#i can see them being fascinated with ankle jewelry

[cloudcountry]

unpopular opinion but i dont think jade or floyd would give their s/o a matching earring that they share with their brother. those two have a special bond in those earrings that cant be replicated by anyone else because they fought that sturgeon. they won together. it just doesnt feel right to me that something so meaningful to them, something they wear every day, would just be given to someone else.

[jade-efflorescence]

spent some time waiting for your face (all the same mistakes)

 shine on the comets, fall in my life

henry henderson/martha mariott | rated t | chapter one

martha and henry reconnect after the world around them has changed.

ao3

Martha never thought she’d see a ballet again. How strange it is that she is wrong.

Everything tonight is startlingly new—the carved, wooden doors of the theater she stands in front of, the dance performance she is here to watch. (An exchange of Ostanian and Westalian culture after a century comes alive through a spectacle of dance! declares the papers, sensationalizing a future emerging from decades of silent war.) The hundreds of people—rich and poor, old and young, West and East—all surround her in a shared, joyful frenzy. Gold and jewelry and satin dresses float across her vision, all belonging to some giddy figure’s indulgence, all chattering eagerly about a future still uncertain in her eyes. Any uncertainty in the rest of the world is hard to tell—at least for tonight.

Martha is overwhelmed, to say the least.

For the first time in a long while, she allows herself to face her emotions. She is not a wide-eyed twelve year old anymore, nor is she a graying, steel-minded woman, holding to a resigned resolve behind friendly smiles. Instead, she is Martha Marriott, facets of both and neither, the remnants of remarkable and common scars.

The opportunities are far too great to be shadowed by what I used to be, she thinks, and walks past the doors, the tulle of her navy gown brushing the red, spiraled carpet in the foyer.

Like many of the women tonight, her dress is new for the show, though not out of her own insistence. That would be the work of one Becky Blackbell, who despite Martha’s many protests, had taken her and Anya shopping a few months ago and included a piece of finery for her as a gift. ( “It’s extra thanks for handling the brat I was when you were my governess,” she claimed, waving off Martha’s protests on the price. “And you can’t fit into that old black one forever, you know!”)

The material product was never needed, of course, but Miss Blackbell’s kindness during such a tumultuous season for a young heir was admirable, and Martha figured she’d find another time to use the dress. Though she had quite a few reservations about the state of Ostania at this point, she had a feeling that future peaceful events would happen sooner rather than later.

Martha feels too old to be taking pride in her appearance—most of her appeal has faded away with time and circumstance. Yet, she finds herself smoothing down her navy-blue skirt as she weaves through the crowded halls and fixing her braided bun as she goes up staircase after staircase. Finally she enters the theater’s balcony, where she observes people picking their way across the rows of seats on the floor. Red, scalloped wall sconces burn just above her head and the stage is closed from view by a gold-fringed curtain. She finds her aisle number from the remnants of her ticket and sits down, silently pleased at how her dress settles about her ankles.

The theater itself is magnificent: a true blend of Eastern and Western architecture. Martha doesn’t know much about the fine details, and yet she can see something of both in each gilded, sculpted pillar, each curve of the painted mural on the chandeliered ceiling. It’s quite fascinating, how—

“Martha?”

Oh.

“Henry?”

She meets his eyes for the first time in decades—the same comforting, honeycomb-brown she’s remembered all her life. The man’s waist-length hair is in its signature ponytail, a bit thinner and whiter than she recalls. He responds to her voice with a polite nod, giving her a small smile. She glances at his silk waistcoat and notices they’re wearing the same shade of blue.

“What an elegant surprise,” he exclaims, as if they had been old, connected friends all this while. Though she’s entirely aware of life being the opposite, she finds herself softening under his gaze—not quite the blushing schoolgirl, but a sliver of it inside the smile lines that crease her cheeks.

Ever the gentleman, Henry hovers a hand and himself some paces away from the chair next to her. “I hope you don’t mind if I…?”

“Of course not. Sit! I was wondering if I’d recognize another face around here.” That, at least, is a response that springs out of her mind.

“Ahh. Well, then.” He gives her a quick nod and does so, propping up his cane against the right side of his theater seat. A birch one now, she notices, polished and painted to perfection. She hears him let out a deep breath and briefly wonders how close their shoulders are.

She waves the thought away. No one said this night would be easy.

“I must say,” he starts, “that gown on you is simply marvelous. Is it Miss Blackbell’s doing? I’ve been acquainted with her long enough that I recognize some choices from her favorite shop.”

Martha nods and smooths down the skirt, focusing quite heavily on the texture of the bunched-up tulle. “One of her favorites, yes. I suppose she was feeling generous that day.”

“I’m grateful for her consideration, then.”

“Thank you.” She takes a breath, avoiding his gaze. “If you don’t mind me asking, where is Anneliese? Is she feeling alright? I know that an event like this may be a significant amount to handle.”

“Anneliese?” Henry hums. “Unfortunately, my wife passed away a couple years ago. I don’t doubt that she would have enjoyed witnessing such a moment in East-West history.”

“Oh.” Something in her chest bursts like a moth flits through darkness, drawn to a pulsing light. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I appreciate your condolences, Martha. Truly.” Though he lingers over the last syllable for little more than a second, his silence over the matter is sharper than any expressed emotion.

“On that subject, how are you doing tonight?” he asks, lowering his voice and leaning towards her as if they were sharing a secret. “I know this place may not hold pleasant memories. You are free to keep whatever you wish to express to yourself, of course. I know we haven’t been the most…well, the most in touch with each other. However, I figured it would not be elegant of me to avoid asking about your condition.”

(In the midst of the flowery vocabulary and stilted speech, Martha thinks this is the least composed she’s seen him since they met once more.)

She smiles. “Thank you for your concern. It has been a little overwhelming so far. But that isn’t necessarily bad. I suppose I’m grateful that we’ve reached a point where such a thing is possible.” Her mind wanders to olive-green Ostanian glades, to gunshots more constant than changing seasons, to the clawing, desperate feeling of a continually empty stomach, to experiencing the best and worst of humanity. “If I was never allowed to dance in a ballet, or travel the world in a time of peace, or eat in Westalian and Ostanian homes without fear, at least the young people now will experience those things.”

His responding smile takes on a small, wry twist, mirroring her own thoughts in a sense. Even after years of never speaking to one another, never meeting past the occasional student-caretaker conversation or searching for another designer item Becky lost at school, it seems that he can read her well.

“I’ve also found myself thinking that way,” he admits, the wryness in his smile fading to a soft, comforting edge. “It is quite a difficult perspective to maintain, but I’d like to think that the new generations benefit from our altered lives, even if we never see any of those results ourselves.”

“Well,” she answers, “I’d like to think tonight is where those good things begin, don’t you?”

It is worryingly fascinating, how much delight Martha finds in noting the remnants of a love affair that died decades ago, of remembering the picture of a man that died decades ago. She is all too aware of the additional sun-spots on the backs of her old lover’s hands, the weaker volume of his voice, the guarded weight his eyes have yet to be rid of. And yet, she finds she is all too ready to re-discover what makes him Henry once more, if life and loss will let them this time.

She hopes she is not reflecting the folly of youth if she imagines Henry feels the same towards her. Why else would he speak with her so, if not for a yearning for what they had? If the only outcome was a friendship revisited, that would be a delight, for Henry would always remain good company to her. If anything more…well, what would that be but a miracle on earth?

The lights dim. The crowd’s chatter disperses into whispers. Somewhere near the front, the orchestra begins tuning their instruments, mingling notes through the concert hall like the feeling of a velvet curtain.

The curtain parts, and Martha is caught up in the old and the new in a sort of dizzying, fragile dance of her own.

During the intermission of a ballet performance she never thought she’d see, Henry rests his fingertips on her own, and asks her to tea at his home, as the garden they used to meet in long ago has been completely demolished. Renovations, or some such thing, he claims.

“But that shouldn’t stop an old man and woman from catching up, right?” he adds, honeycomb eyes crinkled with fondness.

(A part of Martha wishes she was more surprised.)

[sai-of-the-7-stars]

Silly Our Life AU Stuff: My Girlfriend is a Witch But I’m Just a Marine Biologist!!!

So, since my beloved husband @factionfighter dropped some very cute art of Cove using magic on Twitter (in addition to the mock cover he already did for this totally off-the-cuff AU we’ve been playing around with), I thought I’d indulge us both–and anyone who is interested–with some quick snapshots and vignettes.

I may make this a little series. We’ll see.

[NEXT POST]

How Sai and Cove Met

Instead of growing up with Sai across the street as his favorite neighbor, he had Kana instead. He and Kana always maintained a tight brother-sister relationship, and Kana had finally pinned down Derek to be her boyfriend (and drill into Derek’s thick skull that really had loved him for a decade). Shortly after Kana and Derek officially became a couple, he moved in with Cove and Kana into their rather large apartment.

By contrast: Cove had dated a little bit during college–more out of a curiosity than any deep longing. Having a companion was nice but things tended to fizzle when the other person would ramp things up and want more sensuous meetups. Despite his best efforts, Cove couldn’t quite manage going all the way–because no matter how much he liked his partner, he wasn’t as deeply connected to them as he was to, say, Kana or any of his other friends. He wished he could, but knowing how his brain worked and how demisexuality really did suit him, he couldn’t fully give in.

But that didn’t mean Cove didn’t have a fulfilling life otherwise. At 26, life was pretty good! He was a marine biologist at ORCA, he taught surfing classes during the summer (usually on the weekends), and he had a good group of friends and family.

Then one day in late May, just as spring winds were turning summery and warm, Sai moved into the apartment across the hall. Cove, Derek, and Kana had spotted her as they were coming home from a food run to In-N-Out.

In addition to wearing jean shorts, strappy flat sandals, and a halter-style tank top, Sai wore silver jewelry on her wrists and ankles, rings on her fingers, multiple earrings, and a single silver star necklace. The jewelry made a perfect complement to her white hair and gray eyes. It also made her impossible to miss.

While Kana and Derek exchanged comments about the beautiful new neighbor, Cove found himself studying her like she had just walked out of the ocean. She was fascinating.

And then Sai turned to the three of them and smiled. When they were in reach, she juggled a small cardboard box onto her hip as movers hefted heavier items into her apartment, and held out her hand—to Cove first.

“Hi there. I’m Sai Aiza, and it looks like we’re going to be neighbors. I hope we can get along.”

Cove found himself gripping her small hand and gently shaking it, and then saying, “Hi, I’m Cove,” before his brain had caught up with the rest of his body and had a chance to process and panic.

Kana and Derek gave their cheerful greetings, and Sai shook their hands in turn. Sai was friendly, warm, and held something of a mysterious air to her. But at first, nothing seemed to be too different about her from any other human being.

Although, in Cove’s eyes, she seemed to shimmer. Just a little. But he kept that observation to himself.

[duskamethyst]

love.

a/n: happy valentines day! have this spicy content for now but if you’re looking for high-cocky bastard-suna, this ain’t it. sorry.

word count: 2.3k

genre: smut, nsfw, fluff

warnings: soft dom, orgasm denial

pairing: pro!suna x f!reader

summary: suna got you a gift for your anniversary. wonder why he likes it so much..

“hm? a bracelet?” you take out the shiny jewelry out from the crimson box, inspecting it in your hands. there’s a letter ‘R’ that gleams with its rhinestones and a bell that chimes as you jiggle it. 

“close,” your boyfriend smiles when he catches the fascinated look on your face. “it’s an anklet.”

suna takes the ornament from you and drops down to his knees to fasten it around your ankle. he takes a good look at it, pondering briefly over how he made a good choice to get it for you as an anniversary gift. 

you look over your ankle intriguingly, shaking it slightly to hear the bell ring in response. 

“it’s so pretty!” you beam excitedly and kiss him in thanks as he raises back up on his feet. “then you have to put on the perfume i gave you too.”

suna raises an eyebrow, “perfume?”

“shit–” your hand flies over to cover your mouth instantly by reflex and you shake your head. “i didn’t say that.”

your boyfriend laughs as he takes the nicely wrapped present and shakes it in a feigned attempt to figure the not-so-mysterious content, “gee, i wonder what it could be.”

“oh, i don’t know. guess you have to find out.” you reply in the same sardonic tone, suppressing giggles as you watch him rip off the paper unceremoniously. 

suna blinks once, twice at the box and glances at you before looking back at the box that is engraved with a name that he’s aware to be high end. he’s not very materialistic but he knows for sure that it costs more than you can afford for yourself and the thought of you forking out so much money on it makes his heart swell. 

“well?” you grin sheepishly as you wait for him to say something. 

“babe, this is..” he sighs, brushing a hand through his brown locks. “how did you even–”

“don’t mind that! put it on!” you chide.

suna shakes his head and chuckles as he opens the packaging to pull out the expensive bottle. he takes off the lid and takes a whiff of the manly scent, yet has no idea what the contents are. he guess he should wear it often if you like the scent so much, especially since you’re the one who chose it for him. he sprays the cologne on his wrist and rubs it with the other before applying it on the back of his ears.

you don’t remember how many bottles it took to find the one that you absolutely would like on him but you know you’ve made the right choice when the aroma has proven to suit his character very well; sexy and alluring.

“you smell so fucking good.” you sigh in content as the scent begins to fill your senses.

“is this your way of saying that i always stink?” he forces an offended frown but the slight upturn at the corner of his lips tells you it's only superficial. 

“yeah, you reek. especially after your practice.” you tease before suna envelops you into a warm hug. 

“but i won’t wear it to practice.” he mutters as he caresses your hair gently. “it’s a waste if the guys are the only ones who are going to smell it.”

“that’s fine. you can always wear it around me.”

suna pulls away to look at you, blankly staring at you with his dark and narrow eyes. “and, you shouldn’t be giving me expensive stuff. i won’t even mind if you didn’t get me anything. you’re more than enough for me.”

“but–” 

“no buts.” he places a small kiss on your lips. “still, thank you for this.”

you smile and counter back with a kiss, “happy anniversary, rin. i love you.”

“i love you, too.” he taps your nose with his finger before picking you up off your feet and cradling you in his arms, making you squeal in surprise. “now that we’re done with that, time to put that to the test.” 

“put what to the test?” you look up at him with curiosity as he carries you towards your shared room, leaving the empty plates of your homemade dinner behind. 

“why do you think i got you something with a bell on it?” he grins slyly before throwing you on the bed and causing the bell around your ankle to chime from the result of the impact. 

warmth creeps up to your cheeks as you put one and one together, “you wouldn’t..” 

“oh, yes i will.” suna climbs on top of you, pale yellow irises swirling like flames as he gazes deeply into your eyes before leaning down to slip his tongue past the barrier of your lips in an amorous kiss. your hands find their way to his nape, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss.

suna swallows down your moans as he hastily works on taking off all his lower garments and grinds his erection against your sex, soothing the throb that he has been keeping inside his pants the moment he put on the ornament around your ankle since his mind just kept on wandering at the thought of how he has been wanting to put it on to good use. 

he breaks the kiss to plant wet, soft kisses down your throat, suckling and nibbling on the sensitive skin that he knows will have you whining underneath him while his large, calloused hands massages your mounds through the flimsy dress. 

“you’re so pretty,” he whispers against the crook of your neck as tugs down the straps off your shoulders and lets it fall on your arms. “i love you so much.”

with a little maneuvering of your arms, you manage to slip out from the band and allow suna to pull down the dress completely. your nipples harden from the cold air yet they find heat once he wraps his lips around one, tongue dancing and circling around the erected tit while he tweaks the other between his thumb and index finger that sends jolt of sensations down to your bundle of nerves.

your lips part in soft, heavy pants while your fingers seek refuge in his dark hair by tugging it lightly before he pulls away with an audible pop to suck on the other. his hand trails down on your inner thigh, drawing circles with his fingertips on the erogenous zone and purposely avoiding from tracing closer to your heated core. 

“rin.” you whine while the bell resounds from underneath as you part your legs wider and buck your hips reflexively. 

“hmm?” narrow, hooded eyes look up at you mischievously from below. suna unlatches his mouth, watching as the nipple perks up harder and becomes more swollen from his ministrations. “you’re ready for me, aren’t you?”

you feel your cheeks warm up, “i don’t know, why don’t you get down and see for yourself?”

“whatever you say, princess.” he chuckles and shifts downwards until his head is settled in the space between your thighs.

“shit, you’re really a mess down here.” he muses, thumb grazing against the dark patch that has formed on the thin fabric. “all from me just sucking your tits?”

suna tugs the sodden garment down, tongue darting out to sweep his bottom lip as his eyes dissolve into red of passion and lust. it’s more intense than you imagined, but an impassioned loop twists in your stomach as you study his next, calculated step. 

shivers of pleasure rushes throughout your body the moment you feel his warm tongue flattening against your wet slits. with skills and practiced strokes, his tongue laps off your slick greedily before teasing and sucking on the throbbing clit. your toes curl and the bell rings as you attempt to close your legs together, but suna spreads them apart from crushing his head.

his lustful gaze fixes up at you, observing every twitch of pleasure and the way your lips part in soft, needy whimpers. you gasp at the abrupt intrusion of his long and slender fingers, yet you gladly welcome him as the muscles clench to keep him within.

“does it feel good?” he whispers, kissing the soft skin of your fleshy thigh when he notices your legs tremble. 

“s-so good, rin.” you mewl, nails digging into the sheets while the fabric crumples in your fists as you find purchase. his fingers curl and drag against the spongy walls, making you keen in excitement that your hips begin to pump desperately to match his rhythm. 

“you’re so needy.” a sense of pride soars in his chest, conscious of how much your pleasure lies in him and only him. he continues rubbing and digging, somewhat in search of something; certainly the spot that he’s aware that’ll make you beg for him hopelessly. and when he finds it, he doesn’t miss the way you tense up and giving him the drive to stroke the same spot mercilessly. 

“shit– right there!” you look like you’d almost cry. the way your hips are jerking uncontrollably is telling him that you’re going to break soon and before that happens, suna draws away his fingers and you immediately throw a scowl his way. 

“what?” his voice is taunting and he wears a smirk of a victor which makes you all the more frustrated. 

you huff, “so mean. on our anniversary night, too.” 

suna lifts himself off you to get out of his shirt. no matter how much you’ve seen him bare and naked, your eyes always marvel over his toned chest and chiseled abs; those he gained along by being a professional athlete since a couple of years ago. you lick your lips to return moisture on dry skin as you watch him pump his throbbing cock in front of you while he puts on an expression of bold seduction.

“you don’t have to look so scared. you wanted to cum so bad, didn’t you?” he sneers, obviously confident over how thick his cock is and how it can stretch your tiny little hole so good.

you roll your eyes playfully, retorting in a snarky tone, “oh, i’m so scared. please don’t put that thing inside me!”

his lips curl into an amusing smile, finding it endearing how you played along with his pretense. “don’t worry, i’ll treat my princess very gently.” 

suna leans down to lick a fat strip of your essence and mixes with his saliva before propping up on his knees and dragging your body closer to him by the waist. he carefully throws the leg adorned with his gift on his shoulder and kisses on the side of your knee before fixing his dark gaze downwards, where he slowly guides and observes the way his cockhead slowly disappears into your dripping entrance. 

a low grunt rumbles in his chest as the walls suck him in deeper, clamping around him like a vice and refusing to let go as he continues to bury his cock deeper inside your pussy. your eyes flutter close, lips part slightly as you revel the way he stretches you while the veins and ridges brush against your muscles deliciously. 

“so good for me, princess.” he praises with a sharp breath, having you completely filled to the brim before he finally snaps his hips and making your body jolt in return. his pace is unforgiving and with the angle he has set you in, his tip keeps on pounding against your cervix. 

the slapping of your skins fills the cold air, mingling with the sounds of your moans and the erratic chimes from your bell that he was so eager about. an unknowing grin etches on your lover’s lips as every jingle that fills his ear fuels up his ego and he finds himself to pound into you faster while the sounds behind him follow in accordance.

“hah– rin– so deep!” your orgasm is quick to build up from the prior interruption, the muscles in your stomach begins to tighten and your legs quiver. 

“you hear that, baby? the bell telling you how hard i’m fucking you right now.“ he rams his cock senselessly to make the bell jingle wilder in a way to prove his point.

“rin– i–” 

“baby wanna cum?” he coos, smirking down at you as the image of your writhing body ingrains in his mind.

you nod your head affirmatively, face contorting in one that expresses bliss as your mind swirls with excessive gratification. yet your eyes snap open as soon as you feel a sharp sting on your thigh. 

he releases the pliant skin from between his teeth, “use your words, princess.” 

“please–” you let out a broken cry. “wanna cum–” your toes curl with anticipation as you will yourself from coming undone before you are granted to do so.

“that’s– fuck– better.” he grunts, thrusts turning sporadic as you begin to squeeze and clamp down on him. “then cum, baby. you deserve it.”

suna brings up his thumb to your aching bud, generously pressing tight circles in order to push you over the edge and a wave of pleasure washes throughout your body as you moan his name in a chant. your pussy gushes around his cock, which makes it all more stimulating for the male and he pounces harder through your high in pursuit of his own orgasm while the noisy rings from the bell soon becomes white noise.

“that’s it– you feel so fucking good.” he feels his balls tightening before his cock twitches and he bites roughly on your leg as he shoots warm load inside your tight cunt. you squeal from the pain, wiggling your leg away and he completely lets go. 

he chuckles lightly and gently rubs the dents on your skin, “sorry.” 

once he’s sure he has emptied, he pulls out his softening cock and finds his place next to your warm body. you turn to face your lover and he gladly welcomes you into his warm embrace. 

“i love you.” he whispers, pushing aside the damp and matted hair from your face to place a soft kiss on your forehead. 

you hum in content, vision darkening as he continues to play with your hair soothingly while the sound of his heartbeat sings you a lullaby. “i love you, too.”

duskamethyst © 2020 • do not modify, translate or repost anywhere.

[dudeandduchess]

Yakuza!Kyōjurō x F!S/O: Sugar and Spice (Mafia!AU, Modern AU, NSFW Series)[Chapter 5]

Summary: Kyōjurō and (Y/n) meet at a party, only to find out that their lives would change forever— since they had been arranged to be married.

Warnings: Making Out, Dry Humping, Extreme Fluff

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4| Chapter 6

***

(Y/n) wasn’t a stranger to fast food establishments at all; especially when she was far away from her family at university, and well away from having to keep up pretenses— on the off chance that an off-the-rails paparazzo would recognize her and hound her for an interview.

She liked to partake in the occasional burger from McDonald’s, and the odd fried chicken from KFC every once in a while. But it was the first time that she’d even been to a fast food restaurant while dressed to the nines.

Hell, she was even wearing statement jewelry that her mother had told Rin to make her wear. And that had her gripping her seatbelt even tighter than before; especially as Kyōjurō pulled up right in front of the busy McDonald’s without a care in the world.

