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crystallinestars · 9 months ago

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If They Were Your Pet Cat

Happy Cat Day (22.02)! I was inspired to write a few headcanons about what the boys would be like as cats.

I wanted to include a few more boys, but my brain ran out of juice.

Parts 2 and 3 with Honkai Star Rail boys here and here.

Contains: Kaveh, Alhaitham, Itto, Scaramouche, Venti, and Dainsleif.

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Kaveh:

🍷 Is a Siberian breed.

🍷 When you first brought him home, Kaveh took a while to warm up to you. He was wary of your intentions and reluctant to let you touch him. With some patience and gentleness, you eventually melted the golden feline’s heart, and he became inseparable from you. Wherever you go in the house, he follows, or at the very least checks on you to know where you are.

🍷 Kaveh is very sensitive to your emotional state. If you’re feeling depressed, he likes to lay on your chest and purr until you feel better. When you cry, he’s always by your side, rubbing his cheeks against you and licking at your face as if trying to wipe them away. He doesn’t leave your side until he’s sure you’re alright.

🍷 Due to your work/school, Kaveh is used to you coming and going at certain times as a part of your daily routine. However, if you come home later than usual, expect to have a grumpy cat on your hands. He will angrily meow at you non-stop and flick his tail in annoyance. He doesn’t like being alone, and he lets you have a piece of his mind if you leave him alone for long periods of time. He’ll sulk unless you coax him with some treats and gentle pats. Spending some time grooming or playing with him usually calms him down afterward.

🍷 Is very good with having guests over. Kaveh is a sociable cat and always greets anyone that comes through the door and gives them a sniff to learn who they are. He’s open to being petted by others but prefers to sit on your lap as opposed to your friends or family.

🍷 He’s a gorgeous cat but his coat is high maintenance. Because it’s so thick and long, he doesn’t tolerate the heat well. He requires regular brushing and grooming to keep his coat healthy. It’s a good thing he enjoys being petted because it makes grooming much easier. He tends to lean into your touch or the hairbrush when you stroke his body and purrs a lot throughout the entire process. He loves being pampered.

🍷 Kaveh likes to sleep on your bed, pressed up against you or lying on your chest. You got him a cat bed, but Kaveh still prefers to sleep right next to you in your bed.

🍷 He’s generally very affectionate. He both loves to give you affection and receive it. You’re not sure how well Kaveh understands what you say, but he always looks very smug whenever you praise him and give him scritches. He’ll headbutt you, asking for more head pats and affection.

🍷 You often find him staring out the window with rapture. You’re not sure what captivates his attention so much—maybe the sunset, the rainbow after the rain, or perhaps the flowers that bloom right outside your window. He’s also strangely attracted to lightning. Rather than get scared and hide, he sits by the window and stares out at the stormy skies.

Alhaitham:

🎧 Is a Russian blue.

🎧 Alhaitham is the quietest cat you’ve ever met. Hearing him meow or make any kind of vocal sound is rare. He’s also very introverted and prefers to spend time alone, hidden in some cozy nook or cranny.

🎧 He’s also very stubborn and smart. If you want to put a silly little cat costume on him for laughs, you can forget it because Alhaitham will give you the slip every time without fail. Rather than try to chase and play hide-and-seek with him, it’s much easier to abandon the idea altogether. If he doesn’t want something done to him, you won’t be able to force him.

🎧 As mentioned earlier, he’s a very smart cat. Alhaitham figured out how to open doors on his own, and is even able to open the fridge all by himself. It’s a bit annoying because he sometimes uses his abilities to sneak a tasty little something from the fridge, but his intelligence is truly a marvel. When you speak to him, Alhaitham’s expressions and body language change in response to your words, almost as if he understands exactly what you’re saying and is reacting to it.

🎧 Most of your friends and family have only caught glimpses of him when they visit. That’s because Alhaitham dislikes having guests over, and tends to hide from them. He only comes out once they leave.

🎧 He’s not a social cat in general and likes to keep his distance even from you. He’s not a lap cat, and will jump off and leave if you try to force him to lay on your lap. When he does feel like being social, Alhaitham will lay beside you if you’re reading a book, or perch on your shoulder to observe what you’re doing.

🎧 Is a very lazy cat, so you frequently find him taking naps while lying in a warm spot of sunshine. If you disturb his nap by attempting to pet or poke him, he gives you a displeased look and flicks his tail in annoyance. He’s very grumpy when his sleep is ruined.

🎧 Alhaitham never listens to strangers but does listen to you. If you call him over, he will come to you. He also tolerates your touch, and lets you squeeze and pet him without biting or scratching you. He looks unhappy about it, but lets you do as you please. However, if you ruin his attempts to leave once he’s had enough of your affection, he will take his revenge. That cup that’s sitting near the edge of the table? Yeah, he’s gonna push that off and stare at you without remorse while it crashes to the ground.

Itto:

🐂 A Maine Coon.

🐂 Itto is not meant for a house cat lifestyle. Despite your best attempts to keep him indoors, the rascal always manages to slip out somehow and venture into the great outdoors. His yearning to explore the greater world is too strong for you to contain, so you have to make peace with the fact he’ll spend most of his time roaming outside. On the bright side, Itto always comes home to you without fail, looking happy to see you and bask in your affection again.

🐂 He made friends with some stray cats in the area, so you have a small group of them regularly come to your porch and meow until you give them some food. It’s a bit costly to feed so many mouths, but watching the cats play together or rub against your legs while purring affectionately convinces you it’s worth it.

🐂 Since Itto spends so much time outside, he tends to come home dirty and matted. He needs to be bathed to stay clean, but good luck getting him in the bath. He screams and yowls bloody murder every time you try to wash him, to the point that your neighbors knock on your door to ask what’s going on. Thankfully, they grow accustomed to Itto’s bathtime opera and stop pestering you about it.

🐂 Brushing Itto’s fur also proves a challenge because he just can’t sit still. The little guy has too much energy to keep contained, so he usually ends up looking disheveled.

🐂 Itto is also a giant glutton. He’s capable of eating a week’s worth of cat food in just 3-4 days, yet somehow doesn’t gain weight. It’s expensive to keep him fed. If you try to put him on a diet, he will be very vocal in his complaints and even steal food from your plate.

🐂 He’s a troublemaker, but he’s incredibly loyal to you. If you’re feeling down, he’ll get you to play with him to take your mind off your troubles. If that doesn’t work, he’ll become more affectionate and rub up against you to get you to pet him and relieve stress. He never abandons you if you’re not feeling your best.

Scaramouche:

☂️ Is a domestic shorthaired tuxedo cat.

☂️ Was very hostile and cold towards you when you first got him. He was averse to touch, and often hissed and glared at you for the first few months of your joint cohabitation. Over time, when he was sure you meant him no harm, Scaramouche relaxed in your presence and wasn’t so hostile towards you anymore. He still glares daggers at any guests you may have over, but with you, he’s calmer and more affectionate.

☂️ Scaramouche is a bit of a loner and tends to slink off on his own to whatever corner of the house he calls his own. When guests are over, he likes to sit in an elevated spot (top of the closet, fridge, or shelf) and observe everyone from above. He does this for two reasons: firstly to discourage people from touching him, and secondly to keep an eye on the people around you.

☂️ If there’s someone he doesn’t like, Scaramouche will make it very apparent. That unfortunate guest of yours will get a warning growl to stay away from you. If the guest doesn’t comply, Scaramouche could even go as far as scratching the person. It’s not good behaviour on his part, but Scaramouche has his reasons. You’ve come to learn that he’s very good at picking out individuals who have bad intentions towards you or are just overall not good people.

☂️ He's a bit of a grumpy cat. He’ll let out noises of discontent if you pick him up to cuddle him or groom him, but he’s just all bark and no bite (but only with you). As unhappy as he’ll look, he’ll tolerate whatever it is you want to do to him. Unless it’s dressing him in silly costumes. Then you’ll get a harmless swat to your face (he makes sure to keep his claws retracted) and won’t see him for the rest of the day. Scaramouche won’t come out even when you call for him. No silly costumes, please.

☂️ For all his grouchy attitude, he still loves you. He wakes you up on time if you sleep through your alarm, badgers you if you forget to take your meds, and purrs on your chest when you feel sad. He’s very intelligent for a cat.

☂️ Is very picky about food. He won’t eat just anything you give him. Unfortunately for you, the only cat food brand he’s willing to eat is very expensive. He’s a very spoiled cat.

☂️ Hates bathing. Scaramouche tolerates brushing and nail trimming, but God forbid you try to put him in the bath. He will meow angrily and try to run, so it’s always an ordeal to hold him still long enough to bathe him. Sends you a scathing look if you laugh at how skinny he looks once his fur is matted to his body, making him look several sizes smaller. If you laugh, he’ll give you the cold shoulder afterward, so you won’t see him for a few days.

☂️ Isn’t into playing with cat toys, but he does hunt in his spare time. He brought you birds and mice a few times as a ‘gift’. He genuinely meant well, so was a bit irritated that you threw his gifts away.

Venti:

🍃 A munchkin cat.

🍃 Venti is a cat that cannot be tamed. He clearly understands your commands because he sometimes complies with them when he feels like it, but most of the time he prefers to do his own thing. This includes venturing out into the great outdoors. Venti is not content staying cooped up at home, and you’ve long since learned to just let him go out when he wants. He’ll find a way to escape one way or the other. Besides, he still comes home, so it’s not like he doesn’t like living with you.

🍃 Venti seems to have an appreciation for music. He becomes energized whenever you play music, no matter what genre the song may be. He becomes more playful, so you often find yourself sidetracked playing with the cat instead of doing your work. If you can’t play with him, then Venti will zoom around the house like a cat on a sugar rush.

🍃 To your surprise, Venti also likes to sing. Or at least, you think the caterwauls he’s making are his attempts at singing along to some of the songs. It’s an amusing, albeit weird, sight.

🍃 Is generally not a lap cat, but he makes exceptions if he senses that you’re feeling down. During such moments, he becomes more subdued and nuzzles into your side, allowing you to pet him. His gentle purring and soft body usually help you feel better. If not, then he’ll stick to you like glue and follow you around the house to keep you company. It will be one of the few times when Venti sleeps next to you at night since he usually goes off on his own during that time. It’s obvious that he worries about your well-being.

🍃 Out of all the foods you let Venti try, you never expected him to like apples as much as he did. You swear he likes them more than the expensive cat treats you bought him. You trained him to do all kinds of tricks and even sit still for grooming in exchange for a few slices of apple (given as a treat).

🍃 He likes sleeping outside under the shade of the canopy, accompanied by a gentle breeze. You often catch him sleeping high up in a tree or a nook somewhere in the grass.

Dainsleif:

🌌 A Norwegian Forest cat.

🌌 You got Dainsleif from a shelter. He has a chronic illness that requires you to take him to the vet regularly for treatment, and some kind of scarring on his right side. The right side of his face and flank has matted, thinning fur, and you can only guess what happened to him before he ended up at the shelter. He was a very pitiful sight, which is why you brought him home. Under your care, Dainsleif lives the best life he can given his afflictions, and you’re even proud to say that aside from his mangled right side, the rest of his coat looks gorgeous.

🌌 Dainsleif is a relatively quiet and well-tempered cat. Though he’s shy and skittish around strangers, with you, he is more open. In private, his sweet temperament comes out. He often grooms you with his tongue as an act of affection and relishes in your gentle caresses when you pet or groom him in return. Watching his eyes close as he relaxes is a nice feeling since he usually has his guard up.

🌌 He’s not playful. Dainsleif is kind of serious for a cat. He dutifully waits for you at the door like a dog whenever you leave the house and greets you with a loud meow when you return. He doesn’t play with the toys you got him and prefers to spend most of his time sitting by the window and staring outside with an expression you can only describe as wistful.

🌌 Likes to sample whatever food you’re having. Dainsleif eats his cat food just fine, but you notice that he’s often curious about what you’re eating. He can’t help but want to sniff and taste human foods since the unique scents and flavors entice him. You share a little bit of your food with him after making sure it’s safe for cats, and Dainsleif couldn’t be more grateful for your generosity. However, this led to him expecting you to share a bit of your food with him during every meal. He’ll look dejected if you don’t.

🌌 When not weighed down by his illness, Dainsleif is very agile and has good stamina. He’s well suited for traveling outdoors with you if it’s something you want to try and will stay by your side like a loyal guard dog the entire time.

🌌 He’s very pliant with you. He tolerates bathing and grooming like a trooper despite not being fond of it since you’re the only one he trusts. If someone else attempted to groom him, then Dainsleif would simply run off and hide. However, he allows you to maneuver him in whatever way you need to complete the work well, and he doesn’t even complain about it. He becomes the sweetest cat in your presence.

#genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #kaveh x reader #alhaitham x reader #arataki itto x reader #itto x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #venti x reader #dainsleif x reader #genshin fluff

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smreine · 2 years ago

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The scariest plant I know

Let me tell you something about a plant named Kalanchoe daigremontiana, also known as Mother of Thousands, or (appropriately) more ominously Devil's Backbone.

I believe Devil's Backbone is a legitimately scary plant. The scariest plant I've ever encountered.

The first thing you should know is that it's toxic. It contains cardiac glycosides, and big doses can kill pets, livestock, and small children...in theory. Fatal doses are incredibly rare. But I can't imagine it's very much fun to consume cardiac glycosides and stay alive, either.

There are many more toxic plants, but Devil's Backbone is also difficult to contain: every single scallop around its edge will make babies. You can see a few are still attached. Most are in the soil, already establishing new roots, which will produce more plants with scalloped edges, each of which will...you guessed it.

Babies are small and lightweight. They travel easily. They will fill the pots of your other plants. They will jump on your clothes to go outside.

So you can't really contain this poisonous plant...unless you're ready for it.

Surely, everyone who owns Devil's Backbone is ready for it, right?

Ha ha! The scariest thing of all is that you can find Kalanchoe daigremontiana and its close cousin, K. delagoensis, at pretty much any major chain hardware store that also sells plants. You can find much-prettier variegations than this. They're so attractive! Especially when they flower.

There is no warning about the toxicity or prolificity of this plant in the places where it sold. NONE. (There are a lot of very toxic plants sold with no warning. For instance, lilies can cause kidney failure and death for house cats within hours of taking a single sniff of the pollen. If you knew that, you didn't learn it from the store where you bought lilies.) (NEVER have lilies in the house if you have cats. EVER.)

Anyway, I have been scared of Devil's Backbone for a long time, so I've never stopped thinking about it, and become progressively obsessed, and now here we are.

I bought myself a Devil's Backbone.

It came from TX, around 1700 miles away. The package got lost on its route to me. It took two weeks to arrive in the coldest winter Nevada has experienced for years. I fully expected to open the box and find a dead black frozen plant! I was at peace with this outcome: "Perhaps Fate is telling me I should not have gotten this cursed plant," I thought to myself. "I accept the Judgment of Fate."

When my keys first penetrated the box's tape, I was struck by the strongest botanical scent. I was convinced that was the scent of rot.

I kept cutting.

I found the box brimming with cotton, packed totally full. As I pulled the cotton away, the babies started dropping. Little green cardiac glycoside bombs on my counter everywhere. Still green. Many rooted.

And within the cotton, a slightly cold, little shriveled, but mostly healthy Devil's Backbone.

Fate might have said "You don't want this," but the Devil herself said, "Oh, you want me. You know you want me."

(I will be raising this plant inside a fishbowl with vented lid. That's my plan for keeping her contained safely from my plants, where I can admire her dangerous beauty at no risk to my pets.)

#plants #kalanchoe #devil's backbone #houseplants #succulents

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thirstyforlulu · 3 years ago

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Yandere Hellsing x Reader HCs? Including Millennium

Integra:

She’s a very possessive yandere

With her money and power, she has the means to get her hands on you

She’s good at playing cool, you won’t catch on for a while

Sure you notice that she never sends you on missions and that she’s always having you work near her office, but that’s just her being a good friend

When she decides to approach you romantically, she’s very forward

Around you she’s a touch starved animal, unlike her usual put together appearance

If you deny her feelings or try to run, get ready because she’s not giving up that easily

She’ll pull whatever strings she has to in order to find you

She’ll spend thousands bribing people or tracking you

Once she knows where you are, she’ll send Alucard to collect you

When she has you she’s very loving

She’ll want to constantly be touching you in some way

Usually that means sitting beside her while she works at her desk

As long as you’re good, she’ll let you wander the entirety of the manor

Since you tried to run she’s added all sorts of security measures so you can’t get out

Act up though and she will chain you to the wall in her office

“Y/N, your behavior has been deplorable lately and needs correcting.

Don’t give me those sad eyes, this is all your fault.”

Walter:

He’s a sneaky yandere

Very observant, he’ll learn your patterns and preferences

At the start he’ll leave you gifts like your favorite food or pretty flowers

He uses it as an excuse to get closer to you

He’s always offering to do favors for you, secretly lowering your defenses around him

He’s not the type to take anything from you but he will take the time to appreciate them

If you let him clean your room he’ll likely pause to sniff some clothes

You notice how much he knows about you but you just think he’s very observant

You don’t realize it’s due to his obsession

He’s the type to take more precautions

If you deny his advances he’ll lock you up somewhere, probably his room

He’ll get chains and a cage if necessary

If you really act up, he’ll lock you in the basement

The way you cling to him in fear after spending all night in the dark is addictive

His wires are always nearby

If you try to run you’ll only get a few steps out the door before the wires wrap you up and pull you back

He does his best not to hurt you, but if you struggle too much, a few cuts are inevitable

Seras:

She’s a very clingy yandere

She’ll want you on every mission she goes on

When you have free time she’ll take you out into the area nearby for some quality time

If you ever push her away, she gets angry

She’ll pout like a child then force her way into whatever it is you’re doing

At the time, she’ll act like it’s just a coincidence and you might even believe her

You’re not getting rid of her so easily

She’s also a very sweet yandere

If she feels she’s hurt your feelings she’ll go out of her way to get you presents or treat you nicely

Until you say you forgive her, she won’t stop pampering you

No one else is allowed near you, not even Integra

She’ll make excuses and do whatever it takes to keep you to herself

She would never kidnap you or lock you up because she hates to see you sad, but her “loving” behavior will be a trap in itself

Don’t forget that despite how cute she is, she’s still a powerful monster that can and will do what it takes to keep you

If that means making you one of her familiars then so be it

Alucard:

He’s a terrifying yandere

He can control you and the people around you, holding you captive

You’re not a stupid person, you know how easily he could end your life, so you tend to let it all happen

On the plus side, he’s very passionate and often brings you gifts

He’s such a smooth talker you’ll end up forgetting the terrifying threats he’s made in the past

Anyone who flirts with you will mysteriously disappear

Anyone who hurts you will turn up days later torn to shreds in a ditch

He would never do anything to hurt you, but that doesn’t stop him from making threats

“I could tear you apart just like that man from last week. I would love to hear your moans of anguish, but I’d prefer moans of pleasure.”

When you act out he manhandles you

He’ll press you against a wall and bite your neck to remind you of your place

He enjoys when you become complicit, but he likes when you’re occasionally act out

It gives him an excuse to punish you, which he always loves

After that, you’ll think twice before disobeying him

Millenium:

Jan:

Bro this man is already wild

When he sets his sights on you it’s go time

He won’t let anyone else near you or get to know you, not even his brother

He’ll threaten people, meeting them after work for overstepping their boundaries

He’s very touchy, like he’s trying to leave his scent all over you

Out in public, he’ll hang on you, showing others that you’re already taken

He’ll growl at people that look at you too long when passing by

He flicks a lot of people off, all the time but more so when he’s around you

He’s paranoid and doesn’t like anyone else around you, even friends

Clearly he’s a fan of body modification so if he can convince you he’ll want to get some kind of matching piercing/tattoo

If you get it, he’ll pay special attention to it any time you cuddle, running his fingers over it countless times

He can be very intense so he might yell at you, but when he sees the hurt look in your eyes he backs off

In his own weird way, he loves you and doesn’t want to see you hurting

But if he has to hurt you to keep you then so be it

Luke:

He’s not as subtle as he thinks he is

He tries to play it cool, but if someone tries to touch you he will blatantly smack their hand away

Always has an excuse to be around you and if he doesn’t, he’ll find one

He’s not as touchy as Jan, but he does like to hold your hand

You’ll feel his pinky brush against you before his hand completely envelops yours

His grip tightens when he sees you looking at others

Your attention is something he so desperately craves

He gives you every moment of his time and he wants you to do the same

If you’re ever in danger he’s there before anyone else even knows

It helps that he was already watching you

Be ready to compensate him

At first he’s just worried about you, but then once he knows you’re alright, he’ll start making demands

“You owe me for coming to your rescue dear. Or would you like me to toss you back? Maybe then you’ll beg me in such a cute way.”

