#i hope everyone has a good holiday season and happy new year :) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sl-ut · 13 days ago

Text

princess of the north

in case i dont end up posting again over the holidays, i just wanna say i hope everyone has a great holiday season and a very very happy new year!!!!

pairing: cregan stark x fem!targtower!pregnant!reader

description: cregan has grown older and happier throughout his years as warden of the north with his beautiful new wife at his side. however, when he married into the royal family, he had not considered how frequently he would need to interact with his in-laws.

warnings: NO DANCE AU!!! (rhaenyra ascends the throne peacefully), weird blend of book and show timeline, slight description of character (silver hair, purple eyes, that’s it!!!), smut, reader gets pregnant like halfway through, pregnancy sex, oral, piv, SEX IN FRONT OF A FIREPLACE ON A BEARSKIN RUGGGG oml

words: 9.7K

date posted: 10/12/24

The winter had been very forgiving, thank the gods. It had been remarkably short, just under eight years in total, meaning that it had come to a close with plenty of food still in storage and northerners who were more than willing and able to transition into the oncoming summer with ease.

Winterfell was left in a generally stable state, aside from the fact that there was a greater need for livestock now that they not only had an additional mouth to feed, but also a fully grown dragon who resided in a make-shift dragonpit only a few minutes ride beyond the walls of the castle–a wedding gift that the Lord of Winterfell had prepared in anticipation of his new wife’s arrival. Otherwise, the North seemed to be in greater shape upon the dawn of this new summer than it had in all of Cregan’s years.

The greatest of Cregan’s accomplishments, of course, was his new wife. At the beginning of the winter, he had not expected that he would be married by the end of it, but with the arrival of Prince Jaeaerys on his official tour of the realm also came his proposal of marriage between Lord Cregan and his own aunt, the youngest daughter of the late King Viserys I and his second wife, Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower. He had been hesitant to consider this offer–he’d never met the woman, which was not uncommon for marriages of such high status, but he’d been fortunate enough to have been able to form some sort of friendship with his late wife prior to their union. Jace had brought along with him the terms offered by his mother, in her own hand, of course, as well as a portrait of the woman in question.

Cregan was not above admitting how taken he’d been with the sight of the princess, even if it were only a recreation of her beauty on canvas. He’d heard of her beauty before, it was rumoured around the realm, but seeing it was entirely different, a sort of beauty he could not have imagined on his own.

“Tell me, my prince,” Cregan asked him, hardly drawing his crystal blue gaze away from the portrait, “you are her blood and have grown up with the princess, is this painting to her likeness?”

Jacaerys smirked, “Of course, Lord Stark. My aunt is known to be one of the most beautiful women ever to live.”

Cregan pursed his lips. He was aware of the strange customs of the Targaryens, having married brother to sister and uncle to niece for generations. Jacaerys could be speaking the truth, for he himself could hold some sort of affection for his aunt, but Cregan did not suspect as such. Intead, his greater question was whether Jacaerys could be lying to him out of political gain; as his mother’s envoy, it would do him no good to suggest that the artist had not accurately painted her. Her looks were of no concern to him, but he valued honour and truth over all else. If they were attempting to attract him to the deal by portraying the princess as such a beauty over anything else, he would be personally insulted to discover that he’d been lied to, a snub from the royal family would not be taken kindly by House Stark.

“What say you?” Cregan turned to the group of men standing just to the left of the prince, all who seemed alarmed at Lord Stark’s attention being turned to them, “How do each of you vouch for the princess?”

The men, one at a time, attested to the princess’s beauty until he stood before the smallest and visibly youngest of the men.

“And you, lad?”

“I’m afraid the portrait fails to depict the princess, milord,” The boy grew rosy in the cheeks as he imagined the princess in his mind, eyes drawing towards the portrait, “That is her, yes, but only as close as the Master Holbein could have made it, for I do not think it possible to recreate such beauty. She is gifted by the gods, surely, milord, both in beauty and manner. She is kind, brings food and toys to orphans in Flea Bottom and ev’rything, milord.”

Cregan, taken aback by the answer from the youngest boy, turned back to Prince Jacaerys, who seemed equally as surprised as he did pleased with the answers of his men.

“This is true, milord,” Jace said, “the princess is known among the people for her generosity, among her other talents and traits. It cannot be denied that her mother, the Queen Dowager, was not fond of my family, nor us of her, but the princess was raised better than any of us, I would say. Take the night to think on it, I would hope to send word to the queen before I leave Winterfell at noon.”

Cregan did as instructed, thinking on it long and hard. Her beauty had been their main selling point, something that could not be denied from the portrait sent of her. Lord Stark had half a mind to hang it upon the mantle in his bedchambers whether he takes her to wife or not, but it was not her beauty that had truly swayed his decision. Instead, he thought over the young lad’s words; a southern lady scarcely thrives in the North, a nation nearly as large on its own as all of the remaining six kingdoms put together. The weather was harsh, and the people were harsher, something he could not imagine a Targaryen princess handling well. However, he’d heard of Alicent Hightower’s assertiveness and ability to lead while her husband was incapable and Rhaenyra was in Dragonstone. If what Jacaerys had told him was true, the princess would be dutiful and loyal, and according to the prince’s men, kind beyond words. Beauty may have factored into his decision on a personal level, but he also met the prince the next morning with his acceptance mostly on the basis that he believed that the princess would be wholly capable of helping him rule the North.

He wrote to her a week after Jacaerys departed from Winterfell, certain that the news would have already arrived in the capitol and she would already be aware of their arrangement. He would have little time between her arrival in the north and their wedding to meet with her in private, so this was his best hope. He was pleased to receive a raven in return only three days later, neat handwriting befitting a princess scrawled across the parchment. It was not much, but Cregan was able to learn some things about her through the letters, making it seem like he was less-so marrying a stranger and more as if she were a distant friend.

The month following, the princess would depart from King’s Landing in a procession he was told seemed a mile long. He waited with anticipation, Winterfell in a flurry of servants and guards to prepare the castle to house the royal family and their household, as well as for the wedding itself, and only one more month would pass before his bride had arrived within the walls of Winterfell.

Cregan had bowed respectfully to the Queen Dowager as she stepped out of her wheelhouse, then to the two silver-haired princes who arrived on their steeds. His eyes scanned the growing crowd for any sight of his betrothed, finally catching sight of her as she took the hand of a Dornish white cloak to balance herself as she exited the wheelhouse, a pretty white fur-lined cloak wrapped around her shoulders, almost blending into the pale blonde of her hair. She was, indeed, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had traditional Valyrian looks, but also held an aura of softness.

She was nervous as she curtsied before her, but seemed happy enough with his appearance and manners as he greeted her with a kiss to her leather-gloved knuckle. The moment was broken apart by her mother’s level tone, requesting to be brought to her chambers for some rest before supper. That evening Cregan found the portrait of the princess that he’d received months earlier and personally hung it above the mantle in his bedchambers. He thought it was safe to say he was smitten.

The princess appeared bashful in his presence, though he was partially certain that her discomfort was brought on by her ever-present family, each looming nearby as if waiting to intercept his attempts of conversation with his betrothed. He could not decide who he had grown to loathe the most; Aegon had already drank a generous portion of Winterfell’s wine cellars even before the wedding, and often joined the conversation with the goal to tease his sister and see her shrink in embarrassment; Aemond was constantly looking to best anyone in his path, and seemed almost possessive over his sister’s attention; her mother had hardly allowed them a moment alone, constantly insisting on supervising any time that he would invite her for any sort of activity, or set one of her brothers after them instead. Alicent had a habit of speaking for her daughter, meaning that Cregan had no opportunity to truly know her while her mother was present, while her brothers made it impossible to even speak to one another at all.

He was finally glad on their wedding night, when he’d arranged the head table to be broken into three, leaving the happy couple to sit above the rest and finally receive some alone time. She had been radiant in her gown of white furs and fleeces, meeting him beneath the weirwood tree with her eldest brother at her side to give her away. He’d been glad to tear away the cloak of red and black, intricately interwoven into a field of green and gold at the bottom–it would be unlike Alicent Hightower to allow her children to wear the Rhaenyra’s colours without her own as well. It would be hard to tell whether she looked prettier in the harsh colours of her maiden cloak or in the dull ones of his own, but he couldn’t help but note how greys and blues suited her better than he could have imagined.

He could tell her family was less than pleased with this arrangement, making an effort to step in for every miniscule matter that caught their attention. Cregan watched her from the corner of her eye as she shakily took a long drink from her cup. He finally found time to chat with his wife, slowly watching in awe as her walls slowly began to come down as she found herself giggling along with him and whispering into his ear.

“What of the leftovers?” She’d asked, breaking their previous conversation topic.

“Leftovers?” Cregan repeated.

She nodded, staring at him with wide eyes expectantly, “The food. There will be plenty of leftovers–they should be brought to the nearest towns.”

“Is that a command, princess?”

She appeared bashful at his response, walls slowly building back up around her, “I-I- My apologies, Lord Stark, I–”

He grinned at her playfully, his large palm cupping her cheek affectionately, “If you wish it, you shall have it. I intend to make you very happy, my love.”

She smiled, her beauty shining through even stronger as she became more and more comfortable around him, “Thank you, husband.”

Cregan pushed himself to stand, the sound of his chair pushing back cutting through the chatter and music and laughter filling his hall, all eyes turning to him expectantly.

“My lady wife has made her first official command as Lady of Winterfell,” his voice carried through the hall with stern ease, and the attention of the crows quickly turned to her, “Lady Stark has decided that all leftovers from our wedding feast will be donated to the people of Winterstown.”

The crowd had been quick to applaud, deafening cheers throughout the great hall, northerners seemingly pleased with her decision or, at the very least, just excited to have another reason to be celebrating. He caught the glance she sent to her mother, and the happy grin that covered her face as the Dowager Queen sent her a sign of approval. His lady wife was kind, and sweet, and he was certain that, once she gained her footing in the North, would serve as a strong and dutiful Lady of Winterfell, all of which he muttered into her ear as he had her for the very first time that night.

Three years would pass, he’d been right to assume such things of his wife. He’d quickly discovered that she was able to thrive without the looming shadow of her mother and brothers. She had been slow to find her footing in the beginning, some of his bannermen even questioning his choice in wife, but she was determined to prove them wrong, and in doing so, warmed Cregan’s heart even more.

They’d discussed children in the past, and both had decided that they were happy enough with Cregan’s son from his previous marriage for the time being. They were not trying, but they were also not not trying, which is how she found herself swelling with her first child just as winter came to an end. Her husband had been insatiable in their first year of marriage, but once he knew that she carried his child in her belly, there was scarcely anything that could stop him from having her each and every night.

Summer brought a homier feeling to Winterfell. People were not quite so afraid or negative as the desolate conditions faded away. Summer in the North was nothing compared to the many summers she had spent in King’s Landing, where she had once enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her skin, exposed beneath her more revealing gowns than those she was able to wear in the North; the lords of the North had criticised her choice in dresses early on in her marriage, and she had no doubt that their wives spoke harshly about her in her absence. She was by far the youngest of them, and was also the only one who could afford to wear such fine silks layered over her thick fleece and fur underdresses. Cregan knew better than to try and argue against his wife’s will–Lady Stark or not, she was a Targaryen princess through and through, and now that he had helped her build up her confidence, there was no way he was about to take that away from her (especially when she looked so so beautiful). She was thankful that she was able to cut down on the layers she needed now that the weather had transitioned from inhospitable to frigid, though she knew it was coming time to transition her wardrobe as well now that her breasts and belly were beginning to swell.

The change in season also brought a wave of new duties. Winter was undoubtedly the most difficult and busy season for the lord and lady of Winterfell, but the transition to summer also brought the beginning of the agricultural season. Farmers and fishermen alike flocked to Winterfell to speak their needs and wants to their liege lord and lady, and Cregan found himself busy with attending to the replenishment of all of the North’s resources for Winterfell, all of his bannermen, the Wall, and all of the towns in the North. He’d made his wife agree to take a lesser load of duties now that she was expecting, dealing with issues within their own household so he could instead focus on bearing the burdens of the North all on his own, though this meant there was less and less time that they were able to spend together.

Each morning, Lady Stark was awake and on the move early enough to meet with the maester and stewards and advisors, sharing no more than a few sweet words and touches with her husband as he watched her dress before she was out the door. They would see each other in passing throughout the day, sharing loving glances across the courtyard as they attended their duties and occasionally catching each other in the corridors, and she was normally in a deep slumber by the time he came to her chambers every night. Both of them were growing restless in their time apart, especially with her ladyship’s heightened emotions and hormones.

She had just finished speaking with the mistress of the orphanage in Winterstown when the maester came to her, a neatly folded piece of parchment in hand that bore her mother’s seal. She smiled to herself as she brushed her thumb over the thick spot of green wax, glad to have a response for her most recent letter to her mother to deliver the news of her pregnancy, along with a request for some new silks to be sent in order to accommodate her changing body. Breaking the seal, she scanned over the letter with her eyes, a small gasp leaving her mouth as she read over her mother’s words.

“My lady?” Maester Elryn asked, concern evident on his wrinkled features, “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” she smiled tightly at him, “My apologies for my reaction. Could you ask Lord Stark to come to me when he is free?”

“Of course, my lady. Anything else?”

“That is all, thank you, Maester Elryn.”

