#not to reunite not to be together again. youre both too far gone for that

[perenlop]

morphogala is a yuri tragedy. to me

[darlingdekarios]

the best thing.

rating: explicit. 18+ only. length: 5,608 content: Gale Dekarios x f!tav [f!reader], porn with plot, established relationship (engaged), post-Baldur's Gate III canon, fluff, domestic bliss, smut [fingering - receiving, oral - receiving, unprotected p in v, creampie], kink(s) [overstimulation, orgasm control, hands, hair pulling, body worship]

after everything the two of you have been through, you're eager to give Gale one perfect, blissful day.

It was almost unbelievable seeing you bathed in the golden hues of the morning standing in his kitchen, back to him as you fussed over whatever it was you currently had sizzling on the stove. It was so rare that he was able to sneak upon you these days - you were so attuned to one another that simply entering the same room was enough of a greeting.

But now you were focused, far too much so to notice your lover's entrance, or even to notice him for several more moments as he leaned against the doorframe, peacefully enjoying the serenity that being near to you caused. Even this was enough to fill his heart with love.

"If there should ever come a day when your presence does not fill this tower again it will surely be a day without sunrise."

You turned to him and offered a smile that rivaled the sun itself in beauty and warmth, every bit as life sustaining to him. You were wearing an apron he often donned in the kitchen, the fabric graffitied with streaks of color and puffs of powder. He was struck as he so often was with you, offering nothing more than a smile in return that reached his eyes as he remained transfixed by you - the very center of his universe and far beyond anything his goddess had ever shown him in beauty.

"There are painters who envy me of this privilege. To wake to such beauty in my own home every day…I truly am a fortunate man."

You would never tire of the way Gale's words spread through you like warmest fire, making you feel worthy of a love such as this every moment no matter how your mind was trying to force you to feel that day. To say in the time that had passed since your adventures in bliss would be an understatement - both of you had found what could only be described as heaven in life with one another.

Everything about one another had become home, the deep love the two of you shared the kind that people prayed to the gods for.

"You wake up everyday and set out to make me love you more than the last.""

"I could say the very same to you, my love," his voice was particularly cheerful this morning and you were glad you'd decided today for your plan. It was already off to a great start, and it could truly only get better from here with what you had up your sleeve. "What has you in the kitchen at this hour? We didn't exactly get to sleep early, by any standard."

When you've gone through the things you've been through, sometimes it can feel wrong when someone looks at you with the amount of love and adoration Gale was now…the way he did so often these days. Whether you were resting in his bed, reading at his side, curled with Tara on the couch, or doing any other thing to fill the time, he looked at you now like it was what he hoped to do last in the world.

And he always would.

"I made you breakfast. Or at least…I did my best at…making you breakfast."

The smile that spread across his face was more stunning than any of the scenery in all of your adventures, not a single star or moon matching its beauty. As you were lost in your profound love for him he took the lull in conversation to close the distance to you, wrapping his arms around you and reuniting you into his warm embrace - it hadn't been long, but it was always an eternity.

He pressed several kisses to your forehead as he gazed over your shoulder, analyzing the plates you'd made for the two of you to enjoy. His brows pulled together in an expression you recognized as being deep in thought - you pressed a kiss to the lines as he spoke again.

"I know this meal…"

Your lips lifted into a smile against his skin and he reached upward to encourage you to meet his gaze again, awaiting your response and hoping it was a confirmation of what he suspected. "It was the first breakfast you made for the party. I remember how proud you were and how delicious it was…no one had ever cooked for me like that."

"Your memory is just as astounding as the rest of you," he was positively grinning at you, eyes expressive and proudly displaying every bit of love he felt for you. His head tilted to the side briefly - something you were quite fond of - as his brow furrowed again, the arm that remained around your waist pulling you closer. "It's not my birthday, is it?"

Forget loving him more by the day - you loved Gale Dekarios more by the second.

"No, dearest," you replied, reaching one of your hands upward to rest against his chest. You held his gaze as you spoke knowing he preferred when you didn't look away. "I just realized…in all the time since I've met you there have been many meals that you've made me, and I've never made you a single one."

His expression softened even more, something you didn't know was possible, pressing a gentle and loving kiss to her lips. The first kiss of the new day was always a shared favorite between the two of you - no matter how many days passed the first always created goosebumps and pulled quiet sighs of pleasure from your chests.

"You are truly are a gentle soul," he muttered against your lips, the hand that still cradled the back of your head sliding to cup your cheek instead, his thumb brushing across your cheekbone tenderly. "I'm still not always entirely sure I deserve it."

"But you do," you promised, eager to hush the self doubt that still lingered in your fiancé day-to-day. It was something you were happy to live with - it never annoyed you or grew tiresome, you were more than willing to remind him how loved he was despite any mistakes he'd made in the past, that any he'd make in the future were already forgiven. "You deserve it, Gale. We've been through so much together and I was thinking…I want you to have a perfect day. I want to do anything and everything you want to do for an entire day."

"Starting with breakfast?"

You sheepishly smiled and nodded before confirming, "I know it won't be as good as when you made it, but…"

"It will be perfect," he silenced your own worries gracefully and gently before they could even begin to fester. "As most things made in love are. Would you join me on the balcony for our meal?"

It was incredible how something as mundane as sharing a meal together could become an act of utmost intimacy. With Gale even the smallest moments felt like a life's worth of promise and love - if every day was like this you would leave this life with nothing but happiness in your heart. The day passed with him like a dream, like you'd truly found the person you were meant to spend this much time with. The person you were meant to face the passing years together - who you were excited to watch more grey bloom in his hair.

After breakfast both of you had fallen asleep on the balcony in a gentle embrace, his arms holding you against his chest as you slept. When you woke, Tara was asleep on your back and so you'd continue to lay together until the tressym removed herself to carry on with her day. All the while Gale had gazed at you lovingly, stroking your hair and face when you had continued to sleep a few moments longer. He'd never tire of the serenity that filled your face in truly peaceful slumber.

For lunch Gale opted to eat by a nearby lake, the beautiful afternoon the perfect landscape for him to take a moment to indulge in a bit of poetry…about you, of course. It made you bashful when he did so - it always had and likely always would, a demure laugh passing through your lips as you tried to hide behind your hands as he poetically described the many things he loved about you.

Of course, the heat in your cheeks only increased when his poetry turned to that of describing the ways he wanted to demonstrate his love - but you were certain you were burning when he'd followed it with a kiss not entirely decent for a relatively public setting. Nevertheless, he certainly didn't seem to mind.

It continued with a trip to the bookstore, the apothecary, and to another local merchant where he bought some supplies for home and a necklace for you that yes he insisted you have, even though you now had a collection forming in the tower. Before you could finish your day in town he asked to pop down to the local inn for a quick drink.

You were well aware that this was truly just time for Gale to show off his future wife to the other patrons - something that always made you feel fantastic about yourself. The fact that the famed Wizard of Waterdeep felt pride in having you at his side was no small compliment - it was a fact you flourished in.

Back home, the two of you cooked dinner together, Gale eager to give you tips on how you could improve in the future. When it was time to eat you shared a bottle of wine that you'd selected together earlier and ate in silence, reading your new books with zero complaints even capable of being formed in your mind.

Your eyes only left the words on the pages to glance across the table to him lovingly - something you were joyous to find he mirrored frequently. It was after dinner had been cleaned up and the two of you had tidied up from the day that you found yourself in his embrace, yet again on the balcony where so much of your shared time was spent.

For a while he simply remained with his head resting atop yours, holding you gently as you shared another sunset. It was only once the sun had completely gone for the night over the horizon that he turned you in his arms slowly, eyes finding yours like it was their nature to do so, wasting no time in leaning down to kiss you again tenderly.

"Have you enjoyed your day, my heart?"

He smiled the kind of smile that pulled lines beside his eyes, eyes that were twinkling and rivaling the stars that had started to decorate the sky for the night. You could feel how content and relaxed he was in the delicate hold he maintained on you, the love pouring from him and seeming to wrap you in a tighter embrace. It was these moments where the weave truly connected the two of you, holding you together and proving that you were meant to be together in this world - and the next, if that happened to be what came.

"I have enjoyed every day by your side, even the difficult ones," his voice was so earnest there was simply no possibility of disbelief from you - you could hear the honesty soaking his words, every sentence another promise and declaration of his love for you. "But today has been perfection. I could thank you for a lifetime and it wouldn't be enough."

The kiss he gave you then was the kind that is written about in books - in fairytales, the kind that inspires poetry and signifies the truest of love. He continued to hold you against him gently as your lips entered a dance you both yearned for constantly - at this point you were no strangers to what each of you liked and it was reflected with every swipe of your tongues and movement of your lips.

And it was always until you were both breathless - never a second before. The two of you had experienced so many things together that had made so many of your early tenderness rushed - neither of you were ever in any particular rush anymore. This kiss was exactly like so many these days - savored. And yet this was only the beginning of what the two of you would savor in the night to come.

"Would you like to retire to our bedroom for the night?"

You words were light as you whispered against his lips, biting at the bottom one lightly when you finished your question. A truly pleased grin spread across his face as you pulled away, his arms still anchoring you to him - if you wanted him to he'd release you, of course, but it was never a moment too soon.

"Darling, you need only ask."

Thankfully, the bedroom was mere steps away and it was easy to tug him inside with hands gently pulling at the collar of his shirt, your lips not leaving one another for long. Though it was obvious where Gale's mind was heading - a it was difficult to deny it for much longer as it had been growing since the kiss at the lake earlier - you still had one more thing planned for him.

One of his hands slid lower to cup your ass and bring you closer, tongue seeking entry into your mouth again as he waved a hand to ensure there was some light by way of many candles. You shook your head to which he huffed, pulling away just far enough to pass you an inquisitive look.

"Not quite yet, my love," you cooed, pressing a consolation kiss to his lips briefly before pulling away fully, wrestling yourself free from his grasp with a giggle. "Remove your shirt and lie down on your stomach."

Though he muttered under his breath about it he followed your instructions, brown eyes searching your face for a response as you only sat on the bet waiting for him, always one to enjoy the sight of him undressing. When he was finally in the position you asked him to be you straddled his lower back, hands slowly rubbing the expanse of his shoulders with the perfect pressure to pull a groan from him.

And that was the end of his silent questioning - every swipe of your hand, knead from your fingers and caress was met with a moan, groan, or whine from him - as time continued on he was mumbling into his pillow about how much he loved you…repeatedly. When you reached a particular point you could practically feel tension melt away from him and you leaned downward to press a kiss to the back of his neck before encouraging him to roll with a squeeze of your legs.

And oh, was he happy to oblige - to be reunited with your face, now with the moon's glow coming through the curtains to illuminate you alongside the flickering candles. A considerable amount of time had passed since you began massaging him and still you showed no signs of stopping, continuing to straddle his waist as your efforts now focused on his chest.

"Your hands are divine," he was barely coherent through the pleasure he already felt, his words far less calculated than they're normally be. "I could lay here for a ten day and happily starve."

"I suppose you're feeling well about your day then, my love?"

It was an unnecessary question - you both knew it. But he was also just as aware that you loved to hear about the feelings your efforts had earned, and it had been a long time since he'd denied you of anything you wanted that he could provide. With his most charming smile he nodded, leaning forward to rub the tip of his nose against yours gently in an innocent show of affection.

You reached upward to run your fingers through his hair delicately, pulling a blissful sigh from his lips again. If it were possible to create a symphony from what filled your bedroom you would gladly hear its melody forever…a sentiment he'd expressed toward you once that you held at the core of your memory and found your mind circling back to often.

So much of his mind was an exact reflection of your that sometimes it seemed they were still connected sometimes.

"Absolutely blessed," when Gale spoke it was as though you were the one who could answer his prayers, something you found irresistibly sweet about him. "If you're not careful you will spoil me beyond reason."

You leaned down to capture his lips in a gentle kiss again, his hands grasping your hips again, sliding to rub over the soft expanse of your thighs. Too selfish to release his lips again you whispered into the kiss, your own hands resting on his chest still, his heartbeat steady and soothing.

"I fail to see why that would be so bad."

He could only smile into it as he continued to kiss you slowly, one of his hands sliding up to hold the back of your head delicately. He began to raise until he was sitting upright, keeping you anchored where you straddled him with his resolute hold on your hip still, ensuring your lips never parted from his for longer than a breath.

Before his arms engulfed your waist his hands made quick work of removing the robe that covered your frame, discarding it to the floor with little care. His hands caressed over your torso like he truly cherished every inch of you and sought to ensure not a single patch of you went unattended to.

(He truly loved every inch of you - a fact you believed deep into your core. You'd only asked him once what his favorite part of your body was - he'd almost been offended that you'd think he could narrow a list of such considerable length.)

"Still, it may be good for me to exercise some selflessness tonight," he offered, a handsome and playful expression illuminating his features. His hands were now gently resting on either side of your neck, thumbs lightly rubbing back and forth - unable to stay fully idle for long. "You gave me the perfect day. Will you let me treat you to a perfect night in our bed?"

