#its like listening to family reminiscing over the old days | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

hhnguyen · 1 year ago

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make me proud

Bringing my Sully Reader series to a bittersweet, yet hopefully comforting end.

♢ Pairing: Tuktirey x Oldest sister!Reader, Sully family x Oldest sister!Reader

♢ Word count: 3.2k

♢ Genre: angst, sibling love, fluff, grief - Warnings: cursing, major character death

⌲ Description: Time was passing by, and with hazy memories Tuk finds herself reminiscing about the person her sissy once was.

M A S T E R L I S T

R e c o m m e n d e d p l a y l i s t :

⌲ ashes - Celine Dion ⌲ brother - Kodaline ⌲ the nights - Chlara ⌲ the call - Regina Spektor

“Hello there,” Grinning, Tuktirey watched from a safe distance at the insistent yapping from a nest of Viperwolf pups.

This pack specifically was only a couple of months old, but friendlier than those residing further away from her village, thus more used to the comings and goings of the Omitikaya and not trying to kill anyone who came too near.

Tuk found herself visiting the energetic pups several times a week, always making sure their protective mother and pack weren’t too near when she snuck closer than anyone would recommend.

But she was confident in her abilities to protect herself, the bow slung over her body never left behind when outside the borders of her home. Not to mention the two extra daggers strapped to each thigh with firm leather holsters.

Allowing herself a couple more moments of silent admiration, she swallowed back a giggle as one of the bravest of the pups came bouncing over in her direction, stumbling clumsily over its legs and trotting the last couple of feet before rubbing its leathery body against her ankle, no sign of viciousness present.

Bending down to give the creature a little scratch behind its ears, the wolf gave a yip in satisfaction, tail thumping against the ground until a far-off howl sounded.

Forgetting Tuk’s presence all the pups started to howl in reply and she used their distraction to swiftly turn back around and climb up the tree she had come from, safely keeping herself a distance away as the rest of the pack came running through the bushes with their newest prey for the day, growls mixed in with the barks of the youngest.

With one last glance, Tuktirey started her short journey upwards before giving a sharp whistle.

A screech replied her quickly, a shadow flying over her only for a few seconds before landing down on the large branch before her, leaves fluttering down the ground from its appearance hidden within.

“Hey there boy,” Tuk trailed a gentle hand down her Ikran’s neck, somewhat feeling a little melancholic today, tracing the midnight blue skin with yellow and green marks. “Mawey Atanzaw.”

The old ikran listened, calming down and nudging his head against her hands as she smiled, nuzzling him back. She wasn’t the only one seemingly restless today.

Atanzaw himself was aware of what day it was, having acted impatient from morning until now.

Oh, what a shock that day had been for everyone; Tuk’s iknimaya was a moment still prone to come up in discussion to this day, four years later.

She had followed the same rites of passage as all her family before, making it all the way up to the Hallelujah Mountains without much issues. And just when Tuk thought she had found her bond, Atanzaw had swooped down from the sky like the vicious beast that he was known for.

Chasing away her first prospective Ikran and snarling at her.

No one had seen the animal since your death nearly seven years ago, the ikran having taken to the skies and never seen again after your body was brought back to Metkayina village to be buried with the ancestors.

She had been frozen to the core, all reason of what she was doing vanishing, until the realization that the ikran wanted her to fight; prove her worth to become his newest rider.

An occurrence that had never happened before in the history of her clan.

Once a rider died, it was well known their mounts refused to take any other.

But there she had been, faced with the fiercely loyal best of her long passed oldest sister.

“You want to see her, don’t you?” Tuktirey whispered, gently tracing the lines of his face as Atanzaw scuffed. “How about a little flight, then we’ll go.”

Swinging herself up on the saddle, the ikran didn’t need any more direction to follow their usual flight route circling her home forest.

Leaning forward to rest her whole body upon the warm skin of her mount, Tuk took a deep breath; eyes closing and feeling the wind whip past her as they soared above the trees.

The sun was slowly setting, painting the sky in a beautiful picture of soft oranges, pinks and yellow, bathing her in a backdrop of warmth and comfort.

Ten years have passed since your death.

Tuk remembered that day more clearly than the others.

When her family had finally managed to pry her and Kiri away from the grasps of their enemies, her eight-year-old mind thinking everything was going to be alright from there out as they floated above the water on Payakan’s fin until she noticed the usual bright absence of her oldest sister.

Her questions had been answered in the worst possible way as she was led to the flat surface of rocks in the middle of the dark ocean, the flames of the sinking boat being the only light to illuminate them

But it had been bright enough for her eyes to take in the scarily still form of you. An image of cold serenity with a wet cloth covering your body from the neck down, eyes closed as if you were dreaming.

Tuk had thought you were.

Simply sleeping that is.

Sinking slowly down to her knees beside you, small hand shaking your shoulder to wake up, to hug her and assure her that everything was okay now. That their family was safe and they could go home. But you wouldn’t wake up.

“Why won’t sissy wake up, daddy!” Her child self had sobbed, hiccuping and whipping around to stare at her dad for an answer.

He had only scooped her up in his arms, tugging her head into his neck with comforting nothings, apologizing for something she couldn’t hear through her sobs of denial. Kiri had stared, seeing but unseeing, fists clenched by her side as their mother sank down and pulled your damp head into her lap.

The bright roots from the tree of souls brought her back to the present as Atanzaw swooped down slowly. The area was empty from what she could see, because Tuk had arrived late to her family’s tradition of visiting you on your death anniversary.

Instead of heading straight to the tree and connecting her queue, she found a slab of high rock several feet away and sat down. Her ikran settling down on his stomach beside her with a grumble as she absently traced his neck.

“Come on, Tuk Tuk! Atanzaw won’t wait for us forever!” Your voice seemingly whispered in her ears, your bright laughter following as the memories of her small self rushing out of the hut for your weekly sister bonding time.

“Tuk Tuk, mom and dad won’t be happy if you don’t clean up before dinner!” What an ongoing issue it had for you to force her to simply clean up after a day of adventures outside.

“Why are you crying, Tuk Tuk?”

“I-I had a n-nightmare of you leaving m-me…”

“Awe, my sweet little Tuk. I’ll never leave you, okay?”

“Y-you promise, sissy?” You had grinned so widely that it seemed like you could shield the entire world from her. “When have I ever broken a promise?”

Tuktirey couldn’t help but scoff, the sound feeling loud in the emptiness of the space as she plucked out handful of grass and letting them flutter to the ground.

“You’re a goddamn liar, sissy,” She couldn’t help but mutter bitterly.

“Careful now. She won’t be too happy hearing you say that.”

Looking over her shoulder to face the familiar deep voice of Neteyam, grinning almost innocently.

Tuk rolled her eyes, never stopping her aggressive little plucking of nature. She would apologize to Eywa another time.

“What are you doing here, Teyam?”

Her oldest brother heaved a sigh as he sat down on her other side, his ridiculously broad shoulders brushing her own. Just like everyone else, he had grown into himself as a strong male Na’vi. She knew that if their father decided to step down today as Olo'eyktan, Neteyam would be more than ready to take his place.

But alas, Jake Sully was still a stubborn male who assured he was more than capable for a couple more years before letting the role of leader go to someone else. A stubborn old fool, their mother had berated him to their amusement.

“I assumed since you didn’t show up earlier, I would find you here sooner or later.”

Her brother, now twenty-five was one of the respectable leaders of their clan, as a general and heir to their father. Neteyam even surpassed Jake in build and height, all the teenage softness melting into a strong wide jaw and high cheekbones.

“You didn’t have to wait,” Tuk muttered again as he chuckled.

“And let you remain here alone ruining that poor grass?” Her hand stopped at his pointed words with an inward sigh.

Pulling her knees against her chest, she wrapped her arms around them, never taking her eyes away from the gently swaying branches of the Tree of Souls.

“What’s the issue, Tuk?”

“What makes you think there is one?”

She didn’t have to look to know about the brow Neteyam raised at her. “You’ve been acting odd the last couple of days. Even mother and father have noticed.”

Tuk gnawed at her bottom lip. “I don’t know how to say it.”

“Since when have I ever judged you?”

That was true. Neteyam was always willing to offer an ear for her problems, often ending the conversation with a comforting hug to brighten up her days.

“I…think I’m forgetting her.” Tuk’s whispered admission floated into the air with a shuddering breath, eyes welling up with tears she let trail down her cheeks.

A guilt that had bothered her ever since she realized with horror how she couldn’t seem to recall how your smile had looked like, if the colors of your eyes had been as yellow as she remembered, or a more dark orange.

“Oh Tuk…” She didn’t fight the hold Neteyam slung over her shoulder, pulling her into his side, lips pressing against the crown of her head. “Why are you beating yourself up over that?”

“I can’t forget her, Teyam,” Tuk’s voice shook. “She’s…sissy. What kind of sister would I be if I can’t remember what her smile looked like? How her laugh sounded. It’s not right.”

“Who told you that?” Neteyam’s voice was a low comfort. “It’s the truth isn’t it?”

“No, not even close, Tuk Tuk.”

Tuktirey shook her head. “Don’t do that. I don’t want your lies, Teyam.”

“Do you believe Y/N would call you a liar?” His question made her pause because she didn’t know.

She didn’t remember what you would have said in moments like these, and it was that exact feeling that was eating her up from the inside.

“You were eight, Tuk,” Neteyam continued seriously. “A child in the midst of war and mayhem. We all were. Trauma has haunted us all since then, you as a child couldn’t even escape it. Your memories warp over time, and no one would blame you for forgetting details of scenarios over a decade ago.”

“But it’s sissy!” She repeated vehemently.

“Sissy would tell you to suck it up and stop being a wimp.”

Words that your oldest brother would never use on a daily basis made them both freeze, before sharing an airy laugh together at how you would 100% say that to their faces.

“Yeah, she would…”

How Tuk hated the truth of those words. You would have told them much more than that with narrowed eyes and hands on your hips. Probably including a couple of cuss words followed by your signature whack to the head.

“A day does not go by where we don’t miss her,” Neteyam’s voice had taken a note melancholy, Atanzaw in his silence seemingly agreeing with a rumble from his chest.

“Y/N will always leave a mark within our lives long after we’re gone as well. Just look at Lo’ak. That fool has managed pretty well for himself.”

Giggling at their inside joke, Tuk could see what he meant.

After the war ended, everyone besides their second brother decided to return to the forest. Lo’ak had been firm in his decision of remaining with the Metkayina, Tsireya by his side as mates and to lead the future generations to come. They were doing incredibly well last time the family had heard, welcoming a healthy baby girl as their first child and naming her after you. They had promised to come for a visit the moment the babe was old enough for long travels.

None of the family had expected Lo’ak to be the first one to create a family and life for himself, but he had put all the credit on you. How he promised to be strong for your sake; A promise he had now fulfilled to its brim to the pride of everyone else, your parents especially. Kiri herself had taken over the role of Tsahìk, with their grandmother only growing more weary by the day, and there was no one else suited better to the role than her.

That left only Tuk, with her eighteenth birthday having passed, she was officially an adult in human terms. She had chosen to become a part of the hunters, often led by Neteyam as well.

She took after you a lot in that sense, her sense of adventure and adrenalin.

“You think sissy would be proud?” Tuk asked carefully.

Neteyam nudged her enough to catch her eyes as she followed his gaze to the tree, his small smirk obvious. “Why don’t you go and find out?”

“W-what?”

“I think of all days, that today is when Eywa might feel a bit more giving than usual.”

Despite her confusion over his mysterious words, Tuk listened and stood up. Walking the distance towards the closest root, she expected the same familiar connection to Eywa and hearing the whispers of the past brush over her mind as well the warmth spreading through her body. However her heart hammered when she felt her mind being pulled in further, as if dragging her away from the ground itself.

Where was she?

Slowly looking around, Tuk could vaguely recognize it. It was still home, in the forests on one of the many wide branches belonging to their trees. But it was taller than most she remembered, somewhere further away from their village.

“Should I be offended that you look confused?”

Gasping, Tuktirey whirled around quicker than she had ever moved. Her hand covered her mouth, blinking as if in a dream as you grinned at her.

Looking just like you had back then. Burnt orange like the sunrise, that was your eye color.

“...sissy?” She was too afraid this wasn’t real. Because it didn’t feel like it.

Your grin widened, beaming almost - arms opening wide. “Hey Tuk Tuk.”

Tuktirey propelled into you mid sob, somehow still feeling smaller than you despite her couple inches on you. The familiar warmth of your grasp around her body brought her back to her childhood almost frighteningly fast, making her think how she managed to ever forget that feeling.

“How tall you’ve become,” You murmured gently, hands trailing down her long braids, kept neatly within a leather tie.

“I-I can’t believe this. How-”

“Eywa has granted us the gift of seeing each other again. A rare occurrence.”

Although not wanting to part from your arms, Tuktirey forced herself to pull back slightly.

Only to be startled by the fact she had to look down to meet your sparkling gaze. You had always seemed like a larger-than-life figure to her. Towering above like an impregnable shield, it was now she realized how you had only been sixteen. How young your features looked now compared to her own eighteen.

Had you always been that slight?

“I don’t know what to say.”

You chuckled, reaching up to brush a singular braid back and tuck it behind her ear. “Do you have something to say?”

“I-I thought I did,” Tuk admitted, grasping your smaller hands tightly as you watched her patiently. “But now I’m not so sure.”

“Well, then how about I start?” Meeting your eyes, she watched them crinkle. “I missed you, Tuk Tuk.”

Eywa knows how she managed to smile, a light laugh following despite her tears. “I miss you so much, sissy.”

“You are stunning. I always knew you would be.”

“How could you?” The words slipped out before she could stop. “You’re not here.”

But you simply snorted, obviously disagreeing. “I’m always there, Tuk. Even if you can’t see me, or feel me. Or even want to remember me. I’ll always be there.”

“Then why did you leave?” Tuktirey couldn’t help the choked question, knowing better than to expect an answer to it.

You had been shot. Not chosen to die. But you defied all expectations as always, answering with a smirk.

“Shit happens.”

Their dad would have been proud to hear that.

“You are so much like Dad,” She huffed out almost exasperated.

“And don’t you let him forget,” You winked.

A cribble crawled over her skin, the leaves of the trees rustling almost in warning as your face tilted up towards the sky, smile faltering the slightest.

“We don’t have much time.”

“No,” Tuk shook her head, gripping your hands tighter, probably near painful but you gave no indication of it. “I want to speak with you more. Apologize or something, I can’t forget you!”

To her surprise, you laughed. Loud and coming from your belly. “Forget me? Oh Tuk Tuk, you worry too much.”

“What?”

“You fear the natural sides of life. Apologize? For what? How do you expect to forget your favorite sibling?” Your joke did not dry the fresh tears gathered in her eyes, before your eyes softened.

Hand coming back up to cup her cheek, thumb gently brushing against it. “You are allowed to forget my face. Even my voice. I would never hold it over you, Tuktirey. But this,” You patted her heart. “That will never be gone. You’ll always find me there, okay?”

Lips wobbling, Tuk sniffled almost pathetically as she nodded. “Okay.”

Her blurry vision took in your face carefully, for what felt like the very last time for a long while.

Looking at your shining eyes, loving wide grin with the same hint of mischief you always carried around.

The wind rose as you reached up to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, hands squeezing hers one last time before stepping back and letting go.

“I love you, sissy.” Tuk managed to croak out as the surroundings were starting to brighten. She swore it was a tear running down your cheek as your grin widened enough to show your teeth.

“I love you too, Tuk Tuk.” And then a classic you-move; offering her a two-finger salute with a wink. “Make me proud, tiger.”

With a sharp gasp, Tuktirey was back; eyes flying open and stumbling back only to be balanced swiftly by Neteyam.

But he didn’t look concerned. There was a knowing glint in his expectant smile as she stared at him silently, almost stunned.

That smile widened at the look on her face. “So what did she say?”

As reality caught up with her, Tuk straightened before huffing out a laugh, wiping away the stray tears on her cheek.

With twinkling eyes, she ran her tongue against the inside of her mouth in thought before blurting out.

“That you’ll always be a sniveling crybaby!”

Cackling, she ran away with a squeal towards Atanzaw as Neteyam growled playfully behind her, bringing up the chase as she took to the skies; heart and soul lighter than she could ever wish for.

Am I crying? Maybe.

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azzifuddworlddomination · 5 months ago

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casual pt. 3

paige x azzi fic

yall already knowwwww i did not proof read

this is mostly filler

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“No… no… no…” Colleen replies mindlessly as Azzi holds up different shirts, “Az, I seriously don’t think going to Montana is a good idea. How did you even get your parents to agree to this? They take holidays pretty seriously.” Azzi takes a breath, “I told them I’d spend the entirety of Christmas break with Jon and Jose.” “Yeah? Until Paige comes over,” Colleen says under her breath. “Are you gonna help or no?” Azzi asks her. “Fine,” Colleen says as she settles back onto Azzi’s bed.

Azzi stands under the awning of their dorm building as Paige pulls the car up. Its cold Connecticut morning and the snow is falling in thick and heavy flakes. After what seems like a very cold forever, Paige pulls around and parks. Hopping out of her car, she goes around to open the trunk. As her hand lands on Azzi’s suitcase, she’s met with resistance. Azzi tugs the suitcase from Paige’s hands, “I can put it in myself y’know.” Paige gives her a confused look as Azzi doesn’t pay her any mind, instead going around to get in the passenger’s seat. “I turned the heated seat on for you, I know you like that,” Paige says, as Azzi stares out the window.

Azzi doesn’t want to be mad. She would be thrilled to be going to spend Thanksgiving with her girlfriend’s family. But that wasn’t the case. She was going to act as a buffer between her best-friend-turned-friends-with-benefits-in-hopes-of-them-being-together-one-day-in-the-future-but-one-of-them-pretty-much-ruined-that-after-acting-like-what-they-had-was-not-worth-actually-pursuing-and-they-are-just-casually-hooking-up-otherwise-known-as-a-situationship and her mother, who albeit is caring but struggles to connect with her daughter. To make matters even worse, Paige’s mom doesn’t know they’ve ever been anything beyond friends. She figured if Paige could bring her best friend, it would make Montana a little less boring.