Cregan came to her two hours later, finding her seated at the small desk in the corner of her chambers. He paused to drink in the way she looked, having scarcely seen his wife for more than a moment all day. Her body was changing in the most glorious ways possible, and the bodices of her gowns were growing even tighter than before, her breasts threatening to spill over the neckline with every breath, and her belly growing firmer and rounder to accommodate his child. His smile widened as she turned to glance over her shoulder, her eyes softening as she finally took note of her husband’s figure in the doorway.

“You called, wife?”

“My love,” she greeted, pushing herself to stand with a gentle hand cradling her barely-there bump, “It seems it has been forever.”

His heart thumped against his ribcage at her action, chest growing warm at the sight of her maternal instincts already kicking in before she had even passed through her first few months

He closed the door behind him, crossing the room to meet her before she was able to move too far. His palm cupped her cheek, the other finding its place over her own against her belly, “Longer than forever to me.”

She grinned, leaning up to press a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips, giggling to herself as he chased after her and grunted as she pulled away. He pressed small kisses to her cheeks, across the curve of her jaw, and down the column of her neck, leaving small nips in his wake. His wife pushed at his chest helplessly as she continued to laugh, the soft growth of hair along his own jaw tickling her with every brush of his lips on her skin.

“I called you up here because I needed to speak with you,” she whispered to him, body slowly relaxing against him as she sank into his embrace.

“Speak, then,” he ordered, thick fingers tugging at the laces of her dress.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes at his antics, “I wrote to my mother a few nights ago, I need silk for new dresses. I’m sure you’ve noticed that my own are growing rather…tight.”

His mouth dropped to nip at the bulging flesh of her breast peeking over the neckline of her gown, “I certainly have.”

Her head tilted back, letting both a laugh and a breathy moan at her husband’s attack on her chest as he quickly laid her back on the bed, “She has written back to me. She says I shall have as much silk in as many colours as I wish.”

Cregan hummed in response, quickly peeling the layers of her gown away until she was left in only her thin white shift, her words going ignored as he tugged and pulled at her clothing until she was bare before him. He stared down at her, running his hand over his jaw as his eyes trailed over her breasts, heaving and swelling with milk, then down over her small bump, and finally to the place where her thighs clenched together.

She pushed herself up to sit before him, her own hands reaching out to tug at his clothing. He was quick to help her, shucking off his layers and boots until he stood before her in only his heavy leather breeches. His wife grinned up at him, pressing a gentle kiss against his own belly, a layer of soft flesh over his firm, almost inconspicuous muscle.

He pushed at her shoulder, chuckling as the mattress bounced beneath her as she was laid back again. He crawled over her, returning to mouthing over her neck, over her shoulders, and finally coming across her breasts.

“She says she will deliver them personally,” she uttered, whining in protest as he paused, pulling back to focus directly at her face.

“Personally,” He repeated, more for his own sake than a question of clarification, “your mother intends to come to Winterfell.”

She pouted at him, fingers carding through his long hair as she attempted to soften him to the news, “She wishes to be here for the birth. I know she can be…difficult, but it would bring me comfort to have her with me as I bring our firstborn into the world.”

He sighed, his head falling into her shoulder, “If this is what you wish, then this is what you shall have.

She smiled, remembering when he spoke the same words to her on their wedding night. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, winding her legs around his hips and hugging her tightly to her chest.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him as he finally pushed himself up to gaze down at her once again, “my mother can be difficult, as I said, but I wish for her to know her grandchildren, as she does my niece and nephews. I promise you, she will be on her best behaviour.”

“I believe you,” He pressed a kiss to her lips, mumbling against her, “but I must ask that we do not speak any more of your mother at the present. I do not think she would appreciate what I plan to do to you.”

Cregan did not allow her another moment of peace before his kisses grew in intensity, tongue intertwining with her own while his meaty palms pulled her legs further apart and began to rock his hips into hers. He smirked at the whine that escaped her throat, pressing himself further into her.

“Cregan–”

“I have missed you, my love,” he moaned against her lips, “you cannot possibly believe how much I have been longing for you.”

She chuckled, “I think I can. The maester told me pregnancy can bring on many side effects; discomfort, fatigue, desire…”

Cregan pulled back for a moment, “Should I be concerned about these conversations you have been having with Maester Elryn?”

She scoffed, “You are far too jealous for your own good, my love.”

“You might be too, if you were married to the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms–nay, the world.”

“Flatterer.”

“Can it be called flattery if it is the truth?” Cregan pushed himself to kneel between her legs, palms continuing to push her thighs upward to bare her completely to him. He let out a desperate groan as his eyes settled on her core, barely hidden beneath a neat patch of silver hair, “gods, have you ever been this wet?”

She snorted, raising her leg to press her foot flat to his chest, “It is the pregnancy, as I said.”

His long fingers wrapped around her foot, tugging it up to press his lips against the slope of her ankle, “Then perhaps I should keep you like this, eh? Would you like for your lord husband to fill you with his child, again and again?”

“I am already with child, my love,” she smiled at him, drawing a deep breath from his throat, “I’m afraid you will have to wait a few moons longer.”

“And I will spend every second I have with you perfecting the craft then.”

She sighed in relief as he finally reached between her thighs, fingers catching against her slick hole.

“Cregan, please,” she whimpered, “do something, anything.”

“Anything?” He asked, breathlessly, his own chest heaving in anticipation as she nodded excitedly.

A loud gasp tore from her lips as he finally sunk his fingers into her, her wetness audible to them both as he began moving with slow but purposeful thrusts. His thumb settled on her sensitive bud, making slow, tight circles over the swollen bud, his free hand gliding up from her thigh to tug at her breasts. Her hips rocked in sync with his every movement of his thick fingers, stilling as another one easily slipped inside.

“My love,” she panted, “e-enough, I need you.”

He quirked one of his thick brows at her words, “Should I not prepare you, my heart?”

“I am pregnant with your child, and as we can both tell, I am more than prepared.”

Cregan snorted out a laugh, withdrawing his fingers with a small whine from his wife, “How should you have me then, wife?”

Lady Stark smirked to herself, legs wrapping around his back and forcing him to fold over her, “Take me as you did on our wedding night, only you do not need to be so gentle with me.”

He slipped inside of her easily, a strained hiss sliding between his teeth while her own teeth sunk into his shoulder. Cregan did indeed take her like he had on their wedding night, but against her wishes, was almost as gentle as he had been, out of respect for his child’s personal space, as he had muttered to her. In truth, he simply wanted to take his time with her as he pulled her apart bit by bit, not wanting to rush their first time lying together in the few weeks since summer had come.

When they were finished, he remained inside of her for as long as he could, but the warmth of her and the air around them was far too much. His wife, despite the progress she’d made in the years of their marriage, was a southern woman and despised how frigid the castle could be, earning herself the warmest room in Winterfell and a required constant upkeep of her hearth. Cregan did not mind coming to his wife’s chamber when she needed him throughout the day or early evening, but there was a reason that they’d made a habit of sleeping in his personal chambers each night, where the air was cooler but he was able to keep her warm at night. He carefully pulled away, meeting her for a final kiss before he peeled himself off of the bed, slowly strutting across the room to haul the window open and feel the cool summer air against his burning flesh.

She watched him through hooded eyes, gaze raking down his muscular back, over his plump ass, and down his thick legs. She pursed her lips, pulling one of the heavy furs around her shoulders as she padded across the stone floor to wrap herself around him from behind, fingers hooking together around his belly as her bare chest pressed to his back. After a moment, one of his hands came over to cover her own as she pressed her lips to his shoulder blade.

“My mother wrote that she expects to be here in two moons,” she murmured against his warm skin, “I should begin preparations for them on the morrow.”

Cregan hummed, eyes scanning over the horizon for a moment before he comprehended her words, “Them. How many attendants does she plan to bring with her?”

He felt his wife tense behind him, “About that…”

Two moons later Cregan found himself standing tall in his own courtyard, jaw set as a procession of horses and wheelhouses began to file through the front gate of his ancestral home. He’d been a touch angry with his wife when she had finally revealed to him that it was not only her mother coming, but rather the entire royal family; the queen, her king consort, and all of their children; the dowager queen, the remaining four of her children, as well as Prince Aegon and Princess Helaena’s three children. Winterfell was about to be overrun with heads of silver hair, something Cregan had hoped would only happen as a result of his wife’s genes overcoming his own among their children.

At his side, his wife nervously chewed her bottom lip–a nasty habit he’d grown to detest after she’d drawn blood one night. He knew exactly how her family could be from their short stay during their wedding festivities, and the way that her mother and two older brothers alone were able to affect her, let alone the entire living Targaryen dynasty.

On her other side stood young Rickon, gripping her hand tightly as he struggled to compose himself. The boy was only six years old, but he already seemed to understand the importance of his role as the heir to Winterfell. He’d taken to his stepmother rather quickly, having been an infant when the fever took his own mother. He’d been in need of a maternal figure in his life, and her presence in Winterfell had done nothing but draw father and son closer together with every family supper and breakfast she had insisted on over the years. Seeing her welcome his son into her heart so openly only further pressed Cregan’s instincts to bring their own children into the world, wishing for nothing more than to give his boy dozens of siblings for him to play with.

The procession finally came to a halt just as two large, intricately carved wheelhouses entered the gates, flanked by the king consort and all of the elder princes on their horses. Lady Stark’s nerves only heightened at the sight of the silver-haired men, particularly her elder brothers who almost immediately turned their gaze her way. The queen soon climbed out of her wheelhouse, followed by her own litter of children, Aegon, Viserys, and Visenya. The second wheelhouse opened, producing Dowager Queen Alicent and Princess Helaena and her own children Jahaera, Jahaerys, and Maegor.

The queen came before them, regal as ever in her red cloak lined with black fur. She watched stoically as the three bowed before her.

“The North is yours, Your Grace,” Cregan spoke loud and true, “my family and I are honoured to host you and your family in Winterfell.”

“Many thanks, Lord Stark. I commend you on leading the North through yet another winter,” a smirk tugged at her lips as her eyes turned to his wife, who lowered into another curtsy under her stare, “I hear that Lady Stark has taken to her role quite well. I believe motherhood suits you, sister.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Lady Stark nodded in thanks.

The next line of Targaryens filtered through the short lineup of Starks, first Daemon, who scarcely offered any of them a second glance (aside from his niece, who he stared at for a moment too long in Cregan’s opinion). Prince Jacaerys greeted Cregan like an old friend, clapping him on the shoulder heartily while he offered his aunt a polite hug, his younger brothers following, though with less familiarity.

Then came her mother, who hardly offered Lord Stark a moment of her time before she began fawning over her daughter, hugging her tightly before pulling away and pawing at her swollen belly through her layers of fur. A tear escaped the red-haired woman’s eye as she pressed a sweet kiss to Lady Stark’s cheek, then offered a greeting to sweet Rickon, who had shuffled closer to his stepmother in his nervousness. Aegon skipped over Lord Stark altogether, though he certainly was not complaining as he could smell the stench of wine radiating from the eldest prince even before noon, throwing himself onto his sister. She’d stumbled in her attempt to catch him, sending her husband a warning glance as he moved to rip him away from her. Aemond, at least, was more courteous, offering Cregan a polite greeting and kissing his sister gently on the forehead. Helaena was soon to follow, her greeting to Cregan leaving him with a puzzled look as she moved on to place her palm to her sister’s cheek.

“I am so happy to see you, sister,” Lady Stark’s eyes welled with tears. Cregan had been aware of how disappointed his wife had been when her sister had not been able to travel with her for their wedding, but she had not blamed her for choosing to stay behind while she was in her sixth moon of pregnancy, not to mention the poor state of her mind.

Daeron was the most reserved of his good-siblings, showing both Lord and Lady Stark his respect, though he had no personal relation with either. He’d spent most of his childhood in Oldtown under the care of his grandsire’s brother, the Lord of Oldtown, and his own uncle Gwayne. He’d been rather hesitant to even return to King’s Landing after being away for so long; his own mother was a mere stranger, and his siblings had gone on to marry and produce their own children without even a second thought of their youngest brother.

Winterfell’s hall was overflowing with Targaryens and those who served them. Cregan could hardly recognize any of the faces at the tables nearest to his own, his men being pushed farther back into the hall to accommodate the royal family. He, himself, had even been pushed one seat to the right to offer the queen the highest seat in the hall. He was not pleased to be doing this, far too used to southerners coming to the North with such entitlement, but he would take the treatment silently for the sake of his dear wife, who had been so excited for the arrival of her family and had been overtaken by anxiety of ensuring the visit went well.

She sat next to him, dressed in a fine silk gown (new, a design brought by her mother), a deep emerald with golden stitching across the bodice and around the cuffs. Cregan hissed through his teeth when his wife entered the hall, a happy grin on her lips as she cradled her round belly over the dress of her mother’s house rather than her own, though he was eager to greet her and accept her gleeful kiss on the cheek, and he was glad enough to see that her hair had been braided among the stems of various flowers, all of which being indigenous only to the North. Her mother could try with all of her might to try and hold tight to her daughter’s familial tether to the South, but Cregan knew his wife had transformed into a woman of the North–she was no longer simply a Targaryen princess, a dragonrider, she was also his wife, Lady of Winterfell, and mother of his children.

It never escaped Cregan’s watchful stare everytime the Dowager Queen gripped her daughter’s arm when her attention was not focused solely on her, or how she forced a smile each time he joined their conversation at all. If the woman had not been his wife’s mother, he would have gladly warded her away from his wife’s personal space. He understood well enough that his wife was bound to miss her family, especially her mother and sister, but he was afraid to see her begin to slip back into her shell, which had taken him a considerable amount of effort and care to bring her out from in the first place.

