#i was trying to figure out how far behind i am on my temperature blanket 😅

[senseiwu]

Oh my god it feels so good to be back on my full dose of dexamphetamine again oh my god

Like a week ago I tried to refill my prescription cause I was almost out, but. My script had expired. Turns out they only last six months. Not too big a deal, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist in a week. I should be fine.

So I had to ration out 2 tablets a day, in mornings only. I haven't been able to do anything in the afternoons. And I felt so tired. And couldn't focus.

I had the appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday, got a new script and got my tablets.

It is nearly 3pm and I do not feel like going to sleep and I want to get my cleaning done now that I've chilled after work.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Routines

Tim and Marinette lived busy lives.

It was by choice, of course.

They were both prominent figures in their fields that could pick and choose the assignments they wished to take, had more money than they could ever dream of using thanks to the hefty trust fund that being even tangentially related to Bruce Wayne provided, and no one would blame them if they were to lessen or give up their vigilantism. If they wished, there was nothing stopping them from taking a smaller workload, from using up all of their sick days, from taking vacations, from quitting their jobs entirely...

That being said, they likely never would.

And the tabloids loved to speculate on their relationship because of it. How could they spend much time together if Tim was always at work, developing new technology for Wayne Enterprises? Marinette was cheating, how could she not when so much of her job as a designer involved getting up close and personal with models? Not to mention all of the business trips. Surely, the relationship had some kind of monetary motivation, or maybe it was just to more seamlessly merge their companies, or it had only happened for PR reasons.

They let them speculate. They simply didn’t know better.

The tabloids didn’t get to see how they acted behind closed doors, after all.

There would be days where neither of them went in to work. It wasn’t due to some sort of sickness that Tim had caught thanks to his lack of spleen, nor would it be because Marinette had hit some kind of artist’s block. No, it was simply because they wanted to spend time together.

~

They took breaks. Technically. If you squint.

There would be days where neither of them went into work. It wasn’t due to some sort of sickness that Tim had caught thanks to his lack of spleen, nor would it be because Marinette had hit some kind of artist’s block. No, it was simply because they wanted to spend time together.

They would turn on the coffee machine and then make their way over to the sofa. Marinette would nestle herself into his side and smile as he wrapped his arm around her. He would pull her as close as he possibly could so he could still use both arms to type.

He usually took video calls like this. It was always so much easier to maintain a pleasant smile, even when people often looked down on him for his age, because whenever he felt it start to waver he could simply look down at his girlfriend and suddenly he would find that it would be back in full force.

She would prop her sketchbook on her legs and start on some new designs. The designs she did like this were always, inexplicably, more lively than the other ones -- full of vibrant colors and swooping curves in a way that some of her other works lacked. If asked, Marinette would joke that the secret ingredient was love.

And, sure, this wasn’t technically taking a break from work. They were still productive, still did tasks...

But they counted it. They always came back to work the next day with the same euphoric feelings in their chests, the same springs in their steps. How could they not? They’d spent the entire day doing what they loved with the person that they loved. Who could ever want a break from that?

~

Every time one of them came back from a business trip, they made sure to spend the night together.

Tim would lay back in bed, Marinette on top of him. Her head would come to rest on his chest, clutching the back of his shirt tightly. His fingers would find their way to her hair and she would huff a little, knowing that her hair was about to get hopelessly tangled as he fidgeted with the silky strands, but she would nuzzle into his chest all the same.

They would watch a TV show. It didn’t matter whether it was good or bad. As long as there were people and some semblance of a plot, they would gladly stay wrapped up in each other’s arms to watch it.

Tim would rattle off whatever theories he had developed as they came to mind. Some of them were absolutely insane, he knew, and would never happen… but it was worth making a fool of himself if it got Marinette’s face to light up or if he earned one of those little giggles that escaped her when he was instantly proven wrong.

Marinette would, at least, pause the show whenever she wanted to talk, though it wasn’t out of an understanding of how time works. No, it was so she could sit up a little in his lap and point at whichever character had offended her this time. She would go on long rants about how makeup was just as important as outfits in costuming, but it was often overlooked in favor of making the actors look pretty. And, maybe she had already said all of this before, but it’s important, Tim! And he would just nod his agreement. Because it was important -- a TV night certainly wouldn’t feel like a TV night without at least one rant.

And then the screen would go black, the most recent episode done.

Tim would draw back a little and then pretend to be shocked when his hands were stuck in her hair.

“Oh noooooo,” he’d say. “I guess I can’t let go yet.”

“How unfortunate,” she would deadpan.

He’d smile cheekily at her.

“Shut up.”

“But I didn’t even say anything!” He’d argue with overexaggerated offense.

She would smile, shaking her head as much as she could with the fingers in her hair. “You didn’t have to. You have a presence about you.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” he’d say.

And, sometimes, she’d bring her hands up to cup his face. “Not sure if it was a compliment, but I definitely wouldn’t have it any other way,” she’d whisper before pulling him closer for a kiss.

… but, most of the time she would just laugh and say: “It wasn’t one.”

~

Once a month, Marinette tried to teach Tim to cook. Of course, they both knew it was a hopeless endeavor. He’d failed to make mac n’ cheese once, and Marinette -- who had lived the first eighteen years of her life in a Parisian bakery -- wasn’t good at discerning which meals were ‘easy to do’.

But that didn’t stop her from trying.

She would come up with a new recipe, would claim that this one was truly dummy proof…

And then Tim, dummy that he was, would manage to mess it up. Without fail, he would find some way to do something wrong. He would leave the milk on the stove and then be surprised when said milk on the stove decided to revolt against the system. He would raise the temperature on the thing they were baking so it would go faster and then be shocked when the cake didn’t rise at all. He would put too much in the mixer and then not understand why the contents had exploded over the two of them.

Worst thing was, she was pretty sure he was actually trying. He just… couldn’t seem to do it.

So, she would just kiss the disappointed frown off of his face and promise that they would do better next time.

And, every time without fail, he would light up.

“There will be a next time?” He would ask.

“Yeah. You’re lucky you’re cute, I can’t say I love being covered in ingredients.”

Tim would kiss her cheek, and then draw back and lick his lips. “I don’t know, I kind of like it. Something about my girlfriend being covered in tasty food really does something for me.”

“Like I said: you’re lucky you’re cute.”

And, even though she would say that, there was no mistaking the amusement dancing in her eyes.

~

They weren’t particularly religious, it was hard to be when Marinette had a god living in her earrings that obeyed her every command…

Which meant celebrations for the two of them were few and far between.

But, at least, they celebrated their anniversary.

They would sit on the rooftop, the blankets doing nothing to keep the hard tiles of the roof from digging into them and they did even less against the chilly Gotham air.

She’d stare up at the sky with him.

And, since it was Gotham, there were very few stars to be seen through the dark red and black haze of clouds that hung over the city.

But they didn’t mind.

Marinette smiled. “It’s our colors.”

He didn’t look over, watching the colors swirl above them. “Even the sky thinks we’re a good couple.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. The sky god really does have a thing for love.”

He gave a short puff of laughter and finally tore his eyes away from the sky. “Really?”

She shrugged, grinning at him. “No clue. There might not even be a sky god.”

He scoffed and untangled his hand from its blanket prison to give her a tiny shove. She could have dodged the attempt with ease, but she allowed the hand to make contact.

To her surprise, he grabbed ahold of her shoulder and pulled her into him. She gave an undignified little squeak and, if it weren’t for the fact that he was right there, she would have probably faceplanted onto the tile.

But, instead, her face came crashing into his soft, pillowy shoulder.

She looked up at the crooked grin that she had come to love over the years and huffed, pulling her own arms free so she could shove him. For real.

He flopped back, the hand he’d managed to get out coming to rest over his chest as if he were hurt.

“How could you? Roofs hurt, you know.”

“Well, yeah, if you throw yourself down on tiles it’s not going to feel too great.”

He cracked a grin, though he quickly tamped it down to keep up the act: “Victim blaming at its finest.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned over him. One of her hands cradled his cheek, her thumb tracing the tiny scar on his cheekbone.

He looked up at her. And she thought, somewhere, that maybe the reason the pollution in the city was just some kind of coverup so no one would know that they all resided in Tim’s eyes.

And then she cursed herself mentally for thinking something so cheesy.

She had to make up for it somehow:

“You’re the worst, I hope you know that.”

“I am. But you love me anyway.”

Dang it. How was she supposed to feign being annoyed when he looked at her like that? With that soft smile and thick lashes and hair that framed his face just so.

She decided it wasn’t worth trying to pretend.

Marinette let herself match his smile.

“I do.”

“Save those words for our wedding,” he joked softly.

She rolled her eyes. “You haven’t even proposed yet.”

“I could be doing that right now. Who knows, this could all be my plan.”

“It’d be a good plan,” she said. “I’d probably say yes.”

He narrowed his eyes just slightly. “Isn’t that essentially you proposing to me?”

She tipped her head to the side, considering, then she laughed a little. “I guess it kind of is. So, Tim, will you marry me?”

His eyes widened to an almost comical degree.

And then his face lit up with a smile that made her heart flutter.

“I hope you know I want a ring.”

She giggled. “Just say yes, you idiot. We can always get the ring tomorrow.”

His smile only stretched further. “Yes. I’d love to marry you.”

“I love you,” she whispered, leaning closer until her lips brushed against his.

“I love you, too,” he breathed.

Marinette didn’t hesitate any longer, tilting her head to give him a proper kiss. He freed himself of the blanket and she gasped a little against his lips as he wrapped her up in it as well, drawing her close.

She pulled away just a little, her forehead coming to rest against his. She couldn’t seem to get the dopey smile off of her face, but she wasn't completely sure she even wanted it gone.

“I proposed first, so I won,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

He smiled. “No, I did.”

[cutegirlmayra]

Here's a prompt idea: Eggmans latest device accidentally turns Amy back into Rosy. But to the Rosy before she met Sonic and the others so she has no memory of her friends and is pretty scared and runs off. So Sonic has to slowly regain her trust and friendship and is reminded why he's glad to have her around as a friend. Just some sweet fluff (eeeeeeeee! I love da fluffy)

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN, DO NOT SEND ME A REQUEST. I have too many, please follow the rules of the blog and wait for a grand announcement T-T I also want to focus on Fanfiction for a little bit so please, please have mercy on my soul \(TD\T)

(This art is owned to (x) Please support the original artist! - found through google.)

Pajama Blogs Ep.1 - Timestamp 1:01:06 (x)

Prompt:

In the thick of the battle, where Eggman has once again blurred the lines of time and stolen two Chaos Emeralds that have been locked into place by a case of glass on either side of his raygun, the team desperately try to avoid getting zapped into another dimensional self or even a past form.

"Wo-hohoho!" Eggman's infamous laugh triggered the large jumping moment of his stomach before he peered down at what he considered the squabbling, pint-sized forms of his nemeses. He beamed a grin of mischief and looked to the blue streak that had foiled every carefully laid out plan since... well... the dawn of his reign of terror upon this world.

"Not this time..., Sonic!" he reared the gun skyward, showing the effort as it jostled the machine a moment as he had implanted the device onto his Egg-mobile, "This time, I'm going back to before you were ever the hero! Back when you a slobbery, good for nothing, vulnerable little child!"

Sonic looked up to see what he was talking about, the device's nozzle being adjusted like a temperature or safe-lock setting, and being too far away to gauge what the actions meant, he just braced himself and ran forward. "Come on!" he called to his friends, Tails, Knuckles, and-

"Sonic! I'm coming too!" Amy rushed out behind the three, as Knuckles and Tails turned around from flying and gliding in the sky by Sonic to see her.

"W-what? Amy? When did you get here?" Sonic looked over his shoulder, but as he did so, Amy looked up and saw Eggman smirking, finally getting the bulky, heavy gun angled down and flipped two switches that started making the device glow and charge up.

"Look out!" Amy threw her hammer to Sonic, who tossed it to the side with a spinning kick.

"W-what?" He didn't understand before turning to see the beam and skidding to a halt. His eyes were overwhelmed with the bright color of neon red before Amy expertly jumped and twirled through the air in an acrobatic-like maneuver.

Seeing this, Eggman's face dropped from his insane joy to one of disappointment and surprise as she narrowly summoned another hammer and it intercepted the beam.

Lightly tapping the edge of it, the beam suddenly bent and 'flipped a U-ie' and looped itself back to sparking and hitting her hammer. Since her hand was attached, it sparked and moved to consume her frame in seconds within the bright red light, before she fell down to the ground, her silhouette showing her head coming up as she was trying to push off the ground... The hammer fell with a few flops before shrinking in size and turning into a typical Japanese hammer toy for toddlers.

Tails looked up to Eggman who grumbled and moved the gun, looking down off the side of his Egg-Mobile, as though not sure if his device was really going to succeed or not, but curious what it may do.

"Amy's younger than Sonic... if he put a date in that's too far back..." Tails's eyes shook as he felt his body pulse back in shock at that thought... "No..." his eyes arched and he looked down to Amy, flying as fast as his twin-tails could take him. "Ammmyy!!!" he called out.

With Tails's added cry, Sonic's eyes stopped shaking and he blinked back into the reality of the situation. He also ran to her as Knuckles glided down from hovering in the air to be in front of Amy, glaring up at Eggman to keep an eye on him while Tails and Sonic went to Amy's side.

Tails fell by her but as Sonic went to reach out for her, grabbed his reaching arm with both hands, pulling it away, "No, wait, don't-!" he warned, "The ray traveled from her hammer to her body, it's probably still able to. I bet it's transferable with touch, did you see the way it looped back after Amy tipped its line's edge with her hammer?"

Sonic looked to Tails, then Amy, seeing the shadow of her looked as though struggling to rise up, possibly... was she in pain?

"You expect me to do nothing? Tails, I can't just... sit here and watch!" Sonic used his hands to express himself, turning them up to their palms and bouncing them a bit with the gravity of his words reflecting his heart. He looked with arching eyes back to Amy, who slowly began to shrink as her voiced struggles turned more and more higher in pitch... until...

The light blasted off, as though a paper-wrap being torn and blown up and then...

Tails and Sonic peered over the fabric of red, then Eggman continued to lean with a mouth forming a curious, small 'o' before having to grab the other end of his tilting Egg-Mobile just to stabilize himself and not fall over. Due to the size of the raygun attached to its front, the weight balance wasn't good, and as the gun's tip slid with the weight Eggman was leaning on--it almost flipped fully over!

His leg came up to counterweight it, but why am I spending so much time describing this funny scene when I'm clearly breaking up the tension of what happened to Amy Rose?

"Amy..?" As the sparks were gone, Tails finally let go of Sonic's hand.

It was the free then to reach out and lightly grip the edge of the now large dress, and slowly draped it to the side as it gently skimmed over light pink quills.

It was a small ball, almost the size of a melon, before it softly stuck out a long, protruding nose.

Tails's and Sonic's eyes widened, not having seen that since... well, before she hit puberty.

"Is she..?" Sonic began, looking to Tails before the little creature yawned and stuck out a hand, patting the ground and sniffing, before finding the edge of the dress again and grunting in annoyance at someone removing its blanket.

It found it and kept trying to toss the warm, lightweight fabric ontop of itself, again, pulling its long nose and pointed muzzle back into its curled ball and bringing its hand back under as well.

Eggman flew around at all sides, trying to see over and past the two heads but Knuckles kept on him and zipped to every direction he tried to look as well, "Oh, no you don't!"

He was growing irritated, taking the gun and bopping it to spark it to life again, charging. He figured, if it did work, might as well fire on the rest of them!

"We're gonna have to start up a nursery." Orbot was looking through large, exaggerated, almost like a space telescope with a small, looking-glass end for his eyes to peer through binoculars back at Eggman's HQ.

His view showed Tails carefully wrapping the large dress over the small, trying to sleep child and looking to see the hammer. He picked it up and placed it on top of the now wrapped dressed over the curled baby hedgehog and shrugged to Sonic, not sure how he was going to reverse this.

Sonic's anger was now full, he turned with a shaking fist, squinting in his fierce sense of justice up to Eggman who continued to bonk, kick, and jostle the gun to get it up and going before looking down to see Sonic's fury. "Eggman!"

He winced, his mustache drooping at his tone.

He lifted a foot back up to the rim of his Egg-mobile, "It's... grk... jammed!" he suddenly was flung back as the gun went crazy and shot everything in random directions.

The ray hit a flower and turned it into a sapling, a great oak to a sprouting twig, and a Butterfly passing through into a Caterpillar...

"Well, at least I know it works. Oh no!!" His glasses 'tink'ed down slightly as the gun rotated up and then fell as though backwards... facing Eggman.

Orbot screeched through his vocal box, "Doctor!!!!"

After a ray of light, Tails walked up the hill with Eggman carrying the large Egg-Mobile and raygun attached to it on his shoulders and half his back. The two looked back as though waiting for Sonic to drop the young Eggman off at his base for Orbot and Cubot to deal with. Unfortunately, they begged Sonic to help them, and he conceded as he raced back with Cubot and Orbot under his armpits--since they were just a small iron bar for a body anyway--and a toddler Eggman whacking the side of Sonic's face and laughing. He was still bald, but no mustache.

The three headed to Tails's lab, Vanilla and Cream trying to take care of the two with Orbot and Cubot who were like rattles in his grip. "H-Help!" Cream approached, leaving Vanilla to finish clothing Amy in her old attire.

"There!" Vanilla pulled down the iconic, puffy green shirt as the little girl looked it over. "Hmm, ain't that wonderful? Looks like you kept your old clothes, boxed up in a storage part of your closet. It was titled 'Future Family', isn't that sweet? Like hand-me-downs." she cupped her face as though that was so sweet, but when she looked down, Amy was gone. "Oh!" she immediately covered her mouth and started looking around, "Amy? Amy, dear..?"

"Now, Mr... uhh... I guess you're just Eggchild now, huh?" Cream went to pick up Eggman who kicked and squirmed in her grasp. "Momma?" She saw her mother frantically lifting up pillows on the couch, as though she lost something and gently put them down with a sigh.

"Where could she have gotten off to so quickly?"

Back in Tails's workshop, the door creaked open a bit as Amy stumbled in and hid in the scrap metal, not sure who these people were, but listening to them as they spoke.

"Apparently, my theory was false." Tails began, turning to Sonic and Knuckles, who had his arms folded while Sonic's was relaxed by his sides.

He was trying to remain calm, after all, the two little things were in Vanilla and Cream's care. He was resting easy for now, hoping to get this solved soon.

Tails showed the dial on the raygun, pointing to it as he had dislodged it from on Eggman's Egg-Mobile, "These aren't dates or times, they're molecular ages..." he explained, then looked up at Sonic, "In other words, based on whatever stage of life it's set to, anything hit with this thing will turn into that form during that cycle of its life."

"But... then why doesn't Eggman seem to remember anything?" Sonic gestured a hand out.

"Yeah, we asked him, and even then... he's not talking." Knuckles frowned, but Sonic shook his head and put a hand on his shoulder, making him look at him funny.

"Knuckles, Knuckles, Knuckles... he's not old enough to talk yet." Sonic teased, patting his shoulder a second before smirking at him, "However, if his mind was the same, he'd certainly have acted angry, right?"

"Exactly," Tails nodded, as the two turned their attention back to him, but Knuckles growled in annoyance at Sonic's slight belittlement of his statement. "It's still got the Chaos Emeralds, wielders that manipulate time and space attached to it." He turned their sights back to the dial, "Which means..."

"It's taking them back to that time, too. Not just their body." Knuckles finished for him.

As though not expecting his intelligence, Sonic and Tails turned to look at him stunned, and Knuckles looked back at each of them, "What!?" he exclaimed, unfolding his arms to have them gesture angrily out at them, "I'm not stupid! I can connect the dots!"

Amy didn't quite understand what these older kids were saying, but had to find a way out of here.

She looked around and found the garage switch! That should open the door and get her out of here with these weirdos!

Even though... of the weirdos...

She looked to Sonic, her eyes slightly shining.

Was pretty handsome...

"So, that's good news, right?" Sonic spoke up, "If we can just turn that thing in the right way, we should be able to get Amy and Eggman back to their normal ages, right?"

"A simple fix." Tails nodded, "Better than most outcomes, haha!" he then looked to the symbols. "Thing is..."

Knuckles and Sonic leaned in, waiting for Tails to finish as he lowered his head.

"I... can't tell what Eggman's code for figuring out the placement means..."

Sonic put his hands on his hips and leaned forward as Knuckles arched his back and face-palmed himself.

Everyone just kinda sighed or groaned.

"Great! We gotta go through trial and error?!" Knuckles spat out. "How long will that take?"

"And more importantly," Sonic walked up to Tails, standing beside him, "Is it safe?" He angled his head in a tilt back, as Tails shook his head.

"We shouldn't try it on Eggman or Amy just yet. Give me some time, I should have it figured out in a jiffy." Tails responded light-heartedly, still showing it was possible and not too terribly difficult, but Knuckles threw up his fists.

"Time!? How long do you expect us to babysit these-!?" Before he could finish his sentence, Sonic gasped and pointed to tiny fingers reaching for the Garage door's button.

"Look!" he cried out, as the three turned and Amy flinched, jumping into a spin to lightly tap the button and scoot under the rising door. "H-hey!" Sonic dived and reached out for Amy, but she was quick and small, meaning he got trapped by the rising door and had to wait to scoot under it. "Darn," He smiled, finding this kinda fun. "Hey! wait! Don't get hurt!" he called out, which stopped the fleeing Rosy girl, who turned back and put her hands over the other and up by her chest, surprised that... anyone would care about her like that.

Who were these people?

Sonic, crawling out to where his torso was at least through the slit, smiled kindly to her with eyes that showed only care and... even a bit of playfulness.

She narrowed her eyes... that was strange, but she blushed and took off again.

Sonic closed his eyes and let out a chuckle, getting up on his knee as the door slowly... but surely began to rise up enough for him to fully stand. "I'll take care of our little rascal, Tails. You just get that machine decoded." He flung back a thumbs up, and Tails nodded.

"Leave it to me!" he seemed determined.

"H-hey, what, are you saying I have to look after Eggman?!" Knuckles stomped the ground as he stepped back, flabbergasted by what this might entail for him...

Tails just looked to him and laughed, "Vanilla and Cream have Orbot and Cubot to help them out, why don't you go with Sonic? She's a slippery one, he might need all the help he can get!"

"I can handle her on my own," Sonic folded his arms, not even looking to see where Amy had run off too, a bit overconfident. "It's just one hedgehog, and you're forgetting something." he winked, holding up a pointer finger and wiggling it with a shake of his head. "I'm irresistible!"

Knuckles scoffed as Tails placed the raygun down and covered his mouth as he chuckled.

"Yeah, well... how much trouble can a little girl get into, yeah?" Knuckles drooped his arms a little, hunching his back as he walked towards Sonic. "It's better than whatever I'd have to do wiping Eggman's butt!"

"He's not that young." Sonic lowered his eyelids and tilted his head, putting his hands on his hips and then raising an eyebrow, "You... do know the different development stages... right?"

Knuckles flinched, "How am I supposed to know anything about babies!?"

"Toddlers." Tails corrected, "And they can be quite intelligent. They use mimicry to learn and grow. They're always watching." Tails held up a finger, as though instructing Knuckles, "You two be on your best behavior. Who knows, if we change Amy back, she might have picked up a behavior or two from you." He shrugged, making Knuckles wince as Sonic winked secretly to Tails, in on the prank.

"Yeah, Knuckles," He put an arm around him, making him even more uncomfortable, "You'll have to be the outstanding role model for Amy from now on, until Tails figures out the dial settings, anyway." he grinned, totally fooling and freaking out Knuckles, which he was gullible enough to believe.

"Oh, man... I-I-I don't know how to be one of those!" he worriedly admitted out loud.

"Don't you worry, buddy, I'll show you the ropes, no problem!" he gestured out a cocky shrug, "It's easy! Just remember your typical moral code and be sensitive to the child's needs! Nothing to it!" he gave him his signature thumbs up and wink before dashing off, "See ya, Tails! I'm off to find Amy!"

"Don't play too much..." Tails mumbled, but Sonic was already gone. He looked to Knuckles, chuckling as he held a hand over his stomach for a moment with the action. "It's okay, Knuckles. Just... entertain her for a bit until I can figure this out. It shouldn't be too difficult, just like Sonic said, it's all about being on your best behavior." he closed his eyes and shook his finger as though that's all that was required.

Knuckles mimicked the action, holding his own finger up, "Be on your best behavior... got it!" he waddled off, keeping the finger out, "Best behavior... just be on your best behavior..!"

Tails, flying over to make sure Knuckles was gone... suddenly burst out laughing.

Sonic stopped to look behind him and see that Knuckles was a fair distance away, then smirked again, "Heh, now that he's out of the way... Hmm..." he put a hand up over his eyes to block the sun, looking happily over the area to find a speck of pink. "Now... if I was a confused little hedgehog... where would I be hiding..?" he found a patch of long-leaf, bushy plants that were moving near the jungle. "Ah-ha!" he took off as Knuckles called out to him.

"H-hey! Wait for me!!! Ohhh, Soniiiccc!!" Knuckles picked up the pace, "Man, I gotta make a good first impression, don't I? Am I... intimidating? Amy's probably never seen an Echidna before if she's a toddler again, yeah? Oh man... I'm gonna suck at this!" he hurried up the hill to catch Sonic, as he slowed down and started to fake wandering through the brush.

He stuck out a foot and felt the ground out, putting his hands behind his head, "Huh? Now,... where, oh, where could that darling little hedgehog be?" He teased, putting his hands down and by his hips, facing his back to where he could clearly see and hear her moving through the bushes, crawling to try and get away and stay silent.

But she was anything but stealthy. He looked over his shoulder and chuckled, then dramatically began his performance. "Oh shucks, I really thought we could hit it off and be friends, too." He put a hand up to his forehead, speaking loudly. "I guess she doesn't like me... how sad, I think I might... be alone..." he faked a sniff, putting his hand down to his chest, "For the rest of my days... Poor, old Sonic." He shrugged and shook his head out, then smirked and narrowed his eyes behind him when he heard the shuffling stop.

'Got'cha.' he let the smirk reach the corner of his muzzle, 'Your bleeding heart is still too good to pass up someone who you feel is in need. No matter what age you are, you're still a bit of a saint.' he flopped down to be more at her level, but acted as though he was whining and complaining, "Ohhh!!!! What ever will I do!" he lifted his head to call up... then opened an eye to see if she was coming.

Just as planned, a tiny little hand gripped the back of one of his two spikes on his back.

He smiled kindly and looked back to her with great care to not seem threatening, "Well, hello there." he suddenly saw her look up and blush, then take off. "Huh? Hey, wait, where are you going?" He didn't bother to reach for her, just watched her.

"Ah, faking shy, eh?" He gave her a fond look, before Knuckles tumbled down to the ground with a bent and twisted body, looking completely out of his element in his worry of having to re-introduce himself to Amy... as a kid. "You're really banged up about this, aren't you?" Sonic teased, seeing his apparent struggle.

Knuckles got up and rubbed his head, on his hands and knees now, "Shut up..!" he countered, "Besides, what makes you so chill about meeting Amy again at this age? Aren't you a bit concerned she won't like you like she does now? O-or did now, o-or..." As he tried to figure out the tense, Sonic just rolled his eyes up and started crawling on the ground towards where Amy scampered off to. "Hey! Quit leaving me behind!!" Knuckles shouted out as Sonic lifted a foot up and tapped his mouth shut.

"Quiet, will ya? You'll scare her off." Sonic watched as Knuckles blinked, then nodded as Sonic removed his foot, "You really have never talked to a girl before... have you?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" His anger spiked, but he was shouting in a whisper now, his fist up by Sonic and his teeth now pointed, eyes white in fury, and insulted with an anger mark showing through. "I was alone on an island my entire life! What's your excuse!?"

"I grew up around orphans..." Sonic muttered, looking around casually with his eyes for any sign of movement of where she might be.

"H-huh..? You did?" Knuckles blinked his eyes again, amazed.

"Yeah, you guys." Sonic teased, smiling back at Knuckles. "Tails, Amy... I was always being admired by those younger than me... it made me appreciate people like you and Eggman." he turned with a mischievous look in his face to Knuckles, pulling an eyelid down and sticking his tongue out, "I never had to be anything for you two."

"Why you..." Knuckles twitched an eyebrow in annoyance, but Sonic then lifted up a pointer finger, reminding Knuckles of what Tails had said.

"Just remember, tender love and care." He then grinned a beaming smile as though this was fun for him, and trekked back through the foliage as Knuckles held up his own finger again, repeating.

