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b3ach-bunn7 · 5 months ago

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IS IT CASUAL NOW?

You and Touya have been hooking up. But recently, it feels like something more, and it all comes it head in his bedroom

A fanfic based off my current fav song, causal by chappel roan !

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The consistent hum of the fan aimed at your face does nothing to ease the heat prickling your skin and the sick feeling bubbling in your stomach.

You’ve just gotten out of the shower and you should be cool, but August sun pours in from all corners of the room, despite the closed windows. Not your room, though. Touya’s room. The evidence is everywhere, from the t-shirts littered on the floor to the abandoned bass guitar leaning against his messy desk. His walls are empty apart from one pin board, adorned with post-it notes and movie stubs and pictures of his friends, one of you and him in the middle.

You’re in his bed now. Have been since you’d stepped out of his bathroom and quickly changed. The sheets are rumpled from earlier and you sigh. Your skin smells like Touya. His shampoo and his shower gel you’ve smelt on him too many times to count. Smelt on him as he spread you out across his bed and kissed down your torso.

You wish you could say that he was a doting boyfriend that had offered you a shower after a passionate night together. Instead, you can hear him bustling around his kitchen most likely getting himself food and you none.

You didn’t even know what to call him. A friend? A boyfriend? A lover? All you knew was that the second he messaged you to come over you did so running. And could you be blamed? Youd been friends with Touya for three years and you’d liked him for two. How could you not? That dusty white hair that was always perfectly unkept, the piercings, the motorbike. So yes, when he’d approached you one day, the two of you drunk of a bottle of his fathers vodka, you complied, practically jumped into his lap. You were as prepared as anyone else when he told you it would be casual, no attachments.

But that’s not what it felt like.

He did too much. Too much to label this as friends with benefits and nothing else. He introduced you to his family, for gods sake. Well, introduced was a strong word to use.

You’d be in his bed, only wearing one of his shirts and nothing more. He had been pacing around the room, complaining about some argument he’d had with his dad when someone had knocked frantically on his door. You both froze. Touya had assured you he was home alone, and after the sounds you’d been making not long ago, you were really hoping that was true.

You got up quickly, practically diving across the room to grab your trousers from the floor.

“Touya, you said we were home alone!”

“We are!” He whispered furiously. He dug through one of his dressers and pulled out a bra.ome of your favourites, to be more precise. Before you could comment he waved at you to put it on.

“No, we are clearly not.” You stand up and he curses under his breath.

“Who is it?” He calls out.

“It’s me! Open the door.” The voice is small and young and you grin.

You’d heard of Touya’s siblings, obviously. You’d even seen Fuyumi once or twice around school. But you’d never actually met them, especially little Shoto. Touya knew how much you loved kids and did all he could to keep you two apart.

“Piss off.” Touya says. You tut, shoving his arm and get up to open the door.

“Mum says you can’t say that word to me anymore. She says that-“ Shoto’s words are cut off as soon as he sees you. His eyebrows furrow, his little fist raised to knock on the door stuffed in his pocket. He peers up at you, one eye blue and the other brown, and squints.

“Who are you?”

You tell him your name and crouch down in front of him. “It’s nice to meet you. You’ve got very cool eyes.”

“Thanks. My mum and dad gave them to me.”

You laugh slightly. Shoto looks behind you and scowls at Touya.

“Mum says you have to come help with the shopping and also you aren’t allowed girls in your room.” His voice is traced with the lilt of an annoying younger sibling, but you can’t help but find him adorable.

“Shut up, you brat. Don’t tell me what to do.” Touya brushes past and flicks Shoto on the head. He grabs your hand and tugs you to your feet.

“Come on. You’re gonna have to meet my mum.”

Before you can protest he’s dragging you down the stairs, the pattering of tiny feet following behind you. When you enter the kitchen, Touya drops your hand. Fuyumi’s washing a bowl of fruit at the sink, Touya’s other brother (Natsuo, you think) is filling up the fridge, and the woman you assume to be his mother is chopping onions. She’s beautiful. That’s the first thing you notice. She looks young to have four kids, and she smiles warmly at you when she notices your presence in the kitchen. You’re not necessarily shy, but the eyes of Touya’s family planted on you is almost enough to have you hide behind him. But of course, he’s no help. He just reaches for a bag of groceries and waves at you.

“This is Y/N. Y/N, this is Natsou, Fuyumi and my mother.” He doesn’t look away from where he’s filling up a cupboard with cans of soemthing

You smile. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“It’s lovely to meet you too! Nice to finally put a face to the name I hear all the time.” His mother smiles. You glance at Touya who is actively avoiding eye contact.

“He talks about me?”

“Oh, all the time. If anything, we can’t get him to shut-“

“Mum.”

“Sorry, sorry!” She holds up a hand in surrender but she sends you a wink.

“What are you guys doing home so early, anyways?” Touya asks.

“Dunno, we finished up early. What, we interrupting something?” Natsou grins and Touya smacks the back of his head. “Ow. Your girlfriend won’t like you anymore if you’re mean to me, you know.”

“Fuck off, you freak.”

“Language, Touya.” His mum sighs.

You ignore the warm feeling in your chest at Touya not denying the girlfriend allegations. You grab a bag from the floor and join Touya. His mother protests and tries to grab it from you.

“No, please, it’s fine, Mrs Todoroki.”

“Honey, you’re in my house, of course it’s not okay. And please, call me Rei.” She grabs the bag out of your hand and dumps it in a reluctant Touya’s.

“You go sit inside, I’ll send Touya to you soon.”

You oblige after much more argument. The living room is small. You remember Touya telling you this house was all his mum could afford after the divorce. But it didn’t matter, because despite the size it felt like a home. Trophies from Natsou’s sport events, pictures of the family at Christmas. It was cozy, all blue hues and pillows on every seat. You sat back but you weren’t alone for long. Shoto walked in, carrying two lollipops in his hands. He clambers onto the couch next to you and holds one out.

“For you.”

“Why thank you, Shoto, that’s very kind.” You take it out his hand, unwrap it quickly and pop it in your mouth. You watch him struggle with his for a moment before you offer to open it for him. You do so quickly and he nods his thanks. When he does speak again, it’s around the sweet that’s already staining his tongue blue.

“Are you Touya’s girlfriend?” You shake your head no.

“Good. You’re way too pretty for him.”

You snort a laugh. “You know, I agree. And I think you’re way too cute to be his little brother.”

Shoto nods. He kicks his feet up and down.

“Cool socks.” You point. They’re adorned with a little spiderman and he wriggles his feet at your comment.

“I know. I love spiderman.”

“I love spiderman too!”

Shoto nearly smiles then. The boy is quite monotone, you realise, but he perks up at the mention of the superhero. “He’s so cool. I wanna be a hero when I’m older. Like him.”

“I say you do it. Going to have to have big strong muscles to do that.” You point out.

Shoto almost rolls his eyes. “I already have big strong muscles. Look.” He brandishes his skinny arms and you gasp.

“Wow! How do you lift your arms up with this gun show?” You tickle under his arm and he giggles.

“Cause I’m a hero, duh.” He does roll his eyes this time you grin. You have an idea then. Something that always made your own little sister crack a smile.

“Well, can you fly?”

Shoto looks at you like you’re stupid. “Of course not.”

You pretend to think for a second. You tap your chin with your finger and you stand up slowly. You reach your hands forward and move your fingers.

“You sure?” You drag out the syllables of your words.

“Very.”

You suddenly reach forward and pick him up. He squeals as you spin him around, and drop him back on the couch.

“Liar, you can fly!”

He laughs, finally, and throws his arms in the air. “Again!”

You do the same thing and he squeals again, arms coming to grab your shoulders. You’re both laughing, slightly breathless, when you notice Touya standing at the door. He has a look on his face you can’t quite decipher, but it feels so fond you have to avert your gaze.

You’d stayed for dinner that day, much to the excitement of Shoto, who couldn’t seem to leave your side. You felt comfortable with his family and despite Touya’s silence throughout the meal, you enjoyed yourself.

You wonder where his family is now. It’s just you and Touya in the house, and he’s still doing whatever downstairs.

Your phone buzzes and you reach over the bed to grab it from its place on the bedside table. It’s your friends. They’re all out apparently, and asking where you are. One of them jokes that she ‘hopes you’re not with Touya again’. You’re sure they’re all laughing. You’re so happy at least somebody is enjoying all of this.

It’s not that they don’t like Touya. They’ve met him a couple times, at parties and when you’re sitting together in school. They think he’s funny and they definitely think he’s hot. The whole school does. Who can resist the bad boy with hair over his eyes and a tongue piercing? What they don’t like about Touya is how he treats you.

They’ve heard the rumours. Most people have, that you and him are hooking up. Which you guess is true. There’s nothing wrong with that. What your friends are more worried about is how he treats you like his girlfriend one day and an acquaintance at best the next. The more harsh friends of yours call you a loser for putting up with it. You thought that was a bit much before but you feel like a loser now.

You run a hand across your neck. More hickeys you’ll have to cover before school. Touya loves marking you, something he mumbled into your skin one day. You did the same to him once and he was off with you for a bit. The next time you saw him he told you that ‘we’re not together’ and that it sent mixed signals. To who? That’s what you wanted to ask. But it’s casual so you nodded and agreed, and your shirt was off in the next breath.

You wish that it was easier. That you didn’t feel as much as you did, in particular towards him. Maybe it would’ve been easier then. If it was all just sexual then yes, maybe you could end it. Block his number and tell him to stop talking to you.

But you can’t.

You think you might love him. If not now, then soon, if things keep going the way they are. Because Touya has never treated it like it was casual, like you weren’t together. There’s no way with how he kisses you. So softly. How on some days, when he shows up to your house in the middle of the night because he can’t sleep, he holds you like you’re the only thing stopping him from drowning. How, in the backseat of his car, he told you about his father, explained away each scar littered across his body. There was no way that, all from a boy everybody knew had no attachments, meant nothing.

He’d never admit it though. You knew this. You’d spent the past month rolling it around your head, and you knew that’s why you had to end it. Whatever the hell this was.

Your thoughts are cut off as the door to his bedroom swings open. Touya walks in with two packets of crisps and a can of coke. He throws one at you and you let it fall in front of you.

“Food is fuel. Eat up.” He says, cracking the can open with his teeth.

You shake your head. “I’m not hungry.”

He falls on the bed next to you. You scoot backwards and he’s laying on his stomach, and takes a swig of his drink. He’s only wearing boxers and you actively avert your eyes from him. You instead focus your gaze on your hands that fiddle in your lap.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He makes a noise.

Touya sits up slightly and moves towards you. His forearms rest either side of your legs and he kisses your neck, licks over the marks he’d left not long ago, before reaching your lips. And you allow yourself to forget for a moment as he kisses you. He reaches a hand up to cup your face, teeth nipping your bottom lip. And it’s then, with how tenderly his fingers stroke your cheek, you remember. You remember your friends calling you a loser, the way he dropped your hand when his family saw him holding it.

You push him back and get up. You shake your head as he furrows his brows.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t do this anymore.” You just say it. The words spit out your mouth like you can’t hold them in any longer. Touya sits up now, and his face is changing from confused to angry bit by bit.

“What do you mean?”

“This! The fucking, and- and the kissing and the sleeping together, everything! I can’t do this anymore!” You yell. You walk further away from his bed like it’ll make this any easier. You’re not sure when this progressed to something angry, but you can’t help yourself.

Touya stands. He grabs a pair of sweatpants and you look away as he changes, like you haven’t seen every part of him, physical and not.

“And what has made you come to this sudden realisation? Everything has been fine.” He snaps.

“For you. Touya, you drive me fucking crazy, you know that?”

Touya scoffs. “The fuck did I do?”

You laugh then, but it’s void of any mirth. You push your hair back with one hand, overstimulated and so angry.

“You tell me it’s casual. That we are casual, and then you do all this shit! I mean- your mother invited me to your holiday house, for fucks sake! And your siblings. I mean, Fuyumi calls me all the time and I don’t mind, I love her. All of your siblings, but. You can’t act like it doesn’t mean anything! That we’re that close!”

Touya shakes his head. He’s lost all looks of confusion and you might say he looks bored. It only fuels your anger even more.

“And- the way you kiss me. The way you hold me after we fuck, I-“

“It doesn’t mean anything.” He snaps.

“Don’t do that! Don’t lie to my face!” You yell.

“I’m not lying! I told you. I told you from the start that this meant nothing. It’s not my problem you’re acting crazy.” He shakes his head.

You think you might cry. You feel the prickle of tears line the inside of your eyes and you blink furiously. You’re not sure if it’s anger or sadness but either way you won’t give him the privilege of seeing it.

“No. You don’t get to act all cool about this. You were eating me out in the passenger seat of your shitty car, and I’m the crazy one?”

You pace around the room. You can’t even look at him. At the look on his face. You think you might hit him if you do.

“Look, I tried. Okay? I tried to be the chill girl, and I tried to give you your space, but I can’t! I’m not the chill girl, I’m so pent up about this. You know how badly all my friends cuss me out because of you? Because of the way you treat me?”

He walks towards you then. He’s standing in front of you and you’re forced to look up at his looming height. You can smell the same shower gel on him that’s on you, and you step back, ignoring the tightening of your chest.

“You don’t get to fucking act like I’m the problem here. You’ve had every opportunity to leave, don’t act like I’m the only one responsible.” He spits, finger pointing at your face. You shove his hand out of your way.

“Oh yeah? And when Kai asked me out, how did you react? Because last I checked he stood me up on my date because somebody had told him I was taken. You had nothing to do with that?”

Touya stutters then, and you think you’ve finally got him. Had finally found the thing that’ll make him realise he likes you too. That you could be together. For real.

“Yeah, I told him to back off. I don’t shit where I eat.”

You freeze then. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Touya pauses for a second. Something crosses over his face, and then he settles. Like he’s decided on something. The hard set of his shoulders and the way his eyes bore into yours.

“Kai is a friend. You are somebody I fuck. I don’t need the two of you mixing.”

The tears in your eyes blur your vision. You know he’s trying to hurt you. You know he’s doing this to push you away because he’s too scared to commit. But god, it’s working. Confirms every little thing that eats at you every time Touya turns you away, all the things your friends had warned you about.

“You’re bitter about that. That’s fine. I don’t really care. I warned you. I told you what to expect from me, and like an idiot, you wanted more. I told you this was all casual and you didn’t listen. That’s not my problem. And if you want to end things that’s fine.”

Part of you thought he might fight. Might try to fight for you if you tried to end it. You’d stayed up night after night, fooling yourself that Touya cared. Even if he couldn’t show it. Past it all you thought you meant something to him. People were dramatic. Your friends were dramatic. He showed that he liked you back in his own way. But you look at him now, the look in his eyes, and you don’t think he could care any less about you.

“You fucked me in the bathroom while your family ate dinner downstairs and you wonder why I’m bitter about this?” You inch closer, jabbing your finger in his chest.

“You showed me everything, everything about yourself and you just expect me to think it’s casual? Are you fucking serious, Touya?”

You shake your head and the tears do fall. You wipe aggressively at your cheeks and you watch his cold demeanour falter as he watches them drip down your face. Touya’s hand twitches like he’s going to reach forward but he decides against it. Just steps back and looks away instead.

“God, they were right. I hate that I let this drag on so long. And you- you don’t even care.” You sniff, wiping your eyes with the back of your hand.

Touya says nothing. He sits back down on his bed. Reaches into the table next to his bed and grabs his cigarettes. You face scrunched up, the way you know it does when you’re about to really cry, and you turn away.

“Go to hell, Todoroki.”

You know that stings. You hope it does, as you grab the rest of your stuff. He doesn’t call out as you walk out his room. Doesn’t try to stop you as you slam his front door shut.

You’re finally reminded of the prickly heat as you’re walking down the sidewalk. Only this time, there’s no fan to cool down the sweat on your skin, washing away the last scent of Touya you think you’ll ever come across.

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hope you enjoyed! if you’d like a part two where I force Touya to admit that he actually is in love with y/n plz let me know 🩷

#oneshot #angst #touya todoroki #touya x reader #bnha touya #touya todoroki x reader #mha dabi #dabi todoroki #dabi x reader #dabi/reader #b3ach-bunn7

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yuellii · 1 year ago

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flawless night, forevermore

feat. ayato, baizhu, alhaitham, childe, kaveh, raiden ei ( separate )

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 they are so obviously in love with you

( or, in which i tie them to a taylor song i’ve been crazing over, but you don’t have to know the songs to read / understand )

note. reader’s gender unspecified, no other warnings

> part one / part two ( more characters )

KAMISATO AYATO. lover

His lips curled up with a fathomless fondness he did not even notice about himself. His ticklish gaze, his admiring eyes, his comforting silence—such a poor, poor man drowning in his hopelessness, falling love struck into the night.

Even atop the dewy grass that stained his carefully tailored clothes, he paid no mind to the mess as he preferred to hear you talk instead. The intelligence of a Kamisato was long forgone in the melody of your voice, and perhaps you had strum his heartstrings too much to the point he loses his senses. He forgets a lot of things about himself when he’s with you, perhaps at one point, even his own name.

Kamisato, the name that ties him to a lifetime of formality and not a single night of rest. A dreary lifetime that does not allow him to learn the wonders of love. But oh, how he loves you.

“I’ve always wanted one of those cute little tea tables,” you muttered into the cool winds under the glowing moon. Your finger absentmindedly traced an oval into the air, a motion that had his head following your invisible drawing. “We can sit together in the mornings and have tea before work.”

“Then we’ll get one,” Ayato affirmed. He failed to notice how his own grin had widened, simply as an automatic reaction from seeing your pleased smile at his response. “Little cushions for us to sit in, too,” he added on. “You know those round ones? We can have them in our favorite colors.”

Look at him, blushing over silly cushions.

There’s a dazzling haze in his eyes when he’s like this. It’s a spark that never runs out once ignited, for he has a history of rambling when he’s with you. “There is this porcelain tea set we can get, which has a pattern I know you’ll like,” he’ll say, further jumping to “And it comes in a set of four—we can always invite Ayaka and Thoma over to drink with us.” He’ll go on and on like this, fantasizing of a life where you lived together, happily ever after.

He’s imagined this for eons in his head. Such innocent-presenting ideas and remarks, but it’s obvious in the way he talks so fast. It’s ridiculously evident the more excited he gets as the night stretches on, that he’s been daydreaming of the moment you move in with him, so he may love you every day.

All he asks is to be forever yours, for as long as time permits.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

BAIZHU. sparks fly

It almost never rained in Liyue.

But his words were such a booming thunderstorm that no water droplet could ever compare, even amidst this cold, grey afternoon. And only when he finally blew you away like a thin stack of cards, did he feel a sharp sense of emptiness at the sight of you running off into the pouring rain.

Baizhu admitted that you were a burden to him. Boring, unintelligent, annoying—that you were a hindrance to be around. You were only a distraction to Qiqi, and more importantly, a bothersome presence to him.

It took all his willpower just to spit such venom from his tongue straight to your face—all his might just to convince you that seeing him is a bad idea. And yet, you still called him a liar.

“You mean none of those words,” you sharply inhaled via short, speechless breaths. He could tell you were breaking down from his hateful speech, but to his guilt, it was exactly what he wanted to see from you. “You’re just trying to drive me away again,” you spat out. You were trying to convince yourself: that fact alone was clear to him. But the longer he stayed quiet despite biting back the truth—biting back that he has fallen so immensely deep in love with you—you began to doubt yourself.

But the moment he watched your figure break down past this storm, he immediately crumbled with a sense of guilt much stronger than any curse he has ever wished upon himself.

Perhaps he was too harsh on you. Archons, perhaps he was too mean—this was exactly why he didn’t deserve you. You deserved better than such a sick, lowly man who could not even live for himself, instead binding his life to save others instead.

But still, even after all his own revelations and realization of his nonexistent self worth…

He was still a greedy, selfish man.

And that selfishness had him running right out of his door and into the pouring rain, not caring at how the sudden cold nipped and picked at his skin, or how the winds beat at his frail body. Not even the Archons could halt such a starvation for salvation—it was the only spark he had left to chase.

In this cold, dreary life—in this cold, dreary day alone—you still shone like the sun under the dim streetlights of Liyue upon this pale grey sky. His body still eased the moment you caught his eye, almost as if your gaze alone had suddenly removed every drop of sickness he self-injected into his own bloodstream, or as if you were the cure he was looking for all his life.

Such selfishness once again had his body fighting from collapsing when he desperately fell into your arms that held him so dearly. And the greed of mankind only snapped when found his lips settled so hopelessly against yours, clinging onto your kiss as if he would die tonight.

Truly, maybe he would. But for now, in your embrace, he feels the strongest he’s ever been since he sold his soul.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

ALHAITHAM. enchanted

Archons, he hated these events, though he had no choice but to attend. No one could ever allow the Acting Grand Sage, even if he held so much spite, to escape the demeaning eyes of Sumerean publicity.

Alhaitham held himself as an independent soul. But this formalwear, this clanging of champagne glasses, this suffocating air—were definitely not so independent nor free.

This hall of aspiring young scholars and old men, all in one exhibit for the sake of research and networking. Academics is what they acclaim, but the Acting Grand Sage may be too thick of a personality for them (if he had one at all). But the only thing keeping his eyes open from boredom, quite surprisingly a person, was you.

You, who looked young compared to these much older alumni and long-time scholars. And it was truly you, out of the many faces in this room, who he could not name.

Your eyes met from across the room. Such a sliver of a chance—his eyes whispered a curious glance from the opposite wall among this dreary sea of scholars. There was a spark graced by the Electro Archon, perhaps; or maybe even a gush of wind from the God of Anemo. But every sense of composure was lost when his body moved on its own, walking himself closer and closer just to meet you.

It begins with hello; it always does. It continues with quick remarks, with “I’ve never seen you before,” and with “Have we met?” And soon enough, he feels like he’s in school again. He feels a flutter he has not known in years, an urge to talk quicker than he can think. The crinkle at the corner of your eyes has him immersed in amazement. The sole fact that you can crack a smile at him; a smile that wasn’t fake politeness like all these scholars.

For some reason unbeknownst to him, that expression of yours alone had his feet glued to the floor, like you’ve trapped him in such an engaging conversation he desperately could not let go. It was a forcibly dreadful night—you turned it flawlessly enchanting in a way that you read to him like a book, all in which he could not put you down once he begins.

And once the event ends, and he is forced to leave you so soon, he watches you walk away with an expression that he himself could not even read.

Wonderstuck.

He would never notice the light tint on his face, staining his cheeks all the way home.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

CHILDE. cruel summer

Left foot, right foot, tiptoe, right foot—hold the counter, hold the wall, hold the rail all the way up the steps… He’s got this.

One step down the hall, another foot down, a third one until he finds a steady rhythm. The room is hazy, the walls are spinning. His head hurts and he feels like a baby taking his first steps, so helpless and unsteady that he almost wants to cry again from exasperated frustration alone. Why was this so hard? Did he really hate himself so much, that he would stagger his way home from the bar like this?

One hand on the door, turn the knob, and—

Ah. He dropped his keys so loudly on the floor.

You woke up with a start from the bedside, immediately turning to him wide-eyed in both starling surprise from the noise, and more importantly, concern. He didn’t mean to wake you. He hated feeling guilty, but it was the exact feeling that crept up his spine once he saw the devastated look on your face. Frenzied eyes and dark circles—clearly you had stayed up just to wait for him, too.

“Ajax,” you voiced—a tone full of worry and heavy exhaustion, God, he felt so horrible. “Oh, Ajax, come here.”

As much as he didn’t like it when you cared for him like this, he was not immune to the sounds of your calling. His shaky legs carried him immediately, as if the alcohol in his system was pulling him towards you, too. “I’m fine,” he barely stuttered out. It was a claim he had to make immediately, a sign he was desperate to reassure you.