As if he owned the road, which he may as well have— what with the wide berth that people and cars had given him.

(Y/n) couldn’t blame them at all; she would have dived for cover the moment that she had spotted the 4444 digits, as well as the little crown at the corner of Kyōjurō’s license plate. But that was before she had come to be engaged to a Yakuza member— the heir of the family, no less.

“Are you serious? We’re eating here?” She didn’t have any qualm with fast food at all— it was just that they were extremely overdressed. And it was already garnering the attention from a couple of pedestrians, which had her sinking into her seat even further.

But Kyōjurō seemed like he couldn’t give two fucks about what anyone else thought, as he unbuckled his seatbelt and didn’t even bat an eye as he got out of the car; rounding it, all so he could open her door for her.

Gentlemanly, and it wooed (Y/n) a little, but it did barely anything to ease the embarrassment that she got from the stares of all the passersby.

“Why, princess? Too casual for you?” Kyōjurō teased, watching with amusement as his fiancée huffed a little while undoing her seatbelt. And, as a little act of rebellion, she ignored his hand and stepped out of the sedan as gracefully as she can— impressing Kyōjurō even more, as she seamlessly rose up without even parting her legs to move.

“In this case, yes. And in case you haven’t noticed, Kyōjurō, everyone has been staring at us.”

“So? Let them stare; it’s the first time that they’d seen someone as beautiful as you.” The Rengoku answered smoothly, taking (Y/n) off guard and making her cheeks bloom a vibrant red from embarrassment.

And, with a soft chuckle, Kyōjurō quickly took his fiancée’s hand into his own— before tugging her towards the bustling McDonald’s for a quick breakfast.

To Kyōjurō’s surprise— and his utter delight— she managed to finish her pancake and sausage meal; before giving his remaining pancake longing looks across the table.

(Y/n) tried to avoid looking at the fluffy pancake, as it was rude to do so, but her eyes always gravitated towards it; her stomach speaking for her and making her mouth water for the sweet treat. After all, pancakes were one of her most favorite breakfast items— if only for the fact that her father had always taken her to get them before school, before he was the Prime Minister.

The faintest of smiles graced her lips at the fond memories that came flashing in her mind; a reaction that wasn’t lost on Kyōjurō at all, especially since it gave her such a soft and ethereal glow that had him completely transfixed.

His mouth would have fallen open, had he not caught himself in time and kept it closed. And, before he could help it, an equally subtle smile tugged up at the corners of his lips— all while he admired the woman whom sat adjacent from him; the woman who was going to be his wife.

“What’re you smiling about?” The question wasn’t harsh at all, it was merely inquisitive, which had Kyōjurō playfully tilting his head slightly and amping up the wattage on his smile.

However, instead of being teasing, he decided to be upfront with her— hoping to catch her off guard.

Which he did, with his answer.

“You. The way you’re the most beautiful person here without even trying...”

(Y/n)’s lips pursed at those words, but the smile that she tried to hide with that action still crept through the tiny cracks in her façade. It completely enamored the Rengoku even more, as opposed to turning him off from her false placidity.

“You’re too much of a charmer, Kyōjurō,” (Y/n) conceded in a somewhat playful tone, before idly taking her cup of orange juice and taking a sip of it— if only to hide her oncoming blush and flustered smile behind the action.

“Only for you, princess.” And honestly, he really meant it; he’d always been charming, but it was only with her that he truly meant everything he said.

***

A two hour drive later found (Y/n) staring in awe up at the tall trees that bordered a two-lane road up in the mountains. They had turned off from the main road five minutes ago, but she had yet to see where her fiancé was taking her.

If she were to be honest, she would say that she was getting slightly nervous. She couldn’t help the reaction though, as it made sense— all because of Kyōjurō’s job’s nature. She had come to like him to a degree, but she had yet to put her trust in him.

After all, she had to be careful, as she had gone into the arrangement with her eyes wide open. His family was cashing in a favor her father owed, and she could never forget that.

But that didn’t mean that she should hate him for it, as she’d come to realize during their breakfast. He wasn’t all that bad, and he was very easy on the eyes— which was an extremely huge plus.

“I hate to ask this so late, but where exactly are we going?” (Y/n) finally piped up, turning away from the seemingly neverending foliage and looking over at Kyōjurō— whom had his full attention on the road.

He didn’t even turn towards her when he answered, “Somewhere special, and somewhere... private.”

The way that the last word rolled off his tongue was packed with so much meaning, that she couldn’t help but feel herself get a little hot under the collar at his double entendre. Still, she pushed for complete placidity, and even opted to cross her legs at the ankles— if only to squeeze her thighs together.

“I’m sure you’re gonna like it there, sweetheart. Best of all, you won’t have to deal with your mother for a while,” Kyōjurō joked with a grin, still not looking at her, but turning to his left before veering the car left.

A sharp gasp escaped from (Y/n)’s lips at the reckless move, only to be truly left speechless when she got an eyeful of the view in front of her. From a break in the foliage, she saw that they were on a cliff face, with a traditional Japanese mansion down below— complete with an expansive garden— and partnered with such a breathtaking view of Saitama’s lush mountains serving as the backdrop.

Not even the sound of Kyōjurō pulling up the handbrake ruined the tranquility of the moment.

She had been to so many beautiful places in the world, but something about the place just seemed so... tranquil. Like it had touched not jusy her heart, but also her soul.

From his seat, Kyōjurō watched in fascination as his fiancée’s expression became even lovelier as the seconds ticked by. She took in the view so hungrily, that he wasn’t prepared for the sheer admiration in her eyes when she turned to finally look at him.

“Is this yours?” She asked softly, her voice barely above breaking a whisper.

And, with a subtle shake of his head, he gave in to his instincts and leaned in closer to bridge the gap between them— cupping her cheeks in his hands and bringing her face in so he could brush his lips against hers. “It’ll be yours too. Soon, Mrs. Rengoku.”

It was only meant to be a quick peck, but Kyōjurō couldn’t help himself and deepened it into a proper kiss; one that had (Y/n) melting right into his touch. She pliantly parted her lips for his tongue, moaning softly against his mouth when he moved to play with hers.

But things didn’t stop there for the couple, as (Y/n) released more of her control and allowed her lover to pull her over the console and right onto his lap. Thankfully, her dress was flared enough to have not ripped when she instinctively straddled him.

It was a tight fit, with her pressed flush against him— as the steering wheel was digging into her back— but she paid no mind to it as she traded kiss for kiss with her fiancé. All the while, the Rengoku’s hands anchored themselves to either side of her waist, kneading her sides before the right one moved down to cup her ass and squeeze it through her dress.

“Fuck, baby, I want nothing more than to fuck you right here,” Kyōjurō hissed, as he hungrily devoured his lover’s lips with open mouthed kisses. He had even taken to nipping at her lips every once in a while to ease the frustration he felt, especially with her pussy pressed flush against the steadily rising bulge between his thighs.

But he couldn’t break his own word— that his cock was a wifey privilege. Because not only would that be embarrassing and needy as hell for him, it would be going back on his word. And if there’s anything that Kyōjurō hated, it was going back on someone’s word— especially his own.

In response to that, (Y/n) began to grind her pussy up against Kyōjurō’s erection; wrapping her arms even tighter around his shoulders, while her fingers buried themselves in his hair. “Do it. Fuck me right here.”

Part of her was surprised at her shameless words, but she couldn’t very well take them back anymore so she decided to remedy her gaffe by being the one to dive in for another open mouthed kiss— if only to distract her lover from what she had just admitted to wanting, in a roundabout way.

Kyōjurō’s cock was throbbing with need at that statement, but he still forced himself to pull away before things could press on to the point where even he would lose sight of his own control. It was the hardest thing he’d had to do in a while, and it was obvious by (Y/n)’s expression that she did not appreciate being rejected once more— which he tried to smooth over with one last kiss to her luscious lips.

“Wifey priveleges, princess. Not until you’re officially mine.”

[shootingcookielover]

Summary: 5 times Techno traded with gold and the one time he didn't.

It's basically just a five + one fic. We got Techno in here, Philza, Ranboo, Niki, Tommy and a bit of Wilbur.

Egg in the end.

Implied character death.

Enjoy?

1.

Tommy discovered it, because of course it was Tommy. The boy had had a thought - a rare occurrence already - and a correct thought at that - even rarer.

He'd accompanied Phil to the Nether exactly four times now, and everytime he'd seen the older exchange gold with the natives. Had seen how the piglins would chase after the shiny metal and seemingly without giving it a second thought exchange it for something.

Now, despite popular belief Tommy wasn't stupid; he knew a thing or two. For example, he knew that Technoblade, his oldest brother, was a piglin-hybrid.

He thought it odd that Wilbur hadn't come to the same conclusion as him yet, but blamed it on being smarter than the musician.

For just a few minutes before he executed his plan - or rather, experiment - he stood. He looked.

He watched Technoblade. The older was sitting on the couch - which was rare, as he usually preferred to be alone in his room - reading a book.

Tommy didn't know what book and he didn't care.

A grin played around his lips as he pulled out what he referred to as 'the Bait'. It was a gold ring he'd stolen from Philza when the man wasn't looking.

He stepped into the room and Technos eyes flickered up briefly; a suspicious look settling on his face for a moment.

"Eyyyy, big T!", Tommy exclaimed, to dissuade the older from thinking on the situation too much. He didn't want Techno to figure out what he was doing, after all, that might ruin the experiment. "How are you! How's the wife?"

Techno rolled his eyes before settling them on the book in his hands again. "I don't have a wife, Tommy."

The younger laughed, grip on the gold ring tightening. He was closer to his brother now, just a few steps away.

"Yeah, big man, just one of the many things I'm superior at than you! Having a wife! Because I definitely have wife!"

"M-hm. And when are we meeting this 'wife' of yours, exactly, Tommy?"

The blond bristled a bit. "Well, never with that attitude! She doesn't want to meet you anyway! And I don't want you to meet her! You'd probably bore her to death with your stupid obsession with ancient Greece!"

The older brother looked back up at Tommy. "I'll have you know---", his gaze settled on the ring Tommy was offering him.

Without any hesitation Techno grabbed it, calloused fingers holding it delicately. He inspected it closely, before he slipped it on his finger, grabbed the book he was still holding and handed it to Tommy.

"---the Greeks were a respectable civilization with a lot of fascinating mythology!", He resumed as if nothing happened.

For a moment there was silence between the two brothers.

Then Tommy broke out in hysterical laughter.

"Tommy I swear to God if you tell anyone about this, I will personally end you.", Techno promised.

Not at all deterred by the serious note in his brother's voice, Tommy jumped back from the couch and yelled out: "WILBUR! Wilbur guess what Techno did!"

"Oh no you don't!", Techno vaulted over the couch's armrest, but he was too late, Tommy was already sprinting down the hall, almost at the staircase.

"Tommy, get back here!"

"Wilbur! WILBUR YOU GOTTA SEE THIS!"

Tommy was quick on his feet and just fast enough that Techno couldn't catch up to him.

When he reached the upper floor Wilbur was already standing in the hallway, intrigued amusement playing on his face.

"Come in here, quick!", He yelled and pulled Tommy into his room, just before Techno could get the youngest.

As quick as he could Wilbur locked the door.

Techno threw himself against the wood - without as much strength as he would need to break it down. Phil had specifically warned them not to break anymore doors.

"Tommy, I swear if you tell Wilbur I will--"

The boys inside Wilburs room ignored the angry ranting and the fists hitting the door.

Wilbur was grinning as he leaned against the door to keep it closed with his weight. "What did you do?! I haven't seen Techno this upset since the book prank of 1876!"

"That was a week ago!", Techno remarked, though he went ignored.

"Okay, okay, okay", Tommy's face was basically a massive grin at this point. He showed Wilbur the book Techno had given him. "You see this?"

"A book? We already did that, Tommy."

"No, no, no, no! This book-- I mean! You know how piglins trade shit for gold?"

"Tommy!"

Wilburs eyes widened as he seemed to catch on.

"I gave Techno a ring and he traded me this! He didn't even look like he thought about it, he just did it!"

Techno put his hands against Wilburs door, palms against the wood.

He took a deep breath. This isn't worth the punishment that would follow breaking a door.

He stood there for a few seconds more, voices in the back of his mind chanting incoherent words and sentences he couldn't really make out yet.

You know what? Screw it, it's definitely worth it.

"TOMMY!"

He threw himself against the door, full-force this time.

The wood gave in against Technos muscular frame. Wilbur stumbled away from the door, falling to the floor.

Tommy was already at the window he and Wilbur climbed out of a lot.

"You get back here, you gremlin!", Techno yelled.

He stepped across Wilbur, but the younger brother grabbed his ankle.

The unexpected action led to Techno face-planting into the floor, just out of reach of Tommy.

"Let me go!", The piglin-hybrid exclaimed, kicking out towards Wilbur.

The musician grabbed ahold of Technos entire leg, while he yelled out to Tommy: "Run, I'll buy you some time!"

"I appreciate it!", The youngest yelled, already outside on the roof, sliding down the tiles.

"No, Tommy--!"

Techno kicked out again, aiming for Wilburs face, but the musician dodged.

"I won't let you get him, Techno!"

"Just let me go!"

Crunch!

Wilbur let go of Technos legs, hands instead going up to his face.

The piglin hybrid scrambled to his feet.

With the awkwardness of someone who hadn't had to climb out of a window before, he followed his brother outside.

"Tommy!", He yelled, but the boy had already disappeared into the nearby woods.

There was no way Techno would get him now, at least not until Phil returned.

An upset grumble built in the back of his throat as he climbed back into Wilbur's room.

His gaze landed on the musician, his hands now covered in blood.

"Hey, you, uh, okay? I didn't kick you too hard...", He shuffled in place awkwardly, "...right?"

Wilbur chuckled. "Nah, I think it's just broken."

"Just broken?!"

When Phil returned home, he heard both Technos and Wilburs voices from the living room. He didn't, however, hear Tommy's voice, which was deeply concerning.

The blond was loud, always.

He stepped into the living room to find Techno bandaging Wilburs nose.

"What's going on?", He questioned. He knew his boys played rough a lot, but so far it hadn't ever been bad enough to warrant actually concern. "And where's Tommy?"

"Eh, the gremlin child is probably just in the woods. He'll be back.", Techno replied while pulling the bandage a bit tighter.

Wilbur winced a bit at Technos movements. "Yeah, it's probably fine.", He agreed.

The last of Phil's worries were scattered when Tommy slammed open the front door and yelled: "Techno broke Wilburs door again!"

"Really, mate?"

2.

Philza, despite living with Tommy, Wilbur and Techno for years, didn't find out about this particular quirk of Technos until much later.

Tommy and Wilbur hadn't yet gone off to the Dream Smp.

Phil and Techno were on Hypixel when he found out. The two of them were taking a break from the endless fighting on the server by relaxing in the flat Techno had rented there.

The piglin-hybrid was sprawled on the couch, clearly exhausted, when Phil noticed it.

He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes focussed on the younger man's hand.

"Mate, what's that ring you got there?", He questioned.

"Eh?", Techno lazily raised his head before glancing at his finger. "...which one?", He then asked, seeing as he had a rather big collection of rings decorating his hand.

"This one right here.", Phil replied and reached out, only lightly touching the one he meant.

He knew how possessive Techno was of his things; particularly the ones made of gold.

Techno examined the ring for a second before shrugging. "Tommy gave it to me, traded it for some book.", He finally replied, laying back on the couch.

"...that's my wedding ring, mate."

"HEH?!"

"Tommy gave you my wedding ring and you gave him a book?"

Techno pulled his hand against his chest and examined the ring closer. "Wha-- I didn't know it was your weddin' ring! I thought it was just some random jewelry, he'd picked up or somethin'!"

Short silence prevailed between the two.

"...you can have it back.", Techno finally said. Except, he was obviously not okay with giving it up, judging by the possessive gaze he leveled at the thing, or the way his fingers curled around the item in question.

"Nah, mate, it's alright you can keep it.", Phil couldn't help the smile pulling at his mouth. "What did you say about trading?"

Technos gaze took on a mortified quality immediately. "No, Phil, please--", but it was too late.

Phil had pulled a gold earring from his inventory and held it out to Techno. He had bought the thing specifically for the younger man anyway, the opportunity was perfect.

The piglin-hybrid's gaze became transfixed on the metal. A few grunts escaped him as he pulled it from Philza's grasp.

From his own inventory he produced emeralds that he thoughtlessly handed to the older man.

The gold nugget disappeared into his inventory.

Phil couldn't help but laugh as he also stashed away the emeralds.

An embarrassed blush spread across Technos cheeks. "We'll never speak of this again."

"Sure, mate.", Phil was still laughing.

4.

Ranboo had been living with Techno for a few weeks now. Well, next to Techno, technically.

The point was, Ranboo had been hanging around the piglin-hybrid a lot lately and he had noticed something. Something he'd noted down in his memory book in the section he dedicated to 'Friends'.

Techno is fascinated by gold.

Whenever Ranboo pulled out anything remotely gold, the other would get transfixed by it.

One time, Ranboo had forgotten his crown at Techno's - he almost hadn't gotten it back.

So, with that in mind, Ranboo had crafted the piglin-hybrid a golden necklace. It wasn't the best piece of craftsmanship - Ranboo hadn't really made jewelry before. Not that he would have been able to remember if he had.

Still, the necklace looked good enough and Ranboo was actually kind of proud of it.

So with the gift in his inventory he made the short trip to Techno's cabin.

His hand trembled a bit as he knocked on the door. He told himself it was just the cold, but he knew it was the nerves coiled tightly in his stomach. He had given Techno gifts before, most notably the enchanted netherite axe he'd recently made, but somehow this felt... Different.

He pulled his hand away and took a step away from the door, anxiously swaying back and forth on the balls of his feet. His tail nervously thumped against the fence behind him a few times.

The door finally opened, revealing a somewhat dishevelled looking Technoblade.

"Ranboo?", The piglin-hybrid observed.

Ranboo startled. "Yes! I, uh, I made you something!", He exclaimed. His eyes traveled along Techno's tired frame, the bags beneath his eyes. "But- but I can come back later for you're-- if you're busy."

Techno already shook his head before Ranboo even finished his sentence. "You're fine. Come in. You want tea?"

The piglin-hybrid stepped into the house, back turned towards Ranboo.

It made the enderman hybrid feel warm, that Techno trusted him enough to invite him in, to share tea with him, to turn his back on Ranboo.

The enderman hybrid pulled the door close as he stepped in. "Sure!", He chirped.

Edward greeted him from his place by the fireplace and Ranboo replied with his own greeting.

"What kind do you want?", Techno asked from the kitchen while Ranboo sat down at the table. "I have... Black tea, chamomile and... I think this is green tea?", There was the faint sound of sniffing. "...yeah, I don't know what this is, actually."

"Oh, uh, chamomile is fine!" Ranboo answered, his nerves making him clench and unclench his hands periodically.

He was overtly aware of the gold necklace in his inventory. Despite the inventory not being a physical thing, like pants pockets or a bag, Ranboo could feel it weighing him down.

Not that he wasn't excited to present the other with his gift, it just... Made his anxiety act up.

After what felt like eternity Techno came back to the living room, carrying two steaming cups. He placed one in front of Ranboo, before he sat down with his own.

To Ranboo's surprise there was a straw placed in his cup. He couldn't help but stare at the thing.

Techno cleared his throat and Ranboo looked up at the piglin-hybrid.

Techno seemed to be... Embarrassed.

Ranboo hadn't known the Blade could be embarrassed.

"I uh. I thought since you're part enderman you might not want to drink directly out of the cup, because of the water allergy and stuff, so I uh. Added the straw."

If Ranboo could have blinked, he would have, but as it was he could only look between the cup and Techno. The warmth from before, that Techno's trust had ignited, flared to life with a vengeance.

Ranboo wrapped his hands around the cup and smiled at Techno. "Thank you! That's... Not many people think of that..."

"We hybrids gotta look out for each other.", Techno replied with a shrug and took a sip from his cup.

The smile remained on Ranboo's face as he stared down into his cup, almost transfixed by the straw.

So thoughtful.

He himself often forgot to take precautions when he drank water, leading to a lot of tiny burn scars decorating his mouth, similar to the tear trails on his cheeks.

"So, uh, you said somethin' about a gift?"

Ranboo looked up at Techno.

The words registered and Ranboo remembered. "Oh! Right!"

He quickly reached into his inventory and pulled out the necklace.

He held it out to Techno.

"I know it's not the best, but I did my best! I, uh, saw how much you liked gold and you already have so many rings, I figured you might like a necklace!"

Ranboo clamped his mouth shut to stop himself from rambling.

Techno didn't seem to even register half the words that had spilled from the enderman hybrids lips.

His eyes were fixed on the necklace. He carefully reached out and took it from Ranboo's hands.

Seemingly without thought he pulled an ender pearl from his inventory and pushed it into Ranboo's hands.

"Uh?", Ranboo again wished he could blink with bewilderment, but he couldn't. Instead his ears and tail flicked, while his eyes moved from the pearl to Techno, back to the pearl.

The piglin-hybrid put the necklace around his neck, still staring at the golden chain, apparently oblivious to Ranboo's confusion.

Eventually Techno looked up again and registered Ranboo's bewilderment.

"Ah! That. It's a piglin thing." Techno explained quickly with a flick of his wrist. He wanted to dismiss the topic and not make a big deal out of it; Ranboo could see the embarrassed blush dusting the others cheeks.

Being a hybrid himself he understood what Techno meant perfectly. He didn't question it further, instead opting to just put the enderpearl in his inventory. "Uh, thanks!", He finally said, wincing at his own words. "...I guess!"

Techno shrugged. "So, tea, right?"

5.

"Are Phil and Ranboo not coming today?", Niki questioned as she set down the tray of muffins she'd brought.

Techno shook his head. "Nah, they're just late.", He explained.

"Oh." Niki glanced at the mysterious chair that had been empty for every meeting so far.

Who could it belong to?

She shook the thoughts off. It didn't matter. She sat down in her own chair before offering Techno a muffin.

The piglin-hybrid took it gladly.

"Your bakin' is really good.", Techno muttered through a mouthful of muffin.

Niki laughed. "Thanks, Techno."

"No, really, I love these."

She smiled as she leaned back. A bit of boredom weasled it's way into her mind and she began fiddling with her bracelet.

It was made of gold and shimmered delightfully in the sim light of the meeting room.

Techno, who had been enraptured by the muffin a second ago, was suddenly much more transfixed on the piece of jewelry. His chewing became much more calm and deliberate. His eyes followed the bracelets every move.

"...you good, Techno?", Niki questioned as she pulled the arm with bracelet closer to herself.