After an uncomfortably quiet ride, which luckily Paige just chalked up to Azzi being tired, they arrived at the airport. Paige watched in the mirror as Azzi grabbed both bags and mumbled something under her breath before she closed the trunk and gave Paige the go-ahead to go park. After finding a parking spot Paige noticed that Azzi had forgotten her unicorn neck pillow on the seat. She reached over and grabbed it. It’s the neck pillow she’s had since high school. Paige had seen it on more flights and bus rides than she could count. And on each on of those flights and bus rides without fail Paige had talked Azzi’s ear off as much as she would let her. Even though Azzi would tell Paige to just shut up and close her eyes, she never stopped listening until Paige stopped talking. She was such a good best friend. After enough reminiscing, Paige grabs the pillow and reaches for the car door.

Azzi sits near the airport entrance as she toys with the tags on Paige’s bag. Azzi thought having multiple tags on her suitcase was a little redundant, but as she flipped through the tags she stopped at the one with the Hopkins High School logo on the back. It still had Paige’s old Minnesota address. Azzi reminisced on the times that she had gone to Minnesota to visit her, or the times she had traveled to see Paige play for Hopkins. Azzi started to look at the tag with the UConn logo on it, the address almost identical to hers. Only the room number differed. Azzi thought to herself for a moment, what it would be like to finally live together. Would their bedding be pink or purple, or maybe they’d mutually agree on a different color or a mix of the two? It was dumb, Azzi thought, it wasn’t worth wasting her time thinking about. You wouldn’t know how stupid she finds it, if you knew how much she thought about all the hypotheticals in her in Paige’s lives; all of the what ifs, all of the far-off futures, all of the daydreams, and delusions. Azzi flipped to the deep purple tag, it listed her Maryland address. She remembers Paige’s face when she told her that she finally wouldn’t live so far away. She could barely contain her excitement. Finally, Azzi flipped over a pinkish-purple tag, listing Azzi’s house under the address. It was from when Paige stayed with her and her family during covid. She couldn’t help but feel a little sentimental over all the milestones she’s been through with Paige.

“Stalking me or something?” Paige laughed as Azzi looked up at her like a deer in headlights, “you, uh, forgot this in the car,” Paige says as she hands Azzi the neck pillow. “Thanks,” Azzi shortly responds. Azzi feels caught in the act, wondering how long Paige saw her looking at the different tags she had on her bag while Paige wonders if Azzi can feel that Paige held onto the neck pillow a little longer than she should’ve and reminisced over all the places they’ve been together.

“You know, flying back from Argentina was probably the best flight I’ve been on. To this day,” Paige admits. “Really?” Azzi looks at her. “Yeah, a hundred percent. I’d do a twelve-hour flight with you any day, over a one-hour flight with anyone else. Azzi starts to wonder how bad it would be if she opened up an emergency exit would be, like who says that???? A few beats too late, Azzi responds, “Me too.” As the captain prepares the cabin for take off Paige looks nervously at Azzi, “you know I’m still scared of take off right?” “Still?” Azzi looks at her? “Yeah, still,” Paige responds. Azzi uncrosses her previously crossed arms as she allows Paige to slink her hand under her own and intertwine their fingers.

Paige squeezes her hand as they take off. Azzi squeezes it back as a sign of reassurance. Even as they finally reach their cruising altitude Paige doesn’t remove her hand. As the flight goes on Azzi feels Paige’s hand go limp as she drifts off to sleep. Their fingers intertwined until they touched down in Montana, Azzi couldn’t make up her mind if this trip would be her saving grace or her biggest regret.

#azzi fudd #paige bueckers #pazzi #paige x azzi #uconn wbb #Spotify

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badnoahmens · 1 year ago

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I Took Your Keys, It Was Me - Part 3

Noah Sebastian x Reader

Words: 4.8k

A/N: I’m sorry this took as long as it did. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out which direction I wanted to take this in. Still not 100% sure. Hope you enjoy it though!

Part 1

Part 2

As soon as you arrive home, you rack your brain for any existing plans that may have been scheduled for the next day.

Work? … Nope.

And… that was about it. You weren’t exactly the social butterfly you used to be. The anxiety around it and the pressure you would put on yourself ruined that. Luckily, the friends you had understood you and knew you well enough that they stuck around. You were forever thankful for that.

The thought crossed your mind, should you tell them about this date? You hadn’t even told them that you had met up with Noah again. You decide that it is best to not tell them, keep it to yourself for the meantime. Just so the information doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

By the time you finally crawled into bed, you had an outfit planned (you know the one, looks effortless but took forever to put together?), items packed in a bag, and an excited but nervous fluttering in your stomach. It may have been hard, but eventually, you were able to drift off into a sleep.

Anticipation woke you before your alarm rang, but you couldn’t quite bring yourself to get out of bed yet, almost as though Noah would think you’re too excited for this date - even though he can’t even see you right now.

Your mind keeps going over and over the details of the day just past. The conversations, the eye-contact, the subtle gestures and body language shared between you two, just… everything. You reminisce on the words you shared, memories both old and new, of family and friends from over the years. When he showed you his vulnerable side, talking about some of the personal details of his life, and when he would glance at you to see if you were listening, which you always were. Even right down to the details, like when he walked, he walked quickly, so you had to pick up your own pace just to keep up. That was, until he noticed this, so he started to consciously make the effort to walk a bit slower while with you.

When you rise from the warm cocoon of your bed, you start to fix yourself some breakfast and coffee, making sure to properly prepare yourself for the day. With that out of the way, it left you with nothing but just to wait. Wait until it was time to leave for a date.

A date.

With Noah.

Noah Sebastian.

Butterflies started to form in your stomach again, coming to the realization that today was actually happening. It wasn’t some dream or movie you had entered into. No. This was real life. This was your life.

The next hour was spent getting ready, changing outfits multiple times (again), and then nervously bouncing your leg as you sat and watched the time tick by, second by second.

It was agonizingly slow to sit there and just watch, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be entertained in any other way. Your mind was hyper focused on one thing, and you really didn't want to be late for that.

It got to a time that you were satisfied with, and stood to leave, brushing off your clothes, and turning to walk out, closing the door behind you. As you near your car, one hand outstretched and on the car door handle, you felt something fall onto your shoulder, and then could feel the sickening warmth as the bird dropping started to settle into the fabric of your shirt.

“Are you KIDDING me!” you yell up at the sky, a bird flying away from you, taunting with its swoops up and down as it dances around the sky.

With a huff and a frustrated brisk walk back inside, you storm into your bedroom, frantically trying to find a new shirt to go with the outfit you had meticulously put together, but nothing seemed to be working. It was either too short, too long, too colorful, too wrong. Giving up, you yank on a plain shirt that was tossed in the corner earlier, and admitting defeat. You were already late, flustered, and now stressed beyond hell.

The door slams shut behind you as you rush to your car and finally slip into the driver's seat, angrily glaring at the sky again as you pull out and start to follow the directions to Noah’s accommodation.

When you arrive, parking spaces are harder to come by at this time of day. There were more people around now, and there was a traffic jam of cars all waiting and fighting to find a place to park. Almost as though it was sent from the heavens, a car pulls out right in front of you, which you gladly drive into, turning the car off with a sigh of relief.

The stress that had suddenly fallen upon you this morning acted as a distraction from your mind starting to wander again. It was almost peaceful until you remembered why you were here in the first place.

Before you get yourself thinking about it any more, you quickly get out of the car, shoving your phone and keys into your pockets, and start walking towards where you were meeting Noah for your date.

That word again. Date. It played on your mind a lot. Did he really mean a date, in the traditional sense? What did that even mean? It was really just two people meeting up, maybe to eat some food, or to go somewhere cool. You continued to downplay the events of what was happening or about to happen, that you hadn't realized that your feet had carried you right up to the location. You were busy admiring the space around you, a song of “it’’s aaallll good, this is just two people hanging out! Theres no need to get all worked up about this” that was interrupted when you hear your name being called out.

You hadn’t even seen Noah, sitting there against the small retaining wall that bordered the garden. One hand was in his pocket nonchalantly, the other waving gingerly in your direction. You couldn’t help but notice a toothy grin on his face. His black t-shirt fit him perfectly so it hugged his shoulders, but fell carelessly around his waist, which then met the top of his beige shorts. His ankles were crossed, with white crew socks peeking above the white sneakers he adorned. With his arms bare, the tattoos that decorated him were vibrant in the dappled sunlight, small shadows dancing as the tree that hung above him shifted slightly in the wind. The tattoos continued up his neck, framing his jaw with colors and illustrations that you haven't paid too close attention to before, contrasted with the block color of his outfit.

How did he look so effortlessly good? Like he just rolled into a pile of laundry and managed to pull this off?

His eyes gathered slightly at the side when his smile widened when you waved back, and he stood from his sitting position to walk towards you. To your surprise, he held his arms out, bringing you into an embrace when you finally neared him.

His hug was so warm, like he was radiating from the inside, his arms so long they could wrap around you twice over if he wanted. He gave a light squeeze, and you raised your bent arms to place your palms on his back, smiling into him as you did.

He pulls away, combing back his hair with his fingertips, grinning at you.

“Glad you’re here!” He sang, “now, if you’ll just follow me…” he trailed off, motioning his hand in the opposite direction in which you arrived. You started walking next to him, making small talk about the drive over and the fiasco with a bird dropping their shit on your shoulder. Noah had to hold onto himself, arms twisted around his torso just so that he didn’t split open from laughing too hard.

“They say that it’s a good omen right? Like, it’s a lucky thing to get shit on by a bird” Noah remarked after he composed himself, finally.

“Better buy a lottery ticket then” you scoff, grinning when Noah laughs again.

You walk for bit longer, noticing how Noah would gingerly point in certain directions when you had to turn a corner. Every now and then he would pause, look around, and then glance back over his shoulder.

“You know, if you told me where we were going, I could help with directions” you comment.

Noah’s eyebrows knit together slightly, pulling out his phone and checking the maps again.

“Or are you leading me to my death, and this is part of the plan?” Noah looks at you after you say this, slightly worried, but relaxes when he sees you’re joking. “You know, in case I get away. You need to make sure I don’t know where I am, right?” You continue.

Noah just smiles his big grin, showing off his teeth as he chuckles at the remark. “It’s not far, I promise”

“Ah. Another secretive response. So this IS my demise…” you retort. Noah simply looks at you and winks.

When you arrive at a building, the only decorations are the painted red walls, torn posters, and an open door with a staircase leading to another floor.

“This looks awfully murder-y” you comment. Noah laughs again, but starts walking up the stairs.

Despite what you have been taught your whole life, you follow him into the mysterious building. There was a strange sense of security around him, that he would protect you.

The higher up the stairs you go, the more you could hear a murmur of a crowd. It was a dark room that you entered into, a crowd was seated in pairs with small tables between them, all facing a stage with red curtains tied to either side. Noah spoke to a server, flashing his phone which was scanned, and then he continued into the room. You followed him, taking a seat in the chair next to him. A cheap battery-powered candle flickered on the small table between you two, emitting the glow that quietly danced on Noah and your arms.

“So you haven’t brought me here to murder me, but to witness one?” You tease.

He looks at you quizzically, “have you never been to a comedy show before?”

You mouthed an “Ohhhhh” to Noah, the realization of the setting finally kicking in. The lights dimmed just as you were looking around, the whole scene making a lot more sense now. A voice chartered through the speakers asking for the crowd to find their seats as the show is about to begin.

It starts with a man, dressed as casual as can be with a hoodie and black jeans, strolling onto the stage with a handheld microphone.

“Hello everyone, and thank you for coming today! We have a special time planned ahead for you, so I ask that you do your best to enjoy the show.” The host introduced the first comedian, who when he walked on stage, looked no more than 18 years old. Their content was good, targeting the stereotypical teenager and the tropes of being introduced to adulthood. He told a story of how he moved out of home… and then back in… and then back out…. And then back in again. He spoke about his family, who seemed like characters themselves, recounting an embarrassing birthday story and performing a reenactment of the encounter when a bat showed but uninvited. He finished his set with a heartwarming yet entertaining story, of his family and how they actually ended up being a friends family, how he wasn’t related to them at all, and that they were the ones who took him in over and over again.

Noah seemed to enjoy this comedian, he laughed at his jokes, mumbled under his breath in agreeable to a few comments, and watched the man pour out his heart when talking about his experience.

It was distracting, how engaged Noah looked. You found it hard to take your eyes off him. You noticed the smallest details, just like how his front teeth were ever so slightly crooked. You could see the freckles that dotted his cheek, tangled with the short stubble that had started to poke through under his nose and down his jawline. His jawline and how it twitched when he would smile and laugh.

He picked up on it, seeming like a small wave of self-consciousness creeped in.

He shifted in his seat, readjusting his position and glanced your way. “Is there something wrong? Are you not enjoying the show?” He asked as the next comedian took the stage.

“This was a great idea” you whisper back through a smile. Your eyes move back to the lit stage as the next comedian spoke.

“I had this whole skit about coming on here today, and just having a normal-ass conversation with you all, but then I realized that’s literally why you came here, to get away from that” he chuckled to himself. “So instead, I’m just going to make fun of some of you.”

Oh no.

The comedian's eyes bounced between the seats,the audience echoing a nervous laugh. Without even muttering a word, the comedian makes the most intense eye contact you have ever seen with an elderly couple sitting front and center. His arm raises, slowly, as he points directly at them.

“You” he states clearly. The room erupts in laughter. “You will be my sacrifice tonight”.

The couple are doubled over, cupping their face in their hands and shaking their heads, a smile spread wide across their face.

“Yep. It’s happening.” The comedian nodded his head, still with a finger pointed at them.

He started by asking for their names, what they do for a living, about their family, and even squeezed in a joke about stealing their identity. It was pleasant and joyful, and then he asked a question in a more serious tone.

“What advice would you give to the couple at the back who look like they’re on their first date?” his hand was on his hip, fingers drumming a rhythmic pattern in the microphone he held in his other hand. His eyes then darted right to you, body not moving an inch but you knew he was starting to drag you into his act.

The elderly couple laughed again, and then linked their hands. Although it was dark, the silhouette of them looked like they gave each other a look of fondness and love.

“I mean, come on. How does anyone else get a love like this!” The comedian threw his hands up in surrender. “But really, what should these fresh-to-their-relationship-and-came-to-a-stand-up-show-so-they-didn’t-need-to-make-actual-conversation kids know?”

Another roar of cackles from the room. All you could muster is an embarrassed giggle, feeling the heat rise to your face as you tried your hardest not to look over at Noah. The energy he was giving off felt a lot more calm than you, and you wished you could just take that on. Your knee started to bounce lightly, the nerves from being in the spotlight were starting to make you feel on edge.

“I should stop picking in people, really. There will come a time in your life…” the comedian started, now turning and facing you and Noah. He took three careful steps towards you. “Where you will meet someone you think is very pretty.” He paused, letting the chatter of chuckles radiate throughout the room. You were now the one with your face in your hands, trying desperately to sink away into your chair and escape. What they could see, though, was the smile behind your fingers. Despite the torturous attention, you couldn’t deny it was still a laugh.

“I should really stop. That guy with the tattoos, yeah he looks like he could beat me up pretty easily.”

You glanced at Noah through tangled fingers. He

rubbed at his chin and narrowed his eyes, feinting a thoughtful look with a slow nod, before cracking the facade with a big grin. He waved his hand towards the comedian as if to shoo him away.

And it was with that, that the comedian thanked the crowd and left the stage.

There was only one more to grace the stage before the crowd, and although they were still funny, you couldn’t help but still feel the residual embarrassment from the previous act. It actually took you a moment to realize that the show was over when the lights started to gradually light the room.

You jumped ever so slightly from the pat you felt on your left. Two soft, open hand taps on your thigh from Noah.

“Shows over. Let’s go get some food.”

You nod in response, standing from your seat and following Noah back out of the room, down the stairs, and into the bright light of the day.

Your eyes took their time to adjust to the sunshine, completely forgetting that it was still well and truly the middle of the day. There was a place nearby that you were both heading towards, sitting down at a picnic table curbside under a bright yellow umbrella. Noah sat opposite you, eyebrows starting to knit together as he frowned at the large menu he held in his hands. After some musing, he settled on a burger. The idea of making a mess of yourself while trying to eat a burger embarrassed you, so you went with a wrap instead.

Using the online menu, your food was ordered in no time. You started up a new conversation with Noah, trying to avoid an awkward silence from creeping up.

“Do you see stand-up comics often?” you ask.

He thought for a moment. “I used to. Not much spare time now. I’d like to do it more often though.” You hummed in agreement. Noah looked like he was dwelling on a thought.

“I know this might seem like a bit much. But are you free tonight?”

“Tonight?” Is he serious? Not that you’re complaining…

“There’s a band playing at a nearby bar tonight. We’re out of here and onto the next town tomorrow morning. There’s a few of us going, but I would really like it if you joined us.”

“A few of you are going? You don’t need an extra third wheel.” You joke, only to have the words play on your mind. Why couldn’t you be smooth with words? Like Noah? Sound all suave and effortless.

“It’s all the people you have met before. Plus, you won’t be third wheeling.” He paused. “I’d rather spend the time with you, honestly”. He glanced over his shoulder as though he was on the lookout and didn’t want to get caught, then leaned in closer to you. “I have spent way too long on a small bus with too many guys. They have become too comfortable around each other.” He paused. “It will be nice to have someone there that doesn’t think it’s normal to fart on each other.”

“Oh, but whatever do you mean?” You teased, placing a hand in your chest and raising your eyebrows feigning a surprised reaction, causing Noah to laugh with that wide grin, the kind that says the crinkles by his eyes.

“Are you sure, though?” You ask once the laughing subsides, a genuine tone to your voice. cautious, even.

Noah nods, looking into your eyes. There’s kindness there, sincerity behind them. “I’m absolutely sure��, he pauses. “I’d love to spend more time with you, seeing as we leave town tomorrow.”

Noah reached for the glass of water in front of him, sipping it slowly while you process his words.

He wants to spend more time with me? Is he crazy?

Despite the voice in your head, which always seemed to have a vendetta against you, you agree. What did you have to lose?

