#it’s just that i haven’t fully cried over her in a while and i’m fooling myself

[thebigqueer]

i’m in such a false state of comfort rn cuz i don’t even feel like being sad about her rn but i know the SECOND i see even a glimpse of her i’m going to be set back by weeks.

[kung-laos-hat]

Kiss Me

Kung Lao x Fem!Reader

AN: Kung Lao, my beloved. Wrote this while listening to Kiss Me More by Doja Cat ft. SZA, banger song. Not proof read yet‼️

Summary: Who doesn’t like when a little friendly rivalry turns into something more?

“You ready to meet your match this time?” Kung Lao chuckled, adjusting his footing and placing a hand on the tip of his hat.

“Course’ I am Lao,” (Y/n) huffed, getting into position, “When they get here make sure to let me know, yeah?”

This had become a daily occurrence. After dinner time, when lessons and training were done for the evening, the three of them would return to the court and cash in on a little sparring. It was their odd way of spending time together outside of missions, plus with the grand tournament coming up, they could use the extra practice.

Usually they had a rotation system that went Liu versus (Y/n), then (Y/n) versus Lao, then Liu versus Lao. They would rest a little after each match, then continue on per usual. However today’s session was going a little different.

Yesterday, (Y/n) had won against Lao and was so proud of her achievement she couldn’t help but rub it in, and Lao, being the prideful young man he was, demanded a rematch. He claimed the mission he’d gone on earlier that day had screwed him over physically. (Y/n) agreed to it, and now here they were.

“3...2...1... fight!” Liu Kang called out from the top on the stairs leading into the main hallway. As the pair lunged at each other, causing reddish brown puffs of dirt to fly off of the ground, he calmly sat and observed.

Minutes passed, and neither party seemed to have even made a scratch on the other. However, an impressive amount of blocking was being done by Kung Lao currently, so Liu assumed the victory would go to (Y/n). The girl had a giddy smile plastered across her face, and it seemed like she, too, expected the victory to be hers.

Liu turned to the side and reached for his water, but noticed he hadn’t brought any with him. He sighed and stood up.

“I’m going to fetch some water from the kitchen. Continue on, but please don’t wreck anything or kill each other. Master will have a fit and then I’ll receive part of the blame for not monitoring you two properly.” Liu said.

“Expect to come back to my—,” (Y/n) began before dodging a kick, “Another one of my victories!”

“Fat chance!”

Previous to all of this, the two friends already had some sort of tension between them. It started off as a friendly rivalry, competing for trifling things such as the last egg roll or using the bathroom first in the morning. But as the years passed, the competitons began to become more... personal. And so did the bickering. Somehow (Y/n) and Lao shifted from “if you don’t shut up I’m gonna kick your ass” to “if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna make you.”

Nevertheless, the three of them quite enjoyed their dynamic (despite Liu Kang shooting knowing looks at the two individually).

Now (Y/n) had Kung Lao backed into a corner with her (weapon/power) held against his neck. Lao strained his neck upwards, his left arm holding his hat behind his back.

“That was the saddest block I’ve seen all day, Lao. Do you yield yet?” (Y/n) smirked triumphantly.

He glanced down at her and huffed. “Watch your tongue, (Y/n).”

He swiftly slid his foot under her, knocking her off her feet, and brought his hat back up to his head before disappearing into the ground. He reappeared behind her and attempted to pin her to the ground, but she jumped up and tackled the boy, landing with her legs straddling Lao’s right one and her hand on his chest.

“You’re so predictable these days,” (Y/n) laughed.

Lao propped himself up on his elbows, “You’re only saying that because you’ve gotten used to my moves.”

“Maybe you should take some time away from me,” (Y/n) jeered, “Y’know, and learn some better ones.”

Lao furrowed his eyebrows, “God, if you don’t stop flapping your mouth—,”

“You’re trapped under me, what are you gonna do? Kiss me?” She laughed.

Lao brought his leg up and forcefully kicked her off, sending her tumbling across the court. (Y/n) jumped onto her feet, narrowly avoiding hitting the wall.

“If you keep that up I just might.” Lao teased.

“You wouldn’t have the nerve,” (Y/n) lunged at him again.

Lao used his hat to block her attack and landed a solid kick to her side. “Is that a challenge?”

God, every word that came out of the girl’s mouth was beginning to get him fired up. He could feel his chest begin to tingle with a mix of excitement and anxiety. What if (Y/n) genuinely wanted to kiss him? If he tried, would she pull away? Kung Lao had always been the bolder of the two, but still.

Kung Lao charged at her and grabbing her hands, holding them behind her back with one hand before she could fully regain her footing. With his other hand he grasped the collar of her top and pulling her closer to his body. (Y/n) was paralyzed by this sudden action and her breath hitched. She looked up at Lao with uncertainty, the color of her cheeks turning redder than the fabric Liu Kang tied around his head.

Lao’s hand trailed up to her face, holding the side of her jaw with his pointer and middle finger while his thumb traced circles over her lower lip. Lao was looking directly into her eyes now.

“Just say the word and I will, (Y/n).” His tone was quieter and more serious than ever before.

(Y/n)’s mouth quivered. It felt like her brain had entirely blanked and she couldn’t find anything clever to respond with.

“I— I... I yield!” She cried, quickly pulling away in embarrassment.

(Y/n) ran up the stairs just as Liu Kang returned. She nodded to him in acknowledgment, but continued to rush off to her room.

Liu stopped and glanced from her retreating figure to his cousin who stood along in the court.

“So... who won?” He cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Kung Lao buried his face in his hands.

———

The next couple of days seemed incredibly off to everyone. (Y/n) went out of her way to avoid interacting with Kung Lao, and vice versa. Lao’s thoughts were just too jumbled for him to approach her, no matter how much he wanted a confirmation on whether she felt the same or not, and (Y/n) was having a difficult time making sense of Lao’s actions.

What would happen if they did like each other? Although at this point, neither of them were sure if “like” was the correct term to use. (Y/n) was certain up until then that Kung Lao had meant everything was a joke and simply took this one a little too far. The insults, the flirting, all of it had been a joke, right? That was their silent agreement. Lao would never do anything with the intention of... well... getting to (Y/n), per say. Their intentions with eachother had always been purely platonic.

But was that really the truth in (Y/n)’s case? Or had she been ignorant to her own feelings towards the boy all along? Is that why she couldn’t stand to look him in the eye now? What if she really was in—

“(Y/n)! Master wants me to accompany him somewhere, so I can’t make it tonight.” Liu called out as he jogged to catch up with the girl.

She blinked, “Oh, it’s alright Liu, we can reschedule for another night then.”

He stretched his arms over his head. “Why don’t you use the time to catch up with Kung Lao? It seems like you two hardly got to spend time together this week.”

(Y/n) blushed and began to shift her feet uncomformably, “Lao and I— we’re- I haven’t...” She sighed, “I’m not exactly in the mood to talk to him any time soon.”

Liu frowned, “It isn’t my place to speak in the matter, and I’m not sure what went down between you two, but If Lao said something I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”

The girl groaned and leaned her head back. “That’s what I’m afraid of...” She mumbled.

Liu placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair, then placed both of his hands on her shoulders.

“You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you two will be back on track eventually. Remember: a little communication goes a long way.”

She nodded, “You’re right, I know. I’ll try to sort it out.”

___

Now, Kung Lao was completely crumbling over why (Y/n) had pushed him away. He believed that (Y/n) felt something for him, he was sure of it, and he’d been searching for an opportunity to pursue her for months. So when she jokingly asked if he would kiss her, how could he have resisted?

It was an impulsive decision, he admitted, but he was so sure she felt the same that he thought it didn’t matter. Maybe he should have been more forward and confessed his feelings for her in a different setting.

Buuuuut it was too late now. He blew it. And now she was avoiding him. He was a fool to assume such things about her.

Lao signed and threw himself done on his bed, sprawling his arms and legs out dramatically.

“Cousin? I’m heading out soon, I came to say goodbye—,” Liu’s voice faltered when he saw the state of his friend. He stifled a laugh. “Y’know, if you if this is effecting you so badly, why not just apologize and talk to her?”

Lao’s head shot up in alarm. “Oh no, how much did she tell you!?”

Liu laughed, “Little to nothing, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed the strange energy between you two lately.”

Lao groaned and sat up.

“Heed my advice, and stop moping around, Lao.” Liu patted the other young man’s shoulder before setting off to find their master.

___

A few hours passed and Kung Lao finally felt like he had the right words to explain how he felt to (Y/n). Yes, he’d spent hours cooped up in his room, scribbling his thoughts down on paper until he ultimately decided it was best to be direct. The poor girl was probably confused enough as it was.

It was settled then. He’d talk to her tomorrow after training and lessons, but right now it was probably best to focus on dinner.

He silently walked down the main hall and towards the kitchen. He was sheet he staff had already cleaned up dinner, and seeing as he wasn’t present to eat with the others, it was likely they didn’t bother to prepare him a plate.

Lao opened the door but froze in his tracks at the sight of (Y/n) standing in front of the counter, her shirt stained with the remnants of assorted ingredients. She staggered back at the sight of him in the door way. Lao’s eyes strayed to a small tray of egg rolls and a few other dishes.

“Kung Lao,” She breathed out.

He cleared his throat. “That seems a little excessive for a late night snack.”

“Oh this—,” (Y/n) glanced to the tray and back at him, “You weren’t at dinner, and I didn’t expect you to come to the kitchen... it was supposed to be a secret.”

“I see.” Kung Lao was silent for a moment. “Oh. OH— this is,” He gestured to the tray awkwardly, “for me...”

(Y/n) pursed her lips and nodded, glancing down at the floor. The two of them stood without a word for a moment, anxiety building up in their stomachs. Neither of them wanted to be the first to break the silence, and yet both of them had so much to say.

“I’m sorry.” (Y/n) mumbled at last. “I took our usual teasing too far last time, and I shouldn’t have avoided you—,”

“I wanted to kiss you.” Kung Lao blurted out. “I still do. And wanted you to want me to kiss you.”

“Kung Lao, the jokes we made were fun and all—,”

“Well, I’m not playing around anymore, (Y/n). This time it isn’t a joke.” The serious look he had on the other day had returned.

“So...,” (Y/n) began, barely a whisper, “what are you saying?”

Kung Lao exhaled heavily and furrowed his brows. “How can I be any more transparent right now!?” He growled, “I’m in love with you, (Y/n).”

It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of both of their chests in that moment.

(Y/n) smiled and wasted no time to wrap her arms around Kung Lao’s neck and press her lips against his. He kissed back without hesitation and wrapped his arms around her body shamelessly. Kung Lao deepened the kiss, and their lips moved together feverently, as if this was something they’d both been yearing for for a while.

When they finally separated, (Y/n) rested her head in the crook of Lao’s neck, sighing happily.

“You know what? I think I just might be in love with you too, Lao.”

[masterjedilenawrites]

hey, could you do a fic on how would the bad batch react to Omega's first period? idk if you've done it already, but i love your writing and you describe the characters really well!

I haven't actually written for Omega yet so I'm excited to dive into this one! Definitely love the single dad energy (x5... because in this house we pretend Crosshair was never left behind and it's the big happy family we all deserve)

Omega & The Bad Batch | 1.3k words

Omega closed her eyes in an effort to stop the wave of anxiety that rose in her chest. But when she reopened them, she was met with that scary red stain again.

She was so confused. She didn't remember getting hurt. She wasn't in any pain. Where was this blood coming from? And how was she going to get it to stop? She really didn't want to have to tell the team about this. They already worried about her over every little thing. If she could just figure out what was wrong first....

A sudden knock at the refresher door startled her. Her heart raced as she heard Hunter on the other side.

"Omega? You alright in there?"

She could hear the concern in his voice and it made her panic. She quickly flushed the toilet and fumbled with her clothes.

"Uh, yeah... yeah, I'm okay, Hunter... Everything's fine. Almost done!"

Hunter wasn't fooled. He rarely was, much to her annoyance.

"Omega," he said evenly, "if there's something wrong, you need to let me help you."

"Nothing's wrong!" she said quickly, starting to turn in circles, unsure what else to do. She should probably put something down there to stop the bleeding, right? Until she could figure out what else to do about it.

"You're hurt, I can tell..."

She was unrolling a wad of toilet paper and paused as she remembered the Sergeant's heightened senses. There would be no hiding this. But she would have to try anyway.

She unlatched the refresher door, letting it swoosh open to reveal Hunter's hardened gaze looking down at her. She quickly stepped out and started making her way around him toward her bunk, careful to keep the toilet paper out of his eyesight.

"I'm not hurt. See? Everything's fine. Just using the fresher like everyone does. No big deal."

Her scene with Hunter was starting to attract the attention of the others. Tech and Echo peered down the hall from their seats in the cockpit while Crosshair and Wrecker paused their daily weapons cleaning to watch.

"You're hiding... toilet paper," said Crosshair, perceptive as ever.

"And I know you're bleeding," said Hunter. "What did you do?"

Omega paused just below the ladder up to her little room. His comment made her snap. Why was he always assuming she was getting into trouble? It didn't matter that she'd been with them a few years now and had more than proven herself as an equal member of the squad. He was still suspicious and way too over-protective.

"I said I'm fine, Hunter!" she shouted. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

She climbed the ladder as forcefully as she could and threw the little curtain closed. She wasn't sure why she felt so angry, so emotional. It'd been like this for a few days now, where even the smallest things frustrated her, and she hated she couldn't control it. She didn't want any of them to think of her as a child anymore and these emotional outbursts certainly weren't helping. She clutched the toilet paper to her face and cried softly in it, forgetting about her little predicament for the moment.

On the other side of curtain, Hunter had moved to follow her up the ladder with an exasperated call of her name, but Tech stopped him.

"Hunter," he called from the cockpit.

"She's hurt, Tech," Hunter huffed over his shoulder, one hand on a ladder rung. He need only go up one step before reaching eye level with the curtain.

"Yeah," agreed Wrecker, ready to follow after her as well. "We need to help her."

Tech shook his head. "The best way to help her in this case is to understand her."

Hunter and Wrecker paused in their journey to look back at their brother, holding up a holopad in his usual signal of having more information than them. They shared a look before reluctantly changing course to see what Tech had to say. Even Echo and Crosshair were leaning forward in curiosity.

"I started researching after Omega mentioned having pains in her abdomen yesterday. Coupled with her more sensitive emotions lately and the odd blemishes that have appeared on her face, I wondered if it wasn't all connected somehow."

Tech looked between all of them, dragging the explanation out as he always did, delighting in being the one to teach them something. Usually Hunter could ignore his brother's theatrics, but he was already on edge knowing Omega was hurt. He couldn't be so patient now.

"And?" he prompted with an annoyed furrow to his brow.

"There are a few explanations, but your mention of bleeding has confirmed my primary suspicion. Omega has started what is known as her menses."

The others only blinked in response. Tech held back a self-important smirk and continued to explain.

"You are all familiar with the concept of puberty, yes?"

They nodded slowly. Even with their accelerated growth, the clones had still experienced a degree of it.

"Well, with girls, it is accompanied by the start of their menstrual cycle, which is a process by which the body naturally discards the inner lining of the uterus, roughly every twenty-eight rotations. It is ultimately a sign that pregnancy has not occurred."

The air in the small space of the ship immediately became anxious as the others fully processed Tech's words.

"Oh."

"Uh...."

"Hmm."

"Oh my..."

Tech pushed his glassed up matter-of-factly, the only one unbothered by such things. "It's a natural bodily process for most female humans. And it does lead to the other symptoms we've been noticing from Omega. The cramps, the pimples, etc. All a normal part of the process."

"Is that true?"

It was Omega's voice that reached them, and they all turned to see her timidly standing nearby. It was clear she had overheard enough of Tech's lecture so that it wouldn't have to be repeated.

"It really is normal?"

"You know if Tech says so, then it must be true," said Echo with a friendly smile, the first to recover from the awkwardness, mostly to throw in a little jab at Tech.

Hunter found himself feeling guilty. Looking at how shy and scared Omega stood before them, he knew she was going to need their full support in figuring out this strange new part of herself.

"And it's nothing to be worried about," he affirmed, instinctually bending lower to face her, even though she was getting tall enough now where he didn't really need to do that. "I'm sorry I upset you earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I know," she said, wiping at her eyes. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"So what do we do about it?" asked Wrecker. "She's just going to be bleeding forever?"

"Of course not," said Tech, his voice edged with annoyance. "Didn't you listen? It's a cycle. It'll run its course over the next several days, and then she'll be fine for about another month. It varies from person to person... In fact... You should probably have a calendar to track it, Omega."

While Tech got up to dig around in a chest of old holopads, Echo leaned over to look at the scans on the ship.

"There's an outpost only one short jump away, near a human-inhabited planet. Surely there will be some special supplies for this sort of thing there."

"And if you still need to blow off steam," said Crosshair, "we can test out that new blaster I got on those old clanker heads."

"Okay," said Omega, perking up with every offer of help from the boys. "I'm also kind of hungry..."

"I got you covered there, kid," winked Wrecker.

Hunter placed his hand on her shoulder. "We've all got you, Omega. We'll figure this out together."

She started tearing up again, only this time it was in relief. What had started as something scary and mysterious and embarrassing, had now turned into a rally of support and love from her team. Her family.

It also seemed like a great opportunity to be spoiled a little... She'd have to work on figuring that part out herself....

[cinnamonrusts]

i’ll see you in the village -- 3

parts: 1 2

Chris closes in on your location and he prays to see that you’re alive and well. However, you’re on the opposite side of the secluded village and come face to face with the big honcho herself, plus some of her troublesome “children”. (chris redfield x f!reader)

                                                    ✧.* ✧.* ✧.* ✧.*

Chris's heart pounded in his chest as the squad’s van got closer and closer to the blip on the laptop’s map. He hoped that you would be okay - maybe staying in a home or met a friendly local... Your smile was all he could picture when he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in to calm down. However, when he opened them, the van veered off away from the main road where the rinky-dink cottages were scattered about and headed into the woods. “Where are you going?” he asked as he leaned into the cab. Night Howl was behind the wheel, “Following the ping, sir.” Chris swallowed hard, if you were alone in these dark woods -- something could’ve went wrong.

The vehicle bounced around on the uneven ground and Chris held on to the back of the seat to keep himself upright. His eyes never moved from the windshield and his keen senses were on alert for any sign of you. Lobo spoke up just as the ping reached its loudest pitch, “Says we’re here.” Chris opened the door with one quick yank and he jumped out of the van. He pulled out his flashlight and his gun from his belt as he observed his surroundings. The area was as quiet as death and there were no signs that you even there. Chris walked around the area for quite sometime as his team watched him from within the vehicle, they exchanged brief words in regard to if they should help or stop him. But decided to let him do this unless he was met with danger.

His desperation reached an all time high and he started to shout your name into the dark. “[Y/N]!” Chris continued to walk and shout until his boot kicked something that was laying on the road. He kneeled down and shined his flashlight at the item that caught his attention. Chris picked it up and realized that the crumbled pile in his palm was once a cell phone. Technology seemed to stay at a standstill in this area and was mostly untouched by the outside world -- so why was there a cellphone here? The only explanation was that it was your phone. His tired faced drained itself of color and his heartbeat quickened to an unmeasurable rate. He was silent but his mind was loud. If anything were to happen to you, he would tear this entire place apart and tear through anyone just to get to you. His fist closed around the broken phone and crushed it more. As he came to a stand, he breathed out through his nostrils loudly and let the plastic crumble from his fingers.

Lobo stepped out from the van to approach Chris with concern, “Everything alright, Alpha?” Redfield’s eyes were fixated on the trees before him and he was silent - not even a twinge in his face, he was blank. “They took her,” he finally spoke after an awkward amount of silence. His head turned toward Lobo, “I’m gonna get her back.” Lobo nodded, “But Alpha, don’t forget about the main objective... with Winters.” Chris grit his teeth before he barked, “YOU DON’T THINK I KNOW THAT?!” He instantly felt regret and apologized for his outburst. His team was completely faithful to the man and followed him to the ends of the Earth. But, he was scared to lose anyone else... he’s lost too much already and if he lost you... he was unsure if he could handle that. Lobo patted his shoulder a couple times, “Don’t worry, Alpha. We got your back and we’ll find [Y/N].”

                                                    ✧.* ✧.* ✧.* ✧.*

The Duke listened to your story intently and when you finished, he erupted in laughter. Your face crinkled in surprise at his reaction, “Did I say something -- funny?” you ask, offended. The Duke continued to chuckle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “If you’re going to tell me a tale, my lady, at least make it believable.” You scoff and thought briefly about how good you thought your story was but -- it didn’t fool this large man that sat before you. “Now, why don’t we start again, American?” The jig was up and you might as well just tell the truth. “How could you tell?” you ask and he chuckled once more. “Gypsies haven’t been around this area for nearly fifty years! And also, you lack of an accent from the area you claim to be from... it is rather funny, if you ask me!”

