#new fic part 1

[shoot-i-messed-up]

Was always worried about the angst of unrequited love, had never realized the sheer amount of comedic potential that it has.

Imagine one-sided Superbat where Clark is fully aware that Bruce has a crush on him but is being his repressed self about it, and Clark is just like, “I’m not gonna touch that :) you’re going to figure that out for yourself, buddy, and in the meantime, I’m just going to have a good time and be best friends with you as you inevitably pull yourself together enough to either fall out of love or to confess :) and I’ll just let you down gently because I care about you :)” but he absolutely 100% is using it to his advantage in the meantime. His puppy dog eyes had never been so effective before. He’s gotten out of Monitor Duty three times in the past month.

[nottinmyheart]

"She just fell"

Theo Nott/Brothers bsf x Reader/Malfoy

Part Two-

Quite angsty ig but not from Theo!

Writers note: This is my first fic EVER, so please don't judge too harshly, but I'm also welcome to constructive criticism! I was thinking of making this a series, but I guess it depends if people like it or not. Tbh this was all really just for fun and my personal enjoyment!

Summary: You and Theo have been in love for years, but nothing has ever happened. After an incident where your twin brother (Draco) leaves you in tears, you are confused as to Theodores' feelings towards you.

As you stumbled over your own feet and felt yourself begin to collapse, a sudden pair of muscular arms wrapped around your waist preventing you from falling. Looking up, your whole body froze as you got lost in his mesmerising mixture of blues and greens for eyes. Breaking you from your trance was his deep, luscious voice which you so badly wished you could listen to on repeat for the rest of your days, "Well this seems familiar." He chuckled. And yes, it did.

Back in 1st year, you had been put in the exact same situation where you were running through the halls, dreading being late to snapes lesson, when you suddenly, abruptly tripped over your own feet. Just to your luck, Theodore Nott had been standing there and observing when he noticed the inevitable before it had even sprung into action. He immediately caught you with ease and couldn't stop himself from admiring every feature on your stunned, gorgeous face. He was consumed by your beauty while you were in the same boat as you stared back at your saviour. You swore it was love at first sight, and little did you know he felt the exact same way. Before either of you could speak, you were interrupted by that bellow of an annoying voice, your older brother (by 10 minutes). "Oi, get your hands off her Nott!" "Huh?" He spun around in confusion and was met with a fairly irritated Draco. "Don't hold her like that." He froze for a second, but after registering his friends words let go of you. "Ugh, Draco, what do you want!" You voiced back clearly unimpressed by his antics. "Draco, is this your girlfriend or something, mate?" Theodore questioned, clearly confused by his demand. "EW!" Both you and draco screeched in unison, quite childish. "NO! She's my annoying baby sister, " he explained, clearly offended by Theodores' outrageous comment. "BABY?!? You are older than me by 10 MINUTES. Don't act like you are any wiser than me!" You retaliated upset by the fact you were referred to as 'baby sister'. "So you are twins?" Theodore stated as he grasped the concept of how he had just fallen head over heels for his best mates twin sister.

"Oi! Get your hands off her, Nott!" There it was, just like last time, of course your brother had to interfere. Theo stiffened slightly at the sound of dracos voice, knowing he had just lost the chance to talk to you. Again. But he didn't let go straight away, and neither did you. Draco was now right next to the two of you and practically ripped you away from Theos hold. "What are you fucking doing Y/N, don't act like a helpless slut in front of my friends!" His voice was filled with malice and the weight of his horrible words poured over you. The hurt that his statement had on you was clear as your eyes began to fill with tears. Theo didn't know if he should defend you or not but seeing how hurt you looked he couldn't just allow you to stand there alone. Not wanting to completely ruin his relationship with draco, he barely held himself back from lashing out on him right then and there. "Dude she just fell! There's no need to start calling her names." Theo clenched his teeth at his friends quick response "She didn't "just fall" Y/N is clearly seeking attention and she doesn't have to seek it from my mates!" You stood there completely shocked from the words coming out of your own brothers, your own twins, mouth. "I- I honestly didn't mean to!" Was all you could splutter out but Draco just looked at you unconvinced. "Yeah whatever, stop acting so pathetic and just fuck off." So you did. As quickly as you could, you ran away from that situation and straight to your safe place.

In the astronomy tower, you were fortunate that no lessons were currently going on as the thought of anyone else seeing you like this, in pieces, made you sick to your stomach. You knew Draco and you were recently growing apart. And he was occupied by girls and rarely talked to you, but you couldn't believe how he had just treated you, his own flesh and blood. He treated you as if you were some trashy pick me girl just trying to find someone to fuck. You weren't that, why did he treat you like that? More tears began to flow down your face in an ugly sob and you couldn't stop.

