#i should do this more often. focus on the happy bits. the shiny parts of the day.
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seekingthestars · 1 year ago
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Hello I hope at least 3 super good things happen to you today!!!
well hello this was very cute 🥺💞 thank you!!! 💞💞💞 you did not ask but i'm counting my 3 good things heehee:
figured out a design at work! huzzah! it's one of many in a big campaign i'm designing all the assets for and it looks super cute, i hope clients like it 🥺
another deliverable in that campaign got shelved! HUZZAH!! i've been stressin' bc they want so many things very quickly so honestly client deciding they no longer want one of the things was great news to me today lolololol
got a cute little sleepy hello kitty figure out of a blind box toy thing i bought on a whim and i love her, she's so little and cute and sleepy just like me!!!!
(bonus 1!!) you know those pillsbury ready to bake sugar cookies with the little seasonal designs on them? i bought some (pumpkins AND ghosts bc they were on sale) and baked them (just pumpkins for now, ghosties for later) and munched on them and they made me v happy, there's just something about those things that i love
(bonus 2!!) got to watch going seventeen!! chaotic rock paper scissors competition is fun heehee
(bonus 3!!) making plans with friendlings to go see some baby red pandas on saturdayyyy 🤩
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sanscat0414 · 11 months ago
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Preening
Hawks x Reader
Scenario: After an intense fight with a villain, Hawk’s feathers were mostly gone. He was given a few days off to let his wings grow back. You the dutiful partner, you are helps him with preening his feather.
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You have been in a relationship with Hawks for about a year. It was a good relationship despite how busy Hawks can be at times, he al and tried to make time for you. He was given a few days off thanks to a villain being extra tough. Hawks was now home watching movies and relaxing with you.
You’re no stranger to Hawk’s bird-like tendencies, in fact you find it adorable. He rarely shows it to others, because to the commission always telling him to surpress them. When he’s around you those tendencies then to show more often like bringing shiny rocks home for you or just dancing around you to show love. Preening was just one of these tendencies that was absolutely necessary for him as his wings need to be properly groomed to be effective. Which is was he was doing while hanging with you.
You enjoyed the extra time with your boyfriend but you coul hardly focus on the show you two where watching from Hawk’s moving around to get all his feathers clean and pin feathers to lossen. At some point you ended up just watching him preen for a bit. It’s cute and you never turn down the chance to watch his handsome face. Hawks was focused on preening to notice you were staring.
It took him about 10 minutes to notice “why are you staring at me.”
“Cus you’re adorable.” You said as you booped his nose.
He chuckled “no you’re more adorable than I am.”
“No you.”
“No you are.”
You both laugh and Hawks continue to preen and suddenly you thought “maybe I should help?” You didn’t realize it but you said it out loud. It was mostly because you noticed Hawks was having a hard time reaching the back feathers near the base of his wings. Hawks immediately blushed at that statement. For birds it’s a big deal to allow others to help the preen it’s a very intimate act between mates. Having you there while he’s preening was already a huge sign he trusts and loves you. Hawks always hated having to hire someone to help him with his back feathers. Hawks always had difficulty reaching the ones on his back to matter how flexible he is.
“Babybird that’s a bold thing to ask a bird you know~” he said looking away a bit shyly.
“Oh did I say that out loud. It’s just you seem like your need some help with the back feathers. If you don’t want to, I get it.” You said.
“No no, it’s fine. I wouldn’t mind the help.”
You smile and got closure him and give him a hug “okay what do I have to do?” you say eagerly as you let go.
He turned around “You see those feather that look like they are in a tube, those are my pin feathers. Look for the ones that’s more white than the others or standing up. Those are ready to come off so gently use your fingers to remove by rubbing them and taking it off. Then just fluff them up a bit. Be careful though they can be extra sensitive. “
“Okay.” You said as you followed his instructions. You found one and gently rubbed the keratin off of the feather the. Smoothing and. Fluffy the feather just a bit.
“Is that okay?” You ask nervously, this was your first time helping him preen after all.
“Mhm~” he hummed.
You continue to preen him with a few miss where Hawks had to inform you those feathers are not ready. He was gentle about it but you could tell it was uncomfortable and you always apologized when you made a mistake. It was fine by Hawks, your learning and helps my him out and that’s all he needs to be happy. Once you were done you did some clean up from all the little bits that was rubbed off.
“Hey don’t you need to applied feather oil or something I can help with that too?” You asked.
“Yeah, you wanna help with that too?”
You nodded and rush to get the feather oil. This part was not much different than massaging so it was easier. Hawks laid on his stomach and let you do your thing. It was extra relaxing for him, as you were the one helping him.
“Mmmm that’s the spot,” he said as a moan of pleasure came out.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” You said proudly.
“Really, thanks a lot. I typically have to hire someone help me preen and I hate having a stranger touch my pin feathers. It’s nice.” He said looked back at you.
“If you like I can help you preen all the time~”
“Babybird~ I love that. “
Thought of you helping him preen all the times when he needs it, was great and further solidify the fact in his mind your his mate. Hawks is never letting you go after all hawks mate for life. <3
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wallflowerimagines · 3 years ago
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How would the Lords react to a S/O who’s mind is always in the gutter and always the first one to be called to go to Horny Jail?
Gutter brain is contagious sometimes... The following is suggestive. NSFW is mentioned but not described, but I'm still putting it under a read more. Enjoy!
Alcina Dimitrescu
A lot of the reason Alcina likes you is because you listen to her and respect her boundaries.
That said, it can be a little frustrating for her to focus, because you have this habit of just peeking around the corners and... watching her? (She knows you're there. You're not fooling anyone.)
You don't want to bother her! But she's just...so pretty. So elegant. So tall. So STRONG. And her fingers are so long💕💕
Honestly, she's a little charmed by it. Seeing how much you actively desire her is both flattering and very amusing. You'll never say anything about your needs--she's often so very busy and you don't want to stop her from doing important tasks--but you couldn't hide how desirable you find her even on pain of death. Plus you're very easy to tease, which is becoming a bit of a hobby for her.
She doesn't have to do much for you to lose your train of thought. All she has to do is adjust her neckline or whisper in your ear, and you melt.
Touching up her lipstick is a favorite of hers, because your entire expression goes slack, and she can watch down to the exact second where your brain turns off.
Sometimes, she blows you a little kiss, and you make a noise like a deflating balloon. If she does it while you're walking, you just run into things on autopilot.
Eventually, she starts to work herself up right along with you. Darling, she might enjoy the fact that you respect her boundaries, but enough is enough. If you don't make a move, she will. 😈
Donna Beneviento
I headcannon that Donna's a little bit touch starved, so I wouldn't recommend crossing that threshold too quickly.
If you do, Angie is there with the big stick to give you a bonk on the head.
Donna is very weak to your words, however. Especially because you always make a point to compliment her both in and out of her veil.
And uh, oh boy, can you give her a compliment.💦
Anything from her wrists to her waist to her eyes to her legs to that little face she makes when she tries to thread a needle, Donna is beautiful. You wanna make out with her.
Once, she was feeling a little self conscious about her hairstyle, and asked you if you liked it. You proceeded to go on a rant about how not only is her hair shiny, glossy, and so obviously well taken care of that any style would suit her, but if she was that curious about trying out something new, you would be happy to help.
....But you should probably mess it up a little bit, first? Pull on it? Get a little sweaty?
Angie gives you a bonk with the stick.
Honestly, Donna starts to feel a lot less insecure the longer you are together. You two do love each other, and your compliments are both flattering and a little silly, so she's not too pressured. She might even be...receptive.
(Maybe Angie can put the punishment stick away, just this once.)
Salvatore Moreau
[Press X to doubt]
Look, you don't have to pretend that you want him. Moreau is just happy that you love him, and he loves you--
NO, you say, ACTUALLY SALVATORE?? YOU ARE VERY MUCH MY TYPE AND I DREAM ABOUT RAILING YOU ON A REGULAR BASIS
O-oh. 😳
You kind of have to be a hundred percent straight with him about how into him you are. Otherwise he might see your constant stares and lingering touches as simple teasing, when in fact you want to ride him into the sunset.
And, uh, once he knows exactly how you feel? Salvatore is 100% willing to accommodate.
He loves you a whole bunch, and you're so blatantly crazy about him that it's simultaneously very romantic and it really gets him going.
Every touch, every look, every smile from you is dripping with meaning, and Salvatore cannot get enough. Your compliments on his appearance are real, filled with innuendo, and somehow heartwarming because it's so obvious that they come from a place of love.
If you want him, Fish man is there for you, ANYTIME.
Honestly, when the cops come to take you to horny jail, Moreau is probably in the cell right next to yours. 💓
Karl Heisenberg
The minute he hears the phrase 'Horny Jail', he will build a tiny cell for you in his workshop, because Karl is a bastard who thinks he's hilarious.
Jokes on him, because you've got the best view in the house 😋
You get a GREAT view of his back and shoulders while he works, and when he twists a little in his chair, his focused expression is fully on display. You are blessed ❤️
You guys are playful with each other, and even before you two got together officially you would make a lot of 'jokes' about how hot you thought he was. At least, Karl thought they were jokes. But no, apparently you were REALLY into him the whole time, which is a massive ego boost.
When you start to get a little bit too distracting and he wants to focus, Heisenberg will occasionally threaten to toss you in the cage. But I'm going to be honest, its a mistake on his part if ever does.
He's weak at the sight of your laughter--it makes your eyes shine an your smile brighter, and much as he wants to finish his project... Fuck it, come on, get over here❤️
The minute he shuts the door, you start hooting at him to strip, asking him to bend over, just being an excessive nuisance because you know it will get you both to laugh--And that's where he loses.
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kimnamshiks · 3 years ago
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Show Me A Good Time
Pairing: Hyunjin x Female Reader (ft. voyeur Minho)
Genre: Smut, Light humor
Rating: Explicit
WC: 2.2k+
Tags: Smut, accidental voyeurism turned voyeurism, light humor 
Summary: Seeing you make his best friend so happy never ceases to make him happy and vice versa. He loves seeing love in all forms; though this may be seeing you and Hyunjin’s love just a bit too much to be appropriate. Maybe Minho will remember to close his doors fully next time.
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"Hyu-- Honey.." your soft voice filtered up into the air along with an airy moan, echoing.
"Yeah? Is it good?" Hyunjin's voice answered yours in a low tone. “That good? Baby my sheets are getting so dirty because of you~”
Minho was confused, groggy from sleep. The clock glared an obnoxious light of numbers, changing to 3:01 am. Was he dreaming? Maybe he's in a weird alternative middle ground again or something… It wasn't often he would have suggestive dreams regarding his roommate and his roommate's girlfriend. But it can happen; seeing them be so cute and happy together with the silly banter, inappropriate comments do happen also. The soft, slick sounds of kissing and slurping on the other hand were too high and sharp to be his dream-lagged mind. (Possibly… He does have a habit of daydreaming) He rubbed at his eyes as he was going to get up but a sharp moan stopped him in his tracks.
His eyesight came into a sharp focus towards the bathroom since it was between the rooms connecting them both in a roommate suite. His door was slightly ajar as Hyunjin's was open. Completely open with a reflection of the bedside lamp, Hyunjin’s room was … Giving Minho a full view of the activity going on with you and Hyunjin.
Of you two in bed preparing to fuck. Heavens why did you two have to go at it at this hour? Do you two not know how to sleep?
You were breathless against the gray cotton sheets, body shiny with a thin layer of sweat in a sweet arch that he didn’t think was comfortable but you could care less about. Another moan rippling from your lips as your legs slid further down on the bed. Hyunjin himself just seemed to be in his boxers for the time being but his body also had a layer of sweat to match, hair wet, and sorta curled up at the ends. A shift and you moaned hard for him.
Fading pink and mostly blonde hair shifted as the male lifted his head to tilt it innocently. “You have to be quiet sweetheart. Do I need to keep your mouth occupied?” 
A view of your head thrown back from the pleasure Hyunjin was giving between your legs, his grip tight enough on the inner part of your thighs. The way your hips tried to roll against the male’s face or fingers but was stopped when his grip adjusted to press your hips against the bed more. Minho could tell Hyunjin was looking up at your face with that grin he loved to use when he was particularly enjoying the torture. The blonde didn’t have his mouth on you right now in combination, for the fingers quickly going in and out of your wet core were doing wonders he was guessing. He mentally thought how long Hyunjin was down there lapping at the juices coating his hand. Or if Hyunjin has already made you cum once or twice.
“Maybe if you would just… Fuckin’ gimme..” Your voice waivers from another plunge of Hyunjin’s fingers into you, gripping his free hand to immediately shove a couple of fingers into your mouth.
The male’s mouth dropped open at the same time Hyunjin spluttered your name in a whimper. You flicked your tongue around three of his fingers sloppily, slurping and making Hyunjin stop to focus on punishing your mouth. You took it in stride as more spittle fell onto your chest with a muffled groan. He pressed down harshly to make you open your mouth wide, even rubbing the pad of his fingers onto your tongue.
“Mm ready Hyunnie. M’ready now.'' He watched you plead, in that whiny voice you reserve to try and get what you want once your mouth was free. 
The male mimicked you as he sat up to look down at you. He demanded you to say it again. With lips shiny from spit your mouth opened again to repeat yourself. And again. And again, the tone turned just that tad more demanding that Minho’s own body heated up in response.
Minho always caved under it no matter what you asked for when you got petulant. (He was weak for you and he believed his best friend knew it too.) This was going in his spank bank, he’ll feel guilty about it later. He slid his hand into his boxers and gripped himself, biting his lip hard to keep his noise of satisfaction at bay, realizing he was already leaking enough pre-cum to make the slide against his dick easier. He should feel guilty but right now he was too hard, his mind on wanting to watch you two until the end.
“Are you darling? Think you’re soaked enough?” a hummed out question, probably rhetorical. Hyunjin didn’t even let you answer before he continued, “Maybe you can have it now if you ride me pretty. Can you do that?”
Minho gyrated his hips into his hand lightly, eyes taking in everything as you pulled your boyfriend in for a deep kiss. Groans and whimpers being swallowed by each other. Fuck… What he wouldn't give to see you on top of his cock, letting him sink deep into the most intimate parts of your beautiful body and carve his shape in. Kiss and mark your skin besides Hyunjin’s finger bruises.
Hyunjin pulled back with a satisfied sigh at your drenched core and brought his hand down to his aching dick to ready himself. Wrapping his fingers to coat around the dripping head, down the slight curve to the base for a quick squeeze with a harsh moan of your name. Both you and Minho watched; you more so turned on and ready but he did more to assess it.
Not to say his best friend has a pretty dick… But Minho thinks it’s a pretty dick to match his pretty best friend indeed. So pretty he wondered if you were going to stretch your lips around it.
Do you deep throat? Do you tease with kisses and avoid his arousal completely? Would you let Hyunjin fuck your mouth as you gag with spittle and cum sliding down your face? Or maybe you two kiss after you take his load?
He was glad his free hand was in front of his face due to holding back a whimper. His hips kicking into the tight fist of his hand, his eyes were drinking in your frame as you sink slowly onto Hyunjin’s lap, thighs drenched in your juices that the squelching sound echoed loudly.
“Nngh-- Finally I’ve been waiting for this all day. It’s so good.”
Your hands glide up your body with the first roll of your hips onto Hyunjin’s with a pace that screams payback. The slow and dirty kind, the grind so hard that you had Hyunjin bruising up your thighs and hips with the tight hold on your body.
He looked up your frame with love and teasing, voice coming out in a broken husk “Come on baby you said you waited for this--”
Minho slowed the movement of his hand over his cock, following along with what seemed to be a hell of a ride. He snuck some extra lube into his hand for the easier glide and to not cum so early.
"I did say that didn't I?", a hiccuping giggle left your throat as your loving boyfriend kicked his hips up. "It's my turn to have a l-little fun too." Your lips left little blooming marks upon the slate of salty skin and lean muscle as you rode him slowly. Sometimes your hips would leave Hyunjin’s so you could look at him twitch, shiver from the cooler air on his heated skin then drop down hard onto his cock yet again.
You alternated this for a while and caressed your body, sighing from a particular roll or whimpering when the blonde sped up the pace for a bit. Minho was drooling onto his pillow and his own skin was hot and sweaty in its rising temperature. His best friend caresses and gropes where he can reach as he praises you. “Feeling good?”
“Mmm yea, roll your hips just.. just like that.”
“Squeezing me like you don’t want me to leave you, that’s fucking hot--”
You squeezed around him when you raised up before dropping down so hard that you watched blonde hair fly back in undeniable pleasure-- what you didn't expect was the loud ass THWACK to resonate in the room. Hyunjin groans (in a non-sexy way, that’s gonna leave a bump--) while holding the back of his head and wiggling underneath you. Curses flew from both of you as it made you laugh loudly.
"Honey! Aaaha--" a wheeze "Honey are you ok--" another wheeze "Okay? Fuck that sounded like it hurt.."
"Pussy so good I lost my head for a second there--" he hissed out. His eyes were closed tightly, grin goofy despite the obvious pain with him slapping at the air in your direction, "You're loud! Don't wake up Minho!" But your cackling echoed into Minho’s room too.
Said male was stifling his laughter into his pillow, heart full watching you two take care of the situation while laughing. Knowing that you'd stop everything to check on your boyfriends’ well being made a little envy burn in his chest, but he pushed that away when his dick throbbed from you guys laughing again.
Really dick? At a time like this? Laughing shouldn’t be sexy you know--
"If your damn headbang didn't wake him up before my laughter then I dunno what to tell you."
A gentle ass smack here, "Cheeky brat!"
"Who's being loud now~? You want Minho to hear you?" You questioned the blonde, not missing the way his cock jerked against your walls.
"Oh?" The may you said that to Hyunjin had Minho’s hand grabbing his dick tight yet again, playing at the base near his sack.
Now he sees that you guys changed positions so Hyunjin's head was at the bottom of the bed, feet touching the headboard. His best friend looked sheepish when you placed a pillow underneath his head. You still cooing at him and massaging his scalp while talking to him; agreeing that it would be a slow sex night after all. Exchanging a few deep kisses, Minho's rapidly paying attention again when Hyunjin goes to lay back down. Your hips sinking down onto Hyunjin’s cock (which was still hard... Minho wonders yet again if his friend likes pain--) moving back to its up and down motion. Occasionally he'd play with his tip and sigh, eyes starting to slip closed…
"Don't think I missed that little tidbit, Hyunjin.."
Hyunjin moaned your name high from his throat when you scratched down his chest, "Miss wh--"
A slow corner smirk appeared, nonchalance lacing every word. "The fact that your dick twitched when I said Minho's name."
Hyunjin's face was red with a wide-eyed stare towards you, not knowing how to proceed with that. Minho in his bed was wide-eyed to match, ears heated in surprise and cock weeping just a bit more at that thought. Fuck did Hyunjin find him attractive sexually too?
"We'll be able to talk about that later. Hm?" You pant and grind harder, "Wanna be loud next time for your best friend then too. Maybe he can join--"
Hyunjin's moan was even higher this time, gripping your waist hard with a blown outlook as you leaned back to ride. Legs spread farther so his cock could reach even deeper into your body. When his hips began to meet yours you felt euphoric, his tip kissing your g-spot with ease now. It was deeper but still a leisurely pace.
Minho forwent that pace and was trying his best to stay quiet as he fucked his fist again, his other hand sliding under his shirt to tug his hard nipples. His mind produced so many scenarios of how he'd have you bent over, folded, split on his cock while he kissed you over and over again.
A tremble skittered up into your chest, mouth running off now. "O-Oh? You'd like that babe? Would you watch him fuck me?"