Rip:

She does not care what other people think

She’ll ruin relationships to get closer to you

She’ll endanger her own job if it keeps you two apart

Doing favors is how she gets closer to you

Anytime you need something she’s there and ready to go

She’d leave in the middle of a mission if she hears you need help

Anyone causing you problems will be slaughtered and presented to you as a gift

“See y/n, I took off their heads just for you.”

She can get very aggressive especially if she thinks you’re denying her advances

She won’t hurt you, beyond a little pinch or so, but she’ll make threats

She’s very sadistic and would be willing to lock you up

Having you as a pet is actually an attractive idea to her

She’ll take good care of you wherever you’re locked up, but she won’t allow many freedoms

“Look at my pretty pet. How lucky am I.”

The Captain:

He’s like a pet, always following you around

He’ll growl at people he doesn’t like around you

His arms are always around you, keeping you close

No one else is allowed to tend to you after missions

When he’s patching you up, he’ll run his hands along your arms and legs, lovingly caressing your limbs

He’ll use that as an excuse to stay around you

Popping in to “check on you” at all hours

You won’t even know he’s come in until he’s sitting on the edge of your bed

He’s the type the would sit there for a moment watching you breathe

If he can, he’ll try to get you to be his assistant

If he can convince the higher ups that he needs one, he’ll do whatever he can

Then he’ll be around you even when he works and will be able to protect you

No one on the battlefield will be able to even get close to you

He’ll ignore his own tasks to protect you

He’s extremely loyal and obsessive

The Doctor

Oh man it is terrifying when he has his eye on someone

He views it like just another experiment, wanting to test and push you

He’ll have you coming to him for “examinations” all the time

He’d likely put a bug on you

Suddenly he knows things you don’t remember telling him, but you can’t prove anything

People you like start disappearing, people you had no idea he knew about

If he suspects you’re starting to catch on and trying to get away, he’ll start drugging you

Then you’ll have to come to him if you’re going to get better

While he’s treating you, he’ll trick you mentally manipulating you to grow closer to him

You’re going to think so highly of him, forgetting all the red flags you’d seen before

He is absolutely a gas lighter but he’s damn good at it

Even if you have experience with this stuff you won’t pick up on it

It’s a game of cat and mouse with him

The Major

He is not subtle and does not care

Your needs or emotions don’t matter to him

If you don’t respond well to his advances he will make terrible threats

If that doesn’t work he’ll take it a step further, allowing the ghouls to get close to taking a bite out of you

Torture is the next step

He doesn’t care about your mood, he has to have you

“Y/N, why do you fight so hard when you know I’m just going to hurt you again?”

He’ll want to do most of it by hand, but if he needs to he will get the others involved

“Would you like me to make a spectacle out of you? I think the others would enjoy that.”

Behave and he won’t hurt you

If he gets mad enough he’ll remove your arms and legs

You’ll become his good little doll, always on display for him

Like a bird in a cage, you’re his favorite display item

#yandere #yandere behavior #integra hellsing x reader #integra x reader #walter x reader #walter c dornez x reader #seras x reader #seras victoria x reader #alucard x reader #jan valentine x reader #jan x reader #luke valentine x reader #luke x reader #rip van winkle x reader #rip x reader #the captain x reader #the doctor x reader #the major x reader

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bedbellyandbeyond · 4 years ago

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Dinner at the Demers

(Story Post)

“Here we are,” Fay said pulling up the driveway. He parked and smiled to Theo. “Let me get your door.” “I got it,” Theo chuckled, opening his door and getting out himself. As his case worker, Fay had been helping Theo a lot with talking out his feelings around his pregnancy. The merman was more than friendly and Theo always felt comfortable around him, even when it came to very personal things like body dysmorphia or feelings of loneliness. Theo had found that he and Fay had a few things in common, like the fact that they'd both left home to pursue their careers. After just a few sessions with him, Theo liked to consider the merman his friend and was very happy to be invited over to his place for dinner. “Thanks for having me,” Theo said as he followed Fay to the front door. “I don't get out much, especially now.” “It's no problem,” Fay said. “Dari was glad to hear you were coming. He has a habit of taking group members in under his wing. Camilo's like a son to him now.”

“I'm pretty sure I'm older than Dari…” Theo said. “You're the same age actually,” Fay stated. Theo blinked. “He's thirty?!” “Looks can be deceiving,” Fay said. “He looks like he's twenty at most,” Theo stated. “Is he aging backwards?” “It's a little complicated but it isn't my place to explain,” Fay said. “Let's just say his body needs time to catch up.” “Okay, but, like…” Theo rubbed his neck. “I'm gonna have a hard time not thinking about that.” “If you get him in the right mood, Dari will tell you whatever,” Fay assured. “Anyway, we eat a lot of fish in this household, but I understand someone in your condition might prefer something safer so we also have chicken. What do you prefer?” “Oh, fish is fine,” Theo said. “Dr. Aias said there really isn't any diet restrictions for me, so long as I eat healthy for myself. I can smoke and drink if I want. The baby's not going anywhere. I don’t smoke. Haven’t really touched alcohol either… Still feels kinda wrong.” “Fair enough,” Fay unlocked the door and let them inside. “Oh, don't let the cat out.” “Huh?” Theo looked down to try and see if any animals were at his feet but he then realised he couldn't see his feet at all and a second later, a cat dashed out from under him and onto the porch. “Ah, sorry Theo, I wasn't thinking,” Fay said. He managed to catch the feline and pick her up. “This is Slippers. She's very curious and friendly.” Theo offered a hand to sniff and then pet the cat on the head. “She's very cute.” “I got her as a gift for Dari a while back,” Fay said. “He's very protective of her so even though we don't get much traffic out here, she's best as an indoor cat.” “Got it.” “Come meet the kids,” Fay said. “Twins should be down for a nap right now, but otherwise, trouble should be about.” It didn't take long until the first few heads popped out to see them. “Papa!” one child yelled, flinging themselves around Fay's waist. Another just stood there and pointed at Theo. “Baby belly!” Theo flushed red. “Uh, yeah...” “Otter, pointing is rude,” Fay said, pushing his son's hand down. “Apologise to my friend Theo.” “Sorry, my friend Theo,” Otter said, still just staring up at the man. “It's fine,” Theo assured. “Siv, mon poussain,” Fay said to the other boy, sliding a hand between his side and his son to pry him off. “Papa can't move if you're hugging so tight.” “I missed you,” Siv whined. “I missed you too,” Fay said, petting his son's head. “Where's Daddy?” “Green room,” Siv said, pointing to the back of the house. “Greenhouse. And your sisters?” “Um... Ari and Kat with Milo and Zoe with Daddy and the babies sleep.” “And do we remember the babies names?” Fay asked. “Um...” “I do!” Otter said quickly. “I know you do,” Fay said patting Otter's head. “I want Siv to remember. They're a little harder.” “Oh.” Siv racked his brain. “Uh, Anna and...” He looked at Otter who was signing to him. “Isa...belle?” “Annabelle and Isabelle, that's right,” Fay approved. “Next time, no cheating. Get your big brother and let's meet in the greenhouse, okay?” Siv looked at Otter and then grabbed his arm. “Specifics... Both of you get your eldest brother, understood?” Fay rephrased. “Yeah!” Otter said, letting go of his father and taking Siv's arm to go get Milo with him. Fay took Theo outside to the back of the house. Theo was immediately impressed by the spacious yard, with a pool as well as a relatively large greenhouse. Inside, there were rows and rows of vegetables and flowers growing. Dari was found between the leaves, dwarfed by his own six-foot-tall tomato plants. Zoe was toddling about at his feet and grabbing any ripe tomatoes she could get her little hands on. Dari looked upset when he heard Fay and Theo entering. “Zoe, tomatoes in the basket, bunny,” he instructed as he pulled off his gardening gloves. Zoe completely ignored him and just kept grabbing tomatoes, ripe or not and trying to put them in her mouth. “My love,” Fay said, stepping up to his husband and wrapping his arms around him. Dari took his sun hat off and wacked Fay over the arm with it. “You should've reminded me Theo was coming over! I would've started dinner early.” “I told you this morning. What more reminders do you need?” Fay asked. “And that's not a jab, I want you to know.” “...Maybe, an hour before you leave work,” Dari said. “It takes two hours to make dinner?” Fay asked. “It can!” Dari said. “It allows me time to prepare. Now a guest will have to wait with us.” Fay kissed his forehead. “I'll make dinner. You can do your thing. Hang out with Theo.” “Hi, Theo,” Dari finally said, acknowledging his guest. “I'm sorry about this.” “You really have nothing to apologise for,” Theo said. “I don't mind waiting to eat. I had a big lunch.” “Come here,” Dari waved Theo over. Theo obeyed, going over to Dari. “Your garden is amazing. I feel like you never have to get groceries.” “That’s the idea,” Dari said, nodding. He hovered a hand over Theo's stomach. “Can I touch?” “Sure. You're not the first.” Dari placed his hand on the protrusion and rubbed softly. “Aliens, right?” “That's right. Though, they’re not big enough to feel or anything…” “I'll go start dinner,” Fay said, leaving them be. “Were you abducted?” Dari asked. Theo shook his head. “No. Well, not really. Not in the traditional sense. I was...visited in my dreams.” “That's different...” Dari pondered. “Different?” Dari took his hand back and patted his own chest. “I was abducted. I had children for the aliens, each ripped from me the moment they were born. Or even before.” Theo frowned. “I'm so sorry... That's terrible.” Dari shrugged. “I don't really...feel anything from it anymore. It's like a part of my life I won't get back so why should I lend it any feelings?” “I mean, I guess that's good...” Theo considered. Dari suddenly lifted his own shirt, revealing his slightly distended and scarred stomach. “You see this ‘X’ scar? They implanted an artificial womb inside me and a ‘gamete converter’, which basically steals my DNA and turns it into egg cells... In a way, I stole it from them... I was able to make my children with it, so...it's like...not all bad.” “...Why are you telling me all this?” Theo asked. Dari pulled his shirt back down. “I don't do well in groups but when I heard your situation, I knew I had something in common and I feel like everyone needs people they can relate to for support. I want you to know that I'm here and, at least on the non-consensual alien pregnancy level, I understand more than most people will ever understand.” Theo smiled a bit. “Oh. Thank you. I guess you're right.” “If there's ever anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to contact me,” Dari said. “And don't for a second think you have to forgive them for doing this to you. I haven't.” Theo nodded slowly. “...Um, so Fay mentioned you and I are the same age?” Dari tilted his head. “Are you thirty?” Theo nodded. “You just... You look so young.” Dari put his hands on his hips. “Why, cause I'm short?” “No, well, um...” Dari looked away and started meddling with some cucumber. “I was abducted when I was fifteen. This thing inside me synthesised a chemical similar to estrogen so I didn't really have a chance to finish puberty until I got back... I'm on hormone therapy now. I was supposed to be, ever since I got back, but I couldn't really do it while pregnant five times, could I?” “Five times?” Theo asked. “I thought you have eight kids.” “Twins exist, Theo,” Dari said. “Fay carried Otter and Milo was born well before I got back to Earth.” “But, wouldn’t that—” Theo was cut off when a big red beast of a person came bounding outside carrying two little girls with him and with Siv and Otter at his heels. They came inside and the small children immediately dispersed to go look at the plants and pick anything that looked ripe enough to eat off the stem. The giant red man went directly to the adults and loomed over them, his head nearly brushing the ceiling. Theo was shocked beyond belief and froze up immediately. “Milo, my biggest boy!” Dari cooed wrapping his arms around his son's waist. He was two or three heads shorter than Milo and could barely see above his chest. “Milo, this is Theo. He's a friend.” Milo put the girls down and waved to Theo, before signing to his father. “Milo says he really likes your hair,” Dari said. “I think it's because it's a colour he can actually see well. He’s a bit colour blind.” “Oh, um. Tell him thanks for me?” Theo requested. “Tell him yourself. He can hear you, he just can't speak like us,” Dari explained, happily patting Milo's chest. “He's my big growly boy...” “Oh! Okay, thanks Milo,” Theo said, running a hand through his own hair. “I need to dye it again soon though.” Milo nodded, smiling and signed again. “He thinks you look cool with the roots,” Dari said. “It’s almost like Fay and Ari’s hair. You’re like an honorary merperson.” Theo smiled. “Thanks, but I think Fay pulls off two colours much better than I do. It’s not even blended.” Milo signed again to Dari but Dari didn’t translate and just signed back. Milo looked a little upset and then signed again. “Milo wants to compliment you on your pregnancy,” Dari said. “I told him it might not be appropriate but he insisted.” “That's cool. Thanks, Milo,” Theo said, trying to stay calm in front of the seven-foot-tall red man. “How um, how old is he?” “Twelve or thirteen, we think,” Dari said. “Hard to say.” “You don't know?” Theo asked. “Yeah, well... They weren't really handing out Earth calendars aboard the sex trafficking space ship, so I really don't know when he was born,” Dari said. “We use the day that he came home to us as his birthday.” “That's really... That's some crazy stuff that happened to you, Dari,” Theo said. “I'm so sorry.” “Don't be. It was years ago.” “But really, you talk about it so casually. You know, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” Dari patted Theo’s shoulder. “It happened. It was terrible. It's left me physically, mentally and emotionally scarred for life. But that's all it is. Scars. I can't do much about it. All you can really try to do with scars is put lotion on them or tattoo over them. I'm tired of doing that, so I just wear them. The nightmares come less and less. My physical scars don't hurt anymore. When I tell my story, I can detach myself from it. I don't let it bother me.” He patted Theo's cheek. “Oh, but if it bothers you, I won't talk about it.” “Oh, no, no. I don't mind,” Theo said. “Thank you for opening up.” Dari sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Of course, you don't have to share either if you don't want to. But I am curious... You weren't abducted, but you also don't strike me as the type of guy who hangs around alien bars. No, wait. You mentioned dreams? How does that work?” “It's kind of embarrassing...” Theo said. Dari lifted his own shirt and patted his stomach. “Looking four months pregnant for the rest of your life is embarrassing.” Theo proceeded to tell Dari everything, how the celestial apparently impregnated him in his dreams and how on the first day, he grew so rapidly. Dari listened intently and when he was done, offered up his sympathy and advice. Theo mentioned Henderson, but only as a friend helping him out. He didn't mention that they'd slept together because he still didn't know what it meant yet. They chatted a little more for a while until it was dinner time and they headed on inside. Theo enjoyed his time at the Demers house. The food was good and there was nothing but energy in the dining room as they ate. Siv took a liking to Theo in particular and spent most of the meal telling him about his favourite frog he found the other day. Fay later expressed to his guest how delighted he was to see Siv opening up so easily with Theo since he was apparently the shiest child. This made Theo feel quite a bit better about having to listen to ‘hop hop hop’ and ‘ribbitty ribbit’ over and over. At the end of the night, Fay drove him home. He welcomed Theo to their house any time and Fay would be happy to drive. Theo thanked him for hosting him and then got himself ready for bed. He was exhausted from just being around so many children at one time and was very glad that he would not be dealing with anything like that for himself any time soon.

#lore #Theo #Dari #Fay #Milo #Siv #Otter #Zoe #mpreg #tpreg #trans preg #mpreg belly

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theshy1sout · 4 years ago

Text

Inseparable - Chapter 13

Tags: Broppy, Not rated, Slow Burn Fluff, Trolls Mythology Au

Ao3 here

Summary: I am so sorry, but accidentally I wrote 4k words again! But it was so fun to write. I hope it is as fun to read

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- What are you thinking about?

- Hm? - Branch lifts his eyebrows and blinks, still having his mind out of this world.

- You zoned out. What are you thinking about? - Poppy repeats her question and makes them stop walking. She gazes at his face looking for an answer, but his look is still faraway. It takes a minute or two until the goddess can't wait and she continues:

- Is this something I should worry about? It's okay if you don't want to tell me...

His sudden chuckle interrupts her.

- Oh, Sweetheart... - He shakes his head, giving her a nice, tender smile, her favorite kind. Her ears get down and turn slightly red.

- How did you call me? - She breathes out in blank amazement.

- Sweetheart - He repeats even warmer, glancing at her pink ears with a hint of satisfaction. - Cause it's sweet that you let me be silent. You let me be myself. You have such a heart of gold.

His eyes wander along the edge of her ear with curiosity and quiet admiration. He never saw her ears get down like that. Only now he notices they are in interesting round shape. He suddenly wants to touch them, to discover slowly their little curves and a long round edge. Maybe they are as warm and soft as Poppy's cheeks...

- Well, I just understand if you want to have secrets - She smiles shyly.

Branch blinks, realizing he got zoned out again.

- To be honest, I feel better not keeping secrets from you - He smiles, but then he realizes that now he has to tell her, what he was thinking about. The god swallows slowly, immediately feeling that he isn't ready to face the consequences of this confession. - So... I was wondering... Umm...

The goddess leans her weight against the Staff in her hand, waiting patiently for his answer. Her face is serious, she doesn't know what to expect, of course, she doesn't, they don't talk about this topic for such a lot time, they avoid to talk about this, Branch is sure she would even hide this in her mind and think that they would never come back to this, and he wants to break this wall of absurd, but oh my goodness, he knows what it means for him, and it means he will have to get out from his comfort zone, and that is just so haaaaaaarrrrrddddd.....

- Well I was thinking! - He starts once again, after a long while of hesitation and quick thoughts. - I was thinking about... Your idea... Your idea about... - He crosses his arms on his chest and clenches his jaw. He gets his voice really quiet, avoiding looking into Poppy's eyes. - ...Parties...

The goddess blinks and frowns. She leans across to hear him better.

- What did you say? I think I misheard something...

- No, I'm sure you heard it correctly - Branch murmurs. He titles his head back, closing his eyes, and sighs. He starts once again a bit louder. - I said... I said I was thinking about your idea to teach trolls how to party. Party. I think... You put so much effort into creating Midday and stuff... To make space for parties during the Night... And I kinda... It impresses me and... I kinda... Like. The. Idea. I want to... Try it...

Poppy gasps, opening her eyes wide with amazement.

- You agree to teach trolls how to throw parties? - She breathes out excitedly.

- Yeah... - He mumbles.

- And you like the idea of a party??

- Kinda...

- And you help me with it?? - She is actually bouncing with joy now.

- ....If you want me to...

- Of course I want! - She beams so cheerfully. - Oh my goodness and beautiful rainbows stuck in the waterfall's water of river Lora, I am so HAPPY! - She squeals, kicking her heels. She throws her hands with the Staff in the air and screams, just screams. She runs through the yard, spinning and squealing and dancing and giggling and jumping and running even more until she gets tired and comes back to Branch, smiling like a drunk. She falls in front of him, huffing like a dog after a long long run. Lying in the grass, grinning at the blue sky, with her hair in the total mess, and her whole face red from the struggle, she looks like crazy, and the god of the Night asks himself, how she does it that she still is so beautiful.

After a while, she glances at him with pure happiness in the sparkling eyes.

- Thank you - She pants.

Branch heaves a sigh and sits down next to her.

- You are not happy at all - She notices at loud.

He twists his face, starting ripping the grass to do something with his hands.

- I don't want to take part in the parties...

Her smile melts a bit.

- So why did you say you like it?

- Because I like the idea - He pins his sight into the grass he plays with. - The trolls will have a lot of fun and you will have a lot of fun, and to be honest I will have a lot of fun too, but... Just looking at you having fun. Not... Being at the party...

She nods with understanding.

- Oh, the loud, loud music... - She says.

- Yess...

- And blinking, horrible lights...

- Exactly.

- And the dancing and singing, huge loud crowd.

- Guh!

- Branch...

He looks at her.

- Come here - She tells him, and when he gets his ear closer to her she whispers with a smirk: - I will draft you into dancing with me no matter what.

Branch gives her a disapproval sight from his squinted eyes and throws a trickle of grass into her face. She grimaces with a smirk. She shakes her head to knock blades over.

- Come on, Brrranch, It will be fun!

- You called "fun" petting cows on the field - He points out, putting more grass on her face. - I have a different sense of fun.

- Well, you called "fun" throwing me into the lake - She burbles in reproof.

- That was fun - He chuckles. - You have to agree.

- Nope - She closes her eyes tighter, facing other blades of grass.

