#in the future I want a wife who can go outside without spending hours on end doing her hair or makeup to feel presentable

[scarlettfevor]

I think that it's really sad how lesbians really have no role models in Hollywood or in the music industry to look up to, it's even worse because like I said before every since the entire gay community was labeled as queer straight people have starting opting into our community. I think that the reason why everything is so fucked up is because straight women started calling themselves bi, and bi women realized this and started calling themselves lesbians to overcompensate for the attraction that straight women in their communities had erased. Which is why so many famous "lesbians" are actually bi (chapel ranch, renee rapp, kehlani) and it doesn't help that they're spreading this harmful rhetoric of being lesbian "now" as if they decided to dedicate the first half of their career to men they dated for years or get pregnant by a man and *then* decide to become a lesbian, and parading these facts about publically only further making it seem like lesbians have to fight our non-existant attraction to men or are only lesbians because we don't want to date men. Pretty much all the famous out gay women are bi. If you had told middle school me that so many women were publically talking about their attraction to other women, I would've been overjoyed, but as I said earlier, not only are most of them bi but they spread harm to lesbians. The last popular lesbian celebrity I know is Haley Kiyoko and people always made fun of her when at the time, and even now she's basically the only out lesbian in the industry. And it's clear that the only reason why she gets made fun of is because she is kind of a GNC lesbian.

[hoe4sports]

Out and about

Jessie Fleming x reader

A note from the author: I have tons of angst in my drafts, ready to be published. I figured we all needed some Jessie fluff before catching the train to angstytown. This is a shorter one.

Warning: Pregnancy.

Summary: Jessie fears that the baby won’t recognise her once she is out. Your girl decides that she only kicks in the mornings and during daytime, but Jessie is always out before you wake up.

-

You felt as if your body was floating. The sensation was relatively normal considering you were between a state of deep sleep and awake. For the last few weeks sleep had been limited as your baby had just figured out how to kick you to the best of her ability. The feeling of the kicks felt odd at first, but then you got used to it. If you couldn’t remember having her kick for a few hours, you would have some starburst and she’d go crazy. Regardless, the feeling changed between feeling like a bubble was popping and feeling like a little fishtail was hitting the walls of your insides. But knowing it was your daughter, growing constantly; it made you feel better.

Whenever you had days where she kicked you all day at work, she wouldn’t kick as much when you got home. It made perfect sense to you, who could kick for 8 hours and then keep kicking afterwards? Jessie however, hadn’t had too many chances of feeling her little girls kicks. She had just left for national camp when you had felt the first kick, and she wasn’t able to make it home before she had to go to the Olympics. It made her pout even more when little Miss didn’t kick for the first few days when she got home.

A week after she got home, you had been relaxing by the pool in your garden and your baby decided to put on a show. Jessie finally got to feel her kick, but it was not exactly an obnoxious number of kicks. Your wife had been amazed when she could physically see the kicks outside of your growing belly, leaving her instincts going crazy with nesting. Due to her work, and the importance of restitution; things had to be planned if they involved a lot of physical activity. Like painting the nursery, you didn’t mind as it meant that you could pick the colours without debating them with Jessie. But Jessie couldn’t help, but feel slightly disconnected to the baby. She knew it was going to be rough with her time away from home and her limitations leading up to pre season, but she hadn’t imagined it to be this hard.

You had picked up on this, and noticed that if you woke up after her; she would try to talk to your belly in hopes of her future daughter hearing her. What she didn’t know, was that you would make sure to pretend to sleep so she could have her special moments with just her and the baby without you taking active part in the activities.

This morning, you felt woken up by Jessie’s hand touching your belly. “Little miss, I know that you are awake inside there. I just wanted to feel your kick. Maybe you could kick for me?” Jessie spoke softly as she laid with her head close to your belly. It demanded a lot of you to not start giggling over her funny act. Her hands tried to touch up different spots on your belly without any success. “Alright, how about you kick and I can make mama eat some brownies for breakfast? You like that huh?” Jessie tried poking your belly gently, but once again being left without any results.

“Maybe you are still sleeping in there? I don’t really know if you sleep whenever mama sleeps..”

Nothing.

“Okay, how about I get mama to eat starburst? Maybe you will want to kick then?”

Nothing.

“Well, I guess you are not feeling it? But that’s okay, I just really want to feel you kick. I just want to try to bond with you without your mama having to help me.”

Not even a single little pinch.

“Don’t tell your mama about this, but sometimes I’m worried that you won’t like me. Especially after spending so much time with mama. I wish I could be home with you forever, but I have to play football so you can have all the things you want to.”

No response. Basically left on read by an unborn baby. Practically feeling ghosted.

“It was nice talking to you. I hope we get to spend some time together. I think I’m worried that I’m not gonna feel like your mommy or maybe that you wouldn’t want to call me mommy. Ugh. “

You could feel the tension in the air rise and the feeling of the room change. It felt more serious now and Jessie seemed to be vulnerable.

“Mommy is being a bit silly now isn’t she? “

You could hear Jessie sniffle while sitting herself up in the bed. You didn’t want to interrupt, as this was her time to bond with her unborn daughter.

“Can you keep a secret babygirl? Sometimes mommy feels so scared to call herself mommy. You are a very strong willed baby already, never kicking if you don’t want to. Never stopping cravings until you get what you want. What if you decided that you don’t want to spend time with mommy?”

The open hearted confession Jessie had made, forced your heart to feel ripped a part. You didn’t know what to do, or what to say. Were you going to interrupt? You didn’t want to ruin her special moment or make her stop talking to your daughter when she thought you were asleep.

Before you were able to think of a reaction, Jessie’s side of the bed shifted and you hear her shuffling to the closet before shutting the bathroom door. You opened up your eyes feeling emotional, but determined to make Jessie feel more connected to your future daughter. You thought about what you could do to have her feel more connected, to have her feel like she was also going to be your daughter’s mommy and to have her feel less scared about not bonding with her. Thats when you remembered the starburts in your nightstand which you quickly popped into your mouth before laying back down.

After a while, Jessie was about to head out of the bathroom. You pretended to be asleep, and just when Jessie came out of the bathroom; you pretended to wake up.

“Mm, good morning babe, up so early?”

You mumbled as you turned your body sideways, your little bump resting on the mattress.

Jessie smiled at you before she slipped into the bed and kissed your cheek.

“Bright and early, as always. I’m gonna head in for work soon, okay?”

You pouted at Jessie who responded by tucking your hair behind your ear. Then, you felt your daughter kick.

“Babe, shh, feel”

You took Jessie’s hand and placed it on your belly leaving her with your daughter’s series of kicks. Jessie’s eyes widened and her month opened slightly in shock. She had never felt this many kicks at the same time before, normally just getting one or two before your daughter decided that enough was enough.

“Hi- Hi my girl, are you up so early? Kicking so nicely for mommy?”

Jessie sat up in the bed staring at your belly with her hand still attached. Her eyes were tearing up, looking glossy and the shocked face she had made wasn’t going anywhere. You smiled at Jessie and reached to touch her back, stroking it gently.

“She never kicks in the mornings, Jess. She must recognise that it’s you. She probably misses you since you always wake up and leave for work before me”

You said as you comforted Jessie as best as you could. You were 6 months pregnant and soon there would be a tiny version of Jessie running around. The silence in the room was loud. Jessie crossed her legs, but kept holding her hand in where her daughter had just kicked you. Her eyes were tearing up even more leaving a few drops to fall onto the sheets. Then, your daughter kicked again. Harder this time and even more noticeable. Jessie looked up at you, looking filled with pride and joy.

“Are you okay, babe?” You asked carefully, not wanting to tip Jessie over the edge and fall into the ocean of emotions.

“I’m calling in sick, I need to spend more time with you and our girl before she arrives. Then maybe she will recognise my voice once she’s out and about?”

A smiled formed on your lips as you stroke Jessie’s cheek drying off the few tears of joy that had rolled down her red cheeks.

“Baby, I promise you. She will know you when she decides that she is ready for us. Whenever you spend your mornings with us, she always kicks way more than usually. Our girl knows her mommy.”

Jessie sniffed before looking at you and smiling.

“God darling, what would I do without you?”

[patataatomica5]

Fear and hunger headcanons and possible plot for a future fanfic part 2 :p

AGAIN TW JUST IN CASE GORE, SA, VIOLENCE OR DEATH IS MENTIONED

Life outside the dungeon yayyy :D

If you can't remember or didn't read the last part the people in the group are Ragnvaldr, Cahara, The Girl and Moonless.

(Go on and read PART 1 if you didn't)

+The way our group ran at the speed of light outside

+At first the sun hurt their eyes, their vision had to assimilate again that there is not just darkness and light coming from a torch.

+The way back to Rondon was a bit long, maybe stopping and properly resting was 2-3 days walking. (It was an old prison, so I guess it had to be away from the population, and also look at all the things hidden beneath)

+ One of the first things they did was finding a river and trying to get rid of the horrible smell that the dungeon left on them, not only sweat, but rotting blood and dirt and all kinds of strange liquids the monsters might have stained them with.

+ After that Rag hunted a deer and fed them fresh roasted meat that didn't make them question how long that food has been sitting there or if it was going to make them nauseous.

+ Moonless chewed on the leftover bones and was given raw meat too.

+ On the way they discarded all the items that weren't useful anymore. Why would they want a dirty rag? They can get clean ones in the city now.

+ Once they arrived they rented a couple of rooms in an inn with whatever money they had left and proceeded to find merchants, colleccionists and rich people who would pay a lot of money for all those weird coins, jewelry and amulets.

+ Cahara didn't keep any of the treasures he found, just gave Ragnvaldr the Cube of the Depths as "it was stolen from your homeland", but he declined for the moment, just until he had somewhere stable to stay.

+ When Cahara had the money he needed, he went straight to the Red Light District, to the familiar brothel her wife was trapped in. As usual, some girls from other brothels tried to take him inside to "just rest and drink something".

+ Before entering he remebered all the times he snuck through her window just to spend time with her. One time he had to hide in the closet because the Madame made a surprise visit to talk to Celeste.

+ With his hart pounding on his chest, he entered inside, and demanded to talk with the Madame.

+ He just dropped the bag full of silver and golden coins to her feet and just said "I want to buy the freedom of Celeste".

+All the girls present backed away and started murmuring while a couple of them ran upstairs to ssearch for her. The elder lady that owned the place was in shock, as Celeste was one of the most expensive girls she owned.

+ After counting the money, she could only let her free, and gave her a couple of hours to pick up her things before going.

+ Cahara told her to only take what meant something to her and was necessary, as he would buy her all the expensive dresses she wanted.

+ The mercenary left the dungeon without looking back, and so did Celeste with the brothel.

+ After that he introduced her to the Girl, Rag and Moonless. She was shocked at what the story they lived in the dungeons, but it was too much and too long to explain, some things she will find out with time.

+ In Cahara's absence, Rag tried to brush the little girl's hair, but it was too matted, it looked like a bird's nest. Maybe it was never brushed before.

+ Celeste cut her hair quite short, sadly it was too tangled :(

+ The girl was a bit sad, but the woman promised it would grow back in no time and even prettier than before. She also cut Cahara's hair so "it would grow back healthier" and gave Rag a trim too.

+ It's also a way of ending that short but hard era and the begining of their new lives outside misery ;)

+ The (old) mercenary started constructing a mansion not too far from Rondon and, gave his bestie Ragnvaldr a house (with at least 5 giant bedrooms) nearby his mansion-to-be.

+ The three of them came to the conclusion that the girl would stay with Celeste and Cahara, as Rag wanted to become a monster hunter and kind of a mercenary to help other people live better, with the condition that he will drop by and visit them every few days.

+ Moonless came along Rag and he began to train more people to beat the darkness and what hid behind the shadows forming a group and later a clan. (also some of them are survivors from Oldegard's dissaster)

+ The Girl has a colorful bedroom full of plushies and toys and dolls. She became a bit spoiled (Celeste and the baby too), because Cahara gave his new family everything they wanted on the spot.

+ And the most important, she had the warmth and the love of a father and a mother and a baby brother :")

+ Also a great teacher that taught her how to read, history, math... And how to speak too! Both husband and wife had to be patient with that. She grew up to be a beautyful and clever woman.

+ Sadly not everything is good, the (old) mercenary often had nightmares with the dungeon or with Nilvan telling him that he lied, he tricked her, and he will pay for it. He will pay the price of not having a good night sleep in probably for ever. (Not being able to sleep was kind of beneficial in a way, because he could let Celeste sleep and he would take care of the baby)

Part 3?????

Also don't be afraid to tell me if something it's wrong, English is not my first language.

[parcequecestnotreprojeeeet]

Hi, it’s me, Fanfic Anon #2. Happy weekend everyone! This is inspired by the new Le Point article (Thank you for posting it, along with all the other magazine articles you’ve posted, EMT. You are the best!!).

“Are you sure you don’t mind keeping the kids overnight?” Tiphaine checked one last time before leaving them with their grandparents after dinner. “I know things have been crazy busy for you two lately, and I don’t want them to intrude on any of the time you do get together, maman.”

“First of all, we’re fine,” Brigitte reassured her daughter. “We did ten years only seeing each other on the weekends, 6 whole months with him on a different continent, so while I don’t like it when he’s away, we’ve been separated by far worse than a two day summit in Brussels.” She paused and turned her gaze lovingly towards her husband who was currently giving their youngest grandchild a piggy back ride in the yard just outside the back doors of La Lanterne, while his older sister was playing with Nemo, all three of them with the biggest smiles on their faces, their laughing joy contagious. “Second,” she continued, drawing her daughter’s attention to the sight in front of them, “look at him. Look at them. How could I ever put an end to that?”

“Mamie! Look!” the little one called out, trying to draw his grandmother’s attention.

“Be careful!” She called back, always the worrier.

“Can you come play now?” her granddaughter looked up from a now napping Nemo, bored now that her playmate had now moved on.

“Let me say goodbye to your mother, and I’ll be right there,” she smiled at her, before turning to Tiphaine, “come pick them up mid-morning tomorrow. Have a good night, my darling.”

“Bye, maman,” she said, hugging her as she left before yelling out, “bye Manu!” laughing as he didn’t respond, too engrossed in what he was doing.

“Now,” Brigitte said turning towards her granddaughter, “what do you want to do? Boys versus girls maybe?”

“Yeah!!”

“Let’s go see what the boys thinks about that,” she winked, reaching out her hand to help her up from the ground to walk towards the rest of their family.

A couple of hours later, after they managed to successfully put to bed their exhausted grandchildren, Emmanuel cuddled up to his wife on the couch, wrapping her tightly in his arms as he balanced her in his lap. “What did Tiphaine want?” he asked after a minute.

“Ahh, so you did notice,” she teased.

“I always notice you,” he answered seriously.

Blushing, she told him, “she wanted to make sure it was okay to leave the kids. She was worried it would cut too much into our ‘alone time.’”

“What did you tell her?” he inquired, now a little nervous about the answer. He knew that they had both been crazy busy this past month, she with the pièces jaunes campaign, he with a couple of trips and conferences, but they had also made an effort to spend as much time together as they could, even if date night this week had to be canceled at the last minute. He knew how frightened she was about this potentially being the last of their “good years” together (while he knows she fears the future, understandable given all the harsh losses she has suffered, he still refused to believe his strong, healthy, happy, beautiful wife wasn’t going to live forever) being taken up by this job, so he had doubled down on making time together his priority, even if they weren’t going out as much as they used to. But if their daughter was worried, that implied Brigitte had said something about it, he thought to himself. He couldn’t let her down.

“I told her we were fine,” she said lovingly, trying to reassure him, feeling how nervous he was by how quickly his hold around her became rigid. “Because we are fine. Sure, we’ve been a couple of very busy people lately, and sure, you’ve been gone a little, but we’ve gone far longer without each other. I don’t like it when you’re not with me, but you always come home.”

“I will always come home to you,” he vowed.

“I know, chéri, besides,” she trailed off with a smile.

“Besides?”

“Besides, I looked over at you in that moment and I saw you playing with them and I thought to myself how could I deny you all that joy just for a couple of extra hours alone with you? And, selfishly, I love seeing you with our grandchildren.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Seeing you in protective, loving grandfather mode, it’s very sexy.”

He laughed heartily at that, before kissing that spot on her neck he knows makes her knees week, smiling triumphantly at her quiet moan. “Well, if you think you could keep it down, do you want to continue this conversation in the bedroom?”

“Speak for yourself,” she replied, getting out of his lap and holding her hand out for him to take, giggling like naughty children as they raced towards their final destination.

Hellooo fanfic Anon #2! ❤️

Manu and his grandkids is just something irresistibly adorable 🥰

Conversation... right, let’s call it that 🤭 Careful careful guys, the kids are around, just behave... 😏😏

Thank you so much, fanfic Anon #2! ❤️❤️❤️

[pinkaditty]

ok i got bored and mentally obsessed with sengen so everyone welcome my first fanfiction in years:

in which Senku feels nostalgic for the first time in years and love makes him do a silly mindless thing

this is not proofread + no real warnings methinks, besides Dr Stone S3 spoilers and some hcs for the future cast. your only content warning is some Sengen or Gensen (Senku x Gen), but can be interpreted in either platonic or romantic love.

Cola Advertisement

It’s late out. Very late. Might even be 2am. Senku is too lazy to check his watch, though. 

He wanders the streets of the rebuilt Minato City, partially headed in the direction of his home, partially willing to let any distraction lead him a different way. It had been a long day of continuing his many various research projects with Chrome, who’d left earlier. He’s got a pregnant wife after all, can’t spend all his hours at the lab with Senku. He’d asked Senku if he’d like to join them for dinner, as Ruri would likely be happy to see him. He declined however, his mind elsewhere. 

He was sure Chrome had only invited him because of how out of it he had seemed today. 

Senku tilted his head upwards, gazing at the endless starry expanse, somewhat blocked by tall, concrete towers and drowned out by glowing fluorescent light. It was done. It had been done for some time. Humanity was restored, there was no more work to do, and it had been five long years since the end of it all. Senku didn’t like to admit it, but at the end, he’d felt satisfied, but the impending threat of uncertainty had loomed behind him for long enough, and he had to accept it at this point. He’d love to admit that he had not a millimeter of interest in processing his own feelings, preferring to distract himself with science, but today, even science hadn’t done the job. He sighed and kicked a stray pebble, frustrated at his own feelings. Who could he even talk to about this, if he even wanted to?

Taiju would be understanding, but he also wouldn’t quite get it. The big oaf had other responsibilities now, and Senku wouldn’t care to pester him with something as trivial as this. Kohaku was an option, but she had better things to do, being the owner of her own dojo and all. Besides, she was simply glad to see the former glory she’d been born outside of. She wouldn’t understand the loss Senku felt. Tsukasa might, but he had his little sister to care for. He considered Tsukasa a close friend all the same, and he might even get where Senku’s coming from, but Tsukasa missed out on quite a bit of the excitement. Maybe he wasn’t the best idea, after all. Chrome was an option, too, but he was probably sleeping by now. He couldn’t bring himself to contact him, not when all his sleep would be taken up by a screaming infant in less than three months. 

Senku sighed again, running a hand through his hair. Thinking about this was pointless. Feeling this way was pointless. It would ultimately get him nowhere, because there was nothing to be done about it. If anything, he should be pleased. Humanity saved, Whyman defeated, society back to how it was before. People living out their lives, time passing by in the blink of an eye, everything wrong and right with the world back into place. This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Yes, this was what he wanted. But if this was what he wanted, why was there this emptiness present in his chest? What was missing?

He felt sick, nausea rumbling through his body all at once. He gritted his teeth and kept walking, swallowing the feeling away. He didn’t have time for this. 

He started walking faster, with more purpose. He was going to head straight home and go straight to bed, disregard any of his feelings and just sleep them off. Surely he’d be fine come morning, and everything would be normal again. Science would do just the trick to distract him, he’d do his work with a bounce in his step, and he’d smile without feeling the need to purposely crinkle his eyes to make it look real. 

His steps became smaller and hurried, his eyebrows began to knit together in a frown, and his fingers curled into fists. Feeling this way was ridiculous. Yet, no matter how many times he thought that, the feeling refused to go away. It stayed, no matter how tightly he dug his nails into his palms, no matter how roughly he bit his lip, no matter how quickly he drove his legs to walk him home. All at once, his body seems to release, and he exhales, suddenly stopping his pace. He looks down at the ground, examining the red marks in his palms from his nails. He sighs yet again, slowly getting sick of all this sighing, and continues on his way, relaxed pace reclaimed. Anger and frustration was no way to go about this. Remaining calm was his best bet. 