Your ego felt somewhat hurt by this stranger but that was besides the point. If he could easily see through your ruse, then maybe so would Miranda... “So...” you start to say before the wagon got slammed into from the side. You tumble around inside the cart as it flipped several times before it landed upside down. The Duke had been separated from you as the back part of the wagon broke free from the front part he was in, and the horse carried him away to safety but left you behind

.

You groan loudly as you roll to your side and try to push yourself up but couldn’t because of an excruciating pain in your leg. It is hard to focus because of the trauma that your head had taken from the crash plus the trip down the hill earlier. Once your vision cleared, you could see a rather large piece of wood protruding from your upper thigh. “Shit!” you curse as your shaky hands hesitated to pull it out. But it was too painful to even touch and your training kicked in, if you took it out, you would more than likely bleed out due to where it was located and you were far from help.

Loud noises shuffled around from outside of the wagon and you began to panic. Your hands shuffled through the broken pieces of wood that were scattered around in an attempt to find your pistol. The curtain at the back of the wagon lifted slowly just as you found your weapon, and you proceeded to shoot a warning shot. The curtain dropped and it was silent for a moment but your aim was still up. Suddenly, a large, black root slinked up under the curtain and yanked you out from your cover. You screamed loudly and desperately tried to aim for something to shoot at but you found yourself being held upside down. Stupidly, you emptied your clip into the air as you hoped it would hit the root. 

✧.*

A woman stepped out from the shadows to slap your pistol out of your hand and you instantly recognized her face once she stepped into the moonlight. Her blonde hair and attractive features... they-they matched Mother Miranda! It was Miranda! Shit. Now you were deep in it... You followed the root that had a tight grip around your ankle up to the hem of her dress. It was apparent that she had abilities similar to that of the mold and BOWs, even better. “There was word of a rat in our nest,” she hissed, her voice feminine and powerful. Miranda’s stare was cold as she walked closer to you; her face closes in on yours and you could feel her warm breath on your sweat stained skin. “And the snakes don’t care much for rats. American agent rats to be exact.”

The root lifted you higher into the air and you were dangled above her head. Miranda looked up to you, “I think I will let the others help me decide what to do with you.” she smiled before the root slammed you down into the ground and your vision faded black.

Miranda lifted you from the ground and held your unconscious body in her arms. Black feathers spread from her back and wrapped around the two of you, then disappeared in a swirl of black.

✧.*

An unknown amount of time passed before you came to. The sound of a few people talking caused you to stir, their loud voices rang in your ear and irritated the horrible headache you had. “I say we strip her down, cover her in honey, and throw her to the rats! A rat for a rat!” a man’s voice boomed with excitement and it was the first sentence you could make out while coming to. “Let me have her! She’ll be turned into the finest of wine!” a woman’s voice that was not Miranda’s yelled over the man’s.

When your eyes opened fully, three faces turned toward you. “Well, well, good morning, sleepy head!” the male grinned and lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at you. A dark haired woman across from him stood from her chair and her insane height towered over you, “She looks healthy and plump enough to craft an excellent bottle.” The man stood from his chair and pushed her a bit, “You always want to turn the women into wine. Boring!” 

The two of them began to bicker back and forth for several minutes until one of Miranda’s roots grabbed hold of your throat and reeled you in. “You two can fight over the child’s father. She - she will be mine to toy with, I’ve made up my mind,” the leader smiled a menacing grin which caused your blood to run cold. Inside you hoped that Chris would punch  through the door and save you from your predicament, but that chance was slim to none. “Begone my children, I have work to do.” They obeyed her wishes and left.

  ✧.*

She wrapped her wings around you once again and kept you restrained while she forced you into her laboratory that was beneath the village’s grounds. “I could kill you but that would be a waste.” she spoke as she strapped you to a table in the middle of the room. You wiggled violently as you tried to free yourself from your imprisonment but cried in pain at the open wound in your leg. “A strong American agent like yourself could be an interesting addition to our family... think of it as an eye for an eye.” she walked away to a shelf and reached for a large glass jar which had a sort of creature inside. “You’ll be the first outsider to receive a Cadou implant. And I am oh so curious to see how you adapt...” She reached into the jar, pulled out the pulsating parasite, and slowly approached you. 

Screams escaped your mouth as you thrashed around in another attempt to break loose but your restraints were so tight that they dug into your flesh. Miranda pushed your head down with force and pressed her palm into your forehead. The “Cadou” writhed around and long tentacles sprouted from within its fleshy mass and grabbed onto either side of your chest . Your last breath was a shriek of terror as it attached itself to your body and burrowed into your torso.

[blogevaawrites]

BIG DEAL

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Warnings: smut, cheating, angst

Summary: After being away of you boyfriend for three weeks, you come to Chris´s house after he had thrown a party where you met a girl you haven’t see ever. The beginning of the relationship was unconventional so you couldn’t do anything else but suspect.

Part 1  Part 2

“It did nothing happen last night.” He said when he entered the bathroom, following me after I left the living room to take a shower, pick up my staff and go back to New York. I didn’t want to stay there; I didn’t want to be around him right then.

I wasn’t going to talk to him anymore; if there was a thing he hates the most it was the silence treatment.

“Don’t go, please” I could hear him breathing tired. “She thought it would be funny to give me her underwear” it was hilarious, I thought.

“We went out last night because we met up at the supermarket and we caught up over a few drinks, but it was nothing more”

He kept quiet for so long that I thought he wasn’t there anymore. When I got done with the shower I step out.

He was still there, resting his back against the closed door. I tried to look for a towel but I forgot to bring one when I came in. Fuck.

I covered myself with my arms instinctively which it causes him to chuckle. I rolled my eyes at him and tried to catch my chamise to put it back on.

“Don’t be shy, I could draw your body without looking at it.” he said smiling at me “You really are to me, right?” he kept talking, in a very sadly way.

I turned around, looking myself in the mirror, he stood behind me. I was about to slide the chamise back on my body lifting my arms up when I feel his hands on my hips.

He took the chamise from my arms and threw it to the other side of the room. I looked at him through the mirror, he moved my hair over my left shoulder and the water was dripping over my left breast.

I tried to ignore him and continued with my routine. I took my toothbrush ready to brush my teeth, but he took it off of my hands. He knew that if there´s something I couldn’t stand with it is was a nuisance.

I pushed him away from me to open the door and get out of it, but he was faster than me and closed the almost-opened-door again. He was doing this to make me talk to him again.

“We need to talk about this. You can´t just leave.” He said. I tried to look around the bathroom to find something to cover me up but my chamise was now on the floor under his feet. I didn’t want to give up, but I wasn’t comfortable with him when he was fully dressed, and I was completely naked.

“I did nothing wrong, so I won't let you go without talking about this” he warned me.

I wasn’t exactly doubting about what he had or hadn’t done last night. I was mad about him don’t telling who she was, he made me believe that he just met her. I was mad about the underwear “joke”. I was mad about him making me feel I was overreacting.

He waited me to say something, but I did not. Instead of answering him I tried to get into the shower again, but he blocked my way.

At that point, I was angry, so he was. I was about to open the door again, but he caught my arm before I could do it.

He cornered me against the sink. He was so much taller and stronger than me that it wasn’t difficult to him to turn me around and push me with his chest against the sink. I had to lift my arms to hold myself from bending over in front of him.

“Talk to me” he ordered me. I didn’t want to talk, but I did want him to love me. Rough.  

I rubbed my butt against to his dick noticing that he was more than ready for that.

He smiled at me, but he didn’t do anything else. I lifted my arms to his neck and arched my back so he could have a better view of my breast.

But he didn’t do anything. Again.

I turned around and tried to kiss him, but he moved his head away.

I tried to remove his t-shirt, but I didn’t have to, because he did by himself.

He smiled me again, we both knew what was about to happen.

I kissed his chest and I knelt in front of him wanting to taste him. I pushed his pants down along with his underwear. I wanted to take his hard dick in my mouth when he stepped back, moving away from me. Again.

He wanted me to talk, but I wasn’t going to give up.

I sat over the sink. One of us had to give up first. And it wasn’t going to be me.

I opened my legs slowly, showing him his weakness. I ran my hand over my breast, my stomach, and my wet folds.

He stood there, looking at my eyes in completely silence. If it wasn’t for his obvious erection, I would have believed I was fooling around.

“It won´t work, honey” he knew what I was doing and clearly it won´t be easy to make him give up.

I started to rub my clit a little be rude, but he didn’t move.

I inserted a finger in me, and I looked at him, but he didn’t move.

I inserted a second finger, in a last try, but it didn´t work, he didn’t move.

I was about to stopped when my mouth let go an unintentionally moan and it worked.

His breathing changed and his dick looked painfully hard. I smiled.

I started to move my fingers faster and moan louder. He stopped looking at my eyes, his eyes were at mouth and fingers. His hand stroked his male part slowly, holding himself while he walked to me. His lips were at my ear and his hand pin down my movements. “Say it” he whispered, “Say it and I would make you cum until you can´t walk”.

I just could whine, and he failed it.

His weakness wasn’t seeing me ready and wanting him, his weakness were my moans for him.

He moved my hand away and stuck his fingers into me, without any warning. He kept me in my spot holding me from the back of my neck while his fingers were ruining me.

“Your little pussy is always so tight, isn't it?” he wouldn’t stop talking “You´re drenching my fingers, baby” he movements went roughly “Let´s stretch you out.” I shut my eyes and clenched my fists

“Come for me, doll. Let you go in my hand” his mouth was on my mine and kissed me sloppily. I came in his fingers and cried out in his lips.

“That was so good” I babbled. I just could hear his laugh.

“Thank you” he said, I furrowed my brow and then I realized what he was talking about. I talked.

He helped me to go down from the sink and turned me around to look at me through the mirror. He put my hands up behind his neck and took my hips roughly making me arch my back.

I felt the head of his member against my folds when I stopped him. Images of him and Ashley filled up my brain. I couldn’t help it; I wasn’t trusting him, and he wasn’t telling all the truth.

“Put on a condom” I said, he looked at me confused, it has been a while since we stopped using them, I was on the pill, so a pregnancy wasn’t on the table.

“Why?” he knew why, he just wanted me to say “I don’t trust you” vocalizing our biggest issue, but I wanted to have him.

“Just put it on” he lifted his arm to grab one from the upper cabinet, and he put it on staring at me through the mirror.

I was still sensitive so when he pushed himself inside of me, he had to keep my hips still to not move away from him. It felt delightful, big, and comforting. He always felt like that.

He started to move with powerful strokes. He usually begins to move slowly and easy until I was stretched around his intrusion, but now he was hurt and mad.

He fucked me relentlessly, his hands pulling my hips back onto his cook crudely. He pushed me over the sink and spread my legs more open.

His cook was hitting my most inner spot. Breathing became a difficult activity while my hands were trying to keep my body stable.

My legs started to shake, and my walls squeezed his dick, his eyes were closed when I felt rough pads on my clit.

I came painfully while he kept working himself inside me until he found his own relief.

After he and I took a shower, separately, we were in his bedroom in completely silence.

“I almost did it, but I didn’t” he said.

He was looking at the floor, but he was talking to me.

“We caught up and we got drunk. She told me she was dating with a guy, but he was a dick so they kind of broke up. I told her I was still dating with you and that I was in love with you.”

That took me by surprise, we haven’t talk about love yet.

“She got very drunk and I wasn’t well to drive neither, so I called a cab, and we came here. I don’t know what happed, but we kissed. To be honest I think I would have had sex with her if it weren’t for the text you sent me that night. Do you remember? You told you were done with all your work and you were going to call me before driving back here in the morning.” I was always on time. I didn’t know what to say but it wasn’t necessary because he continued

“I know that being drunk is not an excuse, but I don’t know what I was thinking about. I saw you text and I took her to the guestroom, and I came back here. I didn’t know she was coming to the party, I didn’t invite her, but I couldn’t just kick her out. I didn’t want to be an asshole. When you saw us talking, she was giving me her underwear and she was coming on to me. She was drunk and depressed about her ex, she wasn’t being a whore, she was just hurt. After our kiss she might have confuse things and that was my blame” he walked closer to me and lifted my head gently to make me look at his eyes

“I´m sorry. I don’t want to lose you. I should have told you everything, but I was ashamed” he looked honest and very sad.

My biggest fear about of relationship it was now confirmed. He said he loved me but if it wasn't for my text, he would have fucked her, in the same bed he shared with me.

“Say something, please” he begged, and it broke my heart hearing him, but I didn’t know what to do or say.

“I’m going to leave” that was everything I could say.

"Honey, please! Let's..." he moved to me but I stopped him with my hand. He sat down at the edge of the bed.

“So that´s it? Are you leaving me?” I moved around the room looking for my phone charger while he kept asking.

“Are we breaking up or you just want to leave this house?” I couldn’t breathe, and kept talking.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I did not mean to hurt you. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” He didn’t stop talking and I couldn’t find my damn charger. I was getting anxious and weepy.

“Talk to me!” he said louder, not exactly shouting but getting mad. I exploded.

“I don’t know what to say, Chris. I don’t want to hear you right now. I don’t know if I want to break this up or I'm just tired or ...” I went in circles. “I’m just leaving this house to calm down. We could talk later; I’m just going to go back to New York to cool off” I finally found my charger. I picked up my bag and headed to the door.

“I thought you got the week free” he said calmly “I did” I turned back to him.

He was staring at me “Why don’t you stay here then?” I just looked at him, and he continued “I mean you could stay in other room and I won´t talk to you until you want to talk. I promised” he smiled.

“Chris, I…” he interrupted me.

“Or you could stay in a hotel, here, in Boston” he said hopefully.

“Chris, I don’t think …” I was interrupted again. He wanted me to talk before and now I couldn’t do it. I smiled.

“Look, I do understand that you need space right now, but if you stay we can go to dinner out tonight, or have a morning walk tomorrow, or both” he chuckled at his last words. He continued

“We could talk about this. I would do whatever you want me to do but, please, let´s try to fix this” he asked softly, he was sat the end on his bed looking at the floor.

“I don’t like hotel´s rooms” I said, walking to stand between his legs and to hold his hands.

“Then stay here, this house is big enough for both of us” he said smiling. His hands went to the back of my tights guiding me to straddle him. Our favorite position.

“I love you” Chris whispered in my ear.

[julemmaes]

would you consider writing pt 2 for he really loves her?

PLEASE?

My Love For You - part two

Rowan Whitethorn x Aelin Galathynius modern au

part one (He Truly Loves Her)

A/N: this thing got me out of a writing slump and I'll never be grateful enough for you, whoever you are. I fucking love you. I know I have a shit ton of other things to write and I promised a lot of stuff to other people as well, but I do what I can do, so bear with me and be patient:))

Word count: 4,054

Rowan had rushed out of the house as soon as Fenrys had told him that Aelin had run off in tears, his stomach already in turmoil. He'd gone round the front garden and the pool, checking the outhouse and every wretched corner of the huge house, but he hadn't been able to find the girl anywhere.

He could feel his heart beating in his chest at an absurd speed and he knew it wasn't because he was running or because of the alcohol he'd consumed - although it wasn't an insignificant amount. Nor was it because Lyria had just freed him from chains he didn't even know were shrinking him.

Go for it, Rowan, it was nice while it lasted, but you're not mine anymore. And you haven't been since she came into your life, whether you realised it or not.

The words, spoken with such sincerity as to shock him, couldn't have been more true and he could hear them echoing every time he spotted a blonde mane in the crowd.

"Fuck." he cursed, stopping near the entrance to the house and running a hand through his hair. He took his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and checked his texts. Nothing.

He dialed Aelin's number, continuing to run his eyes over the people around him, and when the sound of the voice mail went off, it made him curse again. He called twice more before realising she wasn't going to answer.

He'd fucked everything up, he knew it.

A gag rose in his throat and he shoved it back down with a disgusted grimace and resumed his search, asking around if anyone had seen a blonde girl with eyes so impossibly blue and a bright red dress. Everyone shook their heads in displeasure.

Aedion had been on the verge of killing him when he'd approached him to ask where his cousin was, and when Fenrys had also stepped up threateningly, he'd realised he'd made a big mistake. And that whatever had happened to Aelin, it was definitely his fault.

He hadn't realised that he'd kept his gaze fixed on Aelin the whole time he'd been dancing with his ex until he'd been distracted by something the girl had said to him and the next second, when he'd returned his gaze to where he knew it would be what was now his most loyal friend, Aelin had disappeared.

He'd looked for her at the bar Dorian had had set up near the stairs to the upper floors, on the dance floor, outside the windows overlooking the pool, but he hadn't seen her anywhere and had stopped with his heart in his throat. Lyria had been just as shaken to see him in that state.

Aelin had been drunk off her ass the last time he'd seen her and all he'd been able to think about in that moment was that she might be in some corner puking her guts out while her body rejected the sheer quantities of alcohol she'd ingested. He knew she couldn't handle her booze well and the idea of her feeling sick made his heart clench in his chest.

He called himself stupid, thinking about how obvious every reaction his body had had. How everything good that had happened in his life over the last few months had been closely linked to Aelin.

He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, and someone bumped into him, causing him to stagger forward. He spun around, ready to scream in the face of whoever had pushed him, but it was Lorcan who stood before him, a hard, tense expression that Rowan had rarely seen on the other man's face.

He was pissed as hell.

"Lorcan-" he began, intending to ask to borrow his phone, but his friend raised a hand and he froze.

Elide appeared shortly after, laying a hand on her boyfriend's arm and smiled sadly at Rowan, "Do you need a ride?" she asked faintly.

Rowan opened his mouth to ask what had happened, but quickly realised that they knew. However they found out, the couple in front of him knew about the shitshow that was going down. He had started shaking his head, ready to say that he couldn't go home until he found Aelin, but he didn't have time to speak that Lorcan did it for him.

"You should sleep it off. You're so drunk you can hardly stand and you're in absolutely no condition to talk to her." he said, clenching his jaw, "I'll take you home and tomorrow, after you've cleaned the fuck up and cleared your head, you can decide what to do."

Elide glared at him, elbowing him lightly in the side, "What my grumpy boyfriend is trying to say is that we'll give you a ride home, where you'll sober up and when you're not in danger of vomiting at every word, then you can try calling Ae. You've done enough for tonight and she probably needs some time alone."

Rowan's eyes widened, remaining silent at Elide's steady voice. He had spoken to her earlier and she had been as drunk as he was. Lorcan didn't even look at him as he passed him and headed for their car, shaking his head and muttering about how incredibly daft he'd been.

Elide tried to smile at him to reassure him somehow, but he didn't feel any kind of relief.

He needed to talk to Aelin, but they were right. He was in no condition to talk to his friend- to whatever Aelin was to him at that moment. And he knew perfectly well that she hadn't been either, at least not when she'd left the house.

The car ride was exhausting and so long that Rowan wondered where they were actually taking him, and when the car stopped at yet another red light, he lifted his head up from the window, rubbing his eyes. "How do I fix this?"

Elide looked over his shoulder, "It's not about fixing things, Ro. You just have to tell the truth."

Lorcan nodded beside her, clasping his hands around the steering wheel, "Aelin may not be my favourite person and I know you had an agreement that whatever happened between you wasn't true, but I think she forgot that at some point, just as I was convinced you had forgotten it too, until tonight." he said in a harsh voice. He looked at him through the mirror, "Why were you dancing with Lyria?"

Rowan didn't know how to answer, so he didn't.

Elide sighed, placing a hand on Lorcan's thigh, and the rest of the ride passed in silence as he remembered all the times Aelin and he had been alone and she had done that exact same thing. He huffed, shaking his head. What a fool he had been.

He thanked his friends, getting out of the car and staggering to the entrance of his building and turned to wave at them again, letting them know that he had managed to open the door. He climbed the stairs with considerable difficulty and only began to hear distinctive, broken sounds when he reached the fourth flight of stairs.

The higher he climbed, the clearer the sound became and the haze of confusion that clouded his mind slowly cleared up more and more with each step. When he reached his floor, his mind fully cleared to the figure of Aelin slumped against his door, her body repeatedly shaken by the sobs of a desperate cry.

Rowan felt his lungs constrict to the point where he could no longer catch his breath. He took a step forward towards her, stopping with one hand on the railing at a safe distance, because he knew that if he got too close, nothing would stop him from clutching her to his chest and taking her into the house with him.

She looked so small on the surely frozen tiles.

"Aelin." he whispered and hoped the despair in his voice wasn't too obvious.

Her head snapped up and the sight of her face contracted into a grimace of pain almost brought him to his knees. She cried harder, bringing her hands up to cover her face, and Rowan was terrified that something else had happened in the time he had been at the party looking for her.

He'd seen her cry before, in the months they'd been so close that they'd shared more than he'd ever shared with anyone else, but never like this. Never with such... hopelessness.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, perhaps in a slightly too surly tone, because she winced. But it wasn't anger, what he was feeling, it was pure terror that the reason Aelin was in that state was all about him.

