#it's not even a band of travelling wizard it was just like. Her and her parents

[tumbleweed-run]

In the Light of Day

Kinktober 2023 Day 31 Free for all

“Are you sure this is how you want to fully test this?” Tav sounds as nervous as Astarion feels. 

Astarion does a much better job of hiding his nerves, though. He looks down at the gold band on his finger, glinting in the light as he flexes his hand. “It’s not like we don’t know it works,” he reasons.

“Yes, but that was through the windows. Maybe it doesn’t work as well in direct sunlight,” Tav looks nearly panicked. 

Astarion can’t have them both stressed, so he steps into her space and grabs her arms. “Pet,” he says sharply, and her mouth slams shut, “we know it works.”

They do. He’s spent the better part of the last three days standing in front of uncovered windows in the tower, unsinged. He just hadn’t been bold enough to step outside just yet. The memory of that day on the docks in Baldur’s Gate lingers like a bad taste in the back of his mouth. Every time he’d considered even stepping out onto the terrace Gale loves so much he would feel dizzy. But he can’t bear keeping himself locked up any longer. Astarion decided today would be the day he was going out. 

His hand hesitates on the door despite all his reassurances to Tav. 

Just because Astarion believes the ring and its protection works doesn’t mean he didn’t take precautions. His face is truly the only part of his skin exposed. Should something go wrong, it would be easy enough to flip up his hood for protection until he was safely back inside. When he finally brings himself to push open the door and walk out into the street, he’s easily the most overdressed person out there. 

His eyes slide shut as the full force of the sun beats down on him, and he waits. Nothing happens. Tav breathes a sigh of relief next to him. 

“See,” Astarion turns his head towards her, eyes opening, “it works fine out here, too.”

Tav nods, a small smile finally breaking out across her lips. “Thank the gods,” she breathes.

“Let’s keep that sentiment to ourselves,” he says with a wry smile, “lest our wizard get any more ideas.”

She laughs and grabs his hand, “we should get going if we’re going to find him by noon.”

Gale had disappeared not long after sunrise. He’d left them a map to somewhere outside of the city and told them to be at that spot by noon. Astarion wondered if the air of intrigue was to act as a further lure to get him out of the tower for the first time. He wasn’t about to tell the other man that it worked. 

As they traveled towards their secret destination, it was clear that this was turning out to be the first summerlike day they’d experienced since winter had slunk off. Astarion was a fan of the heat, his body rarely feeling this kind of warmth, but even he’d taken the cloak off by the time they’d reached the city gate. There were beads of sweat along the back of Tav’s neck that Astarion spent most of their journey distracted by. 

It wasn’t hard to follow Gale’s directions, which led them to a small clearing in a wood not too far south of the city. The wizard was sitting, leaning up against the trunk of a tree with a book in hand as they approached. 

“I was beginning to wonder if I’d be eating alone,” Gale announced when they got to the edge of the clearing. 

“Please,” Astarion sniffed, “we’re not even late.”

Gale stood and approached them. If Astarion had need for breath, his would have caught when the damn wizard stepped out of the shade. He’d forgotten how the man looked in the sun, and this was even worse. Perhaps without the orb eating him alive, the man appeared even more golden than he had while they traveled. Gale looked radiant with the sun, its rays highlighting both the silver and honey-gold strands of his hair. He would have made a glorious god if their paths had turned that way. Not that Astarion would ever reveal that thought to anyone. 

“I’m starved,” Tav announces, pulling Astarion from his thoughts. 

Gale grins, “well then, you are quite lucky to know a wizard both talented with magic and food. It’s all being kept fresh with ice.”

They sat on a blanket in the sun, eating far too much food. Gale had been prepared for an army, it seemed. There was even a bottle filled with blood for Astarion, but he took small bites of everything. It was something he often did to feel included in mealtimes. At home, he’d sit with his goblet of blood, the origins of which he’d never gotten around to asking about, and taste a little of everything Gale and Tav ate. The food would never satiate his hunger. Sometimes, it seemed to make it worse, but he’d found he enjoyed eating in the company of others. 

Once he’d grown bored of food, long before the other two did, Astarion laid back on the blanket, basking in the sun. It felt different from when he’d had the tadpole. He saw the sun's lights and was able to revel in its warmth, but something was missing. Likely whatever it was that the ring was protecting him from, an invisible shield along his skin. He could live with that, a tiny missing piece, in return for the joys of being a daywalker once more. 

“You are a filthy romantic,” he announces suddenly, turning to level his gaze at Gale.

Gale pauses midchew of something with an eyebrow raised. 

“A picnic in the woods,” Astarion clarifies, earning him an eye roll from the wizard. 

Tav leans over him, blocking the sun from his face. “You’re enjoying it, though.”

Astarion doesn’t answer except to pull her down to him. She ends up lying across his chest, and he feels her stiffen for a moment. He knows why, they all do, but he won't allow it to ruin their day. So instead, he turns to his side so Tav’s lying next to him pulled tight against his body. She smells like the sun and her hair is warm to the touch. He buries his face in her neck and inhales. 

She laughs, “I thought you were full.”

“I have no plans to eat you,” Astarion assures her even as he lets his fangs scrape across her skin, no doubt also tangling in her hair. 

Tav shivers. 

“Unless you wish me to,” he adds, hooking one leg over the top of hers and pulling her even closer. Tav squirms a little, no doubt feeling the stirring of his cock against her thighs. 

Behind her, Gale clears his throat. 

“I think the wizard is jealous,” Astarion says loud enough for the other man to hear. 

“I think,” Gale says with a touch of indignity, “that the wizard wants to remind you he is also here.”

Tav giggles but pushes against him to roll away. Astarion lets her. He watches as she crawls over to Gale, sitting in his lap before pressing a kiss against the wizard’s lips. Gale pulls her closer until she’s straddling his waist, deepening the kiss. He reaches down to grasp his cock through his pants as Tav starts rocking against Gale. 

Astarion lazily palms himself as he half watches them. His eyes slip shut after a moment, and he turns his head back to the sun, enjoying the way the rays beat white against his eyelids. He groans as he hears sweet little sounds escaping Tav’s lips, still muffled against Gale’s. He’s torn between wanting to join them and laying like this in the sun. 

It’s a soft, slick sound that makes up his mind for him. Turning again, he sees that Gale has worked Tav’s pants down under her ass, and his hand has disappeared between them. Astarion watches the pale swell of flesh roll, no doubt in response to fingers buried within her, and is overwhelmed with the desire to bite her there, hard enough she’ll scar. While it’s unlikely Tav will tell him no, he swallows that down for another moment. Right now, he’s going to commit the way they look in the sunlight to memory. He hopes to see them like this a million more times, but he needs to remember today.

“Astarion,” Tav calls to him, voice inching near a whine.

He grins, rises up onto his knees, and moves to her. Once his front is flush against her back, Astarion trails a kiss against her neck. “Is the wizard not enough for you, darling,” he teases. 

Tav cries out. No doubt Gale has retaliated with his fingers to the barb. Astarion grins. 

“You’re insufferable,” Gale tells him almost casually despite what he continues to do to Tav. 

Astarion grins at the man over Tav’s shoulder. “But you love me that way,” it’s half a statement, half a challenge. 

Gale sighs. “Of course I do,” he sounds resigned to the fact. 

There’s a swell of giddiness in Astarion’s chest at the wizard’s affirmation. It seems to grow larger in the light until he can no longer repress the certainly appalling grin that’s broken across his face. Gale returns the look with a stupidly brilliant smile, one so bright that Astarion reburries his face into Tav’s neck.

He reaches around the front of Tav until his hand finds where Gale’s fingers are slowly moving in and out of her cunt. Astarion rubs gently against her clit until she’s whimpering, hips chasing after both of their touches in stuttered movements. 

“You make such pretty sounds,” he purrs against Tav’s skin. He feels, rather than sees, her skin grow hotter with a flush. 

Astarion allows his fingers to drop lower, and slowly he presses one into her, sliding it between the two fingers Gale is using. He allows the wizard to control the way they move, his position too awkward to take control. Tav moans and her thighs spread almost impossibly wider in an effort to accommodate the three fingers now inside of her. Astarion can feel her cunt growing wetter with each second. No longer is it just his fingers coated but a good part of his hand as well. 

When he pulls his hand away from her, Tav whimpers but it’s quickly swallowed by a moan. Astarion had little doubt the wizard has replaced his finger with another of his own. Astarion holds out his hand to Gale, who leans forward just enough so he can like a stripe up his palm. He grinds his cock against Tav’s ass as Gale eagerly cleans her from Astarion’s hand. Before he finishes, Gale presses a soft kiss against the golden band.

He grips onto Tav’s hips and lifts her slightly, away from Gale’s fingers. “Let’s take these off,” he says as an explanation. Gale is the one who ends up pulling them down completely. Tav just barely helps by moving her legs. Astarion scrapes his teeth against her neck in retribution before moving back off of Gale, standing. 

Gale quickly flips them so that Tav is pinned beneath him on the blanket, her head resting just before Astarion’s feet. She grins up at him and asks, “Are you fucking me?”

Astarion shakes his head, “I thought we were rewarding the wizard’s brilliance? Let’s let him have you today.”

Gale doesn’t need to be told anything further and makes short work of his own pants before dropping down to hover back over Tav. Astarion circles around behind them but stays standing until Gale’s pressing into Tav. Her eyes roll back and then close, which is when Astarion finally drops to his knees. 

He holds only Gale’s hips as the man begins lazily thrusting into Tav. After a moment, he moves his hold until he gripping the wizard’s ass, pulling him apart lightly. Gale’s rhythm suffers just a little when Astarion does this. He grins to himself about this. Then, without so much as a whisper of warning, Astarion leans down and presses his tongue against the ring of muscle. 

“Ah,” Gale yelps in surprise. He would have collapsed forward if it weren't for Astarion holding him in place. 

“No?” He asks, allowing the breath of his words to ghost across the flesh. 

“Just surprised,” Gale clarifies with barely enough time before Astarion returns to what he’d been doing. 

The wizard tries valiantly to keep thrusting into Tav, but around the time Astarion presses his tongue just inside, he all but freezes. Astarion allows himself to be sloppy as he fucks Gale with his tongue, the wizard doesn’t seem to mind judging from his moans and the way his hips try and push back against him. Astarion keeps him held in place. 

“Astarion, if I can’t watch, could I at least get fucked?” Tav asks in a voice Astarion knows is accompanied by a pout. 

“Fine,” Astarion relents and sits up. He quickly undoes the ties of his own pants and shoves them down just below his cock. 

“Are you coherent enough?” He teases, leaning forward so his hand is probably within Gale’s eyesight. 

The words are muttered spitefully, and the oil appears, even if it’s a little more than usual. Astarion quickly slicks it against his cock before swiping the excess down the cleft of Gale’s ass. He presses in with little warning, moving slow, yet relentlessly until he bottoms out. It takes a few shallow thrusts into the wizard before he begins moving again. Tav sighs happily on the ground, one leg raising up until Astarion takes hold of it, allowing Gale to thrust into her deeper. 

It’s not quick or frenzied as they fuck. Gale’s hips are rolling languidly, forward into Tav and then back against Astarion. The only noises for a while are each of their pants and the sound of the trees rustling overhead with a breeze that doesn’t reach them. Astarion allows his eyes to slide shut, again tilting his head towards the sun. It feels like his whole body is glowing in the light, the warmth growing low in his belly, each thrust of his hips making him grow brighter. This is something he’s never experienced and something he swears he will a hundred times more. 

Astarion’s orgasm takes him by surprise. His body folds over Gale as he comes, hips pinning the other man motionless again. Gale doesn’t complain, only grinds back against Astarion. Astarion pulls out of the wizard but keeps his face buried against his back. It’s not terribly comfortable as Gale begins to move, his own hand holding up Tav’s leg now, but Astarion remains anyway. He reaches around and lazily swipes his thumb against Tav’s clit until she cries out, thighs clamping tightly against Gale. The wizard comes not long after. Astarion feels the other man’s release roll through the muscles of his back. 

“You seem happy,” Tav says tentatively a few moments later as they’re lying side by side on the picnic blanket.

Astarion opens his eyes and looks over at her, and then at Gale, who’s resting his head on her stomach. 

“I am,” he says truthfully. 

[thecampjuicebox]

Aching for you

Gale (m) x Tav (f). Some slow burn fluff between Gale and Tav, but don’t worry, it gets nasty.

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI

Pairing: Tav(f) x Gale

POV: 2nd person (Reader is Tav)

Warnings: SMUT | p in v sex | fingering | oral (f receiving) | Some game spoilers

(This is my first bg3 fanfic so pls be gentle. I’ve played through the game a handful of times, however and adore the progression of the Gale x Tav romance. Enjoy this one off! Let me know if I should do more)

It has been an odd few weeks traveling with your band of misfits. Each day drags along, your bones aching with the wear and tear of battle. Today was no different. Moonrise tower is your final stop before the trek to Baldur’s Gate. Ketheric Thorm is just out of arms reach, and the shadow curse is incredibly close to being no more. Yet still, the only thing you can think about is rest. A soft bedroll, a crackling fire, the cool air rustling the loose tendrils of hair that hang around your face and neck as you lull yourself to sleep with thoughts of victory and the warm embrace of a real bed when this is all over. Setting up your tent, you can’t help but catch a glimpse of Gale, fighting with the straps on his bedroll. His soft brown hair falls into his face, obscuring the light tint of red his skin has taken on from the struggle. You chuckle and shake your head, setting down your belongings in a messy pile before making your way to the flustered Wizard.

“Seems like you’re struggling a bit, love. In need of some help?”

Your voice startles Gale and he flicks his eyes around and then up to you. Gale’s back straightens quickly and he bumps his head on the upper pole of his tent, a small grunt leaving his lips. He slaps a hand to the back of his aching head and sighs in annoyance.

“Seems like I am. This gods damned bedroll has gotten the best of my tired hands. Would you mind?”

He gestures towards the roll now lying on the ground inside of his tent. You nod and kneel down, inspecting the tangled and knotted ties that keep the roll together. A small sigh leaves you once you realize why the poor fool couldn’t get them undone in the first place - he’s been pulling at the wrong string. With a quick tug, the ties slip from the roll and the down mat bursts open, nearly knocking you onto your backside. Standing quickly to jump out of the way of the impending doom that is goose feathers and cotton, you lose your balance and stumble, bumping into the wizard’s tall frame. A soft yelp leaves your lips has his hands meet your hips to steady you. Gale sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and releases you as quickly as he grabbed you.

“I do apologize.. I didn’t want to see you fall. The outcome would be much more disastrous knowing the rest of camp has no idea you’re even in my tent. Wouldn’t want them to get the wrong idea, you know?”

Your face flushes a deep shade of pink and you brush your hands down your sides, smoothing down your undershirt. Turning to face Gale, you notice his arms tightly crossed over his chest, his bottom lip tucked nicely between his teeth once more, almost punctuating his sentence. With a nod, you kneel back down to smooth out his bedroll. You both hear footsteps approaching the tent with haste and you stand to catch a glimpse of the sudden intruder. You see none other than Astarion, red eyes filled with worry and a hint intrigue as he pokes his head into the tent, a small smirk forming on his pale lips when he notices the two of you in the small space.

“My apologies, it seems I’ve interrupted something rather… intimate. I heard Tav yelp and my curiosity took over. Had to see what all of the fuss was about. But, I see that my guess was correct. Do treat her well, Gale. She’s a sweet thing once you unwrap her.”

You’re no stranger to the vampire’s flirtatious words, the two of you sharing a night together after the Teifling party. His voice is the sweetest venom, and he knows how to make your legs tremble. You shake your head and shove your hands into your back pockets, ducking out of the tent and past Astarion’s lanky frame before he could pile on any more saucy words. He chuckles and swiftly slips a finger into your belt loop, yanking you back towards him before you could gain too much distance. Gale’s arms stay crossed, his gaze narrowing at Astarion for a moment, and then softening again once he notices how quickly you’re trying to escape. His hands drop to his sides, one of them fiddling with his soft velvet sleep shirt. His stance causes a lump to form in your throat, feeling almost guilty that you stepped away from him so quickly. You much prefer his company over Astarion’s, but you don’t have the gall to tell him. Not in front of Astarion, anyway.

“Tav was simply assisting me with my stubborn bedroll. Nothing more. I do wish you wouldn’t barge in uninvited, however. Rather rude of you, considering the privacy I often give the two of you when you’re feeding.”

Gale’s head twists to the side, hiding a look of slight jealousy when Astarion pulls you closer to him. Astarion presses you into his side, his hand resting on the supple curve of your hip. You give him a playful shove and step back from the tent’s opening, shaking your head once more. Astarion peeks over his shoulder at you, one eyebrow raised, giving you that stupid smolder he loves to use when he doesn’t get what he wants.

“Yes, Astarion. Courtesy would look ravishing on you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I do believe I heard Karlach say that dinner was ready.”

•••

The night air is filled with the sound of soft snores and the gentle breeze from the deep black ocean just beyond the rocks of the camp. You sit on your bedroll, legs crossed, fingers folded neatly in your lap as you watch the fire dim to a low flicker, the air making it near impossible not to shiver. You poke your head out of your tent, scanning your surroundings before finding Gale, his frame resting just outside of his tent, tattered book in hand. Warmth pools in your belly once your gaze falls upon the beautiful wizard, your cheeks flushing and your fingers twitching with excitement. The two of you were finally alone, the rest of the camp deep in sleep. You purposely withheld telling Astarion he could feed tonight, hoping you would get a chance to spend the night with Gale. Even if it meant listening to him drone on and on about whatever tome he was enveloped in this week. Pushing yourself up, you stand and quickly tip-toe out of your tent, moving towards Gale. You stop in front of Shadowheart’s tent, listening for her snores and sleep mumbling before continuing your mission. Gale’s eyes move to you when he hears your footsteps approaching and the smile that forms on his lips nearly makes your knees buckle.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

His voice is almost a whisper, the worn book snapping closed in his hands and he sets it beside him. He leans back on one hand, his gaze matching yours once you stop in front of him. You look down, almost too embarrassed to speak. You want to turn tail and run back to your tent like a frightened rabbit. Gale leans forward, eyes trying to find yours and failing. He closes his eyes and focuses. Your tadpole vibrates with excitement, causing you to wince slightly. Your eyes snap to Gale, a look of slight disbelief forming on your features. The wizard, after preaching about not wanting to use the tadpoles for anything other than convincing the cult that we are one of them, is trying to probe your thoughts. Gale opens his eyes, meeting yours and he blushes.

“Now Gale.. Remember the conversation we had about courtesy with Astarion?”

A low chuckle erupts from Gale’s mouth and he quickly slaps his hand over it to silence himself, his legs shifting to a crossed position. Courage bubbles in your throat and you stand your ground, hands fidgeting with the bottom of your nightgown, one foot kicking at the dirt beneath you. The slight glimpse of your plush thighs makes Gale shiver and he tries to keep his eyes on yours.

“I was hoping that I could.. Stay with you. Tonight. If that’s okay. Which it’s perfectly fine if it isn’t. I don’t want to intrude.”

Your words come out jumbled and nervous, your confident stance crumbling to one of anxiety and shyness. Gale’s features soften and his deep eyes widen slightly. He hurries to his feet, brushing his soft brown hair behind one ear, his small silver earring shining in the moonlight. His entire being leaves you breathless and the air gets trapped in your lungs for a moment as you wait for his reply. He extends a hand to you, his look of reassurance softening your posture. You gently slide your hand into his and without words, follow him as he saunters into his tent. The inside of his tent is arranged neatly now, his bedroll centered nicely between stacks of books and pillar candles. Small pots of herbs and empty potion bottles are arranged nicely on a tiny round table, a single lantern dimly lit amongst the decor. You notice a few pillows arranged in almost a nest on top of his bedroll, a soft looking blanket folded in the middle. He smiles at you, gesturing towards the nest and you oblige, settling yourself into one side of it, leaving a perfect space for him.

“I was honestly hoping you’d join me. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Fiddling with the clasps on the tent flaps, Gale closes you off to the outside world, turning to look at you. He sits beside you, moving the folded blanket to the side for now. You clasp your hands together, unsure of where else to put them and he eyes your fingers, reaching out to release one of your hands just to capture it in his. He uses his free hand to tilt your chin towards him, eyes meeting yours with a gaze so intense you feel like you might implode. That familiar warmth pools within you again, this time much lower. You adjust your position, legs stretched out in front of you now, but crossed tightly. His fingers trace the smooth line of your jaw, thumb moving up to gently press against your bottom lip. He gives it a gentle tug downward and releases it, your lip snapping back into position. His breathing is heavy, the hand holding yours trembling lightly.

“I have ached for you.. every day. For weeks now. Every battle we fight together, every night when you’re bathing in the river or brushing your hair before bed. I ache for you. Yearn for you. I want you in ways I’ve never wanted another soul.”

Your breath catches in your throat, nearly choking you out as his words dance off of your ears. You squeeze his hand and wait for a response. His fingers tighten around yours and you can’t help but smile, your heart fluttering beneath your ribs. He felt it too. That yearning you’ve held down since you pulled him out of that portal that first day on the beach. The want to hold him tightly when Elminster warned of his grim fate, had he chosen to ask Mystra for forgiveness. You let out a sigh, leaning forward to press your foreheads together and you whisper quietly to him, your breath ever so slightly grazing his parted lips.

“I’ve yearned for you too, Gale. To feel your skin pressed to mine. To know you in ways no other has known you. To love you the way the gods love.”

