#here’s my youngest son his name is exceptional author/work

[xanandhix]

I think it’s really funny of the Kudo/Kuroba parents to have twins and name one of them Masterpiece while the other one have Thief in his name 😭 Yusaku really is the golden youngest child ever since he was born huh.

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Memoriam | Spencer Reid

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: depictions of abuse, pedophilia, talk of murder, panic attacks...

Author's note: This is a rewrite of S04E07 Memoriam because I'd had this idea of reader/OC being Spencer's best friend from Las Vegas and that they'd grown up together and were geniuses together, so when I saw this episode, it kind fit...

Words: 13,947

“Detective Y/L/N,” the captain of the North Las Vegas Police Department approached the Y/H/C woman at her desk. The woman swiveled in her chair, looking up at the man she called her boss. “Can you get the file of that petty arson on my desk by noon?” 

“Sure thing, boss,” she nodded and swiveled back, returning to the very file she was just finishing up. 

Y/N Y/L/N was the youngest detective at the Las Vegas Police Department. At just 22 years old, the girl had joined the department with three doctorates on her name and a BA in Sociology. Now, at 27 years of age, she was the most trusted, the most vetted detective in the department. Her co-workers trusted her more than anyone, all except Detective Hyde. 

The man had known her since she was just a little girl. She was best friends with the son of one of his best friends. Maybe he didn’t like her because he still thought of her as the little girl she used to be. Or maybe he didn’t like her because she was a girl.

Just as she began focusing on her file again, a voice she knew all-too-well snapped her back out of that focus. 

“Hi. I’m Special Agent Spencer Reid with the FBI,” the voice sounded. 

Y/N turned around in the span of a nanosecond, her eyes locking on the source of said sound. There he was. Tall and beautiful as ever. The boy she had grown up with. Her non-biological-twin. Her best friend. 

Slowly, she got up and approached the man she hadn’t seen in a couple of years. He was talking to one of her co-workers, but quickly got distracted when she spoke up. “Dr. Spencer Reid, as I live and breathe.” 

His eyes snapped up, surprise and amazement written all over his face as he saw her. “Detective Y/N Y/L/N,” he scoffed in surprise. “Wow, it’s been–” 

“Six years and forty-five days?” she cut him off with the exact number of years and days she had gone without seeing him. “Not that I’m counting, or anything.” She let out a small chuckle as he did the same. 

Y/N Y/L/N and Spencer Reid had met when they were still in nappies. Their mothers had become fast friends when they were in labor together and gave birth to their kids on the exact same day, at the exact same time. Ever since that day, the two women have been inseparable, as did their kids. Both of them grew up to be geniuses with IQ’s through the roof. They went to school together, graduated high school at twelve years old and went on to graduate from the academy together. 

While both of them applied for the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI, only one of them got hired while the other settled for a life in Vegas with the Police Department there. 

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she then asked when he didn’t move or say anything. 

Spencer seemingly snapped out of a daze as he made a beeline for his oldest friend. “Do you remember Riley Jenkins?” he asked. 

“Wasn’t he your imaginary friend?” she asked, but he quickly shook his head. 

“That’s what I thought, but he actually existed. Can you maybe get everything the LVPD has on the 1984 murder of Riley?” 

Y/N’s eyes widened. “He was murdered?” 

“Yeah… And I think I know who might’ve done it.” 

With a nod of her head, Y/N got to work. She researched every inch of the department until she finally came up with the files from the case in a cardboard box, along with Detective Hyde, who apparently worked the case. 

“That was a rough one,” he sighed as he set the box down on Y/N’s desk. 

“Did you work the case?” Spencer asked while his best friend started looking through some of the files. Memories flashed before her eyes from the time she went to Spencer’s little leagues games and practices. 

“Yeah,” Detective Hyde replied. “I was three of four blocks away when the call came in on the radio. My first kid. You don’t forget those.” 

Y/N looked up to notice Spencer’s sad expression, telling her he’d had his own ‘first kid’ at some point in his career. 

Instead of pressing further on the sentiment, Spencer continued by asking another question. “Let me ask you this, were there any suspects?” 

Something told Y/N he was fishing for a specific answer, something he hadn’t told her yet. 

“We looked at the family initially. The dad, older brother,” Hyde explained. 

“Makes sense. The boy was found in his own basement, right?” Spencer asked. 

Hyde sighed. “Yeah. After a while the family got defensive, stopped cooperating…” 

“Like the JonBenét case?” Y/N chimed in as the thought popped into her head. 

The older man nodded his head in agreement. “I never liked them for it anyway,” he added. “I always figured it was somebody outside the home.” That seemed to elicit some kind of emotion from Spencer, though Y/N couldn’t decipher what it was just yet. 

“What’s the Bureau’s interest in the case?” Y/N then asked. 

Spencer’s eyes flitted to hers before focusing on the box in front of him. “Uh, research.” There was something he wasn’t telling them. Something important. He wasn’t here with the FBI, Y/N figured quickly. He was here of his own volition. 

“Is this everything?” he then asked, diverting the subject. 

“There might be another box down in Records,” Hyde responded, his confused eyes darting from the young agent to the young detective. 

Spencer nodded his head. “I’d like to see it all, if you don’t mind.” 

Nodding his head, Hyde left the two young adults alone to go and get the files they requested. As soon as the man was out of earshot, Y/N turned to the man she once knew as a kid. “What are you hiding from me, Dr. Reid?” she asked in a soft whisper. 

Spencer didn’t answer and opened one of the files, showing a picture of the young boy to Y/N. “Don’t you remember him?” he asked. The kid in the picture gave the camera a soft smile. He was wearing a red Rovers T-Shirt and a red cap that hid his brown curls. 

“From your little leagues games,” she stated as she grabbed the picture. “He was a little older than us, wasn’t he?” 

Humming, Spencer nodded his head. “Yeah, he was six. Dad was his coach. He figured playing ball would make me normal.” 

“But you aren’t normal,” Y/N said with a soft smile. “You’re extraordinary.” She tucked a strand of his hair that had fallen on his forehead behind his ear, but then quickly pulled away when she realized what she had done. 

Spencer’s smile mirrored hers and he opened his mouth to say something, but Detecitve Hyde returned with the rest of the files, stopping the twenty-seven year old from doing so. Instead, he grabbed the files from Hyde, placed them inside the box in front of him and shut it before picking it up. 

“It was nice seeing you again, Y/N/N,” he said with a smile and turned. 

It hurt watching him walk away yet again. It had hurt not seeing or hearing from him for almost seven years. Having him here, close to her, felt right. Watching him walk into the precinct felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. 

“Wait!” she called, stopping him in his tracks. “You need any help?” 

Spencer turned back around and shook his head slightly. “No, that’s okay.” 

As he turned back around, Y/N sighed and rushed forward, stepping in front of him so he couldn’t move. “You’re really just gonna walk out here and not talk to me again for the next seven years? Because that’s not something I can handle. I can tell you’re stressed. I can tell something’s bugging you about this case and I wanna help. I’m your best friend, Spence.” The entire time she talked, she looked at him, trying to gauge any reaction from his face. “And I don’t know if you remember, but I did also almost get into the BAU if another genius hadn’t rightfully taken the spot instead.” 

Spencer sighed. “Y/N/N…” 

“Don’t ‘Y/N/N’ me, Spence. I wanna help. So let me help.” 

Another sigh elicited from the boy in front of her. “Fine. When do you get off?” 

“Now,” she smiled, lying through her teeth. “Lemme get changed and I’ll join you, yeah?”

With a nod of approval from her best friend, Y/N went back to her desk and grabbed the finished file from her desk, dropping it off at the captain’s desk before making it into the locker room where she quickly changed into jeans and a top. 

The two of them headed down to Fountainview, the hotel Spencer was staying at. The whole car ride down there, the two friends filled one another in on their lives. It was a pleasant conversation as though no time had passed. Spencer was still the one person she would feel safest with. He’d been her solace for the past twenty-seven years. Seven years apart didn’t change that. 

“And then I just kicked him in the balls and left the club,” Y/N finished her story with a giggle as she and Spencer walked down the hallway on the fourth floor to his room. “It was–” she cut herself off when she heard a sound coming from the door they’d just stopped at. Judging from the look Spencer gave her, this was not supposed to be happening. 

Slowly but surely, Spencer unlocked the door and walked in first, Y/N following closely behind, just in case she’d have to protect him. Inside the room, the tv was playing reruns of some sort of soap opera Y/N didn’t know the name of, and in front of said tv were two men, both older than Spencer and herself. One of them had to be in his mid-thirties while the other seemed a good twenty years older than them. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Spencer asked, telling Y/N that he did know them. 

“Hey,” the younger one greeted as Y/N and Spencer both moved further into the room. “What’s it look like we’re doing?” he asked, pointing at the tv. 

Spencer moved to set down the box of files on the high stool next to him. “Breaking into my room and watching Days of Our Lives?” 

“Young and the Restless,” the older man corrected before turning the tv off. 

As Spencer put his messenger bag down, the two men looked up at the younger adults in the room. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane back to D.C.?” Spencer asked. 

“And you’re supposed to be hanging out with your mom,” the older said before his eyes darted over to Y/N. “And I don’t think that’s your mom…” 

Spencer looked back at Y/N, who gave the guys a shy wave. “That’s Detective Y/N Y/L/N. She’s my childhood best friend, we went to school together.” 

“Didn’t you graduate at age twelve?” the younger one of the men asked. 

With a grin, Y/N replied, “So did I.” 

“Y/N/N, these are Derek Morgan and David Rossi, my co-workers,” Spencer quickly introduced them, pointing at each of them as he said their respective names. 

“Nice to meet you, agents,” Y/N said politely, smiling. 

Derek smiled back at Y/N, “You too, sweetheart.” The man had a flirty demeanor about him. The way he said the words, the way he looked at her, … All of it just told her that she shouldn’t take the words to heart. It was just how he was. 

Then, Derek’s eyes moved over to the box on the chair to which he pointed. “Riley Jenkins?” he asked. 

Spencer sniffled before stuffing his hands in his pockets, something he did to keep himself from fidgeting too much, Y/N knew. “Uh, no. That’s not… That’s actually not why I’m here. I–” 

“He wanted to see me,” Y/N chimed in, noticing how the man was trying to talk himself out of it. 

Whatever this Riley Jenkins case was to him, his co-workers couldn’t know. 

Derek’s eyes flitted from Y/N to Spencer and back. “You don’t have to lie for him, sweetheart.” 

“She’s not lying. That-that’s why I’m–” 

“Reid,” Derek quickly interrupted as he placed his soda can down on the table between him and David. “Come on, man, who do you think you’re talking to?” He got up from the chair and approached Spencer and Y/N. “I know what this has been doing to you.” 

David was next to get up from his spot. “Let us help,” he said. 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile. His co-workers only wanted what was best for him, she could tell. The fact that they stayed behind in Las Vegas, knowing their co-worker needed their help, was very telling to her. 

“Maybe together we can find out who killed him,” David added. 

“I think I might already know,” Spencer responded with a fearful tremor in his voice that only Y/N caught onto. Her eyebrows furrowed the more she heard him talk about it and the more she watched him and his behavior. 

“So, tell us about the suspect,” Derek encouraged. 

Y/N watched his shoulder tense ever so slightly. “The truth is, I don’t know anything about him.” 

The puzzle pieces clicked in Y/N’s mind. His sudden interest in the case, the lie about the bureau’s interest in the case, the tension in his shoulders… She knew everything about Spencer’s life and the one thing neither of them knew very much about was the reason why he was doing this in the first place. “Your dad…” Y/N whispered. 

The agents exchanged some glances before Spencer started unloading the case files from the box and spreading them out on the bed with Y/N helping him out. 

“Before we go down this road, you need to be sure,” David pointed out, worry evident in his voice. 

“He’s right,” Derek chimed in. “Some rocks don’t need looking under.” 

Y/N looked up at Spencer as he sighed. “My mind is sending me signals. I can’t ignore them any more.” 

“Mixed signals,” Y/N muttered, capturing everyone’s attention. “That’s what the subconscious is all about, you know that better than anyone, Spence.” 

Nodding, Derek continued, “Reid, your dad left you.” Y/N noticed Spencer’s shoulders tensing ever so slightly. “You take it to the Freudian extreme, you could say that he killed your childhood.” 

Y/N’s heart broke a little at the memory of Spencer’s dad leaving. Though he never really talked about it with her, she knew how much it had hurt. She was there for it all. She was there to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and glue them back together in any way she could. 

“It could explain a dream in which you see him as a murderer,” David noted. 

Spencer shook his head. “I’ve come this far, I’m not going back.” 

His two co-workers exchanged glances once more before the four of them got to work. As each of them grabbed a file to look over, they gathered in the living area to go over the case together. While Spencer and David occupied each of the lounge chairs, Derek paced the length between it and Y/N was perched on the armrest of the chair Spencer was sitting on. 

“Riley was six at the time. His father, Lou Jenkins, was supposed to pick him up from T-ball practice at four, but he got delayed at work, prompting Riley to walk the three blocks home,” Spencer started to explain the case. 

Y/N nodded her head, already pretty familiar with the case. “When his mother got home in the early evening, she found him dead in the basement,” she continued. 

“So the offender came to the house after the boy arrived home,” Rossi noted, his eyes flicking up to the younger agent and his best friend. 

“Or picked him up on the way there,” Spencer offered his two cents. 

Derek stopped pacing for a moment as he spoke up. “Coaxes Riley into the basement, where he sexually assaults him.” 

A shiver ran down Y/N’s back as she thought of the boy she once knew. 

“The boy’s mouth was taped shut,” David read from his file. 

“Symbolic,” Y/N answered. “The perp fears Riley will talk, panics, weighs his options, …” 

“Decides to make certain that he’ll never talk,” Derek finished her thought before sitting down on one of the chairs to her right. 

David then continued, “He finds a knife in the fishing gear under the stairs, stabs Riley nine times in the chest. Stuffs him behind the washing machine.” The older man closed the file with a sigh. 

“So, the UnSub’s a white male in his late twenties to early thirties,” Spencer pondered. 

Y/N turned to him for a moment. “UnSub?” 

“Unknown Subject,” he quickly whispered, reminding her of the theory they had seen when they were in the academy together. Having not used the term in over seven years, a girl can sometimes forget. Unlike Spencer, she didn’t have an eidetic memory. 

“So that means we’re looking for someone in his fifties,” David spitballed. 

“And he likely knew the boy, maybe even been to his house,” Derek went on. 

“Neighbor,” David finished, having Derek nod his head in agreement. 

Finding her best friend a little too quiet for his own good, Y/N looked down to find him looking at a map of North Las Vegas. It was clear his brain was picking up on something but the thought hadn’t quite finished processing yet. 

“Spence?” she asked, capturing his attention. “What is it?” 

“My family lived less than a half mile from the Jenkinses,” he said, then pointed at a house a couple squares away from his. “And so did yours.” 

“Do you think your dad knew the boy?” Rossi questioned, brows furrowed before he glanced over to Y/N. “What about yours?” 

The girl shook her head. “Mine’s been dead since before I was born. Died in combat while my mother was pregnant with me.” 

“I don’t know,” Spencer then answered his co-worker’s question. “My memory is…” he rubbed his eye in frustration. “The lack of recall just reinforces how little I knew about him.” 

A sigh heaved Derek’s chest as he turned to his youngest colleague. “Reid, we’re gonna have to track him down. You do know that.” 

“We should talk to my mother first, neighbors, get their impressions,” Spencer suggested instead, clearly not ready for a reunion with his father just yet. Noticing the tension in his shoulders, Y/N placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing ever so slightly to let him know she was there for him. 

“Reid, I don’t need to tell you that this signature was need-based and sexual in nature,” Rossi sounded almost reassuring. “The man we’re looking for is a pedophile.” Spencer’s jaw tensed. “So, I’ll ask you again, are you sure you want to go down this road?” 

Derek and Y/N glanced over to Spencer before the guy got up with slight hesitation in his movements. “I’m gonna talk to my mother first.” He turned to the Y/H/C girl next to him. “You wanna come?” 

Nodding her head, Y/N followed behind Spencer as the two of them made their way to the sanitarium where his mother was a patient. Y/N had been there a few times to visit Diana without Spencer knowing. After all, she’d been the one to push Spencer to send his mother there when they were eighteen. 

“Oh, Y/N/N!” Diana greeted in excitement, seemingly happier to see the girl than her own son. “I’m so happy to see you again. Did you read the book I gave you last time?” 

Spencer turned his head towards his best friend in confusion. “Last time?” he asked. 

Decidedly ignoring him, Y/N nodded her head in response to Diana’s question. “I did. I absolutely loved it. Just like you told me I would,” she told her with a soft smile, placing a hand on her arm. “Hey, how about a game of scrabble, huh?” She motioned to the board game in front of them. 

Diana offered her a smile as the three of them started playing. The young woman could feel her best friend shifting in his seat, his brain whirring at thousands of miles per hour. He was spiraling, anxious to ask his questions. 

“Mom…” he then finally started as Y/N was placing her letters on the board to form a word. “Can I ask you some questions about Dad? I’m having trouble remembering.” 

“Quixotry,” Diana read Y/N’s word. “That’s a great word, Y/N/N.” The woman beamed at the girl before turning to her son. “What do you wanna know?” She was now focused on her turn, trying to find a good word. 

“Did he like to be around children?” Spencer asked carefully. 

Diana looked up from the board. “Children? Well, yes.” She returned her gaze to the game a little too quickly. Something was telling Y/N that the woman she had called her second mom was hiding something. “If it were up to him, you’d have a house full of brothers and sisters.” 

“You didn’t want more kids?” Y/N then asked, genuinely interested. 

With a proud smile, Diana looked from the girl to her son. “Why mess with perfection?” She winked at Y/N with a smirk on her face. The young woman looked up at her best friend, who was gazing at his mother in admiration. 

“Yeah, it was pretty perfect on the first go,” Y/N agreed. Her admission caused Spencer to tear his eyes away from his mother to land on her instead. The sparkle in his eyes still remained the same, even after seven years. Even after all these years, she still had to deny the butterflies in her stomach she got whenever he looked at her like that. 

Shaking himself away from his thoughts, Spencer turned back to his mother. “What about other people’s children? How was he around them?” 

“He was good with kids, I guess,” Diana responded. “He coached your Little League team.” 

Y/N nodded her head. “I remember that, always trying to put him into normal activities.” 

“I tried to tell him you’re not normal, you were exceptional,” Diana added to this, smiling up at her son. It was nice to hear the words she thought of Spencer come from his own mother. Though Spencer himself wasn’t really hearing it. 

“Let me ask you this, Mom,” he said, shifting in his chair and pushing his hair back. “Did you ever get the feeling like, on his part, the marriage was just for show?” 

“Spence,” Y/N hissed, wanting to keep him from hurting his own mother’s feelings. 

However, Diana wasn’t too phased about the question. “These questions are very strange, Spencer. What is this about?” she asked instead. 

“It’s about Riley Jenkins,” he said, almost tearfully. 

“Riley Jenkins?” Diana asked. “I told you he was someone you made up.” 

“He’s not, though, Diana,” Y/N told her softly, reaching for her hand. The woman looked at her with confusion in her eyes, begging her to explain what was going on. 

“He was a real boy who lived in our neighborhood, and somebody killed him, and…” Spencer continued as his mother looked at him, allowing the words to simmer in her mind. “I don’t know, I think that Dad might have had something to do with it.” 

Diana’s grip on Y/N’s hand tightened. “He was real?” 

“Yeah,” Y/N answered in a whisper, squeezing right back. “He was on that Little League team, too. With Spence. I-I remember going to the games and the practices with my mom to cheer him on.” 

Y/N could hear Spencer sniffle, so with the hand she wasn’t holding Diana’s, she reached out for Spencer’s, holding both Reid’s hands tightly. There was nothing else they were going to get out of Diana and Y/N knew that. So, after a few moments of holding mother and son, Y/N let their hands go. 

“We’ll let you get some rest, mama,” she told Diana with a soft smile before turning to Spencer, urging him to get up, too. “We’ll be back to visit soon, okay?” She kissed the woman’s cheek before taking a few steps back to let Spencer say goodbye to his mother. Once he did, the two of them fell into step together. 

“You visit her?” he asked when they were outside.

Y/N shrugged. “One of us has to,” she simply replied before getting in the car again. 

After informing the two other agents of the information they got from Diana, Derek, Spencer and Y/N headed into town to find Lou Jenkins, Riley’s father. They explained everything to Lou about their theory of William Reid being the one who killed his son. 

“It’s just a theory, Mr. Jenkins,” Spencer reassured him. 

The man threw something in the back of his truck, Y/N couldn’t see what it was, before he turned to the agents and detective. “You must be out of your damn minds,” he said. 

“We’re just trying to get some new facts,” Y/N stated. 

Lou turned to the Y/H/C, trying to appear intimidating towards her, but none of that ever worked on Y/N. Unlike Spencer, Y/N had actually grown a spine to stand up against bullies and men who tried to overpower her. 

“Well, you’re hell and gone from facts if you think Will Reid killed my son,” he said, nearly spitting in the girl’s face. Derek placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, pushing him back from Y/N. 

“So, you were friends?” Spencer asked instead. 

Glancing between the agents and detective, Lou recoiled a little. “Who the hell are you to come here asking this?” 

“I’m his son,” Spencer answered, stopping the man dead in his tracks. Lou looked at the young man in front of him. 

“Spencer?” he asked and the boy she once knew made a reappearance with the expression on his face. “Spencer, a G-man.” He then turned to Y/N. “And the Y/H/C never too far from ya, hey?” A blush fanned across Y/N’s cheeks. She had always been Spencer’s shadow to everyone else but to Spencer and their moms. “I still don’t understand.” 

“Was William around your house often?” Derek questioned. 

“Yeah, the occasional barbecue, that sort of thing.”

“Was Riley around on those occasions?” Y/N continued. 

Lou’s eyes flitted from the girl to the two men flanking her. “Why are you doing this?” 

“I need to know,” Spencer replied and pressed his lips together. 

Noticing the tension in his shoulders returning, Y/N reached for the balled-up fist on his side and unfurled his fingers, placing her palm against his and intertwining their fingers. It was something she used to do whenever he was panicking about something in school or when the bullies would get to him again. 

He visibly relaxed as she hid their intertwined hands behind her back. 

“Take it from someone who does know. He was a good man,” Lou reassured them, but something about the way he said it struck Y/N. Neither of the agents noticed it as Derek turned and patted Spencer on the stomach, his arm grazing Y/N’s chest as she stood between the two men. 

“Thanks for your time,” Derek said as he walked away. 

Y/N began to let go of Spencer’s hand to follow behind Derek when Spencer’s grip on her tightened as he stayed put. “Where is he these days?” he asked Lou. “My dad?” 

“It’s been years, but he’s probably still at that same firm in Summerlin,” Lou answered. 

Spencer’s grip loosened on Y/N’s hand as he slumped. “He’s been in town this whole time?” Her heart broke at the sight of him. Once again, Spencer’s dad broke the boy’s heart and Y/N was there to pick up the pieces. 

That was never going to end, was it? 

“As far as I know,” Lou replied before Spencer let go of Y/N and turned on his heel. 

Y/N shot one last smile at Lou before falling into step with the two agents. 

“You know Summerlin?” Derek asked both of them. 

“Yeah, it’s like nine miles east of here,” Spencer replied. 

“Off the 95,” Y/N finished his sentence. 

“He was ten minutes away and he never let me know.” 

Rossi joined the three of them at the company William Reid worked at. As they entered what seemed to be the lobby of the law firm, Y/N started to look around to take in her surroundings. Before she could take anything in, an unfamiliar voice sounded. 

“Can I help you, gentleman?” The woman behind the desk got up and walked towards the front desk. One glance at the small board on her table told Y/N her name was Ms. Cahill. “And lady,” she added when her eyes fell on the Y/H/C. 

“Yeah,” Spencer replied and then fell silent. He inhaled a couple of times, opening his mouth to say anything, but nothing came out. 

“We’d like to speak with William Reid,” Y/N said in his place. 

“Is he expecting you?” Ms. Cahill asked. 

“I don’t think so,” Rossi said before flashing the woman his FBI badge. 

While the woman told them Will was in a meeting, Y/N’s eyes landed on Spencer. He was having difficulty breathing, like he was on the verge of a panic attack, something Y/N knew all-too-well. The boy used to have them all the time when they were kids and Y/N was always the one to help him out of it. 

“Are you okay?” Derek asked before Y/N could. 

Spencer nodded his head. “Yeah. No. Yeah, I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Before either of them could say anything, he sped off towards the bathroom, leaving Y/N with his co-workers. 

“I’ve never seen him like this,” Derek pointed out. 

A heavy sigh heaved Y/N’s chest. “I have,” she said. “Excuse me.” 

She pushed past Derek and followed Spencer to the bathroom, not even caring she was entering the boys’ bathroom. Her heart and mind were set out on helping her best friend. She didn’t care much about bathroom etiquette. 

“Spence?” she called out just before one of the stalls slowly opened. The man walked out of the cubicle, hands shaking and lip trembling. “Hey, you okay?” He simply shook his head before placing empty vials of something on the sink. Y/N reached for one, inspecting the label. Her heart sank. “Dilaudid, seriously, Spence?” Her voice contained more anger than she had intended to. 

He splashed a bit of water in his face and blindly reached for the paper towels. Quickly jumping to his aide, Y/N handed him two. “Don’t, Y/N/N. You weren’t there,” he told her calmly as he dried his face. 

“For what? For you to get hopped up on some drug?” She held the vial up for emphasis. 

“For me being kidnapped and tortured!” The volume of his voice went up ever so slightly. 

The anger that resided on Y/N’s chest washed away as her heart plummeted into her stomach. “What?” she whispered, her eyes filling up with tears. “Spencer…” 

“Let’s just get this over with,” he said and pushed past her before she could even say anything else. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Y/N followed behind him and joined the other agents and Spencer’s father. 

“Did something happen?” Y/N heard William ask. 

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Spencer responded in a cool, toned-down manner, much different from how he was moments before. The dilaudid seemed to be working quickly, Y/N thought. “Hello, Dad.” 

William Reid looked at his son as if he’d seen the ghost of Christmas past. Y/N was suddenly reminded of all the times she had spent at the Reids’ and every time William picked them both up from school because her mother was working overtime and couldn’t pick her up. 

“Spencer…” William whispered before his eyes landed on the girl next to him. “I’m glad you two are still together.” 

Y/N couldn’t help but scoff at his comment. There had been so much in the last seven years she didn’t even know about. So much had happened. So much for which she should’ve been there for him. Too much, it seemed. 

“Let’s talk in my office.” William invited the four of them into his office. While he himself took a seat on the armchair, Rossi opted for the couch opposite of him. After what happened in the bathroom, Y/N felt withdrawn from her best friend and opted to lean against the bookshelves, Derek joining her quickly, while Spencer stayed put near the door. 

“You don’t look like me any more,” William told his son. “You used to. Everybody said so.” 

Y/N’s eyes flicked towards Spencer, who was exhibiting a cool stance towards his father. “They say some people look like their dogs, too,” he started. “It’s attributed to prolonged mutual exposure. Elderly couples, also. They unconsciously mimic the expressions of people they’ve been around their whole life. It’s why we’ve been called non-biological twins our whole life,” he said, motioning towards Y/N at the end. “So it kind of makes sense that I wouldn’t really look like you. I haven’t seen you in twenty years.” 

No one else noticed it, but Spencer’s bottom lip quivered. He was keeping up a strong facade, but it didn’t fool Y/N.  

“So, are you in town on work?” William asked. 

“We’re just wrapping up a case,” Rossi intervened smoothly. Maybe Y/N wasn’t the only one who noticed Spencer’s lip quivering. They were profilers after all, studying everyone’s behavior. 

“A five-year-old boy was abducted and murdered,” Derek chimed in. 

William looked up at Derek and Y/N. “I read about that. Ethan Hayes, right?” Glancing over at Y/N, Spencer’s eyebrows furrowed at his father’s behavior and he knew she had taken note, too. “That’s terrible.” 

“Yeah,” Spencer agreed. “That case got me thinking about Riley Jenkins.” 

“You remember Riley Jenkins, Mr. Reid?” Y/N questioned. 

William nodded. “Of course.” 

“I’ve been having dreams about him for a really long time,” Spencer explained. “But when I came back here for this case, it jogged something and the dream changed. I saw his killer and it was you.” 

Along with Spencer’s co-workers, Y/N paid close attention to William to see if anything in his behavior or reaction would tip them off. 

“Interesting dream,” William said, oddly calmly. 

Y/N’s head tilted slightly. “You don’t seem that surprised.” 

Turning back to his son, William smiled ever so slightly. “I stopped being surprised by Spencer’s mind a long time ago.” The man almost sounded proud. 

“There are certain criteria we consider when looking at this type of suspect,” Rossi continued, ignoring the pride in William’s face. “You fit parts of that profile.” 

William glanced at Y/N, a familiar face for guidance. When she didn’t offer any, he turned back to Rossi. “Me?” 

“We just want your cooperation,” said Rossi. 

“My cooper–” William chuckled in disbelief as he glanced at every person in the room. Neither of them were giving him any satisfactory answer, all four of them glaring at him to gauge his reaction. “You’re not actually saying you think I killed Riley Jenkins.” 

Spencer shook his head ever so slightly. “We didn’t say that.” 

“Good. Because that’s absurd.” 

“We’d just like permission to look through your computer, access your records,” Derek stated. 

William leaned forward in his chair. “And what would you be looking for, exactly?” No answer came forth, telling the hot-shot lawyer enough. “You want access to my files, get a warrant.” 

Having asked him enough questions, the team of four returned to the hotel. Rossi and Derek got their own rooms while Y/N joined Spencer in his. She wanted to help him on the case a little more, see if they could come up with something together. Plus, if it gave her the chance to ask him some questions about what had happened to him, it would be even better. 

As the two of them turned the corner in the hallway, Spencer dialed another co-worker’s number. Penelope Garcia, he’d explained to her. Tech analyst at the BAU. Computer wizard. “Yeah, we’re not gonna get a warrant so we’re going to have to go under the radar on this one, Garcia.” 

“You want me to hack your father’s network,” Y/N could hear Penelope’s voice from the other side of the line. “You’re sure about this?” 

The two of them stopped in front of room number 419. “I really wish people would stop asking me that,” he said to Penelope as he reached into his pocket for his keycard. He hung up the phone as he opened the door, stopping in his tracks as his foot stepped on something that wasn’t the carpet. His sudden halting caused Y/N to bump into him. 

With confusion written in her eyes, she watched as Spencer bent down to require the folder that was on the floor. It was a brown envelope with a post-it stuck on the flap. “You’re looking at the wrong guy”, it read. 

Spencer glanced over his shoulder at his best friend. “Do you know about this?” 

She shook her head in response before he opened the envelope and fished out the files inside. At the very top of the bundle was a picture attached. More accurately, a mugshot from someone named Gary B Michaels. 

Spencer glanced at Y/N before leaving the room again, this time, with the file in hand. Slightly frustrated by his lack of communication, Y/N followed behind, closing the door behind her but not before checking if Spencer had taken the roomkey with him. 

Rossi and Morgan were in the downstairs bar, nursing a drink when the two younger ones joined them, Y/N a mere half a minute later. Spencer handed them the envelope without a word. 

“Was the envelope dropped off at the front desk first?” Rossi asked. 

“Nope, I asked the front desk. No one dropped anything off for Spencer,” Y/N replied. 

Rossi nodded his head in thought. “So, they know what room you were in.” 

“I do have to admit, the timing of this seems a little suspicious,” Derek agreed. 

“Yeah, an hour after I see my father, we’re handed another suspect.” 

Rossi looked up from the file. “You think you knew this guy?” 

“I don’t know,” Spencer replied. “I think so but I’m not sure. I … No, I don’t know.” He was stuttering and chaotically jumping from one thought to the other. 

Nodding at Y/N, Derek asked, “What about you? Have you seen him before?” 

“Can’t say that I have… Or…” she reached for the picture again, looking at the man properly and in a more lit-up room. The dark eyes pierced through Y/N’s Y/E/C ones as if he could reach through the photo and just grab her like that, transporting her to her childhood. 

“That’s a pretty dress.” 

Before she could go any further in that memory, Rossi’s voice stopped her. “‘Exposed himself to a minor.’ That’s a precursor to molestation,” he said and his words threw Y/N right back. 

She was at the playground, waving her ribbon around while Spencer was playing chess by himself, when a man stopped her in her tracks. 

“That’s a pretty dress,” he complimented her cherry-patterned dress her mother had put her in that morning, even though she wanted to wear pants and a T-shirt. Y/N looked up at him. He was tall and his hair was smoothed back by gel, leaving it sticky and greasy-looking. 

“Thank you,” innocent, unknowing Y/N responded. “Mommy picked it out for me.” 

“Are those real cherries?” he asked and crouched to her level, reaching for the dress, feeling its fabric between his fingers. 

Young Y/N frowned at him. “Of course not, silly.” 

“I think it is,” he replied and tickled her belly before pretending to eat a handful of cherries, causing the young girl to laugh. “You like cherries?” Y/N nodded her head eagerly. “So do I.” 

“Y/N/N?” Spencer’s voice brought her right back to the present day. She blinked rapidly, adjusting to the bright light of the hotel’s lobby. “You okay?” he asked. Before she could say anything, Derek’s phone rang, cutting the men’s worry for the young woman away. 

“It’s Garcia,” Derek said before picking up and putting the phone on speaker. “Talk to me, baby girl.” 

Y/N gave the man an intrigued look, but decided not to say anything. 

“I’m not interrupting boy time at Crazy Horse Too, am I?” the peppy-sounding woman asked. 

“You know that’s not my thing. I’m more for in-room entertainment.” 

“I can’t help you there, but I do give good phone.” 

Y/N looked over at Spencer who gave her a look that told her this was how they always interacted with one another. 

“Let me hear what you’ve got.” 

“Reid, we’ve been all up in your father’s business,” Garcia started. 

“What did you find?” 

“Well, let me tell you first what I did not find. No kiddie porn, no membership to illicit websites, no dubious e-mails, no chat room history.”

“What about his finances?” Spencer asked, his shoulders tensing a little again. 

Another voice came through the speaker now, one Y/N didn’t recognize. He sounded like a strong male, very authoritative voice. “We went back ten years. No questionable transactions that we could find.”

“Well, he did buy a ticket to see Céline Dion six months ago,” another woman’s voice came next. “But I think we can overlook that.” 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly. Céline Dion was very often playing in their house. Both at Spencer’s and at her own. The two families were pretty crazy about the French-Canadian singer. 

“He’s smart. Is it possible he kept things under the table?” Spencer wanted to know next. 

The man’s voice sounded through again. “Well, of course. But from what we can tell, Reid, he doesn’t fit the profile.” 

“We can tell you other things about him, if you want to know,” the female voice that wasn’t Garcia’s said. 

Spencer looked down at Y/N as if to find his footing again. “I’m listening.” 