He walks near a TV advertisement screen embedded into the wall near a shopping plaza. He spots something familiar on the cover. It’s the picture Minami took of him in the stone age, several years ago. His tongue was out, in the classic pose Albert Eistein took. Next to the image were big words that read: “Come to Ishigami Museum, and get to see the first picture taken since the rebirth of the stone age, and the camera it was taken with!”. His mind took him back to that moment, where they had him pose in various clothes and stances, before they finally settled on an appropriate one, and he simply stuck his tongue out. He exhaled, a light chuckle following it. A smile grew on his face, and his eyes softened. Perhaps feeling this way wasn’t so bad if it made the nostalgia this sweet. 

The screen changes, showing a new advertisement. This one was for Ryuusui’s three-star Michelin restaurant, led by Francois. The advertisement read: “Feeling Greedy? Stop by Ryuusui’s Greed, three-star Michelin restaurant to fulfill all your desires!”. Senku couldn’t repress a smirk this time, reminiscing on the most greedy man in the world, and how he helped rebuild humanity. He’d been incredibly useful in navigating the seas and the skies, and his greed only further spurred him on to completion of the rebuild of society. Francois was also incredibly useful. Nobody quite made bread like them, or any foods like them for that matter. Their dedication to hospitality and feeding greed made them just as useful an asset. Senku let the smirk slowly reduce to a soft smile, ignoring the feeling of his heart swelling. Nostalgia was sweet, but if he kept thinking, he’d keep remembering.

Again the screen changes, flicking to another advertisement. It was a ramen advertisement, with Ganen, one of the previous Ishigami villagers, enjoying a large bowl of ramen with a pleased smile on his face. The advertisement read: “NEW Special Spicy Ganen’s Favorite Ramen! Available at most grocery stores!”. This took him back, too, to when he’d made ramen for the villagers for the first time. In his mouth, it was crumbly and bland, but to them, it was like ambrosia. A faint smile arrives on his face as he remembers the expressions and awe of the villagers at the mystery food, amazed that a single man could complete such a feat. Really, it had been nothing at the time, but it was still pleasing to know that the villagers would no longer have to feast on nothing but fish. This nostalgia was oddly sweet too, but he felt a pang in his chest when the ramen reminded him of his first meeting with a… particular character. 

As though reading his mind, the screen changes, the next advertisement a beautiful glaring red, and sporting the visage of said particular character, happily smiling and holding a cola. He’d recognize this person anywhere, even from miles away; the split dye, the lavender coat, the twisted smile, and the curved stone scar. Asagiri Gen. His “dear” mentalist. All at once, fondness and regret seem to swallow him whole. His heart swelled and at the same time, his stomach sank. A wide smile spread on his face before he could stop it, and at the same time, his eyes burned with liquid emotion. Of course. Of course, he’d be on a Cola ad. He swallows thickly, gazing at the advertisement, blinking his emotion away. Five years. It’d been five long years. He’d done everything to bite his tongue and forget about losing contact with some people, letting the regret turn into fuel to keep him pressing on through his experiments. Love was ten billion percent pointless, and he’d had not a millimeter of interest in it… It only brought mindless decisions, after all. And yet… Senku still experienced love all the same, like when he’d babysit Suika for Kohaku, and when he’d visit Taiju and Yuzuriha for nothing more than saying hello, and when he’d have long reminiscent talks with Tsukasa, further rambling about science to him as Mirai watched with rapt attention. He’d lost contact with a few people, but somehow, the most painful by far was Asagiri Gen, no matter how little he liked to admit that. He’d had a TV show to run and fame to fuel, so his schedule was always taken up by work. And Senku had to throw himself into new science projects in efforts to fill the empty void that loomed once humanity had been rebuilt. They went their separate ways, and now he’s here. Standing in front of an ad screen, staring longingly at the figure within, trying to pinpoint the reason his heart swells with pride and affection and why his stomach drops with regret.

He knew from the moment Gen had mentioned cola that, one day, Senku would have to make some just for him. It was partially obvious, but something in his mind clicked. He just knew. Cola had to be the next step. He knew, when Gen came to him excitedly about the fizzy water, he was expecting Cola. And he couldn’t help but tease him just a little bit, showing how it’d be used for baking soda instead. He’d long since had the cola prepared, just for him, and made sure to put it somewhere where he’d obviously see it. He smiled fondly at the memory, partially wishing he’d seen Gen’s expression when he saw the Cola. Then, he’s reminded of the gift Gen got him in return. An observatory and telescope, just for him. Above and beyond, that guy. 

Senku remembers how Gen was with him almost every step of the way, even staying when things went south. “Most shallow man” my ass. The trust he put in Senku was enormous, and Senku had an equally large amount of trust in Gen. Perhaps more than just trust. Far, far more than simple trust.

Love leads to mindless decisions.

Perhaps this is why he comes to the conclusion that, if anyone is awake and available to talk to him and would fully, completely understand where he’s coming from, it’d be Asagiri Gen. Perhaps this is why he searches in his phone for Gen’s old number, hoping against all hope that he’d pick up the call. Perhaps this is why his hands shake as he presses the call button. Perhaps this is why his palms sweat as he holds the phone in his hand, listening to it ring. Perhaps this is why his heart thuds in his chest, echoing in his ears, louder than the ringing of the phone. Perhaps this is why his heart stops when the ringing stops and a familiar voice speaks in a shaky, yet giddy voice. 

“S-Senku-chan!?” He can hear the shock in the other man’s voice, and is overwhelmed with emotion. He doesn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He clenches his hand in a fist, staring directly at Gen’s face on the advertisement.

When he responds, he surprises himself at how soft and affectionate his own voice sounds. A tear rolls down his cheek.

“Hey, Gen.”

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

if i end up liking this enough ill post on ao3 for the first time in ten thousand years. special thanks to OP for inspiring me with such beautiful art!!!!!!!!!

of course he'd be on a New Cola ad ❤️

[kingkatsuki]

Jo!!!

I’m just here working today and my head is so full of thoughts of older retired pro hero Kiri.

He’s been so busy with being a good hero that he never really had any time to date or settle down. Now that he has the time, all he wants is a family 🥺He would never really admit it but he really wants kids and is so so lonely.

So to soothe the ache in his heart he goes and volunteers at foster homes and orphanages and treats all the kids as if they’re his own and buys them everything they need (many of the kids even openly call him Dad!!!)

and that’s where he meets you. You work at one of the orphanages and you’re sorta young- young enough that the kids all call you big sis instead of aunty or mum like they do with some of the other workers they really like. But he can’t get you out of his head. The place you work at becomes his main go-to and it’s all to watch you as you work with these kids with the prettiest sweetest smile on your face.

He feels guilty sometimes- you have your life ahead of you and all he can think of is making you his little wife and starting a sweet domestic life with you. It’s all he wants. He gets to chatting you up often- often enough that you’d consider him one of your closest friends now. And he’s ECSTATIC to find that you just want to lead a simple life, settle down sometime, adopt a bunch of kids who never really got the best start in life and maybe perhaps in the future have one or two biological ones. You’re really so so perfect for him and he can’t get that thought out of your head.

And let’s not forget the time that he came to visit and the kids got so excited to see him, and you crouched down next to the little ones who were eating their lunch and sweetly said “it’s okay, you can come back and finish up. Go say hi to daddy now.” He’s all flustered hearing you call him daddy (even so innocently)

And listen Kiri is even more guilty and can’t look you in the face since now all he can imagine is pressing you into a mating press and filling you up till you give him a kid (or 5) ever since you’ve had that conversation with him. And he wants to hear you moaning his name (or daddy) into his ear.

God he’s gotta stop being so unmanly and ask you out already.

- Cinnamon🥀

Omg I am OBSESSED with this!!

Imagine visiting these homes literally fills the void in his heart that’s been there for the longest time so now he’s so elated. Ends up talking animatedly about it over beers with Bakugou the same week he visited for the first time and accidentally spends the best part of an hour talking about you without even realising it. Of course, Bakugou is the most perceptive human being and realises in an instant that Kirishima likes you and tells him to stop being a pussy and ask you out.

Except of course Kirishima doesn’t, instead he continues to visit the home for the next few months. Building up this amazing relationship with you, and even posting a cute selfie of you together on socials so Bakugou is like “so you finally asked her?” And Kiri is like no😳🥺

So imagine your surprise one afternoon when none of wet than Dynamight shows up at the home, the kids flocking to him as he asks for you by name. Giving him the same warm smile you gave Kiri his first day here. Of course, Bakugou is just there to tell you about how Kirishima feels but you get him to stick around a bit first, meeting some of the kids and he actually looks like he’s enjoying himself.

Imagine your surprise when he tells you Kirishima likes you, like you don’t even believe it at first because it’s been months and outside casual flirting nothings happened? Plus, the age gap. Surely there were far better women out there for him. But Bakugou can tell from your reaction alone you like him back.

[ghostdrew22]

Falling Out Of Love With Astoria Greengrass || Draco Malfoy

Requested: No Pairing: Draco Malfoy x slytherin!reader (but it's not mentioned frequently so you can ignore it) Warnings: Allusions to sex, some angst, mentions of death, if there's anything else please let me know :) Summary: Throughout the Hogwarts years from Astoria’s POV we watch Draco fall out of love with her, and into love with Y/N.

WORDS : 6251

<~>

The Greengrass and Malfoy families had held each other in a high regard for quite sometime. When it so happened that the Malfoy’s had a son near in age to the Greengrass daughters, it was almost too perfect an opportunity to pass up and both families decided that to keep their families pure, wealthy and powerful, one of the Greengrass daughters would marry Draco when they all came of age.

So soon playdates were being arranged and the Greengrass daughters had become best friends with the Malfoy son. For a while, it looked like Astoria was the sister that he was going to marry,  like she’d stolen the Slytherin Prince’s heart. They both liked each other enough, it was a perfect union really.

But then you happened.

It was all going well, perfect even, until Year 1 at Hogwarts began and you snuck your way into everyone’s lives. Draco, Blaise, Daphne and Astoria had grown up together, you were the outsider. It shouldn’t have happened really, it was most unbelievable to Draco himself, but on the first day of school he bumped into you before the sorting ceremony and you flashed him a smile that had his insides bubbling with warmth- not love, definitely not, but an odd sense of comfort. Before long you, Draco, Blaise and Daphne all got sorted into Slytherin and the oddest of crews was formed; three wealthy purebloods and their half-blood best friend - but you were powerful quartet and you only grew in power when Astoria joined Hogwarts the next year.

~~~

She should’ve known, from the day that she met you, that she’d  never be enough in comparison to you- not for her sister, not for her  friends, and definitely not for Draco Malfoy. How could she be  when your laugh made everyone else laugh too, when your smile brightened  up everyone’s day even her own, when your hugs were a refuge from the   terrible reality that consumed the Hogwarts grounds every year, when you  were the only true friend that most people ever had in their lives.

In  another world, Astoria would’ve been the one that Draco fell in love   with, not you. In another world, a perfect world perhaps, your dorky   snort wouldn’t have even made it into any of their lives. Your touch   wouldn’t linger on their souls like a wolf’s imprint and your voice   wouldn’t snake its way into their most euphoric dreams. And perhaps in   another reality, one in which the universe didn’t hate Astoria, you   didn’t exist at all.

But in this reality, you are real, very real indeed.

She isn’t in love with him. No. She can’t be.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Draco’s arranged to marry her not you.  He’s meant to marry the beautiful, wealthy, pureblood with as much   social status as his own, not the half-blood from Hogwarts whose father had to work for his social status. Everyone knows Mr L/N, it’s hard not  to know the trailblazing wizard who succeeded against all odds then lost  his wife to a muggle disease, but that doesn’t mean everyone respects  him in the same manner that they do Lucius Malfoy.

It’s absurd, you’re too different. You’re too different from the rest of them, it doesn’t make sense that he fell in love with you.

~~~

YEAR THREE  - DECEMBER

The Malfoy’s had a small, annual Christmas tradition. If your idea of a small tradition is a ball with the Wizarding World’s richest and most popular adversary’s. You’d never gone before, due to your mother being a muggle and unenthusiastic about fraternising with pretentious, former death eaters, but once your friendship had reached stable enough ground Draco had insisted that you and your father come for the ball. And reluctantly, your father agreed.

You’d not come with a date. What was the point if you were going to spend the entire night with your friends anyway? It was unorthodox, and deemed slightly rude by Lucius Malfoy, but no one had cared much after you’d managed to discreetly blend in with your friends and Daphne hadn’t left your side the entire night.

It’s that night when Astoria starts to notice that she’s losing him to you. She’s clearly looking richer- everything about her always screams money- but it seems that it’s not enough to compare to your smile, your eyes, the way your laugh fills the room whenever one of your friends tells a joke, because almost the entire group can’t keep their eyes off of you, including Astoria herself, even though hers is an act of insecurity and not admiration.

So she tries to lure Draco away from you before he can get sucked too deeply into your sparkling iris’s, coaxing him to join her on the dance floor and he obliges without complaint- knowing that his father is keeping a watchful eye on his son and his future wife.  And besides, Draco does love Astoria, he wants to make sure that she has a good time. When Astoria looks back at this night she’ll imagine that it was the night that Draco had stopped loving her and started loving you instead, but she was wrong. He had loved you both for long after.

His hands are tight around her waist, in a loving and protective manner, as he leads her onto the dance floor swiftly and treats her to a night of bliss that she’ll never forget. His heart is in it, undeniably, but it seems that only half of his heart belongs to Astoria. Because the whole night, while he dances with her, laughs with her, eats with her, and has the time of his life with her, he guiltily wishes that it had been with you.

~~~

YEAR FIVE - NOVEMBER

Astoria walks toward Draco’s prefect dorm - wanting to find him and drag him down to the Quidditch field so that he can fly around with her for a little bit- and stops at his door when she hears the faint sound of laughter barricading against the walls from the inside. It’s your laugh, she knows it well enough by now, and his chuckles follow soon after.

She suspects that this is a private moment, one meant only for the two of you to witness and experience, and she doesn’t know how but something about the way you’re laughing just sends jolts of envy shooting through her- like Draco’s never made her laugh that way, and maybe it’s because he never has. There’s an odd sort of intimacy that wafts through the air, even with all these walls and doors keeping her separated from you both, and it unsettles her down to her core because it feels so different to the way Draco is with her.

“We have to tell them… We have to tell her.” You sigh as you look into Draco’s eyes sadly. Astoria can’t see the scene but she can sense the discomfort that’s now enveloped the room at the mention of whoever you two seem to be discussing.

“Y/N.” Draco sighs tiredly - having had this argument with you countless times in the last two months.

“I know, I know that you’re arranged to marry her and you love her and she loves you but Draco the two of you aren’t even dating. There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing but that doesn’t mean it’s fair to either of us- she at least deserves to know.”

Realisation dawns on Astoria as she processes that she’s the one that they’re talking about - that in some odd twist of fate she’s become the other woman.

“What if she hates me?” Draco asks and Astoria feels her heart wrench- there’s no possibility in this universe that she could ever hate him, even if she tried.

“She could never hate you.”

“What if she tells my parents?”


“Tell them that nothing’s changed and you will still go ahead with the marriage when the time comes. Tell them all the things that you’ve already told me.” There’s a slight hint of sadness and betrayal lacing your last few words and Draco feels sorrow wash over him.

“Y/N-“

“No, don’t say it.” You shake your head with a sad smile. “You’re going back to her in the end, I’ve accepted that.”

He sighs and pulls you into a bear hug- rubbing your back and soothing you. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about Dray.” You say and even Astoria can hear your smile from outside the door, “But we have to tell her.”

Draco nods and starts to pepper kisses down your neck- sloppy, desperate ones that even Astoria can recognise. “We can tell her after…”

“Dray…” You whine out in protest and he chuckles.

“Tell me to stop and I will pretty girl.”

Astoria doesn’t wait to hear your response, but when the two of you walk into the Great Hall for dinner that evening- large smiles and happily exhausted expressions covering your eyes- she knows what your answer was.

~~~

YEAR FIVE - NOVEMBER (the next day)

Astoria and Draco are sat by the lake together, doing homework and chatting as the rest of their friends keep themselves occupied- as they usually do when Astoria and Draco disappear off together. It’s a habit that they created a few years back when they decided that they needed to spend more time together, alone, to prepare for the inevitable future in which they’re married.

In the past it had been perfect - hours spent in their little corner of reality in which no one else besides the two of them existed. They’d sit and talk for hours - forgetting that time is even a measure in the great expanse of their universe- sometimes they’d do puzzles, play wizard’s chess or just respectively do their own homework. But now it’s changed, it seems that Draco is always itching for their time together to end so that he can return to you. And she knows that it’s not her fault, not anyone’s fault really, and that it doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to spend time with her because anyone can see that he does hold some love for her in his heart. But it doesn’t compare to the love he has for you, it doesn’t compare to the way he wants to be next to you as much as possible.

“Are you a virgin?” Astoria asks suddenly as she turns to the boy beside her. She knows that it’s an intimate question, and that he has every right not to answer her, but she needs to know how strong the bond they’ve created over the years is.

Draco thinks on it for a few seconds, weighs the pros and cons of both lying and being honest, before he finally settles on his answer- knowing that it’ll lead to more questions. “No.”

Astoria can’t tell if she’s relieved that he didn’t lie or if she’s hurt that he wouldn’t have told her if she didn’t ask, but she pushes away the fog of emotion and continues on the mission that she set course for this morning. “Who?”

Draco gulps, “Y/N.”

Silence encapsulates them and sends them down a dark road of confusion - where to go from here?

“Do you love her?”

“I don’t know.” Draco shrugs, feeling a smile crawl onto his face at the thought of you, “Maybe.”

“Hm.”

“But it doesn’t matter much anyway, I’m marrying you in a few years bumblebee.” He turns to her and grasps her hand in his own- trying to send a message of reassurance that just makes Astoria’s throat close up- sending her a soft and loving smile. A soft and loving smile that is no match for the one he would’ve sent to you if he’d said those words to you instead.

“True as that may be,” Astoria begins as she takes her hand out of his and pulls back to sit comfortably while facing him, “It’s no reason for us to not enjoy our youth.”

“What do you mean?” Draco asks as he sits up - hoping that maybe the two of you can start to see each other out in the open.

“Let’s see people, other people, while we can.”

“Are you sure?” He raises his eyebrows and she nods- before she has the chance to change her mind- “Who is he?” Draco asks with a smirk.

Astoria tilts her head to look at Draco clearly- to observe this man that she loves enough to let go of in hopes that he’ll come back to her- and she feels her heart warm at the thought of him being happy with you, despite her own desire to feel that love instead. “Trust me, there is no he.”

“Mhmm.” Draco hums absent-mindedly as he hooks his arm around Astoria’s shoulders and pulls her into his chest for a hug. “Thank you bumblebee.”

“You’re welcome.” She giggles out as he places a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll be coming back to each other in the end anyway.”

Before long Astoria and Draco’s study sessions have a third participant. And Astoria thought that she’d hate it, she desperately wants to hate you for stealing his affection from her, but she can’t. Her plan to get you out of Draco’s system backfired quickly- her efforts to push you out of his heart recoiled on her as you pushed your way into hers- and soon enough the two of you become best friends.