"Shhhiiit yes…" he groaned deep, his face still sporting that strawberry hue on his sweaty skin. "Wanna see your lips around his cock--"
"I wanna see yours around his cock too, Jinnie. Minnie wouldn't know what to do--"
Both of you were whimpering and moaning loudly, uncaring of the noise level now that you two were so deep into the pleasure that clouded minds. Minho listened, his own soft whines joining into the fray of noise. How you two talked about the positions, the possibility of whose mouth did what to his body, or what fingers went where. Even how every surface of the house would be a new surface to fuck on if he did accept the proposal.
Yes yes, I would accept. He thought, hand blurring over his cock as his orgasm began to coil. Tugging his puffy nipples, a look of bliss casts over his face at the mere thought of the chance. He imagined him getting his cock rode by Hyunjin, you by their side as you marked his neck or kissed him filthy. As the two of you played with him, making his voice reach pitches he never thought of. Hyunjin's shout of your name as he came, made Minho crash through his orgasm with a low and long whine; a combination of both your names like a prayer. He was still riding out his high when you came a bit after with Hyunjin’s name on your lips.
All three of you were spent, Minho staying still and suddenly sleepy again. You slumped over Hyunjin’s side and shared tired kisses while wiping each other down with baby wipes. He should clean up before he had a bigger mess in the morning but he was drifting off to your voice murmuring jokes and Hyunjin’s squeaky laugh.
With his mind fizzed out he succumbed to sleep, he dreamed of hand holding and chaste kisses this time. Shy smiles and embarrasing laughter on outings with his favorite two people in the world.
The clean up is for future Minho anyways, he’s gonna enjoy his nutting experience to the fullest.
Future Minho would like to beat up Past Minho’s ass. Since Future Minho was stuck with the embarrassment of being woken up by you giggling over the mess in his bed; making some excuse of a pretty good ass dream. Curse you Past Minho! Curse you!
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yesimwriting · 4 years ago
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Corridor Moments
A/n this is a request from @mariannagris for a fic with the Darkling x Sun Summoner! reader where they're having a cute moment and then Zoya walks in and sees that they're together and gets jealous.
I'm working on a longer fic that should be up this weekend!! I'm working through a bunch of requests/updates rn I promise lol
--
He's no longer guiding me, but he hasn't moved his hands away--one on my waist, one on my shoulder.
"Aleksander," I try to keep my tone casual, only hinting at a warning.
There's no way he misses it, but he still allows the hand on my shoulder to ghost across my collar before setting his palm on my cheek. "Yes, my sun?"
Before I can roll my eyes, he brushes his thumb across my cheek softly. His touch has started to become more casual, but I'm not sure the comfort it brings me will ever lose its novelty. I tilt my head slightly, leaning into his touch.
"We're not alone." The reminder is more for me than him. All of his actions are intentional, he knows the risks of his sudden bout of affection. "We may be in an empty hallway now, but we're not alone."
Aleksander leans forward slightly, forcing me to press my back into the wall to avoid melting into him. I don't miss his half-smile, a confident smirk breaking across his features. He knows what he's doing. "And what would we need to be alone for?"
The slightest hint of annoyance bubbles in my chest. For someone so determined, he enjoys playing coy more than he should. My lips part, prepared to call him out for his teasing, but Aleksander senses my hesitance like always. He leans forward again, this time pulling my chin up slightly so that our lips could brush together if I just inclined my head slightly.
The closer we get, the more I feel our distance. His eyes flicker downwards, focusing on the slight part of my lips. Aleksander angles his head downwards, allowing our lips to meet fully. Now that the barrier's been broken, I have no choice but to reciprocate with full force, my hands leaving his chest and finding their way into his hair. Aleksander's hands grab the collar of my kefta. He pulls me towards him sharply, as desperate as I am to eliminate space.
And then he pulls me away. I'm left pouting on instinct, lips slightly swollen and breathing a little uneven. "Easy," he chides, "We can't afford to get distracted."
I wrinkle my nose at him. He started this, pulling me out of the meeting under the ruse of important, private conversation. "And who's the one doing the distracting?"
Aleksander smiles fully. A real grin, the kind of grin that rivals any amount of sun I could ever produce. "You," he breathes, leaning in again and brushing his lips against my cheek, "Considering you won't leave my thoughts."
I let myself grin back, his unexpected softness an arrow that pierces through whatever's left of my composure. "You're awfully sentimental today."
He straightens slightly, expression still light. "Is that a bad thing?"
Squeezing the hand that he's placed on my waist, I beam at him. "Not bad at all--just different."
He's still looking at me with a fierceness that sometimes frightens me due to its wholeness, but something ancient and dark is settled behind his eyes. Something haunting that he won't let me help him with. I haven’t known him that long, but I’ve figured out that his affection is often a secret plea, a silent attempt to rid himself of darkness. What's the point of being able to summon the sun if you cannot banish the darkness that haunts those you care about? I raise his hand to my mouth, kissing each of his knuckles deliberately. He exhales at the contact, some sort of tension coiling in him at the chaste contact. 
I like us better when we’re alone. When he lets things like this slip from him as he tries to let my light in him. I could stay in this corridor forever with him. I could hold him by his hand to make sure he can’t slip away from me. 
Reality does not allow me to coddle my dreams. If I lose focus, he’ll be able to convince me to do anything--to forget my own name even. I drop my gaze to the hand I’m still holding, running my thumb along his knuckles. “We can’t--we can’t stay.” Not the truest sentiment--he can do whatever he wants. “I can’t stay.” The correction leaves me bitter. “Not for long.” The addition only softens the harsh edge of reality slightly. “People are already starting to think you’re extending favoritism towards me.” 
Aleksander lifts the hand I’m holding, taking my hand with him. He turns my hand over before placing a kiss on my palm. The contact is warm and fleeting and I’m powerless against the sentiment it stirs. “And this isn’t favoritism?” 
I roll my eyes, his warm breath is still against my skin. “That depends--am I your favorite?” 
His hold on my hand tightens slightly. “You already know the answer.” I let the corner of my mouth twitch upwards. Aleksander has already offered me more than I expected today, but it’d still be nice to hear him say it. “You, my darling, my sun, will always be my favorite.” 
I beam a little easier, warmth expanding in my chest. Still, the feeling isn’t enough to burn through all of my reluctance. His affection stems from the fact that he believes me to be his salvation. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. How else could i have won his affections? 
“It’s easy to favor a Sun Summoner,” the response is soft, a bit of forced teasing edging my words. 
His eyebrows draw together as his hold on my hand tightens, turning from a gentle squeeze to a desperate grab. “Sun Summoner or not, no one else has ever held my favor the way you do.” Aleksander leans towards me again, the comforting heat of his breath on my cheek. “And no one ever will.” 
I’m reduced to nothing more than happy neediness, letting him cup my face and pulling me towards him. His lips meet mine with a desperate understanding that’s both bruising and coddling. Aleksander’s teeth graze my bottom lip, testing waters that are unfamiliar between us. I reciprocate, pushing even closer to him. He pushes us backwards, pressing me against the wall as he moves his attention away from my lips and down my jaw, leaving a trail of hot skin wherever his lips brush. 
“Aleksander,” I breathe, placing a hand on his chest, “Meeting--we need to--” 
He pulls away just enough to let me feel his grin, “That can wait.” 
“They’ll think things,” Despite my warning, Aleksander doesn’t pull away, his fingertips brushing against my collar. “They’re waiting,” he sighs against my hair, still careless, “Alina--she’s waiting...” He continues to touch me like I’m an illusion of the light. “And--” He smiles at my waning resolve, attempting to move forward to silence the last of my protests with a kiss. 
I turn my head, suppressing a reluctant laugh at his carelessness. Aleksander is not discouraged, pressing a kiss against my cheek. Shifting my gaze while placing my hand on his chest to make it easier to push him off fo me, I freeze. He must feel my new stiffness, because Aleksander pauses against me.  
Zoya. She’s standing at the entrance of the corridor, watching us--watching me--with such a sharp look of ill-defined displeasure I’m surprised I’m not physically withered by it. Awkwardness and something akin to guilt leave me blind as I try to create space between me and the unbudging General. Does he not see her? 
“Yes?” His voice leaves goosebumps against my skin--not an ounce of shame, but not a drop of that easy-going softness either. He’s General Kirigan again--sharp and incapable of shame or regret. He’s in complete control, all the power in the world is at the fingertips that are still on my skin. 
Zoya’s expression does not waver, eyes still locked on me. “Those in the meeting were beginning to worry, but I see that you’re occupied.” I was wrong. She’s not staring at me, she’s staring through me--like I’m nothing more than a thin curtain on a cloudless day during high noon. “I’ll inform the others.” 
“You’ll inform them of nothing I don’t approve of.” He’s fierce, the threat of venom apparent in each syllable. “And it’d do you well to meet the Sun Summoner’s gaze with a little more respect.” 
I’m quick to grab his forearm, desperate to articulate how much I’d rather him not pick this fight--not when most can barely stand me, not when the more I think of Zoya’s look I realize any bitterness towards me is something else. Not hatred, no--resentment. The kind of resentment that’s only ever a byproduct of something else. If I was bolder, I’d assume it a look of jealousy--maybe not over the man, but the attention and praise received for being nothing more than new and shiny. Her eyebrows knit together as Aleksander’s hold on me adjusts slightly. Okay, maybe the fact that I’m with Aleksander has something to do with it--but it has to be more than that. Her dislike of me, her constant myriad of comments and looks all points to a jealousy much more bitter than that of someone love sick. 
If something in her has been broken over time here, time around Kirigan and his pension for manipulating that I am not blind to and my presence and joy is a reminder of that, than I can bear her hatred. “She was looking at me normally.” Before he can challenge me, I move his hands off of me gently and slip away from between him and the wall. 
I guess that’s what it takes for him to understand that I mean it, Aleksander straightens and takes a step forward. His eyes linger on me as he walks forward. I stay a few steps behind him, a pathetic attempt to cling to any kind of properness I can manage. 
“If I were you, I’d at least comb your hair with your fingers before entering that room again unless you’d like to announce yourself as a form of entertainment.” 
Being a decent person is nauseating sometimes. “And take the fun out of it for you?” 
I don’t wait for her reply, moving down the hall to catch up with Aleksander. Still, when I’m no longer next to Zoya I brush my fingers through my hair in hopes of correcting any damage she’s created. Maybe I should be more worried. Maybe I should care about the opinions of others more. But every reason to stay away from Aleksander entirely feels so small. I’m not naive enough to fall blindly, but the thing about being a Sun Summoner is that you can bring light with you, no matter how dark the path you chose is. 
I watch Aleksander as he places a hand on the door to the room. He offers me one last, genuine smile. His path isn’t as dark as he wants it to seem, and even if it is, I don’t care. 
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eliss-ey · 4 years ago
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stuff the witches were talking about i didn’t fully understand
Here I am, trying to explain some things I didn’t really understand myself before. Hope this will come helpful.
THE LAW OF ATTRACTION
Now that I looked into it, i understand it at least a bit. I’ll try to explain it to you.
The Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. The Law of Attraction is the thing, that materializes our thoughts into reality. All thoughts turn into things eventually. Etc. If you focus on the negativity, and bad things you will keep on feeling sad. But if you focus on the good parts of the life, become ambitious of what you want to achieve, and you believe in yourself, at the end, you can do it. It is like witchcraft- witchcraft is basically a big law of attraction. See, you light a candle, etc. red for love, with the intention of attracting love into your life. If you write a spell or if you just say your intention with the most powerful words you can find, you are great to go. It is basically speaking or writing down your intentions, being clear with them and they are send into the universe like a bunch of vibrations. Yet somehow, they come back and they manifest, so you reacieve the love you were looking for! Not a lot of people understand it fully, but, if it works, there is no need to really bother. 
so, you basically attract whatever you think about. 
MANIFESTING
if you are new to withcraft, you might be already confused. So here I am again, trying to explain it all to you.
Manifestation is basically the result of the Law of attraction. Etc. You send out vibrations with the intention “i attract money and wealth” and manifesting is basically you getting what you let out, so you recieve more money.
Manifestation works alongside the Law of Attraction, a universal rule which is that thoughts can become things.(as i explained above).
You have done a spell, and it doesn’t work. Remember the law of attraction? You have used that just now to make the spell. And you are using it maybe even right now, unconciously. It works like this- if you keep on worrying about your magic, doubting the spell and thinking that it won’t work, it won’t. Try focusing on what you love and on what makes you feel good and happy and alive. Soon you’ll be attracting more of THAT. Manifestation is a magickal way of getting what you want, and the easiest and most powerful way to do that is to feel it. You can also use visualization to aid in manifesting. What I also do, is that i forget. I just forget when I did a spell and let it work for itself. The only thing i tell myslef when i think about it is “It is going to work, my magick works.” 
A quick spell to get rid of anything what is blocking you away from manifesting:
You will need a piece of paper, pen, a candle (or just matches).
Center yourself. Take a few deep breaths and focus on what you are doing right now. You can  burn some herbs or an incense to get rid of unwanted energies that are trying to interrupt your spell. Ground yourself by keeping your fett on the floor, imagining roots coming into the ground from you.
The first step to manifesting is to let go. So think of what’s holding you back from what you want. Whether it’s an unhealthy relationship, self-doubt, or money troubles, focus on what it is that you want to release. Write down what you want to let go of at the top of a piece of paper, focusing the energy and feelings you have as you write. Be intentional. You can write something like “I am done living in a place of fear” or “I release any self-doubt I may have” or “I am done living from a place of scarcity.” Again, this should feel right to you.
Now, burn it. Either put it in a fireproof bowl, fireplace or burn it by a candle, imagine the fire sending your intentions to the universe. Do it as many times as you like, until you know that it works and you have no doubt. Now ground yourself again.
Oof. This was hella long. I hope you understood at least a bit. 
WHAT ARE ALL OF THOSE HERBS, CRYSTALS AND CANDLES FOR?
If you are a beginner witch, you might be wondering: Do I need all of this? Mugwort for this and that, incense, candles and a lots of shiny crystals? Why do all of the witches use these? What are they good for? 
First, no, you don’t need any of these. All you need is yourself and a clear intention to work your magic. A lot of witches burn candles while doing spells. Why? Because candle magic is really simple, all you need is a candle and matches.  “ Candle magick is a kind of alchemy, where all elements are represented — fire of the flame, air to feed it, melted wax for water, and solid wax for earth” so the candles empower your intention. You can also choose a colour of the wax, essential oil, herbs or carve a sigil into them. Candle magic is really great way to start.
All of those herbs, witchy tools, colorful candles are here to only strenghten your intention with their own energy. When you look at a rose, you might start thinking about romance, love, peace... these are the magickal properties of a rose. See, every item gives off an energy. You can keep your magic as simple as with only yourself and your intention, or you can add in various crystals or herbs only to strenghten it, But why herbs? How do you use them while just saying out your intention? You can burn them (pls be careful when doing so) if you are doing a spell for focus or memory, try burning some rosemary in a fireproof bowl, or lighting a rosemary incense. You can also add crystals around yourself while casting a spell to empower it with their energy. So if you are casting a money spell, try surrounding yourself with citrine, aventurine, anything golden, tigers eye... or of course, just some programmed clear quartz will do. 
Both of crystals and herbs can be incorporated in witchbottles also. And jars are simply for storing these herbs.
If you are a beginner witch, there is no need to go off and buy tons of crystals like i did and go broke (like i did). A clear quartz is a substitute crystal for any you would need. As well as is rosemary for any other herb/plant, and aswell as is the color white for any other color of candles. And of course, you can find tons of herbs and spices in your own kitchen cabinet already. Cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, rosemary, basil... these might already be in there. 
AS ABOVE, SO BELOW
you might have seen this quote or rather a saying somewhere before. I did a longer research on it, there is not much of  a content out there.
(I will update this in a while, pls wait) 
WHAT THE HECK IS BINDING MAGIC?
if i had to tell you right now, i wouldn’t know myself. Here i am to research it and give you some information!
A magical binding is simply a spell or working that restrains someone , preventing them from doing something. It is often used to keep the individual from causing harm to themselves or others. It is usually done in a positive way of preventing the person from doing harm themselves or the others. It’s like stopping them from doing bad stuff.
haha i think this is enough, you got it, right?
WICCA, WITCHCRAFT AND PAGANISM 
final question. Which is which? what am i?
WICCA
is a religion, a belief. All wiccans are pagan, and they are also witches (basically pagan witches). They practice magick and witchcraft alongside with believing in divine energies. They follow the moon phases, that each moon phase has a different magical meaning. They celebrate 8 holidays- sabbaths, or either called pagan holidays. And since it is a religion, wiccans believe in a God and a Goddess, or multiple deities which is called eclectic wicca. 
WITCHCRAFT
a witch is someone who works with herbs, potions, casts spells, crystals, natural healing... someone who does energy workings. Witches can be Muslim, Christian, whatever religion they choose to believe in, or they don’t have to be religious at all. 
PAGANISM
is a wide  variety of beliefs, in which is the nature worshipped. Pagans follow religious guidelines drawn out by nature- seasons, moon phases, weather... There are maaaany gods and Goddesses, they usually represent a part of nature or a celestial body. They can choose to wroship Celtic, Greek, Hindu, Chinese, Egyptian deities and many more. Pagans believe that we should not be superior to nature, she is the one who created us afterall. It’s like an umbrella of religions, under which are Hinduists, Wiccans, Shamanists...
IN CONCLUSION
All wiccans are pagan, but not all pagans are wiccan.
All wiccans are witches, but not all witches are wiccan.
boom. Period. 
I hope you understand it all now, if you notice any mistakes, feel free to correct me. 
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obeymeluv · 4 years ago
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Signs they Love You
Back for my 1 post a week to prove school hasn’t totally killed me! When I get a semester break, I’ll post more often. In the mean time, feel free to leave me chats or PMs for stuff you want to see! :) Something nice and sappy for an okay Saturday
These turned out really long so I only did Lucifer, Mammon, Levi, and Satan. I have to get back to studying :/. Maybe I’ll have part 2 next week?
Lucifer
You wouldn’t be able to notice it because his pride wouldn’t allow you to. One of the brothers (or, to Lucifer’s extreme mortification, Lord Diavolo) would have to tell you
He’s not sure if it’s just the appreciation of you not being as totally chaotic as his brothers or genuine human naivete that has somehow worn off on him, but he loves you
Will be outed by sappy, soft stares that last 2 seconds too long.
Asmo and Satan are the first to notice and he LOATHES that
If he’s tasked with waking you up that morning, his knock will be firm but his voice will be gentle. Almost persuasive or commiserating
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by school workload, he may have a private conference with the teacher and grant you a minor extension. Will you know it was him? No. Is he happy to see you brighten up and refill with hope just a bit? Definitely. Is it worth the teasing from Lord Diavolo? ...Sure.
If he responds to texts in the wee hours of the morning when he’s still pouring over paperwork, he likes you.
Anyone who knows him can see how his eyes soften when someone else talks about you. There’s a fond slowness to his actions, how he glides his hand imperceptibly over his chest as if to feel where that emotion is coming from. Boy is whipped.
Should Lord Diavolo invite him out for a meeting, he will bring you back something small. Something he thought you’d like. Beel is upset. Levi yells “SIMP!” from the second floor and prepares for Armageddon.
Actually reminds you about assignments if you’re not already up on it yourself. Your success is his joy.
Is very keen on if/when you burn the candle too long and has a sixth sense for bad sleeping habits. Will put you on a stricter schedule for your own health
It may take almost all of the brothers to do it (or just help from Diavolo) but if he gets drunk on Demonus you’re getting a whole BOOK about why he likes you. He almost charms your memory away but everyone practically dog-piles on him not to because he needs to deal with his feelings.
You’re the only one he won’t chase out of his study when he’s doing paperwork. He’ll even set up a little fire if you like the fireplace.