“Uh, he’s a workaholic. He actually logs more hours than we do,” the woman said. “He makes decent money, but he doesn’t spend a lot of it. He has a modest house, he drives a hybrid. He doesn’t travel much, he stays away from the casinos. And according to his veterinary bills, he has a very sick cat.”

The man spoke next. “He appears to spend most of his free time alone, and goes to the movies a lot, and he reads. And from his collection of first editions, it seems his favorite author is…” 

“Isaac Asimov. I remember that one,” Spencer cut him off. He was agitated, doubting every single belief he had about his father. Though she was still kind of upset with him, Y/N reached for his hand again and intertwined their fingers, hoping that would ground him again. 

“He does have one other major interest. On his home computer he’s archived a gajillion things on one common subject,” Garcia took over again. 

A smile spread on Y/N’s face, knowing what she was going to say. 

“What?” Spencer asked. 

“You, kiddo.” Y/N could hear the smile in Garcia’s voice and she squeezed Spencer’s hand. “He’s got like everything that’s been published online. Every article you’ve been quoted in, pieces you’ve written for behavioral science journals. He even has a copy of your dissertation.” 

“He’s keeping tabs on you,” Y/N told him, beaming. “That’s saying something.” 

“Yeah, and he Googled me. That makes up for everything,” he said before pushing past his colleagues, letting go of the one hand that could ground him. “I need some air.” 

“Spence!” Y/N called, but he was already gone. 

Derek sighed as he spoke into the phone again. “You guys still there?” 

“I thought we were giving him good news,” Garcia sighed, too. “Also, who else is there? I swore I heard a woman’s voice.” 

“Oh, that would be me,” Y/N answered. “I’m Detective Y/N Y/L/N. Spencer’s childhood best friend. I’m trying to help out here, wherever I can.” 

“Didn’t you apply for the spot at the BAU, too?” the male voice sounded again. “I remember seeing your resume on my desk.” 

Y/N let out an awkward chuckle. “Yeah, I did. But, uh, you chose Spencer over me. Which is totally valid. He’s a great guy and I bet he’s a great asset to your team.”  

“I’m sorry we didn’t pick you, Detective Y/L/N,” the man said. 

“It’s fine. I’m proud of Spencer for getting in anyway and I’m happy in my job, so. Hey, no resentment, all right?” 

“Glad to hear that. Can we do anything else for you guys there?” 

Derek held the phone up to his mouth. “Yeah, look up a name for us, if you would. Gary Brandan Michaels.” 

The name alone sent shivers down Y/N’s spine, bringing her right back to that day on the playground. 

His hand moved from her belly down to her short legs, placing one on the back of her knee. “Could you do a twirl for me, pretty girl?” 

She quickly snapped herself back out of it and looked up at the two men in front of her. “I need some air,” she whispered and took off the same way Spencer did. Trying to find her breathing again, she stopped around the corner and focused on her respiration. It wasn’t until she heard his familiar voice that she looked up again to take in her surroundings. She found herself on the other side of the lobby where they had some of those casino machines. One of which was manned by her best friend. 

He was accompanied by a blonde girl in a sparkly purple dress. She was sitting a bit too close to her best friend for Y/N’s liking. 

“Normally video poker odds are slightly worse, at point-seven percent in your favor, but if you employ optimal strategy and always draw for the royal flush, you can push those odds to point-two percent,” Spencer explained to the woman. 

“Hmm,” the woman hummed. “Smart and handsome.” 

Spencer looked up at this, but his eyes weren’t on the woman for more than a second as they caught something behind her. Or rather someone. 

“So are you in town for the convention?” she asked while reaching for a cigarette. 

Spencer slightly shook his head to force himself to pry his eyes away from the beautiful Y/H/C in the corner who was looking at him, too. “Um, there are twelve conventions in town this week, which one are you talking about?” 

“Take your pick,” she said, laughing, before lighting the cigarette. 

Upon seeing this, Y/N walked over. “Six minutes,” she mumbled. The woman’s eyes landed on the newest addition to their conversation as she blew out her smoke, though Y/N couldn’t but focus on how Spencer’s lips twitched up into a smile. 

“Excuse me?” the woman asked, clearly offended. 

Spencer shook his head slightly with a smile. “I-it was something I used to say to my mom to try to get her to quit smoking. A cigarette takes six minutes off your life. So every time she’d light one, I’d say, ‘that’s six minutes less that I get to spend with you’.”

“Aw! Did it work?” 

If Y/N hated how the woman was so charmed by her best friend, she was very much showing it, though neither of them noticed. 

“No,” Spencer replied chuckling. 

“Because I’ve tried it all. The gum, the patch, nothing works.” 

The Y/H/C let out a chuckle. “You should try hypnosis, they’ve had a lot of success in the–” Just as the idea popped into Y/N’s head, it seemingly did in Spencer’s, too, as his head snapped up at her with wide eyes. 

“Tell you what, I’ll put mine out if you buy me a drink,” the woman tried, but Spencer wasn’t even listening anymore. 

Grimacing at the woman, Y/N placed her hands on Spencer’s shoulders. “Not today, sweetheart.” 

Just as Spencer turned in his chair, Derek and David joined Y/N’s side. “We’ve been looking all over the place for both of you. Come on,” said Derek with a serious expression on his face. 

Spencer got up from his chair and took Y/N’s hand in his, entwining their fingers to give her the support and calmth she needed after her near-panic attack just mere moments earlier. 

“Hey! You won like two-thousand dollars here,” the woman called. 

“Keep it,” Spencer told her over his shoulder. 

“You do realize you just gave two grand to a hooker,” Rossi pointed out. 

Derek’s eyes glanced from the woman in the purple dress to Spencer to Y/N. “Must’ve been quite a conversation. What was it about?” 

“How to stop smoking,” Spencer replied before walking off, dragging Y/N with him. 

Outside, Spencer explained his plan. Derek and Rossi weren’t entirely in on the plan, but Y/N convinced them that it could help. 

“I could sit in,” Y/N suggested, but Rossi shook his head. 

“No, I’ll sit in, make sure everything’s going well.” 

Furrowing her eyebrows, Y/N looked at him. “Why not? We’re practically soulmates, we–I can help.” 

“That’s just it, Y/N,” Derek chimed in. “You’re too close. Let Rossi do it. We’ll wait out here.” 

After a reassuring nod from Spencer, Y/N sat down next to Derek, allowing Rossi to go in with him. She didn’t love this. Her best friend might get hurt and she wouldn’t even be there to patch up the breakage. 

“You and Spencer…” Derek started once the silence settled over them in the waiting room. “You’ve been more than friends?” 

“No,” Y/N shook her head. 

“But you wanted to?” 

Y/N’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. Never had she even admitted to herself that what she felt for Spencer was more than platonic. She didn’t want to admit it, scared that it was true and it was going to ruin what they had going on. 

“I–How do you know?” she asked, her voice quiet and vulnerable. 

A soft laugh erupted from Derek’s throat. “I’m a profiler, Y/L/N. Besides, it’s blatantly obvious.” 

“How so?” 

“Come on, the way you look at each other, the way you hold each other’s hands…”

Y/N’s brows furrowed. “Wait,” she said, confusion laced in her voice. “You’re not saying ‘you’. You’re not talking about the way I look at him, but the way we look at each other…” 

“Pretty Boy’s blatantly in love with you, too, genius.” 

Scoffing, Y/N shook her head. “Yeah, and I’m the Queen of England.” 

Derek wetted his lips as he chuckled. “All right, Your Majesty. Whatever you wanna believe…” 

“Y/N/N!” the sudden scream of her name caused her to jolt from her chair and rush into the practice where she found Spencer on the couch, panting and frantically looking around the room. 

“Spence,” she whispered and rushed to his side, relieving Rossi from his protective duty. “Spence, you’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.” She soothed him, allowing him to grab onto her hand as she smoothed his hair back and pressed kisses to his head. “You’re okay.”   

Once Spencer had calmed down and explained to his co-workers and Y/N what he had seen, he had decided to go back to his mother to confront her and ask her about that day. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Y/N asked, her voice soft and fragile. 

Spencer looked down at her and nodded her head. “Please,” he whispered. 

Derek dropped them off at Bennington Sanitarium, wanting to wait for the couple in the car until they were ready. The whole way to her room, Spencer held Y/N’s hand tightly, power walking through the familiar hallways. They found her in her room where Spencer explained what he had seen in his vision. Y/N watched from the sidelines and noticed how Diana became more and more agitated. 

“Try to remember, Mom,” said Spencer, needing to push her a little. 

“No, I can’t.” 

“You were there. You watched Dad burn the bloody clothes.” 

Diana shook her head. “You had a dream.” 

“Mom, this was not a dream,” Spencer pressed, causing his mother to turn around to face him. “This was a memory. It was a memory and I saw you.” 

She walked up to him and grabbed his face in her hands lovingly. “Your mind. Such a treasure. Even as a baby you knew about things you weren’t supposed to know.” 

“This is not about me. This is about Riley Jenkins.” 

“It was always about you,” Diana said in a whisper, matching her son’s tone of voice. 

“Please, Mom. Please. Please just try to remember,” Spencer tried again as he grabbed her hands and guided her over to her bed where they sat down. “Remember Riley. Riley.”

“Riley… Riley,” she mimed as she let the name simmer in her brain. “Riley was real. Poor Riley.” 

“Yes,” Spencer whispered. “Poor Riley. Poor Riley. Did Dad do something to him?” 

Diana looked up at her son in surprise. “Dad? No.” 

“Think, think, think,” Spencer pressed. 

“No, no, no, no. That’s– No, no. Now you’re confusing me, Spencer. No.” She placed her hands over her face. It was stressing her out. He was pressing and pushing her too far. 

“Spence,” Y/N tried softly, but he didn’t hear her. 

“You knew, Mom. You knew about Dad and you didn’t do anything.” 

“No, you don’t know. No! No, no, you don’t know! You don’t…” Then, she started to yell out her ‘no’s before getting up and starting to hit herself. 

“Mama,” Y/N walked up to her and tried to keep her from hurting herself, but Spencer quickly pulled her away and let the nurses push past them to get Diana in control. As the two of them watched the nurses put something in her arm to calm her down, they held onto one another tightly. Spencer’s lips were pressed against Y/N’s hair, the scent of her shampoo calming him down. 

“He got to Y/N/N,” Diana whispered once the medicine started working. 

Y/N and Spencer exchanged glances before Spencer let go of the girl. “What? What did you say?” 

“He got to Y/N/N and it could’ve been you, too.” 

The flashbacks she’d been having were real. They were actual memories from her childhood. From the guy that touched her and asked her to twirl. The guy that killed Riley Jenkins was the same guy that played with her with her ribbon. 

It could’ve been either of them, instead of Riley. 

The following day, Y/N went back to work, not entirely ready to face her captain’s wrath about missing a few days, but she had to go through it. He wasn’t entirely happy, but the girl didn’t get fired either. A warning, Hyde had said. Another one and she’d be out. 

For as long as she could, she tried to focus on her work. It was a simple filing day, so there didn’t need to be too many brain cells involved in this activity. Lucky for her, because most of her brain cells were focusing on the Riley Jenkins case, her conversation with Derek about Spencer and Spencer himself. 

Y/N knew she had a crush on her best friend. She had since they were sixteen but she couldn’t admit that to anyone else. Not even herself. 

“What was Lou Jenkins doing here?” The familiar and normally soothing voice of Spencer Reid made her jump out of her thoughts. 

Sighing, Y/N smiled her fakest smile. “Good morning, Y/N/N. Good morning, Spence. What can I do ya for?” She held the whole conversation by herself, earning an annoyed glare from her best friend. “I don’t know what he was doing here, I didn’t even notice him.” 

“I thought you were a good detective,” Spencer quipped, and though Y/N knew he was only teasing, it actually stung a bit. 

“What are you doing here, Dr. Reid?” she asked, allowing her tone to showcase just how pissed off she was. 

Spencer’s features softened. “Can you come with us? We gotta convince Detective Hyde that we wanna arrest my dad.” 

“Don’t you need a good detective for that?” she shot back and swiveled in her chair, away from him. 

She heard him sigh before he turned her chair around again. His eyes glazed over ever so slightly as he crouched down to her level. The flashbacks from her childhood returned for a quick second. “I’m sorry, Y/N/N. That was uncalled for. Please, will you help me?” 

“Get up,” she whispered, not wanting to be reminded of the guy in the playground again. “Please, Spence. Get up.” Confused, Spencer stood up straight again before Y/N took a breath and got up, too. 

“Are you okay, Y/N?” Derek asked, worry laced in his eyes. 

She offered them a smile. “Fine. Let’s go.” 

Allowing Spencer to sit down in front of Detective Hyde, Y/N and Derek remained by the door. Spencer explained the entire case to the detective, handing over the file they had compiled. 

“You’ve got no evidence,” Hyde concluded. 

“A suspect can be detained for questioning for forty-eight hours, regardless of evidence,” Spencer told him. 

Hyde glanced up to Y/N and Derek before turning his focus back on Spencer. “I’m not in the habit of ruining people’s reputations on a whim.” 

“Where’s your Captain? I want to talk to your Captain,” Spencer stated. 

“Talk all you want,” Hyde chided. “This was a local murder and your authority ends at the state line.” 

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Y/N said, “Mine doesn’t.” 

Detective Hyde glared at his co-worker before getting up and taking a seat on the edge of his desk. “Look, why don’t you just head back over to the Fountainview, and have a couple of drinks by the pool, and think about this?” 

“I have thought about this,” Spencer stated determinedly. 

“The guy’s your father.”

“What’s your point, Detective?” 

“Maybe you’re here to work out some other issues…” Spencer got up just as Derek approached the two of them, pushing past his co-worker. 

“Listen, Detective–” 

Derek started, but Y/N was quick to cut him off. “Give us twenty-four hours, Hyde. Consider it a personal favor to the FBI, huh? Don’t you want to be in these guys’ good books? Don’t you wanna be the grand local hero?” 

Y/N and Hyde had a stand-down for a good minute. Her Y/E/C eyes didn’t defer from his for even a split second. She was going to get to him, even if it cost her her job. 

“Fine. You’ve got twenty-four hours.” 

Smiling, Y/N patted his shoulder. “Thank you, good Detective.” 

“I appreciate that,” said Derek before turning on his heel and following after Spencer, who quickly burst out of the office. “Reid, you’ve got to keep your head, man,” Derek said to the young agent just as Y/N joined them. 

“He could’ve just agreed to it, it happens all the time.” 

“They just want to feel like they’re the ones in control,” Derek assured him right before his phone rang. Spencer took this as an opportunity to walk away, only for his best friend to follow right after him. 

“You okay, Spence?” she asked, worry laced in her voice. 

He smiled at her. “Yeah. Could ask you the same thing. What was that earlier?” 

“You pissed me off,” she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as if that would protect her from the truth. 

Shaking his head, he stepped closer towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “No, not that. When I crouched down in front of you. You flinched. You-your eyes glazed over as though you were gonna cry and you tensed up.” 

“I-I guess I’ve been having some–flashbacks from our childhood?” she stuttered and stumbled over her words, not even sure what to make of it herself. 

Spencer’s head tilted. “From our childhood? And it’s making you scared of me?” 

“No, I–” before she could say anything, Rossi walked into the hallway they were in, intervening in their conversation. 

“Your dad’s here,” he said. 

The two of them joined Rossi and Derek when they had William Reid in the interrogation room. “You still think he did it, don’t you?” Derek asked Spencer. 

“Why shouldn’t I?” 

“Well, for one thing, Gary Michaels fits the profile,” Derek answered. Hearing the name caused Y/N to shiver ever so slightly. “You okay, mama?” Y/N simply nodded her head in response, allowing Derek to continue. “For another, he fled town after Riley’s murder. He’s a better suspect than your dad, Reid.” 

Spencer’s nose scrunched. “He’s a convenient one. Someone slipped the file under my door, Morgan. What am I supposed to think?” 

“Maybe they’re trying to help,” Rossi chimed in. 

“Or maybe they’re trying to protect him,” Spencer suggested. 

Rossi stepped closer to Spencer. “You’re talking about someone helping to cover up the murder of a child. Who would do that?” 

Something clicked inside Y/N’s mind as she watched her best friend’s father through the glass. He didn’t strike her to be someone who would murder a child. He was the one person she hated most when she was a kid, but he didn’t seem to be the one to do the hating. Along with the flashbacks she’d been having and the things Hyde was saying mere moments ago, it didn’t make sense to her that Spencer’s dad would be behind this. 

“Didn’t it seem a little odd how resistant Hyde was when you asked him to bring in your father?” she asked Spencer, voicing her thoughts. 

Derek looked at her. “I know you hate the guy, but are you seriously accusing a cop right now?” 

“It was a police file,” Spencer said, agreeing with his best friend. 

“A very old one. Anybody could’ve accessed it. You too, Y/N/N.” 

Y/N scoffed. “Aside from that…” she turned back to Spencer. “He told you to go back to the Fountainview, have a drink by the pool, and think about things. Have you told them you were staying at the Fountainview, Spence?” 

Her best friend looked at her in thought. “No, I haven’t. Have you?” 

“Uh-uh,” she shook her head and watched as the gears behind his eyes began working him up. “How bad of a detective am I now, huh?” 

“You’re brilliant,” he whispered before walking past her and entering the interrogation room where his dad was. 

Beaming, Y/N turned to Derek. “I’m brilliant,” she cooed, proudly. 

“And you’re still trying to convince me you’re not in love with him?” Derek asked, smug smirk on his face. 

Not really having a retort to that, Y/N pulled a face before turning to the window to listen to Spencer interviewing his father. 

“The question is simple. How did the blood get on the clothes?” 

William looked up at his son. “I told you, I’m not going to talk without counsel.” 

“You don’t have anything to hide, you don’t need a lawyer.” 

As Y/N watched Spencer interview his father, she felt weird. Something didn’t add up. William was hiding something from them. Detective Hyde was not trying to help them but protecting someone else and Lou Jenkins had been at the precinct for God-knows what reason. Diana told them he’d gotten to her and that he could’ve gotten Spencer, but William had never laid a hand on Y/N, which meant she wasn’t talking about William. 

“Did you hear from Garcia on Michaels’ whereabouts?” Y/N asked Derek. 

He shook his head. “No, why?” 

“I have a weird feeling about this,” she murmured. 

Nodding his head, Derek reached for his phone. “I’ll check up on them now,” he said and walked out of the room. It didn’t take very many minutes for him to return and call Spencer away from his interview. 

“Gary Michaels is dead,” Derek told them what his boss, Hotch, had told him. 

Y/N felt weak in her knees upon hearing the news. The hairs on the back of her neck raised while the feeling of fingertips grazing her skin left her feeling nauseous. 

“Y/N/N, you okay?” Spencer asked as he guided her into a chair. 

Y/N shook her head as tears lined her eyes. “Your mother said he’d gotten to me, Spence. It was Gary… He’s the guy that –” A sob shook her entire body, keeping the words from coming out of her. “He’s– He–” she tried over and over again, failing every time. 

“Hey, hey, Y/N/N, look at me,” Spencer placed both hands on her face, forcing her to look at him. “You’re gonna be okay. Tell us what happened.” 

She sniffled. “I can’t. I-I can’t.” 

“Okay, that’s okay,” Spencer whispered before looking up at his co-workers. “Let’s bring her home–”

“No,” she quickly interrupted and grasped his hands from her face. “I don’t wanna go home. I don’t wanna be alone.” 

Spencer’s thumb caressed her hands. “You got to rest, Y/N/N. Where do you wanna go?” 

“I wanna come with you.” 

“Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” said Derek. “Where else does she feel safe?” 

With one glance at his best friend, Spencer knew where to bring her. “With my mom.” 

As simple as that answer was, it was even simpler bringing her there. Y/N found Diana on the couch in the communal living room, leafing through an old photo book. 

“Hi, mama,” Y/N greeted, hoping she wouldn’t see how puffy her eyes were or how scared she was. Diana looked up and smiled at the girl she considered her own daughter. “Can I sit with you?” 

She nodded and patted the spot beside her, showing the pictures in the book on her lap. “Do you remember this?” she asked, showing her a picture of her and Spencer at the beach, sharing an ice cream. “It was the first time the two of you were allowed to have big-kids ice creams. You were so excited about it, you got most of it on your face and body.” 

Smiling at the memory, Y/N traced a finger across the laminated photo. Immediately, she felt a hundred times better. Coming here, visiting Diana, always made her feel better, no matter how shitty her day had been. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” the doctor spoke as he joined the two. “Can I talk to Diana?” 

“Sure,” Y/N whispered and got up, but Diana quickly stopped her. 

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of her.” Y/N looked at the woman in surprise as she plopped back down. “She’s family.” 

The doctor sighed and took a seat on the coffee table so he was in front of Diana. “I’m told you’re refusing medication.” Y/N blinked at Diana in surprise. 

“I’m just holding off for a little while, if you don’t mind,” Diana told her doctor. 

“You know what will happen,” the Doctor warned her calmly. 

Diana nodded her head. “Tremors, panic, and the voices,” she summed up, having memorized it all. “But before that, when the fog lifts, a window of clarity. And I really need that right now.”

“I can give you some latitude here. Just tell me why,” said the Doctor. 

Bowing her head down, Diana sighed. “I wanna remember,” she said solemnly, reaching for Y/N’s hand to squeeze it as she looked at the picture of her son, his best friend, her mother and herself. All four of them. Happy as Larry. 

“Diana, does this have anything to do with Spencer and what we’ve been asking you about?” Y/N asked, squeezing her hand. 

She looked at Y/N, her eyes softening with tears in her eyes. “I need to remember, Y/N/N. I need to remember who it was that got to you.” Her free hand went up to the young woman’s cheek, cupping it. Melting into the familiar touch, Y/N leaned into her hand, allowing her own tears to flow. 

“Shall I stay here with you until you remember?” Diana simply nodded her head in response and Y/N smiled before the two of them returned to the picture book after having thanked Diana’s doctor. 

It took a couple of hours, but the window of Diana’s memory started widening and brightening. She told Y/N it was time and, along with the doctor, she brought the woman she considered her second mother to the precinct where she told Hyde to bring them to Spencer. 

“Agent Reid,” Detective Hyde said as soon as he opened the door. 

Spencer turned and with a booming voice, he yelled, “Do not interfere with this interrogation, Detective. This is not your case anymore.”

“Spence,” Y/N murmured softly, appearing from behind Hyde with his mother’s hand in hers. 

“Spencer, it was me,” Diana told him. Spencer's eyes flitted from his mother to his father to his best friend before he finally made the decision to hear his mother out first. They headed into Detective Hyde’s office where his father perched against the desk and Spencer grabbed two chairs. One for his mother and one for Y/N. He himself took a seat on the sofa. 

“I’d seen him around,” Diana started. “At your ball games. At the park. You used to play chess there, do you remember?” Spencer softly nodded his head. “You played with him once.” 

“With Gary Michaels?” A shiver went down Y/N’s spine. 

Diana’s hand squeezed Y/N’s in reassurance. “I didn’t know that was his name back then,” Diana admitted. “But it wasn’t unusual for you to play with adults. And you’d win, too. I’d only started to grow concerned when I noticed him around Y/N/N. He – uhm,” Diana halted, unable to get the words across her lips. 

“Did he do something to us?” Spencer asked, worried eyes flitting over towards the Y/H/C girl with the tears streaming down her face. 

“Not to you, no,” Diana whimpered, squeezing Y/N’s hand tighter. 

Spencer leaned forward, wanting to crouch in front of his best friend, but then refrained and returned back to his seat, remembering how she reacted to that the other day. “Y/N/N… You remember what happened to you, don’t you?” 

Nodding her head, Y/N cried out. “He touched me, Spence. I-I suppressed the memory for as long as I could remember, but-but when I saw his mugshot, I just… I suppose the memory just flooded back into my mind.”

“He was inappropriate with Y/N/N, he looked at you like he wanted to do the same thing to you. I just couldn’t let it happen…” Diana continued, holding onto Y/N’s hand. 

“A mother knows,” Spencer recited something Diana had told him mere days ago. Diana nodded her head. “So, you told Riley’s dad?” 

Diana heaved in a deep breath. “Two nights later, Lou called the house. He was agitated. He said he needed me to meet him. We went to stake out his house, Gary’s. He was bringing out the garbage when Lou asked me if that was him. He told me that that was Gary Michaels and that he had a history with kids… I-He then told me to go, but I didn’t listen. He got out and I-I sat there, I couldn’t move. It was like a dream, that paralysis in the face of something terrible.”

“What happened after that?” Spencer asked. 

Clearing her throat, Diana bowed her head. “It’s okay, Diana,” William encouraged, placing a hand over Y/N’s and Diana’s locked hands. “Go on.” 

“At some point I found myself walking towards the house. I found Lou hovering over Gary’s bloodied body… And the rest… It’s all dark after that.” 

“You came home,” William continued for her and turned to his son. “She couldn’t talk at first, but eventually I came to understand what had happened, and I knew that nobody could ever know.”

“So you never told anyone?” Y/N asked, voice meek and fragile. 

William shook his head. “No, she could have been implicated. And I had to protect her.”

With teary eyes, Spencer looked up at Y/N before moving to his father. “You were burning her bloody clothes,” he stated. 

Both Diana and Will nodded their heads. “But the knowing, you can’t burn that away,” William said. “It changed everything.”

“Is that why you left?” Spencer asked his dad. 

“I tried to keep us together, Spencer, I swear to you, but the weight of that knowledge was… It was too much.” 

Y/N looked at Spencer. His bottom lip was quivering whilst the gears behind his eyes were working overtime. “You could’ve come back,” he eventually told his dad. “We could have started over.” 

“I didn’t know how to take care of you any more,” he said to Spencer before turning to Y/N. “And I didn’t know how to approach you, knowing –” Will quickly stopped himself before he could burst into tears. “When I lost that confidence, there was no going back.”

“What’s done is done,” said Diana without a single ounce of resentment before turning back to her son. “At least now you know the truth… Both of you.” She squeezed Y/N’s hand again. 

Spencer stared down at his hands for a couple of seconds and Y/N knew he was fighting back tears. “I was wrong about everything. I’m sorry,” he squeeked. 

Getting up from his spot against the desk, William went to sit next to Spencer. “Me too, Spencer.” 

A small smile spread across Y/N’s lips as she sniffled. After everything that had happened, she was glad Spencer got some kind of closure with his dad. And, above all, she felt the hatred she’d harbored for William Reid all these years, lift from her heart. Everything he did was to protect his family. 

“So,” Diana then said, lifting Y/N’s hand and placing a kiss on it. “I believe these two have a couple of things they need to discuss.” She motioned to the youngest ones in the room. “Plus, I need to be back in my room before curfew.” 

With a smile, Y/N blew the woman a kiss. “I’ll visit you tomorrow, mama.” 

“See you next time, mom,” said Spencer as he got up and kissed his mother goodbye. 

With that, Diana and William left the office, leaving Y/N and Spencer to their own devices. Y/N was watching the two leave with a smile on her face, not even noticing Spencer staring at her until he captured her attention. 

“Hey,” he said in a whisper. Y/N looked up at him. “Come here.” He patted the spot beside him. 

Y/N moved from her spot on the chair to the couch where Spencer grabbed her hands and kissed her knuckles. “Are you okay?” she asked, cupping his face with her hands right after he kissed them. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m gonna be,” he replied. “Are you?” 

Heaving in a deep breath, she let go of his face and dropped her hands in his lap where he grasped them again. “I suppressed those memories for so long and now I have to digest them all over again… It’s gonna be a lot of therapy.” 

“Do you want me to go with you?” he asked, lifting her hands again to kiss them. 

Y/N shook her head. “No, I think they might need you in Quantico,” she said with a smile and wriggled one hand out of his grip to push back a strand of hair. This time, she didn’t feel too awkward doing it. 

“Actually, I was thinking you could come with me to D.C.?” Y/N perked up at this news. “I-I talked to Hotch earlier and he, uhm, he’d like you to come in for a few, like, trial days at the BAU… Only if you want to, of course. I-I don’t expect you to give your life up here to fly with me to Virginia and just throw your life upside down. I just–” 

“Spence,” Y/N interrupted him with a chuckle. “I’d love to go with you. With you gone, there’s nothing keeping me here.” 

Spencer let out an amused scoff as he looked at her. For a moment, it was just that; him looking at her, her looking right back. His eyes glimmered the way they always did when he looked at her. After all these years, it still made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. 

“Spence,” she started in a whisper, “I–” Before she could even begin her sentence, a pair of soft lips shut her right up. At first, she was surprised, but she quickly melted into the kiss and let it completely overtake her senses. 

“I know,” he whispered when he pulled back. “Me too.” With a smile on her face, she kissed him again, only for him to pull back after a few seconds. “You did wanna tell me you’re in love with me right? Otherwise I probably read this situation very wrong.” 

Giggling, Y/N kissed him again. “I’ve been in love with you since we were sixteen, Spence. You can be so dumb sometimes,” she told him between kisses, some of the words getting lost in his mouth. 

“Actually, it’s just that I–” Before the man could go off on a rant about statistics and scientific facts, Y/N quickly shut him up by kissing him again. 

After everything that had happened, this was not the ending Y/N had expected for her and Spencer, but she was happy that it was. 

“Are you sure they’re gonna like me?” Y/N mumbled as Spencer dragged her down the hospital corridors on the way to his co-worker, JJ’s room. He’d told her she had just given birth to a baby boy while they were in Vegas and it was the first thing they were going to do when they landed back in Virginia. 

It also meant it was the first time his co-workers, and Y/N’s new co-workers, were going to meet her in real life. 

Spencer chuckled and pulled at her hand so that she’d fall into his chest and he could kiss her passionately. “Yes, I am sure,” he told her when he pulled away. “Oh, we’re here,” he said, pointing at the room number. 

He rapped two times on the doorpost, capturing everyone’s attention in the room. “You guys have room for two more in here?” he asked, smiling at his colleagues, especially as they looked at him with confusion in their eyes. 

Pulling Y/N with him, he entered the room with a smile. 

“Spence, hi,” the blonde in the hospital bed greeted with a smile. 

“Welcome back,” the tall guy they had landed next to said to Spencer before his eyes landed on Y/N. “You must be Y/N Y/L/N,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake, which she did by letting Spencer go for a second. “Aaron Hotchner, but everyone calls me Hotch.” 

“Nice to meet you, Hotch,” Y/N said, grinning from ear to ear. 

Spencer then turned to the little one in the room. “Wow,” he said before his eyes landed on the father. “Congratulations.” He reached out his hand to shake. 

“How is it that I just went through fifteen hours of labor and you look worse than I do?” JJ asked, a hint of worry in her voice. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Spencer muttered. “You look beautiful.” 

Y/N simply nodded her head in agreement at the sentiment. With one glance at her boyfriend, JJ wordlessly told him something the rest of the visitors didn’t quite catch onto. 

“Well, I could sure use some coffee. Anyone else?” he asked. 

Everyone agreed and filed out of the room, one by one. When Y/N made a move to follow, catching onto JJ wanting to be alone with Spencer, he pulled her back to his side. “You better not think about leaving my side.” 

Y/N shot a fleeting glance at JJ to check if she was okay with it. Judging by the smile on her face, the Y/H/C stayed put. 

“Are you okay?” JJ asked as Y/N nudged him to move a little closer. 

“Yeah, yeah. You?” 

“Yeah, yeah. You sure? Because there’s something I wanted to ask you, but it can wait.” 

Feeling her heart leaping in her throat, Y/N tried her hardest to contain her excitement. She already knew where this was going. 

“What is it?” he asked, brows furrowing ever so slightly. 

JJ smiled and looked down at the baby in her arms. “Will and I were talking, and uh, we want you to be Henry’s godfather.” 

An excited squeal erupted from Y/N’s throat, causing Spencer to look back at her in surprise. “I don’t even know. I don’t know…” he stuttered and stumbled, his eyes flicking back and forth from JJ to Y/N and back. 

“Here, do you want to hold him?” she asked, already holding out the newborn for him to take. “It’s okay, here you go.” 

A little hesitantly, Spencer took the baby from his friend. “Oh, hi, Henry,” he cooed.

“If something were to happen to us, it’s up to you and Garcia to make sure this boy gets into Yale,” JJ joked. 

Spencer puffed. “Yale. Yale. Do you wanna go to Yale, Henry?” he asked the baby as though he could answer. 

With a chuffed smile, Y/N joined Spencer’s side again. “That was your godfather’s safety school.” Spencer’s honey eyes met her Y/E/C ones in surprise before he turned back to the baby. 

“Don’t worry, I can get you into CalTech with one phone call,” he whispered to him like it was a secret. 

As Spencer looked at the baby in his arms, he couldn’t help but forget the stress he had felt in the past couple of days. If something so small and fragile could be in his arms without breaking, something JJ trusted him with, he was certain nothing else could touch him anymore. 

Especially not with his best friend by his side. 

Everything taglist: @calamitykaty@littlemissaddict@n0wornever@wanniiieeee@unnowhatthisistbh

[sjsmith56]

The Rules

Summary: One shot AU. A mobster’s daughter meets the love of her life but The Rules get in the way of it developing into something more.

Length: 6.5 K

Characters: James “Bucky” Barnes (at age 21, then 25), OFC (named), OFC’s parents (named), Brock Rumlow, John Walker, Loki Laufeyson.

Warnings: some cursing, rude behaviour and reference to mob life. Otherwise fluffy.

Author notes: This is my first attempt at writing a mob-themed story. Bucky is actually a sweetheart.

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

The first time Tia fell in love was when she was almost 18.  His name was James, 21, and he was one of newest men on her father's staff.  The first time Tia fell out of love was two weeks later when she saw James kissing a woman staff member and allowing himself to be pulled into her room at the mansion where they all lived.  This is their story.

Almost Eighteen

There were rules growing up in the house of a mob boss, particularly the man known as the Boss of Brooklyn, Jerome Brancato.  Rule #1, If the door to his office was open, anyone could come in.  If the door was closed, everyone had to stay out.  Rule #2, Daughters of the boss were off-limits.  Period.  No exceptions, unless the boss approved of the relationship which sometimes happened if he was approached correctly and with respect.  Rule #3, No meant no.  Other rules came up but the big three were supposed to be obeyed by everyone, staff and family.

Tia, seeing the door to her father's office was open approached it, hearing him speaking with another man.  The man, who said a lot of "Yes sirs" and "No sirs" seemed to be interviewing for a position with her father's "business," a business he took over from his father, and his father before him.  But Tia's father, Jerome, had no sons to leave the business to and daughters weren't supposed to be in that position, at least not in his narrow world view.

She pushed the door open, catching the attention of her father and the man, who rose to his feet and turned towards her.  He was tall, with short dark hair, and handsome, with eyes as blue as the sky.  Tearing her eyes away from him she looked at her father.

"I'm sorry, but your door was open," she said.  "I can come back."

"It was open," agreed her father.  "Tia, this is James Barnes.  He's here to join the security team.  Barnes, this is my youngest daughter, Tia.  She just graduated from high school."

He offered his hand, his white dress shirt peaking out from under his dark suit's sleeve.

"Pleasure," he said, in a voice that made a warmth pool deep inside her, his even white teeth showing in the smile he gave her.

Her voice squeaked a little when she answered.  "Thank you." 

