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mysticaldeanvoidhorse · 9 months ago

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Together Always

Gally x Reader

The Maze Runner

Part 2

You had been there a week, and had spent a few days at each job trying to figure out what you would do. Today was the day you would be working with the builders. You couldn’t help but be nervous, not knowing if you were any good at it but mostly hoping you would be able to impress Gally, or at least not embarrass yourself in front of him. You had found that you wanted to impress him more than the others and though it was early, you knew you were having feelings for this particular Keeper. You knew that wasn’t a good thing, knowing it wasn’t a good idea to have feelings for any of the boys but especially this one; mainly because you knew he would never feel the same. He was so closed off and hardly seemed to notice you even existed. However that would change since he would be overseeing you today.

At breakfast, you went to sit next to Newt, who quickly became your closest friend. You realized everyone liked him and you weren’t surprised at all.

“Hey Newt,” You greeted, sitting down across from him.

“Hey Y/N, ready to try out a new task?” He asked.

“Not really, I feel like I will somehow mess up” You laughed, trying to hide your nerves. The truth was you weren't nervous about any other task, knowing if it wasn’t a fit you would find something else. This particular task had more at stake.

“You’ll be fine, besides Gally won’t let you do anything too stupid. He is pretty good at making sure everyone stays safe.” As if appearing out of nowhere, Gally had just shown up.

“Talking about me, Newt?” You quickly turned to see him standing next to you.

“Yep, just reassuring your mentee that you won’t let her screw up too badly.” You shot him a bored look.

“Nah, I’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone. Mostly worried she will hurt herself.” You couldn’t tell if he was completely joking or not.

“Hey, I am not that bad!” You faked being hurt.

“Guess we will see.” Gally smirked at you. His intense stare still had you weak in the knees and you were glad you were sitting down already.

“Guess you will have to keep a close eye on her.” Newt said, though you were too busy to see him and Minho exchange a knowing look.

“I guess so.” Gally said, not breaking eye contact.

After breakfast Gally had brought you to the worksite that was surprisingly farther away from the main area than you had expected.

“We will start with something small. Do you know how to use a hammer?”

“Honestly, I don’t remember ever using one, but I think I have the main idea.” You wanted to be honest, but also didn’t want to look dumb.

“Cool, well, take this nail, and hammer these two boards together.” You grabbed the hammer.

“Are you going to watch me do it?” You asked, when he folded his arms and stared at you.

“Yes.” Was all he replied. You just rolled your eyes and did as he asked.

“How did I do, boss?” You said sarcastically, knowing you had done a decent job. Afterall, it wasn’t rocket science.

“Just making sure you’re competent.” He said, grabbing the hammer from you.

“Wow, with compliments like that you might make a girl swoon.” You joked. He just stared blankly at you. “Geeze, tough crowd.” You said lightheartedly.

“Follow me, we will work on something a little harder.”

“Sounds good.” You said, following him. You wanted to be his friend at the very least and you could tell you weren't off to a great start. You would just stick to talking only when necessary.

The rest of the morning went well, and you were proud of what you were able to do. Lunchtime came and you walked over with the rest of the builders, minus Gally. He continued to finish what he was working on. You admired his work ethic.

“How did the morning go?” Newt asked once he sat next to you.

“Not too bad, I haven’t created any major calamities yet.” You joked and he laughed.

“I don’t think Gally likes me that much though.” You confessed and he looked at you surprised.

“Why do you say that?”

“I think I am a nice person” You started.

“Obviously.”

“But I don’t think my jokes or efforts to reach out are well received.” Newt seemed to think about that.

“Why do you think that?”

“Well he just seems like he tolerates me at best, and seems like he can’t get away from me fast enough. So I just decided to not talk so much. Just do what I am told.”

“I think he just doesn’t know what to say. He has always been a little awkward like that, but especially with a girl around his whole personality changes. He isn’t a bad guy he just is rough around the edges and you are trying to break those walls down.. I don't think he knows what to do with that.” You thought about that.

“I guess that makes sense. I just don’t want him to not like me.”

“And why is that?” He gave you a knowing look.

“What do you mean by that?” You asked a little too defensively.

“It just seems like you are trying hard to be on his good side.”

“Well of course. He is my boss for the day so I want to make a good impression.” You reasoned.

“Well I don’t think that is your problem.”

“Then what is?” Before he could reply, you saw Gally walking up to the food line, subconsciously grabbing his shirt to wipe his face. You were not upset by the glimpse of his abs he granted you with the action.

“You okay Y/N? Looks like you got a little drool there.” Minho teased you. You turned red.

“Shut up Minho.”

“Oh someone is a little defensive,” he joked.

“It’s just because you didn’t give me the same show, so I had to look elsewhere.” You joked.

“I know you are in love with me, I am sorry I am driving you into the arms of another man.” He faked seriousness. You gagged causing Newt to laugh.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in the maze?” You asked.

“Yes, but Alby needed something today so I am here, lucky you.”

“You’re a runner right?” He nodded. “So run along then.” You rolled your eyes.

“Sounds like you are annoying our Greenie here.” Gally said behind you. Shuck this boy was more stealthy than you would like.

“Nah, she can’t get enough of me.” Minho joked.

“Not convincing.” Gally said, sitting next to you. You were not upset that he had taken to sitting next to you since you arrived. At least that was what you let yourself think since you couldn’t be sure he didn’t always sit here before you arrived.

“More like I get too much of this guy.” You said to Gally. He smirked.

“Ouch, that really hurts. And you just said you were in love with me.”

��When did I ever say that?” You deadpanned.

“Well, when you were ogling Gally, you said it was only because - ouch!” Newt hit him. Your eyes went wide. Gally turned to you.

“What is he talking about?” A look of amusement on his face.

“Do I ever know what he is saying?” You played off, not able to keep looking at him.

“That’s true.” He said, not entirely convinced.

“Minho just saw you with your shirt lifted and tried to play it off as me looking and not the fact that he was checking you out himself.” You joked.

“Well that makes more sense. I knew Minho had less than honorable intentions towards me.” You stopped and looked at him.

“Was that a joke? Did I actually hear your joke?” He gave a sheepish smile.

“I guess so.”

“Well I am glad that you are finally able to joke around me. I thought I was annoying you with my sense of humor.” You said half seriously. He leaned over slightly.

“Not at all, I enjoy it actually. I just don’t always know how to respond. No one is as happy and lighthearted as you, it is something to get used to.” You just looked at him. “I don’t mean that as a bad thing” He said quickly. “I just am not a funny guy, not like Minho or even Newt.” He said the last part a little bit harsher.

“You don’t have to be. Then you wouldn’t be Gally.” You smiled at him and he smiled back. “Besides, I am just glad that I haven’t freaked you out.”

“Did you think you had?” He asked.

“Well, kinda. I mean, whenever I joke around, you just look at me like I have grown two heads so I thought you figured I was crazy.” You played with the food on your plate, hoping to hide your nerves.

“There’s something different about you.”

“Well I am not a guy, there’s that.” He rolled his eyes.

“Obviously. Besides that. You are so refreshing around here. You are a light in the dark…” He trailed off.

“You think so?” You prodded, softly.

“You’re pretty great, Y/N.” You took a moment to stare into his eyes. He was so beautiful it hurt.

“But that can’t be a shock, everyone here likes you a lot. A little too much” He slightly frowned at the last part.

“I’m just glad you like me.” He looked at you, trying to find a lie but he didn't and wouldn’t.

“Yea- yeah. You’re a good friend.” He smiled and backed away slightly. You tried to not be hurt. You should just be glad at how much he opened up to you just now. He may never feel the same, but at least you knew he didn’t hate you. Progress.

After lunch you went back to work, and you ended up helping some other builders while Gally got called away. You found that though you weren’t incredibly strong, having smaller hands and being able to fit into tighter spaces helped in more ways than you thought. However, that got you into more dangerous scenarios, like the one you found yourself in. There was an old building that needed a plank fixed and there weren’t any ladders nearby. So to help you were ‘volun-told’ to get up onto a 2x4 and reach awkwardly to try and fix the beam. As long as you didn’t overreach you would be fine. You wanted to help and show them that you could do whatever they could, if not more since you were the only one small enough to reach. You took a deep breath and climbed up. It wasn’t incredibly high, but if you fell, it would hurt. You managed to stay focused, asking for the tools you would need from one of the boys behind you. You were almost finished when you heard it.

“What the shuck is going on here?” Uh oh. Gally.

“She could fit, it needed to be fixed.”

“Not that way! No one should be up there like that, especially her!” You quickly finished and handed the tools back to whoever would quickly take them. Gally came up under you.

“What are you doing?” He half yelled.

“Trying to fix this beam.” You told him as calmly as you could.

“Why are you on a flimsy board and not a ladder? That shuck thing won’t hold you. Get. Down. Now!” He sounded panicked.

“It’s okay Gally, I am finished, I am getting down now.” You tried to tell him reassuringly, but because you were distracted your foot got caught and you slipped. You managed to stay right side up, holding onto the board. Shuck it, the only way down was to let go. So you did. You expected it to hurt, but you landed in some strong arms. Looking up you saw it was Gally. You couldn’t appreciate being in his arms because his face was fuming. If steam could come out of his ears it would.

“Are you shucking kidding me?” He wasn’t really asking.

“Gally, I am sorry but I thought I could fix it quickly.”

“I don’t need to hear excuses. You should never have been up there in the first place. On a flimsy board, not even tied down, no ladder. What were you thinking?”

“I fixed it, I am okay, I-” But he cut you off.

“You weren’t thinking. Use that shuck head of yours, you could have gotten yourself killed!”

“I wouldn’t have died, Gally. At worst, a broken arm or something, but that didn’t happen.” You tried to remain calm but your patience was wearing thin.

“That’s because I caught you. You need to think! You are smarter than that.” He said the last part no longer yelling. It was at this moment you both realized that he was still holding you tightly. He slightly released his grip but not enough to let you move away. “Are you hurt?” He asked.

“No. And the beam is fixed.” He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at you with those beautiful eyes. After a second, “Everything is fine. The beam is fine, I am fine. You are fine, right?” You asked after a second, putting your hand on his chest. His heart was beating fast still, but he had calmed down slightly.

“You’re asking if I am alright? After you fell?” He asked incredulously. You just shrugged.

“I could have hurt you, and you seemed pretty upset. Just checking you are okay too.” He couldn’t seem to process that. He just nodded once. “Okay, well I am going to let you calm down and put away my stuff.” You pushed him back slightly and he held onto you for a second before releasing you. It was quitting time and you wanted to be anywhere but there. You didn’t know what just happened, but you didn't like being yelled at by Gally, especially in front of everyone after doing him a favor.

After you walked away, Gally knew he messed up. He was really concerned and he didn’t know where these feelings came from. And it scared him. But what scared him most was the idea that you could have gotten hurt. And it would have been his fault, on his watch. And he would never forgive himself for that. But he yelled at you and he hated himself for it. His feelings for you were intense and they scared him. He just hoped he hadn’t scared you away.

#the maze runner #the scorch trials #the death cure #tmr gally #TMR #TMR fanfiction #gally maze runner #gally x y/n #gally x you #gally x reader #gally imagine #together always

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dracoandthehounds · 10 months ago

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White Noise - One-Shot

5.1k | Drarry | AU | M | also available on AO3

Draco had nightmares.

It was something Harry had noticed immediately upon his arrival to their safe house. Even though they’d managed a whole room to spare for Draco and all the space they thought he must have wanted, Harry was still woken in the night by the sound of bleary shouting, and gasps, and, once or twice, broken sobs. It went on like that for the first month, with a sort of quiet agreement that fell into place at once that nobody would speak of the nightly ordeal Draco suffered with. Afterall, they all had nightmares, with all the horrible things they’d seen, all the horrible things they’d done. So it was definitely nothing to be embarrassed about.

But Harry learned that with Draco it was different. Because Draco had them every single night.

And Harry became sort of obsessed with fixing it.

Hermione said that Harry was just getting stir-crazy, having to wait for word from the Order about their next mission, and that was why Harry had become so determined to find a way to fix Draco’s sleep, despite the fact that Draco told them all that there was no point, and he’d been having them for years, now. And maybe it was boredom, exhaustion borne from having to pace the old decrepit house in the middle of some forest in Ireland, the exact location known only to Remus Lupin, their secret-keeper. Maybe Harry had gotten tired of watching Hermione pour over books that he knew she’d already read, or of playing chess with Ron, who always, always won, no matter how hard Harry tried, no matter what clever move Harry pulled. Whatever it was, Harry didn’t really care. Because all he saw was a problem that demanded a solution.

