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sl003 · 6 months ago

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SESE's Fic Recs (ATEEZ)

Hi and welcome to my ATEEZ fic rec! This is basically a collection of my favourite ATEEZ fics (duh) and I really recommend reading them if you haven't already! This List will get updated from time to time when i have new fics that i can put on here.

Warning: As i will write my opinion/thoughts under some of the fics, they might contain some spoilers for them!

The pictures aren't mine, so all credits go to the rightful owners!

My all-time-favourites are marked with a: ♡

With that being said, a giant thank you to all the incredibly skilled and talented writers that came up with these amazing works of art <3

Have fun reading!

PS: If any of the links don't work or are wrong, please tell me, i'll fix it as fast as possible!

btw: you can find the second part here:

SESE's Fic Recs Part 2

KIM HONGJOONG

I'm The One - @sorryimananti-romantic (24k)

prince!hj x translator!r

♡ The Nightfury - @bvidzsoo (22.2k)

pirate!hj x pirate!r - enemies to lovers (kind of?)

I can barely describe how much i love this! I just love the dynamic between the reader and hongjoong in this one. You can really feel the hatred and attraction they feel for each other. I reread this regularly since this is a plot that i've never read in this way before.

Ghost Of Christmas Past - @stayteezdreams (4.5k)

kinda romeo & juliet au (forbidden love trope) / "exes" to lovers

This started off so intense that it immediately pulled me in and had me hooked! I'm a sucker for the "forbidden love" trope and this was such an amazing approach.

Your Fan - @hwaightme (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

idol!hj x fashion designer!r

Hongjoong with a fashion designer s/o just made so much sense! And he was so whipped for her it's adorable, definitely recommend!

Familiar Stranger - @yourlocaljonghoe (24.2k)

best friends to lovers / divorced au

♡ Your Gentle Hands - @yourlocaljonghoe (37.6k - 2 parts)

dressmaker!hj x married!r (plays in the 1800s)

This was also so incredible to read. The way the writer wrote hongjoong's personality and his behaviour/dnyamic with the reader was so delicate, i loved it! There were quite a dew sudden and unexpected plot-twists/changes that really surprised me and had me hooked.

♡ The Parent Trap - @yundeob (18.1k)

exes to lovers / parents au

I also reread this one every once in a while, I just really love the chemistry between the reader and hongjoong, especially as the story progresses! Definitely one of my favourites!

Million Dollar Man - @holybibly (9.2k)

This is nearly 9k words of pure filth, but it's the best filth i've read in my whole life. the way he treats her and talks to her makes me melt. this is so divine, i love it! (and the appearance of seonghwa at the end, wow)

PARK SEONGHWA

The Way I Am - @frenchkisstheabyss (1.6k)

fiancé!sh x make-up artist!r

This was so precious! The way Hwa got so insecure and scared made me tear up, this is so sweet, definitely worth a read! Also a regular reread of mine :)

Best Friend's Mother - @hwashotcheeto (series - 10 parts)

(discontinued) mommy!sh x wy's best friend!r

Bodyguard - @baekhvuns (37.8k)

bodyguard!sh / forbidden love

Let's Not Fall In Love, Again - @baekhvuns (39k)

failing marriage / time travel au

JEONG YUNHO

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy - @yunhoszn (12.25k)

+ Horses Are Still Overrated (Sequel - 2k)

cowboy!yh x city girl!r

The Trace Of You - @bvidzsoo (25.1k)

psychiatrist!yh x patient!r

Thousand Miles, Just To Get You Back - @bvidzsoo (28.7k)

victor!yh & r / hunger games au

Memoir - @baekhvuns (16k)

mafia au / amnesia au

KANG YEOSANG

There's a lot, I think it's obvious he's my bias... sorry not sorry

Cosmos - @pirateprincessblog (17.7k)

dystopian/space au

Stay - @sorryimananti-romantic (18.6k)

archer!ys x princess!r

Married In Vegas - @starrysvn (10k)

ex friends to lovers / forbidden love (kind of)

♡ Operation: Passenger Princess - @sungbeam (9.5k)

college au / frat boy!ys

Again, something i reread on the regular. The chemistry between them is obvious right from the beginning and it's just such a sweet fic. It gets angsty for a short minute but it goes right back to fluffy, which i love!

Speak Now - @edenesth (11.6k)

best friends to lovers / hanahaki disease au

♡ Richboy!Seonghwa Series - @ateezmakemeweep (30 parts)

+ Richboy!Yeosang Series (Spin-Off/Sequel - 6 parts)

private school au (?) / love triangle / enemies to lovers

I'm actually not a big fan of love triangles, but this was amazing, especially since it doesn't stay a classic love triangle for toooo long. I actually went into the richboy!sh series with wanting to read something with seonghwa (obviously), but this fic made me root for yeosang so damn fast that i actually loved the way it turned out in the end and then the small sequel series just topped it off so well!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (18k)

badboy!ys x r / enemies to lovers (kinda)

Transcendent - @biaswreckingfics (9.5k)

soulmate au / best friend's boyfriend

♡ Entropy - @in-san-ity (21.3k)

mafia au / hacker!ys / found family (kinda)

This has to be my all time favourite fic. I put off from reading it very long (i remember the first time i started reading it something put me off, idk what anymore tbh) but when I saw it on nearly every fic rec post i saw, i decided to give it another shot and i fell in love. The dynamic between yeosang and the reader with sol is so precious to me and there were just certain things in the wording that made it even better. If you haven't read this, please do it!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (10k)

skaterboy!ys x ballerina!r / enemies to lovers

Not too much to say about this except it got me right in the feels, it's so sad but also so sweet and wholesome!

Siren - @sorryimananti-romantic (27.8k)

siren!ys x siren hunter!r

CHOI SAN

Crimson - @hwaslayer (21.8k)

san x stripper!r

Ceilings - @yoongiseesawmp3 (3 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

single mom!r to not so single mom!r / exes to lovers

♡ Sunrise - @sorryimananti-romantic (29k)

soldier!san x soldier!r / military special forces au

This is also one of my favourites of all time! The tension and chemistry between these two is out of this world. The way they both (especially the reader) try to suppress their feelings for each other before they finally snap *chefs kiss*.

♡ Leave The Window Open - @sungbeam (3.7k)

strangers to lovers / neighbours / byeol playing matchmaker

This is soooo cute. It's such a cute idea, especially with incorporating byeol into it, this makes me feel so soft! Regular reread of mine

Face Down - @latte-fairytaekwoon (5.5k)

abusive relationsip / "saviour" san

Infinity - @seung-hwa (4.3k)

soulmate au / reincarnation au

♡ From Saturn To Mars - @lividstar (24.2k)

stargazing / star-crossed lovers

Dear god, when i tell you this made me cry... I've read this like 2-3 times now and i was crying my eyes out each and every time i read it. It's written so beautiful yet so tragic. It already starts off quite sad but it just gets progressively worse (in the best way possible). if you feel like you need to have a good cry, read this. Or read it anyway, cause it's incredible

Back To You - @ateezmakemeweep (12 parts)

badboy!san / college au

Broken - @ateezmakemeweep (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

abusive relationship / "saviour" san

Your Worst Mistake - @bvidzsoo (25.7k)

hunger games au / stylist!san x tribute/victor! reader

SONG MINGI

Steamroller - @fallinforgyu (10k)

best friends to lovers au

Am I Just A Bet To You? - @hannie-roses (24.9k)

enemies to lovers au / you were just a bet au

Preying On You Tonight - @bvidzsoo (29k)

enemies to lovers au / werewolf!mgx vampire!r

Your Fan - @hwaightme (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

idol!mg x rapper!r

They're both so whipped for each other, i love it!

Untitled - @ateezmakemeweep (12k)

werewolf au / mates au

JUNG WOOYOUNG

Water - @yuyusboyfriend (6.7k)

bff's brother!wy x ftm!r

Right Here - @0097linersb (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

best friends to lovers

Midnight Kisses - @mingigoo (5 parts)

single mom au / bff to lovers / dead ex!seonghwa / new flame!san

♡ Place In Me - @starrysvn (17k)

exes to lovers / chef au

I blame this fic for kickstarting my sudden obsession for old parisian apartments, but in the best way possible. This is so beautiful and i really like the chef trope with wooyoung

CHOI JONGHO

♡ Cyberpunk - @sorryimananti-romantic (23.7k)

droid!jh x programmer!r / exes to lovers (kinda)

This is also one of my favourites, i've never seen a trope like this before and i love it! Definitely need to reread this one!

Oh Shit, Are We In Love? - @mingigoo (15.8k)

best friends to lovers

Second Chance At Love - @xomakara (7.1k)

dad!jh x nanny turned mom!r

POLY/MULTIPLE

♡ Opposites Attract Universe - @beenbaanbuun

poly!addams!matz x reader

I'm a sucker for poly!matz and the way these two are portrayed here makes me melt. they just worship their darling so much, just wow. And also with in inclusion of the other members (yeosang as a werewolf/guard dog, san as a butler, jongho as a ghost etc.). Every single fic/drabble etc that takes place in this universe is worth reading!

Three Hearts As One - @cybrsan (2k)

poly!woosan x reader / zombie apocalypse au

Again, one of the things that just made me cry. This is so beautiful but so damn sad and tragic. It's really short but it manages to make me tear up each time.

Beefcake Raccoon - @songmingisthighs (6.5k)

Concrete Bear - @bro-atz (account no longer available)

Manwhich - @skteezcursed (7.7k)

kinda poly!jongsang x reader (mainly jongho x reader)

Outlaw - @staytinyville (49 parts - ongoing)

poly!ot8 x reader / outlaw au

i never thought i'd read a ot8!poly fic but here we are. I decided to give it a shot since i was eating up all the outlaw/wild west/lore au fics with ateez. i'm glad i decided to read this cause it's really amazing, i love the relationship the reader has with each of the members, and one of my favourite parts has to be that every member has a different nickname for her. When i started realizing this i was eating it up and anxiously waiting for the next nickname to appear (i was especially waiting for hongjoongs, and when i tell you i melted when he called her princess for the first time)

Django - @last-words-ofashootingstar (5.5k)

poly!woosan x reader / bouncy au / hint at poly!ot8

It's You - @holybibly (2 parts)

Part 1 / Part 2

poly!woosan x reader

funnily enough, i don't even read this for the spicier parts (which are also *chefs kiss*), i just genuinely love the chemistry and dynamic between those three because they're just so comfortable and shameless around each other, this is really something i need in my life.

#hongjoong x reader #seonghwa x reader #yunho x reader #yeosang x reader #san x reader #mingi x reader #wooyoung x reader #jongho x reader #ateez x reader #ateez fic recs #kim hongjoong x reader #park seonghwa x reader #jeong yunho x reader #kang yeosang x reader #choi san x reader #song mingi x reader #jung wooyoung x reader #choi jongho x reader #ateez smut

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dameronspector · 2 months ago

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The Past Will Catch Up (Part 2)

Pairing: Manny Alvarez x GN!Reader

Summary: You should’ve killed them, then and there. You and Ellie both, should’ve simply killed them. But now they’ve hurt you and Manny faces a huge challenge when he finds out who hurt you. AKA everyone gets their revenge.

Warnings: Mentions of blood, guns, gunshot wounds, physical fights/assault, hospitals, panic attacks, nausea, Abby and the others meet their end, ANGST, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Cursing, Manny is a love sick fool, Manny and Reader want children/talks of children, Manny supports Jackson Hole, Reader is mentioned to have hair, Reader is mentioned to have muscly arms, Protective Manny, Worried Manny, Worried and sad Joel, Ellie and Tommy that's all i think.

This is LONG one. Sorry if it's not that good or the timeline doesn't make sense, but I'm not following the game or the show and there's not enough Manny content yet. Let me know if i have missed anything!

PS: I don't know anything about the game, my characterisation is based off the wiki information, the show and my own imagination.

AN: here is the part 2 pls pray this doesn't extend omg.

Manny was going crazy. He was hearing you everywhere, was seeing you all around him, and his fucking hands still won't stop shaking. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, just staring at you, hoping you'd make some movement or even lift a finger. He barely registered a nurse come in to check on your vitals, looking at him in concern before Tommy walked in and gave him the same look of pity and sadness. Honestly, Manny felt sick. He was still useless. But he just couldn't get his body to move from the chair. He hadn't eaten anything for 5 hours now, his stomach cramping in hunger but that wasn't important.

Then, there was commotion. The door opening harshly and a familiar voice rung out, "I don't fucking care, Tommy, I'm-" and they abruptly stopped, stepping inside the room and walking around Manny to see you.

"(Name)...", Ellie's voice was shaky as she called out to you and laid a hand on your head. Manny could faintly hear her sniffles but he was too focused on his hands intertwined with your left hand. Another pair of footsteps walked into the room, they were heavy and hesitant, as if the person wasn't ready to come in yet.

"Joel! T-they're- tell them to open their eyes. Joel, I-", Ellie desperately cried to Joel and he simply stared at the scene with his eyes brimming with tears, stepping closer to wrap his arm around Ellie and replace her hand on your head with his. Ellie tightly hugged him, her face burrowed in his chest, tears soaking his jacket while Joel's eyes fell on Manny and his dejected body language, a dead look behind his eyes, both of his hands firmly grasped around your singular one. Joel knew that look. He had that look after realising that Sarah had died and he had it when he killed everyone in Salt Lake.

He just hoped Manny would be wiser than him and not do something reckless. And he prayed to whatever gods up there that they kept his kid alive, while simultaneously vowing to not let their perpetrators live in peace.

It's been two days. Two agonising days of not seeing any progress in your condition. Two days of Manny not leaving the chair even after everyone asked him to. Two days of Joel barking at the doctors to help you and Tommy wallowing in his sorrows and two days since Ellie talked to anybody. Maria and Dina were trying their best to hold the Millers-Alvarez together, but to no avail.

Manny was ready to wither away next to you in that uncomfortable chair. He didn't care about the rest of the world. All he knew, was that he wouldn't leave your side. He had managed to ingest some food and water, Maria encouraging him by saying that you'd want him alive and responsive when you woke up. She then asked him to shower, after a lot of effort and pushing, and he eventually caved, wanting to look good for you.

For now, he was half heartedly munching on a sandwich, the task excruciating, when he noticed some movements on your hands. He froze, hands dropping the sandwich on the plate while observant eyes focused on your face. Your eyes moved behind your eyelids and he almost threw the plate away, standing up in alarm and just taking you in for a while before you scrunched your face in pain. He was shaking with the anticipation, his eyes blown wide and mouth open in shock.

"H-hey, baby? (Name)? Look at me, c'mon. C'mon, angel, please. Try for me, please-", he whispered the words like a prayer, his hands hovering above you while you kept scrunching your face up when he finally heard it: a small groan.

He was spiralling—torn between staying beside you and calling a doctor when you slowly tried to open your eyes, a series of pained groans and whimpers leaving your mouth. Your gorgeous eyes opened blearily, struggling to focus on your surroundings while your lips smacked against each other, in an effort to get rid of the dryness.

Manny was frozen by your bedside, his eyes brimming with tears after looking into yours.

“Baby?”, he asked hesitantly, his voice cracking.

You scrunched your eyebrows and blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the blurriness when your eyes finally focused on him, your Manny. Lifting your uninjured arm up, you reached for him, the movement sending pain across your stiff joints, causing you to moan in discomfort. Manny rushed forward to hold your hand, not wanting you to stress yourself any further.

“Hey, hey, easy. It’s okay. You’re home”, he reassured you and placed a hand on your head, smoothing your hair back.

“Manny…what happened..”, you whispered, your throat scratchy from disuse. He picked up the glass of water and urged you to sip it, you felt your throat feel refreshed after.

Manny frowned, “Someone ambushed you and Tommy. They hurt you”, his voice shaky while he put away the glass.

You furrowed your brows, trying to remember what happened. Then suddenly, Abby’s crazed face flashed in front of your eyes and you clenched your jaw. Manny took note of this and frowned again, but looking at the distress on your face, he chose not to discuss it right now.

Your tired eyes then fell on your left hand, noting that your ring was missing. “W-where’s my ring?”, you asked in a groggy voice.

Manny was so out of it and sick from worry that he hadn't noticed your missing ring, at all. He gently lifted your hand in his and rubbed a thumb on your ring finger. "Oh. I'm not sure, baby. I'll-"

"I had it on...It-it was right there. Where's the ring, Manny?", you asked in a confused voice again and the heart monitor beeped faster, conveying your obvious distress at the situation.

Manny furrowed his brows in concern and caressed your head gently, "'s okay, angel, we'll look for it, I promise. I-", You shook your head vehemently, "No- no, no, I-"

The door opened to reveal the nurse appointed to you and her eyes widened in surprise, before she walked away to call the doctor. Once the doctor came in and checked on you, you spoke up again.

"Where...where is my ring? I had it on, it's not there anymore", you asked in a desperate manner, eyes tearing up and hand squeezing Manny's tightly. He pursed his lips, unable to understand why you were so worried about a ring when he almost lost you.

"Angel, the ring's not that important. We'll get you another, please, you need to rest-"

"It's okay. Here", the doctor interrupted Manny, before motioning the nurse over, who presented the ring--now with the blood stains cleaned from it--to you.

You pulled your hand out of Manny's and reached for the ring before he took it from the nurse to carefully put it on your ring finger. Finally, the heart monitor calmed down as you did and Manny let out a sigh of relief, watching you fiddle with the ring. What he didn't know is that the ring and the thoughts of him kept you alive in that store.

"Okay, you need to be careful for the next few weeks, or maybe months, if you don't rest properly. No heavy lifting, no rigorous training or exercises and most importantly: no patrolling. You're lucky that bullet wasn't lodged inside your body. But your ribs are extremely sensitive. One wrong move and you could cause yourself serious injuries. Manny, do not let them over exert themselves at any cost", the doctor instructed and Manny solemnly nodded, a wince leaving you at the realization that Manny was definitely going to be a helicopter parent now.

Once the doctor left the room and the nurse changed the bottle of whatever painkiller they were using, Manny was quiet again, his eyes solely focusing on you. You gave him an exhausted smile and motioned him over, patting the space next to you on the small hospital bed. He swallowed his tears before slowly approaching the bed, sitting on it carefully to avoid jostling you.

His bloodshot and tired eyes stared at you before he leaned in and gently pressed his face into your neck, his curls tickling your jaw lightly. You felt his tears damp your neck and you were taken back to that moment in the QZ again, when he first confessed to you.

Since you couldn't move your arms, you settled for leaning your head against his and nuzzling it like a cat, the scent of your shared strawberry shampoo hitting your nose. You inhaled deeply before lazily speaking into his curls, "What's wrong, baby?"

He paused before raising his head, staring at you with his damp and rosy cheeks, his face glistening in the white light of the room and his curls messy. He looked like an angel as always.

"What's wrong? I thought you were gone. I thought I lost you for real, this time. I-", he scoffed in a self deprecating manner, "I shouldn't have let you go. Or I should've joined you. I was so worried. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack when we couldn't reach you-", he paused abruptly as is breathing fastened. He was hyperventilating.

You bring up a hand to cradle his cheek and rubbed a thumb across his soft skin, "Manny, look at me. It's okay. You need to breathe for me, okay? Try to breathe with me, Em", you drawled soothingly and took in a few light breaths, careful not to agitate your ribs, him mimicking you by taking in deep breaths and eventually calming down, a hand coming up to press against yours and lean into your palm.

"There you go. I know it must've been scary, and I'm sorry for that. But I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere, I promise", you smiled at him sweetly and he closed his eyes, leaning in to kiss you when the door opened. Manny pulled back to see who it was, face shifting in slight irritation at the interruption.

"Are they awake?", a voiced asked him and he nodded, the door opening further to reveal half of the Miller family. Your eyes shone with content.

"(Name)!", Ellie cried out before replacing Manny on the bed and holding your hand, her teary eyes and red face making you coo at her. Manny watching this silently.

"Hi, El, it's okay. I'm here", you reassured her as her lower chin wobbled, she replied with a vehement nod, hand caressing your left one. You noticed another body stand behind Ellie and looked up to see Joel, in his flannel shirt and graying hair, his kind and warm brown eyes staring at you with so much emotion in them.

You felt your breath stutter at that, eyes filling up with tears immediately. "Hey, Pops", you greeted him shakily, him coming around to massage your uninjured shoulder tenderly, like a father.

