#i knew i had to draw this creature as soon as i saw them

[wyrreny]

cybertelly!!! from the hit analog horror series the walten files!!

[munson-blurbs]

Rockstar!Eddie x Childhood Best Friend!Reader

Summary: Eddie's got a new girlfriend, which means you get put on the back burner indefinitely. But there's only so much you can take.

WC: 2.1k

Warnings: hurt/no comfort, rockstar!Eddie, takes place around 1989, drinking/tipsiness, Eddie is an idiot, kinda insecure!Reader

--

Lena was beautiful. 

There was no denying that. You’d seen how beautiful she was the night Eddie had picked her from the crowd, dark makeup and denim miniskirt that ended mid-thigh. She walked backstage like she owned the place, with a confidence you could only envy from afar. 

You were used to it: Eddie would find a groupie, they’d hook up for the night, and then she was all but forgotten as Corroded Coffin moved to their next tour destination.

But not Lena. She’d been around for the last six months. Always touching Eddie, kissing him, drawing him in with her gorgeous eyes. She was everything he wanted, and she knew it.

You tried to get along with her and get to know her; after all, she was your best friend’s girlfriend. You asked her to grab a cup of coffee, to hang out at the mall, to get your nails done at the salon. All three times, she’d turned you down with some half-hearted excuse. 

And now she was here, at your birthday party. Her legs were draped over Eddie’s as they sat on the couch, his arm around her and her fingers in his hair. All you could focus on was his smile, that same dopey grin he used to give to Chrissy Cunningham whenever she’d give him an iota of attention back in high school. 

Eddie Munson was smitten, and he had no intention of hiding his feelings.

You downed your drink, the harsh taste of vodka burning your throat, and quickly poured yourself another one. What was the saying? It’s my party, and I’ll drink myself into a stupor if I want to? Something like that.

“Hey, Birthday Girl. You okay?” Gareth spoke up, yanking you from your thoughts. You hadn’t even realized he was beside you. “I haven’t seen you drink this much since the Grammys afterparty.”

You nodded, your head heavy with tears and liquor and lies. “Fine. Just…tired.”

Gareth scoffed. “Tired of watching Eddie and Lena tonguing each other, you mean?” Your wince betrayed your indifferent facade, and Gareth laughed softly. “Yeah, me, too.” He took a swig of his own drink and continued. “I mean, I get it. She’s hot as hell, but she’s also kinda–”

“Bitchy?” The word escaped you before you could stop it, another effect of the booze.

“You said it, not me.” Gareth raised his cup in a pseudo-toast. “But, yeah. Tour went from being about the band to being the Lena Show. And if you try to push back even a little, she just pouts and whines to Eddie that we’re being mean to her.”

You rolled your eyes. There was a freedom that came with confiding in Gareth, with no longer having to keep your feelings to yourself. “He used to call me at least once a week,” you say of Eddie, “and I figured that would change once he got a girlfriend. But the last time he called me was…two months ago.”

Could you even count that? It was just Eddie saying that the tour was good and that he’d be at your party–with Lena, of course. No silly stories from the road, no play-by-play of the shows, no begging for you to come see them again soon. It was as if you’d been a temporary placeholder until a better option came along.

And now, here she was, leaving red lipstick marks on his cheek. Staking her claim.

Eddie was never yours–not like that. Not in the way you wanted him to be yours. You’d been best friends since high school, and your crush had only blossomed from there. You were drawn to him the moment you saw him command the room during Hellfire, crafting and weaving a tale of a fantastical world with magnificent and terrifying creatures. It was as though you could see it right in front of you.

That storytelling talent extended to his songwriting. Sure, some of the songs were about the heartbreak that comes with being a teenager, but so many others were rooted in big problems: war, poverty, and the general injustices of the world. You were in awe of the way his eyes saw beyond the tiny borders of Hawkins.

Gareth slung an arm around you and pulled you close. Though you’d never told him about your crush on Eddie, he knew. All of Corroded Coffin knew—and probably all of the old Hellfire crew, too. Everyone but Eddie. 

“It’ll be okay,” Gareth murmured. “He’s an idiot. He’s always been an idiot, but with her, it’s amped up. Stupidity on steroids.”

You laughed at that despite the sadness brewing within you.

“Go enjoy your party. You deserve it.”

Heeding his advice, you pried yourself from the kitchen counter and over to some of the other guests. You managed to have fun, pushing away the nagging reminder of heartbreak just feet away. It got easier as the night went on—until it didn’t. 

“Baby,” you heard Lena whine. “This party sucks. I wanna go back to the hotel.”

Say no, you silently willed Eddie. Tell her that you want to stay. Tell her that she can leave, but you’re going to stick around and—

“Yeah, babe. We can go.”

Five words that anchored a pit in your stomach. He didn’t even consider an alternative option. Lena was his only priority. 

You blinked back the tears in your eyes as he said his half-hearted goodbye. Lena stood behind him, arms crossed over her chest. 

“Super fun party,” she drawled, donning a saccharine smile. “So sorry we have to leave early.” With that, she grabbed Eddie’s hand and led him out of your apartment. 

The rest of the night was a blur. Even as you ate birthday cake and talked with other guests, your focus stayed on the remnants of your friendship with Eddie. Of course dynamics changed when friends got partners. But to be completely iced out? That couldn’t be normal. It shouldn’t be normal.

You decided that night that you were done. The friendship was already beyond repair. It wasn’t Lena’s fault, though it would be much easier to blame her and keep pretending that Eddie was still the same thoughtful guy from Hawkins High. No, Eddie was the problem, and the solution was letting him go.

Weeks went by, then months, with no word from Eddie. The first few days hurt, your heart still convinced that he’d call and apologize for bailing on the rest of your party. A simple ‘I’m sorry’ that might spark a flicker of hope.

It got easier after a while. You filled your days with work and friends. When you heard a Corroded Coffin song on the radio, you simply changed the station without tears falling. And when Entertainment Tonight declared that “a young woman previously linked to Corroded Coffin frontman Eddie Munson was spotting cozying up to a more popular band’s lead singer,” you only chuckled and snapped off the TV.

The first call came a week later when you were at work. Your answering machine button flashed red, and you pressed play to hear the new message.

Hey, um, it’s me.

You froze, your blood icing over in your veins.

I know it’s been a while, but…a lot has happened. And I’ve been thinking, and I really wanna see you. Talk to you. I miss you. Um, the tour just finished, so I’ll be back in Hawkins. Let me know when you’re around.

Absolutely not. There was no way you’d talk to him again, and you finalized that decision by erasing the message.

But two days later, there was another one.

Hey, it’s me again. I was talking to Gareth, and he told me that I royally fucked up. Which I kinda knew, but hearing it from him…yeah.

Anyway, um, I don’t wanna just hang out–I mean, I do, but I wanna apologize first. In person, i-if that’s okay. I think my first message made it sound like, ‘Hey, let’s go grab a drink and bullshit around,’ but I want to say that I’m sorry. Shit, I’m rambling. Okay, I’m gonna go now. Bye.

And then another the day after that.

Okay, so, you don’t wanna meet up in person, and I get that. But I still want you to know how sorry I am, so I’ll just say it here, I guess. I never should have pushed you aside like that. I got caught up in everything with the band and the tour and…and her, and…y’know. That’s not an excuse or anything, just…explaining my series of fuck-ups. I miss you so much, and I wish we could just be friends again. I know it’s not that easy, but…fuck, I fucked this up. I’m really sorry, and you don’t have to forgive me–shit, Wayne’s home. I’ll talk to you later. Or, um, talk to your voicemail, I guess.

Wayne was home. That meant that Eddie was twenty minutes away from you, leaving voicemails from his uncle’s trailer. You grabbed your jacket, willing yourself to stay focused on the road as you drove to Forest Hills. That asshole wanted to talk to you in person, but couldn’t even stammer out a genuine apology over the phone?

You knocked on the trailer door so hard that your knuckles ached by the time Eddie opened it.

“Wha–did you get my messages?” His eyes widened as he took in the sight of you standing before him.

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms over your chest. “You mean the ones with your half-assed apologies? Yeah, I got ‘em.”

Eddie took a step back. “No, no, I meant them. I really am sorry.”

“Convenient how you found time to be sorry once your girlfriend started fucking someone else,” you seethed. “Couldn’t squeeze out a minute to call after you ditched me on my birthday, but you’ve got plenty of time to grovel now.”

“That’s not–she wasn’t good for me,” he supplied lamely.

You couldn’t help the snort you let out. “What, did she hold the phone hostage? Did she pick you up and carry you out of my party? You,” you jabbed your forefinger into his chest, “are the reason we don’t talk. Not her.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” You snapped. “Because I have a feeling that you think this is on Lena. And maybe she didn’t help, but she certainly didn’t force you to be a shitty friend.”

Eddie rubbed his palm over his eyes. “I know,” he repeated, the frustration evident in his tone. “I…I was a shitty friend. I never should have left your party early, and I should’ve stayed in touch with you. I should’ve listened to the guys when they warned me that you wouldn’t keep putting up with my bullshit for much longer.”

You felt a spark of reassurance that the other band members had stood up for you, but you kept your attention on what you needed to say. What you needed him to hear.

“And now what? You’re back in Hawkins, no groupies around to keep you company, so you figure it’s a good time to reach out to me?” You stepped closer to him as you spoke. “I’m not your back-up plan when your life comes crashing down. I’m a goddamn person, Eddie! And you just threw me away like our friendship meant nothing to you.”

He was silent for a few moments, his sweat sock-covered foot grinding into the carpet. His hair fell in front of his face, but you could still see him chewing on the inside of his cheek as he considered his next words.

“Gareth told me…he told me that you liked me,” Eddie said softly. “Like…more than just a friend.” With trepidation, he looked into your eyes, tears forming in his own. “And he said I’m an idiot for not seeing what was in front of my face the whole time. A really beautiful woman who has always been there for me. Who never gave up on me, whether I was playing to five drunks at the Hideout or to sold-out stadium crowds.”

“Right. All of the things I’ve done for you. But what have you done for me? How have you been my friend?” You waited for him to respond, but he said nothing. “Exactly. I was just a groupie you never fucked.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped, and you couldn’t help but feel a wave of pride wash over you at his utter shock. “I’m–”

“I know you’re sorry. I got it.” You pivoted on one heel and turned your back to him, starting towards your car. Before you got there, you called out over your shoulder. “And if you leave me another pathetic voicemail, I’ll throw my answering machine through your window.”

Then you drove off, leaving him standing where you left him, just as alone as you’d felt all this time.

--

[motherofdogs1010]

Of Messiahs and Seeds II (Dark!Paul Atreides x Reader)

Summary: Emperor Paul of House Atreides has set forth with expansion of his empire on the planets that have resisted and has now come across the last stronghold that resists him: Terra Millennium...

Warnings: dark! fic, 18+ only, eventual DUBCON, eventual forced marriage, eventual pregnancy, violence, language, drinking, chubby!reader, dark!Paul Atreides, possessive!Paul, obssessive! Paul, spoilers for Dune Part 2

Dividers by @firefly-graphics Banner by @vase-of-lilies

"You will relinquish your place as Queen", Paul said, walking up towards the women. "I will make sure you are well-cared for or you will become the beggar Queen you are."

Y/N raised a brow as she walked towards the Emperor, anger flowing through her but Lord York had always said to remain a neutral stance as possible to not let the enemy know your next move.

"We are not here to discuss terms of surrender", Lord York said, "we are here to discuss terms of peace."

"And those terms are to relinquish your right to Terra Millennium", Paul said before motioning to a Reverend Mother holding a newborn behind him. "And allow the Beneit Gesserit to spread truth and the Fremen people, my people find their Paradise."

"Obviously, we didn't communicate well", she said, looking at the dark-haired Emperor. "When we said war would happen, we meant war will come to the Empire, not Terra Millennium."

She saw the man chuckle, actually the entire Atreides fleet chuckled and Y/N felt more anger, but she knew she would be the one chuckling in just a few moments.

"I imagine that you are finding this difficult", Paul said, leaning down in her face. "Your reign as Queen is over."

She heard the roar of Draco coming closer and she let a little smirk out.

"My reign has just begun, Emperor Paul."

Just then Draco swooped in, letting out a mighty roar as he landed on the ground behind her, roaring another roar as he spotted Paul.

The mighty beast was unlike anything Paul had seen as it landed next to the Queen, it leaned it's scaly head next to her affectionately before she turned as it lowered a large wing, allowing her to climb onto its back as he stumbled back as it roared at him, he could see the impossibly sharp teeth.

He could hear Stilgar let out a prayer as the beast began to flap its wings and run on its legs before taking off into the sky.

He watched in slight horror as he heard the sound of more beasts and saw two more in the air, flying behind its sibling in the air as it looked like it was circling one of his ships.

What was she making it do? Could she command them?

His answer soon came as the three mighty beast found one of his ships and breathed down a holy fire, he watched in anger and a little horror as his ship began to literally melt, the spice stored in the ship destroyed.

"I believe we have made ourselves clear", the shorter man said, "Terra Millennium will remain ours. It is in your best interest to take the mercy our Queen has shown, and let the Houses know of the mercy and kindness our Queen has shown you."

Paul had only ever seen these creatures in drawings from books of Ancient Times, but here they were. Mighty and fiery as they rained down fire onto one of his ships, he could hear his Fremen people praying and shouting.

🌎

"Muad'Dib", Stilgar said once they had retreated back into the remaining ships. "We must formulate a new plan of attack."

Paul rubbed his chin as he sat in a chair, a hologram image of Terra Millennium was pulled up as he began to hear everyone discuss their next move as the ships hovered in orbit over the planet, but Paul could not think at the moment.

Such raw power at the hands of just one woman, Paul could not fathom that. It was like she was made to be the equal of a great ruler, an equal crafted just for him. Irulan was too mouthy and if he was honest, too submissive at times thanks to the Beneit Gesserit and Chani had given in too easily to his love.

But Amaris, oh... she posed a challenge for Paul, a challenge he wanted to conquer, to fuck until she understood her place underneath him, to breed heirs into her. She looked like she could carry children well from the wide hips she had as Paul allowed for these thoughts to course through his mind.

He needed to see those cold eyes again, he needed to watch as they melted into fear, into desire, into submission. She would understand soon enough, the Fremen would soon find their Paradise here in this planet and that only left the one problem: Irulan.

"I believe we need to find a way outside of their reach", Paul finally said, "look towards their colonies and start at the weakest one."

And Paul had the perfect way to get rid of her and that elderly father of hers...

She heard the sound of the ocean crashing against the sandy beaches of her world, the smell of the salt in her nose as she heard a palm tree rustle in her ears. She felt the water licking at her feet, the wet sand in her toes.

"Together, we could rule all this", a familiar voice breathed into her. "Together, this universe would bow at our feet."

A pair of hands wandered, grasping at her soft flesh as a pair of lips kissed at her neck, a nose nuzzling at her.

"All you have to do is say yes..."

Y/N felt hazy like her mind was underwater as the voice continued assaulting her with sweet words, their hands massaging and rubbing at her body.

"Just say yes to me..."

She turned her head and her eyes widened as she saw Paul, a dark look of desire and power in his eyes.

"Either way, you belong to me. It's up to you how many die along the way."

With a shaky breath, Y/N snapped her eyes open as she quickly sat up and looked around, seeing that she was in her room as her heart was beating in her chest.

She could still feel his lips against her body, his breath... still hear his voice in her mind.

Outside, she could hear the rumble of Draco, Aria and Perseus sleeping near her window; those three dragons probably curled up in a little scaly pile of cuddles that always made her laugh and right now brought her comfort.

Getting out of her bed, her nightgown fell around her as she walked towards her balcony, feeling the autumn breeze brush against her as she hugged her body.

The last Emperor had stood no chance against Terra M last time, but Y/N knew it was different this time. Paul had gained all the Great Houses and the Fremen, she had her army and the colonies, but would it be enough?

The colonies... she would check on them in the morning. She just hoped all would still be well in the morning...

TAGLIST

@ninastyless @james-bucky-barnackle @astarborntowrite @maggiecc @radiantdanvers @croatianprincess

[dreamisols]

｡⋆.luxiem + the things they do for love

—headcanons for how the boys show their love for you in their own little ways —fluff, gn! reader, i dumped this all in one night, update i finally proofread it!, the boys are their personas in the fic, i'm not including a certain someone out of respect :(, please remember that fiction is not equal to reality, always respect the livers! —mimi's ramble: i've always wanted to write for niji (T v T) i'll write for other fandoms too soon!

shu yamino

... entertains you with little light shows

if the people from shu's past life saw him now, he's sure that they would've had a whiplash

the sorcerer admits that he's handled his fair share of deadly curses, especially back in his prime. the delicate fingers brushing through your hair as you lay peacefully on his lap were the same fingers that conjured nightmarish realities towards those who truly deserved his wrath

does he still know all of these curses now? obviously.

can he still cast them as proficiently as before? absolutely.

shu simply chooses not to, so really, he wouldn't blame the people for whatever presumptions and thoughts they would've had about him. he's a man with a notable reputation—though good-natured, still fearful in his own right

his mind drifts along with daydreams as he continues combing through your hair, amused while imagining the terror on their faces upon seeing you so casually sprawled on his lap. no care whatsoever of the fact you're dating a sorcerer, because you trust that you can be vulnerable around your beloved shu

it was a nice change of pace. you're a nice change of pace.

your soft whine breaks shu from his daydream and he can't help but chuckle at the sound. it sounds irritated, but still playful and light. his eyes meet yours when you blink up and speak in a confused daze, "why'd you stop?"

in response, he sends you his signature cheeky grin, "you're gonna grow spoiled if i continue," he jokes, booping your nose "i also wanna show you something."

mumbling a few things under his breath, shu's hands gracefully draw shapes in the air. immediately, a humble array of beautiful sparkling lights and mythical looking creatures dance around the both of you. your mouth gapes in awe, looking at the fantastical sky

"it's a little thing i learned," the sorcerer perks up, adjusting from where he's seated so your back's leaning on his chest. a perfect view to gauge your response. "it's one of the few spells i know that doesn't hurt others. is it nice?"

you nod, still not looking away from the view, "nice? shu, this is breathtaking. i love it"

he leaves a small kiss on your temple, and you feel the smile on his lips as he murmurs a quiet thank you

shu hopes you never find out that he's spent a good chunk of his time learning that spell for you because he knew it would make you smile. and he definitely hopes you never find out that he's willing to do this over and over if it meant you two could always be like this. (that's a lie, he really wants you to know)

ike eveland

... immortalizes you in his work

to say your lover is currently inspired is an understatement

you were convinced that all nine muses had suddenly bestowed gift after gift to him, because you've never seen ike create works at such a speedy rate. he reminds you of a cat overwhelmed with the amount of treats and toys around him, because he keeps on alternating between one thing and the other

though you support your lover's endeavors and encourage him to work to his heart's content, you couldn't help the concern that washes over you when you register the amount of work he has on his plate

now you stand before his room with a mission in mind: make him take a break

maybe also grabbing an opportunity to take a little peek at the content of his works....

you march up with a tray of snacks and a drink in hand, "ike," you call out softly as you shut the door behind you, "i've got some snacks for you"

the novelist perks up at the sound of your voice and immediately turns to face you with a smile

"hello darling," he greets you softly, melodiously, while making quick steps towards you. ike kisses you as gently as he speaks to you, before he flashes an appreciative smile at the sight of your little gift "you really shouldn't have, thank you"

"you need to take a break too, you know" you're quick to comment as you trail after him while he carries the food to his desk. the novelist just hums and nods, and you get the lingering sense that what you said entered one ear and went out the other

you don't even hide the sigh upon noting all the papers scattered around his desk, "i'm serious, ike.." judging by the unfinished thoughts and abruptly cut paragraphs, it seemed like they were all unfinished drafts. "what's gotten you so worked up anyways?"

"you."

it's like he's stating an obvious fact. he replies so quickly and so casually, so unlike the deep thinker you're used to.

you stare at him shocked, while he reaches out to grab some of the said sheets of paper

"i was initially just going to write a cute romantic letter for you, but in the process of writing it, i realized i could somewhat incorporate everything that i feel for you into my actual working project. so i paused in writing the letter and went to writing my draft."

he grabs another few pages from a different pile, and dramatically continues, "but then the more i was thinking of how i felt for you, the more i thought about you in general. you and your pretty self, you'll be the death of me."