Inside she groaned.  What kind of response was that?  James grinned a little.

"You're welcome."

"Why don't you give us half an hour to finish up," suggested her father.  "I still have to make James aware of the rules."

She smiled at her father but inside she felt her stomach drop.  The rules.  The fucking rules.  Rule #2, she was off-limits.  Apologetically, she returned to the door, risking one more look at the man she had just fallen in love with, then closed it and ran upstairs to her room to fall face first into her bed and cry over the rules.

It was a week before she saw James again.  James, Jimmy, Jamie, Jim ... all the variations of his name were written out on paper by her, as she signed her name with his.  Mr. and Mrs. James Barnes.  Jim and Tia Barnes.  Then she tore the pages up into tiny pieces and flushed them down the toilet because if there was one thing her already married older sisters warned her about was to not leave any trace of having a crush on any of their father's "staff," for that could cause all sorts of problems, not just for her but also for him.  In their father's line of work, that could result in serious issues for the male staff member but could also see her summarily married off to some business associate, which she didn't want.  Not at 17 years, 10 months and 2 weeks of age.  Besides, she was going off to college in a few months and the last thing she needed was a chaperone to make sure that Portia Isabel Brancato, nicknamed Tia, behaved herself.  So, she kept her face and attitude as neutral as possible, and tried to make it seem like she wasn't looking for James on the estate.  Which ended up being easy when she found out quickly that he was sent out to one of the satellite "offices," a warehouse at the docks to learn that aspect of the work. 

Resigned to not seeing him again for the foreseeable future, Tia came downstairs the one day to be driven to the salon for her usual mani / pedi appointment, only to see James waiting at the bottom of the stairs.  As she came down, he looked up and his smile lit her up inside once more.

"Good morning," he said, cheerily.  "I've been instructed to drive you to the Bronze Goddess salon.  Are you all ready?"

"I am, thank you," she replied politely, reaching the bottom step and looking up at him.  God, how could anyone be so good looking?  "Could we stop at a Starbucks for something?"

"I'm yours to command," he replied, then opened the front door for her, while somehow reaching the armoured Audi sedan first.

After making sure her seatbelt was in place, James closed the door and got behind the steering wheel.  Tia could see the coiled wire of the earpiece reaching down into his suit collar.  He checked in with his supervisor, likely Clint, then smoothly pulled out from the driveway towards the gate to the estate.

"I haven't seen you for a while," said Tia, tentatively.

"No, I've been elsewhere," he replied, pausing at the road and looking both ways before turning left, following the map on his dash display.

Five minutes later he pulled into the line at Starbucks, then looked at Tia in the rearview mirror.

"A white chocolate mocha Frappuccino, please," said Tia, handing him a Starbucks card.  "Get something for yourself while you're waiting for me."

"Thank you, I will," he said. 

He ordered a Caffé Americano, then offered them the card when they handed him the cups.  Turning around he smiled as he gave her the Frappuccino, then the card.  Ten minutes later he pulled up at the salon, then got out to open her door.

"I'm going to park then I'll be inside," he said.  "Your father was very specific that someone be in view of you at all times."

"Is there trouble?" she asked, as it wasn't a usual thing for a salon visit.

"Nothing I can't handle," he said, giving her that lop-sided smile again.  "You let me do the worrying."

He came inside, carrying his coffee, walking in like he belonged, and settled himself on an empty chair near the pedicure station, but in a position where he could see the front door.  He picked up one of the gossip magazines and flipped slowly through it.  Every person who walked into the salon underwent his scrutiny.  Everyone who came close to Tia, received even more attention.  When she was finished, he waited behind her while she paid, then took her gently by the elbow, leading her to where the car was parked, seemingly staying acutely aware of their environment.  On the drive back home, he looked at her several times in the rearview mirror.

"You planning to go to college?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've been accepted to Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State.  I wanted to apply to something in the east, but Dad thought it was safer for me to be further away."

She didn't add the qualifier "from his business interests."  There was kind of an unwritten rule that daughters were off-limits to action from his competitors but being on the other side of the country made that easier to follow.

"Did you go to college?"

He shook his head.  "I joined the army right out of high school.  Did one tour and realized I wasn't cut out for it.  My dad knew your dad from some construction work he did for him and put in a word for me."

The gate opened and James drove up the circular driveway to the front of the house.  Then he opened the door and offered Tia his hand to get out of the back.  At that moment, her father came out and called to her.  She smiled at James, then hurried to her father.  That was the last she saw of him until the next week when she went out to the opera with her father and mother.  Clint and Thor drove them.  After they entered the house, Tia started up the stairs to the bedrooms.  Hearing a sound, she looked up towards the third floor, where the staff bedrooms were and saw James kissing Sharon, her mother's social secretary.  Then Sharon pulled him into her bedroom, and the door closed behind them, the sound of the latch coinciding with the feeling of Tia's heart breaking.  Her mother, Liliana, who had also seen it, patted her daughter on the back.

"He asked for permission to take you out but your father said no, that you were too young," she offered.  "He told James to keep his attention elsewhere.  I'm sorry."

Rule #2 and 3, a double whammy.  With a sigh, Tia went to her bedroom and cried for an hour.  It would be four years before she saw James again.

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

Almost Twenty-Two

Rule #4, If your father arranged your marriage the correct response was "Yes sir, thank you sir, for finding me a good husband," even if the last part wasn't always true.

There were several gatherings at the Brancato estate that May, after Tia graduated from college.  Several different families who were in the same type of business as her father were invited to attend.  More specifically, if the families had an unmarried son, anywhere between the ages of 21 and 40, they were invited.  Gradually, over the month, the list of prospects was whittled down, until her parents hosted a dinner with the final four.  

Tia was officially on the market, being dangled like a carrot in order to accomplish any one of the following objectives:  settle a feud with a rival family, cement a business relationship between two families, provide a son-in-law able to take over the business from her father (because a woman couldn't do the job), satisfy a desire for grandchildren, specifically grandsons, just because that's what was expected of the daughters of a mob boss without a male heir, or a combination of several or all of the above.  What Tia wanted in a husband was supposedly considered but its importance was so far down that she knew the decision was likely already made before the dinner even started.

Did it rankle Tia?  Yes, but she had grown up as the privileged child of a wealthy and influential man.  Now was the time where she had to satisfy the needs of his business empire, more than the needs of her heart.  There was always a possibility that whoever won the "lottery" and satisfied her father's demands prior to approving the engagement would be a decent guy, one that she could grow to respect, if not love with all of her heart.  Her two sisters had done alright.  There was no reason to expect that she would end up with a creep, or someone who took the concept of marriage at its most basic, regarding her as property.  Then she met the final prospects.

Prospect #1 (not arranged in order of preference) – Brock Rumlow, an almost 40 something, twice-divorced, son of a boorish man who ran the docks.  Swarthy in appearance, with atrocious manners, and an almost permanent sneer.  No thank you.  Prospect #2 – John Walker, corrupt lawyer.  Certainly, he was handsome enough, if you liked that blonde, all-American quarterback look.  Smug, arrogant, and totally unaware that he rubbed people the wrong way.  Nope.  Prospect #3 – Loki Laufeyson.  Charming on the surface and although attractive in a European kind of way, Tia wasn't sure that he wasn't bisexual which could mean he wouldn't be demanding on her.  Certainly, he seemed to watch attractive men as much as he watched attractive women.  A supposed financial wizard, she got the feeling that her father would have to settle a significant amount on him to generate an engagement offer.  Prospect #4 – She blinked her eyes twice when she saw James enter with his father, George.  He was a prospective husband?  Yes, he had been at the other gatherings, but she assumed he was there as security.  He was staff and there hadn't been a marriage between a daughter and a staff member since... well, years.  Plus, he had broken her heart when she was 17 by going to bed with Sharon, the social secretary.  She left the job while Tia was in college, her replacement, an older woman who wore sensible shoes.

Dinner was called and Tia's father offered her his arm, escorting her to the table, where she sat to his left, while her mother sat to his right.  The prospects fathers were placed next, two on each side of the table, then their sons furthest away so that Jerome Brancato could observe them from a distance and see how they responded being grouped together.  At the foot of the table was her grandmother, the family matriarch, Maria Brancato.  She would be assessing the prospects up close, engaging them directly.

Right away the fathers, except for George Barnes, talked over each other about their sons, extolling their strengths, although only one of them said anything about how their progeny would be good for Tia.  That was George, when he did speak, who brought up the fact that James had several sisters and had always looked upon himself as their unofficial bodyguard, even though he was younger than them.

"No one even stepped up to the door to take one of my daughters out unless Bucky (he had a nickname?) approved of them first," said George.  "He kept the boys in line and made sure they were respectful of the girls and their mother; God rest her soul."

Tia's mother smiled.  "Winnie was a good woman.  She would be proud of the man James became."

Jerome gave Liliana a look, that saw her smile at her daughter, then keep eating. 

"Well, Brock would have done the same," said his father.  "Anyone who stepped out of line would see the business end of his fist.  He doesn't put up with any opposition from anyone."

That raised her father's eyebrows a little as he rarely used physical force against any of his men, and often welcomed an opposing view if it was presented properly, with respect.  Brock's father just kept rambling on about how no one intimidated his son.  Then John Walker, Sr. cleared his throat and told a story of how his son completed a complex business deal by finding dirt on one of the principals.  After setting up a honey pot situation, he managed to present the man with compromising pictures in order to sway him to their terms. 

"Made his client an extra $10 million."  He chewed with his mouth open.  "That alone was enough for his boss to offer him a partnership in the law firm.  Jumped right over several others who had been there longer.  Johnny will do what is needed to increase profits and productivity."

Her father said nothing, but Tia could tell he didn't like hearing the other man brag about it.  Yes, there were times when he employed similar tactics in dealing with certain people, but he kept his involvement in it to a minimum, as it was tempting fate to have the acts traceable back to him.  That was just asking for trouble and a careful leader kept things looking legal. 

At that moment, Tia noticed her mother looking down at the other end of the table, where her grandmother was.  There was a look between the two women that seemed to be sending an invisible message between them.  She just wished she knew what that look meant.

"Well, Loki has certainly done his share of cooking the books to improve profits and productivity," said Mr. Odinson, his stepfather.  "The magic he can perform on the balance sheet would make your head swim.  Every investigation against him has turned up nothing that can be pinned on him.  Takes a genius to do that."

"Hmmm," was all her father said to that.

"One of these days his luck will run out," she thought, wondering if her father was thinking the same thing.

The rest of the meal progressed in a similar manner until dessert was served.  Then Jerome finished his cake and coffee before he stood up, prompting the fathers then their sons to do the same.

"Gentlemen, let's go for brandy and cigars out by the pool, while my mother, wife and daughter confer," he stated. 

All of them pulled away, then James offered his hand to Tia's grandmother.

"I have enjoyed our talk this evening, Mrs. Brancato," he said, warmly.  "You've given me much to think about."

She smiled at him, then looked at her daughter, knowingly.  George Barnes saw the look then faced Liliana, offering his hand to her.

"My compliments to your cook.  That was a very enjoyable meal."

The three of them were left alone as the men filed out, and the two older women both looked at Tia.

"If it was us choosing, it would be James," said her mother, "but your father has other considerations, and his word is binding.  You will be able to go on a date with each of them in turn then provide your opinion to your father but I'm guessing he already made his mind up."

An hour later the evening was over, and they said good night to everyone.  James left with his father, being assigned to work in the warehouses that week.  He was staying at his parent's house during that time. 

〰️ 〰️ 〰️

The Dates

Rule #5, No sex on the first date.  Once an engagement was announced the couple could go at it but until that moment, any prospective husband of the boss's daughter who presumed to touch her in an intimate manner would deserve what happened to him later.

Two days later Loki Laufeyson arrived to take Tia to dinner.  He pulled up driving a Maserati, wearing an expensive silk suit.  He was polite, solicitous, and the perfect gentleman.  The restaurant was perfect also, a two-star Michelin restaurant, whose portions were so precious that Tia almost asked if they could stop at a drive thru for some burgers.  During the meal an older blond man stopped by the table to say hello, looking at Tia nervously.

"Mobius, this is Tia," said Loki.  "She's ... um ... my date."

"Oh."  The other man smiled slightly.  "Pleasure to meet you."  He looked back at Loki.  "I missed you at the club on Friday night."

"Yes, there was a dinner party at Tia's parent's house.  I was obligated to be there."

Both men looked very uncomfortable, so Tia did something kind to both of them and excused herself to go to the ladies' room.  Loki stood up as she left.  When she looked back, she could see both men speaking in whispers to each other and sighed.  Definitely bisexual with a preference for men.  Scratch Loki, which was too bad because he seemed quite nice.  In fact, later, after she returned to the table, he announced that he would be withdrawing his courtship of her but wished her the best.  They parted with a handshake.

Date #2 happened two days later when John Walker picked her up, driving a Mercedes SUV.  His suit, also silk, didn't look as good on him as Loki's did.  She attributed it to the fact that Walker was not used to working in a jacket.  It always seemed to ride up and crowd his neck.  They went to a restaurant, a steak house type, where he ordered a larger cut for him with all the trimmings and for her, a small cut, with a salad and minimal dressing.

"I'm sure you're always watching your weight," he said, eyeing her body.  "You seem to keep quite trim, and I wouldn't want you to think I don't support that."

As she guessed, he played football in college, at the quarterback position, and proceeded to regale her with his exploits on the field.  He didn't ask one question about her.  When he kissed her goodnight, he attempted to give her tongue, but she successfully pulled away, waggling her finger at him, as if he should know better.  Since a servant was already on the step, he took it with a smile, but she saw a darkness in his eyes that bothered her.

Date #3 was with James.  He picked her up in a 1994 Mustang GT, wearing a sports coat over an open necked blue shirt and jeans.  Somehow, he had told her mother his plans, so Tia also wore jeans and brought a sweater.  They talked as he drove to Coney Island. 

"This is your car?" she asked.

"Yup, restored her myself," he said.  "Found her up on some blocks in an abandoned lot.  No tires, stripped of parts but the body was good, and it kept me out of trouble when I was in high school and after the army.  It was time spent with my dad.  I've been offered good money for her, but I like driving her.  Sorry, to talk about her as if she's real but I know every inch of her."

"I like her, too," smiled Tia.  "Does she have a name?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you."  He blushed.  "It would kind of be inappropriate for our first date."

They drove a bit further then Tia looked at him again.

"Can I ask you something personal?"

"Go ahead, I have no secrets," he answered.

"My mother told me when I was 17 that you asked for permission to take me out, but my father said no."  She looked out her window.  "I saw you a week later kissing Sharon, then going into her bedroom."

He nodded his head, his mouth set in a grim line.  "Yeah.  Your father told me that you were too young and to set my sights lower.  She flirted with me, and we did kiss.  I didn't stay.  She wanted more from me that night than I was prepared to give.  I'm no saint and I have been with several women since then, but nothing serious."  He took a deep breath.  "I always liked you more.  It's why I asked to be considered as a suitor.  This time, your father agreed to let me have a chance."

"Oh." Tia swallowed and took a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding of her heart.  "What are your chances?"

He smiled a little sadly.  "Not as good as the other three," he admitted.  "My father is a construction foreman who did some work for your father, and they got along well, considering each other a friend.  But he's not well off like the other fathers, nor is he in any position of influence.  My only assets are my loyalty to your father, I'm a hard worker and like to think I do the job without letting my emotions get the better of me.  Most of all, I pledged to be faithful to you always and to treat you with kindness and respect.  I have sisters and expected the same from the men they all married."

Tia watched the beams of the streetlights come through the windows alternating between illuminating his face and leaving it in darkness.  His strong facial features had matured in the few years since she went away to college, as had his physique.  There was also a depth to him that the others didn't have.  The fact that he didn't talk much about himself impressed her.  This was a man looking for a serious relationship, not a business deal sealed with the acquisition of a wife. 

The date was fun as they went on the rides, ate hot dogs and drank beer.  He won her a large stuffed giraffe at the shooting gallery, christening it together as Walter.  When they walked back to where the car was parked and deposited Walter in the back seat, James looked at her in the dimly lit area.  Gently, he took one of her hands in his, then raised it to his lips, kissing the knuckles then turning it to kiss her wrist.

"I expect someone to be watching when I drop you off so if you don't mind a kiss here."

He didn't finish what he was saying as Tia raised herself up to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck.  He enclosed her in his arms, and she felt the firmness of his body pressed against hers.  His soft lips were perfect, applying just the right amount of pressure against hers, then she opened hers to allow their tongues to mingle.  It was every bit as good as she imagined when she was 17, going on 18.  When they finally pulled apart, he looked at her in a way that no man had ever looked at her before. 

"You don't know how long I've wanted to kiss you," he murmured, his eyes taking in every part of her face.  "You don't remember the first time we saw each other, do you?"

"I thought it was in my dad's office."

He shook his head, smiling.  "My dad built your pool house.  I was 16 and worked as a helper on the site.  You were still a girl, just turned 13 but I thought that you would be beautiful when you grew up a little.  I knew then that I didn't really want to look at anyone else.  Sounds a little creepy but I was willing to wait until we were both ready."

"It's not creepy," said Tia.  "We were both kids.  I'm glad you waited."  She looked down for a moment.  "Are you sure this is the life you want?  I know what my father is and the things that you've likely already done for him."

"I went into a combat zone when I was 18 so I have killed before," he said.  "So far, your dad has kept me out of that part of it.  I think he's looking to scale back that side of his business, be more legitimate.  If it means that you and I can be together, it will be worth it."

"Okay.  One more question.  Your nickname is Bucky?"

He laughed, giving her that lop-sided smile.  "Yeah, it's from my middle name, Buchanan.  That was my mother's surname."  He shrugged.  "James sounds more grownup and mature.  You can call me anything you want."

"Just the best date I've ever had," she smiled back.

They kissed again, then James opened the passenger door for her and drove her back to the estate.  Before they got out, he gave her his cell phone number, entered it as Jane so her father wouldn't know it was his, then told her to call him anytime if she needed help.  In front of the mansion, he was aware they were being watched so he gave Tia a respectful hug, handed Walter to her, then waited as she entered the house, before getting back into his car and driving to his father's house.  Although he hoped it would be enough for her father to choose him, he knew his chances weren't good.

The final date, with Brock Rumlow, was everything that Tia feared.  He showed up in a heavily customized truck that Tia needed a ladder to enter.  Although dressed in a suit he didn't wear a tie until forced to at the restaurant he took her to, after verbally haranguing the maître d’ for the indignity of his money not being good enough for the place.  His table manners were as atrocious as his regular manners, talking while chewing, burping at the table, and referring to his bathroom habits in crude terms.  Excusing herself to the ladies' room, Tia texted James.

Tia: Help! I'm stuck with a Cro-Magnon man who's unbearable.

Jane: Brock?  Yeah, he's a bit full of himself, isn't he?  Do you need rescuing?

Tia: Possibly.  I'll keep you posted.

She returned to the table where Brock was sprawled in his chair.  Tia's plate was gone as was his. 

"Good, you're back," he said.  "I've paid the bill.  Let's go to a club."

"I wasn't finished."  He looked up at her surprised.

"Oh, I assumed you went to the bathroom to uh ... you know, bring it all up.  That's what you chicks do to keep slim, right?  My exes did that all the time."

She would have answered but he stood up and headed for the door, turning around to wait impatiently for her.  With a sigh, she joined him, waiting as he tossed the valet his token.  The truck appeared and he didn't help her in, although the valet did, giving her a sympathetic eye roll.  The club, with a pounding bass that bled out onto the street was full of friends of his, whose method of communication seemed to be either a jut of their chin or a pound hug.  He requested bottle service in the VIP area, then flopped down on the couch, pulling her down with him, and draping his arm over her shoulder.  Sitting there like the king of his own kingdom, Tia had a vision of her life with Brock Rumlow and decided to end the date there.  Of course, he didn't want to and kept trying to keep her sitting on the couch with him.  Finally, she convinced him that she needed to throw up and he let her go.  Exiting out of an emergency door she went to the nearest coffee shop that was open and called James, who told her to stay there and wait for him.  He arrived twenty minutes later, entering the coffee shop with a worried look on his face.  As they hugged, he stroked her hair and vowed that no matter what, Brock Rumlow wouldn't do this to Tia ever again.

At the mansion, when he pulled up, Brock was there, waiting angrily for Tia, as was her father and mother.  He went to open the door for Tia, then growled when he found it locked.  James came out of the driver's side door and placed himself in front of Brock, staring at him in a way that showed he had absolutely no fear of him.

"Move," said the jilted date.

"No, move yourself," replied James.  "She called me to get her out of a bad date and I obliged.  Now, I'm going to finish the job and make sure she gets inside the house safely."

"Are you saying I abused her?"

"I'm saying you wouldn't let her leave until she thought she was going to be sick.  She told me you acted like a pig the entire time."

"She's lying.  The little bitch is lying."

Jerome pulled Brock away at that moment.  "What did you call my daughter?"

Liliana slapped Brock in the face.  "How dare you.  Jerome, if you even consider him suitable for Tia, I'll leave you.  I swear, I will divorce your ass and take everything you own.  It's all in my name anyway."

"No one's divorcing anyone," said Jerome, then he looked at Brock.  "You have 10 seconds to get your ass in your monstrosity of a truck and get the hell off our property.  You tell your father that if he even tries to retaliate it will be war between us.  Now get."

Rule #6, Even a mob boss with only daughters does not take kindly to his daughters being referred to as bitches.  Especially by a twice-divorced asshole like Brock Rumlow.

〰️〰️〰️

The Wedding, six months later

Rule #7, When marrying into the mob, let her family have their way.  It's easier and lulls them into thinking you'll be a pushover. 

This was it.  Her father made the decision and now Tia had to live with it.  She looked at herself in the mirror as her mother fastened the veil to her head.  A knock on the door was opened by her oldest sister, acting as matron of honour.  Her father walked in; his bow tie undone.

"Lil, can you fix this?" he asked.  Then he stopped, seeing Tia's reflection in the mirror.  "All my girls looked so beautiful on their wedding day."

"Men always have trouble with a bow tie," she smiled, turning towards him.  "Come to the window so I have better light."

While her mother did her father's tie, Tia's phone, deep inside the pocket of her wedding dress (that she insisted on having) vibrated and she went to the bathroom to answer it, telling everyone she needed some water.

Jane:  You sure you're going to do this?

Tia:  Yes, it's what my dad wants.  I'm a good mob daughter, you know.

Jane:  Yeah, now you'll be a good mob wife.

Tia:  If you mean pregnant on the wedding night, chances are good.

Jane:  LOL.  I hope you'll be happy.

Tia:  Thanks to you, I know I will be.  You'll be there, right?

Jane:  Wouldn't miss it.  I'll always have your back.

She smiled at that and put the phone away, then poured herself some water.  When she came out, her dad's tie was perfect, and her mother was standing there with the bouquet of flowers.  Grandma Maria beamed at her.  The wedding planner fussed over her while the photographer took some photos of them all, including her six bridesmaids, well matrons as most of them were married.  On the limousine over she thought of all her worries about the man her father would finally approve of.  It was easier after Loki willingly took himself out of contention, then Brock showed himself to be a total asshole in front of her parents.  She could live with the man who was chosen and make it work.

At the church, there were all sorts of photographers, some of them likely FBI plants as her father was still a person of interest, as were many of the guests.  But he did promise Tia that he intended to bow out of that type of work and build up the legitimate areas, without even using laundered money.  After all, he wanted his youngest daughter to be happy. 

The walk up the steps of the church was interrupted by calls of the photographers to pose but she only slowed down, anxious to get this part of her life over with and begin her life as a wife, then mother.  At the top of the stone steps, she looked back towards the street and saw James' Mustang, smiling that it was there.  She stepped inside and the wedding planner took over, positioning the flower girls (a niece from each side), then the bridesmaids / matrons, a combination of one girlfriend, her sisters and his sisters, sending them down the aisle.  One of her brothers-in-law escorted her mother to her pew.  She had wanted them both to walk her down the aisle, but her father put his foot down; traditionally only the father could give the bride away.  Then everyone stood up and she knew her moment had come. 

Her groom came out from the vestry, but she couldn't see him over the number of people who blocked her view.  Then Tia took her father's arm and began the walk towards the altar.  It wasn't until she was three quarters of the way down that she finally saw James, in his black tuxedo, white shirt, and black tie, with a boutonnière in his lapel.  He gazed at her with glassy eyes, then offered his hand to her when she was close.  Her father kissed her cheek, then kissed James' before lightly slapping him on the cheek to get his attention.

"You do right by her," he murmured.

"Yes sir, that's my plan."

Finally, it was just them, in front of the priest, and he began the service asking if there was anyone who objected to this couple marrying.  You could have heard a pin drop in the silence, then he smiled at them and began the service.

Rule #8, No excessive tongue in a Catholic wedding ceremony.  It's not classy and even though the people in the church for a mob wedding might be considered criminals they aren't animals.

The kiss before they walked down the aisle as husband and wife was just as good as the kiss at Coney Island.  They could both hear the sighs of delight from the women who were present thrilled at the absolutely perfect husband that Tia Brancato, now Tia Barnes had.  When they exited the church, having rice thrown at them, because that was traditional, James opened the front door of his 1994 Mustang GT and tucked Tia's dress into the front seat around her legs.  Then he went around to the driver's side, got in, and started it up, revving it a few times before he peeled away, with the sounds of tin cans rattling behind him.  On the back window the Just Married that was drawn on with washable paint soon faded away from view.  The limousine driver opened the door for the parents and the bridal party.  They would meet James and Tia at Prospect Park for the photos. 

In the Mustang, Tia looked at her handsome husband, James.

"You came," she said.  "You brought Portia."  She gestured to the car.

"I promised," he replied.  "Said I would always have your back."  He drove for another minute.  "Did you mean it, about getting pregnant?"

"I'm off the pill and I might be ovulating," she said.  "If it happens, it happens.  I'll be happy either way."

"Are you okay that we're waiting until tonight?" 

He glanced at her.  It was something he suggested once her father announced that James could propose to Tia.

"If it's anything like our first kiss I won't be disappointed."  She placed her hand on his.  "Besides, there's always Rules #9 and 10."  He laughed, having been briefed on the other rules already, especially the ones that were her rules.  "Rule #9, No matter what, we'll make it work."

"And Rule #10?"

"Whatever will be will be.  You knew when you first saw me when I was a kid that you liked me.  I knew when I first saw you in my dad's office that I wanted you.  It was meant to be."

"I love the Rules."  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckle.  "I love you."

That evening, their first dance was to Que Sera Sera, otherwise known as Whatever Will Be, Will Be.  It always was Tia's favourite rule.

Please support the author by reblogging.

One Shots Masterlist

[mariacallous]

Dagestan has long been a reliable source of personnel for the Russian army. In peacetime, while eligible conscripts in other regions would seek ways to evade mandatory service, young men in Dagestan would pay bribes to enlist. That’s not necessarily because they were eager to experience military life; a stint in the army is effectively a prerequisite to getting a public-sector job, and government service is the best-paying and most stable career track available in the region. But Dagestanis have shown far less enthusiasm for the military since Russia invaded Ukraine last year — and it’s no wonder, given that they were drafted in disproportionately high numbers, and that Dagestan lost more residents in the first few months of the full-scale war than almost any other region of Russia. After Putin announced mobilization in September, Dagestan had some of the country’s largest protests, prompting a brutal police crackdown. With the war in Ukraine approaching its one-year mark, a journalist from the independent Russian outlet iStories went to Dagestan to see how residents feel about military service, mobilization, and the war in Ukraine. In English, Meduza is publishing an abridged version of the dispatch.

‘We’re used to respecting the authorities’

We’re in an addressless one-story building in a small mountain village in southern Dagestan. An older woman named Patimat is sitting in an armchair behind a wooden table and dicing pieces of cow liver. She and her daughter-in-law started buying the cheap protein source from their neighbors back in the fall. Chickens and ducks roam around their property, but the family doesn’t eat those anymore: “Those are the meat pies we send to my oldest son, who’s at the front.” Forty-year-old Ramadan was drafted in September.

“To be honest, I still can’t tell if he wanted to be called up or not,” Patimat says. “But the draft order came. A lot of people here got them, by the way. Not everybody went.”

“What other option did they have?” asks the iStories correspondent.

“Some people paid the doctor, while others paid [the enlistment officers] directly. They told everyone the price right from the start,” answers Sabiyat, the wife of Patimat’s youngest son. “That’s not something we respect… Nobody respects cowardice. Ramadan said that if he hides, and if others hide, who will be left to protect the motherland? Doesn’t somebody have to go? He’s always been a real man.”

Sabiyat’s own husband is exempt from the draft due to health problems.

“Are the rest of the men really looked down upon now?”

“At first, yeah, that was the case. But then ‘the rest of the men’ became our whole village, except for our Ramadan,” Sabiyat says. “And things died down.”

“They died down,” Patimat repeats, rubbing her bloodshot eyes.

When Vladimir Putin announced mobilization, Ramadan was off working in Moscow. When he learned that a draft order had come for him, he immediately went to Derbent to “figure everything out.”

“I asked him to wait ten days so he could pack, spend some time at home before going to war, and give us time to talk,” his mother says. “He said, ’No, I’m going right now.’ Well, inshallah [God willing]. It’s up to him. I worry about him, of course, but I supported my son. What makes a man beautiful, if not his courage?”

In the five months since Ramadan was drafted, according to his family, he hasn’t received a single payment. Patimat paid for his body armor, helmet, and warm clothes herself; she transferred 50,000 rubles (about $670) to the bank account of “one of the commanders.”

None of Ramadan’s relatives know where he is. Their phone calls with him are so short that they haven’t even been able to ask whether he’s received the homemade food they’ve sent him.

Suddenly, the iStories correspondent hears children laughing: four-year-old Zakhra and two-year-old Ibad, Ramadan’s niece and nephew, burst into the room with a toy dump truck. Sabiyat lifts Ibad up into her arms to feed him some liver.

“Even our kids know about war,” she says. “On May 9, at the kindergarten, we always used to have to bring camouflage uniforms.”

“What about now?” asks the iStories correspondent. “Are [the kindergarteners] still told about the war, like elementary school students are?”

“I don’t know. We’re used to respecting the authorities,” Sabiyat says, lowering her voice. “And the kindergarten teacher is part of the authorities. I can’t ask her about anything. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

‘You’re the ones going off to die for me’

From a cursory glance at the streets of any Dagestani city, it would be easy to think that Russia hasn’t been waging war against Ukraine for the last year. Most of the food products that have disappeared due to Western sanctions have been replaced by their Turkish or Iranian equivalents, and the stores that have blue and yellow IKEA signs hanging out front were full of locally made lamps and Turkish carpets even before the war.

It’s not rare to see “Z” symbols around the republic, but they’re definitely not as common as in Moscow. The only exception is southern Dagestan, where pro-war stickers adorn storefronts, cars, and restaurant windows.

Zarifa, a civil servant in the southern city of Derbent, proudly tells iStories about how she recently sent 205,000 rubles ($3,346) to volunteer fighters in Grozny.

“They started to thank me. I said, ‘What are you thanking me for? You’re the ones going off to die for me, for my security!’” she says.

In the fall, Zarifa and some of her friends started sending meat and hingels to the front. One of her colleagues involved in the initiative, Farida, starts to cry as she talks about it; her brother has been at the front for months now.

“Sometimes, we don’t hear anything from him for months at a time. Evidently, they don’t give them access to their phones,” she says, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Are you crying? Doesn’t the government give him the equipment he needs? Is he hungry? Is he sleeping in the cold?” Zarifa asks sharply.

“I’m not complaining, of course. He’s doing fine. As fine as he can be,” Farida responds.

Zarifa’s husband doesn’t have to worry about getting called up; he’s a high-ranking security official. Their eight-year-old daughter studies in a prestigious private school, where, in addition to gymnastics, dance, and English-language classes, she attends Russia’s government-imposed “patriotism” class: “Conversations About What’s Important.”

“Mom, do you know why the Ukrainians are angry at us?” her daughter asks when she gets home from school. “Everybody left the country to come to Russia, and the government got offended — so now they’re waging war against us. And I hate their president, Zelensky, too!”

“That’s my smart girl,” Zarifa says, giving her a kiss. “I try not to discuss politics at home, but her school shapes [her views] too. The other kids probably had people [from their families] go to the front, as did their teacher. And now Jamila hates him [Zelensky] — for making our people, from Derbent, have to go there.”

‘The Quran prohibits it’

Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, was the site of one of Russia’s largest anti-mobilization protests, which lasted for days. Law enforcement responded brutally to the demonstrations, using stun guns, batons, and pepper spray to disperse protesters, arresting at least 200 people. In the days that followed, the local Investigative Committee opened at least 30 criminal cases.

On September 25, more than 100 people blocked the Khasavyurt-Makhachkala Federal Highway near the northern Dagestani village of Endirey. Police ultimately fired guns in the air to make them leave.

One of those protesters was a 38-year-old Endirey resident named Gulyusa. She told iStories that she didn’t want her husband or her sons to die in a war that she doesn’t support.

“My heart began to ache back in February. I thought that, in Dagestan, everybody would condemn the war; after all, there’s not a single family who didn’t lose someone in the Chechen [Wars],” she says. “And that’s basically what happened. Nobody supported it, and everybody hoped it wouldn’t affect them. My youngest son is still 14. It’s not clear how long this will last for, but I hope it’s less than four years.”

After Gulyusa’s oldest son, 19-year-old Musa, received a draft order, the family decided it was no longer safe for him at home, so they went to Makhachkala. Now, unable to enroll in a university or get an official job, he works under the table assembling furniture. When he comes home to join his family for a meal, he travels incognito, always using other people’s cars.

And though her youngest son, seventh-grader Ilyas, is too young for the draft, the war has affected him, too.

“Today, there was almost nothing for me to do [at school]: we had free time instead of P.E., and I don’t go to ‘Conversations About What’s Important,’” he told iStories.

“Just you?”

“No — almost nobody goes,” he says, laughing. “At first, the school tried to fix it by going through our parents, but the adults themselves say that these lessons aren’t really school; they’re not subjects like math or English, so we shouldn’t be required to be there. I went to two [of these] lessons in September. One was about cosmonauts and the other was about Russian songs. Usually, I go for a walk during that time, or eat breakfast at home, or study biology. I want to become a doctor.”

“Maybe by then, they won’t be drafting doctors anymore,” Gulyusa says with a sigh.

Gulyusa’s family goes to an elderly mullah whose family continued practicing Islam throughout the entire Soviet period. Nowhere, he’s told her, does the Quran say that Muslims are required to protect non-Muslims, so — from a religious perspective — nobody from Endirey is obligated to go to Ukraine. On the other hand, the mullah says, the Quran does prohibit murdering innocent people, placing it on par with killing all of humanity. “If a man fears [obeys] Allah, he won’t go [to fight in Ukraine],” the mullah has said.

“The mullah isn’t afraid of the consequences? It sounds to me like he’s turned a lot of people [against the war],” asks the iStories correspondent.

“Everyone in Endirey will stand up for him,” she says. “What can they do to a respected man like him?”