Study sessions become picnics- ones where you and Astoria bully Draco with foolish nonsense like plaiting his hair, painting his nails, beating him at every muggle boardgame known to man, making him read to you both as you lay down on the picnic blanket and watch the clouds above. The sound of you and Astoria's combined giggles now fills Draco’s ears everyday, and he can’t possibly think of a sound he loves more.

~~~

YEAR FIVE - MAY

Shit. That’s the very first thing Astoria thinks when that morning’s copy of The Daily Prophet lands in front of her at the Slytherin table. Her eyes immediately shift to find where you’re seated but you’ve already gotten up and started marching out of the Great Hall. Draco’s eyes catch her own and they both nod silently in agreement before getting up from the table and moving to follow you.

The Headline had stated, in big, bold print, that your mother (among many other muggleborn witches and wizards in the Wizarding community) had not died of cancer but instead been poisoned by undercover Death Eaters that worked with her at St Mungo’s. They’d created a slow-acting potion that replicated the symptoms of cancer and made it impossible to identify the source of the sickness- which is why neither muggle doctors nor healers had been able to cure her.

Deep down both you and your father had known that she hadn’t died naturally, you’d both long suspected foul play even when she had first fallen sick, but no one seemed to be interested in your babblings of concern- chalking it down to grief and denial. So you’d moved on- stuffing it so far into the depths of your memory that you’d almost forgotten about it completely- but when that article had landed in front of you in the Great Hall hot, fresh tears of sorrow had started to pour down your cheeks without a moment of hesitation, and it had taken all of your strength to clamber out of the Great Hall and into your dorm room.

You’re crying so hard- completely lost in your cloud of affliction and immeasurable heartbreak- that you don’t even notice Draco and Astoria sneak into your room until they’re both sat beside you on your bed, running their hands up and down your back and your face - trying to bring you back down to planet earth with their movements of affection. But it’s not enough. Nothing is enough to take away your pain.

You don’t hear them whisper above you, and you don’t even notice what’s going on around you until Draco has lifted you up into his arms and started carrying you somewhere. You only manage to blink back tears and observe your surroundings once Draco has gently laid you in his bigger prefect bed and wrapped the covers around you.

“Lay with me.” Is all you manage to rasp out, sparing a glance at them both, before you drop your head into the pillows and try to find solace in sleep. They don’t hesitate to do as you wish- Draco climbing in bed behind you and Astoria climbing in by the front, bundling you up in the safety of their presence’s- and you sigh in relief when you start to feel Draco’s fingers in your hair and Astoria’s hand grasp your own.

It’s almost awkward- your back to Draco’s chest and Astoria’s head in yours as you strain to focus on the scent of her pomegranate shampoo as well as the scent of Draco’s oceanic one, so that there’s something to tether you to the real world- but there’s an almost protective nature to the way you’re all lying, like they’re saying more than words ever could; we’ll protect you. It’s safe and it’s warm, so you let your eyes close as you drift off to sleep.

But maybe that was the day it all started to fall apart, because that was the last time he ever looked at her with as much love as he looked at you with.

~~~

YEAR FIVE - JUNE

Astoria watches as your giggles fill his ears and leave him drunk with happiness- more drunk than any amount of the firewhiskey he’s holding could possibly even try to. It’s a bitter sight really, to see the one who’s meant to be yours falling deeper and deeper in love with someone else, to push down your feelings of contempt and jealousy for the sake of friendship - both with you and Draco.

You two are wrapped in a world of your own- the only thing either of you can focus on is the sound of each other’s voices and the feel of each other’s skin rubbing against each other as you sit in the common room with your friends for game night. The only thing tying you both down to earth is the distant sound of laughter that carries from Blaise, or maybe Theo, and toward you both- waking you up every few minutes from the trance of each other.

It’s in the breaks in between each game that the two of you get sucked back into the whirlwind of your love for each other - that he whispers to you everything he adores about you, and you whisper back all the things you adore about him- hushed, quiet, private, and yet observable from across the table where Astoria watches the scene in a state of silent fury. An anger so muted that one could easily mistake it for admiration, that one could simply miss the way she yearns to be in that place instead of her own, that one could misinterpret her desire to be the one smothered in the kisses of those soft lips.

Best friends.

Best friends.

The two of you are her best friends.

That’s what she tells herself when she feels that familiar coil of rage inching it’s way up into her throat and begging to meet with her tongue- to scold you both for hurting her so blatantly. But she doesn’t, no, her mother raised her with more self-restraint than that. She swallows her anger, her sadness, her jealousy, and reminds herself that no amount of fury will ever be worth losing you both.

He won’t choose her.

We’ll be coming back to each other in the end anyway, she reminds herself.

~~~

YEAR SIX - DECEMBER

When sixth rolls around no one fails to see the changes that Draco’s gone through over the summer break- least of all you and Astoria. You both try your best to act like everything is the same- like he’s not folding in on himself, shrinking closer and closer to just teeth and bones, losing all the colour in his face, draining more and more of life as the days go on- but it’s evident in the way he eats less, spends less time outside with you both and pushes you two as far away from him as remotely possible.

Winter Break rolls around and as usual, you all go down to the Malfoy Manor for the few days of Christmas. Excitement bubbles in the train carriage as you, Blaise, Daphne, Astoria and Theo converse about the upcoming break, but Draco doesn’t join in the conversation- he merely lets his head fall on your shoulder and his fingers intertwine with yours. Your close proximity is a silent reminder that he still loves you, even if he doesn’t say or show it as often, and that whatever he’s going through isn’t your fault but rather a much bigger problem.

It’s over break that you fully notice the impact of whatever Draco’s going through- his bright smile doesn’t appear when he greets his mother, and he flinches in her embrace when she comes up to hug him, he no longer meets you all in the garden late at night to watch the stars and talk till the sun rises, and the days that used to be spent laughing together are now consumed by him sleeping. Two days before you’re all due to leave, you decide that you’ve had enough and you confront Draco in his room- charming the room with a silencing charm in case you erupt into another fight.

“We need to talk.” You say from your seat on the edge of the bed as Draco walks out of the bathroom in a set of black pyjamas.

“Are we seriously doing this again Y/N?” He asks as he rolls his eyes and walks over to the vanity in his room.

“It’s the last time, I promise.” You say with a smile as you shrug. He looks at you skeptically and so you elaborate, “If you don’t tell me what I want to know then we’re breaking up.”

“Fine.” He replies simply with a shrug as he leans against the vanity. “It’s not like you’re not going to want to be with me once you know.”

“And how can you possibly know that?”

“Because it’s bad, Y/N, it’s really really bad.”

You sigh and swallow as you look at the ground. A few seconds pass before you continue, “Do you remember when your father got sentenced?”

A look of confusion flashes across his features but he nods slowly anyway, “Yes, why?”

“You’d started walking ahead with Blaise and Astoria so you didn’t see but, your mother came to talk to me.” You start as you give him a sad smile, “She asked me if I was going to break your heart. When I asked her why she thought that, she asked me how I could possibly love the son of someone who knew the people that killed my mother in cold blood.”

“Why didn’t you te-“ Draco starts but you lift your hand and cut him off.

“I thought about it and I realised that it didn’t matter to me, my love for you is beyond any physical measure and it can’t be wavered by something as morbidly coincidental as that. I told her that I love you more than words can describe and that it didn’t matter to me because that’s not you.” You laugh a sad laugh, “Do you want to know what she said back?”

“What?”

“She told me that ‘to be a Malfoy is to be burdened by responsibility and raised with the weight of the world on your shoulders.’ She told me that I should be prepared to lose you when your duty to your family gets in the way of your love for me.”

“Nothing’s in the way of my love for you, I promise-“ He interrupts you and you send him a look that shuts him up.

“When I asked what duty she was referring to, she said to me ‘the one his father couldn’t fulfill.’” You finish with a large and shaky breath as your eyes finally shift upwards to settle against his unwavering gaze. “So I’m going to ask you this once. If you lie to me then we’re done because I will assume that she was right.”

Draco gulps but nods, “Go ahead.”

“Draco Lucius Malfoy, are you a death eater?”

He doesn’t answer at first, he’s still staring at you and dumbfounded at the fact that you’d figured it out, but once he does finally process what you’ve asked him then he starts to roll up the sleeve of his left arm. You gasp at the sight of the skull and snake embroidering the pale skin underneath, and immediately look away so you don’t cry. “Yes, Y/N, I am.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“How could I?” He asks as he looks at you sadly and you nod in understanding- opening your arms for him to come and settle in them.

The two of you sit like that for hours- in bed, him crying in your arms as he tells you what he’s been tasked with and how he’s been trying to fulfill the task alone over the last few months, he tells you about the Vanishing Cabinet, about having to kill Dumbledore, about learning Occulemency with his Aunt Bellatrix and figuring out for the first time how deep his love for you runs in his veins- and you try your best to choke back tears and be strong for him as he finally opens up for the first time in months.

When the two of you finally leave the room to go downstairs for dinner, Draco feels as though a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and he smiles, for the first time in months, and it’s for you.

Both Astoria and Narcissa easily take notice of Draco’s altered demeanor when you and him make your way to the table. Astoria feels jealousy wash over her when she watches him pull out a chair for you, kiss your forehead, dish food out for you, and stare in admiration as you eat. Narcissa on the other hand, feels pride, and an unbridled sense of relief at the fact that you managed to help her son out of his head. Astoria’s eyes land on Narcissa’s face for a moment and she sees it; the look of acceptance that a proud mother gives to the one who owns their child’s heart.

And that’s the first time that Astoria realises, maybe we’re not coming back to each other in the end.

~~~

1998 - MAY

Draco feels his breath caught in his lungs as he searches for you throughout the castle - fighting off anyone and anything that stands in the way of him coming across you. He finds Theo, Goyle and Blaise while searching for you and the four of them run through the castle with fire in their bones and aches in their heart at the prospect of not being able to see their friends again. But then it happens, his eyes land on a flash of blonde waving around the courtyard with determination; Daphne. And beside her, in all your magnificent and powerful glory, is you.

The four boys run toward the two of you and you all have a brief moment of relief consume you as you reunite in each others arms. Hugs are thrown around, kisses passed along, and soft words of reassurance are spread to remind you all that you’re alive and together. But as soon as that moment of relief fades, a panic sets in its place as you and Draco realise that Astoria is still missing.

“I thought she was with you.” Daphne says to Draco as her breaths become uneven again and tears begin to prick at her eyes.

“It’s okay, we’ll go find her.” You tell Daphne as you pull her into a hug quickly before pulling away and lacing your fingers with Draco’s.

“The rest of you try to get somewhere safe, we’ll find each other again.” Draco orders the rest of your friends and soon you and him are off to find Astoria - running up and down between corridors and hidden alcoves in hopes of finding your best friend, your missing piece.

After ten minutes of looking you find her, fighting for the right side with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, with blood smearing her cheeks and her eyes blown wide with fear.

That’s when Draco feels like he can breathe again.

You and Draco rush up to her and capture her in your combined embrace - trying to focus solely on the faint smell of pomegranate that wafts off of her hair, trying to commit this moment to memory so that you can always remember what it felt like to have the two pieces of your heart back together again.

“You found me.” Astoria breathes out as tears fall down her face.

“We always come back to each other.” Draco says back as he smiles down at her and you wipe the tears off of her face.

“Don’t be sappy.” She responds as she chokes out a laugh.

“I can’t help it, I was worried that I might have to marry Daphne instead!” He exclaims and the three of you laugh, despite the awkwardness of the situation, almost forgetting that walls are crumbling around you and lives are fading out into nothing.

“You should know by now that I’d never leave you to suffer that fate.”

“I do bumblebee.”

It’s when she looks up into his eyes finally that she sees it, the difference between his love for you and his love for her. There is a different kind of love, safety, understanding, lust, that transpires between you both when you look into each other’s eyes, one that doesn’t appear when he looks into her own. The light that shines in you and Draco’s eyes when you look at Astoria is a dim comparison to the light that shines when you look at each other; a candle compared to the sun.

You both love her. And she, oddly, loves you both. But it’s not the way that you love each other, and Draco would never be able to love her again after loving you so fiercely.

She sighs and puts on a small smile. “Please can we go?”

“Yes, of course. We’ve got to find the others.

“Same side, always.” Draco insists and you look up to him and shake your head.

“Draco, I can’t ju-“

“Same side, always.” Astoria repeats, with pleading eyes, and you sigh before nodding.

“Same side, always.” You reply as you turn to head back in the direction that you came from. Astoria holds out both of her hands, you and Draco take them happily, and the three of you walk toward the end of the war together.

Later when you arrive in the courtyard to hear that Harry Potter is dead Astoria immediately runs to join her sister and her parents on the other side, on Voldemort’s side. And not soon after, you follow Draco as he joins his parents on the other side, keeping your promise to always be on the same side.

It’s only when you’re all in the Malfoy Manor later that evening after defecting when the reality of your situation finally dawns on you and you break down in tears- tears of grief, pain, anguish, anger, relief. Astoria watches in envy as Narcissa receives you in her arms- tears staining her face already as she grips you so tight that you might suffocate. She keeps you in her arms for a while- soothing your light sobs, sending hushed whispers and reassurances your way, promising that they’ll protect you and thanking you for keeping her son safe. Lucius says nothing and doesn’t allow his expressionless demeanor to fall, but when you finally pull away from Narcissa to stand beside Draco, Lucius grabs your hand and squeezes it- a gesture so small that one could easily miss it, but one that says everything he possibly could’ve said in that moment.

Then, she realises that she didn’t lose, how could she when it had never been a competition in the first place. Draco had always belonged to her on paper, but his love for you was written in the stars from the moment that you were both born. Astoria didn’t lose because she was never in the race, in fact there was never a race to begin with.

It had always been you.

~~~

2001


A few years passed- names were forgotten, new engagements were made, houses were moved out of and new homes were created on the ashes of grief- but one morning she felt her heart drop deep into the pit of her stomach. Lying on her kitchen counter was a gorgeous invitation to a wedding, you and Draco’s wedding, and a letter from you- in which you begged for her to be your bridesmaid.

After the war Astoria had told her parents and the Malfoy’s that she couldn’t go through with the arranged marriage- that he deserved to marry someone that he loved instead- and then she’d pack up her bags and started traveling the world- desperately in search of a love like yours and Draco’s. She didn’t succeed, she couldn’t find anyone that she loved with that much magnitude. So after two fruitless years of traveling she’d returned to the UK - applying for and receiving the appointment of Hogwarts Charms teacher once she’d gotten back.

Slowly, bit by bit, she began to reach out to her old friends and of course, you and Draco had been the first to respond- excited to see her again and yearning for the old days when the three of you would lose time laughing together. She’d been shocked to find out that the two of you had done some traveling as well- exploring Asia, Africa, South America and North America alike, eating food from every culture you came across and dancing to music that you’d never hear back home- and the three of you had spent the next few months meeting up for dinner and talking about your travels.

That was perfect, to Astoria, that was all she needed.

A year passed since she’d been home when Draco surprised you one night, serenading you with poetry he’d written about you over the years and getting down on one knee to proclaim his immeasurable, undying love for you and his eternal devotion to you. The very next morning the two of you were sending out invitations and you were begging for Astoria to be your bridesmaid.

She said yes, of course, and she was the best bridesmaid that you could’ve asked for.

~~~

2002

She’d cried - whether it was to mourn a love that once was or to celebrate a love that now is, she didn’t know. When you and Draco had said your vows she had cried, and the first thing that you and Draco had done once the ceremony had ended was engulf her in your arms. She’d been there for every stage of your relationship and if it hadn’t been for her the two of you probably wouldn’t have been able to get married.

She laughs in the midst of her tears as the two of you hug her- lost in a bittersweet trance of happiness and discontent, she feels full of the love that the two of you hold for each other but there’s a gaping hole that still begs to be filled in her own chest. “Why are you two hugging me? It’s your wedding!”

You wipe a few tears that have fallen down your own face- completely forgetting that your makeup will be ruined- and  pull away to face her. “We’re thanking you. None of this would’ve been possible without you.”

“We’re in debt to you bumblebee.” Draco says with a chuckle and she shakes her head immediately at his words.

“You two owe me nothing - your happiness is enough for me.” And in a way it’s true, the two of you having each other fulfills her in a distant but comforting manner. “Now, time to throw the bouquet!” She exclaims as she clings onto your wrist and pulls you away from your groaning husband.

When the bouquet lands in Astoria’s hands, instead of the many other women circling around her, she feels her breath hitch in her throat. Who can she possibly marry when she’ll never love anyone the way that she loves-

“If I’m not your bridesmaid as well then I’ll kill you at the alter.” You cut off her train of thought as you come up to her with a big smile.

“I wouldn’t dream of it being anyone else.” She replies with a smile and you both laugh as you catch each other in one last warm embrace before everyone moves up to the reception.

It’s the way your hands fit perfectly around her waist, the way you breath runs along her ear as you laugh absent-mindedly, and the way you smile at her when you pull apart. You smile at her but it’s not enough to make her smile back because she finally sees what she’s been trying desperately not to see for so long. You smile at her- bright, warm, inviting, happy- the way a friend smiles at another, with love and adoration and support. But it’s just not enough.

It’s at that moment she realises.

She isn’t in love with him. No. She can’t be.

She’s in love with you.

<~>

I feel like this wasn't as angsty as I originally wanted it to be but I still really love it. :)

anyway, i’m currently listening to ‘break my heart again’ by finneas so i'm off to go cry about Astoria’s ending as if i am her.

IN REGARDS TO A SEQUEL: It might be coming soon.

love you all

jean <3

[boldlyvoid]

ain't it fun? | Part five

Summary: reader just needs an NA meeting before they have a meltdown, they end up with the best friend they could ever make.

Warnings: pregnancy, chronic illness, spencer's career chance - he's a high school teacher now, they have a 1-year-old, smut at the end but not graphic.

word count: 2.8k

a/n: I imagine this is in season 10, so they've been together at least 7 years-ish now, I just jumped well into the future because I wanted to! also, Cordelia's nickname is Edie and pronounced Ee-dee !!

P1 P2 P3 P4

“No.”

Spencer sighs, “are you going to like any of my suggestions?”

“When you give me a baby name that isn’t from some weird old male book character, then yes, I’ll take them into consideration,” she replies, hand on her stomach as she lays back against the pillows.

She was huge, 9 months pregnant and so, so close to the finish line. She was swollen and in pain and exhausted. Going off every single medication and recreational drugs to make a life was a commitment and a half, she was doing well but she was so ready to be done. To do a few more months of breastfeeding and then go back on her medications.

Spencer was terrific. He was googling and asking Penelope to research things, he had called doctors he knows and friends and did everything in his power to find a way to ease her pain even before they got pregnant. He’s taken the last 3 months off of work and he doesn’t know when he’ll go back. He has just been so, so incredible the whole time.

Naming a child was hard. You had to not only think about all the nicknames and what their initials spell, but you also had to think about how they’ll like it; if it’ll fit their personality and spirit. And most of all, is it going to get them bullied? There are some terrible kid names. Like Richard… how do you name a newborn Richard?

“I want something meaningful with a nice nickname and works with our names and her siblings,” she whispered towards him. “They need to all work together.”

“What are some of your favourites?” He asks, moving in closer and finding a way to cuddle in with her and her pregnancy pillow who has all but replaced him lately.

“I like earthy names, like Lennox, Juniper, Aspen, Elowen,” her voice is really soft, she bites her lip at the end as she thinks them over again. “And old things like Cordelia and Winnifred.”

“Which one sounds the best with Reid?”

“I like Cordelia Reid the most, and then we can call her Edie and I was thinking you can pick her middle name?” She’s been thinking about it for a while, but too afraid to know his opinions.

“Cordelia means core in Latin, which makes sense cause she already has my heart,” Spencer teased, he has made it very clear that their little girl is going to be spoiled, loved and a daddy's girl.

He took all his fears of being a bad dad and threw them out the window. He knew that just being there was all he wanted from his dad, and so that’s what he was going to do. He left the BAU for the time being, he was doing the odd lecture at the academy and answering calls for cases. They couldn’t just stop using his brain, there were some things too pressing to not ask the walking computer, but other than that, he was done.

He was looking into other jobs for when he finally decides to go back, he was unsure how long of a paternity leave he wanted. He was really content with just staying home all the time now, but he did miss going out and being useful during the days. The job he was most interested in, however, was a high school teacher.

A prep school in DC is looking into adding an Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology course to their curriculum, and they wanted Spencer. They thought he would be perfect for the seniors, he is fun and young and attentive, he can control a room and keep them entertained, and he’s probably the best teacher a kid could get.

It was going to make him a good dad too.

“I think Jade is a nice middle name,” he adds after thinking it over for a few minutes.

“Cordelia Jade Reid,” she says the full name for the first time and it just feels right, like they already know her.

—

She was very calm for a newborn baby.

She liked to just look around and blink, she licked her lips a lot and she was constantly breaking out of her swaddle. She was always happy to have cuddles with her dad and she pooped every night at exactly at 3 am, without fail. She didn’t cry a lot, but when she did it was still wonderful to hear.

They were so in love with her, she was absolutely perfect for them. She fit right into their sleeping schedule and their life, she ate like a pro, she slept most of the night and she was growing way too fast for their liking.

One day they’re crying over the fact they made a life in a tiny little hospital room, and the next thing they know she’s about to turn 1.

She’s sitting in bed with Y/N, she’s sitting in her lap with two handfuls of hair and a story to tell. She’s been babbling so much lately, she hears them talking all the time and she wants to join so badly. They indulge her, asking her to continue her thoughts and gasping at her gossip.

“No way, and what did you do next?!” She asked the little one sat in her lap.

Edie babbled on once more, smacking her tongue on the roof of her mouth as she pushed air past her vocal cords, humming and making the funniest sounds. She went on and on, she was so enthusiastic, like her father, as she waved her arms around to make her point.