He was quickly tiring from the responsibility of hosting an entire flock of Targaryen princes, all of whom considered themselves above the northerners and their laws, customs, and expectations. They most often gathered in the training yards, each more eager to prove themselves over the northerners and each other than the last, except for Aegon, of course, who would rather spend the mornings in his chambers before he would disappear into Wintertown, most likely gone to spend the rest of the afternoon in the only brothel within twenty miles of Winterfell.

Throughout the two weeks to follow, they had barely found a moment to themselves that was not in the early hours of the morn or when the castle is alight with only the light emitted from torches and the moon itself, where Lady Stark was usually so worn out that she had barely enough energy to cuddle into her husband’s side and share a handful of words before her snoring would reach his ears. He made an effort to seek her out when he was granted a brief moment away from his duties, but there was hardly a moment when she could be found without at least one member of her kin at her side; in the nursery with her mother and sister, discussing her duties with the queen, reading with Aemond in the library, or comforting Aegon amidst another bout of alcohol-induced sickness.

The one moment he did find her alone in her personal study, not wasting a single moment before he was hoisting her into his arms and kissing her breathless. He’d been pleased to find that she had no fight in her, easily melting into his embrace and winding her arms around his neck, smiling into the kiss as small mewls of pleasure vibrated against his mouth. He’d almost forgotten that the door to the study had been left ajar, making his good-mother’s entrance even more silent, though he likely wouldn’t have noticed even if she had knocked, fully taken with his wife’s affection.

“Ehem.”

“Mother,” Lady Stark pushed away from her husband, face still with shock and, quite evidently, embarrassment, “I, we did not hear you come in.”

“Yes, as I could see.”

“My apologies, Your Grace,” Cregan nodded to the woman, though his tone was laced with his annoyance, “I’m afraid you’ve been subjected to a moment of weakness.”

“Nonsense,” Alicent’s lips tightened into a strained smile, a touch of tenderness on her face, “it comforts me to know that my daughter is cherished and loved, even so far away. We are not all so lucky to find love in these circumstances.”

His wife rounded the desk, meeting her mother with a tight embrace. For a moment, he felt a pang of sympathy for the red haired woman–it was true, most marriages of such caliber did not afford the couple any form of affection, and he was more than aware of the fortune that had fallen into his lap that day that Prince Jacaerys landed at his gate. The moment came to a crashing end all-too-soon as his good-mother once again dragged his wife away from him, not to be seen again until she was deep asleep in their shared bed.

He’d arranged for a hunt during the visit of the royal family, where he was forced to play the peacekeeper between the queen’s sons and their uncles, all while keeping his eyes peeled for the prize he’d been hoping for; his wife had mentioned more than once that she wanted to find the perfect blanket to gift to their first child, one that can be used again and again with each babe they brought into the world, so it seemed only fitting to him that he be the one to bring her the pelt.

It would be weeks before the warmth in his chest subsided after witnessing her grin and laughter as he presented it to her, two rabbits of a similar white and brown pattern, drawing her away from the large elk that had been brought in for their supper that night. It was a brief moment of privacy amongst the crowd, where she curled her fingers beneath the neckline of his leather doublet and dragged him down to her height, pushing a soft kiss to his wind-bitten cheek, though he was thankful for every moment of it. Her mother stepped in a moment later, grasping her daughter’s hand and willing her to join her in the nursery, where she could continue to preach her wisdom and advice for the soon-to-be mother, though Cregan hoped his wife was smart enough to take it with a grain of salt.

He’d spent the rest of the day both tending to his duties, which have seemingly doubled since the arrival of his wife’s kin, and also offering a hand in preparing the elk when he had a chance; his cooks could do wonders with elk meat, but the kitchen maids often made a fuss when such large animals were brought to whole or at least without being skinned first. He had barely even spared a moment to clean himself and change clothes before supper.

When he arrived in the dining hall, a smaller yet more formal area where he hoped he, his wife, and their many children would all dine together whenever they could. He was, however, miffed to discover the dining hall filled with princes and princesses and queens alike, only two seats left empty–his own, and his wife’s.

His immediate thought was that perhaps she was still readying herself, perhaps she had gotten carried away in the nursery with her mother, and she would be there soon enough. Then, his eyes fell upon the red-haired woman a few seats from his own.

He cleared his throat, drawing silence across his hall, “My apologies, I expect Lady Stark in only a moment.”

Alicent furrowed her brow, directing her words to the rest of the royal family rather than to Lord Stark, “I’m afraid she will not be joining us tonight.”

Cregan raised his own brow, “Why not?”

Alicent’s gaze flickered to his own, “She was unwell this evening–a pain many women know while carrying their children, all she needs is rest.”

“And why was I not made aware of this at once?” Lord Stark felt his blood beginning to boil.

She looked somewhat taken aback, “These pains are normal, they are expected for how far along she is. My daughter–”

Cregan’s heavy palm landed flat on the wooden tabletop, “My wife is my main concern. Any news concerning her or my children should and will be brought to me at once.”

Alicent pursed her lips, appearing to have a few words of choice for her daughter’s husband, though he turned his attention to the queen opposite him on the other end of the long table and looked equally as surprised and amused at the altercation as she sipped her wine.

“Excuse me, Your Grace,” he pushed himself up to his full height, “forgive my absence this evening, but if my wife is unwell I would prefer to be at her side.”

Rhaenyra smirked at him, nodding her head at him, “But of course, Lord Stark. I am honoured that you take such care of my sister. After all, family is everything, is it not?”

He ignored the way that her words seemed to have been aimed at the red-haired woman, who had slouched back into her own seat as a soft pink tinged at the apples of her cheeks, instead nodding at the queen and fleeing the room at once, his hurried and heavy footfalls carrying him through the castle and up to his wife’s personal chambers. He was disgruntled to find that they were empty, save for a servant girl who had been tending to the hearth and directed him to his own chambers.

The hinges creaked as he pushed his way inside, finding two handmaidens hovering worriedly over his wife as she hunched over on her hands and knees atop the plush bear-skin rug, back arched upwards like he’d only seen done by a cat. The two servants froze at the sight of the broad figure crossing the threshold.

“Lord Stark,” one of them rushed to him, “Lady Stark, she is alright, but–”

“Alright?” He scoffed, “She is on the floor in pain, she does not look alright.”

“Cregan,” Lady Stark glared up at him, voice strained with discomfort, “do not speak to my ladies like that.”

He let out a deep sigh, offering the servant a quiet but genuine apology, “Now please, just tell me what is wrong with her, and what I can do to help. Should I call a maester?”

The servant fought a soft smile, touched at the lord’s concern for his wife and child, “Lady Stark is experiencing little more than body aches. Normal for women carrying a child, especially their first. I’m afraid all the maester could do is offer milk of the poppy for discomfort, which could potentially do more harm to the child than good to the mother,” Cregan swallowed at the thought, “We’ve allowed the princess to soak in warm water, and the stretching helps while we prepare a hot pack over the fire.”

His gaze flickered to the small grate across the embers of the fireplace, holding three large black stones over them. He nodded, turning back to his wife, who had turned her face back into the rug while the other servant girl carefully massaged gentle circles into her lower back.

“What can I do?”

“The hot pack should help with the aches, but I’m afraid the best thing may be to keep Lady Stark as comfortable as possible, anything to keep her mind away from the pains.”

He nodded, “Leave us, I should care for my wife on my own.”

The door closed behind the two women as they hesitantly left their mistress’s side, loyal to the very end. Cregan wasted little time in removing his leather doublet and abandoning it on the plush bed, leaving him in only his breeches and thin linen shirt. He crossed the room, kneeling beside his wife and carefully laying his palm flat to her lower back, a small smirk appearing on his lips as she sighed from the relief brought by his large, warm hand.

“If you were not so obviously in pain, I would guess that you were enjoying this, my love,” he chuckled as his hand copied the same circular pattern that the servant girl had applied.

“Shut up,” she turned her head to the side so she could glance up at him, “this is your fault.”

“My fault?” He scoffed, “As I recall, your current condition is the result of your uncontrollable desires.”

She pushed herself up onto her hands, “My what? It was you who was gone to the Wall for more than a moon!”

“And it was you who kept me from my duties until midday on the day after I returned.”

She pursed her lips, “Alright, next time I will allow you to go about your duties without a word. Then we will see which one of us is so insatiable.”

“Be that the case, I’m afraid you may be with child for the next decade or more, my love.”

“Just get the hot pack,” Lady Stark rolled her eyes, lowering her head back down to the plush rug, muttering to herself with a small grin, “a decade or more…”

He obliged, wrapping the stones in a thick woolen cloth before pressing them against the small of her back, a dusting of pink coating his cheeks at the sound she released, back curving inwards as relief overtook her body.

They remained there for a long while, one of his hands holding the hot pack while the other smoothed over her silver hair, braided and still damp from her bath. The stones began to cool against his palm until they were no warmer than her own body heat, finally being tossed to the side.

“How do you feel?” He asked her, hands cradling her head and hip as he helped her roll onto her side.

“Better. Still plagued with discomfort, but better nonetheless,” She smiled softly at him, “I only wish someone may have warned me of the unpleasantness of pregnancy before I agreed to it.”

He barked out a laugh, remembering the many times she had pointed out the many ways pregnancy could ruin any romance in their marriage before it even began, hence their decision to wait before finally trying to conceive.

“If only, eh?” He smoothed the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

A twinkle appeared in her eye, “Well Maryssa did say that you should be doing anything to keep me comfortable…”

Lord Stark raised his brow at her words, “And what was it you only just said about me being insatiable? How have you gone from crippling pain to reaching for my breeches in such a hurry?”

She gasped, faux offense in her eyes, “I am not reaching for you breeches! What do you take me for?”

He quickly manoeuvred her onto her back, leaning down to press a slow yet meaningful kiss to her lips, “My very pregnant, very beautiful, and very impatient wife.”

She whined against his mouth, “I think impatience is quite appropriate given the circumstances. Your child has brought me the greatest joy and greatest pain of my life, and yet I constantly yearn for you, my love.”

“Constant?” He laughed.

“The maester warned me of it,” she kissed him again, “all a part of my hysteria, he called it.”

He hummed, “Which brings me to wonder why I was not made aware of this. I could have…relieved you of this suffering.”

She snorted a laugh, a sound he knew he could never grow tired of, “Cregan, if you do not take my clothes off now I would like to go to bed.”

“And what was it I said about your impatience?”

She pushed at his shoulder playfully, gasping as he grasped her wrist in his large hand and pulled her to sit up, moving to lift her and carry her to the bed when she pushed at his shoulder, shaking her head with a sly grin.

“Here,” she insisted, “it is so warm, and this fur is so soft.”

He shook his head at her, rolling his eyes. Only his wife would be demanding enough as to where he had his way with her and choose anywhere except their marital bed. Only he would be so foolishly in love as to oblige her every whim and allow her to make such demands.

Growing impatient, she began tugging at her own shift, struggling to lift her hips just enough to slide it over her hips and off completely, leaving her bare before her husband while the firelight flickered off of her soft, freshly oiled skin. His eyes fell from her own to her breasts, which had seemingly doubled in size through her pregnancy, then to her rounded belly; only a few moons would pass before she brought their first child into the world, and he could not be any more in love with her. He knew how excited she’d been over the last few weeks as her body developed with their growing child, spending much of her time with little Rickon, who was just as excited to become an older brother as she was to become a mother.

“I am not simply here for decoration,” she growled, reaching up to begin tearing the linen shirt from her husband’s body, ignoring his laughter as she struggling to pull the fabric over his wide shoulders and causing his head to get stuck for a moment, “As I said, fuck me or let me sleep.”

His booming laugh echoed through the chamber, scarcely hearing his wife, a Targaryen princess and Lady of Winterfell, use such coarse language. It was the northerner growing within her, he decided as he obliged, kissing her with every ounce of desire he’d been forced to swallow throughout the duration of her family’s stay, pressing her back to lay flat against the dark brown fur.

Cregan made quick work of kissing down her body, taking a few moments to kiss and suckle and squeeze at her swollen breasts, encouraged by her response to his touch on her sensitive skin as he continued further down. He pressed several playful kisses over her belly, whispering to their child to go to sleep so he could take care of his wife guilt-free. She giggled at this, causing a flood of heat to spread across his chest as he finally crested over the underside of her belly, coming face-to-face with the silver curls safeguarding her womanhood.

Her legs fell apart easily, and he found no resistance as he eagerly began to feast upon her most intimate place. Her fingers curled into the fur beneath her as her whines and whimpers filled the room, unable to reach for his long dark hair with her belly in the way. He was pleasantly surprised to discover how much of her arousal had pooled between her thighs, two of his thick fingers easily slipping into her heat with practiced precision while his tongue massaged her sensitive pearl.

Her body seemed more responsive than ever, thighs quivering against his shoulders as her peak crashed over her once, and then moments later, once more.

He pulled away, noting how her hips had begun to pull away from him, her womanhood more sensitive than ever. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, watching through lustful eyes as his wife grabbed hold of his other wrist, taking the fingers that had brought her to bliss twice only moments before between her lips and sucking them clean. She stared up at him through her lashes, leaning up on her elbow to reach down and paw at the tent that had formed in his breeches, tugging at the laces until they fell open and allowed her to reach inside.