- You laughed at the end

- Because you jumped after me! - She giggles. - With your clothes on you! What was that, huh?

He laughs heartily.

- My sense of humor - He jokes. - I guess it was my first high jinks.

- That was your high jinks? - She gets up on her elbows. - I mean... What happened to make you hijinks? That day was one of the casual ones.

He smirks at her and shrugs his shoulders.

- I don't know. It just... We were walking near this lake, and you didn't even notice it. You were talking for so long about your dad being overcared about the Staff. You told me this like... 4th time? And I never could stop you when you start talking about this again. You're always getting irritated about it so much. So I thought that maybe the water would cool you down. And guess what?

She lifts her eyebrows disapprovingly.

- What?

- It worked! - He collapses an honest giggle. - And your face was oh my hair... - He gets lost in the laugh.

She shakes her head with discontent, even if she can't hide a little smile on her lips. She looks away. Branch laughs at her for so long, and it looks like he really had a lot of fun then.

- Have you finished? - She asks.

The god wipes his eye from a tear of joy and sniffs, chuckling a bit.

- Not really.

- Oh you funny man! - She sits up in front of him, putting the Staff on her knees. - What about having fun like this again, but at the party? Huh?

- I dunno - He mumbles, but this time a smile can't leave his mouth.

- If I say "Please"?

The god rolls his eyes.

- Just let my introverted soul stand in the distance.

- No.

- I don't want to dance and sing - He yawps.

- You will!

- Nooo...

- Come on - She stands up. - We're starting arrangements now!

Branch tilts his head back and groans out.

- No "guuuuhh", stand up! - The goddess puts her hands on her hips.

His face is filled with displeasure and loathness.

- Don't look at me like this! - She gets closer to him and grabs his arm with one hand, trying to lift him up. - Stand up!

It is hard to get him up with the Staff in one hand! Poppy pulls him up with no effect. She pushes him and pulls, she tugs his arm with any possible direction, but he sits very still. He doesn't move a muscle! In the last desperate move, the goddess gathers all her strength and hits him with her arm. He swings slightly, making her groan with annoyance.

- Oh no - Branch says scenically, swinging on a side, and then hits the ground. - You brought me down. And now I'm lying - He settles down on the grass. - And that's how the goddess of the Light beat the god of the Darkness. From now on there is no Night anymore and everybody's happy.

Poppy heaves a sigh and smiles gently at him. She takes a long look at him before she says:

- But you know, you're necessary, right?

He huffs for an answer. She sits down next to him, like he did a few minutes before, and puts the Staff on her knees.

- Hey, maybe the world doesn't scream it into your face - Her voice is smooth and calm when she comforts him. Just the sound of it makes his heart warm. - But it needs you. Branch?

She calls him to catch his eyes and it works. The god turns head to her.

- I need you - She announces and smiles.

His eyes slowly view her face. Every detail on it. She feels it. His sight moving through her cheek, counting every little freckle. Then it slides across the shape of her nose. It stays a bit longer on her lips, with a hint of warm adore in his blue eyes. He meets her eyes again, but he doesn't stop there. He looks higher, watching the strands of her deep pink, strawberry hair. His sight slides down with them on her rosy cheek. His hand reaches to it dreamily and touches it gently like the most fragile flower in the world.

- Let's make a flower - Branch's voice is low and quiet, like a purr of a dreaming cat. His fingers caress her cheek, touching every freckle. - A red one. A little red flower without leaves. With petals so delicate, so fragile... Soft and evanculous... A flower with your name.

His hand reaches to the jawbone line and slides tenderly across, to her ear. It makes Poppy sighs blissfully, shivering slightly. He catches the nearest strand and hides it behind it. His thumber moves along its round edge. And it is as warm and soft as he thought.

- Okay - She whispers when his hand lets go of her face. She feels stroked, she can't hide the bliss in her voice and a tender smile on her lips. - But later. First, we will work at a party.

Branch gives her a begging sight.

- Can we not start it today? - He twists his mouth.

- How much time do you need?

- How much time can you wait?

- I can wait as long as you need.

The god wonders a bit. He can't dispose of the memory of Poppy dancing happily in a yard.

- Tomorrow? - He asks.

- You promise? - She tilts her head aside.

- I promise. Do you accept?

The goddess rips a few blades of grass and throws them ceremonially at Branch's face, making it wince.

- Your promise is accepted - Poppy announces, making him chuckle. He blows grass off his face and takes a look at her.

- You still have a lot of grass in your hair - He notices, sitting up. - You even don't try to brush it off.

The goddess looks up at her hair without much interest. She shrugs her shoulders.

- How do I look with it? - She asks lightly.

- Like a crazy grass goddess - He jokes, starting to dust the grass off her hair. - Your hair is such a mess.

- Well, yours looks exactly the same - She chuckles, tilting her head down to let him get blades from her hair. - The only difference is color.

He smiles to himself. He finishes his job quickly, but he feels like he doesn't want to end like that. Her hair looks so soft and he just slightly touched them. Can he do more?

- I have a stupid question - He announces. - Can I play with your hair a bit?

Poppy looks up at him a bit surprised.

- Well, okay then - She smiles and turns around, back onto him. - You can fix this mess, but I don't have a hairbrush.

Branch doesn't answer. Facing her back full of strawberry hair, the glory of the magenta cascade with a pleasant scent of meadow's flowers is a breathtaking experience for the god of the Night. Many random moments of him wanting to sink his fingers into her hair moves now in front of his eyes. He takes a deep, long, snatchy breath and feels a nice shiver of excitement running from his back to his neck. He bites his lips and slightly, slowly, carefully touches with both his cold hands the strawberry threads of silk.

The warmth is soft. Fluffy. His hands slide down the hair enjoying the smooth touch of it. To be honest, Branch has no idea what he wants to do with her hair. How to play with hair? He grabs a few strands and rubs them slightly between his fingers. They are nice to touch, obviously. What to do more? Oh, yes. Sink his fingers in it. He hesitates a bit. He knows how cold her hands are. He doesn't want to make it uncomfortable for Poppy. Should he ask about it? That sounds awkward even in his head. Well, she lets him play with her hair. She can always say if she feels uncomfortable with something.

So Branch once again slowly, carefully puts both of his hands on her hair, but this time, his fingers dig into it, gently moving deeper and deeper until they touch the head skin. He sighs with pleasure. The warm, soft hair between his fingers makes his hand warm immediately. He moves his hand up, to her top of Poppy's head, can't stop enjoying this delightful amount of touch.

- Don't I... go overboard? - He asks shyly.

- No... - Her soft voice melts and shakes a bit, sounds distant. - Go on...

Branch smiles. His fingers reach the top of her head. He starts rubbing her head skin down gently and slowly. She sighs, and it is this kind of sigh that makes his neck skin shiver and his mind dizzy, and he wants her sighing like that more... He blinks to emerge from this weird trance. He notices that Poppy gets relaxed a lot. She melts, looking like she could lie down and fall asleep any minute.

- Is this that pleasant? - He asks, half-joking, half with curiosity.

- Yesss - She sighs blissfully once again. - I'll show you when you finish.

- Okay - He smiles.

He massages her like that for a while. Then he brushed all of her hair with her fingers to dress them. He grabs a thick trickle of strawberry strands and carefully sinks his nose into it. His senses get lost in the strong sweet scent of wildflowers, gold honey, and fresh grass. He closes his eyes. He freezes like that, almost without breath.

Brushing her hair for a while Branch finally finds the thing he can do with them. He watched once trolls making baskets, twining wicker. He parts Poppy's hair into three and starts twining them as trolls did. Well, he doesn't create a basket surprisingly, which is a bit disappointing cause he finds this idea funny. Instead of it, he turns deep pink hair into one, long weaved tail. And, once again, surprisingly, it looks pretty good. He puts it on Poppy's shoulder and asks her to turn to him.

- What did you make? - She asks, looking curiously at her hair. - It looks nice.

Branch stops staring at her with his mouth open. The goddess looks different, much different with the twined hair. And besides that, she looks much calmer than usual. She moves with effortless grace, smooth and mild, her gentle smile is somehow a bit more alluring.

- I've never seen you like that - He blunders out.

She flutters her eyelashes and even this is a bit more cute than usual.

- What do you mean?

- You are so calm - He breathes out, low. He sighs delightfully. - You look so beautiful.

Poppy blushes slightly and smiles a bit wider.

- Thank you, but it's you who made me like that - She also sighs blissfully. - That massage was so pleasant... - She bites her lip and looks up at the god's hair. - I show you. Come here!

Branch chuckles and turns around. He tilts his head back, to let her reach them. He expected she would take slow, careful steps, just like him. But instead of it, the goddess immediately, without any warning, sinks her little warm fingers into his hair.

And oh my goodness.

It is soooo good.

The god doesn't know when he closed his eyes. His mouth freezes half-open. Little hands rub gently his head skin, playing with his hair and why it feels so good guuuhhh... He melts completely. His arms loosely drop down his body. Poppy gets a bit down, from the top of his head to the hair near his neck, and oh my goodness, it feels even better. He loses his senses. His mind is blank. He never felt better. His muscles loosen more and more, sometimes flex without reason, when warm fingers touch accidentally his ears or neck. He can't get enough of it.

- So, how do you feel? - Poppy asks and she gets his blissful purr for an answer. She chuckles and jokes: - Should I stop?

- Never - He huffs weakly, making the goddess giggle.

But after a long while, he sighs deeply and says:

- Okay, you should stop or I'll fall asleep.

Poppy giggles soundly and lets go of his hair. Branch needs a few minutes to come back to reality. He really looks like he can fall on the ground and start loudly snoring. The goddess smiles at his hilariously delightful grimace. She feels so satisfied to make him like that. He looks so deeply happy.

She rests her hands on the Staff lying on her knees. She takes a look at it. Maybe it is a selfish thought, but it would be nice if both of them had empty hands. She has no idea for what, but... it sounds nice.

Looking at the Gold Sphere reminds her of all of the questions about her mum she wanted to ask Branch one Day. The goddess looks up at him and thinks, that maybe now is a great moment. She gathers her thoughts and wonders from which question she should start.

- Branch?

- Yeah? - He gazes at her dreamily, smiling like a dork. He looks so disarmingly. She can't not smile at him, but she quickly corrects herself, clearing her throat. She has to get the tone down a bit.

- What do you... What do you know about my mum?

Branch frowns. His smile slowly fades. He wipes his whole face with both hands and looks at her more seriously.

- What do you want to know?

- Well... - She looks down shyly. - Everything. Dad never told me about my mother.

The god stares at her for a while with disbelief.

- For real?

She nods, feeling wrong. Oh, it feels so wrong to not know anything but a few fading memories from her childhood. It feels wrong, that it's her dad's fault that she doesn't know anything. It feels wrong...

- So... You don't know how the Gold Sphere was created?

She shakes her head. Branch heaves a sigh. He puts his elbows on his knees. After a long minute of Silence, he speaks:

- Immortals also don't want to talk with me about... Things that happened before I came from the Chaos - He looks at her. - I can tell you everything I know, but I'm not sure if this is what you want.

- That would be enough - She says gratefully.

After a while of wonder, Branch continues:

- When I came from the Chaos, the world felt pretty filled. I had the capote on my shoulders, a hoodie on my head, and this branch in my hand - He takes a look at the Staff. - And all I knew was Darkness and Silence. I knew what it was and how to make it. Immortals I met pointed at the Palace of Harmony, so I went there. And that's how I faced King Peppy and Queen Rose.

He rips a few blades of grass and starts playing with them in his fingers.

- Rose was really friendly. Her sight made me feel that I was created for a reason. That I was needed and necessary for this world. But Peppy looked at me with fear and distrust. He told me to introduce myself, so I showed that all I knew then - Darkness and Silence. And that is how the King exiled me from the Palace. - Branch gulps. - If your mum didn't put a good word for me, he would throw me back into the Chaos.

Poppy trembles. She feels her body flexed. Branch is quiet for a while again, staring mindlessly at the grass with his eyes opened wide.

- He exiled me - The god repeats. - But I stayed. I stayed in the Palace. Rose was the only person who was friendly to me. Where could I go? I hid there, scared and forlorn, but near my last hope. Not for long, as the time showed. A few weeks later another god came from the Chaos. I don't remember his name and his motivation. Maybe I was too far to hear it. But near enough to jump from my hide and shield Queen Rose from his knife.

Poppy clenches her fists.

- I don't remember much, I fainted for a while. When I woke up, I saw them fighting. I mean, King, Queen, and that god. And they couldn't beat him. It's not easy to kill an Immortal... The only way is to destroy his immortality with other immortality. And that's what Rose did.

Branch looks up at her. She is tense. But noticing that he hesitates, she whispers:

- Go on.

- Well... That's why she wasn't immortal anymore. She gathered her powers into the Gold Sphere. - He takes a look at it again. - And she gave it to me. She said she trusted me and that the world needed me. She wanted to give me twice more than I risked for her. She said I risked my life, but... We all know I'm Immortal. And besides that... I thought then that my life didn't matter at all. But Queen Rose... She was just so ridiculously generous. She gave me a name, she gave me the Gold Sphere, and... - He hides his face into his hands. After a minute he showed her eyes filled with tears. He looks touched. - I'm not sure if this is her will to you being here, but... I'm so grateful she bore you.

Poppy melts. Her tension fades a bit. Before she can answer something, he goes on:

- I talked with her a few times before she died. Queen was... Really good person. So generous. Selfless. Caring. Cheerful. She had a heart of gold. Just... You are just like her. Or maybe even better.

Their eyes meet, but Poppy quickly looks away, blinking and blushing.

- I mean... For me. Better for me - He smiles, a bit awkwardly. He clears her throats. - Well, sadly, that's all I know about her. She was the goddess of Harmony. And... That's not a lot...

- Actually, that's all I needed - The goddess interrupts him. - You even don't know how important was every word you told me. - She gazes into his eyes gratefully. - I'm so sorry for what happened to you. That must have been an awful feeling to be treated like that.

He blinks. Some kind of relief drifts through his face at those words. He needed to hear something like that. To be understood.

- It's okay now. I needed time and a crazy pink lady to worked it out - He smiles slightly.

- That's why you were so grumpy at the first meeting? - Poppy smiles jokingly. She picks a little flower and puts it into his hair.

Branch looks up and smiles awkwardly.

- Was I? - He asks like he didn't know about it.

She giggles.

- But now I'm not, right?

- It depends on if you go to the party or not.

- Heyy, I promised you, didn't I?

Poppy sighs, feeling like the wave of many emotions that gathered during Branch's story flows over her with the calm, cheerful sight of his blue eyes.

- Yes, you did - She smiles widely.

_______________________________________________

Index

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britonell · 5 years ago

Photo

Hello @clearwillow. Do you know how difficult it was to keep my mouth shut about being your @inusecretsanta!?

Anywho, don’t skip the fanfic below!

Hermit’s Haven

In which one dog leads to a hermit failing to be a hermit…

...this is not my biography >.>

The dog appeared out of nowhere.

Inuyasha stared at the unexpected visitor. Against the backdrop of the untouched snow, the Akita stood out like a sore thumb.

The dog certainly didn’t belong to anyone in the village—since he was the sole inhabitant of said village. His closest ‘neighbor’ was an agricultural school on the other side of the mountain, and they weren’t the type to let a dog wander off their property.

Inuyasha watched the Akita sniff the icy bridge and then raise his head, ears perked up and beady eyes examining the half-demon, before throwing all caution to the wind and trotting up to him.

That was how the solitary half-demon ended up with a dog in his house. A dog that was currently taking up Inuyasha’s favorite spot beside the kotatsu, paws up in the air, not a care in the world.

For Inuyasha, this was odd. He wasn’t one to raise pets. He didn’t even own fish (which was why there was an empty koi pond in his backyard). He was an honest-to-goodness hermit.

Not that he had always been like this. After his father’s funeral, Izayoi and Inuyasha had been left instructions on when and how to sell some land in Hokkaido. Then the economic bubble burst happened and the land in the north ended up being their refuge.

Izayoi hadn’t been hurting for money or anything, no, she had plenty from her own inheritance. Inuyasha didn’t like to think about it much; throw in some economic woes and suddenly every city folk in Tokyo was ornery, so much so the half-breed child running around their apartment complex was now an eyesore.

The village was different. They had always been self-sufficient in their isolated community. Besides, as descendants of the Ainu people, they had their own history of being marginalized. He and Izayoi had been informed rather bluntly that they’d be welcomed as long as they didn’t get in anyone’s way—and if Inuyasha could quickly learn to ‘chase those pesky bears away�� that would be super helpful.

It all worked, for a while anyway.

The damn dog startled awake and stared at Inuyasha, who snorted. Nothing woke the dog up except his own loud snoring.

Right. What to do with the dog. He had to be someone’s pet. Had he been abandoned? The agricultural school regularly dealt with people throwing their trash and animals on their land, but in this village? With all this snow, no one would come this far to leave an unwanted pet.

So the dog somehow wandered all the way out here. Wonderful.

Maybe the dog was chipped. He could ask Kaede at the school. The villagers had trusted her, and she did attend the funerals whenever she could. Wait, she was a veterinary instructor for only the first half of the school year. She wouldn’t be back in Hokkaido for months.

And he wasn’t going to risk visiting another vet, since…

“Guess you’re staying for a few days,” Inuyasha grumbled.

The dog’s response was a great, big yawn.

A few days did pass. Then a few weeks. Then a few months.

They built something of a routine. Inuyasha would go out to forage and hunt, and the dog would patiently wait for him in the village. He took to calling the dog Hachi because...because he damn well felt like it, shut up. He even thought about buying some dog food in that resort town, but Hachi seemed to enjoy the game meat. That was fine. Hopefully.

It all worked, for a while anyway.

“Hachi?” Inuyasha called. Where was that damn dog? Hachi always welcomed him at the bridge next to his house. That used to bother him, since half the bridge hadn’t been refurbished to narrow the gaps between the railings, but with the ice gone he all but expected to see Hachi at the bridge, wagging his bushy tail with his stupid tongue out.

“Hachi! Hachi!” Inuyasha wasn’t panicking. He was being thorough, that’s why he was slamming the sliding doors open and entering his old neighbors’ homes. He would personally apologize to their graves later.

He found Hachi in the fifth house. Aiko used to own a Shiba Inu that she babied like her own grandchild. He cursed himself for forgetting the doggie door disguised as a tiny sliding door—he had helped her install it!

Hachi was in the bathroom, lying on his side, breathing labored and legs twitching.

There was no decision to make. Coherent thought didn’t even return until he was halfway to his destination, leaping from branch to branch with Hachi cradled in his arms.

The veterinary clinic was the first building next to the south entrance. Inuyasha shot past a group of shocked students, kicking up clouds of fallen Sakura petals, and burst into the clinic.

Kaede wasn’t sitting at the front desk.

“Fuck.”

“Over here.”

A man with hair bound in a rat tail was holding out his hands. To his credit, his eyes were focused on Hachi and not on Inuyasha. The latter surrendered the barely conscious Akita and watched the man rush past some of the confused students and into one of the rooms.

Inuyasha stood in the lobby for a good long while, his mind too scrambled to decipher the whispers. But if he was capable of observation, he would understand; a dog-eared man had just shown up with a half-dead dog in a clinic that usually catered to farm animals. His fault for not wearing a hat.

There was a loud shush that sent a couple of people out of the lobby, then a small hand offered him a cup of water.

“Please, have a seat.”

He was ushered to an empty seat where he stayed until he was the only one in the lobby, staring at the cup until the man with the rat tail walked up to him with a clipboard.

“Yamaguchi Inuyasha, right?” The man smiled, wearing no mask of pretense. “My name is Miroku. Kaede-baa-san’s my great aunt. She told us about how you helped her prepare our clinic and barn for the typhoon. Don’t mind the students, they’re first-years. I’ll make sure to have a word with them.”

Inuyasha didn’t really understand what he was saying, half the words going in one dog ear and out the other, he just wanted to know—“How’s the dog?”

“He’s stable,” oh thank fuck, “but he needs to stay with us for a few days.” Oh fuck no.

“What happened to him?” He gripped the cup a tad too tightly.

“I was hoping you could fill in the details. Did you see him collapse?”

Somehow, talking about Hachi made it easier to get the words out. “No, I was out. He snuck into one of the houses in the village. The house had a goddamn doggie door, I fucking forgot about it, and he was in the bathroom and he was—fuck, that old woman was on a lot of drugs before she—oh fuck the medicine cabinet was open, you think he could’ve reached—fuck, he must’ve gotten into some of her meds. Fuck!”