"Have you known me to say no to you often?"

"Only when I've needed to hear it."

No further talk was needed and the two of you continued to kiss tenderly, his hands returning to lavish your breasts again. Your own hands maintained a hold on the back of his head, fingers grasping his hair delicately - completely unwilling to have him pull away. Happy to oblige and always eager to swallow the quiet sounds of pleasure he could pull from you, especially now in the privacy of a bedroom where it had not always been a luxury you'd been provided, one of his hands continued to trail lower.

Until it reached as low as he could on your leg in this position, fingers brushing over the soft skin of your inner thigh - it was obvious he was influencing the weave to crackle at his fingertips gently, the result a pleasant tingle dancing across your skin. Your legs squeezed tighter around him in anticipation and he chastised you with a light swat to your thigh, not to cause pain but to capture your focus again.

You responded with a light nip to his bottom lip which earned a cheeky smile from him, eyes staying on yours as his hand finally reached your core - where you were desperate for him most. Over your panties it was still obvious how wet you were in anticipation of him - your time with Gale had proven that things like that only spurred him onward more, the confirmation that you wanted him just as desperately clouding his mind of all logic.

"Have you been wet all day, my love?"

The tone of his voice melted you like wax, you could only nod and whimper as he pushed the fabric to the side, slowly running two of his skilled digits between your soaked folds. His lips were only centimeters from yours so every movement brought them together slightly, your moan cut off as he kissed you again, index finger circling your clit slowly. He opted to speak against your lips, unwilling to be too far from your sweet lips for long.

"I'd have indulged you long before now had I known this is what waited for me."

His fingers swiped back down to your entrance and the middle slipped into you slowly, a smile playing on his lips as he kissed you again. Though one finger meant every exit and reentry meant pinpointed strokes the stretch wasn't enough to satiate the pressure that was seated in your core, more of a stretch needed than what one finger provided. It only took a slight squirm of your hips for him to take the cue, slipping a second finger into you which you thanked him for with a moan.

He left your lips to kiss to your neck, reclaiming spots that had often been decorated with his mark in your time since returning home with him. His fingers set a leisurely pace pumping into you, stroking your velvet walls perfectly as his tongue lavished a spot on your neck that you knew would only add to the slick coating his hand.

His free hand came to one of your breasts to massage gently, fingers rolling your sensitive nipple and pinching to add to the melody sounding from your mouth. From where you were seated in his lap you could feel his cock hard and throbbing beneath you, adding to your desperation - as skilled as Gale's hands, fingers and mouth were it would never compare to joining together with him.

You rocked down against his waist which pulled a groan from him, fingers picking up pace as he nipped at your neck. "Patient, darling…"

His hand left your chest to grasp your hip instead, steadying the movements you both knew would drive him over an edge he was intent to tiptoe around still for a while yet. When you continued to try to squirm in his hold he removed from you completely, brow furrowed as he used a hand to push you onto your back. He kissed down your torso slowly, eyes staying fixated on yours as he went - communicating his instruction to stay still without a word.

"Gale please, I need you…"

You tried to tempt him into giving into your way for once by reaching upward and slipping your fingers into his hair, giving the messy locks a tug to try to encourage him upward. It was briefly annoying that you felt his lips curve against your hip - amused by your attempt, no doubt -

*(Later when your mind is clearer you'll reflect on this moment - as you so often reflected after intimacy with Gale - and you'd once again be thankful for his insistence on ensuring he went above and beyond for you in all senses.

It was impossible to forget that you'd become the most important thing to him.)

"You know I won't give you what you want until you've cum at least once for me, darling," he reminded, his voice feather light against your inner thigh now where he sucked a fresh mark into your thigh to match what the fading ones had once appeared as. Your fingers ran through his hair and tugged again, he only groaned deeply in response and lightly bit at the spot he'd just marked.

"Gale -"

He did love when you whined for him - it almost always nearly enough to make him break on the spot, the temptation to give into you near overwhelming.

"Ah ah ah," he whispered, the vibrations in his voice tickling your skin as his lips brushed a familiar trail up your thigh to your core. "No arguing, my love. I'm not asking anything unreasonable."

All that was left to do was melt as his tongue ran through your folds, an appreciative moan rumbling in his chest as he tasted you - as though it was the first time all over again. The argument was completely lost as he continued to cover every inch of your cunt with his tongue. He was exactly what he'd told you to be - patient - as his tongue ran back and forth between your oversensitive and swollen clit and your hole that was eager to clench around anything.

This was certainly one of his favorite ways to spend his time now - sometimes to busy his mind with anything other than tortured thoughts of the past he'd lose himself in devouring you. The fact that you always gushed on his tongue was a bonus, one he was more than happy to work for, sometimes refusing to remove his head until you'd finished multiple times.

Even he wasn't patient enough for that tonight, but he was enough to continue lavishing you with his skilled tongue, hands gripping your hips and angling you upward so he was able to fuck his tongue into you and lean back occasionally to gaze lovingly at your pretty, creamy cunt. With the amount of love and devotion he was putting into every movement, it wasn't long until your thighs were squeezing closer around his head, the subtle shake at his fingertips giving your impending release away before you managed to moan out the warning.

"I'm…I…"

"There you go," he leaned away to look up into your face, his lips and chin covered in your slick and his spit. One of his hands abandoned its hold on your hip to join his mouth, two fingers entering you again in a swift movement, the sound that accompanied the movement enough to build heat in your cheeks. "That's a good girl."

With his fingers now pumping into your hole again it left his mouth to focus on your clit, his tongue relentlessly swirling on the bundle of nerves as he pushed you toward release. Your vision was already whitening and your fingers gripped his hair tighter, a cry ripping from your chest as his other hand pressed down on your stomach.

That sensation snapped like a rubber band through you - while you were lost in ecstasy you hardly registered that your release was gushing from you, though Gale wasted no time in covering as much of your cunt with his mouth so he could drink your euphoric nectar.

As you were coming down he crawled back up you, pressing kisses along your torso as he whispered a word or sentence of praise with each one. You were pinned beneath him, one of his forearms resting next to your head as a leg moved to slide one of yours higher - though you were in a post-orgasm haze you registered you needed to wrap your leg around his waist.

His hand came to smooth your hair back, leaning down to press a delicate kiss to your nose - a tender action that didn't match the lewd way he rolled his hips into yours, his cock throbbing and leaking from what you could feel against your pussy. His other hand maintained a tight grip on your hip and he pressed a gentle kiss to your lips now, whispering quietly against them.

"Are you ready for me, my love?"

The truth was, he could never enter you fast enough - or at least he wouldn't, his playful nature shining through one last time before he lost himself completely in intimacy. It showed now in the subtle shake to his voice, the slightly higher pitch that gave away how much he needed you.

"Please."

"I do so enjoy when you ask nicely."

He started sliding his cock into you slowly groaning the entire way, opting not to continue to kiss you so he could gaze into your face with complete adoration, finding just as much bliss in seeing your eyes roll back and flutter closed as a light smile played on your lips as he did in feeling your velvet walls around him again.

And this - this was as perfect as anything else that had ever truthfully been described as such. This is where both of you found some reason, some meaning - where both of you created your own galaxies. It started slow, Gale preferring to savor the first strokes inch by inch every time. His lips never left you, kissing you gently in any place he could reach on your face and neck and shoulders as he muttered quiet words of love and appreciation.

Poetry that would only be shared between the two of you.

When he was satisfied with the amount he'd cherished every inch of your walls welcoming him in again he re-angled your bodies so both of your legs were around his waist now, the new angle allowing him to fuck into you deeper. Now he was hitting a spot he knew would make you see stars, hoping that you'd thank him for remembering exactly how to reach it -

"Gale…feels s'good…"

He sounded his appreciation with a loud moan of his own, his pace increasing as the tension built in his core now. You felt impossibly tighter each time he re-entered, a fact that was driving him closer to release. Unable to voice it he pressed a sloppy, desperate kiss to your lips before leaning his sweaty forehead against yours, breaths falling out heavy against your lips.

No matter how close his release threatened to snap, he would never do so without hearing you tell him to do so. You allowed him a moment to dangle over the edge for a moment as you bit into your bottom lip, catching his attention and focus - focus on your swollen lips, and the sweaty sheen covering your face and slicking your hair…on the way your eyes threatened to spill tears at how blissfully good you felt.

"Come for me, Gale," the instruction already had him grasping you tighter, but when you continued with an offer that hadn't previously been on the table it was impossible for him to hold back much longer. "Fill me…"

He kissed you again - a little too hard for how swollen your lips already were from the amount of kissing already done but with a passion that was returned nonetheless. His thrusts became just as messy as his kisses had and he pumped his throbbing length into you hard and fast, hips pistoning into yours repeatedly.

Both of your sounds filled the room as his movements pushed you toward a second release of your own, walls clenching around him so tight he now couldn't bring himself to remove from you completely. Recognizing both of you needed a breath as his own head began to spin he buried into you to the hilt roughly one last time as his orgasm started, toppling you over into your own at the feeling of his thick seed coating your insides.

You were thankful he wasn't a particularly massive man when he practically collapsed against you, breaths coming out heavy against your neck as his mind found a new addiction in filling your womb. Normally he'd withdraw to get a soft and warm cloth to clean you but tonight it hardly seemed necessary - even if you fell asleep now it wouldn't be long before he was sheathing himself in you again.

He would care for you in other ways tonight, pulling away from you slowly and pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead as he positioned you both into something much more comfortable, facing one another on your sides so you could continue to enjoy the serenity illuminating one another's faces.

Between your bodies one of his hands met yours, your fingers lightly tracing lines on the back of his hand. He continued to enjoy the true peace of the moment before speaking again.

"Today was beyond words," he whispered lightly when he found his voice again. You could hear the love that each word was spoken with - what's more you could see it reflected in his eyes. "You give me everything I could have ever dreamed of and more."

You moved closer to curl up to him, burying your face in his neck as he waved a hand to ignite the fireplace, keeping one arm around you to hold you close as one of your legs slipped up over his waist. After he pulled the blanket over your bodies he turned his head to press a kiss to your forehead, finding your eyes were already closed and yet you still had a small smile on your lips. As he gazed at you for just a moment longer Tara jumped onto the foot of the bed, giving a long stretch before settling in for the night, her purrs mixing with the crackle of the fire.

Just when he thought you'd already fallen asleep you surprised him with another question.

"Let's do it again tomorrow?"

He kissed your forehead with a light smile on his lips as his arms tightened around you, happy to give this and more to you for as many days as you'd allow.

"And the day after that."

masterlist. baldur's gate III masterlist.

[lowkeyrobin]

UMBRELLA! BEN ; a million timelines

summary ; you'll always end up with one certain face in every universe and timeline

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; ben isn't dead, umbrella! ben in fact bc I love that dork sm, viktor is already transitioned the whole way through, random word vomit

track ; not a lot, just forever, adrianne lenker

word count ; 1.1k

masterlist

It seemed in every timeline, you'd be semy straight back to Ben's side.

You were intertwined, sewn together, in fact.

In 2019, you were reunited with him after Sir Reginald Hargreeves' death. You hadn't seen each other since you were kids, it'd been years.

You didn't have any special powers like the Hargreeves' did, you were just their normal friend who lived next door above the laundromat. You came back to town for other reasons, but when you heard the news, you had to go see them.

Your eyes first landed on Viktor, his short hair completely different from his old, long, luscious locks. You immediately smiled, wrapping him in a solemn hug, congratulating him yet showing remorse and compassion over his dad's timely demise.

You went through the rest of the siblings, other than Five, as he'd gone missing all those years ago.

Then up came Ben.

You could feel the soft look on his face as he looked at you, finally being reunited after all this time. He was by far your favorite of the academy, holding a special spot in your heart.

It wasn't just that his cool tentacle shit that drew you to him. He was a total dork, and you adored it. He always found a way to make you smile, he noticed the smallest of things, he was so sweet and compassionate. He could light up a room like a flashlight in the dark.

He wrapped you in a hug, spinning you around in joy.

"Oh my God, Y/n!"

"Ben!"

Your smiles were unmatched, the other siblings watching with little smiles, nostalgia crashing against their mental shores. They loved you too, but they also loved seeing their two favorite people together again.

"God, why are you here?"

"Came back for some stuff, but also for you guys. Sorry about your dad"

"It was coming-"

"He was murdered"

"Luther!"

You softly chuckle, hiding your face in his shoulder, enjoying the sweet dopamine rush infecting your brain.

You were stuck to Ben by the hip, almost literally, as you landed on cold, wet concrete on April 28th, 1960. You share a panicked look, calling for any of the other Hargreeves' before eventually giving in to failure.

At least you still had each other.

You spent the next three years thinking the others were dead and that you were permanently trapped in the sixties. You worked in a bar, and he worked right beside you. You both didn't understand that without degrees, you were hired, but it was much better than nothing.