‘Allah should help’

Islam, an Avar who lives in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt, and his wife, a Chechen woman named Aishat, wanted to join the September protests, but they simply couldn’t make it: they’re raising seven kids, all under the age of ten.

One of Islam’s younger brothers was drafted, and he didn’t try to resist. According to Islam, he’s a “straightforward, honest person, so when the order came, he went [to the enlistment office].” The family hasn’t heard from him since October.

“It was a sin for me not to save him; I’m the oldest,” Islam laments, rocking his newborn son. “I probably should have hidden him. Our imam said afterwards that it’s more shameful to kill a non-Muslim on his own land than to hide in your home.”

The family can’t afford to emigrate; one of their daughters was born with cerebral palsy, and they’ve spent all of their savings on her treatment.

Ibragim, another one of Islam’s brothers, runs a shoe shop in town together with a friend. A draft order came for him in September, but he tore it up. He says he’s not afraid to stay in Khasavyurt.

“Some people were saying that the imam would keep the recruiters away from all of his students, though I don’t know if that’s possible without paying,” Ibragim says. “On the other hand, Allah should help, I think. If you refuse to go kill people because of your faith, then you’re on a certain path that the state has no power over.”

* * *

After the trip to Khasavyurt, amid talk of a new round of mobilization, the iStories correspondent received a call from Ibragim, who was now in Uzbekistan. He said he decided to help Allah protect him, and that he now plans to wait things out while abroad. He’s promised his brother and his business partner that he’ll return as soon as possible.

“I mean, it can’t last another year,” he said. “Can it?”

[frankcastleonlyfans]

𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄:

pairing: dad!daemon targaryen x mom!reader

author's note: HBO ROBBED US FROM HAVING SOFT DADDY!DAEMON SO HERE AM I DOING GOD'S WORK!!!! SOFT DADDY!DAEMON IS CANON AND NOTHING WILL CHANGE MY MIND!!!! also please comment if you'd like to see more daemon headcanons <3

reblogs, feedbacks and likes are appreciated. i hope you like it!

warnings: fluff, mentions of children getting harmed, implications of children getting harmed, soft daddy!daemon, girl daddy!daemon.

read the rest of my dad!daemon x mom!reader au series

· ┈┈┈┈┈┈ · ୨♡୧ · ┈┈┈┈┈┈ ·

You and Daemon had three children together.

Your eldest son, Rhaegon, looked like a copy of his father.

Rhaegon had Daemon's looks, talents, and his father's extremely dubious sense of humor.

Your only girl, Alyssa, was named after Daemon's mother.

She was sweet and happy, but also shared her father's hyperactivity and thirst for adventure.

Your youngest son, Maegon, wasn't like his siblings.

Although he just celebrated his seventh name day, Maegon was introverted and liked to read instead of playing like a normal child would do.

Daemon thought it was quite adorable, and never pushed his child to be more active against his will.

Maegon was also a mama's boy, not like your other children who had an obvious preference for your husband.

Rhaegon and Alyssa were 13 and 10, respectively.

Daemon would teach them to befriended with the Velaryon boys, and pick on Alicent's kin.

Daemon would teach Rhaegon to take care of his sister, but would also teach her how to defend herself when he's not around.

"Daddy! Daddy, let me play with Darksister!"

"When you're old enough I will give you your own sword, I promise, my little dragon."

Daemon would take the kids on dragonrides.

They all had dragons, except for Maegon, whose egg never hatched and turned into stone.

Rhaegon's dragon was named Araxes, because he wanted his dragon to be as legendary as his father's.

You found it funny, since you rode Vermithor, The Bronze Fury, a dragon almost as big as Vhagar that once belonged to King Jaehaerys, but you guessed that your dragon wasn't as cool as your husband's.

Alyssa's dragon was called Starblaze, but she was too small to carry the little princess' weight.

Daemon would take her in Caraxes back with him, and you would take Maegon.

Araxes was medium-sized and had a thin body, so he was faster than Caraxes and Vermithor.

Daemon would scold Rhaegon, asking him to slow down and stop doing tricks that could get himself hurt.

Rhaegon was wild like his father, so he wouldn't like to be controlled.

"Aemond can do this without an eye and riding Vhagar!"

"Aemond is not my son. I couldn't care less if that prick gets hurt."

Daemon would read bedtime stories to your children.

Daemon would teach them high valyrian, and tell them about their roots and culture.

Daemon would be an overprotective father, scared of what Alicent were capable of doing against his children, since Alyssa was the one who hurt Aemond.

Daemon would teach Rhaegon how to fight, because he knew Ser Criston would favor Alicent's boys.

At the end of the day, Daemon loved being a parent.

He loved to look at his children and see how much they were like him, but also how they looked like you.

He loved how Rhaegon was curious and passionate like you.

He loved how Alyssa was beautiful and kind like you.

He loved how Maegon was quiet and observant like you.

He enjoyed every moment of raising the kids by your side, and wanted to do it all again.

"I've been thinking," he murmured against your shoulder, "I want another child."

"You what!?"

[icerosecrystal]

An Unexpected Turn Of Events

Mominette Month 2021

Day 01 - Find A Child

Masterlist

Authors note: Hi, everyone! Just one quick to let you all know so that this fic is not confusing for you. This fic is a reverse Robin fic. In other words, Dick is the youngest instead of the eldest, and Damian is the oldest instead of the youngest. This same thing applies to all of the other bat children as well.

Marinette sighed in relief as she finished rifling through her purse. She had woken up late and had hastily left her hotel room for her consultation. She had thankfully not left behind anything that she would need during the consultation. Feeling a bit paranoid, she looked once more through her purse, and there was the tape measure, pencils, notebook, sewing kit, and the NDAs. She may or may not have flipped through the grimoire belonging to the guardians and found the spell for expanding the space in her purse to be the way it was for her yo-yo when she transforms into Ladybug. Unlike her yo-yo, the expansion was still limited. But the extra space was still beneficial.

As Marinette was walking, she pulled out her phone to look at the time. 9:50, she thought, leaves me enough time to get to Wayne Tower by 10:00 if I want to be on time. As she was putting her phone away, she felt something hit her legs and torso. She let out a slight oof at the unexpected weight against her lower body. As she peered down, she saw a cute boy, probably around eight years old clinging onto her legs. He had black hair, and as he looked up at her with teary eyes, she saw the most devastating sparkling blue eyes she had ever seen. His slightly chubby cheeks were flushed pink, and his nose also had a pink tinge to it. The flushness was probably a result of the choked sobs he was currently letting out.

As Marinette looked around, she realized that none of the nearby grown-ups looked to be his parents, nor did they look like they were missing a child. She bent down and smiled softly at him, hoping to calm him down a bit. After a beat or two, her smile seemed to do the trick, and his sobs reduced down to a few tears. Once she knew that he had calmed down, she softly whispered, “ Hey, honey. Are you lost? Do you want me to find your parents?”

He sniffled a few times before replying with a slight tremor in his voice, “Yes. Please help me find my Boose.”

“Your Boose?” Marinette questioned.

“Yes,” he slightly whimpered, “Boose is my new daddy. My other daddy and mommy had to say goodbye to me.”

Marinette gasped in shock at his words. This poor kid, so young, and yet his parents were gone. Dead. Marinette thought about the many akumas which her parents didn’t survive. She then shook herself out of her thoughts. Come on, Marinette. Stop worrying about yourself all time. Your parents are okay now. But this kid is lost! Get out of your head! Steeling herself, she gently asked him, “What’s your name, hon? Mine is Marinette, but you can call me Mari..”

Surprised by the kindness and warmth in her voice, he stuttered out, “Richard… but I like Dick better. Richard sounds old. I’m not old!” He then shyly added, “It’s nice to meet you, miss. You have a pretty name.”

Marinette smiled as she saw his confidence growing with every word he spoke. Marinette laughed aloud at the words he shyly said, “It’s nice to meet you too.” She then questioned, “Do you remember where your daddy is?”

Dick was now bouncing on his heels, and he squealed out in excitement, “Yes! My daddy is in the big, tall building with the huge ‘W’ on it!”

The corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. Dick’s excitement was infectious. His words then caught up to her. Well! It looked like luck was on her side after all! She would have enough time to get Dick back to his dad and still be on time for her consultation. She stood back up and then smiled down at him, “Well, I’m heading there too! So why don’t I take you back to your daddy?”

Dick nodded his head rapidly before holding her hand with his much smaller one. They then started walking towards Wayne Tower. Dick continued to babble on about the most random of things. He talked about his grumpy older brother, who it seemed begrudgingly liked him. He also discussed the many pets his older brother had. It also seemed like Dick’s adoptive dad had a slight problem with adopting too many children from what could be told from the many siblings that Dick mentioned.

When the door of Wayne Tower came into sight, Dick stopped talking, allowing them to walk in comfortable silence. As she was about to speak to ask him where in the building his father worked or the name of his dad, Dick blurted out, “I like you, Miss Mari. Can you be my mommy? I don’t have a new one yet!”

Marinette stopped in shock before trying to stutter out something, anything, but all of her words were incoherent. What do you say in response to a question like that, she thought to herself? She saw Dick looking at her for an answer, and after a while, he decided to pull out some puppy eyes. Shoot! Marinette thought. I need to say something to stall for time. At least until I get him to his dad. She reassured him, “I am thinking about my answer, Dickie! But how about we first get back to your daddy, and then we talk about it?”

Dick contemplated her words before nodding in agreement and practically bouncing through the doors. Marinette sighed in relief and also walked through the doors. Her head was down as she speculated what she should do about Dick’s question. Suddenly, a rough voice spoke up in front of her, “Hello. Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I presume.”

Marinette lifted her head, and there in front of her was Bruce Wayne, her newest client. And clinging to him was the very boy that was holding her hand just seconds ago. She suddenly remembered hearing something about Bruce Wayne adopting the son of some acrobats who were in an accident. The name of the kid was Richard Grayson! She hadn’t made the connection!

Realizing that Bruce was looking for an answer, she hastily stuck out her hand, stuttering, “That is correct, Monsieur Wayne. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

He stared at her hand before gently taking it and raising the back of her hand to his lips. “Please, the pleasure is all mine. Let’s make our way upstairs.”

She blushed at his gentlemanly actions before squeaking out a small, “Let’s.” The three of them climbed into the elevator and went to the top floor of the building. The doors of the elevator opened up, and Bruce gestured for her to go first. She did so and looked around at the beautiful interior of the building that she had not yet noticed. Bruce then opened up the door to what seemed to be his office. Inside she saw there to be seven kids. She smiled at them in greeting. Most of them smiled back at her. The exception to this was what looked to be the oldest and one of the younger ones. (Damian and Jason, if you didn’t figure it out.)

Marinette felt Bruce step closer so that he was next to her before he spoke once more, “These are all of my children, biological, adopted, or otherwise.” He pointed to the man with stunning green eyes stating, “This is my oldest son, Damian. He’s 22.” Damian gave a tight-lipped smile in response, along with a slight tilt of his head.

Next, Bruce gestured to what looked to be the second oldest saying, “This is Tim. He’s 18 years old.” He was sipping coffee and giving the briefest of nods to her. He looked seconds away from collapsing.

He then acknowledged a blonde girl, remarking, “This is Stephanie, but she likes to be called Steph. She’s 17 years old.” The girl seemed to be bouncing in place and close to bursting from excitement.

He pointed to a rough-looking boy stating, “This here is Jason. He just turned 15. He’s a few months older than the next youngest.” The boy smirked at Marinette in acknowledgment of his introduction.

Bruce finally gestured to a girl with Asian features saying, “This is Cassandra or Cass. She’s 14, but like I said, a few months younger than Jason.” The girl seemed to be peering through her very soul. After gazing for a few seconds, she hummed in what Marinette deemed to be satisfied as if she liked what she saw.

Bruce then turned towards her, “And you’ve already met Richard or Dick. Thank you for bringing him back.”

Marinette smiled in acknowledgment of his compliment before replying, “It was nothing Monsieur Wayne. He was all alone, so I had to help him. But he was delightful the whole time. Now as for what I came here for, what type of clothes have you been looking for–”.

But before she could continue, Dick blurted out, “Daddy, I like Ms. Mari! Can we keep her? I want her to be my mommy!”

The result was instant. The room burst into a flurry of noises, each of Bruce’s kids trying to speak over one another. Marinette was blushing very brightly. In fact, from how hot her face felt, she was sure that she was inventing new shades of red. Marinette looked over to see Bruce’s reaction and squeaked when she saw him staring at her with a sharp, analytical gaze.

Marinette took a few breathes to calm herself down. She then softened both her gaze and voice as she addressed Dick, “Dickie, honey, as much as I loved meeting you and talking with you, I, unfortunately, cannot be your mommy. Bruce is your daddy, and he will someday find a lovely lady who will be your mommy.”

At her last sentence, all or most of the kids seemed to have snorted in amusement. It seemed as if they disagreed with her statement. Dick looked sad and seemed to be growing teary-eyed. Marinette looked over to Bruce for some help but only found him concealing the amusement that he was most likely feeling quite well. If she hadn’t been Ladybug, she probably would have never noticed the slight bit of emotion peaking through his mask. She glared at him reproachfully as if saying, this is your kid, so you need to help me convince him that I would not make a good mother.

He rolled his eyes in return as if trying to say, Don’t kid yourself. You would make an excellent mother. And you’re already attached to him, don’t deny it.

As Marinette sighed in response, Bruce turned away from her towards Dick and knelt to his level. He then gently said, “Now Dick. Miss Mari can’t be your mommy.” Marinette started nodding as if agreeing with Bruce’s words. But then stopped when he continued, “But she can visit you and maybe one day be your mommy.”

Marinette opened and closed her mouth, no words coming out. Before shyly looking down before raising her head, stammering, “Well, I guess I could visit.”

All the kids started cheering in response. The exception to this was Damian. But the corner of his lips was slightly raised as if the start of a smile. Dick bounded over to her, hugging her and babbling out everything he wanted to do with her. And in all the chaos, Marinette’s and Bruce’s eyes met. They both exchanged small smiles.

Marinette then clapped her hands together, reminding them, “I do still have to do a consultation with all of you. So how about we do that, and then we can do something fun together?” Seeing everyone’s nods, Marinette then continued with the consultation. But unbeknownst to anyone in the room, their relationship would change drastically in the coming months. But ultimately, it would change for the better.

One Year Later

It has been a year since the faithful day when Dick requested Marinette to be his mom. And since then, they only seemed to grow closer. She had met Alfred, Bruce’s Psuedo father and the children’s pseudo grandfather. She thought that he was extraordinary. And honestly godsent. She also experienced a lot of adventures with the Waynes. In fact, after only four months of knowing each other, she figured out that they were the Bat-Family. She had caught them once after patrol and raised her eyebrow as if demanding an answer, and god did she get an answer from them!

Marinette and Bruce had also started dating. This change in their relationship occurred a few weeks after she found out their identities. They were now engaged to be married in a few months. All the children had warmed up to Marinette over the months, even Damian, who always withheld his emotions. But they had all come to see her as their mother figure and were ever so grateful for her. And so they wanted to do something for her birthday.

The very morning of her birthday, everything went wrong. Marinette woke up to quite the sight. All over the kitchen was what looked to be cake batter. It seemed as if they were trying to put the baking she had taught them to good use, but they had also made the cake batter explode. Marinette and Bruce stared at the mess before they both started laughing. Marinette had a light, melodic laugh, while Bruce had a very gruff laugh.

Marinette beckoned all of them forward for a hug before proclaiming, “I love that you all were trying to do something for me, but none of you had to do anything. But it’s the thought that counts, so thank you. But next time, please stay away from the kitchen.”

She then shooed them on their way before getting two mops, handing one to Bruce as she passed by him. She kissed him on the cheek before starting to clean up the mess, Bruce following her actions. She then quietly snickered, “Well, this was quite a sight to wake up to on your birthday. I would have thought that today would have been relaxing.”

She looked up to see Bruce shoot her a small look before shaking his head in amusement. “Mari, darling, when has our lives with them ever been relaxing? They are always getting into trouble.”

She snorted in response, “Yes, well, they get it from their father.”

Bruce glared at her lightly before pulling her into a deep kiss, “I don’t know. Their mother seems to be just as chaotic sometimes.”

She shook her head in amusement, pulling herself away from Bruce’s embrace and questioning, “How is this even my life anymore?”

He chuckled lightly, alerting her that he was about to sass her in some way. “Well, from what I remember, about a year ago, you came across this kid that–”

Marinette held up a finger to his mouth, stopping him from uttering another word. She was also glaring at him reproachfully. “Yes, I do know-how. I was there. Now go away so that I can clean up the rest of the kitchen. You’re distracting me.”

He let go of his mop before giving her another deep kiss and then darting away. As he strolled out of the room, he shouted over his shoulder, “Oh, I know how distracting I am. I am well aware of how irresistible I am, ma coccinelle.” He could hear her spluttering in response before yelling back at him, but he continued on his way to his office. Along the way, he chuckled to himself.

Back in the kitchen, Marinette was glaring at nothing. She was also plotting ways to show her fiance who the irresistible one was. She then sighed in happiness. Yes, her life was amazing. A year ago, if someone told her this would be her life, she wouldn’t have believed it. But now she was living it, and god was it amazing. Funny what finding a child will do to you, Marinette thought to herself before carrying on with her task of cleaning up the mess her kids had made. Yeah, life was amazing.

2,683 words

I actually got it done!

~ ❄ Crystal ❄

@mominettemonth

Permanent Taglist:

@heinrode @astoriaandromeda

Taglist:

no one yet

[jamespotterthefirst]

Mi Viejito (Ethan x f!MC)

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Lilac Allende) Words: 1K Warning: None Summary: Father’s Day more than twenty years later. 

Author’s Note: “Mi Viejito” means “Old Man” (affectionate). Thank you to the two anons who requested this!

Also, no editing. Oops. We die like men. 

Twenty five years are not enough to dull the impact of startling blue eyes meeting hers across a room. For a moment, she feels like that fresh-faced intern she used to be, meeting her medical idol for the first time. Except now, Ethan Ramsey has the elegance of time on his side, carved into every fine line on his handsome face. His hair, once dark brown, is a storm of silver now, making the blue of his eyes even more of a shock.

A pleasant sort of shock that makes her body thrum with warmth.

Ethan removes his spectacles and gives her a tired but breathtaking smile. Lilac returns it, moving to settle into her husband's embrace.

“Happy Father's Day, mi viejito,” she murmurs into a kiss. After his hum of thanks, they melt into the kiss, enjoying the rare few moments of blissful companionship.

“Where are the girls?” he asks after a while, as though reading her mind.

“Andy should be here any moment to drop them off.”

“Ah, the calm before the storm,” he muses with exaggerated dread. It doesn't fool anyone, least of all Lilac. Anyone who glances at Ethan Ramsey with his children for more than two seconds knows just how much he adores them. “What about Lori and Jonah?”

“Jonah hasn't texted me back and Lori is on her date.”

“Hrm.”

Lilac laughs. “Hunter's a nice kid. He's taking her on a boat ride at the Common.”

Ethan is not impressed.

“It's a cute date for two seventeen year-olds,” Lilac reasons with little success.

“Pitiful.”

“You took me on one of those when we were engaged.”

“I meant his name. What kind of name is Hunter?”

She laughs at that and places a kiss on his cheek, succeeding in softening his expression by a fraction. “You're just upset your little girl is all grown up.”

Ethan's expression is as impassive as ever but Lilac can see the brief flash of sadness in his eyes. She places a comforting hand at his cheek, sweeping the ridge of his cheekbone with her thumb.

“She'll be back in time for dinner. And I'm sure Jonah will text me back later. He's been swamped with school work these past few days.”

Ethan nods but is unable to elaborate an answer because the sound of approaching voices grows louder outside the door.

The youngest Ramseys arrive then, three times more boisterous than any teenagers their age. Though, to the surprise of exactly no one, the person in the little group arguing the loudest is Jasmine. Andy rolls her eyes, unable to contain a smile at the charming young girl trying to talk her way out of whatever trouble she's gotten into.

“Seriously, it's okay. Our dad owns the hospital.”

“He manages it,” her twin, Violet, corrects.

“Same thing,” Jasmine returns dismissively. “He as good as owns it if the place falls apart without him.”

“That,” Ethan intervenes, placing a kiss of greeting atop each of their heads, “would be your mother. She does the brunt of the work around here.”

Jasmine scoffs. “And yet the man gets all the credit.”

“Typical,” Violet adds.

Ethan and Lilac both laugh proudly. After Andy takes her leave for the day, the girls hug their father.

“Happy Father's day!” They chorus.

“We brought you coffee from that place you and mom are obsessed with.”

They thrust a to-go cup in his hand.

“We remembered,” Jasmine says importantly. “Not like Tweedle dee and Tweedle Ugly.”

“Jazzie,” her mother scolds. “Don't call your brother and sister that.”

“Ingrates,” Violet adds, agreeing with her sister. “Write them out of your will, Dad.”

Ethan is fully laughing now, a sound that is rare and wonderful, easily drawn out of him by his family. The little crevices on his face grow deeper with his mirth and it tugs at Lilac's heartstrings.

“If we're divvying up Dad's stuff then I call Minnie,” Jasmine proclaims.

“You can have that cat now,” Ethan returns intently. “I don't want anything to do with that thing.”

“I call Jenner the Second,” Violet calls out before her sister can.

They dissolve into an impassioned argument about who loves the dog more. Luckily for all of them, they are interrupted by the sound of more approaching footsteps, followed by even more arguing voices.

“... doesn't have his license yet.”

“What good is a license if he doesn't even have a car.”

“You don't need a car in the city. You can get around in the train.”

“Then why did you text me begging for a ride here?”

“You're such a jerk, J.”

The eldest of their children appear in the office, ceasing all bickering when their eyes fall on the father. Dolores, beautiful and bright faced from the sun, the freckles on her cheeks more vivid as she smiles. Jonah, tall, collected, and handsome—reassembling his father more than any of his siblings. Lilac watches fondly as they hug Ethan and wish him a happy father's day. After the brief surprise of their sudden appearance wears off, she can see her husband's eyes shining with emotion.

“We're taking you to lunch,” Lori informs him. “Jonah got us reservations at your favorite place downtown.”

“Nice, that place has the best chocolate cake,” Jasmine says excitedly.

“We said we're taking dad, not you freeloaders,” Jonah returns jokingly, ruffling his younger sister's hair.

“It’s father’s day! We deserve to be celebrated, too!”

“How do you figure that, squirt?”

“Who taught you how to throw a ball, Jonah Naveen Ramsey?” Jasmine demands indignantly.

“Who gave you pointers on how to impress that girl down the street you used to have a crush on?” Violet adds.

“Who Googled 'how to drive a stick shift car' when you borrowed Dad's car without asking him?”

“You what?” Ethan asks, turning to look at his son.

“Who—”

“Alright, alright! You can come with,” Jonah cuts in. “You two are insufferable, I swear.”

“That's no way to speak to your fathers,” Jasmine chastises.

The siblings continue their banter, taking turns predicting what their father will order. The one who knows his order exactly, Lilac observes, is Dolores, though she has no chance to boast to her siblings. Ethan’s pager goes off and he groans when he reads the message.

“There’s a problem with the paperwork in the Sawyer case,” he tells Lilac. With a mournful twist of his mouth, he looks at his children. “I’m sorry but I have to go handle this. Lunch won’t--”

“I’ll stay to take care of it,” Lilac interrupts.

Ethan studies her expression. “Are you sure, love? It’s an awfully complicated case.”

“I’m sure,” she assures him with a nod. “Go enjoy lunch with them.”

Ethan gives her a look so laden with gratitude and affection, her heart skips a beat.

“Geez, you were right, Dad,” Jasmine says. “Mom really does run this place.”

“Or she just prefers dealing with grumpy patients over hearing your awful jokes, Jazzy,” Dolores comments, side bumping her sister affectionately.

“Mom is a pro at dealing with grumpy, though,” Jonah tells them sagely. “She’s dealt with Dad all these years.”

Ethan laughs at that. “You kids won’t cut your old man a break on father’s day?”

“Nope,” Violet returns cheerfully. “Roasting you is our way of telling you we love you.”

______________________________

Author’s Note: Happy Fathers Day to everyone who celebrates! Thank you so much for reading this!

For reference, Jonah is around 20, Dolores (aka “Lori”) 17 going on 18, and the twins are 14

A few notes:

Though I am super behind on replies to my previous fics, please know I am so thankful to everyone who interacted! Love you guys so much!

I haven’t been able to work on Ch 2 of the OPH3 re-write, but I hope to do so soon. I think I’ve decided to take it easy with that series and see where it takes me!

Same thing with the Pictagram series! Thank you to everyone for your patience!

If you tagged me in your content while I was away, I apologize for the delay. I have it all saved up, ready to enjoy this upcoming week!

Tagging in a reblog!

[newtie-patootie-bootie]

Masquerade (Prologue)

Summary: This is your third season and your aspirations on finding love are dwindling but news on Lady Whistledown’s society pages say that there is to be a foreign royal in attendance to the season. Could this royal dignitary be the one you’ve been waiting for, or could there be a mysterious stranger lurking in the shadows, waiting to pluck your heart for his?

Disclaimer: I do not own Bridgerton nor The Mandalorian- all rights go to the owners and creators of their separate stories.

Warnings: None just yet, enjoy my writing as I lead up to the story!!

|| Please do not repost or plagiarise my work ||

| Chapter 1 |

“Dearest, have you read the newest Lady Whistledown?” Your mother burst into the drawing room with a flurry of her skirts, clutching the article in her fist as you, your brother and your father took in her frazzled form. 

Her eyes were alight with excitement and she was nearly vibrating with delight, “no, Mama. I haven’t.” You answered her, eyebrows pulling together gently and she barrelled forward, slapping the scandal sheet in your hand. 

You abandoned your needlepoint on your lap and opened the reports gingerly, perusing the freshly printed words with increasing distress:

‘In related news to this year’s promising season, my dearest reader- my sources say that a discreet candidate was called on by the Queen herself!

In a show of good faith and generosity to the newly signed trade agreements between the Crown and the elusive, yet breathtaking realm of Mandalore; it seems that this mysterious suitor has touched foot on our verdant lands in search of one of this season’s blossomed flowers to pluck for his own. 

I have heard that this particular aspirant is eager to secure an acceptable match, perhaps with the season’s named Incomparable? 

Or, perhaps there will be a sweet winter blossom that bloomed so richly as she was presented to Her Majesty, the Queen for her third season. Could the magnificent daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Wintere snatch such a lucrative title from Miss Daphne Bridgerton?

I so do adore a good rivalry between two influential families and as such, I would like to express my most exuberant notions of good fortunes to each family and may the best woman win.

This intrepid author would also like to disclose that there should be a number of severe competitors at the Danbury Ball this evening- and even worse, bloodthirsty mama’s charging forward with energetic hopes to secure the prospects of such an exceptional suitor.

After all, it is not everyday you are offered the chance to become a Queen.’

“She has named our dearest daughter a ‘winter blossom’, no doubt in reference to our family crest, darling!” Thomas’ eyebrows lifted at the high praise and yes, it was true. The family crest consisted of blooming hellebores and a snowy owl taking flight. “She also named our daughter to be a worthy adversary of the season’s Incomparable, Daphne Bridgerton!” Elaine gushed, taking a seat beside her husband and her skirts pooled with the air trapped but she seemed nonplussed as did Thomas who watched her with an adoring smile. “Isn’t that wonderful, darling?” 

“I’d consider that a high honour indeed!” Thomas boasted proudly, raising his teacup to you and a sigh left your lips, ever world-weary. 

“Looks more like a wilted weed to me.” Your brother teased and earned a reproachful stare from your parents, Ryder shrugged off the blistering glare from your mother before turning back to his book. 

“Mama,” you implored, the paper crinkling in your tight grip, “do not put any stock into Whistledown’s scribblings- she has a tendency to exaggerate and her words incite challenge when there is no need for it.” You scoffed, tossing the offending scrap on the plush cushion beside you, “she has surely just made Daphne and I targets for the 200 other girls for the entire season!” 

Ryder stood from his place across the room and moved closer, snatching the crinkled sheet from the pillow and plopped himself down, taking in its contents for himself, “Cressida Cowper is going to eat you alive, dearest sister.”

“Please do not remind me of Cressida Cowper, do I not appear distressed enough for you to cease your mistimed jibes, brother?” Your tone heightened, echoing somewhat in the drawing room.

Ryder’s smirk softened into a worried frown and took your hand in his in a soothing fashion, soft thumb massaging the space between your knuckles, “apologies, sweet sister. I only wished to make light of your situation for your own piece of mind.” 

Sighing, you whispered your own apology at your sudden snap and you hummed softly in thought before a mischievous grin curled against your lips, “if anyone should feel concerned about Cressida Cowper’s intentions, I would think you to be more perturbed than I, older brother. The heir to the Duke of Wintere, a monumental promise of success to any willing debutante, I’m certain.” Ryder shuddered at the thought of the ill-mannered girl setting gladiatorial eyes on him and the notion of the high prospects he would bring to the mart. Immediately abandoning your hand, he burrowed himself deeper into the seat beside you and flicked the sheet out dramatically.

It was an indiscreet attempt to occupy his mind elsewhere as he kept his eyes firmly on the black print, yet he took not one word of the information in.

“Darling, this is good.” Your mother’s voice gently eased you from you and your brother’s banter as she reached forward and took your hand in hers, “this means that suitors will now take notice of you, and if this king hears word of your beauty in Whistledown’s musings, then I believe we should all be thankful to the woman, do you not agree?”

Your fingers curled around hers but your eyes remained downcast at your half-sewn needlepoint and you sighed softly, “I don’t see the need for such articles to be published. There will be enough dramatics to satisfy the weak-minded all season.” 

“Your mother and I only want what is best for you, little owlet.” Your eyes raised to meet Thomas’, his gaze warm, tone loving as he levelled you with an adoring smile, “if it eases your mind, I have come across some news of this new ruler during my time at the club. I have heard he is just and fair. An honourable gentleman if somewhat mysterious as Lady Whistledown reports. You have nothing to lose by dazzling him with your grace and charm- but you have everything to gain if you succeed in wooing him. You have no need for tricks or deception to win the attention of any suitor, for you are perfect just the way you are.” Tears blurred your vision, threatening to slip down your cheeks. Your frown turned into a watery smile as your father placed his warm, large hand over you and your mothers, “and I shall be there to protect you and only agree to a match deserving of a jewel such as yourself.” 

You sniffled back the forming tears before smiling warmly, “thank you, Papa.” 

“There is no need for gratitude, dearest. This is a father’s duty; one I aim to fulfill to the highest regard-” Your father’s words were cut short as one of the servants walked into the drawing room.

“Your dresses have arrived, Your Grace, my Lady.”

“Ooh!” Elaine shot up from her seat, clapping in excitement before grabbing your hand and hauling you upstairs to your room, “we must find the perfect gown for tonight’s fete!” 

Your sputtering and half formed protests carried down the hallway as Thomas opened the newspaper that had been sitting untouched in his lap, chuckling indulgently, “ever the child, your mother.” 

Ryder shook his head in amusement, a smile curling his lips.

"Have you read the newest Whistledown? Foreign royalty searching for a suitable bride? I suspect this season will turn out to be exemplary.” 

"I heard that this King's treasury is one to rival the Crown itself."

"I heard he has a son, yet there is no mother that has come forward to claim the child. A most scandalous affair, indeed!"

"I heard that their land is rich in minerals. Some type of iron that is nigh indestructible! I'd wager it'd fetch a high price."

"Daphne Bridgerton locked in a violent competition with the Duke and Duchess of Wintere’s daughter? How delicious."

"I have never heard of this Mandalore, is it near Scotland?"

You were barely able to contain your ire for the gossiping hounds polluting the air of the ballroom. 

Your jaw ticked imperceptibly and you fought the urge to roll your eyes so hard you would be able to see the back of your head.

Their whispers were anything but that as you walked past each intrusive mama and daughter as they revelled in the rumors etched in the latest scandal sheet authored by Lady Whistledown, containing information of a supposed king attending the ball. 

Your eyes scanned the ballroom and made contact with the youngest Featherington- carving a path for her, her rounded figure swathed in a bright, eye-catching yellow gown that suited her complexion and figure little, yellow beads and jewels glittering in the lights overhead.

You caught her eye and her shy demeanor slipped somewhat as she smiled, excited to see a familiar face and you curled your arm through hers and locked them together, “why have I not seen you on the dance floor, Miss Featherington?” You asked and Penelope sighed. 

“I am just admiring the view, Lady Dalton,” you raise one brow at the title and her tiny frown curled into an indulgent smile as she corrected herself and called you by your given name, “you seem to have taken the room by storm when you joined the dance floor, every bachelor here has his eyes on you and Daphne tonight. I would think many of the suitors here are bursting at the seams for your hand- and it is your third season as well.” 

“No doubt to Lady Whistledown’s meddling, I’d wager. I have already entertained enough male suitors tonight. I shall take my leave of them for the time being,” your tone changed to a slight whine which served to incite Penelope’s rich giggles, “have you taken your turn about the room?” 

“I’m afraid I am not as carefully provided for as you, my Lady. Father has decided to forego these events and my mama is not quite so attuned to my aspirations to ensure a well-rounded tour.” 

“Well, then, allow me, Miss Featherington.” You hummed politely, smiling brilliantly at the shy girl who returned the gesture just as brightly and you led the way about the hall. Nodding your head politely to every suitor that greeted you, you curled closer to Penelope, “I see your mother is surveying the hall with Lady Cowper and Lady Edgecomb.” Penelope’s world-weary exhale betrayed her true thoughts and you ran a soothing line along the back of her hand with your thumb, “the determination of rumormongers is indeed boundless, are they not? Perhaps, we shall next be blessed with the sight of them suspended from the rafters with ear trumpets to survey even the most meagre pieces of gossip.” Penelope giggled, covering her mouth with her hand daintily as she did so, bowing her head. 

“Ah,” Anthony Bridgerton exclaimed, his arm encircled with Daphne’s as they stepped in front of you, “Miss Featherington, Lady Dalton.” 

“Penelope,” Daphne spoke your names warmly, her bright smile widening as she curtseyed perfectly.

“Lord Bridgerton, Daphne.” You and Penelope greeted in unison, curtseying elegantly though you felt your arm tense as Penelope teetered on her feet in an attempt to keep her balance. You rose rather quickly to save her any embarrassment, “how fares the hunt, Daphne? Many of the most eligible suitors have presented themselves at this fete, don’t you agree?”

“Oh yes, my Lady.” Anthony spoke over his sister, answering for her. “Quite a well-rounded affair. Why, I can count every worthy bachelor on each finger of my left hand.” Daphne stared at her brother, aghast but your tinkling laughter could not be hidden with a well-placed hand over your mouth.

“I could only hope that you could spare a finger for my own brother, my Lord? Is he not worthy of your high praise? I would hate to inform my father of this scandalous news!” You teased slyly, a sparkle of mischief in your eyes as Anthony chuckled.

“Of course, my lady. Ryder Dalton, heir to the title Duke of Wintere is honest and true. A man worthy of the title he will one day inherit.” You bowed your head gracefully at the praise.

