#it wasn't unusual for me to stay in the water longer than my brother and omg reaching my umbrella back was so uncomfortable

[hotfuss]

Love to wake up in the morning only to cry for the third time about today's failed plan, I was supposed to go to a water park with a coworker but she bailed on me yesterday evening.

Having plans failing bc people bail on me and having to reschedule is unfortunately a running theme in my life + of all the 4/5 people I call my friends basically only one kept in touch and actually proposes to spend time with me (🙃) + but that really doesn't matter bc of the nature of my job, i have odd hours and definitively no days off on the weekend, at least in summer.

I love being in the water but I'm extremely shortsighted and I don't feel comfortable wearing lenses in the water bc I'm terrified I could accidentally open my eyes under water and lose them (and that shit costs me over 200 bucks every 6 months, they aren't cheap!), being without lenses means I can see colors and blurry shapes when I'm not wearing my glasses. It makes getting out of the water and reaching my belongings really awkward and anxiety inducing.

Last week I proposed my coworker bc I saw we had a matching day off and she was actually her counter off with the water park after me proposing the beach or the pool and it got me so excited!! I completely forgot about that, last time I went there I was still a minor!! I literally spent every day of this week thinking about going to my fave attractions and having fun in the water now that I bought a swimming suit that could properly contain my boobs and have someone being my support eyes. This bail really crushed me in such a horrible way, I was supposed to have so much fun today 😭😭😭😭

[inkoherentwriting]

work in progress wednesday!

also known as "the specific wednesday in which miraina explodes"

tagged by: @hannah-heartstrings (who REFLECTED my tag onto me! so devious! XD) tagging: @gwilin-stay-winnin , @thequeenofthewinter , @dirty-bosmer , @druidx , @azures-grace , and tagging @/hannah-heartstrings back again! Also if you want to say I tagged you, feel free to! Lord knows I always seem to miss someone.... (hoping the tags all work this time as well!)

might fold this into one of the fics i already have planned... though if it remains from miraina's pov, i might put it into its own fic. We'll see! also not as 'explosive' as it could have been in hindsight tbh!

Sunlight only peeking through leaves betrayed how warm it currently was. If Miraina hadn't been out here gathering little glowing plants for her brother, she would sooner be inside laying her face flat against a cool stone floor. There was respite in that the copse was sheltered by plenty of trees as well as other types of greenery and-- Miraina thought with a sigh-- she could always take a dip in the water here. Despite growing up in Skingrad she never particularly enjoyed the balmy weather. If nothing else she hoped Guilbert was having a better time than she was with the weather. "Guilbert!" Miraina called out. "Any luck finding these plants?" He called back after a moment. "I found a couple. How about yourself?" "Ah..." Miraina waded into the water more. "Not too good. Found only one. You're on the other side, right?" "Right." That was that, then. Miraina would begin making her way to the other side of a rocky formation that stood center of the copse. There wasn't many left to pull up as far as she could tell. Maybe together they'd find more of the glowing roots. Nirnroots? Whatever Jesan had called them-- she was only finding them for his sake. Anyone else could shove these annoying glowing plants up their-- Miraina stopped and gasped softly, suddenly. Guilbert was in the water that was now almost to his knees and leaning over to inspect the rock formation. His trousers were pulled up yet still soaked at the edges and he appeared to have removed both his shoes and his shirt mid-pursuit of nirnroots. To top this moment off, his hair was unusually unkempt in how it draped over his shoulder. All in all, he was distracting her. That was it, yeah... She didn't notice Guilbert had leaned up to speak to her from how intensely she was staring at him until he spoke. "--on me?" "Huh?" Miraina blinked dumbly; even then she hadn't caught it all. His smile was kindly as always. There was no way Guilbert knew she was ogling him then. Poor idiot. "Maybe you need to sit in the shade for a bit? I don't feel a bug crawling on me..." A few moments longer and Miraina finally nodded as though there was a weight hanging off her head. "Uh huh. I'll, uh, I'll go sit down."

[ninjago-fa-story]

Ninjago FA Prequel: Restart

Chapter 1: Breaking Free

---Acronix's PoV---

My head was spinning and I felt so dizzy, it was hard to stay on my feet. I was aimlessly tumbling around the Iron Doom, falling to the ground with a loud thud. It was difficult to stay conscious, but I was still able to see what was going on on the other side of the room. Even with my blurry vision pulsating.

Krux was fighting against Wu, who was much older than him. It may appear like an unfair battle, but both were great warriors, equally skilled. But something was strange, Wu looked different just a few moments ago. a possible effect by the Reversal Time Blade. Mentioning it now, where did it go? Though I quickly realized that the siblings of Fire and Water probably took it for their father. Despite the inability to actually show it, I was genuinely happy about that fact: Ray gets to see another day. The battle appeared tough, though I could only hear what was going on. My consciousness was fading to black.

"I seriously don't understand your problem, Acronix. Why is it so hard for you to let go of someone who hurts you? I had to do it twice and yet I am totally fine... Well... As fine as I can be... I am free from them now. I know you want that too, just like you said! If you cling onto your brother any longer, it will hurt you more than it would do good. And if Krux can't see how much he is hurting you, does he really deserve to be your brother? I have seen how he treats you, or even the Vermillion, and you simply cannot tell me you like it this way. You are like his puppet! Like a marionette!"

"And that is exactly my point! If I ever go against him, he will discard me just like them! I can never leave, I have no choice! My choices don't matter! They never did, they never will. I am trapped."

"Why didn't you leave while you still had the chance? Right after you got here?"

"I wanted to! But Krux is everything i still have ever since. I just didn't want to lose him too! And after I realized that he didn't change in the slightest, I hoped to be able to change his mind. I was so focused on my brother, I totally forgot about myself."

"I totally know how that feels like, only doing things because others want me to. When I first started inventing, I rebuilt gadgets from Video Games to get a hang of Technology, then I built myself legs and Nindroid Assistants, once my skills advanced more. Over time I gained more popularity and I had to build whatever the people wanted. I even lost interest in something I knew I once loved. I eventually learned to ignore my own feelings to serve those of the others, I forgot that the words 'me', 'myself' and 'I' even existed. All of this took a toll on my mental health. Seriously, don't end up like me. I can't leave because prety much the entirety of Ninjago depends on me, but you can still run away. It is not to late yet, it never is. Your choices do matter."

What is this? Why was he crying? Was it the inventor's hopeful and encouraging spark within his gray eyes? Whatever it was that caused this outburst, it was helping. Acronix finally realized it wasn't to late yet. He finally collected all the strength he needs. The inventor noticed the breakdown Acronix was going through and engaged in unusual behaviors. He slightly inched forward to hug the other, patting his back lightly. Acronix didn't question anything that was going on, instead, he decided to continue with the downpour.

"Thank you so much, and I am terribly sorry for what happened to you. i wish I could undo my actions."

"It is not your fault.I forgive you. And more importantly, i believe in you, you can do it."

Now all he still has to do is wait for the right moment to break free.

I woke up from my slumber again, the fight between Wu and Krux was still going on. However, Wu has aged down once again, and with age, his skills and combat knowledge faded as well. The only skill he could potentially use properly was his size, though his sword was ways longer than he was himself. That didn't make it's handling any easier, since the weight distribution was a lot more difficult now. Krux did not have a hard time getting Wu to drop his sword, which fell onto the floor with a high-pitched ringing sound. I quickly shut my eyes to act unconscious, I did not want to be seen awake just yet. The younger Wu pointed at me, telling my brother that something was wrong with me, he, however, didn't care at all and continued to point the tip of his sword at the boy's neck. my hand was hastily searching for the nearby sword and eventually found it. After a quick breather to regain my orientation, I tried standing on both of my feet again. While still slouchy, I managed to regain strength in my legs, making my way towards the fight scene.

I actually didn't want to fight, I actually hoped that my brother would realize what he was doing and that it was wrong, once I threaten him. I mean, who would willingly attempt to kill his own brother? Of course, Krux simply didn't care, he didn't care about me at all. Despite the tears filling my eyes, I looked right into my brother's face. It was left entirely emotionless, lifeless even. It has been this way since our family died. The family he has killed. I actually doubt he was actually responsible though. They may have died by his hands, but those hands were controlled by something else. Even back then I knew he didn't mean to, but that doesn't change or undo what has happened. Krux has been living with this guilt for over 40 years, slowly turning him insane. Today he was just a soulless vessel. I can't tell if that thing was back, or if it was actually him who was doing this right now.

The grip around my sword has tightened, I know how heavy his blows are. Slowly backing off from the scene just before attacking was one of the best strategies do use in a fight, as it helps building up strength. At least for me. I charged at my brother with full speed, but this time felt different, yet familiar. My powers have returned. How was still a mystery, yet they somehow did. That sudden surge within the me heavily disturbed and destabilized the iron Doom, causing something to explode. There wasn't much time left until this entire thing would blow up entirely. my brother looked at me in surprise, but happily accepted the challenge. What a monster he truly is... I am coming for you, Cruz. It was a tough fight, I must admit. We may be brothers by blood, but not by heart, he has had his last change. I was angry, truly mad at him and what he has done, how he treated me and others like garbage. he doesn't deserve to be spared. If I want to win this fight, I have to ignore the pain, I cannot focus on that now. There was one advantage I had on my side though: my age. I was far more agile than him and had a lot more stamina too. Despite being stripped my powers, I aged a lot slower and barely any time has passed since my teenage years anyways. Krux however, aged normally like every other human being, the past 40 years. He must be almost 60 by now. I jumped high and did a roll above my brother's head to end up behind him. Though his reaction time was good enough to turn around quickly and block my sword with his own. I, however, fell backwards due to the sudden pressure on my leg. My head hit the wall behind me with a pretty strong force, causing it to start bleeding. My hair became sticky from blood and my face paint washed of just as quickly, making it hard for me to see. I closed my eyes to focus, maybe I could use my superior sense of hearing to know where my brother is. Finally my Tawali heritage came in handy. my mind completely shut of, even leaving my body. It felt strange, especially since no Power of Time had this abilty. Must have something to do with my heritage then. I saw myself crouched in-midst of a gray void, my brother being a little bit to close. i tried reaching out to him and my view switched back int my body. There was this unbearable pain in my left arm, immediately bringing me back to consciousness. My arm was held up in the air, blocking an otherwise fatal blow. Blood was dripping down from his blade, as well as from my arm. Even the armor couldn't help at this point, it was shattered into a million pieces, leaving just as many scratches on my skin. The cut was deep, going almost all the way through, probably even through the bone. At least I think it did, judging by the way my arm looked like. By this rate I will most likely bleed out, most certainly dying within minutes. I had to yield. But of course that wouldn't change anything for my situation. I need to escape somehow. though being trapped within Time and Space doesn't really give many options. What happens if I jump now? maybe I'll end up somewhere safe and people can help me. maybe I'll end up back in local time and get arrested... no matter where I end up being, every place is better than here. Anyone is better than him.

"Las palabras no pueden describir cuánto te odio en este momento. Ojalá no fueras mi hermano..." (es-MX: "Words cannot describe how much I hate you right now. I wish you weren't my brother...")

My body felt infinitely heavy, I was not able to breathe at all and I felt so cold. I was barely able to stay on my feet, but somehow managed to get to the 'window'. I didn't dare to turn around and look at Krux once again, but I caught a glimpse of him in the reflection within the wall. he left me alone and didn't attack, he just stood there, his face appeared to not be able to decide whether to feel guilt or anger, trying to stay as blank as possible. my mind couldn't handle it, I reached my healthy arm out and froze my brother in time, jumping without hesitation.

I plummeted down slower than expected, I was basically floating on the spot, there is no gravity within the Temporal Vortex, after all. I saw the young Wu jumping after me, he too, managed to escape. He appeared to age down mid fall, now he was just a helpless toddler. my consciousness was slipping away and my vision was already fading. This is it. My life ends here. Endlessly I was floating around without a destination, my lifeline going flat as I close my eyes.

***

My entire figure was surrounded by glistening golden light. I felt as if I was as weightless as a feather, there was no pain or any other feeling, just my mere body and mind. An unknown figure approached me, she must be an angel and this must be, what death feels like.

[fraglance]

TAKE IT UPON OURSELVES

Fraglance

It was nearly nightfall when it started. I finally felt the effects of the day, sluggishly moving to the kitchen to the living room where Antonio, my older brother, sat. He'd been staying over with our parents for a limited amount of days, as was I. Somehow, the topic of life came up.

He sipped on the bottle of moonshine that'd previously been in Mama's china cabinet and wondered aloud: "I'm never not asking myself if I should be doing something else with my life, and withal, that ends with teary-eyes and a bottle of rosé. Or champagne. Or—"

I tuned him out there and was eventually able to tell him that I was gravely tired of wasting time. I asked if he really did feel the same; of course, he said yes and then rambled on about time, the world, and how everything works. Even though he isn't particularly wasting it, but using it to work and to provide for his family, he feels as though it's in vain. All of life isn't just work and inadvertently stressing, so it shouldn't be spent that way for the entirety of it.

Majority of people have this feeling, I see that now. I decide to remedy this by making more than enough memories to convince myself of fulfillment and hope that if the memories I recall when I'm old and gray (still a lover of poetry and looking at life through rose-colored glasses or lenses) are moreso good — decent, even — then it wasn't utterly fruitless.

And so, I move with meaning. I create lists and make sure I don't leave empty-handed. When at the mall, I treat myself every now and then, and when I window shop, my hands are never void of touch. The keychain of my brother's name (it's sort of common) has more meaning than it would without a home. This is another transient understanding I experience: things do not have meaning until you give it meaning. A locket is simply a locket until it's a precious gift from your late father.

Also, I move with purpose. I purposefully give people compliments, starving for a smile, and am ecstatic when I receive one; I purposefully take the extra road so I can watch the sunset a little while longer; and I purposefully give and take fairly.

Spontaneously is an option too, I have yet to remind myself; when Antonio calls me up almost three hours after he's left to see his friends and asks if I want to come along, I'm unusually hesitant to say yes despite my incessant thoughts.

"What for?" I inquire back, eyeing Père as he taste-tests the soup he's made.

"Forget that, sœur. Didn't you wish to make so many memories that they're the first thing you remember? And uh . . . I promise to hand you the Twix bars I've got in my car? Well, what's left of it, at least." One of his friends cackle in the faint background, voice antonymous with the sound of slow-moving water, and I grin.

I give Père a sneak attack by hugging him and kissing him on the cheek, all the while saying I will be back whenever. When I'm there, at the specific location Anto sent by message, I'm met with beauteous scenery, grass-ridden bicycles, and sunny smiles. Immediately, I take it upon myself to make memories that will occupy my heart for a lifetime.