“That is so fascinating, you are so cool, little Edie,” Y/N hyped her up, smiling at her as she leaned in close and pressed their noses together.

Cordelia laughed and it finally made Spencer giggle too, he had been watching from the doorway as his ‘wife’ and daughter talked in bed. They were best friends already, always talking and snuggling, learning or reading together. She was always happy when she was with one of them, she was needy and snuggly and very co-dependent but they didn’t mind, they preferred all the attention from her.

“Look who’s home,” Y/N whispered and Cordelia shot a glance towards the door, she smiled and screamed as she saw him.

“Hi Edie!” He waves at her with a smile, he takes his bag off and places it by the dresser followed by his blazer.

He gets into the bed and she instinctively reaches for a hug. He wraps her up and she snuggles right into his neck, with a fistful of his shirt, she just holds him there. She didn’t understand why he wasn’t home all day anymore, she missed him for lunch and at nap time but she loved the new routine of a snuggle when she woke up and he got home.

Spencer leans back against the pillows beside Y/N, turning his head to capture a kiss from her lips. They always just spend a quick second kissing when he gets home, even if it’s just a peck or a full-on passionate make-out, he always kisses her when he comes home. He smiles at the end of the kiss, pulling her into a hug too.

“I love Fridays,” he whispers, “Edie do you know what Fridays mean?”

She pulls away and sits up, she loves to listen to him. “Friday is the last day of the school week, which means I get to spend 2 whole days with my favourite people now.”

Edie smiled, almost like she understood what he meant, and then she was talking again, it was completely incomprehensible but they imagined she was telling him about her day.

“You forgot the part where we went to the park,” Y/N added.

Cordelia looked at her with wide eyes, “dada,” was the only word she said before babbling on again and they both stopped.

“Did she just?” Spencer was shocked and frozen still after asking.

Y/N sat up and looked right into Cordelia’s eyes, “who is that?” She pointed at Spencer.

“Dada!” She said it again and they were suddenly all squealing, even Cordelia was suddenly excited as she kept screaming dada over and over again.

“Can you say, mom? Or mama? Mummy?” Spencer tried his hardest to find an easy way for her to say it.

“Mumm,” she pushed her lips together to hum her M sound and Spencer was floored, he bounced her up and down a small amount as they cheered.

“Smartest girl in the world!” Spencer cheered her on before pulling her into another hug.

Y/N was crying softly, little tiny dreams that she didn’t even know she had were coming true every single day with them. She knew she wanted to be a mom when she was growing up, all those dreams died when her illness got worse and they all warned her that having kids would put her at risk of being moneyless and that working wasn’t an option to even support them. Let alone the threat of them taking them away just because of her autism or depression possibly being considered ‘too bad’ to care for them.

Spencer took all those fears and he kicked them out. Every day she got to experience the most precious gifts the world had to offer, her daughter was perfect and her husband was incredible. Together they were a perfect little family that ran on trust, love, and communication. Always talking, always hugging, always there for each other.

—

They crawl into bed much later than they expected to. Cordelia didn’t want to go to bed, she was trying her hardest to keep staying awake to spend time with them but eventually, sleep won. They finally placed her in her crib with her white noise and her complete darkness and closed her door for the next few hours of peace.

They both let out a deep sigh before rolling to face one another. “How was your day?” He asks, like always.

“Good,” she smiles, “I think having a kid and getting on her schedule was the best thing I’ve ever done actually, cause I’m sleeping on time, I’m eating when she does and I’m outside a lot more. She’s given me this purpose and it’s rewarding on my body.”

Spencer moves in so he can kiss her nose, “I love hearing that.”

“How was your class today?” She asks back, loving his little stories about all the 17 and 18-year-olds that were fascinated by him. As well as the kids who thought it was cool to try and pick on him before getting the shit verbally kicked out of them in front of the whole class.

It was interesting seeing him in a form of authority, he never really took charge at the BAU, she’s never seen him yell at his friends and he’s never really yelled at her either. He’s been incredibly calm, so to see him verbally tear someone apart by acknowledging their biggest flaws to make sense of why they feel the need to bully, it was pretty intense.

“They were a lot better today, they enjoyed the lesson and the kids that were giving me trouble skipped, I guess he really didn’t appreciate me calling him out that bad on Tuesday,” Spencer smirked, rolling his eyes like he cared.

“I still can’t believe that he thought it was okay to call you names in front of other students, where is the respect these days?”

“Well,” he’s about to do what he always does. He can never be truly mad at someone because he knows why everyone does what they do and that they can’t help it. “In his file, it says his parents are newly divorced, we get a list of all the kids information on the attendance like allergies and things, but also small info like life changes in case they act out.”

“Doesn’t mean he can call you the f slur,” she whispers, “all because you wore a purple shirt?”

“If I met his father I’d probably get an answer for that,” he adds, “if he’s afraid to show his emotions around his son, it’s probably why his son thinks colours are gay.”

It makes her laugh, “you look hot in purple too so I don’t see the problem?”

“Do I?” He teases, getting in even closer and pressing their bodies together.

She rolls her eyes before wrapping her arms around him and leaning forward for a quick kiss, “I think you look sexy all the time.”

He kisses her as a thank you, “I think the same about you.”

“Even when I haven’t showered in 2 days because she cries if she can’t see me and she cries if she gets wet?” Y/N laughed, annoyed but in love with their little monster at the same time.

“Always,” he reminds her. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she kisses him again after.

There are probably a million more things to share from the day, but they spend their time kissing instead. It’s been too long since they’ve just rolled around in the sheets making out like they did in the beginning. Before they ever had sex, before they had kids and a house and a love as strong as they do now.

A part of them missed the early days when everything was new and exciting, but she also loved the fact that they knew each other so well that they didn’t have to communicate anymore. They ran like 1 unit, always completing the other person's thoughts, needs and wants. They were so unbelievably happy.

She wants him badly and he wants her just as much, and he’s about to take her when she pulls back. “Nope, as much as I love her I can’t get pregnant again for at least another year.”

It makes him laugh as he pulls away and rolls over to look through his nightstand for a condom, “it wouldn’t be that bad?”

“You carry it then, seahorse it up,” she teased. “I like being back on my medicine, I need some time to be okay before I go through all that again.”

Once he’s all situated in the latex and back between her legs, he hovers over her, so close that their lips are touching ever so slightly. “I am fine if it’s just the three of us forever.”

“I’m not,” she smiles, “there will be 4 of us one day, just not today.”

With that, she’s pulling him into another kiss as he pushing inside. It’s a feeling she’s accustomed to but will never be used to, it’s a stretch that shouldn’t be as intoxicating as it is. She holds him closer as she plays with his tongue in her mouth.

He was so good at everything he did, especially the sex. He knew every single part of her body now and exactly how to push all her buttons the right way. She could live in the moment of his pumping in and out of her while his thumb circled her clit and his other hand groaned her breasts. Eventually, he kissed down her throat and she was a mess of breathy moans and low gasps.

Writing in the sheets, her legs wrap around him as she tried to pull him in even closer. It was impossible to get closer but he was still too far away, she wanted to absorb him and live in him forever. He was her safe place and she never wanted to be anywhere else.

As her orgasm bubbled, so did his. The both of them gasping and panting, she whined as she breached the edge and gripped his back, “Spence!”

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he whispered before fucking into her harder and faster, pushing her through it as he reached his own.

His movements on her clit never stopped and suddenly one felt like two and she wasn’t sure when the rush was going to stop and she didn’t care when it did. It was powerful, soothing and euphoric. A high she could live in for a while and return to it without problem as long as she had him.

He came with a small moan, trying to keep quiet as he muffled it into her neck, stilling his hips on his last thrust and dropping onto her more. Her hands were all over his back as she pressed kisses to his forehead, coming down but not wanting the love to stop there.

The love was never going to stop there for them. Their love was never-ending, and somehow as she held him there in her arms and felt his breath on his neck, she turned to see the baby monitor with their peaceful child sound asleep down the hall, she loved him even more now somehow.

Loving Spencer Reid was like falling down a bottomless pit. She never knew when she was going to reach the end, but she was content with falling.

smut taglist: @g0lden-cth @doctorspenceryeet @samuel-de-champagne-problems @reiding-recs @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria@reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @jswessie187 @k-k0129 @calm-and-doctor @blanchardsbk

[squishneedsahero]

Ductape and Superglue

Awesomest of Them All 2.0

Part 13 of 13

Word Count: 1607

Batman x Batmom!Reader

You know what the bat family needs? Someone to pull them together and give them all the love they deserve. Who better to do that than you? An author rising to stardom in Gotham who catches the eye of a billionaire with your standoffish attitude at a huge social gathering. You are yourself and never pretend to be more or less than that. Plus you're the most stubborn person in the world, refusing to let good things go without reason.

This is a rewrite of my story Awesomest of Them All, I wanted to see how much I've improved over 3 years.

Bruce got a call, one that he had never gotten before even if he had always dreaded it. A phone call during a Wayne Enterprises meeting from someone demanding money and sending a picture of you tied to a chair. You had that normal fire in your eyes in the picture and it was obvious you weren't hurt but still no one wants their wife held hostage and threatened with a gun or worse.

Tim looks over Bruce's shoulder at the photo on the phone screen. His heart leaps to his throat and he pulls out his phone, already working on figuring out where it is you are located from the little he can see in the picture. He and Bruce were here in a meeting it would only make sense to call the GCPD and not run out the door to get you to safety. Tim knows Bruce though, always thinking everything through except for when it came to you. He would do anything in the world to keep you happy and safe.

Tim's hand coming to rest on Bruce's upper arm pulls him back to the reality that is that he cannot run out the door to your rescue. "You call Alfred, I'll call the GCPD," that's all he says and that's all it takes to set things in motion.

Two phone calls are made and those lead to two more made by Alfred and Damian who he had just picked up from school. Alfred calls Jason and Damian calls Dick, they are the only ones who get notified in the moment to go get you but it's enough.

Cass is on a date with Steph, they're the next to get a phone call from Tim, just informing them of the situation but making it clear that they are not needed at the scene. Stephanie protests this and tries to claim that you'd need Spoiler's help as well. You were as much of a mother to her and Cass as any of the boys even if only Cass was officially adopted. In the end the two girls go to the Mansion to wait with Alfred and coordinate things from the cave with Babs who is there upon their arrival.

Damian liked to think he still disliked you and could barely tolerate you. But even if he wouldn't admit it he was more scared on your behalf than he had ever thought he'd be. Despite him being horribly rude to you, you had never been anything but nice even if your nice included sarcastic comments to prove your point. You had helped him learn what a family was supposed to be like.

Jason gets a call from Alfred and he is changed and out the door of his apartment before the call is over. You were his Ma and he was your Jaybear, and he wouldn't be letting you get hurt. Alfred was the one person you had given his phone number too even though he had told you to keep it a secret, but in this moment he was glad you had.

This leaves Dick, who had gotten a call from Damian, telling him the situation and that he would be joining him at the warehouse. Dick was with Babs at the mansion so the two head to the cave where Barbara takes over in the computer while Dick changes and hurries out the door to go get you.

Things seem like they're going smooth when the three boys arrive one shortly after the other. Jason is already in and picking off the men in the surrounding area and getting you out of the chair when Dick and Dami burst in and start taking out more guys. You're safe and that's all that matters to any of them.

But then there's that singular gunshot and all three of their hearts skip a beat. Damian sees you slide the rest of the way into the next room but the other two just see the door swing closed behind you. None of them know where you had been hit and if you were okay on the other side of that door. But they can't walk away from the fight in the middle of it. Once all the men are down Jason takes off too you, not giving Damian or Dick the chance and leaving them to tie the guys up.

"Mama?" Jason asks, slipping into old habits in his fear.

"Hey Jaybear, I'm fine, it's just my leg," you comfort him quickly but let him take care of your leg for you. You'll have to go to the hospital as it's the only proper thing to do but he stops the bleeding and gives you a tight hug.

The other two boys come in and you smile and comfort them, telling them all how proud of them you are. This gets interrupted by police sirens outside. You quickly shoo them away and let Bruce know you're safe, knowing your husband would want to come after you himself at this point but you were fine. You needed to let the police take you to the hospital and make all of this look somewhat normal and not like a family problem.

You spend a few hours at the hospital, getting stitches and a brace since the bullet had ripped through your muscles, leaving your leg weak. When they let you go they push you out in a wheelchair and give you a pair of crutches.

Media personnel try to crowd you and get answers for their many questions. You shut them up with one of your classic, "I'm fine now leave me alone to be with my family or you will start your own newspaper to post stories about them and slowly put them out of business." It was a good threat that worked every time. If it didn't work then you just added in the idea of getting photos of their butts to add to the articles, titling it "the asses of Gotham"

You choose to spend the early evening watching movies on the couch with your family. Cass and Steph take their own chair to cuddle in, same with Dick and Babs. This leaves you to cuddle with Bruce and Tim and surprisingly Damian sits next to you, kicking Tim out of his normal spot meaning you had no choice but to sit in Bruce's lap so the boys can both sit next to you.

Alfred wished you well upon your arrival home, then returned to make dinner for all of you even if you tried to tell him to just order pizza. "No, miss Wayne, you were shot today and need a healthy meal," he responds much to your annoyance with him calling you miss, as though you were a child and your parent had called you by both your first and middle name.

All of you aren't far into the movie when you get interrupted by Jason entering the family room. You light up at the sight of him and before Bruce can stop you you're out of his lap and over Jason wrapping him in a hug. How you made it that far without falling due to torn ligaments no one knew but you were now in Jason's arms and he could keep you steady. You make him lean over so you can kiss his forehead before you make him come sit on the couch where you had been.

When he tries to object you give him that stern mom look and he obediently comes and sits next to you, and Damian on the opposite end of the couch from Bruce. Things definitely were tense between the two but you don't care, it's a start.

You finally have your whole family back under one roof for the moment. Your four boys, one girl and two unofficial girls. You loved every single one of them so much and were so glad that you were all together again. They all knew how much you loved them, and how you took time for each of them, the only reason Jason was getting extra attention was because he had been gone for so long.

It had hurt so very much when he had suddenly been taken from you. The pain of loosing a child wasn't anything you plus bear even if you had had too for years. You all share a nice dinner together then because you had all spent so much time together Bruce insisted that the city would be fine for the night with just the kids and that he needed to stay and make sure you were taken care of.

For the first time in a long time things were relatively peaceful for your family, even if you had a leg wound. You had them all together and would now be able to work with Jason and Bruce on their relationship and getting it back to a less tense father son relationship. Damian was finally truly giving you a chance. Dick was on good terms with Bruce, and he was happy with Babs, even talking about marriage in the future. Tim was helping Bruce run the company and he was brilliant at it, plus he seemed truly happy for the first time in his life as he had recently started officially dating Conner. This just left Steph and Cass who were about to graduate high school and were looking at apartments, planning to move in together despite almost already doing so since Stephanie always seemed to be at the manor. It wasn't a typical life but you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

The End... idk

[crusadingcookie]

Bento Boxes and Kisses

A/N: Bonjour everyone it’s been a while, let’s ignore that my last post was nearly 7 months ago. I have so many ideas but when it comes to writing them into a cohesive story my brain just goes bleh. So I might try a more headcanon style for future stories if you guys would be up for reading that? I think that’ll help with my consistency of posting stories as that way I can stitch together separate ideas/plot points without having the ‘filler’ scenes if that makes sense. Plus I really want to share my story ideas with you guys!

Anyways here is this short story, I’m not really happy with the ending but I felt guilty not posting anything for so long! I hope you guys enjoy!

Part of the Aizawa x Wife!Reader series. Read part 1 here.

Summary: The plan was to just bring your husband his lunch that he had forgotten. Somehow you ended up showing his students your wedding photos.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

You sat at the kitchen island, nursing a cup of coffee as you watched Blitz clean his feathers on his perch. The past week had been a gruelling routine of fighting villains in the dead of the night only to get a few hours of sleep during the day. You had earned yourself a few days off. Unfortunately your husband was gone for most of the day teaching the young heroes of U.A. You were looking forward to finally enjoying an evening together without the looming possibility of being called to fight villains at any second. 

If you could place all your money on one sure fact about your husband, it would be that he isn’t a morning person. In fact, from your ten years of marriage and years of knowing Aizawa prior, he wasn’t an ‘any time of the day’ person. You were certain that if you hadn’t put in place a set of ground house rules, he’d surely be sleeping with his beloved yellow sleeping bag in your shared bed. 

Therefore it wasn’t a surprise to you that your husband had forgotten his lunchbox today. The cute cats decorating the bento box stared up at you whilst you wondered how he could have missed the neon pink sticky note on the outside of the fridge. How that man survives working a normal job and being an underground hero is beyond you. Come to think of it, that explains why he forgot it.

“Well, guess I’m visiting class 1-A again.” You made your way to the front door with the bento box in your bag.

Are you leaving me alone?

You sighed at your dramatic, winged companion and spun to face him. “We both know you should be resting after last night’s fight Blitz.” 

I’m fine though. See!?

Blitz, your eagle sidekick if you will, ruffled his feathers and hopped from his current perch to the shelf next to him. 

“You are supposed to be resting, so that is what you are going to do. Those were the doctor's orders!” Blitz shuddered at the reminder of the horrible vet appointment.

But I want to see the fledgling heroes again!