"Be on your best behavior... Tender love and care... got it... Ah! Hey! You're going off without me again!" he crawled after Sonic... but really, he was just following his lead.

Amy flopped a few long, dangling leafs off of her as she finally made it through the jungle floor's flora and looked up at the giant temples and structures before her.

She had never seen anything so massive and brilliant, tall and imposing... she looked behind her to hear Knuckles bumping into Sonic, and him telling him to 'watch it' and realized that those two strange boys were still after her.

She puffed up a cheek, 'Don't they ever give up!?'

She took off towards the steps of the temple before shying back and growing scared... one wrong move... and she could slip and fall all the way down the steps...

She rubbed her head with both hands, already scared of that possibility before gasping as Knuckles and Sonic came out of the bush.

"Huh? There you are!" Sonic called, very friendly, "Hey, where ya going?"

She immediately shivered, what did these men want with her..?

Sonic saw this... and immediately lost the nature.

He got up, "Hey, we're not here to harm you." he lifted his hands out to show her that it was okay, to not get worked up and calm down.

She scooted away, looking back up the structure and then to Sonic and Knuckles.

Sonic's eyes bent sweetly, "There, see? We can just talk and play, alright? We're not as scary as you may think-"

Knuckles bulldozed out and knocked Sonic down, the two tumbling as Sonic flailed a bit in the tangled wrestle of sorts, Knuckles having vines all over him.

"Ahhh!! It's a snake, get it off of me!" it clearly wasn't...

Amy was freaked out and all of Sonic's 'calming' energy escaped her and was pointless as she started the climb up the temple.

"Oh no!" Sonic pushed Knuckles off of him as he kept 'fighting' the vines he thought were snakes. "Amy!" he called out.

She paused... looking back at him, she wondered how he knew her name.

He raced over to her and held out his arms, "Amy, jump down, you'll get hurt!" he reached out further, showing how sincere he was. "Amy..." His eyes carried a look as though he wanted to protect her...

Her own eyes sparkled and shook... someone... someone truly wanted to be there for her?

Her hand moved a little off the next step she was going to climb, as though to trust that Sonic would catch her, but then...

"Got it! Haha! Take that, snakes!" Knuckles flopped the snakes off of him and then looked to see her on the temple steps, "GAHH!!! My ancestorial shrines!!!" He gripped his hands to his cheeks, then ran over and held up a fist, looking stern and fierce in his face as his brow was sharp and angled down. "Get off of there, you're far too small to be climbing that!" he shouted, as Sonic scolded him immediately and narrowed his eyes to him.

"Knuckles!"

"What!? .... ohhh..." Knuckles lowered his fist and loosened the features on his countenance. "Eh-heh... too much?" Some awkward sweat at knowing he had made a mistake dripped down the side of his face as Amy kept climbing. "Gahhh!!! She's gonna fall!" Knuckles worried, before jumping up and hitting his spikes on his fists to the temple's wall, hurriedly climbing up that way, "Ura-ura-urah!" he was like a red stream train that terrified her.

"Knuckles, stop it! You're scaring her!" he was making it worse, so Sonic scaled up the temple after him, running along side where he was drilling his fist in to keep scaling the large structure, "What happened to 'best behavior' and 'tender love and care'?" Sonic quipped back, but Knuckles just tsk'ed.

"You think your way is working any good? Pfft! She hasn't come to you yet, either!"

Sonic frowned, tilting his head as though he had something to prove now.

"Fine." He dashed up in front of Knuckles to stop him from climbing as ancient dust sprayed onto his face, making him cough and stop fully in his tracks.

"Hey!" he hacked, "Grr... what was that all about?" He didn't seem to understand... Sonic's gentleness towards the situation.

Amy kept climbing, her whole body having to pull itself up over each step before she looked down and panicked, seeing how high she had already gotten and the cold chill of the atmosphere that made her flinch back and cling to the stony, yet smoothened over through time steps.

She closed her eyes... and then... a hand reached out to her.

"Amy..?"

She blinked her eyes opened and looked up, amazed to see Sonic had made it to the steps above her and was reaching down, that same care in his eyes...

'This handsome boy... what does he want with little old me?'

"It's gonna be okay, Amy." Sonic's voice seemed to raise the rising heat on her cheeks. "You're gonna be alright, just hang on. Take my hand, I know it's scary, but you don't have to go back down alone. I'm here now, and I won't let you go. I promise."

His words... the expression on his face...

Every bit of her wanted to trust him.

Her mouth opened and then closed, her head turned away and her eyes shut as well. "I..." she could barely speak in her fear, "I can't."

His eyes blinked and lightened up a bit in curiosity, "Why not, Amy?" He was still being supportive, just wanting understanding.

"You..." she shivered... was she still afraid of him?

"You'll fall, too."

It was moments like these that melted away whatever cool guy attitude or ego Sonic thought he had. His eyes bent in absolute consideration for her... even in her own fears, she always thought of others and was more worried about pulling him down with her than her own safety.

"That's what I've always admired the most about you, Amy." He beamed a smile that when she looked to it, was like the very sun on top of the ancient ruins... like a sun god.

"Even in such a tiny body... your heart is as huge as can be."

With that, she went to take his hand... but then there was a tremor.

"W-woah-woah!" Sonic held on as only a foot and a hand was now on the steps above her, and her little body was being tossed about a bit, desperately trying to hold on. "Knuckles!" Sonic cried out, as Knuckles was charging from below, finally grabbing her ankle.

"Got her!" Knuckles grinned and snickered somewhat, "Hehehe, now you can't get away. You grab her from above and we'll glide down, Sonic!" He shouted out, making Amy flinch as she started hitting his head down.

"No, no, no!" she cried out, tears on the corners of her eyes, "Bad man, bad man!"

"B-bad man!?" Knuckles, getting repeatedly stomped on, looked confused, "We're trying to save you!"

"She means you, Knuckles!" Sonic gritted his teeth, "You have no tact, man!"

"Screw that! What does a tack have to do with this!?" He didn't seem to understand the term...

Sonic shook his head, then allowed himself to fall a bit down before catching himself again, kicking Knuckles with Amy as she watched a protective and caring arm go around her waist. "Get off, you brute! You're horrible with kids!"

"Brute!?" Knuckles was suddenly kicked down and fell, "AHH!!!!" he glided and looped around to another part of the wall. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?!?"

"Tsk, some heroic first impression, huh?" Sonic sarcastically stated,... as Amy's eyes began to fall in love with this strange blue hedgehog...

He helped her kick the bad man down...

He held her but wasn't trying to rip her off the stony mountain building...

"Who..." she softly let out, her little, high-pitched voice so cute as Sonic looked to her.

"Hmm?" he waited, still and comforting, for her to finish her question.

"Who are you, mister?" Her sweetness also came with some bitter aftertaste to him... as his eyes bent... wishing she knew all the history they had together...

His mind wandered to dates where he would carry her shopping list, and how she would spin around and give a cheery open-smile to him... "My hero!" she would chime out.

His eyes danced in those memories... barely remembering her as Rosy the Rascal, but mostly... as Amy Rose.

He smiled and closed his eyes, 'heh'ing as he then opened one and gave her a charming smile. "I'm Sonic!" he put a bit of gusto into it, "I'm Sonic The Hedgehog!"

"Hold her still!" Tails's voice suddenly flew into earshot as Sonic broke out of his dynamic introduction and looked down to see Tails flying up in a spiral. "Herrrree I goooo~" he lugged the heavy raygun up all the way and then fired it towards Amy.

The next day, Amy was knitting something on her porch, tapping her toes against the wooden porch before sighing and looking to the sky...

"...I was always on my own, then... longing for someone sweep me off my feet... I had no idea... that what I really needed was..." She paused when her hair flew to the side and she covered some of her face from the wind, then smiled as Sonic had raced by.

Her smile rose and she giggled, leaning forward and getting up off the step to grip a beam and lean her head lovingly into it.

"Was someone to believe in me... And support my adventures... no matter what."

And she was happy.

[anonymousfiction211]

Hi, could you do a story where reader is having a panic attack and scared of letting Loki see them like this? Male reader please? The cause of the panic attack is someone judging them for their weigh. Loki comforting them. Please?

A/N: It's in an alternate universe were Loki and Tom Hiddleston are in a relationship together, and since Loki is an Avenger they live in the tower. Since Tom himself is being shamed sometimes - which still breaks my heart - I tried to work that into the story. Hope you like this :)

Warnings: hurt/comfort, bit angsty.

Panick attack ‘God he looks like a bean stick, doesn’t he?’ Tony said

‘Haha yes, some people aren’t built for muscles’ Sam chimed in.

That were the only two sentences Tom had heard of the conversation, but it was enough to make him spiral out of control. He had no idea how long they were talking about him, and had no intention to stay and discover how long they would go on. He wanted nothing more than to go into his bed, and cry. One problem, the chance of encountering his very fit boyfriend – with literally the body of a god - was too high. He had to find a hiding place, and fast.

Walking through the hallway he tried to hold back his tears. That unsettling, but very familiar feeling, started to creep in. His stomach felt in knots and he became nauseated. His breathing increased, but he tried to get it under control. His whole body felt tense and his temperature was rising. With no other option, he opted for the toilet of the library. Quickly entering the toilet, he slammed the door behind him and made sure it was locked. Closing the toilet-lit he sat down on the lit. He put his elbows on his thighs and his hands on either side of his head. Now he was locked in an internal war with himself, one that he lost over and over again.

The first battle he lost was with his tears. They were streaming down his face. He tried to close his eyes, bite his lip and tilt back his head, but the tears kept coming. The toilet felt like a hundred degrees and sweat was starting to form on his forehead, his hands already damp and lightly shaking. That was the second battle he lost. He tried to keep the bad thoughts away, because everybody is different. Not everyone wants to have big muscles to show of, he didn’t want to spend all his time at the gym, watching what he ate. He only liked to run, was that so wrong? But the constant ridicule from the people around him was too much. Thoughts that he was too thin, too lean, didn’t look sexy, at least not sexy enough for his boyfriend were swarming through his head. And that was the moment he lost the war.

His breathing sped up and he was inhaling loudly. It was even becoming painful for his lungs, but Tom felt like he couldn’t breathe anymore. Everything around him was spinning. He felt like dying. A knock on the door startled him. God, no not now! He couldn’t let anybody see him, he was too ashamed. He tried to silence his breaths, but it was no use.

‘Who is in there? Is everything all right?’ a familiar voice on the other side of the door said.

No, no no... not Loki. Why? Tom thought. Loki was the last person on this planet that could see him like this. He wanted to tell him to leave, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even breathe! It felt like he was suffocating.

‘I’m unlocking the door’ Loki said. Tom wanted to protest, but still couldn’t say a thing.

The lock of the door slowly turned. The handle was pushed down and the door opened, revealing a concerned Loki. When Loki saw his panting boyfriend, covered in sweat, crouched inwards on the toilet lit he was shocked. He ran towards him, flicking his wrists to close the door behind him. He got on his knees, in between Tom’s legs and grabbed his hands.

‘Love, what’s wrong? What happened?’ Loki asked full of concern.

Tom just closed his eyes and kept gasping for air. He didn’t want to gasp for air anymore, it hurt too much to do so.

‘Tom, open your eyes. Look at me’ Loki said.

Tom just shook his head. ‘I’m sorry’ ‘I’m sorry’ ‘I’m sorry’ he repeated in a mantra over and over again between the gasps.

‘Tom, open your eyes’ Loki said more sternly.

Tom opened his eyes and looked at his boyfriend through the tears. He kept apologizing, for nothing and everything at the same time.

‘Just breathe, love. In… and out. In… and out’ Loki encouraged while demonstrating his own breathing.

Loki kept looking into Tom’s eyes, rubbing the back of his hands, and breathing with him. It took a while, but Tom stopped apologizing and his breathing was slowing. Now, he felt dread, because he had to tell Loki what happened. He was so scared that Loki would realise he was too good for him, he would for sure leave him. If not now then somewhere in the future. Tom felt cold, and started to shiver. The tears had stopped streaming and his breathing was painful, but even.

‘Are you cold? Do you want to come back to our room?’ Loki said softly.

Tom didn’t say anything but nodded slightly. ‘I-, I don’t..’ he said with a hoarse voice, but Loki shushed him.

‘I’ll teleport us’ Loki said. He helped Tom up for the lit and hold him tightly against him through the spell. Back in their room he still held on to Tom, figuring the spell would make him feel slightly dizzy. After the long hug he sat Tom down on the bed and conjured up a blanket to put around him, hoping he would soon stop shivering.

‘Are you all right?’ Loki asked.

Tom nodded.

‘What happened, love?’

When Tom tried to speak a chocked sob came out. He buried his face in his hands, trying to get away from Loki. Loki put an arm around his shoulder and let him cry in his chest for a moment. He stroked Tom’s hair to calm him down and whispered that everything will be all right. After Tom calmed down again he let him retract just enough to let him explain what happened.

‘It’s nothing’ Tom said a bit sheepishly.

‘That was not nothing’ Loki shot back. ‘Tell me, please’ he added softly.

‘I- ehm.. overheard a conversation between Tony and Sam’ Tom said sadly.

When he didn’t say anything more, Loki decided to push it a little. ‘What were they saying?’ assuming it would be something hurtful about himself. To his surprise, it wasn’t.

‘They were making fun of me.. for not having enough muscles’ Loki heard Tom say in the smallest voice he had ever heard of Tom, making his heart break. He felt Tom tense up and try to hide himself again.

Loki grabbed either side of Tom’s face. ‘Love, to me you are absolutely perfect. There is not a thing I would change. Don’t listen to these two idiots. What do they know? They have to use robotics to even stand a chance during missions’ Loki said.

‘It’s just.. you’re .. you, you know. Godly. And I’m me.. just me’ Tom hesitatingly answered.

‘You’re you, and you’re mine. You’re perfect in my eyes, and I wish you would see yourself like I see you’ Loki said.

‘I’m just afraid that one day you will wake up, see what they mean. Not find me attractive and leave me’ Tom almost whispered.

‘You are by far the most attractive person I ever met. Not only on the outside, but also within. You’re sweet, kind, forgiving and always see the positive side of everything. Too be honest, I wish sometimes to be more like you. And I am the one who is actually afraid that one day you will truly realize the gravity of my past and sometimes current actions, and that you will leave me’ Loki said, for the God of Lies he knew that Tom knew that he was being honest.

Loki smiled a little when Tom snuggled closer against him. ‘You know that I truly love you’ Tom responded. Loki was caressing the back of his boyfriend and the two of them enjoyed a moment of silence.

‘But what if, I want to change?’ Tom said, breaking the silence.

‘What do you mean?’ Loki hesitatingly asked.

‘Maybe, I can work out more?’ Tom said.

‘You don’t have to do that for anyone’ Loki sternly answered. ‘It’s important that you’re comfortable in your own skin, trust me. You will hate every minute of your life if you’re not’ he added sadly.

‘I- I don’t know’ Tom answered.

‘No worries. Take all the time you need. Just promise me that next time you ever feel like this, and have a panic attack. You call me. Day and night, promise?’

‘I promise’ Tom said. Loki grabbed his face again and kissed him deeply. He was relieved to see Tom smile, even if it was a small smile. He could tell from his face that Tom was emotionally drained. So, the rest of the night Loki pampered Tom with tea, chocolates, his favourite movie, and a very comfortable blanket. Tom had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, but not Loki. Loki was thinking about the people that hurt his boyfriend. He wouldn’t kill them, that is what he used to do. But he promised himself that he would hurt them.

Permanent taglist: @delightfulheartdream @the-best-phineas @pescadoavocado @theestorm @theaudacitytowrite

[wizardofrozz]

Welcome to Westview!

Warnings: swearing

A/N: Enjoy 😁

Chapter 18

Clint POV

The sun filtered through the thin curtains, warming my face, and dragging me out of the safety of sleep. I blinked, instantly covering my face and groaning; I rolled over, reaching for Nat, only to find the bed empty. I flopped onto my back again, staring at the ceiling, as my memories from the night before started to pop up, bringing a headache with them. I sighed and threw the blankets off, sliding out of bed to stumble towards my dresser; I pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. I wandered down the steps, only to find the living room empty; I rubbed at my eyes as I staggered into the kitchen. Nat stood near the backdoor, wearing skinny jeans and a black crop top, with a death grip on the mug of coffee as she stared off into space.

           “Morning, babe,” I grumbled, heading for the coffee pot.

           “Morning, birdie,” she called, smiling softly over her shoulder. “(Y/N) called this morning…Bucky didn’t come home last night.”

           “Fuck,” I hissed, bracing myself on the counter, and dropped my head. “Alright, let me chug some coffee, and we’ll go round up the troops.” I poured a full cup, chugging it as fast as I could despite the scorching temperature. Within 10 minutes, Nat and I were walking out the door, heading across the street; I glanced to my left and saw Thor, wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a baby blue zip-up hoodie, heading towards us.

           “(Y/N) called you guys too,” Thor called, his voice getting closer.

           “Yeah,” Nat sighed, leaning into my side. Thor’s shoulder’s sagged, and he shook his head before ushering us towards his brother’s house. Thor opened the door to an empty living room and decided to call out for his brother and sister-in-law; Loki’s green shirt caught my attention when he appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, and he quickly gestured us in.

The three of us hurried into the kitchen to find (Y/N), in skinny jeans and a plain white shirt, with a crying Steve in jeans and a navy hoodie, sitting around the island. “(Y/N). I can’t wait anymore. I barely slept last night,” Steve hiccupped, swiping at his face.

           “I think we need to talk to Wanda,” I cut in, surprising myself.

           “Wanda?” Steve croaked, turning his red-rimmed eyes towards me.

           “Just trust us,” Loki pressing, resting a hand on Steve’s shoulder, his lip twitching up briefly.

           “Let’s go,” Steve replied, pushing away from the island. The rest of us hurried after him, following him across the street to Wanda’s front door. Steve pounded on the door until it swung away from his fist to reveal a surprised Wanda.

           “…hi guys,” Wanda greeted with a raised eyebrow.

           “I need answers, Wanda,” Steve croaked, staring down at her.

           “Come in,” she whispered, stepping away to make room. Thor, Nat, Loki, (Y/N), and I followed Steve in and positioned ourselves awkwardly around the room.

           “Where are the boys?” Nat asked, her eyes darting around the house. Wanda pulled her hoodie tighter around herself, dropped onto the couch, and grabbed her bowl before looking up at the rest of us.

           “With Agnes,” Wanda mumbled, shoving a spoonful of cereal in her mouth. “I’m sorry.”

           “Sorry for what?” (Y/N) wonders aloud.

           “I was…am…grieving, and I dragged you guys into it,” Wanda sighs, picking up the remote from the couch and turning her eyes to the screen.

           “What the hell are you talking about?” Steve snaps, stepping in front of the TV.

           “Steve,” I warned, meeting his blazing blue eyes.

Steve narrowed his eyes at me then turned his gaze to Wanda again, boring holes into her face, but she had a faraway look in her eyes. “Wanda! Where. Is. Bucky.” Instead of answering, Wanda turned her head, training her eyes out the window; she straightened, setting the cereal bowl on the table but never taking her eyes off the window. I glanced around the room and shivered when I noticed Thor, Loki, and (Y/N) looking out the window too.

           “What’s wrong?” I pressed, glancing between my friends.

The front door flung open, smashing into the wall behind it, drawing everyone’s eyes towards the woman pushing into the house. “Wanda?” the woman called but stopped short, scanning the room. “Wanda!”

           “What are you doing?” Wanda hissed, jolting off the couch.

           “Wanda…” the woman whispered, slowly backing away.

           “How did you get in here?” Wanda slowly moved closer, pushing past Thor and Loki, who stood in her way. I glanced around the room, taking in the concerned and fearful gazes that were trained on Wanda.

           “Listen to me. This whole thing is about Vision,” the dark-haired woman pleaded, cowering slightly under Wanda’s gaze. I opened my mouth to cut in, but Wanda’s borderline growl cut me off.

           “Get out of my house.”

           “Hayward was trying to bring him – “

           “Don’t talk to me about that,” Wanda yelled, cutting the other woman off. “I don’t want to hear about it.” Red swirls of energy erupted from Wanda’s hands, throwing the woman out the door with Wanda following closely behind. I looked around the room at the terrified faces of my friends; the six of us snapped into action at the same time, pushing through the door, following Wanda.

           “All you do is lie!” Wanda screamed, pulling her magic away. The dark hair woman fell to the ground, but something was wrong; the earth trembled under her when she landed, her eyes burning a hypnotizing electric blue. Soft gasps and sounds of shock mingled in the air around the group, but Wanda didn’t seem to notice.

           “The only lies I’ve told are the ones you put in my mouth,” the woman shot back, standing tall again.

           “Careful what you say to me,” Wanda growled.

           “Wanda,” Nat called, stepping away from my side.

           “Natasha!” I hissed, reaching for her. Wanda glanced over her shoulder, her eyes landing on Nat; I recoiled at the emptiness that looked back at us. Nat stopped in her tracks, seemingly frozen by Wanda’s stare.

           “Do it, then. Take me out,” the woman offered, stretching her arms out. Wanda turned her attention back to her, pulling in deeper breaths as she assessed the woman challenging her; ultimately, Wanda didn’t attack her.

           “See, see? That’s where you and Hayward differ,” the woman said with a smile, moving a step closer. “He’s gonna burn Westview to the ground just to get what he wants. Don’t let him make you the villain.”

           “Who the fuck is Hayward?” Loki whispered, his eyes never leaving Wanda’s back. I racked my brain, trying to find a memory, anything to clarify the situation, but I came up empty. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw (Y/N) and Steve’s mouths open but close quickly; no one had an answer.

           “Maybe I already am,” Wanda whispered, dropping her head slightly.

           “I’m not afraid of you, Wanda. I lost the person closest to me, too. The worst thing I can think of has already happened to me, and I can’t change it. I can’t undo it” -the woman moved closer, offering her hand to Wanda- “I can’t control this pain anymore. And I don’t think I want to because it’s my truth. Wanda, you have to….”

           “Young lady, I think you overstayed your welcome. Poor Wanda’s been through enough.” I jumped at the sound of Agnes’ voice, my head snapping towards her house; I watched her walk across the yard, glancing at the rest of us standing around before getting to Wanda’s side.

           “This doesn’t concern you. Wanda…” the dark-haired woman pleaded.

           “Run along, dear,” Agnes asserted, narrowing her eyes. Agnes started pulling Wanda away towards her house, towards Wanda’s sons; (Y/N), and Loki seemed to snap out of their shocked state first.

           “We can’t let her go alone,” (Y/N) hissed, grabbing Loki’s arm.

           “Wanda, you have to take it down,” the other woman shouted.

           “No,” Wanda shouted, twisting in Agnes’ arms to point at the woman in the street. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

           “Go. The rest of us will deal with” -Thor lazily gestured towards the street- “whoever this is.” Loki and (Y/N) looked at each other then nodded, lacing their hands together before hurrying towards Agnes’ house.

           “My head hurts,” I mumbled to Nat.

           “Right there with you, birdie,” Nat sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder.

           “Who are you?” Thor yelled, stepping in front of the remaining group. The woman lifted her head, training her eyes on the sizeable blonde positioning himself between us and her.

           “Captain Monica Rambeau,” she called, raising her hands. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”

           “Why are you here?” Steve called, stepping up next to Thor. Steve narrowed his eyes, turning his head slightly like he was trying to hear something far off.

           “I’m trying to save you,” Monica offered. “All of you. Before it’s too late.”

           “Save us from what?” I cut in, narrowing my eyes and flinching back in confusion.

           “Bucky,” Steve suddenly mumbled. I followed Steve’s gaze to find a figure jogging down the street; as it got closer, Bucky’s familiar features came into focus. “Bucky!” Steve took off, closing the distance and basically throwing himself into his partner’s arms. Bucky laughed, burying his face in Steve’s neck before lifting him off his feet and slowly making his way closer to us.

           “Hi Stevie,” Bucky chuckled breathlessly, setting him down near Thor again. Bucky pulled away, smiling at Steve’s soft protest, and looked around quickly. “Where’s Vision?”

           “We haven’t seen him,” I answered. “Where the hell have you been?”

           “Long story,” Bucky sighed, still trying to catch his breath.

           “Bucky, what’s wrong with your arm!” Nat shouted, covering her mouth.

           “Again…long story.” Bucky panted, widening his stance, resting his hands on his hips and dropping his head as he heaved.

           “What the fuck is going on?” Thor stuttered, turning his attention back to Monica.

           “We don’t have the time for me to fill all of you in. We need to find Vision before Hayward sends in his weapon.” Monica moved closer, raising her hands again as she approached a tense Thor. “Please, I’m only here to help.”

           “She’s fine,” Bucky panted, waving a hand in her general direction.

           “You…” Monica started, but Bucky stopped her with a hand.

           “Yes, leave it at that,” Bucky snapped. Something resembling sorrow creased the lines of Monica’s face as she dropped her eyes to the ground and nodded. I turned my gaze to Bucky, finding a similar look as his lips turned down into a slight frown and something stirred in my chest. I looked down at Nat, who was still pressed against my side and swallowed back the tsunami of tears and pain that threatened to tear out of me.

           “Steve. Bucky,” Thor called, grabbing their attention. “Let’s go look for Vision. Clint, you and Natasha go with Monica.”

           “Alright, as long as you don’t pull any of your glowy magic shit again,” I snorted, trying to smile at Monica.

           “I won’t, but….” Monica trailed off, taking her time to look at Thor, then Steve, Bucky, Nat, and me. “None of you-“

           “Stop,” Bucky snapped, stepping in front of her. Monica stood straighter at the sudden invasion of her personal space; I watched her eyes flicker between Bucky’s before her face fell. I couldn’t hear what she said from where I stood but based on her lips, it almost looked like they don’t know about themselves. My mind reeled at her apparent words, and I blinked as if it would clear the fog of confusion handing around me.

           “Let’s work out the kinks later,” Nat sighed, rolling her eyes.

           “Yeah,” Monica breathed, finally breaking eye contact with Bucky. Monica took a step away, glancing at Bucky before stepping around him towards Nat and me. Bucky took a deep breath and moved closer to Steve, his eyes raking over his partner’s face; Thor stepped forward, clapping Bucky’s shoulder, and smiling softly.

           “Please be careful, guys,” Steve called, trying to smile, but it seemed more like a grimace.

           “You too,” I croaked, pulling my lips into my mouth. Thor, Steve, and Bucky nodded before jogging off in the direction Bucky came from, already talking amongst themselves.

           “Let’s see if we can get into Agnes’ house from the cellar door,” Monica offered, bringing my attention back to her.

           “Do you know what she’s hiding?” Nat fell in step with Monica, leaving me standing frozen in Wanda’s yard. “Clint?”

           “Yeah…yeah,” I breathed, turning away from the shrinking figures of my friends.

           “No. Wanda has been very particular about what we could see,” Monica sighed.

           “What you could see?” I finally spit out.

           “Up until recently, your lives were a TV show,” Monica ventured gently.

           “Excuse me,” I choked out, blinking lamely at her.

           “It’s a long story that we don’t have time for right now,” Monica sighed, picking up her pace. “Come on.” I surveyed the street, looking for anyone who could see us before joining Monica and Nat; I stepped up close behind Nat, pressing a kiss to her hair, earning a soft hum.

           “Clear?” Nat whispered.

           “Clear,” I replied, nodding at Monica. Her hands wrapped around the handles of the cellar doors, and she yanked them open, revealing a set of steps. The thrum of purple energy intertwined with the creeping roots covering the visible walls and floor opened a pit of anxiety in my stomach.

           “What the fuck,” Nat whispered, stiffening against me.

           “Snoopers gonna snoop,” someone sighed, and a spark of recognition hit me. I glanced over my shoulder, meeting Pietro’s eyes before pain bloomed in the back of my head and everything went dark.

Chapter 19 | Series Masterlist

Taglist:

@marvelfansworld​ @imagine-yourself-happy​ @alluringshawn​ @lovelokiqueen​ @shadowolf993​ @somegeekychic​ @jointhehunt67​ @neenieweenie​ @wandas-love​ @starks-hero​ 

[konohacafe]

Daylight : 01

↳ Kawaki x Sarada

" I can't lose you too . Not after everything. "

Series masterlist | Main masterlist

She could see the moon from her window. The light that bleached her room, had Sarada feel at a moments' peace as she laid on the bed, her body tucked at the edge. Wrapping her arms around herself had done nothing to quell the goosebumps that dotted the pale expanse of her skin. The sheet was thin against her petite frame, yet she pulled at its seams, trying to gather a semblance of warmth against the dropping temperature. Blankets were rare in the camp, and they had all but been distributed amongst the children and the elderly.