The piglin-hybrid slowly nodded and swallowed the bite of muffin. "...'m fine.", He replied, gaze still locked on the jewelry.

"....do you want this?", Niki eventually asked, since Techno's attention didn't once shift from the bracelet.

"Heh?", Techno looked up at Niki's eyes briefly, before he looked at the bracelet again. "No, no, it's yours, I wouldn't... Want it anyway."

Niki laughed lightly as she unclasped the bracelet. "It's fine, Techno, really. It's not important or anything, it's just a bracelet."

The piglin-hybrid took the piece of jewelry and handed Niki the half-eaten muffin he held in his other hand.

He put the bracelet on and when he met Niki's gaze an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks.

"A piglin thing?", Niki questioned as she took a bite of the muffin.

Techno shrugged. "Yeah."

+1

The necklace feels heavy around his neck, the ring like it's cutting into his finger. The bracelet burns against his wrist and the emeralds hanging from his ears seem to weigh much more than they should.

His fingers wrap around the handle of his axe; it was a familiar movement, something he'd done millions of times.

Not that he remembers any of those times.

All he has are the broken remnants of a life that he isn't part of anymore.

The distant sound of laughter sometimes echoes through his memories, but more often than not there are screams, distant, yet seeming so much more real than the happy moments he sometimes catches glimpses of.

The only thing that truly feels real, that he truly remembers, is the one thing he can't have anymore. Not really anyway.

The earrings feel so, so heavy. The necklace feels like it's burning a hole into his skin.

The bracelet feels too tight suddenly, the ring like it's desperately trying to brand his finger.

His grip around the axe's handle tightens.

He doesn't remember them, any of them.

Phil's hands pushed the weapon into his hand frantically. He didn't understand.

"Run!", He had been told and so he had run.

But he knows they need his help.

"Techno!", Ranboo had screamed, his voice devolving into incoherent enderman noises as it wrapped around his lanky frame.

If only he could get up. If only his limbs would move.

If only it wasn't so cold.

He knows he's the only one who can help.

"I thought-- I thought you were immune?"

Tommy laughed. It was his laugh, but it wasn't. It was the same, yet it was different. So, so different.

"Techno, big man, big T!", The teen replied, eyes glinting red. "Nobody is 'immune' to the egg! That'd be like being immune to the air!"

His steps are light and quick; different from back then, back when he wasn't... This.

It doesn't matter.

Because they need him.

"No!"

The vines had wrapped her up, covering her mouth, her limbs. Preventing her from making any move.

Tears trickled down her face, tears that slowly came to a halt.

He felt horror deep in his soul as he watched her eyes turn a deep, dark crimson.

[mxvladdy]

True Form- Leviathan

Here it is. Sorry for the delay! I hope you like it!

True Form- Leviathan 

In the celestial realm, he loved the waters and was gifted a body that was best suited for it from his father. It was beautiful, so sleek, shiny, and fast. When he was in the water even Mammon had trouble keeping up. But, the best part of it all was that some angels were envious of it. 

He was pretty close to Asmo during this time too. Asmo would help him dry brush his scales and moisturize the harder to reach areas across his body. In return when Levi would shed Asmo got to keep his pretty scales. From there Asmo would make makeup and jewelry from them. 

When he would visit the human realm with Lilith and Belphie they would play near any body of water that tickled their fancy to teased the mortals with his splendor. They would get a good laugh out of the stories of mermaids and great sea beasts that were created around him afterward. 

During the fall he was separated from the rest of the brothers. His unconscious body flung away from the pack to careen into the parts unknown while his brothers plummet into the Devildom. 

He comes to briefly to the feel of his blistered flayed skin hissing on impact by the cool ocean waters of the human realm. 

He slumbered for a long time down there. His body recovering from the war in the quiet. It adapted without him, working overtime to survive its new environment. His broken halo’s edges dull out, the deep trench’s currents buffering and polishing it down to horns. They grow out slowly into a large coral reef for the deep-sea inhabitants. 

The lack of light turns his skin a translucent grey color, the warm glow from the celestial realm leached from him. While his scales and hide turn dark and take on an oily sheen. Great clumps of basalt rock grow over the burns from tearing through the earth's atmosphere. The rapid heating and cooling of his skin formed iron-rich patches around his flaking scales. 

When he wakes he is distraught. His once illustrious serpentine tail and radiant body were now battered and stained in his eyes. He stays down there in the depths out of shame for a few more years. 

The rest of the changes to his body were of his own making. A grand mixture from the creatures that he observed around him. His bright celestial markings now took after the bioluminescent creatures that would flock around him. He grew his hair out, enchanting some strains to take after the jellyfish he ate. Absorbing their toxins to imbue into his hair and blood. 

He finds the fish with razor sharp teeth and large net-like mouths fascinating and takes after them too.  Once he is satisfied (and has pulled himself out of his little self-pity party) he moves from his den, traversing the ocean floor and migrating with some of the other larger sea beasts. 

The years of separation from his brothers did a number on his mental health and social skills. Being trapped under the water for so long healing has stunted that part of his physique. The years before his brothers found him have dulled his social skills with higher beings and humans. Making him antisocial as well as paranoid. 

His communication skills with sea life are much better. During his travels, he bested and then befriended many mythical creatures. But his greatest ally has to be the legendary sea beast Lotan.

The older beast taught Leviathan a lot about the human realm and what has changed over time. Took up a bit of a parental/ mentor role for Levithan. They settle together in the waters of the east sea. 

Leviathan was drawn to this particular patch of water because of the pretty boats, atakebune Lotan called them. For years he watched the coastal regions of China and Japan grow and prosper and more ships entered his territory. 

He became somewhat of a local legend. Sailors and warriors would bring him offerings of food, gold, people, and other valuables for safe passage through his waters or help in an upcoming naval battle. He sometimes helped but most of the time he just observed.

He did take great joy in battles. It was a great game for him. Something different from the boring year among the fish.  

Contrary to belief, he can’t control the weather or the seas but his massive body can create devastating waves and his control of sea life is deadly to sailors. His fishy friends eat well when he emerges for a battle. He keeps the bloated and rioting corpses of fallen soldiers. They feed his smaller friends and help him maintain his coral horns

His brother’s eventually find him and bring him to the Devildom after they hear rumors of a mischievous sea serpent.

Whether it was because of his old injuries or just all his time under the sea with a tail he doesn’t have great control in his bipedal form. Both his human and demonic form have a slight limp and no aptitude for physical activity. 100% has a pass to get out of P.E. 

Moving back in with the brothers really brought out his cardinal sin of envy. He used to be so close with them all and then he was separated for so long he feels like he will never catch up. Between their new forms (that he finds much more practical and prettier than his) and his inability to adjust to their new lifestyle, he cemented himself in his envy. He tucks himself away in his room and surrounds himself with distractions and stories. 

Diavolo gifted him his enchanted aquarium after hearing about his struggles to adapt from Lucifer. Levi was appreciative but will never say it. When he gets overwhelmed by life and his video games can’t distract from his racing thoughts he likes to go in for a swim and tend to his aquatic gardens.

Mini Fic

Warm water laps at your toes. The salt of it clinging to your feet in thin crusty layers. You wiggle them, washing away some of the grime and to propel yourself deeper into the water. You take joy in disrupting the mirror-like finish of the once still water. Smiling up at the giant sun lamp mounted over you, you adjust your sunglasses. 

Sunday lounge days were the best. Just you, a cold bottle of soda, and a new swimsuit. You missed the beach and waters of the human whelm but not the crowds. Ugh, screaming kids and impolite beach guests were the worst. This was the best alternative you could have imagined. Between the warmth of the heat lamp and the slow motions of the water underneath you, you felt the stress of the week slowly washing away.

Dipping your hands in the water you begin to push your floaty further away from the edge of the thick aquarium wall. The light blue water underneath you deepening to an emerald green when you reach the drop-off point of Levi’s tank. The water is cooler here, but still comfortable as most of your body is still dry and safely nestled in his oversized pool float. Little surface fish and aquatic animals swim by, splashing your floaty and nibbling at your toes gently in greeting. They all knew better than to actually bother you.  

Letting the gentle current of the water pumps push you around in lazy circles you pull out the manga Levi had bought you (magically coated to make it waterproof) and flip back to your last bookmark. Enjoying the peace and quiet you immerse yourself in his latest hyper fixation. 

A few chapters in and three empty soda bottles later you notice your idle turning had stopped. Leaving you at a complete standstill. The water around you was still. The little fishies that had been following you had disappeared to the devil knows when. Yet despite the sudden abandonment of your aquatic entourage you still felt a presence. The heavy aura of a predatory gaze makes the fine hairs of your neck stand on end. The self-preserving part of your mind kicking into fight or flight mode. Best to just ignore that for now...Peeking out from behind your sunglasses you lean over your floaty to see what had stopped you. A gargantuan milky white eye stares back up at you. 

When you had first been introduced to this side of Levi his pearly gaze had been so guarded. It had been by complete accident that you saw well- him. So that couldn’t have helped much with his confidence. You had come by to drop off a few handheld consoles that he had lent you to see if you would like one as a gift. You remember being by his desk trying to find a noncluttered space to put them all when the blue glow of his room was suddenly thrown into darkness.

That was the first time you had been face to face with The Leviathan. It was magnificent. Even your textbooks in your Introduction to Demonology didn’t do him justice. It was breathtaking and bone chilling all in one. You remember locking eyes with him and the both of you freezing. His reflexive gaze boring into you a mixture of betrayal and fear fighting for dominance. A wordless dare for you to scream or curse his appearance. They had been closed off to all your kind words and encouragements at the beginning. 

Now they are open and warm. If not a little mischievous. Scratch that-very mischievous. 

“Don’t you dare.” You warn with a dawning realization. “Levi!” You shout over the edge of your float after him. He sinks down without even making a ripple. The shadow of the beast's body turns the green waters black as he jets underneath you. The little flicks of bioluminescence on his hide blink in and out of focus as he moves. Distracted as you were leaning over the side you didn’t notice the slim tip of his tail rise from the other side. 

It happened quickly, a slight jerk on your ankle and then a shock of cold water. Coughing and sputtering you breach the surface. Floundering about blindly for your floaty, your hands rest on something thick and sturdy. He chitters and laughs at his little joke. “Ya-ya laugh it up.” You grip his tree trunk sized tail like a lifeline. He keeps still giving you time to blink the water out of your eyes. “Ok. You got me in the water now what?” 

HAvE- sUrpiEssss. Levi’s large mouth clicked clumsily over the syllables. His long thin teeth always made it hard to shape his words. It had taken some time and effort to get him to loosen up enough to talk. He was very self-conscious of the phlegmy- waterlogged sound of it. The years spent under the sea having permanently filled his lungs with briny saltwater. Each breath of air rattle deep in his barrel chest.  

Schooling your expression you shot him a scowl Lucifer would be proud of. “What, a mouthful of salt wasn’t enough?” He scoffs white eyes narrowing, seeing right through your false agitation. This wouldn’t be the first or the last time he got your attention like this and he knew you were fine with it. “Alright you oversized guppy, how far down is it?” 

Levi beams, wide mouth stretching to flash you his blood-stained fangs. His gills flaring up in excitement down his large neck and rib cage. Careful of his more toxic strands of hair and the abrasive patches of rock around his neck, you swim closer accepting help from his long pale fingers. Clutching onto his strong neck you give him a small thumbs up.

He dives into the water with practiced ease slowly descending to give your body and the magic protecting you time to acclimate. It was bone-chillingly at first, your whole body seizing as you are submerged. But soon the magic of your pact began to work warming you and making you able to breathe underneath the artificial currents. Eyes slowly adjusting to the lack of light you nestle into the crook of his neck for the remainder of the ride. 

He takes you to an underwater cave. The mouth hidden behind flowing purple and green water weeds. The entrance of the cave was like nothing you’ve seen before. Other caves in his habit were filled to the brim with coral and little crustaceans. Sometimes even an elusive mermaid or capricorn nursing injury. But this one was- empty. Warmer too as you swam deeper. The great sea beast dragging himself through the cave with his needle like claw above you. A defensive stance if ever you saw one. 

You catch his eye and raise a brow. Don’t worry- itss ssafe...I think. 

“Wait? You think?” You stop in your tracks only to have a massive hand nudge you along. He pushes you through the last of the tangled seaweed and kelp you look up into a- “nursery?” Levi smiles and nods twitchily. 

Do you like it? I’ve spent months getting this place ready. He leaves you to look around freely, instead slithering up to a slightly less floral. You gape turning slowly in circles to take in the beauty around you. The cove simmered with the lights from his heat lamp pushing through the cracks in the rocks from above. The yellow warmth makes it easier for the crazy amount of plants and sponges to thrive. But the vast majority of the light came from the jellies and fish that had probably never been seen by human eyes before floating around you. 

They were busy, grooming the anemones and rainbow colored corals, eating and pushing bits of waste away from large lilac colored eggs.  The larger of the sea creatures swim above you checking on some of the moving eggs completely ignoring you and Levi... “Are they-”

Sirens. Lotan found a broodmother and her clutch last winter. We thought they had been wiped out centuries ago. He chitters at one of the eggs and scratches at his coral horns. She needed a place to nest so we made a deal. Taking great care he pulls at a large clump of sargassum from the base and pats it into a bare patch of rock. You watch him with a growing smile as he pulls more plants and critters from his horns. Once satisfied he scoops up a few of the larger eggs below him and nestles them into their new home.

You peek over his shoulder to look into the nest. Hauntingly beautiful babies look back up at you. Cherub sweet faces follow you and Levi’s movements. Levi grins proudly as one of the girls stretches out in her small space. They should be hatching soon. With some prompting from Leviathan, you accepted an egg. The inhabited squirming and clawing at its elastic membrane. It looked too small for its leather confines. The baby siren opens her tiny mouth and screeches, little needle teeth biting and ripping at the egg.

“Should I help it?” You ask. She was squirming so hard it was a fight to keep her in your arms. Levi looks over and emits a little series of clicks and coos at the fussy babe. The babe stops wiggling as hard but begins to claw at a thinner part of the shell. He turns after that to tend to a few squirming eggs himself. His claws were much more helpful than your blunt human fingers. Well then... You wait until the little beast has punctured the shell itself before helping it widen the breech. 

Once freed the siren floats to the soft cave flooring. The kelp and anemones cushioning it, covering her body almost lovingly.  A swarm of little crabs and shrimp descend on it picking and eating away at the remaining goo and membrane clinging to the infant. She giggles at the tiny pinches and mouths nibbling at her tail and claws. With a squeal of delight, she crawled after them and began to devourer them. Blue and green blood coming up in clouds from her mouth. 

Levi laughs at your look of disgust momentarily distracted from freeing a few more babies. They will grow to bring the bodies of sailors to me for Diavolo’s navy. This is but practice. 

“Oh-” You blink down at the monster now enraptured with your toes. The mood changed quickly.

Oh no. Levi buries his face in his hands instantly regretting opening his big mouth. That’s gross, isn’t it? Of course, this whole thing is disgusting to a human. I should have never shown you, nobody likes this stuff. He coils in on himself sinking to the bottom, eggs forgot to his misery. 

“Now what a minute! I didn’t say that.” You sink down after him. “I don’t think it’s icky. Just another learning curve for us normies right? Honestly, this is kinda cool.” 

Really? He peeks out from behind his hair and fingers.

You grip his hands, struggling to pull them away from his face. “Yeah!” You beam. “I mean you built all this? It is beautiful. Totally reminds me of that anime you watched with me last month.” 

I think my roommate is a sea god and almost drowned my ex? He brightens tailing wagging. 

“Exactly! You’ve really outdone yourself this time. Plus think of all the cool names you can come up with for all these sirens.” His gills flare again with a shrill screech. 

Henry’s!

Ah- well maybe it would be better if someone else named them.

[snusbandxknifewife]