His first tactic was simple. After dinner, and just before they all ticked off to bed, Harry brought Draco a mug of warm chamomile tea with a dash of milk to encourage deeper sleep. Draco stared at the mug for several moments, as though waiting for it to explain Harry’s behaviour, before he looked up, eyebrow raised, at Harry, himself.

“To, erm…” Harry stuttered, “help you sleep.”

“Right,” Draco said, looking back down. The muted candlelight caught against the scar that now stretched, jagged and forked, across Draco’s cheekbone. A weird part of Harry couldn’t help but think about all the times Draco had given him shit over the years about his own scar.

And now they matched.

Harry shook the thought from his head.

“Cheers, Potter,” Draco said, sipped the tea, then split off toward his bedroom.

Harry awoke, just a little past two in the morning, to the sound of a strangled gasp coming from the wall that separated their two rooms. And he couldn’t fall back asleep with the sounds of Draco’s panic so close, echoing in the still of the night.

The next morning, after he’d heard Draco leave his room and go turn on the shower in the loo, Harry snuck into Draco’s bedroom. In short order he found the mug from the night prior, and found, to his delight, that the mug had been drained. It gave Harry two answers.

The first was that the tea hadn’t worked to quell Draco’s nightmares, since, obviously Draco had still had them, despite having clearly drank the tea.

And the second was that Draco was willing to accept Harry’s help.

The next thing Harry tried was his muggle wireless. He showed it to Draco the following night.

“And I think we should try two different things with it,” Harry explained. “First, some muggle music, and if that doesn’t work, we can try turning it to a static station— for white noise, alright?”

“White noise?” Draco asked.

“Yeah,” Harry explained. “It’s like a steady noise that you can tune out, and then you won’t be bothered by, like, random sounds. Muggles use it all the time, I think. I read this article in a muggle magazine about it, once. When I couldn’t sleep, summer after fourth year.”

Draco stared at him, then held out a hand. Harry gave him the wireless.

“Are you going to show me how it works, or am I meant to just jab at it until something happens?” Draco asked, eyebrow raised.

Harry huffed out a laugh, then stood up, so he could sit beside Draco. He spent the next twenty minutes explaining the different knobs, and cycling through the different radio stations, until Draco got the hang of it. And he tried to ignore the warm press of Draco’s leg beside his, or the gentle smell of spearmint and lavender that seemed to come from Draco’s white-blond hair. From this close, Harry could see a few small freckles along the back of Draco’s neck that he’d never noticed before. This new knowledge felt like gold.

That night, Harry could hear the gentle sounds of classical music, a bit fuzzy from how far off they were from civilization, as it filtered through the wall separating them. There was something peaceful about the muffled sound. It gave Harry a strange feeling of a far off peace. The lie that maybe, somewhere, things were working out okay.

But, again, it didn’t work. Harry woke to Draco screaming, some choked and pleading cry. He was begging that his mother be spared.

Harry’s heart felt heavy and broken all throughout the next day. Draco’s skin, which had always been pale, did little to hide the growing dark shadows underneath his eyes, as each restless night stacked against each other. It made Harry feel as though he were losing some sort of battle, right at his homefront.

“So, the white noise tonight?” Harry asked Draco over lunch, right after Hermione had shown them the results of her past week of research, some new theories as to why Voldemort hadn’t died after Sirius had hit him with the killing curse last year, during their battle in Diagon Alley.

“Alright,” Draco said, a quick nod. “White noise tonight.”

That night, after dinner, Draco had turned to the three of them, and asked the question they knew was inevitable. “Dumbledore really didn’t tell you? Before he died?”

Hermione sighed, her face falling.

“No,” Harry said. “We think… we think he meant to—”

“We’re not even sure if he knew, Harry,” Ron said, sighing.

Harry shook his head. “I know he was onto something, alright? He’d written me, remember? The night before. That he had an idea how Voldemort came back after that night in Godric’s Hollow.”

“You’re not convinced?” Draco asked Ron.

Ron sighed. “I was, for a while. But… to leave us so in the dark… I don’t know anymore.”

Hermione sighed. “He was caught by surprise. We all were. He didn’t have time to explain.”

“And that’s even if his theory was right,” Ron argued.

Harry rubbed his forehead. They’d had this conversation plenty. He wasn’t sure if it was doing them any good.

But Draco was the one to break it. Draco coughed, mouth tight, then spoke. “I didn’t even know, you know,” he said. “About Barty Crouch Jr.— I had no idea he was still alive.”

Ron looked back up, and Harry could see his strategizing mind running behind his brown eyes. It was like the few times he’d seen Dudley at the computer, and the way the machine would cycle through its programming, its lights beeping as it thought. Harry could sense the same sort of hidden calculations now running behind the neutral expression of Ron’s face.

Right before they’d rescued Draco, the three of them had agreed to not immediately pester him for information, no matter how vital they knew it was. They’d all agreed that giving him the space to answer and to settle was what mattered most, and that if they tried too hard too soon, then the only thing they’d ensure was Draco clamming up, surely assuming that they’d only saved him for information. If they acted like all that mattered was Draco’s insight into Voldemort’s inner circle, then Draco would never trust them enough to realise that they’d saved him for a far simpler reason: that he deserved to be saved.

The inside knowledge was just a bonus.

“We thought,” Ron said, each word slow, “that you-know-who found a way to restore Crouch’s soul. Either that or Crouch never received the kiss in the first place. But, well, if that’s the case… then that would mean that Fudge had been compromised, too.”

“Which, of course, we can’t know either,” Hermione said quickly. “With Fudge dying so shortly after.”

Harry nodded along, but kept his mouth shut. He was no good at this sort of thing. Gentle interrogation, basically, if he were being honest. And they really were lucky that Ron could manage it, as Hermione didn’t have the patience for it, either. She didn’t know how to change tactics in real time, to adapt to constantly changing information. Like a game of chess. What Ron excelled in.

Draco frowned. “I don’t know, either. I only found out that Crouch was still alive after Dumbledore died. I tried to ask my mother, but, well…” he trailed off.

Ron’s eyes flashed quick to Harry and Hermione. A sign, Harry could read, to not say anything more. This was all they’d be getting for the night. It wasn’t much, but anything helped, Harry thought.

At the very least, it seemed to mean that Draco was finally beginning to trust them. Maybe.

Through their shared wall, Harry listened to Draco fiddle with the wireless that night. It clicked past station after station, until Draco seemed to find one that was static enough to his liking. Harry heard a small thump, Draco putting it down, he assumed, then listened as Draco settled into bed.

Another failure.

Harry awoke just past midnight, and the sounds he heard had him choked up before he was even fully conscious.

This time, Draco was crying. He was saying, through tear-choked sobs, that he didn’t know where Potter was, he didn’t know who was in the Order, and he didn’t know how many times he had to tell them the same thing, over and over. He begged and begged until Harry couldn’t stand it, and shoved a pillow over his own head, desperate to stop the pain building in his chest from the misery in Draco’s voice.

After half an hour of this, Harry couldn’t stand it anymore. He stood up, took a deep breath, then tip-toed to Draco’s bedroom.

When he creaked open the door, Draco didn’t wake. In the muted moonlight streaming in through the boarded up window, Harry could see streaks of tears down Draco’s pale face, shimmering like dew on grass. Harry sighed, then walked over to Draco’s bed. He sat, as quietly as he could manage, as Draco continued to thrash, mumbled and unintelligible pleads spilling from his mouth like broken prayers.

And with all the gentle measure he could manage, he reached up and put his palm against the side of Draco’s face, hoping to gently wake him from his nightmare.

Draco didn’t wake.

But he did calm.

Harry watched, in frozen shock, as Draco turned his head toward Harry’s palm. At once, his face softened, as he pressed harder against it, breathing in Harry’s skin like it had been the answer all along. Harry stared, not daring to move, as Draco continued to sleep soundly for the next ten minutes. He didn’t stir, or thrash, or mumble. He only slept. His face was still and content.

When Harry’s arm went numb, and he couldn’t justify staying any longer, he removed his arm as gently as possible, stood up, then walked as quietly as he could back to his room. And from what Harry could tell, Draco slept through the rest of the night in complete silence.

When Harry saw Draco the next morning, his face heated immediately, as though something far more scandalous had happened between them in that shadowy room.

“How’d you sleep?” Harry choked out.

Draco’s eyebrows furrowed. “Differently,” he said after a moment. “I think… I think I still had nightmares, but maybe not as many…” He looked up. “I suppose the muggles might be on to something with that ‘white sound’ of theirs.”

“White noise,” Harry corrected automatically.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Whatever.” He walked off, and Harry considered telling him about what might have actually helped. But he didn’t know how to say it. Didn’t know if he could stand the look on Draco’s face as he did.

Around midday, it began to rain. It started as a dull drizzle, but really began to pick up around dinner, with thunder and lightning to boot.

“Rain is also a sort of white noise,” Harry explained as he picked his way through the bland vegetables that Ron had cooked. They’d run out of spices months ago, and were meant to get a package from Katie Bell a few weeks ago, but it never showed up. Harry was trying very hard not to think too much about what that meant. It could only be bad, afterall.

“Should I not use the wireless, then?” Draco asked.

Harry shrugged. “Might be worth testing the rain instead. Maybe it will work better, I dunno,” he said, looking away, so he could hide in the truth he wasn’t admitting.

“Alright,” Draco said. “Whatever you think is best.”

Harry laughed. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s your experiment, isn’t it? Don’t want to mess with the results.”

“Spoken like a true scientist,” Harry said, smiling.

“That’s a muggle thing, isn’t it?” Draco asked. “I think Blaise once… he explained.”

“Yeah,” Harry said.

Draco watched, as though expecting him to continue.

“Er— Another time, maybe. It’s complicated,” Harry said, shrugging. Afterall, he still hadn’t found a good way to manage his rudimentary knowledge of science against the existence of magic. He definitely didn’t have enough that he felt confident to explain it to Draco. All of that sounded like something he ought to leave up to those Ministry researchers in the Department of Mysteries.

If there were any of them left, that is.

Harry heard Draco open his window that night. The wireless was off, just as Draco said it would be, and with the sound of rain falling outside of his own window, Harry felt himself pulled to sleep even quicker than usual.

He woke to the sound of Draco yelling. For a moment, Harry’s heart thudded, as Draco sounded more lucid than usual, but only a moment later, Harry realised it was only another nightmare. They weren’t under a real attack. At least, for now.

And like a true scientist, Harry felt he had to test this new theory of his.

He walked, as quietly as he could manage again, to Draco’s room. With a gentle touch, he opened the door, and Draco’s shouts got louder as he moved in, and the space between them cleared of walls, and doors.

And then, a sudden clap of thunder, and a flash of lightning that was far too close, and Draco was shooting up, shouting, eyes wide-open and wild.

“Potter?!” he demanded to the open air, hand over his chest. “What on— what on earth…”

“Sorry!” Harry said, gasping, staring. “You were… you were having another nightmare, I’m sorry, and last night, damnit, I’m sorry—”

Draco’s breaths finally settled, as he continued to stare bewildered at Harry. “What?” he asked again, shaking his head, eyes darting around the room, as though looking for more assailants hidden in the corners.

Well, Harry figured. The ruse was up. He began to explain.

“Last night, you were having a nightmare, so I came in, and I tried to wake you up, but, I dunno, when I touched you… you actually slept soundly, for once, and I wanted… I wanted to see if it worked again… I dunno, I’m sorry,” Harry admitted, his cheeks heating hot and strong. He felt embarrassed, and horrible, and very, very stupid.

Draco only stared at him, mouth still parted.

“Right, well, sorry, again. Goodnight,” Harry said, turning on his heel and walking toward the door.

“Wait.”

Harry’s heart thudded. He turned around to Draco staring at him.

“What?” Harry asked.

“If that… if that worked,” Draco said, speaking softly and slowly, “we should test it, again, shouldn’t we?”

“Are… are you sure?” Harry asked.

Draco nodded, though he still looked scared, as though waiting for the trick surely just around the corner. And Harry could only stare at him, struck into a bit of awe, as Draco, in small little movements, edged to one side of his narrow bed.

He was making room for Harry.

Saying nothing, too afraid to ruin this momentary miracle, Harry walked forward, then climbed into bed beside Draco. And, still staring at him, Harry lied down, laying his head on Draco’s other pillow, as Draco mirrored him, staring right back. All movements that might, in any other scenario, be simple and common, but, in this exact scenario, couldn’t be more improbable. Couldn’t be more miraculous.

