#i took one look at the tag for this au and immediately drew for 5 hours straight just to get the damn idea out of my head

[leafwateraddict]

Alright, I caved. @cakesmelons frozen au has me in a chokehold and I have not been able to stop thinking abt it for like the past week. So of course I had to draw Nightmare in one of the many iconic Let It Go poses. (I could not resist)

Also process vid and some sketches of scenes from the movie that may or may not end up being canon or not idk

I never drew Nim before so this was an interesting experience

[dragonclaude]

May I pitch a fun "alternative chapter 5" in place of "oh Sakura just didn't die". What if it's something along the lines of "She enters a deathlike state that fools even Monokuma" and essentially pulls a Romeo & Juliet on them with only Hina in on the plan (she still does the whole disrupting the crime scene thing because *acting*) and Hina eventually wakes her back up... of course neither of them are chemists and it takes a few months for Sakura to wake up (thus allowing for an Upgrade Tree!)

See, that’s pretty interesting but I don’t know if the two of them would be able to convince Monokuma since he could hear everything while they’re talking about the plan. Even if they go somewhere like the bathhouse where he couldn’t see or hear it, he would know something fishy is up. Sakura was currently betraying him and that should be enough to lead him to believe she would be pulling something drastic.

Though, I do think there could’ve been more fun things done with the chemicals in the room. Could you imagine if someone with vague chemical knowledge used them to make an explosive substance??? Goodbye data lab door, we’re gonna go kick Junko’s ass directly.

But also this ask reminded me of something I’ve forgotten about for a while. It’s an idea I had before even starting the Roaring Cherry Blossom stuff. It was closer to “what could Sakura’s Revenge look like?” with the emphasis of making a spinoff that could fit into canon somehow. In the end, I kind of just took the gameplay idea and drew it for RCB but now that I think about it again…. It might not be a bad idea as a different way to start RCB instead of making it strictly an AU of DR1. I'd like to know what y'all think.

That’ll take a little bit to explain so bear with me. And also, @bananacreamphi it’s REALLY funny that you sent me this *during* the time I was typing this down xD

It’s not the exact same but you might want to read below ;D

Long read with a few colored drawings below!!

For the rest of this, I will refer to Roaring Cherry Blossom as RCB for shortening sake. If any of you reading don’t know what it is, make sure to see my tag that has all of my AU drawings or click this link to start looking!

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Okay so, in this version, Danganronpa 1 happens. Same survivors, same deaths, same apocalypse. People are fighting for their lives, the Remnants are running rampant and the future foundation is struggling to fight them back.

But, here’s the thing. When the remnants went to Hope’s peak to retrieve the parts of Junko’s body, they also decided to desecrate the bodies in the bio lab for despair reasons. While opening and examining all the bodies, they notice that all of the bodies but Sakura’s are at a point of no return…...and Mikan gets a great idea.

What if she revives Sakura and brainwashes her to become another remnant?

She did briefly work under Junko and she could get it right this time. The remnants would have one more strong fighter on their side and would massively catch the enemy off guard.

So they take her back to the remnant’s base and set up a brainwashing room directly in the medical room. Mikan revives Sakura with her medical knowledge, she wakes up immediately being brainwashed into thinking everyone she knows and loves is dead and that she failed her family’s legacy. Nekomaru welcomes her to the team, and we begin the tutorial of learning the controls. You would have reeeally brutal attacks at first, Nekomaru would be empowering you to not hold back and just murder as much as possible.

Here was a drawing of her I made in late 2020 that I decided to redraw with her RCB clothing, enjoy.

I don’t think she would have the Kanabos at first but I think it looks cool xD

It would also be cool to see what life was like on the remnants’ side and how camaraderie could show up with people who’ve fully succumbed to despair. Nekomaru and The ultimate Imposter would be the general leaders I’d say. The first to motivate the group in battles and the other focused on infiltration and enemy Intel.

But anyways after some time going on missions and wreaking havoc, Sakura finds out about the future foundation and that her friends are still alive; sparking a speck of hope that is enough to start messing with her thoughts. When bringing this up to the others, they recommend she go and destroy the source of the issue to bring her the despair that she needs. She lets Hiyoko destroy whats left of her home and next comes planning how she is going to kill her friends. (maybe delving into the thoughts she had during the time she was a spy in DR1)

For the sake of this, let’s say she goes with a plan that revolves around baiting them out from the foundation and picking them off one by one. Long story short, Sakura gets very close to killing Makoto but the foundation pulls out everything in their power to knock her out. (say, chain binds, chemicals, stunning explosives, or tranquilizers perhaps)

…...And now Makoto gets a great idea.

We will take Sakura and test out the current version of the Neo World Program. If it works on her, then we can be sure it will work with the others.

They bring her to the room, memory-erasing happens and the brainwashing is removed. Sakura regains consciousness in Jabberwock Island like Hajime did and is very confused. (She would likely have her DR1 outfit on)

She soon finds Usami, and maybe even Chiaki, to explain why she’s here and how to escape. Artistic rendition because I like this idea C:

She does the Usami chores while getting a little more interaction with the digital characters and “graduates” from the trip. There could also be a moment where the foundation members from the outside communicate with her inside of the program to give her more context and to assure her she's not just stranded in some island.

Then she comes back out, has a touching moment with her friends now that she’s back to normal, and gets straight to work finding the remnants like regular RCB. But, this time she knows how the program works and can vouch for it if she ever needs to convince someone.

Man, imagine how the reunion with Kenshiro would go once she reaches Towa City.

So yeah, this is another option without making an entirely new AU of DR1. I hope this didn’t stray too far from the original point, I just thought it would be fun to finally write it down! C:

I would like to know you guy’s thoughts on this too, maybe it’s a little too much Idk xD

======================================

Since this post is kind of an anchor point for this whole AU, here’s a TLDR for the whole plot!

======================================

DR1 happens

Dead Sakura is taken when remnants took Junkos parts

Mikan revives Sakura and turns her into remnant

Remnants cause havoc and gets attention of Future foundation

Sakura tries to capture Makoto, the foundation manages to knock her out

Makoto brings Sakura to the Neo World Program and undoes the despair

Now the game’s goal is to find and capture all the remnants to put them into the Neo World Program too

I’ve drawn lots of this idea, so if you want to see more into the game, look at my pinned post!

[dis-easedfairy]

Noxious Pt.5

Chapter 5: The Bicker Buffet

Warnings!: 18+ | Swearing/Strong Language | Suggestive/Dirty Jokes | Childish Arguing 

Pairings: Park Jimin x  Female Reader | Kim Taehyung x Female Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Best Friend!au, College!au, Eventual Poly!au, Eventual Smut

Word Count: 6,022 (roughly 22 minutes of average reading time)

Summary: Jimin, Taehyung and F/n are all childhood friends. Taehyung moved away some years ago and left Jimin to take care of F/n. F/n falls for Jimin as they get older and gives up everything to fit into his life, until one night Jimin gets drunk and tells her what he really thinks of her.

A/N: Listen, listen.... I know I'm not the most consistent writer. I say ‘here’s a chapter imma go by y’all milk brb’ and just don’t come back for 3 months this is why I got a taglist! Feel free to send an ask or comment to let me know if you want to be added! I also didn't tag my teaser right because i forget I'm in networks now (and i probs tagged this wrong too because iM NEW TO THIS) 🤡

As I took my seat between my two childhood friends it was very apparent who was more aggressive. Before I could even greet Taehyung my seat was pulled closer to Jimin’s side. My seat was at the end of the table, facing in.

As I was about to say something to Jimin about his rude behavior, Taehyung’s voice broke through in my other ear, “Hello, Yakgwa. How has your day been?”

I looked over to tell him the robotic “Good.” but before I could, my mouth went dry.

Taehyung was dressed differently than what I saw him in before.

His hair wasn’t curly, or just there like the last time I saw him. It was slightly wavy and messy. His dark hair and eyebrows drew me to his warm eyes. The last time I had seen him, he was in a white shirt, multicolored cardigan, brown loose-fitting pants, and white shoes of a brand I didn’t notice.

I assumed it was because he was pulled away from whatever he was doing by his mom.

Today, his outfit mirrored mine.

I was wearing a white button-up shirt, black ripped jeans, and white shoes. His shirt wasn’t button-up, and his jeans weren’t ripped. He had a light jean jacket draped over the back of his chair with these rounded, orange-tinted sunglasses slotted into the front chest pocket. His shoes looked like dark dress shoes and somehow the look tied together perfectly and made me feel a little flustered.

Maybe because this time he put more effort into the way he looked than ‘ugh my mom won’t stop bugging me’. Or maybe it was because his outfit mirrored mine, which is something couples did a lot.

Upon noticing my look a smile broke out onto Taehyung’s face, “Nice style.” He kidded.

“Noona, I’m sorry, I didn’t invite him. I would’ve warned you ahead of time.” Jeongguk frowned.

“Then who invited him?” Jimin’s glare shifted immediately to Yoongi as he asked the question.

Yoongi was completely unbothered as he looked over the menu.

Hoseok got Taehyung’s cup as he sat beside him and began to fill it with the roasted barley tea that was provided over water, “I invited him.”

All our heads but Taehyung’s snapped to look at him.

“He said it would just be him and I, he had heard about me and wanted to meet.” Taehyung clarified.

“We were fished!” I complained, sitting back feeling the treachery sink in.

“…Top 10 Anime Betrayals,” Jeongguk muttered as he picked up his menu.

“You should apologize to Yoongi-hyung.” Hoseok lightly scolded Jimin.

Jimin looked insulted, “Why should I apologize? I didn’t accuse him!” He defended while pointing at himself.

Hoseok gave him a look. A look that was somehow so powerful that it made all of us at the table want to apologize FOR Jimin.

Jimin rolled his eyes and sighed, “I’m sorry for accusing you of dishonesty when it was Hoseok, Yoongi-hyung. It was him who manipulated everyone, not you.”

Yoongi pressed his lips together trying not to laugh as Jeongguk, Taehyung and I held our breaths.

Jimin now is not the time to cause shit. To ‘spill tea’.

“Now, Jimin, let’s not be dramatic. I wanted our friends to meet Taehyung as well so we can judge for ourselves if he’s the asshole who you paint him out to be.” Hoseok’s voice was so polite for metaphorically throwing a whole scolding hot pot of tea at Jimin.

Jeongguk and I grabbed our tea and scooted back in sync. Preparing for a fight.

“You think I’m an asshole?” Taehyung questioned dejectedly.

“I acknowledge that meeting him was a reasonable choice, I just hoped you had been solicitous enough to inform us ahead of time to equip ourselves.” I could see the vein in Jimin’s neck become more visible.

Jeongguk and I sipped our tea, “They’re getting dressy.” Jeongguk whispered to Taehyung, afraid they would hear and turn on him next.

“How am I the asshole?” Taehyung muttered to himself, a frown fixed onto his features.

“I considered you wouldn’t appear if you had been made aware that Taehyung would be accompanying us at supper. Lord knows how much you want our cherished, F/n to stay distant from him.” Hoseok had a bright smile on his face that was nowhere near reaching his eyes.

Hoseok even leaned back in a relaxed way with his face looking like it was waiting for Jimin to defy him.

“You don’t want F/n to see me? Why?” Taehyung’s head had lifted upon hearing my name.

Jimin ignored him, “I most likely would’ve attended this feast to accompany F/n. I wouldn’t like to leave her isolated in an uncomfortable environment that you have formulated.”

Yoongi threw his menu down on the table with a look of irritation, “Someone please say fuck.” Yoongi fussed.

“It’s a ye-old stand-off.” Jeongguk whisper yelled.

“Hoseok now is not the time to show off your limited literature knowledge. Jimin, just relax, we’re all here to have a nice time, not personally offend you.” Yoongi mediated.

“The only thing offending me is clip-on earrings,” Jimin taunted with a scoff.

And Hoseok took that personally.

His eyes widened and he sat up, no longer feeling like he had the upper hand.

“Quick! Someone play the Sponge-Bob music, you know the one, this is gonna get heated.” Jeongguk told in a hushed tone, waving at Taehyung and me.

Hoseok slammed one hand on the table, making us all jump, he pointed a finger at Jimin,“Don’t put down my earrings because you wanted swiss-cheese ears!” Hoseok shot.

Taehyung slowly lifted up his tea to sip, leaning a little bit away from Hoseok.

“Jeongguk has more than me!” Jimin turned.

Jeongguk’s eyes widened. 

( O J O )

The poor boy was a deer in headlights.

“Yoongi said real men get piercings!” I threw in a lie to divert off of Jeongguk.

Now Yoongi looked so confused, “When did I ever–?”

“He was always the type to say such things.” Taehyung played along, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

“I would never say something like–” I cut Yoongi off.

“Wow, Yoongi-oppa, I’ve only seen you a few times and THIS is what you reveal to me?” I egged on.

“Yoongi, why would you say that?” Hoseok asked with a frown.

“I didn’t!” Yoongi retained.

“You think I’m a real man, Hyung?” Jeongguk smirked.

“WE SHOULD ORDER!” Yoongi deflected, “The faster we order, the faster we can end Jimin’s moodiness!”

Before Jimin could argue we started to do the usual, fish in our pockets for cash.

We would all pitch in for the meat that came with noodles and sides. We would fill up mostly on noodles. Our diets were ruined completely but it filled us up and we had fun.

We wouldn’t really get drinks. We would just sip on the tea that was provided.

Taehyung looked around at us, confused as we laid bills on the table.

“F/n? You still haven’t got a part-time job?” Jeongguk asked, face sympathetic.

I let out a large sigh, “No. Most of the places hiring want 5 or more years of experience even though it’s an ‘entry job’ into the field.” I explained with a bitter tone.

“There are a couple of cafes who are willing to hire! We’ll check them out together!” Jeongguk encouraged.

“Don’t worry about it for now! I got you covered!” Hoseok beamed, digging a few more bills out of his pocket.

“…So how much am I paying?” Taehyung asked, turning to look in his jacket pockets.

“Nothing. We invited you.” Yoongi said plainly.

“Exactly, you’re our guest. You don’t pay.” Hoseok stated.

As I scooted my chair back up to the table as a wad of bills was placed on the table with a honey-toned hand.

“I’ll cover myself and F/n! Don’t treat me any different! We’re going to be friends, right?” His smile was like he didn’t just drop enough money to pay for all of us.

It was innocent and child-like.

It was purely TaeTae.

I couldn’t help but mirror his smile, it warmed my heart.

“…Okay, so I hate to be the downer in this situation but that’s more than what we usually drop.” Jimin frowned.

Taehyung shrugged, “I have more than enough. We can have a nice night!”

“We can have a nice night without a lot of cash,” Jimin muttered, his rough Busan dialect breaking through from his clear irritation.

“Yah, if he wants to treat himself and us then he can. You do the same when you get a bonus or your mom sends you extra cash.” Jeongguk mirrored the accent.

I only shook my head.

“You two are children,” Yoongi muttered, his Daegu dialect making us all snap our heads to look at him.

“Hyung, they just need to get used to me.” Taehyung mirrored Yoongi.

“Enough dialect! Time to order! MA’AM! We’re going to start with sides and marinated short rib!” I called out, raising my hand so they knew which table.

“And three bottles of soju!” Jimin tacked on.

“Four, please! My friends are alcoholics!” Hoseok added.

Sure enough, as soon as the bottles hit the table, Jeongguk snatched one, Yoongi grabbed one and Jimin grasped the other. Hoseok thanked the older woman and took the last bottle. Another woman placed coals and a rack into the center of the table and said she’d be back with everything else soon.

“F/n-ie? Want a little?” Jimin offered softly after opening his bottle.

I only nodded, I took the bottle from him and filled his small glass.

“You drink?” Taehyung asked me.

“Occasionally. I don’t like to get really drunk.” I explained.

Jimin burst out into laughter, he then took the bottle from me giggling, “Remember your first time drunk?” He had to put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing harder.

“Diminie! I want to eat ice cream with Kookie!” Hoseok teased.

A large smile spread across Taehyung’s face.

“Kookie let's watch anime! We can cuddle because Diminie is mean!” Jeongguk jumped in.

I pouted at the sudden reminder, “You could’ve just cuddled with me and gave me ice cream.” I muttered.

“Ice cream and alcohol make you sick!” Hoseok grinned.

Jimin began to fill my glass, “You were so cute.” He cooed successfully making my cheeks warm.

Before I could really argue with him the meat and side dishes arrived at our table. As if my brain connected with Taehyung’s, we both shot up to help the older woman.

Taehyung got the meat and I made quick work setting the side dishes on the table. The older woman began to set down individual bowls of cold noodles. We both bowed and thanked the woman before turning to our group.

“Wah, such manners.” Hoseok praised.

Taehyung pressed his lips together as he began to place the meat down on the grill and I began to place the side dishes where I knew they would be the most appreciated.

“I can take care of the meat,” Yoongi reassured Taehyung.

“Oh! Great! I’m going to go get us greens for wraps!” Taehyung replied before rushing off to do so.

“He’s well mannered,” Yoongi commented then shot Jeongguk a look.

“I would’ve helped if they didn’t have it under control!” Jeongguk defended.

I moved between Jeongguk and Jimin to put down the spicier kimchi near Jeongguk, knowing he’d get it more when I felt a hand on my lower back.

I whipped to the side to face Jimin in surprise. His warm hand sent tingles up my spine and heat up to my cheeks.

“Thank you, Yakgwa. You always take care of us.” Jimin’s looked up at me, his candied voice and soft eyes making a certain part of my heart giddy.

Jeongguk scanned the table and looked over, once he saw where Jimin’s hand was, he spoke up, “AH! Noona? I think we’re forgetting something…” Jeongguk came to my aid.

“Ah, do we need raw garlic?” I played along with a slightly embarrassed giggle, swatting Jimin’s hand away.

Hobi looked at us quizzically, “We have garlic.”

“NO! We need more!” Jeongguk insisted, giving Hoseok a hard look.

“We do need more!” I agreed, quickly walking off to the bar where they had the fill-ups.

Taehyung was there picking out the right lettuce wraps. He had this look on his face of full focus that it was hard to hold in a giggle.

When I let a giggle slip past my lips Taehyung turned to look over at me, his mouth was parted yet tilted to a slight frown and his eyes were widened. He looked so cute.

Before I could stop myself my hand reached out to caress his face with the back of my hand. Before it could connect with his face I quickly dropped it, coming to my senses how inappropriate that would be if I were to go through with that act of affection.

As soon as my hand dropped I began to speak, hoping to get out of the awkward situation I put myself in, “Did you get all the wraps? Any good side dishes?” I asked, turning more towards the table in front of me.

Taehyung’s face flashed with a certain emotion that I tried not to let get to me. I wasn’t sure if it was disgust or disappointment. Either way, I hated it and wanted to avoid it all cost.

He seemed to quickly recover before speaking, thankfully allowing me to let me get away with it just this once, “Uhhh, there’s eggplant. Spinach?” I could tell he was guessing.

I only gave him a smile. I reached out, getting the small amount of japchae and braised potatoes for us to share. The smile I got in return showed me I chose right.

“Let's go back to the table?” I suggested.

He nodded and we made our way back. The closer we got we could see them all leaned forward, talking to each other in angry murmurs. Taehyung stopped a little ways away from the table, I wasn’t sure if he was being respectful or if he wanted to listen in. I, however, wasn’t as considerate.

I power walked forward, pretty much slamming the two bowls down on the table with a fake smile, causing them all to immediately silence and jump back. I pulled out Tae’s chair and moved the sides I just got closer to his placement.

“What are you all buzzing about?” I taunted.

“Nothing! Come sit down, the meat is almost ready.” Jimin quickly ushered me, leading me to believe he was the one who started the whispering.

I just glared. I wanted to know what was so interesting that they had to say it when I left. What was such a damn secret that I couldn’t be around to hear it?

Jimin held my gaze, only his was soft, almost begging. He wanted me to drop it.

Taehyung placed the greens on the table and walked behind me. He pulled out my chair and offered his hand, “We have cold noodles! We can eat as fast as we want!”

His eyes were warm pools of comfort looking into mine, how could I deny him. I took his hand without a thought, I let him guide me onto my chair, and he pushed my chair in. A small feeling of emptiness washed over me as his heated hand left mine, I tried to reason with myself that he had to get comfortable with me again. That I had to know boundaries. Yet it was hard to do when I could only feel a tingling feeling in the pit on my stomach.

A feeling flowing through me that I wasn’t quite used to. The feeling of attention. Someone to read my emotions and act out accordingly for MY sake.

As he moved back to his seat the sun shined in like it was taunting me. Light bouncing off the color of his eyes, the highlights of the top of his hair illuminating like he just revealed his hidden halo.

It was like my brain was trying to fight itself, trying to make me think rationally but fogging over at the same time. As the light danced along with his features his eyes met mine, catching me staring. His eyes lit up even more, turning into crescents as his lips lifted to flash me his heart-shattering boxy smile that I couldn’t help but heat up when I saw.

Any anger or irritation I had prior washed away as I got lost in his proud and joyous expression. I couldn’t have fought the smile that mirrored his even if I tried.

The fog was broken when I could feel an almost headed weight on the side of my face. It was hard to describe the feeling that pushed against me. It was uncomfortable and was too strong to be ignored.

I broke my gaze from Taehyung to look in the direction I got the feeling from only to be met with eyes.

Everyone at the table was staring with various expressions.

Most were different types of amusement, almost teasing. All but Jimin’s. His expression was one similar to anger, but what made it different was the heat in his gaze that made a tingling heat pool in my lower abdomen.

“Someone is in love.” Hoseok teased as he reached for Jeongguk’s bowl of noodles.

Jimin let out a bitter scoff, “It’s not love. She just hasn’t seen him in a while,” Jimin leaned back in his chair, a somewhat smug look was on his face.

“We were just teasing.” Hoseok rolled his eyes as he cut Jeongguk’s noodles before reaching for Yoongi’s to do the same.

Taehyung looked over at Hoseok, and once he saw what he was doing he sat down and seemed to watch his movements. Maybe he was waiting his turn.

“There was no reason to get jealous.” Jeongguk chuckled.

Once Hoseok finished Yoongi’s noodles and his own, Taehyung quietly got the scissors from Hoseok as Jimin began to speak, “I know it was teasing, but maybe find better jokes.”

Before Hoseok could retort they all went quiet as Taehyung slid my bowl over to him. He mimicked Hoseok’s movements of cutting up the noodles then slid the bowl back to me, “You want chili paste?” He asked me softly.

“Yes please,” I smiled, reaching for the scissors and his noodles.

Taehyung spooned some paste and dolloped it in the center of my bowl with precision then began to look around, “There are sesame seeds around here somewhere.”

As he was searching I took the small bowl of chili paste from him, “You want paste?” I asked, mixing it.

“Yes please, Yakgwa.” He responded, reaching for the shaker with sesame seeds.

I placed a bit of it in the middle of his bowl and took the shaker from him when he finished. We both mixed the bowls up and slid them back to each other. Yoongi began to cut up the meat and Hoseok began to flip the pieces.

As I got lost in thought of how well Yoongi and Hoseok were working in sync, a braised potato was placed on top of my noodles. I looked over at Tae a little surprised which seemed to be the trend of this dinner.

Taehuyng only gave me a quick smile and moved to get one for himself. Before I could comment on his actions, a piece of meat was placed beside the potato.

I looked over, Jimin gave me a soft smile before getting a piece of meat for Jeongguk.

It was at this moment I realized I was being more than unfair to Jimin.

Yes, I wanted to get closer to Tae, but Jimin was still here too. He worried about me being around Taehyung. I knew I was making him upset, and instead of reassuring him, I was making him more upset.

I looked around the table, Hobi and Yoongi were saying something amongst themselves, Jeongguk and Tae seemed to be discussing something as well as Jimin continued to eat his noodles in silence.

I took a deep breath and before I could overthink it I scooted slightly back to look under the table and playfully nudged Jimin’s foot, trying to seem like I was interested in what Tae and Jeongguk were talking about.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Jimin lift his head to look at me. I tried to remain completely stoic as I playfully tapped the side of his shoe.

Jimin looked under the table, his eyes lighting up with playfulness. He looked back at me then pushed my foot away.

I pushed his back. Once I saw the smile glow onto his features I finally turned to face him. He lifted his eyebrows humorously once my eyes met his. Jimin’s foot kicked mine, a silent challenge written on his impish expression.

Oh, it was on.

Soon we were kicking and pushing at each other's legs and feet just wanting the other to surrender. What started as a discrete moment to uplift his spirit, turned into an obvious childish game. Soon we no longer cared about if anyone else noticed. We only cared about winning.

“Ah! Cheater!” Jimin tried to speak in between his grunts of effort.

“You cheated! You went for the shin!” I accused, trying to pin his more dominant leg down.

Despite the small argument, we were full-on smiling, giggles leaving our lips once one of us managed to get a good move in. Soon we started to scoot down in our chairs to get more range on each other. This is where Yoongi drew the line.

“Yah! There are people around!” Yoongi fussed.

“Your food will get cold.” Hoseok shook his head with a smile.

“Yeah, F/n, your food is getting cold act like an adult!” Jimin taunted, still trying to twist my legs with his as a way to get me to surrender.

“Just give up!” I tried to hold in my laugh.

“…Do they always do this?” I could hear Taehyung’s voice question.

“Not as of recently.” Jeongguk sighed.

It was all fun and games until one particular hit caused Jimin’s face to scrunch up in pain, making me halt all my movements.

“Chim? are you okay?” I asked, sitting up straight, silence falling over the table.

“Ow!” His signature whine finally came out after a moment of silence.

The others began to laugh as I began to coo, “Aww, Jiminie, I’m sorry!” I apologized, getting up from my chair, and quickly embraced him as a form of repenting.

I had hugged Jimin from the side so naturally, the side of his face was pressed into my chest. His arms quickly wrapped around me to keep me close. I didn’t for once think of the position we were in until Jimin began to nuzzle his face more into my chest.

A tingle shot down my spine at the sensation and heat erupted in my face as u began to realize what was going on.

I quickly pulled away, causing Jimin to whine, “F/n~! I want to hug more.” Jimin sounded almost innocent.