[shadowsinger11]

Inspiration

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Requested by anon: Could you do a Fred Weasley imagine where he falls in love with Harry’s younger sister. (Maybe a after the war where he lives)

Word Count: 3.3k (my hand slipped oops)

Genre: Fluff, childhood friends to lovers, mutual pining etc.

Warnings: Slight innuendo, Fred being cute and hot simultaneously

Tags: @self-ship-love @susceptible-but-siriusexual @hufflexpuff @neovannii @jenniweasley @elf-punk @heart-of-tempered-steel @itseatyourdamnapples

Message me if you'd like to be added!

Masterlist

Ottery St Catchpole, Devon, England, July 16, 2000

It was a chilly Sunday evening. The summer air buzzed with excitement and the tender aroma of magnolia as tiny white and pink petals were gracefully falling from the huge cherry trees, carried by the light breeze. Twilight painted the horizon in liquid gold and fiery red, soon followed by mellow shades of dark blue that brought countless sparkling stars.

It was getting the slightest bit colder, but it did not matter; nothing else mattered but the loud cheers and cheerful music, celebrating the official bond between a Potter and a Weasley under the wide night sky.

You couldn't have been happier for your older brother, Harry, who was currently dancing with Ginny, his now wife - now and for the rest of his, hopefully, but not really likely, peaceful life. For the longest time you've been wondering how he'd always manage to get into trouble even as a small First year with no experience in the wizarding world whatsoever. Or, perhaps, that was the exact reason as to why evil-battling and rule-breaking were such common practices when hanging out with him.

However, there was no fighting that day. There was no room for worry and fear when the entire Weasley family and their loved ones were gathered on the clearing in front of the Burrow, chatting, laughing, dancing, singing, drinking, celebrating and living for what seemed to be the first time since Lord Voldemort's fall. Danger was practically nonexistent in that blissful moment which was frozen in time, once having looked agonizingly distant and impossible to hope for. But that dream was no longer just a foolish fantasy to heal wounded hearts. It was there, and it was happening in the most beautiful way imaginable.

And suddenly, all those clichés of a married life weren't even clichés. They were simply humble wishes of people who had witnessed far too many horrors in such a short period of time, and only craved stability among the massive chaos. So when you glanced at Ginny, a twirling blur of flaming red hair and a gorgeous wedding dress, you didn't feel the need to comment on how banal the color white was. You genuinely smiled, admiring the pure, exuberant joy, visible in her eyes and scarlet cheeks. Harry looked just as, if not even happier than his wife, dancing in the ridiculous but wholehearted way that only he could, and old memories of him winning the golden egg, training Dumbledore's Army and kissing Ginny in the common room for the very first time flooded into your mind.

It had truly been a long time since you had seen Harry careless and free like that.

You yourself had spent an ungodly amount of hours preparing the yard for the ceremony all day; rearranging chairs, decorating, making sure everything was going by schedule, only to then dance your tired feet off, and though you wanted to continue having fun with Hermione, Luna and the rest of the girls waiting for you, you really needed a break. And a drink.

Excusing yourself to leave the particularly interesting conversation you were having with distant Weasley relatives, you slipped off your black flats that, despite looking absolutely stunning, hurt your feet terribly after an entire day of fussing over the color of napkins and flower bouquets. Barefoot on the grass, you walked over to a chair next to a table which seemed to have been occupied, but judging by the mostly empty glasses and plates, the guests weren't coming back anytime soon.

You tossed your shoes aside with a sigh and rushed to rub your aching toes, hissing from how sore they were.

How has Ginny been dancing like that for hours?

"Enjoying the party, I see?" a familiar deep, slightly husky voice commented, causing you to look up.

It was none other than Fred Weasley, dear friend from childhood, staring down at you, his ever-present charming smirk resting on features and hands shoved into the pockets of his dragonskin suit. But it was his flaming red hair that made your eyes widen - it was carefully smoothed back, shining under the moonlight like liquid iron.

Fred's eyes still contained their famous, loveable mischief, except now slightly tamer and calmer. His firm biceps had visibly grown in size, stretching out the fabric of his coat just a bit to give you a prominent silhouette that caught you off guard.

It had been two years; he had changed so much.

And you were afraid to admit you had too.

You blinked in surprise, processing his uncharacteristically sophisticated appearance before realizing what he had asked you.

"Would've enjoyed it far more if my legs weren't killing me," you groaned half-heartedly and leaned back on your chair. "What's with your hair?"

"What's with your feet?"

"I asked you first," you cut him off. "I bet Ginny is responsible for this."

"Actually…" Fred trailed off, and, whether on purpose or not, ran a hand through the ginger locks to keep them in place, unaware of how you suddenly wished the hand doing the graceful motion wasn't his. "Mum insisted that I looked my best. What can I say, it's not like George and I usually listen to her, but we thought we'd make an exception this time; our sister doesn't get married every day. But honestly, Ginny couldn't care less about how we looked as long we showed up."

"So like usual, you mean?" you giggled. "Showing up is an achievement for you even if you're underdressed?"

Fred beamed, pearly white smile complementing his formal outfit. You wondered if he used that exact smile to effortlessly allure costumers and business partners at work.

He rested an elbow on the table as he leaned forward.

"Come on now, darling. I know you find my messy hair irresistible either way."

His cockiness only caused you to laugh, though Fred was quick to spot the flash of nervousness in your eyes; it brought him immense pride to know he was the one to turn you from confident to adorably bashful and flustered in the matter of seconds.

He was looking at you intensely, expectantly waiting for you to deny his flirty accusation despite your shyness.

"Nah, Weasley. It only reminds me that even at twenty-two you still do not know how to use a comb."

Fred's eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline, mouth agape. For the first time, he actually needed a second to form a reply.

"Didn't see that coming, I give you that. Courageous one, you are."

Your heart fluttered with joy and you openly grinned, shrugging in half-hearted humbleness.

"Perhaps I am."

Speaking to him felt unusually energizing, as though you had jumped headfirst into a chilly lake. It was unfamiliar and it set your nerves on fire, causing your stomach to twist and turn with sensations that left you dizzy, but unbelievably thrilled. And you wanted more of it, you wanted more of him.

"Fancy a drink?" Fred offered, already pouring champagne into a glass before handing it to you, and you keenly took it.

"Thanks, I've been thirsty with all the preparations I was doing."

"Is that why your legs are killing you?"

"Exactly, I've been running around all day, making sure everything was in order… you know, a lot of organizing and the like."

"It must hurt quite a bit then," Fred commented with a pained grimace. "But I absolutely get you, Georgie and I are just like that when it comes to the shop. It's a lot of accounting if I'm being honest, though I admit he's way better at it. We need to be completely precise; we can't allow any mistakes."

"Woah," you laughed. "Control freak much?"

He wettened his lips, never breaking eye contact.

"Perhaps I am."

You tilted your head to the side, gaze piercing into his in hopes of finding out what those gorgeous brown eyes were hiding. The tiny playful flames in them were eloquent.

Shifting slightly in your seat, you smoothed out your bridesmaid dress and raised your glass, the ghost of a smirk playing on your lips.

"Cheers to us control freaks then."

Fred mirrored your smug expression and your glasses met with a clink. The bubbly liquid tingled your throat, undoubtedly refreshing you and cooling you off. You glanced at the people dancing in the centre of the clearing and giggled - Ginny had apparently thrown away her white shoes long ago, bare feet stepping elegantly on the grass.

"You see, I'd like to chat a bit more with you, but I'm afraid it's a bit too loud here. What about we go to the pond across the field?" Fred suggested, pointing at the woods behind his back. You had visited them countless times when staying with Harry at the Burrow during holidays years ago; the tall trees and the glistening waters had never ceased to bring you comfort.

The noise started to become bothersome, and you felt it even more necessary to continue your conversation somewhere private, the unknown causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach. Fred's presence could only be compared to a shot of whiskey, or the sensation of anticipating a tidal wave to crash into you in less than a second. It was wild and the tiniest bit terrifying, but oh so tempting as it pulled you in.

"I'd love that, but… you know," you grinned and playfully swang your sore feet. "Can't really walk."

But this didn't at all seem like a problem to Fred Weasley who only shrugged and stood up, "You don't have to. I'll carry you."

"Merlin, no! Please, it's not necessary."

Fred frowned, but his confused expression was soon replaced by an amused one.

"You said it yourself that your feet hurt like hell. And even if carrying you around isn't necessary, it doesn't mean I don't want to."

You attempted to tame the butterflies.

"No, no! You seriously don't have to, I promise," you frantically protested as you held up your hands in front of you to reassure him, but he only gave you a weird look. "I can walk on my own. I'll be too heavy for you."

"There's only one way to find out."

Fred walked over to you and leaned down, one hand sneaking around your waist and the other slipping under your knees. You shrieked in terror, arms flying to clutch at his shoulders, and heat rose to your cheeks from the abrupt contact. Your chests were pressed together, and you were afraid he'd be able to feel your racing heart. His skin was warmer than you had thought, and it successfully fought off the night summer chill.

"Are we going?" Fred whispered down at you, lips so close to yours that you recognized the nuance of champagne in his breath, mixing unbelievably well with the scent of cinnamon and sandalwood of his cologne.

Not only is he sinfully attractive, but he smells heavenly too?

"Yes," you breathed and let Fred effortlessly walk across the meadow with you in his arms. They brought this new, odd, yet familiar sense of security, and you allowed your head to rest against his chest, nervous gaze wandering off into the distance in hopes of not meeting his. Nevertheless, curiosity eventually took the best of you, and your eyes would occasionally flicker to his, which were now completely black under the night sky. They could swallow you whole, you swore.

Minutes later, you found yourselves in the company of old, enormous willows which surrounded the pond you so vividly remembered from your teenage years. You thanked Fred as he carefully let you down, and took a few steps forward to look around and drench in the misty moonlight that enveloped the area. The waters were crystal clear and completely still, reflecting the moon and its majestic silver glow. The bushes had grown significantly over the time you were away, and you fondly looked back at the moments when you would pick up colorful wildflowers in the summer before your fourth year.

"Shall we sit?" Fred asked quietly from right behind your shoulder, and you followed him with a nod. You found a comfortable spot on the fresh grass to sit, a few feet away from where the water met the soil and moved back and forth ever so slightly.

"It's more beautiful than I remember," you noted, lips curled up in a barely visible smile. Fred hummed in agreement.

"That's why I always make sure to come here every chance I get when I return. But, unfortunately, that's very rare in my case."

For a moment, there was only the chirping of crickets and the soft bubbling of water.

Fred turned to you.

"Remember when mum used to call for us to de-gnome the garden and we'd hide here? We could stay in the bushes for hours before we eventually came back," he recalled, seeming deep in thought. It was an extraordinary sight; for once the playful spark in his eyes was more mellow, there was no cockiness seeping into the way he was holding himself. He was just Fred, the man who was currently thinking with so much adoration and love about his childhood, the most significant memories of it being marked by you.

You wondered, given you ever had the chance to spend with Fred as much time as your older brother did, if the charismatic prankster would have fallen for you like you had done. You wondered, given the chance you had let Fred get to know you better all those summers ago, if his heart would have belonged to you by now just like yours did to him.

Had you possibly missed your chance?

"Oh, I do," you sighed, the tension in your chest vanishing as warm nostalgia crept in like an old friend. "I also remember when I got this really bad nightmare that night. I was so terrified that you took me on a ride with your broom in the middle of the night to cheer me up."

"That's true! My parents don't know about it to this day," he replied smugly. "I can still hear you screaming like a lunatic."

You jokingly smacked his arm, "I was twelve!"

Fred's grin grew wider.

"Excuses…"

This only caused you to stare at him in disbelief and cross your arms, managing your most serious expression, but Fred was aware you were on the verge of failing to keep your stern facade. He squinted his eyes as a teasing attempt to provoke you, smile threatening to split his face in two.

"Alright then, that's enough about me," you announced, and Fred nodded in mock agreement as he studied your playful pretence. "If you're so much better than me, Mr Darcy, what else do you do aside from stealing ladies away?"

"Stealing their hearts," he said confidently, flashing you a seductive smirk, reserved only for special girls back in your Hogwarts days. You giggled, finding his antic utterly ridiculous, but you hated to admit that it still turned your blood into liquid fire. Fred apparently saw right through you, because when your eyes landed on his, they appeared completely dark once again, but, you suspected, for a reason other than the lack of light.

Your throat went dry, and you found it hard to swallow down the lump that cut your breath short.

He ran a hand through his ginger hair as he began to explain, "I'm kidding, you know. But to answer your question, George and I have been working on this potion that should be able to change the color of the eyes and hair. Fun for those who enjoy experimenting with their appearance, but it can also be useful to the Ministry. They're actually going to send a team of a couple of aurors to visit us next month so we can update them on our progress and negotiate the details."

"Wow! That's certainly exciting!"

"Is it? I mean, it probably is, but I've been having second thoughts lately if I'm being honest." He scratched the back of his neck, and you realised you had only witnessed him being anxious when it came to his greatest passion. "I'm afraid we might not be done on time, there's still plenty left to improve."

You put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, and said, "I'm sure you'll figure it all out eventually. Keep working as you normally do, try not to stress too much over the deadline, and even if things go wrong at some point, don't go too hard on yourself. It wouldn't take away any progress you've made so far."

Fred's body relaxed just a bit and he looked down at you. He couldn't deny the sense of serenity that he felt only when he was with you. Even as a careless young boy, he was able to pinpoint the way his midriff would clench every time you'd laugh at his jokes or ask him to play with you, without knowing what it all meant.

But now, as a grown man, he had a word to describe the bittersweet fire within.

"You know what?" He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. "I could really benefit from having someone like you around to give me motivation."

"Motivation, huh?" you raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile. Fred sneaked a hand around your waist and pulled you closer.

"Yes, motivation."

"Motivation for what?"

"Marketing strategies, work projects…" he shrugged nonchalantly, "...among other things."

You quickly caught on, suddenly becoming way too self-aware of the way you were practically cuddled into Fred's side, hand resting on his shoulder while his were wrapped around your waist. But his shining confidence seemed to rub off on you, because you asked.

"What's with you offering me a job all of a sudden?"

His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth as he took his sweet time devouring you with his darkened gaze. You didn't know whether you wanted to hide from it, or expose yourself even further to the way it burned its way straight to your core.