“I’m sure you’ll see them again sometime soon.” You eyed him for a second before turning around. “I’ll be back in an hour or so. Bye Blitz!” You shouted into the apartment as you quickly left, ignoring the protesting screeches echoing in the empty apartment.

~~~

The students of Class 1-A made Aizawa anticipate the worst each day. But what he didn’t expect to see was his wife showing off your wedding photos to his students. Now let us rewind for a second. Aizawa was already having a bad day. To be fair all days spent awake were bad, but this day set a new record. He was overworked, tired and just wanted to spend time with his wife. Oh and he forgot his lunch so he will have to live off the vending machine food. 

And now he had to teach his students things about hero training whilst making sure two certain individuals didn’t land in the infirmary...again.

Meanwhile you stood at the front of the class flipping through a whole stack of photos with the Class 1-A students crowded around you. The door to the classroom opened and you made eye contact with your husband, you grinning at him and him sighing at the commotion.

“What are you doing?” He asked as he shuffled into the classroom, peering over his students’ shoulders only to see you showing them pictures of your wedding. “And why are you showing my students our wedding photos?”

You smiled up at Aizawa and held out his lunch, “you forgot your lunch at home, and they asked about our wedding so of course I had to share!”

The girls were gushing over how magical and pretty everything looked and excitingly chattering to you.

“You look so beautiful in the dress!”

“I want to have a wedding like that as well!”

You laughed at the students’ enthusiasm, happy that they are enjoying this. The commotion slowly calmed down as the students returned to their seats, ready to start their hero training now that their teacher was here.

Aizawa looked at you and the wedding photos in your hand, “why do you even carry around copies of our wedding photos?”

“So I can show off to people that we’re the best hero couple out there” You winked at your husband and nudged him, “plus I get to see you in a tuxedo again.”

You placed the photos back in your wallet and made your way toward the door. “Well I’ll be going now!” You waved at the students who enthusiastically waved and shouted their farewells back. 

“Bye, I’ll see you after work” Replied Aizawa, busy organising his papers at the desk.

You stared at him with an expectant look. Your husband sighed and moved to give you a kiss on the cheek.

“Bye Honey I love you!” You snickered at his expression and his shy ‘I love you’ back.

Aizawa turned to his students who were grinning at the interaction and the faint pink dusting his cheeks. “So...hero training.”

[natbarzal]

Mathew Barzal - Always and forever

hi guys! first of all, sorry for not posting an imagine for so long, I literally had no ideas😅

this is one of my longer pieces and I think it's quite good, so I hope you'll like it!

warnings: unplanned pregnancy

word count: 1.8k

he's so gorgeous wtf

anyway, enjoy! and please don't hesitate to give me some feedback! 💙

_________________________________________

Y/n's pov:

"Baby?" I asked Mat and looked at him as we were having a breakfast in our kitchen together.

"Yeah?" Mat responded, not looking up from his phone that he was probably scrolling through Instagram on at the moment. I hesitated for a minute, looking back down at the half eaten meal on my plate before speaking up again.

"What do you, clearly hypothetically, think about the idea of.. having kids?" I asked as I started picking at my food, my heart beating hard in my chest. When I got no answer from Mat, I looked up at him to find him looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?" I questioned. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, looking down at the table then back into my eyes as he started to speak.

"Well um.. I mean, kids are great and everything, and I would love to have children of my own at some point in the future for sure, but I think we're still a bit young for that, you know? I mean, you just turned 23 and I'm turning 24 next month." he said and took a sip of his coffee.

"Yeah.. yeah sure, you're right. We've got plenty of time." I said with a nervous laugh, hoping he wouldn't suspect anything.

"Why were you asking anyway?" he asked as he turned his attention back to his phone.

"As I said, just hypothetically." I said, forcing a little smile. He hummed before locking his phone and standing up from the table, taking his plate to the sink and finishing his coffee.

"Well I gotta go now, see you after the practice?" he asked as he came closer to me to peck my lips.

"Sure."

"I love you." he said, winking at me and giving me a cheeky smile as he walked backwards out of the kitchen.

"I love you too."

After Mat left, I sat at the table by myself for another 15 minutes, thinking about what I was going to do.

'At some point in the future'

Little did he know the point would come in less than eight months.

~~

"So, have you told Mat yet?" Lauren, Jordan's wife, asked me excitedly while we were standing outside of the locker room after a game, waiting for our men to come out. I didn't say anything and just looked at her, the guilty look in my eyes giving the answer away.

"Y/n! Why haven't you told him yet? It'll start showing soon you know." she scolded me slightly and I looked down at my shoes, picking nervously at my nails.

"I know. It's just.. I'm scared." I admitted quietly as I picked my head up to look at her again.

"Why? You know Mat would never leave you or anything. He's so head over heels for you!" she tried to reason but I shook my head, feeling my eyes get a little watery. Hormones.

"How can you be so sure? I actually asked him what he thought about having kids and he said he doesn't want them yet! That we're too young and.. I'm just scared." I whispered the last part as I looked at her. Her eyes softened a little at my explanation and she brought me into a hug.

"You know why I'm so sure he wouldn't leave you?" she asked and rubbed my back a little in an attempt to calm me down a little.

"Why?"

"Because if he did, I would end him." she explained and I giggled. Feeling a little better, I was about to pull away from the hug when I suddenly heard a cheery voice that I quickly recognized saying "Group hug!" and I felt one strong arm wrap around me, the other being wrapped around Lauren.

"You really need to find yourself a girl, Beau." I laughed and we stayed in the hug for a bit before we all pulled away, seeing that Mat and Jordan have already come out of the locker room as well. Anthony placed his hand over his heart in fake hurt and I laughed once more, punching his shoulder in a joking manner before I felt two strong arms wrap themselves around my waist. I turned around to face Mat and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Hey babe." I said, giving him what I intended to be a sweet short kiss, but apparently he had different plans. Taking one hand from my waist, he placed it on the back of my head and kept me from pulling away, deepening the kiss. I pulled away after a few moments in need of air and Mathew whined at the loss of contact.

"What was that for?" I asked him as I blushed, trying to catch my breath.

"I missed you." he responded simply and leaned back in, kissing my nose.

"You literally saw me just a few hours ago you dork." I told him as I played with the hair on the back of his neck, looking into his gorgeous hazel eyes.

"I know, but I miss you every single minute I spend without you." he said, looking at me with, soft eyes. I felt myself blush some more, still not taking my eyes off my man.

"Wow, you flatter me Mathew Barzal."

"I try." Mat winked at me. We looked for each other for a minute before we heard someone clearing their throat, snapping us both back into reality.

"Alright, alright you lovebirds, enough with the PDA. You're so cute it makes me sick." Tito said as he made a disgusted face.

"Oh shut up Beau, you're just jealous." Mat said as we both pulled away from each other and intertwined our fingers together, laughing together with our friends as we all slowly started to make our way out of the arena.

~~

"Go ahead honey, I'd like to talk to Y/n here for a quick minute." Lauren said, kissing her husband and letting go off his arm that she was previously holding onto.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, looking at his wife.

"Yeah, don't worry. Just some girl stuff." she told him. He nodded and looked at Mat who looked at me with concern in his eyes.

"Go babe. I'll catch up in 5." I assured Mat, giving him a quick peck on his lips and he nodded, turning around and walking over to where our cars were parked with Tito and Jordan. I took a breath and turned to look at Lauren.

"You're going to tell him tonight, right?" she asked, looking right at me. I stayed quiet for a moment before answering.

"Yeah.. probably." I said as I have her a tight lipped smile. She smiled back at me sympathetically.

"Alright, although I'm 99,9% sure everything is going to go just fine, just in case doesn't, you can always come to mine and Jordan's place, okay?" she offered.

"Thank you." I nodded and gave her an appreciative smile.

"Good luck." she said with a smile and gave me a quick hug. I mumbled a faint 'thanks' and we pulled away. After that we caught up with our men, saying our goodbyes as we all went to our respective cars.

"What was that about?" Mat asked me as we got into our car.

"Nothing. Don't worry." I said, but he just looked at me in a way that told me he definitely didn't believe me.

"Babe I know you better than I know myself. Just tell me." he looked at me with gentle eyes and reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together.

"We'll talk once we get home, yeah?" I offered. He looked at me for a moment with concern still visible on features and then he nodded, bringing my hand up to his lips and kissing my knuckles before starting the car.

The whole car ride home was silent except for the faint sound of music playing. I was looking our of the window the entire time, trying to think of a way to tell Mat what I had to, Mathew giving me concerned glances here and there through the ride.

~~

"Alright, we're talking." Mat said immediately after he closed the door of our apartment behind himself, only stopping to drop his hockey bag and take off his shoes before he took my hand and dragged me over to the couch in our living room. He sat down on it and looked up at me expectantly. I sighed, running my hand through my hair before sitting down beside him, looking nervously at my hands in my lap.

"Promise you won't get mad?" I asked quietly, picking at my nails. Mat placed one of his hands under my chin, gently picking up my head, making me look at him.

"I promise. Please tell me Y/n, you're starting to worry me." he encouraged me, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm pregnant." I quietly blurted out, feeling tears starting to slowly appear in my eyes. Mat didn't say anything for a moment as he just looked at me, processing what I had just told him, his hand dropping from my chin.

"You're.. we're.. okay, well this is unexpected." he said, finally looking away from me and letting out a long sigh as he rubbed his face with his hand.

"I'm so sorry Mat I- I didn't mean for this to happen and I-" I started rambling as the tears slowly started to escape my eyes, but I was quickly cut off by Mathew.

"Whoa, slow down there, what are you apologising for?" he asked, wiping my tears off with his thumbs and looking at me with soft eyes.

"You're not mad?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because.. because you said the other day that you think we're still too young to have a baby and all so I just figured-" I was cut off once again, but this time by a soft kiss being placed on my lips. After we pulled away, Mat leaned his forehead on mine.

"Babe.. I'm not mad, okay? This is great, and although we weren't exactly planning it, I already know that you will be the best mom ever to our little one, and I promise I'll try to be the best dad I can possibly be. It's fine babe, it's all good. We're in this together." Mat said in a hushed voice, placing soft kisses all over my face in order to calm me down.

"I love you so much Mat." I told him, getting lost in his beautiful eyes.

"I love you so much more. And I'll always be here for you and our little one, please remember that." he promised, brushing some of my hair out of my face.

"Forever and always?"

"Forever and always."

[catrasredemption-moved]

can I ask a prompt with some ppl giving pregnant catra a hard time? (is it still okay for pregnant catra? if not then it's okay too)

Vomiting TW

Time didn’t heal all wounds.

Catra was aware of it, and she didn’t take it personally when people glared at her or made comments. She drew the line at people trying to physically hurt her, but usually at that point Adora was between her and whoever was taking a swing, and she didn’t have to worry too much.

Even ten years later, Salineas was still the worst place to go. The kingdom had recovered nicely (due in no small part to the hours of sleep Catra had sacrificed to rebuild it), but memories lasted.

Mermista’s word trumped all feelings, though, so when Catra was invited to Salineas, no one could really protest.

“I’m still not sure why we couldn’t teleport,” Glimmer grumbled. “Pretty sure the boat is worse for Catra.”

It absolutely was. Catra had spent most of the journey leaning over the edge, or resting limply against it while Melog tried to comfort her. “Are you sure she’s okay?” Bow added, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. Adora rubbed the back of her head nervously.

“Yeah. Yeah, of course I’m sure. I’m just... going to go check on her.”

She scrambled across the deck, joining Catra, who was starting to look a little green. “Maybe we should’ve just let Glimmer teleport us,” she said uncertainly. Catra shook her head furiously.

“No. No magic around the baby. Not like that.”

“Then can we at least tell Glimmer and Bow why? They’re worried.”

Catra raised her head to look blearily at their friends, who weren’t even trying to pretend they weren’t staring. “Maybe later,” she mumbled, dropping her head back against the edge. “If I survive this trip.”

They hadn’t told anyone outside of Mystacor they were trying to have a baby, and they hadn’t told anyone when they’d found out last week that Catra was pregnant. They were going to, but she was only six weeks, and they wanted to just wait a little longer, to be absolutely sure. They didn’t need pity if anything went wrong.

“We’re almost there. Just take a deep breath.”

Catra did as she was told - then groaned when the smell of salt water hit her sensitive nose. “Bad idea,” she groaned, leaning over the edge again. Adora rubbed her back pityingly.

It was a relief to finally dock, even if it took Catra an extra few minutes to collect herself and get up. They weren’t that far from the palace, but Glimmer still offered to teleport. “Nope,” Catra said, squaring her shoulders. She was not going to spend the rest of the night locked in the bathroom.

She felt a little better by the time they arrived at the ball room. It was Mermista’s birthday, which was pretty much the event of the season in Salineas. Catra was sure she would have reluctantly accepted if Catra had played sick to stay in Bright Moon, but... who was she to turn up some of the best sea food in the kingdom?

“Yeesh, I figured you guys would get here first,” a dry voice said as they walked into the already crowded room. They looked at Mermista, who was watching them with a dry smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Happy birthday!” Bow and Glimmer hugged her tight.

“Catra insisted on not teleporting for some reason so we had to take a boat-”

“What, was two hours of being sea sick better?”

“A little fresh air never killed anyone,” Catra said dismissively. Mermista rolled her eyes.

“Sure.”

Catra went straight for the food table, dragging Adora with her. “Well at least you’re feeling better,” Adora teased, squeezing Catra’s hand.

“Oh shut up-”

“She-Ra!”

Every time, without fail. Catra rolled her eyes, sighing, as Adora was waylaid by several admirers. She wasn’t about to wait - she was starving. And the baby was demanding shrimp.

And she wasn’t alone for long. Scorpia and Perfuma were already at the table, talking and snacking. “Hey Wildcat!” Scorpia said happily, scooping Catra into a hug. She winced, but smiled, patting Scorpia’s back.

“Hi Scorpia. You mind? I’m dying.”

Scorpia set her down, letting her get to the table at last so she could eat. “How was your trip?” Perfuma asked. “Bow mentioned you were taking a boat.”

“Yeah, enjoying the sights, you know.”

“Did you develop some love for the ocean?” Scorpia asked doubtfully. She’d seen Catra on boats a couple times. It never went well.

“I mean...”

Her attention was torn between Scorpia and Perfuma and the food, not to mention the din of the party. She had almost no warning before a rough hand grabbed the back of her shirt, throwing her to the ground. She landed hard, head snapping back with a crack. The world went blurry for a minute.

“-tra? ...okay?”

Perfuma’s voice drifted in and out. Catra grimaced, blinking a few times to clear her vision. Perfuma was kneeling beside her, trying to help her sit up, while Scorpia held Adora back from punching out the chef who had decided it was a crime for Catra to be enjoying herself in the kingdom she had destroyed. She sat up, grimacing, one arm crossing her stomach. Six weeks. She wasn’t fragile by any means, not like she would be in about six months, but that didn’t mean she could just be pushed around and thrown into floors, either.

“Hey!”

Mermista’s voice reverberated in Catra’s head. The princess cut through the crowd that had gathered, furious. “Adora, stop trying to murder my chef and take care of your wife. Sea Hawk, put him in cell.” The chef started to protest. “You don’t think you get to assault someone at my party and get away with it, do you?”

Sea Hawk appeared to take the chef away; there was no further protest. Adora knelt on Catra’s other side, gently sliding an arm across her back to support her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Catra took a few deep breaths. Her head hurt, but she was fine. The baby was probably fine. It wasn’t even really a baby at this point, just a bunch of magically bound cells trying to make a baby, it would suck if something happened, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. It wasn’t like Catra hadn’t already taken to talking to her stomach when she was alone, or poking it experimentally, thrilled about the little life growing inside, or-

“Catra? Catra, hey.”

She was shaking, her breath coming a bit too fast. Adora had a hand on her cheek, trying to get her attention. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Does something-”

The world turned over in a sickeningly familiar way. Catra pressed her face into Adora’s shoulder, groaning, as soon as they were settled wherever Glimmer had taken them.

“Glimmer-”

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get you both out of there.” Glimmer sounded nervous. Catra wanted to look at her, but her eyes were still squeezed shut and she had no intention of opening them. “I’ll... I’ll be right back.”

She teleported away. “There’s a bed,” Adora said quietly. “Do you feel okay moving?”

“Sure,” Catra muttered through gritted teeth. That turned out to be a lie; she forced her eyes open as she was moved, and the world was spinning. Nope. “Adora-”

A small trash bin was forced into her hands before she could finish the sentence. And of course Glimmer chose that moment to return with Bow, Scorpia, Perfuma, and Mermista.

“Should... I get a doctor or something?”

Adora rubbed Catra’s back as she heaved. “No... maybe? I’d rather take her to Mystacor-”

“For a head injury?”

Catra cracked an eye open to look at Adora, who was watching her uncertainly. She nodded miserably, returning her attention to breathing and trying not to freak out. So much for keeping it to themselves.

“Well, she’s um... she’s pregnant, actually.”

Dead silence followed the words.

“I’ll kill him,” Glimmer declared.

“I’ll help.” That was Scorpia, surprisingly.

“Okay, okay,” Bow cut in. “Maybe murder isn’t the right idea...”

“Let’s not out-rule it completely,” Mermista said darkly.

“It’s probably fine,” Catra mumbled, setting the trash bin aside. “I’ve been sick for like, two weeks, this isn’t exactly a new development.”

“Seeing a healer might still be a good idea,” Perfuma pointed out. “When you’re ready to move.”

“Is this why you didn’t want to teleport?” Glimmer asked. Catra ducked her head, refusing to answer. “Why don’t I go to Mystacor and get someone, and if they  say you’re okay, I can take you home - that has to be better than suffering on the boat.”

“I didn’t think the boat would be that bad.” Catra sighed. “You guys don’t have to stand there and stare at me. Go back to the party - I mean, yes, get a healer first.” She’d feel better just confirming that everything was okay. “But it’s stupid to stand around staring at me.”

“It’s not stupid to want to make sure you’re all right,” Bow said. “And what about our future niece or nephew?”

“Why don’t you stay, Glimmer goes to Mystacor, and the rest of us can go back downstairs,” Perfuma suggested. She had spent enough time with Catra to know when she was starting to get overwhelmed. Scorpia started to protest, but stopped when Perfuma placed a hand on her claw.

“I’ll send up a staff member in case you need anything,” Mermista compromised. Catra nodded, since it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice. She knew her friends cared, though.

Everyone left, and Bow immediately joined them on the bed. “I didn’t know you guys were trying to have a baby.” He was doing a very good job at restraining his excitement and not shouting. “How far along are you? Do you have thoughts about names?” He gasped. “Will they have little cat ears?”

Catra smiled slightly, dropping her head to rest on Adora’s shoulder and letting Adora handle the questions. She knew her wife had been dying to talk about the baby with someone besides Catra, and it was nice to listen to their excited chatter fill the silence.

(Everything was in fact fine, save for the slight head injury, and the healer assured them that it was perfectly safe to teleport with Glimmer. Catra vehemently disagreed with that last part, but that was an on-going debate.)

[nationalharryleague]

Ivy: Chapter One - Incandescent Glow

A/N: Chapter One is here!! I’m so excited to share this with you all and I hope you enjoy it!! You can find the rest of my writing in my masterlist and I would love love love to hear what you think about it in my ask! Thank you so much for reading I hope you enjoy it!! 

Word Count: 6.5k

Series Masterlist

Chapter Pinterest Board

Before their paths had crossed, she had resigned herself to an existence void of the excitement, passion, and the simple enjoyment of a life in love that she consumed every day in her books. Their worn and yellowed pages held stories of adventure, mystery, and her personal favorite, romance, etched onto pages that held the ability to transport the novel’s reader. She turned to their worn leather binding as a way to escape her own dismal and boring life, living vicariously through star crossed lovers, double agent spies, and explorers who had set out to find the fountain of youth.

The tall tales were never enough to fill the void or tame her desire to escape, but they placed a temporary bandage on the wound she would rather keep covered.

She spent most of her time among her books, curled into the small pink velvet couch that sat next to the large fireplace, immersing herself into the words on the page and the silence that surrounded her, as she reveled in the warmth of the open flame. The library was the one place in the large estate that felt like a home to her. Books lined the walls, placed carefully into floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Most of them had been read through already, patiently awaiting their turn to be picked up once again for her to experience another journey through their pages.

She chased a homey solace within those four walls, a comfortability she could never obtain anywhere else on her husband’s large estate. The mansion was a massive stone fortress that sat on acres of land she had never been granted permission to fully explore. The greatest freedom allowed to her were the well mannered and dignified walks she took around the garden, sometimes a trip to the small stream that ran across the edge of the property with a book tucked into her basket; but as winter fell, as it always did, she was forced back into her library.

Snow fell gently outside, covering the large and manicured lawns with a bright white blanket of quiet, but her concentration and tranquility were startled away from her when three too loud knocks fell onto the large mahogany door. She knew the knocks well, and exactly who they belonged to. They were the only ones that ever seemed to disturb her.

“Dear,” she heard her husband, William, call through the door. “May I come in?” He was boring and overbearing, but he was always polite when it came to her library. She could give him that.

“Of course,” she hummed in a slight annoyance, hearing the door swing open with a creak, as she tucked her bookmark into Gulliver’s Travels’ well loved pages. It was hard for her to tear her eyes from the book, not yet fully out of the story land she had been consumed by for hours now, but when she did, she was met with two men instead of one.

“I wanted to introduce you to the new groundskeeper, Mr. Styles.” William spoke far too loud for her quiet room and in his usual dull tone, which was somehow made even more boring by the beautiful man standing next to him.

Mr. Styles was striking. 

He had chocolate brown curls that fell in tousled waves pushed back from his forehead and vibrant green eyes that zeroed in on her with an intense but friendly gaze. A polite smile graced his pink lips which caused a pair of dimples to ghost over his cheeks, softening his rather imposing large figure.

He was tall and had broad shoulders and muscular arms that didn’t completely fit into his vest and suit jacket, and she could tell he was uncomfortable in such formal dress. He stood perfectly straight up and down, like any sudden movements might bust him out of the most likely hand me down outfit, and his slightly awkward appearance made it difficult for her to fight off a more than friendly smile.

