what else would Luci wake up to?

“Very well tiny star, until I invade your dreams again then.”

(Part 1/2) part two

[karl-von-moor-official]

The megapost looks very interesting.

1, 2, 22 and 60 for Schoethe please 👀

Thank you so much for the ask! I knew I could count on you to let me rant about them <3

ALRIGHT. SO:

1: Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with ‘because I love you!’ ?

Oh DEFINITELY Schiller. He's the one to get way too into an argument, to the point where he will literally confess his love in the heat of the moment and only realise it when the words have already left his mouth. 

Goethe, though hot-tempered, seems like he'd be too diplomatic to say something like that in an argument. Goethe is the kind of person who'd justify his actions with some kind of elaborate, logical explanation. 

But Schiller - the guy who contemplated going to fucking France to have a word in the fucking revolution! - would totally say something rash and emotional such as "because I love you" to justify some kind of irrational thing that he did. 

Of course, it takes more for Schiller to lose his temper in the first place than it takes for Goethe to lose his temper, but still, Schiller is the answer to this one. 

2: what would they do if the other woke up in a manic state after a nightmare?

Goethe: He'd be super worried and immediately try to soothe Schiller. He probably knows what it's like :( he'd hug him and rub his back and ask him if he needs anything. He'd try to make Schiller talk about the nightmare, but would also accept it if Schiller didn't want to tell him about it. 

Schiller: Worried, but in a different way. Doctor degree goes brrrr! He knows the manic state from when he himself is in a fever, so he's at once worried that Goethe might be sick. He checks his temperature and asks him how he feels. Once he's reassured himself that it was really just a bad dream and not some kind of fever, he'd calm down and hug Goethe and whisper soothing words to him until they both fall back asleep. 

22: What reminds each of their partner? 

SO MUCH.  Ok this one will be lengthy and kinda sad and I'm not entirely sorry about it. 

Schiller: Before they knew each other, Schiller was always reminded of Goethe whenever he thought about Weimar or Italy. It disappointed him that they didn't know each other. Reading anything by or about Goethe would leave him with a bitter feeling; jealousy? Longing?  Then, once they'd gotten to know each other, he'd of course be reminded of Goethe whenever he looked at his bookshelves or at the stone table in his garden. Also, flowers! Goethe, the little biology nerd, has ranted to him about flowers! And whenever he sees the mangold growing in his garden, he smiles and remembers how Goethe gave him those mangold seeds to sow, and how Goethe would go on and on about his metamorphosis theory. Also for some reason I'm thinking elder bloom. Schiller also thinks of Goethe when he researches mythology. Or when he sees someone in the street wearing mustard yellow and royal blue. 

Goethe: Before they meet, Goethe doesn't really waste a lot of thought on Schiller, since he's not really keen on interacting with the guy.  Once they know each other though, Goethe is reminded of Schiller all the time! Like when he sees a wiggly line and thinks about how Schiller explained to him that a wiggly line is more beautiful than a zigzag line. (This really happened.) Or when he reads something about some historical event that Schiller likes to talk about. Or when he goes down the street and sees the postman and has to suppress the urge to run up to him and ask the guy whether he's got any new letters from Schiller yet. Or when he's stuck on a line in one of his poems/plays and he can't help but think that Schiller would know what to do with this, what to write next. 

And after Schiller's death, it's similar. Too many things remind him of Schiller. He'd walk in his garden past a quince tree and think about how there used to be quince trees in Schiller's garden. The short walk from his house to the theatre takes him past Schiller's house every time; and it hurts every time. Whenever he looks at the pages upon pages of Faust manuscript writings, he can't help but feel guilty and angry and sorry for the fact that Schiller will never get to read the finished play. He'd see a red haired man in the street and freeze for a second. 

60: Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping?

This one's tricky. I like to think Goethe was more of a cuddly person. Schiller would be the kinda person to be an uneasy sleeper, someone who tosses about a lot and is troubled by his stuffy nose and a fucked up sleep schedule. So, Goethe would be the one to wake up and sleepily put his arms around a restless Schiller, mumble something like "go back to sleep" and pull him closer and nuzzle his face into Schiller's hair. :) 

[one-leaf-grimoire]

"Child of the sun"

Chapter 1

masterlist

Synopsis: Nine months after the defeat of Lucius Zogratis, Lisa prepares for the arrival of her second child

Note: I will post profiles of the OCs at some point to clarify some of the details leading up to this point in time. Mostly I keep the "end of the series" a bit vague since it hasn't been written in the manga yet so consider this my own AU. Enjoy!

“... We should decide on names.”

“Hmm? Why? We have all the time in the world, my love.”

“I know but... still. I want to decide now.”

“Then your wish is my command. Do you have any ideas?”

“I have a few. All of them are for a boy, though. I’m having trouble with girl names.”

“Leave that to me, then. Now, what are your ideas?”

“Vitus.”

“Vitus?”

“It means ‘life’.”

“Ah, I see… I like it.”

“I like Felix as well.”

“Me too, me too. Vitus Zogratis… Felix Zogratis… sounds like a name for a king.”

“And it goes well with your last name. Now, we need some girl names.”

“...”

“Lucius?”

“ Juno. I like the name Juno. ”

“...Juno?”

“Queen of the Heavens… I think it’s appropriate. She will rule this world by our side, after all.”

“...”

It was dark in their room. Lisa could only feel Lucius beside her, his breath and warmth spreading across her skin. His face was nestled into her hair, his leg wrapped around hers, and one of his hands gently resting upon her stomach, stroking lightly, cherishing the new life that grew inside her.

“...Juno Zogratis… I like that.”

“Then, it’s decided.”

Lucius’s voice ceased after that, as he finally dozed off. Lisa continued to stare up at the ceiling, her heart pounding.

There was a reason why she wanted to decide on names now. There was a possibility that Lucius would not be around after Judgement Day, if everything went right.

Right… or wrong?

Lisa didn’t want him to die. She didn’t want to lose him. But she also didn’t want to lose Julius. She was selfish; she wanted both of them to love her, to raise her child, to be her husband. But would Lucius ever allow that to happen?

It didn’t matter. Lisa would choose if she had to.

But at the very least, if she was going to deprive Lucius of his life as a father, she could let him choose the name of their child.

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

Then, with a start, Lisa woke up.

It was still dark, and the warmth of a man in her bed was still there, as if the dream hadn’t ended after all. However, the biting cold of reality started to seep in, and Lisa knew it was over. Just a long-lost memory.

With a shaky breath, she sat up, reaching up to touch the mark on her head, glowing dimly in the night.

… Lucius…

Her eyes filled with tears as unfathomable grief, guilt, and fear welled up in her chest. With a hollow sob, she covered her face, letting the tears erupt.

However, she wasn’t alone for long. Arms wrapped around her, pulling her back down into the bed, allowing her to melt and sob and let it all out. 

" There, there, sweetness. I'm here. I'm here."

After what felt like a long time, Lisa opened her eyes again to look across the pillow at Julius. He offered her a tired, concerned smile, his face dimly illuminated by the mark on her head, as well as the identical one that now laid on his own skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Slowly, Lisa nodded, averting her eyes. 

"... I just… keep remembering things. Little moments. They almost make me feel… happy. But… I shouldn't. I- I don't deserve-"

"It's alright. It was happy," Julius reassured her, his hand cupping her face. "Nothing that you feel is wrong, Lisa."

"It was wrong, though. I should have never-"

"No," he repeated, firmly. Lisa's eyes moved back to his, widened. "... everything was right. I wish…" Julius's voice trailed off, before he sucked in a breath. "I wish things had gone differently. But I'm glad that you loved him. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Lisa shook her head. No matter how many times Julius told her this, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Julius sighed, his eyes sad, but determined to find a way for her to understand.

"... Lisa, close your eyes."

Lisa blinked, wondering why he would ask her to do that. However, she obeyed, then felt his hand take hers. He moved it gently to his face, making her fingers run over his skin. Over the angles of his cheek, the curve of his nose, the dips of his dimples, and the softness of his lips. 

"... who do you feel?"

"... you."

" You being..?"

"...Julius. But… Also…"

"Lucius."

His voice was so soft and warm. Lisa felt him kiss her fingertips. 

"You were meant to love us both. Because we are the same. And because of you, I now understand him better. We'll get through this… all of us."

All of us. 

… that means you, too, Lucius. Wherever you are.

Lisa nodded, closing her eyes and burying herself back in Julius's warmth. Julius sighed happily, letting his hand slide down to her stomach, which had grown significantly in the many months since that last battle.

"... He took good care of you, despite everything. So it's only right that I take care of his child." He smiled, kissing Lisa's temple softly. "I hope he can see…"

"He can," Lisa affirmed, her heart swelling a little at last. At the very least, the fact that Lucius was still with her, in some way, was comforting. His final wish was still engraved in her soul. 

Everything will be alright… if Julius says we'll get through this, then she will.

As she slowly fell back asleep, she felt surrounded by warmth, on all sides. 

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

The morning finally came, and Julius forced Lisa to stay in bed even as he got up and dressed himself, quickly exiting the room and leaving Lisa a little confused. She sighed, nestling back down into the blankets and closing her eyes, still mulling over their late-night conversation.

"Surprise! I've got two treats for you~"

Lisa's eyes popped open just in time to see Julius burst back into the room, a huge grin on his face. On one hand, he precariously balanced a tray with what looked like breakfast on it, while his other arm was occupied by their nearly two-year-old daughter, who was chewing on her own hand, her lavender eyes wide, perfectly matching her father's. 

"Huh? What's all this?" Lisa asked as she sat up again, gladly taking the breakfast tray from Julius before he lost balance and dumped it all over the bed. “What did I do to deserve breakfast in bed?”

"... did you forget?!" Julius asked, aghast. "It's September 21st… your birthday! You're 30 today!"

Lisa's mouth fell open, shocked that she could have forgotten her own birthday. "Oh my…" her voice trailed off, before she managed to smile again. "I guess it is a special occasion…"

"Mama! Bir-birthday!"

Baby Julia tapped her dad on his arm, and he gently let her down onto the bed, a glowing smile on his face. "That's right, Julia, give mama a big birthday kiss!"

“K-Kiss!”

Julia’s vocabulary wasn’t as large as some other toddlers her age, but she had been picking up more and more words every day. Lisa had been worried for a long time, since Julia had actually been completely mute for over a year of her life, from her birth until after Lucius was defeated. She would never forget the first time Julius held his own daughter, tears in his eyes. The girl had stared at him for a long moment, before grinning widely and exclaiming loudly:

“D-Dada! Dada!”

Lisa could never get over how bright and beautiful Julia's eyes were. And she could hardly believe how they twinkled when she giggled and gazed at her mother. It was unfathomable to her, that she had somehow managed to produce such a perfect little person. If it weren’t for the fact that Julia was almost her spitting image, Lisa wouldn’t have believed that she was hers.

She’s the perfect combination of us. The best parts of us.

Lisa giggled and hugged her daughter back as she kissed her cheek, feeling her eyes start to tear up. 

I'm thirty now… and I'm a mother. 

The hard part is over….

It wasn't long before she finished her breakfast, and Julius carried away the empty tray. After getting dressed, Lisa picked Julia up and made her way down the hall, bouncing the toddler lightly with each step. She was moving well, considering that she was only a few weeks away from her due-date, but was still exhausted by the time she reached the office she and Julius shared. "Alright, time to come down!" she told Julia, who nodded and landed on her feet, a little unsteady but holding her mother's hand tight. Lisa smiled before sitting down, letting out a sigh. "It's my birthday, but there's still so much work to do…"

Luckily it wouldn't be long before the transition period between Wizard Kings was over, and the family could finally move out of the city and take a long, much-needed break from politics. Julius had no magic power anymore, but his experience was still crucial in advising the new successor. Lisa, of course, was also indispensable, although her hours working had been shortened lately due to her advanced pregnancy. 

"Sweetness, you should take a break."

"No way! It's not even lunchtime yet!"

Despite her insistence, Lisa couldn't hide a yawn, her quill threatening to slip from between her fingers. 

Julius shook his head, seeing right through the act, as he rubbed her shoulders soothingly. "Really, I can handle it. Marx will be here soon for the meeting, you can lay on the couch and close your eyes while we wait."

"... no," Lisa glanced over at the empty couch, then at the playmat next to it. Julia was talking to herself as she played, stacking up a precarious tile of blocks, a toy dragon in her other hand circling the structure. "Maybe some coffee would help, though…"

"If you're sure…" Julius leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, his lips lingering for a moment. "I know you didn't sleep well last night… no one would judge you if you-"

He stopped talking when he saw the stubborn look on her face. 

"Forget I said anything!! One coffee, coming up~!"

With that, he ran out of the room, leaving his wife to consume herself in her work once again. 

However, it was getting hard to concentrate. Lisa yawned, closing her eyes for just a moment. 

… maybe he's right… it's my birthday, after all. Maybe I can convince myself to end work early-

"WAHHH! MAMA!"

Before Lisa's mind could even register Julia's scream, her body acted, her mother's instinct automatically kicking in. Despite her exhaustion and condition, Lisa lept out of her chair, across the room, towards the corner where Julia had been sitting. 

Although, now, as Lisa's eyes focused at last, she could see that the playmat was gone. She locked eyes with her daughter's beautiful lavender gaze before Julia fell through a pitch black hole into the nothingness below. 

Panic.

Pure, unadulterated panic. 

Lisa's feet hit the ground just for a moment. Then, without any hesitation, she sprang forward again, and dove right after her daughter and down into the abyss. 

Abyss…. For that's the only way this space could be described. 

Endless nothingness surrounded her as Lisa hung there, not sure if she was floating, falling, or completely still. It was so, so cold, eating away at her skin, gnawing right down to the bone. 

However, right in front of her was Julia. The little girl opened her mouth again, reaching up towards her mother. Lisa spread her arms wide, before finally reaching her, pulling the girl close against her chest and curling her body around her, as if she could protect her. 

Julius had always described Lisa as a "living furnace." Her body heat could melt the snow around her if needed. But not here. Here, her flame was extinguished completely.

It's…. So…. Cold….

Someone… please…

Save… my… daughter…

Then, warmth erupted. Lisa gasped as light enveloped them both, a familiar feeling and power spreading across her skin. 

This magic…

Golden wings, affixed to a brightly shining disk, appeared behind her, and flapped once, sending the pair back up towards the speck of light that was the exit from this empty place. Lisa looked up, her eyes wide, still clutching Julia to her chest. She saw a hand, and reached up, and grabbed on, allowing it to pull her the rest of the way through. 

With one last hollow gasp, she, Julius, and Julia collapsed on the floor. Lisa let out a panicked scream, the events of the last few moments sinking in at last. She kicked out, scooting away from the dark hole until she hit the opposite wall, panting for breath. 

Julius's arms were around her, clutching his wife and child close. The three of them sat there for a long time, just hyperventilating and coming down from their shock. 

Julia started to cry, clutching onto Lisa and refusing to let go. Lisa slowly calmed down, then looked up at Julius. He let out a shaky breath, his eyes still wide. 

"... w - what is that hole!?! I thought… both of you were-"

Lisa squeezed his hand, a lump forming in her throat. 

"Y-you saved us…. You pulled me out…"

He shook his head slowly, a knowing look in his eyes. Lisa gulped, reaching up and touching her mark. 

That warmth… that magic…

Lucius… 

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

" Sealing magic…"

Slowly but surely, the dark hole was sealed up,and the corner of the office was returned to normal. Julius let out a sigh of relief before looking down at Secre and Finral, who had arrived as fast as they could after being called. "Thank you, Secre… I was afraid we wouldn't be able to close it up."

She nodded in response, before the pair were dismissed. Julius turned to Owen, who was checking up on Julia, who had stopped crying but was now shivering silently in Lisa's arms. "Well? Is she alright??"

"She will be, as long as you keep her warm," Owen assured them. "Lisa's doing a good job so far. She's mostly still in shock."

Lisa glanced over at the corner again, before looking up at Julius. "But… what caused that rift?? It was like a portal… like spatial magic?"

"... A child's magic is usually either directly one of their parent's, or a combination," Owen suggested, looking down at Julia. "She's still a bit younger than when children usually reveal their attributes, but I think this… incident was the result of an uncontrolled burst of mana."

"... but… if that's the case… then her magic…" Lisa's voice trailed off, her face pale. That's so dangerous… how long will it be until she can control it? The power to burn a hole into the void itself…

"... then her magic is amazing."

Lisa looked up in surprise to see Julius smiling at her, both bright and comforting.

"Julia has been blessed with a powerful ability. We will protect her until she is able to wield it herself."

After a moment, Lisa smiled and nodded in agreement, holding her daughter closer.

Somehow… Julius always knows how to make things better…

Lisa didn't let go of Julia again for the rest of the day. The girl eventually calmed down, and sat up on Lisa's lap as she was fed bites of birthday cake. They had a quiet evening, which Lisa would have wanted even if the incident earlier didn't happen. 

She was still worrying about it as she laid down to sleep. Marx pulled Julius away for their delayed meeting, while Lisa settled down in bed once again, Julia curled up tightly in her arms.

"... mama?"

"Yes, Juli?"

"I'm - Am I in trouble?"

"Goodness no!" Lisa tugged the girl closer, stroking the top of her head soothingly. "You did nothing wrong… it was just an accident, okay?"

"Okay…"

Julia closed her eyes, safe and warm in her mother's embrace. 