“I’d love to come. It sounds like it’ll be a great night”.

Noah’s face lights up. “Great! We’ll meet you there at 7.”

Noah continues on, telling you details about the plan for tonight, who is going, and where it’s at. You can feel a warmth radiating from him, his excitement and passion for music distracting you from any feelings of doubt.

You both continue to carry a light conversation and you start to pick up on the small mannerisms Noah does without even noticing. He likes to play with his hair; running his fingers through it, tugging at the strands on the back of his head when he is focusing, even ruffling it up and then smoothing it back down every once in a while.

You also notice his smile, and how he has many. There’s a lopsided one when he is trying to be patient and not speak out of turn. There’s also a goofy, toothy smile that shows when a laugh from his belly comes out. Then there’s a small, slight grin, turning up just in the corners. It’s this one that graces his features when he listens to you speak. He watches the way your mouth moves sometimes too fast to get the words out right, how you also play with your hair absentmindedly, and use your hands to gesture probably too much when retelling a story.

It’s this smile that almost looks like he is fawning over you. Like it didn’t matter what you were saying, he would listen. He would watch your eyes light up when talking about your passions. He would notice how your leg would stop bouncing when speaking about your closest family members. He saw the way you saw him watching you, and would immediately flush with the lightest shade of pink and you try to change the subject.

You had never felt this comfortable with anyone before, where you could be vulnerable without hesitation, and he would accept it wholeheartedly. Even after only knowing this man for mere weeks, it felt like decades.

There was an odd sensation that he felt the same, that he could also be himself around you. That after that first night you met, he saw something different in you. What that was exactly, you had no idea. But Noah knew something, and he was doing his damned best to find out more about you.

As the time ticked by, Noah and you had finished your food, and were walking back to where you had met hours before. Your car was still faithfully parked where you had left it. You neared it, slowly walking closer, but without realizing also slowing your pace. There was a twinge of sadness inside you, knowing that you were about to say goodbye to Noah.

“Thank you, again, for today” you say, kicking a rock with the toe of your boot. It skids off to the side, falling into a soft blanket of grass.

“Thank you for agreeing to come along,” Noah responds. When you look up at him, he is smiling sweetly at you. His hands were dug deep into his pockets as his long legs swung in front of the other, meandering along next to you.

“Tell me more about tonight. Who is the band you want to see?” you ask.

Noah looks off into the distance, squinting a little as he recalls the information. HIs hair jostles slightly. “They’re a band that I’ve listened to a bit. They’re funky, got a great groove, something maybe a little bit more chill than what I’ve been surrounded with lately,” he chuckles.

“They sound like a lot of fun,” you prompt Noah to continue.

“I hope so. We’re so close to the tour ending, it will be nice to let off some steam, watch someone else do all the hard work”.

“Is it hard?” you ask, pausing for a moment. “Doing what you do, I mean, it looks incredible. But there's just so much work behind the scenes, right?”

Noah smiles to himself again, almost like he was keeping a secret.

“There is so much work behind the scenes. The shows are just what people see.” Noah holds out one of his hands, counting on his fingers. “There's song writing, song production, crew management, performance management, lights and sound engineering, travel, merch designs and sales, graphic designs… and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head…” Noah trails off, surely with a thousand thoughts running through his mind.

You look at him in awe, finally starting to appreciate the work ethic of this man. The drive that he had, the passion for what he does, and yet, not a single moment of hesitation or apathy about any of it.

Noah shared some more details about the night, and by the time he is finished listing off the people that you will meet there, you reach your car.

As you half from your pacing, Noah takes one extra, careful step, before turning and looking at you. His entire demeanour shifts, hands hiding in his pockets, shoulders slouched over slightly, as his eyes bounce between yours and your car behind you.

Did he seem nervous?

It was the first time he ever seemed shy, like he was doubting something he wanted to say.

“So I guess… goodbye is in order?”

“I guess so”. You lean back in your car, showing him that you’re not exactly running away from this conversation.

He shifts closer to you, taking an arm and wrapping it over your shoulder, pulling you into a tight hug.

Your arms instinctually wrap around his, feeling the soft cotton of his shirt and the way that it falls over the muscles in his back. You absentmindedly trace your fingers up and down his spine, and you could have sworn you heard a low hum come from Noah.

After what felt like longer than a standard hug should last for, your grip around him loosens, and so does his. Saying goodbye to him felt worse than it actually was, despite knowing you would see him again in mere hours.

“I’ll see you real soon” he says, with a subtle wink. It wasn’t until you shifted to face your car, unlocking the door and sliding into the seat, that he began to turn and walk away.

You watched in the mirror as he gradually made his way back to his accommodation, frame growing smaller and smaller with each step he took.

When he finally rounded the corner and through the doors, you let out the breath you didn’t realise you were holding. There was a warmth inside you that you hadn’t felt before, something that made you smile a big stupid grin.

As you pull your car out from your parking spot, you are oblivious to the world around you, living in your own slice of paradise after the day that had been. So oblivious, that you didn’t see the car driving right into the side of you, deafened by the sound of metal crashing into metal.

Part 4

#bad omens #noah sebastian #bad omens band #bad omens fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #bad omens fic #bad omens fanfic #bad omens fan fic #bad omens fan fics #bad omens cult #noah sebastian bad omens #noah sebastian fan fiction #noah sebastian fanfic #noah sebastian fic #noah sebastian x reader #noah sebastian fanfiction

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therantfairysblog · 1 month ago

Text

Farewell

"Eat well, smile over there. Forgot the pain."

....

He reminiscing his memory saving a fragile child years ago, so traumatized, he couldn't even smile, his whole body shaking so hard when he rescued him.

"... is that sea, it so wide, and blue. My sisters use to narrated it from their books that i heard"

The first time he listened to that child's voice, it was a painful yet hopeful voice. His heart broke, he was the unwanted child who born for the sole purpose of being eaten, and were treat like a trash by his own cousin.

"i decided to be a slayer like you, Rengoku san."

One day, when he just coming home from his duty, the little child come over him, along with his son Kyujuro. Looking at them side by side, despite both are the same age, their physical are completely different.

"Are you sure? You don't need to wield a sword if you couldn't. Live a normal life" the child was so fragile, sometimes when he watch him, he was easily stumbled and fall.

Until the child was 14 years old, he was stay with him, and then he went to train with a water breathing cultivator, his friend. He take a quite a lot of time trained with him as his physical aren't helping but sometimes when he went there to visit his friend, the child always seen training with his all.

"this boy...is actually quite talented in swordmanship, although his body has a disadvantage on its own," his friend stated

" his body couldn't adapt fire breathing style, i guess he was good with yours"

"Yes, but i think he'll have his own style the way i see it. Rengoku san, this child, is he always eating that little?"

" Yes, unfortunately it's hard to convince him, perhaps it's much to do with his past"

"i hope he'll try to take care of his body, he worked hard but it'll ultimately strained his body over time"

It's only at the age of 17 years old that the little child he take care of successfully made his way into the corps. Along with his son, the two were always trained together.

When he fall into a slump, as her wife died of sickness, he completely change into the worst. Drunk, useless father, tainting the good reputation of his family name as the cultivator of flame hashiras.

That child. Never give up. Like his son, he made his way to the highest level of demon slayers corp, as a serpent hashira. The day he was appointed, with his new gold button uniform, that child coming to his home, as if to tell his father, the joy he experienced that day.

"Go away, just go home. There's nothing that change my mind. We aren't a comrades."

"...Rengoku san, thank you for giving me a chance to live. I hope, one day, you could feel the joy i feel. I would never forgot the day i see the land. That's why,...i wish i could see the same light in your eyes"

......

That' child hiding so many things to himself, when he accidently found notes in his room, weeks after the final battle, a note that the child use when he was learning to read and write from his wife.

It's the same way as he trained himself hard later. From a poor unreadable sentences, to a heartbreaking long sentences begging for forgiveness.

'The outside was so pretty, spring is beautiful, the cherry blossom are huge and blooming nicely.

My poor family , I'm so sorry, its my fault.

Unless i killed all the demons, i couldn't cleaning up my blood. I will become a demon slayer. Rengoku san is amazing, his son too. I will picking up the blade. With kaburamaru of course. He's my bestfriend.

I want to die. But not before I'm getting rid of demon. Demons are evils. I hate them.'

Despite some wording error, what 13 year's old child writing like this? A literal death wish?

...

" Be happy and live your life honorably in your next life. Every child deserve a happiness, and it's including you. I'm sorry for failing to be a good mentor to you.

Eat well, take care of yourself"

Fall almost over, the fallen leaves scattered around the final resting place of the child he saved. Somehow, a little wildflower was there, living silently in between the stone. He watch it and smile.

"see you later, goodbye"

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #obanai iguro #rengoku shinjuro #kny fanfic #kny headcanons

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semisgroupie · 2 years ago

Text

part two: the hole that replaced my heart

vampire!choso x fem. reader

wc: 10.8k

warnings: main character death, blood (blood consumption), age gap, monsterfucking, creampie, unprotected sex, a slap, this part is heavily angsty but has some smut, minor character deaths (none are named), biting, reincarnation au, mentions of god and other religious elements (angels)

note: all flashbacks/events in the past are italicized

series masterlist | previous | next

It had been three weeks since Kento last came for the interview.

During this time Choso did what he normally did, read and reminisce on the past. That’s the pain with immortality, the longer you live the more memories you carry with you. No matter if they’re good or bad, you just have to carry the burden and that’s what Choso hated most.

When you have motivation to survive and live on, then everything is worth it but when the motivation has depleted then you’re stuck in a loop of repetitive actions. Day in and day out, each breath that fills your lungs meant nothing if there was no motivation.

Today Choso just sat in his room for a little while longer after he woke up. His empty eyes flit over to the painting by his bed and a small smile found its way to his lips. “Beautiful.” The word was barely spoken above a whisper and he leaned in closer, brushing his finger against the frame then pulled back. “Absolutely beautiful.”

He brushed some of his hair out of his face and stood, deciding not to change his clothes since he wasn’t planning on leaving the penthouse. The neckline of his shirt plunged a bit, showing his chiseled collarbones and his pajama pants hung loosely on his hips. He slipped his feet into his slippers and trudged his way into the kitchen. He opened his fridge and took out a bag of blood, setting it down on the counter while he grabbed a bowl to put it in. Just as he had poured the contents of the bag inside, there was a knock on his door.

He set the bowl to the side and made his way to the door, he opened it and to his surprise, Kento stood at the other end of the doorway. “Hey old friend, sorry I came unannounced but I figured you weren’t doing much today.” Choso pulled the blonde male into a hug and patted his back before letting him go so he could walk inside.

“It’s good to see you Kento, what have you been up to these past few weeks?” He shut the door behind the blonde and made his way into the kitchen to grab his bowl and a spoon. Kento shrugged his jacket off and set it down, “I recently moved, my wife and I are planning to start a family. Maybe have our own white picket fence dream.” The blonde chuckled and glanced over at Choso. “Oh I’m sorry, did I interrupt? I could come back later.”

Choso shook his head and made his way over to Kento, “don’t worry about it, I’ll be quick and then we can start with the session for today. But go on, tell me more about the Mrs. and how wonderful your married life is.” Kento nodded and started talking about it all, Choso listened intently, nodding along and adding little comments here and there while he ate. While he spoke, Kento took note of Choso’s expression, while it wasn’t something that was being unconsciously done, Choso had a small frown on his face and any light that was just in his eyes had dimmed. It made him want to stop talking but he knew if he did then Choso would just push him to continue, trying to reassure him that everything was fine when it really wasn’t. So, he just continued but in the back of his mind he felt like he was rubbing his happiness in Choso’s face, he didn’t like it one bit.

Choso ate and then once he finished he put the bowl and the spoon he used into the dishwasher then made his way back to Kento. “Let’s move back to the living room, we’ll get comfy then we can start the session.” Kento nodded and made his way to the living room, Choso following behind. “I’m really happy for you Kento, make sure to bring the little ones around once you and your wife have them. I’ll make sure to stock up on toys kids like.” He smiled softly as he thought about it, kids, a joy in life he never got to experience. That opportunity was ripped from his hands a long time ago but maybe there was something hopeful written in the cards of fate, maybe he would get the chance one day.

The men sat down in the same seats they sat in a few weeks prior, Kento took everything out that he needed and glanced over at Choso. “Are you ready?” The dark haired male nodded and brushed some hair from his face. Kento brought the recorder to his lips and pressed record, “The date is October 19th, 2002 and I am here again with Choso Kamo. You can start whenever you’re ready.” He placed the recorder in the middle of the table and Choso started.

“So the last thing I discussed was my first meeting with Y/N.” He crossed one leg over the other to get more comfortable and continued, “so I was anxious the whole day. I could barely focus on my work because I kept thinking about her, thinking about what her response would be to waking up and seeing my note. If she was upset and never wanted to see me, I would have understood. I mean, what kind of guy would I be to take her virginity and then ditch her in the middle of the night? It’s not like she knew or could’ve known that I can’t go out in the middle of the day without being burnt to a crisp. But for the first time in a long time I prayed, I prayed that she would meet me at the fountain, I prayed that I would get to see her beautiful face again. Even if it was for just a second, I would have been the happiest man alive. I just wanted to see her and be with her, not just sexually, I just wanted to be in her presence.”

----------------------------

You read the note’s contents again then sat down on the bed. What should you do? You wanted to see him again but what if he wasn’t there? What if he just wrote that note to just make you believe he wasn’t some kind of asshole? As the questions of doubt swarmed your mind they couldn’t overpower the voice that was screaming at you to go, screaming at you to meet him tonight. So, you made the decision to meet him at that time.

You dressed yourself, deciding not to put on the corset since it would be too annoying to tie it yourself then made your way out of the bedroom. Just as you made it down the first flight of steps you heard a shocked gasp that made you whip your head around to the direction of it. “You naughty girl! I never would have thought that I would meet Miss ‘I’m never looking for a man’ after a wild night like this, half dressed, slightly limping, had a fun night?” You rolled your eyes as Satoru made his way over to you, Suguru following behind lightly chuckling.

“That’s none of your business Satoru, now let’s go downstairs and maybe if I feel like it, I’ll tell you.” Satoru took your hand and started pulling you down the steps, “come on, don’t take so long! I want to hear all the dirty details.” Once you three were on the ground floor, you told them everything and showed them the note, they looked at it then looked at you.

“You need to go, if he made you feel like that then you can’t let him go. You need to give him a chance and he’ll explain why he left.” Suguru spoke as he handed you the note and Satoru nodded. “I was planning on going but what if he’s not there? What if he just wrote the note to give me a false sense of hope?”

Satoru shook his head and placed his hands on your shoulders, slightly shaking you, “just go. Because if you don’t I know you’ll regret it for as long as you live. If he’s not there then we’ll trash his shop or just pay him a little visit.” You nodded and gave him a small smile, you clutched the note tighter and prayed a silent prayer, praying that Choso wasn’t messing with you, praying that Choso would be there at the fountain when the time came.

The next hours went by quickly, too fast for your liking. Your heart pounded in your chest so quickly and it only got worse as you made your way closer to the fountain. You wore one of your more casual dresses but that was only decided after going through your entire wardrobe twice. You knew you were a little early so you took a seat near the fountain, watching everyone as they walked past. You leaned over to an older man sitting nearby and asked him for the time and once he spoke the answer your heart sank.

Choso was late.

Ten minutes past eight, you sighed and looked down at your hands on your lap to try to hold back tears. You shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up, you shouldn’t have listened to that voice inside, you should’ve just stood home.

“Y/N!”

Your head shot up as you heard your name being called and relief washed over your body when you saw who called it out. Choso ran over to you with flowers in his hand, his hair was slightly disheveled from running and you stood up and walked over to meet him. “I’m so sorry I’m late, the florist was closed by the time I got there and it took a lot of begging to get him to open up his shop.” He handed you the flowers and you held them close to your chest, a smile growing on your lips. “Thank you, it’s beautiful.”

----------------------------

“I wish I could say how relieved I was to see her there waiting for me. I thought she would’ve left after seeing that it was past the time I told her. But at that moment I would’ve ran to the nearest church and thanked god until my face turned blue.”

----------------------------

You held the bouquet in one hand while he held your other hand, “I was thinking that we should go get dinner. I owe you a proper date after last night.” You nodded and held onto his hand tighter as you followed him to a local restaurant. You two sat in front of each other and Choso didn’t let go of your hand for a moment, “was work busy today?” Small talk ensued and it wasn’t awkward at all, something that you both were thankful for. Choso kept his eyes on you the entire meal, watching as you ate with a soft smile on his face. You wanted to question why he didn’t get anything for himself but decided not to.

After the meal he took you out for a walk around town, just letting you steer the conversation as you passed different buildings. “I understand if I’m stepping any lines by asking this, but why did you leave last night?” A small sense of panic filled his senses but quickly faded once he met your eyes, they were filled with interest and sincerity and it pained him to know that he had to lie to you for now.

“I had to open up the shop early for a shipment of new fabrics and I had some leftover work I needed to finish. For some reason it filled my head and disrupted my sleep so I had to leave. I didn’t want to leave but if I didn’t finish that work then I would have had to deal with a lecture from my most uptight customer. I am so sorry for leaving you last night, so sorry.” He looked down at you as your eyes scanned his, trying to see if there was anything he was hiding. You took his hand in one of yours and gently squeezed it as a smile grew on your face. Another wave of relief washed over him, he couldn’t imagine conjuring another lie for you, he was already surrounded by a web of them like a fly caught on the sticky netting.

He held your hand in his as you two walked with no particular destination to go. He could walk to the next country and continue on if you were by his side. You gave him a sense of comfort and a sense of humanity, he didn’t want to let that or you go. You two made your way to a local park, “there’s a pond here that I love to visit. I like to just sit by and watch the water ripple as the wind pushes it.” You looked into the open greenery as you spoke, your eyes lighting up due to a combination of the moonlight hitting you and thinking about going to the pond, showing him a more personal side of you. “Sounds perfect, lead the way, beautiful.” Heat rose to your cheeks at the name and you walked with him to the pond, the moonlight reflected on the body of water perfectly as you moved to sit with him on a bench nearby.