She moved towards him, the pink roses embroidered on the delicate white fabric of her dress falling down around her as she stood from the couch, and with a greeting knod of her head, she extended her hand towards him to delicately shake. His hands were frozen as he took her hand and bowed his head to her, a side effect of the snow blanketing the ground outside, but they were also strong and calloused.

Their contact shot a spark up her arm, assuredly from the cold of his fingertips.

“It’s delightful to meet you, Mr. Styles,” she spoke with a soft but confident voice, bowing her own head towards him gently as he released her hand.

“Thank you for having me, Lady Taylor,” he spoke smoothly, with a deep and musical voice, his sharp jaw brushing against the starched high fabric of his collar. She liked the way he spoke and made a note to make sure she heard more of it in the future.

She hoped she had controlled her face and didn’t outwardly cringe when he called her by her formal title and her husband’s last name. It was an identifier she deeply loathed, representative of all she had become. She looked forward to whenever they got a moment away from her husband and she could ask him to call her Y/N, similar to moments she had in the past with all of the staff in the mansion.

“Of course,” she smiled. “We’re glad to have you.”

“He’ll be staying in the cottage on the east side of the property,” William informed her, bringing her attention back to him.

“That is the one near the stream with the ivy on it, if I’m not mistaken. Correct?” she directed her question towards her husband, toeing the line of an appropriate amount of small talk, while also encouraging the conversation to move fast so she could return to her book.

“That’s the one,” the dull man answered with a nod. “I’m going to show him to it now. I wanted to introduce him because you might be seeing him around the estate.” He paused, stepping closer to her and she felt her muscles tense slightly. “We wouldn’t want you getting startled by a stranger, now would we, darling?”

“No, we wouldn’t,” she answered with a tight lipped smile. She could never get used to his patronizing tone, even after three years as his wife. With a deep breath, she steeled herself as he got even closer, reaching his hand out and pushing a curl that had fallen from her gathered bun at the base of her neck behind her ear, then pressing a kiss to her cheek that lasted far too long to be in front of a guest. Her cheeks heated in embarrassment and she watched as Mr. Styles’ gained an uncomfortable blush to his as well.

With a patch of dampness still clinging to her cheek, William backed away and returned to their new guest’s side.

“It was lovely to meet you,” the new man said, a seemingly sympathetic look in his eye. “Your library is beautiful.”

His complement of her books brought a hint of joy back to her features. “Thank you very much. If you ever need anything to read, I may have something you could borrow,” she chuckled, raising her hand to gesture towards the rows and rows of books. “I can only read so many at a time.”

“I will keep that in mind,” he said, his lips perking up in a sideways smile that showed off one of his dimples.

William left the room without anything else to say, Mr. Styles following soon after, but for some reason she could not shake the sound of his voice and the look of his dimple from her mind. Even when she settled back down next to the fire, knees tucked up beneath her and Gulliver’s Travels back in her hands, his face remained. She found herself rereading sentences two or three times before comprehending them, her focus lost to the handsome man who was now living in the small ivy covered cottage. She was intrigued.

A few days passed before she saw him again.

Once again, he had roused her from a book while she read, making an awful scraping noise as he tried to remove the ice hanging from the outdoor windowsill of her library. He must have been watching her through the window because when her head shot up to investigate the noise, he already held an apologetic look in his eyes and mouthed ‘I’m sorry!’ to her through the window. He looked quite cute like that and she couldn’t help but release a laugh.

She decided to abandon the epic love story she had been consuming, choosing to focus on another object of interest as she moved towards the large window and opened it. A frigid wind seemed to slap her in the face, making her realize just how red his nose was. She could only guess how cold he was and how long he had been scraping ice off the house in only a flimsy wool coat.

“I am so sorry I disturbed you, Lady Taylor,” he profusely apologized, but she only smiled in return.

“No trouble at all,” she shook her head. “And please call me Y/N. I’m only Lady Taylor in front of my husband.”

His face held a slight surprise, obviously unfamiliar with such a casual relationship with his bosses. “Oh, alright then, Y/N.” He held a shy grin on his face as he looked up at her through the window, extending a hand for her to shake. “Well then, call me Harry.”

Harry, she repeated to herself. It suited him. She liked his name and the way his strong jaw and pink lips moved when he said it.

Their hands met in a less formal handshake this time, her body hanging halfway out the window into the cold to reach him. The same shocks made their way up her arm again and she blamed them on his frozen hand.

“Harry,” she started, liking the way his name felt on her lips. “You seem like you are about to freeze to death out there. Why don’t you come in for a cup of tea?”

She knew her husband wouldn’t be home for at least another hour, a result of meticulously monitoring his schedule for the last three years in an effort to appreciate her limited freedom to its fullest. William was a creature of habit, spending every Wednesday across the county with his younger brother in his own massive home; allowing her time to relax, no longer held to the absurdly formal high standards her husband held for ��the lady of the house.’ And today, she decided she could exercise that freedom by inviting Harry in for tea.

“I couldn’t,” he tried to politely deny, bound by strict rules of etiquette in ‘high society,’ whatever that meant.

“I insist. You look frost bitten.”

When he nodded his head in concession, she couldn’t help the bright and triumphant smile that stretched across her features.

It wasn’t long before she was leading him through the massive home towards the servants quarters and her favorite part of the mansion: the kitchen. As they walked, they moved under ornate arches and impressively high ceilings, passing walls decorated with portraits of her husband’s dead relatives that seemed to judge the two commoners as they passed. She assumed her husband hadn’t given Harry a tour of the main house, as every time she snuck a peak at him, his eyes were wide in amazement at the lavish home.

The deep maroon satin fabric of her dress flowed behind her as she led him down winding hallways and past massive grand staircases. The grandiose decorations and atmosphere began to dwindle as they made their way to the servants quarters, the house taking on a much more bare-bones look. The hallways were smaller and left a pale white, a stark contrast to the brightly colored walls that lived in the rest of the house.

He followed her down a small spiral staircase that opened into a kitchen that emitted a welcoming warmth the rest of the sterile house lacked. A large stone fireplace was set into the wall to their right and copper pots and pans hung from the walls. A large cabinet held stacks and stacks of dishes of every sort and a perpetually bubbling pot of water hung over the open flame. But the centerpiece of the room was the long wooden table that was covered in flour and surrounded by smiley women kneading balls of dough.

“Hello sweetheart!” chimed one of the women from the table, her older round face framed by grey hair holding onto flushed cheeks and a wide smile. Her grin seemed to calm an anxiety that was perpetually inside her. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing very well. Thank you, Mary,” she smiled back at her. “How are you?”

“She’s been talking our ears off all day, Y/N,” the youngest girl, Grace, piped up from across the table, her long black hair pulled from her face in a ponytail that reached her bum. She couldn’t have been older than 16. “Thank goodness you came down here to distract her for a moment.”

“Oh hush, Grace,” Mary playfully scolded her before turning her attention back to Y/N. “My boy had the highest marks in his class this week. Isn’t that just incredible?”

“That’s fantastic!” she exclaimed, knowing how hard the boy had been working on his studies as of late from how highly his mother always spoke of him.

“It’s all because you let him borrow your books,” the older woman said in a softer and more sincere tone. “He reads them so fast now and his instructors are so impressed.”

“I am always happy to lend them to Robert. He’s such a good boy. I always miss him in the winter when it is too cold for him to come to the grounds to play.”

“Spring will be here soon enough,” the last woman at the table, Siobhan, spoke up in a thick Irish accent. Her fiery red curls were pinned up on top of her head and flour was smudged onto her freckled nose.

“The almanac predicts that we should have an early spring this year,” Y/N heard Harry’s deep voice cut into their conversation behind her. She watched as all the eyes belonging to the women at the table went wide in his direction like they hadn’t noticed him prior.

“Ladies, this is Harry Styles,” she introduced him, turning back to face him just long enough to take in his shy and somewhat awkward wave to the women. “He’s the new groundskeeper.”

“What happened to John?” Grace asked in a slight whine, her face falling in disappointment at the news.  

“She had a crush on John,” Siobhan cut in quickly to give Harry context. And while Grace denied her infatuation with a defiant ‘did not,’ her cheeks betrayed her as they turned a beet red.

“William said he got married or something of the sort,” Y/N lied, knowing William had fired him during a particular mood swing. While she held a deep distaste towards her husband, she was afraid to hint at that to the women in the event they didn’t follow his explicit orders due to their second hand dislike of him. She would never forgive herself if they happened to lose their jobs because of her.

These women were her only friends and she cherished them.

“Good for him,” Mary said before quickly turning her attention back to the curly man in the corner, staring at him intensely, as if she could see all his deepest secrets if she just looked hard enough. “It’s good to meet you, Harry,” she finally spoke, voice holding a motherly suspicion. “How did you become a groundskeeper?”

He seemed shocked that anyone would ask him a question at all, stammering slightly as he answered. “I always enjoyed being outside when I was a child, and as I got older, I found that I had quite the green thumb,” he spoke shyly, pulling his hand from behind his back to flash the ladies a thumbs-up. “I started working on estates a few years ago and I send whatever I can back to my mum and sister in Cheshire.”

At the mention of his mother and sister, Mary’s face softened.  All in the room could tell that she had deemed him trustworthy and respectable, pushing away her worst nightmares of him having bad intentions on the estate she ran inside and out.

“What a good boy,” she spoke jovially, like if she was closer to him she could have pinched his blushed and dimpled cheeks.

“Well,” Y/N began in an attempt to change the subject, “Harry has been out in the cold for who knows how long so I’m going to fix us up a cup of tea.”

“Y/N, that is what we are here for,” Siobhan said, letting out a chuckle.

“Oh no,” she waved her off, making her way towards the cabinet and retrieving a sachet of her favorite tea and a teapot. “You’re all busy and I am very capable of making my own.”

She felt Harry’s eyes on her, surely confused about the relationship she had with her staff, as she skillfully navigated around the kitchen. She knew she looked out of place wearing her formal dress, a jeweled belt even wrapped around the empire waistline, as she moved about with the women in aprons covered in flour. But she felt comfortable here, like she was experiencing a loving hug from an old and less stressful life she once lived.

Soon she was holding a silver tray with an ornately decorated tea set delicately placed upon it, Harry trailing behind her while she carried it back to her library without spilling a drop. He continued to watch her with an inquisitive eye as she expertly crafted teas for both of them, although she knew his chill had long left his bones, before she settled onto her pink couch, Harry sitting in a matching armchair across from her.

“The way you are looking at me makes me think I owe you an explanation,” she smirked over her tea cup as she brought it to her lips.

“Ma’am,” he began, but corrected himself to “Y/N,” after she shot him a playful yet disapproving look. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“Fine then. I’m just going to talk to myself and if you happen to hear details about my life that might help you understand me and this house a bit more, then so be it.” She spoke calmly, with a regality that she had spent years perfecting.

Harry’s lips perked up with a closed lipped smile that seemed to say ‘you got me’ and an attentive gaze, signalling her to go on.

“I think it is probably quite obvious at this point that I did not grow up in wealth like this,” she started, ready to explain herself to the man across from her for some reason she couldn’t pinpoint. “I’m friendly with the staff because I was one for most of my life. I was a servant girl growing up, very much like Grace. My family did not have much other than too many children and I left home to start work in estates like this one when I was 11.”

He watched quietly from his seat, not giving her much of a reaction at all.

“I met William when I was 17, when I started working for his aunt in her home. He tried to propose, for the first time, after I knew him for three weeks, but his mother said no because I wasn't born into the nobility. And honestly, I was relieved because I did not like him one bit.”

Harry let out a small chuckle at her words that quickly and involuntarily brought a grin to her face.

“His mother died two years later and he proposed again, no longer needing her blessing as he then became the head of their family. He offered me the world if I were to accept. He told me that we would travel and see the sights and that he would support my dream of becoming a writer. But most of all, he promised to take care of my family financially.” She took a long sip of her tea and swallowed hard before finishing the most painful part of her story. “So I accepted, but he never followed through on any of his promises.”

“William isn’t a bad man,” she continued, “although he isn’t a particularly good one either. He likes control of his house and his wife. It is I that made a naive promise to him and I have spent every day of the last three years paying for it.”

She watched as Harry’s exterior softened slowly as she spoke with radical honesty, looking like he wasn’t sure what to say that could comfort her. While she retold the story in a calm, cool, and collected manner, she hoped she was able to fully conceal her true hurt that attempted to fight it’s way to her face.

“Well,” she said with a cheerful new tone to her voice, brushing off her somber and self-pitying mood, “now that I have spoken about myself and you may have heard some of it, would you like some more tea?”

He raised his eyebrows inquisitively at her sudden change in tone, but decided not to push it any further. “I would,” he nodded. She felt his eyes on her as she stood up and made her way back to the tea pot, wishing she could read his mind. When she returned, she poured his tea carefully and went to set the pot back down, but she was stopped when his hand grasped onto hers.

His skin was now warm, hot even, from his tea cup; but the same shocks still remained when he touched her. She couldn’t help but notice how well her hand fit in his. Her eyes first found where he held her, both of his hands cradling one of her’s gently, then they flickered to his face. Emerald green eyes bored into her own, that surely held an element of shock in them at their contact. His face was soft and sympathetic as he looked up at her from his seat. “Y/N,” he sighed, goosebumps forming over her arms as she felt his warm breath float over her skin. “I’m sorry.”

Before she could answer, she heard the familiar roll of the wheels of her husband’s carriage begin to crunch on the gravel outside the window. Her eyes shot towards the sound coming from the circular driveway and she regretfully peeled her hand away from his own, immediately missing his warmth.

“You have to go,” she instructed softly. “Head out the door to your left, make a right at the end of the hallway, and then head down the second staircase. There’s a door that leads out to the back garden on the left.” Her directions were detailed and concise, like she had used the escape route herself many times.

Harry quickly scurried out of the chair and towards the door she was now holding open for him, but before he made his departure he turned back to look at her one more time. “Thank you for the tea, Y/N,” he said, previous panic traded for sincerity on his face.

“You’re welcome, Harry. I quite enjoy your company,” she confessed. “We will have to do this again.”

He smiled softly before turning on the ball of his foot and taking off down the hallway. As he rounded the corner and disappeared, she heard the front door open and William’s lumbering footsteps clomp onto the shiny marble tile of the foyer. Her eyes flickered back towards the two tea cups that sat on the small table in the library, knowing if William came to find her, he would inquire about who she had tea with. Gritting her teeth and letting out a sigh, she made her way to the front door to greet him.  But not before she closed the library door tight behind her and made a mental note to ask Mary to retrieve the cups.

“Hello my dearest,” she breathed through her perfectly rehearsed smile. “How was your visit with Gregory today?”

“Fine,” he dismissed, leaning in to kiss her cheek and scratching her skin with the stubbly mustache he was desperately trying to grow for some reason. “What’s for dinner?”

“I can go ask Mrs. Jefferson if you would like,” she offered, always feeling odd when she referred to Mary by her last name. He didn’t answer her with words, just a negative grunt that she assumed was denying her attempt at escape.

“Is that a new corset?” he asked abruptly and she watched in disgusted horror as his eyes settled in on her chest. She knew that she was just a warm body to him most of the time, but his grotesque excuses for manners always shocked her.

She pressed her lips together into a hard line, holding back every awful thing she could think of that she wanted to spit in her husband’s direction. Instead, she just sighed and gave him a kurt “yes.”

“Alright,” he grumbled. “They looked bigger. I thought you might finally be pregnant.”

Just the thought of being pregnant with William’s child made her want to refund her lunch onto his riding boots. She could only imagine what a child consisting half of him would look like. She hoped it wouldn’t inherit his bulbous nose, or his beady eyes, or his sparse black hair that seemed to be perpetually greasy.

She prayed every day that the rank smelling tea Mary gave her to drink every morning was enough to stave off a pregnancy forever. It came from a healer woman a few counties over, that some insisted was a witch, but the tea had kept her from falling pregnant so far and she had no plans of stopping her morning routine anytime soon. She didn’t care if the woman was Satan himself, as long as she never began to swell with whatever creature William routinely attempted to put inside her.

“No.” She tried to sound regretful. “I started my cycle this morning.”

“Too bad,” he said, eyes still staring down the front of her dress. “We will just have to keep trying.”

He eventually stopped oggoling her, starting down the hallway and leaving her in the foyer without another word. She let out the sigh of relief that she always did when he left her, releasing the tightly wound ball of stress inside of her that tightened whenever he was near, but she felt it return to her when she sat down at the long dining room table for dinner later that day.

She sipped her wine carefully, watching her husband scarf down his meal at the other head of the table, thankful for the long wooden surface that kept her far from him. But for the first time in forever, her husband and his revolting habits were not at the forefront of her mind.

Her thoughts were occupied almost exclusively by Harry. Surely it was because he was new, like when a little girl receives a new doll and it becomes the center of her universe until the novelty wears off. She also realized she knew almost nothing about him, cursing herself for overrunning their conversation with her own story before they were rudely interrupted. But the small fragments she did know about him, like his love of nature, the care he took for his mother and sister, and his general kindness and care for those around him, had begun to take root in her brain and she just couldn’t shake him.

“What are you thinking about?” William seemed to shout across the table, pulling her from her dreamland.

“I was trying to decide what china pattern we should use for this year’s spring gala,” she lied seamlessly.

“There will be no spring gala this year,” he said with a mouth full of food. “I’ll be in France on business.”

The spring gala was the highlight of her dismal life and she couldn’t help but feel like she had just been punched in the gut by the news. It was a celebration on the spring solstice that the Taylor family had been holding for the last century and was the most lavish and exciting event of the year. There was endless food and drink among lively music and beautiful opulent gowns, but most of all, there were people. This party was a priceless connection to the outside world and to have it ripped away like this was heartbreaking.

“But I’ve already had a dress made,” she weakly argued, picturing the light blue satin ball gown overlaid with a delicate white floral lace.

“You can wear it next year. I have to go to France for six weeks.”

“What is in France that is so important?”

William let out a frustrated huff and looked up from his plate for the first time to shoot her a threatening glare. He was not used to this sort of push back from the usually docile woman, even if her passivity was a meticulously rehearsed act. “A lady should not concern herself with her husband’s business.”

Knowing not to push the conversation, she kept her mouth shut but shot him angry daggers for the duration of the meal. She barely touched her food, but she continued to drain and refill her wine glass.

He pushed himself away from the table after his plate was all but licked clean, looking over at her crossed arms and slumped drunk body in the chair at the other end of the room. “I know you enjoy the gala,” he spoke as gentle as his brooding voice could. “But we will not be discussing this manner any further.”

“Fine,” she said curtly. When he turned to leave the room, she childishly stuck her purple tongue out behind him. She listened to the small bursts of air Grace released next to her, stifling laughter. She grinned lazily at the young girl clearing his plate. “What a pompous knob,” she muttered as she pushed herself away from the table and exited the grand dining room through the opposite exit William had taken. She heard Siobhan’s delicate footsteps following behind as she marched towards her bedroom, the thoughtful woman knowing she wouldn’t be able to undo her tightly laced corset with her currently clumsy fingers.

Siobhan held her hand and securely guided her up one of the many massive staircases that inhabited the mansion, saving her when she tripped on the fabric of her dress. Y/N was thankful for her support, but couldn’t stop thinking about how her contact with Harry felt earlier in the day felt so different. She had originally attributed the electric feeling to the cold, and then considered it a result of not being touched by another person in so long. But Siobhan’s hand did not hold the same sparks.

She stood facing the mirror in her bedroom and stared at herself as Siobhan carefully removed the layers upon layers of her clothing. Her fingers skillfully released the corset from her body and Y/N took in what felt like the first real breath she had taken all day, leaving her in the bright white shift dress that was the first layer she put on every morning.

“Siobhan,” she spoke softly as if she didn’t want to disturb the silence, “do you believe in true love?”

She was quiet for a moment before she answered. “I think I do.”

“Do you think everyone gets to have it?”

“I think everyone has chances, but not everyone actually gets it.”

“Do you think a life with William is a life worth living?” 

Y/N’s own question startled herself, her lips letting the words materialize and fall from them without her consent. Her eyes fell towards the floor, unwilling to make eye contact with the other woman in the mirror after the jarring question.

“Y/N, you have had a tad too much wine tonight to be asking big questions like that.”

“I know.” Her voice was just above a whisper and laced with shame. “Will you get me my nightgown? I want to go down to the library and read before bed.” Siobhan nodded behind her, slipping the lilac fabric and wrapping a cream colored night robe around her, before helping her back down the stairs and into her library.

She ripped a dark red leather bound book off the shelf, not particularly caring what it was called or what it was about, plopping herself down on the ground next to the warm fireplace. She just needed to be somewhere else, transported far away from the nightmare that had become her life.

It took three pages before tears began to prick at the back of her eyes. This book wasn’t a tale of pirates, or war, or mythology; it was a romance, one she had read before. It told of a soldier returning home from war to rescue his one true love from a domineering stepmother, sweeping her off her feet and escaping to start a new life together. She remembered that they lived happily ever after at the end.