“Did you read the latest entry of Lady Whistledown’s scandal sheet?” Daphne asked, head inclined slightly in question and your lip curled in irritation, earlier humor forgotten.

“Unfortunately, dearest Daphne. What does this author hope to accomplish by sowing dissension among peers? It is only going to be harder for us if we are to be locked in this invented rivalry until the season ends. Not to mention that all other 200 fine young women will see us as common adversaries to quarrel for a desirable bachelor.” You shook your head and sighed wistfully.

“Perhaps, Lady Whistledown’s sources were incorrect in their counsel. I have yet to see a comely King from a foreign land in our midst.” Daphne teased and you chuckled, nodding as you looked about the room but gazed over no fanfare nor buzzing enthusiasm.

“Nor a royal guard. What do you think, Penelope?” You hummed and the young woman beside you almost wiggled with excitement to be counted.

“I believe that Lady Whistledown is breeding a development early in the season to incite challenge.” You voiced a wordless agreement and Penelope continued, her fingers still clinging to yours, “Her Majesty is one to be enthralled and I would think that the public invitation to this monarch of Mandalore is an attempt to bring about said excitement.” Penelope’s curls bounced around her rounded face as she spoke and you took her words in with great thought. 

“A compelling view, if I ever heard!” Anthony complimented and Penelope bowed at Anthony’s flattery, “if you ladies will excuse us, we still must take our view of the room.” 

“Ah, we shall keep you no longer! Happy hunting, my Lord. Good luck, Daphne.” You sympathised genuinely and Daphne huffed in agreement as her brother pulled her away. “That was excellent, Penelope. Sharp wit, indeed!” 

Your words were met with sweet giggles from your friend as you continued your turn about the room, dance cards dangling delicately from your gloved wrists in and quizzed Penelope on the memory of her miniatures, impressed with her skill to point out each suitor with ease.

Once Penelope tired of walking, she took her rest by the edge of the dance floor and you bid her luck before striding to the refreshments table in search of a beverage to quench your thirst.

Your eyes remained locked on the small glasses of lemonade, unbothered with taking care in your surroundings- you were shocked to feel someone knock into you rather forcefully. You stumbled, unable to right yourself and you could feel your traitorous feet tangle around each other. 

Time seemed to slow to a complete stop, though your mind ran freely and aware. A frisson of fear crackled down your spine at the premature embarrassment of the predicament you were just about to drop yourself in just as you felt strong hands slip against your back, righting you almost as quickly as your legs betrayed you. 

“Oh, goodness, please do excuse my-” your apology trailed off into stunned silence as you took in the unfamiliar man you could call your savior. This stranger that had his arms around you in a most improper fashion and you know you should untangle yourself from his touch immediately but the heat of his large, ungloved hands bled into the exquisite material of your gown, through your corset and seared directly into the flesh of your arched back.

His clothing was much the same of every suitor attending, nothing unique or flamboyant to stand out amongst the countless other candidates. The slight crinkles in his suit brought an air of indifference- as if he cared little for the state of his dress. What persuaded you to fully take in his form, was his sun kissed, bronze skin that shone deep in the synthetic light of the chandelier accompanied by the ornate lights mounted on the wall; so striking and different from the many men that boasted pale complexions and youth.

You could see the ruggedness in the etchings in his skin, the lines that betrayed his advanced age compared to the others in attendance. The hair atop his head was rich and dark with slight streaks of gray, airy soft curls that adorned his head like a crown, wild and untamed. The same dark hair that graced his head, also carved around his jawline and upper lip, small patches of hair scarce in some places- so unlike the pronounced fashions in high society and you found yourself preferring the unkemptness. His eyes were a harsh change from the softness of his hair, striking and bold. They glittered like dark gems in the gentle lights as he perused your features, intelligent yet curious as he took you in with a cool countenance and thick brows pulled together in an expression of concern.

A prominent nose curved down with a hooked slope, rather large but it suited him and you fought the urge to caress the curved bridge with your fingertip. Pink lips parted, thin but pillowy as the tip of a red tongue slipped between to hydrate the slightly chapped flesh. 

It set him apart from the rest, a beauty you so desperately wished to explore.

Just as you studied this unfamiliar man, he also took your form in. 

His gaze was not leering like many of the bachelors loitering about the room- nor a lecherous grin curved those sinfully soft lips as he drank in your appearance with ease, noting every detail and micro expression with rapid ease and forced himself to cease the ever growing notion to tighten his arms around you, drag you closer to his chest when he felt the way your body curled into his touch, seeking the warmth he provided on a subconscious level. 

Clearing his throat softly, he righted you on your feet and took a step back, bowing at the waist and a soft curl slipped in front of his handsome features, concealing his left eye, “forgive my impropriety, my Lady,” his voice was deep, rasped and foreign and those same lips curled around each word with an elegance none of the men here could hope to match, “my intentions were pure, I assure you. I did not mean-” 

“-t-the apologies are mine, my Lord. I did not see you.” You cut off his apology, your usual confidence abandoning you and curtseyed softly before you both straightened in tandem, “please accept my most sincere apologies.” 

“Only if you accept mine, my Lady, as I was the one to knock you.” This man raised his eyes to meet yours, a small smile playing on his lips at your stunned expression. 

Realising how unladylike you seemed, you quickly smoothed your expression into a serene smile and bowed your head gently, “well then, I accept your apology, my Lord.” 

“And now, I shall receive yours.” He bowed once again, though his eyes never once strayed from yours, his hand coming to brush back the curl that slipped in front of his face, freeing his eye from the obstacle. “Quite an affair, is it not?”

You turned to look upon the room and the dozens of bodies packed in the lavish ball and the bodies moving in rhythmic synchronisation as they flounced around the dancefloor, skirts billowing and waistcoats whipping. “Yes, my Lord. It is certainly a promising fete.” You ripped your gaze from the dancers and you looked back to the mysterious suitor that you know for a fact his profile has never graced your miniatures. “I do not believe I have had the pleasure, my Lord.” You introduced yourself and he bowed his head in a nod to your status. 

“Din Djarin, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my Lady.”

You did not miss the way he left out his title, not many men did. It was refreshing to meet someone unbothered by status and titles. You smiled brilliantly and for a moment, he had trouble remembering how to breathe. 

How did people do this?

“What brings you to London, Lord Djarin? I do not believe I have seen you here.” You certainly couldn’t recall seeing those mesmerizing, yet prominent features etched in your miniatures.

“I’m in town for business, mostly- but I thought I would attempt to join the fray of finding a beautiful woman to make my bride.” Din’s eyes found yours when his lips curved out the word ‘beautiful’. You could feel your cheeks heat and quickly brought the tiny glass to your lips and took a long draught- almost emptying the glass entirely. It was unseemly on your part but you couldn’t find it within yourself to care, you needed to soothe your drying throat and tame the butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

“And what better place to be than a cotillion for ambitious debutants who are searching for the perfect match?” Betraying your inner emotions, you struck up kind conversation, performing an air of confidence and strengthened your resolve. A wide smile stretched his lips, revealing perfect, straight teeth and the act of a simple smile brightened his features. Your heart slammed against your ribcage in response, your steely courage cracking in half with little to no effort.

He took a sip of his own lemonade just as a pair of gossiping mama’s walked past you both, talking loud enough for you to overhear their conversation with minimal exertion- if any, “and where, pray tell, is this so-called king?"

"Perhaps, Whistledown's sources were wrong. You can never trust a scandal sheet these days, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a charlatan." 

You swallowed the sigh you desperately craved to release and inwardly shook yourself free from the coils of irritation that started to constrict around you before turning your attention back to the mysterious lord, only to notice his eyes were following the rumormongers and you helped yourself to a portioned sip of lemonade in an endeavor to quell the heat burning within you. A certain dark fire heated his gaze, stoking a reaction in you. Something deep and primal you had never experienced before and you suppressed a shudder at the ferocity clearly displayed in those deep, dark eyes.

“What are your thoughts on this foreign monarch, my Lord?” You barely managed to choke out, Din’s eyes snapped back to you as your question hung in the air and you swallowed subtly as his piercing gaze burned through yours.

“My thoughts?” He rasped, shifting on his feet in a show of subtle anxiousness. His earlier fire dissipating and awkward trepidation took the forefront.

“What do you make of the rumors surrounding the arrival of a ruler of a distant land coming to London to participate in the season?” You tilted your head in innocent curiosity, “surely, you have heard of this mysterious King hailing from his distant realm?”

“Rumor articles and gossip do not interest me, but yes, I am familiar with the topic you wish to discuss.” His smile twisted his lips into a forced stretch- barely passing for genuine and you weren’t sure as to why he seemed so uncomfortable when just moments earlier he was quite at ease conversing with you.

“And what do you make of his scarcity when his arrival was rumored to be a most certain guarantee? I should think the King would be thankful for not attending. Overbearing mothers and their equally simpering daughters have proven to be nuisances at the best of times.”

“Is that so?” Din looked at you, surprise colouring his pleasing features at your unfiltered response, “are you not disappointed that you may not meet this ruler and further your prospects on the mart?” His hand gestured subtly at his side, the barely touched lemonade sloshing dangerously close to the rim, “it would be a high honour to catch the eye of a king, now would it not?”

You chuckled, ducking your head for a moment, reflecting on your answer before opening your lips, “as silly as it may sound, I wish to marry for love.” You raised your hand, noncommittal waving it about, “I realise it will never happen, you do not endure two seasons with silly notions of love intact. I must maintain a status beholden of my title and secure a proper, advantageous match. But I can operate under the illusion of hope, can I not?” Din’s eyes cast down in thought, your words were soft, spoken quietly as if you were afraid another may overhear- whether by accident or on purpose, he could not say.

But the sincerity in your eyes could not be overlooked, the innocent yearning for a future that could very well be out of your reach sparkled against the hues of your irises. 

“Perhaps your aspirations will be met, my Lady.” Din smiled kindly and you hummed in thought, but your brilliant smile was dim. Working up his courage, he set the small glass of his barely touched lemonade on the refreshment table and vaguely gestured to the dancefloor, anxiousness twisting his features almost comically, “w-would you care to dance?”

His hand was large, rough with thick fingers. They were working hands, familiar with hard labour and you shivered imperceptibly at the thought of those hands running down the expanse of your naked flesh. 

You took a few steps forward, maintaining a respectable distance for propriety’s sake. With a smooth movement, you gently leant around him- his eyes never left yours as you placed your glass on the refreshment table beside his.

A gentle scent curled into your nose, blessing your senses with the subtle hints of sweet spices, oak and . . . a touch of gunpowder.

A heady, peculiar scent and it suited its wearer perfectly.

You slid your gloved hand into his, fingers slipping against his palm. The gossamer material caught on the rough skin of his palm and his lips upturned into a grin. “It would be my pleasure, Lord Djarin.” He grinned and you helped him by pointing to the card around your wrist and he made a soft ‘oh’ sound before taking hold of it and let go of your hand to grip the tiny pencil- thick fingers swallowing the dainty stationary and you smiled as he filled the Canon Galop Quadrille with his name in sharp, messy strokes.

“Shall we?” He let the card and pencil drop as his fingers snaked up your wrist slowly, feeling every dip and hollow before clasping your hand gently and leading you to the dance floor. “I must confess, I’m not accustomed to dancing all that much. I pray you forgive me if I fumble.”

You chuckled softly as you joined the other couples on the dancefloor and took your places. You smiled at Din who shuffled in place subtly, waves of anxiety pouring out of him, “I will not judge you, Lord Djarin. You have my most sincere promise and if you have any issues with the steps, I shall guide you. Do not worry.” He looked at you, your soothing tone calming the raging storm of distress inside him and he reciprocated with a smile of his own. 

The music began to play as you curtseyed to the other couples and took your place in front of Din, your hand slipping into his and a strong muscular arm wrapped around your back, large hand splayed across the expanse of your skin and you suppressed another shudder at the addicting heat he emitted. With a gentle nod, the tempo in the set increased and you began to skip about the room with practiced ease.

You gently tilted in a different direction, silently alluding to the next movement and he carried you effortlessly through the throngs of couples, winding around the dancefloor perfectly.

Giggles erupted from your throat, this particular dance always brought out the child within you and Din smiled at the sound, finding that he wished to hear it more often. “I dare say, my Lord, that you move quite well for not being accustomed to this particular dance.”

“I’m rather accustomed to a life outdoors, perhaps it has aided me well.” Din murmured, tightening his hold against your back.

You twisted and twirled around the dancefloor, weaving around bodies and as you separated to complete the next act of the dance, your eyes never left his and the mysterious man seemed more than content to hold your gaze and then you were back in each other’s arms.

“Perhaps, we could discuss the matter of dancing etiquette further, at a more. . private venue?” You asked quietly, alluding for him to call on your home. 

Before he could open his mouth to reply, a loud thump hit the ground and the music paused abruptly and you both stopped, all the guests' gazes swivelled to the ballroom doors as they were thrust open violently.

Gasps and shrieks rippled across the room as two armoured warriors marched forward, spears in hand and their features concealed by unusual helmets, stark colours streaked across the material in a wash of deep reds, browns, yellows and teals along with similarly handprints. A dark- completely opaque visor stretched across their helmets before spanning down, splintering the armour in half.

The curve of their coloured breastplates indicated their feminine physiques, pieces of vibrant painted plates clung to the thick, almost tribal clothing they wore beneath- sharp hues of red and brown adorned their bodies, hems tied tight with pieces of dark leather around their wrists and calves. Fur lined the capes around their shoulders as the thick material flowed to their booted feet, the leather scuffed and worn- creased from years of dedication and physical labor. 

Yet your eyes remained trained on the pure silver spears they held at the sides, pointed ends lifted straight in the air as they slammed the butts of the weapons down against the polished floors in tandem. 

A loud metallic ringing filled the ballroom and harsh bootfalls began to echo. 

Din stiffened in your arms before gently extricating you from his hold, the both of you turning to face the open entrance.

You swallowed harshly as a hulking figure took the space of the doorway, silver armour gleamed in the lights above, clearly displaying the pure gold accents weaved through the chest plate and accompanying pieces- dark clothes thick and concealing any form of skin to be shown, brown gloves worn, flaxen tips stark against the deep colours.

Just like his guards, he was not unarmed. But unlike carrying a spear of his own- you did not miss the pure obsidian claymore sheathed around his back. The hilt was brilliant against the darkness of the blade- made up of what seemed to be the same material that adorned his body. 

His helmet was simple- unlike the tribal colourings of his people, his was silver- notes of gold bled through the seams of the visor, framing it with its simplistic beauty and fur lined his shoulders, gold chain clinking against the silver metal and the crimson cape billowed behind him as he continued with his heavy gait. 

“Is it him? Surely not!”

“I expected a fanfare- yet this is not what I had imagined.”

“Do they dress like this in Mandalore? Will I have to?!”

“Look at them, so primal!”

“Why do they carry weapons? So uncivilised.” 

Whispers filled the hall as the foreign stranger stopped, his helmet scanning the room.

“The twenty-fourth monarch of our sovereign land,” The guards called, demanding silence from all in attendance, “The First of Clan Mudhorn and sole ruler of Manda’yaim. We present our king, the Manda’lor.” Their fists beat against their breastplates as they turned and faced their leader and bent their knee to the floor, heads bowed in respect. “This is the Way.”

The dark visor continued to survey the hall until it stopped-

-directly onto you.

Your breath caught in your throat as your eyes caught your reflection staring back at you from across the room, you could no longer feel Din’s presence beside you. A quiet, rasping voice rang true from beneath the ornate silver helm, so familiar and yet completely unplaceable.

“This is the Way.”

[sunny-sings-sooth]

Daphne

Words: 4.5k

TW: Sexual assault, abuse

Here's my retelling of the myth of Apollo and Daphne! Highly experimental, as I usually write in first person and not so poetically. Hope you enjoy, and if anything doesn't make sense lemme know and I will add some context here. (Also FYI some of the dialogues are pulled directly from Homer's narration)

_____________________________________________________________

Phoebus Apollonas had been alive too long.

He was young by god standards, barely over a millenia old, and still one of the youngest Olympians. And yet he had grown exhausted. He’d been suffering the curse of life long enough to see the boy he used to be -- Phoebus -- die. The demise of the boy began when, in attempt to protect his sister Artemis, he had committed his first murder and thereby lost her forever. The boy decayed further when he’d held the corpses of his sons in his arms. And he’d finally killed the boy with his own hands when he turned his grief-fueled wrath on mortals. Phoebus, the bright, the innocent, the golden prince of Olympus, was dead. All that remained was Apollonas, the destroyer, the terror, the monstrous god of plague.

Except he no longer wished to be Apollonas. Apollonas was addicted to alcohol, drowning himself in it so that he wouldn’t have to face the memories that had murdered Phoebus. Apollonas had struck his younger brother Hermes, the only friend he had left, in drunken rage. Apollonas was despicable and deserved death. He could never be Phoebus again; that he knew and had accepted. But perhaps he could rid himself of Apollonas and become just Apollo. That did not mean erasing Apollonas; he had too many crimes to pay for, and running away would be a dishonor to all those who had suffered at his hands. He would repent for everything he had done as Apollonas, and thereby recreate himself as Apollo.

The first thing he needed to do was to break alcohol’s hold on him, which meant distancing himself from Dionysus. He didn’t want to abandon his youngest brother, but the temptation to drink was too strong in his presence. He hoped Dionysus would understand, and that he would one day be strong enough to bridge the gap of his creation.

He had been clean for three whole days. It didn’t seem like much -- blink of an eye in the lengthy lives of gods -- but that alone had taken him all his willpower. In the absence of the gallons of drink he had been consuming daily, not only was he plagued by memories and sheer self-hatred, he suddenly became highly attuned to the gossip that trailed him. Every moment on Olympus, hundreds of eyes were trained on him, and the whispers never escaped his sharp ears. It wasn’t that he was not used to being the center of attention, but rather the harsh truth of their statements. Phoebus Apollonas is a murderer. He flayed Marsyas alive for daring to challenge him. He curses anyone who questions his authority. He has killed thousands with his plague arrows. He is a monster. He knew these were all true and that he deserved to be pierced by such words, but the anxiousness caused by his withdrawal made them unbearable, and he had to escape to the woods. Here he found solace. Here he could work to slowly put himself together again until he was strong enough to face those who he wronged.

If he hadn’t been so lost in thought, then perhaps he would’ve heard the flap of wings before Eros was standing before him. He nearly dropped the silver bow that he’d been restringing and looked up to meet the other god’s gaze. Eros was the only man Apollonas considered a possible competitor in terms of beauty; his fair skin was smooth as a pearl, his wings the color of one, his features the aspiration of every artist’s portrait. And yet there was something unnerving about the other god. Perhaps it was his hair that, while comparable to a young maiden’s blush, was also the same shade as blood. Perhaps it was the deep red hue of his eyes, made of crushed hearts and rubies. And perhaps it wasn’t his appearance at all, but the mystique that surrounded him; he was the fourth being to come into existence and was old as time itself, and that was one of the only two things Apollonas knew about him.

“Phoebus Apollona,” Eros stated in greeting, and Apollonas hated how wrong it sounded, though he couldn’t tell if it was the names themselves or simply the one who spoke them.

“What do you want?” He couldn’t hide his irritation. The other thing he knew about Eros was that he was the god of love, and love had only ever caused Apollonas pain. He had no reason to like the god nor felt the need to veil his displeasure. All he wanted was the solitude necessary to rework himself.

“I was simply admiring your bow, oh He Who Shoots From Afar.” There was no missing the mockery in Eros’s voice, and his eyes gleamed as he gazed at the weapon. “Why, your skill is almost comparable to my own! Perhaps with some effort, you can become the greatest archer in the land.”

“Are you implying that you are the greatest archer?” Eros nodded, and one glance at the winged god’s slim arms and the modest bow slung across his back sent Apollonas into a fit of laughter. It was many moments before he could calm himself enough to speak. “What have you to do with the arms of men, you feeble thing?”

“I am merely suggesting I may be god of archery as you are god of plague.” Apollonas’s head snapped up at the idea, and his hands curled into fists as he stood, towering over the shorter god. If Eros was a painter’s fantasy, then Apollonas was a sculptor’s. His toned body was the epitome of perfection, the ideal balance between strength and beauty. He was well aware of this fact, and though he rarely preferred to use his appearance for intimidation purposes, Eros’s insult necessitated such action.

“Do not lay claim to my honors,” he hissed, his sky blue eyes glinting with divine power. Archery was the one constant he could always rely on. With his bow and arrows, he could protect and punish, wound and save. It was the one part of him that stayed no matter if he was Phoebus or Apollonas or whoever, and he’d be damned if he allowed this worthless winged wretch to even suggest taking that from him.

“Let us put it to test, then,” Eros declared, unfazed by the archer’s anger. What would the ancient deity have to fear from the youth? He was well aware of his capability, and little did Apollonas know he was falling into another trap, his emotions and naivety deceiving him once more. He was but a pawn in Eros’s game. “What say you to a battle of skill?”

Apollonas did not grace the other with an answer, lifting his weapon and drawing an arrow from his golden quiver in response. The toned muscles of his back flexed as he pulled back the string and released, and the arrow had barely gone forth an inch before he sent forward another, and then yet another. His arms were but a blur as arrow after arrow went flying, striking the most minuscule of targets: the pupil of a fly’s eye, the thread of a spider’s web, the stem of a single olive. Apollonas did not stop until his quiver lay empty, and he took in the perfect shots before him that seemed almost artistic by his hand. No matter how low he may have descended in these past years, there was no denying the masterpiece he created from the most basic of weapons. This was his domain. He couldn’t keep his lips from curling in conceit as he turned to Eros.

“That gear becomes my shoulders best,” he declared, setting his bow back beside his quiver to draw emphasis to the weapons that had adorned him for centuries. “I wound my enemies; I wound wild beasts. My countless arrows slew the bloated Python, whose vast coils across so many acres spread their blight. You and your loves!” Apollonas couldn’t hold back his scoff at the mention of Eros’s inferior work. “You have your torch to light them. Let that content you. Never claim my fame!”

“Your bow, Phoebus Apollona, may vanquish all, but mine shall vanquish you. As every creature yields to power divine, shall your glory yield to mine.” At Eros’s threat, an enraged response was making its way up Apollonas’s throat, but before it could spill off his tongue, the love god drew his own golden-tipped arrow. In the blink of an eye, he shot it forth right into the other god’s heart before taking flight.

Apollonas stumbled back, a gasp more of shock than pain escaping him as he clasped his hands over his chest, fingers fumbling for the arrow. However, it had already dissolved into him, its magic making its home in his body. He felt something ooze into his heart and bloodstream, shoot up his spine, ensnare his mind. He turned his attention inward, trying to identify the invader, but he could not locate it, nor could he compare it to anything he had ever felt before. What had Eros done? He lifted his head, searching for the god, but instead his gaze fell upon another figure altogether.

There, a few feet away, stood the sweet river nymph Daphne. He knew her -- he knew the names of many of the nymphs that resided in these woods -- but beyond a passing glance and a murmured greeting, she had never caught his attention. But now… he couldn’t seem to look away, his lips parting in awe as he stared at her, dumbfounded. Had she always been so breathtaking? How could he have missed such a beauty? Her dark locks flowed down like a waterfall of ink. What it would be to hold that silky hair between his fingers, to braid it and adorn it with flowers and beads! Her eyes were a startling shade of not blue, not green, but something between the two, and he could spend hours drowning in their depths. Her figure had the slightest curve to it, the outline of a river, and he imagined that her body had been crafted to fit against his perfectly. He saw her, loved her, wanted her.

“Daphne.” Apollonas whispered her name, marvelling at the nectar-like flavor that coated his tongue. If just her name was so sweet, then how must her lips taste? Looking was not enough. The urge to find out was unbearable, the earlier argument stolen from his mind entirely as he found himself tossing aside his bow and quiver. What did archery matter when he could master the bow of her lips instead? He would claim it, make it and the rest of her his and his alone. He took a step forth, a giddy smile alighting his features.

“St-stay back,” the nymph stammered, icy fear coiling in the depths of her stomach. She could read his intentions clearly on his face, from the crazed look in his eyes to the wolfish grin he wore to the way his hands reached towards her. Daphne knew all too well what this man planned to do with her, and that should she fall into his grasp, she would not be able to stop him from having his way. So when he took another step forward, she turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Apollonas gaped only a moment before rushing after her, an arrow released from its bow.

“Daphne, please wait! I am no foe! You don’t need to fear me!” he cried out after her. Daphne did not answer him, her thoughts only on escaping. Thorns and brambles tore at the bare skin of her calves, yet she refused to slow down. “You run as if I am a wolf and you a lamb, but that is not so! It is love that spurs me! Don’t fly so fast, lest you fall and wound yourself!”

“Leave me be, you horrid man!” she shrieked, not stopping even as her dress got caught on the surrounding plants and began to tear, revealing her to him little by little. Apollonas’s brows furrowed in worry at the sight of bloodied cuts on her legs. From within him a voice called out: What are you doing, Apollona? Why are you tormenting this poor girl? Leave her be! You will not have your way with her! But before the voice could say more, he caught a glimpse of the bare skin of her thigh, and everything left his mind. His conscience was once more bound and gagged by Eros’s power, forced to watch it all in horror. Speaking of the god of love, he also watched, flying unnoticed above them, yet he felt only amusement from the sight. The sheer terror that had contorted Daphne’s face and drawn panicked tears from her eyes made him smirk, and Apollonas’s frantic yelling drew out peals of laughter. They had both bent to his will so easily, and he was eager to see how this played out.

“You run because you do not know. I am no peasant, no shepherd!” Apollonas called out to her again. She was only afraid because he didn’t know who he was. He knew the moment she realized his true identity, she would stop and turn to him with a blessed smile. “I am the son of Zeus, prince of Olympus, lord of Delphi. By me things future, past and present are revealed. I shape the harmony of songs and strings. You will be happy as my bride, dear Daphne! I will see that your every wish is granted and that no desire goes unfulfilled. Please stay!”

“No! My only desire is to escape you!” Yet this would not be granted, as her body was beginning to fail her. Try as she might, she could not outrun Apollonas; he was strong from years of training and battle, and though she was swift and sure-footed, she had used up all her limited mortal strength. Her legs trembled with every step, her lungs two pits of fire in her chest. And so her traitorous body came to a stop as she gasped for breath, and Apollonas finally had her. He held her hip tightly, freezing her in place. Had he been in his senses and had control over his own body, he’d never have done this, and his conscience screamed within him. But he was deaf to it, the lust coursing through him silencing all else. His eyes soaked in her bare skin when he would’ve shielded them, his hands pulled her closer when he would’ve let her go, and he was ready to claim her when he would’ve done anything but this crime.

“My love.” His warm breath brushed against her ear as he leaned down, pressing his lips against the pale column of her neck. Daphne gasped and tried to pull herself away, but his grip was too strong, utterly unbreakable. How could she escape a god? She was helpless and frail, trapped and alone. There was no one to aid her, no one to stop Apollonas from running his hands down her body and forcing himself against her. And then he was turning her around, wishing to taste her lips, and a final plea escaped her.

“Help me, Peneus!” she screamed for her father. She knew her father could do nothing against an Olympian, but perhaps he could do something to her, and she would accept any escape from this fate. “Open the earth to enclose me, or change my form, which has brought me into this danger! Let me be free of this man from this moment forward!”

Daphne’s prayer was answered, and she was changing.

A stiffness had taken over her body, the swiftness that had protected her for so long sacrificed to escape Apollonas. Her arms lifted of their own accord, her fingers elongating up and her feet rooting into the ground. The dark waterfall split into a hundred streams that lightened to a soft green. Her curved figure fell away as her body thinned into a single arc, her legs fusing and her hands reaching higher and higher. Bark was creeping up from her extremities, down what were now branches and up what had transformed into a trunk. It conquered her shoulders, her chest, her neck. A soft sigh, her last breath, escaped her just as her lips were encased.

Apollonas’s lips met rough bark that cut at his soft skin. With a small gasp, his eyes flew open and he looked straight into Daphne’s piercing eyes. The waves in them had finally calmed, as the storm that had tormented them could no longer ripple its waters. He stared into those beautiful orbs, breathing her name, and watched as they shut forever.

Apollonas couldn’t tear his gaze away, his mind still unable to process the transformation that had unfolded before him. His hand trembled as he raised it, placing flat against the trunk of the tree. A steady pulse graced his fingertips -- a heartbeat. Daphne’s heartbeat. She was this tree, this sorrowful laurel tree, lost from him forever. His legs gave out beneath him as he wept, wrapping his arms around her and leaning his head against her bark. And yet the lust hadn’t left him, and he was kissing the wood over and over, whispering her name and an endless string of apologies as the skin of his lips tore and blood dripped down his chin.

“Oh, Daphne. My Daphne,” he cried, yearning what could’ve been. He thought the image of her smiling sweetly at him, kissing his cheek and calling him ‘husband’, was a vision, a prophecy promising that he could be the source of her happiness until the end of time. But he was wrong. It had been a fantasy, a dream that had slipped out of his grasp. And now she was gone. His sobs doubled in intensity as grief wracked him, and he didn’t notice Eros approaching until he spoke.

“Isn’t this a beautiful sight?” the god of love asked, his lips twisting into a smirk. “Phoebus Apollonas, broken and filthy inside and out. A slave to his desires. Do you accept defeat, oh lustful one?”

Apollonas turned to the other god, and the grief in him sharpened to rage. His beautiful Daphne, the love of his life, had been stolen from him, snatched right out of his hands, and the cause of it all was simply standing there, taking amusement in his loss. He reached for his bow only to find it missing, and so he lunged forth and tackled Eros to the ground, wrapping his hands around the smaller man’s thin neck.

“You monster,” Apollonas growled, his sky blue eyes glowing with divine power. This horrid creature had taken his Daphne from him and deserved nothing less than death. Apollonas would deliver him to the gates of Tartarus himself if necessary. The man must pay for his crimes. He increased the pressure, causing the other god to choke under his iron grip. “You did this!”

“Oh no, Apollona. I merely gave you a nudge. The rest was all you,” Eros gasped out, managing to laugh even as his windpipe threatened to collapse altogether. The sun god’s brows furrowed at the statement, and Eros subtly waved his hand, calming the effects of his magic. “And who knows what you’ll do next if I keep nudging you forth? You’ll be giving your father quite the competition, won’t you?”

The spell finally broke, and Apollonas’s grip slackened as the lust drained out of him and the truth became clear. He had chased Daphne. He had chased Daphne with the intention to force himself on her. He had tried to kiss her and claim her as his own with no care for her terror. He pushed her so far that she thought it better to lose her humanity than to be his. Oh Fates, what had he done? You are the most wicked person to live, Phoebus Apollona. You are no better than your father. You did this to that poor girl. You ruined her.

“N-no,” he whispered, backing away from Eros and clamping his hands over his ears, but it was in vain. The voice came not from outside but from within, where his conscience was finally free to reclaim its owner. And so Apollonas relived the incident that had just taken place. He saw himself chase after her just as Python had chased him and his family, heard his plans to ruin her just as he believed Orion had intended with Artemis, felt himself force himself upon her just as Zeus did to his mother Leto. Never in his life had something been so achingly clear to him as this truth: while he had spent his whole life painting others as wicked, he had been the most terrible monster all along. Apollonas doubled over, spilling his insides onto the earth as though he could purge the maliciousness from his body. But alas, he could not; he was born the destroyer, and he had truly lived up to his name. He could not tell if his scream remained in his soul or ripped out of him. He didn’t know if it was tears or fire spilling from his eyes. All he knew was the terrible truth that he has been blind to all his life.

“You are weak, boy. But I can make you strong,” Eros declared, towering over the hysterical god. He wondered how Olympus would react to seeing their golden heir broken on the ground, sobbing like a spoiled child. He could only imagine they’d be just as entertained as he. Still, the time for games was over. Making sure to avoid the pool of vomit, he crouched down and placed a thin finger under Apollonas’s chin, forcing the young god to meet his gaze. “Here is my offer to you: vow to me on the river Styx that you will follow my every command, and I will save you from further humiliation and heartbreak.”

“What, so I can spend my life blind and deaf, a mindless slave to a heartless man?” A dry, humorless laugh slipped out of Apollonas’s lips. He had seen and tasted truth, and he would not give that up to become Eros’s puppet. He scowled and spat at the love god’s feet, glaring into those blood-red eyes. “That is what I think of your offer.”

“I expected the god of intellect to be wiser than this, but I now see the difference between you and Athena.” Eros sneered, wrinkling his nose at the sorry display. “Do not be hasty, godling, and ponder my words carefully. I am offering you invulnerability. I will harden your heart to stone so that none may hurt you. Without your greatest weakness, you will be unstoppable. You will never have to feel such pain again.”

Apollonas paused for a moment, considering Eros’s claim. To never feel this soul-tearing agony again? To be free of the organ that rebelled against his mind at every moment? Now that he contemplated it, the offer was quite tempting. Without his heart, he would only have to rely on his body and mind, both of which were immaculate. He would indeed be unstoppable, finally the golden heir of Olympus he was expected to be. And yet… his gaze moved to the laurel tree, and a single leaf drifted down before him. Apollonas caught it in the palm of his hand, carefully tracing its pale green veins. If he were to remove his heart, to lose his ability to feel, would that not be a dishonor to Daphne? After all he had put her through, did she not deserve to be mourned and remembered? And what about all the others, every mortal that had suffered at his hand? He would be spitting on their graves by choosing to run away from the pain that, in the face of what torment they had lived through, was nothing. And so Apollonas rose to his feet, stretching to full height and then kneeling down so that his face was merely inches from the love god’s. “Rot. In. Tartarus.”

“You really should have chosen the easy path,” Eros muttered, the smirk sliding off his face as he grit his teeth. Apollonas wanted to regret? Then he’d give him reason to regret. His hands flew to Apollonas’s temples, freezing the younger god in place. Eros’s eyes glowed, twin pits of lava, and his voice boomed as he invoked his ancient power. “I curse you, Phoebus Apollona. May love be your enemy and your heart a traitor. May you be powerless to control the whims of your desire, and may you be the cause of pain to those you love, over and over until the end of time itself.”

Apollonas fell to the ground once more, struggling as the curse rooted itself deep in his soul, at the very essence of his being. By the time his throat had grown too raw for him to continue screaming, Eros had already flown away, leaving behind nothing but punishment. He found himself crawling back to the laurel tree, to Daphne, leaning his forehead against her trunk as he wept. He wept for her, for those before her, and for those after her.

“I’m sorry, Daphne,” he whispered, holding on so tightly the bark dug into his skin and realizing how powerless he really was. “I’d change you back if I could, sweet nymph, but I cannot. Instead, I swear by the river Styx, I won’t let you be forgotten. I bless you so that your leaves are never shed and instead will be woven in wreaths that will become a symbol of honor, the very thing I tried to steal from you. Let mankind see me to be the monster I am if that means your memory will live on. And even if your name no longer forms on the lips of men, they will live on eternally upon my own. This I vow to you.”