He let out a low growl at the sensation of her hand taking hold of his member, head falling back in relief. Cregan was quick to pull her hand away, shedding his trousers and boots as efficiently as possible so he could lay her flat on her back once more and finally press himself inside of her.

They both let out long, breathy sounds at the stretch; no matter how many times they would lay together, she never quit got used to the intrusion of his thick cock inside of her, He remained still for a moment, regaining his wits as he willed himself not to finish far too early, though he could not guarantee that he would be able to fight his peak for very long after weeks without his wife’s intimate touch.

“Cregan, please,” she whimpered, nails scratching down his arm as she planted his fist next to her head, bracing himself as he began to work slow, deep thrusts into her warmth, his own grunts and gasps of pleasure falling from his lips while her lips fell open to allow wails of her enjoyment fall from them with every punch of his tip against her most sensitive place deep within her.

“My love,” he panted, “For-forgive me…I do not think–”

“Give yourself to me, my love,” she whined, “I need to feel you.”

He nodded, eyes tightening shut as he quickened his pace, chasing his release with grunts and growls and groans until his hips began to stutter, his release pumping deep inside of her until he was shaking. His release triggered her own, pleasure crashing over her for the third time that evening, soaking his length in both of their releases as she clung to his broad frame for dear life.

She whined when he pulled out of her, sensitive from her three climaxes. He took a moment to stare down at her, stormy gaze trailing from her cunt, where their mix juices had begun seeping from her warmth, to her belly, where their child grew. His eyes then moved to her breasts, which heaved with every deep breath the escaped her parted lips, and finally to her face, which shone with a layer of perspiration as she pulled him down to lay next to her on the fur, turning to press her back against his chest and settling into his embrace as he trailed sweet kisses over her cheek, jaw, and neck.

“Thank you,” she whispered, sleep threatening to overtake her at any moment.

“Thank you,” Cregan responded. “I love you.”

“I love you too, husband.”

Silence overtook the room for a moment, only the sound of their slowing breaths and the crackling fire in the hearth could be heard before he finally shared his final thoughts of the night.

“I cannot bear to not have you all to myself for even a moment ever again,” he mumbled into her flesh, “we are never hosting your family again.”

A small chuckle vibrated through her chest.

“I could not agree more.”

#x reader #reader insert #imagines #cregan stark x y/n #cregan stark x you #cregan stark x reader #cregan stark #cregan x reader #cregan smut #smut #house of the dragon fanfiction #hotd imagine

1K notes · View notes

ange11icyuri · 13 days ago

Text

HOLIDAY PICK A PILE 🎄🎁👼🏻

(What is going to happen around the holidays for you??)

Pile One. ❤️

Around the holidays, you might find yourself feeling a bit impatient about something you’re looking forward to. Is there a gift, a moment, or perhaps someone you’re waiting for? This sense of anticipation could bring some doubt, as if you’re uncertain whether what you’re hoping for will truly happen. I sense that during this time, your strength may be tested. You might experience a mix of emotions, including resentment or confusion, as you navigate a situation that feels complex and unresolved.

This holiday season, it’s important to find balance in your life, especially as you prepare for the new year. Don’t settle for anything that doesn’t bring you happiness or peace. Reflect on how you can create harmony in your relationships—both romantic and platonic—and work on aligning your life with what truly matters to you. It might not be an easy process, but it will be worth it.

You may also feel a strong sense of desire, but trust your intuition during this time. Be cautious of anyone who might stir up feelings or make promises they can’t keep. Stay grounded and listen to yourself first and foremost. As the holidays approach, I see you reflecting on your goals—what you’ve accomplished and what’s still left to achieve. You’ll likely use this time to plan and set intentions for the new year. This reflection will help you focus on what’s truly necessary and meaningful.

Remember, you have the freedom to choose your path and the power to shift your perspective. Don’t limit yourself to one option or outcome. Make the decisions that feel right for you, and establish boundaries where needed. This will be a time of growth and self-discovery.

The number 10 stands out—a symbol of completion. By the end of the year, you’ll feel a greater sense of wholeness, with a renewed sense of security as the new year begins. Although delays might test your patience, they are often necessary to prepare you for better things ahead. In the new year, I see clarity, fairness, and balance entering your life. You’re close to achieving your goals, and everything will fall into place in time. Stay focused, trust yourself, and know that success is within reach.

Pile Two.❄️

Around the holidays, I see you striving to stay grounded and realistic. You may also find yourself surrounded by people who embody steadiness and reliability—someone you can count on. If this resonates with your energy, it’s a reminder from spirit to continue addressing challenges in a practical, mature way. You have the wisdom to resolve issues thoughtfully, and this approach will serve you well not only during the holidays but also as you move into the new year.

However, I sense that you may be holding back a lot of emotions, perhaps feeling overwhelmed or unable to express yourself as fully as you’d like. The holidays often bring a flurry of tasks and responsibilities, and it’s easy to feel stretched thin. For some, this time may even bring feelings of emptiness, as though you’re going through the motions without truly feeling joy. The stress and constant activity could be taking a toll on your mental health, leaving you exhausted and stuck in a routine that feels draining.

There may also be a sense of betrayal or dishonesty around you. Someone in your life might not have the best intentions, and their actions could be manipulative or deceitful. Whether this has already happened or is yet to come, it’s essential to trust your intuition and be cautious about who you place your trust in. Not everyone around you has good morals or honest intentions, and it’s important to protect your energy.

The holidays might bring a shift—a time of deep reflection and ambition. You could feel pressure to accomplish goals that have been on your mind, but the overwhelming pace of life might leave you worried and uncertain. If this resonates, take it as a sign to slow down and approach things with care. Balance is key, and prioritizing your well-being is just as important as achieving your ambitions.

There’s also an energy of envy here—whether it’s you comparing yourself to others or someone else feeling jealous of you. If you find yourself envying others’ happiness during the holidays, remember that everyone faces their own challenges, even if they aren’t visible. Conversely, if someone else seems envious of you, it could be because they don’t see the struggles you’re carrying internally. You might be skilled at hiding your emotions, but bottling them up can lead to repression and frustration.

Delays or setbacks may be contributing to your feelings of doubt and anxiety. You might feel like your life is stuck in a state of chaos, or you could be navigating an unsettling change or conflict. This could leave you feeling closed off, disheartened, or unwilling to take risks. If this resonates, it’s crucial not to let these challenges close you off from others or from new possibilities. Staying open, even during difficult times, will help you find your way forward.

Though your strength may be tested this holiday season, know that you are capable of overcoming anything. Reframe your perspective, seek healthy coping mechanisms, and focus on maintaining a positive mindset. Manifest your goals and desires for the new year, and trust that good things are on the horizon. Even if things feel overwhelming now, you have the resilience to face your challenges head-on. In the end, your strength and perseverance will bring rewards and brighter days.

Pille Three ☃️

You might be finding yourself isolating more lately, especially around the holidays. Socializing or being in big crowds may feel overwhelming or uncomfortable for you, and that’s okay. It’s important to honor your feelings and take the space you need. However, I see a determination within you—perhaps you’re considering stepping out of your comfort zone a bit as the new year approaches. You’re trying to embrace independence, or you may have already reached a strong level of it, which is a wonderful foundation for growth.

There’s a promising new beginning ahead. This could signify the start of a romantic relationship, the deepening of an existing connection, or even a new friendship. Whatever it is, it feels like something that will inspire self-love and reflection, helping you care for yourself in a way you might not have before. Around this time, you may start to feel a sense of peace and balance, finally experiencing the serenity you’ve been craving.

This positive shift may be supported by the presence of someone special—a person whose energy aligns with yours and encourages you to move forward into a brighter chapter. However, don’t let comfort make you complacent. Even when things are going well, it’s important to stay motivated and keep putting in the effort. Remember, success and joy are maintained by consistent energy and dedication.

That said, there’s also a message here about letting go of something—or someone—that no longer serves you. You might be holding onto a connection or situation out of fear or habit, but it’s only weighing you down. Spirit urges you to release what isn’t meant for you to make room for the blessings ahead. Be mindful of manipulative or unreliable people in your life. No matter how good things might seem on the surface, trust your intuition and protect your energy. You deserve authentic, supportive connections.

Change can be intimidating, but embracing it will lead you to fulfillment and happiness. Even if the journey feels challenging, know that every step forward is bringing you closer to a better version of your life. Trust in yourself, focus on what truly matters, and don’t let intrusive or negative thoughts hold you back. Once you overcome these obstacles, you’ll step into a place of optimism, achievement, and inner peace.

Your journey is one of resilience, and as you push through the difficulties, you’ll find that everything you’ve worked toward will finally come together. Keep going—beautiful things are waiting for you.

Pile Four 🎁

I see someone here who is deeply thankful—not just because it’s the holiday season, but because gratitude is a part of who you are. You appreciate every blessing that comes your way. You’re also someone who embodies forgiveness. Perhaps you’ve recently forgiven someone and are ready to start fresh, clearing the air as you move into the new year. This decision might mark a new beginning, whether it’s with yourself or others. You may also be striving to grow as a person, embracing positive changes to build a better future.

However, caution is needed. I sense some envy and irresponsibility lingering in your energy. While forgiveness is powerful, it’s essential to ensure those you forgive are genuinely taking responsibility for their actions. Be mindful not to trust too easily, as some may mask their true intentions behind lies. Trust yourself above all else.

This holiday season, I see a partnership forming—whether for work, a project, or simply sharing experiences with someone. There’s talent involved here, possibly related to something creative or entertaining. It will bring joy and freedom, with no limits holding you back. Remember to stay fair, open-minded, and consider all perspectives. Also, try to manage your spending wisely during this time, as there’s a warning about the potential for overspending and falling into debt.

There may be lingering anxiety, perhaps tied to past conflicts or fears of failure with someone. Despite these worries, know that you’ve earned every bit of your success. Recognition is coming your way—possibly even publicly. People will finally know your name, and you’ll feel the triumph and victory you’ve longed for. Progress is on the horizon, and with it, a newfound confidence.

You’re preparing for something bigger—an exciting opportunity that’s just within reach. Honesty and openness will play a role, and your efforts will lead to stability and success. Still, you might experience moments of doubt or feel like you’re revisiting old challenges, leading to a sense of loss or disappointment. This could make you question your path, but these feelings will pass. You’ll find forgiveness once again, and through distractions, you’ll begin to heal.

As you move into the new year, I see a shift. If you’ve felt trapped or restricted in the past, that energy is fading. Healing will take place, and your situation will improve. In the end, everything you’ve been striving for will come together. You’ll reach a place of completion, where you feel whole, content, and deeply grateful for all that you’ve achieved.

You’ve come such a long way, and your hard work is paying off. The new year holds so much promise—success, happiness, and fulfillment. Trust in your journey, and enjoy the rewards you’ve earned.

#tarot reading #general tarot reading #tarot community #love tarot reading #spiritual reading #tarot #money tarot reading #love reading #pick a pile #spirituality #pick a pile reading #pick a card #pick a pile tarot #pick a pile tarot reading #pac #detailed

147 notes · View notes

thesunshinebunny · 3 months ago

Note

hello there! i hope you’re having a good day! ^^ if requests are still open, i would like to make a request! i read where jade, floyd and leona stay with the mc during the holidays; could i perhaps request the same thing but with riddle, ace and malleus? thanks in advance <3

We're getting sensitive for a moment. I hope you like it. As always, drink water, relax from time to time and enjoy.

Riddle

You might be wondering how Riddle managed to convince his mother to spend the winter break at school. Well, it wasn't a complete lie what he told her, rather it had a lot of truth in it.

He wanted to stay to prepare for the next semester with students from his own dorm who were going to stay… ignoring a tiny detail. He also wanted to stay with you.

Even during the winter break, Riddle keeps his routine meticulously organized, even with the school half deserted, and those few students who stayed to welcome the new year.

And speaking of the dorm, his is impeccably organized, Riddle doesn't take vacations to rest apparently.

Despite the low activity at school, our Queen of Hearts continues with his rigorous schedule. Tea time, sleep time, you name it.

The cold, the blizzards and the snow give you both the perfect excuse to stay within the warm walls of the library or, on some special occasions, his room, surrounded by books and essays for the next semester.

Riddle likes to make you multiple cups of tea during the day, keeping you from getting cold. If he see a tiny little shiver, he’s already in the kitchen boiling water.

During the freezing nights, Riddle prefers you to stay with him, either in his room or, if you require your own privacy, he has no problem setting up a room next to his for you.

He likes to spend time in front of the fireplace reading novels, listening to soft classical music, or simply watching the snow fall while holding your hand.

Something about the atmosphere makes him appreciate the warmth that his relatively new relationship with you brings him.

While the other students are reveling in the festivities, Riddle finds himself torn between his desire to uphold the rigid rules and his growing desires to hold you and never let go.

As the clock approaches midnight, Riddle would have meticulously planned a New Year’s Eve celebration within the dorm. The decorations would be elegant, yet restrained—nothing too extravagant or chaotic. He'd ensure that everyone adheres to his carefully crafted schedule for the evening.

However, seeing how much joy and excitement you and others are having, he'd start to loosen up a bit.

As the New Year rings in, he might even indulge in a little break from tradition, and pulled you towards him, hugging you with one arm and giving you a small kiss on the cheek.

