#like yeah i wouldn’t wanna go back on the battlefield either

[mitskiluvr]

that body never belonged to you in the first place

[darkenedreaper]

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader, Avengers x Reader

Featuring: GoTG, Peggy Carter

Warnings: Angst, sad I suppose

Summary: 2 years after her death, your struggling even more. And it’s killing the team to keep their secret. (I changed Endgame because I can. Come at me. I might make it into chapters.)

Masterlist

‘It can’t be undone’ she said

*2 years ago*

You had gone through years with her. Years with the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. You had gone through love with her. You had gone through the 5 years with her. You had gone to Vormir with her. Yet you had won the final fight without her.

When you all came back from the time travel success you had to try and keep yourself from collapsing. You saw the others standing with smiles on their faces but all you saw was her. Her lips and eyes pleading you to let her go. Her body descending forever. And her sprawled out onto the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her head confirming Natasha Romanoff no longer wondered the earth.

“Are you telling me this actually worked?” Rhodey questioned, followed by Thor’s wheezy laugh. Their faces became confused when they heard a long bang. You have dropped down onto your knees, stone in hand and body wet from wherever you had been teleported to after she had sacrificed herself.

“Y/n where’s Nat?” The big green guy said. Your eyes were stuck in front of you. A sorrowful look on your face. You couldn’t even move. You couldn’t speak. You could’ve all been there for hours or seconds. But Steve lifted you up by your arms and tried to read your expression. With the help of Nebula you were taken to your bedroom you shared with Natasha. The both of them tried to gently take you to the bed but instead you walked shakily to the bathroom and shut the door. Of course Steve was upset. He had a lost a part of his family. He had shed tears while he walked with you. He could only imagine what the scene must’ve been for yourself. The unspoken news of his friends death was indescribable, but having to be there in an unimaginable situation would’ve been even harder. And he understood that. Nebula grieved, she barely knew the woman. But she grieved. She saw the distraught and pain on your face and in your eyes. She placed her hand on Steve’s shoulder and took him out of your room.

In the bathroom you had caged yourself into. You had your hand gripped to the sink. Your eyes trained to the sink bowl. Your eyes drifted to the left for you where her makeup and hairbrush had been layed out this morning. You took a step back, nervously clasping your hands together. You tried to calm down before someone got hurt. You looked down at your hands and you were maintaining some level of sanity before you remembered that your hand had let her go. If anyone would walk past your bedroom door, they were bound to hear glass smashing and screams and words of anguish.

You didn’t speak to anyone. You completely shut yourself down. The only reason you spoke to someone was to communicate over the earpiece when you were fighting. There was a short debate over the coms as to who was going to steal the stones from Thanos. You nearly went into a fit of rage and upset before Carol ordered you to look into her eyes. Your excuse to use the stones was so you could be with her again. When Tony clicked his fingers the enemy became dust, and the world became a little more louder and a bit more lighter. The battlefield was filled with new and old faces. Tony’s snap had been so powerful he was able to bring back the people that mattered the most to those around him. Steve had Peggy in his tired arms. Clint had Laura and his children. Wanda had Vision. Quill had Gamora. Thor had his mother and brother back. Tony had Pepper. He was unharmed and Bruce’s arm had healed. Everyone had someone. You had someone. You had your whole family. But your special someone was Natasha. You had never felt so lost. Natasha would be holding you, you holding her. She would tuck your head into her shoulder while letting your arms envelope around her. But all you got were sad looks.

Some of the ‘newbies’ had questioned their closest. After a lot of loud whispering, there was silence. The battlefield was silent in memory of Natasha. The only noises were the hundreds of sniffles and sobs of those who had the news broken to them. The dying fires crackling. The next minute footsteps were approaching you. You had internally begged for it to be Natasha. But you looked up to see a short boy. His suit red and blue with a spider on it. His brown curly hair was tinted with grey. His teary eyes gave you the saddest smile before and steadily put his arms around your shoulders. You accepted the young boys embrace. You were thankful for it.

The news were around the place as quick as they could’ve been. Pictures were taken. Statements were took. The public had tried to surround the heroes but were pushed away by the helping police. It has been released to the enormous crowd that one of the most heroic heroes had died. The crowds became distraught. They sounded like how you felt inside. They tried to surround you and shout out their condolences but you kept walking. Where to? Who knows.

*2 years later/present time*

You spoke to no one. You spoke out in bursts of anger. Anger if someone tried to tell you to come away from your desk and to stop working and trying to find a way. Peggy, Steve’s wife, had became close to you. She understood how it felt to lose a loved one. She understood she wasn’t Natasha. She understood why you were working yourself so hard. She would never judge you, if you looked all disheveled or smelt from not taking a shower. She encouraged you to do your best, but she never pushed you. 2 years ago, you found a solution to stop Thanos. 2 years ago you lost her. 2 years ago Steve returned the stones. You haven’t been able to go through any videos or voice messages of her. Just a photo that you have framed. There were and still are memorials for her, but you would never attend any.

You had only cried to yourself. But right now you were on the edge of having a definite breakdown. Tony and the whole team of Avengers, Wakanda, GotG and Carol had wanted to check in as you had been back to Vormir. Which you greatly regret. Scott had made an extra time travel refill for you. All you were told by red skull was a ‘soul for a soul’. You argued with a ghost. You lashed out a ghost. You didn’t dare look to the edge. Knowing you would either throw yourself of or cry so much you wouldn’t be able to move.

They all met you at the Compound. At the platform that sat on top on the lake.

Steve and Peggy. Tony and Pepper. Rhodes. Bucky and Sam. Clint and Laura. Thor and Loki. Bruce. The Guardians were there. Rocket was by your side. Peter was there with Happy. Carol was at the edge of the platform. Wanda and Vision. And the rest were all there. You had your back turned to them. You were silent trying to understand why they all had such guilty faces, except Thor. They all had a secret. One they had agreed to not tell you, for fear it may completely break you. But they decided enough was enough. They had to tell you.

“Look we need to get her back to stop this shit with the Avengers get it together.” Thor spat at Steve, as he still saw him as the Captain.

“Can’t get her back.” You spoke up, causing everyone’s attention on the two of you.

“Wh..wha..what are you..?” Thor mumbled out.

“It can’t be undone. It can’t.” You said quietly looking at him from over your shoulder.

He laughed at your words before saying, “Look.. I, I’m sorry but your a very earthly being okay, we’re talking about space magic and can’t seems very definitive. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah look I know that I’m way outside my.. my paid rate here. But she still isn’t here is she?” You said. Tony took of his sunglasses, getting upset.

“Yeah well that’s my point.” Thor said in a hushed manner.

“It can’t.. be undone.” Your voice cracking, your tears had crawled their way down your face now. “Or that’s at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him. Ok, go grab your hammer and you go find him you talk to him!” You yelled at him. He looked down to the floor. You shouldn’t be angry with him. He missed Natasha. But you couldn’t help it.

“It was supposed to be me.” You admitted with a breaking voice. Bucky let a tear fall freely from his eye. “She sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone, she bet her life on it.” You started to breakdown in the middle of everyone. Angry at how she could’ve died for nothing. How it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Even Wanda began to breakdown. She felt your pain from far away. Your longing. And your grieving. Rockets fur was wet as he was upset just like everyone else.

He couldn’t take it anymore. The lies. Not the acting. But the lies. Clint stood up and said, “Y/n we’ve been lying to you. Natasha is here. She’s perfectly fine. She’s alive. You just can’t see her.” No one else bothered to look up as he said what was needed to be said. You slowly turned around to him. “What?” Was all you could choke out. Steve stood up and walked towards you before keeping a distance. “When I returned the stone. He told me that we could all get her back, after all it was a soul for a soul. But the one who travelled there has been cursed. You can’t see or hear her and I don’t know if you ever will. But she’s alive.”

You took time to observe his words.

She was standing in front of you. Her arms crossed but her eyes were stuck on your face that was wet from the tears you had cried. Your eyes brows moving in a sorrowful way. She wasn’t crying for herself no. She cried for you. For your pain. She had never seen you so upset. And because she had been with you ever since she got back, she’s had to watch you cry almost every day.

Natasha wishes you could see her. She has been next to you this whole time. She was gone a few hours and then she was back. She couldn’t find you and instead ran into Sam who held her tightly. Instead she sped off to Tony’s cabin where she found Bucky and Steve, who explained everything.

She wishes you could hear how proud she is of you. She wishes you didn’t have to see you break yourself and live in your mental anguish. It hurt her. Every night you fell asleep at your desk, she would drape a blanket over you, and almost cry at your confused state in the morning of who had been to your office and covered you.

She wishes you hadn’t been traumatised by her silly yet heroic actions. She wishes she could tell you how much she loves you and how she wants to be held by you and she wants you to be able to hear her words, “I love you.” The others heard it. But they didn’t dare tell you.

She was determined to get her words to you. If not by speaking to you then by page. Determined to prove that she was with you all of this time. She wants to tell you how much she loves you.

She wishes there was a way.

If you would like a part 2, let me know.

[moonctzeny]

First Times

“Jae”, you whispered, gaining his attention, “We will still be best friends after this, right?”

He pulls you closer to him, making your face rest on his naked chest. He smelled like sweat and that intense body spray, like those days he came back from his basketball practice to meet you under the treehouse. He smelled like home.

pairing: childhood friend/ceo! jaehyun x fem! reader

genre: smut, angst

word count: 6.584k

warnings: loss of virginity, then not so virgin sex lol, squirting

summary: “Jaehyun had been your best friend ever since you were 7 years old, but after a certain incident he disappears, without informing you of his whereabouts. You had come to terms with the fact that you’ll never see him again until your paths cross unexpectedly, meeting as boss and employee”

a/n: I feel like ceo! jaehyun fics are overwritten so I tried to focus more on the childhood friends to lovers aspect, giving it a little twist

———————————————————————

There was no way that was him.

When you were 10 years old you couldn’t wait to have your first kiss. You were plain obsessed with the romance dramas that were playing on tv, your mom complaining about having to witness the same unrealistic tropes over and over again, but you stayed frozen in front of the screen.

Why were the characters so caught up in the thought of seeing each other? Why were they willing to risk everything they had for the other person? You were curious to find out about the love the grown ups talked about, and playing mommy and daddy with the neighbor’s son, Jaehyun, wasn’t cutting it anymore.

He was waiting for you in his treehouse, preparing his toys for your playdate. A table of pots and cutlery on one side of the room and a battlefield with ships on the other. He preferred when you two dueled for the “fate of your country”, but he knew you liked to play house so he compromised. One hour of what you like and one hour of what he liked, that’s what his mom had said.

You stomped inside, your pout not matching his excited smile.

“Finally, you’re here! Can we play my games first? My uncle got me new soldiers, look!” He ran up to you, a bunch of different green miniatures in his hands. You didn’t bother to spare him a glance, too caught up in your personal drama.

“I don’t want to play games,” you whined, “I want a boyfriend!”

Jaehyun blinked a couple times, confused. “But you have one, me. I am your friend and I am a boy”

You threw your head back in frustration, groaning so loudly that the rest of the neighborhood probably heard you. “Noo it’s not the same! We don’t kiss on the lips and stuff!”

The little boy came closer to you, scowling. He was starting to get really impatient with your whining over these dramas that you liked so much. So what if you don’t kiss and stuff? It’s no big deal anyways!

He grabbed your ears, bringing you closer to his face and he gave you a small peck. Your first kiss.

“There. Will you play with me now?”

When you turned 18 you exchanged your love for dramas with a love for art. You also exchanged your calculus workbooks for oil paints and acrylics, busy with piecing together a portfolio that would get you accepted into art school. There was one thing that stayed stable in your life, however, that followed you from childhood into adolescence.

“Hey, sorry for being late, basketball practice took longer than I expected”, Jaehyun apologized and joined you at his backyard. The treehouse had gotten too old for inhabiting but the trunk you were currently lied against served its purpose as your current hangout after school.

“Hey”, you sniffled and he finally noticed how watery your eyes were. He dropped his sportsbag immediately, and sat next to you on the slightly moist grass, your arms touching.

“I’m guessing Mark denied your offer to go to the prom with you?”

You nodded, hiding your face in his embrace before he sees you crying. Being Jaehyun’s friend wasn’t always easy. His easygoing personality and good looks on top of being president of four school clubs made him one of the most popular kids in high school. You reminded yourself that he’s still the same boy you’ve always known, that you don’t have to feel threatened by the army of girls always clinging by his sides, but it was hard. It was hard to recount your rejection from this morning when he probably has never truly felt that feeling before. Even with his college applications pending, you knew he’d be successful. Any institution would be crazy to miss up on him, and the rest of the world felt that way about him too.

“I don’t wanna talk about it”, you mumble, leaning back before you stain his t-shirt even more, “Did Mina find the dress she is gonna wear after all?”

Your genuine worry for his prom date, even after your failed promposal, broke his heart. You were always so empathetic, so selfless, so nice to him. He didn’t have it in him to let you stay in your state of misery.

“Nothing”, he blurted, rushing to explain after seeing the confused look on your face, “she bailed on me last minute”.

That was a lie, but you didn’t have to know that. Jaehyun cancelling on his date would be a dick move, he knew that, but you being happy was his priority. It always has, at least as long as he was still here. “So if you didn’t mind, I was thinking we go together? As friends of course”

“Jae! I love you!”

You tackled him with a hug, the grass tickling his neck and he just laughed at the adorable screech you let out. You both stayed there enjoying the chill evening, talking about renting cars and matching outfits.

He let you rant about the dress you’ve chosen to wear and he promised to convince his parents to leave his house empty for the after party.

The prom night was the last time you saw Jung Jaehyun. There you two were, sprawled out on his bed and tired off your asses, spending what seemed like the most fun night of your life together. Your feet were in blisters from all the dancing, head spinning from the after-party vodka. Jaehyun had turned his head towards you, tie undone and staring at a piece of glitter that had fallen on your collarbone. He looked as handsome as ever in his suit, red eyes glued on you and a satisfied smile on his face.

“Your parents are gonna be so mad when they see the mess on their carpet. I told you not to get Jungwoo drunk”

Jaehyun laughed, his deep laugh reverbrating through the room. “Not if you tell them in the morning. They can’t get mad at you. You told your mom you’re staying over, right?”

You nodded, maybe shaking your head a lot longer than needed but your tipsy self wanted to make sure you got your message across.

“You know”, you started with a snicker, “she gave me like a million condoms for tonight. Probably thought I was planning on losing my virginity like any teenager with a social life”

He kept staring at you, eyes lazily taking in the sight of your pretty smile. “Yeah, same with my dad. I think that’s the only reason why they gave me the house”

You whipped your head to face him at the speed of light, mouth gaped open and  staring at him incredulously. “Jae, you’re a virgin??”

It was hard to believe. I mean sure, you hadn’t had any experience in the sex department either but you were, well, you. Shy with new people, horrible at flirting and a bit standoff-ish if you were being honest. But your best friend, as likable and good looking as he was, had never been with a girl before?

“Well, yeah, I was just kinda- I was waiting for the right person, you know? Someone to make it memorable”

You sighed, relating with his words but also...

“I just wish I could get it over with”, you confess and you saw Jaehyun gulp visibly. He was glancing at the nothingness on his ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

“Yeah”

The silence lasted for a few minutes, only the distant sound of a passing police car interrupting it. He sat on his knees, the conversation sobering him up significantly. “Remember when you wanted to have your first kiss and I just did it so you wouldn’t complain about it anymore?”

You smile fondly at the memory, waiting for him to continue. There was somewhere he was getting at.

“Well, we both want to not be virgins anymore, right? So let’s just do it”

You felt an electric tension growing between you. It was like you were holding two magnets, begging to touch each other but you still held them apart, because if you let go you just knew things would never be the same again.

Jaehyun leaned in, dunking his head at the last minute and kissing your neck instead. It was tentative, a kiss that tested the waters. He was still holding back, wanting to make sure you wanted this as much as he wanted it too. You scooted closer to him, placing your legs to frame his closed knees, putting his face gently in your hands.

His pupils were dilated, shifting to a million places but your voice managed to make him concentrate to your eyes solely. You could hear his heartbeat bumping in his chest.

“Jae, I love you. You have to trust me, ok?”

“Okay” he nodded, eyes wide open and sincere, “I love you too, so much”

You kiss him finally, and the room around you spun even more. The feeling was strangely comfortable, yet your lungs were struggling to do their job. In that moment, it felt like everything in the world was the way it was supposed to be, and you two were a part of that bigger, perfectly orchestrated picture. 

He grabbed you by your waist, bringing you over his lap. His fingers danced from your thighs to the zipper of your dress, the cool midnight air spreading goosebumps on your back. You help him out by pulling your straps down, staying in your strapless bra.

“If I knew what was gonna happen tonight I would wear cuter underwear”, you mutter and Jaehyun chuckles. Why did your heart skip a beat at the sound? It’d be a lie to say you hadn’t found yourself staring at your best friend a minute too long in the past, but tonight- Tonight the effect he had on you held an intensity that you’ve never felt before.

“Underwear can only help you out so much. They can’t do wonders”

“Wow Jae, way to make me drier that the Sahara desert”

He dipped back down to your throat, sucking at the soft skin over your collarbones and earning an embarassingly high-pitched moan from you. You felt him smile against your neck as he licked over the nibbled flesh in little circles, wishing he would repeat that motion on another part of your body.

“We’ll see about that”

As if he wanted to prove his point, he grinds you over his erection, lighting your insides on fire. Your dress was short, meaning that you could feel all of him-and it seemed like a whole lot- over your panties that were damping up.

“Show me your tits and I’ll show you mine”

Jaehyun laughed at your comment; ridiculous yet successful at calming his ragged breath down. The buttons of his dress shirt opened one by one, each of them revealing another inch of his smooth chest. His skin was glowing, and his abs proved that puberty was starting to work its wonders on him.

You trace your fingers over two moles on his chest, leaving soft kisses over them. You could feel his pulse on your lips, fast and pumping blood all over his body. Despite his attempts at staying collected over the loss of his virginity, you realized that he was probably as nervous and scared as you are.

“Your turn”, he whispered, bringing you back into the moment. You reach back to unclasp your bra, freeing your boobs, and a smile cracked on your lips at Jaehyun’s reaction.

He stayed frozen and gawking at your chest, hands twitching and not knowing what to do with the sight you so generously offered him. Bringing his hands into your own, you place them over your mounds, guiding him into squeezing them. He continues on his own, pinching your nipples as he leans forward for another kiss, probably to hide his evident blush from you.

The making out continued, leaving you both with only your underpants on. He places you on your back, and starts petting your clit over your panties, the motion so soft it drove you insane. Hungry for more. 

You started whining, grinding forwards against his fingers and he chuckled, pulling the fabric away to leave you uncovered. The chilly air was quickly exchanged with the feeling of his warm digits, causing a different kind of shivering. 

When he inserted the first finger in you, you felt like your whole body was burning up with a high fever. You’d done this again, with your ex-boyfriend in summer camp but it definitely didn’t feel as sinful and delicious and pleasureable as this. It pulled at a knot in your stomach, begging to be untangled and Jaehyun was taking his sweet time with you. Quick circles on your swollen bud and a nibble on your neck, that’s what it took for him to enjoy you shaking through an orgasm.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful”

You looked angelic with the sweat trickling down your chest, skin glowing in the limelight and Jaehyun would just sit and stare if it wasn’t for the tent in his boxers that was screaming for attention. Pulling at the soft fabric, you sprung him free and the boldness that came when you did started to evaporate. It hit you in that moment, that he had seen all of you and now you saw all of him- yes you had been best friends for years but this intimacy was unprecedented. And you liked the feeling.

You put him in your grasp, moving your fist in a pivoting motion with his precum as your lubricant. He throws his head back with a grunt that almost made you cum a second time and urged you to pick up the pace. Unsure of what to do next, you licked your other palm and started to massage his balls hoping he liked it. He did by the sound of his moans, but stopped you abruptly, scaring you that you accidentally did something wrong in your inexperience.

“If you continue like this I’m gonna cum. Let’s do this“

You swallow on nothing and reach to your jacket on the floor for the condoms your mum gave you. 

“Want a pink one? A green maybe? Blue?”, you joke and he pets your hair lovingly, looking down at you.

“Blue. Your favourite colour”

You smiled warmly at his response, satisfied with your decision to share this moment with your best friend. With someone who knew you so well.

Unwrapping the plastic, you placed the rubber over his hardness with shaking hands, following the instructions as best as you could. Jaehyun leaned down over you, planting a dozen kisses over your face as he positioned himself over your entrance.