Then you were reunited with Klaus, then Five, then the others.

But of course, some weird fuck up in the space time continuum forced the world to attempt to kill itself, again.

And once again, you stood behind Ben as he unleashed the tentacles from his internal organs to protect you and his family.

Good God, what did you do to get wrapped up in all this?

That lead you all astray again back in 2019, thankfully, but some other superpowered people had taken the Umbrella Academy's place. The Sparrow Academy.

But once again, you were right by Ben's side.

You were at his side during the first Kugelblitz, travelling with Five and Klaus to meet Klaus' already deceased mom, and at the end-of-the-world wedding between Luther and Sloane.

You now sit at the bar at the Hotel Obisidian, sipping on mocktails as you watch Luther and Sloane break it down on the dance floor. A tune calls your name, screaming for you and Ben to jump out there.

Just Like Heaven by The Cure.

"Oh my God, we loved The Cure when we were little!" You giggle, only a buzz directing the slight slur in your words.

Ben smiles, "We did"

"Come on" You quickly set your glass down on the counter, looking over at Ben, who hasn't moved, giving you a raised eyebrow. "C'mon, Ben"

He looks over at Five who rolls his eyes, sipping on some sort of champagne. Ben gives into your pleads, setting his glass down to go with you.

You join Luther and Sloane, and Klaus and Viktor, on the dance floor, allowing the song to consume you inside out. You jump about, singing along to the lyrics as you hold each other's hands.

Colorful lights splash upon your faces, blinding you for milliseconds as they pass you by.

Five, now accompanied by Diego and Lila, watches you two from afar. He lightly smiles, enjoying the smiles on your faces as you await to be disintegrated into dust as the world crumbles around you.

"Even in every jump across the space time continuum and in every alternate timeline that will somehow find a way to end, they're always at the end together" Five observes, glancing over at the couple, elbows rested against the bar behind him.

Lila gives him a cringed look, not understanding a word of the gibberish he'd just spoken. Diego sighs and shakes his head, taking a bite out of a bologna sandwich he made for himself.

"It's cute," Five clarifies.

"Why don't you get out there?" Diego asks Five, "The world is about to end. Enjoy it, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck"

Five chuckles. "Yeah, let me go enjoy the world fading into dust at every touch." He sets his glass down on the bar, deciding to go join the enthusiastic group of mentally dead Hargreeves' plus you.

You and Ben, even as the song switches, continue to dance together, creating a little circle with Klaus and Viktor so Sloane and Luther could have their little alone time. Eventually, the whole family is on the dance floor, enjoying their final hours on Earth.

After a while, you crash on the floor beneath the couch, mindlessly listening to Luther, Five, Diego, Klaus, and Viktor drunkenly sing along to Seal's Kiss From A Rose. Allison, Sloane, and Lila enjoy the show, singing along from the couch.

Five, noticing you two were slumped over, half dead, calls out to you. "Hey, lovebirds! Get up here!"

You and Ben immediately look down toward each other, your feet touching one another's, giggling like little kids as you realize what Five had called you. You crawl up to your hands and knees, then rise to your feet, joining the brothers up on the little karaoke stage.

"Now that your rose is in bloom, a light hits the gloom on the grey!"

It was true, in the end of each timeline, in each version of the world ending, you and Ben would end up side by side. Nothing, not even theories and paradoxes, and jumps across the fabric of the universe could separate you.

[nights-at-crystarium]

While I'm ancient-trio-posting, wanna hear a bit about their dynamic?

Hythlodaeus and Hades are old friends, roommates, even. A genuinely mature, established couple. I haven't really thought too far back in time yet, so maybe childhood friends to lovers because no one else in my story has this trope yet. I leave it open-ended for now. What matters is that they're very chill and stable together.

Azem, not-yet-Azem but a mere apprentice of Venat, has a certain secret, harmless to the world, but potentially ranging from laughable, cringy, personally embarrassing to legally punishable, should it be brought in front of the Convocation, like all lies it's doomed to be revealed in time, he already hangs out with one of the Big People and there are talks about Venat's retirement, our little not-yet-Azem feels like he might get recommended, and must find help with his silly secret before that.

Hythlodaeus, Chief of the Bureau of the Architect, has ever been kind and patient with not-yet-Azem's concept submissions, and generally seems like a reliable and open-minded person, so our guy asks for his advice on the matter. Of course he isn't let down, the nitty gritty of it I'll leave for later. The important part: he and Hyth grow closer, and Hades, already being joined at the hip with Hyth, is in on the secret as well. It's just a vulnerability that I use as a means to win over Hades's heart. Be genuine, beg for his help, rely on him, and he's yours.

Venat retires, the new Azem takes the seat, his secret's safe/resolved (forget about it, it's played its role of the glue for our trio), things are chill for a while, the trio grows into a proper throuple, Hades is recommended for the seat of Emet-Selch by both his lovers, but by Azem most ardently (and selfishly: he feels like a white crow among the Convocation and wants another freak on the team. Hades finds it sweet though).

The status quo moves to the known canon where Azem travels a lot, sometimes summons his buddies to his side, he tends to disappear from Amaurot for weeks and months on end, Hyth and Hades are left to themselves, seemingly things are the same as they've always been, but the joy of reuniting with their wayward lover, and the pining when he's gone, is bigger in Hades than Hyth. Of course they, the two mature people holding hands from the beginning of times, don't discuss this.

Azem may not even realize what he's doing- well, ain't that most azems in a nutshell. He just exists, loves his partners, shines for them with equal warmth like sun. It's not that Hyth doesn't like being sunkissed, no, it's Hades who gets a bit too excited, tries to mask that however he can, perhaps HythHades pretend that nothing's changed, but, yknow, subtle cracks. Hades's heart grows more fond due to the time and distance that separate them so often. Of course he's terrified and he sees what this does to the balance of their poly, it's not welcome, but it won't go away.

Enter Hyth's self-esteem issues, and how neatly that weaves into his following sacrifice to bring forth Zodiark. Even though Azem's nowhere to be seen, it's fine, he'll return, it's just a tantrum, the Convocation will forgive him, Hades will be left in good hands, he and Azem seem to be happier without Hyth anyway. (no, no, no, no-) Of course, the latter's left unsaid, only a smile on display and vague words of affirmation for the shellshocked Hades.

Through the sacrifice Hyth drives up his value. He's forever important to Hades now, forever on his mind, his guiding star. I view Hyth's selfless act as selfish too (just as Raha's but he isn't relevant here), a desperate act of a soul not only loving, but desperate for love. Hyth gets what he wanted. In a fucked up way, he's happier as a part of the moon. He never has to contend with the sun again.

[cillianhead]

Anything about cillian with a beard!

Cillian with a beard... oh my god don't even get me started.

Anyway here you go my love <3

Three And A Half Months || Cillian Murphy x Reader

warnings: SMUT, also a fluffy sweet fic, oral sex (f receiving), face riding, mentions of blood but nothing too graphic, general adult content ahead.

18+ Minors DNI

Last night you had reunited with Cillian. It had been three and a half months since you had last seen each other, the longest you had ever gone without seeing one another, he was away shooting for a new film and it was in the states so traveling back and forth between Ireland and America grew exhausting. Of course, as soon as you saw each other, you had no time to process the beard on his face, just the fact he was there. Nothing else mattered except him being there, right in front of you, to touch and to hold. So you went at it like rabbits, knocking over furniture, breathing each other in like feral animals, making love until you were sore and panting for air. No amount of late night phone calls could ever truly compare to the feeling of having his cock deep inside you.

The next morning arrived, light pouring through the curtains and lighting a still sleeping Cillian in a golden light, the rays gave him a tiny halo, one you thought he rightfully deserved. You just smiled to yourself, the both of you still completely nude from last night's love making, you felt at peace, lying in bed with the love of your life, his arm draped over your waist heavily, the sound of his slow breathing, and the indescribable feeling of his warmth beside you. Every time you looked at him, a metaphorical slow romantic guitar would play, your heart would swell and overflow with love, and your eyes stung with the happy tears that seemed to always come. That was the thing about you, so incredibly emotional, Cillian always teased you about it. You'd cry at any chance you could get, whether it be because of hormones or because you saw a cute cat or because of the beauty that Cillian is. And when he had come home with that rugged beard that made him so handsome and so deliciously masculine, you felt weak in the knees, you cried but not from your eyes.

"Mornin' me love," The irish lilt of his voice mixed with the grumble of his morning voice brought you out of your daydreaming. "Lookin' so beautiful f'me." He leaned in, placing a soft sweet kiss to your cheek. You couldn't feel uglier with your messy bed hair and your puffy face after a long night's rest. But to Cillian you were the apple of his eye, no other woman could ever possibly compare.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too," He chuckled at your confession. "Those three months and a half went on for far too long but I'm here now, lovie."

"No, no..." You shook your head with a childish grin. "I missed you while we slept... missed you for every moment... was watchin' you sleep."

Cillian laughed contagiously, you giggled too as you felt him pull you closer to him, your bare chests touching. He nuzzled your nose with his own, this moment so full of love, so intimate and private. You felt like the luckiest person in the world to be with him. The light painting you two in a golden hue, the moment felt so surreal, like something out of a wonderful dream or something you'd see right before you die, right as your soul becomes free.

"What've you got planned today, Cillian?" You hummed, you both huffed out hot puffs of air on each other's faces, neither of you caring that you hadn't brushed your teeth yet. Just relieved you could finally touch each other again, relieved your souls could finally reunite and recharge, that your bodies were flushed together, it wasn't possible for you two to be any closer (physically at least).

"Nothin'," Cillian murmured quietly, stroking your hair softly. "Just planned on spending it with my favorite girl, thas' all." You felt yourself grow flustered, nuzzling your face into his chest before glancing shyly back up at him, growing more flustered at the sight of him and his beard. That beard that made your heart race and in between your legs throb with desire.

"Cillian..." You whined, catching your bottom lip in between your teeth. He was so fucking pretty and even after all this time of being together, you could never get over it. It made you feel like a giddy little girl with a silly school girl crush.

"Hmmm?" He hummed. The deep vibration sending jolts of arousal straight to your core. "What is it, baby love?"

"Your beard..." You ran your fingers along the hair accumulating across his jawline and cheeks, clenching your thighs together. In all the time you and Cillian had been together, he had always been clean-shaven, of course there'd be the rare occasion where he forgets to shave for a day or two and has a bit of stubble but nothing ever this long. Cillian had that knowing look on his face, he very much knew the effect he had over you. Arrogant was not the word you would ever use to describe Cillian, in fact he was an incredibly humble and modest man but when it came to riling you up, teasing you, he was quite arrogant then, arrogant in the way he knew every little inch about you and would use that against you. He enjoyed teasing you, enjoyed getting you where you were weak because he enjoyed watching you squirm. "It's so...." You trailed off, biting your lip once again with that flustered look on your face.

"...So what?" Cillian grinned, a cheeky glint in his blue eyes as his hand slipped further down your back until it rested on your bare ass. "Go on, tell your husband how wet his beard's gotten ya, love." Well that was unexpected.

You let out a bashful squeal, diving your face into his chest to hide the look of desperation and embarrassment on your flushed face. You heard him laugh, amused by how easily aroused you were. "Cillian... don't tease me... it's been three months..."

"And a half!" He added.

"...Since I last saw you, you can't blame me... especially since you look sooooooo fucking good with a beard..." You were looking him in the eyes now, his own pupils blown wide and a small one-sided smirk on his face. You slipped your hand down his abdomen before your fingers wrapped around his already hard cock, he let out a small breath at the feeling of your gentle hand.

"C'mere, Y/N," Cillian groaned, grabbing you by your waist, picking you up like you weighed nothing and sitting you up on his stomach. "Wanna taste you... s'been too fuckin' long."

Your arousal pooled on his stomach, getting off on the slight friction against your clit every time he breathed in and out but it wasn't quite enough. "Cillian... baby..." You huffed, too shy to make the first move, he gave your ass a gentle slap.

"Go on, sit on me fuckin' face," He was growing impatient, licking his lips. "Show me how much you love my beard, know you're soaking wet 'cause of it, silly girl."

He wasn't wrong and so you meekly crawled until your pussy was aligned with his hungry face. You hovered your hips hesitantly over his nose and lips, your thighs on either side of his head. He roughly grabbed ahold of your plush hips and pulled you down until he was suffocating in your sopping cunt.

"Fuck!" You mewled, your pussy ached with how turned on you were. His tongue lapped up at you, his nose perfectly brushing your clit as he fucked his tongue in and out of your tight hole. You never understood how he could breathe with your weight fully on top of him, he'd always give you some form of punishment if you didn't sit on top of his face like he was just a chair so you did as you knew he wanted. He always reassured you that he loved it, that being under you with his face buried in you was heaven on earth. And who were you to deny him what he so desperately craved when it felt so unbelievably good? He especially loved it when you took control, when you gave into the pleasure and rode his face, used his face like it was just something for you to cum on. He also knew the consequences of growing out his beard, he knew it'd turn you on, and this was exactly what he was hoping for. He knew once you came all over his face, he'd smell you in his beard for days.