“Happy New Year my heart”

Ace

A vacation to be away from his parents and brother? He's counting on it. And being by your side? Where does he have to sign?

He makes winter a vibrant season, despite the quietness of the campus. His inexhaustible energy and natural enthusiasm don't get dampened by the cold.

He likes spending time putting snow in the lockers of the students who stayed behind, even starting snow fights with them to lift their spirits.

He knows it's very cold, but that doesn't mean you've to have a sad face all the time.

He also likes to organize movie nights with you, from the most classic to the most current horror movies, preventing you from sleeping peacefully because of fear… including himself, even if he doesn't say it out loud.

During all the winter break, you can find him either in his room, playing video games or on his cell phone, or in the common room, drinking hot chocolate next to the roaring fireplace. He likes to keep a space next to him warm and comfortable for when you get to spend time with him.

He often insisted that you stay in his dorm, preferably his room, so that you wouldn’t be cold in yours. Unfortunately, some of his roommates stayed and he can’t have the room to himself, or rather, to just the two of you.

If you’re willing to stay sleeping on the couch or sharing the room with someone else, great.

Ace would be the life of the New Year’s celebration, full of energy. He’d be the one rallying everyone for impromptu games, pranks, and a raucous countdown to midnight.

He might organize a surprise “New Year’s Eve scavenger hunt” around the campus, with playful and quirky tasks that reflect the festive spirit. Of course, Ace would enlist your help in planning the event, ensuring they’re right in the middle of the action.

As midnight approaches, Ace would lead a noisy countdown, complete with confetti and noisemakers. Despite his usual bravado, he’d have a sincere moment where he holds your hand and kiss you oh so sweet.

“Happy New Year my darling”

Malleus

Malleus finds the quiet and pseudo solitude of campus as a perfect time to enjoy the beauty that winter and its snow bring to the land.

It didn't take much convincing for Lilia to let him spend time alone in his dorm, even Mama Bear likes the quiet of winter in his own room, without distractions. What it did take a lot of effort to convince Lilia not to stay, even more so Sebek.

Let's just say that the last few days of the school's course weren't the most peaceful for you. Sebek wanted to get under your skin, telling you straight up what his lord Malleus needed, when he needed it, and how it should be done.

A piece of advice… say yes to everything he says and then do whatever you want. Ignore him, for your sanity.

He insisted that you stay in his room, not accepting no for an answer. You stay with him at night, in the same bed, and during the day you do and go wherever you want; But a requirement to spend the holidays with him is to stay in his room at night.

His bedroom during the arrival of the New Year was filled with an atmosphere that reflected soft glows and an almost mystical calm.

The passing of the days consisted of long walks through the snowy grounds of the school, watching as the flakes gathered at every thousandth of an inch. His own presence almost merged with nature itself, ethereal and beautiful.

Malleus likes to create intricate patterns with his magic on the snowy paths, sometimes roses, sometimes small dancing sparkles above you. Patterns that always managed to take your breath away with how beautiful they were.

The nights are usually quiet in his bedroom, either reading or Malleus telling legends and rites of his homeland.

In general, winter days with him are full of serene and fascinating moments, where the cold seems to fade away before the warmth of his company and the enchantment of his presence.

He'd have arranged for a special New Year's Eve gathering in a beautifully decorated, magically enhanced space where you both could enjoy a tranquil and enchanting evening.

During the countdown, Malleus shares stories of past New Year's celebrations in his fae realms, captivating you with such wonders.

As the clock strikes midnight, he might create a stunning display of magical fireworks that light up the night sky. His gesture would be both grand and intimate, marking the start of the New Year with a touch of magic and love.

“It is an honor to start the new year with you, my rose.”

#twisted wonderland #twst #malleus draconia #riddle rosehearts #ace trapola #riddle x reader #malleus x reader #ace x reader

123 notes · View notes

softxsuki · 1 year ago

Note

Happy new year!! I hope your holiday season was amazing!!

If it’s no harm (you can ignore this if need!) could I request sanji, law or ace surprising the reader for their birthday? Thou has aged today and was wondering if that was okay:]

(Also I really love your work it’s very edible)

Sanji, Law, and Ace Surprise Reader For Their Birthday

Warnings: none :)

Note: Happy New Year! I had a pretty great holiday, and so far I'm on track with everything I need to do. I hope you had a great holiday season! But I hope you had a great birthday (it's probably already past January 2 where you are, but Happy Birthday anyway!) It's not much, but I hope you enjoy it <3

Sanji:

It’s a given that Sanji is always affectionate and attentive towards you

But now that it’s your birthday, that affection multiplies

He spends all day in the kitchen cooking up your favorite foods and sweet treats, making sure Luffy doesn’t sneak any bites of food

It’s your special day, so you get first choice on everything

His surprise for you aside from his huge feast, is breakfast in bed

You’re truly treated like royalty from the moment you wake up, and that won’t end until the day is over

Works his butt off to ensure you have a great birthday

After cleaning up later at night, he’d spend some quality time with you, showering you in all the gifts he bought for you from some of the islands the crew stopped at on their journey

Law:

Omg this man is so shy

He wanted to so something special after learning it was your birthday, but he chooses to act like he doesn’t know it’s your birthday, so he can plan everything out and have it be a huge surprise later on

Law insists on doing everything himself, as he claims it would make it more special, so the rest of the crew is tasked with keeping you occupied so you don’t ruin your surprise

When the time comes for them to lead you to the designated area Law was using, he’s just standing there with a red face

He’s not used to this, he’s a tough looking guy on the outside, but he has a huge heart (so fitting for mr doctor over here lol)

But it’s all worth it to see the look of surprise on your face when you see everything he planned–he’s relieved

Ace:

Ace’s surprise for you is a bit different form the guys above

He doesn't cook food for you or decorate a space for a celebration for you and the crew

But he decides he wants to make something for you, a hand threaded bracelet; one for you and one for him to match

Yet he struggles with his large thick fingers, and it ends up taking him a majority of the day to finish, but he’s happy with it

On the day of your birthday as the Whitebeard pirate wish you a happy birthday, eating the food that was prepared as everyone sings in celebration having a good time, Ace pulls you aside

He’s a little embarrassed that it isn’t much, but I just feel like handmade gifts mean so much more than buying something for someone because you know he took the time and effort to do that for you

Probably even tries and sneak you away from the rowdy bunch on deck so he can spend some quality time with you alone

Posted: 1/2/2024

349 notes · View notes

justgivemethephd · 10 days ago

Text

13.12.2024

I am genuinely so impressed that I managed to make it through this week. I started Monday with such low mood and such low energy that all the tasks I had to get through seemed utterly insurmountable... and yet here I am, with an incredibly productive week behind me.

First of all, I am happy to say that my protein extraction experiment has been incredibly successful. 4 out of 6 proteins worked, and one of them even worked so well that this test culture will give me enough for me to use in the future without the need to do a full-size culture. What's more, is that I think the 2 that didn't work are due to a folding problem, leading them to be degraded before they're even properly expressed. I will discuss this with my supervisor, but this would mean that the issue was definitely not technical, which is super validating for me. It just feels so good to be getting those results, and I'm so excited that I'm still sat in the lab, concentrating the proteins while my work Christmas party is in full swing downstairs. I feel so happy and at peace. I'm looking forward to going home and relaxing this weekend. On another exciting note, I have almost finished the first full draft of my upgrade report! Since I still have to wait for a few pieces of data before I can fully type it up, I've started editing the parts that I've already got. Surprisingly, I'm quite happy with a lot of the stuff that I've written, and it's nice to see that I'm making some progress.

Next week is my last week of work before I go on holiday, and I'll only be in for 3 days!! It feels incredible to say that I'm finally able to get some time off, and I'm really looking forward to going away and just emptying my mind. I hope I can come into the new year relaxed, refreshed, and ready to get some work done!!!

I hope everyone has a happy Friday! Well done to everyone who has finished exams and for those that are still going GOOD LUCK!! You're almost there guys!! ___

🎧 - Superbeast by Rob Zombie

🎮 - Animal Crossing

📖 - Different Seasons by Stephen King (I've just read the third story in about two days and while I didn't like it as much as the others it was still very good!)

#study aesthetic #study blog #study inspiration #study motivation #study space #studyblr #studyinspo #studyspo #phd life #study tips

88 notes · View notes

nipuni · 1 year ago

Text

OHHHHHHHHH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL NEVER BE THE SAME AFTER THIS!!!!!! THIS ENDING?? THIS WHOLE EVERYTHING!!!!! WHERE DO I EVEN START I'M SO STUNNED!!!! WHAT!!!!!

"The end of time" was the most incredible ending I could have asked for!!! We finished watching it all at 3am last night and we spent all of today yelling about it, I can't believe just how good this was!!! I'm so glad we've never watched this show before while this was airing so that we get to watch it all fresh for the first time because we are having the time of our lives now

It was completely devastating and so so inspiring, just exactly how I was hoping for it to be, I already want to rewatch S1 to S4 all over again 😭 the sheer comfort I get from the character of the doctor is insane, I've never rooted for a character so hard and wholeheartedly in my life, he really is the most wonderful being in the universe I'm in tears I'm Wilfred rn what the fuck man I'll never recover from this!!! I feel like a ten year old kid with a new superhero GOD IT WAS ALL SO GOOD I CAN'T ARTICULATE I'd yell about each scene but I'm aware that pretty much everyone has watched this ages ago so you know and I still wouldn't want to spoil anyone that hasn't just in case because going into this unspoiled and knowing nothing about it has been the most satisfying experience ever and I hope more people get to have it too!!! please if you haven't watched this before go do that!! and if you have and it's been a while do it again!!! the acting?? INSANE!! the writing!! incredible!! I have only good things to say!!! I only wish we had 1000 more seasons with RTD and David Tennant I really love this man, I'm so sad to see him go!!! and so happy to get him back for the 60 special!!

When we got to the last episodes of season 4 I was expecting pain and instead I got an unexpected fix-it device that was rather strange but cute so I was somewhat relieved and confused, then the holidays specials were pretty standard and lighthearted AND THEN THE WATERS OF MARS? INSANE EPISODE, I loved it so much, that whole part at the end FANTASTIC they went there and I LOVE them for it!! another favourite episode for sure, and THEN THE END OF TIME?? by this point Nicolas and I were twisted into a single pretzel on the couch bracing ourselves, it went from extremely intense to SO FUNNY to heartbreaking and just...amazing!!! AAAAAA anyway!! I had to get all that out of my system, now onwards to S5!!! I'm curious to meet Matt Smith's doctor 😊

#doctor who #I'm so sorry in advance for the person I'm becoming I WILL be (more) insufferable about it #rotating the doctor in my mind at 9000 rpm while I work #I wonder what will change from S5 onwards!! will the writing be different!! will I like the new doctor!! I'm scared #personal #DW report #nips blogs

323 notes · View notes

gingernut1314 · 1 year ago

Text

'Tis the Season

Straw Hat Crew x GN!Reader

Summary: You share your holiday celebrations with your crew aboard the Going Merry.

Warnings: fluffffffff, some (very little) mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 1.5K

A/N: Soooo I've gotten into the holiday spirit and needed to write this, so I hope you all don't mind too much! @fanaticsnail thank you for contributing to my holiday cheer with your wonderful x-mas works! (go check them out if you haven't already! Very good!!) I hope everyone has an amazing holiday or can find joy in something that brings you happiness this month!!! 🩷

↞ to One Piece Masterlist | Request Rules | Blog Navigation ↠

Luffy: 🍖

As soon as you tell him anything about the holiday you celebrated back on your home island, he would insist on doing it right then and there

Festive and colorful decorations? He’s stopping at the nearest island to gather supplies and doctorate the Merry to your liking

Hot chocolate and food? Yes please.

Turkey, roast beef, or ham for dinner? Why not all of it?

The food is the most important part of this new holiday, he thinks

He’s getting Sanji to whip up every delicacy you can possibly think of

Fun holiday activities? The crew will be dragged along and they will have fun

He’ll want to double--no triple check that Santa is going to visit the Merry because he sounds super cool and he wants to recruit him onto the crew

I mean, come on! The guy loves cookies and milk and those are some of Luffy's favorite things!

