#now everyone has to asks Tristan who his /husband/ is

[marymary-diva17]

A marriage of a great deal

Marriage among the ton had been were many things but when it came, to one family the Bridgerton marriage had been purpose to made for love. Not all the members of the family will be given the grace of happy marriage of love, when to came time of them to be married. A marriage that was made without the intention and approval of the one who was, being married off. 

Antony “ you shall marry lord Tristan” 

Y/n “ brother why have you done this I and Tristan ….” 

Antony “ I have arranged the marriage and it shall be done I ready, approved of the proposal and soon the ton will know when we have a party in honor of the marriage” 

Y/n “ no I was promised like everyone else a marriage of love, that a marriage that will get me out of the house and away from the family”

Antony “ you will marry Tristan a marriage with him will do o family well, and it will make both house’s powerful in the end” 

Y/n “ I will speak to mother about this she will say no right away brother” you and left your brother office and soon walked towards the drawing room.

Antony “ get back here sister we are not done”

Colin “ what is wrong dear sister you seem mad don’t tell me dress, shop was out of your favorite fabric color” 

Y/n “ leave me be Colin mother Antony has agreed for a marriage for me with Tristan ” 

Daphne “ Tristan that is splendid sister you and him will be perfect” 

Y/n “ no sister he married me off to him without knowledge me” 

Violet “ dearest I know” 

Y/n “ then tell my brother you son he being very rude without asking me …. Do we even know Tristan wants a wife right now” 

Benedict “ oh baby sister he needs to marry with the power his family has and money, he can’t stay single forever” 

Y/n “ what of you dear brother you and our other brothers who are grown, haven’t done your duties” 

Antony “ it different for us sister one of us older kids need to marry, before Daphne and Eloise are present to the ton” 

Y/n “ so I most be the one to marry and not you” 

Antony “ you are young women who should be married by now and having kids, and your have failed at that no other man might have you .. I spoke wing Tristan father and he agreed his son needs a wife” 

Y/n “ Tristan as I remember as siblings as well unmarried as well” 

Eloise “ yes why should y/n and Tristan marry when other in their family haven’t” 

Antony “ that is not important we need you both to marry and bring a Union and stop this wild behavior you have sister, you need a husband that man is Tristan once you both are married we all will be happy … think about the family you unmarried will bring shame to us all” 

Y/n “ …..” 

Violet “ dearest I was arranged as well and I found love” 

Y/n “ mother you and papa said I could find my husband for love and not force into something” 

Violet “ well something there needs to be sacrificed I know your brother, will not marry to any bad lord it Tristan a young man from well know family” 

Colin” sister you might be lucky be doesn’t spend much time at gentlemen club or with other women you are lucky one, you could be married to some scandals lord” 

Benedict “ man in debt with not wealth for you to spend and he travels as well so you will be lucky to marry him” 

Antony “ sister for once do this for the family for us all to find partners, because if you don’t then we are doomed and alone with Tristan family as well … we will be doomed because of you and him … you will marry him or be alone forever” 

Violet “ you will find love or some good in this marriage and you will always have a place here my daughter, and not far from us as well … when we plant this wedding you will get to know him better” you didn’t say anything else as it will fall on deaf ears like always, soon the news spread you had gotten spend time with Tristan. Both of you upset on how your families and treated you both for voicing your opinion. 

Day of wedding

Violet “ you look beautiful my dear your father will of loved to be here” 

Y/n “ yes mother” 

Violet “ I know this marriage is not something you wish but your brother and I had thought the best for you, and look where we are now your wedding … you will always be here in London” 

Y/n “ yes mother” 

Violet “ once you are happily married your siblings will come as well, all of you marriage of love as well I know it and maybe soon grandchildren from you … I will be so happy” 

Y/n “ yes mama what ever makes the family happy I will do it” 

Violet “ my dear I will …” 

Antony “ is the bride ready it time for the wedding” 

Violet “ yes she is ready I will see you out” Violet soon left the two siblings alone. 

Antony “ it seems like you and Tristan have grown a strong bond, on the end so there was no need to worry after all my sister you shall thank me in the future … with this marriage all our siblings marriage and mine shall me good”

Y/n “ I will do anything for our siblings I and Tristian have made a stronger relationship, and spoke about our future”

Antony “ good you are doing your duty to our family”

Y/n “ yes”Antony and walked you into the chapel and soon gave away to Tristan. 

Priest “ do you lord Tristan take this women a your wife” 

Tristan “ I do” 

Priest “ do you lady y/n take this man as your husband”

Y/n “ I do”

Priest “ then you both shall kiss” Tristan had kissed you and you kissed him back. The wedding party was grand and fun. 

Benjamin “ I can’t believe your both were upset about this whole situation, now look at them man and wife”

Tristan” you missed the point dear brother of mine”

Tristan father “ my son this marriage has done our family well look at all that came to, the wedding this union will be good for us all”

William “ maybe if you both have enough kids we all might not have to marry, as we will heirs to take over for us”

Tristan “ what if we have all daughter will that work for you or not bother “

Antony “ you both will have the kids first and we might have them as well, there is future we need to think about for us all”

Violet “ all your children will be love and welcome, in our families good son”

Colin “ with our dear sister married we will be soon married as well, with our sisters relationship with other houses”

Y/n “ only time will tell my brothers”

Eloise “ sister you shall be missed at home please write”

Antony “ she not leaving the county Eloise, she just moving to countryside to make her home … we can see all anytime we wish”

Daphne “ yes sister you most invite us”

Y/n “ yes I will once I and my husband are settled into our new roles”

Violet “ I know you shall do well my girl” the rest of the party had went well, until you will leave with your husband. 

Violet “ the carriage will take you to the inn for the night”

Y/n “ yes mother” 

Gregory “ I will miss you”

Y/n “ we can write my brother and you all can come see in time”

Hyacinth “ you promise”

Y/n “ yes and if you all ever need help please write to me see we will be apart for sometime”

Eloise “ we will sister and maybe come stay as well “

Tristan “ you are all welcome to come for visit”

Antony “ once you both are settled into your roles we will come see you both, and speak with each as family and maybe getting Reya for the next seasons to come”

Tristan father “ yes that is good”

Tristan “ if we are lucky we can get the rest of siblings in some courting or marriage as well .. it the best for the family” 

Lady Danbury “ I can’t wait to see what you and young Tristan will do, I always love the spark the both of you have ..I know both are powerful fires and will do well looking forward to see the future you both forge”

Y/n and Tristan “ thank you”

Antony “ you both should be getting to your honeymoon, and enjoy the months of being newly weddings” 

Y/n “ we will brother and I will write when I can”

Violet “ enjoy your time we will be good and I know your father will be proud of you”

Tristan father “ my son your mother will be proud as well” 

Tristan “ yes well dear wife we shall leave now come along”

Y/n “ yes my husband” your siblings had given you one last hug, even your mother a hug as well. You had soon gotten into the carriage with your husband. Heading off to an inn on the starts of being newly weds.

Tristan “ y/n I need to have some words with you”

Y/n “sure dinner has arrived as well”

Tristan “ good you remember my uncle at reside in Scotland”

Y/n “ yes joke uncle I remember him very well, what the matter”

Tristan “ he has fallen unwell and has asked me to come to Scotland, to take over his household and lands until he is well … he has made me his heir verse my brothers”

Y/n “ then you shall go see him he has always been there for you”

Tristan “ thank you and he asked me to bring my new wife as well, you with me

Saying it will be good and big enough house for us to stay there… it far better then stay in London at the moment”

Y/n “ I have to agree this whole marriage had been made for us, yes I love and care for you but how everyone had been treated is is awful… then them making jokes on us having kids so they couldn’t it not fair”

Y/n “ I shall not have my children be used a pawns in my brother game of avoiding marriage, and saying I shall be blamed for everything in the end made me sick”

Tristan “ my family wasn’t son nice about it either, I shall not have you or our future kids treated that way … we are no longer pawn in their chess game and are children will not as well … my mother told me to live the life I shall want and not let other control me”

Y/n “ so it seems like we are in agreement we shall go to Scotland and care for you uncle and his household as well”

Tristan “ splendid my dear wife and your brothers and my family, can’t do nothing about it … if wish for scandal and judgment to be placed on them”

Y/n “ now my husband have a meal with me, as you tell me more about this letter form your uncle”the couple had soon sat down for a meal and went into deeper conversation, about Tristan uncle and the move it Scotland. The next day they had left for their new home and land,and there was nothing that could stopped them as they are a married couple living their own lives.

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! Your flowchart is amazing, and I'm so excited by the literature list you made. However, I was wondering if you know which book is best to start reading more about Arthurian legend? I have only collected knowledge through osmosis, so I have no clue where or how to start learning more. Thank you for your time and have a nice day!

hello!

thank you, i'm glad they're helpful for you! i did answer a similar ask about what medieval texts to begin with here and link to free resources, but the formatting is hard on the eyes, and now that my own collection is available, i'll reiterate. all suggested translations are available on my blog.

le morte d'arthur by sir thomas malory: you'll get the most mileage out of this book as malory sourced a broad spectrum of stories to incorporate them into a single text, which includes arthur's conception, pulling the sword from the stone, receiving excalibur from the lady of the lake, marrying to guinevere, young gawain's knighting and first quest, tristan and isolde's romance, the grail quest, final battle at camlann etc. plus malory himself invented some of the most iconic stories, such as gareth's time as the kitchen boy, beaumains. with this book alone, the majority of retellings will make sense to you. but be warned it can be extremely dry (and confusing timeline wise, calogrenant dies twice bc malory couldn't keep his own story straight!), i recommend the keith baines translation as it's rewritten into prose like a novel.

the vulgate cycle: it's 10 books. i know it's 10 books. but it's simply the best. the truncated nature of malory's le morte d'arthur leaves the majority of characters reduced to singular traits (orkney bros the mindless killers, priggish grail knights etc.) which has negatively influenced many retellings since imo. this is not an issue with the vulgate where everyone has a little more nuance and depth, even the bad guys, but especially the characters we're supposed to root for like lancelot and gawain. many fun characters who were cut from le morte d'arthur are fully developed here like half-giant galehaut and gawain's baby mama the lady of lys. i'm putting it high on the list bc i simply think more people should try it. i recommend the translation edited by norris j. lacy. he's incredible and i love all of his translation work. footnotes right in the margin will remind the reader of past references and explain language subtleties lost in translation (like puns) or indicate what was changed for ease of understanding (sometimes the scribes made mistakes and named the wrong character, which lacy will fix and then note he fixed). so if one can get past the sheer volume of text, it's a wonderful read, and i even have specific stories within it i could recommend. but i digress...

sir gawain and the green knight: it goes without saying this poem is iconic. the pearl poet (as the anonymous author is called) wrote beautifully and the version of gawain here is a much kinder portrayal than what he appears in the post vulgate, which was a major source for malory's le morte d'arthur. the beheading exchange/game is the focus here, although this motif will appear in many other texts, such as perlesvaus, and the sgatgk story appears in the majority of retellings that include gawain, so it's a must read. i recommend the j. r. r. tolkien translation (the audiobook version of this translation is phenomenal, like music).

four arthurian romances + the story of the grail by chrétien de troyes: except you can skip cligés bc its mediocre at best. really what you'll need from this is knight of the cart (the first ever story in which lancelot appears and he's very pathetic and weepy and insane and lovable haters dni), knight with the lion (gawain's cousin yvain gets a pet lion, fights a dragon, gets married, gets divorced, goes mad, recovers, gets married again...), erec and enide (worst husband in the universe), and the story of the grail (perceval and gawain adventures). a version of these stories were adapted into le morte d'arthur and the vulgate (except for yvain's lion which is a bummer!). i recommend the nigel bryant translation of perceval and william kibler translations for the rest. when you reach the end of the story of the grail and it cuts mid-sentence...well, sadly we don't know what happened to poor chrétien that kept him from completing his story. but there are four continuations written by other people, plus the german parzival is great as well (and has one of my favorite of gawain's wives, the haughty maiden of logres, orgeluse).

the mabinogion: some of the same stories as chrétien but of welsh origin plus extras. haters will try to pit two bad bitches against each other, but these texts go hand in hand. i like the whimsical vibes of this version and the magical powers given to the characters, such as kay's ability to grow to the size of a tree and set things on fire with his hands or bedwyr's ability to strike faster than all other knights despite having only one hand. it also gives owain (welsh version of yvain) an army of ravens that kill people in addition to his lion, arthur has an invisibility mantle (also referenced in the welsh triads), and the whole gang fights the demon boar twrch trwyth to steal the golden comb off his head. good stuff. i recommend the translation by lady charlotte guest.

the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle: obviously this has to be included. i'm biased but at the same time, it is supposed that sir thomas malory actually wrote this poem! which i think is pretty neat. additionally, 99% of retellings include ragnelle as gawain's wife. in fact, excluding the ones in which he doesn't have a partner at all, i can only think of one in which he marries someone else. dame ragnelle is the people's darling, all of us arthurian authors agreed that in spite of our differing opinions about everything else in the stories, she is the wife of all time. and we're right. a thing of beauty. this text does not have a translation, it's just in middle english, which can be challenging to read. this version edited by thomas hahn has footnotes to help or otherwise i recommend the version retold by selina hastings and illustrated by juan wijngaard, it's gorgeous, and includes all the fun supporting cast like kay and guinevere.

this was a long list with probably more explanation than necessary but it can be difficult to narrow down a single place to begin with arthuriana as each story builds on the literary tradition that came before. everyone is sharing and influencing one another so stories and motifs are repeated, each author writes for their time, slightly altering the technology and culture to reflect their own lived experience, so the narrative evolved as the centuries passed into what we have today. thanks for this ask and hope you enjoy reading!

[tytarax]

I already finished Zou arc (I'm suffering with Sanji, and the masochism of liking one of his brothers rn), but I just can't stop thinking about everything that happened and this scenario has been living in my mind for days now.

I also realized that if it's about one piece, I'm into furries minks

Being Duke Dogstorm's wife only caused him to want to keep you safe when he heard the intruders bell sound. Everyone knew what was coming. They're coming for Raizo, the ninja from the land of Wano.

"Please, my love, stay here" He begged as he stood up from beside you. You were looking down as you held back tears. "Just... promise me you will come back" You were already tired of him telling you that you couldn't go with him, you resigned yourself and all you could do was pray that everything would turn out well.

After a goodbye kiss, you were left alone in the forest fortress, where several townspeople were already arriving. As a figure of authority, you couldn't just stand there doing nothing, you had to give your people hope. So, doing your best to ignore the sound of the houses falling and the screams, you dedicated yourself to taking care of the others and not showing fear in the face of the threat of the pirates Beast and Jack, their leader.

---

Three days passed, everything was silent, and your heart was broken from listening to the pleas of your people begging these monsters to stop their torture. You were already ready to return to the city to see with your own eyes that everyone was still alive… at least you had the hope.

But one of the soldiers who managed to reach the fortress asked you not to go to the city… that no one should go, since as a last measure, the pirates used poison gas bombs and it was highly dangerous to go.

You were a stubborn person, but you ended up staying anyway. Still, you couldn't help but worry about everyone being okay… about your husband being okay.

Sometime later, you heard a rumor that some pirates had arrived in Zou, the Straw Hat Pirates. And they were willing to help save everyone's lives.

The days dragged on, each one filled with a mix of dread and anticipation. You continued to oversee the forest fortress, ensuring that everyone was safe and cared for, but your thoughts were never far from the city and Dogstorm.

Until one day, you finally saw him, and if your heart was already broken... it shattered. He was unconscious, still alive, but yet so harmed, blood all over his face, scars, and what horrified you the most was seeing that they had cut off one of his legs. How far were those monsters capable of going?

---

"You-teia have my gratitude," you said looking at the saviors of the mink tribe, who had introduced themselves as Nami, Sanji, Chopper, and Brook, a corpse-like hero who looks very delicious. "Oh, it's never a problem to help a beautiful mademoiselle like you! Garchu, ____-san!" Sanji said with heart-shaped eyes while standing beside you and you responded to his garchu. "Garchu, Sanji-kun"

"I believe Duke Dogstorm will wake up in a while, I don't know when tho..." Chopper exhaled as he removed the stethoscope from his ears and jumped off of the bed. "Thank you, doctor Chopper."

Chopper blushed, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "It's nothing, really. I'm just glad I could help."

"By the way, Wanda, why don't you-teia show them around in the meantime? Miyagi, Tristan, and I will take care of Duke Dogstorm. Go enjoy for a while," you suggested smiling.

Wanda nodded, her ears twitching slightly. "Of course, Lady ____. I can show them around. Follow me," she said, gesturing for the, at the moment, Curly Hat Pirates to follow her. As they left, you turned your attention back to Dogstorm, "You-teia will get through this, my love. You-teia are the strongest person I know."

---

More days have passed, the Duke still hasn't woken up. However, just a few hours ago you heard about the arrival of the rest of the Straw Hat crew.

So, you gave the order to have a welcome banquet, which they gladly attended. Likewise, you asked Tristan and Miyagi to attend the banquet, and take a break.

"Step aside Shishilian, I've come to bring something to Lady ____" you heard Pedro's voice on the other side of the door, interrupted by Shishilian's "And for what reason would they have sent you-gara?" He said at "full power" as always.

"Let him in Shishilian" you raised your voice a little so he could hear you on the other side of the door, "Oh, as you-gara say your highness" he said as he opened the door and let Pedro in.

"Lady ____, how are you-gara doing" Pedro asked approaching. "I'm doing fine, Pedro, thanks for asking. What brings you-teia here?" you asked curiously. "I'm here to bring you-gara some food of the banquet for the straw hats, I was told you-gara haven't been eating well since..."

"Why, thank you, Pedro, that's really nice. Please give them my apologies for not coming to introduce myself yet, " You said smiling lovely. Pedro handed you the tray of food and looked at the Duke for a moment. "How's Duke Dogstorm doing?" "He's doing fine, as far as I know, still we don't know when he'll wake up," You said looking at your husband with worry before looking at Pedro. "I see... I hope the best for him and you-gara" "Thank you, Pedro."

Pedro said goodbye as he headed to the banquet and you were left alone again, occasionally trying a bite of food. All of a sudden, there was a slight movement. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around, disoriented.

"My love," you whispered, tears of relief streaming down your face. "You're awake." He looked at you with relief in his eyes "____... sorry for making you-gara worry"

You shook your head reassuring him, "It's fine" It wasn't fine, he knew it, you knew it "At least it's finally over. A pirate crew named the Straw Hat Pirates came arrived here and helped us, I'm truly grateful" You said smiling with tears threatening to come out. He brought his big paw close to your face and wiped away your tears. "I see, then I'm grateful too"

You looked out the window for a moment and saw the monkey mink picking some fruits. "Bariete" you said, getting his attention. "Hm?" "Go tell everyone that Duke Dogstorm has woken up, please."

"Yes, of course! I'm so glad!" He said as he ran off to the room where they were having a banquet. You both laughed softly at the mink's enthusiasm. You remembered something when you saw the newspaper that had arrived a few days ago.

"On the other hand," you said as you stood up from his side and picked up the newspaper, "this news arrived a little while ago, it says that Jack supposedly died after trying to rescue Doflamingo from the hands of the Marines. And about Doflamingo, it was the Straw Hats themselves who defeated him, that was what caused Jack to leave."