It was like he was cutely complaining, which I would've normally taken it as, but the fact that his hands were dangerously close to my ass and his face was in my breasts made me lose it.

“UM, how about…. how about we hug as much as you want after we eat?” I tried to play it off like I wasn’t acting like a hormonal teenager.

Jimin gave me a pout but nodded in agreement.

“Thank god that’s over,” Jeongguk commented.

Jimin gave him a pointed look, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We all know you just like being babied by F/n from time to time.” Yoongi dismissed as he began to give meat to Hobi.

I frowned, “I don’t baby him.”

“It looks like you do.” Taehyung gave me a warm smile.

“She'll baby you too if you stick around long enough.” Jimin’s voice sliced through, venom dripped from his words.

I looked over at him with a judging look, before I could even get a word in Taehyung was already responding, “I’m not leaving. She’s my friend I won’t leave her.”

Jimin scoffed, “Sure you won’t.

Hoseok let out a groan, “Can’t we just eat?”

“Yes! Let’s eat!” I quickly stated as I reached over to grab kimchi.

Even though we talked during dinner the table still felt awkward.

Skipping next to Taehyung as we exited the restaurant was probably the best way for me to get weird looks.

Hoseok, Yoongi, and Jeongguk somehow led the way as they had a heated debate on the best beer type while Taehyung and I trailed behind them.

“Is it always this lively?” Taehyung asked, his face read nothing but amusement.

“You should see when Namjoon and Seokjin join. They’re older friends. They’re on their last year, Namjoon is taking a mentorship in Damyang, he’s a writer. Seokjin is currently at an acting ‘camp’ of sorts. He should be back around the same time as Namjoon.” Taehyung nodded, looking ahead at the other three.

“Jeongukk seems really fun.”

I smiled, “He is! Hobi is too!”

Taehyung let out a large sigh, “I should get to know your friends more.”

“Well, they’re Yoongi and Jimin’s friends too. Friends of friends.” I frowned a little.

I suddenly felt warmth envelope my hand causing me to look down.

“Well, I don’t talk to my friend’s friends sometimes,” His fingers began to weave with mine, “But if that friend is special, I will.”

My breath caught in my throat, and what seemed like a theme of the night, Taehyung gave me an earth rattling smile then let go of my hand to hurry to the others before I could respond.

COULD PEOPLE LET ME RESPOND FOR ONCE!?

I let out a huff as I began to look around. They were leading us on our usual route to a convenience store. The most unusual sight you could see is Jimin trailing behind everyone, eyes purely on his phone. I let out a sigh and stopped walking. There was no way I could just let him walk alone.

“Jimin, you can’t do that, you’ll walk into something.” I grimaced.

His attention lifted from his phone and his eyes met mine, “I’ll be okay.”

I rolled my eyes and held out my hand for him. He stopped walking when he got close enough but looked at my hand in confusion. Without a word I reached out and grabbed onto one of his hands and began to walk towards the others. His hand pulled away from mine.

“Don’t you want to hold hands with Taehyung?” The tone in his voice made me stop to look at him.

He looked irritated and tired. It was obvious that Taehyung’s presence wasn’t welcome with Jimin.

“Why would that matter? I want to hold hands with you now.” I made another reach for his hand but he moved back away from my touch.

“I’m not your second choice, F/n.” His voice was expectantly cold.

I let out a groan as I looked up at the sky, “Jimin, seriously not now.” I complained.

He ignored my comment, “You can’t just have a nice moment with me then jump on Taehyung when you get the chance. That’s fucked up.”

“Jimin! He just came into my life again! Of course, I'm going to want to be around him! I want to get to know him.” I reasoned with my irritation building.

“So what? You’re going to leave me every time a shiny new toy comes into your view?”

“Where is this coming from!? It’s just a friends’ night out, Jimin!”

“You’re not my friend! We both know you aren’t! It’s different, F/n!” Jimin almost pleaded.

I could feel the stares we were getting but I knew I had to set the record straight. I just HAD to be right for some reason.

“What is your sudden obsession with wanting to be more than friends!? It was never a problem before!”

“Because I didn’t almost lose you before!”

“Just stop trying to make a relationship out of this! That’s not what I want from you!”

“I don’t want a relationship either! I just want you to stay!”

The feeling of disenchantment finally sunk in. Like dirt settling after conflict. He never changed. He never understood. I didn’t want him to love me anymore. I didn’t want his pity dates. I didn’t want him to only act affectionate because he felt like he had to.

It was worse than the relationship we had before.

It wasn’t love it was obligation.

I didn’t think it was possible to feel hot and cold at the same time. I wanted to scream at him but I wanted to just cry and hide. A large mixture of emotions that just had me frozen in place.

“I’m not your charity case, Jimin.” I managed, my voice wavering.

“And I’m not your Taehyung place-holder.”

I scoffed. I didn’t respond besides that. I was thinking over my options. I just wanted to go home but a part of me wanted to go back to the others and have a decent time. Even if I knew that was no longer possible.

Jimin ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath, “You said you didn’t want a relationship, then what DO you want from me F/n? I keep trying to make it right and you just push me away.”

I wanted to be left alone now.

“I want you to explain to our friends, how much of a dick you are while I go home.” I snapped and began to turn in the direction of the school.

Jimin grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him, his face was no longer angry. It looked sad and there was a twinge of fear in his eyes that I tried to ignore.

“I’m sorry. This is childish! I was…” The words seemed to die in his mouth for a moment, “I was stupid, let’s just go to the others, okay? You can ignore me for the rest of the night if it helps.”

Now I felt like the dick.

What more did I want? He apologized. He admitted he was wrong.

If I was supposed to be satisfied why did I still feel anger? Why did my brain still say ‘leave’?

Jimin’s hand slid from my wrist to my hand, “Please? I don’t think that I have to date you to keep you around. That was wrong to say. I’ll stop pushing it. Let’s just go back to the guys. Okay?”

“I’m just going to go home,” I stated. I didn’t feel like eating ice cream and drinking with everyone after that.

Jimin looked visibly upset, “There’s no changing your mind, is there?”

“No.”

Jimin let out a sigh, “Make sure to get back safe. I know you don’t want me walking you back. ” His hand slowly let go of mine.

As soon as his hand was out of reach I left without a word.

And that’s how I ended up at a random park too far from the school to my liking, eating snacks that I went to a different convenience store to buy.

Like an asshole.

I needed to work on not exploding and storming of dramatically. It was making even me irritated.

As I strolled around the park I couldn’t help but wonder if I was in the wrong.

He apologized and he admitted he was wrong.

Was that not what I wanted? If not then what DID I want? I felt like a stubborn child who wasn’t getting their way so they had a tantrum and had an attitude until they forgot about it.

I plopped down on one of the picnic tables and tried to do some ‘ soul searching’.

I tried to think of why I would react the way I did. I promised Hobi I would at least try to see it from Jimin’s perspective.

Maybe I needed to have another talk with him?

I began to eat my chips and decided to just enjoy the scenery around me.

It seemed like only minutes passed but the chips were long gone and the park had emptied. Before I knew it I would see a man with a white plastic bag turn the corner onto the street I could see straight down. The thing that gave away this person was the outfit. Once he saw me, he beamed and began to run over to me.

“I knew I could find you!” Taehyung’s genuine excitement made that tingling feeling reappear.

“I didn’t know you were looking for me. You could’ve texted me.” I frowned, feeling a little guilty.

“What’s the fun in that?” He plopped down across from me and began to pull snacks out of his plastic bag.

“You could’ve found me faster?”

Taehyung placed a melon soda in front of me and began to fidget with the bag of chips in front of him, “I just had a feeling you wanted to be alone. I wanted you to have time for yourself before I came.”

I let out a sigh, looking down at my soda as I tapped the sides of it anxiously, “I ruined friends night because I was dramatic, huh?”

Taehyung’s eyes when from honeyed to steel, “Who told you that you were being dramatic?”

“Myself.”

“Well, that’s not true. YOU didn’t ruin anything.”

“So they still made it to the river?”

“You all go to the river?”

Fear dumped onto my like iced water, “So they didn’t make it!?”

Taehyung jumped but held one hand up, “No, no, I didn’t say that! They left without me!”

“They WHAT!?”

Taehyung let out a giggle that made warmth bloom in my cheeks, “When Jimin came back, he told everyone you two got into an argument. They tried to get me to stay and if it weren’t for Jeongguk I would be at the river.”

My heart.

“Aww, Kookie helped you?”

Taehyung nodded, “I guess he saw how uncomfortable I was. He pulled me behind the rest of the group and told me I could go once they started to scold Jimin.”

“Oh… I guess I fed Jimin to the wolves.” Wow, I was the asshole.

Before I could even dwell on the fact that Jimin could be getting yelled at because I left instead of sticking it out, a warm hand was placed on mine.

“Stop.” That was all Taehyung said.

I let out a guilty giggle, “Stop what? I was just thinking about my class tomorrow.”

Taehyung shot me a look. His eyes stabbed into my form and seemed to strip my soul bare. I felt vulnerable and exposed.

I let out a groan, “Fine! I feel bad! I was supposed to see from his point of view and I fucked it. I bent it over, with no foreplay, and fucked it!” I whined.

Taehyung let out a laugh, “Cute!” He cooed and moved his hands to cup my face.

My eyes widened and his warm hands only made my face heat up more. His eyes were crescents, his cooing made my heart jump, I could smell his cologne better from his wrists so close to my face. It smelled so comforting that I pretty much melted into his touch. His thumbs began to softly rub my cheeks. The world dissipated around us. I never wanted it to end. Any worries I had, any doubts I had vanished.

“I got a hotel for the night, do you want to stay with me?” His voice was warm velvet, his tone was pure serotonin.

“Yes, please,” I responded in a small voice, afraid that if my voice was too loud it would break apart the moment.

“Let me put away the snacks, we’ll take them back to the room, I’ll put on a movie, make some tea, and we’ll lay in bed until we fall asleep. sound nice?”

How could I ever say no?

( Previous Chapter ) - ( Next Chapter)

Taglist: @midiplier @jinnfires @desireesbk @armycandy10​ @krystle1990​ @toddsgirl27 @jikooksgirl19 @chubsjiminiie​

[alicanta77]

Chapter 5: Empire Dawning

Pairing: princess!y/n x prince!Chenle

Themes: royalty au, fluff, angst

Warnings: arranged marriage, character death, injury, illness

Words: 6k

Inspiration: BTS - Blood, Sweat and Tears - orchestral cover

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Finale

tag list: @hiqhkey @jaeshatshop @lebrookestore @honei-n @cheonsa1004 @haechans-sunflower @crispy-chan @rvse-hvvck​ @chezzontop​​​

——————————————————————————

The next few months passed like a blur. You and Chenle hadn’t gone a single day without seeing each other and your happiness radiated throughout the whole kingdom. As well as spending time together, you also had your individual duties, with Chenle training with the knights and you attending council hearings and shadowing your mother.

The only dark cloud that hung over you, was your father’s health.

In the months since his injury, he still hadn’t recovered. The castle doctors couldn’t understand what the problem was. The wound had been treated with disinfectant and cared for with the utmost care, and it appeared as though it had healed. Yet, your father could barely get out of bed.

He was weak, his eyes were duller skin had less colour than normal, and you were worried. It became clear that the blade had been laced with some kind of poison, something that was intended to kill the king from the inside out. For a while you had thought that he would just be weakened, but as his health began to deteriorate once again, and you knew that he didn’t have long left.

Chenle had become a pillar of support for your mother while your father struggled. He had attended countless meetings and sessions, and provided her with advice when she asked for it. Anybody could see that he was someone she relied on and trusted with every fibre of her being.

You drew your eyes away from your mother and once again regarded the papers in front of you, tuning your ears back into the councilman who was speaking.

“By increasing taxes we can afford to pay for the renovations for the lower towns. We’ll need to purchase some materials from travelling merchants in order to deter the bandits from making more attacks. But this money will be to bring in specialists who can build the defences.”

Your mother sighed, reading the documents in her hands, reaching to sign it but Chenle’s brows furrowed and he gently stopped her hand.

“Why would we need to increase the taxes again?” He questioned, looking at the councilman who visibly swallowed under Chenle’s scrutinising gaze. “The taxes were temporarily increased in order to pay for medication for the king which hasn’t worked. I don’t think we can justify raising them again for a job that some of our own people can do.”

“The people are already giving everything they can.” You spoke up, nodding at Chenle to show your support for his objection. “If we increase the taxes, some of them may need to ration food or pick up extra jobs.”

“But this will not be a permanent raise.” The councilman argued. “This is only to ensure that the job is done properly.”

“We have some fine workmen here. Why would we hire people to do a job when we could give it to someone who is already here?” You questioned with Chenle immediately backing you up with another point after.

“Not only is that better for the economy, but it’s a solution, whereas raising taxes and bringing in external ‘specialists’ would simply create public unrest and difficulty for our people, which, in my eyes, seem to be more problems that we would then need to solve.”

Your mother placed the document back down on the table in front of her, and slid it across back to the sullen councilman.

“No.” She spoke with a quiet authority. “While your idea seemed manageable to you, it is only because you would not be the one finding solutions to the problems it causes, the Prince and Princess would. They are correct. It is not worth paying people extra to do a job that our own people can do. I want you to spread words for the work that we need done along with the salary that is offered.” Your mother gestured towards a few people on her right, who nodded at her words before she turned back towards the rest of the council. “If there are no more issues to be addressed, this concludes today’s meeting.”

When no words were spoken, the guards standing by the exit opened the large wooden doors and everyone stood. The three of you waited for the room to empty before the queen nodded at the guards again, and they shut the doors once more, this time standing on the outside of it.

“Well, that ran for longer than expected.” Your mother muttered, turning back to the two of you. “Thank you for speaking up.”

After receiving a smile and nod from both you and Chenle she turned and began to walk away, the smile slowly dropping off your face as you watched her go. She still held herself high, walking with the power that a queen would, but there was a heaviness that followed her wherever she went. It was as if she was struggling to make it through the day. 

Chenle’s hand squeezed your shoulder lightly.

“She’s just worried about your father.” He murmured, stepping forwards to wrap an arm fully around your shoulders. “Like I am about you.”

You leaned back into him, resting your head against his shoulder and sighed.

“i’ll be fine.” You reassured him, turning around and wrapping your arms lightly around his waist as he leant down to briefly touch his forehead to yours. “I just... I’ve never seen her like this. She’s always been so strong, so sure of everything she does, and now, it’s like, as my father dies, so does some part of her. I feel like I’m losing them both at the same time, and I’m not ready for it.”

Chenle nodded, taking in your words and listening intently. He leaned in, placing a soft kiss on your forehead.

“I know it’s difficult watching them like this, it’s difficult for me too, but all we can do is be there for her, and offer her the support that your father can’t anymore.” You closed your eyes and nodded, Chenle’s words comforting you.

“You’re right. I know you’re right I just need reminding sometimes.”

Chenle nodded, placing a kiss on your cheek.

“Hey, we have some free time and I think the music room is free.” He suggested, his eyebrows raised in anticipation and you grinned in response, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the hall.

---

Chenle’s fingers danced over the piano, expertly playing the ending to the song the two of you had just sung. This place was a safe space. A place where it was just the two of you and you could forget about the countless things kept you from falling asleep at night.

The final note echoed around the otherwise empty room, and you gently shut your eyes, listening as it faded into nothingness. When you reopened your eyes, you found Chenle already looking at you. For a moment the two of you just stared at each, the silence comforting enough with words unnecessarily interrupting it.

The silence eventually grew thin and you began to think of something to say, a phrase that would match the perfection of this moment in time. Luckily for you, Chenle seemed to have a different idea on what to say, which was limited to saying nothing.

He quickly leant in, closing the short distance between the two of you and pressing his lips to yours. You kissed him back, smiling into the kiss and moving your hand up to his cheek.

“What was that for?” You asked him, the grin on your face mirrored on his.

Chenle shrugged.

“I just felt like it.” He leaned in again, placing a much softer peck on your lips before standing up.

He offered you a hand which you took, standing as well and adjusting your long dress as you did. Chenle kept a hold of your hand, using it to bring you closer to him.

“You know, one day we should get someone else to play for us.” He suggested as you raised your eyebrows.

“Is that so?” You asked as he nodded nonchalantly.

“Yep, because that way I can do this with you to someone else’s music.” He grabbed your waist lightly with his other hand and began to gently sway the two of you. 

Your body reacted on instinct, moving your free hand to his shoulder and you couldn’t stop the giggle that left you when your mind registered what you were doing.

The two of you gently danced around the room, covering ground yet never looking away from each other. Chenle turned you in a dramatic spin before dipping you as you both cracked up. The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, causing Chenle to pull you back up into a standing position.

The two of you shared a knowing look, predicting what was about to happen. And, just as you had thought, your lady in waiting appeared in the corner, informing you of the time. You nodded at her words that your father was asking for you and you turned back towards Chenle, pulling on his hand to guide him out of the door.

“I’ll see you later?” You asked.

“Of course.” Chenle replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Don’t forget to ask your father about us visiting the villages!”

Your eyes widened slightly at that, the thought having slipped your mind. You thanked him, promising to remember and you both walked your separate ways.

---

Chenle wandered the halls of the castle, not walking anywhere in particular and not really focusing on where he was going. He had become so familiar with these passages that he could get to any room on muscle memory alone.

He still remembers the time he got lost in the North quarter in his early days here. He’d been thinking about meeting you, and somehow taken the wrong turn, leaving it up to you to come and find him. Chenle chuckled to himself as he remembered the state of panic he had been in.

He sometimes found himself missing those early days, when everything was new and he was seeing these things for the first time. But if he was being honest, the only thing that Chenle wanted to do again for the first time, was meet you, to get to know you and learn about you all over again. To fall in love with you all over again.

Sometimes Chenle dreamt about taking you back to Shanghai, showing you off to his people and touring you around the castle he grew up in. Maybe even coming to find you when you got lost this time. But that couldn’t happen, not now at least. You couldn’t afford to leave the Queen in this state, not while the king was so fragile.

One day, Chenle promised. One day, he would show you his home.

The clanging sound of swords clashing drew him out of his thoughts and Chenle realised he was walking towards the training grounds. He let his feet carry him across the grass and he came to a stop, standing on the side of the training grounds, watching Jisung, Jaehyun and Taeyong training some new knights in swordplay.

Jisung noticed him watching, sending him a nod in acknowledgement, which Chenle returned. Jisung looked at the knight in front of him and Chenle could see the cockiness radiating off him from where he was standing.

Taeyong and Jaehyun came to stand beside Chenle, both of them patting him on the shoulder and bumping his elbow in greeting.

“They’re not a bad bunch.” Taeyong told him, referring to the new knights. “Lots of potential, they just need to get it in their heads that this isn’t all glory. That one facing Jisung now, he’s the best out of this group.”

Chenle nodded, tilting his head as he caught the end of what Jisung was saying.

“You can’t fight for something you don’t believe in.”

The knight who was facing off Jisung scoffed, making all of the knights watching raise their eyebrows in disbelief at his attitude.

“You can when you’re as skilled as I am.” The young knight retaliated, clearly attempting to show off to his friends. “I can fight for nothing and I’ll still win.”

“No.” Chenle spoke up, making all eyes turn on him as he began to walk towards them. “You’ll lose.” The jaws of knights who were training all dropped slightly at the sight of their Prince. Ever since the battle and his coronation, Chenle had been extremely well respected around the kingdom and that respect had only been going up with his close relationship with the queen. “You’ll always lose.”

Chenle stepped forward so that he was standing in front of the group of knights, standing at Jisung’s side. Jisung reached out, offering him a sword which Chenle took with a small but grateful smile.

“Those who fight without belief can never win. Because it’s that belief, that passion, that trust in what you’re fighting for that gives you strength when you need it most. The picture of what you love most in this world appears in your head and you know that, for that thing you love, you can fight for as long as you need to. Those who fight with a cause don’t fight because they have to, they fight because they want to. Because they have something worth fighting for.”

The knights were rendered speechless by the end of Chenle’s short speech. All of them, including the cocky youngster at the front nodded rapidly in understanding. Jisung gave some new commands to pair up with a trainer as some of the more experienced knights, including Jaemin and Jeno arrived. Chenle immediately began to help out, demonstrating moves and tricks to the boy he was assigned to.

He didn’t notice or hear Taeyong lean over to Jaehyun and speak a quiet sentence which Jaehyun nodded in agreement with.

“Spoken like a true King.”

---

You had never been so relieved to have switched out your usual floaty dresses for a pair of trousers today. You and Chenle had headed down to one of the kingdom’s outlying villages for the day in order to help them rebuild it. When you had visited your father the day before, you’d asked for his permission and his words were still echoing in your head today.

“My dear, even if I didn’t give you permission you would be going down there anyway. And I know that because I know you, and I know what you’re willing to do. Now let me tell you, no one needs permission to care about someone else or to help them. This goes beyond being a good queen, this is being a good person.”

It was the last thing he said before you left the room. Your father had a habit of leaving you with words that stayed with you for a while. It was as if he had a goal of giving you a piece of wisdom every time you talked.

You reached for another plank of wood, passing it up to Chenle who grabbed it and began to move it into the right place on the roof. You had been working hard for a couple of hours and you were beginning to tire. Your muscles were aching, but you refused to stop, knowing how much this would help the people living in this village.

You reached down for another plank, your fingers grasping at empty air as you realised that was the final one. You shouted the news up at Chenle before moving to sit on a nearby grassy slope. Chenle climbed down from the ladder he was on and flopped down in a heap next to you.

“You’ve never been more graceful.” You commented sarcastically.

“Thank you.” He replied without missing a beat. “You know, you should wear trousers more often, they look good.”

“I doubt my mother would approve.” You laugh as Chenle chuckled too.

“You’re probably right.” He agreed, before lifting his hand and pointing towards the crops. “Also, we should do something about the fence.”

Your eyes followed his finger to see that the fence around one of the fields had caved in, falling over the crops and stunting their growth.

“Yes, definitely. We could also put up a boundary around some of the houses. Maybe give them extra protection or places to store weapons. We should also install some trap doors if we can to give them a place to hide crops so that, if bandits come again and there’s no one here to protect them, they don’t lose everything they have.”

“Good idea.” 

You and Chenle kept chatting, exchanging ideas and making plans of building that you would pitch to your parents. Chenle was just beginning the idea of training some of the young farm boys in basic combat when you suddenly put your hand on his chest, stopping him talking immediately. 

He looked at you in confusion until he heard what you were hearing. Galloping hooves, horses getting closer and closer with each passing second. You both scrambled for your weapons, prepared to defend these people from the bandits you assumed were approaching with everything you had, when a single horse rounded the corner and approached you.

You recognised the man sitting upon it as the royal messenger.

“You’re needed back at the castle, immediately.” The urgency in his voice made you move quickly, sheathing your sword and mounting Obsidian. Chenle followed your actions also managing to ask the exact question that you were too afraid too.

“Why? What’s this about?”

“The King.”

---

You galloped all the way back to the castle, not slowing down for a second. Chenle was close behind you, the messenger somewhere further back, his horse too tired from the journey to the village to keep up with your desperate pace. You couldn’t describe the panic you felt in your chest. It was driving every move you made, encouraging you to go even faster. You urged Obsidian on, your horse grunting as he poured even more speed into his legs. 

You heard Chenle do the same with Aspen, determined to keep up with you no matter what. You both approached the castle without losing speed, the guards at the gates running out of your way. You were forced to pull Obsidian to a slower pace as you made your way towards the castle doors. The stable hands rushed out to meet you and you jumped off and ran straight through the doors, ignoring everyone in your way.

By this point you didn’t know if Chenle was still behind you, and you didn’t have it in you to slow down and find out as you raced towards your parents quarters. You finally reached their room, threw open the doors and stared at the scene in front of you.

You barely heard Chenle’s footsteps as he arrived behind you, but you did feel his arms catching you as your knees gave out.

Your father was dead.

---

The funeral was the next day.

The night of his death, the citizens of your kingdom had stood in the courtyard of the palace and held candles, all of them wearing black out of respect. Your mother, Chenle and yourself went out to thank them and it took everything in you not to fall apart.

After thanking the people, you headed back inside. You went straight to your room, Chenle following you no matter how much you protested. Eventually you turned on him, demanding to know why he wouldn’t let you be. He took a step towards you, reaching up to move a small piece of hair out of your face before softly telling you.

“I don’t want you to feel alone.”

That was all it took to break you. You fell into his arms, crying about your father for the first time since you’d learnt of his death. Chenle had stayed with you the whole night, keeping you company and holding you close. He never let you go, not even for a moment.

The funeral was at night. It was a tradition of your kingdom for each living member of the royal family to say their private goodbyes to the deceased. This is for the people closest to them to say goodbye to his spirit. Chenle had gone first, then you and finally, your mother. Then, after the sun sets and the moon rises, you would come together with the people of your kingdom and say goodbye to his body.

You smoothed the non-existent wrinkles out of your dress, checking your hair one last time to make sure it was perfect. You caught the sight of Chenle in your mirror, watching you with a sad smile. He saw you return his smile with an attempt of one of your own and Chenle swore he felt his heart break slightly. Watching the woman he loved getting dressed for her fathers funeral was, to say the least, not a fun sight.

He offered a hand to you, and you shakily took it. You made to leave your room, but Chenle gently squeezed your hand and you paused, looking up at him. He didn’t say anything, yet somehow managed to have a whole conversation with you.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, feeling your heart rate calm slightly. Chenle intertwined your fingers, and you both headed out to the funeral.

You were standing on the river side, watching as the small boat your father’s body lay on was carried down. He was dressed in his best clothes, his arms resting on his chest, with his sword in his hands. His eyes were closed and he looked as though he was sleeping. Peace painted across his face for the first time in the many months since the battle. As heartbreakingly painful as losing your father was, there was comfort in knowing that he finally got the rest that he deserved.

The river was decorated with flowers, stray petals and floating candles. Citizens stood beside you, all of them holding a light weight lantern like your own. The soft yellow lights reflected off the river. You knew that your father would have loved how beautiful it all was. He had an eye for those kinds of things.