"Competing for the strongest Miller, huh?", he joked with a trembling voice and eyes brimming with tears. You let out a wet giggle and nodded at him before realising that Tommy was in the room as well. You turned to your right and saw Tommy standing in the corner, his arms crossed tightly and head lowered.

"Tommy? Won't you see me?", you asked softly with a frown tugging on your lips. You could vaguely remember his distressed face and cries for you to stay up. But you were sure of one thing, that Tommy protected you and brought you back to Jackson in one piece all by himself. You never doubted him on that. You also knew he'd blame himself for the attack.

Tommy's head snapped up and he took note of the remaining three eyes turning to look at him as well. His tearful eyes shone and he looked at Joel, body shifting tensely and in hesitance before Joel gave him a nod.

Tommy slowly made his way over, Manny staring at him intensely. You saw the stress and emotions shift across Tommy's freckled face, your chest twisting in pain at that. He looked at your bandaged shoulder and let out a stifled cry, arms holding him up by pressing against your bed. You stared at him sadly, "Tommy...it's okay. Look at me", you whispered in reassurance. He shook his head in disagreement and you saw a tear hit the bed sheet. Joel and Ellie look at Tommy in empathy while you stared at him helplessly.

"I shoulda told you to join me in the storage room. It was fuckin' stupid of me to leave you behind like that. I can't-I can't believe this happened right in front of me. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I-", a choked breath cut his sentence short. Manny clenched his jaw in anger, tightening his hands around his biceps to control it.

Before you could console him, Ellie spoke up, her tone furious, "Who the fuck did this, (Name)? Just tell us the name, I swear-"

"Ellie", Joel stopped her sternly, "Not now."

"What-", she glowered before Manny spoke up, "She's right, Joel", he stated before walking over to the foot of your bed, all four of you looking at him in surprise.

"Angel, if you knew those people, please tell us who they were. I understand if you want some time but please, try to tell us", Manny requested you in a low but soft voice.

You froze. How the hell were you going to say that the people who attacked you were Abby and Nora, in front of Manny? What if he thinks you're making shit up. What if he goes out in search of them and never comes back. What if-

"Kid?", Joel's gruff voice snapped you out of your thoughts, Manny watching you closely.

You swallowed thickly. You wanted to make them pay. Even if you had to wait for months till your injuries healed properly, you'll wait and then hunt them down. Morality went out of the window the moment she chose to torture your father, anyway.

The problem was that if you told Manny later, he'd still be upset that the others knew before him. And if you told Manny first, the rest of them would feel betrayed as well. You didn't care about Abby or Nora or the WLF. You cared for your family. You feared for them. You couldn't let what happened with Joel, happen again. He still limped, his knee bothering him to the extent that he couldn't even bend or crouch down without it hurting. Every time you saw that, it made you so mad that you felt like marching over to Seattle and unleashing hell on all of them. And not to forget today's cowardly act.

You steeled yourself and clenched your jaw, looking directly at Manny while delivering the shocking news in an eerily calm voice, "It was Abby and Nora. Abby ambushed me first, Nora shot me and Abby broke my ribs. They also said they'd be coming back for Joel...and I."

The whole room was silent. Nobody spoke a word but their faces said it all: Joel's face hardened in anger, Ellie's shifted in shock, Tommy's head snapping up in realisation and Manny- Manny was frozen still. It was like he had experienced a paralysis attack. You looked at him with sad eyes, understanding his predicament.

It was Ellie who broke first, glaring at Manny, "What did you do? Were you secretly contacting them?", she yelled, making her way towards Manny.

Your eyes widened as she accused him before Joel grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back, "No, He was with me and Maria the whole day. Ellie, don't pull stuff outta your ass", he conceded firmly and Ellie huffed in frustration, pulling her arm out of Joel's grip.

"Tommy, set a meeting with the council, now. And if there's not gonna be enough votes, I'm goin' out there myself, I don't give a fuck", Joel murmured in a furious tone, his teeth gritted and eyes darkened. Tommy numbly nodded his head in agreement, feeling his stomach twist in anger and disgust.

You snapped your head to look at Joel, "Joel, what the fuck? You're not-" "I'm coming with you, too", Ellie piped in with a determined voice, her hand squeezing yours.

"Ellie, shut the hell up, both of you aren't going anywhere. I'll go-"

"You're not going", Manny and Joel replied simultaneously, their voice laced with finality.

Your eyes widened in exasperation before you tried to get up, in the flow of the conversation, letting out a yelp as you jostled your body too much, agitating the injuries. Immediately Manny was onto you, his hands gently pushing you to lay back, your face screwed up in pain.

"Don't move", he chided you with a serious look in his face, "We'll talk about this later."

"I'll talk to Maria and set up an emergency meeting", Tommy announced before addressing Manny, "Would you...uh-you sure you wanna attend this one? It'll be pretty gnarly if you're present", he told Manny straightforwardly. All of you knew that everyone would immediately point fingers at Manny if they found out the WLF had ambushed you.

Manny seemed to contemplate it before swallowing thickly. He was kind of amused at the fact that once again he was stuck in a situation where he had to prove his loyalty. But he'd do that again, if that meant forever with you.

He cleared his throat, "I'll attend. I know all the places and stuff that they could be hidin' in. Plus, I can trick them into turning in. I'll give you all the information, even if everyone votes 'no'", he confessed sincerely.

Tommy nodded before squeezing your arm lightly and heading out of the room. You caught your breath and looked at the three remaining people with desperation, "Don't do anything stupid, please. Please let me do this. I can't- I can't lose any of you, please", you almost begged them, your voice wobbling from the tears stuck in your throat, the heart monitor going off again.

Manny looked at Joel with his eyebrows furrowed and sighed in worry, his hands coming around to cup your face, oh so tenderly.

"Angel, you need to rest, okay?', you opened your mouth to interrupt, the monitor still going off as you stressed yourself even more, "I know, I know. Look at your heartbeat, you're working yourself up...How about this, you eat somethin' and then I'll help you sleep, hm?", Manny asked you quietly, his thumbs tracing circles on your cheeks before catching a stray tear and wiping it.

You frowned and looked at Joel and Ellie, "Do as he says, kiddo. He's been sittin' here for the past 2 days", Joel reasoned with you in a serious tone, knowing you'd listen right away if he told you that Manny hadn't left his seat next to you since you came back.

You looked at Manny in surprise, his gaze averted from you and you let out a hushed 'Okay'. Joel and Ellie left the room to give the two of you privacy and check in with Tommy and Maria.

You didn't fight much after that, too tired and sleepy to do anything. Manny fed you some of light food that the doctor had recommended and helped you wind down, caressing your head lovingly, your eyes shutting down and opening tiredly. He looked at you and drank you in--your beautiful features, soft skin and hair spread like halo on your pillow. His beady brown eyes pierced into your skin, making your half asleep form blush lightly. "What're you starin' at, Alvarez?", your words slurred out sleepily, your cheeks warming up.

The corner of Manny's mouth quirked up slightly for the first time in 2 days, amused at the fact that you still blushed and got shy whenever he looked at you, even after spending half of your lives together. "I can't stare at my gorgeous fiancé?", he teased and you scoffed.

"I look like a mess right now", you mumbled in response, your eyes half shut in comfort, the warmth of his hands on your head lulling you deeper into a sound sleep.

"No you don't", he simply stated before leaning in close to press a kiss to your nose, your cheeks and the corner of your mouth. You frowned in dissatisfaction, Manny chuckled lightly at the cross look on your face, "What is it?"

"You...you missed", you whined and jutted out your lower lip, the meds and exhaustion making you loopy, moodier and clingier than usual. Manny smiled brightly, his cheeks turning red with happiness and eyes crinkling. He then leaned in and kissed your jutted out lip softly, before you kissed him back properly. He kissed you three times before departing, his nosed smushed against yours, and pulled away, smiling at the content look on your face. "There. Happy?"

You hummed.

"Will you sleep now?", he asked and you nodded, fully closing your eyes and passing out promptly, leaving Manny to tuck the blanket around you and plant a lingering kiss on your forehead, muttering an 'I love you' on the skin there. He wanted to stay with you, but Maria had stopped by to visit you and informed him that they were going to hold the meeting now. He reluctantly parted with you, Maria assuring him that the nurses would look after you in his absence, her personally instructing them to do so.

Of-fucking-course the council voted 3/8 to the plan. Manny, Joel and Ellie were positively fuming. If it was possible, you'd see steam coming out of their ears and people wouldn't question if these three were related. They held a similar look of displease, ire and anger towards all these cowards who chickened out. They also had the same look of shock when Seth spoke in their support, agreeing to seek revenge on yours and Joel's behalf. Shockingly, nobody questioned Manny. Because everyone was too busy protecting their peace. But rules were rules, and they helplessly watched as the council voted 'No' to the plan and watched Tommy's distressed and guilty face in between the other council members from afar. Manny's sharp eyes noticed Jesse shifting in discomfort on Tommy's right and his jaw ticked, carefully curating a plan in his head.

After every one was dismissed, Ellie left with Dina and Manny asked Joel to bring in Tommy and Jesse to your shared house. Manny's mind was working overtime. He didn't want to go as far as kill Abby and Nora but he wanted to get his lick back. And he could get it by helping the others find out their location, which was cake walk for him. He'd even assist them to trick the Seattle crew into thinking that he was turning himself in, just so they would be caught off guard by the others.

He cursed whatever entity present up there, asking why must he be the one to make these difficult choices. Why does he have to choose between his old family and this new family he was blessed with? But he had specifically asked Nora to stay away from you. They didn't listen to him then, and they didn't listen to him now. Your unmoving face kept flashing in front of his eyes and straightened up, his conscience becoming clearer and clearer.

Joel, Tommy and Jesse gathered in your living room, Manny informing them about the plan, the layout of the base, the hot zones, the populated zones, the hideouts--all of it. He brought out stuff from his old supplies and laid it in front of the three of them: his map, his weapons, the symbols to identify the soldiers--all of it. They soaked in the information and decided to leave at night, during the switch between the night shift patrols. Manny hesitated before nodding yes, his heart falling into a pit at the fact that he'd leave without you knowing. Joel gave him a look of understanding and patted his back.

When Manny came back to the hospital, you were still fast asleep, your mouth slightly parted and face lax with relaxation. He felt a small smile creep onto his face, glad that you could get some much deserved rest. He sat down on the chair that had become his home since the last few days and held your hand in his, fingers playing with your ring.

"You're not gonna like what I'm goin' to do. You'll be very upset, I know. But- I gotta put an end to this, angel. I can't- They can't hurt you again. They have no right to. Not when I specifically asked her to stay away from you. Seeing you like this-god, I was this close to breaking apart. When Tommy told me you'd gotten ambushed, I felt like the biggest coward in the world. I should've been there with you. I'm sorry I didn't fight harder. I had promised you a forever with me, I'm goin' to fight for it now. Please forgive me if you can, amor", his low and gruff voice confessed to your sleeping form, his chest aching with the love and affection he carried for you. He leaned in to press a lingering kiss to your head and when he pulled back, he saw your teary eyes looking up at him in despair. His mouth fell open and face froze in shock.

"You were going to leave without waking me up?"

You sounded so small and forlorn that he cradled your face between his palms and kissed you deeply, his mouth smushed against yours in a passionate embrace, his nose pressing into the divot of your cheek. He sucked your bottom lip before pulling on it, bringing out a light moan from you, his hands tucked behind your ears, thumbs holding your jaw up in line with his mouth. You pulled away breathlessly, Manny leaning his forehead against you and both of you closed your eyes, a few tears sliding down both of your cheeks.

"Promise me you won't do anything do stupid. You have to come back to me. I can't lose you again", you whispered against his lips and he pressed his forehead into yours more. He linked his pinky finger with your left one and lifted it to press a kiss against your joined fingers, the action causing a nostalgic smile to take over your face.

"I promise", he mumbled it against your fingers before slowly retracting himself from you and leaving the room, both of your chests feeling hollow after.

Originally, Ellie was supposed to partner with Joel. But when Joel went to call her, she was gone. Not only her, but Dina was missing as well. Joel cursed and informed Tommy, the four of them deciding to leave earlier than intended, having to distract a few patrollers before successfully sneaking out of Jackson. Manny was their guide, him making the way and carving out the shortcuts. They came across a few dead bodies, Manny informing about the fight between the Seraphites and the WLF, his insides curling with disgust and guilt as he saw what the WLF did to the children. After riding through a storm, they finally reached Seattle, and Manny asked them to lay low, stating that the skyscrapers had snipers on the top floors. And that's when they spotted Ellie and Dina. Joel suggested they split--it was decided that Joel and Jesse would be following them while Manny and Tommy would set off to find the others.

Manny wasn't prepared for the emotions he'd feel when he saw any of his old friends. But now that he spied on Owen behind foliage with an irritated and angry Tommy, he completely froze, confused between wanting to let Tommy unleash his emotions and luring in Owen with stealth. He chose the latter and told Tommy to lay low while he pulled Owen aside.

He clamped a hand around his mouth and muttered in his ear, "It's Manny. Just follow me", Owen's eyes widened before he nodded promptly with his hands raised. When they were inside the abandoned hotel, Manny released Owen before discreetly removing his gun and tucking it in his jeans. The taller man turned around, before Tommy pressed his rifle against Owen's head. Owen paused and raised his hands again, eyes flashing with betrayal before Manny clenched his jaw and motioned him to turn to around.

"Where's Abby", Tommy questioned with gritted teeth. Manny couldn't remember seeing him this angry in the past 2 years. You'd told him that Tommy was even more ruthless than Joel, which was unbelievable but now he understood what you meant. Tommy was just as protective of his family as Joel was. He’d suppressed his anger for what they did to Joel for two whole years. He wasn’t going to hold back now. Manny understood that.

Owen gulped, "I don't know, man. I swear-", Tommy pressed the mouth of the rifle harshly into Owen's chest and cocked it, his eyes furious.

"Okay, Okay. She's supposed to be patrolling the theatre in Capitol Hill. I don't know if she'd still be there or not", Owen confessed, his eyes flickering from the rifle to Tommy.

"I know where that is", Manny confirmed and Tommy sized Owen up in disgust.

"You open your fuckin' mouth and see what I can do", he threatened before pushing Owen out of the way, exiting the main entrance of the hotel. Owen stared at Manny in disbelief, "Manny, what the fuck?"

Manny scoffed before admitting, "I'd told you not to let her come after (Name). I'm not gonna do anythin' to stop them or hurt you. But I'm gonna do everything to protect (Name)", his finger poking Owen in the chest. "And don't try anything. I mean it", he stated casually before walking away from a speechless Owen.

It was morning by the time they reached Capitol Hill. Manny watched in thinly veiled terror as he saw Tommy wreak havoc on anybody who stopped them. Manny would knock some people unconscious, maybe kill a few who were annoying and meddling. But Tommy was truly, off the hinges. Manny didn’t say word.

They managed to reunite with Ellie at the park near the theatre, Joel, Jesse and Dina missing next to her. Tommy immediately went into panic mode as he took in the haunted and exhausted look on Ellie’s face. Manny felt his heart thunder against his chest.

“Where’s-”

“Jesse’s gone.” Pin drop silence.

Manny sucked in a harsh breath and Tommy ran a hand across his face, his eyes tearing up before he stammered out, “J-Joel and Dina?”

Ellie swallowed, her face damp with tears, “Dina was injured. Joel said he’ll take her back to Jackson.”

Tommy and Manny exchanged a look, getting the vibe that Ellie was hiding something but chose to discuss it later.

They decided to stick together, now that they were lessened in number.

“We can’t enter through the main entrance, obviously. We need to go ‘round the back or climb through a broken window. If she’s here then she might have some other people with her too. We gotta be careful”, he murmured and Tommy and Ellie simply nod, going around the theatre and looking for any entry.

“There”, Ellie pointed at a broken window and they made their way over to the wall, the wet ground squelching underneath their boots. Tommy intertwined his hands to let Ellie step on them when they suddenly heard footsteps. All three of them froze before Manny aimed his rifle and walked towards the sound, gesturing Tommy and Ellie to continue.

Manny peeked around the building to see that the patrollers were making their way over to the back. He needed to distract them, quickly. He turned around to see that Ellie had managed to climb through the window and Tommy was half way through. Deciding to take the risk, Manny clenched his jaw and slowly picked up a stone, flicking it across the opposite direction and breaking a car window in the process. It seemed to have worked, as he heard the area clear and footsteps receding.

Manny slung the rifle around his back and climbed up, Tommy’s hand extended in waiting. He clasped his hand around Tommy’s and let himself be pulled, entering the room with a dull thud. They had broken into the projector’s room.

“Alright, luckily we can keep an eye on her from up here. We might have to wait for sometime because she’s probably stationed at the front and on that direction”, Manny informed lowly, his voice coming out too loud in the quiet room.

Ellie nodded and Tommy seemed to be deep in his thoughts, his jaw ticking. Manny quirked an eyebrow, sensing something was off.

“We’re gonna split”, Tommy answered gruffly.

“Man, are you kidding? Do you not see the soldiers? This is a heavily patrolled area. Trust me, I know. If they found out what you’re here for, they’re gonna obliterate you, and I mean that. Tommy, don’t do this”, Manny gritted his teeth, his patience wavering with Tommy’s recklessness. How could a man so patient and calculative act like this during such an important moment? Especially now that he had a wife and a kid waiting at home?

But it seems the stubborn gene runs rampant in the Miller household and Tommy’s wide eyes stared at Manny and Ellie intensely, his decision clearly flashing into them.

“I’ll be fine. D’you trust me?”, he addressed Ellie and Ellie stared at him dumbfounded, hating that it had come to this and the fear of losing her uncle looming over her head.

Ellie’s face scrunched in pain and she nodded hesitantly. Before any of them could interject, Tommy had already made his mind as he rushed over to the window and climbed down. Manny ran over to it, watching Tommy run past the building and ran a hand through his hair.

“Fuuuuck! Fuck. Okay. Ellie, listen. I know you don’t trust me necessarily. But we need to stick together, alright? For (Name)”, he pleaded with Ellie and she agreed reluctantly.

They waited till nightfall, Tommy still hadn’t returned and honestly, they weren’t sure he would. They were just scared about what they would do once they got back to Jackson.

Footsteps echoed through the hall causing Manny and Ellie to stiffen up, slowly peeking through the viewing window above the table.

Their eyes widened as they fell on her. Abby. She was surrounded by four other soldiers that Manny didn’t recognise. They were winding down for the night and Manny decided it would be the perfect time.

“Ellie, we’re gonna shut down the lights. I’ll distract the soldiers, you take Abby”, he murmured while looking for the light switches.

Ellie stared at him in disbelief. Was it really that easy? He was really doing this?

“How can I trust you?”, she asked him, her hand slowly inching towards her gun.

Manny clenched his jaw, “if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it before we even reached Seattle. Wouldn’t take much time for me to do that”, Ellie fell silent at that.

He continued, “I had warned her not to come after (Name). Yet she did. She betrayed me. I might not feel okay with killing them or hurting them, but I can help you.”

Ellie was in awe of his ability to make such quick decisions. He was so sure of what he was doing, it was kind of impressive. He reminded her of Joel, just a little. She nodded and followed his cues, sneaking down the stairs after he cut off the power supply.

They heard footsteps come up and halted, their guns pulled up. Manny gestured to blend into the shadows and as soon as he heard the dull thud of heavy boots, he pounced on the person and clamped their mouth shut, his arm tightly wound around the soldier’s neck, cutting off his breathing effectively. Manny nodded at Ellie to move forward, as the soldier slowly dropped unconscious by his feet. There were 3 soldiers with Abby. One was down, and now they needed to look out for the others while also keeping an eye on her.

As they descended and approached the chairs in the hall, Ellie’s foot accidentally hit one of the chairs and she winced before Manny pulled her down with him, his finger resting against his lips, telling her to keep quiet and listen.

“Who’s there?”, Abby’s voice rung out and Ellie’s eyes widened. Manny clenched his jaw. This was it. He motioned Ellie to stay where she was, while he would sneak behind Abby to find the other soldiers and take her by surprise. He told her to wait for his signal, his signal being a low whistle.

Manny’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was able to point out only one other person in the hall with Abby, assuming that the other went out to check the lights. He decided to make a noise on the second exit and that immediately got their attention, Abby asking the soldier to check it out. As soon as the solider stepped out in the exit, Manny tackled him, the solider testing his patience and trying to make noises to get Abby’s attention. Manny rolled his eyes in irritation and pulled out his knife, lodging it against the man’s shoulder and tying a thick cloth around his mouth, muffling his cries.

