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anundyingfidelity · 1 year ago

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FOR ALL TIME, ALWAYS – Loki x female reader

Summary: Loki escapes the TVA for a moment. Desperate and brokenhearted, he looks for you, his wife, in the Sacred Timeline. Even if you saw him die ten years ago.

Word count: 3.9k.

Warnings: LOTS of angst, some fluff, spoilers of Loki series in general. Language. Maybe I'm not getting how the branches work oops. This is right after the end of 2x02 and before 2x03. My English is also a warning, just in case.

Notes: while looking on the tags I checked a post of someone asking for a TVA Loki fic where he finds the reader but her Loki died in IW (not canon in my head btw). So I wrote it because is such a great idea, but I can't find the original post... ;-; anyway hope you like this!

☕ if you like my writing, support me with a ko-fi !

GEN MASTERLIST!

It's harder to stay...

Wasn't this situation hard enough? Sylvie was right. She had a point. But Loki wanted to do the right thing. Maybe he would find a chance... Again, right? Probably he would make the proper decisions this time.

The TVA was already fucked up, and with it, the thousands of timelines and lives in danger within them. Sometimes, it looked like it didn't matter. In the end, they were trying to fix something that was already broken.

Loki let out a deep breath he didn't realise was holding and walked to talk directly to his partner, Mobius.

"I need a favor," Loki mumbled, so the grey-haired man would be the only person to hear his voice.

Mobius met his eyes. He knew that gaze, it meant he was up to something. "What kind of favor?"

The god motioned Mobius to step away from the newly acknowledged variants and far away from what B-15 was witnessing. The branches were pruned from the whole existence; thousands and millions of lifes lost to the void in just the blink of an eye. Loki knew he had to do something before it got worst. Something for himself.

"I need to go the Sacred Timeline," Loki announced.

"Are you nuts?" Mobius scolded, in the same low voice tone Loki had used.

"Is just- listen, it's something I have to do. I really need to go back there. Need to see someone, make sure everything is okay," Loki insisted.

During all the times Loki showed he was desperate, Mobius was sure this was the peak of all of them. He wasn't explaning more than necessary, he looked serious, and his voice was crisp. Loki knew what he wanted at that moment. Mobius sighed, his hands finding the pockets of his pants, unsure of Loki's request.

"So it's personal..."

"A little, yeah," Loki nodded.

"Promise it'll be quick," Mobius said, taking off the TemPad from his pocket and his hand stopped in the air before the object could lay in the god's grip. "Don't make me regret this."

"I won't."

2029, Sacred Timeline

When Loki arrived to his destination, the nerves got the best from him. New York looked no different from the last time he was there. Shifting his usual clothes he wore at the TVA, he chose a plain suit to go undercover, or at least decided he would try to, considering he was a criminal once in Midgard.

But as he walked through the halls of the familiar building he met decades ago, he didn't really care. He longed for something else. Better say, someone. And it was you.

You, who met him in the past right after Thor's banishment, and even helped him to find the Teseract, only to give up to SHIELD and those idiots that people called 'The Avengers'. Of course his heart hurted for a long time, but Loki tried to deny the feelings blooming inside and instead, he just decided to walk away from you, even if that meant hurting you. It was the best.

At least that was what he believed until he checked further his file; the file that Mobius had prepared for him. His life. Even after what he did to your people and planet, you still held no grudges. And Thor was good enough to seek for yours and the sorcerer's, Stephen Strange, help once Hela appeared in their lives.

Loki would never forget the loving look in your beautiful eyes when you saw him again, after years of parting ways. He really paid attention to you while watching his file, and he found there was only love, protection, and care in you. All for him. Someone who didn't deserve it, he thought.

He felt grateful at least he had the pleasure to enjoy happiness for a moment. Even if that meant Asgard was destroyed. Loki already lost his mother, his father, and he almost lost his brother. He couldn't stand losing you either. The simple idea of living without you - even if he didn't know you further than your Loki did - was unbearable pain.

So while in the ship on the way to Midgard with the asgardians and survivors of the Ragnarok, you held a cozy, small wedding when he asked you to marry him. This was one of the parts Loki would replay again and again from his file, with disbelief that he was actually happy and joyful, enjoying a good time with you, his brother, and all the asgardians who survived. Loki felt full of hope after your wedding, thinking fate had better things to come with you as an oficial part of his life.

Unfortunately, it didn't last long, thanks to the Mad Titan. As his steps got near your door, the memory of his brother and your figure mourning on his lifeless body appeared on his mind. It was an image he couldn't erase that easily. Probably, he would never forget that was his original destiny all the way. That was meant to be. And for now, he could not change it.

Loki stopped outside your apartment. He took a deep breath and raised his shaking hand to reach the doorbell. He waited for a moment, not knowing if seconds or minutes went by, it felt eternal. Until the door opened and he saw you.

The bright smile you had on your lips faded away. Your eyes flooded with tears, your forehead was furrowed, and still, Loki thought you were the most beautiful creature in all the Nine Realms.

"Hi..." Loki barely whispered, his eyes were glossy and a single tear also ran down his pale cheek.

You were clearly in shock. You wanted to get closer and finally touch him, to feel him physically. But even if you wanted to move to take his hand to confirm it wasn't a trick of your ruined mind, your body was stiff and your feet were glued to the ground.

"Is this an illusion?" you trembled.

All Loki could do was shaking his head, before muttering. "No..."

"Loki, I saw you die..."

Tears ran down your face, denying to yourself that this was real. That this was really happening to you. And your mind started to wonder all the possible scenarios and reasons on why him, the god of mischief, the only person you loved dearly with all your mind, body and soul, was standing right in front of your door even if he was gone for you... Long gone now. And that couldn't be undone.

"I know you did, my love."

You tried to smile, even a little bit, as he pronounced those words so dearly. Loki came closer to your figure, carefully placing a trembling hand on your cheek, feeling the tears flowing on your skin. You leaned into his touch, with a simpering smile. Such was the effect you had on him, that a silly smile he also had on his lips.

And you realized Loki was so real... His touch, his heat, his smile, his scent, the way he would hold you... Everything about him was exactly as you remembered. You felt his lips brushing softly against yours, gentle and hesitant, and instantly, you melted into a slow kiss, sure knowing that Loki would taste the salt of your tears running down your face. Leaning in closer as the space between would allow you, you savoured each second your breaths allowed, longing to remain right there for eternity. For all time. Always.

"But now I am here... and I can explain," he whispered once you separated your lips from his in the sweetest way.

You let out a soft chuckle. "Mind to enlighten me, oh, god of mischief?"

Finally you guided him inside your apartment. That old apartment Loki saw his other self visiting a couple of times before you were something. It still had your vibe around it and he loved it. He felt like he was at home after a very long time. Once you closed the door, his arms wrapped around your figure, and you let yourself cry, pressing against his chest and with a tight grip of your hands on his coat.

