#i will admit i may be a little cranky this morning

[undead-knick-knack]

They sure are!! 🙃

[gumnut-logic]

Lego Volcano (Part 5)

Alexander Sweetapple series | Lego Volcano - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

It has been some time, and some of this fic has been sitting on my hard drive waiting for attention since May (wow) but tonight I finally started writing more of this. Writing muscles are still a bit rusty, but fortunately I know mostly where this is going. There is more written so hopefully I can post that soon, too.

I also feel that some fo this might be a bit familiar as there have been a lot of WIP Wednesdays since May and I have the vague feeling I posted some of this already, but there is new stuff here as well.

This one continues to be @idontknowreallywhy, @sofasurf, @womble1 and @sailing-on-a-puddle and other wonderful Thunderfam peeps' fault :D

@onereyofstarlight has been her usual amazing self, even rereading this whole thing from the beginning and helping me out with some of her specialities as well :D Thank you so much for your wonderfulness :D

This is Alexander Sweetapple so the fic is m/m. If that isn't your jam, this isn't your bread. Though I will admit, there is very little of that in this bit as Scotty is the one who is having a hard time this time :D

As always, so many thanks to Thunderfam for being the amazing kind fandom it is ::hugs the lot of you::

I hope you enjoy.

-o-o-o-

Being ever so competitive, all the Tracy brothers knew how to get to any part of the villa in the shortest possible time.

Gordon availed himself of that fact the moment John called him.

He had been putting on his swim trunks ready for his morning foray in the pool. Moments later saw him leaping a Lego volcanic island and landing smoothly enough amongst the bricks to slide to Alex’s side.

“What happened?”

Alex had laid Scott in the recovery position. “He has a fever.”

Gordon ran through vitals without thought.

Scott groaned and attempted to shove him away.

“Yo, Scooter, you’re on the floor clocking a temperature somewhere in the hundreds. Give yourself a break.”

His brother mumbled something and tried to roll over and get up.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Gordon grabbed him as Alex scuttled out of the way. “You are staying put until Grandma gets here.”

As if summoned by her callsign, their grandmother hurried into the room. “Scott, honey, what happened?” She stepped lightly over the Lego scattered across the floor and knelt down beside her grandson.

“I’m’kay, Granma.” Scott pushed himself into a sitting position.

Gordon growled at him, but placed a hand on his back, not convinced he wouldn’t fall over again.

“Looks like you’ve picked up Virgil’s flu, honey.”

Scott swore.

“Gordon, please find us a hoverstretcher.”

And that was how Gordon found himself dragging an obstinate and complaining, cranky big brother up to the infirmary and tucking him into a bed. The protests were of legendary proportions until Grandma brought them to a firm halt.

“I’m fine, Grandma.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’ve got work to do.”

“You’ve got resting to do.” She switched off the scanner and turned to put it away.

“Gordon, stop fussing!” And yes, his hands were swiped at.

He took a step back. “Fine, oh great Commander, tuck yourself in.”

And there it was, his feverish and ill brother trying to be big brother but running out of resources and struggling to hold himself up. Wet, blue eyes attempting stoicism and failing. Damnit, Scott, why do you do this?!

“International Rescue, we have a situation.” John popped up by the bed.

Oh, for the love of-!

Scott sat up, ramrod straight in the bed. “Go ahead, John.”

“We’ve got a cargo freighter foundering off the Great Barrier Reef.”

Gordon exploded. “What?! How the hell did they even get near it? Those are sanctuary waters!” Goddamnit! The remains of the Great Barrier Reef were a World Heritage Treasure. The Supreme Barrier Reef was an attempt to save the ecological system. What little was left of the actual reef off the coast of Australia was ever so precious. How the hell had they ended up in those waters at all?

John, as usual, was calm, but his expression said everything. “Investigating as we speak.” In other words, both he and Eos were out for blood.

Gordon let out a breath. Damn it was good to have a family to depend on.

“Thunderbird Two and Four responding. Get Alan down here. I need transport.”

“Gordon!”

He turned to his beloved eldest brother who was radiating heat like a blast furnace. “Alan and I have this, Commander. You’re staying in bed.” Moving towards the door, he almost collided with Alex. Stumbling, he gestured with a firm finger at Scott. “Make sure he stays put.”

Gordon tore out of the room at a run.

He had a reef, and possibly a few people, to save.

-o-o-o-

It had all happened so fast.

And Alex had no idea what he should be doing right now. He stood beside the door, not sure what to do with his hands, feet, or any body part really.

From the moment he caught Scott, events had just happened around him. The Tracy family responded smoothly and well-practised and before he knew it, Gordon was out the door, and Alex was left in the infirmary with a weak but literally vibrating Mr Tracy.

Mrs Tracy had looked at her watch and cursed. A firm finger and quiet word with the bed ridden man and she was hurrying out the door as fast as her grandchildren had moments before.

But she did brush her fingertips across Alex’s shoulder as she passed, catching his eyes enough to reinforce Gordon’s wish to keep Mr Tracy where he was.

How the hell was he going to do that?

In the distance, Alex heard the roar of Thunderbird Two as she launched from the Island.

Virgil was not going to be happy.

He let out a breath. That’s where he should be now. Virgil would be clambering out of bed. There was no way he would not respond to that sound.

A rustle of sheets and Mr Tracy was sitting upright again. “Thunderbird Five, give me comms.”

“Negative, Thunderbird One.”

“John-“

“Thunderbird Prime’s orders. You’re on sick leave, One.”

Mr Tracy swore dirty, very much not the calm, cool professional Alex was used to.

“Rest, Scooter. We’ve got this.” And the line cut out.

The man on the bed deflated like a balloon, falling back onto the mattress almost as limp as when Alex had first caught him.

An arm came up over his eyes and a barely discernible whisper crossed his lips. “Goddamnit.”

-o-o-o-

Mr Tracy lay there like that for enough time for Alex to think he had fallen asleep.

Should he leave or go? Both Gordon and Mrs Tracy had asked him to stay…really ‘ordered’ him to stay. But Virgil…

Virgil needed Alex to give him permission to relax. Virgil needed Alex to drag him back to bed to stop his headlong run into work and exhaustion.

Yet Virgil was reportedly the level-headed brother.

Virgil had often described Mr Tracy as the embodiment of his Thunderbird - fast, impatient, determined, and consequently ridiculously prone to working himself into collapse.

In Virgil’s case, it was a pot and kettle situation, but after tonight’s demonstration, Alex had first-hand experience and there was the distinct possibility that Mr Tracy would do exactly what Virgil predicted.

As if the thought was permission, Mr Tracy rolled over in the bed and pushed himself into a sitting position.

Alex blinked. “Do you really want to do that?”

The man jumped, tired eyes latching onto him and widening. “Alex?”

Stepping forward, Alex held up a hand. “I’m sorry, Mr Tracy, Mrs Tracy said you need to stay in bed.”

Those blue eyes blinked once sharply and then again but slower. “There’s a situation.” His words were running into each other.

Alex took another step closer. “Mr Tracy, you need to rest.”

He looked away, mumbling something.

“Mr-“

“Alex, my name is Scott.”

“Sorry, sir.”

That drew those eyes back to him, if only for them to roll as Mr Tracy let himself fall back onto the bed. “Augh, Alex.”

“Sorry, s-“

The man grunted.

“-cott.”

A more positive grunt and he shifted on the bed, pulling the covers over himself before fixing his eyes once again on Alex.

Those eyes had so much power.

“So, Grandma has you sitting guard.” It wasn’t a question, more of a challenge.

Alex straightened his spine. “I guess so.”

There was steel in that tired blue, but Alex held on.

Just long enough for Mr Tracy to sigh and relax back into the bed and close his eyes. “Fine.”

There was silence after that. If Alex was working for any other employer than the Tracys, he might have been afraid that he was throwing away his career future.

He wasn’t.

The silence stretched on and Alex resisted the urge to fidget. But then a soft snore wafted up from the bed.

It was followed by another.

Oh, thank god.

Alex wilted where he stood, suddenly aware of exactly how early in the morning it was. A chair beside the bed beckoned, so Alex edged over as silently as possible and curled up.

He watched the bed covers move evenly up and down as Scott slept.

Up and down.

In and out.

Up and…down.

His eyes dropped closed.

-o-o-o-

Next

[candyunicornsateme]

Random k2 hcs I think about

Kyle is more of a morning person than Kenny is by a longshot and Morning Kenny is probably the most cranky Kyle sees him on any regular basis (and it's kinda cute too)

Shelia thinks Kenny needs some meat on him so she feeds him well and he doesn't complain and cleans his plate, which she loves

Kyle also loves seeing Kenny eat well, he's just way more subtle about it and is proud when Kenny's pants fit even better ("Do I have a booty now Kyle?" "...Yes")

Kyle is often a little awkward around Karen but Kenny's pretty chill around Ike. Sometimes Kenny's mischievous aura feeds into Ike's little brother mischievousness though and that's a fun time for Kyle (not really)

Kenny's the "sweats easily" and Kyle's the "why are your hands always so FUCKING cold Kyle jesus christ" (this is one of my personal favorites)

Kenny would like to be the big spoon more often but sometimes Kyle's so all over Kenny has to turn away to lessen the chances of a getting nocturnal smacks to the face

Kyle probably wouldn't admit it easily but Kenny's cuddling is so good, suffice to say, sometimes it's what he really needs when he exhausts himself of acting like he's got it all together

When they start living together Kyle quickly learns Kenny is very willing to smash or break anything if it's anywhere remotely appropriate to do so

Addendum: Kenny may be prone to injuries, this is not a surprise nor a unique interpretation and Kyle keeps bandages on hand and we love that

Many a time Kyle is either nearly rolling his eyes or simply giving an incredibly befuddled "what?" when Kenny's making some out of the blue innuendo or other nonsense, but when Kenny gets him... the little Kyle giggle would be worth a death for Kenny

Yeah 💚

[whumblr]

May we have Zayne stuffing Jay’s mouth with cloth and/or tying him to the bed for snoring too loud? I love the scenes where they have to share a bed

I snorted when I opened this ask. Here ya go, anon :D

-

Sleeping beauty

Two days.

It had been at least two days since he’d last slept.

Emery’s unreasonable demands had sent him all over the city on various tasks ranging from sneaky theft to violent inquiries, and Zayne practically swayed on the spot as he fumbled with the lock to Jay’s flat. He quietly let himself in.

He was glad to finally shed himself of his helmet, heavy boots, and zip down his leather jacket, having worn his full gear both for protection and for intimidation factors pretty much all the time. It worked wonders; usually he didn’t even have to lift a leather gloved fist before people would back away and promise to tell him what he needed to know, and that made things a lot easier. Both mentally and physically. But while he had liked using it to scare the shit out of Jay when he’d first came back here, he didn’t like using it for Emery’s errands. It was just another thing Emery’d taken from him, turning the gear he was so proud into a tool for Emery’s schemes, like it’d become a uniform symbolling his captivity.

He peeled out of his cocoon, and even though he was a little cranky, quietly set his boots and helmet down in the hallway and made for the bedroom.

It was about four a.m., the red numbers on Jay’s alarm told him. That meant he’d ploughed through two and a half nights in a row. He really didn’t have any energy left to wait for Jay to leave the house. Getting woken in the middle of his REM sleep by Jay’s stupid alarm clock was something he’d just have to accept for now. And after Jay’d left, he’d sleep for the full afternoon to catch up on some well-deserved Z’s.

Surprisingly, Jay was fast asleep. More surprisingly, Zayne found himself actually making an effort not to wake him. He quietly snuck around the bed, undressed to his tee and boxers, and carefully slipped under the duvet. Perhaps being absolutely knackered made him gain a glimpse of sympathy for the guy, who pretty much always looked like he was on the verge of crashing down and in dire need of more sleep, or more likely, he just didn’t have the patience to endure the huffing of Jay waking up and making it very clear he was not welcome. He just wanted to crash and fall into a deep, deep sleep as soon as possible.

His body relaxed, immense relief washing over him for finally being allowed to rest as he snuggled up in the warm and soft bed. He let out a content sigh and closed his eyes, feeling himself drift off almost immediately.

But just as he teetered on the edge of the domain between sleep and being awake, something forcefully pulled him back.

A weird snorting sound blurted out next to him, and Jay turned over, mouth slightly open and – to Zayne’s horror and immense irritation – continued his deep breaths with a soft rasping snore.

Any bit of sympathy Zayne might have had completely evaporated.

“You have got to be kidding me,” he actually said out loud, hoping it would wake Jay.

It didn’t.

He didn’t even snore that loud, he had to admit… If Zayne’d been asleep – if he had been able to fall asleep – he’d probably sleep right through it. And he usually probably did, with Jay only falling asleep after he was out. But still, heightened by the lack of sleep, his annoyance rose to an irrational level.

His hand moved in a reflex to his hip, wanting to feel in his pocket for his knife, but his fingers only touched over his boxers and bare skin. Maybe just as well… cutting out Jay’s vocal cords in anger wouldn’t give him the peaceful night he was looking for.

He swung his legs from the bed, didn’t go for his knife and instead walked around the bed and in passing grabbed Jay’s socks and tie from the chair that were laid out for tomorrow morning. He unfolded the socks, flicked one away, and rolled it up. Hovering over Jay for a beat, like a serial killer wielding a deadlier weapon than just socks, he looked down on the snoring man, all snuggled up, content, and blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

“You’ve gotten way too comfortable with all this, my man…” And with that, he shoved the sock into Jay’s mouth. He caught him mid-snore and Jay woke abruptly with a choked off sound.

“Whu—HM? MMM!!” His eyes widened as he noticed Zayne looming over him in the dark and he tried to expel the unknown gag.

Zayne pressed a hand over his mouth, leaning some weight onto his face and pressing him into the pillow. “No, no,” he tutted. “Don’t piss me off even more, now.”

Jay clawed up trying to get Zayne off. He did, but he snatched up Jay’s wrists, looped the tie around them and tied them together. Then, none too gently, he pulled him over to the side of the bed and tied the other end to the leg of the bedside table.

Fear shot into those wide eyes and Jay mumbled something that sounded like “What are you doing?!” through his sock.

“You said you weren’t a snorer, Jayboy,” Zayne said in a voice way too dark for the situation. “And you’re a fucking liar. So here we are.”

Jay made a high squealed sound of disbelief high in the back of his throat.

“Now I’m too tired to go find that duct tape in the dark, so here’s the deal. If I wake up with my hand on some drool soaked spit out sock next to my pillow – yes my pillow,” he added when Jay found something to protest – “I will make you stay awake for the whole goddamn week.”

He pushed the sock a little deeper into Jay’s mouth and Jay gagged a little but nodded.

“If I hear as much of a scrape of that nightstand moving a damn inch or god forbid it crashing to the ground because you can’t leave that tie well alone trying to get free…” he leant down, hand next to Jay’s pillow as he inched closer until he was sure Jay actually tried to press himself deeper into the mattress to get away, “I will make you regret waking me again.”

The knot in the smooth fabric would probably easily be undone with some pulling, but Zayne was pretty sure Jay wouldn’t dare move a muscle like this.

And true, while Zayne was slowly drifting off, he never heard the breathing next to him settle to a deep, sleep rhythm and he was sure Jay would stay wide awake for the rest of the night.

~Bonus~

Zayne was still somewhere deep under, half dreaming, half getting dragged from his slumber. Was someone whistling…? Or playing music? But then he fully woke and realised it was Jay’s alarm. And it kept playing. Getting louder. With Jay doing nothing to stop it.

“Oi.” Zayne kicked at Jay’s knees under the blanket but still nothing happened. “Turn that off, you gotta get to—” Annoyed, he turned over and glared at Jay who just lay there looking up at the ceiling not making any move to— “Ah…” Zayne pushed over him and despite his morning temper allowed himself a soft grin. “Right.”

With a yawn he got up, turned the alarm off – resisted the urge to leave Jay tied up – and carefully pulled the tie out of its knot. “Bit like those alarms where you have to solve a math puzzle or something before you can turn it off, but worse…” he said in a hoarse voice heavy with sleep. He left Jay’s wrists bound and pulled him out of bed by the tie, getting close up in his face.

“Now then. Go take a shower, quietly. You go get your breakfast, quietly. And then you fuck off as soon as you’re able to and you won’t return before fucking six p.m. tonight.”

As soon as his hands were free Jay pulled the sock from his mouth. “What even happe—?!”

“Ah, ah.” Zayne put two fingers to Jay’s lips and Jay clammed up. “Quiet,” he drawled, removing his hand and pointed a stern finger to the door. “Out.”

-

Continued here

Tag list: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @burtlederp @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @hurtmebeautifully @rougenoirofthepurpleterror @susiequaz12 @whump-me-all-night-long @rippedjeansandfadeddreams @im-just-here-for-the-whump @restrainthenmaime @freefallingup13 @whatwasmyprevioususername @myfriendcallsmeasickwoman19 @firewheeesky @redstainedsocks @hold-back-on-the-comfort @whumpawink @break-so-beautifully @approach-me-and-ill-cry @painsandconfusion @afabulousmrtake @wormwriting @soopytime @whumpedydump

[elisaphoenix13-cullrian]

Barely Breathing (But Still Alive) (Ch. 10)

The road to Skyhold may as well have been mountains. It was as if the wagon they pulled Dorian in hit every single rock or crack in the earth and the mage was miserable. He was unable to sleep while they traveled, and it eventually got to the point where Dorian healed himself as much as he possibly could.

Then got out of the wagon when they stopped to rest.

He winced as his feet met the ground and held his chest as it tugged at his wound, but fortunately didn't open. “I'll have better luck walking to Skyhold,” he mumbles to himself.