Manny wiped the blood on the soldier’s shirt like it was an inconvenience and decided to put in all his acting skills to lure in Abby, to make it look like he was harmless. He felt a little uneasy at the thought that he was doing this against someone whom he had considered to be his best friend once. But the thought of coming back home to you motivated him.

He clicked the safety on his gun and purposely made his footsteps apparent, so that she gave him her full attention instead of focusing on Ellie.

“Drop your weapons”, her stern voice rung out and he paused, playing the part.

“Abby?”, his rough voice called out.

Abby froze, walking closer to Manny with her gun still raised.

“Manny?”, she whispered in disbelief, her eyes blown wide. Manny felt an inch of empathy for her. He knew that what they did to Joel kept all of them awake. He still got nightmares about it. Manny lowered his gun and raised his hands in surrender before Abby brought him in a hug.

He hugged her hesitantly, his hands awkwardly patting her back before breaking apart.

“Wh-what’re you doing here? You’re alone?”, she asked curiously.

“Yeah, I’m alone.”

She scoffed, “So, they finally decided to show their true colours, huh? (Name) included?”

Manny clenched his hands tightly, his patience wearing thin. He was about to give her another chance but this was just too much now. Especially since she was the one who decided to attack you unprovoked.

“Yeah? Why’d you attack them, Abby?”, Manny asked and she froze, her sarcastic laughter dissipating.

She let out a breath, “What? Attack who?”, her hands coming up to rest on her hips, feigning an unbothered expression.

Manny let out a humourless laugh and shook his head, “You’re not fooling anybody. But anyways, I’m sorry….not sorry for this”, he conceded before whistling lowly.

Ellie immediately got to her feet, approaching Abby and pressed her gun behind Abby’s head. Abby froze, her grip loosening on her gun, which Manny took out of her hands and tucked in the back of his jeans.

Her head whipped to look at Manny, “What the fuck is all this?!”

Manny shrugged while Ellie grabbed Abby’s shoulder aggressively and turned her around, her hand tightening around Abby’s shirt and bringing her closer to the mouth of the gun.

Abby’s eyes widened as she recognised Ellie in the low light of the few dim bulbs.

“Leave me-”, Abby struggled against her grip, Ellie gritting her teeth in annoyance and firing a shot into Abby’s knee. Just like how she had done to Joel.

Abby howled in pain and fell on the carpeted floor, her sobs echoing across the empty hall. Manny clenched his jaw and turned his head to the side.

“I’ll keep an eye out”, he muttered to Ellie and approached the door, standing guard against it to stop anybody from coming inside.

“No! Wait! Manny, they’re messing with your head. Stop it! We can all-”, Abby’s choked cries were cut off by Ellie spitting a “Shut the fuck up” and landing a swift kick against her ribs, just like how she’d done to you. Abby gasped and writhed around in pain.

Manny ignored their altercation and walked away, standing outside the hall with a million thoughts weighing him down. He was split between telling Ellie to stop and wanting to give you justice.

After getting into an argument with two soldiers and eventually having to dispose them, Manny was back on the lookout outside the doors. Ellie stepped out of the hall, her face and clothes covered in blood as she took in the two dead soldiers by Manny’s feet, his clothes covered in blood splatters as well.

Manny looked up at Ellie, and he immediately understood that she’d done it. Abby was dead. Swallowing past the dread, he grabbed Ellie by the arm and slowly dragged her out of the lobby, walking upstairs to a storage room and locking it before checking the perimeter from the window. Once he noted that the coast was clear, he opened the window and encouraged Ellie to drop down first, joining her closely behind.

Once they had reached down, they managed to barely escape from the big halogens projecting on the ground. Once they tore through the fence, they booked it for the hotel where Ellie and Dina had stashed a few radios.

"Tommy, come in. Tommy, this is Capitol Hill, come in!", Manny spoke into the radio but only heard incessant disturbance on it, him lowering the device in frustration.

"Fuck. If we wait here for any longer they're gonna find us. We need to move, now", he informed Ellie who was frozen still. Manny looked at her and put his hands on her shoulders carefully, before shaking her a litte.

"It's difficult for you to do anything right now, I know, but we gotta get back home, Ellie. I promise, Tommy will join us. You trust him, don't you?", Manny's breathless voice called out and Ellie looked at him before nodding numbly.

"Good. Let's pack up and leave, Miller", he encouraged her and the two of them ran away, abandoning the hell hole that was Seattle, with a flicker of hope that Tommy manages to reunite with them.

As soon as they left the hotel, their radios buzzed, a broken voice coming out of the speaker.

"Ellie---me at---it's Tommy----the border!"

Ellie and Manny exchanged a relieved look before running away from the city.

After spending the whole night walking in heavy downpour, they were wet, dehydrated, hungry, and tired. They laid low in a nearby broken down house, leaving as soon as the rain stopped and finally reached the border. The foliage next to the kept shuffling and both of them raised their guns only to see Tommy exit from the behind the overgrown bushes.

Ellie sighed in relief and ran over to hug Tommy, the older man hugging her back fiercely and giving a nod in Manny's direction. Tommy indirectly hinted at ending everyone. Everyone that came across him was killed. Manny felt his hair stand up with fear and he fought a shiver, Ellie staring blankly ahead. He didn't want to think about all this here. He feared he would either throw up or rip his hair out. Maybe one day he'd tell you about his thoughts on all this. One day.

For now, they regrouped and focused on only one task at hand-- going back home, Manny chest aching with yearning to reunite with you.

It's been four days since they left. You were officially discharged now. Joel and Dina had returned on the second day itself and it made you confused and shocked at the fact that Joel had agreed to turn around. Maria decided to shift you back to Joel's house for a while, so that you wouldn't be alone. He went back to the hospital to get Dina treated, and joined you in your old room, quelling your worries and filling you in. He told you that Dina was shot with an arrow and was pregnant, the news making you gasp in fear and surprise. Then you understood why Joel turned around, trusting Tommy to look over Ellie and not wanting the two vulnerable girls to come back alone.

"What about Manny? Did Tommy radio back about where they are?", you mumbled while picking a thread on the blanket.

You were still not allowed to walk too much still, lying down and sitting being the only options. All this bed-rest made your mind wander in dark places. After Manny left, you were so dejected that you cried yourself to sleep. You refused breakfast the next morning, Maria having to surveil you to make sure you ate something. The gnawing fear in your chest wouldn't let you breathe easy, the constant worrying for Manny making you sick. It was confusing, you were not only worried for his emotional state after meeting his friends, but also feared for the worst outcome- him abandoning you to join them again. You wouldn't recover from the latter, that much was clear. You had not removed his sweater from your body since he left, requesting for your shared blanket to be brought in to Joel's house. You just prayed that he'd come home to you, safe and sound.

Joel sighed, "He radioed in once, last night, to tell me they were leaving. Nothin' after that, I-", Joel's response was cut off from the noise of fists banging against his front door. Sitting up in alarm, you and Joel exchanged a look before he told you to stay put and wandered downstairs.

Your chest thudded in anticipation, screwing your eyes shut if incase he comes bearing some bad news, your hands shaking with anxiety when-

"Angel."

You whipped your eyes open and they fell on Manny. His clothes were a little damp and dirty, hair curling from the water and his facial hair slowly growing in, but it was still your Manny. Your eyes filled up with tears and you gasped, him rushing over to your bed side, eyes flitting across your face.

You lifted your left hand up to cradle his cheek, him leaning closer to it and his coffee coloured irises not moving from your face.

"Em..", you whispered and pressed your forehead against his, both of your eyes shutting close in contentment. You felt him inhale deeply, his pretty nose brushing against yours, a hand coming around to rest on your thigh gently.

"It's over", he mumbled against your lips and surged in, kissing you feverishly. Both of his hands came up to hold your face in them, his lips caressing yours in a sensual yet loving embrace. He heard you inhale sharply, breaking apart to let you breathe but kept his hands on your face.

"I'm home", his eyes brimmed with tears and you frowned, your hand buried in his curls, nails scratching his scalp gently.

"Are you okay?", you asked him worriedly, completely understanding if this took a toll on him. It was natural. And you'd hold him through it all.

He pursed his lips, a tear falling past his cheeks and dropping on your blanket, "I don't know, yet. It hasn't set in...but you're here. That's all I care about."

You gave him a sad smile and pulling him closer, his arms carefully going around your back and his face tucked into your throat, lips and curls tickling you lightly. You lean your head against the side of his and press a kiss to his temple, "Yeah. I'm here, always. I love you, Manny."

His breath hitched before his lips moved against your throat, "Te quiero mucho, angel."

It'd take a long time for him to heal. But as long as you had each other, you'd both be just fine.

Fin.

AN: RAHHH ITS DONE! please like and reblog, i love to read your comments! 🥹

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#manny alvarez x reader #manny alvarez #tlou2 #tlou hbo #the last of us #danny ramirez #fluff #angst #hurt/comfort #joel miller x platonic!reader #ellie williams x platonic!reader #tommy miller x platonic!reader

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kenthoe · 2 months ago

Text

PART 1 of my x reader fic recs from someone who reads almost every fandom there is

ps. some of them have smut but it is mostly angst and a little bit of fluff

please show our dear writers some love and support by liking and reblogging their works ⁠♡

☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠*⁠･⁠｡ﾟ

• the hunger games

☆ finnick odair

our song and dance series by @mrs-kmikaelson

— 1 2 3 4 5 6

• formula one

☆ oscar piastri

you're the only friend i need by @requiemforthepoets

we never talked about it by @cherry-leclerc

matchmaker smau by @harrysfolklore

☆ carlos sainz

lolita by @cherry-leclerc

☆ max verstappen

reckless driver by @cherry-leclerc

forced

let me be the lighter series by @nostappen

5 times by @disneyprincemuke

something stupid smau by @linaslivery

☆ charles leclerc

for you, always by @theonottsbxtch

newsflash by @pucksandpower

☆ franco colapinto

el coqueto by @theonottsbxtch

☆ pierre gasly

♡ by @ghoststann

butterflies by @ghoststann

☆ lando norris

part 1: the other woman part 2: margaret smau by @linaslivery

• mcu

☆ bucky barnes

unsolved series smau by @shurisneakers

• stranger things

☆ steve harrington

the four steps between (best) friends and lovers by @stevebabey

speed of sound series by @lovrily

1 2 3

nine facts, one lie by @stevebabey

• harry potter

☆ draco malfoy

too little, too late by @sleep-i-ness

☆ james potter

stop, you're losing me by @amnmesias

down bad by @prongsiepotter

about you by @ma1dita

☆ cedric diggory

pencil sketches by @wreckofawriter

☆ oliver wood

part 1: the hate game part 2: all's fair in love and war by @heartthrobin

• lockwood and co

☆ anthony lockwood

better this way by @mazywrites

the language of longing by @fleetingvow

expecto patronum series by @novelizt

• shadow and bone

☆ kaz brekker

bloody hands by @rubysunnday

bet to lose by @nezuscribe

bruises and scars by @kasagia

• the vampire diaries

☆ damon salvatore

hanahaki by @keehomania

• criminal minds

☆ spencer reid

tired flights by @mentally-gone002

sparks fly series by @avis-writeshq

love me not by @bau-drabbles

be so stupid by @mariasont

part 1: you're still a traitor part 2: wait for your love by @uranometrias

don't think i don't like you by @luveline

clingy by @street-smarts00

you were like an angel to me by @januaryembrs

☆ aaron hotchner

spontaneous phenomena by @luveline

dance until we're bones by @atlabeth

long time coming by @uranometrias

haunted part: 1 2 by @bau-drabbles

if things go bad by @luveline

part 1: ignited spark part 2: old flame part 3: burned hearts by @messylxve

the night we met part: 1 2 3 by @bau-drabbles

• outerbanks

☆ rafe cameron

you're so gorgeous it actually hurts

• bridgerton

☆ anthony bridgerton

(not so) simple series by @atlabeth

☆ benedict bridgerton

love in bloom series by @bosbas

dog day afternoon by @gogobootz1

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colouredbyd · 3 months ago

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The Nightingale VI: The Capitol Has Teeth

Regulus Black x fem!reader Hunger Games AU

summary: a wounded alliance begins to form. old memories resurface under the cover of night—constellations, names, and things left unsaid. the arena is changing, and the Capitol is already tightening its grip.

warnings: scenes of violence, characters death, graphic content, blood, emotional distress, violence, injury care, body horror (mild), themes of control and helplessness, mild language, intense fear, reflective of the brutal nature of the Hunger Games.

word count: 8.9k (totally didnt take 3 days to write)

authors note: i love this chapter so so much, ugh. ps. so many hidden easters in this chapter..

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This is day two of the Games, and the Garden is changing.

The trees loom higher than they did yesterday—though maybe it’s not the trees that have grown. Maybe it’s me, shrinking by the hour, forgetting how to measure anything except the ache in my chest and the sound of my own heartbeat.

The canopy above is a patchwork of rust-colored leaves, their edges curled and blackened like they’ve been touched by fire. They drip something sticky onto the ground, sap or blood or something that smells too sweet to be natural. The earth beneath our feet shifts softly sometimes, like it's breathing. And in the corners of my vision, I keep catching flickers—ghosts of motion, glimmers of light that vanish when I try to focus. I turn my head and see nothing but bark. Stones that look like teeth. Vines that might’ve been ropes.

We don’t speak. There’s no need to. The silence between us is heavier than the air.

Regulus walks ahead, every step deliberate. That same quiet intensity he’s always carried—like he was carved from silence and taught how to move without making the world flinch. He reads the terrain with his eyes, his hands, the angle of his shoulders. Every few paces, his fingers lift to the back of his neck—light and quick, like a whisper he’s trying to chase away. I’ve seen him do it before. I didn’t think much of it then. But now, I see how often. How unconscious. Like a tether—his mind checking a leash only he can feel.

He hasn’t spoken since last night. Neither have I. There’s nothing left to say that wouldn’t come out as a prayer or a scream.

Yesterday there were three cannons. Three faces in the sky.

Emmeline Vance from District 4. Mundungus Fletcher from 12. Hestia Jones from 8.

I didn’t know them—not really. I remembered their faces at the Reaping, the slight tremble in Hestia’s hands, the way Emmeline had kept her chin raised too high, defiant even when her voice cracked. But names blur quickly out here. Still, I forced myself to look. To hold their eyes as long as the sky would let me. It felt like the only thing I could offer—acknowledgement. A witness. Something human.

My heart clenched, waiting for a fourth. Bracing for the face I wouldn’t survive seeing. But it didn’t come.

No Regulus.

And the relief that washed over me was sharp and selfish and so full of guilt I could barely stand it. Because part of me still thinks that as long as he’s alive, I can be too. Like if I can just keep him breathing, I won't become one of those faces. A name no one knew well enough to mourn. But maybe that’s a lie we tell ourselves to keep walking.

I glance at Regulus again and wonder, not for the first time, what it’s cost him to survive all this. What corners of himself he’s had to cut away to keep going. What softness he’s buried. What screams he’s swallowed.

His profile is turned to the trees now, neck long and throat bruised with old scrapes. There’s a sliver of dried blood along his collarbone—too thin to worry about but too stark to ignore. His hands hang loose at his sides, stained from the last time we dug through mud for shelter. Hands that used to tremble in the Capitol’s glare. Hands that no longer do.

The Capitol doesn’t need to kill you with blades or bombs. It just waits. Patient, calculating. Watching as the days chip away at you until there’s nothing left but instinct and ash. Until the war lives in your bones and mercy is a myth you no longer afford. It doesn’t pull the trigger—it hands you the weapon, then teaches you how to aim at yourself.

It silences you slowly. Hollowing out the soft parts first—grief, love, hope—until only survival remains. It makes memory sharp. Makes kindness dangerous. It turns every name you loved into a weakness, every soft moment into something that could get you killed. That’s the Capitol’s real talent: it doesn’t need to kill you. It teaches you how to do it on your own.

And Regulus—he carries every one of those lessons behind his eyes. He walks like someone who’s memorized loss. Like the air itself cuts him, and still he keeps moving. He doesn’t look back. Maybe because he can’t. Maybe because looking means remembering. And remembering means bleeding all over again.

But I do. I always do.

Because someone has to. Someone has to hold onto what we were before they renamed us tributes and strung us up like symbols. Someone has to remember that we were people once. That we had birthdays and favorite songs. That we laughed. That kindness wasn’t a liability.

I wonder if he remembers that, too. Or if he buried hope with the rest of the dead.

We keep walking, the Garden thick around us, the silence breathing down our necks. And still, I say nothing.

But gods, I want to.

I want to call his name and watch it settle on his skin like something warm. I want to press my hand to the curve of his spine and remind him that he doesn’t have to carry all of this alone.

I want him to look at me the way he used to—like I was something he couldn’t afford to lose.

Not here. Not in the Garden, where the trees eavesdrop and the wind keeps score. Here, tenderness is a trap.

He doesn’t need to tell me why he’s quiet. I already know.

The longer we’re still, the louder the Garden gets. The wind carries laughter sometimes, or the sound of footsteps that don’t belong to either of us. Once I swore I heard my mother singing. The exact lullaby she used to hum when I couldn’t sleep. The notes hung between the branches like fruit.

Because we both knew the truth: the arena isn’t just a place.

It’s a mind.

It watches. It learns. It carves open your past and feeds it back to you with blood on its fingers. It waits until you forget you’re a tribute, and then it strikes. Not with teeth or claws, but with memories. With softness. With the illusion of something kind, until it becomes the thing that kills you.

I walk beside him now, watching the way he moves—controlled, deliberate, like he’s holding something back. Maybe rage. Maybe grief. Maybe something colder. There’s a part of me that wants to reach for him, to remind him I’m still here. That we’re not entirely gone yet. But I don’t.

I haven’t spoken since the camera shattered. I don’t think Regulus has either.

The Garden is quieter than it was yesterday. Not peaceful—never peaceful. Just… still. Like the calm that presses down on your chest right before a scream. Even the birds are gone, if they were ever real to begin with.

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve blinked without seeing anything at all.

How many times I’ve heard my name, whispered low and sweet, threading through the trees like a secret—and turned to find nothing but bark and silence. The branches know my name now. They’ve learned how to say it with the same lilt my brother used to, the same pause my mother would make before pulling me into her arms.

I think I’m starting to forget what real sounds like. What true sounds like.

We were moving through a dense patch of undergrowth when something ahead caught the corner of my eye. It wasn’t a sound or a cry—just the faintest flicker of motion, too small to be a threat, too subtle to ignore. I stopped. My foot hovered above a root as my gaze dropped to the forest floor, sifting through the layers of leaves and dirt.

That’s when I saw him.

A boy, half-swallowed by the roots of an overturned tree—limbs tangled like he’d fallen from the sky and the forest had tried to claim him before he hit the ground. His body was twisted awkwardly, one leg bent beneath him, the other dragged out behind like he’d been running and never quite stopped. Dirt smudged his cheek, blood crusted at his temple, and his arm was curled protectively over his ribs, as if even unconscious, he was trying to shield something.

For a breathless second, I thought he was dead.

Then his fingers moved—just once. A faint tremble, barely there.

I stepped forward before I even realized it, breath catching in my throat.

“We can’t,” Regulus said. His voice was low.

I turned toward him, but he didn’t look at me. His eyes were locked on the boy, sharp and gleaming like the blade he kept hidden at his side. I could feel the tension coiled in him, the way his breath had shortened, how his grip on me tightened just slightly as the boy coughed again.

“What if it’s a setup?” Regulus muttered. “What if someone left him there to draw us out? We’re in the Garden. Nothing’s real here. Not pain. Not mercy. Not dying.”

His hand was still on my arm. The contact sent little aftershocks skimming through my nerves, but it was the way he said dying that made my stomach twist. Like he wasn’t afraid of it, just tired of watching it happen.

“I don’t think he’s pretending,” I said, softer now, but steady. “No one pretends to bleed like that.”

Regulus didn’t let go. He looked at me then, and for a moment, his expression faltered. Just enough for the mask to slip. Just enough for me to see what was beneath it—fear, maybe. Or something heavier.

“I can’t protect you if you walk into a trap.”

I swallowed hard. His fingers were still wrapped around my arm, thumb brushing against the inside of my wrist like he was trying to convince himself it was fine. That I was still breathing. That I was still warm. I could’ve told him I wasn’t the one who needed protecting, not from this, not now—but the words stayed in my throat.