Without hesitation, Gale’s lips crash to yours, sending your heart up in flames. His hands move up to cup your scorching cheeks, doing everything he can to pull you in closer, to devour you. Your hands find purchase on the front of his velvet shirt, grasping at the fabric for dear life. Momentarily breaking the kiss, Gale tugs his shirt up and over his head, tossing it behind him with reckless abandon. He gently shoves you to your back, your head hitting the mound of pillows perfectly place behind you. Nervous fingers fumble with the hem of your nightgown, giving it occasional pushes upward, testing the waters. You nod up at him, his frame now towering over yours. Without hesitation, he uses his knee to part your thighs, sitting between them as his hands work your nightgown up over your hips. You shudder at his touch and clamp your teeth down on your lower lip, holding back any noises that threaten to escape you. The warmth in your core now burns like the fires of Avernus, your arousal evident. Gale’s eyes widen at the sight of you, no underwear, and you giggle quietly.

“I didn’t expect anything.. but I wanted to be prepared just in case.”

A quiet groan slips from Gale’s lips as he leans down to press gentle kisses along your abdomen. Your breath hitches and you buck your hips upwards, chasing the kisses when his lips leave your skin. Your hands snake into his soft locks and you give them a gentle tug when his tongue begins to trace shapes into your mound.

“Gale..”

He smirks at the sound of his name, your arousal only fueling him further. His tongue dips lower, quickly slipping through your folds, his fingers now digging into the plush meat of your thighs. With one swift movement, he slides his body lower, his stomach now on the ground and he pushes your legs up and over his shoulders, exposing your heat to him. He growls, his breath coasting along your now slick folds. One hand leaves your thigh, swiping through your folds to collect your wetness before settling into your cunt, resting there to allow you to adjust. You let out a whimper, your back arching off of the bedroll, hands still tangled in his hair. After a moment of stillness, he adds a second finger, giving you a gentle stretch before pumping both digits in and out, his lips latching to your clit. He sucks feverishly, his hips grinding into the ground to appease the angry erection in his leggings. You groan at the feeling and lift your hips slightly, pressing yourself into his face, begging for more. His tongue licks long, slow stripes over your clit, your climax rapidly building in your core. Your entire body shivers with electricity. Pumping his fingers faster, he chases your release, listening for your reactions as he presses deliciously into that spongey spot within your walls. You gasp for air, bucking your hips up one last time before pure ecstasy spills over your being, your bones catching fire as you ride the waves of your orgasm.

“Just like that, my love.. You sound so beautiful, cumming for me.”

Gale slips his fingers out of your heat, trailing sloppy, wet kisses up your torso and to your neck. He sits up on his knees, erection clearly begging to burst from his leggings. You struggle to catch your breath, your walls still fluttering from your climax. He presses his used fingers to his lips, tongue flicking out to clean your juices from them. He keeps his eyes locked on you the entire time and he smirks at your clearly restless state. He stands, carefully sliding his leggings off and his cock springs out and up, hitting his stomach. You groan at the sight, mouth watering.

“Are you ready for me, darling?”

You bite down on your bottom lip and nod, lids lowering slightly. He kneels down once more, swiftly bringing your legs up to wrap around his waste. You raise your arms and rest them on his broad shoulders, fingers twirling the ends of his hair. You both take a moment to drink each other in, the body heat radiating between you being enough to warm the tent entirely. This moment feels perfect. Pure. It’s what you’ve been waiting for since you met this sweet Wizard that now towers above you. You spent many nights in your tent, hand between your legs, fantasizing about Gale’s fingers inside of you. His lips against your ear, coaching you through your orgasm. You shudder slightly at the memories and Gale chuckles, leaning down to press sweet kisses all over your face. He lifts his head once more and looks into your eyes, a look of need enlarging his pupils. You nod, giving him the approval he was looking for. He lines his hips up with yours, pressing the weeping tip of his cock to your entrance. You freeze. Gods, he feels huge. With a slight movement of his hips, he slides into you. Filling you up completely. You wait until he bottoms out before beginning to roll your hips against him, earning a soft grunt. He smirks and sits up, tugging your hips deliciously close before thrusting into you. He presses in as far as he can before sliding out slowly, leaving just the tip inside. He repeats this slow process, making you whine and squirm.

“Gale please.. I need..”

“You need what, my love?”

Your pale face flushes a deep shade of red. Without warning, Gale slams his hips into you once, pulling out almost entirely.

“Gods, I need you to fuck me. Please… I can’t take it anymore.”

Gale wastes no time quickening his pace, the loud sound of skin slapping against skin filling the tent. Deep down you hope the rest of the camp doesn’t hear you, but you also can’t be bothered to care. Gale lifts your legs to his shoulders now, the new angle allowing him to plow deeper into your aching cunt. Sweat beads form on his forehead as he thrusts, his orgasm building deep within him. Gale earns long, loud moans from you with every thrust, only fueling him to fuck into you harder, deeper, faster. His hair sticks to his face as he works. His movements begin to become more erratic, his orgasm threatening to explode out of him. He lowers your legs to his hips, making them wrap tightly around him and he presses his forehead to yours. One hand rests on the bedroll beside your head while the other reaches between your bodies, finding your swollen clit. He rubs agonizingly pleasurable circles into it, making that familiar heat build quickly in your core. You let out a loud moan, slapping your hand over your mouth to muffle it. Gale sighs, closing his eyes for a moment to focus on the movement of his hand and his hips. Your legs tremble around him, almost falling to his sides as your climax grows nearer and nearer with each circle of his fingers and thrust of his hips. Both of your hands reach up to find Gale’s shoulders, nails digging into the skin there. He grunts at the sting, driving harder into you. He opens his eyes, lifting his head slightly so he can look directly into yours. Tears sting at the corners of your eyes as you’re overcome with a feeling of pure bliss. Gale lets out a shaky breath.

“I love you, Tav. Gods, I love you..”

Without warning, he spills into you, cock twitching as he spews his seed deep into your walls. You cry out as your orgasm overtakes you and you cling to Gale’s warm body, riding out the waves as he whispers affirmations into your ear. You both collapse into the bedroll, bodies sweaty and trembling. Gale tugs the blanket up and over the two of you, pulling your backside closely to his chest. Your chest heaves during your comedown and you giggle to yourself, brushing some hair out of your eyes. Gale presses soft kisses to your shoulder and allows his lips to linger there. Sleep begins to invade your brain, your breaths beginning to slow. Before you both doze off for the night, you whisper to him.

“I love you too, Gale.”

He tugs you impossibly close, arms snaking around your torso. His chin rests comfortably over your shoulder and sleep finds you both quickly, your snores joining those of the rest of the camp.

[dynamyte16]

𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞...

i think its been long enough for me to finally tell you all about Dynamyte's lore, so gather around my children for i have a story to tell...

the story of

𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐞...

She was born on a cold night on October 31 inside the castle walls of the Demon Realm. The daughter of the queen of demons Gelda and king of demons Zeldris was born. She looked more like her father but with her mother's eyes and fangs. They named her Octavia. The king and queen were really happy to have her but that happiness would banish. She was kidnapped by a mage and brought to a queen in another kingdom.

The queen's name was Scarlet, and the reason she wanted a baby was because her husband had died of an odd food poisoning in his dinner and her 7th son had died in a carriage accident. He was a baby and was traveling with his nanny back to the kingdom. Poor boy with wing like green hair. The body was never found.

The mage cursed Octavia with a skin that whenever she touched something it would burn ablaze. The mage also gave 2 earrings for the baby, one for being able to eat food and the other for wearing clothes.

Scarlet was thrilled with excitement. A new toy to play with. She renamed the child Peril because of her ability.

Years passed and Peril grew smarter and stronger. Once she came of age at 7 she put her to fight as a gladiator, and she became scarlet's champion. She was fed the people she killed in the arena and lived in the dungeon. She was happy that the queen needed her. But one day everything changed...

His name was Benjamin and he was her first friend ever. He was a wizard apprentice and was very talented. He created an arm band and enchanted it so that she would be able to be normal, and it worked. Whenever she was with him she wore it. For the first time in her life….she was happy.

but that didn’t last long…

When the queen found out about their little relationship she was furious. She banned Peril from seeing Benjamin ever again but in a last moment resort Peril exploded in anger. That she started screaming, to the point that she got so mad that her demon power released (think of what meliodas did for Danafor). Half the kingdom exploded into flames. The queen’s face was burnt in her left side completely and a tower fell on her. Peril also got burned, leaving many scars in her body from the flames.

Before she could leave she found Benjamin’s body impaled. Before he died he gifted her his goggles and said “ keep living, even if times are dark remember to always smile.” Then he passed. She grabbed his body and with her recent injuries she ran as fast as she could it took her days but she arrived to another kingdom.

The kingdom was called Liones. She arrived at the capital and she was surrounded by guards. Still carrying her dead friend she asked for help, and that’s when the king came and helped her.

Meliodas and Elizabeth took her in and helped her heal while giving a proper burial to her best friend. Once she was ready he asked where did she come from, and she replied with “a kingdom not known by anyone but known enough for rumors to travel by”

Hs was taken in and given a home. She met prince Tristan and started a small friendship with him.

“So peril, do you want to stay with us?” Meliodas asked

“Yes, I want to but I need a favor” Peril replied

“And what is that?” He said curiously

“Call me Dynamyte from now on, I don’t like my previous name” she said looking at him.

“Dynamyte? I like it! Fits your personality” he laughed.

From that day onwards she became a close member of the royal family, a member of the holy knights in liones and a well sophisticated mage. And that’s her story..

but don’t think it’s done just yet, for now she has more of a story to tell in the future….

[ganondoodle]

i kinda want to read books again, i havent read any in .. more years than i know to remember but idk how to find anything i like, especially these days (i dont read fanfiction either .. , i tried a few times but it never really caught me q-q)

even when i was young i was somewhat picky (though there are plenty books im sure i finished but just .. dont remember) the last series i think i read was skullduggery pleasant (as i said, its been many years) but dropped it after it got a little 'weird' (in like .. i guess the shonen powerscaling problem, at least thats how it felt back then) and the annoying love interest boy that was seemingly only introduced so protag girl could do what normal girls do tm (i know theres many more books in the series so idk if hes actually more than that but eugh)

funnily enough i only seem to remember the books i loved so much i kept rereading them (the bartimäus trio, though i loved the forth prequel more than the others .. still sad i lost my copy of it in school) or the ones i stopped reading bc something completely threw me out of it-

there was one i literally only remember it was a protagonist (teen?) girl (is that a general common thing for the fantasy genre?) and she was travelling via a ship in that scene, idk if it was a flying one but something was different magical tm i think; and left it or ran away or so and sought shelter from the rain at some point and annoying boy caught up to her and they uuh .. started making out of nowhere?? (im sorry i literally only remember i felt rly uncomfortable and awkward, didnt like the boy, thought they had zero chemistry/felt forced AND i did NOT see it coming, like at all, maybe its my aro/ace/autism .. ness (that i wasnt aware of except being def different for most of my life, haha fun.) but i rememebr feeling like i got flashbanged by what i read, the only actual sentence i (think i) remember was "she felt the weight of his hips shifting onto hers" bc it weirded me out so much and i might just have stopped reading it at that point and never looked back lmao)

another one was one with a setting of having dragons and they were used like horses, also feathered! (though the cover picture, i think, was a big dragon eye surrounded by scales, pretty sure it annoyed me constantly but i might missremember, again its been so long and i went through things my brain wishes it could unlive) and the protagonist worked at a stable or soemthing (also girl? idk), last thing i remember was that all dragons started to go mad and kill themselves .. idk if i read any further

(honorable mention to uuh .. dämonenzeit (demon time), was a demon protagonist and it was a little brutal for my taste but when do you get a demon as the main guy, apparently there were two entries and i only read the first one, also lost that copy- Xarors (an OC of mine) first designs were based on the cover of that book and the thing the band 'disturbed' tended to use (the hooded guy with red glowing eyes) i was very original)

maybe all those were super well known ones and i just never knew (grew up without/extremely limited internet and tech in general after all.... the only one i knew was popular and also read all of it and had all parts .. was a certain bad wizard series that should not still be so popular *watches in horror as my niece gets into it and wants nothing but merch for it*) or really bad peepoo baby books, im possibly confusing or mixing some things bc i read quite a few ones with dragons and similar themes, but thats just what i remember/remember feeling like

(maybe i should see if i still have them somewhere and see how much is true of any of this .... though a part of me also doesnt want to)

[calder]

Uh I think hatchet is supposed to be ‘immortal’ via cloning like she is a clone of the last hatchet like person? So there’s only ever really one but they like pass information down to the next clone somehow before they die? But it’s not really being immortal because they just turn into completely different people even though they genetically identical. (I stg I saw you make a post about this I’m not crazy)

Also she knows wizard spells from the radiation god/woman (who caused the great war) the children of atom worship.

And she studies the remains of old world sciency/occult sites to understand whatever is going on with how radiation, ghouls and aliens are connected. Also she’s obsessed with the portal Dr greebly (really good name fallout should have more names like that) made and went through (to the moon or some shit). Also there’s some sort of religious thing going on?

Idk if she has like a goal other than knowing things. Hanging out adjacent to cryptids. Listening to the hit band tool. And harassing vault dwellers.

Cara is an intelligent deathclaw kinda like my man Goris except she’s also more human shaped (love the deathclaw race mod I think pictures of Cara are how I originally found your blog) She goes to nuka world at some point?

Cara and Hatchet know eachother in the same way you know someone you sat next to in school and never talked to. Also maybe they kinda don’t like eachother.

I think that’s it?

yaaay you got most of it!!!!! the religion/cult itself, the Anachorites, are the group who facilitate the time-travel/cloning operations. so esoteric and self-reinforcing is their structure that no single person understands it or has the power to make it stop. their cultural center is a zetan UFO they gutted and rebuilt as a library, which orbits a dead earth in a future they're ostensibly trying to prevent (tho at this point the power structure mainly serves its own perpetuation)

they also have an unfortunate pattern of armed conflict with separate instances of themselves due to mismanaged time travel

Cara actually idolizes Hatchet, who basically sees her as a high-novelty henchman & confidante. Cara is specific to this time period, but after she dies, Hatchet realizes she had forsaken her most fulfilling friendship, & in her grief designs C4R4, a junkbot approximating cara's personality which loyally serves future incarnations

& the clones are Supposed to have the knowledge of their foremothers through some scifi process, but it doesn't work, so she's always reviewing her foremothers' notes and bluffing about understanding them.

Hatchet Prime was born a Twin Mothers woman in the Sonora region and ultimately disappeared at Big MT around 2300

n_n yaay

[chemzee]

What music do you think the hpma bebegirls + others listen to? Just curious

Ooooh, that's a good question! :0

Gonna answer just for the babies for now bc there's already a lot of them, maybe will do adults at some point 🙇‍♀️

Tbf if we were to speak canonically (closer to canon, that is) I'm not sure whenever or not anyone outside MC or Daniel know any muggles musicians or bands, so I'd say a good majority of them only know wizard artists. There isn't much info on the majority of wizarding world musicians on the wiki, so I can't really assign most of the kiddos which would be their fav wizard singers/bands lol.

As much as I love joking about Daniel listening to My Chemical Romance, I'm actually not really sure whenever or not he'd actually listen to them unironically. I do think he'd enjoy classic rock tho, stuff like Queen, Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Pink Floyd. It's mostly based on my headcanon of Reggie being a failed wannabe rock band kiddo that influenced Daniel's music taste (and tought him to play guitar) and the fact Daniel just kinda had that "70s British rock bands enjoyer" vibe about him. As for wizarding world musicians, Weird Sisters enjoyer, definitely.

Ivy, judging by the fact she doesn't know what petrol is, probably doesn't know much about muggle culture despite having a muggle dad and I assume the same could be said for Winnie. I do imagine their grandmother would enjoy Celestina Warbeck so the girls would naturally know of her. However,if speaking of muggle artists, I do headcanon that Ivy would be a swiftie (did ever since game came out on global actually pfff) and like other pop artists, like Katy Parry,for example. Winnie strikes me as Adele girlie, maybe also Marina.

Cassandra is difficult bc on one hand, I can see her as a classical music (maybe even opera) girlie who probably wouldn't like modern music (probably enjoys baroque classical music and I also can see her liking Debussy), but on the other hand, I think she'd probably secretly enjoy some pop artists, like Whitney Houston.

Lottie probably listens to a lot of music, both muggle and wizarding. She's travelled a lot so I can see her being pretty knowledge on traditional music of countries/places she's visited and enjoy folk music. She's a "listens to everything" kinda gal but if I had to pick a muggle favourite hmmm...she feels like Amy Winehouse girlie ngl. Maybe also Gorillaz and Blur.

Robyn probably doesn't know much muggle music, but I can see her enjoying "gym music", something energetic, like electronic and rock stuff, perhaps maybe even metal. Definitely strikes me as someone who'd be the fan of Weird Sisters and out of muggle music... I'd say Muse. Probably would like Skrillex, maybe Eminem. And Epic Rap Battles of History.

Kevin feels like someone who, while pure blood, knows some muggle musicians. I'd say he'd enjoy The Beatles and The Hollies. I can also see him enjoying going to Weird Sisters concerts with Robyn.

The rest actually kinda unsure. Fischer is kinda hard for me to pinpoint (I can kinda see him leaning to enjoy "cooler" music and finding most pop sappy but I can't really say which genre of artists would be his fav), same for Wenshi. I definitely can see Colby secretly enjoying Elton John though, maybe Oasis too. And I think Abigail would love punk music ngl.

[pinespittinink]

🌿 pinespittinink reintro 🌿

hello and welcome to my blog 💌 i'm easing myself back into writeblr and hope to meet some new people and continue to vibe as i always have on here. this is not my main blog, so while i may follow you, it won't be from this account. i don't follow or engage with minors; all my work is adult and queernorm unless otherwise indicated.

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a little bit about me: catherine ~ she/her ~ capricorn ~ pan & poly ~ 28 ~ 18+ only

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i've been around here sporadically since 2018 and always tend to come home; i like prompts and ask games and tags and fun things. i write love stories in sci-fi and fantasy settings, and i'm working towards traditional publishing always. currently i'm querying my adult fantasy standalone, The Great Glavenisean Theater (The Night Circus x House of Leaves). i enjoy writing nsfw content, lush scene setting, and detailed emotional headspaces.

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🖋 my wips 🖋

the great glavenisean theater 🎭 {wip intro} {general tag} spec fic/fantasy standalone. a tailor goes to the big city and gets swept up by a phantasmagorical theater with an interdimensional portal in the stage, gets a crush on a cute guy working the rigging, and maybe starts to lose his mind as shit gets Weird™️

in the deep of the trees 🍃 {wip intro} {general tag} high fantasy, romantic subplot, standalone. (bi4bi otp). a social-climber uses subterfuge, blackmail, and murder to achieve his ambitions, and the court eccentric that he's in love with gets weirder and weirder when a new discovery is brought back by an exploration team.

star white 🌟 {wip intro} {general tag} romantic space fantasy, standalone. (gay otp) one man searches for the love of his life after he's been abducted by sentient dark matter, and spends millions of years travelling through space with a semi-organic AI ship.

solene's verse 🌊 epic fantasy, duology. (t4t otp) a young self-taught wizard makes a ton of bad decisions, as a group of ragtag youths from the cesspit of the world try to rescue the elder brother of one of their own from a tower of cultists.

the revenant (working title) dark fantasy, duology(???? who knows). a one-woman-war-machine who cannot die fights alongside her childhood best friend and lover and their loyal band of vagabonds to bring down the corrupt royalty desecrating their kingdom

the wasteland (working title) weird spec fic/dark fantasy, novella. a lousy hot-tempered fire elemental and a shitty light necromancer embark on the world's worst walking roadtrip to a castle on the wasteland falling away at their feet.

[odyssey solomon's wip - mad max fury road x the road x the locked tomb, post-apocalyptic fantasy. father and son against the world plus a weird shapeshifting bitch]

[gentle poly cathedral wip - romantic fantasy, novella. gargoyles and psalms and stained glass, my beloveds]

[soft poly space wip - romantic sci-fi, duology. androids and black holes and librarians, oh my!]

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🎐tag guide🎐

my writing 🌸 my edits  🌸 my poetry 🌸 sap spill 🌸 {original text posts, not always writing related} uwu romance 🌸 {umbrella tag for everything love and romance related} trope talk🌸 {umbrella tag. overlaps often with uwu romance} character work🌸 {what it says on the tin} compilations🌸 {tumblr web weaving posts} i live here🌸 {stuff i jive with on a molecular level}

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[ Romantic and indulgent prose full of filigree, worlds full of whimsy, mystery and a hint of danger, a core of tenderness rooted at the heart of every story. Your writing is always penned in the manner of a love letter not just to the craft or even as an ode to romance but to the subject of love in itself. ] – @aninkwellofnectar​ 🌹

“for whom / and to whom all this love, / all this light falling.” 

–@ragewrites, Film Still, for pinespittinink. 

[vagabondfandoms]

Falls on Me

Day Two: Afternoon

Rating: Teen (For this Chapter)

Previous Chapters:

Day One: Night 2. Day Two: Morning

Characters: Gale Dekarios, F!Tav: Copper, Karlach and Astarion appear at the end, and Lae'zel, Wyll Ravengard, and Shadowheart are mentioned.

Warnings: N/A, Gale POV, Mentions of chronic pain

Gale asks for the Sword of Justice and ends up with a debate.

---

The pings of pain that usually exist in his body at all times since he got cursed with the orb were increasing in intensity. 

“Soon.” Gale thinks, “He’ll need to absorb a magical item soon.”