“Where, er—” Draco asked, his voice hoarse, likely from the yelling, “did you… where—”

“Here,” Harry answered, bringing his hand up as slowly as he could manage, trying his best not to startle Draco. He laid it against Draco’s cheek, the exact way he had the night before. Draco’s cheek felt just as soft to the touch.

And at his touch, Draco’s eyes widened, then flicked to Harry’s hand, where it cradled his cheek. And then they shot back to Harry, who could really see how grey they were in this close proximity. They were the same shade as the stone walls of Hogwarts, or maybe they were more like the gentle grey clouds that covered the English sky in the winter. They seemed to have that same sort of diffused glow, as though sunlight lingered behind them.

And Harry could smell the spearmint again.

“I don’t think I can fall asleep like this,” Draco said after a moment, the corner of his mouth creaking up into a smile.

“Oh!” Harry said, a small breath. “Right, of course,” he said, pulling his hand away.

“Maybe, um,” Draco said, before pausing.

And Harry watched as Draco turned over, facing away. For a moment, Harry was confused, until he felt Draco’s hand, his sharp narrow fingers, grab his own.

So they could pull Harry’s arm up and over, so that it would wrap around Draco’s waist.

Even with the thunder and rain outside, there was no way that Draco couldn’t hear the sound of Harry’s heart, as it hammered in his chest.

“This alright?” Draco asked. “I think this might be the only way we can fall asleep, if you’re supposed to be touching me, and all.”

Harry coughed, his mind like fuzz. “Yeah… this, er— it works.”

“Alright,” Draco said. “Goodnight.”

“‘Night,” Harry said, wondering if maybe all of this was a dream. A really, really good dream.

And Draco was mad if he thought Harry could fall asleep like this.

But Harry didn’t exactly mind. He was more absorbed with marvelling over how different Draco was now, how easy and pliant he had become. Harry couldn’t imagine the Draco of his younger years ever entertaining this sort of thing from Harry. Ever agreeing to sleep in the same bed with him, with Harry’s arm laying curled around his waist. Ever trusting Harry to only want what’s good for him.

But, Harry supposed, war tends to do that. Change people. Soften their edges. Or harden them, sometimes. Harry was glad that it hadn’t broken Draco. From the stories they’d heard, the visions Harry had seen, through Voldemort’s eyes, of what had been done to Draco, that too was a miracle, all of its own. A miracle that Draco was still alive, beneath Harry’s arm. That that good heart of his, that he’d spent so long pretending didn’t exist, still beat inside of him.

Beneath Harry’s arm, Draco’s breaths seemed to deepen.

Harry realised that the tosser had actually fallen asleep. He huffed out a silent laugh, then closed his eyes and tried to sleep himself. And despite how impossible of an idea it was, to think he could relax with Draco only a few inches from him, with the warmth of Draco’s waist, pressed tight against Harry’s arm, the gentle rumble of Draco’s magic, teeming beneath his skin… There was also the sound of rain, a constant patter against the forest around them, and the smell of ozone and wet dirt that blew in with every breeze, and all of it together began to culminate into Harry actually succumbing to the sweet quiet of sleep.

Harry awoke to the stream of sunlight, and something tickling his nose.

He wrenched his eyes open, and in the blurry haze without his glasses, realised something very quickly.

During the night, Harry had somehow managed to shift even closer to Draco. So close, in fact, that Draco was now pressed entirely against him, still breathing slowly, still asleep. But his back was tight to Harry’s chest, and their legs were tangled up together beneath the sheets, and he could feel Draco’s arse, pressed right up against him, and—

Immediately, Harry’s heart set to hammering again, at the feeling of Draco’s warmth, now basically surrounding him.

And Harry, unable to help himself, could only pull Draco even closer, dipping his own head forward, and pressing his face against the back of Draco’s neck.

Harry fell back asleep, surrounded by the smell of lavender.

When Harry woke up the second time, he was alone. Ignoring the weird thud in his heart at that realisation, Harry got up, and trudged back to his room to get dressed.

He nearly walked straight into Hermione on the way.

She stared at him, her mouth opening and shutting, as though cycling through a hundred different things to say.

“Were… were you in Malfoy’s room?” she asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“Er— yeah,” Harry said, scratching at his head, feeling his cheeks redden. He looked everywhere but Hermione’s eyes. For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do that.

“Oh,” Hermione said. “Okay.”

In surprise, Harry met her eyes.

She smiled.

And that was all they said of it.

Harry eventually found Draco, crouching in their back garden and surveying over their collection of recently sprouted herbs.

“Hi—”

“The basil doesn’t need to be in this prime of a location,” Draco said, at once.

“Oh.”

“In fact, you could probably swap it with the rosemary— they usually like a bit more sun than I think the one you’ve got here is getting,” he continued. “Rosemary is Mediterranean, so that means they like pretty much all the sun they can get, but basil is tropical, so all that sun it’s currently getting might be drying it out, I think. At least, from what I remember.”

“Okay,” Harry said. “You can, er— take it over, if you’d like. I’m sure Hermione would like the reprieve.”

“Okay,” Draco said, standing back up. “I’ll talk to her.”

Harry watched as he walked stiffly past him, and, as though on instinct, couldn’t help but shoot his hand out, to grab at Draco’s thin wrist.

Draco startled, before staring back down again at Harry with those big grey eyes that Harry was getting to know so well.

“How did you sleep?” Harry asked.

Draco scanned over Harry’s face before responding. “Better.”

“Good,” Harry said, nodding. He released Draco’s wrist.

And Draco took a step inside, and Harry wasn’t sure what any of it meant, but then, just before he’d walked away entirely, Draco turned back around.

“Again, tonight?” he asked, over his shoulder, refusing to meet Harry’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “We ought to be thorough. For the experiment, I mean.”

And, miraculously, Draco laughed.

That night, Harry spent a good twenty minutes sitting on his bed. It was one thing to sneak into Draco’s bedroom in the middle of the night, heralded in by a nightmare, but it was another thing entirely to go off to bed with him. Like they were… like they were something else.

But ever the brave Gryffindor, Harry managed.

He crossed down the hallway, wondered briefly if Hermione ever did this with Ron, before he knocked on Draco’s door, just twice.

“Come in,” Draco said.

So Harry did.

The only light came from a flickering oil lamp on the rusted metal bedside table next to Draco’s side of the bed.

Draco’s side, Harry repeated in his head, accompanied by a weird, almost painful, thud of his heart.

Draco was holding a book between his slender fingers.

“What’re you reading?” Harry asked, as he forced himself to continue forward, climbing into bed with Draco like any part of this was normal. Like it was routine.

“A muggle book,” Draco answered. “The Great Gatsby. I found it in the cellar.”

“Oh,” Harry said. “How is it?”

“A bit sad.”

“Oh.”

Draco sighed, stuffed the ripped bit of paper he must have been using as a bookmark back inside the book, then placed the book on the bedside table. Immediately after, he blew out the lamp, sending them into a sudden darkness.

Harry lied back down, but couldn’t bring himself to pull Draco back into the position they were in last night. It was too much, he felt. He’d need Draco to do it, or else he’d never allow himself something so unbelievable.

“Potter,” Draco said, still sitting up, and not looking at him.

Harry propped himself up on his elbows. “Yeah?”

“Is this… is this part of your whole… saving-people-thing?” Draco asked.

“What?” Harry asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“I heard Granger call it that, back in sixth year, after you told Pansy that you’d find a way so she wouldn’t have to go back home for Christmas… you know, after you heard about her family, and how terrified—”

“No,” Harry said, interrupting him. “I, er— I know what you’re referring to, I mean.”

“So?” Draco asked again, still not looking at him. “Is it?”

Harry paused, bit at his lip. How was he supposed to tell Draco that no, it wasn’t? It was something far, far more than that. Something that Harry might not have had the words for yet. Something that Harry wanted all to himself.

“No,” Harry finally said, after a moment.

Draco didn’t respond, continuing to stare forward.

So Harry reached his hand out, graced his fingertips along the cotton back of the t-shirt that Draco was wearing to sleep. Draco once wore silk pyjamas to bed, Harry knew, but he didn’t have them anymore. He didn’t have anything of his own, really, since he had no idea he was to be rescued, and therefore no clue to pack any sort of bag on that night that Harry and Ron had broken into Malfoy Manor like thieves, coming for his rescue.

Instead, Draco wore a combination of Harry’s and Ron’s clothing, along with some other bits and pieces they’d managed to collect in the long time they’d spent on the run. A flannel shirt Oliver Wood had forgotten to pack when he’d left, after only the one night with them. A thick heavy sweater that Lavender Brown gave to Hermione after Hermione had mentioned to her how cold the nights were getting, back in November.

A wool beanie that now had one or two holes, but that Harry still treasured deeply, because it had come from Colin Creevy, on the last time Harry had seen him before he’d been murdered in cold blood by Alecto Carrow.

Harry thought Draco might have shivered at his touch, as his fingers trailed along the ridges of Draco’s spine. Draco turned around, and Harry could only just make out his eyes in the heavy dark of the room. In the momentary silence, Harry could hear that the rain had started up again, just barely.

“Then what is this?” Draco asked.

Harry sat up fully. He placed his hand back against Draco’s cheek, and felt the warmth of his skin beneath his palm. For a moment, Draco looked at peace.

“It’s me being selfish,” Harry said, then leaned forward and kissed him.

He felt Draco gasp beneath him, and waited, unmoving, so he could allow Draco the space to choose for himself what he wanted next.

And Harry really did feel selfish, as he sat there, in the middle of all that tragedy and war, because, in that moment, he’d never felt so lucky. No, all he could feel was unbridled, selfish relief, as he felt Draco kiss him back.

Draco’s lips pressed firm against Harry’s, and Harry’s hands fell to Draco’s waist, where he pulled him in tighter, finally succumbing to something he’d always wanted and never thought he’d have, never thought he’d be lucky enough to find.

It felt like everything Harry had always dreamed it might, yet somehow more, somehow brighter, and stronger. As Draco’s lips slid against his, and as his tongue glided out, soft against Harry’s lip, Harry wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. If he still needed to, at all.

Draco pushed him by the shoulders, until they were lying down, Draco half draped across Harry’s chest as he continued to kiss him, demanding, yet soft, almost like those fights they used to fall into like clockwork, but with the need, raw and scorching, that underscored all of them.

Harry doesn’t know how long they laid there, kissing, praying into each other’s bodies like they might never see the sun again. He felt as though they’d slipped into some pocket of time, far away from the world surrounding them. Because it no longer felt like war.

At some point, they fell asleep, Harry’s arms around Draco, holding him, enveloping him, like the promise Harry wanted to make him, that he’d never let Draco suffer again, the way Harry knew he had. It was an impossible promise, Harry knew that. But he wanted to make it all the same. He wanted to make it to Draco every night. He wanted to find a way to hold this fragile incredible thing safe in the palm of his hand.

He knew it was impossible. He knew everything around them was as temporary as the frost that lingered in the trees during the dark morning hours, before the sun rose to melt it all. Harry knew that, at any moment, he could die, he could be captured, he could finally meet the death he was famous for evading. He knew they were all living on borrowed time.

But in that moment, with Draco’s lips on his, and the feeling of Draco’s heart beating against Harry’s chest, Harry felt, for the first time in quite a while, the bright flicker of hope.

And that night, Draco didn’t have a single nightmare at all.

#harry potter #drarry #draco malfoy #harry x draco #fanfic #one shot #drarry fanfic #snippet

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multifandom-worlds · 2 years ago

Text

My Little Miss Sunshine

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 875

Warnings: N/A

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Fem reader

Authors Note: This came from a discussion with @holdmytesseract a while back!

“Put your hands together for Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, and Tom Hiddleston!”

I walk on stage with my three costars amongst roaring applause. Doing interviews with Seb and Chris is always one of my favourite things. They are both effortlessly funny and great at speaking - the only trouble is they are terrible secret keepers. Especially Chris, his facial expressions give everything away. I take my seat after waving to the audience, sitting at the end with Sebastian in the middle and Chris on the other end, closest to the host. Robert was in a chair beside me. We were there as PR for the new Marvel movie that just came out, which hosted a new character played by my secret long-term girlfriend, my little Miss Sunshine. That’s what everyone on set calls her, too, due to her always smiling and being super bubbly.