He still held your hand in his and he moved closer to you so your knees touched as you sat, “I’ve always loved coming here since I was a little girl. A friend of mine taught me how to skip rocks here and there’s many more memories I’ve been able to make here. It’s also been a place of protection and it’s pulled me away from any restless nights. Just being able to sit by the water and just think about everything is something that I’ll always cherish about this pond.” Another smile graced your lips as you spoke and Choso felt himself melt just by looking at you, he was honored to hear you speak about the importance of this pond, he didn’t deserve to share this moment with you, he didn’t even feel like he deserved to be with you. You looked at the water while he just stared at you then you turned your attention away to meet his eyes. “Is everything okay?” Your eyebrows furrowed slightly as you asked the question but quickly relaxed once he nodded.

“Mhm, I’m fine. You just look so beautiful, I couldn’t help but stare.” The genuine tone of his voice flustered you completely and you pressed your face to his arm. “You can’t keep saying things like that,” you whined, your words slightly muffled by the fabric of his shirt. He chuckled at your reaction and moved his free hand to hook two fingers under your chin and lifted your head up, “why can’t I? I’ve always thought it was important to tell the truth so I’m just voicing my truth.” You looked at him with big eyes, the moonlight reflected off the side of his face as he looked at you, highlighting his chiseled features, making him even more handsome than he already was. He moved his thumb to run against your bottom lip then leaned in until his lips met yours. It mirrored the first kiss you two shared the night before, soft and passionate all at once.

He caressed your cheek with the thumb that ran across your bottom lip just mere seconds ago then pulled back to break the kiss. “I wanted to do that all night.” You smiled and leaned in to peck his lips softly, “I did too, why didn’t you do it sooner?”

He chuckled and kissed you again before mumbling against your lips, “was just waiting for the perfect moment.” He held your face in his hands as your lips molded against his, it was perfect, you were perfect. It was your turn to break the kiss and you rested your forehead against his. “I want to keep seeing you, Choso. I enjoy how I am with you, even in such a small time.” His heart jumped in his chest at your words, your honesty and he moved back a bit so he could catch your gaze.

“I want the same. I haven’t felt like this before and I want to keep this feeling. So every night we’ll meet at the same spot as tonight and enjoy each other’s company.” He smiled softly and you wanted to question him. Why did he only want to see you at night? But you answered your own question by remembering that he owned his own business, maybe night is the only time he’s free. But deep down you wondered if there was someone else in the picture, someone else in his life, that made him want to see you late. You didn’t want to be the other woman in his life, you wanted to be the only woman. You were so wrapped up in your thoughts you didn’t notice that he caught on, probably reading every single question, doubt, and thought in your head. “Hey,” he gripped your chin gently and made you look at him, “what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Heat rose to your cheeks as you met his eyes and you shook your head, “sorry, something popped into my head and I got a little distracted.” It wasn’t a complete lie, just a general umbrella of the truth. He nodded and leaned down to kiss you softly then pulled back slightly. “It’s getting late, I’ll take you back home.” You nodded and pressed your lips against his once more before pulling back completely.

Maybe one day you’ll get the courage to voice your thoughts, just not today.

----------------------------

“I felt so fucking giddy once I dropped her off. I was excited for what was to come and what the future would hold for us. It was exciting and nerve wracking all at once.” A smile made its way onto his face as he spoke and it made Kento smile softly. “Everything was going beautifully, we met every single night and I felt some form of relief since I didn’t have to explain myself to her. But I knew something was up, there was something lingering in the back of her mind during our peaceful moments of silence. There were questions unanswered and questions that I knew she was too scared to ask. Then around three months into dating she finally asked them.”

----------------------------

You two walked hand in hand by the pond he took you on your first date. You loved being with him but you wanted to walk out with him in the daylight, you wanted to show your relationship off like all the other couples. This felt like you two were hiding something and you didn’t like it. Choso noticed that there was something up but he didn’t want to force you to bring anything up unless you wanted to, so he decided to wait.

“Choso, can I ask you something?” You stopped in your tracks and looked up at him, his hair was pulled back loosely so strands of his hair framed his perfectly sculpted face. “Of course you can, darling. What’s on your mind?”

“Why do we always have to meet at night? I love spending time with you but I don’t want to be someone’s secret. I can’t be someone’s secret.” You sighed as he chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, expecting him to tell you he had a wife and kids. Expecting him to break your heart.

“I knew you were going to ask me this but no planning could ever help me figure out how to respond so I’ll just tell you the truth.” You waited with bated breaths for his response. “I can’t go out during the day because the sun would kill me. It would burn my skin like I was put in an incinerator. I can only go out after the sun sets because the darkness protects me. I’m a vampire, my love.” Your eyes widened at his words and you moved back from him. Nothing in his eyes showed you that he was deceiving you but maybe he was that good at lying.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re going to look me in the eye and tell me that bullshit?” You were beyond furious, how could he say that and expect you to believe him? “I would rather you just say that I was your mistress. Just forget about me, forget I exist, forget about everything that has to do with me.” You turned your back to him and made your first step to walk away from him until he tried to stop you by grabbing your wrist.

You tried to hold yourself back from slapping him, you really did try but the second he made contact with you, you couldn’t hold yourself back anymore. You turned to him and your open hand collided with his cheek. The next moments were a blur and the next thing you knew you were pinned against a tree.

That was when you saw it, his eyes were practically glowing red as he stared you down. “What more do I need to do to show you? What possible desire would I have to lie to you?” Your eyes moved down to look at his mouth as he spoke, you saw his sharpened canines, sharper than the finest blade. Your chest rose and fell, all feelings of anger and frustration were swapped with curiosity and fear. He shut his eyes and dropped his head to try to collect himself, trying to calm down before doing something he would regret.

It was like your throat was closing in on itself, no words could escape you in the moment but your mind ran with questions. He lifted his head and everything was back to normal, “I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t want you to ever see me like this.” He let go of you and took a step back. “I’ll leave you be, I know there’s no way you’d want to be associated with a monster like me. I’ve done so many things in my life that’s deplorable, I’ve ruined so many people's lives and I don’t want to do that to you. You’re so sweet, so beautiful, so pure, I can’t taint you. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”

His voice broke a bit as he spoke and you slowly reached out to him, holding onto the sleeve of his shirt. “No.” It was all you could choke out. You gripped the sleeve of his shirt tightly and pulled yourself to him, burying your face in his chest while you shook your head and repeated that word. Letting it get swallowed into the fabric. He wrapped his arms around you and held you until you lifted your head up. “You won’t taint me, I won’t let you leave and you’re not a monster. I don’t know what you did but I know you must’ve done it to survive. I can’t let you leave, you’ve made me so happy and made me feel so loved. I don’t want to lose this feeling and I don’t want to lose you. Please don’t go.”

He moved one hand to cup your cheek and wiped a stray tear that escaped from the corner of your eye. He leaned in and kissed you softly, “I won’t leave. I promise.” He muttered against your lips before kissing you again, deepening the kiss before pulling back. He slid his thumb along your kiss swollen bottom lip and smiled. “I think we should take this somewhere else, I don’t want anyone to get a glimpse of you. Call me selfish but I want you all to myself.”

You nodded and pressed a kiss to his thumb, “take me to yours.” He nodded and did just that. Once you two were confined in the space of his home he kissed you deeply while his hands pulled at your clothes, almost ripping them off before undressing himself. He held you close to him and gripped and groped at your body. “Jump, I’m taking you to my bedroom.” You wrapped your arms around his neck and held onto him tightly as you jumped up, wrapping your legs around his waist. He gripped your ass tightly, massaging the flesh while you kissed and sucked on his neck, your fingers moved up the nape of his neck and pulled at the tie holding his hair back so the raven locks could fall freely.

He walked up the stairs quickly and kicked the door to his bedroom open so he could lay you on the bed. The plush fabric of his blanket swarmed you before he leaned down to kiss you again, his lips molded against yours hungrily. His cock throbbed as he gripped it, guiding it to your wet entrance. He broke the kiss and looked into your eyes, “I’m sorry my love but we need to skip the foreplay for now. I need you badly, I need to feel you again.” He pushed inside you and dropped his forehead against yours. Your back arched off the bed and your hands gripped his shoulders.

You couldn’t stop thinking about the first night you were intimate with him since it happened. On the nights after your dates with him, when you were in the lonely confines of your bedroom you would touch yourself to the thought of him and that night. Wondering if he would do the same to you if you had the chance to experience a moment like that again. Now that you finally have him here with you like this, you couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for you.

Your back arched to press your chest to his while he bottomed out inside you, he felt even better than what you dreamt of since that night. His cock twitched inside you and one of his hands fisted the sheets by your head while the other gripped your waist as he started thrusting. His hips slapped against yours with each heavy thrust. It was completely different from how he was when he was first intimate with you, any sense of fragility he had with you was completely out the window and replaced with animalistic need.

“Missed feeling you like this, you feel so fucking perfect for me. Just taking me perfectly, fuck.” He groaned and fisted the sheets in his hand tighter while his grip on your waist was bruising. All you could do was whimper and moan his name, the pleasure was completely overwhelming you. His eyes scanned your face, watching how it scrunched up then his eyes trailed down to your neck, he could practically hear the blood rush through your veins. If only he could have a taste of the saccharine nectar, but he had to control himself, especially in a moment of passion like this, he didn’t want to push anything too far. Your hands moved up to hook around the back of his neck to bring him even closer to you, he put more of his body weight on you and moved his other hand from your waist to the other side of your head.

“Kiss me, I want to feel you everywhere.” Your tone was drenched in lust and he couldn’t deny you. He captured your lips in his again, kissing you hungrily and sloppily, sucking on your tongue and pulling on your bottom lip between his teeth as he trailed his kisses down. Kissing along the side of your mouth and jaw until he could reach your neck. His hips snapped against yours harder and faster, maybe if he made you cum he wouldn’t be tempted to bite down on the soft skin of your neck. You tangled your fingers in his hair, tugging on the dark strands as he pounded into you. He licked up the length of your neck and he couldn’t help but bare his teeth, dragging the sharp points of them along your pulse point, which made you shiver underneath him.

You didn’t know what took over you in that moment, whether it was the drag and pull of his cock in your warm, wet walls or if it was something you wanted but didn’t realize until now. “ Bite me please.” Your voice was barely above a whisper and he wouldn’t have been able to hear you but thanks to how close you two were to each other, he could hear your plea clearly. He pulled back from your neck and looked at you with wide eyes and stopped moving his hips, earning a whine from you and a buck from your hips. “I can’t, I don't want to do something stupid and hurt you. I let myself lose control now by even letting my teeth drag against you but I can’t bite you.”

You lifted your hands to cup his face and shook your head. “Please. I know you won’t hurt me, I know you wouldn’t take it too far. I just want to feel it, I want to feel everything you can offer me, I need it so badly.” He looked into your eyes and he felt more conflicted than ever, you wanted it and deep down he wanted it even more than you, but then whatever shred of his conscience was left was screaming at him to rethink everything. “Please Choso, I want to be more connected to you. I’m all yours, mark me as such.” You let go of his face and held onto his arms as you tilted your head to the side, presenting yourself to him.

He let out a shaky breath and started moving his hips again, quickly finding the brutal pace he set earlier while dipping his head down. He kissed and sucked along your pulse point, still thinking about what he should do. He wanted to give you what you wanted but there was always a chance that he might end up hurting you. He groaned as his hips slammed into yours, his kisses and sucks grew hungrier as he kept thrusting. He had to hold himself back, he couldn’t succumb to his carnal desires…but he just couldn’t hold back any longer.

His fangs grazed against your skin once more before he sank them into you. Your back arched and tears pricked your eyes from the mix of pleasure and pain and your body reacted beautifully to him. “Cumming! Oh fuck.” Your body shook under him and his hips somehow started moving even faster. The mix of the saccharine that fell on his tongue and the way your walls clenched around and massaged his cock, he was cumming in no time. He rested his hips against yours as he filled you with his cum and somehow came back to his senses so he could pull away from your neck. He licked over the bite marks to clean off any blood that dripped and looked down at you.

You had a blissed out smile on his face, you looked like a masterpiece underneath him, so flawless. He leaned down and kissed you softly, you tasted the iron on your lips and pulled back slightly. “Sorry, I’m just not used to the iron taste.” He chuckled and leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of your lips, slowly pulling out of you as he did so. You whimpered as he pulled out completely then relaxed against his bed, feeling completely exhausted from the strength of your orgasm and the blood you lost. He left to go grab some tissues to clean you off and get you a glass of water but when he came back you were sound asleep. He chuckled and cleaned away any leaking cum and then set the glass of water down on the nightstand, just in case you woke up thirsty.

When he finally laid down next to you, he pulled you close to him and kissed the top of your head. He felt like the weight of the whole universe was lifted off his shoulders, especially since he could be honest with you. He hated that he had to keep the secret from you but now he could leave everything bare with you and know that you would accept him entirely.

----------------------------

“It felt amazing to get everything off my chest and to have her accept me for who I was. We continued going on dates and our relationship progressed. After the five month period of us dating, I told her I loved her and she reciprocated my feelings. I can’t describe how I felt around her, there wouldn’t be enough words to do so but she was my everything. The sun to my cloudy day, the stars to brighten my night sky, the budding sprout that livened my dead garden, the air that I breathe.” He let out a small sigh and rested his head back against the couch he was seated on, thinking about all the time he had with you. A smile broke out on his face and he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them up again. “I think it was a few weeks short of our two year anniversary when I asked her to marry me. I was so nervous. But she said yes and a month afterwards our wedding came. The Astors offered to let us use their backyard as a wedding venue and they gave us all access to one of their properties for our honeymoon.”

Kento adjusted his position and leaned in, “so, did the Astors know about you being a vampire?” Choso chuckled in response and shook his head, “oh no, at that time the only people that knew were Y/N, Satoru and Suguru. We just convinced them that a wedding at night would be more romantic and they believed us.”

----------------------------

You stood in front of the mirror and adjusted the veil on your head, making sure it draped over your shoulders perfectly. Mrs. Astor walked next to you and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder while your mother draped your grandmother’s necklace around your neck. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. Choso is so lucky to be the one to marry you and I’m so happy for you. I didn’t think you would be the type to get married but it makes me happy to see you so in love.” You smiled at her and placed a hand over your grandmother’s necklace.

“I was still hoping that you would marry Satoru but Choso is a nice guy, mysterious looking but he hasn’t given me a reason to not like him.” You turned to face your mother and hugged her tightly, she returned the loving embrace and squeezed you tightly. “Your father would have been so proud to see you like this, seeing his precious angel all dolled up for her wedding day.” You pulled back to look at her and wiped a few tears that escaped her eyes. “I wish he was here mom but I’m glad that I have you, thank you for accepting Choso even though he wasn’t your first choice for a son-in-law. But enough crying, we still have a wedding to get through.”

Choso was more nervous than he had ever been in his life and nothing Satoru or Suguru did to try to calm him down worked. “What if she changes her mind? What if she doesn’t want to marry me? What if I rushed everything?” He paced around the room while Satoru and Suguru tried to think of something to say, then there was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Mr. Astor.

“Choso, what’s the matter? I can hear your footsteps from outside.” The older gentleman joked but sighed as he recognized all the telltale signs. “Come sit down with me, son.” He sat down on the bench in the room and patted the empty space, Choso looked at it for a moment before moving to sit down. “I’ll tell you this, you’re probably more nervous than she is. I was the same way when I got married to Charlotte, I felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest and all the doubts swarmed in. I thought about all my fuck ups when we first started dating. Even on our first date, I spilled my wine all over her beautiful dress, she had just bought it and within moments of us getting our drinks I dumped the entirety of the glass on her. But I can tell you this, when you see your soon-to-be bride walking down the aisle, every doubt leaves your mind. The only thing that you can think of is how beautiful she looks, like God sent down one of his angels for you. That’s what matters, not those pesky thoughts.” He placed his hand on Choso’s shoulder and stood, “now, fix your mop that you call hair and head outside, the sun just set and your bride is almost ready.” With that Mr. Astor left the room and Choso felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Like that was what he needed to hear.

Within the hour the ceremony started and Choso stood next to the priest waiting for you. The door that led to the backyard opened and there you were with Satoru, he insisted on walking you down the aisle and wouldn’t take no for an answer. When Choso met your eyes he felt his heart stop, “James was right” he thought to himself as you started walking to him. The dress hugged your figure beautifully, a cinched waist and the high neckline made you look like a goddess. As you walked down some of the guests poured some flower petals on the train of your dress and offered whispered compliments of your beauty.

Tears threatened to brim Choso’s eyes but he quickly blinked and wiped them away, he couldn’t explain to the guests why his tears were crimson instead of translucent. Then, you stood there in front of him, you handed your bouquet to Satoru and took Choso’s hands in yours. “You look stunning, my love.” “And you look even more handsome than the first time I saw you.”

The priest began the ceremony and before you knew it, it was time for your vows. Choso spoke first, “my darling angel, I did not think I could love someone as much as I love you. You’re the reason why my heart beats every second and why air fills my lungs with each breath I take. I was in a dark place, I had lost all those who I had loved and I thought I would roam the earth in solitude but then you appeared and my life was introduced to light once again. Your smile rivals the sun, your skin is better than the softest silk, your eyes hold novels in them and your heart is bigger than any other. Your heart is a heart that is intertwined with mine for all of eternity. If I ask for one thing, all I ask is if one of us meets our timely demise without the other, I ask that we find each other again and live out our love over and over until the earth stops turning.”

You released one of his hands to wipe the tears that spilled from your eyes before speaking, “I had never believed in love until I met you. I had never been interested in relationships and devoting my time to another until that night we met. From that moment on you have shown me the beauty of love, a beauty that I have never been able to understand. You appeared in my life as a mysterious stranger of the night and now you are to be my husband, my soulmate. I have yearned for you all my life, I have loved you before knowing you, I dedicate myself to you. You have never failed to put a smile on my face and you always sweep me off my feet. Choso, I am yours forever as you are mine. Our souls are entangled and they will never part. I love you, for now, forever and always.”