"... mama?"

"Yes?"

"You saved me…"

Lisa sucked in a breath, squeezing her eyes shut as she remembered how helpless she felt as the two of them floated in that nothingness. 

"... it wasn't just me, Julia… I had help. Daddy was there too."

"... other daddy."

Julia had been very young when Lucius was still around. But he had been there for her birth, and he cared for her as if she were his own daughter. Lisa wasn't sure how much Julia could remember, but every now and then, she would bring up "other daddy."

"... yes. It was him."

"... is other daddy ever coming back?"

Lisa shook her head.

"No… but he's always watching over us."

Julia fell asleep after that, leaving Lisa alone to stare at the ceiling, lost in thought. 

When he disappeared… he said he would still hold us close, and watch the future we create. 

Lucius… you're still here, aren't you? I can feel you in my soul…

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

"Lisa! Lisa, wake up! Oh, god-"

Sweat beaded on her skin, her shallow breaths barely leaving her parted lips. Lisa stared up at the ceiling through lidded eyes, not exactly sure when or where she was. 

"Her eyes opened! Lisa, are you alright?!"

Lisa blinked, realizing that Julius was hovering above her, a scared look on his face as he clutched her limp hand. Lisa opened her mouth to find that it was dry. 

"W- huh? What? What happened…"

She looked down at her body, and suddenly remembered; she had been in the middle of giving birth. Her legs were shaking uncontrollably from all the pushing she had done, but the contractions had stopped, leaving the room eerily quiet. 

"Thank god, you just passed out…" Julius breathed, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. "Lisa… look… we have another daughter."

Her eyes flickered over to Doctor Owen, who was standing on her other side. With a smile, he leaned down, placing the small, writing bundle on her chest. 

It hadn't been too long since Lisa had Julia, but all at once she was overwhelmed with emotions once again. With a hollow sob, she reached up to touch the baby's skin, tears streaking down her face.

"O-oh- wow…" She glanced up at Julius, who gave her a nod, tears staining his own cheeks. "Why isn't she crying?"

"She's barely cried at all," Owen told her. "You got lucky, she's a calm one~"

Lisa blinked a few times before sitting up with Julius's help, moving the blankets away from the baby's face. Her eyes were still scrunched closed, a distressed look on her face. Lisa smiled, but then noticed something.

"... her hair…"

The baby girl had a tuft of wispy hair, black as a raven's feathers. 

… Lucius…

"... Yes. She has black hair," Julius replied, unfazed. He reached down, and the baby's hand immediately grasped his finger. "Aw- oh, my stars… she's so beautiful."

Lisa looked up at Julius to see him crying openly now. He hadn't been there to see Julia's first moments, and she knew this was an incredibly special moment for him. 

"Owen? Could you go find Marx and tell him to bring Julia here?"

Owen nodded to Lisa in response, quickly ducking out to give them privacy. Julius wiped his eyes, still gazing lovingly down at his wife and baby."... we should name her."

"... I have one already." Lisa leaned into Julius's arms as they sat there, soaking in the glow of their new child. She smiled a little, feeling tears prick at her eyes. "... Juno."

"... I see…" Julius nodded, satisfied. His finger stroked over the baby’s black hair, a knowing look in his eyes. "Juno Novachrono… what a nice name."

Lisa held Juno close, giving her a kiss on her black hair, and Juno let out a soft, but happy sound.

All's right with the world…

Lucius… are you watching?

[makeste]

BnHA 323: “I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Should Care About Other People”

Previously on BnHA: Kacchan was all, “Izuku, I’m sorry.” Bakugou Stans were all, “[sobs for a week straight and tearfully awards him the Nobel Prize for character development].” Deku was all, “[faints in Kacchan’s arms].” Iida was all, “[trying to decide if Ochako genuinely tried to kill him a few minutes ago].” Horikoshi was all, “NO TIME FOR HUGS WE MUST GET BACK TO UA.” The civilians holed up at U.A. were all, “WE TOOK A VOTE AND DECIDED THAT WE’RE ALL GOING TO BE JERKS ABOUT THIS AND MAKE A BIG FUSS ABOUT YOU LETTING DEKU BACK INTO THE SCHOOL.” Deku was all “[stands there looking like he expected nothing less and breaking my heart more and more with each passing moment].” Ochako was all, “that does it, looks like I’m gonna have to do something about this... next chapter, that is.”

Today on BnHA: Flashback!Rat Principal is all “I just want you all to know that I spent nine million dollars turning U.A. into a giant Battleship-style grid that can burrow underground and zoom around in a giant subway maze because Horikoshi lacks a grounded understanding of both civil engineering and economics.” Back in the present day, Jeanist is all, “EVERYONE TAKE HEED, MY COMRADES AND I HAVE DEEMED IT EXPEDIENT TO CONVEY THIS AUSPICIOUS YOUTH BACK TO THIS STRONGHOLD. WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE MAY DEPEND UPON YOUR GOODWILL AND ACQUIESCENCE TO THESE TERMS.” The civilians were all, “NO.” Ochako was all, “EMPATHY, MOTHERFUCKERS, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!” The civilians were all, “oh shit.” Anyway so Ochako is a giant badass, but I’m a little worried that she’s going to get struck by lightning. Please come down from there.

so before we start this chapter, I would just like to apologize for having not posted the ch 321 recap yet, and would like to reassure everyone, and especially Iida who is staring at me with Sad Wobbly Guilt Trip Eyes, that I will get to that as soon as I can

OMG FLASHBACK??

yes please Horikoshi please show us more of class 1-A and their Deku intervention strategy jam sessions

oh dear

Iida you are too pure and good for this cruel world. [sprays the U.A. civilians with a water bottle] NO. BAD CIVILIANS! NO OSTRACIZING SCARED AND EXHAUSTED CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE

EXCUSE ME RAT PRINCIPAL WHAT’S WITH THESE MIXED MESSAGES

???

RAT PRINCIPAL: he’s free to return to us at any time!!

ALSO RAT PRINCIPAL: but it’s too risky for him to return to us

?? ??????? ?????????????????????

so now he’s going on about how strong the U.A. Barrier is, and how it’s comparable to the defensive capabilities of Tartarus. this would have sounded a lot more impressive before chapter 297 lol

OH!!!! HELLO, WHAT’S THIS!!!

A TIMELY CALLBACK TO A CERTAIN MYSTERIOUS EVENT WHICH HASN’T BEEN REFERENCED SINCE USJ? [U.A. TRAITOR MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

so now Rat Principal says he upgraded U.A.’s security systems with his own “modifications”, whatever the fuck that means. I mean look, I’ve been saying for a long time now that U.A. is the best place for everyone to hole up, don’t get me wrong. but that was mostly on account of there not being any other practical alternatives. but you’re making it sound like you figured out a way to actually make it Decay-proof or some wild shit like that

-- hold up, DID YOU ADD A FORCE FIELD. DID YOU TRICK THIS SCHOOL OUT WAKANDA-STYLE YOU CRAZY MARSUPIAL. HOLY SHIT. because that would actually be perfect

LMAO

WHAT KIND OF GALAXY BRAIN BULLSHIT. “NAH THERE’S NO NEED FOR A FORCE FIELD, LET’S JUST PUT WHEELS ON IT”

oh okay so the whole campus is basically capable of burrowing itself underground. that’s insane lol I wonder how they pulled that off. probably got poor Cementoss working overtime

blah blah blah so basically the entire campus is split into a grid and each section of the grid is capable of its own independent movement. lol this is just the Merone Base from KHR. you thought no one would notice this casual plagiarism ten years after the fact, but YOU UNDERESTIMATED YOUR AUDIENCE, HORIKOSHI

“joke’s on you imma just lampshade it” WELL ALL RIGHT THEN

“look at me I’m so fucking self-aware” fucking swear to god. I can’t believe this man is my favorite mangaka of all time smdh

“excuse me, I wasn’t finished describing all the rest of this bullshit yet,” Rat Principal breaks in impatiently. “we also added a steel wall all around the underground of the campus that’s 3000 steel plates thick. that’s fifteen fucking meters of solid fucking steel just fyi. and if anyone fucks around with any part of it the defense system will activate immediately! and also all of the plates are independently motorized, whatever the fuck that means!! in conclusion you’re gonna need a fucking tower crane to suspend all of your disbelief by the time I’m through with this paragraph”

“also Shiketsu is almost as reinforced as U.A. but not quite because we still had to make sure we were better.” but of course. and apparently the two schools are connected via a secret tunnel as Hagakure mentioned earlier

LSDKFJLSDKJFLK

“WAIT WHAT” LMAO YOU HEARD HIM, NOW INASA CAN VISIT YOU BOTH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE WEIRD DREAM HE HAD. GOD BLESS YOU HORIKOSHI

(ETA: moment of appreciation for Shouto and Katsuki having the same thought at the same time and making Knowing Eye Contact and saying the exact same thing out loud in perfect unison like the best friends they are. what a blessed day.)

so Tokoyami is all “but wait if you engineered all this shit all the way back during the Band arc how did you even know that Tomura’s quirk awakening would become a thing, Horikoshi -- uh, I mean, Principal Nezu”

and Rat Principal is all “lol idk”

“basically I just woke up one morning and was all ‘say, you know what this school really needs? a fifteen-meter-thick underground steel wall, and the ability to break up into little pieces that individually zoom around wherever the fuck they want.’ jesus christ. lol if money and common sense were apparently no obstacle why didn’t you just teleport U.A. to the fucking moon or something. maybe I should shut up before I given him any ideas

dsfaelkjldkjgl

you heard it here first, folks, all of this cost a grand total of nine million U.S. dollars. well technically it cost “more than” nine million dollars. never has that distinction been more important lmao. are we sure this barrier was really made of steel and not cardboard? who the hell sold it to them, Ea-Nasir??

this is my favorite manga series of all time. yes I am ashamed

“in conclusion please do your best to reach Deku-kun” SO WHAT WAS ALL THAT NONSENSE ABOUT IT BEING TOO RISKY THEN. anyway thank you for this super informative and edifying flashback, Horikoshi. I will cherish it always. I don’t even want to read another translation of this absurdity lmao, there’s something special about it just the way it is. pretty sure Horikoshi just had a cracked out fever dream one night and transferred it to the pages of the manga verbatim

anyway so back to the unruly mob

not their finest moment. please excuse me while I cover poor Deku’s ears and give him a good shoosh pap

oh wow the parents are out here too

is Mitsuki trying to hold Inko back?? that’s the last thing this fandom needs right now is more Mitsuki discourse fffwlkjs. and even Jiroudad, scientifically proven to be the best dad in all of BnHA, is just standing there silently looking vaguely unhappy. way to rise to the moment you guys

MONOMA

so this settles it for me that Aizawa is not at UA. I know a lot of people have been wondering about his whereabouts, and if I had to wager a guess it would be that something happened with Shirakumo/Kurogiri. I can’t think of anything else -- even the loss of an eye and a limb -- that would keep him from his kids at a time like this

anyway but this is excellent Monoma content right here though. I love that he apparently adopted Eri after a single interaction with her. also WHERE IS SHINSOU DAMMIT. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW

and Kouta’s there too looking like he wants to run over to Deku but Ragdoll won’t let him :/

it’s gotta be pretty upsetting for him to see his hero like this and not having anyone stand up for him. [taps megaphone] IS THIS THING ON. OKAY YEAH IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING. AHEM. PAGING URARAKA OCHAKO. GONNA NEED YOU TO GET OVER HERE ALREADY AND MAKE THAT BIG DRAMATIC SPEECH WHICH YOU ARE CLEARLY DYING TO MAKE. IF YOU DON’T DO IT SOON I’M GONNA HAVE TO STEP IN, AND YOU REALLY DON’T WANT ME TO DO THAT SINCE MY SPEECH WILL NOT BE VERY GOOD OR INSPIRING, AND WILL PROBABLY JUST CONSIST OF “HELLO, YOU ARE ALL STUPID, PLEASE SHUT UP AND GO AWAY”

so now Mic is telling them to calm down. at least someone’s speaking up here, geez

OH MY GOD

MY MAN JEANIST OUT HERE DOING WHAT HE DOES BEST: MAKING EVERYONE FEEL GUILTY AND JUDGED

OH MY GOD HE IS GIVING SUCH A LONG AND BORING SPEECH LMAO IS YOUR STRATEGY TO PUT THEM ALL TO SLEEP OR WHAT

truly in awe of this man’s ability to take messages which could easily be conveyed in ELI5-speak, and stubbornly convert them into incomprehensible language the likes of which you need a graduate degree in order to understand

“hey guys, so originally our plan was to use Deku as bait for the villains, but that didn’t really work and also we realized it was kinda dumb and was probably gonna get him killed, so we brought him back here instead.” was that really so hard, Jeanist. also are we all really just gonna sit back here and watch Jeanist take full credit for Bakugou’s plan just like that lmao

(ETA:

WHERE DID ENDEAVOR GO AND WHO IS THIS DIABOLICAL MASTER OF DISGUISE. lol I genuinely didn’t notice this because I was too busy digging through thesauruses trying to rewrite Jeanist’s speech; many thanks to @class1akids​ for pointing it out and making my day immeasurably better. take it easy there Dick Tracy.)

“anyway so please stop being dicks and let him fucking rest so he can save all your ungrateful asses” what an impassioned and inspiring plea. time to see if the masses will listen to reason

narrator: they did not listen to reason

oh my god finally Ochako is doing something. YEAH OCHAKO WOOOO SHOW THEM HOW IT’S DONE

hmm

this entire chapter is truly and utterly nonsensical to me lol

(ETA: on my second readthrough I’m fucking dying at how she stole the megaphone right out of Mic’s hand lmao. and how Kacchan is all “fuck yeah nothing I appreciate more than some quality fucking larceny.”)

oh I see she was jumping on top of the main building so as to scream down at them all more impressively

“ANYWAY DEKU IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY, YOU GUYS ARE JUST MEAN” couldn’t have said it better myself Ochako

lol uh

gotta say I did not have “Ochako reveals the secret of OFA to the entire U.A. Citizen Clown Parade” on my bingo card for this week. it’s a bold strategy cotton let’s see if it pays off

SDLFKJSL

“NO, SERIOUSLY, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT HIM YOU GUYS. YOU THINK HE LIKES RUNNING AROUND DRESSED LIKE A RUSTED OIL DRUM?? HE DID THAT FOR YOU YOU UNGRATEFUL SLOBS”

so she is basically explaining the entire Deku Angst arc to them and explaining what a good and selfless protagonist Deku is, YES, PREACH

OMG IT’S THE GIGANTIC FOX LADY

not to insinuate anything, but what exactly were you doing standing out here with the hysterical mob, Gigantic Fox Lady? you’re better than that

-- KACCHAN SIGHTING!!

sdlkfjl. thanks for weighing in with that helpful and important observation. where have you been for the last five minutes. were you asleep. was it Jeanist’s speech

never mind, now he’s yelling at the civilians so I instantly forgive him

THE FUTURE NUMBER ONE HERO, EVERYONE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. HE’LL BE HERE ALL WEEK

“anyway so I’m just going to end the chapter here” lmao seventeen pages truly do go by so fast. at least he didn’t try to force in a cliffhanger at the end this time. dare I say, growth

so I guess the civilians are either gonna have a Kamino and/or Fukuoka-esque moment where they remember how to be decent people and apologize to this poor young man, or else they’ll remain unpersuaded, and so Kacchan will have to knock a few of their heads around until they become more inclined to be reasonable. either option is fine by me lol

[kiuda]

Kiuda my beloved c!dream stammering explaining how bad prison was to c!punz… just him stammering that it wasnt supposed to go that way and not telling hin about the torture even though it still affects him

Peppsta my beloved you mean the moment that my heart broke? The moment that reminded me how sad c!dream is, no matter how much he wants to act like he is only a bad guy with no feelings and no hurts?

That moment? ;___;

warnings: torture mention, prison arc stuff (like starvation mention, nightmares and overall not so great things), breakdown (c!dream is overwhelmed and cries a bit) - may be considered a panic attack? I’m not sure. a bit c!sapnap negative, very c!awesamdude and c!quackity negative

/rp /dsmp

He never wanted for it all to go this way. It was never supposed to be that bad.

The prison. The Warden and the Visitor. This wasn’t the plan.

But it did. A part of him answered. It did and you have to deal with it sooner or later. Otherwise it will destroy you.

He knew that. Of course he did, he wasn’t an idiot. But he still had nightmares. He still woke up confused, not knowing if he was safe or not. He still couldn’t eat potatoes.

He couldn’t stop but he couldn’t just go on either.

So he did the only thing he knew - he worked on the plan. Gathered resources, made sure the base was impossible to find. Spied on the server, trying to figure out which approach was best for the next step. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t even good for him. He knew that. But he knew he would break if he stopped.

He had too much to do. Too many plans to finish. Maybe that’s why the final straw was a broken pickaxe.

It wasn’t even his main pick. It was a simple iron tool. One he made just to mine some coal to make sure he could cook some food. It wasn’t named or enchanted. Just a simple tool.

But when he saw it break and disappear from his tired hold, something in him broke. He stopped, staring in disbelief at the coal vein that he was mining a moment before. No sound escaping him.

Stared.

And stared.

He didn’t even notice when Punz stopped mining as well and approached him before a hand was placed on his arm.