"These Straw Hats piqued my curiosity…" Dogstorm said as he grabbed the newspaper from your hands. "They're good kids, I'm sure of that." You said as you walked over to give him a well-deserved amount of garchus before everyone else arrived.

Part 2

Masterpost

OP Masterlist

[kandadiff]

After the scene at the pool, Negan went with Simon to take Camila and Shawn to the hospital. My father apologized profusely and grew angry with us. 

My mom pretended to be upset but she couldn’t hide her glee. She convinced him to take us all out for a family talk. 

This resulted in him renting out a beach front restaurant for the night. The waiters and waitresses extra attentive since I’m sure the owner told him how rich the family was. Or they came to their own conclusions given my dad waved a wad of money at him and they kicked out the other patreons within the next half hour. 

The table was silent. Robin hadn’t said a word to you since you saw him snap and it seemed everyone else didn’t want to break the tense air of the table. 

My mom spoke first, after taking a sip of her tea. “We should talk. For a moment, the table was silent.

Until I broke the silence. "Is this even a family vacation anymore?" My tone was dripping with attitude as I spoke. "It seems like there's more people outside of the family here then there is family members. Negan, Simon, Shawn and now camila. Is this our family vacation or there's?" I looked from my parents to J, clearly addressing him.

J chuckled, his bright red smile turning upward at me. "Do you have something you'd like to say to me specifically, sister?" he sneered the last word, making it sound like an insult rather than a relationship between us.

"Yeah, what was going through your fucking pea sized brain when you invited him." I spat, "we had a deal."

Rhea who was sitting on one side of me gripped my arm signaling me to stay quiet. She knew no one else besides me, her and J new about the plan with the bloodline. But it was too late, my father looked up from his menu with a raised eyebrow.

This caught my fathers attention and he looked at the waiters attending us and smiled at them. It was clear his smile, unnerved them as some of them looked away or giggled nervously. "Leave us for a moment." They looked at their manager who nodded and started to filter out.

"I agree with Kay." Meadow said sighing. "This is our family vacation. No one outside of the family should be here. Thats why I don't bring Tristan or the kids here." She glances at you the only non-family member at the table.

Robin glares at her but its Emmy that speaks up. "We both know you keep your 'husband' hidden from us. Why shouldn't Robin's partner be here, she's practically family." My father watches until all the waiters leave the room. The already empty restaurant seems even more desolate and silent.

My father puts out his cigarette on the white tablecloth and looked at me. His voice carries a fighting authority as he speaks. "What deal did you have with J, Ace?" I glance at J but don't respond so my father looks at Rhea. "Ripley?" she shakes her head.

"No deal" Rhea says "she misspoke."

"You know." My father sighs rubbing his hand over his face. "Happy," (Robin) "runs the company, Ghost" (Theo) "defends the family from the law. Blondie" (Meadow) "has a family in Ohio. Rocket and Tiny," (Frances and Riley) "go to school. Firefly and Jo-jo" (Cordelia and Jerome) "assist J with the nightclubs and my sweet Pearl" (Emmy) "assists me with the casinos." His eyes turn to me and Rhea. "You know, Ace, Ripley... I tend not to ask too many questions. I just hear you re helping with the west coast dealings with our family... but what do you two do exactly that you need to make a deal with your brother?"

"Shes helping me." Rhea says rubbing her wrists, a quirk she had since she was a child. She was nervous and both my parents could tell. I could feel all eyes on us and my parents looked at each other.

For a moment they just looked at each other, My mother lighting a cigarette and taking a deep puff. She handed down the pack in her hand and Theo who was on the other side of you, encouraged you to take one. "You'll need it." He whispered.

My mother looked between me, rhea and J. She knew more then my father, despite popular belief she was protective over her surviving children and she made sure to know about her children's doings while remaining in the shadows. After all, if they knew she was watching they'd hide it better from her. She knew J's anger and hate towards The Bloodline.

The bloodline was another popular gang that rivaled there own. They had the cops under their thumbing ran nearly all the west coast and wanted it all. They were considered better then The Playhouse, they gave to the community, there violence was more hidden from the public because they paid off the networks and while they weren't considered safe, they were more trusted then our family. She knew J hated The Bloodline, he wanted as much of the country under the Playhouse rule and unlike a lot of other gangs, The Bloodline wasn't intimidated by the tales of violence about our family. She also knew Rhea was working with The Bloodline and how she was slowly working her way up the ranks.

But what she didn't know was why J needed me. She just assumed I ran the casinos with J. Like he told her. Her brown eyes locked into mine, "Are you working with Rhea, darling?" Her eyes flickered from me to j.

"I work in the casino, father," I lied smoothly. "You know this. The deal with J is that I take some of the money we make and help Rhea with her job."

My mother isn't convinced but nods. My father seems satisfied by this answer. "Are you seeing anyone?" my mother asks and I glance up at J who's face looks rather emotionless. I know he is thinking the same thing as I am. If mom knew, shed try to control it or intervene which would put our whole operation at risk. Rhea and I were both in the enemy's den, if we were found out then it would cause a war between the two factions and we didn't even know which groups if any would take their side.

"Not seriously," I lied again. "Why should I go back with Negan?" I challenged and her face fell. Robin chuckled at her face.

"mom," Cordelia whined. "Can we order now?"

.

[qnewsau]

I'm A Celebrity's Ellie Cole shares her unexpected love story

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/ellie-cole-shares-her-unexpected-love-story-on-im-a-celebrity/

I'm A Celebrity's Ellie Cole shares her unexpected love story

Australian Paralympic champ Ellie Cole has opened up about how her relationship with her partner Silvia took her by surprise on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

The swimmer and wheelchair basketballer, who is Australia’s most decorated female Paralympian, retired in 2022. Last week, Ellie ~entered the jungle~ on the wild reality TV show.

In between challenges, Ellie Cole and athlete and cricket WAG Candice Warner discussed their partners.

Ellie Cole shared with her campmates that she and her partner Silvia (above) have been together for eleven years.

“We met at the London Games. She was working for Paralympics Australia,” Ellie recalled.

But when Ellie was asked if she recognised those first interactions as the start of a relationship, she responded, “No, I was straight then.”

Ellie explained to camera,“I just always assumed that I was straight.

“I just remember being in primary school and thinking, ‘When I get older, I’m going to get married to my husband, and we’re going to have six kids by the time I’m twenty.’

“I just always followed that path, because that’s what we grow up thinking we’re going to do, for some reason.”

Ellie hid her relationship from her family

But when Ellie and Silvia started talking every day, their friendship unexpectedly became a relationship.

“I wasn’t sure what [my feelings] were. I thought it was just a fling at first, but [it’s now] eleven years later,” Ellie said.

She said it “just felt right, so I never looked back,” but sadly she kept her relationship secret from her family for many years.

“I didn’t tell my mum for years. It was really hard. I knew that she didn’t approve of same-sex relationships,” Ellie recalled.

“It’s not nice hiding a part of yourself from your parents.

“My mum didn’t find out until we actually bought a house together, like years later.

“My grandma loved Silvia and I think my grandma talked my mum into it a little bit. The last couple of years it’s been great. Silvia comes to all of our Christmases.”

In February, Ellie Cole and her partner Silvia announced the birth of their first child, Felix.

Ellie Cole gets Australia Day Honour

Ellie received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year’s Australia Day honours.

The retired athlete was awarded for her “significant service to sport as an advocate for diversity and inclusion” of Australians with a disability.

When she was two years old, Ellie was diagnosed with a rare tumour. A life-threatening neurosarcoma was wrapped around the nerves in her right leg.

As well as a year of brutal chemotherapy, when Ellie was three her doctors decided to amputate her right leg.

Ellie said on I’m A Celebrity that despite being our most decorated female Paralympian, she never felt that she received the same level of support as other Olympians.

“As a para-athlete, probably up until Tokyo 2020, I really felt like I had to push much harder just to be seen in the same regard,” she said.

“I joined the Campbell sisters [Bronte and Cate] in a training program. Everyone loves the Campbell sisters, and so they should. They’re Australia’s swimming sweethearts, and it was an amazing opportunity to train with them,” Ellie said.

“But I was going into that program as a 15-time Paralympic medallist, and I still had to try and fight for resources and fight for funding to be able to be supported in the same program as an Olympic athlete. That was really challenging.”

Read more:

Ellie Cole and her partner Silvia become mums

Paralympic champ Ellie Cole gets Australia Day Honour

I’m A Celebrity’s Tristan MacManus worried love of dancing would brand him gay

Khanh Ong just put his whole fist in his mouth on I’m A Celebrity

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[ninjastormhawkkat]

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that dear.” Constance said, expressing her condolences. She seemed hesitant on asking her next question. Not wanting to upset the poor woman any further. It seemed clear Melina was deeply attached to the man she called father. Constance would feel it would be horrible to divulge what nearly everyone else was thinking at this point. Luckily for her, Becky diverted her crisis for a brief period of time. “Dad, why did you and grandpa Matthew look s..sss.shocked at seeing Archie’s dad?” Becky asked in a curious tone. Matthew and Gene’s eyes widened a bit, both taken a bit back by the sudden question. Carl at first looked confused as to what Becky was referring to but then he took another long look at Stewart. Carl’s eyes soon widened in recognition and surprise. “Wait a minute. Weren’t you Mr. Rainbow?” Carl asked. Stewart looked surprised at the question but then gave a warm smile. “Why yes I was. I assumed you watched the show as well.” Stewart chuckled a bit. Carl shook his head. “Only a few episodes. But Matthew and Gene watched it together a lot when it was running.” Carl commented. This caused Gene to blush a bit. “Dad. I was a little kid. It was a famous family show that I only watched and liked when I was a lot younger.” Gene commented. Matthew crossed his arms with a frown. “Mr. Rainbow was a national icon back in the day. You watched every episode together up into your teens.” Matthew corrected. “Pops!” Gene yelped as his face was becoming more red. “I’m sorry but what is this Mr. Rainbow?” Hugh asked in confusion. Stewart ended up explaining what the show was to the alien doctor. “Oh it was a wonderful show. I went on stage and played the role of a character called Mr. Rainbow. I performed a lot of skits with various puppets and props. The main purpose of my show was helping children and adults learn important values and lessons such as being kind and polite to others as well as being respectful and sharing. It was a family oriented program that I wanted to use to spread good and helpful messages to every child and their families.” Stewart happily stated. “It was kind of embarrassing when I was a kid to have Mr. Rainbow as my dad but he really helped me and my mom a lot. His lessons and kindness towards me helped me to become the person I am now.” Archie said in a proud tone. “Aww.” Sunshine cooed at her husband. “Yeah, the Mr. Rainbow show was great. Gene was a huge fan back then. I remember one time Gene got upset because they were sold out of the Mr. Sheep stuffed toys at the local toy store.” Matthew commented. “Pops! It was a while ago when I was a kid of course I would have acted upset then.” Gene nearly shouted back. His face now turning a deeper shade of red. “Wait a second. As I recall, you were 12 when it happened.” Victor spoke up. “You nearly bit the hand off of the cashier when she told you they were sold out.” Gene turned his head around quickly and glared at his siblings who started snickering. Alex and Tristan cooed at hearing about Gene’s past while holding back their own chuckles. Patricia meanwhile was full on cackling like a hyena. “Ha, this is too ironic!” Patricia chortled. It was ironic to her that Archie idolized Gene when he was a kid, and Gene idolized Archie’s step father when he was younger. Gene just groaned into his hands. “Can we please change the subject to something else.” Gene moaned. It didn’t help Gene when Stewart spoke up again. “If you want Gene, I still have Mr. Sheep at my home. I can bring him over sometime in the future if you want to see him.” Stewart offered. Gene, now completely red faced with pure embarrassment just quietly muttered, “..yes please.” This sent Patricia on another laughing fit and this time Jenkins couldn’t help but chuckle a bit too at the scene before him. Becky had an annoyed look though. “You don’t like Pretty Princess but you like his show. Pretty Princess teaches good stuff too.” Becky remarked with a huff. @dualnaturedscientist

Heart of chaos

A year had passed since the B.E.A.W Labs organization had fallen. Since all the events had taken place. Becky being taken along with Bob. The poor girl being experimented on by a cruel scientist who had no love for anyone but himself. Matthew had broken out of the facility with her, Carl and Steven. Gene's true identity being revealed along with losing his Dr.Two-Brains persona. Shocking revelations unfolded. Betrayals and redemption. Things had calmed down significantly since but that didn't mean life had been dull. It certainly wasn't for Fair City. Especially with the villains, heroes and its eccentric inhabitants livening up the city. Becky had been making a wonderful recovery. Though she still wasn't at her full recovery Becky was still making so much more progress than the year prior. Gene still had identity issues, dealing with the loss of Squeaky. Though he didn't go through it alone. The still mad scientist had his family and friends help him through everything. Matthew and Carl took up residency within the city. A house that wasn't too far from their sons. Life in this place was definitely lively and peaceful in comparison to the hellish place many innocent souls were imprisoned in. Matthew was less exhausted than before. Relaxing within the living room in his son's house, watching whatever was put on the television. Matthew felt his eyes beginning to droop. Sleepiness hitting him out of nowhere. He simply allowed himself to doze off, not fighting it. Knowing that he was safe there. It wasn't until he felt weight on him that Matthew opened his eyes. Usually a dog or cat would be the cause for this but Matthew met many eyes. Fluffy had snuck into the house yet again. A small warm smile spread across his facial features, patting the spider on its head. Fluffy leaned into Matthew's hand, making soft happy noises. It was funnily cute to him. Though he understood as to why Gene was so afraid of him. Even Carl was squeamish around the giant spider. “Aw, who's a good boy? You are! You're a good boy!” Matthew couldn't help but baby talk the arachnid. He looked up, wriggling his chelicerae in response. As to say ‘Me! I'm a good boy!’ He chuckled at that, giving Fluffy gentle scritches. It was like a huge puppy in a spider's body. Though the peacefulness was interrupted by a sudden shout. “NO! WHY IS IT HERE AGAIN?!” Gene was in the doorway of the living room. Looking quite terrified at the huge arachnid. Fluffy instantly moved around on Matthew's lap to look at Gene. Excitedly jumping off of the supervillain's lap in favor of his son. He bolted right for the mad scientist, causing him to yelp loudly and make a run for it. “SOMEONE KEEP THAT ABOMINATION AWAY FROM ME!” Matthew gave a small laugh. “Can't help but feel abit rejected there.” Archie, who was quiet until then, responded. “I know that feeling.” This caused Matthew to jump up startled. “Don't do that! I'm old. Also I could accidentally blast you.” Archie blinked in confusion. “You didn't notice me? I came in with Fluffy. He got loose and snuck into the house. I just came to bring him back before he got to Gene. Too late for that now.” Archie frowned. “I can't help but be jealous at how much Fluffy loves him. Though Gene is terrified of him. That spider just won't listen to me when it comes to his favorite person.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “You want me to help you?” Matthew was being genuine with his question. He didn't want his son dying of fright from the giant arachnid. “That would be greatly appreciated. I have to take him back home. He can't avoid taking his medication this time.” Matthew got up, stretching first before doing anything else. This earned him a strange look from Archie. “What? I said I'm old. If I don't stretch I'll pull a muscle.” The hero shrugged. “Let's go get him soon. I have to look after Charlotte as well.” Archie always had the brightest smile when Charlotte was brought up. Either by him, Sunshine or anyone else. It was sweet. “Alright, alright.” They were completely unaware of an enemy observing them. Waiting.

Miss Power growled in frustration at the display she was witnessing through a window to the Boxleitner or rather the Woods household. A display she thought was very disgusting. How badly the alien conqueror wanted to charge right in their and obliterate everyone in her sights. She couldn't do her usual tactics and tricks right now, not after what she learned after coming back. She was still ticked off after that little alien brat Wordgirl and her parents dupe and tricked her into leaving the planet in defeat. There was no way she could go back to her planet and face her people with such a shameful stain to her otherwise brilliant record. Fueled by revenge and hatred, Miss Power spent her time preparing, training, and waiting so she could exact her revenge against those who wronged her, against the little hybrid girl and her freak of a family that humiliated her. Sadly when Miss Power and her loyal sidekick Colonel Gigglecheeks did decide to return, they were not prepared for the recent changes that had happeend in their absence. Miss Power did not care much for this Darius person or B.E.A.W labs, she had seen those like them a dime a dozen before on other worlds. The alien wished she could have congratulated the person who tortured and dehumanized Wordgirl and her sidekick. If it was up to her, Professor Ross Moran would receive high honors among her people for his actions. She did give her condolences at his unmarked gravestone. While the recent trauma Wordgirl and her sidekick have suffered gave Miss Power an opportunistic advantage, the alien conquerer unfortunately could not risk using it especially with her grandfather around. Miss Power was amazed at hearing about the past and recent exploits of Maddrix the Malicious. She was shocked that someone so bloodthirsty and powerful was the father of that scientist who used to have a mouse brain attached to his skull as well as a weird cheese obsession. To her disappointment, Miss Power could clearly see the man was too human and had regretted his actions in the past. Actions that would have made him highly respected among her people despite him being human. Still Miss Power wasn't going to risk striking back while that old coot was still alive. Age did not always equate to weakness according to what she had been taught. Even though he was old, Maddrix was clearly still powerful. It was likely that her and Gigglecheeks would wind up dead by the man's hands before they could claim revenge and victory. A chittering sound snapped Miss Power out of her musings. She turned her head to see her sidekick give her a concerned look. He chittered again and asked 'So what are we going to do?' Miss Power smiled and scratched her sidekick's head which he enjoyed. "Don't worry Colonel Gigglecheeks. We'll get our revenge soon. We just need to learn more about Mr. Malicious and what weaknesses he might have so we can use it to defeat him." Miss Power cooed. She then took her sidekick and flew off without anyone being the wiser. Miss Power was brash and bold and could be tricked sometimes, but she was no fool. The alien conqueror learned long ago that the best way to win your battles was to be prepared and know your enemy more than they know themselves. Carl sighed with relief and slight exhaustion as he sat down in a comfy chair. He had just finished sweeping the floor of his and Matthew's home. Now all he had to do was sit and relax until his husband got home. Carl wanted to try a nice 'mom and pop' owned restaurant that one of Gene's friends, Chuck, had recommended to the man. Carl had been itching to get out and do something more and more recently. If he had to be honest, he was getting bored. In the past, Carl had his job and work as a scientist to keep him occupied along with spending time with his husband and kids. Unfortunately after his 20 year imprisonment, Carl couldn't step in another official science lab ever again without a severe anxiety and panic attack @dualnaturedscientist

[the-kings-of-games]

I like Chaseshipping, so here's a college headcanon:

(Or: In which Tristan's friends are famous and he's famously dating)

While Téa goes to American and Yūgi and Joey continue to on their dueling careers, Tristan attends university two cities over to study business and accounting. He wants to help with the family business.

For convenience's sake, he rents a cheap apartment, but he comes home often, usually on weekends.

Due to living close to campus, he joins the gaming club (because it reminds him of his best friends) and makes friends. He's not the best at playing, but he's awfully insightful and knowledgeable about games, including Duel Monsters.