Your best friends (Pansy and Luna) soon realised you weren't in lesson and questioned Draco as to if you were okay. Seeing the guilty expression on Dracos' face, they both knew he had said something. Although you and Pansy were both in Slytherin, in second year you ran into Luna Lovegood who as peculiar as she was, soon became great friends with the two of you and ever since then, the three of you had been like sisters. Knowing where you were, they both excused themselves and were let go since they used the 'period excuse'.

You were sat on top of the astronomy tower, questioning yourself as to why he would talk to you like that. Maybe you were just attention seeking, I mean, you were deeply in love with his best friend, so you couldn't deny you did want Theodores' attention. But you didn't deliberately fall into Theodores' arms, I mean, you didn't even notice he was there! You were just trying to catch up to your friends after you told them to walk ahead while you spoke to the teacher. And why did Theodore not let go of you? And now that you thought back to it, he did kind of defend you, right? Okay, now you were sure you were delusional, and your confused thoughts only fueled the fountain falling down your face.

Theodore was worried sick about you as he noticed you didn't show up to the next class and he soon saw Pansy and Luna leave the class looking extremely stressed, most likely in search of their lost friend. He felt horrible for just letting you run off and not defending you, and the guilt was eating him alive. But he was also pissed. Pissed at Draco for saying such foul words to you. So when he got the opportunity in class to have a conversation with him, he did. "Dude why the fuck were you so horrible to Y/N. She just fell and I caught her." He whispered in a hushed, stern tone, Draco responded in the exact same way. "She needs to understand that she can't just act like that around my mates. I mean God forbid she actually trys to hook up with one of you." Theodore was beginning to get annoyed at Dracos absurdity again. "But you were fucking horrible. I mean did you see the way you left her!? Plus why is it so bad if she does get with any of your friends? It's not like it would affect you in anyway?" Draco was baffled at this point "You can't be serious? It would affect me in every way and I would never get away from her. She's so annoying and never shuts up, it's not like any of you lot would fancy her anyway." He dismissed the thought, "She's just being dramatic, I'm sure she's fine". Although rage was bubbling over in Theo's head, he left it at that reflecting on how Draco viewed him having a relationship with you would be like.

"I'm sure she's fine." No, you definitely weren't fine, not even in the slightest. As Pansy and Luna made their way up the steps to the astronomy tower, they could hear your desperate sobs and locked eyes with eachother before covering the last few steps, empathy filled each of their eyes and they knew something really bad must have been said as you rarely cry, let alone have a full on breakdown. As you heard steps coming towards you, you frantically spun your whole body around, filled with fear, but relief washed over you as you realised it was only your friends. They comforted you for a good long while, listening to you rant and question yourself. They reassured you and promised it wasn't your fault, which made you feel slightly better, but the question still stood, "Why did Theodore not let go?" Sure, it could easily have been shock, but the way he looked at you, almost as if he never wanted to let you go, made you highly doubt that theory. Before you could dwell on the situation any longer, dinner rolled around, and you had promised your friends that you would go with them (not before you cleaned up and made yourself look presentable first). You couldn't let Draco know how much he had gotten to you. And you couldn't let Theodore see you in this state, even if you didn't yet know how he felt towards you.

[gerec]

Master List of X-Men Fic Recs - Part 3

Charles Abused As A Child Charles Afraid He Made Erik Love Him With His Telepathy DOFP Time Travel (Not Logan) Dysfunctional/Toxic Relationship Part 2 Erik Is An Asshole Erik Kidnaps Charles Part 1 Erik Kidnaps Charles Part 2 Feral Erik Funny and/or Warm Fuzzy Fic Gay Mutant Road Trip Halloween Fics Homophobia Hurt Erik Kinkmeme Favourites Magnerine (Erik/Logan) Mpreg (Communicating with Unborn Child) Sentinel/Guide AU Top Charles

Master List of X-Men Fic Recs - Part 1 Master List of X-Men Fic Recs - Part 2

[lafamilledelioncourt]

If I was easy to kill, you would have done it already ♫

a deal of consequence - iwtv fanfic series

🎨

[lihhelsing]

(i'll hold on to you)

Gone were the days when Steve would be excited for a party. 

It used to make him feel alive and reckless and independent. It made him feel like he was the king of the world. King fucking Steve. 

It felt like a big fuck you to his parents who never gave a fuck. 

He threw parties because it made him feel likable. 'No, you don't need to bring booze, there'll be plenty there' he would say as he and Tommy hit the store before a party, giving money and free beers to whoever agreed to buy them alcohol. They never left empty-handed. 

Now, everything just felt wrong. 

Now he knew people liked the idea of Steve Harrington. Not so much the person he was. 

Despite being in a weird place with Tommy and Carol, Tommy had asked him about Harrington's New Year's rager and how could Steve say no to that? Especially when it felt like one more chance. One more try. 

