#i gave myself a mohawk again after two years
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Debating on keeping my hair red or if I should have another crisis and dye it back to black or get a fun color
#i gave myself a mohawk again after two years#id look like i did during highschool#idk if thats a good or vad thing lmao#it looks good on me though and i was happiest with a black mohawk. sue me#mohawk#hair dye#red gay aesthetic#gay#lgbtq
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my gender journey's been weird
when i first came out (after being closeted for over a decade) i went full blown "masc" or what the baby-trans version of "masc" is which is just justin mcelroy with worse hair. doing this meant getting rid of the clothes i loved and the extensive, expensive makeup collection i had. men don't wear flowy, pretty things. men don't wear makeup. i need to "pass", i told myself. i was obsessed! i had to pass! and by doing this, i stripped myself of any real personality i had. i changed the way i walked. the way i talked. the testosterone helped that. my body was changing shape, i began to LOVE my body for the first time in my life, and the hair that was growing in new exciting places, the way my face changed ever so slightly, even how my hairline went back.
so here i am, bare-faced (except i'd fill in my very light eyebrows), wearing a nice button down shirt, my hair was short and neatly tamed, hairline pushing further and further back, and over that whole two year period i was gendered correctly by a stranger.... twice. in two years. and one of them even got a better look at me and *apologized* for calling me "sir"!
i grew tired of it. it made me deeply, deeply sad. why was i making myself feel ugly and frumpy and boring when for the first time ever i actually loved who i was, and who i was becoming!
i bought the goddamn fluffy leopard print jacket.
i started playing with eyeliner a little bit again. started wearing a mohawk. i gave up. and it was because i realized why this didn't feel authentic: the men i connected most with when i was young enough to know I wasn't a girl, were all men who kissed men. men who wore pink and glitter and eyeliner. men who's cigarette butts were stained with red lipstick. with big doe eyes like mine and pouty lips, painted nails and long hair.
and they were still men.
so what the fuck was i doing?
so now here i am years later, and i'm in leather leggings, cowboy boots, a bauhaus shirt and my hair styled up huge and interesting. that big ass leopard print coat, and nobody can tell me and my daniel ash eyebrows fuckin' anything.
i have been gendered correctly more this year than i have at all in the years since I've come out.
my current style can be described as "i was in a very successful rock band your parents loved but i haven't done much since then but smoke pot and collect royalties and get fat" and people are starting to figure out that i'm a dude.
i serve more cunt now than i ever have in my entire life and i feel more gender euphoria presenting myself as i am now than i ever have. and no, i'm not out here in a dress, but the way i dress is how the straight cisgender men i know in my life would *never*. so it feels kinda like a big deal to me.
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Part one
When two hearts collide. A Hawk Mowkawitz story.
Hawk x reader pairing - fem reader
You're an old friend of Sam's and now you're back in the Valley after six years away, moving around with your Mum.
It had been a long time since you'd been in the Valley. Six years in fact now here you were walking into a high school full of people you had once known but now didn't. You had almost no confidence as you walked down the halls clutching your chemistry book to your chest.
"Hey y/n when did you get back?" Sam stood in front of me her face plastered with a smile. You recognised her straight away.
"Oh um about two weeks ago." You answer. You walked together to home room, luckily for you she had most of the same classes as you. You had been close friends with Sam and Aishea before you moved away, at this point she was all you knew.
In the class room she introduced you to her group of friends. Mostly boys, one was her boyfriend and one had a mohawk. His sweet smile caught your eye, though it quickly turned to a cocky smirk.
You slipped into the group easily, joining in with their conversations as if you'd always been there. The vast amount of moving around had taught you to learn human patterns fast. Never leaving you out of any loop you found yourself in.
The guy with the mohawk had math with you before lunch so he made sure to walk beside you to the cafeteria. You enjoyed his silly jokes that he shared with you, though it jarred you when he so swiftly changed his behaviour once around the group. He was cocky and almost rude to other people. You saw how some other kids looked at him. Scared almost. Had you read him wrong? Was he a bully? Sam had introduced him to me as Hawk though later told me his real name was Eli. I liked his real name better than his nickname.
When school finished they invited you hang out with them at the weekend.
"Oh, y/n, do you still do karate?" Sam asked suddenly.
"Kinda, mostly just by myself. I haven't been to a dojo in, well since I left here." You replied.
"My dad opened miyagi-do up again. You should come, we're all in it." Sam said.
"Oh yeah, sounds good, I might be a bit rusty."
"We'll work out the kinks, don't worry." Hawk winked at you.
Everyone laughed before saying bye. Sam took your phone number so she could text you the dojo address. You smiled then went over to your bike, Hawk was also climbing onto his amd you wondered how he fit the mohawk into his helmet.
"Thats your bike?" He asked looking at the easy rider beside you.
"Well technically my dad's but he can't be bothered to stick around so its mine now." You say before sliding your own helmet on a d sliding the visor closed. You knew he watched you as you pulled out of the space and out of the parking lot. .
You managed to eat a few pop tarts before slipping into your gym clothes and riding your motorbike to the dojo. You parked up beside some vintage cars, admiring them for a moment.
"Hey, you came?" A voice said behind you. You turned to see the purple mohawk walking up to you.
"Yeah, thought I'd see if you're any good."
"Oh I'm good, princess. You any good?" He was grinning again.
"Ask your sensie." You reply with your own smirk, turning on your heel and walking to the dojo.
The lesson went well, Sensie LaRusso greeted you into the class cheerfully, Sensie Lawrence however gave you an annoyed glance. You didn't understand why. At first you didn't take part, opting to watch the class. Your eyes couldn't help but wonder between the students, lingering on Hawk. He had removed his Gi top, having grown hot under the bright sunlight and exercise. Eventually you worked alongside Sam refreshing your old skills till the lesson ended.
The group of friends milled around the parking lot for a minutes after the lesson, people filtering off slowly. Sam's boyfriend went home with Sensie Lawrence, and Sam with her dad. Once again you found yourself stood with Hawk beside your bikes.
"You got plans for tonight?" He asked.
"Nope, mum's working till late so just me the microwave." You reply.
"No way, let me take you out. I'll buy you dinner." Hawk insisted. Something about this guy captivated you so you agreed, though you wanted a shower first. Hawk was cool with that and said he'd pick you up in an hour. You drove home faster than you should have excited to be making actual friends again.
Part 2
#hawk x reader#cobrra kai#eli moskowitz#eagle fang karate#reader insert#eli x reader#sam larusso#miguel oliveira#karate#myagi-do karete#danny larusso#johnny lawrence
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I rly don’t want anything but a ghost x reader :’) because I miss my baby
When I saw this, I wanted to initially bail this ask and apologize. I didn't want to get called out again as a terrible Ghost fic writer and get blocked by more blogs but eh... I guess there are perks of being a writer... Just gotta accept and keep moving on.
Anyways. this one's short and kinda not what everyone would expect from me.
Hope you have fun, readers. (Wait, I have readers aside from notif squad?!)
You unloaded the last box and dropped it on the floor by the door, wiping your forehead as you placed your hands on your hips and looked at your new home. This is it, you were finally living the dream. Leaving your country was never easy, but you thought of spreading your wings and the idea of a fresh start was what's best for you.
Your new apartment room was the most decent you could get out of all your options. It looked like someone left on a rush as you saw a newspaper from last week still on the table by the living room. Guess they left some of their stuff for you.
Oddly enough, the said newspaper attracted your attention as the page was open on an article that showed 2 people, who looked like soldiers, one had a mohawk and the other looked old, had a moustache and an explorer hat. It was labeled 'Most Wanted'. You didn't bother to check the rest of the article and kept the newspaper immediately, thinking that you could use it for when you paint the walls.
Still tired from travel, you decided to unbox your albums and notebooks from highschool, as you felt a sudden wave of nostalgia. You just arrived in the new country for like 2 hours and you already felt homesick.
Among the stack of notebooks and binders, one particular book caught your attention. Your high school diary, which was unlocked for some reason and you were glad it was, because you were sure you never found any key when you packed your stuff.
You flipped through the pages of your vibrant high school life and smiled at the narration, word usage and good memories it had. Until one summer when you found a photo attached to the page.
The photo was that of you and Simon Riley, he was one year ahead of you and you both met at art club. Well, he wasn't a member there but a football toppled your popsicle Eiffel tower and he stayed up until night to help you fix it back.
You were both sitting by the dock of the lake, your smiles were over the heavens, laughing at something that wasn't remotely funny.
The caption read:
"I remember how we felt, sitting by the water
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter
She is the best thing that's ever been mine"
Then you slowly closed your eyes as you remembered him singing that line of the song back in the lake almost 10 years ago. You told him that was the song stuck in your head after you met and he kinda liked the song as well.
This memory suddenly made you cry as you remembered how your relationship with him ended. It was tragic as you two got along for quite a while and even endured the fact that he was in a different school.
Then one summer, you both met back at that lake, he gave you news that devastated you. He didn't really plan to break up with you that day, but it felt like you should. You couldn't handle the burden of the two of you worrying for one another as it was too emotionally painful to think about.
You no longer had a diary that time but you still remembered his exact words.
"I'm enlisting myself to join the military." he muttered. No intros, no everything, he just straight up said that. You remember your mind process at that moment, thinking about how you two could survive his decision. But no matter how far you've thought about it, it only led to the same conclusion.
"I… I wish you luck." you remembered your voice croaking at that response as you gave him one final hug. You didn't even have to say it, but the context of the two of you splitting up was there. The romance that once bloomed by the water, ended at the same place.
"Be careful out there…" you whispered.
"I will. Take care." he responded with back rubs as you felt your tears drop on his shirt. You were going to miss him. A lot.
"Hey now. Don't cry. Always remember…" he pulled back and looked at you straight in the eye.
"You were the best thing that's ever been mine." he smiled, quoting the line from your favorite song. All you did was hug him again, so tight that you almost don't want him to go.
"One last run at our fave ice cream shop?" he invited and you nodded.
You couldn't help but cry at that memory. It was always dear to you as he was one of the reasons you felt that someone would really love you. But then again, the first love isn't always the last.
You looked out the window and smiled, wondering wherever Simon is right now.
"I hope you're happy, wherever you are. I won't ever forget how you taught me how to love." You whispered as you continued to unbox your stuff. It was going to be a long day.
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serpentine — kozume kenma
4.2k words | genre/s: fluff | warning/s: cursing | pairing: kenma x f!reader
↪︎ in which nekoma’s new manager captures their setter’s attention
a/n: this was requested by an anon but i accidentally deleted the ask 💀 this wasn’t proofread btw since i’m posting this hella late (atp none of my works are anymore lmao) anyway, the ending is uhh... not good
it takes up to ten seconds for your brain to realize it’s making a decision. you weren’t sure how it all happened considering it didn’t feel like it took ten seconds, and yet somehow, in some way, you agreed to the offer. it was no lingering doubt in your head that you could very well have answered due to the way the third-year manager (all ready to graduate in a few months notice) was looming over you. the look on their face drenched in optimism and a coaxing smile. you liked to think you were a generous person and you couldn’t have possibly said no.
"thank you so much, (y/l/n)!” your upperclassman exclaimed, eyes widening in a bright blithe as they held you at your shoulders and shaking you. “you totally saved my ass getting beat by coach nekomata! see you after school!”
that’s when it dawned at you. were you seriously going to become nekoma’s newest manager for the volleyball club when you had zero knowledge on the sport let alone know how to properly manage a team full of towering individuals? your jaw was basically on the floor as you attempted to plead something back to their current manager, yet nothing was coming out.
you’ve got to be kidding me.
you slumped back at your desk, face still in awe as you couldn’t help but almost felt betrayed by your own selfish mouth that spoke before you could even fathom the task. a sigh escaped you when lunch came to an end and lessons came back in session.
it was no lie that you didn’t really pay attention much in class in the first place. you had a tendency to space out and daydream from time to time with thoughts that serpentine from one idea to the next. however, at one point all you could ever think about was the inevitable doom of having to go to the gym in just a few hours time.
the feeling wasn’t enough to cause an onset sensation of suffocation from nerves, but it was just rather unpleasant knowing that these volleyball jocks would be part of your daily life now.
like a plucked flower petal, your body stood from your seat the moment the final bell rang through the echoing hallways. as if you were moving on autopilot, you hadn’t even noticed how fast you were treading through the hallways. perhaps your nerves were the fuel to your fire as you forced yourself to slow down and mingle into the lightly crowded corridors. perhaps you were glad that your classroom was on the other side of campus from the gymnasium.
you were taking your sweet time and surely they would understand if you were a little late right? granted, it was all too last minute and who knows if you had plans after school or not. spoiler: you didn’t, but that’s beside the point.
at one point, you’ve concluded that you were still walking too fast on your way to the gym despite going at a snail’s pace. it didn’t matter either way as your honey-coated eyes had fallen over the doors of the gym. the right door remained shut while the left was wide open, letting sounds of squeaking sneakers, bouncing white volleyballs, and shouts emitted from the building.
your pace came to a halt just a few feet shy of the door. your hand clutching at your bag’s strap as you waited for a few beats to pass. you weren’t sure what you were waiting for, yet standing there felt like a safer bet more than anything.
“oh there you are, (y/l/n)!” a voice called out to you in the midst of your personal speculation. this forced your attention up to them as you gave them a meek smile. “don’t be shy, come in! let me introduce you to the boys.”
they grabbed you by the wrist, tugging you inside the gym as you shook your head. “uhh, you really don’t have to. i can meet them all later, everyone seems busy right now.”
“don’t be silly!” they wave their hand off like it’s nothing. you follow them to the sidelines of the court, eyes scanning the gym out of instinct—you’ve heard about the many horror stories of those who stopped by and ended up being the target of an oncoming volleyball. a broken nose was definitely the last thing you wanted.
your head turned from watching the volleyball players do their drills as you stopped in front of two bickering individuals. the shorter one with copper brown hair points an accusatory finger at the boy in front of him, the tip of his finger barely reaching the top of the other’s shoulder as he ran a hand through his gray hair. “i swear to god lev, if i hear another word from you i will—”
nekoma’s manager clears their throat.
“oh shit—ha, hey mizuhara.” so that’s their name, you thought. the shorter one greets with a smile, expression all normal as if a complete stranger didn’t just witness him yelling at his teammate.
mizuhara only scoffs, “you’ve always been one for first impressions, yaku, which is why i brought our new manager here in the first place, but i suppose i came at the wrong time.”
“this is our new manager?” the taller one then cuts in, completely pushing away yaku as if his shorter stature weighed like nothing. there was a swift kick in his step as he approached you closer, sticking his hand out for you to shake. man, was this guy tall. “i’m haiba lev, it’s nice to meet you!”
you shook his hand, nodding, “(y/l/n) (y/n).” you introduced before turning towards the poor volleyball player that was pushed out the way.
“yaku morisuke,” he answers without missing a single beat, “i’m nekoma’s libero—”
“that’s why he’s short!” lev interjects and yaku gives him a poisonous look.
you bite back a smile as the libero continues, “don’t be fooled by the height, though, i’m most likely older than you anyway and you look like the type to actually respect your senpais, unlike this guy.” yaku pokes lev.
“are you a third-year?” you ask curiously to which he nods.
“he thinks he can boss me around just because i’m only a first year, but the only one who can give me orders around here is coach and kuroo.” says lev with a smirk that radiated provocation. this seems to be a normal thing between the two of them.
“speaking of which,” mizahara chimed in, head turning towards the courts as your irises scanned for a specific person. “where’s kuroo? i obviously have to introduce our new manager to the team captain.”
“i think he’s still in the locker room talking with the coaches. i’ll go get him,” yaku muttered over his shoulder before walking away.
silence then ensued the trio like a wet blanket, nothing but the lingering sounds of volleyballs thudding against the glazed wooden floors and squealing rubber. everyone in the gym didn’t seem to be too phased by your presence and if they were, they were probably just too preoccupied with their own practice to even spare a single glance.
“so...” lev starts, teetering his weight back and forth as you look up at him. “you’re a second year, right?” you nod, words not wanting to come out. “cool. do you have a boyfriend—or a girlfriend, if that’s what you’re into. i don’t judge!” he laughs then, somehow easing your unease.
“stop asking such personal questions, lev.” a voice calls out from behind him, treading lightly towards you.
the first year shrugs innocently, “i was just curious, cap.”
“yeah, yeah,” kuroo waves him off, “go practice before i double your drills.”
lev nods, “yessir.” before dipping away.
kuroo then gives you a welcoming smile, one that feels quite genuine as his coaches appear behind him. “i’m guessing you’re our new manager in training, right? i’m kuroo if you don’t already know, it’s nice to meet you.”
you introduced yourself yet again, repeating the gesture to coach nakomata and coach naoi. they both radiated a calming, yet serious energy that you weren’t sure to be intimidated by. yet at some point, you shouldn’t even be thinking of such thing considering you would working with them for the rest of the school year and the year after that.
“here, i’ll call the rest of the team over to meet you.” kuroo suggests, his arm already waving everybody down before you could retaliate. “gather ‘round, we have someone you guys have to meet!”
his shout was accompanied by coach nekomata’s shrieking whistle, capturing the attention of the rest of the volleyball team as the sounds of hands impacting the white leather came to a halt.
perhaps that forgotten tingling of nerves had hit you right in the chest like a train the moment all their eyes fell on you. this was not it.
“a girl!” one of them exclaims, hair styled in a strange curly mohawk that charged his way towards you.
“jesus, take it easy yamamoto.” one with a darker complexion and buzzcut says, throwing you a pitiful smile as if to say ‘i’m sorry.’
“sorry, kai...”
you held back a bit of laughter behind your hand.
“everyone, this is (y/l/n) (y/n), she’ll be our team’s new manager.” coach naoi motions towards you, bag strap still clutched within your hands that your knuckles were turning alabaster. “please take care of her well.”
as kuroo opened his mouth to speak, the same one who shouted earlier—yamamoto, you think—cuts in again and says, “are you dating anyone?”
lev laughs from the back of the group, “i already asked her that!”
“but i still want to know!”
“please be respectful or i’m stealing your kneecaps while you sleep.” mizuhara deadpans before motioning for kuroo to speak.
the obsidian-haired captain rolled his eyes in amusement as he began introducing each member of the team one by one, “i don’t want you guys bombarding (y/n), so i’ll introduce you guys myself.” cue yamamoto groaning in disappointment, “the one that keeps asking you such personal questions is yamamoto, our wing spiker.” to which the same man salutes you and gives you a wink. “then there’s kai nobuyuki, our vice-captain. teshiro tamahiko, our pinch server. fukunaga shohei, our other wing spiker. lev and yaku, which you’ve already met. and kozume kenma, our setter.”
your eyes had landed on each and every one of them before abruptly stopping on the last one called. you knew of kenma and his familiar yellow-blond hair. granted, you were in the same year, but he was in a different class and just didn’t really have any interactions besides that one time you two had cleaning duty last year and had to take out the trash together.
the last time you remember him, he was quiet and didn’t speak much, yet there was always a charm within him that had you drawn to him from the start. it was a shame you two never really had a chance to get close.
you wonder if he still remembers you.
meanwhile, the moment your gaze landed upon him, kenma couldn’t help but choke back the rising lump forming in his throat. he surely never thought you two would meet again like this.
the last time he remembers you, you had quite the allure within the way you spoke so nicely. he recalls the way you two first met last year where he offered to take out your trash bag so you wouldn’t have to do work, but you utterly refused. your kind actions stuck with him and despite not being one to talk much in the first place, he couldn’t bring himself to ever speak knowing your lasting presence overran his nerves like a high wire.
kenma’s thoughts are interrupted by a pat on his shoulder, heavy and weighted. his looks over to kuroo’s giving him a sly side-eye as a smirk melted upon his best friend’s visage.
“everyone, go back to practice,” kuroo commands, “mizuhara will take care of the rest.”
a chorus of discernable groans and ‘yessirs’ erupted in the gym as the hoard of volleyball players turned their backs towards you. everything seemed to be back to normal the way the echoing sounds of a run-of-the-mill practice was back in session. and despite the attention no longer being on you (thank goodness), there was still an inkling in your chest of someone’s eyes lingering as you looked back to mizuhara.
“that’s the girl, isn’t it?” whispers kuroo to kenma, practically scaring him out of his unbeknownst trance that was stuck on you.
the setter didn’t answer right away as he twirled the volleyball in his hand, eyes searching the bronze floorboards below him to find an answer he knew he couldn’t find. “it is,” he sighs.
kenma didn’t like lying, anyway.
you weren’t sure how it really happened. you supposed it was just mere fate or purely the universe throwing you a bone that within two weeks of being nekoma’s newest manager, that you would somehow, someway, found yourself glued to kenma’s side for the majority of the day.
it first started off like this: normal. nothing much had changed to your daily school life besides the fact that you stay after school every day for volleyball practice now, but that’s was beside the point. It continued on like this for a few days, until your scanning gaze over the practicing volleyball players almost always ended up stopping on kenma.
it didn’t matter what he was doing at the time whether he was sweating his ass off playing a practice game or simply staying on the sidelines, body hunched over with his dyed hair falling over his face as he played his video game.
unbeknownst to you, though, your stares were everything but discrete. kenma had always been quite skilled at hiding his emotions and looking nonchalant as possible. either that or he just had no filter whatsoever—there was no in between.
at first, the attention would always send his heart spiraling out of control. you were always on the other side of the gym when this happens, and he’s glad for that fact considering you couldn’t have seen the way his hands shivered slightly at the way you looked at him.
don’t even get him started on the way his usual patience ran lower and lower the more his teammates flirted with you. from yamamoto’s blatant disregard of your crystal clear unease to lev’s constant presence around you, had affected kenma more than he had hoped.
god, he hated feeling this way, and yet it was addicting that why you still looked at him regardless.
perhaps it was the only reason why he started reciprocating your sly glances to vie for your attention—granted, he already had it.
the subtle linking of your gazes eventually turned into smiles across the court to kenma finally getting the courage to walk up to you after practice. the sky was dim, shrouded by the last few sunrays of the setting sun as he offered to stay behind to help clean up. usually, he would be one of the first ones to leave the gym with kuroo by his side to walk home, but it didn’t take much for his best friend to know what he was up to.
you were folding up one of the volleyball nets at one end to which the setter reached for the other. he folded along the lines, eventually meeting you halfway to which you could say that’s where it all started.
the blossoming of a new friendship.
something about the way you two complimented each other so much, that the moment you two even started talking, it felt like two old friends reuniting. you felt at home with kenma and he liked being by your side.
you supposed that sensation of familiarity you found in kenma led to your days of shy glances to each other turned into eating lunch together to even walking side by side to practice. you both had a knack for being seen with each other to often, that people started to suspect things. from your classmates to the rest of nekoma’s volleyball team did they tread lightly around the subject. it wasn’t like it was any of their business anyway, but good gossip is always entertaining.
“can you please help me beat this level, kenma?”
“absolutely not,” the setter deadpanned, flicking you a tired look as you two neared the opposing school’s gym.
poor kuroo was third-wheeling a few feet behind you.
the night prior, you and kenma stayed up until the sunlight’s orange hues teased away the shadow of the moon, the quiet night in suburban tokyo was filled with your laughter through your gaming headsets. you two stayed up all night playing video games or simply just talking the night away, bridging over the same gap that had already been filled. surely, it was a terrible idea considering kenma literally had a game the next day, but his only excuse was hanging out with you was much better than wallowing in nervous thoughts, so he digresses.