The interview started as most PR interviews do - the hosts trying to get information about the movie - thank God my Tom counterpart isn’t here to give anything away.

“I hear a new member is joining the Marvel cast.” the host began, and Sebastian, RDJ and Chris immediately turned to face me. Oh boy, here we go.

RDJ was the first to speak, “Little Miss Sunshine, as she’s affectionately nicknamed. She and Tom have been flirting relentlessly the whole time filming was going on.”

The audience laughs, and I laugh along with them because it is true. I did flirt relentlessly with her, but it came so quickly, given our history. “She was cast as someone for Loki to flirt and tease; why would I not flirt with her?” I respond to Robert's prodding with a slight chuckle. Nobody knew about Sunshine and me, and I did wish to keep it that way. Although we did talk backstage before I came on about letting our secret out - although she didn’t like the idea, she was okay if it made the interview easier for me. I kept that fact at the forefront of my mind if needed.

RDJ retorts, “On screen, yes, but you were flirting with her off-screen, too, Tom! It was constant.”

Sebastian and Chris echo his thoughts, much to the audience's approval. I chuckle, knowing our ten-year-old secret would be told today, and I did my best to continue denying it. “I’ve known Sunshine for years; our families are friends. I used to flirt with her years ago, which is why flirting with her came so naturally on screen.” I had hoped that explanation would suffice, even though I knew it would cause more questions.

“A photo has been doing its rounds online of you and her engaging in a rather intimate moment off stage. Can you explain that?” The host asks as the picture in question appears on the screen behind us. I saw the kiss I was sharing with her and knew she could see it from where she was standing backstage.

Running my hands through my hair, I gave everyone what they wanted to know. “That was when filming for the movie officially wrapped up. I was so proud of her; having never acted, she did so well.”

“And why a kiss? Especially one as passionate as that? Why not a hug like most of the cast?” The host prods. Everyone, including my three costars, watched me intently, wanting to hear the truth.

“That’s because Little Miss Sunshine has been my girlfriend for ten years.”

The audience erupts in cheers and applause while Robert, Chris and Sebastian look at me, completely stunned. Honestly, I'm shocked that they never put it together until now. I laugh, seeing the reaction to the reveal and watching the realization dawn on their faces.

“That’s why you two were always sneaking off together!” Chris yells with a laugh. “Ten years? TEN? I’ve known you for almost ten years; how am I only learning this now?”

“How did you two first start dating?” The host questions. The question caught me off guard, afterall I wasn’t planning to be asked about my relationship.

“As I mentioned,” I began, adjusting my glasses, “Our families are friends, so we grew up together. We had lost contact for several years once my acting career took off, and admittedly it was mostly my fault. She would text me, and I would just not answer her due to my schedule. One day she just stopped texting me, and I figured she had found someone, so I left it. It wouldn’t be until five years later that we reconnected at her my sister’s wedding, of all places. They remained close through all these years. I was hooked when I saw her again, saw the woman she became. All my feelings for her throughout our teenage years came flooding back to me. Now that I'm thinking about it, I suspect that was their plan all along.”

A soft smile pulls on my lips, remembering how we danced together all night. “That was the happiest I had been since I started acting. Luckily I had broken up with my girlfriend at the time months before, so I asked her to be my girlfriend that night. Thankfully she said yes. We’ve been together ever since and I could not be happier.”

#tom hiddleston one shot #tom hiddleston x you #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddelston imagine

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nihyunluvskookie · 2 years ago

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“I want to fall deeper in your love Changkyun”

“Changkyun one shot”

Pairing: Im Changkyun x female reader

Genre: Fluff

Warning: There’s none because it’s birthday fluff

Word count: 1.6K

Author’s note: This is a birthday fluff, I was supposed to post this on his birthday but I got since, so couldn't post. So here it is~ hope you like this, because this idea suddenly occurred to me when I was in class lmaoo xD and it’s almost 3 am, so I couldn't do the proof read so sorry for the mistakes T.T

happy reading:)

“This question goes like this” I looked at the whole class. “Anyone got questions?” he got up from his seat as well, “No questions?” everyone shook their heads, “good”

I was about to solve another question, my phone started ringing. “Excuse me” I took my phone. “This is kind of urgent” he nodded, and since he was standing so close to me, I didn’t had to tell him anything more, “carry on with the next problem” he nodded.

I went out of the class and picked up the call, “are you done with your part already?”

“Yea”

I was so thankful to my other friends, because I know everyone is so busy with their thesis but we all found time to do this, I know it’s very important and special for me. I’m so happy everyone decided to give this a go.

“Then come fast, to the place we decided, we need your help and since he would be busy with students right now, so it’s a win-win situation.”

“Okay, coming.” I smiled and hung up, I didn’t tell Changkyun about it and left the classroom.

I entered the classroom and locked the door. “Hazel, come here” I walked towards Mimosa, “help me these balloons and flower petals”

“Okay” I helped her with the balloons, I saw Lau setting up the balloons, he looked at me and smiled.

“I’m so excited!!” I looked at Lina, “for his birthday surprise?” I looked at her surprised, “NO”

“NO?”

“I’m excited for you” I turned my head to take a better view of her face, because I couldn’t understand her, “stop trying to fool us Hazel” I wondered what did I do?

“What did I do?”

“We all know about you and Changkyun” there’s no way anyone would know beside Minhyuk, because he is my bestfriend and my secret keeper.

“You know what Lina?”

“Hazel…. we know how good friends you are and how much you wanted to surprise him” thank…god for this.

“Okay” once me and Mimosa were done with the balloons, we helped Lau to set them up. Soon after that we were done with petals as well.

“We are nothing Lina, stop it, and let’s get over this decorations as soon as possible”

“Okay captain, and Minhyuk is coming soon with the cake” I nodded at her words

I heard a knock and I was sure it was Minhyuk, I knew Changkyun won’t come until he’s done with class and I call him here. So, I went to open the door.

“Am I late?” I smiled as soon I saw Minhyuk, “No, you’re not” he gave me a quick hug lifting the cake box so that it doesn’t get ruined or anything. “Hope you’re doing okay” he whispered to me and I nodded, “a little nervous I guess?”

“It’s fine” and he gave me a tight hug and then smiled at me. “let’s go and complete setting everything up” I nodded and he locked the door. “Hazel hold this for a minute” he gave me the cake box, “I’ve something, I kept it outside, let me bring it” I was confused but I nodded at his words anyway. “Okay”

He went outside, and I kept the cake on the table, and then we completed the decorations and the happy birthday balloons were set perfectly. I heard the door open and close again, I turned to look at Minhyuk, he was holding a bouquet full of red roses, I was surprised.

He leaned towards my ears and said, “give it to him later. He’ll be happy.” this whole thing went unnoticed by everyone, “a bouquet?” I turned to look at Mimosa, “yes, I brought it just now. It’s his birthday afterall, he would be so happy and here, me and Hazel are the seniors so, I guess getting a bouquet on his birthday would make him feel nice and happy”

“This is for you”

“Huh?”

“I agree” Lau said and all of us smiled.

Minhyuk checked everything first and said everything’s perfect. “Is it time already?” Lina asked me, I looked at my wristwatch, and nodded. “let me call him” everyone nodded.

I dialled his number and after three rings he picked up the call; before he could speak I spoke “Is the class over?”

“Yes, it is. Why didn’t you comeback? And is your work done?”

“Kind of yes, but can you come to room no. 208? Right now?”

“Now?”

“Yes, please?”

“He is coming guys, switch off the lights and pull the curtain to make the room dark!!” everyone started doing it, Minhyuk came near me and said, “I’m keeping this bouquet at the back so that only you can give it to me and you look perfect today so don’t be nervous.” I nodded at his words and he went to keep the bouquet hidden at the back. After he came back to me, he side hugged me and kissed my hair, “you can do this”

“No need to say please, I’m coming.”

“Okay” And I hung up

We heard the door open, “Hazel? are you there? And why is this room so dark?”

“Hazel?” he called my name once again, I know everyone was probably smiling and trying to hold back their laughter. He switched on the lights and we all shouted in unison, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANGKYUN”

He looked surprised, and the look he had on his face was so precious, like no one could give me the peace and happiness I got when I saw his priceless reaction. I love him so much.

“Oh god, what is this? And thank you so much.” We walked towards him and everyone gave him hugs and wished him one by one.

I was left, I didn’t hug him but I did wish him. I could say he was expecting me to go and hug him but I didn’t. I didn’t want to ruin the main event which I decided for him.

After wishing, we took him to the table so that he could blow the candles and cut the cake, he looked happy. After setting the candles, I lit them up.

“Make a wish” he closed his eyes for a second, then he looked at me before blowing the candles.

After cake cutting, everyone had fun, and he got gifts. Everything went like the way a surprise birthday should go like.

“You know it was Hazel’s idea, this whole planning, we just helped.” I looked at Mimosa for exposing me. I saw Minhyuk, going to the back and brining the bouquet, and none of them noticed him, keeping it on the other side of the table.

“You all helped me, don’t give me the credit like that” I was embarrassed because he was staring at me, watching each move and movement. “Okay, guys, wanted to tell you that Andrea Ma’am called four of us because of our thesis so let’s go” Minyuk grabbed everyone and winked at me.

“But Hazel-”

“Sometimes I really don’t like the fact that we need to take tutorial classes and do thesis as Ph.D students and we need to clean at least half of this place” Lau looked at me, “don’t worry I’ll do it”

“We will join you once we are done with Andrea ma’am okay?” Minhyuk gave me a look, he knows how to handle these situations so well.

It was just me and him inside the room, standing infront of eachother.

“Okay”

“Now let’s go or we will be late” Minhyuk dragged everyone out of the room and closed the door.

“Happy Birthday” I finally looked at him and said. I felt better. I was about to and bring the bouquet to give it to me, but he walked towards me and trapped me, in between his arms. His hands were reasting on the table and my heartbeat went crazy, the closeness between us was slowly making me nervous.

“No gifts for me, no hugs for me?” his voice was deeper than usual and I was losing my mind over him again. I tried pushing him back; so that I could focus on what I want to do and breath normally, he took a step back, and I went towards the other side of the table where Minhyuk kept the bouquet. I picked it up and looked back at him, the table was the only thing keeping us apart.

“I’m disappointed…”

“Huh?”

“Yes” and gave him the bouquet. He looked confused, “Yes?”

I took a deep breath, I knew how tough it was to admit it infront of a boy whom I like, whom I want to be my first in everything. “The answer is yes” he looked amazed, I could tell it from his look. I gave him the answer of his confession he made a week ago, I wanted to give him a birthday gift.

He walked towards me and lifted me up, holding my waist, “Tell me you’re serious” I smiled at him, “It’s a yes Changkyun. I want you to be my first. I am saying yes to you. I want you to be mine”

He let me down on the floor, “And this your birthday gift” I kissed him on his cheeks quickly.

He accepted the bouquet from me, and pulled me by my waist, “you’ve no idea how much I waited for you everyday and every second.” I put my arms around his neck, “same” he smiled at me.

“You’re amazing and thankyou for giving me the best gift on my birthday” he smiled, he should know his smiles do something to me and I forget to breath. He leaned towards me slowly, “can I?” he was looking at me with the eyes full of love.

I didn’t give an answer but kissed him instead. He pulled me closer and kissed me back. After few seconds, he said, “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.” in between kisses and kissed me again.

“I want to fall deeper in your love Changkyun” he pulled apart and kissed me on my forehead.

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pomegrantemoths88 · 1 year ago

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Ch.3, Names and Second Days (Till We're Safe: AU The Maze Runner, Gally X FemReader)

“y/n”

“What?”

“MY NAME.”

“IT’S Y/N”

We stopped pushing and everyone got quiet, Newt came up first and lifted my hand, introducing me again. “

“Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Y/N!”

The Gladers cheered and congratulated me and I immediately felt much more at ease. I turned to Gally who then shook my hand and said

“Hello y/n, amazing that your name came up as you were losing. I wonder if you’ll remember something else next time.”

“Ah didn’t think you’d be a sore loser, maybe don’t stare so hard next time.”

The smile on Gally quickly turned to an annoyed smirk

“Just hope you’re not stuck with the builders tomorrow Greenie.”

“My names not Greenie.”

“Don’t care, I already forgot it.”

As he walked away I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disappointment and guilt. The others didn’t seem to notice or care but I didn’t want Gally to think I chickened out. Sure he shouldn’t just negate my name, it’s the one thing we’re able to have in this godforsaken place but I couldn’t blame him, it was bad timing.