Steve had promised himself he would try more. Convinced that the reason why things between him and Tommy felt weird was because he wasn't trying enough and not because he had been feeling some type of way about his best friend for a while now. 

And not because Tommy had kissed him and things had never been the same again. 

So yeah, Steve was desperate to grab whatever piece of normalcy he could have. If he pretended long enough, maybe things would eventually be ok again. 

The party was… What parties at the Harrington's always were. Loud, crazy, bursting with people. Everyone who knew anyone was there and Steve barely paid attention to who they were. It didn't matter. He was just hoping the loud noises would be enough to drown his self-pity. 

They weren't. Amongst the music and the yelling it wasn't even midnight and Steve's head already felt like it was about to split open. He thought maybe a beer would help. Thought maybe he would grab one and go hang with Tommy and Carol and just tried.

As he approached them, though, Tommy seemed to sense he was coming as he grabbed Carol by the waist and pulled her into a sloppy kiss. Steve stopped where he was, feeling his stomach in knots. 

It was just coincidence, was what he told himself even as Tommy detached his mouth from hers and pulled her body close, his hand curling on her ass, fingers brushing right at the hem of her skirt. 

It would be nothing more than a coincidence if Tommy wasn't looking straight at Steve as he let Carol kiss his neck. As he let his fingers dip under her skirt. 

Steve turned around, refusing to look. 

He went back to his room at almost midnight and he drank his beer all alone, the lingering feeling of not belonging swimming inside his aching head. 

Steve listened as everyone shouted a countdown for the new year and he listened as the party went on. No one to notice he was gone from it. 

x

The doorbell rang at 10 am the next morning. 

It couldn't be his parents because they wouldn't dare come back a day early from their vacation to the Bahamas.

The scariest part was that Steve couldn't think of anyone who would be ringing his doorbell at that hour on January 1st, 1984. 

He thought about ignoring it but the idea of not saying a single word out loud that day scared him enough to make him move. He pushed himself from the bed, threw on a shirt, and combed his fingers through his hair to try and not look so disheveled. 

Downstairs he tried to ignore the absolute mess the house was in. He still had a few days before his parents got back and even if they didn't care enough about Steve to worry about him throwing parties, they did care about finding the house spotless. Almost as if it had never been lived on. 

At least that meant Steve would have two days' worth of chores to keep him busy. 

He swung the front door open, ready to send away whatever salesman was standing there - wondering if there could be a girl's scout selling leftover cookies because Steve could definitely go for a pack of Thin Mints - just to be taken aback by a familiar face. 

One he wouldn't expect to see standing in his front door in a million years. 

"Eddie Munson," Steve let the name roll off of his tongue as he looked Eddie up and down. 

He couldn't say he knew Eddie. He knew of him because who the hell didn't? The guy walked on tables and was loud as fuck. He was also always throwing daggers at Steve. 

But in broad daylight, Eddie looked almost out of place. He was wearing all-black, as usual, with his hair tied up in a bun. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and even though it was January, for fuck's sake, he wasn't wearing any gloves. Steve let his eyes linger on the way Eddie kept playing with one of his rings, sliding it in and out of his index finger. 

"Hey, Harrington," Eddie said. Or purred was more appropriate. When Steve looked back up, Eddie was smirking at him as if he had noticed the way Steve's eyes drank him in. 

"Did you need anything?" Steve asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. His head hurt and now that he had talked he wished he didn't because it made the pounding even worse. 

"Why? Am I interrupting something?" Eddie said, angling his body so he could look at the dark, empty house. Steve could lie, of course. Say that there was a girl upstairs waiting for him to come back. He could even add some crass detail about it to see if it would get a rise out of Eddie. 

But for some reason, he didn't.  

"Look, Munson, I'm not in the mood for your little games. Either you say what you want or you get the hell out of my face."

Eddie batted his eyelashes at Steve. "Oh, someone's touchy. Would that have something to do with the way those two friends of yours were ignoring you all night yesterday?"

Steve felt his head spinning. Was Eddie Munson at his party yesterday? Had he not noticed him even though Eddie seemed to have noticed a lot of things? 

"Whatever," Steve said, pushing the door closed. He didn't have the time for that anyway. A lot of cleaning to do. 

"Wait!" Eddie said, moving his body so he could stop the door from closing. Steve was beginning to feel very annoyed. "Sorry. My uncle says I never know when to shut up."

Steve frowned at that piece of information. "Well?"

"I, uh… I think I left my lunchbox in here somewhere. Did you happen to find it?"

Steve had to fight his immediate urge to just say no and close the door in his face. It wasn't his problem if Eddie couldn't hold on to his shit at a party. But he could see the anxiousness bleeding on his expression, his hand going back to pick at his ring almost as if he was unaware of doing it. 