She shook her head, folding her legs beneath her and rising from the ground. She bent down to pick up her bag and when she pulled herself up again, she faltered slightly, giving away how drunk she actually was. She shook her head, bringing her hands to her hair, "Sorry- I'm sorry, I'll go now," she sobbed. She didn't look at his face. "I don't know why I came." Rowan couldn't help but feel worse when she added, "I'm leaving, sorry."

Her voice broke again on the last words as more tears flowed down her cheeks and when Aelin walked past him, there was shock on his face.

"Aelin." he called to her again, his voice so faint he struggled to hear himself. She froze in her tracks, her arm brushing against his, and lifted her head to look at him, holding her breath.

She raised her golden-blue eyes to his and Rowan swallowed, feeling himself dying inside at the gruesome sight. It was his fault. The reason for her make-up being ruined like that. The way her breathing was laboured and her body trembled from the cold. It was his fault that Aelin was there now, suffering and crying.

His eyes fell on her lips instinctively, as they had done for the last four months in which they had lied to the world. In which they had lied to themselves.

He knew exactly what he would feel if he brushed her lips with his, if he ran his thumb over that pink mouth. He had learned to know every inch of those perfect lips. He'd learned to love them as if his life depended on it.

He'd just been too stupid to realize it himself.

"Come in." he told her plainly, extending a tentative hand towards hers. The moment his fingers brushed against hers, Aelin tensed and he withdrew his hand, not wanting to frighten her.

It was as if he were dealing with a wounded animal.

And though he had learned to read every expression on Aelin's face, now he could only tell how terrified she was, not knowing if that fear was directed at him or something else.

He grimaced when she didn't answer and closed his eyes, turning his head towards the door of his flat, ready to hear her walk away, but he felt her hand tighten around his pinky finger and he turned his head towards her. She had stopped crying and seemed to be holding her breath again, just as he was doing now.

He felt a rush through his body as her fingers tightened even more around his.

He looked down at that small gesture and felt his heart explode in his chest.

He smiled weakly at her and pulled her towards the front of the house, praying to every god in existence that she didn't let go.

The first time Rowan had held her hand, Aelin had complained about how big his was, and the second time Rowan had offered her only his little finger, big enough compared to her tiny ones, so that she could cling to him holding only that single finger.

They entered the house in silence, both of them still dulled by what had just happened and the alcohol and Rowan let her follow him around the house as he turned on the lights and made sure the heating was on for the night.

The cold in his flat could be nasty.

Not that he should have warned her, Aelin had slept there so many times with him that she knew better than anyone.

He sighed, finally looking at her and wondering how they had gotten to that point.

Looking at her swollen, red eyes, her cheeks still wet from crying and her complexion so pale she looked sick, he made a decision.

He closed his eyes, leaning his back against the wall behind him, and Aelin took a step forward, almost completely adhering to his body with her own. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, as if he was exhausted. "We should sleep." he murmured, "Talk about," he moved a hand in mid-air, "whatever this is tomorrow. We're both drunk and I'm not going to-"

"You're right." she interrupted him and her voice was scratchy, still weakened from crying, "We should sleep."

Rowan slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her amidst the alcohol, the exhaustion.

Aelin tried to return the smile, but seemed to remember something suddenly and pulled away from him, letting go of his finger and moving two steps away. She averted her gaze and swallowed loudly, "I'll sleep on the couch, just let me get my pajamas and then I'll leave you alone."

Her pajamas. Yes, because Aelin had a drawer of her own in this flat. And she had a toothbrush that belonged to her in the bathroom and a bathrobe and some fucking tampons.

God, he'd been so stupid.

They were already together and he'd been the only one who hadn't been aware of it really.

Then her words caught up with him.

He furrowed his brow, "You're not sleeping on the couch."

Aelin looked at him surprised. She opened her mouth and closed it and then opened it again and Rowan wanted to tease her about how she looked like a fish, but the words she spoke blocked him.

"But Lyria..."

He gritted his teeth, "Lyria is not the woman standing in my living room right now." he said icily. Then he pulled away from the wall, bringing his hands to Aelin's hips, and she sighed at that touch. Rowan leaned over her, pressing his forehead against hers, "If the only reason you don't want to sleep in my bed is because of her, then I don't want to hear your bullshit." he whispered against her lips. "If you don't want to sleep with me because of me, because you can't be around me, then take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch, but I'm not," he trembled, "I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm not going to sleep in another room while you're here in my house if the only thing blocking you is Lyria," he concluded breathlessly, as if saying those words had worn him out even more.

He opened his eyes and his green collided with her gold.

Aelin nodded slightly, letting their lips brush together, "Alright."

Rowan kissed her softly, sighing in relief when she pressed into him, making parts of her body cling that he hadn't touched since Lyria had spoken to him again a few weeks before. When they broke away, his hand stayed on her hip until she pulled away from him to get ready for bed, and Rowan tried desperately not to stare at her as she slipped off the tight little red dress that - thinking about it now - had certainly done nothing to protect her from the freezing cold of Rifthold. She must have been freezing to death out there waiting for him.

She slipped into her pajamas quickly and when they were both under the covers, Aelin gave her back to him, letting him wrap his arms around her and hold her to his chest, cradling her so that sleep could take her easily.

***

Rowan awoke to the sound of someone throwing up in his bathroom.

And his phone buzzing incessantly on the nightstand.

He opened his eyes, grunting in pain as a twinge hit him in the head, but he reached for the phone, answering it without seeing who the sender was, "Hello?" he mumbled into the microphone.

"Rowan." exclaimed Lorcan in a voice too loud for his liking, "Have you seen Aelin? Has she called you, texted you, anything, since last night?" the panic in his voice was palpable and Rowan snapped to his seat as a feeling of sheer terror spread in his stomach.

He looked down at the blankets beside him, unmade in a way that meant only someone else had been sleeping with him. He suddenly remembered Aelin on his doorstep, crying as if someone had just crushed her world. The way he had kissed her before embracing her in her sleep.

He couldn't have imagined that. He couldn't have-

The sound of the toilet being flushed caught his attention.

He stood up quickly and his head spun so badly he had to lean against the wall to keep from tumbling.

"Rowan? You there?" asked Lorcan more urgently.

He looked out over the bathroom, catching sight of Aelin's mass of blonde hair as she leaned over the toilet.

He wanted to ask her if she was okay, but he needed to answer his friend so he could get rid of him and talk to her as soon as possible, make sure everything was all right.

"She's here."

Lorcan breathed a sigh of relief and then cursed, "Fuck, tell her never to do anything like that again." then Rowan heard him telling Elide that Aelin was okay and was at his place and the string of insults aimed at the blonde in front of him that came out of the other girl's mouth made him suspect that they had been looking for her for a long time. His suspicions were confirmed almost immediately, "Lysandra woke up this morning and found her bed empty. Couldn't reach her in any way. We've been looking for her for an hour now." he took a deep breath, "I'm glad she's there with you. Have you two talked yet?"

Rowan didn't answer, "I'll talk to you later." and hung up, not waiting for Lorcan to bid him bye in turn.

Aelin gagged again and he grimaced, crouching down beside her on the floor and gathering her hair into a fist, "Hey baby, how are you?"

She grunted, without lifting her head from the toilet, "Like someone's pulling my guts out of my throat."

Rowan chuckled, stroking her back with a warm hand. He shifted his gaze from her to the clock on the wall, seeing that it was past nine. "How long have you been like this?"

"An hour, probably," she murmured, stopping when another gag rose in her throat. She sighed when nothing came out but spat anyway, "How do you feel?"

He smiled, yawning and rubbing a hand over his eyes, "Like someone who can handle a hangover."

She chuckled, eyeing him sideways, "Asshole." she muttered.

Rowan could finally see her face and the smile died on his lips. He knew the glint from the tears in her eyes was from the vomit, but he couldn't stop his mind when it showed him images from the night before.

"How are you?" he asked again, meaning something completely different from what he had asked only mere seconds before. And maybe he'd used a different tone, maybe he'd made a different face, because Aelin's face also transformed and became more serious.

She stared into his eyes, biting the inside of her cheek, "I am." she replied, shrugging.

Rowan inhaled sharply through his nose, "Aelin."

"Rowan." she said. She raised her eyebrows, as if to ask him to continue.

Start, he mentally corrected himself. He owed her an explanation.

The hand on the small of her back slid to the floor and she seemed to regret the lack of that contact, but he couldn't bring himself to touch her at that moment. The hand in her hair let lose as well.

He didn't look away though, as he said, "I'm sorry, about last night."

Aelin didn't react in any way, giving him a sign to continue.

"I shouldn't have even looked at her, Lyria. I had you next to me and I don't know if it was out of habit or because I thought she was the one I wanted, but I went to her and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for using you all this time without realising what I was actually doing to you," he said, forcing himself not to look away. Her eyes betrayed nothing. "I know we had an agreement and I did nothing but stick to it, as you did, but I should have realized it was becoming something else when you stopped talking about Sam, when you started calling me more often to go out alone with me." he sucked in a breath, bringing a hand to his chest, "I'm sorry for all the nights before last night and for all the times I believed it wasn't real. For making you believe it wasn't real."

Aelin made a sound like a wounded animal, "What wasn't real?"

"My love for you," Rowan said, looking her straight in the eye.

She pulled herself up to sit up straighter and her jaw twitched, but he saw something shine in her gaze.

"I love you, Aelin, and I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," he murmured, laying a hand on her thigh. She shifted her eyes to where he was touching her, before returning them to his face. "You came into my life out of nowhere and turned it upside down and then slowly you came in here and started leaving your things behind and in the meantime you were also getting into my heart and I didn't-" he had to stop himself because the emotion threatened to become too much. Aelin smiled at him and her eyes became even shinier. "I didn't realize it until Lyria asked me who I was looking for and I asked her what she meant and she told me that she had stopped talking over a minute before, but I had been too lost looking for someone in the crowd to even realize it. Because I was too lost looking for you."

A tear slid down Aelin's cheek and her hand rested on his, but she remained silent.

"I don't know when I stopped pretending, but I know it had been a lot sooner than I can even realize, and I'm sorry if I'm a stupid idiot and it took me too long and a near alcoholic coma before I realized how much I fucking love you, but... I love you, Aelin." he whispered the last part, breathing out a laugh, as if even he couldn't believe his words.

Aelin chuckled through tears and looked around, "God, I never thought we would confess our love on the floor of your bathroom."

Rowan stiffened, becoming all serious all of a sudden, "Our love?"

Aelin wrinkled her forehead, "I love you, Rowan, and if you haven't figured it out yet, you're probably dumber than I thought." she smiled, leaning towards him.

Rowan opened his mouth in surprise, but didn't have time to say anything as Aelin's mouth was on his and he moaned at the first swipe of her tongue against his, closing his eyes. And he wouldn't have even noticed it at that moment, the bad taste of that first real kiss, if Aelin hadn't pulled away from him suddenly, bringing a hand to her mouth and exclaiming, "Oh my God, our first kiss as a real couple tasted like vomit."

And her face was so disgusted that Rowan couldn't help but laugh, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him until she was sitting on his lap and he didn't care if Aelin tasted like vomit right then. He wouldn't have cared if she tasted like vomit for the rest of their lives, if it meant he could see that smile that now glowed on her face every morning when he woke up.

tog tag list (if you wanna be removed or added dm me or send me an ask)

@maastrash @ireallyshouldsleeprn @sleeping-and-books @ladywitchling @thegoddessofyou @ghostlyrose2 @claralady @anne-reads @sayosdreams @perseusannabeth @letstakethedawn @firebirdofscythia @post-it-notes33 @booksstorm @nalgenewhore @queen-of-demons-and-hell @miserablemusings @lanyjoy-13 @vasudharaghavan @cupcakey00 @bri-loves-sunflowers @queen-of-glass @thewayshedreamed @the-regal-warrior @fangirlprincess09 @januarystears @rowaelinismyotp @tothestarswholistentodreamers

[knightsimp]

Recovery (1/2)

Pairing: Percival Graves x Reader

Summery: You knew something was off. You knew that was not Percival.

Genre: Angst (the fluff will be in Part 2!)

Word Count: 2400+

Date Posted: February 1, 2021

Note: I haven’t written in a while! I finally have a new muse lmao.

Part Two: Link

MACUSA, also known as the Magical Congress of the United States of America, is the magical government in America. This is also where our dear protagonist works and spends a lot of her time. 

(Y/N) (L/N) is a MACUSA auror. She has worked there for years now. She started out as a simple intern when she graduated from Illvermony, and is now a seasoned auror. 

For the last couple months, (Y/N) has been out of the country in London, working with The Ministry of Magic on a joint case. She was only supposed to be gone for a couple weeks, but being an auror was not exactly a predictable job. When she came back to New York, she did not go home directly, not before seeing Percival.

She and Percival had known each other since she was a trainee and he was an intern. At first, she was ahead in rankings, but he soon climbed to the top and became Director of Magical Security and head of MACUSA's Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Regardless of her jealousy (though she may deny that she was ever jealous), they have always been good friends. They were made for each other. Inside jokes, casual and last-minute meet-ups; they were in sync from the beginning. 

(Y/N) giddily knocked on the door of Percival’s office before slowly opening it.

“Hey Percy!” Her voice had a tune to it. “Guess who’s back?” When she looked at him, he saw someone who was very tired. He was hunched over at his desk, a hand on his hairline. 

“(L/N).” He was monotone.

“Oh, wow. I feel missed! Stand up, you fool; let me give you a hug.” With a sigh, Percival stood and allowed for her to walk into his arms. She held him tight, her arms locking behind his back. 

Nothing was wrong at first, but (Y/N) realized how loosely he held her. Sure Percival is not a hugger, but when he was affectionate, the man was affectionate. That was not super concerning, but what did set off alarms in her head was when Percival took a big sniff of her hair. She was expecting him to ask if she even went home, seeing as she wheeled in her suitcase, or for him to ask her why she was gone so long, as she was not allowed to send any letters or anything and he probably found out from another official. 

But nothing.

He was asking nothing.

Maybe he was stressed? She did know about the whole Grindelwald situation and how much that has been weighing on Percival, considering his position in MACUSA. 

“Are you okay, Percy?” She asked as she pulled away. She chose her words carefully. “You seem tired.” She intentionally avoided calling him “off.”

“I’m okay.” He answered. However, (Y/N) found something odd. He had no tell. 

Not many people realized, but Percival Graves did indeed have a tell. He knew to hide this tell with work related stuff, but it seemed to come out in a casual environment. This tell was him smoothing out his slicked-back hair with his dominant hand.

She knew he was lying. And he had no tell.

This was not Percival Graves.

The realization caught (Y/N) off guard, but as an experienced auror, she knew how to keep a straight face. She knew not to let her smile turn fake. 

“Alright! If you ever need any help, you know where to find me.” She put some distance between them with the excuse of grabbing her suitcase. This was another thing that convinced her that this was not her friend; he did not offer to help or walk her out. Percival may be stoic and cold but he was a gentleman to a fault. 

When she exited and closed the door to his office, she could not help but let a shiver run down her spine. If this was not Percival, then who was he?

Her first stop was Seraphina Picquery’s office. Maybe she will know something? Hopefully, seeing as Seraphina works so closely with Percival, she would have noticed the differences in his behavior.  

(Y/N) was more professional when knocking on Seraphina’s door. 

“Enter!” She walked in once she had permission. Seraphina was sitting at her desk. Surprisingly, she was not in some sort of meeting at the moment. “Ms. (L/N)! I trust your return to the states was pleasant.”

“Yes, um, Madame President-”

“You haven’t gone home yet?” Seraphina Stood from her chair and came to the front of her desk. “Surely you would want to take a few days off.”

“Madame President, please listen to me.” Seraphina motioned for (Y/N) to speak what is on her mind. “Have you noticed anything strange with Mr. Graves while I was gone?”

“(L/N), if you are wondering if he missed you considering how long you’ve been gone, I am sure-” (Y/N) cut her off.

“That is not my concern, Madame President.” She stopped for a moment. “I just came from Percival’s office, ma’am. Something is not right. Something feels off; he feels off.” Seraphina cocked an eyebrow.

“How so?” (Y/N) thought about the evidence she had, suddenly feeling a little dumb.

“For one, I can tell you for sure he did not miss me. He did not ask any of the questions that one would expect, he did not hug me the way he usually does - he sniffed my hair very strangely - and he did not offer to walk me out.” Seraphina rolled her eyes. “Does that not seem odd to you?”

“I think you just may be a little upset that he did not give you the reaction to your return that you wanted and you are tired.”

“But-”

“Go home, (Y/N).” (Y/N) went to speak again, but stopped, realizing how futile her attempts would be. “Yes, Madame President.” Rolling her suitcase behind her, she left disappointed.

When (Y/N) returned home, she could not stay in the shower long enough for her to fully relax. She could not get Percival off of her mind. She could not rest, even after three months of working. Something told her another job was calling her name and the auror part of her was going to investigate. While in her bathrobe and wet hair, she pinned up a photo of her and Percival. They looked at each other and at the camera in the moving photo and it made (Y/N) smile. It also made her more determined to find out what was going on. 

“Alright.” She muttered to herself. Time to get to work.

Over the next month, (Y/N) had slowly added to her wall. She had been sneakily keeping tabs on Percival, seeing where he went, who he met with, where he ate; she tried her best. Of course, there were holes in the narrative she was putting together as she had to continue doing her job as auror. She needed to keep her job, but also needed to keep Percival from being suspicious, especially since he was technically her boss. One thing she often beat herself up for was being so friendly with him from the minute she walked into his office after her trip. She had to keep that facade up, which meant the occasional hug, calling him by his nickname, etc. Each time, she felt sick.

(Y/N) even went to each lunch with him every Monday. His reaction to coming to his office for lunch on Monday something she paid attention to. This imposter went along with it, as if lunch with (Y/N) every Monday was the norm, but it was not. Before she left for London, they had been having lunch on Wednesday for years; Monday was never a day that they met up for a meal. Of course, (Y/N) never expected Percival to come to her apartment on Fridays. Fridays, they would have dinner together. Each week, they would rotate on who’s apartment. When he never showed up for dinner the Friday following her return, she knew this was not Percival. And it was a relief when he did not turn up to her apartment. 

Of course, she had her doubts during her investigation. At points, she thought she was crazy. She tried to make up excuses as to Percival’s sudden change in personality and routine. That man was a man of discipline, however; he is not the person one would expect to break from their routine.

At one point the stress had become too much. (Y/N) ended up inviting her friend Queenie to her apartment during an empty Friday. Queenie, being the sweetheart she is, was sworn to secrecy, though she did not believe what (Y/N) was giving her. If her sister Tina found out, (Y/N) would be reported for insubordination. Still, Queenie tried her best to support her friend.

Things took a turn with Newt Scamander coming to New York. She had met Newt once before, seeing as she worked with his older brother Theseus while she was in the states. Chaos reached his peak with his beasts on the loose, the anti-magic sentiment, and the random civilian attacks which definitely had a magical origin. 

She was there when Newt and Tina trapped Percival, making him fall to his knees. (Y/N) almost cried seeing her friend in such a position, but she felt the blood drain from her face when his dark hair turned white and his eyes changed hue. She never suspected that he was Grindelwald. 

In the silence of everyone’s awe, (Y/N) pushed through the aurors. 

Limping on her injured leg, she approached him, ignoring the immense pain coming from her thigh. She kicked him hard in the jaw, making him fall on his back. Those around her gasped, surprised by her reaction. “I knew it,” she mumbled before shouting, “I knew it!” She put her foot on his chest, tears finally running down her face, her teeth gritting. “Where is he? Where is he!” The cocky smile Grindelwald gave her as an answer made her blood boil. 

“(Y/N).” Tina pulled her back as (Y/N) struggled in her grasp. “(Y/N), he’ll get what he deserves! Please-” (Y/N) broke free, only glaring daggers at Tina before walking towards the president. 

“(Y/N)-” Seraphina nervously tried to call her name. 

“Forgive me for being blunt, Madame President, but I told you. I told he was not Percival.” (Y/N)’s heels clacked on the concrete floor of the destroyed subway before she apparated away to her apartment. She could not even make it to the bed before she fell to her knees and began to sob. She tried to stop the hiccups and whimpers with her hand, but gave up very quickly. 

Where is he? Where is Percy? Where is Percival Graves? A dreadful thought came to her. What if he’s dead? This only made the sobs louder. She rested her head against the corridor wall. She did not even bother to turn on any lights or light any candles.

She stayed there even when the sun set. She was too tired, too drained, (and not to mention injured) to get up and change or eat. She found out what was wrong with Percival, which is what she wanted, but she almost wished she did not know.

She heard a whooshing behind her. Someone had appeared in her apartment. 

“(Y/N)?” Queenie’s soft voice was heard. “Sweetie?”