Cillian was in pure bliss as he felt your fingers interlock with his hair, holding onto him for support as you began rocking your hips back and forth on his tongue and nose, moaning so fucking loud that the neighbors could hear. It had been so long and the feeling of his beard scratching your thighs and sticky folds made the experience so much better. The new sensation was only making you moan louder and louder.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck... Cillian..." You were gasping, Cillian groans into your pussy, encouraging your rough movements. "Missed this so much! Missed your face..." Fuck. The feeling of his nose pressed right where you need him, right against your throbbing clit, it was like he was made for you. You loved his nose and you always told him so.

Cillian was breathing you in, feasting on you, like all there was was you. Well at the moment, that was true. All he could hear, see, taste, and smell, and feel, was you. He could feel cum leak slowly out of his cock, not being able to handle how turned on and rock hard he was, he needed some kind of release. But there was no way in hell he was going to touch himself, not when he could have his hands grasp onto your hips, holding you down on his face even further. He hoped one of these days that you would eventually become one. That he could have your delicious cunt permanently on his face, even if it meant suffocating to death.

"Cillian... I... fuck..." Your head was rolled back, hand gripping desperately onto the top of his head, too lost in the pleasure to think about how you could be hurting him but you knew if it was too much for him he'd tap out which he never does. You knew Cillian would take whatever you gave him. "I'm cumming!" You choked out, your hips that were previously fucking his face slowed down a bit, stuttering your movements as you came. You hadn't came this hard in months, your fingers could never compare, nor could your vibrator, or showerhead. You had fully collapsed on top of his head, thighs squeezing his head like a vice as you saw stars. Your vision going completely white. Cillian lapped up all of it, taking it gratefully, face completely drenched and well ridden as you pulled off of him with a gasp.

"Bloody hell..." He grunted, gasping for air. You sat on his chest, still too weak or sensitive to move. Cillian smiled up at you dopily, high off of feeding off you. It only turned you on further how he got off on your pleasure. "Tastes so good... missed that so much... think I know what I'll be doin' all of today, love." You shook your head at Cillian, giggling a bit.

His face was drenched and beard sticky with your cum. Your cum formed perfect little droplets within the hair on his face, looking like he had just dipped his whole face in some sort of body of water, your cum had made it all the way to his forehead somehow. You blushed as you hopped off of him, you always felt embarrassed afterwards.

"Oh my god!" You exclaimed, seeing a bit of blood staining his teeth, you looked down at your groin to make sure you weren't bleeding (maybe you got your period?) but your heart sank at the realization you had managed to bust his top lip with how hard you rode his face. "I'm so sorry, Cillian! I'm so so sorry!"

He sat up with a frown, rubbing at his mouth to see the bit of blood on his fingers. He grinned like a mad man at the sight, standing up to look at himself in the mirror. You didn't understand why he was so happy about it. Beard coated in your creamy cum, face flushed, and his top lip bruised and swollen from where it had been repeatedly rubbing against his teeth. Cillian was pleased with his appearance and the newly made wound on his face. You stood up on shaky legs, cupping his face, worriedly.

"It's okay, love," Cillian reassured. "I'm fine, just a bit of blood, it'll heal by tomorrow I'm sure."

"No! I hurt you! I'm sorry I wasn't thinking!" You felt so guilty, you felt like the worst wife in the world. You brushed your thumb along his wet beard with a sad look on your face.

"Y/N," He said firmly, grabbing a hold of your waist, giving you a soft kiss, giving you a taste of yourself. "I wish you could understand just how much I love it when you ride my face. Best fuckin' thing in the whole world, how many times have I told you I'd die a happy man if it meant I got to drown in ya? Hmmm?" He smiled, you still frowned up at him, feeling guilty at his reddened lips. "Fuck, I don't think I could look sexier right now, I mean look at me! I don't really care f'me on looks but c'mon... you make me beautiful, Y/N..." Cillian looked delicious, he was right, you wanted to pounce him then and there and sit on his face all over again. "If people ask what happened to my lip, I can make up some flimsy excuse about how I fell on my face or some shit like that but smile to myself... knowin' the real story..." He licked his lips before continuing. "Knowin' that my goddess of a wife got herself off on my face because she loves me so much..."

His voice was soft, his hands caressed your naked body as he leaned in and kissed you. His beard was the best feeling ever against your lips. "I am sorry though... Cillian... I should've been more gentle..." You murmured. Cillian shook his head, he loved it when you were rough with him.

"I know a way you can make it up to me, darling," He hummed with that mischievous grin before gently pushing you down onto your knees, face right next to his deliciously hard cock. He moved his hips so that the head of his dick pushed at your lips, slapping you gently across the face with it. "Can't promise I'm gonna last very long though..."

"That's fine, Cillian... love the taste of your cum..." You said smiling as you lovingly took him into your mouth. God he looked so pretty with his beard.

-

<33333

[merbear25]

Reigniting an old flame (Mihawk)

Prompt 18 requested by @thesunxwentblack

A/n: Thank you so much for requesting this, especially with Mihawk! I had a blast, so I hope you enjoy what I've written for you 💜💜

CW: NSFW!! MDNI!! fem!reader, fluffy smut, established relationship, vaginal penetration, slightly rough sex

Sharing your life with someone never appeared to be in the cards for either of you. However, your paths intersected, giving you a chance at love. Understandably, neither of you held out hope for your relationship to survive the countless fire it'd undoubtedly be under, but it turned out that anything was possible.

Despite the shaky circumstances, your love was worth holding onto—such devotion was difficult to come by in this world. Wanting nothing more than your safety, Mihawk urged you to distance yourself from him, at least until he managed to get everything under control.

However, seeing how distraught you were by the whole ordeal made it seem as if this decision was the wrong one. Holding you closely, he reassured you that your love was meant to flourish. Handing you a small piece of paper, you noticed the address written on it—a type of safe haven for you to fly under the radar.

Pushing your heartbreak aside, thinking that this could be the final time you see each other, your trust in him remained unwavering. Tearfully agreeing to the conditions, you departed. Watching the life you'd just begun together become more distant, the serverity of reality was almost proving too much to bear.

With days turning into weeks and weeks into months, gnawing dread that something had happened ate away at you until a piece of mail appeared: one holding neither a return address nor signature, yet an abundance of clues. The envelope contained postcards with nothing written on them but a note about the supposed journey that alluded to the true origins of post. Trusting your gut, you answered, sending it to a place that was starting to feel more and more like a shot in the dark.

Only when another arrived, were your doubts set to rest. With the illusion of secrecy kept, it was obvious to the both of you that your adoration new no bounds. In spite of the small glimmers of joy you'd get receiving and sending mail to each other, the extended period of doing so was weighing on you, leaving you wondering if you'd ever get the chance to hold each other again, to allow your love to flourish in the way it was supposed to.

With the last two years passing by in a haze, the next piece of mail sparked hope. Sifting through the hints, he gave you notice of his current whereabouts, extending an invitation. Elation of being reunited coarsed through you, your feet and the sails of the ships being unable to carry you as quickly as you needed.

Upon seeing him, there was no chance you'd hold yourself back from running into his arms. The feeling of him wrapping you up in an embrace—one which he'd be sure could never allow you to slip through—allowed your souls to meld together. Granting himself this moment of weakness, he swept you off your feet and carried you into your new home, peppering your sweet face with much deserved affection.

Placing you down on the bed, you had a silent understanding that everything else could wait, for now getting lost in the pits of your desire took priority.

As the fires of your passion increased with each searing kiss, your body arched with each touch, each grope, beckoning for him to ravish you. Trailing kisses down your neck, removed your delicates with ease. Pinning your legs back, your needy slit was on full display, which only whetted the appetite that'd gone without satisfaction for far too long.

Unleashing his arousal, he teased your pearl with its tip, sending waves of anticipation deep into your desperate walls. Easing himself into you, he reveled in the sensation your twitching form was so eager to give him.

Picking up the pace, he bucked in and out of you with a clear goal: letting the dry spell come to a crashing halt by surrendering yourselves to the uncharted depths of euphoria.

Your moans were growing more and more frantic, sounding off in the room like sweet melodies. The sight of you losing all sense of self on him made you even more irresistible. Leaning over you, your lip lock was feverish yet firm. As his length forced itself deeper, your groans at taking the full extent of his lust mixed with his.

Such thrills were building up to an explosive irruption, one which would quake the earth surrounding it. Fully letting go of any of the sorrow and uncertainty you once had, an earth shattering revilation freed you from those shackles.

Now with more clarity, the two of you could give yourselves entry into the other's life, no longer needing to hide.

Leaving you with a kiss on your forehead, he excused himself momentarily, giving you full reign of the bedroom.

Taking liberty to look around at the different knick knacks he had scattered about, a red velvet box caught your eye. Admiring the delicately crafted lining, you unclasped it. You were met with a stack of postcards and notes.

Holding each note up, you could barely make out that they were yours due to the tears flooding your eyes. Such tenderness that you never knew he was capable of sent your heart soaring.

When he reentered the room and caught you looking at his keepsake, he gently placed a hand on your lower back.

"You mean to tell me you've kept every single note?"

Cupping your face, he spoke with complete certainty, "A love like yours is meant to be cherished."

Being given the chance to fan the flames of your passion, letting it reach new hights was an opportunity you'd never take for granted. Wrapping your arms around him, you gave yourselves a few more moments to let those bright embers dance between you.

[quacktities]

I feel like the appeal of C! Quackbur (to me at least) is just how versatile it is as a ship and the range it has.

You want a subtle rivals to lovers, mutual pinning and longing but one of them is repressing his own feelings because he hates himself too much to let someone get attached to him ship dynamic with a political backdrop? You want longing gazes, knowing looks and the unspoken truth that, maybe, just maybe this relationship and understanding between them goes deeper than either of them let on or want to admit? BOOM. Lmanburg election arc Quackbur!

You want all of that but with more tension, high stakes, mental illness, a very "forbidden romance" vibe with an enemies that have been in love with eachother for a long time but can now finally be on the same side and possibly act on their feelings dynamic (but theyre doomed by the narrative so it was never going to work out. Or maybe it will, who knows. Maybe this time they find solace in eachother. Maybe this time Quackity stops him before its too late. Maybe this time it doesnt end in flames. Who knows. Its up to you really, if you keep telling the story over and over again, maybe this time they get their happy ending here and it doesnt have to be a tragedy. Your choice really). Pogtopia era C! Quackbur!

You want fucked up grief and angst and reminiscing on the past and being haunted by what could have been? You want seeing the spectre of your dead friend (if he was truly your old enemy, why does he feel like a past lover to you) and wondering if maybe he remembers everything you both went through the same way you do and if maybe his heart aches when he sees you the same way yours aches when you see him but you know he isn't the same and you'll never see the old verison of him ever again... but hes here... as a ghost.. and that has to be worth something right. (Is it a miracle you can still see him or are you forever being tormented by what you can never have?). BOOM, Butcher arc C! Quackity and Ghostbur (or Aftermath C! Quackbur as I call them)

You want all of that, but hey. What if we brought back the guy. What if it didn't have to end in death? What if they could reunite and speak again after everything? Would they even get along? You want the culmination of years of pinning, grief, hurt, and mutual obsession? Do they truly love each other, or have they fallen in love with the idealised verisons of each other they have in their own heads? Maybe this time, they'll actually get their shit together and talk. There really isn't anything stopping them now, other than themselves and each other. Maybe C! Quackity finally finds someone who respects him, is dedicated to him, and can engage with him on the same intellectual level in C! Wilbur. Maybe C! Wilbur finally finds someone who makes him feel human and can challenge him and his more self-destructive behaviours while still loving him in C! Quackity. Maybe this time, they get to understand each other, and they get to heal. Maybe this time, it's not too late, and sure, they dont have the healthiest relationship, but they're working on it, and they're okay for once. Just this once. Maybe. Or maybe you don't want that. Maybe it is too late for them. Maybe they'll never have what they once had, and they're both left with bitter hatred and longing for the past that grows weaker by the day as the rose tinted filter starts to fade. Maybe they make each other worse. Maybe the closest they ever get to being close to each other is by hurting each other. Maybe the only times they hold hands are when they're catching each other's bloody fists. Maybe they're both too far gone now. Maybe they've hurt each other too much to ever be vulnerable with each other. Maybe it's just too late for them. Maybe it was never meant to be. You want a joker card ship dynamic that can either end in healing and a happy ending or in an even more fucked up tragedy? Or both! Why not. BOOM. Post revival C! Quackbur

[halfwayunder]

Caitvi will reunite in Act 3 as part of the Piltover-Ambessa war.