Photo Fic 2: Electric Boogaloo

Ok so this is the sequel to the first fic I ever posted on this account. (If you wanna read that one first, click on the photo fic tag at the bottom.) I think it’s cute as hell and I’m soft about it so 🥺 Jude and Cardan wanting to take pictures together makes me 🥺🥺🥺

~~~~~~~~~

In the year after Cardan and Jude took their very first photos in a photobooth, photography became a bit of a fascination in Faerie. Jude didn’t intend for it to happen, but what royalty does tends to become the fad in the kingdom.

It started when they’d bought a Polaroid and began to take pictures of one another, eventually amassing so many that they’d dedicated an entire hall to photos of them. It was both of their favorite place in the entire palace, where they both went to see the other smile and drown in happy memories.

Then a servant had left a door open and a visiting dignitary had seen inside. After that, word quickly spread around the kingdom of the King and Queen’s portrait hall: the place where they’d managed to capture pieces of real life. Jude and Cardan had sighed and agreed to throw the doors open, allowing people to tour the wonder.

(Of course they’d continued to take dumb photos and risqué ones too, but they were much better at hiding those. Jude was insistent that only the dramatic or kickass photos get sent to the hall.)

They’d graduated to a better camera and they’d started to send requests for Vivi to print them. As the photos got bigger and more detailed, the people of Elfhame grew more impressed. All over the kingdom, tinkerers and witches and everyone in between began trying to craft devices that would capture photos in ways the mortal devices couldn’t. It had become a fierce competition, one that amused both Jude and Cardan.

Now, on Cardan’s birthday, the entire kingdom was watching with bated breath. The Living Council had announced a competition to find the best camera creation and, in addition to all the gifts people were bringing for the king, the great hall was full of photographs. The king would be choosing the most realistic picture, and he’d also be awarding the most beautiful one.

Jude sat on her throne, her red empire waist dress floating down to her feet and glittering in the light. She’d worn it at Cardan’s insistence; since he’d announced that their subjects would undoubtedly be taking pictures of them and he wanted his wife to shine just as much as her.

Beside her, Cardan smiled and greeted the family of a soldier from the Court of Termites. Bomb took their gift and stacked it on a table to the side of the royal dais. The picture they brought with them is a gorgeous rendering of a hill overlooking a lake at sunset. It appears to be painted, the work of an extremely diligent artist who had undoubtedly spent days getting everything right.

The photos people came with weren’t all actual photographs, most were art pieces, but it made Jude smile. She couldn’t help but feel proud at the fact that she’d inspired her kingdom to try something they’d never really focused on before. At least she knew she wouldn’t have to keep going to the mortal world to get pictures with her husband. She’d be able to stay in Faerie, safe in what she was familiar with, and she’d still be able to capture important moments in her life.

Still, she’d had to go to the mortal world to get the gift she wanted for Cardan. She’d done that a few times in the past year—her husband’s favorite had been the pinup shoot she’d done about five months prior—and he had a habit of rotating the framed pictures of her he kept on his desk.

She knew she’d have to stop eventually, so she took all her chances while she still had them. She was glad that the timing of this one has worked out.

Time passed and she played the dutiful queen and adoring wife, dancing with Cardan and eating to her heart’s content, greeting her subjects and accepting gifts that didn’t come with any strings attached.

Cardan watched her over the top of his chalice, grinning at how effortlessly she swayed across the floor. With her head held high and her shoulders back, she commanded the whole room without a word. His wife was gorgeous, she was his everything.

Eventually their people became antsy, looking around at the pictures hanging all around the hall and wondering who would be announced the winner. Members of the Living Council were interviewing everyone who’d put in an entry to find out how they made their picture as Cardan led Jude to look at each piece. They’d make the decision on the most beautiful picture alone, and they’d take the Living Council’s input on the best camera entry.

Jude’s favorite was definitely the picture someone had turned in of a revel from a few weeks back. It had been outside, everyone barefoot and dancing until the sun had long come up. The picture showed a dance floor lined with faeries in all manner of dress, watching on as she and Cardan danced. Her dress that night had been a spring green piece with a dangerously low back and skirts that danced around her ankles. Her husband, shown smiling as he swung her around, had a ruffled shirt open low on his pale stomach and breeches of forest green.

Cardan’s favorite was a picture put in by a guard, one that showed his wife dressed in fighting gear as she practiced out in the gardens; her hair sticking to her skin and her face fierce as she lunged towards her sparring partner. He always adored little reminders of how deadly his wife was, loved to see glimpses of the creature that he’d managed to tame, the one who’d tamed him in turn.

They retreated to their thrones to deliberate as Cardan opened gifts. The whole hall went silent, watching the king’s reaction to each parcel. While gifts had to be freely given, everyone knew that those who gave the best gifts would be looked upon favorably.

Jude watched the room for threats as her heart began to race. She knew that the last gift Cardan would open would be the one from her. She’d made sure that Bomb arranged everything that way.

She’d worked her ass off to keep her gift a secret from him. Cardan had been a pain in the neck for WEEKS, trying to catch her in a slip up. She had to engineer a diplomatic mission for him to go on just so she could sneak away to the mortal world and she’d threatened a few lives to keep it from him. Thankfully, it would all be over in a few hours.

Cardan opened all manner of magical gifts: cloaks meant to make the wearer invisible, doublets of impenetrable spider silk, jewelry that helped you understand and speak other languages. Everything he was given was gorgeous and unbelievably expensive.

Everything except for one thing.

Cardan was just about to grab the parchment from Randalin that announced the best camera so they could make their announcements when Jude stopped him.

“Cardan, you’ve got one more gift,” she gently announced and his brows furrowed. One, Jude was hardly ever gentle and two, he had opened everything he’d been given.

Bomb walked up and handed Jude a box, one made of lush purple velvet and wrapped up in a bow of the cleanest white satin.

“What on Earth?” Cardan tilted his head to the side as he accepted the gift, his long fingers wrapping all the way around it as he tried to weigh it to guess what was inside.

“Consider it my entry into the photo contest,” she grinned, only confusing him more.

He pulled the bow off and the entire crowd watched closely. Some were intrigued, others were angry—nobody had been told the queen would be submitting a photo—and others were just being quiet to avoid the ire of the royal family.

When Cardan took the top off the box, he found a picture frame upside down and he snorted. It was just like Jude to prolong the drama.

Jude grabbed fistfuls of her fluffy tulle skirt and bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to make it bleed. She knew that she’d have to explain what it was and that was making her nervous enough to shake.

She’d debated for hours if she should give him his birthday gift in private or if she should do it at his party. Eventually, at the insistence of Vivi and Heather, she’d taken the plunge and decided on a public announcement. She knew everyone would find out eventually.

“It’s.....a photo?”

Jude snorted at Cardan’s evident confusion as he looked at the black and white fuzzy picture, no larger than his hand. She’d put it in a pretty white frame, one that she would eventually write a name on.

“You’re right, my love,” she agreed. “It’s a photo from the mortal world. You see, mortals have figured out how to take pictures for medical purposes. They can use special devices to see inside the body.”

He looked to her, delicately clutching the frame in one hand. She fought the urge to laugh at how he still hadn’t put two and two together. Out in the crowd, faeries were tittering amongst themselves, trying to figure out what their queen has given their king.

“Is this a photograph of you?” He turned back to the picture, gripping it in both hands again and turning it like a different angle would make it make more sense.

“Sort of,” she shook her hand in a so-so gesture. “I’d say I’m the background of the photo. You should be focusing here.”

She walked over and pointed, her nail with its unchipped purple paint tapping against the glass over a strangely shaped white blob. Cardan naturally leaned closer to her, as he always did when she got near, one of his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her close as he tilted his head and squinted his eyes.

Silence stretched out for a few more seconds before Jude, near giddy with mirth, stepped away from her husband.

“Maybe it’ll help if you know where the photo was taken,” she offers as she grabs the frame from his hands. Cardan, his mind still swimming with possibilities, allowed her.

Then, as his wife turned the photo to face him and drew it back so the frame was flush against her lower abdomen, his jaw dropped.

If she was the background, and the photo was taken inside the body—

“Jude, gods above, how long have you known?” Cardan’s eyes welled up with tears and he fell to his knees, his hands coming up to cup his wife’s hips and his thumbs running over where the frame covered her stomach.

Just that quickly, her throat closed up from emotion and all she could do was nod. Cardan grabbed the frame from her and tucked it against his heart as he pressed his face into her skirts, trying to kiss her stomach and hide his crying all at the same time.

Some faeries had put the clues together and were watching with gaping mouths, unsure of what to do as their king hugged their queen.

Then, Jude pulled Cardan to his feet and she turned to the crowd. “The gift I present to my king and husband is the first photograph of our child, which grows inside me as we speak.”

And, just like that, the entire hall erupted with celebration. Most of their subjects had grown to love their new king and queen and, even if that weren’t the case, a pregnancy was always cause for celebration among the fertility-challenged fae. A royal baby, especially so early on in both the king and queen’s rule and their marriage, was unheard of.

Randalin—who looked a bit annoyed at not being informed of the royal pregnancy before the court was—led the partygoers in a toast, one that Cardan happily joined in. Beside the beaming king, Jude raised her glass of water in solidarity; no wine for her for a few more months.

“How long?” Cardan asked her, near giddy with excitement.

“The doctor said twelve weeks,” she whispered back, wrapping her arm around her husband’s hips as they raised their glasses again. “I’ve suspected for a month or so. I should’ve known sooner, but my first missed period was during that last uprising attempt, so I was a bit distracted.”

Cardan held out the photo and Jude pointed out the body parts that were already forming. When she told him that she’d be going back, that he’d be able to come with her and hear their baby’s heartbeat while it was still inside her, he nearly began to bawl again.

“When do we announce the winners?” Jude asked, thinking back to that gorgeous picture of them dancing.

“I can’t think of anything more beautiful than this.” He held up the photo of their baby and Jude blushed, elbowing his side and telling him to be serious.

Cardan told her that he was being serious and she bit her lip, looking down at the photo she’d already stared at so much.

The party would grow into a week-long celebration of the new heir; a practice run for the celebrations that would rock Elfhame when the child was born. Eventually, both the faeries who made the two pictures Jude and Cardan had enjoyed the most were made aware that their works were hanging in the royal picture hall and another faerie who’d made the best camera was given a job by the Living Council and they became the first official royal photographer.

Elfhame would grow to love photography, all because of a mortal queen who wanted a picture with her husband.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hnnnnng pregnancy announcements are so cute lol

Tag list: @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @hizqueen4life @slightlyrebelliouswriter23 @thewickedkings @aelin-queen-of-terrasen @cheekycheekycheeks @queen-of-glass @b00kworm @doingmyrainbow @andromeddea @jurdanhell @thesirenwashere @sweetlyvillainous @clouds-and-peonies @clockworkgraystairs

[ziracona]

Friendship headcanons between Anna and Quentin’s dad? Maybe Nacy too.

For sure! Love their weird awkward relationship.

So, it’s weird for Alan. Like, really weird. Like, can you imagine being him and your poor kid comes home traumatized as fuck after 9 years and he’s got a feral Russian bear woman who is his surrogate mom now in tow?

Obviously, Alan is very stressed about the potential of anything happening to Quentin again, so even knowing the situation, Anna is kind of a source of stress at first. It’s important to Quentin though, so he goes with it and tries to be supportive. It isn’t until about a month after Anna is released from the rehabilitation facility that he is truly at peace about it though. But it happens. There’s a night where Quentin falls asleep on the couch watching a movie, and they don’t notice until it ends. Alan decides to let him sleep there in peace for a bit before waking him up to go sleep in his bed, and is putting up dishes from supper, when he sees Anna carefully putting a blanket over Quentin and stroking his head twice before smiling and leaving him to sleep too, warm now, and he just kind of forgets what he was doing becuase he never quite really truly believed Anna was just selflessly and genuinely invested in his kid’s happiness, but there’s no one there to see, no consciousness for Quentin to appreciate the gesture, and he smiles, because it’s such a relief, and it’s sweet, and he wished Quentin’s mom had lived longer, wished he’d found someone else to be a mom for the kid growing up, and he’s deeply happy he’s got one now.

Anna doesn’t really know what to do with Alan at first either. Like, she gets that ‘Dad’ is the man counterpart to ‘Mama,’ but since hers was dead before she was old enough to remember, she doesn’t really know what that looks like, and never thought about it before. At first is kind of tentatively curious if this means they’re rivals, and she should be jealous of him. Alan never once seems to view their relationships to Quentin that way though, so thank god it never turns into a competition. She’s not sure what it is though, when she realizes it’s not that. So mostly she just tries to give him space and not cause confrontation between them out of respect for Quentin. She notices how good he is to Quentin though, and a few weeks before Alan really gets the same read on her, and kind of softens a little and decides he’s okay. Then suddenly a month in, Alan is more open towards her and starts interacting with her intentionally, even when no Quentin is there at present as an ice breaker. It is super awkward for them both, and they haven’t got a clue how to act towards each other, but they’re both slightly interested in trying, and it works. Alan asks her the morning after he realizes she’s okay if she wants to learn how to make muffins, since she’s sitting at the table watching him cook with a look like a cat has when it sees a new small rodent for the first time, and Anna really does. She is fascinated by all the tricks to tastes there are, and the wild variety of foods she had no idea could exist. At first she’s like “Me?” And very confused by this change in attitude, but he’s nice to her and it’s fun and the food is good, so she enjoys it, and accepts without reservation when he offers another lesson at lunch. This is how their relationship begins: Alan asking her if she wants to learn how to cook various things. Sometimes Nancy and or Quentin joins in, or anyone else in the house. And it’s fun. Anna never looked at food prep as anything but a survival necessity, but there’s a day two months in where she’s covered in flour making shortbread cookies with Alan and Nancy and Quentin, listening to music and people laughing and singing along, and she realizes lots of humans make all kinds of mundane acts into fun activities. And she really likes that. : )

Anna tries to reciprocate Alan’s gestures of goodwill by offering to teach him to hunt, which Alan refuses politiely because he has no idea what he’d do with hatchet throwing and animal tracking skills, but he immediately sees how hurt and insulted and wounded to her core that makes Anna and covers it with a “I mean—I would love to, but I’m just not sure I could have the skills at my age. I’m so old I might be hopeless to teach.” And Anna goes from :’-( to : D instantly and is like “No, no! Not too late—I show you. Many skills very easy to learn basics of. I am good teacher. Can teach even you, I am sure.” And is exceedingly enthusiastic teaching him basic tracking skills the next morning. It’s uh. It’s an awkward walk through a nearby park for Alan at 6AM, with Anna kneeling like fkn Aragorn to listen to the ground or touch dog tracks and sniff things while pointing out valuable intel, but he is duly attentive and awed by her skills, and takes his lesson like a champ, and it’s actually pretty fascinating stuff once you get past the “Wtf is happening” looks you’re getting from every early morning dog walker and jogger going past.

Alan picks up pretty fast that since Anna has almost no social experience, she tends to take social cues from those around her (like trading skills to make friends, or trading gifts with Min & Quentin), and is more careful how he approaches stuff. That also makes him like Anna a lot more, because it’s so sincere and she’s so truly giving all of this her best. He starts a tradition of going back and forth on who picks an activity that interests them to try to give her a chance to branch out and see more of the modern world. Greatly enjoys seeing how much she is excited and fascinated by like, everything. Anna is so mind blown the first time Nancy suggests they hit an Aquarium that it takes 4 times as long as normal to get through, becuase she can’t stop getting lost in the sight of every exhibit. Anna meanwhile notices pretty quick how watchful Alan is and how protective whenever he’s out with Quentin, although he tries to keep Quentin from noticing it too much, and she is very happy about this. Important for parents to be good protectors, especially with Quentin’s luck.

It takes Anna a while to quite get Nancy and Quentin’s relationship, but she decides after much deliberation that she approves and it’s cute. She likes how attentive Nancy is, and how quiet she can be. Thinks she would make a good hunter with skills like that. Is also very aware how much happier Quentin is around her. Decides this makes her a daughter too, and happily welcomes her into the fold. After Nancy realizes this, it kind of breaks her for a while, because she still misses her own mom so, so much. The first time Anna gives her a hug to comfort her about something so much more mundane—just a twisted ankle on a hike, she has a breakdown and can’t stop silently crying into her chest, becuase she still has an open wound in her heart where her mom is concerned. Anna isn’t a replacement, but she is a balm, and it helps. It really does, to have a big self-determined second mom hug you even when she doesn’t understand until you’ve cried all the tears you had, and still be waiting there with patience to hold you through more, and whispered comforts and strong arms around your back. Nancy gets her stuff for the next Mother’s Day, and it almost breaks her heart to have someone to shop for again, but she’s happier too, because it’s a comfort to know another one could love her too, and by choice. She’s had so much guilt over her mom’s death, sometimes she’s wondered if she never deserved to have one love her at all, no matter how much she knows her mom would never want her to think like that. It weirdly helps her talk more about her own mom again, especially to Quentin, who, while he barely remembers his mom, has some small idea how it all feels. She’s able to dig out a lot of the memories of Gwen Holbrook she couldn’t bear to look at for a long time, and forgive herself a little more. And able to make some new memories with Anna and Quentin and Alan she thinks her mom will be happy to hear about someday.

It wasn’t like that at first, though. Nancy is one of the few people who weren’t in the realm who has almost no issue adjusting to Anna, but she had some right at the start. She’s super wary the like, first couple days, because she has mountains worth of PTSD specifically centered around pseudo parental figures and people killing Quentin, but she’s observant as hell, and after watching Anna bodyslam Michael Myers through a wall on first meeting becuase she misconstrued his asshole big brother lifestyle choice of picking Quentin up by his collar for no reason other than easy and fun to push him around as an act of war, she realizes she truly has nothing to worry about, and Anna is an ally in arms when it comes to keeping the guy she loves alive.

Anna is extremely impressed with both Alan and Nancy for their roles in killing Freddy, and this is a massive affinity boost. She thinks Nancy is a little wolf of a girl in the best possible way, and approves of her level of dangerous greatly.

While Alan has no romantic feelings for Anna, it’s really nice to have a woman in the house again—it’s kind of nostalgic, jus to hear her singing sometimes and such. He offers to take her shopping for clothes and accessories becuase he remembers some of the places his wife especially loved, and it makes him sad and happy to be able to put that old treasured remnant of someone beloved to him to good use again. Anna really loves a couple of the same spots, especially a tiny handmade jewelry from gemstones shop, and it hurts but in a good way to have a reason to go there again.

Anna is exceedingly jealous of the photo of Quentin’s mom over the fireplace for like, a year and a half after she realizes who she is. It’s kind of funny. I mean, she’s dead. There is no threat. But Anna despises it and it takes all the willpower she has not to go hide it in a drawer somewhere.

That is until almost two years in when she wakes up early to weird noise and comes down to see Alan has the photo with him at the table, and a little setup with flowers and candles and objects she doesn’t recognize, and he’s crying. It isn’t until that night when she asks Quentin that she finds out it’s the anniversary of his mom’s death that day, but as soon as she sees Alan and the setup, she feels bad, and the anger and jealousy goes away, becuase she remembers feeling exactly that way for years and years at the sight of the portrait of her mother, and still now at the thought of it. The jealousy does not come back.

Alan, Nancy, Quentin, and Anna hang out a lot, and with Feng, Nea, and Ace, or Philip and Claudette a lot too. At a point, Alan starts reaching a “Okay you stay here with the kids and I’ll go grab tickets” kind of tag-team responsibility with Anna, and Anna thinks this is fun, and is immensely pleased with this new role of responsibility partnership. She begins doing the same with him, and likes being partner protectors of the group. She’s wanted to find a family again her whole life, and finally found it now after all these years, but she’s found more than that too; she’s found community, and she never had that before, so she didn’t know to miss it or seek it out or even that it was a thing to want, but now that she has it, she’s so much more happy and content and proud than she’s ever been.

[bumi-illustrates]

Reverie: Prologue

This story;plot, characters, ect. belongs to me. I have cross posted on Wattpad with the account Ali_on_Reverie so no trouble there. Have suggestions on how I can make it better? Please let me know! I will happily take all the feedback I can get! Thank you for reading! ~Ali I still remember the day the city was lost to beasts. It was a sunny morning. Not a single cloud disrupted the newly turned cerulean sky. Shades of blues and violets stretched down the ashen street as far as the eye could see. Tents selling trinkets, food and even some trying to coerce young children into their midst for games and prizes. All true signs the festival had finally begun.

The small hand I held squeezed mine, effectively capturing my attention.

“Michael! You weren’t listening to me. Again!”

I couldn’t help the sheepish smile that spread across my lips as I looked at her pastel face which was currently scrunched into a disapproving pout, “Sorry, Lacey. I got caught up in my thoughts again.”

If possible, her lips pulled tighter as she pulled her hand from mine to place both on her hips. She furrowed her snowy eyebrows as her nearly cerise eyes scowled up at me, “The doctors cleared me to come today. Don’t ruin this for me with all your silly worrying.”

“I’m your big brother. Worrying is what I’m supposed to do.” I countered, placing a hand on her shoulder with a light squeeze. I told myself it was to reassure her, but her and I both knew it was I who needed the assurance.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she flattened her expression, but kept her eyes on my own, “No, you’re supposed to be enjoying the festival with me.”

I sighed, squeezing her shoulder a bit tighter, “I-I know. I’m sorry.”

She smiled and unfolded her arms to wrap them around my waist. She looked up at me as she placed her chin flat against my chest. She visibly brightened as she shut her eyes as a large, toothy smile consumed her face, “Loosen up, okay? I’m not dead yet.”

I couldn’t help the sudden rush of paralysis that seemed to forcibly grip my body. Yet. She was right. Her health was on and off. The doctors were unable to diagnose her properly. Research was slow and it was more than likely her body would give out before a cure was found. Afterall, there’s no curing an illness that doesn’t exist. I vaguely registered Lacey’s grip falter on my waist and her eyes began to droop, “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

I barely made sense of her words as my own arms sluggishly moved to encircle her delicate frame. I couldn’t find the strength to look into her eyes, so I decided to keep my gaze set staring straight ahead. My eyes burned painfully as hot tears threatened to spill. My arms were growing steadily tighter around her and I could feel her worried gaze burning a hole underneath my jaw. The fabric of my shirt bunched tightly at my back and I slowly moved my eyes downward to meet my baby sister’s reassuring smile, “Let’s go visit dad. Please?”

I blinked, pushing away the heated saline my eyes were desperately trying to release as I gave a forced smile and tight nod. She returned to our previous position of tightly gripping my hand as we began to walk through the throng of the public. Some rushing to the next vendor to get to as many as they possibly could while others meandered, quietly observing the merriments. I could hear Lacey excitedly talking about the kiosks we passed, particularly the ones selling any kind of jewelry or crystals. She had always loved anything that sparkled. Mother called her ‘Little Crow’. No other nickname had ever fit so perfectly. When she was younger, Lacey would pick up anything and everything that even remotely shone in the light. She would then store it in a box and when it was finally full, she would use what was inside to decorate it.

The Festival of Worship was an excellent place to find jewels and anything that glitters. After all, it was rumored that the Goddess of Dreams adored twinkling trinkets. It was written at the temple that all the offerings given to Her were taken back to Her realm as a trophy and in turn, She would make the offeror’s wildest dream come true. The town’s people obviously didn’t have high expectations, or the municipality wouldn’t be crumbling to ruins beneath a giant gold temple.

“Michael, look! There’s dad!”

I almost lost my footing as Lacey sharply tugged on my arm, making a run towards our father’s booth. As our father’s ocean blue eyes caught sight of us, he began to wave with a large smile on his face.

“Lacey, my girl! The doctors finally let you out of the sick bay!”

“Too bad they let Michael pick me up! I don’t think he heard a single thing I said the whole way here!” She poked light heartedly.

Father’s slightly rounded gut shook as he gave a deep belly laugh, slapping a large hand on my back, consequently sending me stumbling forward a step, “Always the worrier, this one! Just like your mother!”

I grumbled as I gently pushed his hand away from me with my wrist, “I don’t understand how you aren’t worried. You do realize mom died because of the same thing, don’t you?”