He's well liked by his classmates, and even professors can rely on his help. Tristan often agrees to go to drinking, but he doesn't go to "meet" people, though he's been offered a few times.

"Sorry, I have a boyfriend. He's in California right now."

Girls find it endearing, but that's all Tristan mentions of his boyfriend. A few people in his circle think the boyfriend's made up because he's trying to be nice. They tease him about it.

"He's real. I wouldn't lie about that, that's embarrassing."

"Then show us a picture! Come on, Tristan!"

"I rather not. He always incites a riot when he's brought up, and I know people will bother me about him."

"You make it sound like he's famous."

". . . He's— Very good looking. I guess." (Technically, a lot of people I know are famous, but I'll never tell any of you that!)

Then, one night out at a bar with the game club, there's a surprise appearance from some old friends. The door to the club's private room is opened, and Tristan hears a familiar voice.

"I knew I saw you coming in here, Tristan! It's been a while."

The room is quiet, and everyone's eyes are as big as saucers because there's a world famous duelist and the CEO of the biggest Duel Monster company in the world just standing there.

"Mai! Kaiba!" Tristan greets, smiling. Everybody's been so busy, it's been a while since they had a get together. "What are you doing here?"

Mai smiles back, winking. "Working on some tournament deals, and we stopped here for the night. Are these all your friends?"

Seto scoffs. "I knew I felt geek the moment I stepped inside this establishment. Be ready to leave at 9 tomorrow, Valentine." He's already leaving.

"He's still an asshole." Tristan is rolling his eyes to the back of his head, but he's still laughing. "It was good seeing you, Kaiba! Mai, you wanna stay for a drink?"

"Sure! Let's catch up a bit. I could use better company than Mister Brick Wall. Scoot over, Tristan."

Tristan introduces his club to Mai. All the club members are silently thanking the brunette because God, that's Mai Valentine! (And they got to see Seto Kaiba in real life??)

Mai warms up to the club immediately, answering questions from excited nerds. (Don't worry, she's very used to this.) She agrees to autographs. At some point, someone asks offhandedly if she knows Tristan's "boyfriend."

"Yeah, why you ask?"

"So he is real? Tristan won't tell us anything about him. We thought the boyfriend's made up."

Tristan is groaning, hiding behind a beer. Nosy friends. Mai is intrigued by this.

"Well, I won't tell if Tristan won't, but I assure you, the boyfriend is very much real."

"Can you at least tell us one thing about him?"

"Mai," Tristan says, pleading for her to stay quiet.

"Don't worry, Tristan. It'll be vague: he's famous in the gaming world."

The club ponders on this for a second, looking back and forth between themselves and Mai who's laughing. Someone famous in the game world, and someone world famous duelist Mai Valentine knows, maybe someone close to her?

"Joey Wheeler???"

Tristan spits out his beer.

For weeks after, Tristan is badgered by big DM fans on campus because word got out about Mai and by his club friends because they really want to know about his famous, real boyfriend.

However, Tristan doesn't let up, tightening up even more. This is partly the reason why he didn't want to tell in the first place.

Then, another surprise appearances happens but only for other people. Tristan had been excited for a week, and when he's done with classes that afternoon, he rushes out of the building, throwing himself at one of the guys in sunglasses standing outside. The other guy has a hat on and is shorter.

There's shouting between Tristan and the hatless one (a blond), the former getting the latter in a headlock while the short one laughs. They look pretty close. Tristan takes them to the game club because the shorter one loves games.

The three of the them show up at the club meeting which is already five minutes in. Tristan's guests take off their disguises, and it's Joey Wheeler, another world famous duelist, and Yūgi Mutō, the King of Games????

Everyone's freaking out. Two people burst into tears, and another into flames(?). They're all too shocked to speak properly.

"Does this happen all the time?" Joey asks, joking. He gives someone a wink, and they faint.

"I half expected this to happen," Yūgi says, a little worried.

"Remember it was all your idea," Tristan says, shaking his head. "Everybody, calm down, or we're leaving!"

Self-control is brought back to the club. Everyone who's into DM challenged Yūgi and Joey to a duel, but the former refrains, wanting to play the other games available first. Joey's all, "I'll take all of you on for the both of us!"

Everyone's having a great time, and someone is smart enough to ask about Tristan's boyfriend.

"Pretty boy?" Joey asks, scoffing. "There's nothing special about him. So what if he's Pegasus's—" Tristan clasps a hand over his friend's mouth.

"He's still your boyfriend?" Yūgi asks, confused. "I thought he—" Tristan has two hands, guys, for silencing his two best friends.

"I have dirt on the both of you. I'm not afraid to use it."

Joey and Yūgi choke a bit before nodding. Everybody is even more intrigued (about the boyfriend and the dirt Tristan has).

The meeting continues on like before, and the three leave about two hours later, Tristan and Joey chanting, "Cheap beer! Take out! Cheap beer! Take out!" Yūgi is laughing, waving the club goodbye.

By now, Tristan is the gaming club's most favorite member. Word gets out about Joey and Yūgi, and even more people are asking about them. Everybody's just waiting for the next famous someone Tristan knows to show up. Maybe Pegasus? Dueling prodigy Rebecca Hopkins? Up and rising American pop idol Téa Gardner?? God???

But months pass and there's nobody new shows up. Everyone's a bit disappointed as the semester comes to a close, but Tristan doesn't think much about it. He's just trying to finish his classes and have a good time.

Finally, there's only one club meeting left before break. Some people will graduate, some will come back to finish their degree. Tristan's already packed to go back home for the time being, and he goes to attend the last meeting, lingering on his walk over.

He does not expect to see one famous dice lover, creator of the popular Dungeon Dice Monsters, young and successful entrepreneur and part time model, sitting and playing with members of the club who are literally vibrating with excitement and awe.

"Duke! What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, hey, babe! I came to surprise you and take you home. I miss your sister's cooking."

Duke doesn't hesitate as he gets up and kisses Tristan on the lips. His smile is 100 watts, Tristan is nervous.

All the pieces finally come together.

"YOU'RE TRISTAN'S BOYFRIEND?!"

Duke's smile falls, Tristan is nervous™.

"Boyfriend? He's not my boyfriend."

Tristan is sweating, face red. Duke is glaring at him. The club is sweating. The tension can be cut with a knife.

"Tristan Taylor, what have you been telling everyone?! I'm not your boyfriend, I'm your freaking fiancé!"

". . . FIANCÉ?!”

[rere-the-writer]

Can you do one where the reader is married to Klaus, she’s pregnant but they already had a two-year-old daughter, but aurora kidnaps the reader out of jealousy which infuriates the whole family? (the reader is a witch/ Hope and Hayley never happened)

Yes. I enjoy writing Klaus going to slaughter everyone

Warnings: Over protective Mikaelsons, Klaus being Klaus, tooth rotting fluff at the end

You sat with your two year daughter reading to her while waiting for the family to return home. Your daughter was a surprise to you and your husband but Aster became a welcome addition to the family.

You were a witch that married Klaus Mikaelson over a 60 years ago which your husband loved to joke that you don't look a day over 22. Now you were pregnant with Klaus's son something the Mikaelsons was excited for.

"You're going to be a big sister soon Aster." You told the girl watching the two year old lay her head on your belly listening to her baby brother move.

There was a crash down stairs and you were quickly hiding your daughter with magic where only Freya could undo it. You stepped out seeing Aurora standing there which didn't surprise you as the female vampire was determined to get your husband.

"I am giving you a chance to leave Aurora." You say as she glared at you and you saw the jealousy in her eyes. You knew who she was, Klaus's first love but Klaus had told you that you were his true love.

"You stole Nik from me."

"I didn't steal a thing. Nik had simply chosen to move on from you." You said looking at her with careful calculating eyes. There was a reason Klaus called you his Queen and you were a powerful witch that had the covens second guessing from attacking the family.

You belong beside Klaus as he would say and adored showing you and Aster off much to your amusement. Kol and Rebekah loved calling you Queen of the castle seeing just how much Klaus loved you.

"He belongs to me, witch!"

"My husband belongs to no one. One last chance Aurora."

"No Nik is mine and you are in the way!" Aurora said coming at you as you gave her an brain aneressum making her fall holding her head. You let out a ylep as Aya caught you after knocking you out.

"Thank you Aya. Now take care of her."

The family came home noticing how quiet it was. Freya sucked in a breath feeling the magic you left over and quickly headed up stairs undoing the spell you did with Elijah following.

"She is gone!" Kol said after checking the compound, Elijah frowned coming down carrying a sniffling Aster as Klaus pacing anger flooded him as thought of who could have taken you.

"Surely she wouldn't leave? Y/N would never let Aster from her sight." Elijah says looking to Rebekah who was calling you. They all saw your phone on the stairs ringing as fury flooded them at who ever dared to take you.

"Hello all. Ho....." Lucien was cut off by Klaus pinning him against a wall hand around his thoat. Elijah covered Aster's eyes with his hand confusing the girl making babble grabbing her uncle's hand. Rebekah and Kol joined Klaus in cornering Lucien.

"Where is my wife? You better tell the truth or I'll let Rebekah flay your skin." Klaus says as Freya covered Aster's ears so the girl won't hear the threats.

"Oh.....is....the Queen missing?.....I wasn't aware." Lucien choked out flinching when Kol smirked leaning in.

"If you know something best speak or we start removing limbs."

"Aurora.....came...asking my witch...to lower the safe guards....she took Y/N." Lucien said as Klaus let go growling deeply eyes flashing.

"Aurora dies tonight."

You huffed sitting in a comfortable chair rubbing your belly as much like his father, your boy was restless. While you were taken by Aurora, you were placed under Tristan's watchful eye who made sure you every comfortable which you knew why.

"Congratulations on having a boy. Mik is every lucky."

"Cut the noble act Tristan. You and I know you want the baby and your sister wants me dead."

"A smart one aren't you."

"I am not Nik's Queen for my looks." You say glaring at the vampire as he looked at the dead vampires that had tried moving you.

"Yes well Aurora wants that title. Sadly you are on the throne."

"I am aware. And it sounds like the King has came for me." You tell Tristan smirked hearing the sounds of screams reached their ears.

"Nik! You came to see me."

"Where is my wife, Aurora?" Klaus growled glaring at the female vampire as the family went searching killing anyone in the way.

"Do you really need some boorish witch? Remember how much fun we had? Now she turning you into something you aren't."

"Aurora, I am not playing any of your games." Klaus growled eyes turning yellow as Aurora pouted crossing her arms.

"But Nik! She is keeping us apart! But if you must know I handed her off to Tristan. You know he always wanted a son."

Klaus surprised her by slamming her against a wall his hand around her throat growling deeply.

"If your brother touches a hair on my wife's head I will lay to waste all you know." Klaus growled as Aurora shuttered flinching when Klaus squeezed.

You jumped hearing a body drop as Elijah stepped into the room cleaning his hand looking at you smiling then looked to Tristan.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here." Elijah says stepping over a body looking you over making sure you weren't harmed then back to Tristan.

"Well Aurora promised me the boy." Tristan says as you covered your belly as Elijah narrowed his eyes.

"I see. I'll be leaving with her now." Elijah said as it happened quickly and Tristan's body hit the floor from his neck being snapped.

"Y/N are you alright?"

"Henrik and I are fine." You say standing as Elijah paused looking at you seeing a smile on your lips. You hushed him before he said a word.

"Keep quiet about it please."

"Of course." Elijah says leading you out as Kol rushed to your side with Rebekah both fuzzing over you. Walking out to the main room you found Klaus standing in the middle of dead bodies and Aurora layed on the ground her neck snapped.

"Nik." You called out softly getting his attention right away as Klaus took you up into his arms kissing you. Klaus buried his face in your neck taking in your scent while cupping your belly.

"Let's get you home love."

It was nice for you to be home sitting on the couch in front of a warm fire with a blanket over as you knitted having both Kol and Klaus listening to your son. Aster cuddling her favorite uncle, Elijah gently reading to her while sitting in a rocking chair. Freya and Rebekah cuddled up on the another couch all of you enjoying the calm.

"Have you thought of a name?"

"I have Beka. I was thinking Henrik would be a good name." You say softly as they froze looking at you then soft smiles came on their faces.

"That is a prefect name love." Klaus said kissing your head as you smiled gently soaking up your husband's warmth happy that you made them happy.

[vivinightingale]

Marrying their firefighter/cop s/o

Request by @sacredwarrior88 ! <3

Yugi Muto:

It was honestly the day he has been ready for his entire life. The beautiful dress/tux you wore was something out of a fairytale.

He remembered how distraught you were when you realized the muscle you have gained from your line of work was more prominent with your wedding attire, but honestly he doesn't understand??

Even now as you stand in front of him reciting the vows of love he doesn't understand why you would dislike them?? It helps show all the hard work you put in your career. So it just made him more proud to call you his.

God does this boy love you.

When it's his turn he pours all his love and adoration into his words that it even makes the pastor tear up!

“And though your career as a cop takes you down a dangerous path, I promise to stay by your side and support you in any way I can. You will NEVER be alone.”

Yami/Atem:

To say Atem waited 2 life times for you isn't an understatement. When the two of you first met you were part of the royal guard, a captain to be specific. When he met you again your dreams were to be a cop to help protect the people.

Now here you were years later; wearing the most amazing dress/tux he had ever seen you wear, with him standing at the end of the aisle tears gathering in the corner of his eyes.

He watched you grow into this beautiful person who helps protect the city you hold dear, and he honestly couldn't be prouder.

He would do anything to keep you by his side.

The vow exchange was beautiful and heartfelt. Though no one but you cried, everyone could feel the love behind his words.

“I have waited so long to call you mine, but I would wait as long as indeed to because you're worth every bit of that wait.”

Joey Wheeler:

I won't lie to you, this man is a nervous wreck. He still doesn't understand what he did to deserve such a wonderful s/o like you, but he really doesn't want to screw it up now.

He stands in the front clenching and unclenching his sweaty hands as he watches you walk towards him. Your amazing dress/tux looked way better on you then your firehouse uniform

That sparkling smile you wore was the same smile you wore when you came home and told him you got your dream job of being a firefighter.

He wouldn’t trade this and those moments for anything.

When you finally reached him and vows were exchanged. He stumbled and mumbled a lot, but they were beautiful and heartfelt all the same

“I-I may not be good with….everything, b-but i promise to be a good husband! And to give you all the love and s-support you deserve!”

Tristan Taylor:

So Joey was nervous, but Tristan is straight up a wreck. He talks all this big talk,but really he is really scared to mess the whole thing up.

Though he has seen you fight fires bigger than buildings, and go through fires to save people. This moment right here was the scariest thing he has ever faced.

Seeing you walk up to him in your beautiful dress/tux and your shining smile has him a happy wreck.

He wants to save this moment forever.

When the two of you exchange vows you both tear up, both of you hanging on to each other's words.

“I could never ask for someone as beautiful and amazing as you. Thank you for sticking it out with me in the long run…”

Duke Devlin:

When you and Duke started dating he slowly evolved from a playboy to a simp. He supported you and your career of being a cop. He made sure you had breakfast in the morning, a lunch packed, and dinner for when you got home.

He was the perfect definition of House Husband except he didn't have the official title until now, and honestly he wouldn't have it any other way.

To him you looked good in anything, but your wedding attire was better than anything he has ever seen. However when you reached him at the altar he couldn't help but throw some suggestive comments your way.

This man continued to be a danger to your ever growing blush but you love him no matter what.

Though he wanted to lighten the mood he couldn't bring himself to throw in jokes into his vows. He wanted you to feel all the love he has for you.

“You have changed my life for the better, and I couldn't be more grateful to you. Allow me to spend the rest of my life repaying you.”

Seto Kaiba:

Honestly he never thought he would see the day where he was sharing his life with another person who was his family. Though he would never admit it to you in public, it is a nice change for him.

He was scared for a while that the two of you would drift apart. With him constantly upping his business and you as a cop he thought there would hardly be time for just the two of you,but you made sure to make time for him and Mokuba..

And now here you both were, Standing at the Altar hand in hand sharing your own silent vows of love.

Being able to love you has been the most amazing feeling to him.

His vows are strong and confident; yet still full of love. He knew his place was by your side, and he wants you to know that.

“You have taught me more than anyone i have ever met, and i look forward to learning more with you by my side as my husband/wife”

Bakura Ryou:

This boy was in tears before he even saw you walking down the aisle. You have saved him in more ways than one, and he can't believe he gets to call you his.

When the two of you were in highschool, a bad chemical reaction had caught the lab on fire. You were one of the few brave enough to go back and help as many students and staff that you coil. One of them so happened to be Bakura

Since then he has stuck by your side through everything. Graduation, training, and you eventually becoming the great firefighter that you are today..

You are his whole world

When you stop in front of him, and he gently grabs your hands he could help but say his vows before the priest could say anything

“You've been a light in my life for as long as i can remember, and i'm so happy to have you in life forever.”

Yami Bakura:

Now...how did he get here?? Never in a million years did he ever see himself dressed up, and in front of an altar.

But here he is watching you walk towards him, a smile gracing your features, and dressed nicely in your dress/tux. The scowl from his face never left, but just by looking at how it softened upon seeing you one would know he loves you.

Being on the side of law, the two of you seem like a crack couple, but the two of you made it work in lovely ways. He stayed out of trouble when you were around, but kept it on the downlow when you were.

His cute little cop.

When you finally reached him he took your hands in his as his face grew red. His vows were stumbled but pure. He loves you, even if he doesn't show it often.

“You are as pure as a desert lily, and even though we don't see eye to eye on everything…..i-i...i love you.”

Marik Ishtar:

He wears the biggest grin you have ever seen. From the day you agreed to date him he knew you were the one. You brought him joy and fun when nothing else would.

Though he traveled a lot he always came home to you. You were the only home he knew anymore.even when that home was covered in soot from another fire.

He adored you to no end,and he was so happy when you picked him up when he fell, when he got antsy to travel again,and when he came home months later.

May he never part from home too long.

When you finally reached him he could just grab your hands. He had to cup your cheeks to feel that you're really there. He wasted no time telling you how he felt even as he began to tear up.

“My starlight you have been a gift from the gods themselves, and I hope to make you as happy as you make me.”

Yami Marik:

This man does believe in shit like that. He knew you belonged to him since the day he met you, but if a simple piece of metal and some simple words will make you happy he will do it.

He keeps everything small, but enough to satisfy you. He doesn't smile until he sees you. Something about how the light hit you made you seem angelic.

He knew that you were an officer, and that you protected the people,but he didnt care. You became something more than a pawn to him. He let you into his heart, to see parts of me no one else has.

You are a safe place for him and he adores it.

When you finally reached him he grabbed your hands in a gentle manner he stared deep into your eyes. His vows are powerful and full of determination.

“You have become a light I haven't seen in years. As long as you're with me I will protect you just like you have done with me.”

[thecagedsong]

I know it’s such a jezebel move, but there’s something to the moment in a story where a man is professing his eternal and undying love for a woman, and the woman turns around and says “prove it” and asks for something the man doesn’t want to do. 

Like, not to condone murder, but just watched Much Ado About Nothing again and like, Beatrice going “Someone who really loved me would challenge Cladio to a duel for besmirching my innocent cousin’s name in a public spectacle.” Was so good.