“why not?” you gasp with offense written over your face as clear as day.
kenma shrugs, “maybe after we win this game, i’ll help you beat it.”
you hum in response, tucking your phone back into your windbreaker as you felt the rush of air-conditioned cold air breeze through your hair. approaching the benches, you quickly greet the opposing team’s manager and coach before situating yourself back to nekoma’s side of the court. mizuhara was already in the process of taking out the empty water bottles and placing them into holders to fill them up.
“i’ll help with that,” you offer as you had already picked up a bottle, but mizuhara waved you away with a smile.
“no, no, i’ll take care of this. you can start telling the boys to get changed and have them gather around coach nekomata.” they say, feet already trailing out towards the water fountains as you nod.
your hand scratched the nape of your neck as you turned towards the boys, mouth opening to speak and yet they seemed to already be one step ahead of you. their red tracksuits were already off and stuffed into the deep ends of their duffle bags—it was obvious with the way their bags bulged from the crammed clothing items.
a sigh leaves your lips, shrugging to yourself as it seemed like there wasn’t much to do when the majority of the things were sorted out already. sitting atop the courtside bench, you pulled your phone out of your pocket, typing in your password as you immediately opened up your game. the real game wasn’t going to be starting for the next ten minutes anyway, surely there was enough time to attempt to beat a level within that time span.
your hands gripped the sides of your phone with eyes focused to each detail the flashing graphics shined upon your face. you were so caught up within your own little world, that the ambient sounds of talking murmurs and approaching footsteps bled together.
kenma clears his throat before dropping onto the bench next to you. he peered over to your screen for a second, almost laughing at how much he had rubbed off on you. he feigned himself from scoffing at the way you hadn’t even acknowledged him, but he couldn’t you. it was technically his fault for introducing you to this game. besides, you looked so adorable with the way you would bite your lip whenever you were at the verge of dying.
you groaned, dropping your arms in defeat as you pouted towards him, “i died again.”
“i can see that,” he amused. rolling your eyes at the look he gave you, you rested your elbows upon your thighs again as you reset the level. however, before you resume on playing, the setter swiftly snatched your phone out of your hand.
for once he had to help you with this one.
“watch and learn, (y/n).”
you huffed at his cockiness, resting your chin upon kenma’s shoulder.
usually, he would find himself tensing at your contact, but lately, he’s been treasuring these little moments with you. kuroo would often catch himself off guard whenever he finds kenma cozying up to you like a kitten. this was definitely not something he would usually do unless of course, it’s for someone he is absolutely in love with. it was obvious the way kenma tried so hard to hide his feelings, yet still failing despite the nonchalant exterior.
if only you two just confessed to each other already, this would’ve been easier on literally everyone here.
kenma seemed pretty confident—so incredibly sure that he would beat this level for you that you couldn’t help but find it the tiniest bit attractive... okay maybe a lot. from the way his fingers intricately worked at the game as if it was second nature. you wondered how in the hell he plays so well, but the hours he puts into gaming was no surprise. within minutes, he had already beat the level.
“holy shit!” you exclaimed in excitement as you pulled yourself off of him, grabbing your phone to look at the ‘VICTORY!’ screen just to make sure it was legit.
the setter couldn’t help but feel the ends of his lips tug into a small smile as he admired the glow in your eyes. he liked it when you looked like this—grinning as if you were an absolute maniac with sugarcoated teeth of saccharine.
you beamed at him, “you’re amazing.”
there is was again, his rapid beating heart causing an avalanche between kenma’s lungs. he couldn’t get used to the way you make him feel. it still felt like the same rising warmth that hugged him like a bear whenever you would praise him or let out a slick laugh. he really liked your laugh. he discovered that about himself the first time he made you giggle over your first discord call together. it sounded like a forgotten epiphany finally finding itself back to him that he wanting to make you laugh again and again. even though the low-quality grain of the microphone, it was enough to ease his yearning to just hold you within his arms.
hearing you laugh over a call was one thing, but it hit differently in real life.
“yeah, right,” kenma scoffs, almost unconvinced. he leans over a bit more, his shoulder touching yours as he tapped a few buttons on your screen. his expression was almost unfazed as you continued staring at him. “you don’t mean that.”
kenma looks back up at you. his lips purse together, forcing the lump forming in his throat when he noticed how close your faces were. his eyes flickered over your features, memorizing them as if this was his last time ever seeing your face. for a brief moment, you felt your heart stop again and again. it punched against your ribcage with such brutal force, you swore kenma could’ve heard it.
you chuckled nervously, taking a deep breath as the words spilled out of your mouth. “i don’t lie to people i have feelings for.”
it ended up being softer than you thought it was. you supposed it was the way you were so careful to approach kenma’s lips, slowly and gently, just in case he wanted to pull away. in fact, you did expect him to pull away no matter embarrassing it may have been. there was such a pouring downfall within you that maybe you were okay with that possibility of him rejecting your kiss if it meant that there was a chance he might return it.
his lips were like velvet when he kissed you softly. even if it was a brief moment of vulnerability, you were both aware of how inappropriate it was to kiss not only your closest friend, but a member of your team just minutes before a game.
you pulled away then, hands slapping over your cheeks to hide the crimson red blush that suspended itself all the way up to your ears. kenma looked just the same, but he simply looked away.
you prayed that the rest of the guys did see—but they did.
kuroo saw it first, having to do a double-take the moment you pulled away from kenma. honestly, no one would’ve noticed if yamamoto’s loud ass shout didn’t echo throughout the gymnasium. as if your sudden humiliation moved like a domino-effect, jumping from one person to another.
you pushed yourself off the bench, hoping your hair would cover your tomato-colored face as you excused yourself to the bathroom.
right as your figure left the gym, the boys immediately ran towards kenma, still in a dazed state. the poor setter’s lips still buzzed from the kiss no matter how short it was. it still sent flickers of electricity through him as kai shook his shoulder.
“since when were you and (y/n) a thing?” he questioned quite loudly.
he acted as if kenma even knew the answer to that. if anything, he was just glad that he was saved by the buzzer as the game was to start. he let out a sigh as he scanned all of his teammate’s expressions, pushing himself off the bench. “don’t look at me like that.”
#haikyuu!!#haikyuu#haikyuu imagines#haikyuu scenarios#haikyuu x reader#haikyuu fluff#kozume kenma#kenma x reader#kenma scenarios#kenma imagines#kenma oneshot#kenma fluff#hq kenma
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two anons asked for more introverted and shy! reader .
Omg the headcanon w suga was so good TT I wanted to ask if you could do the same one with kags;-; 💞 like the introverted shy one
Oh my goooddddd the Suga one was so cuteeeee! Can I request the same one w kuroo? ;-; if not it’s totally fine!
and you know what ? i love this headcanon so much so i’m gonna do more of this . i hope you don’t mind i put both in one , it’s easier to post !
𝐒𝐇𝐘 , 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 !
karasuno and nekoma boys protect you because of your shyness !
— check out my masterlist !!
you being a shy introvert has never affected these boys’ feelings for you . if anything , they feel more obligated to keep you safe and protected ! these guys will do everything to make sure you’re supported and loved .
a / n : ehehehehe as a somewhat shy person myself i needed this
holy moly this came out so much longer than i originally planned , especially tobio’s — enjoy 😭
anyways ! if you want to be part of my general taglist - just ask ! and be specific if you want to be updated for certain things ( just headcanons , just scenarios , etc ) 🥺
tobio kageyama
both of you are extremely shy but somehow you make your relationship work perfectly
well , tobio isn't shy , per se - he's just extremely awkward
shoyo was literally the one who had to do most of the communication between you and him before you two became a thing
kags became brave enough to ask you out himself after countless weeks of psyching himself up for it
he was beyond thankful when you said yes , his confidence was boosted now that he conquered his fear of confessing to you
kageyama is very understanding of your shyness - he won't ever make you do anything you're uncomfortable with , and will always make sure you feel safe when you two are out together
as more of an introvert himself , he prefers to spend time with you in private , so it's a win-win situation for the two of you in that case
you love to cuddle with tobio when it's just you two - he's become accustomed to you just climbing on top of him whenever and just making yourself at home
hinata was the one who encouraged you to meet the rest of the volleyball team - kags hit him on the head when he mentioned it
" BOKE ! THEY'RE SHY ! BE CONSIDERATE OF THEIR FEELINGS ! "
" no , it's okay tobio !! i'd love to meet your team ! "
he said o-o ??
" really , y/n ? you'll come to practice to meet everyone ? "
" y-yeah ! i'm sure it's not too bad . and maybe i could watch you practice too , if that's allowed ? "
" OMG KAGEYAMA PLEASE LET Y/N WATCH US PRACTICE IT WOULD BE SO COOL TO HAVE THEM THERE WE SHOULD TOTALLY - "
" SHUT UP DUMBASS IT'S THEIR CHOICE IF THEY WANNA WATCH "
yes you wanted to watch , but working your way up to meet them was a terrifying experience
what if they didn't like you ?
you mentioned your fear to tobio after school , who shook his head with a smile
" they're going to love you , y/n . you'd be surprised with how accepting they are . hinata and i told you about our first day , right ? "
" yes , yes you did "
WOAH A BUZZ CUT GUY OPENED THE DOOR
you jumped behind kageyama as the bald guy started yelling at him about who knows what , you were too spooked to listen
shoyo was already at the gym , and noticed you hiding behind your boyfriend
" guys , guys ! that's kageyama's s.o. ! the one hiding behind him ! "
did hinata forget you're shy or something like wtf dude
you peeked out from behind kags , going pale as a whole sea of tall men stared right back at you
" everyone , this is y/n . y/n , this is my volleyball team . " taking you by the hand , tobio kept you close to him as he pulled you to his side
everyone collectively said hi , quietly to not overwhelm you
" damn kageyama , already cuffed as a first year , huh ? " this short dude with a blond tuft in front of his forehead patted him on the shoulder , and you watched as tobio struggled to reply , his cheeks going pink in embarrassment
you stayed away from the third years , as they had this powerful presence around them that intimidated you - especially that guy in the man bun , he's terrifying
you kept your distance from tsukishima , too - he's tall , sassy , and very scary
thankfully kiyoko was soft spoken enough to make you feel comfortable with being left with her - WTF WHO IS THAT INCOMING GROWN MAN HIDE
wait it's just the coach - NEVERMIND FALSE ALARM
you had never seen kageyama play volleyball until now - you heard about his middle school reputation , but he felt self conscious about it . so , you hardly ever brought it up in conversation
watching him in action was like falling for him all over again
the way he handled the ball so easily ; he could probably set in his sleep if he wanted to
and that quick attack - like damn , shoyo and tobio really are the dream team
after practice , WOOO BOY you were all over your him
practically gawking over everything you saw during practice - like DAMN , that setter is your boyfriend
you begged him to let you watch karasuno practice again , you'd end up warming up to the others eventually - you had him and hinata for support
he felt shy with how excited you were to watch him practice , but agreed to let you come to practice with him from now on
" tobio , you're so cool !! i wanna learn how to do the amazing things you do "
" cutie . i'd love to teach you sometime , y/n .
tetsurou kuroo
needless to say , tetsurou is anything but shy
how you managed to snag a catch like kuroo is beyond you
he likes - no , loves - your soft atmosphere , the peace that your presence brings him
he was literally a magnet to you in his quest of wooing you
the moment you even appeared in the same room for a second he’d end up right there with you
even if he was clingy in a sense , he respected your shyness and your boundaries , and would step away if he felt like you were uncomfortable with him
yes we stan gentleman kuroo anyway
eventually his charismatic tendencies and alluring charms got to you and you began to enjoy his company more and more
yes , you agreed to becoming his s.o. , only if he understood that you would be sometimes too shy to go out places with him
he didn’t care , he didn’t care if all you two did was stay at home — this boy was over the moon that you were now officially his
the first thing he did was brag to his team lmao
did i mention that nekoma was betting on him being able to get you ?
kenma and lev owed yamamoto yen for being kuroo’s only supporter BFHSJNFNF
yaku took it a step further and told tetsu to bring you here — to which he internally panicked
he wasn’t planning on introducing you to the others so early , you two were still trying to get in the groove of being in a relationship
but after being pestered by literally everyone else on the team , he finally gave in and agreed to ask you the next time he saw you
he sugar coated it to the max when he saw you the next day
“ y/n , my absolute darling , i know you said you’re a shy little cutie and all , but — ”
“ tetsu , please just tell me what you need from me . ”
LMAOOOO you can read the third year like a book ; he shut up immediately when you shot an eyebrow upwards
“ i wasn’t planning to introduce you this early but , the guys from my volleyball team want to meet you . today , after school , preferably . ”
y/n.exe has stopped working
“ baby , baby ! you don’t have to , i swear ! i’m not gonna push you to do anything you don’t want , they just want to meet you in person once , is all . you never have to go again if you decide to go only one time , i promise . ”
hhhhhhhhh why is tetsurou like this
“ fine , i’ll go today . i have nothing to do after school anyway . but after that , no more . i can only take so much , you know that . ”
he punched his fists in the air before snatching a kiss to your temple
“ thank you , baby ! you won’t regret meeting them , i promise . ”
it took a lot of psyching yourself up to actually go through with this
but kuroo looked so happy when you agreed , you didn’t wanna let him down :(
so you two met up after school — he was already with kenma
you already met kenma in the past , so seeing him didn’t bother you ; he was an introvert too so he understood how you felt
“ hi , y/n . i’m surprised you can keep up with kuroo the way you do . ”
“ it’s strenuous sometimes , but worth it . ”
aww look at you two bonding — even if it was at kuroo’s expense , he looked like he was about to explode in tears of joy
that moment of peace left the moment the gym doors bashed open — WHO THE FGIDKFK WAS STANDING AT THE DOOR
BIG SCARY DUDE WITH WHITE HAIR
“ KENMA KENMA KENMA KENMA CAN YOU PLEAAAAAAASE SET ME SOME BALLS ”
“ not now , lev . ”
oh my god he saw you
no turning back now
the so-called lev widened his eyes , his jaw dropped for a few seconds before running back into the gym
“ GUYS , GUYS ! HE DID IT ! HE BROUGHT Y/N ! ITS HAPPENING ! ”
kuroo appeared like a deer in headlights as you looked at him dumbfoundedly
“ tetsurou . what , and i mean what , is going on ? ”
you watched as someone much much smaller than him — you recognized yaku , he was your classmate — literally kick lev across the back , causing him to fall over
“ they’re a rowdy bunch , y/n . but they won’t lay a hand on you , i assure you . they’ve got much more bark than bite . if they even do have a bite . ”
kenma answered you before kuroo could ; he was blubbering away with incoherent excuses answers you couldn’t even understand
a dude with a mohawk came up to inspect you , and you screamed
tetsurou slapped him away , before wrapping his arms around you protectively
“ don’t go near y/n ! they’re very shy , so please be careful ! ”
this is so embarrassing you might just die
kenma and yaku made sure everyone else yamamoto and lev gave you personal space
once they were all settled down , you actually thought they were a nice bunch — it also helped to know that lev was a first year , it made him appear much less scary
kuroo insisted that you stay for practice , and after some pestering from him and the rest of the team , you agreed
watching them practice was not what you expected
where was tetsurou kuroo and what did they do to him
you didn’t even recognize your boyfriend as he took his rightful role as captain on the court , helping the others and giving pointers wherever needed
the others fell in place , too — watching everyone practice was totally different to how they acted before
you were actually mesmerized , watching them — you didn’t even realize practice was over until kuroo walked over to you and told you that it was over
“ i-it’s over already ? ”
“ yeah , baby . it’s done . did you enjoy it ? ”
“ yeah . . . yeah , i did . i enjoyed it a lot , actually ! ”
“ well , if you’re up for it , the manager spot is very much open . but you don’t have to take it , i know you said this would be the only time you’d come with me . ”
oh no no no you were not gonna miss a chance to be mesmerized like that again
“ y’know what , tetsu ? i want to be the manager . sign me up . ”
cue a screaming yamamoto and long legs lev jumping for joy as tetsurou grinned like crazy at your response
#haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagine#haikyuu scenarios#haikyuu headcanons#haikyuu x reader#hq#karasuno#tobio headcanons#tobio imagine#tobio x reader#tobio kageyama#hq tobio#tobio#kageyama headcanons#kageyama x reader#nekoma#kuroo tetsuro headcanons#kuroo tetsuro x reader#kuroo scenarios#haikyuu kuroo#kuroo tetsurou#kuroo x you#kuroo testuro#tetsurou x reader
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A Warm Breath from the Mountains
chapter 2
A Breath of the Wild fanfiction
Authors: @quepasta & @freshbreezesworld
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When I woke up the next morning, I found myself in one of the comfortable Rito beds in their inns. Zelda was sleeping peacefully beside me, her face turned towards me. There was something magical about seeing her in her warming nightclothes, sleeping beside me, surrounded by majestic mountains and a pleasant cold. I took advantage of the situation to watch her sleep undisturbed and gently stroked the strands of hair from her face. My arm felt numb under her head, but it was worth it to me to have her so close. Hopefully she would never know how I felt about her, because the closer we got, the more complicated it would get with her desire to rebuild Hyrule. It was getting to be time to wake Zelda up, so a prank came to mind.
Carefully, I pulled my arm away and sat up. I had to massage and shake my arm to get the blood flowing, but I didn't mind. As long as it didn't kill me, the sarcastic thought occurred to me.
I jumped out the window and landed noiselessly on the grassy ground that surrounded the guest cottage and grabbed a stalk, climbed back in over the same window and sat down cross-legged in front of Zelda's face. One last time I examined her contented sleeping face, which she always had when I slept next to her. Then I took the stalk and tickled her nose and ears. Hectically she tore her eyes open and patted her body and face with her hands in panic. I let out a laugh and almost toppled off the bed to see her like that. She noticed my reaction and stopped abruptly and just looked at me questioningly "Link, what have you done now!"
Again I snorted, this time it was her confused look. I tried to gasp for breath and at the same time explain to her what I had done, which proved to be a challenge for me. "Link!"
„Don’t worry Zelda! I only tried to wake you up. “
„apparently you did. Great job. And never do this again, whatever it was.“ Now she was annoyed and I nearly lost it again but I needed to focus.
„Anyways. Today starts your first lesson on how to cook. We have to gather some ingredients from the Hebra mountains, so let’s get started, because the day will pass before we even reached the stables.“
As I said that, I jumped from the bed and took off my night wear to change into my Rito armor. I was so used to be alone all the time that I forgot to warn Zelda. Of course she started to squeal. „Link! What is wrong with you, why don’t you warn me before taking off your clothes!“ I smirked at her to provoke her even more. „You can see more if you want!“ I said and received a smash of a pillow in to my face. „You’re ridiculous! “ she was about to burst out by clenching her fists but I reached over the bed to her and held her wrists tight. „Zelda I am just kidding, don’t be mad at me. You can change your clothes in peace, I will wait for you at the gate to the village. “
As I walked away from the inn, on the way to the gate, many Rito villagers greeted me heartily. It seems they weren’t mad at me anymore, I guess Saki did tell them, I was a complete fool, to ease their minds. But then I bumped into the the Rito warriors and even they greeted me and apologized for their behavior. I will have to ask Saki about this later.
I talked to the guard about the surroundings and if he saw dangerous threats around this area and he said besides the already existing monsters in the mountains, the area around the stable and the village was safe for travels. When I thanked him for his advice I turned back to the stairs and my eyes caught a goddess standing in front of the goddess‘ statue. She wore a full white coloured Rito snow quill armour and looked astounding.
She had her long hair braided to a ponytail and her face was framed in gold through two thick strands of her hair. My heart fluttered at her forest green eyes shimmering like the surface of water in the incoming sunlight. Her shy smile adorned her pretty face, which was framed by strands of her golden hair.
Slowly I realized I was staring at her for too long and as a result she blushed. “Do you like my new outfit that much?” she asked curiously.
Slowly and elegantly, she stepped down the stairs while I couldn’t get out of my staring even when she stood right in front of me.
“Zelda... You... You look like a goddess.” I said without thinking twice. As I realized what I said, my eyes widened and became nervous. ‘How did I let this happen?’
“I-“ I was about to start to say, but Zelda interrupted me before I could finish the sentence.
“Link, please don’t be sorry. I appreciate your compliment… and I wish you would say what you think more often.” Zelda folded her hands in front of her chest and looked directly into my eyes. She had an intense glimpse sparkling in her mirrors of her soul while she smiled at me in a way that I couldn’t lay my eyes off. It gave me an intriguing feeling.
"Everything my princess desires," I finally replied.
Even though I had only addressed her by her title, it slowly dawned on me how ambiguous it sounded, and I couldn't help but smile. Zelda giggled adorable in response. I scratched the back of my head, which I always did when I messed up things.
"Let's get to the stables before it gets dark. We will need our horses in the deep snow to move faster. After that, we'll let them rest near our campfire so they won't freeze." I finally said leading her the way.
Zelda nodded in agreement and broke away from me. We then walked across the bridges in comfortable silence, admiring the majestic view, until we arrived at the stables.
"Link, why did you name your horse Altay? I've never heard that name before," Zelda asked as I picked up our horses.
I had captured and tamed a direct descendant of her favourite horse, before the battle against Ganon, and held the white proud mare by her reins so that Zelda could pet and caress her in peace.
My mount, however, compared to hers, was like the night itself. My stallion had black fur and a black mane that was cropped into a mohawk. His forehead had a white mark that ran to his mouth. His fetlocks were covered with longer fur - an indication that he could cope with any weather. Basically, my horse was the perfect mount for me; fearless, strong and not afraid of any obstacle.
"An old man I once met on my journey told me about a warlike people who were unbeatable on their horses. They called themselves the Altay Warriors, after a mountain of their ancestors and deities. I don't know what happened to these warriors, but I still found the story impressive. When I found my buddy, here beside me," I lovingly stroked my horse's mouth as I continued, "I knew he was just as tough as those warriors and gave him that name. He loves it when I call him by his name." I smiled and helped Zelda onto her horse, grabbing her hip and hoisting her onto the saddle with ease. I loved those tiny touches and the way she smiled happily as I did so.
"Thank you Link, a gentleman as always." She said and gave me the intriguing look again.
I winked at her and turned to my horse and mounted the saddle. We had both opted for the 'Travelling Saddle' as it offered more storage space.
“So, Link will you tell me now, where we’re heading? You didn’t tell me more than that we would camp in the Hebra mountains.” She asked as we rode our horses in a slow walk.
“You will see, when we’re there, Princess.”
“Link that’s not fair, I want you to tell me where we will go. I want to be prepared.”
“Prepared for what? You won’t need to do anything but study the flora around us.” I said as I spurred my horse on.
At a trot we rode past the felled trees as the cool wind blew through the long stalks of grass.
“Because I want to learn new things and be useful, after you injured your shoulder, you must have realised too that you can’t be always there for me. Let me at least learn how to hunt with a bow. And no – the bow of light is something else.”
The group of trees in front of us was often filled with Oktoroks, so I kept my eyes open, but we had been spared this time. I breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the huge rock face to our left.
“I will think about it, princess,” I said and immediately saw a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. She turned her head away and sighed frustrated.
‘As if I could ever refuse her wishes.’
We had barely reached the sand-coloured rock cliff when the illuminating blue light of a shrine in the near distance caught my eye and pointed in the direction. Zelda looked out for the point in the distance that I was pointing at and drew in her breath sharply. I looked to her and watched as her eyes began to sparkle like opal.