“Ready?”

You nodded, giving him permission to dip his tip in, the first inches stretching you out nicely. The wetness caused by your orgasm helped your situation a lot, the slickness allowing him to dive a little deeper. Then, the stinging started, making you hiss and he kissed you immediately, trying to soothe you.

“I know, baby, I know. I’m sorry. We have to go through the hard part now ok?”

The nickname playing over and over again in your head gave you the patience needed to endure him bottoming out, along with the first thrusts. It was uncomfortable, but the feeling of him inside you, of the two of you coming together as one, released some chemical in your brain that made most of the pain go away. He took his fingers from your hips to gently pat away the teardrops staining your cheeks.

“That’s it baby, you’re doing so well”

His words and the feeling of his cock dragging against your walls drew a moan out of your half open mouth, the sound carrying on the air you two shared and landing on Jaehyun’s lips. There was a tension on your belly and something told you it wasn’t just physical, more like an emotional revelation, a fire already ignited but flared up by this incident. Your feelings towards your childhood friend, a love that was more than platonic.

For you, at least.

Jaehyun was young and you felt so tight around him that he didn’t take long to finish. He pulled out last minute, taking the condom out and spilling spurts of his cum all over your stomach. It earned a scowl and an eyebrow raise from you but the way he apologized, saying you “looked too beautiful to resist”, was too cute to stay mad at.

You laid back on his bed, holding hands and trying to register what just happened. The ocassional car drove by, the lights illuminating Jaehyun’s eyes that you noted were glossy. Maybe it was just as intense for him, you thought and squeezed his hands a little tighter.

“Jae”, you whispered, gaining his attention, “We will still be best friends after this, right?”

He pulls you closer to him, making your face rest on his naked chest. He smelled like sweat and that intense body spray, like those days he came back from his basketball practice to meet you under the treehouse. He smelled like home.

 “Forever”

Forever must have a different meaning in the Jungs’s dictionary, because after that night, Jaehyun was unreachable. You tried to text him, call him, only to be ignored and faced with stupid excuses.

You thought long and hard about why your best friend suddenly decided to ghost you. Maybe he didn’t like the sex. Understandable, since it was your first time, but it’s not like you promised him a night of mind blowing love making or anything. You decided that he probably felt too awkward to talk to you after that night and you told yourself to give him some space.

Three days passed, then another, then a week and still no sign of Jaehyun. Tired of the radio silence and irritated by his attitude, you got ready to visit him at his house, confront him one-on-one.

No, you didn’t wear your favourite perfume for him. It just so happened that you chose to put on that dress he had complimented you on before. You didn’t hope for him to call you beautiful again, or have a retake of the prom night fun. The butterflies in your stomach were probably the heavy lunch you ate. Yes, it was all coincidental.

You walked down the stairs with a pep in your step, storming through your parents in the kitchen.

“And were are you going so happy, young lady?”, your dad chirps and you smile at him.

“I’m gonna go see Jaehyun real quick!”

“Real quick? To a different country? He came back already?”

You stilled at the sound of your mother’s words, confused.

“A different country? I’m going down the street to the Jungs, mom”

“Honey, the Jungs are there but not Jaehyun. He moved abroad to study Business. Didn’t he tell you?”

The ground beneath your feet seemed to melt and pull you under the third level of hell. How could he get accepted to a university and not tell you? How could he move countries and not even say goodbye? How dare he make you fall in love with him, give you the best night of your life and then leave you hanging like that?

You ran upstairs to your room, wailing in what seemed like a mixture of rage and sadness. You felt so dumb, in your sundress and shaved pussy and cute underwear you chose out for him. It was all so, so unfair and the feeling ate you alive. The feeling that you hated Jung Jaehyun.

So now, when he stands from across the room, all suited up but with the additional rank of CEO on his shoulders you couldn’t believe that it was him.

Your portfolio did get you into an art school after all, majoring in product design. Your innovative work of rebranding the latest releases, taking on the aesthetic part of the marketing, landed you a great deal in J industries. The product was good and your skills were better, so when the sales went off the roof you weren’t surprised. What you didn’t expect however, was that the boss of your boss, who was currently staring at you from across the launch party, was your childhood best friend.

Ex-best friend.

“Damn, y/n, Mr. Jung hasn’t taken his eyes off of you all night, huh?”, said Sook, the assistant marketing director who was working by your side on the project.

“Well, he should have come over and congratulate me by now. I did help save his company”

She laughed lightly, unaware for how deeply rooted your dislike for the man really was. You continue your conversation when you suddenly see her turn visibly tense, sweeping her hands on the front of her dress. Oh, you should have watched what you wished for.

“M-Mr. Jung, how are you enjoying this party? This is y/n, she did most of the designs for the campaign-”

Eyes widening in shock, you get lost in some passerbys, meddling with the other coworkers in the gathering. Sook left a little yelp when she realized you had dissolved into thin air in seconds. You could still faintly hear her apologizing merrily.

“Oh I swear she was sitting right next to me Mr. Jung”

Chatting up with friends and even strangers, you made sure you never stayed in the same place for too long. Jaehyun’s eyes were still boring holes into your face no matter where you went, a smirk plastered on his own every time he caught you checking out for him.

In a last attemp to turn invisible, you find cover on a small couch, slightly hidden by some ballon decorations and you shoved a book to your face, faking interest. But alas, a dip in the furniture next to you and the familiar woody smell soon rang a bell of danger in your head.

“You know your book is upside down, right?”

Wincing at your fatal mistake, you turn around to be faced with a pair of brown eyes you thought you’d never see again. You noticed how they’re glowing in pride and ambition and remembered how they shined that night from tears, how you tried to read through him, just like now.

“Jung. Got bored of your little staring game?”

Jaehyun had grown an inch or two since you last saw him, you notice, standing even taller in his exemplary posture. He still stuck with his long hairstyle, locks styled back sleekly and exposing his defined cheekbones. His skin was even paler than usual, glowing in the dark room. Being a CEO probably meant staying inside a lot, making tanning for his complexion almost impossible.

“Considering you applied to my company, y/n, I figured you’d come to me now as well”

Why was he using that voice around you? You‘d made fun of him numerous times in the past for that deep tone, only coming up when he was trying to woo some girl.

“I didn’t know it was your dumb company”, you start, rolling your eyes in annoyance, “I’m surprised you even remember my name”

“How could I forget the girl I went to prom with?” And took my virginity, you wanted to add but knew he censored his words on purpose. “Also, Sook mentioned your name like, five minutes ago”

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about”

His silence was uncomfortable, thickening the atmosphere even more. You saw regret and guilt in his features, lips struggling to find the right words and hands fumbling with his tie.

“I know you’re mad, rightfully so. But please, come over to my place for a drink. For old time’s sake”. The deep voice was persistent and that’s when you realized that Jaehyun wasn’t a teenager anymore. So many years had passed since that summer, enough to mature you both physically and emotionally, yet the wound stung still so freshly.

“You can’t just choose when to re-enter my life so easily”, you huffed and started to walk away from him, when you felt his fingers wrapping gently around your wrist.

“y/n, please. I’ve missed you. One drink, that’s it”

It was so annoying, you thought as you entered his condo, how his dimples were still so effective at convincing you. It was quite luxurious, definitely bigger than your apartment and by the looks of the fancy furniture, his hard work as CEO surely paid off. 

“You like it?”

“Not as much as your treehouse but it’s okay”, you reply him and he grins at the reminiscence of your old shenanigans as children.

“I’ll bring the wine”

You snooped around a bit more, examining the decorations of his living room. It was quite minimalistic, an abstract painting or two, a weird sculpture, no family pictures in sight. You always hated places like that, so lifeless, so impersonal. Jaehyun had too rich of a personality for that.

He sat on his leather couch, placing two glasses of white wine in front of him and motioning you to sit down as well. You took a seat as far away from his as possible and he winced at the distance you kept, now also turning physical. 

Jaehyun started a conversation by asking you about your work at the company, then moving on to your personal life. You politely answered him, even joked about how single you are. He started recounting the start of his company, how he got the idea to begin from scratch and the hardships that came with it. As it was expected from the bachelor’s vibes his place emitted, CEO position didn’t allow for enough free time for him to meet someone new, let alone something serious. Your little meet up seemed to be going well. Too well to be exact. One glass down and you finally had enough of feigning ‘happy old friends catching up’.

“Why did you bring me here Jaehyun? Really bring me here”

The man sighed at your tone, running his fingers through his hair and messing their gelled-up styling. Getting up from his position, he finishes up his second glass and sits closer to you, body facing yours.

“I guess... I owe you an apology. For back then. I should have told you I’m moving abroad”

“Yes, Jaehyun, you should have. Especially after what we did before you left”

He closed his eyes in shame, glossy after he reopened them. A serious expression darkened his features, looking as solemn as that last night you saw him before his disappearance and hanging from your lips. “Do you regret it? Going through with it?”

“No”, you answer immediately, because it was the truth. All the guys you’ve slept with in your time as an adult, though more experienced than high-school Jaehyun, were missing that one factor that none other than your best friend could offer you. Connection, vulnerability, care. True love.

He sighs, once again, clearly relieved by your answer but still speaking in a bittersweet tone.

“Good, I would really hate myself if you did. I was just, so scared you’d forget about me. I had to know you’d remember me. Then you said this whole thing about wanting to have our first time and-“. You knew it was the wine in his system that caused his rambling. Jaehyun wasn’t one to stumble on his words, definitely not sentimental like that. But alcohol seemed to bring you closer when in need and at the right time so you let it, once again, and you let him finish. “-and you looked so beautiful that I couldn’t help myself. If I knew you’d grow up to look like this I would have never-“

He stopped himself mid sentence, regretting sharing more. You, however, weren’t done with this conversation yet. There were so many years spent repenting your friendship, so many questions running through your head, and you weren’t leaving this room until they got answered.

“If you didn’t want me to forget you that much then why not tell me you got accepted to a university abroad? I was your best friend!”. Your words were emotionally charged, unwillingly making your voice turn up in volume. It was as if you turned back into the little girl crying in her bedroom, finally getting the chance to say all those things she was screaming in her pillow. “I would be so happy for you, I loved you”

“Yes you did! You literally said that every single day!”, Jaehyun yelled back, startling you, “And every single time it was as if you jabbed a knife in my chest! Did you know how much it killed me? To hear this from my best friend I’d been in love with for the past 10 years?”

“You- you were in love with me?”, you ask dumbly, voice light in disbelief, a stark difference from Jaehyun’s a second ago.

He settled his breathing, hands fixing his hair once again in abashment.

“I knew that if I told you I had to go abroad you would get all sad and start crying and I wouldn’t be able to see you like that. I knew that the moment you’d tell me you miss me I would drop everything to be with you. That night that we had sex.. I didn’t plan it but I thought it would be better for you if I made you hate me. And when I saw you again today- it felt like not one day had passed since high school. I didn’t know how to approach you, what to say. I’m sorry”

You sat there in shock, connecting the dots in your brain. All the feelings you were trying to repress around him, the lingering glances and butterflies in your stomach, were reqruited all along. You knew exactly what he meant earlier, about time seeming to freeze. The way he looked at you now, all teary eyed and red and shaking was utterly and overwhelmingly the warm Jaehyun that met you every night after school. And you wouldn’t let another day go to waste.

You lean forward, capturing his lips into a kiss long overdue. It was tentative and you started pulling back when he places both hands on the sides of your neck, keeping you from letting go. His fingertips grasp part of your hair and you lean your face sideways, melting into the kiss and his touch. A lick on his bottom lip and now your tongues were touching, groaning at how much better he got at this and wanting to put his skill to better use. Tugging on his soft locks, he moans and his baritone voice made the hairs on your arms stand on edge.

You moved your hands on his chest, palming the defined muscles and deciding you wanted to treat your eyes, ripping his shirt open in one move. Jaehyun grabs the meat of your thighs, hands gripping the edge of your dress and pulling it upwards until it falls over your head. He dipped into your neck immediately, sucking and nibbling passionately right in the middle, your moans sounding breathless with the pressure he puts on your throat. Trailing down, he left a path of open mouthed kisses, now focusing on the mounds of your breasts that your bra wasn’t covering. A flick of his wrist and the piece of underwear was gone, lips surrounding your nipple, releasing it with a loud pop.

You moan out his name and his growl’s animalistic, nails digging on the softness of your hips.

“Fuck I love that sound”

He probably made it a goal to hear it again as he started kissing on your inner thighs, the bruises he left behind teasing you to the point of begging. You lift you hips to discard the skimpy underwear you chose for tonight, Jaehyun’s breath fanning your clit. A few kitten licks and your back is already lifting from the leather, his hands intertwining with yours to keep you in place.

Practice makes perfect and Jaehyun must have had a lot of it, the interchanging of sucking, licking and spitting on your pussy making you lose your mind in the most delicious way. You were in the midst of murmuring a mix of praises when he finally finds that spot that has you trembling under his tongue. Riding out your high, you grind against his face, the pleasure not leaving any room for shame. Chest heaving and vision restored, you glance down at Jaehyun, looking as irresistible as ever wiping his wet lips and chin.

You were fully prepared and willing to return the favor so you motioned him to stand up, positioning the back of your neck over the hand rest of the couch. After opening your mouth wide he got the point, quickly ridding himself off his pants and boxer briefs, spitting profanities at how hot you looked for him right now.

You were upside down, but you could very well see Jaehyun’s hard and angry cock staring back at you. You always thought that maybe, since he was your first, you might have overestimated his size in your head. But your brain apparently hadn’t manipulated that memory in the slightest because that length and grith would definitely be a challenge for you. And hell, did you want to take it on.

He pushes through your lips, and your tongue is quick to engulf him. Licking up and down his shaft as best as you could, made Jaehyun grip the couch in an effort to keep his knees from buckling from pleasure. The position allowed him to push even deeper inside you, filling up your throat. He places his fingers over the bulge on your throat, watching it itently with every move of his hips.

Your eyes teared up and your throat started to burn but the sounds Jaehyun let out with every thrust made it all worth it. He finally pulls out, a string of saliva and precum landing on your lips and he is quick to to clean you up with his fingers. Collecting the wetness, he pushes his digits inside your mouth, and something changes in his glare, eyes darkening in the most lustful expression.

“I need you inside me”, you mumble with his fingers inside of you and he nods, asking if he should go get a condom. You search through the contains of your handbag, hands trembling with the way he is pushed up agaist you, erection digging in the softness of your ass as he’s nibling the skin on your shoulders. 

You handed him the square foil and as soon as he takes it in his grasp, he pushed you down to the arm rest, back against the cushion and legs in the air. Moving your hand between your legs, you distracted him by playing with your pussy, speading the juices around and pushing your folds apart to direct him to your opening.

The first thrust felt divine, thick cock filling you nicely and making your head fall back in pleasure. Jaehyun threw your legs over his shoulders, eyes glued to yours as he kissed your calves, picking up his pace. The moans started rolling off your tongue, echoing inside the big lounge and accompanied by the skin slapping sound of your bodies.

“I missed your body so much”, he muttered as he gripped your waist, setting an incredible pace that had your feet flexing. You turned your head to the side, catching your reflection on the huge window leading to the balcony. Tits bouncing, Jaehyun’s flexed arms, his dick digging inside you. What a sight.

“See something you like?”, he chuckled darkly and you smiled up at him, grazing your nails over his biceps.

“Show me something to remember you by”

Jae halted his thrusts, turning you over to your stomach swiftly, ass in the air. He kneaded his hands over your ass, giving it a little spank and spread your cheeks apart. Placing his right knee on the arm rest, he dives inside you again, and the moan you let out barely sounded like you. His cock was so deep inside you that you had to close your eyes to relish the feeling of fullness, amplified by the light pain of the stretch. Jaehyun collected your hair in his fist, pulling your upper body against his chest as he wrapped an arm around your own.

“Open your eyes. See how nicely you take my cock. Think you’ll forget that?”, he growls in your ear, thumb digging in your cheek and palm slightly muting your sounds. The dirty talk, his cock grazing against the spot that drove you crazy and Jaehyun’s godly reflection pounding the shit out of you brought you over the edge again. He didn’t let you take any time off, hips continuing to bruise against you as feverly as before, and you thought you just might combust.

“Jaehyun, p-please, it’s too much”, you plead with as much power is left in your system, and he pulls out, only to start rubbing quick circles over your clit that had you thrashing in his arms.

You melt into his arms, a pressing feeling in your belly that you had never felt before and soon you climax for the third time, droplets of cum squirting out of your pussy and dripping onto the wooden flooring.

“This is so fucking hot”, Jaehyun mutters and starts thrusting inside you, trying to coax as much cum out of you as possible.

The waves keep coming, gushing out of you every time he pulls out, until he can’t take the sight anymore, coming with a shiver and a ragged breath.

You were sweaty and exhausted, smiling faintly as he showered you with kisses.

“Let’s get you cleaned up”

You try to stand up futilely, knees wobbling and unable to keep your balance. Jaehyun chuckles at the sight but helps you up like the gentleman he is, moving you to the floor’s bathroom.

You hop in and he joins you, letting the water run down your body and helping you soap up. It was very intimate but comfortable at the same time, his gentle caresses belonging to your skin. Everything felt right.

He was occupied with running his fingers over two hickeys he had planted on you earlier when you snap him out of his thoughts, voice barely audible over the running water.

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to lie to me to go study abroad. I think it’s pretty obvious after what we just did that I liked you too, but... I still would have let you move. Force you even.”

“You’re right. I’m sor-“

“I mean it Jaehyun. I’m so proud of you”

His eyes glimmered at your praise, wet eyelashes framing them and fluttering closed as he leaned down, pressing the sweetest kiss on your lips. It left you breathless, almost hurting when he pulled back. You could kiss him forever.

“I know you said I can’t just come back to your life like that but I want to try. I’ve seriously missed you”

“How about taking me to a date tomorrow night? To catch up some more”

He grinned brightly, eyes turning into crescent moons and dimples making your heart burst.

“Wherever you want”, he promised and took a step closer to you, hand snaking down your ass and pulling you against his wet body, “And speaking of making up for lost time... How about a round two?”

[outivv]

hi, good day to you :] if i may – diluc, kaeya, childe and zhongli separately with reader who's dramatic . reader is the type of person who is quiet and shy but when they're comfortable with you they started to show their true persona. so when the boys are in relationship with reader, they honestly didn't expect them to have a dramatic side

reader : *tastes an unexpectedly sour food*

dckz : is it good ?

reader : tastes like it wants me dead, but im not complaining

dckz : *is about to treat reader's wound*

reader : *is getting ready to be expressive*

dckz : *starts treating the wound*

reader : AHHSJSNSK– oh? oh wait. oh, it doesn't hurt

roaches : hello !

reader : AYO DONT COME CLOSE, STAY AWAY

roaches : *flips the wings*

reader : TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND I'LL CURSE YOU AND YOUR SEVEN GENERATIONS

dckz : 👁👁

reader : *takes a broom and the bug spray* step back, dckz

dckz : ?

reader : im in a battlefield 🤺

dckz : 🧍‍♂️

Synopsis: dramatic s/o, who’s shy when you first meet them!

Warnings: not proofread!

Game/ fandom: genshin impact

Characters: Diluc, childe, kaeya, and zhongli

Pronouns for reader: gender neutral/ not mentioned

A/n: lmao dckz (yes I have the humor of a third grader) *cough* any way, I definitely took a more… lighthearted, and causal tone than my usual stuff. Hope none of you mind, but I wanted to try a different tone than usual, cause that’s just the mood I’m in :D

— Diluc —

Diluc at first thought that you were much like him. Just shy, and fairly reserved, and you know what he respected that. (Respectful guy, and we appreciate that.)

You started showing your… dramatic side, slowly but surely, and Diluc definitely caught on, but truly just paid no mind. Maybe you were just getting more and more comfortable with him…?

Literally bumping your knee, and collapsing dramatically, will make him worry about you. He’s always quick to rush to your side and make sure you’re ok.

If you wanna make him have a heart attack though, then just… collapse dramatically when he’s half asleep. Like you ran out of coffee that morning or something, and you pretend to pass out dramatically. You’ve never seen dilucs eyes go as wide until then.

— childe —

He does that too, except he’s always dramatic. He never hid his dramatic side from the start, and as a result I feel that anyone who’s more… dramatic at nature, would instantly… almost mimic his demeanor, or be more comfortable to be themself around him. (Childe doesn’t judge either. Dude has no right to he almost wiped out a nation, why would he judge???)