And Benedict was like, “Murder? My friend? Really? That’s what you want?”

Beatrice is all “Look, I’d do it myself. I would eat his heart if I could, but the limits of culture and society say only a man can do that. If only someone actually loved me enough to do it for me!”

On the one hand, asking someone to prove they love you doesn’t really indicated you love them, only what they can do for you. 

On the other hand, love is easy to talk about, and the kind of commitment it demands really should be based on something more than whispered words.

The protagonist of A Doll’s House is showered with love until her husband finds out she took out a loan in his name (I think that’s her sin) and he immediately turns on her and is ready to throw her to the law to clear his own name. That wouldn’t have happened if she asked him to prove his love when he first proclaimed it.  

It’s Victoria in Stardust asking Tristan to prove he loved her enough to bring her back a star after flattering her. The story shows that her request was ultimately unreasonable and a sign she didn’t love him at all, but don’t forget that it also showed the Tristian didn’t love her! Tristan found a girl just as pretty along the way, took time to actually get to know Yvonne, and ultimately realized he didn’t love Victoria.

The story frames it as him going back to Victoria in a moment of triumph, having realized she didn’t love him and found something better while becoming a better person, leaving her to be small and selfish with her subpar lover. 

But like. It’s Tristan who was the liar. He came back, having gotten out of the village, and he didn’t love her? He claimed he loved her so much he would get a star for her, but he only made the last leg of the journey to rub his improvement in her face. What would have happened if she had believed in him? HE DIDN’T ACTUALLY LOVE HER DESPITE SWEARING HE DID. He just loved the prettiest girl in the village, when his world became bigger, Victoria wasn’t important anymore. 

When he gave her the star, Victoria was ready to believe that he loved her, to get to know him now, just like she said she would. Marry him even.  But the narrative punishes her for not believing pretty words in the first place and asking him, while tipsy, to prove they were more than pretty words. He literally drops her in the dirt. Victoria was true to her words. Tristan wasn’t. Victoria’s crime is not believing in Tristian’s self-proclaimed potential enough to trust her whole future to it. 

While stardust punishes Victoria for asking for proof, when Benedict challenges Cladio’s honor with a duel, the narrative rewards him for it. Beatrice knows that his words aren’t empty, that she isn’t just the first woman that he realized liked him back. Cladio realizes the gravity of PUIBLICLY HUMILIATING the woman he loved instead of talking to her and asking about it or simply postponing the wedding until it was resolved. And for the first time the noble character of Benedict that everyone has been talking about the entire play is shown as he stands up to his friend for harming a good woman. That’s when you actually start to love this disaster of a man.

I’ve been rambling, but I guess I’m tired of women being portrayed as false and faithless for not taking a man’s word that she’s important. Don’t writers know how devastating to the soul it is when the man proves faithless? Women should be counted wise by requiring proof. (though I would not, as a general rule, advocate women require men to kill people to prove their love.)

What does the woman have left in a story when a man proves faithless? 

Does she become the vengeful, wrathful “woman scorned” as Medea? 

A pitiful charity project for the actual hero?

Let women demand proof of a man’s love. Because I hate that media has trained me to put faith in pretty words and convinced me that I’m the one in the wrong when I ask for proof. 

Punish men when their words of love prove false and let the story show their nature is that of a coward and a liar.

[lebrookestore]

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐭

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Collab hosted by @heartyyjeno and @neojaems

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧

Pairing: Qian Kun x reader

Themes: richkid au-ish, royalty au-ish, slight humour, ANGST, strangers to lovers, betrayal, suspense, drugs, murder, cruises, pride and prejudice

Warnings: angst, mentions of murder, drugs, smoking, betrayal, drugging, making out, messed up stuff honestly

Wc: 17.1k

Taglist:  @danishmiilk @channoticedmeuwu @chicksung @1-800-seo @blueprint-han @jenosslut @cupidluvstarrz @kkakkdugi @sweetlyjaem @vera-liscious @leetaeyonglover @kunrengui @unknown5tar @kisshim @the-rooftop-fight @rueyins @kiri-ah @sly-merlin @alicanta77 @rouiyan @jae-dreamin @peachyyjaes  @girlwithmightymuses-deactivated @jenoleemonade​ @radiorenjun​

Summary: Many things can happen on a cruise ship, most of them are unexpected. Secrets are exposed, arrangements are brought to light and love can bloom- but when the secrets and arrangements clash, will the love survive? [loosely based on the Opera; Tristan and Isolde]

Playlist: here

Authors note: My first collab fic!!! I honestly really love how this turned out, and I hope you do too! Take this as a thank you for 400 as well, since I have literally nothing else planned rip. Thanks to Mina for letting me scream about this fic to her and feedback would be really appreciated! Without further ado, I present to you: Love Shot!

“Lady Y/n”, the woman greeted you, bowing respectfully. You smiled softly, touching her shoulder to indicate that it was alright. “Winter”, you said fondly, “You know I don’t care for formalities”, you reminded the girl, who nodded eagerly, and took your bags.

Sighing tiredly, you stood at the entrance, waiting for Winter to return and guide you to your room on the cruise ship, where you would be staying for the next three months. The air was crisp, more breathable than it was in the city. Crossing one hand over the other, standing up straight, you exude confidence and an air of authority, something everyone around you acknowledged and respected.

Your family was and would always be one of the most respected families in Japan. You had money, a name, and many many enemies. There was always someone on the prowl, ever ready to steal your family’s worth, to ruin its reputation. Your father had gotten the family estate when the wealth had been divided amongst him and his brothers, and that had only added up to your net worth. As the daughter of one of the richest men in the world, you had big shoes to fill, especially since you had no siblings. 

You had had your fair share of bad publicity, and drama. Scandals always lazily floated around, and at this point, you welcomed them like an old friend. Added some spice into your otherwise very structured life. 

A year ago, your father had died, leaving all the responsibilities to fall upon you. He had been found dead one morning in his bed, your mother shaking as she sat on the edge, looking on at her dead husband with a crazed look in her eyes. There were rumours and suspicions, but you decided to pay no heed to them.

And with all these new responsibilities, you made the news more times than you cared to count, and the way the media preyed on the tragedy, highlighting it, using it against you. Your mother was at her wit’s end, a broken shell of the commanding woman she was before. You heeded every request of hers, and fulfilled any wish, no matter how idiotic. Your life had changed, but at the same time, it hadn’t. You were still the same filthy rich girl from before.

Winter returned, a rosy hue on her cheeks as she greeted you once more. “This way Ma’am”, you grabbed her arm, glaring mockingly, “Y/n”, you asserted, “You’re never this formal Win, what happened?”

“It’s my job”, she said sheepishly, “And I’m a little out of it, please don’t pay any attention to it”

You wanted to prod her further but decided to respect her privacy, and silently followed her down the halls of the ship, studying your surroundings. It was clear the place was dripping with money, nothing you weren’t used to. With the gold plating and jewel-encrusted chandeliers, you felt more at home than on a vacation.

Well, it wasn’t really a vacation now, was it?

This was business, for your family. A set plan, rules and things you had to do. Even thought it was all arranged, you still had to look pretty and smile and be nice to him.

Stopping in front of a door, she fished out a pair of keys and inserted one of them into the keyhole, opening it and leading you into your room for the stay. It was one of the first-class cabins on the cruise, more spacious than the others. Bowing once again, Winter left you, promising to return to call you for dinner. Sitting down on your bed, you inspected the room, noting its features. It was all the same.

Deciding to get ready for the dinner, you unzipped one of your bags, picking through the garments you had brought along with you. You knew dinners were a big thing, especially if you were of your status, and today would be monumental, especially since you would be meeting someone, and that someone was very important. Finally choosing a silk dress, you slipped it on, retouching your makeup and checking your phone for any updates, you left your room making sure you had your keys with you. The hallways were pretty chilly, so you decided to turn back and get your pullover just in case. 

Waiting patiently by your door for Winter, you checked your phone, reading over the message your mother sent you. A list of instructions, a code of conduct for the evening.

You had to impress them.

Once again, Winter showed up, still donning the rosy blush as she regarded you, and began leading you through the winding halls of the ship. She seemed to be very out of it, not completely focusing on the task at hand as she tripped over her own feet. You reached out, grabbing her arm and stabilizing the girl.

“I’m sorry”, she squeaked, “Forgive me”

“Be careful Winter”, you said, “And stop patronizing yourself, you’re never like this”

Flustered, she nodded a little too fast, “I’m sorry Y/n, just following orders”

“Whose orders?”, you asked incredulously. She rested her hand on the gold plated doorknob, turning to you.

“Your mother of course”, she said, before pushing the door open. Hushed whispers traveled across the room at your arrival, the room falling into silence.

Dinner was served.

Kun walked into the dining hall, his eyes dark and alight with amusement. He slipped his hands in his pockets, leisurely making his way to one of the tables. He observed the scene, taking note of the crowd. Jazz music played softly in the background, setting the mood. Clicking his tongue, he pulled out a chair taking a seat at the table he had chosen. 

He wasn’t alone, there were two other men sitting there, and a woman. One was his brother, Chenle, who was six years younger than Kun. He looked intimidating for an eighteen-year-old, with a square-ish jaw and large eyes. They were set in a blank stare, as if he was used to this, and was tired of it. He regarded Kun with a nod, before going back to his food.

The other was his uncle, Akira, who was only ten years older than Kun himself, being the youngest brother from his mother’s side. He was dressed in an expensive suit, eyes covered with his dark sunglasses. He didn’t even acknowledge Kun, instead, he had his eyes trained on the door, presumably waiting for someone.

The woman was sitting next to Kun, his sister, Yuxi, younger than him by a year. She didn’t even spare a look at Kun, but he was used to it.

A server walked up to the table, handing Kun a menu, and bowing respectfully. He was wearing a white suit, in pristine condition, hair slicked back, shoes polished to the point of reflection. Kun studied the boy, who seemed a few years younger than him. His tag read ‘Heesung’, and he looked bored out of his mind.

“Heesung”, Kun said, “I’d like a glass of Dom Pérignon please”, he requested, to which Heesung nodded, taking note of it in his notepad. “I’ll come back with your drink and order”, he informed Kun as he left.

The doors opened, two women standing there. One was obviously the help of the other, dressed in a black and white uniform. She opened the door wider, exposing the other women to the crowd. She was obviously of some high status, the air around her seemed to hold some sort of authority. She walked down the stairs, her help close behind as she scanned the room to spot a table for herself.

You soon found the table you had been assigned to by your darling mother and walking towards it. You held your head a little higher, asserting a sort of silent dominance over them. Winter pulled out a seat for you, and you thanked her softly, turning to the man on your right.

“Akira, I suppose”, you said, lifting your hand up and shaking his hand. He smiled, “The lovely Y/n”, he said, “I presume your mother has told you about me”

He was handsome, you supposed, in an oldish way. You nodded, “Yes, she has”

“And I hope you are intrigued”, he suggested. You forced a smile, biting down the initial disgust at the older man. “Very much so”, you assured him, turning to the other two, “And you are”, you asked, desperate to avoid any further interaction with Akira.

“Yuxi”, the lady sitting next to Akira introduced herself, holding up a glass of some sort of drink, looking at the other two men.

“I’m Chenle”, the one on your left greeted, smiling slightly. You returned the gesture, looking at the other one expectantly.

“Kun”, he said, disinterest apparent in his tone. “A pleasure to meet you, Y/n”, he said coyly, leaning back in his chair and observed you. Nodding at his curt response, you waited in silence for the waiter to come and take your order. “So who are you?”, Kun asked, to which you blinked in surprise. “You mean you don’t know?”, you asked, not meaning to sound as vain as it came out. You were genuinely shocked at the fact he didn’t know who you were.

“Kun”, Akira warned, “I told you about the lovely Y/n”, he explained, “You know about the deal”

“Was I expected to know her?”, he asked, “To be fair, she's like every other woman here, just richer”

Your eyes widened at his blatant disrespect, as his lips upturned into a smirk, somewhat enjoying your obvious discomfort.

“Ahem”, Heesung interrupted, “Your order?”

Mildly put off, you asked for the meal you wanted, trying not to sink into your seat from embarrassment. If your mother was here, she would’ve given you an earful if you slouched.

Always hold yourself to a higher standard Y/n, she constantly reminded you, Head a little higher than the rest.

Ignore him darling”, Akira advised you. The nickname set a bitter taste in your mouth.

“Excuse me”, you said, “I’m not feeling well”, getting up, you called for Winter, asking her to get your food to your room. 

You walked out gracefully, not missing the sly smile that Kun gave you.

Mornings were something you had always looked forward to. You woke up early on most days, while your mother was still asleep, to be alone with your thoughts. It was hard to think with your mother droning on about responsibilities, and things she wanted you to do for her. You had to mindlessly listen, and accomplish every task she set out for you. You were beyond thankful for Winter, who helped you, and single handedly kept you sane. She was your friend, more than a servant, which was why her sudden formality was confusing you.

While your mother wasn’t with you at the moment, you still decided to leave the confines of your bed, and explore the cruise in peace and quiet, perhaps get an early breakfast alone. You changed into acceptable clothing, casual instead of the finery you were used to and tired of, and headed out to the deck. The cool sea breeze was welcoming, making you feel refreshed. You sipped the tea in your hands, cupping the mug to provide some warmth to your fingers, as you leaned against the railing of the ship.

The floors were made of wood, giving it a rustic feel to it. It contrasted the marble interiors, giving it a simpler look. It was homely, more so than your own home. You smiled wantonly, the silence of the scene comforting.

You mother came to mind, as you remembered the deal, the entire reason why you were on this cruise, it wasn’t a happy vacation, on the contrary, it was a welcoming, an introduction to a new family, one you would soon be thrown into. 

“You're alone”, a voice observed. You turned around to face the man from yesterday.

“Qian Kun”, you said politely, “It appears so”

You weren’t particularly angry at him for not knowing who you were, in fact, you would go as far as to say, you were relieved.

“Relax, I know who you are, I’m just teasing you”, he said, which destroyed all hopes of you being an unknown person. You raised an eyebrow in the question of his doings, to which he grinned, “Y/n Osaki”.

You nodded, looking down at your tea, not quite knowing what to say. You didn’t know Kun very well, but from the short encounters you had with him, he confused you. You studied him for a moment, trying to understand him. He seemed to be put together, content with himself, yet he took pleasure in trivial things, like getting a reaction out of you.

“Well, I don’t truly know you, other than the fact you’re this rich girl my uncle is interested in”, he quipped, standing at your side and looking out at the sea, not sparing you another glance.

“Uncle?”, you asked slightly horrified. Kun seemed to be around your age, so the thought of Akira being his uncle sounded very messed up, especially since your mother was also rooting for the older man.

Kun hummed in agreement, “he was ten when I was born”, he continued. You decided to ignore that fact, for now, focusing on the subtle dig he had thrown at you. “You’re rich too, or so it seems. Certainly, you’re wealthy if you can afford this cruise”

You hadn’t meant to sound vain or stuck up, but it was true. This wasn’t a cheap stay, especially since you knew they were staying on the first-class level of the ship just as you were. Your mother had told you almost everything about them.

He seemed amused, his dimples appearing as he smiled, “We’re comfortable”

You scoffed at the statement, deciding to take a sip of your tea instead of retorting. The conversation, if you could even call it that, fell into a silence. You tapped against the porcelain of the cup, looking blankly at the water.

He was attractive, dark hair splayed across his forehead, dark grey eyes, lips that seemed to upturn into a smirk easily. He had an easy going demeanor, with a touch of underlying darkness, you supposed. It piqued your interest, but you made sure not to show it. 

“See you around Y/n”, he said, walking away, seemingly bored. You watched him disappear under the deck, and suddenly, you were all alone.

Alone with your thoughts.

“And school? How is that going?’, you asked, switching your phone to your other hand as you flipped the page of your book. Your brother bristled at the other end of the line, clearly not pleased with the turn of the conversation, “It’s fine”, he said, “Same old. Sungchan is still trying to woo that lower class girl”, he said this with a snicker, “It’s pathetic really.”

“Tsk”, you clicked your tongue, “Don’t belittle her, she’s smart”

“And not to our standard”, he replied, “Sungchan should know better”

“Shotaro”, you said in a warning tone, “Leave it alone, he’s probably just messing with her. You know how we do things”

“Of course, but it’s turning into an infatuation of sorts, he only talks of her! I’m tired of it”

“Maybe he’s in love”, you suggested, turning the next page. The line went silent, you didn’t worry too much as this gave you time to read a few paragraphs properly, instead of the skimming you had been doing. “And what is love Y/n, hmm?”

“Am I supposed to know?”, you bit back sarcastically. You could hear Shotaro scoff on the other side of the line, “You’re the one getting married, dear sister, and isn’t the eldest sibling supposed to teach the younger one?”

“I am not in love”, you said, “I do not need to teach you anything, pay attention in school instead”

“Love you too Y/n, goodbye”, he said flatly, deciding that if you were to talk of school, he was not going to have any part of it. You shook your head amusedly, placing your phone down and continuing to read. Shotaro was your brother, you were close to him, even with your constant bantering and seemingly formal conversation. It was just how the two of you had been brought up- in a very classy way. You had a reputation to uphold, and a family name to flaunt. 

You shifted in your seat, hearing three knocks on the door. “Come in Winter”, you called out, and the girl walked in, holding a box that was wrapped in ribbon, a pretty bow sitting at the top. You placed your book aside, taking the box from her hands. “What is this for?” “Sir Akira sent it”, she explained, dusting down her generic uniform, “Hesaid he would like you to wear it tonight”

You raised an eyebrow at this, skeptical, but nodded. Winter made motion to leave, but you held her hand, “Sit”, you said with a smile, “Talk to me”

“Miss-”

“Y/n”, you reiterated, “Please Winter?”, she sighed at your request, taking a seat next to you on the bed. “You’re keeping your guard up, we grew up together, stop”, she sighed, “I know, I hate this too”

“Do you? This is my room, no one is watching here, now”, you moved over, patting your lap and she grinned, laying her head down on it. “Aren’t you going to open that?”

“Mmhh”, you hummed, pulling the ribbon, letting the cover loose as a pretty red fabric peeked through. You pulled out the dress, studying it.

“It’s pretty”, Winter observed, looking up at your skeptical face. “What happened?”

“I hate it”, you muttered, “It’s tasteful, sure, but I don’t want to wear it”, you folded it and placed it to the side. “I have several of these.” You wondered how Akira had gotten your size perfectly, let alone the similarity in your style of clothing so on point.

“You still have to wear it tonight”, she reminded you, prospering herself up on her elbows, “How’s your brother?” You glanced at her, picking your book up again, “He’s fine”

“Oh what are you reading?”, she asked, “Will you read to me?”

You nodded with a smile playing on your lips, opening the cover of Pride and Prejudice, leaning back and searching for the line you had finished on. The musty pages welcomed you back like an old friend as you indulged in the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. You read about the part, those five chapters where her feelings matured and her opinions changed over time for the man, who she had positively despised before.

You wondered if you’d ever fall for Akira, who you despised too, and was forced into marriage with. Maybe you were a lot like Lizzy Bennet, except you didn’t have a father to back you up.

Duty.

The Osaki Family was very familiar with this term, it was like every second day you heard it. With your family name came responsibilities, expectations and a warped sense of reality. Warped because your reality was very different from most people.

