#my life is a series of incidents and small mistakes

[lightleapfan]

i was going to make a funny little post for april fools day but i literally could not do anything today because i accidentally ate two of my dads weed cookies from the freezer and my entire afternoon was spent in the floridaland dreamscape trying to harvest mana from the ultraviolet spectrum

[roosterr]

love you from afar

note: this has been in my drafts since MARCH. can't decide whether i like it or not lol. @wetsocksinbed angsty fic is up next >:)

pairing: john 'soap' mactavish x gn!reader

wc: 9.5k (oops)

summary: you receive a series of mysterious gifts from a mysterious admirer.

warnings: longing, yearning, pining, best friends to lovers trope, idiots in love, heavy on the idiots part, tooth-rotting fluff

ao3

over the last two weeks, you’ve noticed some odd things happening around you; a good kind of odd, the kind that left you thoroughly confused, but was heartwarming nonetheless.

after going back and forth with it in your mind, you've come to the conclusion that you have a secret admirer. it was odd, and a little hard to believe, but it was the only option that made any sense to you. in all honesty, it was probably just your hopeless-romantic heart clouding your mind with optimism, but one can dream.

the first incident was harmless enough, a small inconspicuous gesture that was so subtle, in fact, that you barely paid it any notice at first.

it was the dead of night, and you’d just returned from a particularly gruelling solo mission, uninjured but bone tired and desperate to collapse into your bed and finally sleep. before you could fall into the blankets, however, you noticed through the darkness of your room something strange.

resting neatly on your pillow, illuminated by the dim light of your phone screen, was a single bar of your favourite chocolate. you didn’t remember buying it, and certainly didn’t remember leaving it there, but it was exactly the kind of pick-me-up you needed after the day you’d had. at the time, you’d chalked it up to you simply being forgetful, devoured the chocolate in record time, and promptly knocked out.

over breakfast the next morning, you'd recounted to the others the mysterious appearing chocolate as a funny anecdote; the five of you had laughed about your terrible memory, and you'd moved on. but now you weren’t on the verge of blacking out, you couldn’t help but think of it as weird.

for the life of you, you couldn’t remember buying the chocolate bar, and it didn’t make sense that you would leave it on your pillow like that. what did make sense, however bizarre it may seem, was someone else leaving it for you – but you had no idea who would do that for you, or why. either way, you didn't imagine that anything else would come from it.

the next incident happened three days later.

during training that afternoon, you were in the middle of running laps around base, when you’d – stupidly – tripped over a ditch in the ground and rolled your ankle pretty badly. it hurt too much to put any weight on it, so you’d sat there in shame with no choice but to wait for a few minutes until gaz and soap caught up to you.

as they rounded the corner, you'd reluctantly waved them over with a grimace at how your ankle was throbbing in your boot. johnny was immediately crouching by your side, abandoning the idea of training to focus completely on you.

"christ, what happened?" he fussed, worry creasing his face and making your own heat up under the attention.

"i tripped…" you mumbled, dragging a hand over your embarrassed expression. it was bad enough that you'd made such a simple mistake, but now the man you were crushing on, hard, was lifting your leg so gently and untying your laces and you were certain you were moments away from cardiac arrest.

he'd ushered gaz away to continue his run, telling him he'd accompany you to the infirmary with a tone that left no room for argument. not that gaz would've, the knowing look he sent you as he jogged away told you he knew exactly what you were thinking.

after making sure nothing was broken, soap had pulled you to stand with an arm around your waist, supporting you with his solid frame when you stumbled. 

"sure y'don't want me to carry you?" he'd teased, earning a laugh from you as you wobbled in his arms. as you chuckled though, you noticed a hint of what seemed like sincerity in his eyes. you'd felt your face burning again at the implication that he really would carry you, if that's what you'd wanted, and quickly started dragging him along with you in an attempt to hide your flustered state. 

he'd kept his arm around your waist the entire way to the medical wing, only releasing you when you were sat in front of the doctor, which did absolutely nothing to calm your racing heart. to your dismay, he couldn't stay with you – you were still in the middle of training, after all. 

"you sure you'll be alright by yourself?" he'd asked as he left, and the concern in his eyes almost finished you off. you were almost glad he didn't stick around to see the effect he had on you.

luckily, after a quick inspection, the doctor concluded that you only had a minor sprain, and you'd be good as new in a couple of weeks. she'd sent you on your way with an ice pack, a crutch, and strict instructions to stay off your feet.

you would've gone back outside to watch the boys (mainly soap) finish the rest of their exercises, but honestly, the embarrassment of what happened had you wanting to curl up with a pillow over your face for the rest of the day; so that's exactly what you found yourself doing.

you must've drifted off to sleep at some point, because once you finally sat up again, the sun had painted the horizon a bright orange, and your stomach had begun to rumble.

as you went to walk out into the hall, you heard the crinkle of plastic under your boot, pausing you mid‐step. when you looked down, you were stunned to find a bundle of three beautiful white flowers – gardenias, you'd found out after googling them later. an incredibly warm feeling blossomed in your chest, and despite your best efforts, your eyes had welled up with tears. you couldn't even think of the last time someone bought you flowers. there was no note attached, meaning you had no way of knowing who had left them for you, which sent your mind back to the chocolate bar from a few days ago.

so i'm not going crazy, you'd thought to yourself, someone really did leave it for me. but still, you had no clue who this mystery gift-giver could be.

you'd carefully picked them up, being mindful of your ankle, and turned back around to put them in your room. there wasn't really anywhere to put them, so you just set them on the ledge of your windowsill and made a mental note to find a vase for them at some point.

when you eventually made it to the mess hall, there were very few people left, leaving the room unusually calm. ghost was sat by himself at one of the far tables, so you hobbled over on your crutch to sit with him while you ate.

you sat down opposite him, and he'd looked up, gave you a subtle nod, and gone back to eating with his eyes fixed on the table in front of him. the two of you ate like that for a while, sitting quietly in each others presence.

ghost had been the first to break the silence, asking you, "how's the ankle?" as he pulled his balaclava back down to cover his mouth.

"just sprained," you'd replied, looking up to meet his eyes. another beat of silence fell over you, before you continued, "did you see who left me those flowers?" you'd asked him; it was worth a shot, you figured not much gets past ghost. to your dismay, he simply shook his head, standing and mumbling a goodbye as he left.

you were only more confused now. if ghost didn't know who it was – and, granted, you wouldn't actually be able to tell if he was lying, but you trusted him – then who would know? the next day, you'd asked the other boys, but they'd all said the same thing, even the captain. so you were left with nothing to do but wonder who on earth could be leaving you these gifts.

after that, it was another four days until your secret admirer struck again.

you'd been in and out of briefings and debriefings and meetings all day, your mind was beginning to numb with all the information that had been unloaded. you were tired; not quite the same exhaustion you'd felt coming back from your mission earlier in the week, though, this time you were at the end of your rope mentally. there hadn't been a moments peace since you got out of bed, and once that excruciatingly long day was over and you were relaxing in the common room, you'd had no energy to actually engage with your friends.

you were nestled into one end of the sofa with gaz next to you, ghost on his other side, and soap in the armchair with a small book in his hands. they were all chatting, with you occasionally saying a thing or two, but you were mostly just zoned out with their conversation serving as white noise in the background.

occasionally, you'd look up and catch soap already watching you, but he'd quickly turn his gaze back down to his book. his attention caused you to be equal parts flustered and confused. if you'd been any more awake, you probably would've asked him if something was wrong, but you were already having trouble keeping your head up as it was.

once you felt your eyes slip closed one too many times, you'd decided it was time to turn in for the night. with a quick 'goodnight' to the others, you'd made a beeline straight for your room – but it was more of a hobble, since your ankle still required you to walk with a crutch.

that night you'd slept like a baby, waking up early the next morning feeling well rested, and thankfully your ankle had even started to feel better. though you still couldn't join the team's training sessions, you had other responsibilities to fulfil, so unfortinately you did have to get up at some point.

you'd just finished lacing up your boots when you noticed it; a single sheet of paper on the ground by your door, folded once in half so you can't see what's written on it. from where it lays, you conclude that whoever left it must've slipped it through the gap under your door while you slept. you'd picked it up and sat back on the edge of your bed to unfold it, your curiosity certainly piqued. it make you wonder, though, what reason someone could have for leaving you a note.

except, when you'd lifted the page it wasn't a note at all. on the slightly wrinkled paper were a number of beautiful pencil drawings – drawings of you. the surprise of seeing your own face staring back at you nearly stopped your poor heart.

the jagged edge on one side of the page indicated that it must have been torn out of a sketchbook, which had interested you even more. you couldn't think of anyone you knew who could draw, let alone who would have a sketchbook dedicated to it.

whoever made this, it was clear that art was a passion of theirs – these drawings were really good. your hair, your eyes, the subtle expression on your features, every line was expertly crafted. it was incredibly flattering, and admittedly boosted your ego a little with how good those sketches made you look.

as you sat there smiling to yourself, you'd glanced up to the three flowers blooming on your nightstand. like the gardenias, the drawings were from your secret admirer, there was no other explanation; and an admirer they were, it was abundantly clear from these sketches that this person had an appreciation for you, if only from afar.

the drawings had been your favourite so far, but unfortunately, it was almost a week until your admirer made another move.

it had been long enough for you to start walking properly on your ankle again, and so you'd been slowly easing back into your workout routine, starting with your morning run. you'd taken it slow with lots of breaks to rest your muscles, but still decided to call it early, which had you back at your locker earlier than usual. as you were rounding the corner to the locker room, you'd heard the door slam closed and a set of heavy footsteps racing down the corridor. you'd only caught a glimpse of whoever it was as they dashed around the other corner, quick enough that you weren't able to see who it was.

you'd been concerned at first, whoever it was had been in a terrible rush, but you'd quickly shaken it off – it wasn't uncommon for people to be rushing around base, especially first thing in the morning. with your own meeting to get to, you'd decided not to dwell on the strange almost-encounter, and carried on with grabbing your towel from the bench and showering.

as you opened the door to your locker to fetch your clean clothes, sitting front and centre on top of them was something you definitely hadn't left there; a bag of your favourite hard candy, unopened, in the space that had been empty not half an hour before. how did these get here? you'd asked yourself, and you stood there confused for a moment or two before the answer came to you.

of course, your secret admirer. you'd felt the familiar giddy excitement bubble up in your chest at the revelation. it had been a while since the page of drawings had been slipped under your door, and it pained you how the gardenias had begun to wilt already. honestly, you'd been slightly worried that they'd given up, or something had happened to them. thankfully though, they seemed to be doing just fine, and you were too with such a pleasant start to your day.

it wasn't until you were sat in the meeting room, munching on your sweets and waiting for the others to arrive, that you realised.

the person, the one who'd been in a hurry as you got back from your run, it was them; that person was your secret admirer. they had to be, you'd concluded, the sweets weren't in your locker when you'd been in there earlier, and you did cut your run short, so they probably hadn't expected you to return so soon – that's why they'd been in such a rush to get away.

the revelation had butterflies swarming in your stomach, the idea of being so close to finding out who it was that held such fond affection for you sparking giddy excitement in you; but at the same time, it filled you with a sickly apprehension.

the problem was that you already knew who you wanted it to be – you had from the beginning – and you worried that uncovering their identity would only lead to disappointment; because there was no possible way john mactavish could feel the same way you felt about him.

soap had always been nothing short of kind and respectful of you, never stepping over the unspoken line if being your closest friend. sometimes, you can fool yourself into thinking he treats you differently – when he checks in on you after missions, when he always saves you a seat next to him in meetings, when he'd practically carried you to the infirmary, all of it ignited a warm feeling in your chest. but then you think about it a little more, and remember that all those nice gestures, that's just who he is. he wormed his way into the heart of ghost, for fucks sake, it was almost impossible not to like him.

you'd been so lost in thought, that gaz sitting in the seat next to you had startled you back to reality.

"gonna share with the class?" he'd asked with a teasing smirk, gesturing to the sweets sitting on the table in front of you. he'd reached out to grab one, but you'd pushed his hand away and snatched the bag to your chest.

"no way," you'd said with a playful glare, sending a quick smile to soap who'd taken the seat on your other side, "these are from my secret admirer, get your own."

gaz paused. "...your fucking what?" he had an incredulous look on his face, and you'd forgotten that you never actually told the others about it. "soap, you hearin' this?"

soap looked almost panicked when you'd turned to him, but he didn't have time to respond, as that was the moment price had walked through the door and announced the start of the meeting.

"i'll explain after," you whispered to gaz, who gave you a pointed look that said 'you better' and turned his attention back to price. you'd stifled a chuckle and looked back at soap, expecting him to have a similar expression, but he was already facing forward. you'd frowned at this; you and johnny would always whisper back and forth during meetings – a way to keep eachother entertained, as well as an excuse for you to sit close to him – but today his face had an odd air of seriousness to it. oh well, you'd thought somewhat downtrodden, just have to talk to him after.

and that's what led you to the present, where you'd been explaining to the boys everything that has happened over the last two weeks. well, you were mostly telling soap and gaz, ghost honestly didn't seem that interested, though the captain did have a rather amused expression as he listened.

"so you have no idea who it could be?" gaz had turned sideways in his chair, leaning forward slightly with his eyebrows raised. he looked to be in disbelief, and you were almost inclined to feel the same.

"nope, not a clue." you sighed, turning from gaz to look at the others around the table. price was standing with his arms crossed, giving you a similar disbelieving look, and ghost had that familiar unreadable look in his eyes.

"someone went in your room while you were gone?" ghost's low voice caught your attention, "bit creepy, innit," he grumbled, his gaze darting between you and somewhere next to you. he did have a point, you supposed, it was a bit weird.

"well… maybe a little, yeah…" you trailed off. perhaps he had a point, but you found yourself not wanting to believe it; all of the mystery person's gestures had been so sweet, thoughtful, it was hard to think they had any ill intentions.

that, and your heart has already made up its mind about who it should be.

"don't be like that, lt., whoever it is meant well, didn't they?" gaz chuckled, the grin evident in his voice.

"christ…" ghost mutters, shaking his head in exasperation.

"it may be a slight invasion of privacy…" you begin; and it's true, but after the first incident, it didn't appear that anyone had been inside your room again. "but it was only once. and it was just a chocolate bar, it's harmless. besides, are you really telling me you've never been in anyone's room when they're not there?" you continued, earning only an eye roll from ghost.

"and you haven't tried to figure out who it is?" price asks from his position standing opposite you, across the table.

"no, i wouldn't even know where to start, it could be anyone…" you try to think of anyone to suspect, but your optimistic mind only draws one name; the object of your affection, who happened to be sitting directly next to you. unfortunately, the two of you were strictly friends – no matter how much you longed for something more.

"i think you should investigate," gaz's smile makes you think for a moment that he knows something that you don't, but you brush it off. he didn't even know about your admirer until you told him, how could he? it wasn't like they were leaving any hints. "whoever it is obviously really likes you."

"you think?" you unwrap another sweet and pop it into your mouth as you consider his words.

"yeah! and, we could even help you investigate," gaz gives the others a hopeful, if slightly suspicious, smirk.

"speak for yourself…" ghost leans back in his chair and folds his arms over his chest, the picture of uninterested, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"could be a good bonding exercise," price had the same entertained tone in his voice as he looked between the four of you, "any thoughts, soap?"

you hadn't realised until the captain brought attention to him, but soap had been uncharacteristically quiet during all this; since before the meeting, actually. he hadn't said a word to you yet today, which had you a little worried. usually the two of you couldn't shut up when you were together. you turn to look at him, and find him looking wide-eyed back at price.

"i don't– ah, maybe…" he stuttered, looking between price and the table rather than meeting your concerned eyes, "...they're just shy? don't want to be known yet?"

"oh, y'think, mate?" gaz fully laughed at that, sharing a look with both ghost and price that held something you couldn't understand. now you're thoroughly confused.

"well, maybe he's right," uncertainty laced your voice, their reactions throwing you for a loop. "if they wanted to be known, they probably would've shown themselves by now, right?" you turn to soap, who looks like he'd rather be anywhere else – but he meets your gaze with a tiny smile.

"so you're not going to investigate?" you look back at gaz, who has that incredulous look back on his face, and from the corner of your eye you see price and ghost both shake their heads.

"they can show themselves when they're ready, i don't want to push them." your mind was made up; if your secret admirer wanted to reveal their identity, then they would, it's as simple as that.

"but–" gaz tries to argue, but price quickly interrupts him.

"right, enough, you lot, clear out, you've all got work to be getting on with." he gestures for you all to stand, and after grabbing your sweets, you follow the others out of the room.

for the rest of the day, you endured endless amounts of teasing from gaz, and he even got some of the people from other units in on it. it had your face burning when they cooed over how romantic your 'mystery lover' was. you could only pray that they got over it soon, in the back of your mind you were slightly worried the attention might scare off your admirer, and you certainly didn't want that. but although you told the others you'd wait for them to reveal themselves in their own time, you'd be lying if you said you weren't practically dying to know who it was.

✹✹✹

"hey sarge," a voice sounds from beside you, drowning out the din of the mess hall around you. turning your head, you see it's a private; one you don't really know, but you give her a polite smile anyway. "i've got a message for you." she continues, producing a folded piece of paper from behind her back.

"a message? who from?" you ask, taking the paper from her when she holds it out to you.

she giggles, giving you a sly smile, "a secret someone," and with a suspicious wink, she turned around and left.

with the note in your hand, you look to gaz and soap, a baffled expression on your face. "does she mean my… admirer?" they both shrug at you, sharing an equally perplexed look between themselves.

"go on then," gaz says, "what does it say?"

you unfold it, and scan the neat handwriting of the message. soap and gaz watch as you read it, their curiosity overwhelmingly present in the way they leaned forward to try and see.

your face falls, and you frown. the note was signed – 'your secret admirer' – but you couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in your heart.

"what's up? what does it say?" gaz notices the change in your expression, standing up from his chair and leaning fully over the table to read the note himself. you hand it to him, your good mood from this morning completely soured.

"apparently it is from my admirer," you begin, not bothering to hide the dejection in your voice, "telling me to meet them outside in five minutes."

the pair don't say anything, too stunned to form words as they continue to frown at the words in front of them. this can't be right, it just can't be, your mind laments, if johnny is sitting here, that that means he's not–

"seriously? just like that?" gaz interrupts your thoughts. he sounded annoyed underneath his shock, and you find yourself feeling the same way. "sorry, but i find that hard to believe – they didn't even leave a card with the flowers, did they? it just doesn't feel right to me."

you look to soap, who has yet to say anything on the matter. he doesn't meet your eyes, boring holes into the table with the anger in his gaze. your frown only deepens at his expression, the look on his face so unlike him it almost has you forgetting all about the cause.

"who knows," you sigh, plucking the note back out of gaz's hand. "this probably won't take long, i'll–"

"wait, you're going?" soap interjects, the frown on his face set much deeper than your own. his sudden question caught you off guard, paired with his irritated expression, and you almost thought he was angry with you.

"yeah, i mean, what's the harm, right? might as well just get it over with." you stand as you respond, folding the note back up. even if you were setting yourself up for disappointment, you still wanted to at least hear this person out; even if it wasn't him.

"what's the harm?" johnny scoffs – at you or at very idea of all this you aren't sure – and joins you in standing up, throwing his arms out with such annoyance, it catches you off guard. he gestures sharply at the paper in your hand, "this– whoever that is, it's pure shite! you can't see that?"

now it's you who scoffs at him; where is this hostility coming from? yesterday he seemed as though he couldn't care less when you were telling everyone about it, and now all of a sudden, he thinks he has all the answers?

"how would you know?" you shove the note into your pocket, your earlier sadness quickly morphing into annoyance.

as you move to walk away, johnny looks like he wants to say something more, to stop you, and you hesitate. you want him to; whoever your admirer was, whoever that note was from, none of it meant a thing if it wasn't him. all you wanted was for him to look at you the same way you look at him. gaz is looking at him too, subtly gesturing for him to do something, but he doesn't speak, doesn't meet your eyes as your face drops again.

"exactly, you don't. i'll be back in a minute." you huff, and without another word from either of them, you turn on your heel and make your way out of the mess hall.

it's safe to say your mood had swiftly and effectively been ruined. the disillusionment of realising that your secret admirer was someone other than johnny was one thing, but his sudden attitude towards you was the final straw. your face was decidedly sour as you trudge through the corridors, still with a slight limp which was only fuelling your annoyance for how your day was going. 

the cool air of the courtyard makes your skin bristle as you push the door open, taking a moment to survey the area as you stand in the entryway. to the left stands a lone figure, and you recognise his face, but – like the private from earlier, who you assume is his friend – you can't remember ever having spoken to him. with a deep sigh, you blink away bitterness in your expression and make your way over to him.

his grin is wide as he shamelessly checks you out while you approach, and you instinctually cross your arms over your chest. you come to a stop in front of him, frowning in a look that you hope screams uninterested.