You cut your finger once, and put the back of your hand on your forehead, and whined for him to kiss it to make it feel better. He happily obliged.

People will see you out in public, and will instantly just be like “dang calm down?” But literally neither of you care, you’re both too busy pretending to fight each other with wooden swords, and then when childe grazes your arm with the sword, you pretend to play dead.

Probably convinces you to play with the local kids in liyue, or even is siblings. Both of you being “dramatic” mixes well with the children’s insanely active imaginations.

— kaeya —

Oh yeah him too. Literally kaeya is dramatic as well, but in… an elegant way(???). Like the kind of dramatic that you’d see on a stage play. So basically… he’s extra as hell.

Definitely encourages you to just… be yourself basically. He understands you’re very shy at first, but he’ll basically be like “but… why? Like be dramatic. It’s funny, and then we can be that cool dramatic pair.” (He wouldn’t say that, but you get the point.)

Always makes fun of you because you’re screaming over a bug, calling it a “spawn of Satan”

— zhongli —

Zhongli is the partner that definitely is like “you go babe!” While just sitting on the sidelines. You’re literally trying to fence a scarecrow, and he’s just like “yeah you get ‘em!”

He may think you’re slightly childish, but never thinks less of you because of it. Though he looks like a old man (to be fair he’s like 6,000 years old…), just sipping his tea, as you make a face like a dissatisfied child at your peas.

Loves that you’re more dramatic, and he completely understands why you were shy at first, and never pushed you in any way.

Whenever you’re especially being dramatic, he’ll just look at you like “is that right?” And walk away with a smile on his face. (“Humans are so funny.” - zhongli probably)

[writtenjewels]

Custom

His fingers couldn't stop shaking as he unbuttoned his uniform. The battlefield was still fresh in his mind's eye to the point he couldn't really see the ship's barracks. Joe's ears were still ringing from the gunfire and explosions. It was only when he got down to his off-duty clothes that he registered the others calling to buddies and clapping each other on the shoulder.

Charlie. Joe searched the faces but didn't see his friend among them. Something squeezed his insides tight. The two of them weren't assigned the same unit when they went on this mission but even if they were, Joe wouldn't have seen much of his friend. He was too focused on the next few feet, the rifle in his hand, and the enemy just ahead.

“Hey.” Joe grabbed a soldier as he passed by. “You seen Private Anderson anywhere?”

“Anderson... Yeah, he was just in the mess, I think.”

Relief flooded Joe and he headed over. There were several soldiers in the mess despite no food being served. They were talking and laughing, maybe a little loudly, and right in the middle of the group was Charlie. Somehow Joe wasn't surprised at all by this. Charlie wasn't a social butterfly; he was a social moth, gravitating toward people like a moth would a light. Or maybe he was the light and everyone else was the moth wanting to be around him.

Charlie looked up and spotted him. He said something to his friend group and extracted himself. He grabbed Joe by the arm and pulled him away to an empty corridor.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes,” Charlie said. Joe didn't answer in words. He embraced his friend in a hug and squeezed him close. Charlie responded with a pat on his back.

“Glad to see you in one piece.” Joe pulled back and gave Charlie three kisses on one cheek. The other froze and Joe remembered too late that kissing like this to greet a good friend was not a universal custom. He was halfway to doing the same to Charlie's other cheek and paused, watching Charlie warily. Would he get decked?

It took a moment for Charlie to recover. When he did he surprised Joe by leaning in and kissing his mouth. It wasn't an entirely unusual thing for Russian men to do but Joe didn't expect it of Charlie. Except Charlie wasn't ending the kiss; he was pressing into it, softening the pressure of his mouth. And Joe wasn't ending it, either, pulling Charlie against him and changing the angle of their mouths ever so slightly.

Footsteps were approaching and the two jerked apart. They greeted the soldier as he passed by and when they were alone again, Joe felt an awkward energy buzz between them.

“That was, um.” He cleared his throat. “That was a Russian custom. When two men greet each other, they, uh...”

“Huh.” Charlie gave him a sideways glance. “So you've done that before?”

“Sure.” It wasn't entirely a lie. But to linger on it, to pull the other person up against him and keep the kiss going... Joe never did that with one of his buddies back home. Not something he needed to tell Charlie.

“With the other fellas here?” Charlie clarified.

“No. You know I'm Russian, so I guess... that makes me feel a little more comfortable.” Again, not a lie, though why his face felt hot when he said it Joe didn't know.

“That's good. I like that you feel comfortable.” There was silence between them. Charlie glanced over his shoulder toward the mess. “You wanna join us?”

“You know crowds ain't my thing, Charlie.”

“Right, sure.” Charlie face fell briefly only to move back into a more easy expression. “I'll see you around then, pal.”

“See ya.” He turned and headed down the hall. He had no destination in mind; he just needed to walk off this weird, nervous energy that hadn't left him since the kiss. It was very unlikely Charlie knew kissing on the mouth was a normal way for two men to greet each other in Russian culture.

Joe did not want to follow that thought any farther. He didn't want to reach the end of it and see the conclusion.

[nightingaelic]

FNV Companions react to being re-united with the Courier after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam (NCR Best Ending)

TW: Blood, gore

As the screams of men, metal and guns petered out, movement on the Hoover Dam slowed. The sun was low, red as the ground beneath it, and the heat rising from the concrete and hundreds of gun barrels gave the area a faint shimmer. Most of the Legion lay dead or dying, their last gasps covered by the sounds of NCR soldiers calling to each other, looking for friends or officers or just reassurance that what had happened was true.

Victory.

Arcade Gannon: Though plenty of the NCR heavy troopers were popping off their helmets as the battle came to a close, Arcade kept his on out of fear someone would recognize him. The Brotherhood of Steel attendees appeared to be of the same mind, so he did his best to linger between the two groups and hoped both would assume he had arrived with the other.

Someone slapped the side of his metal-encased arm, and he looked down to find the courier beaming up at him, gasping like they had just run a marathon. "Hey, Six," Arcade said, surprised. "I thought General Oliver would've packed you on a flight to Shady Sands by now."

"Not yet. How're you holding up in there?" the courier asked breathlessly. "Looks like it'd be an oven under the sun."

"Oh, it is," Arcade assured them. "But it also stopped a few bullets and a machete or two, so no complaints here."

The courier bent over and put their hands on their knees. "I saw Daisy... saw her chopper off with the others after the fighting stopped. Oliver's confused as all hell, he doesn't know who they are, where they came from or where they went, but he's got bigger problems to deal with right now than chasing them down."

They looked up with a grin. "Thanks. Tell them all I said hi."

Arcade laughed. "Will do. And thank you."

"For what, dragging you and your only surviving family into this?"

"Well, yeah." Arcade looked down sheepishly. "Fortune favors the bold."

The courier nodded. "Fortis fortuna adiuvat."

"You remembered?"

"Of course I did." They gestured at the broken and scattered weapons and men of Caesar's Legion that lay around them. "After today, we're running low on people who know how to speak Latin."

Craig Boone: Though the other NCR snipers around him packed up their gear and headed toward the dam, Boone stayed put with his rifle until the courier made their way up the rocks to his position. They waved when they spotted him, and he put up a hand of greeting as well.

"And it's over," they said, plopping down to take a seat next to him and dangle their legs over the drop-off.

"Yep."

"Was that you who got that shot in and made Lanius drop his sword?"

Boone smiled. "Mm-hmm."

They smiled back. "Thanks."

The two of them sat together in silence, watching the activity below. Boone's smile grew and grew, wider than it had in years.

"Do you want to go down and join in?" the courier asked, when a group of NCR soldiers started putting broken defenses and wooden Legion weapons into a pile to burn.

Boone straightened his sunglasses and looked toward the horizon. "Yeah. I do."

Lily Bowen: "Pumpkin!" Lily bellowed when she spotted the courier across the dam, leaning on the concrete barrier next to the edge. She pushed her way past several surprised NCR troops, who yelped and jumped out of her path. "Pumpkin, are you alright?"

"Lily." The courier was pale, nursing a jagged wound on their arm. "I'm okay, Lily. I just need..."

Lily barred anyone else from approaching them as they rooted around in their pack. Finally, they extracted a stimpak and jabbed it into their arm, hissing as the medicine found its way into their bloodstream.

Lily inspected the cut carefully. Aside from its ragged appearance and the blood surrounding it, the wound was clean. The stimpak was working its magic, and the redness seeping out was already slowing. "Is that better, dearie?" she asked.

"Much." The courier sighed and leaned back against the concrete. "Legate Lanius had a sword. Not as... as big as yours, but big enough to slice me up when I got too close."

"You rest, pumpkin." Lily sat down on the barrier next to them, careful to hold her hat on in the breeze. "The fight is over now. Leo is quiet again."

"Mmmm-hm." The courier nodded sagely, before turning to face the steep drop below to the bottom of the dam. "We did it."

"How do you feel?"

The courier opened their mouth to answer, but instead threw up over the barrier and into the crevasse below. Lily carefully patted them on the back and produced a box of gum drops from her overalls pocket. "Here. For your breath, dearie."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "Courier!" Raul pushed his sombrero back with the tip of his revolver, scanning the battlefield atop the dam. "Six, dónde estás?"

An injured NCR soldier looked up from the curb he was sitting on. "What's a ghoul doing here? He's not with us, is he?"

"Chinga tu madre," Raul swore, pausing his search. "You see the courier anywhere around here?"

"Raul!"

He turned back to the devastated landscape and there they were, jogging through the mess of bodies, shell casings and busted concrete. Raul laughed and spread his arms in relief, in welcome. The courier dropped their gun and threw themselves into his embrace, ignoring the blood and dust that covered his costume. Truthfully, they were just as covered in the battle's detritus as he was.

"I lost you so quickly," they breathed hard in his ear. "No wonder... no wonder they call you the ghost vaquero."

"Mij@." Raul embraced them tightly, then held them at arm's length to inspect them. "You had me worried. I thought I was the one who was going to have to track down twelve mariachi bands to play at your funeral."

The courier grinned. "Still want your medal?"

"Think the NCR'll give me one?"

They made a face at that. "If they wanna give me one, they'll have to give you one, too. Come on. I want to see the look on General Oliver's face when I tell him that you did just as much work here as me."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: A lone NCR trooper stood by the nearest flag pole, hoisting a scrap of fabric high above the scene. Cass could make out the two-headed bear emblazoned upon it, and something in her heart rose. She was still standing there, watching the red star whip in the breeze atop the dam, when the courier made their way over to her.

"Cap for your thoughts?" they asked.

For a moment, Cass tried to find the words for that feeling inside her. When she failed, she turned away from the flag. "Nah. Nothing you don't already know. What next, Six?"

The courier scratched their head and looked around. "Clean-up. Round up the Legion boys who are still kicking, grab everything that isn't nailed down before anyone else does, and pull this place back into some kinda shape."

"And then?"

"And then we drink." The courier pulled out their canteen and offered it to Cass. "But here's a little something for right now. Go on, keep it."

Cass drank deeply. Whiskey, just the way she liked it. "The NCR did good today."

Her traveling companion smiled. "We did good today."

"Mmm, not yet." Cass waved them off. "Don't lump me in with the bear before the work's all done. Ask me later, we'll see how I feel."

"Way I see it, if you had any actual qualms about this, you wouldn't have come," the courier replied with a chuckle. "But I'm damn glad you did."

They'd walked off toward the NCR top brass before Cass could answer, but she let the wind take the words anyway, small as they were. "Me too."

Veronica Santangelo: As soon as the courier was finished speaking to General Oliver, Veronica pulled them away and unearthed a handkerchief from inside her robes to wipe away the worst of the gore from their face. "Eugh. Is this... did somebody explode on you?"

"Hard to say." The courier pulled out their own bandanna and began wiping Veronica's face down in return. "How do you feel?"

Veronica laughed and accepted the help. "Honestly? I'm not sure what my parents would think of me fighting for the NCR, but for New Vegas it seemed like this was the best chance at stability. I don't regret it, if that's what you're asking."

The courier gestured at the Brotherhood of Steel Knights and Paladins that were milling about next to and among the NCR soldiers. "Your family doesn't seem to regret it either."

"Yeah." Veronica brightened somewhat. "They actually came. That ought to show both the Elders and the NCR that this, this is possible."

She watched her brothers and sisters from afar, making awkward introductions and conversation with the defenders of the dam and even comparing power armor pieces with the NCR heavy troopers. She smiled faintly.

The courier followed her gaze. "Did you want to join them?"

"No." Veronica looked down at her power glove, flexing the joints as if lost in thought. "No, that's okay."

ED-E: The courier found ED-E stuck beneath a collapsed barricade, where it had been knocked during the fighting by a lucky Legion swipe. They pulled the eyebot out and dusted it off. "You okay, buddy?"

ED-E beeped its reassurance and pulled itself from the courier's grasp, shaking in midair to dislodge any remaining debris. It did one final loop-de-loop to lose a large splinter before blasting its triumphant music at top volume.

Surprised, the courier laughed. "That's right. We did it. We won."

Rex: The chaos around Rex began to fade into the background, overwhelmed by the scent that clung to the courier at his side. A rush of endorphins, dopamine, a whiff of serotonin- Rex didn't know the words, but he knew what they meant when mixed together in that way. Relief. Happy relief.

The cyberdog yawned, signaling his own stress, and looked up at the courier. They noticed his movement and dropped down to his level immediately, running their hands through the ruff of fur around his neck and inspecting his mechanical parts carefully. "Good dog. Good boy. We did good today, you and me."

Under their touch, Rex relaxed. He opened his mouth to pant. It had been a long, hot day.

[realcube]

waking up the hq boys at midnight to get ice-cream hcs🍦

characters: tsukishima, tanaka, nishinoya, ushijima, sugawara,  oikawa,  kageyama 

note: yes, this was very much inspired by that one tiktok sound where the girl wakes up her bf to get ice-cream- 

also, i use midnight as like..the middle of the night- not actaully 12AM lol

tw// fluff, sangwoo- 

Tsukishima Kei

you did not need to wake him up at 1AM to get ice-cream

man was already up, having just came off his phone and laying like this 😐 in bed as he either waited for himself to fall asleep or was thinking about an awkward interaction he had earlier that day 

anyway, as soon as you turned to him like ‘tsukki, do you wanna come with me to get ice-cream?’

he was suddenly 😴 fast asleep, fake snores and all

you were stubborn though, so you hopped out of bed up to go get ice-cream by yourself if he was just going to ignore you 

although, once you threw your coat on, tsukishima decided to start questioning your unusual behaviour, ‘why do you want ice-cream? it’s night; can’t you just sleep like a normal person and have ice-cream in the morning?’ 

honestly, tsukishima probably finds your nightly antics more endearing and cute rather than annoying 

he’d never admit it though- 

if you talk to him after midnight, on the outside he always looks displeased but really, he loves talking to you period

whether it is at 5PM or 1AM

you shrugged, without an explanation for your craving, ‘i don’t need to reason my midnight urges to you.’

with that, you turned on your heels to head out the door with the full intention of going to get ice-cream - this wasn’t a game 

tsukishima groaned as he finally deduced that you were being dead serious and not just doing this to irritate him

‘ugh, wait.’ he scoffed, forcing himself out of bed to follow you, ‘we have ice-cream downstairs, dumb-ass. don’t bother going out.’ 

you didn’t spare him a glance, continuing to venture to the front door, ‘yeah, but we don’t have strawberry.’ 

tsukishima glared at you, realising that persuasion would not work in this situation so he’d have to resort to brute force and trickery

‘ah, alright.’ he let out a sigh of defeat, ‘at least give us a hug before you go then.’

you paid no mind to how he referred to himself as plural, which is something he only does when he is lying or guilty as he is talking on behalf of his two faces 

also, you should’ve realised something was up when he actually asked for a hug instead of just expecting you to give him one

obliging, you wrapped him in a hug; allowing him to scoop you up into his arms, throw you over his shoulder and carry you to the kitchen

‘let me go, you whore!’  you squealed, lightly slapping his back as if that’d make him let you go 

tsukishima snickered at how childish you were being, ‘you can’t go out in the middle of the night to get ice-cream. you’ll die.’ 

‘i won’t die!’

‘you definitely will.’

anyway, he ends up making you both a bowl of ice-cream and eating it with you at the kitchen table while watching Spirited Away

and despite the fact he had some too, he’ll tease you about this for..the rest of your life 

like sometimes he’ll just wake you up in the middle of the night (during holidays ofc - he respects your sleep schedule) and whisper in your ear, ‘(y/n), do you wanna come get ice-cream with me?’

Tanaka Ryūnosuke

IORFHIEBGEGBO THIS MAN

ik most ppl would think he’d just go with you without a second thought or that he’d be the one asking you to go out for ice-cream but- no- 

well, yes; he wants to 

but when you wake him at 1AM 

(which he doesn’t mind btw bc  sometimes he accidentally wakes you up at like 3AM bc he’s ragin’ on Battlefield oop-)

and you’re all like ‘ryū, wanna go get ice-cream?’ *puppy eyes*

he’s like ‘sure!- but i ain’t got money so- no ❤’ 

then he goes back to sleep 

however, if you say that you’ll pay..he’s already standing with your bags by the door

so you’re definitely gonna have to fork up some cash for that good quality pistachio gelato for him if you want his presence 😌

but tbh, if you said that you were just gonna pay for yourself, he’d come anyway-

Nishinoya Yū

y’all go out at midnight for ice-cream at least once a week-

and it literally began bc you were watching ASMRs and Mukbangs together at 1AM during a sleepover 

and one person was having some lemon gelato and it looked 👌✨ immaculate

in that moment, you both looked at each other and neither of you had to utter a single word for you both to know that there was a mutual goal in mind; to get ice-cream, ASAP

so yeah ig you didn’t have to wake him up but you did need to awake the desire for ice-cream inside him

needless to say, y’all ran to the nearest ice-cream place 

and you made a race out of it 

(you won, ofc)

AND YOU BOTH SHARED A CUP OF GELATO AND IT WAS SO CUTE ! q(≧▽≦q)

and y’know the trope where you have food on the corner of your lip/chin etc and the person kisses you to get rid of it? 

yeah he tried to do that with the trope in mind but he deadass LICKED you IWFBVBBFRI

he was like ‘omg (y/n), lemme get that for you’ 😋👅

honestly, ig it depends if you are into that kinda stuff but ik some ppl would leave fast af ( ﾟдﾟ)つ Bye

Ushijima Wakatoshi

sorry i might have a bit of favouritism going on but i feel like ushijima would be a bigger bitch about it than tsukishima (at first)

but it’s like- solely bc you woke him up y’know?

���ushijima, wanna go get ice-cream?’

he’s just laying there with his bed-head like :/

silently livid bc you messed up his potential 9 hours of sleep

‘no.’

pester all you want but that is the best you’re getting out of him that night

HOWEVER, the following afternoon (after practise ofc), he took you out for ice-cream 😊

and unlike some would believe (by ‘some’, i mean myself 2 secs ago.) i don’t think he’d be all ‘ice-cream is horrible for your health, (y/n)’ or ‘i can’t believe you’re eating that filth. your body is a temple.’

but that rather he’d just happily eat gelato with you; everything in moderation ig :)

OH AND HE’D PURPOSELLY BUY A DIFFERENT FLAVOUR FROM YOU SO HE COULD BE LIKE

‘(y/n), do you want a bite of mine?’ and give you a spoonful to try like the romance king he is  

Oikawa Tōru

you wouldn’t wake him up bc mf needs his beauty sleep

plus, it was during a sleepover at your house so ofc you didn’t want to wake up your guest 

but he’s a light sleeper so when you’re shuffling through your stuff at 1AM, sneaking around the house to find a jacket (trying to be as quiet as possible so you don’t wake him up); his eyes are open and he’s speculating that sangwoo is near

until he turns around to notice that you’re not laying next to him and he is in fact being spooned by a large pillow (probably a sangwoo body pillow smh)

after that, he hops to his feet and storms through the house in search of you so he can yell at you for ruining his sleep grr

however, once he finds you and realises that you look ready to head out, he feels inclined to firstly ask, ‘where are you going? you know it’s 2AM, right?’ 

you replied by explaining your plan to sneak out for ice-cream and he just stared at you, absolutely bewildered for a few moments

he stood like a statue with that stupid expression on his face for ages so you asked him if he was alright, to which he responded, ‘that’s such a stupid idea.’

‘so, you’re not coming with?’

‘of course i am.’

so you both ended up sitting with your ice-cream cones, in your pyjamas, on a park bench somewhere, admiring the moonlit sky along with the stars adorning it

oh, and that was actually the first time he said ‘i love you.’