Duty came in different forms. For Shotaro, it was completing his extensive education and taking over the business side of the family, succeeding your father’s work. Your mother’s was to sit there and look pretty, the face of the family as of now, a sympathetic heroine of sorts ever since your father deceased. Yours was to extend family relations, and keep the prestige. You were going to take your mothers place, not something you were particularly looking forward to, but it had to be done.

It was your duty, after all.

The cruise was a way to get away from these duties, by keeping them at the forefront of your mind, replaying like a broken cassette tape. 

“Y/n Osaki”, someone called out, and you looked up from your seat. You were sitting on the deck of the ship, reading in peace with your phone by your side in case of emergency. You recognized the woman as Kun’s sister.

“Yuxi, If I’m not mistaken?”, you asked, moving aside on the bench to give her room to sit.  She crossed her legs, propping one hand on the backrest of the bench and smiling, “Tis I!”, her voice was cheerful, “I’m terribly bored of being surrounded by my brothers, so I thought I’d find you and talk to one of the female specimens”, she joked, causing your lips to upturn into a smile.

“Talking seems wonderful”, you assured her, “What would you like to talk about?”

“Anything honestly, something that isn’t about ‘who’s the man’”, she drawled, an unamused look on her face as she supposedly referenced her brother's banterring. Her eyes cast down to your book, “Jane Austen hmm? My brother loves that book”

“Which one?”

“Kun”, she answered, shifting in her seat, “He can argue for hours about whos the better character,” she smirked, stretching out her legs, “I love my family, but I’m tired of them”

“I understand that far better than you think”, you said, “I sometimes wish we weren’t related”

“You’re one to talk”, she snorted, “You have just about everything you’d ever need and more.”

“I’ll be losing it all in a little, I assume you know this”, you smiled sadly. She nodded, “Alright”, she said, “Perhaps you have everything except freedom”

Kun was tired.

 In the event of having to deal with his brother and uncle’s ‘nonsense’ as he called it, he left the table at dinner to search for some quiet. He walked down the hallways of the ship, the soft rumbling of something he couldn’t quite make out reached his ears. 

He passed his own room, and several others, before coming to the room he was looking for. It had a red door, washed out and dark so it didn’t really stand out. He pushed it open, entering a sort of mini hallway, with another door at the end. 

He walked to that one too, entering a small, dark room. There were boxes and suitcases in there, all from his family.

 But they weren’t all luggage.

 He scanned the room, trying to remember something, it was like there had been an itch ever since he saw you. Like you had opened a door to a memory, but the memory was hazy, he couldn’t quite catch it. It was like a connection had been established, and he couldn’t quite shake it off.

 He sighed in defeat, leaving the room and walking into the hallway once again, only to be met with you, donning a red dress, hair done up in curls. You startled, blinking on seeing him emerge from the side, “Oh”, you said, looking him up and down, “Hello, Kun.” 

He took in your pretty features, wondering how you got roped into this. 

“Shouldn't you be at dinner?”, Kun asked you, lips turning into a sly smile. You looked at him, seemingly unfazed, “Shouldn’t you?”

 “Dinner is nothing special I can assure you that”, he muttered bitterly, “I take you're procrastinating getting there?” 

You nodded, “As much as I enjoy your family's company, I am not entertained by your Uncle, no offense”, you rubbed the side of your arms, “This dress was given by him.”

 “So that’s why he was talking to your servant”, Kun said, “Alright, let’s skip dinner then.”

 “Skip it? My mother would-”

 “We won't tell her”, he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “We’ll make up a convincing story.”

 You studied him, deeming him sincere and nodding, “Lead the way then”, you gestured, and he took your hand, smirking and leading you down the hallways, “There’s a lounge somewhere here”, he mused, “Ah here.”

 The two of you entered a fancy looking lounge that definitely matched the entirety of the cruise ship. There was a bar at the end, and couches in the center. You took a seat, leaning back as he went straight for the drinks

. “Want anything?”, he called, taking a bottle down.

 “French 75”, you requested, “You sister told me you liked Jane Austen?” 

He raised an eyebrow at you, “I do”, he agreed. “Why?” There was that odd feeling again, as if you held some sort of importance, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

 “I mean”, you looked over at the bar, “dinner isn’t going to get over anytime soon and we’re stuck with each other, friendly banter might help pass the time since I don’t have my phone or book with me.” 

He hummed in agreement, “Which book are you reading?” “Pride and Prejudice.”

 “High class families and their literature”, he hummed. “Alright, what about it?”

 “You don’t seem very intrigued by the story”, you observed, taking the cocktail he handed you. “What do you think of Lizzy Bennet’s and Mr. Darcy’s relationship?”

 “Lizzy Bennet, in crude terms would be considered a high class bitch.” 

“Excuse you?”, you asked, slightly outraged in a playful manner. “She is smart and funny and has some brains, unlike the rest of the sisters.”

 “She judged Darcy all too fast don't you think?” He raised his own glass to his lips, keeping his eyes on you as he spoke. “She blatantly disregarded his affections.” 

You felt heat rush to your face, mostly in indignant anger, an urge to defend one of your all time favorite heroines of any sort of story. You had always stood by her. Seeing someone ridicule her, though you had invited him to do so, was irking. “She did not! He bitched about her family and confessed, expecting her to be okay with his idiocy?”

 You asked him hotly, leaning forward in anticipation for his answer. He seemed amused by your irritation, “He’s a man of class, he’s going to judge a not so upper class family. I mean, you would know of this right?”

 “Not if my family was belittled”, you said with a frown, “I see Darcy as the prick who refused to back down because of his goddamn pride.” 

“I always thought Elizabeth was the one with pride, and Darcy held the Prejudice against her family.” His argument was strong.

 You nodded. “I suppose you’re right, but Lizzy Bennet-”

 “Can’t do any wrong?”

 You muttered some not so ladylike things under your breath that your mother would’ve had your head for, glaring at the man who sat across you. While you were all up for playful arguing, being interrupted was something you weren't used to—nor did you appreciate it. 

“Would you let me speak?”

 He smirked, “I suppose you’re defending her because”, he looked at his glass, studying the clear liquid inside it, “you think of yourself as her.”

 “I’m done here”, you said quietly, placing your drink down and getting up, refusing to look at him, knowing his smug expression would just irk you more. His accusation, while probably lighthearted, did not sit well with you. 

“Goodbye.”

The sun was out the next afternoon, casting its golden rays on the deck of the ship, giving it a lovely, summery feel. Guests bustled and walked about, chatting in groups. A small band played their merriment off to the side, setting the mood with their joyful tunes.

Winter stood off to the side with the rest of the servants, a pensive expression on her pretty face.

You stood with the rest of the crowd, next to Akira’s family, returning the warm smile Yuxi sent you. Apparently, there was supposed to be some sort of performers on the ship to entertain the folk. 

You sighed, watching the scene with a polite, yet bored gaze. You would rather be in your room reading, instead of out here. But of course, this was all done from obligation, you had to be there.

Akira shuffled to stand next to you, “I missed you yesterday”, he said, “I was looking forward to seeing you in the dress I got you.”

“I wasn’t feeling too well last night”, you fibbed, eyes meeting Kun’s for a fleeting second, “I appreciate the dress.”

You could feel Kuns smirk, even if you weren’t looking at him. Shifting on your feet, you leaned towards Winter, requesting her to get you a glass of water. 

You were still so uncomfortable around Akira, with his easy smile and underlying words. You knew he was being nice because he had to. You were already his, whether you liked it or not. Shivering at the thought, you took the glass from your friend, taking a sip and trying to focus on the band that played a jazz rendition of ‘Seven Nation Army’.

You wondered for a moment, how it would be if you weren’t from the Osaki family. If you were just another girl, instead of leverage for your family. Once Shotaro was of age and finished his schooling, he would take your fathers place, your mother would remain a shell of herself, useless and forgotten.

You would be like her soon.

Yuxi called Akira for something, giving you room to breathe.

“I hope you’re not still angry at me”, Kun’s voice came from behind, an amused lilt to his voice, “About our little miff yesterday.”

You turned to face him, shaking your head, “I’ll admit, my storming off was a tad immature.”

He frowned, studying you. “Why are you so formal all the time?”

The question took you aback, “Sounds like you have a stick up your ass, reminds me of my friend, Ten.”

“You literally just apologized to me, only to insult me once again?”, you asked, wondering how his mind worked. He was so confusing, one moment all proper the next he acted like a regular kid with a crass sense of humour.

A smile stretched out on his lips, “I never apologized Y/n”, he reminded you, “I only asked you if you were still mad.”

“Touche”

“Loosen up a bit”, he said, “Don’t be so high strung all the time.”

You raised an eyebrow at this, “Oh do tell me how”

He grinned, taking your hand in his, intertwining your fingers, “Let’s go then, I have an idea.”

“Oh hell no”

“Oh hell yes”, Kun smirked, “Are you telling me you’ve never had a water balloon fight?”

“You’re telling me this is a regular occurrence for you?”, you asked incredulously. He shook his head, “No, but it's fun, so lets start”, he handed you a bunch of balloons in a bag.

“How the fuck do you even have these? We’re on a cruise?”, your confusion was comical.

The two of you stood in an empty hall in the cruise, and Kun had locked the door so no one would barge inside. Somehow he had accumulated a bizarre amount of balloons all filled with water. You could foresee the mess that was about to befall you.

You silently wondered why the fuck you agreed to this madness. Maybe it had something to do with Kun;s pretty smile.

He shrugged, “Don’t question it. Yuxi me and Chenle fight this way when we want to get away from our Uncle”, he swatted you away, “Now go! Unless you want me to destroy you from the start.”

A challenge.

You never backed down from a challenge.

You thanked yourself for deciding not to wear that summer dress Winter had initially laid out for you, opting for some pants and a shirt instead. 

Grabbing the bag, you hurried to the other end of the hall, hiding behind one of the heavy curtains and picking up one of the balloons, getting used to the weight in your palms. All you had to do was hit him right? Seemed simple right?

Wrong. So wrong.

As soon as you felt as ready and slipped out of your hiding place, you were hit on your leg, a cold wet feeling creeping up on your leg. The impact of the balloon made you stumble a little bit as you regained your footing, shooting Kun a dirty look. He smirked in response, “Pay attention L/n”

You felt another hit on your arm, realizing he had taken advantage of the fact you had been distracted. Narrowing your eyes, you flung your own balloon and gracefully missed him, the balloon ending up rolling on the ground sadly. 

Embarrassed, you retreated back behind the curtains, grabbing two of your weapons, and scurrying to the other curtain before you could be hit again. Your left pant leg was soaked through, still smarting from the hit and your arm was damp, but your focus was on hitting your opponent.

He chuckled, “Hiding just prolongs this, you know that right?”, he was taunting you, and you scowled, coming out from behind the curtain and throwing your balloon, hitting his calf and making him grunt. 

It was your turn to smirk, pleased at your successful attempt. 

Your triumphant feeling lasted about for five seconds, until you were hit again.

Damn Qian Kun and his quick thinking.You staggered back and he walked closer, “Gonna stay behind those curtains?”, he asked coyly, “Okay, fine you need incentive.”, He threw another at you, making you whine at your own slowness. “Lizzy Bennet needs to be more forgiving”

He had brought up your argument. He knew it would tick you off, making you want to justify your own point of view.

“Mr. Darcy needs to stop being such a prick!”, you exclaimed, flinging your own balloon at him, hitting his side, making him wince, “And you need to stop being so stubborn.”

“I’m the stubborn one?”, he said, almost whined. Another water missile landed next to your foot, bursting and spraying you with water. 

After a few minutes, the two of you were soaked to the bone, your clothes stuck to your skin uncomfortably, but a tired smile stretched out on your lips. His expression mirrored yours as he tried grabbing your arm. The two of you had finished all the water balloons and had been chasing each other around the hall like kids.

For the first time you actually felt like a kid.

You squealed as his fingers wrapped around your wrist, pulling you down with him as he tripped. Falling into him, his arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you close to him and entrapping you in his embrace.

Laughter bubbled from your lips as you struggled against him, “Leave me!”

He laughed into your hair, “Truce. Lizzy and Darcy are both idiots.”

“That's established!”, you said, “Let me go idiot”

He did, a wide smile on his face, “You’re more comfortable around me now”, he observed.

You realized he was right, you were more comfortable. You liked the smile on his face, the lilt of relief in his voice. The hall was wet in some places. One of you hiding places, the curtains had a big splotch of water on it, you silently wondered how the staff would react to the state at which it was in.

“I am”, you stated, “Not so strung up now?”

He snorted, “I destroyed you in the water balloon fight, I practically knocked you down from your high horse.”

He looked at the smile on your face, liking it. Even though your hair was wet and messed up, he thought you were beautiful, now that your face wasn’t set in a semi permanent haughty expression.

You hit him playfully, not finding it in you to glare at him. His dark hair was wet, and it fell in front of his eyes as he looked at you, feigning a look of hurt. “You wound me.”

“My mission in life”, you snickered. A silence fell upon the two of you, as you rubbed your arms, the cold biting into your skin. You would have to leave soon, take a shower and show up and dinner, all prim and proper again. The thought made your stomach sink, because you had had fun for the first time in a long time.

You met Kun’s eyes, which were sparkling with a mischievous glint. Raising an eyebrow at him, you crossed your arms, “What?”

“We both have to agree”, he started, “That Mr. Bennet is the best character.”

Winter scurried along the hallways, clutching an envelope, hiding it under her apron lest she ran into you. Her nails dug into the paper, guilt welling up in the pit of her stomach. She stopped outside the door she had been summoned to

Knocking on the throat thrice, she took a step back, waiting for it to be opened. 

A man opened it, narrowing his eyes at her, “Yes?”

“A letter for you sir”, Winter squeaked, “Sir Akira. From Mrs Osaki.”

Akira grabbed the envelope from Winter, swatting her away. The girl bowed and scurried off, not wanting to have anything to do with the contents of the letter. She had already been swayed by your mother enough.

Akira shut the door and locked it, tearing open the letter, desperate to get to it. He pulled it out, fumbling with the paper and reading it hastily.

Dear Akira,

                I would first like to thank you, this wasn’t easy to do without you. Don’t worry, everything will fall into place, and no one will be the wiser. Y/n, my darling daughter, doesn’t know the whole story, only about the wedding, and we shall keep it that way. When our families unite, it shall all be sweeped under the rug.

I shall forever be grateful to you for helping me get rid of him. My debt is free I suppose now, as you read this letter our plan has been put into effect. In return for helping me you shall have protection and a new reputation.

Thanking you, 

                  Mrs. Osaki

Akira sighed in relief, knowing his fate was sealed. He had been skeptical at first, when he saw how distant you were. You didn’t even give him an inch, and he suspected you knew what he-his family did and had done.

But supposedly you didn’t.

When your mother had asked him for his help, he was surprised. The Osaka family? Not happy? How could it be?

How could a wife have murderous intent as much as your mother did?

Folding the letter, he stuffed it into the pockets of his pants, pulling out his lighter and setting fire to the envelope. He watched the tongues of fire snatch onto the paper, bright yellows and blues emerging from nothing. Throwing it in the bin, he crushed it under his heel and pulled out a cigarette.

Kun walked into the room, rubbing his hair with a towel. His and Chenles rooms were connected to Akira’s on the cruise, so that he could check up on them. A frown appeared on the older man's face as he studied Kun’s bedraggled appearance.

Kun’s parents weren’t like Akira, they were respectable and wealthy nonetheless, but still dabbled in the darker aspect of things from time to time, not that many people knew of it.

“Why do you look like a wet rat?”

Kun scowled at this, “I went for a shower”, he said, “You look like a rat more than I do”

It was no secret that Kun, Chenle and Yuxi despised their uncle for his dealings and amoral nature. But of course, Kun didn’t know the whole story, he didn’t know everything, all the letters, the truth about you and your family.

Even you didn’t know.

The only reason they were there was because if the plan didn’t go through exactly as it had been planned, their family’s reputation would be ruined for possibly forever. It was risky business, one that was going to be fixed, no matter how vile and wrong it was.

“Get ready for dinner, and for goodness sake, clean up”, Akira instructed, ignoring the dig and gesturing towards the door that connected his room to Kun’s, “Be on time.”

His nephew obliged and left, leaving Akira alone. He took a deep breath and walked out into the hallway, travelling along it quietly so as to not attract any attention. He stopped outside a red door, opening it and travelling along the dark little hallway it led into. Opening the final door, he found himself in another room, one that was dark. 

There were several boxes there, and a few suitcases. Akira’s, Kun’s, Chenle and Yuxi’s extra luggage. The boxes were not luggage though, they were Akira’s job. The dark side of things. He fished the letter out of his pocket and put it on the top of one of the boxes, next to the rest of the letters.

Leaving the darkness with the dark.

“You’re quite fun actually”, Yuxi said, chattering away to you during dinner. You smiled, returning the compliment.

You were grateful for her talk, which distracted you from the burning stare that Akira held on you, and Kun’s occasional glances. Not that you were against the latter, but it was slightly unnerving. Of course the two of you were much more comfortable with one another, but another feeling had settled in, a prickling on that settled in the bottom of your stomach.

Did you like it? You didn’t know.

Chenle indulged in conversation as well, you learned that he went to the same school your brother went to: Culture Academy. Apparently Kun had graduated from there just before he left for the cruise. Yuxi went to a finishing school, but you expected that, their family seemed the type to send their children to finishing schools.

You had graduated a few months ago as well, but from another high class school, while your brother attended Culture Academy.

“She’s terrible at water balloon fights”, Kun quipped, a smirk on his face as you glared, “Excuse me-”

“You guys had a water balloon fight without us?”, Yuxi asked, in mock offense, “And to think I actually trusted you for a moment”, she said, turning away from you and jutting her bottom lip out. “The betrayal.”

You laughed, “He dragged me, I had no say in it.”

They weren’t as cold as they had been when you had initially met them. It almost felt as if they were your friends. Taking a bite of whatever Winter had gotten you, you met Kun’s eyes, taking in the amused look in them.

Akira cleared his throat, “I assume you’ll be there for the dance next week?”

You raised an eyebrow, “What dance?”

“Instead of a regular dinner there is going to be a sort of dance”, he explained, “I expect to see you there.”

It was a command, not a request.

There was that constricting feeling again, you gave him a tight lipped, curt nod, looking away again. You hated being around Akira, he made you so uncomfortable, and even though you couldn’t avoid him forever, you would try.

He made you sick.

You took a sip of your drink, letting the burning taste trickle down your throat. You were barely past your first glass, not being a heavy drinker. Your mother had told you it was not respectable to drink too much, so you stuck to her rules. You always stuck to her rules, but god, you would’ve loved to drown the entire glass and ask for another at that moment.

Or throw it at Akira. But that probably wouldn’t have been very respectable either.

Winter walked up to you, tapping your shoulder timidly to get your attention, “Miss”, she said, leaning down to your ear to speak in secrecy, “Your mother has called.”

Pressing your lips together to avoid making a displeased face, you excused yourself from the table and followed your helper into the hallway, taking your phone from her. She gave you an encouraging smile as you began speaking.

“Mother?”