"hey, sarge." he has an overly confident air to him as he speaks, shuffling closer under your scrutinising stare. of course he wouldn't take the hint.

"so it's you, then?" you ask, your voice flat and void of any emotion. you just wanted this to be over with, but it seemed luck just wasn't on your side today.

"it's me," he confirms, the blinding grin still plastered to his face as he inches even closer, "you surprised?"

"yeah, actually. i didn't know you were an artist." you reply, voice flat, and you watch him blink once in surprise. you raise a brow at his bewilderment, your patience already wearing painfully thin. he chuckles awkwardly in an attempt to hide how you so obviously caught him off guard.

"ah, yeah i uh–" he stutters, but you cut him off before he can make too much of a fool of himself.

"in fact, i don't actually know you at all. i couldn't recall your name even if you held a gun to my head." the hiss in your voice reveals just how over this whole situation you are. he opens his mouth to spout something else you have no interest in hearing, the sleazy grin falling from his face, but you hold a hand up to silence him. "so i'd really appreciate it if you left me alone."

"but–"

"and stay out of my room, and my locker, too. if it happens again, you're getting reported." you spit the final words at him, and turn on your heel to leave. before you can take another step, he grabs your elbow and spins you back around to face him, causing your ankle to twist awkwardly, which sends a fresh jolt of pain up your leg. you hold back a groan and fix him with a deadly glare instead.

"hey, c'mon, don't be like that!" you wince as he practically demands, getting much closer to you than was necessary, even with you arching backwards to put some space between you. "at least gimme a chance,"

"just leave me alone." you hiss, pulling your arm out of his grip and before he has the chance to do or say anything else, you hurry back the way you came, your limp noticeably more pronounced than earlier. thankfully, the private – jackson, you’d just about been able to read on his jacket – didn’t follow you back to the mess hall, which proves that he has at least half a brain. you hoped that he’d take the hint to stay away from you, but somewhere in the back of your mind you were preparing yourself to be hassled by him in the coming days; he certainly seemed the type.

you were gone less than ten minutes, but in that time most of the lunch crowd had cleared out, leaving the room a lot quieter than it had been. as you shuffle towards soap and gaz, still sitting at the same table, they both turn to look at you, and you can tell by the way both their expressions drop that they sense something is off.

"what happened?" gaz asks as you take your seat across from them, trying to hold back a wince when you put too much strain on your ankle, "your face says it didn't go well."

you sigh, looking between both of them, lingering on soap who’s already watching you with an intensity that has your face heating up. "it didn’t. it was just some private who can’t take no for an answer." you grumble, resting your cheek in the palm of your hand.

"your ankle okay?" soap asks, holding your gaze until you relent and look away first. you want to tell him not to worry, but you find it's impossible to lie to him, not when he's looking at you like you're the only person in the room. "what happened?" he presses, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.

"its nothing, he just– i just twisted it a little." you trip over your words under his stare, looking to gaz for help, but you find that he has a similar – albeit less intense – look of concern on his face. the silence hangs between you for a moment as you wordlessly try to convince them, but they see through you. "alright, fine. when i was leaving, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back, and i pulled my ankle."

if johnny had been pissed before, he was furious now; his eyes were dark underneath his furrowed brow, his lips turned down in a frown that looked more like a snarl. to see someone usually so easygoing with such a threatening look on his face was almost worrying, the only reassurance being that you know it's not directed at you.

"that prick… who was it?" gaz isn't nearly as affected as soap, but he's clearly annoyed by the audacity of the private. you shake your head, urging them to just let it go; he wasn't worth the trouble, after all.

when johnny says your name in that deep, gravelly tone, your heart skips a beat and your eyes snap to meet his. "who was it." he asks, but it's not a question anymore, and every fibre of your being is telling you to just give in to him.

"jackson. i don't know his first name…" you mutter, slightly flustered by the way he's acting. the tension in the silence that follows is nearly suffocating. from where his arms rest on the table, you notice johnny repeatedly clenching his fists, seemingly having some sort of internal battle with himself.

"what a bellend…" gaz grumbles, pausing for a moment to shake the disgust from his face. "so, what about the whole 'secret admirer' thing then?" he leans back in his chair, eyes darting to soap's profile then back to you.

"i don't know…" you sigh, "didn't really seem like something he was capable of, but i guess i don't really know him, so–"

"yeah, he doesn't seem the type, does he?" gaz interjects, with a newfound energy at your words. you narrow you eyes, sensing an ulterior motive, but let him continue. "i mean, buying you flowers, sweets– seems a bit too thoughtful for such a twat."

his jab coaxed a laugh from you, "maybe; i guess i was pretty disappointed when i saw it was him, though."

"oh yeah? expecting someone else, were you?" gaz has a grin on his face, one that has you worried that he's clocked on to your true feelings.

"something like that…" you clear your throat, suddenly feeling a little too seen for your liking. "anyway, i'd better get going, desk duty is no joke," you slowly stand up, making sure to be careful of your newly irritated ankle, and adamantly avoiding eye contact with either of them.

"yeah, me too, cap said he needs my help with something." gaz stands as well, giving soap a pat on the back and a suspicious wink as he walks off, which you willfully choose to ignore.

"you gonna be okay?" johnny comes to your side as you shuffle around the table, his hand brushing over your back to support you. butterflies begin to flutter at the feeling, and you scold yourself for being so easily affected. he seems to have calmed down a lot, the anger from earlier overtaken by his concern.

"yeah, i'll be fine, i think i'll just have to grab my crutch," you smile at him and take a step forward, wincing as you shift your weight from one foot to the other.

"c'mon, lemme help you," he tilts his head to meet your eyes, his worry evident within them. his hand is warm on your back, you have to hold yourself back from leaning into him. "cannae have you hurtin' yourself any more."

"you sure? don't you have work to do too?" you have every intention of taking him up on his offer, but you couldn't help feeling guilty for needing his help like this.

"i'm sure lt. can survive a few extra minutes," johnny gives you a reassuring smile, already ushering you out of the mess hall.

"well, don't blame me when has your head," you grin back at him, relishing in the comfortable feeling of being so close to him. distracted by his proximity, you momentarily forget about your injury and without thinking, you put too much weight on it as you take a step. with a pained gasp, you wobble on your good foot and pause to give your ankle a break.

johnny moves his arm to sit securely around your waist, gently pulling you to lean fully against him. "you sure you don't want me to take you to the infirmary?" he asks, lifting your arm to wrap around his shoulders.

"no, no– they're just gonna tell me to rest, and i'll be sitting down all day anyway," you move to continue on your way to your room, but he stays put. 

"you should still get it looked at, might be–"

"johnny." you stop him with a hand on his chest, "i'm okay."

you watch his adams apple bob as he gulps, his eyes flickering to where your hand is touching him and back up to your own, almost too fast to notice.

"right, right. sorry." he dips his head, breaking eye contact. you pull him gently, and the two of you start walking again. "you know jackson well?"

you scoff, frowning as you recall the events of earlier. "what? no, before today i didn't even know his name. he seems like kind of an arsehole, to be honest."

"really? made that bad of an impression, eh?" his lopsided smile feels oddly smug, but you decide not to overthink it.

"like i said, can't take a no." you grumble, pinching the bridge of your nose with your free hand, "i doubt this is the last time i'll have to deal with him…"

"he's not gonna bother you." johnny states, with a finality that is as stunning as it is comforting.

"...if you say so." you don't press any further, wanting to simply move on and forget about the whole thing. you'd gladly never think about that arrogant private again.

before you know it, the two of you are standing in the hall outside your room. his grip around your waist loosens as you push open the door, and you're all too aware of the cold feeling left behind as he lets go.

"thank you, for helping me." you shoot him a grateful smile, grabbing your crutch from where it leant against the wall, propping it under your arm.

"course," johnny pauses, looking past you to something in your room. "you… kept the gardenias?" he asks, his voice quiet, almost disbelieving. you tilt your head, a silent question, but he's still staring at the flowers.

"yeah, they're…" you begin, but his words have you pausing too; he didn't seem like the kind of person to be interested in floristry, you'd certainly never heard him say anything about it before. but somehow, he'd identified the flowers on your end table with no problem. "...they're nice. i like them, even if they do look a little sad now."

when he finally meets your eyes again, there's a distinct redness to his face that wasn't there before, and you feel your heart beginning to race with renewed hope. it could be that he just likes flowers, but if he already knew they were gardenias, maybe he…

"right, i, uh– i should get going, or ghost might actually kill me." johnny's voice had a dazed quality to it when he spoke.

"alright, i'll see you later then," you give him a small smile as you step back into the hall next to him. the two of you look at each other for a moment before you speak again, holding back a laugh, "you gonna go, or just stand there all day?"

your words seem to snap him out of the trance he’d been in, and he shakes his head in an almost comical manner, "right! right, sorry, bye!" he sputters, waving over his shoulder as he jogs away. you chuckle to yourself as he goes, and start walking the opposite direction to get started with your own work.

✹✹✹

you didn't see soap again until the next day, considering that he was strangely absent from mealtimes both last night and today. thankfully the incident from the day before hadn't done any further damage to your ankle, so you were up and about without the need for your crutch after a good night's rest.

you'd just dropped off a folder of paperwork in price's office – which you'd completed in fairly good time, thanks to being stuck behind a desk for nearly two weeks – but as you descend the staircase, you're almost knocked over by someone flying around the corner. you caught yourself with a hand on the railing, blinking away your surprise and glaring at whoever had carelessly bumped into you.

much to your chagrin, it was jackson, and you feel your face naturally falling into a frown at the realisation. you’d been expecting him to try and change your mind about yesterday, but true to johnny’s words, he had yet to bother you about it; actually, you hadn’t seen him at all since then, not even at breakfast or lunch, but it's not as if you were complaining. 

though, as you stare down at him from the step above, you notice a deep purple bruise decorating his cheekbone that definitely wasn’t there yesterday. your frown turns from malice to confusion as you wonder how he could have gotten it in the span of less than a day, it looked like he’d taken a serious punch. you couldn’t say you felt bad for him, but it did look painful.

"listen, about yesterday… i- i lied,." jackson mutters, eyes glued to the floor to avoid your own. he was shuffling in place, as if he was preparing to bolt at any second. your eyes narrow as you process his words.

"what?"

he clears his throat. "i lied. it wasn’t me, i just said it was because one of the guys bet me i couldn’t get you to go out with me." he admits. the way he keeps avoiding your eyes, glancing around like he was waiting for someone to jump out at him has you a little suspicious, but your heart still soars when you realise what he means.

jackson wasn't your secret admirer, so your hopeless romantic heart could still dream that it was johnny. the flutter of butterflies even distracts you from the insulting notion that he only wanted to go out with you for a bet.

"seriously?" you ask, your shock evident in your voice as you stare him down. finally his eyes land on your own, an embarrassed grimace overtaking his nervous expression. it's a stark, satisfying difference to his arrogant overconfidence from before.

"yeah. i’m sorry, okay? i don’t want any trouble, it was just–" he cuts himself off, but when you give him a questioning look, he can't tear his eyes from the space behind you, and only mumbles what sounds like a ‘sorry’ before scurrying off back the way he came. you watch him go, thoroughly confused by the whole interaction, but not a moment later a voice from where he was staring brings you out of your thoughts.

"y’alright? little shit wasn’t botherin’ you, was he?" soap's voice cuts through the quiet, and you turn to see him descending the stairs to stand next to you.

you shake your head, "no, no, he just–" you hesitate, your mind going back to yesterday and the gardenias. "he lied, it wasn't him."

"really?" he asks, but his voice doesn't sound surprised at all. you're not sure if you imagined it, but for a moment his expression changes into something like satisfaction.

"yeah, he was about to say something else too, but he just ran off," you sigh, walking down the last few steps. soap follows close behind, a hand hovering near your back. "did you see that bruise on his face? wonder how he got it…"

"looked nasty, eh?" a laugh escapes him, and you admire the way his lips curve, the creases around his eyes as his smile reaches them. "maybe he finally got what was comin' to him."

his face was close to yours, a lot closer than you could reasonably handle without losing your nerve and making a fool of yourself. realising you had yet to respond, you clear your throat and start walking down the corridor, your eyes to the floor and a burning in your cheeks.

"if he never speaks to me again, it'll still be too soon…" you grumble, willing your heart to calm down as he comes up next to you in a few long strides. "anyway, what have you been up to? i haven't seen you all day." with a quick glance, you see the easy smile he has falter slightly.

"i was, ah–" he avoids your eye as he stops himself, a beat of silence passes before he continues "nevermind, i– i was… looking for you." your heart skips a beat, but you scold it for being so eager; the two of you were teammates, friends, he could be looking for you for any number of reasons.

"looking for me? what's up?" you turn your head to face him as you walk, a curious tilt to your brow.

johnny comes to a stop, and so do you a moment after. he looks at you, fidgety and shifting on his feet, with his hands stuffed in his pockets. the look on his face is unsure, uncomfortable, like he was debating running off like jackson had done a minute ago.

he's nervous, that much you can tell. but despite the slightly awkward tension, you you wait for whatever it is he's struggling to say.

"i… uh– y'know what, i actually forgot." johnny hangs his head, pulling his hands from his pockets and scratching the back of his neck.

at his words your heart sinks, and you can't help the disappointed look that takes over your expression. "oh? are you–"

before you can finish, he drops a hand on your shoulder and steps ahead of you, turning around so you're face to face. "listen, ghost is waiting for me, so i gotta run," he smiles again, but it's weaker this time, almost forced as it doesn't quite meet his eyes.

"right… better not keep him waiting."

"right," his reply is short, and the tension between you only grows every moment he avoids your eyes. "i'll see you later though, promise." he flashes you another false smile, gently patting your shoulder, before turning on his heel and swiftly escaping down the corridor.

"bye, johnny." you release a sigh, from longing or exasperation you're not sure, watching his form disappear through the doors.

✹✹✹

despite his promise, once again you don't see soap for the rest of the day. at dinner you'd questioned ghost on his whereabouts, but he only told you that he had no idea either. this time however, you got the strong feeling he was lying to you.

still though, you couldn't find it within yourself to be annoyed with him. you could see clear as day that something was going on with johnny, and if he didn't want to confide in you about whatever it is, then you certainly won't be the one to push him.

having finished today's obligations, you decided to head straight to your room once you'd finished eating. you open your door, a sigh escaping you as you prepare to collapse for the night, and stop dead in your tracks.

a folded sheet of paper lays in front of you, standing out against the emptiness of your floor, crumpled like it had been screwed up and flattened out again. a sense of déjà vù overcomes you, for last week, when you'd received the sketches of yourself in the same way. for a moment all you can do is stand there, staring at the paper, processing.

eventually, you do step into your room, shutting the door quietly behind you and picking the paper up from the floor. you keep it folded until you're sitting on the edge of your mattress, hands shaking ever so slightly with the anticipation.

you're not sure what to think, as you sit burning holes in the paper with your stare. after yesterday, you thought you were done with the idea of your secret admirer; but then again, jackson had admitted to you earlier that he'd lied when he met you yesterday, and the whole reason you weren't as interested after that was because your pipe dream of the mystery person being johnny had been shattered. but now that the identity of your admirer was once again a mystery, you couldn't help but want to dream like that again. 

with a defeated groan, you decide to just rip off the bandaid and read the note. you unfold it, immediately noticing the scratchy handwriting – the opposite of the note jackson gave you, so thankfully it couldn't be from him.

you hear your heartbeat in your ears as your eyes scan the words in front of you.

i stayed up all night trying to write this note, but nothing i came up with felt good enough, so i'm just going to say it. i'm your secret admirer. i know you probably won't believe me after that bastard yesterday, but i need you to know anyway. i used to think that love just wasn't my thing, that i'd never find someone i wanted to spend my life with, but that changed when i met you. i didn’t realise it at first, but it's always been you. you're my person, and i can't hide it anymore. i love you. maybe i'm a coward for giving you a note instead of telling you face to face. but if you don't feel the same, you can throw it away, or burn it or something, and i'll never bring it up again. your heart, johnny

the silence in your room borders on deafening as you sit completely still, reeling from what you'd just read. you didn't realise you'd stopped breathing until you release a shaky breath.

all this time, it was johnny.

every longing glance, every touch that lingered just a little too long, the racing pulse every time he says your name; it was all reciprocated.

every time you thought you could never have him as anything more than your best friend, you were wrong.

he cared enough to leave you a pick-me-up after a hard mission, buy you flowers when you got injured, draw you the way he saw you, gift you things he took the time to notice you like.

all this time… he'd felt the exact same way you do.

you set the note down next to you, bringing a shaky hand up to cover your mouth that had fallen open in shock. there was only one thing to do, in your mind, and that was to run into johnny's arms and make up for all the lost time you've spent pining over him.

in seemingly no time at all, you find yourself standing at johnny's door, your fist poised to knock. theres a moment of hesitation, but before your apprehension can cloud your mind, you let your knuckles rap on the wood once, twice, three times, and take a step back as you wait for a response. after a second or two – which felt a lot longer than it actually was – you hear the sounds of footsteps from inside.

another moment passes, and you assume johnny is standing on the other side with his heart in his throat just like you, short-lived before he finally swings the door open.

he looks at you, eyes wide and like a deer caught in headlights, the way he holds himself uncharacteristically shy as you stare each other down.

"the note," you finally murmur, and johnny almost flinches, clearly fighting the urge to look away from you. "tell me you meant it." you continue, taking a miniscule step closer to him. you hear his breath catch in his chest.

"every word." he whispers, gaze flickering down to your lips and back up to your eyes again, and your heart misses a beat.

with no hesitation this time, you hook your arms around his neck and pull him towards you, crushing his mouth against yours in a desperate kiss that's as much teeth as it is lips.

johnny groans into your mouth, his hands flying to your waist as he turns and walks you backwards into his room. the door gets kicked shut behind him once he's got you inside, neither of you breaking apart more than enough to draw a single ragged breath before meeting in the middle again. with another needy whine into you he pushes you up against the wall, caging you in with his broad shoulders and his arms around your waist.

the weight of his arms around you, the feeling of his stubble prickly against your face, the softness of his lips against yours; it's everything you've been waiting for, and now you finally have him, he tastes sweeter than you could've ever imagined.

the two of you stay like that for moments that feel like hours in each other's embrace, only pulling away when your lungs are burning and your lips are swollen. leaning your head back against the wall, his eyes meet yours with such adoration it sends your heart fluttering all over again.

"i'll take that as a good sign," he mumbles, a lopsided grin lifting his features. his joy is so infectious you can't help but mirror his expression as you drop your head to rest on his shoulder.

his chest rumbles with an airy, disbelieving laugh and he tugs you impossibly closer, resting his cheek against the side of your head. standing chest to chest now, you can feel the hammering of his heart against yours and the way his skin burns under your touch.

"you’re my person too," you murmur into him, one of your hands moving up to tangle in the strands of his mohawk, "always have been."

johnny's arms wind tighter around you as he releases a deep, content sigh. he's hugged you countless times before but somehow, this feels different while still staying exactly the same. the heat radiating from him is soothing like it always has been, the knowledge that your feelings are reciprocated only making it that much sweeter.

"why'd it take us so long, eh?" he utters, tender and loving in the way he runs his hands over your back and sides.

"we're just idiots…" you reply, "gaz is gonna have a field day with this."

johnny laughs again, pressing his lips to the side of your head so you can feel his smile. "oh, he clocked us a long time ago, bonnie."

you can't help but groan as you imagine how gaz will tease the both of you for how oblivious you've both been.

he lifts you up by his grip around your waist, carrying you over to his bed and flopping down onto his back with you on his chest. a satisfied groan escapes him as he settles, burying his face into your hair and inhaling a deep breath.

you're enveloped by the scent of him – gunpowder, and the faint smell of something burnt, but it's pleasant and familiar nonetheless.

"yer stayin' with me tonight, non negotiable." he murmurs, running a hand up and down the length of your spine.

"fine by me." you tilt your head up to meet his eyes, and find them already locked on you. "so, about jackson…"

johnny scoffs, lightheartedly frowning in response. "yer gonna bring his name up while yer in my bed?"

"he looked really spooked when he saw you earlier," you begin, smoothing your hand over his chest. his eyes widen at your words, his hand freezing as he looks away from you with a distinctly guilty expression on his face. you narrow your eyes, holding back the amused smirk pulling at your lips. "johnny… did you…"

he clears his throat, and by the way he can't hold your gaze for more than a second you can tell he knows he's been caught. there's no stopping the laugh that bubbles up from your chest at his reaction.

"...i may have, uh– potentially put some fear o'god into the little bawbag…"

"soap!"

[draconic-desire]

DD’s Yandere Poll Series: Surviving the Yan!Penacony Boys (based on this post)

Rules/warnings: Read the below scenario and pick your answer or comment your own reaction. Dark content ahead!

Incident #3 — The Interrogation

Bright light floods your vision, eliciting a hiss as you repeatedly blink to regain your senses. Shielding your eyes is useless; your hands are pinned tightly behind your back, your wrists already starting to throb.