"then i realized that if i suddenly started writing about you in that draft, it wouldn't make sense, so i made a new draft just for that."

ike sighs, looking at you with a small pout, "now you can see how it became a cycle from there. really, if anything, you're..." he stops mid-thought, looking straight into your bewildered eyes. you're sure you look like a flustered mess, but you catch the way his eyes carefully map your entire face in adoration as his hand blindly reaches for his notepad

"hang on, i need to hold that thought. i'm getting an idea for yet another work."

luca kaneshiro

... has a whole folder in his notes app dedicated to you

the life of a mafia boss is no joke, you could practically imagine how hectic the day-to-day workload must be

despite your knowledge about luca's line of work, your sweet lover refuses to ever expose you to such ministries underground. he'd indulge you with scraps of information, sure; and the people under him all recognize (and adore) you, yes. but that's just as far as you're gonna get! he doesn't want to risk your safety, and you're beyond grateful for that

but imagination does wonders in filling up for whatever information you're lacking, and you pride yourself with how much your brain's able to conjure on what luca could possibly be doing (though you believe you need to tone down with the gruesome details)

one thing's for certain, there is a lot of things going on in the underworld. a lot of stressful things that leaves even your beloved sunshine of a boyfriend frustrated

his preferred method of blowing off steam? ranting to you

you really don't mind whenever he does since he'd always ask whether you're fine with him talking about it or not, and even with your consent, he really tries to keep everything to a minimum for you. still, that doesn't stop you from empathizing with the struggles and frustrations that come along with his line of work

"i'm really gonna make it up to you, okay?" luca mumbles into the crook of your shoulder, his arms securely wrapped around your frame. you just hummed and kissed his cheek, hugging him back

you regret not taking his words much more seriously

"mister luca kaneshiro, what on earth is this?"

you desperately wish the content of this clipboard was all a joke, or probably something you misread. but judging from the way he giggles like an excited child (which fits the charming grin on his face), you don't think there was a mistake at all

"i said i'm gonna make it up to you! remember?" he chirped before kissing all around your face "we're gonna start with this!"

you blink dumbly at him, "luca... this is a whole week's worth of high class things"

his grin falters and he looks at you with a quizzical stare "wait, does that mean i forgot to print out next week's cruise trip there?"

sometimes you want to take his brain and study it under a microscope.

for a good chunk of time, you scolded luca with how careless and hasty he is with spending, especially when it comes to spoiling you. he retaliates with whines of his own as he childishly pouts and points at the agenda he made for the both of you

"but you said you've always wanted to visit this pop-up cafe since the collab featured is one of your favorite shows! and since you wanna go, then i wanna go too! it even has your preferred drink on the menu, see?"

at some point you tuned out his nonstop rambling, especially when the contents on the clipboard caught your attention. you're quick to realize the entire week's plans are fit exactly to your tastes. all the places and activities are more or less suited to your preferences, and you couldn't help but inwardly applaud luca's attention to detail (he even placed the preferred time according to convenience and comfort)

you don't realize that luca's stopped his persuading rambles when he caught you studying the paper. immediately, a proud grin etches on his face at your astounded look and he puffs his chest in pride,

"i take note of aaalll the things you like and tell me about, y'know? what kind of boyfriend would i be if i didn't know whether- i dunno- my lover would prefer their coffee iced or hot? or, trick question: if they even like coffee at all?"

upon seeing your poorly-concealed smile, he beams a smile of his own and kisses the corner of your lips, "just allow me to spoil you and show you my love, yeah?"

vox akuma

... makes a promise ring

"red really does suit you, darling"

vox chuckles when he sees you visibly shiver from the sheer intimacy of his actions. he can't blame you though, not when he's looking at you so affectionately as he gently plays with your hand

one by one, he leaves trails of kisses on your fingers. his lips trailing and mapping each and every area as if he was worshiping you. it feels light and dreamy, the way he's showering you in affection, you really can't help the way your heart swells

the demon is truly a man of his word, an ironic statement you've come to realize given how long you've been dating him. where in stories demons are usually depicted as deceitful beings, the one standing before you is nothing but sincere

he had always been someone who emphasizes the importance of promises, and with his background, you've come to understand why

it's in his principle that promises are meant to be taken seriously. they require mutual trust and a deeper sense of connection between the individuals after all. for instance, when you broke down and told vox all your troubles one time, he wrapped you in his wine colored coat and held you to his chest. you can hear the silent oath he made to always be there for you like you were there for him

but some promises between you two are more silly. like the time he accidentally ate the remaining dessert in the fridge despite you clearly stating over and over again how it was yours. the poor man had to endure your glares and pouts through fits of amused laughter. he finally gave in when he realized you'd playfully dodge his kisses, and made a lighthearted promise to not touch whatever food you said is yours and even compensate by cooking for you that night (the food was divine)

other times, it would sometimes come in the form of affection. simple and direct to the point, but as effective as ever. if he ever had to run late due to some errands or because he's meeting up with his friends, he'll always let you know prior with a gentle kiss on your forehead. a silent way of saying that the moment he's done, he's rushing home to nobody but you

vox really is a man of his word

the ring fitting snuggly around your finger is yet another form of his vows

the red jewel glimmers and winks at you, a lustrous ruby shade strikingly similar to the shade of red your beloved voice demon loves to parade around in.. and the fact that the both of you are wearing similar rings is surely bound to have heads turning to your direction.

you're snapped out of your trance when you feel vox playing with the cool metal wrapped snuggly on your finger. instead of a smug smirk or a devilish grin, his lips are formed into the smallest of smiles. a soft and content smile. he looks at the ring like it's the one thing that genuinely makes him happy, and you understand why

vox gave you a ring not because he wants to own you, but because he trusts you'll never break his greatest oath

"promise you'll take care of it?" he asks, guiding your hand to rest where his heart is—his greatest and most vulnerable vow

"i promise"

likes and reblogs are appreciated, but please don’t copy or repost my work! [edited and proofread: 110623]

[irisintheafterglow]

Hellooo 🫠

You know when amanai is having a moment in the aquarium watching the fish? Maybe reader had wandered off from gojo and sugu and was having a moment to herself in like, a jellyfish area? And sugu notices she's gone and goes to find her?

He would be so romantic 🥲

respectfully, your honor, he is simply babygirl

When he noticed you were missing from the group, it didn't take much effort to summon a weak Curse and send it to find you. He knew you could handle yourself, but he also didn't want another situation where one of your group gets kidnapped. After the Curse reports back of your whereabouts, he slips into the crowds as easily as a shadow.

“There you are. I was beginning to think a shark ate you.”

“You’re not listening very well if you still associate sharks with attacking people,” you reply, looking at him from the corner of your eye in the dim light of the gallery. He smiles softly at your quick remark and it makes your stomach do a somersault. The chill of the air conditioned hall sends goosebumps over your skin and you refocus on the exhibit in front of you, sea nettles with their tentacles elegantly swirling as they swim about mindlessly. To tell the truth, you’d wandered off from the rest of the group after you heard something about an opportunity to feed the rays in a touchpool. But, you’d become lost somewhere between the second floor bathrooms and the dancing otter mascot. You ended up in the deep sea gallery, a darkly lit series of exhibits showcasing all sorts of creatures found in deathly cold waters. “How are Riko and Satoru doing?”

“They’re great. Last I checked, they were headed to harass the penguins.” He closes the distance until his arm is pressed against yours, the warmth of his bicep helping against the frigid temperature. As you move on to the next exhibit, his eyes track the movement of the dancing jellies in awe. “What are these guys?”

“Moon jellies," you inform him, leaning into his touch when his lips meet the side of your head. It's intimate and it's quiet, a situation that didn't come easily for Jujutsu sorcerers. His pointer finger traces a heart on the cold perspiration of the tank and you draw a happy face next to it to match.

"They're like you." Your eyebrow quirks at the odd comparison.

"Slimy and small?"

"Beautiful, I mean," he clarifies, flicking your forehead lightly with his fingers. "I would sit with you and watch them for hours if I could."

"Did you know jellies don’t have a brain?”

“Must be related to Satoru,” he murmurs and you stifle a laugh into your fist, knocking him with your elbow. He bumps you with his shoulder in return, letting you pull him even closer by resting your hand on his arm. “You doing okay?”

“I’m better now. It just got a little loud in the main hall where we saw the whale shark,” you admit, admiring the graceful movements of the jelly to keep your focus away from how handsome Suguru looked in the moody lights. “I’ll be ready to get back with everyone else soon, I promise.”

“Take your time. I'll wait for you.”

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[neteyamslovrr]

TO LOSE YOU

summary: tsu'tey had lost everyone he had ever loved. fearful of loving you to lose you, he pushes those feelings down just for you to dig them back up

3.5k words fem!omaticaya reader angst to fluff

────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────

Quick, agile, brave, and mighty. Four words to describe the great warrior Tsu’tey.

He was idolized by every young hunter, he had wooed every woman, he was the man of the people. However, this man lacked the space in his heart for more than the people, a space that needed vulnerability and kindness. What space was that? A space for someone special.

Tsu’tey was in the forest, his limbs movingly stealthily against the foliage, his bow drawn, ready to shoot. The soft sounds of the forest were twittering in his perked-up ears, moving to the direction of any sound. He had just lost sight of a large creature, perfect to bring back to his people. Yet the creature had run off into the forest faster than Tsu’tey could draw his bow.

He was extremely alert, as you have to be in the hostile forest. But each of his senses were heightened. He wanted that animal, the fact that he missed his chance already made him angry but the fact he couldn’t find it again made him seer.

It was a quiet rustle in the flora that made Tsu’tey’s hunched back straighten as he tilted his body towards the sound. He was weary of the noise, knowing there were many sounds in this large forest, but this rustle grew closer and closer to him.

With the release of his arrow a shout was immediately heard, a shout no animal could have made. “AH! You Skxwang!” a woman had shouted in the distance. Feet taking off in a hurry, scurrying as his feet broke twigs and disturbed all life in the area as he senselessly ran towards the woman’s voice. As he landed upon the destination of the sound he found the woman was you, a woman he had grown up besides, trained with and fought wars with.

Eyes grew in worry as he realised his arrow had grazed the flesh of your thigh, you must’ve moved just in time not to be impaled, but that did not stop the blood gushing out of your open wound.

“Y/N! Why are you here?!” His first reaction was to shout, demand to understand why you were so deep in the forest following him, however, it was soon abandoned as he noticed your inability to respond to anything as you held you leg wailing in pain.

He was speechless. The only sound he was able to conjure was to call his direhorse. He saw your blood-stained hands and felt nauseous. There was so much blood.

The trotting of his horse was met with a feeling of relief as he reached down to pick you up. “OW!”

“I am sorry! We must get you to Tsa’hik!”

“Skxwang! You- AH!” He tried to be quick placing you on the back on his horse but it didn’t distract from the pain. He hopped behind you, connecting with his horse and holding you from behind riding through the forest with haste.

Every trot was met with a hiss of pain until you both reached the Tsa’hik’s hut.

You now laid on the ground of her tent, jars of medicinal herbs filling your senses as the pain shot through your leg. “I swear Tsu’tey I am going to pluck your eyes- OW!”

Tsu’tey paced around the tent, he was going to stay with you until Mo’at had declared you fit. He was the perpetrator. The one who shot an arrow mere millimetres away from impaling your leg. Every time you hissed and shouted the guilt in his chest grew heavier. He knew he was off his shooting game but he didn’t think he was going to seriously injure one of his people, definitely not someone he had grown up beside.

“Be quiet my child, the pain will subside shortly.” Mo’at’s voice was calming, as her lengthy fingers worked precisely to tie a thick fabric around the gash to stop some of the final bleeding.

“Thankyou Tsa’hik.” Breathlessly you thanked her as she gave you a knowing nod before leaving the tent to attend to other tasks. She was a busy woman.

Tsu’tey stared down at you, his mouth agape. He had never been so stricken before seeing someone in such pain that he had caused.

“I am sorry Y/N.” He kneeled next to you, laying a hand on your shoulder. Shuddering at his touch you grunted in response. “I truly am.”

“It is unlike you to apologize.”

“I have injured you, it is different.” You hummed rolling your head to the side to face away from Tsu’teys frowning face. A long beat of silence enters the room, embracing your bodies with the tension. “Why were you out following me?”

Your breath hitched in response, you didn’t want to reveal the real reason you were following him in the forest. You couldn’t, it would destroy the simple friendship the two of you share. “Why is it any of your business?”

“Because you followed me into the forest, without warning knowing it could be dangerous.” A stern tone now erupted out of Tsu’tey, his signature frown adorning his face.

“I don’t think I owe you anything considering you almost killed me.” You had got him there. He wasn’t going to badger an injured woman but he was going to badger his injured friend.

“Tell me.”

“It is none of your business Tsu’tey.”

“Y/N.” he growled lowly, tail whipping back and forth due to his anger.

“Do me a favour Tsu’tey and please get me some water. I am thirsty.”

“Your attempt at changing the subject is poor.” Even though he was ridiculing your attempts he was still getting the water for you. A large leaf in his hand he sat back down beside you. Sitting up to take the water out of his hands the pain in your thigh run through your entire body. “Ah!”

“Lay back I will feed to you.” Tsu’tey motioned for you to lay back as you swatted his hand away.

“I…can drink m-myself.” Your attempt at sitting up again failed as the pain in your thigh became more intense. Tsu’tey gave you a look, one that said, ‘just sit back please.’ You complied laying back on your forearms as Tsu’tey scooted towards your head.

One hand help your chin tilting your head upwards as the other held the leaf steadily to slowly poor the water into your mouth. His slender fingers on your chin made your face tingle. You had yearned for Tsu’tey since you were children, but you pushed those feelings down as he grew older and grew interested in other women. Those feelings never went away and in times like these they resurfaced immediately.

“Thankyou Tsu’tey.” You smiled back at him before removing the weight off your forearms and lying back down.

“It is duty. No need to thank.” Ah yes. Duty. No matter what Tsu’tey had his duties. That is what he tended to most now. He was the only warrior with no mate. After Sylwanin was killed and Neytiri mated to Jake sully he had never wanted to find another. He wasn’t bothered any longer to find a mate when his first duty was to serve his people beside Jake.

But that never stopped you from hoping that one day he would look at you in a different light. See you as a woman not a friend. You hoped that his heart also fluttered when you met eyes or when your limbs brushed up against each other, but it felt useless. He never would feel that way.

This however was where you were wrong. His heart fluttered but he refused to let it show, he refused to accept this feeling. It was weak of him. It only brought hurt to his life when he loved so he would stay beside you as a friend.

“You can go Y’know. I will not perish.” He nodded with a chuckle.

“You are too tough to perish, but I cannot leave. You must tell me why you followed.” As he went back to the sore subject you hissed at him in annoyance.

“You will get no answer from me. Don’t annoy me while I lay injured by your doing.” Tsu’tey hissed back in annoyance.

“Y/N I do not understand what it so hard to tell…” before he finished you let out a loud shouting hiss at him baring your teeth at him.

“Go.” For one so annoyed at Tsu’tey you couldn’t in your heart be mean. So you ‘go’ was not a demand but rather sounded like a desperate plead.

Tsu’tey frowned, his forehead creasing as he got up from his position next to you. “Goodbye Y/N.” he muttered before sulking out of the Tsa’hik’s tent to go tend to his other duties for the day.

It had been a couple days and you were now completely healed. Tsu’tey popped into the tent once or twice a day to give you water or feed you some fruit but decided to not pester you about your whereabouts on that day. He knew there was a reason you would not tell him, but he also knew there was no way he could get you to talk so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

As you felt cooped up in your tent for the past few days you took this time to go and just lay in the forest, fly your ikran and be one with nature. It made you feel calm and finally let you take a deep breath that wasn’t filled with strong scents of paste that had been massaged into your wound.

As soon as Tsu’tey saw you take flight to your ikran he knew it was time to ask about. To figure out your secret. Someone had to know, he prayed someone knew.

“Jakesully!” He shouted chasing after the Olo’eyktan. “You! Jakesully!” He shouted again finally gaining his attention.

“What? Huh? Oh brother, what is it that you need?” Jake patted a hand on Tsu’tey’s shoulder motioning for him to sit with him so they could converse.

Tsu’tey took a deep breath. He was nervous to ask the Olo’eyktan something about you. It would look stupid to Jakesully, he thought. That he had to be secretive to get the answers he needed from one of his close friends.

“Y/N. I question her actions.” His face was stern, eyes glaring hard at Jake with a slight twinkle of confusion.

 “Why don’t you just ask her? You two are friends aren’t you?” Tsu’tey rolled his eyes. If Y/N would have told him he would not have to be facing this shame right now.

“I already thought of that! Let me finish.”

“Ok ok….go ahead tough guy.” Tsu’tey grunted again before taking another deep breath.

“As you know…I shot her with my bow.” Jake just nodded listening intently. “Well that is because she followed me into the forest. She stalked me like prey and refuses to tell me why she was there.”

“Why are you asking me this? If she doesn’t want to tell you, you shouldn’t pester-”

“AGH! I know that! I must know though. You must know something about it you are Olo’eyktan.”

“Brother…I don’t know if she wants you to know.” Tsu’tey was growing more concerned by the second. What were you hiding from hi? What did you feel you could not confide within him?

“Please Jakesully. Please.” Jake knew it was serious when he begged, Tsu’tey never would have begged if it weren’t for something serious. Shaking his head Jake was now the one who was taking a deep breath.\

“Those wounds brother.” He pointed to the man gunshot wounds on Tsu’tey’s chest. “Those are the reason.”

“I do not understand. Why would me being shot make her follow me? She was not there when it happened.”

Jake wore a sad smile, laying a hand on his shoulder. “She was the one who found you Tsu’tey.”

He wasn’t responding to your calls through your neckpieces. “Tsu’tey? Do you copy? Please c’mon c’mon.” You begged he was alive as you rode deeper into the forest, looking eagerly for your Tsu’tey. Your heart was pounding, it felt as if you were about to throw up. Everything around you was loud, the animals screeching, the machinery exploding and the people screaming. Though that noise stopped as you saw a large blue figure sprawled out on the forest floor.

Your heart stopped and jumped out of your throat. Your hands were shaky as you walked closer to the figure. Please don’t be him. You prayed but those prayers were not heard. Because when you noticed his signature necklace adorning his battered body you let out a blood curdling scream. Nothing was loud anymore, not louder than the sound of your own heartbeat in your ears, pounding at your skull.

“MA TSU’TEY! NO NO NO!” You had fallen next to his limp body grasping his large hand in yours. The blood was overwhelming. You tried putting pressure on the wounds staining yourself in his death. His chest was still rising, a soft breath in and out as you pleaded with Eywa. “Oh great mother please! PLEASE! Do not let me lose this man. Oh Eywa I beg of you.”

Your pleas were drowned out by your own wails. Racking your chest as you cried into his weak body. “HELP US PLEASE. I NEED HELP PLEASE!” Your screams were lost to the sound of forest. Tears staining your face like his blood stained your hands. It felt like hours you laid there listening to his shaky breaths as you wept. “Y/N!” It was Jake, he rushed towards you. “Shit.”

“Please, help me take him back. He is still breathing. Please Jake. I need to get him help.” You looked crazy, blood shot eyes and blood down your arms and torso.

“Neytiri! We need backup!” Jake called before rushing over to Tsu’tey. You were holding onto his hand tightly.

“Your getting help now Tsu’tey. You will be fine.” You whispered into his ear following him onto Toruk with Jake.

You cradled his head in your arms. Still wailing as Jake tried to calm you down. Nothing could take away from the fact that you were holding your first loves dying body in your arms stained with his blood. You swore to yourself that you would never let this happen again. You would protect the might warrior who protects all.

Jake continued to tell Tsu’tey about how you didn’t leave his side until he woke. That everyone tried to tear you away from Tsu’tey’s sleeping body but you refused to let him out of your sight.

“She never wanted you to know about that day. She didn’t want you to know that she loves you. I mean man, sometimes I can still hear her screams from that day.”

Tsu’tey was frozen. You followed him, because you were afraid of losing him? Because you loved him? He felt those heart flutters he tried to push down, turn into thumps. You loved him?

“She follows me because…she is afraid?” Jake nodded patting his back. Tsu’tey was usually a stoic man, but all of his emotions were on his face. He was confused even though the truth was revealed. How long had you loved him? Were you always following him? Was he constantly blind to your affections or was he wilfully ignorant due his fear of loving again.

“She follows you because she can’t lose someone she loves. Which I think is something I would be afraid of too.” Tsu’tey nodded slowly, still trying to reel his thoughts back together.

“She loves me?” A small smile was apparent on his face. He was in disbelief. You saved him that day, you never told him. You lived every day keeping your love buried down. He was to dig it back up. Because…he thinks that he loves you as well.

“It’s obvious Tsu’tey.” Jake chuckled standing up wiping his hands of dirt. Giving Tsu’tey a hand to help him up.

“I love her too.”

“Once again brother. That is obvious.” Tsu’tey chuckled at this patting Jake on the back before giving him a brotherly hug.

“Thankyou Jakesully.” Then he took off immediately calling his ikran to find you in the forest. This rush of adrenaline was going to lead him to you. He can’t let his fear of love stop him from getting to you, not when you loved him so dearly.

You were collecting herbs and plants to bring back to Tsu’tey to thank him for taking care of you while you were injured. It made you blush thinking of how diligently he cared for you. It made you hope he had some feelings for you.

It was like you manifested his presence as you felt the soft breeze turn into gusts as the large ikran flew above and landed next to you.

“Tsu’tey? What are you doing here?” Tsu’tey hopped off his ikran and stood right in front of you. It was odd how he just stared into your eyes, refusing to break eye-contact. “Tsu’tey?”

“I know why you followed me.” Your heart dropped. Did Jake tell him? Did he fly all this was to tell you ‘thanks for saving me but I do not love you.’ Your face scrunched up, chin wobbling worried that he was going to make fun of your obscene methods of ‘protection.’

“There’s a reason I didn’t tell you.” Your voice was sharp and upset, but Tsu’tey didn’t flinch. His eyes were full of joy, it confused you entirely.

“You saved me Y/N. I am forever in debt to you.” You grimaced at his words. Was he going to butter you up so he could nicely reject you.

“It is what a friend does.”

“I can no longer be your friend.” He wished he didn’t say it so abruptly when he saw your pained expression. Your heart felt as if it shattered as you took a step back from him. Looking away to stop tears bursting out of your eyes. “No! Not like that.”

“Just reject me Tsu’tey. I understand you do not want to love after what has happened to you, it is selfish of me to hope.” Tsu’tey shook his head taking one of your hands in both of his and bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it gently.

“You have been there for me every milestone Y/N. For awhile my heart has skipped a beat when I see you but I constantly ignore it because I am so afraid of losing someone I love…but you have saved me, have loved me every moment. You have faced my fears of losing someone you love.” He placed your hand on one of the bullet scars and looked down at you.