"Haven't really looked," Steve said, shrugging. "I'll let you know if I do."

There was no reason for Steve to be nice to Eddie but he couldn't find a reason to not be nice. Now that he was looking at him, Eddie looked almost distressed. 

"Shit. Look, man. It's, uh, important. It's my-"

"Drug lunchbox. I know. I'm not dumb."

Eddie's eyes widened and he rushed his words out. "I don't think you're dumb. Just didn't take the King for someone to know things about his subjects."

Steve crossed his arms, refusing to acknowledge the way the nickname stung. 

"Whatever. I haven't started cleaning, but I'll let you know when I find it. Don't want my parents finding that shit here anyway."

Steve was pretty sure his voice sounded final. He didn't care about the lunchbox, had no reason to fuck with Eddie about it because who would bring weed to his parties if he did? But Eddie was still standing there looking like a kicked puppy. 

"What is it?" Steve asked, exasperated. 

Eddie chewed on his lip and looked down. "I really need it. It has all my inventory and my money in it. Do you mind if I… Can I look for it?"

Steve stared at him but Eddie wouldn't meet his eyes. He wanted to say no, just send him away with the promise that he would give it back when he found it. But seeing Eddie that anxious was doing things to Steve. It was making him want to fix it. 

"Please," Eddie said again, almost a whisper. "I'll help you clean if you want."

Eddie finally looked back at him. His eyes were shining in a way that made Steve uncomfortable. He wanted to push him away. Whatever. He didn't need the freak helping him clean the house, even if he had ulterior motives for doing it. 

But his mind wandered to the empty house. To the quiet, suffocating house. To how pathetic it was for him to be all alone, cleaning the house after a party he didn't want to be at, thinking about whatever shit his ex-best friend and his girlfriend were doing without him. Feeling sorry for himself. 

"Shit. Fine. Come on in, Munson."

Steve wondered if he was going to regret that. 

[walkingstackofbooks]

If I ever stop doing this in my fic, something's wrong :P

[lovvelorrn]

i think i’m entering a new hyperfixation and oh man it’s fucking bridgerton

[a-whole-lot-of-things]

i love dead boy detectives to death, and hope with all my being that we can Somehow pull off getting it back (through netflix or otherwise)

but honestly if we cant? if we get stuck at where we are now forever? i honestly think ill miss the potential s2 soundtrack the most

[imagineitdearies]

Thank you for indulging me if you’ve already answered this, but, I’ve been re-reading PS and a question came up:

What would a healing potion have done in addition to the rat (chapter 20)?

Hi friend 😊 I don’t believe I have ever shared what was behind Astarion’s question, “Did he give you a healing potion after the rat?” and why he was relieved when Tyrus answered, “Just rats”!

And I’m very happy to do so—this fic consumed my life for a whole eight months, I am definitely not ready to let go of or stop talking about it, so ask away friends 🥰

To no one’s surprise I’m sure, given this is the direct aftermath of chapter 19, warning for potentially triggering talk of sexual assault and physical abuse from here on out that I’ll put below the cut:

Tyrus inwardly concludes from seeing Astarion’s relief, “So it could always get worse, then” (a mini theme of this story lol), and that’s a simple explanation in and of itself: he just needed rats to restore his blood, not healing to his body. Chapter 30 can give some more specific context—Astarion is not only being raped by Cazador when Tyrus walks in, he’s covered in bleeding claw marks, and later in the chapter his leg is gouged open, he’s stabbed multiple times, etc.

So Cazador using healing potions implies not just a sexual violence, but an extra brutish physical violence on top of it that even vampiric regeneration would take a while to heal. Rape with extra punishment, basically, instead of rape as a transaction or whim on Cazador’s end.

Needless to say Astarion has experienced both many times in the PS-verse, and hates both. But not the same amount. His relief goes back to his personal threshold for certain kinds of trauma—he has a much lower pain tolerance than he does a tolerance for forced sexual encounters (that’s just another day in his life, isn’t it). So it was a question he asked Tyrus because he feared terrible physical torture had also taken place that he just couldn’t see.

What kind of physical torture? Well, I’ll leave the *super* specifics of this to people’s imagination. There are plenty of horrors Astarion experienced that Tyrus has no idea about, and I think readers can fill in those gaps without my help….though chapter 25 & 30 were a little taste of it, I suppose.

Thanks for the question 🩵 I hope you enjoy your reread!!

[leavingautumn13]

I'll bite, would my url inspire? I'm not sure who in Fallout would have a mudkip or swampert, though.

it sure does inspire. sometimes it's nice to have company on watch.

y'think dinky is a good name for a mudkip, because i kinda do now

[ssreeder]

Hey, I just found out about your LIAB fanfic and lemme tell you, I almost finished it all in a day >:)

But I had to study and go to bed, so only a quarter of the fic is left unread.