How he confesses: tries to take you on a fancy date to Ristorante Six. Does not know that Lord Diavolo and Barbatos know about this (damn time-travelling butler!) and basically crash the date just to encourage him. Just long enough to encourage him.
Kind of an, “So you chose this idea, Lucifer? Admirable! I’m sure your date will be amazing! Enjoy your evening!” as Diavolo walks back to his table.
Does Lucifer deny it? Look and see how red his face is. If you’re really not sure, ask Diavolo. He will gladly yell, “I cannot lie!” across the restaurant.
Mammon
For all his talk, when he really, really decides he likes you, he doesn’t know what to say.
He can console himself with how obvious it is and how you made the best choice, but he has to show it! What to do?
Mammon’s kind of confused about it because he doesn’t really change how he behaves. You didn’t catch on already?! C’mon, human!
What, does he have to spell it out for you? Do an interview with Majolish?
His first tactic is to just be around you. Be subtle, and maybe cuddle a bit more than usual. Things to show he’s kittenish and at your mercy. Comfortable with you.
You don’t seem to be getting the hint so he throws the net a little wider by trying to find things you like or that you’ve been talking about. They mysteriously show up at your door.
It sends the others on a gossip train about who your admire could be and when they list off everyone BUT him, he wants to slam his head on the table.
Feeling tired? Coffee! Backpack heavy? Silly human, the BEST man can help you with that, OBVIOUSLY! Mammon jumps at the chance to do any little thing for you because he cares. His actions always speak louder than words.
Feeling kind of defeated and embarrassed, Mammon will go talk to the flock of crows that meander around the House of Lamentation’s yard when he really needs them.
For the next few days you’re accosted in the nicest way, birds chirping at you and dropping off various shiny things
You collect them, finally showing them to Mammon and he’s embarrassed that his representative animal has taken to courting you on his behalf.
He calls them to him, embarrassed and ready to rant or fall into the ground never to be seen again, when they start talking. Repeating all the things he’s practiced saying.
“Hey baby,”, “Hey human,” “Love you!”, “Silly! Silly!”, “Dummy, no, dummy!”, “My human.”
It’s broken and confusing, six or seven bird children cawing in your face and bobbing, but you get it.  
Levi
Levi’s not the best at expressing himself but it counts, right? As much as he hates to admit he’s some kind of shy tsundere, you know what that is, right? He doesn’t have to say it?
Yes. Yes he does. His brothers are getting too chummy with you and you don’t understand his signals. Time for Plan B.
If you get invited to stand in line for a midnight release, he hopes you take it. Then it’s just you two hanging out in line? What’s this? He brought snacks? Totally not for the two of you BUT you an have some if you’re hungry. It’s whatever
When he’s not doing boss raids and playing with online friends, he’ll ask if you want to play something with him. A Player 1 needs a Player 2, you know?
I headcanon that Levi knows how to play some unusual instruments like the kalimba or a real ocarina. I could see him making you a song on one of those. Or just playing it because you inspire him. He’s very good with a harp and will play it when he’s in the mood.
Boy also likes to draw and paint. Especially loves watercolors. Would it be weird if he gave you a painting of you as a mermaid? Just you and the ocean. Beautiful.
Was there a really cute plush or knickknack you liked? Levi has his ways, regardless of how rare or limited edition it is. It will be yours. 
He has a hard time understanding a passing comment of interest versus a genuine want because he genuinely wants everything he’s interested in, so if you hear a whisper about him almost securing something, stop and look it up. Make sure it’s not super expensive!!
Probably outed by Belphegor, who feels like Levi’s broadcasting all of his stress, frustration, and hope through his dreams. (”His dreams are weird. Just different ways of asking them out, and if he messes up it restarts like a simulation. My brain hurts.” he says to Beel)
 You’re allowed to come into his super-restricted bedroom haven when everything’s too much. It’s very exclusive since the Mammon incident. Be happy.
Might go swimming in his big tank and pick a seashell or rock to make a necklace out of. He hopes you like it.
If he’s not outed by Belphie, some of his online friends made a game demo they wanted him to try. They specified it was two player so he asked you to join in. While he’s in the middle of bragging about how he knows people, knows developers, he totally misses the dating-sim like dialogue and the big reveal.
Doesn’t really kick in until he realize the characters look like you two. You’re busy saying ‘Yes’ to “Do you like me?” as Levi absolutely threatens to rip them apart six ways to Sunday. Almost in full demon mode, too.
Everything falls out of his brain and quiets in his throat when he realizes the characters are kissing and ‘THEY SAID YES!’ flashes on the screen.
“Y-You like me?”
“Yep.”
It was that easy all along. Levi thinks he’s going to faint.  
Satan
Becomes aware of it pretty quick but ignores it for a looong time
Is it rude or foolish of him to assume you would also like him back?
Run away into books. A solid plan. If you don’t think about it, it’s not an issue
Oh, but it is an issue when you fall asleep after a mutual day of reading, forced in by bad weather. He finds his heart fluttering in a painful squeeze as he quietly whispers all the things he dare not say when you’re awake
It’s nervous poetry, and it’s beautiful
Satan tries to get himself back on track, to focus on reading, and he gets frustrated when he’s stuck on the same page almost an hour later
When you’re on the brain he just can’t do anything else
How does one show their affection? He’s swimming in books for a new reason now, as voracious as ever
He brews you a pot of Melancholy Coffee and is a bit disappointed you don’t know the meaning behind the bitterness. Wants to break the pot when Lucifer jokes about how it tastes exceptionally bitter to him as well.
Okay, so coffee didn’t work. What else do people do when they show their affections?
Asmo suggests a ‘not a date’ date and Satan sighs inside. Sounds like a lot of work and effort. It’s not that you’re not worth it, but he has a feeling that everyone will know and look at him the whole time.
Tries anyways. You guys go to a beautiful nature conservatory and take a tour of the plants and some indigenous animals
You’re starting to realize it now, he can tell. Satan tries to answer your question without saying it while you’re at school. You walk together, he offers to carry some of your books, and always requests that he be your project partner
Nearly there. If there was a single defining moment for him, he’d want it to be classic. He shows up at your door with a rose and asks you to go on a moonlit walk.
Mammon’s poking fun about how cheesy and cliche it is, Asmo’s gearing up to shut Mammon’s stupid mouth, and Satan just whisks you out the door with an aggravated sigh.
No matter what side of the house you’re on, Asmo throws up the biggest, gaudiest handmade sign that’s like ‘CUTEST COUPLE! 10/10!’
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wkemeup · 5 years ago
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Heal Me, Baby
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summary: Bucky Barnes can’t seem to keep away from your med tent no matter how many times you fix him up. // challenge prompt: bed sharing  pairing: 1940s bucky x reader word count: 5k warnings: a very charming bucky 😉 a/n: This was written for @cake-writes​ 1940s challenge! Congrats on the 3.5 milestone!! The title of this fic comes from the song Heal Me by Snow Patrol 
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There was blood on the white of your dress; slow and steady seeping into the fabric and staining the cotton blend fibers. Red and as deep and bold as the cross sewn into the chest of your uniform, the blood became part of the design because no matter how many times you scrubbed it clean, more would find its way back to the hip of your skirt, the sleeve of your shoulder, the hem of your apron by morning’s end. Sometimes you wondered why they’d bothered dressing you in white at all. Might as well make it red with the number of wounded soldiers they dragged through your tent; most halfway towards the shiny bright light and others inches away from their last breath.
The chaos was constant, a given, and despite the noise and clutter, it was where you felt most at home. It was better than the lull, the calm before the inevitable storm, where you’d be swarmed with men on stretchers, bleeding out onto the dirt and tossed into overcrowded beds. The steady stream was easier than the rapids, easier than assigning ten men to a single nurse where injuries could be missed, vital tears overlooked.
You were at the end of your shift for the night, dirt on your forehead, sweat damping the carefully curled ringlets at your neck. A file in your hand of the man at the end of the room, thicker than most, and you kept your eyes down as you pushed your way through the crowd of nurses and visiting soldiers, heels sinking slightly into the grass with every step.
When you came upon him, you finally noticed the name etched into the top right corner of the folder; the cheesy grin as he propped himself up on his elbows, blood and dirt coating most of his face, though still as annoying handsome as ever.
“Hiya, doll.”
“Oh, not you again.”
Bucky chuckled to himself as he plopped back down against the pillow, hands clasping behind his neck as he watched you work around his bedside. You huffed the hairs from your eyes, brushed the sweat from your hands as you slipped on a pair of gloves, careful to avoid the urge to smile at the way Bucky was so obviously studying your every move.
You’d seen him about a dozen times since you’d been transferred to the Italian warfront along with the 107th. He’d found a habit of stumbling into the medical tent after a night in the trenches, covered head to toe in what looked to be a dried mixture of mud and blood that didn’t always turn out to be his own. 
He’d flash that smile of his like he couldn’t smell the retch of sweat and grim on his skin, sweet talk you like he wasn’t thrown head first to the middle of a war he didn’t sign up for, and get your stomach twisted all up in knots, hands fumbling with the IV bag, a nervous flutter in your chest – though you’d never let him see that.
Sergeant Bucky Barnes was the kind of man the nurses talked about when he walked by. A tip of his cap, a slight salute in their direction, and they’d giggle themselves into a mess, clinging onto one another as they waved at him. 
But then, across the courtyard, his eyes would catch yours, a softer tone about him and he’d simply wink, something subtle and barely noticeable, but enough for it to be personal, almost intimate, because it wasn’t for others to see.
“Not happy to see me, huh?” Bucky drawled, crossing his ankles as he stretched back on the worn-down cot like he was sitting at home on the couch, waiting on a beer as he read the evening paper.
You pursed your lips, shooting him a narrowed look as you glanced over the intake file. “I’m never happy to see men in this tent, Sergeant Barnes. Did you forget where you are?”
You gestured down to the series of beds filled with men, some waiting as they hung off the edge of crutches or slumped over in chairs, with bandages wrapped around exposed chests, blood seeping through, broken limbs exposed, the quiet whimpers of pain muffled by forearms and pillows.
“Oh, come on, doll. You know I’m just teasing ya,” Bucky smirked, sitting up in the bed because he knew the routine well enough by this point. 
You held a single finger pointed up in front of his eyes and he followed it without instruction as you moved it across his line of sight. No sign of abnormal dilation. Ruled out a concussion, at least.  
“You should be more careful out there,” you warned, gathering the first aid kit from the bedside table. “You’re in here almost every day, you know.”
“Maybe I like the company,” he shrugged, blue eyes piercing straight through you and you tried to ignore the way your heart skipped a full beat.
Your hands trembled slightly as you cleaned the wound on his forehead, a hit from a fall by the looks of it, though it wasn’t deep enough to require stitches. He winced a little, a slight hiss in his tongue as you applied the alcohol.
“You shouldn’t be taking the bed from someone who needs it.”
“Hell, I do need it, doll,” Bucky whined, a little dramatically. “Look at me. I’m in pieces. I’m fallin’ apart at the seams and you’re the only one that can save me, sweetheart. I need ya.”
You paused with a tight pout of your lips, sitting back on the cot beside him long enough to roll your eyes. “You need a band-aid and stern warning, Sergeant Barnes. You’re fine.”
“Oh, call me Bucky, won’t you?”
You pressed the bandage to his forehead, a little firmer that you would have for most any other patient and he grunted under his breath, trying to steady himself against the thin mattress.
“Time for you to go, Sergeant Barnes.”
Bucky grinned, nodding to himself as he stood. “Been a pleasure, doll, as always. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“You better not!” you called back, arms folded over your chest as he snickered to himself, walking through the mess of chaos to the exit on the other end. He glanced back over his shoulder as he pulled up a flap of canvas and winked at you.
You clenched your jaw and got back to work.
***
Sure enough as the tides rolled in, so did Bucky Barnes to your med tent a few nights later.
You found him waiting for you on the last bed in the aisle, one leg tucked under him, the other hung over the side of the cot as he nursed his right hand in his lap. He was humming to himself through pursed lips, a tune that you recognized from the radio station your father often played back home; head bouncing a bit to the rhythm, massaging gently at the palm of his hand, completely unfazed by the chaos around him.
Stepping up to the edge of the bed, you supposed he caught sight of your shoes because he started to smile before he so much as lifted his head.
Slowly, like he was taking his time, he glanced up at you with that sheepish smile of his, a light chuckle under his breath, and he ran his left hand through the mess of hair atop his head.
“Hiya, doll.”
“What is it this time?”
Your arms were folded, toe tapping against the ground, but there was something in the way he couldn’t stop smiling at you, even as you scolded him, that tugged a bit on the tight strains in your chest. It pushed at the walls you’d built, poked at the cement layers between bricks until they started to fall one by one and you fought against the urge to smile back at him.
He was too sweet on you, too handsome and charming, and you were almost certain it was an act, so you clenched your jaw and forced a frown.
Bucky held up his hand and for you, showing off a rather nasty burn in the underside of his palm, just along his thumb; red and seared, bubbling a bit on the edges. Your resolve took a bit of a hit because he winced a little in the motion, like the chill of the air was enough to cause him pain.
“How did you manage to do that?” you asked, tone still a little tense, though you took a seat on the side of his mattress, the lumps of the worn-down cot pressing against your thighs.
You reached for the medical cart near the bedside table, though it was just an inch from reach, and Bucky took the liberty of wheeling it over for you. You paused, watching him as he casually slid the cart in front of you, careful of your shoes and the dips in the ground.
“It was my shift in the kitchens,” he shrugged.
His hand slipped into yours as you gestured for it; rough and calloused though still untouched in places, soft and tender. You wondered what he did before he was drafted, if he worked in factories or in a garage, if his hands had seen hard labor before he was handled a weapon and a battalion, or if they were a blank page, yet to be filled by the scars and abrasive markings of a man at war.
You turned it over gently, easing the back of his hand to sit cradled in your palm as you examined the burn. It looked like he’d singed it on the side of the stove. The ring of the plate visible on the edge of his palm.
“Didn’t think you were required take shifts in the kitchens, Sergeant,” you commented, raising an eyebrow, though you kept your focus on his hand.
“Helps with morale,” Bucky replied simply. “Doing the same grunt work together does something for when we’re out in the trenches, you know? I’m not any better than them because the higher-ups threw some title in front of my name. We’re all stuck here, aren’t we?”
There was a chuckle in his voice, a lightness, and it surprised you as you looked up to see that it didn’t quite touch his eyes. How often did that happen and you didn’t notice because you were so caught up in holding up walls to keep from his games? How often had it not been a game at all and rather a mask he wore, to protect the most vulnerable parts of himself from giving into the horrors he saw on the front lines?
He took a deep breath, focused on the grip of your hand around his as you slowly started to apply aloe along the burn. Cautious eyes glancing up to him, you watched as his shoulders slumped a little, a weight lifting from the tension he carried as the cooling of the gel started to take effect. The hardened lines on his face softened, his breaths coming in a bit steadier, the sigh that left his lips light and sweet.
“I’m sure they appreciate what you do for them,” you said, softer this time, in hopes of distracting yourself from the way his lips parted ever so slightly in relief the longer you soothed the gel along his hand.
“Eh, keeps me busy,” he said, brushing it off, almost like the praise was uncomfortable for him, like it didn’t feel warranted or necessary. He smiled to himself, pulling his lower lip between his teeth as you started to wrap his hand, gentle touches delicately easing the bandage around the burn. “Brought me back to you, didn’t it? I call that a win.”
You laughed a bit at that despite yourself as you clipped the edges of the bandages and secured it properly. “I’m sure you would have found an excuse to come bother me all on your own, Sergeant Barnes.”
“Bucky,” he reminded you again, grinning so wide it must have hurt.
“I don’t want to see you in this tent for at least a week,” you warned, placing his hand back into his own lap. You stood, brushing the wrinkles from the edges of your dress. Though you were stern with him, you were smiling. He certainly took notice of it.
“That’s a lot to ask of me, sweetheart. I’m a clumsy guy.”
“You’re the best sharpshooter we have!”
“I’m a mess, honey. Look at me! You’re my only hope.”
“Oh, get out of here!” you laughed, pushing on his shoulders though you were met with significant resistance; a playful game of cat and mouse, and damn if you weren’t completely falling for it.
He finally gave in when your laughter started to draw the attention of the nurses gathered around the bedsides of injured soldiers, and you swatted him on the shoulder, heat flushing to your cheeks in embarrassment, though you were unsuccessfully biting back a smile.
As he made his way to the exit, he turned back for a final look, surprised to find you still watching him, and he winked; cool and collected, confident. You shook your head at him, arms folded over your chest, but he saw the way the corners of your lips pushed up high into your cheeks, the brightness in your eyes, the whisper of a laugh still in your breath.
If this was all a game, he was certainly winning.
***
A few weeks later and the nurses had resorted to reserving a spot for Bucky in the back of the tent; the same cot in your assigned row because he all out refused to be seen by anyone else. He’d duck through the canvas flaps at the entrance, smile politely at the nurses and wait patiently for you to notice him.
His injuries varied anywhere from a paper cut along his palm to a splitting headache to simple heartburn. He knew better than to take your attention away from soldiers who really needed it, but he’d come to consume the moments in between, whether you liked it or not.
But a funny thing started to happen.
You started to look forward to the days when he’d peep his head into the tent, checking to make sure you were on shift before he’d saunter his way inside and take his seat on his favorite cot. You’d find disappointment burning like jealousy in your chest on the days he didn’t, and your mind would wonder where he was or if he was alright.
He’d once waited hours before you were able to step away from the gunshot wounds of a soldier two beds down and though the scrape on his knee had all but scabbed over by then, he stuck around until the kid stabilized. 
You were exhausted by the time you made it over to Bucky, losing hope that you’d be able to keep the injured soldier alive through the night and trying to mask the utter helplessness you felt.
But Bucky made his light-hearted jokes, he teased you for the dirt on your forehead, whined and complained dramatically about his knee though you both knew he’d sleep it off my morning, and it brought back a smile to your face before you realized it. He managed to push through even the darkest parts of your days.  
***
Bucky’s regiment was out on assignment for over a week and you would have been lying to yourself if you said you didn’t miss him. You found yourself glancing down at the entrance every few minutes, feeling like something was missing when you finished your checklist, stabilized your patients, and finally had a free moment for yourself. There was something else you would have been attending to.
It wasn’t until you realized it was Bucky you were searching for, waiting to see his smile light up at he caught your eye, that it hit you just how easily you’d fallen for him.
At the end of a very long week, he stumbled into the med tent on a rolled ankle, leaning off the shoulder of Captain America himself, complaining of a pain in his left arm. You were relieved to see him, like a weight lifted from your chest that was holding you underwater for days, but you couldn’t let him see that.
“Been a while, honey,” he smirked. “Miss me?”
“Watch yourself, Barnes,” you warned, though it was light and airy. You eased his arm over your shoulders and excused Steve as he was still supporting his weight. You tried not to focus on how nice it felt to have Bucky this close, his arm draped over your shoulders, his side pressed up tight to yours as he hobbled in support of his injured ankle.
“Got real lonely out there on the front without you,” Bucky teased as you helped him down to the cot. “Stevie had to fix me up. Wasn’t pretty.”
“I can see that,” you laughed, gesturing to the mess of bandages circling around his arm. “What did you do? Bump into the corner of the tank?”
“Not exactly,” he chuckled awkwardly, pulling his arm from what remained of his sleeve to give you better coverage. He curled his shirt up in his hands, shivering as the cold touched exposed skin and you tried to ignore the taunt lines of his muscles and the placement of freckles down his back, the shadows over his abdomen.