"You don't have any idea of how much I have missed you all these years," you sobbed and his heart shrank on his chest. "I kept wishing every night and every day to be me instead of you."

"My love," he said softly, separating a little and cupping your cheeks with his warm hands. His eyes were red now because of the tears he was holding back again. "Don't say that... It was supposed to happen."

"What?" you mumbled.

Your hands found his wrists and you pulled his palms away from your cheeks. However you kept the contact with him, you just needed to touch him, to feel he was in the flesh. He was alive right now, wasn't he?

"Look, I am not your Loki. I know what you did, what the Avengers did after Thanos-" his voice broke just a bit but he continued. "I know everything. I just couldn't resist knowing there was someone for me, out there in the Nine Realms, capable to love me for who I am," Loki explained as he watched your face. Was it disappointment? Confusion? He didn't know, but he had to tell you the truth.

Your voice came out as a barely audible whisper. "So... you are saying... you're another Loki? Another him?"

He nodded softly. "I am." Loki thought for a moment on how to explain everything, but he just went for what his heart felt it was right. "It's a little complicated. I did something that wasn't supposed to be, and perhaps will sound like I'm insane, but thanks to that I am kind of trapped in time. With an organization that is not what everyone thought it was, hence a multiverse was created. Sponsored by another me, by the way. You are in what is called the Sacred Timeline, where things flow as how they were supposed to since forever. And I just needed to see you after I found out you were the love of my life."

You took a moment to understand everything he said, wishing that his fate would have been different from what originally happened. Loki gave his best, even in the last worst moments, he was changing for good. For you. For Thor... It wasn't fair.

"Your death was supposed to be then?"

"Yes, it was."

"Oh, Loki," you cried. "You know what, I don't care what's happened. I'm just- I feel happy seeing you here... Please tell me everything you've been through. I want to hear your voice again, to know you're with me right now, to feel you near... I'm not crazy, am I?" you chuckled between tears and Loki curved his lips in a smile, wiping your tears from your face with his thumbs.

Loki granted your wish and explained everything, answering every question you had about the lies of the TVA; the files he found out were his whole life; about Sylvie, Mobius and his variants. He spilled all you wanted to hear, asking like a child, until you understood what was happening. You noticed he truly had changed, just like your Loki did when he reunited with Thor before the Ragnarok took over Asgard. It was a bittersweet feeling however, thinking how much they they seemed to each other. They were the same person after all, but this Loki didn't had the chance to continue his path as it was supposed to.

Taking his hand into yours, you leaned towards him and laid down your head on his shoulder while you both sat comfortable in the couch, just enjoying each others company. Your eyes were dry at this point after crying for what it felt were hours, but his voice helped to soothe you enough.

"I'm glad knowing you have someone like Mobius by your side," you said after a quiet moment. "He sounds like a very good friend," you looked at him, waiting for an answer. "Because that's what he is to you, right?"

"He is a great friend, I'm not alone if that is what is troubling you," Loki affirmed.

You let out a sigh. "That is totally a relief to me."

Loki chuckled softly, leaning to leave a kiss on your hair. "Now you've heard everything about me, would I hear something from you?"

"I'm just a mortal, Loki," you smiled. "Doing the normal shit, not the superhero stuff anymore. I am hating my pretty much normal office job every day; I feed the birds when I go outside at the park, also thinking about adopting a cat or a dog... Maybe a dog."

"Or you could do both."

"Yeah, I might. But my place isn't that big for pets. Sometimes I feel like I'm too alone, very much alone... I would love to have a big farm, or a cabin in the mountains with lots of plants, pets and animals to take care of." The idea did sound good for Loki. Hopefuly you could find peace that way. "Do you remember Pepper?" you said, straighting up on the couch to look at him. He nodded. "Well, after Tony died I still visit her and their daughter, Morgan. She is ten years old, could you believe it?" Loki noticed the sorrow and pain you still carried after all those years of losing your friends, your people... "And I've been missing you and mourning you for ten years as well."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, Loki."

"Do whatever is the best for you, my dear... I would have loved to be here with you now, as the Loki from the Sacred Timeline."

You smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Well, either way, you're here now. It's all that matters to me."

Once again, you shared a loving kiss and took his hand to walk to the kitchen, asking him to take a seat in your breakfast bar, glad he decided to search for you in one of your free days. Otherwise, you would have surely missed his visit. But he was looking for you. Probably Loki would have found you anywhere at this point.

You talked some more while you had some tea and ate some cookies that you saved for special days on the shelfs. The afternoon was pleasant, and this was your turn to speak. Loki, coat long gone, was catching up with you and he asked every single thing about your life now. He smiled more than ever, laughed more than you have ever seen, and it was certainly something you could get used to from now on. Knowing you never continued your life with another person made his heart ache though. However, Loki was no one to blame. He would have done the same thing. No other was like you, no one would have replaced you.

"It's my decision," you finally said, reading his face like an open book. "I have loved you, I love you now and I will love you forever."

He took your hand, lacing your fingers with his. "I know..."

"The day we married you gave me a ring. I always have it with me, today I'm not working, but I use this necklace with your ring," you searched for the necklace hiding inside your shirt and taking it off, you showed him the precious jewel hanging on a fine golden chain. The ring he recognized once was from his mother. "I want you to have it."

"No,I can't-"

"But this is what I want. I know I would have to forget, because you will make me forget about this. About you, coming here, risking everything just to see me. So please, take it."

Loki knew you had made a decision, but then if he left, taking your memories away about this day, what was left for you? He had nothing, and it was okay. He would still know he came to the Sacred Timeline; that he kissed you, that you shared a moment together, that you still loved him. But you will have none of that. And you, as human as you were, would die without the memories and without the ring. You would have nothing and he was sure couldn't bear it.

"Perhaps I can have something else to remember you, I want you to keep this ring as a promise," he closed your hand around the necklace. "My promise that I still love you and I will do it. Forever."

And you sighed, taking the necklace back with a smile. Always so stubborn. "Give me a moment."

Loki saw you leave the kitchen for some minutes. While he was alone, he noticed the sunset through the windows, as it was almost ending to welcome the dark sky around the city. He knew he had to go soon. As much as he didn't want to and the simple thought of runing away was starting to hurt him deep inside.

When you arrived, you stood by his seat on the breakfast bar, putting a small photograph, perfect for a passport, on the surface. It was all in black and white, and you looked what you thought it was nice. Loki took it between his hands, lovingly and with a proud smile on his face.

"I used that when I was taking my Master's degree. Looks pretty decent," you joked.

Loki laughed, tears right at the corner of his eyes. "It's more than that. It's perfect."

His smile faded, knowing this meant he had to leave you again. Loki wasn't supposed to have a happy ending, was he? How he wished to stay there by your side.

You kissed his cheek as a sort of goodbye and comfort at the same time, noticing the sudden change on his face and whispered softly. "So you don't search for me on those files."

"Thank you, love."