“Hey dude, you good?” The mercenary’s face betrayed concern and worry. They’ve been mining for a while now, so their usually pristine white hoodie was lying abandoned on the shulker, in which they hid all the mined materials. “Dream?”

“I…” He wanted to reassure his friend. His brother. The only person he could still trust. He needed to make sure he still saw him as a strong leader. Because what kind of a leader would still have nightmares after all this time? (It’s only been a few weeks. He wasn’t fine. Nothing was fine.) What kind of a leader would ask for a break? “I’m fine.” His voice trembled slightly. He tried to clear his throat but only managed to let a quiet sob escape.

“Hey…” Punz was guiding him over to the shulker and making him sit down. “Dream… Everything is going to be fine. I promise.” Their eyes were so kind, so open. It was a side of his friend he rarely saw. The last time was… When was it? Has it been that long ago? Why couldn’t he remember?

He could feel his eyes water and his breath pick up slightly. It was too much. It was all too much!

Why? Why? WhywhywhywhywhywWHYWHWYHWYWHY?!! WHY!

Why couldn’t everything go according to plan?! Why wasn’t Sam the Warden he was supposed to be?! Why did Quackity decide he needed the book?! Why did Ranboo stop visiting?! Why couldn't he handle it all?! He was supposed to be better than that! Stronger than a bit of bad food and a few wounds! (You know it was worse. You know it hurts.)

“-em. Do it with me.” His hand was on someone’s chest. He could feel them breathe slowly. “Inhale for 4. Hold for 7. Exhale for 8. You are doing so well. Again.” He tried to follow the calm voice but his sobs wouldn’t stop. Why couldn’t he stop?

“It’s okay. You are doing very well.” The voice was nice. He forgot what ‘nice’ ment in the vault.

“P-punz…”

“I’m here.” He heard Punz move and felt the hoodie being thrown over him. “Wanna talk about it?”

Did he? Was he ready to share his deepest secrets? Was he ready to admit not everything was okay? Was he ready to share how much it hurt when Sapnap didn’t react when he told him he was tortured? Was he ready to say how scared he was that he would stay in the vault forever?

He shook his head weakly. Not now. Not today.

“Okay. But we will talk about it one day.” They would. But not today.

For now they would hug again.

[missblissy]

Hi!! I want some pain so the Hurt/comfort post, about Alastor x reader with 1, 2, 4, 12??

((Of course Nonny!! Sorry for such a wait!! I've got a lot of these to work on lol. REMEMBER!! REQUEST ARE CLOSED RIGHT NOW, EVERYONE!! IF YOU SEND ONE IN I WILL NOT DO IT! I've had a few other people send some in and I'm sorry to say I have to delete them. I do not have any more room to take any more prompt requests. Thank you everyone for understanding! NOW.... Enjoy the Modern!AU Angst >:D))

1: “We need to stop the bleeding – now!” 2: “I hate to see you hurt like this.” 4: “I want to help you, so please let me.” 12: “You’re normally the tough guy. Today, let me be tough for the both of us.”

Something about today had felt off. Ever since you woke up, it just felt... not right. As if your mind already knew what was going to happen before it actually did. But no one can really know that for sure. That's why it's called a gut feeling. And that feeling told you that today... You might just die.

You've tasted blood before. But for some reason this time it tasted sweet, rather than bitter, and full of iron. There wasn't much for you to focus on other than the lights from the ceiling flickering over your head. You faintly heard a doctor screaming, "We need to stop the bleeding! BP is dropping- Let's go! Now!"

How did you end up here again, violently broken and bleeding out? Oh, that's right... You were driving home after work. It was another late shift during the dead hours of the night. Drunk drivers were often out during these hours of the night. One just so happened to hit you, and now you're here in a hospital.

You just wanted to go home and sleep. You wanted to lay beside your husband and not have to worry about anything. That was not your case, however. And instead, you tried your best to speak. A nurse who was pushing you along the gurney said, "It's alright, we'll help you, you're safe now." But all you wanted to do was ask about your husband. For someone to tell him what was going on. You were sure he was at home, sleeping soundly and without a clue what had happened.

And Alastor wouldn't find out until the next morning. He'd wake up to several missed calls from dozens of people and some he didn't even know. This man didn't even get dressed. He ran out of the house still in his pajamas and floored it to the hospital. Along the way there, Alastor would throw a massive fit. He'd smash his hands on the steering wheel, beating himself up over not getting there sooner.

He'd curse and swear and honestly drive like a maniac. Every red light he got caught at only made him angrier with the world. His tires would spin and shoot smoke the second the light flickered green and off he rushed again.

Luckily, you were out of surgery long before Alastor got to the hospital. A nurse walked him to your room, and he found himself staring at a sight he'd never imagine. You were broken beyond belief. The nurse gave Alastor a sorry look, "Everything's stable, for now," The nurse said, "But...." She shook her head, "It was one of the worse car accidents we've ever seen. We did everything we could-"

"Coma..." Alastor said the single word, "Induced or?" The nurse shook her head.

"Brain damage, though there is still plenty of brain activity," That was good to hear. It meant you weren't brain dead... yet. The nurse gave him a sorry look, then with a nod of her head, she left him there. Alastor slowly walked into your room and closed the door behind him. He even turned all the blinds so no one could see in the little windows from the hallways. Everything felt wrong.

He stood at your bedside. Taking in everything. The tubes, the machines, the wires. Almost immediately he felt his eyes burn with the threat of tears. And when he placed a hand on your cheek he couldn't stop the waves of them rushing down his face.

The sheer pain of the situation made Alastor sob like a child for the first time in his adult life. He sat down beside you and grabbed your hand, "Dammit..." He squeezed tightly, "Dammit!" He let out a little shout and brought your hand to his cheek, "I hate this-" He let out a small cry, "I hate to see you like this, my poor dear-"

He couldn't stop the waves of tears sobbing from his eyes. He'd never let himself cry like this before, but he felt like if he didn't cry, he wouldn't have the chance to later. With anger, he ran a hand over his face, aggressively wiping his tears. He threw his glasses off his face and they clinked to the floor. Alastor's fingers ringed into his hair as he let out another sob and pushed his bangs out of his face. He had completely lost all of his composure. Every part of him was breaking down.

Alastor sat down in the chair by your bedside and buried his head in one of his hands. With his other hand, he still held firm to yours. His fingers dug into your skin as let out another sob, "Please-" He hiccuped, "Please...!" He looked up at your unconscious face with watery dark eyes, "Please be okay," He whispered the words out quickly as he brought your hand to his lips, "Please let me help you-" He spoke the words against your skin, "I want to help you- Please let me... Just!" He paused for another quick sob, "Please just give me a sign your still in there..."

He was never a man to pray to any kind of god. He didn't believe there was one, to begin with. But Alastor found himself praying, hoping that anything would happen. He couldn't lose you, and certainly not like this. You never sign any DNR papers or made it clear to your doctors that you didn't want to be resuscitated. But you did tell Alastor if there ever came a day that you needed machines to keep you alive, you had asked him to pull the plug.

With the weight of what was once just a silly conversation that had now come true, Alastor found himself drowning in misery. He rested his head on the back of your hand as sat in his chair. He looked at his glasses on the ground as tears splattered around them, "I don't want to kill you," He whispered with a cry, "I don't want to unplug you if there is a chance you'll come out of this."

The stone-cold silence lasted only a second between the beats of your heart monitor. A beep, then silence. Another beep, then silence again. Alastor found himself swelling with rage and anger, but mostly sadness. He shook his head slowly as he stared at the ground. This can't be happening... He thought This has to be a dream... This-

Something sounded off. The beeps were getting... faster? Alastor looked up and stared at the monitors. He didn't understand any of them, there were so many, but something was happening. He watched numbers flicker and change when suddenly he felt a tug at his hand.

You didn't make a sound or hardly move but you're squeezed his hand. Alastor had never been so hopeful for something so small. He shot out of his chair with enough force to tip it over behind him.

"Darling!?" Alastor firmly gripped your hand and leaned over you. He let his free hand brush your hair out of your face as he asked, "Darling, please, for the love of god- Can you hear me?"

He waited, and waited some more. Suddenly her felt your hand squeeze him again while he searched your face for any signs, "oh my god-" He whispered to himself as he watched your face twitch with pain before your eyes flickered open. With lightning speed Alastor ran to the door of your room and swung it open, "Someone get a nurse!" He shouted into the hallway, "Please!" He ignored most of the odd stares he was getting.

It wasn't a second later that a small team of nurses rushed in to check on you. You had certainly woken up and the tubes down your throat were not comfortable at all. The intubation tubes were removed, along with the feeding tubes, while others updated your stats. Alastor waited nervously in the corner of the room as he watched a team of people work over you. He felt so helpless that he couldn't watch for long. He'd leave the room and wait in the hallway, trying his best to ignore the painful coughs and groans as tubes were pulled out of your throat.

When the nurses left, Alastor quickly went back into the room and to your side. You had only just started breathing on your own again. It was much harder to breathe than ever before, but you still managed. You were still groggy, swore, and very much in pain. Despite this, you still let the smallest and weakest smile crawl along your lips, "Hey..." Was the first thing you said to your husband.

You watched as Alastor's eyes flickered all over your form. From the casts, the pins, the cuts, and bruises. He searched your face for serval minutes than began a weak laugh that sounded similar to a cry, "H-hey..." He said with a long sigh, he even tried to wear a smile that just didn't sit right on his face.

"Al..." You raised a weak and tired hand to his face. He immediately pressed his cheek into the palm of your hand and shook his head, "I'm sorry," You said. But you had nothing to be sorry for, you didn't cause this or intend for it to happen.

He couldn't say anything, Alastor was too caught up with his feelings. You watched him break down all over again as if he was still living with the fear that you might die, "Hey- hey," You raised your hand slightly and made him look at you, "I'm alright," It was hard to see him so broken down like this, "I'm okay, I'm here." You reassured him, "I'm not going anywhere."

Alastor shook his head quickly as if he didn't want to bother you with his feelings. He sucked in a quick gasp for air then sobbed out, "I'm not strong enough to deal with something like this- Ever-.... I can't lose you." He said quickly.

You couldn't really scoot over but thankfully the bed was rather large. You gave Alastor's arm a tug and he quickly climb in and curled up beside you. He was careful to stay clear of any broken bones as he made himself comfortable.

You stared at the ceiling while Alastor shut his eyes and buried himself into the crook of your neck, you used your free hand to comb his hair despite the pain it caused you to move, "That's alright," You finally told him, "No one is strong enough to deal with something like this. You're normally so tough and good at hiding your emotions. But you don't have to do that. I'm alive, I lived, I can be tough enough for the both of us, even if it's just for today."

Alastor curled himself as close as he could beside you. He wanted nothing more than to hide and forget about this day, he knew how impossible that was but he still wanted it. You could feel his tears running from his face and onto your skin. He couldn't stop crying when normally he never cried. He didn't even cry at his mother's funeral. Even though you were the one in the car accident, somehow you felt that Alastor was in the most pain.

"Please don't ever leave me," His voice was raspy and broken as he spoke against the skin of your neck.

With a sad and sorry look on your face, you did your best to pull him closer and wrap your arm around him. You pressed your forehead against his and you felt a set of tears drop from your eyes. You did your best to smile as you spoke, "I won't," You promised, "I'll never leave you, I'll always be here."

[whimsicallyreading]

For Rowaelin Month day 17

 “A sick day”

CW- PTSD, mentions of violence

Aelin considered herself a fortunate person.

She has survived genocide, her family's murders, losing loved ones, slavery, torture, and the Great War. Now she is a queen, a mother, a beloved Mate.

Her life had changed since those bleak days where she'd wondered if she would ever escape captivity—the days when Aelin didn't know if she would ever be free or find love again. Every morning she woke up curled into Rowan's side, and while she drank her morning tea, Aelin could count on her young daughter snuggling into her lap.

Yes, she was swamped most days, but that was normal for a queen. But even the moments between boring meetings brimmed with life and laughter. Rowan's hand on her thigh beneath the table. Fenrys' theatrics when conversation spiraled off-topic. And even the hardened lords thought it was hilarious when their three-year-old princess barged into councils and demanded her mother's attention.

Her family gathered for dinners at the end of every day. Aelin's little family, Fenrys, Emrys, and Malakai were the regular attendees. Aedion, Lysandra, Elide, and Lorcan joined when they were present. It was a time reserved for family only, and it was by far Aelin's favorite part of the day.

Aelin had a good life now. Her family was growing, and her country thrived beneath her rule.

So it always took her by surprise when a bad day came.

She had woken up fine. Delly had slammed open the chamber door with a gust of wind and squirmed herself between her and Rowan in the early morning. Usually, Aelin treasured the moments when her daughter joined them, but being pregnant again had taken a toll on her sleep.

Rowan tried to stop their child before she entirely collapsed onto Aelin but was a moment too slow. Delly flopped onto her mother's chest in a disarray of wrinkled nightgown and golden curls. Soft sobs were sputtering out of the tiny figure.

I'm sorry. Rowan whispered into her thoughts. He knew how hard pregnancy was on her and took his mate's comfort very seriously. It troubled him that their toddling daughter woke Aelin so abruptly.

Aelin blinks the sleep from her eyes and sends him a happy smile to assure him everything is fine.

"What's wrong, Dell?" Aelin soothes a hand up her baby's quaking form.

Adelia sniffles harder, unable to talk through the tears. She'd started to have bad dreams in recent weeks, but never had she been so inconsolable.

Aelin shifts as Adelia's arms tighten uncomfortably around her bump. Rowan sees her discomfort and reaches around to pull Dell to him instead, but it is met with resistance.

"No," Adelia finally wails. "Mama. I want Mama."

Rowan frowns. Adelia was a daddy's girl to the bone, and this was the first time she'd ever refused to go to him. Their daughter squeezes harder and burrows her face into Aelin's torso.

"Dell," Rowan leans next to her and whispers, a cool breeze brushing against her flushed cheek. "What's wrong little love?"

Adelia lifts her head, and Aelin's heart contracts painfully. Her cheeks are red and swollen from the intensity of her crying, little sobs still stumbling from her chest as Rowan settles her down enough to speak.

"Mama was gone. She was hurt, and she couldn't see me." Dell sniffles, her green eyes glassy. "Can you see me, Mama?"

Aelin tugs her daughter in closer, unable to stand the sight of her so sad. "Yes, of course, I can. I'm right here."

"You were in a box. She wouldn't let me see you," Adelia whimpers in a small voice. "She told me she was gonna keep you. I don't want you to go, Mama."

Aelin's face blanches. It wasn't possible. Her little baby couldn't possibly have seen what was coming to her mind. She looks at Rowan, and his face is pinched with worry.

"It's not real, Dell." Rowan uses a thumb to wipe the tears off her cheek.

Adelia flinches. "Uncle Ress told me it was. He told me Mama had got stollen and put into a box by the bad lady and that she should have stayed there."

Aelin's heart stops. Nausea crawls up her throat, and Rowan tugs Adelia away just in time for her to crawl out of bed and gag into a potted plant. The sickness grips Aelin, the shudders in her arms only growing worse with her daughter's mumbled cries.

"Daddy, I want Mama to stay here." Rowan hushes her and murmurs quiet reassurances. "Don't let her get stollen."

Ress had said that? In front of her daughter? Aelin tries to close her eyes against the visions creeping into her mind. The places her scars used to be ache, and her hands pulse with the remembered pain of reconstruction.

The baby in her womb squirms under its mother's stress, and Aelin throws up again.

She should have stayed there.

Cairn brings the hammer down onto her frail knees, the ringing of cracking bone splits the air.

She should have stayed there.

Aelin opens her eyes to endless darkness. Sweet smoke wafts through invisible holes and sends her to sleep- leaving her mind vulnerable to Maeve's manipulations.

She should have stayed there.

More and more memories swarm behind her eyelids until a pair of grounding arms wrap around her shoulders.

"Fireheart, you are home. You are safe. Can you breathe with me?" Rowan sighs loudly behind her shoulder, and Aelin tries to force her own breath out.

Breathing in is harder, but Rowan's scent fills her nose and loosens the binds on her lungs. Soon, Aelin is doing the exercises independently, and Rowan nuzzles his face into her neck. His hands snake under her bump and lift some of the pressure, easing more of her tension.

"There you are," Rowan kisses her cheek as Aelin comes back around. "Are you okay?"

Aelin shakes her head and sinks into his arms. "Can you take me back to bed?"

Her legs feel like jelly, and her stomach is weak from turning. Rowan lifts her with ease. His arms are warm, and he murmurs sweet nothings into her ear as he carries his mate back to their bed.

"Adelia?" Aelin looks around for their daughter.

Rowan pulls back the duvet and reveals the sleepy from nestled right into the middle of the pillows. "She fell back asleep quickly."

"I can't believe Ress told her those things," Aelin can feel a tear slipping down her face. Ress had never forgiven her for her days as Celaena. Darrow had grown to accept her, but Ress never warmed up to having Aelin as his queen despite her efforts.

She hadn't realized the extent his hatred went.

Rowan scowls as he lays Aelin down next to their daughter. "Ress is young and foolish. I have forgiven a lot of his hostility and ignored most of his juvenile antics, but Aelin, I can't forgive this."