They were supposed to get some more in the supply run, but the team she had sent had long outrun the period of their arrival. 3 days ago. Delayed missions were usually harbingers of bad news, and worry licked its way up Sarada's spine as her thoughts once again settled on the missing team. They should've been back by now.

He should've been back by now.

Kawaki had led the run this time. He was one of the best, second only to her own mother, nevertheless, she had not been able to try and convince him to stay. To guard the camp they needed people like him, she had rationalised. He had barely acknowledged her wishes at first and even after her numerous attempts to defect him from said, he had adamantly shot her down.

"This is my duty. And whatever I am to you should not interfere with this.”

The harsh words had been like an icy dagger to her chest, and Sarada had stared at his retreating back, unable to voice the agony that twisted in her gut. She hadn't seen him since, with only Shikadai informing her about his departure.

And now, as her fingers picked along the worn threads of the duvet, she couldn't help but feel regret settle deep into her bones. The threat of losing him, made the organ beneath her breast constrict arduously, the possibility too grim for her to even comprehend.

Sarada thoughts continued to spiral until her senses suddenly felt a familiar chakra drop. Relief flooded into her veins. She would recognize it anywhere, for all the years she had spent basking in its presence. The infernal nature of it clashed against her own tender one, and tears burned at the edge of her lids. The Sharingan ached tempestuously, and it took every ounce of her chakra to will it down.

Sarada felt him before she heard his inaudible footsteps. His chakra gently nudged against her own, and like every time it took her breath away. It soothed against her consciousness, and then it halted, almost as if the bearer had realized that she was still awake.

Sarada considered the possibility of him leaving on her account but then the next moment, he was perched on the sill of the window, his back hunched and hand tightly gripping a kunai blade. The blade's edge glinted sharply amidst the twilight and when he scanned the room, if not for all the gruelling years of training, she would've missed the way his eyes softened imperceptibly when they landed on her figure.

“You're back” She breathed out. His eyes darted across the small space before he replied.

“Aa” It's blunt but hearing his voice made her heart skip a beat.

Kawaki was dressed in standard mission uniform, and Sarada could not help but notice the gashes against the front when he settled against the chair that rested in the corner of her almost bare room.

Sarada took her time to take him in, her eyes raking over his face, the scratches and then his arm that had a makeshift bandage resting across, red seeping at places. Worry bloomed beneath her breast, and she has to resist the urge to heal it herself,

Kawaki looked around the room, his eyes dodging her own eager gaze. He looks tired, she surmised, the darkness smudged beneath his eyes giving away all the nights he must have stayed on guard.

“Did everyone make out okay?”. Sarada asked curtly The responsibility that she holds entitles little intimacy and something made her feel she has indulged in way more than she deserved.

"Yes. We had to take an unexpected detour, but all of us made it back in one piece. Kousei had a worrisome wound, but he is getting treated as we speak now."

Hearing that all his teammates were safe let some weight off of her shoulders. Guilt ate away at her as she realized how she had only been fixated on the man in front of her and paid little attention to all her other comrades that were equally in danger as well.

Before she could lose herself in her self-depreciation, she asked him.

"What about your wounds?”

Kawaki's eyes met hers at that, and even in the pale moonlight, they looked as beguiling as she remembered. When he spoke, his voice was sombre.

“I will ask Sumire to look at them in the morning.”

Rejection was ugly. It made her skin prickle with jealousy, that he refused her indirect offer to help. The argument had always been the same. Each time she had proposed to soothe the ache of his injuries, he had nothing but refused her.

" Let the healers do their job. You are far more important to waste your energy on me "

His answers had never changed over the years, however, her feelings over the said hadn’t either.

It would not be a waste. Not with you. The words burned the edge of her tongue, but she swallowed them back each time. The fear of losing what they have made her bite her lip and take his refusal gratuitously even today.

But fear is a double-edged sword because in the next second she launched herself into his arms. His body jolted in surprise beneath her own, all hard planes, and bones poking underneath her ribs. Sarada swallowed back a sob that bubbles up in her throat when his palm came to softly rest on the small of her back. His fingers were embers against her skin and as her own tangled into the lighter locks at the nape of his neck, he inhaled sharply.

A part of Sarada expected Kawaki to push her away like always yet her heart constricted painfully when instead he guided his head into the curve of her neck. His warm breath fanned the expanse of the skin on her collarbone and with a flush, she realized that her state must look quite disarrayed, with a tattered vest resting against her ribs, a couple sizes too big for her.

“Sarada” Her name tumbled from Kawaki's lips, and she shuddered at the intensity behind his words.

" Don't leave me again. I cannot lose you too. Not after everything. Not after Dad and Boruto “. Sarada ached with desperation, her words bleeding with anguish.

Kawaki's own were muffled against her skin.

“I won't”. The promise empty and cruel, but Sarada clung to the words earnestly. Hope draws her like a moth to the flame, and she would let herself bask in the warmth of it when she could. In the warmth of Kawaki's arms.

" Do you think things would have been different? Back then, if we had done something? “. Sarada couldn't help but let the hurt seep into her words. The question eats away at her every waking moment, and this is not the first time she has asked him this.

As always, his lips stretched into a thin line, and he didn't answer. But for the first time, she felt the way his heartbeat stuttered beneath the soft of her palms.

And when Kawaki's lips brushed against the top of her head gently, Sarada gasped audibly. They felt cold yet softer than she imagined, brushing above her brows almost carelessly, and then he is gone, with nothing left behind but red cheeks and a whisper of something her mother would've called love.

[theoreticslut]

The Truth that you Deny // Part 5

pairing: fred weasley x reader x george weasley

part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4

word count: 1.8k

warnings: none

A/N: i’m honestly so sad that this is the last part to this series guys :( I had so much fun writing it and have had such amazing feedback on it, i’m not sure i want to give it up. I have thought about doing a small drabble or two of the story further into the relationship, but i don’t want to drag it out too long. If you guys like it enough and would like a sort of epilogue, let me know and I’ll definitely think about doing one. thank you to everyone that’s been reading this as I post it and giving feedback and/or reblogging. I am eternally grateful for you guys <3 out of the previous 4 parts this story has a total of about 400 notes which is actually crazy. so just, thank you! i love you guys Xx

Taglist: @justmesadgirl @xuckduck @yikesyikesyikes95 @filipi-yes @aestheticwh0r3 @siredkai @matsuno-nadeshiko @msmarklee1213 @immajustreadwritereblog @msmimimerton

You woke up christmas morning excited to spend the day with the people you considered family. You felt that you had gotten them all some great gifts and couldn’t wait to give them to each of them.

Even thought it was only 7:30 in the morning you couldn’t help but be awake. You knew most everyone else was still sleeping save for Mr and Mrs Weasley.

You decided that you’d like to have a shower before everything got started today so you quietly got yourself out of bed and found yourself some clothes to wear.

Stepping into the hall was oddly uncomfortable since there was no distant chatter from downstairs or someone’s room, but nonetheless you made your way to the bathroom which was just down the hall from Fred and George’s room.

Neither of them would be up for at least another half hour which was plenty enough time to shower.

You started the water and waited for it to warm up as you stripped down naked.

Stepping into the shower you shivered at the sheer temperature difference, but you happily welcomed the warm water on your skin.

You washed your face and shampooed your hair, finishing it before adding some conditioner. You started shaving and as you did so you started humming, getting lost into one of your favourite songs.

Eventually you finished shaving and washing your body, able to rinse the suds from your skin. You sighed as you shut the water off and stepped out into the bath mat.

After drying off and getting dressed in a pair of jeans and an older sweater, you picked up your mess and put everything back the way it was, throwing your towel into the basket Mrs Weasley had left in there for them.

Opening the door you were surprised to find George sitting on the floor against the wall.

“George?”

“Hmm? Oh, are you done?” He asked, lazily looking up at you from the floor.

“Yeah,” you chuckle. “Uh, what were you doing out here?”

“I had to use the bathroom but you were in there so I figured I’d wait right here. But I’m still a bit tired and you sing really nice.” He smiled, taking your extended hand to get up.

“Oh, uh, thank you. I’m sorry I kept you waiting, but it’s all yours now.” You smile as he nods, smiling back at you.

As you walk away he can’t help but notice how great you smell, which is only more intense in the small bathroom.

~.~

As you appear downstairs, you’re greeted by Mrs Weasley as she makes a pot of coffee.

“Good morning.” You smile.

“Good morning, dear. Would you like a cup?” She asks as you stand next to the table.

“Yes, please.”

“Is anyone else up yet?” She asks.

“I ran into George on the way out of the bathroom, but I haven’t heard or seen anyone else. George doesn’t even look like he’s ready to be up yet.” You chuckle, taking the mug she hands out to you.

“Typical.” She smiles, sitting down at the table and motioning for you to do the same.

“Have you talked to Fred and George yet about everything?” She asks, taking a sip from her mug.

“Not yet. I didn’t want to make anything awkward right before the holidays, but I’ll tell them soon”

She nods and takes another drink from her mug.

~.~

After sharing a cup of coffee and a good half hour conversation about school and what you’re thinking about for next year, Mrs Weasley asked if you would wake everyone up.

First you went and woke Ginny as she was closest. She didn’t quite want to be up yet so you left her and made your way to the twins room.

You knocked on the door, not hearing anything from inside.

“Fred? George? Time to get up.” You knocked again, but still didn’t hear anything.

Carefully, you opened the door and peered around to see the two of them still fast asleep. You sigh, but smile nonetheless.

You make you’re way into their room to shake them awake. You start with Fred to which he just groans, turning around.

“Come on you two. It’s time to get up.” You huff, trying to pull the blanket off George as he fights you.

“You two are impossible.” You sigh, shrieking when Fred grabs you from behind and pulls you down onto the bed with him.

Both of them laugh as you huff, trying to wiggle your way out of his grasp.

“Your hair is cold.” He points out as his face rests on it.

“I showered this morning and it’s still damp.”

“I can’t imagine my hair taking that long to dry.” He says and you roll your eyes.

“Can you let me go, please? You know that your mum would kill us if she found us like this, right?”

He hummed, not really giving you an answer but acknowledging your statement.

“I really don’t feel like dying on Christmas.”

You can hear the both of them chuckle, but you still don’t get a response.

“Are you guys falling back asleep?! For Merlin’s sake” you groan slapping Fred’s arms and when that didn’t work you steal one of his pillows from under his head and hit him with it.

“Just ten more minutes, that’s all we’re asking.” George mumbles, already half asleep again.

“No! Get your ass up.” You huff, throwing Fred’s pillow at him.

After another few minutes of struggling you finally get them both out of bed and you sigh in exasperation.

With them finally awake you work on waking Ron and Harry, and then waking up Ginny for real.

~.~

“Merry Christmas, everyone!” Hermione greets as she makes her way in the house that afternoon.

“Merry Christmas, ‘mione.” You smile, taking her bag for her so she could take her jacket off.

“Have you guys done gifts yet?” She asks, hanging her coat on one of the hooks by the door.

“Not yet. We’ve been waiting for you. We can all sit in the living room and get started if you’re ready.” Mrs Weasley said, carrying a tray filled with mugs of cocoa for everyone.

Hermione nodded and followed you into the living room, taking a seat next to Harry, Ron, and Ginny. You take your place  between Fred and George, both of whom smile as they pass you a mug from the tray.

About an hour of opening gifts, you were nearing the last couple gifts. So far you had received the traditional Weasley sweater with your initial on the front, a pair of sparkly yet simple teardrop earrings from Ginny, a book about one of your favourite classes from hermione, a notebook from Fred, followed by some nice quills from George, a mixtape both of them had put together for you of some of all your guys favourite songs. You had also gotten a new maroon scarf from Ron and some candies from Harry.

You had given Fred and George their gifts from you; a notebook for each of them to keep track of all their crazy inventions, a few joke toys you were certain they’d never seen which made each of them laugh, and a promise to buy them each a butterbeer on your next trip to hogsmeade.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy their gifts from you as well which was nice to know. You loved getting people gifts and it was always so much nicer when they liked them.

“Okay, I think this is the last of them and it’s for y/n from Fred and George.” Mr Weasley read.

You looked at them, gingerly taking the small gift as it was handed to you. You looked between the two twins wondering what else they could have gotten you as you had already gotten enough from them.

“Stop looking at us and open it.” Fred chuckles.

“Why did you get me something else? You both already gave me enough.”

“Just open it, please.” He smiles, rubbing his neck.

“I’m a little scared, nothing is going to pop out at me is it?”

“Nothing will pop out at you. We promise.” George says, looking over to his brother as you finally get the wrapping paper off the small box.

You open it up and gasp. Inside lay a beautiful silver locket with intricate detailing on the face of it.

“It’s beautiful” you whisper, looking between them.

“Open it up.” George urges.

You do as he says and your mouth falls open, your hand coming up to cover it.

“Fred, George...” you whisper, tears forming in your eyes.

On the inside, there was a picture of the three of you from earlier this year on the side that would lay against your chest. In the opposite side there was an engraving of a heart and the words ‘we love you, f & g’

“Do you like it?” Fred asks, trying to catch your eye as you’re still looking down at it.

You nod, trying to keep from crying.

“I love it.” You say, clearing your throat as it had gotten groggy holding back tears.

“Good,” Fred smiles. “We really like you, like a lot, y/n.”

“We have for awhile.” George adds.

“We weren’t sure how to tell you, but then we saw this locket and knew.” He smiles as you watch him.

“Yeah, we knew you would like wearing it, even more so when we got the engraving and picture put in.” Fred says.

“Like we said, we really like you, y/n.” George starts.

“It’s actually more than just liking you. We’ve both loved you pretty much since we all became friends.” Fred adds, the two of them seeming to ramble at this point.

“We know you were worried about hurting one of us, but you don’t have to. We don’t care what anyone else might say, we love you and we’re going to be with you for merlin’s sake.” George smiles, watching your face for a reaction.

You chuckle as tears are starting to spill over your cheeks. You pull both of them into a hug, sighing as you feel their arms wrap around you.

“It’s about time!” Ginny cheers, causing all of you to chuckle. Well except for Mrs Weasley who shushes her.

“It seriously is though. I’m glad you all finally admitted it.” Hermione says, smiling.

“Yeah, congrats guys.” Harry says.

“I love you, guys.” You whisper, smiling as they both kiss your cheek.

“This does mean you’ll be our girlfriend, right? And maybe even someday, our wife?” George asks.

You pull away and chuckle as you try to wipe your eyes.

“Yes. Merlin are you two dumb.”

Fred and George both smile at you, admiring how gorgeous you look sitting there as theirs, even when you have tear stains across your cheeks. It took a while to get here, but now that they were, they wanted to keep it for as long as they possibly could.

[caxsthetic]

Just Fine

Miya Osamu x F!Reader

Hurtful Truth: Sometimes no matter how long you have loved them, if they don’t want to stay, they wouldn’t stay.

Part 1 ⇛ Pt. 2 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *. GRAND MASTERLIST .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Your eyes focused on the television in front of you, the screen was the only thing that lit the dark room you were in right now. You felt safe as you laid there on the couch with huge amounts of blankets wrapped around your figure.

It calmed you down and made you forget about everything that happened in your life recently.

You didn’t bother to check your phone, knowing for certain who’s name would pop out on your notifications. You really didn’t need a reminder that someone just broke you into a million little pieces.

To be loved was something that not every human being could feel. You knew that, and the fact you actually believed that someone would love you was one thing that you would regret as you wake up every morning.

And you fall to the mirage, for the past ten years in your life.

You and him always belonged in each other's side, everyone that saw the two of you could even see how the future would unfold perfectly. They always said that you and him would end up in marriage,

And tragically, you believed in every word that they said, since it boosted your confidence that someone like you could actually have someone as majestic as him to be your significant other.

The Miya Osamu, one of the most successful entrepreneurs below thirty three, the one person that had your heart since you were sixteen,

And the one who broke your trust.

It was Saturday night, both of you were laying together on the couch in your shared house. The house that used to be empty, a house that was so cheap that the two of you could afford right after graduating from college.

But little by little, the house turned into a safe haven, renovated with all the contemporary detail as the two of you poured your blood and sweat into this house,

A house that has now become a home, the place that made the two of you believe everything would be alright. Just the two of you together, and maybe someday, filled with another little Miya.

His arms wrapped loosely around your figure while you rested your head on top of his chest. He would occasionally caress your hair gently, and you would close your eyes to feel all of his affection.

It was your weekend break when the two of you soaked in each other’s warmth; the time when the two of you closed yourself from the universe, when everything just rotated around you and him.

The atmosphere that surrounded the two of you was so serene. Though, it all changed when he appeared on the television screen all of a sudden. Your eyes lit up immediately, realising that it was your fiancé who was now being interviewed on screen.

You sat up, straightening your posture as your body leaned towards the television. Proudness welled up inside your heart as you heard him answering questions after questions that were being thrown at him.

He always told you everything about Onigiri Miya. About all the events, all of his interviews, a new branch that he opened, even all the commercial plans. He did that, because he knew you would be so proud of him. Having someone that constantly praised you was addicting to him.

But what you didn’t notice as you were so excited to see him on the screen, was the horror on his face as he remembered the reason why he didn’t tell you about this interview.

“And how about you and your fiancée? Is the wedding bell around the corner?”

“Babe, this is embarrassing, let’s just change the channel.” He pleaded, but you were too focused on the television, your eyes never leave the screen as a wide grin plastered on your face, “Babe, please-”

“Unfortunately no, please don’t ask about my personal life.”

But then, your smile was replaced with a confused look as you heard his answer.

Your name was known as the woman behind the Onigiri Miya, the support system that everyone wanted to have in their life with how loyal you were towards the one that you loved. And as your fiancé, he always answered questions about you with pride lingering on his face.

So when you saw him averting his gaze to the corner while answering the question, you knew that something was up.

“Samu, has something happened?” You finally turned towards him, “Do you want to talk about it, love?” Your eyes locked onto his face, wondering why he stayed silent and just looked away from you, “You know that I am always up to talk about anything with you, right?”

Yet the reason behind his unusual answer was something that you could never prepare yourself for. You could feel your breath hitched once he met your gaze. His eyes were filled with sadness, orbs glistening with tears as he finally dared to look up at you.

Then just like that, he averted your gaze once again, and that’s when you knew that he was hiding something from you.

“Samu,” Your hand gently wrapped around his much larger hand; you could feel how the man was trembling. Your fiancé's skin felt as cold as ice compared to yours, “Love, what is it? Please look at me, I am worried for you, Samu.”

Your fiancé let out a sigh, squeezing your hand a little before pulling away from you. You eyed him as he stood up from the couch, eyes staring down at you with remorse evident on his face.

“I-I am sorry,” His voice trembled as he couldn’t look straight into your eyes anymore, “I did something. Something bad,” Tears were streaming down his face as he sobbed.

By that, you immediately stood up, wrapping your arms around him to give some comfort,

“Sshhh, Samu, it’s alright…” You didn’t know what was it about, but the only thing in your mind right now was to make sure he would be alright, “We can talk about it-”

“But that's the thing. We can’t!” Osamu suddenly snapped, pulling himself away from your embrace as he realised that he didn’t deserve any of your affection, “This is something that we cannot talk about, (Y/N).”

“Samu, you don’t know about that-”

“I'm cheating on you!”

And at those four words, you swore you could hear your heart break. You immediately took a step backwards as you wrapped your arms around your own body, feeling the temperature dropping.

You bit your lip, mind still trying to process the words. Cheating. That was something that you never thought someone like Miya Osamu would do. Hell, it was something that you never thought any of your family or friends would do, let alone your fiancé.

“W-with who?” You were always there for him, and you knew damn well no matter who it was, the answer would tear yourself apart. However, you needed to know. You needed to know what they had that you didn’t that could make him did this to you.

“(Y/N)-”

“With. Who.” Your eyes bored into his with a look that he couldn’t fathom as you hardened your voice, “I deserve to know the whole sto-”

“It’s Rintarou.” But you didn’t expect your brother’s name to be leaving your fiancé's lips. “We happened to meet up a lot when I planned the branch for Onigiri Miya in East Japan, I-”

“That was six months ago…” You muttered under your breath when the realisation hit you. Osamu could feel the lump in his throat as he still decided to either speak or stay silent.

Although just like what you said, you deserved to know the whole story.

“We have been meeting each other ever since.” He gulped down, his voice beginning to break, “Every week, when you are busy in your office.”

Never once in your life have you thought you would be in this position right now. Tears were streaming down your face as you looked up to the man that you sacrificed everything for.

“What kind of meeting?” Right now, your voice betrayed you as it cracked a little. “How far have two of you gone?” By the forlorn look on his face, it was enough for you to know, “For god sake, Samu!”

You chuckled bitterly, dazed by the fact you have been betrayed by the two most important people that you had in this life. Right now you couldn’t even think straight. The feelings you felt right now were all too much. All that you wanted at the moment was just to vanish.

Your fiancé walked up towards you, regret evident inside his beautiful orb, glistening with tears. Because he knew, he just broke one person who was always there for him from the start. The women who supported him through thick and thin. From when he was still nothing.

You were someone who was there when the spotlight was only rotated around his brother. You were there during every breakdown, every failed recipe, every declined partnership. You were always there for him, patiently supporting him through everything.

“I am sorry, (Y/N).” His voice wavered, both hands timidly extended towards you. Solicitude struck him to the core as he wanted to pull you into his embrace, but at the same time Osamu knew he had broken you beyond repair. “I didn’t mean to do it… It just happened.”

You snorted in between your tears when you heard his words. From all the movies and television series that you have watched together with him, you always heard the same sentence numerous times already. The words that popped out...

From the lips of the character who cheated.

“Having sex with someone- no. not just somone,” You coated your pain with a snarky remarks, trying to act tough in front of the man who broke your heart, “When you have sex with your fiancé's brother everytime she wasn't around can't be excused with 'it just happened', Samu.”

Osamu knew the second he captured someone else’s lips, he could never turn it back around. He just cheated on you, someone who didn’t deserve to be treated like this. You, who would leave everything behind if that means he could be happy.

Even if that means you would never have your own happy ending.

Cheating is a taboo relationship that was made by two people who agreed to get into it, and he understood that what he had with the professional volleyball player could never end up well. Yet he did it anyway, for the last six months. With your very own brother.

It was more like a neverending nightmare for you. To have someone that you gave your whole heart to, the same someone who you spent your whole early life with, only to stab you in the back.

Two people who broke your heart were the two people you trusted the most. And each one of them was someone who you held dear inside your heart.

The buzzing sounds from your phone brought you back to reality. You groaned because once again, you fell to the unwanted memories that you were trying so hard to forget.

To have the only relationship you ever had falling apart was something that you never prepared yourself to. Up until now, you never knew how it felt to get your heart broken. From all the fights that you had with Osamu, none of them could crack the strong bond that you two shared.

The bond that was now all broken when he decided to get in bed with your brother.

You unconsciously touched your face, feeling the warm tears cascading down your cheek as you wiped it all away with your sleeves. You hated yourself because you felt so blind believing in every word that people said about how you and Osamu would last forever.

Your hand reached for your phone, wondering who in the right mind would call you this late at night. There was no way it was your ex-fiancé, because he always gave you space and only called you in your free time.

You furrowed your eyebrows when you saw the name on the screen. It was Atsumu.

Every time you saw his name, your mind would only think about his twin brother instead; you cursed yourself for even thinking about Osamu all over again. Even when the said man just broke you apart.

Without thinking, you declined the call and decided to turn off your phone for tonight. Your eyes bore into the now black screen, looking out to the reflection of your face. There used to be a glimmer of joy and warmth, but now it was just a blank expression as it stared back into your soul.

“I am sorry,” You were so tired of hearing the same sentence over and over again. “I shouldn’t have been selfish.” Your brother was a man of silence, yet here he was right now in front of the new house you were staying in, repeating the words that he said over the phone since last week.

“There’s no need to say sorry, Rinrin.” You bit your lips, eyes never leaving the ground, “You love him, it’s not your fault to fall in love with… With the same man that I l-love.” You could see how he clenched his fist, and you knew that he felt guilty over it.

There were a lot of things inside his head at the moment as he stood in front of the woman that always had her faith in him. You were the best sister that anyone could even ask for, that one family who he wanted to live the happiest life because you deserved it all.

He felt like a hypocrite because he knew he was the one who took the happiness away from you.

“I broke it off with him,” He muttered under his breath, afraid to see your reaction from the news. Right now, the realisation that he just hurt you was more painful than the fact he just broke up with his lover.

He expected you to be angry at him, saying it doesn’t matter anyway because things already happened and he couldn’t change the past. Maybe you would even curse and punch him; he would be okay if that was your reaction.

Then again, he forgot that it was you who stood in front of him.

“Why?” Your voice was calm as you looked up at him, “Don’t you love Samu, Rinrin?” His breath hitched from the question. Today was supposed to be the day he finally faced you, apologizing for all the heartbreak he put you through. So why was focus suddenly thrown at him?

“I do,” He hesitated to answer that question at first, but he knew too well that you already knew what was inside his heart. Then his eyes widened as he saw a sincere smile plastered on your face.

“So don’t break it off,” You whispered the words so easily as you reached for his hand, “I-I know how much he loves you,” For now, you really hoped his feeling was real, “He is a loyal man, and he would never do such a thing if he wasn't really in love with you, Rinrin.”

Your hand felt so warm as your thumb grazed on the back of his hand. With that little gesture, your brother broke down in front of you, hiccuping from the immense guilt that brewed inside his heart.

“I am sorry, you don’t deserve this.” He sobbed, and you couldn’t help but bring his head to your embrace anyway, “I am sorry, I am sorry.”

People told you that you were too kind for your own good. You have been wrecked by them, torn apart by them. None of them deserves to be treated right, and society would not even be surprised if you wanted to cut everything off from them.

But you were not like that, you could never act like that.

“It’s alright, Rin…” Your hand fell on his hair, holding back your own tears as you realised what it would mean to let them together, “It will be alright,” They would, but not you. Not now, not in forever.

No matter how many times you tried to shake away all of the pain, you couldn’t just undo your love that you felt for Osamu as easily as you want to. Your feelings have been there since the first year of your high school days, it was always there, since your brother asked you to watch his game.

Since the two of you broke off the engagement-for an obvious reason-, you only saw him on the television. Sometimes you still look back at all the messages that he had sent for you; laughing over the joke, smiling from his sweet words, but ended up with tears as you remember there would be no more messages like that.

So you could only stare at the blank screen of your phone, the reflection showed how your eyes glistened with tears once more.

“Oh! That’s Miya Osamu!” You jerked your head back to the television, heart beats a lot faster by just the mention of his name, “Come on, make sure you got a good angle of him.”

You chuckled, a little smile adorned your face as you saw him looking as gorgeous as ever with a black suit wrapped around his torso. He was in some kind of red carpet gala, and of course, invited there as he was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the century.

He received a lot of invitation, but he would usually turn it down if you couldn’t be his plus one due to how busy you are with your own business sometimes. So when you realised what does it mean for him to be there, you dropped your phone to the ground,

Right when your brother appeared on the screen.

“You look so good tonight, Osamu!”

“Thank you, I couldn’t do it without his help.”

You thought you were ready to see them on the same frame. Their eyes glimmered with something that the camera could even catch,

“The two of you looked so good together, I am jealous!”

“Really? I guess we do, huh?”

From the look on his face, you knew that Miya Osamu really fall in love with the man in his arm,

“Is the wedding bell around the corner?”

It was the same question, the same question that he received a year ago at the night he confessed what he did to you,

“Yeah,”

But the answer was so different, nothing like the time when he was still yours.

“The wedding bell is around the corner for sure.”

He kissed the man beside him, a loving smile adorned his face as your brother chuckled with blush spread around his cheek.

It used to be you, to be in his embrace as he showed the world how much he loves you. It used to be you, to be the one who received his kiss and affection. It used to be you, who wore the match engagement ring with him.

Sometimes you wonder what would happen if you never gave them permission to be together. You wonder if any of you still get hurt, or maybe by time all of the broken trust would be healed, and the three of you would have a beautiful future with someone else.

Your friends told you to walk away from your past, telling you that your ex fiance and your brother didn’t deserve to be together, since both of them stabbed you from behind.

For six months, without you knowing. For six months, as you laid in his embrace with his heart belonged to someone else. For six months, you kissed the lips that had captured another.

Then again, you love them, a little bit too much that even though they were the one who took away the smile from your face, you couldn’t just let them suffer. Either from guilt, or from the heartbreak that would haunt them.

You knew how it felt since he decided to love someone else other than you, you were damn knew how it felt to love someone, but couldn’t have them anymore,

So who are you to stop two people in love from being together?