Your eyes grew heavier, though he did not know if they were lidded from concern or from sleepiness. Either way, he practically melted from the touch of your palms resting against his cheeks. So warm, but a much more pleasant warmth than the burning summer air that he just walked in, all the way home with a liquor-dazed mind.

“Have you been crying…?” Ah, and that was why your eyes were narrow—they were squinting at the sorry stains of tears that lined his cheeks. He forgot to wipe them, it seemed. It was almost laughable.

“No, just sweat from the heat.”

Crying over you… He’d never let you know that. To cry, to bleed, to die—you would never be the first person he tells.

“You reek of liquor…” Quite disgustingly so, he thinks. And yet, you still held his face so fondly, moving his head in such a gentle manner as you swiped his tear stains with the pads of your thumbs.

He stayed silent. He had no answer to this one.

“I love you,” he mutters, though it’s a confession nevertheless. And he says it so sadly—so miserably that you couldn’t help but sigh. He hates it, too. He hates it when you sigh. Because when you sigh, it means you’ll just let it go; No matter how many lies he tells, or how many times he cries, or how many secrets he keeps, you’ll still accept him like always.

“I love you, too.” And that was the worst line he’s ever heard.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

KAVEH. foolish ones

“Oh, woe is me…” Loves me, loves me not, loves me… “Did you happen to see anything in the mailbox?”

His roommate stared. “Go check it yourself.”

Kaveh heavily sighed. He couldn’t; He physically could not bear to do it. It’s not that he was lazy to get up, no. The real issue was the genuine grief he would feel when he opened the mailbox, only to see nothing inside. No special gifts, no romantic letters, and absolutely no confessions of love signed with your name.

It was embarrassing, really. To feel this dramatic and obsessed with words of admiration from you—oh, especially when Alhaitham found out about this whole lovesick ordeal. But he could not help his mind from just imagining it: the reflection of himself in your eyes as you finally confess your feelings of passion and love for him (feelings that didn’t exist, feelings he merely imagined you having, all so pathetically).

But he’s so weird, and he’s so terrible. To imagine a fabled life with you when you probably did not think about him this same way. How foolish. Did you daydream about him like he daydreamed about you every night before he slept? Did you think about him like he thought about you every time he sees your favorite color in the passing? Did you wait at your mailbox like he waited for any letters from you? No. No, you didn’t.

And he’s cried, quite humiliatingly. He’s cried that the perfect life he could picture himself having with you at his side would never be a reality. He’s cried a downpour of tears, simply because he allowed himself to be so caught up in a delusion that was so sick of him to conjure up.

“Are you free for dinner tonight?”

“So sorry Kaveh, I already have plans…”

Plans with someone else. No wonder you hadn’t written him any messages, or contacted him in a while. That… was not the scenes he had in his head. His imaginations, his hopes, his dreams—they did not have someone else in them. For someone he was so hopelessly in love with, he felt so much hurt. A foolish lesson to be learned by a foolish romantic.

In the end, he’d just be talking himself to sleep again. He’d just smile at the sight of you flourishing. Without him, your world will go on turning. A world full of reciprocated love and devotion, one that he would never know.

⎯ ✧ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

RAIDEN EI. you belong with me

The Raiden Shogun was self-destructive. No more than a few people knew of such a fact, but she was certainly one of them.

Because if she cared for her own wellbeing, truly, then she would not fall for selfish desires. Nor, would she be here now, sitting next to you outside a sliding screen in her private gardens of Tenshukaku, sipping your favorite tea and hearing your sweet voice ramble about something so unpleasant to her ears. If she prioritized her own emotions, then maybe she’d be living in blissful ignorance right now instead of listening to your woes over a lover… A lover that was not her.

“And then, she teases me,” you complained, though it was clear you hated it. You didn’t like whining about your partner, which was a good thing—but it made Ei feel sick, because it meant you really loved that woman. “I know she does that all the time, and I just need to get used to it,” you continued, “but sometimes, it gets too much, and she still doesn’t stop.”

But I wouldn’t do that to you, the archon thinks to herself. And suddenly, the tea isn’t as appetizing anymore, because her own words felt drilled onto her tongue, forever forbidden to speak aloud.

“Miko… Has always been like that,” Ei quietly admits instead. She doesn’t want to insult your lover, for that same person was also her own friend. She wanted to be supportive, but it was impossible when she was so in love with you, that she spent every second of each passing day just wishing she was in Miko’s place instead.

“Yeah… But—still, I mean…” You sighed, coming to a loss for words to describe the pink haired shrine maiden. “Is it really so hard to ask just for her to understand how I’m feeling…?” you whined in what seemed like genuine distress. Your face sunk into your hands, and it took all of Ei’s willpower just to keep her respective distance from a romantically taken friend.

But I understand how you feel, Ei once again thinks. She feels so dirty of a friend for comparing herself like this. I understand you better than she will ever.

“Ei…” you muttered. She almost chokes from the way you say her name. “What should I do…?”

Be with me, instead. “Don’t cry over something, or someone, you cannot control. It’s possible your personalities are just not fit for each other, you know.”

“But I love her, Ei…”

Ouch.

She clears her throat, recovering from sharp breath of air she just inhaled. A part of her just broke in that moment, and it was so obvious, too—her expression quickly changed, her body became stiff, her balance suddenly shifted, and yet…

You noticed none of it. Your head was too clouded over love for another woman that was not her; So clouded, in fact, you did not notice the way Ei almost began to tremble. The misery you carried only crafted tenfold for the archon, eternally unbeknownst to you.

But you don’t belong to her, anyways. So why was she crying?

#childe x reader #ayato x reader #baizhu x reader #alhaitham x reader #kaveh x reader #raiden ei x reader #al haitham x reader #ei x reader #tartaglia x reader #ayato kamisato imagines #kamisato ayato x reader #ayato kamisato x reader #genshin imagines

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florencemtrash · 10 months ago

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The Shadowsinger & The Inkbird: Chapter Twelve

Azriel x Day Court Librarian Reader

Summary: Y/n's clairvoyance is a gift from the Mother, but it feels more like a curse. With the power to gain knowledge through touch alone, Y/n holes herself up in The Alcove and hopes her powers and parentage will remain a secret. But things will change after the Summer Solstice ball and a chance encounter with a certain Shadowsinger.

Warnings: None! Familiar faces return to Velaris and Y/n finally gets a chance to explore the city...

The Shadowsinger & The Inkbird: Masterlist

Masterlist of Masterlists

I’ve been dreaming again. Dreaming of him.

Thanatos. With his milky pale skin the color of bleached bones. Bold brush strokes of black ink mark his clothes and paint his hair and his marble eyes. I should feel unsettled when looking into the face of death. But I don’t. I’m the only one who gets to see him like this. The only one who gets to see his true face and I don’t know why. He doesn’t understand it either, and it frustrates him to no end.

He’s almost as curious as I am. Almost.

He came to the cabin again today, carrying that black lit candle between his spindly fingers like he believed in the Mother and was prepared to pray and sing to her like the rest of us. He says he likes to hear me during the service, tiny and informal as it is, but really I think he’s here because it irks me, and because I’m some tapestry he can’t seem to unravel.

He asked me again whether I’d call upon the Mother for him. He says he has a question that needs answering, and once he has his answer, he’ll be able to tell me how we can defeat Koschei. If it’s even possible.

But I don’t believe that male for a second. He’d sooner carve the world to bits and devour the scraps before helping us like the coyote he is.

Rest assured I will never agree to his bargain. It will take more than that to turn Bethsevah Mordeigh.

Although he said something strange that night, when the candles had dripped and left their waxy marks on the altar.

“You were made to ruin me, Beth,” he said, “And I will let you do it a thousand—a million—times over.”

He spoke in a dozen different voices, but I can’t deny I liked how the sounds came together and became his own.

You jerked awake with your hand still cradling the book against your chest.

Bethsevah Mordeigh.

You had a name.

You had a name!

You burst out of your room.

“Az! Az! I’ve got something.” You beat your fist against his bedroom door. “Az!” There was silence.

The kitchen was empty, dirty dishes scrubbing themselves clean in the sink. A glance at the clock above the oven told you you’d slept in a great deal.

You took the steps two at a time, sprinting down the hallway towards the west wing. The training arena took up most of the second floor stocked with enough weapons to outfit a small army. Wood and stone knobs stuck out from the wall at extreme angles as part of the climbing gym. The ceiling dipped up and down like draped fabric. On any other day you would have seen Valkyries with rippling arms and backs making their way up to the green flag pinned directly above the room’s center point, bodies straining against the pull of gravity. But not today.

Two of the three mats spaced across the room were occupied and you heard the beat of Illyrian wings before you even opened the double doors.

Feyre and Nesta stood against the side wall bracketed by racks of steel swords, glistening throwing knives, and an Illyrian bow as long as you were tall.

Feyre licked her lips, greedily tracing Rhysand’s powerful form as he went toe to toe with Azriel. You couldn’t help but stare as well as they leapt around the ring in a blur of wings and shadow. You’d never seen Azriel shirtless but… well… it was a sight you could get used to.

It was a dance — a dangerous, deadly dance — and although the language of violence wasn’t one you were familiar with, you could read the display well enough to know that Azriel would win this round.

Sweat glistened on his skin, slipping down the curves of his back where leathery black wings fused with his shoulder blades. Tattoos wrapped around his shoulders and across his chest, pulsing with a life of their own as Azriel cleanly side stepped one of Rhysand’s kicks. There was the faintest crease in the High Lord’s brow to let you know he was getting tired.

But Azriel was just getting started. And now that he knew you were watching? He wanted to make it worth your while.

Rhys gritted his teeth, launching out with a strike quicker than lightning. Someway, somehow, Azriel was faster. He dipped to the side, Rhys’s knuckle just kissing his cheekbones and came up for a counterstrike, slamming his fist so hard into his brother’s cheek that he staggered back.

That was unnecessary. Rhys snapped his jaw back into place.

Azriel grinned. Fatherhood suits you. But I can’t let you get soft.

There was a roll of violet eyes. Sure. That’s why you’re trying so hard right now.

Rhys snatched Azriel’s leg out of the air, rolling onto the ground in a move that sent the Shadowsinger twisting in a graceful arch that had your breath catching in your throat. He broke free of Rhysand’s hold, leaping onto his feet like gravity didn’t apply.

You met his eyes, heady and dark, and could have sworn he winked. But it may have just been a trick of the light.

You ducked your head, hurrying across the room towards Feyre and Nesta and hoping they wouldn’t comment on the flush creeping up your neck.

“Fey—” you began urgently.

The High Lady held up a hand and you fell silent. There was a sheen to her eyes that let you know she was honing in on Rhysand’s moves with more than just her eyes.

Nesta smirked at you as you blushed. You struggled to keep your gaze from drifting back to the powerful display, even as you caught glimpses of Azriel’s tan body out of the corner of your eye. Rippling, bold, strong.

“Don’t worry about staring,” Nesta said with a wicked glimmer. “The boys admire us. We admire them. It’s an even exchange.”

One mat over Cassian was sparing with a new female you’d never seen before. Illyrian, but there was something wrong with her wings. They were held strong and proud above the ground, but they dragged in places where Cassian had control over every minor movement. If you concentrated closely enough, you could make out the thin, shiny scars that had snipped the tendon closest to the apex of her wings, just by the arch of her claws.

Your stomach dropped with horror.

Her wings had been clipped.

She held her own against the Lord of Bloodshed. Cassian might have had the advantage of experience and his longer limbs, but she moved with a daring determination. She dodged every blow by the narrowest margin, conserving her energy so when she was able to slip close and find her opening, she slammed her elbow up and into his nose with a sickening crack that echoed throughout the room.

You winced, hands flying up to your face at the same time that Cassian’s did.

“FUCK!” He roared.

“Whooo! THAT’S MY WIFE!” A gorgeous, curvy blond hung off one of the ring posts, legs propped up on the tensioned ropes.

There was only one member of their family that had ever been described as sunlight incarnate. That had to be Mor. Which meant the striking female currently giving Cassian hell on the mat was Emerie.

Emerie blushed, stealing a heavy look for long enough for Cassian to snap his nose back into place. He ducked down and swept her legs out from beneath her, wrestling her to the ground in a tangle of leather and wings. But Nesta didn’t let him have the advantage for too long.

Cassian choked on the teasing words he’d prepared for Emerie when Nesta sent him a particularly candid image of herself in a strip of black fabric.

For later tonight. She whispered down the bond.

Damn it Nes.

Emerie smashed her forehead into his already swollen nose, then her knee surged up with enough strength to crack ribs. She braced her foot against his chest and flipped him over her head and onto his back, wrapping her powerful legs around his neck and pinning him to the ground with his arm forced back in his socket. Finally he tapped out.

“Poor Illyrian baby,” Nesta crooned as Emerie pulled Cassian to his feet. Despite the blood that dripped from his nose, he was glowing with pride at Emerie. “Better luck next time.”

Mor grasped Emerie by the front of her training gear and yanked her close for a long kiss that left the Illyrian stumbling back with red lipstick smeared over her lips and a dark blush across her caramel cheeks.

Nesta yelped when Cassian wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her off the ground with one arm like she weighed nothing.

“We could try that move tonight. Your legs, my face? But this time I won’t tap out.” Cassian winked and Nesta leveled a sultry glare in his direction, eyes lingering on the sheen of his muscular chest with unabashed heat.

“Get a room,” Mor called out and Emerie threw a towel in his direction. It landed over his shoulder with comical perfection.

“Says the pair that had to disappear to another continent after their wedding ceremony.”

Mor flung an obscene gesture his way and Cassian returned it with equal fervor. “Says the pair that made Azriel run for the hills when he was left to chaperone.”

“Hey! That’s on Rhysand. He never should have left us with a chaperone at all.” Nesta cut in.

“You rang.” Rhysand appeared sweaty and spent behind Mor’s shoulder and slung his arm around her. The bruises on his cheeks were turning darker by the second.

Azriel hovered on the edges of the crowd, glancing at Mor and then at you. He was mildly disappointed that you’d been too busy watching Cass and Emerie to see him win at the end of the fight.

“Gross, get off of me.” Mor shoved her cousin away.

Rhysand’s shoulders shook with laughter. He smiled at you, eyes gleaming with happiness. It had been so long since he’d last seen his cousin.

“Mor.” He gestured to you, “Meet Y/n—” He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I think I just realized I don’t know your last name.”

“Halwynn.” You offered up your mother’s last name. Even though you technically didn’t have any right to it as a bastard, it’s the name you’d gone by your whole life.

“Meet Y/n Halwynn,” Rhysand finished.

“The resident intellect,” Mor said, caramel-brown eyes shining. “Well thank the Mother, you showed up when you did.” She looped her arm around yours easily and you caught a whiff of the perfume she’d dotted against her collarbones — amber and vanilla. A ruby the size of your thumb hung from a gold chain, following the dramatic dip in the front of her scarlet dress that left little to the imagination. You thought she might just be the most gorgeous female you’d ever seen.

“We’d be absolutely lost without you. I hope the Library is up to your standards, although let’s be honest, it probably isn’t.”

You agreed a little too quickly.

“Bethsevah Mordeigh.” Rhysand turned the name over in his mind, testing its familiarity and coming up empty. “Any takers?”

You all stood around Rhysand’s desk, the book propped open beside bottles of jet-black ink, eagle-feather pens, and neat stacks of parchment paper.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Fair enough.” He looked disappointed, but not surprised. “We’re only separated by a few thousand years, give or take.”

You paced in front of the windowsill, nervously picking at your fingernails until they were under threat of bleeding. Azriel noticed and one of his shadows gently wrapped around your wrists and pulled your hands apart. You looked at him gratefully and stuck your hands in your pockets.

“The oldest text I’ve seen dates back twelve-thousand years,” Feyre offered. “I’ve also asked Gwyn and Clotho to begin searching.”

“What about the Day Court?” Azriel looked at you.

“I can ask Helion to search the archives. But I’ll warn you, records dating back that far are few and far apart. And priestesses back then were less keen on recording the movements of their members. But we might get lucky with some of her descendants if they ever joined the order. Work our way backwards through history.”

Mor shot Rhysand a look. “Why ask me to come back here now? I could have been of better use searching for this information on the Continent.”

“Now is not the time for you to be traversing foreign lands. Not with Koschei at risk of being let loose.”

You shook your head. “And it wouldn’t matter. Bethsevah wouldn’t have been born on the Continent. If she ever went, it would have only been to trap Koschei. Our best bet is to search for information about her down south.”

The others stared at you in confusion. You blinked as if the answer was obvious. “Organized religion surrounding the Mother emerged in Southern Prythian and her priestesses didn’t spread out to Hybern or the Continent until the Insynthian Age.”

“Your point being?” Nesta folded her arms over her chest. When it came to the specifics of Prythian history, she and Feyre were about as useful as a glass rod in a lightning storm.

“The bit about the candles is a very, very old ceremony. People would write their prayers in blood and have a priestess burn them on a candle made with a strand of their hair woven into the wick. If Bethsevah was a priestess performing this ritual, she would have been an early member of the order. Before the Insynthian Age.”

“That would narrow things down significantly.” Rhysand nodded in approval. “I’ll reach out to Lucien, see if he’ll be able to find anything out for us.”

You pulled a sheef of paper out from your pockets and Helion’s pen. You scribbled down a note to him about what you’d discovered and within five minutes the words were racing south to the Day Court.

“How on earth do you know this?” Mor asked incredulously, looking at you with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.

“I’m a Librarian.” She looked unimpressed by that statement. “I had a religious phase.” You smoothed your thumb over your necklace, feeling for your mother’s seal — a flowering heather and fountain pen crossed over in an “x”.

“A religious phase?”

“Yes.”

She clicked her tongue, red lips turning up in a smirk. “You Day Court fae are certainly something.”

You blushed. “I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.” You went to grab the book, but Mor’s hand slapped down first, pinning it to the table and you with a stare.

“Nope. Work is for tomorrow,” Mor declared, eyes glittering with fondness. “Today, I want to see my city with my family.”

You tapped the book through your robes, counting the rhythmic swings against your hip like a metronome. One. Two. One. Two. One-

Cassian leaned down to whisper, “You’re doing great,” before waving to a male with ash-blonde hair standing beside an apple cart.

Pink ladies, honeycrisps, and ambrosias were piled high into luscious clouds. Two gestures and a flick of a coin through the air later and Cassian was shoving a small, flimsy basket in your hand. Roasted apples covered in burnt sugar and drizzled with caramel seeped into the wax paper.

One. Two. One. Two.

It was still too early for most of the Night Court, but the hustle and bustle in the Palace of Bone and Salt was unperturbed. Now was the time for the owners of small shops to haggle for prices without interfering with common business. The apple cart you just left had a new customer already — a wispy female with candy-floss hair lugging a basket on wheels capable of carrying three bushels for the bakery two streets over.

“Would you like some?” You held the food up to Azriel, but he only stumbled over a crack cobblestone street before shaking his head no.

He was being awfully quiet today. Quieter than usual.

Maybe he’s sick? You thought to yourself. He hadn’t eaten lunch either, but maybe that was just because he disliked the sandwiches you’d made. Or maybe it was because of a certain blond-haired female who kept giving him side glances with questions eating at her from the inside out.

“Come on,” you encouraged, nudging his shoulder. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Azriel looked at the apple slice you held out for him like it was a personal torture.

Cassian grinned and slung his arm over your shoulders, peeling you away from Azriel’s side to his relief. The weight was a comfort coming from him and you felt that thrill in your stomach whenever any member of the Inner Circle touched you.

“Azriel won’t starve. I promise, Y/n.”

Nyx thought he might starve. He was a growing boy, and had a stomach to match. He tapped your elbow and you wordlessly passed over the basket to him, but not before snatching a piece for yourself. The sugar crackled, then melted over your tongue, the sharpness from the apple cutting through caramel in a burst of tartness.

“How is Helion doing by the way?” Mor dropped the question casually. “Rhys says you know him well.”

You blinked at her. What did she care about Helion? “I’ve worked on a few projects for him before this one. And he’s doing as well as he can be, I suppose. Things aren’t exactly perfect in the Day Court right now.”

“Ah, Helion,” Mor breathed out, almost wistfully, “He was one of the few good males I ever slept with.”

You choked on your food, sputtering and coughing for long enough that Cassian started to slap your back. You felt your bones shake with each blow.

So… Mor had slept with your father… figures.

Feyre looked at you with concern. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” you said meekly. You shoved more food in your mouth before anyone could ask any further questions.

Azriel felt that familiar pool of jealousy bubble in his stomach at the mention of Helion. You kept rubbing that necklace of yours, Helion’s seal displayed prominently like he’d personally stamped you as his.

He allowed himself to get close enough to brush against your shoulder and a few of his shadows creeped onto your body, weaving themselves into your hair. You looked up at him and smiled.

“You’re in a good mood today.” Azriel’s hazel eyes were brighter in the morning light, flecks of green poking through the amber. “You’re smiling.”

And what didn’t you have to be smiling about? You were finally exploring Velaris. Mor, Cassian, and Nyx had touched you, albeit through the fabric of your robes, and you hadn’t been overwhelmed. And you’d finally been able to take knowledge from the book.

It had been a pinch of information as potent as saltwater. You had gotten a name, and names held power.

Azriel’s eyes glimmered with quiet delight.

“I’m just happy,” you said. “I think things are getting better, with—” You glanced down at where your arms swung side by side and you reached out a finger, allowing it to gently brush against the scars at the top of his left hand. You curled your fingers around his for the briefest moment before letting go. “And… you know.” You shrugged.

Azriel stopped walking abruptly and everyone turned to stare at him. The Shadowsinger was strung taughter than an Illyrian bow.

Mor raised her brow in open appraisal. There was a flash of something like shock in her eyes and then she was buried in Emerie’s hair, whispering something into the female’s rounded ears that had her dark carved eyebrows flying up to her hairline.

“Az?” Rhys asked cheekily, “Everything alright?”

Cassian chuckled and even Nesta smirked.

Last year he was giving Elain and Gwyn the bedroom eyes, and now he short-circuits because Y/n brushes her hand against his? I don’t believe what I’m seeing, Cass.

Some females like their males a little pathetic and lovesick.

You would know.

Cassian chuckled, looping his arm around her waist and burying his lips in her hair. He twirled the face framing pieces between his fingers like he always did, and Nesta tried not to think about how she’d first started leaving them out after meeting the Lord of Bloodshed. It would seem she had once been a pathetic and lovesick fool herself.

I love it when you tease, Nes.

Maybe she still was. Nesta couldn’t help but lean into his touch.

They do make a good couple. She admitted and Cassian was in agreement.

Feyre was thinking the same thing as you twisted towards him, hand still outstretched like there was a string tying your fingers to his. You couldn’t help but want to drift towards him as surely as gravity makes rain fall to the earth.

Does she know? Mor grasped Rhysand’s arm, eyes wide and staring. Does she know they’re mates?

Not yet.

Mor groaned. Are you fucking kidding me?

I wish I was.

Damn you, Azriel.

Azriel shook his head and forced his body to move forward. The world had stopped when you touched him, and it was only just starting to pick up again.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

Nyx munched on his apple slice, staring at you both curiously before following after his mother and father.

“Did you hear something?” You stayed by his side, no longer interested in the aromas fluttering in the air from the bakery, the soup shop with its stone vats bubbling in the back, the smokehouse with its slabs of bacon crackling on grease. “From your shadows?”

“No. Why did you think that?”

“You had a look in your eye, like you weren’t quite there for a second. My mother used to say that I looked like that sometimes when using my powers. Like for a moment I was untethered from the earth and at risk of floating away.”

Azriel saved that piece of information, storing it away in his mind next to the knowledge that you had always wanted a dustbear for a pet because they were such simple, mindless creatures and you never felt overcome in their presence.