"He should never have said those things to Dell." Ress's words linger in her head. She tried to do right by her title and live up to her parent's legacy. Aelin took a lot of pride in listening to the demands of her people and tending to their problems personally. But the odds of Ress being the only one to feel this way are slim. Did they wish she'd never returned? Was she arrogant to take the crown just because it was her inheritance? She'd never had the formal training as ruler and relied a lot on Rowan to help manage foreign affairs. Despite the loss of her fire, many still feared her and considered her a murderer. No matter how hard she tried, Aelin's history as Adarlan's Assassin proceeded her.

Tears burn Aelin's eyes, and Rowan's scowl deepens. "He should have never spoken of you like that at all."

Aelin shakes her head, "It's his right to think what he wants. Maybe he has a point."

"No." Rowan growls, and Dell flinches in her sleep. Taking a deep breath, Rowan softens his voice. "He's wrong, Aelin. Ress was wrong to scare Dell, and he has no right to demean everything you've sacrificed. You've suffered for your people."

"I closed the lock because I had to Rowan," Aelin argues. "That doesn't automatically make me a good queen. What if I'm failing?"

Rowan pulls their duvet up to Aelin's chin, and Dell instinctively snuggles to her mother's side. Her daughter was a leach for warmth, and Aelin could feel her remaining flames writhing in her veins agitated.

"You are a wonderful ruler, Fireheart." Rowan bends down and kisses her lips reverently. "I've met my fair share of emperors, kings, and queens. None of them have given up so much to better the lives of their people. They care for you in return."

Rowan steps away from the bed, and Aelin makes a displeased noise. "Where are you going so early in the morning."

"I'm awake now. I feel like a flight through Oakwald. Go to sleep, and when you wake up, I'll bring my females breakfast," Rowan pulls on a plain white tunic. "Sleep, love. You both need your rest."

Rowan can read her too well. Aelin can feel her eyes drooping despite how much she wants to deny it. "Very well, but there better be tea and pastries."

As Aelin drifts back to sleep, she swears that a mischievous smile passes across her mate's face.

~~~

"Aelin," Maeve twirls a lock of blonde hair in her fingers. "Where are the keys?"

Cairn twists the blade in her thigh again, and Aelin screams, "screw yourself."

Aelin writhes beneath the pain and the dark queen's gaze. Her torturer goes to twist the blade again, but Maeve holds up a hand. "Wait. There is a smarter way to go about this."

"I won't tell you anything," Aelin gasps, the blood seeping from her thigh pools onto the table. "There is nothing you can do."

"Not even to spare the princess?" Maeve smiles as the cell door opens. Connall walks into the room, a squirming girl in his arms.

"Let me go," the girl screams, and the air in the room turns frigid. Her blonde hair whips around as she twists and fights. The little girl's head turns, and she freezes when she catches sight of Aelin. "Mama?"

"Adelia?" Aelin asks, confused. "You can't be here. You aren't supposed to be here." With renewed energy, Aelin thrashes against her bonds and bares her teeth at Maeve.

Maeve takes Adelia from Connall and strokes her hair. "Such a pretty one."

"This isn't real," Aelin hisses. "I wasn't pregnant when you took me. Adelia was born in Terresan."

Maeve hums a sympathetic note, "It seems you're confused." Aelin fights as the dark queen sits with a frozen Adelia in her lap. "Begin again, Cairn."

A hot iron is lain against Aelin's neck, and Adelia's screams rattle the stone chamber.

~~~

Aelin wakes with a gasp. Her chest is seizing in uncontrollable fits, and little hands cup the sides of her face.

"Mama?" Adelia's concerned face hovers over Aelin's. "Why are you crying?"

Relief washes over her at the sight of her daughter, safe and sound. She tries to take deeper breaths, but her body fights against her. The baby in her womb squirms uncomfortably. Aelin feels guilt that they are so subject to her moods. She tries to open her mouth to speak, consol her frightened daughter, but Aelin can't get any words out.

"Daddy!" Dell screams, frightened tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

Rowan bursts through the door, "Dell?"

Adelia sniffles and kisses Aelin's face sadly, "Daddy, what's wrong with Mama?"

Aelin grabs at her chest, trying to ease the tightness there. She was scaring her daughter. What kind of mother would do that? Rowan sits beside her, and a cool wind goes up her nose and fills her lungs.

"Fireheart," Rowan lifts Adelia and sits beside her. "Is this a sick day?"

It was the code they'd come up with for the days when the past came back to haunt them. When the turmoil in their mind forces their bodies to rebel, and they can't seem to put on their usual facades. It used to shame Aelin, the days she couldn't rise from bed and do her duty. But her mate's unwavering love soon cracked that lie and eased her burden. Rowan had convincing arguments. Aelin's people needed their queen at her best, and on sick days, she wasn't able to give that to them. Their court was strong. They wouldn't allow Terresan to fall while she recovered. Aelin deserved time to heal.

Rowan must have been able to tell that she wouldn't be able to settle herself this time as his winds continued their push and pull in her chest. "Yes," she rasps dejectedly.

Dell buries her face into Rowan's shoulder. Her mate rests a hand on the side of her face and soothes her cheek. "To whatever end, Aelin. We will get through this just as we do everything else."

Rowan kisses the side of Dell's face. "Little love, do you think you can go to the kitchens and have someone bring Mama tea?"

That fae instinct to fuss rears its head in their child. Adelia perks up at the opportunity to do something useful. "Yes!"

Rowan sets her on the floor, and she takes off in a blur of untamed hair and swishing skirts. They wince as a gust of wind slams the doors of their chambers against the wall.

"She's a handful," Rowan talks, aware of the soothing effect his voice has on her. "But we always knew our children would be. I can't wait to see what kind of chaos our son brings into our lives."

Aelin wraps her arms around him as the remnants of her dreams finally fade away. "You think it's a boy?"

"I know so," Rowan pinches her side, and Aelin smiles. He'd also been confident that their first child would be a girl. His smugness after Adelia's birth was unbearable.

"Rowan," Aelin whispers. "Can we just lay here today?"

"I could never deny you anything," Rowan leans against their headboard and kicks off his shoes. "You don't need to ask, Aelin. It's okay to take time for yourself."

"What if I'm just proving Ress right?" The insecurity slips from her lips before she can stop them. "What if there is someone more capable?"

"Ress won't be a problem anymore," Rowan rests a hand against her bump, and the baby withing kicks at it, bringing a smile to his face.

Aelin narrows her eyes, "What have you done?"

"Nothing that anyone will blame me for," Rowan assures. "He would be in a lot more trouble if the rest of the court learned what he said in front of Dell. Ress should be grateful I didn't do a lot worse."

Aelin sighs, "I don't understand why I can't just let it all go. Why do I allow myself to be so haunted?"

"It's not that simple," Rowan shakes his head. "I'm hundreds of years old, and no matter how many years pass, there are things from my past that haven't healed. The mind is different from the body, and sometimes it takes longer for it to recover. There is nothing wrong with that. You gave up everything for the people you loved."

"Because I had to," Aelin contradicts.

A hardness comes over Rowan, "because no one else could."

Rowan rolls over her body into a plank and looks deep into her eyes. "No one else that day would have made the same sacrifices out of love. Not even me. I was too selfish to let you go. You gave up everything, and by the strength in your soul, you came home to me. In all my decades, I have never met someone so remarkable, and I never will again. Take as many years as you need to recover, Aelin. This world owes a debt to you, and I will make sure it pays. You deserve every happiness."

His hand threads through one of hers and drags it up to rest on the bump between them.

Happiness.

Dell darts back into their room, a cup of tea sloshing in her hands as she runs. "Daddy, I put extra sugar in it. Uncle Fen is coming with more cups, but I made this one special."

Rowan pulls away from her, and the laughter on his face is contagious.  

Aelin smiles and accepts the tea from Dell's hands. She even manages a few sips without cringing from the sweetness. Fenrys follows behind her shortly and sets a fresh cup covertly on her bedside table.

There may be hard days, Aelin realizes as her family gathers around her, but the love they showed her every day made it all worth it.

[rowanaelinn]

Safe Place

rowaelin month day four : librairies @rowaelinscourt

warning: not descriptive nsfw content

Rowan Whitethorn Galathynius could be described as a calm male. Out of all his companions, he probably was the one with the most self-control and he thanked the Gods for it every time one of his friends said something stupid.

However, it didn’t apply when his wife was concerned. Around Aelin, Rowan’s self-control seemed to vanish. She had the ability to get him angry, to become a blushing mess or a soft idiot with just one sentence. There was no control around his mate and it was one of the reasons he loved her.

But when he woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed, Rowan lost the little human part he had in himself. Rowan lost all control the moment he smelled a lingering scent of fear. Her fear.

Has she been taken again?

Has it all been a dream? Had he not got her back?

In a second, Rowan was standing, knives at the ready around his waist. He would fight to get her back if he had to. Not having Aelin by his side made him feel like all the air in the world was gone.

Rowan wanted to yell at himself for falling asleep, he should have protected her.

In all the times her Fireheart was in danger, Rowan was never there to protect her. What a poor excuse of a husband and mate he was. He still didn't know why his queen was keeping him and hadn't already thrown him out. He was useless. Completely useless.

He kept complaining because of the royal duties, kept saying he liked being a prince just fine because it didn’t bring him any mess. His only role as King Consort, mate, and husband was to protect Aelin and he had shown the world how bad he was at it. Multiple times.

She wasn’t okay, he could feel her sadness from her side of the bond. Rowan felt like a prick for being relieved at the feeling of her emotions just because it meant she was still alive and not in a damn iron coffin that blocked every chance for them to communicate.

First, he came out of the royal apartments, following Aelin’s faint scent. She had become so damn good at hiding herself with her magic, a trick Fenrys taught all of them. It was a useful skill to have, Rowan was relieved most of the time no one could track her with her scent but he wasn’t tonight. Not when he needed to see her.

Thankfully with Aelin’s condition lately, her scent was stronger which meant she couldn’t cover up all of it. He refused to imagine she had been taken away until he had searched the entire castle twice. She had to be here, somewhere.

He went first to the kitchen, hoping to find her behind the counter, a plate with chocolate cake in front of her. She would look up, fork still in mouth and she would smile guiltily at him. She would apologize, saying she was always so hungry lately and he would shake it off, taking another fork and join her even if he hated cake. Just to show her she wasn’t alone.

But when he opened the door, the kitchen was empty, making Rowan’s heart clench.

Next, he went to the throne room, hoping to find her sitting on her throne, a sad smile on her face she would try to conceal with a smirk. He would ask her what she was doing here and she would tell him she needed to be alone and to feel in power, and what better than her throne to make her feel powerful? But this room was empty too, and Rowan’s heart crushed a little further.

Maybe she was in the inside cemetery, kneeling between both her parent’s graves. She would look up at him and wouldn’t try to hide her tears. She would have a smile on her face, telling him she needed to feel close to them. To be between the two of them without waking up with blood everywhere. Rowan would nod and sit behind her, letting her rest her back on his chest and he would let her cry bringing her all the comfort she needed. But she wasn’t here, and Rowan didn’t know where to look for her now.

If they were in Rifthold, he would probably think she was speaking to either Sam or Nehemia, telling both of them everything about what happened in their court since the last time she spoke to them.

But they weren’t in Adarlan so it left only one place where she could be. His walk to the library was slow, slower than he wished. He could just shift and fly instead of taking all the stairs but if she was there she would make fun of him for it, she had enough to tease him already.

When he arrived at the library, as always, he was dazzled by the splendor of the room. The last time the librarians counted, Aelin and Rowan owned three hundred thousand books and that was a decade ago, just after the construction work was finished.

Aelin had cried and laughed and smiled for hours when she first saw it, walking through all the sections to see every book, then made love to Rowan on the floor, more tenderly than they were both used to, to thank him.

As if seized by a frenzy, Rowan walked like a mad man through the library to find her. He regretted giving her something so big, having to look at every fucking row. There were so many places to hide.

After what seemed like hours, Roan saw familiar blonde hair. He let a sob come out in relief. She wasn't gone. There was no Valg Queen that had pulled her away from Rowan, no, his Fireheart was just sitting on a couch that looked very comfortable, six pillows behind her back.

"Rowan?" She asked, raising her eyes full of concern. "Is everything okay?" Her eyebrows were furrowed.

Instead of answering, he rushed to her side, falling onto her lap to be on the same level as her and scanning her entire body to make sure she was okay and truly in front of him.

His eyes fell on a small scar on her right knee, a scar she had made during one of their training sessions. He remembered kissing the mark every night for weeks when he noticed it after enjoying his wife's goddess body. He hadn't noticed that she was injured during their workout and he felt terrible about it.

Aelin kept telling him he was fussing, but he knew deep down she liked it. She loved to be cherished and protected. He dropped his head to her lap, unable to fight a sob. She put her book aside, sitting straighter and one of her hands found her way in his hair. Rowan hated himself for the tears streaming down his face as he looked up at her, he hated himself even more for the look of agony on his mate’s face.

“Speak to me, please.” She begged him, her hand still playing in his hair.

He swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice even and strong but he couldn’t. “I thought you were gone.” He breathed deeply, trying to calm down and focusing on where he touched her, his hands and arms on her legs. “I woke up to an empty bed and your fearful scent and I panicked.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Rowan.”

“You weren’t supposed to go anywhere either last time but you still did.” He hated the poisonous words the moment they felt his mouth but his mate didn’t seem hurt, knowing anger was his way to cope.  “I’m sorry,” He hid his face on her leg, not wanting to see her hurt face.

“Don’t be,” Was the only thing she said as she kept stroking his hair. She was too good to him, she had always been. She had known so much pain her entire life but she was still an amazing person, Rowan didn’t know how much strength it must take her. The Gods knew Rowan lacked that particular strength when the time had come, he had turned into the worst version of himself. He admired his Fireheart.

After a moment, Rowan looked back at her and she smiled, his entire world brightened at this. She was okay, she was right here with him. She was safe.

“How are you?” He asked, feeling selfish for crying when she was the one who had a nightmare.

“We’re both okay, Rowan.” She reassured him as her free hand came to rest on her slightly rounded belly. Rowan’s heart swelled at the sight, he still couldn’t believe it. After years, decades, of trying Azlin was pregnant. She had been glowing for the past four months, even if she said otherwise.

“Is she still kicking?” He asked, one of his hands joining Aelin’s.

“Your son is restless, I hope you slept enough in your life because he’s not going to let us sleep much once he’s here.”

Both Aelin and him had a divergence of opinion on their baby’s sex. Aelin was sure it was a boy, whereas Rowan believed it was a girl. A girl had been their oldest in the vision he had for months when Aelin was gone. It had been too realistic to be a dream, had felt too real.

Yrene knew and had asked them if they wanted to know, but both of them agreed they wanted to keep it secret. They had too many surprises in their lives and none of them had been good, but this one would be. No more surprises unless it’s a good one.

“She’ll be worth every sleepless night.” His lips turned into a smile at the idea of a little Aelin and Rowan.

Aelin snorted. “Wait until you have to change diapers.”

At that, Rowan laughed, soon followed by Aelin. When he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes, his smile faded. “What did you dream of?” He asked, needing to know why his wife had left their room after a nightmare instead of waking him up.

She lost her smile too, her body tenser than moments ago. “Nothing important.”

“Please, tell me.”

She took a deep breath and some time to answer. Rowan didn’t mind, he’d give her eternity if she needed as long as he knew what troubled his wife. He got up, lifted Aelin's legs so he could sit next to her, and then rested her legs on his while he caressed her thighs in comfort. “I was you.”

“With Maeve?”

She shook her head making his confusion grow. She had already told him about nightmares of him being taken on that beach, of him being whipped and tortured for months. He had held her as she cried, as she told him the pain of losing him would have been so much more than the pain she experienced all these months away from him.

“In Arobynn’s cave.” She whispered as tears pooled in her eyes. He wouldn’t take her in his arms, he would wait for her to do it first, no need to overwhelm her. “With your eyes missing, whole body destroyed and a cold body.”

Oh.

Oh.

“Fireheart…”

“Have you ever dreamed of me like that?” She asked and he knew she didn’t mean just dreams of her, dead.

“I did.” He admitted, his heart beating faster at the thought of it. “First in Wendlyn, when you left for Rifthold. Every time I closed my eyes I lived the day I found Lyria over and over again. But it wasn’t her small body that I saw, it was yours. It haunted me for months.” He took a deep breath, controlling his emotions. Aelin was crying, she didn’t need someone else to become a wreck. “Then when you told me you were pregnant, it started again.”

It happened more than he wanted to admit. He knew it wouldn’t happen, it was impossible, but he still could see her dead body in front of his destroyed mountain home.

Aelin didn’t say anything but she straddled him, his hands finding her waist as her fingers slipped through his hair. Her forehead came to rest on his as they both closed their eyes, enjoying each other’s company. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

His hand stroked her back, his fingers drawing the lines of his tattoo he knew by heart now. Every part of her body was written in his mind. “You were sleeping so peacefully, I know it’s rare lately.” Her warm hand cupped his cheek and he sighed in her embrace. “Whenever I don’t feel okay and you’re not around, I come here.”

“The library?”

“Or the theater if I feel like walking.” Which wasn’t a lot lately, his wife’s pregnancy was taking her so much energy they didn’t go to the theater in months. She was always so tired or in pain, he knew she missed it. “Whenever I’m here, I feel so close to you, as if part of your soul was here between these walls.”

His heart clenched at it, he lifted up his head, his lips settled gently on hers. He kissed her languidly, generously, putting as much love and passion as he could. He loved her so much he felt like dying. He would die without her.

