#i even had a weird twinge of familiarity at some point

[ennaih]

Every Film I Watch In 2023:

210. The Stalls Of Barchester (1971)

[realcube]

˖°.𓆩♡𓆪 .°˖ TROPE GENERATOR for @sofiepofie20

𓆩♡𓆪 part of my lovers level — 3k follower event

𓆩♡𓆪 chosen character: tsukishima kei

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ YOUR TROPE IS...

MATCHMAKER

after being invited by your close friend yamaguchi to a new cafe that just opened, the last thing you expected was to show up and not see him at all. usually he is quite a punctual guy, so you're a bit concerned, but you shrug it off at first, assuming he is just a bit late and it's no big deal.

you text tadashi and wait outside the cafe for around ten minutes — nothing. the lack of response is what prompts you to go inside and wait in there instead, however, when you enter, you see a certain blond-haired boy already seated at a table for two, all on his own. that's when your heart starts thumping in your chest, and you have a suspicion as to what is going on.

and your theory is only confirmed as, on cue, you receive a text reply from yamaguchi.

it reads, "sorry i lied, i'm not coming to the cafe 😭 maybe you and tsukki can hang out instead 😉"

you huff out of your nose as though you were angry, however you couldn't bring yourself to feel even a twinge of irritation towards tadashi as you are mostly consumed by pure nervousness. yamaguchi had been your friend since the beginning of high school but you were never really that close with tsukishima — just mutual friends — but tadashi knew you've had a bit of a crush on tsukki for a while now, so this stunt of his must be his foul attempt at playing matchmaker.

but you weren't going to entertain his schemes; no, not today! you were far too shy to approach tsukishima — a boy you hardly know — and ask to join him for dessert. absolutely not.

swiftly, you spin around on your heels and are about to dart straight out of the place until you feel a large hand on your shoulder hold you back, and familiar voice state, "sofia."

you jerk around at the touch, startled. even more so when you realise who it is standing in front of you — tsukishima kei. he stares down at you with an intense look in his amber eyes, "did yamaguchi invite you here too?"

"yeah." you stutter out, wide-eyed. the last thing you expected was for a guy known for his rudeness to approach you in such a mellow fashion, unless there was some underlying disrespect that you weren't picking up on, but it didn't seem so.

"he did the same to me. what a weirdo." tsukishima mutters that last part but you still hear. it sends a shudder down your spine to hear him talk about his best friend in that way, but admittedly what yamaguchi did could be considered weird and it clearly pissed kei off at least a little, "but since you're here, might as well join me." he points lazily at the table where his bags were placed, then turns to you for a response.

still looking like a deer in headlights, you glance rapidly between him and his table, then blurt out, "sure."

"cool." he says, and you follow him over to his table, and he pulls out your chair for you but in such a casual manner that you wonder if it's deliberate or if he just did it by habit. though he doesn't seem like the type of guy to pull out chairs for everyone.

you take a seat across from him and he plops himself down with a huff, adjusting his glasses as he picks up the menu, and after staring at him for a couple more seconds, you do the same, skimming over their vast selection of food items.

"what are you going to order?" he asks, having already been sat for a while now — when he thought he was waiting for yamaguchi to show up — and decided what he wants.

meanwhile, you've not been given much time to browse at all, "hm, probably something sweet." you muse, noting that it's much easier to talk to him when there is a big menu blocking your view of his piercing amber eyes.

his heart skips a beat when you say that, and admittedly his cheeks heat up a little. it's embarrassing that you saying you'd like to buy a dessert had such a fierce effect on him, but it did. perhaps it was mixture of other suppressed feelings too, but hearing that you had a sweet tooth like he does completely enchanted him.

"so will i." he nods in affirmation, hiding his slight blush behind his menu.

"maybe i'll get some macarons. but they are super expensive; i'm sure you could make them for a lot cheaper."

"you can. i could probably make double the amount for the same price." he comments, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he pretends to be reading the menu.

you lower the paper to display to him your shocked expression, "you know how to bake macarons, tsukki?" immediately after the nickname leaves your mouth, your cheeks heat up from embarrassment and your whole body tenses. you didn't mean to call him that; it's just that you were so used to hanging out with yamaguchi — who refers to him exclusively as 'tsukki' — it kinda slipped out.

but to your surprise, tsukishima doesn't seem to mind you calling him that at all. in fact, he subtly smirks a little as he declares, "yes, i do."

in your mind, you exhale in a deep sigh of relief upon tsukishima not making a big deal out of your little slip-up. "nice, i bake too. macarons are super hard to make, though."

"i could show you how."

you perk up at his offer, "how to make macarons?"

"what else?" he scoffs, though you can tell by his warm smile that he doesn't mean to be bitter.

"that would be fun." you can't help the grin that envelops your face, and neither can tsukishima, but he does a good job of playing off and he continues to look at the menu.

"it's a date."

for @sofiepofie20: had to use the cafe date , it's always so cute !! also yams is a bit of a trickster but also match maker supreme. mwahaha!

[anincompletelist]

2023 writing roundup :D

hi all! thank you to @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @rockyroadkylers @songliili @littlemisskittentoes for the tags on this! I loved getting to go back through all of the works you guys have shared with us this year (and hearing about some of your upcoming projects as well!)

I realized that I did do a year in review post, but that was mostly stats, so I figured I'd participate in this one as well since it'd be nice to have all of my fics linked in one place for organizational purposes!

thank you guys for everything this year, I can't wait for all that's coming in the next one! <3

sarah / anincompletelist xx

Sure As The Stars in the Sky | E | 20k

It shouldn't matter that Alex has been present for each and every one of Henry's most important life milestones, sometimes the singular catalyst for them. It shouldn't be important that he's grown to be more familiar to Henry than even some of his own family members, that part of him is burrowed so deeply into Henry's subconscious that he can taste it sometimes, that even when Alex crashes in, spirited and passionate, it feels like an easy exhale; like coming home. It shouldn't matter, but it does.

praying our bridges don't make waves | E | 82k

When June gets sick, Alex knows he'll do whatever it takes to make sure she gets the care that she needs. Even if that means convincing his nemesis/sexuality-crisis-inducing/clandestine hook-up partner/somewhat of an actual friend to pretend to be his soulmate in order to pull it off. It's both more and less complicated than it sounds.

kiss me like you've got nowhere to be | M | 3k

In the three years they’ve lived together, he thinks it’s safe to say that he and Alex have gotten… close. The kind of close that other people like to point out sometimes when they’re in public, and not just their overinvolved older sisters and overly suggestive friends. A few of Alex’s colleagues have made comments when Henry shows up at the holiday parties or after a stressful work day to make sure Alex is eating and staying hydrated, just the same as Henry’s clients each know little bits of odd Alex-facts that he lets slip sometimes in his sessions. Regardless, it’s all terribly domestic, and the twinge of satisfaction Henry gets when Alex’s dates don’t go well is most definitely not appropriate, even if they are kind of in a weird, probably mostly platonic, very codependent relationship. If he’s not careful, Henry’s going to get himself so, so hurt one of these days.

I feel the beating of your heart, I see the shadows on your face | M | 18k

It’s certainly not what Alex would have predicted a few days prior. If someone had told him he’d be tenderly embracing his self-imposed enemy after switching bodies with him for seventy-two hours and embarking on an unintentional journey of self discovery and then finally finding their way back to each other to ask for a True Love’s Kiss that may or may not break the curse that flipped their lives upside down - Well, Alex would have told them to fuck off.

but I can count on you to tell me the truth when (I've) been drinking and you're wearing a mask | M | 8k

The room goes quiet again, Alex too focused on the sound of his own breathing. He’s already started, he figures, and the person still hasn’t left. But this next bit is a little more personal, and Alex isn’t positive what the parameters are for one-sidedly conversing with a masked stranger about your best kept secrets at a halloween party when you’re so drunk that the floor is beginning to look like it may open up and swallow you whole. Isn’t sure if that might be better anyway.

who ya gonna call? | M | 7k

Henry is a ghostwriter. Alex is a little confused on what exactly that means.

I'll bet it all on me and you, I'll bet it all you're bulletproof | M | 11k

“Let’s do this,” he says. “Let’s,” Alex agrees, pushing down on the handle until the door swings open. “After you, boyfriend.” This is most definitely not his finest idea. Henry usually practices much better self preservation skills. Much better common senseskills. He steps over the threshold of Alex’s room and it feels like sealing his fate. They’re doing this for Alex to win over their bosses in a lighthearted game with a harmless lie, but Henry can’t fight off the bitter knowledge that, regardless of how tonight goes, Alex will be fine, but Henry has so much to lose.

(+ listen to the podfic here!)

but if you could see us from a distance you'd know I've always been so close to you | E | 10k

Objectively, standing half-soaked from rainwater with a stitch in his side and an uncomfortable, raging hard-on outside his worst enemy’s door is not Henry’s finest moment. It’s not even on the list. [or, henry is afflicted with a curse-gone-wrong that stipulates that only his sworn enemy, alex claremont-diaz, can touch him.]

you make it look so easy, I know it's not | T+ | 8k

Bea’s to his left, speaking frantically on the phone with who Henry hopes is the fire brigade or someone else trained to deal with these— situations. In front of him, Pez is fumbling frustratedly with the water hose, showcasing his colorful vocabulary with a flourish of jerky hand movements and chaotic pacing. On either side of the fence, his neighbors are peaking over the sides to ask if everything’s okay, and Henry feels the resolution to make a good first impression crumbling and slipping rapidly out of his grasp. Even David watches on from inside the house, his sage eyes and patriotic bowtie appraising the scene and looking back to Henry as if to say I told you so. And the fryer — the fryer itself is up in flames, thick gray smoke swirling up into the air and soaring high above the tree line now. In the distance, the echo of sirens. Henry may faint right here, in the middle of his backyard at his new home before he's even unpacked, with all the neighbors and his family and friends watching on, on his first official American Thanksgiving. It is, by all means, not what he’d envisioned for the day.

somehow I'd get by (part one) | E | 13k

Henry should have known, probably, that accepting a job offer from Pez would have its nuances. It’s his own fault that he hadn’t asked more questions, that he hadn’t regarded it as a red flag when he’d had to sign several very thick NDA’s at the onboarding, when Pez had smiled so big and so secretively when they went out to celebrate afterward that Henry had to physically look away from it. Though he’s new to the city, he’d thought that working as an accountant wouldn’t offer all that many opportunities for any sort of overly odd, eclectic jobs. So he’d shown up on his first day at the provided address, a big, nondescript brick building in front of him with a duffel bag full of his sign-on papers, his computer, and a framed photo of his dog, David, ready to take up its rightful place on yet another boring, blank desk. He’d made it all of two steps inside the door before realizing that he’d just accepted a contract working for some kind of sex club. He’d stood his ground despite the burning flush that bloomed on his cheeks and then, miraculously, he’d stayed.

take my hand if you can take me as I am | E | 14k

It would hurt less, Alex guesses, if he wasn’t head over heels for the guy he’s supposed to be fucking through an ancient one-sided sex curse with that was partially — a lot, actually — his own fault. But. It’s not like there’s a fucking handbook. Alex has looked. 

if you take a life, do you know what you'll give? | M | 9k

It would have been one thing had Alexander’s job description been simply to stay in his hotel room and operate the funds covertly, an exceedingly safe distance away from Henry and any of Le Chiffre’s men. As it is, they’d instructed Alex to play the part of Henry’s date for the night, subsequently granting him the access he’d need to the private cardroom within the casino in order to report back to headquarters the funds needed in the precise moment Henry would need them. It's too dangerous, and he knows it. Henry's had a lot of blood on his hands in this life, but he refuses to have Alex's as well.

miles to go, but we're almost home | M | 5k

Texas is a bit of a last minute decision. As in, at the actual last minute, Henry had begged them at the station for whatever ticket they had left to get out of the city, shoved his credit card at them expeditiously, and promptly boarded the vessel just as the doors slid closed behind him. Turns out it’s the best decision he’s ever made.

something borrowed, something blue | (to begin posting jan 1!)

dom!alex part two

dom!henry

+

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TO WITNESS ME SCREAM INTO THE VOID! this space has meant so much to me since I first read the book when it came out, but even more so once I started writing again these last few months. 2022/2023 was a very long, very lonely time in my life and I just didn't have words for a while. when the movie came out, I remembered how much I loved the book and finally opened a blank page again! I needed an outlet, and I found so much more than that <3

PLEASE consider this an open tag to brag on yourselves, but also (no pressure) --

@firenati0n @affectionatelyrs @kiwiana-writes @daisymae-12 @read-and-write- @inexplicablymine @happiness-of-the-pursuit @heybuddy-drabbles @wordsofhoneydew @nocoastposts @firstsprinces @sparklepocalypse @ninzied @getmehighonmagic @iboatedhere @magicandarchery @matherines @zwiazdziarka @raysletters @cricketnationrise @xthelastknownsurvivorx @gayrootvegetable @lizzie-bennetdarcy @eusuntgratie @whimsymanaged @priincebutt @duchessdepolignaca03 @leojfitz @user-anakin @anchoredarchangel @tinyarmedtrex @rmd-writes

cheers to a wonderful year, friends! I am so grateful for all of you and for this space that we've created to share and connect with each other and the art that inspires us. here's hoping 2024 has a lot more of that! <333

xx

[mara-brekker]

Request you want a request? I am happy to ask!

Can you please write a Kax x reader from shadow and bones? Could it be a "she fell first but he fell harder"? But add a little bit of angst in the please, maybe having him yell at her for always being there and she listens to him and gives him space and stuff. Idk just a thought

Ur Wish is my demand

My Investment

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x reader

Words: 1127

Warnings: angst, Kaz yelling? xD mention of blood

.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・

I've known Kaz Brekker for a few years now. I saw him for the first time on the streets of Ketterdam. Three men touched me and asked me if I was alone.

One of my many problems was not being familiar with the streets of Ketterdam. My father never allowed me to leave our big house. He always said that weird people would catch, torture and kill us. He listed countless names of these people I didn't know, but only one of them stuck in my mind: Dirtyhands.

But when said and his brown-haired companion helped me out of the mess and, as I learned, Nina offered me a place to sleep, it was soon to become clear to me

...

Kaz Brekker.

For some the devil himself.

However, no one saw the sparkle in his eyes, or his beauty in general. His smile made me blush every time, but I never really noticed that he was only smiling at me.

I knocked on his office and after a "mhh" I entered. "You came"

"You called." His eyes sparkled.

I slowly approached his desk, which had a pile of plans on it. Kaz got up and walked over to me. "I wanted to ask you if you could get me something." I nodded. I didn't care if it was relevant to all of us or just him, I would do it. "I need a box." He pointed to a sketch and I just nodded again. "The content is..." he looked at me "very important to me. But I can't get them. The crate will be found in a carriage. Jesper and I are out tonight and I guess I won't be able to get her before the carriage leaves.” He pointed to a map of Ketterdam as he talked. "I'll do it," he smiled, but only briefly. I was about to leave when Kaz said my name and I turned to him. "If the city guard or anyone else gives you trouble and you can't make it out with that box, leave it." I just looked at him in horror. "Kaz, it would only be a job half done if I returned without the target." But he just shook his head. "I really shouldn't have sent you. Just drop them if you're in danger.” Nodding, I left his office to go change.

…

I didn't care what Kaz said.

I will take this box with me even if one of my legs is in danger. I was standing in a dark side street where I should see the carriage that should come right now. The first thirty minutes passed when the people in the carriage didn't want to get off. But when they did, guards stood at every door. I saw a friend of my sister's walk past me and quickly asked her if she could help me distract the men. Of course I had to put down a few coins for it, but the female charms were reliable because both guards were now talking to her at the horses. So I crept quietly to a door and opened it quietly. I saw a box similar to Kaz's sketch on a bench and picked it up. Just as I stepped out of the carriage, a city guard ran up to me.

I ran and suddenly one guard became three and they even followed me onto the roofs. Unfortunately, the box was unwieldy to carry and one certainly couldn't climb it. I only felt a slight twinge in my left hip, and when I touched it, my hand covered a warm, red substance.

i was bleeding

I tried to run, climb, and jump, but the box made my pain worse and I dropped it. Like Kaz said.

It was easier to lose them now, and so did I. I arrived at the hiding place with a limp.

"Kaz she will surely come soon." I only heard Jesper's voice.

When Kaz saw me, there was relief in his eyes. However, this quickly faded and turned into anger. "My room. Now."

When I got to the top, I had no more strength. I had to take care of my wound as quickly as possible.

"I see you didn't manage to get her." I just covered my wound and tried to breathe calmly. Kaz must have seen from my look that I wasn't feeling well since he was walking towards me now.

"Take off the vest." I did as he said and he examined the wound. He hastily went to one of his closets and pulled out a needle, thread, and bandage. When he stood in front of me again and stared at the wound, his hands were shaking. He wanted to help, but for some unknown reason he couldn't.

"I can't," he said, looking at me. "That's ok" I answered and took the utensils from him to make myself comfortable on a chair. I picked up my shirt and started sewing. "You had them didn't you?" he asked and I nodded. "Why didn't you drop her sooner. I told you the same thing!” he now started to get louder. "Why do you think I said that? Just so that doesn't happen here. You are my investment and cannot be hurt and prevented. And then for nothing.” It wasn't anger that could be heard but something like fear. He was afraid for me.

"Why do you think I gave you this job? Because I trust you! I can't lose you too.” I could see tears in his eyes now.

“In these boxes were only pictures. Worthless pictures of me and my brother!” he said in panic. "You didn't look worthless to me."

"What do you mean?" he asked and I reached into my waistcoat pocket and pulled out said photos.

"My photos" there was the smile from him.

"As grateful as I am to you." He looked at me intently. "Don't ever do that again. You have no idea what I would do to myself if you died out there.” he said while tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"My brother was older than me..." he began to talk. That evening I learned his great fear of further loss or why he avoided touch. But what I loved hearing from him the most was why he had called me his investment.

.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・

I Hope that I don’t have any mistakes in it :)

[where-dreamers-go]

"Future Treasure Seekers" Riley Poole x Reader

(A/N: And we’re back with the third/last prequel to the Riley Poole series. This one happens after “Lunch Rescue” and before Part One “Charlotte”. Here we have what happens when Ben talks with Reader about their feelings for Riley and Ben’s theory about the treasure’s first clue.

I tagged the same people from the series, I hope that’s okay. Some have changed though..

Also: HAPPY 2,000 FOLLOWERS!!! <3

Warnings: Tiny bit of angst in beginning. Fluff. Mutual pining. Use of (Y/N) for your name. Two different point of views.

Word Count: 3,491 words)

~~~

Adult life could be anything if given the specific circumstances. The good, the bad, and the neutral.

Living next door to your best friend tended to be an enlightening addition to living in an apartment complex. It not only saved you two on phone bills, but also a quick travel distance when wanting to catch up with the other’s life.

“Better than the frozen meal you had yesterday?” You quipped from the other end of the small table.

“Yeah.” Ben admitted, “The edges were burnt.”

“I hate when that happens. Or when I randomly find a piece of corn in something.”

“That brownie?”

“It was weird. Never having that again. I’ll make my own.”

Chuckling, Ben took a sip of his drink. “At least you know what you like now.”

“True.”

“And you’ve learned a lot. Learned about yourself.”

You nodded before frowning slightly.

Where’s he going with this? You wondered suspiciously, hesitant to take another bite of dinner.

“There’s still a lot out there you haven’t experienced.”

“Why do I feel like you’re going to give me a big brother talk of life advice?” You asked, fully suspicious of your friend.

“Because I am.” Ben stated firmly. “You clearly like Riley.”

“Ben.” You set down the utensil.

“I like to see my friends happy.” He continued.

“Me too, but—”

“What are you afraid of?”

You sighed, slouching back into the chair. Time to be honest. “I don’t want to ruin anything. As it is, I’m having to learn that getting older means drifting away from friends I’ve made in school. I don’t want to push him away or make things awkward times a million. I can’t—,” you swallowed. “I don’t want to risk losing Riley because of . . . me.”

Quiet filled the space at the small dining table. You could see the twinge of sadness in Ben’s eyes.

“You’re a good friend, (Y/N). Maybe too good?” Ben inquired.

Staring down at your unfinished dinner, you grumbled somberly.

Maybe if I was brave enough, I’d do something.

. . .

Attempting to put on a light jacket while simultaneously slipping on your shoes tended to take longer in the mornings. As early as it was, you still tried. One elbow bracing by the front door, one shoe refusing to cooperate, and growing determination was how your morning began.

It only became odd with an urgent series of familiar knocks from the other side of the front door.

What the—?

Peering through the peephole, your confusion remained steady at the sight of Ben Gates.

It’s not even eight o’ clock yet, you thought as you unlocked and opened the door.

“Ben?”

“(Y/N),” he greeted brightly. “I think I figured it out.”

You opened your mouth to response, but he was just getting started.

“The Charlotte. It’s not a place and it’s certainly not just a thing. The Charlotte is a ship. A ship that was sailing through the Atlantic years ago.”

“It’s a ship?”

“Yeah. I’ve been researching to know where it was built, what it was supposedly carrying, and it’s destination.”

You shoved your foot into your shoe. “So, where’d it port?”

Ben stuck up his finger and announced, “That’s just it. The Charlotte never did.”

“Well, dang. Okay, um…”

“We just need to figure out where she landed.”

“Ben,” you said firmly. “I have to go in to work today.”

His eyes widened in realization. “Right. Of course.” Ben nodded, thoughts no doubt rushing through his mind. “I’ll call Riley. He’ll work it out on the computer and we’ll let you know everything when you’re off work.”

“Sounds like a plan.” You smiled. “Hopefully my workday goes by fast.”

Ben returned your smile and said with every ounce of determination and hope, “We’re going to find the Charlotte.”

. . .

The afternoon had been full of excited chatter and theories flying around.

Too bad I couldn’t have been here sooner, Riley thought.

Sitting at the small dining table in Ben’s apartment, Riley Poole waited for the results on his laptop. Tracking models took time, but Riley’s was up-to-date. He pushed up his glasses on his nose and waited patiently.

Much more patiently than his friend, Ben, who stood looking over his shoulder in anticipation. His gaze glued onto the tracking model as it moved North into the Arctic Circle.

Looming with crossed arms and no commentary, stood Ian by the kitchen counter.

I’m not sure if it’s comforting or alarming that he’s quiet. Maybe both, if possible.

Half a minute more and the tracking model stopped and delivered its results.

Breaths were held.

Riley blinked.

“There she is,” Ben announced in awe.

“And no one even knows its there?” Riley inquired, squinting at the screen.

“Let’s hope not.” Ian said.

“We have to go.” Ben urged. “All of us.”

“Certainly.”

“Okay, but how are we going to afford proper equipment? For the arctic?” Riley asked.

“I’ll take care of the costs,” Ian announced confidently and shared a smile with Ben. Although each smile was vastly different, one seemingly smug and the other grateful.

“Thank you.” Ben said genuinely.

How much money does he have? The ticket prices alone could be questionable. Then again, I don’t know how much equipment we’ll need. Or if we can get it there. Riley sat back in the chair.

“Okay.” Ben exhaled. Taking quick steps over to a less cluttered part of the table, Ben picked up his cell phone and started dialing.

“Who are you calling?” Ian raised an eyebrow as he took a closer look at Riley’s computer.

“(Y/N).” Ben revealed simply.

“Ben, (Y/N)’s at work.” Riley reminded his excited friend. “The exhibition is still new.”

“I know,” he waved off his friend gently. “It’s close enough.”

(Y/N)’s going to flip when they find out we tracked down a ship, Riley thought with a growing smile. Or run around.

Phone at his ear, Ben waited for a response while moving about the space.

Glancing at his laptop again, Riley checked the time.

They don’t work late today, do they?

“(Y/N).” Ben’s voice filled the apartment with his enthusiasm. Yet that did not stop the man’s feet as he crossed from one side the room to the next. “It’s about Charlotte.”

Riley smirked, fully knowing that there was no way you wouldn’t know what the phone call was all about.

“Okay. I won’t.”

Riley spoke loudly towards Ben, “How fast can you come home? Ben is pacing.”

Ben stopped abruptly and gave Riley a complex expression that made him suddenly self-conscious of his question.

Was that weird to ask? Riley wondered as he awaited your reply.

“They’ll be back soon,” Ben confirmed with a grin that soon dropped, “and . . . I wasn’t pacing the whole floor. No.”

Riley chuckled just as Ian covered his mouth to suppress a laugh.

Treasure, he thought. It could be anything.

Riley looked over to his laptop screen feeling more free and like himself than he ever had. For, he had helped and contributed.

Ben’s theory has to be right.

. . .

Everything’s going to be all right. You got this.

Being rushed usually involved tardiness and unwanted appointments. Strict deadlines as well.

Shouldering open your apartment door, you had a building excitement. One you knew would likely be tiny in comparison to your best friend’s next door.

After practically throwing your things onto the coffee table, you pocketed your keys and cell phone before heading right back out into the hall.

Stepping up to Ben’s door with a raised hand, it opened before you could knock.

“We know where the Charlotte could be,” Ben announced holding the door wide open.

You hadn’t seen him that happy before, practically about to giggle in glee. If Ben was one to giggle that was.

“Hi to you too.” You chuckled as you walked inside.

Ben’s apartment had a buzz of activity even with only two other people present. Ian stood off to the side, seemingly waiting, and Riley sat on the couch with a bright smile.

“Hi, Ian,” you greeted. “Has Ben filled your ears with enough history today?”

“Almost,” the man smirked. His expression could be read as both amused and confident with everything that had transpired that day.

“We’re one step closer.” Ben said after he closed the door and walked towards Ian. “I just know it.”

“Who would be silly enough to doubt you.” You added. “Certainly not me.” You made your way towards the small dining table where Riley sat with his laptop.

“Not me,” Riley raised his hand.

“And I’m guessing you helped?”

“With the computer. Yeah.”

“Yeah. Big deal,” you said and went in for a hug that Riley almost stood up for. “That’s awesome.”

“Not as big as when we actually find treasure.” Riley stated with a smile as you pulled out of the hug and sat in a chair beside him. “It could be worth millions.”

“If it’s a ship, it could have historical artifacts. Not just including the ship itself.” You said with a grin. “And you managed to find it on the computer?”

“I have a tracking model,” Riley gestured to his laptop.

“Oh dang.”

“We’ll be going to the Arctic Circle.” Ben revealed to you. “An area without much activity.”

“Or any at all,” Riley murmured.

“With who knows how many layers of snow and ice,” you added.

“Which is why we need a team.” Ian announced.

Right, you thought and mentally figured the four of you were not enough.

“I have people in mind.”

That’s convenient, you thought as you looked between the confident Ian and the ever-grinning Ben. And makes this a lot easier. Hopefully.

“But…uh. This is happening soon?” You asked, unsure of the chances of your participation. “Or do we not know yet?”

Ben turned to you with a firm point of a finger. “You’re coming too.”

“I have work. The exhibit has barely been up for over a week. Wouldn’t it be weird if I just took off?”

“You’re great at what you do. They have to let you have time off. The exhibit is perfect. They can handle a few days without you. Hopefully.” Riley added, “They can email someone else.”

Overwhelmed with his compliments, you bumped his knee with yours.

“Thank you.”

Turning at the sound of Ben’s chuckle, you caught Ian rolling his eyes. It only made you overtly aware of your knee still touching Riley’s.

You tore your gaze away from everyone and grumbled in thought, If I’m going to do this… I’m going to have to juggle some things around or something. Without letting people know specifics.

“But, you can make it work?” Ben asked, fully attentive.

Feeling yourself internally caving to the idea of discovering history, you said, “If anything, I haven’t called out sick in months. I could use sick days. I’ll talk with them tomorrow or…when we know for sure when we’re going.”

“Excellent,” Ian said with a determined nod. “I’ll make some calls.”

. . . 

Things were moving fast. Tickets were bought and plans were made. Phone calls were more common and expected between friends.

Check list in hand, you sat on your bed thoughtfully. Curtains closed to conceal the city lights of the city. Luggage sitting on the floor as other items were strategically scattered in your room.

Less than a week stood between you and the possibility of discovering treasure. That left you with much to settle and organize.

Thank goodness you weren’t doing it alone.

“You have a good hat, right? To keep you warm?” You asked into the phone.

“Yeah. Found it in the pocket of my coat.” Riley replied.

“Good place to find it.”

“Speaking of finding things. You have extra batteries, right? Extra film?”

“I have some somewhere,” you muttered, hopping off the bed to venture out of your bedroom and into a makeshift office. Shuffling through a set of drawers took a few moments. “Yup. There’s the right kind too.”

“Nice. Are those from your storm prep stash?”

“Yeah. I’ll get more when we come back.”

“From the Arctic Circle.”

You walked back into your bedroom and placed the pack of batteries by your camera bag.

“So much for traveling extra light. Snow…lots of layers and just-in-case items.”

“Like a bag for all of my chargers.”

“Extra long socks and snacks.”

“Mittens and gloves.”

“And we’ll be wearing most of it. I don’t know what we’ll be carrying.”

“Whatever Ian supplies, I guess,” Riley muttered. “He acted as if getting everything was easy.”

“For him it might.”

“How much money does he have?”

“Don’t know. Don’t think we’ll ever find out.” You stated while marking over a checkmark on your list again. “Equipment alone is a lot.”

“In the thousands, probably. Ben said something about us not having to worry about walking. What’s with that? Did Ian hire dog sled teams too?”

“I have no idea, but Ben’s happy.”

“I’m happy.”

“I know.” You smiled and set your list aside. “And it’s really cool that you found it with the tracking model.”

“Well, uh, if it’s right then we’ll all be shoving snow to get to whatever’s in the ship.”

“It’ll be a lot of work.”

“Hopefully not too much.” Riley added, “We’re looking for treasure not doing hard labor. Then we can spend it however we want.”

However we want, you mused over his words. You had no idea what you would buy first if rewarded with money for your treasure seeking efforts.

“Speaking of spending. Do you think Ian will treat everyone to food?” You asked, glancing at your secret savings in an old notebook.

“Uh. Let’s not push our luck. No matter how nice that’d be.”

“I’ll bring snacks then.”

. . .

Late afternoon light filled corners of your apartment. Time was ticking down to when you would all leave to search for the Charlotte. An air of change circled through the air.

Even your day at work had felt different. The feeling continued inside your apartment where Riley had left his bags in your spare room.

Definitely different, you thought as you made sure you had your basic essentials. Keys, check. Phone and IDs, got them.

“Why do you have to go back?” Riley asked, standing behind your couch.

You tilted your head.

“I mean—you just got off work.” He clarified quickly.

“I just need to give them a few things from my office. I would have done that earlier, but I didn’t know they needed that too. Museum stuff…no big deal, but I’ll be back in no time.” You twisted your keyring between your fingers. “Make yourself at home. The money for the pizza is on the counter if they beat me here.”

Riley nodded. Blue eyes following your movements to the front door.

And it’ll give me time to wrap my mind around Riley staying in my apartment tonight.

. . . 

Looking over his electronics, all were either plugged in to charge or packed away. Riley was thankful that the outlet by the spare bed was visible and connected to a surge protector.

They really know how to use their space, Riley thought as he looked about the spare room. An office, bedroom, and probably storage area. He eyed the closet beside a desk. Not wanting to intrude in your space, Riley kept his distance. Yet he could clearly see the setup around the desk with a calendar stuck to the wall with important dates marked in various colors. This is definitely theirs.

Out of the many times Riley had visited your apartment, he had never been inside alone. Being surrounded by everything that had your specific touch to it was intriguing. Then again, Riley had never been hours away from starting a search for treasure and he certainly had never been in the spare room knowing full well that was where he would sleep for the night.

Sleeping over. Riley thought as he wiped his palms over his jeans and exhaled slowly. It’s just Ben’s place has no room. And he’ll probably be on the phone with Ian every other hour. It’s fine. It’s just us then we leave in the morning. Riley swallowed. And I’ve never had breakfast here either. It’s fine.

Quiet hadn’t fully settled in your apartment. The television was set to an animal documentary. Riley hadn’t thought of changing it even as he sat down to watch.

He had to keep his mind busy, for the moment, away from the treasure and you. Waiting was all he really could do and not just because you called an order for pizza.

Blinking, Riley refocused on the show.

“ . . . now grown, he will do his best to attract a mate.”

Riley threw his head back into the couch cushion and uttered, “You and me both, buddy.”

Ben better not give me that talk again after this, he thought as he bounced his leg anxiously. Who am I kidding? He probably has one prepared.

A knock on the door startled Riley off of the couch.

The pizza had arrived.

. . .

A jingle of keys and a shove, you walked back into your apartment. The smell of pizza clinging to the air.

“Hey,” Riley stood from the couch, “did you get everything done?”

“Uh. Yeah. Everything’s good.” You answered and closed the door. Words left you oddly from feeling a little warm at the sight of Riley in your home and comfortable. You could get used to that image. “So…where are you hiding the pizza? I can smell it.”

“Oven. Keeping all the heat from escaping.” He headed straight for the small kitchen area.

“Thank you.” Setting your keys and such down on the kitchen counter, you watched Riley retrieve the pizza box.

“You’re thanking me?” Riley lifted the cardboard lid. “I’d be bunking with a sleep-deprived Ben if it weren’t for you.”

“Who says I’m not sleep-deprived?”

“I can tell.”

Smiling to yourself, you grabbed two plates from an overhead cabinet.

“For one,” Riley continued, “you’re talking coherently.”

“We’re about to eat pizza. So I don’t know how long that’ll last.”

With a quick smile, Riley distributed a couple of slices for the both of you and headed to the small dining table nearby. “But seriously, thank you.”

“It’s not a problem. You’re always welcome here.” You said and quickly added, “Treasure or no treasure.”

“Hopefully we find something.” Riley said after a bite of pizza.

You nodded, thoughtful.

“Even a small fortune.”

Laughing in agreement, you stated, “It’d be a great addition to my vacation.”

Blue eyes peered up. “You used your vacation days?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great! The exhibition will be up for a few months anyway.” Riley exclaimed. “Maybe we’ll find something you could add to a new exhibition.”

“That would be really cool and a bonus considering I don’t exactly have a substitute for my position, but it’ll be fine.”

Both agreeing, you returned to eating. Thankfully the pizza hadn’t gone to room temperature while you were on route back.

The general silence was comforting. Perhaps it was the busy day or the adventure planned ahead of you, but you liked sitting down with Riley without needing to fill in the space with words.

Don’t go off on imagination overdrive while he’s here. Just eat your pizza. You thought to yourself, glad Ben wasn’t there to add commentary for just once. At least Riley’s comfortable here. I just gotta go over my list again after cleaning up. Set out a pair of socks for the flight.

“Hey.” Riley’s voice interrupted your thoughts.

You glanced up.

“You have everything packed except your phone. You haven’t forgotten anything.”

You sat up straighter. “Did I say something out loud?”

“No.” A smile curved his lips. “You had that overthinking look.”

. . .

Nighttime was a particular thing. It gave freedom to how one used their time away from work and offered a more suitable atmosphere for sleep.

Walking out of the bathroom and ready for sleep, you found Riley asleep on the couch. The television was still on and hushed forest sounds emitted from it.

I guess he didn’t head to bed after all. You mused, or I took that long in the bathroom.

Quietly, you knelt down by the couch. “Riley?” You touched his shoulder gently.

“Hmm?” Drowsy eyes glanced your way.

“Time for bed.”

Nodding and closing his eyes again, Riley pushed himself up. Then, with shuffling feet, he headed away from you and the couch.

You watched on.

“Left, Riley,” you instructed as he had been walking towards your room. You covered your own chuckle while Riley redirected himself to the spare room. “Sweet dreams.”

And don’t think too much about where he was heading, you thought to yourself and knowing full well that would be an extremely difficult task to follow through. Riley being adorable and finding treasure among friends, this could be fun. I might be too excited to sleep. Anything can happen.