“I do feel that way at times.” He waited until your little troupe passed by the spice shops. The particles in the air always made Cassian sneeze. “But not now.”

Everyone dipped into a paisley blue building, the bell ringing with a soft clang to announce their presence.

“Right now I feel… settled.”

You grinned at him brighter than the sun, moon, and stars combined. “Good.”

You followed after the others, and while your back was turned, Mor took her opportunity. She clawed the back of Azriel’s leathers, hauling him down the alleyway before anyone could notice.

Azriel’s eyes blew open in surprise when Mor shoved him up against the wall hard enough for a rain of petals to fall over their heads from the second floor balcony. It would have been romantic if it weren’t for the incredulous look in Mor’s eyes and the fact that Azriel was still caught up in your smile and the feeling of your skin against his. Gods he wished you were the one pressing him against this wall. He couldn’t stop thinking about that hug in Rhysand’s office. He wanted to feel the softness of your body against him once more.

“You idiot!” Mor slapped him across the face and it shocked him back to the present. “Why didn’t you tell me you found your mate?” She hissed.

Azriel looked frantically back to the street, half expecting you to be standing there with your inquisitive eyes. It was still a jolt to his system whenever anyone used that word: mate. Equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. It was such a fragile word, and the others tossed it around so dangerously.

“I didn’t—” Azriel stammered. Mor and Emerie’s arrival this morning had been unexpected for everyone except Rhysand and Feyre. “There wasn’t time.” “So?! You should’ve made time.” Mor stepped away, letting the Shadowsinger back down onto his feet. He had the good sense to look sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck while Mor tossed her waist length hair over her shoulder. Her cheeks were flushed pink, tanned and freckled from her time on the Continent.

Azriel felt that familiar coil of guilt building in his stomach and he tried to remember the apology he’d been preparing for this exact moment when he and Mor would be alone.

He cleared his throat and bowed his head to the ground in a picture of reverent apology. “Mor, about what I said—”

She crashed into him again, arms looping around his neck and squeezing him so tightly he felt his ribs crack. And she was… laughing?

“You have a mate!” She giggled through happy tears, bouncing on her feet. Her heels clicked against the granite tiles. “My best friend finally has a mate!”

She kept repeating it over and over again, like she couldn’t quite believe it herself.

“Mor, please. Keep it down.” They were attracting attention and Azriel wordlessly summoned his shadows to hide them from view.

Mor finally let him go, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m sorry I just—” She squealed.

Azriel let out a long, heavy sigh. This was closer to the reaction he should have had when Mor and Emerie announced their engagement. Instead he’d gone cold and silent.

He should have known Mor preferred females, and maybe he had known all along that Mor could never love him the way he’d once loved her. But he’d done what he always did when it came to love and ran forward with a blindfold on, hoping his aim was true but never bothering to check.

Mor furrowed her brows. “Are you upset by this? Why do you look like that?”

“What?” Azriel hissed like the question physically hurt him. “No. No! I’m not upset, I’m—” He clenched his fists and said in a small voice, “I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.” He took a deep breath and winced, “And I’m thinking that you must have felt similarly when you got together with Emerie, and that I royally fucked up by reacting the way that I did.”

He could picture it clear as day — Mor’s radiant smile slipping off her face, left hand dropping behind her back to hide the glittering ruby, the tears that gathered in her eyes when all Azriel did was remain stiff as stone before dropping off the balcony at her engagement party.

Mor hesitated then tucked her honey-gold waves behind her ears like she did whenever she was uncomfortable. “I should have told you sooner.” Azriel knew she was referring to more than just her relationship with Emerie. “I knew you loved me and I let you believe for so long that there might be a chance I could return those feelings. But I was scared because… because I wanted to know there would always be someone waiting for me if…” She pressed her hands over her stomach. The nails may have disappeared from her body without a trace, but they’d been hammered elsewhere in her soul and she hadn’t managed to take them out just yet. “It was wrong of me to use you like that. To keep you waiting for so long.”

Azriel rubbed her shoulders. “I think you gave me more than a few hints that it wouldn’t work out. Chief among them, Cassian.” Mor’s gaze dropped to her feet, but all Azriel did was press a gentle kiss to the crown of her forehead. “I still love you, Mor, and I always will. It’s just a different kind of love now. I’m happy for you and Emerie. Truly.”

“Yeah?” She looked up hopefully.

Azriel nodded. He pulled Mor close, wrapping his wings around her to block out the sounds of bartering happening in the square. They stayed like that for a long while, until the shadows on the wall had dropped another inch.

Mor sniffled and pushed him away. “Ok, enough of this now.” She carefully brushed away at the corner of her eyes, “You’re ruining my makeup.”

Azriel’s shoulders shook with silent laughter, and Mor noted how it seemed to come easier to him now.

The whole day you’d felt that something was amiss, but it wasn’t until a flustered artisan carrying bolts of spider silk fabric crashed into you that you realized what it was.

You stumbled into Azriel’s sturdy arms, feeling the strength and power beneath his leathers as he propped you up against his side.

“So sorry, miss. Please forgive me.” The artisan blubbered. His cat eyes glowed a pale orange as they flickered over you from head to toe, “Can’t see with this.” He lifted the bolt. There was something about his gaze that unsettled you, like he was searching for something. Like he was hungry. Or scared.

“It’s alright.” You adjusted your clothes, tucked the book behind your back so it was pressed up against Azriel’s hip.

That look in his eyes disappeared and he huffed in relief before continuing down the cobblestone streets, too much in a hurry to notice the Shadowsinger glaring at him.

“Are you ok?” He let you find your footing, keeping his hand at the small of your back.

You stared at the male’s retreating form. “He didn’t… he didn’t bow to you. To any of you.” You blinked at Feyre and Rhysand.

She wore no crown, no jewelry except the ring on her finger and the diamonds in her ears, but the male must have known he was in the presence of his High Lady. And there was no mistaking Rhysand and his brothers.

“Like Azriel said when you first arrived here, we take the casual approach.” Feyre said, and as if to make the point, Nyx shoved his hands in his pockets, tilting his head to the side in a manner so like Rhys that Azriel and Cassian burst out laughing. Rhys looked down fondly and brushed back his hair.

Feyre drifted to your side, watching with amusement as Nyx disappeared into the forest of color that was the Palace of Thread and Jewels. Every inch of fabric was too precious to be wasted, and so the weavers collected the scraps and tied them together, end to end, until they became one long chain. They hung from the entrances of shops, from the arches criss-crossing overhead, and from hand-painted signs. They wrapped around doorways and caught on the shoulders of passerbys, whispering of the time and effort spent crafting them.

Nyx weaved in and out of these strands, chased by Cassian and Azriel as they pretended to be tricked by the little boy’s lithe footsteps. You gasped as he turned invisible, then reappeared four inches to his left, jabbing at Azriel’s side before disappearing again.

“He can wrap light around himself as much as he can weave darkness,” Feyre explained, staying close to your side, “I think he might have gotten some remnant of the Day Court’s power from me. It made him an absolute nightmare for about three years when he couldn’t control it. Can you imagine having a toddler waddling around and wreaking havoc that you can’t even see?”

Nesta let out a sharp breath of laughter. “I think that’s an experience unique to you, Fey.”

You had to agree. You’d never turned invisible as a child, although you had to admit it would have been a very useful power to inherit from your father.

“Gotcha! You little rascal!” Cassian said triumphantly.

You heard Nyx shriek with laughter. Cassian and Azriel both had one arm raised above their heads and with a little shake the boy came back into view, dangling upside down from his ankles.

“Don’t break the boy, Cass.”

“I won’t break him, Rhys. Gotta let him grow old enough to beat all those bastards at Windhaven, don’t I?”

Rhys and Feyre’s smiles slipped ever so slightly.

Nyx was lowered to the ground. He kept his arms out and balanced on his hands for a brief moment before walking over onto his feet with a flourish.

“Gwyn taught me that last week. She’s part river nymph. Very flexible.” He brushed invisible dirt from his shirt and continued on, leading the way towards the Sidra like he owned the place — which in some respects he did.

<- Previous Chapter Next Chapter ->

______________

Author's Note:

Just another little chapter with more slowburn antics between Y/n and Azriel! And! Mor and Emerie are here! I am slowly but surely collecting characters like pokemon cards because you know I want to have my favorites in Velaris when shit starts to go down...

#azriel x reader #azriel x reader slowburn #azriel x y/n #azriel x you #azriel shadowsinger #the shadowsinger and the inkbird #acotar fanfiction #acotar #azriel angst #azriel spymaster

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caplanbuckybarnes · 3 months ago

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Lucky You (Bruce Wayne)

Summary: you stay awake worried about bruce after you return home fro ma gala in the city

Warnings: a smidge of angst

WC: 790ish

Read on Ao3!

The Gotham skyline loomed outside the grand windows of Wayne Manor, the night cloaking the city in a blanket of darkness. You stood in the study, absently tracing the contours of a glass of red wine, your mind swirling with thoughts. It had been a long day, filled with charity events and high-society mingling, but none of it mattered when Bruce was absent.

You sighed, glancing at the clock. It was well past midnight, and you knew he was out there, fighting crime as the city’s protector. As much as you admired his dedication, the worry gnawed at you. You felt a pull between wanting him safe and wanting him to be true to himself.

The heavy door creaked open, and there he was—Bruce, looking every bit the dark knight. His suit was rumpled, and a shadow of fatigue lingered under his eyes. The moment he stepped inside, the air shifted. You felt a mix of relief and frustration, all coiling inside you.

“Late night?” you asked, trying to keep your tone light.

“Just the usual,” he replied, his voice low and gravelly. He ran a hand through his hair, and you could see the weariness etched in his features. “What about you? Did you manage to stay awake during the gala?”

You chuckled, though it felt strained. “Barely. But I was thinking about you—again.”

He stepped closer, the warmth radiating off him wrapping around you like a familiar embrace. “You shouldn’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”

“I know you can,” you said, your voice softening. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry. Every time you leave this house, I fear I might not see you again.”

His gaze softened, and for a moment, the walls he had built around himself seemed to crack. “I do this to protect you, to protect everyone. You know that.”

“And I appreciate it,” you said, stepping closer to him, your heart racing. “But I need you to know that I’m not just some delicate flower waiting for you to save me. I’m here, Bruce. I’m part of this too. I am yours just as much as you are mine.”

He looked down at you, the weight of your words hanging in the air. You could see the conflict in his eyes, the struggle between the man he was and the one he felt he had to be.

“Being with me is dangerous,” he murmured, his brow furrowing. “I’ve lost people I care about before. I can’t let that happen again.”

“Being with you is a choice I make every day,” you replied firmly, your resolve strengthening. “I don’t want to live in fear of what could happen. I want to face it with you. You can’t push me away just because of what you’ve lost.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but you reached up, placing a finger over his lips. “You’re not alone in this, Bruce. You never have to be. I understand the risks, but I’m willing to take them because I love you.”

For a heartbeat, the air between you was charged with unspoken emotions. Then, slowly, he took your hand, his thumb brushing over your knuckles. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not easy,” you admitted, your voice trembling slightly. “But nothing worth fighting for ever is. You need to let me in—let us be a team. We’re stronger together.”

He held your gaze, searching for sincerity in your eyes. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, but I’m scared of what I could lose.”

“Then let me show you that love can be a strength, not a weakness,” you urged, feeling the warmth of his hand wrap around yours. “We can support each other through the darkness.”

He stepped closer, closing the distance between you, his eyes locked onto yours. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Then stop pushing me away,” you whispered, your heart racing. “I want to fight by your side, Bruce. Let me be there for you.”

In that moment, the tension broke, and he pulled you into his arms, enveloping you in warmth and safety. “I don’t deserve you,” he murmured against your hair.

You tightened your grip around him, feeling the weight of the world lift slightly. “You do. We both do.”

As you stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the chaos of Gotham faded into the background. In the darkness of the night, you found solace in the promise you shared: you were bound together, not just by love but by the understanding that you would face the shadows as one.

And for the first time in a long while, Bruce felt the flicker of hope ignite within him—a promise that together, you could weather any storm.

#bruce wayne x reader #bruce wayne x you #bruce wayne x y/n #bruce wayne x fem!reader #bruce wayne fanfiction #bruce wayne #batman #dc comics #batfamily #batfam #ben affleck x reader

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gyucheolslut · 1 year ago

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just be • kmg

lower case intended.

cw/tw: mentions of reader being sad, mentions of reader hurting because of said sadness.. other than that? none :) just pure comfort

genre: fluff, hurt&comfort

not proof read!

wc: 634 :) a little one

a/n: it’s been a very very rough week.. all i want to do is crawl into bed and cry.. so.. here you go.. for anyone feeling the same, i hope this can bring you a little comfort. it’s okay to just.. be. it’s okay to just exist. i love you.

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

“do you want to talk about it?” mingyu speaks softly, cautiously putting weight on the bed with just his knee, behind your sniffling frame.

you shake your head no, using your sweater covered hand to wipe your nose and tears, curling more into yourself and the blanket around you.

“that’s okay..” mingyu hums understandingly, playing with the edge of the blanket. “is it okay if i lay here with you?” he questions, tilting his head as he watches you closely, reading you, trying to understand what you want and need.

you let out a broken sigh, breathing through your mouth since your nose was stuffed up from crying for so hard for so long, you peer over your shoulder at him and mingyu swears he feels his heart breaking.

your eyes are puffy, red and tired. after making eye contact with him for a moment, you look away, hiding your face in your hands. “ugh..” you cry out “don’t look at me, i look gross! you’re not supposed to see me like this! you have to go away.”

mingyu stifles his laughter, shaking his head in admiration. it feels good to hear you talk. you’ve been communicating for the past hour with nods and shakes of your head. although your voice is raspy and laced with sadness; it’s music to his ears.

“baby..” he experimentally starts to shift himself underneath the blanket next to you, smiling with content when you don’t stop him or shuffle away from him.

mingyu takes his spot behind you, slotting his body against yours like a missing puzzle piece. fitting perfectly as he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close to his chest, embracing you in his comforting warmth and scent.

“first, you look beautiful” he starts, cutting you off before you can reply “and second, i want to see you like this… i want to be there for you in moments like this… just like i’d want you to be there for me, like you’d want to be there for me..” he says, nudging his nose into your hair, fingers tracing soft and delicate shapes into the exposed skin of your tummy.

“i want to be there for every moment, good and bad… you don’t have to go through this alone, you know?” he hums into your ear, placing a soft kiss on it before moving to kiss your temple and cheek. you turn to face him, and he opens his arm so you can comfortably do so.

you look up at him, tears filling your eyes as you search his. “it hurts..” you whisper.. “i hate feeling like this.” tears escape your eyes, and mingyu is quick to catch and wipe them away with the pads of his thumbs, pressing a comforting kiss to your forehead.

“i know sweetheart.. i know…” he pulls your head to his chest and plays with your hair, the sound of his heart beat and soft, slow breathing entering your ears, comforting you and grounding you, almost like white noise would.

mingyu pulls you back, cupping your face in both of his hands,

“but i’m here.. i’m always here.. and you don’t always have to be happy.. you always have someone to lean on, okay? we will get through this. whatever this is. we will get through it.” he stares into your eyes lovingly as he speaks, brushing your tears away. “you take as much time as you need, we can just lay here forever… we don’t have to talk.. we can just.. be.” he nods, “okay?”

you sniffle, crying out as you nod and bury your face into his neck, gripping his tshirt and pulling him as close to you as humanly possible.

mingyu traces up and down your back, underneath the fabric of your shirt as he holds you. letting you just exist in the comfort of his hold.

#i want him to hold me so incredibly bad i think it would solve all my issues #svt x reader #seventeen x reader #kim mingyu x reader #mingyu x reader #svt soft hours #svt soft thoughts #svt comfort #mingyu soft hours #mingyu soft thoughts #mingyu fluff #kim mingyu fluff #kim mingyu soft hours #kim mingyu soft thoughts

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lordprettyflackotara · 6 months ago

Text

Chapter Twelve || Hitchhiker || The Proxies

tw: SMUT MINORS DNI 18+. foursome but like not actually?? brian and tim are some shameless munchs.

<— previous chapter

You shot up from your slumber, heart pounding in your chest. A yelp escaped your lips from the sudden action, your hand flying to your stitches. You felt a set of hands grab your shoulders, causing you to jump. “Slow down princess. Breathe, it’s okay. We’re right here,” Tim cooed. You took deep breaths, trying your hardest not to hyperventilate. Looking down, Brian was still curled up in between your thighs, fast asleep.

Toby had stirred only slightly, cuddling your arm. “Nightmare huh?” Tim asked. You nodded affirmatively, trying to calm your heart rate. “You’re gonna get a lot of those. It’s important to remember that none of it is real,” He told you. You nodded in agreement, thunder rumbling outside of the cabin. “It just felt so real. Like he was directly talking to me,” You panted. Tim rubbed your back soothingly, trying to help calm you down. “Thats how he gets in your head. Trust me, I know,” Tim explained. You ran your fingers through your hair, sighing. It was then Brian began to roll over, his eyes lazily opening.

“Everything alright?” He asked softly. You felt bad, guilt eating at you at the sight of him waking up. There was no telling what time it was. Before you could word vomit an answer, Tim intervened. “Nightmare. You know how those go,” He answered. Brian peered up at you curiously between your thighs, the only thing between him and your cunt being a pair of oversized pants and your panties. “Oh I see. You’re having trouble relaxing, aren’t you baby?” Brian purred. You could feel your face flush with embarrassment. He reached over, shaking Toby awake.

“Wake up Toby, our girl needs some help getting back to sleep.”

As if he was under a magical spell, the brunette suddenly came to life. "As much as I want to, I don't know if I can," You say, the thought of the three of them having their way with you making your core throb. Brian toyed with the hem of your waistband, his eyes meeting yours. "We don't want the favor returned, isn't that right boys? We just want our girl nice and comfortable," He cooed. You swallowed, glancing over at Tim. "Can we do that for you princess? Take your mind off of things?" He asked softly. His fingertips grazed your jawline, your breath hitching as he brushed some stray hairs behind your ear. He didn't trust himself alone with you. What if Masky overpowered him? Hurt you midway through?

But with Brian and Toby there he wouldn't lose control.

"B-but I can't return the favor," You say nervously, biting your bottom lip. Toby grinned, running his fingers down your spine. "We d-don't want anything i-in return. Other than t-t-to see you crumble for us," Toby smirked. The thought of the three of them worshipping you made you wetter than you would've liked to admit. "Okay, um, how do we do this?" You asked meekly. The boys gently rearranged you, Toby sitting behind you. He pulled your back to his chest, his cold hands slipping under your shirt. He helped you pull it over your head, grinning at the sight of your exposed breast. "No bra? Interesting choice," Toby mused. His smile only grew wider at the sight of your nipples becoming perky under the cold night airs touch.

Tim and Brian on the other hand had made their way in between your thighs, after helping you strip down to nothing. You felt self conscious of your wound, your fingertips tracing the stitches. It was Brian who gently leaned forward, placing the softest kisses to the healing wound. He maintained eye contact with you, your core aching with desire. Tim spread open your folds, admiring your cunt. "Looks delicious, doesn't see Brian?" Tim asked, his eyes becoming hooded with lust. You wanted to question how they were going to go about this, both of them quite comfortable and unmoving from between your thighs. Brian felt mesmerized, your slick so wet for them he could see it shine in the dim moonlight. "Such a pretty pussy," Brian praised. He leaned forward first, licking a teasingly slow stripe up your folds.

You let out a quiet groan, Toby's fingers making their way to your nipples. He prodded and toyed with them as he pleased, your head falling back on his shoulder. Tim soon joined Brian, the two of them lapping at your cunt like starved men. You couldn't contain the mewls that escaped your lips, one of Toby's hands settling on your throat. He didn't apply pressure, relishing in the feeling of your throat vibrating from your moans. "Such a pathetic whore, letting two men eat you out at once," Toby snickered. He guided you to tilt your head, your lips meeting his. Your hands flew down to Tim and Brian's hair, gripping at their locs as they devoured your pussy.

Having one man eat you out was one thing, but two? Their tongues were all over your cunt, devouring each inch and ensuring you could feel them. Brian sucked at your clit while Tim teased your entrance with his tongue, your hips grinding themselves on their faces shamelessly. Toby eagerly swallowed your moans, his tongue sliding across your lower lip. You accepted it instantly, your tongues fighting one another for dominance. You moaned Tim's name into his mouth, the brunette chuckling into your cunt. It was then Brian brought his fingers to your entrance, while Tim's tongue swirled around your clit. "Such a desperate little thing. So drenched for us. You're gonna soak the sheets darling," Brian grinned devilishly. He enjoyed watching your mouth drop into the shape of an O as he shoved two fingers inside of you.

"Whatta good girl, taking Brian's fingers like the greedy slut you are," Tim praised. You met his gaze, his lips attaching themselves to your clit, he sucked at your clit as Brian curled his fingers inside of you. Both of the boys strong hands secured your thighs open, forcing you to accept the pleasure they wanted to give you. Toby tenderly squeezed your neck, swallowing your curses and sinful noises with glee. You could feel his rock hard cock against your back, the brunette fighting the urge to hump you. You mewled as Brian’s fingers began to go faster, abusing your g spot as they pleased.

Your back went to curl off of the bed, Toby’s other arm stopping you. “Nuh uh p-pretty girl. Gotta stay right here. You’ll h-h-hurt yourself,” He purred. You whined as you yanked at the boys hair, unable to control the sinful noises that left your lips. Toby tilted your neck to the side, placing sloppy open mouth kisses to your skin. You whined as you felt yourself getting closer to the edge, your body addicted to the pleasure the boys gave you. “Awe someone wants to cum don’t they? It’s a little soon for that, don’t you think?” Brian asked mockingly. You whined as his tongue met Tim’s at your clit, the two lapping at the sensitive bud like they were dying of thirst. Throwing your head back, you felt Toby nibble at your neck.

“Go on then. Cum on their tongues, such a beautiful desperate w-whore,” Toby purred. His breath was hot against your skin, his hands wondering back to your breast. You looked down, both boys looking up at you with pupils blown with lust. Their tongues were relentless, while Brian’s fingers continued to abuse your g spot. “Fuck!” You mewled, creaming on Brian’s fingers. Your vision went white, your vision hazy as a cocky Tim and Brian emerged from your cunt. The smirks on their faces were priceless, Tim’s soft lips placing kisses on your thighs.

“Feel better princess?”

With a fucked out grin you couldn’t help but answer, “Absolutely.”

“You cant drink! What about your stitches?” Tim questioned. The one thing you hadn’t considered up until this point was the unavoidable: downtime. Being stuck in a cabin in the middle of the woods? Doesn’t exactly produce a lot of fun activities. “If anything i’d imagine it would help with the pain,” You argued. Nova had convinced EJ to take her to the store, his food stock not up to her higher standards. She was happy as could be as she came through the front door, arms loaded with brown grocery bags. You went to help, Nova doing a quick circle to avoid you.

“Nuh uh. We got it,” She said. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure EJ was following her. He carried four bags with ease, each of them loaded to the top with groceries. You narrowed your eyes, leaning towards Brian. “Is something going on with those two?” You whispered. Brian’s bored gaze didn’t stray from the weather channel on the television. “Fuck if I know,” He mumbled. You joined Nova and EJ in the kitchen, helping them put the groceries on the counter. “After some firm consideration I have decided I will be taking y/n up on her offer,” Nova announced. She pulled out a bottle of pink vodka, holding it high.

“There has to be a better way for you two to spend your girls night,” Tim tried to argue. You took the bottle from Nova, grinning happily. Finally, some fucking excitement. “Relax we’ll be within the confines of the cabin. Besides, I haven’t gotten any time alone with her since you three came along,” She debated. Tim crossed his arms, looking over at EJ. “This is safe for her, right?” He questioned. The tall demon shrugged. “As long as she doesn’t drink herself sick she’ll be fine. Her restrictions are physical. Sitting down and drinking doesn’t require a lot of physical activity,” EJ said. Tim refrained from groaning. Why was looking after you so difficult? Toby was laying upside down on the couch, Brian sitting beside him.