At first, Gale was apprehensive about acquiring magical items for his condition. He couldn't predict what kind of people he was traveling with. Were they kind souls who would give up a rare magical item for an ailing wizard? Or ones that hoard their treasures like dragons in a deserted dwarf stronghold on top of a lonely mountain?

In general people on the Material Plane are very… well, materialistic. Gale couldn't really blame them. This world is harsh and you have to have some sort of gumption to get anything in it. Or be lucky enough to be born with it. 

Gale considers himself one of the lucky ones. His father was a well-off shipping mogul in Waterdeep. While Gale was an illegitimate child, his father didn't balk at his duties to take care of his blood at least financially. 

And to be fair, his father could have adored his youngest son but Gale just can't remember. His dad died when he was 10 years old and Gale only has hazy recollections of the man. Most of those memories involved his dad stopping over at his mother's house bearing gifts. Being a little kid he can only remember the joy of receiving the gift and not the reaction from the giver. 

Gale was hoping somebody in his new party was a giver and after spending a day with his new “friends” he had a pretty good guess on who. 

Copper, the Ilmateri monk was both physically strong and tactically minded but also a firm devotee to her god’s tenets of compassion, respect, and willingness to go without. 

While all of Gale's other companions (including himself) picked over the camping supplies to make their personal tents as cozy as possible. The monk just threw together a makeshift tarp held up with sticks and called it good.

Gale was 90% sure that Copper would be willing to go without a magical item in her sack if he asked. He just needs to find the right time between battling goblins, spiders, and people posing as Paladins of Tyr. 

---

They just finished dispatching a small band of goblins dragging a terrified owlbear cub to their outpost in an old temple of Selûne when Gale saw his chance to ask Copper for a magical item.

Everybody else was either busy examining the owlbear cub they just saved or looting the corpses for items when Gale casually made his way over to Copper who was rummaging through her pack.

“Tiring business, isn’t it?” Gale starts. “All this traveling and adventuring.”

Copper looks up at him in surprise, apparently not expecting anybody to talk to her. “Are you tired already?” She stands up, guzzling some water, looking over at him from around the bottle.

“Well, maybe a little,” Gale says half truthfully. “But I was hoping for the chance to talk to you about something, well, rather important.”

Copper’s eyes narrow by a fraction and if Gale wasn’t so invested in starting this conversation he might have missed it. His nerves start to flutter in his stomach. “What if she says no?”

“Consider this a break.” Copper shrugs and tosses Gale her water bottle. “Drink some water, it’s hot out here, and tell me what’s ailing you.”

“Ailing me, ha. If she only knew.” Gale thinks as he unexpectedly catches the glass container coming towards his chest. It was aimed in a way that it would be impossible to drop unless you didn’t even attempt to catch it. Gale muscles the cork out and takes a swig of the cool water. 

“She must have filled it at the stream earlier today.” He considers, the cold water feeling good in his parched throat.

Copper sits down on a fallen log, waiting for Gale to finish. He takes one last gulp, downing the rest of the liquid before tossing the empty bottle back to its owner.

“Soooo, we’ve been on the road together for a while now, haven’t we?” Gale says, trying to make his words sound cheerful. Not desperate or needy. “Survived some perils, overcame some obstacles.”

The monk just raises an eyebrow at him but stays quiet allowing him to speak.

“Anyway, ever since you were kind enough to pull me from that stone, I’ve seen you demonstrate remarkable guile and courage.” Gale continues, half speaking the truth and half buttering the woman up so he could get the magic item in her bag. 

“The way you diffused the tension between Zevlor and Aradin. The way you prevented not one but two murders in the Druid’s Grove…”

“Gale.” Copper cuts in. “Those are things any Ilmateri monk would do for others. I did nothing special.”

“Wellll, I don’t know about that.” Gale playfully argues. “Most of the Ilmateri I’ve met are, well, weepy.”

Copper gives him a chuckle and bows her head, conceding to his point. Even though she follows the Crying God, most of his followers take that epithet too seriously. 

“Back to my point, I’ve grown to trust you enough to tell you something I’ve yet to tell another living soul, except for my cat,” Gale says seriously. “I need your help.  I have this…condition that requires me to consume powerful magical items.” 

To Copper’s credit, she doesn’t even look surprised when Gale tells her this. She just calmly assesses the man. Looking him over for any injuries. “You hide it well.” Copper finally says. “It must be serious if you have to consume powerful artifacts.”

“Yes, it can be deadly serious if I don't acquire the items I need,” Gale says gravely. “That is why I am turning to you. I need your help to find magical items to consume. It is vital. Dare I say it, critical.”

“Where do we find these items?” Copper asks calmly.

“We’ve already done the finding. In fact, you have one in your possession already.” The man says lightheartedly. Pleased this conversation wasn't being rejected outright.

“Soooo… you want me to give you the Sword of Justice?” Copper says, connecting the dots to what Gale wants quickly.  But a scowl appears as a new thought enters her mind. “Karlach doesn't want to use it right now but Lae’zel might.”

“Please, I know that sword was difficult to acquire but it's imperative that I absorb the Weave in that item!” Gale argues, his nerves jumping wildly in his stomach. “It will do far more good turning into a rusted piece of metal after I am done with it than waiting in your pack for somebody to decide to use it.”

Copper looks conflicted. She must hear the desperation in Gale's voice. But to sacrifice such a powerful magical weapon for…what?

“This magical item isn't mine to give.” The monk shakes her head, a sad look on her face. “Can you tell me more about your condition? Maybe I can try and heal it instead of destroying the sword?” Copper tries to reason. 

There's hope in her eyes that she can fix the dilemma without disappointing anybody. But Gale feels disappointed all the same.

“This condition is not a kind to be healed by any old healing spell.” Gale chastises, annoyance and vulnerability mixing together. “Some of the greatest magical minds came together to find this treatment.”

“You mean you and your cat?” Copper deadpans.

“Well, mainly Tara.” Gale deflates, not wanting to go into detail about his year-long depressive state after Mystra’s rejection.

“You mentioned healing spells won't work. Have you thought of Ki restoration?” Copper supplies helpfully.

“What! Try some quack Eastern Medicine?” Gale laughs, shaking his head. “No, what I need is the Weave.”

Copper huffs, clearly annoyed. “Ki restoration has been around for thousands of years! Instead of using outside magic to heal an injury. Ki restoration uses life force, either your own or another’s, to help strengthen the body from within so it can restore itself to a healthier state.” 

The monk crosses her arms and looks directly at Gale. Almost challenging the man to refute her. “Ki is a highly regarded field of learning just like the Arcane Arts of the Weave.”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t called it a quack medicine.” Gale quickly corrects himself seeing he got his companion worked up with his quick choice of words. “Waterdeep has one of the largest collections of knowledge in the Realms and the libraries do have a small section about Ki. So I have read up on this… energy before. It seems like an adequate way to trick oneself to relax or slightly enhance one’s abilities. But it’s still a lowly form of magic not even regulated by Mystra.”

“Ki is not the Weave. It doesn’t have to be governed by a god since it is an uncontrollable life energy that we can only harness a small fraction of.” Copper counters.

“Mystra...the Weave is everything. They make up ALL creation….”

“Ki is everything too!” Copper blurts out, uncustomed to sharing her thoughts with another person. “It's the life force in ALL living things.”

“Ki is regulated to the body,” Gale says calmly, overlooking the lack of decorum the monk is following for this discussion. Gale did throw out the first insult so he’ll let a little impatience slide. “Like I said, the Weave makes up everything. It’s the air we breathe, the ground we lay our feet on, the sun and stars. The fabric that makes up the entire universe!”

“Untrue.” Copper argues. “The Weave is one part of a whole that makes up the Universe. It's not everything. When the Weave was gone during the Spellplague, life was still created. People and animals were still born! Ki, the life force was still there. We didn’t just keel over and die without the Weave’s presence. How else do humans live when anti-magic fields are up?”

Gale feels tension forming in his jaw but it wasn’t from annoyance. He was getting excited even energized by this argument. He hasn’t had a good debate since he subbed at Black Staff Academy and had to argue with a teacher that they were teaching their class on Illusionary magic wrong. 

Looking down at the young monk, Gale realizes he needs to get down on her level so they can properly debate this. He was just about to kneel down to say his rebuttal when a couple of the party members came over to check on the two humans.

“Copper!!! Come see this little guy we rescued!” Karlach rushes over, full of excitement over the owlbear cub. Then she stops in her tracks, sensing the tension in the air. “Whatcha guys doing?”

“Urgh, they were just discussing something in-tel-lec-tual.” Astarion drags out the syllables in the last word like it is something rotten that needs to be thrown away. “So~ absolutely nothing exciting at all. Unlike this cool new dagger I found on that goblin corpse!!”

“Really, Astarion!” Gale says exasperated. “There’s nothing wrong about wanting to expand one’s mind beyond the material things of this world.”

The elf pops one hip to the side and examines his new treasure. “The only smarts I like are street smarts. At least they are useful to survival.”

“Come on now! I’ve seen you read in your tent at night.” Gale says, partially annoyed at Astarion's retort and partially because he couldn’t continue his conversation with Copper. He had so much he could say about the Weave and the Universe.

“Purely to pass away the hours of boredom,” Astarion says lazily, sliding his new dagger into his belt loop. 

Gale throws the elf a glare. He does not care for this blasé attitude Astarion always has around him.

“Well, I think break time is over.” Copper says as she gets up and brushes bark and moss off her butt. Karlach was already tugging at her sleeves, trying to lead the monk over to the owlbear cub, who was being watched over by Shadowheart, Wyll, and a reluctant Lae’zel.

Before she is fully swept off by the fiery tiefling, Copper catches Gale’s eye. “The sword is not solely mine to give. But don’t be afraid to ask the group if you really need it. They’re more willing to help than you think.”

Contemplating the monk's words, Gale watches his companions pack up their gear. They will be heading out soon to their new destination. Hopeful finding a way to cure the mind-flayer tadpoles in their heads. Gale can't help the small smile that forms on his lips as he watches the group happily give the scared owlbear cub food and affection. 

Maybe there are more givers in his group than he thought.

Author Note:

I like the fact in early access we had to give Gale a powerful magical item like the Sword of Justice for his condition. It gives his struggles more weight since the cost is so great. I'll try to sprinkle in more tidbits from early access as the story continues.

[sarahmeeps]

The backstory I wrote for Seaborn, my first d&d character who never saw the table and now is only blorbo from my bedtime stories:

***

She was born to parents Ptellac Windrider the Warrior and Ptellac Dawnsinger the Druid in the Pterran Vale, the largest pterran settlement on Athas. They named her Sunscale, for she shone vibrant orange like the sun just before it dipped below the horizon. (She would later learn that the color was near identical to copper, but metal does not exist on Athas.) They called her twin Greeneye, for the vivid witch-eye mismatched with the more common brown.

She and Greeneye chose the path of the druid at maturity and spent two years as traveling missionaries, spreading the knowledge of the Earth Mother and working against the defiler wizards who drained the remaining life force from the wasted land.

Eventually she returned to the Vale to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a priestess. As a holy woman, she was granted the domain of sunset, heralding the evening with prayers as her mother welcomed daybreak with song.

Greeneye returned from her mission with a different worldview. During her travels, she had encountered a group of wizards who took great care to mitigate the damage their spells caused to the land. These preservers fascinated her. She abandoned her mission to study with them, and, when she left them, her master gifted her with one of his precious, forbidden spellbooks. Greeneye returned home with a secret.

Greeneye spent years privately studying before revealing her blasphemy to Sunny. This revelation left Sunny aghast, but this was her sister, her twin, her Greeneye. Perhaps she could learn to trust these preservers, for her.

But she was not given the opportunity. Days later, during the Festival of the Longest Night, a band of defilers attacked the Vale. The Earth Mother’s priests and priestesses joined to oppose them, and in a moment of desperation, Greeneye exposed her secret to defend her people.

They fought side-by-side, druid and wizard, but the defilers were too strong. The twins were separated. She heard Greeneye call out for her; her sister’s terrified face was the last thing she saw before a blast hit her chest and her vision went dark.

***

She awoke in the cool of night, facedown in the sand, with a strange, ceaseless rushing sound filling her head. Her limbs felt heavy as stone, and her head throbbed with every pulse of her heart, but she staggered to her feet, for the defilers could have been still near.

Shock and fear and a great, deep sense of reverence overtook her. A magnificent expanse, not of silt, but of true water, stretched into the horizon, lit brightly white by a full moon’s glow and flinging wave after wave toward the shore to creep toward her feet.

She had never before seen the sea. Oases, steams, and once a clear lake that perfectly reflected the color of the sky, yes, but there had always been land on the other side, never this overwhelming, unending water. Only one sea remained on Athas, and even that was a thing of legend. She knew then that her journey would be long, for the Last Sea existed far to the north, through harsh terrain, past the mountains and cities of men. The defilers may have banished her, but she knew her stars, and she knew her Earth Mother would lead her home.

But even on that clear night when the stars shone more brightly than she had ever seen, she was unable to find her way, for the stars she saw were not her own. She could not find the Pterrax and his Rider, nor the Priestess, nor even the Earth Mother’s Everstill, that radiant, unmoving beacon that could lead even the most feckless pterran home.

These stars were not her own.

And this sea was not the Last Sea.

***

For weeks she wandered alone, along the cool, pale shoreline, across the rocks that lined the beach, into barren cliffs that gave way to fragrant, needly forests. She knew that if magic had sent her to this place, then magic could send her home, and she walked in search of a city that could provide such a service.

She ached for her sister and her parents and her home, but above all, she yearned for her goddess. This place, curse those defilers, had left her unable to commune with her Earth Mother. Her prayers went unheeded day after day, and after a time, she began to fight the horrible creeping fear that she was simply being ignored.

Her journey finally led her to a road that slowly transformed from dust to pebble to stone as it wound across the countryside and up to the spiked gates of a city. She breathed a great sigh of relief, raised her hand, and called out to a guard in the common tongue of Athas.

The few other travelers on the road scattered as the guard yelled an unfamiliar word and leveled a crossbow at her. Quicker than she could think, a bolt struck her in the shoulder, a second pierced into her calf, and she fled.

***

She had left the road far behind by the time she stopped, lungs burning and wounds throbbing. She collapsed at the base of an enormous, twisted live oak tree, cradled within its roots, and cast a healing spell on herself to no effect. Again and again she tried, and when the wounds stubbornly refused to stitch themselves closed, she ripped off a piece of her own robe and bandaged them, and then, for the first time since her banishment, she cried.

She knew then that the Earth Mother had truly left her. She wanted to scream and rage and ask her goddess why, but she knew she would receive no answer. An ugly flash of doubt whispered that this was her punishment for following her sister in blasphemy, but her heart railed against the thought. All that remained were her memories of home, and she would not let bitterness sully them.

Loneliness overwhelmed her, and in one last fit of despair, she pressed her hand to the coarse bark and attempted to speak with the tree.

A gentle, calming presence filled her mind. The tree answered, brushing a thin tendril along her cheek, rustling its branches to create a soft rain of leaves above her. She let the tree and her tears soothe her to sleep.

Days passed. The trees and flowers and animals became her friends, and apart from them, she lived in solitude and silence.

It was in those woods that she chose a new name, for she had begun a new life. In those woods, she became Seaborn.

***

But Seaborn was not the only being to speak to the trees. Soon enough, the plants and animals began to pass word of the lonely creature living in the woods. The message reached the ears of the druids who lived in the coastal cliffs, and they sent a delegation to her, to invite her to join them. They taught her their Common, and about their stars and plants and wildlife, and she in turn told them of her homeland.

These druids were a mixed lot, a collection of foundlings and wanderers whose numbers swelled and dwindled like the tides. At times, its members would scatter, but they would always, eventually, return. After years with them, Seaborn decided that the time had come to brave society once more, for the sake of the outcasts, as she herself once had been.

***

(I still think about you, Seaborn, my love. You were formed from the beginnings of my deconstruction. Your bitterness at your god was a reflection of my own. And together, we were healed by the love of people and learned that it was never us who were broken.)

[liminalpebble]

An imagine to distract you while you're travel-stranded:

Imagine Magnus & Reader are away on an undercover mission and he finds a lil vibe in her suitcase 👀

Hi, my dear @muddyorbs!

And thank you for this prompt. It definitely kept my mind active during travel stranding and beyond. I kind of had it in my head that our OFC would be a bit of a Lisbeth Salander type and they would be at each other's throats until...well...you know. Hope you enjoy!

Magnus Martinsson fanfic, Magnus Martinsson x OFC, smut!, one shot, enemies to lovers (well...fuckers?), hostile but very consensual fucking, Minors DNI

Word count: about 3000 (sorry...bit of a honker. Worth it. I promise).

----

Bullets

Mara rolled her black-lined eyes when the call from Wallander came in. “Mara, are you still freelancing? We really need a tech wizard on this one.”

“Cute euphemism, Kurt...points for flattery. You need a hacker who will do the dirty work so your little lapdog techie can keep his hands clean while micromanaging me.”

Wallander sighed, and quipped sarcastically, “Why, yes, Mara, I'm doing very well, thanks. How are you today? Still your charming self, I see. By the way, you're on speaker. ” He looked across the conference table to where Martinsson (said lapdog techie) was glaring at his superior for putting him in this situation yet again.

Mara's eyes scanned around her tiny apartment full of computer equipment and old band tee shirts piled in an ever-increasing mound of black cotton. In her own mind, she'd named it Mount Doom. “Oh you know, Kurt, living that rich girl high life,” she replied in a prickly tone, toking on the remains of a joint from the night before. “And whose fault is it that I'm on speaker, hm? Really. You should know better by now.” She blew smoke out in a resigned exhale, “Alright Wallander, tell that minion of yours I'm in. I'm sure he'll be delighted.”

Kurt raised his voice. “His name is Magnus, or Detective Martinsson and I'd appreciate it if you stop calling him 'lapdog' or 'minion' especially to his face as you seem rather fond of doing...”

“Alright Kurt, see you tomorrow,” she said interrupting his lecture to end the conversation.

“Charming,” Magnus groaned.

--------

“The same room?” Mara said, with an air of annoyance, hauling her bags up the hill to the rundown Motorlodge.

Martinsson sighed and said with an edge of frustration, “Yes Mara, the same room. We can't work together from different rooms.”

“Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, minion! I know that, but I thought that at least when we're taking shifts we'd have our own space to rest. It could be days! It would have been nice if the police department had sprung at least for adjoining rooms. I'd even tolerate sharing a bathroom with you if...”

Magnus stopped in his tracks, putting a hand up so she nearly stumbled directly into him. “Can you please, please not do this? I'm just here to do my job, just like you are. Can we try not to be at each other's throats?” As he said it she couldn't help looking at his throat, that pretty pale neck and sharp jawline she'd love to suck on and bite and make him moan while...

“Mara!” he barked, snapping her out of her lurid daydream.

“Okay...fucking hell. Okay,” she said, shouldering past him to enter the little 70's time capsule of a room. He fortified himself with a deep breath, stepping into her wake.

-----

“Well,” she said, between sips from the paper cup, “At least the Bates Motel has a pretty decent coffee machine.”

They both laughed and smiled to each other, faces bathed in the blue glow of computer screens; a rare truce. They had set up efficiently, both very good at their jobs and surprisingly good at working together despite the personality clashes.

“See?”

“See what?” Mara asked, sitting forward to scan the screen.

Magnus put a finger on her chin to turn her face towards him instead. “See how nice it can be when we actually just have a pleasant cup of coffee together and work?”, he elaborated. It was adorable, she had to admit...those big innocent blue eyes and golden curls making him look like a particularly naïve, hopeful and, possibly stupid, angel. But from his work and credentials, she knew he was far from idiotic; just sweet, gullible, optimistic. And as he was staring at her with that sweet dumb incredibly handsome face, it just made her inexplicably angry, like his kindness was some kind of trick.

She shrugged, and took a sip to avoid looking at him, then stated, “Their hard drives will take hours to clone. It's a waiting game for now.” She yawned and cracked her knuckles, stretching up from the uncomfortable chair to flop onto the tacky paisley comforter. A sliver of orange glow from the setting sun slid between the heavy curtains, illuminating her body, and Magnus couldn't help but notice that like that, in this wash of golden hour light, she really was very pretty. Yet, for some inexplicable reason Mara seemed almost determined not to be, with her prickly personality and tent-like clothes hiding her rather nice curves. What a shame he thought.

Magnus took the opportunity to move too, rising to his feet and stretching his long arms over his head. Mara peeked at him with one surreptitiously open eye to drink in the sharp dips and muscle of his lower belly and hips as his shirt raised, ever so slightly, to show skin. Why does he have to have the body of a fucking Greek god? Jesus Christ. Eyes wondering south, hoping to catch a glimpse of the rather generous outline in his pants, she saw where his service revolver was strapped to him in a shocking interruption of black metal and leather. It didn't suit such a soft, posh, pretty boy to be toting around a gun like some cowboy. Having come from a wealthy suburb, Martinsson could never understand the grip of fear firearms held on poor neighborhoods like hers. She didn't like guns, and she didn't like the criminals or the cops who didn't seem to mind using them liberally in her childhood neighborhood while everyone else was caught in the crossfire.

“Do you have to wear that thing?” Mara asked, gesturing to the holster. “It's only me. I'm like a foot shorter than you and you could probably kill me with your bare hands if you wanted. Are there bullets in it now?”

Magnus turned to her, eyes soft and considerate. “Well, yes. It's part of the job. We have to wear them at all times on the clock and they have to be loaded. And it's not you I'm afraid of, Mara,” he said, sitting beside her on the bed, looking at his hands. “It's you I need to be ready to protect if things go south.”