Ngl I'm not a fan of reading long fics but THIS CAPTIVATED ME <333

Love it so much, can't wait to read the 2nd part soon!!!

yayyy!! So happy you're enjoying!! (I’m cackling because this is like the longest long fic you could have picked for someone who doesn’t like long fics)

part 1 can absolutely be read on its own but I do continue the journey through part 2 & 3! The final installment is otw to being completed but it will probably still be unfinished by the time you get there! You seem to read fast!

GOOD LUCK ON STUDYING & SLEEPING!!! Thanks for the sweet ask!!

[non-un-topo]

I realize I've been so flaky with responding to asks, finishing my drawings or fics I promised, etc. I've kind of been drifting in and out of tumblr without interacting much. Real life just finally started, and I need to build up a ton of motivation and find time before I can work on a fandom project. Just wanted to say that I'm still here and still working on stuff, just slowly.

[loosingmoreletters]

Snippet of a fic where the gang meets a KDJ from a different universe. Spoilers for idk everything past chapter 400.

The other Kim Dokja grinned up at the monstrous cat of Grimm’s Märchen, seemingly paying no mind to his damaged story fragments. “You really should’ve killed me directly.”

Han Sooyoung cursed. There was no telling what would happen to their Kim Dokja, stuck in the other world, if this idiot died right here! She considered the distance, but even if she invested the coins she had, there was no way to reach that idiot quickly enough—

And then something strange happened. Darkness deep like the great depths of the sea and as bright as a star opened up above the cat and a man holding a familiar dark blade descends on the Constellation, bisecting it at once.

[■■ has used the stigma Eternal Companionship Lv.???]

“Kim Dokja!” the man snarled and didn’t hesitate to cross the distance to him. Stupefied, Han Sooyoung watched as yet another Yoo Joonghyuk pulled the other Kim Dokja up by his collar. He looked almost like their world line’s Yoo Joonghyuk, only his hair a little longer, and on his otherwise black shirt, the number [438] stood out in bright white.

“What is this?” that Yoo Joonghyuk hissed. “What have you done now?”

“I didn’t do anything,” the other Kim Dokja protested as his collar was let go off. Curiously enough, Yoo Joonghyuk simply moved his arm to hold the other Kim Dokja by his waist to steady him unnecessarily. “And why are you here? I expected [999].”

“Would’ve eaten too much probability,” he answered. “An arm and a leg if we got lucky and Demonic Judge of Fire pitched in. Now, tell me where we are.”

The other Kim Dokja sighed. “You are too impatient.”

“And you are too reckless.”

Their bickering continued, a strange mirror to the arguments Han Sooyoung was used to seeing from her world line.

“—of course we treated him well,” Yoo Joonghyuk [438] interrupted the other Kim Dokja’s rant. “He’s just as much of a fool as you, even if your identities do not match entirely.”

The other Kim Dokja paused. “I noticed. I don’t fill the gap he left here perfectly either.”

And then he smiled. “So let’s end this quickly, yes? I’m sick of following along the story of The Evil Queen.”

Yoo Joonghyuk [438] only rolled his eyes, but did not let go of the other Kim Dokja either way.

He didn’t need to.

[Giant Story An Outer God’s Beloved screams out.]

[rotisseries]

every time I get on tiktok and am reminded how popular the attitude of not reading incomplete fics is I'm just so sincerely confused cause there is so much joy in just. watching something be created over time idk

[chemicalarospec]

writing can be so ridiculous. I wanted to write a cute librarian AU, but since the non-librarian is going to the library for their mom's holds (they're not the bookish type), I had to figure out why they moved back in after having lived on their own for a while (since librarians need master's degrees it would mess with the dynamic have the older person suddenly two years younger & straight out of college).

So now I'm writing a fic about the 2007-2009 financial recession.

[sabraeal]

to all the ghosts still standing in this room, Chapter 3

[Read on AO3]

For all that His Former Majesty pretends to eschew the trappings of power or whatever, he sure doesn’t have any compunctions about bossing her around. Lili’s barely stretched a finger toward that purse of his, but he herds her right over to a low wall, insisting she sit before he lets her get a word in edgewise. Barely lets her get a glimpse of all that fluffy ricey goodness too before he sets out a bit of cloth between them, like this was one of those little tea parties Father would strong-arm her into, as if turning ‘good neighbors into good allies’ could make those girls more interesting.

“Street food’s meant to be eaten standing up.” It’s not that she’s pouting over this whole business. It’s just that spoiled little kings sometimes need a reminder of how things work. Like how people don’t go to market just to sit around and kick rocks. “Since you’re, you know, supposed to be walking.”