“Do you guys not have any thoughts on this?” Tim asked. Brian blinked lazily, his gaze finally straying away from the ancient box known as a television. “At least someone gets to have fun around here. They should go for it,” He informed his partner. Tim sighed, looking at Toby, “Kid?”

Toby seemed quite comfortable, despite hanging his head off of the couch. “The m-minute I can actually f-f-feel the blood rushing to my brain-n-n i’ll worry,” He replied. Tim felt like a parent with a handful of misfit children. “Fine, but stay in the cabin alright? Last thing we need is someone plucking you two into the woods,” He ordered. You rolled your eyes, standing on your tippy toes to give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks Tim,” You giggled, grabbing Nova and heading off down the hallway. You followed her up the stairs, into a room you hadn’t been in before. Inside were walls filled to the brim with bookcases, some of which looked like they had been there for ages.

A large bed took up most of the space, the realization clicking in your head. “I don’t think we should drink in EJ’s room, he’s already been nice enough to let us stay here,” You say. Nova walked closer towards a gap in between the bookshelves. “Relax, we’re not drinking in here. Follow me,” She told you. She pulled down a ladder, extending it to the floor. You watched as she climbed the ladder, pink vodka still in hand. You knew it wasn’t the wisest idea to be climbing onto ladders with your stitches, but you’d be damned if you’d be forced into another minute of boredom. You followed her slowly, ensuring your foot hit each peg of the ladder. You were surprised to see the hatch led to the roof, Nova already seated and comfortable.

“You want us to drink on the roof, isn’t that unsafe?” You questioned. Nova raised her eyebrows. “We’re on the run from a giant demon who looks like a pincushion and you’re worried about being on a roof?” She teased. She unscrewed the cap of the vodka, flicking it aside. “I thought you were all adventurous now since you’ve met your hitchhikers,” She continued. You curiously finished climbing the ladder, awkwardly crawling over to her. For someone as uptight and routinely as Nova, her careless behavior intrigued you more than the liquor. You sat beside her, tucking your knees to your chest.

“Alright out with it, what happened?” You asked. The Operator’s influence was supposed to make her act odd, you knew that. After all, it was very clear he considered her a problem and he wanted that problem taken care of. But no one mentioned anything about her acting so… spunky. The cool evening breeze blew past the two of you, her hair moving to the other side of her neck. That’s when you saw it, a raw explanation. “Holy shit! Is that a goddamn hickey?” You gasped. Sure enough, a purple bruise was forming on the right side of her neck. Nova’s eyes widened in realization as you slowly connected the dots. “Keep your voice down!” She hissed, giggling as she took a swig of the vodka.

You took the bottle from her, needing a shot yourself. The liquor burned your throat just right, the warmth spreading down to your stomach. “You gave me so much shit for loving three hitchhikers but you let a literal demon fuck you?” You asked. Nova shook her head, watching as you downed another gulp of the venomous liquid. “Was a one night thing, don’t get it twisted,” She clarified. She gave you a mischievous grin, leaning back on her palms. “Besides, the walls in this cabin are thin. I can’t believe you had a foursome while recovering from being stabbed,” Nova chuckled. You felt heat rush to your cheeks, your face flushing red.

“It wasn’t a technical foursome, we just uh, did some things,” You say, stumbling across your words. Nova giggles as she took back the bottle, taking another drink. “It’s crazy you ended up with all three of them. Honestly I always thought we’d end up together,” She admitted. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe you were mishearing things. “Wait what?” You asked. Nova tucked some hair behind her ears, forcing herself to chug more of the raw liquor. “Oh cmon, you really haven’t noticed?” She asked. You furrowed your eyebrows, remembering how oddly affectionate Nova had been since you had met the boys. The hand holding, the hugs, the affection. She hadn’t been that way before.

“Oh shit dude, I had no idea,” You answered. You thought back to Tim. Didnt he mention something about this? “It’s whatever, really, besides, I don’t think anyone can handle me besides Jack,” Nova continued. You raised your eyebrows, absolutely dumbfounded. The very last thing Nova ever did, was mention a man so fondly. “Alright give me that. Now tell me all about your night with him,” You say, taking a swig of the bottle. Of course, the privacy that you believed you had was nice. But truthfully, you both didn’t have any at all. Even though Toby and EJ were entertaining themselves, Masky and Hoodie were on high alert. Hoodie in particular, found your conversation or ‘girl talk’ to be highly entertaining.

It beat Brian’s mindless zoning out while watching TV. He listened with intent, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets. Listening invasively to a private conversation wasn’t the worst thing Hoodie had done and he most certainly would not feel bad about it. So he stood under the small overhang, listening to the steamy and unfortunately unforgettable details of Nova’s long night with Jack. It wasn’t long before Masky rounded the corner, signaling Hoodie to follow him. Hoodie quickly trailed behind him, the sound of your laughter fading away as the two went to the other side of the cabin. “Having fun listening to your podcast?” Masky asking teasingly. Hoodie rolled his eyes, his annoyance concealed under his mask.

“I was until you interrupted, what’s the problem?”

Masky crouched down, picking something up off of the ground.

“This is.”

In between his gloved fingers with a singular blade, the metal shiny but splattered with fresh crimson blood. The blade itself would’ve been unremarkable, if it wasn’t for its shape. Its shape was one that Hoodie would never forget, one that had been embedded in his mind.

“Jesus Christ. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

Hoodie sighed, gazing up at the sky before forcing himself to look at the bloody blade curved into the deadly shape of a cat claw.

—> next chapter

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longlivedelusion · 5 months ago

Text

Absolute Beginners

[poly!Wolfstar x Reader]

A/N: Well, I made a self-indulgent drabble for my first wolfstar fic cause I had a rough day and needed it remedied via delusion. This is for my chronic fatigue fam who might not have the support they need. And yet they have things to do, like get a car or else they won't be able to get to work. 😬👍 So this is me rewriting a frustrating irl situation into a loving one! Hope you enjoy.

Song: Absolute Beginners by David Bowie

Warnings: none I think. Just fluff. Enjoy!

+++

"I'm so exhausted," I say as I walk into living room, bag barely hanging onto my shoulder as I drag myself to Remus. I flop down next to him on the couch, his arm instinctively reaching around me.

"I can imagine. You had a long day yesterday, sweetheart. Did the extra rest this morning help at all?" His hand reaches up to my head, gently petting me as if he were soothing an animal.

I nod slightly. "Yeah. Still feel like shite though. Not sure I have the energy to do all this."

"I know, but you have Sirius and I to help. You just need to be there to make sure you like the car, and we'll handle the rest ok?"

"Wish it didn't have to be today," I mumble. "M'hurt."

From the other end of the apartment, Sirius' voice booms across the otherwise quiet apartment. "Sorry, sorry. I'm ready, just got caught up with- oh what's this?" His eyes fall on my slouched against Remus, his eyes furrowing.

"They're still exhausted." Remus says quietly, hand softly moving against my hair.

"Baby-" Sirius' eyes soften, walking over in an instant as he kneels down beside the couch. "Was I too loud today? Did I keep you up?" He says, gently reaching up for my hand.

I hold his hand back, my grip loose around his. "No Pads, just think I need more time to rest up is all. And wish we didn't have to go out today of all days." The end coming out in a grumble.

"Is there no way to reschedule?" Sirius looks up at Remus.

He shakes his head, "I already tried to think, but we've already put it off enough. The day's coming up soon. But don't worry we'll take care of everything, alright darling?" Remus says as his hand moves down to cup my face.

I give a little nod and Sirius's face furrows even more. I hear him sigh as he goes to press a soft kiss to my knuckles. "Well, I'm more than happy to be the conversationalist today. Or your own personal pillow whenever you need." He says, his usual grin splaying across his face.

I smile, tiredly. "Thanks. I just hope we have everything, I wanted to ask so many questions but I-"

Remus chimes in, "I already have them written out. I also pulled some research together the other day to find all we need to look over for the car. One of us will even test drive it for you if you want, so you can just sit in the back seat and see if you like it or not while we handle the more technical things." He presses a kiss to my forehead. "We've got it all covered, don't worry."

I sigh, my shoulders sagging in relief. "Thank you two. I really really wish I wasn't so tired or foggy today of all days."

"That's what we're here for," Sirius says as his hands trace over my palm. "We help each other when we need it. You help Remus every month by making sure he's loved and cared during his transition, you help me when I have my... Moments. And we help you when you're exhausted or overwhelmed. It all works out!"

I look between my two boys, heart so full of gratitude. I'd never had someone to support me like this, to be so understanding and willing to help me when most would tell me to just push through. When I've had to just push through or cancel. Yet... I don't have to do this. Not alone at least. Because of their support. Their love.

Tears start to well up in my eyes as Sirius's widen. "Oh! No, no I didn't mean to make you cry baby."

Remus tilts my chin up so he can see my face better, softening as he notices the water pooling beneath my lashes. "Is it really too much? We can cancel, we can always find another way if it's too much for today." He gently wipes the tears away.

"No," I start, eyes downcast to hide my embarrassment. "I just... I'm still not used to being supported like this. I had to struggle on my own for so long that I- I don't believe you both are real sometimes."

I hear a soft whine from below as Sirius moves up behind my on the couch and wraps pulls my back to him, now sandwiching me between him and Remus.

"We're real, we're here." Remus whispers. His hand running softly across my arm now.

"And there's no way we're letting you do this alone anymore. Nope. You're stuck with us." I could hear Sirius' smirk, his arms wrapping tightly around.

"Exactly. And we wouldn't have it any other way."

I pull Remus to me, his arm resting over Sirius' shoulder now as I hug them both to me. "I love you two, you know that?" My voice comes out breathy.

"And we love you. So much." Remus says, eyes never leaving my face.

"As long as we're together," Sirius starts to sing a familiar melody, ever for the dramatics. Remus looks up to his boyfriend and rolls his eyes, the smile on his face showing he knew where this was going.

"The rest can go to hell." I feel Sirius lean down and whisper in my ear, making me chuckle.

"I absolutely love you." His fingers brushing past my hair. Remus is just as mesmerized, quietly listening.

"But we're absolute beginners."

"Kinda feels like it sometimes," I say.

"But if my love is your love," He sings with a softness now, turning my face toward him. His eyes deeply holding mine, mesmerizing.

"We're certain to succeed."

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oriley42 · 1 month ago

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Serious question but no need to answer if you don’t want to

I see a lot of talk about Amber’s portrayal being sexist in the show, but I’m not quite sure why? To me her motives always seemed really well-defined (high pressure = “I’m only worthy when I’m successful”) so she puts on this sharky mask with a feminine facade so she is feminine enough to get a certain amount of approval but never shows how much she cares (which could be used against her but also could be used to undermine her “oh you’re too soft”). I thought the show did an excellent job of showing a mask for her

But a lot of people talk about 00s sexism and how it impacts her characterization. The sexism… Is it that she gets called a cutthroat bitch? Or how her story revolves around a man after she leaves House’s team? Is it the fridging?

Any of those could be it I guess but it just sounds like you and others are talking about something a little more fundamental to her personhood so I thought I’d ask if I’m missing anything.

Very interesting question! I think you're getting at exactly the trickiness of the issue, which is that sexism always operates systemically. It's not that any key aspect of Amber's character "is" misogynist, it's that every aspect of her character is automatically filtered through a lens of sexism.

In today's world where "bitch" has been very de-clawed, turned into a more casual and way less gendered insult that's used without cruel intention in queer slang, I think it's hard to understand just how violent the term was--and was meant to be--in the aughts. House in canon is not calling Amber a bitch in a cute, almost self-deprecating, friendly way (though I think it's valid to re-write it that way in fic to defuse the term!). He is calling her a bitch to contain and belittle and dehumanize her. We see the term mobilized this way against Cuddy in 5 to 9 as well: calling a woman a bitch was an extremely powerful rhetorical tool to turn any dangerously competent, brilliant, threateningly accomplished woman back into a harmless, debased, controllable object. So, "CB" reflects how easily the fact that Amber is the "female House" gets turned against her--it doesn't mean she's an eccentric genius like him, it means she's an evil copycat who needs to be put down. And this kind of structural logic applies to her whole characterization--it doesn't matter that House does it all more frequently and worse, if she does it, it's unacceptable because she's a woman. (There are parallels here with how racism means that when Foreman acts like House, he also gets the axe instead of the narrative bending over backwards to make what he did alright.) That's why she was fired, after all!

And her death. Woof. Classic case of killing a woman for man-pain. Everything supposedly about her death is actually about how her violent destruction can be used to fuel Wilson and House's character arcs. The narrative is occasionally conscious of this, for example, Wilson saying "none of you even liked Amber" is an almost metatextual reminder of how cruelly she was disenfranchised in every way (including the sexism of her trying to "defect" to the men's team early on, having no female friends, because unlike House who has so many people orbiting him, she is truly alone). Comparing her death to Kutner's is instructive: Kutner gets a whole episode that's about characters desperately trying to know him better. They trace their relationships towards him. Amber, on the other hand, is nearly absent from her own death. The characters trace away from her and towards the way male characters feel (Wilson's loss, House's guilt). Amber becomes just an imagined figure of House's guilt. Even her ghost is not her own. (Though I think many fans do a more feminist read and reclaim the way she haunts the narrative--but imho that would be a negotiated if not fully oppositional reading, to use Stuart Hall's decoding/encoding terms.)

One easy way to see that gendered difference is in how the show refers to these characters after death. Kutner is always "Kutner," never just "House's dead fellow" or rarely "our dead colleague." Amber is often referred to as "Wilson's dead girlfriend." Kutner is his own person, Amber rhetorically gets reduced to an object belonging to a man.

In conclusion: sexism operates structurally, which can make it hard to identify! And one of the funny effects of contemporary fandom doing so much good work to un-fridge women and give marginalized female characters richer personalities and more chances to grow is that canon's intended message of sexism gets obscured. Which, is awesome? Keep up the good work! Let's make misogyny unintelligible 🎉

#house md #amber volakis #meta #asks #it's media studies Saturday with oriley!

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chaos-in-deepspace · 6 months ago

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L&DS Xavier: Midnight Snack | Drabble

Aaaaah the second done of my 10 minute drabbles. Honestly I ended up writing seven of these so I might just like...do this regularly with the boys. Maybe not write all seven drabbles in a day but just doing writing sprints for them and dedicating a week on my blog per boy? Eh we shall see. Anyway, enjoy Xavie Baby.

Pairing: Xavier x Reader Warning: None Disclaimer: This is an original fan work for “Love and Deepspace”. Do not repost on other platforms or plagiarize. All characters shown in this fic is 18+.

Blog Information | Masterlist

Xavier

Not being able to sleep through the entire night was annoying no matter what. Waking up suddenly to an empty bed and stomach was probably the worst feeling you knew. You reached out in the dark, feeling at the area where Xavier should’ve been, and finding nothing in turn. The bed was still warm though, traces of him left.

Then your stomach growled and you let out a pathetic whimper. You had let Xavier cook dinner for once after he had all but begged and he wanted to try something new out. Little did you know that something new would result in a stomach retching concoction. Here you thought the man was getting better at cooking.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to get something to snack on. Xavier wasn’t there to cling onto you and keep you in bed so you simply swung your legs over the side of the bed and got up, grabbing a blanket to toss over your shoulders as you shimmied your way into the kitchen.

The moonlight was the only light source you had to work with as you avoided bumping into walls, eventually reaching your kitchen with probably only one or two new bruises along the way. Then you heard it, his voice, calling your name.

You were still half asleep when you let out an affirmative hum, “Xav?” you murmured tiredly as you looked to see Xavier’s frame being illuminated by the fridge’s light. He looked a bit surprised to see you as he slowly stood up from his crouching position.

“What are you doing out of bed?” His voice also sounded a bit groggy. You heard a growl and this time it wasn’t from you. You couldn’t help but let out a small snicker at the situation at hand.

“Same as you, I got hungry.” You comment as you waddle over to the wall and search for the lights. Once you flicked it on you flinched from the sudden intrusion but soon you got used to it. Xavier was shirtless, standing in only his long night pants and holding what seemed to be an apple.

“Oh…I guess neither of us ate enough for dinner.” He said and you nodded, going over and grabbing the apple from his hand. Before he could protest you took a large bite out of it, chewing slowly before realizing this wasn’t what you wanted. You handed the bitten apple back to Xavier and turned to the cabinets.

“Maybe next time if you want to experiment, only do it with one dish and leave the others alone?” You said as you thought of something nice and simple to make. You grabbed some bread from the pantry and went over to grab a handful of other things. A bit of cinnamon, sugar, and butter was slathered onto four pieces of bread as Xavier looked over.

“What are you making?” He finally asked and you hummed, opening the toaster oven and putting them inside.

“Something sweet.” You said happily, “Don’t worry, two of those slices are for you. Now can you pour some glasses of milk?” you asked him.

Xavier didn’t question further, going to grab the milk and pouring some glasses. You went over back to the pantry and grabbed some vanilla extract and put some into the liquid, smiling happily.

“Isn’t this going to be too sweet?” he finally asked, wrapping his arms around your waist and pulling you close.

“Nothing is too sweet for a midnight snack. It’s either you go sweet or savory, and I wanted sweet tonight.” You said and you could feel his lips pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“I think maybe next time we’ll go savory, after all you’re already too sweet.” He said, making you flush.

“Oh the flatterer.” You murmured. You heard the toaster oven going off and went over, carefully putting the toast onto a plate. Xavier didn't bother waiting for it to cool, going over and biting a chunk of the hot toast.

You watched as he fanned his mouth from the heat and laughed. “You gotta let it cool, babes.” you said as you blew on your own and bite into it.

“It’s good…” Xavier finally concluded, sipping on his milk and nodding, “So is the drink.”

“I know, this used to be my go to as a kid you know.” You said then turned to him, “Whenever I woke up at night I’d make this then go back to sleep.”

Xavier had already polished off a piece of toast when he turned towards you, “Is that so…then perhaps we should do this more often…”

“Keep cooking toxic waste and we will.” You said and walked over to him, placing your hands on his chest, “Not that I mind the extra time spent with you.” your hand now threaded in his hair. Xavier bent down, leaving a soft and sugary kiss on your lips.

“Then I’ll cook dinner again tomorrow night?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Words can't describe how tired I am today lol. I almost went to bed and forgot to post this.

#loveanddeepspace #love and deepspace #Xavier Love and Deepspace #Lnds #Lnds Xavier #lnds x reader #x reader #reader insert #xavier x reader #l&ds #l&ds xavier #l&ds xavier x reader #lads x reader #lads xavier #lads xavier x reader

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etoileee · 5 months ago

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ICEBREAKER, with s’mores, of course. ₁

⤷ a percy jackson dr shifting experience!

ac; for some background context this happened after our first meeting! (that post is now up as well if you’re curious about that awkward ass first meeting with the hero’s of olympus ugh) its the way this is 1k words and theres still gonna be a part two HELP

I’m feeling a little bit awkward to say the very least. I walk behind the other nine members of this so-called ‘prophecy’. none of them saying a word to each other. a few of them seemingly communicating silently through their eyes.

we reach a small fire pit, logs are circling it meant for the campers to sit on, but nobody does.

awkward silence falls upon us, I look away from them and look to the west seeing the yellow, orange and pink sunset sky. my eyes squint slightly due to the brightness.

I look back to the rest of them and my eyes widen, all of their gazes on me.

After a few moments of some of the most awkward silence I've probably ever experienced in my sixteen years on this earth, the repair boy speaks, “You look tired,” his eyes study my face as if tracing my features.

I laugh softly and bring my palm to my eye, pressing down on it gently “That’s because I am” I say sitting down on one of the logs. the rest of the follow suit. “I’ll go get the stuff to make s’mores!” the girl with curly hair shoots up from the log happily speeds off and disappears into one of the buildings.

“Leo, can you light this up please?” four eyes ask walking over to get the roasting sticks off of a wooden bench nearby.

I don’t know what the hell I expected to happen, actually, i do, I thought whoever the hell Leo was maybe put firewood in the pit and fire starting liquid on it and light it up with a match or however you make a fire.

so imagine my surprise when the repair boy stands up and shoots fire out his hand straight into the pit.

my eyes widen and a gasp leaves my lips moving back out of instinct of surprise and fear, making me almost fall off the log before catching myself.

my breathing comes in and out of my lungs in quick paints and my widened eyes look around quickly to the rest of them, seeming to find my reaction humorous.

“Why are you guys acting like that was normal!?” my voice came out louder than I had intended it to. unable to contain their amusement, they burst out laughing, the tall east asian boy clapping his hands as he laughs.

“It’s normal in our world, princess” repair boy, ‘Leo’ chuckles and sits back down on the log looking into my eyes. wanting to see my reaction, but I can’t tell if it’s to see how I react to the fact that it’s normal for him to shoot fire out of his hands or the fact that he called me ‘princess’.

I stare at him for a few seconds and my hand comes up to the front of my hair in an attempt to press my bangs down onto my forehead, a nervous habit of mine before looking away from him and looking at the fire he created.

A grin slowly creeps onto Leo’s lips, clearly pleased with the reaction he got out of me.

Asshole.

“Leave her alone, Leo,” the pretty girl with choppy brown hair rolls her eyes at him getting a roasting stick. Leo puts his hands up in a playful surrender, “I’m not doing nothin’!” he plays innocent with doe eyes trying to fight back a smirk.

“Sorry about him, he’s annoying,” she says, handing me a roasting stick as well, sitting between me and the tall blonde boy with frames.

I like her.

“Hey—!” He opens his mouth to protest but only makes it so far till the girl who went to get the s’more ingredients comes running back with a big smile on her face. “I’m back!” she says excitedly and puts the stuff on the small wooden table not too far from the fire pit.

we crowd around the small table, grabbing the jumbo-sized marshmallows and sticking them on the pointy roasting sticks and sticking them in the fire.

I swallow a bit watching my marshmallow in the fire, trying to gather the courage to strike up a conversation with the rest of the teenagers. the people pleaser in me wants them all to like and be their friend desperately. as embarrassing as it is.

I chew on the inside of my cheek before finally speaking, trying to not immediately regret it once I do.

“What's your guys’ names?”

Leo’s eyes meet mine, the fire underneath him lighting his face orange, accentuating the sharp contours of his face. “Leo,” he says simply.

Obvi dummy, I heard.

“Leo what?” I say looking into his eyes as well, refusing to look away having a sneaky feeling he wants me to look away first.

He smiles softly looking down at me, but not the fuck boy smile I expected. it seemed genuine. “Valdez. Leo Valdez.” he looks back down at his marshmallow, turning the stick to make sure all sides are roasted to perfection.

Okay... I judged him too quickly.

My heartbeat quickened a bit hearing his last name, realizing he is also a Latino, and feeling glad that there’s some familiarity and common ground between the both of us.

Well, it was kinda obvious.. his dark curls, dark eyes, tan skin, his name being ‘Leo’. but I didn't wanna assume and embarrass myself.

“Where are you from, Leo Valdez?” I smile mischievously, finding it fun to use his full name when addressing him. He grins, his dark brown eyes have a glint of amusement in them.

“M’from Austin, Texas,” He smiles at me again “but my family is from Mexico” he adds, bringing his sticks with the on-fire marshmallows away from the pit and to his mouth to blow the fire out.

I get even more excited hearing that he’s Mexican as well, just like me.

Usually, I wouldn’t be this excited about seeing another Mexican in the wild. we’re everywhere. I don’t know why but I didn't think that there would be another Mexican here with me at camp half blood. because I don’t exactly think of a Mexican when I think of a demigod.

But here we both are.