“I’m going,” I said quietly. “You don’t have to come with me. But I’m not walking away.”

I moved toward the boy, lowering myself into a crouch until my knees met the damp, moss-covered earth. The scent of soil and something metallic filled my lungs as I leaned closer. His breathing was shallow and ragged, every rise of his chest uneven, as if each breath was a decision his body had to wrestle with. Blood had seeped through the thin fabric of his shirt, a deep maroon stain spreading across his side, dark and tacky. Most of it had dried, crusted in streaks where it had mingled with dirt and sweat, but fresh droplets still clung near the wound—bright enough to mean danger, slow enough to mean time was running out.

His body looked wrong somehow, too twisted to be resting, too still to be safe. One leg was curled beneath him in an unnatural position, the angle of it suggesting a break or worse. His arm had fallen across his ribs, bent awkwardly as if he'd collapsed mid-flight and never gotten the chance to move again. His face was pale beneath the grime, the sort of pallor that came with too many hours of pain left unattended. One eye was swollen shut, puffed and bruised, while the other remained barely open, glassy and confused. He blinked once, slowly, as if even that motion cost him something. His gaze didn’t quite find mine.

He couldn’t have been older than sixteen. There was something delicate about him, something unfinished, like he hadn’t been given enough time to grow into himself before being thrown into this place. His lips were cracked and flaking, the corners stained with blood and dust. I studied his features, searching for a name, a memory, anything to anchor him to the world outside this nightmare.

He must have been one of the quiet ones during the interviews—the kind of tribute whose voice got lost beneath the roar of louder stories. The kind no one truly noticed until their portrait appeared in the sky, accompanied by that mournful anthem. He didn’t look like a killer. He didn’t look like he belonged in the Games. But then again, none of us did.

The heat coming off him was feverish, burning through the thin fabric of his shirt. It radiated from him in waves, pulsing with every weak breath, and I knew then that the wound had festered longer than it should have. His body was fighting a war it was already losing.

Behind me, I felt the shift of movement before I saw it—Regulus lowering himself into a crouch beside us. His expression was unreadable, all sharp lines and shadows. He didn’t speak. His eyes scanned the boy with clinical precision, taking in the damage, calculating the risk. One hand hovered near his knife, fingers ghosting the hilt like a reflex, like his body didn’t quite know how to be still without the comfort of a blade in reach. But he didn’t draw it. He stayed where he was, close but guarded, alert but not hostile.

The suspicion had not entirely left his features, but it had softened. Not into trust—Regulus didn’t give that freely—but into something quieter, something cautious and heavy with restraint. It was enough. For now.

“His leg’s broken,” he said, scanning the injury like it was a riddle. “Might be his ribs too.”

He stared at the boy a moment longer, then reached into his pack without a word.

That was the thing about him. He didn’t believe in softness, not out loud. But he still acted on it, always in the quietest ways.

Regulus took most of the weight, one of the boy’s arms draped across his shoulder, the other hanging lifeless at his side. I stayed close, supporting from behind, one hand steady on his back, the other ready to grab him if he collapsed. He was light—too light—and every step made him wince. He didn’t say a word. Just stumbled and clung on.

Regulus led the way, his pace steady but quick, each step a careful rhythm, as though he was trying to stay two steps ahead of danger. His eyes flicked over his shoulder frequently, watching the boy who staggered just behind, trying to keep pace. I saw the way his jaw tightened with each stumble, the way his grip on his knife never fully relaxed. He was wary, cautious, a man who had learned the hard way to trust no one. Not even someone in a condition like this boy’s.

The boy’s breathing was shallow, rattling in his chest like the prelude to something worse. He coughed, a wet, miserable sound that seemed to echo through the quiet woods, and muttered something I couldn’t catch. His voice was weak, barely a whisper, and when his head dropped forward, I felt a momentary surge of panic. For a moment, he looked like he might just collapse, crumple under his own weight, and we’d be left here with him, an easy target for whatever might be watching from the shadows.

I slowed my pace, moving closer to him, and whispered, my voice tight with worry. “We’re almost there,” I said, though it felt more like a promise to myself than to him. “Just hold on.”

I wasn’t sure if he even heard me. His eyes were half-lidded, unfocused, and he swayed as if his body couldn’t quite keep up with the effort of standing. I could feel Regulus watching us, his gaze sharp and calculating. He was already thinking two steps ahead, thinking about the next danger we might face. Even here, in this moment, we weren’t safe.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of winding through the underbrush, we emerged into a small clearing. The trees opened up just enough to give us a breath, the weight of the forest lifting slightly, as if the earth itself had parted to let us pass. The ground beneath us was soft, covered in thick, spongy moss that swallowed the sound of our footsteps, offering a temporary reprieve from the harshness of the forest.

Regulus moved swiftly, lowering the boy to the ground, his movements more tender than I would have expected, more careful than he probably intended to show. I knelt beside the boy, brushing the damp curls from his forehead, feeling the heat radiating off his skin. It was too much warmth, too much for someone so young, someone who had already been through so much.

His breaths came in short, labored gasps, each one sounding like it took all the effort he had left. I could feel the weight of his fever in the tremors of his body, the way his skin was flushed, slick with sweat despite the coolness of the night. I gently pressed my fingers to his wrist, trying to find his pulse, but it was weak, barely there.

I didn’t know how long he could last like this. The wound he’d sustained was bad, worse than I had first thought, and there was nothing we could do for him right now except wait. Wait and watch, hoping it wasn’t too late.

The air around us seemed to hold its breath, the quiet of the forest pressing in from all sides. For a moment, the world felt impossibly still, as if the trees themselves had paused to witness what was happening here.

Regulus moved behind me, his presence a quiet shadow at my back. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his gaze on the boy, feel the tension in the way he stood, watchful and poised. He wasn’t ready to let go of the boy, not yet. I understood that—this was dangerous, and we couldn’t afford to trust anyone fully, not in the Garden.

But as I looked at the boy, his chest rising and falling too slowly, his body trembling with fever, I knew one thing for certain: he wasn’t going to last long unless we did something

I reached for the canteen with steady hands, though inside, I felt anything but calm. The metal was cool against my skin, a sharp contrast to the warmth radiating from the boy’s fevered body. I tilted it carefully toward his mouth, trying to find the balance between urgency and gentleness. “Can you drink?” I asked, my voice quiet, measured, like I was afraid the sound itself might scare him back into unconsciousness.

His eyes fluttered open, bloodshot and rimmed with dirt, glassy with pain and exhaustion. They looked too old for someone his age—haunted, like he had already seen too much. He blinked up at me slowly, uncomprehending, and his cracked lips parted as if to respond, but no words came. Only a thin rasp of air, dry and broken. I tilted the canteen again, just enough to let a trickle of water touch his mouth.

He flinched slightly at first, then swallowed—a small, effortful motion that looked like it took everything out of him. A second later, he coughed, the sound low and grating, each breath catching in his throat like it was scraping against gravel. I steadied his shoulder, trying to keep him upright as his body shook. His skin was far too warm beneath my fingers, and his pulse fluttered weakly like a moth against glass.

Behind me, Regulus stood motionless, arms folded tightly across his chest, his frame half-shadowed by the last light filtering through the trees. His face was a mask—neutral, unreadable—but I knew better than to think he was at ease. His eyes didn’t leave the boy, not for a second. Every twitch of movement, every inhale, every subtle flicker in the boy’s expression was caught in his gaze. He wasn’t just watching—he was assessing. Calculating. Always preparing for the moment things might turn.

The boy stirred a little more, his head turning slightly as his eyes squinted against the light. I leaned closer, my tone softening into something gentler, something I hoped he could anchor to. “Hey,” I murmured. “You’re okay. We found you in the woods. You were hurt, but you’re safe now.”

His gaze darted between us, unfocused and flickering. I saw the fear begin to rise in his eyes—not wild panic, not the kind that screamed or thrashed, but the quieter kind, the kind that sank its teeth in slowly. It was buried beneath layers of exhaustion and pain, but it was there, tightening his expression, making his breath catch as he tried to place where he was and who we were.

“We need to know your name,” I said, more gently now, as though coaxing it out of him could unravel some of the fear. “Just your name, that’s all.”

He didn’t answer right away. His attention snapped to Regulus, narrowed in on him like he sensed something dangerous beneath the silence. I followed his gaze and saw what he did—Regulus hadn’t moved, hadn’t even blinked, but the stillness of his posture was deceptive. He was coiled beneath it, ready. There was a tension in his stance, like the entire forest could shift and he’d still be the first to react. Something in the boy recognized that. He wasn’t just looking at a stranger. He was looking at a threat.

Finally, after another strained pause, the boy swallowed and whispered, “Evan.”

His voice was paper-thin and frayed at the edges. The name hung between us for a moment, fragile and weightless. I turned to Regulus, catching his eyes for a brief second.

I looked back at the boy and nodded. “Okay, Evan,” I said softly, like his name was something sacred, something I didn’t want to break. “We’re going to help you. That wound—it needs care, but you’re not alone anymore. We’ll take care of it, and we’ll figure the rest out together.”

Evan’s gaze didn’t waver, but something inside it dimmed slightly, like he didn’t quite believe me, like he’d already seen too much to think anything here could be safe. “There’s no such thing,” he murmured, his words barely audible, worn thin from pain. “Safe doesn’t exist here.”

I didn’t argue. He wasn’t wrong.

Regulus finally moved, crouching low beside us, his knees brushing the moss, and his shadow stretched long and dark over the clearing. His presence was grounding, solid, but it brought with it the weight of reality. This wasn’t just an act of kindness. It was a decision with consequences.

His voice, when it came, was quiet but firm. “Are you alone?”

Evan’s head dipped in the faintest of nods. “I don’t know where my district partner is,” he said, voice rough. “We got separated.”

The silence that followed wasn’t empty—it was full of possibilities. Regulus glanced at me, and for a second, I saw the flicker again. He was thinking. Calculating how this changed things. How long we could afford to care.

“When?” Regulus pressed.

“Since the bloodbath,” Evan said. “I tried to climb a tree after. I Thought I saw movement. I fell. Think I broke something.” He winced as he tried to shift. “Been there since. Two days, maybe.”

I reached for the first aid kit, pulling out a strip of clean cloth and the last of our antiseptic. The gash on his side had bled through his shirt. It was ragged and deep, but not too wide—if we kept it clean, he might have a chance.

“This’ll sting,” I warned, my voice low, almost apologetic as I prepared the antiseptic.

Evan didn’t flinch at my words. He just nodded, his fingers digging into the moss beneath him like it might anchor him to something solid, something real. The tremble of his hand was faint, almost imperceptible, but I saw it—saw the effort it took for him to hold himself still. His skin was already raw, burned with the fever he’d been running, and I knew this was going to make it worse.

I dabbed the cloth across his wound, and a sharp hiss escaped him, his breath a shallow, quick intake, but he didn’t cry out. He didn’t pull away. He just endured it. The sound of his breath was the only thing I could hear, ragged and unsteady.

I focused on the task, moving carefully. The world around us felt distant, like everything else had slowed down in that moment. The air was thick, heavy with the tension between us. Regulus remained quiet, his gaze fixed on Evan with a mix of watchfulness and something else—something unreadable. He handed me what I needed without a word, his movements precise and fluid, like he had already decided he would do what was necessary, whether he wanted to or not.

The silence stretched, a fragile thread that might snap at any moment, but it held. We worked in synchrony, each of us trapped in our own thoughts, the weight of what was happening pressing against us, unspoken but shared. The moment felt like it was balanced on the edge of something unnamed, something too complex to voice.

When I finished, I leaned back slightly, wiping my hands on my pants, suddenly aware of how still the air had become, how heavy my own breath felt.“You need rest,” I said, trying to make the words sound like a command, but it came out more like a suggestion—a plea. His body was barely holding itself together, and I could see how exhausted he was. He needed sleep more than anything else.

Evan blinked slowly, his gaze drifting between us. I could see the questions in his eyes—too many to count, and none of them answered yet. “Why are you helping me?” he asked, his voice hoarse, barely a whisper.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words felt like they were stuck. I didn’t have a good answer. Not one that would make sense to him, or to me, for that matter. But before I could speak, Regulus answered, his tone low but firm, like he was stating a simple fact.

“We’re not sure we are.”

His words hung in the air, sharp, blunt. There was no malice in his voice—just the quiet honesty of someone who had learned the hard way not to promise things he wasn’t sure he could keep. I felt the weight of it, the honesty of it, even though part of me wanted to argue. Wanted to say that we were helping, that there was something between us that demanded it. But Regulus had said it. And in that moment, I couldn’t deny it.

I glanced at him sharply, but his face didn’t shift. There was no anger, no bitterness, just an unwavering calm.

Evan’s eyelids fluttered shut as if the effort of staying awake had finally become too much. His voice came in a soft rasp, as fragile as his breath. “Fair enough.”

The acceptance in his words struck me more deeply than I expected. He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t pleading. He was just... resigned. Maybe it was the fever, or the pain, or just the weight of everything that had happened, but in that moment, his voice was quiet, but there was a sort of strength in it too. The kind of strength that didn’t come from fighting back, but from accepting the world as it was—however hard that might be.

And as he lay there, silent, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths, I felt something shift. Something delicate, but undeniable. It wasn’t that I understood Evan, not fully. But in that moment, with his simple admission, I felt connected to him in a way I hadn’t expected.

I looked back at Regulus, catching the fleeting glance he gave me—brief, unreadable—but I could sense it. Whatever had brought us here, whatever decision had been made when we chose to help him, it wasn’t just about the boy on the ground. It was about us. And whatever was happening between us, unspoken but felt, was just beginning to unfold.

Regulus stood again and moved to the fire pit, kneeling to strike the flint. I stayed by Evan’s side, watching the faint rise and fall of his chest, the way his lips moved soundlessly—like he was whispering something to himself in sleep. Maybe a name. Maybe a prayer.

Across the clearing, sparks jumped from stone to kindling. The fire began to catch. Regulus didn’t look at me, but I could feel the tension still radiating from him like heat.

He didn’t trust Evan. But he’d carried him here.

And something about that mattered more than either of us could admit.

It's been a few hours since Evan fell asleep. I tried to sleep. I really did, but I couldn't take my eyes off the horizon above me. The sky above isn’t real—too static, too perfect, as if someone painted it from memory and forgot that stars are supposed to flicker. The air smells like damp earth and something artificial beneath it, the Capitol’s idea of what a forest should be. It’s close but never quite right, like a lullaby sung off-key.

Beside me, Regulus lies just barely within reach. Our arms aren’t touching, but he’s close enough that I can feel the heat of him radiating in the space between us. I can sense the rhythm of his breathing in the rise and fall of the silence, the way the air stirs gently whenever he exhales. It’s the kind of silence that isn’t empty—it’s thick with the weight of unspoken things, of years that passed without permission, of names we don’t call each other anymore.

I don’t know when I started watching him instead of the sky.

The years haven’t changed the shape of him, not really. He’s still all edges and quiet restraint, still wears silence like armor. But in the dim blue light, with the trees casting soft shadows across his face, he looks younger. Softer. Like the boy I used to know before the world asked him to become someone else.

( i highly recommend playing Space Song by Beach House here)

My gaze lifts to the stars, or the simulation of them, and a thought drifts through my mind before I can catch it.

“I used to draw stars on you.” I say.

The words slip out quieter than I expect, drifting into the dark like breath on glass. They hang there for a moment, fragile and unclaimed. My voice barely belongs to me—it sounds younger somehow, like it was pulled from another version of myself. I don’t even know if I meant to say it aloud. Maybe it’s just a memory trying to make itself real again.

But he hears. Of course he does.

He doesn’t speak right away. Just breathes. The rhythm of it is steady, but there’s something underneath it now—something old and aching. Then, after a pause that feels too full, he murmurs, “On my wrist.”

His voice is rough, like it had to scrape its way up from somewhere deep.

Another pause. Longer, softer.

“My arm. My collarbone, once,” he adds, as though he’s cataloging each place with care, brushing dust from the bones of the past. “You got bolder every year.”

A smile finds me, faint and slow and a little sad. It hurts to hold it, but I let it bloom anyway. “You always moved before the ink dried.”

“You always scolded me when it smudged.”

“I didn’t scold,” I whisper, the corners of my voice tugged by something tender. “I just… hated when they stopped looking like stars.”

He turns his head, just enough that I can see the side of his face in the blue-dark hush. The sharp line of his jaw, the gentle curve of his mouth. There’s a softness in his eyes that wasn’t there earlier, something raw and open that I recognize, even after all this time.

“They looked like stars to me,” he says. His voice is steady now, quieter than the night, but clearer somehow. “Always.”

I close my eyes for a second and let myself slip backward, into a different time.

I used to steal ink from the shops when no one was watching. A cracked bottle, a stolen brush, a piece of charcoal snapped in half and hidden beneath my coat. We’d sneak into our hideout—our haven in the woods behind the lumber mill, where the branches reached toward the sky like they were trying to remember it—and I’d press his hand flat against the floorboards, the skin of his wrist pale and waiting.

He was always so still for me. Not for anyone else. Not even for himself. But for me—he let me paint on him like he was a blank space meant to be filled. Only for me.

Never for anyone else. Not for the world. Not for the Capitol. Not even for himself. But when I touched him, when I painted him, he became quiet in a way that felt like surrender, or maybe trust. He let me draw constellations on his skin like I was writing a language only the two of us could read.

He’d watch me with those storm-colored eyes—eyes that never gave anything away unless you knew where to look. Half-curious, half-somewhere-else. Eyes that carried entire winters in their silence.

I always began with Altair. The lead star. Three dots in a line—clean, sharp, deliberate. A shape with direction. Then I’d connect it to Vega, to Deneb, tracing faint arcs across his forearm, letting the brush kiss the contours of his bones. I’d mark Orion’s belt along his wrist. Sketch Canis Major where his veins ran faintly blue beneath the surface. Each stroke was careful, slow, reverent. A sky unfolding. A map no one else could see.

Sometimes, when I was finished, he’d flex his fingers slightly, and the stars would shimmer. Smudge. Shift. And I’d scowl like I didn’t expect it, even though I always did.

But other times, he’d just let them sit there—those tiny galaxies drawn down the pathways of his hands—like he knew they weren’t really stars. Like he knew they were promises.

And like he needed them anyway.

“I learned constellations just so I could give them to you,” I say now. “I didn’t have anything else. Not really. No money. No gifts. Just ink and time and my hands.”

“You gave me more than that,” he says quietly. “You gave me a map.”

My chest pulls tight. I don’t answer.

“You said it would help me find my way back,” he continues, the words hesitant now, like he’s stepping over glass. “Even if I got lost. Even if I was taken away.”

I turn my head toward him. His profile is made of angles and shadows, but I see him. I see the boy he used to be beneath the man the Capitol sculpted. I see the softness he buried.

“I didn’t think you’d ever really leave.” I whisper.

He’s silent for a long time. Too long.

“I didn’t think I’d have to,” he says finally, and his voice cracks like something old breaking open again.

The ache between us spreads like ink in water.

I reach out before I can stop myself. My fingers brush against his wrist, finding the place I used to start with. That delicate patch of skin beneath the bones, where his pulse beats like it remembers me. I press there, gently. My thumb moves in a slow, absent circle. My body remembers the motion of drawing.

“I always started with Altair.” I whisper.

His breath catches. “You did.”

“Three dots. A line.”

“You were always so careful about it,” he says, his voice low, almost tender. “So precise. You’d tilt your head when you worked, like you were trying to see the stars from a different angle. Bite the inside of your cheek when you were focused. You got ink on your nose half the time.”

A laugh escapes me, soft and slightly stunned by the memory. It catches in my throat, but it’s real—like it came from somewhere deep and untouched by the passing years. “And you never told me.”

His silence lingers for a moment, and then the faintest smile touches his lips, but it’s more in the way his eyes soften than anything else. “I liked watching you forget the world.”

The air feels thicker between us now, heavier with the weight of something unspoken, something raw. It’s an intimacy that feels familiar, but different, like we’re seeing each other in a light we haven’t allowed ourselves to look at in far too long.

I trace the memory of Altair now, just the lightest touch of my fingertip across his skin. No ink. No need for it. The shape is still there, imprinted beneath the surface, burned into both of us. A constellation we never erased. A story neither of us stopped carrying, no matter how much time has passed or how much we tried to forget.