“Queenie, go make something for her to eat.” Tina was also here, it seemed. “I’ll get her cleaned up.” Tina stood in front of (Y/N), kneeling down. “Come on.”She struggled to stand her up. Not only was (Y/N) not willing to stand, but her leg was also injured. Once Tina was able to stand her up, she was ready to take on (Y/N) weight. As soon as they were stable, a pathetic, exhausted sob escaped (Y/N). 

“Come on, (Y/N). I’ll help you.” Tina almost flinched when (Y/N) looked up to meet her eyes. She looked so tired, so defeated, but there was enough determination to at least get to the bathroom.

In the kitchen, poor Queenie was feeling it all. Tina does her best to sympathize, but someone as empathetic as Queenie really did feel everything. Not only was she grieving Jacob, but she was now feeling (Y/N)’s immense grief of Percival. Queenie tried her best to stay somewhat positive while making (Y/N) a meal; sadness can be tasted in a meal.

Tina was able to get (Y/N) to shower and sat at the dining table. Her hair was still wet, but she definitely looked cleaner. Queenie did her part and convinced (Y/N) to eat. Eating did make (Y/N) feel a tad better; Queenie had always been an amazing cook. 

The air around them felt so still, so solemn, so exhausting. No one dared to say a word. 

“I...” (Y/N)’s voice broke the silence. “I think I want to go to sleep now.” 

“Alright.” Queenie’s voice was soft and gentle as if she was talking to a child, glancing at (Y/N)’s plate to make sure she had eaten enough. “Tina and I will clean up-”

“No, Queenie, I can’t let you do that. You’ve already done so much for me. You can go home.”

“We want to help, (Y/N).” Tina popped up. “You’ve been through a lot for the last couple of months.” (Y/N) did not have the energy to argue, but she gave a thankful smile. She delicately stood from the table and quietly went to her bedroom, her no-longer-heeled feet not making a sound on the wood floor. She did not have the energy to even dry her hair properly before falling onto her mattress. Once she was under the covers, she curled up into a ball and hugged the pillow which was usually beside the one she chose to lay her head on. No more sounds came out, but tears did soak the pillow she shoved her face into as she held on tighter. 

When she woke up the next morning, the mental exhaustion had taken over. Her lungs seemed airy and there was a grim atmosphere. Judging by the lack of direct sunlight coming from her bedroom window, it was the afternoon. When she sat up, her eyes went directly to the wall across from her where she had pinned up evidence.

Well, Percy is not going to find himself, now will he?

[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Urbosa parried another of Sooga’s swords, and attempted to electrocute him once again with the contact. Unfortunately, the most he did was grimace at the force, as it mostly dissipated by the time it came to his rubber grips. He mentally thanked the work of an old lover, somewhere in a castle greenhouse.

Daruk had trapped Kohga in a bear hug, and was attempting to disorient him by rolling around with his protection, the Yiga Master was trying his very best to stab the Goron's impenetrable hide. 

Zelda was holding her bag of Sheikah parts over her head, waiting to inflict blunt force trauma on anyone that came too close. Of course, it wasn’t entirely necessary as Impa’s clones surrounded her every side. Impa herself was dueling it out with Zavis, kodachi on broadsword; gold on dark purple. 

“I bet you were just jealous!” Impa sneered, easily parrying another of Zavis’ attacks. “You think that being a Yiga Clan member is gonna give you all the attention, all the praise. Well I won’t let you get the satisfaction! When I’m done, you’ll be lucky to walk again, much less tarish all our family’s hardwork!” She lunged, aiming for the exposed shoulder, but the boy quickly ducked, and attempted to sweep the legs. She jumped back, and he groaned.

“Of course I was jealous! My mom spent more time training you with all your fancy skills than she ever did making me a meal!” He quickly flung a dagger, aiming to disarm. Impa just barely dodged, feeling only the brush of wind as the dagger flew by her.

In the center room, Link and Mipha were doing their best facing off against Arcadius, as Revali attempted to attack the floating Astor from the ground.

“Why don’t you fly up here, Master Revali? I’m sure that armour has been weighing you down all day…” The prophet chuckled to himself.

Revali only grimaced. He prepared another set of bomb arrows, igniting them with the piece of flint that sat on his bow’s rest, and loosed. 

Astor sighed, waving a hand, as another mass of malice was summoned forth, consuming the arrows and the muffled explosion. 

Mipha just barely caught Arcadius’ sword with her trident, just second before it made contact with Link’s arm.

“Link…” Mipha said, solemnly, but sternly, “We don’t have time. I think...I think we should—”

“NO!” Link yelled, crossing swords with his father again. “We’ll find another way, we have too!”

“I know it’s very difficult to ask...but…” Mipha looked around the room. “If we don’t end the fight before our armour gives out, we’ll all be defeated.”

She flicked her trident, trying to stave into the captain’s defence. “We need to actually—”

“We can’t hurt him, please!”

“Just enough so he can’t fight—”

“He’s not even reacting to pain!”

“I can try to heal him after—”

“But you don’t know that!”

Link shielded another attack and parried, his father’s side was open for the first time the whole battle, but he didn’t take it.

“Link, please!”

The knight shook his head. “I can’t. I-I can’t do it. Everything was for...everything I tried to do was for…” Another hiss through his teeth, as his father swung, cutting the surface of his leg. “Shit...I’m sorry...I don’t think I’m strong enough to do it.”

The Hollow Arcadius flew back as Mipha swept him away, using his momentum to push him towards the opposite wall. There was a crash as he collided with old crates and wooden barrels, but he rose with ease. Walking back towards them. 

Link stood his ground, adjusting his sword grip, but made no further movement. Mipha just looked between him and the Hollow, unsure if she had the will to stab him too fatally in front of Link. 

Arcadius walked, then faster, then faster, until he was fully sprinting back towards them, malice sword in hand. Mipha steeled herself, expression unreadable as she prepared.

SHING!

Metal on metal. The scrape of swords interlocking. Link blinked just in time to catch a glimpse of Assivus Hartell, sprinting from behind them and catching Arcadius’ sword, mere seconds before colliding on Link’s face.

“Asivus?!” Mipha cried. The man said nothing, as he watched Arcadius slide backwards from the momentum. He looked around, from Mipha, to Link, to Revali.

“Where is Zavis?”

Link just opened and closed his mouth, before shouting, “Look out!” 

Arcadius ran forward, swinging for Assivus’ right side. 

He immediately moved his sword to parry it, and the Hollow captain was sent sliding back again. Still looking at Link, Assivus asked again. “Where?!”

“H-How did you—”

“I don’t need the greatest sword skills in the world if I can see every attack as it comes.” He pointed to his malice-like eyes. “Why do you think I’m using these bad boys?”

“But how did you get—” 

The captain came back again, and Assivus just rolled his eyes. He fully turned to face his brother. “You know Link, I think I lack the same sentiments as you. I’m fully able to make Larc hurt a little.”

“Uncle Siv—!”

The man ran to meet Arcadius’ attack, kicking him in the leg before he had a chance to jab. 

Zavis suddenly craned his neck, catching a glimpse of the fight in the center of the room. 

“Oh no…”

Assivus perked his head up, then turned to lock eyes with Zavis immediately.

“There you are.”

He charged. 

Astor quickly flicked a hand, to which Assivus immediately slid on the floor to dodge the attack, not even bother to look at him.

The prophet suddenly called out. “Zavis. Assivus is coming for you. I recommend you leave quickly, I shall hold him off.”

Zavis could only switch better Astor and the fast approaching Asivus before nodding. Quickly shoving his hands in his pocket, he took out a back of talismans, and teleported into the far hallway. 

Assivus gave chasing, ready to head into the dark hallway, but was blocked by two figures. 

Hollow Arcadius stood in the way, sword at the ready, and expression—non-existent. Sooga stood by the captain’s side, having temporarily slipped out of Urbosa’s stalemate.

“What do you think you’re doing, Hartell.”

“Well what does it look like? I’m here to get revenge.”

Sooga swiped his swords, sending a beam of red energy towards Assivus’ face. This only made him laugh out loud as he easily stepped to the side before the action was even completed. 

“Your son is a real piece of work you know? I had given up so long on caring, on giving a shit. He’s truly something special for bringing it outta me.” Assivus sprinted towards him, to which Arcadius mirrored the action.

As the clatter of swords continued, Sooga shook his head, reading a dagger to throw at his face. “Just who do you think you are, fool?”

Assivus once again easily moved out of the captain’s grasp, even going as far as to cut his shoulder. He looked up at Sooga while rocking on his heels.

“Well haven’t you heard of me before?” 

Assivus raised his arms, playfully, twirling his sword in one hand. As if he had all the time in the world. Which of course, he did.

“I’m the goddamn Assivus Asunder.”

[jk-unless]

Tuwaine’s Friend

Pairing(s):Tom Holland x Black!Reader,Platonic!Tuwaine Barrett x Black!Reader

Warnings: None

Not Requested

~*~

You and Tuwaine became fast friends while he was visiting the states back in 2015. You ran into each other at a McDonalds.A middle aged woman was making a big scene about her order being made wrong.Tuwaine,who was in front of you in line,turned towards you and asked you if this was something that happened often.

“You mean at McDonalds?Have you never been here?”You asked,more curious than trying to be rude.

“Oh,I actually meant the states in general.” He clarified.The use of the term “the states” made everything click.

“Oooh,you’re not from here!Yeah,sadly,this is a pretty normal thing.It’s best to get a woman like her’s order exactly right the first time or there will be a scene.”

Tuwaine sighs in frustration. “I’m just trying to eat.”

“Don’t worry,it won’t be too much longer before she storms off.”You comforted him.As you said this,the woman let out a final obnoxious sigh.

“I will be calling corporate about this!” She angrily grabbed her takeout bag and stomped out of the restaurant.

“Thank God.” Tuwaine muttered quietly so only you could hear him.You giggled as he walked up to the counter.The cashier apologized about the scene to which Tuwaine assured her it was alright.He gave her his order then turned to you again.

“...And whatever the nice lady behind me wants.”

Your eyes widened a bit.”You sure?” You asked,taken back by the kindness.He nodded with a small smile.You thanked him then proceeded with your order.

The two of you ate together and talked about anything that came to mind.He eventually explained to you that it was actually his last day there before he went back home.Not wanting this to be last time you talked to the sweet guy, you decided to exchange numbers to keep in touch.

~*~

Now in present day,Tuwaine fools around with Tom between scenes of Spider-Man:Far From Home.As Tuwaine laughs about something with Tom,he gets a text from one of the staff members that someone by the name of Y/N L/N was there to see him.

“Oh shit,she’s here!” He exclaimed,jumping up out of his spot.

“Wait,the girl you mentioned earlier?I’m not ready!” Tom says,dramatically running to the nearest mirror to try to fix his hair.

“You’re Tom Holland,she’ll be happy to see you no matter what you look like.” He rolls his eyes at his friend’s desperate attempt to look more put together.In a matter of minutes,the two of them hear a knock on the door of Tom’s trailer.Tuwaine whips open the door and smiles when he sees you.He pulls you in and tackles you in a bear hug to which let out a startled and happy laugh.Tom smiles at the pure interaction in front of him.As Tuwaine let’s go of you,he finally introduces the two of you.

“Tom,Y/N.Y/N,Tom.” He motions between the two of you.

“Hi,it’s really nice to meet you.” Tom says with a bright smile that makes your face heat up.These are times where you’re happy that your melanin hides your shyness.

“Nice to meet you too,Tom.And may I just say,you’re even more attractive in person.”You say,making it Tom’s turn to blush.You discreetly watch in the corner of your eye as Tuwaine rolls his eyes.

“I can say the same about you!The pictures Tuwaine showed me didn’t do you justice.”Tom chuckles a bit as he remembers one pic in particular.”Especially the one where-“ Tuwaine quickly shushes him to save his own skin.Tom slapped a hand over his mouth,but it was too late.You menacingly turned towards you’re old friend.

“You showed Tom Holland an embarrassing picture of me?!”Before Tuwaine could even properly explain himself,Tom was called onto set.He quickly excused himself and told the two of you that he’ll be back in a bit.You watched him exit the trailer,then turned towards Tuwaine once again.He smiled nervously.

“You don’t have to go with him?” You asked,motioning to the door to which Tuwaine explained that he already filmed his scene.He tensed as you moved towards him,not expecting the hug that came after.

“You’re lucky I’ve missed ya ass too much to be mad at you.” You begrudgingly told him.He let out a sigh of relief and hugged you back.

“Oh,thank God.You hungry?”

“I could eat.”

~*~

As the day went on,the three of you actually spent a lot of time together.Even Jake,Zendaya,and Jacob would join you guys once in a while.And let me tell you,your heart was not ready for any of those interactions.You literally almost cried when Zendaya introduced herself to you.During you guys’ down time together,you’d often catch Tom sneaking glances at you.You didn’t want to get your hopes up,so you dismissed it as just him being curious of the person who seemed to mean so much to his dear friend.You really wanted to stay around all of these lovely people, but at around 1:00 in the morning you realized filming wasn’t going to end anytime soon and that you should probably turn in for the night.When you made this decision,it was only you in Tuwaine in the trailer.

“Tutu,I think I’m gonna head to the hotel now.” You announced,using the embarrassing nickname that you first gave him about three months into your friendship.He watched as you started to gather your things.”

Yeah,it is getting pretty late.You want me to come with you?”Tuwaine asked.You looked down with mock shyness and muttered “If you don’t mind.”He rolled his eyes and huffed at your antics.As the two of you made your way out of the trailer,he mentioned that you guys should inform Tom you were leaving.You agreed and the two of you headed towards the set.You made sure they weren’t filming before approaching Tom as he got his suit adjusted by a stylist.He smiled as he caught sight of the two of you,then realized you had you’re stuff in your hands.

“Oh,are you guys leaving?” He asked and pouted at you.His cute frowny face caught you off guard,but luckily Tuwaine answered for the both you.

“Yeah,this one here isn’t really used to being out so late.” He said motioning to you.”Not mention the slight time zone changed has me feeling a little off.” You added.

“Oh,no it’s fine,I totally get it.” Tom said,quick to reassure you that there was no problem.”So uhh,I’ll see you later,man.” He said,dapping Tuwaine off then turning to you with his arms open.”May I?” He asked.You giggled at his politeness and gave him an enthusiastic “Yeah,sure!” The hug was quick,but warm and overall really pleasant.As you were still holding each other,he muttered “It was really nice to meet you.” You smiled grew as you replied “You too,Tom.”

The two of you broke away and you and Tuwaine told him a final bye over your shoulder as you made your way to exit.

~*~

Like the good friend Tuwaine is,he got you safely to your hotel room and made sure you had everything you needed.He planned on staying with you for a bit,then realized that you were quite literally about to pass out.He turned off the lights for you as you plopped yourself down on your bed.Before he could fully close the door behind him.His text tone went off.He unlocked his phone to see that the text was from Tom.

Hey,you still around Y/N?

Tuwaine starred oddly at his phone.

Uh no,she’s passed out on her bed and I’m heading to my room.Why?

Okay,good!I got some questions.

You’re questions can wait,I need a shower.

Tuwaine replied as he set his things down in his own room.

DON’T LEAVE ME!! Tom dramatically texted back.Tuwaine shook his head at the text,threw his phone on the bed,and went to the bathroom to start his shower.

About half an hour later,Tuwaine came out of the shower and picked up his phone again.His attention was brought to a notification of a new text from Tom.

Tom: I hate you 😡

Tuwaine simply rolled his eyes,completely used to his friend’s dramatics. Sure you do.And we were literally in the same place like less than an hour ago,why didn’t you ask your qUeSTIonS then?

Tom: Because she was RIGHT THERE!

EXACTLY SO WHY DIDN’T Tuwaine began to write out,then realized what Tom meant by his text.Oooooh THOSE type of questions.Are they something on the lines of is she single?Maybe even her body count? Tuwaine asked,deciding to tease him.

Tom: SHUT TF UP ITS NOT LIKE THAT

Well maybe the first question...

I truly can’t stand you.

Tuwaine: You want the answer to your question or not?

Tom: 😐

Tuwaine: No she’s not seeing anyone 🙄

Tom: ...Set me up a date with her.

At that moment,Tuwaine really wished Tom was in his room with him just so he could see the look of disbelief on his face. Bruv I know you haven’t been on a date in a while,but that is definitely something you do YOURSELF.

Tom: But she makes me hella nervous!

Tuwaine: When did you start using the word hella?You’ve been spending too much time with Zendaya.

Tom: Can’t really help that when she’s,well,my literal love interest.

Tuwaine: Keep that attitude up and I’ll tell Y/N that you shit yourself in your sleep.

Tom: If you tell her that,you’ll have to say goodbye to my fans for me bc I’d literally throw myself off of the nearest building.

Tuwaine: You do that like every day on set,nothing new really.

Tom: I have to go arsehole.Please just send me her number.

Tuwaine: Sure.Don’t die while doing stunts or whatever.

Tom: Love you too Tuwaine 🥰😘❤️❤️😊

Tuwaine couldn’t help but laugh at the text as he put his phone on his charger and finally climbed into bed to rest.

~*~

Yow woke up at around 8:00am to a text from an unknown number.The text read Hey,it’s Tom!I hope you don’t mind that Tuwaine gave me your number.You smiled at the text and mentally noted to thank Tuwaine later. Oh I don’t mind at all 😊 What’s up Tom?Well I guess filming right?😂 You cringed at your reply but it was too late to delete it.You got a reply in less than a minute.

Tom: lol we actually got a lot done last night so I’m free for the day!

You: Oh cool!You got any plans for your day off?

I was actually hoping I could take you out for lunch? Tom surprised himself at his sudden confidence.He thought he’d end up giving you small hints that he wanted to hang out until eventually you were the one to ask.

You: I’d love to!What time were you thinking?

Tom: Can I pick you up for 12:00?

You: 12:00 would be just fine 😌 See you then!

Tom: See you then!

You were over the fucking moon.Tom Holland,one of your biggest celebrity crushes since CA: Civil War, just asked you out on a date.To say you were freaking out was an understatement.The date was literally four hours away,but you jumped up and started looking for an outfit anyway.Once you finally picked up the perfect outfit,with the limited clothes that you brought for your trip,you threw a hoodie over yourself and headed to the lobby,remembering that you were supposed to me Tuwaine for breakfast.

~*~

“So yeah I got a text that was like “Hey,it’s Tom!” and first my dumbass was like “Who the fuck is Tom?” then I read the rest of the text and I it mentioned you and I was like “Ooooh that Tom!” so then I texted him back and was like-“

“I hate to cut you off,” Tuwaine said,finally deciding to interrupt your rant “But it’s too early in the morning for you to be talking at this speed.”

You knew your friend was mostly just joking,but you sheepishly sunk down in your chair and calmed down a bit anyway. “My bad,I’m just really excited.”

“It’s cool,love.So I’m guessing this lead to him asking you out?”

“Yes!I’m saving my appetite because he’s taking me out for lunch!But that’s enough about my potential love life,how’d you sleep?” You asked and slightly leaned over with genuine anticipation.This brought a smile to Tuwaine’s face.

“Glad to see that you remember you came all this way to see me.” He mockingly told you,but you could tell he was genuinely touched.He went on to tell you that it felt like he was sleeping on a huge slab of stone,but he went to sleep anyway because he was too tired.You two had a long chat and before you knew it,it was time for your date.

(A /N: One thing I’m manifesting for myself starting this December 21st is a better sleep schedule.It’s getting late,but I didn’t want to go back on my word so I just cut it short 😅 Part 2 will be up soon though!)

[dameronsgalaxygal]

I’ve Been Waiting For You - Chapter 12: The Winner Takes it All

series masterlist

Pairing: modern!poe x reader 

Word Count: 3323

Warnings: ANGST with some fluff at the end, slight psychical (domestic) violence (a slap), mentions of abusive relationship, language. 

Song: The Winner Takes it All by ABBA

A/N: ITS FINALLY HERE. Thank you all for being so patient with me and sending me all the love. Its been a few months since I updated and I HOPE it doesn’t happen again, cause I didn’t like not updating even though it was good for my mental health. BUT IM BACK AND BETTER AND UPDATED. I love you guys so much. This chapter may be heavy to some readers, so read at your own risk. As usual, don't forget to listen to the song, and comments and feedback are always welcome! Taglist is open! 

Summary: You confront Kyle and are brought back to the day before you left for Florida.

You had to be dreaming. You must have fallen asleep on the couch and this was some sick nightmare, because there was no way your ex boyfriend was standing in front of you.

Oh, but he was.

An overwhelming amount of emotions flooded your body as you looked at Kyle. Fear. Confusion. Panic.

“K-Kyle,” You nearly whispered, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find you.”

“A year and a half later?” You wanted to ask but refrained. It made no sense why he was here. Since you had left New York, Kyle had only called you once. You had taken it as a sign that he had given up, but him standing in front of you said otherwise.

You swallowed hard, “What do you want?”

“You.” He said bluntly.

“How did you find me?” You asked, your voice shaking.