Miroku scribbled away, unfazed by the cursing. “It’s alright, I understand. We’ll run a few more tests. What’s his name?”

And there it was. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he began, “His...I don’t really…”

Miroku politely waited.

“He’s not my dog. I was gonna ask Kaede to scan him for a chip. I can still pay for the treatments.”

“Kaede won’t be here for another month, and she’ll return only as an advisor. I took over her position beginning this school year. If you don’t mind, I can go ahead and check for a chip.”

“Sure. Yeah, that’s fine.” It wasn’t.

“In regards to payment—”

“I can pay.”

“—there’s an account set up under the name of Yamaguchi Izayoi for the farm produce department. Ordinarily, any unused funds are forfeited at the end of the year, but I noticed an exception was made...seven times. If you’d like, we can use this account for payment?”

Inuyasha had to take a minute or two to pick his jaw up off the floor. “That’s…fine.”

“Great. We’ll use the phone number attached to the account to contact you.”

Inuyasha left the clinic with a lot of questions and nobody to ask them. He immediately busied himself back in the village, tidying the houses he broke into, visiting and apologizing to the graves of his neighbors, raking the flower petals into piles, anything to keep his mind off of Hachi. He thought about visiting the clinic, but he didn’t want to risk exciting Hachi and setting back his recovery.

Not to mention the heavy sense of guilt that prevented him from seeing Hachi again.

A week after Hachi’s collapse his phone rang.

“Yamaguchi-san?” It was the same voice that directed him to sit in the clinic.

“Uh. Yeah.” No one had ever called him with that honorific. Ever.

“We’re happy to report that your dog is awake and alert.” Thank fucking god. “We…” he did not like that pause, “...also scanned for a chip and managed to contact his owners.” Oh. “We told them what happened, and they’re driving from Sapporo to pick him up.” How the hell did Hachi make it to the village all the way from Sapporo? “They would like to personally thank you for finding and taking—”

“No,” Inuyasha growled, then remembered to add, “thanks. Just let them know I’m paying.”

“I know this is a little unorthodox, but they’re good people, I think you’ll like—”

He hung up.

He would go back to his routine. He would forget about Hachi. He would go back to being alone.

~*~

Little did Inuyasha know, Hachi had opened the proverbial floodgates and there was no stopping the invasion.

“Hello?” Inuyasha answered slowly. No one called him save for the automated bank calls, and he was damn sure no bank would program a call for the middle of the night.

“Listen, just hear me out before you hang up,” a familiar feminine voice spoke, tones clipped this time. “Someone dumped a litter of newborn puppies by the front entrance.”

“Wow. Asshole,” he said without thinking.

“I know! But most of the staff just left for summer break, we’re in the middle of breaking ground for a new research building and no one has the space and time. I mean, I’d foster them but my roommate already has a cat and there’s a one pet rule in my building. The nearest shelters are miles away and completely full. Miroku thinks the best option is to volunteer you for the job.”

“Oh...that’s…” He really should refuse. He was being volun-told by a stranger. “When should I pick them up?” Dammit.

“That’s the thing. Miroku’s already packed and ready to go. He’s going to drive up to your village ASAP.”

“I...umm…”

“I’m so sorry. I think Kaede-baa-san talked about you so much, it’s hard for us not to trust you, you know?”

“That’s...wait, did you say Kaede-baa—”

She hung up.

Fuck, she did that on purpose.

Less than an hour later, a pickup truck parked in front of the bridge. Inuyasha watched from his door, a strange mixture of anticipation and alarm twisting his stomach.

Miroku stepped out of the driver’s side and from the passenger’s side...Kikyo?

No, no, that’s not possible. Kaede’s granddaughter stopped dropping by with Kaede after he adamantly refused to move out of the village. He had been smitten, sure, but it was a teenage crush and this was his land, his, and she wanted a normal life, which most certainly meant not living in seclusion. Last he heard, she was studying to be a lawyer in Kyoto.

Miroku said something to the woman and she responded by smacking him upside the head. Nope, definitely not Kikyo.

“Thanks for doing this,” Miroku said once Inuyasha met them at the end of the bridge. He held up a box and inside there were five squirming black and white puppies.

Inuyasha clamped his mouth shut. He was still upset at being volunteered against his will, yes he was.

Miroku held the box out, only to turn and hand it to the woman beside him. “You sure you got this?”

“As if I would’ve agreed to this if I wasn’t,” the woman said with the same clipped tones. Guess she was the woman on the phone. “C’mon, we need to get inside before the rain starts.”

Miroku shrugged, smiling all the same. “Alright, I’ll get the supplies from the back. Inuyasha, help me carry those in, and then I’ll be on my way.”

It was only after he dropped the last of the supplies in his living room and watched the pickup drive away in the rain did he notice one crucial detail. “Are you staying?”

The woman looked up from his favorite spot beside the kotatsu, a puppy in each hand. Inuyasha was pretty sure she was trying to look more innocent than she was. “It’s not like you know how to raise puppies. Name’s Kagome, by the way. Miroku’s my cousin, and I’m volunteering at the clinic this year. Could you get the formula? It’s time to feed the puppies.”

Well fuck.

There were five puppies and a human woman in his house. A proper hermit would kick them out and leave them out in the rain.

He went to fetch the supplies.

He was a terrible hermit.

“Newborn puppies need to be fed every two hours. At least.”

Inuyasha did not know this. He now knew this.

The half-demon could manage a solid week without sleep, but Kagome insisted she be awake to supervise the feeding so she readied an infuriatingly loud alarm clock and boy did he want to smash it into pieces. Then the puppies would whine and he was too distracted to stay angry.

So busy were they Inuyasha didn’t even realize they had made no proper sleeping arrangements until well after dawn. Then the puppies would whine and he was too distracted to ask Kagome.

On the third night, he returned from the bath to find Kagome sleeping in the living room sans alarm clock, presumably packed away, never to be seen again. The realization that she trusted him to feed the puppies hit him hard. It wasn’t a foreign feeling, the villagers had trusted him, but that had been years ago and the nostalgia…hurt. To top it all off, she trusted him enough to fall asleep in his house.

The vulnerability in her unguarded expression went straight to his gut. He pondered what that meant, but then the puppies squirming around her whined and he was too distracted to ponder further.

Between the feedings, Kagome would divulge a few things about herself: She lived on a shrine in Tokyo (oh god a city girl), she took some time off after high school to work at the shrine and think about what she wanted to do with her life (now that was unusual for a Tokyo girl), she came to Hokkaido at Kaede’s suggestion (what an impulsive girl), and she could tell he was weirded out by all this from looking at his expression (uh...no, no he wasn’t).

After the seventh day, she slyly slid up to him with cell phone in hand. “You know, there’s someone who really wanted to thank you.”

“Huh?” he replied, still wiping a puppy’s paw.

She shoved the phone in his face before he could protest and there he was, wagging his bushy tail with his stupid tongue out.

“Thank you for finding our Hachi!” A little boy with a front tooth missing waved. “Grandpa and I missed him lots!”

“Thank you for keeping him safe all this time. Please drop by so we can thank you in person,” an elderly man said while bowing, a wrinkly hand holding onto a small cane.

“Yeah, I’m gonna give you my treasure! It’s a snake skin!” The little boy waved one last time before the recording stopped.

Inuyasha tried to say something, he really did. Yet the image of the elderly man with the cane shakily bowing stayed in his mind. He was too, too, too much like his late neighbors.

And holy shit the dog was named Hachi all along! Seems like he wasn’t the only uncreative pet namer in Japan.

Kagome’s warm, gentle hand pulled him out of his stupor. “C’mon, it’s feeding time.”

Of course, the puppies. Get the formula, use the dropper, get the paper towels, and repeat. This was a distraction, this was good. He just needed to think about the puppies. Formula, dropper, paper, repeat. Maybe close his eyes for a bit.

He fell asleep.

He, the damn half-demon, fell asleep.

Worse, he woke up with puppies pulling on his hair and a camera flash going off.

“Look, don’t we look adorable?” she said and flipped the camera phone to show him the photo. There he was, looking up at the camera half-awake with his hair splayed out on the tatami. Kagome was also looking up in the photo, opposite him and upside down, giving the camera a deceptively demure smile, her black hair similarly splayed out and over his silver hair. All over their contrasting hair, the black and white puppies were sitting or lying down. “I’m going to send this to my mom, if that’s okay with you.”

He groaned and threw an arm over his face. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You needed the rest. Besides, this was a picture perfect moment!”

She was trying to kill him.

As he suspected, this was the first of many, many ‘picture perfect’ moments. Sometimes, he would have a lap full of puppies, with no way of escaping, only to hear “Cheese!” and the telltale flick of the shutter. Other times, he would be busy in the kitchen preparing the formula and out of the corner of his eye he would see her leaning on the doorframe, watching with that small little smile and her trusty Mr. Phone.

Worse, she got into the habit of wandering into the village when it was her turn to take a break and then come back with all sorts of questions.

“There’s a koi pond out back, why aren’t there any koi fish? What do you mean it’s unfinished?”

“Is that a guesthouse? That’s your shed!? It’s huge!”

“I saw a bunch of flowerpots, you should grow some flowers. Do ajisai grow around here? I loved seeing them whenever I walked home in the rain.”

“I was all the way out in the woods and I still had signal! You need to get a cell phone, you can’t rely on a landline forever! ...what do you mean there are BEARS?”

“My mom called and she said that photo of us was adorably perfect, can I post it online? I’m taking that grunt as a ‘Yes.’”

“What’s with all bank flyers on the front doors? Does the bank really own all the vacant houses?”

They built something of a routine. Luckily, this time, Inuyasha didn’t forget that she was a temporary resident.

Two weeks later, Miroku returned with the pickup truck. “Hope you two had a doggin’ good time!”

Kagome rolled her eyes as she hauled the nearly empty boxes into the back of the pickup. “Spare us, dear cousin. Sango-chan better be back today.”

“She and Shippo will be back by 3. We should have enough people until vaccination time, then we can work on finding foster homes. Speaking of the puppies, they grew fast!” Miroku said, and Inuyasha regrettably let the box of puppies go. “Thanks for all your help, my good man!”

“Yeah.” Inuyasha fidgeted, shifting from one foot to the other. He never got used to saying goodbye.

“See you around, Inuyasha!” Kagome waved, one leg already in the truck. She held a bank flyer in her other hand, probably to show off to her city friends.

He watched the truck do a U-turn and disappear from sight.

He doubted they would see each other again.

~*~

He was wrong.

“There was a fire at the shelter.”

His power of comprehension always needed a few seconds to catch up whenever she called, which was getting frequent these days. “A fire?”

“The animal shelter. There was an electrical fire.”

Leave it to Kagome to drop a bombshell on him. “Holy fuck,” he cursed. “Are the puppies—did anyone—”

“The puppies are still at school. The volunteers got all the dogs out but some of them are being treated for smoke inhalation. We’re trying to help find shelters and foster homes but it’s a mess right now. You don’t mind if Miroku—”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he answered, unintentionally cutting her off. “Use my account to buy whatever you need.”

Miroku didn’t bring puppies this time. Inuyasha helped lead the Beagle mix, the Lab mix, and the Shiba Inu into the house. Miroku held out some papers for Inuyasha to sign, he assumed for the shelter to keep track of where their dogs went, and set about preparing their bowls and beds.

He quickly learned that the Beagle mix, Makura, was an old and heavy lap dog, and if Inuyasha sat down on the tatami, Makura would slowly but surely make his way from wherever he was in the house to rest on his favorite lap. The Lab mix, Kuriko, had a knack for sneaking into the kitchen and stealing his cookware. Why the cookware, he had no idea. The Shiba Inu, Pen-Pen, goddamn Pen-Pen, followed him. Everywhere.

Over the next few days, Miroku brought another Shiba Inu, a Chow Chow much to Inuyasha’s surprise, and a tiny little Chihuahua that wouldn’t stop shivering even on a warm autumn afternoon. The giant pile of dog food was starting to take over the living room, but he couldn’t move the kotatsu while Kuriko was sleeping on Inuyasha’s favorite spot beside the furniture.

One curious object hidden within the supplies had Inuyasha scratching his head. It was a large board with the words ‘HERMIT’S HAVEN’ etched into the wood. Stuck to it was a post-it note instructing him to hang it on the bridge for the visitors.

What visitors?

As usual, Kagome dropped the bombshell.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner. It was Miroku’s idea, I didn’t think he’d actually make you sign anything without telling me first.” Well, she sounded apologetic.

Inuyasha stared into the distance, his sanity bidding him farewell. “My house’s now a dog shelter?”

“It doesn’t have to be your house. You’re a co-owner in name. Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Kagome said, a nervous smile evident in her voice. “We’ll take care of everything else.”

Shockingly, she was right. More dogs were brought in, more dog houses were bought and built. Nothing changed.

Except for the visitors.

They weren’t even locals. Tourists from overseas were making a day trip from the resort town to see his village. He had no idea how word got out. A young fox demon from the school dropped in one day and mentioned pictures and Kagome’s insta-something or other, but he didn’t really get it.

Inuyasha tried to make himself scarce whenever tourists showed up. ‘Tried’ being the operative word because goddamn Pen-Pen kept giving him away. The visitors would spot him in the tree, ask if he was from the pictures, he would grunt, and they would leave money and dog treats in a donation box—what the hell, who put that donation box there?

“You’re a good man for taking care of all these dogs,” a blue-eyed man towering over everyone else spoke in perfect Japanese, offering his hand with not an ounce of hesitation. He might’ve mentioned he was from Australia.

Inuyasha reluctantly reached for the hand, and was jerked forward into a bear hug.

If anyone tried to kiss him on the cheek, he was diving into the stream.

~*~

“What?”

“Yeah, I didn’t think I’d be hired either! Crazy, right? But they were really short on staff and took Kaede’s recommendation seriously.”

“Uh, yeah, congrats.”

“Thank you, Inuyasha!”

He ignored the funny feeling that traveled down his spine. What was wrong with him, she only said his name! “But, err, after you said that, you said you and Miroku were moving into...”

“Weeeelllll,” there it was, that nervous smile in her voice, “you know how the bank is offering all the vacant houses for free?”

“I mean, free if you work and live here for years.”

“More than a decade, yup.”

“You’re going to...more than a decade…”

“Guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, neighbor.”

He should be glad. Two people he could tolerate moving into his village.

The trucks were here before he could blink. The plan was to assess for renovations before moving in.

He should be glad.

“Inuyasha?” Miroku called. He stood outside Hiro’s old house. It was Miroku’s house now.

“I...gotta take a walk. Watch the dogs.”

“Take your time.”

Inuyasha hadn’t visited the graves since the puppies.

The elderly villagers had been old-fashioned, but loneliness had made them more social, so much so that dinner had to always be a village feast. Izayoi took up remodeling and enlarging a number of houses, just because she had the time, money and encouraging neighbors. As soon as Inuyasha learned to hunt, they had no problems accepting wild game from a half-demon. Then Izayoi fell ill…

Inuyasha was self-sufficient. It was alright, he had told himself, over and over again. Reality, and age, eventually caught up. The villagers’ children and grandchildren had moved to cities like Sapporo long ago. A few of the villagers relented and joined the young in the cities, but most had refused to leave. A couple of funerals later, the village became nothing but vacant and abandoned houses, and one half-demon.

He could have finished all those renovations, built that rock garden for Masa, lay out that trail from the woods to the koi pond so everyone had access, but he hadn’t.

Now, someone else would. Someone who would never know that Hiro dreamed of having a western-style fireplace, someone who would never know just how much Yumi loved her sunflowers, someone who could never understand just how much this village meant to him—

“Inuyasha?”

He grunted, but didn’t turn around.

Kagome sat down beside him. “Are you mad?”

“Not mad,” he answered without emotion, just as he rehearsed it.

“It’s not a problem, is it? Us moving here, I mean.”

“Not a problem.” Because it most certainly was not. “The bank gave it to ya. It’s all legal.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Kagome said quietly.

A long stretch of silence followed. Inuyasha knew he should say something, anything, and after nearly a year he thought it would be easier, but he had no words if the words weren’t about the dogs.

“Kaede-baa-san talked about you a lot,” Kagome said, mercifully. “She had a lot of friends here. And she’d always mention this one boy who'd help everyone with everything. It got hard for her, coming back here just to say goodbye to another friend. But she was most worried about the boy who refused to move out of the village.”

Kaede had asked him to move in with her. As kind as she was, he couldn’t bring himself to trust a city folk, not at the time. He would never ever admit it out loud, but hearing his apartment neighbors openly discuss if he fell under the ‘no pets rule’ had hurt.

“Kaede-baa-san is going to be at the school for a few days. You should drop by.”

“She worries too much.”

“She likes you. I was a bit jealous for a while. You know, she kept your mom’s account at the school open just in case you wanted to use it. With the way she described you, though, I thought you’d be shy and scared of strangers. Imagine my surprise when you showed up with Hachi in your arms and leaves in your hair. Totally not what I expected.”

He tried to give a witty reply. Like how she surprised him too with her Oscar-worthy puppy dog eyes. Or how she had a bad habit of dropping bombshells, even now. Instead, all he managed was, “I should visit Hachi.”

Kagome beamed. “That’s a great idea.”

~*~

“I thought you were going back to Tokyo for Christmas.”

Kagome shrugged while peeling another tangerine. “I was too busy moving furniture and painting the walls. Totally forgot about buying the tickets.”

“Uh-huh.” Inuyasha was all too familiar with that tone. “But Miroku remembered, even though he was moving furniture and painting too.”

“I guess he’s just better at keeping track of time.”

“You’re weird for a city girl. Can’t keep track of time, wants to live in the middle of nowhere, what the hell?”

“I’m one of a kind. Now scooch over. Your trunk thighs are taking up space in the kotatsu.”

“Like I can, Makura’s on my lap and—dammit Pen-Pen, stop leaning on me!”

Kagome whistled. “Oh no, looks like I got competition. Better hide you away for bed time.”

Inuyasha muttered incoherently for a few seconds, his face turning seven different shades of red. “S-shut up.” Did she have to be so open about liking him?

But Kagome did like him. She especially liked him letting his guard down and falling asleep on the tatami with the dogs on top of him. She joined what she liked to call the ‘puppy pile’ and watched him nap, his chest slowly rising and falling despite the weight of Pen-Pen’s head.

The picture of her lying opposite Inuyasha with the black and white puppies had garnered a lot of attention. But Kagome definitely preferred lying next to him.

Her eyelids grew heavy. Time for her to rest as well.

Flick, went the shutter.

Kagome snickered. Send the picture to mom, and then rest.

~*~

AN: Puppy pile!

This one shot got away from me. It was about a stray puppy bringing Inuyasha and Kagome together, and suddenly...this.

Haven’t had a fic get this out of control in a while.

#inuyasha #inukag #kagome #inusecretsanta #fanfic #fanart #my art #my fic #fanfic au

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twistinghearts · 5 years ago

Text

Lizard Hunting

@evil-and-twisted wrote this really cute thing, and I got inspired to write something about Leona’s younger sister have a crush and small date with Malleus.

Disclaimer: The bases of Leona’s younger sister in this story is meant to be a self-insert but based on the information about women in the Sunset Savannah so, tough and feisty. (___) = your name [flower] = favorite flower

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~ Today was so exciting for you! You finally got to leave your home and visit your big brother and explore the school he attended. Being a princess you didn’t leave your home country much so anywhere that wasn’t a plain was exciting. Unfortunately, your big bro was too lazy to show you around. You loved a good mid-day nap as much as the next cat but just not right now. So instead you were being shown around by his attendant? Friend? You weren’t really sure what they were, not that it really mattered, though you were happy to see Leona could make friends.

“So the campus is pretty large... I guess the main castle is the easiest part to show you. That’s where all the school stuff is... The green house wouldn’t be a bad place to show you either.... Leona sure likes to spend time there at least. I wonder how mad he’d be if I took you too the Monstro Lounge. Maybe that’s how I’ll get back at him. Shishishi~” You could hear Ruggie talking but you weren’t really listening. Your ears kept twitching, trying to pick up every sound, as you took in all the sights. It was mostly stone but what you could see in the distance was fascinating, and so green. As much as you wanted to chase down and examine students from other dorms you know that would be weird and probably create problems; the one thing your big brother told you not to do.

