#i promise its intentional that this is kind of ugly

[zours025]

One of them gets thrown overboard after this 100%

[perhaps-relax]

maaan idk i really like both of their takes on the character, but i kinda wish they weren't so different.

Like...Joseph Mawle's Adar is so sad and meek and gentle, the embodiment of grief and violation that hurts to look at. He can't be anything other than a mistake, so all he can hope to do is protect himself and his kind from the violence their very existence seems to permit. Yet he doesn't begrudge the rest of the world from rejecting the orcs or trying to wipe them out. He knows there this is the inevitable conflict he will have to live with, forever. So he hides his ugliness from the world that would punish it, even if he's made peace with the half-existence it brings.

But Sam Hazeldine's Adar is not even slightly apologetic. This Adar wants the world to look at him and know him and fear him. Why should they have to hide, what is so special about the Valar's creations anyway if they can be so easily corrupted? Even if his motivation is still only to provide a home for orc kind, there is unshakable charisma and confidence in the pivot towards revenge. Maybe its just the direction of his character arc as of the last episode, but that righteous fury seems in opposition to the seclusion he's promised his children.

There's a tainted elf who wants to find a hole to die in, and there's an orc who wants to kill the world for its hypocrisy. The transition would have been really interesting if it was actually intentional.

[athousandbyeol]

discussion #7 (only friends): mew's loneliness— isolation of mew's hidden madness (light versus dark)

mew is a very interesting character to me because he's so layered and mysterious. everyone thinks he's A when he's definitely not only A but B, C, D, etc.

i've mentioned this in my previous posts, we don't really know mew's intention and his thought process. even when top is crying while hugging him, mew doesn't shed a tear despite being the victim of top's lies.

it's so fascinating that mew has so many walls surrounding him and they don't break. people don't break him— well, probably top will— but mew isn't one to lament his sadness. instead of spiralling in despair, mew will rise and seek revenge.

this will be a very short post. i just want to emphasise mew's facial expression which i find eerie and bone-chilling (again, kudos to p'book for this excellent portrayal of mew).

is it loneliness or madness?

there's this scene in the trailer that catches my attention from the first watch. it's the scene when top says, "mew might have many friends, but he has only one boyfriend." afterwards, he takes mew away from (seemingly) ray's house (i guess he's throwing a party or something).

my speculation is mew might've been the one driving. so mew will drive back to his place and top sees him off like in this bts picture;

and top (adorably) waves goodbye at mew (i can't find that post to link this with... i'm sorry...)

however, i wonder if top calls boston or it's the other way around because this shirt top is wearing—

—is what he wears when he meets boston.

top is sitting on the passenger's seat which somehow strengthens the idea that boston is the one seeking top that (rainy and cold) night. and the rest... well, the car broke.

however, something else catches my interest.

this.

when i saw it for the first time, my heart truly shattered. he looked so lonely. mew seemed so hopeless and isolated, helplessly staring at the fishes in the aquarium, probably contemplating the promises top made or the i love you top said before they parted.

but then it hit me— mew is crazy. in a good way (?). he's downright insane that it gave me tingles (and still do).

i think there are so many ways to perceive this shot of mew. but i believe there's a reason why there's more emphasis on the light from the aquarium and the darkness of mew's room.

light (what people think of mew)

many of us collectively agree that mew is kind. in the intro post, p'book explained mew is helpful and honest. he's willing to do anything for his friends if they're in need of help.

the light that rains on half of his face indicates mew still has that in him— kindness. empathy. if nothing triggers the ugly side of him, this is what we'll get from mew— his unrelenting kindness.

dark (what we don't see)

it's ironic how the room isn't entirely black. there are tinges of dark blue— somehow parallel to the aquarium or the ocean— blue, deep and vast.

the darkness that covers the other half of mew's face signifies the monster mew hides (or he never knows of its existence until top turns his world downside up). it's blue, seemingly a positive colour. but blue can also mean passiveness and sadness.

i guess, at this point in their relationship, mew is starting to get hints of top's dishonesty. but he's still unsure because as if he's drowning, he only sees top as a saviour and not a betrayer. he can't wrap the possibilities of top cheating on him because how can top still say he loves mew even when he's seeing someone else? that doesn't make sense, yes?

additionally, it's also ironic (and heartbreaking) how this scene might be shown in between the topboston scene (or before/after). it adds so much to the depth of mew's sadness and isolation because mew might believe top is already at home or somewhere else but fucking his best friend in a damn car. i believe mew's light will fade the more top lies to him.

there's madness in those eyes that hides the surging anger so well. behind those glasses and that aloof expression, mew is somewhat already sensing the doom of his relationship with top. but he can't point fingers at top yet— not when pieces of evidence aren't enough to back him up. but this is the headstart for mew. this is when his light begins to disappear.

conclusion

mew is seriously playing with my sanity and morality because i'm team mew of all people but this guy... wow. just what on earth is going on in that pretty head of yours, mew?

i'm taking this chance to applaud p'book's acting again. he's amazing. there's so much to mew that is still yet to explore and i'm so thrilled to unravel and witness the changes mew will show throughout the series. i hope whatever the directors/scriptwriters and p'book have built up for mew won't go to waste. if mew is everything we thought he is and isn't, this will be p'book's best craft to date (but cher will always be my number one <3)

anyway, it's tomorrow.

are we ready to give only friends a try?

[1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (i) | 4 (ii) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12]

[scienceoftheidiot]

Haunt me for Roy Mustang (about any other character, whether it's Hughes or Riza or another)

Thank you so much for sending this ! 🥰❤️

I went for the obvious scene that came up in my head when I read the description of the prompt (one character watching over another), I hope you like what I did with it ! This will probably find its place into my Ishval WIP 😅

Put it under the cut because it's relatively long (idk, between 1 and 2K I think I didn't use the usual software to write)

Roy, sitting on the ground, leans back against the wall, hands on his knees. He allows himself to close his eyes for a brief moment.

An image superimposes on the darkness of his eyelids. Riza Hawkeye writhing in pain, crying silently.

Roy opens his eyes with a shaky breath. He'd rather see her how she is now, sleeping on her stomach, head laying on her hand, turned towards him. The heavy dose of painkillers he's been feeding her is still not enough to smooth the frown on her face, but her breathing is even and calm, and she rarely shifts. Her bare back is covered in gauze and the thick, greasy ointment Knox had given Roy a month before.

The evening light that filters from the barred windows of the hideout draws warm stripes on Hawkeye's barely covered body, makes her short hair shine golden. Everything is calm, time stuck. Dust dances in the sun rays, and Roy watches their slow descent.

She looks frail. Broken. Roy wants to pull something over her, cover her, not to hide her nudity - he's long past being awkward because of it, long past thinking of her as anything else than a victim of his hubris - but to make her feel safer, protected. He shan't. That would hurt her.

He has hurt her enough.

That hand under her head must be painful, and the blood flow cut, Roy remarks. He takes the folded blanket he's brought just in case - in case of what, in this scorched desert, he doesn't really remembers now - and walks closer to her with the intent on replacing her hand with it.

He kneels at her side, brushes her fingers, notices they're cold, and a wave of panic takes him.

She's dead. You've killed her. If you didn't, the shock did. And it's the same. You killed her.

Roy knows. He knows she's alive. He can feel her breath on the back of his hand, that he places in front of her mouth. He knows she's as good as can be in her situation. But that part of his brain won't be silenced.

You killed her. And if you haven't yet, it's coming.

Stop this.

Roy forces his breath to slow, steadies his hand as much as he can. On a whim, before he does anything else, he brushes his knuckles on Riza's flushed cheek. It's hot, and soft. But it's hot, not cold, and she squirms slightly under his touch, without waking up.

See. She's alive.

Roy gulps, and breathes in. He slowly, gently pulls her head away from her hand, his palm on her clammy brow. He pushes her hand to the side, and replaces it with the folded blanket. Roy delicately lays her head back again on the blanket, and goes so far as to dare to push a couple of short bangs off her forehead.

She looks too young and too old at once. She feels as eternal and as fleeting as the desert wind in the dunes. He's afraid of her withering away in this barred, abandonned house that miraculously isn't as wrecked as the rest. He's afraid of her taking roots here, never waking up, sleeping for a hundred years like in the fairy tale.

He would keep his watch, should it last as long and more. He's promised. To her.

He's already failed the father, he won't fail the daughter.

He retreats to the wall again, and sits down with a sigh. His right hand instinctively goes to the top of his thigh, where all this moving has made what was a dull, low level kind of pain flare up and throb.

Under the wool of his uniform and a small patch of the same gauze he's put on Hawkeye's back, the burn is healing. Slowly, painfully, but it is healing. The new skin that has grown is thick, bright pink and ugly, twisted. It'll turn dark later. It fits the task that had him try this on himself before he raised his hand above Hawkeye's back.

After all, he'd never used his Alchemy on people for anything else than killing. And he's good at that. Too good. He got more precise and accurate, and quick, as the war went on. But the finality is always to kill.

He had to try on a living being, first.

No one but Knox would ever know, and Knox already though him insane - not that Knox himself was anything but. Hawkeye, here, too. You'd need to be a little crazy to ask for what she did, even if it came from the right place.

They were all insane, here. Those who weren't were dead, or soon to be. There was no escape.

Hawkeye stirs slightly, pulling Roy out of his reverie. Her frown has deepened, and new beads of sweat have appeared on her forehead. Roy ponders waking her up to feed her more painkillers, and maybe some of the soup he keeps in canteens next to the table where he's laid all the medical supplies, in the corner of the room.

But she doesn't wake by herself, and he decides to wait. He's inflicted enough pain on her, now. Time to let her rest. She'll wake up soon enough.

[deathfavor]

@furiaei said: ' you know, ' the sinner sighs as she muses aloud, ' i have no idea why the chief arrested you. had i known about your tricks sooner, i'd much rather have drunken the poison of you than live in this reality. look around! who, in their right mind, would want to live in reality? ' ( for serpent ! because i do think they'd be so deliciously dangerous, something something mya would allow serpent to poison her if only she could promise her a second of oblivion. what if we went insane? )

   Serpent sits with one leg crossed over the other, a sleek smile on her lips as the sun warms her skin. It’s peaceful in the same way that a sleeping snake seems peaceful in the sunlight. And like encountering a snake on a trail path, most of the sinners choose to give her a wide berth. It’s only natural then that the presence of someone venturing close would draw her eye and she watches the other sit down beside her. She does not mind the unanticipated company joining her.

   The words come as a surprise. Something flutters around in her chest like Monarch butterflies scattering from the trees during migration. Someone understands.

   “ It’s not poison, silly. “ Serpent chirps cheerfully with her signature performer flair. Well, she supposed it could be classified as that, but that was such an ugly way to think about it. “ More like, hmm, a potion?” Which was only one letter and one order change from poison now that she thought about it. It sounds better regardless.

   Then her voice dips into something mellifluous and lower pitched, like a predator slithering into a body of water without causing ripples upon its glassy surface. “ The chief doesn’t understand at all. Because they don’t understand, they believe that their way must be right. They believe that everyone must crave reality over sweet dreams, and that the only real happiness is what few scraps that people can find. They deny everyone a sweet dream because they don’t understand its appeal.”  A rare frown breaks her ever-smiling façade as she reflects on the encounter with the chief. “ Their land is barren and empty, so they can’t picture how wonderful it is. How desperately people want it. That one kind hand can make up for an entire world that hates you, or decades of endless torment and suffering.” It’s naïve. At least her sweet dreams truly do offer people the happiness they were denied in reality.

   It’s nice to find someone who holds her same views. “ Reality isn’t so nice or pretty. I admire the chief’s dedication, but they’re doing it all wrong. That’s why I want to bring everyone to the dreamscape, to let them have sweet dreams forever. I want to take away all their pain and suffering, even if their sweet dream is just a peaceful rest. “  There’s a wistful yearning that remains in her voice ; she might not have her own, but she can be a caretaker to everyone! Their joy is her joy!

   Serpentine eyes survey the room, noting the guards and other sinners with a calculating intent in her gaze. Then she leans closer towards Mya, voice barely a whisper across her ear. “ I still have lots of it. Chief thinks I don’t. “ There’s a sly, pleased tone in her voice as she leans away and out of her space.  “ My own venom has some traces of it too, though, obviously that one is not very utilizable compared to a nice drink.”

[heavynights]

"You make me laugh" it wasn't intentional. Or if it was it was a mistake. I'm not funny.

"I like talking to you" why. I know why. I listen to you. I encourage you, like others don't. Its not out of genuine care, but my own selfish desires to not be alone. I don't care about what you have to say, I listen and feign interest so you will stick around.

Its okay, I know you do it too. I know when I talk about my interests, my hobbies, you are only waiting for a moment to talk about yours. I know you don't care in kind. You want me to keep listening, keep being kind, so you feign interest. That's all talking to someone is really, pretending to care. I don't. I know you don't either.

I want to. Desperately. Oh God, how I want to care.

"You're a good friend" I promise I'm not. I am now, while things are new. Fresh. While I still have the energy to listen to you. Before I grow tired of you. Soon I'll leave, just like I leave every one.

I wish I could bring myself to stay. I wish I knew how to be kind to people without letting them step on my neck.

You can step on my neck for now. I'll stand up soon. Don't worry, I'll stand up soon.

"I love you" because I am a mirror image of you. When you tell me you love me, all I hear is your own narcissistic self love. You don't love me, because you don't know me. You know yourself, the projection I put on to make you like me. You don't know the real me, and you never will. I would never let someone get that close. I don't even know the real me.

I am sure it is ugly, inside and out. I am sure it is the best and worst of me. I am sure it is not a person worth knowing or worth loving.

I don't love me. You shouldn't bother loving me either.

[mandylove1000]

Chronos live reaction

Before starting this I want to say. When I start ugly sobbing by the end of this I’m gonna finish my tissues. I’m already emotionally unstable just thinking about it. (Please know as I was typing this I was grabbing a handful of tissues)

“and a whole lot of regret….” I THINK THE FUCK NOT. I DONT WANNA KEEP GOING. FUCK THIS. NO.

“Robert Floyd had made you a promise he had every intention of keeping, but he wasn't so sure he could.” FUCK. WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS SHIT.

“That you need not worry about him anymore.” I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD LEAH IF YOU MAKE ME CRY IM THROWING HANDS. I DONT CARE HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU.

“Only he lost his best friend when to this day he thought it should have been him.” SHUT THE FUCK UP MAV NO ONE DESERVES TO DIE LIKE THAT.

“But when Bob's head hit the top of the cockpit“ LEAH IM SO CLOSE TO THROWING HANDS

“***~***~***~***~***~***~***~” FUCK THIS I DONT WANT A FLASHBACK

“You felt like you'd fallen into the cosmic existence between now and soon to come,”FUCKING SAME BITCH I FEEL MY DINNER TRYING TO COME BACK UP MY THROAT

“Had your water just broken?” IM LITERALLY GOING TO FUCKING THROW UP

“that his wife’s water had just broken.” I SWEAR TO GOD IF BOB AND THE FUCKING BABY DIE IM NOT FORGIVING YOU

“ “I can’t fucking do this!” “ FUCKING SAME BESTIE. ALL THOUGH IM NOT THE ONE ABOUT TO SHOOT OUT A CHILD

““She’s um, she's pregnant, could go any day now.”” IM GONNA FUCKING VOMIT IF THE BABY FUCKING DIES IM DYING WITH IT

“his face looked all kinds of pale and worry was written in the deep lines across his forehead.” IM GONNA CRY IN A MINUTE

“I’ve heard her cry about it in the middle of the night.” ROBERT YOU BETTER THROW FUCKING HANDS

““Mrs Floyd, you are going to have this baby.”” IM HAVING GREYS ANATOMY FLASHBACKS AND I DONT FUCKING LIKE IT.

“She’d done a little damage to herself but nothing a little rest and recovery couldn’t fix.” THE FUCKING TEARS HAVE STARTED

““Just bring me her damn husband before it’s too late.” “ IM DEMANDING THE FLUFFIEST FUCKING SHIT YOUVE EVER WRITTEN LEAH

“”We kinda just never left each other's side since then.”” SO FUCKING WALK TO LABOR AND DELIVER BOBERT

“You weren’t ready to be a mother, not without Bob there to be a father.” IM UNWELL

“”You’re so strong, you’re so brave, and I love you so much, please push mama.”” I SWEAR TO GOD IF THE BABY ISNT OK IM JUMPING OFF THE FUCKING BRIDGE

“”Congratulations Mr and Mrs Floyd you have a little baby girl.”” IF NAT ISNT HER NAME IM THROWING HANDS.

““Peach?”” IF SHE FUCKING DIES IM GONNA FUCKING SCREAM.

““No, you should stay here with your daughter, she needs her daddy now.”” I CAN BARELY SEE MY FUCKING PHONE

“He knew if he looked up he’d be told the worst news of his life.” I SWEAR TO GOD LEAH I WONT FORGIVE YOU IF THE DOCTOR SAYS SHES DEAD

“But at the touch of his earlobe, a slight pressure formed at the lobe. So warm and comforting.” LEAH NO. WHY. IM FUCKING UNWELL.