…and he will be very skeptical of you telling him Santa is, unfortunately, not real

Luffy is dead broke so he goes to Nami to beg for berry so that he can get you a gift

Nami, of course, refuses to give him a single coin and tells him to make you something

So he would spend hours making you a gift

He would hand you a drawing of him hugging the life out of you on the Merry

And you would have to have him explain to you what is happening in his creation because all you can make out is the colors red and blue and what looks to be his signature straw hat

You love it regardless and hang it on the wall next to your hammock

Luffy will want to recreate the picture of course, and you’ll be more than happy to hug your captain back

Will leave cookies and milk out for Santa (and will eventually devour what he left out) and will try (and fail) to stay up all night to see Santa

You would find him dead asleep half an hour later and would be sure to leave a few gifts under the too-large tree he had Zoro set up on the deck for him

Luffy will get that guy next year, just you wait and see

Zoro: 🗡️🥦 ⚔️

He is uninterested

None of it is his style

Too flashy and too loud

He’s good to take a nap during the festivities

You will be able to entice him to come and eat the food Sanji was kind enough to prepare

And you’ll entice him further with some spiked holiday drinks

Luffy is all over the holiday, so it won’t take much convincing to sail back to your home island for the day

And while the rest of the crew is partaking in the festivities your home village is throwing in the snow-covered street, you’ll slip away with Zoro’s hand in your own

You will tell him how this holiday isn’t just about joy, food, and festive songs, but about life and death

You showed him back to the ruins of your childhood home, which he had been in mere moments before the villain you had been helping them fight set fire to it

The scorched front lawn was covered in clumps of candles, garland wreaths, rocks, and food, just as you knew it would be

You explained that your village had done this in celebration of the life your family had lived--to remember them and keep their souls filled with joy in whatever afterlife they might have entered

He would watch you light a candle and pull a small trinket from your pocket, placing them both on the blackened steps of your home

Zoro would light a candle and place it next to yours, sitting there with you for as long as you needed

He would even wrap you up in one of his strong arms, holding you tight

Later, you would gift him a bottle of sake

He had no clue gift-giving had anything to do with your holiday, so he would insist you share the bottle with him

He will be sure to get you a gift next year

Nami: 🍊

She would be a little on the uninterested side at first

But after watching how excited you got as you explained to the rest of the crew about the holiday you celebrated, she would warm up to it

She would even warm up enough to allow you to doctorate her tangerine trees with lights and tinsel

The lights were pretty enough, she supposed. The tinsel shiny

And she does love shiny things

Once in the holiday spirit, she would let it fully take her over

Nami would dock the Merry on the closest island and go searching for the best gift she could find you

When it came to you, she hardly thought much about how much berry she was spending

You and your joy were more important to her than a number

You had commented on needing a new pair of shoes a week ago? Bought.

Commented on wanting something so offhandedly you had forgotten the moment you stepped away? Bought and wrapped in whatever wrapping paper she could find that screamed your holiday in its bright colors

She would be very excited to watch you unwrap everything she had gotten you (which you had been very shocked at, but had been told strictly to just unwrap everything and not worry so much)

You would feel a bit embarrassed at how little you had gotten her, but she wouldn’t care because your gift was thoughtful

So thoughtful it nearly brought her to tears

After everyone else had gone to bed, she would take you back up onto the deck and hand you a cup of hot chocolate she had attempted to make (which she had done a pretty good job at creating without the help of Sanji)

The two of you would sit, snuggled up next to each other under a heavy blanket and watch the dancing, multicolored lights adorning her trees late into the night

Usopp: 🤥

Will get into it right away

He loves any excuse to celebrate, so your holiday is already perfect

Usopp is quick to make colored lights to hang up around the ship

And he’ll want to make everyone a stocking, which will be color coordinating and have some sort of special technique that didn’t need to be added in the first place

He loves all the different holiday-themed stories and songs

Throughout the day, he’ll randomly burst into horribly off-tune song and you will be expected to join in

The traditional stories you tell him get the typical Captain Usopp spin to them

But it just makes them that much better in your opinion

They become your crew's stories, making them so special

While the crew eats and drinks holiday drinks, he’ll tell the stories and have everyone, even Zoro, entranced by their colorfulness

You made the big mistake of telling him about Krampus

And now he is utterly terrified of getting kidnapped and beaten by the goat-demon

Though he won’t say he’s scared

He'll be very admit that he isn't

But a loud stomp of the foot against the deck floor from Zoro has the poor storyteller jumping out of his skin and using you as a shield

Usopp is a very good gift-giver

Not only is it handmade, but it is also functional (for once) and it will help you out loads

You give him his gift and he bursts into tears, thanking you and hugging you profusely

Everyone will go to bed, the lights hanging up everywhere only adding to the cozy, homeyness of the Going Merry

And you’ll just be nodding off when Usopp comes crawling into your hammock, begging you with tears in his eyes to keep Krampus away from him

You’ll laugh at him at first, but end up promising to keep him safe while you hold him tight

And he’ll hold you back just as, if not more, tight

Sanji: 🧑‍🍳

Of course, Sanji gets into the holiday spirit

It's a holiday you celebrate and one that makes you happy

And all he ever wants to do is make you happy

You’ll sheepishly bring him your family's old cookbook full of recipes passed down from generation to generation

And he’ll be more than happy to cook you whatever your heart desires

Nothing is too much in his eyes when it comes to you

He’ll insist you help him cook everything, seeing as you are the expert when it comes to these recipes

And you two will share bits and pieces of everything before it all disappears into the void that is your captain’s stomach

He will also be very interested in this mistletoe tradition

He makes it his mission to not only hang the green sprigs everywhere around the ship

But to get you under as many of them as he possibly can, for as long as he possibly can

You find yourself purposely wondering under the mistletoe and lingering there until Sanji notices and rushes over

Though Sanji wants to get you the best gift he can possibly buy, he’s not the best when it comes to gift-giving

Food and physical touch are his love language after all

So he bakes you a sweet treat you had once told him about, one you hadn’t had since your childhood

And it’s the best gift you could have ever wished for because he made it just like how you remembered it

He loves whatever you give him

It could be a stick you say reminds you of him and he would be over the moon, mounting it and hanging it up in the kitchen

Though you are sure to get him a very nice gift, one you had spent weeks thinking over so it was just right

He doesn’t need the mistletoe to show you just how much he appreciates the gift

Sanji makes you both hot chocolate and holds you tight as you two talk in the abandoned and cleaned kitchen

134 notes · View notes

thunderxleafart · 1 year ago

Text

Hey y'all! :D Now that the holiday madness has died down, I finally managed to finish this off!

It seemed only fitting to draw the twins enjoying the Christmas season, since I adore those lil buggers so much, but it looks like they have a friend with them this time around! ;D

That's right, it's good ol' Edward! Honestly I love most of the characters from Thomas (especially the model series), but Edward definitely earns a special place in my heart along with those cheeky little twins. Plus I will always have a soft spot for the father/son bond he seems to have with the twins. ;; It's just so wholesome! And you bet Edward is one of the only engines the twins will never play tricks on, cause he genuinely respects and looks out for them, so they respect him right back. :D Wholesomeness all around!

Just some wholesome train content for y'all as we close out 2023 and head into the New Year! <3

I spent a lot longer on this than I'm willing to admit LOL but after everything, I'm still pretty darn happy with how it came out! Backgrounds are a pain as always but I'm still pretty darn happy with how it all came together in the end! Especially since this was my first attempt at drawing Edward, and I'd say he came out pretty darn good! :D

The Holiday season has been pretty up and down for me this year, a lot more stressful then previous years, but Christmas Day was still a blast hanging out with my fam. <3 I finally have my grubby lil hands on the Railway Stories collection, and I was really happy to see how everyone reacted to the things I got them! ;3 So overall, a good year!

I'll be putting together another art-in-review type thing for the year that'll hopefully be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! :D

I hope you all had a nice Holiday season, and I look forward to bringing you all sorts of fun new stuff in the New year! ;3 And as always, thanks for looking everybody!~ ^w^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Edward, Bill & Ben (c) Thomas & Friends Art (c) Me! <3

89 notes · View notes

pleasantglitterflower · 5 months ago

Text

The dark side of envy (Joe Burrow x Burrow!sister x Patrick Mahomes)

Tw: envy, hatred, anger, resentment, displays of narcissism and psychopathy

NCAA Championship 2017- Clemsom x Alabama - Tampa, Florida

Janine had just won the college football championship for the Alabama Crimson. It had been a fantastic season for the young wide receiver. She walked towards her parents with the trophy in her hands, all proud, seeing her brother in the middle of the way, all smiles with open arms to welcome her.

-Jan, I can't believe it, I'm so happy for you, you're a champion. - Joe tries to hug her, but she walks right past him, pushing her arm hard against his chest.

-Get out of here, you little shit. - She strode towards her parents.

Joe stood there, embarrassed and not knowing what to do.

-Oh my God, daughter, I'm so proud, you won the college championship. - Her mother shakes her hard, before she and her father give her a triple hug.

-Now that we have a champion, next year we'll all be in the stands, cheering for Joseph. - She just forced a smile at her father's comment.

CURRENT DAYS

A lot has happened between Janine and Joe, her twin brother, but of all these many things, the most important one, without a doubt, was his effort to be with his sister, to show her that he loves her and wants to be part of her life.

Janine, on the other hand, is the kind of person who, when she realizes she is good at something, uses it to bring everyone down to earth.She has become the most poisonous and manipulative person Joe has ever met in his life and she loves being like that, the kind of unbearable person who only shows herself like that when everyone around her is already tied down enough to her and her ego.

Her words at first made him laugh, his mother would say “It’s just her way”, “She loves you”, “You are siblings, she would never hate you”.

But it’s not quite like that.Janine has never been able to see anyone being better than her and when she does, it’s better that that person is someone she really loves.

Like her husband Patrick.

Someone who is hard to overcome, hard to shake, hard to deal with and hard to hate.

She knew she couldn't compete with him, so why not combine business with pleasure?

Mahomes fell in love with her strength, her desire to be the best in everything she does and the way she is with her family.

At least until they get married.

-We finally have someone we can proudly call a quarterback- She boasts, still wearing a veil, with a glass of champagne in her hands, giving her husband a peck on the lips, who laughs awkwardly.

Joe, sitting at the table with his parents, heard it and started laughing, hoping it was just a joke, but it wasn't. Janine hates him.

As the years went by, the annoyance became more and more explicit at family dinners, making birthdays, the rare holidays they could spend together, a living hell for his parents, siblings, nephews, and husband, for everyone except Janine, who enjoys watching her brother with his head down, without the courage to retaliate, because he wouldn't be able to say a single word that he knew would hurt her, out of respect for his sister and love.

Actually, Joe never understood what love in a family is. Some people are easily lovable, while others, like Janine, even though he had more reasons to hate them, just thinking about it made him feel incredibly guilty and his conscience weighed on him. She was his sister and all she had to do was receive her love, no matter how much it cost him.

-You need to listen to this new Kendrick Lamar song, this guy never tires of changing the rap industry- Joe says, ecstatic as always, when the subject is his favorite genre.

-You again with that low-level and derogatory noise, please improve. Although what could I expect from you, right Joseph- His smile died and so did the conversation and smiles at the table.

-Jan please, you are married to a black man, you know better than anyone how important this song is for the whole society, that the lyrics talk about real problems, not stupid love affairs- He tries to keep the conversation going.

-Any John Lennon song already does the job, we are in the 21st century, no one is an idiot- she replied.

Seeing Patrick uncomfortable, she sat down next to him with her plate made, now she would need to disguise the situation.

-But of course if Patrick likes it I respect it, especially because he listens to artists and not gangsters.

They weren't just arguing about music.

-I've been thinking about maybe finishing my studies, maybe changing fields, it might be good for the future- Joe confessed to Jamie, his older brother.

-Joe, you're almost 30, do you really think now is the time to think about that? You wanted to waste your time with these ridiculous courses, you don't even have enough intellect to do anything else- Janine makes the comment. Dan, the middle brother, immediately snorts.

-You talk as if you were a respected journalist, when all you do is spread fake news on social media, what kind of intellect do you have, Janine Burrow? It's because of people like you that others hate journalists. Give us a break, girl- The brother stomped off.

-Far be it from me to be bored enough to judge other people's lives, especially since I have real problems to think about, but it's very interesting how you think that finance is less important than marketing. Don't forget that your beloved husband didn't graduate, but your brother has a master's degree, something that not even you have. - It was Jamie's turn to throw it in her face.

-I think it's better to focus on your problems, Jamie, and go pay your mortgage. - The brother's hatred is visible, from the looks on his face they would easily kill each other right there, in the Burrow family's living room.

But nothing in the world moved Joe more than when she decided to criticize the only thing that Joe was most proud of in the world, not a football trophy or a degree, but his foundation.

A foundation he wanted the whole family to be a part of and help out equally, something that would be something from his family to the others, but someone refused to be a part of it.

-Joseph, I've been thinking, I want to make a photo album for the foundation of all these moments we've spent together and most of all, it would be really cool if we had an annual photo with whoever wanted to participate, to show how many lives we've touched, it would be really cool- Robin focuses partly on the Thanksgiving pie and partly on what the Burrow siblings are doing in the kitchen, to make sure nothing gets out of hand.

-I was thinking about doing some TV commercials with the kids to try to get more visibility and donors. With that, I believe we could extend the donations to the state. I feel really bad about only being able to help our hometown. I even spoke to Jamie and he loved the idea. - Joe explained, trying not to get dirty with all the seasonings he puts in his food.

-It will be really good. We can see which kids feel comfortable speaking out, if their parents allow them to participate, and then we can put it on TV. If the feedback is positive, we can even get support from interested companies. - The older brother explained to Robin, who agreed excitedly.

-Doing charity and advertising? If you want to be seen so much, put a watermelon on your head and go naked in the street. It had to be Joseph's idea. He's trying to buy sainthood. If you show charity to everyone, it's better not to do it. - Janine hurt him in the worst way.

-That way we'll get more donors, more interested people who will help. - He tried to explain.

-I have projects like that and I don't need anyone to know when I make deals with other people, I also don't need anyone to know, I just go there and ask them to see the project and help. You're ridiculous, you only think about fame, did you know that I even have a project with the NFL itself? - She boasts.

The silence in the kitchen takes over.

-I encourage girls to dream and maybe make it to the NFL - she was soon interrupted by Jamie.

-Do you know what your mistake was Robin? Joseph not being Josephine, because she would beat Janine to a pulp - Jamie leaves the plate she is making, going to the sink to wash his hands.