"Well…" Fred dragged out in his low, hoarse voice, and caressed your cheek with his thumb before slipping it under your chin to guide it towards his face. You could nearly taste the remaining flavour of champagne on his lips. "I've certainly been feeling…"

Fred went quiet as he got lost in the way you fit so perfectly in his arms; you had always meant to be there, he realised. His mouth crashed into yours, hands tightly gripping your waist, and you let out a gasp. Fred's lips were soft, although slightly chapped, and they moved gently but firmly against yours, turning you into their slave. Your palms naturally slid up his chest and he closed any remaining distance between your bodies by placing you to straddle his lap. The kiss was a dance of pushing forward and pulling back, two lovers having finally found their rhythm after years of living in fearful desire. You were positively drunk on his taste, on him, and you wished to never become sober.

When your need for air overcame the one for physical contact, you pulled away. Your chests were heaving with rapid, shallow breaths, hearts beating in synch like they had always done. You let a finger tenderly trace his cheekbone down to his jawline, then it came back up to draw different affectionate patterns on his face.

"What were you saying?" you asked, clearly out of breath. "How were you feeling?"

He fondly took your hand that was caressing his skin, and lifted it up to press feather-light kisses on your knuckles. His lips retraced their path until they reached the tips of your fingers, and he kissed those with the gentlest of touch.

You heart ached pleasurably from the way he was handling you with such care, much more than you ever believed he was capable of.

After minutes of worshipping you by the moonlit lake, Fred looked back at you as though you were his entire world. And replied with a smile.

"Inspired."

Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated!

Masterlist

[hyperbole-smut]

Father figure, part 1

He had always been there for me, kind of like a bigger brother, and had lived in the apartment next to ours for as long as I can remember. Or maybe he was more like a father figure, he was quite older than me after all, and ever since he was old enough to drive he had always been the one to take me to events, such as concerts or conventions.

Me sleeping at his place wasn't rare, we used to stay up late together playing games or watching movies or whatever. So, I slept at his place this night before going away to a concert. We even shared his bed sometimes, though most of the times I just slept on the couch.

I woke up late at night, feeling a bit thirsty, and got up to get something to drink. I passed the door to his room, noticed it was slightly open, and peaked inside.

A quiet moan left his lip and my gaze naturally went to his groin. His hand, stroking his erect shaft had my jaw fall almost to the floor! He was completely naked, masturbating, and I stared at his dick.

My mouth watered; I was immediately thirsty but now for his cock! I had never, ever looked at him in a lustful way, nor romantic, but seeing that beautiful thing in his hand had me yearning for more! My hand was already rubbing my clit as I watched him getting closer and closer to orgasm. With a moan his cum shot out, all over his hairless chest, and I knew I had to take the chance.

I opened the door and walked in. Hoping to hide in the darkness, I saw him pull his cover up to hide his naked, cum-covered chest but I jumped in and lied down, right next to him.

"W... What are you doing here?" He stuttered.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd sleep here instead." I knew he couldn't deny it, since it wasn't anything unusual for us. I pulled his cover down a bit and rested my head on his chest, cherishing the thought that his cum was still there.

"Mmm, you smell good!" I took a deep breath through my nose and savored the smell properly.

"Y... Yeah?"

"I think I'll fall asleep quickly like this!" I moved up a bit and sneakily grabbed my top with one hand, so that when I slid right down against his chest again my top went up just enough for my breasts to hang out of it, barely touching against his skin.

His heart beat fast and hard, I could hear it clearly with my head and arm over his chest, and I kept quiet, pretending to fall asleep.

It took a while, but eventually he seemed to feel confident enough that I was sleeping. He tried to get up, but as he lifted his covers, I moved my hand down and took a firm grip of his still rock-hard shaft.

He tried to shift away, but I countered by moving my head down over his stomach, so my head was positioned just a couple of inches from his dick.

"Fuck." He whispered between breaths, heavy from lust but still trying not to take advantage.

So cute.

I started moving my hand and felt the soft skin of his cock between my fingers as I caressed it up and down.

"God, damn it." he sighed and moved his hand on top of my head and started to pat my head. His touch was soft, warm and tender. I felt right at home, and it made me want him even more.

I adjusted myself and moved even further down, his tip touching against my lips. He moaned and I pulled my hand up and let his foreskin rest against my mouth, presented my tongue and carefully suckled his foreskin.

Once more he moaned, and I knew he couldn't possibly last much longer. I moved down even further, taking it into my mouth and let my tongue playfully move around the head of his dick.

A moan followed by a twitch of his cock and his warm cum filled my mouth. Not letting anything go to waste, I swallowed it all.

I kept going, suckling his cock as a pacifier, until I eventually fell asleep for real with it in my mouth.

[savagesbonergarage]

Nightsister OC pics and backstory ❤️

So I kinda got my Nightsister oc worked out today!

Meet Eilantha!

No makeup and with makeup since I like both. :) I know her outfit is Rey’s, but it turned out to be the one I liked best after going through all of them. This was so much fun to do! I’m on mobile rn so I don’t have a link, but search ‘rinmaru star wars avatar creator’ and it should be the first result.

The nightbrother is also an oc called Sever. He’s more bulky in my head and his tattoos are different and more brown than black, but whatevs. Also he looks more like a teenager here, which is NOT the vibe, lads. Mans is in his late 20's-early 30's. 👍

I know I’m sorta biased and all since she’s mine, but I’m in love with her? I’m not a huge fan of the Nightsisters and their misandry and general terrible-ness, but this girl is the exception. 💕 Learn more about her under the cut if you’d like. :)

She was born in 46BBY, making her around 27 in the final year of the clone wars. From the time she was a youngling it was clear that she had a natural affinity for magicks and spellcasting, which allowed her to participate in more advanced rituals and rites from an early age. This inevitably caused some contention among the sisters in her age group that felt this privilege was wasted on her, and therefore she had few friends during her time within the coven. She didn’t really mind, as she preferred to spend her days on her own anyway, learning as much as she could about whatever she fancied (usually spells that piqued her interest whose texts she discreetly snuck from within the cavern).

When she wasn’t studying, she loved music - writing, playing, and singing. It wasn’t anything like the typical malicious sounds of tribal chanting and drums you’d hear from within the grotto; not that she didn’t appreciate that also as she practiced it well, but her heart leaned toward a softer, more soothing genre of arias and melodies, bordering on lullabies based on her wanderlust, and, though she’d never admit it, her loneliness.

As she reached adulthood, she underwent the trials for her dark baptism as all Sisters did, which consisted of returning from a challenging hunt to add a token from her kill to the Water Of Life, and receiving her ichor tattoos that signified her coming-of-age before being ritualistically bathed in the ominous liquid which sanctioned her as an active member of the Nightsisters.

After this, I have two different routes (or however many, depending on who I’m shipping her with at the moment 😅 bc I ship her with everyone, no lie) that I like to take with her story. The first is expanded upon in the fic by @fallenrepublick here (still my favorite thing!) where she starts sneaking away into the nightbrother village and befriends Savage and Feral before they go through Asajj’s selection trails. This is the nicer, less-traumatic arc.

This next one gets really, really dark. I'm not going to post it all here bc honestly this post doesn't need all that angst, so I'll save that for later. Essentially, I like to think that Eilantha did at one time have a nightbrother of her own (Sever) that she actually loved, rather than treated as a slave. As you can imagine it doesn't end well, but we're not gonna get into that. We'll talk about how they meet. :)

Instead of sneaking away to the village, Eilantha is pressured into conducting her own selection trails by Mother Talzin. She doesn’t inherently have any reason to object, after all, she was taught that this is was simply the way of things. Part of her even looked forward to obtaining a manservant, whose loyalty would belong to her and her alone.

Perhaps he’d be a useful asset when it came to sneaking spelltomes to and from the vaults, and maybe he’d even be the only one staying by her side while she practiced her songs. What if he’d even appreciate them? Not that he’d have much of a choice, but the thought was comforting nonetheless.

From the moment she stepped foot in the village, all she could focus on was the feeling of the uneasy and fearful gazes of the men who undoubtedly knew more of what was to come than she did. She chose her roster at random, unsure of what she should have really been looking for or what she actually wanted from a servant. Even before the fighting, she knew deep down that she didn’t want to inflict any unnecessary harm on them…but why? From what she’d overheard at home, the violence was half the fun.

It wasn’t.

She evaded and blocked every blow with ease, yet avoided retaliating and taking the offensive in any manner that would prove fatal, causing the battle to go on far longer than anticipated to the point where Brother Viscus insisted that she take the next opening for the kill. With reluctance, the blade of her weapon collided with the ribs of the next brother to reveal himself a target. She watched in horror as the light faded from his hateful, reflective eyes, and she was nearly sick. She didn’t want to do it, but it had been done, and it couldn’t be undone. His body thudded against the ground and she screamed.

“Enough!”

The battlefield went silent, and as she came to her senses she attempted to save face.

“I’ll have none of them!”

Before Brother Viscus could interject with any alternative propositions, she was gone. She ran, fleeing as far away across the rocky terrain as she could. She didn’t cry; at least not until she was certain she was alone. She felt so pathetic - Nightbrothers were meant to be disposable, yet she couldn’t handle killing one. Her shame shifted into heartbreak, and she crouched low and wept for the death of the brother she’d just caused, as well as for all those who came before him. All the needless, thankless, mindless deaths of these men whose lives may not have mattered to the Sisters, but they mattered to someone.

As night fell, she trudged along the jagged landscape and thought of what explaination she’d give to Mother Talzin upon returning home. She had run in the opposite direction of where her speeder was stationed at the base of the village, so she had plenty of time to consider on the long journey back. She casually hummed a tune to herself in some meager attempt to self-soothe, which served to distract the shadow that had been trailing her for some time. The sound of a twig snapping in the rocks behind her alerted her to the presence and she confronted him.

"Are you lost?" she asked in a derogatory tone after he revealed himself.

"I'm not."

Of course not, this was his home, after all. She couldn't say the same for herself, however, she pressed him further.

"Then why are you following me? I never asked for an escort."

The amber-skinned nightbrother looked as though he were choosing his words carefully, though if his aim was self-preservation he'd done a terrible job of it.

"I saw you crying."

Eilantha was hit with a pang of embarrassment, though she feigned otherwise as her eyes met the ground.

"Well, you can forget what you saw. Now leave me alone."

She turned away, but the brother remained there in quiet contemplation before he spoke again.

"I've never seen a Sister cry. I've never seen a Sister feel."

Something about those words struck her directly in her heart. The confirmation that she was inherently considered to be a heartless monster in the view of these villagers hurt a little more than anticipated, though she had no right to refute it. No amount of apologies would ever remedy the divide that separated the Nightsisters from the Nightbrothers, regardless of how she felt. She clenched her fist as she turned to face him again.

“I said, leave me alone. Don’t make me-”

She actually choked on her words, unable to say the rest.

Don’t make me put you in your place.

Despite her partial warning, the nightbrother stepped closer. He grabbed the edge of his already tattered tunic and tore a piece of it off, inspecting it for cleanliness before holding it out to her. Eilantha froze, uncertain of what to make of this interaction.

“You aren’t done,” he explained.

She hadn’t realized that her hot tears continued pouring down her cheeks during her retort. She accepted the cloth with some reluctance, her dainty fingers lightly brushing against his as she took it and dabbed it against her wet face. He promptly turned and started walking away, as instructed. This strange...kindness, or rather, strange act of servitude via obligation perturbed the young witch, whose thoughts were now fixated solely on the zabrak male.

“Wait, Brother,” she implored.

He paused, resuming his attention to her after hearing the endearing use of “brother” from a Sister’s lips for the first time. She continued, an unusual softness in her tone.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Sever,” he revealed, “May I ask yours, Sister?”

She repeated his name in her mind, determined never to lose it.

“Eilantha.”

He did the same, only out loud. Gods, it was an enticing sound.

"Will you be returning?"

This was a question she wasn't prepared to receive, and one that she herself didn't fully know the answer to. Her reply was engineered from a concerned sigh.

"I'm not sure. It might be problematic returning to the coven empty-handed. I may come back, I may not. I don't know what the future holds."

Sever pursed his lips slightly.

"If you do find yourself here again, will you..."

He coughed into his fist and centered himself before continuing.

"Will you consider me?"

Her eyes shot up to meet his hopeful gaze, a golden yellow in the night. She had a hunch as to what he was alluding to, but a little clarification was needed.

"Consider you...?"

He swallowed, his countenance displaying concern that perhaps he was stepping too far out-of-bounds this time, but he wanted to know all the same.

"As your mate."

Eilantha clutched the piece of fabric in her hand. This man was offering himself to her. The images of all the nightbrothers staring her down when she first arrived with fear in their faces raced through her mind, revealing the dread the men felt when they were met with her kind, and yet this one was volunteering. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or angry, as any other Sister likely would be at a savage that dared to seek special permissions. Of course, she wasn't like that.

Imagining him as her mate, however, was certainly...something. She thought of how she would discover just how much of him was tattooed and he would learn the same of her. She could claim him right then and there if she wanted, and he would be obliged to obey. It would solve her worries about returning home if she decided on a servant after all, although, her soul was unsteady. Though she was entitled to any male she desired, she couldn't allow herself to do it. Even though this man was offering, it would weigh on her conscience knowing that even a part of him would only be with her out of fear and obligation, rather than his own free will. This nightbrother wasn't free. None of them were.

"I'll consider it," she replied genuinely.

This news seemed to please him to some extent, a tiny smirk curling at the corner of his lip.

"I'll look forward to the possibility of serving you, Sister Eilantha."

She watched as he turned a final time and disappeared further into the darkness, leaving her alone with her busied mind.

The course was set for the Nightsister temple once she finally got to her speeder, servant-less. She looked over her shoulder to see multiple pairs of glowing golden eyes quizzically prying at her in the darkness, and she smiled before taking off.

It was a long journey home, and the entire trip her mind was occupied with thoughts of the intriguing zabrak male who saw her for what she truly was. She pulled out the tattered cloth from her pocket and pressed it against her chest as the wind rushed all around her before bringing it to her lips and kissing it.

It became her greatest treasure.

That is, until she finally had the real deal in her arms months later when the separation became too much to bear, and they arranged to meet in secret during their first rendezvous of many.

Sever, my treasure.

[rogue-durin-16]

THE FLOWER IN THE FORGE (part I/II)

Request: Thorin x fem human! reader please where they meet in Ered Luin during Thorin’s blacksmith days, she bonded with the rest of the Durins too especially Dis, so just cute & stuff until finally Thorin has to leave to reclaim Erebor, maybe a bit of an angsty bittersweet ending because the reader is not interested in being a queen

Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield x human!Reader

Genre: mostly fluff

Tags:

Requested by: @queenofmankind

Permanent taglist: @queenofmankind @randomparanoid

Warnings: none really

A/N: this is my first fanfic of the Hobbit so it might be a bit meh but I need practice so forgive me plz. Also for those who don't know, English is not my mother tongue so I have to get used to this. Now enjoy <3

Part II

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

Selling flowers in the town's market might not have been the most profitable business, but it was a beautiful one.