"Link, there's another shrine! And it's glowing blue too! Link! Link! Let's explore the shrine!"
"That's the Bareeda Naag shrine I entered a while ago. That's probably why it glows blue instead of orange, since I completed the trial inside."
Eyes dilated like those of an eagle, stared at me in shock.
As we trotted on, I kept an eye on the surrounding area, knowing that a camp of monsters was hiding behind the rock face.
"The shrines you wanted to explore 100 years ago turned out to be trials for the hero with the mastersword. They served to restore my original strength and endurance. Ancient, mummified monks waited for me in these shrines and gave me different tests. Which amazes me though, because these shrines were created 10 thousand years ago, with the sole purpose of helping me. How could the ancient Sheikah have known this? But if they knew about our miserable fate, why didn't they take action against it? So many questions ran through my mind as I travelled through Hyrule with no memory."
I stared at the pommel of his saddle as I moved my hip to the rhythm of Altay. Absentmindedly, I stroked through the spiky Mohawk mane.
I only realised I was lost in thought when Zelda placed a hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my hazy memories of the devastation.
"Link, why don't you tell me what you saw in the shrine? What was that trial you had to pass?"
Grateful for the distraction, I gave her a smile.
"Activating the shrine first was a challenge in itself," we rode past the ruins that surrounded the shrine as I continued, "Laissa, the wife of Kass the poet, sang me an ancient Rito song that contained the solution to the challenge. I quickly found out that through the heart-shaped hole in the steep rock in Rito village, the sun had to shine on an illuminating pedestal and had to be shot with a fire arrow. Shortly thereafter, a shrine rose up from between those ruins and cleared the way for me to take the next test. In the shrine, with the help of my bomb module, I catapulted a huge stone ball at a huge target that was blocked by crumbling stones and floating pedestals that moved back and forth to make my job more difficult. I only had to shoot twice, once to pulverise the stones and a second time to fire at the target at the right moment. It was admittedly one of the easier tests I had to complete." As I told her more and more, her eyes lit up with fascination, but then I remembered that I hadn't even introduced her to Kass, let alone Teba, the Rito's bravest warrior. The thought of Kass led me to remember the final verses of his teacher’s completed ballad.
"Link are you all right? You looked very nervous and troubled for a moment."
"I'm fine. I just remembered one of the freaky trials."
I decided to withhold Kass' ballad from her for the time being, as I wasn't sure if it was true. I just couldn't imagine Zelda seeing me as more than her best friend.
"Do you want to tell me about it? You went through so much before you came to rescue me, and yet I can only begin to comprehend what you've been through."
A spark of admiration flitted across her face, but just as I was about to begin to tell, I harkened and halted abruptly.
Puzzled, Zelda stared at me, but before she could ride past me, I grabbed the reins of Himawari, Zelda's mare, and slowed her down. She neighed loudly in fright, but I managed to shush her with my "Ho! Ho. Hoa!" to calm her down.
Altay sensed danger nearby and flared his nostrils. Nervously, he shook his head and exhaled loudly. He was ready to face the danger.
I heard only the deafening snore of a Hinox, but I knew that if Altay reacted in such a way, there were Yiga nearby who could appear out of nowhere.
I could not hesitate for long, made up my mind quickly.
With my right arm I grabbed Zelda by her waist and dragged her from the saddle onto my lap, slapping Himawari on the back and we galloped as fast as Altay could.
Zelda cried out, constricted in my bent-over stance to brave the wind. I could hear a diabolic laugher, far behind us. I pushed Altay to run faster and quicker.
"Hold on tight!", I yelled against the wind.
Himawari galloped ahead of us, but Altay quickly caught up with her and sprinted past. We had to get away quickly, far away from any lurking danger.
"HYAH!", I yelled and spurred Altay and Himawari on.
The icy headwind whipped my face and froze my ears and nose. I hugged Zelda tighter to me with one arm to protect her from the weather while she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face against my shoulder.
I could hear Altay's powerful lungs quivering with joy. I heard every breath as his hooves pawed into the ground. I felt every muscle he moved.
My lungs burned with icy cold, but I gritted my teeth until we reached the crossroads to the Hebra Mountains. Once there, we stopped abruptly and Altay reared back, whinnying. I tightened my legs so as not to fall off the horse and pressed Zelda against me while pulling the reins tight with one hand.
Zelda clung tighter to me as she let out a suppressed squeal.
"Ho! Ho!", I shouted to calm Altay down.
When Himawari reached us, I released my reins, stretched out my arm and grabbed Himawari's reins as she charged towards us. I concentrated, tensing my leg muscles to sit firmly in the saddle, and pulled my arm towards me with all my might to intercept Himawari's momentum. I pulled hard on her reins, keeping Altay under control, and pushed Zelda onto my lap until Himawari came skidding to a halt.
I exhaled with relief and let go of the mare's reins. I relaxed my grip around Zelda's waist so that she could relax. Her legs hung off the side of my lap and her hip was pressed painfully tight against the pommel of my saddle.
"Forgive me Princess, I had to get us away from there as quickly as possible as I sensed through Altay that this place held some danger. I hope I didn't hurt you."
I slid further back in the saddle to move her a little away from the pommel, but I bumped into the pack on my horse's back.
Zelda let go of my neck and looked up at me.
"I could have ridden after you on Himawari, couldn't I?"
"No. I can protect you better if you're right there with me. The Yiga have the art of appearing out of nowhere and attacking you with sword and bow. They could have separated us by waking the sleeping Hynox and kidnapping you quite easily."
Her beautiful face was millimetres from mine, I couldn't help but gaze into her deep green eyes. Her pupils dilated, her lips opened a crack and honey sweet breath, clouded my mind. Feeling her chest rise and fall steadily, I realised my hand was still at her waist and she was sitting on my lap.
I tried to calm my racing pulse and deep breaths so as not to take any more space from her by my strong rise and fall of my broad chest.
Silently, we sat there staring into each other's eyes. Even though I was a disciplined knight, I was only a man. My gaze fell on her slightly parted lips. Magnetically attracted by her breath, my mouth approached hers.
But suddenly a thought flashed through my mind and made me jerk backwards. I was still her knight, protector and closest confidant. I had no right to kiss her.
"Sorry princess. That wasn't planned" I cleared my throat and tried to gather my thoughts. But then I noticed Zelda's sad face.
"Princess? Why are you so sad?"
Zelda furrowed her brows and averted her face. However, it felt like I had put a rift between us.
"It's nothing. We should keep moving or we'll never get to the snow mountains." She signalled me to lower her down. Carefully I hoisted her onto Himawari's saddle and we rode along the mountain pass, following the path. A herd of wild horses crossed our path and galloped ahead of us, across all directions. At the end of the trail was a hut with a campfire and we decided to let the horses rest at this spot.
"What is this place?" Zelda asked.
"Hebra Trailhead Lodge. See that wooden ladder? If we climb that, we'll get to Rosporo Pass. From there we get to the Hebra south summit. The pass to the right of the mountain takes us past Corvash Peak Mountain to Hebra Plunge and Hebra Falls. But the way is a long one on both paths, I suggest making a campfire close to this hut, but stay at the pass.”
--------------
I set my foot down lightly in the snow, huffing as the snow crackled underneath my boot. I had been walking around for at least 10 minutes while trying to keep my steps silent. How did Link always walk so quietly? He could run across a field and not make a sound. How many times had I seen him scramble up the side of a building, sneaking around the townspeople while goofing off.
Link had told me to find hot peppers and wild berries, and I had found neither so far. Somehow I convinced him to let me wander off by myself, though I figured he was staying close in case I needed him.
The quiet landscape around me had been cast in a yellow glow as the sun started sinking behind the mountains. The light hit the snow that clung to the tree branches and the snow sparkled in return. The reflected light from the snow danced on the fresh snow on the ground. I breathed in the cold air while I trekked on, smiling as I took in the beauty of it all. I couldn’t imagine ever getting used to the beauty of the Hebra region.
Soon I found a group of wild berry bushes and began plucking the berries into my pack. I wasn’t sure what Link was planning to teach me to cook tonight, but I was excited that it included fruit. The peppers had thrown me off, but they would be useful in the cold region we were in. Even if we didn’t use them for dinner, it was a good idea to keep them on hand.
After collecting all the berries I could find, I continued on. I knew that peppers grew better in more open areas and that there were cliffsides near the area I was in, Hopefully there were some peppers there. I forced myself to walk faster, I was losing daylight and I was supposed to meet Link back at the campsite by nightfall.
Shaking my head, I tried to get Link out of my head. He was only going to be a distraction. Plus, I was upset with him. Well, maybe frustrated was a better word. Frustrated actually explained a lot of how I was feeling lately.
I hadn’t let Link know, but after our almost run in with the Yiga earlier today, my sense of helplessness had only grown. He could sense the smallest sign of danger and had once again had to escort me to safety. Meanwhile I had been oblivious to it until I heard the faint laugh of the Yiga member. Even then, the only instinct I had was to hide my face in Link’s shoulder while my fear frightened me in place. Truthfully I was thankful Link was there and had the skills to detect such danger.
However, it had since dawned on me that my education as the royal daughter had done little to prepare me to live in the world that existed now. Of course, no one could have predicted what would happen. But out here in the wild, there was no use for arithmetic, or table manners, or citing the favourite literature among the nobility. Life here was driven by work done with labour and skilled hands. The civilians that still lived across Hyrule all knew how to collect and make the supplies they needed.
But I knew nothing. I didn’t know how to find more substantial resources, create shelter, make my own clothes, or defend myself. This is what I had been trying to tell Link for a few days now. But each time I brought it up, he brushed it off. Saying that he knew all of those skills and therefore I didn’t need to. Which is why I was frustrated with him.
But he had already promised to teach me how to forage for food and cook. That was a start, at least. And while Link was healing well from his fall, he still wasn’t well enough to do all the work by himself. Though if someone asked him if he was, he would say yes with an annoying amount of confidence.
I set another foot down, attempting to be lighter. I held my breath as my boot sunk in the snow, waiting for the sound of the crunch. But this time my footstep was silent. A small victory, but I let myself have it.
Shifting my foot to take another step, I brought my hand to grab the bow slung around my chest. I smiled as I remembered how excited I was to wear it like Link did. It was an extra great eagle bow that Link had in his pack. He had made a joke that it was weak enough that if I accidentally shot him, it wouldn’t hurt that badly. Rolling my eyes and threatening to take him up on that offer, I had taken the bow gratefully. It had also been another tiny win in my favor. Maybe my frustrations were unwarranted.
My face grew red as I also remembered that Link had offered to show me how to use it. For some reason I accepted his offer, even though I had been taught archery before the calamity. Archery was one of the few useful skills I had been instructed in growing up, although back then I didn’t care for it much. Also, I was a terrible shot.
I felt my hands shake as I remembered using another bow. The bow of light. The sacred bow of light had been given to me by the Goddess before I went to fight Ganon. The bow had somehow felt familiar as I gripped it for the first time. I had not had time to practice using it and I didn’t need to. I had used it countless times before, in other life times. Heading to the castle, I was armed only with the bow and my sealing power to face my enemy alone.
I shuddered at the memory and I gripped the great eagle bow tighter. There were no sacred ties or unfair duties with this bow. I could use this one and just be another girl hunting. The quiver Link had given me only had a few arrows in it, but I could target practice if I wanted to. Weighing the idea in my mind, I turned my head toward the horizon. I sighed as I realized the sun was starting to sink, which meant that I needed to hurry. There would not be enough time to practice and collect what I needed to.
Luckily the cliffs weren’t too far away, but the sun had beat me. It was now dark, the stars and moon finally showing themselves. I used the light of the moon to scan the cleared area by the cliffs, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dark. I finally found a few peppers growing at the far end of the area and began pulling them off their vines. I smiled and felt my mood lighten a bit, proud of myself for finding them. Even if I was late to the task. Just as soon as I was done, I heard footsteps coming from around the corner.
I turned in alarm, but relaxed as I saw Link come into view. Puffs of hot air followed him as he slowed his run to a walk.
“Zelda! There you are.” He smiled, and continued to walk over to me. His face was changing from a frown to relief, as if he had been worried about me. I felt anger prickle at my hands, why couldn’t I have made it back in time instead of causing Link to worry? There went my better mood.
“Do you not trust me? I am fine. I was about to head back to the stable.” I said, letting my annoyance show. A look of confusion spread over Link’s face, his mouth tried to form words in response.
“No! I mean yes I trust you I just-” He started. But his initial response of “no” set me off.
“You must really think I’m that helpless. Maybe you’re right. You gave me an easy task and I couldn’t even complete it before nightfall.” I said, walking back towards Link. I felt my voice start to get louder, frustration taking over. “And I couldn’t even be a few minutes late without you having to run around to find me. Maybe this is hopeless and I should just-”
“Zelda!” Link cut me off. “Zelda, hold on. None of that is true.” He said, his brows furrowing in concern.
“Well then why did you come running all the way over here? Like I am just some child you lost sight of.” I huffed. Why was I getting so mad at him? It was misdirected anger, I was more upset with myself for losing track of time today. I was about to continue when Link grabbed my wrists, bringing me closer to him and closing the rest of the distance between us.
He rolled his eyes at me, but rubbed his thumbs once over the top of my hands. Warmth flowed through them instantly, and my heart pounded. “I came over here to show you something. And I was running because I didn’t want you to miss it. Now stop being so stubborn and look up.” He said, sliding one arm around my waist when I tried to pull away before he finished his sentence. But then I stopped and followed his instructions.
A gasp escaped my mouth as I glanced up. The sky was lit up in streams of green and bright pink light. The light snaked across the sky, playfully shifting down toward the ground almost as if it were teasing the tops of the mountains. Aurora borealis, I thought. One of my tutors had told me about the lights in the sky, but I never had been able to see them for myself. They weren’t viewable from the castle. I must have been so caught up in my search that I didn’t notice the show the night sky was putting on.
I felt my arms relax and I let my hand fall to land on the top of Link’s arm which was still around my waist, but Link held my other hand in place to lay flat on his chest. I thanked Hylia for the cold air, giving an excuse for the redness creeping across my face. I gave his arm a soft squeeze, letting him know I saw what he wanted me to look at. But I kept my gaze on the lights. They were beautiful, like dancers waltzing across the night sky. Sometimes the green and pink hues shifted to purple or blue, but they were breathtaking regardless of what color they chose to be.
I finally forced my gaze away from them, back to Link. He had been watching them too, but looked back down at me when he saw my head shift. For a second I just let myself stare back into his eyes, and he searched my face as always. What was he searching for this time? Did he only see his sovereign and friend starting back at him, or did he see something more? At night, did he dream of my eyes too?
I suddenly became all too aware of how close we were. Link’s arms around me, my hands on top of his. Our bodies more or less pressed against each other. Of course he had held me like this because I was trying to push away from him and I would have missed the lights if he hadn’t. But he was lingering, he technically didn’t have to have his arms around me anymore. I technically didn’t have to have my arms touching him. We technically didn’t have to be staring silently at each other for this long, but we were.
I could have died right there and been content. But I didn’t dare let myself to think that this moment meant more. But perhaps it did. I remembered the moment the day before, when we had been escaping the Yiga. Had he been trying to kiss me or did I imagine that?
“I was being stubborn again, wasn’t I?” I finally breathed, forcing my eyes to look somewhere else.
“You were. But you always are.” He laughed. I could feel the vibrations of his laugh from how close we were. I still wasn’t over his laugh. A thing that only the Link from this time did.
“Well you were right, as you always are. That was quite beautiful. I have always wanted to see the lights and I never thought I would. Thank you.” I replied, giving him a smile in return.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as his smile grew wider. He let go of his hold on me, taking a step back. My hands fell back to my side and I felt the loss of warmth immediately. But he still stared back at me, his blue eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.
“Er, do you want to practice with the bow before we head back?” Link asked. His cheeks were red, probably from the cold. But a little part of me thought maybe he was blushing.
I nodded and turned to follow him.
As we walked to find a good area to practice, I replayed the past fews days back in my head. Starting from when Link woke me up with his prank, the compliment he gave me on the stairs back in Rito Village, then when evaded danger before I even knew anything was wrong. The redness on my face deepened when I remembered being pulled into his lap as we outran the Yiga on horseback. His instincts and strength were impressive, to say the least.
And just now, standing under the lights while being more or less in his arms.
All of these were innocent moments, really. But I knew I would replay them in my head for a long time. The image of his blue eyes staring back into mine would surely keep me up tonight.
And it was then an odd thought occurred to me. Blue was my favorite color.
“Is here okay?” Link spoke up, bringing me back from my thoughts. He was giving me a smug look, and only then did I realize he had led us to the flight range.
I was surprised to see the range after so long, but pleased to see that it hadn’t changed much in over a century. I sighed woefully as I remembered the countless times Revali showed off his skills here. Taking off on an upwind with his wings spread wide and shooting all the targets in a blink of an eye. Taking a deep breath, I hoped I would make him proud with the amateur archery skills I possessed.
“Yes. I believe this will work.” I answered, pulling the bow over my head and reaching for an arrow. I looked over at Link and he stepped back with a nod, giving me space to practice.
Suddenly I felt very nervous to practice in front of Link, and I now regretted not taking the time to shoot a couple of arrows earlier when I was alone. I fumbled with the arrow. The bow of light had been so easy to use. Almost like the bow had done the work for me, or maybe the adrenaline I had back then had made it easier to use.
Link stood back and motioned for me to continue. With the arrow finally nocked, I raised the bow with my arms shaking. I had seen Link jump in the air and shoot an arrow in one swift motion, with little effort. He must have been humored by my struggle, I couldn’t bear to look to see if he was. Pulling my right arm back, I aimed for the closest target in front of me. I could tell before I released it the arrow that it would miss, my shaky arms making it a clumsy shot.
The arrow in fact missed the target, whizzing past it to land in the snow. Still, I was encouraged by the speed of the arrow. I just needed to get better at my aim.
“That was good.” Link said, suddenly appearing next to me. “Here, nock another bow. If you straighten your arms more you’ll make your mark.”
He stood behind me as I pulled another bow out of the quiver and nocked it. He reached up and put his right arm on my right elbow, raising it so my arm was perfectly horizontal. His left arm lightly touched my waist, straightening my posture.
“When you draw the bow back, one finger should be above the arrow with two fingers supporting it from underneath. And you want your right hand to be right next to your mouth. Go ahead and try.” He whispered by my ear, and he stood back.
I drew the bow back, making sure my hand was even with my mouth and arms were level. I released the arrow, sighing as the arrow missed the target again. But it was closer, barely missing.
I continued practicing, with Link stepping in to give pointers. Every once in a while nudging my waist or correcting my arm form with a light touch. Everytime, my breath caught in my throat when I felt his hands on me. In truth, he was distracting me more than he was helping me.
But I didn’t stop him from doing it, even though I felt a little guilty not telling him that I had been educated in archery. But between me being out of practice and Link making me nervous, I was fumbling like a true inexperienced archer.
Finally, I shot three arrows into the target. While they were nowhere close to the bullseye I was still ecstatic with my progress. I felt myself smile wide after each one and with Link would give me a thumbs up in approval. His face beaming at me after I made the third one, I raised my arms in the air in a cheer. Link walked over pulling me into a big hug and swung me around in a circle. I laughed as he spun me, throwing my head back and feeling the wind whip my hair around.
I stumbled as he sat me back down, feeling joy fill my heart and spread through my limbs.
“I have a confession.” I said, laughing still. Link looked at me, his eyebrows raised with a smile still on his face. “Well I, uh, was taught archery back then. Obviously I’m rusty and I appreciated the pointers. But just thought I should tell you.” I looked down at my shoes, slightly embarrassed about my confession.
“So you just let me teach you something you already knew, like a moron?” Link asked, his voice playful. When I looked up at him I could tell he had tried to look angry, but he was awful at hiding the smile he wore.
I nodded and shrugged, glad he wasn’t actually upset.
“Shame on you, Princess. Shame on you.” He chuckled, shaking his head.
“I apologize! And your tips were still quite useful, thank you. They will certainly help me in my practice.” I slung the bow back over my head.
“Good. I guess that makes me feel better.” He stated, shifting his feet a little in the snow. “I’m not really ready to go back yet. Do you want to go find somewhere to sit? We can watch the lights some more.”
I stared at him, gasping in disbelief. “I never thought I would see the day that you would push off dinner. I thought you would be starving by now.”
He put a hand to his stomach and laughed. “Oh, I am. But it’s such a beautiful night, we might as well enjoy it. Unless you are ready for dinner?” He asked.
It was late already, it had been a few hours since the sun had set. But I wasn’t really hungry yet. “No, I can wait. Let’s go.” I answered, motioning for him to lead.
But Link took me by surprise, by tucking his arm in mine and giving me a smile before leading us away from the range. My skin tingled where he made contact, and I silently sighed in my mind.
I wished I had the courage to ask him about his feelings. Did he do everything for me out of duty? Out of friendship? Out of something more? These thoughts had kept me up at night recently. I often came to the conclusion that I was okay with the way things were. Having Link around and allowing our friendship to continue to grow was enough.
Honestly, most days it was enough. But moments like this, when he would do something out of his usual behavior that I felt the need to know what was actually going through his mind. Our conversation this morning only caused me to wonder more.
However, Link’s memory was still fragile. I wanted to give him space and time to heal. Putting strain on our friendship, the one thing that was a constant for him, would certainly not be the best thing for him.
Link led us back to the clearing on the cliff. He let go of my arm to clear snow off of two rocks that were at the edge of the clearing, then motioned for me to sit next to him.
“Thank you.’ I said, sitting down. I left a small space between us on the rock. Looking up at the sky, I could still see the lights. They were fainter now, but they still danced across the sky.
“How is your shoulder doing?” I asked him. It had been a few days since his fall, and while he certainly was healing faster than a normal Hylian, I was worried he was hiding his pain.
“Oh, it’s a little sore and stiff. I should probably be stretching it more than I am. But it is feeling a lot better.” He replied while shifting his shoulder a few times for emphasis.
“I’m glad to hear it. You really had me worried there. And your head? How does it feel?” I picked at a loose thread on my pants while I waited for his answer.
“Good as well. It hasn’t really hurt since the first day I woke up. A little tender if I touch it I suppose. My ribs are still sore, if that is your next question.” He said, nudging my shoulder with his.
I nudged him back. “Yes it was. Well, like I said. I am glad you are getting better. A shame that you are such a clumsy hero though.” I teased.
His head turned to look at me, rolling his eyes again. “Hmm. I don’t think you want to talk to me about being clumsy.” He chuckled, his shoulders shaking as he did so. But then he got a serious look on his face. “I am sorry about that though, Zelda. I really am. I honestly should have been more careful. Never would I have ever wanted to cause you such distress.”
I looked back up at him and I could see the sincerity in his eyes. “I know. There is no need to apologize though.” I answered, feeling my brows scrunch on my face.
Link leaned down a bit closer. “Well, there is. And I also need to say thank you. For what you did, even if I was mad about it. You saved me, Zelda.”
Oh he was close, way too close to my face. I wanted to lean in closer, it would have been so easy to close the distance between us. And he was looking at me again like he did yesterday.
But there were things we needed to talk about. And I suddenly felt a little brave, I decided it was time to ask him a few of the questions that had been haunting me for weeks now.
“It’s what we do for each other.” I said, looking away. “Speaking of that. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but there have been a few things I have wanted to ask you for awhile now.”