Don't read if you don't like trailer scene-by-scene dissections and want to keep yourself in the dark! I just wanted to share my thoughts. Based on clips from the trailer, where we see both Vi and Caitlyn wearing that same black and gold enforcer-looking armor, the reunion is inevitable. Also based on how Act 1 ended and has set up what's to come, as well as clips from the trailer again, through one way or another Ambessa will lose influence over Caitlyn and upon realizing she cannot control Piltover through a puppet, will be desperate enough to try and conquer it directly. She has no other option. In Act 1, Maddie said to to Vi what Cait said about her "if every enforcer had a heart like yours we would be able to take on Noxus itself" this was somewhat of a throwaway line but I think is foreshadowing the war. We see in the trailer at 1:24 Ekko and the Fireflies in Piltover swooping down from the sky toward Noxan soldiers, I believe that the battle with Noxus will have a temporary or partial alliance between Piltover and some of Zaun and help heal relations with a common enemy that manipulated them both. I say some because Jinx will probably remain a hostile third party to everyone and show up near the end as an even more final enemy after the Noxans are bested perhaps. We also see what looks to be scenes of enforcers battling Noxan soldiers and that explosion at the tower where Vi is carrying someone to safety.

Ambessa fighting enforcers (the guy on the right hand side) with Noxan warriors to the left.

Vi carrying someone in similar armor to her own to safety. I first thought it was Caitlyn but now I think it might be someone else because it looks like they're wearing a helmet if you look to the far right of the image. You can't see any neck skin, hair or a head.

Blue fish guy from the strike force squad with some enforcers. You can see the red banners of Ambessa's ships in the distance (we know this from another clip where Vi and Ekko are on his board together, you can see a ship in the water below them.) This is just before an explosion forces them to take cover.

And of course, our girls are wearing matching armor! And Vi has a new pair of gauntlets! So with fears of them not getting back together soothed, my only concern now is what happens after they do. I don't think the writers won't indulge in a 'kill your gays' trope and have one of them die after they reunite and reconcile, they've shown themselves to be really good so far. They did say the ending would be a "gut punch" but that could reference any number of things. I'm more worried they might have both gone through too much to get back together after all this is over and their ending will be more bittersweet where neither dies and they don't hate each other, but their life paths just take them different ways now. When I say I'm worried about it that doesn't mean I'm sure or think there's a high probability it'll happen. I just think it's a possible outcome. At the end of the day I just REALLY REALLY want them to get married and live a happy life together tbh. They deserve it.

[pjoxreader]

Glad to have you back! Hope your mental health is going good.

Since requests are open again, could you do a reader x leo, annabeth and Jason (separately) where the reader was just walking besides them then the next minute just disappeared, something like no clipping with the backrooms, and how they react to it and end it with them reuniting (you can change parts of it, if it seems confusing to you)

Reader Disappears 

TW: Slight panic attack

((Thank you! I'm glad to be back and writing again! 🥹))

Leo Valdez

-It’s funny how the best day in the world could so quickly turn to the worst. You were both just enjoying a beautiful picnic date in the park, it was rare for you both to get time off at camp. Leo always kept himself busy with building things and you were always helping out however you could for any cabin that needed it.

-”I have to run to the bathroom really quickly.” Leo admits as he gives your cheek a gentle kiss before he scurries off to the bathrooms. What he didn’t expect was that you’d be gone when he came back. 

-”Huh…” Leo takes his seat back on the picnic blanket trying to not panic. Maybe you just decided to go to the bathroom too and you missed each other? That wasn’t a far-fetched idea so he waited. And waited. And waited. 

-After about thirty minutes Leo starts to imagine the worst. Did a monster attack happen while he was gone? Did Hera kidnap you and take your memories? His blood runs cold at the thought of that. 

-Everything you did together, all of the time you spent could be gone, just like that. The thought scared him to the very core. He’d have no idea where you are, if you’re safe… “Leo?” Your voice snaps him out of his spiral of an oncoming panic attack he didn’t realize he was slipping into. -Leo looks at you in utter shock mixed with relief. “Where… Where were you?!” he asks in horror, quickly getting to his feet making sure you were unharmed before he pulls you into a tight hug. You let out an ‘oof’ of surprise as he had gotten quite strong with his time in the forage. “I left you a note in the picnic basket! I had to get to a payphone to talk with Hazel, she sent me an Iris message and asked to talk.” Leo can’t help but laugh at that. He was so stressed the thought of the picnic basket let alone eating had slipped his mind. ”Don’t… Don’t do that again.” he pleads, his voice quivering slightly.

Annabeth Chase

-You two were just enjoying some peace and quiet, leaning against each other’s back as you read in comfortable silence. It was rare you both had a day off and thankfully you both shared the same hobbies. So when you do get the rare date night it’s normally doing one of your hobbies.

-”Did you know spiders have eight eyes?” you ask mostly to tease her. Annabeth turns getting ready to smack you but suddenly she falls. Thankfully you were both on her bed so she just plops back into the bed. Though she looks around in utter confusion as one moment you were there, then the next you were gone.

-Her heart instantly starts to race, no, no, no, no, not again. Not again. She quickly gets up looking around the room for you “Where are you!?” she calls desperately hoping this was just some cruel prank and that you were invisible or something. “This isn’t funny!” her voice showed she wasn’t joking, a slight shake from her anxiety.

-But once again without a response she could feel her mind starting to spiral and her breath quickening. You were gone, just like that, and there wasn’t a thing she could have done to stop it. At this  point she was convinced the gods were just using her life as a toy, seeing how far they could push her until she broke.

-She fights back a choked sob as she refuses to break down, not yet. She can’t give in just yet. She gets her sword quickly running out and scanning the camp. Everything seemed to be normal, campers going about their daily activities. Which just made this whole thing worse, no one would know where you were…

-”Annabeth!” you yell as you quickly run over. She nearly takes your head off with her sword but thankfully she stops right at your neck as you put your hands up in surrender. “Woah! Woah! I surrender!” you say quickly. “I forfeit!” Annabeth looks at you, eyes blown wide in panic but she lowers her sword when she realizes it was you, the tears start to stream down her face. “Where were you!?” you laugh sheepishly not sure what to do when Annabeth cries. “The Hecate cabin accidentally summoned me an-” Before you could finish you end up judo flipped onto the ground. 

Jason Grace

-You were both enjoying your time in New Rome, Jason had been busy going between camps and he had finally come back. So you both decided to celebrate and go get some hot coco. It was the perfect date option, he’d be able to relax and you’d get to enjoy your time together.

-You both run out of hot coco so Jason decides to get up to get you both some refills. “I’ll be right back.” he promises you with a kind smile as he goes to get you refills. He ends up getting stuck in the line but he does make his way back to you.

-”Sorry for the wait there was-” before he could go on explaining why there was a wait he realized that you were gone. He hesitates looking around as he sets the drinks down as he scans the area around him. It was the afternoon so New Rome streets were packed with people chatting happily amongst themselves.

-He couldn’t see you at all, which made him anxiety start to rise. Sure you were in the safety of camp but there were so many things that could go wrong… He takes a breath to soothe himself. Maybe you had just wandered off… Or… Or maybe you saw Hazel and Frank and decided to talk to them!… -He sets the hot coco’s down and controls the winds to fly up to get a better view of the streets. You had to be somewhere…. You… You had to be, he couldn’t imagine losing you. Just as his panic was starting to rise he spotted you, there you were, in line for some food. 

-He lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, heart pounding in his chest as he lands, ensuring that he doesn’t knock over the hot coco he got you both. Once safely on the ground he sits at the table to try and play it off. He didn’t want you to feel bad for making him worry that much but he could still hear his heart pounding in his ears. Despite his anxiety he gives you a kind smile and a wave as you head back over with food you got for the both of you.

~Masterlist & Rules~

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[theladyofdeath]

Lady Death's Lover {12}

Lady Death's Lover Masterlist & Summary

19th Century Period AU Nesta x Cassian Secret Affair / Enemies to Lovers / Forbidden Romance Fanfiction / Characters from Sarah J Maas / ACOTAR Based on a prompt sent in by anonymous

A/N: NSFW... Thank you for reading, reblogging, liking, and commenting. I love to see it all! x

TW: marital abuse, sexual content, language, depression, alcohol abuse

This story is for readers 18+. Mature readers only. Content should not be read by anyone under 18.

My Loving Sisters,

If Tomas writes to you, please just tell him that I look forward to our reuniting. Do not worry — I am perfectly fine. I am simply taking a little trip to Adriata in his absence. I hear the fashion there is groundbreaking and I must see it for myself.

I love you both.

Nesta 

>.<.> Nesta <.>.<

The carriage arrives promptly at noon the next morning and the footmen load my trunk as I give the final instructions to the head butler. 

“I’ll only be gone for two weeks,” I repeat for the hundredth time. “I know the house will be in good hands in my absence.” 

“Do not worry, my lady,” he says, bowing his head. “Enjoy the time spent with your sisters. We have everything under control.” 

I give him my thanks before loading myself into the carriage that Cassian sent for me. There are no emblems on the side, nothing that marks this coach as his. Instead, the driver delivered a letter to me this morning, forged in my sisters’ names, stating that they need me to return home as soon as possible for Elain’s wedding in one week’s time. I was meant to pack quickly, load myself up in the carriage, and have it take me to the little village that I had once escaped from.

Which is exactly what I’m doing, except for the last part. Instead of going to my childhood village, I’ll be going two hours north to a little cottage in the woods. 

The coach starts on the cobblestone path through Velaris and with every bump, I feel my chest growing lighter and lighter. 

This feels too easy, too good to be true. Yet, I feel no anxiety, only excitement and a newfound sense of adventure. It’s been less than twenty four hours since I’ve been in his arms, in his bed, and I already miss him. I stayed with him well into the night, drowning in him, again and again until I was sure that I was utterly alive and not dreaming. After sneaking back into my bedroom, I only got two hours of sleep before the sun came up. 

I have no regrets.

Once we leave the city proper, my excitement only grows. Time goes slower; each second that passes feels like an hour and I hate it. Time must move faster or I’ll go mad.

Attempting to read to pass the time only gets me so far. I cannot focus on the pages. All the words blur together and I forget what I’m reading the second I turn the page. After a while, I give up and stare out the window. 

Homes become scarce and I soon am only staring at trees and hillsides. 

“How much longer?” I call to the driver.

His response comes right away. “We’re almost there, my lady.” 

Twenty minutes pass before we’re pulling off the main road. The cottage that we pull up to is bigger than I thought it would be, and it’s gorgeous. The two story house is sitting in a clearing surrounded by trees. I see a lake out back and a stable off to the side. 

Before we come to a complete stop, the front door is opening and Cassian is coming outside. I freeze at the sight of him and take him in. His feet are bare, the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up, his collar loose. His hair is down, hanging around his shoulders. 

He’s perfect.

When I open the door of the coach, he’s there, holding out his hand. 

I take it with no hesitation. Neither of us says a word but the second my feet are on the ground, he kisses the back of my hand. The feeling sends a shock through my body. 

My trunk is carried inside and the driver is sent back to Velaris with instructions to return in a fortnight. Cassian and I go into the cottage and it hits me.

We are completely alone.

I do not know why I grow so nervous, but I do. Suddenly I feel like I’ve made a decision based on impulse and deceitful panic courses throughout my body.

But no, this was no impulsive decision. 

This was a decision made to benefit me, to make me happy, to make me feel free and wanted and loved. I deserve this, even if this is all it will ever be between the two of us. And if this is all it will ever be, I may as well make it last, make it worthwhile. 

“I feel like it took you forever to get here,” he says, and he shuts the front door behind me and I begin to look around.

“I know the feeling,” I agree. I feel like I haven’t seen him in ages, although it was only last night that I snuck into his bedroom. 

The cottage is far more casually decorated than any house of the ton but it is still clear that he has money, even if he is walking around barefoot and dressed like a stable boy. 

Which I find utterly charming. 

There are paintings on the walls, all landscapes, and simple furniture strung throughout the room. To the right is a staircase that brings you to the second floor landing.

“Do you prefer the tour of the inside or the grounds first?” he asks, looking at me with a glint of mischief in his eyes that forces me to grin. 

“Let us tour the grounds,” I say, stepping closer to him and pressing my palms against his chest, feeling his warmth and the steady beating of his heart. “If we tour the house, I fear we will not make it past the bedroom.”

Cassian lifts a brow, suggesting that is not such a bad idea, but then he’s pulling me back into the mid afternoon sun and around the cottage. We first stop at the stables and say hello to his horse before finding a trail through the woods. I want to ask if his feet hurt, still bare, but I assume they do not based on how he walks jauntily along. After an hour or so of walking through the tree lined hills, we find ourselves back behind the cottage, by the lake that resides there.

I am not certain if it's considered a small lake or a large pond, for I have never been properly educated on how the size of water is classified, but I do know that it’s beautiful as it reflects the trees and the sun and the rolling hills beyond. The water is blue, clean, and welcoming. To Cassian’s surprise, I lean down and unlace my boots before lifting my skirts and walking into the shoreline. 