Even the smells were different! Some good, some bad, especially when you passed the potions classroom, and some familiar. Actually one was very familiar and enticing to you. Yet something was different about it... You stopped following, focusing on the scent. Lizard; your favorite thing to hunt on the Savanna. If they were here too maybe they were different. Unable to resist your curiosity you leaped down into the courtyard to follow the scent. Leaving poor Ruggie none the wiser and in a lot of trouble.

You followed the scent through the courtyard, and down a path away from the school. Since the terrain didn’t have any tall grass and you didn’t know it well enough to find a hunting spot, you took an aggressive approaching, running full speed ahead toward your target. As a figure came into your view, you realized that it was waaaay bigger than a lizard, and also they weren’t running away from you like hunted things usually did. But you were already set in hunting mode so there was no other option but to tackle. “Gotcha!” You yelled as if it totally justified you tackling a random student. Only, you didn’t make contact. Well with the target at least. You rolled to a stop on the hard path, popping up to at least be sitting upright. “The hell... I should have caught it.” You glanced around before spotting the tall dark figure approaching. “Were you really expecting to catch me with such an obvious attack? How pitiful.” The dark man stated, casting you a glare. “I mean I did warn you, so you had that going for you. If I had a chance to stalk and pounce I would have had you!” For a moment you swore his lips twitch into an amused smile. “If that’s what you wish to think. I’ll give you credit for being bold enough to attack head on, as poor an attempt as it was.” You let out a small growl as you stood. “Well I was expecting a smaller target to capture.”

“Isn’t a big target easier to hit?”

“Well, you’re also something I’m not supposed to hurt!”

“I doubt you could even if you managed to land a hit.” The man’s lips undeniably curved into a smirk, just adding insult to injury.

“How about we give it a try then.” You cracked your knuckles, forming a fist.

The man didn’t respond, just stared into your eyes for a moment before simply looking surprised. “You’re really not afraid...”

“Why should I be?” You huffed, releasing your fist and brushing your hair behind your shoulder. “I’m tall too, that doesn’t scare me. And your horns aren’t that impressive. Why aren’t you scared? I came at you out of nowhere.”

His face returned to a usual emotionless demeanor. “As I mentioned, you were incredibly obvious.”

“Fine fine. Whatever you say.” You were bored of the conversation anyway. “Just don’t tell Leona, he’s my older brother. I’m (____) by the way. And you are?”

“Oh, Kingscholar. That explains things.” He cupped his chin in his hand. “You really don’t know... Hm. I am Malleus, Prince of...” Malleus fell silent as you leaned forward to sniff him better. “Lizard...” Yup he was definitely what you smelled earlier. “Yeah I think I’ve heard of you.” You leaned back putting your hands on your hips. “I’m sure as royalty there’s some formal greeting I should give but we’re probably past that now.”

Malleus just stared. He was so caught off guard and confused. He had never encountered a person or creature quite as weird as you. It was amusing. You also seemed so carefree.

“Well bye!” Now that the mystery had been solved and all was forgiven, you should probably go find Ruggie before Leona tears his head off. Malleus didn’t really show it but he could feel a small twinge in his heart, like he didn’t want you to leave. Luckily for him, you got two steps into your journey back before stopping. “Actually, I don’t know where I’m going. Could you show me the way?”

“Fine.” Malleus gave a monotone answer, but he was glad to spend more time with you.

Your walk back to the main school building was mostly filled with silence. He didn’t really know what to say, neither did you. Plus you had gone back to looking and listening to everything. It was a little harder now, feeling your new friend’s eyes on you for most of the journey. Suddenly, you stopped and pivoted. “That’s not the right way...That’s the green house...” Was that where he was supposed to leading you. “I wanted to see it. Ruggie will live a few more minutes... maybe...” The last bit was under your breath. Not important anyway. Malleus eventually followed, considering he had already gone this far with you.

It was probably better that you came in here because now there was something to talk about. Since it was usually quiet, Malleus spent a lot of time here and knew a lot about the greenery. You were even able to mention facts about insects and plants local to you. Eventually you two took a seat under one of the trees. “I think this one was my favorite...” You twirled a [flower] in your fingers, “It smells nicest.” You took another sniff of the flower. “I like the way you smell too...” You slumped to the side, leaning on Malleus’ shoulder. His skin felt cool, not what you were used to and inciting you to cuddle closer to warm him. Finally resting, you felt how fired you were from all the running around. It was definitely time for a mid-day nap. Within a few moments you were asleep, though it took Malleus much longer to process what was happening and what he should do now. It didn’t take long for him to settle into his fate of being a pillow. He had nowhere to be, and the feeling of the warmth of your skin was nice. After a while into the nap he wondered if it would bother you to be petted. His hand lifted and stroked your head earning a soft purr. Even asleep your body recognized the feeling as pleasant. A few pets later, his hand drifted to your ears, gently stroking the side of it. The purring stopped and your ear twitched, sensitive to the gentle touch. He would have continued but the peaceful moment was interrupted.

“Oi! [____] I know you’re in here!” Leona yelled, “Didn’t I tell you not to cause trouble for me?” He followed the tracked scent. Not too worried about your well being knowing you could handle yourself in a fight, but he had been concerned about being able to find you. He would have been relieved to see you in it hadn’t been in Malleus’ arms. “What the HELL do you think you’re doing!” Leona roared, already preparing a spell.

Malleus was unaffected by his anger, simply raising a finger to his lips. “Quiet. You’ll wake her.” He couldn’t help but smirk, amused at how angry he was. That only ticked Leona off more and he released the spell making a loud cracking noise just to the other side of Malleus. The dragon was unaffected, you however jumped right up. “Huh! Wha?” You were on high alert, and unfortunately an angry Leona was the first thing you saw. Your ears drooped. “Sorry, I fell asleep.”

“Just get away from him.” Leona crossed his arms; it was all he could do to keep himself from charging another magic spell. “What did you do to get her here? A spell? Or did you just kidnap her while sleeping?”

“Bro! Don’t be so rude!” You were ignored.

“She didn’t know where to go and asked me to accompany her back.” Malleus rose as you left but didn’t leave the spot.

“Ha!” Leona let out a small laugh as he relaxed his arms, setting one at his hip. “Are you flattered by that? Don’t let it go to your head. She didn’t choose you. You happened to be there.”

“Leona!” You yelled, getting angry at how he was talking to the other. Sure it wasn’t like you went out of your way to spend time with the prince of thorns, but it’s not like it was a bad thing that you did. The day was really nice... and you had secretly been hoping you could have spent more time with him. Of course, you didn’t voice any of that. Too embarrassing and it would only make your brother angrier. Instead you two just had a stare down, growling now and there. Finally Ruggie broke the tension, “Dinner is about to be ready. We should head to the cafeteria.”

Leona finally closed his eyes and leaned back, clicking his tongue. “Tch... whatever. Let’s just go eat.”

You relaxed as he did; pleased you had won the stare down. (You always did). “Sounds good!” Your voice was back to chipper as if nothing had happened. You gave a quick wave to Malleus before heading out, Leona glaring him down the whole time.

Now that you were gone, Malleus leaned back on the tree, gazing down at the flower you had left in his hand. Starting to think over what Leona said, maybe the joy he felt from today was one sided. It could have been you didn’t want to be with him, just stuck with him.

“Wait! I forgot something!” you gasped almost at the exit, heading back in, ignoring all your brothers protests. Quietly, you ran back up to Malleus and pressed your lips against his. The kiss didn’t last long, but it was kind of dreamy, for both of you. “I caught you Lizard~ Today was fun. I’ll see you again~” You plucked the flower from his hand before running back. Malleus was left standing just in a broken shock.

#like the face he makes when the headmaster shows up #this took me 6 hours #i hope someone likes it #it got really long so i put it under read more #thank you for reading #twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #malleus draconia #leona kingscholar #self insert #fanfic #story #leona sister #Full House #Dealer's Choice #this is my first story

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hybridfanfiction · 5 years ago

Text

Stay With Me - 1

Rabbit Hybrid Mark x Reader

Summary: After moving away from home, your car breaks down and you’re forced to travel through an unfamilar forest. You’re saved by a rabbit hybrid named Mark. The problem is, you don’t want to leave.

Word Count: 2,800

❦

Curse your stupid car. And curse yourself for always putting off getting it fixed. You had no idea what those flashing lights had meant before the poor thing died right in the middle of the night near a giant forest, like some horror movie. And to make things worse, your phone had long died and you’d left your charger at home. Well, not your home anymore.

You dropped your forehead onto the steering wheel and sighed, wondering where you went wrong in a past life for this to be happening to you. The only options left to you were spending the night in your freezing car or walking a couple of hours to get through the forest until you reached the town that you knew was near here.

Neither option was amazing, but at least if you started walking you’d spend less time in the cold than you would sticking around your car. Mind made up, you slid out and pulled on your jacket and a beanie. You locked the car, even though it seemed pointless since no one would want to steal the piece of crap. With a weary sigh, you walked through the trees, chattering your teeth as you held your jacket closer to you.

God, this was such a stupid decision, you thought to yourself as the darkness of the forest and various strange sounds started to get to you. You felt like you were just waiting for a serial killer to pop up at any moment.

After an hour of walking, you were wondering if you were going to die out here. You were freezing, tired, starving, and terribly scared. You had also realized some time back that without GPS, you really had no idea if you were going the right way. For all that you knew, you were going in circles, stuck in this creepy forest forever.

Just as you were considering sitting on a nearby log for a well-deserved break, you heard a rustling in a nearby bush. You held your breath, looking around frantically for something that could be used as a weapon. Suddenly, your leg caught on something and you heard a sickening crack as your ankle twisted wrong. You fell forward on your hands, scraping them on the ground.

With a light sob as the throbbing in your ankle finally registered, you realize you’re all alone in a forest with a now twisted or broken ankle. Did someone put a curse on you? What the hell was going on with this day? With this month even?

Your tears began to his the forest floor as you cried in earnest, everything finally getting the better of you. You just needed something to go right for once.

You’d nearly forgotten about the bush that had worried you earlier, but it had started rustling again. You watched through tears, just waiting for some wild cat to jump out and finish you off.

Something did jump out, but it most certainly wasn’t a cat.

First, a little nose popped out, sniffing the air. Then two of the longest pair of ears you’d ever seen. Finally, the rabbit hopped completely out of the bush, staring at you as his nose moved a mile a minute.

He was the biggest rabbit you’d ever seen, and you somewhat recalled seeing something on the internet once about Flemish rabbits. Flemish Giant Rabbits? Whatever they were called, this was most certainly one of them, although how one was all the way out here was a mystery. Maybe he was someone’s pet once but they released him once they realized how big he was getting. Messed up, but not surprising if that was it.

You sit up a little and use the log behind you to lean on, trying to gather the courage to move your leg a little bit. The rabbit seemed to have decided closer inspection was needed as he hopped a little nearer, staring at you for a few moments before he sniffed at your ankle. Smart little thing seemed to know what the problem was.

If nothing else, the big grey rabbit was proving to be a good distraction from your pain as you watched him inspect you and slowly move closer after every sniff. Before you knew it, he (or she? You weren’t about to check) sat up on its hind legs to sniff at your face - or more specifically - your tears. If you didn’t know better, you’d say the little guy was smart as hell, like human smart and knew that you were crying in pain.

Suddenly, the rabbit hopped away from you again until he reached his bush again. Only he looked behind him and hopped back over to you, then back to his bush. Like he wanted you to follow? So now this forest trip was making you delirious. Great.

You grit your teeth and pull yourself up, trying your best to walk without putting too much pressure on your injured ankle. If nothing else, maybe this creepy smart bunny will lead you to some water.

You moved agonizingly slow but eventually made it to where his giant bush was, and with a peek around it, you were surprised to find a small dirt trail. It wasn’t much, but perhaps it was a sign that there was some sort of human life out here. Hopefully, one that wouldn’t carve you up.

You walked the trail slowly, the big bunny rabbit hopping along in front of you and occasionally looking behind him like he was checking to make sure you were still there. Maybe the rabbit belonged to whoever owned the trail?

After walking for what felt like forever due to the pain you were in, the rabbit stopped in front of...a hobbit house?

There was no other way to explain it. From the outside, it appeared to be part of a hill covered with grass and flowers. But there was also a huge wooden door and a stone chimney, even a cute little window. The rabbit seemed to be watching you expectantly, so you knocked, not knowing what else to do.

You waited a few moments to see if Bilbo Baggins was going to scream at you to go away, but you were met with nothing but silence. Curiously, you pushed the door open and it swung free of its hinge easily. You peeked inside, and while dark and quiet at the moment, it was still warmer than it was outside.

“Hello? Anyone home?”

It seemed whoever this little hole in the ground belonged to was away at the moment, but just in case, you try once more.

“I’m not a robber, I promise. I think I have your rabbit here?”

Still nothing. As the ache in your ankle made its presence known, you decided to at least sit down somewhere and wait. Maybe whoever owned the place would understand you were injured and not shoot you. Or maybe they would and just put you out of your misery already. It was a little difficult to navigate in the dark, but you found yourself in a sort of living room and the feeling of the chair under your hand was plush and comfy. There was even a big blanket draped on it, and you took the liberty of happily wrapping it around yourself and sinking into the comfortable chair. You’d only be a few moments, you swore. You just needed a quick rest.

The smell of food was what woke you up. You hadn’t even planned on sleeping, but you guessed everything just caught up to you at once. You cracked your eyes open to find a steaming bowl of rice porridge in front of you. There was a fire crackling in the hearth, which explained why you felt so toasty finally. Your injured leg was also propped up on a footstool and wrapped with some sort of linen.

Apparently, the person that lived here finally showed up and not only didn’t kill you or kick you out, but patched you up and was feeding you as well. Perhaps your luck had finally turned after all. The little window outside showed it was still dark, so you couldn’t have been sleeping long. Perhaps an hour or two.

“Hello?”

You waited a few moments, but you were again met with silence. Perhaps they were just shy. You shrug and take a bite of the porridge, humming happily as your belly warms.

Suddenly you hear footsteps and set down your spoon, tensing. God only knew what could be walking around that corner.

Instead of the ogre or cackling witch you’d expected, a beautiful man walks towards you with a tea tray. He smiles happily when he meets your eyes, his smile adorably wide and toothy.

“Oh, good. You’re awake! I made this tea for you. It’s made with willowbark. It tastes horrible, but it’s good for dulling pain. I’m sure your ankle hurts a lot.”

Any response you could have made died when you finally noticed what was on top of his head. Ears. Not just any sort of ears, but giant grey rabbit ears. And when he turned to the side to set down the tray, a grey puffy rabbit tail poked out of a hole in his sweats.

A hybrid then. You’d never heard of any living in the wild before. You thought they were all just puppies and kittens made in a lab that went for a ridiculous amount to hang off the arm of some disgusting old rich person.

“Thank you,” you finally come to your senses enough to squeak out. “And thank you for last night. I’m guessing that was you.”

He nodded as he sat down in the chair opposite you, his ears flopping cutely along with his head.

“Yes. I was out foraging when I thought I smelled human. It was strange because we don’t usually get many of you out here. You got hurt and I couldn’t just leave you.”

“Thank you again,” you smile as he pours you a cup of tea. “My name is Y/N, by the way.”

“I’m Mark,” he grins, sliding the cup towards you.

“Are you out here alone?”

You take a sip of the tea and it really is bitter. You cringe and try to remind yourself that in the case of most medicine, the more horrible it tastes the better it works.

“Nope, not really. This burrow is all mine, but I have a bunch of brothers that live out here too.”

You glance up at him in surprise. “Did you make this place?”

He blushes but puffs his chest proudly. “Yep. All rabbit males do once they're ready to find a mate. They start to build their burrows. I’ve been working on mine for about six years now. I even have a few tunnels that connect to my brother’s homes.”

“That’s incredible, Mark. I’m so impressed. I can’t even build Ikea furniture without crying.”

He smiles shyly and nudges the porridge at you to remind you to eat. You shovel a few more bites in the please him.

“So what’s your mate like then? Are they going to be here soon?” You ask between bites.

Mark chuckles and shakes his head. “I don’t have one yet. I’ve heard there’s a rabbit colony somewhere east of here that I could go and look for someone, but I don’t know. It didn’t feel right. My mom always said my mate would show up when the time is right, and that I would know right away it was them. So I’ve been building and waiting.”

“That’s sweet,” you hum and take another sip of the horrible tea. “You’ll find someone. I’ve only known you for a few minutes and I can already tell you’re a catch. Look at everything you’ve done for me without knowing me at all.”

He blushes and stands up, taking your empty bowl and refilling your tea.

“I’ll be right back.”

You nod and watch him walk away, lounging back in your chair in contentment. What a sweetheart Mark was. You were warm, fed, and comfortable beside the horrible ache in your ankle. Although if his tea worked, that would go away soon too.

You might have dozed off a little bit, but Mark’s arrival promptly woke you back up. You smiled sleepily at him as he fussed over you, adjusting the blanket around your shoulders. Unfortunately, your body chose that moment to remind you of certain bodily functions.

“Um, Mark...where do you...uhh...you know?”

He stared at you in confusion until he noticed the way your body was starting to automatically do what you lovingly termed “the peepee dance.”

“OH. Of course. I’m so sorry. I’ll take you.”

And he really meant take you. He scooped you up and carried you bridal style through the house, leading you down a surprisingly impressive tunnel system full of rooms. When he reached the end, he opened one of the doors to reveal something you’d expect to see in a historical film.

“It’s nothing fancy, I’m afraid. Still, I did the best I could. It doesn’t smell bad and it all turns into compost. When you’re done, cover it with the sawdust I keep over here,” he explained, pointing everything out.

You shivered imagining having to go to the bathroom like this every day, but at least the papers or towels or whatever those were looked clean and easy to use. You suppose if you’re trying to live in the middle of the forest away from humans, things are bound to be difficult without plumbing and electricity.

You finish your business quickly and wash your hands in the basin left in there. When you open the door again, Mark is waiting a litte ways down the hall and rushes over once he sees you come out.

He scoops you back up again without a word and carries you back to your chair in front of the fire. Mark sits in the seat next to you, the silence as you both settle in comfortable instead of straining. You peek over, surprised by the sudden blush that heats up your cheeks as you observe him.

Despite the strangeness of the rabbit ears, he’s really a beautiful man. Enough that if he’d been human, there was no way he wouldn’t be a model or actor or something like that. He’s also incredibly kind, taking you in when you were hurt and lost and taking care of you without a single complaint. In fact, he’d never asked for anything, just fed you and even carried you around like it was his job.

You sigh and it seems to catch his attention as he glances over at you, a little worried furrow in his brows.

“You okay? Is your ankle really bad?”

“No,” you shake your head and smile reassuringly at him. “It’s achy, but it’s not horrible. I think it’s just twisted really bad, not broken, so at least there’s that.”

“If you need me to, I can get one of my brothers to come help me get you into town. I saw the doctor there once and he’s really nice. Didn’t seem to care that I was a hybrid.”

“I do need to get back to town eventually. And I need to collect my car. I don’t suppose you have one, do you?”

He shook his head, his ears folding over sadly. “I don’t, I’m sorry. But my brother Youngjae has a wagon. We could take you in that. It just would take a bit to get everything ready and it’s still the middle of the night right now. He’ll kill me if I wake him up.”

“There’s no rush, Mark. You should get a nap in too. You’ve been up taking care of me.”

He blushed and turned to look at the fire. “I don’t mind.”

You smile fondly and even sneak a little pat on his arm. A few moments later you’re fighting to stay awake when he stands up.

“Can I put you in an actual bed? There’s one right across from mine so I can hear if you need me.”

“Oh, a bed sounds wonderful, Mark. You are seriously an angel.”

He grins and once again scoops you up. You’re starting to get really comfortable with the sensation of being in his arms.

The bed he puts you in is huge, at least king-sized, and incredibly fluffy. The frame is huge and wooden, and you remind yourself to ask him if he built all this when you’re more capable of speech.

Mark covers you in several quilts and tucks them around you, petting your hair away from your forehead. You look up at him and smile sleepily.

“Thank you, Mark, for everything. Goodnight.”

He shuffles towards the door and you are nearly asleep when he mumbles, “Goodnight, Y/N. I’m so glad you’re finally here.”

#got7 #hybrid #hybrids #hybrid au #au #hybrid!got7 #hybrid!mark #hybrid fanfiction #mark tuan

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paperficwriter · 6 years ago

Note

Garou x reader, Misc 15

(cut is for length, not for content, continued from this fic!)

Look at Me

“This isn’t really coming out. That’s not a huge issue for you, is it?”