Link tilted his head, waiting for me to continue.
“What do…” I stopped. I wasn’t sure where to begin. “Do you remember the first time we traveled to Rito Village together? Before the Calamity?” I asked. I decided to start small and ask him about a few specific memories.
He sighed, though I wasn’t sure if it was out of surprise or frustration. “Can you tell me a little more about it?” He asked.
“Oh yes, of course.” I said, pausing to think about which details of the trip to describe. “Well, we had traveled from the castle to Rito Village to get an update from Revali on how he was managing to pilot Vah Medoh. Along the way, we ran into some ice lizalfos on the way, but you took care of them. Later, we had dinner with Kaneli, Revali, and some others. Nothing important happened on the excursion, I just chose a random moment to ask you about.” I answered, fiddling with the loose thread again.
Link’s face scrunched up in thought, his eyes moving back and forth as he combed through his memories. Then his face fell and he hung his head. “No, I’m sorry I don’t think I do.”
“It’s okay, Link. Like I said, it’s not an important memory. May I ask another question though?” I shot a side glance at him and saw him nod.
“Do you remember obtaining the Master Sword the first time?”
“No.” He answered quickly. “I have tried to remember that. But I haven’t been able to.” He said, his voice quiet.
I sighed apologetically. “Oh. I’m sorry for bringing it up, Link. I won’t ask about it anymore.” I was worried I had pushed him too far before he was ready.
“No, it’s fine. Maybe asking questions will help remind me of something.” He said, lifting his head to look at me.
I thought about something else to ask him, and there were so many things I could have. But I decided to go a different route. “Yesterday you said you wandered Hyrule with no memory. Is that true? Do you remember anything about your life before becoming a knight?”
This caused Link to lean forward into his hands, sighing into his palms. He stayed like that for a minute, not moving. Then he pushed his hair out of his face and sat up. He glanced over at me and cleared his throat. “I don’t remember my life before being assigned your knight. Honestly, I don’t remember much, at all. Most of my memories are tied to the pictures in the slate.” He finally answered.
I closed my eyes, I had figured as much. But it was still devastating for him to admit it. I wrung my hands together, attempting to come up with something appropriate to say. But what do you say to something like that?
“So everything you did after you woke up, training to defeat Ganon, freeing the Divine Beasts, saving me.... You did all of that without remembering who you were?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yours was the first voice I heard and you helped me when I didn’t even know my name. I was told by everyone else what my destiny was and what to do. That was enough until I started to reclaim some of my memory. Then bit by bit, I started to remember you and the champions. I didn’t remember everything, and I still don’t, but I knew I missed you and the others. I knew I wanted to save you and see you again.”
He paused, and turned his face toward the sky. I didn’t think he was going to speak again, but he did.
“Seeing you safe, healthy, and smiling. That’s been enough for me. More than enough. Even if I don’t remember, I know I did the right thing.” A small smile found itself on his face as he looked back at me.
I smiled back, feeling my heart pound in my chest as I met his blue eyes again. What he said made some of his behavior make more sense. He was still the old Link in the way that he was always striving to do good and how devoted he was to his duty. But he had also changed, he was taller, goofier, and talked more. The weight he felt of being the one who wielded the sword that sealed the darkness now gone as our destiny was behind us.
“Is that what you wanted to tell me earlier?” I asked him.
“Oh that? No. I’m still not ready for that.” He said, his eyes leaving mine for the ground.
“That’s okay. I can respect that.”
We sat in silence for a while as the weight of our conversation set in. I was happy we had made some progress, he hadn’t allowed me to talk about his memory before. But we were the only people who knew what the other person had gone through and it was time we began to heal. Together.
“I’m kind of hungry now, should we head back to the campsite?” I asked, standing up and offering my hand out toward him. He looked at my hand for a second before smiling and taking it.
And while I thought he would let it go after a moment, he didn’t. So, we walked hand in hand back to the campsite, with my hungry knight leading the way.
------------------
I was already awake before the first morning rays of sunshine, as the issues of last night did not allow me to rest in my sleep. I lay on my back in my sleeping bag and put my hands under my head. I looked up at the clear starry sky, which slowly gave way to the light of the sun.
"Zelda." I whispered.
No reply. Just a soft breathing.
"Zelda." I repeated, a little louder this time.
"Mmhm...?" she murmured sleepily.
"Wake up please, I have something to tell you that you should know."
I felt Zelda slowly wake up beside me, but I couldn't look her in the face. Even though I loved watching her sleep and wake up, my heart was too heavy.
"I'm awake now, what's the matter Link?"
"Remember Kass the poet? He was the Sheikah Court Poet's student."
Beside me, I heard Zelda draw in a sharp breath. In my mind's eye, I knew her big green eyes were wide and her mouth was half open. Still, I was unable to look at her.
She waited patiently for me to continue speaking.
"On my journey I met Kass very often, he sang me ballads of ancient times and helped me with the song lyrics to solve problems in the respective region. But his main task was to complete his master's song. It was a tragic ballad about both of us, but it was mainly about you, to help me recover my memory. Eventually, I managed to help Kass collect ancient songs all over Hyrule, so he managed to complete the ballad."
I exhaled heavily as thoughts about the verses kept circling in my head without finding an answer.
"Link, you seem so tense... Is there something wrong with the ballad of Sakasai?"
an old, long-forgotten memory suddenly burst into my mind. A memory of Zelda and Sakasai standing close together, whispering and laughing, while Zelda had not even glanced at me. I was Zelda's appointed knight and yet she didn't want me around and always rejected me.
I swallowed hard.
"Kass told me that his master often told him how beautiful you had been - and still are. Kass said he would like to compose a song to match your beauty and wished to meet you one day."
When Zelda still didn't say anything after a while, I finally turned my head towards her. My gaze met her brimming eyes, waiting for the truth.
"Link, that can't be all that's bothering you - please tell me. What is it that you can't tell me?"
"I... I... just can't tell you it, Zelda. Please accept it. For now."
Zelda frowned but nodded silently.
“About that song Kass wanted to write about me, I hope he is somewhere nearby! I am eager to hear, what he would sing about me, and how his music would sound. Please Link, please let me meet him!”
I looked at the beautiful face next to me, stared at her, without saying a word. I brushed a golden stray of her hair behind her ear and smiled.
“Of course, I will do that, why wouldn’t I want to let my princess become a song sung for future generations?”
She giggled and cuddled onto my arm, falling in a light sleep again, while I watched over her, as I did back then, now, and forever.
Zelda and Link watching the Aurora Borealis - commissioned from @/rutisfree on twitter for our romantic scene ♥️
#A warm breath from the mountains#zelink#fanfic#botw zelink#zelink fanfic#zelink fic#zelink au#aoc zelink#post botw#loz botw#botw link#legend of zelda#fanfiction author#legend of zelda botw#Legend of Zelda#botw2#link#hyrule warriors#writing#a zelda blog#adventure#romance#love#zelda x link#link x zelda#linktober#action#drama
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The Tower: Family - 16
The Tower: Family An Avengers Fanfic
Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //
Pairing: Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)
Word Count: 2472
Warnings: Pregnancy, Smut (Bisexual orgy, watching porn, oral sex, anal sex, vaginal fingering, face fucking, triple penetration, come play)
Synopsis: With new powers, Thor now living on Earth full time, a wedding to plan, and Natasha and Wanda expecting, a lot is changing for Elly and her large and rather unconventional family. When Elise’s parents try to reestablish connections, Elly questions what being a family actually means.
Chapter 16: Reminiscing
“I think we should all watch porn in the home theater.”
Our whole group had stopped at a cafe on the way home from dropping the kids off and had brunch together. Something we’d never actually done as a complete group before and was even rare for any of us in general. It was nice. Some of the guys ordered mimosas and Bruce ordered four of everything on the breakfast menu. It felt like the first actual date all of us had been on as a group.
On the way home, we talked about the things we could do with our first kid-free time since the honeymoon. Of course, most of them seemed to revolve around sex, though there had been a couple of votes for a big group nap and watching all those TV shows we couldn’t watch with the kids there because of their content. So while Tony’s suggestion wasn’t completely out of left-field, every single one of us was shocked.
“No one wants to watch porn, Tony,” Steve deadpanned.
“Now, now,” Clint said. “Let’s not table the idea completely.”
“Yeah, Steve,” Natasha teased. “Speak for yourself.”
“What is… porn?” Thor asked.
Clint and Tony stared at the god with their mouths open. “How many years have you been visiting earth and you don’t have porn?”
“I’m more curious that porn doesn’t exist on Asgard,” Bruce said. “I would have thought that was a universal constant.”
Thor looked at everyone, waiting for someone to explain. “Nope, that settles it, we’re watching porn in the theater.”
“I don’t want to watch porn in the theater,” Steve sighed.
“Can someone please explain to me what this word means?” Thor said.
“Porn is basically just material featuring people having sex,” Sam explained. “In this case, he wants to watch videos of people having sex in the theater room.”
“Oh, erotica,” Thor said in understanding. “I have not heard that term before.”
“Wait, Steve, before you say no completely, think about this,” he said. “FRIDAY can flip the floor so that there are no chairs. Just a great big bed that will fit all of us.”
“It’s not the seating arrangement that I take issue with, Tony,” Steve argued. “I don’t want to watch porn.”
“Hey, Steve,” Clint said, coming over to him and running his palm over Steve’s arm. “What if it wasn’t just random strangers? What if we watch the videos that we made for the others. Remember when everyone was on the mission and El and I kept fucking all over the place?”
I hummed. “Those were the days. Remember when we could just fuck all over the place?”
“We could never do that, Elise,” Steve scolded. “You and Clint just didn’t care. And now you do.”
“That’s our plan for tomorrow, huh, El?” Clint teased.
I giggled and nodded my head. “Aye, me hearty.”
Clint cracked up laughing while Natasha gave him a confused look.
“So how about it, Steve?” Sam said, coming up behind Steve and running his hand up the super-soldier’s stomach. “Wanna watch those videos you made for us? They were very hot.”
Steve seemed to think it over and a smile crept over his face. “I’m in.”
Everyone else agreed too. Apart from Thor, everyone had seen at least two out of three of the videos Clint and I had made with the help of Steve and Bruce, and they all seemed eager to see them again.
We filed into the home theater and as we entered the room the chairs all sunk into the floor and a large bed emerged from the ceiling, completely made up. We climbed into bed and the first of the movies we’d made started up. It was the one of Bruce and me on the recliner. My legs were spread and my face was a mask of ecstasy as his fingers moved inside me. Bruce’s face was set in deep concentration, but his eyes had that green tinge they used to get when Hulk was watching.
“Banner, you were being much more brazen than you usually were,” Thor said, clapping Bruce on the shoulder.
Bruce blushed and ran his hand through his hair. “Clint and Elise had spent the whole day getting me and everyone else worked up.”
“I wish I had been there, it sounds like it was most enjoyable,” Thor said.
“It was really just a way for me to deal with the stress of what was going on. The mission was dangerous and I felt pretty helpless,” I explained. “So Clint was trying to distract me and Bruce because he was on the verge of Hulking out.”
“And I am awesome at sex,” Clint said.
“Is that so, little bird,” Thor said and pulled Clint into a hungry kiss. Clint has a sudden look of surprise on his face before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around Thor’s neck.
“God, look how young I look,” I said.
“Young and about to come,” Tony teased, walking his fingers up the inside of my leg.
“You do look close, El,” Sam teased.
“And young,” Bucky said. “Jesus Tasha, why were you pursuing a fetus?”
“I like ‘em young,” Natasha joked, as the younger me cursed and came hard around Bruce’s fingers.
“God that was so sexy,” Steve said. “When I opened that video on the way down to you, it made me so hard.”
“Looks like it has now too, Cap,” Sam said, massaging Steve’s crotch.
In the film, Bruce has offered his soaked fingers to me and I was sucking them clean.
“I liked your hair like that,” Wanda said.
I giggled. “Are you saying you don’t like it now?”
“No, I do like it,” Wanda said, breaking down into giggles too.
“Maybe she just means in that sex messed way,” Bruce suggested.
The video switched to one of Clint on all fours and Steve easing a plug out of his ass.
“No,” Wanda giggled. “That’s not it. It’s just shorter now.”
“Oh yeah, remember when you cut it all off? Why’d you cut it again?” Tony asked.
“Because Riley would grab handfuls of it and nearly yank it out of my scalp,” I said. “I kinda miss it short. I liked how it barely took anything to look after it. I’m thinking about getting a mohawk.”
“Oh, like Carol?” Natasha asked. “That would be hot as hell. Do that.”
“Are we really talking about El’s haircut while there’s a video of Steve fingering Clint’s ass playing?” Tony asked.
“Mm, I think you’re right,” Natasha said. “I think we might all need to be getting rid of our clothes.”
“Now we’re talking,” Tony said, quickly stripping off his clothes.
The rest of us followed suit, Bruce shifting down, so his clothes just fell away due to their size. By the time we were all naked, the video was showing Clint on his back and Steve was easing his cock into Clint’s ass.
Bruce crawled over to me and pulled me into his lap. I curled against his chest and kissed his neck. Around us the others were doing similar things, kissing as they watched the video. Bucky had started to slowly finger Wanda and Sam was eating Natasha out as she jerked Steve’s cock. “You know,” Bruce whispered to me. “Things have changed so much for me since Asgard. I feel complete and confident and totally happy. I’ve never had that before. But I remember this day, and you and Clint taking care of me when I was so stressed out. When we got word that everyone was coming home. I felt so relieved and accepted. That was the closest I’ve ever felt to how I do right now. And that was because of you.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Mm-hmm,” Bruce said, slipping a hand between my legs and massaging my cunt. “You did a lot for me. What can I do for you?”
“You know what I want right now?” I whispered.
“I’m guessing it’s something really dirty,” Bruce chuckled.
“I want four dicks in me,” I whispered against his ear.
Bruce circled his fingers over my clit and looked around at the others. In the video, Steve had started to jerk Clint off as he fucked him and I knew Clint wasn’t far off from blowing his load.
“Thor, Clint, Tony? Care to join us?” Bruce asked. “Our girl here wants to be stuffed tight.”
“Is that gonna be safe for the baby?” Tony asked as he moved over.
“Uh-huh,” I moaned softly as Bruce pushed a finger inside me. “I’m not even showing yet, none of you will even get close to it. It’s all protected in its little house.”
Tony chuckled. “Darling, I am a genius, you didn’t need to dumb it down.”
He grabbed a tube of lube from a compartment at the head of the bed and we moved to the edge of the mattress. Bruce lay down with his legs over the end of the bed and Clint began to lube up Bruce’s cock. I straddled Bruce’s waist and Clint guided him inside of me.
“I guess I’m gonna be the one doing the acrobatic stuff,” Clint said, as he lubed up his cock.
“Well, you are the acrobat,” Tony teased.
I started to bounce on Bruce’s cock as I watched the screen. Steve was pounding into Clint’s ass and jerking him off and Clint arched his back and came all over himself.
Thor stepped up between Bruce’s legs adding more lube, and teasing my entrance with his fingers. As he did Clint began to do the same to my ass. I moaned loudly and buried my face in Bruce’s neck.
“I’ve got you,” Bruce whispered.
“No,” Tony said, lifting my chin. “Don’t you want to put that pretty mouth of yours to good use?”
“Yes, Tony,” I moaned. Thor had two fingers pushing in and out of me along the length of Bruce’s cock, stretching me so I could take him too. Clint had started adding a second finger into my ass and I was already starting to question what I’d gotten myself into.
Tony teased the head of his cock over my lips. I flicked my tongue over the slit of his cock, and he hummed. “Come on now, darling,” Tony purred. “Open wide.”
I opened my mouth and he pushed his cock inside. I closed my eyes and started to suck his cock. The sounds of moans filled the room. Not just from us but from the speakers. My own desperate moans blasted around us.
I was barely even aware of that, all my attention was on the way my holes were being stretched.
Thor lined himself up and eased in. My cunt stretched and burned to accommodate him, and Bruce groaned and bucked up into me. My sounds were muffled by Tony’s cock as he slowly rolled his hips.
When Thor had pushed in as deep as he could, Clint climbed up over me into a crouched position and lined himself up to my ass. The head of his cock pressed against my asshole. I moaned, trying to just keep my focus on sucking up and down on Tony’s cock, but as Clint sunk into my ass, I cried out, releasing Tony’s cock.
The four men all gave me a moment to adjust. On the screen, I was scrambling for purchase as Steve railed into me. Natasha, Sam, and Steve had formed a train, Steve fucking into Sam as Sam fucked Natasha, and beside them, Wanda was riding Bucky. I could feel everyone, but none of them could detract from how completely and utterly stretched and full I felt.
As I adjusted, Thor, Bruce, and Clint started to thrust, Tony grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. I opened my mouth and he thrust back in.
They started slow, letting me get used to them penetrating me. It danced a line between pleasure and pain, but as they picked up the pace and I started to feel fuzzy and unfocused, it felt nothing but good. Pleasure surged through me and I moaned and gagged on Tony’s cock.
Bruce held me close and Clint pressed down on my back as he balanced above me and thrust into my ass. “Oh, god,” Bruce moaned. “Feels so good. Can feel you.”
“That’s right, Bruce,” Thor rumbled. “All of us together.”
He ran his large hands around my hips and a spark danced between us, making my muscles clench out of my control. I came suddenly and without warning, releasing Tony’s cock. Bruce groaned and his hips stuttered as he tried to keep himself together but it was no good. He arched his back and came, moaning as he released.
Thor and Clint pulled out and I rolled off Bruce. I thought they were going to just change position, but Thor, Clint, and Tony just crowded around me, pumping their cocks. I looked up at them, fuzzy and slightly euphoric. I opened my mouth and squeezed my breasts together as I arched my back. They seemed to be trying to time it so they all finished at once. Each of them frantically pumping their cocks.
Clint finished first, moaning and letting his head drop back as he released in hot ribbons over my stomach. Thor and Tony weren’t far behind. Each jerking and releasing over me until I was painted with copious amounts of their hot mess.
As my breathing evened out and I started coming down from my orgasm high, I became aware that not only had the video stopped but the others were just watching us.
“See, Steve,” Tony said, putting the lube back and grabbing some wipes. “I told you it was a good idea.”
“When you’re right, you’re right,” Steve agreed, taking one of the wipes and starting to help Tony clean me up. “I have worked up quite the appetite now. Is anyone else hungry?”
There was the noise of agreement and everyone started to get redressed. “I say we order sushi and El can take a shower and when it gets here we eat it off her naked body,” Natasha said. “That’s something we’d never do with the kids here?”
“Why me?” I protested.
“Well, you don’t mind getting messy obviously,” she teased. “And it’s traditionally supposed to be a woman and Wanda and I have baby bumps and you don’t.”
“How will I eat?” I asked. “And you know you’re not supposed to eat sushi right?”
“No,” she argued. “Just no raw fish. Wanda and I can eat the vegetarian ones or I’ll have the ones with cooked fish. Plus, we’ll feed it to you.”
I chuckled and relented. “Alright, I’ll do it. But you owe me.”
“Don’t worry, mishka,” she teased. “I’m sure we can all work out ways to repay you.”
// NEXT
#the avengers#steve rogers#bucky barnes#tony stark#natasha romanoff#bruce banner#clint barton#wanda maximoff#sam wilson#avengers fanfic#avengers x oc#steve rogers x oc#bucky barnes x oc#tony stark x oc#stucky#clintasha#natasha romanoff x oc#wanda maximoff x oc#clint barton x oc#bruce banner x oc#sam wilson x oc#all caps#thor x oc#thor#fanfic#fanfiction#smut#pregnancy#the tower
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From attack mode to baby mode final
with his diaper bag packed and Leo dressed and ready to go, Baby Yusei was helped into a large stroller by his 'big bro and sis' though he fussed and whined a little as he tried to get comfy in the dark blue thing.
Oh, it was big enough that he barely had to bend his legs to fit in and everything and it was padded so it felt like he was on a pillow but still, some small part of him felt like he should be WALKING.
Luna had gotten his diaper bag and some toys packed away in the under carriage and it was Leo who was shaking a rattle in Yusei's face trying to calm him down.
"shhh it's ok little guy! Look I know you wanna walk to the park like a big kid, but you ALSO know you're just gonna get tired and wanna be carried. you can run around LOTS once we get to the park ok?" Leo tried.
Sucking on his paci and squirming in his thick diapers and pretty outfit, Yusei sighed and stopped his fusing but reached out with his hand, opening and closing it.
the universal gesture of 'gimme' among babies and toddlers (and some adults)
Leo smirked and pulled the rattle back towards himself for a Second as Luna stood up and Yusei whimpered and whined, reaching with both hands now.
He didn't really get why he wanted the damn thing SO much but he could feel the tears building up as he stained for it.
"Leo! Stop teasing him and give him the rattle or you'll be joining him in the stroller!" Luna scolded, hands on her hips.
with how fast he tossed the rattle into the stroller for Yusei to play with it, you'd of sworn the thing had become super hot to the touch, but Yusei just giggled and grabbed it, shaking it lots and sucking on his paci.
The walk to the park wasn't all that long, but somehow they seemed to past half the people they knew on the way. Each and every time they were stopped Yusei was sure he was about to be laughed at, or get asked what the hell he was doing but everyone just treated him like he'd always been a little sissy baby.
'Huh, some sorta..re-writiing of history? a illusion of sorts? who's got the power to pull off something like this?" Yusei wondered, going deep in thought even as he kept shaking the rattle.
So deep in thought was he he didn't realize that Crow had been looking down at him till the orange haired duelist reached in and light brushed his fingers on Yusei's nose, then put his thumb between two fingers.
"Got your nose!" Crow teased and Yusei giggled at that and reached up with a free hand, trying to get it back.
Crow teased him for about 10 seconds before relenting and Yusei just let his instincts in this time line or whatever was going on take over. To that end once he got a hand on crow's, he dropped the rattle and put his other hand on Crows and made a snatching motion then put both his hands onto his face and giggled as he removed them, implying he'd put his nose back.
"Oh my, such a clever baby! I know when I'm Licked." Crow chuckled and ruffled Yusei's hair. "You guys have fun but don't stay out too long, it's gonna be a scorcher today and you don't want the baby getting a sun burn."
Advise given, the duelist walked off and the trio finally made they're way into the park, heading right for the playground equipment.
Well almost right for, Luna took them to a park bench first and started to get some things unloaded while Leo amusingly started to jog in place.
"Can I go play now? Can I go play now? Can I go play now?" He kept asking.
"remind me again which one of us is technically older?" Luna asked, rolling her eyes. "and if you'd help me get some toys out and get Yusei set up in the sand box, you can go and hit the swings."
"Finnnne." Leo said and then grabbed the bucket that Luna offered and stuffed it with a toy shovel and rake and then dashed over to the sandbox to plant it for Yusei, and called over from the sand box.
"NOW can I go play?"
"I hope your not as hyper as him when you get to be his age Yusei." Luna said softly, smirking and undoing the straps of the Stroller and helping Yusei out even as he frowned a little.
'Huh? when i get to be his age? I'm older then he is!..aren't I?' Yusei wondered mentally.
He would of put more focus on that thought but as he was set on the the ground on all fours his body surprised him by taking off crawling at a fair speed heading for the sand box.
Luna kept up, though she was also clearly keeping one eye back on the stroller and then as they got to the sand box she stayed out to watch as Yusei climbed in and found the feeling of the sand between his fingers to rather interesting and kept grabbing big handful's of it and coo'ing, letting the paci fall from his mouth.