“The day I was shot. I could only think if you were alright. I closed my eyes thinking of you. If I knew that I would have frightened you so badly Y/N, I would have dodged every bullet to save your heart the pain. But my negligence to your love is what has bruised your heart.”

You tried desperately not to let tears spill. After all these years of pining, it felt as if this day would never occur. “Tsu’tey…I have loved you for so long. When I saw you bleeding out I just-.” You started to get choked up, sniffling your own tears back up.

He only smiled sadly before pulling you into a tight embrace. He felt your body shake in his arms as he laid his chin on top of your head. “Let it out yawne.” It felt right calling you his beloved, he was so stupid to never act upon his love due to fear. He knew what it was like to see his love shot, he would be forever guilty for letting you find him.

“I follow you into the forest. Because I am scared that one day you will not return. Even if I had to live everyday as your friend it would be a life worth it if you were there.”

“You will not have to live as my friend Y/N. I see you.” He tilted your chin up so you could see the longing in his eyes as he confessed to you. “I am sorry for being ignorant to our feelings.”

“Do not apologize Tsu’tey. I see you.” He leaned in leaving a soft kiss on your lips. It was a kiss that was long needed between the two of you. It felt like your heart swelled and burst as you rested your hands on Tsu’tey’s chest as you kissed him passionately.

His hands pulled you closer to his body, as he kissed you back. Love spilling into each other as you broke the kiss to rest your foreheads together.

“I can’t believe I went so long without kissing you.”

“You should make it up to me then.”

────── ⋆☆⋆ ──────

authors note: i wrote this very sick so plz forgive me if there are typos or anything! i am in my tsu'tey obsession rn so help fuel it for me. love ya'll <3

tags: @fanboyluvr @evelinakostina @tarrynightss @citruskasa @netesbby @xx-mayday-martyr-xx (tagged everyone who replied to the post)

[jasmines-library]

Sweet Creature

WHUMPTOBER DAY 23. Prompt: Nightmares.

Fandom: Supernatural (Cas)

Summary: When Dean is a Demon, he does something unexpected to you. Since then, you have become withdrawn, refusing to sleep in fear of the images that plague your mind. When you eventually give in and suffer a nightmare, Cas is there to help.

Warnings: Demon Dean, nightmares, minor injuries.

Word count: 1.3k

Note: I thought Cas deserved some lovin

MASTERLIST ⛤ WHUMPTOBER WORKS

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

You tossed and turned in your bed. The night had been restless ever since you laid your head down on the pillow. You hadn’t sleep well in a while; your sleep was plagued by nightmares every time your closed your eyes. Every time you blinked, you saw his face. The face of a man you thought would never hurt you. But you were wrong.

Dean hadn’t been himself lately. He was distant. And when he actually took the courtesy to speak to you, he was cruel and didn’t think twice about what he spat from his mouth. At first, you tried to dismiss it off as a side effect of becoming a demon, every time he spoke he would flash you those black eyes. You didn’t mind though; it was a reminder of the fact that Dean wasn’t Dean. But soon he realised that too, and he used it to his own twisted advantage. Slowly, he stopped trying to scare you with those dark orbs and instead resorted to looking at you with his green irises. That was what scared you the most.

As time passed, you often found yourself feeling guilty for wishing that Dean had never returned from his outings with Crowley. In a way it was worse having him settled into the bunker and having to anticipate his next move that worrying about where he was or if he was even alive. He was considerate of sorts, at first. He kept his distance. But then he grew bored and words became physical.

Dean had chased you down the hallway of the bunker as you and Sam slunk around, trying to put the place on lockdown. When the red light illuminated the hallways, Dean only grinned and adjusted his grip on the hammer. It wasn’t long after that that he found you trying to sneak back to the dungeon to meet Sam. He had taken you by surprise by grabbing your hair from behind and yanking you back. You had screamed, desperately to try and draw Sam’s attention, but he clamped his hand firmly over your mouth to silence you.

Your yells were muffled by his hand, so any hopes of calling Sam were useless. So you were left with the only other option: try to fight your way out. You reared your head back and slammed it into Deans. He faltered and loosened his grip allowing you to escape, but Dean was much bigger than you and fuelled up with his demonic abilities. He grabbed the hem of your flannel and slammed you into the wall. You cried out, blood trickling from a cut in your pounding head as he leaned his body weight against you, wrapping his hands tightly around your neck and cutting off your air supply. He smirked as your squirmed in his grip, body begging for air as black dots edged your vision. The air came rushing back to you when Cas arrived, countering his demonic strength with his angelic grace and ripping him off of you and holding him back.

Since then you had barely left you room. And it hadn’t gone unnoticed by the three boys who were so used to hearing the lilt of your voice ringing throughout the hall. It scared them that you were so withdrawn.

It shamed you that you couldn’t bare to look at Dean. You knew that really it wasn’t his fault, but every time you caught sight of him all you could feel were his hands wrapped tightly and squeezing around your neck. Hands that were usually so tender towards you.

You hardly slept because when you did you were plagued with nightmares. Your mind flooded with thoughts about Dean. What if you hadn’t found the cure? What if Sam and Cas hadn’t gotten to you in time? What is he had succeeded? What then?

You had tried to put off sleeping, but it had finally gotten to the point where you bags were so dark that they were the most prominent feature of your face and you were so tired that not even coffee would keep you awake. So, reluctantly you had clambered into the the soft mattress and tried to drift off to sleep. But, as expected you were met with the image of Dean prowling towards you.

When Cas pushed open the door to your room with a creak, you were tossing and turning. Your face was contorted with fear and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out across your forehead, sticking stands of your hair to your forehead. The angel had sensed your discomfort and could have sworn that he ever hear a strangled prayer of his name called out from somewhere in the haze of your sleep.

He reached towards you and laid a hand on your shoulder to shake you awake.

“Y/n?”

~

Dean was gaining on you. You had tried to out run him, twist down the corridors and dart into rooms but he knew the bunker like the back of hand and he was hot on your tail every time you thought you had snuck away.

You flung open the door and rushed inside searching for another way out, but you had hit a dead end. And then the door slammed shut behind you. Your breathing began to come in sporadic bursts as Dean prowled towards you, his eyes as black as a starless sky.

“Stay away from me.” You held your hands out in front of you as he crept forwards grinning manically from ear to ear.

Dean just laughed and stepped closer. When he was metres away, you surged forwards to try and get around him but he planted a hand firmly on your shoulder.

~

You screamed as you sat up abruptly, frantically trying to brush the hand away from you. Cas quickly removed it from your shoulder as if he had been burned. He had been startled by your sudden movement.

Your gaze darted frantically around the room as you hyperventilated, unable to separate the cruel creations of your mind from what was real.

“Shh.” Cas hushed, “you’re okay, y/n. It was just a dream.”

Cas’s voice seemed to ground you. Your breathing slowed and your body relaxed slightly into his arms as he massaged circled into your skin, but you never allowed your guard to drop fully.

“It’s okay y/n. You are here and Dean has been cured. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“Cas…” your face was stained with sticky tears.

“I’m here y/n.”

You sniffled. “Sorry.”

He frowned. “Why are you sorry?”

“I’m being childish.”

Cas shook his head firmly, wiping away the hairs from your face and tucking them behind your ear. “Some of the things you’ve seen…I couldn’t begin to understand how those have affected you. You are so, so strong y/n.”

“It’s just…I feel so stupid.”

“Oh, Y/N…”

He brought you close to his chest, wrapping you up in his arms to soothe you. You’re listened to the way his heart thumped in his chest and felt the rhythm of his chest rise and fall. It scrubbed away at some of that nausea that had bubbled up in your stomach.

“Why don’t you try to get some more sleep?” He murmured into your hair. “You must be exhausted.”

You hesitated for a moment, reluctant to close your eyes again.

“Stay with me?”

“Of course.”

He swung his legs onto the bed before wrapping the two of you up in the sheets with your head still resting against his chest. He ran his hands through your hair as you curled up against him.

“Sweet dreams, y/n.”

As your eyes drifted closed to the steady thrum of Cas’ heartbeat your mind calmed and all lingering thoughts left your mind, and you fell into the first undisturbed sleep you had had in days.

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

<- DAY 22 ⛤ DAY 24 ->

Taglist:

@deans-spinster-witch

@senjoritanana

@amaryllis23

[sapphire-writes]

I see you’re open for requests 😍 Could you write Aemond x Reader who is his childhood best friend (she could be like a commoner or a servant) I’m not sure about the plot…thought you might have some ideas, it could be angst and end with fluff 😚

Love, love, love this request! Thanks so much, nonnie, I hope you enjoy 💚

Aemond x Reader

rating: mentions of Aemond's eye injury, some angst & fluff

word count: 1.6k

masterlist

You opened the door to Prince Aemond’s chamber, sticking your small head inside. The room was dark aside from the beams of sunlight that shone through the gossamer curtains. The breeze made them dance across the floor.

“Prince Aemond?” you called, in a voice squeaking with nerves. There was no reply. You knew the young prince was supposed to be at the dragonpit, but something inside of you begged you to check. After assuming the coast must be clear, you entered, bringing with you your bucket. 

It was your job to replenish the fireplaces in the chambers of the royal families. You were still a small child, and this was the task that suited you best. You could enter any room in the Red Keep practically unnoticed. 

You walked over to his fireplace, getting started right away. You were eager to finish the job and be off before the prince returned. Digging through the soot, you cleared the ashes, placing fresh logs atop. When your work looked decent, you stood, brushing the soot from your hands onto the apron you wore. 

A breeze tore through the room through the open windows, sending several papers scattering from the prince’s desk. You rushed to collect them, taking care to not stain the pages with soot. As you placed them on the desk you couldn’t help but admire the pages of one of the many books that lay open. 

It was the drawing of a dragon that caught your eye, with descriptions and arrows pointing at various parts of the creature's body. You squinted at the pages in front of you.

“What are you doing?”

You nearly jump out of your skin as you turn wide-eyed to face Prince Aemond. Eyes wide, mouth gasping like a fish out of water, you do not answer him. Aemond raises a brow, looking from you to the book.

“Were you reading?”

You find your voice.

“N-no! No, my prince,” you stutter, feeling your cheeks warm. You desperately hope the soot from the fire hides the rosy flush.

“Do not lie, I saw you,” Aemond says, as though he is your father, not someone the same age as you.

“I wasn’t my prince,” you tell him, “I cannot read.”

Aemond’s face scrunches at this. He walks over to you then, pulling the book from his desk. He holds it across his chest, to face you.

“What does it say?”

Your lip wobbles. Embarrassment fills you and burns your insides like a fever. Surely, he means to humiliate you. 

“I do not know, my prince.”

He brings a finger under a word. 

“Balerion,” he says, looking at the page and back to you.

“Balerion,” you repeat, earning a nod.

Aemond traces the letter at the beginning of the word.

“That's a B,” he tells you, violet eyes meeting yours. 

From then on you found yourself lingering in Aemond’s chambers when you went to do your daily task. Each day he would show you something new, different words, different letters, the names of great houses and maidens in songs. 

Aemond and you became fast friends. Slowly, he was teaching you how to read. You enjoyed the company of the prince. He was patient with you and seemed to enjoy being able to teach you. Aemond did not have friends, and he was happy to have you. 

Soon, you were both reading books together every chance you had. In the library, in the gardens. Aemond would even forego the Dragonpit to join you on your rounds to the other chambers of the Red Keep, book in tow. 

When the royal family went to Driftmark for the funeral of Laena Velaryon, you found yourself missing the company of your new friend. 

You heard what had happened before the royal family returned. You found yourself shaking with nerves once more when entering the prince’s chambers. 

“Prince Aemond?” you called, opening the door. You could see his small body, tangled in the sheets. The curtains were drawn completely shut. You entered slowly, tip-toeing. 

“Aemond?” you called to your friend. The bed rustled, but he did not respond. Assuming he was not up for visitors, you went about your duties. When you had finished, you glanced towards the bed once more. 

“Aemond?” you tried once more, hearing a sniffle in response. You placed your bucket down and walked towards him. A book lay on the floor, seemingly tossed from the side. You gently picked it up. 

“I can’t,” Aemond whimpered, sniffling once more. He turned his head and your eyes widened at the state of him. The stitches across his face were red and swollen, his functioning eye was wet with tears. His whole face was an angry shade of red. 

“I can’t even read,” he sobbed, fingers clutching the sheets, “I’m fucking pathetic.”

Wet tears rolled down his face, snot leaking from his nose. The pillow he lies on is damp from his crying. 

You bring a hand to his shoulder and he flinches away from your touch. Aemond feels as though his shame is fire beneath the surface of his skin, threatening to boil him alive. 

“I shall read to you,” you whispered. Aemond looked at you through his tears. His hands begin to shake. 

“Here,” you told him, placing the book in his lap before walking to the other side of the bed. You climbed onto the linens sitting next to Aemond. Taking the book from his lap you turned the page. 

“The days before the Doom were quiet, though legends say this was an omen of death.” you began, as Aemond rested his head against your shoulder. 

~

“I want you to come see,” Aemond says, when you enter his chambers. He pulls the pail from your grasp, lacing his hand in yours. You have never seen him so elated, his smile is blinding. 

He pulls you from the room, dragging you down the halls of the keep until you reach a large window facing Blackwater Bay. 

“Look,” he says, pointing in the distance. You squint, the sun reflecting off of the bay nearly blinding you. Suddenly, you feel the castle shudder, it's as though again it has fallen down the serpentine steps. 

Vhagar flies overhead, out towards the bay. She lets out a roar, powerful wings causing the waves of the bay to change direction. 

“She’s mine,” he tells you, giddy with excitement. 

Your eyes are like saucers. You’ve never seen a larger dragon. 

“She’s amazing,” you admit, feeling a pang of jealousy. Now Aemond shall take to the skies, leaving you alone in the castle once more. 

You want to hate Vhagar for stealing your only friend, but you can’t seem to find it in your heart to hate the magnificent creature. 

Aemond’s hand still holds yours, you can feel your palm begin to sweat with the realization. He tears his gaze from Vhagar to look at you. The stitches have been removed from his face, the skin is now turning into a pearl-colored scar across his face.

“Now we can fly,” he tells you, the grin never leaving his face. Your heart stutters in your chest.

“We?” 

Aemond’s smile falters for a moment, his eyebrows crease together. 

“You and I, when  mother allows it,” he tells you, “Vhagar can carry many books, and we can fly to anywhere in the seven kingdoms. 

Your smile matches his. He has not intended to leave you behind. 

“I would like that, my prince.”

~years later~

You do not announce when you enter Aemond’s room now. Being friends for so long has awarded you that right. You have grown alongside him, rising in the ranks from lowly fireplace servant to chambermaid. 

Aemond is awake when you enter, as he often is. He has most likely already been to the training yard that morning before you arrived. While you detest early mornings, Aemond loves them. 

“Good morning, my prince,” you address formally, carrying new bedsheets. Aemond’s mouth twists from where he sits at his desk. 

“Ao issi biare tubī,” he says, barely looking up from his work. (You are happy today). 

You begin to strip the bed. 

“You’ll have to teach me sooner or later,” you tell him, and make a face, pausing your movements to glance at him. 

“What?” he inquires. His gaze has risen from his desk, a sly smile on his face. Aemond’s eyepatch is missing, he rarely wears it in his chambers (or around you) and the sight of the blue sapphire never fails to take your breath away. 

You narrow your eyes at your friend. 

“Teach me,” you demand, crossing your arms in front of you. Aemond cocks his head to the side. 

“Unwise to command a prince,” he teases, piling his papers away and rising from his desk. He walks over to you. 

“Oh come now, Aemond,” you pouted, causing him to chuckle.

“Teach me.”

Aemond bites the inside of his cheek. It is as though you are children again. You, a curious little creature peering over the knowledge he possesses. 

“Fine,” he agrees, “since you asked so sweetly, gevie.” (beautiful).

You swat at his arm, a blush creeping up your cheeks. Though you were close companions you could not help the feeling of butterflies in your stomach when he talked to you in such a manner.

“What’s that mean?” you inquire, “Gevie?”

Aemond lets the word hang in the air for a moment, enjoying the way his mother tongue falls from your lips. 

“Beautiful,” he murmurs, and the heat in your face nearly sets you ablaze. 

“Me?” you ask and Aemond lets out a real laugh then, from deep within his chest. 

“Of course you,” he tells you, “only you.”

[littlest-w01f]

Papillon

Eris x Lesser Fae!OC (Celastrina)

ERIS MASTERLIST

MAIN MASTERLIST

Summary: During one of his hunts, Eris comes across a mythical lesser fae, he keeps coming back for her as she is way too happy to befriend the lonely high fae.

Cw: Hunting for leisure

A/N: This is a pure fluff series cause this got too angsty

part one

The forest was silent, not an insect in sight, it was the time when most of them hid, the time of hunting for the High Fae, the creatures of the forest were in tune with the hunting, knowing where to hide to not be found, what most of them had hoped would bore the High Fae the death only urged them to go deeper into the forest to hunt them down.

Eris drew his bow sharp, hands and eyes trained on a doe a few meters away, he kept himself steady, exhaling softly to not startle the creature. He'd been hunting for hours, following a trail that led to the majestic doe, the doe's skin looked like it was made of gold, humming with magic, its eyes black and a grace with which it ran that couldn't be found in many others. Eris had shot an arrow at it earlier, but the doe had managed to evade it with a jump unnatural for an ordinary deer.

He was drawing closer to the Spring Court border, he'd have to keep away from that place if he didn't want the High Lord to write a rather angry letter to his father to make sure he was kept in check, Eris rolled his eyes at the thought, yes, he was young but it didn't mean a High Lord could just rat him out to his father.

He tilted his head to the side as he watched a butterfly land on the doe's snout, with a little more focus, he saw the fairy, eyes wide at the creature. Fairies were harder to find than most creatures, even if they lived in a hive like the winged insects they could turn themselves into, the little things even harder to shoot with an arrow.

A few hunters had seen fairies, but even fewer had seen them in their full size. They were known to camouflage with the insects, the one Eris was looking at would be invisible with a few butterflies by her side. None of those hunters were believed, after all, fairies were what children's storybooks had, a sad little fae could find himself being befriended by a fairy, and everyone else would be jealous of that fae for their ability to draw out a fairy, to have a heart pure enough that one would be willing to befriend them. Eris had nearly rolled his eyes at that while his mother read him the tales.

Not many had believed that there were fairies in the Autumn woods, most of them were known to wander in Spring, till one of the hunters that now Beron held to a high respect, a hard thing to earn of Eris' father, had brought to their court wings that couldn't have belonged to a normal lesser fae.

The doe soon began to run, taking Eris' focus, but it was drawn back to the fairy almost instantly, the butterfly scenting of magic as she hid the tracks of the doe that Eris had followed. Eris looked back to where he had come from, without the tracks or trail, it would take him hours to figure out how to return to the forest house.

"You know, it's a horrible thing to hunt for fun."

A soft voice called to him, he spun on his heel to come across the fairy, now grown, still shorter than him but more of a High Fae's height, supporting large butterfly wings on her back, wings both of them knew people would die to have, to hunt down.

Eris did a double take, then another one, before he earned his footing back, there was something about her he hadn't seen anywhere else, "Ah, so you're one of these fairies that go around ruining people's hunts?" He'd meant to say the phrase as an insult but the way she smiled he wasn't sure he had.

"Yeah, I am." She was smiling like he was throwing the best of compliments at her. "Mama and Papa said a couple High Fae would be out for us..." She trailed off, marvelling at the sight of Eris, taking in his face, how it was different from hers, where Eris had sharp features, hers were soft, her ears were rounding, his pointed, his hair was burning red like a bright fire while hers matched the multicolours of her wings. "I've never seen a High Fae before."

Eris caught her eye, giving her one of his warmest smiles, or trying to, his thoughts should've been on her wings and how much they would earn him glory if they were the product of his hunt, but somehow they weren't. "Well, I've never met a fairy such as yourself, and may I say, you are exquisite." He took a step towards her and like clockwork, she took one back, "Not the trusting kind are you?" He chuckles.

"Your smile isn't pure." The fairy in front of him tucked her wings behind her tight, her warm expression turning into a frown.

Eris held in a scoff, of course, she could feel the 'purity' of his emotions. "You wound me, darling," Eris placed his hand over his heart, faking a grimace.

The fairy giggled at his grimace, "That didn't actually hurt you, did it?"

"Clearly," Eris cracked a real smile at the sound of her laugh.

"See, that's a proper smile," She mirrored his look.

"Fine, you have me." Eris leaned against a tree bark, "I've never seen a fairy before, I'm... Mesmerised." Eris was honest, there was something about her that pulled him to her.

"Most people are," The fairy smiled. "It's a natural reaction."

"I'm Eris Vanserra, heir of Autumn," The male dipped his chin in the form of a formal bow, "I'm a pleasure to make your aquantance."

"Celastina, my lord." Celastrina gave him a curt bow, one leg crossed behind the other.

"Quite a pretty name, butterfly." Eris hummed, taking in her bow, "And quite a perfect form for a bow from someone who lives in the deep woods."

"I'm a lesser fae, my lord." Celastrine stood up, smiling, "Not a savage."

"Of course, forgive me for asuming-" Eris paused, picking up the sound of footsteps and the growls of hounds approaching them. "Hunters are approaching us, you should hide."

Celastrina's eyes snapped to the rustling from deeper into the woods, "Are those smoke hounds I hear?" Eris was sure he had hit his head somewhere because the fairy smiled as she spoke, her doe eyes wide from excitement.