You both put your wedding bands on each other's fingers and the priest said his closing words. “May God bless this marriage, you may kiss your wife.” Choso pulled you close and pressed one hand to your back before dipping you down and kissing you passionately, pouring his overflowing love onto your lips. You held onto his suit jacket tightly until he lifted you upright and broke the kiss. Every guest cheered for you both as you walked down the aisle hand in hand.

Everything went by quickly, the night was filled with laughter, tears, dancing, kisses but most importantly, love. Then you two were being ushered out by the Astors to a horse drawn carriage, “you’ll be taken to your honeymoon residence now, enjoy your night and congratulations.”

The ride to the cottage was fairly quick and once the carriage stopped, Choso got out then scooped you into his arms so he could walk through the door. Once you two crossed the threshold, he kicked the door shut and made his way up the wooden stairs to the master bedroom. “You look magnificent my love, you were glowing.” He made his way up the stairs quickly and set you on the bed. He quickly got rid of his clothes then captured your lips in his. The kiss was hungry and filled with a mix of love and lust. His hands moved along your body to try to find the buttons of your dress but when he started struggling with the first two he opted for the easier solution, tearing the dress off of you.

You gasped against his lips and broke the kiss when you heard the fabric tear. “Choso! What if we want to pass this dress down to our children?” He slid the dress off your shoulders and started peppering kisses along all the open skin he could get his lips on. “I’ll fix it, I’m the best tailor in town anyways.” His hands moved swiftly to undress you until you were both completely naked in front of each other. It was a sight that you both have seen hundreds of times but now it was different, now you two were a married couple and now it was more than just lust between you two. It was pure love. Something so pure it rivaled a virgin’s purity.

He gently pushed you back against the bed and leaned in to kiss you, this time he was much softer with his movements, he took his time to savor you and feel you. Your hands wrapped around the back of his neck to keep him close to you, pulling him so close that you could feel his heartbeat mold with yours once his chest was pressed to yours. He used one arm to hold himself up and his hand moved down to grip his cock, pumping it in his hand as he guided it to your awaiting entrance. He broke the kiss and looked down at you, “do you want me to prep you, my love?”

You shook your head and pulled the elastic that held his hair back, “no, I want you. I want all of you inside me.” He pressed his forehead against yours and slowly pushed himself inside you. It felt like the night he took your virginity, the first night he met you and the night you gave yourself to him. Your back arched slightly and your eyes fluttered shut as a moan left your lips. It was a sight he could never get tired of for as long as he lived.

“I love you.” He groaned out the words as he bottomed out inside you and moved his other arm to rest by your head. He gave you a moment to adjust and started thrusting, slow and deep thrusts as his cock worked through your plush walls. “I love you so much, my husband.” Your words came out through breathy moans and your nails dug into his toned arms, digging at the flesh but only leaving red marks in its wake.

His hips slowly picked up speed, it was still nothing like how he would normally fuck you. There was no animalistic nature, no brutal snapping of his hips against yours, no headboard banging against the wall so hard you would think it would break. He was slow, meticulous, and thorough with each thrust. It was as if he was reciting his vows and pouring his heart to you once more each time his hips met yours. He captured your lips in his again and moved his left hand down to rub your clit.

You two shared moans and groans against each other's lips and nothing needed to be said. What else could there be when your bodies were speaking for you?

While his movements were slower than normal, the buildup to your orgasm was just the same. Your toes curled and your back arched as you felt the coil tighten in your stomach. Each thrust tightened it more and more until it just snapped. You broke the kiss and moaned his name in the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, it was as if angels were singing in his ears. To him, you were the angel singing in his ear. He thrusted a few more times before filling you to the brim with cum, he let out a guttural groan of your name and dropped his head in the crook of your neck. He placed gentle kisses on the skin until his lips felt the all too familiar marks from his fangs. He licked over them and lifted his head to look up at you.

Your eyes were already half shut, you were fighting sleep like you always tried to do and it made him chuckle. He pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose then kissed your lips softly. “Get some rest my love, we have the rest of eternity to relive moments like these. Just close your eyes and dream peaceful dreams of our future together.” You let out a small whine, trying to say something back but fatigue took over. He watched your eyes close and listened to the gentle hum of your even breaths. He slowly pulled out of you and laid next to you. He covered you both with a blanket and watched as you slept, his eyes traced over your features until they were etched into his mind.

If he could put all of his emotions into writing he would write best selling novels on everything he loves about you, if he was a musician, he would write symphonies about the little things that make you, you.

This chance that he had felt like he was finally going to have his happily ever after.

----------------------------

“Now, every love story has an ending and the hope is that the ending would be a happy one but not this love story. Kento, would you follow me? Take your recorder too.” Choso stood from where he was sitting and waited for Kento to follow as he made his way to his bedroom. On the wall facing the bed was a large painting of a woman, most likely in her late 20s, a soft smile was on her face and Kento followed Choso closer to it.

As he moved closer the gears turned in his head and his eyes widened as he made the realization. “Y/N.” His mouth moved before he could properly gather his thoughts and Choso turned to face him, nodding. “This is Y/N. This was finished three months before that dreaded day, done by a young man that recently moved to the town we lived in. He did it for free so in return I promised him free alterations for life. She was so happy when she saw it, she said that it didn’t even look like her but she was so wrong. While the boy was talented he could never capture her beauty, no one could.”

Choso stood silent for a moment while he brought his hand up to the painting, his fingers lightly grazing the glass of the frame that protected the painting. Kento’s eyes trailed back and forth from the painting to Choso and back until they focused on Choso. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the tears that spilled from the raven haired male, the tears of blood that spilled so freely. Kento had never seen Choso show this much emotion, Choso was always quick to wipe at his tears but not now.

Kento slowly approached him and rubbed his back. “It’s okay, please take your time. I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you to recollect all this, all the pain.” Choso nodded and took a deep breath before wiping the tears away. “It’s just that I haven’t spoken about that day with anyone, I’ve tried to bury it but whenever I see her face, everything just comes to the surface and drowns me. I miss her, I miss her so much.”

Kento set the recorder down and hugged Choso, squeezed him tightly and stood there with him. “Let it out, you need to let it all out.” Choso hugged him back, more tears streamed down his face and a red stain grew on Kento’s shirt. After a few moments of silence Choso broke the hug. “Thank you, I’m ready to speak about her now.” Choso looked at your picture and sighed. “It was just after her 33rd birthday, the year was 1909 and I was at my shop when I received the call. Y/N was out running some late errands with Satoru and she was supposed to meet me at the shop.”

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He held the two fabrics up to Suguru and held them to the pants he had against his work table. “The left matches these pants more right?”

Suguru sighed and looked at Choso with a raised eyebrow. “And why are you asking me?” Choso chuckled and set the fabrics down, “well you’re in my shop and you’re not asking for alterations so I’m making you do some work. You know, for taking up space.” Suguru narrowed his eyes but jumped when the phone rang. “Can you be a dear and answer the phone? You’re not much help with color matching.”

Suguru sucked his teeth and answered the phone, his eyes widening at the frantic voice on the other end. “Satoru, calm down! I can’t understand you when you’re frantic, calm down!” Choso’s eyes widened and looked over at Suguru. As he stood there waiting his heart sunk to his stomach, the anticipation was all too much. “What’s going on?”

Suguru hung up the phone and his face looked like it was drained of its blood. “It’s Y/N, she’s dead.” Choso ran over to him and gripped his shirt in his fists tightly, his eyes changed to a glowing burgundy. “Stop joking around and tell me the fucking truth. My wife isn’t dead.” Suguru placed his hands over Choso’s and took in a shaky breath. “She’s dead. She was in the store with Satoru and she just collapsed. When they were on the way to the hospital she had no pulse. She’s gone. We need to go to the hospital now.”

Choso let go of the now crying male and quickly left his shop.

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“I kept on telling myself that it couldn’t be true. She was healthy, she had recently gone to the doctor and she was in perfect health. But when I saw her body covered with a white sheet, that’s when reality hit me.”

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Choso sank to his knees when he saw your lifeless body on the table. He gripped your hand and squeezed it, all warmth was gone. “Baby, please. I need you. What happened to the life we were going to live? What about the children we were supposed to have? What about living for the rest of eternity together? Baby please. Please get up, please let this be a sick joke. I won’t be mad I promise. Just please let me hear your voice once more, let me hear your laughter, let me see your smile. Please.”

Tears streamed down his face and he banged his fist on the ground as he turned his head up to the ceiling. “I was good! I’ve done nothing wrong! Why did you have to take her from me? Why punish me now when I was truly happy? I’ve atoned for my sins, I’ve prayed for forgiveness and this is how I get repaid? What the fuck kind of sick judgement is that? What more do I need to do? You’ve given me this curse, now I have to live alone? Why take her when you could’ve taken me? She’s done nothing to you. She’s your most perfect creation and now you take her back? Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!” He spent the rest of his time sobbing until Satoru came in, his face stained with tears.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve never invited her with me. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.” Choso lifted his head, “you apologizing means nothing, it won’t bring her back. Just leave.” His tone was sharp and cold, Satoru just nodded and left.

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“Later on I had learned that her death wasn’t preventable. It just happened and there was nothing I could’ve done about it. Maybe it was a good thing that I wasn’t there when she died but I wish I could’ve been there in her final moments. I wish that I could’ve been the last face she saw but maybe I wasn’t meant to see it. I still dream of Yuuji during his final moments, so maybe this was God’s way of looking out for me. I mean, who wants to see their soulmate die in front of them? But it’s the selfish side of me that wishes I was there.” He took a deep breath and sighed, Kento drew closer and rubbed his back in some form of consolation.

“Within the following weeks we held a funeral for her. What hurt the most was seeing her mother so upset, I have never seen someone cry so much in my life. The Astors paid for a beautiful tombstone and her mother visited her grave every single day until she met her own demise. I patched things up with Satoru and Suguru and I was with them until they died. Then I was alone again.” He sighed and looked up at the painting. “But I changed. Even before Y/N I had never thought about killing for sport but when she was ripped from my life I killed innocent people just for the hell of it. It wasn’t just people who deserved it, it was people who had so much to live for and I took that away from them. I don’t want pity for what I’m saying, I’ve prayed for forgiveness and I have changed for the better. I mean, you see I only drink from blood bags, it’s donated blood so I’m not hurting anyone to ease my pain. About 10 years ago I saw Y/N in a dream. This is something I’ve kept to myself and not even mentioned to you during our personal conversations.”

Choso tapped his fingers against the frame of the painting and walked out of the room, Kento following close behind. “She looked divine. She was glowing and she had such a beautiful smile on her face but she also looked pained. I know it must have been because she was aware of all the damage I caused after her death and also because I was alone again. But when she approached me all she did was hold me in her arms, I babbled and blubbered like a newborn baby. I apologized to her and told her how much I miss her and she just held me. Then when it was time for her to go and time for me to wake up she just told me one thing, she told me, ‘look for me, I will be in your life again and we will fulfill our promise of being together for eternity.’ Then I woke up, tear stains were on my face and pillow and I’ve held onto that message ever since. I have no clue what she could’ve meant but God, I hope I’ll be able to find that answer soon.”

Choso turned to Kento and nodded, signaling that he was done for today’s interview. Kento stopped the recording and sat down on the couch and Choso followed. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I really do appreciate it. I know she’s watching over you and I know that you two will find each other again. I just hope that it happens soon.” Choso nodded at his words and offered a small smile, “I hope so too but now let’s change to something a little happier. So how many children are you two planning to have?”

Kento chuckled and combed his fingers through his hair, “well I personally just want one but she wants at least two so I’ll have to adjust to that number. But once we do have children, I want you to be their godfather, I want you to be involved in their lives.” Choso sucked in a breath and sat silent for a moment, trying to gather the right words. “I know you don’t want to face more loss in your life but I want someone to be there for you. You have isolated yourself in this cold, cold place. I know you don’t even go out for anything anymore but you need to live. If not for yourself, then for Y/N. How could you find her again if you’re cooped up in here?”

Choso narrowed his eyes at the blonde and tensed at his words. “I know, it’s just hard. I’ve tried to will myself but I just can’t. I don’t want to make myself vulnerable again, I know she’s out there somewhere but what if she’s not ready for me just yet. What if she’s with another? I can’t live knowing she’s loving someone else that isn’t me.” His voice cracked a bit and he shook his head. Kento moved a bit closer and gripped his shoulder, “you don’t know that, you don’t know. Stop living with hypotheticals. Live with the truth and the truth is in the outside world. Go out there. You know, I actually saw a new nightclub opened up a few blocks from here. Go out and experience life in the modern world. And who knows? She might be there waiting for you. And if you don’t go, I’ll drag you there myself. Your inhuman strength is no match for my determination.”

Choso laughed at the poor joke and shrugged. “Fine, I’ll go but don’t expect me to go to this place every night. I think I’ll go insane if I do.”

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After a few hours of conversation Kento left and Choso got himself ready to go out. He looked at himself in the mirror as he styled his hair one last time then walked over to the painting. “Please be out there tonight, I feel ridiculous doing this. But for you, I’ll do anything.” He pressed two fingers against his lips then pressed them against the frame of the painting before leaving. His nerves shouted at him as he walked down to the club, he saw the long line forming when he approached the block and let out a deep sigh, “of course the line is long, lucky me.” He glanced at the people already on the line as he moved to the back and there was no sign that you would be there. And as the time passed on the line, he started losing hope.

There would be no chance in hell that he could find you again the first night he started searching for you, it was an unrealistic dream but there was still a glimmer of hope. Maybe he would be lucky for one more time in his miserable life. Maybe, just maybe.

After what felt like forever, he finally made his way inside. He smelled the booze, sweat, cheap perfumes and colognes, just everything. It was a nice club, had two floors and the top was presumably for VIPs and celebrities and the bottom was for the common folk who wanted a wild night. The bass of the music thrummed in his ears and he started thinking about heading back home. This wasn’t his scene and he didn’t want to be there longer than he had to but he had to see if you were around. Just some form of you. He made his way through the sweaty bodies all packed together like sardines so he could go to the bar. Maybe if he had a few drinks in him, this environment would be just slightly tolerable.

After about an hour and about five whiskeys, the situation was seemingly getting worse. His body needed more alcohol and the alcohol already in his system was just making him irritable. He stood at one end of the bar, far away from the drunken club-goers that stumbled and were on the brink of toppling over. His eyes scanned around to see if there was a trace of you and just when he was about to give up, he saw you.

You were at the other end of the bar, trying to catch the bartender's attention while she was flirting with someone else. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest and his body started moving before his mind could process anything. He had to confirm what he saw, he had to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He maneuvered his way through the drunken people, almost shoving a few out of the way to get closer to you. Then he was there, standing next to you. His throat was dry but he had to get something out.

“Y/N.” Your name tumbled from his lips and somehow you were able to hear it through the loud music and all surrounding noise. You turned to face him and you lifted your head to meet his gaze. “Hi”, you froze for a moment before continuing, “do we know each other from somewhere?” Your question was asked so gently and there Choso stood frozen.

Everything was the same from all those centuries ago. Like the same angel was sent back down to earth to grace his eyes once more. Your eyes crinkled when you smiled just as they did all that time ago, your voice was the same, only slightly raspier since you have spent the past few minutes yelling for the bartender’s attention, everything was the same. Choso couldn’t believe his eyes, how could he have been so lucky to see you reborn again?

You asked the question again, assuming that he didn’t hear you but again you only received silence as a response. This stranger just stood in front of you, completely frozen but you couldn’t seem to tear yourself away from him. Like there was this magnet that kept you captivated by him. A sense of familiarity washed over you but there was also confusion since you couldn’t trace back to where you knew him from. But if you two didn’t know each other, how could he possibly know your name?

Then he finally gained his train of thought, “sorry, I have to go.” Choso moved through the crowd and you followed behind him, like there was some tether tied to the both of you. You had to follow him or else the invisible tie would snap. Tears gathered in Choso’s eyes as he made his way through to the exit and once he was outside it was like he had gotten even faster. You ran after him as best as you could then stood on the corner when you lost sight of him.

One of your friends who witnessed the whole thing go down approached you and gently gripped your shoulder, “hey, did you know that guy?” You turned to face her and furrowed your eyebrows as you thought about it, you didn’t necessarily know him but you felt like you had. He knew you but you knew relatively nothing about him but you felt like you knew everything about him. Your friend gently shook you to grab your attention, “did you?”

“I think I did.”

Choso looked around to see if you were still following him and once he noticed you weren’t he leaned against the abandoned building and sank down to his knees. Crimson tears streamed down his face and one of his hands clutched the fabric of his shirt near his heart while he muttered to himself.

“I found her, I found you.”

taglist: @blueparadis @ajaxkinnie @cherribxio @gloomiigloom @aki-and-saltfish

#series: the cold hands of solitude #choso smut #jjk smut #choso angst #jjk angst #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujutsu kaisen angst #tw:death #tw:blood #tw:age gap #tw:monsterfucking #tw:unprotected sex #tw:creampie

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eleanor-bradstreet · 2 years ago

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Love to Spare - Part 2 (Anthony Bridgerton x Reader)

Anthony Bridgerton x fem!Reader Friendship, fluff and angst gif by @greengableslover Word count: 1.7k Part 1 Part 3 Masterpost

Summary: A friendship deepens, a tragedy occurs

The next day, a bouquet of flowers was delivered to you with the note reading simply:

Thank you. - A

Before she grew suspicious, you had to convince your mother that they were from your old friend Anne.

When the ton returned to London in the spring and Anthony next came to meet with your father, he sought you out and you spoke for an hour about your respective winters. Weeks later, he gave you a book about the law. You gave him a pamphlet about the dangers of imbibing and laughed when you saw his sardonic smirk for the first time. The conversation flowed easily, as did the jokes and ribbing. He did not treat you with the honor and flattery typically required for delicate young ladies, and you did not treat him with the deference and respect typically owed a viscount. Perhaps it was because of the differences in your social strata that neither of you feared reproach, or more likely, it was the unique and vulnerable circumstances in which you met that put you at ease with one another thereafter.