Slowly, she began to unbutton his shirt, her tongue continuing to play with Rowan's. The kiss turned from passionate to needy. He needed the reassurance she was here, she was with him, and his mate knew it.

In a matter of moments, Rowan was shirtless and had pulled her nightgown over her head, revealing her naked body. Aelin had gained weight in the years since the war, her body that had once been too thin was now full. She had had a hard time adjusting, she had been starving most of her life. Even during her years with Arobynn, she was always under a strict diet to stay the best. She had never been in a stable enough place for her to thrive.

So when her flat stomach rounded out, thighs grew and cheeks filled out, it was a shock. Rowan had been there to worship her body day and night, reminding her that she was just living, and seeing her happy was the most beautiful thing Rowan had ever seen.

One of Rowan’s hands was teasing Aelin’s sensitive nipple, tearing little cries out of her perfect, delicate, lips. Her hands undid his buckle quickly as Rowan lifted his hips to slide his pants and underwear down, freeing his hard member.

Aelin didn’t waste time before taking him, her hand around him applying just the right amount of pressure. His hand slipped between her legs, directly finding her wet and warm entrance. They moaned together as Aelin’s hand movement quickened and Rowan plunged two fingers in her warmth, hitting that spot inside of her that made her scream every time.

As good as it was, Rowan craved something else, so when he groaned Aelin understood. He pulled out his fingers, bringing them to his mouth to taste her. No matter how many years had passed since the first time, Rowan kept being surprised at how good she tasted. He moaned around his fingers as Aelin teased her entrance with his erection before sinking down, making both of their heads drop back.

Being inside of her had always felt so good, had always felt so right, as if he had been born just to do this. Her belly prevented their chests from touching but Rowan didn’t mind as he ran his hands on every inch of her skin as she started moving.

Aelin kept bouncing slowly on top of him, taking her time as she chased her pleasure, and once again Rowan realized how much he loved her. His Fireheart, his mate, his wife, and his best friend.

He loved her so damn much and he told her so, repeated it over and over again as they both fell over the edge, gripping the other’s skin as they reached the peak of pleasure.

They were both breathless as he lifted her up, pulling out of her and he used his shirt to clean her up. He didn’t want to get dressed not yet, anyway. He lied on his side, tucking his Fireheart next to him. That way, every inch of his front could touch her back. One of his hands came to rest on her belly as he took her book, opening it to where she had left a bookmark.

“What are you doing?” She asked him, her voice sleepy. He used his magic to extinguish most of the candles in the bookstore, leaving only the ones behind him lit to give him some light. "Shhh." He said softly into her ear, moving slightly to be more comfortable, and pulled her even closer to him. "You don't have to come back to reality now."  He told her then began to read her book aloud.

He couldn’t see her but deep down, he left her smile as she put her hand against his, both of them holding their baby as they hugged each other.

Aelin fell asleep quickly but Rowan didn’t stop reading, even if after many hours his voice became hoarse and his throat hurt. But if his Fireheart heard him maybe she would know he was still here, even in her sleep.

—————

@sheharahu // @morganofthewildfire // @thestoriesyoutell // @fromthelibraryofemilyj // @swankii-art-teacher // @itsforeverinnocent-blog // @becarefuloflove // @imnotsogoodatthis // @rowaelinismyotp // @a-court-of-milkandhoney // @feysand-loml // @surielandiareendgame // @live-the-fangirl-life // @story-scribbler // @loves-books // @fangirlprincess09 // @theysayitscrazy

[aquanova99]

Could you do head canons for Siobhan and Liam showing Maggie how parents are actually supposed to treat their child? Because it’s so heavily alluded to that Maggie was physically abused by her family before they abandoned her, and that makes me so sad because Maggie is one of my favorite characters. And the image of Siobhan and Liam just showing Maggie what it means to be cared for and loved just seems so sweet to me.

If not physically, definitely emotionally and mentally. And you’re right because she was a little kid who just didn’t want to be lied to. Siobhan initially took pity on her when she saw her literally left to freeze to death but let me not skip ahead

Spoiling Maggie

Maggie was used to pain, she was also used to being forced to not show any pain

Throughout the transformation Maggie felt herself being lifted up (away from human sight) she stayed curled over in the fetal position until the transformation process was complete

Liam and Siobhan were pretty amazed and increasingly worried that at most all Maggie did was whimper, she seemed to allow herself to release more once Siobhan sat next to her rubbing Maggie’s back as if she was only sick with a cold

Maggie gripped Siobhan’s clothes silently begging her to not leave, and she didn’t. Liam won’t admit it but he started feeling protective from this moment on. Maggie was only 15 but physically she seemed so much younger, she was so small and malnourished

Her eyes however… seemed much older even then, as if she had experienced too much life for someone so young

She woke up freaked out about her surroundings seeming so much clearer, Siobhan gently got her attention and while she was scared for a second felt that the two meant her no harm

Before she could ask any questions Liam interrupted, “we will explain everything later. For now let’s get you something to eat.”

The famine provided great cover. It was saddening but there was little they could do for anyone. They had Maggie use her new speed by running to England, Liam refusing to hunt in Irelands already bleak situation unless they were near death like Maggie had been. She got her pick of whoever she wanted

She was only halfway through her first human before stopping herself. And apologizing for not letting them eat first. Maggie could feel some kind of negative emotion and began to have a panic attack at being left alone again. She worried she had just pushed away her chance at a family. Craving that even more than the thirst that was burning her insides. Even with her new strength, it was the last thing she wanted to lose

Siobhan reassured her. They were shocked that she could just stop herself and told her she should eat until she’s full. After a good amount of pushing she had about two more humans

That was so many bullet points to not even get to the actual spoiling. Do I just write a fic at this point?

The first thing they do is find Maddie some nice clothes. Some to fit in if they needed to but nicer than anything she could have dreamed. Siobhan goes to get them while Liam takes Maggie back to where Siobhan grew up. Her father had left the his workshop and home. They often reinvented themselves. First Siobhan came as her own daughter to “buy��� the home and then Liam did the same. They would continue to do this until it was absolutely impossible. And no it was a decent place to hide Maggie. They knew if she chose to stay with them she would help the ruse. Anyways I digress.

Siobhan has learned a lot of crafts in her time. She still does blacksmithing for appearances and “honest” money (how else is she going to keep the guise of the house okay?) But she gotten quite adept at making jewelry as well. When she returns from getting anything Maggie may need when she wakes up she begins making a small necklace. She uses a gem that’s as close to the green in Maggie’s human eyes. It was small but enough to decorate a pendant for the girl.

They gave it to her when she had handled her newborn phase. They offered the choice to let her go but told her she was more than welcome to stay with them. Maggie freaked out at the offer, she refused to ask any questions worried for the answer they could bring

Liam had to wrap his arms around the hyperventilating vampire. Siobhan rubbed the young girls arm placing the necklace in her palm as a way to steady her. Maggie froze at the necklace, Siobhan told her it was a gift and so she knew they would always be family and they would love nothing more for her to stay with them

Maggie is sobbing at this point and Liam’s arms were soon replaced with Siobhan’s. She is just shushing Maggie until she calms down

Maggie never takes of the necklace. Ever. Whenever she’s worried or having a ptsd trigger she begins messing with it and Liam and Siobhan have realized exactly what it means and will usually offer to take her out to do something

They have snuck into countless theatres

Anyplace Maggie asks to go or try they make an effort to go

Siobhan shows Maggie to care for her hair because truly are best Maggie would brush out her pretty curls and her biological mother couldn’t be bothered to even be in the same room as Maggie much less teach her how to do anything

Maggie enjoys sitting and reading while Siobhan does her hair. And while it took her a while to ask if she could has also played Siobhan’s hair.

Maggie does apologize for her gift because it’s hard for Siobhan and Liam to surprise her but they’ve learned a few ways to still tell the truth and get her things without her knowledge. When she does apologize Siobhan’s and Liam both make sure to assure she has nothing to worry about

Maggie remembers what it feels like to be cold and hungry so they’ve have all donated to people who need it. Siobhan got Maggie into crochet and Maggie had learned to make blankets that she likes to deliver to homeless shelters. Liam has no patience for the hobby himself but gets Maggie all of the materials she asks for. Siobhan goes with her to drop things off

Maggie wishes she could do more but Siobhan doesn’t let her do much more than that so as not to attract unwanted attention because over her dead body something happens to Maggie.

Maggie once made a small bracelet out of leather for Siobhan and Liam. Siobhan was sobbing for an hour. She still gets teary every time she looks at it. She swears she gets her creativeness from her. Liam never takes his off. Siobhan will sometimes just look at it in the rare occasion they aren’t with Maggie or need some alone time

When she started referring to them as mum and dad they lost it. Maggie didn’t even get a chance to ask if it was okay she just did that because the second the word “was” came out if her mouth Siobhan tackled her into a hug peppering kisses on her head. They were both crying. Liam had to step outside to collect himself.

I’ve mentioned this before but they let Maggie eat first because similar to Renata she’s tiny but eats much more than a normal vampire.

When they do meet other vampires Siobhan and Liam are definitely those parents, absolutely bragging about anything they can about Maggie. Literally anything they can say about they will

Since she’s been changed Maggie somehow is always surprised by a beautiful dress or those cute porcelain dolls that she can enjoy herself. Yes Maggie had told them to stop due to lack of space. No they are not planning on doing so. Siobhan is fine giving away the dresses after a while. Maggie holds onto her decade dresses though.

Anyway you can spoil a child imagine that’s what is happening with Maggie because she is completely doted on.

[amazingmaeve]

red

loving him was red

summary:

george always wanted to open a joke shop with his brother. when they decide to get back at umbridge and leave school to pursue his dream he also leaves behind his girlfriend.

warnings - angst, a bit of fluff

word count - 2648

a/n - a writing challenge that @chokemepansy is doing! also got inspired by Taylor Swifts red! angst prompt 42 from her prompt list!

h.p masterlist // george weasley

George to Y/N was one of the most perfect people in her life. When she met him it changed her life for the best. He came in her life when she needed something good, when her whole life was horrible he was the only light in her life. But they also had a lot of arguments that had one or the other storming out saying hurtful things.

But they always found their way back to each other.

No matter what one or the other would apologize for the words they said and the other would smile and pull them in for a kiss. No matter what that’s how it always ended. It wasn’t the healthiest of relationships but when George was there for her it always made Y/N’s feel better and feel loved.

Even though she hated the fights she loved the time she spent with him. The times where they would just cuddle while Y/N read a book. George would just play with her hair and sometimes would just watch as her eyes glazed across the book with interest. Sometimes would bite her lip if she’s confused by something. Other times she helped him with his studies and it would help some of the times.

George and Y/N would also just sneak around the Hogwarts castle and make out in corners whilst skipping some of her classes. She normally didn’t do this but George convinced her to skip some of the classes. Luckily it usually didn’t hurt her grades since she studied a lot.

Y/N was also convinced to help Fred and George with their pranks but if the prank seemed too harsh she wouldn’t do that. Fred and Y/N were friends but not the closest friends in the world. They often only talked when George was around since nothing else tied them to each other. She didn’t hate him and he didn’t hate her.

They would also go to the Three Broomsticks for dates and would just sit and talk about each other’s day. Y/N would just get lost in George’s eyes and the way that they sparkled whenever he mentioned the pranks he and Fred did. It warmed her heart to see him so happy about something.

Towards the end of their relationship the arguments have weirdly started to die down and George and Y/N started talking through their problems.

Maybe this was because of Umbridge coming to Hogwarts that year the relationship has matured more and they started to act like adults coming into their 7th year. Though one big thing was hanging over their head.

The future.

Y/N wanted to be a curse breaker and George wanted to run a joke shop with Fred and Y/N was okay with that and would support him through everything. But the thing was that Voldemort was on the rise and his supporters were coming back. It scared a lot of people especially Y/N since she was muggle born and her family were muggles and could be hurt by this. She knew if she wanted to be a curse breaker she would have to be more brave.

She would often talk to George about this instead of keeping this stuff in. He would comfort her by letting her bury her head in his chest as he rested his chin on her head. He caressed her hair as she wrapped her arms around his waist and felt herself start to calm down a bit.

George was starting to be a comfort hotline for her.

Y/N also noticed that George has become more secretive throughout the year and she just cut it down to him and Fred planning and making pranks. She didn’t know it was a secret army that was created when Umbridge cut back on the defense against the dark arts.

It hurt her that George didn’t tell her about it or that she wasn’t even invited to become a part of this army. She wanted to be able to help. She felt useless and it sank to the bottom of her stomach that she wasn’t even trusted by her own boyfriend.

Before she could even argue with him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to his room.

“George what the hell was that,” Y/N snapped crossing her arms across her chest. She was just talking to Luna and Neville in the common room when he dragged her to his room.

“I needed to talk to you,” George rushed out rubbing the back of his neck.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Dumbledore's army,” Y/N angrily questioned ignoring what he had said. George huffed, rolling his eyes, feeling frustrated.

“Y/N let me-,” George was about to talk but was interrupted by Y/N.

“No seriously was I not trusted by you or was it for you to get away from me?” Y/N asked, clenching her jaw as her fist curled at her side from the anger coursing through her veins.

“I think we should break up,” George blurted out making Y/N’s eyes widened. She didn’t want to break up with him over this. Yes she was angry at the moment but it didn’t mean she wanted to lose him.

“What-what,” Y/N stuttered her fist un curling from the shocking news she had just got.

“Me and Fred are going to be starting a joke shop next year,” George explained, not meeting her eyes.

“That’s it George I said I’d support you through that,” Y/N huffed and ran her fingers through her hair.

“I just don’t see you in my future,” George says quietly, his eyes traveling to his feet, not wanting to see her reaction to this. He promised himself he’d do this for her, so that she wouldn’t get hurt.

“I see,” Y/N whispers then biting her lip trying to not let the tears fall from her eyes. But her shoulders slumped when she heard the words tumble from his mouth. Sadness raked through her body and she could feel her feet start to wobble and her eyes start to glisten. “Well goodbye George,” She turned away and left the room not wanting to see his reaction to this.

Y/N decided to focus on her studies since she would be taking most of them tomorrow and needed to pass them to be a curse breaker. She needed to stop thinking about George so she could have at least a good career. She didn’t get much sleep that night.

But the next day as she finished her last N.E.W.T.S Y/N watched as Umbridge walked out of the room since she heard some noises outside of the classroom. It was a shock to everyone as George and Fred came riding in on their broomsticks with fireworks in their hands.

She didn’t get up from her seat like everyone else. She just sat down playing with her hands as the twins left the classroom creating a W in the sky.

After the school year was over Y/N was happy that she didn’t have to go back to the place that gave her so many memories with George. But when she applied to be a curse breaker she was luckily accepted but that meant she had to work for Bill Weasley.

Y/N met him a few times when she stayed over at the Weasleys house for Christmas. Bill of course recognized her and didn’t ask anything about her or George since he heard they broke up. She was thankful for that and found it easy to get along with the eldest Weasley. He was a good person to talk to.

For that whole year Y/N got used to the job only going on a few missions since she was the newbie. But things got weird when Voldemort killed Dumbledore by Snape.

She was invited to Bill and Fleurs wedding and she didn’t know if she should accept it or not since Y/N knew George would be there and it would be so awkward. But she did accept it eventually since Bill was such a good friend to her and she also heard about him getting attacked and wanted to make sure he was okay.

She didn’t take anyone as a date, she’s tried to date after school but it never worked out they always ended things before they got to serious.

Y/N managed to avoid George and even Fred that night but before it could end death eaters came to the wedding and attacked. She didn’t know what the hell was going on but she does know that Harry, Hermione, and Ron were going to go hunt for the Horcruxes.

She left Weasley's burrow with worry in the pit of her stomach. Fear filled her bones, fear for the trio and the Weasley’s. Y/N was even worried about her parents, who weren’t a part of the wizarding world which was worse since they couldn’t protect themselves. She went home that night, nervousness filling her blood as she entered her parents house.

Ever since she graduated from Hogwarts Y/N lives with her parents until she can get enough money to buy a place for herself.

Luckily her parents were okay and she went to sleep a little bit better. But still she worried for the Weasley’s and anyone who crossed Voldemort and his little posse. She just hoped everyone would be fine and wouldn’t end up dead.

The following year she kept in contact with Bill, even though she was staying with her parents to protect them.

Once Y/N heard about the battle she immediately signed up for it. She didn’t want anyone to get hurt. She wanted to help protect the people at the school so they could see the daylight the next morning. She didn’t care if she ran into George since this was a life or death situation.

The battle was a hard one. A lot of people died. Remus and Tonks being the ones closest to her. For a moment there Y/N and everyone around her even thought that Harry was dead and Voldemort as victorious. But luckily Harry wasn’t.

They won. But what did it come with. Casualties, families who wouldn’t see their children ever again. Even though they did win, Y/N felt like she failed them, she failed there families. After the war she even had nightmares about her friends and family dying and her not being able to save them.

She always woke up in a sweat.

The nights where Y/N couldn’t sleep she thought about George. What he was doing? Was he fine? Did he ever think about her? She usually shook those thoughts out of her head but ever since she broke up with him it felt like emptiness filled her life. But she masked that with a fake smile and burying herself in work and she was still doing this.

Y/N’s parents encouraged her to get her own place but reassured her that they weren’t trying to kick her out. She knew that but it felt like she was a burden on them so she just decided to move out and found a cottage in the forest. It wasn’t as scary as the forbidden forest since there were no monsters in this one.