Mara turned to perch on her elbow and look up at him, genuinely swooning for a second before she recovered hastily, coating it with sarcasm. “Awww...my hero. This is why they call you The Prince Charming of Ystad? And I know damn well you're afraid of me.”

“Not afraid...annoyed. Are you allergic to having a single genuine moment of humanity between us? What have I ever done to you?” he huffed sounding wounded, and standing up again to pace.

She groaned, standing up to face him, admitting to herself that she had been especially hard on him, and she couldn't even be entirely sure why (or at least, she wouldn't admit why, not even to herself). “Look, Magnus, I'm sorry, really.”

“Really?” he said cautiously, distrustful and surprised.

“Yeah..yeah, really. I've been such a bitch to you.”

As Magnus spotted the unprecedented chink in her armor, it set off the explosion of a tirade. It finally released itself from his mouth after brewing for months and he was powerless to stop it. “Listen. I don't know why you're like this, Mara, really I don't. I haven't done a bloody thing to deserve this, neither has Kurt.”

Mara felt a little fizzle of fear at the mounting growl in his voice, and she felt a little ashamed, but also aroused. It was deeply confusing.

“I wasn't socialized enough as a puppy. Why the fuck do you think, pretty boy? You're cops. I don't like cops. I don't like what you stand for...your mindless conformity...”

Magnus' voice rose, “Did it occur to you that some of them, Kurt and I for example, chose this life to protect people? Because we care about people, even people like you who hate us. And I'm not saying you don't have a good reason to hate the police, but you don't have to hate us. We're on your bloody side. And...and you think you're so clever and rebellious with your bitch act and your black hair dye....and and...your edgy jewelry,” he continued, reaching down to her open bag where there was an unusual silver necklace, with a heavy bullet for a pendant. He lifted it saying, “Oh so you don't like guns and bullets, but you'll wear them to look oh so cool and fashionable? What a fucking hypocrite...”

Mara was thunderstruck (and frankly excited) by his anger but the end of his little speech made her want to laugh hysterically. He had no idea that what he was holding was a state-of-the-art vibrator, beautifully designed to multitask as a piece of jewelry styled after an actual bullet. She thwarted her chuckle to say simply, “Please put that back. It was expensive.”

Magnus blinked in confusion, as if slapped by her unexpected response. As he moved to put it back, one of his long fingers fumbled around it, accidentally pressing a hidden button. As he dropped it back on top of her bag of toiletries, it began to buzz. The detective narrowed his eyes, mouth agape as the gears turned in his lovely head. “Is...is your necklace...vibrating. Holy shit...is that a...”. His broad Cheshire cat smile unfurled across his face, as he began to chuckled in long breathy laughs.

Now it was her turn to be angry...not to mention mortified. She darted her hand out to switch it off, crossed her arms, and stormed to the other side of the room. “Oh this is rich,” he purred out in his deep delicious voice. “Why did you bring that? And when on earth did you expect to have the time and privacy to use it?”

She yelled, “That's none of your business! And I thought we'd have separate rooms.”

He moved closer, now standing directly in front of her. She felt that looking into his bright eyes might sear her like a laser, so she settled for looking forward at his chest. Then his long soft fingers, tucked themselves under her chin, raising her eyes to his, as he asked in a deep intimidating voice, “Mara, why did you really bring that with you?”

Fuck. She could see why he was so good at interrogations. This is the kind of man it was no use lying to. She sputtered, “Be...because I know it might be a few days and...”

“And?” he prompted, taking a step closer.

She fumbled nervously, “And...and...because I knew I'd be trapped with you strutting around with your perfect fucking body and your pretty fucking face and your sweet fucking disposition, and I'd have to take care of myself if I wanted to think straight...okay?”

His smile dropped even as the heat of excitement coursed through his body. Magnus could see she was flustered, defenses down, nearly to the point of tears. Finally it occurred to him; so this is why she was so mean, so prickly and defensive towards him... because she liked him so much. She was harboring a hopeless school girl crush and assumed all of his kindness towards her...his goodness...was some kind of joke to mock her. She ignored the reality that he paid attention to her because he liked her too. She excited and intrigued him, but that all turned to bitter frustration that she would never let him near her. He just kept encountering all that barbed wire around her and finally quit trying to breach it...until now.

“Mara,” he said her name reverently like a prayer, in a low gentle whisper, full of empathy and kindness. He moved his hand from where it still was propped under her chin, to cradle her face. Neither of them could say who moved first as they crashed together, but before they knew it they were latched onto each other's hot mouths, kissing, licking, biting, barely able to breathe and neither of them minded.

He moved to her neck, sucking it hungrily then growled into her ear, “You think that little gadget could hold a fucking candle to me?”. She moaned in response, sliding her shaking fingers to begin unbuttoning his shirt while he worked at his pants and his holster. He was peeled out in moments, looking absolutely mouthwatering in nothing but his underwear. Mara tore her shirt and bra off over her head, then pressed the swell of her breasts against his firm torso, while her lips rejoined his. Her leg swung around his waist as she licked up his throat, bit his earlobe playfully and said, “Pull my hair. Call me a bitch again...”

He was panting as he said, “I...didn't call you a bitch...I said it was a 'bitch act'...”.

She gathered his curls between her fingers and tugged while she bit at his lovely throat, drawing a nearly-pornographic moan from the young cop. “I said, call me a bitch, you pedant.”

It was adorable, how he struggled to get the word out. He was the type of well-bred man who had trouble calling a woman anything other than “Miss”, which made it even hotter when his eyes darkened and his mouth twisted as he growled out, “You delicious bitch” and wrapped his big hand around her ponytail, yanking sharply. She was grinding against he thick erection, teasing him, desperate for him, until he stopped her with a bruising grip on her hips and met her eyes. “You called me a lapdog, huh? Well, there's only one lap I'm interested in being in,” he said in a velvety purr as he tugged her pants and panties off of her, pushing her onto the bed completely naked, as he snaked between her legs, biting and sucking ravenously at the soft flesh of her inner thighs, breath ghosting against her soaked pussy. She wove her fingers into his hair with surprising gentleness as she sighed and writhed while he kissed his way up.

When he licked the first firm line up her slit she arched her back and gasped out, “Holy fuck,” while he chuckled against her skin and she could feel his smile.

“Mmmm...you're even more delicious than I imagined,” he confessed, and the idea of him jacking off, thinking about this only aroused her more.

He began to suck delicately on her clit and swirl his tongue, bringing her close to the brink in mere moments. She lifted his head gently and said, “Wait...wait.”

His big, bright eyes met hers, solicitous and concerned as he panted out, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...yeah amazing,” she said, smiling, “I just want to come on your cock. I want to feel you inside.”

“Shut up and fuck me you cocky little shit,” she barked out playfully, making them both smile. “Prove to me that that little trinket will never satisfy me again, detective.”

“Oh darling...” he purred as he crawled farther up the bed to kiss her, sharing her own taste with her. He stood up for a moment to slide his boxers off, revealing his cock (which was just as gorgeous as the rest of him), stroking it lightly in one big hand.

“Jesus Christ,” she gasped when she saw it, big and flushed with a tantalizing drip of precum. She crawled over to him and taking it into her mouth hastily, dying to savor it. He groaned in ecstatic surprise at the feeling of her hot mouth around him, her clever tongue caressing the hard length. He combed his hand through her hair, chuckling softly, teasing, “eager, are we darling?”

He pinned her on her back, caging her between his strong arms, “Cocky, yes....little...well, my dear, I think we both know that's just a bit inaccurate.” His tone changed as he settled between her legs, and his hand stroked her cheek gently. He asked, “You're okay? This is okay?”

“Yes...please...just go in slowly?”

He nodded.

Magnus eased in gently, as they both gasped at the decadent feeling of his cock inside her slick, warm walls, adjusting to each other. “Mmmm. God...yes,” she purred, stroking his sharp cheekbone with her soft little hand. Meeting his eyes she said, “Magnus?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Now, please, fuck me like a whore.”

It rough and relentless as Magnus drove into her again and again while her legs clamped tight around him, calves bouncing on the muscular curve of his ass as he moved. The wave of both of their orgasms crashed quickly and simultaneously as they rode it out, making a mess of the old duvet, and collapsing naked against each other, spent and smiling. Mara massaged Mangus' head as he rested it against her breasts. He trailed little pecks along the soft skin, sighing contentedly. She peeked over his lovely golden fleece to see where the blue-glowing monitors were still reporting their downloads in progress with lots of time to go. Idly she said, “Looks like this is going to take longer than we thought.”

“Oh no, whatever shall we do in the meantime,” Magnus chimed in from where he had begun lapping his tongue over her tits, as they both laughed in an all encompassing high of relief.

@muddyorbs @goblingirlsarah @peaches1958 @icytrickster17 @gigglingtiggerv2 @mjsthrillernp @annoyingsweetsstranger @acidcasualties @loz-3 @jennyggggrrr @alexakeyloveloki @marcotheflychair @glitchquake @sailorholly @sunflowerdaydreamer @ladyofthestayingpower @smolvenger @sarahscribbles @peachyjinx @joyful-enchantress @peacefulpianist @sweetsigyn @thedistractedagglomeration @thenerdyoldersister @eleniblue @loki-cees-all

(my apologies if I'm tagging those who don't want to be.)

[loyal-house-of-lupin]

Escape in Paris

Flufftober; Lost pet meet cute

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Newt Scamander | WC: 4.167 | Tags: time travel, first meetings, fantastic beast canon divergence, flufftober day 1

Summary: Remus is on a mission in Paris. To find an Obscurial that a surprisingly large amount of people were interested in. Including Gellert Grindelwald of all people. As if fighting Voldemort wasn’t enough, he now had to deal with Grindelwald as well.

When in Paris, he stumbles across a Kappa. A Japanese water demon that should not be roaming its streets. Just when he is about to ensure the Kappas safety, he all but walks into a handsome stranger. One who seems to know what he’s doing when it comes to creatures. The unexpected meeting has piqued his interest.

A/N: I know this is a very weird pairing. But this one-shot is part of a bigger fic that I have yet to write. I'm commited to finishing my other ongoing fics first. However I love this idea so much I had to write something. Which basically means; Remus joining the cast of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. And me rewriting most of those movies (besides the first) because I was annoyed at all the lost opportunities.

(You can also read it on AO3 if you prefer!)

Remus straightened his coat as he arrived in a changing room of a small clothing store. He'd been warned about it, yet it was a bit strange. When he'd been travelling around in his twenties, it wasn't trough official port key. Apparently, there were official ways for visiting other countries. And this shop was one of them. He left the changing room and couldn't help but glance around. It was still a bit strange to walk around in 1927, let alone in a different country.

Though there was one thing he'd noticed. While the muggle world had changed drastically between the nineteen twenties and ninety-nineties, the wizarding world hadn't. Sure, there were a few things different. His band shirts were definitely a no go, even those from magical bands. But it had been easier to fit in then he thought. It was still suits, dress shirts and robes. With a little smile he nodded at the tailor before walking towards the back door of the shop. There stood a statue. It looked like a dancing girl with flowers in her hair. But he knew that to look for. The wand in the holster. The animal that looked like a dodo but was a diricawl. The plants that looked like simple bushes but were Mallowsweet. He touched the hand of the statue and he heard, more than saw, the wall change. Carefully he moved towards it and entered the Wizarding part of Paris.

It surprised him, strolling through the streets, how much wizarding Paris looked like muggle Paris. Though looking back at history, maybe it wasn’t. Paris was an old city. And he wouldn’t be surprised if Wizards already lived here before the statute of secrecy. Which meant that Wizarding Paris and Central Paris was very much alike. Especially, he realised, since World War two hadn’t happened yet. Which was one of the strangest realisations he’d had since travelling to the past.

He passed by clothes and potions shops. A little café of sorts. One that was selling ingredients and stalling them in a way that made him quickly turn the other way. The chatter of wizards and witches around him soothed him. If he wasn’t on a mission it would’ve felt like a great vacation. Unfortunately, he wasn’t on vacation and he did have someone or well, something, to track down.

 He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly. As usual, Albus his description had been very vague. He should've been used to it by now given how long he was part of the Order. Though this time it was also his own curiosity that got the better of him. Besides, for now, he was without clear plan or direction. So, when Albus had come to him with talks about an obscurial, he'd been curious. Even more so when he realised Grindelwald was involved as well. looking for the same obscurial. It was also clear that he wasn't the only one Albus send this way. The man is brilliant in nudging and dropping hints in such a way, people sprung into action. But in this case their goals aligned.

He wanted to know more about Grindelwald. For some reason Albus wanted him here as well. And the other person Albus send this way. It was curious, being in the middle of history. He knew about the huge battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Knew Dumbledore won and Grindelwald was locked up for the rest of his life in Nurmengard, if he remembered correctly. But if he were to be honest, he didn't know much else. Most of his life the treat and fear had been about Voldemort. Not much of Grindelwald was talked about. Maybe it would've been better had they learned from past mistakes. Which wasn't something the wizarding world in general was good at. Well, he would figure it out as he went.

It was clear something had happened rather recently. As Remus walked across a little square, damages were visible. Though the wizards and witches seemed hardly bothered by it. Some were waving their wands around fixing debris. Others were hexing the brooms to swipe the streets. He could just make out some burn marks on the street. The next thing he did notice during his stroll worried him. There was a very obvious trace of water. Which shouldn't be there, given the temperature and sun that was out. He'd seen it before. When he'd looked after one of the creatures during his teachings in 1993. The creature had been part of the obstacle course and had once attempted to escape its habitat. He was pretty certain most people didn't recognise it or knew what to do if they encountered one. Besides from his students, who’s parents weren’t even born yet. Which was another, very strange realisation.

He quickly dashed into a little shop that sold beasts to get a cucumber before trailing the puddles of water. He turned a corner and noticed a few things. First, there was a little fountain. It was only filled with water, for now. Close by was the creature he'd expected to find. A Kappa. However, those things weren’t what surprised him. Those things he'd expected to be there. He was, however, a bit surprised by the fact there was another person there. They were standing with their back towards Remus. Most that he could see was a long blue-greyish coat, brown curly hair and a rather big, brown suitcase that was carried. Most of all, the stranger was dangerously close to the Kappa. Which could mean trouble.

"Careful there," he said, loud enough to be heard but hopefully not loud enough to scare the stranger. The stranger straightened and turned to him. Remus couldn't help but to notice the beauty of the man. It had been a while since such a thought had crossed his mind. But he couldn't help it. He also noticed that the other wasn't looking at him. He groaned and rubbed his face for a second. He was in France. The French generally refused to speak English, whether they were capable of it or not. He learned a bit of the language. But only the very, very basics. Not enough to explain that a Kappa was dangerous.

"Bloody hell, I don't even know what the word danger is in French," he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He should've thought about this before going to France. How was he going to communicate? Ask questions? Get himself understood?

"It's... It's fine. I don't speak French either," came the, very British sounding, reply.

"Oh," he commented a bit stupidly. He hadn't expected that. "Well, that makes it easier. Careful with that. It's a- "

"Kappa, I know." Once again Remus was surprised by the response. He hadn't expected anyone to know. Which also changed his perspective off the situation. What was the man doing exactly? Especially with a case like that? He looked around with a bit more suspicion. Sure, Kappa's weren't friendly creatures. But he wasn't going to let someone traffic it.

"Alright. And what are your plans with it? Is it yours?" he questioned. He still had no clue what had happened out there. Or why there was even a Kappa in the middle of Paris. It was not the place for such creature to be.

"No, it isn't mine. I saw its signs and was worried why it was out here and not in the water," the stranger replied. His way of speaking was a bit odd. More as if he was explaining things to himself, words coming quickly, his sentences losing strength at the end. Yet he seemed certain of what he was saying. Even though he looked a bit nervous. He hadn't looked at Remus once and was fidgeting with his coat pocket.

"And what were you planning to do with it once you found it?" he wondered, glancing from the Kappa to the man.

"Well for now take it with me. Better than leaving it here in the middle of Paris," the reply was matter of factly but it irked Remus quite a bit. Was he dealing with a poacher here? He shifted his stance and moved his hand closer to his wand.

"In that suitcase?" he wondered, nodding towards the suitcase in the male's hand. That seemed worryingly small. The man nodded. "I don't think I'll let you."

"Excuse me?" the man still didn't look at him but sounded surprised and confused.

"Listen. I know Kappa's aren't exactly friendly. They can seriously hurt humans. But if you know how to deal with them, it should be fine. And I can take it somewhere it can live in peace," he explained. Hoping it wasn't going to end in a fight. But was prepared for it anyway. "I'm not going to let you lock it up in such a tight space." He purposely avoided making any assumptions. Maybe the other did mean well, then Remus didn't want to accuse him. But if it was a trafficker, it was of even greater importance the other didn't get a hold on the Kappa.

It remained silent for a surprisingly long time. Or maybe it just felt that way to him. His hand drifted towards his wand as his eyes roamed over his opponent. He hadn't moved much. Just shifted his stance a bit to hold his suitcase with both hands. Eyes were on Remus his face but never really looking at him. There was also a little frown there.

"You're protecting the Kappa," came the question. Remus opened his mouth but closed it again. That wasn’t the response he'd expected. He expected a defence or even a shot back at him. Not this.

"I-yes, of course. It might be a creature but that's not a reason to treat it horribly," he scoffed. Even when he was teaching, he tried to keep the creatures in a good environment. And maybe a part of it was also wishful thinking. If other beasts and creatures could be treated better. Then, maybe, one day, werewolves could too.

"I just. Hadn't expected that," the man replied, hand carefully touching his breast pocket. "Not the normal reaction. But I promise it isn't a small space in my suitcase. There is a lot of room in there. I look after several beasts. They all have their own place and environment they thrive in. I’m making sure they are well enough to be released. And if they can't, I'll keep them safe." Remus wished he could believe that. But besides Hagrid and Charlie Weasley, who would look after them like this? Or was he just being too suspicious? Especially since there was, seemingly, nothing threatening about the man in front of him.

"I-I can show you. I mean I have this little pond inside the case. I do have better access to a beautiful lake at home. But it would be better to get the Kappa back to Japan as soon as possible. Take it back to its kind. I don't know when I have the opportunity though. But I can make it comfortable until then," the man continued to talk. He shifted his suitcase around and eventually placed it on the ground. As if he was ready to show Remus. Curiously, and a bit weary he looked at the suitcase. Then something else that drew his attention from the corner of his eye.

"Watch it!' he let out. Quickly reaching out and grabbing a handful of blue-greyish coat. Heart beating in his throat as he yanked the man closer. Just in time that the Kappa missed him.

"You alright?"

"What-yes?" Came the confused reply. Remus carefully moved the stranger a bit to the side before letting go. Eyes on the Kappa that was now partly bowing and moving with great difficulty.

"Sorry. It just reached for you, remarkably quickly considering how much water he already lost," he tried to explain his actions.

"As long as there is water in his cap, he'll be fine and able to move. A bit slower than usual though. The moment it dries out is when it's stuck. It is the reason why it usually lives in large bodies of water and doesn't come out of it often. It was cruel the way it was kept. From what I understood from onlookers it was kept in a little bath. That's no place for it. No wonder it is looking for a bigger body of water," the man replied and Remus turned to look at him slightly fascinated. Compared to a lot of the previous professors, he thought he knew quite a bit about creatures and such. They weren't they highest priorities of people. To hear someone this knowledgeable was... refreshing.

"So, you... Have a body of water for it. In there?" He wondered, nodding towards the briefcase that was still secured despite the scuffle. Maybe he shouldn’t trust a stranger this quickly. Though on the other hand, the suitcase sounded like a better option than dragging a Kappa around himself.

"Oh yeah, let me just." The man mumbled a bit as he moved a step away and placed the case on the ground. Curiously Remus watched as it opened and... it looked like there was just a big hole in it. It was a bit dark, difficult to see what was happening. He glanced at the Kappa, it was still at the same spot, before looking back. He couldn't help but be a bit nosy. The lid of the suitcase was fully pinned with pictures and news articles. He wasn't able to see them clearly or ready what was on it. But the main picture was clearly of the man with three other people. One slightly stout but broad smiling man, a beautiful woman who knew how to present herself, a confident looking woman more dressed to not stand out, and the handsome man who was currently taking the stairs down into the suitcase? Remus blinked a few times as he stared at the hole the other had just disappeared into. At least he hadn't lied when talking about it being not small on the inside. He just hoped that they were looked after well and not locked up in there.

His gaze turned to the Kappa again and he noticed that it had finally managed to right its head. It was clear that, for now, it wouldn't pose much of a thread. Though he still preferred it if it was off the street. He was about to reach in his pocket when he heard a sound akin to meowing. Quickly he glanced around, worried that there was another creature running around. Instead, he was able to just get a glimpse of something jumping out of the case. At least it confirmed that there were other creatures in there and they were, obviously, not locked up. Though he hoped it wasn't a natural occurrence for them to escape because that could be troublesome.

"Well, hello there," he said softly, crouching down to look at the animal. It was easy to recognise what it was, a kneazle. It looked like a cat but had the tail of a lion. They were brilliant beast and said to be able to recognise if someone was trustworthy. He'd always teased Sirius about it after Crookshanks helped him in 1993. Stating that it was obvious that Crookshanks was only half a kneazle if it considered Sirius trustworthy. Though he had to admit, the animal had been right to trust Sirius and distrust Ron's rat. Something practically the whole wizarding world, including him unfortunately, had been wrong about.

His soft smile turned a bit into a grimace. Sirius. He'd been dead for almost a year now but it still hurt to think about him. After everything they'd gone through, to lose him so quickly after they reunited. It left a huge hole in his heart.