She couldn’t help the jealousy and sadness that boiled within her, mourning for a love and a life she would never get to have. She would be trapped within the giant fortress that had been designed to keep enemies out, but had ended up keeping her shut inside with her own nemesis. She grieved for a life she would never be able to experience.

A gentle knock on the door interrupted her wallowing. She didn’t recognize it. Mary knocked loudly, but only once, and William always knocked three times, with Grace and Siobhan usually knocking softly twice.  

She unwillingly dragged her still wobbly limbs off the ground and made her way towards the door. When she opened it, she was met with the bright green eyes that had been stuck in her head all day.

“Harry,” she greeted with a weak smile, trying her best to wipe all her tears off of her hot and angry cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping to borrow a book from your collection, but I can come back later,” he said hurriedly, eyebrows knitting together as he took in her tears.

“No, come in,” she said, sniffling and stepping aside so he could enter.

“Y/N,” he said with concern in his voice, his gaze narrowing in on her like the books no longer existed, abandoning his original goal of the visit. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him, not sure if she was telling the truth or not. She held her robe close to her body, trying to hide herself from embarrassment, refusing to make eye contact with him and directing her attention towards the walls. “Uh-,” she stumbled over her words, “what kind of book were you looking for?”

He got the hint to stop his line of questioning about her emotional state, turning his body to face the walls as well. “I was going to ask you for recommendations.”

Her heart swelled with his words. No one had asked her about her opinions on anything other than drapes or china patterns in years. In this house, she was meant to be a proper lady, and proper ladies weren’t allowed to have brains with real thoughts or opinions.

“I have a few,” she cleared her throat. “I keep my favorites on this shelf,” she said, directing him to follow her. The shelf was at eye level for her and when she went to stand in front of it, she felt Harry hovering over her shoulder, his warm breath falling over the skin on the back of her neck. He was too close, far too close for ‘proper society,’ and too close for a married woman to be to a single man. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to move back because all she wanted in the world was for him to move even closer.

“These are adventure stories,” she stammered and pointed to a few, thrown off by his proximity, “and these are mysteries.” He hummed in her ear as she spoke. “And these,” she spoke softly and pointing towards the largest section of books, “are romance.”

She stepped aside so he could examine the spines of the novels, watching closely as he recited their names under his breath, perfect pink lips moving smoothly as he spoke quietly. She couldn’t take her eyes off of them. She jumped when he moved to grab a book off the shelf, breaking the trance she had fallen into as she took in his incandescent glow.

“I think I’ll take this one,” he said just above a whisper when he turned back to face her, his face hovering only inches above hers. Their faces were so close, one move and their lips would connect, indulging herself in her wildest fantasies since she had met this man only days ago. He brought the book up beside their faces and she quickly stole a glance.

Pride and Prejudice, was embossed in gold on the dark purple cover. It was new, but had quickly become her favorite romance of all time.

Her eyes connected with his once again, taking in the mischievous glint they held and the boyish smirk that had found its way onto his lips. His smile was contagious, her previous angry tears swapped for a small grin of her own. “Who doesn’t love a romance?” he asked her, smirk turning into a dimpled grin.

She wanted to reach out and grab him by the lapels of his jacket when he stepped back from her and pull his face to meet her own. She wanted to tell him not to go, to lock the door, and take her on the couch. She wanted to ask him to take her far away from this fortress and never return again. But she didn’t. She just let him walk to the door, a new book tucked under his arm.

“Before I go,” he said abruptly, turning around once again to face her. “I have a question.”

“I have an answer,” she quipped, earning a laugh from the man that sounded like the most beautiful symphony she could have ever imagined.

“There’s ivy crawling up the house on the east wall. Would you like me to take it down?”

His words reminded her that he wasn’t some gallant rescuer coming to save her from a loveless marriage and bring her to a better life. No, he was the groundskeeper of her husband’s estate. Her heart sank slightly, but she was glad to be back in reality.

“Let it grow,” she instructed softly. “Let’s see where it goes.”

Chapter Two

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[jeo9n]

Majesty Pt 6 || JJK

Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre : Slow burn,Angst,fluff,virgin reader,King JK, future smut.

Warnings : none for this chapter

Wordcount : 3.2k

previous | next

A few days have passed since you got married to the King. Being married to him hasn’t really changed anything between you two. The only thing that has changed is, that you both now sleep in the same bed, but that was it. It’s still kind of weird to share a bed with a man, but as long as he doesn’t try anything on you, then it’s fine. He weirdly keeps on cuddling you in his sleep, almost possessively. But once he wakes up he acts like nothing ever happened, like he wasn’t just almost squeezing the air out of you, trying to keep you as close as possible.

You’re currently getting dressed for the day. You’re going to visit your mom today. You haven’t seen her since the wedding, and you miss her.

"That looks absolutely delicious." You tell Maria, when you arrived at the Kitchen.

"Thank you, miss. I actually baked those for you and your mom." She said, as she packed the freshly backed Croissants. "I hope your mom enjoys them." Handing them to you.

You look at her with a huge smile on your face. "That is so nice of you, Maria, thank you. Im sure my mom will love them." Maria has always been so nice to you ever since you arrived at the castle, and your thankful for that.

"Is the King coming with you, miss?"

"Oh no, I’m going alone. I wanna spend some alone time with my mother, and I’m sure, the King has other stuff to do. I don’t wanna be a burden to him." You tell her.

"I actually don’t have anything to do today." Someone suddenly spoke. You knew it was him though, without having to see his face. "I would love to come with you."

You turned around to face him. "You don’t have to come with me, your highness. I want to spend some time with my family alone. You can come with me another time though, if you want of course." You tell him, without trying to sound rude.

"I will come with you another time then." He tells you. "One of my chamberlains will bring you to the village though. It’s a long way, I don’t want you going alone."

You nod. Cause he’s right! it is a long way. It probably would take you a few hours to reach the village, if you walked.

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You arrived at your old home, your mom already waiting for you outside. She hugs you tightly, telling you how much she has missed you. "It’s been only a few weeks, mom." You giggle. "You act like you haven’t seen me in years."

"Well, it feels like it. The house has been so quiet without you, Y/n, I miss having you around." She tells you - Her words making you feel sad. If you knew your mom would miss you so much, then you would’ve never left her, you would’ve never gotten married in the first place. You would’ve stayed with her. You had no problem with that. "But I’m happy that you finally got married, my dear. So, so happy! - Not only do you finally have a husband, he’s also a King! Do you know how jealous these mother’s are of me." She laughs, while you both walk inside.

The smell of your home instantly hits your nose. Making you feel even more sad. It feels like you’ve been away for so long. You wish, you could’ve spend a little more time at home than you’ve had. You would’ve loved to spend more a few more days with your mom, you would’ve loved to sleep in your own bed one more time, before having to leave, and moving into the castle.

All this thinking made you totally forget about the Croissants Maria gave you. "Here, one of the maids made some croissants for us." You say, handing the basket to your mother.

She takes to basket from you. "Oh how lovely of her." putting down the basket and getting a plate for the croissants.

"Her name is Maria! She’s really nice to me, I like her a lot." You answer, sitting down at the table, where you used to always eat with your mother. "She kinda reminds me of you"

She smiles at you, sitting down as well. "How’s your marriage going? - I know you haven’t been married for long, but is it going good?"

"It is going good! But we don’t really act like a married a couple - I don’t mind though, I like it that way." You tell her, as you take a bite of the croissant. "But I got really annoyed at him, a few days before we got married."

"Why, what did he do?"

"We were eating dinner and i wanted to put the dirty dishes away, once we were done eating. Because thats what you should do, right? But he suddenly stopped me, saying something like "I don’t have to do those things because I’m his wife, and the maids are there for that stuff." And that he would punish me if I kept doing that. But I didn’t care, I did it anyways. Because who the hell is he to tell me what to do?" You huff.

"I would’ve done exactly the same. What’s so bad about cleaning up? It doesn’t matter if has maids for that. If you wanted to help, that he should’ve let you." She says, shaking her head. "But, he didn’t really punish you for that, did he?" She asks, worriedly.

"He did. That fucker left me outside in the cold all night. At first I thought he was joking, i thought he would just leave me outside for a while, and eventually let me in. But he never opened the door for me. He really left me outside, all by myself." You tell her, rolling your eyes. It still makes you mad when you think about it.

"What?" She asks with wide eyes, not believing what you just said.

"Yea, and the next day he acted like nothing ever happened. He probably thinks I forgot about it, but I didn’t. I’ll get him back I just have to find the right time for it." You tell her, already planning your revenge.

She looks at you with worried eyes. "That probably won’t be a good idea, Y/n. - Him leaving you outside must’ve been a nice way of punishing you. I don’t want you to do anything, and get punished again." She tries to explain. "Promise me you won’t do anything, Y/n."

You understand her. She’s your mom, and she’s worried for you. But still, he left you outside for the whole night, cold and scared. You had to sleep on a bench, - well you tired to, at least - which gave you horrible back pain. You’ll get him back for it. You don’t care if you’ll get punished again. But you won’t tell her that. Instead, you look at her and smile, "I promise."

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

"Y/n, can you open the door for me please." Your mom calls out from bathroom.

"Of course." You were already on your way to open the door anyway.

You were met with bouquet of yellow roses once you opened the door. Your lips instantly turned into a smile, recognizing the two person behind it immediately. "Hello, Bambi." One of your Brothers greeted you, calling you by your nickname - which only your brothers called you by that name - moving the roses out of his face, so he could see you. "Or should I say, your majesty?" He joked, while finally giving you a hug, your oldest brother giving you one as well. You missed your brothers so much, so much that you could cry.

"Ah, can you believe our little Bambi is finally married." Your brother says to your other brother, while you three walk back into the living room. "And can you believe, none of you showed up to my wedding?" You say a little annoyed. You went to both of your their Weddings, and they didn’t even show up at yours. They missed the most special day of your life.

"We are so sorry, Y/n! But we were out of town, there was no way we could’ve made it to your wedding, even if we tried. It would’ve taken us so many hours to arrive at the kingdom, please forgive us!" your older brother explains to you.

You could tell he was saying the truth. Your brothers were good at anything, but lying wasn’t one of their strength. You couldn’t stay mad at them, not even if you tried, not when they were looking at you like this, with big puppy eyes, waiting for your forgiveness.

"I forgive you! But, I’m still sad you weren’t there. I was waiting for you two to show up all night."

"We’ll make it up to you! We promise!"

"I hope you guys do!" Your mom says, coming back from the bathroom. "How could you miss your little sisters special day!" She scolds them, slapping your oldest brother on the head, making you laugh.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Right now, you were on a walk through the village for a bit. Your mother stayed home with your brothers, making sure that they don’t eat all the food she had cooked.

You felt everyone watching you, either out of shock that you were back in the village, or out of jealousy. You knew these mothers and their daughters were glaring at you. Probably trying to curse you with their eyes on you.

You were just walking around, with no destination in mind. You just wanted to walk around for a bit. You haven’t really gotten the chance to really do anything, since you moved into the castle. You weren’t allowed to leave the castle by yourself, except for today. So you tried to enjoy it as much as you could. You had stopped by the small bakery you used to work at, buying some bread to feed the ducks by the small lake near by.

You were surrounded by ducks, they all came waddling towards you as soon as you took out the bread, eager to get some food. You were crouching down with the bread in your hand, trying to feed all of them equally, not wanting to left one out. "Hey! Your little friend right here wants some bread too." You scold the duck, as it tried to take the food out of your hand. But giving it some food anyway, feeling bad for scolding it.

You kept feeling eyes on you, following your every move. Everywhere you went, you felt like you were being watched. You thought you were imagining it, but you knew you weren’t, not when you heard something behind you. You didn’t know where it came from. You were alone at the lake, or at least you thought. Knowing that someone could be watching you got you scared. You left the lake and walked back home, you didn’t want to risk anything, who knows what could happen if you stayed. You didn’t know who could watching you, if someone was even watching you.

You walked home faster than you had ever done. You were paranoid, turning around everytime you heard something. You knew you were overthinking it, making it worse than it probably was. There probably wasn’t even someone watching you, your were just imagining things. The people probably thought you were crazy, as you passed by them, almost running. You wanted to get home as soon as possible, you didn’t care if they looked at you weird.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

"Y/n, what is wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost." Your mother asks, as she opened the door for you.

You got inside quickly, not wanting to spend another minute outside. "I-I think someone was watching me, mom."

"I was at the lake near the bakery, no one was there except for me, but I could feel someone watching me. I felt their eyes on me all the way home."

A worried look crossed her face. "Are you sure? Maybe your mind was just playing some tricks on you, Y/n"

"I am sure! I heard movement behind me, I was alone mom, and it wasn’t the ducks. Someone was definitely spying on me." You tell her, your voice shaking.

"Well, if that’s the case, than you probably shouldn’t go out by yourself again!" She says, holding you, trying to calm you down.

"Yea... but why would someone spy on me? Im just a ordinary girl, there’s nothing special about me.

"Y/n, my dear. Your not an ordinary girl, your married to the King! There’s a lot of people that envy you. Of course someone would be watching you, but still, don’t go out alone again." Your mom tells you.

She’s right! Your married to the King, you can’t just walk around like you used to. There are a lot of jealous and evil people out there, who knows what they would do.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Your mother told you, that you should go back to the castle. Saying that it might be dangerous for you, if you stayed in the village.

The chamberlain came a little later and picked you up. Bringing you back to the castle.

It was already kinda late when you got back to the castle. You were a little tired, but you didn’t wanna go to bed yet. Right now, you were sitting on one of the washing machines, talking to Maria while she did the laundry. "My mom said thank you, for the croissants. She really liked them."

"Ah that makes me happy!" She says, putting the King’s dirty laundry in the washer. "I will bake you some more, the next time you visit your mother."

You smile at her. "No, no. You don’t have to do anything. This time my mom will make some for you."

She giggles, putting the clean clothes into a basket. "Why did you come home alone? I thought you went with the King?" Maria asks, confused.

"No, I went alone," you furrow your eyebrows. "The King did not come with me." Shaking your head.

She picks up the basket and looks at you. "Oh! Really? He left quickly after you, so I thought you two went together." She looks confused. "No, wait. He went to visit the neighborhood kingdom! I totally forgot about it." She says quickly, correcting herself. "Ah, im getting old."

"You’re not old Maria, you just got some things mixed up. That happens to me too sometimes." You assure her, as you both walk towards the Kings dressing room.

She makes sure his clean clothes are put away perfectly, checking everything once again, making sure that none of his clothes have any wrinkles on them. "Your too nice to me." Shes says as leaves the room.

The King arrived at the castle the same time you walked down the stairs. "Oh, you’re back already?" He looks at you, as you now stand in front of him.

He looks kinda shocked to see you back at the castle already. "Yea, my mother called the chamberlain to come pick me up earlier." You answer.

He’s confused. You told him that you would come a home little later, and why did your mom call the chamberlain to pick you up? "Is everything okay?"

He looks at you worried, but he looked away before you could catch it. "I’m fine, Your highness!" You tell him, you didn’t tell him that your were being watched earlier, because your not even completely sure if you were being watched.

"You’re lying." He noticed right away, shit.

You don’t look at him, how can he tell so easily if your lying to him? "Im not lying, your highness! Everything is fine." Walking towards the garden, he follows you.

He shakes his at you, not understanding why you’re lying to him. "You’re a terrible liar, Y/n. Tell me what’s wrong." Catching up to you.

You turn around to look at him, this time seeing the worried look on his face. "I think someone was following me, back in the village. I went out for a walk and I felt someone watching me the whole time! I did not see anyone, but someone was definitely there!" You huff, crossing your arms in front of your chest protectively.

His face suddenly turned serious. "Are you serious? - I knew it wasn’t a good idea to let you go alone!" He says in an angry voice. "You’re not allowed to visit the village again! - not without me."

Fuck, he’s angry. You didn’t mean to make him angry, if you knew that’s how he would react, then you wouldn’t have told him. "I understand your worry, your highness, but I can look after myself. You don’t have to come with me. I won’t go out alone again, I make sure it won’t happen again."

He furrows his eyebrows at you. "Stop fucking acting like this, stop acting like you’re a big girl that can protect herself, Y/n. Cause you clearly can’t!" Now raising his voice at you. "If I say you’re not allowed to leave the castle alone again, then you should fucking listen!"

His sudden outburst scared you a bit, you were not expecting that. But you won’t show it. "And how would you be able to protect me?" You ask him, raising you voice back at him.

"You have no idea, Y/n" he says, calmly, too calmly.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You’ll see."

You still have no idea what he means by that. Does he mean he’ll fight them? Does he know how to fight? Probably not. He probably has people for that.

"Let’s go back inside. It’s cold." Grabbing your hand and dragging you inside.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

You decided to take a bath. You need that after today. You couldn’t stop, thinking about today at the lake. You felt eyes on you, you could definitely feel it. You weren’t imagining it, but who would spy on you? Maybe it was the girls from the village, maybe they wanted to scare you, wanting to scare you, so you wouldn’t come back?

You didn’t want to think about it anymore. Quickly washing yourself to get rid of these thoughts. You got out of the bath and got dressed for bed. Your were tired after today, and all you wanted to do now was sleep.

You layed down next to the King, back facing him. You felt him move behind you, then out of nowhere he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you towards him. You gasped, not expecting him to do that. "I was serious earlier, when I said you weren’t allowed to go out alone anymore - you should know that, Y/n." He whispered into you ear, giving you goosebumps.

"I- I know that, your highness. I won’t do it gain." You tell him, trying to create some space between you two, but he just pulled you even closer.

He pressed his nose into your neck, inhaling your scent. "Good girl." Pressing a light kiss on your neck.

You shivered, the kiss giving you tingles. Never had a man done that to you, you didn’t know how that act.

"Now sleep."

And that’s exactly what you did. You did not notice how tired your were, you fell asleep almost instantly. Falling asleep in his arms for the first time since you two got married.

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

Taglist: @fangirl125reader @min-nicoleee @yzkyzkuniverse @safi4x @zoeshinelove

[weelittleweasley]

A Cup of Tea | Draco x Reader

Prompt as requested by anon: hii ! I’m in love with ur writing! anyways could you do one where reader meets Draco’s mom & Narcissa absolutely loves her ? And like her embarrassing draco & stuff like that ? Just thought it would be cute 🥺

Warnings: lots of fluff

A/N: I’m so glad to see that people are enjoying my writing again! Feels good to be writing again! I forgot how much I love to write for y’all! Enjoy the imagine and have a happy Monday!!

Flashbacks are told in italics!

Lacing your boots up, you sit on the edge your bed as your hair falls in front of your face. You tuck your hair behind your ears, rising from the bed and looking at yourself in the mirror in front of you. Sucking in a deep breath through your nose and out of your mouth, you inspect yourself. The black wrap dress clung to your figure nicely and your hair framed your face nicely. Nervously gnawing on your bottom lip, you grab your bag and jacket, trying not to thinking about the tight feeling in your chest as you prepped to meet your boyfriend’s mother for the first time. 

A week prior, you and Draco sat in his dormitory as you worked quietly at his desk on your homework. Draco laid on his bed, tossing a ball up and down, remaining silent with little sighs here and there. The silence was comfortable as Draco patiently waited for you to finish your work before you could give your full attention. Maybe patiently waiting was a little too generous...

“Darling, you must be nearly done. You’ve been at that desk for hours,” Draco groans, sitting up, watching you scribble into your notebook alongside a slew of textbooks.

Without shifting your gaze, you reply, “I’m almost done. Please give me five more minutes, love.”

He groans and falls melodramatically back on his bed, continuing to throw the ball up and down. You take a few more moment writing some last notes from this night’s reading into your book before shutting the books closed and turning around in your chair. You look at the boy who lays on his bed, huffing about how stupid it was that he has been waiting for hours when in reality it was an hour and a half at most he was waiting for you to finish. “Are you done with your antics, Malfoy?” you ask him, a teasing smile dancing on your glossy lips. 

Draco sits straight up and a cheeky smile finds its way to his mouth. “At last,” he breathes out as you walk over to him and he wastes absolutely no time throwing his ball to the other side of his room, pulling you into his lap, your usual seat. You allow a few small giggles to slip out of your mouth as he pulls you in, burying your face into the crook of his neck, breathing his scent in deeply. He smelled like cologne and apples. A pleasant combination to your senses. Draco places a small kiss to your temple before laying down on the bed, causing you to straddle him on his bed. “Best seat in the house,” he jokes, looking up at you. You looked like a vision; a toothy grin on your face, wispy hair falling front of your eyes as you brush it out of your view, your Hogwarts uniform hugging you in every place perfectly. He never knew how sexy that god awful uniform could look on someone. 