"Yes, butterfly, hounds, not damn puppies." Eris scoffed at her reaction, "They are used to hunt your kind. Run." He didn't know why he wanted her to escape, he could've taken her himself, but instead he stressed, "Run." If she would found with him he would have hell to pay with Beron for making conversation with a lesser fae of all things.

Celastrina in an instant turned small, her form nearly the size of his pinky and shot up into the tree, in a second Eris couldn't place where she had gone and he exhaled a deep breath to calm himself before the hunters found him.

{General Taglist- @nox-ceur @lilah-asteria @paleidiot @dee-writes-smut @adalia-jaycee @anarchiii @alwayshave}

{Eris Taglist- @fxckmiup @slut4acotar @secret-third-thing @shadowsingers-mate}

[mirrorbvllhoon]

Still Monster (Eros!Sunghoon x Psyche!fem!reader)

She looks at me With shadowless eyes But I know The abyss within me

₊˚ ✧ Still Monster, Enhypen

word count: 3.6k

CW: apparition of Jay x y/n (the Hades and Persephone y/n), kind of suggestive, angsty, fluff, mentions of death, and I think that's it

The princess Y/n stood in the carriage parading through the city where her father ruled, there was no doubt that the beast of beauty stood in all fours demanding for more of her, until she was left alone, when she came to age everyone seemed to notice her beautiful factions, the curves in her body, some even worshiped her as the reincarnation of Aphrodite because of the dazzling stun that adorned her existence, yet her two sisters  were already betrothed to promised young men, while she was alone, every man of the village wished  to marry her yet she longed for something different in her insides; the punishment of her life was the beauty she was given with. 

A princess who would become a queen because of her captivating beauty, everyone seemed to look at her as an attraction, being loved by the outer part of her existence, always the “most beautiful creature to roam earth” never y/n, yet the superficial love people had for her made y/n’s sisters blood boil, then how could she be considered a new deity? people stopped paying tributes to aphrodite and decided to give them towards y/n instead, if only they knew it wasn’t tributes what she longed for, all she needed was love.

But how could she know that while she was giving the town a spectacle, the goddess Aphrodite had conveyed her son, Sunghoon, god of love and passion a commandment to punish the young girl who people played to be their new god.

“Use your arrows and make her fall in love with a hideous creature…maybe that will teach her to not mess with the gods” Aphrodite’s words echoed through Sunghoon’s mind as he flew to the palace where the young woman lived, searching in every window for her already asleep silhouette, when finally arriving at her chambers he stealthily entered the room, with curiosity roaming through his mind he decided to get close so he could admire her so-called beauty, what was his surprise to see the most perfect woman he had ever encountered with, there were truly no other mortals who could compare to her beauty, overwhelmed by her splendid beauty he could understand how his mother’s jealousy was not a coincidence, for y/n’s beauty was to sunghoon the most splendid thing, there was no one among nymphs or goddesses that could even be compared to her.

While being contemplated by Sunghoon, y/n turned in her sleep, admiring for the smallest glimpses of seconds the shadow figure that crept over her, identifying only the beauty marks that adorned his face, she thought it was only a dream, so she closed her eyes and slept, however this simple action caused Sunghoon to stumble, and now the arrow that was in his hand caressed his skin, drawing blood, and in that very second, he fell in love with his arrow only intensifying the turmoil of emotions that were already triggered in him when he first saw her, and because of that love he failed to accomplish his mother’s mission. How could he harm the person he loved the most?

Y/n’s life continued normally, not even understanding what had happened, and while time passed and her sisters were already married, she couldn’t understand how anyone had wed her yet, her sisters cruel words reminding her of the situation only made her existence more difficult, her father promised her that soon enough the suitor she was waiting for should arrive, yet doubts and worry flooded his mind, he was worried about her daughter’s situation, unaware that the lack of suitors was now fault of the god of love, Sunghoon, and because he refused to allow any other man to be with her, they didn’t even know her as he did.

Desperate for answers the king arrived to the oracle of Delphi, where the god Apollo pronounced himself:

“Your daughter will marry a winged monster whose life only consists of causing pain to mortals and deities, the princess shall be left on the edge of the abyss dressed in matrimonial attire to be presented to the monster that will cause her death”

The monster that Apollo was talking about was no other than Sunghoon, yet because of his beauty he had harvested big resentment towards him, that being the reason behind his cruel harsh words and the false prophecy that he had announced to the king who was now left in tears, afraid to lose one of her daughters to such a cruel fate, but y/n’s sisters had insisted that they must follow the prophecy otherwise they would unleash the gods fury above them and curse their kingdom for the centuries to come, afraid of the decision the king ought to take he revealed everything to y/n, revealing the day that awaited her, her beauty a magnificent curse that had now caused a fatal fate to arrive.

This time the parade carriage resembled more a funeral procession, contrasting the white of her wedding attire were the sorrow-filled eyes of her father and the satisfied smirks of her sisters that watched from afar the look in her face that showed the discomfort she felt, how could everyone go from loving her to hating her in such a short period of time, they gave tributes towards her as if she was the new goddess they were worshiping and now she was just another woman that had ever roamed earth, their rejoiced chants turned into sorrows and bemoans, as if they didn’t know the blasphemies that they had committed pinning every ounce of their guilt into the young girl that was now alone in the cliff where she would await for her fate.

On the edge of the abyss Zephyr, the west wind, levitated her delicately through the sky, when her feet touched solid ground again she awoke in an unknown place, with flowers adorning every inch of grass and an even bigger palace than the ones she had ever seen or lived in, she climbed through the stairs that led her though the palace, where every centimeter was adorned with gold, silver, marble and jewels, there wasn’t any blank space that wasn’t adorned with splendid stones, luxury exceeded through the air, yet there was no sign of anyone in that place, until she heard a sweet voice.

“My lady, everything that you see is now at your disposal, and you can ask anything of us. We are here to serve you and assist you”, said the butler of the house, y/n later noticed that the servants of the house were invisible.

The day went by and she was treated as a queen, being served and bathed, even serenaded until the night arrived and she was instructed to wait in their chambers for her husband to arrive, the happiness she had felt turned into fear.

“How’s your master like? I’ve been told that he’s a monster”, y/n asked with unease setting in her stomach

“Some say that, but I can assure you he is not a monster, just… turbulent on some occasions” said the butler while guiding her to the room.

She stood looking to the cloak of stars that adorned the night canvas, until she saw a winged figure arrive, her body tensed and in a matter of seconds he felt his breath fanning over the nape of her neck, with no idea of what would happen she closed her eyes, until a sweet voice disrupted her chaotic thoughts.

“I won’t hurt you sweetheart, what do you want me to do?”, Sunghoon asked, getting both of them back into the chambers, putting her in the bed while he fawned over her “Could I kiss you?” he asked and she nodded, their lips finally meeting in a sweet connection that turned heated and passionate in a matter of seconds, when his lips started to meet the nape of her neck and his fingers swirled through her hair and body, the night passed shortly and unlike everything she had thought of her husband, he was sweet and attentive, giving her a night of sublime pleasure and love as she had never imagined could exist, but now the bed was empty, and she had no idea what her husband looked like.

The day passed by and while continued to roam the new facilities she was given with she couldn’t wait for the night to arrive so she could have a glimpse of the passionate love she could only dream of, finally Sunghoon arrived and they loved each other for hours until their breaths gave up and they were covered in each others arms, the safest place she had known, the routine repeated itself night after night and day after day, being one of those nights where y/n decided to ask him “My love, why do you always hide? I would love to see you”

“Is the love I give you not enough? All I have asked for you is to not see me, in the darkness we are equals” His voice heightened, which caused her to jump and to get away from his warm hold.

“I’m sorry, I never meant to annoy you”, y/n whispered

He sighed, “No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have talked to you that way or have risen my tone, I apologize sweetheart that wasn’t my intention, all I ask is for you to not see me”, He took her closer, hugging her and not letting her go, until the night went by and she fell asleep.

She had decided to respect his husbands request and stopped asking or touching the subject, instead she decided to ask him to allow her to visit her family, because although her life was as magnificent as it could be, she missed her parents, Sunghoon loved her so much and trusted her that he of course said yes, and although he would miss her, he only wished for her happiness and well-being.

“Love, I hoped that you would allow me to visit my  family, the last thing they knew about me is that I am dead, please, allow me to visit them, so they know I’m well and happy”, y/n asked, sunghoon’s arms holding her tight and her head resting on his chest, he knew that when freeing her she could choose to never come back, but he hoped that the love he felt towards the young woman was requited, if she came back he would know that the love she had for him was genuine.

When y/n arrived to the mortal realm once again and encountered with her family astonish surrounded their expressions and for the sisters false smiles that they wore with such decorum, filled with rage and jealousy of how y/n was now being adorned and treated as the richest of queens, with jewels and festivities celebrated because of her glorious arrival.

“Mybeloved daughter is back, again” chanted the king, if only he knew that her daughter wouldn’t be staying for that long.

Finally the most important question was asked, “How’s your life with that mysterious husband you have?”, her mother still holding her daughter’s hand, hoping to hear sorrow-filled laments…

“It couldn’t be better, he does everything to please me, he is sweet and dedicated”

“Don’t fool us y/n!” one of her sisters said in exasperation, “You always talk about your life as if it was wonderful compared to ours…”

“You don’t need to believe what I tell you, come with me and allow me to show you everything myself” interrupted y/n

Both of the sisters and y/n stood on the cliff awaiting for the arrival of zephyrs wind to elevate them to the heavenly palace, when they awoke in the flower-filled garden, the jealous sisters couldn’t believe their eyes, everything y/n said was true, and the jealousy flooded their minds to try and ruin her perfect state of life.

“But you do remember what the oracle said, don’t you y/n?” the other sister started, her voice filled with false sadness, “You have married a monster that eventually will cause your death”

“Yes, while you are sleeping, you shall take a light and see the monster’s face and after you do that, slash his throat and be freed from this awful prophecy”

Her sisters had already left but their words still flooded her mind, distrust setting in and once the night fell and her and her husband lied down on the bed, she decided to break his trust and with the light of the lamp see his face.

As she approached the men and contemplated his ethereal beauty, she saw again those beauty marks that adorned his nose and under eye, as if the stars themselves had decorated his face, she finally concluded that the man in front of her was neither mortal or monster, but a god.

She tried to admire him even more when a drop of the lamp’s oil fell down, landing on his chest, stirring his sleep and waking him up.

“Y/n are you alright?”, his first thought after he felt the burn in his skin was of her but once his eyes opened to see the guilt filled eyes and the lamp and hidden knife, his expression changed “How could you be such a fool? I’ve asked of one thing only, and you betrayed me”

“It’s not what you think, please my love forgive me…”

“Not what I think? it’s not that you believed that I was a monster and planned on killing me? Am I wrong?”, his voice filled with sadness and lament, oh how he wished to be wrong.

She maintained her head low, while he headed to the window to leave and never come back, she tried to explain herself once again, but in her attempts to jump and catch him she fell to the ground, with no wounds but her broken heart.

She arrived once again to her homeland that no longer felt like home, her sisters however arrived to the cliff in a desperate attempt to be flown away to the lands of pleasure that once belonged to y/n, but Zephyr was smarter than that, allowing them to levitate for the shortest of seconds before dropping them in the abyss, where the furies would punish them for their sins, y/n on the other hand, started to serve Demeter’s temple, but the thoughts that flooded her mind belonged only to Sunghoon and the days that once revolved around them.

Finally Demeter felt sorry and decided to advise her on what to do to get her lover back.

“Y/n, you must go to the temple of Aphrodite and with humility surrender yourself to the goddess, then you will soften Aphrodite’s wrath and even gain your lover back”, Demeter started, y/n’s image reminding her of her own daughter.

“It would be foolish of me to not follow the advice of such a wise goddess”, y/n answered, taking a decision to get Sunghoon back.

Finally arriving at the temple of Aphrodite and partially meeting her mother-in-law, she threw herself to the ground when finally encountering the goddess.

“I humbly throw myself at your service” y/n started, her head low and her knees touching the ground, “...in search for your forgiveness”

“To earn my forgiveness is a difficult task, and to do that you would have to accomplish the most difficult tasks, some that may even cost you your life”, said the goddess with disdain

“I will do anything to gain your forgiveness”, answered y/n, hoping that the tears that fell through her face wouldn’t be as noticeable.

The first task arrived, and y/n was met with three big piles almost mountain-like of mixed seeds of poppy, lentils, barley and beans, her job was to separate each and every of them the difficulty of such a task would’ve overwhelmed even some of the most powerful gods, however Sunghoon watched from afar, and knowing that he may have hurt the woman he loved the most he decided to send ando so they could help her with the task, she ended with her task before the sun could set, astonishing herself and the goddess.

The second task arrived and this time she had to collect a hank of golden wool that belonged only to the golden sheeps, the animals however were vicious but with her ingenuity she decided to collect the wool that the animals left when crossing through a thorny path, and thus completing Aphrodite's second task.

When faced with the third task that according to the goddess would be even more difficult than the passing ones, she was set to collect water from a fall that was connected with the styx and cocytus river, however this time, Zeus decided to help her by sending an eagle that would retrieve the water for her, the goddess was exasperated by seeing how the young woman with help of the gods could accomplish her trials, and so the last triple arrived.

“You will need to go to the underworld and ask its queen to fill me this box with her beauty since your presence has tired my beauty so you shall accomplish this task and this way I will regain my strength, If you do accomplish this task you will have my forgiveness and will be free to reunite with Sunghoon once again”, Aphrodite pronounced before dismissing the young woman to accomplish her task.

Y/n felt the sadness of a thousand oceans crippling over her cheeks, she knew that her end was near, maybe the prophecy was right after all and she was fated to die such a lonesome death, she stood on a tall window while admiring the night sky and the stars that decorated it, reminding herself who she was doing this for, hoping those memories would give her the strength to jump and take her own life, when she was about to jump a mysterious voice started to whisper-talk to her.

“Don't do that, I know a way that you can arrive to the underworld without dying”, Sunghoon advised her, too afraid of losing her for eternity this time, “You will have to give Charon, the boatman who will guide you along the styx river, two silver coins, and give Cerberus the three-headed dog and guardian of the underworld barley and honey bread mixed with sleep pills so he can calm down and allow you entrance, the path to the underworld is rough, but you can easily accomplish it by following the path, however you must know that under any circumstance you can’t open the beauty filled box ”

When y/n finally arrived at the underworld and met with Charon, she handed him the coins as payment and explained the reason for her visit, and this way she crossed the river of souls and sorrow and arrived at the palace where Jay and his wife lived.

“What does a mortal like you search for in this place?”, the queen asked

“My queen, I serve the goddess Aphrodite who sent me here to ask you to fill this box of your beauty, so that she can restore hers”, y/n explained

The woman stood from her throne and carefully filled the box with beauty, and although hers would restore eventually, in that very moment her husband stood by her side, cautious of the effects that giving away her beauty would cause.

“You’re still the prettiest”, Jay whispered to his wife’s ear, pulling a chuckle out of her, announcing to y/n the queue to leave.

When passing through the Underworld’s path she encountered Cerberus, however as she previously knew, she handed him the bread which put him to sleep almost immediately, allowing her to pass and arrive at the styx river, when the boat had already sailed she stared at her reflection in the river, her tired eyes an evidence of the hard work she had done, for a second she thought of the box, maybe if she just opened it slightly, she could look even more beautiful for her husband, but when she opened the box a black mist swirled her, and she fainted.

Sunghoon felt that something was happening to his lover, so he came to her rescue, seeing her already cold cadaver on the realms of the underworld, and the angel of death standing next to her, ready to claim her to the death lands, nevertheless Sunghoon wouldn’t allow that, and using his powers he retrieved the mist from y/n’s body, feeling the warmth flooding her body once again, and giving the mist back into the box.

When opening her eyes, she stared at the winged figure of her husband, finally able to look at his eyes, both of them smiled before kissing once again, as if their lips were the heaven the other pursued, drunk on each other’s presence as if they had been hit by one of his arrows once again.

“Although I would love to take you back to our home, you must finish the work first sweetheart”, Sunghoon pronounced before kissing her forehead, handing her the box to hand it to Aphrodite.

And while she handed the box to the love goddess, Sunghoon flew to Mount Olympus and begged Zeus himself to allow y/n to bond with her and have Aphrodite’s blessing as well, the day finally arrived that all gods and goddesses reunited to celebrate, and from the hands of Zeus himself and under Aphrodite’s blessing, y/n drank the nectar and ambrosia of the gods, bestowing her with immortality, and a love that would persist forever and always.

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

a/n: had fun writing this one, hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did, let me know what you think ;)

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Fem Giyuu x Raiden- First Meetings

For my dear friend @an-idyllic-novelist

-It was supposed to be a time for celebration, the beginning of the year was usually the biggest time in Valhalla for sumo tournaments.

-The rikishi had been training all year to compete for the top spot, or at least a spot in the top match, as no matter how hard any of them worked, they could never reach Raiden’s level, it wasn’t fair- but many of them knew how hard he did work while training…when he wasn’t flirting, drinking, or eating.

-However, as Valhalla rang in the New Year and everyone made plans to enjoy the sumo matches, all was not well with the rikishi.

-Someone or something had been killing them- mutilating their bodies, it almost looked like they had been eaten, or half eaten in this case.

-There were no witnesses, no clues other than the bodies looking like they had been torn apart and many were calling for the tournament to be called off, not wanting to risk the lives of any more of the wrestlers.

-There were many others, who didn’t want to stop the tournament, but they couldn’t argue the facts that men were dying, brutally.

-Some new faces started popping up around the various stables, introducing themselves as Demon Slayers, and they were investigating these deaths, claiming that demons were the cause.

-Raiden had never met a demon before, so he didn’t know if this was true or not, but he stayed out of their way, focusing on his training instead, because if he trained hard then he could play hard~

-None of them realized that the demon was in their midst, hiding as different wrestlers, as he would eat them, using his ability to take on their form until he needed his next meal, going to the next wrestler.

-When he saw Raiden… it was like heaven’s gates opened to him, seeing such a prime example of strength, he knew that he would be unstoppable if he could eat someone like Raiden!

-The issue was getting close to him, as only those who believed they could stand up to him got to be close to him, in the ring, and this demon was intimidated, seeing the raw strength, he had to be careful not to be killed beforehand, else his hard work would be for nothing.

-With strengthened security, the tournament went off without a hitch and soon the final match was here, Raiden vs. what he thought was another rikishi, one who had been surprisingly strong throughout the tournament.

-Raiden felt something was wrong, seeing his opponent jerking and convulsing, as the demon was trying, in vain, to keep his disguise, but he had used up so much of his energy to win his fights so he could get to Raiden that he was unable to keep his disguise.

-Women and men were screaming out in fear, seeing this grotesque creature appearing as he snarled out, baring his fangs and claws as Raiden glared, “Are you the one who has been killing my rivals?!”

-The demon just sneered, leering up at Raiden, “So what if I have~ once I eat your flesh- there will be no stopping me.” he then went to lunge at Raiden before they heard a woman’s voice, “Tanjiro get the civilians to safety- Nezuko with me!”

-Raiden turned and his eyes instantly widened, seeing a Demon Slayer rushing towards him with a young girl with a bamboo piece over her mouth, as another Demon Slayer, a younger boy, was herding people away from the area.

-Raiden had never seen such a woman, she seemed to radiate power, she was stunningly beautiful, but had a stoic face- she looked so calm facing off with such a monster. It made Raiden curious about what horrors she had seen to not be afraid.

-Raiden was not expecting to be taken off his feet by this little girl, Nezuko, who leapt into his chest, knocking him back, without hurting him, getting him away from the demon while Y/N rushed in, drawing her sword as the demon charged her, “You’re not taking him from me!”

-Giyuu was calm, easily slicing through his neck, “He is not yours to take.” The demon was shocked, seeing how easily he had been defeated as he started to dissolve into a pile of ash.

-Raiden was stunned, holding Nezuko, who now looked smaller than when he first saw her, as she was playing with one of his giant hands, watching Giyuu sheath her sword before turning, her haori blowing back, showing off her alluring figure and the slit by her thigh, showing the smooth looking skin off.

-Y/N approached, kneeling down as Nezuko left the giant man, rushing into the older woman’s arms to hug her around her neck as the Hashira spoke to him, “Are you all right?”

-There was no hesitation, “Will you marry me?!” Y/N, Nezuko, and Tanjiro all turned white in shock, hearing his bold statement, before recovering as Y/N stood, looking over at Tanjiro, “Call the medics- it seems he is in shock.”

-Raiden was stunned, seeing that she didn’t believe him as he scrambled to his feet, “I’m serious- you were amazing out there! You took down that thing so easily! You’re amazing and I want to stand by your side!”

-Y/N was surprised, hearing that he wanted to stand by her and not the other way around, as most men wanted women by their side.

-However… “Please hurry Tanjiro- I believe he injured his head.” Raiden sputtered, “I’m serious!!” he would continue to pursue her, not understanding why she wouldn’t believe him that he really did want to marry her!

-Raiden never backed down from a fight and he wasn’t going to start now!

[thebonekingdom]

Part. 2: Some more infos based on Sarcean/Will's and other characters' memories and feelings about the old world. [not chronological]

[The first part — Compilation of Sarcean's memories from book 2, more or less chronologically]

1. Will/Sarcean

2. James/Anharion

3. Visander

4. The Collar

Will

• In the past, "Anharion's armour had been gold." but later, Sarcean had "dressed him in red [...] as the gashes that can never mar [his] skin."

• Contemplating a drawing of the Dark Palace, Will remembers watching "the corruscating domes of magic in the distance" that were "assailed by ravenous shadows" and would soon "flicker and go out".