The Inquisitor walks around the wagon and stops to stare at Dorian. “What are you doing? You need to rest!”

“Your idea of rest is finding every out of place rock in Thedas,” Dorian almost snaps. “It has caused me more pain than being on my feet!”

Trevelyan frowns then looks around at their companions and Inquisition agents. “We'll camp here for the night. I think we could all use a good night's sleep.”

Dorian said nothing as tents were put up by the agents. His pain admittedly made him cranky and he wasn't feeling very amiable, even when an agent gave him an extra blanket and the comfiest cot they carried. Which wasn't saying much. Comfort wasn't high on their priorities out in the wilderness.

The only reason he wasn't quite literally conjuring thunder around him was because it was nice to watch Cullen. He was securing the perimeter of the camp and giving orders to the agents as if he were born to do so and it was…appealing. It was a soothing balm to Dorian's irritation to watch the commander take charge and make sure they would be safe for the night. Cullen even glanced over at him when Dorian had to lean against the wagon when his energy ran low and his wound began to flare in pain.

An obvious reminder that traveling in the bumpy wagon was not as awful as he thought.

“Here, sit,” Cullen says softly when his hand lands on Dorian's arm.

Dorian looks at him and frowns. He hadn't even realized when the man approached. “I'm alright.”

“Magic can only heal you so much,” Cullen says. “You still lost blood and you need to rest to recover from that.”

“I would be fine if I could actually sleep in the wagon,” Dorian finally snaps, immediately frowning when Cullen sighs. “I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that.”

“We're trying to make the trip smooth. It should start getting better,” Cullen says as he leads Dorian away from the wagon and to a log that a couple of agents had dragged over. “How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Tired,” Dorian admits. “Still a bit sore.”

Cullen nods and walks away momentarily, coming back moments later with a flask of elfroot potion. “We were able to procure a couple from a camp we passed by earlier.”

Dorian thanks him and takes the potion, relaxing on the log as everyone settles in for the night. Even though he was injured though, he didn't like sitting around and not helping. So the very least he could offer in the way of help was to light their campfire. He sighed softly as the flames warmed him and he was already easing into sleep. His exhaustion was catching up to him, and so an agent made sure he had dinner before he fell asleep. Varric made sure he actually made it to his tent.

For about an hour, Dorian dozed in his cot, kept warm by his extra blanket and whenever Cullen came in. He began to wonder if the commander would actually sleep or if he had a terrible habit of worrying over every little detail. Dorian never found out though. He fell into a deep sleep, hardly even remembering his dreams, until he was woken up at the break of dawn by none other than Cullen. Dorian remained half asleep and groggy as the commander led him out of his warm bed and into the brisk morning, and then into the wagon where more warm blankets waited for him. By then, Dorian was awake enough to recognize the kind gesture, so he got himself comfortable without a fuss. Cullen was trying to make sure the rest of their trip was less painful for him and he appreciated the thought.

As he was falling back asleep though, he felt another blanket cover him and Dorian cracked an eye open to find Cullen’s cloak lying over him. The soft-hearted fool.

The wagon jolted into movement and instead of jostling his wound, it was comforting. The blankets dulled any rocks they might have rolled over and the cracks in the road didn't bother him either. In fact, the swaying lulled him straight to sleep. His dreams were peaceful at first, but then something changed. The Fade changed around him and Dorian found himself in a building. At first he thought it was Skyhold because of all the stone, but nothing was familiar about it. There were doors and stairs, all of which led to what looked like bedrooms, but as he climbed higher in his curiosity, he came across a library. Two floors of bookcases surrounded him, and if it weren't for the foreboding feeling Dorian felt in his gut, he might have thought he was in heaven.

While he had never seen this place before, it still felt familiar, and the dread only got worse the more he climbed. When he began to see blood and viscera, Dorian had a feeling he knew exactly where he was and he hoped he was wrong. He hadn't come across demons, but there were bodies growing in numbers as he got closer and closer to the top, and when he reached the stairs to the top floor, Dorian had the sudden urge to run. To turn around and forget everything he saw…and he almost did. But then he heard whispering. The kind that set him on edge and made his skin crawl.

Demons.

Against his better judgment, Dorian pushed forward, climbing the stairs and opening the door at the top, and froze. The room was covered in the blood and viscera he had seen on the way, a few bodies were piled nearby, and a barrier of blood sat just a few feet away. In the middle of it, Cullen was on his hands and knees, muttering the Chant of Light to himself and so young. Dorian thought he was going to be sick. This poor boy had watched his fellow templars get slaughtered by demons and abominations alike and here he sat being tortured within an inch of his life. He looked famished and weak…but somehow still strong and sane. 

The demon nearby wasn't deterred in the slightest. It continued to whisper to Cullen in its scratchy, otherworldly voice, and he continued to ignore him. It was when Dorian finally understood why the commander was still plagued with his nightmares. He wasn't just haunted by his past. This demon…this demon of despair had latched onto Cullen. Visiting the man in his dreams at every opportunity. The thought made Dorian enraged.

“No more,” Dorian hisses out, successfully drawing the attention of the demon. “I won't let you hurt him anymore!”

The demon screeches in surprise when Dorian flings a bolt of lightning at it, and then follows with another when it lunges at him. When it falls back, the mage traps it in a cage of thunder.

“Another mage come to hurt the little Templar?” It hisses.

“To help him. He deserves rest and forgiveness. I will not let you feed on him any longer. Begone.” Dorian sends a fireball into the cage and watches as the demon screams as it burns into ash. A sense of relief washed over him when nothing remained and he finally turned his attention back to the trapped Templar.

Except, Cullen was no longer trapped by the barrier. He looked confused as he observed his new situation, and when his eyes landed on Dorian, his face shuttered into neutrality. “Another demon? You can try to–”

“No,” Dorian says softly. “You don't need to be afraid any longer.” As Cullen studied him carefully, possibly looking for signs of possession, Dorian approached him as if he were an injured animal. In a way he was.

“Don't come any closer!” Cullen barks out, making Dorian stop.

“Oh amatus…what have they done to you?” Dorian whispers, foolishly reaching out because all he wanted to do was comfort him.

Cullen didn't take kindly to the action and unsheathed the sword he still had on his hip. “Step back,” he snarls.

“Cullen–”

“Do not familiarize yourself with me, demon! I know your tricks!” Then Cullen was raising his sword and Dorian threw up his arms to cover himself.

“CULLEN!”

Dorian woke with the commander’s name on his lips and sweat rolling down his face. When he looked to the back of the wagon, he found the man in the exact same position he left him in his dream and his heart leapt to his throat. But the next moment, Cullen was attacking someone just out of Dorian's sight and all he heard was his victim's death rattle. They must have been ambushed while he slept and fought his own battle.

The brief chaos Dorian had woken to was already over though, and Cullen was crawling into the wagon to check on him.

“Are you alright?” He asks, frantically searching him for any new wounds, confusion plastering his face when he finds none. “I heard you yell for me.”

Dorian lays back and wipes his face free of sweat. “Just a nightmare. Were we ambushed?”

“Some red templars. There weren't many though.” 

An unearthly sound pulls their attention to the opening of the wagon, and Dorian immediately sends out an explosion of lightning at the approaching red templars, sending it flying into a nearby tree. When it falls to the ground and remains unmoving, he drops his hand in exhaustion. He may not have been injured in the Fade, but he had still been weak and he overworked himself there and only made it worse with the spell. He felt worse than he had when he was shot with the arrow, and he must have looked as bad as he felt because Cullen was looking at him with renewed concern.

“You look unwell.” When Cullen pulled off his cloak that still laid over Dorian, the mage whimpered when he began to undress his bandages.

“Commander!” Trevelyan rushes into view and looks in. “Are you injured? Dorian?”

“I'm alright,” Cullen reassures him, sighing softly when he finds whatever he was looking for. Dorian was too tired to look down at his chest and check. It didn't hurt more than usual. “Mana exhaustion. What did you do?”

“What I had to,” Dorian murmurs. He didn't think Cullen would understand. He almost didn't. It shouldn't have been possible for Dorian to visit Cullen's nightmares without the man sleeping, but it was possibly explained by their bond. The bond that he was growing to love and appreciate with every waking moment. 

Cullen only looked at him with growing concern before he covered him with his cloak again. “We'll be in Skyhold soon. Rest.”

Dorian almost didn't notice the chill in the air until the commander had said something, but the blankets and his cloak had easily kept the mage warm.

“He's feverish,” he hears Cullen say as he moves away to leave the wagon. “There aren't any signs of infection, fortunately.”

“He'll be alright once he gets back in his own bed,” Varric says as the wagon starts to move again.

It easily pulled Dorian back to sleep because he was so tired, and he didn't even dream. Not that he remembered anyway. Oblivion cradled him all the way to Skyhold, and he only woke long enough to feel himself being carried. If he really focused, he could feel the stretcher underneath him and voices garbled into one around him. He felt a cooling sensation on his chest and then he was warm again. Dorian felt the softness of a bed beneath him when he was moved again and then it was quiet. Not quite silence, but he could hear a fire crackling and even the sound of…clacking? He couldn't quite place the sound. He dozed for a while longer until he finally opened his eyes and found himself in his room back in Skyhold. The fire was easily explained then.

Another clack pulls Dorian's attention near the fire and he finds Cullen sitting at a small table with a chessboard. “I almost expected to find you doing paperwork,” Dorian mumbles.

Cullen looks up from the board and smiles meekly as he looks down. Dorian follows his gaze and barks out a laugh when he finds piles of paperwork on the ground. He regretted the laugh since it made his chest hurt, but Dorian still felt better waking up to Cullen being nearby.

“We must stop meeting like this,” he jokes.

“I agree,” Cullen moves a piece on the board. “I have to admit that standing vigil over you has given me the opportunity to hide. Being absent for a week has put me behind.”

Dorian frowns. “You did not need to come to my rescue. I don't want to be the reason you fall behind with your duties.”

Cullen slowly looks over at him with a soft smile that baffles Dorian. “I did…and I would do it again. I meant it when I said that you are important to me.”

Dorian sighs and looks up at the ceiling. “You cannot come to my rescue every time I get hurt.”

“No,” the man agrees quietly. “But you can be sure that I'll try. I am a better man after having met you…and all I want is to give you whatever you've been deprived of until now.”

Dorian already knew it. Cullen had made sure of it. Now he couldn't think of life without the commander and was finding himself looking around every corner, whether physical or rhetorical, in the hopes of seeing him. Cullen made him feel special. Feel loved. Worthy. He was turning into a lovesick fool.

“The things you say, Commander.”

[i-cant-sing]

An Accident

Yeah... you may have seen this before, earlier this week when I accidentally posted it. Anyways, this is a part 2 of the Todoroki clan being obsessed with reader's hair. So, um enjoy.

Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Yandere Todoroki Clan:

Rei is obsessed with reader’s hair.

She’s taken such good care of it, and after years of hard work, your hair now reaches just around your butt. Your hair is healthy, thick, luscious, and cut into a smooth, U shape; of course all trims are done by Rei herself because she doesn't even trust professionals. And even though you’ve asked Rei on multiple occasions to cut it short, at least up to the middle of your back, she just wouldn’t, always saying that you’re being unreasonable. But you’re not; you’ve given her multiple valid reasons.

For example, Rei and Fuyumi do your hair themselves. And initially, they would let you choose whatever hairstyle you wanted, but now they pick one for you, saying they know which one will suit your outfit of the day better. Rei likes to do double buns, or ponytails tied with ribbons or just one high pony with a pretty big bow on the top of your head. Fuyumi on the other hand makes super intricate hairstyles, and while they look pretty, only you know how much pain your scalp is in. Fuyumi does your hair as if you’re her doll, yanking and twisting hard, saying that she needs to be this rough to achieve the distinctive braid patterns. Thankfully, Rei usually does your hair most of the time.

One of the main reasons you've begged Rei to let you cut your hair short is how much time she (and you) would safe. Since your hair is so long, it takes a lot of time for Rei to put in hair masks, serums, oils, etc. It takes even longer to wash and dry them out, and then style them as well. But she smiled oh so kindly, and told you that she doesn't mind. She looks forward to taking care of your hair, forcing you to sit between her legs for hours as she applies some expensive magic growth oil, ignoring how you didn't like this.

And even if your hair is curly naturally, like even 4C curly hair, Rei will have it straight as a stick in no time (don't bother telling her that you like it natural). But don't worry, its still quite voluminous.

Of course, Rei washes your hair herself, telling you that you’re simply not capable enough to manage it. (At least she lets you wash your body yourself.) And due to your hair being so long, it takes time to not only wash it, but also dry it. Rei will detangle using a wide tooth comb, starting from the bottom and working her way up. Then she’ll dry it with her cold breath, and if required, call Enji to dry your hair with his heat. You like it when Enji dries your hair, because he does it quickly and your hair becomes far smoother.

And its not just Rei and Fuyumi that are obsessed with your hair, the boys are just as fond of it as well. Enji likes to card his fingers through your hair while he’s working on some papers or listening to news, his warm hands always putting you to sleep in his lap. Its an adorable sight, gives him a sense of peace.

Shotou also likes to run his hands through your long hair, especially after a stressful day. The feeling of his fingers through your smooth, long locks, it calms him. And if he’s feeling extra stressed, then he might braid your hair loosely as well. He always wears a scrunchie on his wrist for you.

You wouldn't ever admit it, but you enjoy it when Natsuo played with your hair. Its like he can sense when you're having a headache. He'll have you sit on the floor while he takes a seat on your bed, and then his fingers will do their magic. He knows exactly where to put pressure on your scalp, and exactly how much force to use. His massages always relieve your migraines, and he always massages with expertise to ensure their is proper blood flow in your scalp.

While you are more than happy to let Natsuo touch your hair, you hate it when Dabi's around. If you didn't know better, you'd think he wants to rip your scalp off. He knows how much it annoys you, always pulling at your ponytails, tugging at your braids, even yanking it a few times when you ignore him. And you've complained to your family, but all of them say that "oh he's just playing around." Or "no, he just misses you. He's only teasing." And when you ask Dabi to stop it, he'll just smile and say "big brother privileges."

He's insufferable.

Everyone gets to play with your hair, but God forbid if you do. Oh no, apparently you'd "destroy it", as if you're not capable of managing your own hair. You're not allowed to open your ponytails because, quoting Rei, "you're yanking your hair. You're going to rip your follicles- baby, stop. Just let me do it." But you know that she does that because she wants to brush your hair with the soft, bristle brush before you go to bed. And somedays, Rei doesn't tie your hair in a bun or something, letting your hair fall, and it gets in your way, and even then you're still not allowed to put it up because "oh honey, your hair needs to breathe too. If you keep it in a pony, the band will leave a mark in it." Honestly, everyone finds it adorable when you're dressed in your little, fluffy skirt paired with a cozy oversized sweater, all mad and pouting, trying to blow the hair strands blocking your field of vision. Like a little baby.

While Rei looks at your hair and sees years of her hards work and patience, all you see is losing control over your own life. And you are. They decide everything for you, from the clothes you wear, the food you eat, and even things you should like and dislike. They choose when you should go out, what you should watch, when its time for bed. They disregard your opinions and feelings, and if you show that you're frustrated, then its means that you're just throwing a "tantrum", and you need to be put to bed like some cranky child. You've told them that they're too overbearing, but they always say that they just love you.

What kind of love is controlling?

They're so lost in their delusions, that they don't even see the deteriorating effects it has on you mentally.

Actually, one person did see them. Dabi.

He saw how much everything was overwhelming you, how you were near tears when they talked over you, made choices for you.

He felt a bit bad for you, just a tad. Mostly, he felt there was another opportunity to mess with you.

When Dabi came to bother you one night, tugging at your hair again, this time a bit harder than usual, he saw you were ready to cry. You didn't even bother saying anything to him anymore, just kept quiet and did your best not to cry. Of course, now he ridiculed you. Called you a little crybaby and used that annoying patronising tone with you. And just as he was about to leave, he said "if your hair bothers you so much, why don't you just cut it, you big baby?"

As if something had finally snapped in you, you let his words echo. Why don't I cut it? What's stopping me?

Was it because you had learned to just give in?

You didn't even realise you had walked to your bathroom until you were holding a pair of scissors. Which surprised you, because you weren't allowed to use scissors unsupervised. It was almost as if a sign from the universe motivating you to do it, and definitely not Dabi who left them on the sink.

Holding the pair of scissors in one hand and a chunk of your hair in the other, you hesitate for a second and wonder what will Rei do. But before you could stop yourself, you cut.

I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

You start low, maybe 2 inches above your hips. It looks okay, but maybe you could cut a little more. And a little more. And a little more. Before you know it, your hair is around shoulder length, in an uneven, chunky bob. Its not perfect, but somehow you feel much better. Like you’ve finally gotten some control back. Wiping your tears away, you ruffle your hair a bit, the cool air on your neck adding to the feeling of freedom. You feel normal, happier, peaceful. Things you haven't felt in years. And all because you had 3 am meltdown.

After you cleaned up the bathroom, you went back to bed, anxious how everyone will react in the morning. Maybe they won't care. You thought. Its only hair. My hair.

Everyone was waiting for you at breakfast the next morning, and to everyone’s surprise, Dabi had joined them as well. Rei was cooking up some eggs, while the kids chatted. Enji was suspicious of the mischievous glint in Dabi’s eyes, and it was filling him with unease. Just as he was about to question him, you walked in.

Everyone went silent.

Then Fuyumi let out an audible gasp, while Dabi chuckled darkly. Natsuo, Shotou and Enji looked at you with their mouths agape.

“Good morning.”you greeted them.

Rei, who was facing away from you, finally turned towards you. “Good mo-”Rei’s breath hitched, eyes blown wide, as the plate of bacon fell from her hands.