Loki got on his feet to put his coat on, like some sort of mental preparation before leaving your apartment and the Sacred Timeline. He saved your photograph on his pocket securely along with Mobius' TemPad, pretending to be strong and swallowing all the pain he was feeling right at that moment. You took his hand, lacing your fingers together one last time and walked until you stood there, in the middle of your living room. He looked at you with loving eyes, trying to save your face and your figure before returning to where he was supposed to be now. And it seemed like time had stopped, as everything Loki could see and feel was you and only you.

"I guess is time now," you began, interrupting his mind.

"I guess it is," Loki nodded, expecting an answer from you. Anything. But it never came. You were also trying to save the moment as much as you could.

So he cupped your cheeks, feeling for the last time your warm, soft skin against his palms. He didn't want to talk, because if he would have said something, it meant you were really saying goodbye forever. What Loki didn't know is that you felt the same thing.

Was there something good to say to your lover, whose destiny was just to bring the best from other people with his cruelty and chaos? To the man who had learn to make things better and, in the end, died trying to protect his people and his wife? Was there anything out there that would bring the god of mischief the happiness and love you always knew he deserved? With these branches and multiverse thing, you hoped deep in your heart there was a universe where he found what he longed for so long. This was just one of many of them. Probably he was happy and living in peace in some others.

"I love you, Loki," you mumbled. He caressed your skin with his thumbs and wiped the small tears that were running on your cheeks.

"I love you too."

Loki leaned to kiss you one last time. You welcomed the kiss with shut eyes, savouring his lips and the taste of your tears, mixing now with his own.

The pain started to bloom; every heartbeat felt like a sledgehammer pounding against his chest. He was not ready to let you go, so this was all he could do. The seidr flowed from his fingers, the green lights covering your body with the help of the spell he casted for you was made to protect you from anything that could get out of hand in the Sacred Timeline, particularly from his own hands, the hands of the TVA, or any other danger that could chase you. Because if something would happen to you due to his stubborn decision, Loki knew he wouldn't forgive himself. What he was sure about though, was that he would still look for you until the end of time.

So when the kiss ended, you fell asleep in seconds. He had to take your sleeping figure with his arms to your bedroom, where he carefully laid you down on the bed. Making sure you were comfortable in your sleep, fixing the pillows and the blankets, Loki remained there, just to take in the serenity emanating from you. It was something you had, the ease and calm your aura projected to everyone in the room. This was the last thing Loki wanted to save from you.

He kissed your forehead and dried the tears on your face before standing up. Once you were to wake up in some hours, you would not be able to know everything was real. Loki made sure you thought it was a dream. So that is what you would have in your head. Something you wished for so long that will only be nothing but thoughts, scenes and emotions that felt absolutely true. As real as life could be.

Loki took the TemPad and opened the timedoor to go back to the TVA, where he knew Mobius would be waiting already since he left for hours. Without looking back to your room, he stepped in and forced to compose himself just in case he would bump into someone else. He sighed, observing through the halls of the headquaters as he made his way back to the room that was assigned to him.

At his door, a worried Mobius was already waiting for him, walking in circles.

"God, Loki I thought you were gone for a second," the analyst breathed out. Loki just handed the TemPad and Mobius took it back. He noticed his weary demeanor and teary eyes. "Thank you. Sorry I doubted you for a second."

"It's fine," Loki shrugged it off, looking for something on his pocket. The photograph slipped from his fingers and fell down to the floor. Mobius was quick enough to pick it up for him, but as he gave it back to his owner he observed it thoroughly.

"So this was the personal thing you did," Mobius said, looking the photograph resting on Loki's hand. He remembered that face from his files.

"Yeah... I guess all set now," Loki sighed.

"Good, I hope you're ready for another trip to the Sacred Timeline." Mobius turned to walk away, deciding it was better to give him some time, but he turned back to Loki before doing so. "And if you're feeling like talking about this any day, only between us, just let me know."

And with that, he walked away. Loki smiled, standing alone outside his door.

You were right. Mobius was a good friend.

#loki x reader #loki x female reader #tva loki x reader #tva loki x female reader #tva!loki x reader #loki imagines #loki angst #loki laufesyon x reader #loki series fanfiction #loki season 2 #mcu loki x reader #mcu loki #loki series

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im-not-buying-it-ether · 6 months ago

Note

It's always about the Batfamily, or the Superfamily adopting Billy or Diana

BUT WHAT ABOUT BARRY? HAL?? WHAT ABOUT EVEN OLIVER OR ARTHUR?

we need to think outside the box people!

Okay, delving into it (LEAP)

So, Billy is just more put together than them, canonically when he isn’t straight up homeless he has his own job and apartment. Realistically with Hal, downgrade, with Barry idk bc I keep getting him and Wally mixed up so I don’t feel confident commenting there

For the vibes and fun?

Ollie and Dinah (package deal to me) rolling up with Billy makes me very happy. Ollie and Billy could talk for hours (read; days) on saying screw authority and Dinah letting Billy tag along for one of her gigs as a singer during which Billy flexes his guitar skills (canon thing) and delights one night at getting to play with his new mom. He absolutely does a crowd surf if they’re hyped enough, it’s the best night of his life.

Also, I headcanon Billy as doing a lot of really thoughtful magic gifts so he gets Dinah some fancy tea sirens or other vocal magical creatures use to help with their throats to help with hers cause of the strain her powers can cause, so Billy is just really sweet to her like that too.

Arthur speaks up about wanting to adopt his coworker and Billy’s like “I can’t breathe underwater tho…” so Arthur and Diana commission another set of Water Breathing jewelry from Hephaestus (Diana has a pair of earring for underwater visits) so Billy gets a sweet pair of earrings and undergoes a quick skin treatment to not constantly prune up in his new home. He’s gets along great with his new royal family, learns a lot of Atlantian magic because look me in the eyes and tell me this kid isn’t another weird “I love magical worlds” nerd who absorbs every magic he can get his hands on as Champion, loves every creature he comes across, and delights at having two parents again! Plus Tawny joins by turning into a catfish or something similarly appropriate bc shapeshifter Tawny agenda must be upheld.

#Billy is some canons (ones I really like) is more put together than these people half the time #and kudos to him on that #he passes adulting with an A- while the others skate by with C-‘s or F’s #ask me anything #asks #billy batson #shazam #arthur curry #aquaman #hal jordan #green lantern #oliver queen #green arrow #the flash #Barry Allen

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writersneedreblogs · 11 months ago

Note

okay so I'm a broke bitch who's trying to recover from a shopping addiction so I'm avoiding mobile games altogether... BUT. can you tell me pls what actually happens in zaynes third anecdote?? I've googled endlessly and can't find anything, so I'm living vicariously through everyone posting about here on Tumblr. if u could tell me what that anecdote is about (tagging spoilers obviously) I would be eternally grateful!!