"Now remember Yusei, the sands for playing in, not for eating." Luna coo'ed.
"and try and leave some in the sandbox this time." Leo joked then gave Luna a pleading look and went to open his mouth,.
"Yes Leo, you can go and play now. but don't wander off anywhere by yourself. I don't wanna have to go looking for you again." Luna said, then raised a eyebrow and that caught Yusei's attention, and he noticed how Leo was hopping around.
"But first go and use the bathroom." Luna giggled.
"I don't have to!" Leo huffed, blushing.
"Leo, if you wet your trainers, you'll have to wear one of Yusei's diapers. do you want that?" Luna asked.
"..I'm gonna go and use the bathroom, but only cuz -I- wanna!" Leo huffed and then took off for the public restroom.
"Boys, am I rite?" Luna asked and smirked, leaning down and ruffling Yusei's hair.
He would of complained or pointed out he was a boy, but between his sissy outfit and the urge to make a sand castle the argument was gone from his mind in seconds.
The sand box didn't have anyone in it making Yusei king (or was that queen?) of the sand box for about the first 20 minutes he was playing in it.
he was amazed to find how fun it was to just dig his hands into the sand and pretend it was a sand monster but after a few minutes of that, it was time to get to work.
Any self respecting Queen of the sand box after all had to have his own castle, that was just common sense and spending 15 or so seconds planing it out, he took hold of the pail and shovel Luna had give him and got to work.
His Castle would be composed of grand towers where lots of guards could be stationed to protect their loving queen, and have a moat around it to trap the stinky heads from the evil fart nation. as such he picture a white stone castle with pink tiled roofs and a massive moat filled with hungry gators that loved to eat pants and undies but never people (he wasn't a monster after all) and would send the soldiers of the fart nation running home clutching they're butts and crying for mommy.
In practice however, it was bucket shaped mounts of sand already crumbling, with some twigs stuck in them for where the flags would be and the moat was drawn in the sand with his finger, him crawling and wiggling his padded behind as he went all around the castle.
turning around Yusei went to call out to Luna to come and see his amazing castle when a mean voice behind him caught his attention.
"Nice sand castle loser. looks more like a pile of dog crap!"
whirling around Yusei saw a 5-6 year old chubby boy with a blond crew cut and wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt that read 'fuck the rules' on the front of it. Despite mentally knowing he was older and should be bigger and stronger then this little twat monkey, Yusei felt himself trembling in fear.
"L-Leave me alone or I'll call my big sis and brother over!" Yusei stammered out.
"Awww is the widdle pamper packer gonna cry boo hoo hoo and whine for help?" The bully mocked, and rubbing his fists under his eyes mockingly.
Behind him not too fair off was a 12-13 year old in a similar outfit, only with a jean jacket and sporting a kool-aid dyed green Mohawk. figuring it was the bullies big brother, the older boy was smirking and nodding his approval at his little brothers behavior, clearly proud.
'Great.normally I'd handle bullies like this with ease and instead I'm seconds away from wetting myself in terror.' Yusei thought then felt a warm gush in the front of his diapers. 'Never mind..'
"Ha! I heard that! Did the big dumb baby piss his pampers?" the brat said, sticking out his tongue and tugging down on a eyelid with one hand and flipping baby Yusei off with the other. "Here, this will really make you sob and fudge your huggies!" He said and then before baby Yusei could react, he raised a foot and stomped down on the sand castle, making quick work of it.
"N-No STOP!! I-I worked weally h-hard on..L-LUNA! L-LEO!" Yusei cried out, starting to wail.
He wasn't sure what they had been doing but within seconds they were at his side, with Luna kneeling down and trying to comfort Yusei and letting him blubber on her shoulder while Leo clenched a fist and got in the bullies face.
"What's wrong with you? Picking on a little kid?! I got half a mind to give you a taste of your own medicine!" He growled.
"go ahead, try it.. OH Maxxxxx!" The little bully called, and the punk from before strolled over.
"There a problem here billy?" the boy asked, smirking and making sure his much more developed then normal for his age muscles showed.
"This green haired little snot is threatening to kick me butt!" Billy said with a smirk."Can you kick his instead?"
"Sure thing little dude." Max said and went to go and deliver a punch to Leo's face, making Leo flinch and turn away, but he never should of worried, the punch was caught by Luna, who looked totally pissed.
"You know..I hate fighting..I would prefer to settle things with a duel." She said, and twisted and squeezed on the fist in her hand, making Max drop to a knee even as he tried with no success to pry her hand off of him.
Billy yelped and then went to attack Luna but Leo stuck out a arm and the soon to be ex bully clothesline himself, doing a 360 before landing face first in the sand, eyes rolling in his head.
"Billy!"Max cried out.
"Is not your concern right now. your little brother made our little baby sissy cry. then you went to attack my twin brother...as I was saying, just because I don't LIKE to fight, doesn't mean I won't. I'm giving you ONE chance to say sorry, and take Billy and leave, Or I'll show you the true meaning of pain." Luna said, eyes burning.
Yusei sniffled and watched in amazement at the sight in front of him, and felt his bowels giving away, filling up the back of his diaper..
'remind me never to piss big sister off!' he thought and stuck a thumb in his mouth, only to pull it out and make a face because the sand on it.
"I..I..I'm sorry." Max was whimpering. "Please just let me go!"
Luna went from a living nightmare to smiling sweetly and let go of Max's fist, and leaning down.
"I hope next time we see you on the playground we can all play ni-" She was saying when Max went for a sucker punch.
Luna blocked it with one arm and punched him across the chin, sending max into a heap next to his brother.
"heh.. gonna call them the candlelight brothers." Leo chuckled, going over and checking on Yusei.
"Hmmm?" Luna asked, turning around and joining him.
"one blow and their out."
"heh, nice. Though I think we better call it a day.. I think we're attracting a bit too much attention." Luna said, looking around at all the stares they were getting. "Besides it smells like somebody made a super stinky diaper!"
Luna added, leaning down and tickling Yusei who giggled and gurgled despite the hot smelly load in his pampers.
Getting back home Luna got Yusei changed into a fresh diaper while Leo when and started the landry, and once the baby was all nice and clean she just had him in a light pink top with purple text that read 'little stinker' in cursive.
"I'm sorry you fun at the park today got ruined little one." Luna was saying, getting Yusei's attention as he seemed to drift out of it for a second.
he couldn't be sure but it seemed like everything in the house was just a bit bigger then it had been before they had left.
'But that's impossible..I'm not shrinking..then again I've woken up to a world where I'm a sissy baby and Luna's a freaking super sayian sooo I guess nothing really is impossible at this point.' Yusei thought.
"It's s'ok Big sis, not your fault people are big stinky farts." Yusei coo'ed, making Luna giggle.
"well put little one. Well I suppose we could watch some cartoons. " Luna said, giving Yusei a hug.
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Do you have any headcanons about Percy and Audrey's daughters? Oddly specific headcanon questions (if you like): what are their favorite animals, and what are the things they do that most annoy their parents?
Dad was reading his paper. Mum was buttering her toast. Lucy was delicately drinking her morning coffee. Molly sat at the table with a loud thump, the buckles of her leather jacket clanking a bit.
"I cut my hair," Molly announced to the table.
"I saw," her father hummed, taking a bite of toast he hadn't bothered to put jam on.
"It's nice," her mother said with a smile. "Very tall!"
"It's a mohawk."
"Mmm hmm," said Dad, not bothering to look up at it again. Molly crossed her arms. She'd hoped for more of a response than this. Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Teddy's was taller. And blue."
"Well... Well I was considering changing the color. Everyone wants Weasley-red hair, and I'm just as ready to get rid of it. Might dye it."
"Dye it?" her father asked, finally looking over his paper. Oh he thought he was going to dictate to her that she couldn't dye her hair? Well he had another thought coming if-- "Red hair doesn't turn out all that well with a lot of different dyes, so you might want to get it done by a professional or something. Your Uncle Bill tried to dye his on his own and it turned the color of sick. If you need me to pay for it, I'm happy to, but you might want to just charm your hair instead. I'm not the best at them, but we can work on it together if you like."
"Oh why do I even BOTHER!" Molly let out, kicking the table leg.
Her dad was looking at her with a bored expression. "Bother with what?"
"NEVERMIND!" Molly barked, feeling every long inch of her the fool. Every time she tried to get a rise out of her dad it didn't work. The rest of the meal she pouted and picked at her food. Dad finally folded his paper, cleaned up the kitchen, grabbed his briefcase and kissed each of them on the top of their head as he always did, though he gave a laugh as he had to lean in at a funny angle to kiss Molly on the top of her heavily gelled hair. He Flooed to work, and Molly was left wanting to toss a plate at the wall.
"What's wrong, verucca?" asked Mum, cleaning up the table.
"Maybe I should get a tattoo of a miniature donkey."
"And you're pouting about this because..."
"No matter what I do, someone in this gigantic family has done it first!"
"You know, if you're wanting to rebel, maybe you should ask your father for advice," her mother laughed. "After all, your father is the most rebellious one in the family."
"No he's not!" Molly scoffed.
Lucy's eyebrows popped in surprise. "He kind of is!"
"How?"
Her father abided by rules, was polite all the time, dressed like an accountant, and generally was the stuffiest person she knew.
"Well, while everyone else in the family was getting tattoos, piercings, dressing cool, being loud, playing Quidditch and doing dangerous or fun jobs, your dad was the only one dressing unobtrusively, doing unglamorous work at the Ministry, and is a bit more--"
"Boring?"
"Reserved!" her mother said with a look that made Molly's cheeks turn red. Okay, she'd crossed the line there. "If everyone was 'the cool kid' no one would be. And your dad cuts his own path in a very colorful family."
Molly gave a sullen shrug. She didn't want to admit being wrong quite yet.
"Well, I have to get going myself. Clean up your dishes, girls. I'll see you later today." Her Mum kissed Lucy on top of the head, then kissed Molly on her forehead, avoiding her hair. "You can probably get this mohawk look with less hair product, yes?"
"Probably..."
Her mother lightly cuffed the back of her head. "Be nice about your dad!" she called before Apparating away.
---------------------------
Percy gave a sigh as Audrey snuggled up to him, her curls falling across his chest.
"Molly's really pushing the limits of my patience right now."
"Same here," Audrey laughed. "She truly is embodying a 'rebel without a cause.'"
"That she is. I don't care what she does, I just care that she's actively trying to irritate me?"
"Hmm... Maybe you should feign shock. She might float the idea of getting a miniature donkey tattoo in front of you at breakfast tomorrow."
"A tattoo? Oh horror of horrors! I've never in all my years imagined my daughter wanting to... to..."
"Desecrate her body!"
"Yes! Desecrate her body in such a devious fashion! I am shocked. SHOCKED!"
The two of them folded into one another, laughing.
"Honestly, if she came out wearing a matching pink sweater set, a hair bow and pearls, then I'd actually be shocked and appalled."
"Thank goodness she doesn't know about Umbridge then," Audrey snorted.
"Two months until Hogwarts... You think this 'causeless rebel' phase will pass soon?"
"If it doesn't, maybe we should send her to your Mum's for a bit. She can get all the shocked reactions she wants then."
"I'd like to enjoy some time with her before school starts," Percy frowned. "Maybe we should send her to the Burrow sooner rather than later."
"This Thursday soon enough?"
"That'll do."
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The Crown Princess of Charming - Part 1
Welcome to Charming - its name says it all. Cat needed a fresh start; and though she hadn’t planned on that being in the arms of the crown prince of this little town’s bikerclub - that was what happened. This Charming CA would either be the death of her - or a whole new life.
This story is obviously non-canon. It will include characters from multiple seasons; some of them having never met on the show. In this universe, Tara didn’t come back from Chicago. I’ve done this to get the story I wanted.
I’ve also decided to give the protagonist a name in this story. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.
1
“Move, you goddamn piece of shit!”. My car had stalled just a few yards before a sign that read Welcome to Charming – our name says it all. So far it hadn’t been very charming at all. Multiple cars were passing me and blaring their horns. “Do you think I just decided to park here?”, I yelled at a white Honda, with a blonde behind the wheel. She gave me the finger in response. “Shit!”.
I heard a roar of engines behind me; and a leather clad man on a motorbike pulled up next to my window. “You found a hell of a place to break down, luv’”, he said, with a Scottish drawl. “Yeah, thanks. I hadn’t noticed”, I sneered. “Pardon me, I was just stating facts”, he smirked. I frowned. “Sorry. I’ve just had a long ass drive”, I mumbled. “Mind if we take a look at it?”, he asked. I gestured for him to go ahead; and stepped out of the tired, beat up car; that had been my home for the last 4 days – driving from Chicago, to my new home in the town I’d chosen by its name alone. Charming.
I needed something charming at this point in my life – the last few years having been chaos – so I’d thrown everything to the wind; and had basically run away from the city, when I’d applied for, and been offered a job at Charming Middle School.
Behind my car, two more mc’s were parked – one of them a tall bearded man who sent me a friendly smile; and the other a blonde, lean guy, wearing a white t-shirt and white sneakers. Interesting choice for riding a motorcycle, I thought. All three men had the same patch on their backs – a skull-headed reaper. The writing said Sons of Anarchy – California.
The scot had opened my hood, and was looking into the steaming entrails of my car. He let out a long whistle. “When was the last time you checked our oil, luv’?”. I decided to ignore his choice of nickname for me. “I have no idea. I just bought it a week ago; haven’t really done anything but drive it”. He smiled and shook his head. “Jackie!”, he called. The blonde man looked up; and took of his sunglasses – revealing a pair of piercing baby blues. “We’re gonna need the tow-truck”.
The blonde got off his bike, and joined the scot at the front of the car. “Shit”. He drew out the word, ending it with a full-on laugh. “Darlin’, you’ve killed it”. I sighed. “Great…”. “Were you going far?”, he asked. “Charming was my destination; but I didn’t even make it past the sign”. I ran my hand through my hair. “Shit!”.
Blonde guy called out to the bearded biker. “Ope! Call TM. Get Rat out here with the tow”. “We can’t leave her here, on the side of the road”, the third man answered. Blondie chewed his lip. “You up for a ride?”, he asked me. I was caught off guard. “What?”, I asked. “We’ll get your car back to our shop. You can wait there for it; and figure out your next step”. I shrugged. “Yeah, why the hell not”.
Blondie walked up to me and stuck out his hand. “I’m Jackson. Scottie here is Chibs; and the kind man calling a tow-truck for you, is Opie”. I took his hand and shook it. His grab on mine was firm, but gentle. “I’m Cat”, I said cautiously. He smiled brightly at me; a glint to his eyes that made me blush slightly. “Welcome to Charming”, he said. “Now, come on”.
He handed me his own helmet; and got on his bike; patting the seat behind him. I grabbed my purse from the front seat; leaving my keys on the left front wheel. Welcome to Charming, indeed, I thought, and got on Jacksons bike with him, looking for something to grab on to “You’re gonna have to hold on to me, Cat”, Jackson smirked. I put my hands on his waist – noticing his firm and muscular frame – and he started up the bike. The force of the engine between my legs made me jump a little; and I heard Jackson chuckle in front of me. “Don’t worry, I got you”. He revved the engine, and we rode in to town.
—
We drove into a big lot about 10 minutes later. I noticed a large amount of motorcycles; and more bikers clad in leather. They all wore the same patch as the three men I’d just met – though some said Nevada. There were two large buildings; one was an auto shop – Teller Morrow – and the other seemed to be some sort of a clubhouse.
Jackson halted his bike at the end of the line of motorcycles; seemingly a spot reserved for him. I climbed off, almost stumbling; and he grabbed my hand to steady me. “You good?”, he asked. I nodded.
A tall middle-aged woman, with an amazing rack, came out of the office of the auto shop. “Jax; Clays been looking for you”, she said. Jackson smirked, and backed his bike into his spot. “What else is new?”, he said. The woman kissed his cheek. “I’m picking up the kid in a few. You need anything at home?”. “Milk. And coffee”, Jackson answered. He looked towards me. “Ma; this is Cat. Her car stalled just by the edge of town”. The woman looked at me; her eyes enquiring, but mostly friendly. “The one Rat and Juice went out for?”. Jackson nodded.
She shook my hand. “Gemma Teller”, she said. “Cat Rose”, I smiled. “You’re the new teacher down at the middle-school”, she said – more a statement than a question. I nodded. “Yeah, I am. How’d you know?”. “Gem knows everything”, the biker named Chibs said; and kissed Gemma’s cheek. “Hi, mom”.
I chuckled. “You seem a little too young to be his mom”. “Around here, I’m everyone’s mom”, she answered. “Though my only biological kid, is the cheeky blonde you rode bitch with”. I took that as meaning Jax was her son. The cheeky blonde sent me a smile. “Gemma will take care of you from here on”, he said. “See you around, teach’”. I smiled in return; and Jackson walked towards the clubhouse.
I followed Gemma into her office. “What’s the Sons of Anarchy?”, I asked. “Sweetheart, stick around long enough, you’ll find out”, she said. “Coffee?”. “Yeah, thanks”, I smiled.
I didn’t see any of my new biker friends the rest of the day; as my car arrived not long after we did. A mohawked Latino named Juice, of all things; informed me that my cooler was shot; and I needed a completely new starter. None of this made any sense to me; as I didn’t know anything about engines – but looking at the costs of repairs needed to have the vehicle function again; I decided to sell it for scrap.
“Too bad, honey”, Gemma said. “I had one of those as a teenager”. “You wanna buy it?”, I grinned. “I wouldn’t be caught dead in it”, she answered, and lit a cigarette; offering me one. I accepted. “Juice; is Tig still selling his old chevy?”. “Yeah, he hasn’t gotten a buyer yet. I think it’s ‘cuz it smells like wet dog”. I shook my head. “I won’t be able to afford it; with or without the smell”. Gemma winked at me. “I’ll get a you a good deal; and you can make payments”. I smiled. “I’m gonna like this town”. “We all do”, she smiled back.
—
Gemma gave me a ride to the motel I was going to stay at, until I found a new place. I got my four boxes and two suitcases out of her trunk and backseat; thanking her for all her help. “It’s me who should be thanking you. The school had been looking for a good arts teacher for over a year”. “I’m taking over 6’th and 7’th grade English as well”, I said. She laughed. “Mrs. Bloom finally decided to retire, huh?”, she said. “She taught both me and Jackson”. “Wow…”, I grimaced. “I’m not that old”, she said. “That’s not…”, I began. “Just pulling your leg sweetheart”, she smiled. “See you around”. She drove off, and left me to settle in to my new temporary home.
I spent the evening scanning the newspaper for cheap rentals. Money was scarce; but I knew the motel needed to be short term – especially after noticing the thin walls inability to hide the sounds of my neighbors having kinky sex. Some woman kept screaming Yes, Daddy!; making it difficult to concentrate on my apartment-hunting .
In the evening; after ordering a pizza; I decided to take a shower. I let the water run for a bit; before stepping in – trying to ignore the metallic smell of it. Washing 4 days of roadtripping off my body; I finally felt clean enough to face my new situation.
I’d left Chicago in a hurry; leaving my furniture, and only bringing my most cherished belongings. I wanted to get as far away from the city as possible; but a ticket to Hawaii was out of the question on my teachers’ salary – and I wasn’t ready to go back to dancing at clubs. Most of my last cash had been spent on the now dead Ford; that I’d sold for scrap through TM.
Chicago wasn’t my home town; but I’d thought it was the place for me. I’d been proven wrong, when a relationship had gone wrong. Very wrong. I’d needed to get away from the guy in question; as his possessive nature throughout our relationship had ended up scaring me. Trying to get a restraining order hadn’t worked due to his own contacts within the court-system. I wanted a new life. Maybe Charming could be the base for that.
Stepping out of the shower; I wrapped myself in a towel. There was a knock on the door, and I went to open it. Outside stood Jackson; a grin the size of the county on his handsome face. “You’re not pizza…”, I said. “Not the last time I checked”, he chuckled. “You left behind some paperwork at TM”. I looked down at my lack of clothing. “I should get dressed”, I smiled. “Come on in. Sorry about the mess”. He stepped inside. “It’s fine, darlin’. You should see my place”.
I grabbed a pair of pajama bottoms, and a tank top from an open suitcase; and went into the bathroom. “Do you usually order pizza in just a towel?”, he called after me. “Only if the delivery-guy is really cute”, I called back. Shit… now you’re flirting with the biker. Good one, Cat. “I’ll have to change professions”, I heard him mutter.
I stepped back into the room, fully dressed. “What’s the paperwork?”, I asked. He handed me an envelope. “Just a signoff for the scrapping of the car”, he said. “It’s too bad. My mom had one of those back in the day”. “She told me”, I smiled. “Coffee?” He smiled. “Nah, sorry, I gotta run again”. “Too bad”, I said. Dammit! Stop, you idiot.
He chuckled. “It’s good to have some fresh blood in town. I hear you’re starting at the school. You’ll be teaching one of Opie’s kids. Ellie – sweet kid”. I signed the papers he’d handed me, and gave them back. “I’ll remember to give her good grades”, I said. “Yeah…”, he answered sadly. “She’s been through it. Her and Kenny both. Their mom died a year back”. “I’m sorry to hear that”, I answered earnestly. “Donna was a good mom. And a good old lady”, he said. “What’s that?”, I asked. “An old lady? Shit, you are new in town”, he smirked. I shrugged. “Just not used to biker lingo”, I winked. “I’ll have to get you used to it, then…”, he said with a smile. I chewed my lip, a rush of heat going through my body.
He remembered himself. “The car – the one you’re buying”, he said. “Tig will be down at the shop tomorrow night. You can pick up the keys then”. I exhaled; trying to calm down my budding crush on the gorgeous man in front of me. “Thanks. I’ll be there. 7 pm good?”. “We should be done with church by then”, he said. “Tomorrow’s not Sunday”, I answered. He chuckled. “Not that kind of church”. I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Biker lingo…”, I said. “Biker lingo”, he smirked.
We stood there for a while, both unsure what to say; before Jax broke the silence. “Tomorrow; it’s Gemma’s birthday. There’s gonna be a party at the clubhouse”, he said cautiously. “If you wanna stick around for a while…”. “Maybe”, I smiled.
“Yes Daddy! Slap that ass!”, we heard from next door. We both laughed. “If I’m not mistaken; Tig might be right next door. But it’s probably not a good time to disturb him”, Jackson said. “I’ll wait”, I agreed. “See you tomorrow?”. “I’m looking forward to it”, Jackson winked; and walked out the door; giving me a final grin; before closing it behind him.
Cat. You can’t have sex with the biker, I told myself. But the warm sensation streaming though me, told me I’d probably have a problem sticking to that, if I had the opportunity.
—
The next day I slept in; enjoying the feeling of being in an actual bed for the first time in days. I did some light shopping for groceries – the fridge in my motel room not being very big. The people I met seemed friendly enough, though a bit standoffish. I figured it was because I was new in town.
Walking back towards the motel; a group of bikers rode by – one of them being Opie. He lifted a hand in a wave at me. I noticed that the bikes were ridden almost in a procession; with a leader in front; and everyone else keeping to their assigned position in the group. It was led by a grey-haired man with a prominent jaw. He looked at me, and nodded. I nodded back.