Soowon’s not a man of many expressions —not ones he aims at her, at least— but to call the one he settles on her skeptical would be generous. Accusatory, more like, as if something about this stupid sit-down snack situation was her fault. “It puts me more at ease to keep you where you can be seen.”

Her face scrunches up, a persimmon left too long in his sun. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

This is where he’s supposed to say, ‘Nothing.’ Where his stupid pale spider hands should wave between them, as if that might help him climb out of this hole. Where he squints into his fakest smile, playing the role of harmless prince down to the dregs.

But instead, he says, “Because when you are left to your own devices, you always find trouble.”

���That’s not true!” At least, it doesn’t feel like it should be. Not until he cocks his head, just how he had on that street in Senshi, both of them soaked to the bone. Both of them alone, no Ayura, no Tetora, no Judoh. And her on her knees, grateful and fearful both, saved by—

Her teeth grit hard enough to ache. “Trouble finds me, thank you very much.”

His shoulder lifts, more consolation than concession. “As you say.”

She could strangle him. Put her hands right around that elegant neck of his and just squeeze. She’d be half tempted to try right now— witnesses and all— except…

Except he finally pulls out that pouch, dumping all the cakes onto the cloth between them. One bounces off an uneven bit of wall, doomed to tumble to the dirt until Lili snatches it midair. “You stand could be a little more delicate about it!”

One brow hikes beneath the sweep of his hair. “Didn’t you just tell me you’d rather be walking?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I want them to roll around in the dirt.” She blows across the cake’s spongy surface, hoping to banish whatever invisible bits of grit had settled there. “It’s about the experience. Lady Lili can sit down and call for fancy little cakes whenever she wants” —not that she made a habit of it, recently— “but walk around some foreign market? Not without a half dozen guards to protect me from peasant elbows, and another one to hold the purse strings.”

With careful precision, she sets the cake back on the cloth. And with equal delicacy —and ignoring Soowon’s slack jaw— she picks up another, twirling it between her fingers. Lili can’t fathom why he bothers to look so shocked; it’s not like she dropped it. It’s not her duty to eat it.

“These are pretty fancy.” There’s little dried jujube flowers steamed into the surface, with rock tripe slivers as stems and leaves of halved seeds. “I think I’ve seen them at parties before.”

“During the summer, typically,” he agrees, lifting a cake between his fingers. It’s pink, not white like hers, with a different spray of flowers across the top. “There’s something about the rice wine that makes them keep better in the heat.”

Lili’s never heard anyone speak with such authority about rice cakes, let alone a man with so little business in the kitchens. Hell, she wasn’t even convinced he liked food, considering the way he picked at most of his meals, pulling crackled skin from perfectly crisped chicken and plucking the melty fat off his pork. He didn’t so much eat rice as push it around in his bowl, making it look like he’d had more than a mouthful.

Does His Majesty have a sweet tooth? she’d love to tease, or maybe, I didn’t figure you for a dessert guy, but instead she blurts out, “I can't believe they sell these right out on the street like this. It must cost a fortune.”

His head snaps up, both his brows jumped up to his hairline, and— and, sure, Lady Lili’s never been in the practice of thinking about cost, or even wondering how her meals made it to her table, but Water Tribe Advisor Lili has to. “The rice wine,” she stumbles out, “it’s only made when the pear trees blossom. So—”

“It’s the same stuff farmers drink.” There’s a lilt to his voice, a hitch at the corner of his mouth. Oh, of course, it’s amusing that An Joon-gi’s precious daughter is so sheltered. He couldn’t scrounge up a thimbleful of good humor the past week she’s been trapped with him in that stuffy little box, but she mistakes cloudy wine for luxury and it’s a laugh riot. Insufferable. “The real expense is in the time it takes to make them.”

Lili glances down, long enough to find not two colors of cakes but three, the yellow so subtle it only stands out next to the white. Three colors, three doughs. And every single one is painstakingly decorated, not just with jujube flowers, but with fireworks made of slivered nuts, or small waves made of dried seaweed; half-snack, half-art. “You’d think they’d serve them more often in the palace. Those people just love to make fussy food.”

“Xing is more temperate than Kouka.” He lifts a shoulder, as if tutoring generals’ daughters were an everyday occurrence. “There are some things that grow more easily here, and for longer. A summer delicacy for us might be their standard fare— after all, few of our usual treats would keep well in the heat.”

“Oh.” That sort of thing never crossed her mind— climate and locations and the logistics of what might grow between them. A general’s daughter hardly needed to know where her tea snacks came from, only whether it would please her or the guests that had been foisted upon her. But the Empress’s Water Tribe Advisor— that’s the way she should think. Supply line should dance behind her eyelids when she closes her eyes, the local price ready to drop from her lips at a moment’s notice, but instead she just squints down at the jujube flower and wonders, “Do you think Kouka made them first, or did we adopt them from Xing?”