Okay I gotchu it’s gonna be shit but I’ll do the best I can

ENTIRE ANECTDOTE 3 SPOILERS VERY LONG

It starts in the pov of a boy named Georgie who was getting attacked by a wanderer that wore human clothes, his mother pushes him out the way of an attack and takes it instead. Suddenly a figure in black emerges and uses an ice evol to kill the creature after it let go of the mother and it dissipates leaving blue fragments. Georgie asks if the figure is the Grim Reaper but doesn’t get a response and the figure leaves after I’m assuming giving a once over on the mother and son

Georgie stalks Zayne afterwards on where he goes (mostly to a store to buy chocolate) so he could approach him, eventually he does and points out that he buys chocolate every day and offers zayne a jar of wrapped chocolate in exchange of finding the person who killed his mother. Zane refuses coldly saying that he should be asking the police

Next part is in the pov of a detective called Ivan who has been tracking down a serial killer they dubbed Dawnbreaker (the name of one of Zaynes battle options) who has left nothing behind at the crime scene except for blue fragments, the victims have no connection to each other except for the blue fragments which reminds him of a wanderers protocore. He’s puzzled on why they leave a similar energy of a wanderer behind and why the killer was targeting people with it so he used an AI to predict who would be next.

It then cuts to him arriving at the scene of dawn breaker attacking his next victim who is an elderly man. Suddenly the old man attacks and transforms into a wanderer injuring dawnbreaker but is immediately killed in response and leaves a blue fragment behind Ivan tries to shoot dawnbreaker but is pinned by ice and is unable to call for back up, mumbling to himself that the old man wasn’t human. Dawnbreaker then leaves and later Ivan discovers that the latest Jane doe was the mother of Georgie who has gone missing from an orphanage he was taken to, leading Ivan to believe that it will lead him to dawnbreaker

We cut to Zayne now and he sees Georgie at his apartment and remarks that he had noticed the same jar of chocolate placed by his door. Zayne ignores it and leaves his apartment, when he returns Georgie is asleep by his door with the jar and is mumbling mom in his sleep.

Georgie wakes up to Zayne crouched by him opening the jar and asking tentatively if he will help him. Zayne says nothing and opens the door to his apartment but lets Georgie come inside.

Georgie notices that the room lacks humanity to the point where the only sign of it is cracked and aged walls, he then spots a hologram of a very old doctor tv show that Zayne is completely engrossed in. Georgie criticises the show and Zayne gets up off the sofa towards Georgie which makes Georgie think he’s made him angry but Zayne only grabs the jar and starts eating from it.

Georgie is puzzled by him treating it as his dinner and asks what he usually eats and is shown that Zaynes fridge only has bottles of nutrient solutions and Georgie drinks it out of hunger, he questions if the drink and lack of meal make Zayne human.

Georgie falls asleep on the sofa and wakes up to Zayne tending to a budding jasmine he kept in his room, placing it on the window sill to get sunlight and watering it and pruning it. Georgie is stunned with the soft glow in Zaynes eyes and asks him about the plant and if someone important gave it to him but gets no response, he gets frustrated with this and gestures to the jar in that Zayne accepted it so he must now help with his mother.

Zayne stops tending to the flower and gets dressed in his dubbed grim reaper clothes, Georgie sees that his bedroom has no other furniture in it except for the wardrobe. Next to the bed is a screen showing a lot of moving green dots but gets no response when he asks about it.

Zayne and Georgie leave and go to a convenience store where Zayne buys a soda bottle and a jar of chocolates which he gives to Georgie, they leave and Zayne pours the bottle out and freezes it into a popsicle. He then follows Zayne to an abandoned plaza and sees him gazing at a patch of jasmines, Zayne then walks to a bench that faces the flowers and Georgie realises the bench is clean, he then asks if he comes here often and gets no response.

Zayne then pulls out a book from his pocket and Georgie reads out loud that it’s a Linkon city travel guide and that he’s marked several locations on it like museums, ski resorts, parks, restaurants and Linkon City’s hospital. He asks why he’s interested in an old book on an old city and Zayne stares at the jasmine and remarks that he often dreams of the place with a briefly different look on his face

The night before, Zayne dreamt that he and a girl bought snacks and froze a soda into a popsicle, he’s been getting dreams like this almost every night. In those dreams he lives out a surgeons life with this girl and hes had those dreams since he was 12 and that they happen in no order. At 12 years old he knew he would meet the girl when he was 27 and he’s thinking the doctor is him but then rather says that he wants to become the person loved by the girl in his dreams. He records as much as he can through the guides because he wants to experience them and have them consume him.

We come back to Zayne stepping out of a shower and looking at his scar ridden body, he gets dressed and see Georgie asleep on the couch, he covers the boy in a blanket and watches the doctor tv show again. Georgie wakes from a nightmare about a monster escaping through his chest and asks of what his mom said about dreams being the opposite of reality is true (to the man desperately wanting his dreams about the girl to come true)

Zayne changes the channel to a story about a man who dreamt that he was a butterfly and woke up with the same feeling and he couldn’t tell if he dreamt about being a butterfly or the butterfly dreamt about him. Georgie is confused but wonders if he’s in a monsters dream, he then asks about who Zayne is when he dreams about Linkon city. Zayne switches back to the medical show in response and he correctly guesses that he dreams of being a doctor which Zayne nods to.

Zayne looks at the boy and notices a small bump under his eye and starts to conjur up an ice blade behind his back. Georgie says he understands that Zayne probably doesn’t want to help him find the killer but asks to celebrate his 12th birthday tomorrow with him and he will leave, the ice blade melts away. Zayne doesn’t respond and goes to his bedroom where he spots a red dot amongst the green ones and says good night to Georgie.

The next day Zayne takes care of the jasmine he has and takes Georgie to a dessert place and orders a macaron, stating that he dreamt of eating it along with another person. Georgie asks if the doctor dreamt of Zayne celebrating his birthday and Zayne says maybe. Georgie is given a birthday cake and Georgie is very happy, stating that the only other person who celebrated was his mother. When Georgie makes a wish before blowing out the candles there’s a blue glow under his skin, he eats the cake and asks Zayne when his birthday is and Zayne says he stopped celebrating his birthday after he turned 12

When Zayne turned 12 on his birthday, his adoptive father transformed into a wanderer and attacked him and his adoptive mother, after his mother died he killed his father in self defense with his evol and that was his first kill. He stopped celebrating his birthday since. Later that night he dreamt of the doctor treating a girl and it became his only solace.

Georgie says he will give Zayne all different kinds of chocolate on his birthday and gazes at the sunset, he remarks how pretty it is and how when he used to live with his mother in the dorm it didn’t have windows. Zayne asks “what if you look at the sunset and feel nothing at all” and Georgie responds with “what’s the difference between that and being dead? Mom used to say that dying with clarity is better than living like a corpse”

All of a sudden dozens of police officers enter the place and surround them and Detective Ivan walks in saying “we can negotiate as long as you let the child go” Georgie argues that they’re just celebrating his birthday and Ivan states that Zayne is the one who killed his mother, Zayne says nothing.