With this, he lay one last touch upon the tree before turning away, trudging his leaden feet back to Olympus. He heard the whispers as he arrived in the city, but he paid them no mind and made way to his house. Barely moments after he entered, his fingers scurried over the wall until they found the loose brick that he yanked out and tossed aside. His hands trembled in a moment of hesitation before reaching in. He grasped the bottle of his poison, his secret, his solace. Apollonas lifted it to his lips, tears running down his face, and drank his worries away.

[frevandrest]

Everything Wrong with Saint-Just's Introductory Scene in La Révolution française (1989)

As promised, here is an analysis of Saint-Just’s first scene from La Révolution française (1989). You can watch the scene (with English subtitles) here. It sadly misses the dramatic entrance part, but everything else is there. SPOILER: This analysis will not, in fact, cover everything wrong because there’s so much trash you can’t adequately address it in only 1000 words. 

In the scene, we see a young man with that hair rushing down the steps of the Convention (in what will be his signature dramatic! style). He pushes people way without even looking at them. There is someone at the rostrum, and many people wait to address the Convention. Saint-Just doesn’t give a fuck. “I demand to speak.” Some deputies murmur a weak protest, but they are shit out of luck because it’s time to introduce a new character, and we need to know what a jerk he is. So of course he’s granted the word. 

At first, nobody pays attention, but “just like you, I would die for this Republic”, seems to work. He delivers the speech (which contains maybe two lines from the actual one), and by the end, Marat claps, the Convention claps, Danton and Girondins are suspicious; Robespierre is in love. Camille, oh Camille, does he know he’s just been replaced? Saint-Just pouts slightly (my interpretation) but doesn’t show much emotion. Next scene: Louis receives news that he’s being put on trial. Good job, new boy. 

As first scenes go, this is a good introduction to Saint-Just as depicted in the film. But it’s also very wrong for SJ as a historical personality (what we know of him). Which sucks, because it’s not like it’s impossible to make an unsympathetic yet historically accurate SJ, if one wants to go that route. See, Saint-Just in La Révolution française is a prop; he’s not a character with his own complexities, goals or motivations. He is just there to be pretty and evil, and to take Robespierre away from Camille.

So, why is this introduction wrong? 

Let us remember that this was Saint-Just’s very first speech at the Convention. He got elected days after his 25th birthday; he was the youngest out there. Also, even with Robespierre’s support (that some claim he already enjoyed), he was an unknown; a peasant provincial from Picardie barely out of his adolescence. He wanted to prove himself and demonstrate that he was a worthy representative. Being rude and pushing people away is not really a good way to achieve that. 

Here’s the thing about Saint-Just: despite all stereotypes of the contrary, he respected authority. However, he only respected authority that he felt deserved to be respected. In 1792, “monarchy” was not it. But National Convention? Revolutionary government? Of course he respected it. He fought so much to get there, and he respected the place he was given. 

Throwing his weight around, pushing people away, demanding to speak when someone else is at the rostrum, disobeying order... It was really not Saint-Just. He hated commotion and fights that happened so often at the Jacobin club. Even on 9 Thermidor, when Tallien interrupted him and shit hit the fan, he continued to attempt to deliver the speech. They pushed him, and he kept trying to speak, without, I don’t know, punching someone in the face (La Révolution française Saint-Just totally would, which is, admittedly, one of the many, many many reasons why it sucks that they shortened and condensed Thermidor). 

The film uses “blame Saint-Just for Robespierre’s turn to darkness” approach. SJ is there to encourage Robespierre into cruelty and cold violence, and, if Robespierre starts to doubt even for a moment, to reassure him that yes, this is how things should be done, you are right Max, let’s kill them all, but particularly Camille; I can’t stand that guy for having you first  ridiculing my poetry (wait... SJ’s poetry wasn’t in the film. Why does he hate Camille, again?) Who knows. The only explanation the film provides is that Camille is Good and Saint-Just is Evil, so of course he’d want to get rid of him. 

Now, let us see about the speech itself.

The Speech

The speech Saint-Just delivers in the film contains maybe a few lines from the actual speech (notably: “this man should reign, or die”). I don’t have a problem with them not replicating the speech word for word because it followed on what other deputies talked about (which we didn’t hear)*, and because nobody has time for Antoine’s ramblings about antiquity. (And it would take around 10 minutes to act, which would probably provide us with more glorious shots of Robespierre falling in love being impressed, but it would take too much of the running time. I get that.)

So, in theory, I am fine with shortening the speech and paraphrasing, as long as the meaning and content is there. Which... it did on a surface level while also missing the point substantially.  

*Not showing SJ addressing what others said before him was understandable (condensing runtime), but it’s another thing that made it seem like he didn’t listen nor paid attention what others were doing. Also, it’s a missed opportunity to characterize him as a jerk full of himself, since his real speech basically opened with: “all that the previous guy said is bullshit, and here’s why”. 

Speech in the film: I would die for the Republic and I would fight the enemies of the Republic. We all know the name of the enemy, and I, like none here, am ready to fight against this enemy. Louis is a symbol of traitors among us. We should not hesitate; the king is an usurper. 

In short, speech in the film is, kind of, less about Louis and more about what SJ will be important later: his own sense of revolutionary righteousness and for weeding out “traitors” from the Convention. 

Another issue with the speech is that it wasn’t just about the speech - it was part of Saint-Just’s introductory scene, so we had to learn about his character through the speech. In the film, SJ is rude, cruel and cares only about... well, we are not sure, because there are no motivations whatsoever, but he is there to push Max when something bad needs to be done. I feel that his rudeness during the introductory scene and the way the speech was delivered fulfil this purpose nicely. However, I am not sure that we actually understand what Saint-Just’s speech was about, except vague “we must kill the king” vibe. 

The Aftermath

The scene following Saint-Just’s speech is that of Louis, a doting father, reading a book to his son. Men come and rudely tell him to send the child away. He is to be put on trial. The implication? Saint-Just’s speech won the crowd over and they decided to kill Louis, or at least put him on trial. 

In reality, while Saint-Just’s speech was highly noticed (his real-life dramatic entrance into Convention), the deputies did NOT listen to him. The whole point of the speech was that Louis should not be put on trial - trials are for the citizens, which he is not. Louis’ crime is not treason - the monarchy is a crime in itself. Saint-Just argued against the trial. Yes, his speech was highly influential but presenting it in this way puts way too much weight on this newcomer’s words and implies he was the key factor behind the trial.  

Other Observations

- There is a long debate among historians whether Robespierre was present for Saint-Just’s first speech on 13 November 1792. (I think the conclusion is “probably not”.) But I don’t mind this change, if nothing else, for those glorious shots of Robespierre’s heart eyes and Camille’s “wtf did this guy come from and why is Max looking at him like that?”

- Marat. It is true that he generally praised Saint-Just as an orator, but he disagreed with this speech (Marat was for trial). 

- The reason why this post is dedicated to SJ’s first scene is because I was asked/challenged to write about it. It doesn’t mean that his other scenes were any better (I’d say they were worse). In fact, the entire SJ’s character was a Thermidorized mess. 

- That being said, I don’t hate this SJ. I cannot; LRF was my introduction to the whole Frev thing and will always have a special place. Christopher Thompson was ok, particularly in some aspects of SJ. However, the whole thing was a mess and it should be criticized. 

- Hair. I promised to dedicate one full paragraph to SJ’s hair, but I... can’t. I simply cannot. I am sorry. I tried, but the words failed me. 

- This was more fun that it should have been and there are so many things I didn’t get to say (the entire performance and what this scene means for SJ as a character in the film, a more detailed analysis of the speech and comparison with the real one, etc.) But it did show that I can still vomit write 1000+ words about anything that I have any interest in, which is... good to know, I guess? (Let’s just say that I won’t be winning any SJ contest prizes for laconicism). 

[odetogyus]

ropes

↳pairing/s: boyfriend!seungcheol x fem!reader (w/ ceo!jaebeom on the side)

↳genre: angst

↳warnings: slight suggestive content, profanity, mentions of infidelity, mentions of death

↳song: apologize by timbaland

✎author's note: not my best work but this oneshot has been sitting in my notes for the longest time, and after hours of contemplating on whether or not I should post my works here.. well, I finally gave in. hope you find this, and I hope it makes you feel something.

—

It's been almost a year.

It's been almost a year since the last time she woke up next to him.

It's been almost a year since the last time he came home to her.

It's been almost a year.

Since the last time they kept their promise to each other.

“Seungcheol, don’t you ever break my heart. Don’t you dare break me.”

"The day I hurt you, is the day I die with the regret of breaking your heart, Y/N."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

But, Choi Seungcheol most definitely did not die with the regret of breaking her heart.

Instead, he watched her suffer from a good distance until she nearly lost everything– breaking from the inside out, with the regret of loving him.

—

The media and pretty much the entire country loved them as a couple, and after "careful" consideration, the two agreed that it would be best for the both of them to remain in the relationship– but just for show. And since Seungcheol believed that he had the upper-hand in the relationship, he paid little to no attention to his lover's feelings or opinions– leaving her with nothing but the name tag “Choi Seungcheol's Girlfriend”, highlighted in bold colours attached invisibly on her sleeve.

Their shared apartment was nothing but hollow bones and haunted memories.

Y/N L/N, who ended up keeping their once shared apartment after weeks of thinking about her boyfriend’s offer for her to stay, was tightly bound to shackles– the shackles that were everything Choi Seungcheol.

Being an editor for a men’s magazine had its perks, but Y/N never truly delved into the hole of the unfaithful. Well.. not yet, at least.

Meanwhile, Choi Seungcheol– full-time idol, rapper, and producer, lounged at his new place–an apartment unit right next to the one he once shared with his girlfriend. If you could even call her that.

Nothing seemed to bother the superstar other than the fact that he had to make tough choices every night when it came to who he was going to sleep with, and how long he would keep her around.

But, everything changes.

And they weren’t ready for that.

—

The photographers swarmed around the newly promoted editor-in-chief of the famous print, Men's Health Korea.

A tight body-con dress in fiery red hugged her body in all the right places. With her hair down and styled in loose waves, a sexy neutral lip, red bottoms, and a 6-figure designer handbag, no one would ever think that the glamorous and beloved Y/N L/N was a prisoner in her own relationship.

Except for one person.

Men's Health Korea's boss, and the youngest CEO in the editorial industry–the conglomerate son, Lim Jaebeom.

Standing next to each other at the podium set up right outside their headquarters, CEO Lim addressed Ms. Y/N L/N's promotion with so much passion and admiration.

“There is no one more deserving..” the CEO bit his lip and paused, staring lovingly at the beautiful woman beside him, racking his brain for words to say about his new editor-in-chief. “Than our lovely Ms. Y/N L/N. Congratulations! I cannot wait to work with the best of the best. Please give her love and wish her the best of luck. Thank you, everyone!"

And with that, the woman of the hour graced everyone with her presence by saying a few words of gratitude to the attendees of the surprise, and very last minute press-con.

“Wow.. I can’t really thank everyone enough for coming. I know that this was organized at the very last minute, but I would like to thank you all for coming. To my staff, my team, we did it. To every single employee working for Men's Health Korea, we did well. And to my boss, my CEO– our CEO, Mr. Lim, thank you for trusting me. I am looking forward to working right beside you from now on. Again, thank you all for coming! Please wish me luck, thank you so much."

Reporters and photographers from various media outlets desperately tried to get the CEO and the EIC's attention, and as expected from the ever charismatic and generous man that he was, Lim Jaebeom happily obliged to answer a few questions.

And.. maybe, he shouldn’t have.

But what was there to stop him?

He had nothing to lose.

But another man sure had.

—

Watching the news was never important to him, but it was now– after seeing another man stare at his girlfriend the way he used to.

Quickly grabbing the remote control next to him to put the volume all the way up, Seungcheol froze in place while his playmate from the night before straddled his lap, leaving dirty bites on his neck for breakfast.

Listening carefully, the celebrity’s eyes and ears never left the screen– his mind going through a million things by the minute.

Reporter: Mr. Lim, could you tell us a bit about the turning point for you in regards to Ms. L/N's promotion? And.. do you have a girlfriend at the moment, Sir? The people would like to know.

CEO Lim: Well, Y/N– I'm sorry, Ms. L/N– has been working for Men's Health Korea for 5 years now, and I have to admit, that I have never seen or met someone with the same drive as her when it comes to writing articles. She's truly an asset to the company, and to me.

Reporter: Mr. Lim, you have yet to answer the last question.. in regards to your dating life. Also, you referred to Ms. L/N as your asset. What exactly do you mean by that? And, a question for Ms. L/N, the press would like to know about your current relationship status. Your long-time boyfriend, Choi Seungcheol, was not present at today’s press-con, nor have we seen the two of you around together. Have you two called it quits?

At that very moment, Choi Seungcheol found himself in complete distress. Not only was his girlfriend being undressed and devoured by another man’s gaze, but their real relationship status was also at risk.

CEO Lim: Ah, yes. You're a quick one, aren’t you? Ms. L/N is an asset to me because let’s be honest here, shall we? If you’re ever in the same position as I am.. you know– blessed to know and work with someone as hardworking, bright, genuine, supportive, beautiful, and kind– would you not think of that person as an asset? Think about it.

Members of the press whispered amongst themselves and agreed with the CEO's positive remarks about his chief editor.

But the man in apartment unit 17 was not having it. He wasn’t ready to face the truth, and he wasn’t ready to lose her.

He just wasn’t ready for anything at all.

Reporter: Thank you, Mr. Lim. Ms. L/N? Would you like to answer the question?

Praying hard that his girlfriend would not reveal the truth about their status, SEVENTEEN's leader, Choi Seungcheol, felt his eyes prickle with tears as his old lover rose to the podium once more to finally answer the questions asked by the press.

“Please.. don’t,” Seungcheol muttered under his breath, not giving a damn about the woman from the night before that had already left his apartment in annoyance.

Smiling sweetly, Y/N held onto the microphone carefully, as if preparing herself for the worst. Her gaze was strong, but her tears were on its way down her cheeks.

That was the final straw, the last teardrop.

The end of the rope.

Editor L/N: Again, thank you all for coming. I think.. that this needs to be said, sooner than later. But, Choi Seungcheol and I are no longer together. I am now.. single, and I hope that answers your question.

Seungcheol's heart broke after hearing the painful words his girlfriend– now ex, just said.

Editor L/N: I will not discuss private matters with everyone, because my relationship with him remains between us only. But, I will say this. We all hold onto the ropes of life, and sometimes, we might just have to let go of some, especially if they’re hurting us. But no matter what, we should always choose the better climb for ourselves, and our future. To my former partner, thank you.. for everything. I wish you all the best, I truly mean that. Please continue to give Seungcheol and the rest of SEVENTEEN your love and support! Thank you to everyone that came today!

To say that he crumbled from the inside out was an understatement. He felt defeated– and boy, he really was, and it stung so much that the pain he felt was unbearable.

Everyone present at the press-con had their lips sealed, but had their eyes glued onto the face of the woman who no longer wanted to hold onto the ropes that bound her to a miserable life as Choi Seungcheol’s girlfriend.

It was a bittersweet moment for Y/N L/N– breaking away from the shackles that were once loving arms, and moving forward freely without any restraints.

No one dared to say a thing, and with every bit of confidence in his body, the conglomerate son stood from his seat, and spoke.

CEO Lim: Now that I think about it.. I believe I have one unanswered question.

Reporter: Apologies, Mr. Lim.. but, please.

CEO Lim: So, about me dating..

All eyes were on the CEO now, but Seungcheol only had eyes for her– watching his ex-lover’s gaze go up from the floor to her boss’ face.

It was the day he would dread forever, but he never prepared himself for that.

“Please don’t.. don’t love her, she’s mine,” he pleaded, but he could only beg a man he never really knew, from where he sat. In his living room, far from where she was– helpless, and wrecked to the core.

CEO Lim: I’m not dating anyone.. at the moment. But if you really want to know, I’ll tell you this much. The woman I am in love with had just been promoted as Chief Editor. She’s the one I would want to date, the one I want to give the world to. And, she’s sitting right there. I’ll let you guys put two and two together, but have a good day everyone, thanks for coming.

It was at that very moment, that Choi Seungcheol remembered the promise he had made a while ago. And seeing the hope in her eyes as she stared back at Lim Jaebeom, made him realize that it was just too late to undo everything. There was nothing he could do to stitch their love together, because the love they once had was dead and gone.

The day I hurt you, is the day I die with the regret of breaking your heart.

And so he relived the day where they promised each other the world– keeping his end of the rope that was long broken because of his mistakes.

Choi Seungcheol clutched his chest and cried himself to death– crying over a forgotten promise, and dying slowly with the regret of breaking her heart.

[jaa1682-27]

The Incident

(GIF NOT MINE.) 

Author’s Note: The title is the working title until I come up with something else. Welcome to my Tumblr and welcome all!!! This is a Frankie Morales x Female Reader fic inspired by one of my favorite movies, While You Were Sleeping. This is my first Reader fic, but if your interested, check out the other fics on my Tumblr!!

Chapter 1-The Accident

“Baby, All I want for Christmas is You…”

Mariah Carey blared from the speakers above. While it was a great song, if you worked in the small, local bookstore/coffee shop as you did, every time you heard this song, you wanted to poke your eyes out and drown your ears in hot coffee as you had heard it for the 5th time that morning.

It was 3 weeks until Christmas, and while everyone was nicer and jollier than usual, you were dreading each day as Christmas got closer. You loved Christmas…until 2 years ago.

xxx

You were celebrating Christmas with your Grandma, your only living relative and the kind, sweet woman who raised you, until she collapsed in the kitchen as she pulled out the Special Holiday Roast that she made. You found out that night that she had stage 4 breast cancer and the cancer had already spread to other parts of her body.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t even afford the chemo and other therapies as you had been laid off from your publishing job when the company went bankrupt and you still had $40,000 worth of student debt to pay off. Luckily, your Grandmother’s longtime friend, Pam Greenburg, owned a local bookstore and had just opened up a coffeeshop inside of the store. You were one of her first hires and she happily gave you as many extra shifts and overtime once the store started doing well.

However, it wasn’t enough. Despite you, Pam, her husband, and even your best friend, Cassie’s efforts to hold fundraisers, bake sales, yard sales, etc., it was just too late and your grandmother was too far gone. Plus, she’d rather use the money to help you financially as well as plan her funeral arrangements.

Then that July of the following year, she passed. Pam and Cassie were with you every step of the way and you were grateful for their friendship. The following Christmas was bittersweet for you. You had your wonderful friends who made sure to get you out of the house so that you wouldn’t be alone, but you felt like an outsider around Pam’s husband, kids, and grandkids as well as Cassie’s boyfriend and her family.

You even attempted hooking up with Cassie’s boyfriend’s cousin, but you quickly realized once he finished and asked you to leave his apartment immediately afterwards that feeling alone was better than feeling used.

Xxx

So, here you were, back again a year later, dreading Christmas to come. You were dreading it even more this year because Cassie was going to Hawaii with her boyfriend’s family and Pam was flying out the day before Christmas Eve to be there for the birth of her youngest son’s firstborn.

So it was just going to be you, your cat, Leroy, a tv dinner, and Netflix. Granted, that was how most of your evenings, days off, and weekends went anyways. You were in a rut but you didn’t know how to get out of it.

None of the publishing jobs you applied to were hiring, and you couldn’t afford to move out of the rental property Pam’s husband leased to you at a heavily discounted rate, not with your paycheck, at least.

Day in, day out, Get up, feed cat, feed self, work, feed self/talk to Cassie on her lunch break, back to work, pick up possible second shift, go home, order takeout/warm up tv dinner/maybe cook something, feed cat, watch Netflix, go to bed.

Rinse and repeat. Your life for the past year and a half.

The only bright spot in your day walked in about three and a half months ago (not that you were counting). He looked about a good decade or more older than you, but you were almost 30 so age wasn’t really a factor.

He had the kindest, warmest brown eyes you had ever seen, sweet, kissable lips, a jawline that set his face just right, a sharp, hook nose that would look horrible on anyone else but only added to his appeal, and a 70’s porn stashe with just the right amount of scruff around his mouth and jaw that gave him a rugged sexiness. Dark, unruly hair constantly stuck out from different angles underneath the green baseball cap he wore as if it was permanently glued to his head, but you smiled on the day you noticed that it seemed to curl a bit at the nape of his neck.

You two had only exchanged pleasantries, but in your mind, you had planned your first date, kiss, sloppily making out with him on your couch after the third date, and eventually your wedding. You didn’t know why; you were just drawn to him.

He also seemed like a kind man as he always held the door for whomever walked through, he would let others skip ahead of him in line, and constantly over tipped you. Realistically, you only knew two things about him-his name was Frankie and he liked his coffee black, with 2 creams and 1 sugar. Still, it didn’t stop you from daydreaming about him during the day and fantasizing about him at night.

Xxx

2 weeks and 4 days until Christmas, everything changed. The day started off routine, you got up, fed the cat, fed yourself, went to work.

Today, though you were here for the early morning shift around 7 AM, and to your surprise, Frankie was here too.

Hmm, that’s odd, he’s never this early, you thought, as he usually made his way in around 9-9:30. You shrugged it off and went about your usual business, taking orders and collecting the money.

Frankie finally came up the counter, slight bags under his eyes as if he has been up all night. You noticed the slight slump in his shoulders and he barely made eye contact with you, keeping his head down.  

Very off from his usual, shy but friendly demeanor that he had always had with you. Nonetheless, you took his drink order, and wrote his name on the cup. Except this time you bit your lip as you debated writing your number on his cup.

That would be stupid, he might be married-or have a girlfriend!!! Or a boyfriend…or both!!!

But…you hadn’t seen a ring on his finger, but that didn’t really mean much these days.

“Don’t let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game,” your grandmother’s voice whispered in your mind.

And, so, while nervous butterflies floated around in your stomach, you took the leap, and wrote your name and number under his name on the cup before sending it off to the barista.

You turned back to Frankie, who was looking down at his phone with a frown, and told him the total. He nodded and gave you a 50 dollar bill.

When you tried to give him the change, he said quietly, “Keep the change,” before heading over to the pickup line. Immediately afterwards, another girl came to relive you so that you could tend to the dining room.

You decided that today you would try to give him his change back as it was way more than what he usually gave. You quickly realized that he was not in the store a few minutes too late and chased after him, but he was already outside, crossing the clear intersection.

“Hey, wait!” You called out, and then it seemed as if time slowed down and sped up at the same time.

In the middle of the street, Frankie finally turned to you, an annoyed, yet puzzled look on his face, as a delivery truck ran the light, turning on the corner quickly, only to skid on a small slick of ice.

The truck side swiped him, and he fell to the ground, his body and head hitting the street with a loud smack, his coffee cup rolling around as hot coffee spilled around him.

The truck screeched to a stop as you and another bystander ran to Frankie’s aide. The bystander, a tall man in a fresh grey suit, pulled out his phone to call the paramedics as you rolled him over on his side to check him.

You were no nurse or EMT, but you wanted to make sure that he was okay. You gently patted his cheek, but he didn’t stir. You let out a breath of relief as his chest rose and fell.

A short while later, it seemed as if you were now on autopilot, a mere bystander to the next few hours of your life. When the ambulance and police arrived, you answered the questions numbly, they even tried to give you a blanket, but you weren’t the one that had been side-swiped by a truck. Pam gave her statement, and as you watched Frankie be loaded into the ambulance, you couldn’t help but worry about him.

“Maybe you should go with him. Make sure that he’s okay? I’ll cover for you,” Pam told you as she patted your arm gently.

You nodded silently, and the paramedics allowed you to ride in the ambulance with him. However, when you arrived at the hospital, he was whisked away to the emergency room. You tried to join them, but a doctor stopped you and said, “Sorry, but unless you’re family or a legal representative for the patient, you can’t come back here.”

He walked back behind the doors, both of them swinging shut in your face as they whisked Frankie away. You sighed, defeated, and decided to wait in the lobby and try again in a bit. As you walked, head down, your mind replaying the day’s events, you mumbled under your breath, “I was gonna marry that man.”

Little did you know, a nearby nurse with sweet eyes and bright orange hair had overhead you. She sighed in pity and said quietly, “Oh, sweetie.”

[resbangmod]

Resbang 2020 Promo, the Fourteenth

when you cry, darling, cry long and cry loud

presented by author: @soundofez​ [AO3]

with artist: @heliozi​

Pairings: Death the Kid/Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn/Black Star, Kid & Maka & Star, Soul & Liz & Tsubaki

Rating: T

Warnings: canon-typical violence

Summary:

Kid is the proud son of the leader of the country of Tamashi. He knows his place in the world, and his obligations: he must be the cleverest and strongest person in the land so that he can carry on his father's work.

Soul is the disgraced son of a wealthy merchant family. He was never supposed to be a ninja. Then again, he never wanted to be a merchant, either.

Naruto AU. Slowburn, slice-of-life.

Please enjoy the story preview below the cut!    

Sometimes, Kid's father makes decisions that Kid cannot understand. The recommissioning of Captain Franklin Stein is one of them. Captain Stein was young when he retired from service. At 26, he is still the youngest captain assigned to a squad. On top of that, he's been assigned Kid, who would have been a valued Academy graduate no matter how he did on the final exam. Kid eyes his teammates. He recognizes Maka Albarn by her family name: the Albarns are known for their illusory genjutsu. Also, Captain Albarn is one of his father's closest advisors. As a teammate for Kid, she makes sense. As a student for Captain Stein, she also makes sense: Captain Stein has some affinity for genjutsu, and would be able to help her grow her bloodline limit. Black Star… makes less sense. Black Star is an orphan from a dying clan. He has no ties to either Kid or Maka, and is something of a social pariah for his loudness and rudeness. To cap it all off, Captain Stein is not a patient man, and Black Star demands patience. Captain Stein seems to draw the same conclusions as Kid, because Black Star isn't even done with his (long, loud) introduction before the captain cuts him off. "I've decided I do not want to be your captain," Captain Stein says bluntly. "None of you." --- Soul has never felt like he fits, not at home and not at school. He'd dared to hope that when he graduated, he would finally fit in with his teammates. He does not fit in with his teammates. "I thought you died," one says bluntly. She is a girl, taller than Soul, with long bronze hair that catches the light and makes Soul have to squint. Her eyes are every bit as judgemental as Soul's parents. His other teammate gasps softly. Soul is pathetically grateful that she isn't laughing at him, too. "What?" the first girl says. "It's true, isn't it? You tried to steal the answer key to the final exam and Mr. Sizemore cut you in half with a scythe." Soul's ears are burning. He manages a one-shouldered shrug and mutters, "I can't be here if I'm dead." "But you did try to steal the answer key," she presses. "How come they let you pass?" The Tamashikage didn't want my bloodline going to waste, Soul almost says, except that it feels like a secret. "Dunno," he says instead. His opponent huffs. "If I'd known, I would have given it a shot," she grumbles. "I still had to take the test," says Soul. "And you should be grateful for it, brat." The three of them turn to face their team captain, a red-headed man who looks the same age as Soul's brother, or maybe Mr. Akane. "Who are you?" asks the blonde girl. "Captain Albarn," says the other girl at the same time, bowing. "Hello, Miz Tsubaki," Captain Albarn says, beaming at her. "You were always a good kid." "Thank you, sir," Tsubaki replied. "Hey," says the blonde. "Don't ignore the question." Captain Albarn's smile is strained as he turns to her. "Liz Thompson, right?" he asks. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Liz wrinkles her nose. "Don't lie. Answer the question." Captain Albarn hitches his smile higher. "My name is Spirit Albarn. I will be your captain, so show some respect." Liz crosses her arms. "I'll show it when I see it, old man." "I am not old." Captain Albarn turns to Soul. "Am I?" Soul is caught off-guard. "Uhm." And that is all it takes for the captain's smile to vanish. "What's that supposed to mean, you punk?" "N-nothing, sir," Soul stammers. "I— you're in your 20s, aren't you?" Captain Albarn stares at Soul suspiciously. "Not quite," he finally says, in a tone that screams I'm keeping my eye on you, buster. Great. Even his captain doesn't like him.  

[howlingmoonrise]

Thoughts on Petshop of Horrors: Wandering Ark volumes 1 & 2

(also on dreamwidth)

HOW did I manage to miss the translation of my long-awaited Papa D PSOH series?? I've been stalking it ever since I found the announcement and somehow the fact that @ruthlessnightsscans​ already put out the first two volumes completely went past my head.

Obviously I had to read it right away, sleep be damned.

this is the edited version of my brain thoughts after i managed to get two sleeps and calm down a bit or it would be a lot more incoherent

The art: the initial pages really remind me of the old art! Unfortunately it goes back to the roundness prevalent since the Shin series (which has only become even rounder with time) not long after. That art style is also a lot less dynamic than the original, I find. It's a bit of a problem on scenes that are supposed to have some tension caused by movement. This is nothing new since, like I said, Sensei has been using this art style since a good while ago. I really miss the original art though. It had a major nostalgia punch to it and a lot more feeling as well.

-- First chapter: "I am on a journey with no destination in mind" just say you're on vacation and go off I guess. 

Papa is... weirdly easy-going. I want to say it's because he's not yet mad with grief and his son being taken away and so on, but the glimpses we saw at his time in university definitely didn't paint him this soft. There's no edge to him, on this volume or the next. 

Regarding the story itself, I can't say I loved it but it’s not the worst out of all of them (there are four in total between these two volumes, and a third volume is on the way). I liked Koushun's character, but Seiyou annoyed me, especially when he presumed to know what she wanted (or perhaps he didn't presume, but decided for her what was better anyway) - something like I Shall Revive This Species So Breed In My Name Okay Bye. Note also that while Koushun was willing enough to marry (thinking she was marrying someone else but that's another point entirely), the groom himself came in chains. And then Seiyou... locks them in together? Great. Just great. Very conducive to a loving mood indeed, locking a woman with a potentially dangerous stranger who might cause her harm and telling them both to fuck (note. the. chains. you don’t put chains on someone you think is harmless; they never put any on Koushun even when she attacked Seiyou). I was afraid for her when it cut to another scene here, with the last we saw of her being pushed against a wall and being told by the groom that it seemed that he would have to make a child with her. "Rather than hate each other, I want to break that curse"? Seiyou, sweetie, that is NOT the way to make them not hate you. ((The reveal that Koushou is some sort of creature - very PSOH-y - does not help, since putting two wild animals together without them being used to each other is perhaps even more likely to them killing/harming one another.))

MAJOR little mermaid vibes on Koushun standing over a sleeping Seiyou with a knife. 

There are quite some parallels with the D species on this tale of bloodshed and revenge. The Ds could stand to learn from this, though historically they don't. "Even if you kill the third prince, the Kagetsu people are already gone. They won't return." Papa himself says that 'winning on the last available tile' is a waste of time, which really resonates with his research into reviving lost species and the issues of his own kind. A reference to the health of descendants when no new blood is introduced is also made here, which might or might not point to our D depending on where in time this Papa is from.

--

Second chapter: it's... frankly, super choppy. The story is all over the place. On the author's note, Akino herself says that it's a challenge to put the whole life of that empress in 57 pages, and I have to agree. Either it should have been cut to the REALLY relevant parts and worked on them some more, or be discarded in its entirety. It's too rushed. The whole first part was unnecessary: it could have started with her already working at the palace or being chosen as a concubine, and then made references to her previous life in her thoughts instead of wasting several pages on it when that backstory won't be going anywhere (except for some references to Hakubun whom she sees on that other actor - who dies like, two or three pages later, so that's that on that). I do like Ranji herself as a character: she's clever and quick to pick up on things. Her life is just a series of tragedies one after the other, unfortunately. 

Papa D is some sort of benevolent helper in this chapter for some reason - this pattern repeats somewhat on the next chapters, but on this one there isn't really anything to gain for him at all, other than perhaps his dubious acquaintance with one of the concubines/future empress, which wouldn't really hold much weight since he met her ?once? apart from near her death.

And then, somehow, the initial Papa D in this chapter was actually Sofu?

Sofu???? I'm calling bullshit. As far as we know - going back to Sofu's own series and flashbacks on the original PSOH, even - Sofu never had a hairstyle of that length, and out of our three known Ds (new!D excluded) he's the one least likely to help a human just because. The ark is also said to travel through space and time, so I'm saying that's Papa D and that's it. Fun aside: on this chapter, Papa says he's the "third generation", meaning that on this series he's probably the youngest existing D (and by inference our D does not exist yet).

Also, some issues with in-story continuity here: when the last emperor dies Ranji still looks fairly young and the emperor-to-be is three years old, a couple pages later she looks a lot more aged but the new emperor is still three years old. To be honest, I think the story would have been tied off much better if A-chan had some connection with Hakubun or the eunuch instead of each having their very brief, individual emotional connections to her - which, in turn, doesn't really make them memorable. The "wishes" thing was interesting, really called back to the old PSOH tradition with the mystical pets and bittersweet be-careful-what-you-wish-for endings.

--

Third chapter: I think, overall, this was probably the one I liked the best. Can't really bring myself to call it my favourite though, since none of them even begin to compare to the original PSOH chapters. I cackled at the "jawline is too sharp" dialogues and thoughts: with this art style EVERYONE has the same round jaw as every other character, and it's the furthest thing from "sharp" possible.

With this series it really seems like Sensei is giving more focus to trying to tell historically-accurate stories rather than focusing on the stories themselves, as there is a huge amount of superfluous historical information to be found in these volumes. 

The empress Elizabeth reminds me of Sofu, in truth. She won't "mind" affairs and the like (read: she will hate it but ignore them) as long as it works towards her ends. Her taking away the newly-born child is a huge parallel to Sofu regarding both Papa and D, and D and new!D. Child-snatching FTW! That being said, I actually kind of liked her, ruthless as she was: the whole reason why Sophie made it as far as crown princess was because Elizabeth valued her hard work. You don't get to hold an empire together without having a steel spine and a cunning mind (or people to do the work for you I guess, but here it doesn’t seem to be the case).

I hate that Sophie had to change even her name and religion to fit her new reality, accurate as it is to history. That sort of thing always messes me up (throwback to the Nazi/teddy bear chapter of the original PSOH series, where there was also a name/religion change for the sake of survival). Not a reflection on the author in any way, I just hate that this is something people had to go through. As something I hated that kinda does reflect on the author, though, was the ugly = terrible association with Pyotr and the maid. Sophie/Catherine is initially said to not be beautiful but she's not depicted in the same way those two are at all. 

Papa's benevolence is thankfully offset this chapter by the fact that he does have something to gain here. For some reason Ds doing things merely for the goodness of their hearts kind of rubs me the wrong way unless it's D during or post-Leon. 

Most PSOH victims clients: oh a pretty person! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S AN ANIMAL Sophie/Catherine: a dog you say? sounds kinda hot ngl

Gotta respect how she just jumps straight into the dog affairs. The take-back of the empire was also nicely executed, and I'm always here for ladies in traditionally male clothing. 

--

Fourth chapter:

This is linked semi-directly to the third chapter by virtue of the amber room Papa D craved. Marks also the second time that Papa takes a human on board of the ark.