The silence welcomed her with a warm hug. Y/N didn’t hate it; she liked being alone at the moment. She often spent her time watching shows late at night then waking up early to go to work with bags under her eyes.

One day Y/N went to go and get some ice cream in Diagon alley she saw a flash of red hair in the crowd and she immediately knew who it was.

George.

Y/N knew it could’ve been Fred but she knew George too well to know that was him. So she did what most people would’ve done. Ran behind an alley so he didn’t see her.

Before she could fully get behind the building he caught her eye and yelled out for her.

“Y/N is that you,” George asks looking between the buildings with a smile gracing his lips. She stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath before turning around with a fake smile appearing on her face.

“George it’s so nice to see you,” Y/N says while walking up to stand in front of him.

Before she could say anything else he wrapped his arms around her waists and hugged her. He buried his face in her neck while Y/N placed her arms around his neck and took in his familiar scent she loved oh so much. She missed it. She didn’t want to miss him but Y/N couldn’t help it.

“How’ve you been,” George asks kindly, finally breaking free from the hug.

“Oh I’ve been great,” Y/N lied straight through her teeth as she stared up at him. There was an awkward silence before George spoke.

“I wanted to ask a question,” George wrings his hands in front of his stomach.

“You already did,” Y/N responds with a smirk, a real one this time. “I’m kidding, go ahead,” She says after seeing the look on his face.

“I wanted to know if you want to meet up later so we could catch up,” George asks nervously as stands there with his eyes at his feet.

“Uh,” Y/N started to say and she didn’t even know what she was going to answer him with but deciding it would be good to catch up with some old friends she answered, “Yes.”

“Really,” George says shocked, he thought she’d say no since the last time they talked he dumped her.

“Yes I need to get out more anyways,” Y/N gives him a half smile before getting a pen and grabbing his hand. “This is my address, pick me up at….” She says looking up at him wanting to know when he wanted to go out.

“9 darling,” George answered and looked at the writing on his hand after she let it go. Y/N felt butterflies enter her stomach when he called her that. It’s been so long she’s been called that by someone she cares about.

When Y/N got home she immediately regretted agreeing to go on this date with George. She knew that seeing him again would bring back some old feelings that were being harbored.

She decided that when George got to the cottage Y/N would talk to him about all of her feelings.

“Hey,” Y/N greeted when George showed up at her front door with some flowers. She took them with a smile. “Come in,” She opened the door wider letting him come in.

“Nice place,” George complimented.

“Thanks,” Y/N felt nervous again when she thought about what she wanted to talk to him about. “I need to talk to you,” She rushed out as she stood in front of him.

“Knew this was gonna come,” George muttered as his smile dropped. “Before you say anything can I say something,” He asked with a pleading look on his face, Y/N nodded. “I wanted to say that breaking up with you was one of the biggest mistakes of my life and ever since I did it I’ve never been the same,” George takes a break before saying. “I'd take our relationship back in a heartbeat love.”

“I can’t do that George,” Y/N whispered as her eyes shined with tears. George’s head dropped once he heard her. “I want to, I want to take you back so much but I can’t,” Her lip quivered as a tear rolled off her cheek.

“Then why don’t you,” George whispered hope filling his eyes.

“I’m just destined to have no love.”

[rockingrobin69]

A New Beginning

For the wonderful @moonstruckwytch​ who prompted me many moons ago with ‘Maybe you can show me?’, exactly 1.7k. Warning! This is not your usual, fluffy Robin fic. There's ample TWs, detailed in the end. If there’s anything that might concern you, please don’t worry about spoilers and check them out!! 

Something woke him up quite suddenly from a dream about… no, he already forgot. Butterflies? It was something colourful, something beautiful. Something… Draco blinked at the dim light straining through the curtains, trying to remember. The room was cold, colder than it ought to be, like someone had turned off the heating charms. Like when Harry got sad all of a sudden. Harry. Where was—

“Harry?” he croaked, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The left side of the bed was empty. Draco peered into the ensuite, but no one was there either. “Harry?”

He pushed himself up, feeling a touch queasy. Harry was probably downstairs, maybe having already started breakfast, nothing sinister about it. Draco scratched the itchy spot on the back of his neck, sighed. Breathed in and out as deep as he could, the method Harry taught him. Harry, the light of his life. What would he say, how would he calm Draco down from this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach? He was always so good at that. Ever since the Ministry party, ever since he took him in, Harry always took care of him. The colours from Draco’s dream flickered behind his squeezed eyelids; blue, green, yellow, red. Draco kinked his neck, rolled his wrists. All right. He will find Harry, and everything will be all right.

Soon enough he was already heading down, hands fumbling with his necklace. The one he always wore, the one Harry gave him. A piece of him, some reassurance when Draco needed it. Like now, when things felt a bit far away, a bit uncertain.

“Darling?”

Harry wasn’t in the kitchen, wasn’t in the drawing room. The windows there have been opened, and a cool breeze wafted through, a distraction. The apple tree outside caught Draco’s eye with its lovely fruit, red like his necklace. The apples were beautiful, each one perfectly plump and appealing—but Draco’s tried them once, twice actually. They tasted horrible. Like socks in lemon sauce. The joke made him chuckle, and then shiver, feeling a bit woozy.

“H-Harry?”

Back to the kitchen, the hallway, ignoring the door clearly marked: Harry’s room, which he didn’t find interesting enough to think about—and the second time around, the man he was looking for actually was in the drawing room, sitting in his armchair as though he’d been there all along. “Draco?”

“Oh,” he stopped at the door, flustered. His heart was beating too fast, and the familiar headache was banging behind his temples. “There—there you are. I was… couldn’t find you.”

“Here I am, baby,” Harry smiled, and Draco did his best not to run, but still he crashed into him. Threw himself into the strong arms, seeking the relief only available in his touch. “Shh, darling… oh, were you really worried?”

Harry stroked Draco’s hair, kissed his forehead. “I just…” Draco didn’t know how to explain it, how off things felt. He closed his eyes so he could see the colours again, breathing in Harry’s tangy smell.

“It’s all right. I’m here. Everything will be alright.”

Draco leaned back, trying to get as much contact between them as possible. But it wasn’t working; the soothing feeling he came to expect was so much weaker, like an echo of its usual self.

“What’s—something’s wrong, Harry, I—”

“Shh, darling, I know. I know.” Harry squeezed him tighter, whispering warm words in his ear. “I figured it all out, why you’ve been having these nasty headaches, everything. I’m going to fix everything. You’re going to feel so much better, love.”

The pain only grew stronger, now that it was addressed, and Draco whimpered. “Harry…”

“It won’t be long, I promise. Oh, baby…shh. I have a surprise for you. Something you’ll love, I know it.”

“Y-yes?” Draco mewled, desperate for something to alleviate this unmitigated dread pulsing inside him, this wrongness—“You, you think so? Maybe—maybe you can show me?”

Harry laughed, familiar and dear, and for a moment everything truly was all right. “Yes, love, I will. Wait here—just a minute, okay? I’ll go grab it.” He gave the top of Draco’s head a long, deep kiss, gently lifting him out of the way. Then he left Draco alone on the armchair, shaking.

Why was he shaking? Sweating, too. Draco put a hand against his forehead—he was burning up. He jumped to his feet, anxious to tell Harry, who was in charge of the medicine Draco took each morning. Maybe he needs something different than—

And then Draco remembered he didn’t take anything today. Harry wasn’t there to give him the small pill when he woke up.

Without thinking about it, Draco’s feet were already carrying him along. He must tell Harry, because that would be it! Even if it doesn’t explain the headaches, or the… Draco lost his train of thought. The door, the familiar, disinteresting door to Harry’s room stood ajar. And inside it… the shimmer of something red, red like his necklace, caught his eye.

Intrigued, Draco went inside, a bit too frazzled to remember Harry’s warnings. Wobbly, too, probably from the fever. The source of the colour, he discovered, was a large ruby sitting on a desk, identical to the one on his neck. There were other gems, loads of them in different colours. Then Draco turned around, and his entire world crashed.

“Darling? Where are you? Did—oh.”

Harry’s eyes were very bright, but even they couldn’t distract Draco from—“What’s—what is that? What are those—” he wanted to say things, he wanted to say monsters, he had no idea what to say. Harry just blinked for an eternity, one hand behind his back, the other reaching for Draco.

“I can explain,” he whispered.

“Please,” Draco never begged so desperately in his life. Inside Harry’s room were four large tanks, filled with a clear liquid that had Harry’s sharp smell, and—and somethings inside it, somethings that looked like people, but couldn’t be, because they all looked like… “Harry, why—what are they?”

“Well, they’re. You, sort of.”

“I—” Draco thought he could reply with words. Instead he just threw up on his shoes.

“Listen, baby. You remember how we started dating, right? After the war, at that party?” Draco nodded, the barest of movement, shocked enough to actually pass out. “Well, that’s not really… not actually how it went.”

“What,” Draco asked, and that seemed to be about it from him. Everything felt extremely distant, a million lightyears away. The other hims in the tanks wore necklaces, similar to his own. Blue, green, yellow. This had to be some sort of nightmare.

“You see, after the war, Draco… you, that is, you were in Azkaban. And you, er, he, well, he died there.”

“But,” Draco tried, gods, he really tried. “But I’m right here.”

Harry closed his eyes. “You are, darling. But also, you’re not? You’re still you, still have everything he had, it’s just… well. Have you heard—you don’t know what cloning is, right?” The sheer misery on Draco’s face compelled him to continue; “It’s a Muggle method I experimented with. Combined with some old rituals. To make… to take something from the original Draco Malfoy, and, and, baby, you have to understand. I only did it because I love you.”

“Love?” Draco leaned back against the desk, hand covering his eyes, such flimsy protection.

“I mean. It might not have started exactly as—but I learned to know you, to really get to know you, and now… I’m so in love with you, it hurts. So when I noticed a few… problems, with the first clone, I was heartbroken. I knew I had to find a better way. So I made another.”

Harry pointed to the second tank on the left, the one with the Draco-like-thing wearing a green necklace. Its eyes were closed. Draco felt so impossibly dizzy.  

“It’s not perfect, yet. That’s why you were having the headaches, and darling, I just can’t stand to see you in pain, I can’t… I love you, Draco. I want to help you. Let me help you.”

Draco’s head was pounding. This was a nightmare, couldn’t be real, couldn’t be, but the back of his neck was itchy and the necklaces all looked similar, like apples on the tree—

“So when you said you have a, a surprise for me,” Draco shook his head, each word coming out as a sob, “you meant you were going to…” the figure in the tank on the right had no necklace.  

“Baby,” Harry’s voice broke, and the arm behind his back came out, and why was he holding a knife, his Harry, the man he loved, who loved him back, who took care of him all this time, and why, why was this happening?

“No,” Draco begged, trying to squirm backwards, but there was no give to the desk. Harry was blocking the door, the light of his life with this horrible look on his face, and why, why was…

“I promise it won’t hurt,” Harry was crying too, but he still raised the knife. “You’ll come back to me. And you won’t suffer anymore, I promise, you won’t suffer… I couldn’t save him, but I can save you—will save you, baby, please…”

Draco’s screams were loud enough to deafen him, but even as he ran, he knew, he knew he had no chance. No, it was worse than that; he knew he had nothing else, nothing to hold on to. Harry was his life… Harry, who took him in. Harry, who took care of him. Harry, who was going to—who was about to—and perhaps it was a kindness, the blow to the back of his head, loud even against all the sobbing. Perhaps he will come back to him, and it will be better this time. Harry won’t be so sad all the time, and Draco won’t have these headaches, and he will never, ever come into Harry’s room ever again. Perhaps…

Harry’s surprise, in the end, was a little box on the drawing room’s dresser, where a necklace with a grey onyx pendant lay inconspicuous. A new beginning.

TWs: Dark Harry, MCD, murder, violence, horror, drugging (sort of), unethical experiments, illness, unhappy ending. 

[blxetsi]

I was curious if you’d be up for headcanon of adopting Gabi Braun, or what it’s like being her older sibling?

If not maybe just Pieck relationship headcanons

Please and thank you

im so sorry im getting to this so late 😭🤚 ty for requesting ‼️

‼️CONTENT WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 AND CHAPTER 139‼️

adopting gabi braun headcanons (canonverse)

characters: gf!sasha braus x gn!reader, platonic!gabi braun x gn!reader, fatherly!levi ackerman x gn!reader, platonic!falco grice x gn!reader

warnings: death, angst, hatred for kids (fuck them kids‼️), peepaw levi 😁👍

- uhhhhhh,, your relationship w gabi had a very rocky start. Lol !

- it all started when your friend eren jaeger decided to run away to infiltrate marley causing the survey corps to go get him just as a war was declared between your countries, and then two kids snuck onto the airship you were using to escape and shot your girlfriend. and she died. Lol !

- you had a lot of hatred for gabi in the beginning, and it was understandable

- you blamed her for shooting sasha, but you also blamed yourself for not being able to save her.

- you were a trained medic, you were supposed to save people, and yet you couldnt even save the woman you loved. it was like a slap in the face, like god was playing some cruel joke on you

- you remember sitting against the wall with sasha's blood staining your hands. you could barely process what happened at the time, and then levi came

- he sat next to you, taking a handkerchief out of nowhere seemingly, and just wordlessly wiped your hands down.

- your relationship with the older man was never defined, even today, but you both cared for each other

- the next time you saw gabi, was in that restaurant, niccolo had attacked gabi and falco, injuring them both, and said she killed sasha

- your blood went cold, you felt so many things, the grief you had pushed down in favour of your job, anger, fear, among other things

- niccolo had said there needed to be justice, he said that gabi should die for what she did, he tried to get sasha's father to kill her, and all you did was stand there.

- your body went on autopilot, barely listening to mr. braus' speech, you watched as kaya pointed a knife at gabi, and you listened to her wails of agony as you blindly led mikasa, armin, and gabi to a different room

- you were scared of yourself, for what you were thinking. did you really want a kid to die ? she did kill your girlfriend, the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, the woman that shared her food with you, the woman that held you when you got scared at night, the woman that promised you that after the war you two would live on a farm together, and have a family of your own.

- but she was still a child. she didnt know any better. you were conflicted in your feelings, especially after hearing what niccolo had said, but it all just emphasized what was already known to you. she was a child

- your blood was pounding in your ears, and you could faintly hear gabi asking your comrades if they wanted to kill her. when armin reassured her they didnt, she looked to you and asked "what about them ?"

- you didnt answer her, and continued to lead them down where eren would be meeting you all. you were supposed to drop them off, but eren made you stay, and then a fight broke out

- you dont remember when you did it, but you held gabi in your arms, shielding her from the fight. you think you needed to be held more than she did

- things got more complicated after that, and slowly the hatred you had for sasha's killer went away, until all you had left was a hole in your chest from guilt and sadness.

- at fort salta, you thought you were going to die there, next to your friends. you thought you'd become a mindless titan, like connie's family

- but you didnt, well you did, but only for a short time, and when you turned back, you reunited with your friends

- looking around for gabi, you saw her tackle falco into a hug, which made you smile

- "y/n !" jean called, you remember looking behind you in confusion, he sounded distressed, but you understood why when you saw sasha saluting the three of you

- you felt your legs move on your own, and you ran closer to her, before stopping about a meter away. she was dead, you knew she was dead, but she was there, wearing that goofy smile on her face and looking at you as if you'd hung the stars in the sky

- she looked at you. "you did good." hearing her voice felt like a dream. your mouth felt dry, and your jaw opened and closed like a fish before you felt tears sting your eyes. "i love you."

- she nodded, before looking at the sky. "i know." she replied. sasha looked back at you before giving you a soft smile. "you know what to do now." before she disappeared in the debris

- you knew what to do, so you did it

- you found levi sitting against a rock, and when you leaned down next to him he muttered something. "i saw erwin again. and hange. all of them." you nodded. "i saw sasha." he looked at you, and gave you the closest thing to a smile. "i guess we're both at peace now."

*****

- three years later, you've become a school teacher in paradis, teaching young children how to read, to write, and basic math. you teach them about art and music, and nature. its nice being surrounded by children all day, kids are lovely.

- you live with gabi, falco and levi, in a small house inside wall sina. levi's legs have gotten weaker with time, causing him to use a wheelchair and crutches. he's given up on his dream of a tea shop, but is content with the life he has now.

- gabi and falco have gotten more rowdy with age, but they've both matured quite a bit. they make you proud

- you send letters to sasha's family. kaya is growing up, and has taken over archery just like her sister. niccolo is living with them now.

- you'll never be able to let go of sasha, or what happened to her, but the pain in your chest has dulled immensely. you think about her sometimes, when youre in bed alone, wanting to feel the warmth of her body in your arms, you know you should move on, you get teased about not having a new girlfriend, even levi has made comments about there being "plenty of fish in the sea"

it was a late night, on a friday. you were grading spelling tests at the dining room table, one lone candle being your source of light. your pen moves swiftly across the different pieces of paper, adding check marks or x marks when needed, adding a note at the bottom of each test, before adding a smiley face on all of your students' hard work. it was tedious, but it needed to be done, and you had to remember to bring them in on monday, you couldn't forget like last time.

you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. they were soft, and slow, and at first you thought it was levi but realized it couldn't be since you couldn't hear the soft tapping of his crutches on the stairs. they came down to the bottom and stood there, it was gabi, dressed in a light pink nightgown that came down to her knees, and her disheveled hair in the braid you did for her before bed.

you pushed your reading glasses to the top of your head. "what are you doing up ? it's late."

she shrugged, and walked over to sit across from you at the table. gabi grabbed the stack of papers that you already graded and shuffled through them, giggling when she found a misspelling.

you rolled her eyes. "don't laugh, they're six."

she shook her head. "i was spelling ten times better than this when i was their age."