Slowly, you pulled back the bandages, wrapped about a dozen times over, until red started to appear in the white of the cloth, soaking through the layers thicker and darker until you found the source. Your smile had long fallen by the time you saw the wound on his arm, a bullet grazing on the outer stretch of muscle; ripped and raw on the edges, a piece of your heart torn along with it.
“You were shot?”
“Oh, come on, doll, it ain’t so bad,” Bucky chuckled. “It’s just a little graze.”
You shook your head, quickly tending to the open wound with alcohol swipes that left him hissing from the sting of it. Your hands were shaking slightly, but you held your breath in hopes he wouldn’t notice.
“Why is it that you feel the need to come in here with senseless injuries and waste my time but when you're actually hurt, you brush it off like it’s nothing?” 
You weren’t angry despite the tone of your voice. No, it was fear that took over, marred through the tension of your words and the frantic thumping inside your chest. The idea of him never walking into your tent again ripped the heart straight from you. 
“We’re at war, honey,” Bucky replied gently and though he still wore that beautiful smile on his face, it was softer. “This kind of stuff happens all the time.”
“Not to you,” you whispered, voice low and heavy.
Your fingers were trembling as you attempted to thread the needle for the third time, though it was no use. It kept missing the eye, your hand was shaking too much for a steady grip. You couldn’t protect him when he was out in the trenches, couldn’t heal his wounds and tend to his injuries. You couldn’t save him if something happened out there, leaving him stranded. 
A few inches to the right and the bullet could have torn through a major artery and maybe Steve Rogers would have showed up in your tent with his helmet held at his chest and a solemn look in his eye when he told you that Bucky fought valiantly until his last breath.
The thread missed the needle again and you let out a groan, a wave of frustration and anger and fear and suddenly Bucky’s hands were on yours, slowly lowering them back to your lap. He smiled sweetly at you as he gently took the needle and thread from your hands and slipped it through the eye. He knotted it at the end and handed it back to you, adjusting his position on the cot to give you better leverage.
“I should get someone else to do this,” you said quietly.
“No deal, honey. You’re the only one for me.”
“Bucky, my hands are shaking. I should ask one of the girls to--”
“It’s you or I walk.” 
Bucky smirked, winking at you over his shoulder before he settled in again. Determined and stubborn as you’d ever seen him. 
You sighed, pushing out a deep breath as you steadied your hand. “Okay, well, no complaining if you end up with a scar.”
“Me? Never.”
***
Bucky wasn’t the only soldier in the tent that night and you were worn thin; running on startling lack of caffeine and frequent cold bursts of air outside, you hadn’t slept in nearly two days as you attended to the influx of injured men.
Half of your girls were out sick from the bug that was floating around camp, though you were almost certain it wasn’t airborne as they insisted and they’d contracted it by getting cozy with the soldiers. You couldn’t blame them for seeking comfort amongst the harsh conditions of the war, but being down two girls in an overcrowded, busy tent full of men in terrible pain wasn’t easy to manage on your own.
Bucky’s presence seemed to help, though. He’d smile at you whenever you looked in his direction and you started to wonder if he was watching you as you worked, as opposed to the book in his lap. He always seemed to be looking at you when you turned over your shoulder to check in on him, anyway. The pages of the book sitting in his hand remained unturned for too long, even as he fought against the heaviness of his lids, sleeping threatening to pull him under though he resisted.
He gave in after you’d swiped the book from his hands and ordered him to close his eyes.
“Anything for you, doll,” he said, yawning through every syllable.
You watched as he settled into the sheets, bare chest exposed and the heavy bandage wrapped around his arm. His eyes fluttered shut, nose scrunching as he sniffled in a tight breath, and his whole body seemed to relax, finding sleep rather quickly.
It was nearly two in the morning by the time the med tent quieted down.
Most of the men were asleep, the others too doped up on pain medications to notice much of anything going on around them, their eyes softly gazing out ahead of them, heavy eyelids falling shut. You let the remaining girls go back to their own tents until dawn, given that the worst of it all had subsided.
With a tired yawn, you dragged your feet down to Bucky’s bed. He was snoring softly in his sleep, lips parted just slightly, and you realized gazing down at him, that he looked years younger like this; the innocence he often masked amongst the perils of war rising fresh to the surface, unobstructed.
With a cautious hand, you reached out and grazed your fingertips along his arm; his whole body sighing in response, a slight curve of his lips, his head lulling to the side closest to the touch.
But you couldn’t stand there and watch him sleep all night. The bandage had started to bleed through and it needed a rewrapping.
You pulled up a chair next to his cot, carefully beginning to unwrap the cloth from around the tight muscle of his arm. Smooth skin under pebbled goosebumps from the chill outside, you gently released the bandage to the mattress. The wound didn’t look so bad underneath, but you cleaned it up a bit to be safe. With a quick dab to his arm with the disinfectant, you glanced up at his face in search of a hitch in his breath or a hiss on his tongue, but he remained fast asleep.
Even men like Bucky Barnes needed a break. He looked so sweet sleeping like that, the slight pout on his lips as you cleaned the wound, the sniffle through the beginnings of a head cold. 
You yawned, struggling to keep your eyes open and quickly rebandaged his arm. There were more men in this tent that needed your attention.
A few beds down and an hour later, you began to switch out the IV drip of a man with a severed leg; a young, baby faced kid who didn’t look old enough to graduate school, let alone be given a gun in the middle of wartime. He scrunched his nose in his sleep, his thigh twitching like he might still think something was there. There was sweat beading on his face, dripping damp into the pillow. You didn’t know how much longer he had.
Your legs wobbled slightly under you and you gripped onto the bedside table. The exhaustion was starting to reel you in, pull you under to the warm embrace of sleep, but you had a job to do, men to care for. Pressing the heel of your palms to your eyes, you tried to push the tiredness from you, though a yawn broke through again anyway.
“Looking like you might need some rest, doll.”
You froze at the sound of his voice, like ice and fire, relief and panic.
A heavy sigh sat in your chest before you turned around, only to find Bucky brushing at his eyes, sleepily smiling up at you from his cot. He propped himself him on his elbows, as you quickly made yourself busy, simply watching as you continued about your work.
“Someone has to attend to these men, Bucky,” you replied, a little tenser than you usually were with him, but the exhaustion had taken hold of you and it took effort just to keep your eyes open.
“Doll,” he called, softer this time, “you’re going to pass out. Where'd everyone go?”
“Sent them off. No need for a crowd to watch over sleeping men.” You checked the vitals of a man across the aisle from Bucky; steady rhythm, even pulse. He’d make it until morning, at least.
“When’s the last time you slept?” he asked slowly and you could feel his eyes following you around the tent, watching intently as you tended to each of the men, assuring yourself that they were as restful as they appeared. There was a concern in his voice, a sincerity, and it tensed in your shoulders.
You released a heavy breath, keeping focused on replenishing the infusion bag of a soldier who was hanging on by a thread. One quick glance back at Bucky proved to be a mistake as he was still watching you, though it was under kind, worried eyes. He was still waiting on an answer.
“You don’t need to be worrying about how much I’m sleeping,” you said, turning your back to him because your eyes were falling heavy and it was near impossible to keep them open. You leaned onto the frame of another soldier’s bed for support, pretending to be busy for Bucky’s sake.
“No?” Bucky questioned with an embellished sigh. “Someone has to, don't you think?”
“Bucky, I’m fine,” you yawned, covering your mouth with your wrist as you turned back to face him. 
He chuckled a bit under his breath, chin falling to his chest, before he smiled up at you like you’d missed out on some kind of inside joke.
“Oh, ‘course you are, doll. Must have been someone else who put the same bloody bandage back on my arm after cleaning it then, huh?” he shrugged teasingly, gesturing to his arm where a dark red bandage circled around his bicep.
Your eyes blew wide, a gasp in your throat and you rushed over to him. Hands fumbling for the chair, missing several times and resorting to falling at your knees, you made quick work of trying to peel away the red bindings.
“Shit! Shit, I’m-- shit,” you panted, shaking, “that’s never happened before and I—oh God, I’m so sorry, Bucky—I’ll fix it, just—just give me a second and—”
“Hey, hey, it’s alright, honey,” Bucky cooed sweetly, helping to unfasten the bandage because your hands were fumbling too long with the clasps. His right hand encased your shaking fingers, holding them tightly long enough to pull your attention away from his arm. “It happens, okay? No harm done. I’m aces, alright?”
“No, no, it’s wildly...” you sucked in a sharp breath, tingling in the back of your jaw, stretching at your cheeks, “...unacceptable and I...” another yawn broke through, “...should report myself because...” and a third.
“Jesus, doll, listen to you. You’re exhausted,” Bucky eased, reaching for the clean bandages on the bedside table. He grabbed a fresh one and put one end between his teeth for leverage as he began to wrap his own arm.
You sat back on your heels, kneeling next to his bed and certainly getting dirt along the end of your dress. You watched as he wove the clean cloth in and around his arm, concentration etched into his facial features to mask the slight wince of pain as the fabric touched the wound.
Guilt was fresh in your chest as Bucky wrapped his arm himself, pulled it tight and gestured for you to fasten it. He could have done it himself, you were sure. There was a smile on his face as he looked at you, like he was trying to make you feel better.
“I’m sorry, Bucky. It won’t happen again,” you mumbled, defeated and you rose to your feet, beginning to walk away.
“Wait, honey, don’t go--”
You froze, surprised by a sudden grip at your hand before you could take a step away from his bedside, and when your eyes shot back to his, he let go immediately, his cheeks flushing red as he began to laugh nervously. It was a kind of embarrassment you never expected to see in him.
“You don’t gotta apologize to me, doll,” he started, scratching at the back of his head.
“I can’t afford to make mistakes,” you retorted, voice a little more somber. “You can’t afford it either.”
“Then, make it up to me.”
You narrowed your eyes, fighting off the urge to yawn again. “What would you have me do?”
“Get some rest?” he asked sheepishly, scooting to the far edge of the tiny, twin size cot. He took up most of the space himself and you swore you may have seen him swallow nervously as he pulled down the covers, gesturing to the open space.
“No, I... I can’t,” you said flatly, though your heart was racing.
“You’re going to pass out where you stand and you said yourself you can’t afford to make more mistakes,” he argued gently. “Just a few hours. Then you’ll be good as new. No more dirty bandages.”
“Bucky, I...” you shook your head, stepping back and folding your arms over your chest. “I-- I have to look after these men. I can’t fall asleep. What if something happens?”
“I’ll wake you up,” he responded with a shrug. “I got my hours in. Anyone starts throwing a coughing fit, monitors start going haywire, I’ll let you know. I promise.”
“People will talk,” you whispered, excuses lined up but Bucky didn’t let them break his smile for even a moment.
“No one's around, sweetheart.”
“It’s inappropriate.”
“So is half my guys sleeping with your girls and yet...”
You laughed a bit at that, chewing on the edge of your lip, the rouge long faded of color. A heavy silence passed, a slight sway in your stance as your body fought tirelessly against the urge to close your eyes. Glancing down the rows of cots, it seemed quiet. Not a peep for hours and everyone was stable.
You turned back to Bucky. He was waiting patiently.
“You’ll wake me?”
You didn’t think it was possible for him to smile wider, but – God – it was blinding.
“Cross my heart.”
Stepping out of your shoes, you slowly made your way to the edge of his bed. You stared down at the open space and the slim line of mattress available to you. You must have taken too long because he started shifted a bit more to the edge, to the point where he was nearly falling off.
“Promise I’ll be a complete gentleman,” he chuckled lightly, cheeks pink and rosy. It was damn near impossible to say no to him when he looked at you like that, with a sincerity you hadn’t known since you left the States, draped under ocean blue.
“One hour,” you warned him as you slowly lowered yourself into the cot beside him. It squeaked as you let your weight fall to its uneven springs, the lumps evident against your back, the frame prominent through the thin cushion.
“One hour,” he agreed, giving you space as you rested your head against the pillow if you wanted it, though you heard his breath hitch as you tugged his arm down a little to lean against his shoulder, his right arm curling around your back to keep you steady on the bed.
Laying on your side, curled up next to him, you rested your left arm against his chest, tracing your fingers along the exposed lines of his stomach, the dip at his sternum, the scars littering smooth stretches of beautifully tanned skin. He shivered under your touch, his breath slightly uneven, though he didn’t say anything. His hold on you tightened as he suppressed a gasp under the bite of his teeth, like a reflex, pulling you tighter as his toes curled and his spine lightened.
“This okay?” you asked quietly, voice barely above a whisper and you watched as your breath touched his chest, goosebumps in its wake.
“Perfect, honey,” Bucky replied sweetly, his fingers drawing patterns along your back, tracing along the zipper of your dress and the seams in the shoulders. “Close your eyes, will you?”
A sleep heavy laugh pulled up at your cheeks, resting on his chest, as you let your hand fall flat against his stomach. You nodded, curling up as close against him as you could manage, losing yourself in the gentle waves of his touch along your spine.
“Thank you,” you whispered as your eyes began fluttering shut. You could hear the pulse of his heart beating gently under your ear, the steady rhythm lulling you a warm embrace. The slip of consciousness tugging you kindly to the ease of temporary darkness.
There was a slight touch on your forehead, something warm and sweet, lingering as your breaths became longer, steadier, drawn out and even; the heat of breath to your skin, the slight hum of a content sigh. A kiss as gentle and kind and tender as the man behind it.
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animated-antagonist · 4 years ago
Text
Qibli has a terrible arc
HEAR ME OUT.
Before you attack me for this, I genuinely don’t care if you like or hate him. I never loved him, but he wasn’t as bad as moon. Sometimes he’s funny, I like his interactions with winter, but I never really cared about him. But the way his mind was described in moon rising made me excited for his pov in book 10.
Then I read it and realized that he’s a boring, whiny, obsessive character who I was immediately sick of.
Darkness of dragons as a whole is a fucking mess from start to finish. And because I have nothing better to do right now, im going to explain why.
This is all my opinion, and it is based on story structure and character arc guidelines and stuff that I have learned recently. Feel free to disagree. Qibli is a decent character with his charm and humour, but he has the worst character arc out of all wof books. Yes that includes the hive queen and dragonslayer.
 Ok so first, what I like about qibli: like two things: his relationship with winter, and his sense of humour. I like his playful banter with the shiny ice dragon prince. It’s entertaining. And he does have the occasional joke that manages to somewhat amuse me.
 Literally everything else about him is awful. So let’s talk about that.
 Memorable characters are driven by three main things: desire, fear, and misbelief.
 Winter’s misbelief is that his life’s worth is determined by a ranking on a wall and what his tribe thinks of him. This also results in him believing that working with others and expressing love and trust are signs of weakness. He’s afraid of being a disappointment to his tribe because he’s experienced that feeling in his past already, and never wants to face it again. And yet … he does want more. He’s more open and caring than the rest of his family, and in the two backstory scenes we get, it’s clear he’s far more willing to bend the rules to be even a little more free.
 Peril’s misbelief is that she’s too dangerous to make her own decisions. Therefore, she’s instantly loyal to anyone who expresses a hint of interest or affection to her. This leads to her being easy to manipulate, and Scarlet does just that. She’s afraid of displeasing the people she’s loyal to, but she does want to be free. But her backstory and eight years of living by Scarlet’s orders and not having a single thought of her own has lead her to subconsciously believe that she constantly has to have someone make all her choices for her. She doesn’t go after Scarlet for her own benefit, it never crosses her mind once. She’s doing it because she knows it will make Clay happy, and not herself.
 Turtle always wanted to be a hero. That’s literally in the book blurb. But the Snapper incident in his backstory makes him doubt that he will ever be anything more than just another SeaWing prince. Thanks to his mother’s stories, he believes that in order to be a real hero, he has to do great, epic things like slaying whole armies by himself. He wants to be a hero, but his misbelief and fear of being noticed get in the way of his wants.
 And they all grow and overcome their fears and misbeliefs. Winter realizes that his friends would never hurt him the same way his family would. He realizes that it’s okay to love and be loved, to trust and be trusted. He goes back to his friends because he knows that, even if they can be annoying some times, it’s so much better than having his worth determined by a family and tribe that never approved of him and probably never will. Peril discovers that her misbelief is leading her to make the wrong decisions. Her growth is so strong that she can take off an animus touched object. She knows she’s right. She can make her own choices, and she’s done letting others use her as a toy. Turtle saves his sister, not by taking down an army, but by tossing her his enchanted stick to keep her hidden from Darkstalker. In doing that, he’s proven that he’s evolved and changed as a character. They all still have doubts at times, but that’s normal. These three characters have some of the best arcs I’ve ever seen.
 Now back to Qibli.
 His family told him he was worthless and couldn’t do anything as an ordinary dragon. This sparked the misbelief that he has to have power, or in this world animus magic, to have worth. He’s afraid of being worthless, and wants to feel valuable. That’s a great setup for a great character. Qibli could have, and should have, been one of the best wof characters of all time.
 But no he fucking sucks.
 I’m going to focus on him as a character here. The Vulture stuff is boring as hell and I don’t care to talk about it. The whole book is shit and I will never read it again, so let’s continue.
 Again, Qibli is set up to be an excellent character. When he goes to find Ostrich, he brings with him Anemone’s bracelets, which makes perfect sense. He doesn’t want to be powerless, so of course he’s going to bring that magic, that power, with him. More setup that goes no where, because when he uses them, he doesn’t even face consequences.
 Pausing here because I hate it so much.
 CONSEQUENCES ARE WHAT MAKE CHARACTERS GROW. If they face ZERO consequences for their actions, they won’t LEARN anything. Qibli using the bracelets works for his character, but I just cannot believe that Thorn would just let him walk away after burying the ENTIRE FUCKING KINGDOM in sand. I hate it so much. Qibli just getting a free pass and facing no consequences is so bad. He doesn’t even express that much remorse or guilt. That could work for a negative character arc (which I genuinely would have preferred from Qibli but I’ll get to that later) but for a positive arc? The magic and power he craves so deeply just got his entire kingdom buried. He should have so much more internal conflict now, because the thing he wants so badly just did more harm than good.
 Okay. Next part. This one isnt’ really related to his character arc, just more of him being a kinda jerk for a few seconds. Winter expresses great concern over travelling over Darkstalker’s teeth, and Qibli just teases him about it. Winter has known about Darkstalker’s malice his whole life, was brainwashed by him, and is truly terrified of him. If Qibli had teased him about anything else I wouldn’t have an issue, but Winter was scared for his life in this moment and Qibli just completely ignores it. Or maybe I’m wrong I haven’t touched the book in years because I hate it that much.
 Back to his ‘arc’.
 Wait no this is an issue I have with the book: the cliffhanger of book 9 was Turtle losing his animus magic and they just kinda fixed it in two seconds here. It’s very upsetting and kinda comical that they fixed it so effortlessly lmao.
 Back to Qibli.
 Uh nothing happens for a while. Just boring Moonbli WHICH, might I add, is the worst wof ship (excluding problematic ones ofc). They have zero chemistry and honestly I find Qibli a bit obsessive. He always thinks ‘what would Moon do’ or ‘will Moon love me if I do this?’ which yeah it ties into his ‘I want to be loved and have value’ motivation but it still feels a bit excessive and annoying at times. Pair that with his constant nagging about how ‘oh no if only I had that gosh darn scroll!’ or ‘how can moon ever choose meeee when she has winterrrr’. Moon described his mind to be fast and full of commotion, but we never see any of that in this book. It’s just constant whining and complaining.