I bite back a smile, trying to not show how excited I am, but it fails miserably. “What part of Mexico?” At this point, there is a full-blown smile on my face, which is humiliating but right now I'm just happy that me and someone else here are from the same place.

He laughs running his finger through his dark curls “Tabasco” Leo answers moving the roasting stick from his right hand to his left. his right hand going behind him undoing the buckles on his tool belt and taking it off. putting it on the bench behind him.

“Y hablas?” I tease watching him put the belt on the log “obvio, quien crees soy?” he giving me playful sass putting his free hand on his hip.

”Y tú de dónde eres?” He asks before I feel my roasting stick be taken out of my hand making me look over to whoever took it from me, seeing the Asian guy blow out my burning marshmallows for me.

I like him. He's like a gentle giant.

“thank you” I smile at him and he returns it before I turn my attention back to Leo.

“Yo soy nacida aquí, pero mi familia es de veracruz” I turn the base of the roasting stick between my thumb, middle, and pointer finger to examine all sides of my now burnt marshmallow.

thank god— sorry— THE gods (apparently) that big guy noticed my burning marshmallow. it probably would’ve turned into ash and blown away in the wind if he didn't.

Just when I'm about to answer the pretty girl who called Leo annoying earlier speaks up

“I thought you wanted to know all our names?” she teases, narrowing her eyes at me taking a bite out of her s’more.

my eyes widen in embarrassment.

I just spent who knows how long talking to this idiot and forgot that I asked the rest of them what their names were as well.

“Sorry,” my hand goes to flatten my bangs out once more, “I’m a little bit talkative,” I laugh awkwardly. “A little?” Ocean Eyes teases with his mouth full of marshmallows, gram crackers and chocolate earning a smack on the back of his head from the blonde girl next to him.

“Well, I’m Piper by the way,” she tells me with a warm smile, making my ears burn a little bit, making me try to casually take my hair out from behind my ears to hide them. hoping nobody noticed them probably turning pink.

“I’m Jason Grace” The tall blonde boy stands and extends his hand out for me to shake with a smile on his face.

I smile back and nod attentively, taking his hand in mine and shaking it. His grip on my hand is gentle. Like he’s afraid to hurt me.

He has big ass hands.

they’re soft too.

I’m brought out of my thoughts by the sound of Piper's voice ”We’re saying first and last names?” She looks at Jason. Jason just shrugs “Leo said his first and last name” and he lets my hand go gently.

“I’m Hazel Levesque,” she says with a friendly smile and a small wave, eating a small piece of chocolate.

“Frank Zhang” he raised his hand towards me in acknowledgment.

I’m just now realizing he didn’t eat a single s’more.

” Annabeth Chase” her arms are crossed over her chest.

“Reyna,” the girl with the braided hair says and leaves it at that. I don’t know if she likes me very much.

“I’m Percy Jackson,”

I look down to see who the voice belongs to, it is Ocean Eyes.

“And his name,” he points to the cool emo boy “is Nico Di Angelo,”

I and Nico’s eyes meet. It feels like he can see right through me. I smile softly, not knowing what else to do. his eyes flicker from my eyes down to my lips and just nods in acknowledgment.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” I say quietly nodding back.

“And you?” Percy nods towards me “What's your name?” I feel nervous all of a sudden, feeling all their gazes on me. my hand once again makes its way up to flatten my bags over my eyebrows.

“Cītlalli. Cītlalli O’hara” I say sitting back down with my s’more in hand.

“okay say that one more time but slower,” Jason says, leaning closer to me and resting his elbows on his knees. I laugh softly and nod “Cīt-la-lli,” I say slower for him, his eyes focusing on the way my mouth moves saying my name. the rest of them are also paying attention to how my name is said.

“Cītlalli?” He says my name hesitantly, not wanting to mess up the pronunciation of it, pushing his glasses up his nose. “That’s Nahuatl right?” Leo asks, finishing up his s’more. rubbing his fingers against the material of his shirt in an attempt to get the sticky marshmallow off him.

I nod in response to him.

“What’s Nahuatl?” Percy tilts his head slightly with one of his eyebrows raised. “It’s a native language from Mexico,” I say with a small nod and smile. Piper perks up a bit hearing this, “what does your name mean?” she leans in a bit closer in anticipation.

“star. it means star,” I tell her a bit shyly, looking down at the ground.

“How fitting,” Percy jokes, “Since you’re the daughter of the night and all.”

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fancyfeathers · 6 months ago

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And Then There Were None

(Yandere William James Moriarty x Author!Reader)

Based on this post

TW//serial killing, panic attacks, slight gore if you squint, smoking, usage of drugs(smoking), kidnapping, implied isolation, heavy guilt, heavy depression

And Then There Were None (Yandere William James Moriarty /w Author Darling Masterlist)

Six months, you spent six months, a half a year, in America, New York City specifically, writing and getting inspiration for your next novel. You did not go alone of course, you made the trip with a friend of yours, Alex Pendel, an American novelist who grew up in Manhattan. You stayed with their family during your trip and you certainly learned a thing or two from the very family who runs New York in the palm of their hand, but that all is besides the point now, because now you are home.

Alex took your hand, helping you as you could pick up the skirt of your dress, as you stepped off the walkway that led from the ship to the dock. You noticed as you disembarked the strange looks Alex got from the people all around, you suppose that the suit she wore would certainly draw eyes, you had gotten so used to her family back in America and they were used to her more masculine sense in fashion, her mother even telling you with a fond tone how much Alex looked like her father. But here in London where no one truly feared her or her family that look was bound to draw stares. You also clocked that your luggage was nowhere to be seen as you disembarked which would make anyone else raise an eyebrow but to the two of you, this was just how any other trip would come to its end.

“You wanna bet how many of them came?” Alex asked as you began making your way down the dock, your heeled boots and her slacks making a sharp and dull clicking sound from each of you both as you walked together, arms interlocked. “I bet Réne and Charlotte will be there, I think Evelyn had that family reunion this week.”

“No that was last week, Charlotte I think is up in York, it is her younger brother’s birthday today.” You remarked after Alex’s comment which drew a hum from her as she released your arm to grab a cigarette from her suit jacket pocket.

Réne Drew, Charlotte Basset, and Evelyn Jay, along with Alex Pendel, they all were your best friends. You were all members of a small writer’s club you formed, there were a few other members as well but you all were the founders, you all made the payments for the building in Mayfair, hired the staff, and sent out the invitations to any promising authors, journalists, and poets who may be willing to join your club and they began to pour in. Evelyn and Réne were the ones who were at the club the most out of all of you.

Réne lived a few blocks away in a flat he began renting after moving to London from Marseille, a port city in France. Hisfamily was old money French family who based their fortune in the wine and alcohol industry, but his elder brother was set to inherit everything, so off to England he went, attending Oxford before settling in London and beginning his writing career and becoming a bestselling author know for his works that silently shatter the illusion of humanity in a poignant way by holding a mirror up to us and saying: look at what we truly are, and look at what we pretend to be.

Evelyn was a young heiress from an old money family as well, but one from here in London, titleless, and she was the youngest member of the club as far as age goes, only eighteen when you all founded the club. She is a seemingly innocent and sweet young lady but the human mind can be a very dark place. She often asks, when you all are at the club, questions that truly terrify you, for example…

“Would hunting another person still be considered hunting an animal because humans are a form of animals?”

“If you were being burnt alive would the smoke or flames kill you first?”

“I think there is a murderer in my neighborhood, I keep on seeing traces of blood by the park… Do you think they are burying their victims there?”

She always had the sweetest smile and is honestly quite kind, if not a bit creepy.

Then lastly there was Lady Charlotte Basset, the eldest child and heiress of a noble family, she has more money than she knows what to do with. She moved to London to find direction with her life but instead found strange happiness in her family’s estate there, so she wrote about it and it sold in the blink of an eye. When not at her desk or at the writer’s club, she is often seen taking you all out on the town to spoil you bunch or out with one of her brothers, gambling and drinking. She often takes Evelyn to visit haunted sites all around London so she can get inspiration for her books and scare off suitors with the gossip of the seances she holds in her own estate, which may or may not be true.

“(Name)! Alex!” A high pitched voice called out to you two as you neared the end of the large pier. You looked to where the pier met the land and spotted a young lady with light brown hair and a long yellow dress that lacked any corset and was quite old, no doubt a gift from her grandmother from when she was a girl in the regency era. But that young lady was indeed familiar to the two of you, Evelyn Jay.

She ran over to the two of you, wrapping her arms around Alex first, which was returned with a hesitant hug and sheepish smile from the New Yorker, similar to how an older sister would greet their younger sibling when their friends were watching. Evelyn quickly broke away to greet you, hugging you slightly less tighter than how she hugged Alex. “Oh I missed you two so much! So much has happened! Réne went to Moscow to meet with a publisher and translated there to see if his next novel could be published in Russia first since it takes place there- oh and Charlotte got to meet the queen on her father’s birthday in the spring, and she said Charlotte looked absolutely radiant and-“

“Evelyn!” Alex cut her off with a wide smile across her face as she set a hand on the young lady’s shoulder in an attempt to pry her off of you. “We just got back, give us time to breathe, you can tell us all about what happened later.”

“I know it is just so good to see the both of you.” She spoke in a rush as she slipped her upper limbs away from your torso and then she took a breath and sigh, finally calming down as she looked over the both of you, her gloved hands folding in front of her. “It is… it is just so good to see you, both of you.”

There was something lingering in her voice, something that did not feel quite right but you just summed it up to perhaps your absence over the half a year.

Evelyn led you both to the carriage that she arrived in, and indeed your luggage was being packed up on the back and top of it. While the carriage driver was working on packing up your belongings, you spotted a man in a blue and brown plaid vest with a matching blue tie, his brown hair and eyes matched the brown on his vest while the gold glasses he wore that matched the gold buttons on his shirt and vest. He had a cigarette between his lips and fingers much like Alex did, and this was another familiar face, Réne Drew. He spotted the three of you and waves with one hand while the other pulled the cigarette from his lips.

“I saw Evelyn run off to look for the two of you, I would have gone with her but I just do not have the same energy she has, not with the nights of sleep I have been getting at least.” The French author spoke as a greeting as the two of you approached within ten feet of the carriage. He opened his free hand and arm to you, embracing you in a small hug for a moment, but not Alex since he knows she is not the affectionate type, with the exception of Evelyn that is. “It is so wonderful to see the both of you, truly it is.”

Something was off in his tone as well, now that was strange, Evelyn was one thing, but both Evelyn and Réne, that was how you knew something was wrong.

You glanced over at Alex and you saw a glance that was exchanged with you, silently signaling that she picked up on what you noticed as well.

“Réne, are you alright?” You questioned your friend as he broke away from the hug and he did not make eye contact with you for a long moment, only bugging his cigarette up to his lips to take a long draw from it. “Réne-“

“Sir… and ladies.” You heard the carriage driver call out to you all, hesitating for a moment as he was about to say ma’am but seeing as there were now three women he was addressing he changed his choice of word. “Everything is packed up.”

“Lovely.” Réne responded as he turned to face the carriage driver for a brief moment before looking back at you and Alex. “Let’s… we can discuss this in the carriage.”

Réne helped Evelyn into the carriage first, then attempted to help Alex who simply slapped his hand away and stepped in herself saying. “Réne, do you need help getting in a carriage? The answer is no and neither do I.”

Then Réne reached out to help you in the carriage-

Suddenly you were knocked over as a gentleman walked past you, the heel of your shoe getting caught in between the bricks that formed the pavement below you. You hit the ground, no doubt dirtying your dress that Alex’s mother got for you in America.

“Oh dear, are you alright Miss?” You hear the voice of the man who knocked you over as he reached out a hand to help you up, his voice smooth and calm if not a little worried in your distress. You looked up at him, he was a young man with blond hair and scarlet red eyes, he was dressed in fine clothes, a brown suit and red tie to be specific.

“Yes, I am, just a little fall is nothing to worry about.” You responded as you took his gloved hand with your own as he helped you up, pulling you to your feet. Behind him you saw another gentleman who looked quite similar only the other wore glasses and had a scar that hid itself behind his hair. You looked back to him and smiled, giving him a little nod in gratitude and you extended your hand to him, more socializing was a habit you picked up in America. “Thank you for helping me up.”

“It was the least I could do since I was the one who knocked you over.” He took your hand in his own, giving it a firm shake and squeeze. “I am Professor James Moriarty, it is a pleasure to meet a lady as polite as you, Miss...”

“Oh (Name).” You watched as his smile turned into an expression of slight shock. “Is something wrong, Professor Moriarty?”

“Not at all, I am just a fan of your work that is all.” He responded, shaking his expression away with a slightly embarrassed chuckle and smile.

“Well that is certainly a nice thing to hear after my trip home, I am glad you enjoy my work, Professor.” After your comment you heard Réne clear his throat, reminding you that everyone was waiting on you. You glanced back at your friend before looking back at the professor and giving him one last smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Professor Moriarty.”

“You as well.” He responded as you gave him a small wave goodbye as you turned back Réne who had his arm outstretched to help you into the carriage.

You stepped up into the carriage, swinging yourself over into the corner next to Evelyn that faced away from where the carriage was headed. Alex and Réne sat across from you, Réne nearest to you and Alex nearest to Evelyn. You felt the carriage begin to move, most likely off to your home first since you lived closest to the docks, though close would be an understatement, but that was besides the point. As you finally pulled away from the docks as a whole, Alex was the first to speak up.

“So what has you two all fussed? I thought you bunch were supposed to be happy we are home.” Her comment and tone would have normally drew smiles from you bunch but instead worried glances were exchanged between Réne and Evelyn, the silence was louder than anything else in this moment.

“Guys, what is wrong? You are starting to scare me.” You questioned, your own tone turning serious and grim as you looked between Evelyn and Réne who were tucked into their own separate corners of the carriage.

“While you both were gone something happened, at first no one thought much of it, that is until something like it happened again a few months later, about a week ago.” He began to explain, his hands nervously fidgeting with the pocket watch chain that was connected to his vest. “We thought about writing to you both when the first one happened but chalked it up to a coincidence but then the second one happened and you were already aboard the ship by then and thought it best to wait until you were back here to tell you-“

“Tell us what, Réne?” You questioned, drawing a brief silence from the French author again and his words were picked up by Evelyn.

“Well you know your novels, the one with a blinding snowstorm and a homicidal maniac and then the other one where the little girl poisoned her grandfather with eserine?” Evelyn asked you which you responded with a scoff.

“Of course I do, I wrote them.” You watched as Réne reached into his satchel he brought with him and pulled out two newspapers, one was slightly worn and older than the other, a few months if you had to guess. Your eyebrows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and your heart began to pound as he handed them to you.

Then your heart stopped as you saw the headlines.

“Serial Killer in the Blizzard; multiple found dead.”

“Earl of Kent found poisoned with eserine.”

Your lips fell agape as you stared at the papers in your hands, you were so far away from reality in your shock that you did not even notice Alex snatching them out of your hands and begin reading over the paper herself. You must have been in shock for a few minutes because when you came to, Evelyn was rubbing your shoulders and Alex was swearing up a storm and Réne was trying to get her to calm down.

“The deaths were all nobility, but they mimicked your books.” Evelyn commented as she helped you sit up straight from how you sat slouched in your seat.

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” Alex snapped back at the young lady across from her.

“Think about it, think about all the major murders over the last few years, who has been killing the nobles of the nation or their aliases at least?” Réne asked and she fell to silence once again, minus the barely audible swears slipping from her lips, leaving you to piece together everything in your already distressed and confused mind.

“…the… the Lord of Crime.” Your words were breathy and uneven as you spoke your response but Réne nodded, his expression as grim as it has been since you stepped into the carriage.

“We… No one knows his motive behind choosing your books, but Scotland Yard has ruled you out from being a suspect since you were in America when the initial incidents took place, but they still have no clear suspects yet.” Réne continued on, your shaking form barely piecing together what he was saying. “We thought maybe you coming back to England would bring an end to them… but now thinking about that now it just sounds silly.”

“I… this can’t be true…”

The carriage was drawn to silence after you said those words, confirming that this indeed was reality.

—————————

You stood at the train station a suitcase packed that you carried, you were going to go visit your mother for a few weeks in your hometown, tell her about your time in America and all the parties you went to and things you saw in one of the most amazing cities in the world, but more importantly to find comfort after you heard about those murders and perhaps receive a bit of guidance on what to do.

“You have your ticket, right?” Little Evelyn asks as she bushed out the wrinkles in your coat as the train pulled up to the station. She had accompanied you to the station to say goodbye, but in reality your friends have not left you by yourself unless you were home since you found out about the murders of the Lord of Crime, it has been Almost three weeks now.

“Yes and I will be fine, Evelyn.” You replied to her worry with a smile which she gave a little huff to as the doors of the train opened up and made your head turn. You gave a glance back to Evelyn and she, like always, threw her arms around you and squeezed you tight, like she was afraid you would disappear into dust if she let go.

“Just be careful alright?” She spoke as she buried her face into your neck, muffling her voice slightly, to which you hummed in acknowledgement in response to her. She finally let go of you, her hands coming to rest on your lower upper arm, near your elbow. Her gaze flicked between you and the ground, as if she was scared to meet your gaze. “I will miss you.”

“I will only be gone a few weeks, it is not like I am going back to America.” You teased her which drew a wide smile across her face.

“I suppose that is true, just… be careful, please?”

“You already asked me that.”

“You already said that, but I will be.” You responded as you switched hands that your suitcase was in so that you could grab your ticket with your dominant hand and so that Evelyn would let go of you fully. “I’ll tell my mother that you said hello.”

“Please do- and oh ask her for the toffee she makes, I have been craving it since the holidays.” She added on, cutting herself off as soon as she remembered your mother’s cooking.

“I will.” There was a brief moment of silence between the two of you again that was broken with the whistle of the train blowing, telling you that you needed to board the train or be left behind. You turned your body but your head faced Evelynas you began to walk away. “Well I will see you in two weeks, Evelyn. We can have tea at the club when I get back.”

“That sounds lovely.”

You stepped up into the train proper as it began to move, almost catching you off guard which made you laugh slightly at your own stupidity. You began looking through the compartment, finding one that was free for your use, or in other words empty. Eventually you found one and got settled, setting your suitcase next to you for a brief moment while you pulled out a book to read, an American novel you bought during your time in the states, before you closed your suitcase and set it on the racks above you.

Time slowly drifted by as you made your way through the book, it was good, but time spent reading for you had just gotten short and shorter for you the sharper your mind got, so now the hours you spent as a child reading your favorite books from the library had turned into half an hour if that. You huffed a sigh as you closed the book and set it on your lap, but you slipped your index finger between the pages to save your spot, after all you are not some psychopath. You gazed out the window as the city of London faded into the countryside of England, it felt so quiet which was both strange and welcome since you really have not had a moment of silence since you were back in your hometown before leaving for America six months ago.

“Excuse me, would you mind if we joined you?” A voice from the hall asked, which silently told you that you must have left the door opened. You turned your head, ready to politely dismiss whoever was asking but-

“Oh Professor Moriarty, correct?” Your words escaped your mouth before you could even think about what you were saying, your sight and mouth working faster than your brain could process. Indeed the man from a few weeks prior at the docks was before you on the train, along with the other blonde man who you did not speak to at the docks and a brown haired man with the greenest eyes accompanying them.

“Miss (Name), I did not even realize it was you, what a pleasant surprise to see you again.” You gave William the same smile he gave you and silently gestured for the three of them to come into the compartment, after all the company could do you some good to take your mind off of things. William sat next to you and the other two gentlemen sat across from you both. William gestured to the both of them, specifically the one with brown hair first and then the blonde. “These are my brothers, Louis and Albert.”

“A pleasure to meet you both, my name is (Name). William and I met briefly at the docks in London when I was just arriving home from a trip to New York City.” You explained, though the explanation was more for Albert rather than Louis since you remember he was there despite him not saying away, but they both smiled in acknowledgement all the same. You glanced at William who was sitting next to you, and while your prior meeting was brief, he was the one you were most familiar with. “May I ask where you all are headed to?”

“I happen to teach mathematics at the university in Durham, but Albert is headed up there for business and Louis is managing our estate there.” He explained which drew a nod from his brothers. “And what about you?”

“Oh I am just visiting my mother and spending some time back in my hometown before heading back off into the world of editors and publishers.”

“You are from Alnwick, correct?” You heard Albert ask which caught you off guard and you nodded with a shocked expression on your face to his question which drew a laugh from him. “I just remembered William talking about one of your books and one of them taking place in the Alnwick Garden since that is your hometown.”

“Oh good, for a second I thought I had a stalker.” You laughed in relief which made everyone in the compartment break a smile at the very least, but then you suppose you do have a sort of stalker in the form of the Lord of Crime and that thought made your smile fade away. “But yes I am from Alnwick, but I moved to London when I started writing since my publisher and editor were located there and it was easier just walking to their office than having to take a whole long trip down there just to have an hour long meeting with them.”

“I suppose that does make sense.” William spoke with his own smile fading into a more relaxed expression. There was silence among you all once more for a minute or two before William chimed in again. “If I may ask another question, you just returned from America, I would think you would want to avoid travel for a time and stay in London to decompress and relax.”

“Well I just do not think I can relax there right now…” You answered, your gaze falling down to the book that sat in your lap with your finger wedged between its pages, your hands and palms especially growing a tad clammy. “…Since you are a fan of my books then I am sure you heard about what has happened with the Lord of Crime incidents involving two of them. My friends told me about it on the carriage ride back home and it has just been itching my mind in a way I do not like, so I decided some country air and family would do me some good.”

“I see….” It felt like William’s tone in voice changed slightly, growing darker, maybe drawing more into his thoughts for a moment, but only a moment. “Then I suppose it is a good thing to get away from all the commotion to recover from that shock.”

“I do hope so.”

You spent much of the train ride in silence, reading over the book you brought along with you, and then rereading it once you finished. Eventually the Moriarty brothers excused themselves to go to the dining car, they invited you but you rejected their offer since you would be having supper with your mother when you arrived in Alnwick and your mother would not you spoiling your appetite since she would certainly have company over to welcome your return, your grandparents who were still alive and your siblings if they were around. Besides, you wanted to look through your manuscripts and notes from America to see what you could use for your next novel since your stay in New York City was to force creation and inspiration and you certainly could not pull those out around William since you were told he was a fan of your work, spoiling something like your next novel would be cruel.

You read through your old writings and the scene of the city came flooding back to you. Honestly you wished you could go back now, forget about what has happened and just enjoy life, but now it feels like your lust for life has just vanished since Réne handed you those newspapers in the carriage when you and Alex returned home. You sighed, setting your papers, journal, and pen back on the seat and got up, a quick stretch and a trip to the washroom would do you some good. You slipped out from your and the Moriarty brother’s now empty compartment and into the hall. The train was fairly quiet this far into the trip you noted as you walked down the hall and looking around, one of the men in the compartments waving to you as you both made eye contact as you walked passed. The washroom was at the end of the cart while your compartment was at the front, you shut the washroom door after you and turned the lock so no one would walk in. You did not really need to use the bathroom, but you just really needed a change in scenery and a moment to freshen up, fixing your hair and running your hands over your dress to get the wrinkles out.

You smiled as you tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear, remembering a book you wrote a few years prior. It was on a train like this, an American tycoon was found murdered in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times with his door locked from the inside. The victim was actually inspired by one of Alex’s brothers who you met when he came to London to visit her and to attend to work affairs, whatever that may be, you learned not to ask questions when it came to her family and their family business.