D, circa end of original PSOH, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he watches Leon plummet towards the earth: Humans have not earned the right to board this ark. Papa D: I'm gonna go for a joyride and take along this human and this human and this human and this human and--

Papa really gives Doctor Who vibes on the ark matter. Travelling through space and time, occasionally taking human companions? The one for this chapter - who I'm guessing might be a cameo from one of Sensei's other series, since I didn't recognize him and there was no backstory for him on the chapter - even has era-appropriate wardrobe changes (at least assuming it's the same person and not just someone who looks similar scratch that they have eyes of different colours so I guess Papa has been giving rides to delivery men now), the second of which leaving me very ??? as to WHEN he is from. 

That last Look(TM) reminds me a of Leon Orcot, between the long ponytail and the clothes resembling the ones Leon wore on the last chapter of Shin PSOH (in PSOH time, that would have happened approximately 15 years after the end of the original series, meaning that Papa was already long dead then. Unless Leon's style was just stuck in time, which is also very possible). 

It might or might not have endeared him to me for that exact reason. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Leon Orcot, and apparently also for characters that visually remind me of him. ANYWAY.

Why another Nazi-era chapter??? Sensei plz. One was already enough on the original PSOH - it wasn't anywhere near my favourites back then, either - and the fact that this one mostly followed a Nazi colonel didn't help either. Here we witness them tearing down the amber room, "reclaiming" art from all over the world, a father's heartbreaking sacrifice to “save” his daughter’s dog, and Papa D coming to meet the Nazi dude. One would expect the Ds to avoid genocidal racists given the fate of their own species, but apparently the Nazis were relevant enough for not one but TWO Ds to interact with them. Oh well. Either way, I really don't like how Papa appears to not care one way or another - when the D for the original series interacted with people he didn't like, his mask was really fairly obvious (at least for the reader). Perhaps Papa simply has a better mask. Perhaps those nuances were lost to time and round art styles. Perhaps Papa or Sensei just don't give two shits. Guess we'll never know.

EVERYONE seems to comment on the flavour of Papa's tea: it's 4 out of 4 so far for these two volumes, and in this chapter in particular it seems as if it's laced with some kind of truth serum - it seems to be Papa's version of D's (and possibly Sofu's?) incense from the original PSOH. A reference to the original PSOH's Nazi chapter is also made here, with Papa mentioning that Sofu was on friendly terms with Eva Braun: this implicates that in this time they were in closer contact (not surprising since Sofu probably hasn't stolen his still-non-existent kid yet).

The colonel seems to value art over human life - surprise surprise! - so he kills his own comrades to keep the art "safe". A stomach-turning moment comes where they find human golden teeth being kept as treasure, which Papa mentions remelting to turn into golden nuggets. Why, Papa/Sensei, why? It's in poor taste, even if you're testing the colonel the way D did with some of his clients on original PSOH.

At the very least an eerie moment comes next where Papa explains that dead creatures can be revived using DNA. "Even dead people?" Cue Papa's all-seeing stare directly into the reader's eyes (and presumably the colonel's as well) with a backdrop of an inverted black-and-white multitude of graves as he says that future is not very far. Colonel almost shits his pants, with reason when you consider the amount of people the Nazis killed off that would presumably come after them. This almost forgives the teeth comment, and it's probably the first moment in these two volumes when we see some genuine emotion on Papa's face (on this page and the next), creepy and maniac as it might be.

Colonel dude has spent the whole chapter justifying everything under "orders of the fuhrer" so far. Then comes the moment that Papa calls him out by saying that the orders were to burn his sweet dear art so that it wouldn't fall into enemy's hands, and it's here that we see how much of an hypocrite the colonel is when he doesn't want to follow those orders. Suddenly it's "treasures of mankind" (even though he's been stealing them left and right) and the fuhrer is "a fool" (even though he's been using his orders and his "greatness" as justification for everything). 

Suddenly, Papa's companion! Who the heck is that! Shoots him! This is someone whose family was killed by the colonel (directly or under his orders) or so he says; he's gripping a piece of art we don't get to see, which is presumably the reason for those deaths. Now in the future! A guy who looks a bit like that other man who shot the colonel, but who I'm not 100% sure if it is or is not the same person because the round art style makes everyone look alike Someone who is definitely not the same guy because his eye colour is different (and who's dressed in a sporty outfit with a long ponytail, which I've mentioned kinda reminds me of Leon) looks for the amber in the place the art was stored, alongside Papa. He flies on the ark (all these humans on the ark, Sofu would have a conniption!) and reminds me of Leon once more while being shouty and holding on to the main mast for dear life.

The sacrificial father mini-plot also gets resolved with the dog returning (but not the father himself) along with a picture with that family. Which is presumably the picture the other dude who shot the colonel was holding, which begs the question: how is he related to them? He doesn't look like any of them, but he did say the colonel killed his family while (presumably) holding that same picture, so hmmm. Maybe he's the dog, colour-scheme aside? But apart from the father, the rest of the family seems to have survived, so it's kind of a strange thing to say since that sort of wording usually means more than one person. Even if he is the dog (my money is on that option), it's not exactly obvious to a reader who's not looking very closely. Some loose ends there, or at least ends that don't really look like they're tied together at all.

"No matter how long winter is, spring will come." Fairly hopeful final words there, Papa D. These echo similar ones spoken by D at the end of Shin PSOH, after running from Leon once more ("someday, the season for returning will come"): perhaps both these Ds are not as pessimistic as to their future, at least at this point? Poor Papa definitely had a change of heart between his series and the ending of original PSOH, unfortunately.

--

General thoughts: Sensei hasn't quite managed to replicate the feeling of the original PSOH just yet. The storytelling feels a bit shallow and rushed, though the pacing improved from the first volume to the second. There's also very little focus on Papa himself for some reason: he's more of a background character on his own series except for the fourth chapter, which is a very strange narrative choice. In part this might also be because he doesn’t have a permanent companion to discuss/argue with like in previous iterations of the PSOH series. I wonder if the third volume will continue on this trend? I wish it’d delve a bit more into Papa, but either way it’s still nice to get some more PSOH content.

I've heard Vesca will make an appearance next volume, I'm so excited!! Out of Shin PSOH, my favourite chapters were Leon's (surprise surprise!) and the ones with Papa and Vesca on their university days. Papa definitely seemed a lot sharper there, which I miss here - I feel like Sensei has been smoothing out all their edges like with the art style lmao, and in turn it makes them feel a bit lacking since the Ds are not meant to be bland and forgiving and easy-going, at least as per their original portrayal. I've also seen sneak-peaks of Leon and D from author notes of the next volume so I can't wait at the chance to weep at the slightest panel of my son Leon.

A final shoutout to RNS for continuing the PSOH translations! I really can't thank them enough!!

[xbellaxcarolinax]

Forging A Heart (Ivar the Boneless) 5- Replaceable

Pairings: Ivar x Artemis (OFC)

Word Count: 2154

Warnings: Light dream violence?

4- Distaste

...

She could hear herself breathing, her heart rate accelerating at inhuman speed. Her eyes were closed. She was afraid to open them in fear of seeing the horrors of a living hell.

She felt a wetness about her bare feet that seeped between her toes, warm and sticky. The scent of iron was strong in the air. Glancing down she opened her eyes slowly, gagging at the sight of the pools of rich blood surrounding her, as well as the bodies of the holy men thrown about with arrows embedded into them. She stared wide eyed at the massacre, lifting up the hem of her white dress to see it covered in the red of the monks.

The pristine walls of the monestary were covered in the blood of its men that worshipped within its walls. The statues of the saints melt away into the bloody mess on the marble floors, and the gold she had welded with her own two hands were gone.

Artemis let's out a sob, willing the screams in the distance to stop, for the madness to stop...and then there was silence.

Somehow the silence was worse than the screams.

"It is beautiful, don't you agree?" She whipped around quickly, staring into eyes of endless blue oceans that would surely drown her.

Ivar stood tall, looming over her like a great oak tree, a long bow in his hands. Blood streamed down his face and into his eyes, but he didn't seem to care.

To see him at his full height and not crawling about on the ground set a fear in her heart. Before she could do anything, he stretches the bow string as far as he could with a wild grin, releasing the arrow with lightning speed, and then, she saw nothing.

...

"Wake up, you lazy cunt, you're dreaming again!" The hits of the wooden spoon were enough to jolt Artemis into conscienceness. Sweat rolled down her brow and her breathing was erratic. It was still dark out, not yet sunrise.

"There she is, now get up, the Prince's should be waking soon and the hall must be spotless. Wouldn't want Ivar to cut that pretty little face of yours, hmm?"

Artemis rubbed the sleep from her eyes, doing her best to ignore Edda, the head thrall of the household. She was a feisty older woman with an unpleasant tone who had worked under Queen Asluag in the days when the boys were young. She was round, with a build as large as her personality. They must have fed her well these past years. Edda was quite fond of her late Queen and had resented Lagertha, but those were the old days, and a new era was upon them. Perhaps the murder had affected her just as it did the sons.

The main hall had been empty that morning, except for the few slaves that lingered about. Edda, that old hag, had sent her to clean up mess after mess. Artemis supposed that was her main purpose there, besides tending to the crippled prince. Cleaning up messes was tedious, but at least she wasn't forced upon the fortifications of the wall. The monks of Crete served that purpose.

Artemis blinked tiredly, slowly dragging her feet to the hall. It was to her surprise that not much needed to be cleaned and tended to. The brothers had thrown a small feast among themselves, and the remainders of last night hung in the air and draped over Artemis' shoulders like a cloak. Articles of clothing were thrown about, and horns of ale sat untouched on the table. She collected the clothing and cups, passing them off to one of the kitchen maids and the laundress.

She sighs, tending to the hearth before going over to wipe spilled ale off the large table. On the center of the table was what looked like a lute. It was a beautifully crafted instrument, the wood carved to perfection. Patterns were etched on its front with the same strategic lines she had seen carved on the rocks and boulders around the village.

She tossed the cleaning rag to the side, momentarily forgetting her task and letting her fingers brush atop the smooth wooden surface. The wood was soomth to the touch upon her heated fingers, just as she expected. She then passed her fingers over the thin strings that were rough to the touch. She plucked one of them, and the resonating sound made her smile. The sound was a comfort to her, a nostalgic ringing in her ears that made her want to pluck another string just to bring the feeling back.

"Do you play?"

Artemis turned quickly, suppressing a shriek of surprise. Behind her stood one of the princes, Sigurd, who bore a tired smile. When she remained quiet, he stepped forward slowly, ignoring the look she gave him.

"Do you play?" He asked again, this time a bit slower, assuming she didn't understand. He points at the lute. He gave no air of a threat, but Artemis could not be too sure, so she didn't let her guard down. She didn't know this prince as well as the others. Ubbe was sensible and kind, Hvitserk was extremely playful, and Ivar crazy, so where did Sigurd fit into?

She realizes he was waiting for an answer, and she quickly cleared her throat before putting her hands behind her back and setting her gaze to the floor.

"I'm not very skilled, Prince," She spoke quietly but firmly, and almost jerked back when he gently grasped her chin, pushing her face up towards him. Her eyes bore into his odd blue ones and his smile could be described as blinding.

"Your eyes," He begins, "Has anyone ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?"

"No." She replies flatly, shaking herself from his grip.

Sigurd wasn't angry.

He stepped past her, grabbing the lute and plucking a few strings to create a tune. He smiled at her again before handing her the instrument.

"You try,"

She looks at him with uncertainty before grasping the lute, cradling it softly within her arms like a child. She plucked one string, then another, bringing back a tune from deep within her memory.

She remembered her mother was a skilled musician, trying her best to pass on the knowledge to her, but Artemis never really cared for it. She always gravitated towards the work of her father and brother. Her mother always joked that she bore two sons. The thought made Artemis smile as she continued to play, just as her mother had taught her, a lullaby played to her when she was a little girl. It had been so long since she'd heard it, yet somehow it remained fresh in her mind.

She stopped abruptly, fingers hooking over the strings as mixed emotions ran through her. She felt angry hot tears swell in her eyes, blurring her vision. She choked back a sob that threatened to spill from her lips. The memories of her old life resurfaced and hit her like a crashing wave. She fought so hard to keep them at bay.

Overwhelmed, Artemis placed the lute back on the table with shaking hands. She spared a glance at Sigurd, wet eyes revealing the resentment swimming within. It wasn't his fault she was there, but he was associated with the ones who did, and that was enough for her soul to be gripped with animosity.

"Why do you cry?" Sigurd seemed genuinely confused. The idiot. He steps closer, raising a hand in an attempt to dry her tears, but right before she made a move to shift away from his touch again, they were interrupted by a growl all too familiar.

It had grown silent, even the crackling embers of the building fire had grown silent as if fearful.

"Ivar," Sigurd says his name with an annoyed sigh, not bothering to turn around. He knew his youngest brother had the eyes of a vulture.

"What can I do for you, little brother?"

Ivar had the habit of appearing from the shadows unnoticed despite the scraping of the metal buckles round his legs, but he quite liked it that way. He crawls across the floors in an eerie manner as he slowly approached the pair with eyes that was nothing short of murder.

"I just wonder brother," He began softly, continuing to drag himself ever so slowly until he reached Sigurds boots, "I wonder who gave you the authority to touch my thrall, if it was not I who gave the order?" Ivar feigned confusion, lifting himself up to sit at the table. He watched Artemis intently, noticing how rigid her posture was, as if ready to pounce on the defense if need be. Sigurd held his ground as he always did.

"Must I ask permission to command a slave, Ivar?" Ivar hums in response, drumming his fingers harshly against the table that resonated throughout the hall. Sigurd was never a good liar, even now, Ivar could see how his brow twitched, a sign of Sigurd's obvious dishonesty. He had fooled Ivar as a child many times, but he wouldn't be misguided as easily as before.

"Command? This isnt an ordinary slave, dear Sigurd, this is my slave. Would you like it if someone else were trying to toy with your property, hmm?" His tone was condescending, a ploy to bring Sigurd to his boiling point. It had almost worked, and the youngest brother watched with glee as Sigurd moved to react, hands turning to fists, but it was Ivar's slave that reacted first.

"I was never a man's property, not in my homeland, and certainly not here," Artemis growled, hands bawling into fists at her sides. Whatever ounce of fear she had of Ivar had disappeared, as rage clouded her vision. All thoughts of potential punishment had ceased from her mind, nose flaring and eyebrows arched.

She faces Ivar with a hardness in her eyes, shining like pearls ready to be plucked from the sea. Perhaps it was her nightmare that ignited the fire, the image of Ivar ready to kill her was implanted in her mind. Ivar grinned madly, a reaction he was not expecting from her, but a reaction he enjoyed nonetheless.

Sigurd watches on with wide eyes, speechless at her outburst. It was only moments ago in which she almost appeared as a mute. Leave it to Ivar to make even the most silent of persons angry.

"My, how your vocabulary has expanded!" Ivar taunts, "I'm impressed, really," He slams his hand against the table with a loud smack, and the force of the hit sent the lute crashing to the ground, forgotten in the tense silence of the hall. Then he gets deadly serious.

"The fact of the matter is that you are now a slave! To hel with your past life, it does not matter anymore. Here you are nothing but a slave under my command. Relinquish your thoughts of your homeland, you have no use for it here,"

"You are much too cruel, brother." Sigurd sighs, glancing at Artemis before taking a seat across from Ivar. He was in no mood to argue.

"The truth can be quite cruel," Ivar says, glaring at his brother before turning his gaze to Artemis. He brings a dagger between his fingers, the same one he put to her throat only days ago. It seemed to glitter in the light of the fire, as if mocking her mortality.

"Well? Will you not fetch us food? It is nearly time for breakfast," Ivar smiled, quickly driving the dagger into the wood of the table with a hard stab. Artemis, fuming with anger, remains silent. Her hands shook and she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. Sigurd sent her a sorrowful look, but she ignored it, snatching the rag in a tight grip and turning on her heel to exit the hall. How infuriating Ivar was, to constantly express his superiority. He compensates weak legs with extreme pride, and uses fear as a way to control.

Hvitserk and Ubbe walked past to meet their youngest with Margarthe in tow. Hvitserk winks at her as he usually did at but Ubbe's eyes were hard. He grabbed her forearm tightly, succeeding in emiting a squeal from her.

"Obey him, Artemis," She blinked. It was the first time he'd given her some form of scolding, "You may have never been a slave before, but that is what you are now, and that is the path the gods have chosen for you. If you value your life, obey him. You are replaceable."

With that, Ubbe leaves as if no words have been exchanged at all. Margarthe sends her a look as if warning her, but disappeared with her husband and lover into the hall.

Angry tears escape her eyes and she wipes them away furiously. Tears wouldn't help her.

...

@heavenly1927

[puppy-steve]

  ⭐️axhiiles’ 2020 fic rec⭐️

there's a total of 178 fics in this bad boy and i blame it on 2020. my bookmarks look like a warzone.

part 1 // part 2 // part 3 // part 4

-all fics are in alphabetical order by title, not fandom

-please tell me if the links are broken/linked wrong

-smut is marked with **

as always, please leave a kudos and a comment on what you read, and reblog this to spread!

5 Times Kageyama Made Hinata Carry Him, and the One Time Kageyama Carried Hinata - 3.9k, single chapter author: bowlerhatfringe fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

Kageyama using Hinata as a chair/forcing him to carry him places. Hinata considers it strength training and loves it.

17 Birthdays and More - 12.3k, single chapter author: purple_anonymous fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Bakugou had called all of them for an emergency meeting. Together. And Eijirou and the rest of the class are currently staring at him like they’ve entered some alternate universe where everything’s the same except Bakugou willingly called for an emergency meeting with the whole class of 3A.

Well, almost everyone.

That was also a surprise and another warning of the end times probably...

Because Izuku Midoriya wasn’t here as a result of Katsuki Bakugou’s stubborn pettiness even amidst a probable apocalypse prevented him from inviting his rival, no…

No, Midoriya wasn’t here because the meeting was about Izuku Midoriya.

Izuku Midoriya’s birthday, to be exact.

“What the..?” Eijirou said after a while, beginning to speak Bakugou’s language because everyone else was confused with a dash of fear into silence.

“What?” Bakugou drawled like they didn’t just enter the twilight zone. “Are you all deaf?”

 Or, A Secret Relationship fic, a birthday fic that's months late and a fic that might make you feel a little too much, all wrapped up in one and narrated by Red Riot himself.

A Father’s Perspective - 9.6k, single chapter author: Kalira fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Sokka/Zukko

What Hakoda sees when he watches his son, from after his rescue from the Boiling Rock to beyond the end of the Great War.

A Forget-Me-Not Morning - 1k, single chapter author: charliebrdcherry fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Hank Anderson. Sorry – Lieutenant Anderson. Hard-boiled detective of age fifty-three that doesn’t get along with his colleagues at work or half of the neighborhood, yells at birds on the street to move out of the way when he’s driving and sends postcards to his next-door neighbor to tell him to keep his damn water hose off at night – no, a big goddamn softy at heart.

a house made a home - 1.2k, single chapter author: todorokitops fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Shigaraki Tomura/Dabi/Hawks

His eyes skip over their comfortable position, an excited smile quirking at his lips. “So I take it we’re cuddling today?”

Dabi shrugs, best as he can with Tomura still latched around his body. “Well, Handyman here decided to choose today to be more of a clingy bitch than usual, so it’s not like we got much choice.”

*

In which Tomura wants attention, and if that means he has to sit directly on Dabi's lap to get some, then so be it.

A Life of Bliss - 652, single chapter author: tobiosbae fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio

Hajime laughs when he hears Tobio yell, “Is it done yet?!” He answers back with a firm no. God, he thinks, I love that impatient idiot. He gets to work because he knows damn well that Tobio’s going to ask again, but it’s fine.

He loves Tobio, even though he’s an impatient piece of shit.

a long December - 7k, single chapter author: blackeyedblonde fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

If he’s meant to trust his gut, there’s no reason Sumo should’ve growled. The dog stands at his heels now, quiet but alert. Hank runs the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip, chapped as it already is in this weather, and tries not to sound too hopeful when he utters a name he hasn’t spoken in too many weeks to count.

“Connor?”

A Sick Day - 1.1k, single chapter author: fromneptune fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu

When Asahi catches a cold, Noya makes it his mission to nurse him back to health (while somehow failing to keep their relationship a secret from the rest of the team).

A Thoughtful Painting - 1.7k, single chapter author: cryscendo fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: Tom Nook/Redd

Redd considered himself a fine husband. But Tom Nook’s birthday isn’t something to be treated lightly.

a thousand diamonds - 5.4k, single chapter author: alekszova fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Connor/Gavin Reed

the boys go on their honey moon.

A Trip to the Museum - 2k, single chapter author: Tinyvocaloid fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: CJ/Flick

Flick and C.J.'s daughter discovers her calling.

About Time - 3.8k, single chapter author: zuotian fandom: Naruto pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai, Gaara/Rock Lee

While attending Gaara and Lee's wedding, Kakashi and Gai come to a shocking realization.

All I Want Is You - 1.6k, single chapter author: alec_rhee fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen/Windsor

Henry, your package has been delivered.

He’s been waiting weeks for this notification. Realistically, he knows it’s only been a week or so since he made this order, but he’s been waiting so impatiently for it to arrive and it seemed to take forever to get here.

He runs up the spiral staircase of their brownstone home, he knows Alex will be home any minute from class, but he just has to look at how it turned out. He sits on the chaise in the bedroom and tears the plastic sleeve and there it is: a bandana for his beagle, David. The material is super soft and is a combination of colors: red, white, and blue. The words on the bandana is in a classic cursive font. The words displayed on the piece of cloth make him feel giddy: Will you marry my daddy?

All the Stars Are Closer - 2.3k, single chapter author: Boxstorm fandom: The Witcher pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier

"Come with me to Oxenfurt," Jaskier had said, tucked up against Geralt's chest in the moments before their parting for the winter.

"I can't," Geralt had replied, tightening his arms where they wrapped around Jaskier's shoulders in silent apology.

"Just for a day or two," Jaskier had insisted, pulling back just enough to look Geralt in the eyes, and giving him that hopeful look that they both know Geralt is unable to deny, "Please."

The pass to Kaer Morhen would not remain open for much longer, but faced with Jaskier's bright blue eyes, pleading for something that Geralt could so easily give, he had relented.

Jaskier's smile as he'd been pulled in for a gentle, acquiescing kiss had been worth whatever he might find on a late return to Kaer Morhen this year.

All the ways to say I love you - multi-chaptered, complete author: imaginary_dragonling fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Iwaizumi turns around in time to see Kageyama whip around like a started colt, guilt flashing across his face. The expression is fleeting, quick to disappear into the determined crease between Kageyama’s eyebrows, the familiar downturn of his lips.

Iwaizumi tries not to smile.

all you need - 901, single chapter author: mugengo fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Kaminari Denki/Kirishima Eijirou

Strangers question Denki’s relationship with Eijirou and Katsuki all the time. Sometimes he gets self-conscious about it and needs a little reassurance.

alula haunting - 3k, single chapter author: faorism fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Through a haze of crisp leaves and chill-bleached grass, Sakura finds her youngest playing with a familiar crow.

Always All of You - 1.9k, single chapter author: keilotus fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi

Oikawa has a boyfriend. He just hasn't gotten round to telling anyone.

And He Finally Learned What Love and Kindness Meant - 10 work series, complete author: mushembra, Tamori fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Connor/Gavin Reed

Gavin finds it way too amusing that Connor has human needs, especially when he lets those needs go forgotten for too long. So he does what he does best; torments Connor in his time of desperation

But when the roles are reversed and Gavin finds himself bursting during a stakeout, all he expects is for karma to bite him in the ass

Turns out even he has the potential to be pleasantly surprised

TW: past child abuse, omorashi, PTSD flashbacks, dissociation, non-sexual age regression, implied child r*pe in a dream, Gavin is not okay but he’s getting there

Anderson - 419, single chapter author: Astrapod fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Connor/Gavin Reed

Gavin want’s something very specific from his marriage to Connor.

Are You Bored Yet? - 3.3k, single chapter author: lonelyghostie fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Kenma watches the sunset alone while walking home. No hand to hold on to. No teasings and laughter. No warmth and smiles.

No Kuroo Tetsurou to make his day.

At Camp - 5k, single chapter author: lunaloop fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou/Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Kenma doesn't know how to survive a week without Bokuto and Kuroo in Miyagi.

Attention Please - 957, single chapter author: Spring_Emerald fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi

‘Kuroo, stop,’ he mouthed.

That was the only response he would deign give Kuroo, at least that’s what he told himself. He glanced at Nekomata-sensei, who thankfully, was facing back, as he was writing something on the board, unaware that his very own captain was making a delinquent out of Daichi.

Kuroo had the nerve to smirk, before he mouthed ‘Make me,’ back at Daichi.

balance - 1.1k, single chapter author: tododoki fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

Shouto has found his balance in a world of extremities. He’s discovered a beautiful sense of security in Izuku, and he plans to never let it go.

Barbwire Heart - 1.8k, single chapter author: conorssock fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor/RK900/Gavin Reed

Gavin acts like this isn't serious and doesn't want to get attached. He's trying to play it off and jokes about it. But inside he wants a family. They are on a call and Gavin pushes Hank out the way and gets shot. Has to be looked after. Is on meds that make him share stuff and act all cuddly.

Beans Are Spilled - multi-chaptered, complete author: rubysilk98 fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Oikawa Tooru/Yamaguchi Tadashi

When Takeda-sensei said there's a practice match between Karasuno and Aoba Johsai, Yamaguchi couldn't help but wonder how shit is about to go down. Since he's been dating the captain of Seijoh secretly, he's determined to not let the cat out of the bag. But maybe he doesn't have to. Not when Oikawa himself had done it.

because baby you are all i want - 1.7k, single chapter author: lunoiere fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

There are a few rustling sounds before the voice that could make him melt and cocoon him in warmth is finally heard. “Izuku?”

“It’s me, Shoucchan.” Izuku feels relief fills him in a rush. “How are you feeling?”

“I miss you,” comes the immediate response.

Izuku’s heart feels full and aching all at once. “I miss you too.”

[Or Shouto is sick and Izuku is too far away to hug him better.]

Because team-work will get us farther - multi-chaptered, ongoing author: Lerya fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito

A time travel fic, what if at the end of the 4th shinobi war, everyone not caught in the Tsukyomi gets blasted back to the past. What could possible go wrong when Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi wake up in their 12 and 28 year old bodies?

And even better, when Obito remembers everything and might just be able to persuade the Akatsuki to take a different path. Or even better, when the Bijuu wake up, with their Jinchuuriki alive and well, and with all the memories of their future self.

Only one thing will happen, the Jinchuuriki will band together, a group more tighter then even a Konoha team, with some surprising back up.

Beginning - multi-chaptered, complete author: Glare fandom: Star Wars pairing: NA

The fall of the Empire begins with a journal, clutched in the small hands of a six year-old girl.

Better Days - 1.2k, single chapter author: givemeunicorns fandom: Captain America pairing: Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers?Sam Wilson

They pile into Sam's car on a foggy Sunday morning, and hit the road as the sun climbed over the horizon. They kept off the interstate, stopped at mom and pop gas stations with a map spread out on the hood.

Birthday Breakfast - 1.2k, single chapter author: HMS_Chill fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen Windsor

It's Alex's birthday, and Henry is going to surprise him with breakfast in bed, and it's going to be beautiful and domestic and perfect.

Brekker’s Girls - 1.4k, single chapter author: wyrmsandrocs fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa/Nina Zenik

Kaz, Nina, and Inej sat together on a couch in the corner of the Crow Club. It had been the better part of a decade since the Ice Court Heist, (or the Heist Court, as Nina had named it,) and the three of them had found happiness with each other for most of that time. It was a lovely and all too rare occasion when both Nina and Inej were in Ketterdam for them all to be together, so they were enjoying watching what was a relatively slow night at the Club.

Brekker and his girls, and why not to call them that.

Bump - 5.4k, single chapter author: Blahhh, Feli_X fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor, RK900/Gavin Reed

Just fluffs of Mpreg Connor and Gavin getting baby fever after finding out

Canis Lupus Unfamiliaris - series, complete author: stabbitytuesday fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik

"You fight beside each other, sleep on the same furs, your rations are your wolf's rations. He is not your pet. He is a warrior, like you, a brother."

Matthias Helvar is laid to rest.

cat’s cradle - 2.8k, single chapter author: earlgreylover98 fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: NA

There were a lot of things unexpected about Fire Lord Zuko’s reign; his kind heart, his benevolence, his love of the arts and the theatre especially, but the cats topped that list. The cats gravitated to the Fire Lord and no one knew how to react to that. He was like a magnet to them.

Or- the Royal Palace has a cat infestation and the cats really seems to love the Fire Lord. It's a mutual feeling.

Change of Atmosphere - 820, single chapter author: Wordlesslywriting fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Sawamura Daichi/Kinoshita Hisashi

It never hurt to change scenery once in awhile.

Chief - 3.7k, single chapter author: lovewillcomeandfindme fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Bato/Hakoda

Bato is running late, he was supposed to be at the beach hours ago. This didn't bother Hakoda in the least, why would he care if his closest companion decided to leave them behind for a woman, for a life Hakoda could never give him. He didn't care if he was late, that's why he was waiting on the beach for him at an unforgiving hour of the night.

Cleaning Up - 3.3k, single chapter author: romaneedsatoma fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kuroo Tetsurou

Hinata glanced at Kuroo as he started sweeping, watching the older teen sweeping the other half of the gym. Hinata moved closer to the net. Glanced up again. He went to the wall. Glanced up again. Swept the area under the net. Glanced up again and finally gave in. “Tetsurō?” Hinata said, purposefully using his given name. Within seconds, Kuroo was on him and peppering kisses across his face, making him squirm and let out a high pitched laugh.

---

or, in which hinata and kuroo are secretly dating, and make out for an hour instead of cleaning up the gym after a scrimmage.

Cloud 9 - 370, single chapter author:peenklemonade fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou/Hinata Shouyou

Just Kuroo being absolutely weak for his boyfriend, and really, who can blame him? Especially with all the good points he brings up.

Come Let Me Love You - 899, single chapter author: Beck17 fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Henry always struggled to have a good night's sleep. Alex made it easier over the years they had been together, but little cries in the middle of the night always woke Henry.

A little glimpse into a future where Alex and Henry are doting fathers to a beautiful little girl.

Come What May - 1.2k, single chapter author: Faiktra fandom: Naruto pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

Late Night Anxieties: Feat. Hatake Kakashi

Complimentary Colors - 1.6k, single chapter author: SaraBee fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

Orange and blue go together for a reason.

Daft Punk Is Playing At My House (My House) - 1.5k, single chapter author: lumbeam fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Connor listens to Hank's old music and finally understands.

Days and Nights We Lost to Weakness - 3.1k, single chapter author: Kirazalea fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Sokka/Zuko

Zuko never wanted to visit his father's cell again, but he needs to do it one more time. He's spent far too much of his life living in fear of the man that controlled his every decision and now he's finally ready to say something he should have said a long time ago.

dear mother - 1.6k, single chapter author: goldenthunderstorms fandom: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue pairing: Henry Montague/Percy Newton

Monty writes a different letter.

Dirty Hit - 6.7k, single chapter author: venvephe fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Four minutes left in the second period, Connor goes down to a bad hit. Head-collision-against-the-boards down. Not-getting-off-the-ice down. Blue-blood-pouring-out-his-nose down.

It’s when he’s shakily on his own skates, each arm slung over his teammates’ shoulders, that he thinks to look up and see the source of all the sudden noise. Something twists in his gut, something that has absolutely nothing to do with the injuries from that nasty hit.

It’s Hank. Of course it’s Hank.

Do You Realize? - 5k, single chapter author: beaniek4 fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Kaminari Denki

Bakugo wouldn’t consider himself to be overly protective of those he actually gave a shit about. But when Kaminari speed-walked past him with fresh tears spilling down his face, Bakugo couldn’t help the wave of protectiveness that coursed through his being.

Don’t Look Down - 4.3k, single chapter author: LessonsFromMoths fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Takeda Iitetsu/Ukai Kenshin

So wait...are Ukai and Takeda...a thing????

Aka, Ukai and Takeda are supposed to be just their coach and advisor but the team realizes, one-by-one, that they are in a romantic relationship.

electrify my heart - 2.4k, single chapter author: soullessfollower98 fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Sokka/Zuko

5 times that Sokka records Boyfriend Challenges for his TikTok, +1 time that Zuko does (or tries to, anyway).

entangled hands and skin - 2.3k, single chapter author: gochumilk fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Hearing the familiar sound of their apartment door opening and Deku’s soft voice calling out “I’m home” immediately drags out a sigh of relief from Katsuki.

“Welcome home, nerd,” Katsuki says, deliberately clearing his throat when he realizes his voice comes out too softly.

(or quirkless katsuki pampers his pro hero boyfriend, deku)

Expense Report - 1.6k, single chapter author: Masu_Trout fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Fowler had a vaguely shell-shocked sort of look on his face. Hank knew it well; it was the same look he occasionally wore while staring in the mirror, on mornings when he couldn't stop thinking about just how goddamn weird his life had become these past few months.

Captain Fowler has some questions about Hank's expense account. Connor isn't helping.

Family Reunion - 2.8k, single chapter author: pynkk fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Dabi/Hawks, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

“Who ate all the leftovers?”

Shouto looks towards the television and keeps his eye on it. “Who ate my brother's ass?” Natsuo burst out laughing and Izuku choked on his tea, coughing on it. Keigo took in a sharp breath before shutting the fridge door. “Alright.”

Five Plus One - 1.3k, single chapter author: Xachyn fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

Five times other people thought they were dating and one time Kageyama wondered if they were.

five times henry's competency turned alex on and the one time it turned him into a pile of romantic goo - 4.3k, single chapter author: helenblqckthorn fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Alex has a fucking thing for competency. A competency kink, if he wants to be crude. And it just so happens that his boyfriend is one of the most competent men in England. Well, Alex, he thinks. You sure know how to pick ‘em.

Footprints in the Sand - 2k, single chapter author: stripeypirate fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

He stops walking when he reaches the ocean. The surf pounding steadily against the rocks echoes his heatbeat and the salty wind whispers his brother’s name. It reminds him of the day Obito told him the truth-wrapped-in-lies that sent him spinning down into depths darker than he’d thought possible. A good place to rebuild- no, build. Because to rebuild there must have been a foundation in the first place, and Sasuke has been realizing more with each passing day that his was rotten from the start.

So he sets up camp right there on the sand and spends the first night staring up at the stars, whose names he’s long forgotten.

forgetful- 2.2k, single chapter author: peachiami fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Kaminari Denki

Denki has been waiting for thirty minutes now. Eyes flying to his phone quite literally every two seconds, his leg bouncing up and down as he leaned his chin on his palm. Did Katsuki forget?

Fragile Trust - 2k, single chapter author: TheManOfManyFandoms fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: NA

Zuko doesn’t react well to fathers raising their voices. Hakoda learns this the hard way.

frilly pink apron - 2.9k, single chapter author: novrik fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

kuroo loves to be embarrassing. there's literally no other reason why he'd walk onto stream wearing nothing but a fucking frilly pink apron and sweats where you can see all of his goddamn upper body.

From Tokyo and Osaka, With Love - 8.2k, single chapter author: awkwardedgeworth fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou

He frowns at Bokuto, mouthing, "Did you break into the library building?"