I followed Alby back to the Homestead and entered a small room with a makeshift bed in the middle. The Homestead itself seemed well built considering who put it up and the circumstances. Alby gave me a pack which included some blankets and a few other items,

“I'm gonna have you sleep here for a bit, or for as long as you want, usually no special treatment is given but since these are special circumstances, you should have privacy for whatever girl things you need to do.”

“Thank you for the room Alby and the bed too.”

“Oh don’t thank me for the bed, Gally volunteered. He usually likes sleeping in the hammocks anyway.”

I’m not sure whether shock or confusion was the word here, I didn’t know what to make of Gally and if I was being honest, maybe I was thinking about it and him too much. We were here to survive, not play.

“Oh he didn’t have t-”

“As I said, he likes the hammocks, you’re fine Y/N”

“Okay, oh another thing, is there usually someone else who sleeps in the homestead? I noticed more rooms and people in them.”

“Yeah, me, Newt, Frypan and Minho. Keepers sleep in here and the med-jacks work in here usually. Sleep well Y/N, you have a long day tomorrow.”

“Goodnight Alby”

I could barely sleep, the crickets themselves were comforting but it must've been my body responding to discomfort, in my last life I clearly didn’t sleep in conditions like this, it invited a melancholic feeling, it made me wonder what bed I used to sleep in, what my room looked like, did I sleep in a house with a loving family? Or did something more tragic happen along the way, it only brought me back to the questions that were on everyone's mind,

“Why am I here? Who was I?”

. About halfway through these thoughts, it brought me back to the present, and I couldn’t even blame the bed, it didn’t smell terrible like I thought it would’ve, and it was a halfway decent bed. The blankets were clean but the mattress itself almost smelled clean? Like freshly cleaned. Of course I could’ve been trying to delay myself from sleeping, afterall I wonder if I’d wake up in the same place.

I did end up sleeping, I could thank the crickets for that but of course I had to wake up to a heavy grating sound. I shot up immediately just to hear others also doing the same and Newt yelling,

“Rise and shine shaaaanks, what a wonderful morning to work!”

I giggled, a few others groaned. Yeah this would be fun. I noticed the pack that Alby had given me last night and I noticed amongst it that they were clothes. Clean clothes that looked almost my size, they must’ve come up the Box with me. I changed and got ready fairly quickly and I greeted the Homestead residents.

“Good morning Y/N, hope you got enough sleep, come with us to breakfast.”

I accompanied the Keepers to breakfast, where Frypan had whipped up eggs and some mashed sweet potatoes? I sat still with Newt and Alby and a few others enjoying the breakfast and getting to know them. I noticed that the Keepers liked to sit with their guys and sometimes sit together. I wondered which one of these groups I’d belong to later on. I was stuck in thought until Clint, Keeper of the Medjacks came up to me.

“Hey Y/N, do you think you’d know anything about patching cuts up?”

“I’m not sure, I didn’t think anybody could just join?”

“Well it's my lucky day because Alby said he’d let you try out. And I’m tired of running around from the builders to the slicers all day. With your running, maybe Jeff and I can get a break.”

“I don’t know Clint, maybe these shanks will start cutting themselves up on purpose if she’s a Med-Jack.”

“Yeah you think Alby would let that happen? They’re dumb not stupid.”

I didn’t want to have to get used to this, I understood being the only girl was something to be aware of, but if these comments were in store for me, I’d have rather taken my chance with whatever a Griever was.

Alright so the first day wasn’t so bad. Me, Clint and Jeff started our day in the Homestead, taking inventory of supplies and showing me around our “office”. They let me know what big injuries some of the Gladers have had and currently have. After that, we headed into the Deadheads, despite its name, small medicinal herbs and flowers grow there, while Jeff stayed in the Homestead teaching me to prepare some of the herbs. Clint went out for his rounds, seeing who had gotten injured today.

After a few hours of lessons, they decided to take me out into the field. They weren’t kidding when they said they run around from slicers to builders all day.

First it was bandages on a few hands, second it was bandaging cuts on legs. Next was a run to Homestead for some of the salves we use for infection and inflammation. After we were done with the slicers we headed to the builders.

We walked over to an unfinished building near the Deadheads, asking if anyone needed some attention first. A couple boys had scratches and painful calluses that needed repatching, after a couple minutes of work I heard a familiar voice speak up.

“I need a bandage.”

After I finished swiftly with the boy in front of me, I turned over to Gally who had a nasty cut on his palm.

“What the hell did you do to your hand!?”

With an annoyed look he said,

“I thought it'd be fun to scrape my hand on a saw. Could you hurry up?”

“Can you please be patient and not cut your hands on a saw so you don’t have to complain about ME being slow?”

“Or you could just hurry up and let me do my job so you don’t have to hear me complaining Greenie”

“My name isn’t Greenie shank.”

Clint decided to cut into what was becoming a heated conversation with,

“Alright now, Gally. It’s her second day man, take it easy, and Y/N, you can’t win with this guy.”

“I’ll take it easy when she - AH, what the hell?!”

“Relax brickhead, I just put alcohol and salve on it, it's a deep cut not just a scrape.”

“Don’t waste the alcohol on a cut, shucking hell it’s not that serio-”

“It is that serious and if it's just a cut, why complain to me about a bandage?”

As he was about to cut me off again, the dinner bell rang. Immediately he dismissed the other guys and he stayed silent as I finished up his bandage that took no longer than 2 more minutes, he looked away and said,

“Is there anything I should do to take care of it?”

“Well don’t use this hand so much but I have a feeling you won’t listen to that.”

“You’re right, I won’t.”

As we walked to dinner, part of me wanted to thank him for the bed, but another part wanted to chuck a hammer at his face-

“Thank you for the bandage.”

He didn’t look at me, he stared dead ahead for a bit till I just-

“Thank you for the bed.”

We glanced at each other but there was something else in his eyes that I saw when we met, during the brawl and now, and I didn’t know why it felt familiar.

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

@thebestrouge @thedo9isdead @murdockssbitch

#the maze runner #gally x y/n #gally x reader #gally tmr #tmr gally #newt tmr #tmr newt #the scorch trials #the death cure #tmr fanfiction #gally maze runner

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askabyssprincesslumine · 1 year ago

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Lumine.... it has been some time since we last spoke, hasn't it?

Perhaps I shouldn't... but I hope you're well. I still care for you, despite everything.

But do not think I will let that get in the way of my mission.

-@official-bough-keeper

“Oh.”

She spoke flatly, looking the blonde up and down before sighing.

“Good to see you again, Dainslief. I am well, and it’s good to know you still care. At least someone does. “

“I’ll hold you to your word, however. I dont want you going easy on me, should we meet under different circumstances.”

She smiled, patted his chest tauntingly, and turned to leave. Lumine is a very busy woman, afterall.

#genshin ask blog #genshin lumine #lumine #ask

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ashfa123456789 · 2 months ago

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*The unbreakable bond of Cousinhood*

" In a world where trust is hard to come by, I'm grateful to have one cousin who I can trust blindly . We've grown up together, sharing Secrets, Family traditions,trips, jokes and Stories. Sometimes we fought over little things like remote, toys, dresses but at the end we alawys made up in the end . She's mine support system no matter what cousin love is unconditional love without any judgement our bond are like lifelong friendship. Our meet up spot was . My grandma's house. We spent hours and days together with full of joy

It's been 15 years of laughter, tears and trips in our unbreakable cousin connection. As we grew older we traveled new place ,tried new foods , and do outdoor activities together. Our conversation was deeply meaningful . We discuss our future aim and share advice and support each other's dream's goal, aim. My cousin is more than just relative. She's my best friend and secret keeper and supportive sister

Whenever I think about my cousinhood with 'Zaara', my heart is filled with lots of expression and emotions like,happiness ,excitement and jealousy also when I see her close to other's. That time our 13 years of Cousinhood completed.And suddenly she gone out of town because of her father's business but we still didn't break our contact with each other. And then one day ,she suddenly surprised me,and I feel overjoyed, and dancing with happiness and excitement that After a year I wanted to share so many things and gossip and now I can't wait. And it's going to be 16 years in a few months. I hope our bond continues for a lifetime.

She is so sweet and humble,caring ,protective nature. We may not be siblings,but you are my crime partner.Our bond is a best album of memories and true feelings and infinity funny moments. You're the cousin who makes me feel special at every functions. Cousin like you are a precious and rare gift from God. Cousin like you make life's journey beautiful easy and worthwhile. And this never misses a chance to make me happy and feel special for example:- One day I'll discuss with zaara that I want one novel and after a few days she gifted me the novel that I really want. This small gesture makes my day because of my cousin.

Since day you came in my life as a cousin and slowly start becoming a friend and we sharing our Secrets and build the strongest bonding and you became my bestie. And my cousin is a ray of light and happiest ,beautiful destiny of my life .

Afterall , she's my pain relief,my understanding partner and you're my forever favorite person. A cousin is a little bit of childhood that never be lost .To be honest I never feel any difference between my sibling and my cousin. And I really love to spend time with my cousin. Our childhood memories are always hold a special place or feeling in my heart. You're my sunshine and making me bright with nostalgia joy dear.

#Our bond is unbreakable; if it breaks, my trust on cousinhood will never be the same...

I still remember the day when you said me that you are going out of town because of your father's business that day my heart was so broken and pained my heart and soul. I remember all our memories that we spend in our good times and pranks, our madness laughter and traveling unforgettable best memories. She taught me to accept that embrace life. She is the live and pure example of a true best friend. These 1 years was very tough for us I am thinking that she will forget me and make new homes. But I was wrong when she came to Mumbai again I was the first person whom she met, and makes me again very special ,emotional and happy. And I am just saying my cousin that I tried very hard to move on from our attachment but it was useless we remember each other everyday every minute. And I am thinking very emotional and weird things at that time like the promise we made not being separate that promise got broken in a second.

The tears the hug we share that time was enexplained but somehow we manage and control ourselves and made a another promise to be in touch always whether we are in long distance or close with eachother but still we couldn't be able to bridge the gap between us with phone call, text, and video calls because the physical distance created an emotional chasm that slowly grew wider. The time difference made it difficult to find a common time to talk and the conversation became less frequent we started to drift apart and the connection that once seemed Unbreakable began to fray. Distance apart, yet roots of love remain cherished moments in time. In my dreams, I revisit our childhood shores.Love knows no Distance only infinite connection our love blooms .Our bond is a masterpiece of families ties and we create memories to remember journey of our beautiful moments. We both are eachother's strength and motivation.

In my cousin I find a second self. My cousin always gives me her shoulder cry on in time of sorrow. With her I cam face any life's challenges. Her empathetic heart understands my deepest sorrows. My cousin kind or inspires me to be a good and a better person. Our late-night conversation, gossip and food craving all my favorite therapy. Cousin are the bridges that connect our family's past,present,future and any misunderstanding will solve . A real cousin is someone who walks in when the rest of the world Walks out. I smile because you're my family . And we didn't realize that time were making memories we just knew we having a fun. Cousins? Nah were real sisters and besties.

Cousinhood is a whimsical journey through childhood mischief and family gatherings. It's the mixture of kinship and creates a bond that feels familiar and extraordinary. Cousinhood is a special kind and Magic that change my mood in a second. This girl know my weird side but stil didn't judge me in a wrong way. And I wonder that how I could have a cousin like you 'Zaara'.

#Cousins #unbreakable bond #mine support system# besties...

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bacchicly · 2 years ago

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Hey Garvez Nation...so I'm working on establishing the whole Lisa-Luke-Penelope friendly threesome for Part 4 of "Not Bound" and I am curious how this rings for those of you open for that sort of thing...so if anyone feels like having a gander and letting me know if it seems to be working ok... I'd appreciate it.

FYI: as I progress with the piece I am landing on the following sub-goals (my goals with smut writing is always writing something that follows my general "personal guidelines for writing smut" which are here)

1. AU that feels authentic to canon. Works for folks where Garvez is their OTP.

2. Explore the validity of a few different types of love and attraction without prioritizing one over the other (i.e. it is left to individuals to prioritize/negotiate the different types of love in their life) (which I am finding challenging to balance with writing a couple as an OTP!)

3. Show characters new to a kink in a way that is authentic to their understandable hesitancies and curiousities - without and -this sounds a bit weird - either kink shaming or fetishizing the kink

4. Use lots of horse / circus imagery because I am a dork but it's my damn hobby so I better enjoy it...and apparently thinking A LOT and writing to a theme is my happy place for this series.