A wet, rough feeling against his hand turned his attention back to the present. The kneazle was licking his hand, clearly not happy it wasn't having his undivided attention.

"Oh, my apologies. I should've known not to be distracted," he chuckled and patiently waited for the kneazle to continue licking him. Once it was done, he carefully reached out and started to pet it. Apparently, it was the right decision as it calmly sat there to enjoy the pets. Once in a while he glanced up, keeping an eye on the Kappa. But it seemed as if moving was too hard to do. It was staring at the fountain almost longingly.

"I do have a pond that it can stay in. It's not perfectly fitted for a Kappa but once I got a moment, I can give it some attention and improve it. But I do believe it's better than leaving it-Milly!" The man had started to talk. First it sounded far away but eventually his head stuck out of the case again. There he'd spotted Milly, what he assumed was the kneazle laying there as if they were royalty. He chuckled softly as he continued his petting duty. The man looked at the kneazle with an exasperated expression and he had to bite his lip not to laugh. Last thing he wanted was make it seem as if he was laughing at the man.

"Really now? First Teddy keeps getting out, now I have to worry about you too?" The man commented and held what looked like a staring contest with the kneazle. He had no idea who or what teddy was. But the image of the other running after all different type of creatures was an adorable one.

"Need some help with the Kappa? I got a cucumber? I can use a part to lure it towards the suitcase and you can lure it further in to it?" He asked, turning the attention back to the problem at hand. He noticed the surprised look he received but it quickly morphed into a smile and a nod.

"I think that's a good plan. Though we might need to add some water to his head, otherwise it won't be able to move. I think." Remus completely agreed with that sentiment. With a soft apology he stopped petting Milly and got the cucumber out of his jacket. He grabbed his wand and wrote his name on half of the cucumber.

"Why are you doing that?" Remus looked back at the question and found the other staring at his name. He shrugged a little.

"Well, the Kappa is originally from Japan. It is believed that if you write the name of a family member on a cucumber before sending it afloat, it will protect them from harm while swimming," he explained. He knew he was looking a bit embarrassed, cheeks heating up as he looked back at the cucumber. "Though right now I think we're the ones in need of protect so, I theorized, why not put my own name on it? Maybe it does nothing but, hey, what's the harm in it?"

He broke the cucumber in half and handed the part without a name to the stranger. He seemed to hesitate for a second before taking it. To his surprise, the other reached for his wand as well, following Remus his example. If nothing else came from it or if it did nothing at all, at least Remus learned the man's name. Newt. For some reason it suited him.

"Alright. Let me add some water to it then lure him towards you. Be ready," he said with a little nod and a last pet of Milly.

Carefully he moved towards the Kappa, half of the cucumber in his outstretched hand. It was clear that he got its full attention. The movements were slow but its head turned towards Remus. He raised his wand and softly whispered 'aguament'. He made sure he used small movements and as little force as possible. Not wanting the hit the creature with a water jet, but just a tiny sprinkle of water. Enough to make it move again.

He breathed out slowly as he watched it succeed. It was interesting to see the Kappa slowly becoming livelier. Getting up with clear movement towards the cucumber. Remus shuffled back until his shoe hit the suitcase. There he held the cucumber and waited patiently. Waited until the Kappa followed. Slowly moving it until it was above the suitcase. Once it got close enough, he let the creature have it. Carefully moving away to the other side of the suitcase as the Kappa devoured the snack. Once it was gone it looked up again. For a moment Remus was worried it would come after him. But then it seemed something distracted it. It was difficult to interpreted the movements of the creature. The movement of its head, the stalking slow steps it was taking. He wasn't certain what it meant. He held his breath, waited and watched. The Kappa moved forward and... Slowly entered the suitcase.

He released his breath and sat down on the ground, posture sagging in relieve. It worked! They managed to get the Kappa safe and away from the streets of Paris. It felt like a little win, even if it was pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. A soft yelp left his lips as Milly decided she'd been patient enough. She'd jumped on his lap and if she had a face, she would've impatiently glared at him. He reached out and carefully started to pet her again.

He had no idea how long he sat there. But if he were to be honest, he didn't mind it one bit. After the hectic time he had the last while it was nice to take a moment to breath. Even if it was, literally, on the streets in Paris, of all places. He heard sounds coming from the suitcase. He couldn't place most of them, but it didn't sound as if Newt needed his help. It felt... intrusive to just enter the suitcase without permission. So, for now he stayed where he was.

Not long after, Milly jumped from his lap and stretched herself. Her huge, fluffy tail wacked softly against his leg a few times, making him chuckle. She took a few steps around the suitcase before entering it. He was intrigued by the kneazle. He knew they were considered smart. Had she heard Newt call out for her and agreed to come back? Had she decided to come back in on her own terms?

It wasn't long after that Newt reappeared.

"It will do! It seemed as if it was content being in the pond for now. Luckily, I got enough food to keep it calm and Dougal will keep an eye out for it," Newt explained as he was climbing out of his suitcase. Remus had no clue who, or maybe even what, a Dougal was but decided against asking for now. With a little groan he got up from the ground. Shivering a little as finally the cold that had seeped in through his clothes caught up with him. He watched Newt crouch down and close his suitcase again.

"Uhm, yeah. Well. So," Newt commented and it sounded like he wasn't the only one who didn't know how to proceed from here. He hesitated. But eventually decided to just quench his curiosity.

"I'm sorry I have to ask. Wh-"

"Newt! Your animal - creature - thing!" Suddenly a voice shouted from the entrance of the street they were standing in. He turned around and saw a man standing there. Hands on his knees, breathing heavily, pointing towards their left. The man looked remarkable like the man from the picture from Newt's suitcase. "Freddy? I think? It went that way!"

Before Remus had really a moment to register what was happening, he was almost pushed to the side. Frowning he turned around just in time to see Newt sprint at a surprising high speed by him. He couldn't help but to shake his head and chuckle. Newt apparently knew his creatures well and Freddy? Or was it Teddy? Had, in fact, escaped. Within moments Newt was around the corner and out of sight. Attention fully on the escaped creature.

"Hi! So sorry about that. That animal is a cutie but is really good at nicking all the gold and silver around! I've seen him do it!" The other man told him, between heavy puffs of breath. “Sorry, got to go or I'll lose them! Nice to meet you!"

Before Remus had a chance to reply the man had picked up speed again. He rushed forward and halted at the entrance of the street. To his left he saw the man disappear into another street. For a second, he hesitated. Should he follow? He didn't know either of them. Had nothing to do with their reasons of being in Paris. He sighed and decided against it. Maybe it was time he continued his own search as well.

@flufftober :)

[septimus-heap]

See. I am someone who gets mean under stress. Ive said a lot of horrible things I didn't actually mean with the full intent of hurting someone just bc I was stressed and tired. And it's obviously not a GOOD thing but it's something I understand and I can totally see myself saying smth similar to what silas said if I was in the same situation. So while it's definitely awful and uncalled for I also like. I get it. Idk if it's how it was meant to be read but idk if silas is ever quite so bad mean for no reason at other times?? So I choose to believe in this version of events <3 also yeah he probably IS aware that being eow isn't like. Super easy. But also as he says when they're on the boat he thinks marcias just been Detached from everything, she hasn't had to deal with the struggles of ordinary life under custodian rule, she's been living a privileged life up in the tower and silas has been struggling to feed his family of 9. Especially after like 17 years since he was an apprentice and actively involved in this stuff I can totally see him sort of. Forgetting how hard being eow really is. Of course Marcia hasn't had it easy and if silas stopped to think for a minute he'd probably figure that out but why WOULD he stop to think. He has no reason to

No silas has explicitly NOT been to the tower in 10 years (nicko say smth like "dad remembered the password from 10 years ago"). So while I'm assuming he at least had contact w ppl from the tower?? (how else would he do his job??) I don't think he'd have exactly been aware of a lot of stuff like. Marcia having no friends. And all the work being put in to stop the custodians. Bc I imagine that's the kind of thing that u do NOT want anyone outside the tower to ever have a chance of hearing. Tbh idk if he'd even consider that marcia might be upset abt endor?? Bc he's still got this mindset that Marcia doesn't care about people. So surely her deputy is just the most capable person for the job and nothing more. I think he'd think that to marcia, endors death is a loss to the tower but not necessarily a loss to marcia. Bc marcia doesn't care about people, right?

YEAH PROPAGANDA. I imagine silas wouldnt willingly believe any of it but well. There's only so many times u can hear smth said as if it's fact before u believe it a little bit. And I don't think he liked marcia even before the everything so it makes sense he'd be more willing to believe horrible rumours abt her

Marcia DID put her trust in silas but really did she ever give him a reason to trust her back?? She trusted him with a princess, sure. But ONLY a princess. Who marcia presumably had very little or no emotional attachment to. Silas has to trust marcia with his daughter who he's raised for 10 years. He's not trusting her with a nameless infant he's not just trusting her with the task of "keep this child alive" he's trusting her with "keep my child alive and safe and happy and well fed and warm and comfortable and and and-" and along with his general dislike for marcia and 10 years of propaganda I'm not ar all surprised he didn't trust her. (also. This may be just me but marcia is SO suspicious in the first book. Like oh, the extremely ambitious apprentice who's mentor died the day she graduated. And she was one of only 2 who survived the murder (the other being a baby who ofc wouldn't remember anything and could easily be manipulated when she was older). The murder that left her in the position she had been trying to get since she was a small child. Hm. I know alther would remember if she'd killed him herself but marcia having had a hand in his murder genuinely wouldn't have seemed too strange if it was revealed in magyk) ALSO THE CHEATING THING YEAH. Can u IMAGINE Marcia running away from being eow for SILAS. AND 3 of his kids????? I'm sobbing tbh it's so fucking funny

Marcia never having been on a boat is SO weird tbh. Its the entire fuel behind my selkie Marcia au. How the fuck did she go from mainland europe to the uk without a boat. Is the channel tunnel still intact or smth?? Hello ????

I know Silas is a fan fav; but at the beginning of Magyk I HATE this man. During the assassination attempt and subsequent fleeing I think you could reasonably argue that Marcia is having the worst time of anyone in the party (if she is second to anyone it’s Sep, and even then it’s close). This woman has relived the worst day of her life, gotten stinky and slimy (and we all know she’s ND so that would be hell) and then harnessed so much magyk she almost ceased to be a human while everyone acted like she was doing nothing that hard at all, in order to save everyone’s lives for a SECOND time in this sequence of events (and don’t forget in all of this she also managed to save Sally Mullin too).

Then, just as she thought they might be safe for a bit (it’s midnight on this beach and she was awoken very early by alther if you recall from the Scene of Hair Curlers™️, so she’s probably creeping up on 20 hours of being awake) Alther comes and tells her 1) the one terrible thing she thought she’d done enough to stop happening had, in fact, happened. 2) the only person we hear Marcia mention with any kind of positive attitude; and by extension, someone she could trust, is dead. 3) that person was murdered as a direct result of number 1. 4) Not only has this insane sociopath that would very much like her dead not only invaded her place of work, that clearly makes up part of her identity, but also 5) moved into her HOME (siri play my tears ricochet by taylor swift) which is an absolute violation.

The Very Short List of people Marcia trusts and cares about gets another person on it murdered, and Marcia does not have the time to mourn her AT ALL because she knows she needs to focus on how she can undo this mess without causing the death of a ten year old girl. And what does Silas say? ‘The custodians are simply a load of thugs any *decent* ExtraOrdinary Wizard would have seen off years ago’. Be so fucking real right now. Fuck you man. She saved your sorry arse TWICE. She kept you and your family alive for TEN YEARS. SHES THE ONLY REASON YOU DIDN’T WATCH YOUR TEN Y/O KID GET VIOLENTLY MURDERED. SIT TF DOWN.

[wicked-witch-for-hire]

Book recommendations for Galemancers

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

This is a thinly veiled attempt to recommend some personal favourites of mine. They are all fantasy novels with the occasional romance woven into it, but they do not belong in the romantasy genre (but if you have a great romantasy rec, or any other recs, please share it).

I have concentrated on newer releases but there will be a list of honorary mentions for all the classics at the end.

I.

- Gale is perfect, and I want exactly that!

Naomi Novik - Uprooted

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

This is a delightful standalone fantasy based on mostly Polish fairy tales. Our heroine, Agnieska has been plucked from her home by their village's feudal lord to serve him for 10 years. Said lord also happens to be a prickly, impatient wizard who begins to teach Agnieska magic after he discovers to both of their dismay that she is talented.

I don't want to spoil the plot for you, but let's just say that there is an Evil Wood, a handsome prince who wants to save his long lost mother, and nothing will happen as you would expect to happen. It is imaginative, enchanting, engrossing and even funny.

II.

- I like Gale, but I wished to have adventures with Tara!

H.G. Parry - The Magician’s Daughter

“In every fairy tale ever told, it's a bad idea to tangle with a magician's daughter."Nobody, not Hutch, not Rowan, not even herself, had ever referred to her in those terms before. And yet hearing it made her relationship with Rowan so clear and so bright that it hurt. She still didn't know who he was, or why he had done so many of the things he had done. But she knew who he had raised her to be. If he wasn't her father, then she at least was his daughter.”

Have you been wondering if a wizard can be a good father? While an aloof wizard might not be the best choice to adopt a shipwrecked little girl at first glance, Rowan and his intelligent, loyal and kindhearted familiar Hutchington together are more than enough. (You have heard me right, Tumblr! :-P) Thus Biddy grows up on Hy-Brasil an enchanted little island not far from the coast of Ireland.

"Biddy loves her strange little home, despite being unable to use magic herself, but lately spends her time yearning to explore the outside world and meet actual humans (rabbits being notoriously poor conversationalists, after all, and magicians being, well, erratic at the best of times). After Rowan runs into a spot of trouble, inadvertently dragging Biddy into a magical mess almost a century in the making, her wish to explore is granted, but Biddy quickly learns that the outside world is not at all like the storybooks she grew up reading." (Lightspeed magazine)

This is a nice, meandering fairytale of a found family, coming of age and beautiful worldbuilding. It is full of magic, peril and adventure. I was very grateful to experience losing myself in book like a young girl again.

III.

- I love Gale, but I have respecced him... (how dare you! you heathen!) But I still like brooding heroes I need to save from themselves...

Alix E. Harrow - Starling House

"The gates of Starling House don’t look like much from a distance—just a dense tangle of metal half-eaten by rust and ivy, held shut by a padlock so large it almost feels rude—but up close you can make out individual shapes: clawed feet and legs with too many joints, scaled backs and mouths full of teeth, heads with empty holes for eyes. I’ve heard people call them devils or, more damningly, modern art, but they remind me of the Beasts in The Underland, which is a nice way of saying they’re unsettling as all hell.

I can still see the shine of the window through the gate. I step closer, weaving my fingers between the open jaws and curling tails, staring up at that light and wishing, childishly, that it was shining for me. Like a porch light left on to welcome me home after a long day.

I have no home, no porch light. But I have what I need, and it’s enough.

It’s just that, sometimes, God help me, I want more.

I’m so close to the gate now that my breath pearls against the cold metal. I know I should let go—the dark is deepening and Jasper needs dinner and my feet are numb with cold—but I keep standing, staring, haunted by a hunger I can’t even properly name.

It occurs to me that I was right: dreams are just like stray cats. If you don’t feed them they get lean and clever and sharp-clawed, and come for the jugular when you least expect it."

One part Southern Gothic, one part dark fairy tale and also intensely romantic story of two acidic, stubborn people battling monsters and each other.

"We meet Opal, a young woman who’s stuck in the tiny town of Eden, scraping a living so she can get her bright younger brother into a better school. Eden is nowhere, notable only for its connection to the author E. Starling, who wrote a single cult-hit children’s book, then disappeared nearly a century before. The house she lived in, Starling House, still stands, but it and its keepers have long had a mysterious air about them. So when Opal starts dreaming about the house, she wonders what it means. Then, the mysterious resident of the house, Arthur, hires her to clean the place for far more money than her old job, Opal can’t resist. But the house holds secrets—and danger—that she couldn’t possibly have imagined." Link

List of Honorary mentions

Ursula K. Le Guin - A Wizard of Earthsea (1st book of the The Earthsea Cycle)

Diana Wynne Jones - Howl’s Moving Castle

Thanks to @mavka-world

If you want even more:

Charlie N. Holmberg - The Paper Magician (1st book of the The Paper Magician trilogy)

- this is a YA fantasy, some parts of it reminded me of Anne of Green Gables (mostly because it is set in Edwardian times), and there is a bit of an anime flavour to it. All 3 books together is a pleasant albeit a bit formulaic story of girl named Ceony Twill who becomes the apprentice of a famed paper magician, falls in love with him, and of course has to save him :-) It is the perfect book to read if you are in a turkey coma!

Jim Butcher - Dresden Files

- while Butcher has problems writing non-stereotyped female characters (especially in the earliest books) I can forgive some of these tropes in a noire urban fantasy, where our hero happens to be a wizard working as a private investigator. Don't read them, but listen to them because the audio books are narrated by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) and they are so damned good...

[looneyleyle]

the potters ~ t. lupin

synopsis: a muggle family moves into the quaint village of godric's hollow and befriends the infamous potter family. what lies ahead for the muggle family's daughter and the wizarding family's godson?

warnings: none

words: 6471

note: from my wattpad account, written feb 1 2021

third person pov

when charlotte dickenson and her family moved into the quaint village of godric's hollow, there wasn't anything strange about the place. their neighbors were nice, the lawns were well kept, and everything seemed nice and cozy.

however, after the first couple of weeks, godric's hollow turned out to be quite… peculiar. the neighbors were still nice, the lawns still mowed, but there were many… odd occurrences. there was an abnormal abundance of owls that seemed to be carrying letters and parcels everywhere, and charlotte could have sworn the neighbor's fireplace fire turned green once. nevertheless, the family enjoyed their new home, dismissing these unusual events.

it was not long before the family became acquainted with the family next door. the potters seemed normal enough, with their godson teddy, their sons james and albus, and their daughter lily. charlotte, being a year older than teddy, was mildly interested in the blue-haired boy. he seemed quite shy, but extremely well mannered and kind. the girl was dejected to find out that the boy was going to be attending some boarding school in scotland, but was determined to become friends with the boy nevertheless.

teddy, on the other hand, was not very interested in the girl at first. she was just an average muggle girl a year older than him, and since she would not be going to hogwarts, he decided that a friendship would be hard to sustain. even so, he was kind to the girl. by the end of summer, the girl was getting ready to go to her muggle middle school, while teddy was preparing for his adventure to hogwarts.

the next year, the two families became closer. mr. potter was on a 'business trip' in london, so the dickensons helped mrs. potter take care of her four children. she most certainly could take care of them on her own, but along with her 'travelling job', it was a lot to juggle, and she appreciated the extra hands.

charlotte and teddy still remained acquaintances, but they learned more about each other through the experience. charlotte learned that the blue-haired boy liked pulling small pranks and cooking, while teddy learned that the blonde-haired girl liked to draw and sing. teddy often found himself subconsciously listening to the girl singing lily to sleep while his godmother was making dinner for the rest of them.

it was hard for the potters to keep the wizarding world a secret from the other family, but with harry's upbringing in the muggle world, along with ginny's father's affinity to muggle things, doing things the muggle way wasn't that difficult.

this state of acquaintanceship between teddy and charlotte lasted for another four years. the two changed quite a lot in that relatively short period of time. teddy, being in his 5th year, was now on the hufflepuff quidditch team, and becoming more aware of the female presences in his life. he had a short infatuation with a certain victoire weasley, but the relationship quickly turned into a more familial one than a romantic one. the boy also became a bit more mischievous, taking after his biological father's friends and his godmother's brothers. while teddy could change his appearance at will, his natural state changed into a taller, slightly muscular boy with a fairly sharp jawline and freckles to pair with his dark brown eyes. he kept his hair blue over the years, claiming the color was part of who he was.

charlotte undertook a bit more drastic change than teddy did. she became a lot like the classic teenage muggle girl: a cheerleader who liked boy bands, sleepovers, and gossip. she still loved to draw and sing, but with constant cheer practices after school and hangouts on the weekends, she found less time to herself to do these activities. physically, she became a bit slimmer, with a bit of a bust, which teddy may-or-may-not have noticed. she was also quite tanned from all of the outdoor activities she did.

their families grew closer yet again, with ginny inviting mrs. dickenson over to bake treats for the families every saturday. harry and mr. dickenson weren't as close as their wives were with each other, but they found a strange common interest in owls, as charlotte's dad was an avid bird watcher. while charlotte frequently missed the saturday family bakes, she always made a point to go to the house every thursday to take care of lily. ginny often had quidditch games on thursdays, so charlotte would take care of lily for ginny while she was away. lily loved charlotte and threw a fuss whenever charlotte wouldn't attend joint family events.

no matter how many impromptu family events she missed, charlotte never missed holidays with the potters. with no practices to go to, and many of her friends going away to exotic locations, charlotte saved the holidays to spend with her family, including the potters. the holidays were also one of the few times all of the potter children were home from their boarding school.

the first potter-dickenson christmas was during this time. charlotte was 17, and hadn't seen most of the potters in a couple months, with her school's soccer team going to (and winning) the west country division a soccer playoffs. needless to say, she was shocked when she walked into the potter's house for the first time in a while. she was greeted by mr. and mrs. potter, who looked roughly the same, followed by james and albus, who looked quite older now. granted, the two were still only 10 and 8, respectively, but they still had grown so much in her eyes. then, a 6-year-old lily came bounding into the room with a weirdly-shaped ball in her hands. she didn't seem to care much about the ball in her hands, because she let it drop to the floor as she jumped into charlotte's arms. the most surprising appearance was 16-year-old teddy lupin. while charlotte used to be centimetres taller than teddy, he was now a whole head taller than charlotte. her jaw nearly dropped when she saw him, but refrained while in the presence of their families.