-I had to stop for a min or 2 bc I can’t see my phone enough to keep reading-

“Because you had tugged on his earlobe, just like you promised you would.” I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW. I SAY THAT WITH PEACE AND LOVE BUT ITS NOT MUCH LOVE ATM

IM NOT FUCKING OK.

Chronos // Robert Bob Floyd

Summary: Bob told you that Chronos carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while someone by the name of Pete Mitchell told you over the phone that your husband had been involved in a training accident….Well—you felt as if you'd fallen straight into it.

Warnings: Bob Floyd x Pregnant F!reader. F-18 accident. Medical inaccuracies. Birth. Bob Whump, ANGST.

Word Count: 6.1k

Author Note: Today is Monday, for most of you it’s Sunday: Please enjoy this oneshot that’s been a work in progress since the 28th of March. ~ Last minute title name change. I’m posting this at 4am my time so blow this up.

First there was a storm of carbon and molten rock which begat granite and soil. Then, the land shook and it cracked and it rose till it spiked the sky. Forest grew and died and grew a hundred times again. And then people grew and died and grew and died a hundred times again. There were storms and seasons and fences and blood. Wonder and vengeance and a whole lot of regret….

And through every grievance, every war, the land and the sky didn't give two shits about any of it. Bob Floyd knew that as he and his front seater, Natasha Phoenix Trance, fell through the sky in a tin bird designed by man, for man to destroy other men….

That it wouldn't give two shits about them either. 

“Extinguishing right engine!” There were far too many sounds coming from every system possible as Phoenix tried to regain control of the F-18 that seemed impossible to wrangle. All Bob could think about in those utterly terrifying moments was you. 

He’d always made it a promise to come home to you. He knew how much you worried about him, how much the thought of being left behind ping ponged around in your brain. How sometimes you'd stay up all hours of the night hoping that wherever he was and whatever ocean he flew across that he was okay. That he was safe and that he;d come home to you. 

Robert Floyd had made you a promise he had every intention of keeping, but he wasn't so sure he could. 

“Phoenix, Bob! Punch out! Punch out!” Maverick shouted through the comms as he chased the rogue fighter jet down. Bob looked around at all the warnings flashing in his face, there was nothing left to save except themselves. 

“Phoenix there’s warning lights everywhere, we’re in hydraulic failure!” All Bob prayed for in those terrifying moments as his colleagues watched on in pure shock horror from the ground below was that he’d get a chance to tell you he loved you again. 

He always told you that he’d come home, that there wasn’t a chance in hell that he wouldn’t. You knew better than to believe Government Property though, Bob knew you knew that there was always a chance. So he promised in the event of his untimely demise that he’d come back to you and wiggle your earlobe. To let you know he made it safe and sound. That you need not worry about him anymore. 

You promised him the same thing, because working from home was just as terrifying as flying a multimillion dollar fighter jet. 

“I can’t control it!” But as the ground grew closer and closer, Bob knew he wasn’t ready to die, he wasn’t ready to leave you behind and he certainly wasn’t ready to not meet his unborn child. 

“We’re going down, Phoenix! We’re going in! We’re going in!” He wasn’t ready to wiggle your ear. 

“You can’t save it! eject, eject!” Maverick shouted again, he was watching on like he’d been sucked into some kind of timeloop. He’d seen this happen before. Only he lost his best friend when to this day he thought it should have been him. 

“Eject! Eject! Eject!” Were the last three words Bob heard escape from Phoenix’s mouth before he was reaching between his legs to pull at the emergency yellow and black striped handle that sent him flying out of the cockpit. He’d been taught how to handle a situation like this, they all had. Every single naval aviator currently on active duty had been taught what to do when they needed to eject. 

But when Bob's head hit the top of the cockpit? He didn’t care for procedures and protocol and what he should or shouldn’t have done in the moment, all he cared about was you and holding on to whatever consciousness he had left as he tumbled through the sky at a rapid pace. Reaching for his parachute in just the nic of time. 

Knowing if he hit the ground where the land had shook and cracked and rose till it spiked the sky that it wouldn’t have given a shit. It wouldn’t have been all that forgiving and it certainly wouldn’t have mourned his untimely demise. 

So Bob faught until he hit the ground with a not so graceful thud, he hit the ground hard—with an almighty groan as his ribs popped and his head throbbed inside his helmet. 

“Ahhh!” He gasped as he clutched at his stomach, forgetting how to breathe as the darkness of tunnel vision claimed its next victim. Unconsciousness overcoming its latest casualty: 

Bob Floyd. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Bob had asked you once when you were wrapped up in his arms in the dead of the night, listening to the storm raging on outside if you knew anything at all about a Greek God called Chronos. When you had chuckled out a soft no as his lips trailed up your neck and his slightly calloused hands roamed your body like they knew every inch, Bob told you that he carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while someone by the name of Pete Mitchell told you over the phone that your husband had been involved in a training accident….

Well—you felt as if you'd fallen straight into it.

You felt like you'd fallen into the cosmic existence between now and soon to come, plummeting into a realm where time didn’t exist and light didn’t reach. You tumbled into a parallel dimension where nothing made sense, nothing seemed tangible or real. You descended into a world where Bob Floyd wasn’t around. 

“Your husband was involved in an accident during a training exercise this afternoon—“. 

At the sound of Pete Maverick Mitchell’s voice explaining that there had been an accident on base during an exercise—you begun to crack, you started slipping further and further into the unknown because Bob had always said he’d never leave and if he did you’d feel him tugging on your earlobe to let you know he got there safe and sound. 

There was no one tugging on your earlobe though, no soul that had passed on or ghostly figure watching over you. What there was though, was a radiating warmth between your legs. A wetness that shouldn't have been there. 

Had your water just broken? 

“Oh—oh god.” You gasped as you looked down, gripping the side of the kitchen island as you groaned out a prolonged, primal moan. You were in labour there was no doubt about it. “Ahh.” 

“Mrs Floyd? Are you alright?” The voice on the other end of the line asked with a confused undertone as you watched the seconds tick past on the ongoing call. 

“I uh—“ You tried to speak, tried to make sense of what you were hearing, what you were experiencing. Pain in every aspect both physically, emotionally and mentally. “I think my water just broke.” 

“Oh—“ Maverick couldn’t suppress his shock nor could he disguise his sudden state of disbelief. “Oh okay, I’ll uh—I'll have an ambulance come by right away.” You replied with a sharp groan. Doubling over as you felt how hard your stomach had truly become. This was happening, everything was happening all at once and you had lost focus in the pain of both worrying about the state your husband was currently in and the fact your baby was on their way. “Mrs Floyd, someone will be there very soon, I’m gonna stay on the line with you until they arrive.” 

“I need Bob—“ You’d begun to cry as you kneeled on the kitchen floor before you decided that sitting up against the cabinet with your legs outstretched felt a hell of a lot more comfortable. “I need my husband, I can't do this without him.” You felt warm tears streaming down your cheeks as your bottom lip quivered and another painful contraction rippled through your body. Every fibre of your being ignited in a fireball. “Ahhh—I won’t do this without my husband!” 

On the other side of the phone call that had taken a rather drastic turn, Mav looked to Phoenix who was being wheeled into the awaiting ambulance on the tarmac. Bob was next, Pete didn’t have the heart to tell the Weapons Systems Officer that had just escaped death that his wife, who he hadn’t mentioned to a soul beside Phoenix, that his wife’s water had just broken. 

“Phoenix, hey—“ Pete stopped the medics briefly, they looked at Pete like he was risking her life by wasting valuable time. But this was just as important. “What’s Bob's wife’s name?” Pete wanted to know so he could be a little more personal. 

The truth was Natasha didn’t even know, she’d seen the picture of you in Bob's wallet that he’d shown her, but Bob had only ever called you by your nickname. Bob's beloved term of endearment. 

Peach. 

“He’s only ever called her Peach, I don’t even know her name.” Phoenix cried. She was still trying to process what had happened—she felt like the blame was all her own to bear. She’d damn near killed her back seater and she didn’t even know his wife’s real name or that you were pregnant. “I nearly killed him and I don’t even know his wife’s name—“ 

“Hey hey hey.” Mav tried to soothe the clearly shocked pilot. “It wasn’t your fault, it could’ve happened to anyone, Phoenix.” Mav smiled softly as he held the phone back to his ear, he was still yet to call Phoenix's emergency contact, her sister Lily. It wasn’t inherently Mavericks' job to call the emergency contacts listed in Bob and Phoenix’s files, but it was his duty, his responsibility. 

He was going to as soon as he’d informed you, however, Pete wasn’t expecting this call to take the turn it had. “Peach, you there?” 

There was no answer, Simply whimpers. When you’d doubled over in pain in the kitchen you’d left your phone on the island bench top. It was far too out of reach now as you sat trying to breathe through the latest contraction that bodied you. 

“Peach—“ Mav started, but as he did so saw the medics wheeling Bob closer and closer to the ambulance waiting on the tarmac. He couldn’t say anything, not when Bob was still fighting to stay conscious. “Mrs Floyd, someone will be there as soon as they can, I promise.” 

“Bbboooooobb—!” You cried out. “I can’t do this!” It was all too much for you to handle, the immense pressure, the anxiety, the fear of losing your husband. “I can’t fucking do this!” You never thought in your wildest dreams you’d have to do this alone. Bob always said he’d be right with you every single step of the way. And up until right now he had been. 

“Someone’s coming Peach.” Maverick knew you couldn’t hear him, but he couldn’t bring himself to put the phone down. He looked at Bob being wheeled into the back of the ambulance on a stretcher, wondering if his decision to not say anything as of right now was a bad decision. He seemed to always be full of those. 

“Someone’s coming—“

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

By the time Bob was brought back to the North Island Base Hospital, he was very aware that someone would need to call his emergency contact about what had happened. Someone was going to need to call you, he thought it would be best if he was the one who called. 

With a throbbing headache and a few cuts and gashes, Bob let the nurses and doctors tend to his aid without much of a fight. He knew he needed the care, knew it was for the best if he just let everyone do their jobs. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and if he put up a fight they would only keep him admitted for longer. 

“You got a partner Robert? A wife or husband that we need to call?” Doctor Austin asked as he shined a light into Bob's eyes, watching carefully as he followed the light side to side. 

“I have a wife–” Bob mumbled, his head hurt from when he’d hit the ground not so gracefully but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle as he sat up on the hospital bed with his legs hanging off the side. Phoenix was laying with an ice pack over her eyes on the other bed. “She’s um, she's pregnant, could go any day now.” Doctor Austin chuckled as he clicked his pen light off and placed it into his top pocket. Sending Bob an all knowing look. 

“And you thought it was a good idea to fall outta the sky?” Bob's ribs hurt when he laughed softly, cupping at his side as he did so, laughing with the doctor who had cleared him and Natasha of any serious injury. “My good man, I can't say that's a good mix.” But there were still observations that needed to be made and a few more tests just to be sure. He wasn't out of the woods. 

“Yeah I think you might be right doc—“ Bob smiled softly. “But can I be the one to call her? She’ll probably take the news a little better if she heard it from me.” 

“I’ll see what I can do Lieutenant.” Doctor Austin nodded as he picked up his charts and headed out of the room, leaving Phoenix and Bob in the heavy silence of the aftermath of their near death experience. 

“What’s her name?” Phoenix mumbled from behind the ice pack she kept over her eyes. 

“Y/n—“ Bob replied softly as he played with the wedding band that was strung through his dog tags. “We’ve been together since high school.” 

“Why do you call her Peach?” 

“Because she’s as sweet as the peaches from the orchard my grandma used to own.” Bob couldn’t stop himself from bashfully blushing, a hume all consuming crept across the apples of his cheeks whenever he spoke about you. “We’re about to have a baby, the detachment was meant to be my last before I could access my paternity leave entitlements.” 

“Rough last assignment—“ Phoenix chuckled as she shook her head in disbelief. Bob agreed silently, it was a rough last assignment. “You don’t talk about her an awful lot do you?” 

“I would—“ Bob pressed his lips together. “Just no one really asked.” It was then that Phoenix realised that she didn’t know an awful lot about the man who had gone down with her. The man who sat behind her and had her back in the sky. Her WSO. “And I guess we’re not here for all that long anyway so I just kept her to myself, she’s a nice reminder that even after the rough days we’ve been having I get to go home, safe and in one piece to the woman I love.” 

“Do you guys know what your having?” Phoenix didn't mean to pry, but she felt an overwhelming pressure to get to know the person she had been flying with since being requested for this detachment. Bob shook his head in response. 

“Nah, we wanted to keep it a surprise.” Just as Bob was finishing his sentences Doctor Austin returned, his face looked all kinds of pale and worry was written in the deep lines across his forehead. 

“Lieutenant Floyd it looks as if your wife was just admitted into the maternity ward—“ Bob's heart stopped beating inside his chest as he listened to Doctor Austin. “It appears that she was contacted earlier about your accident and the shock sent her into labour—“ 

“I uh—I need to see her.” Bob mumbled as he slid off the exam bed and nearly fell to the floor. His knees were so weak from the shock and adrenaline from the accident and now the realisation that he was about to be a first time dad. “I need to see my wife, where is she?” 

“Lieutenant, I know this must be a stressful situation for you but I really advise against leaving until we’ve finished with your own test. We still need to get you in for—“ 

“I won’t miss the birth of my baby.” Bob shook his head in defiance. “No, I won’t leave her to do that alone, she needs me—I know she does because I know how scared she is about doing this alone.” 

“Robert—“

“No no you have to listen to me. I can't let her do this alone because I’ve heard her cry about it in the middle of the night.” Phoenix's heart shattered into a million pieces as she watched Bob plead with the doctor and the nurses that had come in to try and subdue him. “She’s scared I won’t come back one day and today was almost that day and now she’s giving birth to our baby alone after I promised I’d be here for her—“ 

“We can’t let you go, it would be against all my medical advice.” Doctor Austin tried to explain. “I understand the difficulty of the situation Mr Floyd but your health and wellbeing is our number one priority.”

“But you have to let me!! That’s my wife! She needs me! Please—“ You needed your husband, things weren’t travelling all that well in the delivery room. You weren’t ready to have this baby—not if Bob wasn’t there with you. Not if Bob had left you behind, he was too young to die. He couldn’t leave you here by yourself to raise a baby, his baby, on your own. He promised he wouldn’t. 

“Mrs Floyd, you are going to have this baby.” 

“Aahhhhhh! I’m not doing this without my husband!” You groaned out. You were covered in sweat and crying your heart out as one of the labour and delivery nurses held your hand and placed a cool washcloth to your forehead. “I won’t have this baby without him, do you understand me!” 

“Someone needs to contact her husband—“ Everyone from the King of England to the Hounds of Hell could hear you screaming. It had been a rather quiet day for the L&D department. Until the ambulance had brought you in. 

“We can’t reach him, but I’ll try again.” One of the intern labour and delivery nurses replied as she rushed out of the room, she sprinted towards the nurses station in a hurry. So fast she almost went straight past it, she came to a halt with a flustered sigh.“I need you to try contacting Mr Floyd again, his wife won’t cooperate—she’s refusing to give birth to this baby without him.” 

“She knows how having a baby works doesn’t she?” One of the older nurses sitting at the desk rolled her eyes. “That baby, no matter the circumstances, isn’t going to wait for anyone.”

“I’ll let the L&D ward know you’re here as a patient but that’s the best I can do at this stage Lieutenant, I can’t in good conscience let you leave this ward without having run through all the proper medical procedures to make sure you’re fit to return to work.” Doctor Austin wasn’t trying to be the bay guy, if anything he wanted nothing more than to send Bob on his way—but he couldn’t, he wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing he didn’t do his job to the best of his ability. “My primary priority is you and Miss Trance here.” 

“You don’t understand!” Bob ran his hands through his hair as his bottom lip quivered. He was holding back tears as he looked up to the ceiling—begging whatever God up there that saved him this morning to work just a little more magic. “She won’t have this baby without me, that was the deal—I needed to be there and now that I’m not—“

“She can’t not have the baby Robert.” Doctor Austin sighed, that was the moment Bob knew he needed out. He needed to get to you, he needed to be there by your side and whisper how beautiful and strong and amazing you are for being a whole person into this world. Because if there was one thing you were, it was strong willed, and you weren't going to have this baby without him. That was a promise. “I’ll go talk with L&D and I’ll be right back.” 

“Tell my wife I’m here!” Bob shouted as Doctor Austin left the room, Bob felt like he couldn’t breathe. There was a pressure mounting inside his chest, like an elephant was perched upon his chest. “I’m—I’m here.” He broke. Tears streamed down his grazed cheeks as Phoenix hobbled over. She’d done a little damage to herself but nothing a little rest and recovery couldn’t fix. 

They were lucky—oh so lucky. 

“She's gonna be okay.” Natasha tried her best to comfort the Weapons System Officer she hardly knew, but Bob was long gone. He’d fallen deep into that hole, the one that the Greek God Chronos had created to separate this life from the next one. He was falling through a helpless paradox of anxiety and fear. You were about to give birth and he was going to miss it. As he crouched down as a whale of pain escaped his parted lips, Bob wished for nothing more than to reverse time.

Because if he could just simply reserve time then he wouldn’t have gone into work this morning. And none of this would be happening. 

