#it's actually been so long since ive been able to connect more than two thoughts together i forgot how hashtag healing writing is

[themainstarwarrior]

brainstorming to feel something :)

[duck-in-a-thrift-store]

Prologue? Pilot? IDK Man I Just Work Here

(part 1.2)

{hey so uhhhh

i have finals coming up and its the last week of classes and im lowkey failing two of mine right now, so unfortunately im going to have to go on hiatus for a bit- even though i literally just started, ugh- while i try to catch up and deal with... all that

that said, ive decided to split the prologue up into three parts instead of two and just go ahead and give you what ive got so far of the rest of it

this and the third (and hopefully final) segment is where we really start setting up/contextualizing the "full house" premise of the fic

link to part 1.1 here}

~~~

So, over the next several weeks, they come up with a plan.

Most of them aren’t exactly happy about the plan, but… oh well.

The parents are determined to move their children- who have proven themselves to be prime targets for the supernatural- out of town, to relocate them somewhere they’ll be well-removed from the apocalypse unfolding in Hawkins. Caught up to speed about the history of Hawkins Lab and Owens’s involvement in everything, they all but order him to help with the arrangements.

And he delivers. Calls are made, blueprints are drawn, and before they know it, a plot of land has been secured two thousand miles away in California for a house to be built on. And it’s going to have to be a pretty big house, considering it’ll be home to six teenagers and a pre-teen.

The kids are dead set on not being separated again; it’s one of their conditions for agreeing to leave. Steve can’t blame them, honestly. After everything they’ve been through together, he doesn’t want to be apart from them either. In fact, he’s been feeling a bit paralyzed by the thought, has had a little trouble breathing since the move was decided.

He’s sort of out of it the next time everyone gathers at the hospital to hash out the details, to be honest, but in his defense, his head isn’t quite what it used to be before all the hits he’s taken in recent years.

But then the ongoing discussion turns to who will look after the kids, and well, that certainly gets his attention.

There’s a military blockade taking shape around the area, keeping the threat contained- but also the citizens. It’s only through Owens’s connections and influence that they’ll be able to sneak the kids out, and just that in itself is going to be risky. As much as they’d like to, they can’t take everyone.

The parents have agreed to join the resistance that’s starting to form, a force of townsfolk who have finally realized what’s really happening and are banding together to find a solution, or at least hold off the Upside Down from taking over for as long as they can. Hopper and Joyce have taken it upon themselves to teach everyone as much as they can about what they’re up against, and a few of the others are helping out with pooling resources and organizing community childcare.

For various reasons, their families won’t be coming along.

“Who’s going to take care of you all?” Sue asks, her question directed more towards the room at large than the kids themselves. “None of you are older than fifteen; I don’t want you out there on your own with no adult supervision.”

Karen starts to say something, probably about how she doesn’t intend to let Nancy stay behind either, that there will definitely be at least one person over fifteen present, but Steve cuts her off in his eagerness. He practically jumps out of his seat, actually, but he’s held in place by his desperate grip on the sheets of the hospital bed he’s still stuck in until he’s done recovering from the demobat bites.

“I’ll do it!”

Once again, all eyes are on him, and they’re broadcasting confusion, surprise- in the case of the parents, that is. The kids mostly look relieved. None of them will say it- the little shits- but he’s pretty sure they were just as worried about leaving him behind as he was about sending them away.

Claudia tilts her head at him in question. “You? What, by yourself?”

Steve figures the faintly bitter disbelief in her voice has less to do with him and more to do with Dustin’s deadbeat dad, so he chooses not to take it to heart. But before he can make a remark about how some men are actually interested in fatherhood- although he’s not entirely sure what his brain even means by that- Karen Wheeler speaks up.

“Not by himself, no. What I was about to say a moment ago was that Nancy is going too. I don’t want my daughter staying here after being involved with all this pretty much since the beginning. But, Steve, even then, you’re hardly adults yourselves- Nancy only just graduated high school last week. I don’t think you two should be left to basically parent seven kids all alone; it’s too much responsibility.”

(While she does have a point, and he’s certainly not opposed to having Nancy out of harm’s way, it’s also important to note that the daughter in question is currently busy giving shooting lessons to a sizable portion of the resistance. Nancy is no stranger to responsibility, but she isn’t exactly the motherly type, either. Regardless, Steve wants both roles for himself- at least on a subconscious level. He’s not quite aware of it yet, his rightful place as both mom and dad to the party, but… he’ll get there. He thinks of himself more as a glorified babysitter, really, but it is a position he takes very seriously nowadays.)

Mistaking Steve's spacey expression for something else, Dustin mutters smugly beside him, “I bet you would looove that.”

Steve rolls his eyes and shoots back, “Can it, kid. We’ve been over this. Nance and I are not getting back together.”

Nancy and Jonathan broke up after her graduation, for reasons which Steve has decided are none of his business. In some ways, this made the idea of rekindling their relationship- something his friends insisted he should try to do- more of an actual possibility. And yet, somehow, that in itself helped him realize that he doesn’t really want to get back together. And he knows she feels the same, even if there are some weird lingering feelings on both sides of the issue. They simply aren’t compatible, and that’s okay. It took him a while to get here, but now he’s happy just being her friend.

Thankfully, Robin joins in, interrupting that awkward train of thought and providing the solution to a problem Steve hasn't even considered yet.

“They wouldn’t be alone, Mrs. Wheeler. I can help out, too.”

“You would do that? Move across the country and play house with me and these brats?”

“Of course I would, dingus. Where you go, I go.”

The fondness in their exchange prompts some raised eyebrows from the others, but that’s irrelevant. Steve is just massively thankful that Robin is offering to come along. Having to choose between the kids and his platonic soulmate would have torn him apart just as badly as the bats did.

“And I’d say the same about Will and El,” Jonathan says as he joins the group. “So I hope there’s room for a couple more.” He glances questioningly at Argyle, who came in with him.

Argyle just shrugs. “I’m sticking with you, man.” Apparently, his parents turned him out to fend for himself when he hit eighteen, so he doesn’t have much to go back to, and he’s been content staying with the Byers until the blockade is lifted- or for the long haul, it seems.

Karen nods in Jonathan’s direction. “Good, I’m sure Joyce will feel better knowing you’ll be there.”

So that makes five of us. Considering I’ve wrangled most of these guys on my own plenty of times by now, that should be totally manageable. I guess it will be nice to have some guaranteed backup for once.

It looks like the gang is staying together after all, plus at least one new-ish addition.

But, speaking of "new-ish additions" to the group, there is still a six-foot deep hole in the entire plan, which is the question of what to do with a dead man when all his remaining friends are ditching town.

“What about... Eddie?”

~~~

{well folks theres the second installment of the prologue. as for the rest of it... youll get it when you get it. hopefully ill be able to start updating more regularly once i go back home for the summer. things are just kinda crazy right now hahahahaha <-(the deranged laughter of a person whose ass is not passing all their courses this time and is very seriously considering becoming a college dropout)

oh and yeah so eddies dead i guess. not what i had planned but sometimes the plot just does what it wants. you know how full house basically starts off with dannys wife dying in a car accident (offscreen and prior to the events of the actual show anyway)? and steve is like, very loosely the au's parallel of danny? well you might not have known that actually but i just told you. so. yeah. you get where this is going

also, to my unofficial beta readers and lovely mutuals @moreover-clover and @redley-of-many-noodles: i have seen your comments/messages and i appreciate your input, but ive decided im going to try not to take this project too seriously and just have fun with it rather than worry about how polished it is, so i think this is going to be a no beta project from here on out. thank you for the thoughtful commentary/critiques on part 1.1, and i do hope you continue to enjoy it <3

having said that, if anyone happens to notice glaringly obvious/simple typos that i could easily fix, or if any parts are just genuinely incomprehensible, feel free to point it out/ask for clarification if you want to}

[justatiredhuman]

i've been really debating whether or not i should post something about liam, and i feel like i need to because im struggling more than i thought i would when i initially found out, and i think other directioners will understand me.

i became a huge 1d fan in early 2013 and from then on they became a major comfort in my life. i was struggling majorly with undiagnosed adhd and continued to struggle with it after starting high school in 2016 until i finally got diagnosed at 20 in 2022. it's still something i struggle with, but at 22 now, i feel much more safe and confident in myself, and that's thanks to how throughout the years i've found major comfort in one directions music and all the videos of them.

after they broke up and all did their own solo things i never really kept up with any of them. not because i didn't love them anymore, but because my taste in music changed and it was hard to see a band id loved for so long go their seperate ways on 'hiatus' (i genuinely believed that they would be back after a year or two despite being told by so many people it wouldn't happen. even this year i still held out hope that they'd be back as 5). in saying that, i still always listened to the band and had their music in my playlists. they've been in my top 5 artists on spotify for the past four years ive had spotify. despite everything they were always there for me.

i don't think liam was ever my favourite (id have to check with my mum), but he was such a central member of the band. he was a very prominent pillar and it's so hard to start trying to imagine a world that he's not in because he was always such a solid and reliable figure. i really regret not keeping up more with him and the others, i feel like ive missed out on so many new memories and things with all of them and it's hard to try and reconcile not only that, but the fact that we'll never get to see them as 5 on stage again.

his whole death has probably been more difficult for me because my grandad passed suddenly in late march this year, and after that i fell back into listening to 1d because of how much comfort their music brought me. i've been listening to practically only 1d ever since liam's death became public, and while it's been difficult and has had me incredibly emotional, it's also been comforting knowing that despite everything we still have something amazing to remember him by.

i don't think the world will ever feel the same to me now knowing that such a prominent figure in my childhood and adolescent life is now gone. he was part of the band that made me feel like i actually fit in, like i had a place in the world where i belonged and wouldn't be picked on for something i couldn't control and didn't understand. even now as an adult, i still felt/feel like the one direction fandom is one of the very very few places that i truly belong and don't feel like the odd one out.

i don't know if it will ever feel real that he's gone and isn't coming back. if im being honest, im still very much in denial that he's gone and i think this is something im going to struggle with for some time while i wrap my head around everything. im never going to be able to listen to certain songs the same way, and i think that liam is someone i am going to grieve for a very long time. i know that im going to continue to miss him and the smiles and laughs he gave me on days that i thought i wasn't able to.

the last few days have been incredibly difficult as i've felt like i've had to hide my grief because i never knew him personally, or managed to see 1d in person. but im slowly starting to realise that despite all that, he's still someone who practically raised me, and who i felt connected to and who felt like a safe place for me. im slowly realising that it's okay to grieve him because he was so so important to not only me but also millions of other people throughout the world.

to liam: thank you for all the wonderful memories. you were genuinely such an incredible person, and you were so insanely talented in so many different ways and i'll never forget the impact you had on me when i needed a strong and reliable role model to look up to. thank you for all the good times, thank you for all the incredible music you gave us, and thank you for the community that you helped build up over the years both in the one direction fandom, and when you went solo. i'll never regret being a fan of you and one direction. i genuinely think that despite how hard life was for me at that time, you and 1d gave me something to look forward to, and something to hold onto when things felt like too much. i genuinely hope that wherever you are now you have a chance to rest and process everything you went through in your life. i know how hard being the band was and how traumatic it must have been at times. i hope that you're able to find peace and watch over all your loved ones. and don't worry too much about the boys, i promise that we've got them and we'll do our best to support them through this difficult time. we've got each other to lean on and i have faith that as fans we will look after not only each other, but also your family and the boys.

you can rest easy payno, we've got it from here <3

love, Gia💜

[brb-on-a-quest]

Day Fourteen Day Fifteen Day Sixteen

im SOOOOO SORRY that I left you guys hanging those two days! *cries* the first one I genuinely forget, and the second I was too busy to do it- and I think that this is not the first time this might happen, since the farm (oh yeah, if you're not one of my regular followers, you should know I'm a farmhand lol) is picking up steam, during my down time Im trying to do more physical rest for my body to recover. which means unfortuantely, Ive been spending less time on here in general, and that my longer posts that take more time to write have had to pause for a while.

so, I'm sorry to say but this is the last day i'll be able to do this for a while, but maybe forever. I've had so much fun with it and loved to see everybody's different answers, and how we've all connected!! but for at least a few days/weeks, I need a bit of a break lol. if anyone wants to pick up this game again, with the same list of people I've given already or different ones, you are more than welcome to! and I'm not leaving Tumblr, I'm just not going to do this particular ask game anymore.

our final question: what is something that you you want in your life, and what can you do to achieve it? what steps do you need to take to earn the life you see yourself living?

thank all of you so much! I hope to return again maybe sometime! I wish you all the best :)

Awww no worries gracie! take care of yourself first. Def appreciate all the work it must've taken to come up with good questions. I'll be sure to haunt your inbox soon with hopefully some equally thought-provoking (or not) questions.

ok, actual question: our final question: what is something that you you want in your life, and what can you do to achieve it? what steps do you need to take to earn the life you see yourself living?

To be honest, this question has haunted me for the past...well since before high school. (has it really been almost 10 years since I was a baby highschool freshman?). To be also perfectly honest, my depression and anxiety were so bad I was never convinced I would make it as far as I did... which allowed me to put off answering the question for a long while until the Hour of College Applications approached.

Well, against all previous conceptions of my future, I am still alive and about to graduate in December (literally how) and set to walk across the beautiful stage in May to get my undergrad diploma with some kind of academic honors (I forget the Latin for it). Definitely not the highest GPA, but I am relatively proud of myself considering the effort and, for lack of a better phrase, blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into this. So, steps that need to happen in order to graduate

Pass classes (Preferably with A's but I'm also in a position where hopefully my self-esteem won't die with a B or 2).

Write and Finish my thesis (shaking crying throwing up I don't have enough capacity for this even if it's only 15 pages in Spanish)

Study and hopefully pass a GRE (graduate school readiness exam I think? 'cuz I'm told it's a good idea for master's school applications I can not stress enough how much I hate standardized tests and am so anxious about this that I haven't even opened my books yet, I've just been throwing myself into thesis research instead; I 'know not all schools require this but I'm going into something that's not my major, so I feel some kind of need to prove myself).

Apply to graduate schools for counseling!

Only four things... it shouldn't be so bad.... one would think... (can I please just skip to the part where this is over why do people call college the best years of my life).

The other thing I want to work on is just being a better person and in particular a better friend. My goal is therapy, particularly pediatric therapy because it's such a neglected area where I'm from and also in general I think because there tends to be stereotypes of "oh children can't have mental health problems." but doing that means I want to develop more compassion, friendliness, and patience and gentleness and actual listening skills while being assertive...yk an environment that nurtures personal and other's growth. Which is really hard. Progress has been made but still more to go.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Hey Silly (can I call you that from now on?) it's been a while! How you doing?

I saw your prompt list and I just thought why not? So, the character I'm choosing is Father from C:KND (obviously). The tropes would be; #2,#5,#8

Just y'know, angst :>

Prompts 2, 5, and 8 with Father

woo yeah its been a while since we've touched the tropes list! and yes you may keep calling me silly, or admin! or admin silly when addressing me on this blog! I uh.. never gave an intro for myself and ive kind of stuck with the silly/admin name since people started using it for me LMAO prompts: sick, hanahaki, mutual pining notes: reader is gn, all prompts are treated as separate scenarios but hindsight is 20/20 as i realize these would have been fire paired up together as one connected thing cws: sickness and general hanahaki stuff

SICK

i might make a post where the roles are reversed, buuuut

i think, benedict is the grumpy kind of sick

but to be fair when is he not at least a little grumpy/j

will stay in bed so at least you dont have to worry about fighting him to rest- he already feels crummy and besides he can afford taking some time to himself to just.. lay down

a little snippier than usual

assuming his natural body heat doesnt kill off or hinder anything that can make him sick, hes running even warmer than usual.. something something warmer bodies being able to slow down infections + from my understanding a fever is just the body attempting to fight an infection

so logically it makes sense that hes burning hot

not very clingy when sick nor does he go out of his way to crawl out of bed to seek you out

HANAHAKI

okay hear me out: hes the one with hanahaki. as much as i think he would move forward with asking you out, i also enjoy the idea that he tends to self isolate. something something mini character analysis/heavy hc that he swallows up a lot of his more vulnerable feelings and/or translates them into anger something something a lot of that being a product of upbringing something something i am grandfathers number 1 hater

burns the flowers and petals before anyone can ask about them, however i do think as the sickness progresses he slowly loses his powers. quite literally sapping him of his energy

honestly i can see him going through the surgery route just to get rid of the plants

no happy ending here, sadly... even worse if you actually had feelings for him as well, unaware to him

becomes more snappy with the people around him, lashing out from worrying over the sickness as well as the pains (emotional and physical)

MUTUAL PINING

that said if he has feelings for you that dont make him cough up flowers, i think hes more inclined to ask you out since it makes it feel less... "life threatening" and "subtly begging for his life if we're going the route where feelings need to be returned otherwise the person dies"

i do think hes at least a little oblivious, at least in the beginning and if youre not being blunt- his mind is always working on what evil deed to do next!

very receptive when he does realize youre flirting with him, it doesnt take long for the two of you to go on a date

dont let this think that he has rizz, by the way. hes still inexperienced but he has just enough confidence to... (scrambles with papers) lock in, becomes clear with time that he hardly knows what hes doing LMAO

leaves gifts for you leading up to the two of you going out, and they tend to be higher quality or even a baked good hes overheard you mention enjoying

[httpiastri]

JACKIE YOU GOT IT RIGHT OMG but now i’ve just been made really curious as to which part of that previous ask gave it away (was it the 2022 mention? that would kinda make sense, i think)

the synchronicities with pepe are all insane?? some of mine are just outright weird but like even your pokemons situation is so cool because it all makes me feel so 😵‍💫🌟💫 because i love knowing that everything and everyone is interwoven and connected yk? and about pepe being represented by a lotus flower… honestly pepe has surprised me sm since i first found out about him because sometimes he just ends up liking certain things i don’t expect him to all because he’s a driver and stuff like if he ended up being secretly spiritual with little good luck rituals or whatever i wouldn’t be surprised anymore and i LOVE that about him (i also love him)

and AAAAAAA omg the pepe shaving blurb had me feeling so 😊😊 too like the details in it are so essential to the plot and it effectively launched me even deeper into the pepe obsession because how could you just casually write about hugging him from behind and not expect me to go absolutely insane

also there was a point of time where i had every pepe tag hidden for me from any social media platform because just his name or face would have me going so insane and my only way to tackle that was to hide him from myself so if that doesn’t say enough about me idk what will 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

and being able to call him dorky?? AAAAAAA my pepe happens to be a little cocky so idk if ill get to say that anytime soon but one day i will 🤞🤞

AND THE FACT THAT A PEPE EDITOR IS ON YOUR BLOG TOO?? IM SO 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 I LOVED THAT EDIT BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC CHOICE SINCE I HAD A HALSEY PHASE A FEW YEARS AGO so to the editor: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

p.s. i love getting your replies too!! it literally fuels me through the day and i’m so grateful that you’ve been so sweet and accepting of me while supporting my pepe obsession (and even contributing to it, to be fair)

- 🪷💗

okay this got way too long because i spiraled so im putting the little cut thing here :))) im so sorry

yay yay yay !!! pls lmk if you think im like outing you too much here if you wanna keep a secret profile bcs then ill delete some of this, but like it was kind of because of the 2022 part? but mostly bcs of the spirituality part!! because i remembered that when i posted a couple of pepe gifs months ago, i saw your reblog of them and thought like "oh! pepe fan!! i like this person already" and i started looking through your blog 🤭 and like omg i must say, about your like manifestation post…. im very good at doing or saying stuff like that just for fun but recently they've started to come true quite often?? like i manifested clem's win in zandvoort last year… i said "arvid and luke will be the first f3 winners" several days before the first f3 session…. me and a dear friend talked about how lando would get his first win like two days before miami…… idk i think it's time for me to manifest a pepe win 😭😭

and god yes yes i agree!! i actually have a crazy fact here that i wasn't gonna say but i think i've said it on this blog before anyway so… my actual first name (i have several first names, no not middle names…. my parents wanted to be "funny" but it's actually a pain in the ass a lot of the time) is lotus…….. i couldn't make this up 😭 my mom always said it was because of the flower but my dad said it was bcs of the car ofc because it was more sneaky than naming your daughter like mercedes or ferrari lmao. and so that you chose that emoji, which is so dear to me because ive grown up loving lotus flowers and having plastic flowers all over my room and just 😵‍💫🫨 and okay i had a huge ariana grande phase when i was younger and i used to love "baby i" so much that my parents got me a tshirt of it for my like 13th bday… and guess what song came on first when i pressed shuffle on ☄️ anons pepe playlist today? THAT SONG 🙃 and guess where i used to keep that shirt (i never wore it)?? on my bedroom wall, and guess what used to stick up from that tshirt?????? A PLASTIC LOTUS FLOWER. I COULD NOTTT BE MAKING THIS UP 😭 sadly ive moved out of that room but i will do my very best to look for an old pic as proof because this is actually a bit insane to me…..

but yes i would also not be surprised if he came on a pod some day or whatever and said that he is a little spiritual and like u said has a lot of like pre-race rituals and :(((( cute

i'm very glad to hear that you liked the shaving thoughts !!!! i may have posted some more…. esp important stuff in the tags of that one 🫠 but aaaAaAa!! im going insane too!!! just the thought of hugging him is so !!!!!!!! i think hugging him would be so so nice? i feel like he can be very firm with it because he's just too strong, but then there's always some little detail that's so soft and that just makes your knees go weak 🥺 like he whispers something sweet in your ear before pressing a quick kiss to your neck… or he pulls away from the hug but keeps his hands on your hips, holding your lower bodies close… and the way he looks into your eyes so intently when you tell him about how your day was, his smile never leaving his lips and- 😭 idkkkk and just the thought of hugging him when he's not wearing a shirt, like i feel like he would have naturally warm skin? so cuddling up to his back would be so cozy ??? your nose tickling the skin between his shoulder blades or your cheek resting on his bicep or something…….. 👉👈 (and omg resting on his bare chest in bed aaaaaaaaaaaa dont get me started)

bby you had the tag hidden?? please??? 🥲 understandable tho to keep sane and focused ig… bcs idk how to not think about him all day every day tbh, anytime i see him its just 🫠

YOUR PEPE IS COCKY?!?! HELPPP I WANT THAT TOO 😭😭 HOW? WHERE? WHO? AAAAAAAAA

shsjshjssj anons being fans of anons 🥺 idk if ive heard that song before but it fit so well with the two of them 🥺🥰 kisses to the editor 😚😚

waaaaahhh your asks fuel my days too 😭 when i woke up to this ask this morning i got so giddy hehehe and im always longing to hear more from you <3333 and god youve contributed sm to my obsession too aaaaaaa !!! so glad we get to share this (and with everyone else here too) 💗💗

[abyssalpriest]

Hey! I saw your tags on my Poseidon post that it confirmed some things for you (@magnoliessence is my side blog hence anon) - I would love to hear more about that and your thoughts on/experience with Poseidon if you are open to discussing!💙🌊✨

Hey there, welcome! And thank you so much for your post, I would love to give thoughts! Boy would I love to never shut up about this entity lmfAO Though disclaimer, I want you and anyone else who reads this to know I'm not 100% sure I know Actual Poseidon so I am not claiming with certainty I work with him. Andddd this is going to be long for that reason - those reasons. I love talking about him but I do need to kind of set up a window into my view here so you can decide whether we're talking about the same entity or not 

To give you a background: I work chiefly with two deities, one of whom is not featured here and that's Hermes, the other would be the Possible Poseidon, but I mostly know him as Leviathan. Physically, I work with two other channellers and it's sort of a thing among us and Hermes (who works with and possesses all three of us alongside Leviathan) and the other spirits we work with including Demeter that Leviathan is Poseidon, though none of us really work with that name since he doesn't tend to present as Poseidon to us. At least not often. We have other forms/names of his more important to our practices, like Leviathan and Shiva. It's also not just Leviathan who says he's Poseidon; the Trinity of Leviathan, (brother), and (brother) all claim at least around us to be the Trimurti (Shiva, Indra/Brahma, Vishnu) as well as Poseidon, Zeus, Hades. So it's either true he is Poseidon or its a group effort lmao.