You moved down the river with the body, following it on it’s journey until the river began to spread out. The people fanned out, forming lines as they watched their king drift off into the distance. Your mother lifted her arms to the sky, showing off her lantern and shouted.

“From this life to his next life. May the king rest in peace.”

“May the king rest in peace.” You repeated, along with every other person present. Only you and Chenle were close enough to hear her whisper.

“Goodbye my love.” And with that she let go of her lantern, watching as it sailed off into the air.

All the people around you followed her example, releasing their floating lanterns into the sky. They spoke to them, saying something to their king before letting them fly.

You looked down at your own, trying to think of what your last words to your father should be. You bit your lip and leaned in closer to it and whispered quietly.

“Goodbye father, I love you.”

You let go.

---

You rolled over in your bed, unable to sleep. Ever since your father’s funeral you’d struggled with falling asleep, your mind too busy to let your body rest. You groaned, throwing the covers off you as you stared up at your ceiling.

Chenle had been keeping you company often, staying by your side, making sure you were alright, and it meant the world to you. You’d begun to find yourself missing him all the time he wasn’t with you, even if he’d just left your side a second ago.

You swung your legs off your bed, knowing you weren’t going to be getting any sleep here. The doors creaked slightly as you opened them, making you wince at the sound. You slipped out of them, shutting them behind you as you made your way through the castle.

You reached Chenle’s room quickly, knocking on the door lightly before going inside. His room was similar to yours in size, and you loved the odd decorations he had that had come with him from Shanghai. The red and gold tapestry that hung on the wall by the door was your personal favourite. You ran your fingers over it gently as you quietly called out for Chenle.

He didn’t reply so you moved further into his room. You turned and stopped when you saw where he was. His balcony. The door to it was shut so you caught his attention when you opened it to join him. He whispered a quiet hello to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders as he pulled you close.

You leant your head on his shoulder as you wrapped your arms around his bare torso and the two of you looked out over the scenery. From this position the two of you could see almost the entire lower town. There were odd yellow squares where you could tell someone’s light was on, but for the most part the town was shrouded in moonlight.

It almost looked too good to be true.

“Are you not cold?” You asked him as a breeze blew past the two of you, worried for you shirtless boyfriend.

“Not really, it gets colder than this in Shanghai, I guess I’m just used to it.” Chenle muttered, his eyes never leaving the scene in front of him. “Couldn’t sleep?” You shook your head sighing as he reassured you. “It’ll come, you just need some time. It’s hard, being in front of the people you have to be a ruler, you can’t show your emotion, especially not with how your mother is struggling. But things will get better. We’ll fix up the outlying villages, we’ll finish some of the tasks your father had hoped for and you’ll get closure. I promise.”

You nodded, feeling more relaxed already. Another breeze ripped through the two of you, causing Chenle to shiver.

“Okay, maybe now I’m cold.” He admitted, reaching behind him to open the door and bring you both back inside. You laughed as you followed him, happily embracing the warmth that his room provided.

You shut the door behind the two of you before following Chenle to his bed. He was already lying down in it, waiting for you with his arms open. You smiled at the sight of him, thinking how you could get used to seeing that. You climbed into his bed, setting down on his chest as he began to run his fingers through your hair.

You nestled your head into his neck, feeling him giggle when you placed feather light kisses on the skin there.  Your hand came up to rest on his chest, your fingers softly tracing the scar from his stab wound. You ran your finger down the healed injury, following every pattern as Chenle watched.

The scare wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. It was about 2 inches in length right in the place his shoulder meets his chest. You looked back up at him, another smile stretching across your face. Chenle’s spare hand came to rest on your shoulder, hugging you close to him and he pulled you in to kiss you.

You sighed into the kiss, feeling yourself tire for the first time that night. Chenle felt this too, quietly telling you to sleep when you both pulled away. You rested your head back in his neck before taking a deep breath. The only sign you were still awake was the small movements of your fingers lovingly tracing his scar.

Chenle shut his eyes as he kissed the top of your head, listening to your breathing even out. It was obvious you were close to falling asleep, just managing to whisper out a soft “I love you.” before you drifted off.

It wasn’t the first time you had said it, but no matter how many times Chenle heard it, the warm feeling that blossomed in his chest had never faltered. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling, from being reminded just how completely in love with you he was. And he knew that you were the one he wanted to be with.

“I love you too.” Chenle replied. “More than you’ll ever know.”

Chenle had lost track of how many times he’d thanked fate for bringing him here. For your kingdom to choose his to make an alliance with. For being the one chosen to marry you. Chenle had known for his entire time here that he would marry you, but he had never been so grateful for it as he was in this moment.

---

Within the month since the king’s death, the kingdom was back to normal. You’d buried yourself in your work, taking on more responsibilities to help your mother, finding comfort in finishing the projects your father had started and supported. Chenle had been right, you’d found closure in finishing his work, in making sure that his wishes were fulfilled, and you were finding yourself moving on. 

You still missed him everyday, and you found it difficult at times to finish the work he’d started, knowing how much he would have wanted to see it. But, you were finally looking towards the future, and you knew that he would be relieved at that. He always told you “A good queen ignores the tough times and puts on a happy face for her people. But a true queen, acknowledges when times are hard, and encourages the kingdom to work through it together.” And those were the words you lived by.

You and Chenle had become loved public figures with the whole kingdom being thrilled with the strength of your relationship. It was a sign of hope, of solidarity, of new life in a time where they had been surrounded by loss.

Chenle strolled through the marketplace, his heart beating hard as he turned the gift he had just bought you over in his hands. It wasn’t, by any means, his first time buying you a gift, but he knew that this would be the most important gift he would ever buy.

He quickly made his way back to his room, Jisung waiting for him outside it when he finally arrived. Chenle ignored his friend’s questions, bringing him inside instead.

“You’re late.” Jisung said when Chenle let him speak.

“Yeah, I know, sorry.” Chenle apologised without really meaning it. His nerves were showing through his voice and it was confusing Jisung as to what gift the boy had bought. “I had to visit the royal jeweller to pick this up.”

“What is it?” Jisung asked, leaning over as if he could see into Chenle’s hands.

“It’s just a small gift for y/n.” 

“Yes but what is it?” Jisung asked again exasperated, rolling his eyes at his friend’s density.

“This.” Chenle opened the box the gift was in, Jisung’s jaw dropping at the sight of it. His eyes shot from the jewellery back up to Chenle and back down to the jewellery again as he managed to form a single sentence through his shock.

“That’s an engagement ring.”

---

You were sitting on the cliff overlooking the citadel, your favourite place in the kingdom. Chenle was next to you, the two of you sitting in comfortable silence as you watched the bustle of life in your kingdom below you.

“Do you ever get nervous as to how things will change once we’re crowned?” You asked suddenly, the question hanging dangerously heavily in the air.

Chenle turned to look at you, taking a second to think before he answered, the honesty clear in his voice.

“Yes.” You blinked at his response, almost expecting him to say that he wasn’t worried and everything would be fine. “I get scared about how much more pressure will be on us, especially since we’ll have closer links to Shanghai and we’ll have responsibilities there as well as here. I get worried that we won’t have as much free time, meaning we won’t get days like this anymore when it can just be the two of us. I’m scared to live up to your parents, they’re incredible people and rulers and they set such an example that going after then is kind of nerve wracking. But at the same time, I’m not scared. I’m not scared in the slightest, because I know that, through this all, I’m going to have you by my side no matter what. And if I’ve got you, then I think I can do anything.”

You moved closer to him, curling up into his side and hugging him close, the feeling of his heartbeat giving you an unmatchable comfort.

“You’re very good at those speeches you know?” You mumbled, feeling his chest shake as he chuckled.

“It comes with the job.” He joked, bringing an arm up and squeezing your shoulder. 

He leant down and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, sighing into your hair before pulling away.

“We have to get back soon.” You mumbled, him groaning in response.

“Why?” He whined and you laughed in disbelief.

“I don’t know? Maybe because we’re the heirs to the throne and our presence in our kingdom is kind of necessary?” You replied sarcastically and Chenle grabbed you tighter, falling back onto the grass so that you were basically lying on top of him.

“What if we weren’t though?” He suggested, holding up a finger as he saw the look on your face. “Just imagine it for a second, me and you, a simple farming couple. Just us, our fields, our horses and peace. No council meetings, no documents to read, no speeches, no wars, nothing but peace, tranquility and us. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“That... that really would be actually...” You said quietly, picturing the life he imagined. “The simple life, just the two of us-”

“Working in the fields during the days.” 

“And cooking together at night.” You and Chenle got into a rhythm of finishing each other’s sentences, being so in tune with each other and the life you were imagining.

“Having competitions as to who can bring in the most harvest in one go.”

“Rebuilding local houses in our village.”

“Slow dancing in our kitchen late at night.”

“Waking up as the sun rises.”

“With four kids to help us out.”

“Two!”

“Three? One boy and two girls.”

“Deal.”

“And we’d get married with them all there, everyone who matters most to us, surrounded in our little paradise.”

You smiled at the sky, listening to Chenle talk about your future.

“Maybe in one life-”

“Just not this one.” He finished as you shook your head.

“Unfortunately not.” You climbed up, Chenle following as the two of you prepared to make your journey back to the castle. Chenle lifted up the final bag, placing it on Aspen as you took one last look at the view. When attaching it to his saddle, the small box, which contained the gift he’d bought earlier fell out. He quickly picked it up, his heart quickening with nerves as he turned back towards you listening to your words. “We can’t have anything from that.”

“We could have something.” He suggested as you turned around, a confused smile on your face. “I can’t give you a farm, or anything like the simple life we pictured, but I can make you happy. And I’d really love to be able to do that for a very long time.” He brought the gift in front of him, dropping to one knee and opening it.

Your jaw dropped in shock, your hands instinctively coming up to cover your mouth as tears pricked your eyes. You couldn’t believe what was happening, saying it was unexpected was an understatement. You stared at the boy you loved with all your heart as he asked the single most important question you had ever been asked in your life.

“Will you marry me?”

[kamilah-the-bloodqueen]

Remember Me (3/??)

So it’s been quite some time since I looked at this series, and I apologize for such a long hiatus but it’s back (Someone reached out to me asking when part 3 would be out so I moved it forward in my WIP queue! Basically Amy starts out with Adrian, and it’s perfect but one day Amy gets into a car accident and doesn’t come out the same. Her memories from the past 5 years of her life - and that includes all the events from BB1 (just roll with it). Just a FYI I will NOT be rewriting the first 2 parts, you’ll just have to deal with the shitty writing for the whole series. Honeymoon is the current WIP I’m working on, followed by a f!Blaine x MC angst one-shot, the cafe part 2 and then the first chapter of my university AU. Please be patient with me, I am under a lot of academic stress but I promise these will be finished. 

Pairing: Adrian x MC x Kamilah (It’s not romantic - just a description...for now)

Warnings: This series does include a serious injury, amnesia

Word Count: 2753 

Tags: (Since it’s been so long if you’d like to be removed just lmk - that being said if you’d like to be added to the tag please let me know) @a-raines @bloodboundstuff f @kamilahtopme

Part One    Part Two 

Amy’s eyes fluttered open, Adrian slouched in the chair beside her, sound asleep she sighed softly, her side sore and tighter than usual as she watched Adrian shift in his gentle slumber. Amy squinted as she tried to recall her memories, frowning as she attempted to make herself more comfortable in the bed. Adrian slowly moved, rubbing his eyes and smiling at Amy as he stood to make two cups of coffee.

“Good Morning Amy…” He spoke softly, lovingly. It almost felt familiar to Amy, something about the way he said it resonated with her. She flashed a smile at him, her eyes lighting up as he brought her a cup of coffee, perfectly made the way she always liked it. 

Adrian is very sweet, I could see how I would have fallen for him. His heart is made of gold, and he is the cinnamon roll that Lily said he was and...and I’m breaking his heart...me...Amy, just a regular girl...I’m breaking his heart because I don’t remember anything...oh...

Amy felt her heart break just a little - she couldn’t force herself to love Adrian and he certainly didn’t deserve this pain, but the spark between them was extinguished in that accident. Amy drew a deep breath, catching the scent of the cooled coffee cup in her hands, she shakily held it to her lips, spilling a small amount on her lap as Adrian rushed to grab napkins. He gently placed them down, patting the sheet dry as Amy felt her heart skip a beat. She let out a breath as Adrian sat down, slowly drinking his own coffee. 

“Thank you Adrian, you’re a good friend.” Amy spoke softly, barely a whisper as Adrian grinned, his eyes sparkling in the dimly lit room. He paused before sipping his coffee, his heart dropping as he replayed Amy’s words silently. 

Good friend. Good friend. Over and over again. Good friend. She doesn’t love me anymore, is there any chance she’ll come back to me? 

“Adrian? Are you alright?” Amy tapped him on the shoulder, a concerned look written on her face as Adrian nodded slowly. 

“Yes, my apologies, I just...need a moment. I’ll be right back.” Adrian stood quickly, nearly sprinting out the door as Amy tilted her head in confusion. Adrian shut the door, leaning his whole body against it as he let a tear fall from his eyes. He pulled his phone out, immediately opening his camera roll as he replayed forgotten memories- memories Amy had promised to never forget. He slid down the door, his legs losing strength as he dove deeper into the past she had forgotten. He pulled out a small package of tissues, quickly replacing them with his sleeves as tears flooded his face and the floor. He choked as he stumbled upon a picture of them together in the moonlight, Amy smiling on his back as he had carried her through Central Park that night. He watched videos of Amy dancing, singing and saying ‘I love you’ to him, all recent. He rested his head against the door, looking into the lights as he clenched his jaw, reaching into his pocket to pull out the engagement ring that had lost all of its purpose. 

“Amy...goddammit Amy...I should have been with you that night...I should have driven you myself.” He stood back up, adjusting his suit and tie and wiping his face clear, re-entering the room as Amy sat quietly, gazing out the window. 

“Is something wrong Adrian?” Amy turned to him with that always curious look in her eyes, he took a quiet seat next to her before smiling. 

“No, but I have something to tell you.” Amy pursed her lips as Adrian pulled the velvet box from his pocket, gently handing it to her and letting her open it. She gasped and closed the box before handing it back to Adrian as he smiled, a tear slowly flowing down his face. “I was going to propose to you that night…before the accident happened...” 

“Adrian…I...I’m sorry…” Amy interrupted, Adrian holding the box tightly as he forced a smile. 

“It’s okay Amy. It’s not your fault…” His voice was calming but Amy could sense the broken in him, she could see the heartbreak in his posture and his face. 

“I...I just don’t...I don’t feel that way anymore...I’m sorry…I...those memories...I don’t...” Amy cried softly, Adrian placing a gentle hand over hers as he closed the box, placing it back in his jacket. 

“Don’t worry about it, our relationship is probably one of the last of your worries. I just thought you should know. I am sorry if I crossed a line Amy...I...I love-” Adrian clenched his jaw, Amy brows furrowing as she averted his broken gaze, “I have to go to my office, but...I’ll be back to visit you either tonight or tomorrow. Get some rest Amy.” He stood, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he found the strength to compose himself before he walked out of the hospital room. 

Amy stared out the window, her eyes welling with tears as she tried to comprehend the situation, to be empathic to Adrian and to herself. Amy got so lost in the web of thoughts and worries that she didn’t even notice Lily open the door.

“Hey Ames.” Lily slowly shut the door, a cheeky smile on her face as she laid a collection of electronics in front of Amy. Amy’s eyes fell on the nintendo switch as Lily beamed with excitement, Lily setting up her laptop so Amy could see the screen.

“I thought you could use some fun today, I bought movies and some video games.” Amy’s eyes crinkled at Lily, before using her one hand to pick up one of the switch controls. Lily took the other control in her hands as she started mario kart, adjusting the controls so it would be a fair game. 

“Thank you Lily...now I’m going to blow smoke up your ass.” The beeping to start the race went off as Amy gassed her bike, Lily gasping as she took off too. Amy laughed, throwing a red shell and taking first place as Lily slowly made her way up from 12th to 2nd. 

“I’m right on your ass now Amy.” Lily hit the buttons more aggressively as Amy laughed, leaving a banana and screwing Lily’s position up.

“Fuck!” Lily set the remote down as Amy crossed the finish line, taking first place. “I see you haven’t lost your touch.” Lily laughed as she set up the next race.

“No. Never. Luckily I still reign champion when it comes to Mario Kart.” Amy nodded her head in pride before they played another race, and another. They lost track of time, Lily’s alarm pulling them from their entertainment as Lily looked at Amy, feeling as if she had her best friend back once more. Amy caught Lily’s gaze, both of them happier today than they had both been in the past few days. A soft knock on the door pulled them both out of their moment, Jax’s soothing voice ringing from the other side as he slid the door open slowly. 

“Jax!” Amy’s voice squeaked as Jax put a hand over his heart.

“You guys are racing without me….I’m wounded...having a stroke…” The room filled with laughter as Jax took a switch remote and sat next to Amy on the other side. “Now I’ll have to whoop both of you for leaving me out!” Jax smirked as Lily adjusted her glasses. 

“Oh it’s on!” Lily cracked her knuckles as Amy laughed, raising a brow at both of them as the countdown began. 

“I’m injured, my memory is missing and yet I’m still going to wreck both of you!” Amy tapped her fingers against the controller as the race started, all three of them battling for first place with red shells and bananas. 

“I’ve got it! Oh! ....Fuck!” Amy screamed as a NPC threw a red shell and took first place. All three of them gasping and laughing at their loss to a NPC, Lily exiting to the home screen as Jax and Amy handed her the remotes.

“Geeze. Don’t let Kamilah know I got smoked this badly...” Jax rubbed the back of his neck as Lily took the remotes, put them in her bag and plugged the switch in for a charge. Jax fiddled with his hands as Lily sat back down, asking Amy if she needed anything. 

“I can’t believe we lost to an NPC...this is the end of my career.” Jax chuckled under his breath as Amy rolled her eyes before laughing too. Jax relaxed back into his chair as Amy shut her eyes gently, Lily brewing the group some tea after all of the excitement. 

“Hey Jax...Lily can I ask?” Amy mumbled softly, Lily turning to face her as Jax lifted his head up.

“Of course.” Jax placed a gentle hand on Amy’s shoulder, his soft eyes fixated on hers as she smiled. 

“What’s Kamilah like?” 

Silence. Jax and Lily gave each other looks before Jax cleared his throat. 

“She can be cold if she wants to be, she’s...quite mysterious but she opened up a lot with us, although I don’t know the details of your personal relationship with her. I...I’m not entirely sure how to describe her to you but she wouldn’t refuse your questions Amy, especially given the current circumstances. Why do you ask us?” Jax furrowed his brows as Amy felt a blush creep onto her face, Lily catching the pink cheeks in the corner of her eye. 

“Nothing, just curious to know what my friends were like…” Amy stared down at the blanket as Jax’s phone buzzed in his pants. 

Friends. Friends. Friends. Of course Lily and Jax were Amy’s friends, but Adrian? Kamilah? She felt something towards both of them. She didn’t carry the same feelings Adrian had for her - and they were far from the intensity he felt for her. He made her feel so safe and secure - and his nurturing nature would make any girl fall in love and Amy could sense something there, even if it was small. And Kamilah? There was something radiant about her to Amy, something about her presence that brings Amy a sense of tranquility that she doesn’t feel with Adrian. She didn’t know her but Amy felt herself infatuated with wanting to know Kamilah, wanting to spend time with her and just talk to her. Jax’s panicked voice brought Amy out of her head as Lily placed a calming hand on her shoulder - having watched Amy go through the whole thought process. 

“Nikhil-” His face changed from content to concerned as a muffled voice rang through, “I’m-I’m on my way.” Jax rushed over to Lily, whispering as Lily’s face grew concerned. They exchanged silent whispers as Amy tilted her head, wondering what it could be about. 

“Amy...I have to go...it’s a uh...work emergency..., will you be alright?” Jax squeezed her hand before hastily rushing out the door. 

“Amy...do you...do you have feelings for Kamilah?” Amy’s heart jumped at Lily’s voice, her face turning pink as Lily slowly took a seat beside her, her face full of curiosity.

“I...I don’t know! I-” Amy reached her hand up to cover her face as Lily gently pulled her hand away, giving Amy a reassuring look. Another knock on the door startled both of them as Lily rushed to open it, Kamilah stepping through the threshold. Amy felt her heart speed up, her palms growing sweaty as Kamilah came closer and closer to her. Her maroon suit perfectly fitted, her hair practically shining as her eye softened upon meeting Amy’s. 

“How are you feeling Amy?” Kamilah's voice was like music to Amy’s ears, it was smooth and silky yet firm and commanding, Amy’s heart pounding so loudly she thought Kamilah would hear it. She swallowed the lump in her throat as Kamilah gave a more concerned look to Amy. Amy thought she’d faint as Kamilah placed her palm against her forehead, her fingers rubbing small circles as she asked Lily to get some water. 

“Thank you for visiting Kamilah...I really appreciate it…” Amy whispered softly, Kamilah smiled, her usual exterior melting for a moment before Lily returned with the water. Lily paused before setting the water down on the table next to Amy, her eyes scanning between Kamilah and Amy and the odd sexual tension that lingered throughout the room. 

“I uh...gotta blast!” Lily squealed and dashed out the door, unsure of how to deal with the situation. Kamilah blinked twice, shocked as Amy furrowed her brows before returning to Kamilah. 

“I wonder what that was all about…” Kamilah pursed her lips as Amy shakily reached for the glass, her heart nearly beating out of her chest. She gripped the cup and brought it to her lips, Kamilah watching subtly as Amy spilled some on herself by accident. 

“Amy, here...let me help you…” Kamilah rushed to grab a few napkins from the counter as Amy’s face flushed red, when Kamilah placed her delicate hands on her lap where the water was spilled Amy thought she was going to have a heart attack. Kamilah lifted her hand, gesturing towards the water as Amy shook her head. Kamilah picked the glass up and gently placed it against Amy’s lips, tilting it back so she could drink. Kamilah tried not to stare but she couldn’t help herself but to watch Amy’s lips against the rim of the glass.

“Had enough?” Kamilah brought the nearly empty glass back down, perching herself on the chair next to Amy as Amy wiped her mouth. 

“Yes...thank you…” Amy mumbled, she shifted her eyes to the floor to avoid Kamilah’s eyes, a gaze that would make Amy question her feelings more than she already was. 

Kamilah cleared her throat, her hands slipping into her pockets before she sat forward, placing her hand over Amy’s. 

“Amy, everything will be alright. You have all of us at your side and we will get you whatever you need.” Amy smiled at her gesture, Kamilahs stoic expression that Lily had spoken of was nowhere to be found. Amy nodded in silence, enjoying the comforting touch of the older woman. She must’ve dozed off because she awoke later in an empty room, a small letter placed beside her as she rubbed her eyes. 

Amy,

Many apologies for running out so soon. An urgent matter needed to be handled and I could not address it from the seat beside you. I’ll return to visit you as soon as this matter is taken care of. Feel free to text or call if you need anything. My number is already saved in your phone. 

~Kamilah Sayeed

Amy smiled at the heartwarming note, maybe Kamilah wasn’t as cold and stoic as Lily had previously told her. She took in a deep breath as the doctor opened the door, clipboard in hand as he ran through the tedious checklists to ensure Amy was properly recovering. 

---------------------- Adrian’s Office ------------------------------

Kamilah, how late are you working tonight? 

Not much longer Adrian, just a few things to finish up here. Do you need something?

I could use some of your advice, and company. 

Of course brother. I’m sure the current situation has been exhausting among other things for you. 

Thank you Kamilah, I’ll see you shortly?

Yes.

Adrian leaned back in his leather chair as it gently squeaked, his suit wrinkling as he removed his tie from his neck and tossed it to the side. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling, his shoulders falling - a single tear falling from his face. He took a tissue from his desk and uselessly wiped away as his face became flooded with them, the teardrops staining documents and leaving marks on his jacket. He ripped the jacket off, not caring about how much it had cost him as she rested his head in his hands - his composure falling apart in seconds. His white blouse became disheveled as his breathing grew fast and desperate - his heart racing and beating so hard it hurt. He tried to stand, his legs completely failing him as he leaned against the bookshelf, hiding his face in his knees as he let his bottled emotions out. He stayed there for what felt like hours, until the door slowly creaked open...

[peachpety]

me, myself & i - tumblr ed.

I was tagged by my lovely love, @fangqueen. thanks! ilu! 💕

1. why did you choose your url?

peach has been my nickname, day one. my uncle thought i looked like a peach with my complexion and fuzzy bald newborn head. the other is a family name. nothing unique here, y'all.

2. sideblogs?

nope. this is The One.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

four years? hi hello, i'm new-ish.

4. do you have a queue tag?

i'm a basic bitch so, no. no queuing by peach. maybe is should? eh. i'm a reblog and go kind of gal, which is why me engaging in fun tag games is random and often late. so very late. le sigh.

5. why did you start your blog?

i wanted a place to catalogue webcomics and accompanying fanart. before the nsfw cleanse there was some phenomenal art and webcomics here, y'all. and then fandom art drew me into fanfiction. and down the rabbit hole i tumbled.

6. why did you choose your icon?

i love @inkflowergarden's art, always so colorful and positive. art is always a draw for me...i've several artists unrelated to fandom that i follow. she posted this peach and i contacted her immediately, and she graciously allowed me to use it as my icon. i own it as a print! i adore it...and ink's artwork. so vibrant! go check it out, y'all.

7. why did you choose your header?

i love movies, and old movies especially. i also love west texas - marfa, marathon, big bend. my happy big-sky wide-open place. i took this photo several years ago and gosh. i just love everything about it. the artist, john cerney, is also amazing. check out his other Giant Highway Art at his website.

8. post with most notes?

it's my drarry coffee shop AU, Like You A Latte, written for @curlyy-hair-dont-care as part of the wheel of drarry gift exchange. and i'm 100% sure that the only reason why has to do with @hogwartsfirebolt's brilliant insta edits, since my individual posts languish in obscurity.

9. how many mutuals do you have?

the bane of a lurker...maybe 200-ish??

10. how many followers do you have?

437

11. how many people do you follow?