Each morning, I would leave my lowly home and walk all the way through the town square to the stall where colorful bouquets and delicate flower crowns were already waiting for me.

Though one day, as I made my way to my working place as always, I heard unusual metallic bang. Then another, and another, and another, it was almost rhythmic.

Out of curiosity I strayed from my path in order to discover what that sound was. It was early in the morning, not many places were open.

I gradually slowed down when I saw a raven-haired dwarf forging a sword at the end of the street, in what I thought was an abandoned blacksmith's shop.

I guessed it was no longer abandoned.

The dwarf looked up and his icy eyes fixed on mines with such an intensity that made me look away, almost ashamed of having stared at him for too long.

Just as I was about to make my way up the street again and retake my usual path, a deep, loud voice spoke. "Good morning."

I turned to meet his eyes once more. This time somehow they looked less intimidating than a couple of seconds before. "Good morning to you." I replied with a timid smile. "I apologize, I did not mean to stare."

"Do not apologize, m'lady." He responded leaving his hammer resting on the wooden table. "I understand it may be rare to see... Well, a-"

"Blacksmith in town." I finished his sentence with my words before he could finish with his. "We lacked from one for so long, I doubt I have ever listened to the hammering of the forge before." we stayed in silence for an instant before I spoke again. "May I know your name?"

"Only if I know yours."

"Y/n Y/l/n." I replied with a smile.

"Thorin Oakenshield." he presented himself, with a subtle bow of his head. "At your service."

"I will leave you now to your task, Thorin. I too have a job I must attend." I turned around once more while I waved goodbye at the handsome dwarf.

"Farewell, Y/n." as I got farther from him, I started hearing the hits of the hammer against the metal sword once more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

What am I doing, I asked myself as I made my way to the blacksmith's with a portion of food I had bought in the market.

"Hey." Thorin looked up at me and almost instantly a half smile appeared on his lips. "happy to see me again?"

"Very." he replied, stopping his work. "I thought I might have scared you yesterday."

"Oh, you did." I spoke the truth, sitting on a free bench besides him. "But you have a pretty smile." he seemed shocked at my words, almost confused. "I brought you some food." I handed him the portion and he left the table he was working over to stand in front of me. "it occurred to me that you may be hungry."

"That's very thoughtful of you." Thorin sat besides and started eating. "but you don't have to look for excuses to come and see me." I widened my eyes and he let out a chuckle. "I was joking."

"I'm not paying you to court a human, dwarf! Work!" I burrowed my brows at the poor treatment, and, even though I could feel Thorin’s anger, he obliged and, after getting up, he gripped the hammer and the sword with such strength that his knuckles went white.

"I did not mean to distract you." He simply shook his head, dismissing me without any kind of eye contact. I could tell he was angry. "I'll leave you to it now." I smiled at him, though he wasn't looking, and I stood up and walked out.

Since he was now behind me, I couldn't acknowledge the way his eyes lingered on me; the longing they held.

"Y/n! Long time no see, kid." the bartender who worked in the same street as Thorin called my name. "What are you doing down here?"

"I came to see Thorin."

"Thorin?"

"The blacksmith." I detailed.

His face fell and a frown installed in his face. "That dwarf? What are your business with him?" before I could give a confused question for an answer, he spoke again. "Be careful, lass. Dwarves are not ones to trust."

"Uh... Sure."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day was close to the end when a pair of young dwarves appeared in my street, seemingly confused. "Excuse me, lady- Oh those are pretty." the dark-haired one spoke, visibly losing his trail of thoughts when his eyes got caught in the flower crowns.

"Kíli, focus." the blond one urged the other, nudging him. "Lady may I ask which way must we go in order to reach the blacksmith's shop?"

"You should walk to the end of this street, then take a left turn and go up, when you reach the square-"

"Could you guide us there?" The blond dwarf begged. "We have been lost for a couple of hours now."

"If you give me a moment, I will." I responded. I was going to leave soon anyway.

"Fíli, we should buy one of this crowns for mom." the brunet suggested, completely ignoring his brother distress. "She will love it."

With a sigh, Fíli took a look at the crown his brother was pointing at. "How much for this one, lady?"

Once they paid, I handed the crown to the brunet and closed the stall. "Alright lads, follow me." I guided them both all the way to the blacksmith's. I didn't need to ask if they knew Thorin, that was an obvious answer, though it was confirmed when, after hearing the noise both dwarves were causing behind me, he looked up with what I could tell was a scolding glare.

It softened considerably when his gaze was met with mine instead of with either of theirs.

"Y/n." A smile made its way to my face at the way my name rolled out of his tongue, which triggered a confident smirk on his. "I see you found my troublesome nephews." I let out a laugh, turning to meet two pair of curious eyes already staring at me. "Did they cause you any problems?"

"Not at all," I assured, taking a few steps more to reach the place where he was working. "they just could not find their way to here and requested my services as a guide."

"That was very kind of you," Thorin pointed out, his eyes fixed on mines with some kind of warmth "though I am not sure if I should thank you for bringing them to me." he then turned to both dwarves. "You should be at home."

"We came to keep your company." The blond one assured to his uncle.

"I do not need company." he sternly replied, to which the dark-haired one responded with a quiet murmur, causing his brother to nudge him scoldingly.

"What was it?" I questioned, curious, as I took a seat on a wooden stool near the forge.

"Nothing m'lady." the blond lied with an apologetic look.

"Kíli." Thorin called with tremendous authority in his voice. "What was it."

Kíli's lips formed a knowing, mischievous smile before any word left his mouth. "I said that we sure are poor company compared to the beautiful lady besides you, uncle." his brother pinched the bridge of his nose and I felt my cheeks burning.

"You are not wrong," Thorin replied with calmness and confidence in his voice. "Y/n is much better company than a couple of problematic dwarves." my cheeks only got redder, and though he was not looking at me, by the ghost of a smile in his gaze I could tell he somehow had noticed. "Now go home, it's late."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Fíli asked.

"I have too much work left to do." I was in that moment going to leave the blacksmith's to go home, but then I heard his words. "I'll spend the night here. Tell my sister not to worry." his nephews nodded and left us alone. "You should go home too." he commented, undoing the laces of his shirt after rekindling the fire.

"What did you mean with spending the night here?" I inquired, loosening my own laces.

It was way too hot in there.

"By the time I finish, it will be too late to go all the way back." he explained already back to the making of another sword.

"You can stay in my house." I suggested without giving a second thought to my words. "It's... Not much but there's enough room."

"You are too kind." he whispered, submerging the sword into water to cool it down. "It is alright, won't be the first time I do not have a bed to rest," he left the sword aside and proceeded to take off his shirt. "and it should won't be the last."

I didn't quite process the fact that he was shirtless until he started edging the sword, which made his muscles tense. His skin glistened with the sweat that the blacksmith's caused; his long raven hair fell in cascade partially covering his shoulders—

"Seems to me you like what you see." I was staring. Again. "It's alright." he assured with that that smug grin in his face. "You really should go home."

"I'll help you." I stated, using a lace on my wrist to tie up my hair. Once again I missed the way Thorin’s eyes fixed on my while I secured the hair; the way his jaw slightly dropped when, with my hair up, he was able to see my back. "That way you will finish earlier and we will go home together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

THORIN'S P. O. V.

It was late night when I finally closed the blacksmith's shop and we went to Y/n's home.

We walked in silence —a comfortable one.

"Do you need a change of clothes?" she questioned, making her way to what I supposed was her bedchamber. "There's probably something in the chest."

"It won't be necessary." I spoke, sitting down to take off my boots. I looked up for an instant, and found Y/n's door not closed enough to shield her half naked body from me. I rapidly averted my eyes and turned around.

"If you change... your mind..." I could feel her gaze on my back as I took off both my shirts, so I looked over my shoulder to meet her eyes. "You can grab one." with a smile, she opened her bedchamber's door and motioned me to pass. "The bed is big enough so don't you dare to argue." she warned me, lying down under the blankets. "I'm tired."

"No wonder why," I listened to her, lying besides her over the bedding. "It was a long day." she hummed in response and, when I turned to her, she had her eyes closed already.

Ethereal was the only valid word to describe her. Damn my height, damn my race, damn my—

"like what you see?" she teased with a grin, her eyes still closed.

"I do." was I too forward? I had met her barely a week ago. Maybe her words and actions where misleading me, she was one of kind nature.

Her eyes opened and she stared into mines. "Do you?" I rolled to my side and gave her a discreet nod.

Before I could move towards her in order to test the waters, her lips where on mines, though as fast as they came, they left to be hidden behind the blankets.

"I apologize." she mumbled.

To which I replied, "Do not." I moved my hand to move the blanket away from her face so I could return the kiss to her.

[pink-peony-princess]

Matters of the Heart

"Why?"  I groaned rolling over throwing a pillow across the room at my alarm clock.  It was 5:30 in the morning and I was not in the mood to get up.  Not only was it Friday, which meant it was the end of the week and I was exhausted, but I had a massive English final and to top it all off I was feeling pretty crappy. As I sat up, rubbing at my tired eyes I couldn't help but notice the aching of my limbs, my scratchy throat and my stuffed up nose.

I knew I needed to get up though,so I reluctantly left the warmth of my bed and trudged down stairs,  finding that I was the first one awake.

For a few minutes the house was silent,and I relished it,knowing that by the end of the day I was going to have a pounding headache. It was at that moment when I started mentally kicking myself for fighting with my big brother Shawn when he had suggested getting a flu shot a month earlier. He wasn't happy, and it took a fair but of convincing,but eventually he let it slide. I hated needles, and he knew that.

"You look like you're about to fall over Aimee," Shawn appeared suddenly, laughing when I jumped slightly in fright, coming over to where I was leaning against the counter.

I looked up and smiled half-heartedlly.

"I feel like it!" I groaned.

"Hug?" he asked opening his arms for me to step into. Ever since I could remember we had always shared a hug first thing in the morning.

It was a ritual,  and just because I was now seventeen and a senior in high school didn't mean that I didn't love it.

"Aimmee, you feel warm," he spoke, resting his hand on my forehead as I leant into him "Why don't you stay home today Sweet Pea?" he asked as I waited,  snuggled in his arms for my coffee to finish brewing,sniffling every so often.

"Can't," I sighed,  " I've got a massive test first period for English," I told him before swotting his hand away.

"Well at least make sure you take some Tylenol,  and have plenty of water," He told me, as I grabbed my coffee,  ready to leave the house.

"Shawn,I'm not a baby!" I huffed,rolling my eyes.  I hated it when he went all over protective on me,  especially when it came to my health.  Of course it was just my luck that he and our other three housemates and his best friends,Brian, Dave and Connor were all well respected doctors at the local hospital's Emergency Department.

He hummed in response, clearly not impressed with my answer, but didn't push it. Normally he would've put his foot down and told me point blank I wasn't going. I knew I still had a ways to go though as I still had to get past the others. 

I considered them to be brothers to me, just the same as Shawn, so I was very close with all of them. Consequently they were all extremely protective of me,  something which I hated, as I really wasn't too fond of anything medical. I'd had a couple of bad experiences when I was younger that had put me off hospitals.

"Brian and Dave just left, and Connor's on call," Shawn told me as I grabbed my house keys. "I'll be home tonight. Bri and D will be home by lunch, so call one of them if you need to come home early. " He kissed my head before opening the door for me,  and telling me to 'have a good day'.

Several hours later, and the day was turning out to be worse than expected. I had just come out of second period, and my head was throbbing, my throat aching as the pain killers I had taken earlier had long since left my system.To out it simply I was feeling like the walking dead.

"I love you babe,  but you really are looking a bit rough hon." My best friend Emma spoke as she came to meet me outside the classroom.

"Let's just go sit down, " I begged as the halls started to fill. We walked in silence, not saying much, but as we were making our way through the doors to the lunch room I suddenly became very light- headed.  White spots obscured my vision as I made a grab for the closest object, the side of the door.

"Are you okay Aimee?" Emma asked, coming to a stop behind me.  Do you need me to call Shawn?"  She asked as I tried to keep myself upright.

"He's at work call Brian or Dave please." I managed to get out, between sharp breaths, as she led me to a lunch table. As soon as she had me seated and stable she pulled out my phone from my bag and called. I could hear talking, but was too focused on not passing out, or throwing up to actually pay attention.

"Dave said he's on his way right now," she spoke making me sigh in relief. At least now I knew that if I fainted I would be in the presence of a doctor or doctors given that Brian was home now too.

"We may as well go up to the office, " she suggested taking my bag from me, and giving me a sympathetic smile. We trudged slowly up to the office building, and once I was there the school nurse made her leave, taking me to her office where I lay on the cot in silence, trying to will away the dizzyness that was now causing the room to spin even more. 

I felt like I was on one of those spinny rides they have at amusement parks.

I wasn't really paying attention to the time or my surroundings so it startled me slightly when I heard the nurse's voice and realised that she was no longer in the room with me.

"She's in here. She drifted off about ten minutes ago, the poor darling," she tutted as the door opened. Dave stepped into the room, dressed in scrubs, his ID badge identifying him as a doctor at the hospital still attached to his pocket. Clearly he had just come from work.

"I'm sorry I made you leave early," I apologised,  coughing.

"Aimee, don't be ridiculous, you know the guys and I would drop anything any time you need us honey." I knew it was true. They had lived together since their intern year, and when I moved in I basically gained three other family members.  It wasn't much of an adjustment though as I already saw them as older brothers, so I knew he meant what he was saying.

"So you're not feeling too good ha? " he asked, coming over to the cot, and giving me yet another sympathetic smile.

"You could say that," I laughed at the gross understatement before, letting out a few harsh coughs, making Dave's brow furrow.

He took my hand, and pulled me into a sitting position slowly.

"I feel dizzy," I mumbled, holding his hand more tightly.

" You're okay, it's probably just your Eustachian Tubes. If they get blocked, it messes with your balance, and can make you feel dizzy," he explained calmly as he waited for me to get my bearings. Once I felt normal enough to stand,Dave took my bag,  and led me out to his car, keeping a supportive hand on my lower back the entire time.

"How long have you felt sick?" he asked switching into doctor mode almost immediately as soon as we stepped out of the office. "Aimmee?" he asked again as we got strapped in.  It was only then that I realised I hadn't answered his question.

"Since last night," I admitted,  leaning my head on the window.

"You really should have gotten the flu shot," he spoke a few minutes later.