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*     ༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶    *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Thanks to my bby @iwaixiumi​ for being my beta reader!

Tagged Lovelies:

@vventure​ @heccingdead​ @muffins-puffins​ @miyuswriting​ @nanashinanashi​ @vlovers-world​ @proplayer-kenma​ @kashika​ @cuddlyasahi​ @blacckdiamondposts​ @muffngw​ @baby-boy-taichi​ @of-heroes-and-dreams​ @for-ests @giyuwu-san​ @oli-imagines @lordeofthunder @miyatsunami @analyze-hq @benewol @allywritesimagines @iwaixiumi @hihiq @gulfwanq @the-fandom-ness @quirksandbreaths @dear-green-tea @simp4tsukkii @ladyalicevii @evermorehaikyuu @clowninfortodoroki @koutaroulovebot @daiseukis @fitriiaw @macaronnv @verbluehte

[imagine-nation20]

I’ll Stay Right Here

Summary: Living in mondstadt meant being used to living near the water. You however, never seem to get used to finding shells along the shore. You’ll do anything to get your hands on them, even take a hit from a shield-wielding mitachurl.

Requested by: Anon

Request: I'm starving for Kaeya content😤 so him with a s/o who fucking adores collecting shells and pretty flowers even if they're in the middle of a battle or if there are enemies camping nearby. The amount of times I've died trying to get a starconch is unreal. But it's always worth it bc pretty shells. They also like to give them to Kaeya too as a gift or sometimes an apology. I just l o v e collecting pretty shit man😭

Warnings:A bit angsty. Reader gets injured.

A/N: Anon, you are a whole mood. Now that I’m at a high enough level, sometimes I’ll just let the enemies hit me once or twice while I pick things up. Also, pausing mid climb to grab a geo sigil? More likely than you’d think. Also, I am sorry if this is super ooc, this is my second fic for Genshin Impact, and my first Kaeya fic, so I might need a bit more practice before I nail down his character completely.

~~~

Kaeya loves you, he really does, but sometimes you can be so frustrating. As captain of the cavalry, he has to deal with more than one oblivious airhead on the daily, and while he wouldn’t give you the title, he wouldn’t completely abstain from suggesting you can have airheaded moments.

Such as now.

It was supposed to be a simple clearing assignment. Jean had gotten reports of some particularly nasty hilichurl camps near the shore. Particularly over by Dawn Winery. If Kaeya had the chance to bother Diluc while also getting work done, he wasn’t going to pass up that chance. So when he heard Jean give you the assignment, he volunteered to accompany you. Doing work, annoying Diluc, and spending time with his significant other? Three birds, one stone.

Now, he was regretting coming along. You had gotten distracted pretty early on in the search for the camp, eyes landing on the sparkly item buried partially by sand. Kaeya knew you had a whole mantle full of them at home, but he never realized that you still were adding to said collection.

You turned to him, eyes shining in excitement as you bounced up and down on the balls of your feet, hydro vision bouncing and twinkling from where it hung on the lapel of your coat.

“Kaeya, do you know what this is?” You asked, holding up what was obviously a starconch.

Kaeya quirked a brow, a slight smirk on his face, “A shell?” He asked, already knowing that wasn’t the answer you were looking for.

His guess was only confirmed by the roll of your eyes and the drop of your shoulders, “It’s not just any shell, Kae,” You stressed. “This is a Starconch. They’re usually only found in Liyue. I’ve never gotten to see one in person before, and I never thought I would!”

Kaeya chuckled slightly, eyes filled with fondness at your child-like excitements. “Well, in that case, I’ll be on the lookout for more in the future.”

He was almost sure he actually physically blushed at the adoration in your gaze when you looked back at him. Your smile was big enough that he thought your face might stick that way, and oh what a sight that would be to see everyday. He wasn’t sure he would actually be able to handle it.

His excitement dropped when a figure, quickly approaching, loomed behind you. Just as he registered the wood of the mitachurl’s shield, you bent down to look through the sand more.

“(Y/N)-” He began to shout, his one uncovered eye wide. 

You must’ve felt the vibrations in the ground, because your head rose just as your companion took quick steps towards you. He was too late.

The shield slammed into you, sending you flying through the air and back into the sand. The sickening sound of the wood hitting your body filled his ears. You lay unmoving in the sand. Kaeya’s gaze was fixed on your immobile form until the sound of the mitachurl’s footsteps pulled him back to reality.

His icy gaze landed on the large, hulking monstrosity, crystals of ice beginning to form and float around him as the temperature in the area dropped significantly. The mitachurl didn’t last very long there after.

~~~

When you woke, you were tucked tightly into an unfamiliar bed. The sheets were soft, but the entire room was much too dark compared to your own. The blue blankets that draped over you were placed in such a way as to suggest that you had been covered and not just pulled them over yourself.

The door on the far side of the room opened, and the short, bright form of Barbara walked through. Her white dress was a stark contrast against the rest of the room. The heels of her boots clicked ont he wood floor. When she spotted you sitting up and awake, she gasped, a smile stretching across her face.

“Oh thank goodness!” She squeaked. “I was worried for a moment there. I mean… we all were.”

You were confused by what she meant until you followed her gaze down to your body. From almost head to toe, you were wrapped tightly in white bandages. 

“I should get Kaeya,” She mumbled, placing the tray of bandages she had in her hands onto the coffee table across the room. “He’s been with you almost day and night. Diluc had to come and drag him out so he would eat.”

“Diluc?” You’re brows raised. Barbara nodded.

“Not even Jean could convince him to move from that chair. Diluc didn’t even have to say anything to him though. It was scary,” Barbara seemed lost in thought. She promised to be back quickly before leaving the room again.

Your eyes wandered, recognizing where you were finally. This must have been Kaeya’s room. A shine caught your eye, and your head turned to the nightstand, spotting the starconch you had picked up before your injuries.

A bandaged hand came up, lifting the cool shell from the table and bringing it to your lap. Your eyes looked over it, studying each detail. It didn’t seem all that worth it now.

The door burst open and in strolled an unusually disheveled Kaeya. It was unusual to see him without his eyepatch, and even less so without his usual cape and fur. The only thing he was wearing was his pants, boots, and the white undershirt.. His hair clean, but it looked like that had been a recent development, as the ends were still damp.

He sighed out at the sight of you, speeding up to sit in the chair that had been pulled up next to your beside. His hands reached out, hesitating only slightly before he ran a hand down your cheek. There was a deep frown on his face, and for once, he didn’t have a witty one liner to fire at you.

“How are you feeling?” He finally asked, breaking the silence.

You frowned at his creased brown, hand coming up to smooth the anxiety that knit his brow. He sighed, eyes closing. His hand came up to gently pull yours away.

“I’m perfectly fine,” You whispered out. “I’m sorry.”

You looked down to the shell in your hand, moving to place it gently into Kaeya’s upturned palms. He stared down at it, unmoving. In the blink of an eye, he was almost doubled over in light laugher. It twinkled, like a bell, soft against the pounding of your head.

“Next time you want a shell, darling,” He still cradled the starconch like it was a precious treasure. “Just ask me to retrieve them for you. Maybe then we can avoid more accidents like this.”

You smiled sheepishly, but nodded. Kaeya smirked at you, leaning up to place a gently kiss upon your forehead, and then your nose, and then down to your lips.

“Rest,” He mumbled. “I will stay right here.”

[refinedbuffoonery]

Quarantine Moments (5)

This is my two favorite things in one: space stuff and making these pining idiots feel things, so it ended up being way longer than I intended. Oops. Enjoy some meteor shower shenanigans. :) 

*****

It’ll be fun, they promise. 

We don’t need a tent, they say.  We’ll sleep in the bed of the truck, they say. We’ll all fit, they say. 

It’ll be fun, they promise again. 

Riley knows better than to take “It’ll be fun” at face value. Especially when it comes out of Mac’s mouth. 

Five months into quarantine, when Riley’s favorite space nerds ask if she wants to drive out to the desert to watch a meteor shower, she agrees immediately. It’s a quick out and back trip. The plan is to have an early dinner, drive out to the desert for the night, and leave early in the morning before the August sun cooks them alive. Riley balks at their plan to sleep in the truck instead of a tent—sleeping in a truck bed always hurts, no matter how many blankets and pillows there are—but the boys’ excitement is infectious, and Riley can’t bring herself to say no. 

They argue about where in the desert to go. Mac wants to drive all the way to Death Valley, but Riley and Bozer shoot it down immediately. A four hour car ride is too far for an overnight trip. Then Bozer suggests Joshua Tree, but Mac claims it’s too popular. (Like there will be flocks of tourists there during a pandemic, but whatever.) So Riley forces them to compromise on Anza Borrego. It’s farther than J Tree, but not nearly as far as Death Valley, and they can pick up breakfast burritos in San Diego on their way home. 

Mac and Bozer never object to breakfast burritos. 

The boys do all the planning and preparation, so when Mac tosses Riley the keys to the truck, she’s almost surprised. “You’re driving,” he says. “Bozer’s in the back.” 

“Man, why am I always in the back?” Bozer complains. 

“Because Riley is a better driver than you.” Content to let them bicker, Riley smirks and starts the engine. 

“No,” Bozer corrects from the middle seat, “Riley is a faster driver. Not better.” 

At the same time, Riley and Mac both say, “Same thing.” 

“Unbelievable.” 

The drive goes much faster with Riley behind the wheel, although she refrains from rubbing it in. The sky shifts from lavender to deep blue to inky black as they drive away from the setting sun. 

It always amazes Riley that they can be so close to SoCal’s endless suburban sprawl, and yet be in the absolute middle of nowhere.

The moon is barely more than a sliver in the sky, and when they drop down into the desert, the vast darkness swallows the headlight beams. Riley rolls her window down, feeling the dry, balmy air caress her cheeks and neck. 

She figured someone else would have the same idea as them, but there isn’t another human soul as far as Riley can see. Even farther, most likely. 

When Riley gets out of the truck, the first thing she does is look up. The sky isn’t black at all, but rather a deep indigo alight with more stars than she could count in a thousand lifetimes. The Milky Way arcs overhead, and Riley’s eyes track it from one end of the horizon to another. It makes her feel small. 

It’s comforting, Riley thinks, to be reminded of her insignificance in the grand scheme of the universe, a welcome break from the constant world-ending consequences of her daily life. 

The trio get to work making their bed for the night. Mac’s two-person camping mattress goes down first, then the pillows and blankets. They didn’t even bother to bring sleeping bags since the nighttime temperature would only dip into the mid-seventies. 

Riley finds a tumbleweed near the front of the truck to pee behind before joining Mac and Bozer in the back. They’re lying on opposite sides of the truck bed, leaving as much space as possible for her in the middle. Realizing how close she’ll be to Mac, Riley takes a deep, steadying breath, grateful that it’s too dark for the boys to see her face. She should’ve begged Bozer to take the middle when she had the chance. 

Cursing herself for wearing booty shorts and a tank top, Riley tries not to notice how her bare skin brushes Mac’s as she squeezes into her spot. She blushes anyway. There is definitely not room for three people. They should’ve just brought the damn tent. 

She misses the days when she could be in Mac’s personal space without every nerve in her body being acutely aware of how close he is. Everything was so much easier then. 

Covering herself in one of the thinner blankets—more for comfort and security than anything else—Riley sinks into the pillows and looks up. She knows the Perseids originate from the constellation Perseus, but there are so many stars that she gets lost trying to orient herself in the sky. As she opens her mouth to ask for help, a bright silver light zips across the horizon, gone in less than a second. 

“Did you see that?” Bozer squeals. 

Riley laughs softly. “Yeah, but I have no idea where it came from, or where I should be looking.” 

It’s Bozer’s turn to laugh. “For starters, don’t look straight up. Look near the horizon.” He points toward a random spot in the distance, his hand a dark shadow covering the glittering sea beyond. “As Perseus gets higher in the sky during the night, the meteors will appear to come from higher up too.” 

Riley nods before realizing he’s not paying attention. “Thanks.” 

As she studies the heavens, the sense of ease settles over her once again. Riley feels her body start to let go of the stress she’s been holding onto for months—the awkwardness of living with Mac, the endless pile of work stuff she has no motivation to do, worrying about her mom and Bozer’s parents, waking up every morning to increasingly batshit news headlines. Out here, she can escape, if only for a few hours. 

Riley catches three meteors in quick succession, each darting across the sky in a completely different direction. Mac hasn’t said a word since they laid down, so when Bozer gets up to pee, Riley nudges him with her knee and says, “You’ve been quiet.” 

Mac doesn’t look at her as he speaks, his gaze locked on something straight overhead. “Ancient Chinese astronomers believed Vega and Altair were lovers, forever kept apart by the Milky Way.” He points. “Vega is one of the brightest stars in the sky. It’s in the constellation Lyra. And over there is Altair, which is part of Aquila, the eagle.” 

Riley hesitates, trying to separate fact from innuendo. A pit forms in her stomach as she understands why he’s drawn to these stars in particular. 

Mac must mistake her silence for being unable to find the stars, because suddenly his arms are around her and he’s pulling her toward him so her head rests on his shoulder. 

His touch feels like stars dancing on her skin. 

Mac’s bicep grazes her cheek as he points again, and Riley has no trouble following the line of his arm to a particularly bright star nearly straight up. That must be Vega, the bright one. The other blends into the Milky Way too well for Riley to pick it out. Her voice catches as she half-lies, “I see it.” His arm drops, but instead of letting her go, Mac’s hand rests on her ribcage. 

Riley nearly stops breathing as her heart pounds loud enough that she’s sure Mac can hear it. She doesn’t know what to do. This is uncharted territory, him holding her like this. They’re in each other’s personal space all the time, but they’re never handsy. Riley has never been a very touchy person, and she knows Mac isn’t either. 

So this...Riley doesn’t know what to make of this. 

“Show me something else,” she manages. Mac takes a shaky breath beneath her. 

He points in a different direction. “Over there are Sagittarius, which looks like a teapot, and Scorpius, which looks like a hook or the letter ‘J.’” Riley finds the constellations easily. “Between them is the supermassive black hole that exists in the middle of the galaxy. All of the matter in the Milky Way orbits around it.” 

Riley smiles. Mac and his black holes. 

Bozer is taking an awfully long time to pee, and Riley starts to think there might be an ulterior motive to his disappearance. She hollers, “You good, man?” 

“Yeah! Got a little performance anxiety from this creepy bug staring at me.” 

Riley and Mac burst out laughing. Tears sneak out of Riley’s eyes as she holds her stomach, giggling until her lungs ache. Just when she starts to get it together, Riley makes the mistake of looking up at Mac, and they both crack up all over again. 

If Riley could stay in this moment forever, she would. Laughing with Mac feels like stepping into a patch of sunlight on a chilly day. 

Mac is still looking at her when they finally recover. Not in Bozer’s direction, not up at the stars, but at her. Riley bites her lip. She could do it right now. Tell him how she feels. 

But a bigger part of her knows that it’s not the right time, no matter how much she wants it to be, no matter how many small moments give her hope that she’s not alone in her feelings. Relationships with a messy beginning never last. Right now, they’re not meant to be, but Riley lets herself hope that maybe, just maybe, in the future, they will be. 

Until then, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her heart. Starting with loving him quietly, and never expecting anything other than platonic love in return. Just having him in her life is enough. 

Bozer climbs back into the truck, and Riley moves to extricate herself from Mac. His arm tightens around her at first, but when Riley pulls away again, Mac lets her go. She doesn’t think about what it might mean if she stayed. 

The three of them lay together for hours, just looking up at the stars, until Bozer yawns. Riley can’t help but follow suit. 

“Mac,” Bozer says. “Did you set the alarm?” 

“Yeah. My phone is right here.” Mac pats a pillow above Riley’s head. 

She can’t believe what she’s hearing. “Alarm?” 

Mac explains, “The meteor shower’s peak is between three and four am. So unless you’d rather stay up all night...” He trails off. 

Riley groans. Of course. 

She pulls up a second blanket and rolls onto her side, facing Bozer. Safely tucked between her boys, Riley drifts off almost immediately. 

~

Riley wakes before the alarm goes off, struggling to breathe. It feels like someone’s sitting on her chest. 

When she opens her eyes, Riley realizes it’s two someones. 

She’s lying on her back. Between Mac’s arm thrown over her shoulders and Bozer using her chest as a pillow, their combined weight is uncomfortably heavy. They probably got cold and rolled toward her in their sleep. The thought makes her smile. Riley rolls onto her side to dislodge Bozer and ends up flush against Mac’s chest. His warm breath tickles the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. 

Shit. She should’ve included not torturing herself in her resolution to love him quietly. 

Riley tries to move again, but it’s futile. She’s stuck. As if to further prove her point, Mac’s arm slides down her body and wraps around her waist, pulling Riley closer like she’s his favorite teddy bear. The gesture makes her melt. Bozer reaches out then, sleepily trying to find his missing pillow, and his hand settles on Riley’s forearm. If Jack could see them now, he’d kill Mac and Bozer without a second thought, but Riley likes being wrapped up in her boys, likes feeling warm and wanted and protected. 

She’s still smiling when she falls back asleep. 

~

The alarm blares in her ear, and Riley can’t do anything about it. Her arms are trapped. She groans. “Turn it off.” 

A weight lifts from her side, and then an arm bumps her face as someone mercifully turns the alarm off, followed by a mumbled “Sorry.” Riley isn’t awake enough to recognize the rough, sleepy voice. It sounds nice though, she thinks. She wouldn’t mind hearing it again. 

The weight returns, and the same voice says, “I hit snooze. You have five minutes.” 

It’s Mac, she realizes with a jolt. Bozer would never be so merciful. 

Now she really wants to hear that voice again. 

Mac strokes her shoulder, coaxing Riley into consciousness, and damn him, it works. Her eyes flutter open. It’s still dark out, and Bozer faces them, his head resting beside Riley’s chest, the comma to her and Mac’s quotation marks. 

“Riles, move. I have to pee.” Swallowing her disappointment, Riley uses her feet to push Bozer back to his side, taking back her space. 

“I’m awake,” he slurs. 

Riley feels Mac’s chest rumble as he chuckles. “Sure you are.” He gets up, and Riley immediately mourns the loss of contact. 

He’s back by the time the alarm goes off again, and this time Riley turns it off herself before sitting up to stretch, her joints popping softly. The stars look completely different now. Riley still doesn’t know how to find Perseus, or even what the constellation looks like, but it doesn’t matter. The meteors are more frequent now, nearly two a minute. Most are quick, bright flashes, but a few are slower, gracefully crossing the sky before burning up. 

Someone—Bozer—kicks her in the back. “Riley stop blocking the view.” Rolling her eyes, she lays back down. 

She’s exhausted, and her body hurts, but it’s all worth it when a massive, glowing meteor arcs across the sky in slow motion, lingering for a few seconds before winking out of existence. “Wow,” Riley whispers. 

Mac and Bozer promised her fun, and sure enough, they deliver.

Riley hovers in that sweet spot between sleep and being awake until the sky lightens and the first rays of sunlight stretch across the desert. The air seems to hum, the way it always does in announcement of the scorching summer sun. Riley and the boys pack up in record time, and Mac blasts the air conditioner even though it’s barely six am. 

Leaning into the pile of pillows occupying most of the backseat, Riley orders, “Wake me up when you have my burrito. Goodnight.” 

She dreams of shooting stars and the warm embrace of a certain blonde nerd. 

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Revenge of the Star Wars Wednesday

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the dashboard... (It’s an entire chapter of the same au as This Free Day Thursday I did a ways back, where a splinter cell of the Rebellion hands Luke over to Vader in a deal with the devil. The context: Vader got called away before getting a chance to tell Luke what was going on, and had to leave the poor guy in his hyperbaric egg chamber of doom. Which is air conditioned all to heck because that suit gets toasty. Unfortunately, Luke is from a very warm climate, and high powered air conditioning does not agree with him. At all. He’s having a bad day by the time Vader gets back and Many Blankets are required.)

Luke dreamed of falling.

"Alright, Skywalker. This is your stop."

He saw Leia screaming.

"You're wrong! You're wrong!"

She was calling for him. He knew that she was.

"I'm here!" He tried to call back to her, "I'm here, Leia! Help me!"

But the wind scattered his words, and he fell.

He fell past Leia's horrified face, towards a range of mountains. Faces he might have recognized formed and disintegrated in the snow around him, and the wicked looking peak directly below.

With a choked cry, Luke flailed his arms and met with stiff resistance. Well. More soft than stiff. And heavy. Very heavy. Slowly, by degrees, Luke became aware of his surroundings. He could barely move. Something was holding him down on a-

A bed.

He was on a bed.

On a Star Destroyer. 

Everything came back to Luke in a rush. Kobyvern. The handoff. The cell. The cold. 

And Vader.

Luke opened his eyes. He didn't hear the respirator, but the sense of foreboding looming over him suggested that the dark lord was somewhere near. It was imperative that Luke not be so...so vulnerable when he returned. 

Why couldn't he move?! Had he been strapped down? Panic flooded Luke's veins.

No no no, take it slow, Skywalker! Breathe in- breathe out. 

When his heart had resumed a slightly more normal pace, Luke took a slow breath and tried to sit up.

This turned out to be more difficult than he'd expected. If he craned his neck, he could just make out heavy black cloth beneath the blankets, wound around him and pinning his arms to his sides. Well, that was one way of keeping someone from escaping. Arguably more embarrassing than handcuffs, but also preferable to them. 

The amount of effort it took to free just one arm was a thorough enough distraction that Luke didn't hear the door hiss open. He pulled at the cape and blankets, already cursing the cold his free arm hinted at. It was tempting to nestle down into the pile of blankets -- there had to be at least four of them -- and let the warmth drag him back down into sleep. But that would doubtless be akin to trusting the hospitality of a Hutt. You didn't get something for nothing. There was going to be a price to pay for this, and Luke wasn't sure he'd be able to afford it.

Luke tried to push himself up into a sitting position and nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand appeared from his peripheral vision to push him back against the pillows.

"Rest easy, son. You've had a hard day."

Vader had returned.

It was difficult to know what bothered Luke more: the uncharacteristic gentleness in Vader's hands, or that he'd called him son.

Luke recoiled as far from Vader as he could.

It wasn't that far.

"You are not in danger, young one. Be still." Vader held out a placating hand.

His jaw ached from clenching and chattering, but Luke gritted his teeth again nonetheless. "I'm s- s-s s'posed to b-believe that-t-t?"

Ugh. It was still cold outside the blankets.

He did not like that he could actually hear amusement in Vader's voice when the man answered, "If I wished harm to come to you, young one, do you really think you would be here?"

Luke picked at the covers and tried to scowl. But being in close proximity to Darth Vader for an extended period of time didn’t exactly bolster one’s courage. The most he could muster was an anxious frown. Don’t let him get to you. He’s manipulating you. Waiting for you to let your guard down. Then he’ll bring in the torture droid. 

“Yeah.” He narrowed his eyes. “D-don’t trus-s-t you.”

Alright, that might’ve been a bit too blunt. 

Vader inclined his head -- helmet? How much of that was his head? Did Luke actually want to know? -- and made a sound curiously like a sigh. “That is to be expected. We were not introduced under particularly favorable circumstances.”

Luke stared at him incredulously. Introduced? As if they were diplomats crossing paths at a senator’s ball? Introduced?! 

This was the man who just...slaughtered anything and anyone that got in his way. He was there for every horrible thing that happened to Leia. He was the reason Luke was stuck trying to figure out the Force on his own. He was the reason Luke was alone! And here he was, upset that Luke didn’t trust him?

“My medical droid informs me that your core temperature has...improved. But you are still feeling ill effects.” If Vader felt as awkward as he looked, he kept it out of his voice admirably. A little too calmly, he lifted a steaming cup from somewhere behind him and held it out.

Luke shrank back. “I d-don’t want it.”

Vader’s shoulders tensed, just a fraction. “It is not poisoned, young one. Nor does it contain a truth drug, or whatever else outlandish theories you have concocted.”

“You c-could be l-l-lying.”

“I could. But I have no reason to be.”

Luke could think of a few reasons. Pure cruelty came to mind. Or lulling him into a false sense of security. After all the bluster about capturing the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, having a tea party with a dark lord wasn’t really on the agenda.

He jumped when the cup was pressed into his hands.

“You do not have to drink it. But the heat will benefit you.” Vader leaned back into a chair that most certainly had not been there before. “Transitioning from Tatooine to the climate of long-term space travel is...taxing.”

No, transitioning from getting thrown out of a ship to getting locked in the Ice Pod is “taxing”, Luke thought, glaring into the cup.

Whatever liquid was inside, it was dark, and smelled almost earthy. Not caf, some kind of tea, perhaps? The steam curled up to bathe his face, and he could begrudgingly admit that it was doing him a world of good.

“My meditation chamber is not meant to hold such low temperatures for such an extended period of time,” Vader said suddenly. “The General’s summons, I fear, did not give me adequate time to reset the cooling system. You were never meant to experience that.”

Luke didn’t care if it was childish or not. He pulled his knees slowly up to his chest -- fighting through entirely too many blankets -- and rested the cup on them. He refused to look up. He would not make eye contact with his father’s killer.

Actually, where even are his eyes under there? 

“D-didn’t exp-p-pect the Empire to ap-p-p-pologize to a p-p-risoner,” he mumbled.

His stammer was decreasing, slowly. He thought a warm drink would certainly help, but he was not brave enough to risk whatever was in that cup.

“I would rather you did not think of yourself as a prisoner, but I understand that your experiences have not given you cause to believe otherwise,” Vader answered. “But you are correct: that was intended to be an apology. I will not allow such a thing to happen again.”

The cup seemed like porcelain. Impossibly delicate. But it held up well under Luke’s grip as it tightened. This was getting ridiculous. The handoff. The fall. The pod. The blankets. The tea. 

“Just…” 

Vader stilled. He cocked his head, as if listening intently. “Luke?”

It was too much.

He broke.

“Don’t c-c-call me that!”

“It is your name.”

“It’s m-m-my! Name!” Luke’s chest heaved. “You d-d-on’t use it! Stop p-p-pretending! I’m n-n-not going to tell you anyth-th-ing!”

I can’t, I can’t do this, Father. I didn’t want to cry, don’t let me cry! 

Vader leaned forward again. “Why do you believe that I am pretending?”

Was he kidding? 

Luke finally looked up at him. “Y-you k-kill Jedi,” he spat. “Like you k-killed my father.” 

And that was what broke the facade.

“Enough.” Vader reached down and took the tea from Luke.

He set it on the tray and whirled back to face the boy.

“Listen to me,” he growled. “Whatever Kenobi told you, whatever wild fictions he spun about your past, he lied.”

Luke’s shoulders hitched. He pulled back against the wall and turned his face back to his knees. “I d-d-on’t believe you!”

“Look at me!” 

Vader took his chin in one hand and pulled it up. “Look at me, Luke. He lied to you. And he lied to me. Why do you think I wear a mask? Do you even know what he did?”

“No no no-” Luke tried to shake his head. “W-why-?”

“Why would he lie to you?” Vader asked angrily. “Why, Luke, would he be so interested in making sure that you believed I killed your father? What did you do on Cymoon, before I knew your name?”

Vader’s anger shook the room, cutting the lights into fragments as shadow overtook them. But somehow, Luke didn’t feel that the anger was directed at him as much as it was at Obi-wan. They really had hated each other, then. But why would Obi-wan lie about his father’s death? He had his lights-

The lightsaber.

Luke’s gut churned.

Vader had his lightsaber now. His father’s lightsaber. And now it was in the possession of the man who had allegedly killed him.

Allegedly.

Allegedly?

Why was he even considering Vader’s words? This was Darth Vader! He was a liar- not this time

He was a monster -- maybe so 

“W-what do you want?” Luke’s voice cracked. “I d-d-on’t understand!” 

The hand on his chin pulled away without warning. The shadows retreated sullenly to pool around the chair. “I know.”

Vader raised his hand again. He hesitated when Luke flinched, then rested it on the crown of his head. “I know you don’t. Not yet. Use the Force, Luke.”

“What?”

Vader tilted his head back with a gentle push. “I know that you can. Stretch out with your feelings. What did you intend to do on Cymoon?”

It wasn’t enough to simply tell the boy the truth. He needed him to see. He needed him to understand. He was a pawn. They had both been pawns. For a moment he almost wished Kenobi lived, so that he could run him through again.

“What did you int-”

“Kill you!” Luke burst out. It came out with a tiny, exhausted sob. “I w-was going to kill you.” 

“Because?”