318

12. ever made a shitpost?

nope.

13. how often do you use Tumblr each day?

it's an interesting question. more than i should.

14. did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog?

nope.

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

look, i'm old enough to have strength in character that imma do my own thing in my own little corner, off the mainstream. and i love that folks are passionate about issues, and that they share that passion. but i'm here to have fun. so my answer extends from above. i'm not here to pick fights, or shitpost, or follow the crowd. i live by the golden rule. peace, love and happiness, y'all. and cats.

16. do you like tag games?

i do! i often forget about being tagged (see my queue status above) and then i'm late to post. but i love reading about folks, projects, playlists, all of it.

17. do you like ask games?

yup. see above.

18. which of your tumblr friends/mutuals do you think is famous?

oh gosh. look. i'm the worst about knowing these things. and often i'm chatting with folks and then later i'm like. holy shitka. that person is "fandom famous"...and then i die a tiny death at my ignorance. so.

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

LOTS 💕

tagging @wheezykat @vukovich @curlyy-hair-dont-care @hogwartsfirebolt @thusspoketrish @gryffindorhearts @bubble-gumhead i'd love a tag if you post and as always, disregard if you've already answered!

[hains-mae]

Flowers - Pt. 4

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 (end)

(Damian x Reader) Soulmate AU

The Flowers: @call-me-prodigy @annoylinglyaries @zphilophobiaz @comic-brew @biglilwing @awkwardspontaneity  @mariiecapo​  @distressedearie​@lozzybowe

(Feel free to shoot me a message or comment if you’d like to be tagged)

Rating: T

Ages: Damian and you are 16, everyone’s ages follow after.

Summary: Soulmate AU where the wounds on your soulmate turns into a flower tattoo on your skin, if it heals with no scars the tattoo goes away, if it heals with a scar then the tattoo stays.

Notes: Thank you so much, for all the wonderful comments, likes, and reblogs. You guys are awesome!

Disclaimer: I do not own DC. If I did, I wouldn’t make it as confusing as it is now.

A floating feeling encompassed me as I slowly roused. It was dark, wherever this place was. I wasn’t sure if I was truly floating or drowning as I felt myself fall in deeper. There was a calm light at the far end. Warm, and inviting.

I heard a sound. It was soft and rhythmic, like a beat, or was it more of a beep? There was a dull ache around my stomach and my lower back, which prevented me from moving. Not that I could move. My body felt heavier than a ton of bricks.

What happened?

Memories starting to swim around my head as I tried to remember. There were fragments.

Soft lights, and music.

Laughter and many figures dancing.

Men in suits.

Fiery hair.

Forest green eyes.

Perfume.

Paint, animals…

An explosion – I gasped lightly as the fragments pieced itself together.

A fight.

Damian…

The thought of his name pulled me straight into the light, away from the watery hold.

“Damian.” I mumbled as my eyes fluttered open.

“Oh sweetheart.” I heard a familiar voice sob beside me. My body didn’t feel as heavy as it used to, I was greeted with the face of my mom when I turned my head.

“Mom?”

She sobbed harder and hugged me. “Oh god, I thought I’d lost you.” Mom peppered my face with kisses. Her tears kept falling.

I lifted a hand and hugged her back as much as my body would allow.

“You’re here.” I sighed into her hair, inhaling her comforting scent. Without realising it, I had started to blink back tears. Everything that had happened, it was all so scary. I was sure I was going to die.

“I didn’t know what to do.” She pulled away and I wiped her cheeks. She wiped mine return and we started to giggle in relief.

“Mom, how did you – ” She seemed to know before I could ask.

“Wayne. Mr. Wayne had called. Said it was an emergency.” Mom told me, her voice wavered and she choked up again. “The last time I received a call like that was because of your father. I couldn’t… I didn’t know what to do, I rushed here as fast as I could.”

We hugged again. It really felt good to have her physically by my side.

The doctor came shortly after to check on my vitals. I seemed to have luck by my side that night. “Any lower and they would’ve punctured one of her organs.”, she told us solemnly. “And any later, you would’ve lost… too much blood.” Or in other words, bleed to death.

Mom clutched my hand all the while. She nodded in all the right times, and pursed her lips to keep them from quivering. I knew she was trying to stay brave for the both of us.

Once we were alone she pulled her chair closer to my bed.

Tucking her hair back behind her ear, she asked me. “Can you remember how you got here?”

I shook my head.

“Well… apparently Mr. Wayne’s personal assistant brought you here himself.” Her voice was steadier now.

“Oh… Oh!” I gasped, quickly getting up, and regretting it immediately. I winced at the sharp pain.

“Honey be careful. You’ve had stitches.” Mom eased me back down.

“Damian. His brothers. Everyone at the gala, are they okay?” I looked at her slightly panicked.

“They are.” Another voice joined us.

We whipped our heads up, Mr. Wayne stood tall at the door. “Everyone managed to escaped with minimal damage. I wish we could have prevented this.” He lamented, eyeing the machines and IV drop I was hooked onto.

My mother shook her head and

smiled at him. “You saved her, just in time. I cannot thank you enough.”

“May we come in?” He asked politely.

“We?” I tilted my head.

The man strode in after my mother allowed, and 4 more bodies filed in after him.

“Y/n!” Dick was the first to rush up to me, balloons in hand a cheesy teddy bear with the words ‘Get Well Soon’ stitched onto a heart. Following him were his brothers.

Tim waved. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

“You gave us quite a scare, princess.” Jason came up next, with a silent Damian by his side. Damian held up a bouquet of flowers.

“You guys…” I felt so moved at their gesture. Stealing a glance at my mom, she looked so surprised it was funny.

“This is *insert your mom’s name here*, everyone. Mom, meet Mr. Wayne’s sons.” My mom gasped lightly and stood to shake their hands.

“It’s an honour to meet you.” She smiled at them.

“The honour is ours.” Tim answered for them. “Your daughter was very brave. In fact, she saved our little brother.”

Mom paused and looked at me for confirmation. I ducked my head to hide my flaming cheeks behind my hair.

“I did what I thought I had to.” I said in a quiet voice.

“Nonsense.” It was Damian who spoke up next, he tutted irritably. “Tt. Don’t downplay what you did.”

I could only stare at him, thankful that he was okay.

“These are for you.” He pushed the flowers to my face. “Thank you.”

The petals tickled my nose and I was sure I took in some pollen at the mere proximity. I sneezed a little, wincing again at the pain in my stomach.

“Ah, Damian, dear, I think you’re suffocating her.” My mom said gently as she pushed the flowers off my face.

The boy quickly apologised, turning a pretty shade of pink, as his brothers snickered behind him.

“They’re beautiful.” I smiled and took them from him. “I’m so glad you guys are all fine.”

Mr. Wayne cleared his throat. “My sons are right.” He smiled at my mom and gestured for the door. “Mrs. Y/l/n, may I please speak with you privately? I’d like to extend my gratitude. And the boys seem a little preoccupied with y/n.”

My mother looked a little flustered but got up anyway to follow him out the door.

As soon as they were out of hearing range I felt Damian clasp my hand.

“Why did you do it?” He didn’t face me as he asked, instead he played with my fingers.

I gave him a confused look. “Do what?”

“You took the blow. Why?”

His brothers had made themselves comfortable around me. Dick sat by the foot of my bed, Jason took up mom’s seat, and Tim stood behind Damian.

“I had to. He was going to hurt you.” I answered simply.

“I could’ve handled it.” His grip tightened slightly and he looked at me straight in the eye. “You’re not invincible.”

“And you are?”

“You still shouldn’t have.” He said, his voice firm.

“Why?”

“You know why.” His gaze was intense, and for a moment he stole a glance at the flowers beside me.

A wave of realisation hit me.

The soul marks. Oh – How did I forget?

“I’m fine.” I tried to keep my voice steady.

“Clearly.” He scoffed. “Being hospitalised is fine.”

I took my hand away from him, suddenly put off with his demeanor. “Why are you angry?”

“I’m not angry.” He defended. “I didn’t need saving.”

“You’re getting defensive.” I surprised myself when I answered back. Where was all this confidence coming from? “Do I need a reason to save a friend?”

“No, but now look at what you’ve gotten yourself into.” He lifted a hand and gestured towards my figure.

“You were in trouble Damian, I had to at least try!” My voice rose slightly.

“Need I remind you that – you could’ve gotten yourself killed!” He shot back.

“Well, that doesn’t matter! I’m here now aren’t I?” I snapped.

“What – of course it matters! If you had died –“

“And if you had died – who would’ve protected them!?”

I regretted it as soon as the words left me. Immediately I slapped a hand across my mouth, horrified that I just probably spilled the biggest secret I knew.

“What?” Damian looked at me in surprise.

All the angry tension dissipated, replaced with a feeling of dread.

“Forget I said that!” I blurted out quickly, suddenly feeling hot.

“No, continue.” Jason pushed as he leaned his elbows to his knees. “Why did Damian have to protect them?”

I darted my eyes across the room, looking for an excuse, praying my mom and Mr. Wayne would come back and break up this sudden tension. I caught Dick and Tim’s eyes, and they looked at me curiously.

“I – I really am not entirely sure. It was just a thought –“ The monitor stole our attention for a moment as my heart started to race. I shut my eyes and covered my face with my hands. Taking deep breaths I weighed in the decision of telling them. I was only 80% certain, after everything that had occurred, it was hard not to connect the dots.

His stature, his hair, his voice, and most of all that damn perfume. I guess no one really got that close to notice.

Should I?

Should you?

I mean this was inevitable.

Was it?

I groaned to myself feeling even more conflicted.

“Am I allowed to say it out loud?” I whispered meekly. “Wouldn’t it… you know… alert people?”

Damian looked even more confused.

I carefully took his hand, and held it closer to my chest, regarding the camera situated at the corner of the room. Steeling my nerves, I drew a small initial on his palm.

R

Dick’s breath hitched. His eyes growing wide.

Tim’s was next. Jason leaned back on his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

“But, how?” Damian looked stunned.

I tried to calm the heat on my cheeks that had now spread down my neck and ears. Playing it cool I  shrugged, and bit my lip.

“Your perfume.”

-x-x-x-

As soon as Mom came back with Mr. Wayne I felt a sense of relief wash through me. But he narrowed his eyes slightly, and I knew that he could sense the tension that was there earlier.

I gulped.

Then he broke into a smile. “I’ve taken the liberty of inviting the Y/l/n’s for dinner as soon as Y/n get’s better.”

My eyes grew into saucers.

Ah, shi-

“That’s great, dad.” Dick grinned broadly at us.

Their father’s phone beeped once and he fished it out of his pocket, his crystal blue eyes scanned the screen.

“Well, we best be heading back. It looks like we’ve got company waiting.” He told them.

They all nodded and got up.

“Get well soon Y/n.” Tim said as they all passed.

I was nearly astounded by their sudden change in character. It was as if the last five minutes didn’t just happen. Very good actors... but that was probably the price to pay when you were rich and famous. They played their part well.

Dick sent a dashing smile my way, and Jason did a mock salute. Damian on the other hand looked at me with calculating eyes. Brows slightly furrowed. He stuffed his hands in his pocket before following his brothers.

“Well isn’t this exciting?” Mom beamed at me.

I did my best to smile back with the same enthusiasm.

That night, Mom came back with her luggage, saying that she was able to take a week off from work to stay with me. I was secretly glad she did.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Damian being Robin though. Something was poking me at the back of my mind, like I was missing a connecting link to make the picture whole. I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.

Everyone knew the Bats were related, brothers and/or what-not. At least that was the news circling around. But if it were true, then that would mean Dick, Tim and Jason were...

No, that can’t be.

Can’t be?  My inner muse scoffed at me. Are you serious right now? Damian Wayne is freaking Robin. And you’re thinking it can’t be?

Still, it’s purely speculation. If they’re who I think they are... then Mr. Wayne is...

I sighed deeply and pushed the balls of my palms into my eyes till I saw stars. My head started to hurt from putting too much effort. It’s not like they wanted me to know.

Would I be in danger because I know?

Would they try to erase my mind?

How much trouble am I in?

I don’t want Mom pulled into any of this.

I was reeling with anxious thoughts.

They didn’t react much when I had told them. It was more awkward than the silence Damian and I endured during our first encounter. When mom arrived they just smiled politely and waved me goodbye.

What did that mean? Or am I looking too much into this?

Maybe you’re looking too much into it, my muse’s words echoed.

I decided sleep was for the best. My mother had taken a cushioned chair at the far corner of the hospital room with her feet propped up the coffee table. I giggled, despite myself.

Finally after fidgeting for what felt like forever, my eyes started to grow heavy. It was nearly 2 in the morning. I yawned and slowly let myself slip into the embrace of sleep.

Until I heard a tapping on the window.

All traces of fatigue vanished as soon as I saw the shadow. It opened the window and slipped in soundlessly.

“Robin.” I breathed.

I pressed a button beside my bed to push myself up so I was in a more seated position.

He didn’t respond. We stared at each other for a good few minutes. Neither of us really knowing what to say.

“Tt, this is ridiculous.” He grumbled under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll say.” I said without humour. “In just a short time I found my soulmate, then learnt he’s living a double life.”

Robin stole a glance at my mom and arched a brow under his mask. It crinkled to the movement.

I shifted my head from side to side and told him, “Mom’s a deep sleeper.”

Hoping I reassured him, we lapsed into silence again.

I bit my lip nervously.

“I’m not in any trouble. Am I?” I hated how weak I sounded.

Robin regarded me for a moment.

“No. I’m actually impressed with your deduction skills.” He answered, making his way to the chair beside my bed.

My heart rate sped up slightly.

“I wouldn’t expect any less from my soulmate.” He smirked at me as the heart monitor picked up my gradually speeding heartbeat.

“I’m not sure if I should thank you or...” I gasped only realizing then. I pointed at the camera.

“Don’t worry. Hacked it before I entered.”

I gave him an incredulous look.

“What happens now?” I tried to decipher his emotions under the mask. I suddenly found myself wishing I could see his eyes.

“I don’t know.” Robin leaned into the chair to make himself more comfortable. “How do I know I can trust you?”

I looked away, tilting my head just low enough to let my hair fall and create a curtain between us.

“My dad used to be with the GCPD.” I started. “Ever since I could remember he was always chasing after justice. Dad used to talk about you vigilantes a lot. He admired the Bats. Said he wished he could do more to make Gotham safer. Better. Greater.

He played fair. But corruption and crime were better at the game.” Fisting the sheets, I willed my hands to stop shaking and to keep my voice even.

“He paid for it with his life.” I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. “So I created the marbles. I’m not great at fighting, not the best with a weapon either. But I know science like the back of my hand. If I could help, even just a little — I would be honouring my dad’s memory. He believed in you. All of you. And I guess it was contagious because I started believing in you too.”

I gathered my courage and faced Robin. “That’s why I took the blow. And I’d do it again if I needed to.”

...

...

... to be continued ...

[gypsydanger01]

THE STORM - Part thirteen

Fandom: The Boys (Amazon prime tv series)

Pairing: Black Noir x OC

Disclaimer: I don’t own The Boys, only my OC characters and certain pieces of au plot.

A/N: So here’s a short chap with Sarah and Martha hanging out. I want this series to slowly build up to what I have planned, since it’s highly unrealistic for either of them (BN and OC) to immediately and blindly trust each other. BN might be taken by her, but he’s not stupid. Next chapter will have more BN!! 

 Black coffee and light reading

It had been a couple of days since he’d last seen her, and Noir was growing restless. He’d left for an energy drink commercial he was supposed to star in and was very close to beheading the film director who had him endlessly repeating his scenes. He was disgusted by their superficial ways, this façade they all hid behind. He was no movie star or celebrity. He was a killer.

Kevin, the scrawny man directing the scenes called out, “And cut.”

Noir immediately stepped back into his usual strict posture as the smaller man moved towards him.

“I really liked this one,” he praised excitedly, “but why don’t we try this again? We want it to be intense,” he emphasized, “—keep viewers on the edge of their seats.”

The large, masked man stared down at him for a few seconds, enjoying the way Kevin grew visibly uncomfortable. As the director began trying to convince him, Noir simply moved past him and walked off. You don’t want to see intense, he thought.

Making his way through rows of props and sets, he reached his trailer and decided he didn’t feel like holing up in the cramped space for the rest of the day. Instead, he kept walking until he’d left the film set behind.

Soon, he reached a wooded area and delved inside, exploring the small dusty path curling through the tall trees. He imagined that Sarah was there with him, her small hand curled in his. Who was she? Was her name Sarah, or rather Marianna? Was she spying on Vought? He thought back to the night he followed her to the club, and he’d seen her burn the shape of her fingers into the man’s wrist. Noir was left stunned, and slightly impressed, but he couldn’t shake the doubt clouding his mind. He was meant to keep Vought’s enemies at bay, by picking them off one by one if they got too close. Was she the next threat they’d point out?

His mind drifted back to their evening in her backyard, soaking in the moonlight that filtered through the passing clouds. When he’d first seen her at the gala, he’d found her spectacular. She moved with grace and purpose, and her bright smile had immediately caught his attention. But now he’d gotten a glance behind the curtain and realized there was so much more. She was enigmatic, magnetic. He saw the heaviness of her shoulders, the maturity in her dark eyes. She was an observer, taking in her surroundings in a meticulous and rather calculating manner—just like him. There was a fatigue that lingered in her eyes, and her constantly being cold concerned him. But he could see the fire behind it all. She was hiding away under a façade of innocence and presented herself as small, vulnerable. He had a feeling she was anything but.

She intrigued him, and it was the first time he found himself so involved in another individual’s life and well-being. That night under the stars, he’d seen her on edge, lost at sea.

He hoped she was doing well.

..

It had been a few days since Sarah had seen Noir, and she wondered if something had happened. She wished she didn’t mind but was surprised when she found herself missing his presence. He was quiet, and yet reassuring. If only they could communicate more directly.

That morning, Sarah and Martha had taken a day off for the quirky blonde’s birthday. They’d decided to go to a local bookstore and coffee shop for a warm drink and pastry before heading off to visit her parents. The two women visited the petite shop every chance they got, always pleased with the homey and warm atmosphere oozing from the book-covered walls.

Once they’d settled down at a small table near the large windows, they ordered and chatted about anything and everything under the sun.

“How did your date with Dave go?” Sarah asked while taking small sips off her coffee.

Martha shook her head, “I was trying to avoid it.”

“Oh, come on, it couldn’t have been that bad—"

“—Worse”

Sarah caught the mischief in Martha’s eyes and knew she was messing with her.

“So, what happened?”

“Well, you see what happened was—” Martha began recounting the tale, “we were sat at dinner, and he moved in really close. His hand came over to mine, and he was flirting while talking about movies…”

Sarah watched her, entirely unconvinced.

“…and then you see, he said the wrong thing,” she took a deep breath, “he said he hates transformers.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Oh for the love of God.”

Martha immediately dove into an explanation, “No, we love that movie, you and I. We used to watch it religiously every weekend—” she grew louder, while Sarah tried to quiet her down, “—and I will not take this kind of disrespect from some pretty boy.”

Sarah could do nothing but laugh at this point, her friend joining her.

After they’d grown serious, Martha attempted to draw information on the mysterious man who’d sent her, and was probably still sending her, all those gifts.

“What about your mystery man?” she began, “Are you still seeing him?”

Sarah waved it off, “Not really, it’s been a few days—”

“—a few days” Martha exclaimed.

Sarah drew herself into a professional posture.

“Oh, don’t go all Mallory on me now, just give me some details,” she asked, “please?”

Sarah thought on it, and ultimately decided that feeding her friend some details would do no harm, as long as she kept the man’s identity out of the picture.

“Well, we watched Die Hard together—”

“—like Netflix and chill?”

“No,” Sarah grew flustered, “just let me finish, you can run through your list of questions when I’m done.”

Martha smiled and nodded, deciding to not torture her until the end of the story.

“He’s a fan of Die Hard so we decided to do a movie night…” she trailed off. “And it was nice. Unexpected, but nice,” she continued, her mind straying to his uncovered hands, him pulling her into his chest for a chaste kiss on her head.

“Hey, you there,” Martha asked with a knowing look.

“And a couple nights ago he showed up and we watched the moon from the backyard,” she recounted, avoiding as much detail as possible.

Martha looked at her unimpressed, “Is that seriously the best you can do? Come on, tell me about him,” she pressed, “I want to know how you feel about him.”

“I honestly don’t know yet,” she sighed. “And he’s just…” she searched for the right word, “Unexpected.”

Martha rolled her eyes, “Okay unexpected—got it. Describe him.”

“He’s very tall, and strong. A bit dark and brooding," she almost snorted at the understatement. "And he’s quiet you know—doesn’t speak much. But he’s a reassuring presence, good-mannered and,” she faltered thinking back to him pulling her chair out for her, or insisting he wash their cups. “Kind, I guess.”

“So, he’s not stalkerish?”

Definitely. “No, not at all. Nothing worth worrying about,” Sarah reassured her.

Martha watched her carefully, “Okay. I guess that’s enough to keep me satisfied for a couple days, but I want the deets, girl.”

Sarah laughed, relieved they were closing the subject, “Of course.”

She looked down at the black coffee in her cup, her thoughts wondering off to their quiet encounter under an equally pitch-black sky.

Martha snapped her fingers, “I want to stop by Sephora before we leave, so drink up,” she winked, “I’ll get the check.”

And with that the blonde smoothly stood from her chair and headed towards the cute guy at the counter.

Sarah couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s antics. She quickly downed her coffee ready to leave the table, when the spine of a book beside her caught her attention. “Sign language for beginners.”

Conflicted, she stared at it. He might not even come back. Maybe he thought she was weird after that night in her awful backyard. Still, she let her hand move forward and pull it from the neat rows of thick volumes. It looked worn, as if it had been used extensively. She found it oddly comforting.

Finally reaching the front counter, she cut into Martha and the man’s flirtatious conversation holding up the book in her hand. She payed, and the two women finally left.

Once outside, Martha eyed her friend questioningly.

“What?”

“Why are you learning sign language," she asked. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, I was just wondering—is there any particular reason?”

Sarah kept her expression light and unreadable, “Just interested.”

I’m so stupid, Sarah thought to herself as she found herself hoping he’d return. So stupid.

Martha accepted her friend’s answer, and they hurried off ready for the rest of their day.

  MASTERLIST

Tag list: @ateliefloresdaprimavera @ellejo @dust-bun @coco724 ​  @proximio-5 @damiminator @omegahighendpro @rpgluvr95 @sweetrabbitteamx

[purplehairedwonder]

Hearts With(out) Chains Chapter 14

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen (eventual Lawlu) Words: 5213 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Doflamingo, Violet, Baby 5, Trebol, Diamante, Monkey D. Luffy, Robin, Sanji, Usopp, Franky Notes: I’m taking my turn at the Corazon!Law AU because my brain won’t leave me alone until this is written down. Tags will be updated as the chapters come out.

Summary: Law is reclaimed by the Family when he's 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he's repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

Previous chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

Two Days Ago

Law stood at the helm of the Thousand Sunny, one hand light on the wheel as he watched Dressrosa come into focus. Though Law’s own ship was a submarine, he’d learned how to sail other vessels well enough and directed the Sunny toward the port. The sea, as expected, was calm, so there was little maneuvering he needed to do. With the weather warming up as the ship approached Dressrosa, Law had discarded his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie, though he was still warm beneath his hat. The ship was eerily quiet, considering whose home she was.

Law glanced down at the hat in his other hand; he could have put it down on the deck alongside his coat and Kikoku, but he hadn’t been able to when the feeling of the worn straw under his fingers was such a stark reminder of those weeks on Amazon Lily two years earlier—where the whole mess Law now found himself had begun.

As Law steered the Sunny into the familiar docks and dropped anchor, the only people greeting him were dock workers, already unwinding ropes in preparation for securing the ship to the dock. Curious. And fortuitous. The last person Law wanted to run into before seeing Doffy was Violet; the less she knew about what Law had gotten into on Punk Hazard, the better for them both. Though she’d obfuscated for him more than once in the past, she’d never outright lied to Doffy for him—and he wouldn’t ask her to, knowing what she was risking. He’d take the small victories where he could find them.

Straw hat still in hand, though with his heavy coat now draped over it, and Kikoku resting in her usual place against his shoulder, Law pocketed his log pose and hopped down from the ship. He peered down the docks to see the Polar Tang shining brightly in the late-afternoon sun. His chest gave a twinge at the thought of the ship that had been home for the last decade. Would she be able to take the Hearts to freedom? Or would she be stuck docked in the Dressrosan harbor without a crew to sail her after today?

He shook his head and glanced back at the Thousand Sunny once more, looking for anything out of place. When he saw nothing, he took a breath and turned back toward the city. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the harbor master hurrying toward him.

“Corazon, sir!” he huffed once he reached Law. “My apologies for not greeting you immediately.”

“It’s fine,” Law said, waving him off.

He really wasn’t in the mood for this, but the harbor master’s mood could be a good indicator of how he would be received in the city; if news from Punk Hazard had reached Dressrosa and Law was walking headfirst into a trap, Doffy likely would have had the harbor master and his workers watching for Law’s arrival and trying to detain him until Doffy himself could arrive. The harbor master, however, like most Dressrosans, was too terrified of the executives to lie to their faces—even on order of the king. That he didn’t seem to be hiding any ulterior motives was a positive sign.

“Shall I call a carriage to bring you back to the palace?”

“I’ll walk,” Law said, talking a few steps up the dock.

“Are you sure?” the harbor master asked, falling in step with him. “It’s no trouble and would be faster.”

Law leveled a stare at the man, and he quavered. “O-of course, I didn’t mean to challenge you, sir.” He swallowed before nodding at the Sunny. “And this ship?”

Law forced his lips into a smirk. “A trophy from a defeated pirate crew. Keep it in good shape until the king can inspect it.”

Doffy loved keeping trophies, from plundered goods and hijacked ships to defeated crews themselves—many of whom turned into merchandise—from his many victories, so the harbor master didn’t so much as blink at the explanation.

“Of course, Corazon.”

They’d reached the end of the docks, and the harbor master bowed Law out into the city before turning back to the dock workers and yelling orders at them.