~~~

(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful.

Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

DreamerDragon Tags: @cubedtriangle

Riley Poole Tags: @darkenwolfy @wesleeporstudy @yearning-warmth @thecaptaingingersnap @nervousfandom

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[undercityrezident]

My Thoughts on Tears of the Kingdom

Disclaimer: Please note there are many, many, many spoilers about the world, gameplay, and story of Tears of the Kingdom here. Don’t read any further if you want to avoid them.

Let me get this out of the way right off the bat. I went into this game with a lot of mixed feelings. I’ve been hyped up about this game for years now. From the moment it was labelled the “Sequel to Breath of the Wild” in a Nintendo Direct, I was intrigued. The last time we’d seen something like this was with A Link Between Worlds, which is largely a sequel or spiritual successor to A Link to the Past. Both A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds are games I hold dear to me. The former was the first Zelda game I first played and was a formative game that would go on to define my expectations for video games at large for the rest of my life. Suffice it to say, when A Link Between Worlds knocked my expectations out of the park, I was more than pleased and relieved.

It's this precedent that drew a lot of expectations from me when it came time to play Breath of the Wild’s eventually titled sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.

But where my mixed feelings come in is with how Nintendo has been acting as a company over the past few years (and perhaps longer if I deigned to look further back). As much hype as I had for Tears of the Kingdom, I found these feelings drained by my reservations about supporting a company that seems antagonistic towards its most passionate fans.

But I resolved to look at the game a different way, perhaps somewhat selfishly, to rationalize wanting to play it. I decided I wanted to support the hard-working and passionate developers who likely have no say in the company’s decisions versus the management who are responsible for all the legal decision-making that’s been making me eye Nintendo more stringently.

So, with those thoughts and some health problems hampering me as the game’s launch finally came upon us, I picked up the game and tried to go into it with even expectations. When it comes to pieces of media, I try to evaluate them independently of their publishers or even authors/contributors/developers, judging the piece on its own merits. Sometimes, that’s impossible, but I hope I’ve done that here. In any case, take this as a declaration of my biases toward the game before we dive into my thoughts on it.

So, without further ado, let’s talk about the actual game and my experience with it.

--

Approaching Tears

In playing this, I took in the expanded world Tears of the Kingdom offered. I closed myself off from anything Zelda-related on the internet to avoid spoilers for over three weeks because I truly wanted to experience this game at my own pace and not have to rush through it. Through this, I managed to complete all the main quests, all but two side adventures (one I hadn’t discovered, and the other being the compendium), all the shrines and shrine quests, and only missed 30 or so of the 139 side quests. I collected all but 12 Bubbulfrogs, collected just over 300 Korok Seeds, and fully mapped out all three layers of the world map. All this, from the moment I first turned on the game until I stood triumphant at the end, took me a little over 150 hours. Perhaps a little obscene of an investment within three or so weeks, but I wanted to push through in my weird, exploratory form of gaming while still managing to get through the game unspoiled.

From the perspective of someone who did all this, let me break down each aspect of the game and how I felt about it.

--

A World of Tears

A big point of debate online was the idea of this game being a glorified expansion or DLC for Breath of the Wild. Yes, it is set in the same world, but that world has changed in ways both subtle and substantial, making for a fresh experience on a map that’ll still bring a twinge of nostalgia to Breath of the Wild veterans. Many surprises await players new and old to this franchise, including caves that take you beneath familiar landscapes and connect places in ways that make you say, “Oh wow. That makes a lot of sense, actually.” For example, I’d always headcanoned that an underground river connected the Lanaryu Wetlands to a river south of Kakariko Village. And guess what: there is one now!

The general landscape of Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule will appear very familiar at a distance, barring a few major landmark changes. Of course, Hyrule Castle is one of the easiest to spot, as is Death Mountain. But the changes stack up as you travel around Hyrule and see it up close. Some of the physical landscape has changed due to the event in the game known as the “Upheaval,” something we’ll come back to later when I discuss the game’s story. But there are also changes thanks to continuing development of Hyrule’s populace, both its citizens and the monsters threatening it.

On the side of Hyrule’s citizenry, one of the biggest landmarks is the newly established outpost of Lookout Landing just south of Hyrule Castle. It’s nice to see that there’s been some attempt at re-establishing a foothold in central Hyrule. That said, this seems to be only a first step, as there hasn’t been much else done around the rest of Hyrule in terms of trying to resettle formerly held territories. It’s hard for me to critique this because the timeline for the gap between this game and the last is vague at best. It could’ve been a single year, or it could’ve been a few. What’s more, there’s another theoretical time gap between the game’s prologue and when you actually get into the meat of the game. And I’m not talking about the meat you shoot when fusing your arrows to items in your inventory.

I was hoping for a little more development of Hyrule from the kingdom’s population. Breath of the Wild was great for fostering a post-apocalyptic world for you to wander through and discover. In Tears of the Kingdom, I was hoping for more evidence that people were trying to reclaim these wilds. We certainly see the first steps of it, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations on that front.

With the Upheaval came the return of monsters in Hyrule who established new outposts throughout the land. To my recollection, they haven’t reoccupied any old ones, though you can certainly find remains of them here and there. Some have vanished entirely though, strangely enough. An example is the Bottomless Swamp in eastern Hyrule Field, once a pit of quicksand-esque muck, giant bones, and a plethora of monsters. Now it’s a simple pond atop a hill, one that you’ll likely fall into without realizing it after falling from the tutorial sky islands. I know I shouldn’t be asking too many questions about why certain things happen in a world ruled by magic and magical machines, but I still wouldn’t mind an explanation of why they vanished.

But on the note of magical machines… the biggest question and criticism I have is regarding the notable absence of the guardian wreckage present all over Hyrule. Once strewn from corner to corner of Hyrule’s map in Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t seem to boast a single piece of the Sheikah’s ancient technology, despite how prominently it featured in the game’s prequel. Towers, shrines, wrecked guardians, and even the Divine Beasts have vanished without a trace and, as far as I saw, without an explanation.

This feels strange to me, as though the developers simply decided to ignore the presence of these very important pieces of Hyrule’s history. It’s likely for the sake of avoiding confusion between Sheikah tech and Zonai tech, especially for players new to the franchise (or at least for those who skipped playing Breath of the Wild), but some acknowledgement would be appreciated. All we truly get in the sense of Sheikah technology is their modern adaptations. In the place of the Sheikah Slate, we get the Purah Pad (co-developed with Robbie, as the name might have you forget) and the new Skyview Towers which seem to be modern Sheikah takes on the old Sheikah Towers present in Breath of the Wild. And when referring to Breath of the Wild’s old plot, there are only a few cursory mentions in the early game, the character profiles, and in some odd side quests here and there. At this point, it feels somewhat like Breath of the Wild erasure, which doesn’t sit well with me.

But on the note of things forgotten—in-game that is—are the two other layers of the map that you’ll have the chance to explore: the Sky Islands and the Depths.

The Sky Islands are a smattering of Zonai-enchanted landmasses that dot the Hyrulean sky. I can only imagine these islands evaded detection by people for so long because they might’ve been up even higher in the sky or obscured by Zonai magic of some kind. The upheaval not only affected the land but also began to bring parts of these islands down too. I imagine they all descended somewhat during this, with a great many pieces of them falling, and continuing to fall, to the earth. The landed sky island pieces have done their part in effecting changes in the surface landscape, giving the familiar Hyrule some new variety. But travelling up to those still aloft gives you not only some interesting traversal conundrums using ancient Zonai tech and some classic Zelda puzzle-solving wit but also some fantastic vistas. Some of the best sequences in the game’s main quest also involve climbing to absurd heights on these sky islands, leaving you with an amazing sense of accomplishment when you realize that few, if any other living beings—even winged ones like the Rito, have been as far up as you have. And the best part is that these, along with the Skyview Towers that shoot you up to a fair altitude, give you the chance to skydive and paraglide all over Hyrule for easy mobility.

On the other end of the altitude spectrum are the anxiety-inducing Depths.

These aren’t your usual pithy little caves that you can go into, spend ten or twenty minutes plundering, and then return to the light of day without batting an eye. The depths are reached through noxious chasms that have opened up all around Hyrule that you have to skydive down through until you reach a massive underground that sprawls in all directions, spanning the entire map of Hyrule in a dark, horrific inverse. Yes, this is Tears of the Kingdom’s take on a Dark World that’s been seen in other games, though a bit less literal.

Swathed in patches of a nasty substance called Gloom, something that you and the populace of Hyrule cannot endure for long, traversing the Depths is a challenge in and of itself. You’ll have to use your resources to not only make your way but also light your way through it. Thankfully, you’ll find inert landmarks in the Depths called Lightroots that you can activate to create beacons to light this dismal landscape. And as you light more and more, you’ll come to recognize that the Depths really are an inverted reflection of the Hyrule you know and love above. Its topography is a reflection of Hyrule’s. Mountains on the surface are treacherously deep ravines in the Depths, often containing abandoned Zonai mining facilities. Landmarks such as towns have formerly occupied Zonai forges beneath them in the Depths, and even the Lightroots connect back up to shrine locations above (and even the names of the Lightroots are inverted from the names of their surface-world counterparts). A skilled navigator will either be able to use the surface map to guide them to new light beacons below based on shrines they visited or find hidden shrines on the surface thanks to Lightroots they’ve already seen below. The connection between the Depths and the surface is amazing and adds so much more to it.

That said, I felt like I often went point-to-point through the Depths because I didn’t feel there was much to it besides a few notable landmarks. Aside from some bosses hanging around in designated places, a few Yiga Clan bases, some mines where I could farm Zonaite ore, and a few story-driven locations, the Depths lost a lot of its charm to me in the latter half of the game since I could easily tell from revealed maps whether a place had anything of note or not. While this and the sky nearly tripled the space you could explore in-game, most of the Depth’s appeal came from your initial, blind, bewildered, and terrified explorations of it. Once this veil was lifted, the Depths began to feel a lot emptier, with its only trials being its many difficult-to-traverse cliffs and Gloom-filled expanses. The sky avoided this pitfall by having only sparse landmasses above Hyrule, leaving each sporadic encounter up there segmented between portions of the game as I travelled about and left me looking forward to each time I’d ascend to those heights.

But one thing that all three layers of this map do is make Hyrule feel like a cohesive whole, despite being three separate sections. The borders between the sky and Hyrule is only limited by your tools and what assets you have on the surface (i.e. the Skyview Towers or fallen islands you can recall back upward), and your passage to the Depths is facilitated by many chasms available to you. Despite the very contrasting tones between the sky islands, the surface, and the Depths, they all still feel very much linked, giving variety to a massive world that I enjoyed exploring every corner of.

Thank the goddesses there aren’t Koroks in the Depths though…

--

Playing with Tears

One of Tears of the Kingdom’s main accomplishments is expanding on gameplay already found in Breath of the Wild and making it fresh and new once again. The Sheikah runes are gone with the Sheikah slate (save for the camera and teleportation functionality in the new Purah Pad… and amiibos if you want to use them), replaced with your strange new arm’s powers of Recall, Ultrahand, Fuse, and Ascend. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these things turn how you approach challenges in this world on their head.

The world encourages you to take interesting or unique approaches to tackle challenges. How were you going to scale a mountain? How are you going to raid that Bokoblin camp? Do you want to send a Korok to space? Now you can answer all of these questions that plagued you in Breath of the Wild—maybe not that last one, but the internet seems to have latched on that last one with this sequel—in entirely new ways in Tears of the Kingdom.

In quick summation, the Recall power turns back time for objects you target. Ultrahand allows you to pick up, move, and attach anything to just about anything, letting folks make those ridiculous mechas that you’ve probably seen online. Fuse lets you fuse weapons with various things in your inventory or in the world to good, great, or comical effect. And Ascend is the godsend to those who wanted to climb mountains in the rain by letting you travel upward through objects to their peaks in a fraction of the time.

Me? I preferred breaking puzzles in shrines and elsewhere by combinations of Ultrahand and Recall. I also found it particularly helpful for getting a decent launch for my flying machines when I didn’t have a nice runway: just Ultrahand the plane into the air, hold it there for a moment, bring it back down, get on board, recall it up into the air, start your machine, end the recall, and presto, you’re already flying!

I’ve heard and seen so many more ways people have been creatively using—and abusing—these abilities. The fact the game fosters so much creativity through these abilities is fantastic, and the fact they’re so often used in conjunction for puzzle solving, conventional or otherwise, is very satisfying. At least, until one puzzle comes along that makes me feel like a complete dumbass. But that’s usually followed up by another puzzle I completely break that makes me feel like a genius. This game continuously bounced back and forth along that spectrum.

I do have a couple of complaints about these abilities. The first of these is that, compounded with other new and existing abilities and actions, there are so many features and actions you perform that you must learn the button combinations for. Maybe it’s a combination of the facts that I played Breath of the Wild on the WiiU or that I’m getting old, but I felt like it nearly took me twenty hours to finally master the controls. All that time leading up to it, I felt like I was becoming inordinately frustrated with accessing Link’s abilities, especially in tense combat or tightly timed scenarios. My other complaints are far more minor: I felt like the range of Ultrahand was woefully short on the vertical axis compared to the horizontal axes, and I often felt like Ascend’s targeting was very touchy and had its range deliberately altered in certain places to keep it from working in certain shrines and the like. That last complaint is a bit iffy and might just be a matter of biased perspective on my part though.

Combat and conventional travel (i.e. climbing, running, etc.) is effectively the same as Breath of the Wild’s, though you’ll certainly be doing a lot more flying and skydiving thanks to the aforementioned Sheikah towers, which is quite convenient. The other main differences in travel came through the use of vehicles (which were fun, but I still tended to prefer exploring on foot or on horseback when possible to avoid missing features and secrets) and a few special low-gravity areas in the sky—places where I, even having finished the game, still cannot estimate proper jump distance if my life depended on it.

Comparatively, the main differences in combat come from how you fuse weapons and how you use them in combat. As well, weapons now have classes that come with certain special bonuses or features (improved flurry rushes, quicker spin attacks, extra damage at low durability, etc.). While I never made much use of these weapon class features, I’m sure those much more resourceful and into the combat side of the game will be much better at manipulating these concepts to great effect. It’s an addition of depth that didn’t benefit me, but it’s good that something was added in that sense.

Just as I did in Breath of the Wild, I found early-game combat difficult with how enemies could easily one-shot me. While I know enemies scale depending on how many you kill, there appeared (at least to my reckoning) to be areas where higher-scaled enemies appeared. This was most apparent to me when was when I was dealing with Red and Blue Bokoblins on Hyrule Field, only to find hordes of Black Bokoblins waiting for me on the Great Plateau. I found myself having to rush the Great Fairy quests so I could upgrade my armour sooner rather than later. Nothing is more frustrating to me than having to fight enemies perfectly, or else suffer one attack that puts me down for good. Sure, I could stick to the game’s encouraged path with easier enemies, but this game is designed to be an open world to encourage exploring. I love doing just that, but I felt like I was being punished for doing so.

Of course, I could’ve avoided that by building a mecha or an orbital death laser with the new Zonai tech, but I didn’t get around to that in my playthrough. It’s something I look forward to experimenting with in the future.

Regarding the foes you face, one of my biggest complaints about Breath of the Wild was a lack of enemy diversity. Thankfully, that’s been improved upon in Tears of the Kingdom with the addition of monsters like Like Likes, Gibdos, and Gleeoks. I still think it’s a bit of a thin roster compared to many other Zelda games, but I appreciate that we get to see new takes on classic Zelda enemies. Like Likes fixing themselves on walls waiting for prey to come nearby, and being so damn animated about it when they do, was a great touch—even they are a bit gross. Gibdos’ new format as walking corpses meshed with a vaguely insectoid nature was highly unnerving, especially when they start skittering on the ground—or goddesses forbid, gain wings. (As a side note, I found out about the existence of Winged Gibdos before meeting any Gibdos by upgrading my armour at a Great Fairy when I saw “Gibdo Wings” as a required item. Suffice it to say, not only was foreshadowing of one of my most feared enemies being in the game enough to unsettle me, but the fact they were implied to have wings also had me wondering what actual hell was awaiting me later in the game.) Gleeoks were always intense fights in this game, especially in the last phase whenever they decided to ascend high into the sky and do their massive area-of-effect attacks. Fights like those will be among the most memorable parts of Tears of the Kingdom for me.

Fuck Horriblins, though. They’re weird, annoying, I hate the noises they make, and they fucked me up with rocks when I was doing an early-game exploration of Hyrule Castle’s lower ruins. That said, I’m totally going to use them against my Zelda D&D group when I DM. Also, the Gloom Hands jumpscared me the first time I saw them. And my stomach dropped when I defeated them for the first time, only to find out they turned into Phantom Ganon.

Temples made a return in this game, but not quite in the way I expected. The sections leading up to them, especially the ones in the Gerudo and Hebra regions, were fantastic. And those same two temples, the Lightning and Wind Temples respectively, were stellar dungeons. The Fire Temple boasted some brain-breaking puzzles for me, but I managed to figure them out after some pondering. Conversely, the Water Temple was fairly simple, and perhaps the weakest of the set for me.

Aesthetically, however, all the temples were unique and well-defined, making them all memorable. It should be noted that you also travel into each one with a companion, each of which is essential for you to traverse and complete the dungeon in some way. Ever since the introduction of companion dungeons in Wind Waker, I’ve always found have always them to be a great twist on the dungeon formula, and I’m glad they were prominent in this game. However, one part of the formula present in these dungeons that I didn’t care for was carried over from the Divine Beasts of Breath of the Wild: objective points. Having to find and access all these different terminals made sense in the Divine Beasts, given their mechanical nature.

Some of these temples managed to integrate this concept better than others. The Wind Temple was essentially a ship with a massive door on its deck that you needed to align gears to open. Activating all the objective points made sense there. Since it was the first dungeon I completed, I didn’t pay this much mind. But as soon as I saw the gongs and the gate in the Fire Temple, I knew this was going to be a trend, and I found myself groaning because this meant the gameplay was going to become predictable in dungeons.

One of the things I love about Zelda dungeons, historically, is that each one had its own niche or feature that made it unique from the others. The Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time had the poe sisters stealing the fire from torches you needed to reach the boss. The Temple of Time in Twilight Princess had you controlling a statue to navigate a route you already traversed, completely recontextualizing an otherwise linear dungeon. Eagle’s Tower in Link’s Awakening had you crush an entire floor with another floor by knocking out its supports. Dungeons with unique features and progression give great variety within the games and even the dungeons themselves.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but feel like each dungeon in Tears of the Kingdom began with the same “hit x objectives” concept and was built from there. Certainly, the puzzles you solved, the bosses you fought, and the aesthetics of all the dungeons are unique between each, but the experience of unfurling the logic of a dungeon is one of the biggest appeals to me in Zelda games. If all it boils down to is activating X number of switches and then heading to the boss, then I feel that takes away a lot from the dungeon-delving experience. I think part of it—and this is something of a recurring theme that I’ll also touch on in the story-section of this reflection—is due to the fact this is an open-world game that allows you to tackle the dungeons in any order. Thus, some level of uniformity in terms of both execution and difficulty is expected. This means the open-world model takes away from the potential the dungeons have to offer.

Even with all of that, some dungeons did scratch itches that I found lacking in the last game. The biggest example for me is the Lightning Temple, my clear favourite of all four major dungeons. It had that amazing Indiana Jones/The Mummy vibe associated with a desert dungeon that I absolutely loved. While the objective-based gameplay was on full display here, I liked how there was a sort of “prologue” to the dungeon through a first encounter with the boss before we even set foot inside, followed up by traversing a dark, trap-filled basement, before finally ascending to a tall central chamber where our exploration went from linear to open. It was a very well-narrated dungeon in that sense, especially with it concluding with a rematch with the dungeon’s boss who we couldn’t finish off at the beginning.

Beyond the game’s main dungeons, the game re-used the concept of shrines to fill in the gap left by the game’s fewer number of dungeons compared to other games in the series, much like Breath of the Wild did. While I didn’t mind shrines in either this game or Breath of the Wild, this felt to me like another re-used concept from Breath of the Wild that had me wondering if the developers could’ve taken a different direction to challenge players when providing them opportunities to upgrade their health/stamina. Could we have gotten additional full dungeons, even if they were optional ones not in line with the game’s plot, or could the caves introduced into this game world have been expanded into more complex, developed dungeons themselves with similar puzzles and rewards? Could the Depths have been filled with their own dungeons (aside from the Spirit Temple that was essentially just a boss fight room)? I feel like there were possibilities that could’ve been explored but weren’t since they decided to default back to shrines. While I didn’t necessarily tire of shrines, I feel like I could’ve easily, were it not for the great decision to make a lot more shrines of the “blessing” variety simply for completing a challenge to either reveal or reach it. I appreciated the unique challenges the world put before you for shrines that were the reward rather than the challenge. This was especially satisfying in how the many crystal shrine quests rewarded you by having the crystal turn into the shrine—a brilliant touch, honestly.

In terms of the game’s technical performance, I did witness a few framerate slowdowns and witnessed some distant moving objects moving at slow framerates. However, these issues were generally few and far between, confirming for me my suspicions for critiques I made on other open-world games like Legends Arceus and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: that the Switch can render such vast games beautifully and with decent framerates if the devs are given ample time to properly polish and optimize their games. Further, I never encountered a single glitch, contrasting the few I did see in the two aforementioned games.

Overall, Tears of the Kingdom’s gameplay soared high overhead of Breath of the Wild’s. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great accomplishment overall. It took me some time to get used to the abilities (and the controls), but once it went smoothly and I got some upgrades to my armour, I felt I could very expertly navigate and fight my way through Hyrule. That late-game feeling where you are armed and armoured to the teeth and ready to go mess up Ganondorf and his toughest minions is definitely one I enjoyed in Tears of the Kingdom. Not to mention the fact you can accrue companions to fight alongside you in regular gameplay. It wasn’t until this game that I realized I wanted a Zelda party RPG.

But for all the innovations that came with this game, is letting us pet the dogs at the stables so difficult?

--

The Kingdom’s Tearful Music

Tears of the Kingdom follows faithfully in the footsteps of its predecessor when it comes to its musical style. Considering it’s a sequel with many of the same themes and expands on the already existing world, it makes sense the music follows suit too. This means that, until you get yourself into some intense situations and story-driven sections, you’ll be soothed with familiar tunes as you explore this still very untamed iteration of Hyrule. However, when the stakes are high, the music drives that tension up even further, making for some catchy compositions and enhancing those memorable moments in the game.

I will say, at the onset, that I was a bit disappointed that the general world themes are exactly as they were in Hyrule. Just as I critiqued the lack of Hyrule’s reclamation by its people, the world’s ambient music hasn’t advanced much, if at all. Your foot and horseback travel music in regions of comfortable climates is that same, pause-filled, broken-up sets of piano notes that, while evocative of the setting, don’t drive a lot of excitement. Similarly, the music pieces for areas of extreme heat and cold use the same music as Breath of the Wild, which I’ve always found to be a bit understated and repetitive.

That isn’t to say that having musical connections back to Breath of the Wild isn’t always a bad thing, music-wise. In fact, some of the best compositions in Tears of the Kingdom are best served with little doses of musical nostalgia. In the game, for each major settlement threatened by some variation of Ganondorf’s corruption, there’s a subdued, off-putting, downtrodden variation of its theme. The frozen Rito Village is tinged by echoing, icy sounds. Zora’s Domain’s pristine, elegant piano song fades in and out discordantly between the ambient sounds of muck. Goron City’s percussive tune is downplayed with worried notes left as unresolved as their plight. Gerudo Town’s catchy, desert tunes are lost to sombre tones between the sandy winds like the ghost town it’s become. Once you resolve these region’s dilemmas, you’ll find yourself returning to the familiar, reassuring musical suites of these settings that you know well from Breath of the Wild. I could critique it for not having these old compositions be iterated upon further in this game to differentiate it from their Breath of the Wild counterparts, but I think the goal was a restoration of the status quo that you managed to attain in Breath of the Wild. If that was the developers’ goal, they suitably accomplished it.

Returning from Breath of the Wild is its evolving, dynamic soundtrack as you progress through its dungeons. While I might’ve complained earlier about the objective-based gameplay of the dungeons, the music serves the heighten feelings of accomplishment as you progress from point to point. The dungeons’ music, as far as I can tell, have wholly original themes at the start, but soon bring in tones and musical phrases that will have you recognizing themes affiliated with the people of the region, your dungeon companion treading its dangers alongside you, and even the divine beasts of Breath of the Wild. These nostalgia hits, twined with new musical ideas, are one of the most potent parts of Tears of the Kingdom’s musical arsenal.

And, as Zelda games are no stranger to doing, the game’s music sets the mood of the scenes extraordinarily well. A haunting, droning sting as you descend into Depths through a chasm, truly prepares you for the terrifying experience of making your way through a dark, hostile domain. But if you want to talk about the cyclical connection of mood and setting in this game, one needs look no further than the game’s prologue to feel the dread the music intones as you descend into the lair of the imprisoned Ganondorf. Compare that to the end of the game when you find yourself returning to that same place while a haunting reprise of that song fills the air, confirming that you’ve found that dreadful place once again. And that same tone only evolves further and more intensely as you proceed beyond that chamber to find Ganondorf awaiting you.

But most unnerving and haunting are those strange, musical notes and phrases that almost feel like they’re vocalizations being played backwards (though I can’t confirm this as a fact, it just might be some sort of synthesized sound made to sound unnerving in that way), most of which are affiliated with the depths beneath the castle and with minions particularly connected to Ganondorf (namely the Gloom Hands, Phantom Ganon, and some small references in some of the major boss themes). I’m still wondering if it’s referring more to Ganondorf, to the Zonai because of the secret stone that Ganondorf stole, or to Rauru since that music first began playing when Rauru sealed Ganondorf with that fateful strike of his arm.

While not all the music in the game embodies the musical evolution I spoke of earlier, the overall soundtrack of this game is stellar and memorable. I love the connections it forges with Breath of the Wild through its music, though it certainly makes me wish the same parallel held in the setting regarding references to Sheikah tech, divine beasts, and other staples from the last game. Even so, Tears of the Kingdom’s haunting soundtrack will be one I’ll be revisiting often, perhaps more so than the game itself.

By the way, the Wind Temple has the best theme, hands down. And the music playing while you climb up the ascending sky islands toward it serves as the perfect intro. But for mood, nothing hits like the Descending into Gloom’s Lair track just before you fight an army Ganondorf sends at you before finally getting a crack at the man himself.

--

A Tear-Wrenching Story

Don’t let this section’s title fool you: I mean this in the best way possible. Tears of the Kingdom’s story will not just tug at your heartstrings but strum them like an acoustic guitar.

While I certainly hoped and dreamed this game would let us play with Link and Zelda as a team (or even just as Zelda, if only for a bit), I knew not to expect anything so wonderful. Even so, I didn’t expect how strongly I would resonate with Zelda’s epic. In a way, I think hers was the more prominent plot in the story over the one you played with Link, despite them being entwined quite gracefully at the beginning and the end.