Its funny how everyone in the kitchen, including you, had the same thought at that moment.

What the fuck?

Taking a deep breath, you moved to sit in your usual spot between Fuyumi and Rei, but Shotou suddenly pulled you back and pushed you into the seat beside him. He knows his mother is in a better state mentally, but something tells him not to risk it. Fuyumi snapped next, quickly getting up and cleaning the mess on the floor while Enji pulled Rei, who was still staring at you in disbelief, to sit beside him. You remained indifferent to everyone’s stares, quietly eating your food. As soon as you were done, Shotou got up and quickly pulled you out of the room, Dabi following close behind.

They sat in your room as Shotou looked at your hair with worry. “Looking nice, doll.”Dabi chuckled as he plopped down on your bed beside you. “Thanks.” you mumbled. “Y/n how did- why did you- why did you cut your hair?” Shotou asked, still looking at your choppy hair. “Do you not like it?” you asked. “N-no I do. But what will mom say-” “Shotou, its my hair.” you snapped. “Yeah, Shotou.” Dabi mocked. Fuyumi and Natsuo soon joined you guys, worrisome looks on their faces. “Why did you cut it? Oh my god, do you even know how much trouble you’re in?” Fuyumi was freaking out. “Its my hair.” you rolled your eyes. They ignored you. “Okay, okay. Shotou why don't you stick around with Y/n for a couple of days? Fuyumi and dad will try to keep mom away from her.” Before Fuyumi could nod, you stood up. “No.”

Natsuo looked at you confused. “what do you mean “no”?”

“I mean no. I don't need Shotou to babysit me. I can handle myself.” Fuyumi walked towards you, reaching her hands for you but you backed away, “Y/n, sweetie-” You cut her off ,“Stop treating me like a child.”

Shotou spoke this time, “Its for your protection-” “Protection from who? Our mother? Why?”your words dared them to say the truth. To agree that Rei was unstable. They didn't say anything.

A few days had passed by and things were returning to normal. Almost normal. Rei still had this thousand yard stare when she looked at you, but she never said anything. Cutting your hair was the best decision you had made, because not is it only easy to manage, but it also got the family off your back. Rei doesn't wash your hair anymore(although you think she's just not over the shock), Fuyumi doesn't need to do your hair, they dry faster, and all of your brothers (including Dabi) doesn't mess around with them anymore. Enji was the first to adjust to your new cut, he even complimented you one day.

Did you feel guilty because you know how attached Rei was to your hair? A bit, but then realised that you needed this. You need some control over your life, and if this is how they react to your new cut, then maybe you could start taking back reigns over other aspects of your life as well.

You thought that maybe Rei had finally gotten over it a week later, when you were laying in the bathtub, enjoying the hot bath. When you heard her walk in, you were a bit startled. Why was she here- is she finally over it? "Um- hey." She smiled at you. "Why are you here?" She took the bath stool and sat behind the tub. "You know why." She replied and started rolling her sleeves up. Is she here to wash my hair? "Oh, are you here to wash my hair? I don't need help with that anymore now that they're short." Rei smiled again, this one looking forced, before dipping her hand in the tub. "No, silly." And with that, Rei froze the entire the tub in 2 seconds. The ice trapped your limbs, and reached up to your clavicle. The sudden change from hot to cold had you jolt, but you couldn't move due to the frozen ice. "Mom-!" You heard the buzzing sound of a trimmer and then felt Rei entangle her fingers in your hair to yank your head back. "I'm here to complete your haircut." You tried moving your head but her grip on your scalp was unrelenting. She started trimming the right side of your head, moving it slowly as to get every single hair. "Honestly, you should've come to me. I do agree that it'd be a good idea to start again." Tears fell from your eyes, your teeth chattered and you could feel your heart beat slow down as the cold seeped into your bones. "M-mom, I'm col-d. P-please s-stop..." Rei was done with one half of your head. "You know, I read somewhere that your grows thicker if you cut it. I'm sure that after I've shaved your head, your hair will grow even fuller. I've already gotten some new oils and hair masks! Maybe we could do them together." You couldn't hear anything besides the slowing of your own heart beating. Your breath had started to become shallow, you couldn't think about anything except for how painful ice could be. Your lips were turning blue, eyes were getting clouded with black spots, all sensation from your body was losing. Just before you lost consciousness, you heard the bathroom door open and a panicked yell.

You felt warm.

When you came to, your entire body felt warm and weighted, probably due to the heavy blanket spread on you.

Opening your eyes, you found yourself in a dimly lit room. It was...your parents room. Why am I here? You turned your head to look around but your eyes stopped at the large figure sitting on a chair next to your bed.

"Dad?"

The figure's head snapped towards yours. "You're awake." He paused. "How- how are you feeling?" You moved the blanket off you, your body felt dense and ached. "Warm and...sore. What happened? Why am I in your bedroom?" Enji shifted in his seat. "I think its best if you stay here from now on, so that... your mother and I can look after you." Your eyes widened. "What? Why?" You moved to sit up but then a pain shot through your head. "Ah shit." You hissed in pain as you went to massage your temples but your hands halted at the feeling of your hair... or lack there of. You tried to run a finger through your choppy bob cut, but all you felt was your shaved head. Your eyes met Enji's, looking at him in disbelief as you recalled the events that had led up to this. "Darling-" You jumped off the bed and ran towards the vanity mirror, praying that this is just a nightmare. But as you looked at your reflection, you realised that this was the terrifying reality you were living in.

Tears dripped from your eyes as you took in your appearance. Trimmed- no, shaved pink hair. You couldn't see a single bit of hair above the roots, only a baby pink scalp. She had not only trimmed your hair first but then also proceeded to shave your scalp off. Your head looked like it had peach fuzz.

You couldn't bring yourself to look away, not even when Enji placed a hand on your shoulder. "Y/n-" He didn't even what to say. He was still in shock from what would've happened if Fuyumi hadn't yelled for him when Rei was-

Enji shook his head. Now's not the time. You're here and you're fine. You're fine. Enji pulled you towards him, burying your face in his chest as you cried. "You're fine." He repeated, more to himself than to you. "Why- why would she do this?" Your voice was muffled by his chest but he understood. He understood your pain and it tore him apart that he still wouldn't be able to help you.

Enji honestly didn't know what to tell you. He didn't know what words would bring you comfort. "It... it was an accident." His chest rumbled as he spoke. You pushed yourself away from him as you looked at him perplexed.

"What?" Your eyebrows raised, nostrils flared and blood rushed to your face. You were going to blow up.

"An accident? Is that what you said? Oh okay. Was it an accident when she froze the fucking tub? Did the trimmer accidentally fall from her hands to my head?! Oh and did she accidentally pull the razor over my head?!" Angry tears fell from your eyes but you were far too enraged to care.

Enji opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by the sound of the bedroom door opening. Turning around you saw her.

Rei was standing there with a tray of food and water. Her face turned to shock before turning to happiness. She set the tray on a nearby table before she rushed towards you, her hands reaching for your face.

"Angel, you're awake-" you pushed her hands away roughly as you backed away from her.

"Dont you dare touch me."

The couple, they had never heard your voice such hostility. It wasn't like you. Rei shook her head as she tried to reach for you again, taking another step in your direction. But you smacked her hands away again. "I said don't touch me!" Your yelling had got your siblings to rush in the room, wanting to see what the commotion was about.

Rei's eyes shifted from you to Enji, looking at him for help, before they returned back to you. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Y/n, darling. What's wrong?" You scoffed at her soft tone that tried to quell the storm of negative emotions bubbling inside you. "What's wrong? What's wrong? I don't know, you tell me, Rei. Why the fuck am I bald?!" Your head was pounding with rage, raw unbridled anger.

When Rei didn't say anything, Fuyumi stepped forward to help her out. "Y/n its-"

"Shut up."

Fuyumi's- everyone's eyes widened. Of everyone, you never even rose your voice at your favourite sibling. But to hear your voice turn so cold towards her, it shocked everyone. "Y-Y/n-" she tried again but you cut her off. "I said shut up. I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Rei and she'll answer for herself."

Enji placed a hand on your shoulder, pulling you back slightly. "Have some respect. She's your mother-" You yanked your shoulder away from his grip. "No, she's not!" You inhaled deeply, trying to stabilise your voice. "No, she's not. You're not my dad. I'm not a part of this family. And I'm so sick of playing this game."

Dabi's eyes narrowed. "Stop being an ungrateful brat. You've been given all the luxuries one could only imagine, spoiled to no end-" You laughed. "Did I ask for anything?" "You never had t-" "And all these luxuries that you're talking about, I didn't get them for free. I had to give up a lot. No, wait-" you laughed again, tears blurring your vision. "I didn't give up anything. You all took it. Yeah, all of you snatched everything away from me. My family, my friends, my privacy, my sanity, everything. And you-" you moved towards Rei, pointing a finger at her. "You have been the most greedy one of them all."

Rei's jaw fell open, as she shook her head. "No-" You shook your head.

"Yes! I gave you everything. I let you dress me up in those god awful clothes, feed me whatever you wanted, stick to your side like glue because you don't like it when I was out of your sight for a more than a few minutes. For fucks sake, I didn't even go to college this year because you weren't ready to see me become an adult!" You ran a frustrated hand through your hair. "I played into your sick little fantasy. I let you treat me like a child, talk to me like I'm some helpless baby. I let you touch me even though it disgusted me to no end. I never even complained when you gave me ice burns because I was throwing a tantrum." You looked at the rest of your family, and they were shocked to hear that last bit. You smiled cruelly at them. "Yeah, you didn't know that did you?"

Rei was crying herself by now, as she reached out for you once again but you moved away. "I let you have everything. All I wanted was this little bit of freedom, for my own sanity. But you couldn't stomach that could you?" Your head hung low, your tears hitting the floor.

"Why do you have to be so selfish?"

Your voice held so much pain and defeat. Rei couldn't help but engulf you in her arms, wrapping herself around you tightly before you could even protest. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried out. "I- I promise I'll fix this! Yes. I-I've already gotten you some new hair oils! They say that they'll help you grow 6 inches in a month! Oh and Natsuo also brought some stuff for hair growth! Some vitamins and- Natsuo whats that spray called? Minoxy? Mi-minoxidil! Yes! He said that'll help you grow your hair in no time! Doesn't that sound nice? You'll have long hair like before!" Rei pushed back to look at you. You couldn't believe it.

"Are you- are you really that delusional?" Your voice was so soft, almost like you would break any moment now. "Are you so blind to see what you're doing to me?" Your eyes held so much pain and confusion. "Sweetie, don't worry- mommy will take such good care-" You pushed Rei away from you, your anger rolling back in full speed. "YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!" You shrieked. "Y/n-" Shotou tried to interject. "I'm not a part of your fucking family."

Enji stepped towards you. "Calm down."

You looked at him. "You said that what happened was an accident. What will you do if another one happens? And you're not around this time to save me? Hmm? What will you do? Continue playing house with my dead body?!"

Rei's sobs shook her body. "Shut up. Think before you say stupid shit like that." Dabi spoke this time, moving to stand between you and his mother. "Or what? You're going to hurt me? More the reason why all of you, but especially you-" you pointed at Rei "deserve to be in that nuthouse-!"

You were on the floor before you could even process what had happened. Had you- had you fallen? But when the searing pain of the burn on your cheek came alive and you looked at his hand that had erupted in blue flames, you realised what had happened.

Dabi slapped you.

"Y/n!"

Your cheek felt like someone had placed a hot iron on it, the sting spreading to your entire cheek, but you were far too shocked to care about the pain.

Dabi slapped me.

Shotou, Natsuo and Fuyumi quickly rushed to your side, picking you up and out of the room, while Dabi stood there in stunned as his own hand throbbed. The image of his handprint branded on your scared face wasn't going to leave his mind anytime soon.

Enji hesitated, looking at his wife and son in disbelief, before leaving the room to look for you.

Rei walked towards Dabi and smacked his arm. "What did you do?!" She yelled at him. He opened his mouth to explain but nothing came out.

"She's your little sister, Touya! W-why would you do that?!" Rei scolded him.

He hurt you. Like Enji hurt Rei.

He hurt you.

Rei sighed before closing her eyes and engulfing Dabi in her arms. "Its okay. Its not your fault." She rubbed his back soothingly. "It was an accident, wasn't it?"

Dabi wrapped his arms around his mother, burying his face in her neck, before nodding.

"Yes. It was an accident."

So... how was it?

[maxislvt]

Hi! 2 things! 1: would you ever write a part 5 for the vampire wanda au? or just little drabble (or none)

and 2: vampire wanda x stressed r headcanons? :)

as far as part 5, i might do a full epilogue if people want but it might be a while since i have classes right now. I'm not in a position to confirm anything unfortunately but if someone asked there'd at least be a drabble!

Wanda would sense it immediately. Be it studying for an exam, issues with your family, or general uneasy feelings — she'd know. Wanda drags you away from whatever it is as fast as she can. Even if you try and fight it and insist you're fine

Once you've stopped being pouty and apologize for acting out, she gets right to spoiling you. She'll coddle you for as long as you need —which may be a little longer than you want. Wanda cooks for you, gives you a massage, and some other things on top of her usual pampering

Her praise amps up to 1000%, especially if you're stressing over work. "oh sweetheart, you're so smart, but even the smartest dolls deserve breaks." or "come on doll, you're too cute to be stressed out. lay down with me."

The affection is never ending. Something so simple as sitting in her lap earns you like four kisses and she'll give you more just because you feel like it. Her goal is to get you as empty headed and fuzzy feeling as she can and that's the easiest way for her to do it.

She cooks for you too. Normally it's a "shared responsibility" (Wanda cooks by herself or Wanda does 80% of the work and you just watch the pans) But if you really need comfort, she'll let you pick what she makes even if it's not healthy or aggressively unbalanced

Normally she's very stingy with sweets because she doesn't want her precious baby to get a toothache, but if they'll make you feel better she'll let you have as many as you want. As long as you promise to let her brush your teeth before bed.

Bathtime is super slow and dragged out as well. Wanda always takes the time to be gentle and make sure you're comfortable, but she really takes time to let you relax in the tub and take in all the salts and smell goods before you go to bed.

You have to sleep in her bed that night. It's not an option for you. She trusts you but she can't risk you sneaking back off to do more work and wants to make sure you get the proper amount of sleep so you're not cranky in the morning.

I absolutely see her trying that trick where moms run their fingers over a baby's face so they'll fall asleep faster. You're incredibly embarrassed when you realize it, but it works and Wanda ends up doing it a lot more than you'd like to admit.

If you ask, she'll read you to sleep as well. Sometimes Wanda will just pick back up on a book you've been reading already, careful to not go too far cause she wants you to remember what she's read. Other times she'll read you little fairytale books from the vampire world cause she knows you love them so much.

[amayaonly1]

A Lil’ Oopsie - Lesson 7 (Obey Me x Female!MC/Reader)

@strawberry-moonpies Happy New Year! 🥳🎊May this year be abundantly blessed with health and prosperity for you and your loved ones. Let's start 2022 with a new chapter to this mini-series, where we get to witness MC's interaction with (poor) Lucifer. I hope you enjoy it. Take care, stay safe!

Other work: Diavolo's Cousin from Hell

A Lil’ Oopsie mini-series:

Prologue | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 | Lesson 4 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 5.5 | Lesson 6 | Lesson 7 | Lesson 8 | Lesson 9 | Lesson 10 [End]

He had never been this desperate, other than the time when he begged Diavolo to save his beloved late sister. He stood by his king-sized bed gently shaking the lump of cloth. But not even words could budge the toddler snoozing ever so comfortably.

Lucifer couldn't hold in the sigh anymore. He had always been busy completing paperwork, running the student council as Vice President, as well as keeping an eye on his brothers' antics. As if he couldn't get any busier, for the past few days, he'd been researching the aspects of caring for a human child. He felt like he was studying for an exam, except it involved taking care of an actual human child; and this was no ordinary toddler. This was MC, one human whom he held in high regard, one who was precious to him (and his brothers, but his selfish pride forbade him from admitting that).

He had heard stories from the youngest to the second born, how MC was an easy child to be taken care of. Inquisitive, well-behaved, a little mischievous but not once caused havoc; he thought it would be just as easy when it came to his turn. It initially seemed alright, after breaking into Mammon's room and carefully removing her off him. Once he had intentionally delegated the task of waking the other brothers up to him, Lucifer returned to his room with the sleeping toddler in his hold. Shutting the door behind, he placed her on his bed and then rummaged through a small pile of children-sized clothes that Asmodeus had washed and dried the night before.

Unbeknownst to him, MC was starting to wake up. She sat up with her bed hair sticking all over the place and looked around, trying to comprehend her surrounding. But alas, she couldn't fight off the sleepiness as she hugged the stuffed crow and then landed back on the bed, rolling around until she got into a comfortable position; unknowingly wrapping herself with the duvet like a burrito. By the time he'd found the most suitable dress, it was too late. The toddler had already gone back to sleep.

This is going to be difficult, he thought. Lucifer recalled reading in one of the early childhood books that some children get upset -or worse, cry - when woken up. He thought he needn't worry much about this, given that he heard from Satan that MC woke up on her own when the blond demon was getting ready for school. Leviathan himself mentioned that MC woke up from her afternoon nap without making any fuss.

In short, the Avatar of Pride had the golden opportunity to wake toddler MC up.

As much as he didn't have the heart to wake her up, he'd have to brace himself for whatever that's to come as he sat on the edge of his bed. "MC," he began softly while gently rubbing her back. "Please wake up. Diavolo and Barbatos will be here in less than an hour. We need to get you dressed and ready for their arrival."

The said toddler finally moved and, true to his own words, started letting out a disgruntled whine.