Sugawara Kōshi

if feel like suga would be exactly like the guy in the sound/video: confused, tired and extremely reluctant but ofc inevitably he ends up standing outside of a dessert place, hand-in-hand with you

he’d wake up, weary from fatigue and he barely has the strength to argue with you during the day - so how exactly was he supposed to do it in the middle of the night? 

thus, he lugged himself out of bed and threw on a coat but as soon as the cold winter air bit at his nose, he was flooded with the energy and will-power to try convince you stay in with him

(It’s his parental senses) 

‘you’ll catch a cold, darling!’ (yes, he does call you that.) ‘and it’s night too, there’s probably a bunch of creeps out and around!’

at that point, it was just a battle of will

bc you both had each other’s wishes at heart

you wanted him to have peace of mind and he wanted you to have ice-cream

(and he was kinda craving some himself tbh)

so you both decided to stay in, tucking into the half-eaten tubs of Ben & Jerry’s in the fridge 

and after that, neither of you got any sleep bc you both stayed up watching movies and cuddling 🥺

Kageyama Tobio

he was wide awake at 2AM, laying beside you on the bed, practising sets 

so ofc the time wasn’t an issue

but kageyama wasn’t big on sweet treats so when you suggested that y’all should go out for ice-cream, you were shocked - to say the least - when he simply replied 

‘sure’

like why would he oppose? he was already awake. plus, he was kinda craving something sweet tbh

also, he could tell it’d make you happy and he’s whipped tbh

so you took advantage of this indifferency by immediately jolting up and dragging him to your favourite dessert place

the whole time, he acted as usual - it was as if he was just on a regular walk to school

when you got there, you both shared a sundae and he paid; what a king (❤´艸｀❤)

(it was bc you had forgotten your wallet/purse at home- but still a kind gesture 💕)

you both just sat in a booth, pecking away at the sundae while talking about anything and everything that came to mind as the low, distant R&B music from the shop’s speakers played in the background

 ‘it is flat. have you ever been on a plane before, (y/n)? did you see a single curve? no.’

you rolled your eyes, finding it physically painful how stupid kagyeama could be sometimes, ‘it’s science, kags. the earth is round! the curves are just very subtle.’

‘no.’

‘YOU CAN’T SAY NO! IT’S SCIENCE!’ 

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E113 (Oct. 27, 2020)

Good evening and good night, lovely people of the world! We’re on the internet and ready to go. Tonight’s guests are Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel. This will be calm, controlled, and sane, I can feel it. Brian points out it’s been seven months since either of them were on Talks. Oof. (Sam asks if it’s been going the whole time without him. Bigger oof.) Travis keeps sneaking bites out of an acai bowl or something and tries to look sneaky about it, and I laugh every time because he’s just...so big. He’s such a big person.

(Brian is wearing a lobstrosity shirt. He and Travis talk about Dark Tower for a bit; then Sam tries to get into the conversation: “Is that the thing from It?” Brian: “Is what the thing from It?” Sam: “Is that lobster the clown from It? I’m not very literate. Is that a Langolier? Is that a Shawshank?”)

Announcements: none! Maybe they just forgot. We’ve been talking about Sam’s spooky skeleton decorations for like five minutes. Brian suggests taking them to Travis’s house. Travis: “That’s the fastest way to get to the smell of burning plastic.” Brian: “Speaking of your girlfriend...”

On Avantika: Fjord wouldn’t call it a relationship as much as a casual sexual interaction. Not official! Super not official!!

The first sea voyage wasn’t great for Fjord, but he tried to be thoughtful about preparing for this one before they left: praying, kneeling at the bow of the ship, etc. He’s a little disappointed the Wildmother didn’t even throw him a “yo, fam” heads up.

They weren’t sure how to resolve the conflict at first, since Avantika went for Fjord rather than the crystal. No one expected it to get exposed in that way. Travis thought the necklace was a pocket dimension and was alarmed to learn it wasn’t. Travis wants it destroyed along with the third gateway, so until they are he won’t rest easy.

Everyone enjoyed watching them all fail on the battlefield again. (Sam: “You used [Counterspell] so effectively!”) Travis thought he’d said Thunder Step, which would imply Avantika was running, rather than Thunder Wave. Sam says it’s fine since none of them have that spell and he wouldn’t know it anyway.

It’s very difficult for Veth to find reasons to stay with the M9. She loves the adventures and making a difference, but she also wants to come home and have weekends and have a husband and life. “She’s a career girl!” He’s very excited about the possibilities of Caleb’s transportation effectively creating an easy commute for her. He also, as a player, doesn’t want to be the person who’s always leaving the party. “My characters wanna roam!”

Travis was fully tilted that Avantika might have gotten away right before the break. He doesn’t think he could have focused on Vess DeRogna’s task knowing Avantika had gotten away; he was seriously working out how Fjord would leave the party to go make a last stand at the third gate if she’d escaped.

Sam looooves how Matt plays Yeza, but it honestly makes him feel a little worse at how encouraging he is for Veth to chase her dreams. “He’s always like - go shine! Go blossom!” He wants to have the conversation about Yeza feeling a little ignored. It’s fun to share the tales of adventures with Luc & Yeza. 

Travis says there’s no way it’s Molly--it’s all Lucien. They don’t know if it was a resurrection, if he’s undead, possessed, etc. Everyone--everyone--rags on Taliesin’s accent work. Brian surreptitiously claims Ashly was brought on to relieve him of the burden of the accent. Poor Ashly, ha!

Initially, Travis landed on the Oath of the Ancients, but it had more nature & pacifism in it than he felt fit Fjord very well. Many of them also had a focus on good & lawfulness, which also didn’t feel quite right; he also wasn’t that vengeful for some of the others. He & Matt got together and discussed options. Matt asked what Travis liked about Fjord; Fjord’s love for the ocean was a huge part of it, since Travis himself also loves the ocean & scuba diving, and so Matt created a custom oath for him. Travis does not plan to post its details, but he thinks Matt will at some point.

Cosplay of the Week! a lovely Scanlan by Air Bubbles Cosplay! Sam tells us the “canon” Scanlan cosplay was actually borrowed hodgepodge, and the boots were falling off all day.

It was really cool to see how Yeza & Luc have made a home in Nicodranas. Felderwin was okay, but kind of your basic D&D fishing village, and she likes the Nicodranas is much better. She’s confident & comfortable knowing her family is safe and sound.

Why is Fjord so interested in finding Sabian? To him, post-orphanage, his time with Vandren was the best of his life & the most love he’d ever received, because he mattered & had worth. It was taken by someone he’d known basically his whole life, so Fjord is not going to let that go. “That fuckin’ bill needs to be paid, my friend.”

Sam acknowledges that he should NOT have looked at his phone in re: the Vilya reveal, but it was pretty surprising! He can’t believe none of them recognized it! Travis points out the M9 had never met, heard of, or known anything about Vilya, so it’s not that surprising. Brian points out Matt has also done a really good job keeping the two campaigns separate, so any references were tasteful. Sam marvels that it was so well done: it was tasteful, had emotional and story impact... “That Matt. He’s getting better!”

Liam texted Sam back something like “oh SHIT.”

Knowing Veth had a chance to help someone else return to her child made Veth feel almost karmically forgiven for being away from her kid, but it also made Veth a little guilty--”this lady wants to desperately return home, shouldn’t I want to go home too?” Caleb’s teleportation spell couldn’t have come a better time.

Sam wants Caleb & Astrid to get back together (well, he says “hump each other”), and Dani’s eyebrows climb off her forehead. Veth/Nott really thinks Caleb needs to have a roll in ze hay, and feels like after meeting her that there is a kindness or vulnerability to her that could be worthwhile. Travis thinks she feels like someone tethered, that it feels like she has a bomb or something in her chest that’ll explode if she tries to leave. Sam thinks Eadwulf is super cool. None of these names are spelled like I think.

Travis found the dinner super frustrating, because he felt Caleb was trying to walk a diplomatic line and he just wanted to backhand Trent. 

Fjord is still coming to terms with his feelings for Jester, and the feelings are definitely real, but there’s a lot of timing that he’s considering and he also wants to figure out what the relationship is like outside of constant tension and battle. Fjord is also having trouble figuring out how to exercise the ability to display affection as well since he’s never received them, and is feeling out how to give and receive them. “It’s fine now, because he’s feeling it, but once you say it out loud, or once you come to a point where you make it known to the other side, then what happens? It might be ruined. It might be broken. Or it might not be!” The moment with the porcelain unicorn was too good not to try. Travis also sighs that he’s not a romance D&D guy, “but now I am! Fuckin’ Laura Bailey!” He’s definitely feeling it out and will see how it unfolds in the game.

If Jester hadn’t let go of the Traveler, Fjord would have either attacked the Traveler or the Moonweaver and tried to kick them both off.

Sam doesn’t think the Traveler’s realized yet what a dick he is. Brian thinks it may not happen in this campaign, but agrees the full weight of what he deserves hasn’t been felt yet. Travis: “Yeah, he came to the edge, but it didn’t cost him anything.” Brian: “Yeah, he’s a real edgelord.”

Fanart of the Week! a beautiful portrait of Molly in the snow by @claygryphon on twitter.

Veth acknowledges that they work for shady people with shady pasts, so Vess DeRogna isn’t her first rodeo, but this time it’s personal. It’s Jaws 2: Electric Boogaloo. Sam can’t commit to actual actions, since Vess is like level 20 or something, but “I will get some kinda revenge. Be it petty or significant, I will get revenge.”

How are they feeling about being in Eiselcross? They’ve only just landed, so not sure yet. The cold is intimidating. They’re excited to explore a new island that’s part of Wildemount, especially with the river of lava running through it. “It’s icy with lava? Sounds like a Dairy Queen.”

There’s still a ton of unknowns regarding the Tombtakers, Vess, the nature of their job, and who’s here on whose orders. They’re excited to see how it’s all going to play out. Travis laughs that he doesn’t take notes, he’s just here to fight things. It just washes over him when Matt starts talking about names and places. “It’ll reveal itself in time. [...] I don’t write those notes down. I don’t even know how to spell it off the bat.” I have never identified more with Travis. Sam actually does pay attention and take notes and was really impressed by Marisha’s dive.

Veth became interested in branding her own spellcraft as soon as she saw Caleb doing it. “That’s what the influencer agents are gonna be looking at. It would be nice to leave the world better than we found it, but also with some branded spells.”

What were Fjord’s thoughts on dropping so much money on the ring & the Ioun stone? It wasn’t about money for Fjord, it was about a cool thing to acquire. It’s why he saves money in his campaign. Caleb needs “as much of a flak jacket as he can get.” He also REJECTS the idea of buyer’s remorse on the ring and touts the effectiveness it’ll have on the lava river.

Travis talks about his old coins - a 340AD coin he bought at a ren faire and a 120BC coin that was a gift from a friend.

Sam marvels at the love and thought that Caleb put into the tower. Sam points out they forgot to go to the top two floors altogether. Travis: “Did the mansion get as much careful planning from Scanlan as the tower did from Caleb?” Sam: Absolutely not. But they were still thinking small in C1, figuring out how things went, and they didn’t have as much detail in their heads yet.

And that’s all the time we have for tonight! We end on everyone whispering way too close into their mics and tapping fingernails on mason jars. A fitting end to this crazy episode, I think.

Is it Thursday yet?

[jazzistolkienfanfics]

Don’t Worry - Eomer x reader

| Hi! I saw you posted about request and I looked through your prompt list! So I’d was wondering if you could write #22 & #26 with either Eomer or Legolas (I didn’t see a thing about which characters you write for). Thank you so much 😊 |

@orphan-with-a-stutter​ i’ll write for eomer because i have two leggy ones already. 

ANYONE READING THIS - I WRITE FOR EVERYONE! SO REQUEST AWAY!

thank you SO SO MUCH for requesting! ily sooooooo much!

22. “You’re so drunk right now, it’s hilarious.” 26. “You look so cute when you laugh.”

Type: Imagine  Pairing: Eomer x reader  Summary: in celebrations after the Fall of Sauron, Eomer and his favourite Shieldmaiden Y/N have a few too many cups of drink Warnings: ‘shit’ Word Count: 785 (cute small one)

“You know, that was really stupid,” Eomer rolled his eyes at Y/N, who just rolled hers back as he wrapped a bandage around her middle.

“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” the Shieldmaiden replied breezily, accepting a hand up from the blond. “There were at least five moments in the past half-hour that could describe my apparent stupidity.”

“First I thought my sister was dead, then you? You must stop getting into battles like this,” Eomer sighed, though there was a reluctant smile there that he directed at Y/N as he rolled up the remainder of the bandage.

“Aw, you care for me so?” Y/N put a hand to her heart. “Then, oh noble Captain of the Rohirrim, buy me a drink.”

Eomer just chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. “If that is what My Lady requests.”

---

An hour later, Y/N had no idea how many cups she had had, but she was enjoying it very much. Eomer was being holding himself back a little more (the bartender serving them noticed he stared far more at Y/N than his drink). 

Y/N noticed his glances, and she finally asked him, in a slightly slurred voice, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Eomer chuckled. “You’re so drunk right now, it’s hilarious. You’re really gonna regret some of this shit when you’re sober.”

“Nah,” Y/N shrugged. “I don’t do regrets. I life my life as I want to.”

With that, she leaned in, kissed him off the cheek, then took her drink and went to go and dance in the corner with some of the other Shieldmaidens. 

Eomer blinked a couple times, staring down at his mug with what he was sure was an embarrassingly wide smile. 

“You got yourself a good one there, laddie,” the bartender chuckled as he pushed another beer over the counter. “You should go and get her.”

Eomer put out his hand for the drink. As he clenched it tightly, he thought of how he had felt, when he saw the h/c girl lying lifeless on the Pelennor Fields beside his sister, Eowyn. The crushing agony of the possibility that he could have lived the rest of his life without ever hearing her lively laugh or see her beaming smile.

And he swallowed the rest in one gulp, pushing his way through them to get to Y/N.

“Hey!” he yelled over a very rowdy drinking song starting up right next to them. “May I have this dance?”

Y/N, still wildly drunk, just grinned and grabbed his hands, putting one of them on her waist and stretching the other out in front of them. They pranced around for a little, Eomer sometimes stopping to turn Y/N around, making her giggle wildly.

Then the musicians brought the music down, a harp-plucked ode to romance and melancholy. Y/N moved closer to Eomer, her drunkenness giving her the confidence to do so many things she wouldn’t normally do.

She didn’t want to hurt herself in a stupid proclamation of one-sided love - not again. Although, the last time, Eomer had been the one to find her crying on the floor with her arms clutched tightly to her chest, her heart ripped to pieces, and he had been just as loving then as he was now.

Y/N asked him if he remembered that moment.

Eomer laughed loudly. “Yeah, I do, Y/N.”

She looked at him, her arms wound around his neck as they swayed slowly to the flowing music. “You look so cute when you laugh.”

The warrior, for all his battlefield prowess, didn’t how to respond to that, a slow blush spreading across his cheeks. He noticed the anxiety and the fear on Y/N’s face as the words slipped out of her mouth, the persuasive buzz of alcohol fading from her mind, and he smiled gently.

She was just as scared as he.

Eomer gently raised a hand from Y/N’s waist to cup her cheek. “You always look cute.”

That was all the reassurance she needed to bring herself forwards, and gently kiss him. Eomer immediately returned her affection, softly and frightened, like she would disappear in all of a minute.

“Don’t worry,” Y/N whispered, as if reading his mind. “I’m not going anywhere.”

---

After the kiss, Y/N had sleepily fallen onto a chair and closed her eyes. Eomer just shook his head with a low chuckle, scooping her up in his arms and taking her to a room in the inn.

She shifted in her sleep, worry clouding her face. He set her on the bed, brushing a strand of h/c hair out of her face with the lightest touch, smiling as her face smoothed.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. Everything’s okay.”

The next one coming is PART TWO OF HE’S MINE! TELL ME IF U WANNA BE TAGGED!

[myreygn]

Ok no worries! Maybe Nairobi and Denver or Berlin and the Professor (not inc*st of course but just brotherly banter or other stuff). For Nairobi and Denver it could be them just playing around, finding out one of them is ticklish, etc. For Berlin and the Professor maybe Berlin tries to get the Professor to relax and actually smile for once and he remembers he used to be ticklish as a kid? Lmk if you want any more ideas!

finally got around to it, sorry it took so long anon. hope you see this and enjoy it :)

tw: swearing

O~o~O

Sparring Partner

“Just admit that I'm stronger and I might let you out of this!”

“Never!”, Nairobi hissed and started another attempt to bring her colleague down, jumping at him and unpacking one of her very own secret tricks. She launched herself at his throat with her right hand, then put all her strength into a surprise punch from the left – only to have it blocked by Denver. Again.

“You know, you're really pretty but that's it”, the fighter stated and pinned her to the ground with a cocky grin. “You sure you wanna keep going?”

Nairobi only glared at him. Fuck that guy, honestly! But after all, she was the one who had suggested the sparring session and aside from the humiliation it would bring her, backing out now wouldn't bring her forward either. How was she supposed to improve her hand to hand combat if she let out such a perfect opportunity to learn from the master?

“Alright”, Denver grinned, then let go off her and turned around to reposition himself. “But if you wanna, defeat me, you gotta...”, he twirled around just in time to grab her leg and throw her back on the ground, “try a little harder.”

“How do you do that?!”, Nairobi spluttered and got back on her feet with a groan.

“Years of practice. And you weren't exactly subtle.” Denver grinned and lifted his hands, signaling that she could now attack again. “I said that in a nice way, actually you were horrible.”

“You!”, the older woman screeched and jumped at him again. For solid ten minutes more she tried to bring Denver down, make him tumble or at least land a hit, but all she got was defeat after defeat after defeat. That boy was too strong for his own good.

“Wanna know what your problem is?” Denver sat on the ground, leaning against the wall and a water bottle in his hand. Nairobi noticed with pleasure that even though she couldn't manage to defeat him, she at least had made him sweat.

She glared at him. “You knew what my problem was and still let me get my ass whooped?!”

“Yeah, was fun. So, you wanna know or not?” Denver's grin only grew when she huffed and rolled her eyes, a sign for him to continue. “You're thinking way too limited. I know, you're not a hand-to-hand-fighter, but you should know that this kind of combat consists of many different styles. You're trying to fight like me, that's your mistake. You can't compete with me if you're only relying on your strength. Actually, you probably couldn't compete with anyone that way.”

Nairobi could barely hold herself from grabbing the next heavy thing and throwing it at his head. She took a deep breath to calm down and then thought about is words. “So, you're saying... that if I fought in a different way and with a different focus... I could be better than you?”

“Nah nah, I didn't say that! But yeah, you have other talents. You should use them instead of trying to make up something you can't do.”

Nairobi thought about this for a few seconds. 'Use my own talents, huh? Not a bad idea...' She got up with a stretch and put her water bottle to the side, then positioned herself on the “battlefield” once more. “Alright, let's do this.”

“Already?” Denver grinned and shrugged his shoulders before he stood up as well. “Don't you wanna take a little break before I defeat you once more?”

“You won't, now that I have my very own strategy, moron!”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say, princess.” Denver spread his arms and laughed his obnoxious, yet somehow very funny laugh. “Come and get me!”

It didn't start off well, Nairobi had to admit that. Her first two attacks were simply avoided, the third blocked and after her fourth attempt, Denver finally decided to snap back. With another laugh, he put his arms around her in a grip that she could never figure out in combat with him and the end of the fight neared with a shockingly fast tempo. Think, Nairobi, think... her talents didn't really seem to be useful in this situation. None but one: she didn't lose. Never. And never losing sometimes included dirty methods.

Denver let out a not-so-manly shriek when Nairobis's nails made contact with his side, only covered by a thin tank top, and scribbled all over the damp fabric. Sweat. Always a pleasant experience. Nairobi shook off the slight disgust she felt, especially considering that she was just as sweaty as her sparring partner, and wriggled out of his arms when his grip loosened. Now she had even better access to his torso and she used the surprise moment to bring him to the ground and straddle him.

“Aw, what is it, boy? A little ticklish?”

It had been a guess, yeah, but apparently a very lucky one; Denver was squirming underneath her and raspy giggles were pouring out of his mouth. “'m nahat, gehet off!”

For sure not. Nairobi just grinned and went from scribbling to squeezing, making him buck his hips so hard she almost flew off. “Oh, but I think you are! And it's pretty bad, if I might say so. Look at you: barely giggling, yet you can't get up! You can't even move properly, can you?” Her hands shot up under his arms that he clamped to his sides, clawing at his rips. “Can you, huh?”