 Then he goes another step further and blames Winter for getting angry at Moon for??? being friends with the dragon who just tried to murder his whole tribe???? Moon’s a fucking idiot for continuing to be friends with Darkstalker after everyone keeps telling her how bad he is. KINKAJOU, HER SUPPOSED BEST FRIEND, tells her all about what Darkstalker did to Turtle, and Moon’s just okay with it??? And then when Winter confronts her about still trusting Darkstalker after everything he’s done not just to the IceWings, but her friends as well, that Darkstalker brainwashed Winter and he’s not okay with it, Qibli calls him self-righteous for exploding with fury. What else do you expect?? This moment killed all three ships for me. It was an unnecessary event that’s only purpose was to give Tui a reason to make Moonbli canon instead of Winterwatcher.
 Onto the climax (which by the way is like the only semi decent part of this whole book). Qibli again uses his power to save the day. SERIOUSLY??? Ok fine it makes sense because this book has zero structure whatsoever. Qibli doesn’t have to make the impossible choice at the end of act one. He doesn’t face a goal shift at the midpoint. He doesn’t look a disaster right in the face. You cannot convince me that he’s changed at all over the course of this book.
 Because he doesn’t. He uses magic at the climax and boom everything is fixed. I like the concept of the empathy spell but it just doesn’t fit with this kind of character arc, unless it comes before the dark moment and fits into the supposed victory plot-point (thinking again now I think it sort of does but I’m too lazy to go change things so deal with it).
 And then oh no we get the temptation plot point! This is often my favourite plot point in stories that have it because we get to see the protagonist drop their misbelief and refuse the offer because they’ve changed! Reading this and thinking, oh wow he’s going to refuse it because he’s gone through a super dynamic character journey and arc!’ … then realizing no he’s not, because Tui forgot to include that and now makes Qibli refuse the offer for completely different reasons.
 See in a book with a good character arc, the character will refuse this offer because they’ve outgrown it. They no longer see value in it because they now have something greater to live for. I like this plot point much more than darkest moment if I’m being honest. So Darkstalker offers Qibli all he’s ever wanted: animus magic. Will Qibli accept, or decline? And why?
 He declines. But not for the right reasons.
 Qibli doesn’t refuse Darkstalker’s offer because he’s changed or grown. He doesn’t refuse it because he now sees no value in this because he’s seen happiness anywhere else. He refuses because he knows he can’t trust Darkstalker.
 … wow.
 i hate this book so much istg
 If Qibli had gone through a dynamic arc, he would have refused for better reasons.
 It’s just so disappointing. He has no reason to refuse that other than the fact that Darkstalker is untrustworthy. Holy shit.
 I take character arcs and story structure very seriously, and Qibli is just AWFUL when it comes to this.
 After three books that had such epic, emotional character arcs, DoD feels like a downgrade. And that’s why I think Qibli is a terrible character.
 But hey you know what COULD have worked?? Giving Qibli a NEGATIVE arc instead!
 I know he’s Darkstalker’s foil. That’s cool I don’t care. GIVE HIM A NEGATIVE ARC!! I would have LOVED IT SO MUCH MORE if Qibli accepted Darkstalker’s offer and arc 3 was all about all the other protagonists coming together to stop him and Darkstalker. That would have made a much better third arc. And you can bring in the other tribes if you want to I don’t care just find a way to make it work.
 It would have made so much more sense and fit the story so much more if Qibli accepted Darkstalker’s offer and became an evil animus alongside him. It also could have given Moonbli more time and chemistry! I still would have shipped Winterwatcher because well, Winter, but I probably wouldn’t hate Moonbli if this was the way the story went. Or maybe Qinter could be a thing. Imagine like a really emotional moment where Qibli is about to kill Winter and Winter just talks to him or something idk something romantic and sad. Would be great because there’s zero mlm rep in wof.
 Fuck it I’m gonna make an au about this.
 Yeeah that’s my rant over. I don’t hate Qibli as a character and I think he had so much potential but the way the story is written, I honestly thought he would have a negative arc instead. Wow I really want that au now I can’t stop thinking about it haha. But yeah Qibli is charismatic at times and a bit fun but his arc is terrible. Moon had a better arc than Qibli. MOON.
Sorry if this came off as aggressive at times I just wanted to voice my opinion. If you like him, that’s cool! I just don’t. He’s not one of my favourites although he could have been. Missed potential in my opinion. This is a very long rant so if you’re still reading this … thanks lol.
 Have a good day/night. Im gonna make that au now lmao.
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daadddysprincessss · 4 years ago
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(REPOST FROM MY OLD ACCOUNT)
We aren’t even related
paring: Jim Mason x reader
Summary: step siblings are not blood related - Your dad had been dating Sandy Mason for over a year now, and they had both agreed to move in together(unfortunately they chose your dad’s house), Sandy had 2 kids of her own, Medina and Jim - they were twins, but 2 very different people. You could admit you did have a small crush on Jim when you saw him at school, but so did every other girl, and now that the both of you would basically be step siblings you would never have a chance now. // 3.7k words, part one
Warnings: step siblings are not blood related, harmless flirting
tagging: taglist: @ghostiesbedroom @lovelylangdonx @queencocoakimmie@langdonsinferno @peachesandfern @gold-dragon-slayer @charlottelouise135 @hplotrfan @rosegoldrichie @taryn-just-happened@little-grunge-flowerz @ccodyfern @1-800-bitchcraft @langdonsoceaneyes @sojourne @starwlkers @bellejeunefillesansmerci @chicaluna2410 @crazycatchloe (hope its okay if i tagged you)
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Today was one of the worst days of your life, your dad’s girlfriend was moving in with her 2 kids - you either had to move your room to the basement of share with her daughter, you quickly opted out of sharing with a complete stranger. After you settled into the basement room you came upstairs and awaited the Masons arrival with your dad - he looked so happy, you couldn’t remember the last time you had seen him happy -
“Nervous?” you tilted your head and looked up at your dad
He continued to bounce his leg up and down - “a little” he smiled at you
“Don’t be, it’s gonna be amazing” you gave him a weak smile, trying to hide the annoyance in your voice - the only highlight of the day was staying home from classes, it seemed odd for someone to move in on a thursday but whatever - it kept you out of class.
The both of you had waited till 10:30 when your dad quickly jumped up when he heard the soft knock on the door - “hi Sandy” he smiled as he opened the door for her
You stood back as Sandy walked into your home - she gave you a weak smile - “Kids, come on in” she yelled
You placed your hands behind your back and fiddled with your fingers as you waited for them to walk in - you’ve seen them around the school before and never really talked to them so this was definitely going to be a big change - both Medina and Jim walked in, Medina smiled at you, and Jim didn’t even look up from his phone.
“Hey y/n” Medina smiled
“Hi Medina, Hi Jim” you said as politely as possible
“Hi” Jim’s voice was deep - he didn’t even look up from his phone
You rolled your eyes at him - Medina let out a little laugh, she noticed you roll your eyes -
Your dad walked in holding a few boxes labelled with JIMS ROOM “where should I put these”
“Whatever room I get I guess” his tone was rude
Your dad walked towards your old room placing them down
“If you want to follow me, I can show you guys your rooms” you walked towards Jim and Medina
“Yeah that would be cool” Medina smiled - she nudge Jim’s shoulder in hopes he wouldn’t be so rude but it clearly didn’t work
“Medina this is your room, im sorry its kinda small - it used to be my dads office” you turned to Medina
“It’s alright, there’s room for my bed, desk, and surfboard” Medina said with a shrug, she stepped into the room and walked towards the window. “it has a killer view - wow” she turned to look at you
“My dad said you love the ocean, so I made sure you’d get this room” you smiled at Medina - “Jim, your room is right over here” you turned to look at him
You walked towards your old room - “Jim this is you room, it uh used to be mine” your voice was monotoned
“Cool, so ill be sharing a room with you I take it” Jim raised his brow
Jim is one of the cutest guys at school, you knew you never had a chance with before - but now you really didn’t have a chance - “Uh no, my room has been moved to the basement” you said nervously
“Damn it would’ve been nice to share my room with a hottie like you” Jim smiled and walked into the room
You were a bit taken back by his confidence - a little bit of blush swept across your face from his weirdish compliment - you turned on your heels and walked back towards your dad and Sandy
“Thank you so much y/d/n” Sandy said as your dad carried in the last of the boxes - “JIM, MEDINA! Coming grab your boxes” Sandy yelled
The first thought that ran through your mind was ‘does she ever shut up’ like who yells that much for their kids
Medina was the first to come and grab her boxes, and than her surfboard. Jim came much later - as if he was preoccupied in his room - the first thing he grabbed was his surfboard(probably checking to make sure it wasn’t damaged) and than his boxes -
“The beds will be here later today - if that’s okay” your dad said nervously to Sandy
“I’m sure Jim and Medina won’t mind” she smiled
You went downstairs to your room, and flopped down onto your bed - you pulled out your phone and clicked the group chat labels ‘baddies’ - ‘well they are moved in now :/‘ you sent to the chat
‘Ooo at least you have that hottie to stare at!! ;)’ Heather texted
Heather wasn’t wrong Jim was the schools biggest eye candy, to us girls he was like a shiny new toy - of course you wanted to play with him but now that he’s technically your step-brother you can’t even touch him -
you tossed your phone aside to try and clear your mind “I can’t think of him like that anymore” you whispered to yourself - you looked up at the ceiling above you, you were directly under Jim’s room, you could hear him walking around above you - you even heard your window slide open a few times, probably testing if it will be quiet enough to sneak out (which it was). You turned your head to the side and looked at your new windows, they were big enough to get out of but a little high to reach, you quickly got out of bed and moved your nightstand under your window so you could still sneak out whenever - or so your friends/boys could sneak in without making a sound.
You laid back onto you bed - *ding* your phone buzzed on the other side of your bed *ding*
“Fuck who is it” you sat up reaching for your phone -
‘Bay party tmrw nite - u in?’ Heather texted
‘If ur cuming to the party wear something sexy - gotta impress the boys’ Amber texted
You rolled your eyes and laughed - ‘only if you were something cute with me;)’ you replied to Amber
‘Yeah i'll pick up Ambs and Vana’ you texted back to Heather - “fuck shes so annoying” you tossed your phone aside again - you turned to your side and started to doze off slightly until you heard a light knock at your door - “come in” your voice was soft
The door slowly opened “I was wondering if you wanted these back” Jim’s voice appeared from the doorway - he was holding up a lighter and incense
“Uh yeah! Thanks” you quickly walked towards him grabbing the items
“The best way to cover up the scent of pot is the smell of glass cleaner” Jim laughed - he knew exactly why you had incense
You smiled awkwardly “thanks” -
Jim pulled out a joint from his pocket - “wanna smoke up before dinner?” He smiled
Jim never talked to you - he actually labelled you a ‘snob’ for not showing up at bay boy parties often, so what was the change of heart here - “uh sure, why not?” You said softly - you flicked the lighter on and lit the incense -
The soft smell of lavender filled your room as Jim lit the joint - he inhales deeply, holding it for a moment - the smoke ghosted form his lips, he held the joint up for you. You took the joint and inhaled deeper than Jim(trying to show off) you held it in - when you parted your mouth to blow out the smallest bit of smoke came out - which made you smile.
“Wanna sit?” You tilted your head as you inhaled again
Jim nodded and took a seat on the end of your bed, you joined him on your bed, sitting with your back to your pillows - you leaned over(practically on your knees) to hand him the joint - Jim took the joint and smoked it
“I never would’ve thought a girl like you was into this sort of stuff” Jim laughed
“Into what? Smoking? Pv can be boring when there’s no parties, you have to find your own fun, you’ll quickly learn about me Jim” you smiled at him - you both were getting along, it felt slightly weird
“And what other things do you like to do for fun y/n” Jim’s voice was a bit higher as he held the smoke in
“Sometimes you can go whale watching, party at the bay, sometimes my friends and I go down to the train tracks and drink mindlessly - sometimes I go down there with guys” your eyes went wide realizing you overshared -
“Go on - im interested in what else you do at the tracks” Jim’s voice was low and raspy
You gave a weak smile as you reached over to grab the joint from Jim - you nearly fell face first onto his lap, but you quickly caught yourself before it could happen. Both of you started to laugh hard, “I’m so sorry” you took a deep inhale
“It all good babe” Jim laughed
You were a bit taken back by Jim calling you babe, like sure he probably called every girl babe but you never actually hung out with him - you took another deep inhaled before handing the joint back to Jim - you could feel your high kicking in, making you feel more relaxed. You watched Jim place the joint between his plump lips and inhale - god you wanted to kiss those lips - he parted his lips and exhaled the smoke softly, your eyes flickered up to his face - he was so fucking hot
“Y/N! JIM! Dinner is ready!” Your dad yelled from the top of the stairs - quickly getting you to focus
“Wait what time is it” you said softly as you grabbed your phone, ‘6:45’ was across the top of your screen - “we’ve been down here for almost 3 hours??” You started to laugh
Jim bit his bottom lip and looked at you “it was the best 3 hours I’ve spent here so far” he stared at you for a moment - you could feel the tension building up between you
“JIMMY! Y/N!” Sandy yelled
You both stood up together and walked towards the stairs to go up - Jim let you walk up first. When you came from behind the door the dinner table was set up with a nice dinner, there were 2 open spots next to each other - Jim and you had taken both those seats.
Dinner felt more full than normal, it wasn’t just you and your dad anymore - but it was a good feeling, you saw him laugh and smile a lot more than normal which warms your heart. After dinner you cleaned up the table with Sandy trying to get to know her more - she was a bit odd
“Thank you for dinner Sandy, it was delicious” you smiled as you load the dishwasher
“It was my pleasure - i'm glad you enjoyed it” Sandy smiled
You turned your head slightly and noticed Jim standing in the entrance of the kitchen gawking at you - you gave a playful smile and quickly stood up
“Hi” your voice was sweet
“H-hey” Jim stuttered out
“Do you need anymore help in the kitchen Sandy?” you turned your head to hide the blush sweeping across your face
“No dear, I got it from here” She smiled at you
Jim’s lips were pressed into a thin line - he parted his lips to say something but nothing came out
“Cat got your tongue” you teased - before Jim could say anything you walked towards the basement door, you went down into your room and threw yourself onto your bed - “why did I just do that” you raised your voice as you pushed your face into your pillows. Why were you being so flirty, you knew you couldn’t have him - you could feel your body tensing just thinking about him, your mouth started to water at the thought of kissing Jim’s plump lips, you could even imagine the of his ribs if he lied between my hips - your hand started to trail down your body, getting closer to the band of your leggings - *ding* you quickly removed your hand from almost entering your pants, you quickly sat up to see who messaged you -
‘Hey, I really enjoyed our smoke sesh. Maybe we can have another one soon;)’ Jim texted you
The first thought that ran through you head was ‘how did you get my number?’ -
‘Yeah, maybe tomorrow’ you texted back
‘Before the party ;)’ Jim texted back quickly
How did he know you were going? He never asked you - who told him? ‘Yeah sure, whatever works’ you texted back trying to sound cool
‘Sweet dreams ;)’ Jim texted back
You stared at your phone with a smile plastered across your face - “sweet dreams” you said softly out loud - you never texted him back that night. You laid back in your bed, you felt like you had a little school girl crush on Jim, but there was that little voice in the back of your head screaming at you ‘HE’S BASICALLY YOUR STEP BROTHER YOU CAN’T GO FOR IT’ - you closed your eyes to drown out the screaming in your head - after you closed your eyes you quickly fell asleep.
You woke up Friday morning to the smell of your dad’s world famous pancakes, you quickly jumped out of bed and threw and oversized shirt on, you ran up the stairs to see your dad humming as he was flipping some pancakes
“Good Morning sunshine” his voice was cheerful
“Good morning daddy” you smiled - you had forgotten what he looked like when he was this happy
“I made these ones special for you” your dad smiled and handed you a plate
When you took the plate you looked down to see mickey mouse shaped pancakes - “dad, you really didn’t have to” you smiled so hard your face started to hurt
“Think of it as a thank you” your dad pulled your head to his chest and kissed your forehead
You walked towards the kitchen table with your plate - you smiled at Medina who was eating her breakfast
“Morning” you spoke softly
“Morning y/n” she smiled
You placed your plate down and turned around to grab a drink - “Medina do you want anything to drink?”
“Yeah sure, I wasn’t sure where anything was” she laughed
You grabbed to fruit juices and walked back handing one to Medina, you both sat in silence, eating breakfast till Jim came out of his room - he stomped his way to the kitchen, his hair was a complete mess, dark circles under his eyes - almost like he didn’t sleep. He didn’t say a word to either of you, he grabbed a plate of food and sat next to you - he closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply -
“Morning Jim” your voice was low
He turned to look at you, giving you a weak smile along with a nod - he acted as if you meant nothing to him..
You ate your breakfast in silence, after you were done you brought your plate to the sink. You looked at the clock to see if there was enough take to shower before class - which there was -
You walked towards the bathroom(since the basement bathroom was being worked on) -you grabbed a towel and set the water temperature, you tossed the oversized shirt aside and stepped into the shower, you put a little bit of shampoo in your hand and started to massage it into your scalp -
“Holy fuck” Jim’s voice was muffled
Your eyes widen and you quickly covered your breasts - “Jim what are you doing in here, don’t you knock” your voice was full of embarrassment
“I did” Jim blurted out as his eyes trailed down your body
“Jim get out” you pointed at the door
“Or I could just join you, save water right?” He laughed - Jim walked towards the shower
“Jim no” you turned the shower off - you really did want him to join
“You know you want me to” Jim winked
There was a knock at the door - “Jim? Y/n?” Medina’s voice came from behind the door
“Sorry medina I’m almost done my shower” your voice was shaky
“Oh sorry y/n” Medina’s voice was quiet
“Okay Jim when Medina walks away your out” you covered your breasts again
“Nice ass” he smirked
The corners of your lips started to curve from the compliment(kinda compliment) Jim gave you -
“I worked hard for it” you spoke with confidence
“I bet it would look nicer with a few hand prints” Jim teased
You were a bit taken back by his boldness, you tilted your head and raised a brow - “Yeah I bet it would” you smirked
You could see a bulge build in Jim’s pants - he looked down and back at you, pink blush crept across his face from embarrassment - “Medina’s gone - sorry for the blue balls” you smirked
You could admit telling Jim to go away instead of fucking you senseless hurt a little - you gave yourself blue balls too, you quickly showered and went to your room, you got dressed and brushed your hair out.
When you walked upstairs and headed towards the door you saw Jim and Medina grabbing their bikes to ride to school - “do you guys want a ride?” You asked
“If you don’t mind” Medina squinted her eyes from the sun as she looked at you
“Yeah - please” Jim said as he walked towards your car
You unlocked the doors and Jim got in the passenger seat of y/car, Medina got in the back seat
“Thanks again y/n” she spoke softly
You smiled at her through the rearview mirror - you just wished she wasn’t so shy with you
You plugged your phone in for music and started to drive towards school - you got to school within 15 minutes which was early for you.
“Do you guys want a ride home after class too?” You asked as you parked
“Please” Medina nodded - she quickly got out of the car and walked towards her friends
“Yeah” Jim nodded
You both got out of the car at the same time walk separate ways. Jim didn’t acknowledge you at school for the rest of the day, it annoyed you how different and unflirty he was with you.
After class when the last bell rang you went to your locker as normal, and put your stuff away- you texted Medina and Jim letting them know you’d be a few minutes. When Amber and Vana walked up to their lockers(right beside yours) they wanted to know everything
“So what’s it like living with the Masons?” Vana raised a brow
“It's only been a day” you laughed
“Ugh fuck talking about that - so for tonight what are you wearing?” Amber asked
“Probably shorts and a tank, how about you guys?” You said as you put your backpack on -
“Y/n you gotta show a little - I heard Alex likes you” Vana teased
“Oh yeah right - I have eyes for someone else” you laughed
“No y/n Vana’s right, Heather heard that Alex was gonna invite you over after the party” Amber was trying to be serious
“Don’t pull my leg” you laughed
Both girls looked at you with a straight face
“I’ll see you guys tonight, you'll both be at Ambs?” You said as you turned to walk away
“Yeah - see you later!” They both said in sync
You walked quickly down the hall in hopes not to see Heather or Alex - they really annoyed you.