We began the story with Link and Zelda exploring the depths beneath Hyrule Castle, only to stumble upon an awakening Ganondorf who already seemed to know them. Only moments later, he unleashed his power, destroying the Master Sword, grievously wounding Link’s arm, and sending Zelda plummeting into the darkness along with him. Link makes a desperate bid to grab her with his corrupted arm, but can’t quite make it in time before she vanishes with the new stone she’s attained from the arm that was previously holding Ganondorf at bay. Said arm is the only reason Link doesn’t fall to his own death, leaving us to wake up an unspecified amount of time later with that new arm replacing our old, corrupted one. Meanwhile, on the world below, the Upheaval has taken place, leaving Hyrule changed yet again and opening routes to the Depths and the sky islands.

On these first sky islands, we’re guided by Rauru, a Zonai and the apparent first King of Hyrule, on our tutorial sky islands after a fantastic opening cut of the title. My immediate response to this was to comment on the parallels between this scenario and the Great Plateau tutorial in Breath of the Wild. We’re even guided by a king of old through it all. This initially led me to worry if the game would simply be retreading the steps of Breath of the Wild and wouldn’t break any new ground. In some ways, my fears were validated by how we were directed to four regions of the map to address problems, just as we had to address the matters of the divine beasts in Breath of the Wild. To further those concerns, we also found out about the geoglyphs and had to collect memories for those, just as we had to visit certain locations for memories in Breath of the Wild. While I was confident the gameplay was evolving at this early point in the game, I was worried the formula of storytelling was going to be delivering a rehash of what we’d seen in the prequel to Tears of the Kingdom.

While the method of story delivery turned out to be similar, I was glad to find out the story itself was anything but.

What we got was a heartbreaking vision into the distant past of the fledgling kingdom of Hyrule in its infancy and the origin of the Ganondorf threat through Zelda’s memories. After being flung back into the past, Zelda found herself in the care of Rauru and Sonia, the first King and Queen of Hyrule respectively. While a stranger in time, Princess Zelda found, what I believe, to be a new father and mother figure in them, as they were both kind and nurturing while taking Zelda into their care. They did everything they could to help her find a way home, but that effort fell by the wayside as Ganondorf treacherously slew Sonia and stole her secret stone, a Zonai relic capable of amplifying a person’s existing power. From there, Ganondorf became a menacing, world-ending threat. It was only by Rauru’s sacrifice after the collaboration of six sages that Ganondorf was sealed away. I couldn’t help but feel for Zelda in both these losses she suffered, as it felt much like her losing yet another set of parental figures.

But of course, even that sacrifice wouldn’t be enough, as Zelda knew well that Ganondorf would awaken, having seen it before she was cast back into the past. She gleaned her purpose once she received the broken Master Sword Link sent her from the future near the beginning of the game, and realized that she had to capitalize on its potential to absorb her holy power through the millennia. And for that, she had to make a sacrifice that likely broke the heart of every Zelda fan far and wide: she had to swallow her secret stone, cast away her very sense of self, and become an immortal dragon.

This is where we connect back to the story in the present. Now, here’s the part where things get tricky because of the open-world nature of the game. The pacing of the storytelling, and the order in which you learn parts of the story, are determined by the player. Make no mistake, this story is intricately and beautifully told. But if you find the glyphs in the wrong order as I did, it betrays some of the plot earlier than it should and lessens the impact somewhat. I still had my heart crushed, thankfully—weird to say, but yes, I am thankful about it—by the scene where Zelda made her sacrifice, but I found out about it far sooner than I should’ve, in my opinion, because I was collecting glyphs faster than I needed to and out of chronological order. Moreover, I had only completed three of the four regional phenomena by the time I finished the glyph-based memories (only the Gerudo left to go). It feels like, based on dialogue from Mineru (the Spirit Sage and the fifth you find), that the revelation of the Master Sword, and its reclamation, should’ve come after you helped her. I certainly think that learning about Zelda’s sacrifice at that moment would’ve had the best impact from a storytelling perspective. Don’t get me wrong, climbing, step by step, up Zelda’s long, draconic back to find the Master Sword completely revitalized atop her head was a stunning moment. But I feel like it could’ve happened at a better time in my playthrough for the best potential catharsis.

But that’s the pitfall that comes with open-world games trying to tell a compelling story. And, to return to my earlier critique about this game’s recycled story delivery method, this is why the plot is divided between what we do in the present and what Zelda does in the past. This is why the game has us search around for memories and why these regional phenomena are delivered to us in the same way as before Breath of the Wild’s divine beast quests. Don’t get me wrong, they adapt this method of telling Zelda’s story very well. Creating a compelling story with a time loop without making it convoluted or confusing is a difficult task at best and a foolhardy one at worst. But they executed it beautifully. Unfortunately, the developers have to rely on the player to see it in a particular way for the best impact.

This also impacts the story and gameplay of Link’s journey in the present too. We’re encouraged to go to Hebra first, Eldin second, Zora’s Domain third, and the Gerudo Desert last. This doesn’t necessarily affect any major storytelling issues, but the enemy scaling issues I mentioned earlier in this reflection end up coming into play, potentially hindering player experience if they choose to go to another of the regions first, and especially if they wanted to do the Gerudo first. What’s more, the biggest flaw in storytelling in this regional-phenomena, open-world approach is that each cutscene after a dungeon with your companion essentially retold the same story over and over, making it feel much less impactful after the first sage you empowered. If the game were more linear, each sage could add a new detail that slowly unveils the true nature of that battle with Ganondorf, or potentially other moments in the past with Zelda.

Further, while I think splitting the journeys of Zelda and Link works well for this game’s story since it was explicitly built around the concept of time travel, the split between perspectives of Zelda and Link in the past and future respectively does create a feeling of non-involvement for the player—or it did for me at least. This is only a minor issue for me in Tears of the Kingdom because of how the story is framed, but I felt this in Breath of the Wild too, since it felt like all the major, exciting events took place in the past, while I was cleaning up after it in the future. I do wonder if I would have these reservations in Tears of the Kingdom if we didn’t already have to do that in Breath of the Wild. It would feel like a fresher, novel experience that the story was curated around in this newer game. While the story does feel curated around it now, I’m still dealing with the lingering sense of repetition due to Tears of the Kingdom’s story delivery matching that of Breath of the Wild.

But these are minor complaints in an otherwise fantastically told story. It just leaves me wondering how much more involved in the story I would be if it were a more linearly-oriented game. How much harder would Zelda’s sacrifice hit me if I didn’t see a particular memory first that tipped me off on what was happening? I’ll never truly know. All I know is that, while Breath of the Wild’s open-world gameplay is wonderful, it does have an impact on how these stories are told. After two of these games, I feel like I may want to go back to a more traditional method of experiencing a Zelda story: one where Link is more directly involved with events with Zelda and where the story unfolds at a set pace with events in order.

There are a few gaps in the story I wished were filled in too. The time gap between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom remains unclear, as does the time gap between when the Upheaval starts on Ganondorf’s release and when we awaken with our new arm and begin the game properly. I would also love to know more about the ancient sages who help us awaken their counterparts in our time. They each wear a helmet resembling one of the divine beasts—again, why this connection to the previous game without any evidence of the divine beasts or guardians in the sequel’s world—and not much is told about them beyond their duty. Considering the King is named Rauru, I wonder if their names would line up with the names of other sages to match the divine beasts’ names: Medli for Vah Medoh, Darunia for Vah Rudania, Ruto for Vah Ruta, and Nabooru for Vah Naboris. I also wonder if this decision to keep them shrouded in mystery was to keep the focus on the modern sages since I feel like the new champions were overshadowed by their predecessors in Breath of the Wild (tell me how many of you think of Revali or Teba first, for example). Or maybe there will be DLC to expand on these sages in the future. There are plenty of other small questions I wished were answered, but that’s me being detailed-oriented and fussy, so I can’t complain too much about it.

But even with all my reservations and concerns, I still have to say, this story was one of the most compelling Zelda stories to date. And, to be perfectly honest, its ending dethroned my longstanding favourite from The Wind Waker. I thought that nothing would be able to upstage Link driving the Master Sword into Ganondorf’s head and sealing him beneath an ocean while the King of Red Lions decides to die with his kingdom once and for all, leaving Link and Zelda to make their own kingdom free of the past.

But…

The cyclical ending of Tears of the Kingdom cannot be ignored. Zelda being flung to the past, enduring the ages to bring us the revitalized Master Sword. Ganondorf eating his own stone in a desperate bid to defeat Link, whereas Zelda ate hers in devotion to Link and their cause to defeat Ganondorf ages before. The battle of dragons in the skies above Hyrule after our duel with him in the deepest reaches of the earth. Crawling up the back of Ganondorf’s demonic dragon form to strike him down in contrast to the tender nature with which Link strode up Zelda’s draconic back to find the Master Sword on her head. And then finally, once he’s defeated, Link skydiving to catch the now undraconified Zelda falling to earth—all while the game’s main theme plays, transitioning to a triumphant reprise of Zelda’s lullaby—before catching and saving her after we failed to at the beginning of the game. And at last, seeing Zelda’s sweet smile, reminiscent of the one she gave at the end of Breath of the Wild, as she tells us she’s home. The cycle is complete. The ouroboros of the title logo is fulfilled. I even got my wish, in a small sense, for Link and Zelda to work as a team during this game, thanks to that final fight.

I haven’t yelled at a video game in such excitement in a long time as I did when I was desperately diving toward Zelda to catch her. It was an iconic moment in gaming for me that I won’t forget for a long, long time.

--

A Reflection on Tears

So, given the good, the bad, and the confusing, what did I think of Tears of the Kingdom overall?

Well, its good facets certainly outweigh any critiques I can make about it. I explained at the beginning of this reflection that I may have some feelings towards Nintendo now that may lead me to be more critical of their products, even though I try to divorce those feelings from the work of art that is this game. It’s not something that I can do easily or perfectly. I wonder if I’d be able to overlook the game’s issues otherwise, or if these criticisms are a result of the person I am now compared to how I once looked at games like A Link to the Past back when I first played them as a starry-eyed child.

Regardless, no matter what I can say about it, there’s no denying that so much love and hard work went into Tears of the Kingdom. It was built on the foundation that Breath of the Wild lay first, but it undoubtedly surpassed and expanded on it in ways that cannot be quantified. I had my frustrations with it, sure, but there was so much more that sucked me into it, made me smile, made me gasp, made me hold my breath, made me shout, and made me laugh.

This world you see, the way you travel through it, the way you hear it through its sounds and music, and the story it tells, are nothing short of astonishing. Not perfect but astonishing all the same.

I look forward to continuing my journey in Tears of the Kingdom, discovering those last 12 Bubbulfrogs—hell no to the Koroks though—and their elusive caves, finding the last few bits of armour I’m missing, and wishing I could put a roof on my house near Tarrey Town.

And yes, this game did make me shed a tear or two. It would’ve been a travesty if Tears of the Kingdom didn’t live up to its name.

[brucewhite]

Farewell to My Friend | Bril

Date: Early June 2024 Featuring: @agentgrumpy-gils Warnings: None, just sad :')

Bruce says one final goodbye.

BRUCE

The poetry of it all wasn’t lost on Bruce. The last time he’d been on an airplane, he’d been on his way to freedom, to his new life. And now here he was again, saying goodbye to that life, watching it get smaller and smaller out the window. But this time, he wasn’t so eager to leave the place he’d been. It was bittersweet, actually— he was losing something at the same time as he gained something else. 

But he’d made his decision. He was just grateful that he’d had the time he had in Swynlake. That he’d met such wonderful friends. And that Gil would come all this way with him, halfway around the world just to make sure he got into the ocean safely. 

After many hours, some of which Bruce tried to spend sleeping but barely managed in all his conflicting emotions, Samoa appeared in the distance, a sandy spot on the blue water. And then it grew bigger and bigger, and then it was more than a spot, it was a bright, bustling, vibrant island full of land people.

Bruce’s stomach twisted as he remembered the last time he was here. But they wouldn’t be here long.

“Not too much further then, eh?” he said as the plane touched down.

GIL: 

This was supposed to be a happy moment.

And Gil was happy. They’d done the impossible — they’d found Bruce’s pod. They were going to reunite him with his family. Living in the ocean would have its risks. But at least he would be with his family.

Gil’s heart twinged as he saw the blue waters through the plane window.

That was two merfolk reunions in a few months. HQ was overjoyed. Gil was not used to the praise. It was shared across the whole team, of course, but it did feel a little… weird, especially considering this wasn’t even what Gil wanted to do in the first place —

(How could he even think that? How could he even think that when he saw how much it meant for Gabriella, and for Bruce?).

“A local operative is meeting us with a car,” said Gil. “And they’ll take us to a secluded beach.” He smiled at Bruce, standing up and grabbing his bag. “Almost there.” 

BRUCE

Bruce nodded and returned his gaze out the window as the plane rolled along the tarmac. Tall, green palms swayed overhead and the sky was impossibly vast and blue. These would be his last memories of land. Though he was excited to be back in the ocean, he didn’t want to forget a single moment.

He stood up after Gil and followed him out of the plane onto the tarmac where a car was waiting, just as Gil had said it would be. “Thanks for coming with me,” Bruce said as they approached the car. “It was quite a long flight. And I know you’ve got other things going on back in Swynlake.”

Things that Bruce couldn’t even fathom, that were likely much more serious. But Gil had given his time to come with Bruce, just so he’d have a familiar face with him on the long, difficult journey. That meant a lot.

GIL:

It hadn’t even quite registered to Gil that he wouldn’t come. Bruce was an official RAS ward, unlike Gabriella. Also, landing in Samoa was objectively less dangerous than landing in Avalor. 

And also, maybe most importantly, Bruce was his friend.

(Not that Gabriella hadn’t been; he’d known her well enough through the group. But Bruce was different). 

“Of course,” said Gil to Bruce, before the car pulled up. He greeted the other agent, making quick introductions, and loaded up the car. Before Gil got into the car, he looked at Bruce, clasping a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“This is important. For you. For us.”

BRUCE

Bruce still didn’t know the whole story of how Gil had ended up on land. At this point, he didn’t think he ever would. But he knew enough. He knew that most merpeople had a tragic reason for finding themselves separated from their homes (though there were exceptions, of course). He knew very well there was a reason they didn’t talk about that.

Finding his way home, it was about more than himself or Gil individually. It was a symbol of hope for both of them, that when merpeople worked together to help one another they could achieve powerful things. 

“I know,” he said, his eyes heavy with the gravity of it. “I’m still grateful.”

They made small talk with the other agent, which felt a little bizarre to Bruce, but oddly natural, too. He wondered if the agent did this every day, delivering people to their destinies. What a life, he thought.

“Not too much further,” the agent said, and Bruce looked out the window again. The clusters of houses and businesses had loosened until they were in a much more rural area. Bruce smiled at Gil nervously. 

“It’s nice out here,” Bruce commented. ”It’s been a long time since I’ve seen water so blue. In person, anyway.”

GIL: 

“It’s beautiful.”

Gil couldn’t stop looking at the ocean.

It was so blue, but where the sunlight hit, it turned gold. It was a blue unique to this particular stretch of ocean, yet Gil couldn’t help but picture the deep turquoise waters he’d once called home. 

Bruce was going home. This fact hit him again, a dull ache that reverberated in his heart. Bruce was going home.

And Gil never would.

The car pulled off the road and drove a little further through some jungle. Gil could still see the coastline. When the car finally stopped, the agent turned to Bruce and Gil. 

“There’s a path that leads down to the beach,” they said. “If you need help finding it, just radio me. But I thought I’d give you two some time alone.”

Gil nodded. He stepped out of the car and extended a hand to Bruce. 

“Are you ready?” he asked Bruce. 

BRUCE:

Was he ready? Bruce wasn’t sure. But he was as ready as he would ever be. He’d made his decision, and it was time to focus on the future, not dwell on the past.

Okay, maybe he could dwell on it for just a moment longer. Because soon, Gil would be part of the past. And Bruce had a special and rare opportunity, an opportunity he hadn’t realized would be quite so special and rare until it was ripped away from him the first time. He had the opportunity to savor this last moment, to take a mental picture. And then he would have the opportunity to say goodbye.

“Yes,” Bruce said, taking Gil’s hand and stepping out of the car after thanking the driver.

He was keenly aware of the solid ground beneath his feet, the sweetness of the air. The brilliant blue of the sky above the brilliant blue of the sea. The dirt path turned to sand. And soon, they were on the beach. 

And soon, it was all very real.

“Gil,” he said, looking in his friend’s eyes. “I want to say a few things before I go. Do you- do you have a moment?”

GIL:

He smelled the ocean before he saw it. The sharp salty scent filled his nostrils and Gil closed his eyes a moment. He could taste it, practically, in the back of his throat. The air was warm and thick with moisture, but still, the scent of the sea cut right through it. 

It made his eyes water. 

Then he heard it, the waves against the shore, the familiar rhythmic pounding.

And then, there it was, brilliant and blue. 

Gil couldn’t help but smile. 

Bruce’s voice tugged him from his reverie, and Gil turned back to him.

“Of course.” He nodded. “I have a moment. I have many moments. I have as many as you need right now.” 

The beach was empty. Quiet. They were alone, just them and the vast expanse of ocean. 

BRUCE

The waves rolled in and receded, leaving shadows of wet sand behind each time. The gentle swoosh of water, in and out, was almost loud on the peaceful beach. Birdsong rang from somewhere in the deep green forest. And in the middle of all of it, Bruce and Gil, just two fine little dots in the massive web that was this ecosystem. Bruce wasn’t home yet, but for a moment, he felt like he already was.

He continued in Mermish, because Bruce didn’t want a single thing getting lost in translation.

“I keep thinking about Bianca,” Bruce admitted. It wasn’t something he brought up to Gil often because he knew it was painful. But if he never got to speak to Gil again, he wanted to make sure he said it. “I did not trust her at first, to be completely honest. I chose to stay on land because I was afraid to go back to the ocean, but part of me wondered if I was just entering a new kind of captivity. She got me clothes to wear and a place to stay, and I appreciated that, but it took me a long time to trust her. 

“But she was always very patient with me. She knew I needed time. And then she introduced me to you, and…” Bruce swallowed, starting to choke up now. “That was when I realized she really did care about me, that she understood what I needed. What you agents do, breaking into horrible places and saving people and getting them the things they need— it’s all very helpful, and very important. But there’s another piece to it, and without that piece, I don’t think I would have gotten to where I am now. You made me feel like a person again, someone worthy of kindness and care, someone with dignity. It was even in the little things— going to my birthday party, sending me those game tickets when we played phone games together— things like that. I don’t know if it seemed like a big thing to you, but it was a big thing to me. So… I wanted to thank you for that. And ask that you do the same for whoever the next person you save is. I think… I think Bianca would be very proud.”

GIL: 

Bianca would be very proud.

Something in Gil’s throat caught. He kept his gaze on Bruce’s, but Gil felt like he was looking right through him, far beyond just the two of them on the quiet beach right now.

Bianca had requested he come to Swynlake, and Gil had resented it. He’d been so close to a breakthrough. It was four years in New York City down the drain. He was wasted in Swynlake. So he’d felt three years ago. 

Maybe if you’d asked him just yesterday, he’d also say he felt wasted in Swynlake, one hand tied to a desk, to a team of agents he never asked to manage. And yet — and yet —

Bruce’s words made him hesitate.

Maybe his answer would not come so easily.

(Maybe, just maybe, it would be different). 

“You don’t need to thank me,” said Gil. He’d returned to himself, more or less, gaze fixing back on Bruce. “But I appreciate it.”

He thought about saying that he wished someone had done the same for him, but — well, his foster family had, hadn’t they? They weren’t merfolk, so it wasn’t quite the same. But his foster father showed him how to tie his shoes and his foster mother learned what kind of tea he liked and always made him a cup before bed. They still emailed him, every holiday and every birthday. 

Maybe that’s why, despite his resistance at being stuck in Swynlake, he’d held a hand out for Bruce. He knew what it was like; he’d once needed that hand himself. 

“I’d do it all over again,” said Gil. “And I will. To the next person.”

And, well, there would be a next person. If there was a certainty in life, it was that there would always be a merperson in need. 

Gil reached over and hugged Bruce, pulling him close and wrapping his arms around his friend. He was quiet now, not sure what to say. He was also worried that he might be crying. 

“I am happy that you get to do this,” he said, softly. “My family is gone.” He’d never told Bruce the whole story, nor would he now. It wasn’t a hopeful one. And Bruce deserved hope. “But yours swims free —” His voice cracked. “And you get to return to them. It’s amazing.” 

BRUCE

That was why Bruce wanted to thank him. He knew it was Gil’s job, and he would do it anyway. But it was more than that, wasn’t it? And at the final thing Gil said, Bruce knew it was true. 

Bruce had learned this from his time on land: sometimes, terrible things happened for no reason at all. There was no forgiving it. There was no reconciling it. Your life may move on, but you would always wish that thing had not happened. But there was no reversing it, either. There was only the future.

You could let it turn you cold and mean, of course. No one could blame you for that. Not when it was so terrible. Or you could resolve to do better than those who had hurt you, to be the kindness you once feared did not exist in this world. Bruce didn’t know what exactly Gil had been through, but as a fellow merman, Bruce had an understanding. Especially after what he’d said now. Gil, Bruce knew, had chosen the second option. And in his time on land, so had Bruce.

He hugged Gil tightly. Bruce was certainly crying now.

“It is amazing,” Bruce agreed. “I’ll never forget you, Gil. I’ll tell everyone your story.” 

And he would, eventually. And over the years, it would be passed down. Gil, the kind shallow-water merman. And theories would arise about how he had lost his family, but Bruce, as he grew older, would always emphasize that it wasn’t the important part of the tale. It was what happened after.

He glanced toward the water. “I should go soon. Tide’s going out…” Bruce said. “Are you- you’ll be alright finding the car again?”

GIL: 

“I’ll be alright,” said Gil. The car wasn’t far. He knew the way back. 

He pressed his lips together in a small smile. 

The waves continued to beat against the shore, rhythmic and soothing. Gil wished he could walk to the water, feel it lap at his ankles, wade in till it consumed him whole. 

But that wouldn’t be a happy ending for him. Not the way it would be for Bruce. 

For years, when he thought about returning to the sea, all he sought was oblivion. But now, he looked at the waves and he felt hope.

It was strange. It wasn’t hope for himself. Or maybe it was. 

He looked back at Bruce.

“I’ll stay till you swim off,” he said. “Maybe a bit longer. In case you need to…” He cleared his throat. “In case you forget anything.” He patted Bruce’s upper arm. “Take care, my friend.” 

BRUCE

Bruce looked at Gil. His ghost of a smile, his eyes that were like weather. Once, Bruce had been a little afraid of him— afraid that he’d find out the things Bruce had done and cast him out. Now, he understood that fear had mostly been Bruce’s own reaction to hope. Meeting Gil, meeting another merman who’d lost his home, it was the first time since coming to land that Bruce thought someone might really understand him.

Of course, there were others now, Bruce knew, who understood him. One did not have to be a merman to understand feeling lonely or monstrous or separated from their home. But it still was different with Gil. And over time, their RAS-mandated check-ins had gone from a mandatory, nervous coffee meeting to the vulnerable, heart-to-heart conversations of dear friends. Slowly, Bruce had lost his fear of losing Gil.

But here he was, now. Losing Gil. 

Like he’d told Gil, though, he would never forget him. 

“You too, Gil,” Bruce replied. “Thank you. For everything.”

He gave Gil a nod, emptied his pockets of everything that he’d needed on land but had no use for under the sea. The borrowed phone. The forged ID. The punch card for Hatter’s, still two teacups short of a free drink. Everything that made him Bruce White. 

And then he turned around and walked toward the shore. He glanced once more over his shoulder, not because he had regrets, but because he wanted to take one last mental picture of the man waiting on the shore for him, there if he forgot anything. The merman knew the implication of his words. If he changed his mind.

He wouldn’t change his mind. But it was comforting to know he would always have someone out there, ready for him, if he needed.

The water reached his knees, then his waist. The merman dove under the waves, and the cool water around him felt like an embrace. 

[dippindaz]

LOVE your grabber fics!! Could we pls get one of reader (adult obvi) being a victim and end up attracted to him and smut ensues 👀

A/N: I have been WAITING for this request. Let’s be honest anyone reading this rn, this is literally you. Like all of us who Dino for grabber, this request is the embodiment of us. Thank you for the request you beautiful person ❤️ also you didn’t specify a gender, I went female for reader, I hope that’s ok. I’m not crazy proud of this one, but I don’t dislike it. I haven’t written smut in a long time, I’m sorry if it’s weird or awkward in some way hahahah, I tried though.

Unedited

Warnings: NSFW 18+ minors DNI, smut, kidnapping, vaginal fingering, vaginal sex, Stockholm syndrome, belt whipping, it’s pretty basic from here,

You hadn’t been here long, maybe a few days? A week at the most according to your math. Your 20th birthday had just passed. This was the worst birthday you’d ever gotten. You’d only seen the man who kidnapped you a few times now. It was pretty much just to give you food and water.

You’ve also come to find you kind of pissed him off a lot more than you kept him happy. Whenever he first entered the basement his voice was playful, non-threatening. You weren’t sure if it was an edge to your voice or if you were more sarcastic than you thought, but his voice would always drop to this low, husky, aggressive tone.

Whenever you heard that voice, there was a little twinge in your stomach. You just chalked it up to fear, but it felt a little different. Something was odd about it. What was it? You couldn’t properly place. It wasn’t pure anger, it wasn’t purely fear, it wasn’t sadness, so what was it?

It might’ve been morning. Or night. You couldn’t tell at this point, but the door directly across from you clicked open. There was the familiar silhouette of the man who’d kidnapped you, tray in hand, longish hair, the only difference? You couldn’t see the horns that were attached to his mask.

He walked closer to the mattress and you realized, he wasn’t wearing the top half of his mask. His eyes were piercing, yet had a sort of kindness to them. You just barely see the bridge of his nose and the way his hair framed his face, damn. He was kind of.... handsome? NO. No no no, absolutely not. Besides, he still that smiling bottom half of his mask, you can’t judge someone’s look without seeing their full face.

He stopped just before reaching the mattress and set down a tray of food for you. Nothing different from the usual.

He looked at you expectantly and you just eyed him, suspicious. When didn’t make a move for the food he sighed heavily and shook his head. “Why must you been such a pain? Starve, if you wish, little dove. It won’t help your chances of leaving.” He chuckled at the end of his statement, as though the concept itself was ridiculous.

You simply glared at him, unwilling to move or speak. He stood there for a few seconds before shrugging and turning to leave.

Something different happened this time. You picked up on it instantly, the door hadn’t been latched. He finally slipped up. Finally you had a chance to escape.

You gave a few minutes before even touching the door, to be sure he was gone by the time you tried to open it.

You tip toed to the door and as quietly as you could, pulled it open. You peeled through the crack of the door. Nothing. No sounds, no figures. Everything was still.

You quietly walked the up the stairs. Careful to not make a sound. As you got closer and closer to the top of the stairs you peaked around the corner of the hallway. The sight was like nothing else you’d seen.

The man you kidnapped was there sitting on a chair, shirtless, belt in hand, and his whole mask covering his face.

Something shifted in your stomach. You hadn’t even realized how long you sat there for, yet he had no reaction. You watched the rise and fall of his glorious chest.

Once realizing the scene you were staring at you quickly pulled your head behind the wall and slapped your hand over your mouth. Eyes wide, and breathing heavy you stood there, unsure of what to do. He looked awake, yet had no reaction to you being there. He must’ve been asleep right? Yeah, had to be. You almost wished he were awake.

What would he have done to you if he were? It was pretty self explanatory, but it also wasn’t. Would he punish you for being upstairs, or would have killed you then there? Beat to death by belt, what a strange way to go.

If he punished you... what all would he have done? It was quite the provocative way to look when you’re for your victim to walk upstairs, wasn’t it?

You pulled your hand away from your mouth. Slowly, your head poked out from behind the wall. Your brain was able to properly register it this time. You stayed there, staring at every part of the man before you. Mask, hair, arms, belt, and that bulky chest. You shakily sighed and rested your hand on your chest, above your heart. It wouldn’t stop pounding.

No. There was no fucking way you attracted to a kidnapper, a murder. Here you were though, shamelessly staring at every inch of exposed skin you could see. Staring at the belt in his hand. Here you were catching yourself, wishing for him to wake up and punish you. You hadn’t really noticed yourself walk out from behind the wall, and into the kitchen.

You leaned against the wall next to you, and stared. You couldn’t the wondering of your mind. The stories it created and the deep dark fantasies it created. You hadn’t even noticed when his hand twitched.

The man swiftly stood from his seat, without thinking he whipped the belt at you. In an instant you had turned around and slightly bent over clutching your head, it was instinct after all. However, that instinct, caused his aim to be just off. So much so that instead of hitting your back, the belt whipped your ass.

The sound you made nothing short of ungodly. He froze. No one had ever made a sound like that before. You more turned on than anything.

“Pl-please, do it again...” you whispered. You couldn’t even think about what you were saying. You felt like you were going to vomit. Disgusted by your own words.

He said nothing, only laughed, before whipping your ass again with his belt. This had more power, a lot more. You fell onto the counter beside you, using it to support yourself.

You let out a shakey breath, hearing the sound of his feet coming closer. He stopped right behind you. He places his hands on your hips and pulled you to the left, centering you with the counter.

You leaned farther onto the counter, giving your shakey knees a small break. He dragged his hands from your hips to your butt. He stood there for a moment, head tilted as he caressed you.

“My, I knew you were interesting, but this is...” he paused, unable to describe how shocking this truly was. “This is much better.”

His hands then trailed from your butt up to your shirt. Grabbing the hem of your shirt he dragged it with his hands. Pulling your shirt off, he grabbed one of your bra straps and snapped it.

Clicking his tongue, he took on a disappointed tone. “This really is no good.” His voice was soft, he sounded as though he were contemplating.

“You know, little dove, your seductress game may work tonight, but I’ll still have to punish you for being naughty.” Teasing, turned on, excited? All three at once? You couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. Not to you, not to him. Not right now.

“Please punish me.” You could barely whisper it. You felt so much shame.

He laughed. Loud and even proud. Had he already broken you? What a delightful surprise. “Hm, I don’t know... is it much of a punishment of your asking for it?”

You bit your lip and your nails attempted to dig into the counters. “Please, please, just do it. Punish me for being bad, I haven’t been well behaved, I need a reminder to be a good girl. Please!” Your foot lightly stomped at the end of your begging fest.

He released a heavy sigh. “When you beg so sweetly, how could I not give you what you want?”

You only whined in response, not that he was even asking. You carefully listened as he slowly backed up. You could hear the jangle of the belt buckle begin moved around, but you couldn’t tell what was happening.

You moved your head to look over your shoulder and right as you did you hear the crack of the belt and then an unforgiving sting, across your ass cheek. You yelped and jumped.

“Be a doll,” his voice has a sudden change in tone. It was deep and raspy, “and count.”

Trembling your head turned away and you began counting. “1”

Another crack followed by the same stinging and burning. “2”

By the fourth hit his pace began to go speed up. Somehow instead of his arm getting more tired of just seemed to have more power to it.

“6” Tears stung your eyes but you refused to cry.

“9” Every single centimeter of your ass was stinging.

Even after number 10, he wasn’t satisfied. You put on such a show, what a shame it would be to stop here. Something needed to change though.