Denver threw his head back and his fist banged on the floor as he bit his lip to suppress the laughter. “GhEheh, Nahairohobi! Nahaha-” His face reddened and he grunted between his giggling. “Stahap!”

Nairobi grinned triumphantly. “Just admit that I'm stronger than you and I might let you out of this.”

For a second, Denver stared up at her in disbelief, still huffing and chuckling quietly, then his face was taken over by a stubborn frown. “Nehever!”

“Alright, then this is on you.”

She had already noticed the desperation in which he clamped his arms to his torso and since observation was one of her strengths as well, she had a vague idea of the spot that would finally get a real laugh from this donkey. Without a further warning, she grabbed Denver's left wrist and once more, the surprise moment was on her side as she forced his arm to the side and pinned it down with her knee. For a second she allowed herself to enjoy the horror dawning on her colleague's face, then she dug right into the center of his unprotected armpit and Denver lost it.

“NAHA, FAHahAckiHING STAHAHAP! NAHAHAIROBIHEHE!”

“That is my name, what do you want?”

“DOHOHON'T!”

“Don't? Don't what? Don't stop? Gladly!”

“NAHAHAT-”

“So I should stop?”

“Yehea!”

“Too bad, I don't feel like it.”

Nairobi chuckled along with the hysteric boy and doubled her scribbling efforts. Denver snorted and almost immediately turned his head to hide his face, but he couldn't stop the older woman from cooing at him anyways. His right arm shakily reached out to her hand and Nairobi smirked. “Gotcha!”

“GAAH!”

“Yeah, not exactly an improvement, huh?” She laughed as she dug into his second armpit and a tear pricked at the corner of his eye. “Aw, crying?”

“STAHAHAP, PLEHEHEASE!”

“Look, I really like how you beg, but you know what you gotta say buddy. No way 'round.” His laughter got a little wheezy and Nairobi mentally cracked her knuckles. Time for the final push. With a devious smirk, she placed her thumbs right at the center of his armpits and began to press deep circles. If Denver wasn't hysteric before, now he was.

“AHAHAHALRIHIGHT, IHI GIHIHIVE! YOHOU'RE STROHONGEHAHAHA, PLEHEHEASE STAHAHAP!”

“Alright, alright, jeez.” Nairobi chuckled and finally took her hands away, then she got up and handed Denver his water bottle, watching with slight amusement how he just laid on the ground, panting, before actually sitting up and grabbing it. “You're right, that worked a lot better. Tomorrow, same time, same place?”

“You bet!”, Denver spluttered and pointed at her threatening, but with the tiniest hint of a grin tugging at his lips. “Don't think you get away with this!”

“Oh, I'm so scared, Giggles!”

“You should be!”

[sanjisock]

puddles

ao3

i. arlong park

It does not take long for Sanji to learn that Zoro is a man who does not do things in halves.

He watches in fascination as Zoro faces Mihawk without a single moment’s of hesitation — cut in half, bleeding all over the deck, but his sword stays true still. Zoro dreams, not of being a great swordsman, but of being the greatest; either you are, or you are not.

Sanji can understand that. It is not quite different from his own, if you look at it in the right ways — you either believe in the All Blue, or you don’t. It either exists, or it doesn’t. You can’t bargain with faith.

But Sanji isn’t the same kid with the iron mask all those years ago who had nothing to lose; he has Zeff now, and a debt as heavy as a lost limb that he could never even begin to repay. He knows how much a dream can cost. He knows how much love — true love, the kind with complete and utter devotion — can cost.

Cocoyashi Village is in celebration, and Sanji finds himself tucked into a corner of the party together with Zoro, somehow untouched by the cacophony. They’re still sizing each other up, barely knowing one another past a fight and a promise to a captain. But Zoro has trusted him easily in that very fight, and right now there’s a spark in the air between them, something not entirely different from attraction .

Zoro takes a large gulp from his bottle and gestures back at the ship. “You coming?”

This could be something , Sanji thinks. Wants to try, if he’s being honest.

But Zoro is a man who does not do things in halves — he is not a man who tries . If Sanji takes the leap, this is it — they either are, or they aren’t. And if they aren’t — Sanji isn’t sure a crew as small and as tight-knitted as the Straw Hats can handle a break up, especially so early on in their journey.

(Sanji isn’t sure a heart as weak as his can handle a break up). 

“I’ll catch up later,” he shrugs, scrambling for an excuse. He suddenly feels like he’s ten again, terrified and running away. “Been wanting to check out this one recipe from that guy over there.”

“If you say so,” Zoro takes the dismissal in stride, and dumps the empty sake bottle into a barrel as he stands up to leave.

Sanji watches him disappear into the night.

+

ii. enies lobby

The Mosshead has been giving him the nastiest look ever since the ship sailed away from Water Seven, so Sanji isn’t particularly surprised when Zoro stops him on his track on the way to Usopp’s workshop.

Zoro eyes the colorful drink on the tray in Sanji’s hand like it’s challenged him into a duel, before finally grunting, “you need to stop treating Usopp like that.”

Sanji’s eyes unwittingly follow Zoro’s gaze on the drink he made for Usopp — it has five colors, three different fruits, and a whip cream on top. Entirely too flashy for the male crewmembers, usually reserved for important occasions. Sanji feigns obliviousness, still. “Like what?”

“Like he’s going to break anytime soon,” Zoro says.

“You mean nicely ?” Sanji snarls back. “Like a normal human being? Not everyone is like you, Marimo. Some people have emotions. ”

“It’s insulting , is what it is,” Zoro retorts, his whole body leaning into Sanji’s personal space, like a challenge. “There’s never a need for you to coddle him. Usopp made his decisions as a man back then, and he had to learn the consequences for it — ”

“And he has learned , Zoro,” Sanji cuts in, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, the fight leaving his body in a snap. He sighs. “Look — I get that it’s your thing, protecting our pride as a crew and all. I was on your side, remember? But it’s all in the past, and Usopp’s got your message, loud and clear.”

Sanji thinks of a little boy with the iron mask, who were forced to learn all his lessons the hard way; and what comes out next is, “I’m the cook of this ship. Let me feed him.”

Let me take care of him , he doesn’t say, but it means pretty much the same thing.

There must’ve been something in his voice, because Zoro seems taken aback; all the tension bleeds out from his shoulders, and he’s now looking at Sanji with an unreadable expression.

There’s a moment of silence, stretched long enough to the point of awkwardness, before Zoro says, “ — didn’t mean to. I mean — quite a lot of shit went down, just didn’t wanna see you — don’t overexert yourself.”

Sanji blinks. “What are you saying .”

“All this talk about taking care of people,” Zoro says, hand rubbing the back of his neck in a rare display of — what? Embarrassment ? “Why wouldn’t you let me —”

Zoro pauses there, sentence trailing off into nothing; but Sanji has always been good at reading Zoro, and he hears the words anyway.

Why wouldn’t you let me take care of you .

Sanji thinks of the party in Cocoyashi, and then hundreds of moments after that — quiet moments in the galley when Zoro helped him wash up the dishes, playful banters that Zoro could only keep up with. Countless enemies they fight side by side, together, the way he feels his heart beat in sync with Zoro’s from across the battlefield.

“Cook —” Zoro puts his hand on Sanji’s shoulder then, and the touch burns , like an electric shock; it jolts Sanji back from his thoughts, a reminder of the reality between them, the way they would fight as hard as they love, and what would that leave him, in the aftermath?

“Let me go ,” Sanji says before he can stop himself, and practically runs to Usopp’s workshop.

+

iii. thriller bark

“You’re a dumbass ,” Sanji says.

“Hn,” Zoro says, not arguing for once.

“I’ve always known you have moss for brains,” Sanji continues, fully aware he’s rambling but unable to stop himself, “but who would’ve thought you’d be this dumb. What kind of complete and utter idiot would be so fucking reckless against a warlord for the second time in his life.”

Zoro hums noncommittally.

Sanji tightens the bandage across his torso with a little more force than necessary.

Zoro makes a pained grunt, and Sanji winces at the sound; they’ve roughhoused each other countless of times before, but this is the first time Zoro can’t take something Sanji dished. It shouldn’t be surprising though, not after the wounds he has taken from Bartholomew Kuma —

“You need to learn to pick your battles,” Sanji rambles on, because he’s suddenly hit with the realization that if he stops talking he might actually cry . “Or at least employ some strategies. Ever heard of those? That’s what people with brains usually do when they fight instead of simply waving some pointy sticks against the enemy. Raise your hand a bit —” he moves to the wound on Zoro’s arm, taking greater care to make sure he’s as gentle as possible, a silent apology for the earlier mishap. “Right there. Yeah. Anyways, I was saying —”

“Sanji,” Zoro says, and Sanji stops.

It’s so unfamiliar — the way Sanji’s name rolls off Zoro’s tongue, shaped by his deep voice. It sends a shiver down his spine, Sanji’s heart suddenly rattling against his ribcage.

When he looks up, Zoro is staring back at him with half-lidded eyes, something other than pain marring his gaze.

Longing .

Sanji feels his throat dry all of a sudden.

“Sanji,” Zoro says, voice low and rasp, but steady. And then: “stay.”

Sanji drops the bandages in his hands. He can’t do this — not when he’s staring at the very reminder of what it would cost . The idea of losing Zoro, as a nakama , has already torn him from the inside; he can’t imagine what it’s like to see Zoro’s lifeless body on the infirmary bed, as a lover.

He remembers standing in front of her mother’s grave, feeling like he’s coming apart at the seams, and wanting to tear up the stitches; wishing he could just unravel after so much hurt . 

“Zoro,” he says, feeling like he’s on the verge of a panic attack, “I — I can’t —”

But when he dares himself to finally meet Zoro’s eyes, the Swordsman has lost consciousness again.

Sanji flees the infirmary.

+

iv. zou

He flips BIg Mom’s invitation to the tea party over and over again, staring at the words etched on the paper.

Groom: Third Son of the Vinsmokes, Sanji.

The words settle unpleasantly in his gut, and he swallows, trying to calm himself down. He’s no longer the same weak kid with the iron mask; he’s now a Straw Hat, and he’s going to settle his issues with his pathetic excuse of a family once and for all.

That’s all.

...so why does it feel like this isn’t going to end well with Zoro?

Thoughts of the Shitty Swordsman appear in his mind, unbidden. A scowl, definitely — maybe a few scathing words to accompany the look. Something about Sanji and his self-sacrificial tendencies — as if Zoro has any right to lecture anyone about that — or maybe some diatribe about trusting the crew to take care of one of their own.

Which is not what this is about, at all. Of course Sanji trusts everyone in the crew — trusts Luffy  to be able to take care of himself. But this is his problem, and he’s the only one responsible to fix it. There’s no need to trouble everyone with a little family problems.

(So why does it still feel like he’s running away?)

+ 

v. whole cake island

“First of all, the captain of my own ship came all this way to track me down,” he says, raising a finger for emphasis, “only for me to insult and hurt him to the best of my ability despite no resistance from him whatsoever. That means I cannot go back to your ship right now.”

Run , he remembers being ten, hearing Reiju’s voice through the prison bars. There is no turning back. Your mistakes are final.

“Second of all,” he continues, “the shitty geezer who saved my life and the home where I was raised are being held hostage in case I don’t play along. That means I cannot escape from this wedding.”

Run , he remembers thinking every time he catches sight of Zeff’s leg. This is the cost of your dream. This is the cost of your love.

“Third of all,” he says, voice rising even higher, “the evil family to which I’m related to is walking into Big Mom’s trap, and they’ll all be slaughtered in a matter of hours. They’re scum of the earth to whom I owe nothing but my hatred but I cannot bring myself to abandon them to their fate and run away!”

Run , he tells himself. Your love worths nothing. You are not worth anyone’s love.

“For these three reason,” he says, eyes avoiding Luffy’s. “I cannot return with the rest of you.”

There’s a bright sunburst of pain against his cheek, and the momentum of the punch throws him against a tree bark, shattering under the impact.

“Tell me how you really feel ,” Luffy yells. “What do you want, Sanji?”

For the first time in his life, Sanji stops running.

+

(i. wano)

Sanji didn’t notice at first, with all the flurry and chaos of the fight against Kaido; but once things have settled down, it occurs to him that Wano is a spring island.

The air is tinged with the kind of heat that barely tips over to unpleasant, uncomfortable without the unbearable fever of summer. Even the nights are wearily humid, which is why he decided to stray away from the celebration feast into the forest, and finds Zoro training alone, swinging his new sword against the wind.

They have not had a moment to themselves ever since — ever since . All of their conversations have mostly been in the heat of the battle, and Sanji isn’t quite sure if they simply did not have the time, or if Zoro has been avoiding him.

It doesn’t matter — here they are, gravitating towards each other still. As if fate herself has weaved a path for them, time and again.

He thinks he can still hear Luffy asking, in the rain: what do you want, Sanji?

“Zoro,” he says, and faces him, head on. “I am in love with you.”

He thinks Zoro would’ve been surprised, once upon a time; maybe if Sanji dared to say it under the Alabasta moonlight, or bathed by the campfire light in the Sky Islands; but now, it feels superfluous, almost redundant. It is no longer the truth that matters between them.

Zoro finally turns to meet his eyes, and sheathes his sword into its scabbard. “What do you want, Cook?”

The same question, again. He’s been running away for so long, he’s forgotten what truly matters, before the risks and the tragedies and the costs . What he truly wants .

The answer to that has always been simple.

“I want us, Zoro. Together. In whichever way you’ll have me.”

Zoro walks up and stops, right in front of Sanji. “You have me ,” he says. “You’ve always had me. It’s you who’s always —” Zoro pauses, gritting his teeth, frustration written all over his face.

“I know,” Sanji says, heartbeat rising up his throat, his ears, his mouth. “Zoro, I —”

“I need to know ,” Zoro says, hand a hair’s breadth away from Sanji’s own, but not quite touching. “I need to know if you will keep running away from me or not.”

Sanji takes the offered hand and closes the distance between them.

It is a short kiss at first, only a cling of lips — and then he feels Zoro’s free hand drifting up to cradle his face as Zoro leans in for another kiss, and another, little dips of kisses, as if Zoro needed the constant reassurance that Sanji is here, with him. And Sanji can give him that, owe him that much — he breathes into the kiss, chases Zoro’s lips and mouths at the curve of his smile.

“This is it, right?” Zoro says when they part, forehead still pressed against one another’s. “Because this is it for me, Cook.”

Sanji thinks of Zoro, who doesn’t do things in halves. Either they are, or they aren’t. And for once he realizes — not the fear or the risk, but how much of an honor it is, to be loved by this man. Entirely and all-consuming.

“This is it,” he tells Zoro, and squeezes Zoro’s hand. “No more running away.”

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write 2021 Prompt #17: Destruct

Destruct – cause deliberate, irreparable damage to

It was maintenance day.

Once every week, Franks had to break down all of the equipment he used as part of the Machinistry discipline and scrub it free of any grime, dirt, and other accumulated filth. Much of it had to be re-lubricated following this process.

It was a time consuming job, but he rather enjoyed it. By now he could do all the tasks while practically asleep, so he let his mind wander. It was nice just to have time to think, ponder everything going on, without much risk of disturbance.

He’d closed the door to his workshop in the Rising Stones, which most of the other Scions knew not to disturb him without important cause.

Which is why it was passing strange that someone chose to knock on said door, even more so when the voice of Y’shtola Rhul came from the other side. “Franks? Are you pressingly engaged at the moment?”

“Just doing maintenance, Y’shtola. Is everything well?”

“Yes…I just needed to speak with you in private, and I thought your workshop might serve as the best setting. Might I enter?”

Franks set his re-assembled automatic crossbow down, wiped his hands clean with a spare rag, and called back “It’s not locked, come on in.”

Y’shtola entered. pausing to close the door as she did. She turned towards him, but curiously, could not seem to bring herself to meet his eyes.

“Y’shtola? What’s wrong?”

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, then slowly releasing. She finally met his eyes when she opened hers again. “I have a problem. It is….personal. Understand, I would not ask for your aid with this had I not exhausted all possible options first.”

Franks furrowed his brow. Something was off in her voice. Was…was that a hint of fear? “I….don’t understand, Y’shtola. What makes you think I’m the one who can help you?”

“It…has always been my life’s ambition to uncover the mysteries that lie on this star. But now I face a mystery of a…closer nature, and I can neither put it aside nor solve it on my own.” she replied, crossing her arms.

“So what might this mystery be?”

Y’shtola looked away. “It is you.”

Shock overcame his face. “Me?”

“Yes, you!” she said, whirling on him. “You have never been entirely forthcoming about your past, and many things that you have let slip are not adding up! You are hiding something, and until now, I have been content to let your past be merely that, but I….I cannot any longer.”

Franks cocked a single eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

She wrapped her arms around herself, unable to take her eyes off the ground. “Because I….I find myself drawn to you. And I cannot answer honestly to myself if it is because I am attracted to you…or if it is a compulsion to solve a puzzle that lies before me.”

She looks up, a frown on her face. “It would be fair to neither of us for me to act on an assumption either way, and so I must beg for your assistance, my friend. Tell me the full story of where you come from, of what roads led you to this point of your story.”

Franks stood, glaring down at her sternly. “And what if neither option is all right with me, Y’shtola? What if I both don’t want to tell you my history AND don’t return your ‘possible’ affections?”

She hugged herself. “Then I will accept your wishes and…and find a way to move on, if that is what you would prefer.”

He nodded and sat back down on the work table. “All right. Just wonderin’. Come on, sit down. I’ll tell ya everything, but it’s a long story. “

“You…you will?” She sat on the bench as well.

“Yeah, figured you’d want to know at some point. Like you said, you’re not one to leave a mystery unsolved, so I figured you’d be the first one of the Scions to come askin’. “

He looked over at her. “And I’ll be honest, recent events have had me wondering about decisions I’ve made up to this point. I know….I know my late wife wouldn’t want me mournin’ her forever. And….well, there’s more than a few women I’ve met that I could see maybe getting to know better, if they’d be interested. You included, if that’s not obvious.”

She smiled at him.

“But that’s gettin’ ahead of m’self. You wanna know the tale of the Old Man, so here it goes. Before we do start though, I just wanna make something clear: no one except the other Warriors knows this stuff. I told em all a long time ago, when we were recuperatin’ after Rhalgr’s Reach. I’ll ask you the same thing I ask them: keep this to yourself. I do not want this becoming widespread knowledge. You agree to that?”

She simply nodded.

“All right then. Where to begin…” he paused.

“Well, I suppose I should start with one of the big revelations. I’m not from this world. And before you ask, no, I don’t think I come from one of the remaining shards either. When we first heard about them, I wondered if that was the case, but based on our experiences on the First, I don’t think that’s the case.”

He points a finger to her. “Now, I know what you’re gonna say about ‘drawing a conclusion based on a single point of data’ but you gotta admit it’s a pretty good size of one, so I figured it was worth rethinking my hypothesis. Norvrandt, on the whole, bears a very strong resemblance geographically speaking to Eorzea. There’s very similar biomes in the same locations. And while the locations of civilizations and even the names of the species might be different, if one was to bring a Mithra to the Source, it wouldn’t be immediately obvious to anyone. He’d look like any other Miqo’te to most folks. And what’s more, from the two survivors of the Thirteenth I’ve been able to talk to, it seems that their home was much the same, at least as far as they remember.”

“My world….was nothin’ like the Source. None of the continents ever looked anything like this place, and the people, well, there’s a lot of different kinds, none of which look anything like folks here. Sure, we had folks that called themselves ‘elves’ or ‘dwarves’ but if you put an elf of my world next to say…Urianger or Alphinaud, it’d be pretty obvious they’re not the same kind of folk.”

“So, based on all that, I figured that my home’s got to be a completely different world. And that world has been embroiled in a large scale war of some kind for as long as I can remember”

He holds up two fingers. “There’s these two factions, divided along racial lines. What races are a part of said faction has changed a bit over time, but the point is, they’ve been at war for as long as I could remember. Ain’t either one of em somethin’ simple as ‘good’ or ‘evil’, they both have good and bad sides to ’em, but for whatever reason, they can’t ever come to a long standing peace. Fighting might break off for a time, but it’s never long before it starts up again in earnest.”

Franks places the tips of his fingers together, looking down at them. “My wife and I….we had a farm in one of the northern kingdoms. My people were called ‘humans’. Pretty similar to Hyurs here, for the most part. Our farm was pretty far out from any of our nation’s cities, so we were always far away from any of the fighting. We always heard news about it though. Cities that fell or got retaken, reports of casualties, that kinda thing.”