"uh huh."

"are you calling my bluff ?"

you chuckled. "maybe. you should be in bed though."

"why ? it's not like we have school tomorrow."

you shrugged. "i was thinking we could go on a picnic outside the walls. it gets stuffy in here."

she nodded. "that would be fun."

the silence came back for a while, until you finished grading and set your papers aside.

"you know, i hear you sometimes." she whispered.

you looked at the brunette in confusion. "how do you mean ?"

"when your in bed, sometimes you cry."

you scoffed, and leaned back in your chair. "yeah well, i try to muffle it."

"i don't think ive ever apologized to you," she started. her eyes welled up with tears and her hands shook on the table. her cheeks and nose became pink as she held herself back from crying. "i know i feel bad, and i regret killing her but, i've never actually apologized to you for-"

"don't." you said. you kept your eyes on your lap, you felt your throat growing tight. "please gabi, don't say anything."

"i need to apologize-"

"you don't. you killed her. she's dead, the war is over. it's done. just let it go." you said, your voice wavering.

"have you let it go ?"

your head shot up to her. "i lost the woman i was going to spend the rest of my life with. she promised me a safe home, a farm, and a family. and she promised we'd grow old together. and that didn't happen. i grew up with her, i've known her since i was twelve, we started dating when i was sixteen. of course i haven't let it go, gabi."

gabi looked shocked by your outburst, but nodded. she understood how you felt, and she felt so guilty. "you don't forgive me do you ? i get it, i really do. i'm sorry."

you shook your head. "gabi no, i do. i do forgive you. i just, i can't forget it." you whimpered, tears started streaming down your face and you choked back a sob. "i loved her with all of my heart, i still do, but i don't hate you-"

gabi rolled her eyes, tears coming out uncontrollably now. "you should. i killed her, i ruined your chance of a happy life ! she was your family and i-"

"gabi no !" you exclaimed, cutting her off. at this point you both looked like a mess, and you were worried you woke up the boys. you grabbed her shaking hands in your own and held them to you. "you are my family. you are. so is falco, and so is levi. i forgive you, and i love you with all of my heart." you said, a sad smile on your face. her eyes widened at your words, before she started sobbing.

you got up from the table to come to her side, and held her in your arms as she cried. her arms wrapped around your shoulders while she dug her head into your neck, tickling you with her hair.

you rubbed her back and cradled her head while shushing her. she sobbed out a muffled "i love you so much y/n." that you chuckled at.

"i love you too so much." you whispered back.

it took a long time for gabi to calm down, but when she did you still held her, rocking her and yourself back and forth slightly. you two moved from the chairs down to the floor, funny enough.

you kissed the top of her head before talking, the only noise in the room being your whispers, her sniffles and the living room clock. "you know reiner's coming home soon. are you excited ?" she nodded against your skin and sniffled again, clearing her throat too.

"i hope he brings me a gift or something." she whispered back, her voice hoarse. it made you laugh, and you had to cover your mouth to keep quiet.

"they're going to shiganshina district for a couple of days, to visit mikasa and eren, and then mikasa will come with them to the capital."

"do you miss her ?" she asked.

"so much. i miss all of them, but mikasa is a close friend of mine, she holds a special place in my heart."

"do you think you and levi will go to the meetings between the marley ambassadors and the jaegerists ?" she asked.

"maybe, if they feel as though they really need us."

you sighed through your nose, which was a bit stuffy from crying. "after we turned back into humans, i saw sasha again."

gabi lifted her head up from where it was resting on your shoulder. "what ?"

"yeah, i saw her ghost i think." you looked down on her with a smile on your face. "she told me i knew what i needed to do, and then i went and got levi and you and falco." you paused for a moment, thinking about how you would word what you were thinking. "i did what i needed to do, i got my family together." gabi's eyes widened. "sasha promised me a family, and although this wasn't the family i had envisioned, it's still a family nonetheless. i believe her last gift to me was you, falco, and levi. and i am so grateful to have you all in my life."

gabi smiled before hugging you. she opened her mouth to say something-

"oi !" a deep voice came from the top of the stairs. "you two woke me up with all of your crying. go to bed." before your heard the creaking of the floorboards and the closing of a door.

you chuckled before standing up, pulling gabi with you. you walked her to her room, and even tucked her in, you both exchanged 'i love yous' and 'goodnights' before you retreated from her bedroom, closing the door behind you.

across the hall, levi stood leaned on his doorway with his arms crossed together. "that family speech, that was cute." he commented. you rolled your eyes at the older man. "were you listening in on a private conversation ?" you teased.

the ex-captain scoffed and looked away. "go to bed y/n. we have a picnic to go on tomorrow." before closing his door.

you chuckled to yourself, remembering how you brought up the idea to him that morning, and he only replied with a curt "we'll see" before sipping on his morning tea.

you went back to your own room, and got into your bed. you turned on your side, and looked at the space you always left open for sasha, and brushed your hand against the pillow.

"goodnight love."

uhhhhh doesnt feel like my best work but whatevs 😁👍 enjoy my comeback to tumblr 🤩🙏

requests open mfs ‼️

[mvrtaiswriting]

We were 18. - Jotaro Kujo.

Me?? Posting something about Jotaro?? How strange. This piece of work is also dedicated to two of my comfort characters, Kakyoin and Joseph. This artwork is really important to me, it really holds a special place in my heart so.. enjoy! 

Neutral reader x Jotaro Kujo

Jojo’s bizzare adventures: Stardust Crusaders (spoilers)

AU

SFW | fluff 

Trigger warning: usual jojo violence, reference to grief, insomnia.

Word count: 1760.

The ‘continue reading’ button is there for space purposes, to make the reader avoid any possible spoiler and/or sensible topics.

Hi! Are you a new reader? Check my masterlist for more content!

Please feel free to reblog or leave a comment :) help me support my art (it’s free!),

© bearing in mind everything I post/write is my intellectual property so please don’t steal/copy and paste and post it as yours.

Since you returned from your tumultuous trip in Egypt, your life has never been the same. Once you came back to your hometown, not a moment passed by when you didn’t remember the terrible scenes you’ve witnessed during the fight with Dio. The memory of Kakyoin’s death was still so vivid in your mind and the more you tried to shake that thought out of your head, the more you kept reliving it – over and over again.

There were times when you swore you saw Kakyoin among a crowd of people; times when you could just hear his voice calling your name. Every time you closed your eyes Avdol, Kakyoin and Iggy were there. You barely slept anymore – most of the times you did so, you had nightmares about what happened in El Cairo. You lost count of how many nights you have spent crying in your bed, curled up in between your sheets in the silence of your lonely house. Living alone didn’t help; you were used to sneak into one of the crusaders’ room whenever you needed a shoulder to cry on or, simply, a place where you could feel safe. It wasn’t unusual for you to wake up squished between Kakyoin and Jotaro or trapped in one of Joseph bear-hugs. But now, you were thousands of kilometres away from the rest of the group, alone in your cold bedroom. There was no one to go to, and no one you could talk about how you felt. It was just you and your painful memories. No one would understand what you’ve been through – how could they? How could you ever explain how intense the 50 days you spent with the crusaders had been?

Another nightmare woke you up, as per usual. You gasped loudly as if you just started to breathe again after a long apnea and quickly sat down in the middle of your bed, holding onto your sheet. You started shaking as your chest moved up and down with rapid movements trying to catch your breath, tears streaming down your face. You were staring at the void in your pitch-dark room, trying to control your sobs and make yourself realise that you were back to reality. You stretched one of your arms to reach the lamp on your bedside table, curling yourself up while you slowly started to calm down. Wiping out the tears from your cheeks with your jumper’s sleeve, you finally dragged yourself out of bed and slowly went to the kitchen, making yourself some tea.

As you sat down to drink your hot beverage hoping it would bring you some comfort, you started to rehearse your dream - as if you could just replay it in your head as one would normally do with songs or movies. It wasn’t very different from any other dreams you had.

Kakyoin’s body was lying lifeless against the roof Dio had thrown him onto, his expression crippled by the excruciating pain he must have felt. An enormous wound had completely swept away part of his body, leaving a big opening in the middle of it. You were screaming at him at the top of your lungs, begging him to spare the last bit of energy he had left in his body. But the ending was the same every damn time; he would use his last breath to reveal to Joseph the secret of The world, Dio’s Stand, and launch his last attack with Emerald Splash. You woke up every time you tried to reach Kakyoin’s body. You were never able to say goodbye to him -  not even in your dreams. The same thing happened with Avdol and Iggy too. You never got the chance to see them one last time, because you were busy fighting elsewhere.

You sighed loudly, stopping yourself from having another breakdown and sipping some tea from your cup. It was in that exact moment, that the phone rang. It was 3:00 AM where you lived, so you expected one of the boys to be on the other end of the telephone. You and the rest of the crusaders exchanged your numbers the last time you saw each other at the airport and had kept in contact ever since. To your surprise, the person you talked the most was Jotaro. You were about the same age and had created a strong bond during your trip, even if you would have never bet on it. Kakyoin used to always joke about your crush on Jotaro, always encouraging you to give it a shot. But things turned out to be too frenetic and dangerous to engage any sort of romantic relationship. Despite that, you would never miss a chance to sit next to each other or just spend most of the time together. The two of you even kissed at one point, but never talked about it again – not even during your strangely long phone calls.

Crawling your feet on the floor of your kitchen, you got up and finally answered the phone: “Hello?”

“Hey.” Jotaro’s deep voice replied. “How come you’re awake? It’s late where you are.” he added.

“You called. Is this a good excuse?” you said lightly laughing, trying to hide the sadness in your voice.

When the sun rose, you were still talking to Jotaro. He asked you about your dream – he knew about your insomnia and your recurring nightmares and just wanted to be there for you. He wasn’t the best at comforting, and most of the time he never dared to say a word; but you knew it was a sensible topic for him too, and the fact that he would let you confide in him was more than enough.

“It’s a big deal for me too.” he said. You just hummed, allowing him to talk freely about what was going on inside his head – and heart. “Sometimes I can barely breathe. I just wish everything was over.” he cut short, clearing his throat immediately after finishing his sentence. Hearing those words from him just broke your heart; he always showed himself as a cold, calm and collected person and never allowed his emotions to have the best of him. He could often come off as an emotionless brute, but you knew it was all a façade that hid a more sensible and soft side of him. A comfortable silence fell between the two of you, only broken by the sound of your breaths. “Don’t hang up.” you said ultimately, letting out a big sigh.

“I won’t. I’m here.” His voice replied, sounding velvet through the telephone.

--

The plane landed after what felt like an eternity, the flight from your country took countless hours to arrive in Japan. At the airport, a member of the Speedwagon foundation was waiting for you, Holly standing next to him. As soon as you got closer to them, Holly quickly fell into your arms, hugging you tightly. ‘I’m so glad you’re here!’ she squeaked, while cupping your cheeks in her hands and showering you with affection. You let out an embarrassed laugh, and after that warm welcome you finally reached the car. You seated in the backseat, tiredly resting your head against the window of your car’s door. You took a quick look at the clock and closed your eyes, trying to get some rest.

When you arrived, Holly gently woke you up. The car was parked in front of the Kujo’s residence, the place where it all started. A fast sequence of memories flashed in front of your eyes as you meticulously watched the house in front of you, remembering exactly how you felt when you arrived the first time, and how you felt when you left. Holly placed and hand on your shoulder and nodded, indicating to you Jotaro’s room. “He wasn’t in a great mood today, he hasn’t been in a while” she said hopelessly. “Just excuse him if he speaks to you rudely.” she added, feeling sorry for the harsh manners her son always displayed. You reassured her smiling, before walking to his room.

Once you stood in front of his door, your heart started beating so loud. A part of you was dying to see the boy you heart belonged to, the other was afraid to see him broken into pieces. But that was the reason why you went there in the first place. You didn’t want to leave him alone anymore. He needed a shoulder to cry on as much as you did – maybe more, if it was possible. You had to be there.

Taking a deep breath, you knocked on the door. Heavy footsteps came your way before the door opened, revealing Jotaro’s figure towering over you.

“(Y/N)? What are you doing he-“ he tried to ask, before getting interrupted by your hug; you almost pushed yourself against his body, making him take a step back to not lose balance. You wrapped your arms around his strong torso, breathing in his perfume and holding him as close as humanly possible to you. Being in his arms felt like being at home – a feeling you hadn’t experienced in a while. It wasn’t long before Jotaro reciprocated your hug, hiding his face into your hair and leaving a soft kiss on your head. He closed the door behind you and just held you in his embrace, enjoying the wonderful feeling of being reunited with you. “You don’t know how much I missed you.” he said, not even trying to let you go. You hinted a small laugh, rubbing his muscled back with your right hand. “I can imagine.”, you replied. He slowly distanced himself from you, placing his hands over your cheeks, staring at you with his eyes full of tears. He was scanning every inch of your face and figure, almost as if he wanted to convince himself that you were real, that you were there. He rested his forehead on yours, locking his gaze on yours, making it impossible to break eye contact. “I don’t want to lose you anymore” you whispered. “You saved my life so many times, in so many ways. I always thought it was the wrong time, I always ran away from my feelings but..” you continued, but before you could finish your sentence, he quickly put his lips on yours – shutting you up with a kiss. You could feel tears running on his face. You grabbed the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer to you, reciprocating the kiss.

“I have loved you since we were 18.” he whispered.

[sierraraeck]

A Cruel Joke

Emily x Bi!Fem!Reader

Masterlist

Summary: You find solace in the arms of a hurting FBI agent after she comes to investigate the death of your best friend.

Category: Angst, implied smut.

Warnings: 15 year age gap between adults (37/22)

Word Count: 4.9k

A/N: If you don’t like the name Alexa, I’m sorry, just try to imagine that it’s a different name.

A lesbian and a bisexual walk up to a crime scene. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this situation was very real, and very unfunny.

You’d had a bad feeling. That should have been enough to get you to stay with her, you’re best friend, but you didn’t. You had been selfish.

And now she was dead.

Alexa was dead.

And it was your fault.

Had you just pulled yourself together and been there for her as a friend, stopped worrying about how you felt, she wouldn’t have walked back to your campus apartment from that party alone, and she wouldn’t have been vulnerable to the monster that took her and he wouldn’t have…

But he did, and now you were numbly walking down the sidewalk that led behind the sorority house you’d been partying at and to the local park, not even registering anything that was happening around you.

You’d heard the news before you could even press send on a text making sure she was okay. You’d heard the news, but you had to confirm for yourself. She couldn’t be dead, she just couldn’t be. You saw her only last night, not even six hours ago.

Despite officers and other important people yelling at you to get back, you just kept walking towards the crime scene, taped off with that awful yellow color.

Just as you were about to duck under the tape, approach the group of suits standing with their backs to you in a half circle, you felt a hand on your shoulder, a presence appearing in front of you.

“Miss, I’m sorry but you can’t be here.” It was a delicate voice, belonging to a woman.

“I have to know if it’s her. I just saw her, it can’t be her, I have to know if it’s her,” you mumbled in a panic, still trying to get a glimpse of what was sprawled on the ground in front of the officers. You realized they were staring at you now, but you couldn’t look away. You had to know.

“Miss, please, you shouldn’t be here,” the woman repeated. Her hand was still on your shoulder, and you finally looked her in the eyes, took in her face. Her features were gentle yet strong, and there was something striking about the contrast between her dark hair, fair skin, and pink lips.

You were trembling, something she could feel against her fingertips, and the water brimming in your eyes was enough to let her know how much you cared, probably more than anyone around.

She quickly glanced back at the other men behind her, and the tallest one nodded. With her hand still on your shoulder, she escorted you away from the scene, and away from prying eyes to a secluded park bench.

“Would you like to take a seat?” she asked.

All you could do was nod. Nothing felt real. Her voice sounded like it was reaching your ears by an old, fuzzy radio set up 10 feet away from you. This can’t be happening.

You plopped down on the bench with much less grace than the woman before you, who introduced herself as Agent Prentiss. “But you can call me Emily,” she’d said. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you whispered. Your arms were wrapped around yourself as you asked, “Is it her? Is it Alexa?”

Emily dodged your question with another question. “Who’s Alexa?” You later realized why she didn’t ask you how you knew her. She didn’t ask because she’d have to ask ‘how did you know her’ and not ‘how do you know her,’ something that surely would have set you off.

“She… she’s my b-best friend,” you mumbled around the lump in your throat.

“You mentioned that you just saw her. When was that?”

“Last night. We decided to crash the party with some of our friends who are actually in the sorority,” you explained meekly. “Please, Emily. Would you please tell me if it’s her? I have to know.”

Emily sighed and gave you a sad look, which was really all you needed, but hearing the words made it final. “Yes. We found identification on her with the name Alexa Stephens. I’m so sorry.”

Your whole heart shattered. You cared about her more than any of her other friends, and you sometimes wondered if you cared about her more than her family. She had a rough childhood and couldn’t stand to be in the same state as them anymore, which is why she transferred halfway through her freshman year. You immediately connected with her and you’d been friends ever since.