“I have my ways,” Yep, there’s the smart ass you remembered, “ Can I come in?” He took a step forward but you closed the door slightly, your body blocking him from going any further.

“No.”

“Y/N..”

“I need you to leave.” You had tears welding in your eyes. Every moment you had spent with Kyle in the past were just bad memories now. You didn’t need to be brought back, and you especially didn’t need to watch him plead his way back into you.

Since you had moved to Miami, you had grown so much stronger. You were able to speak about what Kyle had put you through both physically and mentally. You had felt so much better, not focusing on the past and being able to look toward the future. Poe was a big part of that. You would have never guessed you would have spilled your trauma to the pilot who flew you to your new beginning, let alone become your boyfriend.

But then your boyfriend lied to you. Sort of. You weren’t really upset that he didn’t tell you the truth at first. He had held in something traumatic that happened to him just like you did. What hurt was what he said to you. He told you you were selfish, only focusing on you, not giving a shit about other people's issues. He called you a coward, saying you were going to leave Miami just like you left New York only because you were upset with what he was saying, understandably. None of which was true.

You and Poe had completely different things that you had gone through, both having been extremely painful. Sure, they were different scenarios, but that didn’t mean that your pain mattered more than the his. These were the things you would help each other with.

Kyle sighed loudly, looking around, “Can I just come in? Let’s talk, shake hands. I deserve that much.”

You just stared at him. Was he really that much of an idiot?

“Kyle, I said no.” He never understood that word.

He clenched his jaw, “Y/N, I traveled all this way for closure. I am not leaving until I get it.” His tone was dangerous and familiar. Maybe you were a fool for your next action, but you weren’t sure what else to do but give him what he wanted. Just like you used to do when you were together.

You opened the door up a little more with a sigh, nodding as he walked in. He walked fully into your living room as you closed the front door and stood in your same position.

He examined the apartment before looking back at you, “Nice place. You live alone?”

You swallowed hard, shaking your head. “Two roommates.”

He nodded, “They home?”

“No.” What the hell are you doing giving him answers he didn’t need?

He sat down on the couch, opening his mouth to speak before you cut him off.

“I don’t want to talk about things we’ve gone through.” You said blatantly.

He glared at you, jaw clenching once again. You looked at him before looking away and taking a shaky breath.

“You hurt me. But it’s history now and I have nothing to say to you. I moved here to be happy.”

“What, you weren’t happy with me?” He stood up.

“No.”

He tilted his head up slightly in thought, furrowing his brow.

“That’s funny, I don’t recall you saying you were unhappy while I was fucking you against the wall multiple times a day,” He smirked.

“That’s because I didn’t know how to tell you without you threatening me!” You snapped. If it were a year ago, there was no way in hell you would be confronting Kyle. But Miami and Poe had changed you for the better. Poe would be proud of you for standing up for yourself. But Poe wasn’t here.

“Threatening you? Threatening you?” He chuckled dryly, taking a step toward you, “Name one time I threatened you.”

“I can name plenty.”

“Please,” He gestured for you to speak, “Enlighten me.”

You took a shaky breath, watching him carefully as he crossed his arms.

“Y-you told me if I didn’t have dinner on the table when you got home that you would make me sleep on the couch for being a ‘disrespectful woman’.”

He shrugged, “What’s so bad about that?”

“It’s rude. I didn’t have to do everything for you. I wasn’t your toy.” You scoffed, looking away.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

“It’s not funny, Kyle. You put me through so much emotional pain, not to mention the multiple times you laid your hand on me. I have nothing more to say. There is no closure to be made. Now please leave.”

He seemed shocked by your tone. You had never spoken to him like this, so he was very much caught off guard.

“Since when have you been little miss tough girl?”

You scoffed, “Since I found someone who loves me and cares for me.” Even though you and Poe had gotten into a fight, you had no doubt Poe still loved you.

Kyle cocked his eyebrow, “Well you moved on fast.”

Your face started to heat up with anger, “Yeah, well that’s cause I found someone I deserve. I was tired of your bullshit Kyle. You are a jackass who disrespects women. I was tied down to you and I was unhappy. You screamed at me and shoved me and I had had enough. So I left when I had the chance. And over the course of the last year and a half I have grown. I have grown and I am happy. I have someone who loves me and treats me the way a woman should be treated. So get the fuck out of my apartment.”

With that, the back of his hand smacked you hard across the face and you fell to the floor, grabbing your cheek. He looked down at you, gritting his teeth.

“Don’t talk to me like that!”

“Get out!” You tried to scream but it only came out as a whimper.

“I don’t even know why I stayed with you to begin with. The only thing you were good for was sex and putting food on the table.”

You looked up at him, your breath picking up.

“I tried. I tried to come here and apologize for my actions. It’s not my fault you don’t fucking listen.”

“You were stupid to think I would really accept your apology.” You mumbled. He lifted his hand again and you curled into yourself, squeezing your eyes shut to prepare for his next strike. He just sighed heavily before taking a step back.

“Forget it, you aren’t worth it.” He scoffed before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

Almost in time with the sound of the door, you choked out a sob, covering your mouth. You had to hold it together in front of Kyle. If he saw your weakness, he would have taken advantage of it.

You had been doing so well. You were growing and accepting yourself. You were learning to not allow him to hold you back. Until now. It was feeling like that day you decided to leave all over again. You thought you had gotten away for good, that you had nothing to worry about. You were wrong.

You cried loudly for a few minutes before gaining enough strength to stand up and walk over to the couch. You collapsed onto it, hands shaking as you reached for your phone to dial for Poe.

Your breathing was heavy, a mix between sobs and hiccups.

““Pick Up. Pick Up. Pick Up.” You whispered into the phone. This seems familiar, you thought.

“Hey.” Poe said, sighing in relief. It seemed as though he had been waiting for you to call.

“P-P-Poe…” You whimpered.

“Y/N? Are you okay?” His tone changed from relief to worry.

“No.”

“What’s going on? Are you safe?”

“I don’t know.”

“Baby what are you talking about?”

“K-Kyle.” Your cheek was really starting to sting now.

You couldn’t see it, but Poe’s face flushed with anger.

“What about Kyle?”

“H-He w-was h-here.”

“What?”

“He found me somehow a-and he said he wanted closure and I was an idiot and let him inside and I confronted him and told him to leave an-and he…” You swallowed hard, trying to contain yourself.

“He what, Y/N?” His jaw clenched.

“He hit me.”

Silence.

“P-Poe?”

“Is he gone?”

You nodded even though he couldn’t see you, “Yes. I think so. He was about to hit me again but then told me I wasn’t worth his time and he left.”

“Where are you right now?”

“On the couch in my living room. Poe I need you. P-please.” You let out a sob.

Poe’s heart broke. He was on the other side of the country for at least another day.

“Sweetheart..”

“I’m sorry Poe. I’m sorry for walking out on our anniversary. Just, please.”

Poe swallowed hard, “Don’t you dare apologize. This was not your fault at all. I said hurtful things that I regret and I haven’t gotten any sleep because I know how it tore you apart. And for that I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

You sniffled, “I forgive you. Can you please come home?”

He sighed, “Y/N..”

“I’m scared of being alone. Rey is away for the weekend and Rose is out with her friends. I don’t know what to do.”

All Poe wished he could do was snap his fingers and be there to hold you and remind you how much you are worth it. But life doesn’t work that way.

“Okay, okay. Deep breaths. I’ll see what I can do.”

You sniffled and nodded, wiping your eyes. “Okay.”

“If I hang up for a few minutes do you think you’ll be okay? Or do you want me to stay on the line?” His voice was soft to keep you calm.

“I think I’ll be okay.” You said shakily.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Okay…”

“Poe?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He smiled softly, “I love you too. I’ll talk to you in a few, okay?”

“Okay.” You hung up, taking a deep breath and tossing your phone back on the coffee table.

You covered your face, taking a few deep breaths like Poe had instructed you to do.

After a few minutes you stood up from the couch and made your way to the bathroom. You grabbed a washcloth, dampening it with warm water and gently stroking it along your bruised cheek. A small blue and purple bruise was forming underneath your eye and you sighed, shaking your head. It was all too familiar.

A knock on the door caused you to jump. You turned your head to look toward the door, lip already beginning to quiver. There was no way Poe had gotten here so quickly, which meant it was probably Kyle again.

You stood frozen, terrified of what would happen if you opened the door again.

“Y/N?” A female voice made you furrow your brow.

“Y/N, open up. It’s Leia.”

Leia? What was Leia doing on this side of Miami? She lived at least forty minutes away. However, you needed someone at this point, so you ran to answer the door.

“Leia.” You whispered.

“Hi hon.” She smiled softly.

“What are you doing here?” You sniffled.

“Poe called me. Luckily I was nearby visiting a friend.”

You sighed in relief, eyes forming tears once again.

“Can I come in?”

“Please,” You gestured for her to come inside.

She walked in, setting her bag down on the counter and then pulling you into a hug.

You hugged her tightly, small sobs escaping your lips as you cried into her shoulder. You clutched onto her shirt and she sighed.

“Let it out.”

“I was so scared. I did my best to stand up for myself but h-he..”

“I know. Poe told me. It’s okay. You don’t need to talk about it.”

You nodded and sniffled, finally calming down.

“Here,” Leia pulled back, “Let me see.”

You stood up straight as she gently ran her thumb along your bruised cheek.

“Ice and Advil should reduce the swelling. Do you know where he went?”

You shook your head, “I don’t know. I don’t know how he got my address or even knew I moved to Florida!”

She nodded, “Okay, well you aren’t going to stay here tonight. Are you comfortable with coming to my house for the night? Poe will be back tomorrow.”

You nodded. You just didn’t want to be alone, even though Rose would be back later. You weren’t as close to Rose. Leia was not only your boss, but Poe's aunt. You felt connected to her, and you were sure she knew about your past. Poe told Leia everything.

“Let me just pack a bag real quick.”

She smiled softly and nodded as you went to your room, packing up a change of clothes and pajamas along with some toiletries and your blanket.

You sent Rose a text letting her know you were going to be gone for the night and that you would be home sometime tomorrow. She didn’t reply, but you figured it was because she was out drunk at the bar. She’d realize you were gone eventually.

The drive to Leia’s house seemed shorter than it was, only because Leia managed to keep your mind off of Kyle. She talked to you about new books that were arriving in the shop, gave you more restaurant recommendations, and even talked you through your argument with Poe.

“He’s a boy. He doesn’t think before he speaks.” She’d say. You cracked a small smile.

“I’ll just tell you this, that boy loves you immensely. He’s been in love with you since he saw you get off the plane from New York. You have nothing to worry about” She said. You looked at her, lips parting slightly. She just looked at you and smiled before continuing to drive. Leia really did know everything.

The rest of the evening was comfortable. Her house was small but cute, with only two rooms and one bathroom. You were introduced to Leia's husband, Han, who wouldn’t stop cracking jokes. Normally you would tell him they were extremely cheesy, but you needed all the smiles and laughs you could get. Leia let you take the guest room and offered you the shower. You had been so emotionally exhausted, you just decided to slide into bed after thanking Leia and Han for offering you their home.

You laid down with an ice pack pressed gently against your cheek as you scrolled through your phone when a text popped up.

Hey. Called in tomorrow. Catching the next flight back to Miami. I won’t be back until late, so don’t wait up. Aunt Leia told me you’re at her place. I will see you first thing in the morning. I love you baby. Sleep well. - Poe

You smiled softly to yourself. He really cared about you so much that he called in to his job, as a pilot, to catch a flight home, when he isn’t piloting, to get home to you quicker. Just like Leia said, he loved you immensely.

-----------

You woke up the next morning to a familiar voice, the voice that had helped you grow so much the past year.

“Baby,” Poe’s voice caused your eyes to flutter open slowly. It took you a moment before you realized who it was. Your eyes widened when it came to you.

Without a word, you sprung up, throwing yourself into him. You held him as close as you could, “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Poe sighed, nuzzling his head into your neck, “Me too.”

You stayed in silence for a moment before Poe spoke, “I’m going to find him, and I am going to beat his ass.”

You chuckled, pulling back and resting your forehead on his.

“I love you, but you don’t have to do that.”

He frowned when he saw your cheek, “Y/N, he did this to you..” He ran his thumb under your eye gently.

You sighed, “I know.”

“That’s not okay. He needs to be arrested.”

“I don’t know where he is now. For all I know he could have gone back to New York.”

Poe sighed and nodded, kissing the tender spot softly.

“How do you feel about staying with me for a bit? He doesn’t know me or my address, so he won’t know where you are. Just… until we have a pretty good idea he’s not here anymore.”

You smiled. Part of you hoped he would say that.

“I’d love that.”

He smiled widely, “Good, cause I took the week off. Family emergency.”

You shook your head, “You didn’t need to do that for me…”

“Yes I did. Because I love you, I care about you, and you and your safety is important to me.” He put his forehead on yours.

You took a shaky breath, “Thank you.”

He smiled as Leia walked in.

“How’re the lovebirds?”

You giggled as Poe stood up, walking over to her and wrapping his arm around her, kissing her head.

“Thank you for checking on her and bringing her here on such short notice.”

“Of course. She’s like family. She makes you happy.” She winked at you.

You smiled softly, looking down at your lap.

He smiled over at you before looking back down at Leia.

“I think I’m going to take her back to my place for the week just so I know she’s safe.”

Leia nodded, “If you two need anything, you let me know.” You nodded.

“Oh, and Y/N?” You looked up at Leia, “Take the week off.”

Your smile dropped, “Leia…”

“Please. Spend time together. I know you want it.”

You looked at Poe and he nodded, in which you smiled softly.

“Thank you.”

She winked again before clapping her hands together.

“Alright, I know it's been a rough last 24 hours, but I made french toast. Care to stay for a little while longer?”

“Hell yeah,” Poe chuckled, “How could I ever pass up Auntie's famous recipe?”

You giggled and nodded, “I’d love some.”

She smiled widely and nodded, “It’ll be ready in ten. I’ll leave you two alone..”

She walked out as you got out of the sheets, walking to Poe. He wrapped his arms around your waist and you put your hand on his cheek.

“I’m sorry about all the things I said to you…” He started.

You shook your head, “Later.”

He nodded, leaning down to kiss you slowly. You smiled through it, arms snaking around to wrap around his neck as he pulled you closer against his chest.

The spark you had missed the last couple days was finally back, and you were content, regardless of your confrontation with Kyle. You really couldn’t complain. He was home.

Kyle tried to break you once again, and in the moment you felt you had lost everything all over again. Your confidence, your happiness, yourself. But Poe was here to remind you that you hadn’t. You were still that beautiful, talented, strong woman he had gotten to know and love. You weren’t a loser. You were a winner, and the winner takes it all.

taglist<open> @twomoonstwosuns @darksideofclarke @poesflygirl @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol @rewritingstarrs @aidela @softly-sad @millllenniawrites @fantasticcopeaglepasta​ @the-cry-of-youth @yeeintensifies @lanatheawesome @deeandbobbymcgee @yougottakeeponkeepinon​ @cloud-leader @multifandomlife22 @aroseamongthestars @liadamerondjarin @eternallyvenus @xremember-me-notx @frietiemeloen @itspdameronthings @triggerhappyflygirl @princessxkenobi​

[freddiesaysalright]

Part of Your World - Chapter 1

Ben!Prince Eric x Mermaid!Reader

Summary: Prince Ben is trying to escape an arranged marriage. A young mermaid wants to escape the sea. Their paths cross and they may just be what the other is looking for. 

Word Count: 4.5k

Tag List: @psychosupernatural​, @someone-get-a-medic​, @bensrhapsody​, @deakyclicks​, @crazylittlethingcalledobsession​, @minigranger​, @crazyweirdocalledfriday​, @the-moving-finger-writes​, @assembledherethevolunteers​, @rose-writes-prose​, @queenlover05​, @26-7-49​, @drowsebaby​, @im-an-adult-ish​, @queen-paladin​, @rogerina-owns-me​, @mirkwoodshewolf​ If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: The second installment of my fairy tale/Disney AUs! I hope y’all enjoy Ben in the role of Prince Eric, with a twist on the story you know :)

Warning(s): None!

Moodboard

Chapter 1 here we go!!!

Ben ran. His heart pounded and his lungs ached as he sprinted through the market toward the harbor. This was his last chance. Princess Dana was the last eligible match for him and he didn’t like her. And he took his father’s threat - “So help me, if you don’t like this one, I will choose a woman for you!” - very seriously. So, his only choice was to escape.

He leapt over a cart of cabbages and skidded to a halt. 

“Watch it!” the cabbage merchant warned.

“Sorry,” Ben said.

He wasn’t accustomed to being spoken to so harshly, but he had disguised himself well. He was in his worst clothes, with no jewelry, and had mussed up his hair. He didn’t look anything like a prince. He glanced back the way he came, and breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t being followed.

He took a moment to scan the harbor and find out which ships were leaving. It didn’t matter where they were going, he was getting on it. He spotted a ship at the very end of the row which was being loaded by several men that appeared to be crew members. Ben looked back once more for good measure. With dread, he saw palace guards.

“Damn,” he hissed, and took off toward the ship, hoping they hadn’t caught sight of him.

He approached slowly. He couldn’t reveal himself to be a runaway or they might not take him. The first crewman he saw was actually not a crewman at all. It was a woman. She was strong and tall, but with a soft, delicate face, tanned from the sunny days at sea.

“Excuse me,” Ben began, and she faced. “Is there room on your ship for one more?”

She looked him up and down. 

“No,” she said flatly.

Ben winced and looked over his shoulder. The guards were getting closer.

“Please,” he continued. “It wouldn’t be permanent, I just need a ride out of here.”

“Ari, is this guy bothering you?” said another crewman as they approached. 

Ben quickly realized he was mistaken before. All the people loading this ship were women.

The woman he first spoke to - Ari - shrugged. “Not really. Just needs a ride. No need to fret, Kay.”

Kay was short and thin, with her hair cropped almost to her scalp. She put her wide brimmed hat on and glared suspiciously at Ben.

“We don’t take men on our ship,” she said sternly. “It’s bad luck.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. He had always heard the opposite. But then again, that was from ships with crews of men. Perhaps having a mixed ship at all was what brought bad luck. 

“As I told your friend here, it wouldn’t be permanent,” he said. “I really just need to get away from these shores.”

He looked back again at the steadily approaching guards. They were buying him time since they were stopping to ask so many people. Ari and Kay exchanged a look.

“Are you in trouble for something?” Ari asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Ben said hesitantly. “You’re the only ship that’s leaving this morning. Please.”

“Now that’s something we understand,” Ari said. “Come on, let’s go speak to the captain.”

“Ari!” Kay cried in protest. “He - he’s - he’s a he!”

“I know, but he’s in a pinch,” Ari said. “We may be pirates, but we’re not heartless.”

Ben stopped dead. “Hold on. Pirates?!”

“Duh,” Kay said, rolling her eyes. She pointed to the mast. “Black sails, genius.”

Ben followed the direction of her finger and saw that she was right. He had totally missed the black sails. It seemed foolish now since they stuck out against the bright blue sky. But this was his only chance.

“Hope you’re not scared,” Kay mocked.

He shot her a glare. “I’m not scared!”

“Prove it,” she returned.

He straightened his shoulders and followed Ari. Kay walked behind him, and he could feel her smirking. He braced himself for whoever this captain may be. He knew now that it would be a woman, but what would she be like? Probably unlike any woman he had ever met before.

As he boarded, everyone on deck turned eyes on him. He gulped. These women looked fierce. Mean, even. Especially with the myriad of weapons hanging off each person. He was intimidated. They began to whisper as he passed.

Ari led him over to the captain’s quarters. He took a deep breath to calm himself while she knocked three times on the hard, wooden door.

“Yes?” came a smoky voice from within.

“Captain Behati?” Ari said. “We need your approval for something.”

“Can it wait?” the captain returned. “I’m busy.”

“Unfortunately, there’s a time limit,” Ari replied.

Ben was startled at how quickly the door was snatched open. There stood a tall, beautiful woman, with deep, dark skin. Her hair was twisted into locks that trailed all the way down to the small of her back. Her eyes were a rich brown that reminded Ben of cocoa. Her demeanor was regal and commanding. When she spotted him, he took a step back.

“What is this?” she snapped. “A man on my ship?”

“He’s in trouble with the law,” Ari said. “Could we give him a lift?”

Behati looked intently at him. “A lift where?”

“Dunno,” Ben shrugged. “Just anywhere but here.”

“Give me a reason to help you,” she said.

“I’ve got gold,” he told her. “Lots of it.”

“Now you’re speaking my language, boy,” she laughed. It was a pleasant sound, and he relaxed. “How much do you have on you?”

He dug his coin pouch out of his knapsack and tossed it to her. “Take as much as you like.”

Her eyes roved over him skeptically. “You’re awfully confident - and careless - with your money.”

“Money doesn’t matter much to me,” he said.