Soowon hums, considering. “Hard to say. I don’t suppose any of its ingredients are particular to either place. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that we came up with the idea independently— forestalling food spoilage is a constant concern, after all— but with a shared border…”

A border that ran right at the end of the Wind Tribe’s territory. Fuuga was known for their mountainous highlands, their capital hidden between a copse of intimidating peaks, its people dressing in their distinctive layers to keep the winds and cold at bay. But it was their lowlands that abutted Xing, the fertile shores of its river forming what her Father had always called Kouka’s breadbasket. But as they had rattled along the trade road, escorted by an improbable amount of Hak’s cousins for a man who claimed to be orphaned, Lili could not pick out where Kouka ended and Xing began, the farmlands all running together, crops and houses indistinguishable from one another, no matter which side of the border they had traveled on.

“Maybe…” She tests the word on her tongue, weighing it the way old women did melons in the market, trying to divine whether the flesh inside was ripe or gone to seed. “…There’s never been much difference between us.”

Soowon blinks down at her. “Perhaps.”

Heat simmers right beneath the skin of her cheeks, threatening to let the world know the way pride flushes through her, and she can’t stand it, not with him sitting there, just staring, like she’s never said a smart thing in her life—

She shoves the cake in her mouth. Not a delicate bite, the way Lady Lili should, but the whole thing, her cheeks ballooning out to balance the crumb between them.

“Oh,” she mutters around it, disappointed. “Ours taste better, though.”

Soowon smothers a grimace between his own bites. “The flavor is quite…delicate.”

“I think you mean ‘not there.’” She reaches for another one anyway, nibbling at an edge. “You like these?”

“The texture is…pleasing.” At her withering glance, he admits, “I had hoped the flavor would be more pronounced, yes. But they are…inoffensive.”

That’s one way to put it. Bland would be another. “You shouldn’t have distracted me, I was going to get us those pastry fish, the ones with red beans in them. Now that would have been a snack.”

“I distracted you?” His mouth tugs toward a frown. “I believe you were the one who tried to get into a physical altercation in the middle of the market.”

“Me? It was that guy who kept trying to pick a fight. I was just—!”

His palm stifles her protest; a single hand that pressed against her mouth, trapping it between words. Not that she has any; surprise scatters her wits, shattering her thoughts like a teapot knocked from a shelf.

“You’re being too loud,” he informs her, as if she’s the one that’s the problem here. “It’s drawing attention.”

Oh, she could just— just lick him. No— bite him. Let him see just who can keep their head then.

He removes his hand before she can even try. Just lets it drop right back into his lap, like he had never moved in the first place, that annoyingly neutral smile pulling his mouth too thin.

“You’re not going to be able to do that to your wife, you know,” she warns him, shoving another cake in her mouth. Eugh, pink doesn’t have much of a flavor either. “She’d take your hand off if you even try.”

His brows rise. “Ah, so my cousin did send you to make me Xing’s consort.”

“I-I didn’t say it had to be Kouren.” Though Yona had insinuated it would be preferable, right before Hak snorted, sure, dodging a headman's axe seems like a great hobby for him to pick up, gods know he needs one. “Just…that’s what any woman worth her salt would do.”

Soowon’s mouth twitches, nearly a smirk. “If it could be ‘any woman,’ I doubt I would have been sent with a babysitter to make it happen.”

“I’m not your babysitter,” she snorts, hopping onto her feet. “Judoh is your babysitter. I’m your wingman, because you have all the appeal of a block of tofu.”

His wide eyes track her as she stands, jaw falling just slack enough for his lips to part. “I…” His mouth closes, curving into something sly. “I suppose you would be the expert of such things.”

“I am,” she huffs. “I have amazing taste. You look better just being seen with me.”

“How lucky,” he drawls, not looking at her, but just over her—

“Lady Lili.”

A broad hand clamps around her shoulder, rooting her to the street. A trembling glance up catches on a scarred cheek, rucked up in a scowl. “We’ve found you.” Judoh’s brow furrows, taking in Soowon’s perch on the wall. “Both of you, it seems.”

“Oh my.” Soowon squints into a smile, only deepening his bodyguard’s glower. “It looks like our playdate is over.”

*

It comes as no surprise that Judoh declines to dress them down right in the middle of the marketplace. Perhaps if they were in any less public a place, or any less important personages than the empress’s own advisors-- certainly, if Soowon were a child still, the man would hardly hesitate to let loose bellows that would shake the market stalls down to their struts. But as it was, he was too much the professional to cause a scene... at least where there might be witnesses.

Which means that all his ire is saved for the moment he has them firmly ensconced at the inn. With his dark hood pushed back to his shoulders, it’s simple to see the familiar vein throbbing at his temple, to take in the almost nostalgic twitch of his jaw as the doors slide shut behind Lili’s attendant.