You opened the washroom door before you stepped out into the hallway and began to walk back to your compartment. You thought back to your gardens in your hometown, that would be a good place to write if it was a clear day, write a few chapters of your book over the next few weeks before coming back down and handing it off to your editor which would give you some time to relax in London while he works on that, you could probably have time to meet with that new poet who had just become a member at your club while you away in America, they were from Germany to believed and-

Your thoughts were cut off as you stepped in what sounded like a puddle, that was strange, you were on a train, did someone spill their drink? No that could not be it, you were in the washroom for such a short time that they would probably still be here, trying to clean it up. You looked down at your boot covered foot to see what you had stepped in…

“What?”

That cannot be right, the puddle was a dark crimson red, like blood, how was that possible? Your eyes followed where the puddle was coming from, leaking out from a door to your right that you passed while walking to the washroom. You looked up into the glass of the door…

And the scream that ripped from your throat must have alerted the whole train.

Dead, the man you passed by earlier was dead…

No, that was not possible…

You could not have been in the washroom for more than five minutes…

But there he was, dead.

You did not even realize that the train staff was pushing you out of the way as they came running to the scene. They were also taken by their shock and had to hold back their screams as they could handle the situation. One of them stepped forward, and attempted to open the compartment door…

“It’s locked.”

Your eyes widened at that statement.

This couldn’t be-

“Get her back to her compartment, she needs to sit down.” The voice of one of them told another and you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder and guided you back to your compartment. The door opened and the Moriarty brothers were already back and to them you must look like you just met death, and in a way you did. You felt William’s hands come to take you by your forearms to guide you down to your seat next to him while Albert talked to the crewman, but you could not process what they were saying as Louis and William were checking to see if you were alright as far as your physical condition, but mentally…

You were a mess, pale faced, tears rolling down your face, hyperventilating, all things someone should be after seeing a dead body…

Especially a murder based on one of your books.

Stay safe, that is what Evelyn told you before you left, well you do not feel safe anymore.

—————————

It has been months since that incident and you find yourself back in your study back at your townhouse in London. Since then there has been an increase in the incidents based on your books, the last one that happened three days ago was the seventh, and honestly all of this was driving you a bit mad. You had shut yourself in your house most days, your maid running out to the market on your behalf and your assistant running errands to you and dropping chapters off at your editor’s office, the only time you really went out was when you went to the writer’s club, those four walls were a sanctuary for your troubled mind where you pull hear about the stories your friends wrote up or listen to the poetry readings from the other club members.

Your home on the other hand felt as if it grew a frightening aura, the place where you thought up of the tales and deaths in your stories that were an escape from reality became the source of actual deaths and mass murders. Your stories and tales became reality, not the fiction you intended to be.

As for the identity of the killer, no one has even a clue of who the Lord of Crime may be, not even any of your friends or yourself whose job was to write about mysteries and secrets. You all used to get your hands on old unsolved cases from Scotland Yard that were open to the public and solve them for fun as to get inspiration for your books, they were old and the culprit was long dead by the time you got your hands on the file, but this was something else entirely, this was an actual live and real threat.

It was late in the evening and you sat in an armchair in your drawing room, the evening’s newspaper in your lap and a cigarette in between the middle and index fingers of your right hand while a glass of red wine sat on the table next to you, it was an expensive vintage that Réne had gifted to you for your birthday. Across from you sat your friends, Lady Charlotte Basset in the other arm chair with a glass of wine herself along with Alex Pendel laying down your velvet sofa, her head propped up on the arm rest and a cigarette between her lips. Charlotte was a richly dressed woman, dark brown hair and green eyes that were only complemented by the emerald green dress she wore with her white fur shawl that you believed was mink fur. The two of them were going out to a music hall, a cabaret, later tonight but stopped here on the way to check up on you.

“You think this Lord of Crime likes the theater? Cause’ his crimes feel like one big act.” Alex said as she pulled the cigarette from her lips to speak and blow out a large puff of smoke into the air. “Think about it, it is suspected that he is behind the deaths on the Noahtic, and Réne was on it and he told me it literally ended up with them on the stage of the ballet, nearly scared some of the performers half to death apparently.”

“That is certainly one way to make a spectacle of your victims.” Charlotte added as she twirled the glass of red wine in her hand, but her eyes were fixed on nothing in particular, just gazing off as she loses herself in thought. “But you would need other people to assist with all of his little shows, as if the victim and killer are the cast then you would need the crew, the question is who are these allies to this so-called Lord of Crime?”

“Dunno, want me to write to my pop to ask him what he thinks.” Alex’s lips turned up in a teasing grin as she spoke those words. “Eh, but he’ll probably get pissed at the mention of what is happening to your books, I think my parents like you better than me.”

“As much as I love your family, I am not sure I want another crime lord to deal with in London.” You finally chimed in as you set your paper aside on the table next to you where your half finished glass of wine sat. “But honestly moving to America just sounds lovely right about now, do you think your parents will adopt me?”

“Probably.” Alex’s one word answer was responded with laughs from you and Charlotte. Then as silence settled in the drawing room there was a knock from the front door, your maid called out telling you that shade would get it, which allowed you all to continue your conversation. “But I am working on another rough draft for a book, but I am just stuck on the killer’s motive.”

“Oh, and what is your general idea?” Charlotte asked as you heard the sound of distant talking from the maid and your home’s visitor. “Are you going to write another novel with the notes from New York?”

“No actually, it is going to be about ten strangers who are invited to an isolated island by a mysterious host. And then they start to die one by one, leaving the remaining guests to realize that the killer is among them-“

“The problem with that is that the killer would unintentionally out themselves as such when they would be one of the people surviving.” An unfamiliar voice called out, butting in on your conversation. You all looked up to the doorway that led from the front entry into the drawing room and there stood next to your maid a young man, with messy dark hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail and eyes to match, he wore a simple button up and a black suit jacket and pants to match. “It’s just like how in that mass murder case six years back one of the survivors was the killer and they only found out years later when her son found her journal after she died.”

“Do… Do I know you?” You asked the stranger who had been let into your house and both Charlotte’s and Alex’s heads turned to look at him, Alex swung her legs over the edge of the couch so that she was sitting up straight in the presence of a stranger. The man walked up to you, walking past your friends present as if they did not exist and extended his hand to you to shake.

“The name is Holmes, Sherlock Holmes.” You noticed the glances of shock exchanged between Charlotte and Alex from where they sat. This was the famous detective of London, the best detective in the nation if not the world as a whole, and some of his cases did serve as inspiration for your novels. “You are the famous mystery author, Miss (Name), and if I had to guess your two friends are Alex Pendel, the American thriller novelist, based on her appearance on how she sits and the suit she is wearing was made and custom tailored by Catherine Donovan, I recognized it because my brother has suits made by her as well. Then your other friend is Charlotte Basset, another horror author, and she was by far the easiest to identify due to her father’s signet ring she wears on her thumb because it is too big for her ring finger.”

You watched as Alex began looking over her suit and the small brand initials that were embroidered on the cuff of her suit jacket and Charlotte looked down at the ring on her thumb which was indeed her father’s ring that he gave to her when she was a child because she kept on fidgeting with her hair and picking at her nails. You reached out to shake his hand, his rough calloused hands gripping your smaller gloved hands with a firm hold.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure of having the best detective in London in my home?” You asked as he released your hand, letting you sit back on your chair’s armrest. “Let me guess, it is because you found a scene in my book unrealistic like those detectives down at Scotland Yard.”

“Unrealistic, your work? Never, they just have never seen a murder scene like the ones in your books, like about a month ago I murder scene that reminded me a lot of one from one of your short stories, it was not linked to the Lord of Crime incidents as the culprit was of of the staff members but that is besides the point.” He grabbed the paper you had sat on the side table by your wine and pointed at the headline, it was about the murder of a duchess who had been abusing her staff and the crime was believed to be done by the Lord of Crime. “I would like you as my partner in solving this case.”

“Excuse me?” The words escaped your mouth in your state of surprise and you could see similar expressions on the faces of Alex and Charlotte. You pushed the hand that held the paper aside and the detective as a whole as you stood up from your seat. You walked across the room to where you fireplace stood, a small fire crackling in the hearth, above which on the mantle sat a collection of your books, custom hard back books that were bound by a book binder in your hometown who knew you as a child, a gift from the people who inspired you to write in the first place. “Mr. Holmes, I am a writer not a detective and I do not want to get more involved with this Lord of Crime mystery than I already am, it could destroy me.”

“But what if it doesn’t, you truly have nothing left to lose at this point.” You snapped your head around at him when he said that, sending him a sharp glare and you watched him stiff up for a moment before shaking it off, you heard him clear his throat and mention something about you reminding him of a Miss Hudson, whoever she is. “What I mean is you have not made a single public appearance since you returned to London from your time in the states and that is presumably about you finding about the related incidents to your work, then not to mention your physical appearance is a clear reflection of that previous observation, bags under your eyes and the redness around them presumably from you rubbing them shows you haven’t been sleeping. That’s not to mention the thin layer of dust I saw on the shoes and umbrella by the door, which shoes you have not been going out much-“

“I think she said she wasn’t interested and had no desire to be like you, Mr. Detective.” You watched as Alex stood up, walking up to where the detective stood, staring him down, and if there was one thing Alex was good at, it was being intimidating. “So please you can see yourself to the door.”

“But she is already like me, I have heard about you all at your club solving unsolved cases that Scotland Yard could never solve that are twenty, thirty, forty, even fifty years old. I think it is pretty obvious that you all are detectives in your own right.” Sherlock looks down at her as he speaks before snagging the cigarette from between her fingers and taking a smoke himself and you could just watch Alex grow more irritated by the second and was about to blow. “Now another thing I remember about my brother is the last time he stopped by he mentioned something about a certain crime family moving into England.”

You could just see Alex’s eyes grow wide while the rest of her face remained still. She stood there a moment before grabbing her cigarette from her detective and turning towards the entryway. “Cmon’ Charlotte, the show is at nine.”

You and Charlotte shot each other looks of disbelief as Alex made her way to the front door, but you just watched as she signed and downed the rest of her wine before setting her glass down on the end table near her seat before following after Alex, wrapping her mink fur tighter around her. You heard the front door open and close in your state of disbelief, leaving you and the detective alone. You both stood in silence for a long moment before he spoke up, breaking the lingering silence.

“So?”

“…What exactly do you need my help with?” Your question was begrudgingly asked and you just saw his expression light up like a child’s on Christmas when you finally gave in. “I cannot promise any help like I am an actual detective since I tend to approach situations how I would write them, I am an author first and foremost.”

“That’s fine, where is your study?” He was quick and straight to the point and you watched him walk out of your drawing room presumably to look for your study and home library. You watched as he walked to the doorway across from the doorway of your drawing room that was also connected to your entryway and he pushed open the doors to your study. You quickly followed him like you were a parent watching their excited child, trying to keep him wrong from wrecking anything. You cringed as he went behind your desk, looking at your manuscripts and journals that sat on top of it. “So this is where the great mystery author writes her stories. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see where you work or your work before it’s finished.”

“Um… yes, just please do not mess with anything, this is my life’s work after all.”

—————————

You have been working with the detective in your free time to try to solve this case, even then he would be showing up in your home while you were in your office writing or even when you were at the club, it got to the point where you maid had to tell him to stop showing up during your working hours since you needed to write in order to have a job and stay in business since you still had deadlines to meet. Your drawing room had been turned into a mess of Sherlock’s and your own clues, pieced and puzzled together, trying to find connections, though the difference between the two of your work was very clear, your clues were tucked in a series of folders, notebooks, and journals, meanwhile the detective’s were in the form of loose and sometimes torn up papers and notes that were now laid out throughout the carpet of your drawing room, you slightly feared that the carpet would stain with ink since it was a housewarming gift from your late father.

Despite all this, everything single clue you came across came to a dead end and led to no clear culprit. Your investigation made you truly realize what Alex meant when she told you one time how crime was truly a game, an act, to make it a spectacle for others to watch while the performers fight for control.

“How is your novel coming along?” Réne asked as you two sat in one of the lounges at the club. He sat on the couch across from your, his back pressed against the armrest so that his legs extended out on the cushions, he had his glasses resting atop his head so that they pushed back his hair as he worked on a sketch in his sketchbook that he had propped up on the thigh of his leg that was on the outside end of the couch that was bent into a V-shape. “Still struggling with that villain of yours?”

“I am afraid so, I have all the events laid out, the deaths and what not and how the killer did it, but I still have no motive for them.” You explained as you watched the maid of the club pour you a cup of an earl gray tea that Charlotte got for you all from a new tea shop a few blocks away from the writer’s club. You sat on an identical couch to Réne, though much more ladylike as you were about to have tea and not to mention the morning’s newspaper, that you had yet to read, resting on your lap. “Every time that it mentions the killer’s motive I just skip it over and leave it blank-“

“Sugar ma’am?”

“Two please, a dash of cream as well.” You answered the maid’s question as she prepared your tea for you before continuing on. “It is by far the worse writer’s block I have experienced to date, it has been weeks since I started writing and it would be practically finished if I could figure out my villains just give him life.”

“It is a him?”

“Yes… I think so anyway- oh thank you.” You cut yourself off as the maid handed you your cup of tea. You held the saucer in your left hand while you brought the teacup up to your lips, taking a sip to wet your throat. “But honestly this case with Mr. Holmes, trying to uncover this Lord of Crime has left me all sorts of frazzled that I cannot tell up from down when I return home at the end of the day, so I honestly think that I have my novel’s villain as some version of this Lord of Crime, a figure who cannot place, so close yet so far, just out of reach… I probably sound like a raving mad woman right now, don’t I?”

“A bit, yes.” Réne answered which grew a small giggle from you. His eyes never lifted from his paper as he spoke, his fingers still twirling around the pencil as he drew. “Speaking of our Lord of Crime problem, how many of your books are left in his little… hm….”

“Recreations?”

“Yes, that is the word I am looking for!” He said with a slight enthusiasm creeping into his voice as he flicked his pencil in the air at your answer. “But yes, how many are left? He has probably covered all your famous works by now.”

“Yes… well let me think….” Your voice faded for a moment as you went over your books in your head, the number of incidents has increased since your partnership with the famous, though not by choice, Sherlock Holmes had begun, but surely there had to be at least three or so books left, right? Well there was- no that was the first incident that happened while you were abroad in America. What about- no not that one either, you remember seeing that in the morning paper when Sherlock came running into your townhouse about it when you first started working. Then there was a moment of realization as you sat there, staring down at your tea, reflecting your face that has grown and probably aged a few years due to these cases. “…no.”

“No? That’s not a number- oh… that… I… I’m sorry.” Réne stopped his sketching in his realization, you could just practically see his expression when the silence was practically yelling at you.

“…Réne, since there are no books left, what if I am next?” Your question was just followed by more silence then you heard Réne’s pencil quickly scribble something on his paper before you heard the ripping of paper and the shifting of limbs as the fabric of his pants rubbed against the velvet couch cushions. He slammed his drawing down on the table between the two of you, where the tea set sat. You looked down at it and it was presumably of a man in a black coat and hat, but his face was covered by a smiling mask, the Lord of Crime, but across his neck was a thick and scribbled line as if he was beheaded. You looked up at Réne and he had a comforting smile across his face.

“Then I will do everything in my power to unmask him and protect you.” He fell back onto his couch, throwing his arms across the back rest, crossing his legs. “You are one of my best friends and he would be fool to think that I would not risk my own neck to protect you, and I know for a fact that Evelyn, Charlotte, and Alex would do the same… hell honestly Alex would be the worse enemy to have, she could make one call to her father and… well it would not be pretty and that is for certain.”

“Thank you, a friend like you is truly a rare thing, let alone four friends like you all.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

The terrible silence had faded into a more pleasant and comfortable silence, but you looked down at the drawing and into those black hole of the mask where the eyes would be, faceless and unsettling that gave you a creeping feeling up your spine.

God it was unsettling…

It made you feel like you were being watched…

Just please make it stop…

Stop…

STOP!

As if by reflex, you sprung up out of your chair and snatched up the drawing from the table, and this drew Réne’s attention to you again as a concerned expression set in on his face.

“Are you alright?”

“Alright… alr- Yes! I am perfectly fine, I… I just remembered I… I meant to send a letter to my mother and I left it in my study back home, I-I just really needed to do that!” A lie, that honestly you did not know why you told it, not even the slightest clue as to why. You grabbed your messenger bag from the ground, throwing it over your shoulder. “I-I should go do that, before I forget to and the post office closes.”

“O-oh, alright?” Réne seemed unsure of your sudden shift in behavior. “Do you need me to walk you home-“

“No!- I… I mean I’ll be alright….” You two once again stood in a tense silence as you looked back at each other with equally confused expressions. “…bye.”

You could only say that as you turned on your heel as you walked to the door of the club, the maid giving you your hand and coat as you were about to leave which you put on in a rush as you tried to get out the door to get out of the gazes of your friends and colleagues.

You stumbled out onto the streets of Mayfair, you did not bother trying to get a hackney, you needed the fresh air that is what you needed, you think. You nervously fidgeted with the strap of your messenger bag as you walked down the street, your eyes darting around at the brick pavement beneath your feet, not bothering to watch where you are going since the way back home was practically muscle memory-

Suddenly you were knocked over as a gentleman walked past you, the heel of your shoe getting caught in between the bricks that formed the pavement below you, an all too familiar scene for you, but you suppose that is what you get for not watching where you are going.

“I am so sorry- Miss (Name), we have met like this before have we not?” That voice was familiar to you, you looked up to see the smiling face of Professor William James Moriarty looking down at you, his gloved hand outstretched to you like that day at the docks on your return home. He cocked his head to the side slightly as he looked over your form as you took his hand and he pulled you up from the ground. “Are you alright? You look rather pale?”

“Y-yes… I-I am… No?…. Maybe- I really don’t know right now, I-I… I can’t think- god what is wrong with me?” You could not get your mind straight, your hands felt clammy and tingly… your entire arms at that… god was it always this hard to breathe? You can’t think, oh god why can’t you think? “I fear I am going mad, Profe- William.”

“You are trembling- oh dear, you are having a panic attack.” You could not process him coming to stand by your side, taking your messenger bag from you and his other hand coming to rest between your shoulder blades. “My family’s estate is only a few buildings down, let’s get you inside and sit down and Louis can make you a cup of tea, does that sound okay?”

“Y-yes, I think.”

“Okay, just take deep breaths.”

Your vision and memory came in flashes between sight and darkness… walking down the road, turning into a Mayfair estate with an iron fence with a red brick base beneath it… William pushing open the door and calling out to someone as he guided you into the drawing room… Him guiding you to lay down on the sofa in the room while someone else came into the room.

You could feel William’s hand held onto yours, letting you have something to ground yourself on, and you could hear William’s voice telling you…

“Take deep breaths, in and out.”

In and out…

In and out.

His voice served as your thoughts, allowing you to calm down from the height of your panic attack. You could finally process what was before you, a white ceiling. You could process what you felt, the fabric of your dress, the velvet of the Moriarty drawing room couch, the warmth and leather from William’s gloved hand that held onto your own.

“Are you alright? Do you need anything?” You heard William ask you as you pushed yourself up with your free hand that was not squeezing the life out of William’s hand. “Louis is making you some tea, he nearly got a fright at seeing you in a panic, ran off to the kitchen in a rush- oh just lay down! You are probably light headed or dizzy, just wait to sit up until your tea is ready.”

“O-okay… thank you William.”

“It is the least I can do.”

A few minutes passed before the scent of citrus and spice hit your nose as Louis stepped into the room, setting the tea tray on the low table between all the pieces of lounge furniture in the room. William set a hand on your lower back, helping you sit as Louis poured a cup of tea for you. Louis gave William the cup of tea to hold with his free hand while his other hand rubbed comforting circles on your back, which was wiser than letting you hold it since your hands were shaking violently still.

“I am s-sorry… I-I…”

“There is nothing to be sorry about, my dear.” William replied as your voice trailed off into your scrambled thoughts. “It is natural to experience such fits under stress… which reminds me, if I may ask, what is on your mind?”

“Um… a lot….” You laughed after those two words, laughing at your madness as you ran your fingers through your hair and tugging slightly, your hat had fallen to the ground when William laid you down and Louis had picked it up and set it on the table. “My novel still has no antagonist, at least not one with a motive to kill nine other people- t-then not to mention I have to worry about a detective, who may or not be the love of my life of the bane of my existence but I may just be thinking that because I am going mad, and him appearing in my house at any hour of the day because he think he found a lead with the blasted Lord of Crime case- AND! That’s the other thing, this Lord of Crime, all of my books have been made a horrible reality by him and now there are not any books left and I have an aching fear in the back of my mind that I am next… I… I really am going mad, aren’t I?”

“You are not mad, you are in distress which is only natural, dear.” He said as he guided the tea cup into your hands, his hand coming to rest on the back of your own to keep you from dropping the cup as you brought it up to your lips and taking a sip. “Perhaps the Lord of Crime is just a fan of your work, I doubt he would dare to lay a finger on you.”

“Well he is certainly a fan I do not wish to have.” You said as the cup of tea parted from your lips and William set it back down on the table with a soft clinck. “This all has been driving me mad… honestly working with him has only made it worse, he is like an eager puppy.”

“By he, you mean the detective you are working with who I am guessing to be a Mr. Sherlock Holmes.” William stated but it sounded more like a question so you hummed softly in response. “I have met him a number of times before, brilliant mind, just a bit childish under certain circumstances. Also if I may suggest perhaps a small break is needed, for the sake of your mental health.”

“Ya… huh, maybe I should just quit this author thing.” You felt William stiff up at the mention of that, his hand that was running circles on your back freezing in place, but you honestly did not pay much mind since there was so much going on in your mind. “Or maybe I should just disappear entirely… that is something I thought about before, faking my disappearance, I know how I would do it too. Maybe take a ferry to France, go off and start a new life in Paris- or maybe America, I do have friends there who would probably adopt me into their family since they like me better than their own daughter, Miss Alex Pendel, you probably have heard of her-“

“You are rambling, breathe.” William cut you off, but you did not feel like you were rambling. “I am just suggesting a break, not to disappear, isn’t writing your life blood after all?”

“Yes… b-but I never wanted it to become this… I have created a monster.” You closed your eyes at that thought. You loved writing, it was why you lived, you thrived from it, but people were suffering from your stories… well they were, you have no more stories for the Lord of Crime to work with, if you did not publish another it would all stop, right? It had to. Your hands fell to your lap, clutching your skirt in your hands, as if you were trying to get your body to agree with your mind who has already made its decision. “…I am done.”

“Done? Whatever do you mean?”

“I… I cannot finish my next book, maybe my unfinished antagonist was a sign to stop while I am ahead.” You were facing forward, towards the table, so you could not see the sorrow and pain come across William’s face. “If I stop writing, then the Lord of Crime has nothing else to work with and no one else gets hurt because of me.”

“I… please think about this-“

“I have to go… I need to visit my publisher.” You stood up from the couch with your unsteady legs, grabbing your hat from the table. You did not spare William a glance as you made your way to the door, only words. “I am sorry William, I know you enjoyed my books, but I can’t live with myself if this happens again.”

The estate grew silent as you let, the front door closing being the last bit of sound within the house. Tears fell from William’s eyes and rolled down his cheeks, but his face remained emotionless. There was a few minutes of silence before his eyes fell on your messenger bag you had left behind. He tried telling himself it was wrong to go through your belongings, but what harm could it do now?

He grabbed the messenger bag from the ground, setting it on his lap as he opened it. He pulled out the contents one by one, makeup, pens, pencils, loose notes with plot thoughts of character ideas, but the two that caught his eyes more than anything else was a drawing, the drawing of the faces Lord of Crime from Réne, and a stack of papers that were bound in a leather portfolio, your unfinished masterpiece.