Law strode the familiar streets of the city toward the palace, ignoring the eyes and murmured whispers of his title by the Dressrosan citizens and the toys as he passed; Law always drew a fair amount of attention when he was out, considering his status as second to the king. Being watched didn’t mean Doffy knew what had happened. He forced his tense shoulders down as he walked. He was returning from a straight-forward mission, as he had hundreds of times before. There was nothing different about today.

Pushing aside his paranoia, Law trekked the familiar streets until he reached the palace. The grounds were quiet as he stepped through the gates, and he licked his lips. He was used to the palace being busy, members of the Family and servants alike scurrying around the grounds at all hours of the day. In the late afternoon, he’d expect to see preparations being made for dinner, but, as he walked toward the courtyard, he only saw a few figures moving about in the distance.

“Ah, Corazon!”

Law started as Rosalie, Doffy’s personal aide, came hurrying out of a side hallway. Forcing his expression neutral, he nodded at her.

“The Young Master asked me to find you once you arrived. He’s waiting in his office.”

Law nodded for Rosalie to lead the way, and she turned on her heel to head back into the palace. As they walked, Law considered whether he was more or less likely to be ambushed in Doffy’s office. On the one hand, it held fewer people, which meant fewer enemies for Law to fend off in the case of an attack. On the other hand, it was more isolated from the rest of the palace, meaning fewer people would know what was happening—not that Law would find himself with many allies in the palace if he was outed as a traitor to the Family.

He shook his head; there was no point in catastrophizing until he assessed what information Doffy had. Instead, he addressed Rosalie. As Doffy’s personal aide, she was aware of more goings on in the palace than most, as she was regularly required to track down Family members on short notice for the king.

“The grounds are quiet. Where is everyone?”

She looked back at him to acknowledge that he’d spoken before returning her gaze forward as she strode forward with purpose. “I believe Trebol is with Sugar. Diamante is at the Colosseum, making preparations for the upcoming tournament. I believe Machvise is with him. Pica is at the training grounds, drilling soldiers,” she said, ticking off executives with her fingers. “Dellinger is at the beach with Jora and Lao G. Señor Pink and Gladius left for a mission this morning. Buffalo and Baby 5 went to the market an hour ago. Violet retired to the library after lunch.”

Law nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing a bit. None of that seemed unusual and explained why the grounds were as quiet as they were.

Once they reached Doffy’s office, Rosalie knocked on the door and waited for the king’s call to enter. She ducked inside to inform him of Law’s arrival. A few moments later, she stepped back into the hallway and gestured Law inside.

Law took a steadying breath then strode past Rosalie into the office, suppressing a flinch as the door shut behind him. Doffy sat at his desk, papers spread out in front of him and a pen in hand. Law stepped forward but remained just outside of Doffy’s wingspan—not that it really mattered with his strings. He could have Law trapped with no more than a thought. Law’s fingers itched to activate a Room, but he knew that would only give him away. Instead, he did his best to wrap himself in the cloak that was Corazon, second in command to a Warlord and a king.

Even Corazon, however, knew to wait until Doffy was ready (having learned that lesson the hard way), so he waited. Once Doffy finished signing a document, he put his pen down and looked up at Law. He crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Welcome back, Corazon.”

Law was unable to read anything in his expression or vocal tone so pressed forward. “Thank you, Young Master.”

“I trust you ran into no further complications?”

Law quirked his lips into one of his trademark smirks. “Of course not. I even brought presents. One is in the harbor.”

Doffy chuckled, a deep, pleased sound that rumbled lightly throughout the small room. “I heard.” Of course he had. “Very impressive. What else?”

Law pulled the straw hat out from under his coat and tossed it onto Doffy’s desk. Doffy froze as he realized what had landed in front of him.

“A trophy,” Law said. “From the head of one of the Worst Generation.”

“Take it, Torao. If it’ll make Mingo believe I’m dead, then take it.”

“Straw Hat-ya, I can’t take this.”

“Shishishi, I know you’ll give it back. I trust you!”

“This hat—” Doffy murmured, turning the worn thing over in his hands, the straw crinkling in the quiet between the two pirates. Doffy looked up sharply at Law. “Do you know who this hat belonged to?” At Law’s frown, Doffy shook his head. “Never mind,” he said, voice gentling. “This is quite the prize.”

Law blinked and caught the hat on instinct when Doffy tossed it back to him.

“You defeated its wearer, my Corazon. It is your trophy.” His lips twitched. “Though I think your own hat suits you better.”

Law snorted. “Not a lot of use for a straw hat in the North.” And Law was, at his core, a child of the North Blue—of winter islands and warfare.

“Indeed.”

“Was there anything else?” Law asked, raising an eyebrow. Impertinence was one of his defining traits, after all.

Doffy waved him off, already looking back toward the paperwork in front of him. “Dinner’s in an hour. Get yourself cleaned up.”

Law gave a shallow bow then turned to leave. Presenting his back to Doffy was one of the hardest things he’d done in a long time, but he forced himself to offer that vulnerability, since, if nothing were wrong, Doffy at his back would be no threat. Breath caught in his throat, Law headed out of Doffy’s office, part of him waiting to be impaled with an onslaught of strings…

But it never came.

He let out the breath he’d been holding when the door shut behind him and very nearly slumped against the wall. But the walls had eyes in the palace, so Law instead straightened his spine and headed to his chambers. He wanted nothing more than to make a direct line to the Hearts’ wing of the palace to check in with his crew, but with the distance he’d kept from them in the previous years, doing so would look out of character.

He encountered only a few servants as he headed for his room. Once he shut the door behind him, he leaned back against it tiredly and ran a hand over his face. He hadn’t been locked up in Seastone and thrown in the dungeon yet, so that was a good sign. Maybe, just maybe, he could get his crew out after all. They’d be on the run, but that would be better than the prison they found themselves in now—and they had allies.

Law dropped his coat on his bed and rested Kikoku on top of it. He placed the straw hat on his desk and pulled his Den Den Mushi from his coat pocket. He put the snail on the desk next to the hat then went into the bathroom, as if to wash up; instead, he activated a Room. He Scanned for the surveillance snail in the vents that kept an eye on his room and, with a quick Shambles, switched it with a snail he’d set up years earlier to broadcast a recorded feed of his empty room. Now it would simply appear that Law was in the shower. He’d found the surveillance snail immediately after he’d moved into the palace at seventeen, though he had no idea how often Doffy checked the feed nearly a decade later. The snail had never been removed, though, so Law worked under the assumption that the Warlord regularly monitored it to be safe.

Law then stepped back into the bedroom and went over to his desk. He pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled a note: After dinner. Crew meeting. He folded it and pushed his Room in the direction of the Hearts’ quarters until he found Bepo’s room. The bear wasn’t in the room at the moment, but that was not unusual at this time of day. Law switched his note with pen on Bepo’s desk then retracted his Room once more.

That done, he turned to his Den Den Mushi and dialed. He only had to wait two rings before the other side picked up.

“Torao, it’s about time!”

“I told you to give me until nightfall to check in, Straw Hat-ya,” Law snapped, glancing out the window at the late afternoon sun. “I’m early.”

“But it’s boooooring on your ship,” Luffy whined.

Law rolled his eyes. Before arriving in Dressrosa, he’d come up with a plan to sneak the Straw Hats in without them being noticed. Because Doffy had eyes on all the ships coming into and going out of the harbor, it was imperative the Straw Hats stay out of sight as the ship approached. They would stay below deck as Law steered the Thousand Sunny into the harbor.

Then, while Law then checked in with Doflamingo at the palace, pretending the Sunny was a conquest of their fight, the Straw Hats would use their submersible to make their way to the Polar Tang; Doffy would undoubtedly have his men examining the Sunny to see what Law had brought him, so it would be a poor hiding place. The Tang, however, was generally left alone except for some basic maintenance, meaning she would be safe for the Straw Hats to hide out in until Law could contact them with an update and to decide their next move. He’d left them with a hand-drawn map of the palace as well as a rough map of the city itself for them to study while they waited.

Luffy had protested, wanting to see the city and, naturally, try the local cuisine, but his crew had reminded him that they were all supposed to be dead; being recognized would put Law and his nakama in danger, and—after his suggestion that they go into the city in disguises was thoroughly shot down—that had quieted his complaints.

Mostly.

“Boring?” Franky called, affronted, from somewhere in the background. “This ship is super! I want to know everything about her, Tra-bro!”

Law sighed. “Please tell Robo-ya to refrain from destroying my ship before we leave Dressrosa.”

“We’ll rein him in, Torao-kun,” Robin promised, though there was humor in her voice. “What happened with Doflamingo?”

“Mm, yeah. What happened with Mingo?” Luffy echoed. It sounded like he was moving around the Den Den Mushi, likely bursting with pent up energy. Law only hoped his ship would survive the Straw Hats’ cyborg and its bored captain.

“He seemed to take my report at face value,” Law said. “But there’s no telling when he’ll hear from his sources in the Marines about what happened. We’ll still need to move quickly.”

“When do I get to kick his ass?” Luffy asked. Several of the Straw Hats groaned in the background.

“That’s not the point of this, Luffy,” Robin reminded him, not unkindly. “The goal is to get Torao-kun and his nakama out of Dressrosa unnoticed.”

“We’re trying to avoid a fight with a Warlord, Luffy!” Usopp added, a tinge of panic in his voice.

“Fine,” Luffy grumbled.

“I’m expected at dinner with the Family this evening,” Law said, breaking in. “If I skip it, it’ll raise suspicions.”

Luffy whooped in excitement at the thought of food, and Sanji snapped that he’d brought food from the Sunny, which only made the younger captain more excited.

Law grimaced, wondering not for the first time why the mysterious pull in his chest had brought him to these people. He knew the Family was its own type of ridiculous, but the Straw Hats took that to a whole other level. Why did he think he could entrust something as important as his nakama’s lives to them?

“I’ll see my nakama after dinner and contact you then,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Good luck,” Robin said over her chaotic crewmates.

“Same to you,” Law replied then hung up.

For a moment, he stared at the snail then at the hat on the desk next to it. This was a terrible idea, but Law was already in too deep to turn back now.

After a quick shower to wash off the travel and battle from the last two days, Law changed into a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt then switched the surveillance snail back to the one with live feed and dropped his Room. Pulling his hat on, he glanced at Kikoku but decided not to bring her to dinner; he didn’t usually walk around the palace grounds with the nodachi in hand. His head was starting to ache—the concussion symptoms, while improving, were still bothering him—so he took some painkillers before heading to the dining room.

Though Law was on edge, dinner was a standard Family affair. The only executives not present were Señor Pink and Gladius, who were off the island. Law easily fell into his typical standoffish self, meandering into the dining room a couple of minutes late and sliding into his seat with an insincere smirk. Doffy, who was in the middle of a discussion with Trebol, merely raised an eyebrow at him, and Law shrugged. Doffy huffed once before turning back to Trebol.

Law rarely invited conversation at meals, though Baby 5 wanted to tell anyone who would listen—and for some reason, she thought Law was listening—about the wares she’d found at the market. Law ignored her, picking at his plate without much enthusiasm. The food, as always, was excellent—Doffy had high expectations of those who worked for him; Law’s stomach was simply tied in knots. It was a good thing Law rarely finished his meals, so his lack of appetite tonight didn’t appear unusual.

More than once, Law looked up to see Violet trying to catch his eye from several seats down the table. Law shook his head minutely and looked back down at his plate. He didn’t need to get her involved in this.

Law started when he felt a smack on his arm. He rubbed it with a frown at Baby 5. “What was that for?”

“Are you even listening to me, Corazon?”

Law snorted. “Of course not.”

Baby narrowed her eyes. “You’re such a jerk,” she muttered.

“Don’t act so surprised, Baby,” Law replied, lips twitching. It was easy enough to fall into this familiar pattern of banter with her.

She sighed dramatically. “You have been a jerk since you were ten.”

Law rested his chin on his hand, angling himself toward her slightly. “You want me to hear about your day, but you didn’t even ask me how my mission went.”

She scrunched up her nose then sighed resignedly. “How did your mission go, Corazon?”

Law shrugged, turning back to the table. “Fine.”

“You asshole!” she squawked, whacking him in the arm again. “Did you get rid of all your manners with your spots?”

Law gaped at her a moment before laughing in surprise. He would miss this; Baby was one of the only members of the Family he cared about. She’d been one of the few things that made his return to the Family tolerable.

“Just my people skills.” He picked up a piece of silverware from the table. “I still know a salad fork from a dessert fork.”

The rest of their conversation was cut short as Doffy pushed back from the table and rose. He nodded at the members of the Family gathered around the table.

“The rest of the night is yours. I have work to attend to.” He glanced to the side. “Pica, Machvise, a word in my office.”

As the summoned executives stood to follow Doffy from the dining room, Law pushed himself away from the table and headed for the hallway. He had a few things he needed from his room before meeting with his crew so headed that way; he could have just opened a Room and summoned them, but something told him to reserve his stamina for now.

He was about halfway to his chambers when he stopped. “What do you want, Violet?” He turned to see her turning a corner to face him.

She crossed her arms. “Why were you ignoring me at dinner?”

Law suppressed a sigh. “Because I’m an asshole.”

“True, but that’s not it. Try again.”

“I have a lot on my mind. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” Law started to turn back toward his room. He knew he was being unfair to her, but he didn’t want her reading him. Not today.

“Corazon, stop. Something is going on with you.”

Law turned back to her, jaw clenched. “Violet, don’t.”

“I can just read you to find out,” she threatened, lifting her hands.

Law grabbed her wrists before her hands could reach her face. “Don’t.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Let go.”

“Don’t try to read me, Violet,” Law practically growled. “I mean it. Not this time.”

She let out a huff then nodded. “Fine. Now let go.”

He released her wrists, and she rubbed her left wrist absently. “Something happened on your mission.”

Law chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before agreeing, “Yes.”

“What can I do?”

He blinked at her in surprise. “What?”

“If you’re in trouble, let me help.”

Law shook his head. She’d been trying to help him almost since he arrived in Dressrosa, and now the only way he could repay her was to keep her out of this mess. She had her father and niece to think about.

“Not for this one.”

“But—”

“Let it go, Violet.” Then he did open a Room and Shamble himself into his chambers, leaving a pen in his place in the hallway.

Years of practice with his powers allowed him to avoid landing awkwardly on his desk, and he dropped to the floor. He opened a drawer in his desk and pushed aside the items inside. He pressed on the right spot, and the false bottom opened. He reached in and grabbed the papers inside then replaced the false bottom and shut the drawer. He spread the papers out on his desk: blueprints of the castle. Violet had once mentioned that there was a secret passageway in the castle that only the Riku family knew about. She hadn’t revealed its location, though, and Law hadn’t asked.

If he could find that on the blueprints now, perhaps he could use it to get his crew out without being detected. He leaned over the paper with a frown, looking for anything that looked out of place or that he didn’t recognize. He could have asked her in the hallway just now, but he didn’t want what he was looking for getting back to Doflamingo—not before he and his nakama were gone, anyway.

He was so focused on the blueprints that he was taken by surprise when his door slammed open, rattling on its hinges. Law jerked upright but didn’t have a chance to react before a wave of mucus slammed him into the far wall. Law’s head slammed back against the wall. His vision darkened, and his body went slack, air leaving his lungs in a sharp exhale.

Goddamn concussion, he thought blearily as the world slowly started coming back into focus in front of him. His doctor side was distantly outraged at the battering his brain was taking, but the rest of him—the part in the here and now—was just trying to breathe.

As he came back to his senses, the first thing he recognized was that he was being held upright against the wall by Trebol’s mucus. Gross.

The shapes in front of him slowly materialized into Trebol and Diamante standing in his doorway.

“What the fuck, Trebol?” Law growled, though his voice lacked the power he wanted to put behind it.

“That’s what we should be asking you, Corazon.”

Law’s stomach dropped as Doffy entered the room behind his two executives. Law could feel the anger radiating off him.

He knows, Law realized. I wasn’t fast enough, and he knows. Fuck.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Law said, glancing around to assess his options. Though the mucus was holding him to the wall, his lower arms were free, so he could still form a Room. Kikoku was on the bed, but he could summon her with a Room.

He just had to do it at the right moment.

Doffy paused at Law’s desk and looked down at the papers. “Blueprints of the castle?” He turned back to Law. “And how did you get your hands on these?” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. I know how resourceful you are. And why would you need blueprints of the castle? Looking for an escape route?”

“Escape? Because that’s gone so well for me in the past,” Law scoffed, though he knew it wasn’t lost on Doffy that he’d side-stepped the question.

“I just heard from some sources in the Marines,” Doffy said, resuming his approach into Law’s space. “You’ll never believe who they have in custody.”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

Law winced as a string sliced through his cheek. It was a shallow cut, but blood dripped down the side of his face. A warning.

“Monet and Caesar,” Doffy said, tilting his head as he looked down at Law. “And I can’t imagine how that could be when you told me you saw them this morning, Corazon.”

Law licked his lips, hating the way he had to look up at the Warlord. “I did see them this morning.” That wasn’t a lie. He’d just… withheld the condition he’d seen them in. “If they were careless enough to get arrested after I left, that’s not on me.”

Another string sliced through Law’s cheek, this one a bit deeper, just below the first cut.

Doffy leaned over to whisper in Law’s ear, “I’d be very careful of what you say next.” The temperature dropping with Doffy’s icy words.

Law swallowed but remained silent. Doffy could probably feel the racing of his heart at this proximity.

“I’m only going to ask once. Did you see Vergo on Punk Hazard?”

“I thought Vergo was here.” Which was true—he had thought that, until Vergo had shown his face on the Straw Hats’ ship the day before.

Doffy straightened and, eyes never leaving Law’s, pulled a Den Den Mushi from his coat. He dialed a number from memory.

The discarded coat on Law’s bed started to ring.

Law cursed silently. He’d completely forgotten to get rid of Vergo’s Den Den Mushi. He’d planned to look it over on the trip from Punk Hazard, but he’d gotten distracted by making plans to get the Straw Hats into Dressrosa, and the snail had remained untouched in his pocket.

Doffy finally tore his gaze from Law and went over to the bed. He grabbed Law’s coat and dug around until he found the buzzing snail. Law’s own Den Den Mushi was on his desk and silent, cutting off that potential excuse.

“This is Vergo’s Den Den Mushi.”

“I…”

“Vergo’s dead,” Doffy said, the snail still ringing in his hand. Doffy’s voice remained low, and Law had, from his childhood, found Doffy’s restrained fury far more terrifying than when the man lost his cool. “His heart had been removed from his chest and squeezed.”

Law was well and truly fucked.

Deciding he had nothing to lose, he flexed his fingers ever-so-slightly in preparation to open a Room—

Then cried out as a blade impaled itself through the palm of his right hand.

It took a moment for his abused brain to register why, other than the pain, this was such a problem.

It was his dominant hand.

The one he used to wield Kikoku.

The one he used to control his Fruit.

The one he led with in surgery.

Oh.

Oh.

“Nuh uh,” Diamante said from the other end of his waving blade. “No tricks, boy.”

“Nene, Corazon. Don’t surgeons need their hands?” Trebol chuckled.

Law made a choked sound as Diamante pulled the blade out. His thoughts spun as his hand dripped blood to the carpet beneath him. He’d felt worse pain than this—nothing he’d experienced had been worse than the final stages of Amber Lead Disease—but this was his hand.

“I can do the other one, Doffy. Make sure he can’t pull anything,” Diamante offered.

“No,” Doffy said, eyeing Law. “He’s no good to me if he can’t use his Fruit.”

Trebol’s mucus retreated, and Law fell forward. Without thinking, he reached out with his hands to catch himself then crumpled into a heap with a cry, hand coming to his chest as an electric shock jolted from his hand through his entire arm. The breath caught in his throat and the room around him fuzzed.

He’d failed.

He’d failed as an executive.

He’d failed as an ally.

He’d failed as a surgeon.

He’d failed as a captain.

He’d failed as a friend.

He’d failed Cora-san.

He barely registered the snapping of Seastone restraints around his wrists, the little strength he had left draining from his body as he went limp on the floor.

From somewhere above him, Doffy spoke, though Law couldn’t make out the words. He winced but didn’t struggle as Trebol and Diamante each grabbed one of his arms. The two executives dragged him bodily down the hallways of the palace, his feet trailing limply behind him. In his peripheral vision, he caught Violet’s shocked expression as the procession passed.

Law grimaced as they reached the stairs to the dungeon but didn’t have the strength to try to get his feet under him, so his legs thumped against each stone step as he was taken down. At the bottom, Trebol and Diamante exchanged a few words with the guard then followed him to what Law assumed was one of the Seastone cells. The guard opened the door, and Law was pulled into the cell and shoved against the wall, forcing the breath from his lungs. The chain between his wrist shackles was hooked above Law’s head before all the figures retreated.

Law slumped forward in defeat.

But he jerked upright at a familiar voice.

“Captain?”

Next chapter

[keelywolfe]

FIC: The Rose and the Thorn: Chapter 10 (Mafia AU)

Summary:  We left off with Edge and Rus on a cliffhanger, let's see where they go from there!

Tags: Spicyhoney, Cherryberry, Mafia AU, Flower Shop AU, Violence, First Meetings

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9

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Read it here!

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Rus knew what he looked like. Tall, gangling skeleton and his bones were thin, almost delicate. Most people probably thought a stiff breeze would send him off like a tumbleweed and they were sort of right. He would’ve had more than a couple scars from a childhood from tripping over his own feet if his brother wasn’t such a good healer.

But if you took his innate clumsiness out of the equation, it was a load of bullshit, really. He’d helped his brother set up their garden, hauled bags of soil and manure, lugged oversized flowerpots, carried fencing and poles. He wasn’t weak, thank you very much, but even he had to admit, holding up a Monster of Edge’s size for any length of time was pushing him to his limits.

Luckily, he didn’t have to manage long. Edge caught his balance quickly, rocked unsteadily back to his feet and once Rus wasn’t completely blanketed by tall skeleton, he got a better view of the Dogs standing on either side of him, helping hold him up. Okay, they were at least part of the reason Edge hadn’t fallen on him, so what, he was pretty sure he did his part.

More Dogs, wow, did they buy these guys by the six pack? They were pretty good at the stoic, almost as good as Edge, but Rus didn’t miss their brief, amused tail wags. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, watching him trying to catch Edge must’ve been a funny sight, like a meek village fool trying to catch a crumbling mountain.

But watching them immediately school their expressions to bland seriousness when Edge looked at them was even better.

Large hands settled on his shoulders, drawing his attention back to Edge and more to the point, his face, holy fuck—

“I’m all right,” Edge started, and no, just no.

“you certainly don’t look like it!” Rus snapped. He took hold of one of Edge’s sleeves, flinching at sight of the charred fray that was all that remained of his gloves. “come on, for pity’s sake, come sit down!”

Edge didn’t really resist, bemusedly letting Rus lead the way down the hallway. Only for Rus to stop a few steps in, turning back to admit sheepishly. “um. i’m not sure where you were going?”

He hadn’t heard any of the Dogs speak yet, but that wasn’t entirely unusual, some Monsters didn’t use a verbal language. It didn’t stop one of them from letting out a snicker, hastily quelled when Edge slanted him a dour look.

“This way, flower shop.” Edge took the lead and stayed on his feet mostly under his own steam with the occasional steadying hand from one of the Dogs. He led the way to another of the thousand doors, only this one had a panel that opened to reveal a keypad. Rus pointedly didn’t watch as Edge punched in the code and went inside.

But it wasn’t an infirmary of any sort or even a bathroom. Inside was a large bedroom, dominated by an enormous four poster bed that was covered in an fluffy comforter and huge pillows, with actual curtains hung around it, like they’d taken an accidental trip with the Ghost of Gyftmas Past and wandered into the bedroom of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Rus hovered awkwardly by the door as the Dogs helped Edge to one of the wide sofas set in a half-circle in a sort of open-air sitting room.

Once Edge was settled, the Dogs took their leave and Rus didn’t miss the wink one of them sent his way.

Well, it seemed they were expecting him to play nurse, not exactly a role he’d had much experience in. One look at Edge had him setting his shoulders, ready to step up and give it his best shot, though if there were any cracks about him putting on a little white dress, he was out.

Or maybe he was fooling himself, because he couldn’t possibly leave Edge alone like this. His clothes were streaked with burnt marks, the fine suit from that morning looked like it only recently stopped smoldering. Worse of all, the bone all down one side of his face was scorched and blackened, and Rus supposed it was a small mercy that the damage was on the already injured side of his skull.

Just looking at it made nausea lurch up into his throat. Rus swallowed it down and walked over, biting the tip of his tongue and focusing on that tiny hurt while he inspected the damages.

It must be painful, but Edge didn’t flinch from Rus’s timid prodding as he tried to decide if he actually could help or if he needed to find a phone to call for someone more qualified. So much soot and who knew what damage beneath it. Rus blinked hard as sympathetic tears welled; he’d always hated seeing anything hurt, Rus was the one getting teased for rescuing worms from the sidewalks after a storm and giving the pigeons in the park the crusts from his sandwiches. A thumb grazed underneath his socket, wiping away the trickle of tears, and Rus could smell the smoky char on Edge’s ruined gloves.

“It’s not that bad, flower shop,” Edge murmured. “I’m only a little crisp around the edges.” If he were trying for lightness, he failed, and Rus could feel wetness escaping from around his touch, trickling down his cheekbones. “Don’t,” Edge tried, “You don’t need to—"

“this is about us, isn’t it?” Rus interrupted softly. He wasn’t sure what kind of fool Edge thought he was, but he could at least manage to put 2 and 2 together and know that a vengeful fire monster who was prone to kidnappings likely matched up with fresh burns.

Edge said nothing and that was all the answer Rus needed.

“then i think i do.” Rus drew away, wiping impatiently at his damp cheeks bones with his sleeve. “where’s the bathroom?”

He followed where Edge pointed and one step inside was enough to stifle his remaining tears. If he thought his own lavatory was opulent, this one seemed to belong more in a palace than above a strip club in the red-light district, all of it gleaming dark marble streaked with gold. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and sighed. All his efforts to obey his brother’s scold to keep his new clothes clean ruined by smudges of soot streaked all down his shirt and a full set of handprints impressed on his shoulders.