Three years as Kouka’s king might have inured him to most attempts at intimidation, but when the Sky Tribe general glares, it’s reflex that drops him to his knees.

“What,” he bites out, “exactly were the two of you thinking?”

Only it’s not his cousin who trembles next to him now-- nor Hak, using his hair to hide his grin— but An Lili. Joon-gi’s half-wild daughter, who may know how to bow, but refuses to be broken. Who hasn’t been on the other side of one of Judoh’s lectures enough to know to keep her mouth shut.

“What happened?” she mutters, words muffling beneath her sleeves. “I thought you were going to distract him?”

It’s not until her attendant sighs, “I tried,” that Soowon realizes the question wasn’t for him. “He just wasn’t very…distractible.”

Ah, well, that gives quite a different context for the flush to the man’s face, and to why his gaze is both hunter and hunted.

“A member of the royal family and the water tribe advisor running around a foreign market without a single guard.” If a man could breathe steam, Judoh would, pacing across the breadth of their room. “I expected better from the both of you. What if something happened to one of you? Both of you! In one of our vassal states! And I’d have to tell the empress and her…”

Consort. Even now the general can’t bring himself to say it. Bad enough when Hak merely usurped his place as Yona’s bodyguard, but now that the upstart has become an authority he has to answer to— well, a less prideful man might have seen that was his uncle’s plan to begin with.

“We were incognito,” Lili informs him, unaware of how she is only prolonging their punishment. “No one noticed us.”

“Don’t,” he mutters, too late. Judoh’s flush deepens to a painful red, scars standing out in stark relief.

“That,” the general growls, “is half the problem, Lili-sama. Your title is as much protection as your honor guard. A scoundrel might think twice about picking the pockets of the Empress’s Advisor, but some silly young girl in the market…well, she could be easily led astray! Brought to some back alley where…where…”

Judoh has faced dragons on the battlefield, seen sights that would turn most men mad, but one glance down in An Lili’s guileless eyes, and he falters.

“It is useless to convince the general that anonymity conveys safety, Lady Lili.” Soowon lifts his head, ignoring the betrayed glare she spears him with. “Where we might instead focus our arguments is on the fact that we were almost certainly being followed from the moment we stepped into the city.”

“What?” Now it’s Judoh who suffers the honed point of her ire. “You had people watching us the whole time?”

“My lady, that is beside the point,” he snaps, desperately grappling to keep the ground beneath him. “Just because I had men in position this time, does not mean there will not be a time where the two of you slip out when no preparations have been made—”

“You two?” Lili shrills, hands hooking at her waist. “I did not sneak out with— with him! I did it all by myself, and he copied me—”

“Is this really what you want to fight over?” Soowon sighs, fingers pinching at the bridge of his nose.  At least Yona had the sense to let them all get in equal trouble. “Who thought to break the rules first?”

She swings around to him, well on her way to a pout. “He needs to know we don’t come as a unit.”

“I don’t think anyone is confused on that point.”

“You don’t—”

It’s a miracle that he hears it— the quiet shush of wood sliding along its track, just over his shoulder. The pommel of his dagger finds his hand before he finishes his turn, one foot braced against the floor and poised to pull, but it’s Judoh who moves faster, little more than a blur of black linen and a flash of steel as he flies across the floor.

The man at the door is cloaked and masked, no more than a strip of skin and dark eyes uncovered, but they widen as Judoh meets him with blade bared. The general is by no means his quickest sword, but even Soowon would have been hard pressed to answer that attack, so it can only be preternatural reflex that allows this man to manage it, stumbling back a step.

One that would not have saved him, had Judoh been allowed to press his advantage. But another figure reaches through the gap, gripping Judoh’s wrist hard enough to send his sword clattering to the tatami. It’s with a speed that Soowon feels rather that sees that the general is driven to his knees, arm wrenched behind his back as the intruder forces him prone, one knee braced on the floor and the other on his back. Lili’s attendant is already on her feet, a wicked knife glistening as she flings herself with purpose toward the other man at the door—

“Baram, please.” The figure that steps into the room is dressed dark like the others, tall enough to be a man— but it is a woman’s voice that comes from beneath its hood. A mature one; confident even in this room full of naked steel. Familiar, barely. “That is hardly the sort of treatment we should show our honored guests.”

His stomach drops before her hood, but it does not reach bottom until Judoh gasps, “Your Majesty.”

Kouren, Queen of Xing, First of Her Name, strides across the room until she stands before him, taking in the sight of him on his knees. The way his father must have, when her beloved guardsman knelt before him on the battlefield.

“Lord Soowon.” The smile she shines down on him is warm, welcoming, the kind one royal might give another. A pity none of it reaches her eyes. “We do not need ceremony between us, do we?”