I yelp as the cool water hits my toes, but keep wandering in as Cassian laughs behind me.

“Did you expect it to be warm?” 

“I’m not sure what I expected, to be honest,” I say, finding comfort in the water, “but it does feel nice.” I lift up my face and I close my eyes, dwelling in the warmth of the sun. I cannot remember the last time I let my hair down, the last time I was able to just…relax. 

Life with Tomas is tense. I am always having to watch exactly what I do or say, but not with Cassian. Never with Cassian. With Cassian, I can be whoever I want. I can be exactly who I am. 

Behind me, I hear Cassian wading into the water, and when I turn around, my eyes widen and he grins.

In the past sixty seconds, while I’ve been in my own little world, Cassian has completely stripped down and is now passing me, walking backwards so that I get the full view. 

“Feels better when you actually get in,” he says, winking before he falls back into the water, fully submerged. When he comes back up, his hair is wet and slicked back, beads of water are dripping down his skin into the water that starts at his waist. 

I am frozen in awe, then I snap back to reality as I look around.

“No one’s around,” he promises, amused at the blush that’s spreading across my cheeks. “There’s not another residence for miles, and we’re stuck in the back of the woods. We are completely alone, I promise.”

Completely alone.

I find my way back to the grass before starting on my layers. Cassian’s eyes are on me, and I’m sure to give him a show as I strip off my dress, then my skirts, my corset. As I make my way towards him in the water, feeling half confident and half exposed, he doesn’t breathe. His eyes scan my body, taking in every bare inch, sending goosebumps across my skin. 

I feel beautiful beneath his unwavering gaze. 

Once I make it to him, I run my hands up his chest and wrap my arms around his neck. He wastes no time drawing me to him and I feel every thick, hardened inch of him against me as he kisses me. 

The kiss is deep, languid, slow. His tongue meets mine in a tender embrace and I find it difficult to think about anything else, anything but this moment, anything but him. 

He picks me up and my legs wrap around his waist as we sink further down into the water, nothing but our heads bobbing above the smooth surface. My fingers burrow into his hair and he groans softly against my lips. 

I will never grow tired of kissing him. The idea of it is impossible. 

Our kiss breaks and our foreheads touch as our heavy breaths mix together between us. His hands slide up and down my back, his fingers too rough and calloused for a gentleman, before finding my ass and repositioning me. The head of his cock nudges my entrance and I release an anticipated breath, our eyes meeting. 

Our lips find each other once more as he carries me to the shoreline and sits. In one fluid motion, as soon as his ass hits the grass, I’m sinking onto his length, filling myself up with him. He curses and I moan, the only sounds in the otherwise silence of the great outdoors, as I pull myself up and sink back down, again and again. I ride him, wickedly, and there is nothing gentle in the way our bodies are writhing, our hands are moving, our mouths are meeting. We cling to one another, fuck each other, as if no time can be wasted. And it cannot, for we must spend every moment lost in this passion, this attraction, this lust, this love that is between us before our time runs out. 

He’s sucking that tender spot at the base of my neck and rolling my nipple between pinched fingers when my knees begin to shake, and he’s thrusting into me with a force that I’ll surely feel soreness from when I come. The sound that comes out of him is primal, and it is a sound that I immediately store in my memory. 

When he finds his release, I lean back to watch, captivated by his loss of control. His lips part and his brows furrow as his chest heaves. The fingers on my lower back grip me so hard that I hope to have their imprints embedded on my skin. He swears, and groans, both sounds quiet, deep, and low in his throat, setting every inch of me on fire. He breathes my name and his eyes meet mine, and when his body relaxes, he kisses me.

Sweet, gentle, a promise spoken between us with no words. 

“Is this what I am to expect in these next two weeks?” I ask, teasingly, running my fingers through his hair. 

He smiles, his hands still wandering. “There are no expectations. We may do whatever you’d like, at every given moment.” 

Emotion swells in my chest, emotion that is new and foreign and overwhelming. “Whatever I’d like?”

“I am at your beck and call, my lady.” 

I bite my lip to keep from smiling too widely, and I kiss him once more. “Well, in that case, wash me off, feed me, then allow me to worship your body yet again.”

His eyes light up as his grip on me tightens, he stands, and he runs us into the water. I laugh wildly as the cool water envelopes us, and when he pulls me under, I remain locked around his body until we are upright once more.

He pushes my wet hair back and the look in his eyes as they meet mine strips me bare.

This is what it is like to be in love, to be perfectly happy and have everything I ever wanted, ever needed.

And I will only have it for two weeks.

[oddrobyn]

Hope you don’t mind me asking more questions then! What did Stev and Li think of each other when they first met? How did they end up becoming friends (or more) during the occupation?

This question literally inspired me to make a whole blog for them now omfggg but the tldr is pretty much that spending a lot of time together and considering neither of them had it easy in making friends they got really quickly attached to each other and the kindness they showed each other during occupation sort of escalated into caring and woops!!! Feelings occur!!

It was definitely something they have to keep under wraps not just for the sake of not getting separated but because stev was worried that if everyone knew about it , there would be problems for Li and the townsfolk unable to trust them.

Unfortunately for them people did find out but because they understood Li's character and that stev wasn't exactly an Evil Guy (tm) per say, there wasn't too much disappointment (but Cooper absolutely lectures them about it whenever he remembers that happened lol)

Considering the whole "shipped off to jail thing" it was pretty heartbreaking for both of them. A lot of people felt it was for the better that they never really made it "official" and sort of beat around the bush in what they wanted for each other but the fact of the matter is that Li still got attached and so of course they did emotionally suffer from the loss (especially since there's the assumption they would never see each other again AND the fact that Pen was Li's best friend so losing two of your closest people and thinking they're never coming back is pretty rough).

Spoilers for Evershine under the cut if you're interested !!

Ok sooo.

Even though after this point things in sandrock start looking up, Li actually becomes severely depressed and it worsens when Grace leaves and fakes her death and stuff. The three years between Sandrock and Evershine was mostly them regressing back into a self isolated hermit who never went out beyond the gates of their work shop out of worsening fear that ever getting close to someone again was going to just end badly again. Even when Grace did return they were unfortunately too far gone at that point and weren't seen outside their home for a long time.

This following headcanon was hugely based off something from my friend Cae so props to them for this idea!

But the second they heard the news that someone sounding like stev was spotted in the Northern Eufala and recieved a letter from him talking about him being there, they were quick to get on the next train there and reunite with him. Even if for a while Li felt sort of guilty about leaving sandrock behind out of nowhere and with no one except Logan knowing for a week or so, a lot of people knew they'd be happier and thankfully Sandrock was able to stand on its own now. The house is left untouched in case they ever choose to come back, but Li is a lot happier just being with someone they really cared for. Things got to pick back up where they left it and now they had the freedom to make things official !

[findmeinthefallair]

For the sleepover ask game, share some owl house headcanons about what happened during the time skip. As many as you'd like. :)

Ayyy finally answering this, friend! Sorry that it took centuries to get to!

The one thing I don't shut up about is Hunter's ensuing depression after Belos's death, contrary to the Hollywood kind of ending where everything becomes sunny and everyone can easily move on. We would see the stuff that a therapist would tick the checkboxes for in a mental status exam: slowing down psychomotor-wise e.g. slower speech, flat moods which are the unsettling polar opposite to the earnest emotional expression we love him so much for, distracted attention span, less tidy appearance, and he'd be sleeping excessively for some time. (full mental health meta on this subject here: link) Camila would be making sure he has plenty of movies to watch on the couch so that he isn't locking himself too much in the basement T_T Darius would be monitoring how he helps to rebuild the Isles so that he doesn't overexert himself.

Amity, the twins and Alador would go for walks to the store, in the woods etc, and this bonding time in restoring their relationships would be so important.

Luz's two main challenges would be: 1. becoming more aware of the domino effect of teaching Philip the light glyph spell in the timepool, especially now that everyone is coming out of survival mode, 2. the guilt surrounding Flapjack...I don't think she'd just move on from puppet!Hunter's words "And then I lost him, helping you. But you still get to have your own palisman?!" God this makes me wonder...what was it that the Hexsquad went through in their minds which led to the beautiful decision to get their red tattoos together? I'm gonna sniffle, jfc.

Gus might be the first person to broach the subject of Flapjack again, since he verbally put the same subject out in the open in For the Future (working with Willow, who took the flyer derby photo off the wall to show to Hunter and trying to reach out to him). It's also in line with how he was the first one to express sadness after they became trapped in the human realm i.e. he broke down crying right away. I love this about him whereby he may excel in Illusion magic but he gets down to the truth right away.

Willow is utterly exhausted and there's still some remaining upset from her breakdown about how much she missed her dads, shouldered things on her own and kept things bottled up. She approaches Camila not long after they leave The Collector's Palace to say that Camila was right, and to say thank you. And she needs a bit of space alone for the upset feelings to run their course.

Mattholomule has more surprises up his sleeve for Gus, lol. Gus just doesn't stop being flabbergasted.

The first person to say anything to Kikimora, who is moping and stewing away somewhere, is of course Luz.

Luz and Hunter more or less switch places emotionally if you compare their TTT and WaD demeanors (in FtF, they were both under somewhat similar emotional strain, in their own arcs). In TTT, Luz was very far from her vibrant self, ruminated on her guilt and slowed down so much, while Hunter was on the move: excitedly exploring his self and interests while being in his comfort zone of wanting to help others (he still had the capacity to do so!). Luz wasn't out exploring and connecting with others: she was in the dark prison of depression. If we flip this for the pre-timeskip era: Hunter would slow down by gradually running out of steam to even help others, and isolate himself before getting better...struggling with the absence of Flapjack and Belos, being frozen in time in terms of this bereavement. While Luz, 1. became unfrozen from her long-term bereavement by beginning to accept that her dad and Papa Titan were gone (an emotional place which Hunter simply cannot reach until many months later), 2. was reunited with Eda and King and on the same page as Camila, and would be on the move seeing what she can do to contribute for the Isles. There is a parallel between both of them wrestling with guilt: Luz's guilt about how her encounter with young Philip led to Belos's regime, Hunter's about the impact of his actions as the Golden Guard.

God this one is tough to lay out in clear detail but...the sleeping arrangements for the Hexsquad during the first few nights...emotions catching up to them...I really wonder what it was, and who would want more of their own space and not trouble others (yet definitely not being at peace with whatever was going through their minds) versus who expressed their need to not be alone at night.. Maybe Luz wanted to be with Eda, Raine and King in the Owl House, Amity would have her space back in Blight Manor, and we have Willow, Gus and Darius extending invitations to Hunter. There's no way I can predict which choice Hunter made, coz he may have gone with an arrangement that would've left the others concerned. Whether he obliged out of politeness or was firm enough to say that he didn't want to burden them...hard to tell. OMT, what if he slept alone BUT the palismen secretly huddled by his side in the night like in this beautiful fanart which is one of my faves??: link

Contrary to Hunter, Vee's response to Belos's death would be far simpler closure because she had zero attachment to Belos. Hell, she wasn't raised by him for an entire childhood. And while she would've had some survivor's guilt, we know that the other basilisks eventually came back to life, unlike (ughhhhh) the Grimwalkers who can't be brought back. These are the clues as to how Vee could open up more, smile brightly, and begin to explore the big wide world around her:

Which means she would've definitely been an important influence for Hunter's recovery.

Like...

How long till he could freely smile again? Camilaaaaa...take care of your three precious kids.

These are the first headcanons that came to mind. Might reblog this and add more over time. Thanks for the ask :)

[thequeenofneverland1]

The Hope Of The Mikaelsons Family Part Eight

Summary the Mikalesons made the ultimate sacrifice to protect Y/n, from a malevolent force known as the Hollow. As they separate to keep Y/n safe, the family faces a harrowing journey filled with battles, spells, and emotional turmoil. Meanwhile, Y/n navigates a new life at a special school for supernaturals, grappling with the loss of her family and the longing to be reunited. With themes of love, sacrifice, and resilience, the Mikaelson family must find a way back to each other, forging a bond that transcends time and distance. Will their unbreakable bond prevail, or will the darkness of the Hollow threaten to tear them apart forever

Warnings: Violence and intense battle, Themes of loss, separation, and longing, Use of magic and supernatural elements emotional themes such as grief and sadness, Mention of parental sacrifice and danger, Potential triggers for those sensitive to themes of family separation and abandonment and Language and content appropriate for a mature audience due to complex emotions and themes

Hayley held you tightly, whispering soothing words as you and her trembled with grief. Vincent, looking somber, placed a comforting hand on Hayley's shoulder.”They're doing what needs to be done. The city will be safe now, and so will Y/n.”

She nodded, though the weight of their sacrifice was almost too much to bear. She looked at Vincent, determination and sadness in her eyes. “We will never forget what they've done for us. Never.”