I am pretty damn sure though especially after seeing your post, not because I'm taking that as the sole informant to my opinion on him being or not being Poseidon, but because I have had a lot of evidence I have up until your post been ignoring, and that post made a lot of things click especially when I took it to Leviathan to be like "ok, damn, this is you?". I just am not able to be 100% sure because Ive had issues with spirits lying about who they are in the past

I say all that (that we work with him, i work wih a group, etc) specifically to highlight that while I put in the work and don't approve of seeing similar characteristics and saying "yep, these cross cultural deities are the same!" without actually putting in an effort to confirm through the deities themselves and multiple physical people I am.... VERY aware this is PVG and based on personal experiences with spirits, which means do not worry, I don't intend to convince you, your UPG and PVG are more important to your practice than mine. Maybe you and I are talking about the same entity, maybe not. But your post is the first time I've really started to actually understand what "I am Poseidon" might mean from Leviathan, because yeah, holy shit, everything on that is so bloody Leviathan and I don't think any of our group (again, we don't work with that name he's just told us so we dont really look into it) knew the name Poseidon was connected to those things. 

So yeah, I'll just talk about my experiences with Leviathan (and I'll call him Leviathan because whether he's Poseidon or not, he's Leviathan) that are relevant to the name Poseidon and that post you made, and you can decide for yourself if we're talking about the same entity or not. At worst, I guess you get to hear about a very similar entity, maybe that will be interesting. Lemme pop this under read more just to save my followers dashboards

Leviathan is an incredibly complex person, but at the core of his being he connects to the water cycles, the sky and ocean, the weather, the sun, the underworld as one of its rulers (or one of the rulers of one plane of the underworld), and has a complex relationship with humanity as one of its fathers. Oftentimes when he's around the three of us he makes it rain or otherwise changes the weather, he has a huge, encompassing presence that is often tied to water, watery depths, cold and dark - but not intimidating as a hollow dark night, he's comfortingly full and present and like the safe embrace of the water. That, I understood to relate to Poseidon. Leviathan is very oceanic, an ancient and wise deific being that's been around humans for a long time... Before your post what I understood of the god Poseidon was his connection to the ocean especially as his symbolic wife due to how Leviathan interacts with the ocean, his connection to horses which echoes in other names he's mentioned being him, and his part in the trinity of Hades, Zeus, Poseidon. Oh, and his trident. The trident is an important symbol of power and of the trinity of Leviathan + brothers and is used publicly as a symbol on their plane in the underworld, so that was also something I saw as relevant. You also see the trident as their symbol with the Trimurti in hinduism and in the stereotypical scapegoat of the Devil and probably other places too, its a big royal family trinity thing. That's pretty much all I knew though since as I said Leviathan didn't really work with us through that energy and name. The "I am Poseidon" thing already made sense given the impressions I get from those working explictly with the god Poseidon, he seems very stern and serious and fatherly, the ocean personified almost as a self-contained and private but hugely powerful thing... That made sense to me.

The ocean as his wife thing, that also made sense and to clarify what I meant by that - the Leviathan exists in many places at the same time, hes just a huge, encompassing father deity who can expend that sort of energy and divide his extensive awareness into multiple parts. He spends a lot of his time partly swimming in deep space which he equates to the depths of the ocean, and specifically he blurs with reality so much that it is like swimming in the ocean and being the ocean at the same time. The "ocean" he is in is so close to being his literal other half, actually I would say with how interconnected with reality he gets it literally is his other half, in the way of two halves of a persons body moving as one - but to humans the best metaphor probably would be he moves with and as the ocean like he and her are a couple who are so in tune with each other they move as a cohesive unit that can separate and reconnect at will. Leviathan moves the world around him like Poseidon and his waters. Leviathan does have multiple actual wives though so Amphitrite may be one of their names, but it definitely would check out symbolically. Actually, just googled her to make sure I was right about her being interpreted as the ocean (she is to some) - theres mountains being referened again... Ill get to his connection with those later.

Horses also made sense, they're core to Levithan's being, one of his sacred animals among other things like wolves, hawks/birds, bears, fish, etc. They're used in war which he is deeply tied to, they're a pinnacle of something core to him which is a relationship between animals/animal forms and the being, especially in regards to taking animal forms and becoming them in order to get things done since when riding horses you and the horse must become one. They're tied deeply to one of his chief homes here on Earth and the people there who associate him with them. I've been reconnecting with my link to the Sky through him and the Storm Mother, who is an entity closely tied to and close with Leviathan, and I remember it keeps coming up with them that I see the sky as shown by them as this amalgamation of horses almost like Sleipnir with the many legs, but with many heads, legs, etc. I can't explain this quickly without sacrficing a tonne of context, but effectively Leviathan teaches that the sky is inhabited by a bunch of bodies moving together in complex ways that create the weather system and whatnot, and while I don't understand them well this lifetime I know very well that Leviathan and Zeus possess these bodies to bring in storms and rain and such. It's a lot like working with and riding horses, is what I'm saying. In my workings with Leviathan the sky and the ocean are one, mirrored selves, and so I absolutely understand the idea of Poseidon and his horses tying not just to the fact that he literally rides horses, but also to the ocean (and the sky) as his horses... His mind is filled with horses and what they represent to him.

But here's the thing: While I knew Leviathan was connected with the ocean, I and our group so much more saw him as the rain and the rivers and the water cycle in general. Its something that pops up in the name Shiva; before I knew he was Shiva I knew of Leviathan with rainwater pouring from his hair, and I later came to find out that the Ganges river is supposed to be coming from his head and hair... He's always shown me that hair = personal power and energy, so to him the water cycle and bestowing and removing water from places is core to his being. Hell, I even have a character representing him called "River" lmfAO  He's also associated with mountains both in PVG and also as Shiva. Shiva lives in a mountain, mountains are where the earth touches the sky, theyre also the sources of many rivers, they dance with the sky without moving. They're the imagery of his asceticsm, his knowledge, his removal yet presence in humanity, of him as a tall and watchful father, and of his teachings as hard to surmount and challenging but open to anyone to try and climb. One of the first visions I had of him was something like his body (giant and bigger than mountains) being pierced by swords and drained and draped over a mountain in order to feed the earth, a commentary on the relationship between mountains and the sky - clouds are torn down at mountains to feed the earth. That vision may have been from Zeus given some of the commentary on Poseidon in it lines up with how Zeus sees Poseidon... But the brothers have known each other longer than our plane has existed, so its not like the bit I explained of the mountain thing was inaccurate

And that I think ties into the relationship you pointed out with Demeter and Poseidon if I'm understading right. He talks a lot about Mother Earth, in a lot of his names and just as a person he's tied very romantically to the Earth as an archetypal goddess figure, the idea of Mother Earth as his other half (as a partner as opposed to the literal other half of the ocean) and a partner with which he dances, loves, entangles himself, is constantly reoccurring in his work with our group. Even when he doesn't mean to explicitly talk about the Earth he does and in such a loving, vital way, the way an enamoured husband would talk about his wife... Point being, the metaphor of water and earth, Sky and Earth, ocean and land, rivers and valleys, plants and weather, etc, is absolutely fundamental to Leviathan's entire existence. He sees himself as a Sky Father deity, which is something that makes sense in the other names I know from him, but Poseidon always seemed (in my willful ignorance, I hadnt had a reason to look into Poseidon) to be so tied to the ocean which seems to, by nature as its the part of the water cycle that is, detached from the earth. The ocean is the water that cannot meld with the earth, it is filled with salt...

Idk I think with the myth you posted... This is just my own interpretation, but "the ocean, salty and derimental to earth-bound life, is not wanted by Mother Earth. If they met and mated it would not be wanted by her, it would cause so much destruction to life out of the ocean. In order for life to continue and for this union to happen, the Sky Father needs to not just take a form that is congruent with the Earth Mother's workings (she takes a form that he can match, plants merge with water to form life, not rocks or dirt), but also he takes the form that is representative of (Poseidon)'s connection to the Sky like the horses in the sky and then representative of his land-bound an land-traversing form, which is specifially horses. It probably doesnt go well given how harsh weather, associated with the raging sleipnir-esque horses I mentioned earlier, can ravage the land - what she needs like plants do is to be gently steeped in the water from the rain in order to properly foster new life. She gets it, she gets the harshness of the sky, and then steeps in the water of the right manifestation of the Sky Father, the right part of the water cycle as it finally settles in the land as a fixed body of water". It depends on how metaphorical the story is and allllll the context im missing, Im so sure that this myth is way more about the origins of that goddess than a metaphor for her parents, but it makes a lot of sense to me how its gotten across especially with the fact that horses are how he gets around when bound to the earth. It just like. Resonates. Not saying I actualy get the myth but it resonates. yeah thats the word Ill use

And speaking of "earthquakes (opening) fissures in the land, and rivers were sometimes thought of as the entrances to the underworld" - reminds me of something he was telling me the other day about "entering the underworld" (he says hell, but hell is a metaphor for states of suffering): "Who controls the doorway to Hell? The mind teeters on the brink of discovery. The adventurous humans fall into sleep, deep down, dense matter, condensing like rain droplets hanging tantalisingly above the thirsty desert, but they do not fall until the consciousness drops to a place it can be lapped up by the hound." It was metaphorical I know, but he never does things for no reason, and the vision in my head he showed me accompanying the words is so clearly of someone fallling asleep, and falling through their bed as it turns to clouds specifically in the sky as if the clouds are the gateway - and like all sky related things with Leviathan its inherently related to the ocean and water. Clouds are suspended bodies of water, and this isnt falling from the bed to the sky then through clouds, its clouds being the gateway, what the bed and plane dissolves into to become the gateway to the underworld. Oh! And later on in the same post lmfao he literally said "Climb the spires to the clouds, rewrite the center of your mass from dense rain, follow yourself back to the form of the river." as to how you ''get out of hell'', basically he was saying the process that happened with the clouds to get to hell, you reverse itto get out of hell, so the water cycle takes you there and back. alright damn!

Your connection to human waterworks too just bloody blows my mind, whether it was a thing or not in antiquity its just... I understand it makes sese that a water god rules over water displacement, but another thing he was telling me the other day: "The rain falls from the sky into the earth and arranges itself into ordered, purposeful motions, siphons, dances with molecules shifting the ground and being shifted by it. It moves through channels carved out by dense matter, mechanical roads through plantlife and organic bodies, hydraulic machines, watershed siphons, generator sparks through tributaries… (...) Machine is a thing between states, organically placed between alcoves in creation, parted waters and the small allowance of a river between." He was specifically in that post and in general to me talking about how the connection between earth and rain is comparable to that of a machine, specifically talking about how he relates the two. He associates himself and I associate him for very valid reasons lmfao with machinery and technology (reasons being his and his brothers involvement with the evolution of technology on his plane and overseeing it here), so he was explaining how it works in his mind that the water cycle is connected to machines. Its like... Waterworks are so.... Exactly what hes talking about. The Earth is a hydraulic machine and like aqueducts siphoning water from place to place - and he as the water cycle is like waterwork machinery, hes the drive and siphoning between water locations, the connection between earth and water is like machinery, etc. And as a conscious being he decides where it goes which means hes like a pupose built aqueduct or siphon or etc so much more than just the nebulous "where will water go we just dont know" - no, hes not nebulous, he's mechanical AND purposeful like humans building structures to control the course. Of course he very well may have been symbolically connected to and invoked for this stuff's physical applications.

"I see (...) a Majestic Stallion (...) the King of Rivers (...) a liminal god (...)  a Father of Mysteries whose teachings allow mortals to harness the awesome power of water and tread the flowing currents between our world and the underworld" That is so absolutely 100% a statement I would echo in its entirety about the god Leviathan. That's been basically my entire work with him. Horses, rivers... And very, very liminal. He is so close in nature and for personal reasons to the Void, the liminal space in-between everything, and presents as such... He's so in-between and outside the understanding of humans, but also so present. Liminal absolutely. And a Father of Mysteries... Most of the spirit work discussions (as opposed to all the casual conversations) we as a group have had with him have related to the unravelling and visceral presentation of core key secrets and mysteries of the world. Working with him is like having the viscera of the world served up on a platter in front of us cleaned and gleaming, his revelations do not hold back and contain views and information that unsettles and off-puts the biased, unready mind, like the vastness of the ocean off-puts the unequipped, but the secrets he reveals are not malicious, theyre an opportunity to transcend the boundaries between yourself and this world, yourself and your deeper self/mind, to destroy ignorance if you're willing to meet him halfway. If you prepare yourself and brave the ocean, you will find things you never dreamed you could find. If you know his arts, if you're initiated into his patronage, you will see things you never dreamed would be possible to understand nor experience. And a lot of what he teaches either is explicitly water and sky related or else its taught in ways that reference and use the water cycle as a baseline....

Yeah. That post just sounded so much like Leviathan Who Says He Is Poseidon and im... Goddamn! Ok! I know why I dont have any trust left for people telling me theyre this that and the other, my ex (a spirit officially banished from ever looking at me again) wiped the floor with all my willingness to meet him half way, but damn. Well, hi Poseidon! He has thrown a tonne my way about this being him, Hermes refers to him (occasionally, he has many names and pet names to cycle through Hermes' mind) as Poseidon, my channeller friends refer to him as Poseidon, hes been trying to prove it to me... Thank you so much @magnoliessence for your post because I think you really gave me an important key regarding him

[compacflt]

hey i just wanted to thank you so much for all of WIP Wednesdays and other insights into your writing process (from tags to answering asks) that you've posted so far. i'm a huge fan of wwgattai and debriefing, and everything new that you post is so wonderful. the amount of work that you've put into this is astounding, and the results (from what i've been able to read and otherwise glean so far) are incredible. all of this to say - i love your writing, i love to hear about the writing process and your thoughts on the characters and the universe. it's really special to be able to read and follow along, so thank you so much

(also i have not ever had a fic alter my brain chemistry the way that this has. the fic has had me in its tractor beam since october - literally cannot stop thinking about it, truly some amazing stuff)

ugh this ask means so much to me, thank you. i could talk about the process for this fic for literal years, mostly because it is the bane of my actual existence!!!!!! i was not supposed to care about this series at all!!! ‘when we get around to talking about it’ was originally just a 10k one-shot bouncing back and forth between charlie & ice’s povs as they try to figure out their equally extremely fraught and difficult relationships with maverick. the “we” in the title was supposed to be mav and charlie! it was originally more about mav’s relationship with women than it was about ice’s relationship with men—obviously that idea didn’t pan out! (it’s why there’s so much residual sexism in the story actually, i was originally trying to highlight the differences between ice & charlie as men and women… mav’s sexism in the original top gun is my least favorite thing about that movie and it really stuck with me) & ‘debriefing’ started out as just extra dumb little one-shots that didn’t make it into wwgattai (specifically just venice & the smoking weed scene) with no connective tissue whatsoever to the original fic. like. both fics were written out of order and without an outline, which… is why trying to fix their gigantic structural issues is such a bitch for me right now.

i can trace back every problem im having with the story back to one (1) day (august 14th) when i wrote both wwgattai chapters 7 and 8 without planning or thinking about the consequences of certain actions. i don’t want to get too deep in the weeds but there are so many mistakes i made that day that ive been paying for for months (for instance, the factual inaccuracy of ice & mav’s fucked-up ranks, the soft squishy landing of pulling roosters papers, CHOOSING TO MAKE ICE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT [because i hadn’t seen TGM for two months at that point & forgot what happened in the movie], not actually going into what it means for ice to be at the top of the american war machine, not bothering to ask how it’s even possible that one motherfucker can be this far up his own ass for thirty fucking years…) idk. like, when i wrote 90% of this fic i didn’t care about it, but now i… really do. idk why, but i really do. and im paying for the mistakes i made when i didn’t. which is why the edit is taking so long.

but stuff like this keeps me going :’) thank you <3

[sehodreamsthoughts]

heheh do u know if he’s going to be in a group or not? i will look into it later, but i saw ur tags say he might sing trot or i misunderstood?

ooh hehe so ill respond to ur responses and give my own for the two that we both asked each other.. ur not crazy for wearing jeans to bed but tbh with u i would never!! maybe in the past but i’m very much a get home and put my pajamas on person.. i don’t wear anything other than pajamas in my apartment but i also have a cat and he’s a longhair, he’s very hairy and his hair gets over everything and im weird about having cat hair all over my daytime/going out leaving the house clothes, so i don’t want to wear anything that’ll get dirty/hairy at home and i don’t want to be deterred from cuddling him or picking him up either🤭🤭

as for a medium that i find most touching? your answer was really lovely and makes a lot of sense!! and i think writing and music go hand in hand very well so its cool that both of those are mediums u feel connected to because they compliment each other well i think. i’d have to say writing might be one for me, as well, or poetry but it depends because im not really big into poetry.. like i just don’t read a lot of it but could.. i think i prefer to take in information/learn things through reading/seeing it written down or actually doing it, so i think i connect with writing because of just that, like how my brain works i don’t know.

for orchid, a song that is perfect? i’m trying to think because songs i like usually change a lot, and we talked about this before.. im not super into lyrics? ‘honestly’ by riize sounds soo good to me like just the way it sounds is amazing and i thought that song was so perfect when i heard it for the first time i was like this is incredible i love how this sounds so much… idk🤕🤕

and for palm tree? a fictional character that i love but shouldn’t hehe, im trying to think of a good answer im sure i have one…idk if this counts but.. have u seen do revenge ? it’s like a teen/chick flick thing but it was recent but i really liked it and austin abrams is an actor in it and like.. he’s horrible but like.. i would still fold. like idk what it is about the little guy i want him so bad. every now and then he shows up in a movie i watch and im like oh hi…

i honestly can’t think of a villain rn😭😭 i do love a good feminine revenge story though so like, if a woman is doing things that are really horrible and wrong but it has a deeper purpose that maybe only makes sense to her… i love her<3

also it is hard having an expressive face but the positive is that it usually means ur honest and you don’t hide things from people.. makes sense with being a scorpio though too and having intense emotions and feelings towards things?

and i loveee matcha that sounds really fun if u are able to u should try making drinks at home! i always want to as well but i have a lot of trouble keeping my home clean and organized and so it gets more stressful to do a lot of stuff that requires clean up… idk if im making sense,,, also i dont usually wake up super early for work so i usually just stop for coffee on the way there.

thanks for playing and asking<333 i’m sorry i feel like my answers could be better i’m just still sooo tired from the concerts ive been feeling so sick and only just got home recently :((

- 🥟 anon

I just saw that he was going to debut as a trot singer but I honestly have no idea since I just saw it on TikTok 😭, to be honest I don't care what he does I just want to see him so bad 😭😭😭 he has so much talent, a great voice, dancing skills and such a nice presence, he made me fall in love with him when I saw him those few times with the neos and oh god, I mean, I love the seven, but idk, I guess since he's older he wouldn't have fitted the riize concept, but it'd have been so nice to see him with Eunseok and Hani 😭

I have a cat too! He's not long haired but I totally understand the hair thing, my cat is white and before I leave my house I always clean my clothes with a sticky roll(?) because I also can't stop him, if he wants a hug or rest in my lap how could I 😭, I love him so much even when he's a little piece of shit (he's fucking demanding I swear, a covid cat 🫠)

I'm also not so big in poetry, I have friends that read poetry most of the time but I need a little more to feel the stories 🫠 anyways I think is great that you connect with writing! I also believe that those two (music and writing) are connected, or at least in our cases because I can't imagine myself writing/reading without music, even if I repeat the same song in a loop, I need some feeling 😭

Awww I find it so adorable that one of the songs you consider perfect is from riize, I don't really enjoy honestly because I can't with the lyrics 😭 (not judging of course), but if I had to choose one song from them I think I'd choose memories because I also fell in love with it the second it started, it made me feel like when I was school and I listened to exo between classes, the MV is precious to me and it's simply the song I've repeated the most from riize ever 🩷 (I can't believe that one song did so much for me to even come back to Tumblr and write for a group 😭, I think l my feelings aren't as strong as then, but I still appreciate them a lot!)