• The white unicorn horn Will saw with Violet in the Hall, made him remember a battlefield where unicorns were "charging into an oncoming rush of black shadows", some with "armoured riders" and others using their horns like "deadly spears.". He knew they wouldn't survive but were "charging anyway, impossibly brave.".

• When he touched the Shadow Stone, he saw a vision showing the four thrones of the Hall, with "four resplendent figures sitting in them.". However the vision morphed into something different and three of the figures turned into "horrific shadow versions of themselves" with a figure "with a pale crown and eyes of black flame" rising above them all.

• At Bowhile, when the shadow kings raced towards them, Will felt the fact that "he was their master" and "maker" and he saw "that ancient battlefield under a red sky where an army of shadows stretched across the land.". His steed was "a giant scaled creature that winged across the sky" and the shadows were "his to command, on the cusp of victory.".

James

• James doesn't remember his dreams, but when he wakes up, he can't move "trapped in sleep, but awake". It's as if "there's a great power bending over [him]" that is whispering "—I will always—". He can't finish talking but Will's inner thought complete "Find you. Try to run.".

• When Sinclair (in Sloane's body), put the collar on James, he remembered what he said to Sarcean the day he arrested him, "Try to run [...] I will always find you.". He also saw a vision of Sarcean, "a man he'd fought, and hated, even as he'd given himself in aching surrender.". "He remembered the feeling of being taken" and the collar flooded him with a power that "wasn't his own" but "came from the collar" and "connected him to a power so immense it seemed endless.". "He hated how good it felt.".

However, to his surprise, he felt "no compulsion [...] nothing at all.", and to Sinclair's confusion James, now with his memories back, says the collar does control the betrayer, but that "the Dark King is its master". James realised "the stories were lies" and no matter "who put the collar around his neck [...] [it] had only one master".

• When James[with his memories] went to save Will and pushed his power into him, "James' magic connected to the vast reservoir of [Will's] own."

Visander

• When he returned, Visander remembered the "Queen's cold blue eyes on him" and "the sharp pain as she ran the sword through his chest" for him to return. Back then, he didn't have the time "to say goodbye" and "embrace Indeviel" for the last time, but he saw "her swords in his guts" when he looked down at himself. He closed his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was "opening them in —a coffin—".

• Indeviel was Visander's companion in the war. He was by his side when "the shadows [were] sweeping over the field at Garayan.". They fought together and he remembered, years after their first encounter, the "pale bodies of slain unicorns, torn apart by lion claws" which Indeviel had sworn vengeance against.

• When Visander finally came face to face with Will, he said to him that he is "the same age now as [he] was when [Sarcean/Will]⁴ killed his family" [⁴Visander says "you", he doesn't make a difference between Will and Sarcean.]

The Collar

• According to Gauthier's ancestors, the descendant of Anharion's executioner, the collar didn't open when he got killed and he had to "saw off the Betrayer's head to get it.".

• The collar doesn't work on people who aren't Anharion, even if "plenty [...] have tried to put it on others." but its power seemed to have "sucked [Gauthier] dry of anything but the desire to take and to hold." and "hollowed him out like a husk."

[I do think it works a little bit like the One Ring in lotr. People crave to use and have it, but those who aren't powerful enough to whithstand its power, are suffering from it. It only has one master after all.]

[I have not re-read the two books for this and only found those infos by researching words on the ebook version, so I probably missed some! Feel free to add them in the comments if you want <3]

[lauptimist]

Your hair is really soft after you wash it - Percabeth

a/n- this is the first chapter of my fluff one-shots series on ao3. I hope you enjoy it! pls like, comment and reblog. It motivates me so much. Also make sure you send me requests. I've had a few so far but it may take me little while to get them out. I'm hoping chapter 3 of this series will be out soon. :)

Percy didn’t quite know how he got here, lying next to Annabeth on her bed in Cabin 6. You’d think it was romantic, at least, that's what all her brothers and sisters thought when she led him in here with a firm grip on his wrist. But in truth Percy was pretty sure that this was the most uncomfortable experience he had ever had. He was as stiff as a board, not even letting the tip of his finger come within 5 inches of Annabeth in fear that she would kick him out. 

Even still there was no way that he would want to be anywhere else, even just being in her presence made him feel good. 

Percy wasn't sure what it was about her exactly that pulled him in so much but it could have something to do with the fact that he knew that whatever happened, she would always be on his side. And with the subtle hints that she had dropped to him he was pretty sure she felt the same way. Percy had always been someone who wouldn't dream of hurting or betraying his friends, no matter the situation. He knew he had proved that on their quest, with the arch and the golden throne being just a couple of examples. He had also noticed that Annabeth had been distancing herself from other people at camp, at this point Percy was pretty much the only person she spent time with and he was almost certain that it had quite a lot to do with Luke.

Saying that Lukes betrayal had hit Annabeth hard would be an understatement, she had barely left her cabin for the first three days, only emerging for meals and mandatory meetings and she almost always showed up with red rims around her eyes. 

Percy was worried to say the least but he didn’t know how to help her when she was so desperate not to talk to anyone. He might not be the best when it came to emotions (that was more Grover’s forte) but one thing Percy did know was that the worst thing you can do is bottle it up. He knew Annabeth was struggling and he was ready to barge in and force her to talk to him until one day she just showed up at his cabin. He was slightly astounded for a moment and she seemed almost shy which was the last thing he ever expected her to be, but she just asked if she could come in and when Percy finally managed to stutter out a yes she just sat down on one of the empty bunks pulled a book out of her bag and started reading.

Percy was slightly confused for a while before he decided to just carry on with the drawing he’d been doing in his sketchbook. He wasn’t a particularly good artist but he had always enjoyed drawing as it helped him to make sense of the things happening around him. And so it became somewhat of a routine for them. Her reading a book (usually a different one everyday) and him sketching some mythical creature they had encountered (although a lot of his recent sketches had been of the owls he often saw in the woods). Until this lunchtime when Annabeth had come over to his table, ignoring the reprimanding glances she was receiving from Chiron, and asked if he could meet her in her cabin later. 

Being the seaweed brained idiot that she always knew him as, he had not thought to go and get his sketchbook before he went and so now he was just lying there awkwardly as unlike his cabin all of the bunks in the Athena cabin were full and so they had to share Annabeths. Working up the courage he asked her,

“Annabeth, why are we in your cabin instead of mine?”

She turned and looked at him,

“Did I not tell you?” She seemed surprised

“Um-no. Unless I forgot which is very possible and in which case I apologise as-” he was rambling now.

Annabeth simply let out a small laugh that for some reason made his cheeks feel hot,

“It's fine Seaweed Brain, I’m pretty sure I forgot to tell you anyway. I asked Chiron if he had a monster proof TV, which he doesn’t but he did give me this Laptop instead which apparently has something called Disney+ on it. Im not entirely sure what that is but i assumed you would know so…” She stopped talking, noticing the astounded look on his face. 

“O-oh i’m sorry if you don’t want to, it's just that you said we could watch a movie after the quest was over and i thought now would be  good time…”

“No no no, Its amazing Annabeth! I guess i was just surprised you remembered, i mean it was a while ago.” Percy hurried to reassure her.

“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this since you first mentioned it back in Waterland.” Percy was smiling softly at her, an emotion in his eyes that Annabeth couldn’t recognise.

“Well then Wise Girl, what film do you feel like watching?” Percy’s face lit up in anticipation.

“Oh wait, do you mind if i have a shower before we start? My hair is kinda greasy and I won't have time for one tomorrow.” Annabeth suddenly remembered.

“Of course, don’t be too long though. I might watch something without you.” Annabeth let out a small chuckle at his teasing tone.

“Sure Seaweed Brain, 10 minutes. Max” She tapped his nose on her way to the bathroom, an action that brought a dark flush to Percy’s cheeks that he hoped Annabeth hadn’t seen. 

Annabeth was true to her word and emerged from the bathroom exactly 8 minutes later with her hair half dried with a towel. She took a few seconds to tug a brush through it before joining Percy on the bed again. They were alone in the cabin now, her siblings had gone down to the campfire. Truthfully she hoped they would stay there until the movie they watched was finished, call her selfish but all she had wanted for a good week now was some alone time with Percy to watch a movie. Technically they were breaking the rule of a male and female camper being alone in a cabin together but she figured Chiron wouldn’t mind considering the highly dangerous quest to stop a war that they had just been on.

“I’ll ask you again, what movie do you feel like watching?” Percy brought her back to earth with a smile.

“I don’t know any so i guess we could just watch your favourite.” 

“Yessssss. Okay so my favourite movie is called Finding Nemo and it is the best film in the world. It's about this fish that gets lost and his dad and his friend have to go and find him.” Annabeth smiled as he typed it into the search box, of course such a stupid sounding movie would be his favourite.

1 hour and 40 minutes later Annabeth had officially watched her very first movie and she had thoroughly enjoyed it. Whilst she was right in saying that it was a bit stupid she found herself laughing more than she ever had before, although to be fair most of the things she was laughing at were Percy’s stupid comments. By the end they were both pretty tired and almost falling asleep. Still Annabeth didn’t want him to leave and she was almost certain that a similar thought was running through his mind. 

They stayed like that, in comfortable silence for another half an hour, curled up together, his arm around her shoulder, his hand playing with her hair. Annabeth was embarrassed as her hair was tangled from the way it had dried whilst she was lying down. However it was evident that Percy didn’t care as the next words from his lips were,

“Your hair is really soft after you wash it.”

Looking back Annabeth thought that might be the moment she realised that her little crush might not be so little after all.

[just-an-emily-existing]

Tw: Death, Blood, Implied Gore

Happy Traintober, and happy reading ;)

Once, in a little valley of the Island of Sodor, before the Skarloey was the Skarloey Railway, there lived a timeworn steam engine named Cadogan. She was the first of her kind, known for her heartwarming whistles and the warmth of her vintage red color, Cadogan had seen many seasons cycle through the green hills of the island. She was a marvel of engineering, a pride of the station, most cherished by the little children who would wave to her as she puffed past, sending clouds of steam spiralling into the sky.

But as time marched on, her brilliance dulled. Technology advanced; newer, faster engines glided effortlessly along the tracks. Cadogan began to feel the gnawing fear that came with obsolescence, the relentless threat of the scrap yard looming over her. Whispers among the workshops grew louder, each echoing the unthinkable: “It’s time for Cadogan to retire.”

One crisp winter evening, as the sun dipped beyond the hills and cast long shadows over the rails, Cadogan sat in her shed, a heavy heart trapped within her iron frame. The fear of being dissolved into lifeless metal spurred something within her. The sound of the wheels against the tracks, the longing for the cheers of her passengers, it brought her to tears. The body she possessed could not accept her fate among piles of rust and decay. In a moment of desperation, Cadogan closed her eyes and wished with every ounce of steam in her boiler.

Suddenly, a warmth surged through her, igniting an ancient magic, a chance she never knew she had. In a flicker of golden glitter and a burst of steam, Cadogan transformed, her essence shifting from iron and steel into the flesh of a young woman. Her hair flowed like black smoke, and her eyes now gleamed with fire and life. Overjoyed but still filled with fear, Cadogan fled from her old life.

She raced through the misty woods, her heart pounding fiercely with newfound freedom, but the fear of being discovered still chased her. She was a creature of the tracks, yet here she stood, vulnerable in a world where she once was mightier than her human form could ever hope to be. It wasn't long before the townsfolk noticed a woman who looked almost exactly like her engine counterpart. They quickly realised it was Cadogan herself, trying to flee from the railway to Lady knows where. Some marvelled at her bravery to escape, but some believed she was an omen, a wraith signalling the end of the railway.

One fateful evening, weeks after her initial escape, Cadogan found herself at the edge of a bridge that loomed over a rushing river, the moon glowing white on the horizon. Questions swirled within her. Could she remain human? Would others accept a woman born from an engine? The doubts clawing at her mind twisted her heart into knots. Just then, a group of workers approached. They were armed with old tools and bows, faces twisted in disgust. They had come to reclaim the escapee of Sodor, a mission that included her fate as well.

Seeing the determination in their eyes, Cadogan understood the truth; they had come to take her back, to return her to the looming embrace of scrap. “No! I’m more than what they designed! I'm still useful! I don’t deserve this!!” she shrieked, desperation coursing through her veins. But they were resolute, pushing forward, and as her fear turned to rage, she was pressed to the edge of the bridge, heart pounding wildly.

With a sudden wave of anger, she scrambled to keep her distance, ready to leap into the freedom of the river below. They soon noticed her anger was turning into aggression, and saw she grabbed a huge stick and pointed it at them, backing away slowly. “I refuse to let you kill me! I’m getting across this damn bridge whether you like it or not!” So, the workers had no choice but to draw their bows. “Stay away from me!” she yelled, and in her turmoil, she felt an arrow pierce through her abdomen. In the fragile moment between horror and self-preservation, she felt herself fall back. Time froze as she lost her footing, falling into the depths below.

She screamed something wicked, a scream that could make ears bleed. The rushing waters greeted her with a cold embrace, and for a moment, she could breathe. Yet as she sank below the surface, the realisation struck her like an arrow. There was no escape from her own demise. She couldn't outrun her fate. Underwater and beneath the weight of her newfound humanity, she saw visions of tracks, glowing sickly warm in her memory, the laughter she had brought, the love she felt, the children who waved.

But alas, she couldn’t find her strength, the water paralysing her whole body. The world went dark for our Cadogan. But suddenly, a bright light flashed before her, a last wave of magic surged through her, resurrecting her spirit. She pulled herself from the abyss, thinking she could fly, but it was too late; the bridge, the lives above, and the hope she chased were irretrievably lost.

The workers had gone, leaving only the haunting echo of what could have been—a glimpse of a life forever marred by horror. Cadogan stepped onto the bridge, feeling lighter than ever before. She looked off to the side and saw her lifeless engine corpse, stuck between two huge rocks. She didn't even feel scared or shocked, she just stood there, and looking down on her body, saw the arrow... The arrow that had killed her, forever doomed to be lodged through her body.

She soon realised what she was—an engine dressed like a woman cast adrift, forever trapped on the isle that once adored her.

As the last curls of steam rose into the moonlit sky, Cadogan realised she was now alone and dead, not only an engine trying to escape but a creature of sorrow forged in the waters of loss. The only sounds that remained were the whispering wind that stirred between the trees, and the rushing of water over her body pressing against the silence of a bridge that would bear her grief for the ages.

But workers will tell you, on a full moonlit night, they can see the woman, running across the bridge, the arrow still lodged deep in her body, trying to pull it out. But she never does pull out the arrow, or reach the other side, for no matter the condition of the rails and bridge, she always slips and falls, screaming the same wicked screech as she did when she first fell and plunging into the water below.

[squintyeyedjoel]

Through Your Eyes | Part 3 - In the Blink of an Eye (Joel x Reader)

A/N: So this is the rest of what was chapter 2, but I broke it up to keep chapter 2 shorter, and good thing, too, because I ended up adding a lot more. 🤣 Also, I know in canon the garage is a separate building, and I have a plan for that, so bear with me, please.

I do not own The Last of Us or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Oooo, this one’s a doozy as well, but in a different way than the last one. So many things. (Let me know if I miss anything.) 😮‍💨 Some more original characters, lots of canon violence and swearing, (this one is a big one. Like a lot. There’s a hefty amount of swearing.) mention of attempted sexual assault without detail, Reader is a badass. We round it all out with obscene amounts of fluff and humor between it all, sweet moments, and just soft things. It’s me. I can’t not. No use of Y/N.

Word count: 13,464

Thank you to @fordo-kixed-rex for reading over this however many times it’s been now and fangirling over it when I was having my down moments. You’re the reason this still exists.

Previous | Series Masterlist | Masterlist | Next

Xxx

The next morning, your little band of six was up with the sun and making sure the horses were ready. Starting out with over fifteen, this smaller party felt like a speck of dust in the wind compared to the massive herd you were before.

Joel had introduced you to the remaining members, people he personally trusted, which from your brief time with him, you knew meant a lot. 

First was an older man named Jack, closer to Joel’s age with graying hair and a laugh that was infectious. He was a whisperer when it came to the horses. Well, any animal, really. You could have sworn you saw a butterfly land on his fingertip when no one was looking earlier this morning. 

He looked over both shoulders so slightly you almost missed it, but he did a double take when he caught your eye, a small smile spreading up one side of his face as you both watched the small winged creature take flight once again. Jack held his index finger it had been perched on up to his lips in a bid for your silence, to which you only pressed your lips firmly together and gave a single stilted nod to try not to draw attention toward either of you.

It didn’t work. 

“What’re you doing?” Joel asked from your right, drawing out the words skeptically to match the raise of his eyebrows in question. 

“Nothing,” you offered quickly, fastening your backpack closed and gathering the last of your gear before heading over toward your horse. Once your back was to him, you grimaced. That was much too fast to be convincing.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” he drawled sarcastically, mumbling something under his breath when you didn’t acknowledge him. Something along the lines of, “She ‘nd Ellie’ll be the death’f me.”

It was Jack’s whiskey that had helped Jane’s wound yesterday. He hadn’t hesitated offering his little hip flask out of a secret pocket on the inside of his jacket as soon as he saw the state she was in.

A man pulled you gently off to the side before you could make it over to Jane, Joel following quickly after you less than a step behind. 

You didn’t know his name, just that he seemed trustworthy, and slightly tortured. His eyes held a closed off level of pain you’d seen all too often since outbreak day, once or twice in your own reflection, and you knew not to judge how a man chose to fight his demons. 

So it was no surprise to you when he offered the stainless steel little demon chaser he obviously kept with him at all times, primed and ready. The liquid sloshed a little inside as he quickly tugged it from his hidden pocket. It was dented in a few places, worn and obviously loved. It had seen better days, but that was kind of the point…. It saw “better” days in order to help you see some better days yourself. 

Or to help you sleep through them. 

Whichever helped most.

It was the apocalypse. 

Who were you to judge?

“Take it,” the man said, holding it out, his hand shaking slightly as he gripped the lifeline with just the tips of his fingers in a hesitant extension. “She needs it more’n I do.”

“Y’sure?” Joel asked, as you eyed the tremble of the man’s fingers. “Withdrawal is no joke, Jack.”

The man who you now knew as Jack’s features curled up in some sort of shame, then determination. He bounced the flask slightly in a renewed offer toward the two of you, his extended hand more firm as he worked hard to calm the tremors. “Neither is being stabbed. What she’s going through is worse than a few uncomfortable nights for me. I’ll survive.” Try as he might, the flask started to vibrate slightly, and he looked down at it like it had betrayed him.

And in a way, you guessed it had.

Reaching out to gently cradle his hand in both of yours, the tremors seemed to still for a moment. Holding his gaze, you took the flask from his grasp, not missing the way his grip tightened just a little before releasing it. 

Withdrawing his hand back to his side after a delayed moment as if he had been shocked by some electric current, curling it into a tight fist and quickly stuffing it deep into his jacket pocket, Jack smiled brightly as he looked between the two of you. “Jus’ don’t shoot me when something crawls up my ass in a few days, Joel.”

“No promises,” the elder Miller grunted with a small grin, turning and ushering you toward Jane to make sure no one else interrupted you along the way.

Next was a younger man named Liam, who looked to be around Will’s age. Despite being new to patrols or going on runs and all they would entail, he was eager to learn and an excellent shot. 

Turns out he’d also come from Texas, though was much younger when everything had happened, probably only twelve or fourteen years old on outbreak day, so you assumed he and Joel hadn’t crossed paths until later, somewhere closer to Jackson. 

And you couldn’t help but feel like maybe Joel was playing a little bit of a favoritism card for his home state, allowing the much younger newbie to tag along with all the other more experienced travelers when he still had so much yet to learn. (You couldn’t blame him if he was. It was yours, too, after all.) 

It wasn’t until you heard Liam mention how his family had worked for Joel’s contracting company ‘once upon a time’ - to which Joel had walked past grumbling something resembling, ‘I ain’t that old’ - that things started making a little more sense.

Less of the home field advantage, and more of the home grown kind. 

It was becoming clear that Joel was a family man, although to be honest, that was obvious from the start. What you were coming to see was that family wasn’t all just blood. 

And that was a decision he made long before the apocalypse. 

That was just Joel Miller. 

That was his DNA. 

If you found yourself in his fold, you’d be okay. 

Taken care of. 

Even when the world went to shit and he ran into your kid thousands of miles away across the country when everyone was fighting against infected…. 

That boy would have a home.

You watched with a smile as Joel helped Liam adjust something on his rifle, then braced it on his shoulder and looked through the sights down the barrel with one eye squinted shut, before lowering the weapon and handing it back to the younger man. 

Liam copied Joel before pulling away only a step to meet the elder’s gaze, and they shared some quiet words. Some muttered joke drifted to you about old eyes before Joel lightly cuffed him along the back of the head with a smirk and a smartass as he turned to leave, Liam grinning with a chuckle as he turned and secured his rifle to the side of his mount.

With your own grin pulling up your features, you turned slowly and surveyed the rest of the group as you stroked your horse's mane. “I think we may just make it, old girl,” you mused quietly, turning a skeptical eye on your mare when she chuffed at you. Rolling your eyes, you looked back to the group, and mumbled under your breath, “If Joel were a horse…. You’d be it, darlin’.”

The last newcomer to you was a woman named Kate, about your age, and a walking encyclopedia of every living thing in the forest. What you could eat, what you couldn’t, what was medicinal, what was flammable…. Before the outbreak she had been a nurse, and her skills were invaluable to have around on an excursion like this. 

She had offered to help with Jane, but Will only let her supervise. No one could pull him away from the wounded seamstress. Under any other circumstance you would find it endearing, but at that particular moment, you found it anything but.