His voice is quieter now, almost reverent when he speaks. “Why Altair?”

I pause, my finger hovering for just a second longer. The air around us feels thick with the weight of his question, as if the answer means more than I ever realized. I exhale slowly before speaking, my words soft but sure. “It was the first star I learned. It means the flying bird in Arabic.”

He’s quiet for a long time, the kind of silence that feels like it could stretch on forever if we let it. I keep tracing, my finger moving along his skin like it’s the only thing tethering me to the past.

“You were so angry, back then,” I murmur, more to myself than to him, though I know he hears me. “And quiet. Like you didn’t trust the world not to hurt you, so you stayed locked up tight. I think… I wanted to give you something gentle. Something that didn’t take. Something that didn’t demand anything.”

Regulus randomly flinched, one hand shooting up to the back of his neck. He pressed his palm there for a beat too long, like he was trying to smother a sudden sting.

“Something I could hold,” he says, the words fragile, like they might slip away if he doesn’t let them go now.

I nod, my throat tight, and keep tracing, my hand steady despite the trembling inside me. “Something you could follow.” I whisper back, the words tasting bittersweet on my tongue. It’s the truth, and maybe that’s what makes it hurt the most.

He shifts. His wrist turns under mine, his fingers brushing my palm. The contact is so slight, but it feels like gravity.

“That’s when you started calling me Starling,” I say softly, watching him through the dark.

But he shakes his head, slow and certain. “That’s when I understood why.”

I blink. “What?”

He exhales, like the words cost something to carry. “The first time you sang to me, I called you Starling. I think I was twelve. Maybe younger. But I didn’t understand the name then. Not really.” His voice drops lower now, like he’s peeling something open inside himself—something delicate, something hidden. “Not until you started tracing constellations on my arms with your fingers. Not until I saw how you looked at the night—like you could read it.”

I stay quiet. There’s something sacred about his voice right now. Like if I speak too soon, it’ll break the spell.

“You didn’t just look up at the stars,” he says. “You pulled them down. Wove them into songs. Hid them in your laugh. In the way you moved. I started calling you Starling because I thought it sounded small and beautiful. Something fragile, something soft.”

He pauses, and I feel it more than I hear it—that moment when something shifts in him.

“But then I saw you,” he continues, quieter now. “Really saw you. And I realized… you were never small.”

His voice hitches, just slightly, like the truth is scraping its way out of him.

“You made me feel like you were reachable,” he says. “And that terrified me.”

My breath stutters.

I want to tell him he was the only one I ever drew stars for—that no one else’s skin ever felt sacred enough to hold a sky. That I memorized the way his veins curved just so I could map the constellations with more care on his pale skin. That I sometimes woke up at night with ink-stained fingers, reaching out for a boy who was already fading into headlines and hollow eyes.

Instead, I just look at him.

“You always smudged them,” I say.

He closes his eyes. “I know. But I remembered every single one.”

It happens so fast, I almost don’t have time to understand it. One moment, I’m lying there beside him, my fingers gliding over his skin, tracing the shapes of constellations that feel almost sacred—quiet, intimate. The moment is soft, and time feels still, a fleeting sense of peace that I cling to like a lifeline.

But then, without warning, everything shifts. It’s not like the breathless panic I’ve felt before, the kind you get when you're running, heart pounding, lungs gasping for air. No, this is something entirely different.

This is fire. It burns through me, flooding my chest with heat so sharp it feels like it could tear me apart from the inside. It steals my breath in one agonizing, violent wave. My ribs feel like they’re closing in, the air choking on its way out, and I can’t do anything but gasp in frantic desperation.

A scream claws its way up my throat, raw and strangled, as if it wants to rip through me, but it doesn’t come out right. It’s twisted—broken.

It’s not even a scream anymore. It’s just agony, squeezing the air out of my lungs, twisting it into something unrecognizable. I claw at my throat, desperate for some relief, for just a single breath. But the fire inside only grows, the pain consuming everything until all I know is the burning in my chest. The stars I was tracing, the peace I felt only moments before, seem like distant memories now. The world tilts, spins, and I can’t find my footing. Everything goes dark at the edges of my vision.

Regulus is there, though—his hands on me, pulling me toward him, but even his voice feels far away. I hear his name, his frantic shouts, but they don’t make sense. It’s like I’m drowning in this fire, trapped in a nightmare I can’t escape. The world around me starts to blur, a thick haze of panic and pain. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. All I can do is claw at my chest, trying to get air, trying to fight the fire that’s burning through me.

“Reg—” I try to say his name, but it comes out cracked and broken.

My fingers twitch, then seize. My whole body is shaking, twisting with something I can’t name. It feels like my insides are folding in on themselves, like they’re being turned to ash from the inside out.

Regulus is on his feet in an instant.

And then I feel it. A cold pressure on my neck, Regulus’s hands—frantic, shaking as he tries to steady me. His fingers are everywhere, his voice breaking through the fog of panic, but none of it matters. Nothing matters except for the suffocating burn that fills every inch of me. Every part of my body wants to scream again, but nothing comes out. Only the fire. Only the suffocating weight of it.

Regulus was on me in seconds. “What is it? What’s wrong?” His voice cracked. “Tell me where it hurts—tell me what’s happening—”

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t even find the air to scream. My throat burned. My vision blurred. It felt like something was crawling inside me, twisting up through my spine, dragging barbed wires through my veins. I hit the dirt, shaking.

“Reg—Regulus—” I choked out, barely managing the sound. “I—I can’t—”

He caught me before I collapsed fully, hands gripping my shoulders like he could hold my body together through force alone. “No, no, no—stay with me. Look at me. Breathe.” His voice was wild now, breaking in places. “Breathe, please. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

I dropped to the forest floor like a puppet with cut strings, convulsing, nails digging into the dirt. My insides felt like they were tearing, every nerve lit up with flame. “Can’t—breathe,” I gasped. “It��it hurts—inside—”

“Where?” Regulus dropped beside me, eyes wild. “Where does it hurt? Starling—look at me.”

My hand flew to my ribs, fingers twitching violently. Regulus followed the motion, his hands already on me, searching, trying to stop the shaking. I could feel the panic building in him, in his breath, in the sharpness of his voice. “What is this? What did this?”

Evan stumbled out from behind the trees, his face pale, eyes wide with confusion. He looked between Regulus and me, his breath shallow and quick. "What’s going on?" His voice cracked, the panic seeping through with every word.

Regulus's voice was tight, his eyes frantic as they flicked over me. “She’s hurt.” His words were clipped, jagged. “She was fine—just a second ago—”

I tried to speak, to tell them I was fine, but the words wouldn’t come. My throat constricted, and I choked again, a violent, desperate gasp of air that scraped through me. The pain was crawling up my chest now, sharper, more intense with each passing second. It was a fire, biting at my insides, and it felt like I was being torn apart from the inside out.

Regulus was still watching me closely, his hands trembling at his sides. Then, in an instant, his gaze snapped down to my shirt. His eyes locked on the blood, barely visible at first, just a thin red line starting to stain the fabric beneath my ribs.

His breath hitched, and I heard him mutter, almost to himself, "A cut." Then, louder, with a growing urgency, “There. A thorn. A branch must’ve scratched her—”

I wanted to shake my head, to tell them it wasn’t that, that it wasn’t just a scratch, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. The pain was suffocating, pulling me deeper into something I couldn’t escape.

Evan stepped closer, his expression stark with fear. “She barely moved,” he said, his voice trembling. His gaze flicked from me to Regulus, looking for answers.

Regulus's fingers brushed over my skin, just above the wound. I felt the slightest touch, and I screamed again, the sound tearing through me like a jagged, broken thing. The pain intensified, the fire spreading through my chest and down my limbs, as if the poison was winding its way through every part of me.

Regulus's face went pale, the reality of the situation sinking in. “It’s poisoned,” he said, his voice low, dark with the weight of the truth.

“Fast-acting. It must’ve been one of the plants.” His words were grim, carrying the knowledge of something far worse than a simple wound. The poison was already inside me, coursing through my veins, and I could feel it.

He moved quickly, grabbing cloth from the first-aid kit and pressing it against the wound, hard, as though trying to stop the poison from spreading. I barely registered the motion, my head swimming with the overwhelming sensation of burning, of being torn apart from the inside out.

“Stay with me,” Regulus’s voice cut through the haze, hoarse and desperate. His eyes were locked onto mine, his face drawn tight with fear, but his hands were steady, pressing the cloth harder against my side. “Look at me. Breathe, Starling. Please.”

The world started to fade. The edges of my vision blurred, the colors and shapes melting into a dull, dark haze. My limbs felt distant, almost foreign, as though I couldn’t feel them at all. There was ringing in my ears, a high-pitched whine that clawed at my mind, and I thought—I thought—I might lose myself in it.

Regulus’s hand gripped mine, his voice low but firm. “Stay with me, (Y/N), I need you to fight this. Please.”

I wanted to tell him I couldn’t. I wanted to tell him it was too much, that I was already slipping away, but the words wouldn’t form.

And then, as if the world itself had decided to turn against us, I felt the ground shudder beneath us.

At first, it was just a tremor, a soft shake that could’ve been mistaken for a gust of wind, but then it intensified. The trees around us creaked and groaned, their trunks bending unnaturally as though they were being pulled by an invisible force. The leaves rustled, a low, eerie whisper carried by the wind.

The ground beneath our feet shifted again, a deep, unsettling rumble like the earth itself was alive and angry.

Regulus’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with panic. “The arena... it’s changing.”

The trees began to move. Not just sway in the wind, but move. Their branches twisted, reaching down like fingers grasping for something to hold, something to claim. The ground beneath us seemed to shift, warping and rippling in ways that defied logic. It was as if the earth itself was trying to consume us, to pull us deeper into its hungry depths.

Regulus pulled me up, his hands shaking as he dragged me to my feet. “We need to get out of here. Now!”

Evan was already moving, his face a mixture of disbelief and terror. “What’s going on? What the hell is happening?”

“There’s no time!” Regulus shouted, urgency flooding his voice as he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes frantic. “The trees—look at the trees!”

I could barely keep up, each step feeling like a battle against the poison coursing through my veins, my limbs weak and unresponsive. But I could hear it—the snap of branches, the groan of the earth, the sudden, unnatural stillness that filled the air. Something was coming.

And then, we saw them.

Through the trees, coming toward us, two figures emerged.

Caradoc Dearborn and Charity Burbage, both from District 10.

Their weapons drawn, their faces grim. They didn’t see us at first. Their focus was elsewhere—on the shifting ground, the movement in the trees, the unsettling sounds of the arena alive with fury.

But then, they stepped too close.

Charity took another step forward, her eyes still scanning the shifting landscape, her footsteps heavy against the uneven ground. The wind was picking up, howling through the trees as the air grew thicker, heavier. The world felt off balance, like something had tipped and we were all about to fall into its chaos.

She didn’t notice it at first, the ground beneath her feet moving, the soil rippling like water disturbed by a pebble. She took another step—and then, with a sickening crack, the earth buckled beneath her.

Her foot sank into the ground like it was soft mud, but there was no give, no escape. She tried to pull it out, but the ground around her was shifting, curling around her ankle like a viper’s grip.

Charity’s scream rang out, but the earth didn’t let her escape. She tried to pull her leg free, but the ground twisted around her, thick roots and vines wrapping around her like serpents. Her hands scraped at the soil, but it was no use—the earth had claimed her.

Caradoc rushed forward, his face pale with fear, but before he could reach her, the ground opened wide beneath his feet. His body jerked as he fell, his hands flailing for something—anything—but the roots shot out like claws, dragging him under.

His eyes locked onto mine, wide with terror, as the earth swallowed him whole. He struggled, his body convulsing, but the soil was stronger, crushing him until there was nothing left but an empty hole where he had been.

The arena stood still for a moment, as if savoring the silence it had created. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. The echoes of their deaths reverberated in my chest, the horror of what the arena could do to us settling like a cold stone in my gut.

The forest was trying to eat us.

My breath came in short, ragged bursts against Regulus’s neck. I could feel his heart pounding like a war drum.

Regulus had me in his arms before I fully understood I couldn't walk. My legs had gone limp, a dull weight dragging behind the panic in my chest. I could feel my fingers twitching against his shoulder, but I couldn't lift them. The pain had shifted—no longer sharp, just heavy. Like something inside me was curling inward, fading.

“I’ve got you, love” Regulus murmured, voice close to my ear. I could feel the strain in it, the tightness, like he was fighting to keep it from cracking. “Just hold on. Please.”

The nickname made me want to cry.

Evan was ahead, hacking at a wall of thick vines that had grown impossibly fast, curling over the path we’d come from. The ground shook beneath us—roots bulging and splitting the earth, trees bending low like giants being pulled from the sky.

The Garden wasn’t just alive. It was hunting.

“Faster,” Evan called back, his voice wild with terror. “It’s closing!”

My breath hitched again. Regulus faltered, feeling it.

“(Y/N)?” he asked, stopping just for a second. His eyes met mine, desperate. “Stay awake. Stay with me. Just a little longer, alright?”

I wanted to answer. I wanted to tell him I was trying. That I didn’t mean to be slipping. But my lips were too heavy.

“I don’t want to go.” I finally managed, my voice barely a breath.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said fiercely. “You don’t get to leave me. Not again. Not like this.”

A branch snapped behind us. The ground moaned as if something deep beneath it had begun to stir.

Regulus turned and ran, gripping me tighter against his chest. I could feel the pounding of his heart, fast and wild. For a moment, I imagined I was the star again—drawn on his skin, clinging to the lines of his pulse.

Behind us, the trees twisted inward, forming a wall of writhing limbs and screaming bark. The last glimpse I caught was a blood-red moon above the canopy, blinking like an eye.

Evan screamed again—something about the path—but all I could hear now was Regulus’s breathing. Harsh. Panicked. Real.

The world was shaking. The earth howled. And through it all, Regulus ran.

I wanted to tell him thank you. I wanted to say his name. I wanted to scream.

But all I could do was close my eyes and hope the forest didn't get there first.

They are watching us, always.

It is only day two, and already the Garden is trying to chew through our bones.

The Capitol has teeth.

taglist: @fadingcollectivenightmare @spidermansfangirl @foulwaterss @slaybestieslay946 @aelinwya @yvessentials @sickly-afraid @urfunnyvalentin3 @hufflebubble53

#regulus black #regulus black x reader #regulus black angst #regulust black fluff #regulus black x reader angst #regulus black x you #regulus black x reader fluff #hunger games au #marauders era #marauders x reader #marauders fluff #marauders angst #marauders x reader angst #marauders x reader fluff #regulus arcturus black #the hunger games #marauders hunger games #colouredbyd

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hughesmybaby · 1 year ago

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english love affair

social media au

kpop idol!reader x tom blyth

fc: jennie kim

i love making these and have some in my drafts so feel free to send requests/face claim requests/suggestions

(ps: i had to redo this bc the first time i posted not only did it not post, it didn’t save any of my changes so i had to do it again. 😭)

Requests are OPEN for both soc med aus and blurbs for Tom and his characters

yourusername

liked by zendaya and others

@calvinklein

hunterschafer beautiful girl

liked by yourusername

↪️yourusername that’s you babes 😘

taylorswift so proud of you hon

lola.tung can’t wait to see your pretty face all on the billboards AHH

tomblyth ❤️

liked by yourusername

↪️ user23 OH?

↪️ fan98 they know each other?

↪️ user9 and she liked!

user8 insert olivia wilde nodding meme

random56 when you’re that girl!

username7 y/n world domination she’s a singer dancer rapper songwriter producer model like what can she not do

ynfans

liked by randomuser and others

y/n has now followed actor tom blyth who has recently stared in the new hunger games movie the ballad of songbirds and snakes!

he has previously liked and commented on her recent post, and she’s stated previously that she’s a fan of the trilogy and has watched this new movie multiple times!

ynfan98 this is interesting bc she barely follows ppl as it is

user76 the way she’s barely active on social media and does this she’s so old lady coded 😭

user12 DID YALL SEE TOMS THIRST TRAP

↪️ user8 HIS WHAT?!

↪️ username6 YES SKDKDK not even a few hours since she followed now he’s like this

↪️ random87 real because i’d be thirst trapping to get her attention

tomblyth

liked by yourusername and others

outtakes from my recent vogue italia shoot

user1 ok thirst trap

ynfan NOT HIM POSTING THIS RIGHT AFTER YOURNAME FOLLOWS HIM BACK

↪️ random488 HES SO REAL

↪️ user978 IM CRYING HES SO HOT

↪️ user11 AND IT WORKED SHE LIKED BACK

rachelzegler you look okay i guess 🙄

↪️ tomblyth i’ll take it

mayahawke looking good my boy

↪️ tomblyth 👍

↪️ random5 his millennial ahh reply 😭

liked by mayahawke

yourusername stunning

liked by tomblyth

↪️ user12 not him acting coy after that thirst trap when she followed him 😭

↪️ user9 he thinks he’s slick when he’s probably fangirling she’s noticing him

user12 how did they meet not my worlds colliding

↪️ random1 probably rachel introduced them yk how rach is a social butterfly

liked by rachelzegler

↪️ user9 see? rach liking just confirms it she set them up

blythnation

liked by tbfns and others

tom’s now deleted story (1.12.2024)

user097 not him deleting this naurrr

tomfans wait my friends said they saw him in london what is he doing there if he ain’t filming anything?

user64 wait the shoes he’s holding look like something yn would wear at the recent gala in london hold on 👀👀

↪️ username678 you’re so right cause coincidence i think not

↪️ random75 maybe he went as her date! it’s a big night for her and her career. how sweet!

yourusername

liked by naomi and others

A huge honour to receive the Honorary MBEs and attend the South Korea-UK State Banquet at Buckingham Palace 🎖️💂‍♀️

onyourm_ark congrats y/nnie!

↪️ yourusername thanks markles im gonna cry omg

↪️ johnnyjsuh so proud of you y/n 🎉🥳

dualipa you’re one of us now 🥰🥰

↪️ yourusername kisses kisses hugs hugs

↪️ user87 one of us like 👀interesting

↪️ person97 cause she got an english man too

oliviarodrigo congrats my love!

liked by yourusername

↪️ yourusername thank you angel ✨

↪️ random97 wait both my girls booed up by english boys they’re on the same wavelength

username188 am i dreaming or does the shoes on tom’s deleted story match her dress

↪️ ynfan I SEE IT OMG did they go together

↪️ fan65 my cousin who works at the palace apparently heard he entered through the private back entrance to attend the ball and seated where he’s not visible by the camera

↪️ user97 so cute for her to bring him as a date! must be serious tho

↪️ randomuser7 great he attended and supported her during one of the biggest nights of her career but didn’t hog the spotlight

↪️ user121 a real man wouldn’t be threatened by a woman’s success

liked by yourusername

↪️ user53 exactly yn deserves someone who knows his place and that she’s a star and not to be jealous and try to stifle her talent and creativity and personality

yourusername posted a story

#tom blyth fanfiction #tom blyth imagine #tom blyth x reader #coriolanus snow #coriolanus snow imagine #coriolanus snow x reader #coriolanus x you #tom blyth #tom blyth x you #social media aus #kpop idol reader

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coryoskywalker · 2 years ago

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Save Me (Part One) Young! Coriolanus Snow x Reader

Description - Coriolanus has returned to the capitol after his time serving as a peacekeeper with one thing on his mind…..you. (Basically Coriolanus and Reader reuniting with unspoken feelings)

Ps I wrote this half asleep so don’t mind the grammar mistakes

———————————————————————————

Coriolanus Snow had always been one for the rules and following them, but the Hunger Games... well, it was hard to follow the rules in the games if it meant losing your life. After having cheated in the games, the Capitol couldn't let him get away with nothing. Coriolanus Snow was forced out of the Capitol, sent away from his family and forced to become a Peacekeeper. And now, months later, as he walked through the Capitol, he looked almost unrecognizable. He had a stern expression on his face, never showing more than he had to.

Coriolanus Snow walked quietly through the campus of the academy that was in the Capitol. As he walked, he heard whispers about him. He almost couldn't understand what exactly people were saying about him, but he got the gist of it. They were talking about him, Coryo, a cheater and a liar and a traitor. Coriolanus had his face in a straight expression, looking at no one. His mind was blank except for one thought... finding you.