He set the belt on the counter beside you and grabbed the hem of your pants. Before pulling them he hesitating, he didn’t think much just watched your body language. You only held still. He took it as the go ahead, so, in one swoop he aggressively pulled your pants down.

Gently, he guided your feet through the leg holes in your pants and then threw them to the side. Slowly, his hands trailed up your legs and he slowly stood back up as they moved. Stopping the hem of your panties, he simply admired the sight before him.

A small bit of red, most of it covered by the fabric of your underwear. He gently pulled down your panties and let them drop to the floor. Now he could really admire his work. But it wasn’t enough. It was wasn’t dark enough, he wanted to leave marks to remind you for weeks, who you listened to. Who you belonged to.

He grabbed his belt and resumed whipping you. All the while you counted, like a good girl. By the time you reached 15 strikes, you were sniffling with slow tears rolling down your cheeks. Your butt was now a bright red, certain spots darker than others. Spots he purposely hit often.

When he heard your sniffling he stopped and began to run your back. “You asked for this.” He reminded you. “Even if you hadn’t, you were still a bad girl.”

“I’m sorry.” You sniffled, you weren’t sure what you apologizing for. “I promise I won’t misbehave again.” Your voice broke and a few more tears trickled down your face.

“I suppose that’ll do for now. If you’re bad again,” midway through his statement his voice dropped, “expect your punishment to be far worse.”

You nodded your head, acknowledging his ‘terms’ and rubbed your thighs together. It had been bugging you the whole time, even as you began to cry. The wetness and heat between your legs had grown with the pain.

He flipped you over so your back was against the counter. Lifting you up, you were now sat on the counter, legs spread.

Your face grew hot and your head turned away from his intense stare. His hand grabbed your chin and forced you make eye contact with him. His hand moved down slowly. Finding your clit, his index and middle finger gently circled it and you gasped.

The sudden pleasure was such a lovely contrast to the soreness of your ass. Looking down, you watched as one finger slowly enter you. Your mouth opened but no sound came out.

He slowly pumped the one finger while still circling your clit with his index finger. He then pushed his ring finger inside you. Your head fell back as you moaned.

He steadily began to pick up his pace. The squelching sounds your pussy made were unholy. Your face was hot with embarrassment. Your toes began to curl and un-curl as a knot began to form in your stomach.

His fingers began to curl inside you, hitting that special spot. He pace never let up, even as your legs began to shake. Your breathing quicker and beads of sweat began rolling down your forehead.

Your moans quickened. You clenched around his fingers, then, everything stopped. You let out a long whine and looked at his now still arm.

He slowly pulled out of you. “Patience, love.”

You couldn’t muster up the words to answer so you only nodded, your head still against the wall. Your did your best to slow your breathing.

You leaned forward and reached towards his pants. Unbuttoning and pulling them down, you gulped.

He was long and thicc, larger than you had imagined. You but your lip and glanced up at him. You tried to slide off the counter, but he only pushed you back down.

“Next time, right now, I just want to fuck you.” He pumped himself a few times before lining up with your entrance.

With a low grown he pushed into you. Your cunt burned, unused to stretching to far. He bottomed out, and held still, waiting for you to adjust to him.

After a moment he began to slowly move in and out of you. Your small moans were encouragement for him to speed up. Your hands found their way to his shoulders. Your nails began to dig into his skin. One hand tangled itself into his hair and began gently pulling.

That was his excuse. With one he grabbed both of your’s and pulled them above you head. Using his weight to pin them against the wall. His free hand was holding into your hip so tight it was sure to leave bruises.

He began to lean more weight into your wrists and his head was so close to just resting on your shoulder, yet his pace didn’t lighten one bit. If anything, he kept getting faster and faster. You swore the counter began to move and the walls started to shake.

You feel your hips twitching into him. His pelvis rubbed against your clit in an almost painful way.

His skin slapped against your’s, and your hot breath intermingled with his. The air felt thick. You pulled at your arms trying anything to gain control over them again. He held them tight, his hand not moving once.

Mindlessly, you leaned forward, in an act of rebellion you guessed. You yanked the bottom half of his mask off and crashed your lips into his. It took him a moment to begin kissing you back. He bit your lip and you gasped, your tongues twisted together, and you moaned into the kiss. The vibrations reverberating through your mouths.

His pace started to become sporadic and his groans grew louder. Your nails dug into the palm of your hand and the top of his hand. Your toes began to curl. Your legs were wrapped tightly around his waist.

He thrusted into harder, and his seed spilled over, filling you. The feeling of warmth that created deep inside you pushed you over the edge.

He continued fucking you both through your highs. He then stilled and very slowly pull out of you. You whined at the feeling, your cunt fighting to keep him buried inside you.

He dropped your hands and leaned his still masked forehead against your shoulder. Your legs dropped from his waist and you both sat there, just breathing.

Breathlessly, he chuckled, “I knew you were a good choice.” His arms wrapped around your waist hugging you.

You laughed and returned his hug. It was sweaty, hot, and bits of uncomfortable and comfortable. Something about the way you held each other, just made both of you never want to let go.

You weren’t sure what would happen after you both let go. You weren’t sure you wanted to know. But you wished for this to continue. No matter how wrong it was.

[ravelights]

In honour of 300 followers and based of the most recent chapter of MHA with Dabi backstory, I give you the Zagreus au on how Shoto and Touya met. They would spend almost seven years together before Shoto gets caught and sent to Zagreus prison were he meets the rest of villain class 1-a.

There was a stranger praying at Touya alter.

Shoto wasn’t sure why he wandered into his dead brother’s room, maybe because it was the furthest room from his Dad or perhaps because it was the place where his Dad was the calmest. All Shoto wanted was to get away from the harsh training, and the never-ending fire that his Father threw at him, fire that was so cold. He wanted some one who understood what it was like to be suffocated by their Father, and going off what Natsuo had told him, Touya knew all about that.

Even a dead sympathiser was better then nothing.

Except the intruder wasn’t supposed to be in this room, technically Shoto wasn’t meant to be in this room either, but he had more rights than the injured teen in front of him.

“That’s a nasty scar” The strange intruder mumbled more to himself then to Shoto, but the comment still cut deep.

“What…what are you doing here?” Shoto demanded coldly from the stranger, who stared down at him in the same dazed expression he made when he spotted Shoto. “You move and I’ll freeze you” he added frost covering his right hand.

The white hair intruder had to be a teenager, myriad scars around his face and hands, he also was wearing tattered hospital clothes. The strangers ice blue eyes scanned Shoto up and down, lingering on the bruises, scars and bandages; Shoto couldn’t help feeling that the gaze was familiar.

The teen lowered his soot covered hands, blinking slowly, “It’s my room, I think I have the right to be here” the stranger replied in a hoarse voice. “At least it was my room…” he trailed off; picking up the picture of Touya that stood on the alter.

“This isn’t your room, it belong to my Big brother, he’s dead and you’re not a ghost” Shoto explained with a huff, already weirded out by the stranger.

“A ghost is someone who former self is dead, but has unfinished business, I think I qualify as a ghost, masterpiece” the strange teen drawled dropping the photo. In doing so the glass shattered, causing Shoto heart to skip a beat in panic.

They both fell silent, staring down at broken picture frame. The seconds past agonisingly as they waited for the heavy footsteps down the hall, but no one came.

“Where did you get the scar from” The stranger asked after the prolonged silence, not bothering to pick up the broken picture frame.

“That’s none of your-“

“Did He, give it to you?” The stranger cut him off, glaring intently at Shoto scar to the point were the boy turned away in embarrassment.

Even without saying the name Shoto already knew who the stranger was referring too. “No…My mum…did this…” he whispered out, not being able to shake the feeling of having to confess to the intruder.

“Damn…her too” The stranger mumbled looking back down angrily at the photo of Touya.

Both stayed silent for a few seconds, not daring to move or speak.

It was only until the stranger started to move, did Shoto react, sending out a small amount of ice to capture the teens foot. Except it was only until after the action was done did he realise the teen was going away from him; not to him.

“Ah! I…I didn’t” Shoto stammered, shaking his head to clear the panic away. “What do you mean you’re a ghost, who are you?” he demanded, coming back to the main focuses a little bit of anger slipping into his words.

The white hair teen stared down at the ice encasing his left foot, “Why did you use ice, you could just use your fire” the guy mumbled, tugging at his foot.

‘How did he know I have fire?’ Shoto wondered in shock. “I don’t use my right side, that’s his side and I hate him” He spat out, fist clenched making his over worked muscles twinge in pain. “I’m not going to ask again, Who. Are. You?”

The intruder stared down at Shoto with a pitying look, “You hate dear old dad, huh?” the stranger chuckled weakly, sucking a breath in as his shoulder started to shake. “I guess that checks out… He’s the worst father in the world, isn’t he Shoto?” The Stanger asked making Shoto still.

“How do you know-“

“And when I couldn’t cut it, he just moved on to the next, not caring about us failures, not even his masterpiece” the Stranger cut him off with short hiccups. “I mean, he never came, no matter how many times I asked, and he left me to die on that hill, all alone”

The ice around the stranger leg started melting as steam rose off his skin.

“Three years, I died three years ago, and nothing changed…not a single thing fucking changed” he stranger cursed, letting out a strangled laugh as snot dripped down in nose and his breathing heaved. He fell to the ground with a harsh thump, clutching the side of his hair hysterically, between gritted teeth he hiss out:

“Not even me dying could change that. Human. Pile. Of. Shit!”

The intruder started to smoke more, forcing Shoto to take a step forward, hand reached out to freeze the stranger. Only to step on the picture of Touya, painfully cutting his foot on the glass shards.

“Ow!” he hissed pulling his bleeding foot away from the picture, the sound stopping the stranger mid meltdown. Shoto pulled his foot to his chest, losing his footing, falling on the ground with a thump.

A piece of glass was sticking out of the bottom of his foot; Shoto look frantically up at the stranger and then the picture. Some blood had leaked on the portrait, but the image was still clear.

Clear enough for Shoto to recognise who the person was in front of him, from the white hair to the blue eye’s this mysterious intruder, looked like Touya, who should have died three years ago.

The stranger who was wearing his dead brothers face crawled closer to Shoto bleeding foot, clearing the glass away, so that he wouldn’t cut himself.

“Heh, my bad, I guessed I scared you” the copycat mummers, he grasp Shoto foot before the younger boy could squirm his way out. With warm fingers he pulled out the glass shared, the actioning making Shoto suck in a breath.

Then the imposter flicked the glass away, leaving Shoto foot to bleed free, he made no move to bandage the foot or treat it. Instead, the teen just stared at the bleeding foot in silence, bloodied hands letting the foot fall

Shoto looked at the photo on the ground, then back at the stranger face. Although the teen in front of his looked slightly deformed and scarred, the resemblance was uncanny. The stranger was praying in front of his dead brothers alter, stating that it was his room, that he was a ghost, how he had died three years ago; so maybe, just maybe…

“Touya?” Shoto whispered shyly, like it was a sin, which he supposed it was.

No one in his family talked about Touya.

The stranger’s eye flickered from the wounded foot to Shoto face, “ahh, so know you finally recognise me” Touya huffed; wiping the blood off his fingers on the slightly singed hospital gown.

Shoto gapped a few times, afraid to blink in fear his dead brother would disappear, “How are you alive, everyone said you were dead?” Shoto whispered out, getting straight to point.

‘Had he faked his own death and run away, did he get brought back to life, or was he mistaken as someone else and been living their life?’ Shoto theories ran wild, trying to decipher what had happened in the last three years for Touya to have survived.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, alive, or dead, Dad still won’t change” Touya laughed breathlessly, standing up. “And I’m done with this family, and I’m done with being Touya; So, your big brothers dead Masterpiece, so don’t change anything for my sake, ok?” Touya bitterly spat out, walking sloppily to the open window.

“Wait, where are you going?” Shoto hurriedly asked scurrying on to his feet, his wounded one weeping in pain., “Don’t leave, you can’t leave” he added hobbling after his brother.

“I should have left ages ago, word to the wise Dad’s full of shit, you’ll never be better then All Might” Touya scoffed begging to climb at the window. “Mark my words Shoto, I’m going to make Dad regret ever thinking he could” Touya promised darkly.

Shoto hurried faster, catching up to Touya and pulling on his tattered shirt. “But what about Natsou? what about Fuyumi? They really missed you, don’t they deserve to see you?!” he cried out, his foot bleeding all over the carpet.

Touya stilled for a second before shoving Shoto off, “If they cared so much then why didn’t they stop him, why did they stand aside and do nothing?” he spat, jumping out the window, which wasn’t a far fall.

He stared back at Shoto with a pitying gaze, as Shoto stared back with a pleading one. “Just forget about me Shoto, go be dad’s perfect child; heaven knows the rest of us aren’t cut out for it” Touya voice wobbled, as he marched along the grass to the outer wall, ready to leave his life.

Only turning around when Shoto had fallen out of the window with a harsh thump, Touya signed angrily running a hand through his rough hair.

“Will you just-“

“I don’t want to stay with dad!” Shoto cried out rather loudly, making Touya flinch and look around frantically to see if some one had heard that. “I’m sick of Dad, I hate him, I hate what he did to mum, I hate what he did to you. I don’t want to be his perfect child; I don’t want to be anything like him!” Shoto screamed out.

Touya flinched harder frantically covering his younger brother’s mouth, shushing him. “Are you crazy someone might hear! Fine, if you hate dad so much, just leave then, I’m not stopping you” Touya whispered shouted, both hearing the sound of lights turning and a hush voices in the distance.

“Take me with you then” Shoto proposed out of the blue, tears streaming down the boy’s face.

“What? No!”

“Take me with you, I don’t want to be here, and you don’t want to be here, we can go together” Shoto practically demanded, cling onto Touya shirt.

“Why the hell would I take you with me?” Touya hissed; but making no attempts to free Shoto from his shirt. “Give me one good reason!”

“Shoto, where are you!” Fuyumi called out somewhere in the distance, a lot closer then either of them liked.

“Because we can take down Dad together!” Shoto blurted out, “Please, Touya, don’t leave me here with Him” He pleaded, staring up his brothers’ frantic eyes.

Touya stared down at Shoto, eye quickly flickering to the burn scar on his younger brother’s face. He bit his lip, a sharp exhale in defeat. Snatching Shoto up from under the armpits, Touya transferring him to one arm, using his free arm to set the garden ablaze with bright hot blue flames.

The heat of the fire was kissing Shoto cheek as his brother and him fled the burning garden, Shoto foot was still bleeding all over Touya shirt, but the elder didn’t care.

“God, you better not make me regret this” Touya hissed; Shoto buried his face into the nape of his elder brother’s neck, cling on to him for dear life. His brother climbed up the wall and jumped the fence, landing on the other side with ungraceful thump.

As the fled into the cold night, the sounds of commotion being drowned out by his brothers heavy breathing and heartbeat. But despite Touya insisting he was a ghost, Shoto felt… heat, it was likely due to Touya fire quirk that his body ran at a hotter temperature.

But this felt different from Dad.

For the longest time Shoto had hated the heat, the fire. Fire had taken away his family, his brother, his normal life, it had consumed everything good in his life and just left ash in it wake.

But in Touya arms, for the first time, in a long time, he felt comfort from the fire.

[biaswreckingfics]

Transcendent

Pairing: Kang Yeosang x Reader

Genre: Soulmate!AU, Angst, Fluffy ending

Word Count: 9.5k

Summary: You are born with the first words you ever hear your soulmate say permanently marked on your arm, but what happens when your soulmate turns out to be your best friend’s boyfriend and neither of them are willing to end the relationship? Find out in Transcendent.

Soulmates.

The concept of soulmates was kind of funny to you.

The idea that there was one person out there for everyone on a planet filled with billions of people, and you were somehow supposed to find them during a short human lifespan, was wild.

Of course, some people believed in fate and thought that the universe would pull the two souls in the right direction so they could find each other. You didn't know if you believed in that, but something was out there making it happen because you had seen soulmates finding each other with your own eyes.

It was a weird sight to witness. They would be standing there talking to someone or quietly walking by themselves when they would just stop like they were frozen in time. A slow turn would come to reveal their other half and the change that overcame the two individuals was undeniable.

It was ineffable.

There wasn't a physical change that you could see with your eyes, but something shifts within each person, and you always wondered what that was like.

You had always wondered what it would be like to find the one who was meant for you. The one who would be your other half. You didn't want to be one of those people who gushed over their soulmates and constantly talked about the day you would meet them, but your friends knew how badly you wanted to meet your soulmate.

They would catch you running your fingers over the light tattoo on your inner forearm that everyone was born with in curiosity, but you didn't want to make too much of a big deal about it. They knew a part of you yearned to meet the person who would understand you like no one else, and they all wanted that for you.

That didn't mean all of your friends were on the same page as you. Sure, there were some who were, but others wanted to live in the "now", and of course, you didn't blame them.

Nobody knew when they would meet their soulmate, and you understood them wanting to find happiness with another partner in the present, instead of waiting for the future. You had also dated around here and there, but it had never felt right to you. It always felt bland and less colorful than you had hoped.

Your best friend was one of those people who wanted to live in the "now". The ones who hopped into relationships knowing their soulmate was out there probably searching for them without a care.

She had been in five different relationships over the years that you would consider to be somewhat serious, but you were always the first to know and she would share every little nauseating detail with you. That's why you were shocked when she called you to gush about her new boyfriend of a month.

How had she managed to go an entire month without telling you about this mysterious man she was falling for? Where did she even meet him, and why did she wait so long to tell you about it?

"I know he's not my soulmate, Y/N, but he's... perfect."

You quietly sit there and take in Mijung's words in slight disbelief. The two of you have been best friends for well over a decade, and you knew that while Mijung liked to jump into new things, she tended to get over them relatively quickly. It was stunning how much she seemed to be into this guy.

"How come I'm just now hearing about him?" You ask curiously.

Mijung is silent for a good minute and you wonder if she even plans on answering you. "I knew you wouldn't completely agree with our relationship... especially when I tell you how different this one seems..."

The seriousness of her tone catches you off guard. You have never heard Mijung this serious about a guy, and you had to admit, a small part of you was starting to get worried. If they cared about each other this much already... What will they do when they meet their soulmates?

"What's different about this one?"

Mijung takes a deep breath like she's preparing to launch into all the reasons he's so much better than the rest. "At first, we were just having fun. Nothing too serious because we knew we weren't each other's soulmates... but then it just naturally grew into something more. Maybe it's all in my head, but I feel some type of pull towards him, and I know it's quick, but I love him."

Your mouth drops open in shock at her admission, but before you can fully process what she's telling you, she continues to drop another bomb on you.

"What if there has been some type of mistake? What if we were supposed to be soulmates instead?"

You pull your phone away from your ear to check that you are really talking to your best friend. When you do in fact see her contact ID, you bring it back to your ear in confusion. You've never heard your friend talk like this. Ever.

"Mijung... That's never happened before. You know there are no mistakes when it comes to the soulmate tattoo."

"I know, but - "

"Mijung." You unapologetically cut her off.

She sighs loudly in your ear before relenting. "I know... I know the tattoo is never wrong, and I know we're not soulmates... I just wish we were."

"What are you going to do when one of you finds your soulmate?"

Her silence on the other end lets you know you're not going to like whatever she has to say. Whenever Mijung is silent, you know it's because she doesn't want to admit something to you.

"We want to be together. No matter what." She finally says with determination. "If one of us happens to find our soulmate... It's not going to change anything."

You blink a few times, taking in what she's telling you. Now it all made sense why she was hesitant to say anything. She knew you wouldn't agree with ignoring your soulmate when you found them. That wasn't how society worked.

Everyone waits for the day they meet their soulmate. The day colors seem more vibrant and sounds seem more celestial. The day everything in your world clicks into place... and they were just willing to ignore it? To let both of their soulmates go on without them because they thought they wanted to be together instead?

"So, you're just going to say, 'screw your soulmates'?"

She sighs heavily. "Look, I know you're excited to meet your soulmate, but I'm happy with Yeosang. We're happy, and we want to stay together."

When you stay silent, she lets out yet another sigh. "Please, don't be mad at me..."

"I'm not mad at you. You're both grown adults and you can do whatever you want. I don't agree with it, but I can't do anything to stop it, either, so..." You trail off, not sure what else to say at this point.

"Fair enough... but... how would you feel about meeting him?"

"Excuse me?"

"Please, Y/N." Mijung pleads. "I really want the two of you to meet! I know you'll both get along really, really well."

The excitement and happiness in her voice makes you feel slightly guilty for mentally shitting on their relationship.  If your best friend was happy... that was really all you could ask for.

As you agree to meet him, your eyes fall to the tattoo on your forearm. The words that you knew by heart staring back at you in a slightly lighter shade than your skin tone.

Once you hang up with Mijung, you lightly run your fingers over the words like you've been itching to do ever since you started talking about soulmates. The familiar phrase bringing a small smile to your face like it always does.

“It's freaking gray, you dolt.”

You had always wondered what type of conversation spurs those words on, and a twinge of excitement fills you when you think about the day you'll actually find out. The day you'll finally hear the first words of your soulmate.

You try not to get too lost in your imagination, and honestly, it's pretty easy to pull yourself out of it when you think about what Mijung had told you. Would the couple really say, "screw their soulmates" and stay together? Well... you guess you were just going to have to wait and see. Hopefully, for the sake of their soulmates... you never find out.

A few days later, Mijung is hosting a small get-together so her and Yeosang's friends could meet, and so you could finally meet the mystery man himself. She swore only a few people would be there besides you. Thankfully, your other best friend Yunho was going to be there, which was going to help calm your nerves and make you feel less anxious. Especially since Mijung warned you that Yeosang's friends could be a handful.

As soon as you woke up this morning, something felt different. You couldn't place your finger on it, but you knew, without a doubt, something was going to happen today. You just hoped it was something good.

With that in mind, you decide to dress up a little nicer today instead of your normal hoodie and yoga pants. You put on a cozy beige sweater and a pair of flattering skinny jeans that tucked into your brown booties perfectly. You spruced your hair up just enough that it looked like you actually attempted to make it look nice, but not enough that you looked like you were trying too hard. Adding a dainty gold necklace to complete the look, you were satisfied with what you saw in the mirror and quickly headed over to Mijung's.

Once you walk into her apartment, without feeling the need to knock since you were there almost as much as you were at home, you can hear booming laughter coming from the kitchen. You quietly close the door and take a moment to gather yourself before entering what already sounded like chaos.

The first person you spot when you round the corner is your tall, brown-haired, best friend Yunho. He notices you at almost the same exact moment and his eyes immediately light up while a giant smile grows on his face.

"Y/N!"

He strides over to you in two steps thanks to his long legs and pulls you into a tight hug. You welcome the hug from the giant puppy and feel some of your anxiety immediately disappear. If there was one thing Yunho was good at, it was making you feel safe and comforted.

"Hey, Yunho."

"Well... I don't have Yunho's name on my arm." You hear someone sigh from behind him.

A muttered “me either” has you pulling away from your friend and peeking around him. He moves out of the way and turns toward the two strangers in the kitchen with him.

Your eyes immediately fall on two ridiculously attractive black-haired males. One with full lips and a more hawkish nose and the other with small eyes and sharp cheekbones. When the latter smiles, two dimples appear on his cheeks, making him look younger than he did two seconds ago.

"Y/N, this is Wooyoung and San, Yeosang's friends." Yunho introduces you.

"Hi, I'm not your soulmate." The one who Yunho gestured was Wooyoung says.

The other one, San, side-eyes his friend before coming over to you and shaking your hand. "I'm also not your soulmate, but I'll at least be nice about it. My name is San."

"What did I say that was mean?" Wooyoung loudly asks.

As the two discuss what would and wouldn't be considered rude for a greeting at top volume, you glance over at Yunho in question. He nods his head, answering your unasked question.

"They've been like this since I got here."

Before you can respond, you hear Mijung ask the two bickering boys, "Why are you two like this?"

She enters the kitchen with the question and looks over at Yunho in exasperation. When she notices you, she lets out a high-pitched squeal that causes the two dark-haired boys to fall silent.

"You're here!" She happily says while bouncing over to give you a quick hug. "Let me go grab Yeosang real quick, so you can finally meet him!"

As she rushes out of the kitchen, you turn to Yunho and say, "She says so I can finally meet him like I didn't just learn of his existence a few days ago."

Yunho nods in agreement. "She just told me a week ago too."

Your head snaps up to the taller man in disbelief. "She told you first?"

A sheepish expression crosses his face as you mull over his words. You temporarily forget the other two are even there until San gets your attention.

"Yeosang's really nice. You'll like him. Though, he is pretty quiet sometimes, so you might have to pull the conversation out of him."

Wooyoung nods along, adding, "Don't let him fool you, either. He's a savage and will attack when you least expect it."

You hum in thought. Mijung was quite talkative, so you were sure the two balanced each other out in that way.

"Have you guys known him long?" Yunho asks.

"He's been my best friend for years. I probably know him better than anyone else." Wooyoung proudly tells the two of you.

You couldn't help but ask their opinions on your friend's apparent whirlwind romance. "What do you think about their relationship?"

Wooyoung shrugs his shoulders. "If they haven't found their soulmates yet, who cares?"

San glances at the wall across from him for a couple seconds before his eyes come back to you. "I don't think it's right. Especially when they say they're going to stay together regardless of what happens."

Yunho's eyebrows furrow and you figure this is the first he's hearing about this. Before you can ask him what he thinks, Wooyoung scoffs, pulling your attention back to him.

"No one can ignore the soulmate bond. It's over for them as soon as they meet their other half."

The sound of voices coming down the hallway instantly catches your attention. You easily identify Mijung's voice, but the other voice is too deep for you to understand right away.

For some reason, you tense up, but you don't notice until Yunho gives you a weird look. That's also when you notice that you're suddenly holding your breath for some reason. What was wrong with you?

"Are you colorblind, Yeosang? That's blue." You hear Mijung argue.

The most beautiful laugh you’ve ever heard follows her words before you hear a deep voice that shakes you to your core.

"It's freaking gray, you dolt."

At that moment, your world stops. The sounds around you momentarily muffle before suddenly snapping back with a clarity. Their footsteps approaching you become louder and louder with each thud, and a sudden rightness settles into your bones as they get closer. Happiness floods you because you know, without a doubt, you just found your soulmate. Your other half. The person you'll have a connection with that transcends everything.

You feel Yunho bump into your arm and you look over at him in a daze, causing concern to grow on his face. His expression triggers something in your brain, and you're suddenly pulled from the moment when you realize what this means. You found your soulmate... and he was already claiming he never wanted to meet you. He didn't want to start a relationship with you because he wanted to continue being with your best friend, who was apparently in love with him.

With each step that comes closer to you, it gets harder to breathe. It feels like a hand is squeezing tighter and tighter around your throat, and your foggy brain beings to realize that you're panicking.

You had to get out of here. Now. You couldn't meet Yeosang because the second you spoke; the truth would be revealed. Not only would your best friend be devastated, but you would be outright rejected in front of everyone.

Your eyes flash back over to Yunho, who is quietly saying your name and asking if you are alright.

"I need to go."

Confusion flashes in Yunho's eyes. "What?"

"I have to leave." You repeat as you back away from him.

Even you can hear that your words sound desperate, and Yeosang's friends look over at you in confusion. You continue to back away from the three men who are watching you with either concern or like you were crazy.

A strong feeling tells you that Mijung and Yeosang are going to round the corner any second, so you turn and book it for her front door without a backward glance. You run away from her apartment like your life depends on it, and you don't stop until you're in the safety of your own.

Once you shut your apartment door, you lean back against it and try to take deep breaths to get some air back into your lungs. You thank everything in the universe that Mijung only lives five minutes away from you because you wouldn't have been able to go much farther.

You take a few more deep breaths to try to calm down, but you can feel yourself shaking. You don't know if you are shaking from adrenaline, shock, or fear, but you were sure it was a culmination of the three.

You had just found your soulmate. The only person in the world who is meant for you, but he is your best friend's boyfriend and she is apparently in love with him. Not to mention, he is willing to screw you over to be with her.

You feel your phone vibrating in your pocket and pull it out. You stare at your phone as you see Mijung's contact name blaring at you. There was no way you could talk to her right now. You didn't even know what the hell you would say to her in the first place. "Oh, hi.  I'm sorry for just running out like that. By the way, your boyfriend is my soulmate. Isn't that crazy?" Yeah, right.

You hold your phone in your hand until it goes to voicemail and the tiniest sense of relief fills you. You unlock your phone with a sigh and see several missed calls from Mijung and a couple from Yunho… How would you explain any of this to her?

You toss your phone toward your couch and your eyes catch a glimpse of your soulmate mark. The words you had heard Yeosang say not even half an hour ago. The words you were once so excited to hear, but now cause your heart to stutter in panic.

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Over the next couple of weeks, Mijung tries a countless number of times to get you and Yeosang to meet, and every single time you came up with an excuse or a way to get out of it, just like the night you had found out he was your soulmate.

Once you had finally returned her multiple missed calls, you came up with the excuse that you had suddenly felt very nauseous and needed to leave. She thought it was a little odd but didn't question it too much.

That excuse could only work so many times, though, so you came up with many others like you had to work or your parents needed you for something, but you knew Mijung was suspicious of why you suddenly never had time. You knew your window of time was closing, and you would have to meet him eventually.

You wished you could say a part of you was surprised when Mijung ended up calling you out, but you knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Mijung wasn't the type of person to accept "no" as an answer, and certainly not as many times as you have said it. You were slightly surprised you got away with it as long as you had.

"I know you're avoiding meeting him, Y/N," she tells you through the phone. "So, you can stop giving me all of these excuses."

You can hear the irritation in her voice, and while a part of you feels bad, the other part of you doesn't. This wouldn't even be happening right now if her and Yeosang weren't being selfish and stubborn.

She sighs in your ear. "Is it because you don't agree that we should be together?"

"They're not excuses, Mijung," you lie through your teeth. "I've just been busy lately."

Her silence lets you immediately know she's not believing a word you say.

"Look, it's not like he's even met his stupid soulmate yet, anyway, so why does it bother you so much?"

Even though she didn't know it, her words were like a slap to the face, and you sat there in disbelief that your friend was behaving this way. You mentally scoff. His stupid soulmate was also her stupid best friend.

You take a deep breath before mumbling that you have to go and hang up the phone.

You knew you had two options. You could meet him and let the truth come out and bask in the awkwardness that will inevitably ensue... or you could stay away and willingly lose the friendship you had with Mijung.

You knew your friendship with Mijung was going to take a hit either way. She would either be hurt by the truth or she'd never forgive you for continuously avoiding meeting the person she was "in love with".

Both options had pros and cons, and there were things you needed to consider before you decided what you were going to do. If you decided to go and meet Yeosang, you would finally get to know what your soulmate looked like. You would finally know if he was short or tall, a manly man or a pretty boy, but you would also be rejected by the one person on this planet who was supposed to want to be with you.

The pro to the second option was avoiding hurting your friend while also avoiding the rejection they apparently were going to give you, but it also meant that you were willingly giving up your soulmate and your decade-long friendship with Mijung.

Neither option sounded appealing to you, and a part of you hated both of them for making you have to decide between a rock and a hard place. You didn’t want to give up your soulmate. You’ve been waiting for him nearly your entire life, but him wanting to ignore the bond was forcing you to make that decision anyway, and since rejection hurts a hell of a lot more than curiosity, you choose the latter.