5. Good orgasms and awww moments. For Garvez and maybe for a reader or two.

Excerpt of the wip "Whoa!" - part 4 of "Not Bound" Series set in season 15.

Words (so far): 1700 ish

Content: this part doesn't have anything too sexy/graphic...but story will eventually have pony play (gentle/beginner); breeding kink (gentle/beginner); mentions of and maybe graphic threesome sex (wwm); bi-penelope; bi-Lisa; maybe bi-Luke

Lisa and Penelope share a smile that is part appreciative and part indulgent as they listen to Luke backtrack his last statement and watch him stretch up to string the purple, white, blue, and black tassels in front of the window - a hint of belly showing when his arms raise above his head.

“Whoa! That is not what I’m saying! I CAN believe they are having a 5th baby - afterall the first four are certifiably amazing - but what I CAN’T believe is that I let you and Penelope convince me to host a shower for them.”

Penelope faux pouts and Lisa laughs and pelts him with the purple balloon she’s just blown up.

“Look - just think of it as more of a sprinkle, Hot Stuff. Babies deserve parties - whether they are first born, last born or somewhere in the middle. Am I right, Penelope? Or am I right?”

“Oh you’re so so SO right!”

“See? The All-Knowing-and-Ever-Perfect Penelope Garcia agrees with me! I must be right!”

Luke is about to throw a balloon at both of the ladies ganging up against him - when strains of the Doctor Who theme-song pierce the room. Lisa dives for her phone which is vibrating and ringing it’s little sci-fi heart out on the table. Luke looks absolutely gobsmacked at this development.

It is obviously work and Lisa is being called in - she quickly takes in the details and hangs up sighing.

“Well. No rest for the wicked. I have got to run, kids. I’ll have to take a rain check…although like I was saying earlier I have a date with a dishy dude from the obstetrics wing Tuesday - if I’m not called in - Sally says he’s the best nurse on the floor - so…"

"Ooohhhh! You have to text me after! I want all the details! Luke and I will have our fingers and toes crossed for you that he's a keeper."

"Of course, Gorgeous! And I am entrusting you both with the solemn duty to make sure my present gets to Matt and Kirsty? I fear I will not make it to the party at this rate."

"Will do! But Honey Bunches, it's too bad you have to go though…I was looking forward to seeing if the stuff fit."

"Next time, Babe - although if latest date works out - no more grupo a tres fun for little old me. Ok I think that's everything - sorry for decorating and dashing but you know what they say… DUTY CALLS OVER BOOTY CALLS. And who knows - maybe there will be some Grupo a quatro in our future…can you imagine Luke kissing my true-love-dishy-nurse while we watch?"

"While we make out you mean. But yes! Ok safe travels you! Give me a squeeze and text when you get safe to the hospital?"

Through all this extended womanly banter and Lisa gathering her things, Luke has been staring at his ex-turned-friend like she's grown three heads.

"Alright, toodles you two - open the package, ok? Promise? No need to wait for me. Bye Luke. Treat our gal right tonight!"

Lisa steps out of Penelope's warm goodbye embrace and goes to give Luke his hug goodbye but he stops her.

“Wait. Before you go. Explain.”

“Well, Luke. You may recall from our time together that I am an ER Doctor now and regularly - particularly when there is fun to be had - get called in to save lives.”

“Not that, you goof.”

“Well - like I said this summer - I’m up for some no-strings fun with good friends - but more and more I am realizing that long term I want something more one-on-one - y'know 2.5 kids, a picket fence, boring everyday chores, maybe a backyard with a pool, so…”

“Not that either! You know I want the best for you and I told you earlier that a dishy nurse sounds good and that I'm rooting for him to be someone able to give you all the tlc you deserve. Tell me what I want to know, Woman."

"Then I have no idea what-" says Lisa loftily.

"You’re being deliberately dense, Lisa! Don't make me give you a noogie. And look,” Luke gestures at Penelope who has collapsed in helpless giggles on the floor, “-you’re going to kill our friend over here. What I NEED to know - as I am sure you are completely aware…is… Why do you suddenly have a Doctor Who ringtone? Since when are you into sci-fi?”

“Oh that! Well - as you might have heard - the new Doctor is a woman now. Penelope introduced us a few weeks ago after you left to do something macho and I am now A FAN. Penny helped me fix my ring tone and Voila! Happy now?"

"Yes. Thank you. You may now go. You leaving for work…you having a date… all that I can handle but 'Just Say No to Star Wars Lisa Douglas' having a whovian ringtone…was beyond me. But if Pen-el-o-pe Garcia was involved? That explains everything."

"Yep. She's magic this one. Penelope one-in-a-million-Garcia walks into your life and then WHAM! BANG! all sorts of things you didn't expect are happening."

Penelope sputters through her giggles and tries to right herself, "THANK YOU MA'AM… I think?"

"No need to think about it, Sugar Lips. The pleasure has been all mine. Ok I really have to jet…have fun but don’t get into too much trouble - Doctors Orders - you, my friends, both need to be able to stand at the party tomorrow.”

With that and a huge teasing smile, Lisa gives them each a fond kiss on the lips, whispers something in Luke's ear that makes him blush, smile and nod, shoulders her purse, and swans out the door - turning back at the last moment to throw these two best friends she's become unexpectedly close with over the last few months one last wink - then closes the door firmly behind her.

“I've said it before, Penelope, and will probably say it again - this - this is last way I expected things to work out when Lisa let herself in that day of THE swing - but, I have to admit, it’s been…a special kind of fun. I'm sorry she had to go early - but we'll just have to have extra fun on our own. Now let's get this place decorated - I believe there is a box with our names on it just waiting to be opened."

🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎

Luke and Penelope stand side by side silently staring at the box on the bed.

It seems extra big and somehow very conspicuous and extravagant against the plainess of Luke's bedroom - even though it is wrapped in non-descript brown paper.

Penelope is suddenly acutely aware of the slightly insane amount of money they had each chipped to bring them to this moment.

Luke is having trouble pinning down exactly what he's feeling. Anticipation? Excitement? Dread? Strangely shy? Honoured? All that and more? Nothing?

This may not be their first rodeo since agreeing that "sex-ploits" would be their "thing they do together as friends" - but so far their explorations had been more athletic or scientific - position and sensation driven - or - once Lisa had joined the fun - voyeuristic and social but this is their first step into something from the more BDSM side of things… maybe it was what they had encountered through their jobs which made them hesitant to cross the line which separates what they had done so far and rougher more darkly-psychological forms of sexplay…

The moment stretches and the box seems to double in size under their twin gaze.

Finally, Penelope turns to Luke and does a little move like she's introducing a circus act,"Well…show time?"

Luke is suddenly smiling and so is she - then a cinematic version of that night the three of them made the decision to order this gear gallops through both of their brains like a herd stampeding through a lightning storm.

🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎

Silky and sated after an afternoon of massage and slow relaxing lazy pleasurable menange à trois sex-plorations, Luke and Lisa loll in friendly silence on the couch waiting for Penelope who had gone to the kitchen to fix some sustaining snacks before they dive into the first of three spicey documentaries they plan to watch.

Penelope enters - naked and beaming - baring a ginormous tray of peach salsa nachos, a bowl of Cajun spiced pecans, a small plate of balsamic and goat cheese endive boats and three comically large copper-mugged Moscow Mules garnished with fresh mint and blackberries.

Luke looks at Penelope. She seems haloed by the light of the room beyond and he can't help but bask in the warm pulse of the breed of love he discovered he felt for her all.those.months ago on the 'day of the baking sex'.

Lisa looks at Luke. She enjoys his would-be-masked-to-everyone-but-her reaction to Penny's appearance and the reasurrance and ease their conversation from a few days before has brought. Without examining the impulse too closely - which has apparently been the theme of this whole whirlwind - Lisa doesn't bother to hide the joy at his reaction to Penelope; for her it is proof there could be a happy future for Luke - the man she had once hoped she would be able to build-a-life-with-love but then had been heartsick to realise that it was instead a best-friends-forever-but-still-sexual-love that she felt… still dear and vital and precious but different.

Fortunately, by some twist of magical fate, Luke felt the same for her and she felt the same for Penelope… thank fuck she had not hurt him the way she had feared she might.

The only kernal of doubt in her heart was that she still wasn't sure exactly what Penelope was feeling - and that did sometimes worry her… but she couldn't live her beautiful friend's life for her… that had to be Penelope's path to forge… and the three had been careful to set the rules so that consent was sought and trusted.

So, come what may, Lisa has given up on worry and perfectionism for the first time in what feels like a lifetime to enjoy and learn a bellyfull from this odd but deliciously pleasurable side adventure which mysteriously cropped up in the midst of her self-declared quest to meet the right someone to build-a-life-with-love.

🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎🎠🐎

At Penelope's cue - like a knife-thrower - Luke brandishes the box-cutter he's brought upstairs with him and confidently slices first brown paper and then the tape on the box beneath. As Penelope pulls wide the box flaps, the air tangs with the earthy tanins of metal and leather. Luke leans over and places what he is half-amused half-appalled to discover is a shaking hand on white tissue paper which is dappled with line-drawings of horses printed with metallic turquoise ink.

...to be continued...

#criminal minds #garvez #luke alvez #penelope garcia #writing fanfic #wip #garvez smut #smut writing

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ofmistnmoons · 1 year ago

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[ 𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄 ] // from mui uvub

His breathe was heavy. Broken, sickening wheeze rag through his lungs. He felt like he was going to be sick. But there was a determination on him, an audible growl, “…..where the fuck is it.” It’s a snarl on his lips. His blade was chipped to shit, one more hit and it would surely shatter. But he kept moving in a maniac fury. Stabbing through the debris, dark heavy circles drag beneath his eyes. He’s exhausted. He is dead on his feet. And yet he kept searching. Because this wasn’t done. He wasn’t free. Not until he found ‘it’.

It had been his chain, his cage, whenever he dared to act out of line, speak up against the upper moons while they grabbed at him. Tore at his flesh, dug into his flesh to bring out his blood. Fascinated by him. How could they not? He was human afterall! In the infinity castle of all places! And brought in by upper moon one no less! And that moon was training him in the style of moon breathing…. An oddity in every sense of the word! Those little bouts always came at a end if it was one of the moons. Stopped in his tracks by the simple sound of clicking chains, a simple necklace, but it was not the chain that stopped him. It was what hung from those chains. A simple thing, a glass vial.. filled to the brim with a sickening thick liquid. Blackish crimson, swashing about within its container. A threat. A promise.

That. That was the key to his cage. He had tried. Tried for years ever since his teacher, his ancestor, began to send him out with some of the moons as his keepers. Where he was used to search for that infernal flower during the day, used to cull useless demons. Forced to watch and ‘aid’ the moons against the slayers that happened to cross them. Each. Every time. He did manage to leave more survivors then the dead. He’d tell them . While pinning them to the floor. ‘I am human like you. If you don’t want to die, stay down. Do not move, you’re covered in my blood they will ignore you if you play dead. Stay still til sunrise. Tell your leader to send a hashira, this assholes a upper moon.’ Then he’d leave, careful to slash the throats of slayers that were bleeding to death. It was a kindness. Better a swift death then to be eaten alive.

And that is how he’s survived these last two years.

His latest keeper, a pair this time. Moons 4 & 5. He finally got his chance to escape, to break away. But this wasn’t finished. Not until… until. His nails dug against the dirt, picking up that promised vial. If he were to try and escape, if he were to disappoint Kokushibo in his teachings. If he was not deemed strong enough. This vial of blood. The blood of his ancestor, would be forced into him… and ‘Yuishiro Tokito’ would be made into one of them.

Gasping, wheezing, coughing hard on his own blood. While he was not here to face upper 5, he was busy facing down the army that had been summoned and surrounded the village on all fronts. While the two hashira were busy with the moons, tens of thousands of those monstrosities would flood the Swordsmith village. And wipe them out. But that… that never came. What was left instead, were large, crescent shaped craters. Marring the forest floors, fell a large part of the trees around, but that army.. never made it to the village gates.

Now, standing deep in the north side of the forest, Yuishiro stood. Stock still. Covered in his own blood, clutching that damned vial in his grasp. Gasping, his shoulders falling with each breath he took. “……I…told you fuckers…t-that I’d… get.. out…”

Shit he felt faint. He’d love to smash the damn thing. Throw it against the closest hard surface, and watch the blood burn away. Yet. He tucks it away in his left pocket, to pick up his sword again. Troublesome. He turns on his heel. Ready to search out upper 4, give his aid. All the strength left him as his eyes rose and he came to see. Not a yard away from him. 3 figures. A man. 2 children… strange masks. And his plan to aid is forgotten. One step, a stagger. Tears beginning to prick at his eyes and he r a n. He ran.