“B-because you k-killed my-”

“Because you thought that I had killed your father,” Vader interrupted sternly. “Because Obi-wan sent you, untrained, untested, into battle having told you that I was your great enemy in some noble quest to avenge a father you never had the chance to meet.”

“Stop.” Luke didn’t want to hear this. This was a kind of torture after all, wasn’t it? It was emotional. Psychological. But there could be no tactical benefit in telling him these things. Why was Vader telling him these things? Why not just kill him and be done with it?

“Who took you from your mother?” Vader’s earlier question rang in Luke’s ears.

A trickle of sweat dried cold on the back of his neck. What did Darth Vader know about his mother?

Do you really want to pull on that thread, Luke? 

“What do you want?” He tried. He tried so hard to keep the tears from coming. But he was tired and afraid, and so, so overwhelmed.

Vader’s hand smoothed his hair, disturbingly gentle. “I want you to understand that you are not alone, Luke. That you were never alone.”

He raised his other hand. Held Luke’s face between them.

“Do you know why Kenobi told you that I had killed your father?”

“Don’t-” Luke whispered brokenly. He couldn’t take it. Not this. Not him.

“Luke. Look at me. What does the Force tell you?”

“I don’t know-” Luke tried to pull away. Please don’t please don’t don’t tell me don’t change things don’t let it all be lies- “I don’t know!” 

“I did not kill your father.”

It was said with such an air of finality that it rang through the Force, even with Luke’s muffled attempts to read it.

“No,” he agreed. 

His world had a little crack, right at the edge. It was small now, but just the right pressure, and-

“I am your father.”

Crack. 

[unkownknowledge]

Genshin characters and their spider s/o

A little crossover HC post between terraformars and genshin.

Basically the reader is the result of a messed up experiment and now they look like a monstrous humanoid spider, like this guy:

Except you have no human skin or hair, just pure chitin, extra legs out the back, and mandibles(like a turian)

Also: request are still open, feel free to request!

Including: Jean, Xinqiu, and Razor

_____________________________

Jean: hollow knight

_____________________________

Jean had been receiving reports of frightened merchants and townsfolk, all of whom had been found on the road ranting about a giant spider.

Jean was sure it was nothing more than hilichurls or hoarders or abyss mages and the people were merely suffering panic induced hallucinations, this was supported by the clear signs of such dangers at the scene of the crime.

But still, neither any of the knights nor adventurers in the guild reported saving these people, nor did Diluc claim that he did when she asked him.

So Jean decided to investigate, after all not only is there a chance of finding camps of the three above dangers, but also the chance of finding a new ally.

When she saw you in a clearing you looked like a normal human, until you turned your head in an inhuman manner and looked at her with eight red glowing eyes.

You screamed at her and used your geo vision to grow eight giant legs out your back, which you used to run away.

Jean, being the persistent woman she is, wasn't about let you go until she confirmed if you were a friend or foe.

She chased you through the forest for a while, and unfortunately didn't notice a group of hilichurls hiding behind some trees.

One swung out and struck her from behind, knocking her to the ground.

At the sound of this you turned around and saw Jean on the ground.

While she easily could have beaten the hilichurls, she didn't have to. This is because you were immediately next to her, sword drawn and slicing through the monsters like a hot knife through butter. Your geo legs acted like extra blades that parried any attack directed towards the knight.

Because you're other legs were busy, however, you were unable to block the attack from a crossbow that shot right through your knee.

You fell down and were beaten senseless by the hilichurls, the last thing you remember was the sounds of a blade and the monsters turning to dust before you blacked out.

You woke up on a soft bed inside an unfamiliar building. You tried to get up but your knee had a large hole in it, luckily for you your ability to feel pain was long lost.

Jean entered a minute later with some food, "good, your awake."

"Where am I?" You asked.

"In my home, the guest room to be exact."

"Why did you save me?"

"Because you were in danger."

"Yes but why? Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Considering how you saved me as well? No, not at all."

Jean poured some tea for both of you, "now onto-"

You felt your eyes water, something you didn't realize you could still do.

"What's wrong?" Jean asked.

"It's just, it's been so long since anyone was...nice to me. My appearance isn't exactly very welcoming."

"And yet you still help people, the same people who call you a monster?"

"Of course! I might be an abomination, but I'm not a monster. In fact, before I became...this I had always dreamed of joining the knights."

"Well, that makes things easy."

"What do you mean?"

"While I cannot officially make you a knight, I can make you an honorary member of the knights of favonius."

"REALLY!?" You said, a child like excitment on your face.

So you joined the knights, of course not everyone was happy about this.

But noone doubted the acting grand master's decision, after all she never once failed the city.

After a while the city warmed up to you, even hailing you as a hero thanks to all you've done!

But the city's attitude towards you wasn't the only thing getting warmer.

Infact, a certain person's cheeks seemed to grow red as Amber's ribbon at the mere mention of your name.

Lisa and Kaeya were the first to notice Jean's infatuation with you, and they were quite intent on helping her.

It would be easy for them to set it up: you were cold blooded, so you had a heater in your room during the winter, and thanks to a 'freak lightning strike', your house was under renovations for the whole season, this caused Jean to let you stay in her home until yours was repaired.

Now all they had to do was sneak in an 'cool it' down.

You awoke in the middle of the night due to the temperature suddenly dropping. You tried turning on your heater but that didn't work. You went downstairs to make some hot tea, unaware that Kaeya swapped the labels on Jean's coffee and your tea. After making the beverage you sat down in the warmest corner, covered in blankets, and with a warm drink in hand.

Fun fact! Spiders get hella drunk off caffeine.

You are a spider.

One sip of the coffee and you felt funny, you couldn't think straight and felt wobbly.

Kaeya and Lisa giggled watching you.

"So, how DID you get them drunk? You couldn't exactly have spiked their tea could you?" Lisa asked.

"I swapped the labels on their tea and Jeans coffee. Spiders get hella drunk on-" Kaeya noticed Lisa worried face, "fuck, what did I do this time?"

"Kaeya, spiders don't get drunk on caffeine like humans do with alcohol."

Lisa pointed Kaeya towards the window

"Whoops"

Caffeine doesn't make spiders drunk the same way alchohol does a person, which is what Kaeya expected.

Caffeine makes spiders hyper, very hyper.

When Jean heard skittering and clanging she thought someone was robbing the house, so she was reasonably surprised to see you lying in the center of the kitchen, crying, and with webs all over.

When she asked what happened you just rolled over and mumbled out gibberish about how you can't catch any flies.

Jean picked you up to take you to bed, but you wrapped your arms and legs around her and caused her to fall.

"(Y/n), please let me go." Jean pleaded.

You shushed her, "nap time" and fell asleep.

Your grip was to strong for her to get out, and with your weight she couldn't get up in this position, so she just had to wait for you to get up.

The next day Jean got up the same time as you, she would have said something if you didn't kiss her and pet her head.

"I love this dream." You said, nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

Jean was shocked, what dream? You were clearly awake.

"I wonder if Jean is this warm in real life....I wish I could find out..."

"(Y-y/n)" she stuttered out, "you're not dreaming."

You shot up with all your eyes wide as saucers.

You immediately thought of running. But where would you go? The forest? Yeah, that works, just go there a-

You felt a warm sensation on your cheek.

"So (y/n), how does this dream usually go?" Jean said with a suggestive wink.

.

.

.

"(Y/n)?"

404 error, reader.exe has crashed

After that rather unconventional confession session, you both started dating.

Jean was concerned about not having enough time for you, but that proved to be very unfounded. Thanks to your many years alone you didn't know what dating was, so to you simply working together was fine.

On every mission out of the city you would bring gifts or a picnic for when the sun was setting.

On days where you both had paper work you would make tea and buy little cakes or biscuits and sit on her lap as you rested on eachother's shoulders and fed each other snacks, under the excuse that "sharing a chair saves space".

On the rare occasion Jean gets to have a day off, she showers you in affection.

She'll make you breakfast in bed(it's not good 80% of the time, but you don't tell her), she'll cuddle with you all day, she'll even read to you if you want. She wants to give back to you for all the time she couldn't give you her full attention.

_____________________________

Xingqiu: it's like one of my Inazuman graphic novels

_____________________________

Your meeting with the guhua geek was far more coincidental.

You were just minding your business, catching some animals to eat, when some weird guy just walks by you, not noticing you at all, as he reads his book.

You were rather suprised and, by extension, curious about this boy.

Was he blind in peripheral? Was he that brave? Was he an idiot?

A bit of colum B, mostly colum C.

Xingqiu sat down on a rock and continued reading, given how he was reading aloud you figured you might as well take advantage of his lack of notice and learn to read.

But he did notice.

"Ah shoot, spaces out again." Xingqiu cried, "now I have to start all over."

Xingqiu started reading the book all over again, much to your joy.

You could easily match his words to the page thanks to your speed of comprehension.

When the boy noticed it was getting late he decided to head home, while you were upset you didn't try and stop him. In fact you immediately darted away before he saw you.

The next day he came back, and read from the same spot.

And again

And again

This went on for quite some time.

Xingqiu knew someone was watching him, but he never was able to catch a glimpse. He just figured it was someone who wanted to read legends of the shattered halberd but couldn't find any copies, and so the chivalrous thing to do would be to read it for them.

One day he finished the fifth book and proclaimed it was the last one, which made you rather sad.

Until he spoke to you.

"Well my secretive friend," he turned around, "shall w-"

You screamed

He screamed

For about five minutes.

After which you both just stared at eachother.

He pointed a shakey finger at you, "you're-"

You turned away, 'a freak I know' you thought.

"SO COOL!"

"What?"

Xingqiu immediately ran at you and started inspecting you.

The whole time he had such an amazed look on his face.

"Woah!" He said as he grabbed your mandibles, "are these real?!"

"Ye ey are, a ah ee e ah a" you said hoping he would understand that you need them to talk.

"Oh. Hehe. Sorry." He said releasing them.

"Aren't you...scared of me?" You asked.

"Why would I be? If you wanted to kill me you would have. It's not like I was particularly on guard when I was reading for you."

'Y-you knew I was there?"

"I knew someone was there, and I knew they were watching me read. Since you showed such interest in my book I thought the only chivalrous thing to do was to keep reading."

You were shocked, most people just ran and screamed upon seeing you.

"Now, shall we go look for the sixth book?"

After that you and Xingqiu became fast friends.

He used some of the money he made from the scam he pulled on that scammer to buy out the forest you lived in, making it officially private property so that people won't go after you.

He kept coming back with books for you both to read, you absolutely loved it!

And while you never realized it, you also loved him.

He however, did know he loved you.

Being the menace to society he is, Xingqiu decided the best way to confess was to just kiss you.

You're sitting on a stump with your head on Xingqiu's shoulder.

"This book isn't as good as the others." You say.

"Ah don't be like that, fairy tales are the foundation of all those 'knight in shining armor books' you love."

"Yeah but this is boring."

"True, true. But I think it has a great ending." Xingqiu turned to the final page, "and then the knight told the (royal title) how much he loved them, and to seal his love he placed a kiss on their cheek."

"That wasn't good."

"Why? It was very realistic."

"In what reality does someone confess by kiss-"

*smooch*

It took you a solid five seconds to process what happened.

Xingqiu smirked at you like the bastard man he is, "this one I believe."

Your mandibles hung slack as your face got a dark shade of blue.

"Uh, (y/n)?"

"Clothes off, now."

Xingqiu stumbled out the forest four hours later. Chongyun, who was protecting his privacy, asked him what's wrong.

"Absolutely nothing." He responded with the largest grin a human could muster, before his legs gave out, "can you carry me home?"

Your relationship was more steady than just that bit though.

Xingqiu spent as much time with you as he could, he even learned how to hunt so he could be with you while you hunted for food.

You never left your forest though, you were far to afraid of people and especially the vigilant yaksha(which Xingqiu tried to convince you was friendly).

Of course, not everything goes so simply.

Xingqiu was skipping through the forest, far to enamoured at the idea of you to notice someone following him.

You sat calmly on your rock and awaited your boyfriend of two years, today was his birthday so you made him a beautiful silk picture of his favorite scene from 'the legend of the broken halberd'

You felt the boy drop into your lap, "hello my love!"

You wrapped your arms and extra legs around him, "hello my little knight, I have a wonderful gift for-"

"XINQIU! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!"

You both turned around to see a man who looked oddly like Xingqiu.

"H-hey big bro..." Xingqiu said, clearly nervous.

"You're his brother?" You asked, "nice to meet you! I'm your future sibling in law!"

His brother looked surprised, then angry, "Xingqiu, a word."

"No," he responded, "anything you can say to me you can say to my (s/o)."

"Xingqiu, this is not a game."

"ANYTHING," Xingqiu said, far more aggressive, "you can say to me, you can say to them."

His brother sighed, "you can't date them."

"I believe I can."

"XINGQIU! ME AND FATHER HAVE TOLERATED ENOUGH OF YOUR CHILDISHNESS! YOU ARE AN HEIR OF THE FEIYUN COMMERCE GUILD, YOU CANNOT DATE THAT-THAT THING!"

Xingqiu shot up into a fighting stance, "care to repeat that?"

Xingqiu stared down his brother with murderous intent.

"So you wont back down?"

"Never, I love (y/n) to much!"

"If you don't leave them, you'll be disowned by father, all your wealth, power, and influence will be forfeited. All for an inhuman freak!"

"Xinqiu please," you tried telling your beloved, "I won't let you sacrifice-"

"Sorry darling, but I don't give a damn." He interrupted you before turning to his brother, "I will NOT abandon my beloved (y/n)! They are the most precious thing in the world to me! So go ahead! Strip me if my title, my riches, of my very skin! My heart will yearn for nothing else but the cold hard touch of love that is my (s/o)!"

Xinqiu's brother smirked

"So, you promise to always be with (y/n)?"

"Yes!"

"Through both sickness and health?"

As smart as he was, Xinqiu couldn't see what was happening, "with all my heart and soul!"

"And you would take (Y/N) as your contractually bound spouse?"

"I would sooner bite my arm off than live another day without them as such! In fact!" Xinqiu turned to you, "(Y/N)! WE'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED RIGHT NOW! COME ON!"

"Hold it!" His brother demanded, "(Y/N)! Would you stay with my brother, Xinqiu, through sickness and health, through rags and riches?"

You nodded, "forever and always!"

"And would you take him to be your contractually bound husband?"

"E-even if I had to fight Rex Lapis himself!"

Two burly hands grabbed the couple and pushed them together, "You may now kiss the bride!"

Without thought, you two kissed each other, not thinking to question the cheering, clapping, and crying-

You both pulled apart, "what the abyss is happening here?!"

The burly arms, now wrapping you both, was an older crying man who also looked like Xinqiu.

Xinqiu's Brother was crying and clapping.

Chongyun was blasting off party cones(🎉🎉these things)

And several other of Xinqiu's friends were there celebrating.

"W-wait..." Xinqiu started to remember that his brother, as a high ranking member of a commerce guild, can officiate marriages.

The older man, Xinqiu's father, cried and said, "finally! Grandchildren!"

(If you can't have babies, adoption exists and is perfectly normal)

Needless to say

404 error, Xinqiu.exe and Reader.exe have stopped working

_____________________________

Razor: the big bad spider and the itsy bitsy spider

_____________________________

(Please understand that my knowledge of Razor is based on his quest, I know of his special vision but it won't be brought up for this. I will be sure to read the wiki page for him if I write him again)

Razor knew something was wrong.

His wolf side told him something was wrong with the forest, and his human side told him it should be either avoided at all cost or destroyed.

Because it had stayed away he had largely tried to just avoid it and keep his lupical away from whatever IT is.

Until a foolish pup decided to try and defeat whatever big bad monster had their protector so scared.

Razor ran faster than any lightning bolt upon hearing the news.

Razor didn't know what he was seeing: giant webs strewn out covering entire trees, boars and Hilichurls wrapped in webs and frozen in a sickly green.

And at the center of it all was a giant, monstrous creature with eight leg like roots coming from it's back, feeding off the life of all the creatures stuck here.

This is what he was afraid of, the beast that every inch of his primal self screamed to get away from.

But he couldn't, not until he found the pup!-

"Hello." You said calmly to the strange man coming into your home, "is this your's?"

You outstretched your hand and a sleeping pup drifted towards razor on a flower.

"He caused lots of problems, so I made him sleep. Don't worry, it's nothing permanent, give him an hour or two and he'll be right up."

After Razor left, you assumed that would be the last disturbance for a while.

But it wasn't.

Razor's wolf half still feared you, was still mortified when he pictured your spider like face, your towering body, everything.

But his human half...teembled.

Not in fear, but in a different way.

He couldn't stop thinking of you, and his primal upbringing did little to quell the less romantic thoughts about your gem like eyes, the way your mandibles clicked and moved when you talked, the overwhelming nature energy that you radiated.

But he still knew good enough to get to know you better.

Just not HOW to do it.

"Why are you spider?"

Is not a good first thing to ask.

But you explained regardless: you were taken as a kid and experimented on by some rogue students from Sumeru academy.

Then some purple lady rescued you, and while you were grateful you much preferred living out in the wild.

"Yes...wild is good! Wolvendom, especially good!"

Someone please help him.

"Purple lady....ah! Shockey wizard lady from knights?"

You nodded

"Razor good friends with her and honorary knight! Do you know red flamy girl?"

"Klee? Oh yes! I love her! She's such a nice kid!"

"Yes, Klee is like lupical! Even if she...burns down forest from time to time."

Lucky for him, your shared familial love for the pyromaniacal minor helped bridge the gap between you two.

Eventually he even got you to leave your grotto(?) And meet his lupical!

He introduced you to the wonders of actually eating rather than just sucking the life force out of animals.

You both love and protect the forest of wolvendom, and if any large threat arises to it then you both will fight fang and claw to protect your home!

Neither of you know what love is in the human sense, but you both feel it to each other and act upon it: giving each other a portion of your food, taking blows in battle for each other, and cuddling more intimately than just friends would.

You are his lupical, and so much more.

_____________________________

I started this near last year's end, it took me till now to realize I should only do 3 characters.

(Paging: @golden-wingseos, @storytravelled)

[ace-in-a-shopping-cart]

Frozen For Love

Word Count: 1,830

Nines didn’t remember how they got there but at that point it no longer mattered. He remembered entering the freezer, following the trail of a case. Gavin came in to ask what was taking so long with Nines’ investigation and the door had been shut behind them.

Gavin had pounded on the door while Nines scanned it, trying to find a way to unlock it from the inside. “Detective, it seems that the internal release was tampered with.”

Gavin swore, kicking the door once more before beginning to pace.

“It makes sense,” Nines continued. “The victim was found in here, frozen. It’s only logical that the locking mechanism was broken at the time as well. It might even be the cause of death.”

Gavin made a fist but didn’t swing. Yet. Nines could see his rage and stress levels rising even as his temperature dropped. Looking around, he found a suitable place to sit, a nook in between a few bags that would provide some heat. He sat, legs splaying out in front of him.

“Detective, come here. It’s imperative that your body temperature not drop too far or else you could become hypothermic.” As annoying as the man could be, Nines felt distress at the idea of him being sick or injured in any way.

Gavin paced for a few more steps, ice crunching beneath his shoes, before he sighed. Nines noted the frost of breath as he sighed. Gavin’s pacing slowed until he was simply standing, hands on his hips. Nines held out his hands, providing a space for Gavin to sit down. Gavin sighed again and moved to sit down, his back to Nines’ chest. Nines curled his arms around Gavin, holding him close.

Nines closed his eyes and turned his attention inward, pushing as much heat as he could toward his front. Biocomponents sent messages to his HUD, some saying there wasn’t enough heat to function, others that there was too much heat. He pushed them all away and continued to redirect his heat into his chest and arms, hoping to warm Gavin like that.

“Gavin, you’d conserve more heat by taking off your coat and using it as a blanket.” Even as he spoke, Nines had already taken off his own jacket and passed it over for Gavin to layer up.

Gavin startled but took the coat, slipping his arms out of his own and pulling them both over himself, curling his legs close to his chest to conserve energy. Nines blinked away another warning that a biocomponent was too cold.

They sat in silence for a while before Gavin chuckled. “How long do you think it’ll be before people come to find us?” His voice was light, but strained.

Nines did a few quick calculations. “I estimate an hour, maybe two. We entered in the middle of the day and the kitchen is busy as this is a weekday. It shouldn’t be long before someone needs to access something in here.” Nines hoped he was right. He hoped they wouldn’t have to last longer than two hours. He wasn’t sure if Gavin could last longer than two hours.

Gavin nodded, resting his head back on Nines shoulder. Every time he breathed, Nines watched a small cloud of frost exit him. “I hope you’re right, tin can.”