“We, ah….we decided we couldn’t bring children into that kind of a world. Our neighbors were always proud of their sons and daughters that shipped off, but we witnessed a lot of sorrow, of hopes for the future get destroyed when someone came to tell em their children had died. We couldn’t do that to someone we brought into this world and raised. It seemed…cruel.”

He let his hands fall to his lap as he looked back over to her. “Anyway, we worked that farm for decades. We were in our….must’ve been somewhere in the seventy summers range when everything changed. “

Y’shtola raised a finger to interrupt. “And here we come to my first problem, there is no way you’ve seen seventy summers! Your white hair aside, your physical condition is nowhere close to the state of a man of that advanced age! Or did these ‘humans’ age more slowly?”

Franks smiled, his head shaking. “No, the lifespans are comparable. And I know, it’s nothin’ I ain’t heard before from Rheika. I promise, I’ll get to that. Just trust me”

She smiled slyly “Very well. Please, continue.”

“Anyway, that year, a plague hit our kingdom. No one knew much of anything about it, but it seemed innocuous enough at first. People would get sick, most would recover, some died. Everyone figured it was like any other disease, until it got more deadly. And then the dead…they started walking again. Mindless, slavering beasts that killed anything they could reach until they were put down. Soon it got out of control, and they were rampaging across the land. The army put up a good fight, lead by the King’s Son, a holy warrior. But he grew…desperate. He did terrible things to stop the spread. Purged entire cities of people. Finally, he uncovered evidence that a necromancer had concocted the plague, and that his hidden lair was far away in the northern ice-covered continent. He led a force there to end him for good.”

“He…didn’t make it back. Or, he did, but not as he was. He came back as that being’s servant. He murdered his own father and commanded the full force of the undead to lay waste to the kingdom.”

Franks closed his eyes, covering his lower jaw with his hands. “It wasn’t long before they made their way to our farm. We….were slaughtered. And like everyone else they killed, our corpses joined their army.”

Y’shtola inhaled sharply. “You….you died?“

He nodded

“I….Twelve, I cannot…I’m so sorry, Franks.”

He laughed ruefully. “Well, if you can believe it, things get worse from there.”

“How??”

“Well, I can thankfully say that I remember absolutely none of the time that I was a walking corpse in service to the traitor prince and his necromancer master. One moment I’m trying to fend off an attacking zombie that opens up my throat….and the next I find myself in the middle of a ruined battlefield, but I’m still a walking corpse. My mind, however, is….mostly intact. I think it was, anyway. Impossible to tell really. Anyway, I’m surrounded now by a whole bunch of other people in the same situation. Folks who were once living humans, citizens of our kingdom, and now we’re all dead.”

“Turns out the traitor prince had attacked another nation, one that had something his master needed, and he’d killed one of their generals and raised her in his service. Somehow, she’d gotten free of his control though, and with a few allies she’d managed to free, she’d attacked the price and driven him back north. As he got further away, his hold over us weakened, and now we’re free. The general announced her intention to build a new nation of us ‘undead’, as no other race in the world would ever accept us. We were cursed, plagued. Most people swore fealty to her then and there, and it wasn’t long before we’d taken the ruins of our former kingdom and built a nation for what she called “those forsaken by all others for the crimes done to them”.

Franks stopped talking for a moment, standing to get some water from a nearby cup. His voice had become a bit raspy, but it still took him a bit to continue the tale.

“I….never found my wife during this time. Our farm was gone, the land blighted and unrecoverable. Our new queen had more farmers than viable land, so I had nothing. I….well, despite being dead, we still somehow required food, so I resorted to begging for work. It was…rough for a long time, sleeping in what corners I could find, scrounging for scraps or whatever rats I could catch.”

“I don’t know exactly how long I lived like this, but eventually, my luck changed. Another undead took me on as an apprentice. He practiced a form of magic that weaponized the forces of chaos, entropy, decay, and destruction. He promised me much power and prestige if I was to learn from him. I…I knew in life that this magic was vile, punishable by execution if one was found practicing it, but our queen placed no such restrictions on us. And I was…tired of living like I had been. So I accepted. And I got very strong in that magic, indeed.”

“Our queen eventually allied us with one of the two factions I mentioned earlier. We needed allies to survive as a people, and while our new allies were disgusted by us, they recognized that we were strong additions, and our home was in a strategically sound area, so they accepted us. And so I became embroiled in that neverending cycle of warfare. We’d declare a truce for a time to focus on some greater external threat neither side could defeat alone, but then once that was over? Back to killing each other.”

He chuckled a little. “It wasn’t ALL bad, at least. I made friends and allies, both within our faction and on the other side. We all worked together, in secret, to try to bring a final end to the race war. Wasn’t exactly an easy thing, as you can imagine. I even found my wife again, but she was herself a walking dead woman. I didn’t care though, I still loved her every bit as much as I always had. She’d actually become a powerful mage herself, though she practiced the more traditional arcane magics.

He smiled, staring up into the ceiling. “She always was a smart one. Smarter than I ever was back then. Sometimes I wonder what might’ve been if she hadn’t married a farmer and gone to one of the mage schools instead. Never once told me she ever regretted it though.”

Franks shook himself our of his reverie and looked back to Y’shtola, who was still paying close attention. “Anway, like I said, we both were workin in secret with our friends to try to stop this fighting. And we thought we had pulled it off. Our group encompassed some of the strongest warriors and spellcasters in the world, and we either joined or built orders of like minded people that were designed to rise above the faction conflict and combat the greatest threat our world had seen to that point, a vast and endless legion of beings similar to what we’d call voidsent. And we succeeded. We actually defeated a force many believed unbeatable once they’d begun their invasion in earnest.”

He slumped. “And then it all fell apart”

Y’shtola looked shocked. “How so?”

“The people who’d pledged their loyalty to us first and foremost, a vast majority of them abandoned their respective orders to return to their original factions. As if everyone in the world just acknowledged the conflict was a natural way of life. Our Queen actually gained total control of our faction, and began purging those she referred to as ‘traitors’ from our ranks. Somewhere along the way, she’d gone from being our savior from thralldom to the traitor prince to being just as controlling and insane as he’d ever been.”

Franks paused, Sorrow overtook his features. “I….found out that my wife had been one of the victims of her inquisition. We had feigned allegiance to her when she came to power, but somehow she found out that we’d been part of the rise of the orders, and I was going to be next.”

“I paused only to bid my friends farewell, and then I fled, deep into the jungles of the southernmost reaches of the continent. It was a primal place, mostly untouched by civilization, and I eventually found a well hidden cave there.”

I went as deep inside as I could, wanting to explore what was likely my new home, when I stumbled and fell towards a wall….and then through it.”

“I….saw things. Things I couldn’t explain then, and can’t remember now, but eventually I passed out. And when I came to, I woke in another gave, but overwhelmed by my senses. This new place was inside a cliff face where the tide constantly dashed against it. The sound was one of the loudest things I’d ever heard. The sunlight breaching the cave was blinding. And no matter where I turned or how much I covered my ears, I could not escape a constant whooshing sound. My body ached from lying on the rocks. I hadn’t felt anything like that in years.”

“It was because you were alive again. The sound you couldn’t escape was your own breathing, wasn’t it?”

He smiled. “And the lady wins a prize. Yes, I was alive again. And much as you see me right now. That cave is a grotto on the northwestern end of Vylbrand. I spent bells in that cave, weeping with joy at the sensation of having a body back, one that seemed to be at my old physical prime. I looked mostly like my living self, but with features adjusted, more like hyurs of this star.”

“But once that overwhelming feeling of joy passed, I noticed that I no longer had any inkling of how to wield my old destructive magic that I’d become a great master of. Instead it was replaced with knowledge and concepts at the same time unfamiliar to me, yet at the same time I knew I comprehended it on some level. That was what got me to leave the cave and explore this new land I’d found.”

Franks raised a hand, waving it in a circular motion. “And the rest, you know. I spent time in libraries, learning the name of the magic in my head, arcanima. I then learned of Limsa Lominsa and it’s Arcanist’s Guild and went there to study. I might have enrolled in one of their formal degree programs, but I had no paperwork for my identity or previous schooling, as you might have guessed, so the less stringent requirements on the Adventurer’s track was my only option. From there, I started my career as an adventurer, which brought me here to this day.”

Y’shtola rested her head on her fist, processing his tale. “Were this from anyone else, I’d have spun it as one of Rheika’s tall tales, but….I absolutely believe it, coming from you. Have you ever returned to that grotto to see if the portal is still intact? Have you…ever returned to your world?”

“Yes to the former, although not in some time. As to the latter….no. I can’t step through that portal. I can’t….be a corpse again, Y’shtola. I definitely can’t risk being found by the queen again, or leading her to any of my friends if I were to check on them. Worst case scenario is that I escape through, back to Hydaelyn….and she finds it and comes here. No…no I won’t risk that. And I know you, you’ll want to examine this place for yourself. I want you to swear to me, Y’shtola, give me your word you will not step through there, please!”

She nods. “I give you my word, as an Archon and a Scion, I will not take any risks that will bring further dangers to this world.”

He sighs in relief. “Thank you.” He looks to her, a half teasing smile on his face. “So, now you know my story. Does it clarify anything for you? I’ve lost count, and I haven’t quite managed to work out the differences in years between this world and my old one, but you think you might still be attracted to me knowing I’ve seen probably over a hundred summers at this point?”

Y’shtola smiles. “I…think I will need time to process that, my friend. I will need time to process everything you’ve told me.” She makes her way to the workshop door and opens it, lingering by the door briefly before turning back to look at him. “But in fairness….it does not immediately change how I feel, either.”

He laughs “Well, good night, Y’shtola. Let me know what you find out…on both fronts, aye?”

“I will. Good night, Franks.”

“Aleister.”

She had almost made it past the doorway when he replied to her. She stopped and turned her head back to him. “Pardon?”

“My given name. It’s Aleister. Figured you should know it along with the story. Prefer you stick with ‘Franks’ or ‘Old Man’ in front of others, but I wanted you to know. And if you decide you do want to move forward with….us…..well, I’d like hearing it from ya.”

She smiled again. “Thank you, Aleister. I’ll see you soon, with answers. Good night”. She left the room, closing the door behind him.

Franks stared at the door for a couple of minutes, then chuckled and resumed cleaning his equipment again. It was getting late, after all.

[koukouture]

My problem with Childe

So, here’s a hot take: maybe don’t establish a manipulative and devious character, set them up as a villain,  and then make them our friend again yeah? 

(spoilers for Childe’s character story and the Liyue arc up ahead so more under the cut) 

So a lot of your have probably already finished the Liyue arc and Childe’s story quest, and I have too. 

Now, we all know how Childe was really just with us to get to the Exuvia and by extension, the Gnosis. He pretends to be our friend and then proceeds to pull some shady shit behind out backs and fight us. He’s like “Oh yeah I don’t wanna kill you” and at first I was like ok, I get it, he’s not completely evil or he’s just holding back. 

BUT NO

That’s just not it.

Yeah sure he genuinely wants to be friends but the issue is how we sit on opposing sides he barely acknowledges this. And yeah sure the Fatui aren’t always violent and we have to put up with them every once in a while, the thing that separates us the player from Childe are morals and goals, and more importantly, where we stand in the story. 

Now I’d usually set this aside, but we’re talking Mr. “I want to conquer the world and get rid of the old gods in the process” and us, probably divine ourselves (maybe, there’s speculation) and we clearly don’t want this to happen. We know that the gods don’t want their power taken away safe for Zhongli so far, and we’ve established that we’re on thin ice with the Fatui with how on edge we are with them. 

So why do I have a problem with this? 

Well it’s because Childe, Tartaglia, Ajax whatever the hell you call him, despite our opposing sides, various differences, and goals doesn’t fucking acknowledge this, neither do we. Because suddenly, after his story quest, we’re on good terms and there’s no development in between point A where we’re enemies and point B where we’re on good terms. 

How many times has it been established that Childe is not the good guy and that we’re gonna have to fight him? How many times is it implied that Childe was going to backstab us? Sure he didn’t mean to kill us but he’s not going to fight with us either. 

You could argue that off the battlefield, we’re friends, but the issue stands that we are standing in the way of his goal, or rather the Fatui’s goal and that Childe as a Fatui would have to deal with us regardless of it being on the battlefield or not. This isn’t NBA where players are enemies on the court and bffs outside of it, it isn’t a simple game, it’s a battle, there are stakes and it could cost us our lives, there will be casualties. 

And yet, we get to leech of sugar daddy Childe and meet his family. Like sure, that’s great, thanks for the mora Childe I’m going to use this to max out my Chongyun, but story wise he’s a good villain with so much potential as one, but that just got dumped and he became our friend. 

That’s why I’m mad. We lost an actual villain, we are now left with the other Harbingers and the Abyss Order. Which isn’t much seeing as the other harbingers aren’t much as of now and the Abyss Order is largely made out of just the common monsters we see. 

Childe and the Traveler both value family, their siblings and while they have common ground to stand on, they’d be taking away from that family if they killed the other. That’s an interesting concept. It’s interesting when heroes and villains both have similar values, but different goals. 

Childe and the Traveler both understand family, they both place a heavy value on it and they both don’t want a family to be torn apart. Traveler knows what it’s like to loose a sibling, and Childe probably fears it as the eldest. Common ground for two people on opposing sides, but that shouldn't automatically make us friends. 

It would be so interesting for them to be reluctant to kill the other because they’re actions are ultimately dictated by something bigger and far more important than family. 

I just really wanted that, a a villain who’s hard to kill. Because I wouldn’t hesitate to kill Megatron or Ozai or uh... Thanos, but I’d hesitate to kill Childe because I see eye to eye with him, I see his humanity and how much he loves his family, how much his family loves him. 

Anyways rant aside, I like Childe, I think he’s great, it’s just how he’s been placed in the story that’s kind of skewed. 

[kyber-crystal]

Divided We Fall

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: ~2.7k

Summary: In which she feels torn between the man she’s grown to love, whose ideas she agrees with, and her mentor and brother figure - who took her in with open arms and always accepted her when nobody else could.

Warnings: mentions of violence, angst, soft steve as always. you know the drill

A/N: tony’s your sort-of older brother (he took you in to train you not long before howard and maria passed), and you’re around steve’s age? I think? idk. includes a short IW scene but the time skip isn’t as drastic. SUPER SHITTY BC THIS IS A REALLY OLD ONESHOT

Tags: @pies-writes-and-more​ <3

Steve stood alone in the isle after Peggy’s funeral, leaning against the pew as he stared blankly down at the ground with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

You silently approached him and without introduction, he began to speak. "When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."

"She had you back, too."

Steve looked up, meeting your gaze. "Who else signed?"

"Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Nat."

"Clint?"

"Says he's retired," you smiled slightly.

"Wanda?"

"TBD. I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. There's plenty of room on the jet."

Steve sighed and bowed his head.

"Just because it's the path of least resistance," you continued, "doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together."

"What are we giving up to do it?" He shook his head, unconvinced by your words. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I can't sign it."

"I know. I don't want to, either. But it's not like I have any other choice."

"The thing is, you do."

"You know why I am." You gave him a hard stare. "Tony...he's basically the only family I have left. I'm no longer a daughter, no longer a girl with dreams...no longer with hope. I'm a weapon. As much as I don't agree with him, betraying him is the last thing I wanna do. He’s my mentor. I can’t just turn against him like that...it wouldn’t feel right."

"Y/N..."

"You know what I've done," you took in a deep breath, "I don't want to hurt any more people. I don't want to be controlled by a government that might not deem everything big enough of a threat for us to go out and do something about it, but I can't risk any more than I already have. I don't have any other choice but to sign those Accords, Steve."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I didn't want you to be alone."

You stepped forward, carefully pulling him into an embrace and at first, he tensed up at your touch but eventually relaxed, letting his arms wrap around you to pull you closer. And he just held you there, one arm wrapped tightly around your waist, the other one held to the back of your head. Your head was buried in his chest and the warmth of him felt so familiar and safe; oddly comforting, that your chest began to ache because you knew in a matter of time you'd be ripped apart again.

Steve felt guilty. Despite the fact that he was the majority of the reason why all of this was happening, you still found it in your heart to look past it all and forgive him, to accept him for who he was. 

The broken woman standing before him was someone he'd grown to care about far more than he wanted himself to. Knowing that it wasn't long before you were taken away from him and forced to stand against him only made his grip around you tighten, as he was afraid to let you go out of his sight.

...

Seeing you across from him on the opposite side of the battlefield, standing firmly in between your Tony and T'Challa, broke his heart. If he was forced to fight Tony's team, he would. But he wasn't going to fight you, no matter what.

Everyone, while they were all busy fighting each other, could clearly tell something was going on between the two of you. But they didn't question it. They could clearly tell Steve loved you too much to even try and lay a finger on you and when someone else tried to, he quickly advanced on them.

You finally caved and turned last minute towards the end of the battle, unable to stand against the one man you cared about more than anyone else that wasn't family.

Everyone's actions followed with consequences. Though you'd switched sides abruptly, you'd been granted permission to stay with Tony at the compound under strict circumstances that you never stepped out of line again, or you'd be sent to the Raft prison along with the rest of Team Cap as well.

"Cap loves you, you know," Rhodey noticed your solemn expression as you, him, and Tony sat around in the lounge, taking in the aftermath.

You shook your head, squeezing your eyes shut as you pressed your fingers to your temples. "I made a mistake."

"We all make mistakes. People do bad things when they're trying to survive."

"Tony, I'm sorry," you turned over to the billionaire, "but I just...I couldn't stand against him. Not when we've stuck together for so long." The words that came out of Tony's mouth surprised you.

"I know. He couldn't do that, either."

"We've all done things that we'd like to take back," you murmured, staring down at your hands now in your lap, "Pain makes people change. I'd like to believe I didn't just do this, I didn't almost turn on you guys. You know I didn't want to sign. But I did, because you're like my family. I can't fight my own family." "He's made mistakes, yeah," Rhodey said, "but we've all messed up, you know. We’re only human.”

"My mistake was letting myself love someone I'd have to end up hurting eventually," you stated bitterly, a sharp edge to your voice.

"Cap made that same mistake, too," Tony spoke up. "We all screwed up. Some of us just have to find it in ourselves to forgive...but I don't know if I can do that yet."

"I know," you glanced over at him, "I miss them so much. Your parents...they changed my life for the better."

The billionaire took in a shaky breath. "I miss them too."

"You guys might wanna open this now," Rhodey handed you an envelope with your name on it, and Tony a package with a phone inside. "Tony Stank."

You snorted, and Tony cracked a small smile.

"Table for one, Tony Stank?" you joked.

"You're practically a Stank too, Y/L/N, you know that," he raised an eyebrow at you.

"Tony Stank just sounds funnier."

You quickly fell silent as you opened the letter.

Y/N, I'm glad you're back at the compound. I don't like the idea of you and Stark rattling around a mansion by yourself. We all need family. The Avengers are yours, maybe more so than mine. I've been on my own since I was 18. I never really fit in anywhere, even in the army. My faith's in people, I guess. Individuals. And I'm happy to say that, for the most part, they haven't let me down. Which is why I can't let them down either. Locks can be replaced, but maybe they shouldn't. I know I hurt you both. I guess I thought by not telling you about Howard and Maria that I was sparing you, but I can see now that I was really sparing myself, and I'm sorry. Hopefully one day you can understand. I wish we all agreed on the Accords, I really do. I know you're doing what you believe in, and that's all any of us can do. I know you didn't want to sign, but you were right in siding with your family. Even though you were on the opposite side of the battlefield, I couldn't fight you. I didn't want to hurt you. I still don't and I never will. No matter what happens. Just know that I ...

"Priority call from Secretary Ross," FRIDAY's voice drifted through the room, "There's been a breach at the Raft prison." "Yeah, put him through."

"Y/N, Tony, we have a problem, Cap and—" Ross called in.

"Ah, please hold," you interrupted.

"No, don't—"

You glanced back down at the letter in your hands, filled from top to bottom with Steve's elegant handwriting.

So, no matter what. I promise you, if you need us, if you need me, I'll be there. It's you, it always has been and it always will be, and I'm sorry for realizing that too late. I'm sorry for not being able to come back. I know I promised I'd always be by your side, and I will. Although I may not in the best situation to return right now, I promise you I'll see you soon. Take care, -S.R.