Coriolanus Snow walked through the library, but suddenly he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw you. He looked at you for a moment, a thought crossing his mind. What if he just... spoke to you? Coriolanus took a few deep breaths and started to walk towards you. As he walked up to yourself, he suddenly cleared his throat, which almost seemed to get your attention almost immediately.

“Coryo” you whispered.

Coriolanus Snow felt a chill as you called out his childhood nickname. He turned to face you, still with that blank expression on his face, but his mind was racing.

"y/n." He said quietly, keeping his voice low so only you could hear it. "Hello." He almost wished that he could see your expression right now.

“Where were you? No one told me where you went” you expressed.

"I was sentenced to become a Peacekeeper." Coriolanus said. It sounded silly to tell you that the Capitol had sent him to be a Peacekeeper, but it was true. "I had... broken the rules in order to keep my tribute alive." He almost wanted to punch himself in the face as he explained it. He was always someone that followed the rules, even if he may not like them, why had he broken the rules just to keep his tribute alive? Did he want her that badly?

“One would assume you have feelings for your tribute, lucygray” you teased him.

Coriolanus Snow looked at you, your words almost hitting a nerve in him, making him want to punch something. If only you knew how he felt about her... it would certainly change your perception of him, but Coriolanus kept his emotions hidden. "What?" He asked. "What a strange notion." He said mockingly, shaking his head. As if he could love Lucy. You just rolled your eyes with a smile planted on your face.

Coriolanus felt his face turn red. He had never felt like this before. When you looked at him with a small grin on your face, as if you already knew the reason he broke the rules in the Games. What was this feeling? Did he care this much about a tribute, that he wanted to break the rules for her? Coryo shook his head, trying to clear himself of all doubts and thoughts. "Nevermind that." He said blankly, forcing himself to calm down.

You nod “well Coryo come sit down. Tell me everything that has happened to you in the past few months” you spoke softly.

Coriolanus Snow, or Coryo, as many calls him, couldn't believe this was happening. You were…. smiling at him. You wanted to know about him, how he has been over the last few months. He couldn't understand why he felt nervous at this, it was almost a bad feeling, but he followed by going to sit beside her, still not looking at her. "Well... what do you want to know?" He asked bluntly.

“Everything”

Coriolanus felt a chill go up his spine as you said that. Tell you everything? The Capitol, what he had done, the guilt he carried? He wanted to tell her, he didn't want to keep these secrets anymore. The Capitol was where he made a mistake, telling you would help him feel... relief.

"Okay." He said, taking a breath. "Everything is a lot to say, but I guess I can tell you..." Coryo looked at the floor as he spoke.

He wasn't ready for you to look at him. Coriolanus told you everything. From how the Capitol had given him the position as a Peacekeeper, how he didn't fit in there, to the games. To the fact that he had broken the rules in order to keep Lucy alive. He expected you to walk away then and there, tell him what a monster he was, and never look at him again. But instead, she stayed, listening earnestly, then spoke quietly.

"I still think you did the right thing, Coryo." The words came as a shock. You didn't judge him. Instead, you... approved him? “You were willing to sacrifice everything to keep her alive. I find it admireable. I wish I was brave enough to do the same for my tribute” you spoke with admiration.

Coriolanus wasn't sure if he should feel flattered by her words or disturbed. His actions weren't something to be proud of. He had broken the rules in order to keep his tribute alive. While, in some way, you were telling him it was alright... Coriolanus thought back about his actions. He couldn't bring himself to feel proud nor shame for what he had done. Instead, he just felt... empty. "It was wrong to do it, y/n" He said, his voice soft. "I should have stayed loyal to the Capitol."

“The Capitol is corrupt Coriolanus”

Coriolanus felt a chill go down his spine as you spoke those words. You were right of course, the Capitol was corrupt. He knew it, had always known it, but there was always a part of him that believed the Capitol was just and right. But then, as he met your gaze and felt your steady eyes on him, something in him changed. "You're right. It is corrupt." He said, more to himself than to you.

#coriolanus snow x reader #young!coriolanus snow #tom blyth #tom blyth x reader #the hunger games #tbosbas #Spotify

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viennafantasies · 1 year ago

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𝜗𝜚- Character's I write for

Outer Banks: jj maybank, rafe cameron, john b routledge

The Vampire Diaries: damon salvatore, stefan salvatore, klaus mikaelson, kai parker, kol mikaelson, elijah mikaelson, jeremy gilbert, enzo st john

Pretty Little Liars: toby cavanaugh, caleb rivers, Jason dilaurentis

Glee: santana lopez & sam evans

Once Upon A Time: killian jones & peter pan

Brooklyn Nine Nine: jake peralta

Gossip Girl: chuck bass & nate archibald (for now)

Riverdale: archie andrews & jughead jones

The Office: luke cooper & jim halpert

Stranger Things: steve harrington & billy hargrove

Cobra Kai: miguel diaz, robbie keene & hawk aka: eli horowitz

The X Files: fox mulder

American Horror Story: tate langdon, kit walker, kyle spencer

Pen15: dustin long, brandt

Outnumbered: jake

Marvel: loki laufeyson, steve rogers, bucky barnes, peter parker

DC: bruce wayne, clark kent, dick grayson, joker

Hunger Games: finnick odair & peter malarky, ps. I haven't done cornelius bc I haven't watched the new movie :)

Harry Potter: ron weasley, draco malfoy, blaise zabini, mattheo riddle, tom riddle, lorenzo berkshire, theodore nott, lucian bole, james potter, sirius black, remus lupin, regulus black

Note: Let me know if you want any poly, my requests will be open by tomorrow. You can request whatever you want but it has to be x reader. I don't mind writing anything but be careful with warnings. I hope you have a great day!! mwah :) ps. tell me if you want fluff, smut or angst. I don't know how to do smut that well but I will try!

cba to do tags

still did it ...

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venusbyline · 1 year ago

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Hey guys, I'm Vênus (she/her). This is my new ff blog and requests are already open!

I really like writing dark, smut and/or angst contents for s/o x female readers.

Almost all the characters and artists I'll write for are tagged. Feel free to send me your writing requests on my ask. (ps¹: practically i'll write for all Jacob Elordi and Ryan Gosling's characters, there just wasn't enough space in the tags).

So don't be shy... I'm a member of the "toxic characters stan" too <3

ps²: some characters besides the other characters of Ryan Gosling and Jacob Elordi that I didn't put in the tags but that I can also write for:

Scream: Ethan Landry, Billy Loomis, Stu Macher.

Euphoria: Rue Bennet, Jules Vaughn, Ethan Lewis, Lexi Howard, Chris McKay, Fezco.

Hunger Games: Lucy Gray Baird, Katniss Everdeen, Sejanus Plinth, Johanna Mason, Treech, Clemensia Dovecote, Tigris Snow, Haymitch Abernathy.

MCU: Tom Holland!Peter Parker & Andrew Garfield!Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Wanda Maximoff.

Daisy Jones & The Six: Eddie Roundtree, Daisy Jones, Camila Dunne.

The Vampire Diaries: Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore, Silas, Rebekah Mikaelson, Katherine Pierce.

Margot Robbie: Barbie, Harley Quinn.

Gossip Girl: Chuck Bass, Nate Archibald, Carter Baizen, Blair Waldorf.

YOU: Love Quinn, Joe Goldberg.

Harry Potter: Cedric Diggory, Hermione Granger, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black.

Grey's Anatomy: Jackson Avery, Derek Shepherd, Mark Sloan, Alex Karev.

Outer Banks: Rafe Cameron, JJ Maybank.

Anyway, more characters can be added here over time!

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hrtsdevils · 2 years ago

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you’re no prize either. | jh86

summary actress!reader instagram au.. she’s a star!!! miss lucy gray baird herself. she dated jack. the fans know it. they hate on each other!

pairings jack hughes x ex!reader

a/n i’m obsessed with tbosas and idk where else to perpetuate my obsession fc is rachel zegler!! my love!

november 27, 2023

yourusername

liked by tomblyth, colecaufield, ryleighwhite_, and 653,289 others

yourusername oh the love i have for this cast, this movie, and lucy gray baird. my life has changed so much, and for the better!! i’ve met so many new people and learned so many new lessons ❤️

shoutout to queen suzanne for creating the loml lucy gray ☺️ and shoutout to everybody for making tbosas possible! i love you all

ps i sang the ballad of lucy gray baird with real experiences in mind.. iykyk;)

tagged nyrangers

view all 23879 comments

ryleighwhite_ YOURE SO CUTE AND SO PERFECT AND I MISS U ❤️❤️ (so does daws)

yourusername @/ryleighwhite_ I MISS U GUYS?!!! i’ll see u soon! next rags game?

ryleighwhite_ @/yourusername YES!! as long as u wear devils gear ☺️

user292 mercers the opp 💀

tomblyth so much fun working with you, mockingjay ❤️❤️

yourusername @/tomblyth youre my bff. I LOVE YOU.

user54 HER AND TOM ARE EVERYTHINGGGGG!!! never thought a man could make me like peepaw snow

colecaufield congrats!! it was a great movie:)

yourusername @/colecaufield COLEE thank you so much i tried very hard!!!

colecaufield @/yourusername you’re so awesome

trevorzegras @/colecaufield wrong team

yourusername @/trevorzegras sorry jack’s boyfriend

user45 I LAUGHEDDDDDD she ate him up

user76 @/user45 ate what?? the crumbs 💀

lhughes_06 good job y/n

user76 not her leaving jack for knock off draco malfoy like 💀💀

user32 @/user76 you’re so weird they aren’t even dating lmao

user76 @/user32 okay well she still flopped!! glad lucy bird died

user59 @/user76 i love jack and her but she is not a flop… she has the #1 movie in the world rn and what does jack have???

user76 @/user59 his sexyness!

yourbff UR SO GOOD AND INSANE AND TALENTED AND MOMMY

yourbff I LOVE SEXY INDEPENDENT WOMEN!

yourusername @/yourbff sexy indepdnent women love you

yourusername @/yourusername indipejdent

yourusername @/yourusername independent!

user86 no one’s gonna talk abt her going to the rangers game i’m deadddd she’s obsessed

user09 queen lucy gray baird future oscar winner

november 27, 2023

jackhughes

liked by trevorzegras, user76, lhughes_06 and 157,902 others

jackhughes workin hard or hardly workin?

i like katniss evergreen better anyways 🏹🏹

tagged colecaufield

view all 4936 comments

user35 this bitch has never watched a hunger games movie in his life

user59 jacquelyn… what is that caption… delete this rn!

user76 @/user59 it’s him eating lucy bird up

user59 @/user76 ur sm like jack!! you can’t spell these names right

colecaufield why are u associating me with your perpetual hate

trevorzegras @/colecaufield WRONG. TEAM.

_alexturcotte @/trevorzegras jack cant even spell everdeen right im not on his team rn either

jackhughes @/colecaufield @/_alexturcotte you guys are cruel

colecaufield @/jackhughes you’re cruel

_alexturcotte @/jackhughes LEARN TO SPELL!!!! put some respect on katniss’ name

lhughes_06 why?????

jackhughes @/lhughes_06 what did i do

lhughes_06 @/jackhughes you’re so dumb

user45 she was my fave wag.. whyd he fumble!!!!!

user34 @/user45 goodbye y/n! we hardly knew you 🙁

nicohischier I loved Y/n in TBOSAS

colecaufield @/nicohischier real of you nico

user09 i wanna know what happened between them LMAO

_quinnhughes i thought u liked the movie? u said u watched it when it came out lol

jackhughes @/_quinnhughes BRO

yourusername @/jackhughes aw jack how heartwarming!

jackhughes @/yourusername you’re horrible.

yourusername @/jackhughes well you’re no prize either 😉

#jack hughes x reader #jack hughes #nj devils #luke hughes #cole caufield #new jersey devils #dawson mercer #alex turcotte #trevor zegras #hockey blurb #hockey instagram au #hockey fic #nhl insta edit #nhl fic #nhl hockey #nj devils hockey #quinn hughes #hughes brothers

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starrylanex · 1 year ago

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YOU ARE IN LOVE

PAIRING - finnick odair x reader

SUMMARY - based on the song ‘You Are In Love’ by taylor swift

WC - 1k

EXTRA - implied relationship, lower case intended, one use of y/n,

NOTES - hi angels, i was listening to 1989 and i cooked this up lol enjoy<3

PS. - english isn’t my first language so if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes please don’t hesitate to point then out:))

—

the room was dark, so dark that it was almost impossible to see anything, but your eyesight was already used it, to the point were you could easily point out your lover laying next you. you could tell finnick was also looking at you, and only you. as if all he ever wanted to look was you.

both of you were exhausted, both physically and mentally after finding out that there was a possibility both of you could get reaped in the hunger games once again. you had cried so much, that at that point you were sure there were no more tears left in you.

and now, you had found yourself just simply laying in your bed next to finnick, both of you facing each other, and just taking it all in. because frankly neither of you knew how much time you had left.

the room was only illuminated by the moon, as both of you had forgotten to close the blinds. the moonlight reflected from the chain on your neck, the chain of a necklace finnick had gifted you after you came back alive from winning your games.

you didn’t move when his hand came up to your face and brushed a piece of your hair that fell in your eyes, so gentle that if you didn’t see it, you would be sure that it wasn’t there. you closed your eyes, savoring his touch, as a single tear fell from your eye.

“look up darling,” you heard him whisper in front of you. obeying him, you turned on your back and opened your eyes, only to see the beautiful reflections on the ceiling of your bedroom. the moonlight was reflecting from your charm and onto the ceiling, illuminating a beautiful marble like shadows.

your shoulders brushed his as he mirrored your movements. no proof, one touch. but you felt enough. neither of you had any energy left to say anything, and so the room was once again endorsed in the comfortable silence. but it was enough.

you could see it with the lights out. because it was enough. you were sure you were in love. and there was nothing else that mattered at that moment. because it was pure, and even tho you were nothing but, the love you had for finnick was just that. true, innocent love.

the next morning you woke up to the smell of a burnt toast, and your beloved finnick was nowhere to be seen in your room.

you quickly pulled over one of his shirts, and wondered out in the the kitchen of your home, where you saw him standing. his shirtless back facing you, and his hair wet, meaning he had already went to swim, as he continued to cook the eggs, without even realizing you were there.

and for once, you let it all go. you let your fears and ghost go and relaxed, forgetting previous events for at least a little bit. barefoot, you approached finn, and not wanting to scare him, you gently wrapped your hands around his torso, and laid your head on his back, hugging him from behind.

“morning baby,” you were the first to break the silence and kissed his back, only to feel his hand sneak around yours and squeeze them as in saying morning back.

strange. usually he was the talkative one in the morning, greeting you with his charming smile and a kiss on the lips, no matter what he was doing. so you immediately knew that something was wrong.

well, technically everything was wrong. as the news had arrived like a sudden storm. and thinking that maybe everything would be normal again was selfish of you.

you moved next to him, as he turned the stove off. you could finally see him now. finnick’s jaw was clenched, his now free hands fisted at his sides as he struggled to contain the storm of emotions raging within him.

your heart sank, not because you were afraid of him, but because you were afraid for him and how destructive his mind could be on himself. the air in the room hang heavily with tension.

“we can’t just sit here and do nothing,” finnick muttered, his voice edged with frustration. "there has to be a way out of this mess."

he was finally looking at you, eyes sharp and fearful and full of determination, “i dont think there is anything we can do finn. we’re just two people against the entire capitol."

finnick stopped his pacing. "we can fight. we can refuse to be pawns in their twisted game. we can make them see that we're not just pieces to be sacrificed for their entertainment.”

"and how do you suggest we do that?" you countered, your voice tinged with bitterness. "they hold all the power, finnick. we're at their mercy."

finnick's jaw clenched, his fists balling at his sides. "I refuse to believe that we're powerless y/n. we may not have control over the reaping, but we have control over how we face it. we can choose to go down fighting."

you shook your head, your voice barely a whisper. "and what if fighting only brings us more pain? what if it leads to more bloodshed, more suffering?"

finnick's resolve wavered for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing his features. but then he straightened, his gaze hardening with determination.

"we can't let fear dictate our actions darling," his voice now calm. "we have to hold onto hope, even in the darkest of times. we have to believe that there's a chance, however slim, that we can change our fate."

you knew he was right, you had to take any slim chance you had. and maybe with katniss, you did have a chance. at least you hoped you did.

that night, neither of you could really sleep. you didn’t go to bed without solving a fight, and even tho this wasn’t really a fight, you still made up. and once again, you found yourselves in the same position as you the night before.

thought, he had a strange look on his face as the two of you looked at each other. his brows furrowed, but eyes still held his spark. he took a deep breath, and gently- with fatherly touch he stroke your cheek, “darling, you’re my best friend, you know that right?”

and in that moment, you knew that he was in love too.

#fanfic #x reader #finnick odair x you #finnick odair fluff #finnick x you #finnick odair x reader #finnick odair fanfic #finnick x reader #finnick odair #hunger games finnick #the hunger games x reader #the hunger games

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depressopax · 2 years ago

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Masterlist - Multifandom

I only write for 18+ characters I will mostly write gender neutral or female readers, but if wanted I can try writing for others too! :) I'm also open to requests! (Scenarios, characters, headcanons etc) PS: English is not my first language, so if I make any (spelling) mistakes, please let me know how I can improve my writing. <3

Introduction of myself can be found here!

Meet the creator

All my work is avaliable on AO3 too! More info can be found here (tumblr post)

Rules for request

Smut - ❤‍🔥 Fluff - ☁ Angst - 💔

Current fandoms I'm writing for & which characters (Only queue, for masterlist specific fandom, click the links!)

La casa de papel Masterlist

Nairobi/Ágata Jiménez

Tokyo/Silene Oliviera

Berlin/Andrés de Fonollosa

Denver/Daniel Ramos - Relationship headcanons SFW ☁ WIP NSFW ❤‍🔥 WIP

Professor/Sergio Marquina - Relationship headcanons SFW ☁ WIP NSFW ❤‍🔥 WIP

Alicia Sierra (One) night stand ❤‍🔥 WIP

Berlin Spinoff characters

Others NSFW alphabet WIP

Breaking Bad Masterlist

Mike Ehrmantraut Engagement/marriage HC's [request] ☁

Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill

Kim Wexler

Jesse Pinkman - Lucky ones ☁ WIP

Nacho Varga

Others Sugar arrangement (multiple characters) ❤‍🔥WIP

LCDP x BCS AU

Masterlist

From ABQ with love, Nacho - Nacho Varga spinoff

The Hunger Games (& TBOSAS)

Masterlist

Haymitch Abernathy Wake up (scenario - gn! reader) WIP

Johanna Mason

Finnick Odair

Others

Other fandoms

Twin Peaks Masterlist

Dale Cooper NSFW alphabet WIP

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cupidwritessillystories · 5 months ago

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Cupids' Introduction

Hello there! My name is Cupid! I'm gonna be your new multifandom writer ☆

Here's a little something about me and what can you expect from this blog:

What I write:

Reader x character

Character x character

Headcanons

Romantic and platonic

Fem!reader

G/n!reader

Male!reader

Slow burn, fluff, angst, truly everything and anything you want me to! (Except maybe NSFW which i don’t feel comfortable writing just yet , sorry! (◞‸ ◟)💧)

What i don't write: as i mentioned earlier, only NSFW is off limits for now

Media i write from: Honkai Star Rail, Genshin, The last of us, Arcane, Valorant, Atla and Tlok, GoT, Demon slayer, pj sekai, the hunger games

Blogs purpose: i made this blog just as much for you guys as i did for myself :3 my purpose is to write, of course, because i like it and because i want others to enjoy my work! I'll be posting fanfics mainly, maybe some original work one day? Probably not, because i have the tendency to abondon my ideas halfway through, but who knows （´∇｀''）

Requests: open

[Request rules: click here!]

Ps. Watch out for spelling/grammar mistakes, I'm still learning english and how to write in english! I appreciate constructive criticism and advices :3

Love always, Cupid ♡

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nubisaureus · 2 years ago

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office sex with Wriothesley

pairing: fem!reader x Wriothesley, undercover agent!reader x Wriothesley, sub!reader x Dom!Wriothesley

content(s): pet names (princess, innocent little thing), spanking, bondage, hint of breeding?, oral (male receiving), vaginal fingering, implied voyeurism, exhibitionism, marking, improper use of Cryo?, cockwarming, cuddling, oral fixation, D/s, praise, slight degradation

word count: 1.76k

NSFW, minors DO NOT interact

a/n listen I'm in my Wriothesley brainrot era so i just had to T^T been having the unholiest thoughts about this man (SIGH. HE GOT ME DOWN BAD.)Anyways, enjoy! <3 ps. not proofread otherwise assignments would kick my ass faster than yall be pulling for waifus and husbandos pps. yes the formatting is sloppy but bear with me I can't stick to one style to save my life I swear

‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

«Wriothesley…» you whine as the black haired man passionately ravishes your neck, a trail of sloppy kisses coating it with his saliva.