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For the next few weeks, you spend most of your time with either Yunho or by yourself. Once Mijung realized you were doing your best to never meet Yeosang, she obviously grew upset. In her eyes, you were mad about what her and Yeosang were doing, and you never bothered to correct her. It would be far worse for her to find out he was your soulmate than for her to think you thought they were being stupid. Which they were so it wasn't like she was far off.

After the first week, she had thankfully given up on trying to get the two of you to meet and has spent the last couple of weeks avoiding you like you were her. Of course, it hurt. It hurt to treat your close friend like this and to have her treat you like this, but it hurt more knowing that your soulmate was so close to you, yet so far away. You could live with losing Mijung’s friendship, but you weren’t sure you could continue ignoring your soulmate and letting him keep living in their lie. However, besides blowing up their relationship, there was nothing you could do.

Unfortunately, it was all going to come to a head, and quicker than you would've liked.

It was like the universe was determined to make you and your soulmate meet. If it hadn't been Mijung trying to consistently get you to meet Yeosang, it was Yunho begging you to hang out with the three of them, so he wasn't third-wheeling. If it wasn't that, it was apparently the three of you running into each other on the street, and this time, there was no escaping the inevitable.

You had been searching for a birthday present for Yunho when you decided that you needed a coffee, or you were going to collapse on the sidewalk.

Although you may have been dramatic with that statement, something inside of you did start to feel weird, but you couldn't place it. Something... something was going to happen, and soon.

You push the feeling to the side as you approach the entrance of the coffee shop. Once you got your dose of caffeine, you would figure out what this feeling was, but you had zero hopes of doing it right now.

As you go to reach for the handle, the door of the coffee shop pushes open toward you, and you quickly back away to avoid impact.

"Oh my god. I'm so sor... Y/N?"

Your body freezes once you place the voice, and your eyes slowly trail up and meet Mijung's. You open your mouth to say something, but quickly snap it shut once you take in the quiet presence next to her.

Your body and mind scream at you to look at the person next to her. To look at the man you had no doubt was Yeosang, and you try to fight it, but quickly realize there's no hope in fighting the inevitable. Slowly, you look over to the right and try to stop the gasp that leaves you.

Standing before you was a prince. There was no other way to describe him. He was ethereal, otherworldly. His skin was perfection. There wasn't a mark on it besides what looked to be a birthmark near his left eye that made him no less attractive. In fact, it added an allure to him that intrigued you beyond words. His pouty lips complimented his round cheeks in a way that made him seem softer, more delicate.

You meet his brown eyes as they stare at you curiously before you notice his brow furrow in confusion. A weird look crosses his face and that's when you know he can feel the pull because you can feel it too. It was like every fiber of your being wanted you closer to him, wanted you to unite with him.

You shake your head when you hear an "excuse me" and realize the three of you are still blocking the entrance to the coffee shop. You move away and back onto the sidewalk and the couple follows you, much to your dismay. You take in the look on Mijung's face and mentally prepare yourself for what was to come. She knew this was the perfect opportunity for the two of you to finally meet.

"Y/N! I'm so glad we ran into you. I've been dying for you to meet Yeosang!" She says with a spark in her eyes that you can't interpret.

You glance over at him and he offers you a tight-lipped smile. "Hello."

Your eyes fall closed at this voice. It was deliciously deep and may be the most calming thing you've ever heard.

When you realize what you're doing, you snap your eyes open and offer him a small smile and nod. You were determined to not say anything. The last thing you wanted was to cause a scene in the middle of freaking town.

Mijung notices your lack of voice and you can see her frustration build, but you had to remind yourself that you were doing this for her. For both of you. The more you were in Yeosang's presence, though, the less you cared about their relationship.

Why were you so willing to let your soulmate go? Why didn't you deserve a little happiness for once?

Before Mijung can call you out on your behavior, the door to the coffee shop flies open and a group of teens come out, snagging your attention for a moment. You notice the one who opened the door with his back continue to walk backward, but you think nothing of it until he slams right into you.

He spins around in surprise at the collision and spills his warm coffee right onto you. You hear Mijung and Yeosang gasp, while you hiss in shock, expecting his coffee to be hot, but relax when you realize it's more lukewarm than anything. Thank god, because getting burned was not on your list of things to do today.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" The teenage boy panics.

He grabs napkins from his friend’s hand and begins wiping at the sleeve of your shirt. You look down at what he's doing and see a growing brown stain covering your sleeve. You appreciate his effort, but it's way too late to save it.

"I'm so sorry for ruining your shirt! I'll buy you a new one, I promise!" The boy shouts, still in full panic mode.

You grab his hands in an effort to calm him down, and to stop him from pulling at your shirt some more. You look him directly in the eyes and give him a small smile.

"It's an old shirt, anyway... and I'm okay, really."

"Are you sure? I'm so sorry..."

"Yes. I'm fine. It's not a big deal," you softly tell him.

The teenage boy looks at you like he's not sure if he should believe you before slowly nodding his head.

"I'm really sorry... again..." He tells you as he backs away from you. Realizing that's what got him into trouble the first time, he whips around and hurries after his friends.

You watch him go for a minute and sigh as you feel the liquid on your shirt become cold. Great. Now you were gonna have to... Your mind trails off as you begin to remember what was going on before the coffee incident. Shit...

You slowly turn to look at the couple next to you. Taking a deep breath, your eyes meet Yeosang's shocked ones as he searches your face in wonder.

"You're my soulmate..."

"Yeah..." you softly say.

A noise comes from next to you that snags both of your attention. You look over at Mijung, who was completely frozen beside Yeosang. Heartbreak and pain are clearly etched on her features as she takes in what's happening.

Yeosang looks between the two of you, confusion and sadness crossing his face as he tries to figure out what to do. You remember what Mijung had said when she was telling you about Yeosang. How he apparently didn't care if he found his soulmate and that he wanted to be with her.

A part of you wondered if that would change now that he met you. The soulmate bond was intense and everything in you wanted, needed, to be near Yeosang. Would he really try to ignore the soulmate bond? Did he still want to?

"You're his... That's why you've been ignoring me..."

"Mijung... I'm so sorry..."

"Are you?" She roughly asks while her eyes flash with anger. "You thought we were stupid for ignoring the soulmate bond. You probably think this is what I deserve, don't you?"

Your head jerks back like you've been slapped. "What the hell are you talking about? It's not like I planned this.

"Whatever," she spits before turning and nearly running the opposite way.

Yeosang continues to stand there for a moment, not knowing what to do. His eyes flit between you and Mijung's retreating figure. You see the longing in his gaze, but don't know who it's for.

His eyes fall close, and he takes a deep breath. When he opens them again, he looks back at you.

"I'm sorry..."

Your heart stutters at those words, and you know exactly why he's saying them. He was going after Mijung. He was going to stay with her.

It feels like your heart cracks as Yeosang turns away from you. With each step he takes, it feels like it gets harder to breathe. A part of you likes to think that his slow movements are because he's feeling everything that you do, but you have no way to know for sure. You silently stand there alone as you watch the one person who's supposed to love you walk away.

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The next couple of weeks pass by in a blur. You fall into a boring, consistent routine of work and home. The only other time you bothered to leave the house was to see Yunho or get groceries.

Life felt like it lost its sparkle ever since your soulmate left you, and it was easy to find yourself staring off into space for long amounts of time. You, also, often found yourself feeling anxious and even a little bit twitchy. Your body knew something wasn't right, and it didn't know what to do about it.

The first week was the hardest. The rejection was still fresh and the knowledge that your soulmate and best friend were together when they knew the truth, was like a slice to the chest.

Avoiding them was easy because they avoided you just as much. It was like they were pretending what they found out didn't happen. They were continuing to live in their fantasy world.

When you got a phone call from Mijung the following week, you were surprised. You weren't ready to talk to her. You didn't want to hear her apologies or excuses, so you ignored it, and the dozens of calls after that. You couldn't really be mad at Mijung for fighting for what she wanted, but that didn't mean you were ready to face her and go back to being normal again.

Yunho respected your thoughts and feelings and didn't try to force you to forgive her, especially when he found out the real reason behind your actions, which you were thankful for. To say he was shocked that Yeosang was your soulmate was an understatement, and he was just as upset with Mijung’s actions as you were.

However, Yunho was always quicker to forgive people than you were. He went back to hanging out with Mijung and Yeosang fairly quickly, and when he asked if you had talked to your soulmate, you were confused. How would you have talked to him? Why would he want to talk to you?

That was the part that hurt the most. Yeosang knew who you were, and he didn't want to do anything about it. He wanted to live in the fantasy world he and Mijung had created, and as much as you wanted to pretend you were okay with it, you weren't.

What would even happen when he and Mijung broke up? Did he think he could come crawling back to you? Finally give his soulmate a chance? You didn't want to be a second choice for anyone, especially your soulmate. No fucking way.

Also, how could you be with someone who was in love with someone else? Your best friend at that? How could you be intimate with someone who had been intimate with your best friend? Who had chosen her? Could you compete with that? With what they had? Did you even want to?

Not to mention, how could the three of you ever be in the same room together? Whether Yeosang was with her or with you? The awkwardness, guilt, and pain the three of you would feel was something you wanted to physically crawl away and hide from.

You pull yourself away from the horrifying and self-deprecating thoughts that were trying to penetrate your mind and look down at your phone with a sigh. Before you could even finish the thought about Yunho being late, the tall man rushes into the coffee shop, his eyes searching for you. Once he spots you, he books it for your table with an apologetic smile.

"I'm so sorry I'm late."

You regard him like you're annoyed, but you really aren't. "I'll forgive you if you buy me a muffin."

"Consider it done," he says, smirking at your ploy to get free food.

You silently watch as he gets up to order himself a coffee and you an apology muffin.

Yunho had asked you to go get coffee with him today because he had something he wanted to talk about with you. You weren't stupid. You knew he wanted to talk to you about Mijung, and his sudden request for a coffee date instead of hanging out at one of your apartments like you usually did, clued you in on it. Especially, when you knew he had hung out with Mijung yesterday.

For the next 30 minutes, you're able to avoid the topics of Mijung, Yeosang, and soulmates all together, but you know Yunho isn't letting you leave this coffee shop until he talks about whatever he wants to talk about.

"They broke up."

You pause with your coffee halfway up to your mouth as you process his words. He takes your actions as an encouragement to continue.

"They tried to make it work for a couple days, but neither of them could move past what happened... That's why Mijung has been calling you."

You clear your throat and put your cup back on the table. What were you supposed to say? That sucks? You're sorry they didn't work out? Because you weren't. Actually... you didn't know what you were.

"I don't really... know what you want me to say?"

Yunho sighs, "Mijung feels really guilty. She knew that you wanted to be with your soulmate... and she knew she was in the way of that..."

"So, she broke up with him?"

Yunho shakes his head no. "It was mutual. She felt guilty and Yeosang... well, Yeosang felt the change. I guess when they say something clicks into place, they're right... Yeosang wants to be with you, or at least get to know you..."

He pauses to take in your reaction, but you offer him nothing. However, he does sigh when he sees your cautious gaze. "I'm not trying to tell you what you should do here, but... he's your soulmate, Y/N. I know you, and I know you're not going to avoid your soulmate for the rest of your life."

You pick your cup back up and bring it to your lips as you avoid Yunho's eyes. He was right. You wanted that soulmate bond, and now that Mijung was out of the way, you could have it, but it still didn't sit right with you.

Once the lukewarm liquid goes down your throat, you ask, "What do you think I should do?"

"Talk to them," Yunho says without hesitation.

You sigh, "I don't know if I'm quite ready to talk to Mijung... and I don't even know how to reach Yeosang."

Yunho tilts his head as an odd look crosses his face. "Yeosang says he's tried calling you quite a few times."

Your brows furrow in confusion before it clicks into place. You had been getting calls from a number you didn't recognize, but you kept ignoring them because you didn't answer calls from unknown numbers. It had been Yeosang calling you this whole time? Why wouldn’t he leave a voicemail or send a text when you continuously didn't answer?

You ponder over what to do the entire trip home. Should you call Yeosang? Wait until he calls you again? What are you going to do about Mijung? You had almost left your coffee date with Yunho with more questions than you originally had, and now you were more frustrated than ever.

You continue to process everything you had learned as you trek up to your apartment. They had tried to make it work... Tried to be together knowing who you were... Mijung knew how much you wanted to be with your soulmate, and Yeosang felt the same things you did when he figured out who you were, but Mijung...

Mijung was standing right in front of you.

You pause in the middle of the hallway and eye Mijung while she stands next to your apartment door. The thought of making a quick escape and avoiding her fleetingly crosses your mind, but the option is quickly taken from you when Mijung's eyes spot you.

"Hey..." She starts, taking a step toward you before stopping.

You take in her twiddling fingers and anxious gaze. She's nervous to talk to you. She's scared you're going to freak out on her or slam the door in her face.

You take a step toward her, and then another until you're outside of your apartment door. Mijung bites her lip as she watches you, but you ignore her and open your door. You don't take a step inside, though. Instead, you wave your hand into your apartment as an "after you" gesture.

Mijung takes the hint, but before she steps all the way into your apartment, she pauses and turns to you. When she throws her arms around you in an awkward hug, you freeze, not expecting it.

"I'm so sorry..."

You bring your hand up and awkwardly pat her back. "Let's get into the apartment before we talk. My neighbors are nosey, and I don't want them to know what's going on."

Mijung nods and pulls away from you. Once you're free from her limbs, you shut your apartment door and walk towards your couch, knowing Mijung will follow you.

When you're both sitting down, Mijung immediately turns to you and picks up from where she left off. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have tried to continue a relationship with him after finding out you are his soulmate. That was such a shitty thing to do. I know how excited you were to be with your soulmate... but I just loved him. I didn't want to give him up… I was being selfish."

You slowly take in her words. "Believe me... Nobody expected this to happen."

She gives you a sad smile and the two of you fall into silence. You're not surprised when she breaks it because you didn't have much to say at the moment.

"You should call him."

You snap your head to look over at her. "What?"

"Y/N, he's your soulmate. You should be with him," she tells you through misty eyes. "He's a good guy and he deserves to be happy, and you're the one person on this planet that will make him happy. That will complete him."

Surprise floods you at her words. "But what about you?"

She looks away and sighs. "I'll meet my soulmate one day... Who knows? It could even happen tomorrow. Life is odd like that."

You give Mijung a confused look and wonder who the heck this person next to you is. Mijung wasn't wistful like this. She wasn't one to dream about her soulmate.

She looks over and catches the expression on your face, which causes her to laugh. "I know. Who am I? ...Things were great with Yeosang, and if being with your soulmate is even better? Then I want that. For both of us."

"Yeosang wanted to be with you, though... He knew who I was, and he still left with you," you quietly admit part of your fears.

A guilty look crosses her face. "That was... my fault... He didn't want me to be upset, and I was so bound and determined to say, 'screw soulmates', I don't think he even knew what to do. That's why he followed me..."

She pauses like she's working up the nerve to admit to something, and when she finally does, a sick feeling grows in the pit of your stomach.

"Yeosang wasn't the one who wanted to ignore our soulmates... That was all me, and I kept trying to push him into wanting the same thing as I did, but I knew that was over the second he saw you... He stayed with me for those couple of days because I begged him to... but he was different. I think he tried to hide how he was really feeling from me, but it was obvious he didn't want to be there anymore. He was mentally checked out. Distracted, distant, and overall, just sad. When he sat me down to talk, I knew what it was about. He wanted to pursue something with you. He couldn't be with me anymore."

So many thoughts swirled through your head, you didn’t know which one to focus on.

This entire time, you were under the impression that Yeosang didn’t want to be with his soulmate. That he wanted to be with Mijung, and he didn’t care if he met his soulmate or not… but that was all Mijung? It was Mijung’s idea to ignore soulmates? Did he even say those things or was it all just Mijung’s wishful thinking?

Also, they were only together for a couple of days? She begged him to stay with her? A part of you was so mad at Mijung. That she purposely ruined this for you and convinced your soulmate to stay with her. How could she do this to you? To Yeosang?

Then again, another part of you was elated. Yeosang wants to be with you. He’s always wanted to be with his soulmate. He’s even tried contacting you multiple times. He hadn’t really rejected you…

“Yeosang wanted to be with his soulmate?” You ask for clarification. When she meekly nods, you continue. “It was you alone saying, ‘screw soulmates’?”

“Yes… and it was me who tried to continue the relationship afterward. Yeosang’s just too good of a guy to kick me to the curb.”

You hum in thought because what are you supposed to say? If you let your true thoughts and feelings out right now, you might end up smacking Mijung for pulling something so disgusting. For trying to keep soulmates from coming together when they’re two people she claims to “love”.

“Y/N… he’s your soulmate… He wants to be with you, not me, and he always has. Plus, there’s a reason the universe wants the two of you together… so you should call him and meet up.”

Your head was extra fuzzy now as Mijung suggests you call Yeosang again. She had just dumped a shit ton of information on you and it was a lot to process. You were gonna need a clear head before you talk to him about any of this.

While you are trying to work through your inner turmoil, you don’t notice Mijung reaching for your phone until it’s too late. You look up in confusion as she jumps up from your couch. Her head is down as she furiously types something on what you come to realize is your phone.

Before you can jump up and snatch it back, she drops it into your lap with a smile. “This is just the start of me trying to make up for what I did.”

You watch in complete confusion as she makes a beeline for your door before looking down at your phone to see what she did. When you see that the call screen is up and your phone is currently in the process of calling someone, you panic.

You recognize that number. You’ve had multiple missed calls from that number the past couple of weeks.

A deep voice answers the phone and suddenly you forget how to breathe.

“Hello?”

You open your mouth to say something, but absolutely nothing comes out. You can hear Yeosang’s soft breaths as he waits for you to say something, but you can’t make yourself do it.

“Y/N?”

Your eyes fall closed as he softly says your name. You had never heard it sound more beautiful than in that moment. It was almost like a caress. You force your eyes open and take a deep breath. You had to say something before he hung up.

“Hey, Yeosang…”

It’s quiet for a moment before you hear, “It’s really good to hear your voice…”

“Yours too…” You let out a soft laugh. “This is awkward, isn’t it?”

“Only if we let it be.”

The slight determination in his voice eases your anxiety. He was right. It was only going to be awkward if you made it that way. You take another breath.

“Would you like to meet up somewhere?”

“Yes,” he replies without hesitation, almost before you can finish asking.

You hold back the laugh that wants to come out and suggest meeting at a park close to the coffee shop that you met at. Once Yeosang agrees, you hang up and feel the butterflies in your stomach start to crawl up your throat.

You are really going to do it. You’re going to meet up with your soulmate, and this time you don’t have to worry about anyone else, but the two of you.

You look down at the clothes you wore on your coffee date with Yunho and immediately get up to change. You quickly throw on a pair of your softest blue jeans and an off-the-shoulder long sleeve shirt. It was a comfy, casual look, and you didn’t look like a slob so that was good. Plus, the only other time he’s seen you, you had coffee all over your shirt, so this was a vast improvement.

You run your fingers through your hair to make it seem a little more put together and throw on some Chapstick before running for the door. The two of you decided to meet up right away, so you only had a few minutes to make yourself presentable, and this would have to do.

As you walk up to the park, your anxiety doubles and you let your thoughts consume you. Was this gonna be awkward? What were you going to say? What was he going to say?

When you step onto the path that leads into the park, it’s almost like your body knows exactly where to go before your mind does. You find yourself making a beeline for the bench that sat next to a beautiful stone fountain, and when you get there, you’re not surprised to see Yeosang already there waiting. A part of you knew he would be.

When you step up next to the bench, Yeosang turns to look at the sound and shoots up from his seat when he sees you, his eyes lighting up in excitement. A shy smile graces his face and you know a matching one is present on yours.

“You made it.” He happily says as he gestures for you to sit on the bench.

“I invited you here… Of course, I was gonna make it.” You softly laugh as you take a seat.

“Right…” he bites his lip for a moment as he settles back into his spot, “but it’s just nice to see you again.”

His eyes scan you from head-to-toe like he’s taking you in for the first time, and maybe he is. Considering how hectic it was the first time you met.

You meet his gaze and, as stupid as it sounds, the world stops. For one moment, you don’t hear the rustle of the trees, you don’t see the splashing of the fountain, you don’t feel the cold stone you sit on, all there is, is Yeosang and you. Suddenly, it’s like everything clicks into place, and that rightness you felt before settles deep into your chest. This is where you’re supposed to be. This is your person for the rest of your existence.

“Do you feel that?” He quietly asks in awe.

You almost couldn’t speak. It was like words evaded your mind and ceased to exist, but you somehow grasp onto some and are able to form a coherent sentence.

“The connection…” you trail off, nodding. “I never thought it’d be like this…”

It consumed you, and you would be content never existing outside of this moment again… but all too quickly it was over. The trees rustled once more, the water continued to splash in the fountain, and the stone beneath you became solid again, but there was something new in the air. Something that wasn’t there before but would be there for the rest of your life.

Yeosang clears his throat and reaches for your hand like it’s the most natural thing in the world. His hands are soft, and his touch is light, but he’s suddenly become your anchor, keeping you grounded and safe.

“I can’t believe I was stupid enough to ignore the soulmate bond for even a second…” He says, his eyes searching yours. “I’m so sorry…”

You immediately shake your head. “You don’t have to apologize. I ignored it too… even longer than you did…”

You feel so stupid for letting him slip through your fingers for all that time. For letting this moment continuously get pushed further away from you. You should’ve never run out of the kitchen that day… You should’ve let the cards deal how they were supposed to, instead of trying to fight fate.

“I do have to apologize for walking away from you. Mijung could’ve waited. You’re more important.”

“Well… We can only go forward from here… so let’s forget about the past.” Yeosang hums in agreement. “Although, I will say this wasn’t how I thought I’d find my soulmate.”

He lets out a deep laugh. “Yeah, I couldn’t have predicted this at all.”

You fall into a serene silence, processing everything happening in the moment until Yeosang breaks it.

“I was so excited to meet you… Mijung had already talked you up a lot, and then when my friends told me about you, I almost couldn’t wait any longer.”

You pause, remembering when you met his two friends at Mijung’s… and how odd you acted before you ran out… What kind of impression did you leave on them?

“What did your friends say about me?”

An awkward expression graces his beautiful face. “Well… Wooyoung thought you were kind of weird… but San said you were super nice and that he thought you’d be cool. Once we figured out why you apparently ran out of the kitchen like it was on fire, San made Wooyoung take back his weird comment, which, of course, ended up with the two of them bickering.”

You stifle a laugh and try to figure out what about the scenario made Yeosang excited to meet you. You didn’t sound like anything especially great, and nice was something you said when you didn’t know how to describe somebody. You don’t let it bother you, though. You did act weird, so there was no other impression they could’ve had, but you weren’t worried. You’d change their minds in the future.

“How come you didn’t leave me any voicemails or texts? I would’ve responded a lot sooner if I knew it was you…”

“And say what?” He asks with a wry smile. “I’m sorry for leaving you standing there on the sidewalk in a coffee-stained shirt, can you call me back?”

You shake your head at him and try to fight the smile that wanted to permanently be on your face. “I would’ve answered to that…”

Yeosang bites his lip before smiling and nodding. “I’ll remember that for the future.”

His words fill the air with an almost crackling intensity. The future… What would the future hold for the two of you? Yeosang must’ve felt it too, because he turns his whole body to face you, bringing his leg up on the bench so he’s not awkwardly twisted, but still managing to maintain his grip on your hand.

“I know…” he starts before looking down at your entwined hands and playing with your fingers. “I know it’s gonna be awkward with Mijung… but I want to be with my soulmate… I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and not waste any more time.”

He stops playing with your fingers and looks up to intently search your gaze. He was right. Things were going to be awkward with Mijung, but you didn’t care. He was your soulmate and you wanted to be with him as badly as he wanted to be with you. The rest of it you could figure out together…

Because you’ve found your soulmate. The one being on this planet meant for you. The one who will always understand you and be by your side until your last day… and maybe even beyond that…

Because he was yours and you were his…

“I’d love that.”

Tagging: @to-all-the-stories-i-love​, @skittlez-area512​, @wanderingatiny​

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Welcome To The Family (6/???)

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / here

Yandere EraserMic household x reader

Fun fact- Tadao was a sudden decision I made up on the spot after chapter 3 and wasn’t expecting to really make him a character other than a mentioned person with a mold/fungus quirk. I did though, and already love him as an OC more than I should. Oops. 

It might be a long while before the next chapter. I think I may have drained myself a bit from focusing on this story so much. 

Warnings- swearing, slight coercion I think? Not really sure but better safe than sorry. 

I promise the darker stuff is coming soon. 

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I wake up to someone calling me. Hitoshi? Why is he calling me at… 9 in the morning? Come on dude, I want to sleep more for dinner tonight. My fault for hanging out with Tadao a bit later last night than usual. He’s started walking with me to our apartment for the past few days. I wonder why we haven’t hung out until now. Meanwhile, Ryo and I seemed to drift apart. They refuse to even look at me now when I saw them last night. 

Ugh, might as well answer it. “Hey, Hitoshi. You need something?” I tiredly slur from just waking up. 

“Sorry for waking you…” Apologized the familiar voice of Eri. Wait, Eri? Why does she have Hitoshi’s phone? The wonder why she has his phone wakes me up a bit more. 

“Oh, hey, Eri. Is something wrong?” A slight panic enters me in the possibility something bad could have happened to one of the guys. “Wait, is everyone okay?” 

“We’re good. Just wanted to talk a bit with you before tonight.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Hitoshi in the background. 

Relief floods me. “That’s good. What about?” 

“Our dads!” Eri cheerfully informs. 

My eyes narrow in confusion. “What about them?” 

“What do you think of them?” Hitoshi asks. Huh? Why does this need to be talked about now? Maybe because more likely than not the two adults are asleep, and won’t hear the conversation? 

I’m too tired to be filtered right now, so whatever comes to mind is whatever is going to be said. “They’re… An interesting two, to say the least. Hizashi seems like someone I can rely on to cheer me up pretty easily if I’m ever down, and after that day Shouta was sick, I realize Shouta’s secretly a lot more caring than he lets on. Still wouldn’t want to pi- anger him.” Ugh, it’s too early. I nearly just swore with Eri there! Well, saying “piss him off” wouldn’t have been that bad, but she needs to keep that innocence at least for a while yet. 

Hitoshi laughs, probably catching on with what I almost said. “Seen it first-hand with his class. Can’t say I recommend it either.”

“What about looks?” Eri suddenly asks, catching me off-guard. What do their looks have to do with anything? They’re also a married couple, so whatever I think is invalid anyways. 

“Well, had this weird thought of wondering what Hizashi would look like with his hair fully down when we went to the festival, but that’s really not something that I need to tell him. It’s something I probably shouldn’t be wondering in the first place.”

“What’s the problem in wondering that? It’s just hair.” 

“Says the one who always looks like he stuck his head out a car window and hair decided to stay that way.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

I go back onto the topic. “Otherwise, I’m not really sure what to talk about with them. It’s their choices of what they wear. Though it IS pretty funny imagining Hizashi forcing Shouta to wear something he normally wouldn’t.”

“It’s happened more than once before.” 

I tiredly let out a laugh. “I believe it.”  

“Daddy made him wear a dress!” 

An almost inhuman sound comes out of me at the thought of Shouta deeply frowning with a strapless hot pink dress forced onto him, and the only reason he does it is Hizashi would probably keep pestering him otherwise. 

“Maybe sometime we could get him to do it again with you here. It’s quite a thing to see.” 

“Oh, really? How did he not kill you for laughing?”

“He almost did,” he replies jokingly. 

“If he tries to attack me when I’m there, you’re taking the blow.” I joke back. 

He goes silent for a moment. “He wouldn’t dare. If he did, he’d have an angry little girl scolding him.”

“Toooshiiii!”

“What? You know I’m right.” 

“Hmph.” 

“Anyway, want to tell them what you’ll wear?”

“No! It’s a surprise!”

“Right back at you two,” I inform the slightly bickering duo.

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

We both hung up after a bit more of talking about tonight. I could swear there was someone talking in the background for a second, but I brushed it off as the T.V. Eri was probably watching something earlier and forgot to lower the volume. 

After playing on my computer for a while since it’s close to my bed, I decided to just get up and get ready. There are not many fancy things I have, so it’s quite limited on what to wear. Hopefully, they don’t mind if it’s a bit more casual than fancy. There’s plenty of time to shop for something, but I’m honestly too lazy to go anywhere. Just something of my favorite color and slightly more fancy than my daily clothes should work. 

I have to dig much deeper into my closet to find said clothing from not wearing it too often. 

One of my favorite color is grabbed. Nope, that’s not it. 

I move a few more. Wait, there it is! I move a few more pieces of clothing and grab it, pulling it out. Hopefully, it still fits. Welp, time to try. I take off my pajamas. 

.

.

.

.

Like a glove. Perfect! 

Just to make sure there are no new forgotten holes or something, I look at myself in my body mirror. Huh, I actually look pretty good in this! I might have to wear it more often. Something feels like it’s missing though. Maybe a ring or something would help? 

I look over to the select few rings I have, including the forgotten one Ryo gave me. My heart slightly twinges at remembering they gave it as a best friends type of ring years ago. A ring with real blue topaz fitting my middle finger. 

Might as well wear it. I slip it on and decide to leave my room, though they won’t be here for a while yet. Maybe Tadao will be around. 

My body instinctively starts looking around for the familiar- oh, not again. Does he LIKE sleeping on the floor in the hall or something? I walk up to his sleeping form. I gently nudge him to move with my foot. 

He groans, and curls his head deeper onto his arm, also bringing his legs up so he’s a ball. “Come on dude, I know your quirk is related to mold and all, but you’re not supposed to BECOME it.” 

“I am one with the floor… I shall be the floor…” He mumbles, probably sleep talking.  

I nudge him harder, making him open his eyes to look up at me. “Heyyy Y/N. What time is it?” He sluggishly asks. 

I check my phone. “Already half-past noon.” 

That got his attention. Both of his eyes snapped open as he shot to sit up. He grabs his rather cracked phone and looks at it. There are a few messages on the screen without him unlocking it. They’re impossible to read as he seems frantic after looking at them. “Already!? Man, I gotta get ready! I’ll be late for work!” 

I don’t even get the chance to ask him anything since he gets to his feet and sprints off past my door, probably to his. 

Glancing at Ryo’s door, the thought of checking on them arises. No, they’re deciding on acting out like this. Crawling to them could only continue this childish way again at some point. Ugh, what to do now though? It will be boring to just sit around for the next few hours. The park could be good for a few hours. 

The villains around though? Nah. Welp, more computer time.

Familiar brown hair in the corner of my eye catches my attention before returning to my door. It’s the woman that glared at me with Hizashi at the studio. What’s she doing around here? Never saw her around before, and she doesn’t exactly strike me as the type to like parties. Funny if she’s attracted to Hizashi like he told me. 

She keeps her glare on me as she… Knocks on Ryo’s door? Oh hell no. There’s no way Ryo is hanging out with someone like that. I’m proven wrong though as Ryo opens the door and pulls them in without looking at me. 

I- What? What’s going on lately?

Also, okay, what the ever-loving fuck Ryo!? 

Calm down, give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the woman hasn’t told Ryo anything about my work, and maybe it can just be a sudden meeting they did at one point, and it’s an opposites attract type of friendship. After all, I haven’t really been around. They were bound to try to find someone else to hang out with I suppose. Should this be a concern to bring up with Hizashi and Shouta though? 