" D, don't lecture me,  you know I hate needles!" I grumbled, turning to glare at him.

"I'm just saying." He held his hands up in defense.

"Well just don't say!" I snapped back.  "Sorry, " I added when I saw the look of shock. " I get mean when I'm tired."

He smiled, nodding in response, but didn't say anything, instead turning the car on and heading for home. Something which I was greatful for as I wasn't in the mood to talk.

The next thing I was aware of was my door opening slowly and Dave rubbing my arm gently.

"Aimmee, we're home honey," he spoke as I squinted, readjusting to the light. He was patient as I got out of the car, and made my way inside, helping me into the warm house and straight upstairs to my room.

"Take this," he spoke, handing me some decongestant for my cough and some aspirin for my headache. 

I made my way slowly over to the bed once I had taken the given medication, curling up as Brian walked in with a soft smile, still dressed in his scrubs, stethoscope round his neck. "Hi sweetheart, I just want to take your temperature." he told me  coming over to the bed, with a thermometer in hand, sitting beside me.

"I'm going to turn the heating up,  and get a few more blankets," Dave told us before leaving the room.

"Sit up for my Aimee," Brian spoke, pulling the covers back.

"No," I whined, rolling over to try to avoid it.

"Come on Aimee, it'll only take a minute," he promised as Dave returned and came over, helping to roll me over. True to his word it was only a minute later that the machine beeped and I heard them both hum.

"You got yourself a substantial fever hon. I want you to get into a singlet. You can have a thin blanket if you're feeling cold, but the more we reduce the outside heat sources the better."

"You shouldn't be having to look after me," I huffed as I got out of bed in order to remove my excess clothing. "You haven't even removed your stethoscope or the gel from your hair, " I pointed to the way his hair was still spiked back with gel,  knowing that when Brian got home, removing  it was always the first thing he did, kind of like washing the day away.

"How about you let me worry about that hey?" he suggested, before laughing as I nearly fell, trying to remove my school pants, leaving me in just bike shorts and a crop top. Once I was changed he got me situated, propping up pillows to help with my cough.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "Hey where'd Dave go? " I asked noticing for the first time that he wasn't in the room anymore. 

"He had some paper work to catch up on," This wasn't unusual as Dave was the Head of the Emergency Department, with Shawn, Connor and Brian working as his deputys, helping to lead the charge as the hospital is one of the biggest in the country,getting code blacks several times a month.  

"As do I, so get some sleep. Just shout if you need anything, I'll be in the lounge drowning in paper work." He smiled as he pulled the quilt up around me and walked out the door.

I woke to whispers a while later, not knowing where I was, or what time it was for a few moments.  When I felt the gentle touch of a hand on my forehead,  and then my wrist,  I came back to reality.

"She's still too warm," someone whispered.

"Aimmee?" I recognized the voice as Brian. Slowly I managed to open my eyes, squinting, and letting out a small moan at the instant headache the newfound light was giving me.

"How you feeling hon?" he asked, sitting on the bed, and rubbing my arms gently. He had changed into sweat pants and an old teeshirt since the last time I was awake, his hair now flopping over the right side of his face.

"Cold, sore, tired...," I listed off, trying to fight the urge to cough again. I just wanted to roll over and curl back up.

"How 'bout you come down stairs and have something light to eat, get some fluids into you,  and I'll heat up a hot water bottle for you?" he suggested, standing up from the bed.

I really didn't want to, but I knew I really didn't have a choice, and that no matter what I said, he would make me.

"Fine," I sighed, slowly sitting up, and following him and Dave at a snail's pace down the stairs.

"Why'd you go to school?" he asked as I got settled on the couch.

"Had a test I couldn't miss," I answered between another set of bone rattling coughs.

"That doesn't sound good." He folded his arms and eyed me carefully.

"Yeah well, it doesn't feel too good either."

"Will you let one of us listen to your chest?" he asked, probably already knowing the answer.

I shook my head. He left it at that, and went to get some food for me, also heating up the hot water bottle as promised. When he returned he made me eat a piece of toast and have some honey lemon tea to help soothe my sore throat, before finally letting me go back to sleep. That was where I was when my brother stepped into the house, I don't know how many hours later.

"How are you feeling?" Shawn came to sit on the couch with me, still dressed in his scrubs.

"Pretty crappy." I sniffed leaning into his side, and relishing the warmth.

" Brian,when was the last time she had medicine?"  he asked, pressing his palm to my to head.

Brian poked his head into the room from the kitchen. Probably having been preparing dinner, as they all took turns usually.

"About five."

"So about an hour ago," Dave surmised, coming over to sit on the other side of me,and looking at his watch.

"You're still feeling warm Princess, I'm going to go get some wet washers. You're having the flu shot next year Princess." he called as he left the room.

"But Shawn!" I whined, he knew how much I hated needles.

No,we are not having a repeat of this. Wouldn't you rather avoid this if you can?"

"You don't even know it's what it is. How long does it last though?"

" Seven to ten days, give or take. That's if it is the flu though," he qualified from the other room.

"I am sick of feeling sick," I grumbled as I chucked yet another batch of tissues into the bin that Brian had left beside the couch for me.

"Well maybe you'll think about that next time I say it's time to get your flu shot," he sassed, coming back into the room with several cold washers. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, he always had to be right!

"I saw that!" Dave laughed, poking my side and winking.

"Saw what?" Shawn asked, looking between the two of us.

"Nothing," I answered with a smile, trying to convey my innocence. " But seriously Shawnie, I know being a doctor is practically in your DNA,  but could like not use this moment to do a 'I told you so. '," I huffed, throwing my weight to the back of the couch again.

He and Dave just laughed, before they worked together, placing the clothes around my body- under my arms, on my forehead, even my feet.

"You know if you let one of us take a look at you,  then we might actually be able to help you," Connor spoke from the door, arms crossed,  it was the first time I'd seen him all day. He looked tired, but somehow there was still a teasing glint in his eyes.

"No," I answered immediately, shivering at the thought.

He sighed coming to sit on the edge of the couch.

"We're not going to do anything to hurt you honey,  but you've been sick for over 24 hours now, and nothing is changing."

"Not all doctors are nasty, cold people like your previous one," Shawn added with a gentle smile,  reaching to take my hand in his. "Besides, I'm your brother and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, we all took an oath not to do harm."

At least let us check your temperature again and eat something."

I looked down ringing my fingers before looking back at them all.

"Okay, but can we watch a movie after?"

...

It was now several hours later,and the movie (Monsters, INC.) had finished, and we were all in bed, but I lay awake tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable spot. I could feel that my fever had gotten worse, I was sweating, but freezing, I had aches and pains, and my whole body felt like lead. On top of that I now had a weird stabbing pain in my chest that was getting worse, and it was freaking me out. At first I thought it was just from all the coughing, but when it wasnt getting better after a solid half an hour of trying to ignore it, I knew something was wrong.

I got up slowly, and made my way down the hall to my brother's room, opening the door, seeing him splayed out on the bed, shirtless and snoring.

"Shawn?" I whispered, hoping to wake him, but it didn't do anything.  "Shawn?" I tried again, this time shaking his arm a little bit, still nothing. Finally I was about to give up when I heard a voice from outside.

"Aimee?" Connor asked, stepping into the doorway, his face illuminated by moonlight flooding through the window.

"Con," I sighed relieved.

"What's wrong? " he asked as I came to stand next to him, him pulling me into a hug.

"My heart hurts," I hicupped into his chest.  "My heart hurts," I repeated.

"Okay,calm down," he soothed, rubbing my back, and starting to lead me back downstairs, but not before shaking Shawn awake, and telling him to wake the others, all of which came into the lounge room minutes later, rubbing tiredly at their eyes.

"Now what sort of pain is it?" Connor asked,sitting next to me, and taking my pulse, as the others watched.

"It feels like I'm being stabbed here, " I told him holding my hand over my chest. Their brows furrowed.

"Does it hurt more when you're lying down or sitting? " Dave asked, coming over to me.

"Standing and lying down," I answered.

"How long has it been hurting?" Brian asked, feeling my forehead once again for the fever. "Her fever has spiked," he muttered, "Right I need to listen to your chest for a minute Poppet," Dave spoke standing and running to his room.

We sat quietly as we waited for Dave, me trying to get a hold of my emotions, as Connor sat beside me, rubbing calming circles on my back.

"I  don't like this," I mumbled leaning into Shawn's side so that my face was in his neck, my voice muffled.

"You're doing great though Princess."

"But what if it's something bad?" I whispered, looking up at my brother.

"Aimee, I can't promise you anything right now, but I do know that you have four people here with you that are going to look after you. Right now, your only job is to let us do our jobs okay?" he smiled pulling me into him more tightly.

"You alright Princess?" Dave asked kneeling down beside the couch.

"No," I whispered the tears coming back as he went to place the stethoscope to my chest.

He sighed before dropping his arms and looking at me. "What are you scared of Sweetheart?" He didn't look angry, merely concerned so I told the truth.

"I don't like hospitals, or doctors," I admitted feeling stupid.

"Look Princess, I know you haven't had the best experiences with them in the past, but right now we really need to figure out what's going on. Try to remember that it's just me okay, just D, one of you're annoying big brothers. Don't think of it negatively, just think of it as we're trying to make you feel better," he suggested.

"Can you explain everything?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit.

"Of course,everything will be at your pace, okay?"

I nodded, showing him that I understood. " Is it okay, if I lift this up, so I can listen to your heart and lungs?" he asked tugging at my sweater lightly. I nodded again, holding Shawn's hand just a little bit more tightly.

"Just think, you're really quite lucky, it's not everyday that you get the Head of the Emergency Department doing a personal consult for you," Shawn said.

"That is true." I smiled despite everything.

"I know I'm the best," Dave laughed, as he stood up to listen to my lungs.  "Deep breath in for me." I did as asked, waiting impatiently for it all to be over.

"There's definitely some crackling, especially on the left side of the lungs, and I'd like to double check, but it sounds to me like there's some inflammation around the heart," he spoke, allowing me to lean back.

"What, what does that mean? " I asked, my heart rate spiking again.

"If I'm right it means that the virus has effected the layers of your heart. Basically the tissue has gotten inflammed and is rubbing together. That's what is causing the pain."

"Is it dangerous?" I panicked feeling the blood drop from my face.

Connor looked at me before answering carefully. "It can be, but chances are that it's viral Pericarditis,  so it should resolve within a few days with minimal intervention." he explained gently.

"Per, whaty-what?" I asked, feeling more confused than ever.

"Pericarditis,  it's the medical name, " Brian explained, all of them them laughing at my sheer confusion.

"So what now?"

"Well as Dave said we need to check- get some x- rays to confirm, and while we're there we'll investigate everything else that's going on.  It's almost certain you've got the flu, and that's what has caused it, so we   need to get that sorted for everything else to get better," Shawn explained.

I groaned, letting my head drop into his lap,  unfortunately this created the urge to cough, and with every cough that I let out, the burning,  stabbing pain only intensified.

"We really need to get you to the hospital," Shawn urged seeing my discomfort, before bending down and picking me up, cradling me in his arms.

The other dashing upstairs to get into clothes other than pyjamas, and grab their badges. None of them seemed to care that they weren't in scrubs, and when I asked Shawn if it mattered he responded with "As long as we have our badges with us,  it's okay. It's not mandatory to wear uniforms."

Once they were ready, they bundled me up in blankets, Shawn insisting that they protect me from the cold winter air, even for the short walk from the house to the car. I tried to be helpful, and support some of my weight as Shawn carried me to the vehicle, but I just didn't have any energy,  and every time I moved, it hurt. Eventually I gave up, having tried to shuffle into my seat, twisting the wrong way and sending a shot of pain straight through my chest.

"Just let us do the work," Dave stopped me as I tried again,holding my arms, and bringing me to a holt, and so from that point on I was something of a jelly fish. Except for the shaking, I could barely stay still the whole drive, my legs trembling of their own accord, no matter how hard I tried to stop them.

"You'll be alright, " Connor commented,  giving me a much needed hug as he helped me out of the car 20 minutes later.

By now I was feeling straight up petrified, and the worst part about it was, all four of the guys knew it. And there was absolutely nothing I could do.

"Come on," Shawn whispered, leading me slowly towards the hospital entrance.

Inside, they led me straight past the admissions desk, briefly filling one of the nurses in as we made our way into the room, Shawn helping me gently onto the single bed.

"Not anyone I don't know," I begged, holding onto Shawn, as the others moved around the room,  collecting things and setting up equipment. I tried not to pay attention as I could already feel the anxious knots forming.

"You know we're not meant to be treating you Princess, at least not here, we're family," he responded, kissing my hand, while grabbing a gown from a draw and passing it to me, turning around so I could get changed,the others not paying attention.

"Actually Shawn," Dave spoke once I was dressed in the hideous cloth, "The pit is in overdrive, I had five new admissions just in the last half hour of my shift, and the other doctors are overloaded, I really don't think anyone will mind, and if they do they can take it up with me as the Head of the Department. She needs to be seen to, especially if our suspicions are right, " Dave interrupted, patting my arm gently.

"Aimee?" Brian called, getting my attention. "We'll take this really slowly hon, but we need to hook you up to a couple of things, okay?" I nodded, managing a smile as they went about starting to attach everything.  A blood pressure and heart rate monitor, which I knew, a mask,  which Shawn was quick to explain that I needed as I tried to remove it. "Leave it there baby, you could really do with the extra oxygen at the moment. You're heart is racing, and your blood pressure is also a little higher than it should be. Heart rate 120, BP 130/90," he called to the others as he watched the monitors that were now displaying my vitals. 

"That's a little higher than it should be Aimee, just try to relax, I know it's scary, and I know that all the lights, and the noises won't be helping,  but I promise you, you're in the best place right now, " Connor promised, coming over, and warming his stethoscope up in his hands before placing it against my chest.

The machines attached to me started beeping, as my heart rate picked up again, only making me feel more anxious and agitated.The guys seemed unfazed though, Brian quickly shutting them off with no trouble. " It's just an alert to tell us that you're vitals are higher than they should be," he explained when he noticed me watching his every move.

"Aimee?" Connor called, resting his hand under my chin, and turning my head gently so that my focus was on him again. "Ignore all that sweetheart,the guys will sort that out okay, all I need you to do is focus on Luke and I okay?" he smiled when I nodded, before helping me to sit up. "Breathe in for me Aimee, and out, and again," he spoke as I took shaky breathes, holding Shawn's hand in a death grip.