-Or rather, my intellect isn't that bad, it's your fault, dad, because the man is the one who defines sex. Besides, it's your fault that this girl is like this, because you didn't raise her right, you just did everything she told you to do, you two are wimps and now we have to put up with this bitch talking shit - Jamie leaves in a hurry with Jim, his father, calling him.

-Don't beg me to come back, I'm almost 50 years old, I don't need this shit, I'm going back to my family who are saner - He shouted, leaving the house.

-Janine, this behavior is unacceptable and you know it - Robin tries to correct her daughter.

Although Jamie always gets on her case about what she does to Joe, he is her favorite brother and is always around, because for some reason the anger goes away.

For this very reason, Joe always felt forced to do the same, but for Jamie, who was never offended, it was easy to forgive.

And when her mother got stressed about the situation and called her to talk and take it easy on Joe, she gives her best acting.

-Joseph has always been the favorite, you always loved him more than me, because I'm a girl, you always celebrated everything he does and never cared about what I do- She opened his mouth and started to cry.

Jim dried her face, which began to burn, and when he felt his chest tighten, seeing his little daughter sad, he quickly went to her and hugged her tightly, while Robin remained firm.

-You know better than anyone that we always did everything equally for both of us. When you won the NCAA, we threw a party and kept Joe hopeful that his ring would arrive, and when he won, we threw a party and kept you hopeful that one day greater victories would come. So swallow your tears, because you have nothing to complain about us, girl, not in that sense, we always did everything equally.

But none of that is enough to stop her.

Patrick discovered a blog years ago, something very common until he was a teenager, where there was always some special subject for the author that it addressed, until it was replaced by long videos on platforms with the same style. But the more time passed, the more he spent with Janine and returned to the blog, the stranger everything became.

Investigating was not enough, she is his wife and knows her well, but he does not have the courage to ask if she had a blog when she was a teenager.At least until the day came to clean the garage, she had to get everything there in time, so why not during the holidays?

He took down the boxes, got ladders and a bench to tidy up the place and take a break from her pink world, it seemed like a good thing.Among the dolls, books, photographs, old telephones studded with crystals, making him laugh at the fashion of the time and also at imagining her at that age, he found an old diary with a broken padlock.

He opened it, imagining that they were drawings, because he himself loved to draw, but showing them to anyone would only be embarrassing. Even among the various scribbled pages, he found some rants about his family, very similar to the ones on the blog, nothing too different from what she talks about every day, so he wasn't too worried.

Until he saw one reference in particular, which left no doubt.

“Just one”

That's what the girl on the blog always said, because according to her, she wished she had been the only one born on that December 10, 1996.

Patrick didn't even blink, everything seemed to stop around him. It couldn't really be her, his wife saying those things about her family on the internet, for everyone to see, as much as he hoped to know that it really is, it's too heavy for him.

She didn't see when he came to her in the living room, she just threw the notebook for her to catch and by the look on her face, she knew exactly what it meant.

-I already know about the shit you did- He said loudly, catching her attention.

-That's good then- She let the notebook fall on the couch and went back to looking at the phone.

-If you still want to live in this house, be my wife and have the slightest bit of my respect, find a way to fix this situation, because if this becomes public, it won't be very good, besides, everything you wrote about them is disgusting and knowing them Janine, I know it's a lie - Mahomes yelled

-Of course it's a lie, Joseph is too soft, he would never be able to fight back against me, but it made everything much more fun- She couldn't stop laughing.

Patrick stares at her seriously, not believing what he heard, and then she finally sees that he is really angry.

-And what are you talking about me? What did you lie about me to people or, I don't know, on some fake login somewhere? Fix this or this marriage ends here. - His ultimatum came out, leaving her alone in the living room with many worries, but not about feelings or what she did, but about being discovered and what she would do.

She took the diary and threw it in the trash can on the street, calmly returned to her house, not imagining that there would be a photographer there at that moment, wanting to see the facade of the house, after the recent renovation.

Unfortunately for her, he waited for her to come in and stop the movement at the door, to hang on the trash and pick it up, which for him at one moment seemed crazy, soon became true, since when he opened it, he found something too heavy and soon saw the same thing as Patrick.

Patrick was soon asked at the press conference.

Chaos ensued.

The Mahomes family was shocked, since they had no suspicions about this evil and dark side of Janine.

The Burrow family was devastated, due to so much exposure, each one of them was exposed there in an almost indiscreet way, with only their identities hidden.

Anyone who knew Janine and the way she talks about them would know it was her, because she talks about many things that happened, but also invents many others to make herself look poor.

Anyone who only knew the Burrow family would be suspicious, but would never have guessed that Janine would do this.

Joe was seen by Ja'marr, crying in the training center, hiding, afraid of being found, wondering what bad thing he did in his life for his sister to hate him so much.

Yes, hate.

As she herself writes in a post that was rescued, "If I had known that my brother would be so unbearable, I would have found a way to suffocate him with the umbilical cord", and she has often admitted in other posts that she planned different ways to kill Joe, whether by putting poison in his food, trying to asphyxiate him while he was sleeping, or even contacting hardcore serial killers from Athens to order the crime, but according to her, she ended up giving up because she wanted more years to make his life hell.

Joe is devastated, hurt, hurt, sad, it's as if someone had broken both his legs, both his arms and kicked him in the face, no injury and no defeat would hurt more than that.

In another state at the training press conference.

-Janine, what do you have to say about the blog? Do you regret it? Have you apologized to your family and especially to Joe? - A reporter asks.

-I was just a teenager, a child, too immature, it was just a joke, nothing major and they know it. - Her evasive answer and psychotic smile after answering the question shocked everyone. The apathy and coldness in Janine's eyes, and her frightening psychopathic smile put a warning sign in everyone present in that press conference room. They didn't need to be experts in psychology to realize that they were in front of a pathological narcissist with psychopathic traits.

Patrick began to suffer the consequences, as if he himself had created that blog.

-If Patrick doesn't come out and apologize, it will only seem like he is in agreement with all of this and since she is his wife, it is very clear that yes, he is in agreement. How can someone marry someone who doesn't respect their own family? If he didn't know before, now he does. What does she say about him without him knowing? - One of the commentators asked indignantly.

-Exactly, he has to speak up.

-Yes, he does, many sponsors won’t agree with that - another added.

-What scares me the most is that Patrick and Janine have a daughter together, what kind of education is this child receiving? Poor child - another commenter laments

That weighed on Patrick's conscience, the consequences of what he didn't do could arise,that's when he washed his face and made a video tagging the entire Burrow family, except Janine.

'I would like to publicly apologize to everyone in my wife's family.

Above all, I would like to say that I found out about this a few days ago and that I do not condone it, nor have I ever condone it. I have already asked her to do the same and I am waiting for it to happen and, like everyone else, I know very well that this cannot happen at home, it must happen publicly, since she had the courage to expose the family publicly in so many ways, for so many years. I can only regret that this happened. I love each and every one of this family and they are my family, especially you Joe, who shares the same profession and who is so young and talented, you have always had and will always have my respect and affection. You are family to me, you are a brother, I am sorry for those hurtful things you read, things your sister said about you'

The video was finished and posted, Patrick was more than ecstatic with everything he read.

When Janine saw it, she immediately appeared behind him, ready to confront him.

-My video, which I had no obligation to post, is ready, now please, have enough courage, the same courage you had to mistreat your brother, and do the same Janine and personally apologize to your family and Joseph or, if it's better, pack your bags and leave - He ordered, going up the stairs without even looking at her face.

She hugged her brother in a careless way, while he, imagining that she was being truthful, held her tightly, letting the tears wet her shoulder, who soon grimaced without anyone seeing.

-I'm sorry for everything, I was just an immature and idiot, who didn't know what I was saying, you know I love you very much Joe - She said it out loud very easily.

When her brother released her and she thanked him for it, she had to put on a fake expression of sadness, which worked well.

Peace was established between the Burrow’s, at least that's what everyone thought, since now she had other ways to transfer her anger towards Joe, a new diary, and Janine, with her traditional psychopathic smile, started writing again.

23 notes · View notes

lou-struck · 1 year ago

Text

Fuel to the Fire

Kyojuro Rengoku x reader

25 Days of Ficmas Day 4

Modern Au!

WC:1.6k

~You love getting the mail during the holidays but when you receive a letter you have no interest in looking at, your boyfriend has a solution.

Warnings: Reader has a shit ex boyfriend, Guess who?, mentions of past relationship trauma, fear of abandonment, a bit of crying but its all good, happy ending.

Your fingers furiously dance across your keyboard as you search through your laptop. Your work is having a party at the end of the week to celebrate the holiday season, and they chose to do a Secret Santa gift exchange amongst the coworkers.

When the time came for you to pick your Secret Santa out of the hat, you chose one of your friends from the other department. Immediately, you knew what you had to get for them.

They are really into your city’s local music scene, so you wanted to throw in two tickets to see a new band they are interested in before they leave to go on tour. You are on the venue’s website, but when you go to buy the tickets, you realize they don’t actually go on sale until tomorrow.

With a frown, you shut your laptop, sliding it under the couch, hoping you’ll remember to get them tomorrow.

As you wallow in your poor timing, the front door opens with enthusiasm. The chilly outside air clashes with the heat from the small flames that are dying out in your fireplace as your Fiance Kyojuro Rengoku walks in, “I’m home,” he declares happily, greeting the familiar walls you painted together with a big smile. The world around you seems to brighten up as if he had just pulled the sun from the cloudy sky and placed it in the center of your living room. His smile is infectious, and you find yourself returning it with one just as gleeful.

When his gaze of gold and Crimson lands on you, the look of pure, energetic joy becomes impossibly more so in a way that can make you feel like the only person in the world. “Guess what?” he asks, practically bounding towards you, his arms full of what you can only assume to be teaching materials.

How is it possible to smile so much from simply seeing another person? Your cheeks hurt just a bit, but it’s well worth it. “What is it?”

“Dinner is on its way,” he cheers. Setting the bumble of parchment down on the table to give you his full attention. “I ordered some food from that new place across from the school, and I heard from my students that it’s going to be Tasty.”

You can’t help the snort you make at his enthusiasm. To Kyojuro, any food that hits his plate is tasty, but still, your mouth waters at the prospect of an easy meal with your partner after a long day. “Thank you for ordering,” you say gratefully, wrapping your arms around his incredibly warm frame.

It’s strange that no matter the temperature, he always runs hot.

‘Probably because he is.’ you shamelessly think to yourself as he loosens his flame-patterned tie and unbuttons the top button from his off-white dress shirt. On anyone else, the combination could look strange, but with him and his two-toned golden and red hair, it looks natural.

“Guess what else I brought?” he grins, gesturing down to the pile of parchment he had abandoned in favor of giving you a squeeze. Upon closer inspection, you realize that they are not teaching materials at all; it’s a large stack of stamped envelopes.

“Are these all Christmas cards?” you ask excitedly, bending down and examining the pile more closely. There must be dozens of them here.

This year in particular, you and Kyojuro have been sent Christmas cards from practically everyone in your lives. It has gotten to the point that your small little mailbox has to be emptied daily. You have quite the collection of cards and love seeing pictures of your friends, family members, coworkers, and, of course, their pets. All the cheesy family-style photos fill your hearts with so much joy that the two of you have made a routine of opening them up together.

Your fridge is completely covered in the cards, but you are sure there is room for more. Somewhere.

He laughs aloud, sensing your excitement. It has been a few days since you guys have had the time to go through all the cards, so there is a lot to catch up on. “I look forward to spending this time with you. I’ll go shower, and then we can look through them all together.”

“Sounds perfect, Kyo, I’ll go grab the others and make us some tea.” you hum as he disappears down the hallway.

The gentle drumming of the showerhead can be heard down the hallway as you wander throughout your home, putting a kettle of water on the stove, toss a few logs on the dying fire, and pull out the large stacks of mail from the past few days to join with today’s haul.

While it is true you have received an enormous amount of Christmas cards, you see other types of mail littered in the stack. Magazines, coupon sheets, bills. So you take it upon yourself to sort through the package before Kyojuro gets out of the shower.

The large bushel of papers rests next to you on the couch as you begin to sort the mail into piles. One for junk mail and advertisements, one for bills and statements, one for coupons you would actually use, one for catalogs and magazines, and one much larger one for all your christmas cards.

You listen to the wood crack in the fireplace as you peacefully read the labels on the various envelopes before you notice a single envelope with just your name printed on the front. You freeze, recognizing the return address belonging to your no-good-ex-boyfriend.

The same ex-boyfriend who cheated on you, repeatedly lied about it, and ran off to start some kind of cult.

Why would he be contacting you?

You have no love in your heart for that man. The best thing he ever did for you was break up with you so you could meet Kyojuro.

The one who healed your battered heart with his genuine smiles and unconditional love.

Your mind’s going a million miles a minute as you worriedly wonder what you should do with this letter.

You are so caught up with what to do with this damn letter you don’t notice Kyojuro come back into the room. His long hair is still damp from the shower as he comes to stand directly in front of you. “Our takeout is twenty minutes away~” he cuts himself off, and his usual relaxed smile drops when he sees the look of distress on your features. “What’s wrong, Fireball?”

What if he gets mad when he sees the letter and assumes the worst?

You drop your hand holding the letter quickly, guiltily, and look up at his with big eyes. “It’s nothing.”

His features soften as he comes to sit next to you, not too close so that you can have your space until you can tell him what is bothering you. “It doesn’t seem like nothing.” his hand comes toward yours, and you tense up, believing he is going for the letter, but when it comes to rest gently on top of your own, your heart begins to beat again.