You have your fingers in thick suds as you rub Garou’s skull as gently as you can while still trying to wash the red out of his hair. Yes, this is how you are describing it, “the red”; because when you asked if he had gotten a bad dye job, he said no, and everything up to this point has made it pretty clear you don’t want any additional details about Garou’s affairs.

He wiggles a little in the chair you have placed in front of the sink so he could drop his head back into the basin. It’s easy for him - you can’t get over how tall he is - and he seems comfortable enough. In fact, he’s got a stupid smile on his face. “Yeah, s’fine, just keep doing that.”

“…did you already know it wasn’t going to wash out?”

“No, actually I had no idea.” When you massage at the back of his neck, you could swear he purrs. “Don’t stop.”

You can’t help but smile and shake your head, and then you give him a little push with your elbow. “If I knew you didn’t have any money, I would have gotten you something to eat, you know.”

This time, instead of you running into him, he literally ran into you on the street, so hard that for a second you thought a car had mounted the sidewalk. Your nose started bleeding, and over the blurriness of your eyes you could see him continue running at first. Well, someone like him, because the red hair and the one terrible red eye he turned to you were new features entirely.

“There’s a reason they call it a ‘five finger discount.’ Ow.” He opens that horrible eyelid and you cringe. “No pulling. We’re not there yet.”

“What does that–” You shake your head, refusing to blush, because you’re pretty sure you know damn well what he meant, but anyway. “Garou, seriously. They’re probably going to end up making your server pay for it and claim that they should have been watching closer.”

He looks up at you with an expression that’s hard to interpret, like all it would take is a little nudge to joke it off, but…he stays straight-faced. For you, maybe? “I’ll pay them back as soon as I can.”

“I’m giving you some money.”

“I’m not going to take it.”

“I’ll put it in your pocket.”

“I didn’t even tell you how much it was.”

“I’ll assume it wasn’t cheap. You smelled like cooked meat and table polish, so clearly you came from a steak house.” He snorts at that, and you smile, using the extendable hose to wash the shampoo out of his hair. “Now you smell like sugary roses or something. How is it that stuff that’s supposed to smell like flowers doesn’t actually smell like any flower you’ve ever seen?”

He sniffs at it and shrugs. “Kinda like it. Or I don’t hate it, anyway.” There’s an unmistakably happy sound that comes out of his throat as you wrap his hair with a towel and start wringing it out. Even if it’s still red, at least it will be clean…

And then you jump a little, because he’s putting his arm around your waist as you dry him off, clinging to you a bit. Why does it not quite feel like a tease? “Ha…ew, your face is wet,” you joke as he leaves a face-shaped spot on your t-shirt. At least it kills the tension, because that makes him insist on literally using your shirt as a rag for his face. You drape the towel on the sink as you tease his hair, strands so fine that they just literally stand up on their own, soft now that it’s clean. You give it a few extra pets, and you try not to smile too hard as Garou holds onto you.

“Okay. Let me get some eye drops. I know I have something in my medicine cabinet.”

“Nooooo…” Garou moans like a cat that’s been told it’s going to the vet. He won’t let go of your waist. “Don’t put that shit in my eeeeeeye…”

“Dude, it could be infected. At least let me look at it.”

You try to point his head up and he deadpans an “ow.”

“I didn’t touch it! And I’m not going to.”

“Promise.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a baby. Yes, I promise.”

He complies, pointy chin shoved into your stomach, both eyes open wide. It’s dark red inside, darker than blood, and the center of it is a bright white. It’s not like you’ve seen anything worse than pink eye but…even the worst shouldn’t be like that, right? You try not to look the way you feel: thoroughly fucking freaked out. It’s in that moment you realize you’re holding Garou’s face in your hands, and you summon the most meaningful expression you can. “Garou, I’m really, really worried about you.”

“Don’t be worried.” There’s a squeeze, and he hides the eye away, squeezing you and placing his face in your belly. “Give me attention.”

“I’m giving you attention,” you say, and you stroke at the back of his head, scratching softly between his shoulders. “Come on. At least let me make you some tea, and you can rest in the living room a bit.”

He does let you go, then, and you hear a soft thud as he obviously mounts the back of the couch and lands in the cushions. After the hot water kettle has been plugged in, you join him, and that’s when you notice he’s shaking. Not too intense, but a periodic shivering.

“Here,” you say, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders that was on the back of the chair beside you. You’re facing him, and even when you lean back into the arm of the couch, all you can think is how he looks so young. A lot younger than when you saw him before. “Are you okay?”

“I’m getting over something.” You must look guilty, because he says, “Really, it’s okay. Once I get some sleep, I’ll be just fine.”

“I really, really regret leaving you in that alley. I should have made you come home with me.”

You yelp when, holding the blanket around his shoulders, he curls up in the space between your legs that have been stretched out in front of you, cheek on your thigh. He’s already warmer, a bit more color to his pale cheeks. “You were shy. That’s okay. I’m quite a catch. I can understand feeling intimidated.”

Laughing, you tuck pieces of soft red hair behind his ears. There’s the slightest point to the tips, you see now, and you love that. “Well, I’m glad you have it all figured out, then. At least one of us knows what’s up.” He’s quiet. Is he asleep already? “Garou…”

He doesn’t respond. His breathing has leveled out, the tension around his eyes having gone soft. How is he such a combination of various traits and quirks? What is he doing? How do you keep crossing paths?

“The water is boiling,” you whisper, touching his face with your fingertips. He curls in closer like a cat attracted to warmth, making no move to stop you. In the kitchen, you can hear the water trying to escape the heat. “Garou?”

“We can boil more water,” he says without opening his eyes. “Don’t go.”

Ouch. Why does it hurt when your heart squeezes the moment he says that? “And fire hazards aren’t a problem for you?”

“I’ll protect you.”

This time you actually put your hand over your chest.

You’re just starting to do mental maths to figure out how long until the water completely evaporates and if then you can stand up to unplug it without disturbing the wild man in your lap when there’s barely a tap behind you, too light to be a knock or anything truly significant. To Garou, though…he leaps to his feet, dancing around the room, glancing out the small windows that overlook the street. Every time you go to have a glance out, he growls and steps in front of you. You still don’t see anything.

“I have to go,” he says, finally.

Wait…what? “You just got here. You–” The words stop short. You don’t even know what to say, how you planned on finishing this statement. He didn’t have to come here. This wasn’t planned. He is under no obligation to stay. Except…because you want him to? All you can manage is:

“Please.”

He shakes his head. This isn’t some stupid romantic movie; he doesn’t even hesitate. “It’s not safe. So I’m going.”

There’s no arguing with a voice like that.

So you don’t.

But you’re also not going to let him have the last word. “You can come back,” you say, when he heads for the door. It’s a little surprising, actually, that he goes to the door, like it’s something so normal. He seems like the type who would climb out the window, if given a chance. “You can always come back. I’ll boil more water. And…I’ll make you something. So you don’t have to steal it. So…come back. Okay? Please?”

That does make him pause, but instead of reaching out for you he leans down to pick up the blanket from the floor where it fell. He wraps it around your shoulders, over your head like a hood, and he holds the end tight. Something lightly taps your head, and you’re not sure if it was his hand or his head or his… “Okay. I’ll come back.” He gives you a squeeze around the shoulders, then yanks the blanket down more, covering your whole face. “For more attention.”

“Obviously.” You move the blanket out of your eyes, about to say more, but…he’s gone. You didn’t even hear the door close, but then you look around, and it’s like he was never here. Well, that’s not true. There are a few signs: the warmth on the blanket around your shoulders, the bubbling water that you go to unplug, and the smell of too-sweet flowers in your sink.

You sit back down on the couch, pulling what remains of him closer, waiting and wondering when you’ll see him again.

#my paperfics #one punch man #garou #garou x reader #sentence starter meme #Anonymous

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lemon-trap · 4 years ago

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Familiar - Julian and Hayley

This took a while, mostly because it’s longer than most and I didn’t have a lot of time. This was kinda fun to write though.

Enjoy day ten of @thearcanagame challenge!

Clarification: Hayley is my oc and she’s mute and always wears a face mask.

WARNING: I don’t know sign language so if I get something wrong then please privately correct me!

Today was a beautiful day in Vesuvia. Another one of those days where it isn’t too hot and doesn’t make you wanna die from the heat. Just the right warmth.

The right day for marketing, I had memorized the list Asra gave me earlier when I set out on my mission.

Above me, a raven caws as it flies over the market. For some reason that raven reminds me of the last thing on my list.

It doesn’t take long before I get to that part of town. It’s quieter than the market.

Once I’m ten feet from the front door, a tall man walks out actually more like trips out the door.

“I said I was sorry about the flowers!” His red curls swing as he talks then he ducks just as a wooden spoon flies over his head.

I feel amusement knowing that he probably deserved that spoon and I’m also impressed at his quick skills.

Julian stumbles before he’s steady on his feet, only then does he see me walking towards him.

“Oh, Hayley, what a pleasure to see you,” he dust himself off, “So um, what are you doing here?”

Julian and I don’t talk often and it’s clear in his awkward voice that he knows that.

“None of your business.” I sign, “I’m here to ask Mazelinka a question.”

“That’s quite interesting because I was here to do the same but my habit of going through the window didn’t help me much when I stepped over those flowers,” Julian says quickly, I have noticed that he does say things rather quickly.

Before I can say anything else, a raven caws once again and swoops in to bother Julian but he looks more annoyed than angry.

“Ah- Malak! Stop-,” Julian swats at the bird without actually hitting it.

I can’t help at giggle to myself at the site of this bird wanting to peck Julian.

Finally the bird stops and stands on top of Julian’s head and caws before nesting in his unruly curls.

Julian sighs like this has happened many times before.

“I’m sorry about him,” He turns back to me, “He misses me a bit too much sometimes.” Julian yelps as Malak pecks his head.

I wave it off.

“You can understand, can’t you?” He asks, “Don’t you have a...what does Asra call them? A familiar?”

I look down for a moment before shaking my head.

“Oh, my bad,” Julian says, still miraculously balancing a raven on his head, “I don’t mean to be intruding but why not?”

I think for a moment but then shrug my shoulders.

“That’s too bad, it’s always good to have a companion,” he scratches Malak’s neck, “Especially one that caws at the sign of danger.”

“No animal has ever really liked me that much.” I sign, suddenly realizing how sad that sounds.

“That can’t be right! We can find a friend for you,” Julian then quickly adds, “If you want.”

I hesitate then nod. Maybe a little adventure would be okay.

“Alright!” Julian looks excited and surprised, “Let’s go, I’m ready now if you are.”

I still had my basket full of stuff but I’m sure we can stop by the shop.

And just like that I’m on an adventure to find a familiar with Julian.

“Portia isn’t home right now so I don’t think she’ll mind this, Pepi!” Julian calls out when we near Portia’s cottage.

Then a small cat perks its head up from where it’s laying in the sun. It immediately starts running towards us.

“This is Pepi, my sister’s cat,” Julian says as soon as Pepi is close, “Say hi, Pepi.”

“Mrow,” Pepi meows as she rubbed against his leg.

He picks her up just like that and hands her to me, “She’s very friendly and loves any kind of affection.”

I look at Pepi’s tiny soft face before holding her in my arms. She starts purring almost immediately as I rub her belly.

“Isn’t she adorable,” Julian says, “Now, do you think you’d want a cat?”

I look down at Pepi, already sleeping in my arms, it would be nice to have a fluffy thing like this to keep me company but I’m still not sure. I shrug at Julian, not really being able to sign anything at Julian because my hands were full.

“That’s alright, that means we just have to keep looking,” Julian takes Pepi out of my hands before setting her down gently on the grass. She meows one goodbye before walking into the thick trees.

We walk further in the palace gardens, Julian obviously looking for something.

“Now, I know they hang around here somewhere, aha!” Julian points to where two fluffy piles of fur sit.

We quietly sit down next to the furs, they open their eyes at our presence but go back to napping quickly.

“These are Lucio’s guard dogs, Mercedes and Melchior and no, I can’t tell you which is which,” Julian says quietly, as to not disturb their nap.

I slowly raise my hand to the one with a torn nose, they open their eyes to sniff me before sleeping once again. I take that as an “you can pet me” and start gently petting their head, the dog’s ears going down.

Julian starts petting the dog nearest to him as well. The dog doesn’t seem to trust Julian at first but once he starts petting them they go back to relaxing.

“They are pretty cute,” Julian whispers.

I nod absently and we sit like that for a while, in the shade and petting two soft dogs.

“Do you want to move on?” Julian asks after a long pause.

One thing that Julian and I probably have in common is that it’s hard for us to relax or sit and do nothing for longer than a minute.

I nod and stand up with him then we’re off again.

“DEFINITELY NOT THIS ONE!” Julian screams as we both run away from a white bird who keeps screeching at us.

“I don’t think she’s coming down from there,” Julian says to me as we stare up at a beautiful owl who sits on top of a gazebo.

It’s almost as if she knows she’s better than us as she coos and puffs her feathers.

“Chandra isn’t so bad, once you get to know her,” Julian says.

We walk further through the gardens, getting closer and closer to the palace.

“Now I don’t know where Faust is but you probably hang out with her all the time so there isn’t really a need to- AH!” Julian screams when a lavender snake drops from a tree.

“Friends!” Faust says as she slithers down my arm when I lift it.

Faust was a really cute snake. Since I lived with Asra, I also lived with Faust so I spent a lot of time with her.

“Oh, Faust, don’t scare me like that,” Julian said, dramatically placing his hand over his heart.

“Sorry.” Faust seems genuinely sorry as she lowers her head.

“It’s okay,” He said as he gently pat her head, she’s take this gesture as an opportunity to slither up his arm and rap herself around it.

“Oh no, not again,” Julian says, worried.

It took a while to convince Faust to let go of Julian’s arm but we eventually got it.

The walk out of the gardens was long but pleasant.

We had still not found an animal that might be my familiar.

“Well, we may not have found what we were looking for but we had fun along the way,” Julian is optimistic as we each the edge of the garden.

“I enjoyed it.” I sign and Julian looks pleased at my words.

Before he can say something else, we hear something move in a bush beside us.

Julian hides behind me almost immediately and for a tense moment we stare at the moving bush.

Then a fluffy black wolf with beautiful green eyes pops out of the bushes.

“Oh, it’s just....actually I forgot her name,” Julian says, relaxing.

The wolf comes up to me and I can see that she is holding something in her mouth.

Not seeing this wolf as a threat, I kneel down on the grass and let her sniff my hand. After she does, she drops flowers into my hand, they might be a bit wet but it’s a nice gesture.

“Awe, that’s sweet,” I’d almost forgotten about Julian, he kneels down on the grass too. The wolf sniffs him too and licks him right on the face and he laughs.

My heart goes soft as I watch Julian enjoy this moment of being adorably attacked by a cute wolf.

Then I realized that I won’t find a familiar by searching for one but instead the familiar will find me.

#the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana julian #julian devorak #the arcana oc #my oc hayley #my mc hayley #31daysofarcana

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fluffrry · 5 years ago

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Let Me Make It Better//H.S Imagine//

Requested by @punekar-jenner, thanks for sending this in xx

Could you do a Harry Styles imagine where Harry has been missing a lot of dates and has been ignoring YN and she's really hurt? But then Harry finally realises his fault and makes it up to her by taking her shopping and treating her to fancy dates everyday? Thanks a lot! 😇

If you enjoy this please give it a reblog and send some feedback to my messages or ask box. It brings me joy and helps me more than you know.

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It was a nice breezy day, the wind pushing the rain to beat against Harry’s window. These were the days Harry most liked to write songs. He’d spend the morning watching movies, usually romantic comedies, and then use the rest of the day to write songs and plan melodies in his music room. You were usually there to see this process, bringing him snacks and making sure he eats his lunch on time. Telling him what tunes you like and which ones you think don’t fit the lyrics. Always quiet so he could write, but a huge support system for him regardless.

But today you just weren’t there. In fact, Harry had forgotten to invite you at all.

You’d be calling him for the past few weeks to plan dates and even vent out your feelings, but it was always ‘Sorry, you know I’m busy on this next album, love’, or he just wouldn’t show up at all. That hurt the most because it took a lot to get ready for a date with someone you love so much. You hadn’t felt his warm cuddles in a long time, heard his voice quietly singing along to guitar melodies. You’d forgotten what his warmth and love felt like.

Due to your closed off nature, you never really told Harry right away when he upset you. He knew what he was doing right now was hurting you, but he figured you’d be okay with it. He wasn’t in the correct frame of mind. Instead of feeling full of emotion when he was writing, he felt stress and upset that he couldn’t get a word out.

Harry’s phone buzzed on the desk in front of him, covered with sheets of lyrics and pens out of ink. He looked up from the guitar to see it was you. He was hoping after the first two times he’d ignored it you’d understand he was busy today.

“Yes?” He said sharply into the phone.

A moment passed between words, and Harry could hear your shaky breathing, “Hi, H.”

“Hi. What is it you need?”

“I just needed by boyfriend, Harry. Is that not enough? I can’t just call to see how you’re doing?” You were already pissed and emotional when you dialed the phone, so your mouth was just saying everything you’d been feeling.

“Woah, woah, sweetie. What’s wrong? I never said you couldn’t call me.”

Harry could hear a sniff through his speaker, “Yeah but you’ve been ignoring me, haven’t you?”

“No, why-“

“…Do you have any idea how it feels to sit at a bar by yourself, expecting to see your boyfriend come sit any second, and have him not show up? Or how it makes me feel when you ignore my texts and calls like I’m some…I don’t know…annoyance to you?”

“Honey, of course I don’t-“

“…If you didn’t want to be with me I would have preferred to just be told that, because I promise you Harry that I will not be sitting at a picnic table watching the food that I made for you spoil again. I just won’t. I’ve been needing you and you haven’t been here.” Tears had started to fall down your face by now, making marks on your pajama covered legs. Your sniffs became more frequent and your voice unstable.

“Y/N you have to li-“

“You aren’t with someone else…are you? Is that what this is?” You wiped you hand across your wet cheek.

Harry simply hadn’t realized how much he’d been hurting you. He somehow thought that all of it was necessary to write music, and that you’d get it when he didn’t show up or ignored a call. Hearing you speak he knew he was very, very wrong. He wasn’t even aware you liked him that much.

“What?! Of course not, Y/N. Please listen to me, okay? I’ve been under a lot of pressure with this music thing and I’ve just been trying to finish in time. I haven’t left the house in days. I wasn’t thinking about you when I should have been, and I’m sorry. I promise it wasn’t because I don’t love you, and I’ll do everything in my power to make it up to you.

“So now you’re making promises?”

“Yes, I am. Please stop crying, love. It upsets me more than you know that I did this to you. I understand if you’re angry, but please let me make it better.”

“Umm.”

Harry waited a few seconds before adding a, “Please?”

“Okay. You’ve got one chance.”

----------

You’d never been to this mall before. It was gigantic to say the least, and far in distance from your small apartment. There were chandeliers looming over every walkway and decorated pillars beside every store. The smoothie carts reeked of expensive energy smoothies and kale.

Harry had come to your door with flowers and a blanket, apologizing once more and telling you he had somewhere to take you.

“A date?” You had asked, to which you got a cheeky smile in response. You later realized the blanket he was carrying was meant to be paired with a pillow in the car. Both brought to help with the long ride.

Harry held your hand to lead you down the wide hallways. It was nice to feel his large hands swallow yours, the coolness of his rings shocking you for a moment.

“You’ve been here before, Harry?” You inquired, large eyes settling on his face.

“Yes, I have actually. Do you see a store you want to visit?”

“I don’t have money for this, H. This was a nice idea, but you know I have rent in a few days.”

“I’ll be paying, petal. Get whatever you like.”

After that you’d found yourself traveling from store to store, trying on clothing and gazing at beautiful earrings. You must have spent an hour spraying fragrance on testers and smelling them for worthiness. Arguing with Harry over money had proved to be useless. He was very dedicated to making what he’d put you through better.

“Do you like it, babe?” You asked, smoothing out the sides of the dress.

“Yes,” Harry smiled, “You look stunning in red.”

“It’s kind of expensive, though. I’m not sure it’s worth it.”

“Please don’t worry about that right now. You’re always worth it.”

After your little trip to the mall, Harry had been taking you on dates faster than you could recover. He decided to remake the picnic date you had planned before. This included remaking the food and finding a perfectly shaded tree. He watched you blush as you read the little notes he’d put on the food. They were mostly corny jokes; Why couldn’t the sesame seed leave the gambling casino? Because he was on a roll!