I haven't seen that movie but I know the guy! I saw what he did but I can't find him hot as a bad guy if I'm honest, I just saw him in euphoria and thought he was the cutest thing ever 😭(also the bathroom scene... Sorry but the way he came after eating Kat out had me wishing it was me 😭😭😭😭) For that question I also can't think of any villain but I guess it could include Loki and Bucky, those two had me on a chokehold the whole lock down and I didn't care that they were fucking wrong and did really bad things, I just wanted them SO BAD 😭 (oh, I love women taking revenge too, one of my favorite movies ever is promising young woman and I support women in everything they do, rights and wrongs 👩‍🦯)

It could be said that me being expressive is related to honesty but if I'm fr with you I hid a ton of shit when I was younger and I still do so I don't know if that could be applied to me 💔, I show my emotions but I don't think I could be considered a piece of god taking into account that I do lie or manipulate reality into my benefit a lot 😭 (this sounds bad but it's related to my job ☠️), I don't like doing it in my real life anymore but God when I was younger I'd turn my body and tell my parents with a straight voice "oh yeah I was studying" but I would be in another place maybe having brunch with a tinder guy (my parents were pretty strict until lock down 😭), I was a bit out of control when I was younger, but now I'm a new person and mostly do it only at work (also because I'm such a sweet pea right now I don't really have nothing to hide? I haven't gone out on a date for a year already and spend most of my time on my own so I don't know what I would have to lie about 😭)

You're totally making sense, that's also part of my case so that's one of the reasons I usually drink or eat outside, just that in my case is because if I do something for me, I have to do it for everyone, and there's nothing I hate more than having to serve others because I don't only hate to prepare a ton of shit but I also have to clean it up? No thanks ☠️ (well, there goes my dream of being a stay at home wife for a sexy older man like Hugh Jackman or Pedro Pascal...)

Thank you for playing with me my love and please don't worry at all about your answers, they were perfect and I enjoyed reading them a lot! Please take your time to get your energies back, you've had an intense week and you deserve it 🩷🩷🩷

[pappydaddy]

Terror at Starcourt Mall i (s.h/r.b)

a/n: this request for the lovely @notsolong-pause took a bit longer since i wanted to make sure i researched russian culture and (especially) the conflict between russia and the states. i tried to focus mostly on the reader's conflict of being confronted with russians who fit the "evil russian" stereotype. therefore, this fic deals with a lot of stereotypes and prejudice. reader discretion is advised.

on another note, here is a little fun fact about me - i am actually trained in russian ballet so i obviously had to connect that as ballet is one of the biggest arts forms to come from russia (aside from literature). I also learned that most russians were pagan before the catholics took over. i wanted to include that someone in here, but i could not find the place to do so.

anywho, i hope you enjoy the fic lovelies and i hope you like it @notsolong-pause💛!

p.s. i didn't know if I should do it for robin or steve, but i felt like season 3 steve would be very open-minded and i wanted to show his character growth, but i also have no long fics for robin. so, i created a love triangle and each character will have an ending. this is my first time writing a love triangle like this so this is pretty exciting for me!

tv show/movie: stranger things

pairing: steve harrington x fem!russian!reader/robin buckley (love triangle)

requested

part i - you're here! | part ii | part iii | part iv

| part v - steve’s ending| part vi - robin’s ending | steve’s ending -steve’s pov (special!) (coming soon)| robin’s ending - robin’s pov (special!) (coming soon)

warnings: this fic deals with a lot of stereotypes and prejudice based on nationality. mentions of nationalism, the fear of violence/harassment, internal conflict (a little), feeling like you need to hide the real you, etc. minor violence.

disclaimer: in light of recent acts of war inflicted on ukraine by russia, i wish to make it clear that i am in no way supporting russia through this series. a, this series was written well in advance to the conflict coming to light and, b, this is set in a different time in history/society/public relations. my heart hurts for the ukraine and for everyone that is effected negatively by the acts of war incited by russia. i am also horribly heartbroken over the people who have died thus far and i am deeply sorry for the families of the people that are stuck in the ukraine or that have died.

sidenote warning: the reader is written to do ballet - explained above. quickly proof-read, will proof-read better when i redo my older fics and edit my newer fics.

sidenote: throughout the series, there will be some scenes skipped. this was a creative choice when i had to edit some things out to shorten it (it was over 100 pages).

taglist: @the-weeping-author | @lilypad-55449 | @spongebob-in-the-upsidedown | @rottenstyx | @boxofsilentwords | @badass-yn (disclaimer: i put both steve and robin taglist members as it isn't just a steve or robin fic)

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

Being a person of Russian descent living in the United States was hard, especially with the tension between the two countries making it even more difficult. When Y/N’s parents moved their family to America in 1965 (a year before Y/N was born) during the slight ease in the tension, they thought they would be able to live out the American Dream in peace. The year 1979 proved them wrong. With the tension back in its height, it was hard for them to even walk down the street. Y/N had it relatively easier than her family, being able to pass as an American a bit more than the others. This hostility her family faced made her parents even more determined to practice their Russian culture. This meant they had a strong familial bond, like many families in Russia. It also meant that Y/N and her siblings knew many important things about Russia, things they would have learned in school.

They learned of the volcano Kambalny which has been dormant for two hundred and eighteen years as of 1985 - the current year. They also learned about Lake Baikal hidden in the mountains near Siberia, the world's largest, oldest, and (in Y/N’s opinion) most beautiful lake. Aside from basic homeland and geography, they learned of the folklores, legends, and cultural traditions that many people passed down over the years to their children. Learning of the Slavic myths and legends terrified Y/N as a child, but by learning the traditions of her family before her, it taught her of the ancient Pagan background Russia held before Christianity became the norm. As a child, she would fear that when she walked too close to any body of water an angry Vodianoi (a male water spirit) would attack her or at night she would be too scared to sleep in case the evil spirit Bies was hiding under her bed. Regardless, no matter how scared she was of the mythology, she always dreamed of being a Vila, Nymphs described with beauty and youth.

However, it wasn’t just them learning about their culture and the country, their parents made it a point to celebrate every Russian holiday the best they could without the acceptance of the Americans. Their house was full of matryoshka dolls that Y/N’s grandparents made over their many years, pictures of the colourful dome roofs around Russia, pictures and paintings of ballerinas performing various Russian Ballets. Paintings of the various landscapes hung in halls of the house, classical Russian literature overfilled the bookshelves (both the translated and Russian versions). They often ate traditional Russian meals and were instilled with Russian traditions and superstitions. Y/N and her siblings were all enrolled in Russian ballet classes from a young age, but Y/N was the only one who stuck with it. Aside from knowing so much about Russian ballet, each person in the family was fluent in Russian.

The fact that it was well-known to her best friend that she was fluent in Russian and he still didn’t ask for her help when his child friend confronted him about a secret Russian transmission hurt her. “You never thought to tell me?” Y/N asked, her voice high with accusation. Steve stood there, looking like a guilty child who was just caught lying to his parents. Y/N huffed, letting her duffle bag fall to the floor of the Scoops backroom. Robin, Dustin, and Erica watched her as she glared at Steve. She didn’t look overly intimating in her pink ballet tights, leotard, and wrap sweater, but the look she was giving Steve sent chills up their spines.

“You were busy with summer intensives,” Steve shrugged shamefully, his eyes drifting to look at his navy shoes. “I didn’t want to bother you, you’re always so tired after practice.” She rolled her eyes at that. He knew full well that today was the last day of her summer intensive until the next one started in two weeks.

“I could have helped.” She urged, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared Steve down.

“Wait,” Dustin spoke up, looking up at Steve who stood behind his chair before letting his brown eyes drift over to Y/N. “Why would she be able to help more than anyone else?” He asked, looking back up at Steve whose eyes fluttered apprehensively towards Y/N. The way his brown eyes gazed at her, they told her he didn’t want to tell her to protect her. He knew that she didn’t like telling people about her being Russian from past experiences. Someone could only take so much passive-aggressive comments, name-calling, or outright verbal and physical harassment before they just gave up telling people about things. It took her over a just shy of a year into their friendship for Y/N to tell Steve.

“Because she’s bilingual, she speaks Russian.” Steve blurted out, noticing the internal war raging on in her head. He heard how Dustin was playing into the stereotypes. As soon as he heard the transmission, he assumed the Russians were plotting the destruction of America. While that possibility is not yet ruled out and Steve had also assumed the same, it was still possible that some teenagers had fooled around over their walkies and Dustin picked it up.

“That’s so cool,” Robin’s eyes lit up. “It’s cool that you can speak it and you’re not one of these Americans who villainize all Russians by letting the media dictate how you see them,” She expressed. Y/N swallowed thickly at Robin calling her an American. She always hated when people called her American, it was just another reminder of the guilt she felt by being more American-passing than the rest of her family. “You probably learned it through doing Russian ballet, right?”

Y/N nodded hesitantly. “Uh, yeah, through ballet. Just, you know, picked it up,” She lied. “The Vaganova Method is full of Russian terms.” It pained her to lie. Russian ballet used all the same terms and all her ballet teachers spoke English or were pretty much fluent in English. No matter how much Robin showed her support for people who were pressed down by prejudice and stereotypes, she was still apprehensive to disclose her nationality - especially with patriots such as Erica Sinclair and Dustin Henderson in the room. With his big heart and even bigger brain, Dustin was swayed easily, but as much as Y/N wanted to tell him the truth, she was just too worried that the influence of the American school system pulled him towards complete nationalism.

“Well, I don’t see why she can’t help now,” Dustin pointed out. “I mean,” He paused, shrugging as he looked at Y/N. “It might be helpful to have another person on our team.”

“As long as I get my payment for doing this crap, I don’t care if she joins or not.” Erica finally spoke, the beads in her braids clinking as she flicked her hair over her shoulder sassily. Steve sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, gnawing nervously. Having Y/N involved wouldn’t just pose a risk to her life, but it would also make it more likely for the fact that she was Russian to slip out. Steve didn’t want her forced to tell Dustin and the others her secret, he saw just how torn up she gets just thinking about what could happen once it gets out.

“I’m down with her joining,” Robin agreed, creating a unanimous vote for Y/N to join their little mission. “That is only if she’s okay with joining,” She added before looking expectantly at Steve as he thought of any reason he could argue for why she couldn’t join the mission. He could argue that it was, in fact, endangering her life, but it was also endangering their lives as well - that argument would never hold up, especially against Erica. “What about you, Steve?”

“Huh?” He asked, blinking as he mimicked confusion, playing dumb to avoid answering the question right away.

“Are you okay with Y/N joining the team?” Robin asked again, bobbing her head as she spoke slower as if she were speaking to a kid. Steve narrowed his eyebrows, an unimpressed scowl on his face.

“I don’t see why she shouldn’t join the team so I’m fine with it as long as she is.” He grumbled begrudgingly, detesting the thought of Y/N risking her life and the exposure of her most kept secret. Suddenly, all eyes turned on Y/N once again. She had to admit, the looming and daunting threat of exposing her secret pre-maturely scared her, but she had just made a big stink about not being allowed to help - she couldn’t just suddenly refuse to help after that.

“I’m fine with helping, just tell me what to do.” She agreed, hoping she sounded much more confident than she was.

____

When she agreed to help, she was not agreeing to plummet halfway to hell in an elevator they had just escaped from. Now, as the five of them wandered aimlessly along a never-ending corridor, Y/N found herself regretting making such a big deal about Steve leaving her out of this. She was thankful that she had enough sense to change out of the uncomfortable tights and leotard combo and into a slightly more comfortable jean mom shorts and baggy band shirt combo. She was also thankful that she was with Steve. Being trapped down here with him saved her from all the fretting and worrying that came with being scared of accidentally revealing her secret.

“I mean, you have to admit, as a feat of engineering alone, this is impressive.” Dustin broke the silence, looking around the high-tech-looking corridor. From beside Y/N (who stood between him and Robin), Steve sent his much younger friend a bewildered look.

“What are you talking about,” He asked, gesturing around to the corridor that was just a more industrial-looking tunnel than the ones they had travelled through to burn the Mind Flayer’s hub a few months ago. “It’s a total fire hazard, there are no stairs, no exit - there’s just an elevator that drops you halfway to hell.” He pointed out the flaws, earning a nod of agreement from Y/N as she kept her eyes on the spotless floor in front of her. Just watching the floor, you would think you were walking in a school or a hospital, somewhere completely normal - not a liar deep under the Starcourt Mall.

Y/N felt a tad bit conflicted. She knew there were bad Russians just like there were bad Americans, but she never actually encountered any of them. Maybe Americans weren’t the only people who were caught up in nationalism. The longer she was down in the Russian base just wandering the tunnel, the more she questioned. There had to be a reason her parents left Russia. Were her parents so caught up in their own egocentrism and nationalism that they forgot to tell her and her siblings how it currently was in Russia? “They're Commies,” Erica spoke up, her eyes staring straight ahead of her. “You don’t pay people, they cut corners.”

“Speaking of egocentrism.” Y/N thought before letting her previous thoughts consume her. Maybe she was being too quick to assume. She had never actually met another Russian outside of her family. Having the first Russians you meet be Russians set on an evil government mission isn’t necessarily indicative of the state of modern-day Russia nor is it relevant to normal, everyday Russians.

“To be fair to our Russian comrades, I don’t think this corridor was designed for walking,” Robin pointed out, gesturing to the length of the corridor. “I mean, think about it, they developed the perfect system for transporting that cargo.”

“It all comes into the mall like any old delivery-” Dustin trailed off, riffing off Robin.

“And then they load it up onto those trucks and nobody's the wiser!” Robin exclaimed, almost excited.

“You think they built this whole mall just so that they could transport that green poison?” Steve pulled a face as he questioned their theory.

Dustin scoffed. “I very seriously doubt it's something as boring as poison,” He remarked before rolling his wrist lazily as he thought, his brows furrowed. “It's gotta be much more valuable, like promethium or something.” He concluded with a snap of his fingers.

“What the hell is promethium?” Steve asked wildly. Y/N had to beg the same question, she had opted out of chemistry classes, but she was sure whatever it was, it wasn’t something like a household cleaner.

“It's what Victor Stone's dad used to make Cyborg's bionic and cybernetic components,” Robin instantly answered. “But, it’s also a highly radioactive chemical that was discovered in 1945.” She added in. Y/N’s eyes lit up at that as she snapped her fingers, gaining the attention of everyone.

“Now I know what that is,” She exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. “It was named after the Greek Titan Prometheus, it’s also not naturally occurring - it’s found in the byproducts of reactions from uranium fission,” She paused, looking around at the shocked faces of the others. “What,” She asked, confused until she remembered that both Dustin and Steve knew how little she knew about chemistry. “I might suck at chemistry, but that doesn’t mean I can’t read things. I just can’t do math.” She defended with a shrug.

“You're all so nerdy,” Erica rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she looked forward once again. “It makes me physically ill.” She pulled a disgusted face.

“No, no, no,” Steve fretted. “No, don't lump me in with them,” He told her sternly as he pointed to Dustin, Robin, and Y/N. “I’m not a nerd, alright?” He insisted, making the three others roll their eyes. There was Steve, still holding onto the social constructs of high school even after he graduated.

Robin, unimpressed, quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why so sensitive, Harrington? Afraid of losing cool points to a ten-year-old child?” She taunted, making Steve send her a scowl in return.

“No,” He defended stubbornly. “I'm just saying I don't know jack shit about Prometheus.”

“Promethium,” Dustin corrected. “Prometheus is a Greek mythological figure Y/N was talking about, but whatever,” He paused, his hands moving around frantically as he tried to get everyone back on track. “All I'm saying is, it's probably being used to make something-”

“Or power something-” Robin interjected.

“Like a nuclear weapon?” Dustin suggested, riffing off Robin.

“Totally.” Robin nodded, seeming even more excited. Y/N sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Russians building nuclear warfare and powering them under Hawkins, Indiana which is in the United States? Yeah, that doesn’t necessarily break the stereotypes Y/N and her family are confined to.

“Walking towards a nuclear weapon. That's great,” Steve remarked sarcastically. “That would be great!” He continued, but nobody paid him any attention - he was just being cranky at this point.

“But if they're building something,” Robin trailed off, but everyone was only half-listening, too absorbed in their own thoughts and worries. “Why here,” She posed the question. Suddenly, right after Robin asked that question, Steve grabbed Y/N’s hand (taking her by surprise), pulling her behind Erica and Robin who didn’t notice that they dropped back behind them. “I mean, Hawkins. Seriously. Of all places-” Robin continued to ramble, not paying attention to anything else than her thoughts as the other three huddled together.

“You think the Russians know?” Dustin whispered, his eyes flicking frantically between Steve and Y/N. Y/N looked across at him with hooded eyes and furrowed brows, completely confused as to what he was talking about.

“About the-” Steve trailed off, hoping his eyes were telling Dustin and Y/N what he was talking about. Y/N breathed out in realization. It would make sense why the Russian government would pick Hawkins’ of all places. Hawkins is a very conservative town, if they wanted to go undetected, it shouldn’t be their first choice when looking for a place to plot an attack on the Americans. It had to be connected to the Upside Down, it was too much of a coincidence not to be connected.

“They could.” Dustin answered his own question.

“So it’s connected?” Steve pressed.

“If it is, then maybe these guys aren’t looking to destroy America? Maybe they were hired by the people who ran Hawkins lab to continue the research secretly,” Y/N suggested lowly, trying to find some way to not automatically jump on the “evil-Russians-trying-to-destroy-America '' bandwagon, earning a strange look from Dustin and a subtle head shake from Steve. “But, no, yeah, I definitely think that it’s connected.” She nodded, clearing her throat.

“Maybe it is.” Dustin nodded, agreeing with them.

“How?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s-” Dustin trailed off, sucking in a deep breath. They had all thought that they had finally gotten rid of the horrors of the Upside Down last year when El closed the gate, but yet, here they were once again.

“Possible.” They all finished together with a sigh.

“I'm sorry,” Robin snapped, scaring the three. Whirling around to stand right, they all tried their best to look as innocent as they could. ‘Is there something you'd like to share with the class?” She demanded, her and Erica glaring at the three, but there was something more behind Robin’s glare, something that Y/N couldn’t quite make out. Just as they opened their mouths to retort, a static hiss sounded from the walkie tucked into Erica’s backpack. They could hear a distorted voice of a man speaking Russian as they all stood frozen, hoping it wasn’t a cart coming towards the elevator.

“Walkie-” Dustin and Steve whispered before all three ran towards Robin and Erica. Everyone dropped to the ground to dig through Erica’s bag, the man's voice becoming clearer as it echoed through the silent corridor. Y/N instantly understood the words, her eyes widening as she looked up at the group.

“It’s the code.” She and Robin breathed out together.

“Wherever that broadcast is coming from-” Dustin started to say, but Robin cut him off.

“It’s close, and if there’s one thing we know about that signal-” Robin was cut off by Dustin.

“It can reach the surface.” Dustin breathed, hope blooming in all of their chests. They had a chance of getting out of there after all.

“Let’s go!” Robin ordered, making them all gather themselves up and take off running in search of the comms room.

____

Y/N was just about to let you a breath of relief once they all made it safely through what seemed like a scene straight out of a James Bond movie, but she sucked it back in once she turned around to see a Russian sitting at the comms board. It was pointless, but Y/N wished that if they just stayed quiet enough, the man wouldn’t notice them. The creak of his chair spinning to face them made every ounce of hope she had to evaporate from her body instantly. Their presence seemed to take the man off guard as he yanked the headphones from his head, standing from his chair in an unsure alert, his hand on his gun.