Slowly but surely, Anthony Bridgerton became your friend. One of your best friends, in fact. More akin to the brother you always wished to have. The years passed and you both grew older. You continued to study with your father and refused to debut, and the pressures and complications of Anthony’s life only increased. Your family lived year round in London, so you only had the opportunity to see him during the parliamentary season when he was in town. Not engaging in the social soirees yourself, this limited your chance meetings to his appointments with your father, or passing each other on a promenade. When in public, you always made time for a friendly exchange, but were careful not to meet too long or too frequently, lest the rumor mill begin roiling that you were courting one another, which could only elevate your reputation, but would seriously complicate and diminish his. Besides, nothing could be further from the truth.

You found ways to have more meaningful conversations a few times a year. Anthony had started keeping his own apartments in the city separate from his family home, and you would meet him there to swap stories over brandy, reminiscent of your first encounter. He would tell you about the Bridgerton estate, its finances and property issues, things most others would find boring or tedious, but you listened with rapt attention. It was helping you to broaden your legal knowledge, seeing how all the rules in your father’s enormous books were applied in the real world. You would press him for details, figures, examples, and he would smile as you hypothesized and argued and counseled, referring him of course to your father for a final assessment.

He also told you about the mounting pressure to marry, directed at him by his mother. He made it clear that he was reluctant to do so, but would never reveal precisely why. You had heard the stories around town of course. Lord Bridgerton the rake had a reputation. But you could hear in his tone that it wasn’t the monogamy he took issue with. His look grew haunted whenever he talked about finding love, and it was love itself that seemed to scare him, for whatever reason. He never asked you about your love life, not that there was one to speak of. He had known from the beginning that you were not interested in finding a husband, and he understood the annoyance of being asked and cajoled about such things, so he didn’t visit this upon you.

He brightened when he told you about the opera singer. He never claimed to love her, but remained interested in her exclusively for several years. From what he shared with you, you weren’t sure she gave him the respect he deserved, but protective though you may have been, it made you happy just to see him happy, and so you listened supportively. You met her once when you crossed paths on Anthony’s doorstep, you heading home and her coming in. She was very pretty. Anthony assured you later that he had told her you were dropping off documents for your father, so there was no jealousy or suspicion. You were grateful he kept your meetings secret, but felt a stab of bitterness that he would not claim you as his friend. You supposed that would only have complicated things.

The meetings weren’t all happy, though. Anthony’s demons roared through him from time to time; when he was exhausted from dealing with the estate’s affairs, or when he had gotten into a row with a sibling or his mother, or when he and the opera singer were taking yet another break in their tumultuous romance. Then he would drink too much and grow either bitter and cold, or helpless and broken. Once, when you were trying to offer advice on how to untangle a knot in his finances, he shouted at you, snapping that you didn’t know what you were talking about because you weren’t a solicitor, never would be, and were just playing a stupid game dreaming of an impossible future.

You were fairly certain both of your hearts stopped as you froze, staring at each other. When you spun to make for the door, suddenly his arms were around you, pulling you tightly against him as he uttered a hundred apologies and pleas for you to stay, tears starting to roll down his face. Despite yourself, you started to cry too, and held him back. It was the first time you had ever embraced, in the many years you had been friends. You had never been so close to a man who was not your relation, and it felt so comforting, so sure. It felt like he was family, a brother, an extension of yourself. You knew he hadn’t meant what he said. You knew very well by now the pain he lived with day to day, and you knew that it took control of him sometimes. But you also knew that his heart was good and pure, that he was your dear friend, and that you needed each other.

You had tried, gently through the years, to ask him if he confided any of his challenges to his family. He always answered vaguely, alluding to conversations with a brother or his mother, but you got the impression he never truly opened up to them and thereby didn’t receive their full support. You knew him well enough to know that vulnerability was not in his nature, especially when sober. He had to be steadfast, a bulwark between his family and the world, and admitting to them that he was struggling in any way would be considered a deficiency in his estimation. It was only you, you realized, that he allowed himself to show weakness to. Only you had been allowed to peer beneath the mask that he wore for society, all thanks to your messy chance meeting that night years ago, when he had unwittingly shown you his worst self and you reacted with nothing but kindness. He never shouted at you again.

Anthony embraced you the second time when your father died. It had been winter, and he had passed suddenly in his sleep. A brain hemorrhage the doctors said. Word was sent to all of his clients and your household was flipped upside down, with assessors and businessmen, colleagues and friends moving in and out, offering condolences but more often looking for paperwork. You did your best to handle everything smoothly and manage his affairs while your mother locked herself away in grief. You didn’t really have time to cry. Until you opened the front door three days after it happened, and Anthony was on the doorstep, shoulders white with the heavy snow that was falling. He simply said your name and you fell apart entirely, collapsing into his arms as he held you tightly, shushing you and stroking your hair. You don’t remember moving into the study together, but that’s where you stayed for the next few hours, crying yourself out into his shoulder. You were bonded closer now, adding the bitterness of fatherlessness to the list of all you had in common. You leaned against him as you sat on the floor by the fire, talking through everything you had to do, and how he would help you accomplish it all.

Months later, with your father’s practice officially closed and your family’s finances pored over, your paths for the future became clear. If you pursued your goal of working as a governess, you would be able to support yourself and live with whatever family hired you, but there would be no income for your mother to survive upon and maintain your family home. She would need to move in with your uncle and the added mouth to feed would stretch his finances uncomfortably. You were collectively facing a diminishment in lifestyle, most likely a descent into noble poverty.

The alternative, of course, was for you to marry. Even marrying a gentleman from a lesser noble house similar to yours would replace your father’s income and allow you to keep your home and keep your mother comfortably within it. When your uncle proposed this, your mother looked at you in alarm, assuring you that you did not need to do anything you did not want to. She would not ask you to divert your dreams and end up miserably bound in a loveless marriage for the rest of your life just for her sake. She was willing to sacrifice everything for your chance at independence. But you couldn’t let her. The thought of losing your home, the only one you had ever known, and of seeing your family sink and struggle, the humiliation and hardship of it all, was something you didn’t want anyone to shoulder. Their fate was in your hands and you would save them. You would find a husband.

Besides, you told yourself, it was not a guarantee that you would end up in a loveless or unhappy marriage. There had to be some decent, amiable gentlemen among the ton. Although you doubted if any of them would still be available or interested in you, a twenty-seven year old spinster with no money and too many opinions, but you kept these thoughts to yourself.

#bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #anthony bridgerton x reader #anthony bridgerton x you #anthony bridgerton x y/n #anthony bridgerton imagine #bridgerton fanfiction #bridgerton x reader #bridgerton x you #bridgerton x y/n #bridgerton imagine #female reader #regency #regency era #fluff and angst

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reallygroovyninja · 1 year ago

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The town of Arkadia was awash in hues of amber, scarlet, and gold, signaling the advent of the most heartwarming season of the year – fall. For Lexa and Clarke, this season was about to become even more memorable, for it marked their daughter Madi's first visit to the annual fall festival.

Madi's enthusiasm was palpable from the moment they set foot in the festival grounds. The bustling ambiance, the sweet aroma of freshly baked apple pies and the joyous laughter echoing around brought a nostalgic warmth to Lexa and Clarke's hearts. But for Madi, it was a new world waiting to be explored.

Holding onto Clarke's finger, Madi's tiny feet took her first towards the grand pumpkin patch. Rows upon rows of pumpkins lay there, each with its unique shade and shape. With the glee of a child witnessing magic, Madi dashed from one pumpkin to another, finally settling on a petite pumpkin with a naturally carved smiley face. "This one, Mama!" she exclaimed, her choice bringing a proud smile to both her parents' faces.

Nearby, Lexa spotted a scarecrow-making workshop. With straw hats, old flannel shirts, and plenty of hay at their disposal, the family got to work. While Clarke amused Madi with stories of scarecrows guarding the fields at night, Lexa expertly crafted a scarecrow that bore an uncanny resemblance to Clarke, much to the latter's feigned annoyance.

The scent of cinnamon and nutmeg led them to the next attraction – a stall selling spiced apple cider. As Lexa and Clarke reminisced about their own fall festival memories over steaming mugs of cider, Madi took a tentative sip from her cup. Her eyes widened in delight, and she declared, "It's like drinking a warm apple pie!"

The highlight of the day, however, was the hayride. As the wooden cart trundled through the picturesque countryside, Madi nestled between her parents, listening intently to Lexa's tales of past autumnal celebrations and Clarke's soft lullabies. The setting sun cast a golden sheen over the landscape, turning the moment into something ethereal.

As evening descended and the festival grounds started to shimmer under the canopy of fairy lights, the family found a cozy spot by the bonfire. Surrounded by the gentle strumming of guitars and the soft hum of folk songs, they roasted marshmallows and made s'mores, the sweetness of the treats rivaled only by the sweetness of the moment.

By the end of the day, Madi's eyelids grew heavy with exhaustion, but her heart was light with joy. She dozed off in Clarke's arms, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the fire, a contented smile on her lips.

Lexa wrapped an arm around Clarke, pulling them close. As they gazed at their daughter, they silently acknowledged the beauty of the moment. The fall festival was not just a celebration of the season but also of love, family, and the treasured memories they would carry with them for a lifetime.

#clexatober23 #clexatober #7daysofclexa #Mad's First Fall Festival #Just a super short story I wrote to do with the #moodboard #490 words #grammerly and word are my betas #the pictures without Alycia and Eliza are AI

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whiskeynwriting · 2 years ago

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How We Used to Be

Agent Daddy Whiskey x Female Reader

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Word Count: 4.8k

Warnings: 18+ (minors DNI)

Mentions of… insecurity, birth control, having kids, age gap, I think that's it.

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A/N: just you and daddy sight-seeing and reminiscing on the past

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Daddycember Masterlist

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This is everything you’ve been waiting for, everything you didn’t get to do the first time you were here. Granted, your first trip wasn’t nearly as long as the one you’re currently on. You wished you could have done more then, but you’re more than thankful to do so now.

It wasn’t a secret that Jack liked to spoil you. Earlier in your relationship, it was something you had to get used to. You’d never been treated the way Jack treats you. No one has ever been so attentive or caring or generous with you, and it’s made you eternally grateful for him. What did come as a surprise, though, was your husband’s ability to step up his game. Not only did he spoil you on every trip, but he managed to make each one better than the last.

“So, how much do tickets cost again?” Calling out to him, you do your best to keep your lips still while applying the bright tint.

“I already told you,” His deep, lucious voice responds, his feet thumping on the wood as he strides over to you. “Don’t worry about it.” Jack finishes, walking up beside your prettily-decorated frame.

Grinning, he lowers his hand to give your backside a little tap. Leaning over, he murmurs against your cheek, “You look nice.”

Smirking, you look over at him. “Thank you, baby.”

It’s really not much, what you’re wearing. But to Jack, every outfit you put on is practically brand new. You’re really what makes the pieces shine. Today, you chose a pair of black, ripped jeans, with a beige sweater tucked into the front of them. For shoes, you chose a pair of midnight-tined boots, and a brown shoulder purse to carry your essentials in. Your hair is down, just how Jack likes it, and you’re wearing a necklace. It’s the first gift he ever got you.

The two of you are going to be traveling all day, so Jack decided on something semi-cozy, too. Matching your color scheme, he’s wearing that signature white tee beneath a black long sleeve. Dark wash jeans hang on his hips, with coffee-colored boots covering his feet. A similarly colored belt is looped into his pants, with that southern hat sitting on his head.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, sweetheart.” You add on, turning back to the mirror, the application of your nude lip nearly complete. “Anything you want me to carry for you?”

“Actually, yeah.” He says, hands tapping on his pants pockets. “My reading and sunglasses, if you could.”

“‘Course, baby.”

Jack feels like his old age is really getting to him, having to wear reading glasses. When you were first together, he never wore them. But honestly, he had them when you first met, he just didn’t use them as often. Truth be told, you find his glasses incredibly cute. He’ll wear them when the two of you are laying in bed, glancing at his phone before he goes to sleep. There have been times that they sit on the bridge of his nose as he eats his breakfast, reading the paper like the old-fashioned man he is. From the start, Jack knew you liked his age, but he still never wanted to show it. But now, he knows he doesn’t have to hide anything from you.

Slipping the two pairs into your purse, you press the button to shut it, fixing your hair as you look up at him. There’s a small smile on his lips, one he can’t seem to get rid of since the day he, before God and your family, made you his.

“Ready, baby?”

He doesn’t say anything, just turns, offering you his arm. Jack is nothing if not the perfect gentleman.

Your first stop is at the Colosseum. Jack bought tickets for the two of you to go on a tour, and it just so happens to be within walking distance! And striding down the streets of Italy has its own perks, too. The architecture is beautiful here, entirely different than that in the states. The simple act of listening to passersby speaking a language you don’t understand makes you feel like you’re on a different planet. But at the same time, you love it. This is all so fascinating to you.

Meeting the group at the entrance, your tour guide greets the two of you with pamphlets. She welcomes you to the ancient monument, starting your small exploration shortly after you arrive. Jack has to tug on your arm to get you to follow along, chuckling when you stumble. Since stepping before it, you’re astounded by its size. It’s magnificent; you can’t stop staring at it.

“Originally, this monument was built with the intention of holding up to eighty-thousand spectators, all visiting to witness play dramas and sporting events.”

Walking through the ancient amphitheater is chilling, especially when hearing about the monument’s history. But truly, you’re in awe. You’ve always loved history. And amidst your excitement and wonder, you notice Jack isn’t by your side. Looking back, you see him only a few steps away. He’s smiling, admiring you in your childlike state.

Grinning happily, you reach out to him, extending the fingers on your hand. “Come on.” You whisper, nodding your head in the group’s direction.

You remember your first time doing this, confidently reaching out for his hand. It took months for you to do it - you were constantly shy around him. You’d never dated anyone even close to his age before, and it intimidated you greatly. You didn’t want to seem like a little girl without experience, you wanted to be the attractive adult you knew you were. So, for the first little while, you didn’t show him your needs.

If Jack had to leave, you let him. You wouldn’t ask him to stay for another hour or to spend the night and go to work from your place. You’d give him a kiss, letting it linger for as long as you could before letting him go with the promise of speaking soon. And at night, you’d sigh, wrapping your arms around a pillow you’d convinced yourself was him.

If you were feeling sad, or even when you were happy, you wouldn’t ask Jack for hugs or for him to hold you. You didn’t want to come off clingy, or too touchy-feely. So, you kept your emotions to yourself, allowing them to be expressed only on your face. It made you feel reserved, like you couldn’t be who you truly were around him.

Both verbally and physically, you wouldn’t let yourself beg for his attention. When in reality, it’s normal to ask for things like that. And after so long, Jack noticed this, and being the confident man that he is, he confronted you about it. Sitting you down on his living room couch one night, he took your hand, expressing wholeheartedly to you, “Sugar, I want you to be yourself around me. I know we have our differences, but… I think we’re more alike than you think.” With a soft smile, and a reassuring swipe of his thumb over your hand, he continued. “Have I… have I done something? To make you uncomfortable?” He looked so concerned, and it broke your heart. “Are you no longer interested in this? In me?”

You admired Jack’s openness, and seeing him so emotionally vulnerable gave you the push you needed to let your emotions run free. Instantly, you’d reassured him, telling him why you haven’t been acting as affectionately lately, ‘lately’ being the past three months.

“I don’t want to come off clingy or… needy.” Slowly, you’d explained to him that you just weren’t sure how to express all of your feelings. “Don’t want to scare you away.”

Smiling, he dropped your hand, reaching forward to tilt your chin up, eyeline meeting his. “I like clingy.” He told you gently. “I like knowing you’re interested, sweet pea. So, give me clingy, give me needy, give me everything.”

And from that point on, you did. You did ask him to stay for another hour, you did ask him to spend the night. You did request that he hold you tight, no matter how you were feeling. That conversation gave you the confidence to truly dive into your relationship, so that reaching out for his hand now, feels nothing like it used to be.

Taking your smaller hand in his, he grins, stepping forward to match your stride. Together, you glance at your surroundings, eyeing some of the crumbling areas off to the side.

“Once glorified for its beauty and ability to maintain its free-standing form, it was ruined by earthquakes and stone robbers. However, many modifications have since been made, allowing this site to be one of Italy’s most popular tourist attractions.”

“Can you believe this?” You whisper in wonder, glancing at the limestone form surrounding you.

“You really love this, don’t you?”

When you turn your head, you realize he’s not even looking at what the guide is pointing to, he’s just looking at you.

“Have you seen any of the things she’s been showing us?” You joke, laughing quietly beside him.

“‘Course I have.” He shrugs, feigning offense. “You’re just distractin’ me, is all.” After that, he gently shoves your shoulder, walking ahead of you. “Outta my way, I’m here to see the mausoleum.”

Rolling your eyes and shaking your head, you jog after him, reaching out to grab his hand again.

“It’s the Colosseum, dummy.”

“Whatever.” He shrugs, lifting his nose at you.

“You’re annoying.” You chuckle, shaking your head again.

“I think you mean funny.” Jack says, giving your cheek a wet kiss.

“You’re not tired yet?”

Jack has made a habit lately out of kissing the back of your hand. And when you cup his face, he’ll turn his head, kissing your palm, too. It’s nice to see that after being together for so long, he hasn’t grown stagnant in your relationship. His love is always growing for you.

Shaking your head, you grin, watching his lips press to your skin. “No, I’m too excited.”

After visiting the Colosseum, Jack wanted to check in to make sure your feet weren’t getting sore. The tour was longer than expected. But for your next stop, you won’t be doing much walking. And you’ve changed your mode of transportation this time from foot to cab.

“Well if you do get tired, tell me.” He requests, lips leaving your hand but still holding it in his, resting your intertwined digits on his lap. “Maybe I can give you a foot rub when we get back.”

“Truly Jack,” Leaning in, you cup his handsome face, fingers sliding along his jawline and chin. “You’re the perfect man.” At least, he is in your eyes. He’s everything you’ve ever wanted in life.

Finally at your second destination, Jack steps out of the cab, keeping the door open for you with his hand held in your direction. Taking it, your fingers grab hold of him, allowing your husband to gently pull you onto your feet. He’d already paid the driver, closing the door once you’re out and sighing. He’s happy you let him do these things now.