—————————

You stood in your study, tucking old papers and notes away into boxes to put in your cellar. You could not find your unfinished manuscript, you just assumed you must have left it at the Moriarty estate but it really did not matter since that book would never be seeing its conclusion. You had already written to your editor and met with your publisher, ending your partnership with both of them. As for work for the time being you made a enough money from your book sales still that you would be comfortable for a while, but maybe once things have settled in a few months or a year’s time you would accept one of those teaching jobs as a professor that had been offered to you at women's colleges in Oxford or Cambridge. Or your other thought was moving back up to your hometown in Northern England and help your mother with her shop, disappearing into the shadows forever.

You heard a knock at your front door which was followed by the footsteps of your maid as she went to answer it. You closed the lip on the last of the boxes, setting it on top of the stack of the others that had been packed by you earlier, when the doors to your office burst open to reveal the overly eager detective.

“Miss (Name), I think I found-“ Sherlock cut himself off as he stepped inside your emptied study, looking around only to see your life’s work in boxes, ready to be hidden away forever. He was clearly taken aback by all this, looking around the room with an uncertain eye. “What’s all this then?”

“I am quitting, Mr. Holmes.” That was all you needed to say for the detective’s expression to turn to disbelief at hearing your words. “Every single one of my worlds has been tarnished by this Lord of Crime and honestly I do not want to write another book just to give more fuel to the fire.”

“So you are just giving up?” The detective snapped back at you, taking you by surprise now. He was clearly angry and annoyed at your choice, that was certainly clear. “You are just laying down and choosing to die, is that it?!”

“Sherlock, I cannot continue to write when it will sentence people to death!” You yelled at him, gesturing back into the drawing room across the hall where stacks of clues and evidence sat on any flat surface, waiting to be cleaned up next after you packed everything up in the cellar. “Do you know how many people were going to die in my next book if I finished and published it?”

“No-“

“Nine! Nine people and their blood would be on my hands!” You cut him off with a shout, you could feel tears building up in your eyes as you yelled at him. “I can hardly live with myself knowing that my twisted works of fiction have become reality and taken so many lives, the least I can do is spare nine more.”

“We could catch him and you could continue your books-“

“Enough!” You shouted at the top of your lungs, and you watched as the detective grew red in the face as he became more and more angry and irritated at your actions. “I am not doing this anymore, I… I can’t… you are a detective, your job revolves around reality, I am… I was an author, I wrote fiction and I never wanted it to become reality.”

“Damn it all! It is all his fault! God damn this Lord of Crime” He shouted at you before rolling his eyes with the shake of his head and a heavy scoff. He turned on his heel, waving you off as he walked towards the front door of your townhouse. “Find me if you change your mind, but I won’t give up unlike you.”

You stood alone in your office as the front door opened and slammed shut which drew a squeak in surprise from your maid who was brewing tea in the kitchen for you. You leaned back on your desk, a sandalwood desk, a gift you got for yourself when your sales blew up after your first book which secured your position in England’s high society with your new money. The desk cost you what your childhood home cost when your mother and father bought it a few months before they had you. You worked to where you are today, living in an expensive townhouse in Mayfair, an area famous for its affluent residents, upscale shopping streets like Bond Street, world-class art galleries, exclusive members-only clubs, and its reputation as a luxurious and high-end area of London. You grew up in a small town, making flower crowns with your friends and jumping in the nearby creek that was by your childhood home, now you drink wine and champagne at parties held at manors of Dukes and Duchesses and wearing dresses that costed more money than your parents ever had when you were a child. You went on trips to Paris to study the catacombs and watch the Opera and went to New York to experience the nightlife and parties on Long Island and overhear what happened in the back rooms of the mansions of these new money families that controlled the country, divided among these families.

Your books let people indulge themselves into their dark thoughts without it being considered scandalous but rather a new trend, a competition to be exact, and in the words of Evelyn when she first met you…

“Everyone in London wants to know what is going on in that twisted little mind of yours to come up with the things you do.” It was at a high society party when she told you that, pulling you aside into the drawing room of the manor you were in, giving you a joint to smoke that you found out was from Alex’s family that may or may not have had the tobacco mixed with some form of cannabis, giving you both a small high, which definitely made clear where Evelyn’s moments of inspiration for her books came from that were full of pure body horror. “But then again, they all are obsessed with what they cannot fathom and what they are horrified by, it gives them a thrill, like a drug.”

There was a reason why the most popular authors of the age were of the macabre and gruesome, and Evelyn could not have phrased it any better, they were fascinated by what they could not or did not wish to fathom…

Alex’s stories let people see into the world of the mafia of the new world, romanticized in many ways, but the moods they elicit, giving their audiences heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety, giving them a thrill. Fear of getting caught in a sex scandal or perhaps trying to hide a body before someone finds out that you were the one who rammed a knife into their skull.

Charlotte's novels touch on fundamental issues of human existence: the nature of the soul, the weighty fact of mortality, and the burden of ancestry and history. Spirits represent heavy-handed instruments of supernatural justice, plunging those responsible for their deaths into a living hell where they suffer for their sins. This world and what comes after.

Réne’s books are all about the terror within, not without. His work shatters the illusion of humanity in a poignant wayby holding a mirror up to society and saying: look at what we truly are, and look at what we pretend to be. Under that mask of civility, there is depravity. Under that thin veneer of society, there is wickedness. Under all the trappings of sophistication, are we not all predators or prey?

Little Evelyn had a wicked little mind, her genre examines a universal fear: our own failing anatomies. You rarely think about what goes on beneath your skin. You understand that the organs operate in harmony: the heart beats, the lungs pump air, and the gastrointestinal system labors to supply us with nutrients. But you don't ponder like she does the minutiae. Like whether embryonic parasites encyst in our brains, or what stage of cirrhosis we might be facing, or if tumors bloom deep in parts of ourselves we hope never to see. You have seen a grown man, an inspector at Scotland Yard at that, vomit after reading an excerpt from one of her books.

Your works on the other hand gave the people a taste of psychological suspense and atmosphere, developed as all the characters' innermost secrets are revealed, there is usually also a gradual build-up of tension before the murders actually occur, as if everything could slip at any moment and everyone’s secrets would be revealed and the world would all but crash and burn all around them, and the people along with it. The key factor, though, is that there is usually some ingenious piece of deception involved, just like how the Lord of Crime has been deceiving London with his mask and his show, drawing them all in all along, and now you were about to crash and burn with it all…

You shared Sherlock’s thoughts when he said damn it all…

Your maid was cleaning up the drawing room from all the papers and clues from your useless investigation with the detective when you finally came out of your study, your face stained red and swollen with your tears and six envelopes in your hands. Your maid looked up at you with a worried expression in her eyes as she saw the state of your face.

“My lady, are you alright-“

“Yes….” You took a nervous breath as you approached her, your heeled boots clicking on the hardwood at first which made your heart skip a beat, which was enough in your scared state of mind. You reached out to your maid with the envelopes in that hand, forcing a smile to come across your face as you did. “Could you drop these off at the post? They are to a number of my friends along with my mother and Mr. Holmes. You can head home after that, I think I shall turn in early tonight and I can handle this mess, after all I did make it with Mr. Holmes.”

“O-oh, very well my lady.” She responded as she took the envelopes from your hand, tucking them into her apron pocket. You stood there in the drawing room, swallowing the lump in your throat as you listened to the footsteps of your maid as she grabbed her coat and hat from the coat closet. You heard the front door open and then her voice called out to you. “Do you wish for me to pick up anything for you when I come back in the morning, My Lady? I remember seeing the bakery two blocks away selling a new sampler box of macarons, apparently their new patissier is from Florence in Italy.”

“Thank you, but I shall be alright.”

“Alright, goodnight then my lady.”

“Goodbye.”

—————————

It was a lovely spring day in London, a rare day without a cloud in the sky. William was walking down the street, his eyes fixed on a letter in his gloved hand that he received this morning, it was penned in your handwriting and the messenger boy said it was dropped off at the post office along with five other letters by a woman who matched the description of your maid, who he had met along with Louis when they ran into her by chance at the local bookstore when he was picking up a copy of your latest book, she and your assistant, a young lady who was hoping to be a journalist one day and you had taken her under your wing, were dropping of signed copies that you were donating to the shop, your maid told the brothers that you would have dropped them off yourself but you were leaving for a six month long trip to the Americas, New York City specifically, so you could research something you were curious on with the night life of that side of the world and who ran it.

He spotted the house with the address on the envelope, 600 North Audley Street, which was, as the street name suggested, just north of Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. The house has a number of barricades around it and a number of officers of Scotland Yard along with four other figures, all of them he recognized, Sherlock Holmes with no sight of Dr. John H. Watson, there were also the famous authors Réne Drew, Lady Charlotte Basset of York, and the little miss Evelyn Jay, and all of them, including the detective, held a letter similar to the one William held, but all of their faces were riddled with worry, except Sherlock Holmes, but William knew he would crack in private.

“I see you all have received letters like myself.” William called out to the bunch who awaiting outside of the door of your townhouse, looking around he also spotted your house’s maid and your own personal assistant sitting on the brick stairs that led up to your front door, surrounded by Scotland Yard officers asking them questions which explains why he could not see them from afar, but they were in such a state of shock that neither of them could hardly answer a single question and even if they could, they did not know the answer. William held up the piece of paper he received with a smile. “I see we all know the author.”

“And who you might be?” Lady Charlotte snapped at him, her eyes narrowing. William knew a bit about her and her family, her brother had been suspected of murder a number of years ago, the summer before their writing club was founded to be exact, which while the heir of the family was found innocent this fact about the club led William to believe she had something to do with it especially since the victim was the man she was arranged to be married to. Her face was as rigid as her clothing looked, a scarlet red gown that probably costs more than most dresses women of the town could even afford and her signature white mink shawl. “I do not recall (Name) ever mentioning you before-“

“Well I certainly did not expect to see you here, Liam.” Sherlock cut the lady author off as he laid eyes upon the mathematics professor. “This is Professor William James Moriarty, a friend of mine, but I am surprised you knew Miss (Name). Now I truly wished we all could have met that day on the train back from York, a competition with one worthy opponent is one thing but with two is another entirely! I thought for a time she might be the Lord of Crime if her behavior did not show otherwise and the evidence proved her innocence under every instance-“

“Would you shut up!? Do not mention this whole Lord of Crime bullshit now!” Réne snapped at the detective, seizing him by the collar and bringing his face close to his own as the French author was filled with a rage that was clear as day. William had heard that the famous Réne Drew was normally a calm and composed man, maybe a bit too relaxed due to his occasional indulgence in wine and the arts, but this was a different man entirely based on their behavior. “My best friend is missing and you thought she was was the fucking Lord of Crime?! Was that the only reason you wanted to work with her?! Answer me, damn it!”

“She is what?” William was shocked by this statement by the Frenchman, he must have looked like a surprised cat when he heard his, eyes wide but the rest of his face remaining still, because all faces turned to him, but the young Evelyn Jay was the one who approached him, and she was the one who appeared most unbothered by the situation if bothered at all.

“It did not mention it in your letter, telling you that she is not to be looked for and that no one would find her even if they tried.” She handed William her letter and it indeed had written what she claimed it did, but it was far different than his own which he handed to the young lady to read, which she did do so. He had only really heard rumors about the morbid young author, that she watches illegal awake surgeries as inspiration for her books or that she had been in the habit of paying people to steal dead bodies for her so she could see how the human body would react to various situations that would be highly traumatic on the body so she could use that for her books. Evelyn calmly read his letter silently before handing it back to him. “It would seem that Professor Moriarty received a different letter than the rest of us seeing as he was not informed of her disappearance. But it is indeed true, she went missing sometime last night, her house is an absolute disaster, but Mr. Holmes found that was done by her due to nothing highly valuable or sentimental being damaged, proving there was not a real struggle, but a set up but the reason why is still unknown. Her maid and assistant were the ones to find the staged scene this morning when they arrived together this morning after having breakfast at a nearby bakery, scared them half to death, then the rest of us arrived not long after, rushing here after we received the letters-“

“Sorry I’m late!” A feminine voice with a thick New York accent called out from down the road, the same direction William arrived in. Everyone looked to see Miss Alex Pendel, dressed in her favorite red suit which drew stares from anyone who did not know her. William had heard about her family, a crime family who practically has all of the state of New York in the palm of their hand; the city that shared the name was the heart of their organization. She waved in her hand a slip of paper that did not look remotely similar to the ones the other held, her own was a telegram, so someone had sent for her when they found out she was missing the three other authors present were the most obvious suspects. But the American author was a part of your inner circle like the other three, so why did she not receive a letter? “Seems like everything that I was told is true, she really is missing.”

“Yes, it is good to see you received my telegram, Alex.” Evelyn chimed in, glancing past William to her closest friend. So Evelyn was the one to send the telegram, but the question was how did she know Alex was the only one not to receive one. Evelyn glanced around at the others who must have been coming to a similar conclusion as the professor. “I figured that (Name) may not write to Alex since she had just returned home from a trip from the Netherlands last night, I only knew she was back because I was the one who fetched her from the docks.”

“I see.” William responded to the young lady’s gleeful tone. She twirled around the center of the circle of the geniuses to face William once again with that ever so innocent smile on her face which was almost unsettling in these circumstances which made William think perhaps to look back into those rumors he heard about her before. “If she is missing then what shall we do since she does not wish to be found?”

“A competition! Let us see who can find her first!” The smile on her face grew even wider when she said those words, this was a game to her, just like the aristocrat who perished on the Noahtic for hunting humans for sport, the difference being that she has a good heart beneath all the gore and horror. “I do not know about you professor, but the rest of us are all forms of crime related geniuses both fictional and reality.”

There was a stunned silence among the other authors, and a smile coming across Sherlock’s face in glee at the idea. William heard a scoff from the American author next to him and he glanced over to her to see her with an expression he could not quite place. “Pass, I’m afraid I will be returning to America in a few weeks.”

“So soon? You went on that trip with (Name) a few months ago?” Evelyn’s smile falters into an expression of curiosity as Alex makes that comment. “I remember you telling us how much your family enjoyed (Name’s) company.”

“There is no need to remind me about their favoritism.” Alex snapped back at her friend before quickly calming back down with a sigh. “But yes, I am afraid so, I need to get some papers settled with my father and brothers about some changes to our family’s mansion.”

That day of your panic attack…

“Also if I may suggest perhaps a small break is needed, for the sake of your mental health.”

“You are rambling, breathe.” William cut you off, but you did not feel like you were rambling. “I am just suggesting a break, not to disappear, isn’t writing your life blood after all?”

A small smile came across William’s face as he recalled this and looked at Miss Alex Pendel…

So that is why you did not write to her.

—————————

The heat of the summer day had faded away with sunset, leaving the countryside of England to grow quite a chill as you walked through the dark country paths on your way to the train station, if it could be called that since it was more of a platform as there was no building beside the ticket office from where you bought your ticket the day prior, that as a short walk from the small town you were staying in in a house provided by Alex’s family who aided you in stage it your disappearance a few months prior, three months to be exact. Alex had visited you a few day ago upon her return from her brief trip to her hometown to let you know that everything was ready for your arrival, she gave you a boat ticket, and told you that her mother and father would pick you up upon your arrival and then your new life would begin and this life would be eased into nothing but history, a small price to pay to rid yourself from your old life that had been absolutely tarnished. Your time in America had inspired you for another story, it was not a crime, but a romance influenced by the environment you have seen in both England with the old and new money, and then America with the lively atmosphere there. You had not thought much about it besides the name of one of the characters, the flowers outside your cottage door in this small town you had been staying in these last few months were daisies, you always liked those flowers and that name, Daisy.

You walked up the stairs of the train platform and it was very dark, you could hardly see without the lamp posts that guided your way. Now as you stood at the edge of the train platform you could see a distant figure sitting on one of the benches. There was only one lamp that was posted over the ticket office door, so you could not see the details of the figure who sat on the bench. You could hear the distant whistles of the train, it was a few miles away but you could hear it clearly due to the dead silence of the countryside at night. Your boots clicked against the ground as you approached the bench next to the figure who you assumed was waiting for the train. You sat down on the other bench, setting your hard back suitcase on the ground next to you before reaching into your pocket and pulling out your pack of cigarettes and a match, you lit your cigarette that you places between your lips to hold it along with your other hand that did not hold your match and right as you were about to shake out the flame from the match you heard footsteps of the person on the other bench get up and approach you, making you stop and pause. The fire illuminated the person’s features in a flickering light as you looked up at him, and your expression was taken by shock as he smiled down at you with those red eyes.

“Professor Moriarty… What in god’s name are you doing here?” You pulled away the cigarette from your lips as you spoke to him, looking up at his smiling expression with a confused gaze as your eyes were locked with his which reminded you of blood. Something was not right, you had no doubt in your mind that William went to your house after receiving your letter which told him he could keep the unfinished work you left at his home as a gift to him for his kindness to you, but was he looking for you like the others were in their little competition?

“I finished reading the work you left me on the train ride here and I have to say it is by far your best work.” He spoke, completely ignoring the question you asked which gave you a pounding worry and anxiety in your chest.

“Thank you… but I must ask you to answer my questi-“

“Your killer, the method in which they did it truly fooled me, I never expected them to fake their own death.” You could feel the pounding in your chest as you looked up at the professor who still did not answer your question. You could feel the anxiety and worry in your chest turn into dread as you looked in his red eyes, just like blood.

“William-“

“They do lack a motive still, I remember you mentioning that you were struggling with that detail.” You saw him raise his right hand in your peripheral vision, but you could not quite see what he was holding as your eyes were still locked with his own. “But perhaps I can help?”

You were almost afraid to break eye contact with him and look at what he was holding, god you felt sick, but why?! You felt William’s gloved hand turn your head slightly but gently, forcing you to look at what he was holding, it was Réne’s drawing of the Lord of Crime, or as he titled it at least.

Wait-

That was it!

Your eyes widened in shock and horror at your realization…

That question you asked to Réne the day of your panic attack…

“Since there are no books left, what if I am next?”

You turned your head to look at William once again and when his scarlet red eyes narrowed at you in the darkness, only lit by the fire of your match for your cigarette, it sent shivers down your spine.

“You are the Lord of Crime.”

“Correct, I have to say I have been wondering if you or Mr. Holmes would figure it out first, but it seems you beat him to it even if I had to spell it out for him.” The smoke was building up between the two of you as your cigarette was just burning up, and the smoke was almost making it hard to breathe. Your palms were growing sweaty in your terror, correction, your entire body was burning up like your cigarette and the flame on your match and his smile certainly did not help with that. “I first found out about one of your books when an associate of mine was reading one of your novels on the way back from the mission site. While Louis did not fancy it that much, he did recommend it to me and I will say I was skeptical at first but then I have to say I was proven wrong when I opened up one of your books. People read your books to be taken into the mind and the world of someone they cannot fathom or do not wish to, but honestly when reading your works it is finally a world I can understand, a world created by someone who can understand my mind and keep up with me. I wondered if your fictional crimes could survive in the real world so I took a risk and tested my theory and followed your books like a script and I have to tell you my dear that you fooled everyone.”

“You realize I could report you now, do you not? You have not only revealed yourself but the identity of one of your associates with the mention of your brother.”

“Yes, but I doubt that you will have the chance.” Before you could ask what that meant he spoke up again, drowning out the sound of footsteps approaching you from behind between his voice and your loud heartbeat that roared in your ears already. “Question, if I gave you back your unfinished work, would you finish your villain?”

“Not a chance.”

“Shame.”

Your match went out and everything went black.

—————————

You did not like the new weight on your left hand ring finger, it made it far too difficult to hold paper down when you wrote and it made your fingers feel swollen not to mention how it smears the ink, but William insisted you wear it now since you are to be married in a month's time. You cringed at the thought of being married, especially to him, you two had already met with your publisher earlier this week to have your pen name changed to switch to your future last name for any future printings of your novels.

Then there was also the gossip of these entitled little rich girls who romanticize your engagement to him and you heard the gossip as you walked through the streets on William’s arm saying how they wished to be in your place and you just wanted to tell them they could be, it would be a good reality check for them. Then there were your friends, you have not seen any of them in months, Réne, Evelyn, and Charlotte not since before your disappearance, and then Alex you have not seen some you were engaged. You could not make yourself face any of them now, it would make you sick-

“Dear, are you alright? You look rather pale.” William’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts and you were back in the drawing room of the Moriarty brother’s estate in Durham, William thought it would be good for you not to be England when your newest book releases so you could avoid the press and fans, all who wanted their questions about you answered, and needless to say William did not want those questions answered.

“Yes… I just find myself out of it nowadays.” You answered as your eyes were still fixed on the cup of tea Louis had poured for you a few minutes prior. You heard William sigh and close the book he was reading and setting it down where he was sitting to move over to where you were sitting on the sofa.

“You have not touched a single cup of tea since you started writing again-“

“Since you kidnapped me.”

“I did what was best for you, it was eating you alive not to pick up a pen again.” He snapped back to your correction of his statement. William sighed as he places a hand over one of your own that was resting on your thigh and he spoke to you with a tone that almost trickled you into believing he cared about you. “I only want what is best for you and you will only strain yourself if you continue to push everyone away like you are.”

You just rolled your eyes and let your mind drift off again as you thought back on these last few cruel months that started all the way back upon your return to England, you should have just stayed in New York…

Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine…

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight…

Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven…

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six…

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five…

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four…

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three…

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two…

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one…

One little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself…

and then there were none….

…you have to live with the fact that your book took nine more lives and had to hope that one day the tenth would join the others sooner than later.

#william moriarty x reader #moriarty the patriot x reader #yuukoku no moriarty x reader #yuukoku no moriarty #william james moriarty x reader #yandere william james moriarty #yandere moriarty the patriot #yandere yuukoku no moriarty

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imrllytootiredforthis · 2 years ago

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Sub! Bsf lix noticing you getting off in public using your thighs under the table.even if you we're out with your friends,Every time it happens he turns his head away in a flash afraid to that he stared for too long . his ears are red and he gets starts to squirm a bit in his seat . Brushing off his concerned friends' questions about his wellbeing. It's a torture really so the next time you do it he ensures that you're too alone he'd muster all his courage to advance to you in a timid steps makeing you halt your moves before parting your thighs a bit and dropping between them he didn't dare to lift his head while asking with a red face and shaky voice to use his face...use him if you really want it this bad to the point of doing it in public

holy shitttttt

he notices it right away.

he's your best friend after all, of course he would notice.

the way you shift in your seat, the way you can't seem to sit still, the way that your neck is just the slightest bit red.

he notices.

and he peeks under the table, lifting the tablecloth a bit to see. see that the reason you keep moving so much is because of the way that you press your thighs together, rubbing them in a way that his face flushing scarlet.

he quickly looks away, trying to pretend that nothing is wrong but his pokerface is nowhere near as good as yours, turning red from head to toe, and fuck, he can feel himself getting hard now too.

he imagines it over and over, imagines doing something about it, imagines how good you would sound moaning as he whines against you from the fingers tugging his hair.

poor lixie can't help but squirm in the seat.

fuck

he wonders what you'd taste like, how you'd feel on his tongue, how you'd talk him.

maybe you'd call him a dirty little perv, maybe you'd call him a good kitten for you, maybe you'd call him a slut for getting on his knees for you in such a public place-in front of all your friends.

"you good?" he looks up at Chan, who looks back with concerned eyes, "sick? you're all red."

you look at him too now, worried, shifting imperceptibly.

his eyes flash down again,

he wonders how would your thighs feel around his head? soft-yes, so soft.

he loves your thighs, loves whenever you wear shorts around him and he can see your skin, so smooth and pretty, he can't help but want to squeeze them and love them,

he often fantasized about his head between them, he'd die a happy man between your thighs. his lips on them too, kissing and sucking marks onto them, tracing his fingers over them afterward, wondering how they-how you looked so fucking gorgeous, fucking his cock between them.

holy shit, he loves your thighs.

"Felix?"

Chan looks concerned now, as do the others but Chan specifically looks like he's about to pull his handy thermometer out of his bag and check his temperature like the mom he is.

'hmm just what i thought, you're sick, come on we're going home now.'