Nines tightened his arms around Gavin, searching himself for any other source of heat he could transfer to his front to help Gavin stay warm. He placed his forehead on Gavin’s shoulder, letting his breath go down his neck in the hopes of providing just that much more warmth. His only mission objective right now was to protect Gavin Reed.

~~~~

Nines had said it would be two hours. According to Gavin’s watch, it was going on four now. He sighed, tired of counting the bags of nondescript food within his eye line. He didn’t think he’d ever get the number 54, the exact number of said bags, out of his head for a while.

“Hey, tin can? Tell me a joke.” There was no bite to the words, all of his fight being put into staying alive.

Gavin expected him to come back with some quip about amusing himself or complaining of being called ‘tin can’. Instead, Nines didn’t even respond. Gavin turned his head, expecting to see Nines’ tired face. The android’s LED was a glaring red and his eyes were unfocused.

Gavin shifted to his knees, throwing the coats off himself and turning to cradle Nines’ face in his hands. “Hey, hey, are you alright?” As much as he wanted to stay steady, as much as he wanted to pretend that he hated him, Gavin couldn’t keep the trembling out of his voice.

He tilted Nines’ head up, trying to see what was going on. His fingers brushed the back of Nines’ neck and found it as cold as the ice he was leaning against. Gavin gasped and pulled back a bit but forged on, hoping it was just because he was sitting with his back to ice that he felt cold.

Gavin put a hand on Nines’ chest and felt the heat he’d been feeling the whole time. His other hand rubbed a thumb across Nines’ cheek. Gavin looked back up at him and noticed the ice crystals that had gathered on the android’s eyelashes, gently wiping them away with his fingertips.

“Come on, tin can. Talk to me!” Gavin shook him a bit, panicking now. He stood, stumbling back over the discarded coats. Looking down at them, Gavin felt like he was in a daze. He slowly reached down and picked them up. Throwing Nines’ coat around his shoulders and holding the white fabric with one hand, he wrapped his own coat around Nines’ shoulders in an attempt to warm him up.

Gavin stumbled over to the door, his legs feeling numb. He banged on the door with his fist, needing to get the attention of anyone at this point. He screamed until his voice was raw, banged until he saw the ice turn red, and still no one came.

Just as he was starting to pass out, a click happened and the lock opened. Gavin, who had slid down the door to sit on the floor and stare at Nines, flopped onto a cold tile that felt like fire compared to the ice he’d been sitting on for the previous five hours.

The people around him shouted but all he could do was weakly point at Nines and beg someone to help him. He felt hands lift him but his eyes wouldn’t leave Nines as a stretcher was placed underneath him and he was carried away, eyes still focused on the freezer door. He only breathed again when he saw people bringing Nines out behind him.

He was medevacked to a nearby hospital and was treated for frostbite. He didn’t even care about himself and put the bill on the department’s tab, knowing it would be covered by that. As soon as the medical staff left him alone for a moment, Tina was by his side.

“How are you doing? What were you two doing in that freezer for so long?”

Gavin gripped her hand. “How’s Nines? He was worse off than I was the last time I saw him.” His grip tightened, eyes pleading. “T, I need to know how he’s doing. If he’s in bad shape, it’s my fault.”

She gripped his hand with both of hers. “I heard he’s fine. He should be repaired in a few hours. I’ll be sure to direct him here as soon as he’s functional, okay? Even if that means he’s got a mechanic on his back the whole time keeping him stable.”

Gavin breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing slightly into the hospital bed. “How much longer until I’m clear to leave? I hate hospitals.” He shivered.

“I know, Gav. Doc says you’ll have to be here overnight to make sure you’re actually fine. You were in there for a while. However, they said you weren’t as bad as they expected you to be for how long you were in there.”

Gavin nodded. “Nines kept me warm. Apparently, at the cost of his own functions.” He groaned, knocking his head against his pillow. “T, he almost died and I didn’t even notice. How am I supposed to deal with that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.” She fell silent, staying with him for a few more minutes before leaving to check on Nines.

Gavin spent the rest of the day in the hospital and drifted into a fitful sleep that night. The soft sound of a door opening woke him and he turned over to find Nines standing just inside the doorway. Gavin smiled, tears filling his eyes, and reached out a hand to him.

Nines crossed the room in three long strides and gripped Gavin’s hand, nearly crushing him before remembering that he was fragile. Pulling the chair closer, Nines sat with his legs practically under Gavin’s bed to be as close as possible. 

“How are you?”

Gavin laughed, a harsh sound. “Out of all the things to say, that’s what you go with? How are you?!”

Nines shrugged. “It’s the only thing I care about.”

Gavin didn’t know how to respond to that. “W-well, I could ask you the same thing! You almost shut down on me back there!” He reached forward to punch Nines’ shoulder. “What happened?”

Nines’ smile was bittersweet. “I diverted as much heat as I could evenly across my chest and arms to keep you as warm as possible. I underestimated how much heat each biocomponent needed to function and how much they could take and burnt out a few while freezing others. I’m fully repaired now, don’t worry.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner? We could have figured out some other way that didn’t include you killing a few organs to stay alive!”

Nines shrugged. “My only mission at that point was to keep you alive at all costs. My life was, and still is in my eyes, inconsequential in comparison to yours.” His voice was kind, tinged with affection, but also firm, as if he weren’t willing to budge on that.

Gavin weakly punched him in the chest. “No! You need to care for yourself more than you care for me, tin can! Our lives are equal!” Gavin didn’t truly believe that his own life was worth that of his partner’s but he needed Nines to see it that way.

Nines caught his fist and held both his hands. “Our lives are equal. But, I love you too much to see you harmed.”

Gavin stopped trying to hit him, stunned. “What? You love me?”

Nines shrugged, releasing one of his hands to rub the back of his neck. “I do.”

Gavin smiled, scoffing slightly. He knew his face must have resembled a tomato with how hot it felt. “Good. ‘Cause, I love you too.”

I currently don’t have a taglist for DBH/Reed900 fics but feel free to check out my masterlist before sending an ask to be added!

[dearest-bucky]

On top of me (One Shot)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: There was only one bed!!!! Is it summary enough?

Words: 1.9K

Warnings: my fave trope “bed sharing”, death by fluff!!!

A/n:  Two things I suck at: writing summaries but also titles. (Though I think I've gotten kind of better now lol)

Originally posted: June 13, 2020

She turned the knob of the door, opening it and entering the room first, Bucky following closely behind. She looked around the small space curiously as she slumped her duffel bag on the floor with a thump, eyes taking in what little furniture that occupied the place. A queen size bed in one corner of the room, only one nightstand on only one side of the bed. On the other corner a crappy looking couch and a small table by its side, with only one chair next to it.

The motel was the nearest they could get to with the biting cold of Germany in the middle of January and honestly after three long days raiding a supposedly empty Hydra base, neither of them had the strength to even complain about it.

Y/n was the first one to shrug the now sopping wet tactical suit off her shoulders, teeth clanking together, goosebumps covering her shivering skin. She moved quickly to get inside dry clothes and hurried to get to the bed, laying down under the covers and tucking herself in, the blankets reaching to her nose.

Bucky was looking at her until she got under the covers and only then he started to discard his wet gear too, changing into a pair of grey sweatpants and a hoodie. He looked around the place, eyeing the couch before moving towards the bed to pick up the other pillow and a blanket that was folded by the end of the bed.

Y/n picked her head up to look at him and furrowed her brows in confusion when he picked up the pillow from beside her head. "What are you doing Barnes?" She questioned him, confusion evident in her tone just as it was etched in her face.

"Going to sleep, apparently." His reply was short and the crease between Y/n's brows only deepened more.

"No you're not!" If Bucky wasn't bothered by her question before, now he was confused too, but that didn't last long because she spoke up again. "Come on Buck, this is one perfectly big enough bed for the both of us to sleep in and it's so cold. I'll probably freeze during the night without you here."

He thought for a second about her words before speaking. "Y/n, I can't sleep with you, you know I have nightmares and I don't want to hurt you and my metal arm it's just..."

At this point he was simply rambling, but Y/n stopped him before he could get too much carried away. "Nothing is gonna happen. Just get in and lay down." She moved up the covers on his side of the bed and patted the mattress once, urging him to comply. Reluctantly he did so, despite the too many worried thoughts running in his head.

He laid down on his back, eyes fixed to the ceiling and Y/n didn't miss a second before she shifted closer to him, practically clinging to his right side. Despite the temperature of the room being under zero degrees and the still cold sheets, she could feel the warmth radiating from his body, making him a living furnace and she could only sigh in relief as a wave of warmth hit her shivering body. But as she was beginning to relax more with each passing second, he was still as stiff as the moment he laid his head on the pillow next to her.

Now while their relationship had been strictly platonic, that hadn't stopped either of them to develop secret feelings for each other. Apart from being team mates, they've been close friends for more than a year, yet both were scared to take another step forward in their relationship. Y/n was scared Bucky wasn't ready for a romantic relationship while he was still healing from all the trauma Hydra had caused to him during the decades of his captivity and Bucky was scared he'd only hurt her if he got too close to her, not trusting Hydra, not trusting his own mind.

While thoughts were occupying their heads, their bodies had minds of their own. Slowly but surely Y/n shifted even closer to him if that was possible, resting her head in his shoulder, hiding her face in the crook of his neck, the cold tip of her nose tickling his skin. Bucky moved his arm under her body to wrap it around her shoulder and keep her there. Legs tangled together in a mess of limbs, trying to get as warm as possible. Y/n let out another contented sigh before she closed her eyes.

"Good night Buck." She mumbled into his skin and he couldn't help the slight upward curl of his lips at the feeling.

"Good night."

Y/n had fallen asleep soon after, warming up next to him and moving to turn her back to him now, changing her sleeping position ever so often. On the other side of the bed Bucky was still wide awake, too scared to even consider closing his eyes and falling asleep for fear of experiencing a nightmare or worse, hurting her in his sleep.

She was so warm and inviting next to him, almost luring him to surrender to the dreamland, her hair sprawled over the faint pink pillow case. Her back was facing him and he was almost tempted to wrap his arms around her and spoon her the entire night, but he decided against it. He was perfectly content to just lay down that close to her. He couldn't dare to touch her for fear of hurting her, despite him knowing that she wasn't that delicate.

He turned slightly to the side to look at the time on his phone, white numbers reading almost two am on the dark background. He sighed and turned on his back again, fixing his eyes on the white ceiling from which a light bulb was hanging, a small static flicker of light coming to life every five to ten seconds.

His eyes however got tired sooner than he expected and he couldn't fight the sleep anymore. With a silent sigh and even more silent movements he got up from the bed and picked up the pillow and the blanket that was still folded by the end of the bed, making a b-line for the couch. He placed the pillow by the armrest and laid down, throwing the blanket over his body and curling on his side in a fetal position, trying to fit in the too small for a super soldier couch.

It was by far one of the crappiest places he'd had to lay down in his entire life, but he figured anything would be better as long as Y/n was sleeping safe and sound. He couldn't trust himself yet when he was asleep and he knew better than to risk it all and her in the way just for a wish of his heart to cuddle her in the bed.

After some more adjusting he finally managed to fall asleep, too tired to even care about the state of the couch anymore.

Y/n woke up sometime during the night - she figured it was still night by the darkness in the room and outside the window - after turning in her sleep to cuddle next to Bucky again, but when she was met with an empty space she peeled one sleepy eye open. She moved to a sitting position, straining her eyes to look around the room for her partner. Before she could see him, she heard the sounds of a light snore come from the couch and she connected the dots quickly.

She huffed in annoyance; how dare he leave her alone in such a big, cold bed?

Waking up more and with a new determination in her head she rose up from the bed and with a few quick steps she walked to the spot Bucky was sleeping. He was deeply sleeping, light snores leaving his half opened mouth and Y/n couldn't help but stare at him through the darkness of the room. She couldn't help but have her heart melt at the sight, but she was still annoyed at him for fleeing the bed.

She picked up the blanket that was covering him and carefully slipped next to him in the small space between his body and the cushion of the couch, laying mostly on top of him, seeing how small the couch was. It was barely enough for one person, let alone two, but Y/n had made up her mind.

Covering both herself and Bucky with the blanket, she closed her eyes sighing into his neck. All the shuffling and the moving almost woke him up, but he was too deep in sleep and dreaming that his mind didn't even acknowledge what Y/n was doing as reality. But when her weight was on top of him and she snuggled more to him, he instinctively wrapped both his arms around her torso.

Slowly he stirred awake, almost startled to see that Y/n was really on top of him, that it hadn't been just one of his dreams. "Y/n, what are you doing here?" He asked, voice raspy from sleep.

She let out a small huff before picking up her head that was hidden in his chest and looked at his face. "You left me alone in the bed. What was I s'posed to do?" A small hint of sadness laced in her voice as she spoke.

He chuckled at her response, before speaking up again. "Go back to bed, this is not comfortable."

"I don't mind, I am comfortable enough on top of you." A smirk appeared on her lips, one that he didn't miss despite the dark room.

There was something in her eyes, a glint shining through the darkness that Bucky couldn't quite place and he couldn't help but ask again, this time for a different reason though. "What are you doing Y/n?"

She kept staring at him, eyes not leaving his face. She knew what he meant by that question. A million thoughts were running through her head, but she got rid of them all, deciding to throw all caution to the wind before leaning down and placing a small kiss on his lips. It didn't even last more than five short seconds, but it was enough for Bucky to take matters in his own hands, tightening his hold on her waist with his metal hand, while snaking the flash one behind her neck and bringing her lips down to his again, this time in a longer, deeper kiss.

His tongue traced along her bottom lip softly, before coaxing her to open up to him and grant him access to her mouth, which she gladly did. Lips and tongues moving expertly against each other, they kissed until the need to breathe became too much, being practically forced to part from each other, but neither moved too far as he kept her on top of him, his hands not allowing her to go far. The way they were looking at each other in the darkness, more meaningful and expressive than any spoken word.

She smiled sweetly at him, her kissed swollen lips curling upwards more and more with each passing second when she spoke. "Let's go back to bed, yeah?"

"Okay." He replied slowly. "But only if you keep laying on top of me."

[lovely-ateez]

Silver Nights With You~

ꕥPosted: 12/18/20

ꕥGenre: College!au, Christmas Imagine, Fluff, Angst & Smut (You know it’s gonna end happy, I’m a sap)

ꕥPairing: FemReader! x Mingi

ꕥSummary: You get stuck in a cabin with Mingi and shit goes down( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

ꕥWord Count: ~4.9k (Holy shit I’ve never written this much before I am so sorry)

ꕥWarnings: Angst, Thigh riding, Unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it my dudes), Praise (m & f receiving),

ꕥA/N: This is the most angst I will ever write, I was genuinely on the brink of tears while writing this because I honestly can’t stand people being sad. Anyway this literally took me days to write and I really hope you all like it :)

ꕥTagging: @raysanshine​

“It’s fucking cold.” I took a sip of my hot cocoa, burying myself deeper in the mountain of blankets on my lap, glancing at the snow falling outside.

Wooyoung scoffed and spread his arms along the back of his couch, “It’s December, of course it’s gonna be cold.”

I turned back to him, “Okay, yeah, but I’m still gonna complain about it.”

“You complain about everything.”

“That is a gross over-exaggeration that portrays me in an unfair light and, frankly, you should be ashamed.”

My closest friend smiled, showing his slight dimples. His eyes drifted to my own, smile fading slightly. “What do I have to do for you to join us? Even for an hour or so?”

I sighed. Wooyoung had been bothering me about coming to our friend Yunho’s annual Christmas party for days now, but I simply wasn’t in the mood.

“I’d rather not go at all.”

“Why?”

“You know why.”

A year ago at the same party, my boyfriend Mingi broke up with me. It wasn’t a bad breakup, but it still hurt. He was set to study abroad for the next year and it just made the most sense to him, he told me. So who was I to stand in the way of his dreams? We decided to cut contact shortly after, it being too painful for us to even have small talk. We hadn’t talked since.

I’d spent the following year in a limbo, trying my hardest to enjoy my newfound independence, but ultimately failing, my thoughts somehow finding their way back to Mingi. Everything reminded me of him.

Rainy days made me think of the way he loved to dance with me in the rain, spinning me and smiling wide, warm raindrops messing up our hair. Sunny days made me think of the times we’d both take off work to have picnics, making wishes on dandelions. Stormy days made me think of how we’d cuddle up to one another and watch a trash movie, making fun of the characters’ bad choices. He was a part of me. He always would be. I suppose two years of dating does that. I suppose they take a part of you with them, too.

I told myself I healed. I told myself I was over him. But deep, deep down I knew I wasn’t. Part of me never would be.

“He won’t be there this year, if that helps at all.”

I remained silent, refusing Wooyoung a response, looking down at the carpet.

“I get it. I know what you’re going through. It really wasn’t that long ago that Aisha broke up with me.”

My eyes darted up. Wooyoung hadn’t talked about their breakup with me yet. I refused to push him, knowing he was still in pain and that he’d tell me when he was ready.

“It was for the best but I can’t pretend like I’m gonna move on soon. We were dating for a year and a half for god’s sake.” He let out a bitter laugh and turned to me, “I know it’s tough, but would you do it for me? Please come.”

“Okay.”

-

The high shrill of a female voice rang out through my phone, leading me to pull the device away from my ear.

“I knew Wooyoung could get you to change your mind!”

“Arin I get that you’re excited, but I’m gonna go deaf if you keep yelling.”

“Ack I’m sorry! I’m just so excited to see you! It’s been, what? Five months since I saw you last?”

“Yeah something like that.”

“Well anyways, I know it’s probably tough for you but I really appreciate you going. I know everyone else will, too.”

I tried to push down the longing I felt for Mingi, remembering the previous year in far too much detail.

“Yeah it’ll be nice to see them.”

“Okay I hate to cut it short but my boss might actually fire me if he finds me on my phone again.”

“You’re literally dating him. There’s no way in hell he’d fire you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

“Shh not so loud!”

I rolled my eyes, knowing I was speaking no louder than usual.

“Alright. Take care then. I’ll see you at the party.”

“Yep! Love you, girly!”

“Love you, too. See ya.”

My phone beeped, signaling the end of the call.

I checked the calendar hanging on the wall of my bedroom. Three more days till the party and I was dreading it more and more.

A knock at the door startled me and I made my way over, opening the door to find Wooyoung standing before me with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“What are you doing here?”

“What? Can’t a guy just drop by to say hello to his best friend?”

“He can, but you only do when you’re up to something. What is it this time?”

“Nothing! Scout’s honor!” He lifted a hand to make the famous three-fingered salute. 

“You were never a boy scout, dumbass.”

Wooyoung brought a hand to his chest, mocking offense, “I’ll have you know that I simply brought flowers over as a thank you for agreeing to come with us.”

“Aww really? Do you wanna come in?”

“Yeah, really. But nah I can’t stay, I just wanted to drop them off.”

“You’re sweet.”

A cocky smile formed on his face, “I know.”

He passed the flowers over to me, giving me a hug and saying his goodbyes. I watched him walk to his car, a little skip in his step, wondering how anyone could let him go.

-

I grabbed my warmest jacket and walked out to my car. Today was the day I’d been dreading for weeks. Today was the day I’d have to put on a brave face and pretend I was alright. I mentally hyped myself up as I slid into the driver’s seat.

You’ll be okay. You’re strong. You can do this.

Snow was already starting to fall and I made a mental note to be careful. After all, Yunho’s cabin was roughly an hour away.

As I drove, the snow began to fall much faster, leaving me no choice but to feel concerned. My car didn’t have four-wheel-drive and what if my car got stuck? I was only fifteen minutes away but in snow like this with such a low temperature, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk the rest of the way.

The sun had already begun to set and seeing the road becoming much harder. Only four more minutes with the current speed I was going. I could make it.

Of course, the universe wasn’t having it and my car broke down almost immediately after I had the thought.

“Fuck.”

I panicked for a brief moment, trying to start up my car with no success.

Wait. My phone.

Grabbing my phone at rapid speed, I found it out of battery.

“I literally just charged it what the hell?”

I tried my best to cope with the fact that I had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. Taking a deep breath, I opened my car door and braced for the cold wind.

Trudging through the snow storm, I felt my ears and hands begin to hurt from the cold. I could barely see where I was going, having to rely on remembering where the cabin was based on the times I had been there prior.

Eventually I spotted a cabin in the distance and kept going, feeling myself lose heat with every step.

Finally, I climbed up the stairs and reached the main doorway.

I knocked loudly against the large wooden door, silently pleading for someone to answer. After waiting a few seconds with no response I tried to turn the door knob, grateful to find it unlocked. 

I pushed the door open and entered, quickly closing it behind me. Warm air rushed over me and I never felt so thankful for indoor heating. The inside looked the same as it always did; the main door lead to the living room which had the same snow globes above the fireplace as always, the same Christmas decorations scattered throughout, and the Christmas tree in the same corner as usual.

I shivered and moved to find a blanket when I saw a tall figure enter the living room. I looked up, feeling my heart drop. Standing before me was the one man that I didn’t want to be here.

Mingi’s eyes widened and mouth opened, looking at me with surprise. It seemed both of us were frozen, unable to do anything other than look at one another.

His rich chestnut hair was longer than when I saw him last, it was parted in the center, reaching his eyes. He was wearing a fitted green sweater that complimented his honey skin and tight ripped jeans. I refused to allow myself to acknowledge how attractive he truly looked. I refused to tell myself how much I missed him and how I wanted nothing more than to jump in his arms.

“What are you doing here?” I managed to say, hating how timid my voice sounded. It’s because of the cold, I thought.

He seemed to come out of his trance, “I could ask you the same.”

“I’m here for the Christmas party.”

Mingi gave me a confused look. “The party isn’t until the twenty third.”

Annoyed, I narrowed my eyes, “It is the twenty third.”

He raised a brow and took his phone from his pocket, turning it to me, ‘December 19th’ it read.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I huffed, moving to sit down on the couch while running my hands along my arms for some sort of warmth. Mingi noticed immediately and left the room only to bring back several thick blankets.

I removed my jacket and wrapped the blankets around me as tight as I could.

“My car broke down a while back and my phone is dead. Is there anyone here that could give me a ride?” I didn’t want to spend more time with him than I had to. It hurt too damn much.

Mingi gave an apologetic smile, “I’m the only one here, actually.”

I gave the man a confused look, “Why are you here?”

“My second semester ended so I’m no longer studying abroad. I came back to visit friends but didn’t have a place to stay so Yunho has let me stay here for a few days.” He was silent for a few seconds before adding, “I was gonna leave before the party I-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. It’s fine.”

Silence.

“I would take you home if I could, but my car is being fixed right now so it isn’t here. We could call someone maybe if that-”

“Yeah that’s fine. Can I borrow your phone?”

He nodded and handed it over. I didn’t notice it when he showed me his phone before, but his lock screen was different. It shouldn’t have hurt to see that it changed from a selfie of us to a picture of him with friends I assume he made abroad. It shouldn’t have. It had been a year, I should be over him.

I opened his phone without needing a password and tried to hide a smile. He never had a password in all the time I’d known him.

Good to know some things never change.

I dialed Wooyoung’s number and pressed the call button.

“We are sorry, but at this time your service provider is out of range. Please-”

Great.

I handed back his phone, “You don’t have any signal.”

“That’s odd, we always have service here...Do you wanna charge your phone? Maybe you’ll have better luck?”

“Yeah.”

He left the room and I placed my head in my hands, trying to process seeing him for the first time in a year. He was devastatingly handsome and still as kind as always.

I really miss him, don’t I?

His voice started me, “Hand me your phone, I’ll plug it in for you.”

I passed my phone over, accidentally touching his warm hands and I felt a spark run through me which I did my best to ignore. With almost comical timing, just as Mingi reached a plug-in, the lights went out.

“Uhh...that’s not supposed to happen.”

I scoffed, “No kidding. Do we have a generator?”

“Honestly, I don’t think we do.” Mingi gave me a sad look, “It’s been snowing hard outside for hours so there’s no way we’ll be able to leave now. Even with a car.”

“Awesome. I love to hear that.”

“At the very least we’ve got food to last us a few days. We should be okay-”

“Do I look like I want to spend several days here?” I snapped.

He looked taken aback at my words and I felt a pang of regret in my chest.

“I’m not sure we have a choice.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right.

“Do you want any food?”

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“Are you hungry? I could make you something if you’d like.”

I thought for a moment. “Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind, anyway.”

Mingi shook his head, walking to the kitchen. I didn’t realize how hungry I really was until he mentioned it, so I didn’t care what he made for me.

Minutes later he placed a plate and cup on the coffee table in front of me.

My favorite sandwich and chips. He remembered.

It should have been considered kind, but it just broke my heart a bit further. It was a simple act, but it proved that he stored it in his memory.

He remembered.

“I hope it’s still your favorite. I got you your favorite lemonade, too.”

I nodded, trying to prevent tears from spilling.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what to do.”

“Lighting the fireplace would probably be a good start.”

He laughed, “Ah you’re totally right. I’ll be back with a lighter, call out to me if you need anything.”

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

Stuffing my face with the sandwich, I hummed. I always loved his sandwiches. There was something special about them, knowing that he made them for me, and this one was no different.

Mingi once again returned, this time with a lighter and a blanket, lighting the fire and sitting down on the couch across from me, wrapping himself in the blanket.

I couldn’t help but wonder how I possibly ended up in the current situation. Maybe the universe was out to get me. Who knows?

I took another bite of my sandwich, hoping I’d be able to leave soon.

-

I briefly glanced over at Mingi to find him on his phone.

Lucky. I wish I had mine so I wouldn’t be so damn bored.

The crackle of the fireplace was the only noise for what seemed like an hour. Neither one of us spoke. Growing tired of not doing anything, I stood and walked towards the fireplace to admire the snow globes. I noticed that behind the globes rested a photo album. I debated whether or not I should open it for the span of a few seconds before my curiosity got the best of me.

Opening it up, I saw pictures of all of our friends from the previous years of Yunho’s Christmas party. I began to walk back to the couch with my eyes on the book when I tripped, some of the pictures falling out. Mingi noticed and quickly rushed over to my side.

“Are you alright?” He was careful not to touch me, I noticed, but he was still right by my side.

“I’m fine, just help me pick these up.” I motioned towards the pictures scattered across the floor.

“Of course.”

We resumed our silence, picking the photos up and placing them back in the book. Noticing Mingi had stopped helping me I looked at him, prepared to make a quick jab at him for not helping, when I saw why he stopped.

In his hands he was holding a picture of the two of us kissing, dated two years prior.

I let out an empty chuckle, devoid of all humor, “I don’t know why that’s still there. Here,” I reached out to take the photo, “I’ll throw it away-”

“Don’t.” His response was immediate, taking me by surprise. He shifted awkwardly, clearing his throat, “I’d like to keep it.”

My heart felt like it stopped for a moment, hoping he missed us as much as I did.

“Why?” I asked.

Mingi smiled, still looking at the frozen image of the two of us. “Do you remember this day?”

“Of course I do.” My eyes began to water without me realizing, “That day was the first time you told me you loved me.”

His eyes found mine, sadness within them, “Yeah. Yeah it was.” His voice became horse as if he was fighting back tears.

“I didn’t want to let you go.”

“Then why did you?”

His eyes drifted down. “I was traveling halfway across the world for a year. I guess part of me thought you would meet someone else. I wanted to save myself the heartbreak in case you did.”

“I would’ve gladly stayed with you if you had asked. I have no desire to meet anyone else. Ever. You are the only one for me.” I froze, the realization of my words hitting me.

Mingi looked at me, “When I was abroad, I missed you every second of every day and I have missed you every second of every day since.” His hands cupped my face as if I was made of glass and a single tear fell down his cheek, causing my own tears to spill.

I was no longer able to speak, and so I did the only thing I could think of: I kissed him.

I kissed him with all the hurt that I felt after he left me. I kissed him with the deep love that I still felt for him. I kissed him with the fear that I’d lose him once again.

Our kisses soon grew heated, the photo album quickly forgotten, and I found my arms wrapped around his neck, hands running through his soft hair while his found their way to the bottom of my sweater, toying with it.

“Do you want this?” He growled, voice much deeper and raspier than before.

“Yes.”

With that, he pulled my sweater over my head, eyes scanning the red, lacy bra I was wearing.

His favorite.

Mingi chuckled, “This is still my favorite bra of yours.”

“I don’t know, I’ve got some new ones that are pretty hot.”

He let out a groan and began to leave kisses down my neck, setting my skin on fire.

I stopped him, needed to know one thing before we continued, “Did you...have you...since we last...?”

He smiled, “How could I? I’ve only ever been yours. Have you?”

I gave a slight smile, “No. No, I haven’t.”

I kissed him again and lifted his sweater, tossing it across the room. He had slightly defined abs when I was with him before, but they were far more prominent now. His arms were much more defined and it took all of my concentration to keep from drooling.

“Like what you see, doll?”

My voice was a borderline squeak, “Yes.”

“You still into praise, sweetheart?

I nodded, pulling on his jeans. Only slightly embarrassed with how eager I was.

“Not yet, baby.” Mingi easily lifted me to the couch and helped me remove my jeans. He grabbed my hips and placed me on his thigh, tightening his muscles as he dragged my clothed core across his own jeans. In mere seconds I became a quivering mess. I realized how truly long it had been since I’d been with anyone like this, and I had to admit I was needy.

“What a good girl you’re being for me. Aren’t you? You’re doing wonderfully, my love.”

I whimpered and pulled myself closer to him.

“Are you close, baby?”

I nodded, maybe too quickly, and felt my orgasm wash over me. I panted, already out of breath.

“Good girl.”

Bringing my lips to his I reached for his pants again and this time he helped me remove them. As I grinded down against him, he let out a deep growl.

“Let’s rid you of these, hmm?”

He eagerly removed my panties and bra and stared at me for a minute.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

I blushed fiercely. “You’re so incredibly handsome. Somehow even more so than when I saw you last.”

Mingi looked at me with a shy smile then resumed his actions. He removed his underwear and ran his length across my slit, teasing me slightly.

“Mingi, I need you.” I begged.

His eyes darkened and he entered me without hesitation. My back arched as he reached a steady pace and littered my neck with kisses, most likely leaving hickies, marking me as his.

I pulled his hair, bringing him closer to me. Mingi was always fairly vocal, but he could never get enough of me pulling his hair, always moaning in response.

He reached down and toyed with my clit, causing sparks to fly through me.

“Fuck—babe don’t stop.”

“Wasn’t—shit—planning on it, doll.”

Both of us quickly reached our high, cumming at the same time. I pressed a hand against his chest as I caught my breath.

“You’re still really, really good at that.”

Mingi laughed, “You are too, sweetheart. Oh wait-”

He got up and returned with a warm towel, cleaning me up and looking at me fondly.

“You’re cute.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mingi smiled, placing the towel aside,“Now, how about we get under some blankets? We’ll feel cold soon enough.”

I nodded and began to put my undergarments on, reaching for my sweater.

“I think not.” He said, now with his pants on, handing me his own sweater which I gladly took.

“You look hella good in my clothes, miss.”

I giggled at his choice of words, feeling happiness bubble in my chest for the first time in a long time.

“You look hella good without a shirt, mister.”

Mingi raised a brow and ticked my sides, making me squeal.

“I’ll fight you!” I yelled.

He stopped and rubbed his nose against mine, “Sorry I can’t help it. Your laugh is the most beautiful sound in the world.”

“Shut up.” I laughed, feeling shy.

He placed arm around me, nuzzling my neck.

I turned to him, worry in my eyes, “I’m really sorry for lashing out at you earlier. That’s not like me.”