You two remain in this position for a little while, his thumbs rubbing small circles into your hip bones, as you brush the white blonde hair on his head with your fingers. Cupping his cheek with one of your hands, you stroke it with your thumb before he turns his head and places a gentle kiss to your palm. Draco was putty under your touch. The boy would do anything you asked him to. He lived to make you happy, to make you feel special, to make you feel loved. If you asked him for the world, he would give it to you with the moon and the stars. You wished that other people could see this soft side of Draco, but at the same time, you loved that it was a little secret between the two of you. Only you got to see how gentle and kind he was; how thoughtful he could be. “Dray?” you ask as he hums in response, lacing your fingers with his, him gently kissing your knuckles individually. “What do you think our future holds?” 

“Well, we’ll be married, of course,” Draco does not hesitate to answer this question, which brought you comfort. Draco talked nearly all the time about how much he wanted to make you his wife. If you weren’t still in school, he’d be down on one knee right now, proposing that you spend the rest of your lives with each other. “We can move into the manor with my parents,” he starts, watching him play with your hands, looking at the lines on your palms. This part of his proposition made you a little uneasy. Rather than living with Draco’s parents, you’d rather find a place of your own, away from all the madness of the Malfoy’s. You loved Draco, no question, but you didn’t know if you would love living with his parents. Speaking of which, of who you have not met yet. Well, technically you have met his father, but you would rather not chose to remember that awkward encounter. You smiling wide at him as Lucius looked at you with disgust, saying that his son was not dating any girl after you introduced yourself as Draco’s girlfriend. With that, he kept walking down the halls of Hogwarts, leaving you feeling quite embarrassed. “Something wrong?” Draco asks, propping himself up on his elbows, sitting halfway up. He noticed the tension in your shoulders when he brought up living with his parents.

Shaking your head back and forth, you reply, “No, I’m alright. Keep talking.” You press a small kiss to his lips trying to encourage him to keep talking about your future together. As you pull away, Draco has a look on his face that screams I’m not buying it. “Really, darling, I’m alright. Continue,” you push his shoulders, jokingly making him smirk. Draco thinks for a moment before his eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. “Oh no,” your smile drops. “I know that face and I don’t like where this is going already.”

Draco laughs and sits up straight so your chests are now touching. “I want you to meet my mother,” he confesses and your heart stops beating for a moment. Your mouth goes dry and you try to keep yourself composed as to not alarm Draco. “I know the two of you will get on like a house on fire. You’ll come to the manor with me next week on holiday, won’t you?” he asks, his eyes pleading you to say yes. His blue eyes bore into you. Merlin, how were you supposed to say no. Feigning excitement, you nod your head up and down with a small hum. He chuckles, “Brilliant. I’ll send an owl and tell mother she should expect a very special guest.” Draco closes the gap between you two, pressing a hard kiss to your lips, showing you how thankful he was that the two most important women in his life would be meeting. You on the other hand, were absolutely horrified. 

Now, here you were, bag and jacket in hand, making your way to Draco’s dormitory, your heart pounding out of your chest. It’s not that you didn’t want to meet Draco’s mother, you were just scared that you wouldn’t live up to her expectations. The Malfoy’s were one of, if not, the most powerful family of wizards. They had money, status, wealth, and power; something some people can only dream of, but something you were scared of. You and Draco came from two completely different backgrounds. You were not a pureblood Slytherin and you knew that this may pose a problem, considering how passionate Narcissa Malfoy was about having a pureblood line.Your parents were both wizards, your father was a Ravenclaw, mother a Slytherin. Of course, when you got to Hogwarts, you took after your mother, the sorting hat calling out Slytherin before the hat even touched your head, making you smile wide. Your parents weren’t very wealthy, money wasn’t something you had excess of. They had made you get a summer job alongside muggles, they insisted that teaching you the value of money at a young age would instill good habits in you. But now that you were taken by a Malfoy, money was never really a problem. If you even mentioned in passing that you wanted or needed something, it would be on your bed the next day with a love note from Draco. But still, you weren’t raised like that and the idea of spending money frivolously made your nerves act up. 

Your thoughts are halted when you arrive at Draco’s door, tapping gently on his door. In two seconds, the door swings open to reveal a smiling Draco. He looks handsome, black turtleneck and blazer, freshly pressed trousers, and shiny black leather shoes. Draco looks you up and down and his smile grows wider if possible. “Perfect,” he coos before grabbing your waist and kissing you sweetly. He always knew what to say. “Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” you sigh, nervously straightening out the pleats in your dress. 

Draco closes his door behind him and takes your hand in his, making your way to the outside of the castle. “Oh, don’t worry. Mother will adore you. I just know it,” he squeezes your hand. “And if she doesn’t, too bad because I love you.” You give him a weak smile and kiss his cheek. At least you knew that Draco would be at your defense if all else fails. 

The trip to the Wiltshire was smooth, but you were anything but. Thoughts circled your head constantly. What if she knows I’m not a pure blood Slytherin? What if she thinks I’m dressed inappropriately? What if she heard from Lucius that he thinks I’m a stupid git? What if she takes one look at me tells me to leave? But these thoughts didn’t help the time move slower. 

And there you were, standing in front of Malfoy Manor, Draco’s fingers laced with yours, you holding his arm for extra support. You bit your lip nervously, scanning Draco’s face, looking for any hesitation. If he told you that he changed his mind, you would not hesitate leaving the manor right now. But it’s far too late when Draco has knocked on the large door in front of him. “You’ll be brilliant,” Draco tells you, kissing your nose.

Before you can open up your mouth to respond, the large door swings open to reveal Narcissa Malfoy. You expected someone else to open the door, but no, there she was in her full glory. Narcissa was more beautiful than you could ever expect. Brown hair pulled in an updo, while the platinum blonde that matched Draco’s fell on her shoulders perfectly. She wore a dark green snakeskin jacket that fell to the floor with a luxurious silk black dress and black leather boots. “There’s my boy,” she smiles, opening her arms to which Draco entered, hugging his mother tightly. Your nervousness subsided slightly as you watched the boy you loved give his mother a warm embrace. “I’ve missed you dearly,” she whispers in her son’s ear, giving him a kiss on the top of his head. 

They break their embrace before Draco steps to the side and says, “Mother, this is (Y/N). She’s my girlfriend. (Y/N), this is my mother.” After he says that, his eyes dart back and forth between his mother and you. He’s so nervous of who will speak first, how she will react to you, how you will react to her. He just wants the two women he loves to get along. 

Gulping hard, you decide to speak first. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy. Draco has told me so much about you,” you offer her the warmest smile you could ever produce and extend a hand out to shake hers. 

Narcissa laughs and pushes your hand away. Your heart stops. She hates me already. It hasn’t even been five minutes and she wants me dead. “Don’t be silly, (Y/N). Call me Narcissa,” she speaks and immediately wraps you in a hug, squeezing you so tight. Your eyes widen as you look at Draco whilst hugging his mother. You have never seen Draco smile this big before in his life. His happiness makes you happy as you hug his mother back tightly. She pulls away, holding you back at arm’s length to take a good look at you. “Draco, you did not do Miss (Y/N) justice in describing her. She is even more beautiful than I could ever imagine,” she looks at her son with a smile. Draco smiles wide as you thank her for the compliment. “You two must be cold and hungry from the trip here. Please, come in, I have a kettle on the stove and biscuits.”

Draco leads you into the manor, you look around, taking its in stunning architecture and decor. The manor was decorated with ornate pieces in emerald green, blacks, and greys. The staple color palette of Slytherins. “Your home is beautiful, Narcissa,” you compliment.

“Thank you, darling,” she coos as she walks you and Draco into the main dining room, a long black marble table stretched from one end of the room to the other. Three place settings are at one end, green and silver tea cups and saucers sit beautifully on the table with plates of biscuits, sweets, and other foods. “This house has been in the Malfoy family for generations. It all started with Armand Malfoy who-”

“Mother, please,” Draco whines, knowing that this story would last for ages if his girlfriend let his mother tell the entirety of the story. 

Narcissa rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry, Draco doesn’t like my storytelling. He thinks I make the story longer than I need it to be,” Narcissa looks at her son, eyebrows raised giving him a knowing look as Draco mockingly laughs at her. “I think I tell stories just fine.”

You decide to add a little wood on the fire and tease Draco right back. “He does the same with me. I cannot possibly tell him a story of my day when he gets bored the moment I open my mouth. Not to mention, he is the one who asked for the story in the first place!” you tease, causing Draco to look at you, feigning offense. 

His mother laughs brightly, throwing her head back. “Yes! Exactly! Oh, Draco, I’m so glad you brought home a lady who has a sense of humor. Come, (Y/N), follow me in the kitchen. I’ll tell you the story of the Manor whilst Draco waits out here for the tea to finish steeping,” Narcissa links your arms together and every single bit of nervousness and fear melts away in that moment. “Draco, dear, get napkins for us,” she instructs before whisking you away into the kitchen, asking what tea preference you have. 

Hours have past, and here you were sitting at the Malfoy’s dining room table, tears in your eyes from laughing alongside Narcissa. She has now pulled out Draco’s baby book, pointing out pictures of the young child in the bathtub, soap sudds all over his head, naked little body in the shallow water. “He was two and a half here. He had just come back from a walk in the garden and he was covered in mud. The poor child had fallen into a puddle and was crying that he got dirty and demanded a bath,” Narcissa recalls the happy memory as Draco groans and leans back in his chair as you gaze upon the sweet photo. 

“Aw, come on, Draco, you look adorable,” you coo as your fingers delicately touch the image pasted onto the parchment of the baby book. Draco shoots you a menacing glare as you giggle, flipping to the next page. 

The day was going so smoothly. Narcissa asked you about school, your passions, how you and Draco fell in love...she wanted to know everything about you. She was so kind, it reminded you of how kind Draco could be. He had obviously inherited that from his mother and not his father. You were shocked. How could someone so lovely be married to someone so cruel? 

Wiping the tear from the corner of her eye, Narcissa closes the baby book. “Alright, I think Draco has had enough teasing for today,” she says as Draco huffs a finally. “Darling, could you go bring the teacups into the kitchen please?” she asks Draco as he happily obliges. “So, tell me, (Y/N),” she starts when Draco leaves the dining room. “And tell me honestly, where do you see this relationship with Draco going? Is there a future?” she asks, her hands finding yours, giving them a light squeeze, hoping that the answer is yes.

Now this was something you could talk about. “Narcissa, I love your son more than the sun loves the moon. He’s my everything,” you confess to her, making a grin appear on her face. “He makes me the happiest I have ever been,” you tell her simply.

“We do intend on getting married, Mother,” Draco interrupts the conversation as you and Narcissa shoot him a look, letting him know that he ruined the sweet moment between the two women. “Was I not supposed to say that?”

You laugh and shake your head, “You’re fine, darling. But yes, we do plan on getting married immediately after we done with school.” 

This makes Narcissa just beam with joy. “Thank Merlin,” she places a hand over her heart. “I was hoping you would say that. I didn’t want someone like Pansy Parkinson marrying my son,” she tells you, causing you to look at Draco as you two both laugh. “Well, just so you know (Y/N), you know that you are welcome to move in here with myself, Draco, and my husband after you finish your education. This home is also your home. Not to mention, I would love another lady in the house,” she tells you with a wink.

Her offer makes your heart glow. When Draco proposed this a week ago, your nerves set in and made you worry. But now thinking about living in the manor with Draco and his wonderful mother only made your heart swell with love and adoration. “Thank you, Narcissa, from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to me that you would open your home to someone like me,” you tell her.

Narcissa furrows her brows and realizes what you were talking about. “Just because you aren’t pureblood Slytherin doesn’t make you any less of a wonderful woman and witch. My son loves you which only makes me love you even more,” she tells you before stroking your cheek with her finger. Her gesture makes you tear up a little bit. This woman radiated kindness and you didn’t understand how you were so lucky to love a boy who had the most incredible woman as a mother. 

Draco looks upon the two of you and his heart could not be more full. His mother loved you as if you were her own and he could only imagine how happy that made you. Draco watched the two women he loved have their own moment, a smile plastered on his face. “I hate to do this, but we should really be heading back to school. I have a quidditch match tomorrow and need to rest up for it,” Draco speaks. 

“Oh, of course, darling,” Narcissa speaks as the three of you rise from the table. “You know you are always welcome to come home whenever you please. No need to let me know when you are coming. The doors are always open,” Narcissa tells you both. She walks you both to the door and you have to admit, you were a little sad to leave. There was still so much to talk about. Narcissa looks at you and smiles sweetly. “It was so lovely to finally meet you, (Y/N).”

You take Narcissa’s hands and give them a squeeze. “Same to you. You are so lovely, today was wonderful,” you admit as she scoops you into an embrace. “I’m sure we will see each other again soon.”

Narcissa gives you a sweet smile and tells you to send an owl if you were in need of anything. She then looks to her son and cups his cheeks, looking him in the eyes with so much love. She places a tender kiss on his forehead before giving him a hug goodbye. “I’ll see you soon, Mother,” Draco holds his mother in his arms for a long while and you swear you can hear a small sob escape from Narcissa’s lips. She loved this boy so much, it seems like she would break. “I’ll be home for Christmas. Maybe (Y/N) can spend some time with us,” he offers as you shake your head excitedly. You can only imagine how beautifully the Manor would be decorated for the holidays. 

The two of you leave the Manor, hand in hand as Narcissa waves goodbye and blows a kiss before shutting the door. You look at Draco and he just laughs. “What?” you ask, slapping his arm. “What’s so funny, you bloody idiot?”

“I think my Mother loves you more than she loves me,” he laughs as you roll your eyes. 

“I’m starting to like your mother more than I like you,” you joke as he acts hurt. “Kidding,” you laugh as you kiss him sweetly. “Maybe.”

[yourtamaki]

a kind dream, a cold reality

keigo x f!reader

word count: 1.9k

warnings: angst, hurt no comfort, neglect

there was peace in stability. when exciting beginnings morphed into routine, safe knowing exactly how your days would pan out.

there was also distance. when love declarations became monotone, more habit then heartfelt and kisses become another chore to check off a list.

when did domesticity become purgatory, doomed to repeat actions until all sparks of life had been drained away?

you stood in the kitchen, preparing dinner nearly on autopilot. you didn’t have to look at the time anymore, you’re own internal clock telling you there was 30 minutes until it was done, perfectly timed for when keigo came home from work.

for when he’s supposed to come home at least.

you tried to not think of how many meals had gone cold while waiting for him to return from wherever it was he decided was important to be then with you. at least the neighbours loved you, accepting the countless dishes that would otherwise have gone to waste. you wondered what lie you should tell them today. that you had made too much? that you were trying out a new recipe? you had plenty of time to decide.

setting the table was now a mindless activity, each plate and piece of cutlery placed just so across the dining table. when everything was in its rightful place, you brought out the pasta dish, setting it in the middle in a large bowl with tongs propped up inside. you could never guess how much keigo would eat on any given day so it was always best to let him serve himself. with nothing left to do, you took your seat before the empty plate, staring blankly ahead at where keigo was supposed to be.

you used to love this table. it had been the first thing you and keigo had bought together when you first moved in together. not a bed or a couch. a dining room table from a second hand store he insisted you had to go to because, “we need something alive with memories, songbird.”

you remember how you had both spotted it at the same time. tucked away in the corner, legs scuffed to hell but with the most beautiful dark oak surface you’d ever seen. you hadn’t realized how small it was either until you both sat down for the first time with shitty takeout because neither of you had thought to buy cookware. it was impossible for your knees not to bump into keigo’s, for his thigh not to end up between yours. you both loved the table too much to return it so you had to learn to adjust. now, it was your favourite aspect about the table, the added feeling of closeness as you shared a meal with the love of your life. it set the tone for the rest of your house, turning it from somewhere to live to a shared home.

these days, you had more space then you knew what to do with, your legs could swing under the table unobstructed. you hated it.

your stomach growled, the sound quickly swallowed up by the vast silence. you didn’t want to eat. not yet, not while there was a chance he showed up and you wouldn’t ruin your first meal together in who knows how long just because you got a little peckish. you could wait.

and wait you did.

you plated up a portion for yourself as the setting sun darkened the house, eating mechanically until your fork had nothing left to pick up. the next part was almost a ritual at this point. storing the food away in tupperware, cleaning the dishes, wiping down the kitchen so come morning you could start the cycle once more. you had perfected the routine down to every last detail. there was nothing left to do but get ready to sleep and lay in bed, idly playing with the crimson feather that hung around your neck.

you could refrain from touching it throughout the day but you couldn’t stand not holding it when you were alone in the too wide bed. you were supposed to be surrounded by hundreds of these feathers. you missed the way his wings would wrap around you during the night, pulling you into keigo’s chest. sleep wasn’t the same without them but you had no choice but to make do with the lone feather.

was this going to be the rest of your life? cooking meals no one would eat, cleaning an already spotless house, sleeping cold and alone? this isn’t the future keigo promised you when he got down on one knee, tears already streaming down his face. you weren’t naive, you knew there would be hard times in your marriage. it couldn’t be sunshine and roses all the time. you just thought he would be by your side when those times came.

a tapping at the window had you shooting up in bed in fear, head whipping towards the sound. an all too familiar outline was hovering outside, waving for you to open the window. you carefully made your way across the dark room. you’d unlatched the large window so many times it had become muscle memory and soon enough, your husband was flying through, landing lightly on his feet.

for a brief moment, a warm burst of love filled you. he was home, just an arm’s length away. you knew you’d forgive everything, everything, if he wrapped you up in a tight hug. the one that hurt your ribs and left your feet dangling in the air as he swung you around. the one where you felt his laugh more than heard it, you were pressed so close to his chest. that’s all you needed to remind yourself what you were fighting for. just one hug.

keigo walked past you without a word and the moment died. you think a piece of you died with it. an important piece. it would remind you of the better times, when you weren’t a wife but a girlfriend. when you were a priority in his life, when you could count on him dropping everything if you needed him. the piece that kept you together, kept you whole was gone and in its place was not emptiness but indifference.

“you’re really not going to say anything?” you didn’t understand why your voice came out so hoarse until you realized it was the first time you’ve used it all day. keigo didn’t pause as you broke the silence, continuing to undress with his back to you.

“‘m tired, songbird. can we do this later?” can’t he feel it? the precipice your relationship is on the edge of, threatening to fall and shatter into a thousand pieces at any moment? it dawns on you, watching him yawn and stretch, shaking out his feathers, that no. he doesn’t.

“keigo.” he turned to face you, blinking at the use of his name. always kei, never keigo. “i think i need a break. ”

he huffed out a confused laugh. “break from what?”

“a break from us.” you never knew silence could be so cold. so cold it left you shivering in its grasp. that’s the only explanation of why you were shaking so hard you had to clench your teeth to stop them from chattering.

“that’s not funny, dove.”

“i’m not joking.”

“why?” it was your turn to laugh, a broken, shrill thing that hurt your ears.

“you can’t think of one reason? one reason i’d have to be unhappy in this relationship?”

“look, i know i’m not around much these days but-“

“days? try months.” you felt nauseous at the sight of him, pale faced and eyes that darted around like a cornered animal looking for an escape. distantly, you realized this was unfair to him. you had ambushed him, gave him no preparation for what was quickly turning into a fight. but the hurt that had been growing inside you, gnarled and twisted with thorns that wrapped around your heart and shredded it with every beat demanded to be heard. you could flood your home with all the pain you housed.

“i’m sorry, songbird but i’m a hero. i work the hours commission tells me to. i can’t be here all day with you and you knew that when we first got together.”

“don’t try to make me sound unreasonable for wanting to spend time with my husband. i’m alone, keigo.”

“i know.”

“no you don’t! i am alone. i don’t have friends cause they all used me to get close to the number two hero. i had to sign a contract that said i wasn’t allowed to tell anyone where we lived. i don’t leave the house cause i’m terrified of someone recognizing me and using me against you. i am alone, keigo. with not even myself for company cause i don’t know who i am anymore outside of being your wife.”

he bowed his head, shoulders shaking though you didn’t know from what, his wings curling in as if to protect himself from your rant. “do you still love me?”

you sighed, your mouth opening and closing trying to think of how best to phrase what you felt towards him, “if i didn’t love you, i wouldn’t be telling you all this. i would’ve just left.”

“then stay. please. we can work through this. i'll be better, i’ll cut my hours. please, y/n. i can’t lose you.”

“i love you, kei. but i don’t think i was ever meant to be your wife.”

he was openly crying now, teary eyes meeting your dry ones. you didn’t know when you’d moved past that stage of grief but you were beyond grateful. it gave you the strength to power through this for the both of you. you owed him at least that kindness.

“that’s all you wanted once.” he whispered.

“the dream was kinder to me than the reality.” the truth of your statement was a punch to the gut. you’d wanted nothing more then to marry him, had daydreamed about it long before he popped the question. it felt like an inevitability. an intrinsic truth. the sky was blue. grass is green. you would be keigo’s wife someday. but love alone wasn’t enough to keep you two afloat. not when you’d been left alone to man a sinking ship. “i’ll take the couch and pack in the morning.”

“no! please if… if this is the last time…”

“it’s not forever, kei. just until i remember who i am outside of these walls.”

“still, can i hold you? please? just for tonight.”

you never could refuse him.

your bodies fit back together as though no time had passed since they’ve last held each other. despite the air still tense with emotion, you felt your body relax in his grasp, conditioned to associating the warmth of his chest against your back with safety. you knew in the morning, you’d wake up happy. the memories from tonight would be slow to trickle back in. but that was a problem for the future. tonight, you would savour the bliss of falling asleep with the person you loved most in the world. and you did love him. loved him so much it hurt. loved him enough to take this step back so he wouldn’t blame himself when he woke up one day and realized his wife had become a shell of herself.