Nobody could seem to do anything else other than stare at each other until the Russian unclipped his holster. Robin stepped forward, standing between the group and the Russian, her hands trying to get him to stop. “Tread lightly,” She spoke in Russian, her face hard. Y/N watched her, open-mouthed, questioning if she had a death wish or not. “Tread lightly.” She repeated.

The Russian’s face melted into confusion as his hand on his gun slightly relaxed. “Who are you?” He asked in Russian. Steve, Dustin, and Erica were completely lost, not understanding what either of them was saying. Robin pointed towards herself, about to say something, but Y/N jumped forward, slipping in front of Robin.

“We are American Spies, we have word of a possible compromise to the mission, we were sent here by the General,” She spoke in Russian effortlessly, but it only made the man more confused. “We are supposed to get key cards to access the elevator to the mall, we have to go investigate before the mission proceeds any farther.” She pressed in Russian, a sense of urgency in her voice.

“We don’t have American Spies, the Mayor has people who make sure nobody comes near here that’s not supposed to.” The man replied back in Russian. Her mind went blank. Of course the Mayor was behind this. He was as corrupt as the day was long. Admittedly, Y/N was in overhead at this point as she wasn’t sure which way the surface was. She did know that the longer she took to reply to the guard, the more suspicious he would become.

“What did he say?” Robin leaned closer to Y/N, whispering in her ear, noting the fearful expression on her face. Her breath tickled the sensitive skin of Y/N’s ear, adding to the clouding of her mind.

“He said that there are no American Spies and that the Mayor is behind this. Give me a second, I’ll try to get out of this,” She whispered back, her hand itching to reach out for Robin’s, seeking her comfort as her heart was about to beat out of her chest, anxiety sitting heavily on her chest. Trying to hide her extreme body shakes fueled by nerves, Y/N nodded as if she knew this. “Yes, we were hired by the Mayor, he was too busy with July fourth celebrations, we have to go report to him now.” She stressed to the guard in Russian.

“I speak English too.” The man replied in a thick Russian accent. Y/N gulped at that, knowing that they were busted.

“Well, that’s not good,” Y/N laughed nervously, having absolutely no idea what to do from there. With a scowl on his face, the man wrapped his hands around the butt of his gun, making Y/N’s blood run cold. “Any ideas now?” She asked the others as she stepped back, the guard walking towards her, his eyes sharp and determined - trained on Y/N first. Just then, Steve let out a loud battle cry as he ran at the guard, his arms straight out to the side. A flicker of fear passed through all their faces, but the fear stayed on the Russian’s face as Steve tackled him to the Comms board, the man raising his arms and pulling the gun out of the holster - the barrel pointed right at Y/N.

Robin reacted quicker than Y/N whose brain seemed to be lagging, her hand wrapping around hers and pulling her out of the path of the gun if it was to go off, but the man wasn’t even thinking of Y/N anymore. With a grunt, he powered up and threw Steve off him, making him stumble into another Comms board along the side, a groan leaving his lips on impact. Y/N winced, jolting as the Russian swung his closed fist at Steve, but Steve dodged it miraculously, leaning back on the Comms board only for his shirt to be fisted by the angered Russian, pulling him off the board by the tie of his uniform. “Oh my god-” Y/N exclaimed as he threw Steve against the board with an angered grunt.

With a sadistic smile, the Russian pulled Steve up by the back of his shirt, assuming he won the fight. The terrified group behind them stayed silent, also assuming the guard’s win. Robin, whose arms were around Y/N still, held her tighter subconsciously, her head burrowing into her shoulder, too scared of what was about to happen as the Russian threw a punch into Steve’s stomach, earning a grunt. Steve didn’t stop, instead, grabbing one of the microphones from the board, tossing it between his hands as the Russian marched towards him. The group jumped as the microphone made contact with the man’s face, sending him spinning around, spit and some blood flying - the smack echoing enough to cause Robin to pull her head from Y/N’s shoulder. A collective gasp left the four when his limp head smacked the main Comms table, letting his body crumble to the ground unconscious.

With wide eyes, Y/N stared at the limp man, not believing that Steve knocked him out. When he didn’t stir, she let her eyes drift over to Steve as he panted, also watching the man in case he got back up. “Well, I guess that was an idea.” She shrugged, not knowing how else to respond, her mind still in shock. When she was looking for suggestions, she did not expect someone to throw themselves at the clearly dangerous guard.

“Dude,” Dustin exclaimed, a wide, toothless smile beaming at his mentor, his eyes wide and bright. Steve looked over at him, running a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face. “You did it,” He pointed at him. Steve’s dark eyes were blown out as his brain tried to catch up with his body. “You won a fight!”

“Jeez.” Looking down at the unconscious man before looking back at the group, Steve breathed out in realization, smirking.

“You really did win a fight,” Y/N nodded, impressed. Steve let out a chuckle, almost not believing it himself, his goofy smile growing as he looked between the group and the unconscious man. “Now can we get his keycard and sneak out of here before something else happens please?” She pleaded as Dustin rushed forward, plucking the keycard off the man. Robin slowly let her grip on Y/N go, still unsure of the whole situation. Everyone was unsure of the situation. Give Y/N, Dustin, and Steve an interdimensional creature to defeat and they act like they’ve spent their whole lives fighting them, but give them a hidden lab and the Russian government and they are lost.

Seemingly unphased by any of the day��s events, Erica stepped closer to Dustin. “What are you doing?” She asked roughly, making Dustin look back at her as he tried to get the man’s keycard off his belt, not understanding how it was clipped onto it.

“Getting us our ticket out of here.” Dustin told her as if it was obvious before looking back at his task. Grunting as he tried to rip it from the man’s belt.

“You want to walk all the way back?” Erica challenged his plan with a quirk of her eyebrows. Steve, Robin, and Y/N stepped back, shifting their eyes to meet each other over the bickering children. Constantly, Dustin and Erica had been at each other’s necks, leaving the air between the group thick with tension and awkwardness.

“Well, we can hang out for a little bit, relax, have a picnic maybe.” Dustin sauntered up to her, his voice dripping with sarcasm, leaving his task behind in favour of arguing.

“Have a picnic,” Erica asked, clearly not caring for Dustin’s sarcasm. “We came here for the radio.” She reminded him, gesturing to the grand Comms board taking up most of the room. Y/N huffed, closing her eyes as they bickered.

“This plan is way better,” Dustin told her. “If I knew Steve could knock out a Russian, that would’ve been our plan in the first place-” He contended, exasperated with the youngest group member for her inability to read the situation.

“Look, can’t we just take this opportunity, get the keycard and get back to the mall and tell someone who can actually do something about this,” Y/N questioned, clearly stressed and wanting to get out of there. “Even with the radio, nobody will get to us before the Russian’s find us. Steve might be able to beat up one guard, but he can’t fight off all of them.” She pointed out the flaw in the radio plan.

“Y/N is right,” Steve nodded, looking over at her. “Our end goal is to get out of here alive. Staying here would jeopardize that goal,” He concurred with Y/N. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t figure out how to sneak back to the elevator, they made it this far. “The only person who knows we are here is passed out at our feet.” He gestured to the passed-out Russian laying in the middle of the group, nobody realizing the missing person. Y/N and Steve were too busy trying to smooth things over and Erica and Dustin were too wrapped up in their own egos.

“We could take this opportunity,” Dustin pointed out passive-aggressively, looking back at Erica who stood with her arms crossed over her chest and her hip jutted out. “But I guess you’re-”

“Guys,” Robin cut in before Dustin could finish the insult he was hurling, making everyone look over at her. She stood on the bottom step of a very tall and narrow stairwell - her eyes wide, her skin pale as if she had just seen a ghost. Y/N looked at her in concern before lifting her eyes to the top of the stairwell, seeing a blue glow coming from the room at the top. “There’s something up there.” Within seconds, they were all rushing up the stairs and slipping into the room at the top, trying to see what they were working on.

“Woah,” Y/N breathed out, looking at the room connected to it. It was filled with people in lab coats, looking out at something. Even from there, they could hear the low-frequency pulses coming from the machine. “We found what they are powering.” She stated as they all squished together, looking through the windows of the doors.

“Holy shit.” Dustin said under his breath. They all stood there, watching as the nuclear-powered laser hit the red, veiny wall, pulling it apart slowly - a wall Y/N had never seen, but she instantly knew what it was.

“The gate.” Steve and Dustin whispered fearfully as the machine continued the loud thrumming sound, the wall opening slowly the more the laser worked at it.

“That’s not good,” Y/N’s voice shook as a loud shrieking noise came from the wall, barely making it to her ears. She pushed away from the doors to the room, doom waving over her like a tidal wave. It was a sound she thought she would never have to hear again, but here she was. “We have to go, we have to tell the others somehow, warn them.” She turned to the boys, her voice firm with urgency. Now, they were entering the territory they knew and there was no room for fighting over what to do or being unsure.

“I agree, we have to use that pass to get back to the surface.” Dustin pointed towards the stairs. Steve and Y/N nodded in agreement before turning on their heels and jogging towards the door, leaving Robin and Erica to scurry after them in a state of confusion.

“I don’t understand,” Robin finally spoke up as they all jogged down the stairs. She squeezed past Steve who ended up at the back of the pack, landing beside Y/N. “You’ve seen this before?” She asked the three of them, but her eyes were directed to Y/N, Erica paying them no attention as she led them down the stairs.

“Not exactly.” Steve told her truthfully. They, as a group, had never seen the gate until now. Only Hopper, Joyce, and Eleven have ever seen the gate. The closest they ever got to seeing the gate was the underground hub they set ablaze a few months ago.

“Then what, exactly?” Robin pressed, concerned how the three of them knew something about a project being worked on by the Russian government. Y/N was sure that Robin was questioning just who she shared a job with when it came to Steve. She was even sure that Robin was heavily questioning what else she didn’t know about Y/N - the girl she shared classes with and had never shared more than a few words with until the beginning of the summer.

“All you need to know is: it’s bad.” Dustin informed her, hoping she would drop the questions for right now. They all clustered in the Comms room, pausing for a second to try and rectify this situation before continuing.

“It’s very bad.” Steve reinforced Dustin’s statement with an urgent nod.

“Like, end-of-the-human-race-as-we-know-it kind of bad.” Dustin accentuated, his hands flying through the air in order to convey just how dangerous and time-sensitive this issue was.

“Trust us, Robin,” Y/N stopped, grabbing Robin by her shoulders to make her face her. The blonde’s blue eyes were wide with fear and incomprehension. “It’s better that you don’t know about all of this and it’s better for us if we don’t tell you,” She urged. “Besides, you really don’t want to know anything about this nor do you want to be wrapped up in this.”

“And you know about this how?” She ignored Y/N’s warning, pulling her shoulders from her grip, looking between the three of them. Sending a glance at each other, Steve, Dustin, and Y/N all opened their mouths to try and spew truths that didn’t give away their secrets.

“Um, Steve,” Erica spoke up awkwardly. Nobody looked towards her, too busy with either keeping a huge government secret or trying to pry that said government secret out of their mouths. “Where’s your Russian friend?”

Fed up with the constant questioning, Y/N groaned in frustration. “Right here-” Y/N snapped, not realizing that Erica meant the guard. Her eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth. Spinning around, she hoped that the others just thought she meant the guard. Hope died in her heart when she spotted the obviously missing unconscious person. “Uh, not here.” She cleared her throat, trying to cover her mistake.

Within seconds, an alarm blared out, red, flashing lights flooding the compound. “Shit.” Steve hissed as he ran for the door, pulling it open. More red lights flooded into the room, the alarm echoing louder. Over the ring of the alarm, Y/N could hear a man yelling in Russian.

“He’s telling them about us. We have to find a way out of here now.” She informed them even though she assumed that it was self-explanatory. They had missed their chance of escape, making Y/N curse in her mind.

“Halt! Halt!” The guards yelled, spotting Steve poking his head out the Comms door. He automatically closed the door, pressing all his weight into it.

“Shit,” He hissed again. Turning his head to the side, his eyes widened. “Go, go, go, go, go,” He yelled, waving his hand towards the stairs. Everyone else took off running, but Y/N. Her eyes jumped around the room as it seemed to spin slightly, trying to formulate a plan that would buy them just a bit more time to find a way out. “Y/N, come on!” Steve yelled, running back to try and grab her. She shrugged him off.

“Go ahead, I will catch up,” She insisted, dashing towards the microphone Steve had used to knock the Russian out with. Her hands wrapped around the smooth plastic, feeding it through the stainless steel handle of the door twice before running to the stairs. Steve stood at the bottom, his hand stretched out desperately for her to grab onto. “Hang on,” She told him, wrapping the coiled cord around the joint of the railing, knotting it off. “That should hold them, but we have to get out of here fast.”

Steve didn’t reply, only grabbing her hand tightly and tugging her up their stairs to catch up with the rest of them. Below, they could hear the guards struggling with the door due to the tension created with the cord. Looking back, she could see the door only opening a little before the cord pushed it back closed. “I honestly had my doubts about that working in this circumstance.” She breathed out in relief as Steve pulled her up the stairs.

“Shit!” Dustin exclaimed, bursting through the first set of doors just as Steve and Y/N gained on them.

“Move! Let’s move!” Steve ordered as they all skidded through a turn to get into the second set of doors they were just peeking through. Suddenly, Dustin, who was leading the pack, stopped, nearly making everyone behind him run into each other. In unison, four seated scientists all turned to face them, their office chairs squeaking. The three standing scientists blinked at them.

“Go, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Steve freaked out. Dustin looked from side to side before running off to his left, everyone else following.

“There has been a breach, lock the door,” Y/N was able to bark out an order in Russian before Steve pulled her after him with a sharp tug, nearly making her trip over herself. “Hurry!” She barked at the scientists again, hoping they would buy it. When she heard the slaps of dress shoes running to the door, she knew that they had fallen for it.

“Go, go, go!” Steve called as they ran along a catwalk, running directly towards the laser and the gate. Down below, they could hear yells in Russians. Letting out a battle cry, Dustin shoved a man in a hazmat suit against the railing, making room for them to run by.

“There has to be a way to the corridor down below, there are guards down there!” Y/N yelled over the whirling of the laser, still shooting its beam into the fleshy wall of the gate. They all screeched to a halt, nearly being blown back by the spinning force of the laser.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, shit,” Dustin sucked in a large amount of air. “Holy Shit!” Dustin screamed, barely being heard over the laser. Behind them, they could hear the clang of the guard’s boots running along the metal catwalk towards them, making Steve and Y/N look over their shoulders. Her plans didn’t hold them off long enough.

“Guards,” Steve yelled out the warning. “Go,” He tried to instruct, but nobody could find a way down. “This way!” He yelled, spotting a staircase down to below the catwalk. Shoving another man in a hazmat suit, Steve cleared the way, pulling Y/N along.

“More guards, Steve!” Y/N yelled, pointing to the group of men dressed in green and red uniforms as they ran from a hidden corridor.

“Oh, shit,” Steve exclaimed, dropping her hand to slam himself against a stack of metal barrels, bangs of the metal hitting the concrete floor filled the entire room. “Oh, shit!” He yelled again out of adrenaline. Willing her already exhausted legs to push harder, she ignored the way her heart screamed in agony for her to stop. Everything was muffled around her as she blindly followed Robin who ended up at the front.

“This way,” Robin found a door, yanking it open, she flagged the others down. Just as her legs refused to pump any faster, Y/N ran into the room after Erica, panting. Automatically, her hands fell to her knees as her face screwed up in pain as her chest burned. “Come on, quick!” Robin yelled to Dustin and Steve as she held the door open, waving them into the room. Robin ran farther into the room as Dustin’s sneakers slapped against the clean tiles, Steve skidding in less than a second later, automatically throwing himself against the door to barricade them in.

“I told you guys we should have left after Steve knocked the guard out.” Y/N wheezed, grabbing at her side as a stitch formed as they ran around the room, searching for a way out.

“Robin!” Steve yelled through gritted teeth as he struggled against the Russian’s incessant pounding on the door. Robin’s sneakers squeaked as she stopped, looking back at Steve. Y/N also stopped, looking back at him.

“Shit!” Dustin screamed, too overwhelmed to look for a way out. Robin ran back to Steve as he strangled out a few words that Y/N couldn’t understand. Y/N bit her lip, debating whether or not to help them, but the sound of a struggle on the platform beside her caught her attention. Looking over, she rolled up onto her tiptoes, seeing Erica struggling to open a hatch.

“Dustin, come on,” She grabbed his arm as he spun around in a panicked circle, his hands gripping the curls that escaped out from under his ball cap. Pulling him up the few steps to the platform, she yanked him past her, making his shoes clang on the metal. “We have to help her open this.” She pointed to the large hatch door Erica struggled to pry open. Wiggling her fingers under the gap Erica had made by pulling on the handle, she used all her strength to fling it over, the heavy metal crashing against the metal of the platform, the sound reverberating within their bones.

“Here, come on, let’s go!” Erica yelled, her voice sounding like it was on the verge of tears. Y/N helped her ease into the steep slope, the young girl disappearing to wherever it led within seconds. Looking back at Dustin, she waved him to go, but he didn’t move, only standing up to look back at Robin and Steve as they strained to keep the door closed, their sneakers slipping and skidding on the floor.

“Come on!” Dustin waved them over, pointing to the open hatch.

“Go! Just get out of here!” Steve waved the two of them off, but Dustin wasn’t listening.

“Just come on, now!” Dustin insisted.

“No,” Steve yelled aggressively. “Just go get some help okay?” He ordered them as Dustin hopped in the hatch, his feet squeaking against the slick aluminum of the sides of the slope, his hands planted firmly on either side of the hatch. They shook, trying to keep him up as his sneakers slipped against the slick aluminum. He wanted to argue, but Y/N cut him off.

“Steve is right, Dustin,” Y/N turned to him, trying to shove his shoulders down into the hatch, but he wasn’t budging. “Once they let go of that door, the guards will get in and they think we’re American Spies sent to destroy their mission - they aren’t going to take kindly to us once they catch us. You need to go.” She explained.

“You need to go too, Y/N.” Steve informed her, making her snap her head towards them.

“Yeah, you have to go with them,” Robin agreed, her eyes screwing shut as she bit down on her lip, struggling even more to keep the door closed. “I trust you to keep them safe, but most importantly, I trust you to find a way to save us.” She let her eyes flutter back open, her captivating blue eyes filled with fear and urgency. Swallowing thickly, Y/N stared into them, trying to argue.

“Plus, we need you to be safe,” Steve urged, making her look at him. “You and I both know that you can’t be caught here. They will make up whatever truth they want about you and if you don’t tell them what they want to hear, they’ll assume you’re lying. And you know that they will figure out your secret, Y/N.” Steve pleaded, his foot slipping as a Russian shoved the door extra hard.

“But-”

“Just go!” Steve and Robin yelled at her.

“Just go, protect yourself and the kids.” Robin continued, pleading with her to listen to them. Rolling her lips together, she looked over at Dustin.

“Go Dustin, I’ll be right behind you.” She ordered him, trying once again to shove him down.

“What are you doing,” Steve yelled to Dustin as he fought against Y/N’s hands on his shoulder, his sneakers squeaking against the aluminum as his feet slipped slightly. “Go!” He yelled in sync with Robin, their arms slacking slightly against the door as they quickly became exhausted, the adrenaline leaving them.

“I won’t forget you!” Dustin yelled.

“Go!” They yelled at him again just before Y/N gave him the final shove. Letting his feet leave the sides, he shot down the slope. Before Robin or Steve (or both) could yell at her, she dangled her feet into the hatch and scooted to sit on the edge. Bracing to push herself in, she looked up at them.

“I’ll find a way to rescue you guys, don’t worry.” She reassured them before she gripped the hatch door, using her body weight to yank it up straight. With one last fleeting look towards Steve and Robin, she saw their nervous eyes looking at her already. Wasting no more time, she jumped in, letting the hatch fall closed over her with another bang. Guilt and nerves chewed at her stomach lining as she slipped down the slope to land next to Dustin and Erica. Sitting up, she joined the other two in looking around at the vast, aluminum tunnels.

“Where are we?” Erica asked, her voice echoing through the maze-like structure as they all gawked, trying to figure out where to go from there.

[bl00dgutsgl0ry]

Rivalry Put To Rest

Pairing - Zhongli x Fem!Reader

Warnings - Arranged marriages (non of that under age like child marriages though fuck that yuck, these are obviously of age adults i just really wanna make that clear jesus), praise kink, modern AU, just lovely soft sex with my favorite man :'^).

Word Count - 2.4k

Other Comments - Dude it’s been so long since ive actually written anything im so sorry. But i couldn't resist writing this. I know i promised xiao but he will come in time. This is a little bit of a slow burn, or at least the sex doesnt start right away lol i want this to be nice and soft. P.s. youre on birth control so dont worry about no condom lol.

You did not like this idea. Why your parents were still forcing you into this was beyond you seeing as how you were a fully grown ass adult. You just couldn’t stomach the disappointment you would be seen as in their eyes. You were the daughter to the CEO of one of the most well known Law Firms in Teyvat. Zhongli was the son of another CEO who controlled your Rival company. Yours's and his parents wanted to finally settle the bad blood between the firms by having the two of you get married. You knew damn well the benefits of doing this was, god forbid if your Fathers firm went underwater, you would still be secure with Zhongli as your husband.