Several tears welled up in your eyes and slipped down your face as you closed the letter, staining the paper with dark spots.

"So, what'd he say," Tony took in your watery eyes and hard-set jaw. "Something wrong?"

"...He's on the run," your voice broke, "but they're all out. He broke them out.”

...

170 DAYS LATER

It was almost half a year of Team Cap jumping from motel to motel under different names and disguises every night, while still trying to defend the world as best as they possibly could. And when they were caught, Steve was sure that they'd be sent back.

"He'll come back soon, I'm sure of it," Rhodey reassured you as you watched the news of the search for Captain America was still underway. "When someone loves you the way he does, he's gonna find a way to return."

"He doesn't love me. I'm no better than a monster. And...I'm pretty sure he has heart eyes for Sharon."

"Well, he fucked up on that part," he agreed, clasping your shoulder, "but you know what? In the end, he still loves you. We all saw the way he looked at you back in Germany, he didn't want to hurt you. If he truly cared, he wouldn't hurt you even if you were on the opposing side, and that's what he did. I know he's gonna return: for your sake."

"I don't know why I'm letting myself do this."

"What? Loving him? That isn't anything new."

"New?"

"Sweetheart, I knew from the moment I first saw you look at him that you were. Look, love is worth fighting for, but sometimes you can't be the only one fighting. At times, people need to fight for you. You gotta be vulnerable and let him in your heart. Otherwise you'll keep feeling like you're in pain."

He did return.

You'd gone to trial and defended him under your name two weeks prior. Much to your current oblivion, your persuasion had worked and he was granted release and allowed to return, though he did so under the same strict circumstances given to you as well. He was warned to not pull off something like this a second time, and promise to ask for the government's aid whenever necessary.

So you're not expecting to buzz him and the others in late one Friday night.

"Y/N."

"Nat?"

"Can you buzz us in?"

"Uh...yeah, sure," you nodded, opening the gates to let them through. Within minutes, they were standing right in front of you, looking the exact same as they did five months ago, though the exhaustion was clear in all their faces.

"Greetings, Y/N." The android's arm was slung around Sam's shoulders, who was helping to hold him upright.

"Vision."

"It's good to see you guys, Rhodey greeted.

"t's great to see you too," Wanda smiled. She seemed to have aged a bit since you'd last seen her though she was only a teenager, but still looked much younger than everyone nonetheless.

"Well, you guys really look like crap. Must've been a rough couple of months."

"Yeah, well, the hotels weren't exactly five-star," Sam shrugged. "Where's Clint?"

"After the whole Accords situation, him and Scott took a deal. It was too tough on their families, they're on house arrest," Natasha explained.

She turned to you and gave you a tight hug, squeezing your hand as she pulled away. "Hey. How you holding up?"

"Could be better," you gave her a sad smile. "I'm fine."

"Y/N, hey."

Steve stepped out from behind Wanda and Sam and took a few tentative steps towards you, his feet feeling heavier by the second.

The one man you thought you wouldn't be seeing again for a while was now in front of you, and you weren't sure how to react. Your heartbeat was deafeningly loud in your ears, drowning out the sounds of everything else as everyone fell silent upon seeing you two interact.

"Hey," you responded a few moments later, stuffing your hands in your jacket pockets. You lifted your head slowly, an unrecognizable sort of emotion flickering in your eyes for a brief second before you averted his gaze and looked back down at the ground.

He still looked the same, with his dirty-blonde hair and tall, muscular build, those piercing blue eyes and comforting arms. The sight of him alone made your chest ache and your stomach twist itself into knots at the same time you felt butterflies flying around. You hated that you allowed yourself to care about him so much, that your body still reacted to the sight of him even after not seeing him for so long.

"Uh...we'll give you two a moment," Sam awkwardly cleared his throat, leaving the room with the others.

When you glanced back up again you could see just how much being away had affected his overall appearance: his bright blue eyes that glittered with authority and passion had lost their light, red-rimmed and bloodshot with dark circles underneath that indicated it had been days since he last slept.

"I'm sorry, I know it took a while, but I'm here now. I missed you."

"I missed you, too," you said quietly. You swallowed hard, feeling the familiar sting to your eyes as you struggled to keep your tears at bay.

He sighed and wrapped an arm around you, pulling you close like you'd done to him before all those months ago, gently rubbing your back. Despite the heaviness in your stomach, it still fluttered at the feeling of your body pressed against his and you sunk into his warmth, his touch making the room feel warmer somehow. His arms that held you were soft and comforting, yet strong and firm at the same time, and the feeling of being so close to him was so dizzying to the point it made your head spin. But you didn't want to let go, so you held onto him as tight as you possibly could.

During the time of his absence, when the majority of your days were spent wandering around the compound alone, you taught yourself to ignore the pressing feeling in the back of your head, the way you felt as if there was some void in your heart that could only be filled by him and him alone. Day by day you attempted to convince yourself that no, you weren't falling in love with him, no, you weren't supposed to fall in love with him because it'd only destroy you in the end.

Yet you still did.

Always playing the part of promoting liberty and justice for all, Steve believed his sole purpose was to inspire and empower others to make the world a better place, blending into the mantra of 'a star-spangled man with a plan.' He always planned things out, always knew what he was doing.

So when he realized as he was holding you there in his arms, that he'd fallen in love with you, he didn't have a plan. And frankly, it terrified him.

He didn't have a plan, so he just decided to go with what his gut told him.

Steve brushed a stray hair that fell across your face and tucked it behind your ear. You looked up in surprise, heart hammering against your chest as his thumb brushed ever so gently against your cheek before he leaned down and pressed his lips to yours.

That's all he needed to do in order to eradicate all the anger, all the pent-up frustration and other emotion inside of you, to make you forgive him for every little thing that he's done to break your heart because there was nothing he could possibly do to make you love him any less.

"I love you," you mumbled as you pulled away, resting your head against his broad chest.

"I know. I love you too."

[tundrainafrica]

imagine an au where levi is injected with the titan serum??? and he can actually become a titan? how would hanji react?

I ended up having to take a lot of liberties with this because for one, I think the serum would probably not work on him since he’s an Ackerman and in what world would he be the one dying. This is probably not what you’re expecting either but… Enjoy!

Levi becomes a titan and he and Hange deal with the curse after the war.

Levi only has thirteen years to live. 

They were both soldiers and they were faced with the prospect of dying everyday. Hange knew it shouldn’t have hit too hard. In fact, thirteen years seemed generous for the average survey corps member. Regardless, Hange found herself waking up to the world a little darker. Why did it make her sad? Why did she feel a lump on her chest everytime she passed by him? 

Levi was humanity’s strongest soldier. Hange had thought to herself numerous times that he could have been immortal. What could have meant certain death for an average soldier was just a little too easy of a kill for Levi. The many times she had seen him fight, he seemed almost nonhuman. Suddenly, he had a thirteen year countdown hanging over him. Stuck to him was one of the most glaring things about being mortal, a time limit to life. 

“I’m still me.” Levi had said. Of course, he would notice. He knew everything about her. 

“Yeah I know it’s you.”

“Then why don’t you visit me in the room anymore. Why don’t you talk to me like we used to? Why are you treating me differently?” 

It was Levi’s question that had gotten Hange thinking. She had drowned herself in work, she almost did not notice that she had treated him any differently. She shrugged. "I'm not." Maybe her whole world was just different. Suddenly her dreams, the future, her expectations for life after the war, the happy ending that she imagined was tainted, the personal future she had selfishly imagined herself in which kept her holding on as commander despite every tragedy and obstacle was different. Of course, how she saw the world would change. What am I fighting so hard for now? The circumstances of her future changed, of course the circumstances of her present would change too.

I thought you liked titans. You could do all the experiments you want. Hange thought to herself as she saw the hurtful look Levi had allowed himself as it was just two of them in the hallway in front of the commander's office. 

But for what? They knew where titans came from already. What more else was there to study? With becoming commander, with the truth of the titans becoming a reality, Hange had moved on from that part of her life. The idea of titans did not give her the same rush of adrenaline it would have years ago. It turned out, it was never about titans, it was always about finding out the truth of the world which came out in crumbs to the people sharp and bold enough to question it. Maybe that was the reason she had joined the survey corps in the first place. 

Then it hit her then as she gave Levi a onceover, as a move of desperation more than anything else. On top of commander duties, Hange found herself back in the lab again, finding a cure to the Curse of Ymir. Going back to experiments and the strict methodologies she had developed over the years. Through that, Hange remembered another reason why she liked research in the first place. Hange found solace again in the small victories which came with a proven hypothesis or the new questions which came from a solid and concrete conclusion. She liked the excitement of the questions that opened up with each analysis. That one question and the many that had opened up soon after  had kept her busy and had helped cover up for that elephant in the room, Levi’s impending death. With time, Hange was able to convince herself that she had gotten into it for the sake of knowledge. 

That was the magic of being busy, time was going faster. Time was going faster yet the impending death of Levi seemed like something still so far into the future. Levi never mentioned anything about it either. The impending attack on Marley, the alliance and the war against Eren were the problems at hand.

The few times it did dawn on her. It was a light stinging pain somewhere in her chest as she watched him take down colossal after colossal. She pacified it by telling herself, at least she never had to fear for his safety in the battlefield. 

The truth was though, she never needed to fear for his safety. In fact even before he became a titan she rarely did, Levi always found a way out of certain death. 

As the colossal titans fell one by one, as Hange finally jumped to where the weary body of Levi's titan lay, as she pulled him out and stared at his unconscious face, she traced the lines under his eyes, concrete signs of the curse of Ymir, she had to face the elephant head on. 

Levi always found a way out of things. But would he be able to find a way out of the expiration date that lay before him? 

He had eight years left. Hange had eight years to figure something out. 

There was nothing else to experiment on. The titans were gone and with Ymir gone, the nine titans were going to die out with their last vessels.

But why did Levi have to be that last vessel? Why Levi of all people?

Hange found herself cooped up in the lab, slaving over every possible mindless experiment, with the hopes that something would come out of it. Something always came out of it. 

He always knocked but Hange never answered. A few times a day she would hear the door creak open, she knew those footsteps too well. They were his. 

It could have been months or maybe even a year since the war ended when Levi put a hand on her shoulder. She did not need to look behind her to know it was him. 

"Can we enjoy these last few years? Please?"

Levi never said please. As Hange turned behind her, she could understand why he would have been so desperate enough to drop something so polite.

There were dark circles under his eye, he seemed frailer and only then did Hange start to realize that the curse was eating him from the inside out. 

The look Levi gave her, made her realize then the inevitability of it all. Someone had to die with the titans. 

Someone had to die but why did it have to be him? 

"How long was I doing this?" Why does it have to be you? 

"A long time." Levi settled himself on a chair by the side of the room and sighed. "Just give up already."

"You never accepted it. You always fought. You always stayed alive. Why are you telling me to give up now?"

"I'm tired. I wanna enjoy life. I still have a long life ahead of me ."

With the titan shifters dying out one by one, Hange was constantly reminded that even with Ymir gone, the curse continued. Levi was going to die with the last titan. 

"But you're Levi. You don't die. Why does it have to be you?" Why does everyone get a happily ever after while we're slowly counting down to your death? She was no longer commander. She could allow herself that bout of selfishness. 

"Bad luck. I took the serum." Levi shrugged. 

It was good luck for everyone else. Levi was humanity's strongest soldier. The titan serum and the titan he had eaten had only multiplied his power a hundred  fold. A colossal titan with Levi's speed was enough for them to stop the rumbling. 

At what cost though? "Why are you okay dying?

"Why do you care so much about removing the time limit? We all have time limits. Even if I didn't have the curse of Ymir, I could drop dead right now."

A four year time limit is glaring. Knowing the exact moment or the exact year you can die is like a very deep and painful chip on your shoulder. A painful and grim reminder of mortality. When death isn't looming, people can pretend they’re immortal. 

"You were a soldier. We both were. Hell, you're a commander. You're supposed to understand this more than anyone." Levi said.

At that moment, a meteor could have blown up the lab and taken them with it. If someone had planted a bomb in the lab and blew everything up, they probably wouldn't even have any time beyond the next few minutes. 

"The only time we’re sure we have is what’s here now. Will you spend it with me?"

In the end, Hange had chosen to do it for him more than anything else. Levi's argument had made sense. Years of being a commander though had Hange constantly looking to the future. With no titans to experiment on, there was not much work to drown herself in either. 

At first, she stuck by him, silently counting down the days. Overtime, she started to skip days. The journal she kept in the cupboard in the old cabin they shared, was getting dustier and dustier as Hange abandoned the little project of writing out Levi's state as time passed and the curse further embedded itself into his system. 

It could have been Levi's rough upbringing. It could have been the amount of loss Levi had experienced in his life. One thing, Hange only started to realize about Levi years later was he knew how to enjoy the peaceful life after the war. 

She saw it in the way his eyes would subtly light up after sipping some black tea she had brought home from the market. She saw it in the way he carefully ran his hands through the leaves they would spread out on the table before Hange stores them for future experiments. She saw it in the way he would pause for a few minutes to stare at new buildings, new infrastructure as Paradis caught up to the real world. 

Hange had learned to appreciate that. The move to choose to stop counting down and studying Levi  was a little deliberate at first, a result of a bout of shame that came with it. Somehow, Hange felt she was disrespecting Levi's choice as she counted down and recorded everything. Eventually as time went by, she started to enjoy the things that she had taken for granted constantly looking into the future. 

At that final point in Levi's life, when he was spending huge chunks of his day in bed. Hang was starting to appreciate the sensations life offered them. One late afternoon, Hange had helped him out to the window at his request. The time limit was more glaring in his body then. The lines under his eyes never left, Levi was constantly in pain but as Hange sneaked a glance at him, she saw he was occupied, maybe even entranced by the gradual changes in the colors of the sky and the surrounding scenery as the sun disappeared under the horizon. 

It could have been out of respect for what Levi had wanted. It could have been just Hange, learning to appreciate the world through Levi. Regardless of the reason, Hange had to conclude the world was a beautiful place. 

So beautiful. When Hange looked back at Levi once again after the sun had set below the horizon, she could not help but notice Levi had a tear running down his cheek. 

"I don't wanna die."

But why didn't you fight? He didn't tell her because he knew she would have wanted to fight for him. Hange would have worked tirelessly to find a way out.  

They would have fought a  battle with no certain victory. Might as well enjoy what we have right? 

Levi died that night. That one beautiful sunset, the last one he ever saw. 

As Hange put the blanket over his lifeless body and clutched the hand that was still so warm he could have been alive, Hange reflected. 

Ironically, humanity's strongest soldier didn't die fighting. As Hange realized only too late in life, one thing that made Levi worthy of that title was that he knew how to choose his battles. 

[sergeant-donny-donowitz]

The Lady in White: UtivichxFem!Reader

Happy Halloween guys! :))) Here's a lil spooky basterds fic for y'all 

TW: Gore/blood/animal attacks/ghost stories

@owba-chan @war-obsessed @inglourious-imagines @tammykelly @struggling-bee @frozenhuntress67 @kwyloz @sodapop182 @marlenemarauders @what-the--curtains @taikawho @spookybearlandtaco Let me know if you wanna be added to the IB or OUATIH taglists! :)

******************************* 'Baba Yaga brodit no lesu dazhe zdes...' "Baba Yaga wanders the forest, even here."

Aldo narrowed his eyes as he stood over a heavily wounded Soviet spy with weary eyes and a frightened whisper. The basterds had been hunting a patrol, and just when they were close, they heard blood curdling screams. All they found was this Soviet spy, tortured half to death...who could only speak Russian, German, and French. "What's he sayin' Wicki?" The spy was loosing blood, but seemed to speak with a sly smirk, repeating it over, 'Baba Yaga brodit no lesu dazhe zdes...' Wicki shrugged, "I don't know he's saying it in Russian now." Hugo hovered over the wounded man, "Deutsch sprechen?" "You speak German?" The agent's eyes darted, and looked directly at Hugo, speaking with as much conviction as a half-dead man could, "Baba Yaga wandert auch hier durch den Wald." Aldo nodded, his hands at his hips, "That. What's that mean?" Wicki turned back, "He's saying Baba Yaga wanders in the woods, even here." Donny narrowed his eyes, "Who, or what the fuck is Baba Yaga?" Hugo grunted, "Slavic myth. A witch." Smitty, who had just returned with a member of the resistance the basterds were friends with, managed to sputter, "W...witch?" "It's only a myth. Besides, he's lost a lot of blood. He's delirious." Wicki chuckled, though he looked back at the agent, "Die Franzosen werden sich um Sie kümmern." 'The French will take care of you.' The day went on as usual. Evening came, and the basterds sat around a fire, eating some Hershey bars as the wind tussled the red leaves of autumn. "So... suppose the patrol did see something out in the woods, and they left the commie behind..." Smitty looked around, hoping for some reassurance. "There's nothing in the goddamn woods, Uti." Hirschberg rolled his eyes, though he held his breath, and turned to the others, "Right?"

Wicki, who loved a good scare, chuckled and shrugged, "I don't know, kid. The Soviet said somethin' about 'dama v belom'. Know what that is?"

They shook their heads. "Lady in white." He smirked, and Hugo muttered, with a slight nod, "Haus Ausel..." referring to an old German myth about a ghostly lady in white. Wicki chuckled, but shook his head dismissively. "He was delirious. There's no such thing as ghosts." "But...we heard the screams. Krauts wouldn't have just left a high stakes prize like a Soviety spy behind like that." Donny shrugged, grumbling with a mouth full of chococlate, "So they saw a wolf or something." Smitty shook his head, "When have you ever seen a fucking wolf around here?" "Well.....fucken..." Donny scrunched up his nose in thought for a moment, then muttered"...just eat some hersheys damn it." Wicki smirked a little, "You afraid of a ghost story, Utivich?" "Wh....no...."

Aldo smirked, catching on, "Well, you ain't been scared till you seen the ghost of Sadie Baker." "Who the hell is that?" Omar rolled his eyes, though...he did love a good ghost story. "Well ain't you a lucky man," Aldo cleared his throat, snorting some tobacco, and then facing the boys, about to make them 'unlucky,' and telling them about Sadie Baker. Omar laughed, "Get the hell outta here." "You got a better one?" Aldo leaned back against a tree with a dismissive smirk, and Omar shrugged, "Better one? Here's a good one: Ghosts aren't real."

Hirschberg shrugged, "Maybe not...but you ever hear of the Jersey Devil?" Omar rolled his eyes, "Oh again with this shit? There is no Jersey Devil!" Donny frowned a little, "You ever hear about somethin' called the wendigo? Now...I'm not sayin' it's real...but that is some scary shit...if you believe in those things.... Which I don't." The night went on, the leaves rattled in the breeze, the yellow moon rose. There was wild screaming in the distance the likes of which they had only heard in chilling radio shows or horror pictures. Wicki and Hugo smirked seeing Smitty jump and look around nervously with every snapping twig and falling lead. They started joking around about the supposed 'lady in white,'. The only one who seemed fully unfazed was Aldo. When asked why, he replied simply, "Down south everything's either built on an Indian burial ground or on a civil war battlefield. This ain't nothin'." Though Utivich was the only visibly frightened basterd, the others were beginning to wonder about the howling in the distance. "Maybe there is a wolf..." "So that explains the screaming?" "If you saw a wolf you wouldn't scream?" "Not like that." Omar smirked, "Hey...isn't there a cemetery around here? Between that last village and the forest?" Smitty narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "You're setting me up, aren't you?" "You think I'd make all this up to get to you? I have other things to do." Omar rolled his eyes, and Hirschberg sighed, "Cemetery's down that way. Southeast." They heard another bone chilling scream, followed by an echoing howl. "It's...uh....just the wind." Hirschberg cleared his throat, crossed his arms, trying to look unbothered. "Hell of a wind," Donny mumbled as he looked up and around. Omar was smirking, poking around as he walked away from the group, "Aldo?" "Yeah?" "Can we go check it out?" Aldo sighed, having just taken off his boots for the night. "Take two of the boys with ya. Come back in an hour. We got a long day ahead of us, and ain't no ghoul out there gon' help us scalp nazis. Got it?" Omar nodded, "Got it. Come on." He grabbed Hirschberg and Utivich. Hirschberg seemed game, being bored out of his mind and not quite tired enough to get to sleep yet. Utivich....well... he stammered "Oh no. No fucking way. Take....take literally anyone but me. Take Hugo or-" Hugo scowled. "Or maybe not....How about Wicki?" Wicki was already laying down, his arms crossed behind his head, and his coat draped over his upper body. He sighed, half yawning, half disinterested, and one hundred percent too old for this shit. "Not tonight, boychik."