When you got to your car Jim and Medina we’re both patiently waiting for you - “sorry guys, my friends just wanted to talk” you quickly unlocked the doors.
The car ride home was silent again, you were thankful you had music to play though - when you got home, your dads car wasn’t in the drive away and no sign of Sandy anywhere - you went down to your room and picked out your clothes for tonight - placing them on your bed neatly.
Jim came down and knocked on your open door “you told me to knock right” he smiled
“Hi” you said coldly not caring
“Smoke?” Jim questioned as he held up a joint
“Why not” you stood up from your vanity
Jim lit the joint and inhaled, he nodded his head as he exhaled “its good” he handed you the joint
You walked towards Jim, taking the joint - your fingers brushed against his - you inhaled deeply and tilted your head back as you blew out the smoke. Jim and you sat in your room smoking - something about being with him comforted you, this joint hit you harder and faster than last time, your head went fuzzy, and your palms went calmly-
“I don’t know if I ever told you, but your so fucking hot” Jim’s voice was low - his eyes were glossy
“Wait what?” You were caught off guard-
Jim leaned towards you - his lips ghosting over yours - he placed his forehead against yours. You tilted your head up slightly - your lips meeting his - kissing gently, Jim’s lips parted slightly biting at your bottom lip. Jim’s tongue swiped against your bottom lip begging for entrance - you parted your lips, kissing Jim with an open mouth, his tongue massages against your tongue, you let out small moan into Jim’s mouth -
Jim pulled back from the kiss, a small trail of saliva trailed from your lips, his eyes were hazy as he started back at you -
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criminalrambling · 4 years ago
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It Only Takes a Taste pt. 1
When things got stressful or you needed to take your mind off of things, you would bake. Pulling out a favorite recipe or trying a new one was a way to open a door to somewhere else… maybe a Parisian patisserie with some pain au chocolat, or your grandma's kitchen with her famous blueberry pie. It helped you escape for a while, and you loved to share the treats with friends and family.
Your neighbor Penelope Garcia was one common recipient of these goodies, in part due to proximity but also because you knew her job required her and her colleagues to deal with some super gruesome stuff… she hadn't shared too many specifics, but you knew that she helped catch serial killers, and that was enough to get the gist. She would sometimes come by when she returned home to sit in your kitchen with a mug of tea, talking about anything but work!
You'd tell her about the books you'd read that week, your latest craft project and what was happening with the planning for your brothers wedding. She would share about what she and her co-workers had gotten up to on girls night, and her favorite blogs for fashion tips and cute puppy photos. And you'd send her home with a tupperware or Ziploc bag full of baked goods to take to work. You hoped she and the team enjoyed them, plus it felt nice to share with others.
---------------
The entire team loved when Penelope would stroll in carrying a stash of treats, but none quite as much as notorious snack-fiend Spencer Reid.
He'd stop what he was doing every time he heard Penelope's heels clatter across the floor towards the empty desk that had become a congregation point for the team.
"Greetings, earthlings! I have sustenance!" She would chime happily, clapping her hands together after setting the bag or tray down.
"What do we got, li'l mama?" Derek asked, turning his chair towards Penelope, eyebrows raised.
"There's a toffee crunch blondie for the tame ones, or an espresso fudge brownie for those who like it dark and smooth." She replied with a wink.
Mouth watering, Spencer selected one of each to go with his coffee. JJ joined him, taking a bite of her blondie.
"Oh my god, Pen, these are great. Thank you!" JJ exclaimed.
"Any time I am gifted with sweets, I am always happy to share the wealth!"
"Who were they from? New boyfriend?" Derek asked, accepting the brownie that Penelope passed him.
"Nope. As usual, my neighbor and confidante Y/N."
"You should hang out with her more often. And bring us the spoils!" Emily argued, waving to Penelope in thanks before heading back to work.
Spencer silently agreed. Anyone who could prepare something so balanced and special had to be a wonderful person. She was clearly generous, since she always shared with Penelope… he found himself wondering about Y/N every time his bubbly colleague brought her up. Not what she looked like, that was irrelevant. Would she listen to jazz as she baked? An audiobook or podcast? Who were her favorite authors? He hoped someday they would all have an occasion to meet Y/N so he could find out.
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You were on your way home from a pilates class when you felt your phone buzzing in your bag. Yanking it out, you saw it was Penelope and grinned as you answered.
"Hey Penny, what's up?"
"Hi! Not a lot, well, I mean a couple things with the work and the volunteering and stuff but not really that much! Any way, I wanted to invite you to this brunch party that my boss is hosting at his ridiculously gorgeous house. I'm making my famous marg-mosas!"
"That sounds great! When is it?"
"Next Saturday at 11:00. The weather looks nice so I think it will be outdoors for at least some of the time."
"Ok, awesome, I'm free. Is there anything I can bring? Some bubbly or cinnamon rolls?"
"I don't think anyone would say no to more of your baking, but whatever you feel like bringing or not bringing is totally fine. We can carpool? I'll come by and grab you at 10:15, his place is a bit of a drive."
You agreed to her plans and said your goodbyes. What a fun idea! Garden brunch at a mansion, who could say no to that? You hoped Penelope's friends were as great as she was. Now… what would you wear? And more importantly, what would you bake?!
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Spencer had been looking forward to the team brunch at Rossi's even more than usual once Penelope had mentioned that Y/N would be in attendance. He'd arrived unfashionably early, and sat at Rossi's kitchen island with a cup of coffee while his host made the final adjustments to the various dishes that would be served.
Soon, JJ, Will and the boys arrived, followed by Derek and Savannah. The group of them caught up on the patio, and while he was definitely curious how Henry was doing in school he couldn't help losing his focus every time the doorbell rang. Finally, he heard Penelope's loud greeting to Rossi and a softer introduction of her friend. His eyes widened in anticipation of seeing Y/N, who he'd wondered so much about.
The first thing he noticed as they rounded the corner was her bright smile and shiny, soft-looking hair. She was dressed casually, wearing a white tee that was tucked into a floral print skirt that ended a few inches below her knees and a slim pair of sneakers. Rossi was clearly enamored with her, finding plenty in common with another accomplished home cook as he welcomed her to his home. She carried a large tray covered in foil wrapping, and he wondered what she'd brought.
He soon didn't have to wonder, as Penelope ushered her friend over to the group on the patio.
"Friends, this is Y/N! My neighbor, friend and beloved source of baked goods. Y/N, meet Derek and his girlfriend Savannah, JJ, Will and their boys, and Spencer."
"It's so nice to meet all of you!" Y/N said, sounding genuinely pleased but looking a little more reserved. As the conversation continued she seemed to become more comfortable, making a couple of jokes and sharing more about herself. Spencer felt she was even better than he'd imagined… her favorite musician was either Etta James or Taylor Swift, and she'd gone into great detail about a podcast she'd listened to recently about medical malpractice in a Dallas-area hospital. It was clear she was someone with strong opinions and intelligence, but a bright outlook on the world around her. Spencer thought he could use some of that optimism in his life.
Rossi and a couple of hired servers ushered them over to the dining table that had been set up, asking everyone to take their seats. Miraculously, Spencer was able to get a seat close enough to Y/N that he knew they'd be able to talk throughout the morning. Mugs of coffee and champagne were passed around, and then Rossi proposed a toast.
"To this family of the BAU, and to friends old and new. For you I am thankful and blessed. Saluti!"
Spencer clinked his mug of black coffee to Y/N's own, with a small smile that he hoped was appealing. New friends indeed!
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one-leaf-grimoire · 3 years ago
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Five Birthdays
summary » five birthdays from the life of lisa petalon.
warnings » light angst in one part
note » LISA'S BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW! But I couldn't wait to post this one-shot lol. Illustrations included!
age 7 » sweet and bitter
“Happy birthday!!”
Lisa blinked slowly as her dad appeared from the kitchen, carrying something on a platter. He was covered with flour, egg stains on his shirt, but he was smiling wider than he had for a while. Her aunt and cousin giggled at the sight, clapping from where they sat next to Lisa at the table.
“What is that?”
“Look at it!” Her father grinned as he set it down in front of her. It was clear that it was some kind of food, maybe a fancy type of bread, but it was covered in some sort of shiny coating. “It’s a cake… a birthday cake! I realized that we never made one for you, so I decided to do it this time. Seven is a big age, after all!”
“A cake…” Lisa’s eyes lit up. “A cake! Wow!” In their little town in the woods, they foraged for most of their food, so Lisa was more used to the gamey taste of turkey, potatoes, and berry juice. Confections like cake were rare.
Her dad chuckled, crouching next to his daughter’s chair and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “It’s all yours, Lisa. Dig in!”
Lisa nodded, eagerly grabbing her fork and taking a big scoop of cake. It was soft, easy to cut; her father did a great job baking it. But before she tasted it, she paused.
“Wait… where is mom?”
The silence in the moments following the question should have told Lisa everything she needed to know. But she was just 7… she had not yet realized why her mother failed to acknowledge any of her birthdays.
“She… she’s tired.” Her father exchanged a glance with her aunt. Out of everyone here, he was the most weary, but he willed himself to smile again before turning back to look back into his daughter’s eyes; eyes that matched his own.
His daughter was almost his mirror image, with her black eyes, her jagged brown hair, and the power she inevitably would discover one day.
But he smiled anyway. Because she was his pride and joy. She was a miracle.
“But the rest of us are all here to celebrate. So let’s dig in!” He reached down and ruffled her hair.
Lisa grinned, giving him a nod before finally taking the first bite.
“Ah! It’s so sweet!”
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age 19 » anything you want
Lisa jumped a little in surprise as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She was standing by one of the shelves of books in the royal library, a place that she had been frequenting more and more these past few weeks. She turned around towards the feeling, a little perplexed when she saw that she was still alone. Huh? That’s weird, I don’t think I imagined that-
“Over here!”
She turned the other way, her heart skipping a beat when she saw none other than Julius there, leaning against the edge of the shelf, a place that he was definitely not only a moment ago. But Lisa couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed, despite the fright. “Oh, hi.”
“Hi.” Julius smiled, his eyes avoiding hers for a moment before he straightened up to walk over to her side. “I see you’re hard at work again, any discoveries?”
“N...Not yet.” Lisa quickly looked back down at the book in her hand, trying not to seem too nervous. She would have thought that she would be more used to being in his presence, since they had been meeting up here often to sift through records for any information about Lisa’ magic mark. But that wasn’t the case…”There are so many books, we might never find it, even if it’s here.”
“Well, I just finished my work for the day. I can be your helper for the rest of the evening, if you’d like~”
Lisa almost hid her face in her book as her face heated up. Help!!! Why did he say it like that- “Um, actually-” Lisa closed the book with a soft snap. “I was about to head out.”
“Oh.” There was a hint of disappointment in the Wizard King’s voice. “You have plans?”
“Yeah, actually…” Lisa smiled a little. “It’s my birthday! Yami and William wanted to go celebrate tonight.”
“Your birthday?!” Julius’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh- I had no idea! You should have told me, I would have gotten you a present!”
“P-Present!? No way!” Lisa shook her head, her smile falling. “I-I couldn’t accept a present from you, I mean- It wouldn’t be right for me to expect something, you know-”
“Nonsense! I’m your research assistant, remember!”
Julius winked, and Lisa felt that she was about to pass away right then and there.
“... I guess so… but still!” Lisa scowled playfully. “You don’t need to get me anything… I…”
“I feel happy enough just to be close to you. That’s the only present I need.”
Of course, Lisa couldn’t say something so embarrassing.
“I don’t need presents, really. I’d rather just spend time with my friends and other… people I care about.”
Julius’s eyes softened a bit, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “Oh… I see.” His smile quickly reappeared. “But still, I insist! How about this- You can take a book in this library home with you. Permanently.”
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Really? But, isn’t that stealing?”
“I’m the Wizard King, and I’m saying it’s ok. Plus, I’ll cover the overdue fees.” He grinned, closing his eyes for a moment. “How does that sound?”
“...alright. Thank you!” Lisa quickly put the book away, biting her lip to keep from smiling too widely. A birthday present from the Wizard King! More importantly… a present from Julius… “There’s so many books here, though… any recommendations…”
“Actually, there’s one I was hoping you would take.” Julius cleared his throat. “One moment. I’ll be right back.”
He quickly turned away and disappeared down a different aisle. A moment later, he reappeared, holding a book with an elaborate leather cover. “Um.. see for yourself.” He held it out for Lisa to take. It was heavy, but the texture of the cover felt nice under her fingers. Her eyes fell on the title, and she let out a soft gasp.
“Origins of Magic: The sources of mana in this world and the Mystery of its usage. By Julius Novachrono…”
“Heh, I wrote that when I was still captain.” Julius chuckled nervously, awaiting her reaction. “I might have to write a second edition, I’ve learned so much since I became Wizard King… maybe you can be my research assistant for that one.”
“This is amazing… I can’t wait to read it!” Lisa grinned, looking back up at his face. “Thank you, Julius.”
It still felt strange to say his name. This man was revered by almost everyone, yet here Lisa was, receiving a present from him. And a very personal present, at that.
“You’re welcome… let me know what you think.” Julius smiled, gazing down at her face.
There’s so much more I want to say to you… Lisa…
When Lisa got home soon after, she had a few minutes before William and Yami wanted to meet up. She collapsed on her bed, face down. After a moment of silence, she let out a long squeal, muffled by her pillow.
Oh god… I need to stop hanging out with him… or I’m going to fall in love for real.
But… maybe that wouldn’t be so bad…
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age 23 » forgotten nights
“Ouch… ouch ouch…”
Lisa rolled over, consciousness finally filtering back into her weary brain. It was strange at first, unfamiliar to Lisa.
Was I… sleeping? How is that possible?
She let out a soft groan.
I haven't slept in 3 years-
Suddenly, pain throbbed in the back on her head, and Lisa let out a cry.
Oh… not sleeping, then... Was I bludgeoned?
"Oh! There, there, don't sit up!"
Hands gently grabbed her shoulders to push her back into the sheets when she tried to raise her head. Lisa winced at the feeling, blinking her eyes open. Her eyesight was foggy, and it took a few moments for the other person's face to come into focus. "Oh… Julius? What on Earth is happening-" She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut again at another pang of agony. "Did I get in a fight?"
Julius sighed, glad that she was awake and recovering. "Sort of… here-" He picked up the glass of water he had been keeping on the bedside table. He carefully held it up to her mouth, and she immediately started sipping away at it. "How do you feel?"
"I'm in pain… tell me, what happened?" Lisa scowled up at him, sensing how hesitant he was to speak further. "What do you mean, I sort of got in a fight?"
"Well… I'm surprised you didn't figure it out already," Julius chuckled nervously. "You… you weren't knocked out. You're hungover…"
All the sudden, everything flooded back.
------
"BEHOLD; THE MIGHTY POWER OF THE WIZARD KING!!!!"
Lisa cackled wickedly, one foot planted on the edge of the bar and the other precariously balanced on her stool. In one hand, she gripped a glass of mead. The other formed a fist, blue fire circling in tandem with time magic. "Anyone who can beat me can take my title! I'll share this power with you!"
There was a roar of approval from the other patrons at the bar. Yami howled with laughter and hit the bar surface with the palm of his hand a few times.
SMACK SMACK SMACK
"That's hilarious!!! What are you gonna do if you lose!!?"
"I won't." Lisa smirked raising her glass back to her lips and chugging it in one go.
"Lisa!! Get down from there-" Fuegoleon tapped her shoe, frowning. He was only a little red in the face, not nearly as drunk as the others. Jack was giggling next to Yami, and Charlotte and William were already asleep at a table in the corner. "You're going to get hurt, and-"
"HEY!" Lisa's foot lashed out, and she wobbled dangerously. "I knew you wanted my job! Come at me, then!"
"What? No!" Fuegoleon stumbled back. "You're acting like my sister!"
"Yeah? Then fight me!"
Lisa stepped forward, ready to attack- however, she was still up on the bar. Her foot didn't land anywhere… and she fell
"LISA!"
Fuegoleon jumped forward, arms outstretched, ready to catch her. However, to his surprise, the elderly bartender rushed in front of him. Lisa fell into his arm, limp as a ragdoll.
"Dear me- I'm glad I was keeping an eye on this one." He chuckled before turning back to Fuegoleon. "Thank you for trying to keep her out of trouble- but I'll get her somewhere safe."
"Oh- okay." Fuegoleon watched the man carry her away, then reappear a few moments later.
-------
"Oh god…"
Lisa buried her head in her hands, her face bright red. "No way… no way I did all that!"
Julius chuckled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. "No harm was done! And you had fun, didn't you?"
Lisa shrugged. "I don't really remember…" her hands fell back into her lap. "It sucks… I used to be able to drink all night and feel fine… but after we formed our Dyad…"
Of course, her alcohol tolerance wasn't the only thing about her body that had changed. She couldn't eat, or sleep, or… worst of all-
"I know. It'll be alright. It just takes some getting used to, right?"
Lisa nodded, and felt his lips press against the side of her head. Her eyes fluttered closed for just a moment.
"Why was I at the bar with all of them, anyway?"
Julius's eyes popped back open in surprise. "Huh? You don't remember?" His lips twitched into a smile. "I suggested the outing in the first place… thought you'd want to have a celebration with your friends."
Lisa blinked. "Celebration?"
She was still confused, until Julius chuckled and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Happy birthday, Lisa."
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age 27.1 » the life of an insect
It stayed hot all the way until September. The sun blazed down into the garden, unhindered by clouds. The bright atmosphere contrasted with the dark shadows that were quickly closing around the Clover Kingdom.
It’s so loud…
Lisa spent most of her time alone, now. Part of her wanted to surround herself with people, with all those she loved. But even then, she knew it would just make herself feel worse. Seeing their faces, watching them talk, and laugh… it just forced her to draw further and further away.
I’m not like you… I never was.
So, she spent her days alone. It would be easier for them if she stayed away. Even if it hurt.
Yet it was still so loud.
Cicadas screamed from every corner of the forest, swarming the treetops by the million. Their song permeated almost every corner of the kingdom, allowing none to escape.
In a way… it was almost nostalgic.
Lisa stood at the base of a tree, pausing her walk for just a moment. Above her was a group of cicadas, circling each other on the bottom of a high branch, no doubt evaluating each other to decide if they wanted to mate or not. Their song was earsplitting, but Lisa was already numb. It didn’t bother her.
In her hometown, out in the woods, the cicadas were a fact of life, appearing every summer without fail. They were like a booming voice, nature’s fury swept across the land.
Yet… they were fragile.
They slept underground for 17 years. Then, for just one day, they rose up to the heavens, singing their glorious song. They soared, they mated, they laid their eggs…
And then they died.
They fell back to earth, their voices and bodies spent. Their last act would be to plant the seeds of their offspring, before the dirt reclaimed them.
Their lives… were fragile.
Utterly and completely meaningless.
Two of the cicadas lost their grip on the tree. They fell down into the leaf litter, letting out one last scream before they went silent forever.
But at one point, they had screamed. And the whole world heard them.
I can’t even do that. How I wish I could just scream… but I can’t.
A moth could not scream. It would never see the sun. They just fluttered through the night, like a ghost. They were swallowed silently by that darkness.
This is my last birthday.
Lisa lowered her gaze, before restarting her lonely stroll.
At the very least… I got to see the sunset first.
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age 27.2 » the future ahead of us
Summer melted into fall at last. The heat evaporated, leaving cool winds to quench the thirsty land.