***~***~***~****~***~****~****~***

“Desmond, she’s not doing well, at all.” Lily, one of your delivery nurses, pleaded with Bob's doctor to just let him come to your aid. “She thinks he’s dead, something about an accident he was in this morning.” 

“F-18 ejection, he hit the ground pretty hard.” Doctors Austin looked in at you on the bed, in the middle of active labour, fighting every urge you had to push. You weren’t having this baby, not without Bob, the love of your life, your best friend, your husband. “He’s fine, but he’s in for observation overnight and I’m still waiting for his result to come back from his MRI.” 

“If she doesn’t see her husband soon she’s going to need an emergency c-section and I for one am not about to place a panicked mother to be under the knife unless it’s critical.” Lily was your voice of reason. You couldn’t plead with Doctor Austin to let your husband go yourself so she did it for you. “If your patient can walk, hold his wife’s hand while she delivers their child and can sign a waiver saying he waved all medical advice then send him down here before she loses this baby.” 

“You L&D ladies think you know everything—“ 

“Just bring me her damn husband before it’s too late.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~**

Bob felt like he’d been condemned to some eternal hell, time froze as the walls of the hospital room he sat in with Phoenix grew closer and closer. He felt claustrophobic for the first time in a long time. 

“How did the two of you meet?” Phoenix tried to keep Bob's mind from going to places too dark to fathom. He needed a distraction from the fact he was here with her and you were delivering his child. All alone. 

“I was never good at history, she was my partner for this assessment we had in ancient history class once, everyone was doing their research on Pompeii but not Peach.” Bob chuckled to himself at the memory. “No she wanted to do Herculaneum and it turned out to be the only project I ever got an A on for that class.” You were just it for Bob. There was something special about your aura. Your ability to draw him close like a moth entranced by a flame. You took his breath away every time you told him you loved him. 

Your love sent Bob's heart clear out of this world. 

“We kinda just never left each other's side since then.” Bob explained as he sat against the wall on the floor with his elbows on his knees. “She’s always been so supportive of what I do even though I know it scares her more than anything to see me walk out that door every morning and she worries endlessly whenever I’m deployed.” 

“Becoming she loves you.” Phoenix wished she knew a love like Bobs, but her time hadn’t come yet. Bob nodded along as he twirled his wedding band around his finger as it hung from his dog tags. 

“Because she loves me.” 

“Floyd—“ Doctor Austin made his presence known as he chucked Bob a blue hospital gown and cap. “Put those on, sign this form that says you're going against my professional medical advice and follow me, you’re needed in labour and delivery.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Push! Y/n dear you need to push—!” Lily tried to persuade you to push when your next contraction hit but you were too far gone. You weren’t ready to be a mother, not without Bob there to be a father. 

“No! No, I'm not having this baby!” It was the hardest thing to hear as Bob came racing down the hall, his entire body ached from bruises, his head felt heavy on his shoulders from his concussion. But he was okay, he was alive. “I’m not! I won’t! I can’t do this without him!” You cried out in pain as you fought the urge to push, you swore your teeth were about to crush under the force of you clenching. A scream so heartbreaking and primal ripped through you as your body began to betray you. You were fighting nature's course and it wasn’t going well.

“She needs to push—she’s losing too much blood.” One of the nurses stated as a matter of factly just as Bob made it to the door. He froze at the sight of you, how could you look so beautiful in so much pain? He thought he was going to pass out as he took steady, slow steps into the room. 

“I’m here—“ Bob cooed as he came up to your beside. “I’m here Peach I’m here.”

“Bob?” You turned in a delirious state to where your husband's voice had come from. “No no I thought you—“

“I’m okay.” He smiled as he bent over to kiss your forehead and splay his hand on top of your head to push your hair away from your face. “I’m here, I told you I’d be here didn’t I?” 

“I thought you died, I thought you were in an accident?” You could barely focus, you felt so light headed that the world felt like it was spinning. “I thought—“

“Hey, hey you need to push alright? You can push now baby because I’m here and I’m with you and I’m fine.” Bob reassured you as you sobbed and nodded as he kissed your lips softly and held your hand. “You’re so strong, you’re so brave, and I love you so much, please push mama.” 

“This baby is coming whether you're ready or not Mrs Floyd so I’m gonna need you to focus so we can get this baby out.” Lily rounded the bed as she positioned herself between your legs. Bob felt you tighten your grip around his head and everything stopped. Time stood still, your screams were all but drowned out by the excitement and fear in Bob's heart. 

“Yes, Y/n good job. I can see bubs head you’re doing so well! Oh your next contraction I need you to push until I tell you to stop.” Lily smiled as you let your head fall back against the bed. 

“You’ve been telling me to push and now you don’t want me to push!?” You hissed. Bob couldn’t help but to chuckle. He was so amazed by your strength. 

“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Lily chuckled. She knew you were close, barreling towards another contraction. She could see it. “Alright this is the one mama, big push for me and bubs will be here in no time.” 

“Bob! It hurts! Make it stop!” You cried out, Bob wished he could take all your pain and experience it himself. He never wanted to see you in such a state, but your baby was coming, the baby you’d made together. You’d created together late one night or in the early hours of the morning he wasn’t too sure. But what he was sure of was that you could do this. “It hurts!!” 

“Push Mrs Floyd!” Lily shouted. 

“Come on peach push! push!” Bob willed you on as you did. You shouted  and cried and squeezed your husband’s hand so hard he thought you were about to break his damn hand. But this was it. Your baby was coming. 

“Okay okay the heads out stop!” Lily guided you as you let your head fall back against the bed in pure exhaustion. You were dehydrated, covered in sweat and ready to give up. “So I lied before, you’re gonna give me one smaller push to help bubs out Y/n and that it’s—you're done.” 

“I can’t.” 

“No peach you can.” Bob cooed. “You can because you’ve come this far.” 

“I’m not even sure if you're here or not.” You sobbed as you reached out to caress Bob's cheek. “I’m not even sure if you're here with me or if I’m seeing things.”

“I’m here, I’m real.” Bob whispered in your ear. “And we’re having our baby Peach, just one more little push and it’s gonna be you and me and our little one against the world.” You nodded softly and you shut your eyes and groaned. “You can do it.” 

“Alright let’s have this baby! One more small push!” Lily announced as another contraction tour through your exhausted body. 

“Ahhhhhh!!” You shouted and Bob swore you bust his eardrum, but it was a small sacrifice as the cries of the world’s newest human echoed off the walls. 

“Congratulations Mr and Mrs Floyd you have a little baby girl.” Lily handed you your daughter the second she was born. Placing her on your chest within seconds of her arrival. 

“Oh Peach, she's so beautiful.” Bob cried as tears streamed down his cheeks. He swore he’d never be able to love someone more than he loved you. But as you held your newborn daughter on your chest he kinda thought he’d been wrong. He could love someone just as much as he loved you. Your daughter. 

“She's perfect, hi b-baby.” Your voice was all but a whisper as your head lulled to the side. You felt dizzy, lightheaded as your daughters cried softened. “I love you.” 

“Y/n? Sweetheart are you alright?” You didn’t reply but you looked up at your husband with a dazed expression, a tunnel had begun to form, edges of a dark black hole crept its way into your mind.

Chronos hole—the one between this world and the next. 

“Peach?” Alarms rang out as Lily removed your crying newborn just minutes earth side from your chest as your eyes rolled into the back of your head. “No no no no what’s wrong what’s happening to her?” Bob asked as he tapped your cheek softly. “Hey, Peach, no stay with me, stay with me.” 

“Her blood pressure is dropping, she’s haemorrhaging.” Lily explained as she and a bunch of other nurses worked around you. “We need to get her into surgery, Mr Floyd.” 

“Sir, step back—“ An older nurse asked as she placed a hand on Bob's shoulder. He did as he watched Lily take a sample of your blood. 

“I’ll head directly to the lab to drop off the sample.” 

“Just make sure her surgeon has o-negative on the ready.” The only nurse replied as Bob stood there, watching as they wheeled you out on the same bed you'd just given birth in. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye, he didn't get a chance to tell you how much he loved you. 

“Uh, do I go with her or?” Bob didn’t know what to do, his whole world had been turned upside down and on its head already today, and again it had just flipped once more. There was one nurse left, he didn’t know her name, but she smiled politely at him. 

“No, you should stay here with your daughter, she needs her daddy now.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

First there was a storm of carbon and molten rock which begat granite and soil. Then, the land shook and it cracked and it rose till it spiked the sky. Forest grew and died and grew a hundred times again. And then people grew and died and grew and died a hundred times again. There were storms and seasons and fences and blood. Wonder and vengeance and a whole lot of regret….

And through every grievance, every war, the land and the sky didn't give two shits about any of it. Bob Floyd knew that as he sat with his newborn daughter in the maternity room of the Miramar Base Hospital designed by man, for man to help other men with westernised medical procedures and treatments…

That it wouldn't give two shits about you either. 

“Hey..” A gruff voice came from the doorway, it took Bob all his light and all his remaining energy to look up from his daughter. The light and life of you. “I uh, I just thought I’d come check in on you and Phoenix.” Mav crossed his arms over his chest as he moved into the room. “How’s your wife doing?” 

“I don’t know.” Bob explained as he rocked his little girl, skin to skin was important so he’d stripped off what he could. “She’s still in surgery.” Pete could see the worry written in the lines of Bob's face. But the little girl who cried against his shoulder had him mesmerised. “Sorry darlin, I got you, daddy’s here.” 

“She’s a little beauty isn’t she?” Mav sat down beside the WSO who’d had a longer day then most. “You get a chance to name her yet? Before—?” Mav didn’t have to say before you went into shock. Your body had been through a lot and the nurses believed if you hadn’t held on so long, held back against what your body was telling you it needed to do then there was a possibility that it could have been a rather smooth delivery. Bob took that personally, the only reason you were holding back was because he wasn't here for you when you needed him the most. 

“No, but we’ll name her after, for now she’s baby Peach.” 

“Your wife’s nickname.” Mav replied softly as he looked up. He knew then and there what was about to happen. 

Bob knew there was a Doctor standing in the doorway. He didn’t dare look up. He knew if he looked up he’d be told the worst news of his life. 

Bob remembered that had asked you once when you were wrapped up in his arms in the dead of the night, listening to the storm raging on outside if you knew anything at all about a Greek God called Chronos. He remembered that you had chuckled out a soft no as he trailed his lips up your neck. Bob told you that he carried a sickle, that he used it to cut a hole, a tear in the cosmos between heaven and earth. Chronos did that to separate this world from the next, to separate the known from the unknown.

And while a Doctor by the name of Henry Nardella told him that you didn’t make it through the surgery, that you'd left him and your daughter behind, in a world where nothing made sense without you in it. 

Well—Robert Floyd felt as if he’d fallen straight into it. 

“No, please don't leave me here.” Bob felt like he’d fallen into the cosmic existence between now and soon to come, plummeting into a realm where time didn’t exist and light didn’t reach. He felt like he had tumbled into a parallel dimension where nothing made sense, nothing seemed tangible or real. He’d descended into a world where you weren't around. “No Peach, no.” 

But at the touch of his earlobe, a slight pressure formed at the lobe. So warm and comforting. Bob knew as your baby girl settled in against his chest at the lub dub of his heart beating for you–he knew you were safe on the other side. 

Because you had tugged on his earlobe, just like you promised you would. 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

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[astheroid]

[11:23 PM]

- baji comes home drunk [kind of angst/fluff? idk but all the internal shit gets resolved].

a/n - wow this turned out a lot longer than i thought it would be 😭 i was seriously debating between keeping the end part or chopping it off,, i kept it, so i hope it’s somewhat good

“And I was just getting a few drin-“

“You promised you wouldn’t get this drunk again.” You chide, pressing a damp washcloth to his forehead. Baji frowns.

“Mm. Sorry babe.” His eyes seem unfocused, glancing at everything and nothing all at the same time. The weight of his drunken stupor lays heavily in his movements, and as he lifts his hand up to cup your cheek, he presses a bit too hard.

Your head dips from the pressure and ends up an inch from his face. You can’t tell if he did it on purpose or not- the dazed grin on his face reveals nothing about his intentions.

“Whoops. My bad.” He murmurs, his thumb grazing your nose.

You hate seeing him drunk. It’s not that you’re trying to be overprotective, and to be honest, you don’t really mind taking care of him. It’s his eyes that make you want to hide the fancy wine in a place he’ll never look. They seem sad, broken even. When he looks at you with those eyes, your stomach churns. They carry the weight of the world in them.

He tries to keep it lighthearted, ever the actor. You can see it though. Drunk words are sober thoughts, and sometimes he lets it slip.

“I’m sorry. Real sorry. For… yeah. Everything.”

“Never shoulda-“ he hiccups, “made you sad.”

“You’d be better off away from me.”

“‘M dangerous, honey. Not the good kind.”

“Should just run away.”

“I don’t regret it. Just wish you weren’t there to see.”

Your heart squeezes when he looks so lost, so utterly shattered. You want to pick up his pieces and glue them together with forehead kisses and gentle hugs, but there’s a part of you that knows you can’t.

You can’t because he tosses and turns in bed, nightmares of worry and anger plaguing his mind. You can’t because he holds your hand a little tighter when you pass your local car park. You can’t because his smile never quite reaches his eyes when he cracks jokes about the scar on his abdomen.

You can’t, but you can try. You place a soft kiss on the tip of his nose. “Get some sleep, Kei. I can yell at you in the morning.”

He nods and you pull your blankets up to his chin. You smile a wobbly smile, glad he’s finally tired.

You click off the lamp and slip into bed beside him. You can feel a lump in your throat and an ache in your heart, but you wrap your arms around your love’s sleeping form and close your eyes.

The tears come minutes later. You keep your hand pressed to your mouth to diminish the gasping sobs, but a few escape anyways. You feel terrible.

Kei will never have the experience of a normal life. Not after Toman. What you don’t know, though, is how much you mean to him. You’re the one that makes his eyes crinkle. You make him laugh so hard the constant ache in his stomach fades away. For a little while, at least. He hopes you can see how damn happy you make him.

He’s changed a lot since his days as a gang member. He’s wild and unruly, of course- but he has a life. Something he needs to come home to every day. He carries his trauma like a medal, and he may never recover completely, but every little moment with you makes his burden lighter. He’s honestly scared of letting you see the dangerous side of him, the side that makes you stumble backwards. Sometimes, and only sometimes, you see it peeking through his fixed-up exterior. He doesn’t know if it’ll ever stop rearing its ugly head.

But for you, he’ll always try.

Your crying has quieted now, and you’re pressing your face into his t-shirt. It smells like him with a little bit of booze. As you breathe in his scent, sleep begins to come to you easier than you thought it would; you hope your eyes aren’t crusted shut in the morning.

You sleep, and he sleeps, and somehow you know it’ll all be ok tomorrow.

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!!

[since0202]

Taking Time—Forty Nine

Where there's a Will, there's a way

Word count: 6486

I’ve always thought I was a great communicator. My highschool and college essays can attest to that according to my teachers. My parents would say that they’ve never not known how I’m feeling or what I’m thinking. My friends came to me for advice, so sure that I would shoot them straight while being mindful of their feelings. I’m easy to understand even if I might be hard to read sometimes. Well, at least according to Paul I can be hard to read. But this…this is new territory. I’ve never left something unsaid and opted for something physical to work out an issue rather than talk it through. But this last month or so has got me thinking—maybe I don’t need to say anything at all. 

July’s heat did nothing to slow down the month. It passed in a whirlwind for Maya, tangled and sweaty and persistent in Paul’s grasp. Maya didn’t think she’d ever had so much sex in her entire time with Paul combined compared to this last month or so. He was everywhere all of the time and she honestly preferred it to the silent distant thing they were doing before. 

The intensity of the pack’s rounds had finally died down after Becks had had Ephriam. Jacob was more willing to work with the Cullens after he understood their intentions and the help was welcomed by all. They were more effectively able to scout the perimeter with the Cullens’ help and gain insight into the goings-on of the Volturi with a quick call to Alice Cullen. 

Relaxed rounds meant a more relaxed Paul. Maya was able to move about the reservation as she pleased without a chaperone and Paul resumed his trips to Seattle for client work. Things were almost back to normal. Almost. 

Paul and Maya had refused to talk about anything related to their most recent fight—the one where Paul said she had to stay on rez next semester. Maya thought maybe he had let it go or wrote it off as a heat of the moment kind of thing and was hoping she would forget. But, he’d continued to make the odd comment at pack dinners like: “We’ll be able to run baby interference at the bonfire this fall.” and “Did Keye have to stay in the dorms her first semester at UW?” 

Maya would raise an eyebrow but not pursue the questions further than their answers given from their intended recipient. The statements were just vague enough that he might have been speaking for only himself or out of curiosity, but something gnawed at Maya—the unresolved conflict squatting in her belly and rearing its ugly head every once in a while. 

That horrible feeling would temporarily evaporate however whenever she and Paul found themselves alone. The silence would hang in the air between them, Maya would put her pen down after revising yet another internship application, and Paul would cross the room, or pull the car over, or hoist her up onto the counter and clear her mind of any little thing she was thinking about. He had an uncanny ability to do that and Maya felt herself craving the connection of the imprint more and more. As if at any moment that good feeling would run out. Maya was aware that there was indeed a clock ticking down on their time to have the conversation, but right now she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. 