The demon felt his heart tug. Never in his life would he hear MC looking and sounding so upset, frustrated at herself. Perhaps she didn't get enough sleep, he guessed, or feeling a little disoriented. It could even be hunger since everyone in the house would have to wait for Diavolo and Barbatos's arrival before they could have their first meal of the day; or the nth for a certain sixth born demon. As he himself wasn't a morning demon, he could understand where her crankiness was coming from. Although, there wasn't much time to think. Tears began to well up the toddler's eyes, and her sobbing commenced before it got louder as time passed. He had to act quick before she starts wailing loudly and then have his brothers barge into his room to roast him like a fried shadow bat.

No way in Devildom would he allow that to happen, let alone have them realise that MC shed her first tears while she was under his care.

Removing the duvet, he placed his hands on the sides of her ribs. Carefully, he lifted her up and placed the cranky toddler on his lap, hugging her to his chest and placing his chin on her crown before he started gently stroking her back. "It's okay," he cooed. "I'm here."

Lucifer had to be frank with himself. He wasn't sure whether what he was doing would change anything, for he felt that MC had been crying for a while. He had always been known for being the leader of among his brothers, the calm and composed one, but this was one of the rare moments when he was doubtful of his own actions. He swore with his brothers that all of them would do their best to care for MC while she was in her toddler self, so the thought of even making her uncomfortable would be disheartening for him.

Luckily, it worked. The toddler's crying gradually ceased, and the room fell silent, save the soft sniffling.

The demon let out a sigh of relief, not even realising it himself that he had been holding it in. He slightly leaned back to pull away to have a look at her face. Her cheeks were rosy and coated with tear streaks, eyes were red and swollen. Just when he thought he couldn't feel any worse than before.

"It's alright," he cooed as he cupped her cheeks, brushing away the tears with his thumbs. "You're alright. Just felt a little perplexed after waking up." MC must've understood what he said, as she rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, while one hand clutched onto the crow plushie, before sniffling once more.

A gentle smile crept across Lucifer's face. I'm sorry, he wanted to say aloud, telling that to a toddler should've been easy. But alas, the words got in the way. So much for being the Avatar of Pride. Instead, he opted for a gentle kiss on her forehead. At least that worked, judging by the giggle she let out.

"I’lL hElP mC gEt DrEsSeD wHiLe YoU gO wAkE tHe OtHeRs Up... Yeah, right. I call bull on that!"

"Beep beep beep! PDA police, coming in!"

"To think that our beloved eldest would take advantage of our beloved, innocent MC. I'm ashamed of you, Lucifer."

"How unfair of you, dear brother! Shall I put mine own pride aside and fight my kin for little Sheep-chan?"

"That's not fair. Mammon told us that you said to quickly get ready by the time Diavolo and Barbatos arrive. But why hasn't MC gotten ready and is instead playing with you?"

"Wait, I don't think they were playing. It looks like she cried not long ago."

"HUH?!/WHAT?!"

Just when the Avatar of Pride thought this day couldn't get any more difficult. How he wished that he was the one who was a toddler right now, oblivious to their surroundings and minded their own business like MC babbling to the crow.

[imaginesntingz]

Haikyuu Headcannons: When they’re obsessed with your 🍑 (Oikawa Tooru, Ukai Keishin, Kozume Kenma)

Warnings: Swearing, not super explicit/nsfw, but suggestive content so I’ll put it below the cut just in case

A/N: What’s good everyone? Here’s something that I’ve stayed up way too late working on. It’s 5 in the morning and I’ve forgotten my own name. Let me know if y’all want a continuation with other characters. They all ended up being setters in this one so I just went with it I guess. All characters are aged up and 18+. I hope you enjoy! Please don’t copy any of my writings. My content is originally written and I put a lot of time and effort into each piece. Ask me before reposting.

Oikawa Tooru:

Of course he’s respectful when you’re in public, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t noticed the way that new skirt he bought you last week accentuates your ass in justtt the right way.

You’ve caught him staring a few times and he always plays innocent like the sly little shit that he is.

You called him out once, but you know your mans is dramatic

“You wound me, (y/n) chan! What kind of a man do you take me for? I’m a gentleman! Honestly it’s not all that impressive anyways”

“Sounds like someone’s projecting”

“(Y/N), YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!”

“You blatantly asked for the smoke, so I kindly obliged~”

“I was just kidding, baby! Why’d you have to come for me like that? 😭😭😭😭”

You had one brattykawa on your hands after that one. Dats tough

Anywhooo

Once you two are alone OOF. This. Bitch. Is. SHAMELESS.

He can’t keep his hands off of you. Doesn’t matter the size or shape

Your ass = Tooru magnet

He could pick you out in a crowd of people based on that booty alone

You’ll be cuddling on the couch, you're on top with your head on his chest just watching a movie and enjoying each other’s presence. Then BAM he’s got both cheeks in each hand, squeezing and kneading firmly

“Neee, (y/n) chan~ You’re so soft, baby girl~ How is that even allowed? Damn you’re so gorgeous, princess”

You: Head Empty

You're bent over the kitchen island scrolling through your phone? This mans is playing patty cake on your buns. Those setter hands are dangerously powerful. Of course he knows how to restrain himself as to not hurt you but whew some of those spanks leave you deliciously breathless and your little gasps are like music to his ears… which usually leads to other tingzzzzz and Tooru teasing you for walking funny the next day

Could his ego get any bigger? I don’t know if we’d survive it

Wearing his favorite pair of leggings or those cute pajama shorts? It’s on sight. You’re trapped beneath this painfully beautiful brat of a man and you wouldn’t have it any other way

And lawwdd if you know how to twerk. He might just faint on the spot

RIP Oikawa it was for a good cause

Ukai Keishin:

Oh boy

Keishin gives me serious ass man vibes. Idk what it is

He worships you in every way possible, but that ass holds a special place in this cranky man’s heart

After a long day of working with crops, managing the store and volleyball practice, this man is tired and grumpy. Hinata somehow managed to almost meet his eternal rest when he was nearly hit by a TRUCK and a CAR and a BIKE and a STATIONARY POLE trying to outdo Kageyama while racing in the neighborhood. He swears those kids have taken at least ten years off his life span.

This man is v stressed

So when he comes home to find you reading in bed on your stomach in nothing but his t-shirt and those sexy panties that show off that beautiful bum… Honestly he could’ve cried he was so geeked.

He teared up a bit ngl (He’d never admit it tho)

This guy swan dived into bed, wrapping his arms around your waist, nuzzling his face into your glorious cakes

“Bad day, hon?”

“Mmmphh”

He took a fat nap right then and there

He was so bitchy and whiny when you woke him up to change sleeping positions (as long as you let him slip a hand on a cheek when you got comfortable, he’s a happy camper)

He just loves feeling the warmth and weight of it in his hands, it’s comforting to him and feels super grounding idk

But boy oh boy does this man love to give it a good smack or two or ten

Watch out bb 😈

He’ll spank you anywhere anytime, but he’s real sneaky about it in public….until he’s not LOL. It just depends on the environment and who is around

Like Oikawa, the strength in those setter hands will have you shOOk to the core especially a seasoned one like Kei

One time you were doing your morning stretches, slipping into downward dog and HO. NEY. Keishin was already pulling you flush against his pelvis and smacking that 🍑 like a djembe drum until tears pricked your eyes. Your whole body was vibrating with desire it was WILD

“Ohhhh, sweetheart. You are a work of fucking art, you know that? You’re not going anywhere today. That’s a promise.”

And that’s how you ended up with twins. Not sorry.

10/10 would recommend

Kozume Kenma:

Listen Linda

It took a while for you to notice

But Kenma is truly OBSESSED with the booty

It took him a while to even admit it to himself tbh

He would look away immediately when he caught himself staring

And he may have appeared chill on the surface but blondie was internally screaming as you literally sat on top of him while he was gaming

He was so hesitant poor bb was overthinking it so hard. He just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable or think he was weird etc etc

It was confirmed to you when you started waking up in the middle of the night to a fully unconscious Kenma giving your ass subtle squeezes in his sleep

You’ll literally have to sit this man down and be super direct about it

Once you give him the go ahead chillle it’s on and poppin

Only when y’all are alone of course cuz as we know, Kenma is v shy and a very private person

He’s not the pda type in general

Again, he loves it when you sit on top of him when he’s playing video games. Especially when you straddle him. His hand does this smooth slide down your back that sends shivers down your spine before settling over the swell of your butt. He’ll give the occasional rub and caresses your thigh softly. Another muse of his. Kenma LIVES for your thighs. Would happily be suffocated by them. Whoops. Squeeze them around his waist or grind into his lap and you’ll be on your back faster than you can say yes please

When you’re cuddling, he’ll just start jiggling that cake in his hands. He finds it fascinating, soothing and unbelievably hot all at once. The perfect combination in his opinion.

“ . . . Kenma?”

“Hm?”

“Watcha doin back there?”

*continues in concentrated silence*

“Babe??”

“. . . You’re like a sexy human stress ball . . So soft . . So cute . . So squishy . .”

“Ummmkay?”

My mans is hypnotized. He would do that shit for hours if you let him let’s be real. That thang is thangin

He would buy you ALL of the jeans, leggings, shorts, dresses, hoodies, crops, shirts, skirts. Everything and anything that fits your body type in all the right places, Kenma is on it and good lord is he invested. He absolutely spoils you. Blondie bae is surprisingly good at keeping your style in mind while also pushing you to try new things that end up making you look stunning. Big ups

The only time Kenma has spanked you was in retaliation. You wanted to see his reaction to being spanked. So once when he was distracted by his switch, you slowly walked up behind him and SMACK

Kenma nearly dropped the damn switch 😤 You’ve never seen this boi whip his whole body around and bend you over so fast

Two swift yet heavy blows to your backside had you rethinking your whole life. Everything about that moment lives in your head rent free

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hey Steph, really adore your blog. I saw your ask about s3 and s4 John and his anger. do you have any pics that deal with that? I think his anger is caused by his jealousy. he loves Sherlock and is deeply insecure about S's love for him. I'd love to find some fics that actually deal with all of that. thank you. x

Hey Nonny!!

I DO!!! Been waiting for another ask to finally get this list up and out! Hope you find something you enjoy on this one! <3

ANGRY / CRANKY JOHN

See also:

Jealous John b/c of Other People

Jealous John

Jealous John Pt. 2 and Jealous Sherlock Pt 2 

Jealous John Pt 3 and Jealous Sherlock Pt 3 

Jealous John and Sherlock Pt. 4 

Jealous John and Sherlock Pt. 5

Texts and Tea by JillianWatson1058 (K, 959 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Texting, Humour, Fluff, POV John, Cranky John) – A John who is woken up at 2:30 in the morning is not a happy John. Sherlock, frankly, doesn’t care. He just wants his tea.

And, Usually, He's the One Who GIVES Me a Headache by Cumberbatch Critter (T, 1,315 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, POV John, Cranky John, Headaches, Head Massage) – A migraine is never fun.

Hallucinations can't open doors by Bespectacled dreamer (K+, 1,330 w., 1 Ch. || Reunion, Hurt / Comfort, Friendship, Hallucinations, John’s Wedding, Light Humour) – In which John gets married and Sherlock gets a broken nose.

The 3x John Carried Sherlock, and Once ViceVersa by ShinkonoKokoro (K+, 1,673 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Friendship, Three and One, BAMF John, Sherlock Whump, Worried Sherlock, John Gets Shot) – It happens more than he suspects.

Baskerville After Dark by Ttime42 (T, 1,921 w., 1 Ch. || THoB, Friendship, Humor, Bed Sharing, Missing Scenes, Cranky John, Cuddles) – John and Sherlock have to share a bed at Baskerville. Gen, but can be preslash.

Stay by sussexbound (M, 2,067 w., 1 Ch. || Post TAB, Suicidal Ideation Mention, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Kissing, Love Confessions, Frottage, Coming in Pants) –  “Why? Why did you do it? Hmm…?” He takes a deep breath, waits, lets it out again. “Look at me.” There’s no denying him when he takes this tone. “Why did you kill him? Hmm…? For her? After…” A muscle twitches in the corner of John’s eye, and he clamps his jaw down tightly, swallows and sniffs a little before continuing. “For her? After everything she’s done?” “For you.” Before he can even stop himself. Just like that.

Denial Isn’t Just a River in Egypt by satanatemycat (T, 2,107 w., 1 Ch. || Humour, Friendship, Texting, Bored/Cranky Sherlock) – In which John makes a bet with a co-worker. If he wins, she shuts up about him and Sherlock being a couple. If he loses… well, that doesn’t matter, because he won’t lose. Because he and Sherlock ARE NOT a couple. Right?

Nothing Left Untouched by ForeverShippingJohnlock (K+, 2,617 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Romance, Bed Sharing, Oblivious Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Grumpy John, Fluff and Cuddles) – Sherlock rearranges the flat. So what if John's bedroom is now a research library. It's not like John needs a bedroom, he can share with Sherlock. They're friends and John has obviously slept in close quarters with men before and it's not like Sherlock sleeps much anyway. It'll be fine.

Those Days by StillWaters1 (T, 2,663 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD / Sensory Attacks, Caring Sherlock) – If Sherlock had danger nights, then these were John's danger days.

Extraordinary by ardenteurophile (T, 2,739 w., 7 Ch. || Angst, Pining, Romance, Second Person POV Sherlock, Pre-Slash) – Sherlock tries to understand his preoccupation with one Doctor John Watson - the one case he can never solve.

BBCSH 'The Comfort of Company' by tigersilver (T, 2,769 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF/Mary, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Bed Sharing, Grumpy John, Touching, Clingy/Handsy Sherlock, Cranky Sherlock, Fluff and Light Angst) – It's a trope that John and Sherlock end up sharing in the same bed eventually and I admit I do adore it unconditionally, along with all it infers as to the lowering of defenses and the heightening of trust. I put forth for your consideration that the notion persists because those who think about these things realize these two men are each in dire need of some good company.

Unquantifiable by 221b_hound (M, 2,799 w. 1 Ch. || Est. Rel., Grumpy John, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Pet Names, Texting, Sweet Sherlock, Princess Bride References) – John remains a terrible and foul-tempered patient, but he does try to make up for it with pet names and text message silliness. In the meantime, Sally Donovan visits Baker Street for a hint about the Milverton case, and has to deal with a Sherlock Holmes who can't find words big enough to thank her for saving John's life at the warehouse. For afters, there's a viewing of The Princess Bride. Part 33 of the Unkissed series

Bathroom Accessories by Evenlodes_Friend (E, 3,324 w., 1 Ch. || Sex Toys, Butt Plug, First Kiss / Time, Romance, Horny Sherlock, John’s Patience Wears Thin, Humour, Bottomlock) – John discovers that Sherlock has been playing with some very adult toys in the bath.

After the Bombs by VampirePam (T, 3,337 w., 2 Ch. || THoB AU, Drugs, John’s PTSD, Panic Attack, Nightmares, Caring Sherlock, Cuddles, Bed Sharing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort) – In which the drugs Sherlock used to dose John trigger a severe episode of PTSD. When terrors old and new cause John to fall apart, Sherlock must rectify his mistake and pick up the pieces.

Breakfast, acronyms and brotherhood by Rose de Sharon (K+, 4,074 w., 1 Ch. || TBB Fic, Friendship/Bromance, Hurt/Comfort, Protective John, Fluff) – Set after The Blind Banker: my take of Sherlock and John's conversation over breakfast. S/J friendship, bromance, no slash.

Afghanistan in Baskerville by Amaya Ramiel (K+, 4,357 w., 1 Ch. || THoB Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drugged John, PTSD / Panic Attack, Hallucinations, Worried Sherlock, John’s Past, Friendship) – What if John hadn't seen the hound when Sherlock trapped him in the lab? What if instead, his very real nightmares of the war had materialized all around him? Trapped and drugged, John can't tell what's real and what's not. How will Sherlock react?

What John Doesn't Know (Won't Hurt Him) by blueink3 (NR [T], 4,392 w., 1 Ch, || S3 Fix It, Pining Sherlock, Snippets of Life, Hurt/Comfort, Scars, Fluff and Angst, Five and One, Hopeful Ending, POV Sherlock) – Five people who see Sherlock's scars before John Watson. But Sherlock's secrets were never something he could keep from his blogger for long.

Overture by Kate_Lear (M, 4,435 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Angry John, Introspection, Dev. Rel., Embarassed / Insecure Sherlock, Morning After, Bed Sharing, Cuddles / Limpet Sherlock) – A short snippet on how John and Sherlock might have got together.

When Your Belly's in the Trench by Morgan_Stuart (T, 4,743 w., 1 Ch. || PTSD, Character Study, Rescue, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Torture, Trauma, Danger, Drama, Kidnapping/Captivity) – The next time that door opens, John Watson will kill the person on the other side.

Given In Evidence by verityburns (M, 5,034 w., 19 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Angst, Drama, Case Fic, Romance, BAMF!John, Submissive Sherlock, First Kiss, Humour) – Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...

This Year by DiscordantWords (T, 6,283 w., 2 Ch. || TEH Divergence / No Mary, New Year’s Eve, John’s A Mess, Jealous John, Awkward Conversations, Trapped in a Closet, Estranged After Return, John POV, Semi-Reunion, Angry John, First Kiss, Reconciliation, Clueless Sherlock, Happy Ending) – Last year, Sherlock Holmes showed up at the Landmark with a fake moustache and a bad French accent and threw John's entire life into disarray with two words: "Not dead." This year, there are more surprises in store.