Once your eyes adjust, you find yourself tied to a chair, arms and legs bound to the wooden frame with thick rope. A few tugs and attempted kicks lead you to quickly relent that your bindings aren’t budging.

Shaking the fuzz from inside your head, you examine your surroundings.

While most of the room is cloaked in shadows, your chair is illuminated with a bright spotlight, highlighting the laminated flooring beneath your feet. Directly in front of you stands a long bar, perched upon a podium to elevate any individual behind it. The room is completely bare otherwise, giving a cold, clinical appearance.

How in the Aeons’ names did I end up here?

“Ah, you’ve finally regained your senses.”

You jolt, the voice to your left sending gooseflesh across your skin. It’s deep, full of condescension and authority, and almost certainly male. Sweat trickles down your neck.

Confirming your suspicions, a tall, muscular figure steps from the shadows beside you.

Your already rapid heartbeat skyrockets. Despite his scowl, the man is undeniably handsome—golden eyes to complement his dark purple locks, full lips and strong, toned arms on display thanks to his single-sleeved attire. You’d typically be blushing as he grips the back of your chair with one arm and leans down close to your face, if it weren’t for the unwelcome and compromising position you’re in.

You struggle to swallow. “I—um, sir, there must be some mistake—”

“You are (Y/n) (L/n), are you not?” he interrupts. His breath, minty with a touch of sage, tickles your nose as he closes the gap between the two of you even further.

“Um, yes…?” You cringe at how pathetic you sound, but really, how else are you supposed to react when a stranger has you apparently kidnapped and tied up?

The man rolls his eyes. “Come now, at least admit to your own name. If you can’t do that, how can you own up to the consequences of your actions?”

Head spinning, you ignore the fact that you think he just implied you’re stupid to instead focus on his latter comment. Despite your situation, you can’t help the spark of indignation that rages in your chest. Maybe that’s what makes you stupid: your sharp tongue. “Excuse me? Consequences? Are you lecturing me? And how do you know my name? Who even are you? Why am I here?”

Tilting his head slightly, the man lets a subtle smile pull at his lips. “Finally asking the right questions.” He stands and paces behind the podium in front of you, appearing like a judge presiding over court.

“My name is Dr. Veritas Ratio, and you, (Y/n), are my wife.”

You jerk back like you’ve been hit. That is certainly not what you were expecting.

A startled laugh escapes you. “I don’t have a husband.”

Ratio hums in response, jotting down something in a book he pulled from his robes. “And what is the last thing you remember before you woke up here?”

“Woah, woah, are we just going to glance over the fact that you’re claiming we’re married?!” you shout, panic creeping into your bones. So not only have you been kidnapped, but the individual holding you is also insane. Great. “I’ve never seen you before in my life!”

A deep sigh fills the room, followed by the sound of lead scratching against paper. A low mumble that you can barely discern contemplates, “Perhaps the dosage was too high this time? Such an amnestic response is unusual… Could a physical stimulus be required to invigorate her hippocampus?”

The damn man is treating you like a science project!

Before you can retort, he pulls out two small vials of liquid, both no larger than your thumb. He sets them down on the table before you and gestures to each individually.

“You now have a choice. Drinking this,” he motions to the right, at the vial possessing a golden liquid flecked with sparkling, iridescent particles, “will restore your memories. You’ll remember me, and everything that led up to this point.”

Remember him? Did he drug you into forgetting, and this was the next step in his experiment? If what he claims is true, why would a husband ever do that to his wife? Your head throbs.

“Or, choose this vial,” he points to the lefthand bottle, a concoction so dark it mirrors the midnight sky, “and you will forget everything and get to walk out that door shortly after.”

Your eyes narrow at him. Surely there was some sort of catch. His language was too vague to be of any comfort at all.

“Why are you making me choose at all? This all seems like one really fucked up joke.” You tug at your bindings again, letting out a growl of frustration.

Ratio pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “You’re lucky I’ve grown so fond of you that I can overlook your insipid questioning. You will choose.”

“And what happens when I do? Surely it’s not as simple as remembering you or being freed. You don’t seem like a man who would go to all the trouble. What’s in this for you other than forcing me to be your little lab rat?”

After a pregnant pause, Ratio clucks his tongue. “Fine. I suppose it doesn’t matter if I give away the answers. You’re clearly not thinking straight.” He places his notebook down and picks up a vial in each hand, holding the small things between his thumb and index fingers.

“The gold bottle here will completely restore your memories. You want to know the whole truth about us? How you ended up in this room? Why it’s not the first time we’ve had this conversation?” Your breath hitches; what did he mean not the first time. “Then drink this one. It will probably give you a leg up, since you’ll recall all those past times you tried oh so fruitlessly to escape me.”

He then raises his opposite hand as your horror builds. “Alternatively, this vial will completely wipe your memories, but only of me. You’ll recall everything about yourself, your life, hobbies, et cetera…but in doing so, you will be helpless the next time we meet. You will have no defenses, and one way or another, you will be my wife again. That much has already been proven true.”

The floor falls from underneath you. Aeons, how many times have you taken that midnight liquid? How many times have you been in this very scenario, drugged into forgetting him, only for him to court you time and time again. Clearly you must reject him each time, but he’s so lost in his obsession that he has to reset you each time you try to flee. The thought makes you immediately nauseous.

Despite your dry throat, you manage to croak out, “And if I refuse to take either?”

Ratio’s expression darkens, his chin tipped up haughtily. “Don’t test my patience, (Y/n).”

You gulp, eyes flicking back and forth between this two hands. You must choose.

[onskepa]

Left behind: Prologue

Here is the first of many chapters for the long awaited series! Enjoy!

Left behind series

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

Jake’s pov

Earth has always been our home. Us, humans. And like parasites, we leeched off of our provider. Always wanting more and never getting our fill. And now, what made us humans, is dying. There is little to no chance of saving it. 

As earth dies, so does the human spirit. Over mass population, consumption, greed. It is clearly taking a toll on all of us. Whenever something pure, something untouched is found, the greed of humanity taints it. Corrupt it. 

As is the youth of our children. 

With what hopes and dreams the kids have are instantly killed. The adults are blunt and cut throat in telling kids today there is no hope for earth. Being molded to think one way, molded to be fitted in a box and not have any form of creativity. To think of a certain way. 

And it is disgusting. 

Third  POV 

After a nasty fight at the bar, Jake went home. He got the money, less than last week but it's enough for the both of them. 

Yes, both. 

After being discharged from the marines after his life changing incident, Jake sully didn't have a clear vision of what to do. Learning that his new life will contain him in a wheelchair, Jake's mind darkened and stayed like that for a while. Dull and colorless were his day. 

Would go to bars and make a fool of himself if it meant getting some attention and money for more booze. Made many mistakes in his dark days. Mistakes that aren't so easy to take back. Many regrets and doubts. But there was one thing that Jake would never see as an accident or a mistake, was his only reason to live. 

His daughter. 

A little angel sent from above to take him out of his dark days. 

Jake could barely remember the women he spent the night that conceived his child. Some faceless lady that gifted him his child. Really the only good thing left in his life. And because of his little star, did Jake push on. Still not making good choices, but hard ones to make it by.

Jake’s pov

The door opened and I pushed myself inside. Home sweet home. A small apartment, not the best, but its plenty. 

“Daddy daddy daddy!!” I can hear my little girl call out to me. 

Turning, I caught her just in time. Quickly climbing on my lap, her little arms hugging me. “I missed you daddy!” she tells me. I couldn't help but smile widely. My little angel, my little star, a gift from above. 

“Oooh I missed you too, have you been good for Misses Morve?” I asked her, moving her little messy hair away to look at her beautiful blue eyes. She nodded fast. And on cue, the kind lady we have as our neighbor came to us. 

A nice little old lady across from our door. 

“She has been so good, I am surprised she hasn't caused any trouble, '' Misses Morve tells me. “Thank you, you don't have to watch over her tomorrow. I'm staying in” I was informed. Saying our farewells, she left our place. 

My little girl turned back to me, “daddy! I saw on the hologram that the tigers came back from the dead! I saw them and they looked so cuuuuuuute!!” 

Animals has always been her favorite thing to learn about. I buy second hand books for her. School has become too expensive for an average family. So I try my best to teach her what I know. 

“Really? Maybe one day we can go see them together” I tell her. Her eyes sparkle in excitement, cheering and clapping. Letting her chat away of what we can do should one day we go to the zoo. 

I know it might not happen, but nothing wrong with giving a little hope right? 

Third pov 

As the father-daughter duo chatted, a sudden knock was hard on the door. Both stood silent, misses Morve just left, Jake wasn't expecting anyone else. 

Jake gave his daughter a look and quickly she left to go hide in a cabinet. Jake grabs a gun hidden from a shelf and preps it. As he got closer, another knock was heard. “Who is it?” he asks loudly. 

“Is this Jake sully’s residence?” A voice was heard. 

“Who are you?” Jake asks. 

“We are from the RDA. We came to look for Jake sully. It is urgent we speak to him”. 

Aaaaaaaand that is all for this one! Hope you all like it cause there will be more chapters in the future! Until next time! see ya!

[warping-realities]

Building an Empire Part I

Okay, I know I said I didn't plan on writing anything new, but it seems that just by making the new images for Making

Amends the desire to try something new appeared. In reality, it's not that new because I'm not writing anything different from what I've written before and even the way the transformation occurs is derived from another story, albeit with some twists. And yes, as the title makes clear we are talking about a series, but I have no idea when the next part will be ready. Finally, this one is a little darker than my usual, so be warned. Hope you like it!

The Partner

Javier stared at the prison cell wall with hatred so deep in his eyes that it could burn a hole in the concrete in front of him. He had been very stupid to let himself get caught in something as stupid as tax evasion. The police had been looking for years for a reason to place him in that exact place without ever having come close to him engaging in any of the criminal activities that formed the basis of the small fortune acquired through his life of crime. At almost forty years of age he had acquired a reputation in the criminal underworld, several gangs and cartels hired his services with the guarantee of a quick and effective solution to any possible problem. An arrest would irreparably tarnish that reputation. And in his field, a man's reputation was his greatest asset, even more so when he had another reputation, that of an insatiable man-eater, who had only gotten away with his actions and the blatant homophobia in his midst due to his impeccable record. In fact, if a look could tear down a wall, Javier's cell would have been open to the outside world for a long time.

….

"Javier Ruiz, suspect in several cases of extortion, drug trafficking and possible involvement in homicides that have never been clarified. Raised by his maternal great-aunt Isabela Ruiz, his father was a member of a cartel killed in an exchange of gunfire with a rival gang before his birth and his heroin-addicted mother died with him in her arms at the age of 3 in the small apartment where they lived, where he would be found 4 days after the incident, dehydrated but still resisting.

Since he was a child, he was known for his enormous size, which earned him his nickname, Golias, Goliath, a name he adopted in the criminal underworld. We have had reports of his activities for more than two decades but without ever being able to link the nickname to the person. Until now.

Thanks to a rookie mistake we finally have him in custody, an opportunity. " Explained to the room a young dark haired cop.

"Indeed, he has precious information, but it seems no one in here is capable to get him to say anything." Police Lieutenant Patrick Walsh spoke in response, with a hard look at his subordinates.

"An opportunity we just missed. His bail was just paid, he's free." Interjected one of the police officers present, Sergeant Adams, a portly black man in his fifties.

"Shit, a completely wasted golden opportunity." Exclaimed the young dar haired and fresh out of the academy, Officer Anthony DiAngelo who was present there only because he was the lieutenant's wife's nephew.

"Maybe not. Sir, I have an idea." Said a strong blond man of about 35 years old with a rigid look and posture. And his idea made the lieutenant's eyes shine with excitement.

…

"Enjoying your freedom while you can Goliath?" asked the blonde detective in front of the police station when Javier was released.

"My name is Javier. And my taxes and bail have been paid, there's no need to bother me detective...?"

"Fischer. Michael Fischer. And I didn't want to bother you Golias, just warn you."

"Warn me, of what?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that the information that you spent the night at the police station has leaked . The rumor going around the city is that you handed over very important people to save your skin."

"Save me from what, a stupid accusation of tax evasion?"

"Ah, but they don't know that, do they?"

"Son of a bitch!"

"Goliath, this son of a bitch here is your best friend right now."

"I have no friends, let alone a pig like you. And if you think I'm going to fall for that stupid move and turn someone in, you're sorely mistaken."

"Well, I'm sure a lot of people have seen you talking to me in the last few minutes, friend." Detective Fischer concluded as he placed a card in Javier's pocket. While Javier, being in front of the police station, could not react the way he wanted and risk being arrested again.

"For when you realize the value of my friendship, Goliath."

…..

Javier was foaming at the mouth, with the money he had accumulated he knew he could live reasonably well in some forgotten third world country. Still, he needed to take Tia Isabel with him and that would be a big problem. How would he go out the country with an elderly illegal woman with the police and the city's biggest criminals on his tail?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! You bastards." He shouted at the roof of the car as he headed to the comfortable apartment he had rented for the aunt who had raised him spend the last years of her life.

"Tia sabel, it's Javi, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you yesterday, I had an unforeseen event and we need to talk about... Tia? Tia?" Said Javier, touching the cold corpse of the woman who had created him and feeling a wave of pain, sadness and already the familiar hate and anger invade him."

"They're going to pay, they're going to pay...damn pigs." He said between tears, hugging his aunt's body. And so he continued for a long time. Until a strange buzzing sound caught his attention. Following the source of the sound he came across a shelf full of trinkets. The buzzing came from a small round golden box. He picked it up and felt it vibrate in his huge hand. Opening it he found a coin made of pure gold that when he picked it up dissolved in his hands, and just like that a whole new range of possibilities opened up to him and despite all the sadness of that moment he couldn't help but smile.

……

"Are you sure it's okay to you take care of Jamie, Will?"

"Yes, Mr. Fischer, you know I've been doing this for years."

"Still, I'd imagine you'd want to enjoy your last few days of spring break before returning to college."

"Ah, you know I've never had the most lively social life. And it's a pleasure to spend some time with him, it's like he's a little brother."

"Thank you very much Will, you know I see you as a nephew too. And I'm sorry again, but Lauren is on night shift at the hospital and this urgent appointment came up."

"Like I said, Mr. Fischer. No problem, it's a pleasure." Replied the twenty-year-old boy standing at the door of Detective Fischer's comfortable suburban home, with a smile on his face.

After giving his eight-year-old son a hug and apologizing for his absence, Michael got into his SUV and responded to the message from the unknown number but which belonged to a person he would probably know very well. He just couldn't imagine how much.

….

Michael Fischer was a tough man, with few smiles, shaped by the service to his country, he had served in Afghanistan and seen the horrors of war firsthand. Upon returning he enrolled in the police academy and at the age of 35 he was a detective in one of the busiest police stations in the large metropolis in which he lived. His reputation for being harsh had spread quickly among his colleagues and the criminal population, earning him admirers but also many enemies, even among his colleagues, as everyone knew that he could become ruthless in his endeavor for what he thought was fair.

For him there was no such thing as the spirit of the law, the law was the law and had to be followed, which did not prevent him from using its obscure margins, often bringing him closer to the behavior of the same subjects he sought with so much to penalize. Something that many of his detractors loved to use against him. Mainly old Sergeant Adams, a member of the union and activist for racial equality, who seemed to see some of the positions adopted by him as racist. Which wasn't true, because for him a criminal was a criminal, regardless of social class or color and they all deserved punishment and if Michael was the one to lead them to it, so much the better.

Anyone who knew Michael from work could never imagine that the rigid and tough guy was a loving father and husband, a helpful neighbor and an active member of the Lutheran church where he was loved by everyone and recognized for carrying out social works. The church was indeed a very important place for him, as it had been his home for years and was deeply related to why he acted so stoically.

Michael had been orphaned at a very young age and had known the reality of the streets, he himself had almost been one of the strays he hated so much if it hadn't been for the shelter of religion and maybe that was the reason he persecuted social misfits so much, the notion that he had almost been one of them. And if there was one thing he knew from the bottom of his heart, it was that he would do everything to make sure Jamie didn't have to go through the same thing.

It was this responsibility with his son, the result of his relationship with Lauren, the nurse who had taken care of him after the accident that ended his short military career, that he thought about while looking at the photo that served as the wallpaper on his cell phone, showing him and his son on a summer afternoon.

Michael sighed when he saw his son's face being covered by a message notification on his cell phone screen saying simply: Apartment 416. He knew it was imprudent of him to go alone and talk to Javier, but the criminal represented a great chance of incapacitate several of the city's gangs. An opportunity he couldn't pass up. Resigned, he got out of the car and entered the building, not knowing that the man who entered would be very different from the one who would leave.

….

The first thing Michael felt when entering the apartment was cold, the temperature inside was many degrees lower than expected, as if it were the height of winter. Adjusting his coat to his body, he observed the simple but comfortable living room with attentive eyes, but the room was completely empty. The second thing to hit his senses was the smell of flowers, so intense that it seemed as if he had entered a flower shop. Guided by that aroma, he arrived at one of the apartment's bedrooms and there he found Isabel Ruiz's corpse lying on a bed of flowers.

"Shit..." He exclaimed as he ran out of the room and grabbed his cell phone to call reinforcements, realizing what a mistake it was to go to that place alone. Javier Ruiz was a dangerous man and would certainly be distraught over the death of the only family figure he had ever known, even if he was a total psychopath as Michael was sure he actually was. Which only made things worse, only God knew what that kind of monster would do in that situation, although Michael was about to find out.

Upon returning to the previously empty room he found himself face to face with the man known as Goliath, and at that moment two things became clear to him. The first was that Javier's nickname was justified, sitting in an armchair that could barely contain all of his enormous muscles, he actually resembled the image of the biblical giant. And the second thing was that he had fucked everything up.

Staring at the gargantuan figure in front of him, Michael, without realizing it, let slip the thought that occupied his mind.

"Fuck!"

"Not yet." Was Javier's enigmatic response. As his serious face broke into a terrifying smile.

"Look, Javier, I'm sorry about your aunt, but I had nothing to do with..."

"Spare your words. There is nothing you can say that will change your destiny." Javier interrupted. While Michael faced him while realizing that there would in fact be no chance of dialogue. So Michael tried to take his pistol from his holster, only to realize that he was completely paralyzed. Which led him to be dominated by a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time: fear.

Noticing this, the giant stood up, with the maniacal smile back on his face.

"You're trapped in my net, detective. And because of your own choices. Isn't it curious? How do our choices seal our destinies? My parents' choices brought me to Tia Isabel. My choices led me to your police station and yours choices took her away from me, but they also gave me the opportunity to have everything I ever wanted, to take revenge on everyone who got in my way and finally occupy the place I deserve."

"What are you doing to me, you psychopath?"

"Shut up, I already said you don't need to talk, not yet." Javier replied, while a strip of golden metal closed Michael's mouth, making his eyes widen in surprise.

"Interesting, isn't it? Who would have thought that my poor aunt had in her hands the power to shape the universe at will and never used it. I wonder how many years this power was there on that shelf begging to be used while she resisted. If it weren't for the idiotic work from your team perhaps this power would never have reached me. So for that I am grateful to you... friend. No, no friend, I told you this before, we will never be friends, which doesn't stop us from being other things. " Javier whispered in Michael's ears, who in turn tried desperately to escape, only to realize that his feet were surrounded by the same metallic substance.

"Let's see what you have to offer, Detective." Javier added as the metallic substance liquefied and encompassed Michael's body.

"Interesting." Javier muttered as the substance solidified, forming what looked like a metal statue that vaguely resembled the naked image of the man inside it.

Earlier that day when Javier touched the coin, which was actually much more than that, a wave of information invaded his mind. That simple coin was in reality one of the most powerful artifacts known in the universe, a Reality Warper that transferred into the man's mind everything he needed to know. There were a few more models on our planet, one of the silver ones was even located in a city a few hundred miles away from where they were. But silver mattered little when you had gold. And Javier's gold would allow detective Michael Fischer to be reshaped in any way he wanted, from his personal history, through genetics to the deepest of thoughts. Know that gave Javier the greatest excitement of his life, which was manifested through the immense erection that almost burst his jeans and that would have been very visible to poor Michael if he hadn't been trapped inside his golden cocoon.

"Let's start." Javier said out loud as if Michael could hear him, while he placed his huge hand on the golden figure's chest, causing waves of energy to spread and its face to lose any defining features. At the same time, the figure's body increased in muscle, reacting to one of Goliath's great fetishes, men as big as himself, that he could subdue. and use.

While that transformation was taking place, Michael Fischer's mind and story opened up to Javier like a file that he could alter at will. He saw the orphanhood, the importance of the church, the desire to serve the country, the injury during his time serving abroad, the loving relationship with his wife and the concern for his son. But also the harsh and cruel treatment given to those he considered outcasts and the dubious selectivity with which he treated people of color, although he denied it even to himself. He also saw how the police officer prided himself on rectitude and incorruptibility and did not tolerate colleagues who did not act with the politeness, rectitude and severity that he expected from a police officer. Upon seeing all that, Javier smiled and started working.