It’s not that you didn’t like Zhongli, and he certainly was not ugly; you just couldn’t stand your freedom to choose who you really wanted to marry being ripped from you. It was non negotiable though, so you had to go through with it. Zhongli didn’t seem to mind at all, he thoroughly enjoyed his very brief moments he had with you before, and was frankly excited to get more of those moments. He just hoped you didn’t resent him or blame him for this.

You both of course had an extravagant wedding, why would you not when your family was one of the wealthiest in Teyvat. You were grateful to your parents for letting you invite a few of your friends, and it seemed Zhongli had done the same. There was almost like a crowd formed around you two at the after party, you talking to your friends, and him with his. Zhongli had offered you his arm to hold onto, but you politely declined, feeling that even just holding his arm was too intimate for you.

“Already trouble in paradise for the two lovebirds?” One of Zhongli’s friends had chuckled, a red head with a stupidly smug smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as you shot a look at him. Your friend Ningguang frowned, turning to look at your now husband.

“Control your dog, Mr. Zhongli.” You let out a chuckle, when you heard Zhongli’s friend scoff.

After a while, it was customary for the newlyweds to go on their honeymoon; so after a couple of hours you had to bid farewell to your friends and family. You approached the jet the two of you would be taking, with Zhongli carrying the luggage not far behind. You went ahead and boarded, while your new husband spoke with the pilot and the crew, sighing to yourself.

“Come on (y/n) suck it up, this honeymoon will be over sooner than you know it.” You mumbled to yourself, settling into the high class jet.

“Did you say something (y/n)?” You jumped, not expecting to hear Zhongli’s voice. “Ah.. My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.” You sighed and shook your head, waiving your hand to dismiss the apology.

“You’re fine Zhongli, I’m just… Nervous is all.” He hummed in response, nodding as he settled himself into the jet.

“I understand (y/n), I really do apologize about this being thrusted into your lap. I know this isn’t the ideal circumstances for a young woman to go through.” You nodded, glad that he understood your hesitance to the situation. Zhongli really wasn’t a bad guy.

“It’s really not your fault Zhongli, I understand you probably had no more say in it than I.” You gave him a reassuring smile, the first genuine smile to grace his line of sight. Without noticing he found himself smiling back, relieved that you didn’t see him with any contempt. A comfortable silence settled, as the jet took off towards your destination.

It wasn’t a long flight, and along the way you were able to make small talk, slowly learning more about Zhongli. After two short hours, you felt the jet jump slightly against the ground before steadying itself on the runway. After a few more moments, you both departed, Zhongli once again handling the luggage, leaving your side to retrieve it.

Before you knew it, you were at the house you would be staying at for your honeymoon. It sat on a beautiful beach side shore, with a large open patio looking out over the ocean. By the time you guys had arrived it was already around 10:00 o’clock at night, so the crescent moon was high in the sky as you both stepped out onto the patio. The moon and stars gleamed against the inky black water, with the rhythmic beating of the waves lulling you both into a comfortable silence. You stood next to your husband and finally for the first time that night, actually took in his face.

The light of the scenery exposed the beauty Zhongli held in his face, the pale light bouncing off his cheekbones and illuminating his golden irises as he looked out over the sea. He must’ve felt you staring because moments later those golden eyes were locked on yours.

“Do you like the scenery (y/n)?” You gave a quick nod before ducking away from his gaze, a red flush rising to your face. You heard him chuckle for a moment before shifting.

“I know what is customary to happen on our honeymoon, and I do not want you to feel pressured to fulfill that part of our relationship.” You flushed even more as you suddenly found the pattern of the wood to be very interesting. You had completely forgot that sex was usually something people did on honeymoons. It seemed normal, because generally the people who get married have had a relationship before this so nothing felt awkward about the topic. Obviously that wasn't the case in this situation, but there was something in you that kind of wanted to. Something in you that felt comfortable enough with him to do it, you already trusted him which shocked you. What if he wasn’t though? What if he was uncomfortable with the thought of having sex with you right now which is why he brought it up so suddenly?

“Thank you Zhongli, you’re too kind. You’ve truly been so understanding through this entire thing.” You looked back up to him finally, and found a gentle smile on his face. He nodded and hummed before turning back to the house.

“We should probably get to bed, it’s already fairly late.” You nodded, pulling out your phone to check the time. You both walked about into the house together. “There is another room down the hall from the master bedroom if you don’t want to sleep in the same bed. It’s smaller so I could always take it.” There he goes, being considerate and kind; handling your thoughts and feelings like glass that would break any second. You remained silent for a moment contemplating on what he had said, before gently shaking your head.

“No, no, it’s fine. I want to share the bed with you.” You smiled up at him, and he looked almost surprised with your willingness, but the shock didn’t last for long before he smiled back at you and nodded; offering you his arm to hold on to, which you shakily took. You both reached the bedroom, where he had placed all of your guy's luggage before letting you go to retrieve your sleeping clothes as he did the same. You went into the bathroom, to give yourself and him some privacy before slowly re-entering. Zhongli was in a pair of brown silk pants with golden accents and a black short sleeve shirt. Your eyes met each other, and Zhongli smiled when he saw you.

“I know that these were unideal circumstances to get married, but I’m happy it is you who is my spouse. I can only hope you think the same of me, and that at some point you can genuinely feel connected to me.” You blushed as he said this, genuinely taken aback by the sincerity in his voice. You feel bad for dreading and almost resenting Zhongli when you were first notified about the engagement, once finding out just how compassionate and caring the man before you was. Slowly, the two of you made your way into the large king sized bed. There was a large gap between the two of you, large enough to comfortably fit another person. Your mind raced a mile a minute trying to decide whether or not you should scoot in a little closer to the man next to you.

And so you did, without taking another moment to think about it you shifted closer to Zhongli until your side gently pressed against his. You felt Zhongli stiffen beside you for a brief moment, and for a split second you regretted scooting in; that was until you felt him roll over onto his side and wrap a strong arm around your torso. You could really take in Zhongli’s scent like this and you noticed that he smelled like amber rum, chestnuts, and a hint of vanilla. It wrapped you in a warmth that lulled you into a comforting silence as the two of you laid together like this.

You rolled onto your side, letting Zhongli’s arm now rest against your waist. Your noses were almost touching as the two of you stared into each other's eyes. You saw his eyes dart down to your lips for the briefest of seconds, letting yourself do the same.

“Zhongli…” Your voice was barely above a whisper. “Can I kiss you?” You saw Zhongli’s eyes widen as his gorgeous eyes met yours, not expecting you to ask him that.

“I would love nothing more… Darling.” You flushed at the mild pet name, before softly placing your lips onto his. It felt as time skidded to a halt, as the two of you moved against each other with the grace of a slow dance. Soon enough it became heated, as you changed positions and straddled his hips. You could feel his boner pressing against you through his pants, and it made warmth bloom in your chest.

“You really want to do this right? You don’t feel pressured my dear?” You smiled at Zhongli’s questions, nodding before he could get another one out. It felt good to be so concerned about, so doted over.

“Yes Zhongli, I really want to do this with you. I trust you.” This time it was Zhongli’s turn to flush, an elegant smile gracing his lips. Before long, the both of you were out of your sleeping clothes and back on top of one another. Your back was to the silken bed sheets, as Zhongli was on top of you lining his hard cock up with your eager pussy. Zhongli gave you one last look before slowly entering you inch by inch. To say he was huge would be an understatement, so he knew he had to take it slow with you so as to not hurt you in any way. Zhongli needed this to be a good experience with you, he would never forgive himself if he hurt you or made this unenjoyable in any way at all.

The noises you were making and the way your hands were clawing at his back reassured him that he was doing everything right so far, always stopping after pushing in a few inches to give you time to adjust. Without thinking, Zhongli's mouth just started moving as words spilled out.

“You’re doing so good for me my angel, you’re taking me so well. You’re too good for me.” With the praise spilling out of Zhongli’s mouth, you couldn’t help but unleash a flurry of loud moans, as he bottomed out. He stood still for a couple moments, making sure you were nice and comfortable, until he felt you trying to move against him; trying to get him to move in and out of you.

“If you were ready for me to move, all you needed to do was ask my gem.” You let out a whine like moan, that evolved into a guttural groan when he finally started to thrust in and out of you. Your nails raked across his skin, surely leaving marks for you to admire after this was all said and done. He wasn’t skipping out on the marks either, as he sucked and bit at your skin, still throwing out praise every time his mouth left your skin. His fingers dug into your hips, as he sped up. He just couldn’t help himself, your wet quivering pussy just felt way too good wrapped around him; sucking him in every time he pulled out.

“I can’t believe it took us getting into an arranged marriage to finally meet, my god where have you been all my life.” Zhongli had begun to groan, obviously getting close to tipping over the edge, with the way his thrusts continued to get sloppier every so often. You moaned in response, too blissed out of your mind to form actual words. Zhongli’s head fell against your shoulder, his ebony black hair hanging off his shoulders.

With a few more strokes, Zhongli had both of you tumbling over the edge and cumming in unison. All that could be heard in your room was the quiet crashing of waves and the combined panting of the both of you. After a few moments of Zhongli getting his breath back he tumbled down next to you, sweaty shoulders touching. A couple seconds of silence passed before you spoke up in a raspy broken voice.

“It took us so long because I’m technically your rival.” You were giggling slightly, when Zhongli let out a loud chuckle.

“I guess you are right my dear, but now we are joined together. And I cannot wait to see what comes of our joining.”

[yesimwriting]

Would you write a Kaz Brekker request where the reader is a bookworm and a crow and basically Kaz asks the reader to read to him as his way of apologizing after a argument that was his fault?

 it ​​a/n i did something kinda similar in a 'promise of rain' blurb,, but this concept is so cute to me:)) love it sm i moved it up my request cue lol

also IM IN COLLEGE NOW!! WHAT?? AND IVE BEEN TO A PARTY! AND IM JOINING A SORORITY AND I DID DRAMA AUDITIONS AND AHH !! SO DIFFERENT! I MISS MY MOM AND SISTER AND DOG AND EVEN MY DAD BUT IM HAPPY HERE!! 

also im a little worried this might not portray kaz superrrrr accurately bc it's been awhile so just let me know,, feedback leads to improvement:)) also kinda set this up for a part 2 bc...well youll see 

--

They've always said a lot of things about him, and I've always heard them. But I've never quite believed them. Sure, I get why the dark things that have flourished in the poisoned soil that is Ketterdam consider Kaz Brekker the darkest thing of all. I understand the nickname 'Dirtyhands' for the gloved criminal who has fooled each crime boss at least once. I understand each terrible thing they've said about him.

But I've never agreed with them. I've never even considered agreeing with them. Until today.

The thought that maybe everything people say about him is correct in a simple context struck me worse than the silence after our argument. It made me feel like both a fool and hypocrite. Kaz and I have had our fair share of spats over the relatively short time we've known each other, but never like this. Never so badly he stormed out of the room before I could. I squeeze the book in my lap even harder, desperate to focus on the words on the pages.

You didn't hurt him. He walked away because he decided you weren't worth the cost of his expensive time. I repeat those thoughts in my mind over and over again, letting them bitter me further. It's a lot easier to be mad than hurt. A lot easier to fuel your pain than try to understand your mistakes. Besides, tiredness is already dredging around in my chest and if I don't calm down a little I won't be able to fall asleep.

I had escalated the fight more than I should have. Knowing Kaz is like performing in a tightrope act. One must always be aware of where they're going. Watching what's in front of them without ever thinking too much about what's beneath or behind them. Today though, when I needed my balance most I chose to fall. I chose to dive, and apparently there was no net.

"Oh, you're doing that thing."

I roll my eyes at Jesper's voice as I fight down a yawn. I wipe my face with the back of my palm before turning. The burning behind my eyes never resulted in full tears, but I feel better after doing so. "What thing?"

"That terribly noble thing where you find it in yourself to take full blame for every single conflict you and boss man fall into." The slight humor in his voice is enough for me to roll my eyes again. "Between you and me, I'm sure the reason he's so angry now is because you didn't do that for once."

I press my lips together as my chin angles itself upwards slightly. "I never do that." He raises an eyebrow. The slight sympathy that colors the look is more offensive than his accusation. "If I pick and choose my battles, it's for good reason."

"Clearly."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugs once before further entering my room. I say nothing when he sits at the foot of my bed. "Oh, you know," Jesper stretches back casually, resting his back against the wall and extending his legs, "You and Kaz--Kaz and you."

Has he been drinking? Perhaps he's not here because of my unusual absence from downstairs after my fight with Kaz but because he's already too tipsy to think right. "What?"

At my confused look he grins, flashing all of his teeth with an arrogance that outshines the whiteness of them. He taps the still open book in my lap. "Let me put it in terms you'll understand." Jesper sits up a little further, amusement clear in his features. "You two make a shameful Elizabeth and Darcy--"

"Oh, shut up," I groan, glaring at him, "This isn't Pride and Prejudice. And Kaz and I," Jesper's smugness returns when I can't quite think of what I want to say, "We're barely friends--we're barely anything, let alone what you're implying."

Jesper pulls his legs up and shoves me gently. "Dearest, y/n," he ignores my glare, "You should know better than anyone that 'barely friends, barely anything' with Kaz is more than it is with anyone else?"

"That doesn't mea--"

"You two say goodnight to each other." Once. Kaz and I said good night to each other in front of Jesper once. How dare he assume it happens regularly? He's right, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with it. "You play cards with him. Not for money, not for skill--"

"It's for practice." The look Jesper gives me is enough to tell me that my defense didn't land.

Damn him for ever finding Kaz and I on one of those strange nights. One of those nights in which he lurks at the stairwell...the one that divides my room and his attic. One of those nights in which it feels like he's a phantom and I'm the only one that can really see him. A night in which we both silently find each other.

I couldn't quite believe it the first time it happened. I'm not exactly a Crow--I don't feel enough a connection to the Dregs to join them without some kind of guarantee--but I was needed for some obscure job. but I was needed for some obscure job. The Crows needed an insider who could blend into high society, and I needed a place to stay away from my father.

It worked. I worked. And with each passing day I found myself enjoying the Crows more and more. That's why I stayed. That's why I started checking the stairwell practically every night, a set of playing cards in my hand.

The first time had been awkward. I couldn't sleep and my room felt too quiet, but the rambunctious club felt too loud and a little unsafe considering the hour. So I settled for the only space in between. When Kaz found me sitting on the steps and playing a solitary card game I had been so stunned by embarrassment I just offered to deal him in. I had been more shocked when he silently accepted my offer.

"Practice?" Jesper repeats. "You were laughing, I heard you."

"That was one time--how do you know we didn't just happen to play cards together the one time you saw it?"

"Because you laughed about a play you considered 'predictable'."

Sighing, I sit up a little straighter. "I'm not having this conversation. Occasionally saying 'goodnight' to someone who lives in the same space I live in and sometimes playing cards with said person because we both happen to be up at a certain time doesn't mean anything."

"And the way he looked at the contact that was flirting with you?"

Oh...this conversation again. "For the last time, the contact wasn't flirting with me. We had to dance to blend in and when he leaned towards me to whisper in my ear...it was to tell me the intel Kaz just had to have."

"And when he tucked that strand of hair behind your ear?"

"He just wanted to sell our cove--"

"Y/n, he kissed your cheek and I'm fairly certain he would have kissed you if Kaz and I hadn't made it to the corridor at that second."

Why is everyone so obsessed with what would have never happened? The contact had been attractive, tall with fair eyes and hair. But it's not like I feel anything for him, nor would I have been so foolish during a job. A fact that Kaz refuses to believe. I'm tired of this argument...I'm just tired. This job required me to start getting ready early in the morning and lasted long into the night.

"I wouldn't have kissed him and even if I had, the fact that Kaz is so mad about feels...sexist." A stupid argument, considering that Kaz couldn't care less if the person he's working with is female, male, or anything in between because the only thing he cares about is profit. "It's a stupid thing to be mad about, but you hit on anything with a pulse at any time and--"

"I resent that--"

"For the first two weeks I was here I thought you might've been a prostitute."

I can feel him holding in a laugh. "Did you at least think I was a good prostitute?" When I glare again, he finally actually laughs. "Not the point--got it."

"Then what is the point? You're bored and obsessed with gossip so now you're shaking me for information you don't need."

"The point is you're oblivious." Rude...I move my leg in a weak attempt to push him off my bed. Jesper catches my ankle easily, ignoring my attempt at a fight. "You thought the contact was only doing his job and you don't know the real reason that Kaz blew up at you for the first time the way he blows up at everyone."

"Okay, well since you know everything, tell me why he's mad."

He lets out a sigh like he can't believe I even needed to ask that. "It's not the best look that the first time you let him pick a fight with you happens to be about some guy."

...Maybe he is drunk? "Don't be so cryptic. I don't like you enough to put up with that."

Jesper half-sighs again before pushing himself off my bed. "I'm going to pretend I think you're smart enough to piece things together from that."

"Asshole," I mumble instinctually as he walks towards my door. "Are you not telling me because I tried to push you off the bed?"

He turns when he reaches my door in order to lean against my door frame. "It's not not because of that." I should throw my book at his head. "In all seriousness, think about it. If you don't you'll either kill each other or kill me."

Ugh...he's so confusing. This time, I let him go. He leaves he door open, which is beyond annoying. I stand up to close it, promising myself I will focus on my book the second it's in my hands again. As I walk back towards my bed, my eyes land on the deck of cards on my nightstand.

Does it send a signal I don't want to send if I don't go the stairwell tonight? Do I want to send a signal? I don't know...actually, the only thing I know is that I don't want to think about this a second longer. I don't ease as I read, but my eyelids become heavier with each word they cross. I feel the weight of them as my focus slips, farther and farther away until I can no longer focus. When my eyes fall shut I can't bring myself to think or force them open.

--

I notice my surprised before I register that I've just woken up. Falling asleep feels so far and yet the crick in my neck confirms the obvious. Rubbing the eyes with the back of my hand, I push my book from my lap and sit up. The only indication of how much time has passed is how much my bedside candle has melted.

How long have I been asleep? How did I manage to fall asleep? I thought I was too mad at Kaz to manage anything but pouting in my room. I hadn't even decided if I wanted to talk to him.

I stand even though I haven't decided anything. I should at least change if I want to go to bed. But is leaving this alone for even longer a bad idea? I think Jesper thought so...though my conversation with him is far from clear. It's not the best look that the first time you let him pick a fight with you happens to be about some guy. I'm going to pretend I think you're smart enough to piece things together from that. What does he want me to do with that?

Maybe he was partially intoxicated and felt the need to play the role of a good friend. Or maybe this is his idea of a joke.

Whatever--regardless of Jesper, I have a choice to make. A tiny part of me hopes it's insignificant, but I know Kaz enough to know that nothing is insignificant to him. He holds onto things the way he holds onto his kruge. Perhaps I'll seek out Inej, she seems to be the best at rationalizing. Though she might be asleep by now, or on a job or...I don't even know.

How late is it? Is it late enough to be one of the few hours Kaz claims to reserve for sleep? Maybe my bad luck is still around and he's already in bed for once. Does that mean his anger will extend to tomorrow?

I shouldn't care. It's not like I'm in the wrong. Did I escalate things? Maybe a little...but I won't apologize for defending myself. Even though that makes everything a little easier. I feel stuck, like in some kind of place of half sleep. A single knock at my door is enough to make me want to jump. I rub my eyes a little more firmly in hopes of waking up more before someone sees me.

I approach the door without worry. Maybe it's not as late as I assumed. Or maybe it's really early? I open the door while still fighting against my slight disorientation. I'm so focused on acting normal, I almost don’t register the person standing at my door. 

I don’t know who I expected, or what--maybe Jesper, much more tipsy than he was before, slumped against the doorframe, only knocking because he’s too tired to push the door open. Maybe even Inej, on her way here to deliver some kind of job or notice of dismissal. But it’s nothing I could expect. It’s...Kaz. 

The Dirtyhands stands at my door, expression as hard as ever yet something behind his eyes that burns the sleep away from me. “Uh--hi.” I bite my tongue to avoid cringing at that very awkward beginning. “Are you here to kick me out yourself?” The only response I get is the slightest shift of his gaze off of my face. “No? Well then I think I’m going to bed. It’s late.” 

My tone and words are clear. Get out of my doorway, I’m in no mood to go back to arguing.  When he still doesn’t say anything, I’m emboldened by my nerves. I push the door between us without breaking eye contact. 

Before the wood can meet the doorframe, he moves his cane, wedging it between us. “Y/n.” I don’t understand the way he says my name, but I’m certain he’s never said it like that. “I...” When he’s not prompted by the uncomfortableness of silence, I raise an eyebrow, my grip on the door tightening. “What I said shouldn’t have been said.” Wait--is he admitting fault? I’m so thrown I almost melt entirely. “Not to you.” 

The addition leaves him so lowly a part of me wonders if I’ve imagined it. I’m so thrown by it I don’t even think to reply until a long second has passed. “You seemed to believe the opposite a few hours ago.” 

His lips press together for a moment. “You didn’t ask me to play cards tonight.” He took that as intentional? At least that got me some kind of apology? I keep my mouth shut, greed making me want more information. I guess he must sense my silent tugging because he head inclines slightly. “Don’t push.” 