"There's definitely some wheezing there.  I'd like to get a chest x-ray, and start you on fluids," he told me as he moved the stethoscope away, and allowed me to lay back again. "I'll order the x- ray now, you should be able to have it done in the next half an hour," he added as he went to the computer in the corner of the room, and pressed a few buttons.  "Done, they'll page us when they're ready for you," he smiled.

"Right, is it okay if I have your left hand Princess?" Dave asked stepping up to the side of the bed. I only realised what he was dining when I  saw the tray that he had placed down next to my side.

"No," I cried, panicked, realising that it was a needle, and other equipment, necessary for an I.V. "Can't you just give me something to make me better?" I asked desperately wanting to avoid an needles at all costs.

He sighed, taking in my stressed appearance." Three days ago an anti- viral may have worked, but somebody decided to be a difficult patient," Shawn looked at me pointedly as we all laughed."but now," he continued "not so much. Even with the anti-viral your body would have struggled.  So now that the virus has taken hold your body really needs the extra help. Fluids included, " he explained, as Dave picked up the wipe from the metal bowl, wiping my hand down. I couldn't help the shudder that ran through my body, I had always hated the smell of hospital disinfect, and the sterilization wipes were no better.

"Sorry, he murdered as he finished, and chucked the wipe into the bin next to the bed. " Ready?" he asked, looking to me as he positioned my hand and opened the packet housing the needle.

" Do I really have to?" I asked, looking up at my brother, hoping he would help me out. Instead, he rubbed my back before agreeing with Dave.

"Sweetheart, you're in pain baby, this will help with it okay. It'll give you some relief,listen to me. Take a breath, listen to my voice.  'll sit up here and hold you. It'll be over in a second and then that's the worst over. Okay. Dave's a pro," he insisted,  gesturing for me to move over so he could hop up onto the bed. He smiled encouraging allowing me to snuggle in.

"Don't cry Princess, " Dave murmured,wiping softly at my face with a tissue to dry the tears that were now falling. "On three, " he warned, causing me to bury my head in Shawn's neck. "One, two, three," I felt the pinch, of it breaking my skin, but it was nowhere near what I had been expecting, and I found myself looking up in surprise.

"Not so bad right," Shawn laughed.

"The expectations are always worse than the reality," Dave added, as he attached the tubing,  and removed the tray from the bed. "You're all set little one, " he told me as he finished hookingme up to the fluids, and pain relief, before kissing my head.

For the next half an hour we sat in relative silence,  all exhausted given that it was still so early. Finally Connor got the call to say that they were ready for me at radiology, Dave offered to take me so the others could get food, and Shawn could sort my admission papers. At first I wasn't too happy at the idea, but when Dave promised that he wouldn't leave my side I relaxed, and let him transfer me to a wheel chair, leading me down the maze of corridors.

"D," I asked as we came to a stop outside a lift.

"Yes? " he asked, bending down so that he could hear me more easily.

"Why do Cheetahs have spots?"

He didn't answer me for a minute, but then he started laughing, "Oh my goodness, I think the pain relief is starting to take effect."

" I feel fine now." I shrugged as the doors opened and he wheeled me in, still chuckling.

"I bet you do Princess, I bet you do."

The x- rays were quick and easy, only taking about ten minutes, after which Dave took me straight back up to the room.

"Someone's pain meds have taken affect!" he announced as he stopped just inside the door, and helped me to my bed.

Brian looked up from where he was sitting on the small chair in the corner doing paperwork and smiled. " I can see that, her eyes are huge, how much did you give her?" he laughed, standing up,  and coming over to the side of the bed.

"What do you mean? " I asked as Brian pulled a light from his pocket.

"You're pupils, they're extremely dilated. "

"What are you doing?" Shawn asked as he and Connor walked in.

"She's high on pain meds," Dave explained with a chuckle. "We may as well do the exam now, while you're not in too much discomfort."

"Okay," Weirdly I didn't feel as nervous as I did before.

"Wow, those meds got you good baby, this is the most relaxed you've been in a medical setting,  ever!" Shawn laughed taking my hand as he stopped next to me. " I didn't know pain meds effected you like this."

"Alright " Dave tapped my leg bringing my attention back.  "I just want to check your heart and lungs first little lady, can you lean forward?" I nodded allowing him to do what he had to do. 

"There is some slight wheezing,  but other than that and the inflammation everything sounds perfect. " he smiled. "Your heart rate has come down too," he noted looking to the monitor.  "That's good! So what else besides your fever, and the chest pain are you feeling?"

"What?"

"What other symptoms do you have? " Connor clarified, standing next to Dave.

"Cough, runny nose, sore throat, chills, head aches, fatigue." I listed, laughing slightly when the guys mouths dropped a bit in shock.

"Why didn't you just let us help you?" Shawn asked, clearly exasperated.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I guess, I'd rather just deal with it on my own. Or that's what I did think until it started hurting," I whined,  "It feels like someone's stabbing me!"

"Let me have a look at your ears, nose and throat okay Princess," Dave spoke, ignoring the last bit of what I said. I was glad though because I just wanted to feel better. And the sooner he figured out what was wrong, the sooner he could make that happen.

"Well it's official Princess, you've got yourself a nasty case of the flu," he announced with what I thought was a rather unnecessary smile as he finished looking at my throat. "It's one of the worst ones I've seen in a while, I don't know how you're breathing through your nose, at all, or eating for that matter. Your throat is red."

"Yeah well, I'm not feeling that great right now,  trust me," I grumbled. "I just wish my chest would stop hurting.  "It stopped, and then it started again. "

"Radiology just sent through your scans, it's definitely pericarditis," Brian replied from the corner, causing me to groan.

"This sucks!" I whined, flopping back against the bed, "and it hurts."

"I know baby," Shawn spoke, clearly sympathetic.

"I'll put some more pain meds in your I.V okay,  it should help,  mbut really all we can do is relieve the pain, and keep you on bed rest until the virus runs it's course," he spoke gently as he readjusted the blankets for me, and put some more stuff in my I.V. "That should take too long to work. "

"Hop back in with me, I'm cold," I whined, pulling his arm so that he moved closer to the bed. I felt like all I was doing was whining,  but I just felt crappy.

"That'll be the fever, " Brian nodded. "You've had stuff for it though, so we just need to let it do it's thing. Provided it doesn't get too high, it actually helps your body get rid of the virus. "

"The beds barely big enough for one," Shawn laughed, still focused on me.

"I don't care," I whined continuing to pull at his arm.

"Fine,"  he sighed, hoping in next to me, and allowing me to curl up once more.

"So what have you learned from this whole thing?"  Shawn asked smirking from beside me as I struggled to keep my eyes open half an hour later.

I glared at him, causing all of them to laugh, "Go on, what have you learned?" he asked tickling my side.

" I don't know if I can say it, it hurts too much," I laughed, going along with the joke. He pouted.

"Hey no fair!" I argued, he knew that I couldn't resist it when he pouted, it had been that way since we were kids. "Fine, I should have listened to you, cause you know best," I grumbled, holding my chest as if I was wounded.

"Was that really so hard?" Connor laughed watching from where he was packing up excess wiring,  placing them back into their relevant draws.

"Yes, it was incredibly painful," I sassed back.

"Truth hurts princess!" Shawn laughed, pulling me into a hug.

"That it does," I agreed, resting my head on his shoulder again  and closing my eyes. Never again would I be so stubborn. But there was no need for them to know that, not yet anyway.

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

Matters of the Heart

"Why?"  I groaned rolling over throwing a pillow across the room at my alarm clock.  It was 5:30 in the morning and I was not in the mood to get up.  Not only was it Friday,which meant it was the end of the week and I was exhausted, but I had a massive English final and to top it all off I was feeling pretty crappy. As I sat up, rubbing at my tired eyes I couldn't help but notice the aching of my limbs,my scratchy throat and my stuffed up nose.

I knew I needed to get up though,so I reluctantly left the warmth of my bed and trudged down stairs,  finding that I was the first one awake.

For a few minutes the house was silent,and I relished it,knowing that by the end of the day I was going to have a pounding headache. It was at that moment when I started mentally kicking myself for fighting with my big brother Shawn when he had suggested getting a flu shot a month earlier. He wasn't happy, and it took a fair but of convincing,but eventually he let it slide. I hated needles, and he knew that.

"You look like you're about to fall over Aimee," Shawn appeared suddenly, laughing when I jumped slightly in fright, coming over to where I was leaning against the counter.

I looked up and smiled half-heartedlly.

"I feel like it!" I groaned.

"Hug?" he asked opening his arms for me to step into. Ever since I could remember we had always shared a hug first thing in the morning.

It was a ritual,  and just because I was now seventeen and a senior in high school didn't mean that I didn't love it.

"Aimmee, you feel warm," he spoke, resting his hand on my forehead as I leant into him "Why don't you stay home today Sweet Pea?" he asked as I waited,  snuggled in his arms for my coffee to finish brewing,sniffling every so often.

"Can't," I sighed,  " I've got a massive test first period for English," I told him before swotting his hand away.

"Well at least make sure you take some Tylenol,  and have plenty of water," He told me, as I grabbed my coffee,  ready to leave the house.

"Shawn,I'm not a baby!" I huffed,rolling my eyes.  I hated it when he went all over protective on me,  especially when it came to my health.  Of course it was just my luck that he and our other three housemates and his best friends,Brian, Dave and Connor were all well respected doctors at the local hospital's Emergency Department.

He hummed in response, clearly not impressed with my answer, but didn't push it. Normally he would've put his foot down and told me point blank I wasn't going. I knew I still had a ways to go though as I still had to get past the others. 

I considered them to be brothers to me, just the same as Shawn, so I was very close with all of them. Consequently they were all extremely protective of me,  something which I hated, as I really wasn't too fond of anything medical. I'd had a couple of bad experiences when I was younger that had put me off hospitals.

" Brian and Dave, just left, and Connor's on call," Shawn told me as I grabbed my house keys. "I'll be home tonight. Bri and D will be home by lunch, so call one of them if you need to come home early. " He kissed my head before opening the door for me,  and telling me to 'have a good day'.

Several hours later, and the day was turning out to be worse than expected. I had just come out of second period, and my head was throbbing, my throat aching as the pain killers I had taken earlier had long since left my system.To out it simply I was feeling like the walking dead.

"I love you babe,  but you really are looking a bit rough hon." My best friend Emma spoke as she came to meet me outside the classroom.

"Let's just go sit down, " I begged as the halls started to fill. We walked in silence, not saying much, but as we were making our way through the doors to the lunch room I suddenly became very light- headed.  White spots obscured my vision as I made a grab for the closest object, the side of the door.

"Are you okay Aimee?" Emma asked, coming to a stop behind me.  Do you need me to call Shawn?"  She asked as I tried to keep myself upright.

"He's at work call Brian or Dave please." I managed to get out, between sharp breaths, as she led me to a lunch table. As soon as she had me seated and stable she pulled out my phone from my bag and called. I could hear talking, but was too focused on not passing out, or throwing up to actually pay attention.

"Dave said he's on his way right now," she spoke making me sigh in relief. At least now I knew that if I fainted I would be in the presence of a doctor or doctors given that Brian was home now too.

"We may as well go up to the office, " she suggested taking my bag from me, and giving me a sympathetic smile. We trudged slowly up to the office building, and once I was there the school nurse made her leave, taking me to her office where I lay on the cot in silence, trying to will away the dizzyness that was now causing the room to spin even more. 

I felt like I was on one of those spinny rides they have at amusement parks.

I wasn't really paying attention to the time or my surroundings so it startled me slightly when I heard the nurse's voice and realised that she was no longer in the room with me.

"She's in here. She drifted off about ten minutes ago, the poor darling," she tutted as the door opened. Dave stepped into the room, dressed in scrubs, his ID badge identifying him as a doctor at the hospital still attached to his pocket. Clearly he had just come from work.

"I'm sorry I made you leave early," I apologised,  coughing.

"Aimee, don't be ridiculous, you know the guys and I would drop anything any time you need us honey." I knew it was true. They had lived together since their intern year, and when I moved in I basically gained three other family members.  It wasn't much of an adjustment though as I already saw them as older brothers, so I knew he meant what he was saying.

"So you're not feeling too good ha? " he asked, coming over to the cot, and giving me yet another sympathetic smile.

"You could say that," I laughed at the gross understatement before, letting out a few harsh coughs, making Dave's brow furrow.

He took my hand, and pulled me into a sitting position slowly.

"I feel dizzy," I mumbled, holding his hand more tightly.

" You're okay, it's probably just your Eustachian Tubes. If they get blocked, it messes with your balance, and can make you feel dizzy," he explained calmly as he waited for me to get my bearings. Once I felt normal enough to stand,Dave took my bag,  and led me out to his car, keeping a supportive hand on my lower back the entire time.

"How long have you felt sick?" he asked switching into doctor mode almost immediately as soon as we stepped out of the office. "Aimmee?" he asked again as we got strapped in.  It was only then that I realised I hadn't answered his question.

"Since last night," I admitted,  leaning my head on the window.

"You really should have gotten the flu shot," he spoke a few minutes later.

" D, don't lecture me,  you know I hate needles!" I grumbled, turning to glare at him.

"I'm just saying." He held his hands up in defense.

"Well just don't say!" I snapped back.  "Sorry, " I added when I saw the look of shock. " I get mean when I'm tired."

He smiled, nodding in response, but didn't say anything, instead turning the car on and heading for home. Something which I was greatful for as I wasn't in the mood to talk.

The next thing I was aware of was my door opening slowly and Dave rubbing my arm gently.

"Aimmee, we're home honey," he spoke as I squinted, readjusting to the light. He was patient as I got out of the car, and made my way inside, helping me into the warm house and straight upstairs to my room.

"Take this," he spoke, handing me some decongestant for my cough and some aspirin for my headache. 

I made my way slowly over to the bed once I had taken the given medication, curling up as Brian walked in with a soft smile, still dressed in his scrubs, stethoscope round his neck. "Hi sweetheart, I just want to take your temperature." he told me  coming over to the bed, with a thermometer in hand, sitting beside me.

"I'm going to turn the heating up,  and get a few more blankets," Dave told us before leaving the room.

"Sit up for my Aimee," Brian spoke, pulling the covers back.

"No," I whined, rolling over to try to avoid it.

"Come on Aimee, it'll only take a minute," he promised as Dave returned and came over, helping to roll me over. True to his word it was only a minute later that the machine beeped and I heard them both hum.

"You got yourself a substantial fever hon. I want you to get into a singlet. You can have a thin blanket if you're feeling cold, but the more we reduce the outside heat sources the better."