«Hm?» he acknowledges your call, his lips pressing ever so roughly on your sensitive neck, focusing on the crook.

«The office door is not locked.» you state, unable to tear your hands away from his hair, as if it were the only thing keeping you from losing your mind for the Lord of the Fortress you were supposed to be working for and have a mere professional relationship with.

«And..?» his head wanders around, his lips landing on your collarbone, sucking the skin on it, which would have undoubtedly left a hickey.

«And..someone could walk in on us.» you distance yourself a bit, taking him in. You need to kiss every scar on his goddamn body and face.

«Didn't think you'd mind that. Considering how you touch yourself in your cell whenever the guards are not around.» he wasn't wrong.

«How the fuck do you know that?»

«Such an innocent little thing. I know everything that happens in my domain.» he tears your shirt open, revealing the lack of a bra.

«You were eager to say the least, weren't you, [y/n]?» he gropes one breast, using his Cryo vision to slightly make your nipples cold, sending shivers down your spine.

«I- I wouldn't say that..» you feebly protest, as he grabs you from behind, making your bodies crash together.

You whine at the sudden sensory overload. Your skin was too sensitive after his little ice trick.

Your clothed crotches rub against each other, the friction intensifying your arousal.

«Feeling good?» he whispers in your ear, blowing a little bit of air in it.

«Yes daddy.» you mewl, as he roughly tears your shorts apart.

«Spread your legs wide, princess.» he orders, his voice raspy.

You can't help but comply, and soon enough your panties lie somewhere on the floor, just a useless trinket.

He traces your outer labia with one icy cold finger.

«So wet. And I haven't done anything yet.» he murmurs, while you can't help but try to get him closer to you.

You want his mouth on yours, so you grab him, his lips crashing onto yours as soon as he's close enough, making you moan on the spot.

With every expert movement of his tongue, every gentle tug at your hair, every cold breath on your lips, you got needier. Like an insatiable hunger was consuming you from your very core.

As he's bent on you, his tongue intertwining with yours, you hear metal clatter in the background.

And soon enough, the source of the sound becomes clear: his handcuffs.

The same handcuffs he'd always toy around with, resulting in prisoners being intimidated, while you both knew it was a game he enjoyed playing when he had to act like you two were just the Duke and an inmate like any other.

He snaps them open, making you sit up straight.

«Chest out, pretty girl. Put those arms behind you.» you do, and your breasts perk out at the motion, sending them jiggling in front of his hungry eyes.

You can sense the intensity in his stare: it feels like your body is about to catch on fire; he's staring at you like you're his prey, all his to enjoy.

«Such a good girl..» his words feel like electricity as he snaps the two metal rings onto your wrists, the sudden cold material making you flinch.

«Thanks daddy.» you give him the doe eyes, doing your best to display how submissive you feel, the growing bulge telling you you were doing a good job.

«You're so fucking gorgeous, princess.» he growls as he bends you over.

«That's it. Ass up for me. Spread those legs again.»

You can feel the cold air caressing your outer labia, yet can't determine where it comes rom: is it his breath? Is it him using his Cryo powers?

As three fingers enter you, your thoughts come to a halt: your entire mind gets flooded with pleasure, all the brain centers suddenly overstimulated simultaneously.

His free hand grabs your bound wrists, tugging at them so that you'd rise up a bit, making his fingers go deeper.

«That's it. Take them all. I know you want it.»

«N-ngh…» is the only sound you can mutter, as he uses his thumb to apply pressure on your clit, the pleasure so intense your vision starts blurring and little tears start rolling down your cheeks.

«F-fuck..!» you scream, but then bite your lip, the fear of being discovered subconsciously stopping you.

Smack.

A hard spank on your left butt cheek.

As his hand connects with your soft and warm flesh you squeal in surprise, drawing a hiss out of him.

«Wrio-» another spank.

«Try again, princess. I'm sure you'll find it in that pleasure intoxicated brain of yours, won't you?»

«Yes daddy.» your mouth moves before your brain, and you get rewarded with a kiss on the ass, exactly where his hand print is, you reckon.

«Don't you dare be quiet. I want to hear how much you desperately crave it, princess.» his voice is thick and raspy, lust corrupting his usual calm manner of speaking.

«B-but the door…!» you object, only to get spanked again.

«And what IF they hear you? Are you afraid they'll discover how much of a slut you are for me and my cock, hm?» he buries his fingers deeper in your pussy, leaving only his knuckles out.

«A-ah..!» you scream, arching your back higher.

In. Out. In. Out.

At one point you start bucking your hips to meet him, evidence being his groaning as your ass smacks his wrist, causing a slapping sound that echoes in the silence of his office, amplified by the hollow space beneath the floor.

«You're so tight..!» he groans, as he continues fingering you.

You moan his name over and over again, unable to resist his carefully calculated motions.

«I..I think I'm gonna cum..!» you scream yet again, as he inserts one last finger. Four long fingers stretching you out.

But, to your disappointment, it's over way too soon.

He retracts, leaving you hungry and empty, needing to be filled, a sense of emptiness overwhelming you.

«Daddy please…» you whine, as he lifts you up, making you sit with your legs spread out and your pussy facing him.

He shoves his fingers in your mouth, making you instinctively suck on them.

As you suck on his fingers drool starts escaping the corners of your mouth, dripping on your bare breasts.

Then suddenly you feel yourself drop on your knees, and uncontrollable urge to suck him off blossoming inside you.

«Oh? You're that eager, huh?» he comments, as he drags his fingers around, smearing your lips and cheeks with your own saliva. And then his cock is out in all its glory.

«I know, I know, princess. You want it so badly, don't you?» you nod eagerly, hands still tied behind your back.

You don't wait for his permission, you just take it in your mouth; his ungodly moans fill the room: there's just something so primal in hearing him moan your name with his voice, something that makes your arousal drip down your thighs.

He grabs your hair, moving your head up and down on his shaft, and you eagerly go along with it, feeling the taste of his pre-cum starting to spill.

«That's it, princess. Don't stop…!» he basically screams, as you feel his cock twitch in your mouth: finally, after what it seems like an eternity to him, he erupts in orgasm, spurting in your mouth.

You lick your lips clean as he helps you back to your feet, his eyes veiled with a post orgasmic bliss you know way too well.

«You've been so good, princess. You deserve a reward.» he cooes, kissing you. His hands are on your back, holding you gently as he deepens the kiss.

«Tell me. – his cold breath tickles your lips, making you shiver – You want my cock, don't you?»

You nod, staring at him in pure spellbound attraction. You can't tell what feeling rises in your heart, so you decide to ignore it for the time being.

Soon enough you can feel the delicious sensation of him stretching you out with his cock, filling you up to every last inch. You finally feel full again, the uncomfortable emptiness gone, filled by the only thing you had desired all day: HIM. You cry his name out, as he relentlessly pounds into you, your tits jiggling with every thrust of his big cock.

«You're even tighter now..!» he screams, as he continues pounding: his cock repeatedly hits your G-spot, making you see stars.

The pleasure is just too good, too overwhelming, your insides clenching around him, milking him dry.

«Daddy please I want to touch you..» you whine, as he relentlessly hammers himself into you.

«Please..» you beg again, extending your head to kiss his neck.

«You're so fucking cute, princess. Alright.» he finally gives in, freeing your wrists.

Your hands are instantly on his shirt: you tear it open, revealing his toned body marked with numerous scars.

You kiss one on his neck, licking his skin; little goosebumps surface, making you shiver.

Every thrust has your bodies crashing together, and you hold onto him for dear life, your nails probably leaving marks on his body, marking him like he marks you.

«I need you to cum with me, princess..!» he growls in your ear, as his mouth is now on your neck, biting hard, literally forgetting about the secrecy you were supposed to maintain.

His fingers travel down, and soon enough your clit is assaulted by his perfect ministrations, making you twitch and pant, your body leaning on him for support.

«Come on, princess. Give it to me. I need you to give me your all.» he cooes again, and soon enough you're cumming all over him, coating his shaft with your sweet arousal.

He follows right after, his cum filling you up to the brim, so much it starts leaking out, trickling down your spread thighs.

«That's a good girl.» he praises you, still inside you. He has no intention to break that sweet link between you two.

You end up cuddling with him on his lap while he's sitting on his office chair. He's covered you with his coat, making you rest his head on his warm chest, and you finally stop wondering if the entirety of the Fortress heard you or not.

#wriothesley #genshin wriothesley #the duke genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact wriothesley #genshin impact #genshin impact smut #genshin smut #smut #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin imagines #female reader #shameless smut #yall this man be living rent free in my head #more tags to be added

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colouredbyd · 3 months ago

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The Nightingale III: Starling In The Sky

Regulus Black x fem!reader Hunger Games AU

summary: Training pushes you and Regulus to limits as tensions rises behind closed doors. A hidden dress sparks old memories, and a sudden outburst changes the course of everything. ( i suck at summaries sorry)

warnings: Graphic violence, cussing, insecurties, mentions of weapons

word count: 6.8k

authors note: AHHH here it iss! The Nightingale is finally getting exciting, hope u guys love this chapter :D

ps. if there are any grammatical errors please feel free to correct me as english isnt my native language

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Mornings in the Capitol didn’t feel real. The light wasn’t warm or golden—it was too clean, too white, slicing through the glass like a scalpel. I opened my eyes slowly, hoping maybe I hadn’t. But the silk against my skin, the stillness of the room, the aching in my chest—none of it let me pretend.

I sat up, heart already racing. Two days. That’s all that was left. Two days before the Games began and everything ended.

Across the room, James stood near the window. His back was straight, arms crossed, eyes trained on something I couldn’t see. He looked more like a statue than a boy. When he noticed I was awake, he gave me a nod.

“You alright?” he asked softly.

I nodded, even though we both knew I wasn’t.

“What time is it?”

“Past seven. Marlene came by. Training starts in thirty.”

I pulled the covers back. My feet touched the cold marble floor and it startled me how alive it made me feel. The Capitol uniform was already laid out—sleek, fitted, black with silver seams. It looked like armor. It felt like surrender.

The elevator down to the Training Center was silent. James and I didn’t talk. We didn’t have to. The weight of what we were walking into spoke loud enough.

The Training Center was massive—cathedral-high ceilings and walls of glinting glass that caught the light like shards of ice. I’d pictured it before, but nothing prepared me for the cold perfection of it. The floor was so white it burned my eyes, gleaming like something sterilized, like even our fear would be wiped clean. Stations stretched out before us in sleek rows of steel and chrome, each one humming with quiet menace. Weapons hung along the walls like relics in a museum, too polished, too pristine—tools meant to kill made to look like art.

Tributes had already scattered across the room, testing stations with a reckless kind of bravado, their laughter too sharp, too loud. All of it felt like a show. A circus. A lie wrapped in glass.

And then I saw him.

Regulus stood at the far end of the room, alone. All black, no Capitol red, no gold, no shine. He looked like he’d been carved out of stone—sharp, cold, and beautiful in a way that made my stomach twist. There was no smile, no welcome. Just a curt nod and a wave of his hand, calling us forward like soldiers to a battlefield.

“We’ll start with observation,” he said, voice flat—controlled, but there was a thread unraveling beneath it. “I need to see how you move. What you know. What you’re afraid of.”

He wasn’t looking at James.

He was looking at me.

My fingers curled before I could stop them, like my body was trying to grab hold of something—anything. I didn’t know if I wanted to hit him or fall into him and let him break me all over again.

James led the way to the mats, his movements relaxed, as though this was all just another training session. I followed behind him, my feet heavy with the weight of what was to come. The Center was intimidating in its size, the lights too bright, the sterile air too clean, but what was worse was knowing Regulus was watching us, cold and impassive. It wasn’t like the other training sessions we had back in District 7, where we could let our guard down, where we could laugh and share glances with friends. Here, every step felt as though it was under a microscope, every breath too loud.

The drills began, the usual combat exercises—simple moves, things we’d done a hundred times before. But with Regulus standing there, his eyes fixed on me, it felt like the room itself had shifted. Every time I lunged, I could feel his gaze, sharp, tracing my feet. When I hesitated, unsure of my next move, his focus tightened, his eyes boring into mine, catching my every weakness. He didn’t write anything down. He didn’t need to. His silent observation was enough to make my skin burn. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but it was clear it wasn’t the score of my performance.

It was something else. Something quieter, something deeper.

We moved on to weapons training. My fingers twitched as I reached for the knife, the cool metal sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. I could feel the shake in my hands, a tremble I couldn’t explain away as just nerves. I told myself it was nothing—just the pressure of the day, the tension in my chest that I would be expected to handle. But it was more than that. As I gripped the blade, memories surfaced uninvited. His hand on mine, guiding me. The soft insistence in his voice, telling me to never let anyone take it from me. His arms around me the first time I cried over the Reaping, how he’d promised he’d keep me safe.

I threw the knife with a jerk of my arm, too fast, not as precise as I wanted. It struck the target just off-center. Not bad, but not perfect either.

“Again,” Regulus said. His voice was quiet, but there was no softness there. Just the same cold command that he always had when it mattered most.

I wiped my palms on my trousers, still trying to shake the ghost of the past that clung to me like a shadow. My voice cracked when I spoke, sharper than I intended. “Why?” I asked. “So I can kill more cleanly?”

He didn’t flinch at the words. He met my gaze with the same unreadable expression he always wore. “So you can survive.”

A nervous laugh escaped James as he dramatically collapsed beside the throwing station. “Alright, alright. Let’s save the tragic backstory reveal for after we dodge the spears, yeah?”

Regulus didn’t respond. But I saw the flicker of something behind his eyes—a brief, silent acknowledgment that spoke volumes. He was the one who had lived that story, the one who understood it in ways that none of us could.

We moved to the next stations, one after another—camouflage, traps, climbing walls. The exercises were grueling. My muscles screamed at me, my hands were raw, and my legs began to feel like dead weight. Every action felt like it was pushing me past my limits, until I didn’t know if I was breathing or if my lungs had given up on me altogether. But through it all, I was hyper-aware of him. Regulus was always there, quiet, measuring, never speaking unless necessary. His silence followed me like a shadow, pushing me to do better, to be better, but never offering a word of encouragement or critique. He didn’t need to. I could feel the weight of his expectation.

Every time I stumbled, I felt him move forward, as if to catch me. But just as quickly, his steps faltered, as though he would never get close enough to touch me. Each time I looked up to see him, his gaze would flicker away, never settling, never staying.

By the time we reached the final station, my palms were scraped, my knees bruised from the falls I hadn’t been able to stop. James handed me water, his face flushed from exertion, and I gratefully took a sip.

When Regulus handed me a cloth, his fingers brushed mine. It was brief, just a second too long.

The contact lingered, leaving my skin tingling, my heart pounding. Regulus looked like he wanted to say something—his mouth opened and closed, like the words wouldn’t come. His eyes locked onto mine, searching, as if he were trying to find the right thing to say, but he never did.

“There’s more tomorrow,” he said finally, his voice quieter than usual.

I nodded, turning to leave, but then his voice stopped me. It was barely a whisper, but it sliced through the air like a whisper of a ghost. “You moved like you used to. In the woods.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I froze in my tracks.

“I remember,” Regulus said, his words as sharp and raw as the knife I had thrown.

I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. If I did, I might not remember how to leave. And right now, that’s all I could do—leave. Keep walking, keep moving, and pretend I didn’t hear the things that haunted him in his silence.

The air in the Capitol was thick with anticipation as Marlene led James and me through a maze of glittering halls and softly humming elevators.

The room we were led into shimmered like a dream soaked in too much light. Mirrors lined the walls from floor to ceiling, catching the glint of crystal chandeliers overhead. The floors were pale marble, veined with soft gold that sparkled beneath our feet like something alive. Racks upon racks of clothes stood like towers in the corners, and trays of jewelry gleamed on velvet cushions. The air smelled like roses and silver.

“Here we are,” Marlene announced, her voice bright and professional, betraying nothing of the exhaustion that lingered beneath her immaculate appearance. “The fitting room. You two are going to look amazing.” She flashed us a grin before turning to Regulus, who had been trailing silently behind us. He was a shadow in the background, his face impassive, his presence like a cold wind that we couldn't escape.

Regulus barely acknowledged us, but I could feel his gaze resting on me as we entered. He didn’t speak. He never did. But I could sense him—always there, always watching.

Marlene clapped her hands, and from the shadows emerged a handful of stylists, their movements fluid and soundless, eyes glinting like blades. They began to set the stage—racks of shimmering outfits materializing before us, each more extravagant than the last, each a spectacle in its own right. The first gown caught my breath—a deep, velvety violet, threaded with gold that gleamed under the harsh lights like the flicker of distant stars. My heart sank. The fabric looked heavy, not just in weight but in expectation. It was as if the Capitol’s fingers were already curling around me, tugging me into something larger than life, something too brilliant to feel real. A glamour that would consume, transform—remake us into creatures of their design. The costumes were more than clothes; they were chains cloaked in silk.

“First, we’ll try this one,” one of the stylists said, her voice like glass, as she held up the violet gown. “It’s made from fine silk with golden thread, designed to look like flowers”

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the rising anxiety in my chest as I reached for the gown. The fabric slid through my fingers like water, its texture so smooth it almost felt unreal. I looked at Marlene, but she had already disappeared behind the curtain, urging me to try it on.

James was already in the corner, tugging at the ridiculous layers of his own outfit. The colors were blinding—neon green and orange with sharp metallic accents. His expression was a mix of amusement and disbelief, the absurdity of it all clearly taking its toll.

“You think they’ll expect me to walk out in this?” he called over to me, holding up a ridiculous ruffled collar that looked like it belonged to some ancient king.

“Probably,” I replied with a wry smile. “It’s the Capitol. They don’t do anything halfway.”

I stepped into the gown, feeling the weight of the fabric settle around my body. The mirror in front of me reflected a version of myself I didn’t recognize—distant, polished, far removed from the girl who had once sung in the woods with Regulus. I touched the golden threads, tracing the intricate patterns that shimmered under the light.

There was a sudden, sharp movement behind me—Regulus had stepped closer, his presence imposing even without a word. I glanced at him in the mirror, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the reflection, studying the gown with a cold, detached expression. It felt like he was seeing something I wasn’t. I quickly turned away, unwilling to let him watch me like this.

The stylists adjusted the gown, fluffing the layers of fabric around my waist and adding a jeweled belt. They spoke in low voices to one another, making subtle changes to my appearance, but I couldn’t focus on their words. My mind was caught in that moment—Regulus’s presence, the quiet weight of his gaze. It was as though he saw through the surface of everything, his eyes piercing straight through to the place where all my memories were buried. The memories I hadn’t let myself think about for years.

“How do you feel?” Marlene asked, her voice cheery as she reappeared, looking at me with an eager smile. She was doing her best to make me feel comfortable, but nothing in this Capitol would ever feel comfortable again.

“I don’t know,” I replied softly, my eyes still on Regulus’s reflection. “It’s… a lot.”

Regulus’s eyes met mine briefly, and I could see something flicker in them, something I couldn’t read. Then he shifted his gaze back to the floor, his stance unreadable. He was silent as always, but his presence was heavy in the room.

“Let’s move on,” Marlene said, clearly sensing the discomfort in the air. “James, darling, your turn.”

I stepped out of the gown, and the stylists immediately began changing me into another outfit—a vibrant red dress with black feathers sewn into the hem. It looked like something designed for a firestorm.

James came out in his next outfit—this one even more ridiculous than the last. It was a massive purple cloak with oversized shoulder pads and gold chains hanging from the sides. He looked like an absurd caricature, his face a mixture of incredulity and amusement. “What’s next, a crown?” he asked, spinning dramatically. “I can barely walk in this thing.”

“It’s ridiculous,” I agreed, offering him a smile. “But, hey, they want us to stand out. Not sure how anyone’s supposed to stand out in this, but there you go.”

Regulus was still there, still silent, his eyes scanning both of us like he was measuring something—something we couldn’t quite understand. His focus was on me again, but his expression didn’t change.