He roughly moved his hand from my back to gripping the back of my neck and I found myself unable to stop from cringing slightly. As he began guiding us further into the booth and away from Lacey, he spoke lowly, “Listen, Mike. How is Lacey going to hold out hope for life if the people around her don’t? Do not misunderstand my feelings, boy. I loved your mother with everything I have, and I love you both just so.” I skeptically looked into his eyes, taking a slight notice of the wrinkles beginning to form at the corners. I couldn’t help but wonder where he was going with this, “Your sister will die. That much is certain.” I opened my mouth to scold him, but he held up his hand, silencing me, “You must come to terms with that. Now, if you take anything away from what I tell you here, let it be this, make her final days like her trinkets. Let the girl sparkle with all her might before she parts from this world. Our job is not to like what’s happening, or even to accept that it is happening. Our job is to make sure she knows she’s loved. If you want to be upset about the circumstances this family is in, do it away from her and when she’s in your presence, you pull your act together. You’re the older child, start acting like it, yeah?”

He placed a firm hand on my shoulder as I stubbornly decided to find the ground much more fascinating than him, “Stay back here until you’ve recollected yourself, I’ll tell Lacey I asked you to unpack some of the boxes. Join us up front when you’re sure you can keep a façade up. Ideally, you can find some happiness just being with her, but I understand it’s hard, so a façade will work fine, just make sure it’s believable, huh?”

He gave my shoulder a final pat before he began to walk back to the front of the booth where Lacey was currently fawning over one of his newest dream catchers. I caught the sound of their voices as they spoke. The noise of the streets in front began to fade as my hands clenched tightly into fists. I felt my jaw tighten as it locked firmly, pressing my teeth together uncomfortably. My eyes fixated angrily on the back of his head through the boxes that separated the front of the booth from the back. His once blonde hair was beginning to turn a pale shade of gray. His broad shoulders shook as his head leaned back slightly in laughter. I could barely make out Lacey’s snowy hair as she moved wildly in front of him, probably trying to get patrons passing by to stop and buy one of father’s dream catchers. Our booth started because mother loved to design and weave dream catchers. Every year at the festival, tourists and natives alike came to marvel at her creations. She had a knack for it and became something of a celebrity during the festival. When Lacey was no more than two years old, she would sit at the front of the booth with Lacey in her lap as she worked her materials to her liking. Father and I would be selling the dream catchers, sometimes the knickknacks would sell out faster than she could make them, and we would have to close the booth before the sun had even reached its peak.

Then the first person was diagnosed with a new illness. An illness that came in waves. One day the infected would be fine, the next they would be bedridden and on the brink of death. The symptoms were never the same, but there is one continuity, death. No matter the symptoms, each person infected will eventually die. Because the disease has no common symptoms, doctors and scientists have yet to be able to find a cause or a cure. Or a name.

I gave a forced sigh and loosened my hands. Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath in an effort to calm my rather active thoughts on the matter. There was no way I would lie about how I felt. Mother didn’t raise us to put up facades and hide behind false smiles. And I could never forgive myself if I dishonored her memory like that. Might as well make an honest man of dad. I thought bitterly to myself as I leaned over to pick up one of the partially unpacked boxes. I began pinning the dream catchers to a designated cork board to display them when what sounded like bursts of short hissing reached my ears.

“Pst. Pssssst!”

I lifted my head from my task and took note of the deep violet curtain that separated our booth from the ones next to us. Seeing nothing, I got back to work.

“Pssst! PSSSSSST!”

My eyebrows furrowed and my eye twitched in irritation.

“Michael! Pssst! Michael! Michael!”

Snapping my head sharply to look at the identical violet curtain behind me, I found an unmistakable face staring at me with a mischievous grin. Eyes like amber with threads of midnight hair framing a slightly tanned face poked out from underneath the makeshift wall. Her chin was supported by both hands with her elbows planted on the hard sidewalk beneath her. No doubt behind the curtain she was on her stomach with her ankles crossed and feet in the air. I couldn’t help the rather obnoxious snort that pushed itself through my nose.

“You are such a child. Get off the ground.” I scold, turning back to my pinning as I heard the curtain shuffle slightly.

“Come on, Mr. James! We’ve had this talk! You pooped on your party, but no way, no how I’m going to let you poop on mine!”

“So, what is it you wanted?” I asked, turning to look at her.

“Man, what is up with you? You’ve got a bigger thorn bush shoved up your backside than usual!” she complained, puffing out her cheeks slightly in disapproval.

“I’m just not in the mood right now, okay? We’ve got a lot going on.” I muttered, looking down at the work in front of me.

Jenna’s mom was best friends with my mother, so it stood to reason that Jenna and I grew up together. Normally I told her everything, but Lacey became sick almost a month ago. No one except the doctors, father and myself know. Father has always been a private kind of guy, especially after we lost mother. He wanted us to keep this to ourselves, the same way we hid mother’s for months before it was obvious, she was at her limit. I realized that during my little pity party, it had gone deathly silent save for the bustling of the festival. I quickly snapped my eyes up to find Jenna sitting on some boxes next to me. A flash of dread flooded my veins at the look in her eyes. It was so intense it sent a shiver through my heart, yet, I couldn’t decipher what emotion was dancing through her swirling pools of honey.

“I saw you pick Lacey up from the hospital.”

I felt a thousand needles suddenly pierce my already tingling body. My head began to spin and freeze up all at once. I could here my blood being pumped through my body, keeping me alive. Only, I didn’t feel alive. I felt cold and lifeless.

Before I could register what was going on, my chest felt heavy and soft, silky tresses were pressed against the side of my stiff neck. I could feel my shirt being gripped at my shoulder blades. My chest grew tighter and my eyes could no longer keep the burning, briny tears at bay. Though no sound escaped my mouth, I knew Jenna was aware of my tears because her grip on me tightened, as if she was trying to physically hold me together.

“It’s okay to cry, Michael.” Her voice was breathy, hardly a whisper, yet strained, as if she too, was trying not to cry.

I could feel more hot tears pool in my eyes as I bit my lip, trying desperately not to make a sound. My attempts failed as I let out a choked sob, quickly wrapping my arms securely around Jenna. My head fell to the crook of her neck and I could feel my emotions wracking my body, producing tremors. Jenna tightened her grip once more, placing her chin against my shoulder, her own tears dripping onto my shirt and soaking the skin underneath. But even though we found ourselves both in vulnerable positions, I found some form of comfort knowing I didn’t have to suffer without a friend. The rearing feeling of guilt in the thought of finding even a sliver of relief became a piercing stab planting itself deeply in my gut. Even with the pain of it, I couldn’t quench the small relief I was feeling.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

I felt her nimble fingers at the nape of my neck, gently using her nails to absent mindedly brush the hair there, “Don’t apologize. And I know it’s not what you want to hear, but your dad is right. I know this is hard, especially after losing your mom only two years ago. But besides that, Lacey needs you. For the time being, there is no cure. So, try to just think about the now. Love her and be with her before you have the chance to regret it.”

I pulled back from her, staring at her soft features, “How did you-?”

“I was on the floor longer than you think. I just didn’t want to make things awkward.” Her eyes were red from crying, but her lopsided grin was still bright and full of life.

I couldn’t help the small laugh that slipped past my barely upturned lips. Using the heel of my palms I wiped away the evidence of my tears. Jenna was still smiling at me when I looked fully at her for what seemed like the first time since she made herself known. I took a deep breath before releasing it, calming my body and easing my thoughts.

“I hate to admit it, but the old man and you are right. I need to focus my time and energy on being happy with Lacey.” I casually turned to stand next to Jenna rather than in front of her. With a quick swing of my arm, I wrapped her shoulders in a half hug and locked her to my side, “What say you, we take Lacey around the festival? We can buy her something sparkly, eat good food, play some games? Who knows? Maybe pulls some pranks on unsuspecting pedestrians?”

Jenna laughed and wrapped her own arm behind me to grip my shoulder, “Now that sounds like a good party! Let’s get to it!”

Letting go of each other, we made our way to the front of the tent where we found Lacey finishing up a sale and father standing behind her, beaming with pride. He must have heard us approaching because he turned his head slightly and smiled wider, “Michael! Finally finished that box, huh? And how are you today, Jenna?”

“Doing great, Mr. James! You’ve certainly out done yourself with all these beautiful dream catchers!” She gave him a quick hug before looking pointedly at all the dream catchers hanging from the makeshift rafters, he had rigged them up with some old wire fencing.

“Thank you kindly, kiddo! Remember, you’re always more than welcome to help yourself to your favorite!”

“Maybe later, dad. We were hoping we could take Lacey around to look at some of the vendors before tonight. You know, before the crowds really set in.”

His eyes widened a bit before a soft smile fell upon his face, “I think that’s a great idea.”

I returned his smile and gave a quick nod before approaching Lacey.

“Thank you, ma’am! Please enjoy the festival!”

A small click could be heard as Lacey shut the small money box located under a small table covered with a lavender tablecloth. I stepped forward into her peripheral vision and she turned quickly to look at me with that smile that looked so much like our mother’s.

“Michael! Did you see? I made my first sale!”

“I saw, and by the looks of the wad of cash you stuffed into the box, it was a good one.”

“She bought three of dad’s catchers! Three!”

I beamed at her, but the tightness in my chest was beginning to ebb its way back into me. How many more sales will she get to make? I shut my eyes and took a quick breath to shake the negative feelings away. This isn’t about that. Not now.

“How about Jenna and I take you to look around? You know, to celebrate.”

The expression that seemed to take over her entire body made a warm, gentle feeling spread over me, like a cozy blanket on a cold night. Or the first sip of hot chocolate while watching the snowfall. However, it was gone as quickly as it came. The realization that once Lacey is gone, I’ll never get to witness that adorable face she makes when she’s excited ever again. It will be gone, along with everything else I love about her.

“Michael! Are you ready or what?” Jenna’s voice called me back to reality and I realized they were already standing outside of the tent, staring quizzically at me.

“Oh, right. Sorry.” I tried to keep my voice from shaking, the looks on their faces letting me know that even if the tremor in my voice was there, it went unnoticed by the two girls.

As I moved to leave, father’s voice called me, “Son!” Before I could turn to look at him, I felt strong arms around my shoulders, “Thank you. And be careful out there.”

The look in his eyes caught my attention as we pulled away and forced an uncomfortable wave of confusion into my heart. Be careful? It’s the Festival of Worship. Why does he look sad? Shouldn’t he be happy? Why does this feel like he knows something? No. I took notice of a flash of knowing scatter through his vibrant blue eyes. I found myself skeptically narrowing my own at him. No. He does know something.

“Right. We’ll be back before sunset.” I spoke slowly, trying to gage his reaction.

He just smiled and it was as if the tension had suddenly burst into thin air. As if the moment had never happened, “No need to rush! You know the festival is always so beautiful at night! I’ll be fine running the booth on my own! Go on! Enjoy yourselves!”

My brows furrowed in confusion, but I didn’t want to worry Jenna and Lacey with, well, whatever that was.

“R-Right. Thanks, dad. We’ll be careful.”

I began walking swiftly towards the waiting girls, when his voice reached my ears once more. It sounded like a warning. My step faltered and I turned to ask what he had said, but his back was to me as he headed towards the back. A suffocating sensation gripped my throat. What the heck was that about? Deciding to ask about it later, I continued towards the girls, covering my mouth slightly with a fist as I uneasily cleared my throat. But even so, I couldn’t shake the feeling that was keeping me from nearly gasping for air. Get your answers later, I told myself determinedly, you need to focus on having a good time with Lacey and Jenna. That is your only concern. Don’t let your emotions take over.

As we began walking, a thought clicked into my head that cause me to groan involuntarily. This is what a façade is. Ugh! I’m such a liar. I ended the thought with a defeated sigh and looked up to the girls just in time, as Lacey grabbed Jenna’s hand and made a ninety degree turn towards a booth selling crystal pendants and figurines. I smiled slightly, happy to see her having a good time, happy that they didn’t notice my little self-berating episode.

“Michael! Look! This one looks like Sprinkles!” Lacey squealed, raising a small red cat figurine.

The cut of it had rather large ears and the tail was carved to be straight up with a small curve added to the tip of it. Running down the figurines back was a lighter stripe, almost orange. To top it off, a pair of tiny sapphires glinted slightly in the light, giving the crystal a pair of magnificent blue eyes.

My eyes were fixated on the tiny cobalt stones as I smiled, remembering our old cat that was inappropriately named Sprinkles. Lacey had picked the name. I still remember her explanation, “I love sprinkles! And I love this kitty!” But, even with the sweet name, that cat was the worst. Lacey was constantly covered in scratches and father couldn’t come within a few feet of the little monster without getting his ankles bit. Mother was allergic to him, so she stayed away from him. Surprisingly enough, that cat never really bothered me. He wasn’t exactly what I would have called friendly, but he would curl up next to me on the couch and nap. Never touching me, but always close. We more had an indifferent relationship. He minded his space, I minded mine.

“That cat was the worst!” Jenna laughed, speaking my thoughts.

“Aw, come on! He was just grumpy because he was old! Remember your grandpa? He was grumpy, too!” Lacey defended despite the laugh beginning to slip from her lips.

“Lacey, Lacey, Lacey.” Jenna smiled with a slow shake of her head, “Gramps was grumpy for a totally reason. Trust me. Living with Gram was no easy feat.”

At that, the laugh Lacey was trying to hold back erupted full force and the two of them practically fell into each other as the laughter consumed them. I chuckled slightly at the two before turning to the owner, “She’ll take it.”

After paying for the Sprinkles look-a-like, we continued through the streets. Vendors were lined up for about a mile on either side of main street. Behind the tents and booths, various sizes of brick buildings stood. Some stood tall, having recently been reinforced, while others had large cracks and faded color. Most of the buildings were erected with red bricks of varying shades, most of them housing units for the towns people. Any shop buildings or warehouses were built with concrete. The separation in color helped tourists know which buildings were public and which were private.

We continued to walk down the road. Typical asphalt, like most places. It used to be cobblestone, but times change, and the people decided they wanted to keep up with the times as best we could. Not that our tiny town is exactly modern. More like an old, forgotten city that someone took pity on and decided to try to care for it. The sidewalks in Spero were wider than what is normally found. The people here like to walk to their destination, and with the added width, what I assumed to be about double what most are, the festival is made the much easier. The vendors have plenty of room to stay on the sidewalk to stay off the road which leaves plenty of room for both pedestrians and the occasional vehicle.

The longer we walked and the more places we stopped; I couldn’t help but take in all the decorations. Lavenders, violets and indigos. A lot of blues and teals. But most appealing to me, were the little accents of gold and maroon. Some tents even had yellow curtains or streamers hanging down the sides of their set up. Above the tents were strings of lights. Some had more than others and some had decided against the lights and gone for hanging lines of decorative jewels surrounded by gold. The reflection of the sun on the metals and gems tricked the eye into believing it was glowing, even in the light of day. Come nightfall, they would reflect the lights of the other vendors and the entire town will glow as if fairies and mythical creatures lived here.

I had been so lost in thought I hadn’t realized we were already standing back in front of father’s booth. Lacey and Jenna were talking excitedly about everything we had seen and already planning their trip back through when the sun finally went down. Wait a minute. The sun. I finally got myself up to my thoughts and looked up. I felt my eyes widen and my heart skip a beat. What?

“Michael, what’s wrong?” Lacey asked, cutting off her conversation when she noticed me staring towards the sky.

“The sun.”

She and Jenna shared a worried glance, “What about it?”

My body froze in place as my eyes desperately snapped back and forth, up and down. Looking. Searching. What happened? The longer I stared, the more rigid I became.

“This isn’t possible.”

The words leaving my lips seemed so far off, like some one else had been the one to speak it.

“Michael! What’s wrong?” Jenna spoke forcefully. Not angry, no. She was scared. I was scaring her.

But I couldn’t help it. I was losing my grip on reality. This can’t be happening! This can’t be real! It’s not possible! I have to do something! I have to say something! Why can’t I move? Panic began to set in as my body gave in completely to the terror I was feeling. My limbs felt like anchors and my chest was constricting painfully. It was getting worse. It was becoming unbearably tight. Like someone had placed a vice around my chest and was just waiting for it to get tight enough to pop my body like a grape.

Lacey and Jenna were at my side now. Lacey pulling desperately on my sleeve, begging me to answer her. Jenna was in front of me, snapping her fingers in front of me, shouting at me, even go as far as to slap me across the face. They screamed and sobbed, begging and hollering. The commotion caused father to come rushing from the back of the booth. His expression turned, dark, hard.

“Get away from him!” He bellowed, taking one girl in each arm and pulling them away from me and back into the booth.

“But dad! What’s happening? Why isn’t Michael responding?” Lacey cried.

Before he could answer, a solid force slammed directly into my chest. The might of it must have knocked my body from whatever hold it was previously under, though not for long. I felt a hand grab my right wrist tightly, at the same moment I felt an arm from the same side wrap securely around my waist. I another foreign hand grasped my left hand, intertwining their fingers with mine. A shiver of disgust ran down my spine as a fourth hand gripped my jaw, forcing me to look forward. Whatever was holding me pressed itself against my back and I went stiff once more.

“People of Spero!” It was a she. Definitely a woman. Her voice was sharp, it cut right through me and my body jolted in fear. The arm around my waist tightened at my involuntary movement, but she continued, “Your angel has arrived!”

The ice in my blood quickly shifted to fire. Angel? What angel has four arms and attacks a human? Angel my foot! You’re nothing but a disgusting demon! I was suddenly able to move again, though not for long as I was spun around to face the thing holding me. She used my right arm to pull me closer to her, the arm around my waist moving to grip my neck. Not tight enough to cut off air, but enough to do so in the blink of an eye if she needed. I sucked in a sharp breath nervously.

“You, insolent little boy! Insulting the very being that currently holds your life in her hands is a fool’s move, child!” She hissed, baring sharp, incredibly white teeth.

I swallowed hard. She heard me! How?

A flash of amusement crossed her face before she narrowed her gamboge eyes at me once more, “And for further education, child, an angel, is not a being.” She spoke from further back in her throat now. A sound that reverberated up and down my spine with each word, a low husky drawl that was clearly a thing of nightmares, “Angel means messenger. And I am yours.”

[the-mira-life-project-mtf]

Family, Fun & Mermaids (My MtF~HRT Journey)

So yesterday, I spent the whole day at Allyn Days which has celebrated its 130th year. New to this area, I did not know what to expect as I went with my loving family to support father during his live concert at 6pm.

I was kinda bummed that the Yelm mermaid festival was also happening today, almost 60 miles away, but nevertheless, chose to be with my new family. It is still weird to be in this situation...being 34 and such!

We stayed under the cool gazebo as I played 4 hours of Wizards Unite (the longest I ever played it) as mom, Lexie and I went to the vendors to look at clothes, jewelry and ecology. I was busy looking at the arts and crafts...I don’t like visiting vendors who just ‘mass order’ cheep Chinese crap and see it as their art...it ruins the spirt of a craft fair.

While walking to a vendor that the family knew, I saw two pieces of art I must have! A lighthouse as mermaid! Lovely colors and amazing design...carved right out of steel!

I bought the two to put together with the mermaid posing before the lighthouse. They had two other types of mermaids, but they had the easy to produce, common ‘serpent’ tail with the short caudal...this one had the common fish fins and was a lovely blue! My adoptive mom just smiles as she says. “Your getting the mermaid?”

“Yep, look great on my wall...” with my sea shell ladder and mermaid bell. Being transgender has allowed me to express my interest for mermaids and open up about my ideas when before I was shut off!

As we waited for the show to begin, a woman in a silky yellow sun dress walks over as Lexie and I talk with her, to find out that she is our neighbor with the iron gates. That makes the second neighbor we get the honor to know.

She would say “It is great to meet you! Greatest gift is to know one another.” she was quite kind! Lexie was interested when she heard that the lady named Maureen had children, but she failed to hear they were in their 30s like me.

“It is nice to meet you!” I smiled, “it is wonderful to meet those who live next by!”

She smiles and nods “Anytime you want to come over to swim or rest of the beach, just come on over!” she offers, the invite mainly directed to me.

“Yeah, we’re the house that had all those fire engines!” Logan blurts. That boys attitude and words unwarranted at this moment as I quickly repair any negative feelings.

“Cleaning up from this snow damage.” she nods in understanding. “I’d be happy to come over some day...been looking for a place close by to swim.” as I miss the water.

“Well, you are very welcome to come on over!” she offers again as she walks away.

During my second walk-about, I saw her at a booth. “Hi, I did not know your were vendoring!” she smiles as I look at her displays. Seashell fairy houses, mermaid art, aquatic rock art, aquatic ankle bracelet. “Are you also into...aquatic themed art?”

“Oh yes!” she says with a smile, watching my actions as she welcomed me inside the tent to avoid the sun as I burn very easy. I show my aquatic necklace with a moonstone, mermaid of phosphorus, Native American whale tail and aquamarine stone in silver. “I like to collect shells and rocks and paint; as I look at her art.

“And the bracelets, you make that too?” as the two designs seem far apart; but still using the same theme.

“That is my sisters jewelry...” she says as I am surprised she is still talking with me. Most don’t want to talk, just make a sale and move on. So I am happy to learn more about their art choices. Not many just depend of aquatics as their model material. I circle around as I smile, looking at the rocks.

“I love the fascination with the sea...” I offer as I look at the mermaids painted on rocks with glitter for scales.

“See you like the mermaids...” she offers. I acknowledge.

“I find them...intriguing!” as I am happy I can speak freely without being judged.

“That is the same way I feel about the water...my sons were out swimming and as the water glowed, looking like magical mermaids.” I smile at the ide, I’ve seen this phenomenon before.

“Bioluminescence.” I reply as she seems mildly amused. “Taught marine ecology for a few years...” I take one of her cards as I would like to establish a friendship with my neighbor, and since I was invited over, it be rude to turn down her hospitality. Besides, I believe establishing relationships with your neighbors is benifical in times of need or community. “If you ever need anything, we are always just uphill, to the left!” I smile.

���Well, your always welcome!” I select a rock with a green tail mermaid and ask to buy it. “I’m giving it to you...”

“I like to pay for it...” as nothing in this world is free!

“I made a new acquaintance today. Victor is a good community, been there for 40 years.” I like that as she then knows Victor well and is a pillar of the community’s my family is in Olalla, having been on our land for over 80 years! “What is your name?”

“Mira.” I say as we shake hands and smile. I never know what reception I get from the older souls who usually don’t understand.

“Mira?” she asks and I nod with a smile. “Nice to meet you...Mira...Maureen...!”

“It is so nice to meet your Marleen, I’ll call you one day to come over...” I gladly accept the mermaid as a token of new friendship and a commitment that I need to come over with a welcoming gift of my own one day, before the end of the summer (when the water is still warm).

It pays to know that you never know what you will encounter down the road...my meeting with so many like-minded mermaids and friends of mermaids at a salmon festival is amazing and also sort of haunting if you knew my past!

With the sun setting. I think ‘I should leave that mermaid rock in my car...’ as I like to be reminded of my bargain I made years ago at sea. I already have one of my mermaid sitting on a phosphate stone in the car with seashells...and considered the nature of this gift...I elected to place it with my crystals and rocks. Where I can see it every day. A gift from one mermaid to another...

At the end of the day, being only feet away from the salty sound, I can’t resist any longer and rush to the water and touch it, expecting it to be icy cold...it wasn’t! “That is warm!” I say with surprise!

“Really?” Lexie asks as she touches it too. “It is!” we both wanting to go in so badly, but know mom and dad would be terribly upset! “Can we come back? Can you drive us?”

“Of course!” I smile as we walk to the end of the dock to look at the green water.

[directionlessbuthappy]

Little Lamb pt. 2

part 1 here

When Ivar’s army lands on an island off the coast of Ireland, he is eager to learn more about the land he will soon conquer to the west. With his sites on the mainland, he’s managed to catch himself the perfect little thief that will be his guide, and perhaps an entertaining pet. You.

Warnings: depictions of violence, language

Note: this series is only going to be 3 parts. I’m sticking with trilogy style since I’ve got a couple other stories I want to keep working on. Cheers! xo

Taglist: @idonthavehusbandsihavelovers​ @wish-i-was-a-mermaid​ @cbouvier23​ @steadypiepsychicflower​  @holydream

Old Norse wasn't a language easily deciphered. It was even worse being muttered by half-drunk two ton bearded men. You could hardly understand a few words in between Ivar and his men discussing plans. His brother was an interesting man; less gruff than the rest. He was a cute lad by your standards. Still, he was a glutton and a heathen, much like the rest of your new company. Ivar growled something in Norse that made your eyes dart away nervously. He turned to you and spoke in English again.

"What do you think?"