I fight down a grin. “Push what?” His only response to stiffen further. “I’m going to tell you something as a peace offering.” That seems to intrigue him in some way. I can’t tell if it’s a good kind of interested, but I note the slight raise of his eyebrows and his intentional silence. “I didn’t chose not to ask you to play cards.” He gives me no indication of anything, which is fair...considering my vagueness. “I was mad, obviously, and in the middle of deciding on a course of action...and then I fell asleep.” 

A long pause of silence. “You fell asleep?” 

I’m not sure if his incredulous tone should offend me or not. If I wanted to lie, I’d like to think he knows me well enough to know that I’d have thought of a better excuse than that. Or at least a less embarrassing one. “Yes, it’s not that difficult to believe. Today had been long and all I wanted to do was read, but then Jesper came in to say the oddest things and then leave me to...” 

Oh--oh. I guess there’s a reason people say to ‘sleep on’ something. Because now, actively remembering Jesper’s words for the first time since I fell asleep...I understand what Jesper was implying in the oddest way possible. He meant that Kaz and I...that perhaps there is a Kaz and I in a context that’s more than just grammatical. Wow. I really had to realize this with Kaz right in front of me. 

My face feels warmer than it did before, an irrational bout of anxiety forcing me to consider that me might be able to read impossible, embarrassing thoughts from my expression alone. 

“What did Jesper say?” I’m too lost in my own spiral of confusion and panic and some feeling I can’t recognize to register how Kaz asks his question. There’s an edge to it, an odd one, but that could easily just be Kaz. 

This is most definitely the last conversation we need to be having. I’m still mad at him for his earlier dramatics. So I just shake my head, feigning an exhaustion I could lose myself in. “Nothing and everything all at once.” I resist the urge to rub my eyes again. “I’m pretty sure he was drinking, and I wasn’t really listening. I was just trying to read.” 

Kaz’s expression hardens briefly as he takes in my words, and then he exhales, nodding once with the breath. “What were you reading?” 

My lips part instinctually, ready to spew off details about the latest novel that’s captured my attention. But before I can let myself take off, the reality of the situation strikes me directly in the chest. This is not Nina, or Inej, or even Jesper after what he considers a ‘good night’. This is Kaz Brekker, the man believed to not have a soul. I’ve spoken to him before about casual things, though most of the nights in which we end up playing cards or just sitting near each other are spent in silence. But he’s never prompted me before. Not in the one topic he knows is guaranteed to turn me into an overenthusiastic, gushing fountain of poor summaries and character analysis. 

I guess this is his peace offering. This shouldn’t warm the way it does. He was still unbelievably dramatic and treated me like I’m some kind of unreliable fool. “It’s late, and you know how I can be. I’d hate to keep you for nothing more than a poor summary and honestly, an embarrassing rant about plot or characters, because there’s just nothing as frustrating as when two people so clearly care about each other and both are too stubborn and oblivious to acknowledge it.” 

Kaz’s eyebrows draw together just enough for me to be able to make out a shift of expression in the poor light. Perhaps his lingering irritation is preparing to rear its ugly head. The corner of his mouth seems to threaten to tilt upwards as Kaz angles his head to the side slightly. “I can’t imagine that position.” 

No kidding. I bite my tongue to keep the sarcastic comment and awkward laugh that would sure follow it away. “Who can? That’s like half the point of reading.” 

How can interaction feel so over and just at its beginning all at once? I press my lips together to avoid filling the silence with things I’d no doubt instantly regret. It’s easy to be mad at Kaz in the moment. Too easy. But to stay mad at him when his temper has passed and he returns with some kind of begrudging and admittedly awkward and uncertain truce is another task entirely. 

“I’ve never understood your attachment to written words.” 

“It’s not about understanding, it’s about everything else.” 

“And you say I’m cryptic.” Is he...kinda almost joking? I straighten my spine, too tired to fight and too wounded to forgive. “There’s understanding in everything, nothing can survive on sentiment alone.” 

“If you read the way I did, you’d understand.” 

His lips press together as his expression remains unwavering in its hardness. “Read to me.” 

...Interacting with Kaz in any way often leaves me feeling like I’m wandering through unknown territory. But this, this is undeniably different. So different I can’t even think of a way to react. I watch his expression as cautiously as possible. He’s purely reserved, no distinction from the look he wears during business propositions. Except there’s a tightness I can’t quite understand.

Maybe it’s because I don’t want to fight anymore. Maybe it’s because exhaustion is leaving me partially delirious. Or maybe it’s the weird feeling in my chest that I can’t quite place. That I don’t want to place. “Okay.” I shift carefully. “If for no other reason then to prove you wrong.” 

Never did I think I’d end up in the position of sitting in my bed, book in hand, with Kaz Brekker sitting next to me. But here we are. I’m so tired, I almost let out a nervous laugh when he first walked in. So brooding and tall, gripping the head of his head cane as he sits at the foot of my bed, on my pastel quilt. 

I’m glad for the excuse to keep my gaze away from him and on the words in front of me. I read out loud, feeling more and more comfortable with each page I finish. But as my inhibitions slip away, so dos my hold on consciousness. My eyelids seem to grow heavier with each word that I read. 

“You’re falling asleep.” 

I straighten my spine on instinct. “Am not.” I’m not sure why I feel the need to deny something so simple. 

“You’re impossible.” 

From him, that statement is laugh worthy. “I’m impossible? Do you not remember earlier today?” 

From the way his jaw locks, I realize that he’s in no mood to be light about this topic. I don’t understand why. It’s not like I’m the one that wronged him. “I remember your lack of focus.” 

Keeping my hands at my side to avoid rubbing my eyes, I frown. “If you want to have this argument again, fine. Jesper is more ‘distracted’ than me half the time and you’re much more lenient on him. It’s not like I was flirting with someone or gambling or doing anything but having a two second conversation. One that I needed to have to get information that you wanted.” 

The last time we fought, I had more energy to restrain myself. This could be atomic. I hold my breath, waiting for Kaz’s retaliation. He exhales, eyes not meeting mine. “Arguing with you when you’re present is exhausting enough. It’s not worth it when you’re half asleep.” 

This angers me further. I hate that he’s right. “I’m not half asleep.” He leaves it at that. I glare even harder at him, slumping further into my bed. “But for the sake of argument, I’ll drop it. Something you’re incapable of doing.” 

At that, his eyes meet mine. I try to hold his gaze, but the harder I think about not seeming tired the more exhaustion slips in. A yawn escapes me before he looks away. Great. “I know when to lie in the grass in wait.” 

Rolling my eyes, I shift back slightly. He’s incapable of being less dramatic than this. Still, I can’t imagine the effort it’s taking on his part to not start an argument. Maybe this is why Jesper spent so long implying that there may be a Kaz and I in any capacity beyond a vague kind of friendship. “I’ll admit you’re tactful.”

“Resourceful people recognize that trait in other people.” 

Blinking twice, I lower my book slightly. Am I truly exhausted, or did he just compliment me in a way? “Careful, I may start to think you find me tolerable.” 

“Let’s not exaggerate.” Okay, now I know I’m exhausted because I think he might have just attempted a joke. Rolling my eyes, I decide not to acknowledge this lightness in fear that I’ll scare it away. “Y/n?” 

I press my lips together, worried about the destruction of our peace. “Yes?” 

“What did Jesper say to you? Earlier?” I pause, slightly unsure why we’re moving backwards. 

We’re in a decent place now, and I’d hate to ruin it. I’m too half asleep to lie eloquently. And it’s not like he’s an easily convinced man. “Oh, he said it so cryptically it took me longer than it should have to understand. And it didn’t help that it was something so...well, you might find it funny. As funny as you find anything, anyways.” Wow...I’ve spent such a long time talking. Rubbing the back of my eyes, I avoid his gaze. Exhaustion and awkwardness mix in my stomach oddly. “It seemed like he was trying to imply that you and I...me and you...” Why is this a difficult thing to say? It’s not like I was implying it and Jesper’s known for his oddness. “I think Jesper was implying that there was a you and I, or at least that there could be.” I’m too lost in a haze of almost sleep to watch his reaction. I let my head rest against my headboard even further. “Isn’t that odd?” 

He’s quiet for a long second, and then he finally speaks again. “Odd, even for Jesper.” The response doesn’t satiate me...what’s that about? I exhale, deciding that feeling is tomorrow’s problem. When I blink, I decide to let my eyes stay closed. Just for a moment. The sound of something shifting is what makes my eyes squint open. Kaz is standing, his expression unreadable as he straightens. “Goodnight, y/n.” 

At that, I sit up slightly, ignoring the exhaustion behind my eyes. “I haven’t finished the chapter.” 

“You’ve convinced me of enough.” A concession? How exhausted do I seem? My lips press together as I think of my next argument. Before I can get it out, Kaz leans forward. He grabs the quilt at the end of my bed and tosses it onto my legs casually. “Goodnight, y/n.” The meaning of his repetition is clear. His word is final. 

I find enough energy to manage a glare, but I pull the quilt over my legs anyways. “Goodnight, Kaz.”

[husbandohunter]

Stardew Impact [Stardew Valley+Genshin Impact x Reader]

Part 2/3 Zhongli, Xiao

Synopsis: “A mysterious phenomenon brought you and your s/o to an unfamiliar world: Pelican Town! Without the power of Visions, the two of you begin to learn the life of what it takes to be...a farmer?”

(DOMESTIC FARM LIFE ROUND TWO)

Genre: Fluff

Others

Diluc and Kaeya

Albedo and Childe

(A/n): This was meant to be part 3 but I couldn't wait to write xiao. Plus Ive been writing Albedo for almost the whole month already Word count_2.6k

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Xiao

• Thrown in an unfamiliar environment puts Xiao on high alert. Instincts kick in and his hand subconciously grabs for his spear. Nothing. Not even his vision activated. Xiao's gaze darts all over before landing on your figure. He sighs in relief, you're safe, that much he can decipher as of now.

• Stripped of his power, left with only claws and teeth (if must) to protect you from any dangers, he was ansty with every little thing. 

• The villagers are so nice??? For what reason must they have to act so friendly to strangers (Xiao wonders). The Mayor even granted you two a vast farmland free of charge. 

• Shortly he realized he no longer had his karmaic debt. Xiao wasn't sure how to live his life in this state. He dedicated his entire existence to years of slaughter and suffering that it became the only thing he knew. He won't admit it of course, he'll just throw in scoffs and remarks about how mundane activities are a waste of time when in reality, he just has no clue on how to handle them.

• Thats why the first day was difficult as you both try to figure out how to plant parnsips. Deciding it was better to go with an experiment, you split the share of seeds in half and used what basic knowledge you had on farming to finish the job. Xiao on the other hand tried copying what you did….though the outcome wasn't so desirable it was a mess. (His trained hands have taught him to be on the rough side).

• He doesn't bother socializing with the townspeople even though he has no karmaic debt to worry about. Xiao thinks you're more than enough anyways so what's the point? 

• Robin is the only person who can tolerate him for obvious reasons (cough Sebastian cough) she knows exactly how to deal with his personality type. His glares don't faze her, she simply thinks its just a teenage phase of some sort. 

• Eventually they become mutuals, Xiao thinks Robin is similar to Verr Goldet in a way. Since he's the one who does the heavy labour of chopping down trees and mining stones for building upgrades, he gets a chance to visit her house quite often. He comes back with lots of recipes too.

• You find out that his adepti blood never left him. Xiao doesn't need sleep so you better believe it when he tells you the next morning that he spent the whole night watering all 300 of your crops (watering is the only process he's good at for farming). 

• Sometimes you catch him staring out of the window, wondering what he may be thinking. Life was so much more different, almost hard to recognize. Was this real? Is it okay for it to be real, just this once? Ever since he committed his duty to Morax, Xiao didn't dream of a time when everything would be peaceful. Yet here he is, no longer a weapon but on a journey to find out what it's like to live as a normal person. 

• Spring: Every morning you find him kneeling behind the cabin with the pet cat (yes, cats seem to suit Xiao very much). He just stares at them, hesitant if he wanted to pet their fur or rub their chin. So he continues to glare intensely, scaring your cat away :(

• Whenever you wanted to attend any of the town's festivities, Xiao wouldn't even hide his distastefulness but goes with you regardless. Why do mortals consider hiding eggs and finding them a fun activity? And what kind of a name is Flower Dance? Can't they just call it a dance?

• Though…he does like the sight of you wearing a flower crown. Xiao likes putting stuff in your hair.

Since setting foot upon this new world, time seemed to have slowed down to the point that almost everything felt like an eternity. And you didn't mind, with him by your side, you wouldn't mind if it did last forever.

The lull of the grass was the only sound Xiao could hear as he closed his eyes and rested his head on your lap. You maneuvered across his scalp in small, subtle motions, surprised with how warm he felt against the heat your palm. He stirs a little and lets out a soft breath before turning his face to lay on the side.

You were slightly intrigued by the yaksha's new demeanor. From far away, Xiao was an intimidating man, even during the first time you laid eyes him, his presence felt similar to a knife pointing at anyone who dares to come too close. But now, the face that usually held his signature annoyance melted into something you never thought you'd see as the sun rays brushed against the surface of his fair skin. You observed the way his dark eyebrows stayed in a relaxed arch. The red crescents lining right above his beautiful long lashes and the sound of soft snores through parted lips. It was hard to believe that this man was the same person who claimed to have ended a thousand lives through thousands of years.

Did he fall asleep already?

Gently moving away the strands away from his cheekbone, hovered your gaze above him and whispered, "I thought adepti don't need rest."

"Hmph," Xiao responds, though there was no harshness in his tone, "Quit trying to be difficult, I didn't tell you to stop."

The smug grin on your face only widens. You lean downward and said to his ear, "And what's the magic word~?"

Xiao sighs at your antics. You were truly pushing your luck today and he simply didn't have the patience to entertain you. Without a warning, he grabs your wrist and pulls you down, foreheads pressing until you were but a breath away. The adepti conquers, he does not plead.

• Summer: As expected, your parnsnips weren't able to grow as much. Thus, this season was going to be the one to make up for the lost profit. Xiao is very good at hunting, perhaps the best in the entire town. Though the way he catches fish is rather peculiar, said by the folks. He prefers to carve a spear made of wood and repeatedly stabs the lake until results show. Xiao dislikes the old fashioned way, he says its unproductive and it unecissarily takes too much time. 

• But as much as he scared the whole town, they were extremely grateful when he cleaned up the slime issues happening in the mines. You could say that he grew very popular since then and eventually mustered up the courage to greet him a hello whenever he passes by. 

• You nudge him to reply back. Xiao usually shoots you a glare but slowly, he learns the courtesy of acknowledging someone's prescence.

• Fall: You woke up to a burnt smell coming from the kitchen. Xiao just thought he would return the favour since you always worked so hard. (He was actually trying to figure out what a 'whisk' was. It was no wonder why there were eggshells in the dish!)

• You realized that Xiao was taking more initation compared to before. At night, when you thought the animals were actively jumping in the barns, the noise was actually from Xiao trying to adjust himself to the ways of tending the field. After learning what TV was, he would always switch to the channel "Livin off the land" to gain some insight. Truly, Xiao was greatful even though he knew he eventually had to return to his duties, he wanted to utilize the current days the best way he could. And what better way was it to just make you happy in return?

• Winter: This was the season to test the accumulation of Xiao's abilities: you caught a cold and he had to manage everything in his own. Xiao scolded you for not wearing enough and being too careless but at the same he considered that you must've been working too hard.

• Goes to Robin for help. She basically became his mom now. Prepares the food and leaves them in the fridge, she teaches Xiao how to use the phone in case he needed any help and also lets him know where all the essentials are. 

• Xiao stayed by your side the whole time even though you told him you'd be fine. But he refuses, he may no longer be a gaurdian but he was your gaurdian. That role never changed.

~~x~~

Zhongli

• You wake up on a soft bed with Zhongli sitting at a chair nearby. He hands you a cup of brewed water but you're still blatlantly confused. Seems like everything was taken care of by Zhongli, it ends up with him explaining everything to you. 

• The folks instantly assumes you both as a married couple. Who could blame them? He did carry your unconcious body all the way to town while asking for a local doctor. You can bet that the ladies wish they were you at that moment. Zhongli took care of everything, including with the contract with the new farm.

• It didn't take long for you both to adjust to the new lifestyle. Zhongli's accumulated knowledge was enough to last all four seasons. Days past by peacefully as you shared the tasks. He'd place down the stone paths towards the gate and you busied yourself with decorating the house. After that was done, Zhongli would rest upon the rocking chair outside your door (like the grandpa he is) and sometimes you'd join him in one reading session. His voice was soothing, you eventually dipped into a slumber as the evening grew colder. Just like always, your beloved brings his arm to encapsulate you from the wind, brushing his thumb against your skin subconciously while you snore softly into his shoulder.

• In a way, the townsfolk were right. You both do act like a married couple. It's basically domestic life with Zhongli in a nutshell.

• He gets connected with Gunther and lands a role in the Museum. Since he's there so often, Zhongli also manages to be acquainted with Elliot as well. Two men who have a common interest with books while speaking in poetic prose. Their conversation would last for hours to the point Gunther had to kick them out of the library!

• Veeeery good with the children, not in an entertaining way but its just the aura he reeks. Penny usually had trouble dealing with Vincent since he never seems to be able to focus but the minute Zhongli speaks, he's all ears. Not only that he was also very good with the elderly. He even recommended some herbs George could take to soothe his back issues.

• Problem is that he still forgets to bring his wallet and Childe isn't here to save him. So once you stepped foot into the Stardrop Saloon and Gus calls you over, he tells you about the cost he owed to his tab….

• But this tranquil life full of genuinity and deprived of sovereignty, he was overjoyed to be able to spend it with you. Because he knew you were unlike him, that all humans were born with an expiry date. He knew so well that after every new greeting, he would have to face the goodbyes over and over until the world eventually came to an end. He knew you were also going to be part of those many goodbyes while he would still be here.

• But as Zhongli walks amongst the fallen leaves, he remembered the beauty that carries within every new beginning. They brought him to you and he would never hesitate to trade his gnosis for it.

Spring: You shot up your bed when Zhongli blast the TV at full volume. He apologizes, saying that he was simply trying to change the channel. You figured it was best for him to go outside before he somehow glitches the screen until it couldn't repair itself (Robin charges for repairs).

• Every thursday you both go to Pierre's store to complete your grocery shopping. He offers to push the cart as you fill the basket with all the necessities (plus it saves you the trouble of having him tossing whatever he sees without looking at the price tag).

• Every afternoon you order a take out from the Saloon, sharing the meal while sitting at the fountain's edge near the community center. Every evening Zhongli would take you to explore the rest of the vast farmland, discovering places you weren't even aware of. It was no wonder why everyone thought you were a married couple. 

• Summer: Since the cabin was too small for a bathroom, you guys would have to travel up the mountains in order to get to the Spa house (cue sweatiness x10). 

• The concept of hotsprings was derived from Inazuma so it was no surprise that Liyue eventually took it after him. Zhongli had collected some incense from foraging items over the past few months, he knows whats up. But overall he gives the best bath sessions (hands down) and you were the one who insisted in joining him.  He was a gentle and sweet lover, always putting your needs before his. Ancient artifacts and old history books have always been precious to him, he treated you no differently.

The heartbeat of the oceans continues to rock back and forth until they brush up on the sandy shore, washing away the two pairs of footprints left behind by a man and a woman.

Gold against gold, his amber eyes reflected against the scenery. Millions of lights flashed among the sea when the sun began to climb down from the sky, it's rays hugged across the valley like an ethereal glow bestowed by the heavens as summer's wind brought even more warmth than what he had currently felt. You trance ahead of with the same light shaping around your form. 

"Oh hey there's another rainbow shell," you waved at him before running off, "I'll be back!"

How is it that you still continue to shine like gold in his memories?

Zhongli suddenly ponders at the chapters laying ahead of him. He spent so many years turning each page without ever reaching a conclusion, forever searching the fabled happy endings written in fairytale books, but he knew his immortality wouldn't grant him that wish.

Thus, the formal archon raised his pen and reweaves his own story. He envisions his future with you by his side, engraving every detail until it was immortalized in his memories.

Perhaps I shouldn't keep her waiting.

With a renewed resolve, Zhongli clutches the gemstone tightly in his palm, he seals the page with the final contract between your future and his.

• Fall: After getting your first house upgrade, it was time for the next event: the ceremony. Yes, Zhongli would only have a wedding if Liyue traditions were involved. Everyone was invited of course, they were quite intrigued with the flashy setup such as lanterns and fireworks (you were a little worried with where he got the budget for such items) and Zhongli even educated Gus about some recipes he can use for the Saloon.

• You found out that Zhongli was saving all his money for this day (it was no wonder that he couldn't pay for his tab!). Old habits die hard, it was a shame that he didn't have his powers to craft the right items, but at least he got to sea you in a traditional eastern dress (it's the part he was looming forward to the most).

• Fall is the best season. One you wouldn't forget.

• Winter: Ah he finally learns how to use  technology after three seasons. He only knows two channels from the TV which was 'Livin off the Land' and the weather channel. Zhongli oftens talks to himself as he tries to figure out more mechanics, he seems to be extremely absorbed in the most basic things.

• The miner of the house. But instead of using them to upgrade tools and donating them to the museum, Zhongli likes to keep some of them for collection. You could say your house also had a little museum in the other room.