"presents!" lily yelled, noticing the bag of presents behind charlotte. the older girl grabbed the bag and handed out the presents one by one. for lily, she had a silver locket with a picture of the two of them at the park. for albus, she bought a whoopie cushion ("a what cushion? … did you say it makes fart noises? cool!"). james got a soccer ball from the girl, as she had been teaching him how to play. when she got to teddy, she became red with embarrassment. she didn't know what to get the boy, and opted to make him a cookbook of family recipes he enjoyed, from bangers and mash to apple tart. to her surprise, the boy seemed to enjoy the present, already going through the book and marking down pages he wanted to make first.

the rest of the night went on with eating, talking, and more gift-giving. when lily, albus, and james went off to bed, the parents all went to the kitchen for sweets and drinks, leaving teddy and charlotte alone together. eventually, teddy leaned over to the girl and gave her a small white box.

"from me and lily." he said, watching in anticipation as the girl opened the box. inside, there was a beautiful necklace with a strange pendant made up of a triangle, a circle, and a line.

"thank you." she said, admiring the necklace. "what does it mean?"

the boy, realizing the girl was a muggle and had not heard the tale of the three brothers, took her up to his room. the two sat on his bed as he read the story from his copy of the tales of beedle the bard. as he read, the girl found herself entranced with not only the story, but the boy who was telling the story. his soothing voice clouded her thoughts. when he finished the story, he drew out the deathly hallows symbol, replicating that of the girl's necklace.

"lily and i grew up hearing the story thousands of times. it's our favorite." he explained in a hushed voice, not wanting to wake up his siblings. charlotte just stared at the boy with a small smile on her face, admiring the passion he had for the story.

"help me put it on?" the girl asked, handing the boy the necklace. he nodded, taking the necklace from her hand and moving behind her on the bed. he brushed her hair away from her neck, sending a pleasant shiver up and down her spine. once he clipped the necklace in place, he stayed behind the girl, a thick tension in the room that neither had ever experienced before. when the girl looked back at teddy, she couldn't look away. the light in the room seemed to magically dim, but charlotte didn't pay any attention to it. rather, her attention was focused on the handsome boy in front of her, who hadn't looked away from her either. before the atmosphere could affect the two more, the door swung open.

"charlotte, dear, it's time to go home." mrs. dickenson said, mrs. potter right behind her with a knowing smirk on her face. the two shook themselves out of whatever trance they were in and said quick goodbyes.

the next morning, teddy awoke to all of his siblings jumping on his bed, opening up the almost-always closed curtains, and pulling him in every which way. telling them to go finish packing for hogwarts, he shooed the children away and began getting ready. once teddy was done packing up his things, he was carried out of his unkempt room by a hurried mr. and mrs. potter, not wanting to be late to king's cross station.

upon arriving home late at night from hogwarts in the beginning of summer, teddy came back to his messy room. he tidied up and went over to the window to close the curtains. however, as he looked out of his window, he noticed a figure in one of the windows of the house next door. taking a closer look, teddy realized it was charlotte. she stood by the window, presumably looking at a mirror next to said window, combing her hair. teddy watched the girl in curiosity, feeling a strange pull to her. before he knew it, the girl was stripping, leaving herself clad in only a sports bra and underwear. blushing, he briefly looked away. he eventually looked back at the window, albeit timidly, to find her in the sports bra and athletic shorts, seemingly singing into a hairbrush while dancing. she seemed to be having the time of her life, listening to her muggle songs and singing along. the boy stood at the window and watched the show, subconsciously admiring the girl. when the girl finished her show and turned off the lights, the boy went to bed as well, keeping his curtain open.

while teddy would never admit it, he found himself looking out his windows a lot more, slightly disappointed when the lights in charlotte's room would be off. it wasn't until this year that teddy realized just how close charlotte was to his family. sometimes, she would be out in the backyard with james, kicking around a black-and-white ball. other times, she would be a couple rooms down from his, playing dolls or house with lily. once in a blue moon, she would be found hiding around the house with albus, waiting for a masterful prank to unfold. she even spent a fair amount of time with mrs. potter, helping her wash dishes, make food, or tidy up the house. when charlotte wasn't at the potter's house, she would be hanging out with her friends. mostly, they would go to charlotte's house. one day, while teddy was reading his charms book, he looked up and noticed two of charlotte's friends looking out the window, straight at him. he was shocked, and was even more shocked to see a flushed charlotte come to the window, give him a shy wave, and promptly shove the curtains together.

on a late august night, while teddy was getting ready to go back to hogwarts, he looked out his window to find a disturbing sight. through the window, he could see charlotte and some shirtless boy snogging in their room. at first, he couldn't believe his eyes. as the boy lifted up charlotte's shirt, teddy found himself quickly closing the curtains in anger, not wanting to open them again.

that year, teddy found himself dreading going back home for the holidays. james, who was now a first year, noticed teddy's reluctance to go home for christmas break.

"what's wrong teddy bear? what's wrong? did mum and dad do something to you? aren't you excited for christmas? charlotte told me she was going to make a ton of desserts for us-"

"i'm fine james. go sit with your friends. and don't call me 'teddy bear' at school." teddy snapped, not wanting to hear about charlotte. it didn't really make sense to him: he wasn't her boyfriend, they barely even talked, but ever since last christmas, he couldn't help but think about charlotte in a more-than-friendly way. he would never admit it aloud, but he had dreamt about charlotte a couple times since then, much to his dormmates' teasing pleasure. he never heard the end of their questions, trying to find out the girl whom teddy had had such pleasant dreams about. despite all of his complaints about going home, he had still bought charlotte a gift from hogsmeade.

when teddy, james, and harry got back from king's cross station, they were met by ginny, lily, albus, mr. and mrs. dickenson, and charlotte all over the house, baking, cleaning, and decorating.

"oh, you boys are finally home! here, we'll talk about school later, we need all hands on deck right now. james, go help lily clean her room and then start working on yours. teddy, help charlotte in the kitchen, she's going to drown in all the sweets she's making. harry, start dusting off the shelves and tables." ginny ordered, still moping the floors.

"what's the rush mum?" james asked, not seeing why everyone was cleaning like madmen.

"well, we invited uncle ron and aunt hermione for christmas, then grandma and grandpa invited themselves over, and then aunt angelina just called and said that she and uncle george were coming over. who knows who else will show up unexpectedly." ginny explained. a beeping sound came from the kitchen.

"i'll go help." teddy said, jogging into the kitchen. there, he found charlotte, her hair in a messy bun, sleeves rolled up, flour all over her hands and arms, whisking a batter while taking a tray of cookies out of the oven and adding them to an already tremendous heap of cookies, hand pies, and tarts. teddy put on an oven mitt and took the teetering cookie sheet out of her hands, transferring them to the mountain of treats.

"oh, teddy, thank the lord you're here. are you able to make pastry cream? i need it to make crème brûlée, but i need to get these cookies and pies out of the oven so i can decorate them." teddy just nodded, getting out a pan and the ingredients.

"did you make all of these yourself?" he asked in awe.

"yep. about 5 dozen sugar cookies, 4 dozen chocolate snowflake cookies, 2 dozen apple hand pies, 4 dozen cherry hand pies, and 3 large tarts. so far." she listed, still whisking whatever batter was in her hands right now. teddy's looked at charlotte in shock, still whisking the cream on the stove.

"aren't you exhausted?"

"well, ginny helped me out with the tarts, and lily was handing me ingredients for a bit, so it wasn't too bad." charlotte replied.

the two continued to bake for the next couple of hours, turning on muggle music to listen to as they baked. teddy had forgotten all about the boy he saw with charlotte and enjoyed his time baking with the girl. once the two were done with all the baking and decorating, they put all the baked items in tupperware or the refrigerator and cleaned up the kitchen, plopping down on the couches with everyone else once they were done.

"thank you all so much for helping us out today. we couldn't have done it all without you guys." ginny thanked the dickensons. as mr. and mrs. dickenson started to get ready to leave, lily's eyes went wide.

"is charlotte going home?" she asked. her father nodded.

"no! charlotte should stay!" she whined, waddling up to the girl and hugging her. charlotte looked down at the girl with a smile.

"lily, i'm going to be back tomorrow for christmas eve. you'll barely notice that i'm gone." the older girl reassured the younger.

"b-but charlotte, i don't want to wait until tomorrow." the girl whined. ginny and harry were about to yell at lily for her behavior, but charlotte stopped them.

"how about this. i go home right now, but i come extra early tomorrow to play in the snow with you. does that sound good?"

"snowball fight?" lily asked, sparkles in her eyes. everyone smiled warmly at the two girls as charlotte nodded, pinky promising lily that she would come early for a snowball fight.

true to her word, charlotte came to the potter house early the next day to play in the snow with lily. instead of playing with just lily, more and more children started joining them. first, it was just lily and charlotte. after a while, albus, and james came bounding out in snow gear, preparing little snow forts. then, teddy came out with a girl and a boy named rose and hugo. finally, the last pair of kids came out, named roxanne and fred. as soon as charlotte was done meeting the four new faces, she felt something hit her. turning around, she saw james with a mischievous look on his face.

"you're so dead james." charlotte said with a smirk, quickly making a snowball and hitting james in the chest with it. two teams were soon made, with charlotte, lily, albus, rose, and fred against teddy, james, hugo, and roxanne. charlotte's team absolutely destroyed teddy's team, with james being immediately pummeled by a seemingly endless stream of snowballs from charlotte. hugo took a snowball to the face from fred, who in turn narrowly missed a snowball from roxanne. albus was ambushed by teddy and hugo. soon enough, only charlotte, lily, rose, and teddy remained standing. rose was soon victim to a pile of snow being dropped onto her. charlotte snuck up on teddy as he got rose, and she quickly pelted him with snowballs. he grabbed another big pile of snow and threw it onto her, which made her fall backwards onto the snow. the force of the throw threw teddy off balance, making him fall down next to her. charlotte, however, was not going to give up. she made another snowball and hit teddy with it. teddy laughed and just picked up snow, not even bothering to form it, and threw it onto charlotte. the two stumbled around, continuously burying the other in the snow. what they did not expect was a ginormous pile of snow to be dropped onto the both of them by all of the younger kiddos.

"rose! lily! you two were on my team!" charlotte laughed, brushing the snow off of herself. james stuck his tongue out at the two of them, leading him to be tackled down by teddy. when charlotte finished getting all the snow off of herself, she found a gloved hand extended out to her. accepting the blue-haired male's hand, he pulled her up and dusted off some stray snow bits that were stuck to her. the two smiled at each other, not noticing the other kids getting ready to throw more snowballs at them, and yet again, the two were ambushed by the children.

after a couple hours in the snow, all the children got cleaned up and put on formal clothes and congregated in the living room. mr. and mrs. dickenson had met hermione and ron over the summer, so they were very social with the new group. charlotte, however, not knowing any of these people and only being close in age to teddy, kept to herself on the sides. lily, who was playing with roxanne, noticed this and pulled on teddy's shirt sleeve.

"you should go play with charlotte. she seems lonely." she said, pointing at charlotte, who was standing in the doorway, only half paying attention to the conversation going on at the moment. teddy nodded and went up to charlotte, gesturing for her to follow him. the two went into the basement, which had a couple couches, a tv, a pool table, and a bar.

"you seemed bored up there. thought we would have a better time down here." teddy told her. charlotte looked around the room for something to do, her eyes landing on the game console.

"do you guys have mario?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"what's a gaming console without mario? of course we have mario. which do you want: kart or regular?" teddy asked, getting it set up.

"mario kart. get ready to get your ass kicked." teddy looked at her with challenging eyes.

"you're on like donkey kong."

the two played for a couple hours, charlotte winning most of the games, with teddy hot on her trail.

"how do you keep winning?" the boy sighed, falling back onto the couch, the leaderboard revealing 'yoshi' in first place and 'dry bones' in second.

"anyone who plays as dry bones will never win. yoshi is just too good." the girl taunted.

"teddy! charlotte! dinner time!" harry's voice yelled from upstairs.

"you may be faster than me in mario kart, but you aren't faster than me in real life." teddy smirked, already racing up the stairs. charlotte bolted after him, not about to lose. the two ran into the dining room, finding the only two available seats in between albus and lily.

"ha! i win!" teddy yelled, sitting down first, next to albus.

"i would've won if we would've started at the same time." charlotte huffed, sitting next to lily.

"and why're you two all red and out of breath? have you two had the talk yet?" george asked with a smirk on his face. both molly, who was on his right, and angelina, who was on his left, smacked him. teddy and charlotte turned even more red at the thought.

"we weren't doing that, we were playing mario kart and raced each other up the stairs, i swear." teddy defended.

"what talk? what did you guys think they were doing?" lily asked. the table got quiet before bursting out into laughter.

the rest of dinner went by smoothly. everyone talked and ate, with no magical slip-ups. teddy and charlotte were both still a bit flustered from george's comment. once dinner and dessert were done, the families exchanged presents. george and angelina took roxanne and fred home right after presents, with the two kids starting to have a sugar crash from all of the cookies they ate. molly and arthur were next to leave, claiming that they were too old to be staying up late and dealing with all of the kids. ron, hermione, hugo, and rose stayed until around 11 before hugo started throwing a fit. that left the dickensons and potters, just like it had been last year.

"we should probably head out now…" mr. dickenson speculated, looking at the time. as expected, lily ran to charlotte.

"pleeeeaasseee don't leave! pretty please? with a cherry on top?" lily begged.

"sweetie, you know i'd love to, but you have to get to bed for santa."

"she could sleep over." teddy blurted out, not wanting charlotte to leave either. mr. and mrs. potter shared a knowing look at their godson's outburst. all the potter kids looked expectantly at their parents.

"if that's okay with charlotte and her family, it's fine with us." now, everyone's eyes were on the dickensons.

"we're okay with it." mrs. dickenson said. albus, james, and lily all jumped up.

"yes! charlotte, we can play soccer!"

"no! i want charlotte! we have pranks to pull!"

"i'm her favorite, she should play dolls with me allllllll night." the three fought over who would get charlotte. mr. and mrs. dickenson left, saying their goodbyes as the three pulled charlotte every which way.

"all right, all right. calm down." harry said. the kids ignored him, still yelling.

"hey! listen to your father!" ginny yelled, getting their attention.

"teddy has the most room and biggest bed, so charlotte will stay in his room, if that's okay with you." he said, directing his attention to charlotte at the end. the girl nodded.

"you three aren't waking up before 8 o'clock, got it? you've stayed up late enough tonight."

"now go get ready for bed quickly, or else santa won't come." ginny added. with that, albus, james, and lily ran to their rooms and bathrooms, not wanting to miss getting more presents.

"don't be too loud you two." ginny said as she walked past charlotte and teddy. the two got a bit red.

"not like that, you bloody slags." ginny laughed, harry following behind. they said an offhanded goodnight to the two teens. an awkward silence settled over the two.

"so… to my room?" teddy asked. charlotte nodded, and the two walked to his room quietly, lily already fast asleep. teddy got some clothes out for the two to wear, while charlotte looked out the window.

"here, take these. you can change in the bathroom if you'd like." teddy said, giving charlotte his quidditch jersey and some black sweatpants.

"'hufflepuff'?" charlotte asked, reading the front of his jersey. teddy scratched the back of his neck.

"yeah, it's like… my dorm name?" he explained quickly. charlotte just nodded and went to the bathroom. when she got back, she was wearing the large jersey and sweatpants, along with a messy bun. she turned around to put her stuff down with her presents. while she was turned around, teddy admired the jersey on her, and for a fleeting moment, the name "charlotte lupin" flashed in his head. he tried to shake the idea out of his head, and reminded himself that she had a boyfriend. an awkward silence settled over the two, not knowing what to say or do. while teddy observed the girl, he noticed a silver chain around her neck.

"you still wear it? the necklace?" he asked. she looked down at the necklace and twiddled with it.

"of course, i wear it all the time." teddy became flustered.

"really? i would've thought your boyfriend wouldn't like that." he blurted out, immediately regretting it. she looked at him, slightly confused, before the recognition settled in.

"you mean leo? we were never really… together, per se. it was a one week kind of thing." charlotte explained. she then gave him a teasing look.

"and how did you know about leo?" she accused with a smirk. teddy blushed.

"well- i… i mean-"

"the window, am i right?" teddy's eyes went wide.

"i swear, i'm not some weird stalker or anything! it's just… y'know, my window was open, and your window was open-" charlotte cut the boy off again with a laugh.

"it's okay teddy. i've looked through the window a couple times too." she said with a wink. with that, charlotte laid down in the bed, under the covers. it took teddy a minute to process all of that information, but he soon followed, laying down awkwardly, leaving a sizable distance between the two. charlotte found his awkwardness adorable. scooting closer to him, she laid her head on his chest.

"you're adorable, you know that?" she said, listening to his heart race. teddy was speechless. he had never been so flustered. in the past, when he was around girls, he would always be bold and smooth. it was often a charming point that attracted girls. but with charlotte, he became a puddle of mushy gushy feelings he couldn't comprehend. trying to collect himself, he wrapped his arm around charlotte while she placed a hand over his beating heart. she gave him a small peck on his cheek before falling asleep next to him. with charlotte asleep, teddy could openly admired charlotte in his arms without getting extremely flustered. it was a sight teddy wouldn't mind getting used to.

the next morning, teddy was waken up by the sound of repressed giggles. he knew nothing good could come out of the sound. reluctantly opening his eyes, he saw his three siblings standing at the door, james with a camera in hand.

"finally made a move on her huh?" james teased. teddy just rolled over and threw the blanket completely over himself and charlotte. she was curled up into his chest, their legs slightly intertwined. he moved a bit of hair out of her face, and a light smile settled over charlotte's face.

"morning." she whispered, her eyes still closed. impulsively, teddy leaned down and gave the girl a forehead kiss.

"the kids have been taking pictures of us." he grumbled. charlotte finally opened her eyes.

"i mean, we are pretty darn cute. i don't blame them." teddy couldn't resist the urge to pull the girl into a hug. she immediately returned it, sinking into his broad chest.

"you two better not be doing anything gross in there!" albus yelled.

"kids! santa came!" ginny's distant voice yelled. three pairs of feet could be heard sprinting to the living room.

"he brought something for charlotte too!" lily yelled.

"i guess we should go down there now." charlotte said quietly, not loosening her grip on teddy. he hummed in acknowledgement, also not moving. it took the two another five minutes before james and lily came up to pull them out of bed. harry and ginny smirked at teddy when they saw charlotte with his quidditch jersey on. he mouthed "shut up" to them while rolling his eyes, a smile on his face nonetheless.

the morning went by quickly, with the kids playing with their toys, while the rest sat on the couch, watching some christmas movies. by lunch, all the kids were outside again, making a giant snowman. teddy had to lift james up to put the head on it. lily soon found herself tired and cold, so she went inside. albus wanted to play some chess, so he and james followed after the smallest child. teddy and charlotte had a mini snowball fight before going back inside, sopping wet. when they tried to get into teddy's bathroom, a grunt was heard from inside.

"occupied" the sorrowful voice of james moaned.

"why are you in my bathroom?"

"albus. he put some sort of laxative in my yogurt from this morning."

"then why aren't you in your shared bathroom with albus?"

"he forgot and ate some of my yogurt." the two near-adults laughed at the boys' stupidity.

"want to come over to my place? i have my own bathroom we can get changed in, plus, i can put our clothes in the wash." charlotte offered. the boy just nodded, disgusted by the grunts and plops coming from the bathroom. he grabbed a sweatshirt and pants from his closet before following the girl. the two went to charlotte's house, her mother and father taking naps on the couches. they snuck past the sleeping adults and went upstairs. when teddy went into the room, it had a familiar sense to it. he had already seen various parts of it through the window. there was a large mirror, dresser, full sized bed, backpack, bookshelf, and other various room decorations.

"you can take a shower first. i'll go put our stuff in the dryer." teddy nodded, going into her bathroom and stripping out of his wet clothes. he opened the bathroom door, exposing his shirtless torso and black boxers. a pile of wet clothes was in his arms. charlotte, who was changing out of her clothes, looked over at the boy, a slight redness seeping into her cheeks. teddy was no better off, seeing the girl in just a bra and underwear. he quickly looked away, focusing his attention on making sure his hair didn't change to pink.

"i- uh- sorry, i just- was going to-"

"it's okay teddy," charlotte said, stepping closer to him and grabbing the clothes out of his hands. "from what i've heard, this is nothing new to you." she continued, gesturing to herself. his mind flashed with the image of her in just a sports bra and athletic shorts. the girl took their clothes and left the room, going to the laundry room. teddy made the water just a bit colder to cool him down, his hair a bright pink.

after a couple more awkward, nearly naked, encounters between the two, teddy and charlotte were soon fully clothed, sitting on her bed. the two just talked for a bit, getting tired from their time in the snow earlier. just as teddy was about to mention going home, he noticed a tiny plant on the girl's deck. he went over and grabbed it, looking at her, confused. the girl nervously chuckled, looking at her hands.

"james gave it to me last night. said to use it if you 'aren't man enough' to make a move." she explained. teddy moved back to the bed, standing in front of her, still holding the plant. he took an unnoticeable breath in before holding it above the two of them. charlotte couldn't hold in her smile, laughing a bit. she stood up, their bodies only a few centimetres away from each other.

"merry christmas charlotte." teddy whispered, a radiant smile covering his face. charlotte's face mirrored teddy's.