“So…seems like you two are back to normal,” Becks said one late August afternoon as she sat leaned up against the headboard while breastfeeding Ephriam. Maya was laying on her stomach across the massive bed after finishing putting away a massive amount of laundry in Becks’ room. 

“Mmm,” Maya replied noncommittally, hoping the afternoon storm promised would arrive and lull her off to sleep. She could feel Becks’ eyes on her but Maya refused to make eye contact. Were they back to normal? No. But this was better than whatever was happening before. They were…going in circles, avoiding the thing they dreaded most. 

“Are you staying then?” Becks asked. If Maya didn’t know any better, she’d think there was a hint of hope in her voice. She finally folded her arms under her chin and looked up at Becks. Ephriam was sucking away contentedly, his eyes closed as he drifted off toward sleep and Becks looked like the picture of happiness. Maya sighed. 

“You know I can’t,” she finally said after a long pause. Becks nodded somewhat sad and then forced a smile. 

“I know. But Paul is going to be—,” Becks started. 

“Paul will be fine,” Maya said quickly, hoping to shut down the conversation. She realized she wasn’t ready to have this conversation, not even with Becks. The thought of what might happen when she actually left for Columbia in a few short weeks was too nerve wracking to even think about. 

“Maya,” Becks said in that soft, comforting mothering tone she’d always had but had just recently fully leaned into. Maya groaned in response. “Fine, we won’t talk about it.” 

“Thank you,” she sighed in relief, closing her eyes again. 

“Kim’s pregnant,” Becks blurted out. Maya’s eyes snapped open and she pushed herself up onto her knees. 

“What?!” Maya nearly screeched. Becks quickly cupped her hand over Ephriam’s ear and winced. “Sorry,” Maya whispered. “What the fuck? When did that happen?” 

“She just told me a couple of days ago. They’re waiting until the next pack dinner to announce it. But I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer,” Becks was trying to contain her excitement and Maya was trying to quell her dread. 

“I thought she was on birth control? And how has Jared not fucking spilled the beans yet?” Maya continued whispering. 

“He told Jacob when Kim told me and so Jacob decided to give him some time off of rounds to be with Kim,” Becks shifted Ephriam in her arms and he started suckling with fervor in response. “As far as the birth control thing goes, I had no idea they were trying to get pregnant. Or when Kim got off of birth control. But…she seems really happy.” 

“So do you,” Maya couldn’t help pointing out. Becks pulled a face, a cool ‘So what?’ look that Maya rolled her eyes at. 

“I think Sadie might be too,” Becks whispered almost conspiratorially. 

“WHAT?!” Maya full blown shouted in surprise. Ephriam squeezed his eyes tight and started to fuss. She immediately felt bad as Becks curled her body over Ephriam, swapping him over to her other breast and attempting to rock and soothe him back toward sleep. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” Maya whispered. Becks shook her head, waving her off. 

“It’s fine,” Becks whispered back, her eyes glued to her son. She smiled warmly as he calmed and returned to feeding. “I have no proof—just a feeling. They’re moving the wedding up by a few months and Seth’s been…more sentimental with Ephy lately. It’s probably nothing and maybe it’s just me selfishly hoping everyone gets baby fever so that it’s not just me and Emily in the trenches,” she joked. Maya swallowed hard and backed off of the bed. “It’s just a joke, My.” Becks said seeing the look on Maya’s face. 

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, her voice a little higher pitched than normal. She tried to straighten out the soft knit blanket across the bed to busy herself, wanting to suddenly be anywhere but here. She’d never heard Becks talk like this before and while she knew it was all in good fun, she started to feel like they were well and truly on different paths now. Jacob suddenly entered the room, his large frame taking up so much space even in the expanse of the large owner’s suite. 

“Everything okay up here?” Jacob asked, as he strode over to Becks with a warm, satisfied expression on his face. He leaned down to kiss her and then kiss the top of Ephriam’s head gently. 

“Fine, Maya’s just a little shocked by my hot mom gossip,” Becks giggled and Jacob immediately lit up at the sound. 

“You are a hot mom,” he joked and Becks rolled her eyes, even though her face brightened with pleasure at the compliment. 

“That’s not what I—,” she laughed as Jacob nuzzled into her neck and kissed her bare shoulder. “I told Maya about Kim and my suspicions about Sadie.” Jacob pulled back and let out a laugh. 

“Oh that,” Jacob replied, looking over his shoulder at Maya for the first time. “Yeah, you better clear out of here soon or else you’ll catch it too.” Maya groaned and shook her head. 

“You guys are gross,” she turned on her heel and walked toward the door. Jacob and Becks were laughing together as Maya retreated but before she went to shut the door behind her, she watched as Jacob stroked Becks’ cheek and said something low under his breath. Maya couldn’t hear him but whatever he’d said had made Becks simply melt as she leaned into his hand and glanced down at their son. Maya closed the door just as their lips softly met one anothers in the low afternoon light of the room. 

Maya leaned back on her hands and threw her head back in an audible gasp. She could feel the coil tightening in her belly, one that promised to melt and offer her delicious release as Paul lapped at her. 

She had wandered into his workshop that morning in her bikini and some shorts to tell him she was heading down to the beach to read and relax for a couple of hours. But she had been…delayed when Paul had beckoned her closer and snatched her up onto his work bench. The triangles of her bikini top had been pushed to the side to expose her breasts and Paul had ripped her shorts off and pushed aside the bottoms of her bikini so he could access her heat. Maya moaned as Paul sunk one finger, quickly followed by another into her core as he sucked at the bead of her clit. The constant ache that called out for him started to pulse and grow in her belly and Maya’s breath came quick and fast. He twisted his fingers and hooked up, hitting a particularly sensitive spot that he knew so well within her. 

Maya’s hand dropped to his head as she took a fistful of his hair and held him impossibly closer. He was slurping and pulling at her lips, pressing his tongue flat and groaning hard as she soaked his face. Paul squeezed her thigh with his other hand and Maya felt herself spiral toward release, her legs shaking around his head and over his shoulders. He drank every bit of it down and slowly removed his fingers as he stood up. Paul palmed at his erection as he watched Maya slowly come back down to Earth toward him. 

He leaned forward and pressed his warm lips to hers letting her taste herself. Maya savored this feeling of relief. The jingling of his belt buckle brought Maya back to her senses as he pulled his jeans down below his hips and began lining himself up with her center. Paul gripped her hips and slid her slightly forward and Maya’s eyes flickered up to Paul’s face which was shaped in hungry concentration. 

“Um,” Maya said. Paul glanced at her, his cock slipping through her folds and spreading her slick across his tip. 

“What? You okay?” he said, suddenly concerned. His other hand was holding onto the back of her neck to steady her in the position he had arranged her in. 

“Yeah, um, maybe we could,” Maya sucked in a sharp breath before looking down at him again hovering over her entrance. “Maybe we could use a condom?” she asked hesitantly. 

“A condom?” he asked, confused. Maya nodded slowly and Paul tilted his head, the confusion still apparent in his furrowed brow, “Why would we wear a condom when—” something dawned on him and his eyes grew wide, “Are you not on birth control anymore?” he asked, his voice thick with heat as a dark glint came over his eyes. 

“”No! I am, I absolutely am,” Maya rushed to say. She felt caught, like Little Red Riding Hood in the wolf’s grasp. He shifted closer, the head of his cock pressing and tentatively stretching her opening, “Ah!” she looked down between them and then back up at Paul hurriedly, “I just want to be…extra careful because…” Maya blushed, the warmth spreading across her face. Paul’s thumb stroked across the length of her neck as he watched her curiously. 

“Because?” he prompted after she didn’t continue. Maya closed her eyes tight in embarrassment and then opened them again. 

“Because Kim is pregnant and Sadie might be too and I just don’t want to take any chances,” she said in a rush. Maya opened her eyes when the silence stretched between them and looked up into Paul’s face. He’d made no effort to move away from her and he was smiling a sweet, indulging grin at her. “What?” she asked incredulously as her face settled into a frown. That had Paul chuckling and Maya huffed in annoyance. 

“No offense, babe, but we’ve been going at it non-stop for a month and you haven’t gotten pregnant. And I’m not going to wear a condom for some superstitious baby fever nonsense when you’re on birth control,” he said it all so warmly, so endearing, so convincing.

“But what if—” Maya’s mouth fell open in a gasp, stopped short as Paul sunk into his hilt connecting his hips with hers. His grip on her hip and neck tightened as he held her to him and brought his lips to hover over hers. 

“Hush,” he said in that low voice that made heat instantly pool in her belly, “I’m not wearing a condom. Not when you feel this good,” he groaned as he slowly pulled out and sunk back in as he began to thrust into her slowly. Maya’s eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of fullness within her. Stretched around him, her head cleared and she felt safe and important. When he picked up his pace, grunting and pressing his lips to hers, she let out a heady moan and brought her arm up to snake around his neck and pull him flush against her. She wanted him closer, closer, so much closer. 

Her heart pounded as he fucked into her wet heat and groaned sweetly in her ear, telling her how good she was doing, how well she was taking him. Maya shut her eyes tight as the blind pleasure washed over her. His hand tightened on her hip as he tugged her toward him faster, not letting up on his rhythm even though Maya was slowly going limp in his arms as her orgasm rinsed her out. 

Paul moaned into her mouth, swallowing the soft sighs and sounds of his name on her lips as he slid quickly in and out of her. He wanted more, so much more that he couldn’t tell her and that promise of heat and pleasure and the unspoken, unknowable future. Paul gritted his teeth before pulling Maya’s bottom lip into his mouth and nipping at it, eliciting another one of her heart stopping moans. He was trying to ground himself, keep himself here because it was becoming too easy to slip into this feral, needy side of himself when he was buried in her like this, all wet and wanting and soft. He often found himself slipping, losing some semblance of control and he knew he couldn’t do that with her, not with Maya. 

“Paul,” she gasped as he angled within her just right. His brain buzzed with a pleasant hum that traveled down and spilled out of his mouth. It reverberated against his chest and filled him with the most bright, light feeling. Not yet. 

He slipped from her and she gave almost a relieved, satisfied noise, her eyes drooping. He chuckled, his mouth pulling up in a satisfied grin, “Not so fast, little red bikini,” he chided pulling her off the table only to swivel her so she faced it before grabbing underneath her right knee and pulling it up to rest on the table. 

“Paul, I—oh—I can’t,” she breathed, bracing one hand on the edge of the table and one looped up behind her and around the back of Paul’s neck. Paul leaned down ever so slightly and gripped either side of her hips before pressing firmly down against her hip bone to cant her ass up. 

“I know,” he said gently, as he pressed his lips to her temple. “But you always say that, and then, you always give me one…” he groaned as he slipped back inside her from behind as she whined leaning her head back on his shoulder, “More,” he huffed as he bottomed out. Paul let his hand coast from her hip to her lower belly and started to thrust, feeling the gentle bulge of himself seated deep within her as she whimpered and shut her eyes tight, bracing herself for another descent into blinding white, star popping, pleasure. Paul felt warm and firm behind her as his hips slapped against the curve of her ass. He held her to him tightly, helping to balance and angle her on the table so he could somehow sink deeper, his hand fanned out across her belly. 

“Paul…I’m—” Maya huffed, rolling her hips back against his that returned a sweet stuttering moan from him. 

“I’ve got you baby,” he promised. Maya’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she let out a wail, letting it all go—all the stress and pent up frustration and unspoken argument between them melted away and she was so overcome with it. She clenched around him tightly and felt that warm gush between her thighs as he groaned against her ear. 

“Do you want me to come in you?” his husky, rough voice sparked bursts of light behind her eyes and Maya sighed in the aftershocks of her orgasm. “You need to tell me, My.” His voice sounded pained, urgent. She nodded but he continued, “Tell me out loud, baby,” a sharp hiss pulled on that last word as he steadily thrust in and out of her, her walls clutching him hungrily. 

“Yes,” she breathed out, the voice not quite sounding like herself, “I want you to come in me, Paul. Please, please I need—” Maya’s voice was cut short by Paul’s hand snaking around her neck and putting firm warm pressure there. Her whole body lit up with sensation as he started to pound into her roughly from behind, each time hitting that sweet, sore spot in her that threatened to take her over the edge again. He slammed into her with two final thrusts and before emptying every last drop into her and Maya’s brained hummed with that familiar feeling of completion. He kept her tight against him as he caught his breath, keeping her plugged full of him. They were covered in sweat, both of their chests rising and falling in time together and Maya was fighting the urge to pass out from pure bliss.

Paul’s hands floated down to her sides and kissed along her shoulder and neck for a moment reveling in this feeling of keeping her full. “You can go to the beach later, yeah?” he said gently, running his fingertips gently along her ribs making Maya shiver. She nodded sleepily and Paul took it as his cue to carefully pull out of her with a hiss and scoop her up into his arms. He was pretty sure she was already asleep by the time he gently put her down on the cool leather couch and covered her bikini-clad body with a light throw blanket. 

“What?!” Sadie’s mouth fell open in shocked amusement as she let out a little laugh. Maya’s hand stalled over the fresh picked spinach at the Forks Farmers Market. 

“So..you’re not then?” Maya asked as she grabbed a few bundles and put them in her cloth tote. 

“No, I’m not pregnant. But I think it’s hilarious that Becks thought so,” Sadie was sorting through bushels of radishes and shot Maya her sweet smile. 

“Forgive her. She’s got baby brain and the fact that Kim is too—” Maya clamped her mouth shut suddenly and whispered a “shit” under her breath but Sadie was shocked once again. 

“Kim!? Kim Cameron is pregnant?!” Sadie shrieked. Maya’s eyes darted around the small crowd milling about the farmer’s market. Not many people from the reservation were here but she motioned to Sadie to keep her voice down regardless. 

“She’s announcing it tonight. Fuck, I wasn’t supposed to say anything. Don’t say anything, please!” Maya pleaded, laughter still bubbling in her throat from her misstep. Sadie shook her head reassuringly. 

“I promise. But goodness, I almost can’t believe it,” she said incredulously. 

“Tell me about it,” Maya breathed out in disbelief herself as she gathered some baskets of cherry tomatoes. 

“Kim was so outspoken against settling down to have kids until she got her head nurse position. I thought they were still at least three, maybe four years out the way she was talking about it,” Sadie continued. Maya pondered that for a moment. She remembered what felt like a lifetime ago when she was sitting in that exam room with Kim talking about birth control and how she was so adamantly on her side about not having kids until she was ready despite the council’s eagerness. 

“Maybe it’s just the right time for them?” Maya offered, not wholly convinced herself. 

“Must be, I’m sure Jared is completely thrilled. He’s wanted them for a while now,” Sadie picked through some fresh morel mushrooms. 

“Really?” Maya asked. She arched an eyebrow in curiosity at her. Sadie gave her a look, one that spelled out to Maya how little she truly knew of pack dynamics. But Sadie was kind, always soft in her delivery. 

“Yeah, he’s mentioned it a couple of times at dinner or just in passing. He and Paul are always huddled in the kitchen together talking with Sam, I feel like,” Sadie quipped, “Oh! Strawberries!” Maya watched her cross to the fruit stand and stayed stock still. Paul was talking to Jared about having kids? Or counseling him on having kids? Or…Maya paused. She didn’t know what he talked to Jared about. Or any of the pack for that matter. Because she wasn’t here. “I can make my famous strawberry shortcake tonight! What do you think?” Sadie positively buzzed with excitement. Maya swallowed hard and tried to set her face into a smile as she nodded.

That knot started to form in her belly again, tightening at the realization unfolding yet again that she was planning to leave in a few short weeks. And her and Paul had yet to have that discussion. Their communication stalled, always overshadowed by their physical need to connect instead and further put off the inevitable. She felt like she was on the edge of something, something that could ruin everything if she wasn’t careful. 

Maya shrugged on her dark blue leather jacket and quickly swung half of her hair up into a silk scrunchy. She quickly patted on some lip stain and jogged over to the bed where are laptop lay open the final packaged file of her last internship application. Maya scanned frantically over the list of requirements and checked each off in her head. 

“My! Let’s go! We’re already late, baby!” Paul shouted from downstairs. Maya made one more pass over the attachments to ensure she had everything there and then clicked submit. 

“Coming!” she shouted back. Maya quickly shut the laptop and bounded down the stairs where Paul was waiting, hands in his pockets. 

“Ready?” he said softly. 

“Last pack dinner, you know it,” Maya quipped as she reached around him to grab her bag. 

“Right,” he said in a strange voice. But before Maya could question him, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his chest before planting a kiss on top of her head. Maya let her hands rest on the sides of his abdomen and breathed him in for just a second. The fissure she felt growing between them this summer had semi-sealed itself with this tiny flicker of hope. Hope that he was finally coming to terms with the fact that she was going back to the east coast in just one short week. Back to school and away from the abnormal life she’d been living up to this moment. “Come on,” he said quietly as rubbed up and down her arms gently and steered her toward the door. Maya smiled up at him and wrapped her arm around his waist, allowing herself to be ferried toward the car. 