• Romcom movies and soap operas. You can't change my mind that this is what you both spend your time watching as the snowstorm rages outside. 

[iam93percentstardust]

Hello. I am very interested with WinterIron. Enemies to Lovers, abo with omega Tony, accidental bonding, mutual pining, a lot and a loooootttttt of kissing and touching (with "I do it because of bond" excuses).

Please feel free to cross anything you feel uncomfortable with.

Hi there! I wasn't able to get everything in there, but hopefully there's enough? I loved this prompt so much, it was a fun verse to write in 💙

CW for omegas having few rights in this verse and for creepy Aldrich Killian

As always, everything I write can also be found on ao3

~

mate bond: [meyt bond] noun

1. A mental and physical connection that ties two people together following a mating bite

2. A pair bond between spouses

~

[An excerpt from The Other Half of My Soul: An Exploration into Unconventional Bonding Methods by Anderson-Lopez et al, 1972]

“While rare, it is important to note the existence of mate bonds in individuals who have not exchanged bites. These instances have notably occurred during times of high stress for one or both individuals, and are sparked by an inciting incident of some kind, usually a traumatic event. While these types of mate bonds, dubbed soulmate bonds by the media, frequently occur between individuals who are highly compatible, it is not necessary. Curiously, however, it does seem necessary that the individuals are scent matched for a soulmate bond, even though compatible second genders are not a requirement.”

~

Bucky maintained that it was an accident.

Tony had been meant for Steve, after all. That was the arrangement Howard Stark had decided on with Fury. Bucky had only come along as moral support for the first meeting between Steve and Tony. He wasn’t even supposed to meet Tony first, but the crowded ballroom had been too much for him, so he’d ducked out into the hallway, only to come across two alphas menacing an omega. He supposed that some of Steve’s fiery nature must have rubbed off on him, as he normally would have never taken on two alphas by himself, not when he was down an arm. But he’d taken one look at that omega, pretty brown eyes wide with distress, and leapt into action. It hadn’t been until both alphas had been sent off running with their tails between their legs that he’d realized the omega he’d rescued was Tony Stark, Steve’s arranged mate.

Unfortunately (fortunately? No, definitely unfortunately), the arranged match would never come to fruition as Bucky and Tony had looked at each other and immediately bonded without a shared word or bite between them.

Howard was furious, Fury less so—Bucky was still a SHIELD agent, even if he wasn’t the great Captain America, so the planned union between SHIELD and SI would still happen—but both Bucky and Tony insisted that it hadn’t been done on purpose. And, as neither had a mating bite but could still feel the other at the back of their mind, it was hard to disprove the existence of what had once been called a soulmate bond, though was now called the rather unglamorous name of Mate Bond Subtype C, which Bucky thought sounded like an illness.

The media thought it was the most romantic thing they’d ever heard. Steve, who was slowly courting another alpha from SHIELD, thought it was a relief. Bucky, who didn’t want an omega while he was still recovering from the surgery on his arm, thought it was a nightmare at first.

He didn’t know what Tony thought.

They might have shared a bond between them, but Tony had quickly figured out how to shield his feelings. It had taken Bucky a little bit more practice but he too had worked out how to keep his thoughts and feelings private, which was good, because he doubted Tony would like to know what he was thinking.

They’d been bonded for three months and, while Bucky had moved into Tony’s penthouse apartment, they didn’t share a room, let alone a bed. He still took long missions that took him away for weeks at a time. Tony spent more time at SI’s research labs than he did at home. Bucky hadn’t shared Tony’s heat, nor had Tony shared Bucky’s rut, though neither of them had invited anyone else into their beds. And other than their planned public outings where they had to touch to put on the façade of a happily bonded couple, they didn’t hold hands or kiss or lean into each other, giggling.

The problem was—Bucky wanted all of that. He wanted to sleep curled around Tony. He wanted the two of them to be home long enough to share more than one dinner together at a time. He desperately wanted to share cycles, but even more badly than that, he wanted to touch Tony as often as the omega could stand it. Because the problem was also this—sometime in the course of three months, he’d fallen in love.

~

Tony slid his hand into Bucky’s as they stood in the elevator. “It’s just a quick walk around the ballroom, say hi to a couple investors, and then we can leave,” he said reassuringly, giving Bucky a quick smile. “I know how much you hate these shindigs.”

This was true, Bucky did hate them, but he knew that Tony hated them just as much, though he hid it much better than Bucky did. “Don’t worry,” he replied, squeezing Tony’s hand quickly. “I’ll stick to you like glue.”

“Well, maybe not like glue. Like Velcro, maybe. Howard’s got a couple investors that I know he wants me to meet and that I know you’ll hate so you’re more than welcome to go off and find people more to your liking then. I heard Steve’s coming.”

Bucky had to fight to hide a frown. He knew Tony didn’t mean any harm by the comment, but he hated how Tony thought he wouldn’t want to be by his side even when meeting people he didn’t like. So what if he didn’t like them? He’d still prefer to be giving Tony silent support instead of wandering off and leaving him alone for that long.

Before he can respond, the elevator came to a smooth stop, the doors opening on a soft ding to reveal the glittering ballroom Maria Stark had chosen to host the Annual Stark Foundation’s Shareholders’ Ball, meant to honor those who had given so generously to charity over the last year. The room was decorated in delicate ice-like structures, calling to mind the snow blanketing the city outside, though it wasn’t nearly as cold inside. Golden chandeliers reflected off the dark windows, giving the impression of a never-ending stretch of light. It was all so very glitzy and glamorous. Bucky hated it. It was an obscene display of wealth, meant solely to remind everyone that the Starks were richer than anyone else in the room.

“One hour, Bucky Bear,” Tony murmured like he could hear Bucky’s thoughts. “And then we can go get burgers.”

He dropped Bucky’s hand in favor of sliding his own into the crook of Bucky’s elbow, gently steering him towards the first group of investors. Like every other rich person he’d met since bonding with Tony, they were simultaneously smug of their own “generosity” (mere pennies compared to their bank accounts) and jealous, both of Tony’s wealth and Bucky’s luck in landing a Stark (not his words). The smugness was blatant, the jealousy only slightly hidden in the way their eyes lingered as Bucky took the opportunity to brush his lips across Tony’s cheek, quietly telling him he was going to go get them drinks.

“I’ll be back before you even have time to miss me,” he promised, understanding the minute tightness at the corners of Tony’s eyes.

Tony smiled and nodded, attention already turning back to the investors—or, more likely, to his latest project, however much it might have looked like he was paying attention to Hugh Worthington IV. Bucky slipped through the crowd to the bar. Fortunately, it wasn’t crowded yet and he was able to order a whiskey for himself and a scotch for Tony, who always refused to drink the fruity drinks he actually preferred at these parties, almost immediately. As he waited, he turned back to the crowd, idly scanning it. Steve wasn’t there yet, if it was indeed true that Fury had managed to stuff him into a suit and send him off to schmooze. His eyes sought out Tony, who was laughing as he excused himself from the group Bucky had left him with, moving on to another small throng of people.

He smiled despite himself. Tony was lovely like this, despite his discomfort. Bucky got to see him laugh so rarely at home that he cherished every moment he got to see it while they were out in public.

“Sir, your drinks,” the bartender prompted. He thanked them absently and left a tip on the bar before making his way back across the ballroom to Tony’s side.

Tony wasn’t laughing now. In fact, if his pursed lips were anything to go off of, he was pretty furious, and Bucky wondered what had upset him between him leaving the bar and him returning to Tony’s side.

“Doll,” he said, letting Tony know he was there. Tony turned and took his drink, thanking him with a quick kiss that Bucky desperately wanted to turn into a longer, sweeter one.

“Honey, Senator Stern here was just telling me about an omega’s rights bill he filibustered so it wouldn’t pass,” Tony said, irritation bleeding into his tone.

“Now isn’t that interesting,” Bucky drawled, irritated himself. The bill in question was a law that he knew Tony had backed, as it would have put a stop to the arranged bondings the wealthy were so fond of. They’d both known it would be a longshot to pass, but they’d remained hopeful. “That’s the one that Stevie supported isn’t it?”

“It is,” Tony agreed. “My alpha here—” He patted Bucky’s chest. “—is close friends with Captain Rogers. They grew up together, you know. Steve spends nearly every Saturday evening with us. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear about this bill failing to pass. Isn’t he supposed to be putting in an appearance at the Senate hearing next week? It would be such a shame if he couldn’t make it.”

Tony’s statement was only partially true. Bucky mostly saw Steve at SHIELD, as Steve, despite being always welcome at their apartment, didn’t want to be reminded of how close he’d come to an arranged bonding of his own. But Steve, who had been an omega before receiving the serum, had always been an outspoken supporter of omega’s rights, and now that he was an alpha, and Captain America to boot, he used every bit of that privilege to push as much pro-omega legislature through Congress as he could. He was a thorn in conservative senators’ sides, like Stern, and it was a minor miracle that they’d gotten him to appear in front of Congress to talk positively about a Republican bill supporting an expansion of benefits for veterans, when he normally disagreed with anything Republican just on principle. Steve’s support would go a long way toward getting that bill passed.

Tony’s veiled threat was effective. Stern, one of the authors of the bill, blanched, making Bucky smile. He loved watching Tony do his thing. There was really nothing better than Tony putting bullies like Stern back in their place.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Stern stammered out before hurrying away.

As soon as he was gone, Tony drooped, leaning back against Bucky. It was nice, being able to lend his support to his omega, but Tony was standing up straight again after only a moment, the façade falling back over him.

“I really hate that guy,” Tony said softly. He looked up at Bucky. “Sorry about using your friendship with Steve like that. I was just so angry. Saw red for a second there.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Bucky said. Impulsively, he reached out to clasp Tony’s shoulder, running his thumb soothingly over the soft skin just above his shirt collar. “You guys got a bad lot in life. You do what you gotta do to make it right.”

Tony hummed. “I really wanted that bill to pass. It wasn’t right, what Howard and Fury wanted me to do. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that.”

“Sorry,” Bucky offered up. It was a lame apology, but he didn’t know what else he could say to make it better. He knew very well that if he and Tony hadn’t bonded that night, Steve would be Tony’s alpha.

To his surprise, Tony smiled and nudged his shoulder, teasing, “I don’t know, you’re not so bad.”

Bucky sputtered, nearly choking on his whiskey.

“Oh, look, Steve’s just arrived,” Tony said airily, like he hadn’t noticed the effect his words were having on Bucky. “Let’s go say hi.”

Talking to Steve at these events was always awkward. Tony and Steve were both aware that neither of them wanted anything to do with each other as mates, which made having to see each other a study in unspoken tension. He didn’t think it was that either of them had a problem with the other, and he suspected that they could even manage to be friends eventually, but it was that knowledge that they’d nearly been forced to mate that made things so tense between them. Still, he appreciated that Tony was willing to put up with it so that Bucky could see his best friend. It was the sort of small kindness that Tony unthinkingly did that had made Bucky fall in love with him so easily.

Tonight was no different. Tony and Steve exchanged no more than a few awkward words before Tony excused himself to go meet with Emma Frost. He didn’t bother kissing Bucky this time, as Steve was one of the few people they didn’t have to pretend with and it didn’t seem like anyone was watching them at the moment. It would have been different if they’d met up a few months ago. There’d been more than a few people who’d somehow got it into their heads that Steve and Tony’s proposed bond was a love match instead of arranged, and they’d all watched eagerly to see how Steve, Tony, and Bucky interacted in those days following Bucky and Tony’s bonding, clearly wondering if Steve was going to pick a fight. They’d been sorely disappointed, of course; Steve and Bucky didn’t fight over anything, let alone an omega that Steve hadn’t wanted.

“So Fury roped you into the dog and pony show, huh,” Bucky asked, eyeing the stiff collar of Steve’s shirt. He’d be willing to bet that it was brand new. Steve was much more at home in a pair of khakis and a flannel shirt than he was in a tuxedo.

“Senator Brandt actually,” Steve said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “He thinks it’s good for me to make appearances and drum up support for SHIELD.”

“Sucks.” There was a niggling worry growing at the back of his mind, unrelated to Steve’s complaints about the brass, but Bucky didn’t know what it was. He glanced around the room, but was unable to spot anything amiss. He tried to put it out of his mind by asking, “How’s working with the Commandos?” He couldn’t entirely keep the bitterness out of his voice. Bucky had been moved out of the Commandos unit a few weeks before meeting Tony, and it wasn’t that he didn’t like being on Strike Team Delta, but he was still irritated that he hadn’t had a choice in the matter.

“Not the same without you,” Steve said, grimacing at him like he knew what was going through Bucky’s mind.

They continued talking about SHIELD as they slowly circulated the room and all the while, that worry was growing stronger, slowly morphing into fear, but it wasn’t until he happened to catch a glimpse of Tony standing in the corner and looking tense and unhappy that he realized they weren’t his feelings. They were Tony’s. Tony was worried and scared and had brought down his shields so that Bucky could feel his emotions and Bucky was standing on the other side of the room like an idiot.

“Excuse me,” he said brusquely, cutting Steve off. “Tony’s in trouble.”

He headed straight for Tony, pushing through the crowd without sparing a thought to anyone he might be offending as he shoved them aside. For once, it was Steve who was trailing after him, offering apologies to everyone who looked offended.

There was a look of naked relief in Tony’s eyes as Bucky marched up behind the alpha Tony was talking to. It was a look he’d never seen on Tony’s face before, at least not directed at him, and he wasn’t sure if he liked that his omega was happy to have him there or disliked that Tony had to be relieved at all.

“Something wrong, doll?” he asked, hand clamping down on the alpha’s shoulder.

“Bucky,” Tony breathed. He sagged back against the wall. “This is Aldrich Killian. He’d like to propose—” Tony’s mouth twisted unhappily. “He’d like to propose an omega trade. I told him I wasn’t interested, but he insisted on talking to you.”

Anger flared in Bucky’s chest, hot and furious. Omega trades weren’t common anymore, used mostly in backroom deals to secure a transaction. You treat my omega right and I’ll treat your omega right, and maybe we can have a deal. He knew the rich, traditional alphas Tony had grown up with still occasionally used them, but he hated them. He’d always hated them. The very concept treated omegas like property, like hostages, and the thought of seeing Tony—his Tony—under someone else had his vision shading red.

“Is that so?” he hissed.

Killian, the idiot, didn’t seem to notice Bucky’s growing anger. “Maya’s a great—” he began to say.

Bucky cut him off with a hand around his throat, slamming him into the wall.

“Bucky—” Steve started, a warning in his voice.

“Tell them it’s SHIELD business,” he snapped. “Isn’t that the usual excuse?”

What Steve did to placate the crowd growing around them, he didn’t know; he was too intent on Killian to care. “Let me get this straight,” he growled. “You asked Tony for a trade and when he told you no, because I know him, he wouldn’t ever want that and he wouldn’t be quiet about it, you cornered him and insisted you’d only listen to a no from me.” It wasn’t a question. Tony’s thoughts and emotions were flooding him with what Killian had tried to do to him. He growled again at the image of Killian’s hand on Tony’s arm, removed after only a moment. This—this—alpha had tried to put his hands on Tony, had ignored his clear no, and was still babbling on about whatever business deal he wanted out of Bucky—or, more likely, Tony, though as an omega, Tony wouldn’t be able to make that decision.

“It’s a yes or no question, Killian,” he finally snapped, losing his temper. “Did you or did you not ignore Tony’s answer—"

“He’s an omega,” Killian tried.

“He’s a person. He’s a person who was clearly uncomfortable with you and you should never have ignored that. The only reason you’re still standing and not laid out on the floor is because he cares about making a scene, but guess what, I don’t.” His hand tightened on Killian’s throat, making the man wheeze. “Do—”

“Bucky,” Tony said quietly, cutting through his anger.

Without removing his hand from Killian, he looked at Tony. Tony still looked a little shaken, but there was something else in his eyes, something that Bucky didn’t know how to describe.

“Let him go,” Tony continued. “You made your point.”

“He—”

“Yeah, he did,” Tony said, knowing what he was going to say. Bucky wondered if his own shields were down, letting Tony read his thoughts and feelings. “And you were here to stop it, so it’s okay. Let him go, we can go get burgers.”

He didn’t want to. He wanted to make sure Killian never laid hands on someone unwilling ever again, but then Steve was there, carefully pulling Bucky away as he muttered to him about seeing what Fury could do about Killian. And that wasn’t exactly what Bucky wanted, but it was better than nothing, and taking care of Tony was his priority anyway. So since Tony wanted burgers, he would go get burgers.

He spun on his heels, intent on heading to the elevators, only to freezes as soon as he saw Tony. They were supposed to be faking it, which meant that he should do something—wrap an arm around Tony’s waist or kiss his forehead or—or something. But Tony had just had to deal with an unwelcome touch. He shouldn’t have to deal with another one so soon afterwards.

Tony surprised him though by stepping forward and sliding his hand into Bucky’s, interlacing their fingers. “Come on, alpha. Let’s go home,” he said, leading Bucky through the crowd watching them. Bucky ignored them in favor of drinking in the sight of Tony whole and healthy, if not happy.

They were quiet in the elevator ride back down to the parking garage, quiet as they climbed into the back of the car, quiet as Happy pulled out onto the road. Then Tony slid across the backseat to tuck up against Bucky’s side. He rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, and, after a moment, Bucky rested his cheek against Tony’s curls.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” Tony said. Bucky could feel the truth in his words through their bond, and he realized that Tony hadn’t put his mental shields back up. “I wouldn’t have asked for your help if I hadn’t been expecting something like that.”

“Shouldn’t have taken it so far though. I know you’re not—we’re not—” He grimaced as he fumbled over the words. He’d been able to admit for three months that he and Tony weren’t in a relationship, why was it so hard now?

Tony hesitated before carefully saying, “We could be.”

“We—what?”

“Bucky Bear,” Tony said warmly, sitting up so he could look him in the eyes. “You have to know—people don’t just do what you did tonight or the night we met, for that matter. Not for me. I—I don’t know, the way we bonded, it threw me off. I wasn’t expecting it and I reacted badly. But—then the way you reacted to Killian got me thinking—maybe we could try?”

“Try?” Bucky whispered.

“Try us?” Tony asked, leaning back in slowly, giving Bucky enough time to move away if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to. “Yeah,” he breathed. “We could try. I—I’d like that.”

Tony smiled at him, bright and lovely, and closed the distance between them.

[tommysparker]

Never Forget You [Chapter 4]

A/N: hey y’all. just wanna say sorry for the posting schedule change. life is about to get hella hectic with school and the move sooo yeah. every second Saturday I will be posting! it’ll defiantly give me a chance to write more as well so im not rushing out chapters. anyways ive rambled long enough, enjoy :) 

Warnings: angst. theres fluff too but its fluffy angst?? im not sorry hehe. long italic paragraphs = flashbacks. 

From an outside perspective, one would assume the four of them were deep in thought, perhaps even communicating telepathically via the Force. They would only be half correct, as all of the Jedi were indeed thinking, but none of their trains of thought overlapped.  

Anakin and Ahoska were in the pilot seats, glancing at each other every other minute or so. They could feel the tension build thicker with every passing planet. The only sound filling the room was the faint running of the engine that kept the ship moving. 

You and Obi-Wan sat across from each other, neither one daring to make eye contact. Apparently, he was quite serious about the “not speaking from now on” agreement. It’s for the best, you kept telling yourself. However, the awkward silence that filled the ship made it harder to believe that. 

Out of all the things that could happen to you at the moment, this was by far the worst. 

On Gyfil, you had grown quite used to the sound of silence. In fact, over time you began to prefer it as opposed to the buzz of the towns. However, this was a different type of silence, one that had you bouncing your knee in anticipation for Anakin to announce you finally landed. 

Master Yoda had called you all for a mission briefing. There was a supposed Separatist group meeting on Ostor, given the intel you received from a client on your previous mission. The four of you were sent to listen in on it. 

“Young Skywalker and Padawan Tano, back up you will be. Great risks on Ostor, there are. Careful, you must be.” He turned to Obi-Wan and You. “Master Y/l/n, guide them you must do. In charge of the mission, I am putting you.” 

A sense of pride filled your body but you quickly humbled yourself. “Thank you Master.” 

Master Yoda smiled and turned to Obi-Wan. “Infiltrate the meeting, you and Master Y/l/n will. Stay together, you must.” 

Obi-Wan would have laughed at the irony. Mentally he still is. Stay together, you must. After the last conversation between the two of you, he had doubts about how that plan would go. However, for the sake of the mission he was willing to lift the deal made. 

You stood quietly, not being able to handle the loud silence any longer. “I’ll be in my quarters until we land,” you announced, making a point not to look at Obi-Wan and keep all attention to Anakin and Ahsoka. 

You left without sparing a glance back. 

He waited until you were out of view to let out a long sigh, running a hand over his beard and hunching forward. 

Anakin was the first to speak. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever had to endure.” His shoulders shook as he made a disgusted sound. “Glad it’s finally over.” 

“Just focus on getting us there in one piece, Anakin,” Obi-Wan snapped, immediately followed by, “apologizes, I didn’t mean to sound so...aggressive.” 

“So much for being able to hide stress, huh?” 

He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Some things are harder to deal with than others.” 

“Is Master Y/l/n ‘some things’?” Ahoska asked innocently. 