Your mind was racing, thinking of all the questions you needed answered, all the things you could have done differently to keep her alive. If you would have just been there…

“It’s not your fault,” the angelic voice broke through the static in your head, as if she could hear your thoughts.

“It is,” you whimpered, “If I had just pulled myself together, we would have walked home together, and she wouldn’t have been alone. Oh god, she died alone.”

“You did nothing wrong. You didn’t know, you couldn’t have. I’m sure you did what you thought was best in the moment.” It didn’t make you feel a whole lot better, but you grasped onto her words in an attempt to calm yourself down. You knew there was still more information she probably needed from you. You took some deep breaths, closing your eyes. A warmth spread its way through your palms, and you realized that the agent had put her hands in yours, giving them a reassuring squeeze. You held onto them like an anchor point. “Can I ask you a few more questions, or would you like to take a break?”

In through your nose, out through your mouth. You opened your eyes and nodded. “I want to help in whatever way I can.”

Emily continued to ask you questions about your night and if you remembered anyone suspicious. She asked if there was anyone who was staring at her, to which you told her that would be half the people at the party. Alexa usually had a steady stream of boys coming and going, some she dated and some she didn’t.

You never really understood that. You barely liked one person, let alone multiple back to back or at the same time. But Alexa just had this appeal to her, and while some would disagree with you, you thought she had a big heart. A big, blind heart.

“Thank you so much for your time. Give me a call if you remember anything else, anything at all,” Emily said, handing you her business card, “and I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. I will,” you answered dryly.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

You woke up feeling out of sorts. You’d dreamt of her last night. Well, you’d dreamt of them. You saw Alexa laughing, and then you saw her sprawled on the ground, an image your mind had created all by itself, and then you saw Emily. Felt her soothing hand on your shoulder, her warm palms encasing yours.

Then you woke up. The whole thing made you feel weird and sad and tired.

You picked up the business card Emily had given you, twirling it in your hand. You hadn’t remembered anything new, but you felt safe around her. Noticed, important, like you mattered. You realized just how much you were lacking that from Alexa, from your other friends.

Simply calling her wouldn’t do, though. You wanted to see the woman that for once in your life made you feel like you didn’t have to pretend you were okay. She knew you had lost someone close to you, and didn’t expect you to keep it together.

What were you saying? You put the card down, remembering that you’d only spoken to her for all of 30 minutes and she was just doing her job. Nothing more, nothing less. You also had the wherewithal to know that you were probably only grasping at any minute display of affection since you’d just lost the one person you so desperately wanted it from but could never get it. It made you feel pathetic and angry.

God you were also just so tired.

Classes were not going to happen, so you just laid back down, hoping to be swept into another dream.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

A knock at the door woke you up. You weren’t sure what time it was, but you didn’t really care as you walked to the door.

Without looking through the peephole, you eked the door open. Emily was standing there along with another agent you’d seen at the crime scene.

“Hello. Y/N, right?” the blond asked. You nodded. “My name is Jennifer Jareau, and I believe you’ve met Emily.”

Emily smiled at you and you forced a small smile back. “What can I do for you?”

You invited them in and they asked you a few more questions. However, you were only half paying attention to what they were saying, and more paying attention to the way the two women were interacting. You’d sensed a tension the minute they walked in, but it seemed to be one sided. You figured it out by about the eighth time Emily glanced over at Jennifer. You recognized the look in her eyes: a mixture of love and hurt. You’d seen it too many times in the mirror not to pick up on it. But what really caught your eye was how many times Emily’s gaze traveled down to Jennifer’s hands. Specifically her left one with a shiny diamond on it. One look at Emily’s hand, and well, it wasn’t too difficult to put the rest together.

“Thank you again for your time,” Jennifer said, shaking your hand. Emily was slower to move, making eye contact with the other agent, some message you were not privy to passing between them. Jennifer gave you a tight lipped smile and left, but Emily stayed.

“I wanted to give you this,” Emily explained, holding out her hand. There was a small necklace in it, one you recognized immediately. “She was still wearing it and I thought you might want it back.”

You took it out of her hand, admiring the small heart pendant that dangled at the end. You’d bought it for Alexa for her 21st birthday. Her last birthday. “Thank you so much,” you said as you started to tear up. Just when you thought you’d cried yourself dry.

“Of course.” You thought Emily was going to leave after that, but she lingered a moment longer. You looked up at her, and she bit her lip, probably trying to decide if she should ask her next question or not. “She wasn’t your best friend, was she?”

You gave a weak smile, dropping eye contact. “That depends. Are you asking her or me?”

“I’m asking you.”

“No, she wasn’t. She meant more to me than that. But I never meant more to her. I sometimes wondered if I even meant that much to her,” your voice wavered.

“I’m sure you did,” Emily tried to reassure, but you weren’t buying it.

“Hope so,” you muttered. Looking back up at Emily, you held her eyes this time. “What about you and Jennifer?”

Her response was immediate. “What?” She sounded shocked, but you could tell she was trying to play it off.

You offered a single laugh. “I may not be a genius FBI analyst or profiler or whatever, but I know a hurting gay when I see one.”

Her mouth was still open, like she was going to try to come up with an excuse, but instead she just sighed. “That obvious?”

“Clearly not to Jennifer.” You shrugged. “Looks like I’m not the only one to lose someone recently.”

“It’s not the same thing,” Emily shook her head.

“You don’t need to downplay your pain,” you told her. “I know how bad that hurts. Why do you think I left that party early?”

A look of understanding flashed through her eyes. “A constant stream of guys…” Emily quoted your from earlier.

“Yeah,” you shrugged again. “Sometimes it’s just too hard to watch. Sometimes it’s just too hard to listen. When she’d come back to me crying over a break up when I was sitting right there… it’s painful. And that night I just couldn’t do it anymore. Couldn’t watch her waste her time on another guy who was going to hurt her. So I left. Look where that got me,” you mumbled the last part.

Emily gave a sad, bitter laugh. “She asked me to be her maid of honor.”

You sighed with her. “I’m sorry.” You had barely noticed the tear that escaped her eye before she forcefully brushed it away.

Something changed in her demeanor when she realized a tear had escaped, speaking faster as she headed towards the door. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be telling you this. You already have a lot on your plate, and I don’t need to be unloading my personal issues on you. Again, I’m sorry, I will make sure-”

“Emily,” you cut her off, grabbing her arm and turning her towards you as she was about to reach for the doorknob. You weren’t sure what you’d been planning on doing once you stopped her, and the first thing you thought to do was hug her. You pulled her in close and wrapped your arms around her. She seemed shocked, but put her arms around you like it was the most natural thing in the world for the two of you to be doing.

You don’t know how long you stood there, but you would’ve stayed there forever if you could. The warmth and safety of her arms was something you’d never really experienced before.

When she pulled back from your embrace, you realized you’d both been silently crying. Her fingers traveled over your jaw, and her thumbs brushed away your tears. Your faces were only inches apart, but something in the back of your head told you that it wasn’t the right time.

Instead, you leaned forward and kissed away her tears, pressing your lips to her cheekbones. You felt her eyelashes on your face, a feeling you tried to commit to memory. A feeling you never got to experience with Alexa. One you never would.

“Y/N,” she whispered. You heard everything in the way she said your name, a warning that no matter how badly the two of you wanted this right now, it wasn’t a good decision.

“I know,” you whispered back, resting your forehead on hers, “Just please. Please let me live in my head for a little while longer.”

You stood there for a few more moments, her hands cupping your face and your hands on her back before she completely pulled away. “I will make sure we do everything we can to find the man who did this.”

“I know,” you repeated. “Thank you, Emily.”

She offered another small smile, but this time it felt a bit more sincere. With that, she left to continue fighting the monster that had ripped the earth out from under you.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

Three more days and another victim later, the case was closed. Emily and her team had caught the bastard, putting him away for good.

You felt like you owed it to her, to the whole team, to go down to the local station they were set up in and thank them.

The moment you walked in, Emily spotted you. She put down whatever pictures and maps were in her hand, and rushed over to you. Without exchanging a word you embraced, similarly to how you’d done a few days ago, although much shorter this time as you were in public.

“We got him.” Her voice was assured and her lips curved in just the smallest way as she studied your face.

“I don’t know if I could ever thank you enough,” you told her. You looked over her shoulder to the conference room she’d just abandoned, catching the majority of the other members looking your way. “Is that your team?”

Emily turned around to follow your gaze, most of the others looking away as she did so. “Um, yes. That is them.” You couldn’t exactly figure out what subtle meaning was in her tone of voice, but ultimately chose to ignore it.

“Can I… um, well, can I talk to them? I want to thank them,” you quickly explained. Emily turned around to give you a shy smile.

“Sure,” she agreed, heading towards the conference room. You figured that was your cue to follow her, so you did, trialing close behind her.

She pushed open the doors and introduced you. Of course, they all knew who you were as you’d been a mess when you showed up on their crime scene, and had apparently been a ‘big help’, which the tallest man with a stern face, told you.

“Oh, I didn’t really do anything,” you waved him off. “You did all the hard work, which I wanted to thank you all for. It means a lot that you were here and able to close this case. So thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” a tall, strong-built man replied. “Happy that we could help.”

“But a lot of the credit should go to Emily,” a thin man with curly hair stated, a small smirk on his face, “She really did most of the work.”

Emily opened her mouth to protest as she gave both men a dangerous side eye, to which all they did was fail to suppress a smile. You stopped her before she could refute, “Well, thank you.” The message was broad, directed towards everyone, but your eyes lingered on Emily.

She gave you a single nod, and you quickly glanced around the room at the agents that helped get justice for Alexa before heading out the door. You looked back at Emily before you left, her eyes following you out while the two tall men behind her were passing knowing looks. You caught a glimpse of the blonde agent staring at the whole interaction, then biting her lip and looking away. You looked back towards Emily and the two male agents, the bald one shaking his head in what you could only guess was amusement, something you felt a little flattered about. Again, you weren’t a profiler, but you could read the classic signs of friends teasing friends over something like a crush. You hoped your brain wasn’t too foggy from the whirlwind that your life had become to mistake those signs for something they weren’t.

You were just getting into your car and pulling the driver’s side door shut when the passenger side swung open. Emily plopped down in the passenger seat of your car, quickly shutting the door. Surprised to see her, you just sat there like a fool looking at her.

She glanced over at you, biting her lip, a little bit of mischief in her eyes. “Are you going to drive or should I?”

In response, you finished shutting your door and started the car. “What took you so long?” you teased. “Was it Jennifer?”

“Let’s not talk about Jennifer,” Emily responded, a level of conviction in her voice you hadn’t heard yet.

“No, let’s not,” you agreed. Let’s not talk at all. You leaned across the console, bringing her face to yours with a hand on her cheek. She kissed you back, deeply. Oh what it was like to kiss someone you had feelings for, and not only kiss them, but have them kiss you back. You hadn’t realized just how starved you’d been of this feeling.

You pulled back first, needing to get some air back in your lungs. You plopped back down in your chair a little dazed.

Emily wetted her lips. “I know you wanted to do that before. Why’d you wait?”

“I waited to help you. To help get justice for Alexa,” you briefly explained, pulling out of the parking lot. “I know how important it is to have a clear head.”

“And now?”

“The investigation is over, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Emily confirmed.

“Then I am done waiting. That was the biggest mistake I ever made with her. I waited to tell her until she… until it was too late. I’m never going to do that again. Never.” It was a promise you intended on keeping.

“I did the same thing,” Emily shared, her voice getting quieter.

“I know. So let’s both just agree to be honest and forward with what we want,” you suggested.

“And what is it that you want?”

“You,” you confessed.

The drive from the precinct to your apartment was short, and you were there within the next couple minutes or so.

Taking Emily’s hand, you led her up the stairs and through the door of your apartment. The moment you shut and locked it, Emily was there, pulling you close and kissing you with much more passion than she had before. You pushed off her blazer and started frantically working on the buttons of her dress shirt. You had to part for a moment, just long enough for her to pull your shirt over your head. You were going in to kiss her again, when she stopped you.

“Woah, woah,” she whispered. “Slow down. I want to savor every last moment of this.”

Her eyes tore down your figure, fingers brushing over your collar bones, down around the swell of your breasts and over your stomach. When they reached the top of your jeans, she looked up at you. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to be pushing you to do something you’re not ready for yet. I don’t want you waking up regretting this because you still haven’t taken the time you need to grieve Alexa.”

“Let’s not talk about Alexa,” you copied what Emily had said about Jennifer earlier. “I want to be here with you. Will you let me be here with you?”

She slowly nodded, and the moment she did, you put your lips back on hers. They were soft, just a bit swollen, and she swiped her tongue across your bottom lip, asking for entry. You gave it to her without question, and did you best to resume the work on her dress shirt buttons. Your tongues tangoed as you finally got her shirt off her.

As you led her to your room, you were thankful you didn’t have to pass Alexa’s, and even though no one else lived in your apartment anymore, you shut the door out of habit.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

You woke up just before the early morning sun, drinking in the sight of the sleeping woman next to you. Your legs were tangled in the sheets, arms wrapped around each other.

Even though you’d had the entire night to admire her body, you couldn’t keep yourself from looking over her in awe. The way her face looked so at peace when she was sleeping and the way her dark hair messily fanned around her head made her look too perfect to be real. Everything that happened must’ve been a figment of your imagination, and the little solace you found in her felt like it was going to evaporate with your dreams.

And in a way, it was.

Once she woke up, she’d fly back across the country and go back to working her job like she’d never even met you. Maybe she hooked up with girls all over the country. She didn’t really strike you as that type, but you didn’t really know her.

The universe was playing a cruel joke on you. When you had the chance to spend years with the girl you were in love with, you didn’t have the guts to tell her how you felt, and now that you did, you only had a day or so with her. But in the end, both would leave. Both would be out of your life forever.

You’d been so caught up in these thoughts that you hadn’t noticed Emily peek her eyes open. The sun had just started shining through the blinds, and she squinted against the light. She was also able to see the wet streaks glinting against your skin.

That jolted her awake, sitting up on her elbow. “Hey,” she soothed, cupping your face, “What’s going on?”

You placed your hand on top of hers and wiped at your tears with the other. “You’re perfect,” you told her, voice barely above a whisper, “And you’re leaving. Everyone leaves.”

Instead of responding, Emily tucked you under her arm and held you while your wept. She whispered sweet nothings into your hair and cradled the back of your head. You held onto her like she was the only thing keeping you together, keeping the withering pieces you called yourself from crumbling completely.

But, as you’d said, at some point she’d have to go. She’d have to pick up her things and head back to her life. You were going to have to figure out how to manage on your own.

Once you’d calmed down enough, you apologized to her. She told you that she was there for you, and that you’d always have her number, which helped you feel a little better. Just as she was finishing putting on her clothes and heading toward the door, you said, “You know it’s not too late to tell Jennifer your feelings, right?” Emily gave you a sad look, one that told you it was too late, but you persisted. “She’s only engaged, and engagements can be broken. I saw the way she looked at you yesterday.”

“What do you mean? I thought you said she was oblivious?” Emily countered.

“True, but I was paying a lot more attention to you that day,” you informed her, which made her lips turn up. “But I’m talking about back at the precinct. As I was leaving and you were looking at me, and those two male agents were making eyes about the whole thing, I saw how she looked at you. She was jealous, and I think a little sad too. I’m just telling you that the worst thing that could happen if you tell her is she says no. The worst that could happen if you don’t tell her is you miss out on a life with her. Or before you know it, she’s getting hurt in the field and you end up right back here, just like me. Please, Emily. You have a chance to go for it, to tell her how you feel, something I was too stupid not to take advantage of when I could. Do it before it eats away at you any longer.” It was a plea by the time you finished.

Emily had never looked at you with pity before that moment, but there was a hint of the feeling in her eyes when you finished, like she thought you were desperate or naive. And, maybe you were, but you also thought that some of the pity might have been for herself.

You stood up out of bed, and approached her. She was standing frozen in the doorway, and the look of pity disappeared when you whispered, “It’s not too late.”

Emily pressed her lips to yours, in a slow, delicate way, one that felt like a goodbye. When she pulled back, her eyes were still closed and she barely spoke against your lips. “I hope you’re right.”

You looked deep into her eyes once she finally opened them, trying to remember the shape and the color, and how it felt to get lost in them. But then they were gone again, replaced by the hair on the back of her head as she walked away. She gave you one last small, sad smile before walking out the door of your apartment. That, you knew, would be it.

# # # # # # # # # # # # #

~11 months later~

Voicemail from: Emily Prentiss

“Hey Y/N. It’s me, Emily. I know we haven’t talked since the last time I saw you, and I know this phone call is kind of out of the blue… but, uh, I just felt like I should call you and tell you this myself. You were right. It wasn’t too late, and I told her. I told Jennifer how I really felt, and she broke off the engagement to be with me. We’ve been together now for about ten months, and um… well, this time around we both have rings on our fingers. So I guess what I’m really trying to say is thank you. Had it not been for you, or what you said to me that last night, I would have had to be the maid of honor at her wedding and watched while she married someone else, and the guilt would have eaten me alive. So thank you. You’ve changed my life. I hope that things are going well for you because you deserve everything that’s right in the world. Really, you do. And you always have my number if you ever need anything. Okay, um, I guess that’s all. Goodbye Y/N.”

#

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