‘He is kind,’ the voice in your head says to you. ‘He loves you and deserves the truth.’

With a deep breath, you show him the envelope. “It’s from him,” you say shakily. “I don’t know what he wants, but all I know is I don’t want anything to do with him.”

Kyojuro looks at you with nothing but gentleness and love in his eyes. “Do you want to open it?”

You shake your head quickly. You really don’t. Even holding this damn letter causes your skin to tingle and itch from stress. “I want nothing to do with him.”

He nods supportively. “Would you want to get rid of it?” He waits for your nod before gently taking the envelope from your hand.

“Thank you for being so cool about this,” you say softly, thinking back to years of gaslighting and guilt trips from relationships past. “I was worried you would think I was trying to communicate with him.”

There is a flash of pain in his eyes as he reaches out for you. But from the way he holds you against his beating heart, you know that the pain he feels is for you. “y/n, there is nothing in this world you could do to make me think any less of you. You are the spark that sets my heart ablaze.”

“That’s pretty hot, Kyo.” You sniffle quietly, your heart healed enough for you to make a pun. Even if no one else would laugh at your weak pun, Kyojuro’s laughter makes it seem like pure comedic genius.

He hums and pulls a bit away from you, a gleam of inspiration in his gaze. “You have given me a wonderful Idea. Are you sure you want me to get rid of this letter?” he holds up the envelope with his usual bright smile as if it was as insignificant as junk mail.

“Yes, let’s toss it.” you giggle.

“I have a better Idea,” he steps towards the fireplace and unceremoniously tosses the letter into the flames. They devour its new fuel, fluttering around the bricks in wild tendrils before dying down to their previous size mere seconds later.

As if it never existed in the first place...

Your eyes watch the last few scraps turn to dust, and you feel free.

“Just what I thought,” he laughs, placing his hands proudly on his hips in a little power pose. “Fire beats paper every time.”

Tagging: @enchantedforest-network

#demon slayer #kny rengoku #rengoku kyojuro #rengoku x reader #kyojuro rengoku #kyojuro rengoku x reader #kyojuro x reader #Rengoku #x reader

62 notes · View notes

arcanekai · 1 year ago

Text

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Aether X gn! Reader

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

cn | friends to lovers; reader has a brother; reader and Aether are a bit dense

Word count | 2.5k

an | Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you are spending this season with loved ones! And have a Happy New Year!

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

The city of Monstadt was bustling with life as you walked down the street, humming a popular Christmas tune. You had just finished buying your brother's Christmas gift and were now doing a bit of window shopping. The decorations adoring every store reminded you of just what needed to be done before the fated family gathering happening on Christmas day. You still had to decorate the tree, make cookies, and buy an ugly sweater for the day. Not to mention, you need to prepare yourself for the onslaught of questions your relatives have for you and your love life. With a sign, you turn away from the store window and continue your journey down the street. As you turn the corner, you bump into something very sturdy. The impact made you stumble back a bit causing your foot to slip on the curb. Now falling backwards toward the pavement, you flail your arms to try and balance yourself only for someone's hand to grab your wrist and pull you to safety.

“Are you okay?”

You look up to see golden orbs gazing at you with worry.

“Aether? What are you doing here? I thought you were in Sumeru on vacation with Lumine?”

“Ha, I'll answer your question later. You still haven't answered mine.” Aether said with a small smile.

“Oh right, I'm fine,” you say as you rub the back of your neck in embarrassment, “my ankle hurts a little from the initial fall, but nothing life threatening.”

“That's good to hear, but maybe we should go to the hospital just in case. I can carry you on my back if you'd like?”

“There's no need for that! It's just a small sprain and I can walk just fine!” You shake your head and wave your hands in front of your face as a way to distract him from seeing the growing blush on your cheeks. “Besides, you still haven't answered my questions!”

“Alright, fine.” Aether replies a little defeated. “Lumine got snowed in at university and is still stuck there. We canceled our plans and decided to celebrate Christmas separately. As for why I am here currently, I'm buying presents.” He holds up the bag slightly with a sympathetic smile.

“You're spending Christmas by yourself? How about you spend Christmas with me and my family? I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you around, I mean you’re practically family at this point.”

Aether's eyes sadden at your last statement. Although he is happy you see him as family, he wished for something more. Something less familial and more romantic. Did you really not notice the huge crush he harbors for you? All those times in high school when he brought you somewhere secluded, just the two of you, only to be interrupted by one of your friends calling you. Or during college when he was the only one taking care of you when you were sick. His friends, as well as yours, caught on to his feelings for you and gave him multiple opportunities to confess to you, however, he was a coward. So, here he is, on the sidewalk of a busy street, talking to his best friend. Only his best friend, nothing more, nothing less.

“I mean if that's okay with you and your family. I don't want to intrude on your family time.” Aether said shyly.

“Nonsense! Besides, having you there means I get to avoid my nosy relatives who are only interested in my non-existent love life.” You say excitedly while nudging Aether's arm with your elbow. “*gasp* We can have matching sweaters! Come on, we have to get them now!”

You grab Aether by the arm and pull him toward the clothing stores, talking his ear off about everything you guys can do together before the day. Perhaps staying as friends has its benefits.

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

Standing in the living room was Aether and a very decorated Christmas tree. As you emerge from your kitchen with a tray of hot chocolate, you see Aether tilt his head to the side before placing another ornament on the tree.

His hair was in his signature braid and he was wearing the white scarf you had gifted him on his birthday years ago. It was nice knowing he cherished the gift so much, but it was also concerning with how much he wore it. Which is why your Christmas present for Aether is a new scarf, white with gold accents, along with some other things and a long overdue love letter. There were multiple times in high school where you were going to put it in his locker, but the amount of love letters he got from others was disheartening. During college you had gathered enough courage to ask him out on a date only for it to turn into a group hangout instead. Just a couple of days earlier, you were planning to leave it in his mailbox while he was on vacation, but that didn't happen. However, today is different. Today is the day that you are going to confess. You steeled yourself the day prior because you were determined to get your feelings across on matter what. Your brother had hyped you up and supported you all these years, so now was your chance to show the rest of your relatives why you waited so long to get a boyfriend. Aether was the only one for you and you know that once they met him, they will finally understand.

As you were giving yourself a pep talk in your head, Aether hears something ringing. At first he checks his phone, but soon finds the cause of the noise. Sitting on the couch cushion was your phone, playing your signature ringtone. Aether could help but smile at the fact that you haven't changed it since high school, but curiosity took over as he looked at the screen.

William. Who the heck is William?! Alright, calm down Aether, this is probably a misunderstanding. Didn't they say that they have a “non-existent love life”? It's probably not their significant other unlike all those scenarios in movies. Besides, it's not like it's the end of the world if they have other friends they hang out with.

As Aether was about to tell you your phone was ringing, you quickly put down the tray and rushed to pick it up. A little too eager for Aether's liking.

“Hello? Hey, I haven't heard from you in awhile, what's up? Oh, okay that's fine with me. Feel free to drop by anytime. I should be home. Alright, okay see you later, bye!”

As Aether stood awkwardly in your living room, trying to pretend he didn't hear anything, it was hard not to imagine this “William” as someone very important to you if you were just letting him come over whenever. It irked Aether that you weren't saying anything about it either, like it was totally normal to invite someone over without asking your other guest if it was alright. So, instead of pushing you for information, Aether decided that it would be best to just leave you alone with this “William”. Seeing that the tree was basically finished, Aether turned to you and gave you a forced smile.

“Hey, I'm going to head out now if that's alright. Lumine has been messaging me nonstop and probably wants me to call her.”

Without hearing your response, Aether grabs his coat off the couch, strides to your front door, puts on his boots and leaves.

“Okay, bye.” You say softly as the door closes, looking down at the two mugs of untouched hot chocolate.

You place the tray on the coffee table and sit on the couch, elbows resting on your knees while your hands hold up your head. You let out a somber sigh before leaning back and covering your face with your hands, letting out a groan.

What happened?

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

A couple of hours later, you opened the door for William. However, instead of being met with your usual smiling face, he sees you frowning. Coming inside the house and taking off his coat and boots, William looks at you expectantly.

“Hey, what's wrong? Where's Aether?”

Unable to speak, your bottom lip trembles, and tears start pouring out of your eyes. Your brother embraces you as you cry into his shirt, thoroughly soaking it.

“I know you're sad right now, but I need you to tell me what's wrong so I can help you.”

He plants you onto the couch before heading to the TV stand, grabbing the tissue box, and sitting next to you.

You sniffle your way into telling him the events that lead up to this point and you expect him to be angry. Instead, you are met with a loud stomach laugh.

“I know it's wrong for me to be laughing, but you're an idiot sometimes you know that?”

You let out an offended gasp at his comment before he starts to speak again.

“The reason why Aether left in such a rush wasn't because of Lumine. It's because he was jealous and heartbroken. Your action leading up to the phone call is probably what tipped him off at first, making him jealous, while your vague responses to me asking to drop off presents made it seem like you were inviting a significant other over. The only person you have to blame is your own stupidity for not telling him that it was just me, your brother, coming over for a short period of time.”

You grab one of the pillows sitting on the couch and bury your face in it, letting out a muffled scream. Your brother just pats you back as you wallow in your ignorance.

“You know that it's not too late to continue with your plan. All you have to do is tell him the truth.”

You finally lift your head off from the pillow and look at your phone, sitting on the coffee table. Determination evident in your eyes as you pick up your phone and call Aether, waiting for him to pick up.

Only for it to go to voicemail.

You quickly hang up and call again, knowing full well that Aether isn't busy.

You tried calling him seven times before giving up and throwing your phone down on the couch in frustration.

Your brother is still present to witness your little outburst of mixed emotions before suggesting a different tactic.

You put on your winter coat and shove your boots on before grabbing your keys. You rush out the door yelling thank you to your brother, almost slipping on ice as you sprint down the street toward Aether’s apartment.

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

Aether feels like an idiot and an asshole after hearing you explain everything. How William is actually your brother that he has known as Liam for the same amount of years he has known you. How his overthinking led him to make the wrong decision. How he thought lying to you would make things seem like nothing was wrong. He felt terrible. He ignored your calls because he was sad and yet here you are, in his apartment, out of breath with slightly puffy eyes.

He made you cry. Now he felt even worse.

“I'm sorry for bailing on you. It wasn't right for me to lie to your face like that because of my mixed emotions at the time.”

“So are we still friends?” You say hopefully.

“Yeah,” He replies with a nod and a smile, “but that's not the complete truth either.”

You tilt your head to the side in confusion.

“I want to be more than friends…. I like you.”

Your eyes widen at this new information.

He likes me? All this time, I was fretting over being rejected when Aether was probably going through the same thing.

Realizing that you still haven't replied to him, you quickly blurt out,

“I like you too!”

A sigh of relief escapes Aether's lips.

“How about we change our movie night into a date instead. We could go ice skating, but only if you're interested.”

“I'd love to.” smiling widely as you reply.

“Oh, one last thing. You can say no if you're uncomfortable with it, but can I kiss you?”.

He was using his puppy dog eyes at you. How could you possibly refuse?

You give him a nod and he slowly leans his body toward you. Reaching his hand out to cup your cheek, feeling the warmth of his palm against it as your blush grows. He starts to inch his face closer to yours until his nose is almost touching yours. You feel his breath on your skin and can tell he is nervous with how his lips tremble slightly. Finally, Aether tilts his head, and closes the gap between the two of you.

His lips are soft against your own and meld perfectly with yours. You don't separate until you are out of breath, slightly gasping for air, only for you to reconnect your lips with his again. You feel his other hand travel down to your waist to pull you closer.

When you two finally separate, Aether gets up from his couch and holds out hand. You gladly put your hand in his and he pulls you up into his chest, using his other hand on your hip to keep you in place. He then peppers your cheek with quick kisses in which you giggle at his sudden affection, but don't stop him.

After getting his fill, he takes you to the door and helps you into your coat and boots like a gentleman.

He links your hands with his once more and you both head out the door not as friends, but lovers.

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

Bonus

You were currently cuddled up to Aether on your shared couch while watching some Christmas movies. Your head was resting on Aether's chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeat, arms around his waist with a fleece blanket draped over both of your legs. As you were enjoying Aether's warm embrace, you can't help but remember a fond memory and let out a small chuckle.

“What are you thinking about that's so funny?” Aether asked with a small smile while poking your forehead.

“Just thinking about the time when we had that flour fight and how your whole face was covered. Your expression made you look like you had a pie thrown at you.”

“Haha, very funny. But let's not forget the fact that you had an egg yolk running down your head.”

“And whose fault is that, hm?”

“You were the one who initiated the fight. I was just finishing it.” He said with a smug smile. You give him an unamused look and his face softens, “Time sure does fly, huh.”

“That's because I get to spend everyday with you.” you say while looking up at Aether's face with a loving gaze.

“That's so cheesy,” He says with a laugh while rolling his eyes, “but I wouldn't have put it any better myself.”

Planting a kiss on your forehead, his arm around your waist pulls you closer to him and he intertwines his hand with yours, feeling the ring on your finger.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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

an | Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed your stay here!

#genshin impact #aether #genshin impact x you #aether x reader #aether x you #genshin x reader #genshin x you #genshin impact x reader #aether x y/n #modern au #christmas #genshin oneshots

59 notes · View notes