Her harsh voice brought you back down, “Y/n”, she said sternly, “Why did you not go to that dinner?”

You fisted your hand, clenching your jaw. Of course she found out, “I wasn’t feeling well.”

“So you tell no one?

“I wasn’t aware of the fact that everyone was supposed to know about my health”, you couldn’t help the bitter undertone in your voice. She didn’t care whether you were sick or not, she cared about why you skipped.

“Not everyone, just the Qian family”, she hissed, “Y/n focus. Duty.”

You knew there was no point in arguing with your mother, she was as stubborn as an ox. You could never be right against her.

“Yes mother, I’m sorry”, you said through gritted teeth. You could hear the smile on her face at your surrender, “Remember darling, you need to impress them”, she reiterated, “It’s for-”

“The good of our family, yes I know”, you sighed, “I’ll follow the rules.”

“Don’t just follow the rules Y/n, behave”, he tone of voice made you feel like a little girl. “You may not know it, but our family name depends on it.”

This took you aback, leaving you mildly confused. What did this stupid vile plan have to do with anything? Sure your family didn’t have the cleanest record (those scandals tainted it a little bit), but otherwise it was extremely respected all through Japan and other parts of the world.

The question sat at the tip of your tongue, but you knew better than to press your mother for answers. If she wanted to be vague, she would. Ending the call politely, you walked back into the dining hall, sitting next to Yuxi. Whatever momentary joy you had gotten from talking with them vanished, instead it was a reminder of your cruel fate, the bitter reality you had to face whether you liked it or not.

Why?

“You’re insufferable”, you declared, leaning against the railing, “Poor girl, you guys really made her jump into a pool?”

He laughed, “Yeah, you should have seen the look of anger on her face. And in full clothing too?”

You frowned, “You monster!”

“Hey, she signed up for it, she wouldn’t have gotten in if she refused”, he reminded you. Kun was currently telling you stories of his schooling at Culture Academy, particularly about a club he was in. You listened intently, enjoying yourself more than you would like to admit. He was definitely entertaining.

Maybe it was because you never experienced half the things he did.

You looked at the ocean, the sun shining down on it and sparkling. “I suppose she did”, you whispered, letting the words float about in the air as a silence settled upon the two of you. It was comfortable, you didn;t feel the need to fill it in. He took out a lighter and a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long slow drag.

“You smoke?”, you asked, unable to keep the surprise from your voice. You had never seen him do it before. The revelation was something you hadn’t expected.

Another thing your mother drilled into you: never smoke. It’s unladylike and very unbecoming of a person, and also because the news would latch onto it and create a scandal that was not needed. In general you had never seen the appeal of smoking.

He raised an eyebrow at you, nodding as if he expected you to know this. Almost as if he was bewildered with your surprised response. And he was, Kun was confused as to why you were so shocked with the fact. It was just a cigarette, nothing that terrible. Didn’t you know what Akira did-

Oh.

Oh no.

“Yeah, occasionally”, he said, brushing it off quickly, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his heel, “Want to head back in?”

You nodded with a shrug, “Okay.” 

He smiled brightly, and a fuzzy feeling made its way into your stomach. You returned the smile, pushing away the feeling away to the back of your mind, far away in a dark corner of your mind, simply because it wouldn’t be right. You couldn’t even afford to think that way.

Not with the arrangement that had been set up, that was for sure.

You followed him inside, another thought blooming in the same dark corner of your mind, no matter how much you tried to push it away.

God it was wrong on so many levels though. 

“She got in”, Kun said, continuing his story from before, “It surprised everyone.”

You smiled, “I’m glad, poor girl, I hope she didn’t get hypothermia or something.”

Kun smiled, “She took my place as I left, you know, graduation and all”, he said, reaching his hand out and grabbing your own, leading you down.

“Your friends sound like fun”, you said fondly, even though you didn’t know them, “Especially that Hendery guy. Did he actually do that?”

Kun laughed, nodding, “He’s mad. I miss them”, his voice turned wistful, but only for a moment, before that pretty smile stretched across his face once again, “I have to tell you about the time Dejun…”

As you went back under the deck and the warmth of the hallways hit you, you decided you would deal with the feeling later. You decided to listen to him instead, liking the way his eyes lit up talking about his friends. You were starting to realize that you were now one of them, one of his friends.

That though stayed in the forefront of your mind, refusing to be pushed back.

And somehow, you didn’t mind.

Kun stepped into Akira’s room, eyes narrowed at his uncle. The tension in the air immediately raised tenfold. 

“She doesn’t know, does she?”

Akira sent his nephew a questionable look, “What do you mean?”

Kun sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Y/n”, he said, your name rolling off his tongue easily, yet there was a sort of anger that settled into it. Why didn’t you know? You should’ve known.

Why did he care this much?

Akira sighed, “What about her?”

“She doesn’t know who you are, not the entire truth.”

Akira let the statement hang in the air, his silence answering. He leaned back in his chair, humming an idle tune. “You’re right, but what prompted this?”

“She saw me smoking”, Kun said, “And was confused, she definitely didn’t look pleased. Tell me, how would she react when she realizes the man she has to marry is a fucking drug lord?”

His uncle winced at Kun’s words, “I know, but she won’t ever know.”

This was madness.

Kun knew of course, of the plan, but he didn’t know the whole story. He knew you were to be married to Akira, an arranged marriage that had been, well, arranged by your mother. And Yuxi had confirmed you knew of it as well. You had never seemed too keen on it, and this worsened everything.

“Sit”, Akira ordered, “And I’ll tell you.”

Holding back a grimace,  he complied, sitting opposite Akira. He waited for the older man to go on, wondering for a moment how it would be like to be in your shoes. You were around his age, and had to marry his uncle? The thought itself was mortifying.

“The Osaki family”, Akira started, “Well known, you’ve heard of them”, he didn’t wait for Kun to respond in any way, “They’re practically perfect, are they not? You’ve seen Y/n, you’re closer to her than I am. With her airs and graces, you’d think she’s perfect too, wouldn’t you?”

Of course Kun though you were perfect, but that's besides the point. He didn;t see how this made any sense.

“It’s all a lie Kun”, Akira said, “They’re unhappy, so unhappy. Her mother was a miserable, poor lady, forced to sit on the sidelines while her bastard of a husband ignored her.”

Wasn’t your father dead? 

Akira cleared his throat, “They’re perfect on the outside, a dollhouse, but through the curtains, it's all a mess. She asked me for help.”

Kun frowned, “Y/n-?” “No”, he said with a smile, “Her mother.”

It was slowly coming together, a puzzle so horrifying Kun didn’t want to believe it. His uncle had done many horrible things, many illegal things, but fuck, he prayed this one wasn’t real.

This was murder.

“So I helped”, Akira’s voice went hoarse, “I helped the way I could. I slipped a drug into a package and sent it to her, one so strong that could kill.”

Horror. This was madness.

“The next day, Mr Osaki was found dead”, a slow sadistic smile stretched out on Akira’s lips, “And Mrs Osaka was overjoyed! She thanked me profusely for helping with her plan. She promised to repay me somehow for my kindness.”

Kindness. Crime. When had the line between the two grown so blurry? Kun was frozen in his seat, frozen in fear. In fear for himself and his siblings, in fear for his family for being related to such a monster. He feared for you, the unsuspecting girl who had walked into his life and brought out things from the shadows he wished he left there. The girl, who’s own mother had been the reason behind her fathers death.

Fuck it was so wrong.

He knew the world he lived in, the wealth and the riches always brought trouble, but never in his life had he ever foreseen this much trouble. The clock on the wall of Akira’s room ticked slowly, every second seeming like an hour. Kun wanted to leave, but he was frozen in his seat, glued there.

His curiosity had gotten the better of him. He needed to know more. What was the ending to this tragic tale?

“And this is my repayment”, Akira said, “I marry Y/n, and everything gets sweeped under the rug. I can start a new Kun, I don’t have to be this person. I know you hate me, but listen, this could change everything.”

Kun felt sick.

“No”, he muttered, “This changed nothing you…”, he studied his uncle's tired expression. Akira’s eyes held a triumphant glare, and that made everything worse.

“You sick man”, he whispered, getting up, “She doesn’t deserve this. You don’t deserve a fresh start Akira, you have blood on your hands.”

Akira groaned, “I don’t expect you to under-”

‘Good”, Kun said, “I’m leaving and I want nothing to do with you for the rest of this trip.”

“Don’t tell your little friend”, Akira sneered, “If you tell her I won;t be the only one affected. Her mother will be brought into the light as well, and you really think no one will suspect Y/n?”

It was a losing situation from all sides.

“She doesn’t know who I am”, Akira said, agreeing with Kun’s earlier statement, “let's keep it that way, shall we?”

Dearest Akira,

                    Thank you for sending me the drug, I’ve slipped it into his drink. He shall be gone soon, and I shall be free. My son will take his palace when he finishes school and Y/n will be yours. A lovely full circle. I won’t have to deal with a man I hate anymore, a man that pushed me aside for everything.

Once upon a time I truly loved him you know? I trusted him and I gave him my heart. He trampled on it and now all I’m left with is a shell.

He forgot I existed, I am but a placeholder.

Not for long.

Thanking you,

                     Mrs. Osaki

You sat on your bed, reading yet another chapter of your beloved Pride and Prejudice in silence, as Kun sat on the other side, looking at his phone and occasionally stealing glances at you.

The friendship the two of you shared was….odd to say the least. You didn’t have to talk, even the silence was enough. You enjoyed his company a lot more than you cared to admit. Turning the page, you decided to stop for the day, placing your bookmark in the middle and shutting the book, turning your attention to Kun.

He couldn’t help the guilt that bubbled inside him, even though he had done nothing wrong. It was the heaviness he carried around for possessing the truth, and was hit with the consequences everytime he looked at you.

“Yes?”, you asked.

He blinked, “What?”

“You’ve been staring at me oddly”, you clarified, “I’m wondering if I did anything to offend you.

“No, no!”, he said a little hurriedly, “I apologize, I’m a little out of it today.”

“Do tell”, you said, propping your chin up on your hand, eyes meeting his with an expectant gaze. He gave you his easy smile, “It’s nothing I promise.”

“I don’t believe you for a second, you’re terrible at lying”, you declared, “Oh come on, I thought we trusted each other?” You tried guilt tripping him into telling you, but he was surprisingly stubborn.

“Do we now?”

“You wound me”, you muttered dryly, “Alright I won’t press you for answers.”

“Thank you for this kindness, oh Lady Y/n”, he said, making a show of pretending to curtsy, which was comical since he was sitting. You couldn’t help the amused smile that made its way to your face at that.

You stood up, placing your book on one of the side tables, brushing down your pants, “We need to be at the deck in five minutes, so I suppose we should make a move.”

He followed suit as the two of you made your way up to the deck. The dinner was out there tonight, so it was bound to be a little bit more casual than the usual dinners in the dining room. This also meant that you didn’t need to sit with the Qian family, which was a mix of relief and disappointment. You liked Kun and his siblings, but at the same time…

Yeah.

The night was a little chilly, so you had pulled on a sweater, finding a table and taking a seat, watching as Kun walked over to his own family, looking stiff. You took the menu from Winter, eyes scanning over the food.

“Ahem.”

You looked up from the menu, only to be met with Akira’s disapproving gaze. “Y/n”, he greeted, “How are you feeling today?”

You swallowed your contempt, forcing a tight pained smile, “Very well, thank you Akira.”

“I’m glad, then why don’t you sit with us?”

Your lips twitched as you tried to think of a way to get yourself out of this. “I’m quite fine here, thank you for the offer.”

He smiled widely, leaning down to your eye level, resting his elbow on the table and effectively capturing your attention. “It wasn’t an offer, sweetheart.”

The nickname made your skin crawl, as you reeled back, “Akir-”

“You will sit with us”, he said firmly, “What would your mother say if you refused?”

Your eyes widened as you realized he knew, fingers gripping the menu. He knew how your mother was and fuck, him knowung that scared you even more. Clearing your throat, you pushed all your confidence into your voice, “I’m quite comfortable here Mr. Qian.”

You didn’t use his first name, you used the family name, hoping to settle the argument, to show that you were not moving.

He took the menu from you, “Come along Y/n, its for the be-”

“Let her be.”

Akira turned around, facing his nephew, “Kun”, he said, voice falling into a tone that screamed it was a warning, “I am not talking to you.”

“But I’m talking to you”, Kun narrowed his eyes at Akira, “She wants to sit there, let her sit there. She is not obliged to follow your every instruction.”

Akira sighed, glancing back at you and smiling sickeningly sweet, inclining his head and walking away, going under the deck. You let out a sigh of relief, looking at Kun who looked oddly guilty.

“Thank you”, you said, “I could’ve handled it, though.”

“I know you could’ve”, he acknowledged, “I just felt like stepping in and helping.” His explanation was curt as he pulled out the chair opposite you, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all. I suppose you’re wondering why I let you sit and wanted nothing more to do with your uncle?”

“I’m not”, he said, “I know what's happening there. And the position you’re in, better than you do.” A sad smile stretched out on his lips(not that you were observing them or anything), leaving you slightly bewildered. What did he mean by that?

You studied Kun, his attractive features and dark eyes. They looked like they held a secret, one you couldn’t figure out.

“Why did you help me?”, you asked again, meeting his eyes. He held your gaze for a few minutes, before they dropped to your lips for a split second. You held your breath, waiting for his answer, and mildly overwhelmed.

Did he feel the same way you had been feeling lately? Why did the prospect of that make you feel elevated? Fuck, you couldn’t think like that, it would ruin everything-

“I can’t tell”, he muttered, “I just care.”

The truth chases a lie with fervor, no matter how small. Like a lover in the night, chasing its partner with passion even in the darkest times.

You observed yourself in the mirror, studying the black dress you were wearing. It had a gold trim at the edges, and lace at the back, giving it the perfect combination of classy and scandalous.

Winter took a step back, curling iron in hand as she marvelled at her own handiwork, a smile adorning her pretty face, “You look lovely Y/n!”, she praised. You really did look lovely, the picture of what you were always supposed to portray: perfection.

“Thank you Win”, you smiled at her, “why don’t you wear one of my dresses tonight?”

Her eyes lit up in surprise and confusion as she placed the iron down, shaking her head, “Oh I couldn’t Miss, I’m a part of the staff, I will be helping out for the evening.”

“You don’t want to pretend you’re not just for a few minutes? You can change after fifteen minutes and go back to your work”, you enticed her, wanting your friend to have some fun.

She hesitated, “No miss, I could get in trouble.”

“Alright”, you relented, standing up from your seat and turning to the door, “Thank you Winter”

“Your very welcome miss, now go, the Qian family is awaiting you.”

You nodded, walking into the hallways and following the few people who were already going to the dance.People of repute, people who would look at you and incline their heads respectfully, as you did for them. They were from your world, after all, everyone was rich and important.

Standing outside the doors, you took in a deep breath and walked in. The hall had been decorated, changed drastically. The tables had been pushed to the sides, for the seating, and the center was left as the actual dance floor.

You walked over to the tables at the side, greeting a few people you knew. You spotted Winter standing at the sidelines with the staff. On reaching the refreshments table, you took one of the glasses of champagne and brought it to your lips.

Jazz music played as couples took the floor, swaying to it. You watched the Qian family, noting that Akira was looking for someone, probably you. Turning your back towards them, you took another sip of your drink. You looked at the starters that had been placed out for the guests, wondering what your mother would think if you took a plateful and sat alone in a dark corner eating. The picture of her horrified expression was enough to tickle you.

Distracted within your own thoughts, you failed to notice Kun standing next to you, an amused expression on his face as he watched you. To him, you looked absolutely breathtaking in your dress, even more so than usual.

“Y/n”

You jumped slightly at the sudden intrusion of your thoughts, facing the man. He was dressed in a suit, hair done slightly messy, but on purpose. His dark eyes met yours, amused as he smirked, “Hey.”

“Hey”, you breathed out, snapping out of checking him out. He looked extremely attractive tonight, a thought you couldn’t shake off. “Kun.”

He nodded, inclining his head towards the table, “I’m sure the refreshments are extremely interesting but”, a slow grin stretched out on his lips, “Would you like to dance?”

You suppressed your own smile, nodding and taking his hand he had offered you. Kun led you to the dance floor, a little off the centre so you wouldn’t be seen easily. Resting one hand on your waist, the other grasped your own, bringing it up mid air. He took the first step behind with you following him as the two of you danced.

“I’m not great at dancing”, he confessed, “So I have to warn you, I’m running off ballroom dancing class from school when we had our Formal Dance.”

You smirked, “Do you want me to lead or something?”

“Only if you twirl me”

You laughed at this, “Alright, brace yourself.”

He gave you a horrified look, “NO, nevermind, I’ll twirl you instead”, he muttered, retrieving his hand from your waist and raising the other so you could turn gracefully. You didn’t make any attempt to bite your giggled away at this, turning and facing him again, back into your former position.

“That was actually quite fun, wanna try?”

He gave you a look that screamed ‘really?’, shaking his head, “I thought we established that I was fine without twirling.”

“But-”

“No”

“Fine”, you made a show of being upset over it, saying something about he was missing out on his youth and that twirling during ballroom dancing was one of the few fineries of life he would never experience if he didn’t do it right now.

That, for some reason, still didn’t entice him.

Oh well, his loss.

You bantered lightly, as you swayed to the music together. You melted together almost, in the midst of your laughter and smiles. You felt so comfortable with him, but every moment you felt like that seemed like a curse, reminding you he wasn’t what you were there for. Whatever you felt towards Qian Kun was wrong, so wrong.

He led the two of you off to the side, away from the dance floor, still in each other's arms for some reason, even though you had finished dancing. He lifted your hand, twirling you once again just for the effect and grinning.

Once you faced him, you realized how close the two of you were. His hands were on your waist anyways, one of your hands was around his neck. Your other hand was intertwined with his, making the contact seem even more intimate.

The smile melted off your face as his eyes flickered to your lips. It was as if he had read your mind, and you wished he'd do it again. You wished he woul-

He leaned forward hesitantly, and in that dark corner of the dining hall, while the others danced around, while Akira looked for you somewhere, behind the tables and everyone, Qian Kun kissed you.

It was a timid kiss, his lips barely brushed against yours, before he pulled away, blinking at you. You stared back at him, equally as surprised, but not in a bad way. He dropped the hold he had on you, but kept holding your hand, as if he was figuring out what to think.

You grew slightly impatient with this, leaving his grip and cupping his face, bringing him back into a kiss. This one was much less innocent, it didn’t feel like he was exploring something for the first time. It felt real, and it felt right.

“Not here”, he muttered softly against your lips, pulling you along with him, out into the hallways. You followed him, giddy from the kiss, giddy from the fact that you had even kissed him. How did that happen? When had that happened? The incident that had taken place mere seconds ago seemed days old, almost as if it had happened several times before.

You wanted to kiss him again.

Resisting the urge to stop him right there and there, you let him lead you to wherever. He stopped outside a red door, almost rust in colour, hesitating for a moment, before he seemingly decided to fuck it all and opened it, pulling you into the little corridor it opened into.