Back in my room, I had a light lunch; and decided to figure out what the hell one wore for a birthday party at a biker club. I figured some skinny jeans and an off the shoulder, black t-shirt would have to do. Putting on my favorite necklace – a silvery hand with an eye in the middle; a Hamsa symbol – I let my hair hang lose; and put on a little makeup. Black cat eye; and red lips. It usually did the trick. You’re actually dressing up for the biker now, I smirked at myself.
I was early; so, I tracked down a coffee shop to sit and read a book. My shoulder bag usually had at least one volume in it. This week, it was American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. I was completely concentrated on my book; when suddenly Chibs and a large curly haired man stepped in to the shop. “Well, look who we have here!”, Chibs smiled. “Bobby, this is the young lady who killed her car just outside town”. I grinned. “Thanks”, I said. “I needed a reminder of my bad mechanic skills”. “I aim to serve, madam”, the scot grinned. Bobby stuck out his hand. “Welcome to town, my lady”, he said; and kissed my hand chivalrously. “Careful Bob. VP’s got his eye on this one”, Chibs said. “What’s that supposed to mean?”, I asked. “Don’t worry about it”, Bobby grinned.
I took a sip of my coffee, and shook my head. “What are you doing here?”. “Coffee run for church. It was a long night”, Chibs winked. The man behind the counter handed over some coffees to Bobby; who pulled out his wallet. “Your money’s no good here”, the barista said. Bobby nodded. “How’s your mom?”, he asked. “Much better, thanks”, the man answered and smiled. “I’ll pay you back”. “We know you’re good for it, Gary”, Chibs said. He looked at me. “See you later?”. I nodded.
The bikers left the shop; and drove off towards TM. The barista walked up to me with my check. “Welcome to town”, he said warily. “Look… Samcro; they’re a part of this town; and they do a lot of good. But they’re in to some pretty bad stuff as well. Be careful”. He didn’t wait for an answer; but just went back behind his register. I frowned, and tried to wrap my head around his words. I paid Gary, and left the shop myself.
I decided to do some light sightseeing. It was Saturday; so most of the small shops closed early; but I made my way to the middle-school that would be my new place of work the coming Monday. The trek was a bit longer than I’d anticipated; so I was glad that I had a newish car set up for me. The building wasn’t large, but I figured it was large enough for the amount of kids in the area. The look of it gave me some peace of mind. It would be an easy start, I thought. And I was looking forward to it.
—
Walking back towards TM, I stopped by a florist who was closing up. I got a nice bouquet for Gemma, and walked into the auto-shop lot. The place was bustling with people. At least 20 bikes were parked in the lot; and everywhere people were shaking hands, and grabbing wrapped presents out of their cars. The men were all clad in leather; except for a man in a sheriff’s uniform; and the women were mostly wearing miniskirts and dresses – their boobs on display as much as possible.
I didn’t recognize any faces, and felt a bit anxious, before someone grabbed my shoulder. “Hey, darlin’”, Jax was beaming at me. He leant in and kissed my cheek; his stubble and short beard scratching my chin in a delicious way. “I’m glad you made it!”. “Yeah, me too”, I smiled. He took my hand, holding it confidently. “Come on. I’ll introduce you”.
We walked in to the clubhouse. It smelled like motor oil and whiskey, and the air was heavy with smoke. It should have put me off; but I was enjoying it. It reminded me of my former profession as a dancer, and the kind of trouble I’d gotten in to then. Jackson let go of my hand, and put his own on my lower back, leading me to the bar counter. “You remember Opie”, he said; gesturing at the tall bearded man. With his helmet off, he was now wearing a hoodie, and had a beautiful blonde on his arm. Opie shook my hand and smiled at me friendlily. “This is Lyla”, he said softly, and gestured at the woman. “Nice to meet you”, she smiled. I thought I recognized her face from somewhere, but I couldn’t make the connection. “Cat”, I smiled, and shook her hand.
Jax led me on. “Chibs and Juice, you know as well; and I’m told you already met Bobby”. The men both nodded at me. “Then there’s Happy…”. A tall menacing man sent me a warm smile. “Piney; Opies dad”; Jackson said, gesturing at an elderly man with an oxygen tank hanging from his shoulder. Jackson looked at a scrawny looking guy, and a tall heavy man standing next to him. “Those are the prospects. They don’t matter”. I scrunched my brows at him. “Trust me”, he chuckled.
We walked towards a dark-skinned, kind looking woman, holding a beautiful baby in her arms. “Hey Neeta”, Jax smiled, and took the baby from her; holding it to his chest. His face was glowing with pride. “And this is my boy. Abel”. I let the baby hold my finger, and smiled at his chubby face. “Hi, Abel”. Jacksons eyes met mine; gleaming. “Is… his mom…”, I tried – fearing the answer. “Not around”, Jax answered. “It’s better that way”, he said meaningfully. I nodded. It wasn’t the time.
Abel started fussing. Jax took a baby-blanket from a diaper-bag on a table. “Did you bring…?”, Jax said, before Neeta handed him a bottle. Jax smiled warmly in thank you. He put the bottle to Abel’s mouth. “Here you go, little dude”. He bounced the baby up and down softly. “You’re good at that”, I smiled. “My mom would have my ass, if I wasn’t”, he grinned. “Besides, he’s my little man”. I stroked a finger over the baby’s forehead. “He’s perfect”. Jax looked at me proudly. “Yeah”, he smiled.
I looked around. “Where is your mom, by the way?”. “Shit, yeah”, he said, looking at the watch on his wrist. Jackson kissed the top of Abel’s head, and handed the bottle back to Neeta. “Gemma and Clay will be here in 5”, he called into the room. “She doesn’t know why she’s here. So quiet the hell up!”. There was a rumbling of an engine outside. “Shit, they’re early!”, Bobby said. “Turn off the lights!”.
Someone hit the lights; and about ten seconds later the door opened. “Goddammit, Clay”, Gemma grumbled, as she walked in. “You promised to take me to dinner, you jerk!”.
“Surprise!”, everyone yelled; and the lights turned on again. Gemma stood, mouth agape; flanked by the grey-haired man I’d seen on the road earlier; and a black-haired man with piercing eyes, I figured was Tig. “Oh my God!”, Gemma cried out. “You assholes!”. She laughed, and began hugging the people around her. Jackson walked up to his mom; and embraced her warmly; Abel still in his arms. Gemma kissed first Jackson; and then the baby, taking him from Jax’s arms. “You guys are dicks”, she said; happy tears in her eyes. The grey-haired man – Clay – put his arm around her waist, and kissed her warmly. “Happy birthday, baby”, he said. “At least you remembered it this year”, Gemma pouted playfully at him.
She looked towards me, a sense of wonder in her eyes. I smiled, and mouthed happy birthday. She mouthed me a thank you in response; followed by a warm smile. For a second her eyes shifted from me to Jackson, and she narrowed her eyes at him; whispering something in his ear. He laughed in response, and looked at me, biting his lip. He nodded at his mom, and walked back to me.
“Do you want a drink?”, he asked. “Please”, I said, smiling nervously. “Don’t worry, babe, you’re here with me”. I laughed. “Maybe that’s why I’m worried”. He winked at me. “In that case, you should be worried. Word around the street is, I’m dangerous”. He kissed my cheek again, and put his arm around me. “Rat, get this lady a beer”. The scrawny prospect handed over a cold bottle, and I took a welcome sip of it.
Opie joined us. “You’re teaching my kid this year”, he said. “Yeah, Jackson told me”, I answered. The tall man looked a bit uncomfortable. “She’s been having some issues… It’s been messing with her schoolwork”. I smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry, I won’t be a hard-ass”, I said. Opie smiled softly. “Thanks”, he muttered.
Jax looked at his friend. “I told Cat about Donna”, he said. Opie nodded and met my eyes. “So you get it”, he said. “I do”, I said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help”. Opies expression warmed. “Thanks”, he said. “Cheers”, he said, raising his bottle at me. We clinked our beers, and both took a sip.
Opie looked meaningfully at Jax. “We got that thing, brother”, he muttered. Jackson frowned slightly, and looked at me. “I need to do some business”, he said, and put a strand of hair behind my ear. “Be back in a bit”. He walked off with Opie, leaving me to sit on a stool by the bar.
The black-haired man walked up next to me. “I hear you’re in need of a car”, he said, accepting a beer from the larger prospect. “I’m Tig”. “Cat”, I answered. “I know”, he winked at me. “It’s a piece of shit old chevy, but it’s better than the one you came to town in”. “Anything is better than that”, I laughed. He handed me a set of keys. “80 a month for a year work for you?”, he said. “That’s cheap”, I said, frowning slightly. “We take care of our own”, Tig said, and patted my shoulder. “By the way; if you get sick of the VP, let me know”, he smirked. I laughed again. “Sure, Daddy”, I grinned. “So the was you, next door”, he chuckled. I shrugged, and nodded.
Juice stepped up to stand on the other side of me. “Hey”, he said, giving me a crooked smile, and a lifted brow. Tig tapped him over the head. “Hands of, Juicy!”, he said. “Jax territory”. The young biker took a step away from me. “Sorry”, he laughed nervously. I shook my head, laughing. “This place is weird”, I said. “Welcome to town”, Tig said; and clinked his bottle to mine, taking a sip of beer. I joined him in the drink. We took a shot of whiskey together, before Tig’s attention went to a busty brunette in the corner. “Excuse me”, he muttered; and sauntered off, leaving me alone again.
I decided to look for a friendly face in the crowd, being a bit uncomfortable on my own. Jax hadn’t come back for his business yet, and I was worried he’d leave me alone all night. Lyla was standing with another woman, looking like they were gossiping about something. She caught my eye and waved me over. “How are you holding up?”, she asked. The other woman walked off; climbing on to Happy’s lap, where he was sitting on a couch. “Uhm…”, I began. “I just got in to town, and I’m already having drinks with the local biker gang. I’d say I’m a little out of my comfort zone”. She smiled friendlily at me. “You’ve already bagged the vice president. You’re doing just fine”, she said. “I haven’t bagged anyone”, I smiled. “He’s known you for 2 days, and already invited you to his mom’s birthday. I’d say you’re a bit more than some crow-eater”, Lyla responded.
I took another sip of my beer. “What’s a crow-eater?”. Lyla chuckled. “Ok, quick lowdown on the women in the club”, she began. “Most of the women in here, are what we call crow-eaters. They hang around the club, make the men feel good about themselves… you know”. “An easy lay”, I muttered. “Yeah”, Lyla smiled. “Some of us are what you’d call old ladies. We’re the ones who have locked our men down. See this…”. She showed me a tattoo of a flying crow on her shoulder. “This means no one but Opie touches me”. “Doesn’t it feel weird to be… marked, like that?”. I grimaced. “Sorry… I didn’t mean…”. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I get it”, Lyla responded. “This is just my way of showing everyone around me that I belong to Opie; but also, that Opie belongs to me”.
She smiled, and took my hand, squeezing it. “You seem nice, so I’ll let you in on a secret. This life… it’s not easy; but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love Opie – and his kids. He takes care of me and my boy”. She looked at me meaningfully. “But if you’re unsure about whether this is your idea of a good life; you should walk away. I mean that in the nicest way. Please don’t take it as anything else”. I gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll take it a day at a time”. She nodded.
A hand grabbed mine. Jax was standing next to me. “Hey”, he said softly. “Come say hi to my mom”. I followed him over to Gemma. “Hey sweetheart”, she said. “Thanks for the flowers. They’re beautiful”. “You’re welcome”, I smiled. “This is my husband, Clay”, she said, and the man at her side shook my hand. His eyes were deep and menacing; and I was unsure whether to be afraid of him or respect him. “Welcome to town, teach’”, he said. “Thanks. It’s been good so far”. Clay nodded at me, and looked at Jax. “Did you finish that business?”. Jackson clenched his jaw. “It’s done”, he said. “I made the call”. “Good”, Clay said. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t blow back on us”.
Gemma patted his chest. “No club business on my birthday, baby”. Clay smiled at his wife, and kissed her again. “Yes, ma’am”, he muttered. Gemma looked at Jax. “Do you need me to take the baby tonight?”. Jax looked at me, and then back at his mom. “Would you?”. “You know I love taking him”, she smiled. “Make it my birthday present”. Jackson chuckled. “Shit, I’ll take back the diamond necklace then”, he said. He took my hand. “Come on, let’s find somewhere quiet”. My breath hitched, and I followed him out of the clubhouse.
We sat down by a picnic table just outside the door. Jax had brought us a pair of freshly opened beers. “You doing ok?”, he asked earnestly. “Yeah”, I smiled. “Just … a bit out of my element”. He bit his lip and looked at me enquiringly. “What element is that?”, he asked. “I dunno… I usually don’t go to mc-parties”. He chuckled, and took my hand. “I’m glad you’re here”. “You don’t even know me”, I said quietly.
He sighed. “Tell me, then”. “What do you want to know?”, I smiled nervously. “Whatever you want to share”, he shrugged. “Why?”, I asked. He looked at me with a genuine warmth. “Because I’ve been thinking about you ever since you wrapped these hands around my waist, and it sent chills down my spine”. He took my other hand, linking his fingers with mine. “Where did you come from?”.
I didn’t know how much to tell him. I was still mentally sore from my ordeal with the guy in Chicago – but his serious expression made me trust him. “Chicago”, I said. “I was a teacher there as well. It didn’t work out…”. “Why?”. I sighed. “The city can wear a girl down”, I smiled theatrically. “And there was… a guy. He didn’t know how to take no for an answer”. Jacksons jaw clenched. “What’d he do to you?”, he almost growled “At first he was fine. We had a few dates, before he suddenly proclaimed his love for me”. “You didn’t feel the same way?”, Jax asked. “No. I mean; back then, he was friendly, had a steady job… He saw himself as a catch; and I guess he was. But I just didn’t care about him like that. He was… possessive. I tried to call it off, but he acted like I’d never said anything, and continued dropping by at my school; sending me flowers; and showing up at my apartment at all hours of the day”. Jackson bit his lip. “Sorry… I guess you’re off men for a while”, he said, and met my eyes again. I smiled. “No. Just him”. “Good to know”, he muttered. “But why didn’t you get a restraining order?”.
I sighed again. “I tried… he has connections. When he didn’t like my way of handling things, he let the word spread in the school council that I had an issue with drugs”. Jax shook his head angrily. “Asshole”. “Yeah”, I agreed. “I managed to get the drug accusations of my record – but it was too late, and I was fired”. “So you came to Charming”. I nodded. “I looked at names of towns on the west coast; and Charming seemed promising”, I smiled. “There was an opening as a teacher the elementary school; so I applied – and they must have been desperate, ‘cuz they gave me the position with just a phone interview”.
He squeezed my hands again. “I’m glad you’re here”. “Me too”, I muttered.
Jax put his hand on my cheek, and stroked my temple. “So if you’re not off men… mind if I give it a shot?”. I bit my lip, trying to stifle a smile, and shook my head.
He leant in, and stroked his nose against mine. Our lips brushed each other for a second; and he kissed me. I parted my lips slightly, and the tip of his tongue met mine. He put his hand on my lower back, pulling me closer to him. He smelled like leather and some musky cologne; a warm smell that fit him perfectly – and his kiss tasted like the beer he’d been drinking, and mint chewing gum.
He exhaled deeply and pulled back a bit. “Do you want to get out of here?”, he asked softly. My body was screaming yes, but I was desperately trying to control myself. “Jax… I just moved into town. We’ve known each other for 5 minutes… I don’t think…”. “I get it”, he smiled. “I’m not expecting you to jump in to bed with me. But I do want to see you again”. “I’d like that”, I smiled.
Our lips met again. “You taste like… pancakes”, he smiled. “Is that good?”, I smiled. “It’s perfect”, he said against my lips, kissing me deeply one more time.
The door opened, and Juice stepped outside with a ginger girl. “Shit, sorry”, he smiled. “It’s fine, Juice, the table is yours. Just clean it up afterwards”, Jackson smiled. “Come on”, he said to me, pulling me with him.
“I think it’s time for me to go home”, I said softly. He looked at me with a kind smile. “You want a ride?”. I jingled the keys in my pocket. “I got a new car; remember?”. Jax groaned. “Shit; I would have loved to have these legs wrapped around me, in one way or another”. He slid a hand over my thigh; squeezing them gently.
Juice looked impatient; and Jax took my hand – leading me over to a black, classic looking Chevrolet. “Wow…”, I said. “I popped an air freshener in there for you. It had a pretty gnarly smell”, Jax chuckled. “Thanks”, I smiled, and looked at him warmly.
Getting into the car – immediately thanking Jax an extra time for the air freshener; as it was needed – I rolled down the window. “Thanks for inviting me”, I smiled at the blonde man. Jax took the hand I had resting in the window-opening, and squeezed it – winking at me. His face suddenly dropped. “Shit, Cat. I didn’t get your number…”. I grinned, and rattled of my digits, and he punched the number into a flip phone from his pocket. Who uses flip phones anymore?
Jax leant in, and planted a final soft kiss against my lips. “Bye”, he whispered, and bit his lower lip. I smiled and started up the engine. My new car purred, and I had a wide smile on my face, as I left the lot – sending a final look towards the picnic table, where Juice was face deep in the red-haired girls cleavage.
Welcome to Charming, I grinned to myself, and drove off.
—
Tag-list: (let me know if you want on it)
@wolf-lover-bookdragon
@wonderlandfandomkingdom
#soa#jax teller#jax teller fic#jax teller x oc#jackson teller#jackson teller fic#sons of anarchy#sons of anarchy fic
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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 13: Bismuth Casual (originally posted on April 12, 2021)
AN: This chapter may seem innocent, and it is, but after this it'll only be two more chapters till we see Black Rutile again. But enough about her for right now, let's give Bismuth some lovin'! And a certain Rose-like human will be along for the ride too.
Synopsis: Bismuth learns how to forge relationships when she becomes Pearl's wing-Gem on a roller-rink date.
Cast:
Zach Callison as Steven
Deedee Magno Hall as Pearl, Brandish
Grace Rolek as Connie
Uzo Aduba as Bismuth, Khadijah
Lamar Abrams as Jaime, Daniel
Tahani Anderson as Patricia
Brian Posehn as Sour Cream
Dan Castellaneta as Skate Rental Guy
Featuring Kristin Chenoweth as Sheena Synstylae
And Emily King as herself
--
One night on a road away from Beach City, Steven was driving his Dondai Supremo with Connie next to him in the front seat and Pearl & Bismuth sitting in the back. Bismuth was dressed for a night out in a white dress shirt and her multicolored dreadlocks being done up in a ponytail. As the four continued driving, Connie began to turn up the radio.
"Oh, I love this song!" Connie cheered before she started singing along to the Emily King music on the car radio. "You can't hold me now, hold me now, ooh."
"And that was "Can't Hold Me", by Emily King." Sour Cream's voice came from the radio as the song ended. "Just one of many songs you can request your beloved host to play at the Starlight Roller Rink every night! And now a word from our sponsors."
"I'm so excited that you're coming along with us to the roller rink tonight and experience some interpersonal relationships." Pearl said to Bismuth while rolling up her shirtsleeve, causing the blacksmith to blush. "Ooh, don't be afraid to show off your gem." She added, opening up Bismuth's shirt to expose the gem on her chest. "Everyone's going to love you there."
"Hope I can keep up." Bismuth chuckled lightly. "Can't wait to meet your date too."
"Well, she's not really my date, we just talked to each other on the phone a few times in the past and now we've decided to hang out tonight." Pearl stated. "But the most important thing is-"
"Are you tired of shady mechanics bleeding you dry?!" a commercial suddenly interrupted Pearl and got her excited. "Then come on down to Cam's Camshafts!"
"Turn it up, I love this!" Pearl cheered.
"What, you mean this car salesman ad?" Steven chuckled at Pearl's excitement over a commercial of all things.
"Yes, turn it up!" Pearl answered as she reached over to turn up the volume and began singing along to the jingle. "Cam's Camshafts is the place to bring your wreck, get your car repaired for cheap and fair without risking your neck! Cam's Camshafts!"
"Pearl, you absolute dork!" Bismuth roared happily while Steven and Connie laughed just as the car drove up to the Starlight Roller Rink. "Hey, here we are!"
"You got that right Bismuth." Steven declared while parking his Supremo in the parking lot and the four got out of the car. "Come on everybody, let's get inside."
As the group made their way to the rink's entrance, Bismuth turned to Pearl with a question. "So Pearl, what's your mystery girl like?"
"Well, she's rather quiet and bears a shocking resemblance to a certain Rose," Pearl answered. "but she did like how forward I was about fighting to defend the Earth thousands of years ago and gave me her number."
"Wow, sounds like she could be nice to hang with." Bismuth laughed.
--
"Here we are!" Pearl exclaimed as she, Steven, Connie, and Bismuth stepped inside the Starlight Roller Rink and looked around at the humans and Gems skating around the very 80s-like establishment.
"Wow, so humans can pay to have wheels attached to their feet for fun?" Bismuth wondered. "That is really something else."
"Hey, there's Sour Cream over there!" Steven pointed over to the Cool Kid running the DJ booth.
"I don't know about this you guys." Bismuth said uneasily while Pearl began looking around the rink. "I've never really skated before."
"That's okay Bis, I never skated before either." Steven comforted his mother's old teammate. "Once I discovered my powers, I never really had time for all these popular human activities myself. But hey, I'm sure it can't be that hard, right?"
"Yo Pearl, over here!" a woman's voice called out to Pearl.
"Oh, there you are!" Pearl exclaimed as she skipped over to four human women awaiting her. One of the women had dark skin and a pink Mohawk, another had blue hair and a punk style of clothes, the third looked like an elderly hippie, and the fourth bore a striking resemblance to Rose Quartz.
"So that must be Pearl's little fan club, huh?" Bismuth asked as Pearl gave the mohawked girl a roll of toilet paper from her gem and the Rose lookalike a kiss on the cheek. "They seem so friendly and interesting."
"Steven, Connie, Bismuth, I'd like you to meet some of my human friends." Pearl called her three friends over to meet her human pals. "This is Khadijah, Jaime, and Brandish. And Steven, I think you might be familiar with Sheena here."
"Yeah, you were at the Big Donut when Pearl made a fool of herself trying to hit on me." Sheena chuckled as she shook Steven's hand. "Yeah, the name's Sheena, Sheena Synstylae."
"So, you guys have known Pearl long?" Khadijah asked Steven, Connie, and Bismuth.
"I've basically known Pearl my entire life." Steven answered.
"Pearl taught me how to use a sword." Connie added.
"And I've known Pearl for like, a few thousand years." Bismuth said.
"That's right, Bismuth's an architect!" Pearl exclaimed in response.
"A builder, huh?" Jaime asked with great interest as she and the rest of Pearl's human posse took Bismuth to the rink, leaving Steven & Connie by themselves.
"Anything you've built that you're proud of?" Sheena added.
"Little Homeworld for one, with a little help." Bismuth answered.
"Ooh, tell us more!" Brandish said excitedly.
"Come on Steven, let's get our skates." Connie said to Steven as she walked him to the skate rental desk.
"Okay." Steven replied before they turned to the man handing out roller skates.
"Welcome to the Starlight Roller Rink. Can I get anything in your shoe size?" the squeaky-voiced young man asked the duo.
"Um," Steven muttered as he looked down at his feet, trying to think about his shoe size before picking up one of his shoes to hand over. "Got anything in this size?"
"I'll see what I can do." The teen at the desk answered before he turned to Connie. "And as for you young lady?"
"Same for me." Connie replied, handing over one of her shoes as well.