In truth, Ben fully intended to find his way back to his home. He just needed his parents to understand - he couldn’t marry someone he didn’t love. Especially these princesses who were duller than sand and had no sense of adventure. They all droned on about being ready to settle down and have children, but that wasn’t what Ben wanted right now. He wanted a partner, who would travel the world with him, who wanted to see more beyond the society she already knew.

He looked back to the harbor and saw the approaching guards.

“Really need a decision here, Captain,” he said.

She glanced over and saw them as well. “The gold will do. Hide below deck.”

He hurried to obey, led by Ari. It was much darker down there, since the only light came from the sun peeking through the cracks between the boards. But it also meant he could listen. He heard the guards march up onto the ship and come to a short stop.

“We’re looking for someone,” said a guard. “A young man. He’s needed for duties at home.”

“There are no men allowed on my ship,” Behati spat back. “I suggest you disembark as well.”

“You haven’t seen anyone?” the guard pressed. 

“No, now remove yourself,” she ordered. “Before I change my mind about killing you.”

“Y-you wouldn’t dare,” the guard returned.

Ben heard the swish of a sword being drawn. He guessed it was Behati’s since he heard the heavy boots of the soldiers shuffle backward.

“You can’t even imagine the things I’d dare to do, soldier,” she said. “Get off my ship. We’re leaving.”

There was a moment’s hesitation and then they all paraded off. When the last of the steps started to die down, Ben went to poke his head out. Behati grabbed his face and forced him back down.

“Stay there until we’re out of sight, fool,” she hissed. “They may be watching.”

Ben frowned, but did as she said. 

He heard the crew women putting everything in order for the departure. It was still another half hour before they were moving, though. It was a slow, steady pace to get out of the harbor. Ben peeked out from the canon holes to see their progress. With a twinge of fear, they were away from the harbor, and he was outside of his father’s rule. On the other hand, it also meant he was outside of his father’s protection.

Ari retrieved him when he was permitted to emerge. The sun was bright and the breeze was cooling. The salty sea air whipped his hair and coat around.

“What’s your name, by the way?” Ari asked politely.

“Um, it’s Eric,” he lied. 

The last thing he needed to do was reveal his true name to a bunch of pirates. He’d become a ransom so fast his head would spin.

“Okay, Eric,” she said. “Why were palace guards looking for you?”

“Am I really to be subjected to interrogations from pirates?” he challenged. “It’s my business.”

She put her hands up innocently and raised her eyebrows. “Just making conversation.”

With that, she walked away, going to help Kay with some of her work. Ben went to the starboard side, toward the bow, and rested his elbows on the ledge, looking out. The open water, with nothing around for miles, looked like freedom to him.

“Hey, boy!” Behati called, and he turned to face her. She pushed some rope into his hands. “If you’re staying, you’re working. We’re not a cruise ship.”

He smiled. “Yeah, alright.”

She scoffed and shook her head. “Just get started.”

“Can I ask you something?” he wondered.

“You can, but I’m under no obligation to answer you,” she returned with a smirk. 

“Fair,” he conceded. “But, where exactly are we going?”

“Where we’re always going,” she said. “To find the sea witch.”

Ben blinked. “I’m sorry - the sea witch?!”

***

“Come on, Lorelai, don’t be such a guppy!” you teased.

She swam on behind you and frowned when she caught your eye.

“I’m not a guppy!” she insisted, tail flicking with indignation. “I just don’t see why you’re so obsessed with shipwrecks.”

“They’re the only exciting things that happen here!” you said. “What else do we do?”

“Plenty!” she insisted. “Most of it safely away from human nonsense!”

“You sound like my father,” you groaned, rolling your eyes.

“Well, King Triton is a smart man, Y/N, maybe you should listen to him.”

You ignored her and kept swimming. This shipwreck was fairly new, but it was close to the shore, which made it dangerous. At least for you. For the humans aboard, it usually meant they survived and returned to land safely. For you to approach it meant it was easier for humans to spot you.

As you and Lorelai got closer, you reverted to sign language. All merpeople followed this practice when approaching shallow waters. To avoid detection by humans, remaining silent was necessary. Especially around a shipwreck. Treasure hunters lingered, and a real live mermaid would be viewed as a greater treasure than all the gold in the world.

You swam through one of the portholes and into the ship. There was rarely anything of interest on the deck of an old ship. Mostly just split wood. The humans always kept their things below. You went first to a pile of things that shone. You had a few friends who had interacted with humans before, and you sometimes asked them to identify things for you. According to them, humans used these utensils to eat. 

Fascinating! You signed to Lorelai.

It was her turn to roll her eyes.

You moved on together after you stuffed one of the items in your bag.

The next thing you found was what appeared to be jewelry. It was a necklace, but it wasn’t made from anything you had ever seen before. All your jewelry was made from pearls, but this gem was shinier. It was completely reflective, like glass. But it wasn’t see-through. 

What do you suppose this is? You signed.

You looked up to see Lorelai’s expression. She wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were turned upward, where a shadow was approaching. The wide shape with the pointed end was all you needed to know. A ship was coming. And that meant you had to get out of here fast.

Lorelai started out, heading back the way you had entered. She flinched back when something whizzed past her and lodged into the ocean floor beneath the ship. A thick rope was in front of her, taut. She shot you a terrified glance. Humans were here. 

You both swam hard back toward the porthole, racing for the safety of deeper water. Only, another harpoon came hurtling down. You watched with horror as it snagged Lorelai’s braid, pinning her down. You flew to her side and tried to tug the weapon free, to no avail. 

“Y/N!” she cried, panic making her forget the sign language protocol. “Go get something to cut me free!”

“Right!” you returned, and bolted back inside. 

You returned to the utensils and looked wildly around. There had to be something strong enough to cut rope down here. You grinned when you spotted a dagger - still sheathed - in the corner of the room. Snatching it up, you hurried back to Lorelai. 

You came back in time just to hear her scream as the harpoon was being drawn back up toward the surface. You swam determinedly to her, faster than the harpoon was moving. Whipping out the dagger, you brought it down hard against the rope.

That didn’t work. It bounced, forcing your arm back much to your surprise. You looked between the dagger and the rope, astonished.

“Y/N, hurry!” Lorelai urged.

“I’ll have to cut your hair!” you cried.

“I don’t care, just get me out of here, we’re almost to the surface!”

It was a struggle to keep swimming and grab her braid in one hand with the dagger in the other. You brought the sharp end to the side of her braid and began sawing at the strands. It was a bit sad - Lorelai had such beautiful turquoise hair - but you couldn’t think about that now. Hair could grow back. If a fisherman caught her, she would be gone forever. 

“Y/N!” she sobbed as you began rapidly approaching the surface.

If you broke through, it would mean trouble.

“I’m almost done!” you assured her.

You could feel the heat of the sun. You pushed hard with the knife through the final strands of the braid and the tension broke. She was free.

You couldn’t celebrate just yet. Taking her hand, you tugged her back down into the depths with you. As fast as you could go, you hurried away from the ship. Fisherman had all sorts of contraptions beyond harpoons, and you weren’t sure you’d be so lucky again. So, you weren’t waiting around. You and Lorelei swam and swam and swam until your abdomens ached with the effort. There was no sign of the fishermens’ ship.

You came to a stop, panting. Lorelai still had tears in her wide eyes. Without a word, you embraced each other and let out your relief. You held her as she cried. It was such a close call, you understood her fear. You were just as afraid, but you wanted to be strong for her.

“Do you see why they’re so dangerous, Y/N?” she sniffled. “Humans just want to hurt us.”

“Be fair, Lo,” you replied gently. “There are good ones. Like Captain Behati.”

“She’s just a legend!” Lorelai snapped. “I know it’s all interesting to you but look what almost happened! I could have been caught!”

“I’m sorry,” you said earnestly. “But I just think if we all understood each other, we could co-exist!”

She narrowed her eyes at you. 

“If that wasn’t a wake up call, Y/N, then I don’t even know what to do with you,” she said.

With that, she turned tail and stormed off. You watched her fins disappear around a reef with a sigh. 

In all honesty, you didn’t believe most humans to be these evil creatures on the hunt for merpeople. Fishermen were usually just looking for fish. Lorelai was just - quite literally - caught in the crossfire. In fairness to Lorelai, she wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for you insisting she come with you to explore. You headed home, prepared to apologize. 

On your way, you stopped by your cove. It was the place you kept all the human stuff you found. The only people who knew about it were you and Lorelai. As your best friend, she had vowed to keep your secret, even if she didn’t understand. 

This was the one place you felt free. Free to be yourself and explore your interests. Surrounded by all these human artifacts - books, utensils, figurines, and so much more - was where you were authentically you. 

Your favorite thing to do was tinker. Human objects did such wondrous things. You weren’t sure how everything worked, and plenty of things were damaged beyond repair, but every time you made a discovery, it sent such a thrill of joy through you that made you do flips. How could humans be so bad if they made things that created such joy?

You spent a few hours in your solace before returning to the palace. Lorelai needed time to cool off before she would be able to accept your apology. Plus, you were certain word had gotten out about what happened, and you had to mentally prepare yourself for the lecture you were going to get from your father.

You went willingly to the throne room first. You peered around the corner through the door and spotted your father already seated there. He was twirling his trident between his fingers, which you knew to be a sign of irritation. He must know. You decided to play dumb anyway.

“Hello, Father,” you greeted brightly as you swam up. “I’m looking for Lorelai. Have you see-”

“Y/N, what is wrong with you?!” he cried, exasperated. “Why must you always go looking for trouble?”

“I - what do you mean?” you returned innocently.

“You know very well what I mean, young lady!” he shouted. “You took Lorelai to that shipwreck and nearly got her captured by humans!”

You sighed. 

“In fairness, I didn’t know the fishermen would show up,” you said.

“That’s your argument?!” he returned. “Are you serious, Y/N?!”

“But I -”

“I don't want to hear any more out of you!” he cut across you. “You know the rules. Only those with permission to do so may make contact with humans. And only out of necessity! And last time I checked, you’re not on that list! You are forbidden from going to any more shipwrecks!”

You folded your arms across your chest defiantly.

“I didn’t make contact on purpose!” you argued. “Besides, we got away! Everything was fine! You can’t punish me for a close call!”

“Oh, yes I can!”

“No you can’t!” you insisted. “I’m a grown woman now, Father! I don’t have to take your orders if I don’t want to!”

“Well, then, if you will not respect my authority as your father, perhaps you will understand the law of the sea,” he warned. “No one is to approach shipwrecks as long as they live under my ocean! And no one has permission to contact humans under ANY circumstances! You may be my daughter, but you are also my subject, so the laws still apply to you!” 

Your mouth fell open.

“That’s not fair, I -”

“It is perfectly fair!” he interrupted again. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my merpeople safe! I will not have another incident like today!”

“But nothing -”

“Nothing happened this time!” he said. “It is unlikely we will be that fortunate again! Now, leave me! You have a friend you owe an apology to.”

You huffed and turned your back to him. You swam out and toward Lorelai’s house. Your father was right about that last part. The rest of it, you absolutely did not agree with. It felt like he was throwing his weight around as king to punish you. You knew that going to shipwrecks was risky, but it wasn’t inherently bad, nor did it always mean interaction with humans. In fact, today was the only time you had experienced that, and you’d been going through shipwrecks for years.

You knocked softly on Lorelai’s door. 

“Lo?” you said. “It’s me.”

The door swung open and she appeared there. 

“Hey,” she said.

“Look, I’m so sorry about earlier,” you said. “I should never have put you in danger like that, and I feel terrible about it. Are you okay?”

She nodded as a small smile claimed her lips. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Still a little shaken, but I’m alright. If you hadn’t been there, I would have been a goner.”

“You wouldn’t have been there if I hadn’t nagged you into coming along,” you returned. “The point is, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Apology accepted,” she said. “How’d your father handle it?”

“It was terrible!” you told her. 

You explained what he said and the new rules. She looked sympathetically at you.

“I know it’s hard, Y/N, but honestly it’s for the best,” she said. “Everyone will be much safer if we keep to ourselves.”

You decided it was better not to argue. You said goodbye and promised to stop by the next day to check on her. She really did seem okay. Frustrated and annoyed, you headed back to your collection cove. You needed to cool down after so much arguing. 

Relieved to be alone and in your happy place, you relaxed against the center stone that served as your chair. You looked around at your glittering collection. Yes, you had plenty of things here, but you wanted more. There was so much still to learn and explore. There was still room on the shelves for human things. There was still something missing.

You looked up toward the surface. A whole world existed up there. Something foreign and intriguing and adventurous. So much more out there than what you had in the familiar corners of the ocean. You had to see it somehow. 

The cove had a tunnel that led all the way up to the surface. You liked to watch the waves rise and fall and reflect the sunlight. Looking up there always made you so hopeful. Even though your father had made these silly rules, you still hoped that someday you would find your way to the human world and experience it for yourself. 

As you watched the water, another shadow appeared. A ship. Something was different about this one. It gave you a new feeling, something stronger than any other ship you had seen before - not that there were many. Curiosity, as well as defiance of your father, drove you to push yourself upward and start swimming toward the forbidden free air. Your tail pushed the water and you began to leave the sea behind. 

When you broke the surface, you sucked in a mouthful of air. You liked the air more than most merfolk. It was liberating to you to leave the water. 

You realized you were mistaken earlier about the reflection on the water. The sun had gone down and the moon was hanging low in the sky. A ship with black sails was gliding through the waves. You followed it. 

You saw the low lights from the ship shining on the inky water, and considered how mysterious the depths of it must be to the humans aboard. You swam closer, but stopped when you heard a shout from someone on deck. Holding your breath, you waited for something to happen. When you saw them dropping the anchor, you heaved a sigh of relief. They had not seen you. 

Taking your life into your hands, you went even closer. You could hear them speaking now. You took hold of one of the ropes hanging down the side and began to climb it. There was a ledge where you could sit and peek through an opening. You bit your lip to keep yourself from grunting as you heaved yourself up. 

It was the first time you had ever completely been out of water. It felt odd to be so dry, but you were excited. Your heart pounded, even faster than it had earlier during the attack with the harpoons. This was not something you were afraid of. It was thrilling. 

You carefully took a seat on the ledge and slid as close as you dared. Turning slowly, you peered in, observing the group of humans gathered on the deck. 

To your surprise, they were all women, except one. The man’s appearance struck you. He was beautiful to look at, with a strong jaw, a wide smile, and bright blonde hair. You watched him take a seat beside a tall woman, who had her arm around the thin one beside her. 

“So, why does Captain Behati want to hunt the sea witch?” asked the man. “I didn’t think people believed in things like that.”

“If you’re going to be at sea, you better understand that believing in those things is a part of life,” said the tall woman. “Captain Behati hunts the sea witch because she must.”

“Why?” the man pressed. “What’s so important about it?”

“To break the curse,” the small woman answered. “You see, the captain was taken from her home by slavers, who were taking her to some foreign land, to sell her to people she had never seen.” 

“She made a daring escape,” the tall woman continued. “Only, she was still in chains, and couldn’t swim. She was sinking slowly, slowly, until she saw...her.” 

“Who?” the man asked. 

“The sea witch,” the small woman said irritably. “Sycoria.”

“Sycoria told Behati she would give her the freedom she so desperately desired,” the tall one added. “But it came with a price. The captain could never set foot on land again. If she does, she will turn to dust, and her soul will belong to Sycoria.” 

The man blinked with surprise. You were also a bit shocked at the story. You knew of Sycoria and the games she played with people’s lives, how she prayed on desperation, but you had no idea the legendary Captain Behati was one of her victims. Captain Behati was something of a myth among merpeople. Some claimed to have seen her and interacted with her, but officially, she was just a rumor. To realize you were on her ship was unbelievable. And you almost cursed because you could never tell anyone you had done this. 

“That’s terrible,” the man said. 

You liked the sound of his voice. It was deep and smooth. It reminded you of sunsets.

“That’s why we hunt her,” the tall woman said. “Kill the witch, and the spell is broken.”

“But why even return to land?” the man wondered. “Won’t she just be taken again?”

The women all laughed. 

“Oh, you silly boy,” said the small one. “I’d like to see a man try to take Captain Behati prisoner now. She will kill him before he can even speak.”

Even though you still had not seen Captain Behati, you liked her. She clearly had the respect of her crew, and she was a force to be reckoned with. As powerful as the ocean herself. 

Suddenly, there was a loud BANG. A flash appeared from a ways down the water. Another ship was nearing. Were you about to be caught in a much more serious crossfire?

[twoidiotwriters1]

Written In The Stars CIII (Harry Potter xF!Oc)

A/N: I know last book ended horribly but I promise this one won’t be entirely sad, just a bit frustrating– Enjoy and please leave feedback! -Danny

Words: 3,888 

Series’ Masterlist

Book IV // Next Chapter

Listen to: Then -by Anne-Marie

Chapter One: A Lousy Summer.

1974

Emily wasn't going to cry where the girls would be able to hear. 

She could've used a spell to quiet her own sobs, but she just needed to be in a place where there was no need to hide. 

So she went to the common room, drowning her cries on a blanket and wondering how was she going to crawl her way out of this one. She thought it was unfair, she'd never experienced something so embarrassing prior this moment. Wasn't love supposed to be beautiful?

"Mily?"

The girl gave a start and cleaned her face hastily.

"Padfoot," She tried to sound casual. "What's wrong? Had a nightmare about cats chasing your tail?"

"Are you okay?" He walked up to her, ignoring the teasing. "I'm sure that if you were to talk to them..."

"I think it's clear enough," Emily averted her gaze. "All of us want things we can't have."

"That's not true."

"What exactly should I do after the humiliation I went through?" She sniffed. "He kissed me in front of everyone! I can't be near him and I refuse to be around Lily, I don't want to see any of them!"

"Mily, when I tell you Matt got the worse deal..." Sirius frowned. "The look on his face–"

"You don't need to remind me," Emily lamented. "Why can't I like him back?"

"You can't force things to happen," He shrugged. "If I could make all of you forget I would, but you'd find a way to do whatever you want anyway."

"This is not the time for jokes..."

"Talk to Moony then," Sirius complained. "I'm not good at comforting people..."

"I don't want to talk! Can we just... sit in silence?"

The girl curled up and got closer, he wrapped an arm around her awkwardly.

Really –Sirius thought with exasperation– What was she expecting? This was bound to happen, one of them would eventually develop a crush on her...

Well, more than one... but Sirius was going to take that secret to the grave. It was out of place, Matthew was way better than him– Hell, anyone was a better choice! But tonight it was just the two of them... and Emily had asked him to stay.

"It'll get better, right?" She asked quietly. "I'll get over my stupid crush and so will Matthew... we'll be back to normal in no time..."

"You were never normal," He joked.

"You know what I mean..."

"Yeah," He fixed his gaze on the dying fire, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "If you ask me, James doesn't know what he's missing..."

1995

It was the driest and hottest month of the year back in Private Drive, but Mel was freezing at the front door of Grimmauld Place.

Her mother led her in as she closed the door behind them, Mel hugged Grey's basket closer, thinking a ghost would walk out of the hall. Instead, Sirius walked in with a bright smile.

"You're here!"

Mel looked around dubiously.

"This is your house?"

"Mel! Don't be rude!"

"That's okay," Sirius made a face. "This place is hot rubbish. Your room's clean though. I made sure you'd be comfortable. I know it's hard to be away from home, stuck in such a... place."

"Well, at least you're here," She smiled. "I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"Hand me those," Sirius grabbed her trunk and walked ahead of them. "Let me take you to your rooms... Try to be quiet, my mother's portrait is mental. I tried to take it down but she glued it there. It's bloody torture."

"Language, Padfoot," Emily said, though she was far more interested in the house-elves on the shelves. "Love the decor..."

"Don't mention it," The man growled. "The house-elf that kept the house clean while I was young used to be here, I have no idea where he is, but I haven't found him. I can't wait to throw all those heads out."

"You think he died?"

"I'll find him eventually."

"So this will be the headquarters for the Order?" The girl asked, choosing to ignore his vague answer.

She'd read her mother's letters in secret until Emily found her snooping around, by then it was too late, so Emily didn't see the point on hiding it anymore.

"That's right," Sirius opened the first door of the second landing. "I figured, if I can't be of use out there, the least I can do is give a safe place where to have our meetings. It's secured with a Fidelious charm, Dumbledore did it last Saturday when he heard you were coming."

"Interesting..." Mel looked around. "Who used to sleep in this room?"

"Guests, that's why it's so plain. I thought you'd like it that way, my family wasn't keen on jolly decorations."

"I noticed," Mel grinned.

"You must be hungry, coming all this way from Remus' place. Why don't we go to the kitchen and have lunch? We can unpack later..."

Mel was helping her mother set the table when she heard a strange noise coming from the corner of the kitchen.

"What's in there?"

"It's where the elf used to keep his appliances... there might be rats in there, be careful."

When she opened the door something fell swiftly on her feet and she screamed, jumping on the table.