You tried to speak calmly, but the man was trying your last nerve. “Will, she knows what she’s doing. Let her help.”

He lifted his eyes to look at you from where he knelt on one knee on the other side of Jane, and you swore you saw tears brimming in them. If he blinked, you were pretty sure they would fall. But he hadn’t blinked as long as you’d been looking at him, which struck you like a bolt of lightning when you realized how long that had been. It was almost as if he was afraid to close his eyes. Like if he did, she would be gone when he opened them again…. Even if only for a second. 

“I’m not moving.” He pulled his gaze higher to meet the sympathetic face of Kate. “But she can supervise.”

You began to argue again, but Kate put a hand on your shoulder. “That’s fine. I can do that.” Her voice was soft and soothing. “Let me go grab my kit, and I’ll walk you through it, Will.”

He swallowed roughly and nodded once, not looking directly at her, his eyes falling back down to look at Jane who hadn’t woken up since she’d passed out at the raider camp.

“You’re lucky she’s unconscious, or else she’d be giving you an earful right now,” you sighed, letting your weight slump back onto your seat. Resting your forearms on your bent knees, you studied Will cautiously as your head lolled to the right with a tired huff.

“I’d gladly take that over this silence right now,” Will said so quietly, you almost missed it. He held one of her hands in his own, so fiercely and yet cradling it so delicately, you couldn’t even begin to hope to describe it should you have to. 

He maneuvered so her head was in his lap, and he peered down at her with a look you thought had died off on outbreak day. Something so tender, so soft, contented…. 

Come to think of it, you’d seen it on Joel a few times, usually when he was looking at Ellie, or Tommy, though the last was short lived. 

Occasionally when he would look down at his watch, though that fluctuated between pain and this sense of peace and contentment. 

Almost always when he was in his shop, tool in hand and project on the table.

And sometimes, when he thought you weren’t looking…. Like right now…. He had this look when he’d steal a glance at you.

Stealing your eyes over Will’s shoulder, you met the eyes of your current housemate, and instead of darting away like they usually did, he held your stare as he absently tended to his horse’s tack. 

“It’s weird to see her so quiet….”

Will’s soft words pulled you back to the matter at hand. And you could have sworn you saw Joel grin in your peripherals.

“You’re gonna wish you never said that,” Jane mumbled, groaning as she rolled her head to the side, her face screwed up in pain. “Once I start going, I don’t stop.”

You grinned. “It’s true. She doesn’t have an off button.”

Jane reached out and whacked your arm. “Be nice to me. I’m dying.”

“No, you’re not,” Will said around his broad grin, maneuvering her head off of him so he could get beside her for a better view. The smile he gave her then was nothing short of brilliant. “Not if I can help it.”

Speaking of….

“Joel? Where’s Will?”

He smirked with a gentle shake of his head. “Don’t worry ‘bout it.” Gripping the reins of his horse, he clicked the side of his mouth quietly as he got near the creature's head, stroking it softly with one hand as the horse nickered at him. 

You led your horse over toward him, reins pulled tight as the giant, powerful, dapple gray wonder named Delilah balked, digging into the earth and tossing her head side to side with a discontented snort. 

She’s as stubborn as he is. Fact, I’m pretty sure they planned this. Conspired and everything. 

“I plotted nothing with your horse,” Joel mused quietly, amusement heavy in his tone as you realized you said the last part out loud. “Only thing Delilah and I conspire ‘bout are sugar cubes n’apples.” He shrugged. “There’s the odd carrot talk here n’there, but….”

Joel sighed before you even really got moving, as if he were anticipating the whole thing. His head tossed back as he peered up at the sky as if to ask why.

Dropping the reins you closed the last few feet between you and Joel, arms coming to cross over your chest once you landed behind him. “Well, I’m gonna.”

Joel sighed again, resting his head against his horse’s, who let out a soft contented bray, before pulling back to look at you. “Will’s okay,” he said softly. “Now, leave it alone.”

“How do you know?” You swiveled to follow him as he walked over to gather your horse’s reins, shushing the large mare until she, too, was nickering at him, then he led her back over to you. 

Joel shrugged, pulling his face tight in amusement as he placed the horse’s tack back in your hands. “Jus’ do.”

“If you don’t tell me….”

He mounted his horse with a groan. “I patrol with the man. I just know his little quirks, okay?” Looking down at you from atop his mount, Joel’s expression was unreadable as his horse stepped back and forth, eager to get going. He reached out to pat the back of the large chestnut’s head, muttering calming words. “Shhhh…. Calm down, Old Beardy….”

“Your horse's name is-” 

“He’s not in trouble…. Yet,” Joel cut you off, sitting up abruptly, slightly wide eyed on the back of Old Beardy. “But if he keeps pesterin’ Jane like I think he’s wantin’ to,” his eyes narrowed in on you ever so slightly as he leaned back over his horses head to offer soothing circles of comfort on the side of his neck, “that could all change very quickly….” 

You scoffed, arms across your chest cinching tighter. “Really?” They rearranged to your hips as you leaned toward him with each word, most likely for emphasis, but you weren’t entirely sure. “Was that a not so subtle dig at me to stop pesterin’ you?” 

Joel shrugged, one shoulder going slightly higher than the other, as he sat back upright astride his horse and an amused grin started to pull up one cheek. “You said it. I didn’t.” With that, he nudged his horse forward, moving past you at a slow walk, and you could tell he was trying hard not to smile.

Xxx

Without Will here, the group traveled in relative silence. After a while, it became unbearable for you, and you steered your horse to sidle alongside Joel and his steed.

“Ellie told me Tommy was your patrol partner.”

Joel nodded. “Mmm-hmm. Usually is.”

You watched a butterfly fly in front of you, smirking as you glanced at Jack and found him already grinning in your direction. “So what changed?” You focused back on Joel and the road ahead.

Joel sighed, adjusting in his saddle. “He’s gonna be a daddy soon.” Your eyes bugged out of your head, making him chuckle. “Yeah, that’s ‘bout the same reaction I had.”

“Same reaction we all had,” Jack chimed in, making everyone laugh softly. 

“I dunno. Seems like he’d be a good dad,” Liam posed.

“What makes you say that?” Kate had turned in her saddle to face the youngest of the group, her eyebrows nearly in her hairline.

“It’s just a gut feeling.”

“A gut feeling,” Jack agreed distantly, staring straight ahead. “And by that you mean the thought of it makes your stomach turn.”

As Jack passed by on your right, you reached out and shoved his shoulder lightly.

“What?” The man protested, looking at you wide eyed. “It’s true! Ain’t no way the words Tommy Miller and Daddy ever came up together naturally….” Jack grimaced as he turned back to face forward again. “‘Least not in any way I care to think about.”

“Watch it,” Joel warned teasingly. “That’s my baby brother you’re talking about, asshole. He may be a stick in the mud and about as sharp as two spoons trying to pick up pudding-”

Your face twisted in confusion as Joel took a breath. “Um, spoons could easily pick up pudding. That’s not an insult. You must be tired.” Joel turned his glare on you, and you simply grinned around it, continuing on. “I think you were going more for something like spoons trying to cut through stone?”

The group all snickered behind you as the two of you simply stared at one another, amusement hiding deep in your expression while annoyance clearly painted his.

“I concur with Liam,” you agreed instead after a moment. Joel huffed and turned his gaze on the young man who only shrugged in response before he was looking back at you. 

“A Miller man an actual daddy,” you mused quietly, smiling softly as you stared straight ahead. “I don’t think the world could handle the awesomeness.” Looking back over at Joel, you expected to see him grinning at the playful banter, but instead he looked somewhat sad.

The same expression he had when he looked at his watch sometimes.

In fact, he glanced down to it now. It was brief, but you caught it.

It wasn’t the look Will had had with Jane. This was that sad, forlorn expression, like he was missing something. Like a piece of his soul was gone.

But as quickly as it came, it went. 

Without a glance your direction, he pulled his eyes up to the path ahead and squinted as the horses pulled into another clearing and sunlight shone directly on his face. 

“Yeah,” he finally gruffed, clearing his throat as he purposefully looked at the forest around him. “He’s gonna be great. Anyway….” He nudged his horse faster, seeming to head for the next pocket of tree cover a few yards away. But you weren’t that dense and could tell he was just trying to get away from the conversation, so you followed suit, falling into step beside him once again. 

Joel sighed almost imperceptibly when he heard your horse's footfalls lining up with his own once again. You could have sworn his eyes rolled slightly, too, now that they were not squinted in the shade of the tall trees. But he went on regardless. “Maria’s been sick a lot more the further the pregnancy’s gone, so…. Told him t’stay home.”

Nodding, you kept your gaze forward, allowing Joel a respite from prying eyes. This was all a tender subject, and you still didn’t know why, but you could respect that.  “Well, it looks like Will is a good one to take his place,” you mused quietly.

Glancing over, you saw how Joel’s expression brightened again, his eyes casting down to the ground like a bashful kid. “He’s alright.”

The group made it a decent ways, a handful of miles between all of you and the former bandit camp now that there were fewer of you, plus you didn’t have the cart to slow you down.

Even so, you still missed Jane and Will. They both added a quiet energy to the group even if they never said a word.

But they both always said plenty.

Joel had the group stop at an abandoned cabin on the very edge of the forest, letting the horses rest and grabbing a bite to eat from what was packed. Everyone was settled in and halfway through some sandwiches,  when suddenly you could hear muffled galloping through the cabin walls. It was approaching rapidly in the distance, back in the direction you had come from. 

The whole party sat up abruptly, food long forgotten as they reached for their firearms and listened closely.

“Everyone stay inside,” Joel mumbled quickly, striding over to the small fire in the cabin's hearth and setting his cup of water on the mantle, swapping it for his rifle already resting there, always within arms reach. 

Jack and Kate cocked their rifles, clicking them over to safety and resting them across their laps while they remained in their seats by the fire, watching Joel head out the door. Once the elder Miller had passed the threshold, the door softly latching shut behind him, Jack clicked his safety off. Kate arched a brow at him, and he shrugged.

“Better safe than sorry.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “And if it’s nothing? And you get jumpy? What then?”

Jack huffed quietly at her whispered admonishment. “I don’t get jumpy.”

Casting her eyes down to his still trembling hands pointedly, she pulled her eyes back up to meet his and arched a brow. “Maybe you don’t, but that leftover whiskey in your system sure does.”

Flipping his hand under the barrel over to grip the armrest of the chair in an attempt to stabilize himself, Jack glared at Kate, but quickly turned the glare down to his hand when the tremor instead began to rattle the loose wooden pegs holding the seat together.

“Point taken,” he grumbled, flicking the safety back on before sitting on his practically vibrating palms, his rifle braced across his thighs. After a moment he hurriedly grabbed the rifle and rested it against the stone fireplace in front of him, sitting back on his hands and adding a bouncing knee to the routine. He looked at Kate and shrugged. “It’s gotta work its way out somehow.”

Turning away from the two by the fire, you spotted Liam still asleep in one of the long abandoned bunks in the cabin corner, and you couldn’t blame him. An actual mattress that hadn't gone to hell was hard to come by. You smiled faintly after remembering how he had plopped in it within five seconds of entering the structure.

“Anyone wakes me sooner than morning, clickers are gonna be the least of your worries,” he said, flat on his back and eyes already closed, followed by a contented sigh as he melted into the slightly redeemable box spring.

The dust particles that had filled the air in a violent swirl when his back hit the mattress had finally begun to settle. They floated through the lazy sunbeams that danced through the remaining cabin windows, dirty as they were, reminding you of lazy weekend afternoons back before the outbreak.

A lawnmower going down the street.

Kids laughing in the cul de sac.

The smell of barbecue from somewhere nearby, or just a fire as people stood round to watch it for fun in their back yard with a drink in hand and relax.

Not to rely on it for warmth like now.

For food.

Usually outside and in silence for fear of what lurked just out of sight.

You hadn’t thought about these things in so long…. 

Since before moving to Jackson. 

Before Joel and Ellie….

Shaking your head, you shut your eyes to quit staring at the dust particles long enough to focus back on the matter at hand.

Liam. Hoofbeats. Focus.

Looking back at the peacefully sleeping young man, you grinned slightly. Shifting your weight side to side once, you sighed heavily through your nose.

Sorry, kid.

After absently adjusting the strap slung across your shoulders of the rifle you’d stolen from the raiders, tugging where it pulled tightly at the center of your chest, the weapon a heavy reminder at your back, you walked quietly over to him. 

Gently nudging his shoulder with your left hand, you then held the index finger of your right up to your mouth to indicate silence as he stirred and began to ask what was happening in a bleary voice.

Liam turned his head toward you, his face screwed up like you had a flashlight trained on his face in the darkest of nights. “Who dares to distur-” The hand rubbing one eye froze mid swipe, and he stared at you with the other eye that was still exposed.

Suddenly fully awake, his palm trailed up to rest on his forehead as he blinked a few times then looked wide eyed around the cabin and saw everyone with their weapon either in hand or at the ready. 

He sat up abruptly, his hand falling to his lap soundlessly as he continued to scooch closer to the edge of the mattress, miraculously avoiding every traitorous squeaky spring in the thing. 

Once at the edge, feet still propped up on the tiny cot, he reached down seamlessly into his open backpack resting on the floor against the foot of the cot closest to his head, and pulled out a machete, bringing it up to rest on the bed beside him as he gave you a single nod. 

It was a very Joel thing to do.

A snort of amusement pulled your attention back over your shoulder where you saw Jack looking on with a grin, nodding in approval. “Kid’s got the right idea,” he said just above a whisper.

“I learned from the best,” Liam mused around a grin.

“Yeah, Joel’s really been passing on some gems,” Kate said, looking slyly at Jack, and snorting in amusement when he turned a disapproving glare her way.

“The kid wasn’t talking about Joel,” he groused. “He’s my patrol partner, Kate. He meant me.”

“I actually meant Tommy.”

All three sets of eyes turned to Liam, before quiet snickers of laughter went around, the younger man beaming at the attention.

“Nah, I’m just joking.”

“We know,” Jack coughed softly, eyeing the door of the cabin when Joel still hadn’t returned, clearing his throat.

“I meant Ellie.”

This time the laughter was a bit louder and unrestrained, but still quiet. A thump on the cabin door was heard, then it swung open and Joel popped his head in. 

“Hush!” He hissed to the four of you, the continuous growing sound of approaching hooves filling the following silence of his deathly stare. “You four are louder than a horde!”

The cabin door shut silently, but it might as well have been slammed with the finality it gave. The four of you exchanged looks.

“‘Least we smell better than a horde, though.”

Jack’s off handed comment made the rest of you snicker quietly as you tried to follow Joel’s request.

“Speak for yourself,” Kate grumbled. “Most of us do, ‘nyway.”

Jack and Kate shared another little stare off as the tension of the impending approaching hoofbeats grew closer.

Meanwhile, Joel had slinked around the side of the cabin outside for a better vantage point before the newcomer on horseback could get any closer. You were able to track him through two of the cabin’s windows before you lost sight of him. If he stayed on the path you’d last seen him on, then he would have made it just behind a pile of firewood and out of sight when the rapidly approaching horse crested over the tiny hill and came into view. 

His footsteps were virtually silent, only the foliage crunching underfoot could give him away, and he was careful to not let it. Aside from one or two traitorous twigs that helped you all in the cabin follow his movements once he was past the windows, he was like a ghost. 

Suddenly his footsteps shuffled carelessly, every leaf and twig breaking under his weight and being kicked to the side with little to no effort to mask his steps as he slid to a stop at the same time you heard a second male voice.

It was familiar as it yelled, “Woah, woah,” overlapping the sound of a horse breathing heavily as the galloping came to a stop. Then a thud as someone hopped onto the ground from a height, you guessed from the back of the horse, the foliage underfoot crunching from the impact. 

You were so concentrated trying to place the familiar voice that had called out to the horse, you missed the pair of returning relaxed footsteps back toward the cabin. The low, muffled voices exchanged a murmured conversation you couldn’t quite make out even if you were paying attention. 

The cabin door suddenly swung open, and there stood Joel, a grumpy look on his features, followed by an amused looking Will. 

“Told ya he was fine,” Joel grumbled, holding your wide eyed gaze.

The other three members of the group let out a collective sigh, of what you assumed was relief, all of them stowing their weapons once again and settling back into the comfort and warmth that had been interrupted.

Will stayed outside to tend to his horse while Joel came back into the cabin, grumbling something about not signing up for this the whole way back to the fireplace. 

As Joel passed behind Jack, he pulled the chair the older man was seated in back, making his friend reach out to stabilize himself before looking up at Joel skeptically. “And you do smell like a horde. Go use the rain barrel out back and clean up, ya ass.”

“It’s the shakes,” Jack mumbled, staring at the floor in embarrassment as he got to his feet before heading for the door. “They make me sweat somethin’ fierce.”

“Then use this as ammunition to never let the whiskey get you this bad again, Jack.”

Pausing halfway to the door, the older man looked up to meet Joel’s piercing expression, the embarrassment on his own melting away into determination. The two men held each other's gaze for a moment before Jack nodded once and headed out the cabin door. 

“I’ll go with him. Make sure he’s okay.” Kate stood up, slinging her rifle across her shoulders and grabbing Jack’s from its spot still against the fireplace. “After everything, I’d prefer someone watch my back, too. Only fair I watch someone’sin return.”

Joel nodded and watched her follow after Jack. When the front door opened, you could see Will tending to his horse out front before it closed again and cut off the outside world. He, Jack and Kate traded muffled words before Will came inside, swiping his sweaty brow in the crook of his elbow with the sleeve of his outer flannel layer.

Once he got settled into the cabin, hogging a space by the fire despite a look from Joel as he adjusted to make room, and several pieces of beef jerky from the main stash despite you and Liam staring him down pointedly, an overly excited Will explained everything. 

Hold your horses I’m getting to it! How he rode all morning …. Can someone pass me some water? I think I swallowed a bug on the way here …. after sneaking out of Jackson …. Jerky has never tasted this good …. to try and catch up with the group once again after …. Man, whoever built this fire did a good job. It is hot! …. after Jane ‘threatened to maim him’ if he didn’t get ahold of her sewing machine. Shouldn’t be too difficult.

He had a starstruck look in his eyes the whole time, and you were pretty sure it was because he was living out his secret agent dreams by sneaking out of town and back to the group, but it was especially evident when he talked about Jane, making you smile. 

Does he realize he would have done it if she hadn’t even asked? 

He was wrapped around her finger already.

Kate and Jack had come back in by now and were in their seats by the fire once again, watching Will with bemused expressions. 

“We had to get out before dawn so the council wouldn’t put a stop to it. Things are crazy since we got back and those raiders wouldn’t say a word. Became freaking mimes.” Joel snorted in amusement. 

“Security was doubled instantly after we told them about the threats, so I had to pay off the south gate watchmen. By the way, Joel,” he turned toward the older man, “they get to choose their next three patrols.” He shrugged at the exasperated look from the elder Miller. “Was all they wanted. I told them they had to be done within the next three months or no deal, and they said fine.” Joel arched a brow.

Will took a deep breath, wincing slightly like he didn’t particularly want to relay this next part.

“Spit it out,” Joel growled, adjusting in his seat in front of the fire to face it, holding his hands out toward the flames.

“The council aren’t too happy that you didn’t come back with everyone.” He looked around the room. “Any of you.” Then back at Joel. “But especially you, since you’re partially in charge of security, n’all.”

“Well, ain’t that nice,” Joel mused quietly, the side of his mouth ticking up as he continued to stare at the fire. 

“They mentioned a disciplinary hearing once this is all sorted out.”

Everyone in the cabin groaned at the mention of more politics.

Everyone but Joel. He just grinned, rubbing his hands together in front of the flames. “Well, I think Ellie said it best….” He looked at you, then Will. “They can bite me.”

“Speaking of Ellie,” Will grabbed his backpack where it rested at his feet, pulled it into his lap and unzipped it, digging into its contents with purpose. “She was real worried ‘bout both of you when she heard what happened.” 

He looked up, his hand withdrawing from the bag and gesturing between you and Joel with his index finger, then went right back to rifling through the bag, making one side of your mouth pull up slightly at his antics. “So she sent these with me.” Pausing in his search, he shut his eyes in exasperation and tilted his head back toward the ceiling. “Don’t ask me how she knew I’d be leavin’, before you start yellin’, Joel,” Will disclaimed preemptively, his voice tired already as he focused back on the bag, returning it to the floor and withdrawing two items. “Girl’s got a mind of her own.” 

Will extended a hand to each of you, the one for Joel holding an old revolver that the man looked at fondly, his eyes softening as he took it from Will’s hand, and tucked it into the back of his pants. The younger man reached back into the bag and pulled out a bandolier lined with bullets for the gun that you’d seen Joel using his reloading press to make out in the garage a few times. 

Ammo could be hard to come by, depending on the caliber, so when Joel happened on some reloading equipment on a patrol, he’d been ecstatic. It didn’t matter that he’d thrown his back out trying to get the heavy gear home. Stubborn as he was, he made it work, he and his horse somehow tag teaming the equipment all the way back to Jackson from who knows where. He had not allowed Will to touch it the entire way back, some stupid childlike claim waging between them like finders keepers or something along those lines - you’d stopped listening with a roll of your eyes as they’d bickered the whole way into the garage with the equipment.

“Come on, Joel. I helped you get it here!” Will’s voice carried from the garage, his breathing heavy as he tugged the makeshift sled the equipment was on the last few feet over the threshold. 

“I said no! Now drop it,” Joel groused, the following silence after a loud clatter almost deafening.