"Alright then, enjoy your night." The teen said before he handed over some pairs of roller skates that were just the right size for Steven and Connie.
--
"Okay, are you ready?" Connie asked Steven after they laced up their newly rented skates.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Steven replied, then the two stood up as two other kids around their age skated by and noticed Connie.
"Then let's get skating!" Connie declared before one of the kids called out for her.
"Hey, is that Connie?" a girl in a pink hijab and red-framed glasses exclaimed before she and a boy skated over to Steven and Connie.
"Patricia, Daniel!" Connie exclaimed, then she turned to Steven. "Steven, I'd like you to meet Patricia and Daniel, they're some friends of mine from cram school."
"Hi, I'm Steven." Steven introduced himself to Connie's friends. "Uh, how's it going?"
"Going good." Daniel smiled at Steven.
"You should've seen Daniel earlier," Patricia smirked. "his mom really tore into him for some bad scores on a test, and he's all bent out of shape about it."
"Augh!" Daniel groaned. "I was doing real fine until you brought that up."
"I know what that's like." Steven laughed awkwardly. "One time, White Diamond tore into me by taking my gem out of my body." Patricia and Daniel just stared at Steven, having no idea what he was talking about until he revealed his gem on his belly. "I'm part-Gem by the way. When I mean she took my gem out, I mean she pulled it out like a splinter."
"Ooookay then." Patricia replied with a raised eyebrow. "So, what grade are you in?"
"Grade?" Steven, having not been given a proper education like most humans his age, began getting grades mixed up with age. "Uh, I'm sixteen!"
"Sixteen?" Daniel gasped.
"So you're taking AP classes then?" Patricia guessed.
"Uhhhh, AP what now?" Steven asked, now having no idea himself.
"You want to skate with us?" Connie offered Patricia and Daniel.
"Heck yeah!" Patricia laughed and the three friends rolled to the rink, leaving Steven alone and embarrassed.
"You really blew that one Steven." Steven groaned to himself. "I bet if they were Gems trying to kill me, we'd treat it like water under the bridge after a fun song or an inspiring speech."
"Hey Steven, you're missing out!" Connie called for Steven as she entered the rink, where she started laughing and hanging out with Patricia & Daniel.
"I'm coming!" Steven replied and tried to skate himself, but he unfortunately slipped and fell on his face.
"Are you okay?" Connie asked comfortingly while skating over to her half-alien friend.
"Yeah, it's only my first time." Steven reassured Connie while trying to get up. "But I'm sure I'll get it right somehow. Just go on without me."
"If you say so." Patricia said while she and Daniel skated away.
"Call us if you change your mind." Connie added as she followed the pair.
As his friend departed, Steven slowly got back up again and tried to skate. This time, luckily, he was finally able to take it slow.
"I'm finally getting the hang of this." Steven muttered happily to himself.
--
Meanwhile, Bismuth was skating with Pearl, Sheena, Khadijah, Jaime, and Brandish, and started showing off some skating moves of her own, to the humans' excitement.
"Dang Bismuth, you're already, like, a natural at this." Khadijah complimented Bismuth's grace.
"I love your flow." Brandish added.
"And you said this was your first time!" Sheena chuckled in response before she turned to Pearl. "Though she's still not as graceful as you are."
"Oh stop Sheena!" Pearl blushed at her human lover's comment.
"Well, y'all ain't seen nothing yet!" Bismuth yelled before she picked up Pearl and began swinging her around on the rink, cackling all the way.
"Bismuth, you're a natural!" Pearl yelled happily as Bismuth put her down. "Here's another thing you should know. When humans want to see each other again, they exchange little codes called "phone numbers". You should try it yourself sometime, it's fun."
"What you talking about Pearl?" Bismuth laughed. "I'm having fun already."
"That reminds me." Pearl realized before she plucked a roll of toilet paper from her gem and placed it in Bismuth's big purple hand. "Every human has at least one of these in their homes. Sometimes it's even used for vandalism."
"Oh Pearl, you're so bad!" Bismuth chortled just as Pearl began skating away with Sheena. "Hey, where are you going?"
"I've taught you all you need to know for the moment Bismuth, now go out and have fun!" Pearl exclaimed as she skated with Sheena to a nearby old man. "Sheena and I are going to make some connections of our own!"
"Excuse me, sir," Sheena tapped an old man's shoulder and presented him a toilet paper roll from Pearl's gem in her hands. "could we interest you in some TP tonight?"
"Uh, okay?" the old man reluctantly accepted the offer before skating away. "Dang young people these days."
"Um, I'm actually thousands of years older!" Pearl corrected the gentleman.
"Have fun?" Bismuth muttered while watching the happy couple skate around and hand out toilet paper to other attendants of the rink. "I mean, Pearl's friends already love me."
"Hey Bis, wanna show us some more of your moves?" Jaime asked as Pearl's human friends skated over to Bismuth.
"Well, if you insist." Bismuth shrugged and began to show off more moves for the humans to cheer about.
--
Back to Steven, he had just made it back around the rink to the entrance, and he stumbled back onto the shooting star-patterned carpet in exhaustion. "One lap around the rink. I think that deserves a break."
"Hey, Steven." Connie greeted as she skated back to Steven.
"Hey, Connie." Steven responded tiredly while grabbing onto the edge of the railing to pick himself up. "Hey, where are Daniel and Patricia?"
"They're still out there on the rink." Connie answered, thumbing back to her cram schoolmates having fun. "Did you want to hang out? You know, we could just return our skates and chat."
"No, you're here to have fun." Steven wheezed. "You're so busy studying, so you should just take this time to be with your friends."
"You're my friend too." Connie comforted Steven. "You want to sit down to some tater tots?"
"No, this is your night." Steven rejected the offer. "Just forget about me and go have fun."
"Okay then. Catch you later." Connie replied as she skated back to her friends.
"What am I doing?" Steven groaned in defeat before Bismuth saw him depressed.
"Something the matter, my lil' lion?" Bismuth asked Steven.
"Can't believe I'm saying this Bismuth," Steven responded. "but I think I've forgotten how to talk to humans. Crazy, right?"
"Yeah, that is pretty nuts." Bismuth agreed before she presented Steven with toilet paper. "You want one of these? Pearl and Sheena keep handing these out cause they say they're supposed to help."
"Maybe later." Steven responded sadly.
"I mean, how could you say that?" Bismuth asked. "You're so dang great at talking to everyone, like your dad or Connie for instance!"
"Greg's my dad, so he doesn't count." Steven stated while looking at Connie, Patricia, and Daniel from afar. "As for Connie, I was perfectly fine when it was just us. But now that's she got those two with her, I have no idea how to talk anymore. You know what I'm talking about, right?"
"You got that right." Bismuth replied. "Sheena, Khadijah, Jaime, and Brandish are all great, but they're not what I'm here for."
"Then who are you here for?" Steven asked. Bismuth just answered by shifting her pupils over to Pearl, which gave Steven a good idea of what she was talking about. "You're here for Pearl?!"
Bismuth shushed Steven by covering his mouth while waving over to Pearl, who merrily waved back before she started slow-dancing with Sheena. "In case you're wondering, I am a bit jealous! But I don't wanna admit it because Sheena's a great gal and I'm happy Pearl's found someone."
"Are you trying to hide this from them?" Steven asked as he moved Bismuth's hand off his mouth. "Why can't you just join in on their relationship? I mean, I saw a few couples like that around here made up of more than two people."
"I just don't want to take away from what Pearl's got." Bismuth answered morosely while spectating on Pearl having the time of her life. "She's got her own thing going on, perfectly happy with her life with lots of human friends and even a girlfriend. She's like the Pearl I remember, but a bit happier. I just needed to catch up."
"Yeah." Steven sympathized with the Gem veteran. "When Connie and I fought side by side to save the universe from the Diamonds, things were a lot easier between us, barring some infractions. We were fighting the same fight, but now it's like we're living completely different lives now. I wonder if she even wants to be my best friend anymore."
Bismuth slammed her arm on the edge of the rink in shock, giving Steven a little fright. "How long has this been going on?"
"Past couple of months." Steven revealed. "I think it started when she went to space camp before Spinel came to Earth."
"Listen, Steven," Bismuth comforted her former leader's son. "Pearl brought me here to set me up with her friends and to be with her girlfriend, but Connie came here to be with you. You got nothing to mope about."
"But her friends probably think I'm weird." Steven admitted. "You should've seen their faces when I told them about what White Diamond did to me."
"Of course you're weird, you're a Crystal Gem!" Bismuth declared. "The Crystal Gems were all a bunch of Gems deemed too weird by society to fit in, and the same goes for you! Connie's known that, she's always known, but that never stopped you two from being buddies!"
"You're right." Steven began taking Bismuth's motivational speech to heart. "Connie knows who I am. She's my friend, and she always will be!"
"So what do you want to do?!" Bismuth kept on pumping the boy up.
"To spend time with Connie!" Steven answered with determination.
"And what are you gonna do?!"
"Skate with Connie!"
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Bismuth roared triumphantly. "Don't let your dreams be dreams, so JUST DO IT!" With that, Bismuth shoved Steven back onto the rink and he skidded rapidly towards Connie. "Gotta thank Peridot for showing me those motivational vids later."
--
"CONNIE!" Steven screamed as he zoomed towards his human friend, but then he skidded past her and began to trip & fall flat on his face yet again.
"Steven?" Connie heard Steven call her name and raced over to find him on the ground. "Steven, are you okay?"
"I'm sorry Connie, I just didn't want to hold you back." Steven apologized while he was helped to his feet.
"I don't mind, I just wanted to hang out." Connie replied earnestly.
"You've got cram school and new friends." Steven admitted. "You're going places and I'm proud of you for how far you've come since that time I got us stuck in the bubble, but I feel like we've been drifting apart. I wish we could reconnect but," Then he started to get nervous and abruptly changed the subject. "I don't know how to skate!"
"Skating's what you're worried about?" Connie laughed in disbelief just as Sour Cream turned on his microphone.
"Alright skaters!" Sour Cream announced. "It's time for our nightly skate contest. The skater with the sickest moves in the rink will be crowned skater of the night! Any takers?"
"C'mon, I know just what to do." Connie declared as she took Steven's hand, causing the pair to glow pink and emerge as Stevonnie while Sour Cream prepared some music for the competition and turned the lights from blue to pink.
"In the night, in the middle of the day." Emily King's voice began singing as Stevonnie handed over Connie's skates and got some new ones that were just their size. "Used to tell me we should leave it up to fate. I call you over, but you always hesitate. Now I know that I'll never have to wait."
Despite some initial stumbling, the fusion found their footing and began showing off their moves with utmost grace & style. "Close my eyes, let down my hair. I'm thinking 'bout what I want, gonna take me there.”
Patricia and Daniel gasped in wonder as Stevonnie whizzed right past everyone else at the rink and towards Bismuth. "Turn the dial, on the on the stereo." When they reached Bismuth, Stevonnie leaped over the Gem and gave her a midair high-five. "And I'm thinking 'bout who I want, and I won't let go."
"Who's the new kid?" Sheena asked Pearl before her alien lover was spun around by Stevonnie as the chorus began. "You can't hold me now, only I can do that. You can't hold me now, only I can do that. You can't hold me now, only I can do that. You can't hold me now, hold me now, ooh."
With a split by Stevonnie that would make an entire gymnastics team blush, the other skaters applauded loudly at their skill while the lights returned to normal. "I know them!" Pearl cried out to the crowd.
"I think we know who the winner is," Sour Cream declared from his booth. "unless someone wants to one-up them."
"Who can possibly top that?" Sheena commented as the crowd shook their heads.
"Well, guess that means the winner, by default, is Stevonnie!" Sour Cream congratulated the fusion of Steven and Connie before they defused into the two youths, each of them wearing a skate on one foot.
"Thanks, Connie." Steven said gratefully. "I really needed that."
"Steven, Connie, that was amazing!" Patricia exclaimed as she and Daniel skated over to the two.
"What the heck was that?!" Daniel inquired excitedly.
"That?" Connie responded with a blush. "That was fusion. It's kind of our thing."
"Just something I got from my mom's side of the family." Steven added.
"The one thing I got from my mom was tons of stress!" Daniel joked.
"Same." Steven laughed.
"Yo, Steven!" Sour Cream called for Steven. "You and Connie get to pick the next song as your prize for the contest."
"Next song?" Steven wondered while looking Bismuth's way as she skated over to Pearl and Sheena. "I think I got an idea. C'mon Connie."
As Steven led Connie away, Bismuth stopped to talk with Sheena. "Hey, Sheena was it? I know you might find it weird, but I have a bit of a thing for Pearl too, though I've had it longer than you have, but I'm just a bit jealous of how happy you two are together yet I didn't want to admit it. Hope you're not mad?"
"Eh, at least you're taking it better than some of my last dates." Sheena laughed. "Maybe we can make room for one more."
"Excellent idea." Pearl agreed with her human girlfriend and let Bismuth sandwich herself between the two just as an announcement was made.
"This next song is a request from Steven and Connie." Sour Cream declared. "And they're dedicating this to some special friends of theirs." With that, a certain commercial was played and brought a smile to Pearl's face.
"Bismuth, it's my favorite song!" Pearl cheered, causing her two loves to laugh at her taste in music.
"Cam's Camshafts is the place to bring your wreck, get your car repaired for cheap and fair without risking your neck!" Bismuth started singing along with the ad.
"Cam's Camshafts!" Pearl and Sheena added in harmony before the three gazed lovingly into each other's eyes and skated off with Khadijah, Jaime, and Brandish following behind.
Once again, the music changed as Steven and Connie began skating arm in arm, followed by Patricia & Daniel, and they began laughing.
--
Well, that's one relationship taken care of! After all, Pearl has two hands and has the power to make more of them. But with that out of the way, next chapter will also feature a certain relationship, but this one is a little more controversial. Can you guess which it is? If you already looked at the episode list on my DeviantArt page, you already know what's coming. See you next week!
#steven universe#steven universe future#fanfiction#steven universe alternate future#steven quartz universe#bismuth#pearl#connie maheswaran#mystery girl
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In Loving Memory
Part 1/?
Shouta Aizawa x OC
Rating: Teen (this is subject to change chapter to chapter)
Warnings: not beta read, bad spur of the moment choices, one character's existential crisis seen from an outsider's point of view, and purposely bad fashion sense.
Taglist: I'm dropping this in a discord channel too, so hi my dudes! And if you want to be tagged in future chapters, feel free to send in an ask, or PM me!
Author's Note: I really just want to make sure I get this chapter out. Because I want to have a small platonic one-shot with my OC Shizune Kiokuro and Mirio Togata for his birthday tomorrow that's set after the Overhaul arc. For angsty bitter sweet reasons. I should have that out tomorrow.
He felt a little bad for it. To be fair she had walked in wearing something that just threw him into a fight or flight response. She looked absolutely unhinged and deranged. Shouta could relate, but it made him activate his quirk immediately. He thought he had better control than this, and he managed to catch himself before anything major happened and before anyone could notice. But the woman had frozen in place and looked around like she was trying to find the source of whatever had caused the strange feeling.
Her eyes caught Shouta's and she looked him up and down with tired eyes. She shrugged him off and sat down in a seat at the table. He figured she was the new hero course third year hire after the last Investigations teacher retired.
This new year would be quite a lot. Several new teachers were joining the UA staff this year, including but not limited to All Might, and whoever this jarring woman was. It was enough to have Hizashi here to fill the role of obnoxious staff, but now there would be All Might?
Then there was this woman with a neon green mohawk and she's wearing an orange, green, and purple bowling shirt tied into a crop top, hot pink jean shorts and… are those fucking Crocs? Shouta himself couldn't be bothered to care anymore, but it was unusual that he was the only one seeming to notice something this bizarre.
"As many of you have heard, we are welcoming Toshinori Yagi to our staff this year, but All Might is not our only new addition. We also have Kiokuro Shizune joining the third year staff." Nezu happily introduced.
Everyone turned to see Shizune and she smiled brightly. Now it finally seemed that everyone was noticing her. A few teachers looked at her with disgust. Some were staring in surprise. Others just weirded out. Shizune, for her part, just chuckled at the wide array of reactions until everyone had gotten their eyeful and looked away.
None of the previous reactions stayed on their faces. And nobody bothered to look back at her. That much was odd. At least Nemuri would look back a few times and whisper about it to whoever was sitting next to her.
For the rest of the meeting, nobody looked back at her, as though she had completely faded into the background of an arcade floor someone had vomited every slushie imaginable onto. There wasn't much meeting to focus on beyond the full class files that every teacher was given at the beginning of the year. Shouta wouldn't be bothered to read it. He didn't want to have any preconceived notions about any of his students before he met them. They would have to make their first impressions count.
Shouta kept finding his gaze back at Shizune. She just sat there like a clown, tilting her chair back with a bored expression on her face. She didn't seem to think anyone was paying her any attention.
The exact second Nezu dismissed the meeting, she was gone. He wasn't going to bother talking to her, but the speed in which she was already out the door was almost impressive. But the less time he had to spend getting to know her the better.
He had a lot of work to do before his students showed up in class next week. He got back to his computer and started up. He hated the paperwork, but he had known what he was in for when he started.
"Say, Aizawa." Fucking Nemuri. "How do you think All Might's gonna fit in here?"
"He can worry about that himself."
"Oh come on, you don't even wanna know why he's suddenly decided to teach classes?" She asked. "I mean, the number one hero suddenly settling down to teach some brats? Gotta be the most bizarre thing we've seen."
"He wasn't the most bizarre thing about that meeting." He sighed. "Go home, Kayama."
"Oh? What was the most bizarre thing about that meeting?" She asked.
"Either you're blind or just stupid. Go home." He said again.
Suddenly Nemuri was all the more confused. "What did I miss?"
"The clown in the corner." Shouta deadpanned. "You'll get along well."
"The hell are you talking about? Are you ok?" Nemuri reached for his forehead, but he leaned out of the way.
"I'm fine. You can leave."
"Alright, fine." She shrugged off. "I'm going."
Finally, quiet. He liked being the only one in the office no matter how late it was. Being the last one here was worth it.
At least he wished he was the last one here. Meandering steps that thudded ever so softly on the floor. He didn't even bother to look up, knowing the colors on their shirt would give him a headache.
"Evening, Kiokuro." He acknowledged. It would be worse if she didn't know he was here.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Not saying a word. A beat of silence went by before she said anything. "How the fuck did you do that?" Her voice quivered.
"Do what?" He still didn't bother to look up at her.
"How did you know it was me? You're not looking at me." She asked.
"Your crocs make a dumb swishing sound on the floor. Your steps are quick and soft because you don't weigh a whole lot. And you walk around like you're not heading anywhere in particular, so you make strange noises, but over a large surface area. Not in a straight line." He explained like she should already know this. "I remember how you walked into the meeting."
Shizune stomped over to the side of his desk and forced his chair toward her. Fine. Guess he's not getting any work done. He finally conceded to looking up at her.
She still wore the outrageous outfit from earlier. However, her expression was one of complete fear as her eyes frantically searched his face. "Are you fucking with me?"
"What?"
"People don't remember me, Aizawa." She said, "How the fuck did you know it was me without looking up and keeping me in your line of sight?"
"What are you talking about?"
She took a step back, seeming to think something over. "My quirk." She began. "When I'm in your line of sight, you know me, you see me. But the second I'm not in your line of sight, you forget me. It is impossible for people to remember me without looking at me. If I'm not being looked at, I don't exist to anyone but myself."
"You're a stealth hero." He noted.
"Yeah. I'm the perfect stealth hero." She snapped. "So how the hell do you remember me?"
Shouta stood up, glaring down at her. "My quirk is to erase quirks."
"Oh.. you're Eraserhead." She noted. "That must have been what I felt in the meeting room. Why did you feel the need to erase my quirk the second you saw me?"
"Your shirt gave me a headache. My first thought was that it was a threat." He deadpanned.
"Oh… well that's kind of the point… but that means that it never got the chance to lock onto you. Which means the next time you looked at me, there was nothing to remember, because you hadn't forgotten. Wait then that means…" Shizune paused.
"Yeah, good luck with that." Shouta shrugged off, leaving her staring off into space. "Go home, Kiokuro." He called back as he closed the door behind him.
-X-
It was another week and a half before he had seen her again. Only two days after classes had started. He didn't want to be here, especially not while there were still students in the classroom.
Shouta had come to collect the uniform reports that All Might had left behind. All he had to do was take them down to the support department, then he could go home. But Iida, Midoriya, and Ururaka were staying late on a Friday afternoon, cleaning the classroom. They were almost done by the looks of it.
"Hi, Mr. Aizawa!" Ururaka greeted. He gave her a wave, going straight to the podium where All Might said he left the reports.
His stomach jumped when a knife flew past his face. His scarf was activated immediately, and wrapped around the assailant's wrist. But it was in vain. They had taken his scarf in their grip and jumped into the air, spinning and pulling him toward them. In one move, they kicked him back into the wall.
He grunted in pain, but his eye caught the obnoxious colors of his attacker.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Midoriya was up and ready to fight, but Shouta held up a hand to stop any of the students from attacking her.
They all waited for him to do something, so he just stood against the wall as she held a knife to his neck, staring her in the eyes. "You kids can head out. Ms. Kiokuro and I have something to discuss."
"But Mr. Aizawa, sir…" Iida began to protest, but must have come to a different conclusion. "Of course. Let's go." The other two followed him out of the classroom. They wouldn't remember this, and Shizune would be safe.
"Alright… you got me alone, now what do you want, Kiokuro?" He grumbled.
She bit out a laugh. "Now, you see- hmm honestly I-" it took her a brief moment to gather herself, and he probably would be more comfortable without the knife at his neck. He lifted his hand to move it away, but she kept it in place. "Ah, yes." She nodded. "You are driving me insane."
"That's unfortunate. Can you get the knife out of my face?" He asked.
"No." She pushed him again back into the wall. "Listen here, fucker-"
"My name is Shouta."
"You are officially 'fucker' until we figure this out." She commanded.
"Great. I could think a lot better if you took the knife out of my face."
"Shut up." She ordered, but let out a breath in annoyance. Shizune resigned to putting the knife back on her belt. "Alright, look… I really want nothing more than to go on about my life and forget you exist, just like everyone does for me."
"Then do it."
"Now, that's the problem! I feel safe knowing that there is nobody that has any memory of me. But you-! You." She laughed, pulling the knife out of the wall and holding it back at his neck. "Every time I think I'm safe, I'm reminded that you remember me."
"Why the fuck-"
"I don't trust you, Shouta." She hissed. "I don't trust you with the memory of me."
"Why don't you?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because I don't know you? Or because there's no reason I should trust you?" Shizune argued. "Really it's because you're not special."
"Well clearly I am." He said. "Because whether you like it or not, I do remember you. And there's no way to fix that."
"Now, Shouta, that's the wrong answer. Because I can fix it by beating it out of your head, and I can then rest easy knowing that there's nobody in the world that will ever find out." She said.
"But you're not going to do that." He figured. "You could have killed me when you first attacked me. Even in front of the students, it wouldn't have mattered. But you're a pro-hero."
Shizune let out a sigh and took the second knife away from his face. "So what can I even do about you, Shouta?" She began pacing the floor, rubbing the buzzed sides of her head. "I can't just leave you with my memory because I tried that for a week and it's driven me insane. I can't sleep knowing someone could be thinking about me, even if you physically couldn't care less if you tried. It's not a matter of if you are or aren't, it's a problem that you can at all."