Ivan positions the boy behind him but when he turns to look at Georgie he is no longer human and a tendril erupts from the bump under his eye, hooking into Ivan’s arm. Zayne pierces an ice shard through Georgies chest and he goes down, looking up at Zayne through tears and asking if the monster woke up, Zayne gently closes the boys eyes as he fades.

Afterwards Zayne is seen with two tombstones one big and one small, he places a jar of chocolates at the smaller one. He remembers the woman buried here and that she had approached him asking him to kill as she was turning into a wanderer and did not want to harm her son

He is then joined by the detective who has flowers for the graves and asks if Zayne always knew the child would turn so he kept him by his side. Ivan states he will stop investigating dawnbreaker and destroy the records so no one will know of him. Zayne states that he hopes that this will be their last meeting and Ivan asks for Zayne to kill him the next time they meet as that would probably mean he was a wanderer.

It ends with Zayne dreaming again and this time he is celebrating his birthday with the girl who says that she will always be by his side when it’s his birthday. Zayne couldn’t resist the urge to caress her cheek and spots that they’re holding hands, he reaches over to touch her cheek but the girl is shocked and says that he isn’t Dr Zayne and asks who he was. Zayne wakes up and ponders on what it meant, wondering if the girls saw through time and noticed that he wasn’t the doctor. It ends with him looking at the jasmine flower he was taking care of.

#zayne love and deep space #love and deepspace #love and deep space #zayne love and deepspace #long post #shitty tldr of anecdote 3 #hopefully this is good enough anon #spoilers #love and deepspace spoilers #love and deep space spoilers

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clementgray · 2 months ago

Text

Clement's sitting on a chair by Clarette's bedside with his hand over the flickering pulse in her wrist, feeling it gradually strengthening, returning to baseline. She starts to stir.

"Hey. Good to see you looking lively. You need anything? Sip of blood?"

Clarette nods mutely. She looks anything but lively. Her dress is rumpled from struggling earlier. She manages to sip from the bag Clement hands her, but not without shaking. "What did you decide to do? Did you kill him for me?" That's the first thing she asks. Quietly.

Clement frowns. "I'm afraid not. Not in the habit of killing folks without so much as asking for their name first."

That's an attitude that doesn't get far in the world of kindred. But so be it. "His name is Rosaire. And Rosalee. Monsieur ou mademoiselle Rivest." She looks far away, almost nostalgic. Her initial frenzy, leading Clement to make use of to that sedative, has worn off and now she's just so tired. "Formerly Arsenault," she adds, almost inaudible now.

"Wait...you don't mean that shriveled prune in there is your divorcee?"

"I've had many weddings, Clement. Don't look so surprised. You're young. Your unlife will bring you comings and goings I'm sure." Another sip of blood, and then she puts her head in her hands, her black curls sweeping forward in a mass. "He has to die," she says, muffled.

Clement shifts forward, wondering if he heard her wrong. "Is that so? And just why is that? Don't tell me the divorce was that bad."

"There was no divorce, alright!? And it's because - because she can't - she can't walk around - "

"It's okay, take your time."

"She can't know what she knows, she can't...I tried to...she'll hate me, if - as long as she's alive she'll hate me for what I did, it'll be my Final Death for him to be here, I have to set this right, just fix it, fix it..."

"Oh my lord..." Clement did know her reputation - it wasn't difficult to learn about the long trail of dead childer in her wake. "He got away from you, then. Let me get this straight: you feel so bad for almost killing her that you have to kill her again."

"I - yes, that's precisely it, I couldn't have put it more succinctly myself." Clarette straightens up, wiping at her eyes, where resolve is swiftly taking hold.

He lets out a soft whistle. "Thaaaat's..." That's a mighty confused line of thinking. That's one of the more morbid things he's heard in his unlife, and he's heard quite a few. That's bad news, right there, ummm... "...that's okay, Mrs. Arsenault. I happen to think it's the other way around though - seems like killing her isn't so good for you. Put you into this state in the first place. But you know, if that's where you're at, you just sit with it for a minute." She's not answering, just shaking more and more. Clement's not sure his words are having the intended impact. "That's a lot of guilt you're carrying around. You must have really cared about this fellow once. Just deep breaths and let's think more about it after having a talk with this Rosaire, okay? We don't even know if she's mad at you yet." Though Clement has to admit, it would be fairly surprising if she wasn't.

Clarette's head shoots upright. "Having a talk?" Oh no. "A talk!? Is he awake??" And she's out the door to the exam room in a flurry of silk.

"Wait! Clarette!" He's after her.

✦ Tagging @sandymphna to keep u informed! ✦

#(ooc: long roleplay post)#oc clement gray #oc clarette arsenault

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oldmanffucker · 4 months ago

Note

hello ive gone thru the gloaming tag. i see u have watched n i raise my previous query if ur so inclined 👁️

(previous query was about how I, as a grief specialist, feel abt in the gloaming)

ok i wrote out an outline as i was watching it and haven't had the spoons to do more with it but here's that:

Mourning rituals - letting danny have a say, but also the bag pipes - a connection to the grandfather, to danny, and to his dad, who could remember and offer them for the funeral. To be a part of the creation of the service. “No lilies” “In the language of flowers, the Lily has long held the symbolic meaning of fertility, purity, and remembrance. They are a time-honored inclusion in memorial arrangements and are considered spiritually symbolic of the circle of life. Individual types of lily flowers and the respective colors of the petals may hold additional meanings.”

Father - head and dissonant griever. He grows tomatoes not because he likes them but bcause his wife does. He tends his tomatoes, covering them in the winter, tending to them gently throughout the year. Silently, lovingly. “I think he grows them for you” Realizes that his father does love in his own, quiet, unassuming way. Must be an earth sign.

“I dont see that much love, I dont even see that much connection.” “sticking it out, doing it together. Endurance.” [later, I miss paul… i guess he didn’t have enough endurance as it were.]

other moments of quiet care: “Come and see what I’ve done with your room,” “I seem to remember lamb’s his favorite” making him the reception dinner. “she’s one of the museum’s most valbuable assets,” we see him pruning the tomato plants and collecting the tomatoes in a basket to show off to his wife. He comes in after danny goes to sleep “did he talk to you?” “So you’ll talk to him about it?” “just tell carla and i give her the specifics of ti” “well i turned out all the lights” making things easier for her “tell me about your book” Dad sees she looks stressed while making dinner and takes action, trying to bring her to the places she mentioned. Gets up to try to catch danny when he needs to get up for his broncho treatment. We dont see the ramp getting installed, but i would assume that the dad put it there. “I thought I’d make it more homey in here” - he brings in his trophies, Trying to talk about what he’s interested in - tennis - but seems to be one step behind him on everything. The picture of him and Gary, the tennis, the trophy, the lamb. It’s not until the bag pipes at the end that he can seem to get it right. “I’ve got some donuts hidden in my desk,” him trying to let his son in, connecting, being more human.