He knew that what he was doing would not only alter the man trapped in the cocoon, but all of reality, including his own, and so he took care to create the reality that best benefited him. When he was satisfied with his work he secured another revenge, he will left the police officer consciousness last a few minutes after the work is completed and a completely different person takes that place.

Javier removed his hand from the figure's chest and watched the waves of energy spread through it, reconfiguring it into a very different form. After a few seconds he found himself in front of the image of an enormous man, of clearly Latin descent like his own, of approximately his age and size as large, if not larger.

The smile remained on his face as the golden coating dissolved and revealed the image of the man inside.

"Hello Detective Flores." Javier said, looking at the huge man still disoriented in front of him, but who quickly frowned and looked at him with irritation.

"Ruiz you son of..." Michael started to say only to hear his own deep voice and stop, as he didn't recognize it, just as he didn't recognize the weight of his own body or the hands at which he looked next.

"What did you do to me?"

"Don't worry Miguel, everything will make sense soon."

"Miguel? What?..." Michael began to say until he was invaded by a wave of memories that weren't his but were undoubtedly real.

He saw a Latino boy walking alone through the city streets, until he stopped in front of a church and sat down, only to be chased away by a blond pastor.

"This is no place for people like you!" Said the man.

A new memory, the boy, now around 13 years old, very tall but very thin, wandering down the street and being chased by older boys under the gaze of a police patrol who did nothing to help him.

The boy at 18 enlisting not because he had any patriotic desire within him, but because it was a way to get food and money.

The young man at 21 years old, very different from what he had been until then, now strong and muscular due to finally receiving an adequate diet and military training, not to mention the exorbitant use of anabolic steroids.

The same young man a few months later took advantage of an accident to injure himself and avoid being sent to a mission to the country. After having spent the last few years exchanging sexual favors with superiors to avoid more dangerous missions.

The young man being cared for by a young nurse for whom he pretended to be interested only to guarantee his livelihood. Then a visit of an acquaintance from his orphanage days who sold him the idea of ​​joining the police and acting as an informant in exchange for money.

The man looking at the son he had with the nurse with slightly interest. The intense sexual encounters with random men while he maintained the sham marriage because it guaranteed him a good image.

The man charging the same pastor who had kicked him off the church's sidewalk a monthly fee to ensure that criminals did not vandalize the property. Criminals he had hired himself.

The man being all smiles and jokes, to be seen as a man of warm and pleasant behavior, well-liked by those who didn't know what he was hiding and feared by those who saw what was beneath the facade that hid the selfishness and ambition within him. Climbing the career ladder in the police, demanding favors, blackmailing and cheating. Building an external image of a respectable family man while getting rich with bribes and providing information to his former acquaintance, with whom he had constant and animalistic sexual relations, with both constantly disputing who would dominate the other.

Michael initially observed those images with detachment because they were so foreign to the life he knew and the image he had of himself that there was no possibility of him associating himself with them.

However, he couldn't help but place himself little by little in the moonlight of that other man, in that other life, it was as if an immense force was pushing him in the direction of that life so foreign to him. Little by little he began to feel that boy's pain, loneliness and anger to the point where he was able to justify to himself some of the attitudes of the man he had become, no matter how alien and distant such attitudes were from his way of thinking.

"But were they really that distant?" He thought with the heat of burning anger in his chest, the bitterness of humiliation in his mouth, the joy of victory, of making others feel what it was like to be on the losing side and the pleasure, the immense pleasure in manipulating, conquering, dominating. ...

"No, no... what about Lauren?" A woman to be by his side, support him and meet his needs.

"No, he loved her!" Well, he loved what she had given him, and that was, in a way, a kind of love.

"No, no, no! And Jamie! Jamie!" When he thought of his son, Michael felt that expanding force slow its inexorable advance. But at that moment another thought took hold. It's obvious that he loved the boy, after all he was a continuation of himself and when the time came he would teach the kid everything he needed to do well in life and he would make sure that his son knew his rightful place, above all others. But until then he didn't have much to do for the kid, other than paying the minimum attention to him so that he felt happy until the moment he was ready. With the childhood he had himself, he knew how necessary this was. As well to maintain the appearance of a responsible family father. So if every now and then he had to take the kid to play ball or ride a bike in the park, it would be a small price to pay.

Even more so because those walks had been the perfect excuse for some of the most interesting encounters he had ever had. Last weekend for example, one of the boring afternoons he spent with the boy turned into a memorable day in which he fucked hard a twink in the park bathroom, while Jaime played ball with Will, the neighbors' unbearably annoying son.

It was after the memory of that pleasure start to vanish that a last memory came to his mind: the man kissing his business partner and occasional lover in a familiar living room. And the man's animalistic smile as he undressed in preparation for the usual contest of strength that would culminate in one of the two being brutally fucked by the other.

"Hello Goliath" Detective Miguel Flores said to his long-time partner in crime and in bed at the same time that Michael Fischer's last shred of consciousness disappeared within that corrupted mind.

.....

After the wild sex Miguel watched amazed the dancing golden metal ran through Javier's hand, unable to believe the other man's story. Neither of them seeming the least bit concerned about the fact that they had sex with a corpse in the next room.

"It's impossible for something like this to exist."

"Let me prove it to you then, I'm dying to expand the business, bring me one of your colleagues from the police station and I'll show you."

"It's very risky, Javier."

"You do not trust me."

"Of course not."

"Fine, then let's think of someone. As soon as you arrest some of the smaller members of the Maldonado and Deshaun gangs there will be a drop in the distribution of some places and so I will need people to take over. Let's start small. It would have to be someone whose change doesn't generate too many unforeseen ripples and who has access to potential consumers. A professor? No, perhaps a college student..."

Upon hearing that a wicked smile appeared on Miguel's face, only to be mirrored by the other man when he heard what the detective had to say.

[elliespassagerprincess]

Therefore you and me - Part 1/3 (elllie williams x reader)

This short series was inspired by the song "Therefore You and Me [故にユーエンミー]" Truthfully I don't know the meaning to the song so this story is literlly my theory to what it could be about :)

Pairing: ellie williams x fem!reader

requests are always open, feel free to leave one!

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse and toxic relationships

Summary: All you needed was Ellie.

Ellie was 3 when he hit her for the first time. She remembers the incident as if it was yesterday.

She remembered running around in the house when she tripped and dropped her sippy cup, her orange juice dripping onto the carpet. She remembers her father’s footsteps, she remembers him yelling, taking off his belt and hitting her till she couldn’t sit. And it was like that her entire life. Every small mistake she made, no matter how young she was. She was hit.

Growing up with a man as cold as the winter nights in Jackson wasn’t easy for Ellie. She never experienced the love, the warmth many girls her age spoke about, when asked about their fathers. All she knew was the sound of her dad’s footsteps, the yelling and the sound of his belt.

Even though the beating traumatized Ellie and she knew this was wrong. He was hurting her. But this is the only way her father gave her attention. This was the only way he looked at her. Touched her.

As messed up as it sounds Ellie started acting out. Doing stupid shit on purpose just to feel her father’s love, just to feel wanted by him. This form of love Ellie grew up with. This is all she knew.

His love language wasn’t words of affirmation; it wasn’t quality time it was hitting.

Ellie started hitting people as form of affection because that’s what her father did to her growing up.  That’s all she knew. That’s all she craved.

That’s when Ellie met you and she immediately fell in love. You were soft gentle, kind nothing like her father.

You weren’t like him. You actually showed her true love. But she couldn’t give you that affection back. She couldn’t hug you, she couldn’t comfort you. All she could do was give you the love her father gave her.

The first time Ellie hit you was 3 months into your relationship. You dropped a glass, it made a loud noise as the glass shattered onto the cold white tiles. And all you heard was Ellie’s footsteps, yelling and you felt your body hit the floor. You knew Ellie was violent. You knew she had a short temper but you never thought Ellie would hit you.

But you loved her, you forgave her. And you let her hit you. Over and over again.

Some nights you ended up bloody, bruised for weeks that you couldn’t even leave the house. You lied to people. You had to keep Ellie safe. You could fix her. You loved her.

Love conquers all they said.

Ellie watches you clean your wounds over and over again. She heard the way you’d cry yourself to sleep. How you’d whimper when you tried walking down the stairs. She watched how you flinched every time she came close to you. And every time Ellie would comfort you. Whispering sweet nothings into your ears telling you she would change:

“I won’t do it again”

“Forgive me baby”

“I love you more than anything”

“I’m doing this for you”

You believed that she’d stop. But the months went on. The abuse got worse. But yet you stayed.

“You only need me baby. Its only me and you” she whispered into your ear one night after she gave you a black eye.

you and me

you and me

you and me

love, love

Your family begged you to leave her. Many people have stopped talking to you. But you didn’t care. You don’t need anyone, only Ellie.

Only her

Ellie wondered why you didn’t leave her. You were losing people. Your family stopped talking to you. You cried. Begged her to stop. You’ve bled because of her. But you never left.

Ellie knew she was hurting you. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She can’t blame her father for hitting her forever, she can’t blame your abuse on her dad. But this was love. It was love in Ellie’s eyes.

She won’t stop. You knew she wouldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t.

You don’t need anyone. Anyone but Ellie. Even through all the abuse you’ll continue to love her because at the end of the day it’s you and Ellie.

“You and I will be together forever” Ellie whispered.

you and me

 you and me

you and me

love, love

Part 2

Authors note: Sorry if this one was short! I just had to post something. But I’m currently working on another series because of a very interesting request I got so just know something big is coming in the next two weeks… remember you are loved and to always be kind… requests are always open feel free to leave one!

Yours truly,

Zia <3

[happilyhertale]

Long Last Love - Aemond Targaryen x female!reader, Part 12

Summary: You are finally engaged to Aemond Targaryen. As the daughter of Daemon and Rhaenyra, you will now live in King's Landing and no longer on Dragonstone. Your marriage to Aemond is imminent, as is your life together. The relationship between Aemond and your family has never been particularly easy, but the future will show whether your love will withstand this and subsequent tensions.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

Warnings: In some parts Smut (uncle/niece) as well as violence

Author’s note: Hey you (:

This is the follow-up story to "Long Lost Love".

The story starts just before the wedding of Aemond and y/n and goes over the events of the first season hotd. However, the events are not quite similar to those in the series. English is my second language, please forgive me if I made any mistakes (:

18+ NSFW (light smut)

Word count: 3k

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

A few weeks have passed since Aemond returned from Storm's End. It is hard for you to bear being here in the keep than to return to your family on Dragonstone. You miss your family very much. There is nothing you would rather do now than sink into your father's arms. Sometimes you wonder if your father would come for you... If he would come and take you in his arms. But you don't know if you would go with him... You couldn't leave without Alyssa... without Aemond. You toyed with the idea of writing to your father. You don't really know why, perhaps to explain your situation, to explain Aemond's situation. Perhaps just to say something to him, as you always do when you are at a loss. Or perhaps you just want to hear something from him. But you are too afraid of what would happen if that came out. You're too afraid of what the consequences would be, that it could put Alyssa in danger.

But none of that changes the fact that even if you went to Dragonstone, that Luke wouldn't be on Dragonstone. The thought of that always brings tears to your eyes. Silently they just run down your cheeks, trying to dull the pain that blazes inside you. Should Aemond be near you at such a moment, he takes you in his arms wordlessly. He just holds you and caresses you. Trying desperately to make this situation somehow bearable. You let him make his attempts to comfort you. But in such moments there is no more closeness between you.

Aemond does his best to be gentle with you. But still you don't talk much. You wouldn't know what to talk about or how to talk to him either. From time to time he tries to elicit small conversations from you, but apart from short and curt answers as well as sometimes a small smile does not cross your lips.

You exist rather than really live.

It breaks Aemond's heart that the closeness between you seems lost. That there is no interaction, let alone tenderness, between you. He knows it's his fault and that fact hurts him more than anything else. He misses you so dearly.

You now only spend your time in your chambers. Even before the incident, you were in your chambers much more often than usual. But now your whole life takes place here. You feel safe here. With Ser Erryk, who is always by your side, making sure that no one who could harm you comes too close. Sometimes you catch yourself wondering when he's going to sleep. And of course Alyssa is with you. You hate to let her out of your sight now.

You did not speak to Ser Erryk about the incident. But of course it didn't take long for word of Aemond's "heroic deed" to get around and Ser Erryk heard about it too. One afternoon he suddenly appeared unannounced in your chambers. You looked up startled, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there and looked startled too, as if he had only now realised that he was suddenly standing in your chambers.

"My princess... I am so sorry... I heard about the incident... and... I don't know...", he usually knows exactly what to say, but now he almost stutters.

You just gave him a little smile. That seemed to give him courage.

"My princess. I am here for your protection. And this atrocity threatens your safety. Do you wish me to… act on your behalf?"

Then you looked startled. You greatly appreciate his loyalty, but never would you want anyone to do something so terrible in your name.

You shake your head, "No... Ser Erryk, I am grateful for your loyalty... But... I.. I love him."

Those were your only words to Ser Erryk, about this incident, and he simply nodded.

He doesn't like Aemond very much. Even before the incident, he wasn't really fond of him. And the fact that he has now done something like this to you doesn't make it any better.

This afternoon you sit in your chambers as usual. Ser Erryk dutifully guards your door. Alyssa is on your lap and she's babbling, "Mo-om... Mooo-om..."

"Momma," you finish her sentence and she laughs happily.

As your door opens and Ser Erryk enters, "My princess. Your Lord husband, Prince Aemond Targaryen, wishes to enter your chambers."

Aemond walks wordlessly past Ser Erryk and just gives him an annoyed look. You know Ser Erryk is only doing this to spite Aemond. He announces him as if it were not also his chambers, but as if he were a visitor.

Ser Erryk leaves your chambers again. Aemond approaches you, gently kissing Alyssa's head, "My little girl," leaves his lips. Then he kisses you on the cheek. He pauses briefly as he kisses you, as if he needs to feel you a little longer. You miss his touch. You close your eyes for a moment. The caresses you exchanged and that were part of your daily life, you miss them so badly. You don't feel complete without them. Without Aemond you don't feel complete. But you don't know how to convey that. Everything seems hopeless.

Aemond sits down with you and just watches you cuddle Alyssa.

A while passes before you hear his voice, "My love... I... " , he sighs, "please... I need to hear your voice. I can't take any more of this... I need... I need to hear you. Just one gentle thing out of your mouth… your soft voice... and I can continue to function"

Your gaze wanders to him and you see tears running down his cheek. He is breathing heavily.

As your door opens and Alicent walks in. Aemond quickly wipes his cheek and his gaze is fixed on Alyssa who smiles at him.

"Aemond, y/n. I'm here to pick up Alyssa," she smiles at you.

You look up startled as it comes back to you. You reluctantly agreed to Alyssa spending the afternoon and evening with Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. You don't like her not being around you, but it's probably for her own good that she's spending time with her cousins.

You just nod at her and she comes up to you smiling. You kiss Alyssa gently on the top of her head once more and then hand her to Alicent.

"Come here, my sweet thing. I'll take you to your cousins, shall I?" she cradles Alyssa gently in her arms. "Shall I bring her back in the morning?"

You look irritated, "You want her to stay with you overnight?"

Alicent smiles, "I think it's quite good for you to have a night's rest and knowing my grandchildren... We certainly can't separate them tonight"

You smile slightly at her and just nod.

You murmur, "Take care of her, please," and Alicent nods fondly.

She leaves your chambers and your daughter, who makes you feel safe, is gone.

It is now quiet in your chambers. Aemond is still sitting next to you. As you notice he takes your hand and caresses it. His thumb leaves a trail of heat on your skin.

Again you hear him breathing heavily. You look up and see the pain in his eyes that you have felt in your chest all this time. His eye fills with tears again. "I am so incredibly sorry... I didn't want this... all of this... for him to die... I know I can't do it right anymore... That I can't undo it, no matter how much I wish I could..."

You swallow hard and turn to him. It hurts you to see him like this. You put your hand on his cheek. When your fingers touch his cheek, you immediately feel this touch making itself felt throughout your whole body. Aemond leans into your first touch in a long time. "I love you so much," he whispers. He looks at you and you nod slowly at him. You lean forward and kiss him softly. Like two magnets, your lips still fit perfectly together and cannot be parted. You briefly interrupt the kiss. Aemond is still breathing heavily. You look him in the eye, "I love you... Aemond...". He inhales sharply. He takes your face in his hands and kisses you passionately.

He kisses you tenderly. Greedily, yet tenderly. He hangs on your lips like a man thirsting for water in the desert of Dorne, and your lips would be the only source of water for far and wide. You don't know why, but you have a sudden desire to feel him. You have been numb for the last few weeks. Now here with Aemond, this passionate kiss, you feel something again.

You put your arm around his neck and pull him towards you. He follows you and continues to kiss you gently. As you break the kiss and slowly get up from the sofa. He just follows you with his gaze as you stand in front of him. Carefully you reach for his hand and pull him with you towards your bed. He looks at you irritated, but you need him now. Slowly you start to open your dress, but then Aemond steps up to you, stops your hand, places his hand gently on yours. "You don't have to do this," you hear him whisper.

You look him in the eye and take his hand in yours. Gently you kiss his fingers. As you whisper, "I need this now... I need to feel you, Aemond..."

He looks into your eyes and carefully puts his arms around you. He pulls you gently towards him and only your soft breathing can be heard. Slowly he caresses your cheek, lets his thumb wander over your lower lip, while he lowers his head and encloses your lips with his.

Very gently and tenderly he kisses you, without any haste.

He softly pushes you onto the bed and you let yourself fall, surrendering completely to his touch.

Aemond, who is always tender with you, who always senses what you need, realises that you need gentle affection. Your whole body burns with passion. His lips wander over your entire soft skin. Countless soft kisses envelop you and where his lips cannot be, his fingers take over and caress you.

All his adoration for you is shown in this intimate moment between you. You lie there and enjoy it. This tender attention you are experiencing makes you finally feel something again. Something other than the dull pain of the last few weeks.

After his lips are on yours again and his body is on top of you, you feel him fill you completely. Never before have you felt him so intensely. It is not a wild act of love, but an act of affection, of infinite love. Gently he pushes into you and keeps his pace. You move your hips rhythmically towards him. Your hands take hold of his arms on which he leans. Your breathing becomes more violent and ends in a moan. Aemond kisses you, breathes in your scent, your moans. Your tongues gently caress each other and you wrap your arms around his neck to hold him close to you. While he penetrates you deeper and deeper with his gentle thrusts. Yet his thrusts remain gentle, as if he is afraid that you might break.

You feel the fire slowly spreading through your abdomen. Your thighs begin to tremble slightly around Aemond and you whimper his name again and again as you come. He kisses you almost desperately, his hand moves to your hip and he grips it tightly. You hear him moan too. A deep, long moan resounds in his chest, sending a shiver down your spine and making your climax unending. He can't last any longer either and comes to climax together with you.

Only your heavy breathing can be heard in your chambers while he is still lying on top of you. You look into each other's eyes, he gently caresses your cheek and kisses you again and again. You return his kisses, which end in a long passionate kiss.

Carefully he rolls off you and pulls you close to him. You lay your head on your old, familiar place, on his chest. He holds you tightly in his arms and lets his fingers wander over your body. You feel him press his nose gently into your hair and leave kisses on your head.

You know that what he has done cannot be undone. What he has done cannot be explained away. But you also know that he deeply regrets it and that he is suffering. That his decision to "scare Luke" is the most horrible thing he's ever done, and that he didn't see the outcome coming...

Yet, you still love him, he is your husband. And that fact cannot be changed either. And even if you couldn't stand his touch, you still missed his gentle caresses.

You feel something again. Something other than pain.

You slowly let your gaze wander up to him. His gaze is fixed on you. He doesn't smile, he just looks at you and continues to caress you.

"Y/n... I'm really sorry...", you hear him whisper.

You stick your head out towards him and you stop him from talking any further, you kiss him gently.

He returns the kiss, his hand resting gently on your cheek.

When you end the kiss and look out of the window, you see that the sun has already set, "Your mother will look after Alyssa...?"

He just nods at you, his gaze still looking pained. You snuggle closer to him. Gently you caress his chest, let your fingers wander over his muscles. While his arms continue to close around you and hold you tightly in his arms. Tiredness slowly overcomes you and for the first time in weeks, you sleep in his arms again, feeling his caresses.

You wake up when you feel arms gently pulling you against a warm body from behind. That's what you've been missing, Aemond, snuggling up behind you and holding you gently and securely. You lie in his embrace and enjoy this moment. You feel his nose gliding over the crook of your neck. How soft kisses cover your skin and the touch of his lips send a shiver down your spine. "I love you so dearly," you hear him whisper into the crook of your neck. Slowly you turn in his arms and snuggle into his chest. He simply holds you.

"I've missed this Aemond... I missed you," you finally confess to him. He gently kisses the top of your head, "I am here, my Queen," he says softly.