"You shouldn't be having to look after me," I huffed as I got out of bed in order to remove my excess clothing. "You haven't even removed your stethoscope or the gel from your hair, " I pointed to the way his hair was still spiked back with gel,  knowing that when Brian got home, removing  it was always the first thing he did, kind of like washing the day away.

"How about you let me worry about that hey?" he suggested, before laughing as I nearly fell, trying to remove my school pants, leaving me in just bike shorts and a crop top. Once I was changed he got me situated, propping up pillows to help with my cough.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "Hey where'd Dave go? " I asked noticing for the first time that he wasn't in the room anymore. 

"He had some paper work to catch up on," This wasn't unusual as Dave was the Head of the Emergency Department, with Shawn, Connor and Brian working as his deputys, helping to lead the charge as the hospital is one of the biggest in the country,getting code blacks several times a month.  

"As do I, so get some sleep. Just shout if you need anything, I'll be in the lounge drowning in paper work." He smiled as he pulled the quilt up around me and walked out the door.

I woke to whispers a while later, not knowing where I was, or what time it was for a few moments.  When I felt the gentle touch of a hand on my forehead,  and then my wrist,  I came back to reality.

"She's still too warm," someone whispered.

"Aimmee?" I recognized the voice as Brian. Slowly I managed to open my eyes, squinting, and letting out a small moan at the instant headache the newfound light was giving me.

"How you feeling hon?" he asked, sitting on the bed, and rubbing my arms gently. He had changed into sweat pants and an old teeshirt since the last time I was awake, his hair now flopping over the right side of his face.

"Cold, sore, tired...," I listed off, trying to fight the urge to cough again. I just wanted to roll over and curl back up.

"How 'bout you come down stairs and have something light to eat, get some fluids into you,  and I'll heat up a hot water bottle for you?" he suggested, standing up from the bed.

I really didn't want to, but I knew I really didn't have a choice, and that no matter what I said, he would make me.

"Fine," I sighed, slowly sitting up, and following him and Dave at a snail's pace down the stairs.

"Why'd you go to school?" he asked as I got settled on the couch.

"Had a test I couldn't miss," I answered between another set of bone rattling coughs.

"That doesn't sound good." He folded his arms and eyed me carefully.

"Yeah well, it doesn't feel too good either."

"Will you let one of us listen to your chest?" he asked, probably already knowing the answer.

I shook my head. He left it at that, and went to get some food for me, also heating up the hot water bottle as promised. When he returned he made me eat a piece of toast and have some honey lemon tea to help soothe my sore throat, before finally letting me go back to sleep. That was where I was when my brother stepped into the house, I don't know how many hours later.

"How are you feeling?" Shawn came to sit on the couch with me, still dressed in his scrubs.

"Pretty crappy." I sniffed leaning into his side, and relishing the warmth.

" Brian,when was the last time she had medicine?"  he asked, pressing his palm to my to head.

Brian poked his head into the room from the kitchen. Probably having been preparing dinner, as they all took turns usually.

"About five."

"So about an hour ago," Dave surmised, coming over to sit on the other side of me,and looking at his watch.

"You're still feeling warm Princess, I'm going to go get some wet washers. You're having the flu shot next year Princess." he called as he left the room.

"But Shawn!" I whined, he knew how much I hated needles.

No,we are not having a repeat of this. Wouldn't you rather avoid this if you can?"

"You don't even know it's what it is. How long does it last though?"

" Seven to ten days, give or take. That's if it is the flu though," he qualified from the other room.

"I am sick of feeling sick," I grumbled as I chucked yet another batch of tissues into the bin that Brian had left beside the couch for me.

"Well maybe you'll think about that next time I say it's time to get your flu shot," he sassed, coming back into the room with several cold washers. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, he always had to be right!

"I saw that!" Dave laughed, poking my side and winking.

"Saw what?" Shawn asked, looking between the two of us.

"Nothing," I answered with a smile, trying to convey my innocence. " But seriously Shawnie, I know being a doctor is practically in your DNA,  but could like not use this moment to do a 'I told you so. '," I huffed, throwing my weight to the back of the couch again.

He and Dave just laughed, before they worked together, placing the clothes around my body- under my arms, on my forehead, even my feet.

"You know if you let one of us take a look at you,  then we might actually be able to help you," Connor spoke from the door, arms crossed,  it was the first time I'd seen him all day. He looked tired, but somehow there was still a teasing glint in his eyes.

"No," I answered immediately, shivering at the thought.

He sighed coming to sit on the edge of the couch.

"We're not going to do anything to hurt you honey,  but you've been sick for over 24 hours now, and nothing is changing."

"Not all doctors are nasty, cold people like your previous one," Shawn added with a gentle smile,  reaching to take my hand in his. "Besides, I'm your brother and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, we all took an oath not to do harm."

At least let us check your temperature again and eat something."

I looked down ringing my fingers before looking back at them all.

"Okay, but can we watch a movie after?"

...

It was now several hours later,and the movie (Monsters, INC.) had finished, and we were all in bed, but I lay awake tossing and turning, unable to find a comfortable spot. I could feel that my fever had gotten worse, I was sweating, but freezing, I had aches and pains, and my whole body felt like lead. On top of that I now had a weird stabbing pain in my chest that was getting worse, and it was freaking me out. At first I thought it was just from all the coughing, but when it wasnt getting better after a solid half an hour of trying to ignore it, I knew something was wrong.

I got up slowly, and made my way down the hall to my brother's room, opening the door, seeing him splayed out on the bed, shirtless and snoring.

"Shawn?" I whispered, hoping to wake him, but it didn't do anything.  "Shawn?" I tried again, this time shaking his arm a little bit, still nothing. Finally I was about to give up when I heard a voice from outside.

"Aimee?" Connor asked, stepping into the doorway, his face illuminated by moonlight flooding through the window.

"Con," I sighed relieved.

"What's wrong? " he asked as I came to stand next to him, him pulling me into a hug.

"My heart hurts," I hicupped into his chest.  "My heart hurts," I repeated.

"Okay,calm down," he soothed, rubbing my back, and starting to lead me back downstairs, but not before shaking Shawn awake, and telling him to wake the others, all of which came into the lounge room minutes later, rubbing tiredly at their eyes.

"Now what sort of pain is it?" Connor asked,sitting next to me, and taking my pulse, as the others watched.

"It feels like I'm being stabbed here, " I told him holding my hand over my chest. Their brows furrowed.

"Does it hurt more when you're lying down or sitting? " Dave asked, coming over to me.

"Standing and lying down," I answered.

"How long has it been hurting?" Brian asked, feeling my forehead once again for the fever. "Her fever has spiked," he muttered, "Right I need to listen to your chest for a minute Poppet," Dave spoke standing and running to his room.

We sat quietly as we waited for Dave, me trying to get a hold of my emotions, as Connor sat beside me, rubbing calming circles on my back.

"I  don't like this," I mumbled leaning into Shawn's side so that my face was in his neck, my voice muffled.

"You're doing great though Princess."

"But what if it's something bad?" I whispered, looking up at my brother.

"Aimee, I can't promise you anything right now, but I do know that you have four people here with you that are going to look after you. Right now, your only job is to let us do our jobs okay?" he smiled pulling me into him more tightly.

"You alright Princess?" Dave asked kneeling down beside the couch.

"No," I whispered the tears coming back as he went to place the stethoscope to my chest.

He sighed before dropping his arms and looking at me. "What are you scared of Sweetheart?" He didn't look angry, merely concerned so I told the truth.

"I don't like hospitals, or doctors," I admitted feeling stupid.

"Look Princess, I know you haven't had the best experiences with them in the past, but right now we really need to figure out what's going on.Try to remember that it's just me okay, just D, one of you're annoying big brothers. Don't think of it negatively, just think of it as we're trying to make you feel better," he suggested.

"Can you explain everything?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit.

"Of course,everything will be at your pace, okay?"

I nodded, showing him that I understood. " Is it okay, if I lift this up, so I can listen to your heart and lungs?" he asked tugging at my sweater lightly. I nodded again, holding Shawn's hand just a little bit more tightly.

"Just think, you're really quite lucky, it's not everyday that you get the Head of the Emergency Department doing a personal consult for you," Shawn said.

"That is true." I smiled despite everything.

"I know I'm the best," Dave laughed, as he stood up to listen to my lungs.  "Deep breath in for me." I did as asked, waiting impatiently for it all to be over.

"There's definitely some crackling, especially on the left side of the lungs, and I'd like to double check, but it sounds to me like there's some inflammation around the heart," he spoke, allowing me to lean back.

"What, what does that mean? " I asked, my heart rate spiking again.

"If I'm right it means that the virus has effected the layers of your heart. Basically the tissue has gotten inflammed and is rubbing together. That's what is causing the pain."

"Is it dangerous?" I panicked feeling the blood drop from my face.

Connor looked at me before answering carefully. "It can be, but chances are that it's viral Pericarditis,  so it should resolve within a few days with minimal intervention." he explained gently.

"Per, whaty-what?" I asked, feeling more confused than ever.

"Pericarditis,  it's the medical name, " Brian explained, all of them them laughing at my sheer confusion.

"So what now?"

"Well as Calum said we need to check- get some x- rays to confirm, and while we're there we'll investigate everything else that's going on.  It's almost certain you've got the flu, and that's what has caused it, so we   need to get that sorted for everything else to get better," Shawn explained.

I groaned, letting my head drop into his lap,  unfortunately this created the urge to cough, and with every cough that I let out, the burning,  stabbing pain only intensified.

"We really need to get you to the hospital," Shawn urged seeing my discomfort, before bending down and picking me up, cradling me in his arms.

The other dashing upstairs to get into clothes other than pyjamas, and grab their badges. None of them seemed to care that they weren't in scrubs, and when I asked Shawn if it mattered he responded with "As long as we have our badges with us,  it's okay. It's not mandatory to wear uniforms."

Once they were ready, they bundled me up in blankets, Shawn insisting that they protect me from the cold winter air, even for the short walk from the house to the car. I tried to be helpful, and support some of my weight as Shawn carried me to the vehicle, but I just didn't have any energy,  and every time I moved, it hurt. Eventually I gave up, having tried to shuffle into my seat, twisting the wrong way and sending a shot of pain straight through my chest.

"Just let us do the work," Dave stopped me as I tried again,holding my arms, and bringing me to a holt, and so from that point on I was something of a jelly fish. Except for the shaking, I could barely stay still the whole drive, my legs trembling of their own accord, no matter how hard I tried to stop them.

"You'll be alright, " Connor commented,  giving me a much needed hug as he helped me out of the car 20 minutes later.

By now I was feeling straight up petrified, and the worst part about it was, all four of the guys knew it. And there was absolutely nothing I could do.

"Come on," Shawn whispered, leading me slowly towards the hospital entrance.

Inside, they led me straight past the admissions desk, briefly filling one of the nurses in as we made our way into the room, Shawn helping me gently onto the single bed.

"Not anyone I don't know," I begged, holding onto Shawn, as the others moved around the room,  collecting things and setting up equipment. I tried not to pay attention as I could already feel the anxious knots forming.

"You know we're not meant to be treating you Princess, at least not here, we're family," he responded, kissing my hand, while grabbing a gown from a draw and passing it to me, turning around so I could get changed,the others not paying attention.

"Actually Shawn," Dave spoke once I was dressed in the hideous cloth, "The pit is in overdrive, I had five new admissions just in the last half hour of my shift, and the other doctors are overloaded, I really don't think anyone will mind, and if they do they can take it up with me as the Head of the Department. She needs to be seen to, especially if our suspicions are right, " Dave interrupted, patting my arm gently.

"Aimee?" Brian called, getting my attention. "We'll take this really slowly hon, but we need to hook you up to a couple of things, okay?" I nodded, managing a smile as they went about starting to attach everything.  A blood pressure and heart rate monitor, which I knew, a mask,  which Shawn was quick to explain that I needed as I tried to remove it. "Leave it there baby, you could really do with the extra oxygen at the moment. You're heart is racing, and your blood pressure is also a little higher than it should be. Heart rate 120, BP 130/90," he called to the others as he watched the monitors that were now displaying my vitals. 

"That's a little higher than it should be Aimee, just try to relax, I know it's scary, and I know that all the lights, and the noises won't be helping,  but I promise you, you're in the best place right now, " Connor promised, coming over, and warming his stethoscope up in his hands before placing it against my chest.

The machines attached to me started beeping, as my heart rate picked up again, only making me feel more anxious and agitated.The guys seemed unfazed though, Brian quickly shutting them off with no trouble. " It's just an alert to tell us that you're vitals are higher than they should be," he explained when he noticed me watching his every move.

"Aimee?" Connor called, resting his hand under my chin, and turning my head gently so that my focus was on him again. "Ignore all that sweetheart,the guys will sort that out okay, all I need you to do is focus on Luke and I okay?" he smiled when I nodded, before helping me to sit up. "Breathe in for me Aimee, and out, and again," he spoke as I took shaky breathes, holding Shawn's hand in a death grip.

"There's definitely some wheezing there.  I'd like to get a chest x-ray, and start you on fluids," he told me as he moved the stethoscope away, and allowed me to lay back again. "I'll order the x- ray now, you should be able to have it done in the next half an hour," he added as he went to the computer in the corner of the room, and pressed a few buttons.  "Done, they'll page us when they're ready for you," he smiled.

"Right, is it okay if I have your left hand Princess?" Dave asked stepping up to the side of the bed. I only realised what he was dining when I  saw the tray that he had placed down next to my side.

"No," I cried, panicked, realising that it was a needle, and other equipment, necessary for an I.V. "Can't you just give me something to make me better?" I asked desperately wanting to avoid an needles at all costs.

He sighed, taking in my stressed appearance." Three days ago an anti- viral may have worked, but somebody decided to be a difficult patient," Shawn looked at me pointedly as we all laughed."but now," he continued "not so much. Even with the anti-viral your body would have struggled.  So now that the virus has taken hold your body really needs the extra help. Fluids included, " he explained, as Dave picked up the wipe from the metal bowl, wiping my hand down. I couldn't help the shudder that ran through my body, I had always hated the smell of hospital disinfect, and the sterilization wipes were no better.

"Sorry, he murdered as he finished, and chucked the wipe into the bin next to the bed. " Ready?" he asked, looking to me as he positioned my hand and opened the packet housing the needle.

" Do I really have to?" I asked, looking up at my brother, hoping he would help me out. Instead, he rubbed my back before agreeing with Dave.

"Sweetheart, you're in pain baby, this will help with it okay. It'll give you some relief,listen to me. Take a breath, listen to my voice.  'll sit up here and hold you. It'll be over in a second and then that's the worst over. Okay. Dave's a pro," he insisted,  gesturing for me to move over so he could hop up onto the bed. He smiled encouraging allowing me to snuggle in.