Initially we see him dealing with the degenerating health of his son by constantly exercising - reminding himself that he is healthy, likely due to discomfort of being confronted with death. But also perhaps as a continuing bond to the danny he remembers.

Deep discomfort with not just death, but the visible death undertaken by his son. Adding the death he has a precarious relationship with to the already precarious relationship with his son, making undertaking a new relationship with his son may feel extra fraught or dangerous. “I dont think he likes being around me very much. He doesn’t know me. He doesnt have a clue as to who i am.”

Not everyone is built to be a hands on supporter in the intimate moments of dying. We see the dad cant engage until the son is gone. "Tell me what else my son liked," suggesting the bagpipes

Mother - was good with being understanding right out the gate - the embodiment of how to approach a dying loved one - she’s a masterclass in embracing that the death is real, and not speaking around that truth (while also never belaboring the point). “I have to write a will.” she says nothing “thank you.” “for what?” “For not saying there’s plenty of time for that or some similar hooey.” is his mom simply not saying that there’s still time to write a will. It’s her simply nodding and saying okay when Danny says he wants to write a will.

“What else do you remember?” I loved this as an example of starting a conversation in a way that communicates desire to listen, safety in reminiscing. Treating him as a person.

We see there’s a yarn swift in the background in the living room, meaning that she is liekly an avid fiber artist with yarn, and I bet she made that hat for Danny! What a labor of love.

Hardly leaves the house, is attached to danny at the hip, afraid that he’ll die if she leaves.

Sister - we don't see a lot from her, but we do see shame about AIDS in that she doesn’t ever bring her husband or son around to visit Danny. This indicated that, though it’s not shown, her grief is and will be disenfranchised, at least insofar as she is able to express it with her husband. She may be reticent to bring it up with family, or she may allow herself to express her grief with her family and not with her husband. She also suggests that mom’s over-attentions made him gay.

The movie is not only about grief, but about what a good death can look like.

(Of course within that is the inescapable politics of what constitutes a good death, who gets a good death, and the privileges of affording a good death, so I will mention that here, but will focus mostly on what it is about the death that makes it a so called good death. )

His family takes him in to receive hospice care, sets up a hospital bed, has a safe and not overstimulating space to experience the end of his time and catch up with his family and have a part in planning his funeral, speak his truth, have in in home nurse keeping him as comfortable as possible.

When Danny first comes home, they are continuing to treat him with, at least a hearty performance of, normalcy, though his dad’s just shakes his hand when he comes in, and his sister pats his back as she leaves and when his meds come out the all scatter.

This is not a story about breaking the hard news of illness or dying to anybody. This isn’t a movie about the dying man scrabbling to make it to the solid ground of acceptance from some deep valley below. He’s at acceptance already.

Nurse, very straightforward. Honest, gentle. Letting Mom help with the medical stuff, feel connected to a new process in his life.

"It’s amazing what vast sorrows can do to open up to the most essential action of loving out loud" Showing how this time of confrontation of the uncomfortable facts of death are opening the family up to saying all that they neglected to say in the intervening years.

“I think youre anything but average”

“How much do you really know about the range of my personal experience, mom?”

Mom goes from changing the subject when she has to talk about herself and the things she likes, saying there's nothing interesting about her, to explaining that there are little nuances to the things she likes about movies. to talking about the little things easily, even talking about sex scenes - things usually not talked about in “polite company”

“I think maybe we should change the subject.” “Well then maybe we shouldn’t.”

“What’s your favorite holiday?”

Talking about Paul “Don’t ask don’t tell?” “I’ve always accepted you." "I think you have, you just haven’t always…participated.”

('the 4 thanksgivings before we broke up' aaa awugh)

“I felt excluded, danny was always your favorite." "Why didnt you ever say anything." "Because we don't talk about those things.”

“Did you love? Were you loved in return?” “Yes.”

Obviously the gloaming in this time between life and death, the dusk of his life.

Of the gloaming: “Everything seems to move more slowly,”

"You thought I said it was gloomy" “I always thought it hurt you somehow that the day was over, but you said it was a beautiful time because for a few moments the purple light made the whole world look like the Scottish highlands on a summer night.” (full quote from the original short story) - the dusk of life may seem gloomy because it's the end of a life, but in this story, it's a beautiful time because the mother and son come back together like comets.

(I am quite obsessed with the way Alice Elliot Dark used knitting as metaphor ESPECIALLY when she described Danny's death. It was so so beautiful.)

#i even read the short story and i loved it!!!!#i loved the details that were shown not told and what they decided to omit and add #in the gloaming #death #grief #media analysis #long post #ask

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thomine · 5 months ago

Text

truthful rumours

shouldn’t the rumour be dead after frequently hounding others that it was fake? he’s not wrong, but things are… complicated.

cyno / reader, 1.3k words :: general audiences, secret relationships, repost.

notes: work tag :: beta'ed by the lovely @/andromeda-nova-writing when this was posted, lol.

“I love you.”

The man can’t look at you. His hands bolster a bouquet of roses and padisarahs to shield his face. Instead of aiding his claim, it steals your attention. To have the flowers pruned and arranged probably cost more than the average spent by a customer in Puspa Cafe.

It takes a minute of silence for you to remember you haven’t given him a reply.

“I’m sorry,” you begin, pushing the bouquet away. You want to address him but can’t recall his name. It has only been a month since he arrived, and he’s barely even conversed with you. “I appreciate the effort, but… I can’t return your feelings.”

He’s jumpy, frantic, and you almost feel apologetic as he freaks out. Something behind you catches his eye, hardening his gaze. The anxious boy you saw flies out the window. Before you can turn to confirm what it is, his question throws you off.

“Is it because the rumours are true?”

You scrunch your eyebrows in perturbation. You’re just an ordinary employee of Puspa Cafe. It doesn’t sit right with you that you’ll be involved in rumours. Hardly anyone remembers your name unless they’re filing a complaint. But, there is someone whom you’ve grown close to that constantly has murmurs and secrets attached to his name.

You give him a quizzical look. “What rumour?”

“The rumour that you’re dating the general mahamantra.”

Shouldn’t the rumour be dead after frequently hounding others that it was fake? He’s not wrong, but things are… complicated.

“Putting your feelings aside, what makes you think that?” You didn’t mean to sound accusatory, but he pulls himself back as if you’re some desert scorpion ready to sting.

“Well, he walks you home when you end your shift…” he mutters, looking down. It’s the third time someone raises your walks home with Cyno to start prying into your love life.

“Okay, but we live near each other and there have been reports of increased criminal activities. I don’t think anything about it is inherently romantic,” you chide, hands on your hips. You wonder if whatever caught his eye before is still there, listening to the conversation.