"Alright, calm down, Shizune." He noted that in this little squabble they had somehow come to a first name basis and that novelty wasn't wasted on him. Very few people got this far, let alone in such a short amount of time.
"It's not easy to calm down about this. It's been almost fifteen years since I've had to trust someone with the memory of me." She was going to start rambling if he let her keep going.
"It's ok. Don't worry about that yet. Now, tell me why again you don't trust me." He said.
"Because I never trust anyone. You're not different, you're not special. But as of a week ago, you are the only person on the planet that knows who I am." She explained.
"Alright, so we've established that you don't trust me any more than everyone else. Which is understandable. I met you a week ago." He followed along. "But since I do remember you, and we don't have a way to fix that beyond extreme violence, we need to figure something else out. You said there was no reason you should trust me. In the event of someone having memory of you, what would make you trust them with that information?'
Shizune thought for a second. "I need to know that person won't tell others about me. I need to be a complete secret."
"That's great, because I don't want to talk to anyone about you." He deadpanned.
"But how can I be sure that you won't be convinced by one of your friends to talk about me? How do I know that Yamada or Kayama can't ask the right question to get you to talk about me?"
"First, I'm an underground hero, just like you. If you don't want anyone to know about you, then nobody will know about you." He promised. "And second, I don't even want to tell them about myself, let alone make an effort to tell them about you."
"Fair enough…" She shrugged. "But I still don't know you. For all I know you could be lying about this."
"And for that, we'll have to trust each other." Shouta figured. "How about I give you a piece of information about me that I don't want people knowing?"
"You would do that?"
"I don't want to, but it's fair. I'd be essentially letting you hold me hostage." He explained. "If someone ends up knowing about you in any way that you haven't given them, then you have this information to do what you want with."
Shizune looked him up and down. "What makes you think I need something true to do that?"
"You don't, but this is supposed to be a gesture of trust."
"Oh yeah…." She remembered. "You do realize it'll have to be something genuinely secret. Something you would literally rather die than have other people know about."
"Which is the issue. I don't think there's anything I would have a problem with other people knowing."
Immediately Shizune lit up with a wicked smile across her face. His students should be glad he doesn't smile like that. "I bet I can find something."
"I will bet you can't." He deadpanned. "Not that I think your investigation skills are lacking, there's just nothing for you to find."
"More mysterious men than you have said that to me and been so. very. wrong." She chuckled, taking a step closer to him. He didn't like the sound of that, but if it meant she could find something that would make her less of a lunatic, then he would let her investigate.
"If you're that confident in yourself, then you have my permission to poke around in my life until you find something." Shouta allowed. "But I don't think you needed my permission in the first place."
"Eh, I don't stalk people unless I need to for work." She shrugged. "I'll see you around."
Shizune was gone, but once again, there was no change in Shouta's memory of her. If she could find something that he cared so heavily about, he wondered what it would be. What would an outside investigator determine to be the most important part of his life?
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“My time with the Gnolls.”
(Wrote this as a proof of concept for another anthology project, reading it again i want to revisit it.)
"My time with the Gnolls."
📷
(Wrote this as a proof of concept for another anthology project, reading it again i want to revisit it.)
Excerpt from "My time with the Gnolls" by Dr. Jaysis Une
“When i first began informing my colleagues and friends of my desire to begin an in depth study of the Gnoll race the responses were more or less what one might expect and largely (and unsurprisingly uniform.)
The consensus being that I had, quite simply, lost my mind.
What more could there possibly be to know? Gnolls were mindless blood thirsty demon spawn and
To embark on such a course was akin to suicide.
I took no offense,
I like them, knew well the stories of the savage and brutal nature of the minions of Yeenoghu
“The goddess of slaughter”
“The ruler of Ruin” and any number of other terrifying descriptors.
The Gnolls were little more than horrific and infernal automatons focused solely on slaughtering any living thing standing before them so that they may in turn slaughter any that might further be found behind those tragic souls.
And So while this was not my first dangerous subject to pursue, it was far and away the most
And as such i did my full due diligence as a man of science and assembled all the knowledge i had gained personally to that point and sought out master hunters, warriors and soldiers to add any first hand information i was able before crafting a master plan and outline to maximize my safety while still maintaining my ability to study and observe my horrific quarry. My preparations took the better part of a year before i felt comfortable to embark.
But as the old Gnomish saying goes “All great tragedy follows once great plans”
And i am ashamed to admit it was a humblingly short amount of time until,
despite my best efforts,
my worst fears had come to pass and I found myself captured by the Gnoll warband I had,
To this point, thought I was following from a safe distance unseen.
For reasons i even now still do not fully understand the Gnoll scouts did not immediately kill me but brought me back to their makeshift camp and threw me to the bottom of a roughly dug dirt pit
its top covered with a crudely made barred gate of sticks and branches.
I landed awkwardly and the hard soil and clay bottom with a sound that sickens me to recall to this day.
I had only just begun to gather my bearings and assess the nature of my situation when a low and gravelly voice reached me from a darkened corner at the other side of the pit.
"You must go…..out." it said.
I quickly jumped up from my knees to my feet and backed myself against the wall in fear.
I was not alone in my cell
But a very distinct terror washed over me as my eyes, now adjusting to the dark, made out the shape of my new cell mate, another large Gnoll.
A flood of thoughts filled my head, was this some kind of Chieftain?
Was I to be its food?
Perhaps a toy to be sacrificed to their demon goddess?
What should i do?
I was a researcher, a biologist, not a fighter, i would not mount much of a defense against this hulking creature.
"Wuh-what?` `I replied, shaking in fear.
"They keep you….for Flind. ( Referring to a massive gnoll often serving as warchief for the band )
“Flind mad...when others...leave no blood." The Gnoll explained to me quietly seemingly struggly to capture each word in its head before using it
It said all this without looking over.
For whatever reason, perhaps something in its tone, my fear began to subside slightly, something led me to believe perhaps my new cellmate was not the threat to me I immediately feared..
"Why have they thrown you in here?" I asked him (i think it was a him) surprising myself, the words had left my mouth before i even registered the idea of asking it
I cautiously lowered myself to the floor against the wall opposite him.
"I am...broken." He responded meekly and though i can't be certain, i swear he smirked and chuckled as he made this comment.
Gnolls make such a variety of noises it's often hard to determine.
"Broken?" I pressed, confused, perhaps in his shallow grasp of common he had misspoke?
With this he looked down from the barred ceiling and towards me for the first time,
what little light that was reaching us at the bottom of our hole now reflecting in his yellow eyes giving them the appearance of glowing cinders.
It sent chills down my spine like ice water.
"I am….clean of Yeenoghu, I no…..hear yeenoghu, I do not….heed, I am clean.
Broken...they say." he pointed upwards as he explained to clarify whom he was speaking of.
Though his common tongue was not very fluid he definitely demonstrated a level of intelligence i to this point had never seen exhibited in a Gnoll.
The scientist inside me roared to life, my mind overcome with questions and possibilities, no longer considering the very real danger of my predicament. I straightened myself into a more comfortable position and swatted some dirt from my pants.
"My name is Jaysis, well met." I offered.
He turned his head away slightly and side eyed me
seemingly confused and slightly suspicious before returning his gaze skyward.
after a moment or two, perhaps after consideration
"Hoontra, I am Hoontra"
The large gnoll offered back tapping his big clawed hands against his chest as he too straightened to face me better, it was then, as he came more into the limited light that i noticed he was gravely injured,
both his legs were badly broken.
"You're hurt." i pointed to his legs stating what must have seemed obvious.
Hoontra shrugged,
"Dead soon...gone...Home soon." he replied as he looked up at the night sky through the bars as if contemplating the stars, calmly, and remarkably so considering his words.
As the night went on I started to more clearly notice His mannerisms and movements. they expressed a thoughtfulness that surprised me more than his intelligence.
Gnolls with thoughts?
It was then another thought came to me.
If Hoontra was resigned to his imminent demise what hope could i possibly have?
Well if this is how i am to die, I thought to myself, then I shall die as I lived, and I again pressed the Gnoll for more information.
"How did you become Broken?...eh Clean Hoontra?" i asked him
and again the big gnoll shrugged, not breaking his skyward gaze.
"Hoontra battle..and fall...hurt..Hoontra look quiet place to die, find pretty place, many trees.That place... mama call me, I wake up….clean, no mad, no hungry, no red, just Hoontra. Hoontra and Mama." with this Hoontra resignedly smiled, I suppose i can't be certain it was a smile, an exposing of the fangs for a gnoll is no rare thing…...but i like to believe it was.
I took in what he said in stunned silence, here i sat having a conversation with a Gnoll, what would the others think of this story? I’d likely never learn the answer to that question.
There Hoontra sat staring skyward, he showed no sign of pain, no sign of anger, sadness or anxiety, just what seemed contentment as he continued to look out into the night.
But each answer Hoontra gave me only raised more questions in me
"Who is Mama Hoontra? Who cleaned you? " I asked
With this question again Hoontra looked to me and extended his large muscular arm to the dirt wall besides him and gently pressed his large clawed fingers against a roughly carved image of a Unicorn head.
"MeekiLee, Meekilee is mama." The coincidences were too striking to not be comfortable in assuming that "MeekiLee" was his pronunciation or interpretation of Mielikki the forest goddess.
I was gobsmacked, was it true? Could the Gnolls be cleansed of their demonic taint? Had the ranger goddess cleansed this gnoll? But my internal debate was interrupted as Hoontra continued
"Meekilee forgive and clean... soon Hoontra die and run in tall grass...forever, and Meekilee run with me." Hoontra looked to a small wooden circle carved with the image of a unicorn he wore around his neck tied with some shoddy twine. He turned it around in his fingers for a few seconds before shifting onto his back exhaling deeply, as he moved. For the first time it was clear that he was in some pain
"I sleep...you escape...wake up Hoontra...Hoontra help" I nodded and smiled at this most surprising beast and crossed my arms, a million questions rolling through my mind keeping the the reality of my imminent death at bay.
After some time my thoughts however were broken by the sudden sounds of battle above. Hoontra quickly straightened up eyes wide. With a stunning speed he launched himself forward on just his arms, dragging his broken legs behind him and grabbed me.
He pulled me behind his huge body defensively and lowered his head in a gutteral snarl, the black mohawk of hair running down his spine spiking upwards. I tensed in fear suddenly overwhelmed by everything going on around me,
was this it? was this how i die?
I sunk my fingers into the tattered cloak Hoontra wore over his back and I closed my eyes when suddenly a loud BANG rang out from above followed by several gentle thuds.
Hoontras body tensed suddenly and then he exhaled deeply and his body went limp as he collapsed before me.
“Hoontra!” i said loudly as I shook him, paying no mind to whatever was above.
"Jaysis! Jaysis Une! are you down there? " a human voice called down into the hole as light suddenly surrounded me.
"Yes! im here!" I responded as I looked up and saw three armed men holding crossbows and a torch.
"You ok?" another of the men continued.
"Im unharmed!" I yelled back suddenly relieved
but that feeling quickly changed as I looked down at the body of Hoontra.
"Ok just hold on a minute. we'll find some rope and get you out of there." the men said as they walked out of my range of vision.
I rolled Hoontra over onto his back as gently as I was able, he was shockingly heavy, I surveyed his arrow riddled body and sighed as I struggled to pull his arms over to cross his stomach in some feeble attempt at a show of respect.
There was no way the men would have known, How could they? who in a million years would ever believe a Gnoll could be anything, but well...a gnoll?
I sat beside Hoontra for a few minutes collecting my thoughts, now being able to truly appreciate how big a gnoll is, knowing, id likely never be this close to one again.It was then i noticed that his one hand was closed in a fist, grasping the small wooden symbol of his “Meekilee”
a peaceful smile, yes, it was a smile, on his scarred canine face.
"Doctor! we're lowering the rope to you now." the men had returned.
"Gentleman!" i spoke back "I'm going to need to take this corpse back with me….for study " i said to the men.
The leader sighed "Doctor, there are plenty of dead gnolls up here we ...." he tried to explain when i cut him off
"No, I need this one, ten gold for each of you if you help me get it back to my home." With this the men's eyes widened and with smiles they hurried off to find more rope.
Of course there will be no study.
There is a clearing in my garden at the base of an old oak tree surrounded by different flowers and bushes and such. It has a clear view of the sky and the stars at night, I often sit there to read my books by candle light or a small fire.
occasionally, distracted by the infinity of the night sky i stare off and wonder about everything
and nothing.
This is where ill bury my friend Hoontra and perhaps ill leave a carved unicorn so Meekilee will know where to find her son so they may run together in the tall grass forever.
#gnoll#gnolls#gnoll fiction#dnd homebrew#fantasy fiction#short story#dnd#dungeons and dragons#fanfiction#dnd story#dnd stories
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✨ shorasheiji au hcs where eiji is the siren ✨
i had this idea for a couple months but can't bring myself to write anything even tho i'm full of ideas so i'll drop them here if anyone wants to write something idk. btw, this au is based on the show siren (i haven't watched it whole yet but i feel inspired hahaha) this post will be only about shorash.
- ash is a fisherman and writer. he likes to sit in his boat in the middle of the ocean and just write stuff. he's books are well known; the book are something between extremely gory/horror or fantasy. he also writes short stories for max's magazine. he was adopted by blanca and natasha. yut-lung is his adoptive brother (i love aus where ash and yut-lung are brothers). he's still in school, but already has his own apartment next to the sea.
- shorter owns a restaurant and also has a gang. don't ask, he doesn't know how it happened either. his dad left him when he was still a baby and his mother passed away two years after he was born. nadia was the one who educated and raised shorter.
- shorter met ash bc ash spent most of the time looking out the window when he went to chang dai, the restaurant in the same street as ash's apartment, as if he was in another world. nadia told her lil bro who ash was and shorter read a book that wasn't a recipe book in years. he liked it and went straight up talking to the author abt the book.
- ash felt immediately his personal space (?) being invaded by the owner of the restaurant being so close to him but didn't see any malice coming from the dorky guy. at first, it kinda made him uncomfortable that man staring at him for a long time (but really loooooooooong time) but now he just wanted that man staring at him the whole time.
- shorter got an invitation to go fishing after two months of conversation with the blond and accepted without thinking twice (his sister scolded him bc he had work, but he couldn't just miss the opportunity to go fishing with ash lynx). shorter felt really happy about it and even put on his lucky shorts (they're pink with pineapples all over) and a his favorite Hawaiian shirt. needless to say he looks extremely sexy and ash makes fun of him when he sees him.
- while they're in the middle of he sea, ash felt inspired and started to write something while listening to shorter ramble abt random things. it wasn't distracting, at all. in fact, ash liked listening to shorter's voice.
- shorter constantly asks when will the fish appear and ash just tell him they won't appear if he doesn't shut up. shorter pouts and sits next to ash, grabbing a beer. shorter points out how beautiful ash is out of nowhere like it's something common and gives a detailed list of why ash is a literal angel sent from heaven. this, of course, makes ash a blushing mess tho he tells shorter "shut up, i'm trying to concentrate"
- they end up just catching two fishes and both were shorter's. he feels extremely happy. they say their goodbyes after ash took them back to the shore (that thing where it's a parking lot for boats, idk the name). ash thanks shorter for the time and hopes they can do it again. shorter is completely down for it and is excited to see the blond the next day at his restaurant.
- one time, they were lying on shorter's bed (aka ash's safe and fave place) just staring at the ceiling after they got tired of playing. ash told shorter, his bestie and crush, abt the sexual abuse he suffered as a child (that canon story) and abt a older brother that went missing when he was fishing. that's why he likes to fish. he hopes he'll find his brother someday. shorter hugged ash and kissed the top of his head "he'll appear someday. don't lose your hope". ash lets more tears roll down his cheeks and rests his head on shorter's chest. that scene that made him feel like no one would never hurt him again.
- they start dating after a year and a half. it was mutual pining bc they're dumb (yes, dumb/oblivious ash lovers, where are you at?). it just sorta happen. ash accidentally kissed shorter one time and it became a habit until shorter presented ash lynx as his boyfriend to nadia.
- they're dating which is nothing different besides the amount of kisses shorter gives ash and tells him every. single. time. how much he loves him. ash blushes or sometimes teases back only to see shorter be the blushing mess. which is now ash's favorite thing.
-ash has a neutral relationship with shorter's gang. he'll only mess with them if they mess with him, and vice versa. ash meets sing for the first time when he visits shorter at one of his secret hideouts. sing is a fan. he tried not to let it show but when ash asked him where shorter was, sing's voice cracked. at the end he was able to get an autograph thanks to shorter. he keeps it inside his pocket all the time; it's a lucky charm.
- (nsfw) ash was able to have sex with shorter twice and they were amazing. ash can only have sex with shorter if they're on ash's room with the curtains all closed, shorter has the day off the next day and that day and ash finished a short or an arc from one of his books. shorter and ash lost all their energy bc if they start they will only end until they can't move anymore. shorter is a service top djkdjkdks the next morning they take a bath together and it's ash's time to spoil shorter by giving him kisses, gentle touches him and washes his mohawk in the most gentle and softest way possible (shorter loves ash's hands and always makes sure to say it at least once a day).
- shorter calls ash by his real name most of the time bc he thinks it's pretty.
- when shorter met blanca and natasha for the first time he knew ash was adopted but thought natasha was his real mom bc they look very alike. shorter wasn't very welcomed by yut-lung but he tried to. at dinner, yut-lung and ash had a fight that blanca couldn't stop. shorter ate the food and complimented it; natasha gave a delicate smile as a thanks before pulling her sons' ears to make them stop yelling. after they left, ash was still all pouty bc the dinner didn't go as planned. shorter kissed ash and told him he looked very sexy yelling; ash rolled his eyes even though his cheeks turned pink. shorter then dropped ash at his place and ash invited his boyfriend for some cuddles and watch a movie.
- a week later, ash invited his boyfriend to go fishing with him on his day off (tho he offered they could do other things). shorter accepted it, excitedly.
- when they were at the sea, ash noticed the fishing rod had caught something so he went check it. it was a big fish since it pulled ash into the water. ash didn't believe what he saw before shorter came to save him, who also took a glance at the big fish with dark hair.
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No No No No
By Shunya Shiraishi - July 31, 2020
Translated by Nancy A
“Thank you. Thanks to you Shiraishi, my life has changed.” The day he graduated high school I received a long message from him with content along that line. His name is, well, let’s called him Y here. I met Y at our high school soccer team before I switched to another school. As rookies, we both faced some challenge getting into the soccer team of this private high school where sports were popular. Wearing a crew cut hairstyle with a pair of black framed glasses, Y was a quiet guy with a serious look just like you can imagine in a picture. And his soccer was astoundingly bad. So, the story needs to go back to the first year of high school when we first participated in the summer camp, where Y first appeared in my memory.
After the 12th graders lost the last tournament, Y and I shared the same room at our first summer camp to the new team consisting of juniors and sophomores. It was like up to us how to divide the room ourselves. I was quick to form a group with the other three guys who I have been getting along well. We then welcomed the stand-alone Y to our group, although I do not remember whether Y has willingly accepted the offer without any resistance or not. Four of us were naughty kids. As a matter of course, we were fooling around each and every night. Every morning, Y became our alarm clock who woke us up for breakfast. However, one day, Y has finally overslept. As we fearfully approached the breakfast hall of our boarding house, there came the anger way out of our expectation. We started eating real fast the five plates left in the very corner. Even though we succeeded in catching up timewise, we received serious warning from the captain. After breakfast, the schedule was made to provide us 30 minutes of preparation time before everyone rode the bus and headed to a somewhat distant practice field. We boys, apparently sleep deprived, went back to our room to take a nap. On the other hand, Y was incredibly early getting ready, counting down the minutes until the time of departure as if he was the snooze function of a cell phone alarm. “I think we should get going.” Yet everyone ignored Y’s suggestion ten minutes before the time. We ended up leaving the boarding house entrance three minutes before. However, no matter where we looked, we could not locate the bus. They have left us! For sure we were late for breakfast, but we were NOT late at departure time. This country’s meeting time was really mysterious. We were angry and were even thinking to stay behind. Wait, we were the ones who managed to carry all the soccer balls for training. In other words, if we didn’t go, our senior members would not be able to practice with soccer balls at all. Delighted with the amazing retaliation, this time we all listened to Y’s suggestion of “let’s walk.” According to my vague memory, we really took our time eating ice cream while moving forward towards the practice field. After more than an hour walk, we finally saw the sports ground. While our senior members without a soccer ball were forced to hold back a practice match with the other high school team, they were practicing hard by running zig zag. Still, they looked happy.
That night, nevertheless, we were called out and pressed by our captain with two choices, “Shave your head. Or you leave the team.” Four of us were fast to come to the conclusion of leaving the team after this summer camp. Only Y shaved his head and remained there. No way our captain has expected us to leave the team. When we stated our will to quit, maybe feeling he was responsible, the captain then requested us with “please don’t leave.” However, except myself, the other three have then stuck on their loose idea of starting a band. They ended up switching to the music team the following week. I was the only guy with all the time in the world, who the captain came to visit every day begging, “Please. Shave your head and come back!” “We were only late for breakfast. Totally don’t deserve such big punishment as shaving our heads.” As I flatly declined his offer, the captain then started crying, “You don’t need to shave your head. Please. Just come back.” As one would expect, feeling sorry for the captain, I withdrew my team resignation. But the most pitiful was Y. As a result, only Y was punished.
Those who stick together through thick and thin would get closer. After those three exited the soccer team, sure enough Y and I shared more time together. And then, to Y whose life was only to go back and forth between home and school, I started changing his life in a crazy turn. Besides having fun shopping matching outfits at vintage clothing stores in Shimokitazawa and Ura-Harajuku, I made him changed from wearing glasses to contact lens. At the end, I even gave him a slight mohawk hairstyle. We have done tons of naughty things. From an outsider point of view, I might have looked like a bad influence leading one to be bad, but I felt that I allowed Y to enjoy a world that he has never been before. That was why things kept escalating. As a matter of fact, Y has smiled a lot more and spoke more. In school, he has become a popular guy. Even when I switched to another high school during my third year, Y and I spent a lot of immensely fantastic time together. We became best buddies until the day I got that long message on his graduation day. Our friendship could have continued and lasted without change even we went separate ways to different universities. But one day, Y has disappeared in front of me.
I did not realize Y’s agony. Back when I styled his hair in a slight mohawk, without recognizing his feelings, I decided everything for him. You should have done this and that. At that time, I have not remotely realized I arbitrarily decided everything and would not have permitted him of thinking what to do to himself. Since then, Y has made other friends, gaining different values, different situations, different standpoints, different goals, different thinking, and leading a different life. We have many friends in common. As I was happy to know that he has been doing well, I have stopped keeping in touch with Y.
Then after six years in January 2019, I received a message from Y saying “I came to see your act. It was totally fabulous.” He purchased his own tickets and brought along his mother to see me on stage. “What?! You should have told me. I would have gifted you the tickets,” I replied. A few days later, he brought his girlfriend and visited me backstage. I was probably more nervous to meet Y than to perform on stage. After all, I was wondering what kind of a man he has become, and what we should talk about. My staff has finally brought Y and his girlfriend over to the backstage. Y, who I have not seen for the longest time, was back to his original image of a crew cut and a pair of glasses. He was looking good! Darn it. Maybe I should turn his hair into a slight mohawk again. Stop it, idiot.
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