“You said ‘drop it’,” Will said nonchalantly.

Joel’s hiss could be heard clearly all the way in the kitchen where you were doing dishes. “I meant the topic, not the tools….”

“Well, maybe I could think more clearly if I hadn’t just trekked thirty five miles with all that weight-”

“It wasn’t thirty-”

“Felt like it-”

“You’re acting like a child-”

“And you’re acting like a grouch-”

“Don’t test me, Will.”

“But grouch is nothing new for you, Joel.”

“Oh, just fuck off.”

“Make me.”

“Oh, I will….”

“Boys!” When you walked into the garage, the two of them were nose to nose, chests puffed up and about to bump into one another in a ridiculous display of strength. “Stop it. You’re both idiots.”

They both turned their heads to look at you.

“He thinks-” Joel started, overlapping Will’s “I didn’t-”

“What did I just say?” Your hands went to your hips in admonishment, brows knit together in an unimpressed glare.

Joel turned back to Will, a heavy puff of air passing through his nose before he smiled. “Fine. Finders keepers.”

Will scoffed in protest as Joel peeled off to start unloading the equipment.

“That’s not fair!”

“I said what I said. Now don’t touch my stuff, idiot.”

With a shake of your head, you left them to sort out their nonsense, letting the garage door close behind you and muffle their bickering as you headed back to the kitchen.

The night before you left, you’d seen Joel and Ellie out there together, working with the press as he taught her the basics of reloading. You wondered how many of those she’d made herself as you watched him take the bandolier delicately, holding it in both hands out in front of him like you would a newborn child. Practically cradling it.

The look in his eyes as he ran them up and down the lines of bullets, surveying each shiny casing, was much the same as that of a parent looking at their brand new precious offspring just after they’d entered this world. It was a look once adopted that never really left. Something a little precious, awestruck, filled with wonder and love, and a hell of a lot of pride.

You were ninety percent sure he was thinking about Ellie, and not the ammo, though.

Well, more like eighty percent.

Will cleared his throat to pull your attention back to him, jostling his hand still held out to you. 

“Sorry,” you mumbled, looking down at the offering. 

You saw your yellow fanny pack being extended to you, partly deflated and sagging as Ellie had obviously removed all your tools you wouldn’t need on the trip. 

When you took it from Will’s hand, an unexpected weight inside caught you off guard. Unzipping the main compartment once you’d clipped the belt around your waist, you pulled out a pocket knife you had seen Ellie flipping open and closed almost daily. 

She was never without it.

….Except now….

….Because she’d sent it with you. 

The room began to swim behind your unshed tears as they threatened to fall, but you blinked them away rapidly. This wasn’t the time for that. Nor was it the time for that thing catching in your chest as you traced the tip of your index finger over the worn housing of the blade. 

After a moment, you looked up at Joel, and saw the surprise on his face before his eyes pulled up from the familiar pocket knife to meet yours, something like fondness taking over his features as they softened. “That’s her most prized possession.”

“Besides the garage,” you shot back, trying to speak around the emotions building up in your throat, clearing it in an attempt to rid yourself of them. A wet chuckle took their place as you held his gaze, your grip tightening around the pocket knife protectively.

Joel snorted, shaking his head gently as he looked back down to the bandolier. “Don’t start.” He slipped the ammo belt over his shoulders and across his chest, adjusting it minutely like a man would a tie on Easter morning. 

It struck you for a moment how much life had changed since outbreak day. Men used to adjust their ties and now they adjusted their weapons.

These were thoughts for another day.

Setting the knife back in the main compartment of your pack, you dug out the rock Joel had given you to rest against your black eye from your jacket pocket, and really looked at it for the first time since he had given it to you. 

It was smooth, almost perfectly round, yet flat enough to hold in the palm of your hand easily. A rich dark gray, almost black with white streaks running through one part of it that made it look slightly off kilter. As it caught the firelight, the white streaks glimmered slightly. They were some sort of crystal, barely the width of a sharpened pencil, yet still they decided to shine. 

You wanted to be like that rock. Solid and steadfast, it knew what it was, until sometime when it was forming, something else came along to meld with it and left a mark, a scar, a blemish, and yet…. It was still beautiful.

Glancing up, you saw Joel already watching you curiously, his brow raised in amusement. Unable to hold his gaze, you shook your head slightly before looking back down to the bag, and tucked the rock in the main compartment right beside the pocket knife like you’d meant to do before you’d gotten distracted. 

The sound of the teeth stitching closed as you zipped the bag shut once again acted as an anchor to your wayward mind. 

“I’ll protect it with my life.” Looking back up, you caught Joel’s eye, and something unreadable passed across his face, his gaze fluttering down to the bag, then back up to meet your own, before turning to Will as they started in on another topic.

Holding out a hand to halt the conversation, eyes shut tight in confusion, you stopped them. “Wait, wait, wait.” 

Ignoring Will’s exasperated sigh, you forged on. Opening your eyes, you peered at him with furrowed brows as you lifted only your index finger, gesturing to your left a few times. “Back up.” 

He lifted his eyebrows at you in question. Bobbing your finger slightly as you continued for emphasis, you arched your own brows curiously. “‘We’?”

Faintly, in the distance the same direction Will had come from, you heard a wagon wheel squeak as it rolled closer toward the cabin. 

After only a moment of exchanged looks in hesitation, Will refusing to give away anything, you all piled outside to see who the newcomer was. Just cresting over the little hill before the cabin came a horse with a rider moving at a casual pace, the cart from before that had taken Jane and the raiders back to Jackson being pulled along behind them. 

Everyone smiled while Joel groaned and cradled his head in his hand when it was clear it was pulled by none other than Tommy.

“You guys have all the fun without me,” the younger Miller yelled good-naturedly.

Joel groaned a bit louder, starting toward the cart with determination. “Raiders n’infected’ll hear us comin’ a mile away with that wheel. What’d you do?”

Tommy scoffed. “First your hinges, now this? Why d’you always assume it’s me?”

Once Jack, Liam, and Kate saw who was atop the cart, and that he and Joel were quickly slipping into their usual ways, the three of them wandered back into the cabin, shaking their heads and rolling their eyes as the two men continued to bicker.

Will, however, stuck around for the show. He was a firm supporter of Miller Entertainment. So long as there was something to see, he’d be there.

Oblivious to the reactions of the others, Joel continued towards his brother, taking the reins of the horse he was atop as Tommy hopped off. “Because it is always you.” He handed the reins back to Tommy as he went to inspect the wheel quickly before they both returned to the now dwindling group. 

“Well, you’re fucking welcome, y’old fucker,” Tommy grumbled teasingly. “This wasn’t my idea, anyway.”

You smirked. “Jane got to you, too, huh?”

He looked at you with wide eyes. “That woman is frightening.”

You and Will laughed, as Tommy looked between you with the same, wide eyed look of fear.

After a quiet moment filled with your dying laughter and Joel’s grumbling as he glared at the wheel, Tommy turned back to his brother. “I just want you t’be happy, Joel.”

Knelt beside the wagon wheel, inspecting it up close now that they were beside the cabin, Joel didn’t even spare his brother a glance. “Then leave me alone, you ass.”

Tommy unhooked the horse, and you led it over beside Will’s where the two men started taking the gear off of them to rest for the evening.

After a long moment of messing with the wheel, Joel turned his head up to Tommy from his perch on the ground, wide eyed. “Who’s watchin’ Ellie?!”

Tommy looked down at his older brother, hands on his hips, unphased.  “Herself.”

With a shake of his head, Joel got to his feet and paced in a small circle with his hands on his hips. The two Miller’s looked like carbon copies of each other, and it made you grin. “They’re all doomed. All‘f Jackson….” He rounded on his brother, both of them squaring off with hands on their hips and a stern, stony expression. “What were y’thinkin’?”

You laughed. “You may not have your garage to yourself when we get back, Joel. She may take matters into her own hands.”

After turning his hard glare on you, he turned back to the wheel, wrestling with it for a moment and finally yanking out a small twig caught up in the mechanism, before standing back up and dusting off his hands with a dry, tight grin. “For everyone’s sake, she better fuckin’ not.” He nodded to Tommy. “‘specially him.”

“Why me?” Tommy scoffed.

“You’re th’idiot that left a teenager unattended in my house,” he groused.

“There’s not much she can-”

Joel just leveled a glare on him. “‘member when y’threw that party when mom ‘n dad were out of town, and I was watchin’ you?”

Tommy huffed. “That was so long ago, Joel, and she’s way different ‘n I was. She ain’t the social butterfly like me,” Joel snorted, “anyway, it’s Jackson in th’middle’f a goddamn apocalypse. What the hell is she gonna do that’d be so awful?”

They shared a look, something unsaid that had Tommy’s expression shifting to some sort of understanding. He softly amended, “I’m sure she’s fine, Joel.” He clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “She’s stayin’ with Maria, anyway.” Tommy grinned at Joel’s groan. “I’m not entirely useless, big brother. I thought’f all that. Maria’ll make sure she gets t’school n’eats n’bathes….” That understanding passed over his face again, turning it to something soft, along with his tone. “She’ll be a normal kid, it’ll be fine.”

Tommy’s tone took on a teasing nature. “Besides,” he smirked. “That girl offered t’take my patrol shift for a week if I told you she was on her own.”

Joel’s eyes went wide as he stared at his brother, the shit eating grin on Tommy’s face only growing wider.

“My guess is for that very reaction.” He pointed at Joel, wagging his finger gently. “But of course I said like hell. She ain’t goin’ on patrol. No fuckin’ way.”

Joel visibly relaxed, his eyes closing in relief before they flew open and back on his brother with a skeptical brow raised. Waiting. 

“So instead,” Tommy went on, smile only broadening, “she offered t’take my shift muckin’ out the stalls in the stable for a week. Somethin’ ‘bout ‘it’s all shits and giggles, but now instead it’s shits for giggles’…. I don’t know. Half the time when she speaks it’s like another language.” He was grinning like a fool by now. “Reminds me of….” That same look of understanding passed between him and Joel again, only this time something heavier seemed to carry underneath. His voice softened. “She’s a good kid, Joel.”

As they sat in their shared moment, you decided after a minute to break the silence. “Too bad you didn’t tell him, then,” you said, crossing your arms over your chest. 

Tommy turned to you. “What d’you mean?”

You couldn’t help the smirk. “I didn’t hear anything ‘bout her bein’ on her own.” You turned to Joel. “Did you?”

He was grinning softly. “I didn’t hear nothin’. What ‘bout you, Will?”

Looking over at Will, you saw him grin like a cat with a canary. “Not a peep.”

Tommy sighed. “You bastards.”

“Takes one t’know one, ya idiot,” Joel hummed under his breath, turning toward the tack for the horses that had been set on the wagon to move it under the makeshift barn that had been set up for the evening.

“You’re so mean,” Tommy groused half heartedly as Joel passed by, pouting his lip out in an attempt to garner sympathy from his big brother who just turned to him and wrinkled his nose up at him in disgust. The younger Miller mimicked the face and lightly shoved the shoulder of his older brother, causing him to stumble sideways.

“Boys!” You called out, grinning when they snapped their heads your way in unison. “You’re how old again?” Turning toward the cabin, you called over your shoulder toward the men, “I’m just sayin’…. But just for shits and giggles….”

“Ah, shaddup,” Tommy called over the laughter of the other two.

The rest of the party had just stepped out of the cabin to see what all the fuss was about, when suddenly there was a very high pitched yet muffled sneeze from behind you.

Knitting your brows, you turned to Kate who had just walked past. “Bless you?”

She looked just as confused. “That…. Wasn’t me.”

You turned to Joel. Only making it as far as to open your mouth and take in a breath before he cut you off.

“Ha ha, very funny, darlin’. Wasn’t me.”

Another attempted assasination of a sneeze sounded from the back of the cart under a tarp, and all eyes went to it, staring in disbelief. 

Liam was the first to break the silence after a long moment. “Did that tarp just sneeze?”

A very quiet and muffled, “Ow,” came next, and you’d know that voice anywhere, no matter how squeaky it currently was. 

Your feet were moving before your brain was fully processing what you were doing, carrying you toward the cart. 

Jack was quick to chime in behind you, with an entirely necessary, “Did that tarp just talk?!”

A second female voice, this one much younger and sarcastic came from under the tarp, dry and droll, “Nice going, blondie.”

Joel’s eyes went wide. They pulled up to meet yours where you now stood on the opposite side of the cart.

He moved so fast, you could have sworn he had super speed. He was on top of the wagon wheel and ripping the tarp back to reveal your stowaways before you could even blink. 

To be fair, you were only half a second behind him, ripping the tarp off the rest of the way from the other side.

In the dying light of the day, Jane and Ellie blinked up at the two pairs of eyes peering down at them from around the edge of the cart, looking justifiably sheepish at the attention. Five more sets of eyes appeared slowly, trickling in as they realized what was going on, only adding to the squirming of the two stowaways.

You were the first to break the silent little stare off. Holding the gaze of your friend, you hissed quietly, “What are you doing here?! You just got stabbed! Are you crazy?!”

Jane wasted no time in coming to her own defense. “I told you!” She tried to sit up quickly, and hissed when her wound protested at the movement. Before you could even reach out to offer help, Ellie was quick to help her sit up fully, putting Jane’s arm over her shoulder to ease her into the right position slowly. She spoke through a grimace, “I want that sewing machine, and I’m gonna get it!” Her eyes opened fully, her voice strong. “Come hell or high water.”

After you let out a strangled puff of air through your nose in aggravation, hand still held out to help coming back to land on the edge of the cart with a smack, all eyes turned to the teenager beside her.

Ellie merely shrugged, Jane’s arm still over her shoulder rising and falling with the movement. “I’m just here for the show.”

Xxx

Your small party sat outside around a campfire, milling about as the evening wore on, tending to the horses and other menial things before everyone was set to take off in the morning.

Will would not leave Jane’s side. He was her human crutch. Literally. He helped her hobble around, and from the look on her face, she was about to shove him to the ground and run, damn whatever happened to her wound.

He was a sweet boy, but a girl needed to pee in peace, stab wound or not.

“Are you going to chew my food for me, too?” She snapped as he broke a piece of beef jerky down into smaller pieces for her to eat. 

He just stared at her for a moment, frozen.

“I’m injured, not broken.”

Will nodded after a long pause, looking down to the jerky in his hands as they rested in his lap. “You’re right. I’m sorry. This is just really tough stuff and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself trying to rip it apart.”

Jane sighed. “No, I’m sorry.” She rested a hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate all the help, I really do. I’m just a really independent person, and this…. All this needing help…. is driving me nuts.” Her hand fell down to rest on his. “Maybe we can compromise?”

He looked up and met her eyes with his own, smiling broadly. “I’d like that.”

Jane nodded once. “First things first,” she popped a bite sized piece of jerky in her mouth from the pile in his hand. “I get to pee without an escort.”

“But what if-”

“Will, I swear to God, don’t make me-”

“Fine! Fine, fine,” he held his hands up by his head in surrender, jerky flying every which way as he forgot he was holding it. He peered at it on the floor in disgust. “Oops?”

Jane had a sour expression on her face, her nose wrinkled up. “That’s yours now. Mmmm…. Floor jerky. Yum.”

You’d tried to return the pocket knife to Ellie now that she was back, but she wasn’t having it.

“Since you’re here, go ahead and take this….” Unzipping the main compartment of the fanny pack, you extended the pocket knife she’d gifted to you toward her. 

Ellie lifted a hand, shaking it as she took a step back. “No. I don’t need it.”

Cocking your head to the side in question, you bent your elbow but kept your hand out, letting the pocket knife rest in your palm between the two of you. “You need something to protec-”

The teen pulled out a machete from a belt along her hips you hadn’t noticed before. Holding it sideways, she tilted the blade side to side, letting it catch the dying light of the day and the errant twinkle of firelight. “Liam already hooked me up. I’m good.”

You snorted. “But this is yours-”

“And now it’s yours,” she countered. “….for now.” Her cheeks flamed pink. “I want that back.” A look of determination came over her features as she jut out her chin to look down her nose at you. “So you better not die, Miss Fanny.”

Grinning, you tucked the knife back into your pack. “I’ll do my best, Sparky. I’ll do my best.”

Ellie grimaced. “Sparky?”

Zipping up your fanny pack, you looked up at her through your lashes. “It’s what you remind me of.” Once the knife was secure again, you lifted your head to look at her fully. “A spitfire.”

Her grimace deepened. “But Sparky? That’s like what you name a dog or something…. Or elderly men like Joel.”

Joel, who was only a few feet away tending to the fire sighed heavily, obviously listening in, before he chuckled lowly.

“Then what do you suggest?” Your arms came up to cross over your chest, weight shifting to rest on one leg as your hip popped out to the side.

“I dunno….” She looked at Joel. “He’s The Contractor,” she said it in a ridiculous voice, making you giggle, “so can’t I be something cool like that? Like, I don’t know…. The Lumberjack…. The Carpenter….”

“You have to do all those things to get those names, smartass,” Joel chimed in, not even bothering to turn around and face the conversation.

Ellie stuck her tongue out at him.

“The Artist….” You offered, smiling when you saw the lightbulb go off behind her eyes. Nodding once, your grin grew when her own started up her face. “The Artist it is…. Sparky.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at the sour look her face instantly took on.

Tommy leaned back in his spot beside Joel with a loud groan, a mischievous grin starting up his face. “I just call it like it is. She’s Trouble.”

Ellie gasped, whipping her head over to look at him as her arms came to cross over her chest defensively. “And after I didn’t lump you into old man Joel territory over there.” She gestured to the elder Miller with a bob of her head before setting her sights squarely on the younger sibling once again.

Tommy shrugged demurely.

She glared at him, the ferocity of her expression causing you to chuckle softly as Joel let out a low whistle. “You’re dead to me, old man.”

It had dwindled down to just the two Miller’s, Ellie, and yourself. Everyone else was inside the cabin, tucked in and tightened down for the night.

“Come first light, we need to get out of here,” Joel mumbled as he leaned over at the waist, poking the fire with a long stick to rearrange the logs that had turned to coals before adding a few new fresh ones. He turned his head to peer over at you, then set his gaze squarely on the redheaded teen who sat across from the two of you, palms extended toward the fiery heat and her eyes studiously on the flames. 

“The council isn’t gonna take long to put two ‘n two together, and I want as much distance ‘tween us when they actually do so we can just get this damn thing over with.” 

Rising to his full height with a quiet groan, he didn’t even seem to register Ellie slapping her palm to her forehead and rocking her head back and forth in disbelief as he glanced down at you where you sat against a log to his left, his face twisted slightly in trepidation. “…. I didn’t mean-”

“No, I agree,” you nodded once, pulling your eyes from staring at the fire to look at Ellie in amusement before lifting them all the way up to meet his with a small smile. “Bleeding heart Miller over here probably got the town on red alert.” Bobbing your head to gesture across the flames where Tommy leaned against another fallen log beside Ellie, you grinned at Joel’s haggard sigh as he took his brother in. 

Ellie turned to look at the older man with a disapproving scowl, one side of her upper lip curling back as her eyes swept him from head to toe. You could see every Joel mannerism she had picked up on as she surveyed the younger Miller, and it took everything in you not to comment on it.

Turning back to the subject at hand, you tilted your head to the side as you took in the sleeping giant. 

Tommy’s legs were outstretched with one crossed over the other easily at the ankle, hands clasped loosely in his lap, and head tilted back as snores that grew with each attempt tumbled out of his lips.

“Not to mention they’ll raise the alarm when they notice Ellie and Jane’re missin’, too,” you added, watching Tommy begin to mutter softly in his sleep. You tried not to let Ellie’s wide eyes that snapped to you affect you from going on, not able to bring yourself to meet them. “Not to mention Will.” You looked up at Joel as you spoke softly, his own gaze meeting yours. “Tommy’s one thing. All four of ‘em?” You shook your head as your gaze fell back to land on Tommy. “All four of ‘em’s gonna set off all kinds of bells.”

“Not to mention a missin’ cart,” Joel grumbled, turning toward Tommy with a scowl that made the corner of your mouth tug up just slightly. You noticed in your peripherals it had Ellie grinning, too. “Which requires a horse….” He tugged off his gloves from tending the fire and tucked them into his back pocket with unneeded aggression, shaking his head. “Stealin’ all kinds ‘f’things, aren’t we, little brother?”

Joel sighed yet again, this one quieter and more to himself than anything, before taking a step over towards his sibling and kicking the bottom of his shoe with the toe of his boot. As Tommy sat up abruptly with a snort, making Ellie choke back a laugh, Joel eased to the ground beside you with a groan he tried to hide behind tightly closed lips. “Get up, mighty warrior. Get inside with the others. I’ll take first watch.”

“Wasn’t asleep,” Tommy mumbled dejectedly, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand.

Ellie scoffed. “Dude, you sounded like a buzzsaw ate a bear. You were totally one hundred percent snoring.” She got to her feet, brushing off the front of her pants, then the seat. 

“You were sawing logs, cart thief. Now get.” Joel jerked his head backwards toward the cabin. “‘nd keep an eye on Trouble here.”

Ellie glared at Joel, but quickly turned her attention onto Tommy, helping him to his feet. “Come on, Uncle Tommy.”

“Told you not t’call me that, weirdo,” Tommy grumbled, blinking too many times against the firelight as his eyes still adjusted to being awake.

The teen threaded her arm through his and helped to stabilize him, starting toward the cabin. “That goes both ways, asshat.”

“Y’know what? You’re rude,” Tommy mused, pulling away just enough to look down his nose at Ellie.