"merry christmas teddy." she replied, covering his lips with hers. the kiss was awkward for a moment, the two simply basking in their joint happiness. their lips disconnected after a couple seconds before trying again. that time, the kiss was much smoother. the two parted due to their giddiness, big smiles and uncontainable giggles escaping them.

~ ~ ~

if someone would have told mr. and mrs. weasley that their home would host not one, but two large weddings, they would have had a panic attack over their small home. unlike the first wedding, which had happened a little over 25 years ago, there was no war, or sense of urgency. the reception part of the wedding had already finished hours ago. all around were smiling people; dancing, laughing, and just enjoying themselves. those who had been at the first wedding, who were now considerably older, were a bit on edge at first, but were glad for a do-over of sorts.

"your parents look like they're going to faint." the blue-headed groom whisper-laughed into his bride's ear. the blonde looked over to see that, indeed, her muggle parents watched in a mix of awe and terror as items flew around. charlotte's parents had learned about the wizarding world fairly recently, considering that teddy and charlotte had been together for about seven years now. charlotte found out a year into their relationship, after his hair turned pink from seeing charlotte without her unders. teddy nearly had a heart attack when she pointed it out to him, worried that she would break it off with him. she needed a couple days to process the information, but she reassured him that it didn't matter whether he was a wizard, centaur, or any other 'mythological' creature. she would always love him the same. a muggle song from when the first started dating played, and many of the wizards left the floor, unaccustomed to the moves needed for that genre of music. so, it was just teddy and charlotte out on the dance floor, laughing and reminiscing.

the evening was magical, in more ways than one. even though charlotte only had her parents at the wedding, she felt at home with teddy's big, big family. she had grown quite close to victoire, much to the horror of the once-19-year-old teddy. nevertheless, he was glad that charlotte loved his family as much as he did.

"teddy, charlotte, we have something to show you two." a motherly voice said. the two turned to see ginny, harry, and mr. and mrs. dickenson standing behind them. the two followed the older adults into the burrow and found themselves seated on one of the many couches.

"we wanted to give you guys this, as a wedding gift." mr. dickenson said, passing over a large book. the two put the book on their laps and opened it. charlotte teared up immediately, while teddy just looked at the contents in awe.

inside, hundreds of photos of teddy and charlotte were taped, glued, or magically stuck onto the pages. some were pictures they posed for, others were not.

the first picture in the book was teddy putting the deathly hallows necklace on charlotte. she still wore that necklace, along with all of the other jewelry teddy spoiled her with throughout the years. next, there was the two of them baking hundreds of treats for christmas. the two of them had wide smiles on their faces, dancing around the kitchen, occasionally bumping into each other. each moving memory reduced the couple into a sappy mess. they held each other tight as they kept on going through the pictures. the two of them smiling at each other, covered in snow, with a barrage of snowballs incoming. the two of them tangled up on the bed that one christmas morning. the two of them under the mistletoe. teddy at charlotte's graduation. charlotte at teddy's graduation. them in front of their very first house together. so many fond memories that reminded the couple of how so utterly in love with each other they were, even before their marriage. there were many blank pages for more memories that they would continue to make together.

as teddy and charlotte flipped through the pages, three couples watched them with equally teary eyes. harry and ginny sat there, giggling to themselves through the tears, as they were the ones who took most of the pictures. mr. and mrs. dickenson cried bittersweet tears as they realized their once little girl was now officially someone else's as well.

and, from behind the couch, a tall, brown-haired, scarred man and his pink-haired, punk wife watched as their son sat next to the love of his life, to spend an eternity with. for just a moment, teddy felt the ghost of a hug around his shoulders, accompanied by the soft smells of chocolate and bubblegum, and he knew. all was well.

[forbidden-forest-witch]

Destiné à Être: A Remus Lupin Story

Chapter 13: First Date

(Warnings:Smoking, drinking, language, sexual themes. 18+ only)

Word Count: 4.4k

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"It was instinctive, the way I fell for you. Like an effortless intake of breath" -Josh Walker

My beautiful Cess, I miss you everyday, but now I need you. I'm going on my first date since my final year of school. Yes, Hell is probably frozen. His name is Remus. You'd love him. He's a little older, tall, shy and handsome, and he's a werewolf. I know- not that shocking. I wish you could help me pick out an outfit. I miss you. Love, Britt ...

The days surrounding the full moon comprise of Brigitte entertaining herself so she doesn't go stir crazy with worry over Remus. She had received a letter from Dumbledore, hoping for a speedy recovery and urging her to rest until her leg completely heals, leaving her little to do.

"Sirius!", Brigitte hisses up the stairs. While her leg is almost good as new, she'd rather not climb the fourth set of stairs or invade the wizard’s privacy. He has been sleeping most of the day, so he can ignore the fact that he cannot assist Remus during the full moon.

"Filthy Mudblood yells in my Mistresses house. Mistress would be devastated to hear the voice of such vermin", Kreacher croaks as he emerges from the bedroom opposite of Sirius'.

“Evening, Kreacher ... I'm a half-blood by the way. Werewolf father is Muggleborn". The wrinkly elf looks at Brigitte in horror before running down the stairs away from her.

"I think he likes you", Sirius yawns, leaning on his doorway. He slips a band shirt over his tattooed torso. "What you want, Love? Meeting starting already?".

"No, but that's why I'm here. You don't need to stay in your room until tonight's meeting. I'm not Remus, but I can be good company", she tries to entice him.

"Mhmm. Moony seems to really like your company", Sirius wiggles his brows. "Come. You can help me feed Buckbeak".

"I'll watch you feed Buckbeak".

"Ugh, such a girl. It's just dead rats".

"That's right, and don't make me show you what this girl can do". Brigitte snaps her finger, making a little firework-like spark in front of Sirius' face.

That shuts him up. While he feeds Beaky, Brigitte sits on the floor and scribbles through her notes on the anti-werewolf legislation. Since she's little to no help for Sirius, she can dedicate her energy to this instead.

"So, ya gonna help Moony?".

"Remus, and all werewolves in this country. I will try, at least. Your Ministry is something else", Brigitte shudders at the idea of facing the harsh Wizengamot-- the magical High Court.

"If there's anyone who can do it, it's you! I've heard your credentials. Remus might have doted on you a few times", Sirius giggles. "He's fucking smitten".

"I will do everything I can. There's so much progress to be made, to help families and the whole magical community. We've got to stop vilifying people with the disease", Brigitte stresses.

"Wow, you sure can make a case. I pity anyone who tries to go against you. It almost makes me believe I wont die in this house, that even this lowly wizard has a chance".

"I'll never let you die here. It's all just a matter of time. I have a good feeling about your outcome", Brigitte grins. "But, why don't you bring this up with the others? I know Snape isn't too eager to help, but he see's Pettigrew for Christ's sake! I don't understand".

"There's more 'pressing matters'. Focusing on my shit will take away from something more important. All I need is for Harry to stay safe", Sirius says.

"But if you're acquitted you can do so much for the Order. Just imagine going to Hogwarts and visiting Harry ... picking him up at Kings Cross when the school year is over and traveling with him. You can get a new flat and even a job", Brigitte argues.

"We can go on vacations, do whatever we want". Sirius looks off distantly with a small smile ghosting his lips. His pupils slowly dilate as he thinks of the potential memories he has with his godson. "Goddamn. You won this time, Miss Lawyer".

"Perfect timing. I think I just heard the door", Brigitte says with a cocky smile. She pets Buckbeak and exits the room skipping.

In the kitchen are Moody, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley, and a sour faced Snape. Mrs Weasley is making herself busy around the kitchen, prepping tea and cleaning, too anxious to stay still.

"Thanks for joining us. Least some of us aren't too busy tonight", Moody grumbles. Brigitte and Sirius timidly take a seat, Arthur and Tonks divulge more about Malfoy sightings at work and tighter restrictions. Restrictions that limit their investigations.

"All visits to Azkaban have been put on hold", Tonks scoffs. "Clearly the dementors that attacked Harry are still missing".

"Is he safe at school?", Sirius asks worriedly.

"In a secure school with Dumbledore? I'd say so, Black", Snape snarks.

"Hey! Shut it, you little--"

"-And we got Mundungus stationed in Hogsmeade", Moody interjects. "Bloody idiot can get as drunk as he wants as long as he looks out for 'em".

"We're trusting Mundungus again?", Brigitte gasps.

"He's the last one to raise suspicions if he's seen there", Snape says impatiently. "Unless you volunteer to move to Hogsmeade?".

"Don't talk to her like that, Snivellus", Sirius sneers.

"Dung saw the kids go into that pub Hog's Head. Small bunch of 'em. Said they were talking about a club. He heard the name 'Dumbledore's Army'", Moody shares, ignoring the men's hostilities.

"Oh no, no, no", Molly whimpers.

"It's alright, dear. Umbridge has banned all group activities, its probably harmless", Arthur tries to sssure her.

"Still. Hog's Head?", Sirius winces. "We'll ask them about it at Christmas".

"We will. Arthur? Your news".

"All raids have to be logged beforehand. So there goes our chance of catching anyone off guard", Arthur says exhaustedly. Brigitte glances at Sirius, his jaw clenched in frustration.

"So ... how will we ever get Pettigrew?", she asks timidly. "Why aren't we taking him to the Ministry? It's not like we don't have someone in his close proximity". She looks at Snape expectedly.

"There's a reason you're not in charge here–"

"Snape! I'm warning you", Sirius growls.

Arthur sighs heavily and place his hands on the table. "I wish we could dear but our hands are tied. We can't approach Malfoy via the Ministry, and Snape has to remain inconspicuous. It's not realistic".

"But isn't that why we're here? To take risks others won't?", Brigitte asks.

"I'm not worth the risk, Love. You've done all you can", Sirius assures her. "I can practically feel the guilt radiating off you. You've done more than anyone else, and one day our testimonies will matter".

"But-"

"Nope", Sirius raises his hand. "Put your energy into the anti-werewolf laws. You're needed more now that Podmore is gone too".

"Exactly", Moody cuts in, "and you need to work on your magic. Your elemental and wandless abilities are impressive, but you need to work on making it a defense".

"Yes sir".

"I'll help!", Tonks offers.

"So will I", Moody eyes her firmly. "Wait another week before you try dueling with that leg, but I'll be in contact ... anything else?".

"I will be forwarding any voiced concerns to Dumbledore from here on out", Snape drawls unenthusiastically. "He does not find it wise to vacate the school now that Umbridge is enforcing new rules everyday".

"Oh bloody perfect", Sirius rolls his eyes.

"Black, enough... Alright, if nothing else. Let's move— CONSTANT VIGLANCE", Moody ends the meeting.

Snape rushes out the room to return to school, followed by the rest of the crew. Tonks waves goodbye, promising to stay for a visit when she has a night off. She wants to support her cousin; at this moment, she's the only family he has.

"I left my room early, can I go back now? I promise I won't drown in my whiskey and tears", Sirius says with his hand over his heart.

"What a Drama Queen", Brigitte rolls her eyes on the way to the pantry. She takes a few miscellaneous pieces of fruit and pastries. "Dinner", she chuckles. Sirius walks Brigitte to her bedroom door before retreating to his private quarters on the top floor.

"Think Moony would be jealous right now?", Sirius teases. Brigitte laughs, but the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. "He's fine. Don't let the cute sweaters fool you. Moony's a tough bloke. The full moon was last night, the man will be as good as new tomorrow!".

"You're right... Bonne Nuit, Sirius", she says, kissing his cheek.

"Night, Madame".

Brigitte tosses the rich treats onto her bed and leaves her jumper and jeans where they fall on the floor. She slips on an oversized t-shirt and climbs under the covers; and she stays up late into the night drawing with her cheap pencils and munching on chewy French bread.

─── . ˚*☆ ☾ ☆*˚ . ───

Her drawing high continues on the next day. It's a pleasant hiatus from worrying about failing Sirius, wondering where Remus is, and whether she's pulling her weight in the Order.

Brigitte draws and shades charcoal for hours, long after her wrist is sore. She stands in front of a mirror and easel, using her reflection as a reference for drawing a woman's portrait.

"Afternoon! Whatcha doing in here, poppet?... what is that?", Sirius asks as, looking over her shoulder. It's nearly five and he's just now making his debut. It's a battle Brigitte wasn't going to fight today.

"It's Medusa and Perseus. Except unlike the famous statue, Medusa is holding that bastard's head".

"You mean... the monster woman with snake hair?", he asks hesitantly. "I think I remember that from Muggle Studies".

She huffs at him indignantly, "NOT a monster. She was turned into a Gorgon after being attacked by Poseidon. Her story is totally misunderstood. I'm giving her the ending she deserves".

Sirius looks up and down at the charcoal-covered young woman. "You're a unique girl, Britt... Y'know, I'm really happy you're here and won the heart of my hard-headed friend. I haven't seen him this happy in ... maybe since we became Animagi, not to brag".

"Well that's some sentimental shit, huh Black?".

He waves his hand at her and turns away from her. "Ahh shut it, can't I be happy for my friends? I want you two to be happy... together or whatever. Just don't go gossiping about my soft side".

"As if anyone would believe me if I told them... now, pose in front of the mantle, you cocky bastard. I need a new model", Brigitte directs him as she tears the Medusa drawing from the sketch pad and let's it flutter to the floor. Sirius smooths his tie and struts over to the fireplace. He places one arm on the mantelpiece and the other hand rests in his pocket.

"So regal, obviously from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black", Brigitte drawls, mocking his stance.

"What an honor for a penniless artist, eh?".

Brigitte gasps, giving him a warning glare before turning her focus to the paper. She scales his figure and draws fine, loose lines to outline his poised limbs. Sirius subtly bops his head to Pink Floyd playing in the background as Brigitte goes between staring at the sketchbook and studying the shadows on his face.

"Lovey, if you keep touching your face there's not going to be a hint of bare skin. Lookin' like your own shadow with all that smudged charcoal", Sirius mumbles to make minimal movement. Brigitte sticks out her tongue at him, and a minute she later rubs her face again while working on the details of his hair.

"Well, well. I feel like I'm walking in on Basil painting his muse Dorian". Remus jests, making a solid Dorian Gray reference. He walks into the room with his hands in his pockets and hair hanging over his eyes. Sirius winks at him, not moving his body.

"You're back!", Brigitte exclaims as she drops the charcoal on the floor and skips over to him.

"Oh no! The charcoal!", she exclaims while pulling away. "Oh Remus, your shirt. I'm so sorry! I used it because my pencils suck!", she tries to wipe the charcoal away with her blackened fingers but it only makes it worse.

Remus laughs at her expression and the failed attempt, gently grabbing her shoulders to stop her, "It's fine, Darling. You actually look quite adorable like this-"

"Alright, no enough. I was for this in the beginning, but I'm standing here because I'm terrified of moving", Sirius whines. "Don't ignore me and make me watch this weird foreplay".

Brigitte's face burns bright red under the dusty foundation, and Remus awkwardly clears his throat. He turns to Sirius with a hardened expression.

"Hello, Padfoot".

"Actually Sirius, you can move, I'll finish it later. I should shower... looks like I've been playing in the chimney", Brigitte says looking down at the hand prints all over her body. Her poor sweater and light-washed jeans. She looks at Remus and leans in to whisper, "That is ... if you still want to go out tonigh-"

"Yes... I mean yes, I do. You haven't changed your mind?".

"Hell no. I need a break from that one", she giggles, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at Sirius, who's busy admiring his portrait and smoking a cigarette. Remus watches Brigitte shake her hips up the stairs, then approaches his smug friend.

"Damn. She makes me look pretty good, huh? Not that it's a challenge", Sirius shows off his perfect smile as he whips the hair out of his face.

Remus rolls his eyes, "Yeah, too bad she didn't convey just how humble you are", he sighs.

Sirius bats his eyelashes and walks to the dry bar next to the dusty piano, "Want a drink before your big date tonight?".

"Stop. It's not a big deal, mate", Remus says hastily. "And no, heh, I should go change my shirt", he says, regarding Brigitte's handprints smeared on his torso.

⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆

With a clean shirt and brushed hair, Remus waits for Brigitte, taking Sirius up on his drink offer and watching him devour a plate of beans on toast. It's a disgusting yet successful distraction.

"She was a bit restless while you were away. Kinda annoying, made me come out of my room and hang out with her. I guess I can admit it was sweet too", Sirius says between bites.

"She's very sweet", Remus responds, looking fondly into the distance.

"So- You excited for tonight?", Sirius wiggles his eyebrows suggestively in between bites.

"I am ...", Remus responds, looking into his brown drink and trying not to engage too much. Talking about it only makes him more nervous.

"So, what are you doing on this date, huh?", Sirius inquires.

"Something I think she's going to really enjoy", Remus says coyly, not able to contain his grin.

"Fine don't tell me, bu-", Sirius looks past Remus and stops mid-sentence, his jaw dropping. Remus turns around and mimics his friend's expression.

Brigitte's standing in the archway. Her hair is a sexy wavy mess and the light illuminates it like a halo. Her figure is accentuated in a calf-length black sweater dress with a slit up the side. Simple yet seductive.

"Ready to go?", Brigitte asks quietly after a prolonged silence.

Remus quickly stands and strides over to her, "I am... Merlin Britt, you're gorgeous".

She blushes and traces her finger up his tie, "Merci. You look very handsome, Remus". He's wearing his typical gray suit, but she can tell he straighten up his tie and attempted to brush down his hair. They look like a beautiful couple.

"Isn't this adorable! I look pretty nice this evening too, just throwing that out there", Sirius chimes in. Remus and Brigitte laugh, not taking their eyes off each other. He offers his scarred hand and she happily takes it. Hers— soft and delicate while contrasting beautifully with his— strong and calloused from years of a less than privileged life.

"So, where are we going?", Brigitte asks as they step out the door. Remus clicks his tongue and helps her put on her coat.

"Now, now. If I told you, it'd ruin the surprise. Ready?". He Apparates them to the middle of the Victoria and Albert Museum, under its intricate dome.

Brigitte looks around at the surroundings. The main lighting is shut off, surrounding them in a romantic ambiance. It's surreal, being in such a popular place usually filled with people, but now all Brigitte can hear is her heartbeat in her ears. It's all theirs.

Remus watches her contently. He intertwines their fingers and whispers in her ear, "I thought we could look at some art tonight? We have our own private tour".

Brigitte looks at him with gleaming eyes, "Oh, Remus! That's all I want to do!", she hugs his neck tightly.

"That makes me happy to hear, Darling. What would you like to see first?".

"Classical sculptures?", she asks, dragging Remus down the wide hallway before he can respond. She glances over the large map in the middle of the museum and takes them to her desired art period. It's a room as long as the entirety of the museum and littered in shiny, marbled and bronze bodies.

"I think they're so romantic ... it's incredible, how something so firm can appear so soft. How is that stone and not a real veil?", Brigitte rambles on dreamily, staring at the woman wearing a flower down and veil. "I want to reach out and touch the fabric, but I will resist!".

Remus snorts at the pure happiness streaming from her. He lets Brigitte lead him around the room, occasionally sharing what he knows about each mythological piece. She listens on impressed, flattered that he's showing interest in the art she likes.

"I like the stories of love, and adventures to exotic new places with beautiful people and creatures. We have enough war in real life", she laments while looking up at a carving of Hector.

They take turns posing comically next to the sculptures, mirroring the stances of gods and making funny faces at each other that resemble the clay theater masks. Their laughs echo through the room long after they've stopped and are silently smiling at each other so hard their cheeks hurt.

They spend a few hours wandering throughout the museum, trying to see of it as much as possible. Brigitte pulls Remus along, back and forth through the wings, not letting go of his hand once. She excitedly points paintings she's familiar with, from years of flipping through the art books sold in her father's shop.

It's evident she's read art history books from her fathers bookshop, as she is knowledgeable with every other piece. Though, Remus never tires of her 'oohs' and 'ahhs'.  

Her giggle and honey-like voice bounce off the frame-clattered walls, and it's like a symphony to his ears. Remus gazes down at her, his heart radiating and a smile stuck to his face as he watches her in elation... He doesn't even realize that he's ignored half the art, too busy admiring her beauty instead.

They end up in the main rotunda under the glass chandelier twinkling under the low light. Brigitte turns to face Remus and wraps her arms around his torso. "I really enjoyed this, but it sure did put my art to shame", she jokes.

"I don't think so ... your beauty put the art to shame if anything", he says boldly.

She gapes at him speechlessly, unsure of how to respond except with a kiss. "Thanks for bringing me here", she says while looking at him doe-eyed, their noses almost touching.

"Anytime. Anywhere you want to go. I thought dinner was too ordinary. Are you hungry though?".

Brigitte stands on her tip toes and kisses Remus' cheeks, "I have a craving, so you'll have to follow me this time".

Their feet leave the ground and after being sucked through time and space, they land in Battersea Park. "Hmm... If I remembered correctly I've seen a cart that should be around here- yes, there he is!", Brigitte points at a food trolley by the river. It's a vintage crepe cart she's seen on one of her partrols. She takes a confused Remus' hand and drags him over.

"Bonsoir, monsieur. J'espère que vous allez bien", Brigitte exclaims, greeting the old crepe maker.

The old man's face lights up, "Ahh Chérie, c'est si bon de te voir. Deux crepes?". Brigitte brightly smiles and the old Frenchman pours the batter onto the skillet and makes the crepes. He even drizzles extra chocolate on top.

Remus tries to pay the man but he waves his hands, "non, non. c'est gratuit pour les amoureux". Brigitte blushes and thanks the man.