"I-i'm fine." he spluttered, in no way actually fine now that these thoughts had surfaced, but whatever.

everyone looks at him, unbelieving.

finally, you sigh. "c'mon, if you're sick you shouldn't be out, i'll take you home and we can watch some movies-i'll make you soup or something."

the thought. of being alone with you.

you and him. him and you.

in the dorms.

all alone.

"y'know, yeah, i am feeling a little under the weather,"

you're grabbing your stuff already as the words come out, telling the rest of the boys that you'll see them later and grabbing your best friend before dragging his sick ass out of there.

at the dorms you're not much better.

after he adamantly declines the soup, refusing to let you make him any you sigh and turn on a movie instead.

it plays in the background but he pays attention to none of it.

all he can really pay attention to is the way that your thighs still rub together, looking at the screen but he can tell you're not really watching.

he isn't either to be fair.

but thirty agonizing minutes? (he only knows because of how much time has played on the movie)

of this. of watching you and wishing he could do something. of wanting you to call him over to you and shove his face between your legs. of wanting and wishing and trying to hide how hard he is under the blanket.

he's surely slowly losing his mind. slowly surely losing it to horniness and lust and sinful thoughts. all while you're entirely unaware.

his mouth is nearly watering, his head is spinning, he's aching in his pants.

he needs you so bad.

so slowly he scoots closer to you. you don't seem to notice at first, too engrossed in something that isn't the movie.

you look at him funny. "Lix? what are you doing, lay back down you're si-..."

you trail off as he slinks down to the floor in front of you, looking up at you with doe eyes, searching for an answer. for a command. for anything.

"Lix?"

your voice is a whisper, barely a question as you know enough to read between the lines.

red face. pretty begging eyes looking down in shame. on his knees. hands twitching.

"tell me what you want."

he doesn't say anything, reaching up to rest his hands on your thighs soft and gentle, not doing anything but rubbing, kneading them, starting on the outside but gradually...gradually...

"please?"

he sounds so needy, so desperate, so cute and good and adorable.

"so polite," you finally say, spreading your legs open, just for him. "you gonna be good for me kitty?"

his eyes are fixated, fingers itching to pull down your pants, to do what he's been wanting to all night.

"c-can i?"

"go ahead pretty boy~"

#this is like a mini fic #i might write a pt.2 later on #inbox💌#fangirlnation✧#sub idol #hard thoughts #stray kids smut #stray kids x reader #sub stray kids #dom reader #sub felix #felix x reader #felix smut #queued :p #stray kids hard thoughts

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writingroom21 · 5 months ago

Text

Sweet Escape

Pairing: Rafe x single mom reader

Summary: Moving to Kildare with your best friend and daughter was the perfect move. The little island is perfect, the people are nice, and you are finally at peace. Then Rafe comes in with his perfect smile and charm, sweeping you off your feet. The only issue is if you are ready to let someone else in.

Warnings: None

Wc: 5K

series masterlist

Chapter 4: This can't be real

“I’m Theo, her ex. You know that little girl's dad.”

Time is frozen around you. Your body feels like it’s been hit by a semi truck. None of this feels real right now. You are actually expecting to wake up from this nightmare and get on with the real day. But it never comes.The blast from the past is staring at you as you vaguely hear someone talking. The voice gets clearer as you force yourself to come back to reality.

“Babe are you okay?” Look to the right to see two pairs of blue eyes staring at you. Cars pass by behind Rafe and Violet making it hard to focus on them. “What?” Rafe quickly picks up on the nervous tone in your voice. He steps closer to you using his body to block your ex from your view.

“Babe, hey. Talk to me.” His touch is what really brings you back to Earth. You shake your head and try to look behind him. “Who even is this guy?” Rafe’s shoulders tense and he turns around to look at Theo. “I’m Rafe, her boyfriend. What about you?” Theo’s eyes scrunch as he tries to look threatening. “Her dad.” He nods his head towards Violet.

“Could have fooled me.” Rafe mumbles the comment which seemed to make Theo even more mad.

“Yeah well you’re just a nobody. This conversation doesn’t need your presence.” This guy really has some nerve to say he’s more important. He was the one that left without a second trace. Rafe still doesn’t know the full story but that doesn’t matter. All he knows is that you were left behind to take care of your child alone. All he knows is that he’s more involved than Vi’s so-called dad and he’s only been in your life for almost two months.

“He is somebody. My boyfriend in fact as well as someone Vi can look up to. Do you even know her name?” Theo just stares at you for a moment, blinking slowly. “Of course you don’t because you aren’t in her life.” Rafe holds your hand to give you a place to ground yourself. He can tell that you are shaken up right now and personally he really needs it.

Theo’s comment hit close to home. He is no one. He isn’t Vi’s dad, he’s just your boyfriend. It would be easy to replace him. Theo may have hurt you but he will always be Vi’s dad. Rafe seeks your comfort to silence the thoughts that are forming. He’s not letting some asshole ruin his progress, not when there’s so much at stake now.

As if she senses something off, Violet snuggles into Rafe calling out for you. “Ma.” Her tiny voice draws all of your attention to her. She sneaks glances at the stranger and then hides in Rafe’s neck. Rafe rubs her back to help soothe her and you squeeze her arm. “It’s okay baby. We’re going.” You shoot your ex a nasty look and start to pull Rafe’s arm.

“Excuse us, we have lunch to get to. Do me a favor and run off again. You seem to be good at it.” You shoulder check him as you pass. Subconsciously you grab Vi from Rafe’s arm, wanting to have her close to you. You feel Rafe stop for a second and see him turn around.

“Her name is Violet by the way. Should be ashamed of yourself. Calling yourself her dad and not knowing anything about her.” Rafe shakes his head and walks back over to you. He wraps and arms around your shoulders. His arm tightens, pulling you closer and kissing the top of your head.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

Lunch was a blur. Memories kept re-emerging as you picked at your plate. Rafe sat on the other side of the table watching your movements. He’s trying to give you space and not pry into your past life but he’s finding it hard. There’s so much that he wants to ask to know. “Just say it.” It’s the first time you spoke to him directly since you sat down. The only time he’s heard your voice this whole lunch is when you were talking to the waiter or the little cutie sitting next to him.

“I don’t even know what I want to say.” He confesses. There’s so much going through his mind but none of it wants to leave his mouth. “Neither do I.” You look so broken and he hates it. “How long were you together?” It seems so stupid but he has to know. He needs to know how many years of memories he’s fighting against. “All throughout High School and up until I got pregnant. We got together when we were fourteen. Our parents wanted us to date so we did.”

Four years. You were with him for Four years. “I never loved him.” He releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I couldn’t love someone like him.” He shouldn’t feel relieved but he does. It’s just sad you were with someone who you didn’t feel something with. He hopes to god you two are never like that. No he knows you aren’t.

Rafe just nods trying to think of what to say next. Your eyes watch him, front row view depicting his fears. “I would never take him back. Not even if he became the best guy in the world. I stayed with him to make others happy, not myself.” Rafe’s eyes meet yours. He sees the somber look in them.

The little flicker of light he likes is so dull like a dying flame. “Are you happy now?” He doesn’t know why he even asked. Hearing anything else would probably crush him. You don’t even take a second to think. “The happiest I’ve ever been.” It’s the truth. You are actually doing well for yourself.

The shop has great sales and you are raking in a good cash flow. You are your own boss so it’s a plus. Violet is amazing and is hitting all of her marks so nothing to complain about. Jo is still hilarious and your best friend. But also Rafe is there. He makes you feel comfortable, cares for you and most importantly cares for Vi.

“Same.” The sincerity in his voice tells you he’s telling the truth. It also helps when he’s staring at you like this. Like you are the only other person in the world who sees him. Maybe you do and this is why everything is falling into place so quickly. Just maybe you also finally feel seen.

As much as it's comforting to hear him say it, you know reality can change things. You may want something but not be able to handle what comes along with it. “I don’t want him in Vi’s life. He’s cruel and I’ve seen it first hand. I don’t want my daughter around that.” Rafe’s fist clenched at the thought of that prick being rude to you or hurting you in any way.

“Not like it’s my place to decide but I don’t want him around either.” For someone who has never cared for another person he does a great job at it. In the short amount of time he’s been in your life he has always made it a priority to include the one thing you can’t live without. He never made it a hassle or made you feel less for being a mom. He’s been everything you could ask for in a partner.

He respects you

“You do have a say. Maybe not in the way you intended but you’re a part of our life too. Whatever happens from here on out affects you.” Rafe’s hand reaches out and grabs yours over the table. His thumb lightly grazing yours. “I’ll always support you. It-” He looks at your hands and takes a deep breath.

“Never really been good at this stuff. Everything I do is wrong or I screw it up. Guess I’m just scared.” The two of you haven’t really gotten too deep. You know his mom disappeared and started a new family. You know that his dad and him have a complicated relationship but he never got into the specifics. He knows about how your parents kicked you out after finding out you were pregnant. He knows about the constant pressure they have put on you.

In some ways Rafe felt as if you were two broken souls who needed each other. He knew it from the moment you back talked to him about some flowers. He definitely knew it when he canceled the order he placed after talking to you in the bar. For some reason everything with you came naturally.

“Why are you scared?”

Rafe chuckles at you and leans back on his chair, subconsciously helping view with her fork. “When you’ve been told your whole life you’re a fuck up you start to believe it. This is the first good thing I’ve had in my life. I can’t mess it up and lose both of you.” Both of you. He included Vi in his statement. You don’t know why you find it shocking. Just the other day she had him running up and down the beach looking for seashells. Never once did he complain. Hell he would run up to you showing the collection before dumping them to get more.

He didn’t even complain when she made him act like Maui from Moana. In fact he did it without a complaint. Even spending hours in the water with her as she giggled her little head off. How is he so confident in this?

“We’ve only been together for like two months.” The masochistic part of you wants him to hurt you. Feeling like this is all too good to be true. “Best two months I’ve ever had.” He pushes Vi in more so she’s not so far away from the plate and not making a mess. “I won't spend the rest of my life wishing on what ifs. I know what I want.”

Just when you think he can’t get better he does. Tears start to well in your eyes from your emotions running so high. You slot your fingers between his giving him a squeeze. “I want you too.” A smile forms on his lips, pride filling his chest. “Good.”

After that lunch the two of you had a plan. Ignore him until he just eventually goes away. You don’t know why he’s here but there’s one thing you know for sure. He’s always been a quitter. That’s the only thing you were banking on. Which turned out to be false hope because the man seemed to have grown a pair since the last time you saw him.

You had not seen him the first two days after your encounter and thought he had gotten the message. Then came the weekend which Jo wanted to work to give you a break. It was relieving not having to see or think about him for four days. It wasn’t till Monday that you found out he decided to stick to something for the first time in his life.

You were wrangling Vi as she ran around you on the sidewalk. Fishing for your keys, you saw nice shoes standing in front of the door. The right foot was tapping the sidewalk impatiently. At first you thought it was a customer but nope it was Theo.

“Can we talk?” You brushed past him unlocking the door to let Vi inside. He tried to step in but you blocked him. “Sorry sir, are you here to buy flowers?” His eyes narrow at you. He places his arm on the doorway leaning further to you. “Get out of the way, Prim. I’m here to talk about seeing my daughter.” The old nickname brings up some old feelings. Maybe not the ones he intended it but the memories start coming back.

You can remember the first time your mom called you that. “You are as pretty as a flower. My little Prim.” From there on out everyone started to call you that. Every family member and your parents' friends used it. Then it became Theo’s nickname for you. “Hey Prim. How’s my beautiful girl doing?” It’s weird thinking of when he seemed to care about you or at least when he was good at pretending. It didn’t last long before it turned nasty.

“Are you fucking kidding me Prim? Why do you always have to start shit?” Tears are running down your face as Theo continues to yell at you. “I was just asking a question. She said that you were with her last night when you were supposed to be at dinner.” Theo’s hands are brushing through his hair, shaking his head as he looks at the ground. “Oh so you’re going to believe someone else?” He whips his head to look at you.

You can’t say anything as you look to the ground. His footsteps echo as he steps closer to you. Theo’s hand comes into view as he grips your cheeks forcing you to look at him. He shakes your head around as he talks to you. “Don’t be fucking stupid. I told you I was sick, hell even my parents said it when they got there. Are you really calling us liars? You think I could lie to you?” His grip on you is tight and it hurts.

“No, I'm sorry. I was just confused and didn’t know why she would lie to me. Please let go, you're hurting me.” He loosened his grip and lightly tapped your cheek. “It's okay. Just don’t let it happen again. We have to trust each other.” All you could do was nod at him as you fought back tears.

You wish you could say that was the last time he tricked you. It was just a constant battle between your thoughts and the lies he fed you. “Last time I checked the only kid here was mine and she doesn’t have a dad. If you aren’t here to buy flowers I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Theo tilts his head at you, examining your body language. Once he realizes you aren’t going to give up he takes a step forward. “Do I have to apologize for living my life? You really couldn’t have expected me to give up my dreams just to raise a kid.”

A kid? She’s not some random kid you picked up from the side of the street. Even if she was, you would expect him to be a decent human being. “No, I didn't expect anything from you. As far as I’m concerned you aren’t anyone to us. Now please leave or I will have to call the cops.” You’re bluffing. You know this is too small of a case that they will blow it off. But you will say anything to get him to leave.

He left shortly after that and came back around lunch time waiting to get you as you walked out. His plans were spoiled when he saw Rafe walking towards the shop. Rafe was on a call with a client when he noticed the guy standing there. “Hey Lenny I’m going to have to call you right back. Something just came up and I have to deal with it.” He didn’t even wait for the other guy to answer before hanging up.

“What are you doing here?” Theo leans against the wall of the building, crossing his arms as he stares back at him. “Just waiting to see my daughter and Prim. Why are you here?” Who the hell is Prim? Rafe guesses his face must have given away his confusion because the asshole answered his thoughts. “You know, Prim and I have a lot of history. Might want to save yourself the heartbreak before it’s too late. I know she’s always wanted a family.”

Rafe’s jaw clicks. He could give you a family. He would love Vi and if you wanted more then so does he. You don’t need some jerk that you never loved because you have him. Fuck this prick who thinks he can get under his skin. “Well like you said the two of you have history. Now if you excuse me I have to take my girls out to lunch.” Rafe walks into the shop, immediately smiling when Vi runs up to him screaming.

“Ray!” His heart still sometimes breaks due to the shift from Ra to Ray. It was honestly so cute. It seemed like she was trying to scare him each time and it became a little joke for him. But hearing the joy in her voice when she calls out to him makes up for it. “Hey my sweetie Vi. You’ve been behaving with mom?” She giggles as He picks her up and spins her around. “Yes!” She laughs out.

Rafe laughs with her and smiles at you. “And how’s my beautiful girl doing?” He walks over to you and gives you a kiss. You smile into it, pecking his lips as you disconnect. “Good, just have a creep outside.” Rafe chuckles and looks behind his shoulder to see Theo looking right back at him. God just his name pisses Rafe off. He’s just happy at the thought of him seeing his daughter and ex happier without him. Maybe that would teach him to leave you all alone.

“Yeah I saw the roach by the door. Should really get someone out there to handle it.” Laughing you push his shoulder and walk to get your purse. “Haha, so funny. Don’t start anything with him please. The more you lay into it the longer he’ll stay.” There's nothing more that Rafe would like than beating the shit out of him or even messing with his head. But the thought of him being gone sooner rather than later takes the cake.

“Promise. I’ll be on my best behavior.” Rafe places a hand on your lower back as you walk out the front door. Both of you let out a sigh of relief when you saw that Theo wasn’t waiting out. Even more relieved when he wasn’t there when you got back from lunch. “I’ll bring you to work this week.” Rafe casually says. “What?” “I’ll bring you to work.” Rafe pulls the leftovers from your hands so you can open the door. “How would I get home then?” Rafe thinks for a second and remembers he has a packed schedule and wouldn’t be able to. “Fine I’ll follow you to work to make sure you get in okay.”

You laugh at how ridiculous he is being. Then one look at his face shows that he is serious. This Theo being back thing must be really shaking him up. “You want to make sure I get to work out?” He looks down at Vi’s hand in his and sees how tiny it is. She’s so small. “I just want to make sure the both of you are okay.” There he goes, saying both of you. Like he doesn’t even need to think about if he cares for Violet. You wrap your arms around his neck.

“Okay but that means you need to buy us coffee.” Rafe smiles at you and pecks your lips. “Deal.”

That's exactly what he did for the whole week. He would show up at the house with your coffee exactly how you order it. There would always be a little bag with a treat for Vi. The two of you would then get in your respective cars and drive to the shop. Where he would then follow you inside and stay for a bit before heading off to the office. The routine was nice and just gave you both more time to see the other.

That Tuesday Theo was once again outside waiting for you. He tensed up when he saw the three of you walking towards him. It was a perfect picture of when he first came to see you. Rafe was on the side closest to the street holding Vi in his right arm. While you were walking next to him chatting about god knows what. He doesn’t get how Rafe looks so interested in what you are saying.

All he remembers are the boring tangents you used to go on back in highschool. He would literally do anything to make you stop. He honestly feels bad for the poor guy. “Think you can give Prim and I some privacy?” His voice shocked the three of you. He hates how each one of you looks at him. You give him a look of disgust, Rafe looks at him with hate, and Violet looks at him like he’s a stranger. He’s her dad, not some rebound.

“Stop calling me that and we don’t have anything to talk about.” You rush in through the door taking Vi from Rafe. He stays back for a second to block Theo from going in. “I suggest you leave, you're not needed here.”

The rest of the week went smoothly. Theo was nowhere to be seen and it felt like peace was being restored. Your mornings were now peaceful instead of a constant state of anxiety. But it seems like he caught on to the trick. Rafe was there in the morning and lunch but he wasn’t there at closing. On Friday when you were locking up e snuck up behind you leaving you no choice but to talk to him.

“Where’s your guard dog?” You roll your eyes as you turn around to face him. You are glad Jo said she would watch Vi at home. Having a stay at home job really does pay off. This way you can speak your mind freely.

“Rafe’s at work. You know what that is right?” He scoffs at your audacity. “Yes I know what a job is. I have one.” You fake a shocked expression. “Wow could have fooled me.” You try to go to the left and he steps along with you. “When did you become such a smart ass? What happened to the Prim I used to know?” You laugh at him. “She left right around when you did and when her parents kicked her out. Guess she was tired of being an actress.”

“Don’t bring your parents into this. They were good people, they even left you money after they died.” You take a step back from him, fixing your purse as it slips from your shoulder. “Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do. They were my parents and they abandoned me when I needed them the most. They forced me into their perfect mold and got disappointed when I didn’t fit it anymore. They only left me that money out of guilt not because they loved me.”

You fake going right and when he falls for it you go left. Just your luck is that he catches your arm before you could get too far. “Get over yourself and talk to me.” A loud voice comes from behind you. “Get you fucking hands off her before I break them.” The sound of Rafe’s voice sends shivers down your spine. He’s not happy.

You feel Rafe’s presence before you see him. His hand grips onto Theo’s yanking it off you. You are letting out a relieved sigh when you feel Rafe’s arms wrap around you, inserting himself to diffuse this situation. “Do you just follow her around like a lost puppy? Get a life.”

“Rich coming from the guy harassing her like your being for table scraps. It's like watching a stray animal but instead of sad it's pathetic.” The two guys stare at one another. Rafe is waiting for Theo’s retort but nothing comes. Theo can’t honestly think of anything. He was hoping his presence would be a clear message but that didn’t work.

“I don’t know why you are still here. Just go back to whatever hole you crawled out from and leave us alone.” Your voice breaks their staring contest, both men turning to you. “Life has been pretty good without you these past two years. We didn’t need you then and we don’t need you now.” Hearing you reiterate Rafe’s only words ticks him off.

“She needs a dad. What will she say when she grows up to learn you never let her in her dads life?” He thinks he struck a cord but all he did was make you think he's a comedian now. “Not like she would see a dad in you anyway. You don’t love someone, you control them.” Turning back around you guide Rafe back with your hands on his chest.

“Come on, let's go.” He silently leads you to your car and holds the door as you get in. “I’ll follow you home. I’m taking you and Vi out.”

‘What?” you giggle out. “That’s why I came here. I wanted to take the two of you out to distract from all of this.” You smile up at him, grabbing his shirt to pull him down. When he’s within reach you kiss him, putting a hand behind his head to deepen it. “You’re a really great guy.” Rafe shakes his head as he pulls away. “No I’m not. But I’m trying to be.”

The ride back took no time. Vi was super excited to see that Rafe was with you when you walked through the door. Even more excited when you both packed up some blankets and brought her along for the ride. The two of you may bring her on dates often but this is the first time Rafe said he had something planned for the both of you.

Usually when you brought her on dates you centered them around being kid friendly but it felt nice that he solely planned this. Everytime he includes her you can’t help but fall a little bit more for him. It didn’t help seeing him so excited with her.

He first took you out to eat, picking the place that gives out the coloring mats she loves. He even had two bouquets waiting in the car for you two. Vi’s was just a little bundle of flowers while yours was slightly bigger. No matter how many times you tease him about using another person's flowers he always has the same remark. “Gotta have some element of surprise. Plus what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t give you good things.”

It always makes you giggle. But seeing Vi’s eyes light up when he surprised her with them made you want to cry. That lump in your throat kept getting bigger with each action. He turns down a dirt road and pulls to a stop when he gets to a clearing. “What are we doing here?” The laugh you let out as he unbuckles you with a kiss warms his heart. “I’m taking both of you stargazing.” He’s taking you stargazing.

Like your first date.

“My mom and I used to do it before she left. Then we did it that night on the boat. It’s always been something I loved. It didn’t feel right not sharing it with Vi.” A tear slips down your cheek and he rushes to wipe it away. “Hey, hey why are you crying?” He’s worried he did or said something wrong. “I’m just really happy. You make me happy.” Rafe’s thumb caresses your cheek as he looks at you lovingly.

It feels like he wants to say something. You can see the internal conflict through his blue eyes. “Let’s get out. I think someone is getting antsy.” His head nods to the back and sure enough Vi is bouncing in her car seat. You both get out of the car and you get Vi as he gets the blankets. He leads you to a patch of grass and lays the blankets down. The three of you sit down and Violet automatically goes to sit on his lap.

Rafe lays down and positions her so she's laying back on his chest a perfect view to the sky. You join them by laying down beside Rafe. “So mister wise astronomer tell us some facts.” You tease him while you poke his ribs. “Most of the stars we see are bigger than the sun and are brighter.” The fact is puzzling because you thought the sun was the biggest honestly.

The night just consists of him giving you star facts and pointing out constellations. “Stars are all actually different colors and they get them due to their temperature.” or “Most stars are actually by themselves. There’s large distances between stars.” After a while he got bored of telling you facts, wanting to not sound like a science book. On the other hand you enjoyed that he was sharing his interest with you.

The last hour was Rafe and you pointing out random shapes in stars. Vi had fallen asleep at one point and you both decided it was time to leave. The ride back was silent but comfortable. It just all felt right.

As Rafe pulled up to the house there was a car parked in front of it. You brushed it off to someone visiting a neighbor and left it at that. Getting out of the car you wait as Rafe got Vi out of the car to go inside. Expecting to spend some more time with Rafe after putting your daughter to bed like you've been doing recently. Clearly that was too much to expect because that came crashing down.

As you were walking up the driveway the car’s door opened and some man called out your name. You and Rafe turn around and look as he walks closer to you. “Yes, that's me. Do I know you?” The man doesn’t say anything and hands you an envelope. You look over at Rafe and then the envelope. Both of you have confused faces. “What’s this?”

“You’ve been served.”

#rafe cameron #rafe x reader #rafe x you #obx #rafe x single mom #rafe obx #rafe outer banks #outer banks #outer banks fanfiction

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