“And you’re old. Now come on, cart thief.” She started to pull him back toward the cabin, looking over her shoulder and winking at you. She looked at Joel and offered a small salute before facing back forward and giving the man a tug that sent him stumbling forward slightly. “Beddy bye is just a mere few steps away.”

Tommy mumbled something nearly unintelligible, but you thought you caught the name Sarah, not missing the way Joel stiffened at the word, staring into the fire in front of him, and Ellie looking back at the two of you over her shoulder with a somewhat panicked expression.

The teen focused on Joel for a long moment, her features pulling into something sad, then determined as she looked at Tommy and finally yanked him toward the cabin, pulling him along by his ear until they were safely inside.

As Tommy slowly got to his feet and ambled toward the cabin with Ellie, you smiled, always enjoying their banter. They obviously loved each other despite how they bickered. 

And whatever this Sarah talk was, clearly it was something important, but it didn’t feel like the right time to ask about it yet. Maybe someday.

Joel glanced down at his watch briefly and cleared his throat before tugging the sleeve of his jacket down to cover it. Once the material was over the broken dial, he placed his palm over the shattered face through the fabric and rubbed it gently back and forth for a moment, staring at the flames before softly shaking his head as if coming out of a fog. He lifted his hand off the watch and set it on his thigh, his fingers gripping his flesh a little too tight and dimpling the denim under his touch.

It was then you made the connection that Sarah had to do with the watch. Somehow. And you knew that had to do with home. Texas. Back on outbreak day. The thing he missed the most.

You didn’t like where this was going.

Catching Joel’s eye, you leaned back into the log once again. “Mind if I join you?”

He just blinked for a long moment, making you grin and settle back into the log even further, letting your head loll back slightly. “Let me clarify. Mind if I stay?”

Simply shaking his head after a minute, Joel turned back to the fire after staring at you for a beat too long. “Don’t mind.” He was mumbling. “You’ll probably be bored silly, but so’ll I, so, I guess that makes me selfish.”

You snorted a laugh. “No, no. It makes you human.” Turning to the flames, you felt a different heat on the side of your face as you noticed his eyes on you again out of the corner of your field of view. He stared for a moment too long to be deemed just a friendly curiosity before Joel cleared his throat, looking down at his boots before his gaze quickly pulled right back up to you, painting your skin in varying shades of heat as you felt his eyes trace over your features once again. 

Something about that heat was much preferable to the little pile of coals inches from the tips of your shoes. Much more comforting, too, considering where your mind kept wandering to. “Can’t quite get to a place my mind’ll let me sleep, anyway. Not after everything….”

He nodded in understanding, and you saw his face turn back towards the embers after a last lingering moment of taking you in. The trail he had traced on your skin with just a look still felt warm and pleasant, but now began to cool under the loss of his attention. You found yourself angling slightly to lean just a bit closer to him to try and make up for it, catch just a wave of body heat. It wasn’t working.

“How’d y’learn all that?” When you arched a brow at him in question, Joel pointed back toward where everything had happened with the raider scumbag, and the general direction of Jackson.

Turning your eyes from him to the fire, you stared at the flames as they crackled. “I don’t want t’talk about it.”

“That’s fine,” he drawled softly, lowering his hand. A moment passed before an even quieter, “But that don’t come from nothin’.” He jerked his head toward the direction this time. “We’ve all got our demons. Hell, I’ve got too many t’count.” He turned back to the fire as you turned to look at him again. “N’most’ve us’ve killed our fair share. That’s just life now-”

“No,” you interrupted him, focusing back on the heat of the flames and away from the fire in his eyes as they landed on you once again. “That I’ve never done.” You waited a moment before adding a quiet, “Least not yet.”

A memory, sparkly and worn, something you’d viewed time and time again as it haunted your every quiet moment, awake or in the dead of night began to tiptoe behind your eyes. 

A voice you’d rather forget drifted to the front of your mind, clearer than anything else, as if it were right in front of you yet again.

“This is just how things work now.” 

Night seemed to be its favorite, though; when your defenses were at their lowest. It’d come slinking in like a thief, ready to steal your sleep, your sanity, your time…. 

The rest of a phantom conversation began to play in the theater of your mind, unbidden and loud, consuming anything else in front of you in favor of its wicked games once again on repeat.

“I said no.” Your voice was weaker than you ever wanted it to be as you struggled against hands that had always been helpful, but now they only sought to keep you still. Angry tears threatened to crack your resolve with every word.

The next thing you knew his gun was out of its holster and in your hand aimed at his stomach. How it got there, you still didn’t know. It must have jumped. 

Telekinesis. 

Something. 

It’s the only thing that makes sense. Because the alternative is that you grabbed it voluntarily, and that was a road you were not willing to travel down.

A sneer of disbelief colored his face as he held his hands up in surrender, looked down to the gun, then to you, eyes narrowing as he chuckled softly in amusement. 

“You wouldn’t.” 

He moved toward you, whether to move the gun or move you, you didn’t know. 

You’ve analyzed it over and over again for years, and this is the point where it always goes black, blissfully giving you a respite from the rest of the gory details. 

The echo of the hammer on the revolver cocking back in prime to shoot echoed in your mind then just as much as it did now. You remembered how the sound filled you with a grim satisfaction, a smirk crawling up your face now that was too terrified to even try then.

Blissful darkness continued to fill the next moments as you were lost in the memory, absently staring at the fire in silence, until a resounding phantom gunshot echoed around the walls inside your head when Joel said your name, making you jump.

When he said it again, the concern swelling in his voice made your breath stutter. 

Blinking the darkness away, you saw the fire once again come into focus in front of you, and out of your peripherals, Joel leaning forward beside you, tilting his head to the side in question as he tried to catch your eye. His features were drawn cautiously.

Pulling your knees up closer to your chest as a chill ran down your spine that was from anything but being cold, you gave him a sideways look before turning back to the flames. “I’m fine.” You wrapped your arms around your legs to hold them tightly to yourself.

“Y’look it,” he teased.

Cutting your eyes his way, you found Joel smirking slightly at you, but his eyes still held concern as they studied your face, then made a run up and down the length of you, pausing on your hands briefly.

That’s when you realize you’d clenched them into fists so tight, you had indentations from your nails on your palm when you released them. With a sigh, you turned your stare back to the fire. “I’m fine, Joel.” Repeating the words didn’t help for some reason, so you continued on. “I…. I’ve never killed anyone, but….” Tilting your head back and pulling your knees tighter to your chest, you looked up at the stars. “I’ve come damn close once‘r’twice. Too close.”

“You don’t have t’talk abou-”

“The first person I lived next to in a QZ,” you started, smiling gently at his attempt to give you space on the topic. “He didn’t like the…. What did y’call it? Smelly noise?”

Joel scoffed in amusement, meeting your gaze as you lowered your eyes back onto him before staring toward the fire again absently.

“Came over after about a week t’tell me so, and I guess somethin’ in the way I said hello sounded like an invitation-”

The man stiffened beside you. “Y’know that’s not-”

Reaching out, you rested your hand on his forearm. “I’m kidding, Joel. I know I didn’t do anything, the man was just a pig.” You looked at him. “But thank you, though.” Turning back to the fire to find the words again, you took a deep breath. “Long story short, he tried somethin’, told me it was just the times we live in now, so I grabbed the gun he was wearin’ and threatened to teach him how no means no.”

A snort of laughter left Joel along with a gentle shake of his head as he too stared at the flames, giving you the space to finish your story.

“He didn’t think I would do it.” You went silent. The next time you spoke, even you could barely hear your own voice. “I probably should’ve. He went on t’do it to many others after me. Joined FEDRA. Should’ve seen that one comin’.” Clearing your throat, you shook your head and went on, voice a little stronger. “I shot him in the foot. Well, first I fired a warning shot to the side. He made some stupid comment about how he likes them crazy and lunged so I….” You made a finger gun with your left hand, pointed at Joel’s foot to your right, and imitated a shooting sound. “He gave me so many nicknames after that. So colorful. You crazy bitch, and-”

“I think I can paint a pretty clear picture, no need t’go on,” Joel said softly. His voice was gruff, not towards you, but the situation you’d found yourself in and the man with no name. 

You nodded. “He’s why I left. After he joined FEDRA, he made my life hell. Made sure I got less ration cards, blacklisted me, caused all sorts’f problems. So I used what I had left t’pay someone to smuggle me out’f the QZ.”

“Nothing’s happened out here?”

“You mean outside the QZ?” He nodded. “No. I mean besides some infected, but I don’t count them. They’re technically already dead; it's just the fungus at that point. If we’re splittin’ hairs.” Looking out at the tree line, you sighed forlornly. “I used t’love mushrooms.”

After a second of silence, Joel burst out laughing, a low gravelly sound rumbling from deep in his chest. It vibrated you from your spot next to him, your very bones seeming to resonate with him. He was under your skin, and that made you smile. 

“Y’know,” he started after a minute. “I just heard ‘bout the most Texan come out’f your mouth in the last five minutes than the whole time I’ve known you.”

“The most….?”

“‘I’ve come damn close once‘r’twice,’” he mimicked your words from earlier, emphasizing you’re lackadaisical grammar. 

“Pfffft,” you blew out a huff at him. “Did not,” you countered, pushing his shoulder slightly.

“You’re slippin’” he teased with a grin, watching the flames.

His smile was contagious. “I’m just comfortable, is all. Comfortable and tired.”

“Oh good gracious, there it is again.” He looked at you mischievously. “Tired.” He drawled the word ridiculously now.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “I do know how to shoot a gun, Joel.”

He nodded once in understanding. “Yes, ma’am.” Quickly turning his eyes back to the fire, he glanced back up at you only once briefly, the side of his mouth twitching up before his eyes fell back down to the wall of heat.

As you sat around the campfire, it had dwindled down to just the two of you. You watched him as the firelight reflected in his eyes, a small smile continuing to pull up his face as he stared into the flames.

“What?” He asked after a minute, pulling only his eyes up toward you, his head still angled down. “I got somethin’ on my face?”

You snorted. “Besides your age, which you wear brilliantly, by the way? No.”

“Ouch,” he chuckled. “Thank you? ….I think?”

Grinning, you leaned your shoulder into his before sitting back upright. “You’re welcome.” Despite having sat back how you had been, the sides of your arms now brushed one another’s, and neither of you made an effort to move. 

“So.”

He finally turned his head to fully look at you. “Yeah?”

“Why are you so opposed to Ellie moving into the garage?”

He sighed, glancing over his shoulder toward the cabin before looking out across the small camp toward the tree line. “Ugh, not you, too.”

“Is there something you’re worried about, or is it just…. Puttin’ your foot down?”

Joel heaved another sigh, eyes darting back and forth along the trees as he stared at them absently. “It’s…. I don’t know.” He paused, letting out a breath before taking another deep one as he started again. “We…. We went on a really, uh, tough trip together to get here. To Jackson, I mean. All the way from Boston. It’s been a rough road for her.”

“For the both of you, it seems,” you offered quietly. He looked at you and you shrugged. “You traveled together. If it was hard for her, it was for you, too. That’s just how it goes.”

“Yeah, I….” He looked at the flames. “I guess so.” He smiled softly before it faded. “I guess I just don’t want her that far from me.” He looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers, the tips of them dancing along the band of his watch before he closed his hand around the worn fabric. “Not yet.”

“It’s five extra steps, Joel.”

“I can keep an eye on her better down the hall.”

“You walked across the country together, a few more steps won’t break you.”

“You don’t know that,” he objected quickly, somewhat defensively, meeting your eyes again with his own as a dry chuckle painted the last of his words.

Smiling softly, you leaned further into his side slowly as you looked into the dwindling flames. “No, you’re right. I don’t.” He began to relax, his shoulders rolling forward as his weight slightly melted into you, staring at the flames once again himself. “But I’d like to think I’ve come to know you.” 

Joel froze, his body tense once again as he listened to you go on.

Looking up at him through your lashes, you saw the firelight dancing across his face, sending him into all kinds of shadows. It could have been a trick of the light, but he looked almost nervous? His eyes were definitely apprehensive, and once you noticed that, you lowered your gaze down to his lap where his hand was once again digging into the fabric of his jeans.

“I don’t know what or who happened to you, and I’m not asking for details, that’s up to you. What I am saying is….” reaching up and across, you rested your left hand on his left forearm where it continued to press into yours with each deeper breath either of you dared to take. A small smile worked its way up your features as you saw his hand relax and unclench against the denim, his palm coming to rest on your knee instead. “You’re on a supply run for a teenaged girl to get paint. And to me?” 

You turned just enough to catch his eye, finding his gaze already on you. When you realized that, you had to really think to remember what you wanted to say, swallowing roughly to remember how words worked as your eyes flicked between his own, your voice now something incredibly soft. “To me that paints a beautiful picture.”

Joel scoffed, his eyes studying your face for a long moment before he turned back to the fire that was now mostly coals, and started laughing. The sound started quiet but grew with each new round until it was a truly ruckus thing. “That…. was truly awful. And you say my puns are bad.”

You grinned as you sat back upright, pulling your knees tighter to your chest so you could rest your chin on them. He kept his palm on your leg, letting it ride just a bit above your knee and squeezed. “I have a bad influence. My roommates? Awful. All the time. Horrible, horrible puns.”

“Oh, really?” He arched a brow at you, giving your leg still in his grip a small teasing shake.

With a sigh, you tilted your head to the side to rest on the backs of your hands on your knees, studying him and trying to keep the damn smile off your face. “Yeah, they think they are so funny, but it’s really sad.”

He tilted his head back, looking down his nose at you in amusement. “Well, maybe you should teach them a thing or two.”

You grinned. It was inevitable. “Yeah. Maybe I will.”

Xxx

Tags to come!

[devilmen-collector]

Desperate Pact

AU (prequel to idea by @sparkbeast20 )

Ft. Klein/my MC, Lucifer

Warning: mention of bullying, demon summoning, slight gore, imply of homophobic behavior, mention of religion, profanity

Don't worry, nothing happened to me :D

Hey,manwhore, come to the campus. Remember we know your dirty secret.

Klein's face darkened when he saw the message. He knew that the bullies would be forcing him to do something extremely unpleasant again. But he could not disobey them. After all, they knew his "dirty secret".

"Hey mom, dad, I'm going out." Klein put his chopsticks down as he said.

"Going out with your new friends again." Klein's mother said. She couldn't hide the joy because her son had finally found some in-real-life friends.

"Y-yeah." Klein lied.

"Ok. Have fun. But remember to not be out too late, ok?"

"I-I'll be back soon." Klein said and waved goodbye to his family.

Half an hour later, Klein appeared at the big gate of the university. He showed the guards his student ID and was allowed to enter.

"You take forever, manwhore." One of the three bully guys, who had brown hair, said.

"Hello." Klein tried to ignore how they insulted him and said hello politely. Who knew what they would force him to do if he retorted back.

"Today, let's do this." The second bully, who had wavy blond hair, said and showed Klein a book. On the book's cover, there was a bunch of marks. To be precise, they were demonic sigils. Klein immediately knew what they were going to force him to do.

"No, I can't do that. Definitely not." Klein tried to refuse. "I'm Catholic."

"Your religion and its laws don't matter. You have to do it. Or else, tomorrow, the whole university will know your perverse secret." The third bully, who dyed his hair red, said.

(Please, stop it!)

A few seconds later, the three bullies escorted Klein to a classroom. Since it was night, the classroom had no light. The four had to use flash light from their phones because the university strictly prohibited the use of the school's electricity after class hours.

"Enter the room and do the summoning." The blond bully said and handed Klein the book, while the red-haired bully handed Klein a small knife. The brown-haired bully handed Klein 5 red candles and a match box.

Klein entered the dark classroom alone, while the 3 bullies stayed outside, if something bad happened, they could run away immediately.

Klein grabbed the chalk near the black board and began to draw a pentagram on the ground. At each of the point of the pentagram, Klein placed a red candle and he used the matches to light each of them.

Klein looked out at the window one last time, hoping the bullies would have a last minute pity on him. But what he saw on their faces was twisted excitement.

Klein opened the book. The bullies had never specified which demon Klein should summon. Maybe he should choose a low-rank demon. That way, he would have more chance to survive, right?

Klein used the small knife to cut his finger and began to do the summoning, with trembling.

"In the name of the Most High, I order you to appear before me..." Klein read and let his blood dropped in the middle of the pentagram.

1 second

2 seconds

3 seconds

Nothing happened...

Klein began to feel relieved that nothing happened. But suddenly, all the candles burnt out and Klein felt a chill ran down his spine. Klein started to feel that he wasn't the only one in the room. Two goat eyes appeared in the middle of the darkness. They were crimson as blood. The fires on the candles began to burn again without a need to be lighted again by human hand.

And in front of Klein, there was a creature, with goat head and human body, but it was utterly dirty and disgusting. And it also had the unpleasant scent... of blood.

And the creature moved.

It hit Klein in the chest and he flew into the wall on the other side of the classroom.

"Fuck..." Klein mumbled as he vomitted blood.

Just as Klein thought the creature was going to kill and eat him, it turned around, destroyed the door and began to chase something. Klein's gut told him it would be chasing the three bullies who had run away but soon it would be coming back for him.

"Fuck... Shit..." Klein cursed as he tried to get up but he realized he couldn't. The impact must have been so strong that it must have broken a few of his bones.

Klein could only crawl on the ground. He couldn't escape like this. The creature would come back and catch up to him soon enough.

Klein wanted to pray and beg God to save him. But he knew he had committed too many horrible sins to ask God for such a favor.

While he was hesitating what to do, Klein heard 3 anguished screams. He knew the bullies were dead and the creature would be coming back for him, he had to act fast if he wanted to survive.

Klein turned to the pentagram on the ground. If he were to sinful to raise his hands to God, then he could try to grab the Devil's hand below, but he must summon a powerful one, more powerful than this goat head.

Like fate was telling him which demon to summon, the page turned to a name most familiar to Klein.

Lucifer

"In the name of Adonai, Elohim,... I order you to appear before me, the once brightest star in Heaven, LUCIFER!" Klein recited the words like he was shouting before coughing out more blood, thinking about all the suffering he had had, from sexual frustration to the horrible bullying after they had found out he masturbated with images from a yaoi manga.

(Please stop! Stop them!)

"To be able to summon me, one of the Seven Capital Sins, not bad." Klein looked up and saw a beautiful man with white hair standing in the middle of the summoning pentagram.

The Morning Star looked down on Klein before saying something like a diagnosis.

"Broken ribs, several major bones broken, several organs have been destroyed..." Lucifer then looked at the door and saw the goat head creature appeared. "It looks like you have fallen in the beginner mistake of summoning a low-rank devil, thinking it would be easy to control. However, most of these devils of lowest rank are just bloodthirsty beasts."

While hearing Lucifer saying, Klein's body started to give in to the wounds and he began to feel more dizzy and closed his eyes.

"... It looks like I have to finish this thing fast."

.

.

.

Klein opened his eyes and jolted up.

"Where am I?" He asked himself and looked around and to his relief, it was his room at home.

"If you are thinking all was just a dream, then you are gravely mistaken."

Klein got startled by the voice. He looked at the bookself where he secretly kept his yaoi collection. A beautiful white-haired man was standing there, reading a short work called "Prostate Examination".

"Wait, don't read-..." Klein wanted to stand up and stopped Lucifer but he realized he couldn't and nearly fell. Fortunately, Lucifer caught him.

"You are still weak, you should be in bed resting." The devil said and settled the young man on bed again.

"What happened? How did I get home?" Klein asked while holding his head, which began to hurt trying to remember and comprehending all that had happened yesterday.

"To summary, you summoned me to deal with that low-rank devil, I killed it and healed you and got you home."

"Wait how did you know my home address?" Klein asked while messaging his head.

"I used the app on your phone to locate your home address." The devil answered calmly.

"Wait, did my parents see you? What did you tell them?" Klein asked, panicked.

"Don't worry. They just assumed I'm your friend who are taking you back because you fell asleep. And they invited me to stay since it was late."

Hearing Lucifer said, Klein sighed in relief.

"Would you prefer that I had told them I was your boyfriend instead?" Lucifer said, smirking.

"No, don't."

"Now, the important issue." Lucifer said and pulled out a goat skin parchment on which many words were already written. "Sign it."

Klein looked at the goat skin parchment and shook his head.

"No, I won't sign. You can go back to Hell, tha-"

Before Klein could finish, Lucifer grabbed his face roughly, his fingers pressed on his two cheeks.

"It hurts."

"Now listen here, it was I who healed your broken ribs, bones and ruined organs, as if I gave you new body parts anew. You owe me your living body. If you don't sign the pact to make your soul the payment. Then I'll take back all I have given you and let you die a most painful death. Do I have it clear?"

Klein nodded and the devil released his grip of his face and gave him the parchment.

"Can you get me the paper knife in my drawer? I don't want to bite my finger." Klein said and Lucifer got the paper knife and handed it to him.

One second later, the parchment was already signed with Klein's blood. As the devil of Pride retrieved of parchment, Klein drowned himself in sadness, thinking himself as good as being damned. He started to think about being tormented and burnt in eternal fire. Tears started to drop down. However, Klein soon realized he didn't cry out of sadness and tears only streamed down from his left eye. Suddenly, Klein felt a sharp pain from his left eye.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" Klein shouting the question at the white-haired devil.

"Relax." Lucifer said and handed Klein a mirror.

Klein looked at himself in the mirror and saw his left eye changing color. The white outer layer of his eye slowly turned black, while his brown pupil turned white and a red sigil started to form on his pupil.

"Looks good, doesn't it?" Lucifer said, smiling before using his tongue to lick Klein's tears.

Self-indulgent fic but I hope you guys find it an enjoyable read :D