"What happened?" Emily circled the table. "Oh–! Sirius! I believe Mel found your elf..."

"Is he alive?" The girl asked in terror.

The creature looked ancient and dirty, with a sneer that she'd never seen in an elf before; usually, they were all smiles and compliments. This one started to insult them as soon as he lifted himself from the ground.

"Rats! Thieves! Traitors of the blood had come to rob my masters' treasures!"

"Kreacher," Sirius said. "Shut up."

The elf closed his mouth tightly but sent Sirius a deathly glare.

"He listens to me because I'm the last member of my family that still lives. Be of use, Kreacher, go clean my mother's room."

The elf's eyes shone with anger but he turned away and vanished.

"He always liked to throw tantrums," Sirius added, pulling Mel down from the table. "You're okay?"

"Yeah– it took me by surprise..."

"You jumped so high!" Her mother laughed.

"Laugh at your daughter, will you?" Mel scoffed. "Not like you're the adult or anything..."

"No one here is allowed to be an adult," Sirius crossed his arms. "Not unless we're holding a meeting. In which case we're adults. Today there won't be any, though."

"Don't listen to her, she's just upset about spending summer away from Harry," Emily mentioned.

"I'm not," She replied tensely.

"It's okay, I was beyond sad the first time I had to leave Matt for–"

"I don't feel that way about Harry," Mel retorted roughly.

"What?" Her mother's smile fell. "What happened?"

She bent down to pick up the things that fell when she'd jumped on the table.

"I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Am I missing something?" Sirius raised a brow.

"Last summer Mel told us she was having feelings for Harry..." Her mum began carefully, "I thought it was still a thing..."

"I'll tell you what it was. Stupid..." The lump in her throat formed at a remarkable speed. "I should've known better..."

"Did you talk to him?"

"He doesn't like me, Mum."

Sirius and Emily shared a look, the woman moved to hug her.

"We can talk about it if you want? Once you're ready..."

"Can we have lunch?" Mel asked quietly.

"Sure thing, little Em," Sirius nodded. "I'm a brilliant cook. Your mother's skills will be put to shame."

"How're you so sure?" Emily grinned.

"Because I remember your cooking."

Mel was spending some quality time with Buckbeak when Sirius walked in. It was almost midnight and her mother had gone out on a mission.

"Is it okay if I join you?"

Mel shrugged.

"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but maybe you'd like to talk to me now?"

The girl remained silent.

"C'mon, Mel! We'll live under the same roof for a while, let's practise our social skills!"

"My social skills are fine, thanks."

"I heard from a reliable source that you're still scared of speaking to large crowds..."

"I simply don't find it exciting," She lied.

"Well then, I'm not a thousand people, but I have a nice pair of ears that would love to listen to fifteen-year-olds' problems."

"I'm sure your godson will have plenty once he's back."

"He's been demoted to my godson?" Sirius taunted.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"All right, we won't talk about him... What about your father?"

"What about him?"

"Well, when he was about your age–"

"He kissed my mum and she turned him down?" She replied tiredly. "So what? They married anyway..."

Sirius frowned.

"They didn't know they were going to marry each other, that's what! Matt didn't look like himself for weeks! Your mother'd been rejected, that's why your dad kissed her. He thought it would help... to this day I don't know why he thought that, but alas, it worked!"

"Did you know the other?" Mel asked. "That kid mum used to like?"

"A fool," Sirius shrugged. "A nice fool, but an idiot nonetheless... your parents were lucky, Mel. They found a way to fall in love, but even if that hadn't been the case, your father would've found someone– your mother would've found someone... It's not that we're meant to find just one person and stick to it. Most times it's just finding an equal that understands you and suits your needs, and there are plenty of those."

"I don't want anyone," Mel pouted. "I hate this, and I wish there was a way I could avoid liking people. It's hideous."

Sirius laughed.

"Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't give someone a chance. Though I'll tell you this, no person in this world will ever be fully worthy of you, little Em. And even if it's true and you don't find one, your life will still be full of adventures."

Mel didn't think she was that great, but whatever had happened between Harry and she felt right, it felt natural, she'd been able to see a future with the boy. Then again, that could've been her childish and gullible self thinking that her first love was going to last forever. Maybe, if she were to try hard enough, she'd be able to see someone taking Harry's place.

"Have you ever been in love?" Then she added rather bashfully. "I mean, not that I have, but you know..."

Sirius cleared his throat.

"It was a long time ago. Long before leaving Hogwarts... It wasn't meant to be, nor my place."

They fell in comfortable silence, watching Buckbead nibble some bones.

"If you really want to help me," Mel started. "You can teach me how to avoid detention..."

"Nice try," Sirius laughed. "Emily warned me about you... My official answer is no."

"What about your off-the-record answer?" She inquired, standing up at the same time as him.

"Only the days Mily's not in the house."

Kreacher kept insisting on following her around as if she were a criminal, making sure she wasn't touching any of his old trinkets. She didn't have any interest in doing so; everything had dark magic, she'd sense it without even having to touch them.

On a normal day, she'd go to the attic to spend time with Buckbeak, sometimes Sirius would make tea and they'd sit there talking about his adventures in Hogwarts. He'd tried several times to ask her about Harry, but she would ignore him every time.

Dumbledore visited one morning to ask her to keep it all a secret, what they were doing there, meaning that if she was planning on sending letters to Harry, she wasn't allowed to talk about the Order. But Mel wasn't writing to him at all, and her letters to Hermione and Ron were always vague. Both of them were under the impression that Mel, true to her nature, was keeping an updated knowledge on Harry's whereabouts, that she didn't confirm nor denied.

Erick wrote to her a week after she'd moved to Grimmauld Place. Anne went completely unmentioned, but that was expected. He was busy looking for young supporters, things got a bit complicated when Eliot Flint got sick again and Erick had to look after him. He seemed to be having just as a dreadful summer as she was.

It wasn't that her mother, Lupin, and Sirius would leave her to rot inside this huge house, but they were adults who had their minds set on important matters, and she had nothing to do but overthink about him.

She still had feelings, but she was doing her best to bury them. Mel was hoping that once in Hogwarts she'd find a way to be okay with his existence. She didn't want to get rid of him altogether, that was impossible.

"I take that you're having a rough morning?" Sirius spoke from the doorway.

Mel gave a start, looking up from her seat at the kitchen table.

"I had a nightmare," She said drowsily.

"Same as before?" Sirius knew about her dreams, but that day she didn't want to talk about them. Today all she wanted to do was to sit in silence and drink her coffee.

"Have you had breakfast already?"

"No. I came here so Kreacher would stop nagging about me trying to steal the rubbish he keeps in the living room."

Sirius chuckled, walking up to the stove.

"Maybe if you praise my mother's portrait he'll stop..."

"Would love to, but I'm not a good liar."

"I can help you with that," He turned around for a moment. "Don't laugh when you speak, don't smile– if someone accuses you of causing mischief, act like it was the most insulting thing you've ever heard."

"What if they don't buy it?"

"Confidence is key, Mel. If you believe it, then it's done."

"Sirius, you're not giving my daughter bad advice, are you?" Emily walked in.

"Not at all," Sirius said, feigning surprise. "It shocks me that you think so, the only thing I want for Mel is her well being!"

"He's good..." Mel snickered.

"You have to pick your battles wisely, Paddie. A fifteen-year-old, or an experienced witch that's old enough to hex you," Emily warned him.

"I'll trust my luck," Sirius smirked.

"I got Molly's answer by the way," She ignored him, "The Weasleys will be here next Tuesday."

"Hang on... where will everyone sleep? I know the place is big, but..."

"Ginny can sleep with you," Emily started, "Ron can sleep in Phineas' room, the twins can sleep in the room next door to yours– Molly and Arthur can stay in Walburga's room..."

"But Sirius is in that room," Mel tilted her head.

"Yeah..." Emily glanced anxiously towards the man. "Sirius will take my room. I spend the night outside anyway, remember? Like uncle Lupin."

"But sometimes you don't."

"Little Em," Sirius told her. "Don't worry, your mother and I will make sure everyone's comfortable. As much as this bloody house can be..."

Mel knew Sirius was less than happy about spending his days locked up in the house where he'd lived the worse years of his life, but he was glad to have her, or at least he'd said as much. According to him, Mel was a lovely housemate.

She also knew there was something going on between the two adults. She could see it in the way Sirius would stare at her mother when she wasn't paying attention, and the way her mother would look more cheerful than usual after talking to him. The nights where she had to eat with the two blatantly flirting felt like personal karma from all those months she'd spent recklessly ogling at Harry in front of her friends.

"Can Hermione come too?" Mel asked.

"D'you think she'll want to come to this musty old place?"

"Please?"

Sirius sighed.

"Look at those eyes, Mily. I can't say no to those eyes!"

"Those are my eyes," The woman crossed her arms. "I can."

"I got my father's smile though," She said cheekily. "Please? It could be my first birthday surrounded by friends!"

"You heard that, Mily? Her birthday," Sirius said without missing a beat. "Are you going to deny such a simple request to your only daughter?"

"Oh, you two are unbelievable!"

"Is that a yes?"

"You have five minutes to write that letter and send it– Wipe that smirk off your face, Black. You're washing the dishes tonight."

Mel and Sirius high-fived, laughing at Emily's annoyance.

"And here's where we'll be sleeping!" Mel dragged Hermione into the room.

The house was definitely more fun now that the Weasleys and Hermione were there, from time to time some members of the order would visit as well as her uncle. The place almost felt like home.

"You're not sleeping with your mum?"

"My mum and Sirius share–" She stopped abruptly. "Mum goes out a lot, sometimes when she's here Sirius will give her his room so she can take the bed and he sleeps on the couch."

"Ginny sleeps here too?" Hermione examined the jumpers laying around on the other bed.

"Yeah!"

"How is she? She's over Harry now?" Hermione smiled. "She's okay with him liking you and all?"

Mel groaned internally. This was going to be a long month if people kept asking her about Harry.

"Harry doesn't like me."

"Please, Mel–"

"No," The girl interrupted. "I actually talked to him this time. Don't ask. It's better if we just forget it."

Hermione stared at her in shock.

"I–I could've sworn he... that he..."

"'Mione," Mel stared at her. "Forget it."

Hermione nodded, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"Careful with the twins, by the way," She continued calmly. "They're free to do magic now, and they're out of control."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Ginny and Hermione were acting oddly ever since they found out she wasn't talking to Harry. They had the right to be, it was strange to see how unfeeling she was about being so far away from her former best friend. The twins and Ron, on the other hand, weren't that worried. They thought it was her way of coping and, in a way, it was.

They kept asking a lot of questions about Erick though, whether if he was to be trusted and exactly how much could they get away with. Mel thought it was funny, so she answered as many questions as she could.

Her birthday passed without much of a fuss, suddenly she was fifteen and just as quickly, Harry was too, but he wasn't there to celebrate. For the first time in weeks, she wished he could be there with them, she didn't dislike him as much as to wish him a bad birthday.

Hermione and Ron started to write to him. She tried to write a Happy Birthday note but it sounded stupid, she knew it'd be far from happy, all alone in Privet Drive. That night he would open his window only to see hers completely shut.

Erick's present had been one of those old radios his Grandad used to make with a note that said 'So you can practice your dancing' signed with two E's. She and the twins used it a lot while working on their products, that way it would drown the noise and their mothers wouldn't suspect as much. Mrs Weasley was on edge lately, Percy and his father had gotten into a real nasty fight and now the boy was gone, it had the poor woman in a terrible state.

One night after dinner, Fred walked into her room.

"Hey," She said without looking up. "Erick told me there's a station where they do these radio novels? I'm trying to find them, bet they're hilarious..." She said while toying with the buttons of the object.

"You're all right?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"Brilliant."

It was a lie. She'd been having a terrible headache for the past twenty minutes, probably because of the lack of sleep and the white noise.

"I'm not the best talker, and you don't have to say anything, but–"

"Not you too, Fred," Mel rolled her eyes, turning off the radio. "I told you I'm fine–"

"Exactly. I'd never seen you so calm about leaving Harry before, there must be something," He raised a brow.

"It's called growing up," She scoffed. "He's capable of looking after himself. You know it, I know it..."

"A real grown-up wouldn't avoid confrontation."

"That's rich coming from you, considering you keep hiding your products away from mummy."

"That's not fair, you know it's a safety measure!"

"Okay then," Mel stood up. "This is my safety measure. I don't talk about things that don't concern others..."

Fred caught her wrist and stopped her from leaving.

"Lady..."

"Using my nickname in that aching voice won't change my mind," She raised a brow. "Let go."

"Don't be grumpy, you're starting to sound real' bossy and you haven't gotten the Prefect badge yet!"

"Fred..." She tried to move. "Please, my head is killing me..."

"Did you guys fight?" He tilted his head, finally letting go. "I don't get why you fancy him if you're always bickering..."

"I don't like Harry."

"Yeah, right," Fred laughed.

"I don't," She tried to follow Sirius' advice and kept a neutral expression. "We went to the ball as friends. He saved me during the second task because I was his friend. What Skeeter wrote was rubbish, I don't fancy him."

"If you insist," Fred shrugged, but she could see he wasn't buying it.

He stood up as well and she realized, with a strange sense of accomplishment, that she was tall enough to reach his chin. She was about to point that out when something completely different came out.

"Why did you ask me to the ball?"

"What?"

"You said it was because you thought it'd be fun. Was that it?"

"Why does it matter?"

That was a good question.

Why did it matter?

But also, why not Fred? He was handsome, funny, smart...

It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was that she hadn't picked him. Sirius said there was more than one person for her, she just had to find them. Mel wasn't ready, but she would eventually, and if she could pick...

"It doesn't," Mel sighed. "I was curious, that's all. Ron used to think you fancied me, you know? I told them it was stupid..."

"Well, not stupid," Fred was quick to correct. "Just... I don't know, unlikely."

"Am I unworthy of your affection?" She joked.

He eyed her intently, like pondering the idea she had put out there. Suddenly, her mother stormed into the room.

"Harry was attacked," The woman blurted out.

"What?" Mel snapped, walking away from Fred.

"He's all right, but he used magic. The ministry has been looking for an excuse to get him– I'm afraid he just gave them one."

"Get him?"

"If we don't do something, he'll be expelled from Hogwarts."

"How– we're not– Do what?" She stammered.

"They're bringing him here," Her mother replied. "Harry's coming."

Next Chapter —>

Taglist.

@dee123ksha​ @vampiregirl1797 @siriuslysirius1107 @stardusthigh @mikariell95 @vernon-dursley @thesuitelifeofafangirl @tomshollandz @kylosleftbuttcheek @reverse-hxlland @bloodorangemoonlight @omiwashere​ @t-rexs-world

[cno-inbminor]

ipsum exitio (PREVIEW)

a/n: i wanted to give you all little snippets from this long fic i’m working on -- currently sitting at ~21k and there’s still a decent amount to unfold and unravel. hope you all look forward to this! and a huge, ginormous thank you to @a-kaashi for helping beta this!!

estimated release: in ~2-3 weeks

plot: self-destruction is in the calm before the storm, in the eye of a hurricane. but when the forces are right, the winds are rapid enough, the catalysts send you hurling, you find yourself leaving a monstrous and disastrous path in your wake.

characters: ushijima wakatoshi, semi eita, iwaizumi hajime, and male oc w/fem!reader possessing vagina/uterus/uterine-system (other oc’s also included)

genre/warnings: (+18) slice of life, angst, descriptions and moments of high anxiety, explicit smut (w/slight degradation, size kink, spanking, etc.), virginity loss, mentions of alcohol, talks about virginity and sex toys, slow burn, pining, implied bisexual reader, (more might come up later)

-

A breeze flows in through the open window of your apartment, softly caressing your face as you lean against the sill on your elbows. You drink in the view of Tokyo at night like a fine wine sliding down your throat, attuning to all your senses. With tear ducts dry and dust caked along the rims of your eyes, they shut in defeat, the semblance of a white flag splayed on the back of your eyelids. Cars honk in the distance and your legs struggle to support your weight. The scent of sulfur from the earlier downpour teases at your nostrils, causing your nose to scrunch a bit as you openly take in the scenery before you again.

A nearby billboard flashes bright, mechanically cycling through advertisements and never resting. The LED lights paint a picture that you are all too acquainted with, even more so with the man in the frame. Your body is plunged into a lake of bitter nostalgia as your heart wrenches painfully. Instead of fighting against the resistance of the water and gravity, you succumb to the anchor dragging you down, knowing that eventually, the waves will recede, and you will return to shore again.

Inhale. Count. Exhale.

Breathe.

-

11 years ago

Perhaps you had become a burden to Wakatoshi. You had turned into the thorn in his side, something he no longer wanted to tolerate and keep in his life. Perhaps it was expected, you bitterly thought while shrugging off his jacket. The bite of the cold night teethed and gnawed at your skin, but the pain is almost welcomed now. He took the fabric without a word, only feeling slightly guilty at the sight of stray tears gradually streaking down your cheeks.

“Okay,” you sniffled, arms wrapped around yourself again for some vague sense of protection. “That’s fine, I get it. You have Nationals and the Youth team as well – it’s mainly best for you to end this.”

“(Y/n) –”

“It’s really okay, Wakatoshi. I appreciate you being straightforward with me. I’ll see you at practice,” you quickly interjected and turned to trek back towards the dorm, sending a quick but lifeless wave behind you. The shards of whatever was left of your soul trailed behind you like scattered stars on the concrete. Even when your roommate and friend brought your disheveled figure into her arms, they did little to ward off the parasitic spectres in your mind.

-

7 years ago

A bio was set, photos strategically ordered, and you were tossed into the world of online dating.

“This is a really bad idea,” you groaned ten minutes later as Sayuri swiped through the profiles showing up in your pool. “I haven’t even slept with anyone before.”

“Oh honey, I bet half of these men only ever got their dick wet once and came in two minutes flat. They think they’re impressing someone but they’re only fooling themselves,” Sayuri scoffed and then grimaced at a man’s daringly shirtless mirror selfie. “This poor guy needs to eat more; I can see his ribcage! You don’t need someone who doesn’t appreciate food.”

“What if he’s got an eating disorder?” You seriously speculated, heart going out to the possibility of that.

“Well now you make me feel bad after swiping left on him and – oh hey! You got a match!”

“What? Who the hell did you swipe right on?!” You screeched; chin craned to get a good look at the person on your phone.

-

4.5 years ago

With a duffel bag slung on his shoulder, phone in hand, dark skinny jeans, a casual pale blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up , his reflexes were quick enough to recognize the human bundle of joy sprinting towards him. Eita’s best memories of you were in your Shiratorizawa uniform, so seeing you in casual streetwear threw him for a loop at first.

The earnest beam on your face could warm the iciest of glaciers, and he easily lost against the facial muscles fighting to form into his own smile. As you deftly dodged the other people in your route to him, his arms seemed to naturally fall open in a gesture that welcomed your inevitable embrace. Eita was pretty sure you squealed before jumping onto him, but his focus had to redirect to his arms so they didn’t drop you.

“Semi Semi!” You happily cried out into his ear over the hustle and bustle, arms tight around his neck as he held you close. He gave you a brief, affectionate squeeze before setting you down, causing your arms to fall. But his hands held onto your shoulders, giving you a quick once-over and making his assessment. He always had a soft spot for you back in high school, knowing that it wasn’t easy managing a team of teenage boys who were ridiculously hungry and driven for a common goal. When news got around the team that you and Ushijima had broken up, he always kept an extra eye out for you and worried that you’d continue to work yourself to the bone in university.

...

Just one, he berated himself. Just one.

His nose ghosted over the skin from your jaw to your collarbone, catching the faint scent of what he assumed to be a mix of your body wash and natural scent. His senses found it comforting, grounding, and reminded him just how precious you were to him. You weren’t just a random girl at the bar he thought would be temporarily nice to make out with – you were (y/n), the girl who had watched over him and encouraged him during some of his most difficult times with a sport that was once his life, the manager who cared for him and his teammates to be nothing but their best, the person who the boys would unwittingly go to war for if anyone were to bring you trouble.

So he made that known, kissing the joint between your neck and shoulder, and reveled in the breathy gasp that escaped your throat. Little by little, he applied more pressure, preparing you for what he was about to do. His lips softly sucked on the skin, just enough so his teeth could graze it and nibble. Your hands were now fully entangled in the strands of his air, and as they tightened, Eita became more forceful and meaningful. You were entering a faint haze of ecstasy as he worked that one spot, determined to break the capillaries beneath your unmarked flesh and let the inevitable bruising bloom. He knew how beautiful you would look when he was done, and if he had your permission to, what a sight you would be with more littered on the rest of your body.

-

Present

“(Y/n), I know you’re in there,” a deep male’s voice permeates through the wood, though muffled and scratchy. “Please, let me talk to you. I’m sorry, I—” He pauses, a groan of frustration escaping his throat. Your vision refuses to refocus, bleary as you weakly take in your view of Tokyo again. Without a doubt, the man must be ruffling his hair frustratingly, distressed and discouraged.