An Interpretation of Viewing Habits by akitsuko (E, 6,653 w., 1 Ch. || Porn Watching, Masturbation, Anal, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss / Time, Declarations of Love, Jealous Sherlock, Fantasizing, John in Denial / Internalized Homophobia, Bottomlock, Pining Idiots, Sherlock Has No Boundaries, Cockblocking Sherlock) – John watches porn. It's a perfectly normal thing to do.If every video he watches happens to feature actors with remarkable physical similarities to his flatmate, well, that's no one's business but his own. Or: John is in denial, until his infatuation with Sherlock is impossible to deny anymore.

BANG by ElvendorkInfinity (T, 7,016 w., 3 Ch. || Post-TGG AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Worried / Scared Sherlock, Alternating POV, Whump, Hospital Recovery, Open Ending) – 'I should warn you,' Sherlock says, his voice steady and his eyes fixed on Moriarty. 'You are sadly misinformed.' And he fires. Prequel to M Is For Moriarty

Stranded by BeautifulFiction (T, 5, 798 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Communication / Relationship Discussion, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, BAMF John, Doctor John, Case Fic, Drinking, Huddling For Warmth, Friends to More) –  When stranded on a derelict barge at high tide, John and Sherlock reconsider their friendship.

London Gods by a_different_equation (E, 11,092 w., 5 Ch. || American Gods Fusion || Magical Realism, Sex Magic, True Love, PTSD John, First Kiss/Time, Marathon Sex, Sensuality, Genie Sherlock, Human John, Internalize Homophobia, Star-Crossed Lovers, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes is a jinn who does not grant wishes. However, when Dr. John H. Watson, recently returned from the war in Afghanistan, gets into his cab by "accident", it might not even need magic to grant both men their deepest wish: love.

There's So Much Labour Just in Breathing Lately by Susan (E, 12,708 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF / Mentions of S3 Events, Romance, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Grieving John, Mutual Pining, Meddling Mycroft, Therapy, Ambiguous Hopeful Ending, Infidelity) – The dreams he hated most – the ones that left him a sweating, shaking mess when he woke – were the ones in which Sherlock was just Sherlock. Laughing or drinking tea. Sitting across the table from him at Angelo’s eating pasta. Trailing his open hand behind him on the way to the bedroom. “C’mon, John. I’m about to have my way with you.”

Shuteye Shenanigans by Ayakae (K+, 13,263 w., 8 Ch. || Post-TRF, Friendship / Epic Bromance, John’s Nightmares, Angsty Fluff, Bed Sharing, Humour, Cuddles, Taking Care of Each Other, Domestics) – John Watson has never slept with Sherlock Holmes. Never ever ever. And never will, thank you very much. Well, there was that one time, but John didn't count that. It was completely different, just like the second time it happened. And the third. And the fourth. Epic bromance, but it can be read as pre-slash if you wish.

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John's preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination?, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

I Think I've Come A Long Long Way To Sit Before You Here Today by ArwenKenobi (T, 18,251 w., 3 Ch. || Grief/Mourning, Passage of Time, Major Character Death, Alternating POV, Sherlock Whump, Pining Sherlock, Hospitalization, Coma, Revenge Murders, Hallucinations, Love Confessions, Brutal Accident, Mystrade, Ghost John) – One year after John is killed Sherlock starts to wonder whether John has actually gone anywhere.

Out of the Woods by SilentAuror (E, 20,471 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Romance, Slow Burn, Flirting, Drunk Sex, Practical Jokes, POV Sherlock, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Pining Sherlock, Frustrated Wanking, Frottage, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Kiss/Time, Virgin Sherlock, Love Confessions, Soft Sherlock, Dancing, Bum Appreciation, Hanging out with the Yard) – Sherlock is fairly certain that John has taken to flirting with him of late, but can't be entirely certain of it. At least, not until a case takes them into a forest, along with Lestrade's team and something happens that will change everything about their lives...

A Quiet Life by DiscordantWords (M, 25,176 w., 6 Ch. || Post S4, Retirement, POV Sherlock, Awkwardness, Established Relationship, Family Dynamics, Minor Character Death, Questionable Parenting Choices, Non-Linear Narrative, 20 Year Old Rosie, Meddling Mycroft, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Angst, Sherlock Whump) – There had been three days of silence and a funeral. Sherlock had the terrible feeling that whatever happened next would depend, entirely, on him.

To Mend Icarus by AlessNox (T, 28,347 w., 14 Ch. || Post-TRF / Pre-S3 Divergence, BAMF John, Anger, Fighting, Sex, Bed Sharing, Stalking, Case Fic, John’s Past, Introspection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crime, Mythology, Darkness) – After a case lands John Watson in court, he tells Sherlock that he is leaving. Not understanding why, Sherlock decides that the only way to learn the truth is to investigate his flatmate, Dr. John Watson. Sherlock finds that coming back is not enough to fix all of the damage that he caused by leaving. A post Reichenbach, post reunion re-discovery fic.

Hellfire by testosterone_tea (E, 28,596 w., 9 Ch. || Fantasy / Magic / Mages / Elementals AU || Mage Sherlock, Elemental John, Developing Relationship, Torture, Powerful / BAMF John, POV Alternating, Dark / Blood Magic, UST, First Kiss) – Sherlock is a Mage that gets involved with a case involving Dark Summoning rituals, leading him to John Watson, a man with Berserker blood. The only thing is, Berserkers have been extinct for centuries. And of course, nothing involving Mycroft and his interfering ways is ever simple. This time, even Sherlock may have bitten off more than he can chew.

A Home for Us by sussexbound (M, 30,581 w., 12 Ch. || Scars, Bedsharing, Grief, Doctor John, Hurt/Comfort, Post-TRF, Implied/Referenced Torture, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation, Heavy Emotions, Clingy Sherlock, Hallucinations, Disassociation, Emotional Turmoil) – He has been on the road for two years, and he is exhausted. He’s almost accepted that he will never see London (John) again—almost. But then there are nights like tonight, where he is weak, and all he can think of is the warmth of the flat they once shared, the crackle of the fire in the hearth, the teasing smile playing at the corner of John’s lips, the boxes of half-eaten Chinese takeaway balanced precariously in their laps. He aches at the memory of it, at the realisation that it is something he may never experience again.

carrying up his morning tea by darcylindbergh (E, 34,504 w., 5 Ch. || Post S3, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Wakes/Funerals, Estranged John, Pining Sherlock, Depression/Insecurity, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Chronic Pain/Injury, Reconciliation, Awkwardness, Loneliness, Scars, Angst With Happy Ending) – His fingers tremble as he dials and he can’t force them steady. Familiar number, even though he hasn’t used it in two years. He isn’t even sure he should be calling it now, but she’d asked. She’d made him promise.

(Never) Turn Your Back to the Sea by DiscordantWords (M, 39,968 w., 7 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It || Grief / Mourning, Victor Trevor, Friendship, Sherlock is Not Okay, Nightmares/Flashbacks/Panic Attacks, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, John Comes Home) – Baker Street is very much the same. Only different. And Sherlock is just trying not to drown.

Only To Be With You by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John (M, 40,768 w., 4 Ch. || Black Mirror / Future AU || Character Death, Future Technology, Sickness/Cancer/Illness, Heavy Angst with Happy Ending, First Person POV John, Pining John, Heart-Wrenching Angst) – I tell myself that next time I’ll come near this same place again. Wait around for the mysterious stranger in his coat to dash past me, hot on the heels of a new criminal in black. I think this all the way back to my Exit, planning where I’ll wait and what I’ll say when I see him. Scheming on how to get his name. It’s only once I reach the Exit Point door that I realize two hours and forty-five minutes have passed, and I realize that this won’t be the last time I Visit. It won’t be the last time at all.

Guidelines by WithLoweredVoices (M, 43,018 w., 15 Ch. || Winglock || Angels, Fantasy, Angst, BAMF! John, War, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Jealous John, Falling in Various Ways) – The Good Soldier, one of the oldest and strongest of the fallen, is offered a bargain: to live as John Watson and to Guide a fledgling archangel so that he will stay on the path of good. Of course, Sherlock Holmes has different ideas about his destiny. Fantasy AU. Warnings for violence, occasional gore, and a whole load of hurt and angst.

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case ... and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Inscrutable to the Last by DiscordantWords (M, 48,842 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Alternate S3, John’s Blog/S3 is a Story By John, Divorce, Marital Difficulties, John is a Mess, Emotional Reunion, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grief / Mourning, Pining John, First Kiss, Adorably Clueless Sherlock, Nostalgia, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – He wasn't Sherlock, he couldn't work miracles. All he'd ever been able to do was write about them.

Impossible to Feign by achray (M, 49,204 w., 12 Ch. || TRF Rewrite / Reverse Reichenbach, Suicidal Ideations / Discussions, Drug Use/Abuse, Mutual Pining, Friends With Benefits, John Accepts his Sexuality, Anxious Sherlock, Meddling Mycroft, Depression, Hallucinations, Secret Agent John, BAMF John, Reunion, Make-Up Sex, Ambiguous Ending) – Sherlock leant forward, his long fingers curving round to grip John’s.“I won’t let him win,” he said, eyes hard. “I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by SilentAuror (E, 50,635 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4/S4 Divergence, Case Fic, For a Case / Reverse Fake-Relationship, Conferences, Marriage Equality, Travelling / New York, Pride, Homophobia, Bottomlock, Marriage Proposal, John POV, Sexuality, Love Confessions, Emotional Love Making, Public Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Passionate Kissing, Needy/Clingy Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Touching / Hand Holding, Bed Sharing, Little Spoon Sherlock, Intense Orgasms) – John and Sherlock go to New York to attend a conference run by the National Defence of Traditional Marriage Coalition in order to investigate the potential bombing of the annual Manhattan Pride parade. As the conference unfolds, John finds himself repulsed by the toxic ideology being presented, which becomes relevent to his own unacknowledged issues and his friendship with Sherlock...

Repairing the Broken Things by BakerTumblings (M, 75,252 w., 15 Ch. || S4 Compliant, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Trauma, Hospitals, Big Brother Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Realizations, Severe Accident, John Whump, Pneumonia, Medical Procedures, Bed Sharing, First Time, Healing, Happy Ending) – "I'm calling today to notify you that there's been an accident."

The Hollow Woman by ScopesMonkey (M, 51,335 w., 22 Ch. || Post-TRF, Major Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Friendship, Family, Angst, Crime, Reunion, First Kiss / Time, Nightmares, Doctor John, Jealous Sherlock, Jealous John, BAMF John, Angry John, Dub-Con, Rough Sex, Bottomlock, Possessive John, Villain Mary, Open Ending) – Forced to return to London sooner than expected, Sherlock falls into a case too close to home. Part 1 of the Hollowverse series

A Goose Quill Dipped in Venom by Polyphony (M, 52,748 w., 16 Ch. || Celebrity John AU || Alternate First Meeting, TV Host John, Supermodel Mary, Character Death, Mystery, Romance, Case Fic, First Kiss/Time, Meddling Mycroft, Drug Abuse, Doctor John, PDA, Deductions, POV Sherlock, Toplock, Sexual Tension, Angry/Rough Sex, Hopeful Ending, Asperger’s Sherlock) – Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, is called in to a very ordinary although brutal murder. Something is badly out of tune with the whole scenario and Sherlock finds himself becoming more and more obsessed with the crime - and also with the victim.

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

Never Change a Running System by Lorelei_Lee (E, 54,246 w., 18 Ch. || Pre-TRF, Romance, Humour, Drama, Sex Toys, Anal, Rimming, Masturbation, Frottage, Blow Jobs, Public Sex, First Kiss / Time, Virgin Sherlock / Loss of Virginity, Accidental Voyeurism, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Experiments, Naive Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Possessive Sherlock, Straight With an Exception John, Hand Jobs) – Sherlock discovers his sexuality – with far-reaching consequences for John.

Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (NR [E], 54,437 w., 50 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post S3, Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV, Light Humour, Reconnecting, Declarations of Love) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world … and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

Lunar Landscapes by J_Baillier (M, 57,046 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || S3/TAB Fix-It, Slow Burn Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Confessions, Drugs, Pain, Medical, Injury, Sherlock Whump, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Romance, Secrets,  Tragedy, Trauma, BAMF John, Doctor!John, Drug Addict Sherlock, Injured Sherlock, Grieving John, Idiots In Love,  Protective John, POV John Watson, PTSD Sherlock, Sherlock is a Mess, Medical Realism) – An accident forces John to face the fact that Sherlock's downward spiral had started long before his flight to exile even left the tarmac.

The Bells of King's College by SilentAuror (E, 64,019 w., 5 Ch. || Post-S4, Missed Opportunities, Angst with Happy Ending, Fake Relationship, Case Fic, John POV, Jealous John, John in Denial, Travelling / Holidays, Virgin Sherlock, Wedding Proposals) – It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

Hell Sent, Heaven Bound by ConsultingHound (M, 64,381 w, 16 Ch. || Angels / Demons AU ||  Fallen Angel Sherlock / Angel Cop John, Alternate First Meeting, Slow Burn, Case Fic, John & Lestrade are Friends Before Sherlock, BAMF John, Mind Palace John, Friends to Lovers, John in Denial, Sherlock Picks Out John’s Clothing, Clubbing / Dancing, Mildly Jealous John, Awkwardness, Kidnapping, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Sacrifice, Worried / Anxious Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Immortal to Mortal) – Ex-War healer and current angelic guard John Watson is not having the best day. He overslept, he’s underpaid, and now there’s someone tagging the Council’s building walls. However things may be about to get interesting: there’s an unusual stranger hanging around (the definition of tall, dark, and handsome), a literal underground cult is brewing, and rumblings are coming from hell. Can he keep his neighbourhood safe, how and why is he being connected to all this, and who the hell is Sherlock Holmes?

White Knight by DiscordantWords (M, 69,840 w., 13 Ch. || S4 Compliant/Post S4, Marriage For a Case, Jealous John, Pining John, Janine / Sherlock Fake Relationship, Serial Killers, Case Fic, Undercover as a Couple, Weddings, John is a Mess, Misunderstandings, Wedding Planning, Jealousy, Drunkenness, Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending) – Green. The word green was used to convey a great many things. Illness. Envy. Inexperience. Standing there amidst Janine's chattering bridesmaids, watching Sherlock furrow his brow and study fabric swatches, watching him smile and simper and flirt, John thought it a remarkably apt colour choice. Because he felt quite sick to his stomach, he feared the source of said sickness might very well be jealousy, and he had absolutely no idea at all what to do about it. Or: Sherlock needs to fake a relationship for a case. He doesn't ask John.

Just To Hold You Close by sussexbound (E, 70,841 w., 18 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, Sherlock POV, ASD Sherlock, PTSD John, Demisexual Sherlock, Bisexual John, Cuddling/Snuggling, Platonic Cuddling, Enthusiastic Consent, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, First Kiss/Time, Sexual Tension, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Cuddle Negotiations, For a Case Until It Isn’t, Hair Petting, Sexual Negotiation, Anxiety, Trust Issues, Slow Burn, Panic Attacks, Frottage, Hand/Blow Jobs, Referenced Self Harm / Abuse / Suicidal Ideation, First Kiss/Time, Anal) – When a woman is murdered and the last person to see her alive is recently invalided army vet turned reluctant (and prickly) professional cuddler, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes is pulled into a world of intimacy and intrigue he never could have imagined. John is a conundrum and mystery: frank yet reserved, tender yet angry, open yet afraid. Sherlock is instantly drawn into his orbit, and begins to feel and desire things he never has before.

The Vapor Variant by 88thParallel (CanadaHolm) (M, 72,684 w., 18 Ch. || Post-THoB, John Whump, Protective Sherlock, Guilty Sherlock, Anxious/Worried Sherlock, Virgin Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD John, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Suspense, Virus, Sickfic, Big Brother Mycroft) – They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril. They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear. Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods. Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.

The Monument of Memory by J_Baillier (M, 79,663 w., 14 Ch. || Post S4 Fix It Fic / S4 is Canon, Angst, Family Drama, Guilt, Case Fic, John Loves Sherlock, Complicated Feelings, Mentalism / Hypnosis, Murder, Grieving John, Sherlock is a Bit Not Good, Team Work, Trust Issues, BAMF John, Psychological Trauma, Protective John, Autistic-Spectrum Sherlock, Parentlock, John POV) –  A genius traumatised by a past he's only beginning to recall. The psychopath sister that time forgot. A missing woman and a mentalist who may or may not be a murderer. And, in the middle of it all, stands John Watson.

Thermocline by J_Baillier (M, 83,557 w., 14 Ch. || Scuba Diving AU || Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Marine Archaeology, Asexual Sherlock, Horny John, Relationship Drama, Technical/Scuba/Wreck Diving, Slow Burn, Underwater /  Medical Peril, Doctor John, Hurt Sherlock, Anxious Sherlock, John POV, Protective John, Body Appreciation) – John "Five Oceans" Watson — technical dive instructor, dive accident analyst and weapon of mass seduction — meets recluse professor of maritime archaeology Holmes. As they head out to a remote archipelago off the coast of Guatemala to study and film its shipwrecks for a documentary, will sparks fly or fizzle out?

Not Broken, Just Bent by Schmiezi (E, 87,585 w., 43 Ch. || Pining, Love Confessions, Rape/Sexual Assault, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Angst, Villain!Mary, Suicidal Ideations, Main Character Death, Sherlock First Person POV, Parentlock, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Love Making, Possessiveness, Depression, PTSD, Kidnapping, Virgin Sherlock, Eventual Happy Ending) – "For a second, I allow myself to remember teaching John how to waltz. There is a special room in my mind palace for it. A big one, with a proper parquet dance floor. For a second, I go there. I remember holding him, closer than the World Dance Council asks for, excusing it with the fact that we are training for a wedding, not for a competition. For a second, I feel his hand on mine again, smell his sweat, hear the song we used. For a second, I allow myself to love him deeply. For a second, only a second, that love reflects on my face." Fix-it for S3, starting at the end of TSoT. Evil Mary.