Welp, guess it was a good thing he probably wasn’t going to be doing the laundry.

Under the sink was a basin that he filled halfway with cool water, along with a well-appointed first aid kit. Rus snagged both along with a couple clean washcloths and clumsily carried the lot of it out, only spilling a couple splashes of water to disappear in the lush carpet.

Edge hadn’t moved, only watched him with an intensity that sent an odd prickle down Rus’s spine. Whatever, let him stare. Rus ignored it to set his newfound supplies on the coffee table and sat on the sofa next to him to get to work. First, wetting a washcloth and very gently washing away the layers of soot to reveal the chalky, damaged bone beneath. It actually wasn’t too bad, he was relieved to see, at least Edge was right about that. Most of it was filth, the only real damage seemed to be to the very side of his face, a ragged line that ran from his forehead nearly to his chin. Edge never made a sound even when Rus had to really scrub to clear away the sooty blackness. The friction must have hurt terribly, but he allowed Rus to clean him up as he muttering vague apologies the entire time, because honestly, if he’d been the one hurt, Rus would have been howling for mercy by now.

The silence grew to be too much, nothing but the splash of water as he wrung out the cloth again and Edge’s crimson eye lights following his every move. Luckily, filling silences with nervous chatter was one of Rus’s greatest skills.

“i’m glad the bathroom was close,” Rus admitted with a self-deprecating laugh, “if it was in the hallway, i would’ve been a while. i’m not sure if i could find anything in this labyrinth.”

“It’s not as big as it seems,” Edge’s sockets fell half-closed as Rus gingerly cleaned around the delicate, damaged rim, showing only a bare gleam of crimson. “You only think it is because of the Dogs.”

That gave Rus a pause. "what do you mean?”

Edge offered him that little half-smile of his, "The hallways are designed like a labyrinth and my brother has the Dogs lead people through the same ones several times. Even the artwork is designed to change the picture when someone walks past it, to make it seem larger and more confusing than it is.”

“seriously? what kind of low-rent james bond villain bullshit is that?" Rus blurted. He winced at his own words, shit, calling Red a villain wasn’t exactly what his brother would call good manners, but Edge's slight smile only widened.

"I prefer the term frugal.”

“hmmph,” Rus huffed, deciding not to argue the point. If Red wanted a subplot of being a cheapskate, that was his problem. “are you going to tell me what happened?” he asked, dabbing gingerly at a particularly darkened spot. The bone beneath was slightly pitted and he could only hiss in sympathy, imagining how much it must hurt.

That little smile faded. “I went to see Blaze in a neutral location, to negotiate.”

“looks like negotiations went south.”

Edge grunted in agreement, closing his sockets entirely as Rus finished cleaning his skull with a last gentle wipe. He dropped the washcloth into the dingy basin water before digging through the first aid kit for burn ointment. With the soot cleaned away, the burns matched Edge’s assessment of not too bad. They should heal fine, probably wouldn’t even scar if Edge kept it clean and well treated. Of course, there was another option.

Rus carefully set the ointment aside, reaching out instead with a cautious bare hand, “you were right, it isn’t too bad. i’m not as good as my brother, but if you let me heal you—”

The hand that caught his wrist moved so quickly Rus barely saw it. He yelped in surprise and automatically tried to pull away. Uselessly, that grip tightened painlessly as Edge said, firmly, “No.”

Even sitting, Edge was taller than him, especially when he wasn’t slumped back on the sofa. Taller than him, larger than him in every way and even sitting here in a ridiculously lavish bedroom in his ruined suit, Edge seemed larger than life, nearly a force of nature. And Rus looked up directly into his hurt face and asked boldly, “why not?”

The flick of his crimson tongue over his teeth nearly distracted Rus from his words. “Because having someone else use their magic on me outside of a fight is entirely too intimate for my tastes.”

Intimate. That was the problem? Considering that Rus was in possession of a shivery memory of Edge’s weight on top of him, pressing him into the cushioned plush of the rug with the heat of the fireplace pouring over them as Edge’s gloved hand skimmed against his bare hip…um…better to stop there. Anyway, considering all that, it seemed silly to him for Edge to suffer through days of discomfort when a little healing magic could ease it.

Exasperated, Rus pointed out, “you were willing to have sex with me but won’t let me heal you?” It was only after he said it that Rus belatedly remembered that actually, Edge hadn’t been willing to have sex with him, that was sort of where their awkwardness this morning came from and he looked away, a miserable blush rising in his cheekbones, like an echo of Edge’s burns.

To his shameful relief, Edge didn’t comment on that, only ran his thumb over the delicate, interlocked bones at the inside of Rus’s wrist. “It’s not the same. Magic involves souls, sex is only as intimate as you allow it to be. Anyone can take your body, flower shop.”

“yes, thank you for that reminder,” Rus muttered unhappily. He couldn’t hold back a shudder, remembering Blaze’s unbearably sweltering hands on him, forcing his touch on Rus as he whispered horrible things, cruelly teasing threats about Rus’s mouth and what he might do to it.

Edge’s voice jarred him from the unpleasant memory, cushioned in gentleness. “You’re safe here. This club is as well protected as it could possibly be. Aside from basic security precautions, we’ve been layering on every sort of protection spell possible over it since we got to the surface.”

That was a comfort to know, for now. But what about when he left, they left, him and Blue heading back to their shop and their lives without an ounce of protection surrounding them.

“i want to go home.” The words slipped out, small and miserable. And true, their home was small and a bit cramped, but it was home.

“I know,” Edge said, softly. He offered no promises about getting Rus there and he wondered wanly if he should be grateful for that honesty. Rus reached up and took hold of the large hand still holding his other wrist as his gaze searched Edge’s face, eye lights skimming from the untouched side to the one stark with darkened burns. With a tug, Edge brought their joined hands to his mouth, pressing a kiss against them and murmuring, “I’m working on it.”

There was something in his voice, something coldly dark beneath that tender touch and Rus swallowed hard, “you’re going to try to kill him, aren’t you.”

“Don’t ask questions that you don’t want answered.”

“aren’t you?” Rus persisted.

Edge let out a small frustrated sound, "It's the only way to end this. The only way you'll get your life back."

Rus shook his head, helplessly. That couldn’t be true, the only answer simply couldn’t be tainting Edge’s soul with XP, racking a LV onto Edge’s conscious in the name of their wellbeing, his and Blue’s and Rus knew without question that his brother would agree. “there has to be another way.”

“Are you willing to bet your life on that, flower shop?” Edge countered, “What about your brother’s?”

“there has to be! i can’t let you—” kill someone. Rus choked on the words, felt the ache of tears welling up again.

Again, that thumb rubbed a soothing little circle against Rus’s wrist. “Why do you care so much?”

“I…” Rus swallowed nervously. “it’s…it’s the right thing to do!”

“Of course,” Edge said wryly. “And you always do the right thing, don’t you.” He let go of Rus’s wrist and sank back into the cushions. “Go on, then.”

“huh?” Rus blinked, confused, ready to argue that he wasn’t about to leave with this debate still between them.

“Go on,” Edge repeated, “Heal me.” A sardonic slash of a smile tipped up the undamaged side of his mouth. “Since it’s the right thing to do.”

Oh. Rus had to kneel up to reach, leaning across Edge’s torso to settle his bare hand lightly against the side of his skull. It was a matter of moments to focus his magic, calling up the tingling warmth of healing and concentrating it on the burns. He certainly didn’t miss Edge’s relieved sigh; it must’ve hurt something awful and honestly, fussing about intimacy when the alternative was days of pain? He really couldn’t understand these people.

When Rus finally stopped, the bone beneath his hand was smooth and unblemished, at least as much as previously cracked bone could be. All signs of any burns were gone and Rus beamed at Edge, pleased.

“there,” he said triumphantly. “isn’t that bett—oh!”

The way Rus was leaning already put him off balance and the sudden, strong arm winding around his waist sent him nearly sprawling into Edge’s lap. A rough chuckle greeted his twisting and squirms until he was sitting across Edge’s femurs, looking up into his newly healed face with wide sockets.

“Yes,” Edge agreed softly, “This is much better.” He lightly bit the tip of one of his fingers, tugging off his glove and spitting it aside before reaching out to brush bare fingertips lightly over Rus’s mouth, cautious of the sharpened tips. Rus sat frozen beneath that touch as it slid lower, broad knuckles curling beneath his chin. “To tell the truth, I’m at a loss,” Edge murmured, low, like a confession. “Even if I deal with Blaze, you’re irrevocably linked to me now. Do I let it be? Or do I embrace it?”

That…that sounded…Rus wasn’t sure, his thoughts were in wild turmoil, caught up between Edge’s words and his embrace, “what about what i want?” he asked, weakly.

A soft chuckle gusted over him like a caress and Edge’s face was close to his own, as he said, “Pretty flower, you’ve wanted me since the day I walked into your shop.”

Rus wanted to deny it, but what was the point? It was true, he couldn’t possibly have been more obvious. He didn’t move as Edge leaned in, every possible protest twittering out of his mind even as Edge said, his deep voice raw with the barest of regrets, “Just remember, I tried to let you go.”

His mouth was achingly gentle, coaxingly sweet and Rus parted his teeth with a watery sigh as he met it with his own. Parted his teeth to timidly meet the slide of a clever tongue with his own. He was surrounded, Edge around him, beneath him, the arms that circled him held Rus close. Safe, he realized, he was safe, and Rus groaned shakily, clinging to Edge’s broad chest as those dizzying kisses deepened, teeth scraping with tantalizingly deliberate roughness as a low growl rumbled out from deep within Edge’s chest.

In the back of his mind, Rus was hyperaware of the enormous bed behind them, equal parts inviting and terrifying to consider Edge carrying him to it the same way as he had to the rug. His heavy weight again between Rus’s femurs, the hard press of his hips, and the senseless magic settling in Rus’s pelvis wanted that, wanted even more. He could feel his magic taking form, embarrassingly eager wetness dampening his undershorts. His mind might well be unsettled, but his body was making its wants known to them both and he couldn’t help wriggling again, already feeling the response of Edge’s body beneath his pelvis.

The door bursting opened shattered any burgeoning arousal and Rus jerked back, scrambling away even as Edge reluctantly let him go.

Red didn’t even seem to notice them yet, kicking the door shut as he groused, “dogs said you and blaze got into it, bro, you okay—” he stopped, staring blankly at his brother, eye lights gliding over where Edge’s joints were flushed and his jaw clenched. Then flicking to Rus who was curled up far on the other side of the sofa with a burning blush high on his cheekbones. Red chewing on the end of his cigar furiously, saying acidly around it, “might need to have a word with ‘em, since they didn’t see fit to mention this lil’ tête-à-tête.”

“Perhaps they thought they didn’t need to,” Edge said, coolly, “There is this charming social construct called knocking, you should consider trying it sometime.”

“uh huh, you know me, all up in the social constructs.” Red turned his sour look back on Rus, who only cringed harder, “sorry to interrupt, but i’m fresh outta social constructs right now. me and my bro need to talk, hit bricks.”

Edge crossed his arms over his chest, “No, he can stay.”

Yeah, because Rus was all about hanging around Red with his magic still uncomfortably roused between his legs. “i really don’t mind, i can go.”

Neither of them paid him any mind, both brother’s glaring. Finally, Red shrugged, “i was gonna talk business, but if you wanna scar your pretty lil’ flower, ain’t no skin off my bones.”

That seemed to give Edge a pause. He frowned, considering, then sighed out, “Go, Rus.”

Rus wobbled to his feet, all ready to head for the door. Only to have Edge catch his wrist, reeling him in. He didn’t try to take a kiss, thankfully, no attempt at a little pda in front of his brother. He only studied Rus’s face as if drinking in the sight of him, then tapped him lightly on the nasal aperture as he said, sternly, “Behave.”

That made him remember that morning, sneaking downstairs to chat with the ladies in the break room. Rus gave him a wobbly nod, and said, “i always do,” hoping his guilt didn’t show on his face as he slipped away and headed towards the door.

He skirted widely around Red and even that didn’t keep Rus from hearing him mutter, “if that’s you behavin’ flower shop, can’t wait to see ya bein’ bad.”

Outside the door one of the Dogs was waiting and Rus was about to ask them to show him back to his room, preferably without the extra mileage, when his eye lights caught on a long line of blistered redness along their muzzle.

“did you get burned, too,” Rus gasped, appalled, “that must hurt, do you want me to heal…it?” He trailed off awkwardly, expecting to be brushed off. But the Dog only whined and lowered their head, their dark brown eyes hopeful.

The little wound was even easier to heal than Edge’s and the Dog heaved a sigh of relief when Rus was finished, offering him a slightly slobbery grin, along with something else that had been sitting unnoticed by their feet. They held it out in offering and Rus took it, uncomprehending at first until the familiar jangle made him look down in disbelief.

It was his backpack, somewhat sooty and Spongebob was more than a little worse for wear, but it was his, with all his pins still attached.

“how did you—” Rus started, dumbly. There was only one answer and Rus glanced at the door speculatively, wondering if he’d gotten the backpack before, after, or during getting burnt to a crisp. Questions for later and he added it to his list as the Dog led him back to his room.

The moment he opened the door, a loud shout almost sent him tumbling head over heels back out.

“Where have you been!?”

Rus sighed to himself and shut the door, bracing himself to face his brother.

Where was a kidnapping when you really needed one.

tbc

[blake-belladonna-defence-force]

In This Life, I Can Be Your Girl...

So as I writing the update for my dance au (which is now up) @the-batjan made this post; https://the-batjan.tumblr.com/post/189607002712/ok-hear-me-out-guys and I was greatly inspired.

There is a mention of Blake’s mindset during volume 4/5 so there is talk of her self hatred/borderline suicidal mindset. Kali was scared for a good reason.

If that is a trigger for you, please give this story a skip. Look after yourselves, dear hearts. And please let me know if I need to tag anything.

Blake’s still recovering and healing from everything that Adam put her through. It’s not going to be immediate. But she’s learning and growing and she’s allowing herself to be happy. To be loved.

God. She truly is the definition of bravery, huh?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Yang laid on Weiss’s bunk, happily watching as her partner ran through some checks on Gambol Shroud, her fingers and hands expertly running along it and dismantling the weapon with a quick and sure efficiency.

But that was Blake in a nutshell. Quick, sure, efficient and not to mention deadly. The fact that she took down an Ursa on their first day as partners with one well placed strike said a lot. Perhaps that was why Yang allowed herself to make eye contact.

Or perhaps it was the look in Blake’s eyes. The one that somehow told Yang so much and so little all at once. The one that cried out that she’d been hurt. And the one that refused to give up. The one that told Yang that this was a girl who had seen the depths of hell and eaten with the devil and come out the other side, stronger than ever. And that exact same look was still there today. But it was more confident. More sure of herself. She hadn’t just walked out of hell, but Beaton back her demons and refused to let them turn her into a martyr. And she was so much happier. Her eyes, though they still carried some of that hurt, were brighter and filled with more hope and openess than Yang had ever seen.

‘At least... in this life.’ Yang quickly shook her head. What was she thinking? There’s no way that she knew Blake in another life... Right?

Yang so fucking proud of the woman sitting across from her that it hurt. She didn’t think it was possible to care so much about her and yet, she felt it. That ache in her chest whenever Blake smile and laughed. The way her arms always ached to hold her. How she yearned to tell Blake every single amazing thing about her that Yang admired.

And it scared her. It cared her that she cared so much. It scared her that it could all be taken away in the blink of an eye. And she didn’t know what to do.

Yang watched through the mirror as a small, honest smile crossed Blake’s face and she suddenly felt like she was intruding on a private moment. Blake eyes were soft as she ran her hand along Gambol’s blade, fingers brushing gold in a manner that was almost fond. Yang had her suspicions about the golden addition but kept herself from voicing them. If Blake ever wanted to tell her, she’d listen.

An amused hum drew her attention as Blake met her eyes through the mirror, her smile becoming more lopsided as she quirked a curious brow at Yang.

Now, Yang loved all of Blake’s smiles. But she had noticed that the more lopsided and uneven they were, the more open, honest and vulnerable Blake was letting herself be. An even smile was usually put on, a performance. But the smile Blake was giving her now? Uneven and honest? It was genuine. It was real. And Yang swore that they were even more lopsided around her.

“Can I help you, Miss Xiao Long?” Blake asked playfully, lips twitching into a smirk as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

“Uh…” Yang stalled. What should she say? “No?” She gave a too bright grin, nervousness getting the better of her. Blake just had to keep catching her staring at her, didn’t she?

“Hmm.” Blake hummed, amusement clear in her eyes as she stood up, stretching out her muscles with a groan and walking over to Yang, sitting beside her hip and smiling down at her. “I’m sure.”

“Look, there’s not much to look at in this place so my eyes are just drawn to the prettiest thing.” Yang said with a playful smirk as she brought her knee up and bounced lightly against Blake’s ribs.

“Ahhh.” Blake said. “That explains why you’re looking in the mirror. I always knew you were vain.”

Yang sputtered for a moment before pointing at her friend.

“Okay, first of; smooth.” She admitted with an annoyed huff. “And secondly, shut up.” She added with an embarrassed pout.

Blake giggled behind her hand and Yang melted. What was this girl doing to her?

Blake bit her lip shyly, her hand coming up to fiddle with a… necklace? Huh.

“Never took you for much a jewellery girl.” Yang said with a cocked head, eyebrow raising at the blush that formed on Blake’s face.

“I’m not.” Blake mumbled, taking off the necklace and handing it to Yang to show her the ring that was attached. “But I found this inside a piece of fish during lunch with my mother and… well. I decided to keep it.” She shrugged helplessly.

“Oh. That’s kinda cool.” Yang said as she examined the ring. She felt… odd. Like déjà vu or something. As if she knew this ring. “Can I ask why?”

“Well.” Blake looked away, almost ashamed. “Mum and I went on a picnic while I was back in Kuo Kuana. She wanted to tell me a story because she saw that I wasn’t…” Blake’s nose scrunched up as she searched for the right words. “In a good headspace at the time. She reminded me that I was worthy of my parents. Of my friends. That I was also Adam’s victim as much as anyone else. That they wished they could have protected me from him. And that I’ll always have a home in Kuo Kuana.”

“Oh Blake.” Yang breathed, heart aching for the woman in front of her. “They’re your parents. Of course they love you. Of course you’re worthy of being their kid.”

Blake wiped the corner of her eye and smiled sadly. It made Yang’s heart ache in a more unpleasant way.

“I know.” She said shakily. “But I let him get in my head. Let his lies become my reality. And I’m re-learning what I’m worth. What I deserve without him hanging over my head.” Her lips quirked up slightly. “Helps when a beautiful woman can’t keep her eyes off of me for more than five minutes.” She teased gently, expression soft.

Yang couldn’t help but think that this girl was the definition of bravery.

“Oh very funny.” Yang murmured as she sat up and gently cuffed Blake’s leg playfully. “Dork.” She paused for a moment before speaking. “Can I ask what story she told you?”

When Blake told her the story of the faunus princess and the young human noble, Yang felt her heart break a little.

“God.” She breathed. “That’s… wow.” A thought occurred to her. “Wait. Why did your mum think you needed to hear that story?”

Blake looked away, shame making her ears lay flat.

“I told you that I wasn’t in the beat headspace. She was worried that… I might do something I couldn’t take back.”

Yang felt herself go pale. She quickly reached over and pulled Blake into her lap, holding her close and burying her face in her hair.

“Blake.” She said thickly as Blake melted into her hold.

“I wouldn’t have done anything. I just…” Blake verbally struggled for a minute, head buried in Yang’s shoulder. “Didn’t particularly like myself.”

That was obviously an understatement.

“Blake.” Yang breathed into her hair, tears blurring her vision. “I’m so sorry.” What else could she say? She had just learned that her partner, her best friend and the woman she loved hated herself so much that it scared her own mother. How could she even respond to that? “Do you still feel like that?”

“Sometimes.” Blake answered quietly, honestly. “Some days are worse than others. But I’m getting better.” She pulled back and cupped Yang’s face, pressing her forehead against Yang’s softly. “I’m okay.” She whispered, lips brushing Yang’s nose in a barely there kiss.

“Okay.” Yang mumbled. “But I need you know that you can come to us during the bad moments. You can come to me.”

“I know.” Blake said, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. “Thank you.”

“Um. Here.” Yang coughed as she hand Blake her necklace. “Your-“

Both girls jumped apart when their hands met with the ring in between them.

It was like a jolt of electricity coursed through them, almost seeming to blind them.

It was during that moment of blindness that images flashed through Yang’s mind. Of a beautiful faunus woman with long black hair, black cat ears and golden eyes that felt like home.

She saw the determination in her eyes as she snarled and pressed a blade to Yang’s throat and demanded to know who she was and what she wanted.

She watched as the woman brought her back to her village and demanded that she prove her story.

She witnessed the way the faunus woman’s regard started to soften, her stony exterior melting into something far more tender.

Eyes filled with suspicion shifted to a loving and devoted gaze.

Hands that always held a blade started to carry flowers that would soon find their way into Yang’s hair.

Lips that once snarled warnings soon uttered words of love and adoration.

She felt the heartbreak of their separation and the devastation that she broke her promise to come back home.

And when her vision cleared, she and Blake were both on the floor, expressions matching.

“Did- did you-“ Yang stuttered, not believing what she had just seen.

“See the human and faunus’s lives flash before my eyes?” Blake rasped, eyes filled with unshed tears. “Yeah.”

The two women stared at each other as the pieces slowly came together. The almost instinctual pull that they felt towards each other, the ease with which that they fell into trust, the instant rapport that they developed. They thought of the way they fought together so seamlessly from the start and how Blake didn’t hesitate to throw her weapon to a stranger.

Except… Yang wasn’t a stranger. Was she?

It was why they fell hard and fast. It was why their fighting styles blended so well. And it was why purple and gold screamed home to them.

There was nothing either girl could say as they shakily stood up and stepped over to the other. Their hands entwined on instinct, forehead coming to rest together, that same pull bringing them closer than ever.

When their lips met, Blake and Yang both instantly felt all of their pieces shift, becoming whole for the first time in a long time. Two souls that had been searching for each other for decades longer than they could possibly know, finally reunited.

“Hi.” Yang whispered tearfully as they pulled apart.

“Hi yourself.” Blake murmured against her lips, tears quietly streaming down her face that Yang gently wiped away.

“Sorry it took me so long.”

“Don’t be. I think it took me even longer.”

Yang let out a watery laugh as she pulled Blake in again, hands cupping her jaw as she kissed her lips, her cheeks and jaw.

“I knew that I knew you.” She whispered.

Both women cried and kissed, utterances of love and adoration that neither of their souls had heard for a very long time.

They had both found their way back home. And they’ll be damned if they let anyone chase them away.

[coffeeclubbuchan]

Stressed Out - INabber

So, I hit a block with another thing but I still wanted to write something. I ended up writing a Library AU with Fraser because I was inspired by that goddamn bear ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It’s the first actual piece of writing I’ve ever put up so constructive criticism an’ all that jazz is appreciated! 

Fraser x (gender-neutral) reader

1.7k words

Work had been a lot lately and you were starting to feel the stress catching up with you. Your bosses at this point might have been out to get you with the piles of work they have mounted on top of you. You just wanted it all to slip away; to have a day when the papers and numbers aren’t clouding your brain that leaves you longing for an escape of the mindless work you have to do day in and day out. That’s how you ended up taking a drive on a Saturday - not knowing or caring where you were going, but only hoping to have some sort of fun with it.

You had been driving for about half an hour now and decided to pull onto the side of the road and get out of the car. The weather had been slowly getting worse and soon it was going to be unsafe to drive in. It was starting to pelt it down with rain, so quickly you grabbed your backpack, haphazardly throwing it over your shoulders and darted into the closest building.

That said building was a cozy library, grand old oak bookcases stood high against the walls. Spines of books - old and new - were coated everywhere the eye could reach. There were various wooden desks situated in between the bookcases. Not too many people were currently there but there was a quiet buzz to the room. It was almost tranquil; a polar opposite of what your chaotic life had been recently.

Deciding to not just stand in the doorway forever, you shuffled into the room. Your honest expectation had been for people to turn and look at the newcomer walking into the library - but no, everyone who was there barely even glanced a look at you, which was a huge relief.

You started looking at the front bookshelves, trying to find something to read while waiting out the storm. To an outsider, you would look like you were browsing, but really you just had no clue where anything was and was extremely overwhelmed with what seemed like an endless choice of books.

Nothing immediately grabbed your attention, so you walked deeper into the library. You had walked into the European History section. Now, there had to be something here that you would enjoy. You used your knowledge of the good ol’ Dewey Decimal System you were forced to learn in secondary school to help you locate the books.

‘941, British Isles… no…’ You thought as you scanned around the area; running your index finger along the bookcases as you walked along, noting all the literature surrounding you.

‘944, France and Monaco. I guess I could read about the revolution?’ You started gazing around the self, lost in your own thoughts but was quickly taken out when a voice spoke to you.

“Ma’am, do you need any help finding something?” You turned around to face a tall man (and a good-looking one at that). The light brown-haired guy stared back at you. His features soft and welcoming, with round clear glasses and his hair swept over to the left. He was wearing a dark green and navy tartan button down with black ripped skinny jeans. You read his name tag that was pinned to his shirt - ‘Fraser’ it read and. Oh! He asked you a question! ‘Answer it Y/N!’ You shouted at yourself.

“I’m trying to find something to read while waiting out the storm. I... I don’t know where to start looking” You stated honestly.

“Well, what do you want to read?” The guy - Fraser responded.

“Have you got any suggestions?”  You asked.

“Hmm,” Fraser started, “I normally read fiction, so if you’re only here until the storm blows over you could read something by ‘Terry Pratchett’ or ‘Phillip Pullman’?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. Show me the way o’ wise librarian,” You replied. Fraser turned around but you could see the small grin he had on his face. I mean it wasn’t the best one liner, but you’ll take it.