I stand there still staring at Ryo’s door and blink confusedly. They couldn’t have found anyone better to hang out with? Even a villain would have been better than her in my opinion. Sure, more trouble from me being around two- basically three- heroes could arise, but I’d be willing to keep that kind of secret for them. But this? This gives me a bad feeling.

What if she’s the reason Ryo is acting so odd? 

Next Sunday will be the day to get some answers from them. If they will talk to me, that is. 

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

Time seems to slip by while being on my computer. My phone notifies me of a text message. I look at it to see it’s from Hizashi. 

“Hitoshi’s coming in to get ya! We’re waiting!” My eyes widen noticing it’s already past six at night. 

I try to text him ASAP to not let Hitoshi come in. They won’t be happy with my living place. “That will be fine, call him off. I’ll be out shortly.” 

“Too late! Sorry!” 

I sigh. He doesn’t even know which one mine is! I put my computer away and quickly left. Looking left and right, there’s familiar purple hair far down on the right. Obviously, it’s Hitoshi. He is staring with great disgust at the peeling walls and ripped-up flooring.  Oh boy, it’s probably a disaster with what is about to happen in the vehicle now. 

The hallway is rather dimly lit now, making it slightly hard to see, but it’s easy to tell he’s wearing a suit matching his eye color. I’m feeling pretty underdressed now. 

“Hey, Hitoshi. You could have waited outside. Uh… You probably should have no offense.” 

He glares at a piece of wall that falls off onto the floor. “How do you live in this?” 

I shrug. “Eh, you get used to it,” I noticed his frustrated expression. He’s about to ask me why I don’t move or something since I clearly could with my pay. “And before you say anything, I rather like it here. It’s where a lot of my closest friends are.”   

His eyes narrow at me. “You could still visit instead of living here.” 

Someone jumps upstairs, making the place shake, and a piece of the ceiling on this level chips off and falls next to the wall piece on the floor. 

“That’s new,” I comment. It’s true, the ceiling has never fallen before. Makes me wonder when this whole building is going to collapse. Bit worried for my friends here now.

Hitoshi looks at me like I just told him the world is going to end tomorrow. 

I start walking to the exit, having Hitoshi follow behind me too closely for my taste. Makes sense if he’s doing it for my protection, but he obviously doesn’t know these people as I do. He almost could be felt against my back. “You mind standing back a bit? You’re rather close.”

He does, but just barely. 

It doesn't take long for us to get to the vehicle. Just like before, I get in the center and hug Eri. The slight light in the car makes it hard to see her dress, but I'm pretty sure it's a bright silverish blue. The light wasn't on long enough to notice the two up front. 

They do seem to notice Hitoshi in a slightly on edge type of way. For the moment the light was on. 

"What's wrong, little hypno-man?" 

"Their apartment is not fitting to live in."

"What?" Hizashi's tone almost drastically changes. I'm glad I can't see them right now. I focus on the scenery past Hitoshi to try ignoring the growing unease of him whistleblowing to them. 

"It's falling apart. A part of the wall fell to the floor. The inside is much worse than the outside." 

"Why are you still living there? You can easily move with the money we give you." Shouta pipes up. 

"Because I like living there. It's a walking distance from your place, and all my friends are there."

"You could visit them some other time if you moved. We'd pay a bus for you if needed." 

"Exactly! Or I could drive ya to our place! It wouldn't be a problem, and it would give me a little somethin' to do while the grump wakes up in the morning!" 

I don't feel comfortable at the thought of having to rely on them like that. They're already so busy themselves, it really wouldn't be fair to them despite what they say. 

“Uh… no. Thanks for the offer, but my place is good for now.”

The air is rather tense, telling me that they want to push more on the subject, but decide not to for now. 

I decided to bring up what happened earlier.  “Remember that bad woman from before?”

“You mean Chiyo?” Shouta spits her name with such hate, someone would think he’d murder her if he could. Hizashi must have told him about our meeting in his studio. Wait, Isn’t that a first name?

As if reading my mind, Hizashi answers for Shouta. “She doesn’t deserve the respect of last name. What about her?” 

“I discovered today she might be hanging out with one of my closest friends that doesn’t seem to be too happy with me lately. Isn’t it a bit of a concern she might tell them that I babysit for you guys?” 

“That’s confidential information. Like it was said to you before you started, you can’t tell anyone our identities. They can get into serious trouble if they do, and they signed a contract accepting they wouldn’t.” Shouta replies. 

“That’s good to know.” I say, sounding relieved. They could be told how Ryo thinks they’re bad parents for me babysitting so often, but that’s something that probably doesn’t need to be brought up. Especially if she can’t tell Ryo about it. 

Hizashi pulls up and parks in front of the restaurant we must be dining in. wait- fuck, I’ve heard of this place. It’s one of the most expensive restaurants around here! We exit and enter the restaurant. The first thing I noticed was how well-dressed the two men were. Shouta was wearing a navy blue suit, white undershirt, and a light brown tie. Oddly, he’s also wearing glasses. When did he need glasses? 

Hizashi was wearing a cream-colored suit with a dark grey undershirt and a tie matching his eye color. Looking at the four of them and the others around, I am… severely underdressed. Doesn’t feel much better with everyone that stares at me from their tables for a moment. 

Wait- Hizashi’s. Hair. Is. Fully. Down. I whip my head towards Hitoshi and glare in betrayal. 

He notices with a smirk, and puts his hands in front of himself in mock-defense. “Don’t look at me. He was there then, just didn’t speak.” 

My eyes narrow. “So it really WASN’T the T.V.” Seriously though!? That’s so embarrassing! He must have heard everything! 

Him and Hizashi chuckle at me, making me feel worse.

A woman comes up from the counter. “Please tell me the name of your reservation.” 

“The Aizawa’s.” Um… I’m not exactly a part of this family? Well, it does make sense though I guess just to do a last name. Hizashi smirks at Shouta while he glares in return. 

“Right this way please.” She starts to lead the five of us to a table farther in the back. The enormous chandeliers overhead from the really tall ceiling are slightly intimidating if I’m to be honest. Each crystal is taller than Hizashi from the top of his hair in his hero costume to his feet. 

The white and gold walls of the place give a surprisingly calming type of effect. It’s rather cool in here as well. Probably to help combat the ones who wear layers of clothes to be more fancy or something.  

“You couldn’t have chosen anything else?” Shouta hisses quietly enough for the woman not to hear, but I’m close enough that I can. I’m right between them from behind while Hitoshi and Eri are behind me. I can swear Hitoshi keeps trying to nudge me forward closer to them. 

“Aw, don’t worry ‘bout it babe! Besides, you and I both know you’re known much less than me! This way they won’t know us!” He leans even closer to Shouta. “And don’t deny it, you know you like the thought of me bein’ called an Aizawa~” 

I can see red start to cover the side of Shouta’s face even though he tries his best to hide and prevent it. Ha! Now he’s the one to be embarrassed! 

I let out a chuckle, making Hizashi turn and give me a toothy grin. 

We get to a table with booth seats. The color of them is surprisingly similar to Eri’s dress. 

I go to sit with Hitoshi and Eri, but like before, Hizashi grabs my wrist and has me sit between him and Shouta. Why do you keep doing this to me dude!? Shouta is on my right by the wall with Hizashi on my left by the opening. 

Eri is sitting by the wall with Hitoshi by the opening in front of us. I didn’t notice before, but her dress has some candy apple red jewels the shape of diamonds, adorning the dress even more than it already was. Must be new since it’s never been seen by me before.  

… I don’t like the closeness of the two men beside me again. Saying it is uncomfortable is an understatement. A difference than before is the heat of their thighs radiating through their pants onto mine. 

The woman hands us menus. “Someone will be here to take your orders shortly.” 

I try to brush them off while looking at the menu. 

“Hey Y/N, are ya datin’ anyone?” 

“Maybe.” They don’t need to know I’m not. 

“That’s a yes or no question.” Shouta states with slight annoyance. He must have forgotten I told him I’m not the day he was sick.  

“They better not be a villain. We’d hate to have to do something to you and them. Better be honest, you’re not looking the best right now.” Hitoshi accuses. 

What the heck Hitoshi!? You’re just going to turn on me like this!? Why I ought to come over there and smack the back of your head myself! 

My saving grace as the waiter comes- Tadao!? This is where he works!? He comes up to our table with a notepad in front of him. "Hello, I’m Ito, and I’ll be your waiter for tonight. What can I get you started with?” 

“Tadao, you work here?” 

His head snaps up from the notepad, and looks at me. “Oh hey, Y/N!” His face becomes a smirk. “What happened to calling me glowstick?” 

“Well, you’re not really glowing right now in this light, are you?”

“Ha, you got me there.” 

The three men look between us with some look I don’t really understand. 

“Ya know each other?” 

“You could say we’re close.” Tadao informs. They grow rather deep frowns at the news.

He clears his throat and brings his notepad up. “What drinks could I start you guys with?” We each tell him our drinks and he writes them down. “All right, drinks coming right up!” He leaves to go get them. 

“He’s one of the reasons I don’t move out of my apartment. Especially now. We’ve become really close recently.” 

“You should stay away from him. He seems like bad news.” Hitoshi informs. 

??? huh? “Why, do you know he has a villain record or something?” 

“He could be using you. Stay away from him or we might have to make sure he doesn’t do anything.” 

Okay, THAT pisses me off. “First of all, you guys can’t tell me who I can and can’t hang out with outside of babysitting hours. Second of all, I’d really appreciate it if you guys could be less judging of him, because he has never done anything even slightly villainous whenever we met.” My slightly edged tone makes them back off the topic. I wanted to add third of all being he walks with me at night to our apartment place, but that seems like a bad idea if their reaction is this so far. 

It grows awkwardly silent between us all for a moment. Maybe I should have kept the others to myself too, but damn it, they need to have more respect for my decisions they were never a part of, and have no need to be a part of. 

Tadao comes with our drinks. He places them down, and Hizashi immediately takes a big drink of his.

“Here you guys go, and one drink for one special person.” He jokingly winks at me. 

I roll my eyes in response. “Sometimes I truly wonder if I hate you.” I tease.

He rolls his eyes in return. “Admit it, you know you love me.”

Hizashi chokes on his drink. I don’t help him from still being a bit upset. He should be fine anyways after a bit. 

He does, and is able to manage keeping his quirk down as well. 

“Do I?” I question teasingly. 

The three men glare at him. Sheesh, what’s their problem? 

He seems rather uncomfortable by it and leaves in a rush immediately after taking our orders. After I almost had a heart attack from the beyond insane prices, of course. Even the cheapest thing is over half the money I’m given a day for babysitting. 

I’m getting pretty upset with these guys right now. Starting to wonder if they got hit with some odd quirk again or something. 

That calms me down a bit since it would kind of make sense that’s why they’re acting odd. How long will it last though? Better not be long. I don’t know if I can handle them like this without losing my mind. 

“Hey, Y/N. We have something for you,” Hitoshi pipes up, and nods towards Hizashi. 

“Right!” He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a… necklace? It has my favorite type of jewel in it, encased behind and around the edges with what looks like real gold. A different shine is on it, like something is covering the gold to prevent it from easily being destroyed by weather or wear. The shape is in a rather large teardrop. It looks custom-made as well. Never seen anything even close to what this looks like before. 

“It’s a gift!” Eri cheerfully chimes in.

“That she helped us pick for you.” Shouta informs. 

Please don’t tell me it’s authentic. It looks real though. I can’t even begin to imagine the price of what it must have cost to create it if it is real. “I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this! It feels too much like I’m just using you guys if I do!” 

The three of them frown. Even Eri seems a bit disappointed. 

Eri asking me my favorite jewel kind of makes sense now, but why would they want to give this to me? 

“C’mon, let’s put it on ya!” He hands it over to Hitoshi and stands up, pulling me to stand up with him. Hitoshi stands as well. 

“Did you guys not hear me? I- I can’t accept it!” 

Hizashi shakes his head. “Don’t be so worried, dear little lovesong! We want you to have it! Ya can’t just say no, we spent too much for it to go to waste now!” 

Hitoshi goes behind me with the necklace and is able to put it on while I’m still rather reluctant to accept such a gift.

Eri’s eyes almost seem to sparkle when the clasp gets shut on it. “You look amazing!”  

I freeze in my tracks to notice everyone is staring at us yet again. This time with slightly different reactions. A couple of them seem to be with envy, making me want to shrivel up and hide in a hole, and others seem to be appreciative I have something more expensive than my clothes now or something.  

At least Shouta seems to give me mercy by pulling me back down in the booth and glaring at them all in such a way that they all stop staring. I’m feeling a bit like a ragdoll at this point. 

Hitoshi joins him, making sure they truly stop. The glare combined of those two could probably curdle the blood of All Might himself. 

The restaurant seems to grow quiet between all of us. 

I decide to escape by using the bathroom. Hizashi didn’t have time to sit back down before it was necessary. “Stay here, it won’t take me long.” They still seem reluctant to let me go alone. 

Getting to the bathrooms, I didn’t have to go, just wanted to get out of the stares and whispers for a little bit. Despite the men’s glares, of course there was still going to be gossip of someone in here who looks so out of place. 

“Hey, Y/N, be careful around them, alright? They’re pretty strange.” Pipes up the familiar voice of Tadao behind me. 

I play dumb. He probably shouldn’t know I know they must have been hit with some kind of quirk. “How do you know? They could just be being cautious since their children are with.”

“I admit, I did watch you a bit at the festival. More so the men you were with when they came. Something about them isn’t... “ He seems to be struggling with figuring out how to explain it. “It’s wrong. I just can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Again, just be careful, alright?” 

I just nod and enter the bathroom. 

A bit after cooling off, I go back to the dinner table, them all still waiting and chatting about school. Well, Shouta being nearly silent as usual. Hizashi quickly stands up to let me sit between them again. Ugh, I really don’t want to. 

Yet I do, just to be kind. The least I can do is sit through this since they went through the effort of such a gift, even though to me it seems highly unnecessary. 

Tadao comes with our food not much later with a secret frown on his face. He’s smiling, but I’ve learned him well enough by now it’s worry he has instead of a cheerful personality. It slightly drops to reveal his true emotions when he notices the guys glaring at him yet again. He doesn’t say a word, just drops all of the food off and leaves. 

This feels like a really ruined dinner, even though this food is incredibly good. The atmosphere has definitely become shit. I seem to be the only one to notice. Hizashi looks over towards me and gives me another grin, not giving much comfort. What’s worse is every time I stop for a moment and rest my hand on my lap, Shouta seems to try to grab it. It led me to just keeping the utensil for my dinner in my hand. 

I’ll have to apologize to Tadao for their behavior tomorrow. Easier said than done since I still can’t exactly tell him who they are. Cursed contract. 

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

taglist-

@dabi-s-whore, @angelicblackwolf, @fuegy-fuegy   

Double fun fact- Did you know slapping someone’s back if they’re choking is actually worse than letting them try to get it out themselves, especially if it’s food? The food can actually get lodged deeper in their throat at the impact. Huh, First Aid is quite interesting.

[fanficbitch]

Aaron Hotchner // Beth

“Are you kidding?” I ask. “There is no way that spiderman could beat batman.”

Hotch raises an eyebrow at me. “Well, I’ll let you take it up with Jack when you see him next.”

“We are going to have a very intense debate,” I say which causes Hotch to smile. I always feel happy when Hotch smiles. It’s something he does on a rare occasion, so when it happens I soak it up.

It’s a Saturday and Hotch mentioned yesterday that he was coming in to do paperwork so I offered to help. Why would I offer to come in on a Saturday? It’s simple. I’m a suck up and I am also in love with my boss.

It’s not that weird for Hotch and I to be alone. He is my closest friend on the team and sometimes he invites me over for dinner or to hang out with Jack. The team knows this and doesn’t think anything of it. To my disappointment, there isn’t anything going on between us. 

Ever since I got to the BAU I thought Hotch was the hottest man that I’ve ever seen. The feeling intensified when I eventually saw him in a vest and pulling out his gun. However, over the years I have done my best to push those feelings down because I doubt he would ever like me like that. I’m so much younger than him, I annoy him constantly and we lead very different lives. Despite all of our differences we’ve become good friends. But, my feelings about Hotch became even stronger once I got to know him. He’s like the perfect man.

I place some files on Hotch’s desk that I finished filling out and sigh. “Will I be seeing you tonight?” I ask.

“Yes, you will also be seeing Jack so you can have that debate.”

“Hmm, I love a party at Rossi’s.”

“I think tonight will be better than usual,” Hotch hints. My eyebrows pinch up.

“What are you talking about?”

“I shouldn’t say anything else,” he says quickly.

“Aaron Hotchner, tell me what you know!”

He throws me another smile. “You’ll just have to see tonight.”

“Ugh,” I say then stand up. “You’re the worst.”

“Eh, you don’t mind it.”

“Well, I have to go get ready because I am going to look amazing tonight,” I say as I walk towards the door.

“As always,” Aaron whispers and my heart flutters.

                                                      **********

Right when I got to Rossi’s I went straight to the bathroom to touch up my makeup. I feel good. I actually got dressed up and I look good. Hopefully someone else will think so too.

I leave the bathroom and join Emily and Rossi. We are only talking for a few moments before Hotch and Jack join us. “Y/N!” Jack shouts. I crouch down and wrap him in a hug. “Now, we need to have a little talk later about who is the better superhero.”

“Deal,” he smiles.

I stand back up and face Hotch who is looking very nice in his collared shirt. “You look nice,” I tell him.

“And you look amazing, but that was a given,” he tells me. Hotch and I smile at each other for a moment. Times like these make me think that maybe I have a chance with him.

“I’m sorry, I had to use the bathroom,” a brown haired woman says once she approaches us. She places a hand on Hotch’s shoulder in way that says they are comfortable with one another. There is a twinge of jealously in my stomach. There is really one case that calls for that kind of touching.

“Everyone, this is my girlfriend Beth,” he says. “Beth, this is Emily, Dave and Y/N,” he says, pointing to each of us.

“It is so nice to meet you all. Aaron talks about you all so much,” Beth says. Everyone else continues talking but I tune out. I look Beth up and down. She’s cute. I hate that. Why does she have to be cute?

“If you would excuse us, I have to go introduce Beth to the rest of the team,” Hotch says as they leave our group.

“I didn’t know Hotch had a girlfriend,” I say once they are far away enough.

“Yeah, they’ve been together for a while,” Rossi says. “He seems to really like her.”

I don’t like that Hotch has a girlfriend, but I can’t help but be curious. “Where did they meet?” I ask nonchalantly. 

“He was training at the park and she came up to him,” Rossi shrugs. “They just clicked.”

“Cool, cool,” I whisper, however, things are far from cool.

                                                       **********

The party at Rossi’s turned out to be a wedding for JJ and Will. It was lovely. I am currently taking a break from the dance floor. I watch Emily and Spencer dance together, then there is Penelope and Derek. I saw Hotch dancing with Beth earlier which did not help the jealously boiling through my body.

“Care to dance?” I hear from behind me. I’m too familiar with the person it belongs to to not know who it is. I turn to see Hotch standing behind me.

“Where’s Beth?” I ask.

“She needs a break from dancing,” Hotch says.

I show him a small smile and hold out my hand. “Then lead the way,” I say. Hotch’s strong, rough hand grabs my small one as he leads me to the floor. He continues to hold my hand and places his other hand on my waist. Chills shoot through my body due to his touch. My free hand goes to his shoulder. We silently step to the music as do others around us. “Jack is not happy with you,” Hotch whispers.

“What?” I ask, caught off guard.

“After your debate,” he says and blows out a huff of air. “He is not happy.”

“Oh,” I whisper. 

“But I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

“Good, that’s good,” I say, but cannot meet his eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asks. “You seem off.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” I assure him. Hotch let’s it go for a moment as we continue to dance. I know I shouldn’t say this, but the thoughts in my mind are too strong to ignore.

“So Beth is pretty,” I say, but Hotch doesn’t respond.

“Tell me why you don’t like her,” he finally says.

“I hardly know her,” I scoff.

“But you still don’t like her.”

“She’s fine,” I tell him.

“I know you better than that and I know when something is off with you, which it is,” he says.

I grow tired of his pushing and break from his touch. “Hotch, I don’t need to be profiled,” I say then stomp off the dance floor.

I’m feeling very hot and flustered all of a sudden. How can I feel so suffocated when I am outside? I walk to the edge of the yard and take a few deep breaths. It is just too hard to be around Hotch when I have feelings like this. I am usually able to control them, but not tonight, not when I saw him with her. “I’m not gonna stop,” I hear from behind me which causes me to roll my eyes.

“Please stop,” I beg.

“I can’t,” he says simply. I turn around with tears falling out of my eyes.

“Hotch, I just want you to be happy and if Beth makes you happy then that’s great. And if she is good to Jack then that is great. It’s all great,” I say.

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because it’s true! I just want you to be happy.”

“And?” he asks with raised eyebrows.

I stay silent for a moment. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Here it goes. “And…I want to be with you.”

Hotch doesn’t look shocked in the slightest. Then again, he’s a master at poker faces. Hotch doesn’t say anything so I just keep talking.

“I’ve wanted to be with you since I’ve met you and it’s hard to watch you be happy with someone else when you should be happy with me,” I spit out.

Hotch walks up to me slowly and places his hands on my shoulders. “Now was that so hard?” he ask then brushes my cheek with his fingers. I’m too confused to respond to him. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for forever.”

“W-What?” I stutter.

“You think I didn’t know?” he smiles. “You’re as naive as you are beautiful.”

Hotch’s hands move to my waist, sending more chills through my body. He leans in and his lips are nearly to mine, but he stops. He takes his hands of my waist then retreats back into the yard. “Where are you going?”

“I have to break up with someone to begin this honestly,” he says then slips away.

[fandom-strumpet]

Game Night Confession- Part 2

Summary: You’ve confessed your feelings for Kai to Elena in the closet during 7 Minutes in Heaven. Little to your knowledge, Kai popped in and listened to your deep secret. The next day, things get a little spicy.

Word Count: 1,342

Warnings: Swearing, Fluff, Angst

Pairing: Kai Parker x Reader

You spit lemonade out of your mouth and start coughing. "I- I'm sorry, what?" quickly dabbing your chin with a napkin you turn to face Kai who looked non-chalant as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Well isn't irrevocably a big word?"

"Yes, uhh, it is." You furrowed your eyebrows together, surprised at such a weird question. Then it dawned on you- last night in the closet. The embarrassment that had flooded you quickly grew into irritation in your chest as you realized what had just happened. Elena. She must have told Kai what I said- there's no way he could have known otherwise. You hurriedly waved down the waitress for your ticket and before long you were up and leaving the table. Pushing the Mystic Grill's door open, you see a strong hand take charge of the weight and slide up near your hand. It was impossible to not recognize Kai's familiar scent, you froze in the doorway to take a deep breath of it in. His voice gave you chills as he pretend cleared his throat, waiting for you to keep moving. With a shaky breath out, you continue walking, your hand dropping as you prayed that not everyone had just seen you freeze like a deer in headlights.

"Which way are we going?"

"What?" You were pulled out of the moment to his question.

"Aren't we going to find Elena and Damon doing whatever they said they were going to do?" Kai looked down at your stunned face with a playful smile.

"Yeah- yeah I think they went this way." You gave a weak smile back, stomach full of butterflies and knees that felt like Jello. Why did you feel disappointed when he mentioned them? Were you hoping for something else to happen? The both of you started to wander down the sidewalk, it was so hot out the sidewalk practically emanated heat waves.

"You know what I've always wanted to try?" Kai broke the silence.

You look up to Kai and hum in question. Kai always made you so glad in awkward moments because he wasn't afraid to just start a normal (or what he thought was normal) conversation.

"I've always wanted to jump on a trampoline." he pursed his lips and nodded semi-seriously.

"Wait- you've seriously never jumped on a trampoline before?" your eyes sparkle at the image of him jumping on one for the first time.

"Nope." Kai's hand slipped into yours, his eyes remaining forward as if he didn't even recognize the action of holding your hand. Full blown panicking in your mind, you do the only you could think of. You embrace his hand in return, drawing a little smirk from Kai. Your chest tightened, you could almost scream and Kai was no doubt listening to your heart bouncing off the confinements of your rib cage, doing a little drum solo not so unlike Animal's from the Muppets. A little light bulb came on, despite the utter chaotic panic in your mind. 

“We could go to my house.”

“Oh?” Kai stopped the both of you walking, still holding your hand as he turned your body to face his. 

Blushing you hurried, “Yeah, I have a trampoline at my house.”

A cheek to cheek smile bloomed on his face, “Let’s go!”

What just happened. Are we seriously going over to my house right now? If anyone were to tell you that morning that you would be jumping on a trampoline with Malachai Parker today, you would have laughed in their face. Today was the mafia lord of unexpected things. When you finally arrived at your backyard you let go of Kai’s hand to pull out the old wooden staircase to climb up.  Your dad had built the staircase for you as a little girl to climb up and you didn’t quite have the heart to get rid of the thing. Your heart twinged with regret, missing the feel of his hand already. Climbing onto the trampoline first you turn and help Kai up. You held his arms like a person would hold a child’s arms when they first get onto the trampoline. His face was even beaming like a child’s, pure joy radiating from him as he watched his feet bounce up and down. 

“Okay, now jump with me.” you smiled, staring into his eyes. 

Kai’s grip on your forearms tightened, a grin of pure enjoyment on his face which sent butterflies racing into your stomach. 

“I love this so much,” Kai drew in a breath, “I didn’t think that a trampoline would be this exciting.” 

And I love you. God- if only you could mind read this would be so much easier to say. 

“You wanna do a little trick?” Your eyes glinted with excitement.

Kai’s eyes sparked with anticipation and curiosity as he nodded his head quickly.

“Alright, I’m going to let go of you and you just keep bouncing.” You let go slowly and looked to him making sure he was still balanced. You bounced twice in sync with him before pausing slightly and digging your feet into the mesh. Kai’s eyes widened in surprise as he flew into the air high above you. 

“Waaagh!” He yelled, falling down onto his ass with a big laugh. “That was awesome!” 

You allowed yourself to collapse by him, laying down on your back to catch your breath. Kai plopped back and stared up at the clouds littering the sky on the perfect baby-blue summer day. With a content hum you turn and gaze at his perfect face, a remnant of a smile still visible. He shifted his thoughtful stare into the clouds to look at you. A grin made crinkles near his eyes as his hand slowly wandered up and started playing with your hair that was splayed across the trampoline surface. He twirled strands in his fingers, the silver rings glinting in the sunlight. You were so mesmerizing to him that he could lay there forever with you. 

“Y/N-”

“Hmm?” you replied, loving the sound of your name coming from his mouth. It was so enchanting how he said it, like a whole new beautiful noise. 

“You are so pretty.” he breathed out. 

A blush spread across your face furiously as if you had suddenly become as hot as the sun itself. Kai’s eyebrows furrowed closer together as he studied your face and continued.

“So I know confessions are a thing that people apparently like to do, and I have to tell you-”

“What?” you prodded him on.

“I think I’m in love with you. I don’t fully understand all these emotions quite yet but this one- the one I have when I’m with you- is just insane,” he added with a chuckle, “And I should know.” 

“Kai I- are you- are you being for real right now? You’re not picking on me or joking?”

“Yes I’m ‘being real’ Y/N, I wouldn’t pick on you about this.” 

“Why are you saying this just now?” you sat up to lean on your elbow, quite curious as to how this whole thing may have started. Maybe last night? Elena? 

Kai followed your action and sat up, tracing lazy circles with his finger on the mesh. 

“I know what you said last night,” 

Damn it. I knew it.

“-and it scared me but it made me feel- I don’t know- like I was having some form of a heart attack but it made me feel alive and, happy?” he tilted his head and fixed his eyes to yours. “Do you know the feeling?”

“Yeah- yeah I do, Kai.” your breath became shallow as Kai brought his hand up to fix your hair. Seizing the moment you lean forward and plant a sweet as a cherry kiss on his lips. Pulling back quickly you wait for his reaction, nervousness overtaking you. Kai paused, his eyes searching your face in wonder before he grasped the back of your head with one hand and pulled you close, his lips embracing yours into a sweet kiss. He rolled you onto your back and hovered over your body, never breaking the kiss. When you finally came up for air, Kai had moved his left arm by your head to brace himself. His smell overwhelmed you, sending you into a drunken haze. Your floral scent absolutely sent him over the edge, past the point of no return. There was no going back to being friends after this, your fingers traced his jaw line and you whispered,

“You are amazing and I am so hopelessly in love with you.”

“And irrevocably?” Kai grinned cheekily.

You leaned up and pecked his lips, ‘irrevocably.” 

@rome5683​ @1-800-khaleesii​ @sxturn-stars​ @tawaii

[jarofstyles]

You Again

A/N: Hello! We’re so happy to be posting the first of many one shots to this blog. We have a lot of goodies lined up and coming soon and we’re really excited to be sharing with you all! If you’d like, feel free to follow us to make sure you’re up to date on anything we post :) enjoy!

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pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

warnings: age gap (23/36), alludes to smut

word count: 6.4k

He should have gotten her number.

That thought had been circling his mind for the past year since this stupid speed dating event he had gone to. She was a younger girl, Y/N, her name was. She had been the only one to grab his interest truly, and they’d both laughed off the prospect of dating because, well-- she was 22, and he was 35. That was a major age difference and neither of them were into that. Or so it seemed. 

He didn’t get her number. 

They’d had a good conversation about how awkward this stuff was, they’d laughed all 10 minutes of the speed date before saying farewell and at the time, Harry ignored the little twinge in his chest that sprouted when she had left him to go talk to someone else. He had figured it was because he thought she was fun to talk to. Now, after many failed blind dates set up by his mother with snooty or money-hungry heiresses, he was looking for something real. Something born out of a connection. Not a fat wallet. And as much as he had tried to deny it in the past, Y/N had been the only one he had felt that with. 

He searched for her on Facebook, a website he only used for looking at cat pictures and videos of food he would never make, looking for Y/N’s in the area. He didn’t think there were that many. 

That led him back at the place where it all started, this stupid fucking speed dating event that landed him in this mess. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Part of him was hoping he would see her by chance, or maybe someone else that would light up his heart. Naturally, Harry was disappointed to walk in before it started. Y/N wasn’t there-- and yeah, he knew it was a long shot. She was a young, beautiful, sexy and intelligent woman. It wouldn’t surprise him if she had been scooped up and had a child on the way already. 

It filled him with a sadness he couldn’t describe, not having his own family yet. He wanted children so badly, wanted a wife to come home and kiss. His house was too big to be alone. Harry had known what he wanted. A year to be selfish and take up all of his woman’s time, and then babies. Whatever type of marriage ceremony she wanted, he wanted a wife to love on and kiss, to make love to and be silly with. 

He looked down at his phone and sighed, scrolling through emails when he heard a familiar voice. Soft and distinct to him-- no fucking way. There was no way.

“Hi, sorry I’m late! I got caught up in traffic and I had to rush over here... did you already start? Is there room for me?” Y/N asked the organizers kindly, knowing they worked so very hard on these events and that lateness was probably not the most tolerated. She had offered up a gentle smile as they told her she’d made it just in time, ushering her over to a table that already had someone sat at it. 