"But...but..." Utivich turned to Donny, panic seeping through his wide eyes, "Donny?" Donny was sharpening his knife, "You heard Aldo. We got a big day tomorrow, kid" He smirked, not just because of the big mission, but because he got a kick out of giving Utivich a good scare. Which wasn't very hard to do. "Come on, we're just checking it out." Omar nudged Smitty, who sighed as he dropped his head and followed along. About thirty minutes in, he asked "Are you sure you know where we're going?" Omar turned around, "Look." he sighed, "Ghosts aren't real. You know that." "Yeah but...." "For the last time, Uti, there is no wolf," Hirschberg chuckled and patted Utivich on the back as they kept walking. Omar asked, "What are you scared of anyway? If anyone's out there, they should be scared of us." Smitty chuckled a little, "I guess you're right." "Atta boy, now-" They reached the last few trees, and could see the looming, ancient gates, and the silhouettes of crooked and broken tombs just beyond it beneath the silver moonlight. And just as it came into view, they heard a shrill, guttural scream of a man. "It's uh...coming from the cemetery..." Hrischberg stalled for a moment, and Omar rolled his eyes, pulling them both behind him. "Come on." "You know...in the pictures, it's always one dumbass that gets everyone killed." Omar shook his head with a smirk, "Yeah, well we ain't in the pictures, Hirschberg." Omar pushed open the rusting, dusty, forgotten gates, and stepped in. "Footprints. Ghosts don't leave footprints." He turned around, "And no, a dybbuk wouldn't either." Hirschberg narrowed his eyes, "How do you know..." "We don't have time for this! I'm just saying that w-" There was another scream. "This way..." He seemed a little more hesitant, but still, made his way toward the screams, towing along the other two basterds. The cemetery seemed to go on for miles and miles, almost as if it were endless. "See? Nothing. I told y-" Omar's eyes went wide as he wobbled at the edge of an open grave, "WHOA-" Hirschberg grabbed onto Omar's arms and pulled him to safety. "Alright. That's it, asshole. Let's go home." "Aww you scared of a little wind?" "No." He clenched his jaw, "I just...it don't seem too respectful to be stompin' around these graves." Utivich nodded hastily, "Y-yeah...r...respectful..." "You coulda gotten hurt, Omar. Let's go." Omar sighed, "Just a few more minutes. I wanna see if-" They heard a low, ghastly groan, "Hilfe..." it almost seemed to be begging for mercy. Begging for death itself, "Hilfe!" 'help...' It was German. Omar then peered over the ditch he nearly fell into....and realized it was far deeper than six feet. And it was far from empty. There was a pile of men, bloodied, seeming as if they'd been gutted and torn apart by a wild animal. "Hilfe...." 'Help...' Omar's eyes shot wide, his heart stopped, and his blood went ice cold when he saw one of the bodies reach up with a shaking, bloody, mangled hand, eyes looking directly into Omar's. Hirschberg then peered over, "Holy shit. It's a nazi!" He laughed, putting his hands at his hips as he looked on at the bloody masterpiece. "I-it is?" Utivich felt significantly less scared, as he  looked between his friends' shoulders, and saw just that. An endless pile of dead nazis in a seemingly bottomless pit. "It is!" He smiled, though he was still a little uneasy with the idea of being in a cemetery in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Hirschberg kicked some dirt in, "Wonder what happened." "Who cares." Omar crouched down, wondering what to do next. Killing the nazi was too much mercy...leaving him be meant a small chance that he'd survive and tell someone he saw the basterds. Hirschberg seemed to read his mind. He called out, "English?" The nazi sobbed, "Ja...Yes!" "What happened?" He sputtered, blood trailing out of his mouth, his eyes shifting back and forth as he struggled for a breath of air long enough to speak. "W-woman...." He looked with blank eyes remained unblinking and unresponsivein fear, gasping for breath,  "W-white...white dress..." he gulped, "Wolf....attacked..." His mangled  arm wrapped around his sliced abdomen. Omar looked back at the other two basterds, "Ok...so he's delirious." "Omar, I don't think-" Smitty peered over, "Are you delirious?" Hirschberg rolled his eyes. "Hey." Omar threw a rock into the pit, but the nazi didn't answer. His wide, yellow eyes glazed over. His mouth dropped open as final streams of blood poured out. His arms fell to the sides. His organs spilled out. "....A wolf could do that..." Hirschberg pointed at the evisceration with a shrug. "Let's go." "Don't you wanna know how the bodies got here? I mean-" Omar loved a good mystery. "Why would a wolf drag bodies to a grave? A spirit can't pull bodies into a ditch. A spirit wouldn't care if all the evidence was found! Someone's gotta be out there." "Or....s-something...." Smitty's hands were shaking as he looked around. Omar rolled his eyes, "For the last time, there is no such thing as ghosts." Hirschberg pushed Omar, "Who cares. It's late. It's way past the hour that Aldo gave us. Leave well enough alone."

"You too, Hirschberg?" "What!" Hirschberg was visibily irritated, and uneasy, mostly because of the pungent smell. He didn't care about the nazis...he cared about being in the middle of a graveyard in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, with the possibility of a wild animal attacking. "You're scared too." Omar grinned smugly. "I'm scared of Aldo knowing we stayed out here for more than an hour on purpose. Sure. Come on, kid." He pulled Smitty along, and Omar sighed, "Fine. Fine, lets go." The three wandered back through the gates in silence, not even commenting on what they found. "Umm...Omar?" Omar sighed in annoyance, "What, Smitty?" "Do you know where we are?" He slowed down, beginning to realize they had been walking for a lot longer than when they left camp. He looked around, suddenly not recognizing anything despite having known this side of the forest like the back of his hand. "Uh..." He practically turned in a circle, squinting, trying to make something out of the dark, vast nothing among the dense trees. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Hirschberg groaned, more annoyed than scared, as he sunk down on the ground, catching his breath. "What? We can't be that far!" Omar stepped a little further into the woods. "I...think we should stay here till morning." "Oh is someone getting scared?" Omar smirked a little as he glanced back at Smitty. "This isn't fucking funny, Omar. We're lost!" Hirschberg crossed his arms, and Smitty said, "Besides...even if there's nothing out here, it's fucking cold." "Then let's keep moving." Smitty  shook his head, "No."

Hirschberg knew Omar wouldn't stop.. As much as he hated the idea, he couldn't let Omar go on his own. "Fine." Smitty definitely couldn't handle being alone, so he quickly followed. After what seemed like a thousand years, Omar stopped to catch his breath, finally conceding, "Ok...so we're lost." "Fucking knew it." Smitty looked out into the darkness, whispering under his breath, "lost..." Omar and Hirschberg stood beside each other, looking up at the towering trees.Suddenly, they both felt a heavy, iron grip grab at their shoulders, and pull them back. Both of them screamed at the top of their lungs. "What part of 'one hour' and 'big fucken day tomorrow' did you not fucken understand?!" Their hearts eased, and the color came back to their cheeks when they turned and saw it had been Donny who snuck up on them. "Oh fuck...." Omar rested his hand over his racing heart, "Ok..." he took a deep breath, "Ok..." Donny saw how pale they were. Smitty suddenly hugged him. He'd always been like a younger brother to Donny, though Donny found the hug odd as it seemingly came out of the blue. "You uh...you alright, kid?" Smitty looked up at him, and said about a million words in half a minute, none of which were understood by Donny. "I'll take that as a no?" Donny then glared at Omar and Hirschberg ,"What'd you do to the kid?" Donny knew it was a sort of favorite past time among the basterds to scare Smitty, but this seemed to have gone too far. "Nothing!" Before Donny could respond, they heard a howling sound. It wasn't the wind because there was no wind. And it wasn't a distant figment of their imagination. They all heard it....and it was close. "Can we please get back to camp for the love of- They heard snarling and growling as if they were surrounded by a single creature. The four basterds stood back to back, keeping their eyes ahead of them. A pair of glowing, pale, yellow eyes appeared in the underbrush. "oh shit..." Donny's heart skipped as he fumbled with his gun, trying to load it. Just before he could, they all heard a distant, bubbly, almost innocent laugh. Smitty's hands shook almost as violently as his voice when he raised his finger, pointing at something behind the wolf's eyes, "Wh-what the fuck is that!" It was a white silhouette, barely within sight.

He shut his eyes, and as if in response, there was a whistle. The snarling stopped, and was instead replaced with a whine, and the sound of retreating paws. The figure was gone, along with the glowing eyes. Donny still had his gun aimed at the now vacant forest. He didn't dare look away yet. He did ask one thing. "You...you wanna run that story by me again, Smitty?" ***** Aldo didn't believe a word of it. Neither did Wicki, or Hugo. After their mission, they went back to the cemetery with the younger basterds. Aldo joked as they stepped through the gates, "Whatever it is, it's making our jobs a hell of a lot easier." "There." Omar pointed to. The rest of the basterds huddled around it....a patch of dirt... "I swear it was right here." Hirschberg and Smitty looked on in shock. There was dirt where there were bodies the night before.  Wicki shrugged, "You dragged us all the way out here...for an unmarked grave?" Hirschberg picked up a handful of soil, letting it sift through his fingers, "Why is it so fresh?" Smitty nodded, "Yeah...it looks like it was just dug." Hugo grunted "Maybe because we're in a cemetery." Donny shook his head, "No. We saw something." He was so adamant, it made Aldo pause for a moment. Donny had never lied to him before, why would he now? "Alright." Just as the basterds were beginning to push dirt aside, they heard an old, creaking voice that nearly stopped the hearts of the younger basterds. " Puis-je vous aider?" 'Can I help you?' Omar, Smitty, and Hirschberg immediately held on to each other. Aldo rolled his eyes. It was an old man in worker's clothes, and was presumably the graveyard's care taker. The old man repeated again, "Puis-je vous aider?" In broken French, Wicki and Hugo pieced together a story: The kids heard a ghost story in town, and they'd all leave and stop bothering him. Instead, the caretaker invited them all to his house, seeing as though they might be hungry. Smitty shook his head, "Creepy old man in a creepy cemetery with a creepier house..." Aldo, being a southerner, and  therefore literate in the art of hospitality, knew it was rude to say no. "Just cause he's old, and we're surrounded by dead people don't mean you get to be rude. Ya did break into the man's property, after all." And with that, the basterds followed the old man through the cemetery to another gate, newer...and less creaky, behind which there was an open space, and a small cottage, with a fresh coat of paint in whatever spots weren't covered with bright bougainvillea. It seemed so out of place, so charming, almost enchanted. It didn't seem to belong there, like an oasis in the middle of a barren desert, but boy was it a sight for sore eyes for the tired basterds The old man apologized, as all he had to offer the brave basterds was some stale bread and water. Rations had been cut in half in the village. He sighed with a smile, though. "She'll be home any minute with more." Wicki asked, "She? " The heavy wooden door opened with a slight creak, and in appeared a figure in a deep green dress, with a basket, "Je suis de retour, papa!" you announced your return, and just as you stepped in, you spotted the crowd of strangers.  "Visiteurs?" 'Visitors' you asked, seeming a little uneasy, unable to identify their allegiance. 'Soldats américains,' He explained with a hearty laugh, "american soldiers"  with pure joy in his eyes and all the hope an old man could have. Wicki began to explain, "Well..." Hugo waved it off dismissively. Your dad explained that the younger basterds had heard some scary story around the town, and had come by to investigate. You laughed, though nervously...it sounded familiar to at least one Basterd. Smitty mumbled, "It's you..." Donny instantly caught on. He nudged Smitty, "Shut up." Aldo introduced himself, and each of his basterds to you. You nodded with a simple innocent smile, and introduced yourself, as shortly as possible, "Y/n." Aldo nodded, "Pleased to meet you, Y/n..." He turned to Smitty, "Utivich, why don't you go on and help Y/n." "I....ok..." You forced a polite smile to keep up appearances, and he followed you into the kitchen to put away what you'd brought. You were both quiet for a moment, though at one moment, you both looked at each other. You spoke at the same time saying, "I know who you are." You both raised your eyebrows, stepping back in shock, and again on the same beat, quipped, "No you don't!" "Quit it!" You put the tea kettle on, and arranged some cakes you'd brought into a tray, remarking, "You're a basterd." He raised his eyebrow with a smirk, as he leaned against a cupboard, "And you're a ghost." You rolled your eyes, "Really?" You tapped on your left forearm, "I think I know a dead person when I see one, soldier boy. And you should, too." He was quiet as you turned around to pour the boiling water into cups. You sighed reluctantly, "Sorry....that was mean," You sighed sighed again, "Things have been so..." He nodded, having seen the decimated, occupied village himself not too long ago. "I know everything." You looked at him, "You know nothing of hell." You stepped outside through the back door, into a peaceful meadow, seeming even more out of place than the cottage itself, and he followed, "I saw you." "I don't know what you're talking about." "The lady in white bullshit everyone's talking about. Killer wolf. Unmarked grave with a stack of dead nazis in it? I-" You turned around, "Do you see me wearing white? Don't you see endless graves around here? And killer wolf? Here? That's absolutely ridicu-" You both heard a whining.... You shut your eyes, and sighed, and muttered through gritted teeth, "Pais maintenant, Brouillard..." 'Not now, Brouillard...' Smitty saw a greyish-white wolf standing by your side, "No wolf, huh?" "He's not a wolf," you crossed your arms defensively. Smitty looked at you, absolutely puzzled for a moment, and you muttered, giving up. "He's a wolf-dog." "So it was you." "You're lucky you weren't here a few nights  too soon, or Brouillard would've howled, and papa would have shot you down." "Your dad? That sweet little old man?" You chuckled with an understanding smile, "It doesn't seem like it, but he takes his job real serious. And well... last night of course you know Brouillard wasn't here to warn him about your little...uh...escapade... We had our hands full." "Does he know?" Smitty spoke softly now, looking at you with wide eyes. "No. And..." You smirked a little, "Let's keep it that way." He nodded, and you stepped back inside, reaching for the tray with cakes as he took the tray with tea, "Wait..." You glanced back, "Yes, private?" "Why?" "Why?"

"I mean...thank you for the help and  all, but...why you?" You sighed, putting the tray back down on the counter. "Let me show you something..." You pulled him back outside, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the wolf again. Brouillard trotted up and rubbed his head on Smitty's leg, as you laughed, "Go ahead." Smitty smiled, and patted Brouillard on the head, commenting, "Your laugh is a lot less ominous now....I mean...I...uh..." You laughed again, taking no offense, as you reached for the young soldier's arm, "Come on." You climbed up a trellis hidden by the vines, and sturdy enough to hold you. You popped into the second floor, and peeked over the window, "You won't fall, I promise!" Smitty nodded, trusting you for reasons he'd figure some day. You helped him in, and he looked around, immediately blushing realizing it was your bedroom. "Ummm..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and chuckled, "No one's going to come up. It's the only room up here." You still peeked into the hallway and half down the stairs before slowly shutting the door, and then the window, and closing the curtains. "Y/n....I hate to say this...but I-I think y-you, this is a misunderstanding! I-I don't want to- I mean you're gorgous but. Fuck! I mean-" You opened a dresser, produced a long, lovely, lace and pearl dress, and laid it over the bed. He stopped stammering, and was more intrigued than embarrassed now. He spotted the ragged, torn bottom, with leaves and twigs etched into the lace. "It's a wedding dress." He looked up at you with a sly smirk, "Impressive...Nice disguise." "It was my wedding dress." You sighed, as your fingertips brushed over pearl buttons. Smitty caught his breath, knowing there were a million things that could have led to this: Number one: Widowed by the war But he was wrong... And when he heard the truth he wished he had been right. "No." You smiled a little, "I was happy here. We all were. Then the nazis came." You held the dress up, "One of them, a sergeant... He saw me, and demanded I marry him, or he'd never stop terrorizing the town." "Y/n..." He shook his head, heart broken by the extent that war could go. "The night before the wedding," You turned to him, with the glint of a grin hidden behind your eyes as they wandered over the lace, "He was in the pub, and I knew it. I knew where he'd be. I knew where he would go. And..well, people here are very superstitious. Everyone knows these old myths.  Especially in small, isolated places like this. So, naturally, if a...say....vengeful spirit appeared when the town was disturbed, no villager would really say it was fake. They wouldn't dare." "You killed him?" Smitty was grinning a little, as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Me?" You smirked, pleating the white dress against your chest, tracing the details with your finger, "I simply lured him into the forest." "You?" "Well," You shrugged, "You know what they say. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." His jaw dropped, both in awe and in shock. "Now, it looked complicated, but Brouillard is a watch-dog...wolf-dog. Very protective. But, it's also not uncommon to spot wolves around here every few years. So naturally, have him howl around a little for a week or so before the deed, and people think it's just one of those wild lone wolves wandering in the woods. So...when a nazi turned up mauled in the woods, well, c'est la vie." "It was that easy?" "Easy?" You scoffed, "It was messy. But...there was no blame. Oh, no. Just what a tragedy before a wedding. Killed by a wolf, well, no one's to blame but his drunken self... Now, when his mates refused to leave town, a little more luring and a few more unpredictable wolf attacks meant the town was free. Well..." "Till more nazis showed up?" "Well...the people seem to understand that wandering the forest late at night might not be the best idea. Naturally the new nazis always want to be the one to solve the mystery of their missing soldiers, they want to get a prize.... So the nazis have no problem ending up at say, the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, Brouillard is a lone wolf. He can't get to each and every one of them so quickly, so, a few have gotten away having spotted a 'lady in white,' But, as of last night, the town is free of nazis. And when the next patrol arrives, I'll be here, waiting." You sighed, placing the dress back into the dresser. "I never would've....This..This is fucking amazing! How have you not been caught?" "The last place anyone would look for a dead body is in a graveyard," you smirked as you sat by him. "You're fucking brilliant..." "Well...I don't  know if I'd say 'brilliant,' but...." You stammered a little, tilting your head down, though you now shyly glanced up. You opened the curtains and the window, and stood there for a while. You felt him standing by you.  You both looked out at the endless graves, and he asked, "Do you ever feel scared by that?" "Scared?" You shook your head, though your eyes didn't part from the cemetery bathed in the falling red light of sunset. "I think it's peaceful...Though, maybe a little lonely at times." Your shy glance met his timid eyes, and you both smiled softly. In only a moment, you both began leaning in for a kiss, before sneaking back down to the garden, and back to the kitchen.

**** The basterds were walking back to their camp out in the woods, and Donny smirked, "So, Uti...." "What? Yeah?" Utivich snapped out of a trance where he was smiling dreamily at nothing. Donny raised his voice up a few pitches, "YoUr LaUgH is LesS ominous..." "Fuck. You." Utivich blushed as the basterds cackled, and Aldo sighed with a smile, "So? What'd she say?" Utivich sighed and explained the whole story. Aldo nodded, "Well...I'll be damned." Omar grinned, "Ha! No ghost." Hirschberg nodded, "No...but that's one hell of a girl..."

For as long as the basterds hid out in that part of the woods, a year or so, Smitty snuck off alone into the woods late at  night, no longer scared of howls or shadows. Where he went....well it didn't take a genius to figure it out. All it took was a minute of bravery to run through the graveyard, luck to not trip over any crooked tombs, and a good grip to climb up to your open window. When the inevitable day came for the basterds to move on, Smitty went back into the woods one last time. This time, he didn't run through the cemetery. He took his time... He'd take his time for once. He walked around to the back of the small cottage that didn't seem to belong, and found a dim, orange glow in the second story. He climbed up carefully after petting Brouillard once more, and bribing him with some dried meat so he wouldn't blow his cover with whines. You heard the familiar shuffling and rustling. You smiled, as you met him with an open window, and a kiss. He couldn't stay much longer, though you knew the day  would come. So when the night was over,  the dark blue sky began to give way to a new day and mission, he was off to a town in the other side of occupied France called Nadine, about thirty kilometres from Paris, to meet a British contact. Smitty said goodbye to you... But not before swearing he'd come back some day, when the war was over. You watched, as you sat by the window, as the basterd disappeared beyond the forest, as the moon faded and the sun rose. You smiled softly, knowing he'd be back. And, you'd heard that patrols in the area would be discontinued until an investigation gave an answer as to what lurked in the woods... So, as you wondered about the end of the war, you put the dress away with a soft, and relieved smile. You knew he'd be back...and when he was, you knew just what to do. Maybe the dress needed some mending....maybe a new one was in order... But, he'd be back. And when he was, you'd leave the window open and the candle on just for him.