Fraser led you in between winding bookshelves until you got out of the non-fiction area. It leads straight onto the fiction part of the library, so you both walked forward with you trailing behind.  

Even just from looking at the back of Fraser, you could tell that he was cute looking. It wouldn’t be a surprise to you if he had a girlfriend or boyfriend. You could see his shoulder blades pressed up against the shirt and saw how the clothing clung to his arms. He wasn’t jack ripped, sure, but you could still tell that he had some muscles from working out and you always found lanky boys to be cute and charming, so it didn’t really matter anyway.  

‘Y/N!’ You shouted at yourself, ‘You literally just met the guy and you’re practically planning a wedding! He doesn’t even know your name!’

You didn’t want to give it your internal self (the smug bastard) a point but you have to give it to them. You shouldn’t be thinking about these things when the poor guy was just trying to do his job.

You gripped onto your backpack straps, taking in note the surroundings - it was similar to the other part but had more colour to it; In one corner a specially - 'children's books’ your brain (un)helpfully supplied. In that corner, the walls were painted pastel baby blue, with darker blue bean bags dotted around and you saw a large pink teddy bear sitting propped up against a wall. That had to at least be a 5 foot - why is it so big?!

Fraser looked over his shoulder to make sure you were still following and saw you looking at the pink bear.

“That’s Winnie, Will brought him in and the kids who come in seem to love him, so we’ve just kept him.” Fraser said fondly.

“Who’s Will?”

“He’s another guy who works here, he works on Sundays normally. Said some girl got it for him, I’m not sure - wasn’t really paying attention to him,” Fraser stated and you both walked over to see Mr. Winnie - the big pink bear.  

You each sat down on a bean bag facing each other and you turned your head to look at the bear.

“Hello Winnie, it’s nice to meet you!” You exclaimed while picking up his pink paw to shake.

Fraser looked at you out of the corner of his eye and chuckled. You turned his attention back to Fraser, “Wild guess here, but is he named after Winnie the Pooh?” You questioned.

“Yeah, we aren’t very creative when it comes to name making, and we saw a person looking at the books and just called him that,” Fraser replied.

"I think it's a rather cute name," You said. 'Fucking hell Y/N, laying it on rather thick there' Your inner voice whinnied at you.

You sat and quietly talked to Fraser for another half an hour, you found out that he played League of Legends and that this was his main job, and he created videos as a hobby. (also, he did find out your name during the conversation) The chat was winding down, but Fraser had a curious glint in his eye.

“You wanting to ask something?” You gently asked.

“Yeah... don’t think I’m pushing anything here, but you seem really cool and I want to get to know you more. Are... are you single?” He quietly asked, a blush rose on his cheek bones. “If you're not that’s fine! I’m just asking, and we can be friends and-” He quickly added, babbling on a bit more.

“Fraser,” You stated, moving your hand to rest in on his knee. “I’m single, I’m not seeing anyone.” You chuckled and slightly shook your head.

“Well I was wondering…” The blush that was on his cheek slowly worked its way along his nose, extenuating his freckles even more. “Could I get your number and maybe we can plan to meet up again?” He said. The word ‘date’ never left his mouth but was heavily implied.

And because at heart you're a person for the theatrics, you felt that just putting your number in his phone was too simple. You swung your bag round, so it sat in your lap and went into the front pockets to grab a sharpie. You found it and took Fraser's hand in yours and wrote on his arm.

[xxxxx-xxxxx ~ Y/N] and drew a little heart below and filled it in black. You put the pen back in your bag and swung it back round, pulling the straps back over your shoulders. You stood up from your bean bag and saw Fraser softly running his finger over the heart.

“Text me later,” You said, and he looked up at you with fondness in his eyes. You winked and spun on the heel of your foot. ‘Fuck yeah, what an exit’ You thought, and the rain had cleared up enough to drive, so you made your way around the bookcases and reached the front door.

***

Once you had gotten into your flat, you sat on your couch and started thinking.

‘Today, I never ended up where I expected to. What started as an escape turned into something much more than I could have ever predicted. Was this the thing that could take me out of the pit I’ve been slowly falling into? Maybe the thing I was missing was another person? Someone to help, care, comfort, protect, joke -’

A loud ping off your phone took you out of your thoughts. You sat up straighter and grabbed your phone - seeing it was from an unknown number.

“hey! Its fraser from the library! did you get home okay? are the roads bad?”

As you were reading the text a few more came in -

“If the roads are too bad I can come pick you up if you want?”

“Wait if your driving dont respond to that”

“oh god please dont crash because you were reading my texts”

‘Yeah’ You giggled to yourself ‘this is definitely going to be the start of something special’

[xxrainbow-princessxx]

Unspoken Truths - Royal Romance/TRR AU

As things come to a head, can Isabella or Leo find some mutual agreement? Does Liam, Drake and Leo’s hunt for Barthemely gain momentum?

Chapter list:

Chapter 1: Enough

Chapter 2: Homeward Bound

Chapter 3: Band of Brothers

Chapter 4 Dearest Sympathies

Chapter 5: No Expectations

Chapter 6: Line of Succession

Tag list: @lorirwritesfanfic @drakewalkerfantasy @desireepow-1986 @rainbowsinthestorm @lorircreates @itslaniquelove @liam-rhys @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @kimmiedoo5 @rafasgirl23415 @kingliam2019 @mom2000aggie @texaskitten30 @the-everlasting-dream

Trigger warning: Violence, death, premonition of death, sexual innuendo, swearing

“We’re getting nowhere!” Liam barked slamming his fist onto the table, “If Barthelemy has been under our noses this whole time, where the hell could he be hiding?!” Drake began to slowly shake his head, “...we’ve checked every corner of each of the provinces over the past two weeks... you don’t think...” Drake ran his fingers through his hair, his dark features smouldering in the dimly lit room, “Maxwell’s and Bertrand’s disappearance will have spooked him?” Liam took a deep breath, his shoulders were tense as he stared at the map of the Cordonian Kingdom, “No...” Liam’s tongue clicked “...we’re obviously missing something...” tracing his finger across the North River. “We’ve had the Kings guard check each of these points...” Drake agreed, “Yes, and they are currently in the Valtoria forests... should we send in another party to scour the Fydelia to Portavira intersection?” Leo stood on the veranda with one hand in his jean pocket whilst taking a drag of a cigarette staring out into the Cordonian landscape. He was glad that Liam was now focusing on what was important; he was fighting for what he believed in but he missed Isabella, he missed his own family. As Leo’s sea green eyes gazed towards the flickering stars that glistened in the dark midnight sky, he wondered if they missed him too? Once Camille was safe, it would allow Liam to return to rule the Kingdom in his own way and if anything; this would establish a message to neighbouring Kingdom’s that Cordonia is not for sale.

Once everything was signed and sealed. Leo would finally be able to let go. He would finally feel like the burden he placed upon his brother’s shoulders when he abdicated would become less painful or at least, in his heart, the guilt he held to gain his own personal freedoms would no longer keep him up at night. It had been over a decade since Leo abdicated but Leo felt duty bound to repay that debt, no matter his own cost. Drake looked over his shoulder, sighing as he watched Leo standing quietly in the archway; the cigarette smoke lingering in the Cordonian air. “Liam...” Drake began to shake his head, “He needs to talk to her...” whispering under his breath so Leo didn’t hear. Liam nodded in agreement as he sadly looked out towards his brother, “He’s more like Father than he cares to admit...” Drake snorted at the comparison as Liam up the map that had been sprawled across the desk, “Leo is crazy if he thinks that Sánchez will be sitting waiting for him when he gets back?” handing Drake the map, Liam shrugged his shoulders, “My brother and his wife’s circumstances are none of our concern...” Drake’s dark brow lifted as he angrily the map from Liam, “Talk to him...” Drake snapped, “He’s throwing his marriage away to help you and that’s all you can say?! If you don’t say something...”

Liam took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose, “This is not the time, go rally the Guards before we lose the cover of darkness...” Drake had heard enough, gritting his teeth, he stared down his friend and King, “Make it the goddamn time!” before pushing passed Liam. It was hard for Drake knowing the truth, even after all these years - he adored her. Isabella was the only one that Drake felt was there for him with no agenda. Anything Drake ever needed, she did without him having to ask. Many a night he crashed in her townhouse when he needed to get away from the suffocating pageantry of the Cordonian Palace or needed to vent about life in general she supplied the alcohol and listened but deep down Drake knew if he interfered, he would say something he’d immediately regret. Running his fingers through his dark mane, he refocused proceeded to the Guards armour to plan for the next search. “Bas...” Drake quietly murmured, “Tonight’s checkpoints are the Valtorian Pass and the Fydelia to Portavira intersection...” Drake picked up rounds of ammunition and a rifle, throwing it’s strap over his shoulder, “I’ll head out with the second team to the Valtorian Pass... you head out to Fydelia...” Bastien nodded before signalling to the guards to fall out, “You heard the man... let’s go!”

Drake’s words however played on Liam’s conscious. He wasn’t Isabella’s biggest fan by any means but he knew deep down that she made his brother happy and that’s all that mattered. Pouring himself and Leo a drink, Liam walked out onto the veranda where his brother had stood silently for what felt like hours, “Here...” Liam handed him the crystal tumbler as he sighed, “I appreciate the sentiment brother... but putting your marriage on the line...” The Cordonian King’s sparkling river blue eyes met his brother’s, placing a hand gently onto his shoulder, “You don’t have to do this...” Leo bit down on his bottom lip as he held the bourbon in his hand, “I must do something...” he murmured before taking a drink, “I won’t allow Cordonia to fall...” Liam remained quiet as he allowed his brother to speak, “Felipe mentioned before that he knew the Cordonian Royal Council were dirty rats but even I could never have believed him...” shaking his head, Leo sighed heavily, as his grip onto the tumbler tightened, “These people were our family, our friends....” turning his head, he glared at Liam, Leo’s sea green eyes burned with hatred, “... how can I trust the woman I married when I can’t even trust my own fucking shadow right now?!” Liam tilted his head slightly, his heart heavy as he empathised with Leo, “Brother... you need to speak with Isabella... I’m sure she would understand... You still love her don’t you?”

Leo’s sea green eyes rolled to the left towards his brother sadly, “With all my heart... Of course I do...” a lump was forming in his throat as Liam placed his hand on Leo’s shoulder, a passive smile barely graced his face, “Tell her before it’s too late...” Leo nodded pensively and without a word returned to his suite twisting his wedding ring as he walked. The pure Laurentian gold band was plain but it stood for much more than just their marriage; it was everything he and Isabella ever fought for. It wasn’t new that Leo lay in an empty bed without Isabella beside him; the last six months affirmed that but with a deep breath, Leo removed his phone staring at the lock screen. Isabella’s bright, warm dazzling smile drew him in and made him fall in love with her all over again every single day. He could almost hear her giggling happily in the quiet room as he took the simple photograph of her smiling back at him. Closing his eyes, Leo sighed heavily. What he wouldn’t give for Isabella to look at him like that again. “You have no idea...” he quietly spoke, running his finger down the screen, “...how much I miss you...” Biting down onto his lip, Leo began to type, holding his breath as he sent Isabella a message, the first time they had spoken in weeks.

‘Can we talk?’

‘Please...’

Isabella’s dark chocolate brown eyes rolled to the left as she saw her phone lighting up. Her heart was in her throat as Sasha and Lia pouted, “Is that papa?” Turning her phone over, Isabella raised her brow, “You two need to focus on getting ready for school, than what’s on my phone...” as she nursed Nico, brushing his little cheeks gently. “But Mama...” the pair begged, “Can we FaceTime him later?” Isabella began to sigh, “Mi queridas... he is busy, I can’t promise anything...” Leo’s texts infuriated her but she couldn’t allow her children to see the pain she felt, “Now go get dressed you two... Jimena will need to take you to school today...” Unimpressed, the pouting Princesses slid off of their chairs sulking off towards their room knowing it was best not to argue with their mother. Isabella rested her elbow onto the table, cradling her head as she looked at the empty chair to her right where Leo would have sat each morning. She was so confused, on one hand, he made her blood boil - the other; she still loved him which made things so much harder. Isabella reluctantly opened the messages, her cheeks sucked in as her eyes gazed upon the text. “You want to talk huh?” she sarcastically mumbled, “Look Nico...” as she cradled the little one “...Your papa actually has something to say...” before rolling her eyes and coldly replying,

‘Fine... but you can video call me in Conference Room 2...”

Isabella knew she’d have to wait; Leo was never on time on a good day let alone when he was on Cordonian time. Fixing her nightdress, she lifted her baby boy upwards giggling before she rested him against her chest rubbing his little back. She cooed happily as Nico snuggled into her shoulder, “Who loves you?? Mama loves you!” as she carefully carried him back to her suite. Since Leo had left, Isabella had the crib moved to her room - he wasn’t there to complain that the kids were in the room or the baby’s crying would keep either of them awake. Sitting up on her bed, Isabella propped the infant against her legs, tickling him and making funny faces as he smiled back at her trying to giggle, “Sí mi amor... puedes hacerlo...” she cooed, “Eso es....” as Nico stared up at her with his father’s green eyes, Isabella could only beam with delight, her and Leo’s children were getting her through this mess. It was hard shielding them from the rows and pain she felt but she tried her hardest. “Who’s my handsome little Prince... huh?” Isabella carefully brushed Nicolás’ soft sandy blonde hair back as he was drifting off to sleep. Isabella gently manoeuvred herself to place Nico into his crib. As his little body was placed onto the mattress, Isabella bit down onto her lower lip. He was his father’s double, same hair, same eyes, same nose and like his father, he was the most beautiful boy his mother set eyes on. Swallowing hard, Isabella brushed his cheek, “Please when you are old enough, don’t you break someone’s heart like your father’s broke mine...”

Stirring the spoon in her afternoon tea, Isabella tapped the silverware against the delicate china crockery. She was becoming anxious that Leo hadn’t called yet and it was near time that the girls arrived back from school. Isabella was famously known for being patiently impatient as her long manicured nails tapped the table waiting for Leo to call. Isabella felt her chest tightening as the screen updated, the waiting video call was just a push of a button away. Would she get the answers she wanted? Would Leo tell her he was coming home? Did he even still love her? Nervously she accepted the call, her heart racing with trepidation as the screen flickered to see her husband looking at her. “Hey...” Leo spoke softly, “You look...Sorry I’m only...” Isabella sat still, her stony expression only added to the icy atmosphere between them. Leo began to run his fingers through his sandy blonde hair nervously as he cleared his throat, “Yeah...” she mumbled, “So... how are the kids?” Isabella raised her left brow slowly as her lips finally parted speaking quite matter of fact, “They miss you... they want to know when their father is coming back or if he is coming back...” Leo began to shake his head sadly as he shrugged his muscular frame, “Bella I...”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” The Laurentian Queen screamed, “It’s a simple answer!” as she gesticulated her arms widely, eyes darkening with anger, “Why the fuck are you playing games? There’s only two options here Leo, either you want to be here or you fucking don’t!” He was not in the mood to be chastised, taking a deep breath Leo clicked his tongue, “Isabella... we’re not all as fucking perfect as you... Things are complicated right now, I need more time...” Isabella’s lips began to pout, taking a moment to process what Leo had just said to her. “Time?” Isabella questioned, “You’ve had nearly six weeks of time!” slamming her hands into the table caused her china cup and saucer to shake, “I am trying to understand right now Leo I really... really am...” Isabella’s nostrils began to flare, “But you are making this exceptionally difficult!” Gritting his teeth, Leo tried to hold in his anger, “You’re not fucking listening!” he growled, “I’ve already told you, I can’t go into details! It’s not safe...” Lowering her head, Isabella pressed her fingers against her temples taking a deep breath before looking up at Leo. Her lips were pursed, eyes narrowed slightly as she finally spoke, “I can’t live in a marriage that’s based on secrets or lies... if you can’t talk to me, then...” she began to laugh shrugging her shoulders, “what is the point of anything?” Leo began to beg, “Bella... don’t... no...” but Isabella simply shook her head, tears began to roll whilst her mascara stained her cheeks, “I’m done... I can’t live my life waiting on a promise...” Leo closed his eyes, it felt like a knife was stabbed through his heart, “Kitten... don’t do this...” he began to panic, “I’ll tell you everything!!” Leo held his hands up as a knock came at the door, “... just...just wait!” but Isabella moved, her finger hovering over the end call button, “No...” she sniffed as she pressed the button. The Queen stood from the table wiping her tears as best she could with the sides of her index fingers, blinking away the excess, “Yes... come in...” she cleared her throat until her eyes widened, “Your Majesty...” Jimena rolled her eyes, “Duke Ramsford to see you in the throne room... he insisted you made yourself available...”

[maximumsnow]

Chapters: 5/? Fandom: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, HLVRAI - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Gordon Freeman, Tommy Coolatta, Dr. Coomer (Half-Life), Bubby (Half-Life), Benrey (Half-Life)

Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-typical swearing, Basically an au exploring what if HLVRAI followed Half Life a little more closely, Au where there isn't a betrayal in that one spot, Mainly was wondering what would happen to the others if they hadn't been in on it., Some things change some don't, Oh also this is sort of intended as a not a game au Summary:Anyone who knows original Half-Life knows that the ambush happens in that spot no matter what. What would have happened if the ambush was as rough for the others? Chapter Summary: We meet up with some friendly and some not so friendly faces.

The locker room’s other entrance opened up to a break area for the lab workers on this side of the complex. Immediately to their left, there were vending machines, but before Gordon could fully lift his crowbar to the soda one, Tommy shook his head vehemently. “We-we can do that later.”

“Yeah, when we’re not in danger,” Bubby added on curtly and tried to push Gordon’s shoulder so that he would move.

Utterly shocked that Tommy turned down the opportunity for free soda, Gordon was stunned in place. He had only started the action with the assumption that Tommy and probably Bubby would want to continue things as usual, but hearing them both shoot down the idea threw that out the window.

It made something in his chest twist in concern.

When he could get his feet to move, he could see more of the break area. There was a section with more comfortable chairs parked in front of a TV that now only showed multi-colored bars that usually preceded a service announcement. There was also a shelf with books, but the chairs by that weren’t nearly as comfortable looking.

… He could almost hear Coomer going on his chair spiel. A part of him hoped that he would be able to actually hear it again.

The eating area looked like a tornado had spawned long enough just enough to throw the tables and chairs around before disappearing again. What was more concerning was that there was a pool of something dark as ink in the middle of the room that then turned into a large, smeared trail on the floor leading down the hallway to the offices.

“Well, that’s not terrifying,” Gordon said when they stopped at it. “Hey didn’t you- WAIT, DON’T TOUCH IT!” Bubby had knelt down to poke at the strange substance, but Gordon was quick to yank him away from it by the back of his labcoat.

“What was that for?” Bubby was clearly unhappy at being manhandled and grabbed at Gordon’s hand to make him let go.

With him out of danger, Gordon released his hold on Bubby. “We don’t know what that is! For all we know, it could be poison or something that will make your finger fall off!”

“Hey guys, isn’t there- Didn’t you say that there’s a big monster in here? Killing the military? Maybe this is its blood?” Tommy managed to cut off any further sniping by directing them back to the present problem. “Also, why haven’t we seen any dead soldiers?”

“I didn’t see it killing them. I just assumed it since they never came back.” Bubby readjusted his glasses as he continued looking at the blood-like substance. “… Looks like they did a number on it here, though.”

“It’s not green like the other aliens’ blood we’ve seen...” Whatever the hell it was, it wasn’t something they had dealt with before. While Gordon didn’t care if the soldiers survived or not, he hoped that they had taken care of the creature. It had to have been massive to leave that much blood here, and he was unsure if Tommy was good enough to take out something that big in a few shots.

Any further musing was interrupted by something moving out the corner of his eye, and his head shot up along with the others. Tommy was already pointing his gun down the hallway where Gordon could see something moving. The flickering lights made it difficult to make out exactly what it was, but he could tell it was humanoid and dragging something behind it.

It raised its free arm and waved. “Hello! It’s me! Your friend, Dr. Coomer!” The voice immediately put Gordon and the others at ease. Bubby no longer looked like he was going to bolt, and Tommy pointed his gun down.

As Coomer got closer, he could see that he was dragging a sledgehammer-like contraption straight out of Fallout. After a minute, he shifted his grip and then balanced the unwieldy weapon across his shoulders.

He was also completely ignoring the blood trail and walking in it.

Gordon tried to wave him down before he took another step. “Hey- uh, Hey. Coomer? Hey Coomer? You probably don’t want to walk in that.”

“I’ll be fine! A little alien blood never hurt anyone.” Coomer continued his casual stroll towards them, but he did get out of the trail. Once he was close enough, Gordon couldn’t help but look him over.

Dr. Coomer appeared perfectly fine. There weren’t any notable injuries, and while his clothes looked dirty, that wasn’t exactly new. The only new addition to his ensemble was the souped up sledgehammer.

“God, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Gordon couldn’t help but say as he patted him on the shoulder. “Was getting worried about you.”

“I’m in tip-top shape! Handling a couple of boot boys was no trouble for me.” He also didn’t seem too perturbed by The Incident. Which was fine, Gordon guessed; he wouldn’t say no to a little normalcy. At least the Science Team was mostly back together now.

“Any idea what made this shithole a bigger mess than usual?” Bubby impatiently asked.

“Oh, probably the fight between that alien monster and a group of soldiers, Professor.”

“Doctor.” Predictably, Bubby corrected Coomer and Gordon contained his groan as he prepared to get the topic back on track of Alien Monster Fighting the Soldiers.

Until Coomer said, “My apologies, Doctor.” Bubby’s eyebrows drew together, and his eyes narrowed when their usual bit didn’t continue, but Gordon sighed in relief. “Anyway, there were a lot of them running through and throwing explosives, so I decided to hide.”

“What did the monster look like?”

“I didn’t get a good look since I had to hide. Though, I think I saw colors that didn’t exist! All I can tell you was that it was bigger than a human, had claws, and it went that way.” Coomer emphasized his point by pointing towards the exit. Where the trail clearly lead. “Which is also the only way to go if you want to find someone who can let us out of here.”

Gordon tangled a hand in his hair before smoothing it back. “Great, so we still don’t know what it is, and we have to go that way.”

“You got it!”

“… Thanks.” Gordon wasn’t frustrated with him, but it would have been nice to know what they might be walking into.

“Let’s get a move on, gentlemen.” Coomer wasted no time in leading them down the hallway; taking the lead from Tommy as if that was the most natural thing in the world. Gordon nearly called Coomer back to fix the marching order, but then he noticed that Tommy’s hold on his gun had loosened considerably.

Maybe giving Tommy a break would be a good thing.

The floor sloped upwards, and while the angle wasn’t steep, the inky fluid that had smeared itself everywhere made the trip more perilous than it should have been. Even if the possible alien blood was harmless, it still made the floor sticky, and Tommy had had to offer a steadying arm more than once to the two injured parties.

Coomer kept his lead and didn’t look back.

He did, however, stop when the hall took a sharp turn, and he held up a hand for them to stop once they finally caught up with him.

Bubby opened his mouth to snap a question when an unknown voice shouted, “What the actual fuck!?” The heavily filtered voice made everyone freeze in place with bated breath. “What did they find down here?”

A different voice answered, “Dunno and don’t care. Smith says he took care of it, but to keep an eye out while we pick up the goods.”

As the conversation continued, they noticed that the voices were getting closer. Coomer hefted the sledgehammer as he readied a swing, and Gordon began nudging Bubby backwards. Thankfully, the stubborn man took the hint and ducked behind the human with literal body armor.

The casual reference to “goods” probably meant Bubby and Coomer, since it appeared that Tommy’s earlier guess about the military wanting any Black Mesa experiments they could get their hands on was correct. It pissed him off. Bubby and Coomer were people, and he didn’t doubt that the military planned on treating them as far less than that.

Maybe it was dumb of Gordon to insist on staying in front of him, but even if Bubby was more durable than most humans, Gordon didn’t want him getting more hurt than he already was.

The pair of soldiers that rounded the corner never stood a chance. One precise shot from Tommy, and the one without a gas mask was down, and the other one’s head was caved in and flattened with one swing from Coomer’s weapon.

Ignoring the blood that had splattered onto him, Coomer quickly knelt down to grab at the assault rifle, but tumbled backwards when shouting echoed through the hallway. “There they are! Get them!” The sound of heavy boots running towards them was unmistakable.

As was the sight of a grenade landing right in front of them.

“SHIT, GOTTA MOVE!” Gordon had already started backing up before turning around and bolting down the hallway while pushing Bubby ahead of him. They made it back to the first turn when the explosion went off. Thankfully, they were far enough away to avoid the worst of it, but Gordon could still feel some shrapnel bouncing off the HEV suit even at that distance.

A quick head count told him that Bubby and Coomer had followed, and while Coomer’s presence was a little surprising, the immediate problem was that Tommy was nowhere to be seen.

“TOMMY!?” There wasn’t a white coat on the floor with the now decimated soldier corpses, but that didn’t mean he was safe. In fact, given the fact that Gordon could hear bullets being exchanged, it meant that Tommy was in even more danger. He wasted no time in trying to charge back up the hallway, even as his legs protested all the extra movement. “He must’ve gone ahead!”

Coomer was quick to outpace him even while carrying the sledgehammer. “HYAAH!” The shout was loud enough to make Gordon’s ears ache, and he couldn’t help but slow down as the stout scientist sprinted past.

Bubby wasn’t far behind, but he stopped to pick up the now ownerless assault rifle. The confident smirk was back on his face. “Let’s give them hell!” He shouted before hobbling up as quickly as he could.

Gordon kept up with Bubby and entered what he vaguely recognized as a lobby with skylights. He didn’t get much time to look at much else before a bullet ricocheted way too close to him. Bubby was already shooting back, and he could see Tommy ducked down behind a barrier reloading. Coomer’s zealous sprint had taken him to the far side of the lobby already, and given the blood splatter on the walls nearby and on Coomer himself, he had already taken someone out.

No one else saw the camouflaged figure stalking its way behind Tommy’s position.

Gordon charged towards him as he yelled, “Tommy, watch out!” He could see Tommy’s head jerk up and around, but the soldier had already leveled his shotgun to take a shot in point blank range.