“You both look… fine,” he said finally, his voice as flat as it always was. “It’s not about the outfits. It’s about how you carry them. How you make them yours.” His gaze shifted to James, and for the briefest moment, there was something unspoken in his eyes. “No one’s going to care about the clothes if you can’t convince them you belong here.”

Marlene gave a small laugh. “He’s right, you know. The Capitol loves a good show, but they love confidence more.”

I wanted to say something, wanted to argue that it didn’t matter how confident I was, how well I carried the dress—it would never be enough. Not when I knew the truth of what was coming. But I kept quiet, letting the silence settle over us, thick and uncomfortable.

James, meanwhile, was being draped in cloak after cloak, every outfit more absurd than the last. His stylist was an older man with silver eyebrows shaped into perfect arches. “More structure in the shoulders,” he muttered. “He needs to look like he can win but also like he won’t spill soup on his lap.”

“I’ll have you know I eat soup very elegantly,” James deadpanned, arms outstretched as they pinned yet another cape to his shoulders.

“You look like a crow,” I told him, watching as the fabric swished behind him like wings.

“A very fashionable crow,” he corrected, tilting his chin up dramatically. “Thank you.”

Despite the ache in my chest, I smiled.

Then the door opened, and Lily Evans stepped in.

She didn’t need to speak. The stylists moved aside like tides parting around her. She had the kind of presence that made people listen before she even opened her mouth. Her hair was braided back with tiny green ribbons threaded through it, her clothes simple compared to everyone else in the room—just a forest green shift that brushed her ankles and boots that had clearly seen mud. And yet, she was the only one who felt real.

“I’ll take it from here,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “Out. All of you.”

There was a pause. Then the stylists bowed and disappeared like smoke.

Lily turned to me and walked forward slowly, her green eyes thoughtful. “They’ve been trying to turn you into a Capitol rose,” she murmured. “But you’re not a rose, are you?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to.

She smiled gently, then moved toward the far rack and pulled something down from it with reverence, as if she were unearthing a memory. She carried it over her arm and held it up to the light.

“This,” she said, “was made for you.”

The gown was unlike anything I had ever seen before, a masterpiece woven from moonlight and whispers. At first glance, it appeared to be a soft silver, the kind of pale shimmer that seemed to steal the light from the room and make everything around it seem darker. But as I moved, the fabric shifted in the light, revealing layers of pale pink and rose-gold beneath, like the first blush of dawn brushing the horizon.

Each turn caught another glimpse of color, delicate and fleeting, like a secret only the dawn knew. The sleeves were sheer and almost ethereal, falling gracefully around my arms like morning mist, light enough to seem weightless. The bodice, shaped to fit my form perfectly, was embroidered with tiny, copper vines that twined around the neckline, each thread curling delicately like something still growing, still reaching toward the sun.

The skirt flowed downward in soft, endless layers, the fabric so translucent in places that it seemed to melt into the air, like something from a dream. When I stepped into it, it felt like I was slipping into a memory, one I had never lived but somehow knew all too well.

Lily adjusted the fabric with a quiet precision, her fingers light as they ran over the edges, smoothing them with care, her eyes focused and serious. When she finally stepped back, there was a moment of stillness that seemed to stretch forever.

"Look," she said softly, her voice almost reverent.

I turned slowly toward the mirror, and the reflection that greeted me was not one I recognized at first. The girl who stared back didn’t look like a tribute. She didn’t look like the Capitol's puppet, draped in glitzy, faceless glamour. No, she looked like something older, something softer, woven from forgotten forests and lullabies.

The girl in the mirror seemed to carry a quiet strength, an ancient beauty like the quiet glow of a forest at twilight. Her face was framed by the delicate lines of the dress, and the copper embroidery on her chest seemed to pulse with a warmth that was almost living. There was something sacred about the way she stood, as if she had been forged by time itself, as though this gown was more a part of her than the body beneath it.

"You look like someone who was born to sing under the stars," Lily said softly, her voice filled with a tenderness I hadn’t expected. "Someone who remembers where she came from."

I blinked hard, feeling an unexpected wave of emotion rise up in my chest. I wasn’t ready for this—wasn’t ready to feel anything like this. But there it was, a sharp, aching tenderness, the kind you can’t escape even if you try.

James stepped beside me, drawing me out of my thoughts. His outfit was equally striking, though in a different way. He wore a deep navy suit, one that fit him like armor but somehow softened around the edges. The gold threading along the cuffs and collar caught the light, adding a touch of warmth to the otherwise solemn color. A long cape trailed behind him, pinned at the shoulder with a brooch shaped like a tree branch, the delicate carvings hinting at nature in a way that was subtle but undeniable. It was regal, but not flashy—strong, familiar, and comforting, like something I could rest in, something I could trust.

“Look at us,” he said with a grin, his eyes crinkling with that mischievous spark. “We clean up alright.”

I couldn’t help but smile. "You look like a storybook," I told him, admiring the way the suit moved with him, how the navy seemed to catch the light in different ways.

He looked me up and down, and his smile softened into something deeper, almost reverent. “And you,” he said, his voice quieter now, “look like a promise someone forgot to keep.”

Before I could respond, my gaze drifted to the far corner of the room. Regulus stood there, as still as a statue, half-hidden in shadow. He hadn’t moved since Lily entered, and his arms were folded across his chest in a posture that was both distant and deliberate. But his eyes—those sharp, dark eyes—were fixed on me. Not in the way they had been before, filled with cold assessment. No, this was something else. This was something raw, something that broke through all the walls he’d built around himself. The sight of me in this dress seemed to shatter something deep inside him, something I hadn’t realized was still there.

His expression didn’t change, not outwardly. But I saw the shift in him. I saw the subtle widening of his eyes, the way his throat moved as he swallowed, like he was struggling to process something he hadn’t expected to feel. His lips parted, just for a moment, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the words. And then—nothing.

The stillness returned, but the weight of his silence, the quiet tension that stretched between us, was almost unbearable. He didn’t speak. But I felt everything in that silence, in the way his eyes searched mine, as though he had seen something in me he hadn’t expected.

Marlene clapped her hands together sharply, breaking the moment. “Perfect,” she said, her voice crisp with approval. “The Capitol will eat this up.”

But I didn’t hear her. I didn’t hear anyone else. My attention was locked on Regulus, on the way he looked at me, on the way his presence seemed to hold me in place. I wondered if he saw the same thing I did in the mirror—a girl dressed in starlight and sorrow, standing on the edge of a war she never chose, wrapped in everything she used to be, everything she was trying to outrun.

And him? He looked like he remembered.

Later, when the lights had dimmed and the bustle of stylists and Capitol handlers faded into murmurs down distant corridors, I stepped into the stillness of the hall, my gown trailing like water behind me, silver and rose and quiet, my breath barely stirring the air as if afraid to disturb whatever spell had settled over the evening.

The silence wrapped around me like silk, but before I could sink fully into it, I felt the shift in the atmosphere, the quiet exhale of something familiar drawing near, and I didn’t need to turn to know it was him, because Regulus never arrived loudly, never announced himself with footsteps or breath, only with gravity, as though the world tipped slightly when he stepped into it.

He stood a few feet behind me, not speaking at first, and I could feel him watching, could feel his gaze settle over me like dusk settling over a lake, slow and reverent and full of a sorrow I didn’t know how to name.

“I thought you left,” I said softly, the words floating into the stillness like petals on water, my voice a thread I wasn’t sure he would catch.

His answer came slower, almost reluctant. “I tried,” he said, and the words sounded tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. “But I couldn’t.”

I turned then, slowly, as if the moment might break if I moved too quickly, and when our eyes met, something inside me stilled, because it was the first time in years he looked at me not as a memory, not as a mistake or a ghost or a responsibility, but as someone real, someone he had loved and still did.

“You look…” he began, but the sentence faltered, his mouth parting like he was reaching for a word he didn’t trust himself to speak aloud.

The silence stretched and softened between us, and I didn’t press him, only watched him with the same ache I used to feel when he’d sneak into the woods at dusk just to watch the stars through the gaps in the trees, alone and aching and always pretending not to be.

“You grew up,” he said finally, his voice barely more than a breath. “You grew up really beautifully.”

He said it like it hurt, like the words were carved out of something he had never let himself touch, and I blinked, not because I was surprised, but because something in his voice made the edges of my heart blur.

“I didn’t think you’d notice,” I said, but my voice trembled as I spoke, because a part of me had always hoped he would, always hoped that even behind the cold Capitol glass and the crown of silence he wore so well, some part of him still remembered how I looked with mud on my knees and songs in my throat.

“I notice everything when it comes to you, star.” he said, he wasn’t smiling, but there was something soft in his eyes, something that cracked open all the things he tried so hard to bury.

He took a step forward, not too close, just near enough that I could feel the warmth of him in the air between us, and his hand lifted like he meant to touch me but stopped just short, fingers hovering above the place where the embroidered copper vines curved over my shoulder like roots that never forgot where they came from.

“That dress,” he said, his eyes trailing down the soft shimmer of fabric that moved like dawn against my skin, “you look like something I used to dream about before I went into the arena, before I forgot how to sleep without fear.”

I couldn’t speak, not at first, because his words were peeling open something I had stitched closed years ago, and it hurt in a way that was almost beautiful.

“Regulus…” I whispered, but I didn’t know what to follow it with, didn’t know how to gather all the years and all the heartbreak into something coherent, something that wouldn’t collapse beneath the weight of what we had both lost.

“I never forgot you,” he said, and the words felt like unraveling. “Even when they made me stop writing, even when they told me you were better off not knowing me, I carved your name into everything I could—into my thoughts, into the silence, into the way I trained every tribute who reminded me of you.”

I looked at him then, really looked, and saw the boy I used to know buried beneath the man the Capitol had sculpted, saw the shadow of the fourteen-year-old who once carved wooden stars and whispered my name like a secret prayer.

“I never wanted you to be perfect,” I said, my voice shaking. “I just wanted you to come back.”

And something inside him broke, not loudly, not visibly, but I saw it—the way his shoulders sank slightly, the way his fingers twitched like they ached to hold something they’d lost.

He reached for my hand then, finally touching me, his palm warm against mine, steady despite everything shaking between us.

“You look like home,” he murmured

Eyes fixed on me like I was the only thing in this glittering, monstrous city that still made sense. “ Starling, you will live and I will make sure of it.”

I didn’t speak, because there was nothing I could say that would be more true than the way I stood there in silence, silver and soft, every layer of my dress catching the light like memory, letting myself believe—if only for a moment—that in his eyes, I was still the girl who sang beneath the stars, and in mine, he was still the boy who listened.

Elsewhere. That same night.

Regulus moved like a wraith through the veins of the Capitol’s heart, the corridors stretching endlessly around him, gleaming like the insides of a polished coffin. He knew these halls. Knew the way the marble hummed beneath his boots, the way the lights above flickered once—only once—when they shifted into surveillance mode. These were the bones of a building that had birthed him, broke him, rebuilt him into something sharp enough to survive.

He walked like he belonged, because he did. This place had carved him into a symbol. A victory anthem in the shape of a boy. A Capitol treasure with teeth. He had been theirs for five years, and they never stopped applauding. They never stopped watching.

But they didn’t know what he was doing now.

The guards nodded when he passed. Silent. Respectful. Unaware.

He could walk through fire with blood on his hands, and they’d still open the doors for him.

He found James exactly where he hoped he wouldn’t. Awake. Wandering.

The boy was alone, standing in one of the shadowed passageways behind the tribute quarters, gazing through a sliver of glass cut into the wall like a wound. The city stretched beyond, monstrous and glittering. His reflection was faint in the window—wide eyes, trembling mouth, the quiet dread of someone who knows the world is about to end and still dares to look anyway.

James Potter was brave, stupidly brave. Loyal in a way that broke things. He would have laid down his life for her.

And that was the problem.

Regulus’s fists curled at his sides. He did not speak. If he did, he would fail.

James turned at the faintest sound, confusion flickering across his face like sunlight caught on water. “Regulus?”

It was the last thing he said before the world tilted sideways.

The strike was fast. Precise. No hesitation. Regulus moved like a phantom and hit like a promise—one made years ago in the quiet of District 7, in a grove that no longer existed, to a girl with a voice like rain and fire.

James’s breath left him in a single broken gasp. He stumbled, knees buckling, eyes wide with shock, but Regulus caught him before he could fall too hard. He sank to the ground with him, hands steady now, cradling the boy’s head like something sacred. His pulse was fluttering beneath his jaw. Still alive. Just enough damage. Just enough time.

He’d planned it perfectly.

James wouldn’t die. But he wouldn’t stand either. Not in the Arena. Not in time to take her place.

It would have to be Regulus.

It had always been Regulus.

He lowered James gently to the cold marble floor and sat beside him for a moment, as if in mourning. The silence swelled around them, full of unsaid things. The Capitol blinked in and out of view through the narrow window, uncaring and infinite.

“I never wanted this,” Regulus whispered. His voice sounded foreign. Strangled. “You’re better than this place. She trusted you. And I—” His voice broke for real then, a fracture so deep it felt like something inside him split clean through.

“I had to. You don’t understand. You would have died for her. But I already did.”

He pressed his forehead to James’s shoulder for a heartbeat. The boy was still breathing. That had to be enough.

The clock was already ticking.

Regulus stood slowly, breath catching in his throat, spine trembling with restraint. He looked back only once.

James lay in the hallway like something fallen from grace, bloodless, peaceful, still.

And Regulus—Regulus walked away, each step ringing louder than the last.

Not a hero.

Not a traitor.

Only a boy who once loved a girl beneath the trees and promised her the world.

And now, with hands that could only destroy, he would try to save her.

The morning didn’t come.

It didn’t drift in with soft sunlight and slow, gentle whispers like a normal morning. No, it exploded through the room like a thunderclap, ringing through my ears until everything was distorted, warping the air with its jagged edges. The Capitol’s sirens began, sharp and unrelenting, like the cry of something dying in the dark. It pierced the quiet, cutting through every thread of peace, every moment of stillness I had left, and rattled the walls of the sleek, glass-walled room we were assigned to.

I thought, for a moment, it was just another broadcast—another announcement, maybe a change in the Games’ schedule or some twisted new development designed to rattle us. But it didn’t stop. It went on and on, a screeching reminder of everything that was wrong with this place.

My body jerked upright on instinct. My heart raced, thudding against my ribs like a drumbeat, trying to catch up to the chaos around me. The air felt thick with electricity, every breath feeling like it might be my last, each second weighted with something I couldn’t name.

I heard the sound of hurried footsteps—someone was running down the hall. I didn’t have to look to know who it was.

Marlene.

She burst through the door, her figure casting a long shadow across the polished marble floor. The usual Capitol poise was gone. Her makeup was smudged, her hair falling loosely in soft waves around her face, the edges of her dress frayed from where she’d clearly been rushing. The corners of her mouth were tight with something more than stress—fear, I realized as she met my eyes, her gaze frantic. Her hands trembled as she reached out, but it was the words that shattered me.

“James is hurt. He’s unconscious. He can’t participate.”

Everything stopped.

The sound in the room died, as if the air had been sucked out and replaced with a suffocating vacuum. My mind couldn’t process it. I was standing before her, but it didn’t feel like I was actually there. My body was moving, I was hearing the words, but it felt like I was stuck in the middle of some dream—too distant, too far from reality.

I blinked. Hard.

“What—what do you mean he can’t—he can’t—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I felt like I was choking on the word, choking on the truth that was starting to crawl into my skin.

Marlene’s eyes darkened, and she hesitated. I could see the lie she was about to tell forming, but she didn’t have the heart for it. Not today. Not like this.

“It was an accident,” she said, her voice trembling, breaking on the last word. “A medical emergency. The Capitol’s doctors—he’s in the infirmary now. They’re doing everything they can.”

“No.” The word left me before I could even think about it. It was raw and desperate, a plea from somewhere deep within me. I took a step forward, the floor cold beneath my bare feet, but it felt like I was moving through water, like I was trapped in something thick and suffocating.

Marlene stepped back as I approached, eyes wide with something that looked a little too close to pity. She opened her mouth again, but I couldn’t hear her. I couldn’t hear anything over the sound of my pulse in my ears.

James didn’t make accidents.

James Potter—the boy with the bruised smile and the reckless laugh, the boy who could dodge any attack, who lived through any battle—didn’t fall to something as simple as an accident.

He doesn’t.

James was chaos, but he was controlled. He survived things that should’ve destroyed anyone else. He lived through fire. He lived through wolves. He fought like the world was his to burn, and nothing—nothing—could break him. He was fire.

This? This wasn’t possible.

I turned, my mind finally catching up to my body, forcing my legs to move. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to get to him, to see for myself, to know.

I ran.

I ran, and I didn’t care if they saw me, if they followed me. I didn’t care about anything except getting to him. The halls blurred as I moved faster, my pulse pounding louder with each step.

When I reached his room, I found the door closed. No, locked.

I pounded my fist against the smooth surface, desperation choking me, my breath coming in jagged gasps. I didn’t even hear the guards approaching until one of them spoke, the words cutting through my frantic thoughts like ice.

“You can’t go in.”

The voice was firm. Impersonal.

I pressed my forehead to the door, the cold glass seeping into my skin, and I felt something snap. I needed to get to him. I needed to hear his voice, to see the glint in his eyes that told me he was still alive.

“No,” I whispered. “No. I’m not leaving. I need to see him.”

But they didn’t let me.

Then, just when I thought I couldn’t stand the weight of it all any longer—when I felt like I might fall apart at the seams—there was a movement behind me. A sound. A voice.

I didn’t turn at first. I couldn’t.

“Step away from the door,” the voice said.

I knew that voice. It chilled my blood in an entirely different way.

It was Snape.

He was standing there, framed by the golden light filtering through the hallway. He wasn’t wearing the normal uniform, but something more formal, more imposing—dark, sleek, a shadow in the Capitol’s daylight. His eyes were unreadable, like always, but there was something else there now, something colder.

I didn’t want to talk to him. Not now. Not like this.

But he didn’t wait for me to speak.

“You can’t go in,” he said again, his tone sharper this time. “James won’t wake before the Games begin. Even if he does, he’ll be in no state to participate.”

I didn’t want to hear him. I didn’t want to hear any of this.

But I had to.

My mouth opened, but no words came. There was no fight left in me. Only the slow, cold realization that something was slipping out of my grasp, something I couldn’t save.

Snape’s gaze didn’t soften, it never did. But it wasn’t cold, not exactly. It was something more like knowing.

“Look,” he said, a quiet command. And I knew—knew without a doubt—he wasn’t asking me to look at James. He was asking me to look at what came next.

I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to look. But my body turned, as if on its own. I didn’t even hear the elevator doors open behind me, not until the soft chime echoed through the hall.

It wasn’t just the sound of the elevator. It was the sound of everything changing.

And then he stepped out.

I didn’t recognize him at first. Not because I didn’t know him—but because it didn’t make sense.

He wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to look like that. He wasn’t supposed to wear that.

He wore the uniform.

The District 7 uniform. The same one James should’ve worn. The same one I should’ve been wearing.

Regulus Black. My Regulus Black. Dressed in the grey and green of the Capitol’s cruelty. The insignia over his chest—his new identity—wasn’t just a symbol of District 7. It was a brand. A reminder that they owned him now.

His face was pale. Too pale. Not the porcelain skin I remembered, but something sharper, harder. Like he had been chiseled from ice, but even the cold couldn’t keep him from breaking. His eyes…

His eyes found mine.

One glance. One moment. One second.

But it was enough to tear the world in half.

I saw everything in those eyes. I saw the boy who once held me close in the darkness of the woods. I saw the boy who swore to protect me. I saw the boy who was now standing in the uniform of a killer.

Regulus Black had done it.

He had taken James’s place.

And now he was walking into the Games.

For me.

But I didn’t understand. Not fully. Not until the Capitol’s voice rang out, echoing through the hollowed halls like a funeral bell.

“Due to medical disqualification, District 7’s male Tribute shall now be Regulus Black. The Games begin tomorrow.”

The world shattered.

I couldn’t breathe. My body felt like it had become weightless, like I was floating above the earth. But my heart… my heart dropped straight down into my stomach.

Regulus took a step toward me. One step too many.

But I couldn’t stop him.

And I couldn’t stop myself from dying a little bit, too.

I, (Y/N) (Y/L/N) and Regulus Black female and male tributes from district seven of The 70th Hunger Games.

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