"Hey!" Someone shines a flashlight in their direction, pacing furiously, "You can't be here after hours if you don't have an ID!"

Bokuto laughs nervously.

akaashi and his birthdays from 17-21, or five years' worth of birthdays spent with bokuto

Getting Even - 2.1k, single chapter author: Kalira fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

All grown up now and ninja in deadly earnest . . . the old Team Seven still dissolves into reckless playfulness in a fresh snow.

give them something to talk about - 1.8k, single chapter author: thelittlebirdthattoldyou fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru

“Huh. Oikawa is making his way over to the losing side of the court - is he planning to rub it in their faces? Maybe someone should stop him -”

“But he’s passing the players by entirely! And heading for -”

“Are we going to get a childhood besties reunion up in here?”

Iwaizumi and Oikawa's Olympics reunion, as told through the eyes of two excitable sportscasters.

Green Walls - 1.1k, single chapter author: romeoandjulietyouwish fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

Jesper finds Wylan sitting in the garden in the middle of the night.

Growing Pains - multi-chapter, complete author: callmecaramleh fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Sokka/Zuko, Bato/Hakoda

Sokka brings Zuko home to re-meet his dad.

hayloft - 836, single chapter author: sanguination fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

for all the boys who break their own hearts

TW: blood, depression, no self harm though

Heart of War - 1.6k, single chapter author: Naomida fandom: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey pairing: Alexios/Thaletas

The gods don't play by the rules.

Heaven in Me - 255 author: j_gabrielle fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

It hits Hank on a lazy Sunday morning.

his boyfriend - 816, single chapter author: bestboytsukki fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei

tsukishima never really envisioned getting in bed with a particular raven haired boy in which, as a matter of fact, the boy whose guts and pride he hated, or so he thought.

home - 1.8k, single chapter author: getloud fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Sugawara Koushi

“Tobio,” Koushi placed his hands by collar of Tobio’s hoodie. “It’s okay if you find yourself lost every once in a while.” Tobio’s breath hitched as he stared back at Koushi. “You can always come back home. I’ll always be here.” A small, weak smile spread on Koushi’s face.

Homecoming - 1.9k, single chapter author: castiel_ambrose fandom: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey pairing: Alexios/Thaletas

He was so engrossed he barely heard the man’s voice behind him until a hand accompanied it, hesitant but warm and calloused as it rested on his arm. “Alexios?”

Out of instinct Alexios spun around and grabbed the man’s wrist, bewildered but warning filled glare melting away to complete shock. “Thaletas?” He could scarcely breathe it out, eyes roving over the man in front of him before he was pulled into a tight hug, a hand thumping his shoulder. He was helpless to do anything but hug back, feeling the press of steel and leather against him. “Alexios, dear Gods, it’s wonderful to see you." --- Thaletas meets up with Alexios on his first journey home to Sparta

hope, coffee, and poetry - 2k, single chapter author: DizzyRedhead fandom: Check, Please! pairing: Chris Chow/Derek Nurse/William Poindexter

Nursey and Dex have a crush

how to make a setter blush - 8k, single chapter author: bokutochan fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou

“Alright, remember, the only unofficial rule that we officially follow is that we make no serious passes at Akaashi.” Kuroo makes clear. Everyone nods in agreement, even Ushijima. Kuroo winks at Bokuto. “After all, Bokuto needs as little competition as possible.” Bokuto squawks and Daichi holds him back again from doing something to Kuroo. “And, as always, the game is a complete secret, under no circumstances can Akaashi know about this. If Suga finds out you’ve been cheating, you’re on your own. Daichi won’t be there to stop him.” Kuroo smirks. He runs a hand through his hair, looking at the other four captains. “So,” He says finally. “Shall we begin?”

or the one where the five captains compete to make akaashi blush. that's it.

I don't need me - 4.8k, single chapter author: earlgreyson fandom: Kingsman pairing: Harry Hart/Merlin/Eggsy Unwin

There’s more that he wants than a soft blanket and a warm drink, but there’s not much Eggsy can do to meet those needs so he shoves them down. Hopes he can go see Mum and Daisy in the next few days and get some cuddles in with his favourite girl. There is an itch that has been hovering beneath his skin for as long as he can recall, and he knows that a quick snuggle with a struggling child is not going to relieve it. But there’s not much else in terms of an option, so Eggsy will take what he can get and be thankful for it. Eggsy returns from a mission to find himself confronted by Merlin and Harry. Now if he can only ask for what he needs.

I Want to Kiss You When You're Hard - 7.5k, single chapter author: Logsnake fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Kaminari Denki/Kirishima Eijirou

Denki had had a lot of crushes growing up, but none as strong as the one for Kirishima. The redhead was just so perfect, and while Denki knew his friend was way out of his league, he couldn't help but hope.

Of course, during a test Denki just had to over do it on his quirk, leaving him a stupid, incoherent mess right in front of said crush. Furthermore, to add icing to the cake, he had mumbled out 'I want to kiss when you're hard' to Kirishima without any context before running away in embarrassment.

Seriously, who had he offended in his past life?

(AKA: Denki's a gay mess, Kirishima is an oblivious, sexy rock, and all of their friends are just done.)

I Was Pledged to You, To You I Pledge Myself - 9.5k, single chapter author: anarchycox fandom: The Witcher pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier

When he is four, Jaskier escapes out his window to avoid a boring family dinner where his cousin was getting betrothed to someone. He just wanted to hear the frogs. Frogs sound neat.

That daring escape, and the rescue that it required changed his whole fate, because he was the one who ended up betrothed to a witcher - the plan to marry when he was 20. He didn't really care he got to hear the frogs croak, what did he care about this Geralt of Rivia?

As he grows up though, he ends up caring a great deal.

Scenes from Jaskier's life of meeting every witcher but his betrothed, until one day in a shitty tavern, he finally meets Geralt.

In sickness and in health - 4.9k, single chapter author: The_Crafty_Cracker fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Izuku get's sick and Katsuki takes care of him...

Or well he would do if all the other extra's in his class stop intervening!

Also why the hell do they think that Glasses or worse, that bastard Todorki would be better at taking care of Deku then him?!

Iron and Flowers - 4.6k, single chapter author: Heronfem fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Yachi Hitoka spends an interesting week at the Shinzen training camp, and makes an unexpected friend.

Irregular Maintenance - 3.9k, single chapter author: ThatScottishShipper fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

When Connor gets hurt in the field, Hank reveals a secret talent of his... and Connor’s insecurities about being “just a machine” worsen.

It Was A Secret? - 1.7k, single chapter author: marcymoosh fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Akaashi and Bokuto didn't necessarily keep it a secret, they just didn't publicly announce it.

They didn't need to, right?

i'll be your shelter, i'll be your storm - 1.2k, single chapter author: raggirare fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Yamamoto Taketora/Daishou Suguru

Kisses are the best kind of medicine.

I'll Love You From Dusk Till Dawn - 2k, single chapter author: K_booklover98 fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: CJ/Flick

Flick hates having to sleep without C.J. Luckily for him, phones exist.

I'll See You This Weekend Right? - multi-chapter, complete author: JayLightnStrike fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru

It’s true that Oikawa has girls lining up to get a chance to even talk to him. And yet, he can’t stop thinking about that little ball of sunshine that follows Tobio-chan around. Hinata, on the other hand, just wants to know what spiking a toss from the Great King is like. The solution? Weekend practices!

.....This is a really bad idea and Oikawa knows it.

i’m secretly on your side - 2.5k, single chapter author: stellarisms fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

It’s impossible, Kageyama learns at fifteen years old, to figure out someone like Hinata.

I've Been Calling Your Name Into The Universe - 1.7k, single chapter author: KiwiTyTy fandom: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla pairing: Eivor/Hytham

Watching from across the table, Eivor’s breath caught in his chest; Hytham was beautiful. Eivor had known that for a long, in fact, he had first noticed him during their meeting in Norway. As full of distrust as that time had been, Eivor could not deny he had been slightly taken by the other man.

i've got a crush (on you) - 2.1k, single chapter author: allmywill fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: RK900/Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson/Connor

Gavin’s got a nasty crush on Nines, which leads him to do something he’s never dreamt of doing: he seeks Hank and Connor for advice.

Kuroo, Kuro, Tetsurou, or love of my life? - 1.5k, single chapter author: no0emie fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

First time Kenma called his best friend Kuro, and one time he got tired of using that nickname.

Let’s Be Alone Together - 1.3k, single chapter author: BulletproofFurniture fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Hank has a bad day at work.

lions and men - 1.5k, single chapter author: lucio fandom: The Song of Achilles pairing: Achilles/Patroclus

Achilles finds out why Patroclus was so late to join him in Elysium, and he is not best pleased.

Little Crow - multi-chapter, complete author: vsulli fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik

A lot of different people show up to the Slat looking for a job or just for solitude. The slat offered a home to grown men in trouble with the law and teenagers who have too many debts to pay. When the dregs open the door one day and see a cradle, offering only a note for explanation will their leader take the baby in or throw her back to let Ketterdam have it’s way with her?

aka a baby shows up at the Slat and everyone is Shook

Love: A Trait of Humanity - 944, single chapter author: Arrestzelle fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

During a snowy evening at home, Hank finds himself content when reading from one of his treasured books, with Connor keeping him company. Maybe Hank is getting a little soft. Maybe.

Love me, Hold Me, Never Let Me Go - 3.8k, single chapter author: K_Booklover98 fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: CJ/Flick

Sometimes Flick just needs some extra cuddles.

lover, be good to me - 3.2k, single chapter author: shadowhokage fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: Sokka/Zukko

Sokka has an affinity for pet names.

(Spoiler: It’s contagious.)

Lovesick - 6.1k, single chapter author: xmasmurdereve fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Connor is sick, Hank finds it extremely amusing.

lowkey - 2k, single chapter author: arxhabaki fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi

Atsumu kisses the jealousy (and the daylights) out of Kiyoomi.

Many Happy Returns - 1.8k, single chapter author: gottageekout fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

In which Connor is a champion at office birthday parties, but never actually decided on a birthday himself.

Midnight Escapade - 2.5k, single chapter author: kagezai fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

“Careful, Tobio-chan! Wouldn’t want you falling onto that pretty face of yours.”

Oikawa smirked as he hoisted the raven haired boy up onto the roof of his house, gripping his shoulders tightly so he could step over the ledge safely to where the brunette was waiting.

Midnight Melancholy - 1k, single chapter author: Kalira fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Sometimes the dark memories and crimson-lit what-might-have-beens get to Sasuke, but at least he doesn't have to face them alone. (Or he wouldn't, if only he would stop slipping out of bed in the middle of the night to brood on his own. . .)

Molten Dreams of Amber - 7.7k, single chapter author: Bokeijis_Ig fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou

Training camp, a very sick Akaashi, a giant storm, no power, everyone is freaking out. . .

What could possibly go wrong?

My Funny Hunny - 2.3k, single chapter author: ThatScottishShipper fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Fill from the DBH Kink Meme from the anonymous prompt:

Hank/Connor, accidental pet name Connor accidentally calls Hank a pet name in the station. He then proceeds to cover himself by playing it off as a software bug, by referring to literally everyone in the precinct as ‘honey’, ‘baby’, ‘sugarplum’ etc.

Nijinsky, V. (1913) The Rite of Spring. [Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris. 29 May 1913.] - 16k, single chapter author: weekends fandom: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue pairing: Henry Montague/Percy Newton

Titled after the ballet that was received with a riot of projectile vegetables and French jeering, only to become the turning point for modernist music history. Don't worry, no one dances themselves to death in this fic — that's just one of Percy's assignments — but there is a great deal of irreverence involving a pen, a violin, and a cupcake on several occasions.

In short, Monty meets Percy at a cafe.

Not just harsh and mean. - 566, single chapter author: m3m3_qu33n fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

To most people, Katsuki Bakugo could be seen as harsh, mean, and easy to anger. But what most people didn’t know was how sweet and caring the blonde truly was. And only one person knew this kind side of him.

Odd Frog Out - 2.8k, single chapter author: Denois fandom: Check, Please! pairing: Chris Chow/Derek Nurse/William Poindexter, Chris Chow/Caitlin Farmer

Samwell is basically everything Will wanted it to be. There’s one little problem. That would be that his amazing, wonderful, best friends are also… well, they’re really hot. And sweet and kind and charming. And a good dancer (Nursey) and amazingly flexible (Chowder) and they’re both just everything Will could want in a boyfriend. But he’s not about to choose between them. So he says nothing. Then Nursey and Chowder start dating.

of naps and sunsets - 548, single chapter author: guysnatistired fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

it's rlly just hinata and kageyama being soft and cuddling for 500 words. being dumb gay bitches that are fucking *whipped* for each other.

Oh, Dearest - 1.7k, single chapter author: Greekgeekofmlp fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

Hinata absentmindedly brushed his hand by his eyes, a small frown etched on his lips, and his fingers went to wrangle through his orange curls. His eyes were glazed over, looking at the floor but not really seeing it. The expression looked so foreign on Hinata, and Tobio wanted nothing more than to wipe it away with just about anything.

"What's wrong, dumbass?"

"Kags," Hinata glanced at him, "Is there something wrong with me?"

Kageyama wasn't expecting that.

Or...

Hinata gets really self conscious about how he looks-- and it's not even about his height this time.

Good Boyfriend Kageyama TM does something about it.

Ol' Faithful - 3.6k, single chapter author: lentilchip fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Here's me projecting all my longing and fascination for dogs onto one Connor, model RK800. It gets a little Too Real© at one point but it's mostly marshmallow fluff.

One Thousand Springs - 3.3k, single chapter author: cresserendipity fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Chiharu wants his Papa to stop getting sad.

It just so happens that Kenma apparently makes Kuroo very very happy.

One year older - 782, single chapter author: Chibbers fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Connor/Gavin Reed

A relaxing night at home, with minor teasing.

Open up your heart - 1.2k, single chapter author: virosodi fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Connor sings to plants and Hank has a soft heart.

our little vignette - 705, single chapter author: Flowerparrish fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

“You better have a good reason for waking me up at the ass-crack of dawn.”

Parasite - multi-chaptered, complete author: Ghosty842 fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson & Connor

"Lieutenant Anderson?"

Hank jumped in his seat, spinning around to see who managed to sneak up on him. "Who wants to know?"

The young man in front of him had piercing brown eyes that instantly put him on edge for some reason. He looked like a regular alpha but there was something off about him. It took him a moment to realize it- He didn't have a scent.

"Hello Lieutenant Anderson, my name is Connor. I've been told we'll be working together."

---

Omegaverse AU where Connor is scentless

Patinoire - 1.1k, single chapter author: Charmsilver fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

It's winter in Paris an Henry and Alex are visiting on official state business. But that doesn't mean they can't have a romantic night together in the city of love.

Personal Touch - 2.6k, single chapter author: Svynakee fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

The new android equality laws means that Connor now gets paid. And he’s decided to treat himself with his new spending money: a little shopping date with his boyfriend Hank. There’s a whole new world opened up to Connor, freed from the restrictions of being CyberLife’s RK800 prototype. A world which includes android accessories that’ll add a bit of extra pizazz to his looks.

Too bad Hank’s too old school to appreciate it. Connor’s going to have a challenge, finding a look that pleases his grumpy lover.

Pieces - 1.8k, single chapter author: ceffeinefueledfeels fandom: Naruto pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

Kakashi comes home from a mission, and just breaks. Of course, there's only one man who can pick up the pieces.

Play The Game - 1.2k, single chapter author: laurentknows fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

The papers get a little too much and Alex and Henry decide to play the game with them.

Please Don't Go, I Love You So - 3.4k, single chapter author: noahfics fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Kenma’s always known that there would be a time that his third-year boyfriend would be off to university, but that time was always far off. All too suddenly it became real, too abruptly and far too soon.

Pools of Gold - 1.1k, single chapter author: Cats_Obsession fandom: The Witcher pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier

On a recent visit to Oxenfurt University, Jaskier overhears his students discussing a poem he wrote long ago. Geralt would like to know what it's about; Jaskier shows him.

**Prism - multi-chaptered, complete author: HibiscusTea9 fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: Resident Rep/Walt

Adam’s move to a tropical island helps him come out of his shell. And the closet. And into the arms of half the village and a few visitors. This is a story about a resident rep who finds his island paradise and everything he was missing.

TW: referenced homophobia, depression, self-harm, sibling inc*st (wilbur/orville, 2 chapters that are not plot essential and easily skippable)

Pull Me In (Your Arms Again) - 1.7k, single chapter author: K_booklover98 fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: CJ/Flick

C.J. is in the middle of a stream, but that's when Flick needs him most.

Required Fields - 521, single chapter author: daisydiversions fandom: Letterkenny pairing: Jonesy/Reilly

Jonesy's got to fill out all these forms.

Roommates... Really? - 2.2k, single chapter author: Animillion fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Iawaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

Kageyama was a weird person in general, so sleeping with his roomates just added on to the list. And yea, he feels left out at times. But they add him in more than he ever expected.

Rose Gardens and Fevered Dreams - 2.8k, single chapter author: Miss_TeaDDK fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

"Izuku gasps as he shoots up out of bed, and immediately groans at the bright light piercing the room.... Real life smacks him in the face immediately. He’s not a teen prince in a beautiful rose garden at a lovely fountain with cool air. That would be too merciful. Instead he’s 25, covered in sweat, and a pro-hero- and he’s sick as all hell."

Overwork has left the super-husbands with fevers, but it's okay! They're pros- they can handle it! Except they can't, because they're disasters. It's up to the best moms in the world to save the day!

Route - 1.8k, single chapter author: neraxx fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

"Close your mouth and pack your things," The raven-haired male commanded, brushing past Sakura as he entered her bedroom. "We're leaving in an hour."

(In which, there are break-ins.)

Salvage - multi-chaptered, ongoing author: MuffinLance fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender pairing: NA

Mid-Season-One Zuko is held ransom by Chief Hakoda. Ozai's replies to the Water Tribe's demands are A+ Parenting. Hakoda is… deeply concerned, for this son that isn't his, and who might be safer among enemies than with his own father.

Seasons - 2.4k, single chapter author: amuk fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Kakashi had almost made a betting pool for how long their marriage would last—the only thing everyone could agree on was that it would be Naruto’s fault.

Shall We Dance - 1.8k, single chapter author: HMS_Chill fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Alex can dance. But Alex's dancing specialties are essentially limited to the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha-Cha Slide, and the Macarena. Henry has a whole different set of dancing skills, ones developed over centuries and passed down through royal bloodlines and crown-mandated childhood lessons. And, well, who wouldn't want to waltz with a prince?

Shining Bright - 2.9k, single chapter author: doylesmom fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

Shouto and Izuku get married

Show Me Going - 2.5k, single chapter author: ProneToRelapse fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Connor responds to an active shooter situation. Hank worries. Gavin attempts decent interaction.

show me the real you (I won't look away) - 1.6k, single chapter author: Imiaslavie fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

The word 'plastic' has always had a funny taste in his mouth. 'Plastic' is cheap cellphones and ugly Barbie dolls and that grey dirty thing in the bathroom that holds the soap.

Connor is none of these things.

When Hank looks at him, he thinks of porcelain.

Silly Arguments and kisses - 1.3k, single chapter author: akuarose fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei

Basically secret relationship with petty payback and silly arguments with kisses

Skin Care - 778, single chapter author: lisaluu fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Bakugo has always had crystal clear skin. The girls want to know why.

Sleep Cycle - 551, single chapter author: Sassy_Dinosaur fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Androids don’t need to sleep per se. However, they can imitate human sleep cycles to better fit into a household. Like Connor.

Sleepless - 1.3k, single chapter author: viola_rae10 fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

Despite the late, or early, rather, hour in the day, Kaz was awake. To calm his never-resting mind, he decides to wander around the Slat and check up on his associates.

sleepy chats - 620, single chapter author: loudwalls fandom: Merlin pairing: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon

“i’m going to marry you one day.”

so hold me, lover - 472, single chapter author: xylene fandom: The Witcher pairing: Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier

just 400 words of jaskier loving geralt ft. affectionate geralt

Softly, Now, I Have You - 1.2k, single chapter author: ProneToRelapse fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Hank helps Connor indulge in something simple that, to him, means so much more than that.

Soothing - 2.2k, single chapter author: yeaka fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Connor knows Hank has trouble sleeping.

Speaking my Language - 2.3k, single chapter author: HMS_Chill fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry-Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Prompt: "Alex always saying sweet things to Henry in Spanish but won't tell him what any of it means, and he's always google translating them and awe-ing at how cute Alex is and then like maybe he learns how to say something adorable to and says it to Alex and Alex just like melts or something"

Spring Secrets - 3.8k, single chapter author: DeathBelle fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Miya Atsumu/Suna Rintarou

They stared down at the city lights below, dotted along the sidewalks and blurring by with passing cars. There was another hotel right across the street, and although most of the windows were dark, a scattered few glowed. Osamu wondered if the people inside were sitting awake too.

“Osamu.”

He turned his head and Suna was there, waiting. His mouth found Osamu’s and his lips were a little cold. Suna kissed him, and Osamu forgot about the tournament, about winning, about everything. It didn’t seem as important here on the roof, holding Suna’s hand and sharing a wind-chilled kiss.

Suna pulled away, and Osamu said, “We should tell ‘em.”

Suna sighed and slouched a little further over the rail. “How about… after the tournament. After we win, we’ll tell them. Everyone will be so happy that they won’t care what we’re doing.”

“Okay,” said Osamu. “When they give us the trophy, I’m just gonna kiss ya right there in front of everybody. That’ll be us tellin’ ‘em.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Suna. There was a spark in his eyes, a little amused, a little daring. “Prove me wrong.”

stop the world - 433, single chapter author: NA fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

When Wylan smiled, Jesper felt like anything was possible.

Strawberries - 2.3k, single chapter author: Mushy fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Iwaizumi Hajime/Kageyama Tobio/Oikawa Tooru

What brought him here? To this rusty and run down park at - His phone screen illuminated his face as he checked the time - 2am? To be honest he didn't know, no one did. Hell, I don’t even know. Maybe it was something new, or perhaps something old. Maybe it was the fact that he had lived alone for the majority of his life with no solid parental figure. Maybe it was because the corner shop ran out of his favourite milk and that had pushed everything to the edge.

TW: depression, implied starvation, panic attacks

stray code - 4.k, single chapter author: sushicorps fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

In Connor’s mind, it is simple: Hank has Sumo. Connor? Connor has Bob.

“Connor, what the hell is th-...is that a roomba ?”

Summer Time - 4k, single chapter author: sailboatsupernova fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: Brewster/Blathers

"The way that he said it; 'I really am fine' made Brewster wonder just who he was trying to convince in the situation- the coffee brewer or himself."

When the museum workers plan on taking a trip to the beach some problems arise that need to be taken care of.

TW: body image issues

Summer, summer - 4.1k, single chapter author: Xachyn fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

Five minutes later, they shared a bag of candy between them as they walked. The bag was nestled in the basket of Hinata’s bicycle, and the sweets were every bit as lovely as they imagined it to be. Kageyama wondered if Hinata walked past the sweet shop with such pining in his eyes everyday, and was distracted by the way Hinata sucked on his fingers to get the sugar dust out.

Sunshine - 3.8k, single chapter author: a_perverted_squid fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: RK900/Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson/Connor

Cole had been sick for a while. It was the flu season and, unfortunately, he was one of the unlucky ones. He got better as time passed, but still wasn’t allowed outside. Connor asked Niles if would be so kind to look after him while he and Hank went out to deal with some personal business. Niles instantly agreed; he loved children. He loved Cole, no, he adored Cole.

take on me (take me on) - 1.6k, single chapter author: owilde fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

“It didn’t put on a show this morning?” Hank asked, nodding his head towards the coffee machine.“No.” Connor grinned. “I think it likes me.”“Likes you,” Hank echoed. “Okay. Whatever you say.”

that we may fall in love (every time we open up our eyes) - 3.6k, single chapter author: ningcore fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

“Uuuhg” Katsuki groans. Mina decides to step a little closer, to see what they are doing “but Deku…” he sounds like he’s pouting but that’s impossible, Bakubro only has two default facial expressions, frowning and grinning like a maniac.

Or

Some of Katsuki's nicknames for Izuku. And also how other people see them

that's the way it should be - 2.6k, single chapter author: hanwritesstuff fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

“Oh, sweetheart.” Inko lets go for a second, only to hug Shouto tight. “You were a member of this family the second you walked through that door.”

The Art of Subtlety - 3.6k, single chapter author: aresmisia_HQ fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio

It's not too bad, and Shouyou admits, there's a different kind of thrill being involved in a secret relationship. It's in the little, knowing smiles they give each other; Kageyama's lingering touches when he ruffles Shouyou's hair, fingers lightly tracing his ear when he retracts his hand; the constant roughhousing and bickering done mostly as an excuse to touch without raising suspicion; sleeping against each on bus rides, their hands linked and hidden out of sight under their jackets and bags. Once or twice, they get away with stealing small kisses when they're absolutely sure everyone is asleep.

Maybe they're not doing so well with the no touching or kissing rule but holding back has never been in their forte in the first place.

Keeping his romantic relationship with his supposed rival a secret has been a great struggle for Hinata, but Kageyama is there to help him through it. Or make it even more difficult.

The Bed (Where We Rest) - 3.1k, single chapter author: Brookelocks fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

The center of their bed is definitely the softest spot, it has the most give and seems to mold itself to your body. But that isn't what makes it his favorite spot, no, the best thing about being placed between Sakura and Naruto is the physical contact. The way that Naruto's chest is plastered to his back, the blondes nose pressed gently into Sasuke's neck, strong arms wound around his waist. The way that Sakura traces soft patterns across Sasuke's chest as she falls asleep, how her legs tangle with his beneath the covers, when she nuzzles into his shoulder while muttering softly, how her hair tickles his nose and he can faintly smell the floral shampoo that is just so Sakura. How he can feel Naruto's heart beating against his back, how he becomes aware of every breath Sakura takes as she exhales into his skin.

Just a bunch of little snippets about bed sharing.

The birds, the flowers and the trees - 1.7k, single chapter author: virosodi fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Hank and Connor go hiking and fall in love even more.

The Blessing of Anteros - 4k, single chapter author: softestpunk fandom: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey pairing: Alexios/Alkibiades

After the events surrounding the Olympics, Alexios and Alkibiades rest, recover, and reflect on what they mean to each other in the light of everything that happened.

The Lake House Revisited - Desert Night Mix - 9.9k, single chapter author: Losemyhead fandom: Red White & Royal Blue pairing: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor

Last time Alex and Henry came to the lake house, things went spectacularly bad for Alex. A year later, Alex and Henry spend five romantic days at the lake house and Alex has to sort through some unresolved issues. Also, June is bored and does something stupid.

the love that's settled in my soul - 1.1k, single chapter author: kuroozume fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Is there anything better than waking up next to the light of your life with the knowledge that you're happy, secure, and loved?

A day in the life of Kenma Kozume.

the mortality of patroclus - 397, single chapter author: necklace fandom: The Song of Achilles pairing: Achilles/Patroclus

(the stars laugh at him. pat is so drunk.)

The One With one kiss too many - 461, single chapter author: anotherbird fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Six months. They made if through six months without their co-workers knowing.

What a great time to make a stupid decision.

the pretty one - 4.7k, single chapter author: theformerone fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Kakashi is maybe ten seconds too late to redirect the assassination techniques.

Sakura leaps in between them because those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.

The Sun and The Moon - 2k, single chapter author: akuarose fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei

A small look into Hinata's and Tsukishima's life.

The Words "I Love You" - 4.8k, single chapter author: sushihara_shuichi fandom: Boku no Hero Academia pairing: Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

A 5 + 1 Things documenting the five times Izuku told Katsuki “I love you” and the one time Katsuki said it back.

The Workings of Many - multi-chaptered, complete author: ShadowTrooper414 fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor/RK900/Gavin Reed

Nines's curiosity about Gavin's aggression towards Connor and Hank lead to him asking some questions. He comes up with a plan to get them to get along. It goes better than expected.

OR

A series of connected HankVin1700 oneshots.

The Wraith is Here - 1.3k, single chapter author: stressedoutteenager fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Kaz and Inej meet for the first time after Inej has left on The Wraith.

There, I said it - 510, single chapter author: honorablementioned fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

“Do you want to go down to the court house later?”

Connor blinks, LED spinning yellow. “Is there something we need to do for work?”

“I just want to get married to you,” Hank says, casual and aloof.

--

Hank realizes something this morning. He wants to get married to Connor.

they're kinda clammy - 531, single chapter author: cruciifyme fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kageyama Tobio/Tsukishima Kei

For the prompt in my askbox on tumblr: "tsukikage - when they first hold hands"

This Wasn't the Plan - 5.3k, single chapter author: HomeForImaginaryFriends fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi

Kuroo is sick of the lies. All he wants to do is wear his wedding ring and go out on a date with his husband but nothing is ever that simple

Three Times the Charm - 3.4k, single chapter author: todxrxki fandom: Haikyuu!! pairing: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Kotarou/Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou

Kodzuken #1 Fan @Kodzuken1Fan 3h hi all, has anyone noticed that kodzuken seems happier than usual in his recent videos?? it can’t just be me… do you think he’s had a change in his life recently?

Hina @kenmafan321 3h @Kodzuken1Fan Honestly I agree with you!! I think that Kodzuken might have a girlfriend though… or a boyfriend!! <3 / In which Kenma's viewers try to figure out whether he's dating Kuroo, Bokuto, or Akaashi... but are completely approaching the problem the wrong way.

To Have a Father That Doesn't Try to Kill You (Purposely) - 5.1k, single chapter author: QueenOfTheDorks fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker & Wylan Van Eck, Jesper Fahey, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Before Wylan even realized it, he had begun to replace "Kaz" with "Dad".

(Or, five times Wylan thought of Kaz as a dad and the one time he actually called Kaz "Dad".)

Trial and Error - 4.4k, single chapter author: Majinie fandom: Hamilton pairing: Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens/Lafayette/Hercules Mulligan

“No, you don't get a say in this,” John snapped sharply, eyes flashing, “you don't get to play counsellor, you don't even wanna be in this relationship.”

Herc stared at him as though he'd been struck. “I'm sorry?”

The scowl etched into John's face deepened. “Oh please, don't give me that, you couldn't make it more obvious you're only here for Laf if you fucking tattooed it on your forehead.”

---

In which Alex attempts to ease Hercules into the world of polyamory, John is insecure and Herc is a little lost.

two lovers at dawn - 797, single chapter author: awkwardspaceturtle fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Just a normal morning in the Anderson household.

Underneath the Mistletoe Last Night - 2.7k, single chapter author: scp116 fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

Hank sneered, crossing his arms. “Why did I agree to be Santa again?” “Because you're perfect for it, you love Cole, and you love me.”

unique like that - 1.1k, single chapter author: hiinawarii fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Hank Anderson/Connor

“You’re rubbing on me like a cat,” Hank grumbles.

“Actually, Hank,” Connor starts, earning himself a groan as he chuckles against Hank’s neck, “cats rub on objects, animals, and humans as a way to spread their scents, as their scent glands are stored in the pockets of their cheeks.”

-or, hank and connor cuddle, discuss animal behavior, and get visited by an animal of their own.

Unofficially Official - 923, single chapter author: teacup_tyrant fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

In which Kaz serves Inej some papers. All in the legal sense, of course.

Very Good Advice - 2.3k, single chapter author: AriMarris fandom: Star Wars pairing: Luke Skywalker/Han Solo

“Have you tried floating a pear? It worked on your mother.”

---

In which a young Luke Skywalker looks to his redeemed father for advice on how to woo one Han Solo.

Vigil - 2k, single chapter author: Artemicion fandom: Naruto pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

Their roles are usually reversed. Frankly, Kakashi would rather it stay that way.

waiting for a sign - 2.7k, single chapter author: ShowMeAHero fandom: Star Wars pairing: Luke Skywalker/Han Solo

“Have you seen Mom anywhere?” Luke asks, leaning in his father’s office doorway.

“No, why?” Anakin replies, head bowed over his work. Luke sighs, blowing up harshly to displace the hair falling across his forehead.

“I need advice and Leia’s in an exam,” Luke says. He pushes off the doorway and says, “Never mind, I’ll just—”

“I can help you,” Anakin tells him.

want anybody else but you - 1.2k, single chapter author: rathalos fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Naruto is fifteen years old, and he is a new chūnin, and his teammates stand beside him on top of the head of the Yondaime Hokage, and they watch color bleed into and out of the sky and it's breaths taken in the middle of the night, it's the rise and fall of Sakura's chest as she draws in love and exhales peace, it's the slow, lazy blink of Sasuke's eyes when he's too sleepy to respond to anyone properly.

Warmth - 868, single chapter author: sentimentalscribe fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck

A late-night reading session involving two very sleepy boys in love.

we are all just stars (that have people names) - 1.7k, single chapter author: willssoulace fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Kaz and Inej find a moment of peace and they decide to let down their defenses under a night full of stars.

We Will Be Ok - 1.1k, single chapter author: DragonTears717 fandom: Given pairing: Satou Mafuyu/Uenoyama Ritsuka

Uenoyama hates feeling secondary to someone. He had devoted so much time to the guitar and music so he wouldn’t have to feel secondary to anyone. Uenoyama also hates feeling worthless or useless.

Despite no longer being alive Yuki constantly makes him feel like that.

When Is a Man Deserving (of love)? - 6.1k, single chapter author: widdlewed fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

Sasuke doesn't believe he deserves love. Sakura and Naruto have something to say about that.

Wherever You Are - 1.8k, single chapter author: berryblonde fandom: Detroit: Become Human pairing: Connor/Gavin Reed

It was a cruel trick of fate for Connor to be so suddenly, unfairly, mercilessly ripped from him like this.

Wingless Flight - 4.3k, single chapter author: Brekkfast fandom: Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom pairing: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa

Kaz goes to see Inej again, and offers to take her to the Suli carnival. They go see the Jackal, eat dumplings, and see the Suli acrobats!! Pure fluff!! And Kaz is a soft idiot and Inej keeps shaking her head at him.

worlds apart - 3.5k, single chapter author: reddnooks fandom: Pokemon pairing: Green/Red

Green visits Red on Mount Silver after eight years of not seeing him.

you got to be kitten me - 3.4k, single chapter author: probably fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

sasuke is bad at listening and good at playing with his food. naruto and sakura think its cute and endearing but also kind of gross.

you make me feel brand new (orbit) - 1.6k, single chapter author: rathalos fandom: Naruto pairing: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto

His next words go unspoken, but he knows that he doesn’t need to say them out loud for Naruto and Sakura to understand: “Here with you."

In which Sasuke returns to the village after two years of a much-needed break, and Naruto and Sakura are still the people he left behind. Stronger, maybe—surer, maybe—but still the same.

You're doing fine - 1.5k, single chapter author: Pastapooper fandom: Animal Crossing pairing: Apollo/Reader

Not being able to sleep because you're being kept up by anxiety and worries isn't fun. Apollo helps you feel better by showing you around town at 3 am.