"Don't cry Princess, " Dave murmured,wiping softly at my face with a tissue to dry the tears that were now falling. "On three, " he warned, causing me to bury my head in Shawn's neck. "One, two, three," I felt the pinch, of it breaking my skin, but it was nowhere near what I had been expecting, and I found myself looking up in surprise.

"Not so bad right," Shawn laughed.

"The expectations are always worse than the reality," Dave added, as he attached the tubing,  and removed the tray from the bed. "You're all set little one, " he told me as he finished hookingme up to the fluids, and pain relief, before kissing my head.

For the next half an hour we sat in relative silence,  all exhausted given that it was still so early. Finally Connor got the call to say that they were ready for me at radiology, Dave offered to take me so the others could get food, and Shawn could sort my admission papers. At first I wasn't too happy at the idea, but when Dave promised that he wouldn't leave my side I relaxed, and let him transfer me to a wheel chair, leading me down the maze of corridors.

"D," I asked as we came to a stop outside a lift.

"Yes? " he asked, bending down so that he could hear me more easily.

"Why do Cheetahs have spots?"

He didn't answer me for a minute, but then he started laughing, "Oh my goodness, I think the pain relief is starting to take effect."

" I feel fine now." I shrugged as the doors opened and he wheeled me in, still chuckling.

"I bet you do Princess, I bet you do."

The x- rays were quick and easy, only taking about ten minutes, after which Dave took me straight back up to the room.

"Someone's pain meds have taken affect!" he announced as he stopped just inside the door, and helped me to my bed.

Brian looked up from where he was sitting on the small chair in the corner doing paperwork and smiled. " I can see that, her eyes are huge, how much did you give her?" he laughed, standing up,  and coming over to the side of the bed.

"What do you mean? " I asked as Brian pulled a light from his pocket.

"You're pupils, they're extremely dilated. "

"What are you doing?" Shawn asked as he and Connor walked in.

"She's high on pain meds," Dave explained with a chuckle. "We may as well do the exam now, while you're not in too much discomfort."

"Okay," Weirdly I didn't feel as nervous as I did before.

"Wow, those meds got you good baby, this is the most relaxed you've been in a medical setting,  ever!" Shawn laughed taking my hand as he stopped next to me. " I didn't know pain meds effected you like this."

"Alright " Dave tapped my leg bringing my attention back.  "I just want to check your heart and lungs first little lady, can you lean forward?" I nodded allowing him to do what he had to do. 

"There is some slight wheezing,  but other than that and the inflammation everything sounds perfect. " he smiled. "Your heart rate has come down too," he noted looking to the monitor.  "That's good! So what else besides your fever, and the chest pain are you feeling?"

"What?"

"What other symptoms do you have? " Connor clarified, standing next to Dave.

"Cough, runny nose, sore throat, chills, head aches, fatigue." I listed, laughing slightly when the guys mouths dropped a bit in shock.

"Why didn't you just let us help you?" Shawn asked, clearly exasperated.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I guess, I'd rather just deal with it on my own. Or that's what I did think until it started hurting," I whined,  "It feels like someone's stabbing me!"

"Let me have a look at your ears, nose and throat okay Princess," Dave spoke, ignoring the last bit of what I said. I was glad though because I just wanted to feel better. And the sooner he figured out what was wrong, the sooner he could make that happen.

"Well it's official Princess, you've got yourself a nasty case of the flu," he announced with what I thought was a rather unnecessary smile as he finished looking at my throat. "It's one of the worst ones I've seen in a while, I don't know how you're breathing through your nose, at all, or eating for that matter. Your throat is red."

"Yeah well, I'm not feeling that great right now,  trust me," I grumbled. "I just wish my chest would stop hurting.  "It stopped, and then it started again. "

"Radiology just sent through your scans, it's definitely pericarditis," Brian replied from the corner, causing me to groan.

"This sucks!" I whined, flopping back against the bed, "and it hurts."

"I know baby," Shawn spoke, clearly sympathetic.

"I'll put some more pain meds in your I.V okay,  it should help,  mbut really all we can do is relieve the pain, and keep you on bed rest until the virus runs it's course," he spoke gently as he readjusted the blankets for me, and put some more stuff in my I.V. "That should take too long to work. "

"Hop back in with me, I'm cold," I whined, pulling his arm so that he moved closer to the bed. I felt like all I was doing was whining,  but I just felt crappy.

"That'll be the fever, " Brian nodded. "You've had stuff for it though, so we just need to let it do it's thing. Provided it doesn't get too high, it actually helps your body get rid of the virus. "

"The beds barely big enough for one," Shawn laughed, still focused on me.

"I don't care," I whined continuing to pull at his arm.

"Fine,"  he sighed, hoping in next to me, and allowing me to curl up once more.

"So what have you learned from this whole thing?"  Shawn asked smirking from beside me as I struggled to keep my eyes open half an hour later.

I glared at him, causing all of them to laugh, "Go on, what have you learned?" he asked tickling my side.

" I don't know if I can say it, it hurts too much," I laughed, going along with the joke. He pouted.

"Hey no fair!" I argued, he knew that I couldn't resist it when he pouted, it had been that way since we were kids. "Fine, I should have listened to you, cause you know best," I grumbled, holding my chest as if I was wounded.

"Was that really so hard?" Connor laughed watching from where he was packing up excess wiring,  placing them back into their relevant draws.

"Yes, it was incredibly painful," I sassed back.

"Truth hurts princess!" Shawn laughed, pulling me into a hug.

"That it does," I agreed, resting my head on his shoulder again  and closing my eyes. Never again would I be so stubborn. But there was no need for them to know that, not yet anyway.

[hydrangeahug]

[ Coffee and Wine ]

Lucifer x Simeon ☆ 2k words ☆ Multi Chapter ☆ Angst with a happy ending ☆ Chapter 2 out of ?

☆ CWs: mild description of wounds

☆ Summary: Simeon finds himself in a strange room with voices outside having a conversation that he unfortunately can't quite make out.

☆ Ao3 Link:

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"Now the most important question is, what will we do with him after he wakes up?"

"He could stay at the Castle until me and Lord Diavolo have figured something better out. It should be fine if he used one of the guest bedrooms for a couple of days but if I could recommend for him to perhaps stay at the…."

Simeon felt like he was dreaming. He could hear voices outside of the room that he had found himself in after waking up but he was too dizzy and exhausted to try to stand up so he could figure out where exactly he was. All he could say with certainty was that whoever had brought him into this room had also bandaged the wounds on his back. He could still feel the painful burning sensation, especially due to laying on the wounds, but the soft feeling of the mattress was much better than the hard concrete he was on… a few hours ago? How much time had passed since then?

Simeon tried moving his head sideways to get a better grasp of where he was, still afraid of falling apart with just a single wrong move but the curiosity and fear of the unknown that was building up inside of him overshadowed the fear of his body refusing cooperation.

He was in a room dimly lit by the slightly ajar door on the other side. Simeon could vaguely make out that the walls inside seemed to be purple with the borders being a nice golden to rose golden color with a pattern decorating them. It was too dark to make out what the furniture looked like but it seemed to be a pretty small bedroom from what Simeon was able to make out. Right in reach was a bedside table with a small lamp and a full glass of water. The room gave off a familiar feeling and the fear inside Simeon's stomach was slowly fading away, now exhaustion once again clouded his mind until he could barely keep his eyes open again.

The door opened but Simeon had already fallen back to sleep before he could see who was entering the room.

___

A short while ago Lucifer had found Simeon who was just a few moments from bleeding out, he had tended his wounds as much as he could with the scarf he had been wearing and then made his way to the Demon Lord's Castle as quickly as he could to have Barbatos look over his wounds.

The walk there wasn't long, the Castle was just a few minutes from the Colosseum yet somehow the walk had felt like it took hours. Lucifer kept checking for Simeon's pulse which was a surprising lot harder with him carrying Simeon in his arms but he also did not want to keep taking breaks as it could take valuable minutes off his life.

Knock knock.

Oh how he hoped that Barbatos or Diavolo were awake, or anyone else at the Castle. He wasn't sure if he could make it back to the House of Lamentation before anything bad happened.

"Wel- Lucifer? What brings you here at this hour? Wait why are you carrying-" Barbatos opened the door after just a few short moments, his face going from his usual facade to confusion to shock, it was quite unusual for someone like Barbatos who had usually kept his facade up pretty well.

"I apologise for the intrusion at such an hour but please let us in, Simeon is bleeding, I found him at the Colosseum and I'm not sure how much longer he'll be holding on." Lucifer interrupted him, unwilling to have a long chit chat as to why he was at the Demon Lord's Castle with a bleeding Simeon in his arms, they could have that conversation after Lucifer was sure that Simeon wasn't in any life threatening danger anymore.

Barbatos stepped away from the door, "But of course, please come in." and with a quick hand motion led Lucifer towards a room, once they stepped inside and turned the lights on Lucifer recognised the room as one of the Castle's guest bedrooms.

"Please lay him down onto the bed, I will be back as soon as I can but I will have to get a few things and let the Young Master know of your visit." And with that Barbatos had made his way outside of the bedroom.

"Thank you Barbatos." Barbatos turned around in front of the door and gave a quick nod before making his way outside to look for what Lucifer guessed to be bandages and medicine.

Lucifer gently put down Simeon onto the sheets, a slight hiss coming from the unconscious man as his back, and his wounds, hit the duvet.

"I'm sorry, the pain will be better soon." Lucifer said with a voice so quiet that he was surprised if Simeon would have heard it. He once again checked Simeon's pulse, it was slow and very faint.

Lucifer took one of the chairs that was in the room neatly placed at a breakfast table to sit down next to Simeon's bed. Over the minutes that passed during the wait Lucifer had checked Simeon's puls so many times that he wasn't sure what a normal pulse would feel like, and his worry only grew with every tick of the clock.

There was a knock on the door before it opened to show Barbatos' silhouette, "I'm back with the Young Lord. I have gathered a few medical supplies and I would prefer if you could leave the room to talk about the circumstances with him while I work."

Barbatos was holding a box of medical supplies in his right hand and bandages and a glass of water in the left. He looked a lot more unkempt than he usually would so Lucifer had assumed that finding Lord Diavolo in a Castle of this size wasn't as easy as hoped, he was slightly out of breath and it seemed like he had been running for quite a while.

"Yes, of course. Thank you for your hard work, Barbatos." Lucifer finished his sentence and stood up to walk past Barbatos who was now holding the door open for him with his back. Barbatos gave a hum of confirmation and went inside once Lucifer was outside of the room.

Outside was Lord Diavolo, he had a look of confusion with a hint of fear in his eyes. It seemed like even he couldn't figure out what could have happened, but the wounds on Simeon showed more than any words could tell.

"I deeply apologise for the intrusion at such an hour but I had no other place to go that wouldn't have potentially risked his life." Lucifer started with an apology and a slight bow, if he would have to deal with the consequences later then he wouldn't mind, anything as long as he could be sure Simeon was safe.

Diavolo put a reassuring hand onto Lucifer's shoulder and spoke, "Please don't worry so much about something like that, Lucifer. You know I appreciate any visit from you. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you perhaps tell me what happened that put Simeon into such a condition?"

If you hadn't talked to Diavolo much you wouldn't notice it but to Lucifer, who had talked to him almost every day since he ended up in the Devildom, the slightly shaky voice in Diavolo's sentences showed that even he was worried. He wasn't one to hide his worry around Barbatos or Lucifer usually but right now he wanted to be there for Lucifer who was seemingly not doing as well of a job at hiding just how shaken he was based on that and the way Diavolo was looking at him.

"I was on a walk to the Colosseum as I could smell blood coming from the inside, I at first thought it was simply some low ranked demons getting into a fight but the blood smelled too much like angel blood for me to ignore it. I went inside and found Simeon in the middle, his figure in a position that looked like he was praying. The moment I stepped closer his body fell over and I could see the wounds on his back. I checked for any silhouette in my eyesight in the Colosseum that might have been the attacker or had possibly seen what happened but it was empty apart from me and him. Afterwards I quickly made my way towards Simeon to tend his wounds as much as I could before I made my way here." Lucifer quickly explained before looking towards the door with Simeon and Barbatos on the inside. He was taking quite long, Lucifer thought.

"Simeon is quite strong, I doubt a lower ranked demon could have injured him." Diavolo said and brought Lucifer's attention back towards him.

"Yes, that was what I thought too. And his wounds they…"

The door behind Lucifer opened and Barbatos stepped outside. "He should be stable now. His wounds are quite deep, like his flesh was forcefully ripped out. A normal demon wouldn't have the strength to cause such a deep wound to an angel, especially not of his status."

He was right, the way Simeons clothes were ripped apart he could see that the wounds were deep enough to reveal part of Simeon's spine.

"And if I might add," Barbatos spoke up again, now standing next to Diavolo, "from what I could see while bandaging him, it seems that all connections to his wings have been ripped out alongside his flesh, which leads me to believe that it wasn't his flesh that was ripped out, but his wings."

Lucifer knew exactly what that meant, he had gone through the exact same thing once, after all. But why? What could Simeon have done that would lead to this…? His devotion was strong enough for Simeon to betray him and his brothers once, what could he have possibly done in order for them to not only throw him out, but also to rip out his wings in such a gruesome manner?

"Well we will find out what happened once Simeon wakes up, won't we?" Lucifer said in hopes of them letting go of the topic before Simeon could confirm anything. "Now the most important question is, what will we do with him after he wakes up?"

"He could stay at the Castle until me and Lord Diavolo have figured something better out. It should be fine if he used one of the guest bedrooms for a couple of days but if I could recommend for him to perhaps stay at the House of Lamentation? It would probably be better for him to stay with people he knows well. I'd assume he won't be leaving soon, after all."

So Barbatos knew. It wasn't surprising that he knew, he did care for Lucifer and his brothers when they fell too, so he must know what the wounds would look like. What was surprising was that he hadn't mentioned anything to Diavolo yet. His implication seemed to have been a warning towards Lucifer, perhaps because Barbatos knew that he knew as well, a warning for keeping it to himself. But Lucifer fell silent, he wanted to hear it from Simeon first, he didn't want to believe that he truly fell, there must be some other explanation.

"I'll be going back inside if that would be alright." Lucifer said, he wanted to see if Simeon was awake, if he needed anything, and he wanted to leave this heavy air that was surrounding him.

Barbatos opened his mouth to speak but Diavolo was quicker. "Of course Lucifer. Please let us know if he wakes up, we will be in the living room if you need us."

And with that, Lucifer opened the door to go back inside. It seemed like Simeon was still sleeping peacefully.