You glanced at the map. You weren't an artist by any means, but you were able to draw out the lay of the mainland into the dirt.  You drew the channels and canals that connected the ocean to Droghed and Dublin Bay, all the way to Wexford and most things in between.

"The channel in Dublin is too small," you muttered to Ivar. His men were all staring at you with looks you couldn't decipher. It was hard to distinguish if they wanted to fuck you or kill you. Maybe both. "Its only forty or so feet wide. You could perhaps get a row 'r two, but the boats won't fit in a fleet. You'll be teeterin in lines like ducks."

Ivar considered it. He wanted Dublin. After hearing your stories about the richest settlement in Ireland, he knew it was the jackpot. Dublin was governed by what sounded like an earl of sorts. Ivar wasn't worried either way; he was eager to see how the real Irish fight.

Ivar took the driftwood from your hand without asking. He drew a few lines along the dirt.

"Two maximum," he grunted. You cocked an eyebrow at him and opened your mouth to speak, but you shut your jaw quickly. He caught it. "Speak up y/n. I like it when you use your tongue."

Hvitserk coughed next to you. You knew he'd learned quite a bit of English from his brother. He and Ivar were the only ones who understood your language, and vice versa most of the Northmen here didn't understand English. It was similar to a private conversation when speaking to the sons of Ragnar.

"You could take half your men by boat, and half on land to cover the boats' entrance into Dublin. I know most of your lot prefers being on the water, but if you move along the channel you'd have a poor defense when the guard sees you." You knelt down and drew a few lines to represent ground troops in the dirt. "Dublin guards are about as dumb as carraigeacha (rocks) but they're strong under good leadership. Lord McGuinely has ruled Dublin for decades and hasn't lost it to Scotia. They're doin something right."

You looked up and noted the evil grin Ivar was sporting. Warily, you stood up again, dusting yourself off. Ivar turned and spoke to his men; you couldn't understand much, but your name was mentioned, so you stood your guard. Once he was finished speaking the men disbursed, muttering between themselves and Ivar took a seat at the table under the tent. Hvitserk took your wrist, causing a sudden pulse of defense to flow through you until you realized he was leading you to come sit with him and his brother. You sat down quietly.

"We leave tomorrow, at dawn," Ivar grumbled over the rim of his cup.

"You sound upset."

"My men are not happy we'll be leaving some of the boats behind," he replied, uninterested.

"Your men need to learn what strategy is. Bashing skulls is fine and dandy when you got someone else thinkin for yuh," you shrugged. Hvitserk snorted, and Ivar joined him in a shared snicker. "What?"

"You're part of the plan too, y/n," Hvitserk said with a grin. Your face paled further, if that was even possible.

"You're people have slaves here, right? We'll need someone to open the canal's water gate so our boats can get into the center of the city," Ivar informed. "We'll have to get you to look the part..."

"We don't have slaves like you think, Ivar," you replied haughtily. He took your plan, and now this? "D'ya have anything like bréagán houses where yer from?"

Ivar scoffed. "Houses of...what?"

"Whores."

Hvitserk spit out his ale like someone kicked him in the stomach. Ivar laughed at this, setting his cup down now that you really got his attention.

"We use slaves for that too."

"Mmm," was your only response to that sentiment. "We have separate functions in our society. Whore houses often work in accordance with kings and wealthy houses. Besides, whores work, and slaves are owned. If I was dressed as a slave in Dublin, everyone would wonder who I belonged to, the nosy lot o’ em. But if I was dressed as a whore..."

"You mean you aren't dressed as one now?"

You grabbed Ivar's cup he'd set down and lifted it, threatening to clock him in the jaw. He smiled as you felt the cold, rough end of a blade pressing into your thigh.

"Easy, bikkja (bitch). You don't want to get hurt yet, do you?"

With a balled up fist, you hissed at him. "Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat."

Sitting back in your seat reminded you of a bird who flies out and back into an iron cage. You tossed the cup over your shoulder. Ivar lowered his knife in response; he wouldn't tell you so, but this game was fun for him. He didn't even care what you'd said.

"So, we dress you like one of your prostitutes, you get into the city, and open the gate," Hvitserk says, solidifying the plan. You nodded.

"If you lot aren't there when the gate opens, I'm dead fish in the water," you warned. Ivar reached over and cupped your face; it wasn't gentle, the way his fingers dug into your cheeks and the crook of his thumb and finger on your chin.

"Don't worry y/n. We wouldn't dream to leave our little lykill (key) behind."

...

Vikings were crafty. These Northmen did not have grace or subtly about them at all. But, they got the job done. After raiding Lambay, there was plenty off dresses and things for you to choose from. You pulled on a red dress with little complaint. Garnet fabric flowed down to your ankles. Taking a black leather corset, you pulled it along your ribcage. Corsets weren’t commonplace here but they concealed a knife wonderfully.

You had to allow one of Ivar’s “guards,” a shieldmaiden who hardly understood you, to tie up the laces of the corset along the back. She did with great strength and tied the leather in with force. You thanked her roughly, holding a grudge over the tightness she’d caused, while the guard walked off without a second check. You had half a mind to stab her with a hair pin when Ivar came in. He said something to send your guards away. You were suddenly alone with him, but you were hardly afraid. You were his instrument at this point, and...well it was hard to think of other reasons to fear him. The room was starting to feel warmer; you were lightheaded.

“Y/n...that dress makes you look cheap,” he chuckled. You glared at him and opened your mouth to argue, but you felt more air go out of you and took hold of the tent’s support beam. Your breath was difficult to catch.

“Where’s your smart tongue?”

You glared at him and yanked on your corset; it wasn’t coming off. Ivar watched your hand and smiled a little, fascinated with how small your waist looked. Seeing you struggle for air got boring however. He rolled his eyes at such an inconvenience and went over to you. Leaning on his crutch, he brought the back of your dress close to him. There wasn’t much you could do in protest. Your grip on the beam tightened as your nails gently clawed into the wood. Your were starting to see little dots of black.

Ivar worked quickly, his fingers going from the top of the corset to the bottom. You heard snapping as your lungs began inflating again. Dazed but grateful, you finally took in a gasp of air with the release of that last strap.

“It was...too tight...” you wheezed. Ivar snorted while the leather corset fell on the ground. You weren’t about to put it back on.

“You women are strange to be wearing these. What is it suppose to do?” Ivar snorted. He flicked his wrist and his knife disappeared into his vest. You smiled at that, agreeing that corsets did seem silly as you turned around to look up at him. You stayed with you back to the beam, unsure of how wobbly your legs felt.

“They’re suppose to hold your figure. Make you look smaller,” you shrugged. “I use them to hide weapons.”

“You do not need to look smaller,” he said. “You are already small and formed. Why would a woman need to be smaller? Smaller is weaker.”

“Small is attractive,” you shrugged. You realized that while you’d spun around to face him, Ivar made no moves to widen the small gap between you. He was closer than comfort dictated.

“Not to me,” he scoffed. You glanced at the table that held jewelry and darted over once you were sure your knees could hold you up. Ivar chuckled at how quickly you moved.

“Thank you,” you called as he made his way out of the tent. “For helpin me out, I mean...”

“Thank you, lágr fugl (little bird), for helping me in,” Ivar replied. He gave a throaty laugh as he left; it made you wonder what exactly he meant by that...

[xxlovesuicide61xx]

Countdown

Severus hadn't exactly planned on continuing his interactions with Hermione while the ten months were still in effect-- he was worried that someone would notice-- but he found that he couldn't quite help himself. She was addictive. So very damn addictive.

It was about three weeks later when Grimmauld Place was trapped in the heat of mid July. Severus was still jealously possessive over Hermione's choice of wardrobe, but he couldn't say that he'd be dressed any differently were he her. He hated having to wear his full robes in public. Cooling charms just weren't cutting it and he was sweating to the point where he was considering getting robes specially made with cooling charms set into the thread.

On one particularly hot night, at around 11 o'clock, Severus was reading in his bed, mercifully in sport shorts and a t-shirt, when he heard a knock on his door. He had one desperate hope of who it was.

Quickly applying concealment charms over his scars and dark mark, Severus rose to answer the door. it wasn't that he didn't trust Hermione-- he did, very much-- he just figured that it would be easier for all involved if neither one of them had to look at them. Some were particularly gruesome, as well as some of the newer ones still looking a bit too fresh to be comfortable.

His prayers were answered when he saw Hermione on the other side of the doorway. She was wearing what he assumed were called shorts in the technical sense and a short, thin strapped tank top. Her shirt rode up to reveal her tanned stomach, as well as a glint of jewelry hanging from her bellybutton. He was intrigued.

He cleared his throat.

"Hi."

"Hi." She replied enthusiastically, all smiles. "Can I come in?"

He wasn't sure at how much of a good idea that was, but where could the harm come from. If the members of the house couldn't find Hermione, his room was the literal last place they would look. And most of the house was asleep. And he could put up wards to keep out a herd of angry elephants. Severus stepped aside.

"Of course." Hermione near skipped past him into the room, her eyes lighting up the area with her happiness. He wondered if she had something planned or if she just wanted to see him. A part of him worried that perhaps she wanted to talk about what had taken place between them in the pool. Maybe she regretted it? Maybe she was going to tell of what they had done, incriminating him? Or maybe she completely trusted him and just wanted to be with him.

The last idea came into his head as he watched her sit down on the edge of his bed, looking for all the world like it was her own. She looked comfortable. Safe. She did trust him.

"I was having trouble sleeping. All this heat, you know?" He did know and nodded. "I was hoping that you'd still be awake. I thought maybe we could talk." Hermione's tone of voice implied that she didn't just mean talking, but that she wouldn't mind if it really only was just talking. Personally, Severus was all for not talking. For awhile, at least. He really did enjoy conversing with her.

"Of course. Talking would be nice." He decided to attempt some bravery and walked over to sit down next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. She settled into his side and seemed comfortable. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Hermione turned her head into his shoulder, breathing him in. She turned, drawing her legs up and cuddled next to him, her arms moving to wrap around his waist.

"Not really." She sighed. "I guess I just wanted to spend some time with you, and talking seemed like a good excuse."

Severus had placed his chin on top of her head, and he could feel her words as she spoke. Looking down, he decided that there was no possible way that she could be comfortable in that position.

"Why don't we get more comfortable first?" He tried to keep the innuendo out of his voice but wasn't entirely sure that he succeeded. "I've no idea how you could possibly be comfy in that position."

"You'd be surprised at the positions that I could find comfortable." They both froze after she spoke, a strange silence now hanging in the air.

"I didn't actually say that out loud, did I?" Hermione's voice was quiet, unbelieving, embarrassed.

"I'm afraid you did." He kissed the top of her head and moved out of her embrace. "But if you'd like me to forget about it, I promise to do my best to never think of it in your presence."

Severus offered a hand to her and she took it, not quite looking at him. "I would appreciate that, thank you."

"You're welcome." With her hand in his, he guided her over to the top of the bed, sat down, and laid back against the pillows, his head propped up against the wall. He held out an arm, indicating that he wanted her near him. "Come here."

Hermione climbed onto the bed and nestled down into the perfect nook that Severus provided. He kissed her forehead and, despite the added body heat, decided that this was a much more comfortable position. He wrapped his arms around Hermione, she returning the gesture and draping an arm across his narrow waist. Her knees rested against his thigh and she found herself fascinated with his legs. They were long, the pale skin having rather little hair. What hair there was there was as pitch black as the hair on his head and stuck out starkly against his skin. The contrasting colors appeared unnatural, but Hermione decided that she liked it just the same. She liked anything belonging to him.

Severus kissed her head again and couldn't believe that she was there with him. It seemed too good to be true, completely unreal. But she was real. And it was perfect.

Hermione tilted her head back, looking up at him, not saying anything. Her eyes kept moving from his own down to his lips, and Severus was pretty sure he understood her message. Leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, savoring the feeling of her soft skin against his own. Trying to pull back, he found himself incapable, Hermione's free arm having traveled up to thread into the hair at the nape of his neck, holding him in place. She continued to kiss him, starting out as gently as he had but applying more and more pressure with each pass of her lips over his until Severus felt himself getting dizzy. He wished desperately that he could kiss her, really kiss her. He wanted to make her head spin.

After a few minutes, Hermione released his head and Severus was able to pull back, the two resting their heads together comfortably, sharing the air between them. 
Severus reached down, grabbing at Hermione's ankles, and pulled them up towards him, twisting her legs around so that they draped across his lap. She was barefoot and he found himself fascinated with her feet, thinking back to a thought he had had a few weeks ago about giving anything to be left alone with her feet. He held back a laugh, but decided to commemorate his past self. Leaning down, Severus brought Hermione's left foot up and kissed her arch, making her laugh. Apparently she was ticklish. He would use this to his advantage later.

They spent the next hour sitting like that together, just enjoying being with each other, sharing the same space and being able to express their affections openly. Severus rubbed his hands along Hermione's legs which, while surprisingly cold, were incredibly smooth. Thinking back to the time he had spent enjoying himself between her thighs a few weeks ago, he started to question how her entire body, every single inch of her skin, could be so soft and smooth. He must've spent an especially long time stroking at a particular spot behind her knee, as she spoke up, answering his unspoken question.

"It's a spell that I invented in my first year." His head jerked up and he gave her a strong look. "What?" She didn't seem shocked at all.

"Spell making is an incredibly complex art. How did you manage to create one in your first year?" She smiled, leaned forward, and placed a kiss on his befuddled forehead.

"Are you forgetting, my dear, that you're talking to the girl that made a perfect batch of Polyjuice Potion in her second year?" Hermione raised her eyebrow in an imitation of him, not quite reaching his height but getting her point across nonetheless. "Besides. The thought of having to spend the rest of your life shaving your everything is motivation enough. Shaving the muggle way sucks. I couldn't believe that witches hadn't figured out a way to do it with magic yet."

He couldn't help but laugh. She had a point, although he had to admit that he didn't know the pain that women had to go through to shave their legs, but imagined that it couldn't be pleasant. And though he hated to admit it, he was glad that Hermione choosing to shave her lower regions seemed like a permanent decision. He wouldn't force her to do anything, but he admitted that he preferred the smooth feeling of her skin along his lips. And tongue. And in future his teeth. His thoughts led his body into a reaction and he could feel himself starting to get hard beneath her legs and he knew that he had to change the topic.

"This is true. Confess me impressed. I'm sorry to have offended." His tone was a mixture of playful and serious and it seemed to do the trick as she simply smiled at him and rested her head back against his shoulder. He continued to brush his hands along the cool skin of her legs, trying to get his thoughts to calm back down enough for him to be considered a respectable gentleman.

They stayed that way for what could have been hours, neither needing to check something as menial as time when they were together. It wasn't until the birds starting chirping and a faint light began to shine beneath Severus's window curtains that he finally moved. Looking down, he realized that Hermione had been asleep for the entire time. He had assumed that she had been as relaxed as he had been. Evidently he was right. It did something inside of him to know that she was comfortable enough with him that she felt safe enough to sleep. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy. Kissing her head, he spoke quietly to wake her.

"Hermione?" She let out the cutest of groans and snuggled down into him. "Hermione, love, wake up." Finding she could nuzzle no further, Hermione turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes tired and a sleepy smile on her face.

"Hey." Her voice was a little scratchy. He loved it.

"Hey." He brushed some hair back out of her eyes. "It's almost morning. You should get back to your room."

"Must I?" She groaned and placed a faint kiss against his lips. He kissed her back before replying.

"I'm afraid so. If you're found missing I shudder to think of what would happen. It's much better if you return to your own bed." Hermione shifted, standing up on her knees and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I suppose you're right." His hands followed her lead and wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. "But maybe it could wait a few minutes?" She cocked her head to the side and looked adorable. He couldn't resist.

"Very well, perhaps a few minutes more." She smiled and kissed him.

SSHGSSHG

Severus slept through the day and was surprised to find Hermione knocking at his door once again.

"We really must stop meeting like this." He smiled.

"And here I was thinking that we really must do it more often." She smiled back.

He took her hand and brought her inside, closing the door quietly behind her and silently putting up a few wards. He didn't want anyone barging in on them.

Severus led them back over to his bed, and they assumed the same position that they had the previous night, this time with Hermione draping her legs over his lap from the start. Clearly she  had enjoyed his attentions there from the night before. Moving his hand behind her head, Severus brought Hermione in for a kiss. Or two. Or four. He lost count after four. He could feel her smile against his lips and knew that even with her no three-sixty rule that it was still wrong, but he couldn't help but feel how right it was. He cared about this girl. Deeply. And she cared about him. That should be all that mattered.

Pulling back, Severus looked down into her eyes and sighed. Most people found brown to be something of a bland color, but hers were the farthest thing from bland. Light brown with flecks of green and yellow and a mischievous glint behind them that he knew she would always possess. Her eyes felt like home.

Severus pulled her close to him, needing to feel her in his embrace. Placing a kiss on her head, he breathed her in, enjoying the scent of her hair. Strawberries, with an underlying tone of chlorine. The scent of the chemical sent him back to the previous month and his body started reeling at the memory. He could feel his cock start to get hard and knew that it wouldn't do well to deny himself for a second night. And Hermione did seem willing to have a little fun. What could it hurt?

Pulling back, he placed his hand on Hermione's ankle and start brushing his calloused hand along her soft skin, slowly making his way up to her knee, and then to her thigh. He repeated the process with her other leg and found Hermione to be completely relaxed against him, her head against his chest and quiet moans slipping out whenever he would hit a particular spot along her legs. She was like putty in his arms and he loved it.

Reaching the edge of her shorts, he traced along the edge, seeing if there would be any protest from the girl in his arms, and ran his hand up beneath the soft fabric. He pulled his hand out and pulled the top corner of her shorts down a few inches, exposing her hip bone and the small tattoo that rested there. Reminding himself to explore that later, he caressed her exposed skin, making her twitch in his arms. He was pleased with himself. He was doing well. Circling her hipbone with his thumb, he tilted her head back so her lips could meet his, briefly, and then moved her head to the side so he could access her neck. His lips ran along the small cords of muscle that he found there, wishing desperately that he could bite at her skin. Instead, he kissed, hard, and periodically ran his tongue along an area that he could tell made her moan and sigh just that much louder. Her hands were gripping hard along his waist, trying to pull him closer. He sighed against her skin, loving the taste of her warm skin.

"Sev."

Her voice was gold to him and he moved his hand from her hip to the edge of her shirt, ultimately slipping his hand underneath. The skin of her stomach was soft like the rest of her, but he could feel a hardness of muscle lying underneath. He continued moving his hand up along her ribcage, continuing his kisses along her neck. He was shocked when Hermione almost jumped completely out of his embrace, his hands clearly having found a sensitive spot.

Severus nearly choked on his own saliva when he discovered that she wasn't wearing a bra. He should've known, but she had chosen to wear another oversized shirt on this particular night and he hadn't gotten that good of a look at her chest before she had cuddled up to him. She had jumped because his hands had reached the expanse of particularly soft skin that resided at the base of her breasts, the tops of his knuckles brushing against her properly. His thumb ran along that line of soft skin, causing Hermione to shove her head against his shoulder, unsure of how to react to the pleasing sensation.

Severus removed his lips from her neck, allowing Hermione to move her head back up to face his. Her eyes were blazing, the embers he found in them directed completely into his own. This is what he had missed the previous month-- the primal light in her eyes that told him yes, more, please. He kissed her lips and brushed the palm of his hand along her nipple, swallowing down her gasp as he did so. It was a beautiful sound. Something that he rather desperately needed to hear again. He slid his fingers around the sides of her nipples, teasing her.  He must have been doing something right, because she responded by rather abruptly biting his lip, despite her own rules. Bringing two fingers together, he pitched the poor tortured nipple gently, but enough to make her bite his lip again.

“Sev.” She sounded even more desperate this time. He loved it. Shifting, he moved her to lie back on his bed, her hair haloing around his pillows. She looked beautiful. Smiling down at her, his hands went to the bottom of her shirt, grasping it firmly. He pulled the offending garment over her head, receiving quite a bit of help from her. It stuck briefly on her head, but they managed to get her out of it just fine.

It was his first look at her bare breasts, and he confessed himself amazed. She was even more beautiful than he had expected. And that was truly saying something. Her breasts were slightly too large for her small body, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. Her nipples were small and looked like the perfect size to be sucked on. If only. It was a shame that that violated the three—sixty rule. Severus had a feeling that Hermione would be upset with her rules in a few short minutes. Then again, she did tend to violate them on the odd occasion, as demonstrated by her earlier biting of him. Severus would make due with what he could, meaning his lips and his tongue and his teeth, just not in an enclosed environment. He could make it work. He hoped.

He brought his hands up to lay gently on her breasts, just enjoying the feel of them. He tightened his grip slightly and confessed himself embarrassed at how much he enjoyed watching her soft flesh bulge between his spread fingers. He ran the tip of his index finger over one nipple, trying to gauge her reaction. Her body twitched and her eyes glowed. Severus had had a feeling that she would be the hyper responsive type. He was pleased that he was right.

He continued to tease at her nipple, running his finger around her, gently scrapping with his nail every now and again. He enjoyed watching her eyes as they slowly started to glaze over. He transitioned from using just the one finger to using both of his hands on her left breast, kneading and massaging her flesh. He was enjoying it far too much. He would cup at her breast and run his rough palms over her nipples and feel as her hips tried to arch up into his.

Severus couldn't help but look at her neglected right breast and wish that there were two of him. The nipple was straining and looked lonely compared to her left, which was receiving a double treatment. He decided to move his hands to her right breast and dropped down to run his tongue along the skin of her left. The tip of his tongue flicked at her nipple and traveled down to the bottom of her breast, teasing at the sensitive skin there. She was soft and warm and he was in love. He ran his tongue along the sides and up the valley between her breasts. His hands were busy with her right breast and he brought his teeth to her nipple, biting down and sucking on her for a moment, hoping desperately that she didn't notice that he was in violation of her rules. He reluctantly released her nipple, promising himself that he would spend hours and hours sucking on her once the nine months were up. Pulling back slightly, he touched the tip of his tongue to the tip of her nipple and gave short, quick licks. Hermione moaned, much louder than he had expected, and he appreciated it. Clearly she thoroughly enjoyed having her nipples played with. He would most definitely use that to his advantage in the future.

He moved his hands back to her now damp left breast and moved his mouth to her right, deeming it worthy of an equal amount of attention, if not more for having waited so patiently for him.

Severus teased at her perfect nipple again, this time deciding to spend some time on her breast proper as well. Her skin seemed to be just as sensitive as her nipple, and the licks that he was drawing up and down her breast seemed to be turning her on just as much. He decided that a mild violation would be worth it when he found a particular spot on the bottom of her breast that seemed to drive Hermione particularly wild. He sucked his little heart out, biting and licking at the spot as she moaned his named and gripped his head in her hands, keeping his mouth firmly planted there. He knew that it would bruise, wanted it to. He wanted to give her something to remember the experience by. To remember him by. And it was in an out of the way spot that would be covered even if she was in a bathing suit, so he didn't see the harm in leaving his mark.

His right hand left her breast and traveled along the side of her body, making her shiver and squirm, from want or from her just being ticklish he was unsure, but assumed that it was a good thing. He pressed his thumb nail into her hip before moving inward towards her shorts. He put as much of his weight as possible onto his knees and lifted his hips, sliding his hand into her shorts and beneath to her underwear. She was soaked completely through. He moaned around her flesh that was between his teeth and used a finger to circle around her clit. He dragged the tip of his finger down to the source of what he deemed to be everything good in the world and he desperately wanted to thrust his fingers inside of her. Damn her and her rules. They were harder on him than he got around her. For how much he hated it, Severus knew that it was just as difficult for her, if not more. She was the one who had implemented the rule, therefore she was the one who had to enforce it.