Aemond doesn't go to training in the morning, he stays in bed with you. You cuddle all morning and exchange tender caresses that you have been missing for weeks. After you have taken a bath together, you go your separate ways. Aemond goes to the council meeting and you set off to pick up Alyssa. When you arrive in Helaena's chambers, Alyssa is already grinning at you. Helaena is not there, only Helaena's personal servant who looks after the children. You take Alyssa in your arms and she mumbles "Mooomm..." back at you. You hug her close and leave Helaena's chambers.

But before you go to your chambers, you go straight to a maester. With the utmost discretion you arrange for tea to be brought to you. You make it clear to the maester what tea it is, and that he will suffer a fiery, violent death should this information reach Prince Aemond. The maester nods to you.

Towards afternoon, Alyssa is lying in her cradle sleeping when the maester himself comes into your chambers and brings you the moon tea. He assures you that no one has seen him and leaves your chambers after you have thanked him.

You stand in the middle of your chambers and look at the cup in your hands. You love Aemond, just as you love Alyssa. But you will not bring another life into this keep. Still you stare at the liquid. The warmth radiating from the cup floods your hands. You watch the warmth from the tea rise into the air. You absorb the smell of the herbs that prevent you from getting with child. You know from stories that drinking this tea is often accompanied by bad stomach cramps. But what are stomach cramps if you save a child from being born into a war? If you drink now, you will not be with child... If you are with child at all... you are hesitating. But it would be the right thing... wouldn't it? A war is coming, a child should not witness such a thing.

You exhale heavily before you bring the cup to your mouth.

As the door opens and Aemond enters your chambers. Startled, you look at the door.

He stands there and just looks at you. His gaze keeps going from your eyes to the cup that is on its way to your lips. His look changes from confused to hurt.

"What... What is that?" he whispers.

You say nothing, tears come to your eyes. Suddenly there is that oppressive silence again in your chambers that has accompanied you in recent weeks. He walks towards you, "Y/n... don't tell me that's what I think it is?"

"Aemond..."

"You want to kill a child??", his voice sounds desperate.

You look at him indignantly, "Maybe I'm not with child?!"

"But you can't bear the eventuality??" now he's literally screaming. Aemond never shouts at you. He breathes heavily.

You look at him, "I can't bear to be helpless here... with a child. With you. That I can't do anything to escape this situation. I don't want and I won't bring another child in here. A war is coming..."

But Aemond turns around and goes straight to the door. You just hear the door slam loudly and wince. You hear Alyssa startle as well and wake up from her sleep. Her cries now fill your chambers. You are calm at first, but you are breathing heavily. Your gaze falls on the cup again, your hands tremble. But finally you throw the cup against the wall and just scream.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tag list

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[jessjad]

Unexpected

Chapter 8

Summary: After a Halloweenparty Y/N actually didn't want to got to, her life seems to be turned around. The reason is a very stubborn Supe that seems to have her in his visier. Is it just a coincidance or more?

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Reader

Word Count: 2590

Warnings: some language, character death (mentioned), graphic violence and a little hurt/comfort (as best as possible)

A/N: Aaand we're back. This is going to be a little emotional. Do we all remember Y/N's sister Jenny? Yeah, we're going there. Buckle up, guys... All mistakes are mine.

My Masterlist Series Masterlist

The tension was high. In the last couple of days the world seemed to be upside down. No matter what channel Y/N decided to watch, Homelander was all over the place. The horrific pictures of his son Ryan killing the poor boy on the other side of the street were still shown. Wheter it was anchormen or so called experts in superhero topics who discussed the situation over and over again, kept it alive. All of a sudden Soldier Boy was not the most important thing to talk about anymore.

After this, Annie has gotten way more followers. Anti-fans of supes, as they started to call themselves now, made their own videos of supes and what was so wrong about them. Some of them even catching a glimpse of misbehavement and recklesness. The danger that came with this kind of research willingly forgotten.

Homelanders followers on the other hand were still on the side of Vaught and all the other supes. Calling the straight up murders little accidents and just collatteral damage. Nothing to worry about. It had Y/N's stomache churning with disgust and disbelief. But not just her. Ben seemed to be more stressed too. He also stopped venturing out as much as before. He did not say it, but Y/N could see it in his face. The worry behind his stoic eyes and the small crease on his forehead that showed his tables turning in his mind.

Mallory had contacted both of them more than once after the live broadcast and was pressing changes in their plan. Not even now, after all these weeks, Y/N still didn't know any more details about THE plan and what they were trying to do and how they wanted to stop Homelander. It was kinda frustating to be left in the dark, to feel like a puppet on strings. On the other hand though, she was a little glad not to know everything.

"I was really worried there for a second, girl! Seeing you falling into the ice cold Hudson River..." said Caroline and brought Y/N's attention back to her. "I mean, you know that I never really cared about Vaught and the supes... But after everything I saw on the TV..."

Her gaze traveled to the screen on the wall on which the news showed the incident with Homelander again and discussed what would be happening next. Ben was sitting on the couch, deep in thought.

"Yeah... It's not the first time that happend. It's only the first time, that the whole world is seeing this."

"And..." Care was getting a little closer to Y/N and started to lower her voice. "... I did some research online about... Ben." She pointed with her head to the man on the couch.

"Don't... say it."

"But... he is one of them. The original one, I believe. And he is no different than Homelander." the woman said.

"I'm nothing like the flag licking dick sucker." Ben interrupted from the living room with a short glanze to the kitchen table. "And I can hear you."

Y/N smiled a little. "Anyway... this whole situation... is a mess and I had my problems with it too in the beginning. Care, trust me..."

And to make it clear to her friend she told her as much as she could about it all without giving to much away. Her best friend gasped a couple of times and couldn't hold back on the dirty jokes, when the story came to certain points. Y/N had to laugh a little and the realization hid her that it felt good to finally talk to someone about it. She was pretty isolated in her own apartment.

Of course she had Annie or Hughie to talk to, but that was not the same. Only the supe who shared the apartment with her was 24/7 around her, but he was not the biggest talker. Although it seemed as if he was trying to open up a little more to her.

"... and now we... we came to terms. And it's fine. For now."

"Okay." Caroline nodded her head. "I trust you if you say so."

Y/N nodded too and laid her hand on top of her friends.

"But, Care... it would've been better if you didn't have come here. There is a reason why I went into hiding."

"I know, I know. I get that." Caroline agreed. "But I needed to know that you were okay." That really touched her heart. "But it was not just me, Y/N. I talked to your mom and she is worried, too."

"Yeah, I know that." Y/N sighed. "But it would be to risky if I kept in touch with her. Not just for me, but for my family too."

Caroline nodded in agreement. She totally got that, now that she knew what had happenend. And she assured Y/N that this was the only time she would come looking for her. The silence that followed was comfrotable. But then...

"Y/N, your mom... told me about Jenny..."

"What are we supposed to do now?"

In a dark, small corner somewhere in the abandent building outside of New York that served as Victoria Neuman's operation center were two men standing and hiding from unwanted eyes, whispering to eachother.

"We have to keep going." Johnson answered. "We know now where he is hding out and what his plan is. We only have to give him as much time as we can."

"But... with Homelander involved now? It is not that easy anymore. We can not fool them forever."

"I know, Harlow!" Johnson said with a little bit mor force, but dialed back to whispering. "But we owe Soldier Boy, you know that. Better than me. That's the only reason I took this job."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Harlow sighed and crossed his arms infront of his chest. "But we have to be careful. And we can trust noone, except us."

Johnson nodded and a moment of silence followed, before Harlow spoke up again. "All of this is going to bite us in the ass. I can fucking feel it in my bones."

"Don't worry, my friend. It will all play out in the end." Johnson smiled a little and gave Harlow a assuring clap on the shoulder before both men parted ways to get back to their duties.

But noone of them noticed the third person near them in the shadows.

Shortly after Caroline left, Y/N started to cook. She needed to do something with her hands, keeping herself busy. That her mom had told Care about Jenny was unexpected, but in a way she understood why she did that. They were branded by what had happened a long time ago. But she didn't wanna talk about it and her best friend didn't force her do to so. She just wanted to let her know, that she knew and was there for her if needed.

Thirty minutes later, the pasta sauce was cooking and she started to boil water, Y/N heared noises from behind her. She glanzed at the couch and saw Ben laying sprawled out and sleeping. But his brows were creased and his fists were balled. His upper lip shivered almost aggressivly. Y/N went slowly over to the man, as he started growl and grumple, before he began to shout and squirm.

"Ben?" she tried carefully and touched his shoulder with a soft hand. "Ben!"

He catched her wrist almost painfully, as he suddenly sat up, shocked out of his nightmare. His green eyes darted wildly through the room to fight of the pictures in his head.

"Ouch! Ben!" she exclaimed. "You're hurting me!"

That brought his attention back to her and fighted off the pictures of his torturous years with the commies. He released her wrist right away and got up. Turning his back to her, he wiped his face with his hand and he cleared his throat.

Y/N could already see the bruise on her wrist form. This was not the first time she experienced Ben's nightmares. They didn't happened often, but she assumed that his PTSD was fighting his way back up to the surface, now that he did not take the hard drugs anymore.

"I didn't... want to..." was all he said, without looking at her.

"I know. Don't worry about it."

Y/N really didn't mind. He didn't do it on purpose and with all the other bruises on her body from their mattress sports it was just another mark he gave her. And she just knew how much he liked to mark her up. But she could still sense that he felt uncomfortable, probably because he thought he now looked vulnerable. So, she went back into the kitchen and finished the food.

The silence was deafening and a little uncomfortable, but Y/N tried not to show it. Ben kept an close eye on her, but she only smiled a little everytime she saw him looking at her her. And everytime he seemed to relax a little more. When they both sat down on the table to eat, Ben poured himself a full glass of whiskey, before he started to speak.

"Who's Jenny?"

Y/N was about to take her first bite but she paused with wide eyes.

"What?" the surprise fully displayed on her face.

"I asked you this once and you didn't wanna talk about it. But now..."

Ben didn't finish his sentence and he didn't need to. She understood what he was getting at. He had a moment of weakness and now he wants her to repay it. She sighed and put her fork aside.

"Jenny was... my sister."

"Was?" he crocked an eyebrow.

"There is a reason why I hate Vaught and the supes." Ben huffed, but Y/N slapped him lighty on the arm. "You knew that already."

"Yeah, yeah..."

She sighed. "Our dad worked in the army. He had a lot of friends that worked for Vaught and once a year... there was some kind of ball. You know? To celebrate a year of good work and to honor certain people. And when my dad decided to retire, the whole family was invited. Jenny was younger than me by two years and I have always been a little protective over her."

The memories from the past started to play infront of her third eye.

"That night, a lot of supes were there, too. And Jenny got introduced to a supe named Skyrider. He was in his mid twenties and he had wings. Strong, fast and he had a charming smile that lured Jenny in." Y/N laughed dryly.

"While she was talking to him, I was wandering around the room. Dad was talking to his general and nobody really noticed me. So, I went out in the hallway to search for the bathroom and there, in a corner, I heard to other supes talk about a woman and what they did to her."

Y/N started to slightly shiver. "I can't remember everything they said, but I remember that I was utterly shocked. They laughed and then I thought 'Oh, maybe they made a joke. A very bad one at that, but... just a joke'. However, days later I still had a bad feeling."

She had wanted to talk about it with her dad, but when she heared that Jenny was starting to date Skyrider, she didn't wanted to ruin it for her. Her sister seemed happy about it and that's all she ever wanted for her. To be happy.

"So, I kept my feeling for myself and for a couple of months everything seemed fine. Jenny was happy and we got to meet Skyrider officially. There was nothing to worry about."

Y/N smiled, but that expression faded quickly. She sucked in her lower lip with her teeth and Ben could see the tears starting to form in her eyes.

"It was on the weekend of the 4th of july. Skyrider wanted to spent the weekend with Jenny somewhere far away. A little trip just for the two of them... but that had me worried again. He didn't wanted to tell us where he would take her to, in sake for it being a surprise." Y/N sighed. "I did not like that."

Now, she grabed Ben's still full glass of whiskey and took a big sip out of it.

"A week later, they still weren't back from their trip and we all started to worry. My dad tried to contact Skyrider, but he was nowhere to be found. Vaught also wasn't willing to help and after another week, we got a phonecall from the police in Mexico City. They had found Jenny. Dead. Skyrider had brought her to an luxury villa... which had security cams installed."

Tears made their way down her cheeks.

"On the video... Skyrider had forced her to take drugs and while he... was recideing about how great the supes were, what great power they held over the world, so that they could do whatever they wanted and that she could be so happy to be with him... he started to force her into sex." Y/N had to get up, couldn't sit down anymore. "He kept talking and talking, but I can't remember any of the words anymore. The only... the only thing I remember were the screams... that escaped my little sister's mouth while he hammered into her so hard... that you could hear her hips break while blood was bursting from her sides."

She couldn't hold herself back anymore. While she hugged herself, Y/N sobbed and turned away from Ben. The supe didn't stay untouched from her telling, he had tuned into her thoughts and the pictures he saw made him understand her pain. He also slowly got up from his stool, the food already forgotten.

"He laughed. All the while... he assaulted and... mutilated her... he kept on laughing." she paused to try to take some deep breaths. "And... when her screams of pain were becoming to much for him... he... he cruched her skull while he came in her..."

Her legs gave in and she landed on her knees while he sobbed uncontrollably. The pain about it all was still so fresh. That's why she never wanted to talk about it. She'd buried it deep inside her and promised to never let her become weak again. Ben could understand that. He came around the table to her, sat down on the floor next to Y/N and scooped her up into his lap. Maybe, just maybe, he asked to much of her.

"I... I should have talked to someone, to my dad... I" she said and clung to Ben's chest like he was the only safety net she needed.

"Sh..." Ben stopped her from talking and rubbed her back lightly. "You could've done nothing against it."

"But... but I could have at least tried!" she looked at Ben. "I should've done something!"

"Y/N..." he took her cheek in his hand and dried it with his thumb. "It's not your fault." He catched her gaze so that she truly listened to him. "Trust me. No matter how... he still would've done it."

And eventhough she did not like it, Y/N could see the truth in his eyes and it made her question, if the supe infront of her that was holding her right now, had once done the same.

A/N: Yeah, the truth hurts. But in this universe it's a fact. And they bonded once more. Hopefully that will not backfire... 😉

@lyarr24 @k-slla @leigh70 @deadlydivergentgirl @deans-spinster-witch

[mikiafina]

“Exotic Life Form — II”

Mesage:

I am finally free from Title Defense, now I can relax-ish but unfortunately I have to revise my group's paper because of too much mistake.. Anyways, the reader's pronouns in this story is not really mentioned but the reader I have in mind as I write this is female, so be warned.

Dear @genshinarchives, if you ever stumbled upon this work of mine and were felt like I stole your ideas and didn't like this posted anymore, we can talk about it peacefully so feel free to message me if so.

Note:

CRITICISM ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED! IF YOU NOTICED ANY ERRORS IN MY WORK, FEEL FREE TO POINT IT OUT SO I COULD FIX IT!

I DO NOT POST IN ANY OTHER PLATFORMS EXCEPT HERE ON TUMBLR!

Trigger Warning:

Grammatical Errors, misspellings, typos, ooc, possibly curse words, incorrect lore, slow burn, slight sagau(?), use of informal language and not proof-read

Synopsis:

The exotic blob that you have found in an alleyway woked you up and helped you with your day, albeit curious at everything you do.

Inspired by:

@genshinarchives

After the incident of investigating a ruin that mysetriously appeared out of nowhere as well as being blinded by a strange orb that he found at the end of the ruin and arriving in an unknown place in addition to being transformed from human into a seelie is not a desirable series of events that Aether was looking for but at least the human that he was founded by was kind to say the least. Had he not been found by the human, he wish not to dwell into the next scenario if so. Aether did his best with helping the human that took him while gathering some information around their home, connecting the dots only to get even more question than answer.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Dusk arrived as Aether felt the fatigue begun swimming in his small liquid-like body from roaming around your home nonstop for hours in search for answers and clues, but to his wonderful luck, the only things he found is more question and confusing equipments. The only thing that made sense to him is the simple furnitures like the sink, couch, sofa, wall frames, tables, chairs, plates, spoon and fork and other various stuff.

After a few minutes of Aether sitting in silence as he watch the sun waking up from its slumber he decided to also wake you up from your sleep. Floating towards your sleeping form, Aether placed his tiny liquid-like hands on your forearm as he muster up every strength he has and begun shaking you awake. Aether stopped shaking you as he flew a few step back when you swat him away with your hand, mumbling ‘few more minutes..’ as you do so.

huffy and dismayed with your automatic response, Aether returned to your side and continued shaking your sleeping form awake. You groaned in exasperation as you sat up from your laying position and covering your mouth with the back of your hand while you yawn, as if the 4 hours or more of sleep is not enough for you. After remaining still for a solid minutes, you rubbed your eyes to reduce the sleepiness in them then you looked around and wondered why you were sleeping on the couch but as soon as your eyes landed on the small strange liquid-like creature in front of you that is seemingly pointing its miniature hands outside your window made you realize what had happened last night.

Distracted by your thoughts, Aether tugged at your sleeve as his small liquid-like body trembled while he squeaked frantically and loudly. His miniature liquid-like hand soon pointed out the window once again when he caught your attention, deciding that you'll indulge the little one's antics you looked out the window and tilt your head to the side in confusion, not seeing what the strange creature is trying to show nor tell you.

"What? What are you trying to show me, little one?" you query.

As if the strange creature answered you and floated towards the window and pointed repeatedly outside eliciting a confused ‘huh?’ from you, Aether got more huffy when you couldn't understand what he's trying to point outside so he looked around your living room trying to find something that may resemble the sun.

When his vision landed on one, Aether flew above you towards it and pointed at the sun that were drawn in the painting, you raised a brow and racked your brain for clues of what he may be telling you.

"Sun? Are you pointing at the drawing of the sun?" you query again.

Aether bounced in delight as he returned to the window and pointed outside again, this time you looked closely on where he was pointing and saw that the sun is out.

"Ahh, the sun is up. Wait.. What..? The sun is up?!" you shriek.

Looking up towards the wall clock above the entrance between the living room and the dining room, you saw that the big hand is pointing at number 8 and that the small hand is pointing between 8 and 9, telling you that it is already 8:43 AM, which means you are late for school. Frantically, you rushed off the couch and run up the stairs to your bedroom, taking a quick shower before wearing your school uniform, grabbing your bag from the bed and taking a loaf of bread from the cupboard then biting the half end of it before running out of your house with Aether following suit behind you.

When you arrived at your school you didn't notice that Aether was following you so you were walking towards your classroom with Aether flying just above you in the corner of the ceiling.

As soon as you stepped in the classroom you sighed in relief when you saw that your professor was also running late so you hurriedly went to your seat and pretended that you weren't late, after the third bell rung, your professor came in and the homeroom begun.

During in the middle of the homeroom, a classmate of yours gently tapped on your shoulder and threw a crumpled piece of paper in front of you. When you picked it up and looked at your classmate who's sitting on your right behind you, they gestured that you uncrumple the paper. Albeit confuse but obliged and read the written message inside;

[Heyyy, may I borrow your notes after homeroom? My hand hurts so I can't write the lesson right now, please? If you lend me your notes, I won't tell our professor that you went in minutes before her! Like just this once, please? Thank you! <3]

After reading the message, you looked at your notes then looking at the paper, repeating the cycle for a good seconds before crumpling the paper in slight annoyance. You can't believe they have the audacity to borrow your notes and blackmailed you while lying to you at the same time, you curled your first on the crumpled paper and threw it back to them but as soon as you did so, your professor saw you and called you out.

"Ahem. Ms/Mr. (L/n), I would appreciate it if you pay attention to my lesson and not passing garbage to your fellow classmate. After class, I'd expect you to stay for a little talk, are we clear?" your professor demands.

The slight irritation you had earlier were now stacked as you lowered your head, looking at floor.

"Yes, Mrs. Santiago. I'm sorry." you murmur loud enough.

Pleased with your response, your professor dismissed you and told you to pick up the crumpled paper and hide it in your bag, telling you not to pass your own garbage to someone else before scolding your classmate who gave you the paper in the first place.

After the whole incident, you ignored your classmate and continued on writing down notes and highlights as you grit your teeth in annoyance. Pissed off that you were called out for something you didn't do and got to stay after class. To say the least, your day was already ruined but it got even more ruined by your classmate. Great.

Few more minutes passed and the bell rung, your professor dismissed everyone except you. She beckoned you over the chair in front of her desk, sitting in hers whilst she clean her stuff.

"Now, tell me Ms/Mr. (L/n), what did really happen? You are not usually like this, you are one of my star pupils. What happened?" your professor query.

Albeit contemplating as you chew on your lower lip in habit, eyebrows furrowed as you stare at your professor. Sighing before you decided to take out the crumpled paper from your bag and handing it to your professor as you leaned back on the chair before crossing your arm and showed clear annoyance.