“Then let me walk you home, since there’s nothing inherently romantic about—”

“Wait a minute,” and you place both hands in front of you to create distance. “I think you should think before you speak. Just a minute ago, you confessed you had romantic feelings for me and I rejected you.”

He nods, blankly staring at you. Your point completely misses him if not (or at least you hoped) it would slap him across the face.

“Aren’t you a storyteller?” you jeer, “If you harbour romantic feelings and walk home with that person then it’s obviously romantic? I’ve already rejected you, so anything romantic involving both of us would make me… how do I put this… I’ll be uncomfortable.”

“But how can you be so certain that the general mahamantra doesn’t possess romantic feelings for you?” His eyes glint with mischief.

You blink, taken aback at the conversation’s progression. Usually people drop the topic once you’ve explained, as nonchalantly as you can, that every act is proof of your close bonds with him and shouldn’t be understood otherwise.

It is expected that he’ll push you to a corner though, you did provoke him. Luckily, you’re prepared. Perhaps a little too well, many nights spent pondering.

It’s hard to pin if your hesitation is due to your faith in your answer—10 reasons why anyone can be certain Cyno doesn’t like you romantically. It’s an arsenal you don’t want to use. Saying it out loud feels like admitting that maybe, even if it’s slim, Cyno probably doesn’t like you as much as you believed.

There are pockets of truth in your lies at the end of the day. Like how the routine of walking home together is for your safety, and how your house is a road away from his so it won’t inconvenience him unlike the new employee.

You hear your name being called. What perfect timing; you guess Cyno has been listening all along.

“Am I interrupting something?” he says with crossed arms, his menacing aura clashing with the pride of the new employee. There seems to be a second conversation in the way their gazes fight.

The new employee hides the flowers behind his back after lowering his head. “I suppose it is late,” the new employee says. “As much as I’d like a reply, whatever suits your boat. I just… hope you’ll give me a chance if the rumours are false.”

Cyno grunts. His slightly scrunched face indicates he has a comment, but he remains quiet. When his rival leaves, he looks at you, eyes unwavering.

“Ready to head home?” He asks.

The answer to the new employee’s question is at the tip of your tongue. You push it aside to reply, but it leaves a bitter taste.

“Yeah. Sorry if you had to wait.”

“Not a problem.”

The cafe has been void of customers since 30 minutes ago. It’s a different situation when you step out behind Cyno. Eyes watch both of you as you maintain distance no matter how much you want to grab his hand.

You’ve escaped an interrogation, which is enough questioning for a tiring day. Anyways, you have the answer you’ve swept aside to entertain.

After all, how long has it been since Cyno did something you couldn’t explain through the views of friendship?

“I love you.”

Even in the dimness of the night, you can’t deny the weight of Cyno’s gaze on you. True enough, you meet with his red eyes. They glimmer under the banners of moonlight slipping through the dense canopy. It’s the gentlest stare you’ve come across, a refuge compared to a citizen’s look whenever you’re out with Cyno.

It takes a minute of silence for you to remember you haven’t said it back. However, they’re stuck in your throat, fighting for space with laughter that wants to burst from your chest.

“I refuse to believe you like me that way,” you tease instead, a giddy smile plastered on your face as you titter. The prior event flashes in your mind like a film, and the current irony amuses you. “I mean, shouldn’t you be freaking out after telling me how you feel?”

He doesn’t seem offended. It can be hard to tell without noticing the subtle changes in his expressions, but he replies calmly.

“This isn’t some badly written romantic comedy so, no, I shouldn’t and wouldn’t be freaking out. We’re not children anymore.”

You giggle, not wanting to guffaw and attract unwanted attention, ending this pleasant moment.

“I mean it when I say I love you,” Cyno whispers, taking your hand. You gasp at the sudden contact, but the shock dies when you remember only the trees and critters are your audience. “I don’t know how you would reply to his question, but I didn’t want to hear it.”

You interlace your fingers with his. “I didn’t want to say it either. Sometimes, I’m too convincing.”

He bends to pluck a sweet flower before passing it to you, “I’m sorry I can’t say it more or do more to show it.”

You take a whiff of its scent and want to tuck it behind his ear—

There’s rustling of the bushes. You drop the flower. It crunches as Cyno swiftly adjusts his grip on your hand. He spawns his spear while you prepare a series of explanations for your close proximity with him if anyone inquires. From holding your hand in preparation to run to preventing you from fleeing too far from him in fright.

After a beat of silence, he keeps his spear. The sparks in the atmosphere from elemental usage dissipates. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“Cyno,” you say as you tug his hand. Although there were plenty of anxieties built up over years—after falsifying every action to the point you almost believed the hole you dug was your grave—his words are a wave of reassurance, and even if brief, it’s all you really need. “It’s okay, I understand.”

You lean in and kiss him on the cheeks in the cover of the night. The warmth on your lips tells you enough.

“Just promise me that you’ll be safe,” you add.

“I will be.” He lets out a tiny breath. “But you—”

You gingerly press your index finger against his lips.

“I’ve lied to others for years now. Although, yes, at times I fall prey to my own words, but you’re always there when I need you, right? Like now. You don’t have to worry.”

It’s sad to hide, but what else can be done when falling in love with someone who has a dangerous vocation? Even if it breaks your heart that every moment together means proportionally long hours spent rationalising and seeing everything as an act of friends in case anyone asks; even if it means years of silent stares and glimpse of affection; you think it’s worth if he doesn’t have to worry that his enemies will go after you.

After all, don’t you love him?

author's note: another repost from an old blog! i didn't read through it at all. um. i remember this so i guess it wasn't too bad! i can afford not to look it over... right...

#genshin x reader #cyno x reader #genshin reader insert #genshin impact reader insert #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x y/n #genshin x y/n #genshin x you #genshin impact x you #slo.w #tr : cyno #.os #x reader #reader insert

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smallraindrops-blog · 7 months ago

Note

Hey I remember you did a thing of a request or asked where Fem! Zagreus discovered she is pregnant

Is it okay if you could reblog it pls? As I couldn't find it through all the possible tags

hey anon! I wasn’t able to find it either but I did go through my docs. I think this might be the one you were looking for. 🤞

Brand New

Fem!Zagreus x mortal

Word count:1.6

Warnings: pregnancy, no beta.

It was on a warm summer morning that Zagreus realized that something was different. She shifted in the bed, causing her husband to mumble something about prunes in his sleep. She bit back a grin as she rested on a hand on her stomach, it was far too soon to feel anything but somehow she knew.

There was a flutter of life inside of her.

Zagreus moved again, waking her mortal and she pressed a kiss against his stubbled cheek. He rolled his head, blinking up at her sleepily. He gave her a smile, “What got you up so early?”

“I think.” Zagreus paused, grinning at him. She hoped this one will have his eyes. “I think today will be a good day.”

The midwife was gentle as she pressed on Zagreus’ belly, and nodded when she pulled her hands away. Her mortal let out a breath, his hand warm against her shoulder.