Still, he tried to work around the rule as much as possible and pressed his finger down, not in, her hot flesh wrapping around his finger rather than engulfing it. It would have to do. He got as much of her wetness as he could and brought it back up to her clit, providing an extra slickness to the skin there.

Severus removed his mouth from her breast and brought it up to her lips, kissing her hard. He licked along her lips so her mouth would open. They didn't need to have their tongues battle it out to have an openmouthed kiss. He simply just wanted to breathe the air that she did. His nail scratched at her clit and she moaned, Severus happily swallowing it down. He moved two of his fingers down to her entrance again, soaking them as much as he could, before removing them from her underwear and bringing them up to his face. He ripped his lips away from hers, not wanting to leave them, but still desperately wanting to taste her. He put both of his fingers into his mouth, relishing in the flavor that was completely her. He adored it. Hermione let out a large sigh at the sight and scratched her nails along his ribs, hoping he understood without words just what that sight did to her.

His fingers clean, Severus placed them back on her wet heat, their now cool feel creating an amazing contrast that left Hermione speechless. Moving his head back down, Severus kissed her, denying the rule again and thrusting his tongue into her mouth, just once. Just enough for her to get a taste of herself. Hermione moaned and pulled him closer, her hands tangled in his hair, tugging, making him moan in return. He denied her, keeping his tongue firmly in his mouth and battling her tongue out of his own when she tried to get another taste. She seemed adamant, so he did the next best thing. 
Gathering as much of her between his fingers as her could, he pulled them up again and placed them against her lips. Her mouth opened instantly, drawing them both in. He quickly pulled his fingers out of her mouth, a scowl sternly in place on his face.

"You can share, or you won't receive any at all. Is that understood?" He had no idea where the sudden dominance came from, but he knew that he had definitely used his professor voice. He hadn't meant to, but it seemed to have worked. Hermione was nodding vigorously and trying to pull his arm closer. Severus split his fingers, giving his middle one to Hermione and bringing his index finger to his own mouth. They shared her taste between them, as well as Severus being treated to the taste of her mouth as well. They both went down as far as they possibly could on his fingers and their lips met awkwardly in the middle. It was at this point that Severus realized that they were still breaking her rule, but since they were both doing it, it didn't seem to matter as much.

Once his finger was clean from his end, he pulled them both from their mouths and sent them straight back down to her clit.

He was painfully hard and he knew that she could feel it. A finger on each side of her clit, he pressed down on his hand with his hips, grinding his erection into her center. The double sensation had her moaning into his mouth again, and he pulled back to look at her. Severus knew he was growing quickly obsessed with the current look on her face. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bright and glazed over with a brilliance that screamed his name. Her lips were swollen from his kiss and damp around the edges from sucking on his finger. She looked perfect.

Severus pressed down even harder and rearranged his hand so he could keep rubbing at her clit and teasing at her opening.

"Sev. Please." Her voice was almost nonexistent and he could feel her muscles start to clench near his fingers. He couldn't help himself and shoved two of his fingers deep inside of her and she screamed out, her orgasm overtaking her. He pulled out and drove his fingers inside of her two, three times more before she finally relaxed, coming down with his name on her lips.

He was still desperately hard, but he knew that tonight wasn't about him. He didn't want it to be. It was about her. Shifting to the side, he pulled his very wet hand out of her shorts, casting a charm to clean her clothing. He started to lick his hand, watching her as he did so. Her body was slowly returning to earth, her eyes barely open as she looked at him.

"Don't go turning me on again. I can't be held accountable for my actions if you do." Her voice was quiet, but cute. He laughed and charmed his hand clean, wishing that he would have been able to finish cleaning her off of his skin himself. For her, he refrained.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm afraid I have some other things to take care of." He gestured vaguely towards his crotch. Hermione's eyes followed his hand and her eyes widened. Severus was momentarily confused before realizing that it was the first time that Hermione had seen him hard. Granted he was completely clothed, but he still provided an imposing pictured. He smirked internally, pleased that she was pleased with him and his size.

"Whelp, now you've done it. Turned on again." She moved to get up, rising to her knees, her breasts looking very enticing on her bare chest. Her hands moved to his shoulders, her eyes firmly set on their goal. "Allow me to- "

"-Oh no. You've had your fun for the night. It's time you get to bed. I can take care of this." She harrumphed and sat back on her legs, her lip stuck out petulantly. "Honestly. I'll be alright. And you look tired." He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible, and it seemed to work. Looking like she was going to give in, Hermione tried one more thing.

"Can I at least watch?" Nearly choking, Severus shot out a firm "No!"

Seeming to realize what he just exposed of himself, he tried a different approach.

"I promise my darling that next time, you can do what you will of me. How does that sound?" Hermione's eyes lit up and Severus wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake. 
"Alright. I suppose that shall have to do." She kissed his lips and got off the bed, walking towards the door. She paused before it, her hands behind her back, her bottom lip between her teeth, still missing her shirt. 
"Forgetting something?" Severus summoned her shirt to his hand and got off the bed, enjoying the blush that ran across her face and down to her chest.

"Oops."

"Oops, indeed. I will not have you galavanting through the halls shirtless. That view is for I and I alone." His face was stern, but his eyes were light.

Severus smiled and helped Hermione into her shirt. When it was on properly, he frowned and missed her breasts immediately. Then he took a better look at her shirt. Whose shirt was that anyway.

"Whose shirt is that, anyway?" The question came out of his mouth before he realized it. Hermione looked down, holding the shirt away from her and took a good look at it.

"Fred's, I think? Maybe George's? I'm not sure, I stole it a few years ago." Severus's eyes grew darker than night.

"Well we can't have any of that." He pulled the shirt promptly off Hermione's body, completely missing the squeak that she let out. Reaching down, he pulled his own sweaty shirt off of his body and onto hers. It looked much better.

"There. That's much better." Hermione stood there with an incredulous look on her face, silently asking him what was going on in his head. He answered. "I refuse to have a Weasley touching your breasts. Even if it's just via a shirt." Hermione nodded and smiled down at her feet, silently loving his open jealousy. She eyed his chest briefly before standing on the tips of her toes, her hands balancing her body on his shoulders. She kissed him with a love she hadn't previously known that she was capable. With a final, gentle kiss to his lips, she bid him goodnight and began the journey back down to her shared room.

The night itself had been amazing, his confident possession of her even better, but what truly had her floating down the hallway was what had happened right at the end. The trust that he had presented to her. The comfort. She wasn't even sure that he realized it. He had taken his shirt off and given it to her. Without any sort of preemptive measures.

He had let her see his scars.

Hermione smiled and shut the door behind her. She slept soundly that night, her nose snuggled into the shirt of her lover. She breathed deeply and dreamed of the man she loved.

[scribblindown]

The Chocobros as Mermen

Mermaid AU, Slight Golden Age of Pirates AU 

Noctis:

The Little Mermaid reprise. His father is king, he falls in love with a human, there’s a tentacle sea witch out for his blood. (Except one’s name is Ardyn, the other is Ursula.)

Noctis is the prince of the undersea kingdom of Lucis, and has never broken the surface of the water before. 

He’s nice and sleek with a long tail that’s dark-blue, almost black under regular light, but when the sunlight hits it directly his scales becomes every shade of blue in existence. His gills are sharp and deep, adorning the sides of his toned waist and along the sides of his neck. His ears are slightly pointed and the fins on his forearms, lower back, and at the ends of his tail taper out like a thin sheer.  

Noctis doesn’t really care about humans, but he’s enamored with the sunlight. His father and Iggy tell him constantly not to get too close to the surface, or else he might be spotted, but it’s just so much warmer up there. His scales and his bare skin always feel like they’re being wrapped in a cozy hug. He always tries to get as close as he can to soak in the sunlight. 

Even so, he was content with never leaving the water. Why wasn’t he when he had all he needed here?

That was until he fell in love with you, a human. 

You were a noble’s kid whose ship had been attacked by pirates, and in the scuffle, you were thrown overboard, set to drown and die, but a surprised Noctis had seen the strange orange explosions, and suddenly he sees you sinking through the water. 

At first, he completely freezes. You are without a doubt the most beautiful creature he has ever seen. It makes his chest tighten and blood rush into his face. 

Are all humans this beautiful? 

Noctis reaches out and puts his hand on your cheek and he realizes that something is wrong. 

He freaks out for a bit before he remembers that Iggy said that humans need air, and he quickly takes you up to the surface. You manage to cough all of the water out, but fall unconscious quickly after.

Noctis debates for a while and decides that he should take you to shore and drop you off there, but by the time he lays your body down on the sand, Noctis already feels so attached to you, he doesn’t want to leave you. Then he hears human voices and footsteps and he knows that he has to flee.

Even weeks after your near-death experience Noctis continues to go back to that shore to hopefully see you again, but he debates about it, because he’s worried that you’ll expose his secret or that you won’t accept him, but the urge to see you is too much. 

You were sure that you saw a man, but no matter who you ask, all of them say that there was no man near you whatsoever when they found you.

You were convinced that you saw his tail too, but all of your servants dismiss it as you hitting your head or something, but no one else from the ship made it back. 

You walk back the shore late at night because you hoped that something would come to you, but you came up with nothing. 

But then you see black hair and sharp blue eyes poke out of the water and you scream and try to shuffle back. In an instant, Noctis jumps out of the water to slap a hand over your mouth and the both of you fall back into the sand. 

The two of you lay there for a while, your heartbeats slowing down and with the waves lapping at his tail and the ends of your socks and clothes. 

“A-Alright...?” he rasps out. 

You finally nod and he sighs, taking his hand away from your mouth. 

“A-Are you really a mermaid? Did you save me?”  He huffs, puffing out his cheeks slightly. “Merman,” he corrects, but then he nods to your latter question. You pause for a while, but then you send him a smile that can make his heart stop.  “Thank you very much then, I’m [Name].” 

He shyly introduces himself, and you ask him all kinds of questions and getting him to warm up to you. After that, you two become fast friends, and you would make escapades to see each other again. 

He’s addicted to touching you. Not in a sexual way, but he’s so fascinated with your skin and your legs. If you would let him, he could rub his hands up and down your bare legs for hours. 

If you ask nicely to touch his tail he’ll reluctantly let you do so because he is extremely sensitive and ticklish, so he’ll squirm a lot if you run your fingers down his scales. He hugs his tail protectively to himself afterward, and you think it’s so cute. 

He starts to have feelings for you but doesn’t quite know it yet. However the shy merman does know that he wants to impress you, so he starts scavenging through ship ruins to get random stuff for you. 

What about this human thing?? They’re human so they’ll like it, right??

He feels slightly embarrassed whenever you just awkwardly laugh politely and put whatever it was he got you off to the side. 

You’re thankful either way, it’s the thought that counts! 

But then he sees you wear some jewelry with pearls and the next day he brings you a whole handful of pearls that he got just that morning. 

He loves to watch the stars. You can’t see them under the sea, so when the two of you meet, sometimes you would just lay together and stargaze. 

His father and his friends worry about him. Noctis has been snooping through more human ruins lately and he’s been asking more questions about humans. 

“Ignis...um...Do you know how humans court each other?” 

Ignis finally gets suspicious enough to follow him and confronts Noctis about it. 

“Noctis, you have to understand that humans and merpeople cannot be together—!” 

“But, Ignis, I love them!” 

Prompto:

Prompto is a naturally carefree and curious person, and that eventually lead to his capture. 

It was a hard life for someone like you, being both young and an orphan, so you learned at a young age that the only way you would get clothes on your back and food on your plate was if you turned to a life of crime, so you became a pirate. 

You rise in the ranks of one of the most notorious pirate crews that had ever sailed the seven seas, and you sail through every single one of their actions: stealing, destroying, raiding, but the most current operation slowly makes you change your ways, the capture of a mermaid. 

They say that a mermaid’s tears can activate the Fountain of Youth out of the water turn into one of the valuable and beautiful gems in the world, and what better way to rake in the money than to have one mermaid all to yourself. 

You were indifferent about the whole capture and steal the mermaid thing, but you didn’t expect to fall for him at first glance. 

Prompto’s cries of pain as they dragged him into the large glass tank tugged at your heart and his sad blue eyes could drown you right there. 

Prompto’s tail is a nice golden color that becomes white when the sunlight hits his scales, and the gills on the sides of his neck are smooth to the touch. Unlike Noctis, he doesn’t have a fin on his back, but he has it on his forearms, and his tail fin is more opaque than Noct’s. His shoulders and shoulder blades are dusted with the slightest hint of gold scales, and you could stare at them for hours on end. 

Your crew would treat Prompto horribly, torturing him to collect his tears, and toss him back into his tank when they don’t need him again until later. 

You would be the one that would crack his glass tank open for him so he can get some more air, try to bandage up some of his wounds, and you would give him food. 

“Umm...I’m not quite sure what you eat, but I have some shrimp? Or kelp? If that’s any better...I have some human food too if that’s too far off...” 

He’d be scared of you at first, and try to scoot as far back in his glass tank as possible, but you would continually do him these deeds and he eventually warms up to you. 

The two of you would spend nights together, hidden away in one of the ship’s storage rooms. 

He’s curious about how the human world works and can listen to you talk for hours with a dreamy look on his face. To humor him you teach him how to use utensils and how to shoot a gun. 

He gets all warm inside when you gently dry his hands so the gun doesn’t get wet and when you guide his fingers. 

He’s very fascinated with your legs, sometimes when you talk to him he just stares at your legs when you sit down beside his tank. 

One day when you were standing up near his tank, you were suddenly knocked off your feet because Prompto grabbed your ankle and lifted it up. 

He didn’t know that you were going to fall like that! He thought that humans can stand up with only one leg! 

You were nursing a bruised bottom for the whole day. 

Your crew got a shipment of baby chocobos to transport to your next destination, and you bring Prompto one of them to show him more of the life on land, and he becomes completely enamored with the chubby little bird. The two cuddle for hours. 

“We don’t have anything as cute as this guy down in the ocean!” 

The two of you share dreams, and you admit that you don’t have any. 

“What’s yours, Prompto?”  “I want to walk down the...street...with you one day...”

Prompto had always thought that you were cool, suave, and beautiful, but the best of it all was that you were kind and considerate to him. He wonders if there are more humans like you, but eventually decides that you’re the only human he needs. 

However, his admiration for you turns into something more when you defend him for the first time. 

When the pirates want to use Prompto again, they would take him up to the deck and torture him until he cries. After abusing him for so long, Prompto’s tears would become less and less, so they have to kick it up a notch and push the blond near death. 

Every time they would hurt him, you would grit your teeth and stay silent, and you would look away, but this time they went too far and you can’t stay silent. 

“You’re killing him!” you shout, pushing your crew member aside to clear the path to Prompto. In an instant, his soft hand reaches over the tank to grab yours. His soft blue eyes clouded over with pain makes your anger soften.  “C’mon, [Name], don’t tell me you’re getting soft over that creature!” the crew member protests.  “He’s not a creature! He has a name!” you snap. 

You stare down at everyone who dares to fight against you, and your captain begrudgingly tells you to put Prompto back into storage.  

He blushes like a firetruck when you called him beautiful that night. Rarely anyone under the sea has ever called him beautiful, so when you, the best human ever, compliments him so sincerely, he can’t hold it in anymore and pulls you in for a kiss. When he realizes what he did, he pulls away instantly and stutters out a quick sorry, he didn’t know what came over him. 

You simply smile at him and offer him no words because you are just so happy. 

When your ship is under attack from another pirate crew, you instantly run to Prompto, who was already knocked out of the fish tank from the heavy rocking of the boat. You quickly give him your jacket to cover himself up and carry him to a secluded part of the deck while your crew mates are fighting on the other side. 

“Prompto!” you say as you lay him down on the edge of the railing. “Now’s your chance! You can leave!” 

You wanted to make this goodbye quick and fast so the pain of leaving someone you hold so dear couldn’t catch up to you, but when you turn around and try to run off Prompto grabs your hand. He quickly laces his fingers with yours. 

“Come with me, [Name]!” he pleads, his eyes welling with tears from the thought of leaving you. You give him a hesitant look and quickly take your hands back.  “I can’t follow you, Prompto...I don’t belong in the water.”  “But...what if I never see you again?!” He sounds pained. You slowly turn back to him, but you don’t meet his eyes. “Go.” 

Ignis: 

Unlike the other two, Ignis was a firm believer that humans and merpeople had no business with each other. The two worlds should stay separate. 

However, he does read in on the human world and learns all there is to know about humans from his fellow mermaids. 

That all gets thrown out of the window when you two meet. 

His tail is a dark, eggplant purple color with a tail fin that’s relatively pointed and long at the ends. Under the sunlight, his scales turn into a pretty violet, but most of the time it’s as dark as wine. He doesn’t have any fins on his back or his forearms, but he does have some thin, lace-like fins that run down the backside of his tail. Ignis has some pretty deep and sharp gills on the sides of his waist. 

You had recently moved into a house near the shore, complete with its own old pier tucked away from the rest of the beach. Ignis likes to go there to get some alone time and to people watch in secret. When the two of you meet for the first time, the two of you just stare at each other in complete and utter shock. 

Him, because he was spotted by a human, and you because you thought that he was unbelievably beautiful. It’s only when he swam away when you caught a glimpse of his tail. 

Ignis berates himself for being caught, and all logic points towards never going near that spot again, but his curiosity gets the better of him. The more he stays away, the more he wants to see you again. 

He’s seen humans before, but only from a distance. You’re the first human to ever see him. 

He finally decides to go back, just to see you again and make sure that you won’t tell the world that there was a mermaid sighting in this spot. He tells himself that if you aren’t there, then he’ll never go back to that spot ever again, but lo and behold, there you are. 

You sight up straighter when you see him, and you stiffen up. The two of you stare at each other for a while, neither saying a word. 

Eventually, you shift your eyes to the side and tell him that you’ve been coming back here every day just to see him again. 

You introduce yourself, and he does the same. Slowly, he becomes your reluctant friend, offering to trade information about the mermaid world for information about the human world. You soon become one of his important people. 

You and Ignis would ask each other questions for hours on end. Basic topics like culture, customs, lifestyle would come up often. 

But he’s most fascinated with human food. You share bits of your lunch with him and he becomes interested in recipes and ingredients from land. He wonders how he can transfer the recipes into a dish made from the ingredients he has under the sea. 

He’s also the one that’s the most comfortable in human clothing. Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio feel restricted in human clothing, but Ignis doesn’t mind it at all. You bring him some gloves and dress him up in a button up shirt, and you gush about how handsome he is. 

Iggy has to be part siren. Ignis has a lovely voice that enraptures you, and you find that you can listen to him for hours on end. It helps that he’s incredibly good looking too.  

If Ignis told you to jump into the water head-first so he can drown you, you probably would. 

You teach him human jokes and puns and it’s the biggest regret you have. The Chocobros probably curse you from under the sea too. 

Ignis’ hair is the same underwater or dried. It’s always that swept up style no matter what element. 

Ignis always brings you rare shells, pearls, sand dollars, and such as small gifts, but he does so in an attempted nonchalant way. Sometimes he would even string them together to make you a pearl chain or a shell crown. 

When Ignis realizes that he has feelings for you, he brushes it off, becoming almost flustered every time he sees you. He tells himself that it’s just because you’re a human, and therefore the most fascinating creature that he has met so far. But he sees beyond just legs and land dwelling. He wants to know more about you; insignificant little things like your favorite color, your favorite song, or what makes you laugh. He becomes enchanted by your smile and the color of your eyes. There’s little that he can do from keeping himself from going on and kiss the girl. 

His underwater kisses though! He’s a pro at pulling you into the water from your place on top of the pier, hands resting against your cheeks. He likes to hold you as close to him as possible when he kisses you and wraps his tail around your legs. 

Being a merman frustrates him sometimes because all of the things that you want, or you like, he can’t get for you. You like small, cute land animals that he has no way of reaching, or you want ingredients far away from the shore. All he wants to do is spoil you and make you happy. 

That’s alright because the only thing you want is to be near him. 

Then he gets caught up with saving Noctis from the cecaelian sea warlock, Ardyn. Not only does he suffer from an injury that renders him blind, there is no possible way of going back to your side; so he disappears from your life, all without a goodbye. 

Gladio: 

Mermaid hunts have become more and more popular recently, and with the pirate-infested shores that you live near, it’s a common thing to hear passersby talking about selling mermaid scales for a pretty penny or capturing them. 

Gladio gets injured from a scuffle with the heir to the nearby oceanic kingdom, Ravus, and gets separated from his friends from the current. 

He’s injured, he’s losing blood, and he’s weak, so when you see him washed up on the shore, you have to make a split second decision before he falls victim to the pirates. 

As if you had much of a choice in the first place. 

You’re lucky for being up so early that no one else sees you trying to carry/drag this behemoth of a merman with all of your strength to your house, before dropping him into your bathtub and healing him. 

He’s bigger than most mermen, and some people under the sea even jokingly call him “King Triton” because of his size. His tail is a dark garnet color, almost wine red and it’s built like a shark’s with no scales, complete with a tail fin in the shape and appearance of a shark’s as well. It’s longer than most people’s, to proportion it with his broad shoulders and wide torso, He only has gills on his neck, and they’re rough and wide across his skin. He has hard, smaller fins that jut out of the top of his tail, but his most distinctive feature is his beautiful face is the tattoo of a sea monster that he has stretching across his chest, arms, and his back. 

You’re a human with a normal sized bathtub, so Gladio’s tail just hangs off the edge of your tub. 

Gladio’s very wary of you at first; snappish, and a bit rude. He doesn’t trust humans, and just because you saved him that doesn’t mean he’s going to mindlessly fall into your arms. Your trust would have to creep on to him. 

You give him his space more often than not, and in the beginning, you only see him to change his bandages or to give him food. Gladio quickly learns that sitting in a bathroom for hours all alone can get boring. 

He asks you for some books to read and gets very pouty when he realizes that the human written language and the mermaid written language are different. He begrudgingly asks you to read the books to him, and you happily do so, sitting down on the bathroom floor and leaning against the tub.  

Since your parents and your siblings are the breadwinners of the family, you’re free to spend hours at home alone with him. 

Gladio soon falls in love with your voice. He becomes interested in human books at first but then realizes that he can listen to you read just about anything. Gladio loves to read, and the two of you can go through two books in a day, so your library runs low. You’re left reading him recipe books or the newspaper, but Gladio can listen to you for hours, even when you’re listing off ingredients and directions to a cake. 

Gladio acquires a taste for meat, but he doesn’t like it cooked. That shark side of him likes his food raw. It’s disgusting and fascinating at the same time to see him rip a slab of raw beef apart with his teeth. 

Gladio doesn’t complain about what you feed him though. He’ll eat small fish one by one like he’s eating grapes, and accepts all of the cheap food. 

He’s kind of like a pet because it’s always the cheap stuff that they love. 

If the others are more curious about human legs, Gladio’s more interested in your hair. Before you, he’s never seen dry hair before, so he loves to mess around with it whenever you spend time with him. Reading to him idly, you’ll feel him reach over and twirl a strand of hair around his finger, or attempt to braid it. 

If he’s feeling cheeky, he’ll slap your ass with his tail when you walk away.

Gladio would also like to keep his body in top shape, and being kept in a bathtub isn’t exactly the best workout, so you give him random heavy stuff to do reps with, or he’ll bench press you as you read to him.  

Gladio is a family man, so he likes to talk about Iris, Noctis, Iggy, and Prompto. In turn, he’ll ask more about you and your family. 

“I come from a family of...merchants.” 

He loves to pull you into the bathtub with him and into his lap, which annoys the hell out of you. 

“Stop, Gladdy! Your tail feels like sandpaper!” or, “No...! Now my clothes are wet!” is what you often say. 

When Gladio finally realizes that he fell for you, let me tell you, it isn’t very subtle. Gladio is charming and smooth, he can probably get someone to date him at the drop of a hat, but this is a special situation. 