The winds were gentle; like a nourishing pair of hands. Lisa closed her eyes, sinking into the feeling of those hands touching her. They brought her comfort, and they eased her pain.
They belonged to her.
“Just a few more months…”
Julius whispered the words, so soft that Lisa could barely hear them. But that was okay; they weren’t meant for her.
“I can’t wait to meet you.”
Lisa’s hand moved to run through his hair. Julius let out a happy sigh, his eyes flickering closed. He could hear two heartbeats with the ear pressed against his wife’s stomach, harmonizing with the sweet sound of her breathing. Life thrived there, and life was thriving within him as well. Never before had he felt so much excitement, so much anxiety. It was a rare, beautiful thing; an opportunity that had almost slipped away; like a stunning sunset that you didn’t notice until it was too late.
But it’s not too late.
He pulled back a little, just enough to stare up into Lisa’s eyes.
Because of you… your strength… your sacrifice. Because of you, we have this life. We have a second chance.
I won’t ever let that chance slip away.
“Her birthday is going to be after both of ours… a December baby.” Julius said happily. “A “Joy” to the world, you could say.”
Lisa let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head a little at the pun. “A joy to all of us, for sure.”
She watched as Julius nodded, his expression drowsy, before he lowered his head to listen once again. He couldn’t get enough of the sounds; the sounds of his daughter, and the sounds of his wife.
“She’s a joy… and a gift.”
The world was changing. The future ahead was uncertain. But Fate was alive and well; Julius and Lisa would always be bound to it.
Whatever fate had in store for them, they would be together. And they would have this child, who they had wanted more than anything else on this Earth.
“I love you, Lisa.”
“I love you, Julius.”
It was the happiest birthday Lisa ever had.
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jusvibbbin · 4 years ago
Text
Darling Duet
Harry Kim x Reader
//My first anonymous request! Enjoy!
Watching Harry play was amazing. The way he sat straight up in his chair. The laser focus he used to read the music on the stand. How his lips clasped the mouthpiece, firm yet soft. You wondered just how soft his lips were. You had admired him from a far for several months now, talking to him on occasion, but never more than a few minutes. To say you were smitten would be an understatement. 
(Y/N)! What is wrong with you? Pay attention to the concert!
As Harry finished his concerto, you and the rest of the audience stood and clapped for him. Tom began to hoot and holler much to B’Elanna’s embarrassment as everyone chuckled. Harry took a bow and the after-concert party moved into the mess hall.
The night was marked with toasts and small talk, and though you enjoyed having a night to relax, you were acutely aware of the fluttering in your stomach every time you stole a glance at the ship’s clarinetist. Not to mention the intense heat that lit your face on fire when you caught him looking back at you. After this happened once or twice, the dark haired ensign made his way over to you, accepting praise from everyone as he went.
“Hey, music man! Finally got some time away from your adoring fans?” As soon as you said it, you cringed a bit. 
I’ve got to sound ridiculous. Why can’t I just relax?
“Time away? Are you not one of my adoring fans?” Harry asked innocently enough, but the comment caught the attention of Tom, who slowly edged closer to eavesdrop.
You blushed slightly, and feeling a little brave you said, “Of course I am. You could say I’m your biggest fan.”
You’re so dorky but maybe it’s working.
Harry laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Glad to know I have such a sweetheart for a fan.”
You froze. You had no idea what to say. Every time you started to get comfortable talking to Harry, you clammed up. You must’ve turned beet red because Tom swooped in to congratulate Harry and told him the captain wanted to talk to him. Harry waved a small goodbye and you returned his weakly before starting to leave the mess hall with Tom on your heels.
“(Y/N), wait up!” Tom was jogging now to catch up to you as you speed walked to your quarters. As you reached the door, Tom grabbed your arm.
“Hey! What happened to you?”
You pulled your arm away from him gently and sighed. 
“Damn… You got it bad huh?” Tom started to chuckle to himself
“Come on, it’s not funny! I don’t know how to act around Harry. He smiles at me and I feel like I’m gonna pass out! How do I get him to realize how I feel if I can’t say anything?” You covered your mouth after you finished your rant and waited for what Tom had to say. He was Harry’s best friend after all.
“I saw the way you looked at him while he played. You were enthralled!” Then Tom’s eyes lit up and he grinned at you.
Uh oh…
“Can you play an instrument?”
You shook your head.
Tom put his hand thoughtfully on his chin and hummed quietly. 
“How would you feel about learning one?” he asked excitedly. And you couldn’t help but feel as excited as he looked. Tom suggesting you express yourself through music? It was genius, and very personal to Harry. 
But what the hell am I gonna play?
Tom seemed to read your mind as he said, “I’ve heard the flute sounds very good with the clarinet. And I’d be willing to donate my replicator rations to such a noble cause.”
You smiled and shook Tom’s hand. You were going to be a flutist. 
--
Learning the flute proved to be much more difficult than you and Tom first thought. Even with the professional holo-programs and access to extensive databases, you were still having trouble. You decided to turn to the only person that could help you.
“Ah, Ensign (Y/N)! What can I do for you?” the Doctor asked as you walked into sickbay.
“Hi Doc. I was hoping I could call on your expertise as a musician and see if you could help me with some music. I can hold a note, sort of, and my fingering has been getting a lot better but I just can’t seem to get it down.”
As you spoke, the Doctor wasted no time pulling another chair into his office and sitting down across from it.
“I would be delighted to assist you! Finally someone around here appreciates my talents.” 
For the next two weeks, you and the Doctor worked tirelessly to get your playing greatly improved. But at the start of your third week, the Doctor surprised you. You walked into sickbay to find none other than Ensign Harry Kim with his ever shiny clarinet. 
“So this is your student.” Harry smiled at you and you tried to hide your panic with a little laugh. 
“(Y/N), while I am very well equipped to assist you in your music theory, I think that Harry might be a better teacher when it comes to playing. It is true, I am a great musician, but I prefer to sing and I’m positive that your flute would be much improved with his experience playing a more... tangible instrument.”
Oh jeez. There goes my secret plan.
“Shall we get started?” Harry asked as he gestured to the door. You nodded and threw the Doctor a look you knew he wouldn’t understand.
Harry led you down the corridor as you tried to figure out where you were going. He slowed down to walk next to you and looked at your case.
“Flute, huh? I didn’t know you were interested in music.”
“The flute is new but I’ve always wanted to learn something.” You could feel yourself starting to turn a bit flushed.
“That’s great! I hope you don’t mind switching teachers. To be completely honest, I’ve never really taught anyone before.”
“I’m sure you’ll be amazing, Harry.” You said as you smiled at him. 
“Thanks (Y/N),” he said gratefully. “Here we are.”
He stopped in front of quarters you had never been to before. 
Are we going into his quarters!? I don’t know if I can do this.
As you internally panicked, Harry started to set up chairs and music stands before looking back at you standing in the doorway.
“Uh, (Y/N)? Are you going to come in?”
You pushed down your nerves and stepped inside, the door whooshing shut behind you as you sat down in one of the chairs.
“Alright, now lets see your playing position.”
--
“(Y/N) that was really good! I’m impressed with how far you come in such a short time!” Harry flashed you an elated smile as you blushed looking down at your flute. Harry was right, you were doing excellent. Once he helped you with your embouchure and taught you how to hold the flute in a relaxed, but proper way, you were playing with ease. 
The two of you had also gotten extremely close over the couple of months you had been playing, often getting dinner in the mess hall afterward and talking about what your lives back on Earth had been like. Harry told you about his family and how much he missed them and you told him about missing your own family and the garden you had started working on before getting assigned to Voyager. Other people had noticed how much time you were spending together and you both were often embarrassed when someone asked how long you’d been dating.
As time went on, pushing down your feelings was getting more and more difficult. You were starting to worry if you’d be able to ever tell Harry how you felt. You talked to Tom and he told you to make your move tonight.
“Tonight?” you asked incredulously. “I don’t know if I’m ready!”
Tom rolled his eyes. “You’re never gonna be ready! You just gotta have that quick burst of bravery and be honest!”
You thought about what Tom had said as you walked back to your quarters after lunch. Maybe Tom had a point and you should just do it. But you couldn’t stop wondering if you should wait a little longer. 
No… Let’s go for it!
Making up your mind (after going back and forth a bit more), you told Harry to meet you in your quarters once his shift was over. He happily agreed and you went to prepare with the couple hours you had.
--
The door chimed, signaling your time was up. You sat down in front of your music stand and smoothed out your clothes. Once you were presentable you told the door to let Harry in.
The moment he entered, you began to play your flute. He stood there, caught off guard for a moment, then he slowly sat down on your couch and closed his eyes to listen to you play. After picking up some extra theory lessons with the Doctor, you decided to write Harry a song expressing how deeply you felt about him. As you spent more time together your song had only got more emotional and beautiful. You let the Doctor look at it but refused to play it for anyone but Harry. It was far too special and personal to show to someone else. 
You had practiced for about a month now and it sounded good. Sure you stumbled a bit at certain parts and you were feeling a little light-headed, but Harry didn’t seem to care. The look on his face said it all: relaxed, happy and a bit surprised at the impromptu concert. 
Once you finished, Harry stood and clapped. You felt your cheeks begin to heat up as he walked over and picked up your piece. 
“You wrote this?” he asked, looking at the hand-written notes on the paper. “A bit old-fashioned, isn’t it?”
“It makes it more meaningful I think,” you said quietly.
He eventually stopped looking at the music itself to read the title. ‘A Heart for Harry: One Romantic Movement.’ Harry’s eyes locked with yours and that was enough for you to shoot up and push him quickly out the door. You leaned back against it and took a deep breath. You heard him shift on his feet for a moment or two before his footsteps receded down the corridor. You immediately regretted it.
Why did I do that!?! I have got to be the most awkward person in the galaxy. 
You sat on your couch and went over the moment in your head. The way he listened to you play. How impressed he looked when he saw you had written it yourself. His face when he realized the song was for him. 
He looked… Confused? Appalled? ...Happy?
You tried to replicate his face in your mind but you had been blinded by your shyness and you had no idea how he really reacted. That was ten times worse than not knowing. You laid down, remaining on the couch, wondering what in the world you were going to do now.
--
You awoke to your comm badge pinging and you quickly shot up. Were you late for a shift? A quick query to the computer erased that worry from your mind. It was 0100 and you had this particular day off. So who could this be in the middle of the night?
Hesitantly, you answered, “Yes?”
“(Y/N), I’m sorry if I woke you but I need you to meet me in Holodeck One,” Harry’s voice came softly over the comm system. You sat there for a moment before telling him you’d be there in five minutes. 
You ordered the computer to turn the lights up in the bathroom, quickly washing your face and fixing your slight bedhead. You squeezed your hands into fists and they felt clammy. You wondered what the hell you were walking into as you left your quarters and headed towards the holodeck.
You got to the doors and as they whooshed open the scent of fresh flowers hit you. You were standing at the entrance to a gorgeous garden, filled with flowers from all over Earth and various other planets. There was a narrow cobblestone path that led deeper into it and you cautiously walked down it. As you went further and further, you began to hear music. 
It almost sounds like… my song!
You quickened your pace on the winding path and soon you were in a clearing. And there, in the middle of it, was Harry Kim and his clarinet, playing a spectacular harmony to your song. You stood there as he reached the finale and he let the last note hang in the air for a few moments before putting his instrument down. 
Harry walked over to you, gingerly grabbing your face and kissing you. It was gentle, and his lips were softer than you imagined. But there was a passion behind it too, as one hand dropped to your waist and another went to the back of your neck to deepen the kiss before he pulled away. You stood there panting slightly, with your hands resting on his chest and his eyes looking sweetly into yours.
“You don’t ever have to be nervous or embarrassed around me. I feel the same way about you, I have for a while.” 
You had barely recovered from the kiss before his confession took you by surprise. Harry Kim had liked you the whole time and you had no idea? You started to laugh and he joined you, never once letting go of you. 
“Computer, add a flute, a chair and a music stand,” Harry said. As the computer materialized these things, he led you to the chair and you sat down to play your song together. A sweet duet to start off a budding romance. 
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dabiboy · 4 years ago
Text
It’s finally here! Chapter one of my new Hawks fic! Is a bit short, but everything will be cleared out in the next chapters, by now enjoy the cliffhangers!
[small background: Reader was told that she was going to be part of a medical program to treat her disease, but the truth behind it was darker. There waa no program, nor treatment. After ended up trapped in feudal Japan, she gets back to Tokyo to stop the man who screwed her life. The problem? A young handsome hero is on the way. Will they be able to get rid of him? Or that young winged hero will mess with their plan? Find out in this fic!]
Chapter one: Strangers in a Not so Strange Land
Present time
''I hate these shoes, they're too tight'' The teenage boy complained as he took them off and sat on the floor, massaging the limbs. 
''Don't be an ungrateful human. You wore wood sandals for years, those shoes are more expensive than our dinner'' You rolled your eyes, turning on the old tv and sitting next to the young man, so then you could open the bag and take out the rice and dumplings.
''Yeah, that's why I'm complaining. I was used to those, you know'' He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed his portion. ''Can't I just wear them often?''
''People would look at you weird, and we can't exactly explain-'' He cut you off.
''That we are basically from the feudal time? Yeah, I get it''
''That you, are from the feudal time. I was stuck there, don't mix things'' You raised a single finger. Right after you grabbed the chopsticks to get some rice. ''Besides, it would fuck everything up before even starting it. I don't think there are to many people like us here''
''Yes, but stuck over a hund-'' The teenager said, and you could see the smashed food.
''Eat with your mouth shut, kid'' You scolded him. ''And it was not a hundred. More like... Fifty, or some shit like that'' Your eyebrows furrowed at the answer.
''Yep, you're starting to look old. Old and grumpy'' 
''One more word, and I'm sending you back there. Now eat your food before it gets cold'' You said one more time, hitting his plate with your chopsticks. ''Besides, my biological clock worked differently. I just grew three years older, or so. 
''Whatever you say'' The black haired kid laughed ''Do we have something to drink or do I have to walk to a river?''
''Uhm,'' You thought, looking at the small portion of food you could get ''It was a drink, or two food portions. Can't afford many things right now'' 
''You should get a job'' He raised his eyebrows, holding back a laugh at your confused expression.
''I got one before being part of that fucking program, but I'm guessing they are not hiring me again'' You frowned your lips.
''Yeah well, there are many things you coul-'' This time, you interrupted him.
''Shit, sorry. Wait a second'' 
You stood up quickly, and walked towards the tv to turn the volume up when you saw him. The man who had sold you a lie four years ago, screwing your life, your relation, your job, everything. And yet there he was, with a happy and unworried smile on his face talking to the cameras. Every single scar in your body burned in anger, feeling every cut as if they were freshly new. But they were old. Ages old. And that anger grew even bigger when you heard him speak, in front of all the reporters, media, important people, the world. He was selling a lie to the world. One more time.
''It's such a pleasure being here tonight, especially to inform you that the applications for our program are open again!'' The crowd clapped in excitement ''Together with the Hero Public Safety Commission, we are launching this new technology that will help us to move further into the health world. Terminal diseases, intricate health issues are all going to be solved, and treated with the best of care. the Hero Public Safety Commission has patrocinated previous researches, and they have also supported us with new technologies that are going to help us make this faster and accessible for those in need'' You clenched your teeth are such inaccuracies. The same speech was sold to you, and there you were, fucked up in many different ways. ''And surprises are not over yet! Number two hero is going to be the new face of this campaign, a sign of hope, light, and of course strength! Wing Hero Hawks, would you like to say some words?
''Uhm, I guess so. Good night y'all, as you know the main focus of this campaign is to help those in need, to give them a better future and hope for their lives, because you all deserve to enjoy this little world of us, am I right?'' He laughed and the crowd went crazy.
 How could they keep lying like that? Your blood was boiling in wrath. To take care of people? To give them a brighter future? Bullshit. That bastard was creating biological weapons, and you saw it all. Lived it in your flesh and bones. But you were not letting others go through the same. There had to be something. 
''We are going downtown tomo-''
''Found him'' You turned around quickly to see what the kid had found. ''Hawks's agency. And I might have an idea on how to get in'' 
''Why would we go after him? He's just a publicity image. We gotta get- Where the hell did you get that phone?'' You asked in total confusion when you saw him using a cellphone. So skillfully that it was almost terryfing. 
''Some man left in on the entrance table when we were waiting for our food'' His brown eyes were still on the shiny screen.
''Wait, what? We don't steal here, wanna go to jail?'' You asked in disbelief. This was going to be harder than I thought. 
''But you made me steal when we-''
''Yes, because there were no laws back then! At least not in that shitty village, and we needed to eat! this is different, kid! '' You tried to explain, but he was just to concentrated on his search. 
''Yeah, yeah. The agency is not to far from here, here says that it is some thirty minutes away'' 
''You know, to be a sixteen year old kid coming from a whole other era you're quite smart'' Surprise was in your voice, still amazed at how fast he had learnt using a phone. And an Internet search system. ''Well, I'm all ears. What do you have in mind this time, Haru?''
[Tag list: Open: @waffleareniceandfluffy ]
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kyber-queen · 4 years ago
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Like Real People Do (Rex x Reader) Pt. 3
Summary: Jedi!reader and Rex fall in love but are separated by the war. They meet again two years later, weeks before the Siege of Mandalore. In this chapter, Rex and Reader are prepping for a mission on an outer rim planet. Some fluff, slight angst, Rex gets to use a lightsaber because I say so. Italics signify a flashback in this fic. 
Rating: Teen
Word Count: 2.7k
Warnings: Mentions of children/family planning ??, insecure Rex, k*sses, mentions of blasters n violence against droids, mentions of alcohol
Author’s Note: I’m not gonna lie this is probably my favorite chapter yet. It’s a little longer, but I think it’s worth it :) Likes and reblogs are very much appreciated!!
Previous | Next
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After your less than satisfying encounter in the maintenance closet, you had made an early retirement to your quarters to sulk. You slept, but your dreams were ridden with visions of a certain bleach-blond captain. You awoke the next morning ill-rested and heartsick.
You showed up late to your first tactical meeting with the upper ranks of the 501st in a disgruntled mess of dark undereyes and wrinkled robes. If Rex noticed your sleep-deprived state, he made no mention of it. You had positioned yourself strategically in the back of the room, precisely so if you peeked between the admirals, you could clearly see Rex discussing troop formations with General Skywalker. His structured brow was furrowed, and you noted the way he gestured at the maps as he made his point. He was so much more confident now, so much more self-assured than that often-anxious shiny you remembered from training drills two years ago. Maybe that was why he gave you the cold shoulder yesterday—had he outgrown you? Two years was a long time, especially during a war. Did he find someone new? Your heart burned at the thought. You hadn’t even tried to move on—at times, at your lowest points, you considered it, but you never gave up on him. You had broken your code for him. You had broken it every day since you met him, and yet here he was, the picture of cordial indifference. You were attached, deeply and painfully. Did he still care about you?
“Commander, I can hear your gears turning—any input?” Skywalker looked at you expectantly.
You eased your tired features into a placating smile. “Looks good to me, General,”.
“Perfect. Rex, you’ll go with the commander. I want you two waiting just outside the village. The Separatists should arrive within around two hours of landing. Comm me when you see the Separatist forces coming, and you guys cut down as many of the first wave as possible. I’ll circle around with the rest of the 501st and we’ll finish off the rest from behind. All clear?”
You nod in assent as Rex answers with a decisive, “Yes, sir,”.