“I shouldn’t have said that. Please let me in and apologize properly – I owe you that much.”

You owe me nothing, silly. It’s my fault.  

Eyes the shade of the complement to a martini in the billboard observe you, and you wonder: if seen in person, would they have stared with pity?

It’s time to stop running away.

So with sluggish steps, you make your way to the only barrier barring you from your fate. The two deadbolts slide back and click in place, echoing louder than ever. Your hand trembles in its path to the doorknob, faintly grasping the chilling metal and turning it until the latch pulls back far enough to let the door open.

And there they were, the eyes that held the key to your undoing, that had watched you crumble and fall, that had looked after you in more ways than you could imagine, peering straight into yours. You know them well, perhaps too well, and your knees nearly buckle at their intensity. It takes every part of your being to stop yourself from slamming the door closed, to hide away and escape destiny.

Because it seems that irises in the shades of olive will be the banes of your existence.

[zuzu-hotman]

Ready To Love P.6 [[Zuko]]

Pairing: Zuko x Female!Reader

Warnings: The usuallll as well as mentions of death and darkish themes??

A/N: this is late and shitty im sorrryyyy

Pt.1,, Pt.5,, Masterlist

“....”

“What were you expecting him to return and sweep you away? Foolish.”, her words cut deeper than they ever had. Hitting the rusted old nail directly on it’s head.

Azula never much cared to talk to you. Not when he was here and not even when he had been banished, as he was now. However when she did speak to you, it was always when she knew she would inflict the most pain.

When she knew she could gut you so deep, it would haunt you for years to come.

She laughed as she looked down upon you. It was not a happy sound. Nothing like her older sibling, who had always laughed with joy in his heart, when he had it. Hers was cruel- meant to make you seethe. She had the gall to laugh in your face after telling you the ‘news’. You were sadly hoping for good news. You knew Azula was like this- you had always known she was not good. You just didn’t know her well enough to really determine if it was fully true.

Lesson learned.

“Oh, don’t cry now. Not when I haven’t gotten to have my fun yet! I’ve been absolutely dying for a chance to get rid of you! You see, you get in my dear friend Mai’s way!”, she gives you an eerie smile, “It’s only fitting that I, one of her dearest friends, takes care of the issue!”

She talks as if she’s doing some sort of favor. Like she’s doing something absolutely necessary. Your tears sliding down our face don’t stop her at all. She acts as if they aren’t there. She acts as if she hasn’t just told you your father was killed for his ‘crimes’.Killed for being an Earth Bender from the Earth Kingdoms. For being who he was.

For not being Fire Nation.

“You see, my Dad doesn’t care to do multiple executions in a day. Takes up too much time. You and your Mother are granted a sliver of mercy. You two are to leave immediately. Now, if you dare step foot in this land again, there will be no mercy, understand?”, she gives you a wide grin. “No more living here and no more Zuzu for you. See, I could have had you killed but since you’ve done nothing to me personally, I’ll be nice this once.”

That had made you snap, “Nice. Nice? You call that being nice?!”

Her face turns sour, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me! You just told me my father was killed- you made no attempt to try and stop it! You come in my home and you tease me and laugh like you didn’t have a hand in his death! How did you even know who he was!”, you can feel yourself shaking. Can feel your deepest secret threatening to rise up within you. He’d told you to hide it while you were here, to never use it. How would you escape if you did? So close to the heart of the royal grounds?

“Hah. Your dad was a fool. Using his bending on palace grounds. He put up a real fight, but he was clearly outnumbered and outmatched. As all Earth fools are.”

She wasn’t going to tell you. That much was clear.

You tried to hold back, you really did. Azula just had a knack for bringing out the worst in people. You’re not proud of what you did. Yet you don’t regret it. The look on her face was priceless.

Perhaps you hadn’t actually beaten her, but it was as close as you’d ever get. Still, she always had the last word.

“He’ll never like you. You’ll be sad all your miserable life! You’re a fake! A liar! You never belonged here! Useless Earth peasant!”

So then what was this? You were certain she was right, despite how your heart had hoped. You were sure you’d see him with Mai- or with some other pretty Fire Nation girl. Someone other than you. You had especially believed this when he looked at you like that back underground in Ba Sing Se. He had finally seen you then. Who you were and where you came from. His actions at that time had you thinking he’d never see you as anything ever again.

Sure, you were wrong. He had wanted his friend back. You just didn’t know he’d want more. Much more.

Unfortunately, he took your stunned silence the wrong way. The hurt look in his face broke your heart for the split second he allowed you to see it.

“Right.”, he had said, “I’m sorry I- we should get ready to leave.”

He didn’t give you a chance to try to pull him back. Not that your mind gave you one either. You were still reeling, even now, sitting in Appa’s saddle, staring up at the passing clouds. Him? Love you? Since when?

How?

What was it that he loved about you- though couldn’t you ask yourself the same?

You had an answer though. Multiple answers, ranging from the way he smiled to the way he never saw you as just some lowly peasant. New ones being added like how he loved his Uncle and valued what he thought of him. How he’d proved his will and determination to change, to admit everything he was taught back in his own home was wrong. To make the choice himself to leave everything behind and do what was right, despite the massive hatred he had gained from his own flesh and blood.

His strength, no matter how it may have wavered.

Just him in general.

You should be on cloud nine right now- you should be feeling so light, so why weren’t you? What was holding you back?

“You think he’ll ever want you around anymore once he knows? It’s not your being an Earth Bender. It’s your lies. It’s you never telling him, or, oh.. not trusting him. Poor Zuzu..”

Her words still echoed to this day. Unfortunately, she still haunted you. From her smile as she shattered your life as you knew it, to the same one she wore when she saw Zuko react to you that day.

You couldn’t let her hold you back all your life, otherwise her lies would become truths. Zuko wouldn’t lie about something like that. He wasn’t Azula. You couldn’t compare the two.

The only comparison was the often bad timing. The difference was, Azula’s timing was bad because she was not on their side of things. She was an inconvenience. Zuko had no sense of time. A war was ahead of him. The world was on the verge of combusting as he knew it. There was no right time.

You could agree with him. Tomorrow was not guaranteed. A future was not promised, only hoped for.

So, as you moved your gaze to the back of his head in front of you, you made up your mind.

Words were not wasted in asking him to follow you that night. You didn’t care that you had just grabbed him from his conversation with Aang. Didn't think to respond to the look of shock on either of their faces as you took him by the arm and dragged him away. You also didn’t think of how it might be perceived on his end.

Zuko was sure you were going to chew him out. He followed you, matching your urgency with dread in the pit of his stomach. Had he crossed a line that night? Were you mad now? He hadn’t meant to upset you- he wasn’t lying. He had thought about it over and over and over again. He came to that conclusion after asking himself hundreds upon thousands of questions.

Why had he missed you so much? What was it about your laughter that he craved? Why did he enjoy clasping your hand in his? What was the reason for him always thinking of you when he was welcomed back home? Thinking of where he would take you and what he would show you? Now that you were both older and he had more freedom?

How come his heart cried for you when you told him the loss of your beloved father? What made his heart ache at you having to harbor a life threatening secret all on your own- being unable to tell him even when your life was once secure?

What was it about you?

The answer was not being his childhood friend. It was just being you. Being the best escape from his life at home. Being his definition of home. He’d been lost without you. Sad and hurt and unable to grasp why aside from his banishment and the brutal punishment from his own father. You were in his very bones and soul. He could live with you just as his friend if that’s what you wanted. He just couldn’t live with not telling you. Couldn’t go on thinking he might die and never get to tell you how he felt and how horribly sorry he was for everything.

Sorry you had to meet him and be hurt by him. Sorry his own Nation was the way it was. So very sorry he loved you so deeply despite being so young and new to such feelings.

“Do you truly mean what you said?”, you say after some fast marching into a quiet and far off area of the beach. 

A few waves crashed here and there as he stared into your eyes, searching for something, anything to make sense of this.The salty air filled his lungs, mingling in with your own soft scent.

“Answer me.”, you say, impatient.

“Wh- of course I- why are you asking? I apologized- I shouldn’t have-”

“I’m not asking for an apology. I want a serious straight answer. Did you mean that?”

You looked determined and he’s not sure what for. Regardless, he braces himself for a smack to the face, “I did.”

You stare at him, unmoving for a few long beats of silence. “Okay.”

“...Okay?”

You nod, “Okay.”

Zuko is thoroughly confused. Okay what? What was this all about? Were you mad or not- he sees you raise your hands up quickly. He wonders if you’re going to hit him or bend at him- maybe shake the hell out of him. He probably deserved it, but you didn’t do that.

You reached up, held his face so softly in his face. The softest caress he’d ever felt in his life. Your small smile matched it perfectly.

“You just don’t learn do you?”

He couldn’t even question what you meant. He wasn’t given the time or even a chance. In a split second you had him swirling. Quicker than he could see, your lips were on his. Gentle as ever, capturing his in the sweetest way..

“ Yᴏᴜ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ᴏɴᴇʟʏ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏғ ᴍᴇ..”

Pt.7

[themetaphorgirl]

listening to the patron saints playlist 🥺🥺 do you have certain songs for certain kids, or is it kinda just the vibe of the school? if there are songs for certain kids, which ones?? :)

So I had a Rough Day™️ and I’m struggling with writing at the moment, and I’m trying to not get distracted while I write...but this question delights me so much.

(I was actually going to ask if anyone listened to the songs I pair with each chapter!!!!! I wasn’t sure if anybody did!!)

So the Spotify playlist is a little bit of a mess, since the first eight  ten songs are the actual chapter songs, and almost everything is else just A General Vibe to listen to while I write!! But I do have some specific songs in mind for certain things!!!

Main Themes

“St. Bernard” by Lincoln (which was suggested by @therestisconfettis !!)

Hung pictures of patron saints up on my wall To remind me that I am a fool Tell me where I came from, what I will always be Just a spoiled little kid who went to Catholic school

“St. Jude” by Florence + the Machine

And I'm learning, so I'm leaving And even though I'm grieving I'm trying to find the meaning Let loss reveal it

“I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan (suggested by @criminalmindsgonewrong​ !)

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair Nobody cares 'cause I'm alone And the world is having more fun then me tonight

“Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

Home, let me come home Home is wherever I'm with you

Characters

Dave: “One More Song” by Parachute Musical

I'm finding my own way out of here And I'm only taking one on my way You can mentally sit on the fence all day But I'll have the time of my life

James: “Anything For You” by Ludo

I've gotten drunk and shot the breeze with kings of far off lands They showed me wealth as far as I could see. But their kingdoms seemed all shrivelly and they cried with jealousy When I leaned in and told them about you.

Alex: “Fidelity” by Regina Spektor

I never loved nobody fully Always one foot on the ground And by protecting my heart truly I got lost in the sounds

Hotch: “This is Gospel” by Panic! At the Disco

'Cause these words are knives that often leave scars The fear of falling apart And truth be told, I never was yours The fear, the fear of falling apart

Emily: “Pretty Little Head” by Eliza Rickman

Where's your mother? Fall down dead Dirty mind, dirty mouth, pretty little head I wish you were here, I wish you'd make my bed Dirty mind, dirty mouth, pretty little head

Derek: “Cool Kids” by Echosmith

He sees them talking with a big smile But they haven't got a clue Yeah, they're living the good life Can't see what he is going through

JJ: “Second Child, Restless Child” by the Oh Hellos

See, I was born the second child With a spirit running wild, running free And they saw trouble in my eyes They were quick to recognize the devil in me

Penelope: “Birdhouse in Your Soul” by They Might Be Giants

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch Who watches over you Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Spencer: “Marching Bands of Manhattan” by Death Cab for Cutie

And it is true what you said That I live like a hermit in my own head But when the sun shines again I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in

And just for fun: couple songs!

Hotch and Haley: “Teenage Dirtbag” by Walk Off the Earth

Oh, how she rocks In Keds and tube socks But she doesn't know who I am And she doesn't give a damn about me

James and Alex: “Birds” by Kate Nash

But he was looking at her, yeah all funny in the eye She said, "Come on, boy, tell me what you're thinking Now don't be shy" He said, “All right, I’ll try All the stars up in the sky and the leaves in the trees All the broken bits that make you jump up and grassy bits in between All the matter in the world is how much I like you.” She said "...what?" He said, "let me try and explain again"

[narcissasdaffodil]

If you prefer A03, I’ve put the link here. This was inspired by Liability by Lorde. There’s subtle references in this. This one was definitely pretty easy to write, parts of it are quite personal. It does hurt a lot emotionally though, so be prepared. I’ve been more unstable recently so that inspired this.

“You’re a little much for me, you’re a liability.”

Marisol replays part of Olivia’s words in her head, eyes wide. She sits as if pinned to the leather seat in the cafe, mostly motionless entirely apart from the motion of her nails. The cafe is quiet from the isolated booth towards the back of the cafe. She finds herself travelling back in time, to reason things out any way she could.

Marisol has arrived early to meet Olivia, unaware about what was about to happen. Her scarf is loose around her neck and she adjusts it. She makes her way inside and the bell jingles as she opens the cafe door. She orders a black coffee and gets tempted by the raspberry cake on display. Raspberries aren’t something you’ll have for a while, that’s for sure.

She takes the tray and scans the cafe for a free table. She settles towards the back, in a booth. She places her bag next to her and sends Olivia a quick text to notify her where she’s seated. She receives no instant response, which is strange, considering how Liv is usually glued to her phone.

Marisol writes it off to start with, until it turns 2pm and Olivia is nowhere to be seen. She’s never late. Oh no. What’s happening?

Half an hour later, Olivia appears in the doorway. She makes a beeline for Marisol, and doesn’t stop at the counter first.

She settles on the other side of the booth, and pointedly eyes Marisol.

“This is a surprise. I didn’t expect you to make time for me, your girlfriend, with your ‘oh, so important plans’. I’m tired of coming second and having you dictate when we meet up. To be honest, Marisol, I have a life too. I’m fed up of barely seeing you, and when I do, have it be for 10 minutes at most. Not only that, but you’re clearly hurting yourself with all the overworking you do.” Olivia’s tone hurts Marisol who finds herself just staring over at her in disbelief. She’s not even apologising for being late, then? Law is a difficult course in general, of course you barely have any free time and don’t go out. You want to keep up the same momentum in first year for second and third year, and that means continuing what you’re doing.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, to be frank. I’ve met someone else, anyway. We can do this the easy way or the hard one. It’s clear we’re no longer compatible.”

“What? I...I don’t understand.” Marisol winces slightly at her stutter reappearing, and continues speaking before Olivia jumps in again. “You’ve met someone else. Does that mean we’re over, that you’re just giving up, on me, on us, on everything…” her voice breaks and she looks down, spooning up her cake and distracting herself with it.

“Marisol, look. We can still be friends, I just...can’t constantly come second to uni all the time. You barely have time for me at all, and it’s frustrating. Everyone else I’ve met can manage to have a social life along with uni, apart from you. I do know other law students too, so it’s not like I’m comparing different courses. You don’t appear to spend time with anyone else either, you’re just holed up in your room apart from when you’re in lectures or at the library. I know you’re quieter and more introverted and don’t make friends easily, but the amount of time you spend on work isn’t healthy. You study far too frequently, and your assignments are coming back good too, you’re getting scores equivalent to a 2:1, which is more than enough at first year. And don’t tell me everything you do has to be ‘perfect’! Life isn’t that way, and you need to get out of your idealistic perfectionist world!” Olivia’s voice appears to be getting louder, and Marisol wants to put her hands over her ears, to block out the noise. Just because you cried once at your first ever result, doesn’t mean you automatically do that. Yes, you do stay up late to study often, and regularly survive off coffee, but that isn’t unhealthy.

Marisol feels eyes on her, and notices the people at the other tables watch the blow up. She feels very self conscious and wants the world to swallow her up. Olivia’s next set of words bypass her, and she just wants it to be over. Olivia pokes her arm and she looks back over.

“You can’t even fully concentrate on me. You’re a little much for me, you’re a liability. It feels like I have to censor myself to not offend you, you’re far too thin skinned and insecure. I’m fed up of this.”

Marisol’s words catch in her throat and she forces them free, feeling the sour taste in her throat. “T...then leave. I...I don’t want your friendship either, even though we have history, i...if you’re going to pity me and treat me like dirt on the bottom of your shoe. It’s Lucas, isn’t it? The one you like. We’re completely done, broken up. It’s what you wanted, right?” Marisol works to keep a neutral expression and tries her best to not trip over her words but ultimately fails. She stares down at her hands and hopes she can keep it together long enough to not cause concern to the others in the cafe.

Olivia sighs, and clasps one of her hands. “Mari, you seriously don’t look well. At all, you need to take better care of yourself.”

“You’re not allowed to call me that, anymore. Save your pity, I don’t want it.” She pulls her hand away and curls it around her spoon. She stares down at the cake, not having the energy to eat it, or do anything.

Olivia huffs, and makes her way from the booth without a second glance. Marisol lets go of the spoon and rests her hands on the table.

She snaps back into the present and leans a hand on her cheek. She can’t face going back to her flat currently, facing her flatmates in halls and the constant noise.

Why do you have to be the one everyone gives up on? Do you have any value, or are you just here to be cast aside and replaced by the next best model? Why does it still hurt?

Marisol taps her nails on the table and tries to release some nervous energy. She feels entirely numb, which scares her to the bone. Her hands keep shaking, and she forces them flat to the table. In your head, you do everything right. And you haven’t lost your girlfriend in your dreamland. You’re still so happy. But that’s just your dreams, not reality.

She bows her head and tries to eat the cake, her hands stop before touching the spoon until she gives up. Her phone lights up from the table, and she ignores it. Olivia was right. You need to wisen up, get with the times. She pretended to care about you, you do have Charlotte, but she probably believes the same. Olivia should be satisfied at how much of an idiotic fool she’s made you.

Marisol removes her glasses and rests her head in her hands. Her eyes close and she sits there with her head on the table. Her neck aches, but she can’t bring herself to move, to do anything.

You’re a toy that people enjoy till all of the tricks don’t work anymore and then they are bored of you. You have no real value, but who does?

She hears a voice, and looks up through her hair. She notices a short brunette standing next to the booth, long hair in a French braid. She recognises the face, the combination of glasses, nose piercing and fringe with the delicate spread of freckles over her cheeks cause the other girl to stand out.

She’s unsure whether the other girl is on her course, or a flat mate, but her face is memorable.

“D...did you see that? Or not?” she feels her voice break and tears build in her eyes and she hides her face.

“No, I didn’t. Are you okay? You really don’t look great. I was going to ask if I could share the table, but that doesn’t matter.” the other girl sits down and puts an arm around her shoulders. “Marisol, I don’t mean to pry, but I haven’t seen you in a while. Like in the living room/kitchen area and I’ve been a bit worried.”

“About me? Why? I’m nothing special… I’m a liability.” her voice fades out slightly as she hides behind her hair.

“You’re not. That’s a cruel thing to say. I know I don’t really know you that well, and we only share a kitchen, but I want to get to know you better. What’s wrong? You don’t have to talk about it.”

“My girlfriend broke up with me, while pretending to care about my wellbeing. I say pretending, as she was so condescending, and rude. A break up via text would’ve been better! She was even late. I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”

Marisol shifts her hair out of her eyes and turns to face the brunette.

“Not good with names, either, huh? No problem, names usually aren’t my strong point. I’m Alecto. For some reason I remembered your name though, which is strange.” Alecto extends a small, freckled hand to her, and Marisol shakes it. She feels tears burn behind her eyes and curses at not wearing waterproof mascara.

“That’s a pretty name. Nice to meet you. Names aren’t my strong point either,” she feels tears escape and a bubble in her throat. “Sorry, I’m kind of a mess right now.”

“The reason I remembered yours is because I found it so pretty, and you at that. I love your hair, the highlights are gorgeous and suit you.”

“Really?” Marisol blushes at the simple compliment, as tears slip down her cheeks and leaves mascara trails. “Sorry, I’m not used to people believing that.”

“Really.” Alecto wipes her eyes with a napkin and the small touch makes Marisol’s cheek vibrate. She meets Alecto’s eyes and gets mesmerised by the constellations in her brown eyes, and the scattering of freckles on her cheeks.

She feels different as she sets eyes on Alecto. Sure, she has lost a friendship and a relationship, but there is a possibility for something more here.

“Part of me is glad that the cafe was busy. Otherwise we wouldn’t have bumped into each other.”

“Well…” Alecto fidgets. “There were free tables, but I used this opportunity to talk to you instead. Like I said, I want to get to know you. I hope that’s not weird.”

Marisol feels a small smile build on her face. “Definitely not weird. I appreciate the fact you care, genuinely.”

It feels different being sat there in the cafe with Alecto. Something about her energy was different, and she got drawn to it. It feels like they had known each other their entire life, a strange form of closeness was present.