He smiled, “I know it’s not. But don’t worry about it, I understand. It’s a defense mechanism I guess.”

I cuddled up to him then realized I needed to use the restroom. I tried to get up when he pulled me closer to him.

“Please don’t leave me.”

“Silly, I just have to use the restroom. I don’t want a UTI.”

He laughed aloud, “Fine but you better come right back.”

“I will,” I told him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before I walked away.

I soon looked in the mirror of the bathroom, observing my flushed cheeks and the wide smile I couldn’t seem to wipe off my face.

This girl looks happy. I think I can get used to seeing her in the mirror.

I returned and was instantly pulled back into his arms.

“I love you.”

I felt a tear run down my face, feeling beyond happy, “I love you, too. So much.”

I wasn’t sure when, but I felt my eyes began to droop, slowly falling asleep in the arms of the man I loved.

-

The day following, Mingi’s phone recieved signal and I was able to call Wooyoung. Apparently the power lines had fallen, everyone in the immediate area losing power. The nearest roads had been somehow cleared overnight and he’d be able to come pick me up.

“Wooyoung’s on his way over, apparently everyone lost power.”

“Hmm. well I, for one, am glad we did,” Mingi pulled me into a tight hug.

“Yeah, me too.”

A silence fell between us, but it was comfortable this time.

Mingi spoke up, his voice becoming playful, “I’m taking you on a date soon. There’s nothing you can do about, I’m afraid you cannot refuse.”

“As if I would refuse.”

“Mmm.” I didn’t think he could, but he pulled me even closer to him.

“Mingi you’re literally gonna break my bones.”

He let go of me, eyes wide, “Did I hurt you? Gosh I’m so sorry I can—”

“You didn’t hurt me you goof.”

“Oh good. You scared me.”

The honk of a car horn scared me and I jumped, Mingi hiding a smile.

“Call me if you need anything, okay? You’ve got my number.”

“Of course.” Giving him one last kiss before I bid him goodbye and left the cabin, hopping in Wooyoung’s car.

“Holy shit are you okay? Was anyone even home? My god I feel so bad—”

“Mingi was there.”

Wooyoung’s face froze, quickly turning into a scowl, “I swear if he did anything to you—”

“No, don’t worry about it. We’ve made up,” I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.

He didn’t say anything, he only stared at me before he spoke again, “You two totally fucked, didn’t you?”

“Wooyoung!” I slapped his arm in shock.

“You didn’t deny it!”

“Oh shut up. Just take me home.”

He playfully rolled his eyes and put the car in drive.

“Just so you know, I’m happy for you. I get why he did it but I am still a little pissed. I swear to fucking god if he breaks your heart again I will actually break his knee caps.”

“Oh I don’t doubt it. I wouldn’t worry to much about it, though.”

“If you insist, okay.”

“I do.”

-

December twenty third. The day that I had been dreading once, now one that I had been very much looking forward to. I checked my makeup and outfit once more before texting Mingi.

Me: I’m ready whenever you are!

Mingi Mango: I’m outside :)

Me: Shit, already?

Mingi Mango: Language

I scoffed, grabbing my purse and running outside to meet him.

“Babyyyyyy!” Mingi yelled as he saw me.

“Mangoooo!” I yelled back, jumping into his arms.

“How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Mingi it’s been two days.”

“But it feels like forever! You look absolutely stunning, by the way.”

“You cheese. You look really good yourself.”

“You know it,” Mingi winked and opened his passenger car door for me, “My lady.”

I was unable to keep from smiling, giving him a little kiss on the cheek and climbing into the car. The entire car ride was filled with lighthearted conversation, not a single silent moment between us.

“We’re here, doll.”

“Yes I see the cabin in front of us.” I teased him.

“Well just in case you didn’t I thought I’d let you know.” He laughed, eyes disappearing into crescents, and I felt my heart swell.

We held hands as we walked into the cabin, finding several pairs of eyes turning to us, then to our intertwined hands. I was pleased to find smiles on my friend’s faces, feeling happy that they were happy for us. Arin came running towards me at a seemingly inhuman speed and wrapped her arms around me.

“Ahhh how are you, girly? I’ve missed you so much! And you look gorgeous! I love that sweater on you! And your makeup! Wow! How’d you do that? Have you been eating well?”

“One question at a time, Arin.” I smiled.

“Sorry! I’m just so happy!”

"Me too!” I looked around, “Do you know where Wooyoung is?”

“Oh he’s out back with San. They’re having a competition to see who can build the better snowman.”

I shook my head with a smile.

At that moment she took a step back, looking at our hands. I had told her about Mingi and I dating again over the phone and she seemed happy for me, but I had to admit I was nervous to see her reaction in person.

“You,” She pointed a finger at Mingi, “If you hurt even a hair on her head I will actually fight you.”

Mingi’s eyed widened, assuring her that he would never hurt me.

She clapped her hands, “Well, good. Now that that’s over, do you all want a drink?” Arin cocked her head, the change in mannerisms throwing me a little.

“Yeah that’s fine.”

“Okay! I’ll be right back! Catch up with everyone you two!”

As if he was a ghost, Yunho appeared next to Mingi, scaring us both.

“Christ, Yunho. Give a man a warning first.”

“Sorry,” He chucked, “How are you both?”

“We’re doing well, thanks.”

“We’re happy.” Mingi turned to me and looked at me with heart eyes, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

“You all are cute. Speaking of, you haven’t met Mia, have you?”

Mingi and I exchanged confused looks.

“No, I don’t believe so. Who’s that?”

“She’s my new girlfriend. We’ve been dating for a little over a month but if I’m being honest, I’m already head over heels for this girl.” Yunho turned, calling out to a girl surrounded by people, “Mia, can you come here?”

The short brunette walked over, a smile plastered on her face as she made eye contact with Yunho.

“I’d like you to meet my friends from high school.” He introduced us and she nodded, fully invested in the conversation.

“I’ve heard a lot about you both! I’m so excited to get to know you all better!”

I smiled at her enthusiasm, “Aww you, too!”

Arin walked over and handed Mingi and I our drinks, skipping off to meet another friend.

Yunho and Mia wondered off soon after, greeting more people coming in.

“Hey I’ve got something I wanna show you.” Mingi whispered in my ear.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Come with me.”

Before I knew it, Mingi was pulling me into a bathroom and locking the door.

“I know what you’re doing, Mango.”

“And what’s that?” He asked as he leaned down to reach my neck, kissing me gently, arms resting on my hips.

“We’re at a party.” I said, whining at him but doing nothing to stop him.

“I saw that couch when we walked in, you know? I’m never going to be able to look at it the same.”

“Me either.”

My head eventually won the fight I was having with myself, and I promised that if he could wait till he dropped me off I’d be all his. It seemed to appease him as he gave me one last kiss and led us out of the bathroom. Somehow, no one noticed and I was grateful, sure that my flustered expression would certainly give us away.

“Hey, look at this.”

My eyes moved in the direction Mingi was pointing, seeing a mistletoe directly above us.

“Oh you definitely planned that.”

“And if I did?”

“I’d kiss you all the same.”

Mingi bent down to kiss me, a hand on my face, another around my waist. As I wrapped my own hands around his neck, deepening the kiss, I couldn’t help but think that this was what true happiness felt like.

Thank you, Mingi. Thank you for giving me the greatest gift of your love. Merry Christmas, my love.

[let-it-raines]

Black Velvet (Part Two)

1919. The War is over, but life is far from normal. While the imminent danger is gone for many, it is not gone for Emma Swan. Her secrets have always been dangerous and had the ability to control her, but they have never been more dangerous than now as she is forced to work undercover as a barmaid and keep her true intentions hidden from the most notorious gang leader in England.

Her life depends on it, but unfortunately for Emma, Killian Jones can read her better than anyone ever has.

Rating: Mature

a/n: I know, I know, we thought my days of you guys convincing me to continue one-shots were over 😉 In all seriousness, I did not intend to do this and wasn’t going to, but my mind started working and here we are. 

We pick up with our favorite duo (and Lee, lol) on their journey to America! Thanks to @shireness-says and @resident-of-storybrooke​ for helping me out a little on this🖤

Ao3: Part One | Part Two

Tumblr: Part One

-/-

1920.

Emma has never hated the sea more.

When she was a child, it was her favorite place in the world. The insides of orphanages and homes were dull with broken furniture and scratchy blankets, and when she could get away, she would try to find the ocean. There was a rare time in her life where she lived near the shore, and every day she breathed in the salt air and looked out onto the water with the hope that more was out there and with the hope that she wouldn’t always be so alone.

The sea was her safe haven.

Now it is her enemy.

One of many, if she’s honest. Her childhood dreams have become her waking nightmare. She’s spent fifteen days on the ocean on her way to a new country, but all she wants is to be back in England in the comfort of her bed in her grungy little flat she thought she hated. Every day feels a little closer to her last, like Gold is on her heels, a gun pressed to her temple.

Her thoughts have run wild with fear. What if he was fast enough and followed them? What if he’s on the next ship to America? What if he’s found William or Rob and hurt them?

What if he’s found her son and hurt him?

She doesn’t keep up with him, knowing that each bit of information about him breaks her a little more. She wasn’t ready to be a mother, still isn’t, and it isn’t fair to the kid for her to check up on him. She gave him up for him to have his best chance, for him to have a good life, and from what she’s seen, he’s had that.

Emma is terrified that her running away is going to strip that good life away from him, and she should have thought more about that before she allowed Killian to pay for their passage on this ship. Hopefully his parents have enough protections that everything will be fine, but she knows that just because they work in the government with Gold doesn’t mean he’s safe.

Gold will obviously betray anyone, but she hopes he has limits when it comes to a child.

Her stomach turns as they move over a rough patch of ocean, and she wraps her hands around the railings as another breeze washes over her. Her nose is red with chill, her toes curling under themselves in her boots, and suddenly the temperature warms, a solid body closing in on hers, an arm wrapping around her shoulder and pulling her closer as unshaven whiskers prickle against her temple.

“You’ll be nothing but an icicle if you stay out here, love,” Killian tells her as the ocean roars around them.

“And why would you care about that?” Emma bristles.

He sighs. “Please come back to the cabin.”

Emma pulls away from Killian, gooseflesh bubbling up her arms and a shiver wrapping around her spine. She doesn’t feel like having him near her or going back to the cabin. Escaping closeness to Killian is the reason she left the warmth of the cabin to begin with. “I don’t want to come back to the cabin.”

“You are going to freeze.”

“It is a hell of a lot warmer out here than it is in there.”

“You speak in falsities.”

She does, but she won’t admit that.

Emma cocks her head and rolls her eyes before looking at the ocean again. According to the Captain and several crew members, they should be in New York either tonight or tomorrow morning, and Emma cannot wait to step foot on dry land again. She doesn’t know what their plans are for when they get there, but she knows that even if she doesn’t stay with Killian, she has enough money to get her lodgings and food for at least a few months. She hopes that she’ll be back in England by then. Or another country in Europe.

“I don’t.”

Killian’s lips press into a firm line, and the lines on his forehead appear. She’s seen that look more than she would care for, and she doesn’t care to see it now. “Swan.”

“No. I don’t want to go back to the fucking cabin, Killian. I’ve been in there for two weeks with you and Lee, and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of having to listen to Lee complain, and I’m exhausted from having to figure out when you’re going to ignore me or not. I sleep with your chest pressed to my back every night, and I’ve never felt so alone.”

“What exactly is it that you want from me?”

Emma throws her hands up in the air as they hit another rough wave and Emma’s stomach churns. This fucking ship.  “I want you to make up your mind, Killian. Do you want to kill me for betraying you? Do you want to fuck me? Do you want both? Because I don’t know, and I need to know what I’m dealing with. Because if I’m going to die, do it now so I don’t have to suffer on this ship any longer.”

He takes a step back and crosses his arms over his chest, his coat shifting with the movement. Emma watches as his hair blows in the wind, long black strands whipping together then apart. He hasn’t shaved for these two weeks, his skin is paler, and there are purple bags underneath his eyes. Even with the striking blue, his eyes are tired, sad, and Emma likes to convince herself that he is just as confused and affected by everything like she is. He has to be, but then again, Emma has never known Killian to be unsure of anything.

His power is in his sureness. His steadiness.

It is all rocking beneath their feet.

“For fuck’s sake, I’m not going to kill you. That has never been in question.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Bloody hell! I don’t know, Swan! You cannot expect me to have everything between us figured out in a fortnight when I’m aware of the fact that I’ve known you since June and yet all of it has been a lie.”

“It hasn’t all been a lie.”

“What hasn’t been?” he counters, his voice still raised, and she notices the crowd around them turning their heads to look. Their conversation has piqued the interest of the ship, and Emma doesn’t want that. She cannot have this conversation with people watching, listening, judging her. “I need to know because I cannot be a fool who is brought down by giving my trust and my heart to someone who hasn’t bothered to do the same.”

“What you mean to say is you cannot be a fool who is brought down by a woman.”

Killian scoffs and steps toward her, pressing his hand into the small of her back. It’s a feather of a touch beneath her layers of clothes, but she can still feel it, warmth permeating through. “Let’s go back to our cabin.”

“Is Lee there?”

“No.”

Emma nods and begins walking through the crowd until they come across the staircase that leads them below deck and to their cabin. They’re in the middle of the hall, and she has to kick the door open until she’s in the small space that has nothing more than two small beds and a dresser that is bolted into the floor. There were more luxurious rooms as well as ones without privacy, but Killian didn’t want to waste money when they don’t have much of a plan for what to do when they arrive in New York. Well, he might have a plan. Before they left he managed to send a letter to Liam as well as making several phone calls, but Emma wasn’t privy to any of that information. She was still trying to wrap her head around the previous twenty-four hours of her life.

The door clicks closed behind them, and Emma settles down on Lee’s bed while Killian sits opposite her on their bed, his knees hitting hers. In reality, it’s much warmer down here, and the shivers that were taking over her begin to dissipate.

Emma loves this man sitting across from her. She loves the blue of his eyes, the quirk of his smile, the scars lining his skin. She loves the way his mouth feels when it’s on her, the way he feels inside of her. She loves the way he tells a story, the way he makes her laugh until her stomach hurts, and the way that despite their history, he makes her comfortable for the first time in her life.

No part of her is comfortable right now.

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Emma looks up from her twiddling fingers and to an expectant Killian. She doesn’t know what he wants from her or what she can give him, so she begins with the basics, the history that is unchanged no matter how much she wishes to change it. “I was born in Brighton. I don’t know of my parents. I was raised in homes until I left to be on my own at sixteen. That’s when I became pregnant, and everything after that has been me working for Gold. He gave me my education out of necessity for the job, and everything I own has been his doing. A part of me sometimes feels like everything I am is his doing.” Emma shrugs and clasps her hands together. “I can’t think of any specific lie I’ve told you. I have learned it’s easier to keep track of things if I only tell the truth, even if it means cutting some details short. The only lie was my intentions and why I walked into My Fairest Lady.”

“How old are you now?” Killian asks.

“I turned twenty-four in October.”

He hums and leans back, closing his eyes so his dark lashes fall against his cheeks. “So Gold has had you under his thumb for eight years then?”

“Yes.”

“He’s a coward of a man,” Killian growls, but his eyes stay closed. “His wife, my Milah, was tired of the way he paid her no attention. She wanted out of the marriage. She wanted…she wanted to do many things with her life, but he wouldn’t let her leave. When she did, he murdered her in front of me and then set the building on fire. I nearly lost my hand trying to save her. I’ve never understood why he went away after that, why he was waiting to catch me in an illegal act. He could have pulled the trigger at any moment, but he didn’t.”

“Do you have an idea as to why?”

One eye opens, and his foot hooks around her ankle. “I think he believed that living on the edge of fear would be a greater torture than instant death, but I fear neither him nor death. He should fear me for what I’m going to do when I see him again.”

The venom in Killian’s voice has Emma’s shivers return. This is a man set out for vengeance, a man who wants to take a life, and as much as she would like to do the same for all Gold has done to her, she doesn’t know if she can.

Emma has feared death for years, and all she wants is to live without shackles holding her down.

“How do you despise Gold but love me?” Emma asks. “I worked for him. I could have been the reason you were murdered.”

“You had no choice, love.” He leans forward, invading her space, and his breath comes up in a white puff of air between them. She can smell the rum he must have had earlier. “I never once thought I would love again after Milah. My heart was black, and there was no room for that sort of thing, especially after the War. My only job in life is to keep the Jones Corporation alive and make sure it continues when I’m gone, but then you walked into the pub and sang as you poured a drink for Leroy. Something shifted inside of me then. I cannot give you my full trust, love. Not yet. And I cannot guarantee that there will be no strife between us because I am still trying to figure what the hell is going on in my mind, but I would like to imagine there is a world where you and I can have the simple pleasures in life.”

He leans back and laughs, clicking his tongue. “Well, at least on occasion. I don’t think you and I are set for a life with a white picket fence and nothing to worry us.”

“I’d like that,” Emma smiles, “I think. It’d be nice not to worry.”

Killian leans forward and reaches his hand out. She takes it and is pulled into him, settling her knees on either side of his hips and she settles in his lap. His lips ghost over the bare skin of her neck, his hand tugging away her scarf until there’s more skin for him to devour, and Emma lets him. She does not know what is between them or what will come next, but for now, she can forget about all of that.

She hasn’t felt good like that for two weeks, and the chill that’s been constant on her skin has been both from the ocean and from Killian, his shoulder turned to her even when he’s pressed against her.

“Swan,” he whispers, almost reverent, as her hands reach underneath his coat and start to take it off. “What are you doing?”

“Do you have to fully trust me for us to do this?”

His breath is warm against her, his teeth sharp with her skin, but his nose is soft as it presses into the hollow of her throat to speak. “No.” He helps her push his coat off, and now she can feel the muscles in his back. “You don’t have to fully trust me either, love, but one day, we’ll do this with no barriers between us.”

Emma’s nails scratch against his skin. “What a glorious day that will be.”

Killian kisses her until she’s dizzy, touches her until she’s breathless, and he moves inside of her until she’s fully warm, sweat beading at her temples and the small of her back. Killian’s weight above her is a comfort, his hand on her thigh is a guide, urging her to lift it higher so he can sink deeper, and his voice is a melody of a song that is familiar but the lyrics are floating away, so close, but far enough away for her to not be able to reach.

She doesn’t care.

Not when she finally might have someone who could want to be hers.

“Oi, did you see what they’re serving in the dining hall?” Lee groans as he pushes his way into the room with little preamble. “It’s nothing more than stale bread. I – oh, fuck off,” he mumbles as Killian shifts over Emma to cover her and pulls the sheets over his arse. He chuckles into her neck, and Emma presses her lips to his cheek. “I have to share this cabin with the two of you. Have a little compassion.”

“Lee, go back to the fucking dining hall and get us some bread,” Killian mumbles, pulling away from her neck and winking.

“Did you not hear me when I said it was stale?”

“Are you so obtuse that you do not realize that the lady and I need our privacy?”

“I expect my own room whenever we get to New York.”

“You’ll be lucky if I don’t leave you on the streets. Now go.”

Lee curses underneath his breath, but he quickly leaves the room, the cabin door clicking behind him. Killian’s jaw clenches, and Emma reaches up to caress it, her fingers dancing along his skin, coaxing him back to her.

“Would you really leave your brother in the streets in a foreign country?”

“Eh,” Killian clicks his tongue, “possibly. He has a few lessons he needs to learn.”

Emma sighs and closes her eyes before pressing her lips to the underside of his jaw. “Promise me you won’t leave Lee on the streets…unless he insults me because I’m a woman again. Then he can spend some time away from us.”

“That is a promise I can make,” Killian chuckles.

-/-

When they step on dry land the next day, Emma’s legs nearly crumble beneath her. America is a foreign land, and while the soil should feel the same as England, it doesn’t.

She doesn’t know how it feels or what to feel, and Emma doesn’t fully process everything that happens once they leave the ship. She fills out papers, careful only to give as much information as is necessary, and she watches as Killian puts in false information. She should have done the same, but it’s too late now.

Hopefully Gold will never make the voyage here and if he does, he won’t come through this port and check the records.

She doesn’t know where to go, but Killian does, taking them to a line of smaller boats that are going to take them into Manhattan. The thought of getting on another boat makes her stomach queasy, but she does it anyway, keeping her luggage in her lap. When they’re on land again, they start walking, wandering through bustling streets that are full of more people than Emma ever saw in Birmingham. As they move and her feet begin to ache in her boots, she watches as the clothes and the hair change, going from dull and much like hers to bright and extravagant. The buildings change too: fresh paint, doormen, nice cars waiting on the outside. It’s two different worlds, and from everything she’s heard, there are more worlds within this place. It’s divided between classes and race, and Killian walks through every section like he belongs.

He knows not a soul, but Emma swears some who pass by look as if they know who he is, what he does.

The chill that runs down her spine and makes residence there returns as she thinks once more of why they are here, of what they’re running from.

She’s been running for her entire life, but she’s never run this far.

She’s never had someone to run with.

They stop at a small restaurant for something fresh to eat, the aroma of fresh baked bread overpowering the scents of the city, and Emma nearly melts into the leather booth that sits by a warm fire. Killian orders their lunch, nicely cooked beef with a heavy soup and bread, and the taste is so miraculous that even Lee is quiet for the duration of the meal. He’s been complaining, wishing he would have stayed back in England and traveled to see Liam and Elsa instead of coming to America, but unless he wants to get back on the ship and travel back now, he is stuck with them.

Emma isn’t too fond of the kid, but at the end of the day, he is still a kid who has time left until he’s technically a man. Even growing up in times of war in a family that is entrenched in crime and danger, he still has the soft edges of a child who has been raised without a mother and is searching for someone to guide them.

Emma would know. She’s been searching for her entire life, and she did not have any brothers to surround herself with.

The couple who owns the restaurant comes to say hello and ask if they would like any more food, and when they hear the differing accents, they begin to ask questions. It puts Emma on edge, as if these two people who radiate kindness could know they are on the run, and she doesn’t like to answer with anything more than the minimum. Killian is much better at talking to them, eloquently giving them enough information without giving too much, and she does not fail to notice the way he keeps her left hand in his, hidden underneath the table.

“My wife and I are thrilled to be starting a new life here,” Killian tells them, squeezing her hand, a silent request for her to play along. “It seems we’ve already picked the greatest restaurant in the city to dine in, so we are off to a wonderful start.”

“Oh, how long have you two been married?” the woman, a petite brunette with short hair asks.

“Newlyweds,” Killian answers. “What about the two of you?”

“David, how long has it been now? Five years?”

“It was five years in October.” David kisses his wife’s temple, and Emma moves closer to Killian, glancing at him in an attempt to see what angle he’s playing. “Best five years of my life.”

“And you’ve opened up this damn fine establishment in this time?”

“If only,” Mary Margaret laughs, holding her hand to her chest. “My parents own several businesses across the city, and when we were married, they gave David a few of their finer dining establishments to manage. Where are you two living? We could give you all of the best recommendations.”

“We haven’t figured that out yet, love, but I’m sure we will find a place.”

“Stay with us!” Mary Margaret suggests, rising on her toes in excitement.

“Pardon?” Killian asks as Emma coughs on her drink and Lee kicks his leg under the table.

“Stay with us,” Mary Margaret repeats. David doesn’t look thrilled at her suggestion, but she’s powering on. “We live in an apartment a few blocks away, and it is far too big for just the two of us. You could have your own bedrooms, bathrooms, and living area. We would have to share the kitchen, but I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem, would it, honey?”

“We couldn’t impose,” Killian insists, laying on every ounce of charm he has with his smile.

“My wife won’t take no for an answer, so believe me, you wouldn’t be imposing. We’d love to help get you on your feet. Maybe one day if we make it over to England, you two could be our guide.”

“Absolutely, mate,” Killian promises, squeezing Emma’s hand.

-/-

When Mary Margaret mentioned her family owning several businesses and restaurants, Emma knew they were wealthy. It was obvious in the way the woman dressed and the way she spoke, but as Emma sits on a bed with blankets as soft as silk and as warm as every coat she has ever owned, she is taken aback by the luxury of the place they are in. Emma has never been in a palace, but she imagines the Nolan flat is similar. Everything is ornate, no detail left unchecked, and being inside here is a different world than the outside. Even where the city is bustling and bright, there is still a darkness to it with the rarity of nature. It’s not Birmingham with its lack of sun and smog-coated air, but there are similarities.

This flat is a world away from any place she has ever stayed, and she imagines once they leave, she’ll never return.

If she’s honest with herself, Emma is worried her clothes are going to ruin the furniture every time she sits down.

“Emma,” Mary Margaret calls as she enters the room, a basket in her arms. “I know you likely have your own things, but I figured you could use some soaps and lotions. I also brought a robe. I have several, and I can only wear one at a time.”

“That really isn’t necessary.”

“I insist.” She walks a little further into the room and places the things on a low table. “The boys are having a drink together and talking business. You know how men do. So I figured I could make sure you’re comfortable.”

“This is the nicest place I’ve ever been inside, so yes, I am more than comfortable.”

“Good.” Mary Margaret smiles, and sits down on the arm of a sofa. “Listen. I don’t know if you’re interested in working or if Killian is the breadwinner for you and Lee, but if you are, I have connections with every department store and several offices where you could be a secretary. What did you do back in England? Did you work? I know it is rare for married women to work, but I take you for a rare woman.”

“I was a barmaid,” Emma lies. She was, technically, but for years before that she was blackmailed into being a spy. A part of her doesn’t feel free of that yet. “I was a barmaid and sometimes I would clean homes.”

“Oh, well, if you want to work in one of our restaurants, I could arrange that. Or you don’t have to do anything at all. What does your husband do?”

Emma blanches, and she inhales to calm her breathing. “He produced rum, owned a few pubs. It’s a family trade, actually. After the War, Killian and his older brother took over, but Killian wanted to explore the world for a little while and allow Lee to experience new things and mature. I don’t think Lee expected that would mean traveling with the two of us.”

“Is that how you and Killian met? At one of his pubs?”

“Yes.” Emma nods and smiles, rubbing her hands up and down her arms to smooth away the gooseflesh. “That’s how we met.”

“Do you not wear a ring?”

Emma’s fists clinch, and she attempts to hide her left hand, wrapping it under her arm. “Oh, it’s in my luggage. I didn’t want to risk losing it or having someone take it off my hand.”

Mary Margaret nods and returns Emma’s smile, hopefully believing her lie. “Anyhow, I don’t mean to be intrusive. I’ll leave you to bathe and take care of yourself. Would you like to have breakfast with me in the morning?”

“I would love that.”

Once Mary Margaret has left the room, Emma rises from the bed and collects the things she left. The bathroom is connected to the room, and the tile is cold against Emma’s feet. The bathwater is warm, however, the lotions all smell of vanilla and apples. After she’s bathed, Emma’s skin is softer than it’s ever been, and the dark shadows that have been lingering underneath her eyes for two weeks have begun to fade. She’s clean and comfortable, and she melts into the sheets when she gets into bed. Emma doesn’t know what time it is when Killian sulks into the room, but what she does know is that he never comes to bed. Instead, he sleeps on the chaise in the corner of the room and she’s left with no warm body pressed into hers.

Emma’s confusion grows, but at the moment, all she cares about is how she is sleeping with solid ground beneath her.

-/-

There’s a note and a box sitting next to her head when she wakes up the next morning.

Wear this. The Nolans are traditional. That is why I said we were married in the eatery. I realized in my conversations with David that we would need rings and to discuss a few details to align our stories. I don’t want to take advantage of them or their kindness, but as you well know, sometimes lies can be used to get us what we need.

Killian.

Emma squints her eyes to see if the words change, but they don’t. The words don’t change, and Killian’s lack of presence in the room doesn’t change either. She doesn’t know what time it is or where he is, but she knows he’s not here.

She also knows that inside the black velvet box is a ring, a gold band holding up a round emerald stone. It’s delicate and intricate, and even with her untrained eye, she knows it is real.

-/-

Emma’s day is spent with Mary Margaret in the flat and in another one of their restaurants where they eat lunch. They chat and wander around, and Mary Margaret shows Emma her collection of books as well as some paints and fabrics she uses to occupy her time when she cannot drive to her family’s land where they have horses and a bow and arrow course where Mary Margaret apparently likes to spend much of her time.

Emma never would have figured the woman for enjoying so much time outdoors, and the past near decade of Emma’s life has been spent reading people for their secrets.

Killian returns long after the sun has set, Lee and David with him, and David informs all of them that Killian will now be handling the books at several restaurants until he establishes himself in the city. Lee will work as waitstaff when he can, but they want to work on him enrolling in University.

It all sounds great, but to Emma, it sounds like she’s been left out and that she’ll have to piddle around all day with nothing to do but talk about fabrics and the latest fashions with Mary Margaret.

Emma isn’t used to not working, and she’s going to need something to occupy her time if she doesn’t want her mind to run wild. Working in a department store or as a secretary sounds dreadful, but she may have to take the offers she can get.

-/-

“Do you like it?”

“Hmm?”

“The ring. Do you like it?”

Emma glances down at the stone on her finger, the heavy weight she’s been fiddling with all day, and she turns back to Killian as his arms wrap around her waist and his lips press into her neck.

“It’s beautiful. Where did you get it? How did you get it so early in the morning?”

“I have my ways.”

“Killian.”

He doesn’t say anything back, instead kissing her until no thoughts are left in her brain and no clothes are left on her body. They fall into the back and forth, the push and the pull, and Emma’s left breathless as she moves on top of him, every problem melting away into the firmness of Killian and the comfort she feels with him.

The pleasure too, especially when his head is buried between her thighs, and Emma can do nothing more than hold onto his hair as tightly as she is holding on the sheets.

-/-

When she wakes up in the morning, he’s gone, and she’s not sure if he slept next to her or not. The blanket hanging over the chaise makes her think otherwise.

-/-

Emma takes the next few days to explore the city. As kind as Mary Margaret is, she cannot spend all of her time with the woman, and she certainly cannot commit to a job when she isn’t sure which would make her less miserable. So, she walks and explores, listening to people play music from street corners and coax people into their stores. It’s as if the people never sleep and more and more come in each and every day. Emma thrives in it, even if she stays in the corners and observes.

So much of her life has been spent with a gun pressed to the back of her head, and for once, she has been relieved of the cold weight of the metal.

She isn’t sure how to deal with any of it.

Days begin to pass, and Emma spends many of them wandering, even more of them sitting by a large window with a pile of books next to her as she stares out at the snow falling outside and coating the streets with a white powder. Killian comes and goes, sometimes coming back for meals in the middle of the day, sometimes not, and a week after arriving, Emma tells Mary Margaret she would love to work in one of their eateries as a barmaid or a server, even if that is uncommon in America.

That’s when all hell breaks loose, and the government passes laws about the sale of alcohol.

The prohibition, they call it.

Bloody pointless, Killian calls it.

Every night at dinner, Killian and David discuss how not being able to sell alcohol is affecting the restaurants. Mary Margaret’s father comes by one night in a rage of fury that is only quenched when he realizes Killian, Emma, and Lee are there, and it seems that the little slice of paradise they’ve found may be disappearing.

“Should we look for somewhere else to stay?” Emma asks as she rubs lotion down her arms, vanilla filling the bathroom. “I know the Nolans will never lose their money because they owned more than pubs and eateries, but I can’t help but feel we’re taking advantage of them.”

Killian moves a blade across his jaw as he stares in the mirror. “The only lie we’ve told them is about the state of our relationship, love.”

“That’s quite the lie.”

“I don’t think it’s too far fetched.”