The car ride to Sam and Emily’s was quiet, but Maya was content as the soft rain splattered across the windshield and she held Paul’s hand. There was a deep calm that seemed to settle over her as if everything that had remained unspoken between the two of them, in this moment, simply evaporated. Maya felt almost whole. 

Paul must have felt the same because he kept bringing the back of her hand up to his lips as he drove as he wove gently down the rain slicked streets. Once they arrived at Sam and Emily’s, the early evening rain gave way to a soft evening light that made the forest surrounding the small bungalow erupt with the soothing sounds of frogs and crickets, and the shuffling of wildlife between the ferns. 

They were greeted as they usually were on pack dinner nights—to hoots and hollers and hellos. Becks stood in the small dining room, cradling Ephriam with Jacob’s arm around her, chatting with Kim and Jared. Maya smiled and waved at them and let herself be enveloped into the warm chattering home. 

Time always passed differently at pack dinners and even with the home now packed with so many wolves and imprints alike, it seemed like the house would always stretch to accommodate more as the kids ran underfoot. Dinner was a feast of sweetbreads and rice and chicken, and after Sam’s obligatory toast to everyone, it was oddly void of any mention of anyone returning to school, despite him congratulating Jacob for getting the garage up and running amongst the chaos of this summer. Maya gave it little thought though tucked into Paul’s side, laughing at something Jeremy said as he talked animatedly about his most recent mishap with one of the reservation girls. 

After awhile, Paul drifted off to his usual corner with Sam, Jared, and now Jacob. They’re heads were bowed as they spoke to one another but there were smiles flitting across each face that kept the conversation light. A sharp whistle rang out across the volley of voices and Sam stepped out from his corner to bellow: 

“There’s one more announcement to be made before the night ends,” he nudged Jared forward. Maya’s eyes shot to Kim, who’s eyes were welling with tears as she smiled heartily. It made something cinch tightly in Maya. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Jared said holding up his hands almost in surrender. From behind him, Paul and Jacob chuckled as they clutched the necks of their beer bottles, “Kim and I have some exciting news…..babe?” he looked to her and she nodded, “We’re having a baby!” he said, pure joy etched across his face. The house erupted into shouts of excitement and the wolves descended upon Jared, clapping him on the back. Maya stayed put, her eyes watching the scene unfold as everyone gathered around the two expectant parents to be. There was so much love here, and so much time for it all to happen. Whenever Maya was away, she never worried about missing out on anything because she didn’t know what she would miss until she was told about it. But now, seeing this love and excitement pour from her family, she knew she’d truly miss out on something big. And yet, there was still that other part of her that tugged on her to leave, to return to her life in New York and follow every possible dream she had hoped for herself. She loved every person in this room and would gladly put herself in danger in their stead, but still Maya knew she wanted more. That guilt panged in her and made her ache in a new way. Torn between two spectacular worlds and how lucky she was to have both. 

Maya finally pushed herself up out of her chair and walked over to embrace Kim in a hug who had continued weeping with delight into her shoulder. She couldn’t help but feel that tremor of happiness within her as well at the sheer amount of emotion sweeping through the room. 

Jake and Becks had been a surprise. But Kim and Jared were a long time coming to this moment. And you would have had to have been made of stone to not feel a flicker of excitement for both of them who were very openly crying in sheer joy at their own announcement. 

Maya stood there for awhile, just admiring how bright and shiny Kim looked in that moment, her eyes flooded with tears as she spoke of the sheer excitement and desire she had for this baby. She was happy. And Maya was unequivocally happy for her. 

After the excitement died down and some of the pack members left or folded themselves into the comfortable couches and armchairs and floor pillows scattered about, Maya joined Jeremy, Emily, and Sam in the kitchen where they were cleaning up and putting food away. Paul was fixing a loose handle on the kitchen sink as Maya grabbed a dish towel and started drying dishes. 

“One of the most successful pack dinners yet, I think,” Emily shone pure joy as she fitted the lid to a container of rice. Sam smiled at her warmly and nodded. “Oh Maya, that reminds me! Would you be able to host the next pack dinner? I think we’re thinking September 30, right before the Fall bonfire?” Sam’s head shot up and his eyes widened. Paul’s hand went still for a second before he resumed tightening the handle. 

Maya let out a laugh, glancing at Emily, “I mean if Paul wants to host, that’s fine by me. I won’t be here.” There was silence in the kitchen and the only sound that could be heard was Sam’s scrubbing and the faint voices filtering in from the living room. Jeremy looked from Sam to Emily in confusion. 

“You’re not?” Emily said, clearly confused as if this was news to her. 

“No…” Maya stopped and looked at her, and then glanced at Paul. “I’ll be at school.” 

“Oh! Right!” Emily said and Maya breathed an audible sigh of relief. “But you’ll only be a couple hours away. Did you plan to live on campus this year at UW?” 

Something hard and cold sank to the bottom of Maya’s stomach. Emily was very obviously oblivious. 

“Em,” Maya said gently, “I’m going back to Columbia. To New York. In a week.” That was good, stay calm. 

Emily furrowed her brow, “But Paul said—” And that cold thing snapped and shattered within Maya in one second. 

“Paul said what?!” Maya said a little too loud. Paul had stopped and set the wrench down, turning to lean against the counter with his arms crossed. 

“I’m sorry…I-I didn’t realize. He said you were registered for UW in the fall and just th-thought—” Emily stuttered. Sam crossed the room. 

“It’s okay, hun,” Sam said as he rubbed her arm and shot Paul a disgruntled look as if to say Handle this. 

“Paul?” Maya prompted, all fire. She should be more calm, she knew, but everything unspoken had all of the sudden reached a boiling point and there was no controlling it now. There was no physical cop-out this time. 

“Maya, maybe we should talk about this outside,” Paul said softly, his eyes apologetic toward Emily and Sam. Maya’s whole face must have been red. Jeremy stood frozen, soap dripping from his hands as they darted from Maya to Paul. 

“Sure, outside,” Maya said and turned on heel and stomped toward the door. No one really paid them any attention but as she passed Emily, she squeaked out another apology that Maya couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge. 

She stomped down the porch stairs and took long strides toward the forest treeline trying to calm her breathing. Maya could hear Paul’s footsteps not too far behind her. They got just inside the treeline before Maya whirled around on him, her eyes blazing and furious.

Paul’s face was set into a distinct look of disappointment and subtle anger as his mouth turned down into a deep frown, his hands still stuffed into his pockets. 

“What the fuck was that?!” Maya said roughly, her voice already losing to emotion. Paul looked around the forest, almost as if looking for a different answer before she said firmly, fiercely: “Paul.” 

His eyes snapped to her now, matching her fury, “Why are you so surprised?” 

A sour taste coated Maya’s tongue as she clenched her teeth, “What the fuck…was that? What is Emily talking about?” Maya gestured toward the house glittering through the dark lines of trees. 

“We’ve already talked about this,” Paul said almost inaudibly. 

“Bullshit!” Maya yelled. “I think I would know if I was going to school at UW this fall. I wouldn’t have shipped half my shit to New York. Or filled out my internship applications, or registered for classes, or set up my spot to volunteer at the fucking Engineering seminar in November for one. So, I’ll ask you again, what the fuck was Emily talking about?” Maya’s fists were clenched as her whole body shook. 

Paul leveled her with his even stare, as immovable as the stone cliffs that jutted against First Beach. Maya was set to burst into a million pieces. 

“You’re staying on the rez this fall, My, that’s what we talked about,” he said everything so matter of factly it was maddening. 

“Talked? Talked to who? Not to me. Because if i remember correctly, we haven’t been talking at all. Just fucking. Or do you not remember that?” Maya sniped. This couldn’t be happening. 

“I had Michael enroll you at UW—” 

“Without my fucking consent, Paul. What game is this? You know I’m going back to Columbia, you know I’ve been working on these internship applications. You know this and yet you did all this shit anyway without talking to me!” Maya was positively screaming. There was no way no one heard them from Emily’s. 

“I didn’t want to upset you.” Paul said, his face marred by sadness, but that stone facade stayed pushing Maya further to the breaking point. 

“Fuck you!” She screamed. “This is the fucking worst shit you’ve ever done to me. I’m not fucking staying, I’m going back to school where I belong and you’re going to have to just deal with that,” Maya had taken two steps toward him and noticed now that his chest was rising and falling rapidly. His eyes became hard slits of anger. 

“I’m not going to lose you,” he said between gritted teeth. 

“Then. Let. Me. Go.” Maya said, taking another step toward him and pushing against his chest with each beat. Paul stared into her eyes fiercely, not letting any tension fold and Maya stared right back. 

“Don’t push me on this,” he said again. Maya shook her head. “Please, Maya,” but there was nothing left. “Get back!” he suddenly shouted. This jolted Maya and she stumbled back a few steps before solidifying her resolve. Paul was shaking all over. 

After what felt like an eternity of Paul’s ragged uncontrolled breathing and Maya mashing her jaw together so hard she thought her teeth would crack, he said between tight breathes as a dying plea: “I need you stay.” 

Maya’s eyes welled with angry tears and she knew this was it. The final straw. “I can’t…” and then: “I won’t.” She shook her head. 

A resounding crack rang out against the trees closest to her as Paul exploded. In one moment he was there, wolf form bent and curled in on itself in sheer agony and the next he was gone, pounding into the forest. Maya took stuttering breaths, clenching and unclenching her fists to try and release the anger radiating from her, but to no avail. 

In one swift moment, she felt that somewhat healed fissure hiss and crack open within her and knew things were well and truly broken. He wouldn’t let her leave if he could help it and even in the wide open forest, Maya felt like things were closing in around her. 

Her eyes widened, shooting to the shouts and voices filtering from the house beyond the trees—searching, looking for her and Paul. Maya had no idea what they would do to keep her here. What if Paul already asked them to keep her here? Maya’s mind ran wild with anxiety and she sprinted toward her Jeep before the voices could discover her. 

She shoved the keys into the engine and watched wide eyed as the headlights washed over the panic-stricken faces of her found family on Emily and Sam’s front porch. She must have looked wild and terrified as she peeled out of the driveway and away, but she didn’t care. That tightening in her chest told her that the walls were still closing in and she had to get out. Out of La Push, out of Washington. 

She navigated her Jeep through the thick and dark forest, past the treaty line and down side roads she’d only traveled once before. When she pulled into the driveway of the shimmering glass home, two ghostly porcelain figures waited for her on the steps. 

Maya ran a hand through her hair and tried to calm her frenzied nerves, but she knew that after this moment, there might be no turning back. She killed the ignition and crunched onto the gravel driveway, coming around the car to stare up at the two figures waiting halfway up the stairs to the Cullens’ house. 

It was so quiet, as if all of the animals in the surrounding forest had cleared out. Not even the comforting hum of tree frogs or crickets could be heard. It was unnerving to say the least, but Maya was in no state to worry about that implications of that right now. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the stone, even faces of the two vampires and said just loud enough for herself to hear:

“I need your help.”  

Next > >

[slasherhaven]

Hello! I adore your blog so much! Just a quick question, are you planning on doing part2 of 'Disruptive', Thomas x reader hc? Maybe reader finds out what happend to Ian and Cecilia (those were the names, right?)

Thomas Hewitt X Reader

Part 1 HERE

Disruptive Part 2:

Luda May had tried to shield you from the fate of your friends but you knew what was happening as soon as you heard Hoyt's gun go off. She held you as you cried, both from the feelings of betrayal and from the violence taking place outside.

She had continued to comfort you during the days following their deaths, shushing you and reassuring you. She had tried to get Thomas to see you, to take her role in comforting you, but he had refused each time. He was sure that you wouldn't ever want to look at him again, never mind be comforted by him. So, he took to avoiding you, assuming Luda May would bring you more comfort than anything else could.

Everything had happened so fast but you had managed to wrap your head around the main points and come to terms with them. Ian and Cecilia were dead, the family that you were now living with had killed them.

It was scary at first but the family never seemed to wish you any harm, Luda May always assured you of that. Even Hoyt refrained from threatening you or scaring you, apparently he hadn't been fond of your friends but had no real problem with you since you had been the polite one. Still, neither he or Monty went out of their way to make you feel particularly welcome.

In the end, you couldn't say you mourned your ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend all that much, considering the betrayal they had committed. More than anything, you had been afraid about what your time in the house would mean for you. But...it had never meant you any harm, and you believed they would continue to welcome you in their home.

Luda May had apologised for your loss, apologised for what the family did but assured you that you were safe here. She had also asked you not to blame Tommy.

Some time passed and the family trusted you to move freely around the residence. You were still polite and undeservingly kind to the family, helping with chores and assimilating with the family relatively easily. You were a welcomed addition in everyone's eyes.

Still, Thomas was avoiding you and you had become highly aware of it. Now that everything had calmed down, you could notice the lack of the large man in every room you walked into. At first you thought it was a coincidence, now you were certain he was avoiding you on purpose.

Despite wishing that Thomas wouldn't keep avoiding you, you hadn't had much chance to confront him about it. At least, until today.

The house was pretty quiet and you were in the kitchen, having just finished some chores when you glanced out of the window. From your position at the window, you could see Thomas outside by the collection of cars. Hoyt must have asked him to strip down the newest car, the car you had arrived in.

You smiled to yourself, determined to take the chance to speak with him. Grabbing a chilled glass from the tray, you hurried outside and skipped down the steps.

It reminded you of a graveyard, cars in various states of distress lined up in the field. Some stripped down to their frames, others barely touched but parts rusting away.

"Thomas" you spoke as you approached him, getting his attention since his back was to you. You bit back a small laugh when he jumped and turned to face you, clearly surprised by your presence.

"It's hot, I thought you would like a drink" you offered as you held out the glass of freshly made iced lemonade.

He looked a little suspicious of your offer at first but his face soon softened before he took the glass from you.

He tensed some more when he realised what he had been doing as you approached. He glanced back at the before, looking nervously at you before hanging his head.

Even though he didn't say anything, it was like you could read his mind. He was worried that you would be upset about him stripping your car for parts.

"Don't worry. It was Ian's car, you can do whatever you want with it" you assured him with a small shrug, lazily kicking the flat tyre as if to further your point.

Thomas nodded, relaxing slightly, before drinking from the glass that you had so generously provided him.

You rocked back and forth on your feet for a moment as it fell silence, feeling a little awkward and sensing the tension in the air.

"Have you been avoiding me?" you finally asked, deciding there was no point dancing around the subject.

Thomas just shifted his weight, unsure of how to answer. He could be honest and say 'yes', but he knew that would sound rude, and surely you wanted him to avoid you. Or he could lie and say 'no', but he didn't want to lie to you and he knew you already knew the truth.

"It's alright if you have, I get it" you reassured him, not wanting him to feel guilty for it. "Just stop, okay?...I'm not mad at you and...and I miss you" you confessed, noticing how his eyes widened slightly at your words.

How could you miss him? You had only known him for a day before he started avoiding you. He supposed the only real company you had now was Luda May, so maybe...that was why you 'missed' him. He couldn't wrap his head around you having forgiven him and wanting to have him around.

"I have to get back before Luda May finds me gone but stop avoiding me, okay?" you spoke again when he didn't really respond.

This time, Thomas nodded, making you smile before running back towards the house. Thomas smiled to himself as he watched you run back into the house, hoping that you really had meant it and he wouldn't have to avoid you any more.

Thomas was true to his word and stopped avoiding you. Conversations should have been a little awkward but you found any silences comfortable and you kept the conversation flowing. He didn't talk, you had learnt that for sure now, but he listened intently and always responded in what ways he could.

Now, you spent more time with him that any other Hewitt. Now, he did the opposite of avoiding you. He was always around, seeking you out just for your friendly company.

You were thankful for those developments but a new concern was worming its way into your mind. Even when he wasn't around, you were thinking about him, you couldn't wait until you saw him again. Whenever he was around, you would smile, practically giddy to be around him again.

Could you be developing feelings for Thomas?

From the first day you met him, defending him behind the gas station, you had thought he was sweet. You had also found him attractive, tall with broad shoulders and strong arms. God, you wondered what those arms would feel like wrapped around you.

You could never make out all of his facial features because of his mask but you could see his eyes. Oh, how you adored his eyes. They were expressive and beautiful. You wanted to tell him that whenever you could see him doubting himself.

You wondered if he would ever take his mask off around you, if he would ever let you see his face. You had heard from Luda May that he had some sort of skin condition and that was what he was hiding, but you didn't care. You just wanted to see him...maybe he would even let you k-

"I'm so glad you and Thomas are talking again" Luda May's voice brought you out of your thoughts, reminding you of where you were. You were in the kitchen, helping cook supper, but had completely zoned out with thoughts of Thomas.

"He's a good boy and he likes you, he's just a little shy" she smiled to herself. She obviously loved Thomas and it did make you smile, it was sweet.

You sighed and you collected yourself, practically deflating as you pushed away the thoughts about Thomas. Yes, you could be honest with yourself, you had developed a crush on Thomas but it surely didn't matter. You doubted he returned your feelings, even despite how highly Luda May claimed he thought of you.