You’re a human while he’s a merman, and he genuinely likes you, so Gladio constantly tells himself that he should be careful and cautious in courting you. 

To him, this just means that he kicks up his flirting by 100% and he speaks more from the heart. 

When his injuries don’t ache anymore, and the worst of it has healed up,  he finally decides to confess to you, you’re more panicked and on the edge. Eventually, you look him in the eye and tell him that he needs to leave. Without offering an explanation, you take him out of the tub and half-drag, half-carry him out of your door and back to the ocean. Gladio’s too worried about your behavior to try and fight you off, so he just tries to protest. 

But you’re too late, just when you try to open up the back door to take him back to the water, a pair of heavy black boots stop you, and you fearfully look up to meet the eyes of your older brother, one of the most notorious pirates of the seven seas, and number one mermaid killer, Nyx Ulric. 

[sad-af1121]

Strangers In The Mind: Part 2

Summary: A cure has been found for Bucky and as he is going under treatment, he starts having bizarre dreams about you. He doesn’t know why or how. Never in his life has he actually met you but, he is determined to find you. (Soulmate AU) Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2211 Warnings: Fluff, Angst A/N: Explains the “soulmate” aspects and yeah, enjoy. I tried to make sure it wasn’t too long but oh well :)  Silhouette by Aquilo is a great song for this entire fic. Feedback is welcomed 💜  

Part 1

In this world, people would dream about their soulmates once they’ve hit a stage in their life where they were ready for them. For some it would come earlier or much later in life, however, the dreams retold memories from a previous life, so it as up to the individual to try and find their soulmate.

Growing up, Bucky was never fond of believing you’d find your soulmate in your dreams. He hated the thought that certain people were “made for each other.” He wanted to pick who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Most of the young adults back in the 1940’s were finding their soulmates before the age of 25, which annoyed Bucky because he hadn’t dreamt of his yet. He didn’t mind that people would choose their soulmate to love, but he felt like it was a trap to stay in the norm. He didn’t want that. 

Soulmates weren’t just people who you’d have a romantic relationship with. They are people who you can always count on, bring you out from the dark, help you through things not everyone quite understands. The amount of love they have for you is insane. They would do anything for you.

Anything.

Most importantly, they’d pick up the pieces that have been destructed by others and put them back as an unsolved puzzle, making you whole again. You had to cherish that time and the moment you had with them before waking up from your state of unconsciousness. It would feel as though you were being transported to another dimension, living a life that is too good for it to be true. It was an escape from what people struggle with daily.  

An escape from yourself.

But Bucky never liked that. He wanted to be free in more than one way.

 ***

One Year ago

Walking down the street, Bucky pulled up the collars of his leather jacket as the cold crisp air ran across his skin. Not that it bothered him, it was out of habit. As he entered the bar, he shrugged off his coat, draping it over the back of the barstool before taking a seat. He waved to the bartender who has seen Bucky come by every Friday, by himself to enjoy a beer or two.  As the bartender handed him a napkin and bottle, Bucky grabbed the cold beverage, bringing the rim to his soft lips before taking a swig. He let the beer sit on his tongue, taking in the taste of wheat and barley before swallowing it. He sighed in content as the alcohol ran down his throat, soothing his craving. Right as Bucky was about to take another drink, he heard the door opening, the little bell on the top signaling a new customer. Looking over to his right, Bucky does a double take as he watched you walk in, taking his breath away.

Deciding not to wear anything revealing, you wore a casual long-sleeved v neck shirt paired with skinny jeans and ankle boots. Your hair fell around your face, resting on your shoulder as they curled a bit towards the end. Your light makeup accentuated your beauty, mostly your doll-like eyes. As you entered the bar, your sweet smile brightens up the dull, depressing atmosphere. The twinkle in your eyes made Bucky grin seeing your gentle smile. You took off your coat, hooking in on the coat rack before walking up to the bar. You sat next to Bucky, not minding him as the bartender smiles and hands you your drink. Bucky furrowed his brows, seeing how the server didn’t ask what you’d like.

Must be a regular.

“Thanks, Bryan” you beamed, grabbing your choice of alcohol and drinking the liquid. You smacked your lips together, squeezing your eyes shut as the alcohol courses through your body.

“God, I needed that.” you sighed out looking to your left, seeing the odd yet dangerously handsome brunette staring at you, smiling. Pulling your head back, you narrowed your eyes, not enjoying the way he’s gawking at you.

“May I help you, sir?” you raised an eyebrow before crossing your arms over your chest. Bucky’s eyes widen in shock, swallowing thickly by how cold you sound. He tried playing it off as he chuckles before shrugging, bringing his beer close to his lips. He couldn’t believe you called him that. Do I look that old?

“No, not at all doll.” He cringed as he hears his old Brooklyn slang slip through his lips. He wanted to say you had a beautiful smile, but he didn’t know how’d you take it, probably thinking that he wants to be in your pants. You tilt your head to the side.

“Doll? What are you from the 1950’s?” you sassed with a hint of sarcasm as you sipped your drink, waiting for the broad, buff man to answer.

“More like the 40’s but who cares in this generation, right?” He sassed back, giving you a thin-lipped smile. Jesus Christ, she’s got some fire in her.

You pursed your lips. “Why haven’t I seen you here before?”

Bucky’s taken aback by your question. He turned to you, setting his beer down. “Why haven’t I seen you?” He questioned back quirking an eyebrow as a shit eating grin played on his face.

“I asked you first, gramps.” You narrowed your eyes seeing him shift in his seat as he blew out a long sigh. As you waited for his response, you noticed he was wearing a black leather glove while his right hand wasn’t. You tilted your head, lost in thought as Bucky sees your lingered gaze towards his metal hand which he took off the counter and dropped by his side, knocking you out from your thoughts.

“I come here every Friday… or whenever I get the chance to. My job gets out of hand, so I miss some days. Now you.” You shrugged before downing your drink. You gently placed the glass on the wooden surface and leaned back in your chair, fidgeting with your purple crystal necklace. Bucky looks down at the necklace, seeing the purples and blues highlighted by the dim light bouncing off it. It looked old like an antique jewelry, but it suited you.

“I come here whenever I’ve had a rough day. Been having those a lot lately.” You chuckled bitterly before releasing a deep sigh. “I used to work here when I was in training to be a nurse but now that I am, I work at the hospital around the corner.” You said wondering why you were telling him this.

You weren’t one to start up a random conversation with the locals who only drank their souls away, staggering out of the joint while shouting at innocent bystanders. But something about him made you want to tell him everything. He felt comfortable and safe. He didn’t seem like the one to take advantage of you or anything like you’ve came across before at the bar. You’ve experienced far too many unfriendly approaches from men who were looking for a good time. Breaking their nose or kicking them in the groin gave them the warning never to mess with you again. They never listened.

As the night went on, both of you spent the time talking about your life and interests. You clapped your hands together in shock once you realized who you were talking to, the infamous Winter Soldier a.k.a. Bucky Barnes. He chuckled as a light blush crept on his cheeks when you ogled over the super soldier and the rest of the Avengers team.

He kept his eyes on you as you went on and on about the incredible things you’ve heard about him and how every single person on the team is a hero no matter what happened in their past. Bucky only saw joy and happiness in you, not letting one upsetting thing bring you down. You were a heaping pile of energy like a kid who found their stash of Halloween candy and ate them all. You asked to see his hand, not pushing it if he didn’t want to but he didn’t hesitate one bit and took off the glove, revealing the robotic prosthetic.  

Your eyes widened in fascination and curiosity. You always wondered what it would look like up close and well… you were speechless. With your knowledge of the human body and how it functions, you were blown away at how life changing this sort of technology was. Bucky placed his hand on the counter, balling his hand into a fist then releasing it to show you how it worked. The wide smile on your face warmed Bucky’s heart. He hadn’t seen anyone this optimistic about his metal arm before.

Suddenly you became nervous yet excited seeing it in front of you. Without thinking, you lightly trailed your finger along the prosthetic, outlining the indents and creases that made its way around his hand and wrist. It was cold, smooth, and mesmerizing as you traced circles. Your touch was delicate, light as a feather, figuring out if Bucky could feel it.

“I can sense the heat radiating from your hand… but I can’t actually feel your touch.”

You snapped your eyes away from the metal, refracting your hand. “Oh.” You said as you looked down to your hands that were in your lap. You felt bad for him. Who wouldn’t miss feeling someone’s touch? It would drive you insane not getting that type of affection from the one you loved… but then again… he didn’t have a choice.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he said softly as he looked at you with his brows slightly furrowed. His voice lured you out of your thoughts as you gave him a small sympathetic smile. His chest tightened, watching your saddened look before playfully shoving you.

“I’ve still got this.” he smiled, showing off his flesh hand as he created waves with it. You instantly giggled, watching the charming man in front of you doing something utterly odd yet funny. You joined in on the fun, creating waves with your whole hand.

Since both of you have been drinking, it was obvious you were drunk but you weren’t shit faced. Bucky, on the other hand, was perfectly fine, enjoying the way you acted, spoke, and laughed. He couldn’t stop smiling whenever he heard a laughter erupting from you. The muscles on his face started to ache but he didn’t mind. He loved it.

The two of you sat there until the bartender had to kick you out. You two hadn’t realized how long you were in there, talking amongst yourselves as if everything around you disappeared. The white noise and the people entering and leaving the bar hadn’t pulled you out of this trace. It was like time had frozen, leaving the two of you behind as you bonded and got to know one another.

As you walked down the cold dark street that was lit by one street lamp, you hailed a cab that was already parked on the side of a curb. You saw the front lights turn on as it made its way towards you. You turned, suddenly bumping into Bucky’s built chest. Your cheeks burned bright pink as you stepped back, shaking your head in embarrassment at what just happened.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” You laughed, looking up at Bucky whose cheeks were also blushed.

“N-no, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have been so close…” He breathed out as he smiles softly before sucking in a breath as the yellow cab pulls us. He didn’t want to leave you. He wanted more time.

He stepped forward, opening the passenger’s door. “I guess I’ll see you around…” He lingered on, hinting for your name.

You giggled, extending your hand in front of him, smirking. “Y/N.”

~

Bucky jolted awake as his eyes shot wide open, breathing ragged like he suffered from another nightmare but this time it wasn’t one… it was a dream. He swallowed thickly, sweat trickling down his chest as he threw the covers off, swinging his legs off the bed. He looked straight ahead and out the window as he tries to ground his mind.

“Another one” he breathed out quietly as he shut his eyes, thinking back to the “first time” he met you. Bucky didn’t want to believe it, but he was falling deep.  

He was still curious as to how his mind could conjure up a place, setting, a time and most importantly, a moment in life. It was as if he was reliving a fond memory, however, he doesn’t remember ever doing any of that.

Or meeting you in person.

His chest tightened with uncertainty and anxiety as he fiddled with his fingers wondering if he should talk to someone about this. His old memories came fluttering through as he thought back to how strong he felt about his opinion about soulmates, but he didn’t have a choice now.

They won’t stop until I find her.

For a year, Bucky’s been keeping this from everyone, afraid of the worst-case scenario. He didn’t trust his mind, especially after what Hydra did to him. Afraid he wouldn’t be able to find you. Because after all…

He’s in love with you.

Even if his mind played a trick on him.

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[hollywithaneye]

Sticks and Stones - Chapter 1

Anonymous said: this would go so perfect with lokane - “Do you think you could just please go one day without pissing me off?” 

For you, anonymous, I present the first part of the abomination you have birthed - a Frankenstein’s monster of human AU and university AU with a heavy nod to The Hating Game.

Enjoy reaping what you have sown. Look forward to the next chapter soon.

Click click. Clack.

The soundtrack of hell was not the screams of the damned, Jane Foster suspected. It was the clattering staccato of a keyboard being tortured.

Clack clack. Click.

Lips thinning with annoyance, she dared a glance across the table over the top of her monitor and met frosty green eyes that held a glint of sordid amusement, the typing only growing louder as she drew in a long breath through her nose.

Fantastic. Today was a Staring Day. Which meant it was also an Irritate Jane (More Than Usual) Day, which meant she didn’t even dare ask Loki Laufeyson to restrain his troglodyte smashing of the hapless computer. The last time she had, she’d come in the next day to find he’d swapped all of the existing keyboards in the lab with some antiquated, horrifically loud mechanical ones he’d dug out from somewhere.

A time machine, perhaps. He’d literally gone back to 1997 just to aggravate her with noisy plastic rectangles of discord. She wouldn’t put it past him.

“Is something the matter, Ms. Foster?”

She could feel the weight of his stare still on her, and realized too late that her face must have given away her black thoughts. Damn it. She hated when he realized he’d gotten under her skin. Schooling her expression smooth again with another long exhale, she plastered a smile on that felt as paper thin as it probably looked. “Absolutely nothing, Loki.”

Save for having to share a universe with him. Of all the solar systems in all of the galaxies...

Save for his insistence on calling her ‘Ms. Foster’, as if she was some dowdy old matron straight out of an episode of Downton Abbey. Made all the worse by his posh, British accent.

Save for the fact that he wore button-ups and slacks every damned day of the week, every damned week of the year, regardless of the weather. As if t-shirts and jeans were simply beneath him, as if he wasn’t just another graduate grunt like she was, slaving away at their research.

Save for the small matter of being her ex’s brother.

And the cold, cutting way his gaze had swept over her the very first time they’d met - Jane so eager and euphoric and desperate to make a good impression on Thor’s well-heeled family. That flinty stare had dissected her, taken in her department store dress and costume jewelry that screamed ‘I paid for these with student loan money’ and then simply...flickered away, wordlessly. Judgment passed. Message clear, no words needed.

She didn’t belong.

That had been over two years ago, and the memory still made her want to grind her teeth. She and Thor had broken up shortly after that, and she could never quite get past the niggle of doubt that Loki had had something to do with that. A well-placed word in Thor’s mother’s ear, perhaps. Or Thor himself, even.

Regardless, she’d lost a boyfriend and gained a most unwanted associate when Loki had transferred to her university the very next semester. And of course, he was an astrophysics major as well. Whatever had possessed him to leave the Ivy league school he'd probably been attending and come to Virginia, Jane didn’t have the faintest idea, even if the program here at Culver was well regarded. She more than half suspected it was just to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t get any more ideas where his brother was concerned.

The creak of a door opening drew her attention, and the rumpled head of their adviser Dr. Erik Selvig poked out of his office. “Jane, Loki...may I see you both a moment please?”

She shot out of her chair and scurried across the lab, working twice as hard to cover the space as Loki did with his absurdly long strides. At the doorway she barely nudged ahead of him with a well-placed elbow, and tried not to look smug as she claimed the only spare chair in Eric’s office.

Childish? Absolutely. Petty? Indeed.

Satisfying?

Oh, yes.

Her triumphant grin faded somewhat as Loki simply perched on the arm of the chair, one ankle crossed over his knee, the lean line of his back turning half of her field of view to dove-gray silk. His impeccable posture managed to make the shabby IKEA abomination look like a throne.

It was the Personal Bubble Game, and she ground her teeth against the urge to shrink away and let him win.

God, she hated him.

Erik’s tired gaze, the worn gray of old denim, bounced between the two of them and he sighed almost inaudibly as he settled behind his desk. “Have you ever considered how much further you could both advance your studies if you simply worked together?”

A sharp-edged smile slashed across Loki’s face. “And where would science be without a good rivalry or two? What was Edison without Tesla? Koch versus Pasteur? Cope and Marsh and the Great Bone Wars?”

“Let's not get ahead of ourselves.” Erik fixed him with a flat, unamused look that said volumes before continuing. “But in that case, you'll be very interested in what I have to say. I have an associate, Dr. Holger Sørensen, at the University of Oslo in Norway. Fascinating man, with some fascinating work on the cutting edge of astronomy and astrophysics...and it just so happens that he's interested in taking on a handful of select students for a research experience this winter at the Cerro Tololo observatory in Chile.”

Jane lurched forward in her chair, mouth hanging agape at Erik’s words. If he was saying what she thought he was saying...this was the sort of opportunity that most people in their field would cheerfully murder for. She was too engrossed to even notice that her shoulder was pressed up against Loki’s side, until he shifted and shot her an inscrutable Look.

Ha! A reaction, even if she hadn’t intended to get one. One point to her.

Steepling his fingers, Erik continued blithely on. “I don’t need to reiterate what sort of opportunity this is, one that both of you more than deserve. Having the chance to study under another preeminent member of our field and draw your own comparisons against the southern hemisphere. However…” he trailed off before drawing a sigh, and Jane felt the air in the room deflate. “As criminal as it is, with university funding being what it is these days, I’m afraid we only have grant money enough to send one of you.”

Long, slim fingers suddenly clasped hers and shook her hand with surprising strength. “My condolences, Ms. Foster. It was lovely knowing you, try not to think of me too much when I’m gone.”

She blinked up at Loki, too startled by the sudden contact even react to his audacious comment. Only when the warmth of his grip began to seep into hers did she snatch her hand back and fix a glare on her face, the furrow of her brows deepening at his low chuckle. “You...arrogant…”

Brilliant. She couldn’t even come up with a good opening salvo for the Insult Game.

“That’s enough, Loki,” Dr. Selvig chided, and Jane’s glower turned on him as she caught the twitch of a smile at the corner of Erik’s lips. “I haven’t made any sort of final decision as to whom the university will send. Provided you’re both interested, that is.”

“I am,” they both chimed in at the same time, exchanging narrowed glances.

“Of course.” Heaving a long-suffering sigh, Erik folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Then I see no way to pick between you other than to base my decision off of the progress of your upcoming thesis projects at the end of this term. And to be impartial, I’ll turn the final say over to a committee of myself, Dr. Yu, and Dr. Hynek. Is that acceptable?”

“Absolutely.” Standing swiftly, Jane would have tried to beat Loki through the door once more if he hadn’t bowed mockingly and let her through first in a parody of chivalry.

“I’ll email you the rest of the details. Dismissed then. Good chat!” Erik’s voice chased after them, ending in a snort of exasperation.

Picking her way back through the bramblepatch of equipment and cables that seemed to perpetually sprout in Erik’s lab, Jane settled herself at the small table she shared with Loki that held her laptop and notebook, her fingers flying across the keys as fast as her thoughts tumbled with renewed fervor. She had this, she knew she did. Her calculations were so close to a breakthrough and there was no way that Loki would be able to come up with anything half as innovative as she, even if they were working on the same concept, studying dark matter and how it could possibly pertain to wormholes. And if she got this position, she could extrapolate so much from her observations of the southern hemisphere...

“Cuanto quieres esto?”

Jane blinked at the foreign phrase, and lifted her head to frown at Loki. “What?”

Loki’s lips curled in a Cheshire grin. “You know this is already decided. Do you even speak Spanish?”

“No. But I can learn.” It was childish, but she couldn’t help ducking her head back behind her monitor to silently parrot his question while safely hidden, her lips twisted in disdain. Of course he knew Spanish. He’d probably learned it from some private tutor at the age of twelve, crammed in between polo lessons and pulling the wings off of butterflies.

A beat of silence, and then he spoke again, sly humor warming his tone. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you that your face will stay like that?”

“Like what? I wasn’t...” She trailed off, wrinkling her nose at being called out. There was no point in lying over something as childish as that, even if she was any good at deceit. She settled for glaring at the sliver of his forehead she could see over her monitor. How in the heck had he even known she was mocking him?

“I know you better than you think, Ms. Foster.” As if he could read her thoughts. He shifted in his seat, leaning back to catch her eye and stretching his long legs across the space beneath their table, crowding hers. It was obvious he had no interest in leaving her alone until he got the rise he wanted.

“Oh?” The thought of being so easy to read needled her. “Regale me with your insight then,” she challenged dryly, arms crossed, resigned to playing along for now. “I could use a good laugh.”

Her only answer for some moments was a brow winging upwards, until he seemed to have reached some silent consensus. “Jane Foster. Born and raised solidly lower middle class, in a small town in rural Iowa by a widowed father of meager means. Your best, and possibly only friend, is Darcy Lewis, an undergrad studying political science that you more than likely associate with simply because she handles social situations far better than you. Your taste in clothes is unimaginative and tends towards the...practical.” He somehow made the word seem like an insult.

“Your taste in music is probably equally pedestrian, if the occasional out of tune humming of Ed Sheeran is any indication. You have only a glancing association with anything resembling a balanced diet, your favorite color is midnight blue, you watch Dancing With the Stars religiously, and you desperately seek the approval of Dr. Selvig and his peers.” He paused again, and his lip curled slightly, as if scenting something unpleasant. “Oh, and your taste in men is...questionable, at best.”

The unspoken ‘Because you dated my brother’  hung in the air between them, garish like a neon sign. Blood rose in Jane’s cheeks, boiling beneath her skin, and the heat of her embarrassment stole her words from her. She wanted to stand up and argue, to tell him he was completely wrong about everything. To fight back against the way he flayed her with his bald statements and left her feeling naked and squirming and so very small...but what had she expected from Loki, really? Humor? The man had all of the warm fuzziness of a coral snake.

In fact, a snake was the perfect representation of Loki. Sleek and alluring in its own strange way, but cold and dangerous. Best kept at arm’s length, if not further.

To think that once, some silly part of her had thought they could perhaps be friends.

“You’re an ass.” She wasn’t proud of the slight warble in her voice. Half of her wanted to tear into him in return, to spell out just what sort of an arrogant jerk she thought he really was, and the other half was determined to be the bigger person at the moment. Eventually, it won out and she closed her mouth on the scathing response that bubbled up within her, settling instead for a scorching glare.

He scoffed slightly. “You insult me for being honest? Would you have preferred that I lie? Because I could have done that, and well enough that you’d have believed me. It’s hardly my fault that you got exactly what you asked for and then resented it.”

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose and blew out a breath, counting slowly to five. “You know it’s not the things you say, right? It’s how you say them. That’s why you can’t seem to go one day without pissing me off somehow.”

“And I’m supposed to apologize for your hurt feelings? I refuse to change myself for anyone. Even you, Ms. Foster.” He eyed her with a cryptic frown. “Especially you, perhaps.”

“Of course not. If you did, we might actually get along, and then the universe would implode,” Jane snapped, and stood abruptly, holding onto the fraying threads of her temper through sheer willpower alone.

Why her? Why did he seem to delight in picking on her in particular? What ancient god had she pissed off in a past life to deserve being saddled with this cardboard cutout masquerading as human?

With a loud clack she slapped her laptop shut and tucked it under one arm along with her journal, bracing a hand on the edge of the table and leaning in until he was forced to meet her eyes. “You’re selfish, Loki. And cold, and cruel.” She broke off to rake him with her most disdainful glare. “No wonder Thor is your parent’s favorite.”

It was a low blow. She knew it and she regretted it immediately, long before his face went white and his lips thinned bloodlessly. But whatever he might say as a rebuttal she knew she wouldn’t weather, and so she sped on before he had the chance. Survival of the fittest. “Listen to me. I will win this internship. I will prove my theory is right someday, publish it, and make a name for myself in this field. And you...” Jane straightened and lifted her chin, squaring her jaw proudly. “You will never be able to forget that once upon a time, you had the chance to be my friend.”

Suddenly Loki was simply there, her nose practically tapping against his chest as he towered over her. She hadn’t even seen him move. And good grief, she’d known he was tall but she hadn’t appreciated just how much higher he stood than her. How much larger, even if his frame was deceptively lean. A far cry from his brother, who’d dwarfed Jane in every way.

His expression was drawn in stark savage lines, and the air around them crackled with something frenzied and furious. When his hand lifted towards her she couldn’t quite keep from flinching away, more than half expecting to see the biting arc of static leap between them. It fell back to his side, and he let out a small sound of disgust.

“Let us get something straight, Jane Foster.” His green eyes, normally so frigid, blazed like witchfire as he bared his teeth at her in a mocking smile. “You and I shall never, ever be...friends.” He flicked the word at her like a drop of acid, and she flinched again from the vehemence in his voice.

With one last dismissive glance, he collected his things and strode out of the room, leaving Jane to sag in his wake. Her heartbeat rushed in her ears and thrummed beneath her skin and she felt stymied. Frustrated, for reasons she couldn’t quite name. She kicked the table leg once in a fit of pique, but only earned herself a stubbed toe for her troubles.

The smarmy bastard. He’d stolen the last word, and her exit. That was like...practically ten points to him.

That had to be it.

~TBC~