Emma turns to him and crosses her arms over her chest. “We are not married, Killian. We are so far from married that we don’t sleep in the same bed. Actually, I take that back. From what I’ve heard of some couples, we might as well be married in that you fuck me and then leave. So I guess you’re right. We’re not lying to them.”

He doesn’t flinch. Instead, he finishes his shave and puts the blade down near the sink before turning to her with a clenched jaw and fire in his eyes. “What is it you’re trying to say, Swan?”

“I don’t think I have to bloody explain it!”

Killian cocks his head to the side and mirrors her, crossing his arms over his bare chest. “So, you’re cross that I’m not sleeping in the bed with you?”

“I think it’s preposterous that you sleep in a chaise when we have a bed.”

“I think that’s not what you’re truly mad about.”

“Well, what would you know about what I think?”

“You’re an open book, Swan. I’ve told you that before, and I’ll tell you again. You try to hide how you feel, but you cannot do that from me.”

“Well, that makes you a real arse because then you would know that I’m not happy to be wandering around this place all day with Mary Margaret. I’m not someone who is meant to be a housewife.”

“I thought you were tending the bar at – ”

“I obviously lost that job, Killian. We can’t sell liquor.”

Emma turns away from him and catches a look at herself in the mirror. Her hair is long and soft, brushed out and curled, and it’s never been like this, never this smooth and well taken care of. Half a month in a new place, and she already looks like a different person.

“I don’t like not having work,” Emma continues, “and I don’t like that I’m in a new country and the man I came here with runs off and spends all his time in business I know nothing about.”

Killian scoffs and drops his hands to his sides. “Need I remind you that we are here because you got yourself involved with Gold.”

“Need I remind you that you slept with his wife and are a gangster. I didn’t make him come after you like that. You know I had no fucking choice, Killian. I was trying not to die or to have my son killed! You have always had a choice in your actions. This is not my fault.”

“You betrayed me,” Killian says, his voice steady even as his fingers twitch, the ring on his left hand catching the light from the lamp above. “You betrayed me. You worked with my enemy, you lied to me for months, and you made me believe you were getting close to me because you fancied me. Little did I know that it was because you were trying to learn all of my secrets so I could be carted off to prison while you continued to live your life.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“I know.”

Emma throws her hands in the air and covers her face, trying to regulate her breathing to calm her breath.

She is not successful.

“So what do you want, Killian? I can’t keep having this conversation. I can’t keep walking on the edge of a cliff. I want some stability. I want to not be terrified all the time, and not knowing where I stand with you terrifies me. If it would be better for us to part ways, let’s part ways. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling like you’re never going to trust me. I’m tired of us running in circles and not solving anything.”

Killian moves her hands away from her face, calloused fingers cupping her chin and tilting her gaze up to his. His eyes are still dark, his mouth still firm, but there’s a softness there that wasn’t there before. “I am not an honorable man, love, and you deserve better than me. You deserve to live a good life with a man who can give you everything your heart desires and who doesn’t have so many secrets.”

“Tell me your secrets,” Emma whispers. “Tell me, and I’ll tell you the rest of mine. That’s the only way we can make this work, and if we can’t, I can find my way back home or to a new place. I’ve always been on my own, and I don’t have any problem with that.”

Killian leans his head forward and presses his forehead against hers, wet hair dripping onto her. “I should hate you. You should hate me for how I’ve treated you over the past month, for how I treat others.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“No?”

“I think you’ve been a right bastard lately, but I also think I deserve it.”

“You don’t.” Emma chuckles, and Killian presses his nose further into her cheek. His lips inch closer, but they don’t touch, not yet. “We’re fucked up, Swan. There’s no way around that.”

“But we could be less fucked up if we tried.”

Killian huffs and gently kisses her. “Will you come to bed with me?”

“Well, as long as we get into bed and not your chaise.”

“Aye, I think that sounds like a better plan. The bloody thing has been straining my back.”

Nothing about their relationship has ever been normal, and as they settle under the covers of their oversized bed, Emma is once again reminded of that. They’ve never had this, not like this. They had their night in the pub, which was interrupted, and then they were forced to share space on the ship. Here, Killian has only come to bed for sex, and then he’s moved to his own space.

This is foreign, especially as Emma rolls over to face Killian and finds him already looking at her with his hand reaching out for her hip underneath the covers.

“The night we first slept together,” Emma begins, “why’d you have to get that gun that night?”

He slowly blinks. “Rob needed it the next day for a job, and it wouldn’t have been smart to go digging in graveyards in the daylight.”

“What was the job?”

Killian raises his brow. “Someone made an attempt on his lady’s life, and he needed to take care of it. I was the only one who knew the location of the guns, so it had to be me who retrieved it.”

Emma nods and moves an inch closer as Killian’s thumb traces circles on her hip. “Will you tell me more? About everything? As if I was one of your brothers and in the inner circle?”

Killian huffs and squeezes her hip. “You are certainly not one of my brothers, and thank fuck for that.”

“So crude,” Emma laughs.

“I’ve never claimed to be otherwise. My life isn’t pretty. Are you sure you want to hear it all?”

“No secrets,” Emma repeats. “That’s what I want. Keeping them has gotten us nowhere.”

So, he tells her. He tells her of how his family has been in the business for generations. They used to be wealthier, but they fell apart under his grandfather’s guidance. His father, who Killian holds no affection for, was ruthless and his ruthlessness elevated the Jones Corporation to the levels it once held in the past. He made the relationships with the coppers, figured out how to hide illegal dealings in legal ones, and it is with all of his teachings that Killian learned everything he knows.

It is with Killian’s hatred of him that Killian has learned to do everything better than his father.

It is his love of his mum that kept Killian from living his entire life in the pursuit of money and revenge. After he lost Milah, all he wanted was revenge on Gold and every person who had done him wrong, but then the War happened and Killian saw more evil in the world than he had ever seen before. It changed him, and while violence is still necessary in his line or work, he does everything he can to avoid it or minimize the carnage.

Killian tells her so much of everything she’s never heard before, and as each minute passes, the man in front of her changes, a chameleon that she is attempting to keep up with.

She does the same.

She tells him everything she can think to tell in the dark of night when sleep is creeping into the edges of her eyes, and she knows in the morning she won’t remember each word she utters and each story she tells. But in the morning her heart will be lighter, and maybe, just maybe, she and Killian can be lighter too.

For good this time, with all of the trust they did not have when exchanging stories on the ship.

-/-

He drives her across the city in the morning, not telling her the destination, but she recognizes Harlem and the way it differs from Fifth Avenue almost immediately. The buildings are smaller, not as luxurious, the people are more diverse, and the streets are filled with children playing and more street performers than in the main parts of Manhattan.

It is more like what Emma is used to, and it creates a stark divide between the wealthy and the normal.

She imagines she would like to live here more than in the Nolans’ flat.

“Was that Lee?” Emma asks as they drive past a small block of apartments. “Isn’t he supposed to be in classes?”

“He gets time off, and the lass he fancies lives here. That is not what I’m trying to show you no matter how interesting the lad’s love life may be.”

What he is trying to show her is an empty café, the black and white tile work half done but no one around to finish it. Despite the obviously new tile, it looks abandoned. “What is this place?”

Killian takes her hand, interlacing their fingers, and walks her through the café and toward the back wall. He presses against it. There’s a click, and then the wall is sliding open. Killian guides her through the hidden door, which makes her heart ache for the My Fairest Lady back home, and then they’re walking down a hallway and down a set of stairs until they’re in what looks like a combination of a pub and a dance hall. It’s darker and full of stained wood, and the lights are dim. There are no windows, but she does see several doors behind curtains and counters.

“Killian – ” Emma begins as he turns on more lights. “Killian, please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

He turns to her and flashes his trademark smile, the one that could get her to do anything without a word muttered from his lips. “It’s a speakeasy.”

They’ve been popping up across the city ever since the ban on liquor was announced, and she should have known this is what Killian has been doing.

Emma shakes her head. “You’re a scoundrel.”

“Dashing rapscallion. I prefer that.” He winks and takes both of her hands in his. “I don’t know how long we’re going to be here. I’ve wired and written Liam and Will, and they both say they’ve heard whispers of Gold searching for me, for us. Liam is staying in France for a longer time to protect Elsa. Will and Rob are taking care of the businesses. I don’t have everything figured out yet, but I thought we should make the best of our time here.”

“You’re going to get arrested. You don’t have the coppers in your pockets here. Do you know what you’re doing?”

“This is who I am, Emma. This is what I do. I find ways to maneuver around the bloody system when I can. I know many a lass expects a man to change and become softer when he falls in love, but I do not want to give up who I am.”

“I would never ask you to do that.”

“Then trust me,” he insists, cocking his head and smiling, a real, genuine smile this time. “I know what I’m doing, and this is an opportunity for me, for us. If I don’t do it, someone else will. You can help me. You can be by my side, fully this time. It’ll be similar to how I ran things back home.”

“That nearly got you killed.”

“I don’t think a spy is going to maneuver her way into my life and seduce me.”

Emma tilts her head back with laughter. “She better not.”

Killian tugs her closer until they’re pressed together, and he glides his lips over hers as his hand slides down her back and rests in the dip. He’s gentle and demanding all at once, and he could convince her of anything with one kiss.

One kiss, one smile, one turn of phrase.

“We make quite the team, love.”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

-/-

Over the next few weeks and months, Emma watches as Killian works his magic on this place. Out front, construction continues on the café, a place that will sell sandwiches, sweets, tea, and coffee at a quick pace to compete with other cafes, and in the hidden halls behind and below, the dark room is finished and transformed into a pub that Emma would have wandered into in England with little question. It’s beautiful, and when it’s full of people and records are at full blast, Emma can feel the life vibrating through her skin.

New York City is unlike any place she’s ever been before, more alive than any place else, but hidden in the back of a café with Killian’s arm around her waist and a drink in her hand as people dance around her, Emma knows that she partially feels that way because of the man she’s with.

He brings out color in things that are black and white, and she could dance and laugh with him forever.

The money comes in like nothing she’s ever seen, and Liam brings in barrels of rum and whiskey from England. It’s a coordinated effort that nearly goes awry at the port, but they manage it. For a week, Liam, Lee, and Killian are reunited, and since Liam brought Elsa, Emma takes her to meet Mary Margaret, who insists on taking them shopping and to get their hair done before they dine in a park, the new spring flowers beginning to bloom. Mary Margaret and David have no idea as to what goes on behind the scenes of one of their businesses, and Emma hopes they never do. She’s grown overly fond of the couple, and they’re good people. She doesn’t like taking advantage of that kindness, and after much warring in her heart, she’s decided that she won’t tell them about any of it. Their ignorance is for their safety.

That isn’t a thought she has too often, though. She’s too busy helping Killian by making sure everything runs smoothly. Every day more people come to their speakeasy. Lately, it’s been full of singers and actors who are in the pictures and on Broadway, and Emma knows they’re gaining a reputation as one of the best places for drinks and music. As good as business is, that also comes with its own dangers. With more notoriety comes more of a chance of the coppers finding out, but with his impossible charm, Killian has managed to get them in his pocket as well. It hasn’t been easy, and there have been times when she’s not sure Killian is going to return to their bed at night.

He always does, laying a kiss on her cheek before he falls into a slumber right before the sunrise.

Elsa and Liam return back to Europe after a wonderful week, taking Lee with them after his schooling period finishes, but Emma and Killian don’t join them on their return. Rumors of Gold run rampant through Birmingham. Few have seen him, but Liam told Killian yet again that the threat on his life is still prominent. It would be better to stay until they can locate Gold and take care of their problem. Liam looked at Emma with disgust when he said it, like every danger toward Killian was her own fault, but she knows that Gold’s history with Killian predates Emma. His deciding to murder Killian, however, does not, and she never allows that to slip from her mind. Emma doesn’t think Liam likes her much, likely thinks her too much trouble, and she wouldn’t disagree.

She never was too fond of Liam, but after he assures her that her son is safe with his parents living life completely unaware of his birth mother’s troubles, she thinks she has never loved anyone more.

She won't let anything bad happen to that child. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself.

When Mary Margaret announces she’s pregnant in May, Killian makes the decision that he and Emma are going to move to their own place. The Nolans insist that they stay. They like having them around, but it truly is the best for them to find their own home. Emma promises that she will see Mary Margaret every week and that she will be sure to shower her baby with all of the finest things.

“Are you two thinking about children?” Mary Margaret asks as she cradles her bump. “You would be a wonderful mother, Emma.”

“Maybe someday,” Emma insists, trying to keep her voice steady when it wants to waver. “Maybe someday.”

Killian takes her hand, warm palm over the cool metal of her ring, and squeezes before guiding her out of the Nolans’ apartment and to the car that’s waiting to take them to their new home, a brownstone away from Fifth Avenue but still close enough that Emma can easily walk everywhere she needs to go.

Their furniture has already been placed, food stocked in the cupboard and the icebox, and while now would usually be the time for them both to go to the café, Killian assures her that someone else is taking care of it for the night. They can take the night off to relax into their new home and make it theirs.

Emma quickly learns what he means by that when his hand cups the back of her head as he pushes her into the door. She laughs into the kiss as Killian murmurs filthy words, but soon she’s breathless. Each touch, each whisper, each kiss builds her higher, and by the time they’re in their bed and stripped out of their clothes, Emma is dizzy in the desire for it all.

As she moves above him, each thrust of his hips and movement of hers bringing them closer, all Emma can think about is how she’s home.

This is her first true one, and it is nothing like any of her dreams told her it would be.

“I love you,” she whispers to Killian as her nails leave red marks on his chest.

“And I you,” he promises, bringing her down to meld their lips together.

-/-

Emma’s staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, soft sheets strewn over half her body, and Killian’s leg is half hooked over hers, his breathing coming down from heavy until she can barely hear it at all. Emma reaches out for him, placing her hand on his chest, and Killian reaches for it and brings it to his lips to kiss.

“Do you like your ring?” he asks.

“Hmmm?”

“Your ring. Do you like it?”

Emma lifts her hand away from Killian’s and moves her fingers, watching the gold and emerald glint in the lamplight. For so long this ring felt foreign on her. It felt like more of a lie than it was, but now, when she takes the ring off to bathe or to clean, it’s as if something is missing from her.

“It’s beautiful.” Emma flips over onto her stomach, her breasts pressing against Killian’s chest, and she props herself up on her elbow to look both at Killian and the ring. “How did you get it so quickly? You left it by the bed so early in the morning. I don’t think any jewelers were open before the sun rose, and you didn’t answer the first time I asked.”

He clicks his tongue and presses his head back to the pillow. His hair is messy from where her hands were running through it, and she can see some of the lines around his eyes and the few that have started to form on his forehead. She realizes now that she has no idea how old he is. He was born in August, but she doesn’t know what year. He asked her about her age, but she never thought to do the same.

“It was my mum’s.”

Emma stops tapping her fingers against his chest and looks at Killian. “What?”

“Your ring was my mum’s. She had it made for herself, and she wore it every day. When she was sick, she gave Liam her wedding ring, and she gave me this one. We were instructed that we were to give the rings to the women we married, and, well…”

Killian arches his brows, as if he wants Emma to fill in the blanks, and Emma drops down and rests her hands on his chest and her chin over her knuckles so her eyes are on the same level as him.

“We’re not married.”

“Aye, but…” Killian tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, and his left hand finds her back, cool metal running against her skin. “We could be. I could make an honest woman out of you.”

“I think you and I both know neither of us will ever be honest.”

Killian chuckles. “We’re honest with each other, and that’s enough for me.”

Emma’s heart is beating in a faster rhythm than a jazz band, and yet, she feels calm.

She feels steady, and her home is so much more than the four walls around them.

“Would you really want me as your wife? All I seem to do is get you into trouble.”

“Ah, but I love trouble.” His hand slides further down her body and squeezes her arse. “And you only get me into the best kind. So, what do you say, Emma Swan? Would you like to marry me?”

“Yes.”

-/-

They get married a week later in the park near their home. Killian wears a suit that isn’t in his daily rotation and Emma wears a white dress with silver beads sewn into it that she found while walking to the café two days before. It’s simple, intimate, and if Emma is honest with herself, not much changes other than her last name.

Emma likes it that way.

She likes her life.

She loves her husband.

“One round of drinks on the house,” Killian exclaims in the speakeasy that night as a band plays loudly in the background. “But only the one. I’m not made of gold.”

There’s a chorus of cheers around them, and Killian nods to the bartender before wrapping his arm around her waist and pressing his lips to her check, stubble scratching against her skin.

“Well, aren’t you generous?” Emma teases. “What’s the occasion?”

“Married the bloody love of my life today.”

“She sounds wonderful.”

“Aye,” he winks. “The best.” Killian pulls her closer and moves his lips over hers in a dirty kiss. “Most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Most intelligent too.” He kisses her again, then moves to her jaw. “Witty and wild and fierce.”

“Wild?” Emma sighs, tilting her neck back to give him more access.

“You wouldn’t believe the things she gets up to. I hear she had the bollocks to become friendly with gangsters.”

“Who would ever do that?”

“She would.”

Emma laughs and presses her fingers against Killian’s chest, tugging on his jacket sleeves to pull him even closer. “You have a private office here, right?”

He arches his brows. “Aye.”

“You might consider taking me to it.”

“Mrs. Jones, you need only ask.”

She and Killian walk through the crowd of people, stopping to say hello to everyone along the way, before they move past a wall of beads hanging from the ceiling and several doors that lead them to Killian’s back office. It’s filled with files for the speakeasy and from the café, his legitimate and illegitimate businesses combining in one place, and Emma shakes her head when she sees it all. How has he managed to pull this off?

How have they?

The door clicks behind her, several bolts shifting as it locks, and the heat of Killian catches up on her as he moves behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, breathing her in and slowly swaying her. Emma sighs back into him and tilts her head to look at him.

She could get lost in his eyes, and she would willingly throw away the maps.

“Do you remember the song,” Killian begins, “the one you sang in the pub?”

“The one that made you kiss me for the first time?”

“Aye. That would be the one.”

“Of course I remember.”

“Would you mind singing it again?”

Emma laughs and twists around in his arms. She wraps her arms around his neck and continues to sway. “Well, if you insist.”

“I do.”

Emma sighs and rolls her shoulders back, all of the sounds of the outside fading away as she focuses on Killian and the way that he is gently swaying her, their steps only matching up with each other instead of those outside the room.

“In a neat little town they called Belfast, apprentice to trade I was bound. And many an hour's sweet happiness have I spent in that neat little town. A sad misfortune came over me, which caused me to stray from the land. Far away from my friends and relations, betrayed by the black velvet band.”

Killian closes his eyes in the middle of the verse, but his lips tick up in a smile. There’s a flash of white teeth, and Emma leans her head against his shoulder, resting her cheek in a place of comfort, and sings in his ear.

“Her eyes they shone like diamonds. I thought her the queen of the land. And her hair, it hung over her shoulder, tied up with a black velvet band. I took a stroll down Broadway, meaning not long for to stay when who should I meet but this pretty fair maid come a-traipsing along the highway. She was both fair and handsome. Her neck, it was just like a swan. And her hair, it hung over her shoulder tied up with a black velvet band.”

“Do you know how this song ends?” Killian asks.

“She betrays him.”

“I think it’s rather fitting for you and I, but the lyrics would have to change for us.”

“That can be arranged.”

Killian laughs into their kiss, and Emma can feel joy spreading over her body as she melts into it. He is not perfect. Neither is she. They will never be two people who have a white picket fence and no stains on their hearts, but if Emma is honest, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

All she needs is to be happy, and she is.

There’s a sudden bang outside the room, and Emma pulls back from Killian’s lips. His hands tighten on her back, and they still as another bullet is released from a gun.

“Bloody hell.”

“What’s happening?” Emma whispers as Killian moves away from Emma and toward the door, pressing his ear against the wood.

“Fuck,” he hisses. “Fuck. The coppers are here, and I don’t think it’s the ones who enjoy our drinks.”

Emma feels her stomach drop.

“What do we do?”

“We stay here,” Killian says, slow, measured. “Help me move the desk against the door.”

“They’ll hear it scraping.”

“Not if we lift it. There’s too much commotion outside for them to come here first.”

Emma nods and helps Killian move the desk. It’s a heavy oak, and she struggles to keep it from falling to the ground. They get it, along with several filing cabinets, and Emma’s heart pounds as the commotion outside keeps happening. There are several exits for this exact reason, for people to run away if someone snitches on the place, and Emma hopes most everyone is able to leave and run to safety.

She knows that she and Killian are not going to be so lucky. They’ll only have so much time before they’re arrested.

Emma turns to see Killian with a crowbar, and he pulls back a plank of wood siding on the wall. “What are you doing?”

“There’s a tunnel through here,” he explains. “I had it installed when Dave put me in charge of construction on the place.”

“Oh my God, are the Nolans going to be charged for this?”

“No.” Killian shakes his head. “I changed the paperwork. Even though this is connected to them, no one will ever know. And if someone finds out, Mary Margaret’s father has enough power to aid them. Come help me. We’ll only have so much time to get out of here.”

Emma nods and walks toward him, helping to pull away boards until there’s a big enough gap for them to move through. Killian gets down on his knees and goes first, and Emma follows behind him, only a little light available to guide them. Her hands and knees are covered in dirt, and with each passing minute, they become more scraped and bloodied. It stings, but it’s nothing she can’t handle.

Emma doesn’t know how much time passes or how far they travel, but eventually, they come to a stop and Killian kicks against another panel. The sounds of the city come through, pouring rain joining it, and when Killian climbs out first, she can see streetlights. He helps her out, apologizing for making a mess of her dress, and Emma doesn’t have to look down at it to know that it is no longer white and that some of the beads are lost.

“Where are we?”

“A few blocks over. C’mon, love. We have to go.”

They walk through the rain, puddles gathering at their feet and water soaking through their hair and their clothes. Killian attempts to shield her with his jacket, but it does no good. She is already a drowned rat, and she might as well accept it. They can’t go back, can’t see what’s happening in the place they’ve put so much of their heart into, so they go home.

Nothing about it feels right.

“Aren’t they going to come looking for you here?”

“I’m Mr. Jones to everyone there. No one knows my first name. No one knows anything about us. We should be safe for now, but I’ll have business to attend to. We may need to leave for awhile, possibly return to England to keep me from ending up behind bars.”

Emma stills then slips off her heels. “What will we do with everything here?”

“Save it for us to return. We can make a home in whatever place we desire. The options are there for us, sweetheart.”

Emma reaches up and squeezes the water out of her hair as Killian undoes some more buttons on his shirt, his hair dark with water on his chest. “What about Gold? You remember what Liam said? He’s looking for you, Killian. He’s looking for us.”

“I am not scared of that crocodile of a man,” Killian seethes. “He is a coward who has others do his work for him.”

“Are you not a coward, Mr. Jones? Running away with your mistress to America and then running back to England when your threads are pulled?”

Gooseflesh rises on every inch of Emma’s skin, and ice runs down her veins. She knows that voice. It haunts her nightmares and her waking hours, and she thought she’d washed the grime from him away. She thought he was gone, that she was safe.

And yet he’s here, in her home, emerging from a dark corner. The silver of his gun appears as lightning flashes outside and thunder joins with it, shaking their home to its bones of wood and brick.

“Killian,” Emma whispers. Her hands are shaking, and she wants to vomit. Her legs are heavy, unmovable, and she watches in horror as Killian’s eyes widen. For the first time, she sees fear there.

“What do you want, Gold?” Killian turns away from her to face Gold, and his shoulders straighten. The tension is obvious through his soaked white shirt, each muscle defined despite the lack of light.

“I want you dead, of course. I’ve come all this way to finish you off for all that you’ve done to me.”

“I did nothing to you.”

“You had my wife.”

“Your wife left you, and you murdered her.” Killian’s voice is even, but she knows he’s raging inside. They don’t talk about Milah often, only on nights when Killian is near drunk and a little melancholy, but Emma knows Killian loved her and she loved him. “That happened years ago. An entire war has been fought since then. You’ve had plenty of opportunity to kill me. You could have shot me while I was walking down the street at any time. I half expected it every time I left my home. What are you getting from this?”

“Getting to see you suffer, of course.” Gold steps closer, his face becoming more illuminated, and though it has only half a year since Emma last saw him, he looks years older. “It was so pleasurable the last time, but you didn’t get your due then. No, no, that comes now.”

All those times Killian suspected that Gold let Killian live because he wanted Killian to suffer from uncertainty were right. That’s exactly what the bastard was doing, but the time of waiting has run out.

Killian’s hand flicks behind him, and she knows he’s trying to subtly reach for his gun. Emma regrets not having any weapons on her. She didn’t think she’d need any today. She didn’t expect this to happen.

Any of it.

The raid of the speakeasy and Gold showing up in their home are connected, and while Emma wants to know how he found them and why he waited until a day that was supposed to be about them celebrating their marriage, she knows none of that matters when he might kill them both.

“It’s so nice to see that the two of you have patched things up,” Gold giggles, maniacal. “I assume this means you know you’ll not be with a blushing virgin tonight, Jones. What a shame for you to have to deal with on your wedding day. Broken goods.”

“Keep your mouth shut about her,” Killian hisses, his hand flinching right over his holster. “This has nothing to do with her.”

Gold clicks his tongue. “That’s where you’re mistaken. It has everything to do with her. You took my wife. Now I think it’s time I took yours. It’ll be so much more satisfying than it was the last time.”

The glass shattering behind her comes to Emma’s attention before she realizes that shots have been fired. She doesn’t know who shot first, where any of the bullets landed, or if Killian is okay. The power has gone out in their home, the rain and the thunder have picked up outside, coating the world in darkness like she has never seen before, and when the lightning comes, she sees flashes of limbs moving. It’s not enough to know where anyone is or what’s happened, and Emma is pulled down to the ground as another bullet soars by her, crashing into a mirror. Emma covers her head and drops fully to the floor, careful not to cut herself on any of the glass.

She should run.

She’s been doing it for her entire life, but she can’t do it now.

She can’t leave Killian behind.

Grunts, groans, and curses mix in with the roar or the thunder and the pounding of the rain, and she sees more flashes of movement, hears more shouting. Killian lets out a loud hiss of pain, and Emma moves closer to where the noise is coming from, trying to find him.

She can’t find him, and her heart starts to pound.

One beat, two beat, three beats too fast until her cheeks are heated and her chest aches in pain.

Killian is still making noise, so he can’t be dead.

He can’t be, he can’t be, he can’t be.

She cannot lose him.

“Emma,” he groans, and she turns. He’s in the corner of the sitting area, his knee clutched to his chest, and there are visible red stains on his fingers and his shirt. “Emma, love, you have to go.”

“I’m not leaving you here.” She moves quickly in an attempt to get to him, to heal whatever has been hurt, but then she’s being yanked back and can feel the barrel of a gun pressing into her temple.

It’s not the first time it’s happened, but she has a sinking feeling it will be the last.

“You should have listened to him, dearie,” Gold whispers in her ear, and that old familiar shiver at the sound of his voice comes back. “Better yet, you should have listened to me and not run away with a dirty gangster.”

“How is that any worse than having to work for a dirty politician?” Emma spits.

“Because with me, you don’t end up dead.”

Not dead but certainly not alive.

Emma hears him cock the gun. She feels him twitch behind her. It’s not enough and too much all at once, and Emma’s hand flexes, blood running across her palm and she takes the shard of glass she’s holding and jams it into Gold’s bad leg. It’s enough for him to fall back in pain, for him to lose his footing and stumble to the ground, and before Emma has a chance to do anything else, a bullet hits Gold.

One that will keep him from ever getting back up.

“Emma, darling,” Killian pants, dropping his gun to the floor. “Emma I need you to come wrap my leg, and I fucking need you to get me my rum. This bastard fucking hurts.”

If she wasn’t too busy crying, Emma would laugh at Killian’s words. Right now, all she wants to do is collapse to the ground, but she can’t. She has to help Killian, so she moves to the kitchen, stumbling over furniture and hoping her bare feet don’t get cut up with glass, and she finds Killian’s rum and some wraps before returning to him. She can’t see, but she thinks there’s a bullet in his thigh, and she already knows he won’t allow her to take her to the hospital for this.

“Are you okay, love?” he asks as he takes a large gulp of rum.

Emma laughs at the ridiculousness of his question. “I’m not the one who got shot.”

“But you could have.”

She yanks on the cloth and starts wrapping it around his leg. She won’t be able to do anything more than stopping the bleeding right now. “I didn’t.”

“I should have been more careful, love. I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get so soft.”

“Killian Jones, never in a million years could that happen to you.” He manages a lopsided smile, but from the way he grits his teeth afterward, she knows it’s taking more effort than he would admit to hide his pain. “Some wedding night, huh?” Emma jokes as she tightens the wrap. If she had been a nurse in the War, she imagines she would have been sent home almost immediately for her shoddy skills.

Killian laughs, this time genuine, and Emma leans forward to press her forehead to his and press her hand over his heart, thankful to feel it beating right along with hers. She can feel his smile pressing into her mouth, and she never wants to lose that feeling. “We’ll get there, my love.”

And they do.

In the morning light and with the help of one of Killian’s bartenders who was actually a nurse in the War, Emma gets Killian back to functional. He struggles walking for awhile and is stubborn enough to act like nothing hurts, but Emma knows him better than that. They know their time in New York is limited with everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, so after packing a few bags and Killian having his men here clean up the mess with instructions to return the house to livable condition as soon as possible, they make themselves look presentable for a few last goodbyes.

Emma buys Mary Margaret baby gifts, and Killian buys a pram to put it all in, his way of thanking them for everything they did that neither Killian nor Emma deserve. They don’t see them, instead leaving a note and promising to come back to visit when the baby is born, and Killian leaves a separate message for David about their work. It’s not the cleanest break, but there’s no way they could allow the Nolans to see them with all of their scrapes and bruises.

It would only break their hearts.

Soon after that, they’re at the harbor, Killian is buying them two tickets back home, and Emma can do nothing more than stare at the ocean, the one that she is ready to cross again when she spent so many months hating it.

Once again, it is her safe haven.

Though, she may have found another one, a man whose eyes mirror the ocean and consume her all the same.

Killian grunts as he sits down on the bench beside her. She takes his hand in hers and squeezes, wishing she could take some of the pain away. It won’t last forever, and soon, his scars will be another mark on his body, another story to be told. If Killian tells the story, she imagines he will embellish every detail. The thought makes her smile even as the cuts on her own two hands sting when they are hit with the mist of the salt water.

“I don’t want to run away again,” Emma admits. “I know we’ll never be traditional, but I’d like to stay in one place and be surrounded by our family. I think it’s time you took back your rightful place as the head of the Jones Corporation in Birmingham. For good.”

“As long as I have you by my side.”

“Always.”

-/-

-/-

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