"A classmate of mine threw this in front of me while tapping me repeatedly on my shoulder, I tried ignoring her but she was distracting me so I have no choice but to look at her and get it over with. I planned on declining her request and giving her trash back, but I wasn't able to do so because you stopped me and told me to hide it it my bag. Which.. Became helpful because I was able to use it as an evidence.." you explained, murmuring at the middle to the end.

You expected her to be disappointed but to your surprise, she wasn't. Instead, she apologized for calling you out earlier in the middle of the class and told you that she'll talk to your classmate because it seemed that you're not the only one that's been bothered by her.

After the little talk you had with your professor, you went to your next class to the last until it was time to go home. For the remaining of the day, you hid Aether in your bag after you found out that he was following you since first class when you were eating lunch on the rooftop of your building. You made sure that your stuff is all in your bag and not one missing before going home with your bag in front of you as Aether stayed surprisingly comfortable inside.

When you got home, you kicked off your shoes and placed it on the shoe rack before slipping on the indoor ones. You gently put your bag down beside the couch and went straight to the kitchen to cook a decent dinner with a few desserts leftover from your previous baking. Aether is floating beside you, helping you with the cooking and preparing the dinner table as he ate dinner across from you even though he didn't need to do so.

When the two of you finished your dinner, you played tag with Aether trying to take the sponge from his tiny liquid-like hands. After successfully taking the sponge from him, you made him take the desserts and beverages from the dining table and bring it up to your room if he can. Amusing to say that Aether was determined to take all of the desserts and beverages to your room, seeing the tiny creature doing its best filled you with warmth and serotonin making you melt at the sight.

After washing the dishes, you grabbed your bag from the side of the couch and tread your way upstairs to your room and sat on your gaming chair, bringing out your notes and homework to the vacant table beside your computer. You also made Aether his very own chair on the table where he can view almost everything from his point of view and as if thanking you, he snuggled on your cheek, squeaking in a high pitch making you giggle softly in response.

It was already past 10 PM and you were almost finished with your homework and projects when you decided to take a break by doing an art commission from one of your clients before playing various games and of course.. Genshin impact.

Aether watched the whole time you were doing your homework to doing your work to playing many games until you play genshin impact where he saw his self, Aether squeaked uncontrollably beside you while his miniature hands pointed at his own model. Assuming that he wanted a name and heard you saying the protagonist of the game you were playing and got infatuated with it.. Wrong.

"Ahh you want your name to be Aether? I don't mind giving you that name, it suits you to be honest." you query before deciding.

Aether frantically bounced in front of you, pointing at his model. Amused with his reaction as you took it with him just being overly excited of his name, giggled as you caressed on what you assumed is his head.

Realizing that there would be no current way on telling you what he really thinks so he gave up temporarily, relaxing back into the haven of a seat that you made for him.

Needless to say, the day was rather tad bit eventful on Aether's side. He discovered lots of things in just a day and he knows exactly what to do next time.. That's a lie, he still don't know what to do, but at the least he has an idea what to do now compared yesterday morning.

Now, his priority is to stick by your side at all times second to his goal of finding out everything about the game you are playing, genshin impact.

‘I hope the others are doing okay.. Oh Paimon.. Lumine.. Even the others are in this.. Game. Hahh.. Let us just hope nothing bad happens from this day onwards..’

® mikiafina

[faretheeoscar]

LIFE DAY

Pairing: Poe Dameron x gn! reader

Warnings: none, Life Day fluff 🎄

A/N: English is not my first language so I'm sorry if there’s any mistakes.

Word Count: 1k~

-

In a cozy corner of the Resistance base, Poe Dameron, BB-8, and yourself, prepared to infuse your quarters with the spirit of Life Day. Poe, at this time of the cycle, had a surprising knack for holiday cheer.

With BB-8's cheerful chirps echoing in the room, the three of you sifted through boxes of decorations sourced from various planets. Glittering ornaments, shimmering crystals, glowing flora, and exotic ornaments and twinkling lights filled the space, waiting to be brought to life.

Poe's eyes sparkled with excitement as he hatched a plan to transform your modest quarters into a festive haven. As he stood on a chair, maneuvering to hang garlands, he laughed at BB-8's attempts to help, the droid rolling around, lending a mechanical hand wherever possible.

As Poe, you, and BB-8 busily adorned your quarters, the enthusiastic droid's attempts to assist in the decorating frenzy took an unexpected turn. As BB-8 zipped around the room, eager to contribute, its rounded form rolled precariously close to a box of shimmering garments.

With an innocent chirp, BB-8's curiosity led it closer to inspect the dazzling fabrics. In a moment of carefree exploration, one of BB-8's round plates became entangled in a particularly elaborate garnment, causing him to start spinning around trying to get rid of it just to get caught in a makeshift cocoon.

Poe and you glanced over, stifling laughter as BB-8 spun in a comical attempt to break free. Its playful beeps turned into a series of frantic whistles, indicating its plea for help.

Quickly rushing over, Poe gently untangled BB-8, suppressing chuckles while apologizing to the droid. With a relieved series of beeps, BB-8 rolled away from the treacherous garment, you swore the moment BB turned around he looked slightly flustered even though it impossible for droids to do it.

Despite the brief mishap, BB-8 remained was ever eager to resume its helpful role in the decorating process , rolling back into action, though he resumed his labours more cautiously this time, to ensure its helpfulness didn't lead to any more unexpected entanglements. The incident only added to the laughter and joy that filled the room, creating a cherished memory amidst the joyful chaos of Life Day preparations.

With your guidance in the process and Poe's determination, the room soon became an eclectic mix of holiday joy. Trinkets from different worlds adorned every corner, and BB-8 spun happily, his chirps and beeps became a beacon of cheer throughout the room.

All along the decorating progress you and Poe stole glances and shared knowing smiles, reveling in the shared moment and the simple joy of being together during this special time.

-

As the decorations adorned every available space in your cozy quarters, Poe with a mischievous glint in his eyes, seemed to have a hidden plan. He stealthily retrieved a small but vibrant sprig of mistletoe from one of the boxes.

With a sly grin, Poe casually dangled the mistletoe above your head, his expression playful and teasing. As you glanced up, noticing the festive greenery, Poe leaned in closer, his voice laced with a charming flirtation.

"Well, well... seems we've stumbled upon some tradition here. Care to partake?" Poe's tone was light, his eyes dancing with a hint of mischief as he gestured to the sprig of mistletoe, a knowing smile playing at his lips.

Caught off guard yet delighted by his playful gesture, you couldn't help but laugh at Poe's cheeky approach. Feeling the warmth of the moment and Poe's charismatic charm, you met his gaze with a playful grin of your own.

With both of your eyes reflecting the twinkling lights and with a laugh and a shared glance, you playfully obliged, indulging in a brief but sweet kiss beneath the mistletoe.

BB-8 chirpped for your attention as he saw the both of you as if he was asking to take part in the tradition, you knelt down to place a kiss on the top plate of his head and he let out a small coo as his circuits warmed up.

BB then rolled playfully towards Poe to get him to do the same.

They shared some bickering on how he was ‘definitely not’ going to kiss him but at the end he reluctantly knelt down to kiss and hug his best buddy, creating a perfect opportunity for you to snatch a picture of the both of them, a playful thought in your head to maybe use it to tease them later and share it around base as Life Day card.

Poe's playful banter and BB-8's helpful beeps filled the air, creating a heartwarming atmosphere.

When the last light was strung, Poe proudly stood back, surveying the room's transformation. BB-8 beeped happily, seemingly approving of the vibrant display.

“Just one more thing missing!” Poe said as he stepped out of the room, to then step in to surprise you by fashioning a makeshift "star" for the top of your tree, crafted from spare ship parts, which brought a smile to your face and a string of excited beeps from BB-8.

-

As Life Day arrived, your decorated quarters became a haven of warmth and joy within the base. Friends and colleagues from base popped in, marveling at the cozy, festive atmosphere Poe, BB-8, and you had created together.

In that little corner of the galaxy, amidst the ongoing battles, as the galaxy celebrated in its unique ways, you, Poe, and BB-8 cherished this moment, grateful for each other's company and the chance to have your own little bubble of joy to enjoy for a couple of moments. Your small yet spirited celebration served as a reminder of the simple pleasures and the importance of togetherness during the holidays. And in your decorated quarters, the warmth of friendship and love made Life Day truly special.

Fic Master List

-

[ln-stories]

Mammon's mc!

This is the second drawing and headcannons of my mini series with the obey charachers with their custom sheep mcs. Previously i done simeon's mc, after alot of consideration i decided to do Mammon next with his own custom sheep mc!. If you wanna check previous stuff check my page and thank you for reading and im accepting requests for the next obey me characher!

(Apologies for any grammar mistakes)

Second Mammon's MC

Warnings: spoiler alert for the series lessons

Headcanons:

This mc (she/they)

Personality: confident, skillful (plus knows karate), a dumbass sometimes like Mammon, small anger issues, chaotic good vibes. 

1) This mc is the exact opposite of simeon's mc since she is the largest one in this series. Height is around 5'3 on two legs

2) She is very fluffy and glittery giving magical girl vibes on her looks

3) When The mc arrived at the devildom, she was shocked but was feeling like she could take the demons in a fight if they didn't return her back. (spoiler alert: those karate classes she took back in the human world didn't work much on The demon prince Lucifer XDDDD)

4)Later on she was assigned to Mammon to guard her and guide her through the devildom. Let me tell you reader this didn't go as planned as you saw in the earliest chapters of the story. This mc is much more fiesty as well so this didn't help much the situation either.

5) Slowly mc is trying her best to adapt her new lifestyle while also go ham on Mammon everytime that he tried to steal something from her room to sell it off.

6)Mammon was forced to make the pact the mc after the "Goldie incident". He is now listening to her more. Thought they still don't trust eachother at all.

7)After the TLC showdown event, Mammon was never felt such frustration for not being there to save mc on time to the point he started regretting all the time he has been completly scammy and ditching them on random occasions. 

8) Both of them made peace with eachother and started to actually putting effort to their friendship. (Occasionally ofc Mammon would be a tsudere as per usual XD)

9)They started hang out more and more, slowly lowering the iQ of the Mc as Mammon was pulling them into pranks, and other dumb situations. MC didn't mind it one bit though. Sometimes it's ok to be a little silly.

10) Mc teaches Mammon karate whitch is probably hilarious cuz Mammon would show the brothers what he learn just to not mess with him and embarrassed himself everytime he either falls down the stairs or he trying to punch metal and instantly regret it.

11) obviously Mc is Mammon's "first" as mammon call it. They are absolutely jealous when other people try to get close to them, especially the purgatory squad that just want to get to know her better. It's a big no to him. (closest friendships: Mammon, Levi, maybe Beel too?)

12)At this point Mammon and mc are besties. Mammon is not the best when it comes to sharing or gifting but for the mc he will even use Goldie whitch is a really rare occasion.

13)Movie nights and hellsauce noodles are regular thing when they hang out. It's like a comfort for both of them. (both cheap and fun!)

14) At the lesson 16 Mammon felt like he lost some centuries of his life just by mc not moving in his arms. He didn't felt like he lost just a friend. He felt like he lost the first person who actually gets him in a deep level. (oop mc is alive and so is Mammon's sanity!)

15) After a while Mammon felt like he became mc's right hand man, doing pranks, hanging out everyday, sitting down together at lunch and prank lucifer from time to time for good measure. (bad idea)

16)Lucifer himself sometimes tried to seperate you two because they were lowering the IQ of the whole house of lamentation as the other brothers joined in the dumbassery for fun.

17) Mammon is getting better at karate? Ye! He even humiliated a lower demons for trying to harm mc. Mc found was crying with tears of joy because she teached him well.

18) The mc showed the human realm to Mammon and the brothers. Let's say Mammon loved all the new flavor cheap noodles packets that got from the human Realm.

19) The mc loves to wear earrings so the final gift that Mammon gave her before RAD ended was an earring with his symbol to always remember that he will always be next to her whenever he needed her. The mc treasured it for life.

20) After RAD ended Mammon and mc were visiting their realms back and forth whenever they could, mostly Mc visited devildom thought. Mc made had mostly befriended all the brothers but the purgatory hall squad aren't as close as she wanted to admit. 

Thank you for reading! request are open for next obey me characher and custom mc!

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile (V.2) Chapter Eighteen

Title: For the Sake of a Smile (Revised)

Overall Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Rating: M for Mature. We've begun the 18+ content

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond the child abuse hinted in the series, though we do explore the consequences a bit more.

Main Pairing: Balam Shichiro/Reader

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen in your life. And the fact your coworker was a child. 

A child named Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but yet he smiled despite everything. It wasn’t long after meeting him that you decided you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a literal demon and signing your soul away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| Mairimashitai! Simps Discord

Your body hurt.

The cool autumn air was both refreshing and like sharp daggers to your lungs as you gasped for breath.

Yet while you were barely upright, arms braced against your knees to keep you from falling flat into the dirt, Opera was impeccable as always; looking at you with a mote of concern on their face. "Do you need a moment?"

You needed several moments. Actually, you needed a hot bath and then a cup of pain-relieving tea as you settled into your bed. Hell, even taking an impromptu nap in the torn-up grass sounded like a lovely idea.

But you remembered how easily you were snared by the drooling vine just a few days ago; how weak and helpless you were, how one tiny mistake had almost cost you your life.

Then, to make things even worse was the vivid memory of Shichiro's reaction to you being in danger. That small glimpse of his demonic nature, triggered because of his worry. And then there was how Sullivan and Iruma reacted when they learned about the incident, thanks to Shichiro who didn't gloss over how close you had been to death.

You had both them - plus Shichiro - plastered to your side for the better part of the next few days making you wonder who was the mother hen, you or them.

But their reactions made you realize something. For the first time in your life, you had people who really cared if you were hurt - or worse. They actually loved you, just as much as you loved them.

Your thoughts strengthened your resolve as you stood taller despite your legs feeling like jelly. You were going to do your best to make sure your loved ones never had to worry about you. Or rather, at the very least, you could protect yourself from an overgrown weed.

"Not yet," You bit out, earning a faint proud look as Opera's tail twitched. They shifted, holding their hands in a defensive position. You took it as your cue to lunge once more, attacking as they had instructed. A swinging kick, then a sharp jab to try and break their defense. Your movements felt sluggish even to you, so it was no surprise as Opera easily blocked each strike.

But as they had mentioned before; you were new to the exercises they were putting you through, so the focus wasn't on landing the hits. It was fluidly moving from one action into the next and not having to pause to think about how to strike next.

You continued on, trying to press past your muscles screaming in pain and your limbs shaking from exertion. Your strikes became sloppy, and Opera put a stop with a sweeping kick to your legs.

In that split-second, you feared crashing onto the ground - only for Opera to catch and lower you gently to the loose dirt.

You swore the damned demon was faster than light.

"You mustn't press yourself too much, my lady." They spoke as you stared up at the sky, still trying to figure out what exactly just happened.

You looked up into their ruby eyes. "...I need to be stronger, so everyone doesn't worry about me."

Opera's ears twitched as they tilted their head slightly. "We will always worry about you, just as you will always worry over master Iruma."

"Iruma is different," You protested. "He's...."

"Your child, just as much as you are Lord Sullivan's," Opera interrupted gently. "And we both know Shichiro will worry no matter how strong you become."

You sat up slowly, your mind trying to process the idea. Yes, you had adopted Sullivan as a father figure - someone to go to for help (the few times you were desperate enough to actually ask someone else for help.) - and he did dote on you, but the thought he might feel as protective over you as you felt towards Iruma was still a difficult pill to swallow.

You were an adult. You had taken care of yourself for years.

...as had Iruma, despite being a child. And that fact made you even more protective of him.

If the hints you picked up were true, Sullivan was far older - and probably saw your few decades of life as nothing, and considered you a child.

"... what about you?" You asked to turn your thoughts away from that realization. "I know you serve dad, and you're Shichiro's friend..."

Opera tilted their head once more, studying you intently with those piercing eyes. "When I first enrolled at Babyls, it was chaos. The strong students preyed upon the weak, and the rules meant nothing. The teachers let the students run wild outside of classes. But between my kohai and myself, we brought peace and order to the student body - and Lord Sullivan hired teachers who cared for the students outside of class. 

“I thought Babyls couldn't improve after that - that it was the best it could be - but you and Master Iruma have already made a powerful impact that I feel has made it even better. And if you can do that in just a few short months, how much of a positive impact can you two make on the rest of the Netherworld?"

Your stomach twisted even more. You had been so busy just trying to survive, you had been unaware of making any impact.

But... you recalled the students now taking refuge in your library, finding it a quiet sanctuary. The misfits calling you mom, and how you would have discussions with the Literature batra as well as others about philosophical ideas where demons and humans seemed to have drastic ideas.

"That is why I serve you and Master Iruma," Opera finished as they helped you to your feet. "Because you have earned my trust and respect despite being human."

--+--

Monday came, and you were faced with a difficult choice. Kitten had bonded with you quicker than you could have hoped for, but to the point he thought he needed to be at your side constantly.

So the thought of making him stay home with just the imps as company left you feeling more than a little torn. Which must have been obvious on your face as you shared pieces of your breakfast with Kitten.

"Why do you look so sad, dear?" Sullivan coo'd as he appeared, hand falling on your shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"It's silly," You tried to dismiss as you watched the kitten devour the small piece of egg, making adorable 'omnomnom'  noises all the while.

Sullivan sat down beside you, his hand finding yours. You looked up and realized the concern in his eyes. "If it's making you sad, then it is not silly. I would hate a repeat of before."

Your stomach squirmed guiltily as you recalled that dark period not too long ago. Yet at the same time, it made your heart warm with the reminder of how much he cared. "It's nothing like that. I… I just didn't like the idea of leaving the little one here all day by himself."

"Well then, don't!" Sullivan smiled. "I am the chairdemon, after all, and I'm certain there are no rules against this adorable creature keeping you company all day."

"It wouldn't be unprofessional or whatever?" You asked, barely daring to hope.

Sullivan's smile turned slightly mischievous. "Darling, we're demons. I frankly don't care what you do as long as it makes you happy."

Which is how you ended up with Kitten riding your shoulder through the day, apparently quite happy and content; and if he wasn’t on your shoulder, he was snuggled underneath the desk - either watching the students or trying to nap.

The students quickly warmed up the kitten, but he was not as eager to meet the students. He would usually just stare at them, or even puff up his fur until he was nothing more than a ball of fluff and hiss.

Which, really, only increased the cuteness factor.

Near mid-day, you were surprised to see Jazz trying to play with the kitten peek around the corner of the desk leg as the demon dangled one of the toys you had brought for the cat. (Granted, you didn't recall leaving the toy somewhere it was easy to reach, and had a sneaking suspicion his 'snake fingers' were at work again).

"He's... cute," Jazz commented after a moment, breaking your concentration on the paperwork you had been doing. "I didn't think familiars were cute, though I suppose Eggy-sensei is awfully fluffy...."

"He's not a familiar," You answered, smiling as you saw the kitten finally pawing at the fuzzy worm on a string. The brown tabby paw darted out from beneath the desk, sharp needle claws extended and trying to reach the toy. "But I think familiars can be cute, considering appearances can be deceiving and all."

The teen was quiet, but had a thoughtful expression on his face. "... what if they're as fluffy and cute as they appear, though? What does that say about a demon?"

"Well," You started, having an odd feeling the conversation topic had a deeper meaning than just beating away an awkward silence while Jazz played with the kitten. "I mean, I'm not the expert of familiars, but from what I've read, I think it just means at their core, that demon is..." Was it a good thing to say that a demon was a 'good person'? That they have a good heart? You considered it a valuable trait, but some traits in the Netherworld were different.

Eh, you were gonna take the chance. "It's a good thing," You continued when Jazz looked up questioningly after your long pause. "Sure it may not look traditionally strong, or vicious as some, but sometimes when push comes to shove, the softest, kindest people can become ruthless powerhouses when needed. I personally respect those individuals the most."

Your suspicion was proven true as Jazz looked away, seemingly embarrassed but a faint smile on his lips. You'd have to ask Iruma later if he knew anything about his classmate's familiar.

"I never thought about it that way, Mom," He admitted after a moment, your nickname still causing a warm feeling to fill your chest. Which turned sour as he looked back, embarrassment gone and replaced with the devilish smirk you were more familiar with. “So, Iruma states you and professor Balam spent the weekend together. Is that true?”

It was your turn to blush. “What professor Balam and I do outside of school hours isn’t food for the rumor mill, Jazz,” You tried to chide in your best authoritative voice, though it hardly succeeded as he grinned wider.

“Mmhmm. You know, there may be a betting pool about how long it’ll be before Iruma becomes a big brother. Especially with the professor having been late twice now to class after the lunch period.”  

Words failed you as you gaped at him, his words echoing in your mind as you acutely recalled the events that happened just a few nights earlier. It was a long moment that Jazz seemed to gloat in before you were able to rebuke him.

“Don't you have classes you need to go to?” You finally spluttered, sure your face was as red as a cherry, making the teen laugh.