Vincent nodded, understanding the gravity of their loss. He turned his attention back to the ritual remnants, ensuring everything was properly secured.”We need to make sure the Hollow's power is completely contained. Freya, can you help me with the final seal?”

Freya stepped forward, joining Vincent in the intricate spellwork necessary to ensure the Hollow would never be able to reunite its fragmented essence.”Of course. We need to make sure it can never threaten Y/n or anyone else ever again.”

As they worked together, the magical energy in the room intensified. Hayley held you close, watching as the final pieces of the spell fell into place.”There. It's done.”

The air seemed to still as the spell took hold,sealing away the Hollow's power for good. Freya turned to Hayley and you, offering a small, weary smile. “It's over. She's safe now.”.

Your voice’s trembling “Are they... are they really gone?”

Your mother holding you tighter “They did this to protect you, sweetheart. They wanted to make sure you would be safe, no matter what.”

Vincent approaches your Hayley and you “It's going to be hard, but you have to remember their sacrifice. They did this because they love you.”

You nodded, tears streaming down your face. You looked around at the faces of those who remained, the weight of the moment pressing heavily upon your young shoulders.”I miss them already.”

“We all do. But we have to keep going, for them. We have to make sure their sacrifice wasn't in vain.” Your mother tells you

Freya, still weary from the spell, placed a hand on Hayley's shoulder “We have to stay strong. We have to make sure the city remains safe. And we have to protect each other.”

Hayley nodded, her resolve strengthening. She looked down at you, her heart filled with both sorrow and determination “We'll get through this, together. We'll honor their memory by living our lives and protecting those who can't protect themselves.”

Vincent, your aunt Freya, your mother Hayley, and you stood together, a united front against the darkness that had threatened to tear them apart. Though their hearts were heavy with loss, they knew they had to carry on. For the city. For their family. And for the future they had fought so hard to protect.

Far from the city, the four siblings felt the weight of their sacrifice. Though separated, their bond remained unbroken. They knew they had done what was necessary to protect you, and that knowledge gave them strength. Always and forever.

Klaus is sitting alone in a dark room, looking at the family photo. "Always and forever," he whispered to the empty room, his voice tinged with sorrow and resolve.

Elijah standing by a window, staring out into the night. "We will endure," he murmured to himself, clenching his fists. "We always do."

Rebekah lit a candle, her eyes filled with determination. "For our family," she vowed softly, the flame reflecting in her eyes. "For Y/n."

Kol leaning against a tree, looking up at the sky. "We’ll find a way back," he said, determined in his voice. "We always do."

Freya is seated at the table, looking at an old family photo. Hayley sits nearby, holding you, who is still visibly shaken.

Vincent stands in the background, keeping a watchful eye.”We have to make sure the city remains stable. The Hollow's followers won't just disappear overnight. They'll be looking for ways to bring her back.”

Freya nods.”I can help with that. We can set up wards and protections around the city. But we need to stay vigilant..”

your Mother strokes your hair. “and what about Y/n? How do we keep her safe?”

“We'll need to keep moving, at least for a while. The Hollow's power might be contained, but there are always those who will try to harness it” He says

You look up at your mother, your eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination.”I don't want to run forever, Mom.”

Hayley kissing your forehead.”I know, sweetheart. But we have to be careful. Your father, uncles and aunt made a great sacrifice to keep you safe. We have to honor that by staying one step ahead of anyone who would try to harm us”

Freya looks at you. “you have a strength in you, Y/n. The same strength that runs through all of us. We'll get through this together.”

Klaus was there, alone. He was pacing, restless. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. He opened it to find Elijah standing there.

Klaus was surprised to see his brother standing here “Elijah. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

Elijah stepping inside. “I couldn’t stay away. Not after what we went through.”

Klaus sighing as he shook his head. “I told you to leave me to my fate.”

“And I gave you my word. But it doesn’t mean I won’t be nearby, watching over you.” He tells Klaus

Klaus looked at his brother, a mixture of frustration and gratitude in his eyes.”Me either brother.”

Elijah places a hand on Klaus’s shoulder. “Always and forever, brother.”

Klaus softening says. “Always and forever.”

Rebekah and Kol are also struggling with their new reality. Rebekah is in a small apartment, looking at a map of the world. Kol is in a different city, standing on a rooftop, looking out over the skyline.

Rebekah whispers to herself. “I’ll find a way to bring us back together. I won’t let this be the end.”

he whispers to the night. “Always and forever, Bekah. We’ll be together again.”

Hayley is tucking you into bed, whispering comforting words to you . Freya is in the living room, working on protective spells. Vincent is preparing to leave, knowing that his work is far from over.

“Keep in touch. We need to stay coordinated.” Vincent tells Freya

Freya nods. “I will. Thank you, Vincent. For everything.”

Vincent: nods back. “Take care of each other.”

As Vincent leaves, Hayley walks into the living room, her eyes tired but determined. “We'll keep her safe. No matter what it takes.”

“We will. And when the time is right, we'll bring them all back together.” Freya tells Hayley

“We need to stay one step ahead.The Hollow's followers won't give up easily.” Hayley tells Freya back.

“I've set up wards around the city, but we'll need more than that. We need allies. People who can help us protect Y/n and keep the city safe.”

Hayley nods, her determination evident. “I'll reach out to the werewolf packs. They owe us. And I'll talk to Marcel. Despite everything, he still cares about this city.”

“I've got my people watching the streets. Any sign of trouble, and we'll be on it.” Macel says

Hayley says with a smile.“Thank you, Marcel. We can't do this alone.”

Marcel nodded. “We're not alone, Hayley. This city is our home. We'll protect it together.”

Rebekah in a small European town. She's sitting in a café, looking through old family photos. Her phone rings, and she answers.”Kol. How are you holding up?”

Kol, who is in a bustling city, surrounded by people but feeling utterly alone.”It's not the same without all of us together. But we'll make it work. For Y/n.”

She smiles through the phone. “Always and forever, brother. We'll find a way back to each other.”

Vincent is at the church, preparing for another ritual. He is joined by a group of witches who have pledged to help protect the city.”The Hollow's power might be contained, but we need to remain vigilant. We can't let our guard down.”

One of the witches, a young woman named Ivy, steps forward. “We'll stand with you, Vincent. For the city, for the children, for all of us.”

Vincent nods, feeling a renewed sense of purpose. “Together, we can keep the darkness at bay.”

Klaus and Elijah, who are in a remote cabin in the woods. They are working on setting up a protective perimeter. “This place will keep us hidden for now. But we can't stay here forever.”

He said. “We need to keep moving. The Hollow's influence is strong.”

Klaus looks at his brother, a mix of determination and sorrow in his eyes.”We will find a way to defeat this. And when we do, we will be together again.”

He nods, placing a reassuring hand on Klaus's shoulder. “Always and forever, brother.”

your mother is tucking you into bed. you look up at your mother, fear still lingering in your eyes.”Will Daddy, My uncles and aunt Bex be okay?”

She smiles softly. “They'll be fine, sweetheart. They're doing this to keep you safe. And we'll see them again. I promise.”

You nodded ,holding onto your mother's words.”I miss them.”

She pats your back to get you to sleep.”I know, baby. I miss them too. But we're strong. And we'll get through this. Together.”

Hayley enters the room, looking concerned.”How is it going?”

“Slowly. The wards are holding for now, but we need to be prepared for anything.” Freya replies.

“I talked to the werewolves. They're on alert and ready to help if we need them.”

Freya nods, appreciating Hayley's efforts.”Good. We'll need all the help we can get.”

You're in your room, drawing pictures of your family. and you looked up when you heard a knock on the door. and It's Marcel.”Hey, Y/n. How are you holding up?”

“I miss them so much.” You replied

Marcel kneels down to your level, offering a comforting smile.”I know you do. But they're out there, fighting to keep you safe. And we're all here to make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

You nodded, trying to be brave.”I'm trying to be strong. Like Mommy said.”

Marcel smiles at you.“And you are. You're one of the bravest people I know.”

Klaus and Elijah are in the remote cabin. They are discussing their next steps.”We need to find a way to destroy the Hollow for good. This separation can't be permanent,” Klaus says, his voice firm and resolute.

Elijah agrees. “But for now, we need to focus on keeping Y/n safe. Since The Hollow's power is still inside of us,” he adds, a hint of worry in his tone.

Klaus looks determined, his eyes burning with resolve. “We'll find a way. We always do.”

Vincent is meeting with Ivy and the other witches in the church. They are discussing their strategy. “The Mikaelsons have bought us some time, but we need to find a permanent solution to the Hollow's threat.”

Ivy says. “There might be an ancient spell in the archives that can help. It's dangerous, but it could work.”

Vincent considers this, weighing the risks.”Let's find it. We don't have any other choice.”

Rebekah is trying to gather information about the Hollow's origins. She meets with an old friend, a witch named Lily

“The Hollow's power is ancient, and it's tied to this world in ways we don't fully understand. But there might be a way to sever that connection.” Lily informs her.

“What do I need to do?”Rebekah questions

“It's not going to be easy. We'll need to gather ingredients from all over the world. And we'll need the blood of the original family.” Lily replies

Rebekah nods, determined to do whatever it takes.”Then let's get started.”

Back in the cabin, Klaus and Elijah are preparing for an attack. They've sensed that the Hollow's followers are closing in on their location.

“They’re here,” Elijah remarks calmly.

“Then let’s give them a proper welcome,” Klaus replies with a smirk.

Klaus and Elijah stand back to back, ready to fight. The followers burst through the doors, and a fierce battle ensues. Despite being outnumbered, Klaus and Elijah fight with a ferocity born of desperation and love for the family.

As the followers of the Hollow approach, you stand at the window, watching the chaos unfold. Despite your fear, there's a spark of determination in your eyes.

Hayley and Freya, fortified in the mansion with werewolves standing guard, prepare for their own battle. Marcel arrives with reinforcements, alerting them to the imminent danger.

“They're coming. We need to be ready,” Marcel warns.

“We are. We'll protect our home and our family,” Hayley asserts with unwavering resolve.

As the situation intensifies, you whisper to yourself, a mantra to bolster your courage. “Be strong. Be brave. For them.”

“No matter the distance, no matter the darkness, our bond remains unbroken. Always and forever,” you affirm, a solemn vow echoing through the tumultuous night.

You stood at the edge of the French Quarter, your eyes scanning the bustling streets below. The city had changed in the years since your family had been forced to separate, but the memories lingered, haunting you. Now a teenager with a fierce determination inherited from both your parents, you felt the weight of their absence keenly.

Hayley approached, sensing your melancholy, and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder. "Are you okay, Y/n?"

You sighed, your gaze distant. "I miss them, Mom. I know they had to leave, but... it's hard to keep hoping."

She nodded understandingly, her voice gentle. "I know, sweetheart. But they did it to keep you safe. We can't forget that."

Meanwhile, Klaus stood by a window elsewhere, staring out into the night. Elijah, always attuned to his brother's emotions, approached him quietly.

"Thinking about Y/n again?" He asked softly.

Klaus nodded, his expression pained. "I can't help but wonder how she's grown, what she's like now. It's been years, Elijah."

He placed a reassuring hand on Klaus's shoulder. "We'll find a way back to them. We always do," he reassured, his voice steady with conviction, echoing their eternal bond.

You were training with a group of witches, honing your magical skills. Despite the Hollow being long gone, you felt an inexplicable need to be ready, to be strong.

After the session, you walked through the French Quarter, your thoughts heavy. You often found yourself wandering to the places you used to visit with your family. The memories were bittersweet.

As you turned a corner, you bumped into someone you didn't expect. Marcel Gerard, the new king of the city, smiled warmly as he greeted you. "Y/n, it's good to see you."

You returned the smile, though it didn't quite reach your eyes. "Hey, Marcel. How's everything?"

Marcel looked at you with a mix of pride and concern. "The city's holding up. And you? How are you holding up?"

You shrugged, your thoughts heavy with longing. "I'm managing. Just... missing them."

Marcel nodded knowingly, understanding the depth of your feelings. He had watched you grow up, seen the resilience and strength that ran in your blood. "I understand. They did what they had to do to protect you."

You sighed softly, grateful for his understanding. "I know. It's just hard sometimes."

"If you ever need anything, Y/n, you know where to find me," Marcel offered sincerely, his voice reassuring.

"Thanks, Marcel," you replied, feeling a sense of comfort in his presence.

As you continued your walk through the French Quarter, Marcel's words echoed in your mind, a reminder that despite the distance and the passage of time, you were never truly alone in this city that held so many memories of family and resilience.

Rebekah paced the floor, frustration etched on her face. "I can't stand this, Elijah. Being apart from Y/n, from each other. It's torture."

Elijah, ever the calm presence, tried to soothe her. "We must remain patient, Rebekah. For Y/n's sake. We will find a way."

Kol entered the room, his usual mischievous grin replaced with a rare seriousness. "I've been working on something. A spell. It might just help us reunite without putting Y/n in danger."