Kintsukuroi by sussexbound (E, 91,823 w., 20 Ch. || S4 Compliant / Post-TLD, Grief / Mourning, PTSD, Internalized Homophobia, Therapy, Past Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, Anxiety, Bed Sharing, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Suicidal Ideation, Masturbation, Minor Character Death, Sexting, Frottage, Inexperienced Sherlock, Rimming / Anal / BJ’s, Emotional Turmoil, Finding Each Other) – “I love you.” Sherlock sees the words hit John with almost physical force. He reels back a little, jaw twitching and eyes filling. “I love you,” he repeats, a little softer, a little more gentle, as earnest as he possibly can. Because they’ve been teetering on the brink of this thing for years, and it had become painfully obvious over the last few months that they were at a tipping point. This had to happen. Now it has. Now they can see where they end up. The tears in John’s eyes spill over, and he wipes at them angrily. “Do you even know what that means?”  

The Summer Boy by khorazir (T, 94,706 w., 6 Ch. || Post S3/Post TAB/Alternate S4, Friends to Lovers, Asexual Sherlock, POV Sherlock, Flashbacks, Bullying, 1980′s Kid Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inexperienced Sherlock, Grief/Mourning, Pining Sherlock, Case Fic, Sherlock’s Past, Awkward Conversations, Anxious Sherlock, John Separated From His Child) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock. Part 1 of the The Summer Boy series

Northwest Passage by Kryptaria (E, 95,157 w., 27 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Canadian AU ||  BAMF!John, Canadian John, PTSD, Anal / Oral Sex, Rimming, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Drug Rehab, Falling in Love, Pining Sherlock, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Violin, Panic Attacks, Switching, Anxious / Protective Sherlock, Hugs for Comfort, Suicide Mentions, Healing Each Other) – Seven years ago, Captain John Watson of the Canadian Forces Medical Service withdrew from society, seeking a simple, isolated life in the distant northern wilderness of Canada. Though he survives from one day to the next, he doesn't truly live until someone from his dark past calls in a favor and turns his world upside-down with the introduction of Sherlock Holmes." Part 1 of Tales from the Northwest

The Cost of a Wish by slashscribe (E, 102,493 w., 12 Ch. || xxxHolic Fusion || Spirits / Ghosts and Magic, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Soul Mates / Fated Lovers, Adventure, Immortal Sherlock, Powerful John, POV John, Frottage, Wish Granting, Angst with Happy Ending, Nightmares) – John has been plagued by a secret his entire life that has made him feel hopeless until he meets a mysterious, seemingly omniscient man named Sherlock Holmes who owns a wish-granting shop. Their meeting sets off a series of inevitable events that will change the course of both of their lives forever.

Two Two One Bravo Baker by abundantlyqueer (E, 114,574 w., 27 Ch. || Military AU || Afghanistan, War Story, Thriller) – Captain John Watson of 40 Commando, the Royal Marines, is assigned to protect and assist Sherlock Holmes as he investigates what appears to be a simple war atrocity in Afghanistan. An intense attraction ignites between the two men as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything they’ve ever known, but Sherlock is as much hunted as hunter, and everyone close to him is in deadly danger. Can he solve the case in time to save himself and John? Part 1 of Two Two One Bravo Baker Universe

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

The Bang and the Clatter by earlgreytea68 (M, 137,049 w., 37 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Baseball AU || Slow Burn / Dev. Rel., Possessive/Obsessive Sherlock, Jealous Sherlock, Mutual Pining, Body Appreciation, Depression, Closeted Sexuality, Family, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Ogling Each Other, Anxious Sherlock, Panic Attack, Drunkenness, Talk of Forever, Big Feelings™) – Sherlock Holmes is a pitcher and John Watson is a catcher. No, no, no, it's a baseball AU. Part 1 of Baseball

The Adventure of the Silver Scars by tangledblue (NR [M], 142,458 w., 41 Ch. || S3 Fix-It, Post-HLV/ Post-TAB / Canon Compliant, Case Fic, No Baby, Angst, Humour, UST, Slow Burn, Angry John, Reconciliation, Not Nice Mary / Leaving Mary, Dependent Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Caretaker John, Fist Fights, It’s An Experiment, Virgin Sherlock, Dancing, Drugging, John Whump, Pet Names, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Scars) – It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

The Lost Special: Family Matters (As Do Relationships) by ShirleyCarlton  (M, 144,688 w., 40 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic / Meta Fic, Unreliable Narrator, John’s Mind Bungalow, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Demisexual Sherlock, Holmes Family, John Whump, Gay Mycroft, Misunderstandings, Drug Addiction, Parenting, TFP is a Nightmare, Virgin Sherlock, Slow Burn, Minor Character Death, Switchlock, John’s Past, Sherlock’s Past, Eurus, Love Confessions) – Sherrinford is not really the name of some high security prison. That was just a figment of John’s frantic coma dream. And Eurus is not actually Sherlock’s sister. That’s just something random she said to John before shooting him. Sherlock and John were never actually estranged. That was just their act to cover up what really happened to Mary – or Rosamund Moran, as her real name has turned out to be. Sherlock does have a secret sibling, though, and his name is Sherrinford. After finally eliminating Moran – though in a rather dramatically different way than they had envisioned – and exposing the truth about Eurus, John encourages Sherlock to delve into his past and to find out whether the reasons to keep Sherrinford away from Sherlock were the right ones, and to discover what really happened in 1981. Along the way, Sherlock and John gradually, finally, stop keeping each other at a distance, and eventually become a proper family of their own.

Against the Rest of the World by SilentAuror (E, 151,714 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Hiatus Fic, POV First Person Sherlock, Present Tense, First Kiss/Time, Big Brother Mycroft, Escaping from Capture, Soft Sherlock, Toplock, Insecurity, Infidelity, Travelling, Introspection, Pining Sherlock, Depression, Fantasies, Yearning for the Past, PTSD Sherlock, Suicidal Ideation) – Sherlock has been away from London for nine hundred and twelve days and counting, and has no idea what sort of reception to expect when he finally returns.

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

[flameohotfamily]

Any headcanons for mai and zuko having an “oopsie” baby several years after izumi?

lmao, i can definitely see it happening to them!!

they are surprised when it reveals mai is pregnant again. zuko wonders how they could succeed so easily – they struggled through years to conceive izumi, and that child just… happens. just like that.

he ‘cries’ from happiness when mai tells him, and during all that day he cracks goofy smiles here and there so his council and servants get concerned, unable to understand what is wrong with the usually serious and mighty fire lord.

zuko is super happy. he never thought that he would be so fond of children, but everything obviously changes when it comes to your children. they have firstborn izumi – the heir to the throne, so this time fire sages would leave them alone and this kid may actually have a happy childhood.

zuko plans how they would play and spend time together like a big happy family which consists of him with mai, their kids and the dragon because druk is the member of the family too!! zuko knows he would teach his children everything, support and protect them.

mai is irritated because it’s easy for zuko to talk – he’s not the one who should go through nine circles of hell again. that’s killing mai to be emotional and big like a platypus-bear again, and there would be pain eventually, and she wouldn’t have a chance to spar or fight, or eat her favorite spicy food, and zuko would be overprotective again. oh, agni what a nightmare!

(we all know that mai is complaining just for the record, she’s very happy too).

something is going with izumi when they tell her. she gets quiet and frowns all the time, refusing to fly with dad on druk or cuddle with mom, or sleep with them, or share how her day was.

zuko is confused, but mai seems to realize everything straight away. zuko might’ve not understood because he was little when azula was born, and he was almost an adult when he found out about kiyi.

it takes a whole evening to convince izumi that no matter how many siblings she would have, they will always love her, because she’s their izumi, their little princess, “dad’s little turtleduck” and “mama’s beloved girl” <3

izumi sniffles and cuddles around mai, admitting that she was afraid mom and dad will abandon her and forget, because “bumi said…”. 

at that very moment mai wants to slap bumi, but mostly his parents. when izumi puts her hand on mai’s belly and smiles, mai knows that’s progress.

that pregnancy goes entirely different from the first one with izumi. mai is hungry and annoyed all the time, and poor zuko should deal with his ‘cranky pregnant wife’.

mai and zuko start to argue more and more when zuko stays late at work or forgets his promises to play/dance/read/train with izumi. mai wonders why she carries their second child if he keeps forgetting about their daughter, and zuko snaps then why she’s with him in the first place if he’s so insufferable. that always ends with “decide at least for yourself who you are firstly – a fire lord or a father.”

they always find a way to make up after zuko’s mumbled apologies and mai’s exasperated sighs.

izumi’s loud laugh when she presses her ear to mai’s big belly and the baby punches her lightly, mai can swear, is the best sound in the world <3

mai can say is the best feeling in the world when zuko hugs her from behind and warms her <3

for a long time they cannot pick a name for the baby, but one morning izumi suggests how she would name her little brother or sister, and they are like “’zumi, you’re a genius!”

mai’s labor pains begin two weeks earlier and she’s terrified that they can lose the child.

the delivery is even more difficult than with izumi, but in the end, they have their little son.

“he’s so beautiful, mai!” / “he’s all red and wrinkled… yes, he is beautiful.”

thanks for the ask! 

[cooliogirl101]

When they meet, Hashirama is a 18-year-old boy who’s known as an idealist fool with dreams bigger than himself and Hisana is a 15-year-old civilian girl with a cranky, elderly donkey as her only companion.

“No, no, no, not again,” Hisana groaned as she woke up to see that Carrot had-- once again-- chewed through her ropes and was now chomping away at some flowers further down the road. “Goddammit, get back here, you stupid donkey!”

At the sight of Hisana running towards her, Carrot took off at a fairly impressive speed, considering she was 22 years old and had arthritis. Not for the first time, Hisana considered just letting her go-- but then, that wouldn’t do. There were wolves out there (probably), just waiting to make a meal out of some poor old donkey, and Carrot was pretty slow when she wasn’t making Hisana’s life difficult. She wouldn’t survive.

The sound of muffled laughter caught Hisana’s attention and she looked up to see a teenage boy perched in a tree (where had he even come from??), one hand covering his mouth in a very poor attempt at hiding his amusement.

“Need some help?” He offered, eyes glinting with humor as he took in Hisana’s sorry attempt at chasing down her donkey.

Hisana briefly considered turning him down to try and preserve what remained of her dignity, then glanced back at Carrot’s departing figure and promptly decided it was too early in the morning for things like personal pride and chasing down donkeys.

“If you don’t mind,” she said, only a little grudgingly. The stranger’s lips quirked up and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves, only to reappear holding Carrot’s reins a second later.

Hisana blinked. So he was a shinobi. Alrighty, then.

“Here you go,” the stranger said cheerfully, a grumpy donkey trotting behind him.

Scowling, Hisana marched up to Carrot and swatted her lightly on the head.

“Do that again and I’ll make donkey skewers out of you, don’t think I won’t,” she threatened. Carrot nudged at her, nosing around for something to eat, and Hisana sighed, wrapping her arms around Carrot’s neck in a hug before turning to the stranger.

“Thank you. Really,” she said, giving him a faint smile. “You saved me ten minutes of chasing after her.”

“No need to thank me! It was no trouble at all, honestly,” the stranger laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was glad to help.”

Hisana studied him for a moment. She didn’t think he was acting, exactly, but there was something almost scripted about the way he spoke, his posture, his expressions, every movement carefully telegraphed. Like he was taking care to appear as harmless as possible.

It didn’t take a genius to realize why. This may have been her first time encountering a shinobi in person, but she’d heard more than enough stories.

They’re killers, Hisana, plain and simple. People without honor, who slaughter children, innocents, each other-- whoever they’re paid to slaughter-- without hesitation or remorse. Monsters in every sense of the word.

“Hey, um,” she said slowly. “Have you eaten?”

“I beg your pardon?” The shinobi asked, startled.

“I asked if you’d had breakfast yet,” Hisana repeated. “If not, would you care for something to eat? I can offer you--” She paused to mentally take stock of her food inventory. “--leftover meat buns, half an apple, and some vaguely sketchy berries.”

The shinobi coughed.

“Vaguely sketchy berries?” He asked, lips twitching. Hisana shrugged.

“I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re harmless. I’ve been snacking on them for days and I haven’t died yet, which is a good sign.” She smiled at him. “So, breakfast?”

“Yeah,” the shinobi said quietly, after a pause. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes, almost like he was waiting for her to withdraw her invitation. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

~~

“I’m Hisana, by the way.”

“Hashirama. It’s very nice to meet you, Hisana.”

~~

Hashirama ended up staying for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then for another two days past that. Shinobi, it turned out, made for very good hunters, something Hisana discovered very quickly into their acquaintance.

“Hashirama,” she said, staring at the struggling rabbit in Hashirama’s hand. “This is the fifth rabbit you’ve brought me. I appreciate the thought, but--” She gestured helplessly in the general direction of the rabbit. “--it’s really too much.”

“It’s okay, you can save it for later!” His expression fell. “Unless you’re tired of rabbits? Wait no, of course you’d be tired of rabbits, I should have thought of that. I can get you something else instead? Maybe a pheasant? I think I saw some pheasants around here.”

Hisana studied him for a moment.

“Hashirama,” she said abruptly. “Why did you decide to travel with me?”

“What do you mean?” Hashirama asked, brow furrowed.

“I mean that I’m well-aware I’m slowing you down. Don’t deny it, you can’t tell me that your maximum speed is that of a twenty-something year-old donkey,” she said, exasperated. “I’m not the best at cooking, and we’ve already established that you’re a far better of a hunter than I am. So why stay? Why travel with me when it’d be easier for you to travel alone?”

He was quiet for a long moment.

“You knew I was a shinobi and invited me to stay anyway,” he said finally, voice soft. He wasn’t quite meeting her eyes. “And besides, I like talking to you.”

Hisana swallowed, caught off guard.

“And I like talking to you,” she replied quietly. “I didn’t invite you along because I wanted your protection, or someone to hunt for me, or anything like that, Hashirama, I did so because I have fun spending time with you. If you like catching rabbits or whatever, that’s fine. But don’t feel like you have to do so for my sake, or that you need to-- to prove something to me.”

Hashirama let out a slightly shaky laugh.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m not very used to this,” he admitted. “You know, you’re the first civilian I’ve spent time with outside of a mission?”

“Well, you’re the first shinobi I’ve ever met,” she replied. He looked at her, surprised.

“Seriously? But you weren’t scared at all!” He exclaimed.

“Well, that’s on you,” she scoffed. “You weren’t very frightening.”

“Or maybe you’re just not very easy to scare,” he answered.

“If that helps your ego, sure,” Hisana grinned.

She reached down to stroke Carrot’s neck.

“So tell me, what was it like, growing up as a shinobi?

When Hashirama hesitated, she added, “You can lie about all the classified parts. It’s not like I would know, anyway.”

Hashirama laughed, shaking his head.

“Alright, then,” he said, smiling. “But I’m warning you, it’s really not as interesting as you’re probably imagining. I grew up in a large ninja clan, and--”

Bonus:

“Care to explain why you came back from your mission three days late?” Tobirama asked flatly. “Half the clan thought you’d died.”

Hashirama smiled, a slightly dreamy look in his eyes. Tobirama didn’t like it at all.

“Just took a detour, that’s all.”

The next time they meet, several years later, Hashirama is the newly appointed leader of his clan and Hisana has built a name for herself as a wandering clan-less healer (she listens for rumors of recent battles/bandit attacks/shinobi disputes and goes wherever there’s recent bloodshed. In doing so, she creates quite a few connections and ends up building the shinobi world’s largest, most detailed information network completely by accident).

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Little Dragon

Sokkla Saturdays 2021

Summary: Everyone else has gotten so tall. Everyone but Azula and she is not pleased. 

I know that the by ‘little’ the prompt meant ‘child’ but like apparently I’ve been left sharking this Sokkla Saturdays the whole time so have smol Azula.

Azula folds her arms, frowning with an intensity that could be envied. Toph has her arm propped up on the princess’ head. She knew that she should have fixed it up into a topknot. Next time she will be sure to wear her largest, pointiest crown.  She side steps to the left and Toph nearly topples. 

And yet the girl is laughing. Azula had nearly sent her to the ground and she is laughing. Laughing and punching her shoulder, “good one, sparky. You almost got me.” 

“Whatever.” Azula grumbles. 

“Someone is grumpy today.” Sokka remarks. 

Azula stiffens, “someone needs to mind his own business.” 

He slings his arm over her shoulder and ruffles her hair. She can live with that, he was always taller than her. But Aang? TyLee? And now Toph? Toph who had been particularly small looms over her. 

It isn’t right! It is criminal in fact. Treason committed by the universe against her!

“What’s wrong?” Sokka asks.

“Nothing.” 

“Nothing?” He quirks a brow and points to her lips, “that pout says otherwise.”

“Pout? I’m not pouting!” She protests. “Pouting is for petulant children.” Is he calling her a child? Is this his way of making a subtle jab about her height. Just because she is…

He lifts his hands, “okay, okay, you’re not pouting. You’re just...frowning sadly.” 

Azula sighs. “Sokka, you’re exhausting.”

“I sure am!” He declares with unwarranted pride. As he does so often, he takes her gently by the chin and tilts her head up. And as he does so often, he looks into her eyes for a few moments before stooping down to kiss her forehead. Sometimes he kisses her nose or her lips. But every time he has to stoop down. Her cheeks color slightly. 

“Get a room.” Toph shouts from across the one they are in. 

“Shut up, Toph!” Sokka calls back only for the girl to chuckle loudly. He shakes his head. “So why are we angry today?” 

“I’m not angry.”