--+--

"Despite anything I say," You sighed as you collapsed on the couch in the biology prep room during the lunch hour, careful of Kitten who you held close to your chest until you were settled. "Everyone is convinced the kitten is my familiar."

"There have been instances of the offspring of a familiar taking over their parent's contract," Shichiro offered as he set a tray of tea and snacks down on the table before taking a seat next to you. He didn’t hesitate before pulling you close to his side with an arm wrapped around your waist. You instantly melted into his, soaking in his warmth as you rested your head on his shoulder. "... not usually as young as he is, however,” He amended as his other arm reached across to scratch against Kitten's cheek.

The kitten arched up against the hand that was larger than his body, his purr rumbling loudly. Despite Shichiro's initial hesitation about you taking in the feral kitten, it was obvious that he was quickly growing fond of it - especially as he realized it wasn't a danger to you.

For now, at least.

"Have you figured out what he is?" You asked as you carefully reached for a snack, only to be jostled as Shichiro sat up straighter, obviously excited. Except despite the sudden movement, he froze just as quickly. You were about to ask what was wrong when a vine casually descended from the ceiling. You watched with a smidge of awe as the vine was able to wrap around a book and pull it from one of the shelves before delivering it to Shichiro’s outstretched hand.

"I didn't want to move," He explained sheepishly at your amused yet curious expression. You laughed as you snuggled more into his side after grabbing one of the sandwiches to nibble on and share with Kitten. Shichiro mindlessly stroked your hair with one hand while the other placed the book in his lap and carefully flipped through the pages.

You recognized the art inside the book almost instantly. Not because of the creatures it depicted, but the careful intricate style that was intimately familiar to you by now. "Wait, is this one of yours?"

"It was one of my first research books," He explained distractedly. "I think I started this one shortly after graduating from Babyls. I had wanted to study some of the lesser known creatures that were depicted more in legends and rumors than in anything.” The page flipped open to a yellowed page of a cat curled on a fallen log, a dark coat with lighter spirals much like the pattern you were barely able to see on the kitten. “I'm pretty sure our little kitten here is a Kausa, also colloquially known as Library Cats, since they're found in old temples and abandoned ruins,” He explained as you read his handwritten notes. “Which makes sense, considering there is an abandoned temple for an ancient deity in the forest. And the good news is their main diet is small birds and rodents, though they do enjoy feeding off the spirits and mana that linger in such areas. "

"So, he isn't going to try to eat me when he grows up?" You asked, though you hadn't missed the term 'our kitten', causing your chest to warm inexplicably.

"He won't grow much bigger than a hellcat," He confirmed, his smile evident in his voice. "And maybe not even that big, considering he's a runt with ruined wings."

Your smile fell slightly as you looked at the small wing that was deformed. You had watched him many times try to use it whenever he jumped and had to agree that there was certainly something wrong with it as it never seemed able to expand completely. Worse still, you had heard more than a few students, and even a couple teachers, make a few disparaging remarks about his defect when they had visited.

"I don't care. I love him, imperfections and all," You swore stubbornly, saying the words you had to bite back when you overheard the others. "It doesn't make him any less perfect in my eyes."

There was only a short moment between your statement and suddenly being pulled into Shichiro's lap, displacing his book. Both of his muscular arms wrapped around your waist while he buried his face against your shoulder. "You humans are such fascinating beings," He muttered, warm and reverent. “Compassionate and accepting to no end.”

At first you were a little confused until the realization hit you. You hadn't even considered the dual implications until then; after all, the kitten wasn’t the only being you loved that demon society had difficulty accepting. You set the kitten down next to you so you could shift in his lap until you were facing him. You cupped his face in your hands as you met and held his gaze. 

"I will fight whoever states that you're not handsome, or beautiful, or whatever,” You stated firmly. “Same with our little kitten."

His smile was reflected in his eyes while dark pink stained his cheeks as he blushed. "As touched as I am, please don't start picking fights."

"Opera's been teaching me," You defended playfully as you smiled. "And I have my runes ready at all times now." To prove your point, you let go so you could pull back the arm of your coat (the same style that many of the teachers wore) to show the defensive runes you had carefully drawn.

Your weekend escapade had proven that you needed to be prepared at all times.

Yet despite your playful attitude, Shichiro narrowed his eyes. "No fighting. Please."

You were tempted to push the point - if just to be ornery - but sighed dramatically. "Fine. I won't pick a fight. But if I ever hear someone insult you or Kitten, I won't stand by idly. You both mean too much to me."

He sighed but held you closer, apparently unable - or unwilling - to argue that. So you allowed the subject to slide and instead turned back to the book that had been nearly forgotten.

Shichiro had two art styles; one was the soft, cute drawings of his picture books while the other was hyper-realistic as he did careful drawings of his research subjects. The Kausa looked as if it would start moving and continue stalking along the yellowed page. The detail he had put into his artwork-- samples of the creature's claws and fur, the shape of a lithe body and matching leathery wings-- left you breathless.

"Do you think if I was a demon, I'd have a familiar like that?" You asked as you read his notes. Familiars were - of course - an area of interest for you. You had done research into the area, especially about humans having familiars-- such as the relationship between Kalego and Iruma --with little success. A human summoning a demon was well documented, but not as a familiar. More like how you had summoned Sullivan so many months ago.

"The familiar that responds to ones’ summoning is usually a reflection of a demon's true self; their desires, ambitions..." He mused thoughtfully. "Having a Kausa would probably fit you. They are often very defensive of their home and kits, avoid conflict, and prefer places others have abandoned."

You indulge yourself with the daydream despite knowing you would never have such a bond with Kitten. After all, you just happened to stumble upon him - saving and adopting him said nothing about who you were. 

Well, other than you lacked forethought and self-preservation. And would likely take in anything that needed help

But if he really was as harmless as Shichiro thought (well, as harmless as anything in the Netherworld was) he could become a companion - just like an earth cat.

Or he could grow into a cold, aloof adult that wanted nothing to do with you. Again, just like an earth cat.

Only time would tell.

"Nigyul is your familiar, right?" You asked after a moment, seeing the little dragon watching inquisitively from above, as if not sure he wanted to enjoy the cuddle pile. Though something in your memory gave you the feeling you weren’t quite right.

"Well, not exactly," Shichiro admitted, looking up to the dragon before holding out his hand. Nigyul chirped before jumping down and curling his tail around Shichiro's fingers for support, reminding you strongly of the first time you had met the dragon. "My bond with him is like a demon and a familiar's bond, but I didn't summon him. Instead, it was more like I cultivated him." He saw your curious expression and continued. "I found his seed years ago and carefully nurtured his growth with my mana, training him to respond to it as a familiar would its master's commands."

"That's awesome..." You trailed off as you realized Kitten had climbed up to Shichiro’s shoulder, hesitant but curious about the dragon that was currently smaller than him. You were tense, worried about how they would react to one another as the kitten carefully stalked down Shichiro’s arm to smell the tiny dragon.

But instead of acting aggressively, Nigyul allowed Kitten a moment to smell before nuzzling the kitten and even trying to groom him, making your heart warm.

"Well, Nigyul’s definitely like his master," You teased, looking up to Shichiro who blushed.

"Well, he is our kitten," He teased back. “Of course we both want to take care of him.”

It was your turn to blush as you buried your face as best as you could into his chest. You felt as well as heard Shichiro's chuckle as he held you tight after setting down both dragon and kitten. Part of you wished you could just melt into him like before, letting all your worries melt away. Yet…

“Er, speaking of which,” You mumbled awkwardly after a moment. “Jazz let it slip earlier that apparently the Misfits have a… betting pool on us.”

“Oh?” He merely hummed as he ran his fingers through your hair, unable to see the blush growing deeper on your face.

You knew he needed to know, or at least he deserved to know considering how he was involved in the bet. Yet actually voicing the words seemed near impossible. Despite everything - despite knowing how much he cared for you and would never intentionally cause you to feel ashamed or embarrassed… you were worried how he would react.

You also supposed part of it was because of your own inner turmoil on how Jazz’s words affected you. Yes, you were fairly embarrassed that Iruma’s classmates had such a bet… but you remembered the conversation you had with Sullivan and Iruma. The pictures Opera showed you, and how ever since you had moments of wondering what it would be like.

To think the whole class was betting on the inevitability made you… happy.  

Eventually you gathered your courage and spoke. “They, uh, kind of have made some assumptions,” You began. “About… why you’ve been late to a few classes lately.”

His fingers paused for a moment, his shock evident in his voice as he simply went. “Ah.”

“Mhmm,” You agreed as you steeled yourself for the biggest point. “And… also when Iruma might get a younger sibling.”

You could feel his breath catch as he processed your words. The hand resting on your hip shifted so his thumb could brush against the soft curve of your stomach. “A sibling…” He repeated quietly as if to himself.

“I mean, I am taking that contraceptive potion,” You added as the silence stretched on. “Not that we’ve… you know. Gone that far.”

Shichiro didn’t say anything, but held you a little tighter as he pressed his face against your neck. Yet another piece of his anatomy nudged against your thigh. At least part of him liked that idea.  

“I know it's probably too early in our relationship to really talk about those kinds of things,” You continued. “But, just as an FYI…”

“Right,” He agreed slowly. “I just… never really thought of the possibility before.”

You chewed your lip. “Well, to be honest… is it? I mean since we’re…. different?” You knew the act was a possibility now, but having results from it - having children… Was that a possibility, or were demons and humans too different to be compatible?

“There are a few legends and stories that speak of half-human demons, so if they are to be believed…” He trailed off as your stomach squirmed. You could remember how adorable he was in those pictures Opera showed you. And before coming to the Netherworld, you hadn’t been very keen on the idea of having children of your own, now…

Now you could see the appeal. It wouldn’t be like ‘families’ you were familiar with back on earth. You would have Shichiro. Iruma. Sullivan. Opera even…

“Some day in the near future, let’s talk more about this,” Shichiro spoke as he shifted, pulling back a little. “Because I think if we talked more today, we’d only end up fueling those bets.”

--+-- Su-Ki-Ma--+--

Within just a few days, Kitten became bolder and braver. Soon, he loved to wander around, proving to be as curious as an earth-kitten. It was fine as he explored the mansion at night as you knew the imps would keep an eye on him, and when he stayed within the confines of the library during the day. 

And then, not even the massive library could contain his curiosity.

Oddly enough, it was Marbas who brought Kitten back the first time. “I figured it would be best to bring him here after I found him wandering through my store room,” He said with a faint smile as he held up the yowling kitten by the scruff.

“I am so sorry!” You apologized as you accepted the kitten back. “I hadn’t even realized he had wandered off!”

Marbas, thankfully, only smiled as he shrugged good-naturedly. “Eh, I caught him before he killed himself, so it's all good.” The dark-haired demon reached to scratch Kitten between the ears. “You might want to keep a closer eye on him, however. I mean, he did knock over a few containers of strong acids when I was trying to catch him.”

You nodded and agreed you would. And after that, you tried. You really did. But keeping track of him and performing your work was impossible. Within days, you were interrupted every few hours by either a student or a teacher returning the furball. Thankfully most were amused by the antics. A few, however, were not.

Case in point: Kalego.

[ellitx]

Kaleidoscope Memories | Shiki Souma x Reader

Never in Souma's life did he think he'd be head over heels for you and become his muse. Your presence in his life transformed him in ways he never thought possible, making him grateful for the unexpected love and artistic passion you brought into his world.

ASDJSAKJDASJDA I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM GRRRR ARF ARF WOOF WOOF BARK BARK ARF BARK GRR I WANT HIM TO BE MY BOYFRIEND 😭 ISTG EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM MAKES ME SWOON OVER HIM GRRR 

also here’s the first part of my "Reverse Fanfic" Series! Once you're done reading from top to bottom, read it from bottom to top by parts ;) im kinda playing safe here with the tooth-rotting fluff story before i delve into the more dramatic and angsty writing so yeah this oneshot is more of an experimental but nonetheless i enjoy writing this and i will write more for him :>

general warnings: fem!reader, tooth-rotting fluff, smooches and huggies for souma <33

word count: 3.7k

i. Cooking

 It’s no surprise that Souma is a hardworking person. He always tries his best in everything to find a new unique talent that he can call his own specialty. Despite how forgetful he is and how often he makes slip-ups in his daily activities, you still find everything about him cute.

And so when he asked you if you could teach him how to cook so he can create homemade dishes for his brother and for himself, you eagerly accepted his request. He doesn't want to make the same mistake after that gyudon incident.

“I wanna try making another bento.” He told you, watching you take out the grocery items from the bag he bought with you.

“That’s a good start. We can start by making egg rolls.”

Staying in his apartment really makes you feel at ease and comfortable. Everything around here is just homey and warm. You sometimes wish you could sleep with Souma but it’s embarrassing since he lives with his brother, but nonetheless, they always welcome your visits— and not because your cooking is so good and they’d love to taste more of it.

As you both stood in the kitchen, cracking eggs and slicing the carrots and green onions, you couldn't help but smile at Souma's earnestness. He approached cooking with the same determination he applied to his studies, and it was endearing to witness his enthusiasm for this new venture.

As you guided him through the steps, you noticed how he carefully followed your instructions, grasping the techniques swiftly.

Throughout the cooking session, there were some adorable blunders—like mistaking sugar for salt, again, and forgetting the order of ingredients—but each mistake only made the experience more enjoyable. Fortunately, it wasn't too salty that the dish was inedible.

You found yourself unable to resist the overwhelming affection you felt for him. His earnest efforts and genuine excitement were simply too endearing to ignore. As he giggled at yet another mix-up, you couldn't help but lean in and plant a gentle kiss on his rosy cheeks.

"Souma, you're just too cute," you said with a fond smile, feeling your heart flutter with affection. "Even your blunders make me adore you even more."

He blushed, his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red, but the grin on his face grew wider. He loves being adored by you but he wants more. And so his mischievous side came to the forefront, eyes glinting in slight excitement.

"You missed," he whined, a small pout drawing over his lips. His complaint had you puzzled by his words and before you could ask for clarification, he leaned in playfully, attempting to give you a cheeky kiss. However, the unexpected bump of your nose made the moment turn awkward.

A soft stifled chuckle escaped from Souma's lips, but he quickly composed himself, his cheeks tinged with a slight blush. Embarrassed by the situation, you couldn't help but playfully frown and lightly slammed his chest with your fist.

“Souma, don’t laugh!”

The laugh he was trying his best to hold back slipped right out of his lips and came right out was a series of hearty chuckles. Hearing such genuine happiness made your stomach have butterflies fluttering all over the place.

“Sorry, sorry! The sound you made was so adorable when I bumped into you.”

Embarrassed by the situation, you couldn't help but smile back, appreciating his lightheartedness. Your boyfriend has always been like this, constantly finding every small thing positive, even his mistakes and it’s what made you fall for him. Without missing a beat, he kissed you tenderly, making your heart skip a beat.

"I love you," he whispered against your neck, burying his head over and the ends of his hair tickled your skin. A warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped your entire being and in that moment, all the mishaps and teasing melted away, leaving only the sweet intimacy between the two of you.

As you wrapped your arms around him, you couldn't help but reciprocate his affectionate gesture.

Well, he deserves that kiss.

 ii. Cuddling

 Feeling his warm embrace on the couch, you couldn't help but be absorbed by the enticing world of online shopping. Your boyfriend nuzzled closer to you, trying to capture your attention, but you remained engrossed in the virtual realm of fashion.

He playfully squeezed your waist, attempting to draw your focus away from the screen. "[Name]-chan, if you want to buy clothes, we can go out shopping," he suggested, hoping to entice you with the idea of a date.

You giggled at his adorable pout, leaning back against him, savoring the comforting scent of his cologne. "We could, but I'm not finding anything that catches my eye right now," you replied, your thumb still scrolling through the pages.

"But Tokyo has so many stores and malls," Souma insisted, his determination evident. "Shinjuku and Shibuya are great places to find cute clothes."

As he mentioned the bustling shopping districts, you couldn't deny the appeal of an actual outing. Turning your head to meet his gaze, you found his eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. His desire to spend time with you was evident, and it melted your heart.

And it hurts you to deny him more than all those tear-jerking shoujo animes you have watched with him. As much as you loved the idea of spending time with Souma and going on a shopping date, a part of you wanted to stay cozy on the couch a little longer. However, you knew how much he looked forward to the outing, and the last thing you wanted was to see him sad or disappointed like a sad puppy.

"Actually, you know what would be just as fun?" you suggested, trying to find a compromise that would make both of you happy. "Let's have a cozy day in. We can order some delicious food, binge-watch our favorite shows, and just cuddle here on the couch."

His face lit up at the mention of cuddling, and he pulled you closer, wrapping his arms around you.

"That does sound nice," he admitted, his smile returning. "But I was really looking forward to going out with you."

You couldn't resist his adorable pout, and your heart melted at the sight. "I know, and I really appreciate that," you said sincerely, brushing a hand through his pink hair affectionately. "But I promise we'll have just as much fun staying in. Plus, it's more intimate, and I get to have you all to myself."

His pout softened into a half-smile as he considered your words. "Well, I guess spending time with you is what matters the most," he said, snuggling closer to you.

"That's the spirit," you replied, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Now, how about we make this cozy day extra special? I'll pamper you with all the attention you want, and we can have a date right here, just the two of us."

Souma's eyes lit up again, and he nodded eagerly. "Okay, deal!" he said, his enthusiasm returning. "As long as I get to be with you, I'm happy."

With that settled, you both settled back into each other's arms, relishing the warmth of each other's presence. The prospect of a cozy day turned out to be just as wonderful as you had hoped, and as you enjoyed the comfort of cuddles and each other's company, Souma was already dozing off. The gentle warmth, comfort, and feeling of being so close to you lead him to a sense of relaxation and contentment whilst you’re locked in his arms.

 iii. Gift

On your anniversary, Souma surprised you with a thoughtful gift—a mint green colored teddy bear adorned with a cute cap and earrings that reminded you of him.

You wondered if he intentionally did that and created small accessories that highlighted his sense of style and fashion so you can always think of him even if he’s not by your side.

The moment you laid eyes on the teddy bear, you couldn't help but smile so widely, touched by his sweet gesture.

“Souma!! This is so adorable! I love it so much~!!”

You tightly hugged the toy, the cuteness fever rush was taking a toll on you and you heard him chuckling across you.

“I thought I’d buy it for you when I saw that when I was shopping. I’m glad you like it.” He pecked your cheek and hovered his hand over to the box you were holding.

“There’s more inside~” he cooed enticingly and just from the light in your eyes was enough to make him melt right there and then. God, he thanks the heavens for meeting you and appearing in his life.

You harvested through several paper star origami and you saw a white synthetic white sheet. And you couldn't believe your eyes. Your heart fluttered and raced a thousand miles and you almost cried just how much effort he put through in this.

Deep in the box were multiple polaroid films of you and Souma together. The image of him hugging you from behind, your hand gently cradling his face as you both smiled at the camera, brought tears of joy to your eyes. You were so grateful for his creativity and thoughtfulness, touched by the effort he put into curating these beautiful memories.

“Souma-kun~!! Ah, stop being so romantic!”

You playfully scolded him, hiding yourself on his chest so he can’t see how red your face was. Souma merrily laughed and caressed the top of your head. He missed capturing your bashful face but he didn’t miss how red your ears are. He’s so tempted to scoop you in his arms and kiss you all over the place. From your nose to your temple, then your cheek, and down to your neck—

"Oh? Since when did you take this?"

He turned to you and saw you were holding a photo of yourself smiling with a white flower in your hand.

Souma snickered, a smirk drawing over to his lips. "It's a secret." He uttered each syllable playfully with a wink, holding out his index finger over to his lips. 

Blushing even more at Souma's playful teasing, you playfully swatted his arm, trying to hide your embarrassment. "Stop being sneaky," you murmured, but the smile on your face betrayed your attempt to scold him.

As he caressed the top of your head, you couldn't help but melt into his touch. His playful laughter and affectionate gestures made your heart skip a beat. And you cherished these moments of pure happiness with him, clearly enjoying the adorable back-and-forth between the two of you. He admired your spirited and cheeky side, which only made him fall deeper in love with you.

Though the fondness ceased when you flipped over to the next image.

“Pft…”

Your boyfriend tilted his head and he noticed how your shoulders were shaking. “[Name]? What’s wrong?”

“I-it’s nothing,” your voice wavered and he grew concerned that is until he saw you holding a piece of paper which was the poem he wrote for you.

Roses are red, violets are blue

I cling to you like a glue

Will you please be my please be my dream come true?

Oh, he repeated the “please be my” when writing the poem.

 iv. Movie Date

A lot of things have been bugging his mind and to this day he knows that he shouldn’t mess this up or else he’ll bury himself from embarrassment if he did.

Souma sighed, his heart hammering in his chest as he waited for the service crew to arrive with the snacks he ordered.