Obi-Wan pondered for a minute, deciding the best way to answer. “Master Y/l/n is...many things.” 

“Like what?” 

Gorgeous. Strong. Kind. Perfect in every way. “They are highly skilled, almost as well as I am, if not better. A fine Jedi and a valuable member to the Order.” He stopped there before he’d say something he’d come to regret. Best to keep professional thoughts. 

“I still don’t understand why the Council sent them away like that. Surely there were other Jedi that could have completed the mission,” Anakin commented. He knew his former Master wasn’t satisfied with the answer they were all given but would never admit it. He had to push him to find the truth. 

“Whatever reasons Master Yoda and Master Windu had for picking Y/n are between them. You must stop questioning the Council’s intentions, Anakin. It will land you in very big trouble one day.” Obi-Wan says as if he hasn’t second guessed the Order as a whole before. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. The less you question things, the easier life is. 

“That’s why I keep you around, old man,” Anakin said in a teasing manner. Hearing Obi-Wan let out a light chuckle made him feel a bit better as they settled into silence once more, this time more comfortable and light-hearted. 

A bit more time had passed before Ahsoka spoke up. “Why don’t you ask Master Y/l/n what really happened?” 

Obi-Wan sighed. He should have known better than to believe she would drop the topic. Like Master, like Padawan. “It’s none of my business. Frankly, it’s none of ours so I suggest we leave the subject alone.” 

His answer, apparently, wasn’t good enough. “I’m gonna go ask them.” Ahsoka stands up to leave but is stopped mid-movement by Obi-Wan’s protests. 

“No!” He looked at Ahsoka’s slightly stunned face, and chose to ignore Anakin’s smug look. “Fine, I’ll ask them. But only once, and if they don’t want to indulge me then that is the end of it. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Crystal.” 

Meanwhile, you sat alone on the bed in your chosen quarters. It made you feel relaxed, in a way. Before leaving, you were extremely extraverted, always going out of your way to make acquaintances with everyone around you. The life forces around you at night kept you alive, it gave a sense of warmth and comfort to lull you to slumber. On Gyfil, there was none of that. You had to rely on your own warmth to comfort yourself to sleep. No lush trees or animals to provide even the smallest bit of connection. It was just You and the Force. Sleeping for the first time in the Jedi Temple after returning felt like a sensory overload. Everything was loud, and rough. You could feel it coursing through your veins at the speed of light. No matter what you did, it was too much. 

You didn’t sleep the first few days. Eventually you got used to the noise, but not enough to get a decent amount of rest at night. There was one sound that sometimes made it impossible to sleep, one Force signature that kept trying to break through the walls you put up to protect yourself when you’re most vulnerable. What scared you the most was the fact your own signature subconsciously fought back against the walls you put. You refused to acknowledge it, choosing to fall into a deep meditative slumber and stay alert as opposed to any actual sleep. Whoever it was would not get into your head so easily. 

Knock knock. Obi-Wan stepped into the room once his presence was made known, gently shutting the door behind him. “Y/n…” 

You looked up and squinted at him. “I thought we agreed to not speak?” 

“Yes, well, that proves to be a bit tricky now doesn’t it?” He smiled tightly and crossed his arms over his chest. 

You huffed out air in a sorry attempt at a sarcastic laugh, shaking your head a little. “What do you want, Obi-Wan?” 

It was neither hostile nor endearing. It was simply his first name. To him you sounded tired, and judging by the way you sat on the cot, leaning back against the cold metal wall with your eyes half opened, he presumed his assumption was correct. He spoke gently, “Anakin estimates we should be coming out of hyperspace and landing soon.” 

“I figured.” It wasn’t your intention to be stoic but that's how you’ve been training yourself to speak to the man in front of you. The faster the conversation ends, the faster he leaves. 

Obi-Wan, however, was not having it. “How are you feeling? I know it hasn’t been that long since you returned from your previous assignment.” 

You shrugged, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m fine.” 

“No one who says that is ever truly ‘fine’ Y/n/n,” he says, taking a step closer to the bed. “I know you. What’s on your mind, darling?” 

You slowly met his gaze, debating whether to open up or keep yourself closed off. On one hand, the idea of exposing your anxieties to someone didn’t feel right to you, letting someone know about your weaknesses and insecurities. However, you knew in order for the mission to succeed you would have to be willing to work with Obi-Wan and to do that a sense of trust had to be built. Rebuilt, technically. 

“If you wish not to speak, I understand.” He hesitated turning his back to you, “excuse me.” He was about to make his leave before you interrupted. 

“Obi-Wan, wait,” You sighed, shifting so there was room for him to sit on the bed. “Sit.” 

He did as he was told, eyeing you carefully. “Honestly, I don’t mean to pry.” 

“It’s fine.” You knew his intentions and as pure as they were you cannot bring yourself to tell him the truth. “I admit that I...am slightly concerned about the mission.” 

It wasn’t the answer Obi-Wan was hoping for, but he was willing to hear anything he could get out of you. “You have nothing to be worried about Y/n/n. You’re an extremely capable Jedi and I have no doubt in my mind you will lead us through it.” 

You smiled, only slightly but a smile nonetheless. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” He smiled back. 

Your eyes locked tight with each other, and everything around you became emptiness. A void surrounded you both and the presence of the other was all that could be felt. 

“Staring competitions are pointless.” You rolled your eyes, sitting up straight and attempting to return your meditative state. 

“No they aren’t!: Obi-Wan argued from his spot across from you. 

“All you do is stare at each other until someone blinks. Waste of time.” 

“Nuh uh. Master Qui-Gon told me that--” Obi-Wan stood up, “--‘The eyes are a window to the soul’--” you laughed at the bad attempt he made to mimic his Master;s voice, “--therefore staring competitions can be a very good battle tactic.” 

“Jedi don’t do battles, remember? We’re peacekeepers.” You looked up at your friend. “Besides, you just want an excuse to get lost in my eyes.” 

Obi-Wan grinned. “You know me so well.” 

So much has changed about the man in front of you, you could hardly recognize him. You never allowed yourself the pleasure to examine what you missed out on. One moment he was a young man who looked like he could take on the universe, and now all you could see was one tired man doing his best. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, is what the old You would have teased. But post-living-ten-years-by-yourself You was different. In a way, you understood. Although you didn’t fight any life-threatening battles and put yourself in the line of fire every week, you have worked tirelessly towards the same goal. 

Peace. 

Like this moment. 

For once, it was quiet. You felt yourself relax slowly, focusing on the one noise that soothed your anxious mind. It felt warm and...close. Something you haven’t felt in a long, long time. 

Obi-Wan leaned closer, his heart reacting faster than his brain. He felt a warmth he had been longing for over a decade. When he reached out, he no longer felt desolate. He wanted to hold on to the feeling and never let go. 

But alas in time of war, small moments of peace only last for so long. 

“Hey! We’re here.”  

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[ellitx]

Chapter 8: Unexpected Sojourn

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁

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art belongs to rome

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           “[Name].”

           You flinched when your name slipped from his lips. Venti furrowed his brows in worry and slowly knelt down before you, reaching his hand out to brush your cheek. You crawled backward before he could touch you.

           Fear had once again found you. It spoke to you in its cackling voice. It told your legs to go weak, your stomach to lurch and your heart to ache. Your eyes averted from his own gaze. You don’t want to look at him.

           You fear facing the unknown Venti in front of you. What happened back then still lingered inside your head. Those cold and ominous orbs when he looked at you made you shudder. You know that intense gaze wasn’t meant to be directed at you, yet it scared you so much the more you think about it.

           His heart ached to see you distancing away from him. It feels so cold, like concrete drying his chest. It was unexpected for him to experience a heartbreak— top of the world one minute then cut down the next. Why is that? Is there a part of him that you dislike seeing? You do know that he’s trying to help you, right?

           “[Name], what’s wrong?”

           He softly asked, his voice sounded so pleading. As much as he wanted to near you, he kept himself in place to prevent you from keeping away. You have always imagined him holding you so many times, but now more often than not you find the future you seek is an empty shell. 

           Things have changed abruptly— he changed, so fast, you worry that he might not be able to control himself in front of you.

           “It’s nothing…” You muttered. You said you aren’t scared but he can see your body movements are tighter and your yearnings reduced. Your smiles were shorter and silence longer. You didn’t even look at him as you said that.

           Venti bit his lip as his face contorted. He so badly wanted to wrap his arms around you and just bury his face on your hair, taking in the fresh smell you have, yet you were scared. Scared of what though?  He doesn’t know the answer to it. Was it because of Boreas? 

           “Please look at me…”

           He begged. There was something in his voice, a pain behind it. You watched. You watched his eyes and then you knew. The anger was nothing but a shield for pain, like a cornered knight aimlessly lunging his sword, scared for his life, lonely, and desperate.

           His emotions turned jagged and his insides tight. He wanted to cry out and reach out to you. Love him, sit with him, hold his hand, say his name, look into his eyes, and say you love him. He waited, heart in his mouth, hoping you’ll come back to his arms.

           It hurt you. It hurt you to see him like this. The emotional pain in those green gems swelled you with guilt that you’re staying away from him. You impulsively extended out your arms and apologized.

           “I’m sorry,”

           Venti blinked in surprise yet he didn’t hesitate to come to you. Your arms were wide open, welcoming him in, and he immediately entered them then wrapped his arms around your waist so tightly. 

           His hug is stronger than anything you’ve ever known as if holding you wasn’t quite enough, he has to feel every ounce that you are pressed into every ounce that is him. In that moment of a feeling of you so close has awakened him, more alive and relieved than he has been in so very long.

           He nuzzled onto your neck, feeling safe against you. Your warm hug took the pain away and just let himself melt and be comfortable. You slowly reached up to his head and caressed his dark locks.

           “I’m sorry…” You repeated. “I… I thought you’re mad at me.” Your gaze darted downwards with your arms falling back to your side. Your eyes remained glassy for a moment and that’s when he finally connected the dots together. 

           You were scared seeing him furious. It’s an emotion he never really shows it often and is rare for him. This side of him was uncommon to see and you’ve never seen him felt like that once in your life of knowing him for all these years. Anger, pain, sadness— so intertwined that perhaps his name is ought to be tweaked to reflect the true origins of these emotions.

           Venti pulled away and looked at you, his eyes calmly searching yours. He raised your chin to make you look at him and pressed his forehead with yours. “I’m not mad. And I’ll never ever be mad at you.” Warm hands then cupped your cheeks and when he spoke, you can feel his warm breath against your face, and it’s just now you're realizing how close you two are.

           “I’m worried about you,” The distance between your lips were just a few centimeters apart, almost brushing together. “And I don’t know what to do without you being here with me.” He was firm and gentle as he pulled you in and it caught you off guard the moment his lips brushed with yours. In that kiss was the sweetness of affection, a million thoughts condensed into a moment.

           He laced his fingers with yours and tugged you close to him. You never quite figure out the beauty of his lips was more the softness of their association with the words he spoke. He always loves being near you, touching you, and holding you in his arms. His warmth would seep into your being and comfort you without ever opening his mouth.

           You’d melt onto him easily as you belonged next to him as he belonged to you. And each time before you part, the aching to be in his arms would begin anew.

—

        “Say Aether,” Paimon started catching the traveler’s attention as he stopped munching his food. He hummed at her and raised a brow. “Isn’t the Tone-Deaf Bard a little bit shifty this day?” 

           The blonde swallowed his meal and took a napkin wiping the crumbs sticking on the corner of his mouth then asked, “What do you mean?” 

           “I mean aren’t you curious to know who this maiden Venti keeps talking about?!” Her face was so close whilst she floated above him. Aether sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This pixie really doesn’t know where to not poke her nose into, does she?

           “It’s not our business and we shouldn’t pry onto it anymore.” Paimon puffed her cheeks and stomped her feet onto the air in annoyance. It did irk her that her companion was not interested in this topic, but her curiosity is eating her up. 

           “Is she perhaps the one he told us in his story?” She didn’t change the topic as she grinned while taking another piece of the Mushroom Pizza. Aether simply shrugged and just ignored her rambles, absently staring onto the wall of Good Hunter’s diner.

           If it really was the girl Venti mentioned from the story of his old friend, does that mean she’s awake already? 

           “Anyways we’re still going to check it out, right?!” 

           He snapped out from his dazed state, owlishly blinking before looking back at her. “Hm? What are we talking about again?”

           “You’re not even listening to Paimon! Well never mind, Paimon can just repeat it to you.” Before she could utter a word, Aether had cut her off. “If it’s about following Venti, we don’t have the slightest clue to where he could be.” His floating companion grumbled and crossed her arms in aggravation since what he said did have a point.

           Albeit disappointing as it may be, she did actually hope they could investigate it later. “Bummer…” She muttered to herself and took another bite of the pizza.

           Aether rummaged inside his bag and clicked his tongue at the sight of the lack of crystals he currently has. He forgot to collect more to enhance his weapon to the blacksmith, great. He disappointedly sighed and zipped his bag close. Sufficient mora, shortage of crystals. Seems like they’ll have to mine them before he could enhance his trusty sword.

           “We’re going to Stormterror’s lair after this.” He announced. “Now? But we haven’t finished eating these yet! We still have another order coming.” Oh, right, the Sticky Honey Roast. 

           “We’ll eat Sticky Honey Roast first then go to Stormterror’s lair.” 

           “Aww yeah!”

           The wait was fortunately not that too long. The waitress stopped by their table and served them their meals. The sight and aroma of the food made them drool in hunger, their souls wanting to ravish it in instant. The two grabbed their fork and knife, hastily slicing to get their piece, and enjoyed the delish meat feast prepared for them as they shoved a forkful of it into their mouths.

           Warm food melted in the back of their throat and Paimon, who was dissatisfied with the size of her spoon, raised the plate to her face, wolfed it down, and licked the plate clean. Her body shook as she belched loud and long. 

           Aether cringed at her lack of manners in dining, looking away from the other customers who gave them a glance of curiosity at his guide. This emergency food will be the death of him.

           After finishing their meal and paying up, the two went off and started their journey to the lair. The embryonic oaks laid upon the grass, their brown eyes a gift to the eyes. He could watch them for a while, these acorns, hoping the silent bliss would extend if not for some group of slimes and hilichurls attacking them.

           Fighting was easy and not too much of a trouble for him, a sign that he’s gradually getting stronger. He smiled to himself and let his sword vanish into thin air on his back. Just a few more steps and he can finally gather the crystals he really needed.

           The path went onwards and there was much journeying ahead in front of them. He paid no mind to Paimon’s ramblings about what food they should get later. Sheesh, why does she can only think of nothing but food? Just how big is her stomach that can handle so many?

           Still, he appreciated her little babbles to distract himself from their quiet walk. His golden orbs then lit up at the sight of the familiar entrance getting bigger each step they take. His leg stopped from leading him and peered at the big tower looming before his small form.

           The memories of the Stormterror issue returned to him. The agony and pain the poor dragon was suffering, the blood clot that drastically continued to consume him as he writhes and cries while no one was there to help him. Venti, the Anemo Archon, was there to help Aether in his journey and to aid in freeing Dvalin from being corrupted by the Abyss Order.

           They were able to set him free and save him from poison with the help of the Dandelion Knight and Darknight Hero of Mondstadt. Still, even after that incident, there are still no clues as to where his sister could be.

           Aether took the chunk of crystal and placed it inside his bag. He heaved a sigh and stretched his arms to ease the cramps formed on his tense shoulder due to the struggle of breaking the crystals from the ground. 

           “Are those enough?” Paimon hovered above him and took a peek inside as she asked. The blonde shook his head and sled the backpack over his shoulder. “Just need two more and then we can go back.” He took out his map and checked the current location he is in to mark the spot.

           “Oh! Paimon remembers there are few over there.” Her small finger pointed on the spot of the map near to where they are and tugged his scarf to make him follow her. Few long strides here and there, his brow quirked when Paimon stopped midway guiding him.

           “Uh… are you seeing what Paimon’s seeing?” His brows knitted together at her ambiguous context behind her words. “What are you talking about?” He questioned and looked in front seeing nothing but thin air.

           “Over there! Is that a dead body?!” She flew behind him and took a little peek over his shoulder, her form slightly quivering in fear. He squinted his eyes to take a closer observation to where her finger was directing. Upon more detailed inspection, he can faintly draw out the figure that was limped on the ground.

           In instinct, his legs immediately guided him towards the figure and saw an unconscious form of a girl the closer he gets. He knelt down and drifted his hand on your chest to check your pulse. 

           “She’s just unconscious.” He assured Paimon. She sighed in relief and fluttered across you to check your features then back to the area. Something feels off…

           “Is it just me or was there always a garden here before?” She remarked, catching Aether’s attention. His eyes wandered to his surroundings and she was indeed right. Various flowers scattered before you, cushioning your body in the grassy field. He remembers that the ruins were only filled with the remains of the old buildings and structures.

           He explored this area in and out and never once in his journey does he remember a garden was set up here in just a month. Is someone revitalizing this old lair? Even if it did, he should prioritize first your passed out state and bring you back to Mondstadt for safety.

           “We should bring her back with us. It’s too dangerous here.” He told his little companion and before he could tuck his hands underneath your legs, a strong grip on his wrist stopped him from doing so.

           He jerked his head in the direction of the owner’s arm, following the white sleeve covered up until to sight of a familiar appearance of a bard standing before him. Venti stared blankly at him with cold eyes. Frightened by his expression and sudden presence, he took in a sudden intake of breath and stumbled backward, his foot slipping from the ground. His shoulders tensed in alarm, the tightening grip on his wrist caused him to wince in pain.

           “Venti?!” Paimon exclaimed in surprise and glided away to give the distance from him as she noticed the abrupt ominous aura encircling him. 

           “What are you going to do with her?” His expression hardened when the traveler remained quiet at his question, so he constricted his hold on him even further to get his attention.

           “I said, what are you going to do with her, traveler?” He repeated but with a firm and loud voice. The pixie shuddered in fear at his unforeseen behavior but she quickly stepped in and tugged his hand away.

           “We’re just going to bring her to the city to help her!” She exclaimed and attempted to release his restraint on her ally. Resentful countenance flit across his features as his mouth had gone hard hearing her words. Though, he quickly replaced it with a smile and finally let go of Aether.

           “I see. There’s no need to do that.”

           The blonde rubbed his wrist to ease the discomfort that continued to linger, he was sure of himself it’ll create a bruise on it. His eyes followed to the bard’s small form as he carried you in his arms. You squirmed against him and huddled closer searching for warmth.

           Venti glanced at you then back to the two companions. “You should go back now.” His voice was more demanding than they had expected. An order from an Archon himself. Though Aether didn’t budge, he hoisted himself up first then looked at him in utter puzzlement.

           “What about her? Is she injured? Sick? You should come with us too if you want to aid her.” Venti clicked his tongue and forced a smile to hide the growing anger that’s boiling up even more the more he talks.

           “I can handle her myself. It’s getting dark already and I don’t want you to get lost on your way back to the city.” The small bickering started to wake you and this is not what Venti likes to happen.

           As you rose from your light slumber, you are first aware of the coolness of the air and the fresh and loamy fragrance. Your clothes feel damp as a flower in the dew of the dawn. You half wonder if you’re still dreaming as you shifted from your place and sensed your feet weren’t touching the ground.

           “She’s awake!” You heard a squeaky voice exclaim near you. Venti raised his hand and commanded the winds to push the two away back to the exit. 

            “Leave. Now.”

            It irked him further when Aether persisted then stared at you, observing your features in silence. If he’s desperate to stay then so be it, he can just teleport himself somewhere else with you as long as they keep a distance from you.

           He didn’t hesitate to leave them all alone and not even once listening to what they’ll say as he suddenly disappeared into thin air with few teal feathers fluttering along with the air.

           He stopped near the lake and heaved a sigh of relief that he can no longer see them at last. You rubbed your eyes to erase the sleepiness within you and looked up at him, calling his name in a drowsy manner.

           “Sorry did I wake you, love?”

           He settled himself on the ground and brushed your hair away that was fixed on your cheeks. You blinked and looked around the area to get a glimpse of where you are. Now you were awake, perhaps a little bit awake with a tint of drowsiness still in you. As far as you can tell, you’re trapped in your lover’s arms with birds making their carefree song around you.

           “What’s the noise all about? What’s going on?”

           Ah, seems like that woke you up. He sighed and placed his head on your shoulder to relax with just your presence. It’s a miracle how your own voice can instantly calm him down after attempting Aether and Paimon to leave the place.

           “There were visitors that came here. Quite pesky I must say.”

           “Visitors?”

           That fully woke you up more than you’ve ever been. “No need to worry about that. It’s not really important. Get some more rest, you’re tired after what happened after all.” He kissed the top of your head and pulled you close to snuggle against him. You enjoy the feeling of his warm body next to yours, causing you to be sleepy once again.

           He carefully shuffled to find a comfortable spot and looked at you. Your features were much softer in sleep, more youthful than ever no matter how many millenniums of years passed by. It reminded him of your heavy slumber while he waits for you to wake up.

           But now, he doesn’t need to worry if you’re still in a comatose state. You’re already awake, with him and finally together. He can easily check up on you all the time as long as he’s next to you. He could soak in all that you are forever and still be right here, still wanting more. It is infatuation, but what is love without it? Desire, passion, and true love are threads of the same emotion, a perfect recipe for his attraction for you.