"It's alright, he was just worried about everything that happened..." you cleared your throat, hoping she hadn't seen the change in expression on your face. You didn't feel like being questioned about it right now. "Do you want me to come to the gas station with you tomorrow?" you asked, changing the subject. You didn't like the idea of her walking down there on her own.

"No, that's alright, dear. Hoyt is going to drive me up" Luda May assured you and you nodded. "I'll ask Tommy to help you out with some chores tomorrow, I'm sure he won't mind helping" she offered.

"Oh, I'm sure I can handle it" you shook your head, able to handle some clean up on your own.

"Trust me, dear, Tommy will be happy to help" she insisted, giving you a knowing look.

You were sure she knew something you didn't, but you couldn't question her about it because Thomas had walked into the room, making you both look back at him.

"Hey Tommy, we're almost done with supper" you told him with a smile.

"Would you help Y/n clean up after breakfast tomorrow?" Luda May asked and Thomas nodded without hesitation.

"Thank you, Tommy" you smiled at him. You tried to hide it but Luda caught the light blush on your cheeks as you turned back to the task at hand.

The next morning, Thomas kept his promise. Hoyt was taking Luda May to the gas station, Monty was passed out in front of the television, and Thomas had come to help you clean up in the kitchen. Well, he was supposed to be helping but he was basically doing it all, not letting you help when you tried.

He had been working in a comfortable silence for a while, as your mind ran while. You watched him work, watching the muscles of his back moving under his shirt, smiling at him whenever he glanced over his shoulder at you.

Sometimes you thought he might return some of your feelings but then your newfound insecurities would show their ugly faces. You used to be so confident in yourself, able to take rejection with understanding, it wouldn't shake you. But now you doubted yourself, now you couldn't stand the idea of Thomas not thinking you were enough.

You sat on the kitchen table, where Thomas had placed you and silently ordered you to stay making you laugh, and anxiously picked at the wood with your nails.

"Thomas?" you finally spoke, making him look at you. "Do I talk too much?" you asked. Ian had believed you were too much, too chatty at times, too eager, just too much and yet not enough all at the same time.

Thomas instantly shook his head. He honestly liked how much you talked, that you even wanted to talk to him in the first place. Your face would light up as you rambled about something that had happened that day, and it made his chest feel warm. He couldn't help it but smile whenever you talked so happily, even about the most mundane things.

You almost smiled but not quite. He seemed to be being honest, you didn't talk too much. He didn't think like Ian had...but that didn't help much.

"...do you think I'm attractive?" you asked quietly after a short moment of silence. You never thought you were the most attractive person in the world but you had been comfortable in your own skin, at least until you found out your boyfriend had been fucking your best friend for months. There had to be a reason for Ian to betray you like that, you must have done something wrong.

Thomas paused at your question, his eyes widening.

Surely this was a trick question, how was he supposed to answer that? Of course he did! Of course he thought you were attractive, but would you think it was weird if he said that?

Thomas had thought you were attractive from the first moment he saw you. He thought you were the kindest and bravest person he had met since you took that punch for him, and still smiled up at him like he was worth it. Ever since your first encounter with each other, he was smitten with you. And those feelings had only grown as he spent more time with you. He absolutely adored you. God, he wished he could tell you all of that...

You took his silence as a negative response. He didn't answer because he didn't want to hurt you...

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that..." you hung your head, looking down at your lap. You shouldn't have put him in that position, you shouldn't have asked.

Thomas panicked a little, the last thing he wanted to do was make you feel bad. He just hadn't wanted to make you uncomfortable. He took a breath, trying to build up his confidence, before walking over to you.

You looked down at where your hand lay on the table when you felt Thomas' much larger one rest over yours. You teared your gaze away and looked up at him. He just nodded once you were finally looking at him again.

"Thanks, Tommy" you smiled. "I think you're attractive too" you confessed.

He pulled his hand away then, looking down at his feet. You were just being kind, saying what you were meant to say, or just straight up making fun of him.

"Hey" you frowned, quickly catching his hands in both of yours. "I mean it" you promised him as he met your gaze again, still looking unsure. "You doubt yourself too much, think too lowly of yourself" he tensed when you released on of his hands, bringing your hand up to his mask. "I don't know exactly why you wear this but I promise, whenever you feel like you can take it off around me, I will still think you're attractive" you promised, tugging on his hand to pull him closer.

Thomas let you pull him closer, swallowing the lump in his throat as he came to stand between your legs, hand still in yours. He had to do something, he had to savour the moment. Could you really be being honest with him?

He lifted his free hand and gently tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, making you smile softly up at him. He still didn't talk but you knew what he was saying. You too. You shouldn't doubt yourself, you were everything he could ever want, and he did want you.

Since you didn't pull away, Thomas' confidence began to grow. The hand he had hovering around your face gently cupped your cheek and he swore his heart skipped a beat when you nuzzled your face into his large palm.

Thomas wasn't Ian. Thomas clearly cared deeply about you, he wouldn't betray you, he wouldn't hurt you like Ian had.

You placed your hand over the only he held against your cheek, turning your head to press a kiss to his palm. Thomas just looked at you in complete awe.

It made him think back to the man you had arrived with, your boyfriend, Ian. How could Ian ever betray you like he did. Thomas had met your friend, Cecilia, and sure she was pretty but nothing when compared to you. And she wasn't even half as kind. Thomas would never hurt you like that, he couldn't even fathom it.

Here you were, tenderly kissing his palm and looking at him...lovingly, if he didn't know any better.

The sound of the front door slamming closed made you both jump, Thomas' hand falling from your face and landing instinctively on you thigh as you both turned towards the door of the kitchen.

"What the fu-" Hoyt began but cut himself off with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Y'know what, I don't wanna know. Just not in the fucking kitchen" he snarled before grabbing a beer from the fridge and leaving the room.

Both you and Thomas blushed at the implications of what Hoyt had thought you'd been doing, Thomas stepping away from you with an almost apologetic look.

"It's alright, Tommy" you smiled as you hopped down from the table. "Let finish up cleaning, okay?" you asked and he just nodded, assuming you were about to just ignore whatever the moment was that you both shared.

You smiled up at him again, taking your hand in his and lacing your fingers through his, before guiding him back across the kitchen.

[sharpsuite]

   He doesn’t deny it. He doesn’t outright CONFIRM it either, but the lack of outright denial is answer enough when it comes to the platinum blonde. He just lets the corners of his lips lift upwards in a break from the usual deadpan express or smirks. Because she knows. It’s kind of terrifying if he thinks too much about it.

   “ Yeah. “ He nods once. “ Even though it’s just what I was hoping to find, despite the fact it doesn’t hold any benefit to you. “ And it’s that which Chishiya can’t pin down to understand. In the end, he supposes that even now he struggles to understand people’s good intentions. Chishiya’s gaze stops drifting as her words hang in the air with all the WEIGHT of an ocean. Instead, his attention turns back to her face and his eyes are sharper, more alert than they have been in the past few minutes. But his stare is sharp like a venomous snake’s fangs, present and prominent but HOLLOW. The muscle under his eye twitches ever so slightly and then he presses his lips together. It’s all the CONFIRMATION anyone would need. “ In my first game that I told you about. Right before the last person died, the old woman said I was a sad existence. “ Chishiya thinks maybe he should feel hurt, feel angry, feel sad. He doesn’t. “ I’m inclined to agree. “ He lets his gaze shift to the side with a faint smirk. “ I’d say you might with how you reacted to the idea I’d never had a hug. “  Her fingers are soothing through his hair, a pleasant distraction.  “ I wanted to find the value of life. Or at least…something. “ It felt like others found their reasons, or a purpose, or a goal. It felt like it was just him and Niragi that were left like trash. “ The games were fun but they were just games in the end to me. We win and something happens, we lose, we die and it doesn’t matter. “ So simple.

   Her surprise earns a small snort, though he winces at the sensation. “ Correct. Cardiovascular residency at the moment. Bit of a ways off from your no people guess. “  It’d been a childish hope he could find an answer there. It’d been NAÏVE.

   The world is so quiet. Other than the gasped breaths and talking, it’s quiet enough that he can hear the distant sound of the blimp and chaos. The sharpness softens like a loosening grip, but he drags his attention back towards her as she speaks. He doesn’t judge it; no matter how she says its ugly and violent. He doesn’t even ask WHY she misses it. He simply accepts it with a faintly thoughtful look. “ Do you ever visit? “ What’s it like to have something close to home? In the distance he can hear the UNMISTAKABLE sound of an explosion. “ One game left. “ His eyes drag towards the skyscraper – it’s a hearts game. Sometimes those were quick. Sometimes they were hours. Can he make it if its hours?

   Chishiya doesn’t make promises lightly. He doesn’t have the people to make them with to begin with other than himself. “ Promise. “ Chishiya manages to press through the words even though there’s a visible strain as pain curls up. At least the setting sun means the heat is starting to fade. “ we can get fresh snacks and tea there too if you want. “ He adds, sucking in a breath to bite back the pain. “ And maybe you can know what you’re eating this time. “ Which, to be fair, Chishiya could have done here but it’d been more fun to let her find out and see her reaction. “ I’ll even sign it. Doctor scribble. “ He whispers with an amused lift as he curls a fraction closer to her. Cold. He's not sure if he SAID that or simply thought it to himself; he decides he doesn't care either way.

" yeah, yeah. i'm special, i know. " she says it with a short scoff, like it's a joke, but there's a hint of warmth to it. she does feel special. at this moment, perhaps more than she ever had with anybody else, even if she wishes the scenario around it was different.

" what? that it matters? " it's easy for her for a reason: it does. she'd never judged chishiya for someone who has low self-esteem; quite the contrary, actually. yet this conversation feels like unraveling layer after layer that she didn't even know existed as she clings to every word. i envy you for that. present tense, not past. in another situation, maybe she would feel flattered, but certainly not now, not after knowing what she knows about him. " that's why the games are easy for you. because you don't care if you live or die? " pat doesn't want to sound condescending, so she refrains from bringing up his childhood and his family like some therapist would. but she wonders with herself if this is what happens when you grow up with parents who act like your entire existence doesn't matter.

she gives a frown of confusion, only for a second before she remembers it; bringing in a new guess of his job before all of this almost every time they saw each other. it became almost a game between them, something close to an inside joke. it feels like it was forever ago. she'd tried basically everything, and his description only leaves room for one remaining profession: " a doctor? " she glances down at his face, surprise mixed with the happiness not of figuring it out, but of having him tell her, allowing her to see another glimpse of his life. " really? "

he's not the first person to ask about her home here, but it feels different coming from him for some reason. she thinks it over for some time ━━ not too long. he needs her to keep talking, both as a distraction and something to keep him from dozing off. " i do. mexico city is really nice, but... i actually grew up in juárez. it's a dump. ugly as hell and so violent. but i still miss it. " she shouldn't. she's no longer a little girl sheltered to all the violence by her powerful father. but maybe she misses it the same way she'll miss the borderlands, finding the good memories within all the horrors. " it doesn't really feel like home anymore, but it's the closest thing i've got. "

her anxiety grows every time his voice falters, or his breath shudders, her hope that he's actually going to live to go on that hair appointment with her fading. yet in the midst of that, he manages to say the one thing that almost brings her to tears all over again. the garden. those few hours of peace and bonding that she would give anything to live again, to keep a postcard as a physical memory of it forever. " promise me? " she asks. " if we make it out of here, we'll go back there together? "

[pa1nkill3r]

"Now How Come I've Only Found Out About This Now?" [G.W]

[Pairing:] George Weasley x Fem!Artist!Reader

[Summary:] So far, George Weasley knows three things about his new potions partner; So why not make it four? Or five?

[Warnings:] use of mudblood, a bit of angst, a bit of swearing, a pov change at some point in the end, idk-- fluff?? (is that a warning??)

[Word Count:] ≈2.7k

[A/N:] i used @buckystrenchcoat 's fluff plots for george weasley: 2. George finding out you can draw (kind of got carried away but oh well :D--) (ps just imagine that classes in hogwarts includes all of the houses together, thanks <3) Y/H = your house. (dk the timeline or what year george and the reader are in but i'd say between 3rd-5th year)

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The Weasley twins were becoming reckless and apparently, Professor Snape has had enough. The constant explosions on the other side of the dungeon and the numerous attempts at drowning his hair with shampoo has eventually led him to the decision of assigning the entire class their partners.

Thus halfway into the semester, the Weasley twins are never to be seen together again... that is until the end of 2nd period where they will go back and cause mischief elsewhere.

Fred was assigned to a Slytherin girl who George couldn't figure out if she's madly in love with his brother or wants to rip out his guts. While he on the other hand was assigned with Y/N. Truthfully, he never gave much thought to her, but after their first double potions lesson as partners, he began to wonder why he never gave much thought to her.

She was smart but never overbearing, made jokes here and there, sniggered when he made even the cheesiest of puns, and is wicked attractive. Their first task was to brew a calming draught and whilst adding in a smidge more of lavender, she proposed that they should make more while the majority of the class was still struggling.

"Why in Merlin's beard are we going to make more? We can just pass this and leave class early?" He asked, bringing a smile to her lips. "Yeah, yeah, that's what you want, don't you Weasley?" She quipped, looking back up to the red-headed boy who's now readying their vials.

"Just thought that we could make some for people, like, your brother. Poor guy, reckon he's going to rip his hair out getting partnered with Tuttle." And with that, George let out a laugh, a laugh that cost Gryffindor 5 points. Though, all was well when they were the first to finish and send their little vial of calming draught into the hands of Severus Snape, garnering 5 points each and an opportunity to leave class 10 minutes early.

And that was it, that was their relationship; potions partners.

George Weasley learned 2 things that day. One, his potions partner was someone he wanted to know more, to be with more, and two, one should never put a liberal amount of peppermint in a calming draught. (Fred learned that the hard way.)

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She was the epitome of beauty and brains. So far, that's what he knew about his potions partner. But a little incident in the corridor made two into three.

It wasn't unusual for Fred and George Weasley to skip class, especially if the class was History of Magic. And it also wasn't unusual for them to hide behind a tapestry whilst a stinky dungbomb was set in the first-floor corridor.

What was unusual though, was George not wanting to move from their hiding place, forcing Fred to also not move. "George, mate, wha-?" "SHH!"

Whatever Fred's question was supposed to be, it quickly got answered by the presence of a certain someone whose walking to the Muggle Studies classroom, his brother's potions partner perhaps? Fred grinned mischievously, nudging his brother in the abdomen, and earning a wince.

"Oi mudblood! Was that you?" They heard from a distance, heavy footsteps following the girl he's teasing his brother with. From their point of view, they could tell that the girl stopped in her tracks, sighing heavily as though this was a regular thing.

"Was that me, what?" She asked, clearly annoyed. "Was that you who did it? Or d'you just shat yourself? It smells horrid. Would make sense, as you're a filthy little mudblood."

George's blood was beginning to boil, fingers formed into a fist, knuckles white. Especially when they got to see the silhouette of the two arguing. Perfect, Winnifred Tuttle, his brother's potions partner bullying his Y/N Y/L/N. He had an urge to protect her. To avenge her. To show her how much he cared for someone who's supposed to be his potions partner.

"Was that supposed to be an insult, Tutts?" Y/N spat back, pulling George out of his trance and making Fred shut his mouth. Now he's the one staring intently. "It's honestly just sad. A 'pureblood' like you should know the difference between a dungbomb and a piece of shit. Or perhaps you're probably just that daft?"

The boys were fixated on their conversation now. A hand on their mouths, hopefully covering up their shock even if they're hiding behind a tapestry. George's heart was beating faster now.

"Me? Daft? Well, if I'm daft then why are you taking muggle studies?" Tuttle sneered, an ugly grin splattered across her face.

"Bit hypocritical, isn't it, Winnie? Bye-bye!" She turned her back away from the Slytherin now, walking into the Muggle Studies classroom, holding a few books in one hand and her middle finger in the other.

He knows three things about her now; She's bewitching, she's a whizz, and she's a muggle-born who doesn't take shit.

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A few more lessons in and one could say that Y/N and George are starting to become friendlier to each other. Acquaintances, sure, but, friendly nonetheless. But the Gryffindor wanted to live up to its name, to its values. He might've just gotten to know a bit about her but he was completely and utterly entranced.

Nothing's going to stop him now.

His right hand held his wand as he stirred the concoction in the cauldron. She, on the other hand, was cutting up the stewed mandrake. The easy silence between them was broken by none other than the lion himself.

"Hey," he called, lifting his gaze from the potion to the girl right next to him. "Hi." She said back.

"So... Today's a Friday, right?"

She looked at him, confused, recounting a particular time in which she looked at a calendar today. "Yeah, I think so."

"And we can go to Hogsmeade after classes?"

"Pretty sure you can, why?"

"Want to go on a date?"

She looked stunned which kind of hurt George's ego but as soon as the slightly parted mouth of hers became a cheerful grin, he felt a whole lot better.

"As long as you stop staring at me and not over mix our potion, then sure, I'll go out with you." She smiled, making George give a shy little grin back before attempting to put all his concentration on the brew. Mind boggled on the way she said 'our potion.'

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Going to Muggle Studies felt utterly useless now that Y/N's been promised to go on a date right after. But having George by her side, walking her to the class just seemed to be the best part of the day.