Harry also invited you over for a proper sleepover. Movies, snacks, and a makeshift fort crafted to the best of your boyfriend’s ability. He cuddled you and giggled at your comments throughout the movies (“How does he run so fast when he’s wet? Wouldn’t he be slipping?”).

Another day he decided to take you out to dinner, assuring it was a day you’d worked late and felt like being cooked for. He got a lovely table that was hidden up some stairs and situated on a patio. It had tall, carved candles and napkins so soft you wanted to rub them on your cheek. The restaurant was fancy but had a very café type smell. It was a mixture of coffee and freshly made smores. It made you feel comfortable and at home. Harry suggested things on the menu through some prescription glasses. He looked so cute like this, calm, loving, and all around himself.

To top it off Harry asked you to accompany him to a writing session. You fell asleep about halfway through. The smooth guitar accompanied with his soft voice sent you right into a dream. Once he noticed you were resting, he placed a blanket over you and his writing couch. He touched your shoulder and put a soft kiss on your cheek.

Maybe next time he could take you to a pet store, he knew how much you wanted a cat. He felt so much love in his heart for you right then that couldn’t help but pour all of it into a song. If he was honest, you were the reason he did all of this anyway.

Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to leave some feedback.

#harry styles #harry styles imagines #harry styles one shots #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles blurbs #harry styles angst #harry styles fluff #one direction #one direction imagines #one direction fanfiction #harry styles fanfiction #one direction one shots #harry styles x y/n

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mrs-captain-evans · 6 years ago

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For the Love of Dogs - Chris Evans x You

Summary: You’re spending time at your local dog park with your rescue dog when you run into a certain Captain

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Word Count: 1946

Warnings: None, fluffy, slight language

A/N: Beta by @whiskey-cokenfanfic, thank you! 😘

@mycapt-ohcapt sent me a prompt of my doggy meeting Dodger a little while ago when I was hitting the wall with ideas. Inspiration hit me, so I changed it up slightly, and wrote this for you to celebrate your day today. Happy birthday darling! ❤️😘

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It was yours and Frankie’s first trip to your local dog park. It had always been a dream of yours to have a dog of you own, so when you visited a pet event show and clapped your eyes on the beautiful brindle Greyhound, your dream came true. You had spent a lot of time over the last few months researching the breed and speaking with experts, so you knew a Greyhound would fit perfectly into your busy life. As soon as you looked into Frankie’s chocolate brown eyes, you instantly fell in love and quickly signed the adoption papers before he was snapped up by someone else. That was 4 days ago.

Walking through the gate on a beautiful Spring morning, you made sure it was securely closed before removing Frankie’s leash. You had the park to yourselves, so you enjoyed a leisurely game of fetch with the tennis ball you brought with you. After a while, Frankie decided he was more interested in sniffing out all the plants and bushes which lined the paths around the large park. Taking this opportunity, you sat down on a bench nearby, pulled out your phone, and caught up with the world.

Preoccupied by the group chat with your girls, you didn’t hear the gate open as another eager hound entered the park with his owner. Just as you started to type out a response to one of your friends dating disasters, a brown and white dog jumped up into your lap, placing his paws on your thighs as he excitedly pushed his wet nose into your face, licking you with a wagging tail.

“DODGER!!”

The loud voice, of what you assumed was your new furry friends owner, echoed through the park. Looking up, you could see a dark haired, bearded, tall man, stride quickly towards you scolding at his dog, “Dodger! C’mon boy, get down!”

Giggling at the affection, you awkwardly secured your cell in your pocket and moved a hand towards his nose so he could give you a good sniff.

“Hello mister, well aren’t you an adorable boy.”

Now that both your hands were free, you ran your fingers through the soft, long fur of Dodgers neck, tickling him behind his ears.

“Awww yes you are! Who's a good boy, huh? Who’s a good boy?!” Your usually soft, quiet voice increased in pitch as you cooed over the pooch, showering him with love.

The man soon approached you and interrupted your petting with a deep chuckle. His arms were crossed, a broad smile on his face, “Shall I leave you guys to it, or..?” The amused, teasing tone in his voice didn’t go amiss.

Feeling embarrassed, you tucked a lock of hair behind your ear and apologised to the man with a small smile.

Dodger was still in your lap, so his owner grabbed his collar and pulled him off you. That’s when you realised your light wash denim jeans now sported mud shaped paw prints, and your pale pink cami was covered in dark patches, thanks to the slobber caused by the ginger hound.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” The attractive man turned towards his dog, giving him the side eye, ”he’s normally got much better manners than this!”

Shrugging your shoulders, you waved off his apology. “It’s fine, honestly.”

Not quite forgiving Dodger just yet, he glanced back at your ruined clothes, and proceeded to tell the poor mutt off.

While the handsome man was giving his dog a lecture on how to be polite, you looked him over. His dark hair was soft and fluffy, easily styled with a natural look. His eyes were covered by a dark pair of sunglasses, and a neatly trimmed beard covered the bottom half of his face, while his pink, plump lips looked juicy enough to bite. He was wearing a dark pair of jeans, coupled with an unzipped navy blue bomber jacket, meaning you had a perfect view of the white cotton tee he was wearing underneath, which did little to cover his impressive chest. You could see a dark shadow over his clavicle area, and wondered if he was hiding some ink. Before you could ogle some more, Frankie wandered over to see what all the commotion was.

“And who is this curious fella?”

Looking down at your brindle beauty, you replied, “This is Frankie. He’s only been with me for a few days, but he just fitted right in, haven’t ya bud?”

“Well it’s lovely to meet you both, I’m Chris, and as you probably figured with my not so manly screaming, this dumbo is Dodger,” he showed Frankie his right fist in greeting, while petting his head with his left hand.

Chuckling at his humour, you also introduced yourself, as your two fur babies sniffed at each others butts, getting themselves acquainted with one another. Suddenly, Dodger gave a quick bark before he threw his front legs down flat against the ground with his butt up high in the air. His tail was wagging rapidly in excitement and he pounced towards Frankie wanting to play. You and Chris laughed as you watched them run off across the park.

Taking a seat on the bench, Chris turned towards you, “So you recently adopted Frankie?”

“Yes, he’s my gentle giant. I’ve always wanted my own Greyhound, especially an ex racer. They’re such laid back dogs, and a professional couch potatoes!” Sharing a laugh, you continued. “Growing up, we always had a dog in the family home but when I flew the nest, and rented my own apartment, pets weren’t allowed in the building. For the last few years I’ve been saving up for a deposit and eventually, with a little help from my grandpa, I managed to afford my own house.”

You glanced Chris’s way, “It’s been a long wait, but I could finally have the Greyhound I’d always wished for. He fits into my lifestyle perfectly.”

Chris sent you a genuine smile, “Well I’m glad he found you. Too many dogs are left waiting for homes, and I’m happy he found a perfect one with you.”

Heat filled your cheeks with a rosy pink blush, instantly feeling shy, “Thank you.” Turning in your seat towards him slightly, you asked, “What about Dodger? Was he a rescue?”

“Yeah, he’s been with me a few years now. I met him while I was working in an animal shelter. As soon as I saw him, I knew he didn’t belong there . I mean look at him, he’s just so full of life.” He gazed out across the dog park, a tender look on his face.

A comfortable silence filled the air, you followed his eyes and beamed as your fur babies made friends, sniffing at all the blossoming flowers. All of a sudden, Frankie leaped forward into a full gallop, sprinting off around the park. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Dodger quickly gave chase trying to outrun him, but failed. Frankie’s long legs, flexible spine and muscular build was no match for the energetic pup, but it was certainly amusing watching the two of them.

Chris thought so too. His hysterical laughter filled your ears as he got very animated, leaning back and slapping a hand across his chest. Tears brimmed his eyes, so he pulled off his sunglasses to wipe his eyes. Your breath hitched in your throat when you realised who he was.

It was only yesterday you watched Marvel's latest blockbuster, Endgame, and now you were sat on a bench, in a random dog park in Massachusetts, with one of the biggest and most talked about stars of the moment. Your girls would not believe this.

Trying to keep your composure, you asked if he was okay while you tried to not freak out.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just so good to see Dodge happy and making friends.” Chris watched on with a fond smile, like a proud father, a tinge of regret in his voice.

Finding the courage to speak up, you sassed, “Does he not have many friends then?”

“Oh haha, very funny. He has plenty of friends thank you very much!”, he playfully pointed a finger towards you, while shaking his head.

Wrinkling your nose, you sarcastically said, “Sure..”

Chris jokingly rolled his eyes as he ran his left hand through his hair. “We’ve been across the Country for most of the year so he hasn’t really had chance to get to know the locals, ya know?” He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he continued, “Sometimes my work is pretty full on and I don’t spend long enough in one place for him to enjoy the doggy life with a playmate. It’s gotta be hard on him, makes me feel guilty, y’know?”

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to explain yourself to me...Captain.”

Chris quickly looked up at you with wide eyes, a shocked expression etched across his face. You snickered at him, overjoyed at your quip.

“So, I guess the cats outta the bag then?” he silently chuckled.

Nodding your head, you confirmed his suspicions with a wink, “Uh huh. Nice disguise though.”

He snorted a small thanks before the dogs made their way back over towards you both on the bench. They were both exhausted from their run with their tongues hanging out of the side of their mouths, panting excessively.

“Well it looks like he’s found a fellow sidekick now.” You noted while giggling at the sight of the two of them.

Chris joined in with your laughter, before he made a suggestion, “I’ve got the rest of the summer off, so we’ll be spending a lot more time in this park. Maybe you and Frankie would like to join us sometime? Y’know, so they can bond.”

Stunned at his proposition you were speechless, staring at him with your mouth open, unsure if you heard him correctly.

“So, what do you say?”

Still in a daze, you tried to utter out a confident response, “Oh, um, ye-yeah.”

Chris looked delighted, happy you agreed to his proposal. He turned towards you with a sheepish smile, “Look, I am really sorry about ruining your clothes. Please let me cover the dry cleaning costs, it’s the least I can do.”

Waving a dismissive hand his way, you replied, “Please, it’s not a problem. These things happen. It’s nothing a quick wash at home won’t fix.”

Not accepting your forgiveness that easily, Chris pressed on, “At least let me buy you a coffee?”

You looked down at your watch noticing the time, “Oh thank you for the offer, but I’m not sure. It’s getting late and I haven’t had lunch yet.”

Seeing the hesitation in your eyes, he persevered, “Go on, you know you want to, I’ll even buy you a cookie.” He nudged your side with his elbow playfully, “Plus these dogs need a drink, just look at them!”

Not playing fair, he jested, “Surely you don’t want to upset Frankie by leaving when he and Dodge have just become best friends!”

“Best friends? Really?!” You stifled a laugh and looked between the two dogs. They sure did look happy. “Wow, you’re persistent aren’t you?!” His smug smile answered your question.

Just as you were mulling over his coffee invitation, that bastard had to pull out the big guns didn’t he? He raised his right eyebrow, giving you the puppy dog eyes.

Feeling defeated, you sighed waving a hand towards him, “God, how can I say no to that face!”

Chris’s boisterous howl echoed through the park, as he stood up, holding a hand out towards you, “C’mon, let's go grab that coffee.”

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

Thank you all for reading! Please reblog and comment, it’s very important to all writers on here. Please send me a message if you would like to added/removed to the tag list.

Tag List: @mycapt-ohcapt @princess-evans-addict @gigglegirl77 @coffeebooksandfandom @the-sunshine-in-the-dark @loricameback @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @whiskey-cokenfanfic @winters-buck @anavengerstale @jbug491 @thinkxlovexloud @patzammit

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kusunogatari · 4 years ago

Text

[ ObiRyū October | Day Nineteen | Plants ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Hatake Kakashi ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ]

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“You know what you need, Obito?”

Biting his tongue for a moment in concentration, Obito lets the dart in his fingers fly free. It hits the board two inches from the middle, up to the left. “Therapy?” he then replies, scowling at his point total so far. Kakashi is winning. And that’s unacceptable.

“Well...yeah,” the Hatake replies. “But therapy is expensive. I was going to suggest something a little...simpler.”

“Maybe a date, then?”

“You think a date is simple?”

“Ha...true. What, then?”

“A plant.”

“...a what?”

Kakashi laughs, getting up from his reclined position to take his turn. “A plant. I’ve been reading about how they can help a person’s mood by adding something to their environment. Y’know, since we’re stuck here in the concrete jungle.”

Obito can’t help a flat snort at that. “True enough. But I’ve never had a plant before. I’d probably kill it.”

“Get a cactus. You hardly ever have to water it.”

“Will my cat chew on it?”

“Not if it’s halfway smart. Would you chew on a cactus?”

Obito doesn’t bother answering that. “So I get a plant, and...then what?”

“You enjoy it. You do know how to actually enjoy things, don’t you?”

“Plants just...sit there. What good does it do? That doesn’t make any sense, Kakashi.”

“I got one about a month ago. It sits in my kitchen window. I dunno - it makes me smile. To know that there’s something alive, thriving where I live.”

“I already have that with my cat.”

“Plants are different. I have my dog, but it’s not the same. I can’t really explain it, but it really does feel like things are a bit lighter in my apartment. Just give it a try. I think you’d like it.”

Frowning, Obito...doesn’t quite understand. He already has something living in his apartment. Tenebris is great company. Why Kakashi thinks a plant will magically be better is beyond him, but...well, he’ll give a try. “All right, fine. I’ll try to find one this weekend when I’m off work.”

Once said weekend rolls around, Obito keeps his promise and heads to his local farm and garden store. Which...he’s never once set foot in, given he has neither a farm, nor a garden. Not until now, anyway.

...does one plant count as a garden? He’ll say it does.

The store is actually really big, and he hesitates by the entrance for a moment. They...do sell plants here, right? Because he’s not really sure he could manage with some seeds.

A sales associate then asks if he needs any help.

“I’m, er...looking to buy a plant…?”

“All right! Any specific kind?”

“Something...easy. I’m new to this.”

“Sure, sure. Our greenhouse is along the left hand side of the store - just follow the wall and you can’t miss it. Ask for Ryū, she’ll help you out.”

“All right. Thanks.”

Directions acquired, he follows them, passing by a million things he’d never have a use for before making it to the automatic doors that lead into the garden center.

As the doors open, a pleasant aroma reaches his nose. Obito finds himself taken aback. He knows flowers are supposed to smell good, but this is a lot stronger than he was expecting.

This place is huge! Which...he supposes makes sense. A whole section is set aside for supplies: planters, watering cans, sprinklers, even fancy stuff like fountains and statues. A bit outside his budget, let alone the space in his teeny tiny apartment. Then there’s soil mixtures, fertilizers, and concrete border bricks and rocks.

Only then do they get to the plants, and...wow, there’s a lot. Flowers are the vast majority, but he also spots some like berry plants, baby trees and hedges, and decorative plants like ivies and ferns. There’s so many he literally has no idea where to start.

Well...he supposes a good first step would be finding this Ryū lady the guy inside said to look for.

There’s a guy at the register they keep out here, but...he doesn’t see a woman. Maybe she’s hidden among an aisle somewhere? Not wanting to look lost again, he instead tries looking like he’s browsing, peeking surreptitiously into every new row of plants and supplies. Several attempts later, he finds what he’s actually looking for.

Ryū - if that’s actually who this is - is up on a step stool to reach the topmost shelf, rearranging some flowers that he has...no idea what they’re called. She’s wearing a plain brown smock over the store’s uniform, a kerchief helping to keep her hair out of her face, and...wow. Her hair is white…? Reminds him of Kakashi’s, but it’s even lighter, and...wavy! It kinda looks like a poofy cloud around her face.

And then he realizes she’s looking inquisitively at him.

“Oh, uh…”

“Can I help you?”

He shifts his weight, suddenly nervous. She’s actually really...cute? Large grey eyes in a heart-shaped face watch him curiously. “I’m...looking for a plant…”

Stepping down to the concrete floor, she dusts at her apron and then gives a sweet giggle. “Well, you’re in the right place for that! Can you...be at all more specific?”

How to explain… “Well, a...friend of mine suggested I look into it. But I’ve never had a plant before. So I’m looking for something...easy. Simple.”

Understanding alights her face. “I see! Well, I’ve got a few that are pretty easy to keep.” Gesturing for him to follow, Ryū leads him to another aisle. “This is a snake plant! They need very few waterings, and don’t need a lot of direct sunlight in case you don’t have a well-placed window or balcony. Then we have a spider plant. They do like sun, but it’s not a full necessity. They just thrive a bit better that way. When it’s warm they like a good amount of water, but you can cut back when it gets cooler. There’s also...devil’s ivy - they like dry soil. Aloe vera needs good drainage, and a cactus soil is best for them. Then on the other end of the spectrum, nerve plants like a lot of water, if you’re the sort to go a bit overboard!”

Obito watches as she points out all the different plants. None of them have flowers on them, but...well, he doesn’t really mind. Flowers are a bit too feminine for him, anyway. Something simple and green should suit him just fine. But she starts dumping a bit too much information on him, and he flounders. “...uh…?”

Realizing as much, she laughs again. “Sorry, sorry...I tend to ramble. If I were you, I’d try devil’s ivy first. They don’t need a lot of water or light. And they grow like weeds, which is fun! I recommend putting them in a hanging pot so all the limbs can drape down. It’s really pretty. Just be careful about overwatering, as that can bring about root rot. Make sure the soil gets plenty dry before you water again!”

Picking up one of the plants, Obito looks it over. The subtle marbling of lighter green on the leaves is pretty cool. It reminds him of his friend Zetsu, what with his vitiligo. Maybe he’ll name the plant after him. And it’s not too expensive, either. “Okay, I’ll give this one a try.”

“Perfect!”

“Do I...need anything else?”

“You can get an attachment to turn that pot into a hanging one - they’re easy to put on and pretty cheap. Once it grows a fair bit, you’ll need to repot it: to put it in a bigger pot so the roots don’t get too crowded. But that’ll be a while yet. It’s already in potting soil, so it won’t need any fertilizer, either. And you can just water it with a cup, honestly. Unless you feel like getting fancy, you should be good to go! There’s a million guides online if you need more help, too. Never fear looking something up if you’ve got any questions.”

“Er...okay.”

“So...I guess if that’s all you want, we can get you rung up out here, so you can take your new plant baby home!”

Subtly, Obito’s nose wrinkles. Baby…? But he doesn’t complain, following her to the checkout stand after getting a hanger for the planter and paying for his new plant. Then it’s a walk to the bus, a short ride, and he’s back at his apartment.

...now what?

His apartment does have a small balcony that faces to the west - it gets a good amount of afternoon sun. He’ll have to look up how much is enough and not too much. He doesn’t have any hooks to hang it on yet, so...for now, he can just set it on the floor. But will Tenebris bother it?

Speaking of, she’s purring and twisting around his legs as he gets home, looking to the plant curiously. He cautiously offers it for her to sniff. He occasionally gets her those little pet grasses (which never last longer than a week before it dies…), but otherwise she doesn’t get anything green.

After a few sniffs, she declares it inspected and leaves it alone.

...well, hopefully she won’t try and chew it.

Just in case, he fetches a little end table from his room to set it on, arranging it by the glass door to the balcony. The soil feels a little damp, so no need for water. He makes a mental note to get some hooks next time he’s out and about.

...he’ll admit, it looks...nice. And it’ll look even better once he gets it hanging.

For now, he snaps a picture of it with his phone, first sending it to Kakashi with the message, all right, got the plant. happy now? :P

The next he sends to Zetsu. made a new friend today and named it after you. see the resemblance?

From there, he decides it’s about time for some lunch, so...he leaves Zetsu junior by the door and fixes himself some quick food.

And so begins a new routine. After feeding Tenebris every night (and cleaning her litter box, eugh), he checks the plant. A finger gauges the dampness of the soil, giving it a little water whenever he finds it to be too dry. Careful eyes look it over for any imperfections.

...and every time he looks at it, he’s reminded of the lady who sold it to him. What was her name? Ryū? She was super helpful, and...really nice.

...and really cute.

He kind of wants to go back and see if she’s there again. Why, he’s not sure. He doubts he’d have the stones to ask her for her number or anything. After all, their only connection is as a customer and retailer. She was nice because that’s her job: to encourage someone to buy something.

Which he did.

Would she even remember him? It’s been two weeks now...surely he’s lost in a haze of other people she’s been forced to talk to since then.

...but in the end, he decides to try.

This time, he knows exactly where he’s going when he steps into the building. But...he also lingers outside the door for a little while, realizing he has no idea what he’s going to do or say once he gets in there.