He kissed you again, once, twice, thrice, until you lost count. Pushed up against the wall, your senses seemed to heighten. The low buzz of the cruise ran through you as your fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. All the banter, the teasing, the way he would trap you with his words had built up to this.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

The only way you could describe the kisses was breathtaking. You felt as if you were struggling for air, yet you didn’t want to pull away. Your lungs screamed for air, but you didn’t want to heed. You didn’t want to break the spell he had put you under. You liked the burning feeling, the way his lips felt against yours, the way his body felt against yours. Drowning, you were drowning but fuck, you wanted no one to save you.

You wanted to drown.

He pulled away finally, letting you suck in a breath. 

“This is wrong”, you whispered, and he nodded, agreeing, “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it again.”

He took a step away from you, studying your features. You leaned against the wall, letting the silence overtake the two of you. You breathed heavily, making up for the air you had lost, albeit willingly.

Footsteps.

Soft footsteps made their way down the hallways, you could hear it. Kun looked alarmed, glancing at the door, “Wait here.”

You frowned, but nodded as he left, closing the door after him and supposedly speaking to someone in hushed tones, further muffled by the barrier between the two of you. You sighed, looking along the corridor you were in at the moment, walking to the end and opening the other door, lest the person he was speaking to burst in and found themselves in a very awkward situation.

You found yourself in another room, one that was dark. Using your sense of touch, you managed to navigate around it, noting that there were suitcases and boxes. You stumbled into one, wincing slightly as a sharp pain travelled through your shin. Using the box to steady yourself, your eyes were drawn to the little labels on the sides of them.

Squinting, you brushed over the names, trying to make out what they were.

Qian Akira, cocaine.

Reeling back, you blinked. Were those drugs? Looking at a few other boxes, you had forgotten about the pain in your leg as horror filled your senses, reading the names of drug after drug, all with the Qian’s names on it. The man you were being forced to marry was a criminal.

You had been thrown into a trance of some sort, a trance of absolute dread. For some reason you couldn’t look away as you kept reading, realizing that whatever was happening was much more serious than you had thought.

The next box had a few papers on the top of it, kept haphazardly one on top of the other. Letters of some sort, envelopes and receipts. You picked one up, eyes scanning over its content, or whatever you could make out in the darkness.

Dear Akira

                It’s set in stone! He’s gone, thank you so much. I promise you that this time next year you will be with my Y/n and everything will be solved.

Thanking you,

Mrs Osaki

The sight of your mothers handwriting and her name at the end of the letter made you sick. The other letters were much like the first, each one releasing more and more information, letting you piece together its words to form a cohesive thought.

Fuck.

You dropped the letters, breathing going heavy as you heard more footsteps. Someone was entering the room, they were coming inside and they would find you. You weren’t supposed to be here, you could tell by the way you had been written in the letters. 

You should have listened to Kun when he told you to stay where you were-

Kun.

Oh god.

The room seemed to close in on itself, the stacks towering above you. You felt trapped, claustrophobic and disgusted. Disgusted by the fact would ever put you in such a repulsive situation. You ran your fingers over the dust covered boxes, reeling back at the names and information that was on them. Bile rose to your throat as you choked back sobs.

He was responsible for it all, all the misery that had been thrown upon you, the odd requests all made sense. This wasn’t an innocent union, it was an elaborate cover up, and you were the leverage.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you staggered back, leaning on the wall behind you for support. Shouts echoed from the other end of the dark room, and your breath hitched in your throat in fear of being caught.

Shutting your eyes and clamping your hand over your mouth, you counted to ten in your mind, praying that whoever it was wouldn;t find you. The voices resided, the footsteps growing farther and farther. You opened your eyes, only for them to widen in a mixture of relief and fear.

“What are you doing here?”

Fuck.

Kun had made a big mistake, he had led you to the worst possible place he could have taken you in his daze. He had gotten distracted by you, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

If he could fucking find you.

After thwarting Akira’s attention by telling him you had gone on the deck for some fresh air, he returned into the corridor, before realizing it was the one place he wasn’t supposed to take you.

And you were nowhere in sight.

He looked around in alarm, before Akira’s voice called out again, “What are you doing Kun?”

He turned around, “Nothing, just checking, I want something from my suitcase,” he said quickly. His uncle narrowed his eyes at him, “And what is that something?”

“I left my book inside the suitcase, and I’m not interested in the dance so I thought I’d go read.”

“Y/n is not on the deck.”

“Am I supposed to keep tabs on her?”, Kun bit back, “She’s probably back at the hall Akira.”

Akira raised an eyebrow at Kun, “I don’t know what you’re playing at, young man, but I don’t like it”, he said, raising his voice. Kun felt like a little kid again, even if his uncle was just ten years older. Clenching his jaw he stood his ground, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, old man.”

Akira left Kun alone, deciding that he wasn’t worth it. 

Kun walked into the room, looking around for you, praying you weren't there. He walked to his suitcase, and narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the outlines in the room.

He heard something shift, and turned on his heels, squinting. He could just about make out your figure standing in the corner, hand over your mouth, eyes squeezed shut. You trembled slightly as you stood there.

He walked over just as you opened your eyes, to meet his own in horror. You were definitely shaking, lower lip trembling in what looked like fear as you tried backing away from him, even though you were already against the wall.

“What are you doing here?”

He took a step forward, reaching out to hold your hand, eyes shrouded in concern at your state, but you shrinked away. “Don’t.”

“Y/n-”

“No”, your voice was shaky, “Stay away from me.”

Your mind was a mess, thoughts racing. You felt used and exposed, so vulnerable. Everything you knew had been a lie, you had been betrayed. Just a few moments ago you were happy, now everything you knew had been shattered, including your own heart.

“You knew didn’t you”, your voice broke in the middle, “You knew.”

Kun’s fake smile melted off his face as he realized what had happened, taking a step away from you. The tears in your eyes made their way down your face as you sucked in a breath, crouching down with your hands over your ears.

All you wanted to do was block all of it out, block reality out and not think of it, but that was hard when reality was staring back at you with a guilty expression.

Suddenly everything clicked into place, why he had been so nice, why he kept helping you. I was all out of guilt, everything was a fucking lie. Half truths and twisted words, secrets and scandals.

It was sick and twisted and you had fallen into the trap unwillingly, and didn’t know how to get out. 

You rocked yourself slowly, trying to compose yourself amongst the madness. You wanted to scream, to cry and tell Kun that you hated him, that you wanted him to leave and never talk to you again. Maybe that’s what hurt worse, the fact that you were attached. 

You had trusted Kun, you had fallen for him like the idiot you were, only for it all to come back for you, slapping you in the face. You felt so stupid for letting yourself believe anything good would come out of this. You should have listened to your conscience when it told you this was wrong.

But this...this was worse than wrong. This was murder. The betrayal of it all hit you hard, and it took all of your willpower not to fall over and give up.

“It was all fake”, you muttered, “all of it”

“Y/n I-”

“You were pitying me”, you spat, “You knew and yet”, sucking in a breath, you swallowed the lump in your throat, ignoring the heavy feeling in the pit of your stomach, the hole that seemed to have been ripped out from your chest. “You still played me.” 

Kun pressed his lips together in a tight line, regret eating away at him. Of course it wasn’t all for his uncle, but you wouldn’t listen even if he tried. You were much too distraught, too far gone for that. Instead he composed himself, leaning down and resting a hand on your shoulder.

“We need to get out of here.”

The harshness of the statement made it worse. You looked up at his serious face through your hazy eyesight, wanting to push him away, but neither did you want to be alone. He sighed, helping you up to your feet, “We have to go or they’ll find you here and it won’t be pretty.” 

Taking your hand in his, Kun pulled out of the room, raising a hand to his lips, silently telling you to keep quiet. “If you don’t want Akira to find you here, go straight to your room, say you were sick.”

He was pity helping you again.

You nodded, sniffling slightly and pulling yourself together again, rubbing your arms. You hated it, fuck, and that moment you hated your own mother. You hated the fact that you had to depend on the boy who betrayed you. The boy who you kissed, and was willing to forget that it was wrong, until the world crashed down upon you.

Walking with you, he decided to part ways where the two hallways met, repeating his instructions from before, refusing to meet your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, before walking away in the direction opposite where you were supposed to go.

How had so much gone so wrong so fast?

Locked.

You were locked away in your room, refusing to get out of it. The only person you let in was Winter, who came in with meals and other information. You ignored every one of Akira’s presents, declined your mother’s calls and avoided the rest of the Qian family like the plague.

It was like you had spiralled, down into this hole you couldn’t climb out of. Your father was dead, it wasn’t natural. He had been killed and you were amongst the murderers. Your mother had worked with them.

Your brother was back home, going about his life as usual. The world revolved as it always did, but yours has stopped.The little bubble that you had lived in for most of your sheltered life had finally burst. You had been thrown into real life before you could even say anything about it.

Knock!

“Come in”, you said, watching as Winter entered with a plate and her own phone, “Y/n”, she greeted you, with that same funny formal tone, “It’s your brother”

She handed you her own phone, and you frowned. Why hadn’t Shotaro just called you? Why had he called Winter?

Brushing those thoughts aside, you held the phone to your ears, “Taro?”

“Hey”, he said, “hold for a second, would you?”

You didn’t reply, patiently waiting for him, but instead you were greeted with another voice, a voice you definitely didn;t want to hear.

“Darling.”

Your throat seemed to close up, mouth going dry as you gripped the phone even tighter, looking at Winter in alarm. She looked away, and began setting your things straight on the little table next to your bed.

“Mother.”

“What has happened to you?”, she asked, voice cutting through any thoughts, “I thought you understood the gravity of the situation. I have told you countless times-”

“I understood what you told me before I found out I was a pawn,” your voice was remarkably steady, almost scarily calm as you leaned back, “I don’t care anymore.”

“Y/n”, your mother warned, “I told you, our family name depends of it, even if you don’t how how or why-”

“I do know”, you interrupted her smoothly, “I know that my mother is an amoral bitch and the fact that you killed father, without thinking of the feelings of her children, and went on to throw her daughter into a dangerous position.”

You were met with the static from the other line. Had you finally won? Your mother stayed silent at your sudden outburst.

“How did you find out.” It was a question, but it came out as a statement. That helplessness returned, your level headedness disappearing all of a sudden. How could she be so insensitive? She didn’t care at all.

“Doesn’t matter”, he continued, “Now you know it's imperative you marry Akira, or our secrets will be exposed and the family name will be tainted. This also saves the Qians.”

You fisted your hand, spite coursing through your veins. Fuck, you were so angry, angry at your mother for never doing your job, for expecting you to comply with her twisted plans. You were tired of playing along, you were fed up of being perfect, or at least, fed up of portraying that image.

“I hate Akira”, you said for the first time out loud, making them real. You despised him and everything he was, and the new information you had gathered about him had just made you hate him more. You wished you had never met the Qian family, Akira, or Chenle, or Yuxi, or Kun-

That was a lie. You didn’t regret meeting Kun, you regretted trusting him. You regretted not listening and going into that room. You regretted so much, but you regretted knowing the truth the most.

You wanted to live the lie again. 

“And I don’t care if you get in trouble mother, you deserve it.”

“It’s not just me Y/n”, she said, “It’s the Qian family as well, and it’s you and your brother.”

Shotaro.

“He still doesn’t know?”

“We’ll keep it that way. He’s still in school.”

Pursing your lips, you sighed, “I don’t want this”

It was as if she knew she had hit a weak spot, she could feel your resolve wavering. “Do it for Shotaro, if no one else. He hasn’t met life yet.”

You couldn’t understand how she was so cool about it, how she didn’t seem to care that there was blood on her hands, blood of her husband and no less. You supposed crying and screaming wouldn’t accomplish or change anything. This was your reality, and you just had to accept it.

Clicking off the call, you handed Winter’s phone back to her, burying your head in your hands. Decisions, decisions.

Winter stood there with a pensive look, biting her lower lip, before sitting down next to you, “I’m sorry Y/n, but what is troubling you?” Her soft voice mixed with the concerned look on her face was enough to make you break, leaning into her as tears built up in your eyes. She wrapped an arm around you, keeping you steady and holding you up.

She figured she owed you as much.

“Everyone I know has destroyed me”, you whispered hoarsely, choking back a sob, “They’ve either betrayed me or destroyed me and I’m so tired.”

“Who has done so?” She asked, rubbing your back comfortingly, prompting you to go on without actually asking you. You took in a shaky breath, thinking of everyone that was to blame for your misery.

“My mother”, you spat, “Akira, Kun-”

“Kun?”

Sucking in a breath, you nodded, “Kun. He-he knew. He knew and he still led me on, fuck I feel so stupid”, you laughed at the bitter irony, wiping away your tears, “And the thing is, the fact he did it hurts much more than anything else.”

“And why is that?”, Winter whispered.

“I trusted him”, you said, squeezing your eyes shut as if that would help somehow, “I liked him, I gave him my trust, even when it went past my duty.”

Duty, you were starting to realize, was slowly destroying you and everything you held dear.

Yuxi raised her hand so that the light fell on it, the pretty red nail paint glowing as she inspected it. Her right hand was a little messier than her left, she decided she would fix that later. Her hair was perfectly straightened, not a strand out of place, she looked perfect. Her appearance paired with her pretty airs and manners made her slightly intimidating, a little better than the rest.

Finishing school had been fruitful afterall.

Clicking her tongue, she dropped the act, sitting on her bed, hunched over her phone as she scrolled through her messages, catching up on whatever she was missing back home.

Truth was, she didn’t want to get on this cruise, none of the Qian siblings did. Spending time with their uncle? They hated the few dinners they had to tolerate anyways, but a whole three months? That sounded like torture, a torture they were enduring at the moment.

Akira had insisted, saying it would be a good experience for them now that they were adults, well, except Chenle. The boy was still sixteen, but was very much on their level. Their parents had unfortunately agreed, and so they found themselves where they were.

Kun walked through her door and into her room, pacing around, before taking a seat next to Yuxi and looking at her expectantly.

“What?”

“I fucked up”, he confessed. His sister wondered if he was waiting for her to ask the question just to dump that on her.

“Thank you for that eloquent explanation”, she said, “Mind telling me exactly how you did the fucking up?”

He sighed, running a hair through his hair as he leaned against the headrest and told his sister the whole story, from the arranged marriage (though she knew this), Akira’s plan and what he had done, to the kiss and you finding out. Yuxi listened intently, placing her phone aside as he went on.

Once he reached the end of all the events, Yuxi looked pensive, confused almost. “I’m not sure there’s anything you can do to fix this,” she said truthfully, “It’s royally fucked up and I don;t want to have anything to do with our uncle dear ever again.”

“You’re telling me”, Kun groaned, “I feel terrible, and I didn’t even do anything.”

“You did do something”, his sister said, walking to the little table and picking up her little bottle of nail paint, “You stayed silent.”

Winter burst into the kitchen, walking over to the drink area. She inspected them, figuring out which one was yours, and which one was Kun’s. Producing a small vial of some sort of liquid, she took the two drinks and placed them on the counter opposite, opening up the vial.

Guilt had been eating away at her for weeks now, especially when she realized that there might be more to the story than she thought. She had complied with your mothers orders, but now she didn’t care. 

Heesung walked into the room, “Idiot, what are you doing?”

Winter ignored him, putting a few drops in each glass and mixing them in. Heesung took the vial from her when she kept it down, inspecting it, “What is this?”

“Took it from the luggages”

“You stole? You could get fired!”

“I know that!” She snapped before sighing, “But I stole it from a criminal, so it’s even.”

Heesung raised an eyebrow, lowering his voice, “The Qians?”

Winter nodded, “A drug.”

The boy wondered if he should ask, if it was worth it to do so.  Winter took the glasses and placed them back on the tray, turning back to Heesung, pointing to them. “Kun and Y/n. These two glasses are for them.”

“Right. Why should I listen to you again when you’ve spiked their drinks?”

“Because”, she said, “What you’re holding is an infatuation drug.”

Heesung snorted, “So it’s a love potion? I knew you were a romantic Win, but you do know she’s marrying Mr. Akira right?”

“Not if I can help it”, the girl muttered, “She doesn’t deserve it, and is in love with someone else. And it’s not a love potion, it’s a drug.”

Rolling his eyes, the waiter picked up the tray of drinks, “So it’s a love shot then”, he asked, proud of his pun, “And I suppose you think it’s Mr Akira’s nephew?” Still, he pushed the two glasses a little away from each other so he remembered what he was instructed to do. He still thought it was ridiculous though.

“It is, she told me herself, well not that bluntly, but I know it.”

Heesung pinched the bridge of his nose, “And what if your meddling backfires?”

“Wouldn't change a thing., everything is fucked anyways”, she said, “I just want her to have one thing going right for her.”

Winter took the vial back, stuffing it into the pockets of her uniform and straightening out her apron. The smell of whatever was cooking wafted through the air as she composed herself again, “See you later Heesung, don’t mess up the drinks.”

Winter hoped her meddling would pay off

You walked into the dining hall, head held high as you made eye contact with the Qians. Akira gave you his sickly smile, Yuxi with her worried gaze and Chenle still oblivious. Kun looked confused as he watched you approach the table, taking the seat you usually did, before the entire truth came out.

Sitting down, your eyes flitted to Kun’s before you looked down at your lap, plastering on a fake smile and looking at Akira, greeting him.

“I take it you're better?” He asked this, leaning forward, “You must have been really sick, staying away for so many days. It's been a little over a week?”

You nodded, “Yes, I apologize for my absence.” You realized someone, probably Kun had covered for you. The waiter approached, handing everyone their respective drinks, before bowing and leaving.

You raised the glass to your lips, inspecting the table, eyes meeting Yuxi’s who averted her gaze immediately.

She knew too.

Suppressing a scoff, you decided to address the elephant in the room and announce what decision you had come to. You still weren;t completely happy, but it was better than nothing, and you had stood your ground against your mother, who finally agreed, albeit begrudgingly.

“I revoke our little arrangement Mr. Qian”, you said after clearing your throat. He raised an eyebrow at this, a sliver of panic visible in his eyes, “And why is that?”

“I know”

Those two words had held so much, his eyes widened as he stared at you dumbfounded. That dumbfounded expression morphed into one of misplaced anger. “You are not the one to say that.”

“Yes I am”, you said cooly, “I am the one getting married, well not anymore. My mother has agreed and I want nothing more to do with you.”

He clenched his jaw, visibly trying to control his anger. “A deal is a de-”

“Alright, I’ll tell you why you should agree”, you said with a mocking smile. Somewhere in the back of your mind you began to feel slightly drowsy, but you pushed it away, looking at Kun once more.

You didn’t want to look away.

The two of your eyes locked and it felt like you were falling. You could almost feel his lips on yours, his hands on your wait, the way he kissed you-

You snapped back to reality, looking away. 

“I have a message on the top of my fingers ready to be sent right now”, you said, “To the police about your little dealings and the fact that you killed my father”, the words rolled off your tongue easily, almost as if you were talking about something as mundane as the weather, “And then you’ll be ruined.”

Akira paled, and it was clear who held the ropes over the conversation now. You decided to give him proof, raising your hand that held your phone, finger hovering over a number.

“But this can be avoided! You see, just call off the deal”, you took another sip of whatever the waiter had given you, mind going ever so slightly fuzzy once again. “And I’ll keep silent. No one will ever know.”

He clicked his tongue, “You were my repayment.”