Klaus looked up, hope flickering in his eyes. "Let's hear it, Kol. Whatever it takes, we need to be a family again."

The siblings gathered around Kol, their focus on his every word as he explained the details of the spell he had crafted. They listened intently, their determination to reunite growing stronger with each passing moment. For you , for each other, they were willing to risk everything to restore their bond and bring their family back together once more.

You sat on the balcony of the house, gazing up at the distant stars that mirrored the separation from your family. Softly, you whispered to yourself, "Wherever you are, I hope you're safe. I love you."

Hayley joined you, her presence comforting as she wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "They love you too, Y/n. And they'll come back. Always and forever, remember?"

You nodded, finding solace in her words and leaning into her embrace. "Always and forever."

She observed you with a mix of pride and sadness, seeing how you were growing up and finding your own path, yet feeling the weight of the distance between you and the rest of your family. She often found herself lost in old photographs, wondering when you and them would be reunited.

Meanwhile, Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol persisted in their efforts to find a way back to you. Kol's spell showed promise, but it demanded time and precision. They all understood the agonizing necessity of keeping you safe from any remnants of the Hollow's influence.

Klaus, particularly, spent long hours brooding, his thoughts consumed by you. Elijah tried to keep him grounded, reassuring him that their reunion would come, even as the waiting grew more unbearable with each passing day.

As years passed, you adjusted to your new life at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted. The weeks turned into months then it into years, and you found yourself immersed in your studies and the unique environment of the school, where young supernaturals like your learned to harness their abilities.

You excelled in your classes, your natural talents and Mikaelson bloodline giving you an edge. You made friends, attended school events, and gradually stopped asking about your family. The longing in your heart dulled, replaced by the daily routines and challenges of your new life.

Yet, despite the new friends and experiences, there was always an underlying sense of loss. You had given up hope of ever seeing your father, your uncles Elijah and Kol, and your aunt Bex again. The Mikaelson family, once the center of your world, had become a distant memory, a part of your life you believed was gone forever.

Hayley watched you from afar, as she observed these changes in you from a distance, her heart breaking as she saw the light dim in your eyes. She knew that keeping you safe meant keeping you apart from your family, and she could only hope that one day you would understand the sacrifices they had made.

[jovenshires]

hi katie jovenshires im a big fan. if ur ok with sharing, what ships are in the botb au and what are the vibes for each 👀

thank you so much!! <3<3<3

hmm i've been thinking about this and i think i'm only deadset on spommy, ianthony, kolivia, and amangela as far as like. my canon goes. not sure what if any other ships im gonna include... ive gone back and forth with shaymien and shaynse too but not sure!!

but, i will say, for the most part the edits are mostly left up to interpretation so you can all decide whatever ships you want really!! (or if you don't want any ships at all that's cool too <3) like i've said to me the botbau is a little collaborative barbie world that we can all make whatever we want out of. like i told someone the other day - if you wanna write a fic or make an edit or something for this and it doesn't exactly line up with what i might write or think ab the au... PLEASE go for it. it is out there, public domain now, do with it what you will. and i will love and eat it up no matter what!!

as for the vibes in MY head, i will throw them under the cut so this post doesn't get too long KFNLKNKFNF

spommy: i've covered this a little before here so if you want the full version check that out but BASICALLY spommy is kind of rivals-to-friends-to-lovers except tommy has an Extremely one-sided beef and spencer just thinks he's cool and wants to be buds. eventually spencer wins him over and then... uh oh! love! once again skimmin some details that, if i ever Write A Fic for it, will be spoilers. but that’s the idea you know

ianthony: taking this directly from my dms to lilac but basically. ianthony botbau my beloveds....... to relearn how to co-pilot something with someone that should come so second-hand to you but you're both different people now but your feelings carry through anyway for who they were and are and will be........ yeah theyre everything to me. in a way it's a mirror to life/what actually happened to them with smosh (art imitates life) but the divorce era was even MORE famous because they're like a household name so it was a lot more pressure. idk yet if they were together beforehand and then broke up and now they're getting BACK together or if they had unresolved feelings they never dealt with and now they're struggling to reconcile them with their renewed friendship AND reunited band/the fame that comes from that... but either way they are Messy. im obsessed.

kolivia: kolivia in this au fascinates me because in my head keith is kind of known for being a player and fucking around but i think he stopped that Ages ago because. these two are basically dating. like they don't put a label on it and it's not public and i don't even know if THEY know how in love they are. but they live together. they sleep together "just to blow off steam" (come on now). they don't date other people. everyone can see it but them type beat. olivia's like "he's not my boyfriend" and then picks up the phone and is like "hi baby do you want chinese for dinner" NDLFKNANKSFLN like they are exclusive and they have deep feelings for each other but they are both so deeply in denial that they swear they're not dating. they have realistically been in a relationship for like five years.

amangela: RIVALS TO LOVERS AGAINNNN i have talked about this one a Lot with baflegacy bc like. they are my roman empire. at least these two have met on multiple occasions and actually fought with each other - they keep meeting at gigs/in bars and bickering. angela "clearly abba is the best band ever" giarratana and amanda "WHAT about fleetwood mac you DUMB ASS" lehan-canto. like they meet a bunch and EVERY time they end up bickering. meanwhile angela keeps seeing thirst traps of amanda on tiktok and being like "why are all the lesbians obsessed with her she SUCKS" and chanse and arasha, who have heard this three million times, are like "yeah okay buddy whatever helps you sleep at night." meanwhile amanda is living her bliss <3 and then they realize they're both in battle of the bands and uh oh! things come to a head!

[imfromthemiddlekingdom]

I have so much feels regarding Miriel and Feanor. If my mother, whom I love dearly and gave her life for me to live, were stated as being allowed to be reembodied but the only thing standing in her way of being able to is the fact that my father was a horny pos who wanted to fuck this blond bimbo and have babies with her, therefore depriving my mother of her chance at life FOREVER. I too would be resentful and full of hate for anything and everything that represented their Union and my mothers sundering from me.

Finwe and Indis are both in the wrong. He was so young when they wed and had Findis, he barely had time to process his mothers death, however temporary it may have been for an elf in Valinor, but then his dad went “hey so uh, I really want to have more kids and in order for me to do that your mother would have to stay dead forever! YOLO!” I would feel so much resentment not only to him but the other person who was responsible for this. He obviously couldn’t blame his dad, the only living parent he has, so he projects all his loathing and resentment of his father to Indis and her children and their children afterwards. Because how can he hate the last living parent he has when there’s a perfectly good target for all that pent up rage within sight that would not make him an orphan twice over?

You might object by saying that “one year of the year if the trees is like 10 sun years!!! He was perfectly grown!!! He should get over it!!!” But I ask you. How would you feel if your mother, who you either never had a chance to know or knew only sparingly when she was bed ridden died and your father took away her chance of being reunited with you? My father died of his own folly and stupidity and still I miss him to this day, if I lost my mother too I would be devistated beyond words, and we’re HUMAN. We know we only have one shot at life and no chance of reuniting with those who’ve passed on in our life time, but with elves, they can be reborn. They know that death is only temporary. So when your mother died you think to yourself, “I’ll just wait for her to feel better and then she can come back to me and father and we’ll be a family together again!” And that choice is taken from you, your mothers body, which was resting in the gardens or Lorien, is then gone and you now cannot even pretend that she is merely sleeping.

As far as I know, no living souls may visit the dead in the Halls, he no longer can hold his mothers hands and can no longer pretend that she is there, she was so sick when she passed that asking her to make a choice that would affect her for the rest of eternity isn’t the way to go. I suffer from severe depression, and in bad days I think I would be better if dead, and if I had lost my will to live and some godly being demanded that I make a choice right this moment(!!!) to return to life or be forever dead, I would have chosen to remain dead since I cannot think of why living would be better. To put so much pressure on a dead woman, who may or may not have died due to  postpartum depression, is not the way to go in any situation where Finwe may have wanted to get a divorce or have more kids.

Elves are immortal, they do not die, why can’t Finwe not wait for who was supposed to be the love of his life? Why did Indis, a supposed friend of Miriels, decide that her getting her happily ever after is worth sundering her FRIEND from her son forever? Why does Indis get her happily ever after and Miriel does not? I can see why Feanor would be so against Indis and her children because under similar circumstances I would have been the same, seeing others get what was promised to me, in the blessed lands where everything was supposed to be BETTER and not getting it anyways is a recipe of disaster.

I do not feel any sympathy for Indis, not really, not when she willingly deprived her stepson of a chance for a mother, not when she willingly agreed to have kids with someone knowing that one of his kids would never have that fea bond with his mother ever again. I cannot sympathize with her selfish desire for dick, not when it hurt a child, which was what Feanor was.

I cannot imagine how Feanor might’ve felt seeing his half siblings with their mother and feeling that gaping hole in his soul knowing that I order for them to exist his mother is gone forever. To look at his brothers and sisters and see what may have been if his mother didn’t put so much of her into him, and feeling so guilty that “if only I didn’t exist my mother would still be alive”. To have it rubbed in his face, no matter how unintentionally, by his father and his new wife when Findis was a newborn that, maybe just maybe, some of the rumors are right and that him and his mother truly are marred because Indis bore a child successfully without dying so there MUST be something wrong with them.

To have that reminder of your mothers death constantly for years and have your father be so happy with his new family that it seems like he’s forgetting all your mother represented, to have the Noldor replace your mother, one of the people who represented what the Noldor are, with one of those golden Vanya princess, is unimaginable to me.

Maybe it’s a personal character flaw of myself but if I were in Feanors shoes I may have done something worse than pull a sword of my half brother when he was trying to convince my only surviving parent to disavow me.

[anxiouscowboy]

A Wholesome GBU Fic Draft/Idea

"Hey, Tuco?"

"Yeah, what? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" Tuco turned over on his sleeping roll to face the little boy, still wide awake, looking hopefully at him from across the campfire. His eyes were bright and brown like Tuco's, and for a moment, it felt as if he was staring into the face of his younger self. This kid, ha. Eight years old, four feet tall, and endlessly curious, this kid had been following him and Blondie since they'd reunited in San Antonio. How long had it been, two weeks now? He said his name was Santiago and he came from a village nearby, that his parents were gone and that one day he was going to be a great and famous cowboy...typical kid shit as far as Tuco was concerned. Why not just hogtie the boy and leave him back in town, he'd suggested, but Blondie wouldn't hear of it. That was the strangest thing yet. Blondie, aloof, unfeeling Blondie---he had let the boy tag along, and Tuco had no earthly idea why. We'll drop him at the next town, he'd say, but they never did. So here Tuco sat, the still of a peaceful desert night spoiled once again by the same inquisitive little bastard.

"Sorry," Santiago said with a smile. "I was just wonderin'...Did you really do all the stuff they said?"

"All the stuff that who said?" Tuco glanced at Blondie, propped up against a fallen log, but he was sound asleep.

"The preacher man with the Bible who talked a lot when you were doing your trick with Blondie. He said you did all kinds of bad things and asked God to have mercy on your soul?"

"Mm."

"Well, did you?"

Any other night, Tuco would have told him to shut up and go to bed, or at the very least, go bother Blondie, but tonight he lit a cigarette and puffed thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

"There are two kinds of people in the world, my little friend." he said, "Sinners and Saints. My brother Pablo, he's a Saint. Blondie, he's a Saint sometimes too. But me? Heh. No." he blew out the smoke with a wistful smile. "I guess every angel needs a devil to keep him on his toes, huh?"

"Well," Santiago said matter-o-factly, "I guess I gotta pray for both of our souls then, 'cause I'm a sinner too."

Tuco blinked, completely taken aback, then threw back his head and roared with laughter.

"You little tramp! What the hell have you ever done to call yourself a sinner?"

"Oh, all kinds of stuff! I've tied the girls' pigtails together, put a rat in Mary's lunchbox, took candy from the jar when my teacher wasn't lookin', set my Abuela's rug on fire, 'course that was an accident..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it---you're a real criminal like me!" Tuco chuckled.

"No I'm not!" Santiago giggled, all too excited by the idea. "I think everybody does bad stuff sometimes," he said a moment later, suddenly serious. "I don't think you're as bad as they say you are. I think you're a good man."

Tuco's stomach dropped. He took a deep breath and hoped that the kid hadn't seen the shock on his face. Eyes prickling, he managed a smile, but no words would come.

"G'night, Tuco." Santiago murmured, rolling over in his sleeping bag and holding his blanket close.

"Good night," came his hoarse reply.

Tuco stared into the fire for what seemed like an eternity, his eyebrows knit together as the little boy snored beside him. He'd been called a lot of things in his life, most of them curses, and well-deserved ones at that, but a good man? That was a new one. He shook his head and looked up into the sky. The stars twinkled brightly beside a waxing crescent moon and Tuco watched them for a moment. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, or why. A good man. Little bastard. Shaking his head, he finished his cigarette and flicked it into the fire, settled in under his blanket and drifted off to sleep.