And it doesn’t help there’s some kind of a sale going on, so the place is actually a bit crowded. He doesn’t want to interrupt her working: he knows that well enough himself. But he’s already come this far, he can’t just leave now!

So he squares his shoulders, takes a breath...and then heads inside.

Quite a few people mill about, looking at all the wares and plants within the garden center. To help with the load, more employees are fluttering around compared to last time. Everywhere he looks, there’s people.

But where is Ryū…?

With so many others to catch attention, he doesn’t bother trying to hide his searching gaze, everyone too focused on their own tasks to care. He makes a full lap around without seeing her. Did he really manage to miss her, or...maybe she’s not here? Surely she must be! Then his whole trip would be for noth-

“Whoa!”

Rounding a corner, Obito manages to skid to a stop before running into...Ryū! She too comes up short, eyes wide in surprise and clinging to the woven bamboo in a pot she’s carrying.

“...oh! It’s you again!”

Wait, she...she recognizes -? Oh...it’s then he thinks to account for his scars. That would make him memorable.

“The guy with the devil’s ivy, right? How’s it doing? Did you get it hung okay?”

He blinks. “...uh...y-yeah, I did. It’s by my balcony door. Seems to like it there.”

“That’s great!” She gives him a smile. “See, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad! Are you here to get another plant?”

“... uh ?”

“I know it’s hard to stop once you start, right? You could get a second ivy and have one on each side of the door!”

“Er, maybe...actually, I -?”

“If you wait just a sec, I can help you look for one! I need to run this to a guy at checkout, then I’ll be free!”

“Uh -?” Before he can protest, she’s already zipping back to the counter.

This isn’t good. He’s not here for another plant, he’s here to say hi! But now he’ll feel bad if he doesn’t get one...and maybe she’s right. Having a balance would look nice. And then Zetsu junior won’t be lonely. But what to name the other one...Zetsu the third?

As he mulls it over, Ryū manages to return unscathed. “So, what do you think?”

“Sure, I...can get another one.”

“Perfect!” They move to the right aisle, Obito perusing the plants before picking one up.

“So...um…”

“Need anything else?”

The tips of his ears slowly go red. “Well, actually...why I really came here was to...say hi. You were...really helpful before. I appreciated it.”

Ryū blinks, clearly taken aback. “Oh...well, you’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by again! Um…” Her smile then turns sheepish. “Sorry...you don’t have to get another plant, I just...figured that’s what you wanted.”

“No, it’s fine! You’re right, it’ll be nice to have the balance. And it’s...nice seeing you again.”

At that, she suddenly turns bashful, gaze dropping and a hand tucking hair behind her ear. “Yeah...you too.”

...a silence falls. And then -

“Would you -”

“Could I -”

“Like to -”

“Get your -”

“Trade -”

“Numbers?”

As the sentences jumble together, they both come to a stop with a jolt before laughing nervously. “Sorry, um...what was that?”

“Nothing, I just...uh…”

“Um...maybe we could...exchange numbers…? Y’know...just to chat?”

Obito blinks. Did she really just -? “...yeah! Yeah, I - I’d like that.”

“Okay...cool!” She fetches her mobile, Obito doing the same as they add one another. “...there. I guess I’ll have to talk to you later! I better get back to it, or...I’ll get in trouble.”

“Oh, sorry!”

“It’s fine - we’re busy enough I bet no one’s noticed I’m gone yet. But it was nice seeing you again, um…?”

“Obito! And you were...Ryū?”

“Yeah!”

He grins. “...all right, well...see you...later?”

“Yeah...have fun with your new plant!”

“I will, heh. Later.” Paying for Zetsu number three, Obito heads home with a light feeling in his chest. That...went far better than he could have dared to hope.

He’ll have to tell Kakashi he’s one step closer to getting that date, too.

This...could be longer but it’s late and I’m tired :’D Meg yet again suggested a plot and it was SUPER CUTE. Hopefully I did it justice in my limited time jkjhfdg Meg and I have both become plant parents over the last year so this is super relatable x’D You can’t get just one. You can’t. But now, it is bedtime. I must sleep uwu Thanks for reading!

#obiryū october #abyssaldespair #uchiha obito #suigin ryū #hatake kakashi #best years of your life [ au ]

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whumping-every-day · 5 years ago

Note

Not used to freedom?

From Anonymous: ooh could you do ‘not used to freedom’ for your little vampire?

Thank you both so much for the requests! I’m afraid I did it with Gabriel instead of Ash, but I hope you enjoy anyway! This is set a few months after the latest chapter installment.

Tagging the Gabriel gang: @pennsss @silver-sparrow-462 @silverinkgoldenquill @kestrelsparverius @learningtowhump @latenightcupsofcoffee @jay-whumples @what-huh-imconfused @pepperonyscience @blue-flare10 @robinshouseofwhump @cagefreebirds @whatwasmyprevioususername @captivity-whump @pink-and-purple-flowers @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow

ALSO! There are two new Gabriel drabbles out, here and here. Not necessary to understand this one, but may help with context.

Content Warnings: The same blurry line between creepy comfort and caretaking, panic attack, agoraphobia, pet names, lots of softness, touch starvation, cuddles, conditioning.

Masterlist

–

“Are you sure, sweetheart?”

His Mistress’s voice is gentle, even though this is not the first time she’s asked. Gabriel stares at the open front door for a long moment, feeling ice and butterflies in his stomach, and gulps. He can’t make his mouth work, and he can’t tear his eyes away from the world outside of the door; the sunlight, and the grass, and the sky that stretches so far, up and up and up… it goes on for forever, and it’s all empty and bright and so high up.

Too high. It was too high.

Gabriel takes a shuddering step away and whimpers.

“Maybe this is too soon.” Gabriel has quickly learned that his new Master likes to move quietly, but he still jumps a little as Stefan appears behind him. The man shoots him an apologetic look and gently bumps their shoulders together. “Sorry, bud.”

At first, the casual touching was frightening; Gabriel is not used to contact that does not bring pain. But his Mistress and Master have been so patient with him as he works through his fear.

He is sure that the gentleness will be used as leverage, soon. They’ve gotten him used to kindness; his Mistress stroking his curls, or his Master’s hugs, or the way they sometimes let him sit at their feet for movie night. There are unlimited head pats, on those nights. His Masters had offered these things, and Gabriel has latched onto them greedily.

That was to say, when his Master gently bumps their shoulders together, Gabriel no longer cringes and cowers from it. Instead he ducks his head with a faint flush on his cheeks, feeling his insides turn all warm and squirmy.

“You don’t have to go out if you don’t want to.”

Gabriel draws in another unsteady breath, glancing from his Master’s kind smile to his Mistress’s warm eyes, and then back outside. He should be eager to go outside, shouldn’t he? Just being allowed in the house instead of the basement or a cage was a privilege. So why did looking out at the pale blue of the sky make him feel like he’s about to fall off of the surface of the Earth? Gabriel clenched his fingers tightly, and forces himself to take a step closer, then another. The doorway yawns, like a great, gaping mouth.

There’s a rushing sound in his ears, suddenly.

“Gabriel? Sweety?” He can hear Mistress’s voice, but it’s like it’s coming from underwater, echoing and distorted. He can’t even hear the thin, reedy sound escaping from his own mouth. “Okay. Yeah, this was too soon.”

The front door is closed, and then Mistress is shrugging her coat off again and dropping it carelessly by the banister. Gabriel’s eyes track it purely out of conditioned habit; his Mistress’s nice things shouldn’t be on the floor, they’ll get dirty… Gabriel will hang it back up in the closet as soon as he’s allowed to tidy up again. As soon as he can get his lungs to unfreeze.

“Come on, bud. Walk with me, that’s it.” Is he walking? Gabriel glances down, and only then sees his Master’s hand at his elbow, steering him into the dining room. Gabriel can’t feel his own feet, and it’s like there’s a heavy weight pressing down on his chest, suffocating him. There’s still the sound of faint gasping, someone breathing much to shallow and much too quick. “Good, Gabe. You’re doing great. Now sit for me, there you go…” Gabriel’s knees buckle, and he collapses down onto the couch and folds in on himself, hiding his head against his knees. Why is it so hard to breath?

The boy zones out for a while after that; someone comes and goes, and there’s a hand rubbing gentle circles into his back. It’s wide and broad; Master. A weight sinks onto the couch beside him, and then he’s being carefully pulled into another, softer warmth. Mistress.

“Try to breathe with me, Gabriel,” she’s murmuring. “Slow down, sweetheart, that’s it. Breathe out for me. Out, all the way. Good boy. Now in, deep as you can… good. Hold it. Now out.”

At first, Gabriel has trouble following her instructions. His lungs seize and flutter, and his breaths come in hiccuping gasps. But she is slow, and patient, and his Master is still rubbing circles warm and soothing against his back. He’s almost afraid that it won’t work, that the crushing band around his chest will continue to tighten until it crushes him. But the firm, gentle commands are easy to cling to, and eventually, slowly, Gabriel feels that band start to loosen.

It’s a long time until he can breathe right again. As soon as he starts to feel whole again, Gabriel becomes aware of the way he’s shaking, and the tear tracks lining his face.

“I guess we’ll save a walk for another time, hmm?” His Master is on one side, warm and big and comforting, like a rock. His Mistress is on the other, softer and smaller but holding one of his hands in a vice grip. Gabriel brings in a wet breath at the words, and it’s ragged and sore in his throat, clogged with tears.

“ ‘m s-sorry,” he stutters, and his voice is rough like he’s been screaming.

“It’s alright, little one.” His Mistress presses a quick kiss to the top of his head, and his Master nods.

“Is it alright if I touch you, bud?” His Master is the one who always asks; Gabriel does not quite understand, but he nods anyway. When the man wraps an arm around him, Gabriel practically falls into his warmth.

“We don’t have to go outside until you’re ready.” His Mistress leans forward to pick up a glass of water - it’s already set out, like it’s waiting for him. Gabriel’s hands shake, but he drinks the water like he’s starved for it, and then sniffs again.

“Don’t feel bad, buddy. Different things freak us all out.” Stefan sounds like he’s speaking from experience, and he gives the boy’s frail shoulders the gentlest little squeeze.

“It would be good to know, though…” Gabriel tenses as his Mistress speaks, but she only shakes her head. “What was it that scared you so much? Was it just the thought of going outside?”

Gabriel bites his lip and tries to think. He’s still wearing the coat his Masters had put him in; it was thick and warm, and they’d insisted he wear it before being allowed outside. But outside has turned into something much different.

“It’s - it’s so b-big.” It sounds stupid when he says it out loud. But his Mistress is only humming softly, and looking at him with those eyes of hers, the ones that seem to see everything.

“Agoraphobia.” It’s his Master’s voice, and Gabriel blinks up at him in utter incomprehension. He’s never heard those particular syllables arranged in that order before.

“You think?”

Stefan nods to his sister’s question, absently reaching up to stroke his fingers through Gabriel’s hair. Gabriel immediately goes a little looser, easing into his Master’s bulk with a quiet sigh. “It makes sense. Considering.”

“Mm. Yes, I think you’re right.” His Mistress hasn’t let go of his hand, and she gives his palm a gentle squeeze as her attention refocuses. “How do you feel now, sweetheart? Any better?”

Gabriel nods, still curled into Master’s side as the man pets his hair. “Y-yes, Mistress. ‘m sorry, masters.”

“Now, now. No more apologies.” Maria pats the back of his hand as she lets go, and she takes the empty cup as she gets to her feet. “How about this. Gabriel, you’ve seen our back patio, right? It’s like a little gazebo, with a roof?”

Gabriel has seen it, although he’d been careful not to be caught looking. He gulps at the question, and it feels as though it’s some kind of trap. But he has to know, by now, he thinks to himself. He has to know that Mistress and Master don’t play those kinds of games. They’ve always promised to be clear with their rules, to not make him guess.

“Y-y-yes, Mistress, I - I’ve seen it.” It feels like admitting to a terrible crime, but his Mistress just nods.

“Okay. Would you like to try something different? Maybe we can eat dinner out there tonight. It’s not quite outside, but… it’s something.”

When the conflicted silence stretches on too long, Stefan gives him a light squeeze, rubbing his upper arm. “You can say no if you want,” his Master murmurs.

“I - n-no, I-” Gabriel breaks off and bites his lip. He’d wanted to go outside, before, he really had. It was the sky that had frightened him, too deep and vast and unprotected. But the back porch has a big, spired roof, and sides, too. It would be safe there… and he could taste fresh air again. “C-can we try it, Mistress?”

Maria smiles gently, and she reaches out to ruffle his hair. Gabriel murrs quietly, automatically tilting his head into her fingers like a large cat. “Of course, sweeheart. I don’t want you going any further than you’re comfortable with.”

In the end, Gabriel’s legs are still shaking, so Master carries him upstairs to rest while they both make dinner. Gabriel still feels terribly guilty about lying around while his Masters work, and he’s sure he will pay for it once he’s stronger. But for the moment, he curls up in his soft nest of blankets, and closes his eyes.

He can handle the porch, he thinks, even if it’s scary. And it is scary. But he wants to be outside, and he wants to feel fresh air, and he wants to make his Masters happy. Getting some sun will do that, he hopes… Gabriel knows he’s still sickly, even though he’s been gaining weight at an unprecedented rate. He wants to be able to handle this, for them and for himself.

And who knows, maybe one day he’ll be ready to try going for a walk again.

#bdhb #whump #whump writing #my writing #gabriel series #comfort #creepy caretaking thats actually very soft #conditioning

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grimmjowkurosakidrake · 5 years ago

Text

A dog and a picket fence

Summary: For Sasuke’s birthday, my favorite headcanon of him. Sasuke can’t stop adopting all kinds of weird animals but Sakura loves him anyway.

Rating: G

Relationship: Uchiha Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke

Characters: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sarada

Notes: I have this headcanon that Sasuke has such a bleeding heart for animals that he’s always adopting all kinds of weird and maybe dangerous animals.

AO3

Sasuke never gave Sakura the feeling of being an animal lover.

Sakura always prided herself on knowing the love of her life pretty well as a child, she always lamented the fact that she wasn’t able to met him as a teenager and the pink haired girl fell in love with the young adult who was well in his way of becoming a man.

But even if during their travels Sasuke was kind to the birds he summoned to keep updated with Konoha and their loved ones and even when Sakura saw him feeding strays on multiples occasions, she never thought her husband would be the kind of person who just couldn’t help but rescue and keep animals of all kinds.

It all started back then in their first year of marriage when Sarada was only months old and they just erected the new Uchiha home for the new generation they lovingly brought into the world they fought so hard to keep in peace.

Sakura was happily knitting a scarf for her daughter while she waited for Sasuke to come back home.

Sasuke had been on a two days’ mission near Konoha and she was sure he was coming back that day, her husband was one of the best shinobi on the village and he had a fierce sense of devotion passed onto him by his brother, a man she later discovered, was a martyr of their home and a real patriot. Sasuke learnt the importance of peace in the face of Itachi’s sacrifice and so, he never denied a mission.

But he always came back on time, he wasn’t one for broken promises and he always hurried home after a mission. Sakura in return, always bought him flowers to celebrate his homecoming.

This time she had a cute Sansevieria sprout on a pot meaning I love you waiting at her side, while on the other side was Sarada peacefully sleeping in her crib.

Sakura perked up when she felt Sasuke’s dark yet welcoming chakra nearing the house, she allowed her husband to walk into the household by himself in search for his family and she was ready to welcome him home with a smile until the kunoichi heard the panting.

Standing at Sasuke’s feet was one of the biggest dogs she’d ever seen, not counting of course, Akamaru.

The dog was almost as big as Kakashi’s bull. Only, not as bulky.

On four legs, its’ head almost reached Sasuke’s pectorals, she didn’t want to think of how tall it would be standing on two legs nor how tall it would look besides her and her daughter.

The poor thing had a scar in the side of her face where she was missing an eye, it actually had angry scars all over its’ body, it looked tense and anxious. The only cheery thing on it being the bright collar around its’ neck.

“What is this dog doing in here, Sasuke-kun?” She asked reaching out for Sarada on her crib and holding her tight against her chest without taking her eyes off the dog for a second.

“It’s a she,” explained Sasuke with a calm demeanour holding onto the pretty pink collar and leash that restrained the white dog, “she’s a Kuchi breed, very rare. I found her in the house of my mark, they were using her in dog fights,” continued to explain the man, crouching down to scratch the poor girl behind her ears. “We released the other dogs in shelters but she was too big and no one wanted to take care of her.”

As both Sasuke and the dog looked at her with big black eyes, Sakura couldn’t help but think that they looked just the same: pleading, sad and hoping for her agreement.

Finally falling into their puppy eyes, Sakura sighed “She’s not going to be dangerous, right?” The Uchiha matriarch asked concerned but defeated “we have Sarada-chan now.”

“I promise you she hasn’t been anything but lovely since I rescued her,” he assured his wife letting go of the dog’s leash “her name is Hime.”

With some gentle encouragement from Sasuke, Hime walked hesitant towards her and Sarada, Sakura gave her a hand to sniff and the dog happily licked her hand.

“Alright Sasuke-kun,” she smiled. “We can keep her.”

Sasuke kissed Sakura full on the lips as a thank you, squeezing their daughter and new dog between them. As Sakura felt Sasuke’s only hand lovingly caressing her neck, she couldn’t help but thank the dog’s new arrival.

It wasn’t the end.

Over the years her loving husband brought over more and more animals. Each one weirder than the other.

After Hime, there was a dark grey peregrine falcon named Masamune that Sasuke found wounded on the woods. The dark haired shinobi built him a majestic bird house in the balcony outside of their room and the bird of prey never left the home after that, even when he was healed of all wounds.

Then there were the cats, lots and lots of cats.

Not ninneko, just regular felines that Sasuke brought over in a regular basis, they had seven cats: one mother and her four babies, alongside two strays. These cats were Sasuke’s only, not like Hime who with the time grew up to become Sakura’s loyal guard dog or Masamune who never left Sarada’s side.

The cats were Sasuke’s, they accepted food from Sakura and they allowed little Sarada to pet them, sometimes, but they were never affectionate with anyone but Sasuke.

The last rescue was a gigantic fish owl with the biggest set of gorgeous golden eyes the kunoichi had ever seen in her life.

Sakura honestly didn’t know who the owl loved more. Sasuke found Sayako dehydrated and almost dead on the dessert, she was the last animal he saved before leaving for good in his years-long mission and they used her as proxy to send letters to each others.

Sayako always preened happily around Sarada, always groomed Sakura’s pink hair and she even hunted fish for the other animals around the house. With Sayako dutifully taking care of everyone on the household, Sakura thought their little family unit was finally completed.

Until Sasuke came back, finally.

He arrived in Konoha in the middle of a crisis, so they didn’t have time to talk until they were back at the house, then, as if he were still the young adult who couldn’t help but take on strays cats he looked at her with those big, bright eyes that were always pleading for something.

“Sakura,” he called, cradling her wife under his arm. They were lying close to each other on the love-seat in front of the TV in the living room, “I found a wounded baby animal hiding in the snow on the way to Konoha…”

Sakura sighed weary, dropping her face on Sasuke’s warm chest and covered herself with the man’s cape “What sort of animal, Sasuke-kun?” She asked, “It’s hard to take care of so many, even with Sarada around…”

“Don’t worry,” consoled Sasuke kissing her forehead “You know I will be here to help from now on, I don’t plan on leaving once again.”

“Really!?” Sakura got up from the comfort of her husband’s chest for the pure excitement his words provoked on her.

Sasuke, not happy with losing the warm feeling of his wife’s body over his chest and under his arm, forced her face down under his collarbone once again. “Never again, wife. I plan on staying.”

“Then I guess,” She blushed, “that we could take on another member for our family,”

“I’m glad you said that,” Smirked Sasuke before clicking his tongue against his palate. “You can enter now, Odoke.” He called.

Sakura was fully expecting another cat, maybe even a snake or a wolf. What she wasn’t expecting was the baby macaque that entered their house easily and sited on the floor in front of them, smiling and peering at them with the big eyes on it’s red face.

“You’re the worst Sasuke Uchiha,” she grumbled “the actual worst.”

“But you love me anyway, Sakura Uchiha,” he smirked, cradling her face sweetly before kissing her deeply on the lips.

She did. She really did.

#sasusaku fic #sasusakusara #sasusaku #Sasuke Uchiha #sakura uchiha #Sakura Haruno #happy birthday Sasuke Uchiha 2019 #naruto fanfiction

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