“That was the angriest sounding declaration I’ve heard all morning.”

“Then you aren't listening correctly.” She insists. 

“No. I’m pretty sure you sound cranky.” He scoops her up. He doesn’t even have to cradle her or hoist her. He only has to hook his hands under her armpits and lift. 

“Put me down, you imbecile or I will give you a reminder of what it’s like to fear lightning…” 

He laughs again but his expression dims rather quickly, “I thought that you liked being carried?”

Her own expression softens if only a little. She does like being carried and, though she won’t admit it, it is quite nice to be held. But not today, not like this. It’s much too easy to lift her off the ground, it shouldn’t be so easy…

He carries her over to the sofa and puts her down. “Why don’t you like being carried anymore?”

She bites the inside of her cheek. “I do…”

“But…”

She shrugs, “just leave it alone, Sokka.”

She sees a flicker in his eyes, most likely a flicker of understanding. “This is about Toph and her short jokes isn’t it?”

Azula folds her arms over her chest again and waits a moment or two before replying, “it certainly isn’t. I do not care.” 

Maybe it was something in her tone, maybe he just knows her well enough by now, “she doesn’t mean anything by it. She’s just Toph, ya know? Sometimes she doesn’t know when to stop--like with Zuko and his scar or when she pokes at my non-bending. She also teases Katara for being so tall…”

“Oh poor Katara…” Azula gives an indignant sniff. Frankly, she is under the impression that Katara has stolen several inches that were meant to go to her. She is nearly as tall as Mai now. There are so many injustices in this world. 

Sokka ruffles her hair. “Trust me, being super tall doesn’t seem all that fun either.”

“It’s better than this.” At least Katara doesn’t have to seek out servants or awkwardly climb to reach the top shelf or to see over certain counters. At least people don’t treat her like a child.

.oOo.

Sokka sighs. “This,” he gestures to the length of Azula’s body--all four feet and eleven inches of her, “is perfect.” 

“To whom?”

“To me, Azula.” He gives her a squeeze. It is more than perfect, really. She is easy to hold and easy to pick up. Easy to hold hands and cuddle with. He enjoys handing her his shirts and watching her tamper with and tie them off so that they fit her better. There is just something endearing about her lounging around in an oversized shirt. Something more relaxed and easygoing, comfortingly so. “You’re cute.” 

“Have you ever considered that cute isn’t what I’m going for?” Azula scoffs. “Maybe I’d like to be…”

“Scary and intimidating? Trust me, you’re terrifying.” He chuckles. The daggers she can glare have a blinding intensity, a fiery furry that even Vaatu would tremble at. 

“Yes.” She nods. 

“And…” 

“And what?”

“What else?” Sokka pushes. “I can tell that there’s more.” 

“Perhaps I’d like someone to call be beautiful for a change. It’s always, ‘cute’, ‘adorable’, ‘precious’. It’s never, ‘pretty’ or something like that.” She turns her head but he can still see red creeping across her cheeks. “It’s a ridiculous thing to complain about, nevermind.” 

“It’s not ridiculous.” He pulls her in a little closer. “I think that they don’t call you pretty because they assume that you already know.” He kisses her nose and then her lips. “I think that they think that you need a reminder that you’re also loveable.” 

Azula furrows her brows. 

“Lovable, huggable...they fall under the cute category. I think so anyways.” 

“I want both.” 

He laughs again. “You’ve got both already.” He links his hand with hers. He thinks that this is another perk--she has small hands. They fit very comfortably in his own. He can scoop her into his arms and onto his lap and he does. 

Azula props her head up on his shoulder. “You’re perfect the way you are.”

It warms him to see the relief in her eyes even if she is quick to bury it away behind that confident bravado of hers. But that bravado crumbles again, just for a second, just long enough for her to say, “thank you, Sokka.” And as she so often does, she ruins the moment with an additional remark, “we’re not going to bring this up to anyone. Ever. Understood?” There is an unnecessary blaze in her eyes.

“Definitely still intimidating.” He mutters. “I won’t tell anyone.” He pats her back. And the blaze cools. She relaxes back into his arms and kisses the crook of his neck.

[jadedxrealityw]

-When We Are Alone- Draco malfoy x Female Reader

☼-🐍-☼

    Request: Hi! Before anything, I just want to say your writing has been living rent free in my mind, like I'd literally just be washing the dishes and I'll smile like an idiot because I remember that one imagine hehe.

Can I request an imagine where Draco and Y/n are in a relationship, but they started off as friends in their friend group along with Pansy, Theo and Blaise. They like to keep it private but everybody knows they're together. But the thing is, reader is the one who isn't used to affection that's why she asked Draco to just act like normal friends when others are around which even reluctantly, he accepts.So when they're all alone, that's when they get lovey-dovey and the reader gets all blushy.

Anddddd this is optional--- if you want to make it angst. Sometimes Draco feels as if he's not important enough for her because she's so good at not showing her affections when with others so he tries to avoid her. Reader thought it was just normal because they're not always sweet and romantic. But one day, someone who kept flirting with her was trying to persuade her into a relationship and kept saying Draco and her didn't seem real at all but while they were talking they didn't know Draco was eavesdropping. He didn't want to meddle in yet because he's so curious to know what she thinks too BUT THEN THE READER LIKE CONFESSED ALL HER LOVE FOR DRACO TO THE GUY, SAYING THINGS LIKE YOU MAY NOT SEE ME ALWAYS CLINGING AROUND HIM BUT HE'S LIKE MY WHOLE WORLD or something hehe so like really fluffy after. Anyway, dear. It's alright if you reject this though hehe but thank you in advance and thank you for writing amazing stories. Ily 💖

    Kody: Not me googling when is it okay to say i love you. What am i? A ROBOT!

   House: Slytherin

   Possible Triggers/Warnings: cursing, cormac mclaggen, insecure Draco, blaise and theo being cute as hell. 

   ☼-🐍-☼

   Six months ago

   as you sat on the sofa of the common room you felt a cold chill run through you. Even in the dungeons it was still cold. To be fair, you were only wearing a black tank top and a pair of mens boxers. There comfy, don’t judge. You had been waiting for your friends to wake up in the common room.

   the first two to come out were Blaise and Theo, holding hands, Theo was rubbing his eyes “Morning Y/n” Blaise smiles and you wave to him. Blaise sits on the loveseat and pulls Theo into in his lap who just lays his head on his chest and closes his eyes.

   you smile slightly at them. They were so cute together. You wonder what it was like being in a relationship. In all 17 years of your life you had never once been with somebody romantically. No one seemed to like you in that way. You longed for somebody to love and cherish you. What a childish dream now.

   “Sup bitches” and there was Pansy, she was wearing what looked liked Ginny’s Quidditch sweater. “Hey Pans” you say as she sits down on the floor in front of the sofa “Is Theo sleeping again?” Pansy says quite loudly, causing Blaise to hush her “Yes he is. So tone it down” he spoke

   Pansy held her hands up in surrender, choking back a laugh “Okay sorry. Anyway, Where’s Draco? He’s usually up first. Think he overslept?” she says, leaning back against the sofa you sat on. “Think? I know he overslept. I snuck into his room to get an extra pillow for Theo and he was still awake”

   Blaise laughs lightly, making Pansy’s eyes go wide “What time was it?” she asked. “three am in the morning” he replies. You look over at him and tilt your head “Did you ask why?” you ask. Blaise tenses up a bit before answering “Um- He just told me to shove off. You know Draco. He’s cranky when tired.”

   you nod slowly. Seemed like Draco enough. “Oh okay. I’m going to check up on him. Can one of you guys bring breakfast here?” you ask, climbing off the couch and stepping onto the cold floor. Pansy raises her hand and gives you a thumbs up “I’ll do it!- Oh shit sorry” she says and lowers her voice instantly.

   Blaise shoots her a glare as Theo stirs in his arms. You chuckle before walking out the common room and into the boys hall, leaving the three Slytherins alone. As Pansy watches you leave she turns to Blaise “’He told me to shove off’? Really? That’s the best you could up with?” 

   Blaise rolls his eyes as he waves his hand around “What was i supposed to say? Yeah Draco was up all night because he can’t stop thinking about you. Oh also everytime he sleeps he has dreams about you, cause that was the best option Pans” he huffs. Pansy groans before walking out the common room.

   back to you

   as you walked your mind wandered to Draco himself. You hoped he had been taking care of himself. He was your best friend and you wanted the best for him or maybe you told yourself that to convince yourself that you didn’t have a crush on him. You had been friends with Draco since you came to Hogwarts.

   feelings never really developed until last year and it���s like you finally saw him. The little things he did like grab your hand randomly or always fixing your hair became less platonic for you. A weird feeling would invade your stomach and your face would feel hot.

   it was strange because you had never felt this way about anyone. Especially Draco. You decided to not tell him in fear that he would reject you and it would break up your friend group. You liked him, but you loved your friends and you weren’t about to let some feelings ruin your  friendships.

   soon enough you were at Draco’s door. Please be wearing a shirt. Please be wearing a shirt. You knock twice and are surprised as the door pushes open. Had Blaise forgot to close it when he left Draco’s room the room the previous night? You slowly push the door open to see Draco laying in bed.

   as you walk in you close the door, being careful with your steps. You tip toe over to his bed, the wooden floor creaking under your feet every couple seconds. You didn’t want to be loud and wake him up in a rude manner. Finally reaching him, you place your hand on his shoulder and gently shake it.

   “Draco, it’s time to get up. We have breakfast out in the common room and-” Draco grabs your hand and pulls you into the bed. You fall on your back as Draco holds your arm above you head, hovering over you. Your face heated up like all the times before, feeling small under his gaze.

   as his grey eyes scanned over you he sighs deeply “What’re doing in here?” he asked, weirdly casual. “P- Pansy’s getting breakfast and i wanted to make sure you ate. Why did you throw me on your bed?” you fired back with a question of your own. “I was having a dream. Thought i was till in it when i woke up” he says, oddly casual again.

   you make an ‘O’ shape with your mouth and nod “Okay. What happened to cause this?” you gesture to the situation by tugging your hand in his firm grip. He seemed to tense at your question before his head dropped in what seemed like shame “I’m sorry for this” he spoke.

   okay, now you were extra confused. “Sorry for what-” then it happened. His cold lips crashed down onto yours in a swift motion leaving you frozen in shock. Oh Merlin. What do you do?! You like him right? and this means he might like you, right? So kiss him you fool!

   your mind finally stopped debating and you leaned into the kiss, trying to kiss him back. It was way more easy then you imagined. After a couple seconds more you both pulled away from the kiss. Both panting to get air into your lungs. After that makeout session you both talked, for hours. 

   Draco admitted his feelings for you and you did the same. Turns out you were wrong, it didn’t ruin your guys friendship in the slightest. Blaise, Theo, and Pansy thought it was adorable and were really happy for you both. It was a relief really that everything turned out well. You were Draco Malfoy’s girlfriend.

    ☼-🐍-☼

   Present

   the day was slowly coming to an end as you and your friends ate dinner. You feel Draco’s hand on yours under the table and smile lightly. At least no one could see. You didn’t care much for public displays of affection. You didn’t even know how to act like a couple in public, really.

   you expressed these feelings with Draco and he agreed, not wanting you to be uncomfortable. So behind closed doors you two were the cutest you could be. “Well, i’m done. How ‘bout you Y/n” Draco turns his head to face you as you place the silver fork on the wooden table. “Yeah i’m finished”

   Draco gets up from his seat and holds out his hand for you to help you get up. You take his hand and he helps you out of your seat. You let go as you both begin to walk out the dining hall. “They both know that they left us right?” Pansy asked, watching the couple walk away.

   Theo chuckles as he takes a bite of a muffin he was eating “I think it’s cute that Draco just wants her all to himself” he coos, leaning his head on Blaises shoulder. Blaise nods in agreement with his boyfriend “I wonder what Y/n’s like behind closed doors considering she barely acts like his girlfriend”

   Theo wacks Blaise shoulder with a offended look “Hey! How she deals with her emotions is no ones business but her’s. Bad Blaise. No kisses” he pouts. Blaise just blinked mindlessly before grinning “Okay, fine. No kisses” he says, watching as Theo’s pout turned into a frown “No, wait. I want kisses”

    ☼-🐍-☼

   after walking out both you and Draco went into his dorm where you were now cuddling on his bed. “Hm. Your so warm” Draco hums as he digs his head into the crook of your neck. Your face heats up and you let out an embarrassed whine “Draco” you could practically feel his smirk.

   “darling don’t say my name that way” he speaks in a strained tone as he wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you close to him. Butterflies erupted in your stomach at his voice. Draco was an immense tease. You couldn’t help but smile though. “I’m sorry” you push out your bottom lip in a pout.

   Draco removes his head from your neck to look at your face, smirk still on his face. “Don’t pout. I like the way you smile when we are alone.” he spoke, his hand reaching up to grace over your cheek and push a strand of hair away from your face. You crack a small smile and so does he “There it is”

   he leans in a pecks your lips gently “So beautiful” and he continues to whisper praises to you as he kisses each part of your face. Not even stopping once you began to laugh from the ticklish feeling. “Draco! stop!” you say through fits of laughter. You hear him chuckle evilly, which wasn’t good at all.

   after a couple minutes he stops “Tired?” he asked, hovering over you with a loving smile on his face. You nod slowly, your face a deep shade of pink. he leans down and presses a kiss to your forehead “Want to sleep in my room tonight?” he asked, since you never had before.

   “I don’t mind” you spoke in a whisper. He smiled brightly as he lifts off his wand and with a wave the lights turn off. He shuffles around to grab the top of his black silk blanket and place it over the both of your bodies. You turn to lay on your side, facing the wall. A position you found comfortable.

   Draco lays behind her, also on his side. His chest was pressed against your back while his arm was wrapped around you. He presses one final kiss to your temple before closing his eyes, whispering a goodnight. It was the first time the both of you slept in the same bed and you liked it. 

    ☼-🐍-☼

   Two Weeks Later

   as much as Draco cared for you, his demons sometimes got the best of him. The nagging thought in the back of his head telling him he was nothing to you just became louder and louder. It didn’t help that you were perfect at not showing your feelings for him in public. 

   we all have our days where we let our demons control our thoughts and this was one of them for Draco. He woke up in a depressed and angered state and decided that seeing you today was just to much for him. So he planned to ignore you all day and hide away in his dorm after.

   for you it was just a normal day. Being romantic with Draco in public was just something that never happened, so when he purposely ignored you, you saw nothing strange about it. You did begin to question the almost dirty looks he gave you or when you went up to him to ask him something and he just walked away.

   in the middle of the day you were in potions class. What was strange was that when you walked in Draco wasn’t in his seat, which was next to you. Instead he was sitting next to Blaise, which also meant that you were going to have to partner up with Cormac Mclaggen. Ew. 

   once Snape gave you your assignment you collected the ingredients and made your way back to your desk. “Hi i’m Cormac by the way” the Gryffindor boy spoke. You look at him and smile politely “Y/n” you said before placing the moonstone into a mortar and pestle to ground it up.

   he looks at the various ingredients and smiles shyly “I wasn’t listening to Snape. What are we making again?” of course. “A draught of peace potion. Can you put in the syrup of hellebore for me?” you ask and he nos quickly before picking it up. He pours a few drops as instructed and begins to stir it.

   After the moonstone is crushed you pour it into the cauldron and he stirs that up as well “Wow, your like really good at potions” he spoke and you nod once “It’s just easy for me i guess” you shrug your shoulders. “Wow, smart and beautiful. Your quite a catch Y/n” he smirks lightly, which rubs you the wrong way

   you just give him a half smile before continuing to ground up porcupine quills and a unicorn horn. In the end. You got the best potion and were rewarded a small vile of a draught of peace. You were happy you passed, but were not please when Cormac wrapped his arm around you, but you pushed it off.

    ☼-🐍-☼

   after class you were walking outside to make your way to Hagrid’s hut to help care for buckbeak when you hear somebody shouting your name “Y/n!” you turn around and watch as Cormac runs up to you “Yes?” you say, stopping in your tracks. “I wanted you to have this” he says and reaches into his robe.

   Draco was walking outside to catch his breath. Seeing Cormac drool over you and you doing nothing about it was eating up outside and he needed some fresh air before he blew up and beat the living shit out of Cormac. That’s when he heard you and the Gryffindor and decided to listen in and watch behind a pillar. 

   Cormac pulls out the draught of peace and hands it to you. You smile kindly and take it from his hands “Thank you” he smiles back “So i was wondering. Would you like to go out with me sometimes?” he asked. Well shit. You sigh deeply and shake your head “I’m sorry, but i already have a boyfriend Cormac”

   his face drops “Who?” he asked in a slightly irritated voice, which catches you off guard. “Um Draco Malfoy?” you said, taking a step back. He clicks his tongue as a bitter laugh comes from his mouth “Draco Malfoy? You two may act like best friends, but not lovers”

   you took slight offense to that, but it was true. You didn’t like pda because you didn’t have the slightest clue on how to be a public couple. But screw this guy. “Excuse me? What i do with Draco in public is none of your concern Cormac” you go to storm off when he grabs your arm, forcing you back.

   “If your lying to play hard to get it worked. Why would Malfoy ever go out with someone who doesn’t even pay attention to him during the day” his smirk very prominent and very gross. You rip your arm away from him, causing him to stumble a bit.