He meticulously selected his outfit, second-guessing each choice, wanting to make a lasting impression. His hands trembled slightly as he tried to style his hair, hoping it looked just right. Left and right, he’s been fidgeting a lot. From readjusting his wristwatch to opening his camera phone to check his appearance, and then fumbling with the buttons of his shirt.

It’s a constant repeat from here to there and it felt like hours waiting for his order. He wanted everything to be perfect, knowing that this moment held the potential to become a significant change in his life.

He recalled standing at the agreed-upon meeting spot, he spotted you approaching, and a mix of awe and nervousness washed over him.

He couldn't help but feel grateful for the chance to spend time with you. His cheeks reddened slightly as he greeted you with a smile, admiring how adorable you looked in the dress you wore, hoping it hid the nervousness he felt.

“Sir, your order is here.” The voice across him halted his thoughts as he reverted his eyes to the source. He blinked and then realized his order arrived. Souma chuckled lightly before taking the two drinks from the counter. He thanked them, gave a small bow, and went off to search for you.

Good thing you weren't there or else you might see just how airheaded he is. That would be so lame... Shaking his head to get rid of those possibilities, he set his focus back on his objective. He spotted you standing near the corner, your back facing him, engrossed in the movie posters displayed on the wall. Excited to share the snacks with you, he hurried over, his eyes fixed on your figure.

“[Name]-chan, I’m back!” He jogged to where you were, making sure he didn't trip and drop the drinks. “I got your drink.”

Upon getting close and standing next to you, his eyes widened when an unfamiliar face turned to him. “Um… Is there something I can help you with?” The stranger sheepishly asked, a blush forming across her cheeks when there was literally a hot guy talking to her.

Souma blinked and his face turned slightly red as he chuckled, realizing his blunder. "Oops, I'm sorry," he apologized, trying to hide his laughter. "I mistook you for someone else. My apologies!”

The stranger chuckled as well, amused by the mix-up. "No worries. Happens to the best of us," she replied good-naturedly.

Embarrassed yet trying to maintain his composure, Souma quickly made his way to find you, his heart still racing from the funny yet embarrassing encounter. This time he made sure the girl he was approaching was you.

“[Name]-chan!” You looked up from your phone and saw Souma walking towards you before handing you the drink with a bashful grin. "Here you go, got your favorite drink," he said, relieved that he finally found you.

You couldn't help but giggle at his adorable flushed face. "Thank you,” you said, taking the cup from him. "You almost gave my snack to a stranger."

Your date exploded from embarrassment. His entire face was covered in bright pink and steam coming out from his ears.

“Y-you saw that?”

He can’t find himself laughing at this situation. Normally, he’d laugh it off but if you saw that, then he just wants the ground to swallow him up.

As Souma's embarrassment reached its peak, he couldn't help but wish for an escape from the situation. His heart pounded even faster, and he felt like he was melting under your gaze. With a sheepish grin, he attempted to hide his flushed face with his hands, the heat of his embarrassment evident in his entire demeanor.

"I-I can't believe you saw that," he stammered, his voice slightly shaky. "I was so nervous and... I must have looked like a complete goof."

You couldn't resist the urge to reach out and gently pat his shoulder, reassuring him with a warm smile. "Don't worry. It was kind of cute, actually," you said, finding his flustered state endearing.

His pink cheeks grew even rosier, and he managed a shy chuckle, still embarrassed by the situation but grateful for your understanding. "Thanks for being so nice about it," he said, appreciating your kindness.

Souma’s very much aware of how love-struck he is when it comes to you. He’s mesmerized by your presence, drawn in by your laughter and the sparkle in your eyes, and hearing such a warm giggle had his heart fluttering all over the place. His stomach was churning and turning in multiple ways just how adorable and sweet you are.

Despite his initial nervousness, he realized that being with you felt natural and effortless. The conversation flowed smoothly, and his worries slowly melted away in the warmth of your company.

 v. Perfect Capture

“Sorry for dragging you out here with me, Shiki-kun.”

You and Souma strolled through the garden park, the vibrant blooms and serene surroundings were so beautiful you hoped that the gears in your head could work again and come up with an inspiration.

“Don’t worry. I appreciate you inviting me to go with you. I was having a rough time as well thinking of a good design for the project.” The graphic designer assured you with a soft smile.

As you both continued to walk through the garden park, you couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort in Souma's presence. The peaceful ambiance and the beauty of nature seemed to have a calming effect on both of you, washing away the stress and worries of the day. This place is so relaxing and gorgeous, he wondered how come he didn’t know this place. It’s as if he’s entered a secret garden with all these flowers blooming and the trees full of life.

"This place is amazing," he remarked, his voice filled with wonder. "I can't believe I've never been here before."

You smiled, feeling a sense of pride for introducing him to this enchanting spot. "It's one of my favorite places to visit when I need inspiration or just some peace and quiet. I'm glad I could share it with you."

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, casting a golden glow over the garden, you found yourselves lost in the beauty of the moment.

“Shiki-kun, look!” Kneeling down to the ground, you pointed at a flower with white petals. With a grin on your face, you started explaining how the flower symbolizes purity and a vow of fidelity.

As you talked and explained the meaning of the flower, Souma stared at you in awe. Your voice went deaf to his ears but the glow of your figure being radiated by the sun gave a soft golden warm tone over your skin. The white dress complimented your features further, and together with the hydrangeas in the background, it’s the perfect spot for this scene.

You were still admiring the little flowers, playing with their petals, lost in your own river of thoughts. The smile donned on your lips right now is so beautiful, the kind that could make even an angel blush.

Unbeknownst to you, Souma couldn't help but admire how beautiful and captivating you looked in this natural setting. Your eyes sparkled with excitement, and your smile exuded a sense of joy that he found utterly mesmerizing.

He wanted to capture this moment, the genuine happiness he saw in you. He mustered up the courage to snap a picture, capturing this moment in his memory.

With the DSLR camera in his hand, he discreetly positioned himself, silently framing the shot, careful not to interrupt the flow of the moment. He snapped the picture, wanting to hold onto this glimpse of you, this snapshot of your essence in that idyllic setting.

And as he gazed at the photo he had taken, a thought crossed his mind.

You’re the most gorgeous person Souma had ever taken a shot of.

  vi. Inspiration

Souma keeps overthinking about the designs he made.

Your own goodness and confidence… He always wondered where he could get those things.

When he spends his days wielding his strengths to figure out what he really has, there are times he can’t get up from the wounds he gets…

How he wished the ground to eat him up and never return.

“Woah, Shiki-kun, did you make this?” The thrilled voice cut him off from his depressing thoughts. He turned and saw you there, eyes gleaming and sparkling excitedly he could almost see stars in them.

Souma rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and looked at the ground. “Yeah, it’s not that great so I have to throw out this design and make a new one.”

“Eh, no way! This looks amazing though! The way you chose the colors and the typography is so stunning!”

As you complimented Souma's work, the genuine admiration in your voice struck a chord deep within him. The small praise you gave him meant the world to him, and he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of newfound confidence in his creations. Your encouragement felt like a warm ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds, dispelling the self-doubt that had been plaguing him.

He looked up from the ground, his eyes meeting yours, and he was taken aback by the stars in your gleaming and sparkling eyes. You truly believed in his work, and that belief made his heart swell with gratitude.

"You really think so?" he asked, his voice still tinged with uncertainty, but a flicker of hope had ignited in his eyes.

"Absolutely! I mean it, Shiki-kun," you replied earnestly, your enthusiasm contagious. "Your designs are unique and captivating. Don't doubt yourself. Trust your instincts, and let your creativity shine."

His face flushed even more, but this time it was from the warmth he felt inside. Your words were like a balm to his wounded confidence, soothing away his insecurities.

You saw the beauty in his creations when he struggled to see it himself. Your genuine appreciation and belief in him were like a gentle wind beneath his wings, pushing him to soar higher in his pursuit of creativity.

“Thank you.”

His heart fluttered from your compliment. It may seem nothing to others, but to him, it’s enough to give him that confidence he needed. Looking at you, your smile was radiant and beautiful— as if he was in the morning field of flowers.

As the canvas of his imagination unfurled, a whirlwind of ideas danced across his mind like vibrant brushstrokes on an artist's palette. In this torrent of creativity, amidst the swirling hues of inspiration, a single thought emerged like a guiding star in the night sky—you were his biggest muse.

[cecexwrites]

Writeblr Intro

My name is Cecily, but you can call me Cece. I'm in my 30's and I primarily write fanfiction. I do have a large original project in the works though.

My Pinterest Fic Masterlist Character Masterlist

My Current Focus(es)

Small Town Paranormal

An Original Universe

Witches and Werewolves, Vampires and Demons- all hidden in plain sight. From a supernatural sanctuary created by a vampire to a college for witches. Small Town Paranormal is a series of stories all connected by their shared universe

Prince of Wrath

A Blaise Zabini Fanfiction

Torn apart four years ago by the impending war, the Zabini's and Fawleys reunite for an old family holiday tradition- an entire summer on a Grecian Island. Pushed together for the first time in year, Blaise and Reid Fawley have to learn to navigate their new circumstances. Not to mention her boyfriend, his memories from the Battle of Hogwarts and a past mistake coming back to haunt them

OC(s): Reid Fawley (Jessica Alexander) Tate Fawley (Luke Eisner)

Story Masterpost

Nevermore

A Rabastan Lestrange Fanfiction

Merit Vander Wende hates me.

A fact she's never kept secret, but when her darling fiancé crossed me he all but signed her death warrant.

Merit might hate me, but she will be mine.

OC(s): Rhiannon Lestrange (Sydney Sweeney) Merit Vander Wende (Rachel Zegler)

Coven Wars

A Teen Wolf Fanfiction

TBA

Wasting Time with Rabbits

A Disney Descendants Fanfiction

Once upon a time, King Adam declared an end to the darkness. He sent the Villains to the isle and magic became obsolete. Twenty years later, his son is ready to make things right by bringing over the children of the Villains he banished. Including the daughter of his father's greatest enemy, Gaston. Galston is just looking for a good time. She definitely didn't mean to be the catalyst for a war decades in the making

OC(s): Galston Legume (Kaia Gerber) Cedrick Facilier (Luka Sabbat) Quinn Queen (Rachel Zegler) Aleksander Westergaard (Danny Griffin) Winter White (Matt Cornett)

Red Riding Hood

A Disney Descendants Fanfiction

All her life Scarlett's been stalked by The Wolf. Always looking over her shoulder, terrified of the dark. After the death of her only protector, Auradon is her only hope. Fate has no hold on her.

OC(s): Scarlett Edon (Maia Mitchell)

Beyond the Star and By The Angel

A Shadowhunters Fanfiction

It all started with the Academy. When the Academy finally opened it's doors to warlocks, Max Lightwood-Bane was the first to jump in, alongside his older brother, of course. Neither of them had any idea that when meeting Romy Thornhill they would be meeting the woman who would change all their lives forever. (part of the Angels and Demons Series)

OC(s): Rowena 'Romy' Thornhill (Meg Donnelly)

Swing for the Fences

A Sandlot/Stranger Things Crossover Fanfiction

The summer of 1962: Scott Smalls and Benny Rodriguez along with their baseball crew did the impossible, they rescued their ball from The Beast. Cementing their friendship for until the end of time.

November 1983: Scott Smalls is getting a divorce, living in Hawkins Indiana with his two kids. The day his best friend Benny, and Benny's daughter, move to Hawkins to help him with the transition to single parenthood, Will Byers- Scott's daughter's best friend- goes missing and the mystery of Hawkins beings to unravel.

OC(s): Lou Rodriguez (Jenna Ortega), Emma Smalls (Mckenna Grace), Phillip Smalls (Walker Scobell), Charlie Baker (Felix Mallard)

Read it on: AO3

My Finished Stories

Prince of Ruin

A Theodore Nott Fanfiction

Once upon a time, long long ago, The Nott family and The Selwyns were the closest of friends. Two families who loved each other with their entire souls. Did I mention that was a long long time ago? Now, Theodore Nott can't stand the Selwyn Twins, especially the loud and rude Cordelia Selwyn. However after a incident of revenge gone wrong, Theodore finds himself stuck with the woman, until death do they part (Part one of The Serpents Club)

OC(s): Cordelia Selwyn (Model fc is Vika Bronova, actress fc is Odeya Rush), Bastian Selwyn (Model Fc is Alessandro Dellisola, Actor fc is tentatively Tanner Buchanan) Story Masterpost

[champion-of-thedas]

WoT Reread New Spring Chapter 4

I forgot how long this chapter is. It is so long.

Leaving the Tower

Siuan and Moiraine leave the Tower and travel to the camp where they are going to begin taking down names.

·Description of a room for no narrative reason. Look, if he was trying to set a tone, it would be one thing. If the characters were going to be in a room, it would be one thing, if it was an important way to characterize a location, it would be one thing! But Moiraine’s room is none of those things. In all honestly, I find this charming, but I am amused that this room is getting so much description when it meets none of the previous criteria. My dude.

·I have misophonia and it hates KR’s ‘sl-p’ words above all else. The sheer amount of ‘sleep’, ‘slip’, and ‘slippers’ I’ve been hearing is driving my nerves insane.

·Despite the fact that this is supposed to be an out of the ordinary event and the inciting incident of the series, it is giving us a lot more of what regular life for Accepted in the Tower is like.

·Strangely, knowing all of the stuff that Moiraine packed that will not be mentioned in this chapter is helpful to me. It is also a good way for us to get to know Moiraine by learning what she thinks is important.

·Siuan is not a horse girl, and I love that.

·There is a lot of description of the city, but not in the same way that made me so frustrated with it earlier. Here, it feels like it is contrasting the city of Tar Valon with the tragedy going on outside as well as showing off how so many people from all over the continent mix together here. Also it feels in character for Moiraine to notice what she does.

·There’s a brief non-scuffle with the white cloaks that I had forgotten about that ultimately just let’s us know that they are here and they are definitely taking the opportunity to heckle Tar Valon while so close.

·Moiraine and Siuan taking every opportunity that they can to use the power so they have excuses if anyone catches them.

·So here, Siuan tries to convince a guardsman to see her way and it doesn’t work, but she does seem to be considering him afterwards. I wonder if this is just us seeing how Siuan eventually becomes the Amyrlin that she does. Small little moments of her attempting persuasion, deception, and other forms of manipulation are done so she can see how different people interact with them and adjust her approach accordingly. Moiraine talks about how Siuan sees puzzles and patterns, so this would make sense. In essence, while this looks like Siuan utterly failing at browbeating a guard, it actually is Siuan making a mistake, realizing it, analyzing what happened and what went wrong, and filing it away for the future while observing her mark to guess what alternate approaches would work. I’m pretty sure I’m not just making this up either. Moiraine comments on Siuan liking puzzles once more and says she’s looking at the guard as if he was one of her puzzles, and then Moiraine makes a statement about how Siuan sees patterns. I just wish we got more of this in her POVs.

·I also think this could be a good comparison with Egwene. This book came out between Crossroads of Twilight and Knife of Dreams, so it was there after Egwene got captured by the White Tower, but before we got to see her begin manipulating people and events in the Tower. A lot of the next few books involve Egwene using the skills she learned (many of which were with the help of Siuan) to beat the White Tower from the inside. We get to see the origin of those skills here.

·There’s just some more back and forth with Moiraine being a disaster bisexual and thinking about pretty guards and pretty Accepted. Good for Moiraine. The chapter ends with them getting set up at the new spot.

One thing my Siuan rant reminded me about is when I first read this book, I was just thinking of it as a Moiraine and Siuan story, but on this readthrough, I’m also thinking of it as a Moiraine and Siuan and Rand and Egwene story. In the rest of the series, I kind of think of Moiraine as Rand’s mentor and Siuan as Egwene’s mentor and the two of them are reflected a lot in their students. I joked with a friend once that sometimes you can really tell that Rand’s leadership style came from a spy and it shows up in some not great ways. I love Moiraine, but she is a spy, not a leader. And no, I’m not saying she messed up Rand’s leadership, he did that on his own bless him. I’m just saying that sometimes he’ll do something, like make sure he is surrounded by people that he knows want to hurt him because he knows their intentions for sure and having people mess each other up so they don’t think about rebelling against him, and my brain says, “that’s a spy move”. I also know that Siuan was also a spymaster and then became a leader (and Moiraine received training as a leader before becoming a spy), but I’m pretty sure that she pushes back against some of those tendencies with Egwene and she had experience as a leader by then. Plus, she comments on how her spy tendencies screwed her. Egwene still has plenty of sneaky spy in her, but I think there is a subtle difference in their motives and actions that is hard to explain. I’ll probably get more into it when the two actually come up as characters.  

[mysmestranscripts]

ZEN After End

[Background: Jumin’s penthouse]

[Music: None]

Jumin: Bangladesh, Philipines... Not there.

Jumin: All the countries that are left... are small islands.

Jaehee: Where in the world do you think V is?

Jaehee: If you couldn't find him with all your connections, I think we should stop searching.

[Music: Mystic Chat]

TV: A! Celebrity News has the scoop. Echo Girl has been cast as the lead in the new period series "Moon and Stars". We've got the scoop at the scene.

Echo Girl: I have to thank the CEO of my management company for giving me such a good role. I just wanted to prove that young singers like me know how to act with this role.

Echo Girl: Famous singers like me have to pave a new path for the industry to improve you know.

Jaehee: You've had that TV for a long time.

Jumin: Nothing bad will come out of saving. I only watch it about twice a year. I don't feel the need to upgrade.

TV: The soundtrack album has been doing well at the charts too. An interesting fact about this new series! The rising star Zen has also been cast!

TV: Zen was involved in a sexual harassment scandal with Echo Girl two years ago, but his sincere press conference put him under a positive spotlight.

TV: We, here at A! News, gathered up our courage to request an interview with Echo Girl concerning this incident.

Echo Girl: What? Why are you asking me that? It's way in the past now and the misunderstanding was resolved. I hope to meet him in the professional world soon. No more comment.

Jaehee: That scandal is now an embarrassment in her career. Weren't you quite mischievous to cast them in the same series?

Jumin: I didn't give that order. If I had, Zen would be the lead and she'd have a supporting role.

Zen: Oh~ Is that what Kyungju said..? I-I mean, Echo Girl. Anyways, I just like to think that she was young and emotional back then and made a mistake. Anyways, the past isn't important for our acting.

Zen: Mr. Producer, please cut out that part about me calling her Kyungju. She hates it when people say her real name. I mean, I think the name's fine! Hahaha.

Jaehee: Her real name wasn't edited out I see.

[Music stops]

Jumin: That, I ordered.

Jaehee: ...

[Background: Black screen]

Staff: Take five everyone!

Echo Girl: The outtakes are all because of everyone else! Manager! Bring me some water!

Echo Girl: It's so hot here.

[Background: Zen After End 1]

[Music: Narcissistic Jazz]

Zen: I'm sorry I had to make you wait, sweetie!

Zen: …You waited long, right? Kyungju kept making mistakes so we couldn't get a good take.

Zen: I'm sure it must be hard following me around location shoots. Isn't it hard being on set? You can rest at the hotel… I mean, of course it really helps me that you're here.

Zen: Yeah! I love it! I'm so happy to see you watching me. I want you to be my manager forever.

Zen: I get to see you at home and at work… I can never get sick of my cutie pie's face…

Zen: But… why are you wearing such a low-cut top? What if the other crew members see you? We have a lot of young guys here.

Zen: It's okay when you're with me… but it bothers me. What if one of those guys stares at you while I'm focusing on my scene? You're mine…!

Zen: Ugh, alright… I won’t be so sensitive outside. But… let me make sure when we get home, that you’re mine.

Zen: Of course I’m yours. Thinking about possessing each other, it reminds me of the show I did before. Remember “Emperor’s Game”? The line went like this.

[Music: Lonely but Passionate Way]

Zen: From now on to the end of my life, you are mine and I am yours. While the sun rises from the East and sets in the West, you are my sun, my moon, and my stars.

Zen: Saying it in front of you really makes me feel it, MC…

Zen: I’m so grateful that we can be together like this. Don’t start blushing. You are always a blessing and my source of happiness… I want you to be proud of that.

Zen: Every morning when I see you asleep in bed, I tell myself that I will love you and always be true to you. Isn’t that pretty amazing?

Zen: No, what? I'm not practicing my lines.

Zen: I mean all of that. MC... When I see you fall asleep beside me every night... I think about our past, present and future...

Zen: Because we are each other's mirrors and our paths.

Zen: …I'm making you cringe? Sweetie, I guess you don't know what's really cringeworthy. I don't want to stop expressing my love. Look into my eyes.

Zen: MC, you are my life and my traces. Sometimes, we fight over small things, but our hearts are connected, so I'll start to understand everything you went through in your life when I wasn't there.

Zen: Because now, basically you are my life.

Zen: You are my sun, my moon, and my stars… No matter how far apart we are, we'll always think of each other…

Zen: Hahaha… Good job listening to all this, cutie.

[Background: Zen After End 2]

Zen: Even when the sun rises from the West and sets in the East, my heart will never change. My MC, I love you forever.