Y/N couldn’t lie and say she didn’t come here without purpose. It’s been about a year since she had last been to one of these events and she still thought about what it would have been like to actually date him-- Harry. In their brief 10 minutes together, she gathered that he was ready to settle down, he had his life already together. At the time, it all seemed too quick for her, the idea of having a family at the ripe age of 22. She thought that dating a man who was so set in his ways would mean she didn’t have freedom anymore, but what had really changed in a year? Her mother was still pestering her about having grandchildren, all her friends were getting married. She was still the same Y/N, she still wanted the same things. Sure he was older, 12 years to be exact, but they were both adults! They’d gotten along well! They’d had a good laugh and he wasn’t unattractive either— she so blindly shrugged him off because she thought he wouldn’t want someone so young. Come to think of it, he was a great fit for her and she blew it. Instead, she spent a whole year going on shitty dates, horrible horrible dates that made her want to give up on anything at all. Maybe this little speed date thing would bring her luck again. Just one guy who gave her the same vibe Harry did and she’d be okay.

Funny, if she didn’t know any better she’d think this guy sat at the table she was walking towards was Harry. Dark brown hair, the broad shoulders. The outfit was a bit more eccentric though, that she wasn’t really expecting, but Y/N really wasn’t one to judge. She had grown up a lot in a year, had figured out what she really wanted, she wouldn’t be making the same silly mistake twice.

“Hi, sorry to keep you waiting.” She spoke in an apologetic tone, but it wasn’t until she got settled in and looked up at the man sitting across the table that she realized that it was, in fact, Harry who was sat there. Y/N’s eyes went wide, noticing he had a similar expression on his face. 

“You again?” 

“Fucks sake!” He smiled, leaning forward on the table. “It really is you. Wow...” He took her in. She had grown considerably and he loved it. She was more professional-looking, seemed to have more of her life together. But he was overjoyed. “I can’t believe I found you again! I was trying to find you on Facebook... Do you know how many Y/N’s there are in this city? A stupid amount.” He muttered. “But wow... I didn’t expect to find you here. I was hoping, I mean.” He felt giddy with energy. He had found that he was more excited than he had ever anticipated. “I kept thinking about you since last time. I think I made a mistake.” He said softly. “Not getting your number and laughing off the possibility due to an age difference. That’s my mistake.”

“I mean, maybe it would have helped if I had a Facebook.” Y/N laughed a bit, “but that’s really sweet... Why didn’t you call the organizers? They probably have my information on file.” She hadn’t bothered finding him because well, he was much older and she assumed he wasn’t really looking for her but he’d been looking for her. This whole time. 

“I did, they said they weren’t allowed to give out information for safety purposes. I understand that much.” He was glad she wouldn’t be in danger because he had met some crazies when he came last time, that wasn’t her. It was weird. But now, he was hoping that they could continue where they’d left off. “Want to go then?” He asked, looking at her with an amused smirk. “What? There’s no point in being here if we want to just talk to one another. There’s a coffee shop just a few doors down.” He nodded his head towards the door.

Y/N was shocked at his suggestion, but then again she really did remember him always knowing what he wanted. She looked at him with a raised brow for a moment, deciding fuck it. She had gotten back up, blushing as she waved over to the organizers and told them that she’d found what she was looking for. She really had. 

----

Y/N got herself a panini and a coffee, paying for it before he even had the chance to offer because who said this date had to end here? Besides, she didn’t want him to think she expected him to pay, she could afford lunch for herself. They’d sat down at a table by the window, a nice cushioned booth for two. It was cute. Y/N had moved the sunglasses up onto her head and pulled her hair back behind her shoulders, looking at him with a curious gaze as he observed her. 

“What? Haven’t changed that much, have I?”

“No. You just look as though you’ve grown quite a bit. In maturity, I mean. You have the air of someone who is put together. Last time I saw you...” Harry could see her confusion. “You looked more hesitant. More unsure. Now you seem to know what you want. It’s a good thing.” He smiled at her. She was so cute. He was incredibly attracted to her but that wasn’t a surprise. She was beautiful and had pink lips and big eyes and curves. Beautiful. Sure it was a bit soon to think about but, he was sure they’d make fantastic children together. Curly hair and soft little noses. He could only hope they’d get her nose. 

“Yeah? Feel like I have. Tried to figure things out, haven’t exactly had the most success.” They both hadn’t clearly. It was nice for Y/N to hear from someone who hadn’t seen her in a year that she had grown up and matured a bit. 22 to 23 was a bigger step than most people believed. Last time they spoke, they had bonded over the fact that both their mothers were looking for them to find partners. They had both been searching for different reasons, but Y/N felt like she had spoken too soon. He wanted a family and a wife to love fairly soon and now that she had a whole year to think about it, Y/N wouldn’t be opposed to being a wife with a family fairly soon.

“How have you been? I’d like to know what you’ve been up to. How your writing has been. You write about home goods, yes?” Harry smiled widely as he settled into his seat, waiting for his coffee and muffin to come to them.

“I’ve been well.” Y/N laughed, shaking her head when he commented about how she wrote about home goods. “Yeah, I’ve um.. I’ve extended my blog page. Been doing well as far as posting goes, have a few brands that consistently work with me.” Y/N nodded with a smile, “Speaking of which, if it’s good here I might just post about it.”

“Yeah?” He was trying to read her. She seemed comfortable enough with him but this was technically a first date type of thing, so he was hoping that she would want to go on more. “That’s amazing. I’m glad that you’ve been able to expand. I’ve been wondering what you’ve been up to. To be honest... assumed that you would have been snatched up by now. I’m very surprised that you haven’t been but truthfully, m’ glad.” His lips quirked up. “Gives me my own chance.” 

“You flatter me.” Y/N shook her head, knowing full well had he had just been kissing her ass a bit. Sure, she was an attractive young woman, but to think she’d been snatched up by now? She hadn’t been so hopeful. “Though, I can say the same about you.” Y/N blushed, keeping eye contact this time so he knew she was flirting. She knew she could be bad at it at times. 

“Has your mother calmed down on trying to get you to date?” He questioned, leaning on his elbows and planting his chin on his joined hands. “Mine certainly hasn’t, but they were god awful. Swear she doesn’t have a good personal radar.”

“My mother cannot be stopped.” Y/N snorted out a laugh, “She’s just... she is setting me up with just about anyone really, just wants me to hurry up and fall in love. She wants grandkids.” Y/N explained, knowing he would understand. Her mom was older than most moms of girls her age, probably much closer to his mom’s age. She wanted grandkids soon. “It’s a shame... but I can’t say I’m too upset with the outcome now. Happy we can at least take things into our own hands.” She took a sip of her coffee. He was very attractive. She couldn’t believe she passed this up last time.

“Me too.” He was beyond happy that Y/N ended up around him. She had taken up a chunk of his brain for a long while. He hadn’t gone full force and asked people to find her because part of him felt as if it was in the stars, then it would happen. And it did. So he was positive now that he needed to try this out. “I understand that. I’ve been on a few and I’ve been so confused as to why my mother set me up with particular people... it made no sense at all. But I had to admit I did compare them to you a bit. I knew I had made a mistake a day or so after the speed dating round the first time, not getting your number at least.” He adjusted in the seat, putting his phone face down on the table after getting a work notification. All his attention was in her. “I have to be honest with you and say ideally I’d like marriage and children in the next 5 or so years.” Ideally as soon as possible. “Look... I know this is an intense conversation for us the first time we truly go somewhere, but I don’t want to waste your time if that isn’t something you’re looking for. You’re a bit younger than me and I know sometimes people want to live fully and then settle down but, I am old.” He joked. “I’ve been wanting a wife and a child desperately. Ultimately it would be up to you whenever a child would come but... I want to make sure we are on similar pages here.”

Y/N was, of course, a bit spooked when he had so casually brought up how he wants to be married and have kids within the next 5 years. She had expected it, knew it was coming. She thought about it before they even met each other again, but hearing it so straight up like that was a bit terrifying. He could surely see it in her eyes. 

“It’s not that... it’s not that it’s not something I’m looking for, I am. It’s just very intimidating.” Y/N explained, taking another sip of her coffee. She hoped that he could understand that. It was a lot to think about being married with kids within the next five years, but she would like that. “And it’s not that it isn’t realistic, of course, you wouldn’t be wasting my time as I wouldn’t be wasting yours... I was afraid of it at first but then I thought about it and well, I’ve never been the type to want to live ‘fully’... I review candles and home goods for a living, I think I’m a bit past living that party life.” Y/N joked. 

“It’s alright. I’ve been told that I’m a bit intimidating before because I know what I want.” He smiled sheepishly. “But it is a waste if I'm not upfront with you, in my opinion. You deserve the respect of my honesty.” Harry lived in a world with businessmen being fake and he wasn’t one of them. He was straight up and it intimidated people because he would often say how he felt and if he felt someone was being a liar, he would say so openly. He opened deals with what he wanted. Full stop. But he found that's how he ended up being so successful. Even if it scared them, they appreciated the honesty. “I just needed to tell you first, before we hopefully dig into the fleshier bits. I’m interested in you, Y/N. If I hadn’t made that clear before.” He took her hand in his on the table and squeezed it. It was so small compared to his. “All I ask for is honesty in feelings. If you feel as though I’m asking too much or making you genuinely uncomfortable, please let me know.”

His hand taking hers surprised her but she relaxed, trying to calm herself and realize that this was a good thing. This was something she had wanted for so long! She had been thinking about him for a year nearly, why was she so damn scared? Y/N understood his sense of urgency, she just wasn’t used to men being so direct. That’s what she wanted wasn’t it? Why was she scared? Maybe it was a fear of commitment? She had done things on her own for so long, it was hard to think about giving in to a man sometimes. 

“You’re not doing any of those things, I promise,” Y/N told him and rubbed her thumb over his hand. “I understand where you’re coming from and it isn’t so much you as it is me, a classic line, I know.” She shook her head and sighed. “I do like you Harry, but I am not one to rush. So I’m sorry if I seem a bit stiff, I don’t do well with being vulnerable.”

“Hey... that’s okay. There isn’t a rush. I just want there to be no lies. No hidden agendas.” He could understand why she was confused at his blunt nature. “A lot of men like to play games. I’ve found that those aren’t fun unless they’re in the bedroom. Being upfront is what has worked for me.” He shrugged simply. Like he didn’t just say something about the bedroom. He hadn’t had sex in like, 2 years. He used to have someone he hooked up with but that wasn’t happening anymore after she had gotten a bit too attached and Harry couldn’t see past sex with her. It wasn’t what he wanted. He was clear in the beginning. But Y/N, she was someone he could see being close to out of the bedroom and inside. He had his curiosities but wouldn’t ask them yet. To be polite. “Why do you suffer with vulnerability, if I may ask?”

Y/N wasn’t expecting him to be so upfront. No one really asked her these types of questions, especially men who were interested in her. It was a positive sign, a green flag as opposed to the many red ones she had seen in her past ventures of finding love.

“I haven’t exactly had the best experiences in the past with relationships, built up a skin of sorts. I just... need a bit to warm up is all.” It really had to do with trust at the end of the day. It was strange to have a man who was so open, she knew it wasn’t his fault that she had all these past patriarchal beliefs. It felt like he was too good to be true, she needed to get to know him better to know if he was being serious. She wanted to believe him and she would, that wouldn’t change the fact that she was a bit weary though. 

“That’s alright. We can work on that.” Harry smiled. “I think there’s a reason that I’ve been thinking about you for a whole year, Y/N. There has to be.” He informed her of his thoughts. “You’re lovely. I think we could be a very beautiful couple in time. But I would like to date you. Take you out a few times, if that’s alright with you?” He knew that she was going to take a bit of work to get to trust him, but he figured it would be worth it all in the end if they ended up together. “What does your schedule look like?” He questioned. He wanted to get a feel on when they could have dates. He would plan very fun ones. Besides a coffee every so often but their first date would be fun. They could do something maybe a bit childish and let her guard go down so he could see more of how she truly is.

“Of course... um..” Y/N pulled away from his hand and went to get her phone out to open up her calendar app. It definitely was a little nerve wracking but Y/N knew she couldn’t back down. She was sitting here on this date just fine! He didn’t give her a weird vibe. He was just excited, as was she. In different ways, but excited nonetheless. “I’m available almost always because of my job, I sort of plan to do my work around my activities for the week so... if you would let me know in advance I could work something out most times.” Perks of being an influencer. Y/N made good money, took care of herself well. Hopefully, Harry could get her to come out of her shell a bit, and maybe she’d help mellow him out in a good way.

“Would you be open to going out tomorrow?” He questioned. “I work during the day most days but, I have the ability to take off if you’d rather do something during the day.” He was the boss and could do what he wanted, basically. If Y/N preferred to go out during the day then he would. But he could reserve a lane at the bowling alley he was thinking of bringing her to for tomorrow night. It was a Saturday night so it would be busy but he had a feeling it could get her to relax a little bit. He was hoping she would agree. 

“Tomorrow?” Y/N asked and looked down at her schedule, “Um, yeah, tomorrow sounds good.” She said with a nod. She was excited and a little nervous. Y/N knew she should at least tell someone she was going on a date, for safety reasons, but maybe she’d just briefly mention it. She didn’t want to jinx anything. “Here..” Y/N spoke, handing him her phone so he could put in his name and number. “Text yourself so you get my number.” She smiled, deciding that finally after a year, it was appropriate that they finally got each other’s numbers. 

----

Even though Harry had made the date sound lowkey, she still wanted to be properly prepared just in case things got... steamy. Y/N made sure her entire apartment was spotless and she had taken one of those long showers, she even made sure her sheets were fresh. What? It had been a while and he was hot… they’d had a whole year of anticipation, it could happen!

Harry texted Y/N for her address, wanting to pick her up. It was proper. Even though they truly weren’t that far apart, he wanted to be a gentleman. There weren’t many of them in this day and age and Harry was looking forward to showing Y/N that he could be one for her. He wore a simple outfit. A patterned button-up and leather jacket along with jeans. People would never expect he was a CEO but he liked to play with fashion sometimes. It was a fun pastime. Especially when brands were eager to send rich people their clothing apparently. He pulled outside of her house in the Range Rover today. It was a pretty basic car and he knew it wouldn’t be too flashy. He also brought extra socks just in case she didn’t, bowling barefoot was a no go. This bowling alley was 50’s themed, a drive out, about 25 minutes. He hoped she would be okay with that. He got out of the car with the flowers in hand. Daisies. He had chosen daisies for her. Roses would scare her a little, he thought, so this was a fun and memorable gesture.

Y/N was feeling super giddy as she buzzed Harry in, making sure all the final touches were complete. He wasn’t going to be in her place for long but, she wanted to be sure that everything was perfect. It was a bit of pressure she felt with him being that much older. Realistically she knew it was nothing to worry about, that he wasn’t really that old, but she was an only child, she struggled with that concept. Hearing the knock on the door she smiled, walking over and gasping a bit when she saw the flowers. 

“Hi— are these?” She looked up at him and then back at the flowers as if she was unsure. Who else would they be for? “That’s so sweet.” Y/N cooed and waved him inside. She gave him a hug, heat rising to her cheeks at the kiss he pressed to it. “Let me put these in a vase and we can get going. I’ll be quick! Make yourself a home.”

“Hi love, ‘Course.” He has done well with the flowers. Harry felt like a lot of men her age didn’t bother with flowers or little gifts but it was something he wanted to do with his woman. “Your place is lovely.” It was. It was roomy and decorated beautifully. Clean but still looked lived in. That was something he couldn’t wait to acquire. He wanted this type of home. His home looked so sterile that even he felt uneasy sitting in the living room. She looked beautiful too. In her little outfit that was simple and yet; so classy on her. “You look beautiful as well.” He smiled when she approached him. “I love the look. I hope you’re okay with a different type of first date.” He smiled. Bowling and a pub after weren’t traditional.

“Yeah? I’m glad you like it.” She worked really hard on decorating it after all. Y/N had found a pretty little vase for the flowers, making sure the water wasn’t too cold or hot before she set them on her kitchen counter where she’d see them the most often. “Thank you.” She hummed, “but no, I don’t mind. Anything works for me.” Y/N has been on so many shitty dates that at this point she was willing to take anything. Anything could top the time she went out to a steakhouse with a guy who ended up vomiting on her. Harry was already proving to be better than the others, but she hoped she wasn’t speaking too soon. She took his hand after locking the door behind her, following him on their way down to his car. “How was your day?” Y/N did want to know. These would be questions she’d ask on a daily basis. He relaxed slightly when she placed a hand on him. For some reason, her touch made him feel at ease. She was so easily able to make him react by touches and he wondered why that was. 

“Was alright. Worked a lot. I was excited to see you, to be honest.” He admitted, squeezing her hand as they left the door. He had been so distracted, checking his phone every hour or so. It was odd for him. He wasn’t ever normally like this. She appealed to him so much. He opened the car door for her, holding her hand as she climbed in. Making sure she was settled, he closed the door and went to his side. God, he was excited. Not too nervous because he felt like they had been placed together for a reason. “The place is around 25 minutes away if you’d like to send a friend the location you can.” He was understanding that they could do that on the phone. He had never done it but he knew his niece did.

“What are you planning on kidnapping me?” She teased, but knew she was going to do it anyway. Not that she thought anything would go wrong, but just so her friends knew she was safe and sound for their own peace of mind. 

“How was your day?” He questioned. Y/N was fun to listen to. Genuinely, he loved hearing what she had to say. Her voice was soothing and warm and she was good at keeping conversations going. That’s what made him relax further. It was almost time to arrive at their destination and he felt excitement in his stomach. He hoped she would appreciate the element of surprise. He knew it would be eating at him but she was easier on the questions and seemed to trust him on where they were going.

“My day? It was pretty average. Took some photos, tried out a new recipe for some raspberry swirl brownies. I have a bunch leftover, should have given you some to try.” Y/N pouted, “Maybe later though. When you drop me off.” She was already inviting him back? Maybe. Who knows, she assumed things would go well. Harry was extremely attractive, there was no denying it. If he kept treating her the way he was and if she had a few drinks in her she’d surely suggest more. Y/N wasn’t exactly the boldest unless she had some drinks in her, but even then she was pretty tame. Sexy wasn’t really her speciality, felt like she was pretty mellow and average. “Bowling?” Y/N asked with a smile, “did not take you for the bowling type.” She couldn’t believe this was where he was taking her. “Can’t wait to whoop your ass.” She giggled as she hopped out of the car, going to meet him around the front. Y/N took his hand and let him lead the two inside. This was great already. He was relieved when he saw the spring in her step. She was excited! He had done something right in guessing she would be a fan of this. Next date, he had something in mind already. 

“Hi... reservation for Harry.” He smiled at the bored teenage clerk. He obviously wasn’t happy about working a Saturday and he could understand that. When asked his shoe size, Harry gave it to him before turning to his date. “What’s the shoe size for you, sweetheart?” He asked, letting go of her hand so he could grab the shoes and hand his card over. He loved that she was excited, leaning into him. 

She’d changed into her shoes quite easily, slipping off her leather jacket and placing it to the side before pulling her hair up. “It’s game time.” Y/N teased, noticing how there was a little bottle of wine and snacks there as well. This was really cute and thoughtful. “I haven’t been bowling in ages, but I’m very competitive.” She warned him, “feel like we should place a little bet as well... make things more exciting.” Y/N knew it would be something silly and doable.

“Oh?” He raised a brow as he placed his jacket down on the chairs. He was curious to see what wager she would want to play with but he wouldn’t mind at all. Seeing as Y/N was an interesting little thing in general, he was hopeful to see what she would do. “What are you thinking of betting on? I am both concerned and curious, by the look on your face.” He had been planning on letting her win but it deepened now on the terms of the winning and losing bets. “I am quite good at bowling, little miss. So choose wisely.” He walked over to the little machine they could put their names into that kept score. “Lay it on me then.”

“If you win, you get to kiss me at the end of the game.... and if I win, then you get to kiss me at the end of the night.” Y/N felt like that was a perfect little wager. Regardless she was going to kiss him, but it was all a matter of when. She didn’t mind either way, but it would add some tension and of course she wanted to see just how badly he wanted to kiss her. Harry typed in their names setting his as simply H and hers as bunny. “Cute.” She giggled, looking at the different sizes of bowling balls they had and checking which best fit her fingers and brought two of them over to the machine. She went first, having had a lucky shot. She knocked nearly all the pins right away, her second shot managing to clear the whole set.

“Look at you!” He laughed, clapping at her little victory dance. She was good. Either way he was guaranteed a kiss so he was very happy-- however, was eager for it. He watched her skip back with a little tongue poking out to tease him. “Alright, alright. Champion bowler over here.” He grinned, putting the ball into his hands as it was his turn. Of course, he cleared all the pins the first try. For some reason, he was very good at bowling. Not at basketball or baseball. He was good at soccer and football but it varies. Harry laughed at her pout, moving about so she could go ahead and play her next round. She hadn’t asked where they were going after the bowling was done but he was excited. The whole night was going to be fun. Even now, he had a feeling it was going to be one of the best he’s had in a long time.

“Don’t get too cocky.” Y/N narrowed her eyes a little bit, getting up to go for her turn. This time she was determined to get a strike, focusing. She took a deep breath, doing a little meditation before winding up and letting it go. And she did it! Y/N turned around with a little giggle, flipping her hair over her shoulder even though it was pulled up. She had walked over to eat some of the snacks, taking a sip of the wine he had poured out for her. It was delicious. She was excited, this seemed like a very promising date already. Y/N did feel a little giddy every time he did well, but she wanted to try her best to beat him just for optimum teasing. Y/N had no idea there was a second part of the date, so she thought the end of the night would likely come a lot sooner. They were playing three rounds though, so surely they’d know who won by the end of it.

The thing is, he would have let her win. He really would have, but he wanted a kiss. Her teasing and poking her tongue out at him, their banter back and forth, it made him happy and he wanted to taste her. Her mouth was gorgeous. Lips plump and pretty, glossy. He wanted to kiss. It had been so long since he had a proper kiss, and he punched the air in victory once the final score showed he had won by 15 points. Y/N has scowled playfully, but he could see the blush on her cheeks. She was irritated about being kissed, and he loved that. 

“Let’s go to the car.” He pulled his belongings back in his hold, their bowling shoes deposited back on the front bench as they walked towards the car. “I woooon.” He grinned, popping his things in the back seat and tucking the phone back into his pocket, not unlocking the front doors yet. He came in front of her, hooking a hand on her waist, the other on her jaw. 

“Gonna let me have my prize?”

Y/N felt her heart rate pick up instantly, eyes wide as they scanned his own. She nodded her head with a small hum of agreement, leaning into his hand while she waited for his lips to lock on hers. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, desperate for him to finally just lean in and kiss her. This kiss was a whole year in the making, she knew there was no way it couldn’t be good.

“Good.” He didn’t wait, leaning in and taking what he wanted. It’s how he had been his whole life and he had no regrets, pressing his lips to hers. Immediately he knew he had made the right decision. His body was warm with delight, kissing her gently but having a firm grip on her. He didn’t know how far was too far but he knew she would hint at it. When she melted into his grip, his kiss became a bit deeper and pushed her farther up against the car door. Licking at her lower lip in an attempt of getting her to open a bit, he was pleased to hear a hum of approval come from her throat. A full kiss, Y/N was rewarding him with. Tasting sweet, he never wanted to stop. His body was electric at her touch, Feeling her lean into him and her tongue slick against his, he loved kissing her. It would be difficult now to go to sleep without replaying this.

It was definitely the best kiss she’d ever had. It was passionate and hot and exactly what she had needed after feeling so damn hopeless for so long. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, even her cunt was fluttering a bit with the way his tongue was moving against hers. Y/N had completely melted for him. Her hand had moved up to wrap around his wrist, her other moving to the back of his neck to keep him there. She really didn’t want him to move. It felt like the world had stopped moving and she was no longer thinking about their age gap or what was going to happen between them. All she was thinking about was how good he made her feel. 

“Gotta stop, bunny. I’ll get too worked up and.. I’d like to be decent when we get to our next place.” He murmured. Her arms were still around his neck and he liked that, but she blinked at him in confusion. “You didn’t seriously think I was going to leave you hungry, Bunny? No. You’re getting food. There’s a nice pub I go to back in our area.” He chuckled. His thumb rubbed tenderly over her jawline, pecking her swollen lips. “Stole that one. But you can have some more after we get you fed. They’ve got a lovely chocolate lava cake as well.” He didn’t want to pull away but he was hopeful that this night wouldn’t end any time soon.

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

[part 2]

A/N: thank you so much for reading! we’re really excited about all the content we have lined up. We’ll be posting regularly so make sure to check out our masterlist and send us request for what you want to read next :) - n + d

[lettheladylead]

Not Your Aunt

Chapter 8: Webby [ao3 link]

It had officially been one week since Goldie first stepped foot in the manor. And she was still there. This was the longest she’d ever spent in Scrooge’s home since his cabin in the Klondike (excluding times when she was sick or injured, of course).

She was pretty sure, by this point, that Scrooge was avoiding her. He’d been spending a lot of time with his daughter (or whatever) and a lot of time at the Money Bin trying to fix the many issues that cropped up over the past few months with his money managers betraying him, but then even the time he did spend at the manor seemed to always involve other people besides her. The only alone time they’d had was right after he crawled into bed, but every single night their conversations were brief and then he’d fall right to sleep.

So she was a little annoyed. She’d had a few conversations with the kids, sat in on a few dinners, harassed Beakley, been harassed by Sharpie...it’d been quite the couple of days. But it was getting late and she couldn’t wait much longer to talk to him about how she was feeling or how he was feeling or where they might want their relationship to go after all of this…

Ugh. Goldie sighed and wandered around the upstairs hallway. She hated thinking about mushy family stuff, but ever since Florida she’d been feeling an unstoppable pull towards the Ducks and she kind of wanted to relax and see what could happen. But if Scrooge couldn’t make any time for her in the next few days, she was definitely leaving and not coming back for at least a year. Love or not, she did not take well to being ignored.

A door ajar in the distance caught Goldie’s attention and she started walking towards it, curiosity being the best cure for her boredom. She wasn’t sure what that room was - Scrooge didn’t redecorate much, but she couldn’t keep track of everything since he collected so much junk and had 50 regular rooms plus another 10 secret rooms and who could remember all of that?

Goldie tried to peek inside, but it was pretty dark except for a small light in the corner. With a shrug, she forwent her usual sneakiness and just fully opened the door to let the light from the hallway light up the room.

She was met with a surprised chirp and two bright eyes staring directly at her.

Goldie stared back, not sure what to make of what she was seeing.

Webbigail was sitting on a table near the back of the room with a giant book on her lap - surrounded by heaps of other similar-looking books. She looked sweaty and grimy, and the whole room was covered in a thick layer of dust.

“...wh-what are you doing here?!” Webby asked, closing the book that was on her lap.

Goldie raised an eyebrow and decided this situation was interesting enough to explore. “I could ask you the same thing,” she said as she took a few steps towards the girl.

Webby frowned and shook her head for a second before wiping her hand across the cover of the book. “I was, um...well...trying to learn some stuff.”

Goldie leaned against the table Webby was sitting on and craned her neck so she could properly see what she was holding. Oh. “In an ancient photo album?”

“Yeah,” Webby said a little sadly. “Uncle S-, er...my dad has been telling me all about our family...well, just more than usual, I guess...but some things still weren’t quite adding up and I thought maybe I could piece things together on my own.”

Goldie raised an eyebrow and stared at the girl without responding.

She didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve always liked connecting things together...before I was told anything about the McDuck Clan or my dad’s life story, I went through all his different biographies and the photos he has around the house and tried to figure it all out myself. And now he’s telling me things that almost, like...conflict with other things he’s said or other things I’ve read about and it’s just getting confusing.”

“Well,” Goldie said quietly, “he is pretty old, you know. Could be he’s just forgetting some things or mixing up stories.”

“But...but he’s Scrooge McDuck!” Webby said with a frown, opening the photo album again. “It’s one thing to forget a few details from a story, but like…” She pointed to a photo of Scrooge’s parents and a very small baby duckling. “The back of this photo says it’s from 1939, but whose baby is that?! Hortense didn’t have kids until the 1980s and Matilda never had kids so is this just some random baby or-”

“That’s Gideon,” the blonde answered, pointing to the way the baby’s hair stuck out at the top. “Scrooge’s half-brother.”

Webby stared at the photo again, then up at Goldie, her mouth wide open in shock. “Wh...wait, so...does that mean one of my grandparents had a baby with someone else while they were still married?”

“Uhh…” Goldie leaned back and scratched her neck. She knew Scrooge didn’t like to talk about his brother much, but she’d met the man a few times so there was no point ignoring the physical similarities. Though the complications of his conception might be why Scrooge didn’t bring him up. “...something like that. Don’t worry about the details too much.”

“Worrying about the details is exactly why I’m here,” Webby mumbled, flipping through a few more pages. She glanced up at Goldie. “You know my family really well, don’t you?”

“Not by choice, but yeah. If you think Scrooge loves to talk about his family now, you wouldn’t believe how he was back in the day. Very talkative.”

“I know the feeling,” Webby said, chuckling a bit to herself. “Lena said I’ve always been a little too obsessed with the McDuck family and now I’ve gotten even worse.”

Goldie felt an unfamiliar twinge in her chest and plopped a hand down on Webby’s head. “If she’s still sticking around, it doesn’t bother her as much as she says it does. Trust me.”

The preteen seemed to think about that, letting out a low hum while she considered Goldie’s words. “Trusting you doesn’t seem like the smart thing to do, but it sounds like you’re talking from experience.”

Goldie removed her hand from Webby’s head and shoved it back in her pocket. “Despite what your granny says, I’m not always lying.”

Webby turned her whole body towards Goldie. “I don’t think you were lying about Gideon either...so...would it be okay if I asked you about other confusing photos from any of these albums?”

Goldie sighed and lifted herself up to sit on the table, too. “You can. I really think you should just ask Scrooge about all this stuff, though. A few memory lapses here and there doesn’t mean he’s going to withhold entire family members from you.”

“I know, I know,” Webby mumbled and held the album against her chest. “I’m just still getting used to all this. I feel like I should know all these people already, y’know? Like...like Elvira Coot, the mother of Quackmore Duck, isn’t related to Scrooge McDuck at all, but they refer to each other as cousins in a lot of old letters. Is it just them being friendly with each other? Or is my research totally and completely wrong?”

“They’ve just known each other for a very long time,” Goldie said matter-of-factly. “Some people call old friends brother or sister, some people call them cousin. Scrooge usually just generally calls everyone his family, but some people get friendly little titles.”

“That’s very confusing.”

“It is what it is,” Goldie bent one of her legs so she could lean on her knee. “Scrooge has always enjoyed being a little confusing.”

“Is that why he likes you? ‘Cause you’re confusing, too?” Webby asked with an innocent tilt of her head.

Goldie rolled her eyes. “Maybe. I’m sure he’s got a long list of reasons why he does or doesn’t like me.”

Webby huffed out a short laugh as she tapped her hands on the open album page. There were photos of a few familiar members of Scrooge’s family and even a baby picture of Donald and Della.

“...you are really confusing,” Webby said, breaking the awkward silence. She didn’t let Goldie interrupt as she continued. “I don’t think I understand you at all. You’ve been here for a whole week so...are you moving in? Or what’s going on?”

“I’m just here to talk to Scrooge.” Goldie grabbed a photo album that was next to her on the table and flipped it open. “He’s been particularly busy this past week so I’m waiting.”

Webby watched her flip through pages and wondered if there were going to be any more secret relatives she didn’t know about in there. “I didn’t think you liked waiting for things.”

“Not a huge fan, no.”

“But you’re still here,” Webby mused. She watched as Goldie stopped flipping pages and stared down at a photo of Hortense and Quackmore, clearly having a fun time on their wedding day. It was a very sweet picture. “Huey says you and Scrooge are gonna get married, too.”