   “You have no right to say that to me! Just because i am not hanging off of him every second of every day does not me i don’t cherish him! He’s everything to me and i don’t deserve him at all! and i just realized that he may leave me today or tomorrow or in a hour! and i can’t believe it took me this long to realize that i’m so hopelessly in love with him. Nonetheless, fuck you, you fucking pervert!”

   your words were laced with venom, leaving the Gryffindor shocked. You pulled your wand out and hold his against his neck “Never, ever touch me or i’ll end you. Understand me?” you whisper, your face close to his. His eyes widen in fear before nodding quickly. “Then go!” you shout.

   he falls back and you watch as he struggles to get up before running away. That’s why Draco had been ignoring you, because he doesn’t think you love him. Tears flowed down your face, sobs wracking throughout your body. You were going to lose him and it was all your fault. 

   you drop your wand to wipe your face from the overflowing of warm tears. As you go to drop to your knees so you could cry on the floor, arms wrap around your waist and in fear of it being Cormac you open your eyes to see Draco, crying? “Draco?” you choke out.

   he cracks a smile and nods “Yeah” he says and reaches up to wipe a tear running down your cheek. Your eyes widen in realization “You heard all of that didn’t you. Draco i’m so sorry-” he hushes you and pulls you into a hug “Don’t. I let my insecurities get the best of me. Hearing you say you love me was enough to bring me back to reality and that i’m going to murder Mclaggen”

   you laugh quietly and sniffle “I do love you and i want you to know that i’m going to show you more public affection from now on” you nod sternly. He pulls away from the hug, shaking his head “Love, you don’t have to do that” he says. You wave you head, shaking your head.

   “I want everyone to know that i’m yours and you are mine, because if a girl ever did that to you. I’d kill her” this time Draco laughs, a grin forming on his face “I think i’m a bad influence. You’re starting to sound like me” you smile and reach up to grab his face “I love you Draco” you speak.

   you lean your forehead against his watching his smile grow wider “I love you too Y/n. To the moon and back and i’ll never forget it again” he presses a kiss to your lips, one that you return quickly. It was passionate and slightly sloppy due to the emotions running high between both of you. 

   you reach behind his neck to tug at the platinum blond locks, a groan slipping past his lips. Draco pulls away, panting heavily “Holy shit you need to kiss me like that more often” he smiled widely. You chuckle and lean in to kiss him again, but he stops you “What?” you say, but he pecks your lips quickly. “I love you and we can continue this later in my dorm preferably, but i have Gryffindor to 'talk to’”

   your eyes widen as he lets go of you and pulls out his wand. He begins to walk back into the school. You lean down and collect your wand before running to catch up with him “Draco! You can not kill Cormac!” you shout and he smirks. “I’m just going to talk to him Y/n” he spoke.

   “With your wand!?”

    ☼-🐍-☼

   Kody: Cormac slander is the only slander i know. I hope you enjoyed this one, cause it was long. Anyways, peace!

[wind0wg0blin]

Can you do something with Slashers and a hurt s/o?

I think this will work! Picked my fav boys lmao

Leather face/Thomas Hewitt 

You had been fumbling around in the kitchen late one night. You hadn't bothered to turn on any lights not wanting to wake anyone up with your late night snacking. 

Though all this consideration was for naught as your little toe catches on the edge of a chair that hadn't been pushed in. You let out a sharp cry more so in surprise then in pain. Though it was more than enough to alert Thomas. 

You were awkwardly leaning against the counter holding your foot as you heard the heavy footsteps thundering up the cellar stairs. The overhead light was on in an instant and soon enough that large familiar figure was at your side. 

"Sorry just stubbed my toe is all." You reassured as Thomas loomed over you with a critical gaze, his hands hovering in the space between you. 

A cranky grumble and you were being swept off your feet and carried off back upstairs towards your bedroom. 

Thomas hates seeing you in pain or uncomfortable. By extension you hurting, is him hurting. 

Will drop everything to get something for you or to help you. All you gotta do is ask. 

Please you are going to give him heart problems  

Jason Voorhees 

You hadn't been watching where you were walking. Again. Wandering the woods alone was dangerous normally but these woods in particular. It was only a matter of time before you stumbled and suddenly felt a shocking pain race up your leg. Your foot was sunk into a deep hole, ankle torked at an unnatural angle. 

With no one around for help and no way to call for aid you forced yourself to your feet and made the maddening walk back to your cabin. By the time you made it to the porch you all but collapsed on the steps tears welling in your eyes from the pain. Partially curled in on yourself, you didn’t notice the approaching figure stalking forward from the woods, eyes fixated on your trembling form. 

So distracted by the pain of your now very swollen ankle. It wasn't till you were being hoisted off the ground that you realized you had a visitor. You were quickly carried inside and placed on the sofa while Jason moved off towards the kitchen. You made work of pulling off your boots and jacket biting down on a blanket as you removed the boot from the sore appendage. 

Jason soon returned, placing a bag of ice and a bottle of assorted painkillers in your lap. With reassurance you were now fine and not dying. He gives you a soft wave farewell and lets himself out while you tuck yourself into the couch knowing the trip to your bedroom would not be worth it. 

Isn’t overbearing at all really. He knows you are going to get hurt and the most he can do is be ready to patch you up when you show up later with skinned knees and new bruises from slipping on some wet leaves. 

By no means is he happy with you hurting yourself. He is just realistic with the fact that you are a clutz more often than not and you are not as accustomed to the woods as he is. 

More than happy to help you patch yourself up. He had a lot of injuries as a kid so he knows how to fix someone up and fast. 

The Collector/Asa Emory 

You were too busy looking at your phone, frantically texting some long winded explanation to one of your friends when you missed the top step on the staircase. You couldn't help but scream as you went flipping down the stairs ass over tea kettle before landing at the bottom with a loud crash. You slammed into the small cabinet at the base of the stairs rattling all of the continents within. 

Still reeling from the fall you didn't even hear the rush of foot steps until Asa was at your side looking at you with a shaken expression. Blinking up you wondered why he was so funny looking when you realized that the entire room was spinning. 

You groaned nauseously as you were sat up right leaning back against Asa’s chest as he held your shoulders. He was saying something but you couldn’t even remotely make it out. You’re vision lurched as you were hauled up onto his shoulder and carried off. To where you weren't certain as your vision was just a swirl of the honey brown of the wood floor with the occasional flash of paint from the walls. 

It was at this moment that you felt something sticky and warm on the side of your face. Reaching up you tried to press at your cheek but your hand was quickly swatted away with a sharp voice. Glancing at your fingertip you could see the clear red of blood. Maybe your stumble was much more serious than you initially thought. 

You could feel soft blankets under you as you were set down on what you could only assume was the bed in the spare room. You didn't even try to move as you just laid there and let Asa do all the work. A warm cloth dabbing at your forehead as his hand carefully stroked your hair aside. 

You fell asleep sometime during this, or passed out you're not too sure which. Groaning, you look around to find yourself back upstairs in the master bedroom. The curtains were drawn darkening the room just enough to make it difficult to spot the man sitting off to the side reading by the desk. 

“Good morning. The next time you scare me like that I won’t hesitate to kill you.” Asa stated trying to sound matter-of-fact about the whole thing. You couldn't help but chuckle as you sat up. 

“I might beat you to it if you’re not careful.” With that you were tsked, being pressed back into bed with muttered threats on your life should you get up. 

Very over protective, high key mother hen behavior 

Will die before he admits he cares about you 

In reality you are his most prized and he wants you healthy and happy

He really feels like he needs to baby proof the house for you. Like really it's getting worrisome at this point. 

When he thinks you’re asleep he will kiss your forehead/injury more so to calm his own nerves. Especially if you have some underlying medical condition, he has a hard time remembering you’re not made of glass. 

Brahms Heelshire 

You were in the kitchen getting lunch around. Making quick work of a head of lettuce as you haphazardly chopped through the large leaves with a newly sharpened knife. You had been making a conscious effort to avoid your fingers not wanting to lose one to an accident. Though karma worked its mysterious ways as you jumped in surprise at the loud chime of an unexpected door bell. 

You cursed as you knicked the end of your ring finger a bead of blood welling from the cut. Gumbling you stuffed your bleeding finger into your shirt as you crankily answered the door. The delivery boy attempted to drag out the conversation as he carried in your order though with some random excuse you were ushering him out the door. 

Closing and locking the door behind him you turned back to see Brahms waiting for you at the kitchen island watching you intently. As you approached he held out his hand towards you obviously having witnessed everything that had transpired. 

“It’s fine really.” You reassured as you placed your hand in his. Truly it was, the bleeding had already stopped. The only indication that an accident had occurred was the red line on the pad of your finger. 

Regardless Brahms had an upset look in his eyes. Carefully tugging you closer he pressed the tips of your fingers to the porcelain lips of his mask before letting your hand go content. 

Doesn’t like you getting hurt at all but on the bright side it means he can give you some much deserved love and attention. 

You would do the same for him so why would he not return the favor 

God help you if he finds out that your injury came from a person and not an accident of your own accord. 

Talking him down from murdering or disfiguring this person is near impossible. Your best bet is telling this person to just never come around again. 

If you regularly are hurting yourself on certain things they may or may not just end up going missing. Of course Brahms has not idea where they have gone to. Him take them? He would never, He is a good boy ™ 

[monstersandmaw]

Male drider x female reader - Part Three (sfw)

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Sorry for the huge delay on posting this - I was prepping to drive halfway up the country last week, and then when we got here my mother in law fell and badly broke her arm at the shoulder, and had to go to the local hospital, with surgery scheduled for Monday, so it’s been... busy...

Here’s part three of cranky spooder, with part four (final, long, and nsfw) scheduled for next Wednesday so that even if there’s more drama up here in the Lakes, you’ll still get your story.

This one is shorter, but I still hope you enjoy it. The fact that he's a widower is brought up, and the fire in which his wife and unborn eggs died is also mentioned, but briefly, and in no real detail. Hope you enjoy getting to know him a little better, and we find out his name in this one too.

On Monday morning, you pushed the door open with no small degree of trepidation, but found it deserted. Your task for that morning would take you up the wooden and brass ladders into the upper reaches of the library shelves, up and down, up and down. It was exhausting, but you welcomed the exertion after days of standing over piles of books and noting down titles.

On your fifth trip down, arms laden with books, you heard your name spoken from below, but as you looked down, your foot slipped, and the books rained down to the ground.

With a shout, you scrabbled for the ladder rung but missed, and found yourself falling through the void behind you. There were easily fifteen feet between you and the hard floor, but before you could even process what was really happening, something cushioned your back and you bounced softly, swaying perhaps four feet off the ground.

Looking around, you found that you were lying in a hammock of white webbing, slung hastily from a shelf nearby and gripped in the front talons of a drider’s two front legs.

Carefully, he lowered it to the ground and held out his hand to you. Shaking, you stepped from the webbing, too surprised to notice that it wasn’t sticky, and let him lead you back to the table. “Are you alright?” he asked.

You nodded, adrenaline still flooding through you.

“I thought I wasn’t going to catch you for a second there.”

“Thank you,” you managed. “That would have been a nasty fall…”

“I shouldn’t have distracted you like that. It was thoughtless of me.”

Looking up at him as he cringed away slightly, you found yourself asking, “What’s your name?”

“My name? Why?”

You shrugged. “Everyone calls you ‘the master’, but you’re not my master. I don’t work here.”

“Yes you do,” he said, glancing at the table groaning with books for reshelving.

“Only for another four months,” you said. “I mean… I’m not part of your staff. I don't know what to call you.”

He swallowed thickly and half turned from you, showing you his profile. He had a slightly hooked nose and a sharp chin, and his dark, glowering brows didn’t lend any softness to his already angular and gaunt face. “Gilvas,” he said, so softly you nearly missed it. “My name is Gilvas.”

“Well, Gilvas,” you said with a faint chuckle, “I think we’ve got to find a way to stop scaring the living shit out of each other whenever we meet… Unless you want to keep shaking me from the stacks like an apple from a tree…”

He stepped back then and blinked softly. The tiniest smile graced his lips and he stared at you. “Perhaps we should,” he said. Taking another few steps back, his legs moving like silent mechanical levers in an inventor’s toy, he swallowed again and sighed. “What are you working on today?”

Your gaze dropped to the scattered books and you picked one up and held it out to him. “See for yourself.”

He reached falteringly for the book and missed, eyelids fluttering. “Like I care anyway,” he said, turning and leaving.

“Wait,” you called. “I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”

At that, he halted again. “Excuse me?”

“I forgot…” you admitted. “I forgot that…”

“That what?”  he snarled, rounding on you and rearing up again, though only slightly this time. His pendulous body acted as a counterweight and he hung there like a nightmare between the shelves. “That I can’t see you in this light? That catching you was a literal shot in the dark? That I can’t read the title of a book this close to my face?” He brandished the tome before flinging it roughly into the depths behind you.

“Yes,” you said breathlessly.

Your admission must have taken the wind out of him because he sagged, returning his lethally-clawed spider legs to the ground again and turning away, resting his weight on the shelf with a hand as he did so. “I shouldn't have lost my temper,” he said quietly, and then left.

Chance meetings with him after that seemed to occur more regularly, though none matched that one for drama, to your relief. Finally, on one rainy afternoon as you stood by the window taking a break, he approached you. His hair was tied back off his face that day, revealing its gaunt angles and bruised-looking shadows. He was clearly a wreck of his former self, but you thought you could see the ghost of who he had been.

“You’ve finished the first four sections,” he stated.

You turned from the rainy view and nodded. “Yeah. It’s still a lifetime’s work to fix all this, you know? I’m just grouping it by category. If you want a detailed catalogue of everything that’s in here, you need to hire someone permanently.”

He nodded. “I’m aware. Though frankly, I can’t see the point. When I die, the whole estate will be broken up anyway.”

The bluntness of his words took you by surprise and you paced over to him. He wavered, as if on the point of stepping back into the safety of the shadows, but he remained where he was. He had the body of a black widow spider, you had come to realise, with the black carapace marked with the hourglass of red. The red streak in his hair highlighted it, and the colour was picked up again in his inhuman, garnet-red eyes and in the swirling, watercolour birthmark across the right side of his face and neck.

“Don’t say that,” you breathed.

“Why not?” he scoffed. “It’s the truth. I have no heirs.”

“Gilvas…” you began, but you stopped. It wasn’t your place. In the months you’d been here, all the two of you had discussed was poetry and shared the odd comment on whatever your current topic was.

With a long inhale, he said, “Tell me about yourself?”

“What about me?” you laughed. “I’m an archivist, my best friend is an orc, I’ve lived in Starfall Springs all my life, save for going to the university at Old Trollbridge, and —”

“What college?”

“At Trollbridge?” you asked. “Lady Francis.” Lady Francis of the Barbed Arrow, to give it its full title, but no one called it that.

He smiled. “I was at Calnehouse.”

Something softened in him then as he trailed his elegant, if bony, fingertips along the edge of the table.

“Met my wife there.”

Your heart leapt. This was the first time he’d ever mentioned her - or anything personal really. “What did she study?” you asked in a whisper.

“Foreign languages,” he said, voice catching. “She was brilliant.”

“You must have loved her very much…” you offered, your words feeling empty and inadequate.

Meekly, he nodded. “She would have liked you.”

“Oh?”

“Mm.”

With a shy smile, you ventured, “May I ask why?”

He twitched his head in a ‘follow me’ gesture, and you walked by his side to the back of the library. A panel stood between two wide bookshelves, and he pressed a rosette amid the ornate carving. With a click, it sprang free from the wall, and he ducked through it with barely a whisper of room on each side of his body, leaving you to follow after. As the door closed behind you, the corridor was plunged into complete darkness.

You gasped and shot a hand out for the wall.

“This way. It’s not far,” Gilvas murmured, and a moment later, a shaft of light pierced through the absolute blackness and the pair of you emerged at the other end in an unfamiliar part of the house.

“Where are we?” you asked as you watched him squeeze through and step down into a slightly lower passage. He turned and, to your surprise, offered you his hand.

You took it and found his skin cool, almost cold, and his grip strong despite the slight tremble to his fingers. He steadied you and then let go, allowing you to look around. Portraits hung all down the corridor and you stared from one to the other of them. Most seemed to be of driders, although you picked out a tiefling in one, and what appeared to be a human in another.

Finally, your eyes lighted on a striking likeness of a young, female drider with pure white hair and lavender skin. “Is that…?”

Silently, he nodded and blinked slowly.

You crossed to her and stared up at the modestly sized painting. The drider was laughing, caught on the moment of turning to look out at the viewer, hair swirling. You thought of all the life and vivaciousness he’d missed out on since holing himself up in here after her death. “She’s beautiful,” you choked. “I’m so sorry you lost her.”

“There was a fire,” he said. “Took out the whole east wing. Gutted it. I… I couldn’t reach them.”

“Them?” you blurted unthinkingly.

“She was… She was with…”

A chill plunged through you as you remembered what Naril had told you, and you turned from the painting. “Stop,” you hissed. “You don't have to relive that. I’m sorry.”

He blinked down at you, face achingly sad. “I’m glad you came here, you know?”

“I thought I was just a nuisance, reorganising all your books and getting in the way…”

He managed a weak, wonky smile and shook his head. “This place has been the same for too long.”

With a quick glance back over your shoulder at the laughing drider, you asked, “How… Low long?”

“Nine years,” he said. “She died in our last year of university. In the spring.”

“And you’ve lived here alone all this time?”

“I’m not alone,��� he said, turning and looking pointedly down the length of the corridor.

Frowning, you turned and found Chiara standing at the far end, gawping at the pair of you. “My lord?” the harpy croaked, looking stunned to find you there. “Is…?” she looked from you to him again. “Is everything alright?”

His lip twitched fractionally, and he nodded. “I was just…” he sighed. “Never mind. I should let you get back to work. I promise not to shake you from the rafters again.”

“Only if you promise to catch me,” you grinned as he opened up the passageway for you.

He faltered. And then nodded. “Deal.”

Final Part --->

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I really hope you folks enjoyed this one! Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a like and/or reblogging it!

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