Remus asks her what he said. "Oh nothing. Just that it's for free. He insists", she leaves out the part where he called them 'lovers'. They sit cozied up on a bench at the edge of the river.

"These were a really good choice", Remus says as they indulge in the French treat. He somehow manages to eat neatly, not a streak of chocolate on his face; while Brigitte makes a mess all around her mouth. Remus watches her and laughs, wiping away the chocolate and licking it off his finger.

"Chocolate is never the wrong answer when it comes to you, Moony", she muses, "They're my favorite ... Make me think of home. I'd get them every time we'd go into a city", she says distantly.

Remus looks down at her gazing across the river, "you miss France, don't you?".

"I never thought I'd be away this long. I haven't seen my parents in person in almost two years. My brother's wife is pregnant again, I feel like so much has changed since I was there last ... but, I think I have a purpose here".

"I must agree", Remus smiles at her with curt nod. "And holiday is less than a month, right? You'll be home soon", he assures her. They finish the crepes and watch the illuminated skyline reflect on the river, the moon boldly hanging above as it begins to wane.

"You know what I want to see?", he whispers. Brigitte hums a curious 'hmm?'.

"I want to see you make a really big wave in that water... I want to see your magic", he says to which Brigitte jerks her neck to face him.

"Wh-what?", she asks timidly.

He smiles at her encouragingly, "I want to see how powerful your magic is. You shouldn't hide it, Darling". She looks away embarrassed.

"Wait, I'm sorry I didn't mean to put you on the spot. You don't have to do it...", he says rubbing her knee comfortingly.

She shakes her head and sits up confidently, "no, no it's fine. For you, I'm happy to try", Brigitte smiles shyly. It's not like she's helpless– if she can preform her magic for Dumbledore and Moody, Remus should be a piece of cake.

Brigitte stands up and focuses on the river. She raises both hands which lifts up a large wall of wiggling water. Her hands glide forward and the water forcefully gushes about 50 feet across the riverbank, creating choppy waves that churn up the water like a storm. Then she turns around and makes snow whip around them like a elegant tornado.

Remus looks at her with an open, amazed smile, "It's incredible. Why don't you want people to see this?".

Brigitte shrugs smugly and sits back down next to him, "I practiced with Beau when I was little, but when I got to school I was already the weird girl with the werewolf family. I didn't need kids thinking I would spontaneously light them on fire or freeze them in a block of ice", she nervously laughs, "I am recently starting to feel a little more confident with it", she confesses. Remus' reaction when they were walking home the night they first kissed is what gave her that boost.

"Hmm, perhaps 'weird' in the most powerful and magical way? You should embrace your unique talent! The Order needs someone like you. You're an underestimated and powerful witch, Darling. You said before you like to use that to your advantage, right?", he encourages her. They smile at one another.

"Thanks, Remus", she says and involuntarily shivers. He puts his arm around her shoulder and rubs up and down both arms,

"You are you cold? You want my jacket?".

Remus goes to take it off but Brigitte stops him, "No, please then you'll be cold. I'm fine".

He ignores her, draping the jacket on her shoulders. It's warm from his werewolf body heat. He wraps his arm around her. They gaze into each other's eyes, admiring the reflection of the moonlight in their contrasting irises, before quickly turning away.

"I've really enjoyed tonight, Remus. Getting to be with you...", Brigitte whispers, lightly tracing the buttons on his shirt.

"Darling, you have no idea", he drags out the last two words. Looking at each others lips, they breathe uneasily, their faces drawing closer and closer.

Remus pulls Brigitte in and kisses her tenderly. Her hands find their way to his firm chest and roam around, feeling his defined muscles while he sucks on her supple lips.

The kiss quickly heats up when she whimpers against his mouth, a sound Remus will never forget. They breathe and moan into each other while rolling their tongues in sync like a dance, sending tingles down their spines. The taste of chocolate and strawberries lingers, making the kiss that much more intoxicating.

Brigitte drapes her legs across Remus', curling up to get closer to him and warm up. He holds her, trailing his hand from her knee to her thigh and up the side of her waist. Brigitte moans at the firm touch, giving him the confidence to trail even higher and cup her breast. He groans into her mouth when he feels that she's not wearing anything under the dress.

They break the kiss, panting heavily. Still touching her intimately, Remus looks at Brigitte with a primal hunger. "Do you ... want to go back to Grimmauld Place?".

** I think we all know happens next. Next chapter is smut, dolls**

♡ ♡

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[foundtherightwords]

All Our Yesterdays - Chapter 9

Pairing: Ralph (Timewasters) x OFC

Summary: Thu, a museum archivist, only wants to escape her dull life in 21st-century Hanoi. The last thing she expects is to end up in 1929 Indochina via a time-traveling elevator and cross paths with Ralph, an Englishman on the run from the French Foreign Legion. Romance blossoms between them, but in a colonized country, unrest is always looming on the horizon, and Thu must decide if she wants to stay with Ralph in the past or return to the safety of the future.

Warnings: outdated/period-typical attitudes about women, mentions of war, mentions of pregnancy and abortion (involving a supporting character), some angst, some smut (non-explicit)

Chapter word count: 3.7k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Winter had finally arrived in Hanoi. For a few short, glorious weeks in November, the sky was a blue dome, the sun was a gentle glaze over the landscape, and everything was crisp and crystal clear. Then December came, and the Northeastern monsoon swept through Tonkin, changing the entire city in a single night. A merciless wind stripped the trees bare, leaving them to raise their skeletal frames toward a sky the color of tarnished silver. The traditional houses, not built for retaining heat, seemed to huddle closer together for warmth, as did the people on the streets. Vendors selling grilled corn on the cob and roasted sweet potatoes popped up on every street corner, and crowds flocked to them, for the fire from their stoves as much as the snacks. In the Western area of town, around Rue Paul Bert, Christmas decorations started appearing in shop windows and around doorways. For the locals, however, the real celebration—the Lunar New Year—was still about two months away.

The weather wasn't the only thing that changed. Thu sensed that something had changed between her and Ralph as well, in the days following his birthday and their outing at the dance hall.

On the outside, everything was the same. They still hung out (Thu tried not to think of their outings as dates)—eating at this or that vendor that they hadn't tried, going to the theater or the movies, even venturing to the Botanic Garden, though Thu was always careful to keep them away from the area around Robin Park. However, the easy friendliness between them was gone, replaced by a sense of tension, not just mental but physical as well, as both seemed to hold their bodies alert like a string, taut with wanting, waiting for the other to say something, do something, to break this terrible suspense, but neither dared to make the first move. It wasn't entirely unpleasant—it was like having a low dose of adrenaline constantly pumping through her veins—but it left her frustrated at the end of the day, when he walked her home, mumbled "Good night" and stalked off down the street, without even looking at her, without even shaking her hand, as if one touch would make them both spontaneously combust.

OK, so she liked him. She could admit that, at least to herself. He was cute and sweet and fun and she liked hanging out with him and taking care of him, and she even liked letting him take care of her once in a while. But it was no use entertaining the idea. This wasn't like meeting someone on vacation, because then at least there was always a chance they could see each other again. No, this was simply impossible.

It would be so much better if she could just sit him down and rip the Band-Aid off. "Listen, Ralph, I think you're great and all (what's that goofy 1920s slang word he uses? "Wizard"?), but I can't stay here forever, so how about we just kiss and get it out of our system and then go back to being friends?" But it was never that simple, was it? It wouldn't stop at just a kiss, would it? And there was always a chance that she had completely misread his signals, that he wasn't interested and was just being nice, and how humiliating would that be? And so she said nothing, and he said nothing, and they kept circling around each other in that limbo, taking both comfort and dissatisfaction from each other's company.  

Christmas came without much fanfare. None of the staff at the newspaper was Christian, and Thu didn't celebrate it either—though it had become an unofficial secular holiday in modern-day Vietnam, she didn't see any point in celebrating as a non-Christian. Ralph did though, so she made an effort to give him a nice time, knowing it would be the one day when he felt the most homesick. They didn't go to church—it was far too crowded and the risk of Ralph getting recognized would be greater. Instead, they stayed home for a Christmas dinner, French-Indochinese style. Ralph bought a bottle of champagne, a cake, and some sweets from Godard's, and she bought a Peking duck and side dishes from a Chinese restaurant.

"This is so good! Beats a roast goose any day," Ralph said, stuffing himself with the duck and pickles wrapped in crispy pancakes, while Thu watched him, smiling indulgently.

For presents, she gave him a dozen cotton handkerchiefs embroidered with his monogrammed initials, R.P. It was the most practical and least romantic present she could think of—she kept forgetting to buy some for herself, and Ralph was always having to give her one of his.

"I have something for you too," Ralph said, blushing a little, and handed her a long, rectangular package.

It was a photo album. "To Autumn, from Ralph" was written on the front page. The photos were all of her, carefully captioned in Ralph's own handwriting. Here she was, standing with the kids in front of the toy shop at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Here she was, leaning over a basket of flowers and smiling up at the camera. Here she was, standing at the balcony and looking over the street, deep in thought. There was even one of them together, reflected in a shop window like two ghosts floating over the busy pavement.

Thu looked from the album to Ralph, lost for words.

"A little memento for when you go home," he said. "I know you have all those pictures on your clever telephone already, but—"

"I love it," she interrupted, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. "Thank you."

He beamed at her.

Later that night, back in her own room, as she looked over the photos again, tracing the captions with her fingers, Thu thought to herself, After the Lunar New Year. She would stay for the Lunar New Year. And after that, maybe she'd find the strength to say goodbye.

***

As the New Year—the "Western" New Year, as it was still called in modern day, as opposed to the Lunar New Year—approached, the office of Women's Weekly was abuzz with excitement. To thank the staff and to celebrate the paper's three-month anniversary, Madame Phuong was going to throw a party at her house on New Year's Eve. Thu realized that then, as it is in modern times, the Lunar New Year is for families, while the Western New Year is reserved for social gatherings.

It was Lien who came up with the idea of putting on a pantomime play, both to entertain themselves and the guests at the party, and to help the staff bond. Madame Phuong gave her approval, and the women had been rehearsing all through Christmas. Thu was glad to see that it didn't seem much different from the amateur shows she and her co-workers often performed at the museum on special occasions, except they were all going to be cross-dressing for maximum hilarity.

They decided to perform Thach Sanh, or the story of the woodcutter who braved monsters and won the hand of a princess, since it had more male characters than other fairy tales, thus more cross-dressing roles for the all-female staff. Lien even roped her henpecked husband into playing the evil adoptive mother, which left the role of the Princess. The other staff members were asked if they had husbands or brothers or male friends that could step in, but the women all laughed behind their hands and said, "Playing a princess? They'd rather die!" It was then that Lien suggested that Thu asked her "photographer friend".

"I'll ask him, but I can't promise anything," Thu said. She turned to Mai and lowered her voice. "Maybe you can ask Louis too?" she asked with a teasing grin. Louis with his mustache playing a princess, now that would be a laugh.

"I—I don't know if he can," Mai mumbled, looking uncomfortable, and Thu's grin immediately disappeared. The girl had been rather subdued and distracted lately. Perhaps her relationship with the dashing Louis wasn't going well. Thu felt sorry for her, and again wondered if she'd done the right thing, keeping quiet about Louis's lechery.

To her pleasant surprise, Ralph agreed to help right away.

"We used to put on a panto for Christmas all the time at home," he said enthusiastically. "It'll be a laugh!"

And so on New Year's Eve, laden with costumes and props and musical instruments, they all made their way to Madame Phuong's villa on the quiet lane of Chân Cầm Street. Thu was astonished to recognize the place—in her time, it was converted into a couple of boutiques on the first floor and a coffee shop on the second floor, but the interior was more or less the same, down to the floor tiles, the tall French windows that opened onto the balcony, the carved columns on either side of the door, and the painted moldings on the ceiling. So many times she and her friends had been there drinking egg coffee, wondering who the previous owner was. Never had she dreamed that one day she would be there when it was all fresh and new... The feeling of derealization, which she hadn't felt in months, was back, and it was only when Ralph touched her shoulder that Thu realized she was gaping at the house like an idiot.

"Everything all right?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah, yeah, just—you know. I know this place." She shook her head. "Sometimes this whole thing feels like the longest bout of déjà-vu ever."

"Come on, we have to get into costumes." He pulled her toward the back of the house. The "actors" had congregated in a guest room, which had been set up as the changing room, and were putting on their costumes with much laughter and teasing. The play was to be very informal. It would be easy to hire a theater troupe, but Lien insisted on impressing Madame Phuong with their enthusiasm and homemade skills, hence the amateurish preparations.

Soon, Thu found herself clad in a men's robe of navy brocade, borrowed from Lien's husband, with a crown constructed out of paper and gold foil. She was playing the king, but as Vietnam still had an Emperor then and the royal color of yellow was forbidden for the common folk, they had to settle for blue instead. Mai, who was in charge of make-up, whipped out a cooking pot, its bottom blackened with soot.

"What the hell is that?" Thu asked.

"It's for your beard and eyebrows," Mai said, dragging a finger through the soot and smearing it on Thu's face.

Ralph took one look at her and bust out laughing.

"I don't see what you're laughing at," Thu scoffed. "Look at yourself!"

Lien had lent him her wedding robe of red brocade, and a crown, similar to Thu's, was on his head. Even though the robe was loose-fitting, Ralph was still too tall and broad-shouldered for it, so he had to wear it open like a smoking jacket, and his wrists poking out from the sleeves struck Thu as adorably awkward. At least he was allowed to wear his own trousers underneath.

Mai was smiling along with them, but then she suddenly went pale, winced, and clamped a hand on her stomach, dropping the pot of rouge she was going to use on Ralph.

"You OK?" Thu asked, looking at the girl with concern.

"Um, yeah, just cramps."

"Why don't you get some air?" Thu said, picking up the rouge. "I'll take care of this. The King and the Princess aren't on until the third scene anyway."

Mai gave her a grateful look and slipped out the door. Thu sat Ralph down in front of her, dipped her finger into the rouge, and rubbed a circle on each of his cheeks.

"You're worried about her," he said.

"She hasn't been herself. No doubt that dick Louis has something to do with it."

"Maybe they've broken up."

"That would be for the best, honestly."

Then she glanced at his face and tried to suppress a giggle.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?"

"Nothing. You look like one of those Russian nesting dolls. "

"And you look like a chimney sweep," he said, grinning at her.

"Don't talk, or I'll get lipstick on your teeth."

As she touched his lips, however, all thoughts of Mai went out of Thu's head. She was all too aware that they were alone in the room, and she was tracing his lips with her finger, how full and soft and warm they were, and he was looking at her almost expectantly, and if she just leaned down, she could kiss him—

"Ready?" Lien bustled in. She wasn't going on stage, preferring to be the director instead.

Thu looked up, hoping the soot was enough to cover her blush. "Um, yeah," she said.

"Good. You're up next!"

***

Peeking through a gap in the door, Thu saw that the drawing room was full of people, both French and Vietnamese. They were a rather Bohemian-looking lot, some dressed up, others looking like they just came off of their easels or writing desks. Madame Phuong's own children wove in and out amongst the guests. The atmosphere was casual and relaxed, and Thu's nervousness about her performance dissipated a great deal.

It helped her, also, to see that Ralph seemed to be enjoying himself. Her own role consisted of nothing else but sitting on a wingback chair, lifting her hand, and pointing a couple of times, so she spent most of her time on stage watching Ralph. He took to the stage like a duck to water. It being a pantomime, there was no line, but his gestures and looks earned a great deal of laughter and cheers from the audience. The princess's heartbreaking sighs at being separated from her brave woodcutter were especially convincing, even if she tended to look over at her father the king quite often during that scene. Thu was only glad that she was not a good enough actor to play the lead role, or else she would've melted into a puddle when the princess was finally reunited with the woodcutter.

Afterward, the actors took to the stage amidst enthusiastic applause, bowed, and rushed back into the changing room, laughing and congratulating each other. The women crowded around Lien's husband and Ralph, heaping them with praises, and telling Lien and Thu how lucky they were that their men were so supportive. It hit Thu then, that not only the staff took it for granted that Ralph was her partner, but they were also jealous of her. Her heart swelled with something akin to proprietorial pride, as she watched Ralph taking in the compliments, looking a bit overwhelmed but pleased.

They got out of their costumes, wiped their faces clean of make-up, and joined the other guests for hors d'oeuvres and champagne. The children had been sent to bed, and the party became more boisterous. At one point, Thu overheard Madame Phuong and a few other people getting into quite a heated discussion in French, of which she only caught a few familiar words like parti and révolutionnaire. Then they noticed her looking in their direction and quickly changed the subject.

Thu knew the August Revolution, which led to Vietnam gaining independence from France, was still fifteen years away, but the nationalist movements that gave birth to it must have started around this time. She looked at the happy, amicable faces around her, wondering if any of them would be involved in the war to come. Her stomach twinged with the slight embarrassment of being too wrapped up in her own personal affair, while there were much bigger things going on around her.

Then she caught Ralph's eyes across the room, and that embarrassment vanished. She realized she hadn't talked to him since the play was over, and suddenly she missed him. It was ridiculous to miss someone who was literally five meters away, but she did. As she made her way to him, one of Madame Phuong's friends started asking her about her hair, where she'd had it cut. By the time Thu got rid of her and turned back, Ralph himself was locked in conversation with a French gentleman. Before she could try to reach Ralph again, there was a tinkling of glass, and conversations paused as people turned to Madame Phuong. "It's almost midnight!" she announced, first in Vietnamese, then in French, pointing to the big grandfather clock behind her. "Let's ring in the New Year!"

A countdown began, in both Vietnamese and French. The clock struck twelve, a loud cheer of "Bonne année!" went up, and then, to Thu's great surprise, the guests started giving each other hearty kisses on the cheeks. She had heard of the tradition of kissing at midnight on New Year's Eve, of course, but it was a purely Western custom, never practiced in Vietnam, and certainly not in 1930, when the country was only on the brink of modernization. This must be a very liberal, very Westernized crowd if they took to it so naturally.

She saw Ralph making his way toward her and panicked. True, she had fantasized about kissing him just a few hours ago, but ever since their accidental kiss on his birthday, she had gone back and forth between yearning for his lips and dreading them. What if he was to kiss her now and she didn't know how to behave? What if it was just a friendly peck on the cheek and she didn't know how to deal with the crushing disappointment? No, better not risk it. She spun around and dashed through the other guests, escaping to the back of the house.

Walking down the dimly lit corridor, Thu found her way to the toilet, intending to take refuge in it until the moment for midnight kisses had passed. But as she reached the door, she heard a sound coming from within—quiet, whimpering sobs, like those of a child trying to hide her crying. She paused, not knowing if she should knock or retreat in discretion. Before she could decide, the door opened and Mai emerged, her eyes red and puffy. Thu realized she hadn't seen the girl since the play began.

"What's the matter?" she asked, but Mai only sniffed, shook her head, and disappeared down the hallway.  

***

Her mind was still on Mai when she said her goodbye to Madame Phuong and met Ralph at the front door. Belatedly, Thu realized that he was waiting to walk her home. Ah well. He had done so over the past two months and nothing had happened; there was no need to make things more awkward now.

If Ralph had noticed her running away from him at midnight and was hurt or offended, he made no mention of it. He only saw her shiver in her quilted jacket, so he took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. She tried to protest, but he shrugged. "It's only a short walk, I won't freeze."

"Thank you." She clutched the coat closer around her, breathing in his warmth and the familiar soapy scent, while Ralph walked in long, leisurely strides next to her, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Some of their easy silence had returned, and Thu felt herself relaxing slightly. Perhaps they could go back to being friends after all.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She sighed and told him about catching Mai crying in the bathroom. "I really should've warned her about Louis."

"What happened to not getting involved?"

She gave him a sharp glance. "It's a bit late for that, isn't it? I've been involved in all sorts of things now."

"So if you return to your time and the robots have taken over, you're not going to blame me?" he said, grinning.

She couldn't help grinning back. "No, you're off the hook. Great party tonight, wasn't it?" she said, changing the subject. She didn't like talking about going back to her time.

"It was. You did a great job with the play."

"Me?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Pfft. Trying to look kingly isn't that hard. You, though. If this photography thing doesn't work out, you should think about going on stage."

"I wasn't acting," Ralph said quietly.

"But when the princess was leaning against the window frame? All that sad longing? That was so convincing!"

"Like I said, I wasn't acting."

He had slowed his steps and was looking at her rather wistfully, but Thu strode on, pretending not to see, pretending not to notice the throbbing of her heart. He was probably just thinking of Lauren during that scene. Yes, definitely...

She walked so fast that Ralph had to scramble to catch up with her, but they had arrived at her boarding house. She turned to him. "Well, good night."

Ralph looked down, deflated. "Happy New Year," he mumbled.

"In Vietnam, we say 'Chúc mừng năm mới.'"

"Chuc mung nam moi?" he repeated, trying to form his mouth around the unfamiliar words.

"Close enough." Thu smiled. "See you then."

He gave her a brief nod, turned to leave, then seemed to have come to a decision and turned back, stepping closer to her, crossing the gap between them with just one stride. "Do you know that if you don't get a kiss on New Year's Eve, you'll be doomed to a year of loneliness?" he whispered.

The string inside her snapped. Why did he say that? Why did he keep saying and doing these things that made it so hard to resist him? Didn't he know how painful it was for her?

"Damn it, Ralph." She grabbed him by his shirt, pulled him to her, and clasped her mouth to his.

Chapter 10

A/N: Finally, things are happening! Smut is coming next chapter! Although slow burn is my jam, this is the slowest burn I've written so far, and even I was getting a little antsy with these two, so thank you for your patience :))