That couldn’t.

It was!

Steps stop short of the fallen other, falling to his knees, his only remaining hand clasped over his mouth to stop himself from screaming. Trembling, overjoyed, if the little kid was speaking, Yuichiro couldn’t hear. No all his attention was transfixed on the youth on the ground. Familiar raven to cyan locks, his mirror image, with only his missing right arm to act as their main difference. That kid was yelling now, moved in front to protect kelp head from this new ‘threat’. But.

He’s shoved to the side, as Yuichiro Gingerly grasped his twins hand. Hesitant at first, as if just touching him would break an illusion. But as soon as his fingertips grasped his own, he takes in a hard breath. And throws his arm over his twin’s form, pulling him gently into his own lap.

“Muichiro-“

#that got—-#long uh-#feel free to continue #if you want!!! I’m actually really excited tbh!

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lucerysxestermont · 11 months ago

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"ah yes, i have met your family in the council meetings before and other events but i am afraid i do not know either of them too well.” he said, trying his best to subtly reorganize the paper in his hands. the offer of assistance was met with a genuine laugh because he was surprised “if you would like, i would never turn down some help. gods know i probably need it” luc said, handing her a small stack of papers. in all honestly it was nice just to speak to someone about anything but numbers and trade routes and numbers of ships. just a normal conversation for a moment was truly relaxing. truthful he was a little surprised that it was with a celtigar afterall her family certainly had an interesting past to them. many whispered about them and their closed off home and far off home.

the topic pivoted, an inquiry about her writing habits. "you write?" he asked.. "stories or journaling? or both perhaps. there is some joke the maesters used to tell about writing practice….um a written page a day keeps the…uh…well it wasnt a very good joke anyways.”

a smile graced the young lord's features, a warmth that betrayed the attempt to veil it. memories danced in the recesses of his expression as he spoke of the maesters. "between you and me," he confided, "the maesters were always complaining about the chaos. mostly, i think, because they had to alter the records of kings and queens. the keepers of history were quite tense for a while. we all knew to steer clear of them." laughter bubbled up, a reflection of the camaraderie shared with young maesters during those carefree days. a part of him hoped that some day in the future one of them might join the crownland court as a maester, another part of him wondered if that would be too painful to be close to a future he might have had.

but there was a future here in the court. at least he was close again to his family, that was the best part of all.

"no need to apologize, my lady," he reassured in the lyrical valyrian tongue. "i was just heading to the library to peruse some notes, but there's no great rush. it's pleasant to acquaint oneself with the members of the court once more."

"yes, yes, of course, i am fine. i apologize again. i should have been paying closer attention, even in my hurry," he assured, the words carrying a sincerity that echoed in the confined space. he felt a flicker of surprise when her delicate hand reached out to touch his. such simple contact, yet it held an unexpected rarity for him. years spent in the company of maesters had deprived him of these seemingly mundane human connections. and now something so unassuming was just so foreign to him now.

shaking himself from the brief reverie, he rose from his seat, a flurry of papers clutched in his hands like a chaotic manuscript. "please do not worry, my lady. i have not been at court for many years. i am not surprised you do not know my name," he reassured, offering a gentle smile to ease any concern she might harbor. "i am lord lucerys estermont, the new head of the merchants guild for the king. up until a few months ago, i have been studying to be a maester, so i have not been around this court very much," he explained, unraveling the mystery of his recent arrival.

the papers remained a tangled array in his hands as he endeavored to restore order to the chaos. he pushed back the circle rimmed glasses further up his face to his purple eyes, much like hers. "luckily, i am done for the day. however, i have more notes for meetings than i know what to do with. i suppose part of the problem, being away for a time, is that there is always much to catch up on," he mused, the weight of responsibility evident in the conscientious lines etched upon his brow.

#;;eleana

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thespoonisvictory · 3 years ago

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*warning for dream critical, and pointless rambling about point systems and the nature off mcc. I am not an expert, nor do I think dream should be sent any hate, or that he even really deserves actual criticism for it*

sooo dream posted this on his reddit, as I’m sure you’ve heard. here are my thoughts, because I have a lot to say.

first of all, the fact that dream doesn’t list any pvp games as his strengths is laughable. he’s undeniably a god at both sb and sg, and yet these aren’t strengths for him? he really thinks he’s better at hitw than skybattle? but obviously, if he lists those, he can’t say the point system is against him. but anyway. the tournament isn’t making him play worse, he’s playing worse, and pinning it on the tournament in general is silly.

I don’t think he’s trying to say that mcc is like rigged against him, nor is this particularly hateful, but it comes across as very entitled and oblivious to the reason why mcc exists, which I’ll get into.

Sands of Time: this is a great idea! until you... actually think about it. vaults in particular don’t work, because how can you argue that splitting vaults is more fair when usually one person finds the key and one person finds the vault itself. what about people who spend more time on puzzles or combat to unlock other areas instead of getting coins? what about sand that other people have collected that shouldn’t ‘belong’ to the sand keeper? do they deserve points for that? it’s messy at best, and keeping the points grouped and then split is the simplest and most effective way to keep it fair.

but beyond that, sot is a team game. you’re meant to work with your teammates to most effectively explore the vault, and although individual performance matters, team communication and strategy is much more important, and it’s reflected in the scores.

Parkour Tag: I’m going to trust dream’s word on this one, as many other people such as op have corroborated it. points should be fixed to better reflect the hunter’s skills.

HITW: uhhh, you get a big bonus because you survived the hardest walls my guy. it’s like getting win points for sg, you get it because you were the best, and because you effectively beat the game. also, I hate to say it but if you’re never getting to the end in hitw then you’re not that good lmao

Parkour Warrior: I don’t think he’s blaming mcc for this, or even saying it should be brought back, but like, pw was removed for a reason. the over-practicing done by some competitors forced the difficulty to be raised so far above the average person that parkour was now a miserable experience for 80% of competitors and their viewers. people weren’t having fun, and it wasn’t an engaging game if you weren’t great at it, so it got knocked. it was for the good of the tournament and the players, not to hurt dream’s ego.

TGTTOS: now this is where it gets batshit. ok, first of all, dream suggests that it’s almost impossible to use teamwork, something disproved by watching literally any perspective where teammates guide each other through the map, give tips, and shout out which directions to go. hell, group bridging has proved very effective. then, he suggests that the team bonus is bad because it gives more points to good teams... and this is a bad thing.

the team bonus is such a wonderful implement because it encourages teams where everyone contributes equally. unlike stuff like hitw, where one good player can carry a team to 1st, tgttos team bonuses mean that the strongest overall team usually wins, not the one with the strongest individual player. which is good! because this is a team tournament!

Overall: besides the impracticality of resorting the entire points system to cater to his ‘strengths’, the issue with this mindset. mcc isn’t about individual points, it’s about how you do as a team. the top two players don’t face off in dodgebolt, afterall. having shared points and team benefit encourages that the winning team is one where every player contributes and works together, instead of a few players individually being skilled. but this isn’t that for dream, and I think that’s blatantly clear. I understand that he wants to show his skill, but mcc is a tournament started by scott as a way to play with his friends for fun. It’s about meeting new people and networking and sometimes making money for charity, not a try-hard competition.

and if he wants to take it competitively, that’s fine, but other people try as well, and yet no one else is complaining.

techno didn’t complain when they changed game rules like five times to nerf him, he just adapted.

players who perform roles like woolplacer in bb don’t complain about the loss of points, they just do their job.

the hermits, especially grian, certainly haven’t played this season, despite having two of their strongest games removed from circulation (bingo and rocket spleef).

other than parkour warrior complaints raised as a community, I can’t think of anyone else that has demanded a change in points to better suit them. It comes off as incredibly egotistical to believe that can tell mcc how their tournament should be run, and that it should cater to the small percentage of people who want to take it that competitively. above all, it comes off as naive to what mcc is actually about, even if he didn’t intend for this to sound as off as it did to me.

tldr: dream pls calm down and stop trying to make a for fun tournament your place to show off, it’s for fun.

#dream critical #critical #I just #I know I'm overanalyzign #but the depth to which he misunderstands what this tournament is about #and the degree of entitled this comes off oh god

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mouthsewedshut · 3 years ago

Text

Underneath those Wings

You can find the prompt here that is based off this!

Content Warning: Mentions of Bruises, Explicit Language, Starvation

The newest hero in town with those unbelievably beautiful wings –that they could've sworn they came from the sun– trotted in so suddenly, making things- well... complicated- Atleast to them, that is. They were in the title "Honey Vulture"- With those beautiful amethyst eyes, that raven silky hair like the midnight skies itself and that personality described sweet as a cupcake.

She was indeed amazing, even the shadows itself was blinded by her beauty and giddy happiness.

It caught his eyes when he first laid eyes on her, though she seemed.... more pathetic than she looked. She was told that she was fearless like the eagles yet graceful as a swan but it turns out her enthusiasm was the one that made his heart did a fli-

No. Keep it together.. You are Black Crow afterall, a villain whom everyone should be afraid of. She would never dare accept some vile criminal like him who even stole a candy from a child when he was bored.

It's pathetic really, falling in love with a hero who have those beautiful dandelion wings that lit up the entire room when he turned out to be a dark and nefarious criminal...

Well as someone who was once in a battle with Honey Vulture and was defeated because he was too busy making googly eyes, He.. had this feeling that isn't just that feeling he never was familiar with. What if then she knew his other side and became scared of him, cowering away from his sight and never coming back, Or rejected his love just because he is a villain and she is a hero?

Reality never has the answers, Yet he is desperate to know. Though he knows how to be patient, he isn't really that desperate but he wants to know. He wants to know this Honey Vulture in not just battle..

..........

Black Crow couldn't stop his panicking breathing and panting when he finally found himself in a dark alley where they couldn't find him.

For now, He was fighting one of the most fiercest heroes in town, titled as "Phoenix Keeper", Who was trying to arrest him for like the hundredth time and failed to do so, Since Black Crow managed to get away from him.- Instead he retrieved the apple the villain stole and walked away, leaving the criminal alone in the dark all bodied and bruised.

God he hasn't eaten in a while and he is starving, He couldn't even afford a fucking apple which sucks for him..

He stood up anyway and ignored the pain that is gurgling in his leg up to his stomach, Not just the aching for hunger but also the pain wrapped in wounds.

Maybe he should just.. go back to being a plumber or something, they wouldn't even accept him back anyway and just throw him out to the dump like always.

Sigh.

"Heya!"

That voice- It startled the man and made him tense up when a familiar feminine voice came before his ears, He quickly turned around to meet a winged woman with dark raven hair and amethyst orbs, a large welcoming grin formed on her face and her hands on her back appeared before him.

Oh god... she is here- But why? She wasn't told that she has to battle him too now was she? Maybe she should just arrest him for his crimes-

Another sigh was heard from him and he put his hands to the air in surrender, finally giving up on his crimes- He spoke with fear on his tone "Fine, If you are here to arrest me, go ahead. I surrender."

...

A giggle

It sounds kinda.. dare he said it, cute—

"Me? Arresting ya? No no! I ain't doing that"

Wai- Huh?

"Wha-? But I thought you are.. a hero?" Black Crow stared at Honey Vulture with confusion absorbing his swan feathered eyes, which the woman responded back with another giddy giggle- Though before another word was spoken, Honey threw something towards Crow and it startled him but then, there a fresh red apple with that little green leaf on it's branch met him in his very hands..

Where did she get this?

"Yeah! I am, I am Honey Vulture afterall! Honey Vulture is having a day off but she is right now on a patrol for.. stuff!" She said it with pride and cheer, fisting her waist together as she grinned at her supposedly nemesis- Meanwhile the same confusion stayed in his eyes when he narrowed his eyes at the winged woman.

Gosh she is so beautiful, not just with those beautiful dandelion wings and that enthusiasm she had in her.

"....Okay. But I don't get why you are talking to me out of all people.. And you are supposed to be arresting me but you just.. let me go even after that battle." He released a low exhale as he gazed down at the apple he was holding. "I am Black Crow after all, and you are Honey Vulture, the hero everyone already loved and adored when you spread your wings into the air."