When Jack took you on your first few dates, he saw how nervous you were. Opening doors for you, taking off your jacket, pulling out your chair, it was all very new to you. Honestly, you weren’t sure how to act. You’d duck your head, avoiding his gaze while a tingling warmth blossomed on your face. After so long, though, you got used to it, and Jack genuinely loved to see it. He likes doing these things for you, his small, gentlemanly habits.

Now when you go places, you’ll let him get the door for you, stopping to wait if you’d walked ahead of him, too. In restaurants, if you’re wearing a jacket, you’ll turn your back to him before sitting, expecting and accepting the soft brush of his hands along your coat. And before you even turn, he’s already pulling your chair out for you. And when he does it, you smile at him, eyes meeting his and sometimes even winking at him. Jack brings out something wild inside you, something fun and full of life. It’s this very sense of confidence that now allows you to so easily take his hand.

For this particular site, you don’t need a tour guide. Everything you need to see is right before your very eyes. And it’s gorgeous, engaging almost every one of your senses.

“This is… this is beautiful, baby.”

The ancient Roman aqueduct, the Trevi Fountain, sitting only a few feet away from the two of you. Taking your hand once again, Jack steps forward, leading your pace.

The closer you get, the more amazed you become. You’ve heard of this fountain before, and have seen pictures of it, too. The statues surrounding the back of the large fountain are incredible pieces of art, something you never thought you’d get to see, at least not in person. You know that there are many different parts to the crafted scenery surrounding this enormous art piece, some of the statues resembling depictions of tarot cards, both physically and metaphorically. That specific note fascinates you.

Of course, Jack has seen this all before, just not with you. Turning to him, you’re smiling ear-to-ear grabbing a coin out of your pocket and holding it out to him. “Tell me what to do.”

Jack chuckles, taking a coin out of his own pocket, too. “You’re gonna take it in your right hand,” He instructs, moving to stand beside you. Now, both of your backs are facing the fountain. “And toss it over your left shoulder.” He does so, demonstrating for you. “Landing it in the water.”

“Okay.” Nodding, you get ready to do it, stopping when he decides to add, “And if you choose to, you can make a wish.”

“Did you make a wish? Just now?”

All he does is shrug. And you’re helpless to the muscle movement, more like muscle memory, of your eyes rolling at him.

Sighing, you close your hands, holding the coin tightly in your hand.

A wish? What should you wish for? What could you wish for? Should you be realistic, or shoot for the moon?

Opening your eyes, you find he’s still staring at you. So, you smile, tossing the coin over your shoulder just like he told you to do. When the soft sound of its plop hits your ears, you step toward him, framing his face in both your hands.

“You make a wish?” He asks quietly, looking down at you.

“A-huh,” Comes your nod, lifting your hand and laying your pointer finger over his lips. “I wished for ten more of you.”

In a moment of weakness, you give into the smell coming from the numerous food trucks lining the street. When you get within view of the menu, you’re shocked to see the options. It’s nothing like what you’ve seen in America.

“Chicken and eggplant parmesan?” You ask, turning to your husband with a raised brow.

“You want that?” He asks casually, staring at the menu as he decides what to get for himself.

He’s so nonchalant about it that it makes you laugh. “Sure, baby.”

In all honesty, there’s not much else to do at the fountain. You’d touched the water, tossed a coin, admired the architecture and its creative features, but that’s about as far as it goes. Still, you’re glad to have the experience, there’s really nothing like traveling the world. Especially when doing so with the love of your life.

“Isn’t it beautiful here, baby?” You’re digging into your eggplant parm, eyes wide and constantly scanning your surroundings.

Jack smirks, shaking his head at you while running a fork through his own food - he decided to order the mushroom ravioli. “You’re the best thing about this place, babycakes.”

Last on your to-do list, the Pantheon. Within walking distance from the Trevi Fountain, as soon as you’re done with your food, your feet are back on the street. Hands clinging to Jack’s bicep, you take in the scenery, all while feeling the sturdiness of your husband beside you. It’s easy to become overwhelmed from it all, but he grounds you.

It’s an enormous, dome-shaped building, with a concrete porch leading the two of you inside. Again, you have no tour guide, so your exploration is up to the imagination. For the third time today, you’re impressed by the monument’s size. The interior seems even larger than the outside, too. When entering the building, you walk directly into an enormous, circular room. Natural lighting keeps the space bright, allowing you to see its brilliant yet contrasting interior design.

Jack’s arm slides around your lower back as you walk in, hand resting on your hip. His other sits in his front jeans pocket, head tilted up as he looks around. This is by far the most detailed place the two of you have been to.

“Have you been here before?” You ask, turning to look at the face you long for most through the sea of crowd.

He shakes his head, looking up at the patterns and decoration. “No.”

“Really?” You’re shocked, you honestly thought he’d seen everything before you.

“Really, sweetheart.” Turning his head, he smiles at you, pulling you closer to him. “First time for everything.”

Beaming up at your love, you grin. “I’m glad I can be with you for at least one of your firsts.”

“Baby, everything with you is a first for me.” Kissing your head, he urges you forward with a nod of his head. “Let’s check out the rest of this place, honey.”

There are multiple zones all over the circular, decorated walls, the two of you taking your time to stop at every one of them. Each space is decorated individually, its color scheme and geometric design different from all the others. One in particular grabs your attention, prompting you to stay in this section a bit longer than those before it.

“You like this one, babycakes?” Your husband coos, coming up behind you.

Jack’s strong arms wrap around your midsection, leaning down slightly to place his chin right beside your neck. Peeking up, he witnesses what’s capturing your attention. The patterns here are different, more circular than the checker-board floor throughout the room.

“Yeah,” Comes your quiet, gentle response. You are in a temple, after all. The Temple of all the Gods.

Before he can fully admire this particular section with you, he catches something out of the corner of his eye. Slight movement, a man walking towards you. He stops when Jack looks over at him, lifting his head and making eye contact. Just barely, his arms hold you a little tighter, a little closer.

“You okay?” Bringing your head to the side, you look up at your love.

“I’m just fine, babycakes.”

Jack doesn’t always verbalize his possessive nature, he never really has to; but it’s always been there. When he saw you that night in the bar, the very first night you met, he felt something pull at his heart. He wanted to have you and not just as a notch on his belt, he wanted you to be his. He’d watched you from his seat for a while, for a few dances. Genuinely, you looked angelic to him, something about you appearing so nice and sweet. But there was something specific that stood out about you. He couldn't figure out how or why, but… you looked like home.

And when he approached you, he wanted to be proven wrong. He didn’t think there could be a woman like you, a woman to grab hold of him so firmly yet so easily; at least, not after losing his first wife. But you did. Your first conversation only made Jack fall deeper into the beautiful, comforting embrace of you. And how could he ever allow himself to lose that?

After dancing with you, and then kissing you, he looked into your eyes. It almost scared him, the feeling he got from looking at you. It’s like all at once, every emotion came crashing into him. Adoration and desire, pride and insecurity, curiosity and domesticity. And to top it all off, to seal the deal on his intentions, you wanted him. You wanted him, too.

While your head is turned his way, he takes the opportunity to plant a little kiss on the apple of your cheek, watching as you grin.

“I could live like this forever.” It’s said alongside a peaceful sigh, heart beating warmly in your chest.

“You know, honey, I was thinkin’.”

“About what, baby?”

“There’s a beach closeby, you wanna visit before we take off?” Brushing his nose against your hair, he inhales briefly. It’s always so soft, always smells so flowery.

“That sounds nice.” It feels like you’re in a dream; your entire body relaxing into his touch, your mind caressed into tranquility by the beautiful scenery.

“And then we can get room service,” He sighs happily, content with this seemingly soft moment. “Maybe have some dessert.”

“Maybe?”

“And then have some dessert.” Your husband laughs, the vibration of it shivering over your back.

In all honesty, the Pantheon is… overwhelming. And after traveling so much today, you think you’re finally in need of a break. Maybe the two of you can visit again tomorrow, when it isn’t so crowded. Jack is more than okay with this, taking your hand and leading you away.

“You okay, sugar?” Wrapping his arm around your shoulders, he brings you in, placing a firm kiss on your temple.

“Yeah,” Yawning, you settle into his hold, letting him direct your walk. “Just kinda tired, I think.”

“You still wanna stop at that beach?” Jack knows that when the sun starts to set, it will be a breath-taking sight.

“Yeah,” Your sleepy eyes look up to his, crinkling slightly from your smile. “Sounds pretty.”

And it is. You can barely make your way down to the beach without staring at the sun. Both of you take your shoes off, rolling up the cuffs on your pants to avoid the sand. But that proves to be a rather mindless act, because as soon as you’re on the shoreline, you’re sitting, resting in each other’s embrace.

Jack pulls your back to his chest, surrounding your body with his legs and letting the weight of you rest on him. He holds you with his arms, too, that clean-shaven chin resting on your shoulder again.

You never thought of your life this way, not before Jack. It’s like a fairytale, the way you met, the way your relationship grew while dating, and now your marriage. It’s a dream come true, just having him.

The water floods bright with amber before your very eyes, the sun now beginning to say goodnight. Its rays dazzle across the water, shimmering in the splashes that make their way to the shore. The beach is relatively empty, and further in the distance, you can hear the chatter and laughter of passersby. The pleasant thrum of music begins to fill your ears too, the night life approaching alongside the fading light.

Thinking about the night you met brings him back to your first dance. Inside, his heart pounds, pulse picking up beneath his skin. He doesn’t matter how long the two of you have been together, he always gets nervous asking for your hand.

“Hey, sugar?”

“Hm?” You’re sliding your fingers over one of his hands, tracing meaningless patterns along his skin.

Lowering his voice just a bit, he proposes, “How ‘bout a dance?”

From the side, he can see your smile growing. Retracting his hands just a bit, he moves his palms along your body, holding your sides gently. The two of you stand, leaving your shoes in the sand. Taking Jack’s hand, just like you always do, you let him lead you out to the wetter, flatter parts of the beach.

“You know how much I love you?” He says, strong hands sliding over your hips.

Linking your arms around his neck, you grin, swaying gracefully. “Enough to take me to Italy.”

You make him laugh, that beautiful smile coming in to connect with your lips. Slowly, he moves you, the two of you dancing along the sand with your bare feet. The entire situation puts him at ease. When it comes to his day-to-day, Jack is often anxious. His job is stressful, his only real reprieve being when he comes home to you. You’re always there to pick up the pieces, making him whole once again. And he revels in the delicate moments he gets with you, moments like these.

“Eventually, don’t you think?”

Nodding, you give him a thoughtful pout. “Of course, baby.”

Even though there’s nothing there, Jack’s hand slides over your belly. He smiles, huffing out a small, amused breath.

“I can’t wait to see your pregnant belly.” Jack has always wanted kids.

“I can’t wait to make you a daddy, baby.” Resting your head back on his shoulder, you sigh, the warm water helping your muscles to relax.

“When do you think?” Your husband asks, eyes draping over your form.

Shrugging, you offer, “Maybe I can stop my birth control, and just see what happens.”

He nods, both hands now resting on your tummy. “I like the sound of that.” And then he sighs, wrinkling his forehead. “You think I’m too old for kids, honey?”

“What? Of course not.”

“I just, I don’t know. I wanna be able to play with them, run around and chase them.”

“You’ll be able to do that, baby.” Bringing your hands over his, you give them a gentle squeeze. “You’ve kept yourself in shape, I know you’ll have so much fun with our babies.”

“You want more than one?” He sounds giddy.

“I want as many babies as I’m able to have with you.” At this, he laughs, shaking his head. “Of course, I do. I want a few.”

“That sounds good to me.” Jack's hands then slide up, landing on your shoulders to give you a soft rub. “You know, I must’ve done something pretty good to get you.”

“Yeah, maybe you were the pope in a past life.”

“You’re so fuckin’ sassy.” Those words make you grin, eyes closing as his fingers press into you.

With a sigh, you express wholeheartedly, “I have no idea what I could’ve done to deserve you.”

When you’re done with your bath, Jack wraps you in a towel, kissing your head. He gives you another for your hair, not wanting to pull it so he lets you do that. The two of you step into your room just as room service arrives, and Jack takes it upon himself to close the double-doors to your bedroom before letting them in. He’d ordered dinner for the two of you, and dessert.

“Food’s here, honey.” Comes that deep, southern voice.

The two of you decide to eat on the bed, lounging lazily against the other. Instead of getting dressed, you decided on a simple robe, your husband doing the same.

“Your hair is always so soft after you wash it.” He comments, playing with the ends of it.

“You’re cute, baby.” Already, you’re diving into your sweet treat.

Jack lets you eat in peace, munching on his own plate of food. It’s quiet, the air surrounding you. You suppose you could put on a movie or show, but you both like it like this, just the two of you with no distractions.

It’s the same at night, when Jack lays you down, pulling you into him. There’s no TV, no music, just the sound of cars on the street and each other's relaxed breaths.

“You're the love of my life, sweet pea.” He tells you quietly, petting your head while you lay on his chest. “I’ll always be here, you know that?”

You can feel the metal loop of his wedding band every time his hand touches your head, the small sense bringing you happiness.

“I know, baby. I know you will.” Snuggling into him even further, you sigh. “You’re the best man I will ever know.”

Jack doesn’t respond because, well… he’s feeling emotional. You’re a gift to him, something that makes life worth living. His precious girl, his beautiful wife, the woman he met at the bar giving him everything he’s ever needed in life.

“What’re you thinking about, baby?” You ask when he’s quiet for a bit too long.

Jack shrugs, smiling softly. “Just reminiscing, I guess.” Sighing happily, he then adds, “About how we used to be.”

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Hot Soup and Soft Bread 13

Table of Contents and Synopsis <- Chapter 12 Read on WordPress

Chapter 13: Soymilk and Fried Dough I

T/N: New chapter title! One of my favorite breakfast combos~[1]

The next morning, Zhou Cunqu woke up before Zhong Qiuyan. He dug himself out of Qiuyan’s arms and took a deep breath. With one finger, he grazed Qiuyan’s face, then he rubbed his ear, and then he leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. Qiuyan, still half-asleep, laughed and said: “Some people act like a pervert first thing in the morning.”

Cunqu said: “The alarm’s about to go off.”

Qiuyan opened his eyes, looked at the clock, and sat up. Then he lay back down, drew Cunqu into his arms, and started messily kissing him. The alarm then really went off.

Qiuyan got up once again. He stood amid the piles of books and stretched. Cunqu suddenly stretched out his leg and lightly pressed his foot against his underwear. Qiuyan almost fell on top of the books. Cunqu started chuckling.

Recently, Da Yu did actually go to study hairdressing at a trade school. He spent the money to buy a fake head; he heard that from long hair to short hair you could cut it 300 different times. When he was on break, he went to find Qiuyan at the bus station to get lunch together. Qiuyan sat under the shade of a tree deep in thought. Da Yu hit him and asked: “What are you thinking about?”

Qiuyan bluntly replied, “About things that happen in a bed.” He asked if Da Yu had any experience. The latter rebuked, “How could I have experience on what it’s like between two men.”

Qiuyan grumbled, “I knew I couldn’t depend on you.”

After a bit, Da Yu cleared his throat and asked a bit awkwardly: “How far have you two gotten?”

Qiuyan also cleared his throat. He replied with a red face, “Not telling.”

A couple of days ago, when Qiuyan stayed over, he and Cunqu were kissing against his bed. And he got hard from the kissing. Cunqu laughed as he said, “Really impressive.”

Ever since they started dating, Qiuyan had only gone as far as feeling around underneath Cunqu’s pajamas. That day he pressed Cunqu beneath him, bit the side of his neck, and grinded against him. Cunqu slid his hand under his underwear. Qiuyan immediately stopped moving; he didn’t even dare to breathe. Cunqu stroked him, his head pressed against Qiuyan’s chest. Qiuyan couldn’t last for long. Cunqu pressed his lips against his ear and said: “Little virgin.”

Reminiscing to this point, he suddenly said to Da Yu: “It was oddly exciting.”

Da Yu yelled: “Who asked!”

After meeting up with Zhou Pianyan, Qiuyan asked Cunqu if they wanted to move the time of their walk to earlier and try to go outside when it’s still day. Liu Xiaoying had a calligraphy class at the school for the elderly in the afternoons twice a week. One of those days was coincidentally Qiuyan’s day off from work. They had lunch together. Xiaoying went back to her room for a midday nap and then headed out right after. Qiuyan had recently bought two new outfits for Cunqu that fit better. He hugged Cunqu’s waist and said, “Our family's kid needs to eat more. And be less picky. Or he’ll get beat.”

Cunqu laughed. Nowadays even if he didn’t have an appetite he would force himself to eat something.

Qiuyan tugged Cunqu’s hand and said: “It’s really hot outside in the afternoon. Just listen to those cicadas.” He stuck a small fan in Cunqu’s hand. And so Cunqu held that pink mini fan and walked slowly downstairs with Qiuyan. The new resident on the fourth floor was a family of three. The child was a chubby little kid around four or five years old who was attending a kindergarten nearby.

That day, teacher Zhuang’s place on the third floor had its door open. A few people were talking inside. Cunqu was a little nervous. Qiuyan squeezed his hand and said, “Look at me, don’t look over there.”

They walked down to the first floor. Perhaps because it was too hot out, the Go table of the “Double Yolk Egg” grandpas was there, but they were not. Qiuyan and Cunqu sat down at their chairs. They didn’t speak for a while, and instead blankly stared at the garden in front of them. A few dragonflies flew by in the garden. It was an incredibly ordinary scene, but Cunqu suddenly felt like he was in a dream. A dream where he didn't shut himself up for two years. A dream where this was just any other summer day of the 29th year of his life.

Qiuyan spoke up from the side, telling him that the city’s art museum had a large glass lotus pond. These few days were the last days of their flowering season, and a bunch of people were there to take photos. He asked Cunqu if he wanted to take a look.

Cunqu was still watching the dragonfly in front of him. He lightly said, “That was designed by our team.” Qiuyan turned to look at him. He leaned against his chair and said with his head lowered, “It was designed by me…”

Teacher Zhuang passed away. When one did the math, she was even younger than Liu Xiaoying by two years. Xiaoying went to attend her funeral at noon. Cunqu sat at the dining table eating a set meal that Qiuyan had ordered for him. When Qiuyan called him, a lot of noise and bustle came from the other end of the call. He asked, “Are you eating?”