Goldie rolled her eyes and flipped past the wedding photo. “I’m sure he did.”

“If you did get married...would that make you my mom?”

Goldie closed the album and glared down at the girl next to her, annoyed that these kids were so interested in weddings and marriages. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Webby asked, trying not to seem too confused.

“Why would it?” Goldie said with a hand to her forehead. “At the most, I’d be your stepmother, and that’s only in the very unlikely scenario where I say ‘yes’ to Scrooge’s proposal.”

“But this is a hypothetical scenario, so...if you did get married...would I be allowed to call you mom?”

“Ugh.” She knew there was a line here where her crabbiness would start to offend, but Goldie was not enjoying this line of questioning. “Even in this magical, crazy, hypothetical scenario...I would rather you didn’t. If I’m being completely honest, I’m still uncomfortable hearing you call Scrooge ‘Dad’.”

Webby, rather than be offended like Goldie thought, laughed out loud. “You think you’re uncomfortable with it?! I’ve been saying it over and over in my head all week and it still doesn’t sound right!”

Goldie raised an eyebrow at her and Webby froze, clearly surprised at her own outburst, and settled down. “Sorry. I shouldn’t say that. It’s just a little weird still.”

“Why shouldn’t you talk about how weird it is?” Goldie asked genuinely, leaning back on her hands. “If you don’t want to call him ‘Dad’ then you don’t have to.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Webby mumbled, imitating Goldie’s lean. “If I go back to calling him ‘Uncle Scrooge’ then it’s gonna seem like I’m rejecting him or something. That’s too mean. I can’t be mean like that.”

“It’s not mean.” Goldie sighed and turned towards the younger girl. “It’s your life. Call him whatever feels right to you."

Webby leaned her head back to stare up at the ceiling. "I've never had a dad or a mom before so I think I should keep trying for a little longer. It might just feel weird 'cause it's so unfamiliar."

"Or maybe it feels weird because it is weird," Goldie grumbled. "His DNA was stolen and used to create you, sure. So he's your father, but does that really make him your dad?"

The younger girl glared at the ceiling for a moment before turning towards Goldie again. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Being your biological father is significant, obviously. But family is whatever you want it to be." Goldie sighed and stared down at another photo - one of a much younger looking Scrooge. "You can run away from it. You can accept it without question. Or you can just try to figure it out."

Webby watched Goldie's face - trying to read the woman's expression as she stared at the photo. "I think I get that."

"Your grandmother wouldn't appreciate you listening to me, you know."

She smiled. "I know. But it's kind of interesting to get a more...outside perspective. I mean you're not not part of the family, but you weren't a part of all…" Webby waved her hands around for emphasis. "...this stuff."

"I suppose," Goldie said as she put the photo of Scrooge back down. A part of her really wanted to take it, especially knowing that Scrooge never went into this room so he likely hadn't looked at any of these photos in over fifty years. He wouldn't miss it!

"Do you think...um…" Webby stumbled over her words. "...do you think he'd be mad if I started calling him Uncle Scrooge again?"

"No," Goldie answered sternly. "He wouldn't be mad. Especially given everything that's happened with your family lately, I think an opportunity for some normalcy would be appreciated."

Webby flipped to another page in the photo album while Goldie spoke, and her eyes widened as she saw a familiar face in one of the old photos. She looked back up at Goldie and then back down at the photo. "So...if I call him Uncle Scrooge, then I guess I can call you Aunt Goldie, huh?"

Goldie turned to scold Webby for bringing up that nickname that she always knew would come up around these Duck children...when she came face-to-face with a photograph she didn't even know existed. Webby was holding it up dramatically, smiling smugly as she did so.

It was a slightly out-of-focus snapshot of Scrooge and Goldie in wedding attire, at an altar. Pretty clearly getting married.

Goldie quickly snatched it from the girl's hand and turned it around to check if there was a date or any notes. In Scrooge's handwriting it said "1953. Almost felt real."

She blushed a bit and turned it back around. "...I didn't know there were any pictures from this."

"And to think you made such a big deal out of my hypothetical scenario! But you're already married!" Webby looked more smug than she'd looked in a while, clearly ready to announce this news to the whole family.

Goldie frowned, unable to tear her face away from the image. Both her and Scrooge's faces were visible and, despite being at a bit of a distance, she could see just how happy they were at that moment. "...it was a con. A business decision. Not a real marriage."

"So you got an annulment afterwards?"

She laughed. "You think Scrooge would waste money on something like that? No, we just...moved on. I completely forgot it even happened."

"Well, Aunt Goldie, it doesn't look like he's forgotten."

Goldie sighed and pocketed the photo, wondering if she should show it to Scrooge later and shake out some memories. "Clearly he hasn't been in this room for a long time, so I wouldn't assume that."

Webby's excitement died down just a bit as she noticed Goldie's lack of embarrassment. "Isn't this...I mean, I know you say you don't wanna marry him, but you're still here despite everything plus you're already married! You really are Aunt Goldie and I don't get why you'd try to fight it."

The blonde frowned and exhaled loudly through her nostrils, trying to think of the best way to explain how she felt. "You've spent a long time idolizing Scrooge, right? Wanting to be a part of his family and whatnot."

"...yeah?"

"And from what I could tell, you two were getting close over the past few years. You called him Uncle Scrooge, he remembered your name. Yeah?"

"...uh-huh…" Webby had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"But now that this father-daughter thing was suddenly dumped in your lap in such a...such an awful way, really, you're feeling weird about it. Maybe it feels a little hollow, like this is what you wanted but it's not how you wanted it."

Webby frowned deeply - Goldie was completely right, but hearing the words said so casually didn't make her feel better about it.

"...that's what that wedding was for me," Goldie finished, finally connecting the two thoughts together. "I'd...wanted to be closer to him. I thought we were headed there. And then he suggested that plan and how could I say no? He was splitting the money with me 60/40 and I knew I could steal my missing ten percent whenever I felt like it."

"So you wanted to get married, but then you did but for the wrong reasons?"

Goldie sighed and shrugged. "Basically. It was a long time ago. Things change."

"And some things don't change," Webby added, noticing that Goldie was still staring at the photo in her hand. "You've had decades to talk to him about this, so why haven't you?"

"Eh," Goldie answered and stuffed the photo into her pocket. "Adult relationships are complicated."

Webby shook her head. "Not all of them. Just the ones that don't talk to each other."

Goldie glared down at Webby again, but the girl was already flipping pages in the album once more. She wasn't going to whine to a kid about how she was trying to talk to Scrooge but he was just making it difficult. Maybe if she told him she'd spent some time with his kid, he'd finally sit down and talk to her.

"Who's this?" Webby asked suddenly, pointing to another photo.

This one was older - depicting a young Scrooge (maybe nine years old?) with an even younger child that looked very similar to him. Goldie pouted and put a hand to her chin before grabbing the photo and turning it over to see if anything was written on the back.

"Oh, this is Douglas. One of Scrooge's cousins."

"On whose side?" Webby asked curiously.

Goldie shrugged. "Not sure. I know he lived alone in the Netherlands somewhere until he died, but he and Scrooge weren't very close, from what I could tell."

"Oh." Webby looked down at the photo, not really being able to read either child's expression. She supposed photos from the 1870s were rarely as expressive as ones from modern day. "You really know a lot about my family.”

"It's completely useless information taking up valuable space in my brain," Goldie complained with a smirk. "Maybe I'd be fluent in Mandarin if not for Scrooge."

Webby smiled, happy that she was able to recognize Goldie's words as a joke. "Well it's not useless to me. Thanks, Aunt Goldie."

Goldie frowned and rolled her eyes, but that just made Webby smile. She felt like she was starting to understand this woman...just a little bit.

A realization hit her and Webby suddenly gasped before hopping off the table. Goldie watched her with curious surprise. "I need to update my board!" Webby said as she rushed towards the door.

Goldie raised an eyebrow and hopped off the desk to follow. "I have no idea what that means!"

She followed Webby out the door and down the hall, until the girl was back in her own room. Goldie stuck her head inside just in time to see the unveiling of an insane-looking board filled with photos and string and notes and hearts and…

"...is that a locket with my face in it?" Goldie mumbled as she continued into the room. She stared at the locket as Webby ran around looking for something.

As she reached out to grab the strangely unfamiliar locket, Webby was suddenly on a step stool next to her and reaching for it herself. Goldie watched silently as the girl tugged her away from her little grouping of villains (rude) and moved her oh-so-closer to Scrooge.

Goldie blushed the slightest bit as Webby shortened the string, added some little hearts, and slammed a sticky note between them that said MARRIED-ISH!

"There's no way I'm letting you keep that up."

Webby laughed and wagged her finger in Goldie's face. "I'll just put it back when you leave!"

Goldie crossed her arms over her chest. "Then I'll just have to st...hm."

Webby's eyes were sparkling.

"...visit more often."

The correction didn't dull Webby's sparkle, instead she just smiled brighter. "I think everyone would really like that." 

Goldie raised an eyebrow. "Nice try, but I can assure you that your grandmother would sooner attend my funeral than enjoy having me around."

Webby hopped off the step stool. "Then you'll just have to win her over!" she said with a skip as she pushed the stool back to its regular spot.

"Yeah...I don't really see that happening," Goldie mumbled, not objecting when Webby grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the door.

"I think you could be friends! You just have to try!"

Goldie rolled her eyes but still didn't pull her hand out of Webby's grip. "Don't get your hopes up, Pink," she said with a sigh, but there was a little part of her that wondered if getting along with the whole family was even possible. She'd spent so long pushing away from Scrooge and his family and his friends that she'd never really considered what it would be like to actually...try. And she struggled to admit it, but...she wanted to find out.

She squeezed Webby's little hand and stared down at the bouncing bow on her head. Goldie still wasn't anyone's aunt, but...if she had to be, Scrooge's kids would be her first choice.

[autumnslance]

"In the five years following your sudden disappearance from the Carteneau Flats, your ever-faithful chocobo spent each waking moment galloping across the realm in search of [his] lost master. [His] myriad adventures are nothing less than fantastical and heartbreaking...but that is a story for another day." - Legacy Chocobo mount description.

((Animal love, loyalty, and those bonds woven by fate. So there’s some animal angst and injury, but also a happy ending. Crossposted below for those who prefer Tumblr:))

“I need you to stay here,” her person said, rubbing her beak and scratching the white feathers of her neck.

She kweh’d softly, not liking the request but because he had asked it, she would obey and listen for the whistle binding them together, when he needed her to come to his aid.

The not-a-moon hung low and burning in the sky. The land’s aether tasted funny, the smells of nature were all wrong. Any creature with sense hid as fiends roamed.

People had little sense, she’d found. Especially her person; in his armor, his axe pulled from his back, he would throw himself into the fray with a shout to fight anything that harmed others. Normally, she would be right there with him, beak and talon and wings alongside his weapon, helping him.

“That’s my Snowlight, my good girl,” he crooned, leaving a kiss on the end of her beak before turning to join his comrades.

She had been injured in their last fight, trying to keep him safe, and so she couldn’t join him in this one but he still said she was good and that was what mattered.

She kweh’d encouragement after him, satisfied he turned back to wave one more time, before joining all the other people leaving to fight.

—-

The not-a-moon broke apart and released Horror. There were flames and pain and ear-splitting roars.

The stables were on fire.

Snowlight was too injured to fight, but not too injured to herd the frightened silly-headed carriage chocobos out of the flames. Not too injured to find the coughing stablemaster, knock a fallen beam aside, and herd him out, too. She even found one of the barn kittens, confused and afraid, carefully picking it up in her beak like a chick.

Snowlight was a good girl. Her person helped others, and so would she.

The Horror was over the field where she knew her person was. It was malms away and he hadn’t called but her heart fluttered wildly and she ignored the grooms and handlers to dash through the burning woods.

He needed her, she couldn’t let him—

The world went white, then red, then white again, and finally black.

—-

The world’s aether tasted thin and strange, like weak juice left out too long.

She pulled herself out of the little hollow of debris and ash, casting a cure on instinct at the twinges in her wings and legs and neck, the injury on her side--the one that had kept her in the stable to begin with--throbbing again. The cure helped.

Snowlight blinked, trying to get a sense of where her person was, the location of the whistle attuning them to one another.

She couldn’t find it.

She shook out her feathers and limped on to where she thought maybe she had last felt it, in the direction he had left with his friends and all the other people, toward the setting sun--though it was currently obscured by angry clouds and more ashes.

Familiar places looked strange, though Snowlight couldn’t really put a talon on why or how. The forest was oddly silent, slow to wake from the disaster. The Elementals seemed especially distant.

She foraged for berries and greens, then slept. She was cautious of water she found but had to drink; the rain that fell later helped a great deal, though it was also heavy with dust and grief. She foraged more, and then slept more under a rocky outcropping.

The pass to the north felt wrong, cold winds blowing from the hills. So she kept heading west, through the less familiar hills, to get to the gloomy place.

Snowlight could always find the gloomy place, especially when the wind blew right. It felt like a scab on the world, the magic—and Something Else—waiting under the lake’s surface. It was an easy place to find, if weird.

It took a couple days for Snowlight to reach the gloomy place; slower than usual, but she was still recovering from her injuries and the paths through the woods were not easy to navigate. There weren’t as many fiends roaming around, at least, and the ones that were could be easily avoided.

The other creatures were waking and coming out of hiding again, too. She was a little less lonely, with the small birds singing.

The gloomy place was more of a mess than usual, a crystal spire piercing the air and giving off waves of suppressed magic. The corpse in the center of the lake continued to sleep but she gave the shore wide berth, both for its slumbering guardian and for the poison filming the water.

Snowlight continued west and a bit south, still not sensing her person, nor had he called for her on the whistle. She couldn’t teleport without the pull of the whistle. Her feet hurt but she kept picking her way through the ruins of machina parts.

She went to the camp for food, but it was empty, the aetheryte exploded in size and twisted in shape, the tents and supplies torn and burned. There were no people anymore.

Snowlight kweh’d sadly, rummaging through the wreckage for anything edible. She was rewarded with burnt gysahl greens, tasting faintly of staticky aether, but it was enough to raise her flagging spirits. After considering the twisty former aetheryte for a long moment, she decided one of the half-fallen tents at the edge of the old camp would be all right for sleeping in. There was still enough man-smell to keep wild creatures away.

—-

“Well ain’t you a beauty,” the big man with the rough voice said. “Fetch a good price at market.”

“To hell with the market,” the skinny man whined. “I’m starved and it’ll feed the whole bloody camp.”

“C’mere—” the scarred lady reached for Snowlight.

She beat her wings and shrieked. The trio swore and threw up their hands to protect their faces.

Snowlight was almost to the terrible place, full of twisted aether and death. The last place she knew her person had been. This trio had come upon her as the noon sun struggled to break through the thick clouds. They smelled of blood and offal and desperation, and she did not trust them.

The whiny man ducked close, so Snowlight leapt and kicked him, throwing him into the lady with a shout.

The big man managed to snag her neck, his arms squeezing. “C’mere you overgrown chicken I’ll—”

Snowlight shoved back and up; she couldn’t fly far with the aether currents so warped, but it was enough to startle him, and now he clung to not fall even the few fulms she had lifted him. She bucked until he slipped off and then she flew away as fast and as far as she could.

There was a whistling noise and a sharp pain in her flank but she swerved and pushed faster, hearing the hissing whistle of more arrows. She fought against the weird currents and her own weary wings, risking crossing a high bank that abruptly dropped into a narrow ravine, almost like a frozen wave of earth instead of water.

On the other side she landed heavily and ran, feeling warm liquid trickle down her leg, the arrow still lodged but loose enough to shift and pinch with every motion. Even so, she pressed on.

She was close.

Spots crossed her vision. She no longer heard the mean people; only the wind. Panting, she stopped finally, swaying on her trembling legs.

Where was he?

She spent a bit of strength to cast a cure, the arrow forced out as the flesh healed. She had to rest, but the mean people might still chase her. And she had to be close to where he was. Surely it was simply the damage caused by the Horror that was obscuring the connection, his call.

He had to have tried to call her. He couldn’t go this long on his own.

There were more people dotting the ruined plain, but they were easy to avoid now that she knew she had to be sneaky. She picked her way through smoldering magitek and torn earth and twisted structures that felt Wrong and smelled Strange. There were bodies, but none of them the one she looked for, thankfully.

A whiff of his scent caught in her beak and she kweh’d happily, seeking more. Still he did not respond, it was merely the scent of his previous presence. Perhaps he was among the people.

She drew as close as she dared to the tents. To the warm, gentle pulse of the Seedseer.

His scent was not among the camp.

Snowlight pondered this as she tried to retrace her steps to where she had caught that whiff. The field was scorched, the ground rippled from the blasts of competing magic. The aftertaste of the old mage lingered on her tongue, though it had a more bitter endnote than she recalled. Snowlight kweh’d again, digging for the scents of her person and his companions, catching hints and traces, but not finding them. Not finding him.

A voice called. She looked up and saw a yellow-clad man pointing in her direction. She turned and jogged away before the Adders could come close. While they would likely be more friendly than the bandits earlier, she had not the time for them.

She still had to find her person.

—-

Snowlight found hiding spots, keeping away from the Adders and adventurers still lingering. The taste of healing magic hung over the camp, competing with the blood and pain.

The camp was the best place to find food, though; this terrible place had none naturally anymore, blasted away or warped beyond recognition.

Snowlight was a good sneak; her person had often said so, when she played the hide and seek game with him. She would hide something he used and he had to find it. It was always great fun. She had also used it to swipe food before, risking a scolding but it was her person’s own fault for trying to deny her treats when she needed them.

Her sneakiness came in handy as she maneuvered herself into the Adders’ flock and helped herself to some of the feed provided. The destriers were too tired themselves to snap or fuss and besides, she could easily fight any of them into submission and they knew it; she was an adventuring bird, after all.

She was careful to keep the others between her and the soldiers, to not let them notice or catch her. It was tricky, given her bright white plumage compared to most army chocobos. But Snowlight was a good sneak, and managed to avoid getting caught. She had things to do, after all, and had to be ready if her person called.

She still couldn’t sense him. She still had not heard his whistle.

Snowlight slipped out of the flock, leaping the makeshift fencing while the handlers were busy. Then she returned to searching the broken plain.

The Adders were getting ready to break camp; there were few bodies left amid the wreckage of the battlefield, few new wounded found. They had worked tirelessly for over a sennight, the Seedseer and the conjurers sparks of the natural world amidst the carnage.

Snowlight returned again to the place where she had scented her person and his friends. She circled around it once more, a periphery she had scratched into the ashes as she tried to figure out where they had gone. How they had gone.

“They aren’t here,” a gentle voice said.

Snowlight warked and jumped, whirling to face the weary Seedseer as she leaned on her staff. Even exhausted, power thrummed through the padjal’s frame, a barely held summer storm. She smiled at Snowlight.

“I think I recognize you,” the Seedseer said. “Yes...I can’t quite recall…” She frowned. “I don’t remember their faces. Their names. But I know you were with them, once.”

Snowlight listened, keeping still. It was only polite in the padjal’s presence. As the Seedseer paused, though, Snowlight asked a tentative “Kweh?”

The Seedseer shook her head. “I don’t know where they have gone. One moment, they were there. I know I must have seen them. But all I remember are their silhouettes in the light. And then…” she trailed off, a perplexed look on her face. “I only know they’re gone. I’m sorry.”

Snowlight chirred in frustration, ruffling her wings. She didn’t understand, and usually the padjali were easier to comprehend than other people. What the Seedseer said made no sense.

“I know, it’s difficult,” the Seedseer said, voice cracking in grief and weariness as she reached out a hand. “But come; we can take care of you, and—’’

Snowlight was a good girl. Usually. The Seedseer was to be respected. Usually.

Snowlight shrieked and reared, flapping her wings as she backpedaled from the startled padjal.

“Wait—” the Seedseer called as Snowlight whirled and dashed, avoiding the soldiers who followed the padjal, who tried to catch Snowlight on their mistress’ command.

A soldier stood in her way. Snowlight warked a single warning before barrelling over and past him, ignoring the shouts.

They were hard to hear through the rushing, pounding feeling in her head, the ache in her heart that already felt like it had run for malms.

She ran up a tilted piece of machinery, a giant wall that had fallen from the not-a-moon and flapping her wings took off, flying toward the boggy saltmarsh to the north.

Her person wasn’t there, but neither were the soldiers, or the Seedseer and her painful words.

Snowlight would rest. She would eat. She would recover. Then she would keep looking for wherever her person had gotten to.

She had to. Snowlight was a good girl.

—-

Snowlight was so tired.

Her plumage was not as bright as it had once been; she had not had a proper grooming in a long time, and injuries and life in the wild had left her more ragged than she had ever been. Her person had often called her the prettiest chocobo in Eorzea, though she looked nothing like that now.

He still had not called. She still could not sense him. She still searched, though; the Seedseer was wrong, and he was just lost. He had lost the whistle in that Horror. He was waiting for Snowlight to find him.

Sometimes, curled up under a tree or in an abandoned building or an old cave, she would sleep and dream of the days they had rode together. Of their adventures, their games, his laughter, his scritches. His warmth as he leaned back against her side while the campfire crackled, his voice as he talked about so many things. She almost never understood, but he had such a nice voice. She missed hearing it.

The dreams were happy, but waking from them was sad. Snowlight stood, ruffled her feathers, and kept looking.

She had sought him out in the ruined reaches of the western marsh and the terrible place, through the gloomy place and its unsettling waiting feeling. Through the Wood, the Elementals barely whispering anymore, rarely waking from their slumber. She crossed the scrublands and burning sands, even risking the golden plains and the lizardmen who rode across them. She picked her way among the rocky mountains, and into the frozen land in the north, the wind and ice aether unrelenting even in the height of summer.

Snowlight was not yet certain how she could cross the strait to the island; it was just about the only place in the realm she had not looked over the last five summers and winters. The Seedseer’s words echoed in her memory again but Snowlight shook them away.

Her person was somewhere. She just had to find him.

She was back in the Wood. She would have to head west past the gloomy place and the salt marsh. If she didn’t want to be caught, anyway; she would have to find a way across the sea that did not involve people.

Sometimes she found people in trouble; beset by fiends or bandits, lost children crying alone, hurt people needing a cure. Snowlight had once been a good girl, and her person had helped people. So she scared off the fiends, fought the bandits, cast a cure on hurts, and guided the lost to safety. She sometimes, warily, took food and rest from those she helped. But then they would try to keep her—or worse, turn out to be mean themselves, and so she left as quickly as possible. Some wanted her for her plumage, some for riding or working, some for food. She wanted nothing to do with them as they were not her person.

So simply best to avoid people now.

Snowlight was tired, and so missed the snare that entangled her feet, triggering a second that caught her wings.

She flailed and shrieked. There was a prickle on her neck and she felt very woozy. It was getting dark again, but that couldn’t be right as the sun had just come up.

“Finally got ‘er,” a man’s voice said from...above her? When had she fallen to the ground? She warked and tried to struggle as careful hands gripped her. “She’s a tough ol’ bird for sure, but once she’s broken in…”

The world went black, and Snowlight dreamed of running across an open windy plain, her person laughing and whooping on her back.

—-

“Gods take you, you miserable bitch!” the stablehand yelled, clutching his bitten hand.

Snowlight just chirred a warning low in her chest, her feathers ruffled up as she glowered at him, beak clacking another warning.

No one here called her a good girl. Snowlight did not feel like being good, when they kept her hobbled and more often than not in the stable. The most experienced hands would put a lead on her halter and let her run alongside them for too brief a time in too small a pen each day. Most of them were kind, and she usually felt bad after snapping at them with her beak, or scratching them with her talons.

But none of them would let her go to find her person, and her person had not come for her here, so she didn’t want to stay.

A quiet presence stepped up behind the stablehand. He turned to the slim young woman. “Nevermind this one; she mighta been some adventurer’s bird once, but she’s gone wild. Don’t like anybody, this ‘bo.”

The woman simply took the lead and approached the stall.

Snowlight turned her eyes to the woman, and her rumbling ceased. There was something oddly familiar here, but Snowlight wasn’t sure what. Tall for the kind of person she was, midnight hair, and…

Snowlight tossed her head and kweh’d, confused but excited. She had caught a scent, a scent she had only ever smelled on her person before! This woman had the same underlying tone; a warm spice that left Snowlight trembling. She barely noticed when the woman snapped the lead onto her halter.

“Good girl,” the woman said quietly, pitched in a way only Snowlight could hear—just like her person used to do, and though this woman’s voice was higher and gentler, there was something in the way the words were shaped, something in the timbre of her voice, that felt right and familiar.

It had been so long since someone had called Snowlight a good girl.

The stablehand was boggled as the woman opened the stall and led a quiet, nearly docile Snowlight out and to the exercise pen. Snowlight paid him no mind; she was trying to figure this out.

The woman led Snowlight to the pen and let her jog on the long lead. She didn’t get fussy or scared when Snowlight stretched and beat her wings. It would be easy to escape any other handler who allowed that.

But Snowlight knew the woman was an adventurer, and adventurers were strong and tricksy. And there was a quiet strength and unrealized power in this woman.

She felt like Snowlight’s person did.

The woman offered her some gysahl greens and scratched her neck just the way her person used to, finding exactly the Right Spot. Snowlight sighed.

She was so tired.

“Been awhile since you trusted someone,” the woman said. Her accent was definitely the same as Snowlight’s person, and the same tone if higher. Her scent was the same too; not just soaps and the smells people put on themselves, but deeper, in blood and bone. When Snowlight peered at the woman, here in the daylight, there were ways she moved, the way she smiled, the color of her eyes, that were the same as his.

The woman let Snowlight run a little longer, putting her through paces using the same foreign words her person used to, the ones meaning “slow down” or “speed up” or “stop” and “go.” She gave Snowlight more greens and pets and then led her back to the stable.

The other handlers were confused, whispering, uncertain. One came close and Snowlight snapped at him out of habit. “Shh,” the woman said. She didn’t scold or jerk the halter, just laid her hand on Snowlight’s neck. “We need to brush you down.”

Snowlight did feel itchy after exercise. Still, she didn’t want the others muddling things up, not when she was trying to figure out this woman and why she felt as right and familiar as Snowlight’s person had.

The woman took her time, giving Snowlight a thorough bath and brushing. She did not let the woman trim her talons though, or check in her beak; not yet. There were limits.

Snowlight’s stall was clean and there was fresh feed and cool water. The handler she had bitten earlier shook his head, hand now bandaged. “Dunno what you did, but thank you. Poor old girl was running wild for years, near as we can tell. One of many who lost their riders in the Calamity, is my guess. She’s had it rough and won’t let folks near—until you.”

The woman shrugged and smiled.

“Well thank you. You’re welcome to return and help anytime.” He was only partly joking.

The woman simply nodded, retrieving her bow and quiver from the hooks where she had left them, before she turned to go.

Snowlight lifted her head from the feed bin to kweh a goodbye to the woman. The woman turned and smiled, waving to Snowlight.

When Snowlight fell asleep that night, she dreamed of her person, as usual. But the woman was also there, her laugh joining his.

A couple days later, Snowlight was kicking a ball toy in her stall, bored until it was time for the handlers to come take her to exercises again. She stopped kicking the ball and perked up at hearing a certain step, catching a certain scent. She kweh’d toward the quiet presence entering the stable.

“Hello,” the woman said to Snowlight. “Did you want to train again?”

Snowlight kweh’d and ruffled her feathers happily. She liked this quiet woman who reminded her of her person. She thought perhaps they were from the same clutch. After all, Showlight could tell when two chocobos were related, and while people were different they had their own families too.

The woman hung up her weapons and picked up the lead rope. Snowlight allowed the woman to guide her out into the exercise pens and they played for well over a bell. Then the woman bathed and brushed Snowlight again, before bringing her back to the stall, freshly cleaned by the other handlers.

The woman stroked Snowlight’s beak. “Good girl,” she said.

Snowlight preened.

The stablemaster was nearby and shook his head. “No one’s been able to get near that bird for moons. You come along and she’s docile as anything.”

The woman shrugged. “I didn’t do anything special; just treated her nice.”

“All any of us tried,” the stable master sighed. He peered at Snowlight. “She ain’t changed her attitude to the rest of us, neither.”

“I should be back in a few days,” the woman said. “I can help again then.”

“We appreciate it,” he said. “Maybe she’ll calm down with repeat visits from someone she trusts.”

The woman nodded, and gave Snowlight one last scritch before heading out once more. She turned and waved again when Snowlight called to her. That was nice.

—-

It had been nearly a moon since the woman’s last visit.

Snowlight had gotten used to the woman coming by every few days, looking and smelling and sounding so much like her person had; it was like having a part of him back as they trained and played and cleaned up together.

But now, after those handful of visits, the woman had not returned, just like her person had not, and Snowlight was so tired.

She no longer snapped and scratched at the handlers, but now they could not coax her to eat more than the bare minimum, or play, or train.

They were good people, really; they just weren’t hers, and she wasn’t theirs. The people Snowlight wanted simply hadn’t come back.

Snowlight dozed in her stall, ignoring the sunny day and the other chocobos and handlers. Then a certain sound caught her attention, a familiar step. She blinked awake, catching a familiar scent, and kweh’d.

The woman rounded the corner and smiled as Snowlight bounced and trilled excitedly. The stable master followed, smiling too.

“Can’t say you don’t deserve it, though you sure this is the bird you want?”

The woman nodded, a giddiness to her usual calm presence that made Snowlight even more excited, too, though she did not know why. “I think she and I get along just fine,” the woman said to the stable master, turning finally to Snowlight. She scritched Snowlight’s neck. “I even have a name picked out. My brother and I used to come up with them as children, when dreaming of having our own chocobos.”

“Well much luck to you both,” he said, holding out his hand.

Snowlight trembled with excitement when she saw what he held; a whistle, just like the one her person used to have. The whistle that had tied them together, made her always able to find him--until she couldn’t.

The woman took the whistle, then looked back up at Snowlight. “Do you want to be my chocobo?” She asked, almost sounding nervous.

Snowlight thought about it. She had a person--once upon a time. He was gone now, but this woman was so much like him, possibly from the same clutch...So maybe it was all right. Maybe this person wouldn’t leave Snowlight behind--and if she did, Snowlight would do her best to find her.

After all, Snowlight was a good girl.

“Kweh-Kweh!” Snowlight agreed, bouncing excitedly. She would be an adventuring bird with a person of her own again!

The woman grinned, and after a few moments, the spell was complete and the aetheric bond formed.

Snowlight’s new person led her out of the stable, accepting the fine reins and saddle the stable master offered. “After all you’ve done for Gridania, not to mention taking on Ifrit himself, it’s the very least we can do,” he insisted. “And I’m just happy to see this girl get a fresh start and a good home.” He patted Snowlight’s shoulder. “What are you gonna name her? For our own records.”

Her person smiled. “For a white bird my brother and I could never decide between our favorites, so we combined them,” she answered. “I’m going to call her Snowlight.”

“A fine name,” the stable master said.

“Kweh-Kweh-Kweh!” Snowlight cheered, the last shadow of doubt faded; her new person even knew her name! This was the best day since…

Well, since her first person had chosen and named her.

Her person swung onto the saddle, thanking the stable master again. Then she leaned forward. “All right, girl; let’s go!”

Snowlight dashed out of Bentbranch, her person laughing on her back, to begin their adventures together.