***
Rex was going to have to have a conversation with his general after this. Your very first mission with the 501st, and Skywalker had paired you with Rex on a glorified stakeout of all things. Rex was pissed. He had decided as soon as he found out you would be consulting with the 501st that he would keep his distance. He knew it wasn’t your fault that you hadn’t seen each other in years—war makes love near impossible. He was more upset with himself for falling for a Jedi. It was against the law for either of you to have an attachment to each other. Rex had fallen in love, and it was a stupid, shitty idea. He had spent the better part of two years trying to bury his memories of you, and just as he was beginning to succeed, here you were creeping back into his mind. Just the sight of you threw him back to two years ago—back when he was really, truly happy. Rex was built for war, nothing more. The problem with you was that being with you made him think otherwise. When you were together, you would always talk about ‘after the war’. Rex knew that as a clone, there really wouldn’t be an after. You, with your altruism and soft smiles and gentle touches were everything Rex didn’t need.
Rex walked to the pod that would take the pair of you to the Separatist-threatened planet. You were already seated. You thumbed the grip of your lightsaber, and Rex recognized the gesture—it was a habit whenever you were nervous. His eyes were locked on you, debating whether or not he should say something despite his earlier promise to not get involved. You broke the silence for him.
“I can feel you staring, Rex. Talk to me,”.
You could always tell what he was thinking. As your friendship first blossomed, it unnerved him, but as your paths intertwined more and more he found it a comfort to have you understand him so well without him even saying a word. Rex met your eyes, and his stomach clenched. You were still so beautiful. He looked away
“Just thinking about the campaign, sir,”.
Your heart ached. Every bone in your body was screaming, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you,” and yet he called you sir. He addressed you as a superior, another link in the chain of command. He really had moved on, hadn’t he? You bit your lip, the sharp pain of your teeth against the tender skin attempting to draw your attention away from your torturous thoughts. You had a mission to complete. You peeked out the porthole, and you saw the terrain approaching far faster than normal.
You landed with a crash. You were jostled from your seat, your head smacking the metal wall painfully. As the ringing in your skull crescendoed, you took stock of your darkened surroundings through your blurred vision. The lighting in the pod must have been damaged during your landing. You ignited your lightsaber, illuminating Rex with its soft glow. He stood up and rolled his shoulder experimentally, his nose scrunching in pain.
Your brows furrowed, “Are you alright?’
“I’m fine,” He grunted. He felt his way along the walls. “Exit’s been jammed shut, though,”
You searched his eyes in the dim lighting, another pang of longing reverberating through your chest. You dismissed the sensation and plunged your lightsaber into the wall of the pod, freeing yourselves. You emerged from the battered pod, your head pounding as your eyes adjusted. It was bright, with the triad suns beating down on you relentlessly. You checked your positioning system—you had landed a mere 15-minute walk from your stakeout site. You watched as Rex eased himself out of the pod. He groaned, his hand cradling his right arm. You handed him his positioning chip, and the two of you set off towards the village outskirts.
You noticed his hand lingered on his right shoulder, and he would grimace from time to time when it jostled. You reached your hand out to his plastoid-covered shoulder. “Rex, let me—”
“I’m fine,”.
His tone was sharp and dangerous, affecting you like a slap to the face. You sucked in a breath, and walked the rest of the path in silence. The planet was beautiful—you were surrounded on all sides by strange golden grasses that swayed with the breeze. Its beauty did nothing to distract you from the man by your side.
You arrived at the meeting point and immediately settled yourself against the large boulder meant as your cover. Rex sat across from you, leaning against a smaller rock. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes for a moment and swallowing thickly. You traced the sharp line of his jaw with your eyes, following down to the thick cords of muscle in his neck. You contemplated another attempt at offering him some bacta spray, but considering his earlier response, decided against it. When did Skywalker say the Separatists would arrive? Two hours?
You spent around an hour in silence. You meditated, as General Secura had taught you. Time moved thickly around you, your aura burning bright as it cut through the hours and seconds. With your deep focus came little flashes of memories.
You saw Rex, smiling. His golden skin was warm against the soft sheets. His thumb traced the apple of your cheek. You grinned.
“What do you want to do, Rex? After this is all over?”
He paused, his hand resting heavy on your jaw. “I don’t know, cyare. Guess I never really thought about it,”. His eyes flicked over your gentle smile and bright eyes. “I’d wanna be with you, though,” he whispered. You’re everything he could ever want. He’d never loved anything so much, and he knew he’d never love anyone else the way he loved you. What the hell did he do to deserve you? “What about you?”
“My parents—I barely remember them now—had a house on Naboo. We could live there, just us. No war, no fighting. It’s so beautiful there, Rex. The grass is long and tall—as a child, I’d play outside for hours just soaking up the sunlight. It’s a good place for raising children,”. Your face heated as you said the last part.
“Raising children, eh?” Rex tilted your chin, and you lifted your gaze to his eyes. You nodded slowly. “With me?” His eyes shone in the morning sunlight, his brow furrowed.
“Yes, Rex. Who else?” Rex’s expression eased, and you pressed your lips to each of his cheeks, followed by a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. Rex sighed contentedly. He had no clue why you were with a shiny like him—he was one of a million genetically and physically identical men. He was sure that eventually you’d realize just how much better you could do than a clone, but until that day he’d savor every precious moment with you.
“You’re gonna be a great parent, one day, cyar’ika,”.
“You will, too, Rex,”.
You jolted out of your trance. It was just your luck that Rex had infiltrated the one escape you had from your relentless thoughts of him. You opened your eyes to find him studying your face. He averted his gaze quickly.
“Rex,” you called.
He fiddled with the straps of his armor.
“Rex,”.
He dropped his hands to his sides with a harsh sigh. “Would you just stop it?”
You were stunned. “Rex, I—”
“I spent two fucking years trying to forget I ever loved you. I was nothing, I was nobody, and you were this—this ideal being. I had no fucking clue why you gave me the time of day, but I let myself fall for you anyway. When we left for our tours, I broke. You were the first real thing, the first good thing I ever had, and you were gone. I was sure I was gonna die over there—and you wouldn’t have even known if I had. It was so much easier to believe that you had moved on, that you were through with me. Now you’re here and you’re alive and I—” his voice broke, “I don’t know what to do,”. He met your gaze, and his eyes glistened. His voice was barely a whisper, “You were always the rational one. Please tell me what to do,”.
Your wide eyes watered. You turned your head to the golden fields and let out a tiny sob. What the hell do you answer to that? Just as you opened your mouth to speak, you spotted what seemed to be a thousand metal heads just over a rolling hill. The separatists. You hastily wiped your eyes and took a deep breath. This would have to wait.
“The Separatists are here,” your voice wavered more than you would have liked. “I’ll comm the General,”. You sniffed, rubbing your eyes again. Get it together, you thought. You were a Jedi Master, for gods’ sake. Ever since returning to Coruscant, you’d been an emotional trainwreck. You were starting to see why the council discouraged attachments.
You allowed Rex a moment to collect himself, turning to face the oncoming droids as the two of you prepared in silence. The metallic clang of their footsteps grew louder and louder. Rex slipped his helmet back on over his head and unholstered his blasters.
“It’s your call, Commander. When d’ya wanna go?”
You looked back over your shoulder at him, and you were instantly thrown back to the hours of training exercises you had completed together. You grinned.
“Think you can take down the battle tank over there?” You motioned to the gargantuan hunk of steel situated right in the middle of a sea of battle droids.
The competitive edge you had so dearly missed was back in Rex’s voice.
“You know I never miss,”.
“Race you there,”. And with that, you were off. The two of you flew down the hill, cutting down the droids as if they were made of straw. You swung, decapitating a droid and ducking as Rex put a blaster hole through the one taking aim at you from behind. You worked well together, always did. The rest of the 501st seemed to be making easy work of the droids from behind.
“Rex, blaster!”
Rex tossed one of his blasters into the air, and you force-pulled it into your grasp in an instant. You fired off three quick shots at one of the tanks, damaging the traction treads. Rex looked over at the tank, and recognized the maneuver you had initiated in an instant. He took off for the tank, and called your name once he was just yards from its base.
“Saber!”
You switched off your saber and hurled it in Rex’s direction. He had barreled past at least ten lines of troops, snatching your lightsaber from the air before igniting it and plunging it into the battle tank’s generator while simultaneously firing off a few rapid shots at the droids. The droids’ main attention, as planned, was on you, and you were beginning to feel the heat. You force-pulled your lightsaber, still ignited, from Rex’s grasp and into a line of battle droids before its heavy weight met your palm again.
“Blaster!”
You tossed Rex his blaster, and he caught it with ease. With your lightsaber in hand, you began cutting a path to Rex, who had holed up against the decommissioned tank.
“Need to get me one of those,” Rex motioned to your lightsaber with a grin.
You shook your head with a laugh, deflecting a blaster shot as Rex took aim at the next line of droids.
It was your fault. You got distracted. Something about the focus in Rex’s masked stare as he picked off the droids one-by-one pulled your attention away just long enough for one of the droids to press the cool metal of its blaster against your neck. Before you could react, Rex fired two quick shots into its head.
“Told you, cyare, I never miss,”.
You missed this. The nicknames, the banter, working together like this. It felt good. It felt like coming home. You snuck one last glance at Rex before sprinting out from your cover to cut down the next row of droids.
Rex was fucked. Did you realize he called you cyare? It just slipped out—something about being here with you, fighting next to you—it brought him back to two years ago. He shook his head, firing at a droid that had pointed its blaster at you. He was done with pretending he didn’t care. He still had no idea what to do, or where this would go, but he could figure that out later.
You finished off the last droid, looking back at Rex with an easy smile before waving to General Skywalker. Rex jogged over to you, pulling you back behind the tank and away from the prying eyes of the rest of the 501st.
“Rex, wha—”
He ripped off his helmet, letting it fall to the ground as he pulled you into a kiss. His hand fell to the small of your back, and you practically collapsed into him. His lips were hungry against yours—he was all tongue and teeth and desperation. He needed this. You needed this. You raked your nails through his close-cropped hair, drawing a little groan from deep in his chest. His hands were everywhere—your hair, your neck, your waist—
“Rex, where are you? Are you injured?”
For the second time today, Rex was going to kill his general. He pulled away from you reluctantly, his hand lingering on your waist. You take his hand, and press your lips to his palm.
“We should go,”. Rex nods. “Meet me in my quarters tonight—you still like firewhiskey?”
“Rex—are you over here?”
You meet Rex’s eyes, and he smiles. A real smile. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“See you tonight,”.
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Like Real People Do Taglist: @pinkiemme @callme-eds @dinpoe 
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koolkat9 · 3 years ago
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In the Deep (Ch. 3)
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The Gift
I didn’t get much sleep that night. Ludwig’s pained eyes and deep frown flashed behind my eyes every time I closed them, leading me to spend most of my night tossing and turning. I eventually fell into a light sleep, only to be woken a couple of hours later by Francis calling me for breakfast.
“Fuck off,” I groaned, but got up nonetheless. Despite how tired I was, it was obvious my option of restful sleep was out the window. I got dressed hastily, not even bothering to tie my hair up (at least for breakfast, I’d probably have to put it up for work, but that would be future me’s problem).
“You look terrible mon ami,” Francis tsked at breakfast. I couldn’t be bothered with anything more than a grumble and instead focused the little energy I had on eating. Today’s meal was croissants (homemade most likely) with some fruit and juice. As much as I hated to admit it, Francis had a way with food.
“Trouble in paradise?” The Frenchman went on.
“I told you I’m  not  seeing anyone. At...A-At least not like you’re implying.”
A mischievous glint crossed his eye. “Oh ho? So there is someone?”
“Don’t look at me like that! He’s just a friend.”
“But there is an issue?”
I should have shut up right then and there. Why I had said so much prior is still something I don’t understand, but there was nothing I could do about it at that moment other than keep quiet. Whether it was because Ludwig's sad face was still ingrained in my mind or the pure exhaustion I was feeling, I just kept going: “I don’t know...I guess I pried a little too much and made him upset. H-He said it was okay and I apologized, but I worry I may have pushed him away. There was so much pain in his eyes when we parted ways last night.”
For the first time since I met this man, his usual smirk melted into that of a soft, comforting smile. “Perhaps an apology gift is in order?”
“What good will that do?” I bit back.
“Sometimes a physical action is better at conveying how you feel over words. If that doesn’t work, at least he should be happy with the gift.”
Part of me felt he was trying to dig at me in that second half, but I brushed it off, taking out my frustration on an unsuspecting piece of fruit. “I don’t even know what to get him.”
“Don’t worry dear Arthur. You are in good hands! I’ll take you around town to look after I finish cleaning up here.”
Great, now I was going on an outing with Francis of all people. Could this morning get any worse? Indeed it could because by the time we had cleaned up the dishes from breakfast and were heading out, it began to rain. At least Francis could provide us with the umbrella, but at the same time, it forced us too close together. He smelled stereotypically French, reeking of wine and cheese mixed with the scent of some flowery beauty product.  
I tried to focus on it, turning my gaze to the shop windows, showcasing all kinds of knickknacks and products. ‘What do you even get a merman?’ I thought as we looked over a particular display of books, all of which piqued my own interest. Could he even read? Even if he could, he spent most of his time underwater so a book would not work. Now that I was thinking about it, that crossed off a whole bunch of items: clothing, flowers, blankets, stuffed animals, all out of the question. Every store we went into seemed to only lead to dead ends.
Eventually, we had to stop for lunch empty-handed. Francis took me to a local pub in the town square where he ordered us some potato-based dish, though I was too distracted to catch the actual name. “This is coming out of your paycheck,” He warned, “it's the least you could do for me after all our wild goose chasing today.”
“You’re the bastard who suggested this in the first place.”
“I didn’t realize how troublesome it would be. Usually, you get them flowers or chocolates and then you make up, but your lover seems to hate everything.”
There he was going again, calling Ludwig my ‘lover.’ My cheeks turned red at the statement, not helping my case. “For the millionth time, he’s  not  my lover.”
“Whatever it is, this seems like a lost cause.” For the first time since meeting him, a tired frown replaced his usual cheeriness. It didn’t fit him even though it often annoyed me.
Though I was uncomfortable, I wasn’t good and comforting people (especially those I barely know), so I let my gaze wander to the window. A group of children were chasing each other around the fountain while their mothers talked amongst themselves. Other couples and families were walking from store to store, mostly just browsing in the windows. It was calming looking at the mundaneness of it all while my life was turning into anything but. As I scanned the square, I noticed a jewelry shop just across the way from us and something clicked. Ludwig seemed to like sparkly items considering how much he took to the pendant.
“I think I found something,” I said, turning back to Francis. He gave me a quizzical look, but nonetheless, requested for the bill, paid, and we were on our way.
I led him to the shop I had spotted, admiring the window display once we were there. Something particular caught my eye, a beautiful silver chain with light blue jewels hanging from it. It appeared to be a bracelet of some sort. This was it, this was the gift. It was shiny, blue like Ludwig’s eyes and scales, absolutely perfect.
“You’ve got expensive tastes mon ami...or I guess it's more of this mysterious man. But by the look on your face, it seems perfect.”
I hadn’t even realized I had been smiling. Feeling suddenly exposed, I gave an awkward cough and tried to cover my tracks. “W-Well yes. It looks just like his eyes. I-I’m just...yeah...um...going to go in and buy it. Y-You, don’t have to wait up for me.” So much for covering my tracks. Without another word, I made my way into the shop, ignoring whatever tease came out of that damn Frenchman’s mouth.
---
It wasn’t long before I was back at the inn. Francis gave me the rest of the day off, so I retreated to my room for some rest before going out to meet Ludwig. As I collapsed onto my bed, I grabbed my purchase from the nightstand. Taking the bracelet from the box, I lifted it above my head, allowing it to sparkle in the sun. Ludwig’s scales were far more beautiful, shining even brighter than any jewel, but this would have to do. At some point, my eyes began feeling heavy, my exhaustion returning once everything had calmed down. It wasn’t long before I had fallen asleep.
The sun had almost set by the time I got up. I blinked in a daze before realizing I was late to meeting Ludwig. “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck” I angrily whispered to myself as I collected my things, hoping Ludwig had waited up for me.
When I finally got there I found our spot deserted. “God damn it,” I sighed, taking a seat in defeat. At least I could watch the end of the sunset and admire the waves. Like for most of the day, luck was not on my side as dark clouds began rolling in and the breeze picked up. With a sigh, I got up and began making my way back to the beach. As I walked, the weather only seemed to get worse, especially the wind that was whipping me every which way. Like history repeating itself, a particularly strong gust of wind sent me crashing into the water.
Of course, I had been blown in in a deep area, leaving me once again flailing unsuccessfully to keep my head above the water (at least the waves weren’t as bad as last time). As I became more and more desperate and fear took hold I surprisingly found myself shouting for Ludwig. He probably wasn’t around or able to hear me above the storm that was setting in, but he was my best option for help at this point. Soon the cold and exhaustion was getting to me and my world was slowly becoming dark, but before I passed out I heard the faint call of my name.
---
I was back in my room at the inn when I came to. My mind was fuzzy and everything felt sedately warm. It was as if I was wrapped in a soft flame that didn’t burn, but instead wrapped me in a comforting grasp. Although I felt a strange weight around my waist, I paid it no mind as my head was pounding and my nose stuffy. I felt miserable so when sleep began to tug at me once more, I was content to accept it. That was until I felt something move beside me. I immediately shot up, spooking Ludwig who was laying beside me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I screeched. When I noticed I was naked, I immediately pulled the covers up to my chest.
Ludwig’s eyes went wide and his cheeks went red. “I-I’m sorry...I just...your friend said this would help.”
“What?” My scowl deepened when I realized who had put him up to it. “That damn frog,” I seethed, though more to myself than Ludwig.
“I’m sorry. You were freezing...I-I’ll just go,” Ludwig blabbered as he clumsily untangled himself from the sheets and got out of bed.
“Wait...H-How are you…” My mind had finally woken up enough, realizing Ludwig was here, on land, without a tail or scales.
“Oh...I never mentioned we could become human?”
“No.”
“Oh...uh...well I can. I don’t usually, but you were shaking so much so I knew I had to get you home..er… where you were staying so I took it upon myself to get you here. It wasn’t easy, but...shoot I’m rambling aren’t I?”
My gaze softened. Ludwig was far sweeter than any man I had ever met. I couldn’t stay angry with him even if we woke up in a...compromising position (if anything it was Francis’ fault who told him to do it). “So...what exactly happened this time?”
“Well, there was a storm. I found you just as you were about to go under, so I immediately grabbed you. When I got you to shore you were freezing and… I-I didn’t know what else to do so I grabbed my spare clothes and began searching for the inn. That blond man was standing at the door and he recognized you and urged me to bring you inside. He explained I had to get you out of your wet clothes and under the blanket. Th-That’s when he suggested for me to lay beside you...t-too warm you up. I’m sorry again for that. And now we’re here.”
“Well, I-I suppose a thank you is in order,” I said, laying back down on the bed. My wooziness was finally catching up to me. It was clear I was starting to come down with a cold.
Ludwig loomed over me, an unreadable look on his face. “Is there anything else you need?”
“Some water would be nice. Why don’t you go ask Francis.”
He gave me a small nod and made his way to the door. “Oh, Arthur. By the way, that box you were holding onto so tightly is just on your nightstand.”
“Oh.” I looked over to see that velvety, blue box that held Ludwig’s gift perched safely on the table beside my head. “Thank you. For everything”
“Anytime.”
As the door closed, I snuggled into the blankets once more, still chilled either from the ordeal, my cold, or both. Tomorrow for sure I would give him his gift. Right now I was tired and sick, not wanting to do much more than sleep. However, it did not come so easy as the bed felt empty without Ludwig there and that warm, comforting feeling seemed to have gone with him. But sooner or later, my eyes closed and the lingering feeling of Ludwig’s embrace lulled me to sleep.
Ch. 2
Ch. 4
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