"Yeah right but I am not just Honey Vulture yknow"

"Huh?" Black Crow hesitantly asked, Giving out another awkward eye contact with the hero. She gave him a fond smile and relaxed her muscled body, her hands still fisting at her hips.

"I see the good in you sometimes and you never even stabbed me when I got on my knees! You just.. kneeled and claimed yourself in defeat!"

He.. did recall on that. He just let her go because he didn't want her to suffer in blood or worse so he gave his victory to her and let the cheers of her name overtake his hearing.

"..Right. But you should be arresting me, you know. It's your job as a hero, Defeating all bad guys and protect the city from the evil that is lurking underground." Black Crow murmured that almost shifted to a whisper, Though Honey heard his words and didn't said anything for a moment before...

"Yeah but I think you deserve a second chance, Despite all the crimes you committed- You can still.. change."

Change huh?

...

Beeping cut off their tension and it startled the two, Honey Vulture quickly looked over at her watch that doesn't match her white and golden superhero suit and she quickly excused herself.

"Anyway, Black Crow right? Nice to meet ya! But I gotta go~ Kendra's waiting for me with another mission on her hands"

Another mission..? From Kendra?

He did remember Kendra, Her leader of her team who have the power of telepathy and to manipulate water, A former superhero who instead became the captain.

"Alright uh.. bye and.... Thanks for the apple, by the way-" Black Crow cleared his throat before smiling fondly at the woman, who returned the expression with a nod "You're welcome, bye now!"

She gave out a friendly wave of goodbye before spreading her wings in the air, flying away from Black Crow's grasp.

He stared at the woman who is slowly disappearing out to the clouds before sighing dreamily, Clutching on to the apple that he was holding, that she gave to him.

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trashydm · 2 years ago

Text

Prologue

Dearest Rowena,

I hope you don't mind the familiarity, for I am your long lost cousin afterall. Or at least that's what I told that ruddy constable when he found me in your cottage just hoping to escape the rain and get a decent nights sleep. Apparently you've been missing for quite some time, cousin. I assured the dear Mr. Edgewood that you were doing fine, just preoccupied with family matters. You, of course, sent me to handle things in your absence. Sorry again for that, but if nothing else I can keep the place going for you until you return. Unless you've died, then I guess it's finders keepers.

The cottage is nice enough, if not a bit disorganised. How you managed to find anything in here Rowena is beyond me. Though I did manage to find some of your notes on the regions bounty of medical herbs as well as a decently filled out map.

The dear constable seemed to have no trouble with my moving in, didn't even find it suspicious I had not a thing with me other than the clothes on my back! Honestly, how can this man be a constable Rowena? This must be the sleepiest village in the empire! I can't imagine there will be too much trouble. I'm sure with your copious amount of books and notes I'll be able to bluff my way through this. I am not a witch, nor does my family have even a single drop of magic in our blood, but then again your people don't need to know that. I'll just move on once things get too hard. Is that what you did Rowena? I certainly hope not, though more for my own sake than yours.

I hope you'll forgive me for taking over your place, and your life. But there is quite a lot of information here that I'm certain you would have already known. Were you waiting for someone to come? Should I be expecting someone? That will be an interesting conversation should they ever arrive, but I am rather good at talking my way out of things.

Wherever you've wondered off to Rowena, I hope you are enjoying yourself. And take your time coming back, I quite like this little cottage you know.

-Constance Paine

#apothecaria #prologue #year 1 #spring 0 #solo ttrpg #worldbuilding #writing #tabletop game #constance paine

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adanceineorzea · 3 years ago

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LFRP: Hfyrn Leshny

THE BASICS –––

Name: Hfyrn “Fern” Leshny

Age: 22ish

Birthday: 23rd Sun of the 2nd Umbral Moon

Race: Keeper of the Moon Miqo’te

Gender: Female (she/her)

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Sexuality: Lesbian

Relationship Status: Dating

Server: Balmung (Crystal Datacenter)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE –––

Hair: Wheat blonde with strawberry pink tips

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5’4”

Build: Petite and a little soft at the edges

Common Accessories: A small hand scythe, gardening shears, a handaxe, a big straw hat, a bag for collecting goodies in, extra cloth bags for separating herbs.

PERSONAL –––

Profession: Fern is a professional forager. If there’s something someone needs and it can be found out in the wilds odds are good Fern can track it down.

Hobbies: Growing weird plants, gathering weird mushrooms, eating said weird mushrooms, brewing kombucha and baking sweets

Residence: Gridania

Birthplace: Gridania

Religious Affiliation: Menphina

RELATIONSHIPS –––

Romantic: Tuia (girlfriend)

Children: None

Parents: Ftha Leshny (mother), Unknown (father)

Siblings: Hyfe Leshny (sister), Htoli Leshny (sister)

Other Relatives: just so many

Pets: Strawberry (owl), Peaches (chocobo)

TRAITS –––

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted

Disorganized / In Between / Organized

Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded

Calm / In Between / Anxious

Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable

Cautious / In Between / Reckless

Patient / In Between / Impatient

Outspoken / In Between / Reserved

Leader / In Between / Follower

Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic

Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic

Traditional / In Between / Modern

Hard working / In Between / Lazy

Cultured / In Between / Uncultured

Loyal / In Between / Disloyal

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION –––

Smoking Habit: Probably

Drugs: FUCK YEAH

Alcohol: Yep, definitely.

RP HOOKS –––

Guerilla gardener: Fern loves to plant things that she thinks are useful in spots she thinks would be good for them. Sometimes this means she plants something in someone else’s garden, or yard, or in an odd flower box around town. Somehow she always seems to remember where these little patches of goodies are but that doesn’t mean they’re appreciated by the people who view the land as theirs.

Filch & Glean: The world is a wonderful oyster of opportunities if you just know where to look! And Fern DOES. Boy, does she. If she sees something she needs, or wants, or someone else may need or want she’ll take it and be horrified and surprised if anyone is upset by it. Afterall, if they weren’t using it then what’s the good in having it?

Purveyor of Dubious Plants: Hfyrn knows all the various and interesting effects that the plants of the Godswood can have. This is primarily how she makes whatever gil she needs, either by gathering on behalf of others by request, or by selling her own surplus for a very nice profit. She doesn’t usually need a ton of gil, so her business is small but she can always give the gil away if someone is willing to pay for her services. She won’t turn down work.

Poached Eggs: You got chickens? You got chocobos? You had a egg but now it is missing? Fern is probably hatching it for you. She loves birds and views every egg as a surprise gift from Menphina. Also she makes a mean omelette if things don’t work out.

OOC INFORMATION –––

I’m a late 30 something lesbian who’s been around roleplaying off and on in MMOs for 20 years now. I like playing with glams, decorating my house, and taking a nap while Gaius yells about Eorzea. I’m pretty new to FFXIV and always happy to learn more about the setting and its lore!

I AM LOOKING FOR

LGBTQIA+ friendly RP groups

Storyline and long-term plots

Gathering or gardening related RP

Friends, colleagues, and rivals!

I’M NOT LOOKING FOR

Romance Roleplay or ERP

Extreme gore / body horror

CONTACT INFORMATION –––

In-Game: Hfyrn Leshny - Balmung

Asks & Info: @adanceineorzea

Player OOC Blog: @wolftabard

Discord: Wolftabard#6537

#fern posts #fern post #fern about #fern writing #fern character sheet #fern charactersheet

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mystxmomo · 4 years ago

Text

Title: Empathy (Reprise)

Fandom: Identity V

Chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

Description:

Which is to say, Antonio has no trouble getting over to the Survivors side of the manor. And even if he had, he would have come anyway.

He had promised, afterall.

Link: Ao3

===

Once upon a time, the hunter and survivor sides of the manor were separate.

However, all things are destroyed with time. This is true of human life, of continents and oceans and technological advancements. Things grow old, become destroyed, outdated, and unknown. This is true even in silly little manors caught just on the outskirts of time; The well kept segregation was one of the few things here so easily taken with its grasp. Perhaps it was just the very human affinity to create bonds, even through blood. Empathy was a fascinating thing like that, really.

The dear Little Embalmer had been caught sneaking in to see the photographer. Interesting relationship, those two. Then the Little Gardener, her father. Mary and Michiko wanted to have some tea with The Little Minds Eye, and then Jack decided he would like nothing more than to travel to the survivors' side of the manor. Just to cause some chaos. Now, they travel freely between the two sides. It’s an awkward, uncertain arrangement still. But everyone has been easing into it quite well!

Which is to say, Antonio has no trouble getting over to the Survivors side of the manor. And even if he had, he would have come anyway.

He had promised, afterall.

The Little Postman answers the door for him, peering out at him with big eyes and a tilt of the head. He doesn’t look particular surprised to see him. Surely, a result of his tendency to eavesdrop. He gives Antonio a smile that feels somewhat hollow and looks entirely distant, but allows him entry to their den without question.

It takes him a moment to find his pen and paper. Antonio has yet to tell him he can understand his sign just fine, thank you very much. But he supposed they both quite liked the knowledge they gain from omission. So he didn’t feel too bad about that!

“ Sorry . I guess we were all a bit more worn then we’d let on,” He hands him the notebook, and gestures over to the pile of sleeping survivors.

The smile Antonio returns him is something rather carefully knowing, “Oh. I am aware, Little Postman. It’s been quite a busy week, has it not!” He raises his hands, offers something of a quiet laugh, “I expected he would be asleep far sooner than he was, really!”

The Little Postman tilts his head, but doesn’t question the statement. He likes this about Victor. Prefers to learn through observation, rather than interaction. The Little “Prisoner” Was a fine enough fellow, certainly meant far better. But his nosiness was far too upfront, with the subtlety of a raging bull. No, no. Certainly, The Little Postman did far better in keeping his investigations quite and private. And for that, Antonio appreciated him more.

Antonio makes his way over to the chair closest to his angel. It was rare of him, to sleep in the hours the manor had twisted to be night. However, it was as The Little Postman had said. He’d been exhausted. Antonio could feel it radiating off of him in waves. A result of being pulled around every which way, no doubt. Interaction with other survivors did tend to tax him so, and the holidays had never been particularly forgiving about that.

Perhaps he would steal him away tonight afterall!

Andrew blinks up at him as he passes, aware enough of his presence even in sleep.

“ No need for you to wake quite yet, ” He soothes, italian familiar on his tongue. His angel still hasn’t learned the language entirely, but he doesn’t need to. The intent is there, feeling enough. He nods as though he can understand it, blinks again, and tilts his head back against The Painters shoulder.

As if on cue, The Little Postman drapes a blanket around the three, his hands lingering for a moment against The Little “Prisoner”. Victor watches the two of them, curious glint to his eye. As he tends to do.

Antonio is hardly bothered by it. The Little Postman is not like The Little “Prisoner”, who pries too much into the unknown, and digs at which isn’t his business. He is not like the Painter, who judges and lashes out at what he does not understand. He is a voyeur, fueled simply by the curiosity that is their relationship. For that, his gaze is easy, and company is tame.

Besides. The Little Postman simply feels more strongly when he’s watching rather than when he’s not, and that is more a benefit to Antonio, in the long run.

“ We are not tired? ” He offers, despite knowing the answer. Just as he can with Andrew, he can taste the fatigue on Victor Grantz, bitter in the air and creeping against his bones. He disregards Antonio. Tilts his head, as though confused by the question. Perhaps that would be enough to fool most here, but Antonio offers him a laugh in regards.

“You know I am not so easily moved.”

The Little Postman’s shoulders fall. He stares down at the group, long enough that even Antonio begins to get quite unease. Then looks back up at Antonio, brows furrowed and shoulders falling.

Antonio shakes his head.

“ Get some sleep, Little Postman. I cannot assure fate will be so kind in the days upcoming, but tonight you are protected and cared for. ”

“...” The Little Postman frowns. But he gives in. He tiptoes around the couch, eases himself into place next to The Little “Prisoner.” Luca stirs as Andrew had earlier, realizes who’s joining him. Antonio tastes pleasure and contentment, sweet and easy, emotions he takes in with ease. The Little “Prisoner” leaves the Painters' side to rest against The Little Postman instead, something Antonio can’t help but find even a little bit of amusement in himself.

Hm.

No need for nightmares tonight, he thinks. No, no. Distress would be too much the hostile flavor.

“I find on nights like tonight, a lullaby is quite in order.”

He wonders what song he should play, to calm their fears.

#victor grantz #andrew kreiss #Luca Balsa #edgar valden #Antonio IDV #VALE #Empathy (Reprise)#As promised... epilogue the very next day

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