He recounted the time when he and Fred hid behind a tapestry and told Y/N all about it, giving a hot feeling to her cheeks. They stopped by the door frame of the classroom, Professor Burbage was waiting inside, pacing around her study as George's hand slyly held Y/N's.

"I'll pick you up later?" He asked with the same shy smirk plastered on his face, cheeks pink and ears flushed. "Yeah. Thanks for walking me here. You shouldn't have." She uttered, heels rising and falling as she bounced on her toes.

"Just making sure that Tuttsy's not going to ruin your day, love." Y/N felt heat rising to her cheeks and ears, as well as an uncontrollable grin. Her heel turned to make her face the concrete walls of the castle, hands covering their face and body slightly swaying from side to side. It was ridiculous, really. Dumb. Very.

"You're adorable when you're flustered."

"Shut up, Weasley." And with that, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, leaving him slightly startled, stunned, and very red in the face. "You're adorable when you're flustered." She quipped, walking into the Muggle Studies classroom and taking her seat.

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Muggle Studies felt oddly slow that day. Usually, it lasted an hour but today it felt like a century. Professor Burbage's talk about electricity and muggle technology went in one ear and out the other.

If you'd ask why Y/N chose a subject she already knew plenty about, her answer would be that she wanted to see things from a different perspective. But truthfully, she just knew that she'd be good at it and it'd be an easy O.

So there she was; A scrap piece of parchment laid on the wooden desk and a pen since Professor Burbage discouraged the use of quills.

Her mind wandered off the moment she sat down on her chair. Feet either bouncing up and down or stuck straight onto the floor, she wouldn't know. What she did remember was her non-dominant hand posing itself as the other one scribbled on the piece parchment.

Her fingers played with the hazy light and the ink added depth. Soon she started sketching other things; The student in front of her, a study of Professor Burbage, a head with a moderately strong jaw and beautiful, short, messy hair. A male side profile with a big nose that has a slight bump on its bridge matching a cheeky grin with dimples. Her hand posed itself once more but this time she wasn't making it look like hers, she was making it look like his. Something she's seen many times before, and guiltily stared at once, twice, more than she could recount.

She was adding in the cluster of freckles when the worst happened; "Miss Y/L/N, still with us?" Professor Burbage stood at the front of the class, standing straight, clearly thinking about her posture. "Miss Y/L/N?"

She felt an elbow nudge her arm, and that was the thing that brought her back into reality. Her head whipped itself to face her seatmate then to her Professor, giving her a funny-looking nervous grin.

"Charm would get you nowhere, Miss Y/L/N. When was the first electricity generator introduced in Britain? And where was it installed?" She has to have something in that brain of hers. It must've been taught sometime when she was in muggle school. "Err-- 1900s something, Surrey--?"

Professor Burbage meekly chuckled, "Nice try. 1881. Godalming, Surrey. A point from Y/H then, I'm sorry."

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George was faithful and stuck to his word. Even being 5 minutes early after asking Professor Grubbly-Plank if he could go to the bathroom and have a wee, saying that the unicorns would definitely mind if he pissed on their trees.

He did not go to the bathroom but instead went straight to the Muggle Studies classroom. Leaning the side of his body onto the wall by the door. Trying his best to peer into the room and find his potions partner and soon to be his date and maybe even his. But he was getting ahead of himself.

The bell rang and he heard a loud shuffling sound of chairs being pulled back. The door was opened as students from all of the houses started pouring out and there she was. Looking beautiful as ever with her bag slung on her shoulder.

"Glad to see you're alright there, dove." He cooed, earning once again another shy smile. "Anything happened there?" He asked, pointing to the now open classroom.

"Felt way longer than usual, and I lost a house point." She said matter of factly. George chuckled, his heart filled with pride as he turned his head towards her.

"And what have you done to lose said house point?"

She smiled before reaching her hand into a pocket of her robes, pulling out a folded piece of aged parchment before handing it to the curious redhead.

"What's this? A love letter?" He bantered. "Just open it." And so he did. His nimble fingers unfolding the parchment, then he was stunned. Seeing his face drawn in ink with lines crossing over more lines was the last thing he expected. It looked like him. And it didn't look like Fred. It is him.

"I was just drawing in class but then I sort of blanked out and got a dumb question wrong." She paused, looking back up to see if the redhead was still listening. "Hello? Earth to George?"

"You drew me?" He was on a fine line of disbelief and awe. It truly looked amazing. She drew her hand at least three times before he recognized his was also there. She even got the little freckle he had on the middle of his wrist. The full body of ol' Professor Burbage brought so much of her energy and even the way her scarf wrapped around her neck was perfect.

Her cheeks were heating up again, realizing what she just did. "It's not that good. Just-- drew what I saw and, err-- whatever came to mind, I guess." Bad execution, sloppy excuse. "Okay, you've been looking at that for way too long now--"

"This looks bloody brilliant! Now how come I've only found out about this now?"

"Flattery would get you nowhere, Weasley." She joked, but he was serious.

"S'not 'flattery' if I'm stating what's true! It's amazing, you're amazing." She felt her heartbeat increase by a mile.

"Well then, I'm flattered." She said, adjusting the strap of her bag to hopefully let out some adrenaline. "And to answer your question, it'd be terrifying if I just started drawing in Snape's class. I swear that man has eyes at the back of his head. That's why this is a new discovery for you."

"Fuck, this is amazing!" He uttered.

"It's really not that good--"

"'S'really not that good' Some shit standards you have there. I'd put this in a museum!" He said loudly, extending both his arms and imagining that the piece of parchment was displayed on the Hogwarts walls. "If you don't like it then I'll keep it." George joked, expecting disapproval, which, to his shock, never came.

"Are you actually giving this to me?"

She shrugged, "I mean if you'd like a photo of you drawn by a teenage girl then be my guest." He smiled, genuinely smiled. He looked so pretty at that moment and there shouldn't be any holding back now.

"...But," She started, his gaze looked intently at her, ready to listen to whatever comes next. "There's a price."

"Between Freddie and I, we have 26 galleons and a few sickles." He said, earning a hearty laugh and a shake of her head. "Don't really think he'd like me to give all of it to you, I'm sorry. If you want I'd pay a bit then I--"

"No, George." She said, tugging lightly on his tie to gain his attention. "How about... a kiss? Perhaps?"

He grinned. His hand hovered itself across her face before landing on her cheek, thumb gracing itself on its apples, slightly squishing the skin whilst his eyes looked for any signs of discomfort; there was none.

They slowly leaned in, eyes locked on lips before their lips locked onto each other. His lips were slightly chapped but it felt like the softest thing on Earth. He smelled of cinnamon, firewood, gunpowder, and other indescribable scents, but it was nice. It was short but meaningful, gentle, even. His other hand was wrapped around her waist and once again, his thumbs were running up and down whatever part of her body it's laid on.

He learned two more things about the girl that day; she's artistic, and she felt like home.

He never thought there'd be a time in his life where he'd be thankful for Severus Snape. But life goes in unexpected ways.

"If you'd like to tip me then I'm just going to say that I love cauldron cakes." She grinned up at him as they pulled away before settling her face in his chest. George chuckled to himself before wrapping his arms completely on her waist, placing a sweet kiss on the top of her head.

"Yeah, yeah, come on." He said, pulling away to let her shake herself up as he held onto the piece of folded parchment which graced his face, giving it a small peck before putting it in his pocket, patting it three times.

"Better sign that drawing for me, Y/N. How much does an autograph cost?"

"Double the original price—?"

"And the tip?"

"And the tip."

[terrence-silver]

How Terry Silver React if his daughter had a kid with Mike Barnes?

The idea of Mike being Terry's son-in-law bears a special aroma of hilarity.

First of all, Terry knows Mike is a bit of a mercenary and he's been aware of this since day one when he negotiated him for fifty percent of all dojo ownership (which he didn't get) while Terry was in a bubble bath testing him and his resolve with no clear intent of honoring his part of the deal, so Terry has to assume that the fact Mike never got paid what he was promised was a situation where the scores were evened by the fact Mike knocked up his daughter in retaliation. Anger. Terry thinks Mike Barnes did this on purpose. Terry flew in Mike because he felt the guy would be open to being paid off, and now, turns out that his materialistic side was a double edged sword. Whoops.

Now, he's kind of stuck with him.

Then there's the fact that Mike might've seen Terry's immense mansion, luxurious cars, opulent lifestyle and thought to himself 'Man, I want that.' and went about inserting himself tactically into the family. Which is also possible. Doesn't mean this isn't a love match between Mike Barnes and Terry's daughter, but it is definitely a bit of Mike's spiteful 'I'll show you who you're messing with. Watch me!' side rearing its ugly head. These are two very difficult character's clashing in the form of Terry and Mike. Turns out, there's a special flavour of irony in Mike Barnes being one of the people that will one day inherit Terry.

More anger.

Some slight notion of Terry being begrudgingly impressed.

Mainly angry, though.

Turns out, the Bad boy of Karate negotiates even harder than he fights.

Third of all, Mike ironically fits the bill of everything a Creature, namely, whoever it is that dares to be with Terry's children romantically, should encompass, undoubtedly, according to Terry; he's vicious. He's violent. He's aggressive. A great fighter. Can defend his daughter exceedingly well. Given, he lacks the funds, but he was here throwing two other teenagers off of cliffs in '85, so yes, while Mike Barnes would technically be an excellent candidate because that guy would practically chew through people for little to no provocation, Terry also starts being annoyed at every quality, to an extent, he admired in Mike beforehand.

Go figure.

Fourth of all, Terry as a father-in-law and Mike as his son-in-law, or optionally, someone who sired his grandson, would start clashing heads immensely. Mike stops holding back his fiery temper for Terry and Terry entirely bears his claws for Mike. Terry wants to subdue Mike back into place and Mike discovers a newfound authority now that he has Terry's daughter's heart. Remember that scene where Mike and Terry pretend to be fighting in front of Daniel and Terry grabs Mike by the hair? Well, a lot of that, but in this case, it isn't really acting or a putting up a fake show anymore. The only thing they're connected by is their mutual love for Terry's daughter.

[blzzrdstryr]

Signed in blood

Yandere!Zhongli x Yaksha!gn!reader

Wordcount: 2541

CW: Yandere themes, mentioned violence and death, unhealthy power dynamics

Long before Liyue’s borders had been established and the harbor bloomed into the prosperous city that it is today, the Geo Lord, Rex Lapis gathered all lesser deities and spirits dwelling in the current nation’s territory and concluded a contract with most of them, ensuring the protection of his country and people. Some of them signed a contract out of fear before archon’s power, some did it for mutual benefit and some out of gratitude and deep reverence. You are in the latter category, a simple forest spirit that was saved from the distorted monsters left after the archon war by his grace and power alone.

It was a simple day when you felt an enormously malicious energy surrounding your green abode, and soon they showed up, killing intent and will of dead archons seeping out of them. You were fast and agile enough to dodge creatures' hits, which couldn't be said about the others. Your fellow spirits and animals with whom you were sharing this forest soon fell victim to the perpetrators' attacks. Dark energy entered and desecrated the lands, poisoned the waters and even possessed the bodies of your old friends.

You were running away, fatigue finally catching up to you, despite the inhuman nature and you soon fell to the ground. There were a myriad of thoughts and feelings reeling inside of you - grief for your now dead friends and home, anger at the monsters and most importantly frustration with yourself. You aren’t human, not a single part of you is, so why were you so weak and helpless, unable to do anything as you left your loved ones for slaughter and massacre?

Guilt and shame washed over you, as you allowed tears to burst free - you were bad, you were disgusting for not doing anything, not helping anyone. Monstrous roars and growls got closer, a promise and a threat of what will happen to you. You closed your eyes, accepting the imminent end and bracing for the upcoming pain. And then the most unexpected thing happened - the earth underneath you vibrated, tremors knocking the beasts off their feet, as a tall basalt pillar rose from the ground.

Soon the stranger appeared, ending the monsters in one swift and elegant slash of his spear. He donned an otherwise simple white attire adorned with golden threads, with a long ponytail showing from the hood, but the most eye-catching details were piercing amber eyes and the glowing patterns all over his body of the same colour. You forgot how to breathe for a second as you watched your unexpected savior - he was beyond handsome, possessing the kind of beauty that would have mortals blushing and stuttering.

He then looked around, finally noticing your sprawled form. “Are you all right?”he asked, his tranquil and calm voice tinted by the shadow of concern and lending his hand. “I am”, you sputtered out and took an outstretched limb, feeling infinitely clumsy and ugly, face heating up from embarrassment. “That is good”, his voice despite still possessing the same serenity took a warmer tone.

As you learned later, you were saved by one of the seven remaining archons, a lord of geo. Filled with shame for your dishonorable escape and gratitude for your unforeseen salvation you signed the tightest contract with Rex Lapis - a blood written pact.

Unlike the contracts mortals establish, a contract between two immortal beings lacks the parchment or ink or a signature, they use magic and techniques that echo directly into their soul, preventing even the possibility of the terms' violation. Blood written pact binds to the vital essences of one, an ancient magic flaring up once the contractor intends to break the agreement, stopping and warning them of what's to come once they do breach it.

Your blood sizzled and boiled as you pledged your life to Liyue, magic singing in your veins and resonating with your soul - Rex Lapis saw the potential in you to be a great warrior and designated you to serve him as one of the yakshas, so you obeyed, training your body and spirit to withstand the endless calamities you no doubt will have to face. One day, after a grueling training you almost gave up, but forced yourself past your limits. I must redeem myself and repay Rex Lapis, you thought, gritting your teeth and taking a battle stance again, and then a miracle happened: a blue glowing orb materialized in the air - a vision bestowed by the hydro archon.

Sometimes you still reminisce about this moment and recite the oath you gave back then - I pledge my life to the protection of the Liyue nation and the will of Geo Archon, Rex Lapis for all the centuries to come.

Soon, you ended your training and started to protect Liyue just like other four adeptis all of whom were also saved by the Geo Lord. For centuries you five defended the nation as it bloomed and grew into something that you couldn't even imagine. And even after centuries of slaughter as your karmic debt started to slowly eat you from inside, slowly, but surely devouring your sanity by the smallest pieces you always found strength to move forward by recalling your first meeting with Rex Lapis, reverence before your God and guilt before the dead driving you further and further.

With time a dull, yet constant pain made its way into your bones. Sometimes it would make your eyes fill with unshed tears, sometimes wake you up in those rare times you slept without nightmares, sometimes it made your hands tremble, almost dropping the weapon in the middle of the battle. You couldn’t suppress and endure it like Xiao does, letting out a pained whimper here and there, yet you still upheld your duty to the Liyue. It almost felt like routine, until two awful events happened: the death and defection.

The fear and hatred of all those who fell victims to your weapons were slowly seeping in your minds, driving you mad with bloodlust. It all happened so quickly: you were watching out for other demons as Bonanus and Pervases were patching up Alatus after the intense battle, while Bosacius looked at the other front, weapons ready, and then Bonanus lashed out, aiming for Xiao's neck. The anemo yaksha quickly darted to the side, but the weapon still grazed the copper bird's neck, his blood forming a quickly growing pool underneath. You had to put the bloodlusted yaksha yourself, something inside of you breaking as you did so - it was one thing to stand against hordes of demons and monsters and it was another to kill your friend.

You couldn’t talk or look into the eyes of the other two after that, despising yourself for yet another failure - first your forest, then your friends, you were helpless to save anyone. And then Bosacius left, you had no idea where he vanished, but these two events prompted Rex Lapis to visit both you and Xiao, as yakshas shrinked in numbers from five to two in less than a week.

You kneel before the Geo archon when you notice his tall figure between the ancient trees - unlike Xiao, you prefer to live in the woods, the familiarity of nature reminiscent of a home you once lost. Your Lord ushers you to stand up, his face solemn and grim.

“[First]”, he starts, exhaustion evident in each syllable: "For centuries you protected my Harbor, and despite turbulent times passing you still uphold your duty. I find that admirable".

Your eyes go wide and you turn your head, unable to receive such high praise from your God, you feel your cheeks heat up at the compliment, acknowledgement of your hard work, and even constant pain or the death and disappearance of your colleagues became less serious of the issue for a mere moment.

"I am not worthy of such praise, my lord, I am only doing my job, fulfilling the contract", you deflect, looking at him again. Archon's eyes crease a little and a small frown appears as you say "contract", yet he quickly wills his face into an impassive mask.

"I suppose I made a mistake when I asked you to be my yaksha back then, I have misjudged your worth ", he continues, voice becoming distant and strangely tense, as he reminisces about the days long past, amber eyes looking both at and through you.

"My lord, I…", you start and then stumble over the words, unsure what to say next. Is this his way of telling you that you're bad at your job? You cast your head down, eyes lowered in shame, hands that spilled adeptus' blood trembling and burning. "I am deeply sorry for letting you down in that way, I will do my best to redeem myself from now on” .

A warm hand touches your shoulder, squeezing it slightly in a comforting manner. His palm is warm and firm, comforting in its steadiness like a tall cliff standing proudly against the raging tides, indestructible and reliable.

"You have no reason to apologize for this. Something like this would inevitably happen sooner or later, you have no fault in the events that occured. I suppose karmic debt would drive one of you insane eventually".