Without much thought, Gordon did the only thing he knew he could do. His momentum carried him straight into Tommy, knocking them both over and onto the ground. He could feel the bullets whiz by overhead, and one pinged off the back of the HEV suit.

He heard the soldier suddenly start choking, and when he could make himself focus again, he could see that Tommy somehow managed to keep his grip on his gun and shot the soldier in the throat from his position on the floor.

The soldier collapsed in a miserable pile, leaving his shotgun up for grabs. Gordon scrambled off of Tommy to grab it before thinking to ask, “You okay? And uh, do you want this?”

Tommy’s breathing hadn’t slowed down yet, but he gave a shaky smile. “I’m f-fine. Thanks, Mr. Freeman. And uh, you should take that for now.” With that line, he stood back up and fired a round at the soldier that he had been playing sniper war with.

He just won, judging by the lack of a responding bullet.

Gordon checked the shotgun’s ammo as he kept an eye on the others, and once he was satisfied with it, he slowly got himself up. He knew his body was going to hate him in the morning, but he had to make sure they all got to see that morning.

Bubby had taken cover behind the reception desk while exchanging shots with a pair of soldiers hiding behind some metal crates, and after checking for danger, Gordon ran towards him with Tommy following.

With all three of them ducked behind the desk, Bubby snarled, “They keep hiding before I can blow their brains out!”

“Got any explosives? Maybe we can flush them out?” Gordon suggested as he tried to peek over the desk. A gunshot made him fall back down quickly while clenching the shotgun.

“I’ve- I’ve got a grenade.” Tommy offered before pulling out the referenced weapon.

Bubby reached over Gordon to snatch it out of Tommy’s hand. “Yes, that will work. But I need someone to distract them before I can throw it.”

Again, with barely a thought, Gordon acted on impulse and threw the shotgun he had just acquired into the middle of the room. The thunk and clatter of the tossed firearm drew the attention of the soldiers for just long enough for Bubby to stand up and toss the grenade right behind the boxes they had hidden behind.

The explosion was preceded by a couple of muffled swears, but once the dust settled, silence fell over the lobby. Behind the desk, the three Science Team members kept quiet as they all listened for the heavy footsteps that they had all come to associate with the US military.

After minute that felt like hours, Tommy slowly stood up and scanned the room. Once he deemed it safe, he gestured for the others to stand, and Gordon was able to finally get a good look at what remained of the lobby.

The room had been taken over as a military outpost, but this one was wrecked even more than usual after one of their fights. There were a lot more bodies that Gordon knew they had put there, and it looked like several of them were missing pieces. There was also the matter of the dark blood splattering random parts of the floor and walls from the creature getting shot and blown up.

What the fuck? How was it still moving? And how did that one guy ‘handle it???’ He could see that the trail lead down the open hallway, and he had to assume that it had chased its prey in that direction.

“Where’s Dr. Coomer?” Tommy’s question was a much more immediate concern, and Gordon quickly looked around as his heart rate picked back up.

“Last I saw, he took out someone by the exit over there,” He finally said. “Shit, did he go ahead?”

“Probably. Pretty sure I saw a soldier take off that way.” Bubby had made his way over to the shotgun that Gordon had carelessly thrown. “Since you tossed it at the first opportunity, I’m guessing you don’t want it.”

“I didn’t-” He caught himself and sighed. “You know what? Fine, you can have it.” Clearly his head was not on straight if his first instinct was to throw the gun and not the crowbar. Bubby seemed pleased to rebuild his arsenal, anyway, so Gordon let the matter go.

“How about I go get Coomer while you guys stock up?” He wasn’t too worried about Coomer, but he didn’t want the guy to get too far ahead. And since he didn’t doubt Coomer’s efficiency, it was very unlikely that there were any survivors.

He also didn’t want to waste the opportunity for them to restock their supplies, and between all the supply crates and dead soldiers, they could easily get back up to their pre-ambush levels.

Tommy’s eyebrows drew together in concern. “Are you- Are you sure, Mr. Freeman?”

“Yeah, I should be fine. You and Bubby just pick everything clean, and we can distribute it once I get back.” The nonchalant wave he did was definitely forced, but they didn’t need to worry. “We heard them say that they ‘took care of the problem’, so whatever was making such a mess is gone, too.” With his crowbar in hand, he crossed the remainder of the lobby and entered the next hallway.

“Don’t stay gone too long!” Bubby’s shout followed him.

As he rounded the first corner, he was met with yet another dead soldier, and he elected to not inspect the blunt force damage too closely. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he could feel the aches in his muscles protesting again along with his head. No point in tempting fate and making himself sick in the process.

The path split, but since one direction was blocked off by automatic doors that were refusing to open, he was forced to follow the path the strange creature took. Or that’s what he would guess based on the continued splotches of blood that continued to pop up.

Even if the thing was dead, what was left behind sure made him feel like he was walking into a horror movie.

There were stairs going upwards in the side hallway, and soon he realized that he was standing on the balcony overseeing the lobby. Bubby and Tommy were currently dumping everything they found behind the desk, but didn’t seem to notice his presence above them. Just the sight of his friends helped ground him and quieted his anxieties that threatened to overtake him.

But he didn’t want to disturb them with his illogical worries right now, so he continued his trek.

The next hallway quickly rounded another corner and lead into another set of automatic doors. Through the window, he could see Coomer’s familiar head of white hair, and didn’t think twice about marching forward.

As the doors opened, Gordon raised a hand to wave and said, “Hey, Dr. Coomer-” He stopped as he took in the sight.

Coomer had his sledgehammer swung back like he was about to play a strength game at a carnival as he apparently aimed at something on the specimen table.

That something was the spitting image of Coomer with cloth tightly bound over his mouth, and he was lacking arms and legs.

[foodcourtdetective]

thinking too hard

summary: barry berkman has been trying to forget about his soulmate for both of their sakes, but Y/N is making it very hard and using their soulmate connection to draw all over him.

tags: angsty, soulmate au, love at first sight, very brief Barry x Sally, definitely a happy ending!

A/N: I’m just really into soulmate!au’s and Barry Berkman okay?!?! (and // means time passes)

word count 2.4k

AO3 x

He hated Los Angeles. Barry’s long sleeve shirt stuck to him in the desert heat, sweat pooling in his armpits and on his back. NoHank asked him about his outfit choice, offering him a short-sleeved shirt or a tank top.

“You want to take one of their shirts? They won’t mind, they’re confident in their bodies!” NoHank said, gesturing over to the Chechen recruits. Barry shook his head, clearing his throat in discomfort. After a moment, NoHank made a movement to push up Barry’s sleeves for him, but Barry was too quick and grabbed NoHank’s pinky, bending it all the way back.

“Shit shit, okay okay! Someone has body issues! We will talk about accepting your body some other time then.” Barry ignored him, staring coldly ahead as the young Chechen recruit finally hit a beer can with his bullet.

//

When he finally got back to his apartment, Barry made a beeline for the bathroom, nodding briefly at Jermaine and Nick on his way. After peeling off his shirt and grabbing the sink, Barry took a look at his body or rather what was on it. Today, his soulmate had kept it simple: a heart on his wrist, a note to pick up two lattes at 9, and a flower chain that started at his trigger finger and trailed all the way up his forearm. He sighed, holding back a soft smile as her traced up the stem of flowers with his other pointer fingers. As he ended the journey at his inner forearm, Barry stopped to see a less traditional note: written on his upper chest right over his heart, in simple cursive, it read please talk to me, Barry. A deep sigh filled the tiny bathroom and he gently caressed their handwriting.  The familiar movement triggered a whirl of memories.

Writing excitedly on his leg the moment he turned sixteen to introduce himself to his soulmate only to get no response. Giving up on love and joining the Marines shortly after. Noticing the shy hello scribbled on his hand seven years later when he was already too far gone. Writing to them any chance he got once he find out the silence was because they had not been old enough yet. Learning her name was Y/N and that she lived in California. Having to break off communication once Fuches put him to work. The sharp lines she had drawn as she had asked if he could feel the sharp indent of her pen, told him that ignoring them for their own good was ridiculous. The obscene images Y/N had drawn all over him the first couple of years, trying to get an angry message from him, any message.

His heart sank, but Barry knew as much as it hurt both of them, it was better for them to move on, to pretend to not have a soulmate. God knows Barry would rather hide her away, hide his shot at happiness, than have her be tortured or worse by any of his enemies or allies. He groaned, his knuckles turning whiter than the sink.

//

His acting class didn’t know what to make of him at first; his long, dark clothing sharply contrasted their tight shorts and tank tops, skin flaunting their connections. But despite himself, Barry grew close to Sally, a girl who had never seen any marks on her body. After hearing that Barry also had a blank canvas, she pounced on him with a marker she had seemingly pulled out of nowhere, drawing a star on his knuckles. However, despite her persistence, no matching star appeared on her own. Sally declared them star-crossed soulmates and asked him on a date.

After a late night of drinks, Barry found himself making out with Sally on her couch. She went to pull off his shirt and for the first time in his life, he mindlessly complied, distracted by the intimacy. Sally suddenly shot up from the couch, crying out as she pointed to the drawings adorning his chest. Y/N had seen the star Sally had drawn and, hopeful that it was a message to her, drew out an intricate night sky. Hidden among the stars, scrawled out in cursive, she wrote I’m here when you’re ready, Barry. -Y/N.

“How dare you! You lied just to get into my pants?!” Sally tripped over herself to pick up his discarded shirt, balling it up to chuck at him. Barry pulled it on, dazed all the way home until he saw the message glint in the mirror as he was getting undressed. Barry slammed his fist into the wall, shouting out in frustration. Ass his phone rang, the caller ID revealing it was Fuches, Barry scrambled to put his shirt back on, scribbling a message to Y/N on the fleshy part of his bicep. I’m a hitman. Don’t message me unless you want to die.

//

After the assignment, Barry found himself staring at his chest and reading her pleas to talk further. That’s not funny. Barry. Barry! Oh my god, you’re serious. That explains a few things. You gotta talk to me, your soulmate? I need to know why. Barry sighed, wandering over to his bedroom to get a pen from his desk. He sat on the bed, anxiously fiddling with the pen in between his fingers before writing on his trigger finger: you still want to talk to me? He waits, watching the loopy letters sweep down his arm like a signature under the floral art she continued to draw every day.

Yes, I have a death wish. He laughed at the absurdity of their conversation before responding.

Why are all artists suicidal?

See, I’d rather have this with you than live without it. Her words made him freeze in his tracks, his fingers gently stroking over the confession as they faded away, scrubbed off by the writer. She filled the now empty space with a series of numbers; Barry furrowed his brow, trying to decode the secret message. After a moment Y/N wrote again underneath them.

Running out of space! Text me! He hesitated, his heart in his throat as he debated if the convenience was worth sacrificing her safety. Finally, with shaking hands, he dialed the number and hit call. A soft hello followed the ringing, the voice so angelic that he knew he would do whatever she asked him to do.

“I said text, not call! You do know how to read, right?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s nice to hear your voice!”

“What? No, I mean I’m sorry for…” Barry trailed off, his mind swarmed by memories of pushing her away and feeling her anguish through the pointy pen tip.

“You wanted to protect me. I get it. Now we’re even from when I couldn’t write to you.”

“That wasn’t intentional.”

“It would have been! I was a pretty rebellious eleven year old.” He laughed, the silence after he finishes awkward until he breaks it.

“I’m in LA.”

“For work?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Barry doodles a flower on his thumb. It’s not as pretty as any of hers, but she draws a faint heart around it. He brushes the heart, his own beating so loudly it was in his ears.

“I’m scared.”

“Me too.”

“Because of who I am? What I do?” His throat was thick from holding back the dam of emotion, but his voice managed to crack in desperation.

“I’m scared you’re going to leave me again.” Barry paused at that, his own heart breaking a little at the thought of all of the pain he must have caused Y/N by abandoning her. He’s now drawing a bouquet on his forearm, a sloppier version of her own.

“You don’t have to be afraid of that. Once I see you for the first time, I’m probably never going to leave you alone ever again… Not in a creepy way…”

“I would love that.”

“I’m giving you an out right now. You can hang up, stay in the safety of your life as a… what do you do again?”

“Graphic design!”

“I knew you were an artist!”

“And I knew you were a comedian!”

“Weird way of pronouncing what I actually do…” She giggled at that, falling quiet after a hearty laugh.

“Look at your leg. I’ll see you there at 9. Don’t be late!” As she hung up, Barry pressed his phone to his lips in shock. Remembering her words, he pulled his pants down to read the directions she had jotted onto his thigh, the dots in the I’s drawn as hearts instead of dots; he almost died of pure joy right then and there.

//

In hindsight, it was good that Y/N had suggested a coffee shop to meet because Barry had not gotten a wink of sleep the entire night. He had stared at the ceiling, flat on his back and still fondly stroking her writing on his leg. As his pointer finger traced the hearts, he felt his own thud loudly in his chest. It was easier to protect her when she was just lines on his person, just another part of him that he hated, another vulnerability. But hearing Y/N’s voice, imagining what she might look like, had ignited a wanting within him, a need to be with her, his other half. She was no longer just a part of him; she was a separate entity that he wanted to get to know and love.

He had gotten to the shop as soon as it opened at 4, wanting to figure out where the best table inside would be and staking it out for them. The barista had made him order a drink at 5:30; panicked and feeling about a thousand years old, Barry ordered “something to bring me back to life.” At 6 he was shuttering, borderline convulsing from the quad espresso that he consumed quickly. His anxiety was through the room, but all he could do was dig his fingernails into his palm which was resting on his jeans over her handwriting. What if she wasn’t as okay with the age difference as she thought she was? What if it hits her that her soulmate is a hitman? What if the drawings stop appearing. What if—

Barry jolted awake in his seat, now realizing that he had crashed from the overdose of caffeine. The barista (Stacie, he later learned) made a joke about having to restart his heart. He checked his phone: 8:30am. Suddenly, a thought dawned on him and he ordered another drink. By the time Stacie brought it over and started walking back to the counter, the bell above the door tingled. Barry immediately stood up like Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, turning to look at the customer. She sensed his stare immediately, turning to look him over as a dreamy blush painted her cheeks.

“Barry?” She whispered, his name less of a question and more of a disbelief. He swallowed, his throat dry as he looked over Y/N, his soulmate. She was absolutely picturesque, an almost pure aura of light around her as the door slowly shut behind her. As she drew near, Barry was almost too aware of how he towered over, a menacing presence.

“I gotcha a latt-“ Barry didn’t even get to finish his stuttering as Y/N grabbed his collar and pulled him down into a kiss. His mouth was already half open and he stumbled forward from the force of her tug. It wasn’t the most coordinated kiss in the world, her mouth mostly on his bottom lip and her teeth lightly bumped his by accident; but it was theirs. Barry felt his body fill with a warmth, like his whole being was sighing with relief at being united with his soulmate as he kissed her back. He had thought that the doodles and the sound of her voice would do him in, but this… this would knock his entire life’s path off track. After a moment, Barry gently placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled away, just looking down at her in awe.

“How did you know my coffee order?” Y/N asked, her grin stretched out wider than Barry previously thought possible. He babbled for a few seconds, removing his hands to gesticulate as he just expressed a bunch of word fillers before finally managing to get something out.

“Y-you, you wrote it on your hand as a-a part of your to-to-to do list,” he explained, trying to stick his erratic hands in his pockets but Y/N swung her hand forward to snatch his hand. She squealed, making a joke about how sweaty his hand was and Barry thought he would die of a heart attack right then and there. She pulled him down again, this time so they could sit at the table together and she could take a sip of her latte. Barry simply stared at her, his brain slightly short circuiting with delight. Eventually, rational thought caught up with him and Barry tried to remove his hand from hers, but she had a firm grip and a look in her eye that told him she already knew what he was going to say.

“You’re not worried about…”

“I thought we already went over this, Barry. I’m in! I’m all in,” she declared sweetly, leaning over to capture his lips once again. He was consumed by it, by her, his head swirling with a dizziness of emotion and his lungs burning with a heartache of regrets. They could have had this so much sooner, if he had left the army, if he hadn’t made that deal with Fuches, if he hadn’t been an idiot about wanting to protect her. The deep and mind numbing kiss ended as Y/N broke it to breathe heavy. Barry looked at her through lidded eyes, revering her with every fiber of his being.

“You are good at that! It’s a good thing too because it looks like I’m gonna have to kiss you every five minutes to get you out of that type of thinking,” she giggled, moving to lean back in her chair but Barry slung an arm around her waist, pulling her back into him with a soft smile.

“Better make it every two minutes because I’m thinking again,” he joked, his heart glowing as the love of his life obliged his request and kissed him senseless.

[fangirlxwritesx67]

May Be Home, Chapter 12 Word count this chapter: 1820 Catch up here: Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Chapter 7.  Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Chapter 10. Chapter 11. 

Characters: au rockstar!Dean Winchester x OFC Sasha. Song: Sounds of Someday, Radio Company Music

Tags: 18+, sex, smut, lots and lots of m/f sex in different ways (fingering, oral, penetrative) in different places (bed, table, car, shower), no condoms ever, enthusiastic consent, Daddy kink, language, lots of alcohol, sexy eating, etc

The warm golden sounds of Dean’s voice poured from Sasha’s phone and wrapped around her heart. 

Sounds of Someday, and he had recorded it back in that blues bar. Sasha recognized it immediately and remembered the feeling of him singing just to her. Oh, but he was! This song was for her, all for her. Sasha closed her eyes as hot tears flowed down her cheeks.  

By the time the video ended, Sasha was absolutely wrecked. The emotion in Dean’s voice, the meaning in his lyrics, had called to her since she first heard him sing. The desire in this song was so strong, it knocked the wind out of her.  

Knowing that at last, he was really singing for, longing for her was overwhelming. She held her phone for a long time before she finally tapped out a text, words falling far short of expressing the gratitude in her heart:  Thank you.

He must’ve been waiting for her because immediately, her phone buzzed in her hand. She answered, only to hear silence. 

“Dean?” she queried.

His breathing on the other end was ragged, broken. 

“I need to see you again,” he finally choked out. “There’s- we have so much to talk about.“

Sasha nodded silently. There was something Dean absolutely had to know. “Rowena and Sam asked me for a meeting today.” 

Dean swore softly.

“No, I understand more now. You told me the truth. What I don’t understand is why you went along with it. You let your brother and your manager run your life like that?” 

Sasha heard Dean huff out a hard laugh.

"They had me actually convinced that you didn’t want anything to do with me. I didn’t know until this week that you were still interested.”

Sasha shook her head. She didn’t know if this was something that they could sort out.

“Please, can I see you again? If we can talk, we can fix this. We can start over, try again.”

“Can we? It’s gonna take work, from both of us.”

“You’re worth the work, hon.” He paused. “I’m in if you are, if it’s for you, for us. 

Sasha shook her head but ultimately agreed. “We can try, I’ll do that. But how?” 

…

They agreed to meet at the hotel where they had always met before, but Sasha couldn’t sleep that night. Her thoughts and emotions were still a storm of conflict. Dean was absolutely serious about this, she had no doubt. They were both ready for a fresh start, another shot. Could they rebuild, together? 

Sasha woke up to a knock on the door. She had planned to get up earlier, shower and get dolled up before Dean saw her. In the bathroom, she looked in the mirror. Why not let him see her like this? She gave her teeth a quick brush, pushed her tousled wavy hair behind her ears, and called it good. 

She opened the door and there he was, Dean Winchester, her Dean. His hands scuffed nervously over his thighs.

“Dean,” she murmured, her voice catching on his name, as she stood back to let him in.

“Sasha,” he answered, his face lit up with so much hope and longing that she bit back a sob. The air between them was choked with words unspoken.

Sasha sat back on the bed. Dean took two steps and sank to his knees in front of her. He reached out with both his hands. She willingly slipped her hands into his warm grasp.

“I’m sorry.” His eyes were wide and bright. “You’re the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. Sweetheart, you’re a gift. I’d do anything, anything, to not lose you again.”

Tears streaked down Sasha’s face. Dean was earnest and open in a way that she had never seen before. She was absolutely convinced that he meant every word. 

“You deserve so much more.” His voice broke, that wonderful voice that she could never resist. “Let me be good to you, let me try for you. Sasha, stay.” 

She couldn’t speak, only nod. Dean stood up and drew her with him. 

He reached out one hand and stroked her face with just his fingertips, carefully, tenderly - as if he were afraid that she would burst like a soap bubble under his touch. 

She felt the last bit of anger inside her float away in a million tiny fragments. He was the one who had broken her heart, and the only one who could heal it again. He was already picking up the pieces with every word, with every look, with every touch. 

Sasha let herself lean into Dean, giving into the longing between them, trusting him finally. She buried her face in his chest, savoring the whiskey smoke smell of him. Her fingers curled into his shirt, grabbing greedy handfuls. Safe in his arms, she let herself go. Dean pulled her in closer as deep sobs wracked her body, unleashing all her feelings in the shelter of his embrace. He held her tight, stroking her hair and soothing her. 

Gradually her breathing evened out. She felt the familiar rasp of his calloused fingers trace her cheek and relaxed into his touch, basking in the warmth of his skin on hers. He tilted her chin up ever so slightly and bent his head, and she met his lips with hers. 

What she was feeling was too fragile for words, hesitant and hopeful. She took a deep shaky breath but anything else she was going to say was lost under Dean’s mouth on hers. He covered her lips, her face, her hair, her hands with kisses; and between every single one, he whispered her name, deep and reverent.

So many questions still hung unanswered between them, but only one mattered in that moment, the one they were asking and answering over and over again with their bodies: 

Do you still want me? Yes, they answered with every press of their lips together.

Yes, they answered with every beat of their hearts.

Yes, they answered in the frantic, hopeful way they clung to each other. 

They couldn’t bear to let go. They would never be apart again.

Words felt too unwieldy, too dangerous to unleash into the fragile air around them. Sasha and Dean fell back on the thing they had always shared, their common ground since the beginning.

She had always enjoyed being with him, never been ashamed to bare herself in front of him, but this was a whole new self reveal. It seemed like Dean agreed because they were pulling off their clothes as fast as they could without losing contact with each other. 

She found herself laid back on the bed with Dean rising over her, strong arms caging her in, insistent hips rolling up between her thighs. 

She didn’t have any words, didn’t know how to express everything she was thinking. She let her body speak for her, rising up to arch against him. Her hands grabbed for him, pulling him close.

“Please,” the whimper fell from her lips unbidden. 

Dean pressed Sasha back against the pillows, covering her face and neck with passionate kisses. Sasha wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him desperately. Her nails pressed dark half-moons into his freckled and inked skin. 

Dean’s eyes never left her face as he slid slowly into her. A long moan fell from Sasha’s mouth. She had missed this, missed the way Dean could push and stretch and fill her; the way he dragged out, slow and grinding, before slamming back into her; the way he rolled up against her with perfect friction.

Sasha’s eyes fluttered closed as she spread her hips farther, inviting him, begging for him. Dean put a hand on one knee, pushing it up and towards the mattress. She mirrored the gesture with her other leg, drawing him in, taking him deeper.

She folded her legs over his ass, pressing him close. She crossed her ankles as if locking onto him.

Dean’s pace was steady and relentless. He quickly pushed Sasha to a place where she was coming unraveled. The warm aching need between her legs spread between her whole body. She was floating, unmoored from everything, lost in the rhythm of Dean and her together. 

She didn’t even know that she was sobbing again until Dean’s voice reached her. 

"Sasha,” he sounded far away. His hand cupping her chin gently brought her eyes into focus on his face. 

Sasha felt for the first time that hot, fat tears were tracking down her cheeks. 

“Is this okay?” he murmured as he traced away tears with his thumb. 

She nodded and buried her face in his shoulder, pulling his face down next to hers. “Need you,” she begged.

Dean began to move again. She needed him to keep pushing her, filling her. She was desperate, scrambling to get back to that floating weightless place.

Sasha felt her body wind higher and higher with tension, Dean pushing her farther and farther with his body. She felt like she was skidding along a cliff, gasping for air, grabbing for anything, on the edge of release. The only constant was Dean, in and on and around her and-

“Fuuuuuuck,” he breathed as she felt herself clench around him, over and over, needy and desperate and- 

A groan tore from her throat and her head tipped back against the pillow. Her vision went completely black as she came harder than she ever had.

When she found herself in her body again, she opened her eyes to see nothing but Dean. She heard him moan her name and then his eyes rolled back in his head. He was pounding into her so hard and so deep and-

She cried out helplessly, caught up in the wave of another orgasm. That was when Dean leaned into her one final time, his hips stuttering as he lost himself deep inside her.

After a moment, he rolled over, pulling her on top of him. Sasha stayed pressed against him, her tears trickling down his chest. Eventually, her breathing leveled out.

Dean held her close with one arm and used his free hand to brush the tears from her cheeks with gentle fingertips. 

"Are you ready to talk now?” She heard his words under her touch, deep inside his chest. 

She shook her head. There were still too many tangled thoughts and feelings for her to express.

Dean sat up, pulling her with him. His hand cupped her face as he kissed the tears from her cheeks, and then kissed her lips again. 

“You know, I think a stiff drink would help.”

Sasha couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face.

“I have a bar in my room,” Dean said. "Pack up your stuff, and come down the hall.” He turned on the charm as he continued. “I’m not making the mistake of letting you go again. From now on, you’re staying with me." 

… A/N: this took a little longer to get out to you, thanks to my beta MJ pushing me one more time to write my heart out. Thank you, hon. I’m proud of this.  … Chapter 13, and more ..

SPN First Last and Always: @awesomesusiebstuff @dawnie1988 @deanwanddamons @divadinag @flamencodiva @fookinghelljensensthighs @idreamofplaid @maddiepants @magssteenkamp @onethirstyunicorn   @the-chocolate-moose  @there-must-be-a-lock @tloveswriting

Sam Girl For Life: @lilsylvia

Dean Curious: @adoptdontshoppets @awesomesusiebstuff @deangirl7695 @deans-baby-momma  @mrsjenniferwinchester @stoneyggirl @supersassyprobablysad @wayward-gypsy

Rowena My Queen: @lilsylvia @marril96