Cunqu replied: “I’m eating right now.”

It sounded like Qiuyan ran to somewhere more quiet, and he continued to ask: “Does it suit your taste?”

Cunqu said: “It’s not bad.” He made an effort to finish the majority of his bowl of rice. Right now, he didn’t just want to persist for Xiaoying’s birthday celebration. He also wanted to try his best to become a lover worthy of Zhong Qiuyan.

After Qiuyan heard Cunqu say that, he suddenly flicked Cunqu’s forehead, saying: “‘Obsessive try-hard disorder’, get away from my ge’s body. Ge is already the most perfect person in this world.”

Cunqu held his forehead and laughed.

When Xiaoying returned back home, she was visibly fatigued. She sat down on the couch and massaged her own leg. Qiuyan eagerly ran over and helped her massage her shoulders. Xiaoying rambled on about her and Teacher Zhuang’s revolutionary friendship. The two of them both started off as teachers in a small rural town. Then they were transferred to the city’s First Elementary School. After that, the school was renamed Experimental Elementary School. One became the academic administration director, the other the vice principal, all the way until retirement.

Teacher Zhuang had a loud voice. She was very serious and didn’t date until pretty late. Her husband was the younger cousin of Qi Wenxian, Xiaoying’s husband. The two men passed away one after the other. Teacher Zhuang and Xiaoying had joked that they had “returned to the single life.”

The first year that Cunqu isolated himself, Xiaoying headed over to Teacher Zhuang’s place to cry every time she felt down, then she would return to her place and make food for Cunqu with a smile. When Teacher Zhuang was diagnosed with dementia and was sent to a care facility, Xiaoying stood outside the building and watched her old friend get taken away by the facility’s vehicle. In mental confusion, Teacher Zhuang kept crying. She reached out a hand towards Xiaoying and asked through her tears: “Didn’t mom say it was time for dinner? Where are they taking me? Go tell my mom that I’m being taken away.”

Xiaoying had held her hand with red-rimmed eyes.

Xiaoying came back to her senses after losing herself for a bit in the memories and suddenly said to Qiuyan: “After people get old, they turn into useless baggage.”

Qiuyan said: “Who said that? Liu Xiaoying you are a very useful, very extraordinary lady.”

Xiaoying started laughing and placed her hands on her hips: “Of course.”

She turned her head and saw Cunqu standing at the door watching her. She smiled and said: “Grandma is fine.” She stood up and slowly walked to Cunqu and hugged him, repeating: “Grandma is fine.”

-> Chapter 14

Footnotes

[1] There is no agreed-upon translation for 油条 (Yóutiáo) (wikipedia). I’ve seen “fried dough”, “fried dough stick”, “oil stick,” “fried chinese donut”. Essentially, it’s a large stick of airy dough that’s deep fried. It’s oily, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside from the gluten. It’s an extremely common and popular breakfast food especially in combination with (and dipped into) soy milk or congee. [2] Qiuyan jokingly referring to Cunqu as the “kid” here. Qiuyan has this habit of tacking on “our family’s” (我们家) when he’s talking about Cunqu. Rather than its literal meaning, it’s an affectionate descriptor which conveys a little bit of possessiveness too. And it’s not odd to address in third-person someone you are directly talking to in Chinese. [3] Cicadas are louder when it’s hotter. Not sure why or if it’s actually scientifically true, just something people including me have observed lol

T/N: Is grandma fine though...is grandma fine?? Reading this, I cried. Translating this, I think I cried again. Editing this, I'm about to cry the third time! Something about the thought that Teacher Zhuang and Xiaoying had been friends ever since they were girls, young women, working together in the same place for decades, marrying men who were cousins, settling down and living just one floor away from each other, being close friends, confidantes, practically sisters...and then Xiaoying having to watch her lose herself to the inevitability of dementia, brought away because she couldn't take care of herself, and then eventually passing away. Like, just, fuck. Maybe that's just something that people get used to at this age, but just as a reader I feel so much pain, but also so much fear, because it's not just that you're losing someone so near and dear to you, you're also seeing a version of how you might end up in a few years, a few months.

#chinese novel #translation #chinese bl #hot soup and soft bread #danmei #chinese webnovel #novel update #yapped in the post again #but anyways #other than all that i really love love love youtiao #maybe I should just write it as “youtiao” rather than trying to translate it??#ok anyways but it's so simple it's literally just an oily dough stick it doesn't even taste like much other than oil #why is it so good #not even about the crisp either because i love soaking it in congee or soymilk #why is soggy oily fried dough so good #also lol QIuyan being a mega virgin randomly asking Da Yu about bed affairs is so on brand for him

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alexsoenomel · 2 years ago

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Grace and Immortality (Sam Winchester x Reader fluff)

Summary: Reminiscing on old childhood memories while on a case with Sam.

Pairing: Sam x Reader

Warnings: death of a parent

Word count: 755

Note: Wrote this when I was sad long time ago. Like/ reblog or both if you like it :)

In the abounded theater where the ghost was supposed to be there was a piano in the middle of the stage. Lonely and old piano just waiting for someone to press its keys. You turned on the lights and immediately you have been pulled into old memories of childhood and pureness. You were once a happy toddler with a bow in your hair and a smile on your face. You liked animals and your old piano in your living room. You liked the melodies, the elegance and the power it had. When someone would play, everything would stop for a second. The melody would take over and you would be mesmerized instantly. Your dad liked the piano very much; he had a gift that would make anyone jealous. He was a cold man, only capable to express himself through his music.

****

“Mommy what is daddy playing?” You pulled your mom’s skirt as she struggled to mix something. It smelled like vanilla cake.

“I don’t know dear.” She said calmly. “I’ve never heard of this melody before.”

The melody was intense and filled with anger and sorrow. He didn’t even want to look at you. He wanted to pass the gift he had so he would teach you how the magic box worked while you were in his lap but this time was different.

Who knew that would be the last time he played. That day he got back from the doctors knowing how his life was going to end.

******

Feeling the sharp pain in your gut you quickly snapped back into a dull reality. “Are you okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. You go backstage? I will cover the rest.”

“Sure.”

When he was out of your sight you went on the stage to take a closer look. It seemed like someone still loved that piano. It was black and still shining, you hoped it still worked. You sat on the little leather piano bench and opened the fall board. It seemed like you were reunited with your old friend. You took a deep breath and decided to try; years had passed ever since you last touched the keyboard. You cracked your long and delicate fingers while your foot was on one of the pedals.

The first song that came to your mind was Somebody to love by Queen. Your mom loved that song. You weren’t sure if you still remembered how it goes but as you pressed the first key, everything was right again. Once you started, you couldn’t stop. You were in your own little word remembering all of those happy times with your family. Your body relaxed as your fingers created magic. Little did you know someone was watching and carefully listening. Sam didn’t know your love for piano and he was deeply surprised to see you so gracefully lost in the melody.

Suddenly you put your fingers down. The melody was lost.

“That was beautiful.” Sam said making you jump a little.

“Huh.” You turned around to look at him. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He sat right next to you. “Since when do you know how to play piano?”

Avoiding his gaze you said. “My dad used to play all the time when I was little, he wanted me to be a pianist, but he got sick before he could teach me everything and died, so my mom decided to honor him and teach me instead, since she was once a piano teacher.”

“You have never told me about your dad (Y/N), I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah I know, I now remember how much I miss him even though all memories of him are vague.”

“Sometimes I wish all of this is just a bad dream. You would have been a great pianist.”

“But then we wouldn’t have met.” You said and pressed your lips against his. His hand cupped your cheek kissing you back instantly. When you broke the kiss you mumbled, as you rested your forehead against his. “I love you Sam.”

“More than anything. Will you play something again? Please?”

“Okay.” You smiled. “I wrote this when I was 16. I hope I still remember how it goes.” Of course you did…

As you started to play Sam watched you, remembering how much he truly loved you. The melody was slow and relaxing slowly taking you and Sam to a whole new world.

Right behind you was a shadow, vague and tall. It was a man watching his daughter doing what he loved the most- create magic with music.

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sofiaaaa36 · 1 year ago

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promise me!🧡

(BACKSTORY/PT. 1)

summary: being one of the best hunters in nevarro's bounty guild, you reminisce about your heavily-adventurous, and boundless past on getting to where you are today. walking into work, you dont expect what your next commission is but, it involves an "old friend" or how your boss says it, "buddy".

warnings: f!reader, tiny swearing, a pinch of violence, FYI: this is just the start, also it won't be a full fanfic for each episode. i just wanna write it as it is in my brain. THATS ALL🫶🤭

nevarro was your home. even though the rocky and volcanic planet wasn't anything comfortable, you never had anywhere else to go.

when you were too young to remember, your father was a ruler of a mandalorian clan on one of the two moons of the planet mandalore. your guardians told you of how powerful your father was. apparently, your mother, surprisingly wasnt mandalorian. you were told that her lesson was that anybody could love anyone, no matter how different you are from them.

when the horrific purge started, it affected your home aswell. you would never forget the day you walked outside to see the streets filled with laying bodies, the sounds of the bright explosions echoing throughout the quiet city, and the smell of smoke surrounding you. it was tragic. at such a incredibly young age, you had lost your innocence.

you were told from your guardians, that your parent's last wish was for you to escape safely, and to become great just like them. survivors of the purge brought you to the far planet of nevarro. there, they granted your mother and father's wish. with their best efforts, they raised you to have traits like being intelligent, resourceful, and compassionate.

now being compassionate meant you cared for every little thing. you would fawn over any creature, big or small. you loved to see babies and toddlers. whenever you were around one, it would always stop crying or, it would look up at you in wonder. if you saw someone having a bad day, you felt that too. being able to read emotions came in handy, especially with your job right now.

your guardians also trained you in the way of weapons. from the long, harsh weeks of you getting knocked out during training in hand combat, to finally beating your "teacher" in a sparring match using a staff. talk about improvement!

as you were getting closer to the age of saying the mandalorian creed, you had mixed feelings about it. on one side, you felt pressure on having to wear the helmet since your family was mandalorian royalty. surely you'd carry on the tradition.. right? not really.. another side of you didn't want to put it on. the fact that the armor would have to stay on for the rest of your life scared you. the thought of not being able to eat or drink infront of anyone, not having your first "real" kiss, and not seeing the world in all of its true features made you uncertain about this whole thing. also even more reasons like, not showing your real emotions to the world, not being able to show your face for long amounts of time to your own future children and husband, and to top it all off, you hated the feeling of being "trapped".

of course you talked to your guardians about this and they listened to everything you said. they gave you the most thoughtful answer stating that it was up to you, the creed was made for those who wanted to walk the way. and what they said lastly, really stood out to you. your mother's lesson: she wasnt mandalorian and she still married your father. you can be completely different than others, and still be a part of their lives.

you took their advice and never swore the creed. even-though there was always guilt and shame, you assured yourself with the thought of your mother.

getting to the age of independence, you joined the bounty guild. you definitely had what it takes, and you wanted those credits! the first day you got there, the stuffy cantina was filled with many people who seemed like they were judging you. they whispered to eachother nasty rumors on your abilities, and how you got here. it was an extremely miserable tough crowd..

lets just say you put a couple of those people in their place. just a few days after you joined the guild, you were just picking out one of the many bounty pucks. looking at the holograms, suddenly, you sensed someone was behind you. you were tapped on the shoulder by a twi'lek man, that looked like he had a little bit too much to drink, who was surrounded by an intimidating tall group of 4 others.

now facing you, the man started speaking, his words being slurred, "arent you.. wait a minute..! you're a pretty lady, why'd you be in this business? i think i know somethin' else you'd be good at.." he said smiling dumbly. "you girls always end up in here and we end up having to shoo you away.." "excuse me!?" you were completely shocked with your mouth wide open. "im capable of being a hunter, thank you, and no, im not gonna' sell my body!" you replied defensive, and still a little taken back from his comments. you then decided that you didn't want to deal with his drunken behavior. so, you quickly moved back. unexpectedly, you felt a hand tightening its grip around your arm. one of the man's friends in his group was holding onto you. the tall man, surpise-surprise, was also drunk. he had a certain accent and started to announce to his friends, "ha! this one's feisty, aint she!? sorry sweetie, its not too common for a lady like you to come n' this guild and think she rules the place. its not gonna happen' again, so why dont we take you back outside ay?"

a slight panic and confusion filled you, who the hell did they think they were?!before he could finish what he was saying, you pushed the mans arm to where it could be fractured. yelling, the man rapidly held onto his broken arm.

the group stopped laughing and all of them came running to you. ducking, and blocking, you managed to not get hit by their horrible aim. you punched one of them in the nose, another guy grabbed the collar of your shirt to which you grabbed his hands, pushed them down, and kneed him in his lower torso. one by one you knocked them all out. slight blood was showing on your knuckles where you punched one of them in the nose. with all of them down, you quickly fixed the messy strands of hair on your face while going back to pick up the bounty puck.

after collecting yourself from what just happened, you carefully walked over and around the men dizzily getting up. as you were walking out, you noticed eyes beaming on you. anxiety was forming as you passed through the cantina with everyone staring. it felt like all the noise was becoming inaudible and you felt like you were being pressured underneath water.

right as you were about to walk outside, you passed someone just a little bit taller then you, in a gray, shiny, mandalorian helmet with beat-down armour.

his modulated voice sounded young, he probably was around your age, about 17 or 18. "hey, nice fighting.." he said to you while nodding his head up. still extremely embarrassed and now flustered, you responded with a quiet, "oh! thanks.." you gave him a slight smile and walked outside. thank the maker that was over. you decided to not think about what just happened and decided to focus on the outside. the ashy smell of outdoors, and the sandy, beige buildings clustering eachother, welcomed you back. you could finally breathe.

that was years ago. soon after that happened, you proved with several tasks that you were one of the guild's most respected hunters along with some others, including mando, the same person who complimented you a long time ago.

even though you and mando never talked after that, you guys sure as hell respected each other. almost enough to work together..

it was a regular day. before walking into the guild, you wanted to take another route. it was a more beautiful day than usual, the sky was a sunny, beautiful blue instead of the normal gloomy, cloudy, gray sky. you even felt a warm breeze passing by you. you felt the sun beaming on your freckled face!

walking through the heavily-populated bazaar, you saw all of the many orange, red, and yellow spices displayed on the shaded stands. many native fruits hanged on strings above you. upon walking some more, you spotted a stand with many different colored bandanas and cloths.

the lady selling them asked you, smiling, "would you be interested in buying any? they're great for the riding through the desert! or you could buy the cloths to clean or polish that blaster of yours!" you looked down on your slightly stained gun, and you decided you should probably take some. you responded politely, "sure, i'll take two. a long cloth, and just a regular one. "any particular color?" "i'm fine with anything." "alright then, that'll be ten credits!" you took out your tiny black pouch and passed her the credits. she passes you the cloths. "have a great day." "thanks! you too."

you look at the cloths. she gave you a normal sized orange one, and a small blanket-like teal-green cloth. you look down on them, you would definitely put these to good use.

now as you were getting closer to the guild, all of the buildings surrounding you became more wore down, abandoned, and empty.

you went inside the dimly lit bar, and there was an extreme change in lighting. walking around, karga suddenly approached you seeming in a hurry. his face seemed urgent. also he rarely talks to you, whats going on?

"y/l/n! i need to talk to you. come on!" he whispered. he held your arm while guiding you to an empty table. "what happened?" "listen, i sent your buddy mando on a pretty difficult bounty." he paused to gather his words. "okay?.. congratulations?" "no! not congratulations! all the people i sent to that bounty havent came back. they've all died, and i can't afford letting our best hunter die too!" you stared at him blankly. "so.. you want me to make sure he doesnt get lost?" "y/n come on this is serious. just make sure he end up alive and gets the bounty. your the only one he likes around here, so im sure he'll accept your help." your eyes widened a bit and a flustered heat ran through you after he said you were the only he liked in the guild. was he trying to bribe you into doing this mission, or was he telling the truth? anyways, getting the thoughts out of your head, you responded, "okay, wait- what do i get out of this? whats my pay?" he pulls out a tracking device. "its my highest paying bounty, im sure you'll be fine splitting it up. besides, i'd say your doing pretty well in terms of money. you have the time." he says smugly. your pretty hesitant about this, you think about it for about a minute. "well i dont have all day!" he rushes you for an answer. "fine, i'll do it!" "alright. now theres no puck but all i can tell you from what i've heard is that the bounty is on the planet arvala-7, and it's fifty years old." he slides you the tracking fob across the smooth table. "you'll use this to track it. do not tell a soul about this. now, im sure you'll catch mando quickly, its a small planet. just work with him, bring back the bounty together, and then you go separate ways. got it?" he pulls out his hand to shake yours. you said smiling, "dont worry, i'll get him back." you shake his hand back.

now getting up to leave for your new mission, you picked up the device and walked out. nervousness filled you. sure, the bounty would be difficult- but other questions popped up. like, would he be annoyed that you have to "forcefully" stay by him? would he be upset that he had to split the bounty with you even though it was his? but, somewhat on the bright-side, you had different thoughts like: could you talk to eachother about your mandalorian roots? what did mando's voice sound like now? how would he treat you since you were his "favorite"? wait those last two ones are a little bit off... you get the point though! you were scared shitless on your partner, and not the mission?!

uh.. anyways! getting back to your place, you were packing your things and bringing it to your one seated starfighter left in an open space. it may not be the best ship, but it got you to point a, to point b. it still held a special place in your heart. why? because it was the first ship you bought with your own earned credits.

with everything settled and strapped in, you got inside the seat and closed the hardtop of the ship. turning on the starfighter, you pressed in the coordinates for the supposed planet where the bounty was.

pulling on the control lever, you were getting higher and higher off the ground. once the coast was clear, you tugged hard on the lever to make it to the further to the atmosphere. finding a way to make it hyperspace, you switched on more controls. then, you pulled up on another lever, forcing you down on your seat. it took you to an abyss of swirling clouds made up of all shades of blue.

whenever you went to hyperspace, you always thought that this part was the "calm before the storm" but now you werent so sure about it!

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