He sounds calming, reassuring, like a parent soothing a child. You still don’t lift your head to meet his gaze - you’re too guilty and unworthy to do that. There are no words you can speak now, not when you have been so thoroughly destroyed by your lord’s kindness - how can he look at you and see someone innocent?

“No, I meant that all those centuries ago, when I first met you I didn’t discern the gem hidden in the crude ore” he adopts reminiscent tone again, his hand now moving on your shoulder in slow and steady rhythm: “I knew I wanted you to be by my side, I didn’t know who I wanted you to be though. I needed time to understand my own feelings and the way I viewed you, and then I needed some more time to accept those sentiments”.

“What sentiments, my lord?”, you ask, finally looking up to him, brows slightly frowned in confusion and curiosity - it’s rare to see the Geo archon talk about his inner workings so openly, as he usually prefers to keep a cordial distance or masterfully redirects the conversation into a completely different direction.

“Over the years, as you protected my nation and my people, I finally understood it”, his hand shifts from your shoulder and now he cups your own two palms in a firm yet gentle hold: “I cherish you, [First]”.

The sudden declaration leaves you stunned and speechless for a good minute: you look at your god with wide eyes, mouth opening several times like a fish out of water. A myriad of thoughts and feelings go through you: confusion, disbelief, inferiority.

“I… That is very sudden for me to… learn about your affections”, you finally utter, forgetting to add respectful “my lord” at the end. Your voice comes off as small and hesitant as you say so. Rex Lapis doesn’t seem to mind your confusion as he takes a second to collect his own thoughts.

“The yaksha title I have burdened you with takes a toll both on your mind and your body. I severely miscalculated, so I want to redeem this mistake”, he sounds regretful now, one hand moving to caress and cup your face. You go stiff, still overwhelmed by the whole conversation. “I can free you from your contract if you decide to become my life companion”.

“But, my lord, it’s so sudden I can’t just..”

“Hush, I won’t pressure you into an intimate relationship right away. No, we will wait and learn about each other and once you will be comfortable enough to let me enter your life and your heart we will marry, uniting our fates with a contract that shall never end”.

You lower your head again, but this time in contemplation instead of guilt and shame. What do you feel for Rex Lapis? Admiration - he is a powerful deity, capable enough to flatten mountains and raise new ones with a single slash of his spear. Gratitude - he was the one that saved you and sheltered you, until you grew strong enough, he gave you a reason to live when you had none. Respect - he is a capable leader, smart enough to build a foundation and guide people of the most magnificent nation in Teyvat.

You feel no love for him, not the kind of love he wants anyway. You know about his patience and how affections sometimes take years to finally mature and bloom, but the thought of spending decades, maybe even centuries in hopes that one day you will reciprocate is nauseating to you.

How do you feel about it? A part of you wants it - it’s an easy way out to get rid of the pain, of the fear and bloodshed, of the death that clings to you at every waking moment. You remember how you spend most of your nights sleepless, drowsiness leaving you the same second you dream of blood and carnage and massacre. You remember your whole body throbbing and burning on especially bad days, when even Remedium Tertiorum can’t do its job. You remember crying and gasping for air after the weight of the slaughtered gets too heavy for you to handle.

You almost say yes, out of these reasons alone, but you stop yourself - you think of Xiao, of how lonely he will become once you leave. You think of heartfelt smiles that mortals gift you with on those rare occasions you have to save them. You think of the slaughtered spirits before whom you still have to atone to.

“I am sorry, my lord” You look him straight in the eyes, bracing yourself for the words you are about to say: “I can’t match your feelings, nor can I accept your offer, not now at least”.

Amber eyes lose their warmth in the instance, the comforting aura he was exuding earlier replaced by the weird tension between you two. Looking at this image, you suddenly remember how ruthless Rex Lapis can be on the battlefield as for a fraction of the second he looks at you as you’re an enemy.

A horrible pain shoots right through your body, and your short scream follows. You fall on the floor, gasping for air, deaf and blind from the overwhelming pain. Geo archon quickly takes your form, carrying you to your sleeping place, as you try your best to breathe and not cry.

“It must be a blood pact acting up, the magic must have taken your refusal as disobedience to the contract”, he says once the agony lightens, enough for you to focus on the conversation, “you did pledge your life to my will”.

You try to half sit on your elbow, to look him in the eyes and say something other than the pained groans and whimpers, as his next words instill a sense of quiet dread in you:

“I hope you will rethink and take back your words out of your own volition, [First]. I would hate to order you to”.

[reflectionsofneptune]

little things about the Venus Signs

abstract dreamy things I associate with the Venus Signs in Astrology.

Aries Venus

Risk. Risks you take because you know that something exciting is on the edge of it. A good time. Fire and desire, a flammable combination you can’t help but be drawn too. Dependability. Someone who has your back. Moments to remember. Legs dangling off a balcony because when the wind moves, you’re filled with freedom and empowerment. Less thoughts. More actions. Weekends away, just because. Kisses in public, just because. Laughter. Belly laughs which’ll have you crying. Experiences to remember. Eye contact. Daring you to look away. A look that just does something to you. Promises something more.

Taurus Venus

Stability. Stability in something we’ve nurtured and are proud to share together. Routine. Loyalty. You know where you stand. An unsaid declaration to show up, in the good times and the ugly. Someone you can count on. Delicious food. Shared. Eating in bed. Fingertips that mould to every curve of your body and incite a strong feeling in your core. Physical senses heightened. Your favourite scent. Tender, routine moments of care. A love that is a grounding force when life gets a bit too much. Gifts with you in mind. That heady feeling of pleasure. Can’t get enough. Don’t want to. Feenin’. Sharing what I have, with you.

Gemini Venus

Lightness. Love is light-hearted but sentimental. Akin to cold champagne, bubbles in your tummy and warmth in your head. Laughter. Lots of it. Hanging out with other people but my body language and eye contact is on you. Late night conversations with you. Pushing your buttons because I can, but my intentions are pure. Can you deal? A willingness to delve into the deeper emotions of life. Being charmed. Flirting back and forth. Lip biting. Feigning forgetting important dates to surprise you later and show that I pay attention. Smiling till your face hurts. It’s hard to be sad when I’m around you. A desire to know what you’re thinking. 

Cancer Venus

Coming home. My door is open and every meeting feels like the first time all over again. A love that follows you everywhere. Cleanses you. Breakfast in bed. A sensitive spot touched on your back. Just. Like. That. Emotions. Emotions on overdrive. Are these mine or yours? Emotional highs. Highs that sweep you up into the heavens where everything is fluffy and soft. Feels like you’re treading warm water, soft ripples glimmer in the moonlight. Devotion. Whatever you want, I can take care of it. Being fed. And then devoured whole by the intensity. It’s all you can feel. Sink or swim, I’m right there with you.

Leo Venus

Loyalty. I vow to ride things out for you. With you. Anything for my equal. Nothing but the best. Tender moments where eyes are locked and the inner spirit is visible, for a moment. Taking pictures in iconic places. Compliments. Affirming how good you look. Back rubs. Head rubs. Hand on my heart, I swear this feels too good to be true. Playfulness. Teasing. I wanna see what you’re about. Show me how I light you up so I know i’m not the only one feeling this way. Wearing my heart on my sleeve. Nights spent enjoying each other’s company. Messing around, just because. Letting you in because you recognise the inner child within me.

Virgo Venus

Little things. The things you overlook I cover. There’s little I wouldn’t do for you. I got you. Practical gifts. Soft nagging. Simple things done together. Grocery shopping. Your favourite treat in your bag because today is a big day and I believe in you. A connection that surpasses the body but is rooted within the spirit. Acceptance of all your flaws. Loving you even more for it. A mental connection that just flows. Dry jokes. You get me. Subtle touches. Gratitude. Feelings that run deep. Putting in work because I value this connection. Showing a different side of me when I’m with you.

Libra Venus

Balance. Sweet words. An even sweeter smile, with eyes crinkling. Matching our steps when we’re together because I like being in a groove with you. Sharing a milkshake with two straws. A fairytale romance where only true love is promised. Holding hands. Thinking of you. A sense of peace together. Taking turns splitting the bill because this right here is based on give and take. Tucking that stray hair behind your ear. Looking at you pains me a little. Yin and Yang. But in a good way. Nothing is perfect, but this right here, is real close.

Scorpio Venus

Bare. That’s how it feels. Seeing beneath the physical body but wanting more. Surrounded by people but consumed by your presence. Heat. A look. A smirk. Intense feelings. Intense feelings that you can either face head or back away, either way you’ll feel it. No sharing. But no prisoners, either. Ride or die. You’re guaranteed not to be the same after. Say goodbye to the old you. Secrets shared. Each day brings us closer and I’m fast getting used to it. Flying off the edge because something greater needs to be explored. Shadow emotions not shrinking away from the light but opening up to be perceived. Deep healing. An even deeper connection. 

Sagittarius Venus

Exploration. Exploration of your mind. A raucous kind of love. Play fighting. An acceptance of you and how I come together. Falling a lil bit deeper each time you express whats on your mind. Freedom. Introducing each other to new things. Living life on the wild side. Travelling together, you and I and two backpacks. Anything feels possible when I’m with you. Remembering how to dream. Questionable decisions that feel oh so good in the end. Having faith. In a higher power, in a higher calling. In you.

Capricorn Venus

A quiet declaration of love that doesn’t need outside confirmation. You know what it is. Weekends away in the countryside. Showing up for you. Playing house. Love is made a priority. Lunch dates. Settling down in the evening just us. Brushing our teeth together and sneaking glances in the mirror. An earthy kind of love. Feeling grounded, together. Helping you take the burden off of your shoulders. You can lean on me. Dinner and drinks. Privacy. Living our best life together. Taking things slow but an end goal is in place. Doing things for long-term results. Thinking of a future where you feature. 

Aquarius Venus

Acceptance. A connection that questions everything you knew before. Shaking your world up. How open are you to the unpredictable? I wanna find out. Making a fool out of ourselves because its 1AM and we’re up. Watching the sun come up. Netflix and chill. A series we watch together, just us. It’s our thing. Listening to your dreams but getting distracted by the pure passion emanating from your eyes. Finding humour in awkward situations. Shining eyes. Things we share together. Moments of time apart that we share which doesn’t feel impending of something bad, but more of a comforting reminder that what we have is something to come back to. Trust. Sending you this meme because I saw this and thought of you.

Pisces Venus

Unconditional. A connection that doesn’t exist on a 3D level. Love that filters through into your dream world. What separates us? Not much. Fantasies materialising. Taking place on a soul level. Dreamy eyes. Looking at you just because. Looking at you when you’re not looking. Talking to you but then losing track because you look so damn good. Tracing the curves of your face. Holding hands with thumbs circling that fleshy part where the thumb meets the index. Losing myself in you. Sharing things together that can’t be explained. We don’t want too. 

| little thoughts about mercury placements

| little thoughts about mars placements

| little thoughts about saturn placements

[wolviecore]

I don't write hate sex jugpea. Just not my jam.

Angry, possessive sex however...

Look. At the end of the day, Sweet Pea loves the Southside; With all its ugly and tough and murder of innocence, - he has pride in it. It's a rough place that breeds rough people and not everyone has the teeth or fists for it but HE does and he's proud.

A northside boy having his heart in his pocket doesn't change that.

But it's dangerous; Darkness chuckles and hisses and just waits for its next meal, wondering around cluelessly, ignorant to the fact they're about to be clawed and cut open and devoured whole.

So why, why the FUCK, did his innocent, sweet little thing of a boyfriend had to get his cute ass down there?

With his round glasses, pretty, thick lashed sky-blue eyes huge, and soft green sweater riding past his hands, and his handmade beanie hiding the fluffiest Disney prince hair, and his brilliant sunshine smile, chatting up his serpents at the White Wyrm?

Jughead is holding a cup of God knows what, - and Sweet Pea PROMISES, when he finds what idiot offered it to his tiny menace, they'll eat through a straw, - and he's looking around whilst chatting with some guys and girls, amongst them Toni and Fangs, the traitors.

He almost forgets the anger bubbling, - because Sweet Pea told him, begged him, to never ever step foot in the park without him or FP or literally anyone to watch his back because he'll get hurt and Sweet Pea gets sick at the thought of his precious boy being hurt, - when Juggie sees him and breaks in a bubbly smile.

" Pea! Pea I'm here! Ah, - sorry, sorry excuse me I have to, - that's my boyfriend! "

Poor boy. He probably didn't expect to be swarmed like that, probed and poked and teased like some kind of circus pet. Serpents aren't cruel, but they take delight in watching others squirm. Especially soft , red cheeked northsiders.

But it comes crushing back, hits him all at once, when some hand tugs Jughead back, - not at all disturbed by the ferocious scowl on Sweet Pea's face at all, - from coming to him and jumping in his arms where it's safe and he's protected.

He has a bad temper; He's been working on it ever since Alice communicated with no small glare that Jughead, her husband's son and Sweet Pea's king, does not do well with anger.

Ever since they started dating she's been looking for a reason to boot him, and Sweet Pea won't step wrong.

But tonight, he does.

Tonight he forgets all about Toni's breathing exercises and happy places (which, for him, has always been Jug behind him while riding on a road, piercing through the wind and in a place only they know)

And the fact that he's a 6'5 wall of muscle and strength and that's not fair entirely, and smashes his ring covered fist into that prick's face.

Sweet Pea is territorial; His heart is soft but his teeth are sharp and eager to mark who chose to be his. It's a handicap and a strength in one, with a scathing, petty jealous streak to match. But it's not about that, - not this time.

This fucker touched his boy without permission and he KNOWS Jughead doesn't take shit from anyone, but the poor boy is shy and endearingly anxious.

Not a coward, - Sweet Pea wouldn't take two looks at him if he was, prettiest human in the world or not, - but nervous and emotional and too quick to forgive intentional hurt. That's why he had Sweet Pea to handle it for him.

" SWEET PEA!"

" Shut the fuck up, " He seeths, arm hooked around Jughead’s knees, boosting the smaller boy on his shoulder and marching right out of there, consequences and calls for his name forgotten. " Why in the fuck are you here, Jughead?! I told I'd come pick you up in an hour!"

Normally, he's a bitch for Juggie's deer in the headlights, innocent blinking look; It's delicious and exciting and sends thrilling shivers of power down his spine, but now it just infurariates him. " But, - I missed you? I wanted to see you and surprise you, "

" Oh, you surprised me, - I'm actually, genuinely SHOCKED no one shanked you for your wallet yet; Or tried to get you drunk, or pestered you about favours to FP, or made you cry, - so YES, Jughead, you surprised me. Plenty."

That little pout. It'll destroy Sweet Pea one day, he's sure. " Don't talk to me like that! You know I don't like it! I just wanted to, - to come see you and meet your friends. Why are you being like this?"

" Because this is no place for you, - you're too, too YOU," He should've worded it better. Please, please understand me. You were made for soft, sweet, gentle things, and my world isn't like that. I can't stand to see you hurt. I love you. But he's not a man of words. Jughead handles that.

As soon as he sees the cut look in those pretty, jewel shiny irises, he knows he messed up; But his sunshine is a scrappy little thing. Sugary kisses and venomous anger.

" Oh. Oh, I understand. You're ashamed of me."

" That's not, - what? You're not making any goddam sense."

" I want to go home. Take me home, so I won't embarrass you in front of anyone, more than I already did, because that's what you think, right?!"

" Oh, don't be a brat, " His trailer has filmsy walls and Sweet Pea doesn't need the whole trailer park knowing their business. " And keep your voice down, I don't want anyone to,-"

" To know I'm here! I know, because, - I'm just your stupid boyfriend, who missed you like crazy because you were off the grid for 3 days doing, - doing who the hell knows what illegal stuff!"

" Hey, you knew I was a serpent; You knew that, when we made out at the drive in, remember that? You knew I was a serpent when you rode my dick on my motorcycle, -"

" Stop!" His boy is a blushing red mess, matching shades with that glossy cherry lip gloss that makes Sweet Pea want to kiss him until they're both blue in the face. Pushing at his huge frame, he seethes, he punches, dog tags around his neck jiggling. " Fucking, - I'm DONE."

Sweet Pea comes to a screeching halt, long fingers hooking around Jughead’s wrists, thin and delicate. " Say that again."

" I'm DONE. If my boyfriend doesn't want to see me I'll- I'll find one who WILL,- MMPH!" He makes the sweetest, prettiest little sound Sweet Pea's ever heard, a whine and a gasp and a moan behind his lips.

This kiss is agreesive; Teeth, tongue, growls and hissing from one side, whimpers and whines and submissive begging from the other.

Sweet Pea won't be such a sweetheart tonight, and Jughead only has himself to blame for that.

" Don't talk unless talked to," he commands, a breathless, angry, lust filled thing, big fingers screwed in Juggie's jaw, who's an uncomfortable shade of red right now, looking at him with adoring, faded, wet eyes.

" You fucking hear me? Unless it's to tell me stop, I don't want to hear shit. You talk after I pound those stupid ideas right out of your pretty little brain.

You wanted my attention? You got it, babe. You can have all the attention you want. Because you're mine.

You're all fucking mine."