“Good. The babe is coming along fine.” The midwife told her. She was an older woman who had side eyed Zagreus’ husband when she came in.

The one thing Zagreus was still getting used to was all the rules they have for each other. For reasons that made no sense to her, mortal men had little to do with the actual work of pregnancy despite happily causing it in the first place.

“How are the mornings treating you?” The midwife’s brown eyes met her and Zagreus offered her a smile. “Alright, so far. Just tired.”

A few more questions, one last look at her husband as he held the door for her then the midwife left. Zagreus slumped in the wooden chair, closing her eyes as she placed a hand over her belly. Her stomach was still flat -well, flattish she thought with a grimace. Sometimes she longed for her more powerful body. - but she liked to think that the child knew she was there.

Her mortal husband joined her, placing his hands on her knees as he knelt on one knee in front of her. He studied her face, watching for the first sign that he should call for the midwife back. And not for the first time, Zagreus hoped this child would have his eyes.

Zagreus leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss. It lingered, a promise for later.

Then the peaceful silence was shattered by the sound of two children waking up from their naps. Footsteps stomping down the halls as they fought over some toy. Zagreus and her husband shared a look of wry amusement.

“Maybe the third one will be more calmer.” Zagreus oftered.

The look he gave her told her how much he doubted that.

Lately, Zagreus had been waking up with her husband’s warm hand over her stomach and his body wrapped around hers protectively. Three months in, and she had a small bump to show for it.

Unfortunately for her, it would appear this child of hers was an early bird. She scowled when she realized that it was still in the middle of the night. So she closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

Only her eyes to snap open, feeling wide awake moments later. Zagreus sighed loudly, prompting a hum from her mortal.

“Why are you awake?” He rumbled, his lips brushing against her shoulder. Zagreus squirmed, it was deeply unfair how even his voice had such an effect on her. She turned her head, meeting his heavy- lidded gaze. His hair was messy and he had a crease in his stubble but he looked so good, so cozy to her.

Zagreus kissed him softly, and muttered against his chapped lips, “Your child woke me up.”

Her mortal rubbed her stomach slowly, “little one, you are grounded until birth for waking me and your mother.”

Zagreus flopped down with a faint laugh, feeling his grin against her shoulder and her heart felt like it might break from the overwhelming adoration she felt for this man.

Later with the skies in faint pink and orange of a coming sunrise, her husband stood by the door. He crouched down to their sleepy twins, holding each other's hands. He placed a hand on their shoulders, kissing their warm foreheads.

“Do you remember what we talked about?” He asked with a smile. It was something Zagreus was thankful for, that her children’s father wanted to take time to just even say goodbye to them. To play and care for them, unlike her own father.

She glanced away for a moment, not wanting to explain why she was suddenly teary eyed.

Her daughter spoke up first, more awake than her brother. She gave him a sweet grin, “Help Mama with chores, tidy up and…” she trailed off which prompted her brother to speak up, “And listen to Mama.”

“That’s right.” Her mortal ruffled their son’s hair. “See, you’re already doing a good job. I will see you two at dinner time, alright?”

“Can’t you stay home today?” Her daughter asked softly, hugging her stuffed bear close. Her husband pulled her in a one arm hug, “Tomorrow, sweetheart. Today, I gotta help some sick people, alright?”

“Okay.” She whispered sadly.

He glanced up to Zagreus, silently asking and she nodded. With a grin, he placed a finger under her chin, tilted her face toward his and she blinked up at him.

“And I might bring extra treats tonight but only if you listened to your mama, alright?” He told her. She and her brother brightened up immediately and pushed him toward the door. “Okay! Goodbye father! We love you!”

He scoffed in amusement and stood up, and held out a hand toward Zagreus. She took it, grinning at him. He tugged her close and pulled her into a chaste kiss even as their children gagged. She pressed her forehead against his, “Come home soon as you can.”

“I will.” He promised.

Zagreus sighed, sitting down on the grass with a half full basket. She eyed the tomatoes with some resentment. She didn’t remember her last pregnancy being so exhausting, especially in this early on. If there was something that she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to, was how tiring it was being mortal.

She grinned as her son hurried over to her, his toy sword in his hand. Even with his dark hair and mismatched eyes, he looked just like his father.

He flopped down next to her, “Mama, why are you sitting down?”

“Because I’m tired, love.” Zagreus said, reaching over to ruffle his hair. He blinked up at her then he slowly pointed with his wooden sword to her stomach with narrowed eyes. “Is it because of that thing inside you?”

“That ‘thing’ is my baby sister.” Her daughter announced as she joined Zagreus and her brother. The moment she closed enough, she pressed a hand against Zagreus' stomach gently. Six month along and Zagreus had the bump to show for it. “Hello, baby sister.”

He rolled his eyes, “It isn’t a girl.” He paused, then he looked up at Zagreus with a confused frown, “Is it?”

Zagreus allowed her daughter to sit on her lap, smiling down at them both. “We won’t know for sure until the baby is born.”

“Oh.”

Her daughter cuddled close, sweetly cooing at her rounded stomach. From the moment they had told the children, she was taken with the idea of babies. Her son glanced toward the basket. He frowned then looked at the garden. He stood quickly, pressing his sword into his sister’ hand. Then with a grunt, he picked up the basket.

“I can finish this, Mama.” He told her, his face bright with determination. He looked so much like his father, Zagreus wanted to take him into her arms and squeeze him for that alone.

“I can help!” Her daughter jumped in, not wanting to be left behind. The twins hurried over the tomatoes, bickering over which one to pick. Placing a hand over her stomach, Zagreus watched them and occasionally helped them find the right ones.

She couldn’t stop smiling, and later that night, she whispered to her unborn child. “You are going to have the best siblings.”

Eight months in and Zagreus was looking forward to having her body back. Privately, she sent a prayer to every mother that their pregnancy was easier. Truely, mortal women were to be respected for doing this at all in the first place.

Her mortal was home today and thankfully the children seem more interested in him then her. Slowly Zagreus sat down on the porch as the twins chased after their father, waving sticks at him.

She watched them, smiling when they finally tackled him to the ground with loud laughter. Her mortal gasped and struggled dramatically as he played along, his girn bright.

Sometimes she wondered about her life. Born a goddess, fought her way out and she now was living as if she was a normal mortal woman in love with a mortal man. She wondered what her family would have thought of it. Well, her mother at least. She knew her father would be judgemental.

Often her thoughts went to Nyx and her mother, especially with the new baby on the way. And it was pure greed on her part but sometimes Zagreus wished she could ask for motherly advice, to make sure she was doing everything right by her little ones.

Her mortal grapped her daughter and pretended to eat her for dinner as their son smacked him with a stick, all of them laughing. Their bright and happy faces smoothed an old hurt in her chest.

If nothing else they were happy.

Brand New

Fem!Zagreus x mortal

Word count:1.6

Warnings: pregnancy, no beta.

Notes: hey thank you for waiting and I hope you like it!