“I know, I was a prop hmm?”, you said, “Not anymore, call this off right now Akira.”

He sighed, as if he knew he had lost. There was no point in fighting anymore. “We’re done”, he said finally, and you smirked in triumph, taking another sip of your drink, “Thank you.”

Winter came around with the food, looking suspiciously at you and Kun, before walking away. You sighed, that feeling of blankness returning. You still had to deal with Kun, of course you did, but you didn’t want to do so now. That would make everything messy, but fuck, for some reason all you could think about was the way he kissed you.

This was bad. You had to stop.

You looked at your food, pushing it away and getting up, sighing, the adrenaline from confronting Akira. Did you expect to win? No, but now that you had, your head swam as you got to your feet, glancing at Winter, nodding your head slightly.

“Goodbye”, you said, “I have no business with you anymore.”

Leaving your dinner and the table, you walked into the hallways and sighed in relief. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off your shoulders and you could finally breathe again. You made your way to your room, before stopping outside a door, freezing in your place.

That door led to the hall where you and Kun had that water balloon fight. You took a step towards it, placing your hand on the knob, but not opening it. You didn’t want to open it, just wanted to reminisce.

“Trying to run away from us? Or me? Because you’re still slow.”

You whipped your head around, meeting Kun’s gaze, “something like that.” Your voice was cautious as if you were walking on nails. As if you weren’t trying to not stare at his lips.

He leaned against the wall, staring at you as if he was trying to crack a code. His mind went fuzzy as well, the drug taking effect as it had for you. But both of you were fighting against it, desperate to win.

When did winning come at the cost of losing everything you loved?

Loved?

You bit your lower lip, averting your gaze. The tension in the room had risen tenfold, the way the two of you tried to navigate the gray area you had fallen into.You wondered why the world couldn’t be simple, black and white. Why couldn’t it be bad and good? Why did it have to be so complicated?

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, just loud enough for you to hear. You snapped back to attention, forcing yourself to get out of your little headspace. Looking up, you met his eyes, and by god, you had never regretted doing anything more than that.

His eyes, they were dark,  voids of nothingness. They didn’t sparkle like they usually did, shining in the light. Instead they were like pools of ink, no light let in. Gone was the smirk you were so used to.

“I know”, you said simply, realizing it was true. You acknowledged the fact that he was sorry.

A bitter chuckle fell from his lips, “I hate myself for not telling you the moment I found out, but everything was so-”

“Messed up?” You finished his sentence, giving him a crooked smile, “Yeah, I get it. It’s all over now though”

“Over”, he repeated, “Right.”

Silence.

“I don’t want it to be over”

You looked at him, a sigh escaping you, “Kun-”

“You’re you, and I don’t want to lose you”, he said bluntly, “You can hate me-I hate myself, but I don't want it to be over.” You began to feel drowsy again, all you wanted to do was walk away and forget the past two months, because now you were attached. Emotionally.

“But I understand if you want nothing to do with us, with me-”

You took a step forward, leaning towards him and pressed your lips to his, mind going completely blank now. You wanted to melt into him, as he kissed you back in surprise, to forget.

You couldn’t do that.

He cupped your face, kissing you again. There it was that feeling, that feeling of drowning. Make it stop, stop, I want to breathe, you thought, before giving up. You liked the breathlessness, even if you tried not to.

Pulling away, you looked at him one last time, before pushing yourself off of him, away from the door that led into the hall, away from him. Kun watched you walk away, down the hallway, before you turned the corner.

And then you were gone.

You leaned against the railing of the deck, watching the water below you. The ripples were somewhat soothing, as you hummed an idle tune.

“Y/n Osaki”, you turned around to face the owner of the voice, Kun himself. He smiled taking position next to you, “Remember when I said I didn’t know who you were?”

You chuckled nodding, “Yeah.”

It had bewildered you at the time, the way he pretended he didn’t know who you were. Now you wished he really didn’t. That seemed so long ago.

It had been a week since the confrontation, a week since the last kiss. The effects of the infatuation drug had long worn off, but what was real was left behind. All the drug had done was amplify it. You didn’t see the Qian family much after it, making a point to avoid them. You didn’t have a reason to see them anyways, you were done.

Yet you still had unfinished business.

The cruise was coming to an end anyways, so what was even the point? Your life would go back to normal like nothing had happened, even though your world had been ripped apart and was holding itself together by threads.

Kun cleared his throat, “We need to talk.”

“We’re talking right now”, you said, avoiding the heavy meaning in his words. 

He sighed, letting it drop for a second before speaking up again, “I didn’t know myself until I asked Akira”, he said, not specifying what exactly he was talking about, but you already knew. “I asked him if you knew who he was and he told me the whole story, and I was….”, he trailed off, searching for the correct word, “horrified.”

“I believe you”, you said softly, “I’ve forgiven you.”

You haven’t forgotten though, you doubt you could ever forget something like this.

Kun didn’t know if that made him feel any better, but he knew he had to get it off his chest. He wondered how he could get you back. You seemed cold again, like the day he met you, closed off and wary of everything. You had a right to be, but he wanted the Y/n he had grown accustomed to, back.

“So”, he said, “Mr. Darcy or Elizabeth Bennet?”

“I thought we agreed on a truce?” You let a smile slip, amused. He grinned, “We did, but I have to know.”

You thought for a second, before inclining your head with a sheepish smile, “I’ll eat my words Qian Kun, Mr. Darcy has grown on me.”

“I’m glad. I won after all”, he said childishly, and you couldn’t help but scoff. “Keep telling yourself that.”

“Why don’t I tell you something? Infact, I’ll say it in the words of Mr. Darcy himself”, he declared, “I found myself in this mess before I could do anything about it Y/n, and I can’t take what has happened. I cannot fix on the hour or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It was too long ago, I was in the middle before I knew it had begun.”

Your eyes softened as you shifted closer to him, meeting his own. Yours sparkled with mild amusement as you slipped your hand through his, “You do know that’s how Mr. Darcy tells Lizzy he loves her, right?”

“Is it?”, his eyes held the same mischievous glint yours did as he raised your held hands, pressing a kiss to your knuckles, “I suppose it’s fitting then.”

And then he kissed you properly, fingers intertwined, wind in your hair. 

Were you happy? Not entirely, not yet. You still had duty, you still had to bear the weight of your family name. You had to live with knowing your mother was responsible for your fathers demise, you had to keep it a secret for Shotaro. You had to be perfect.

No, you weren’t happy, but you were getting there.

fin.

[themadauthorshatter]

... I’ve already made a draft of this and deleted it, but I’m going back in. 

This is an AU of what would happen if Mareven was healthy and the end game. 

I apologize in advance for any and all MareCal shippers, including myself. 

SO! What happens? 

Simple. 

Everything remains mostly the same in the story except we get more of a doubtful and uneasy Maven as the story progresses, as in he hugs Mare a little longer and is genuinely perturbed when he hears about the ‘bomb’ that went off and looks terrified of Cal when he returns and orders Farley to be tortured. He’s also more hesitant to listen to his mother. 

He still offers Cal’s legion to the Guard, but is a little sadder to say it. 

THEN WE GET TO THE PLOT TWIST OF THE STORY!!!!!!!!!

Maven plays along, but, as he stands by his mother’s side, he mouths, “sorry” to Mare and goes for a gun on Arven’s belt, shooting him in the leg and warning him not to try silencing him or he’ll aim for something more vital. 

It catches EVERYONE off guard, especially Elara, who’s about to risk having Cal or Tibe out of her whispers to get Maven back in line. 

Instead, Elara asks what he’s doing and why, as she thought this was what he’d always wanted. 

“It’s what you want, Mother. Not me. None of this is right. You’re already the Queen. What else do you want!?” 

Elara bares her teeth. “Are you saying you want to live your days with a Red rat?” 

Maven pulls Mare to her feet and pushes her behind him, keeping the gun at them, nodding. “I’m saying I'm not following your plans or listening to anything you have to say. I'll die before I let you in my head again!” 

Well, wish granted because Mare senses the cameras turning back on and Elara lets Tibe and Cal go.

Only to force Maven to shoot her and Tibe, though Maven actually misses him.

Mare breaks free and they make a run for it, Elara shouting that they are traitors and to arrest them, though she does force Tibe to play the part of concerned husband.

Cal isn't in the room because he races after Maven and Mare.

Speaking of which, Maven leads Mare through the castle and finds a hall that goes toward a servant's passage, so they can escape.

Too bad there are guards that round the corner and take aim at them, not only for staging a coup de ta, but also for attempted regicide.

Cal's there too, aiming a handgun at them and telling them to submit to arrest.

They do and are sent to the Silent Stone cells.

Mare is confused and livid and doesn't want to talk to Maven, who keeps pacing and clutching his head and telling someone to be quiet. 

Mare mentally tells him to maybe practice what he’s preaching, but wonders what the hell all that was when they were captured. 

Maven sighs and sits down, back-to-back with Mare, and asks her how good she is at picking locks. 

Her hands are for picking pockets, not locks. 

Maven lets out a semi-bitter chuckle and regards that he shouldn’t have bothered asking because of course she’s better at pockets. he then admits that he’d been so scared of the cells as a boy, his young mind tricking him into thinking that there were monsters or prisoners in the cells. 

Speaking of the cells, Mare breaks her silence and asks why it’s so hard for her to use her powers, even asking if Arven is close by listening to them. 

Maven admits it would be useful to do that, but no. The cells are made of Silent Stone, which is basically Arven being there without him really being there. 

Although she already knows what’s going to happen, Mare wonders what will happen to them, in the Bowl of Bones. 

Maven lists off a firing squad, some Silvers, maybe some animals, and the fact that no matter what, the show will not be short; the people want blood and Tibe is going to give them blood, even if it’s his own son’s. 

“Not if he can’t find you.” 

Both Mare and Maven stand as Cal walks in, dressed formally and holding a set of keys to the cells. 

Maven asks what this is and what Cal’s doing as he opens both Maven’s and Mare’s cells. 

Cal explains that he’s already had to give Julian a head start and hopes that Maven and mare can do the same, can vanish into thin air before their execution. 

Mare asks why they should accept the help, seeing as Cal’s the one who arrested them, but Cal counters by asking who’s idea it was to get them arrested, glaring daggers at Maven. 

Maven has his own question: How does Cal know they won’t be seen? 

Cal looks away and admits that he hopes there aren’t any Red servants that know how to fix the security system.

Maven and Mare exchange a glance and start walking, but Cal gets between them, shackles them, and grabs their arms, telling them to play along and make it convincing so no one questions anything. 

They both do their best reluctant prisoners act up until they pass by Sonya, who inquires as to where Cal’s taking them. 

Cal states he’s just taking them to get some cardio before their execution, seeing as how they’ll need every ounce of strength they’ll need. 

Sonya spits that they shouldn’t and should actually fight with nooses around their necks so they’re easier to grab and throw around, but drops it anyway, eying Cal before she leaves. 

Time’s almost up, so it’s a good thing Maven leads Cal to a servant passage, where they stop and get free, Maven getting his flame-maker bracelets back. 

Maven opens the passage, but Cal stops him and Mare, telling them to be careful now, because if they manage to escape, they’ll be fugitives and will get hunted like deer for treason, Maven for attempted regicide, from what narrative that now exists. 

They nod and thank him for the help. 

Before Mare can follow Maven, Cal grabs her arm again, which makes Mare turn to him. 

The two stare at each other, realizing what’s happening and what’s going to happen. 

The royals will figure out that Cal helped them escape and will probably have him killed for letting two traitors run free. 

Cal is the one who helped her in the first place by getting her the job at the Summer Palace, and now he’s saving her life again, this time also saving his brother’s and risking his own. 

Maven shouts for Mare to keep it moving and Mare pulls out of Cal’s grip, backs away, and races after Maven, Cal watching her leave before closing the passage. 

His face contorts with sorrow, regret, anger, and pain and he clenches a fist as he hears a sentinel shout that Mare and Maven are missing. 

Cal shouts, “They’re this way!” and races down the hallway and away from the bookshelf, trying to make it look like they outran him. 

In the passage, Maven leads Mare by the hand as they soon find themselves underground and under the streets, overhearing an announcement to keep an eye out for the two of them because both are armed and dangerous, Mare especially. 

Maven groans at his father’s words and muses that at least they’re out. 

Mare isn’t as relieved and asks what he was planning with his mother. 

Maven stops in his steps and states that she already knows. 

Mare does know, she just wants to hear Maven say it. 

Maven bites his tongue and clenches his fist at his side, not turning to face Mare as he asks what will happen if he doesn’t tell her. 

She’ll make him tell her, make him talk or she’ll shock him until he dies. 

Maven  tightens his fist but then drops it, admitting he and Elara planned on killing Tibe and using Mare and Cal as scapegoats, sending them to the Bowl of Bones, and having them executed to wrap up the story and solidify Maven as the new King, with no Scarlet Guard and no loose ends to ensure the story of Mare being a Red would slip out. 

Mare demands he define ‘loose ends.’ 

Lady Blonos. The servant girls who dressed Mare as a Silver. Lucas. Julian. Sara. Mare’s family. Kilorn. Cal. Mare herself. All the Reds on the list Julian gave her. 

Mare gasps at that last one, sliding down a wall as Maven explains in increasing panic and with his eyes growing teary that he was along with the ride and all for getting the throne the way his mother planned, but then he began to feel genuine feelings for Mare and her plight and no matter how much Elara tried to take those feelings away, they always came back. She did the same with Tibe, making Maven lose his love for him, and had semi-success with Cal, but didn’t fully remove his love for his brother. It also changed when they killed Blonos and the servant girls, and when Tristan died. It opened Maven’s eyes and made him realize that he was going to kill someone he didn’t want to die. he’d already lost Thomas and it was his own fault, but if he was the reason he lost Mare, too, he’d lose his mind. 

Maven stops his rambling and joins Mare against the wall, admitting that he knows he deserves whatever comes next, but whatever does happen, he just asks that mare know that he is sorry for all of this, for putting her in such danger that now they’re on the run and risk execution if they’re caught. 

Mare turns to him and asks if Elara has the list, if he told her about the Newbloods. 

Maven shakes his head; the raid was going to happen in a few hour hours, so there wouldn’t have been enough time for Elara to look through his mind, write down all the names, and the find them in the blood base, so they have a good head start there, too. 

After a minute of collecting themselves, and a glare from Mare, the two stand up and keep walking until they reach a fork in the path and wonder which is safer.

The only answer they get is a gun pushed against the back of Maven's head and a certain blaonde telling him to go right or she's painting the tunnel Silver.

Mare turns and sees Kilorn and Farley, with the addition of a certain Barrow we all still mourn, don't lie.

"Shade!"

Mare and Shade reunite, though Maven voices confusion as he thought Shade had been executed.

Shade explains that they tried and failed, making an example by teleporting in front of and behind them, saying with pride that no one's faster than him.

Mare is a mix of happy and sad at the news, but Farley brings them back and reminds them they need to keep going or they'll get arrested and killed.

Maven also gets put back in shackles, but acts as a good sport and doesn't burn them off.

They continue throught the tunnel until they reach a train, climb aboard, and get to riding, merrily on their way to nowhere in particular.

Back in White Fire, Elara slaps Cal HARD in the face and demands to know what he was thinking and where Maven and Mare are.

Tibe gets between them, but Cal admits that he didn't fully know what he was thinking, just that he couldn't let his brother be forced to fight when he's still in training. It would be a bloodbath.

Elara asks if that's the same reason why he also let Mare go, or if there's something he's not telling them.

Tibe also wants to know. He understands letting Maven go, but why a Red rat like Mare? If the people see her lightning powers and Red blood, there will be Hell to pay.

Cal's silent, but Elara solves that with a quick look into his mind, seeing all the moments of Cal and Mare being close and friendly with each other.

Elara asks Cal if he's more interested in dirt than diamonds and Tibe gets the picture instantly, upon seeing Cal's reaction.

Change of plan: Cal is getting his legion back in action, and an additional two hundred soldiers to locate and either capture or kill Mare and Maven. No more catch and releases or else it's Cal who fights in the arena and he'll have nothing but his wits to defend himself.

Cal pales at this and gasps that they can't kill him, because then Norta has no heir.

Tibe only glares at him and tells him not to fail before leaving to let Cal get his army ready.

Cal watches his father leave and is broken by the fact that he legitimately screwed up and that his father, as King, needs Maven, his own son, executed with Mare, someone who never should have had her powers to begin with.

Elara glares at Cal for a moment longer and also walks out of the room, leaving Cal on his own.

[ashintheairlikesnow]

Tell Me Everything

Follows Found Out, Akio, Chris Sees, and I’m Here

CW: References to murder, suicide, grief, pet whump, abduction, whump of a minor, ableism, Oliver Branch manages to be creepy even now in brief reference

He’s shorter than Ben thought he would be.

Ben sees him first, but, like of course he does - Akio Nakamura isn’t exactly famous but he has his own youtube channel and is like an Olympic-level athlete, so he’s pretty fucking recognizable... if you’ve spent two days scrolling through every Instagram photo of him on three different accounts that you can find. 

Ben showed up thirty minutes early, because Ben has never been late to a fucking thing in his life and something tells him this is maybe one of the most important things he’ll ever do, even though he doesn’t quite know why. 

Something about it keeps picking at his mind, taking it apart, unraveling him with the reality that someone fucking cared about Chris, before whatever happened. Chris doesn’t remember much, and Ben and Laken had done the googling and searching and shit, trying to get some idea of what the hell could have happened to make someone like Chris - bouncy and full of sunshine optimism even on his bad days - end up at a place like WRU.

They’d found nothing a first. But Ben hadn’t known what he was looking for, then. Now that he knows what to look for, he can’t stop finding things. He feels like a detective or someone who has lost his mind, desperately piecing together a life that was interrupted, like someone disappearing mid-sentence, and Ben is following a trail of the words he said before. 

He finds human-interest stories from ten years ago, digitized articles from old community newspapers. He finds more photos from the gym, photos where the redheaded boy is in the background, or in the front always looking slightly off to one side, rarely smiling for the camera but happy to smile as long as he didn’t have to look right at it.

He finds out Veronica Higgs, murdered in the double-homicide that had destroyed the life of Tristan Higgs, had a facebook page, and it’s marked as In Memorial. So is her husband’s, but Paul Higgs’s page is private and his profile photo is a meme that hasn’t been a thing since…

Since they died.

Something about that makes his throat close up as he scrolls Ronnie’s last few public updates, the scattering of people who have left comments saying they miss her, they’re thinking of her, they hope she’s in a better place. Comments are left on the last post like clockwork, once a year, by the same few people. 

Thinking of you today, Ronnie. 

Saw your favorite bird today!

Hope you and Tris and Paul are happy wherever you are now, Ronnie. I take comfort in knowing you’re still together.

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Ronnie!

Left flowers for you today, Ronnie. Jennifer did a routine this year that uses some of Tristan’s music, we’re always thinking of you!

Thinking of you

Miss you

Hope you three are happy together

Miss you, big sister, always.

One day I’ll stop leaving comments like you’re still here. I was watching the old videos and gosh, I couldn’t help but think how proud we were of our boys back then! Rest in peace. Give Tris a kiss for me. That’s Aimi Nakamura, that’s Akio’s mom. Her profile photo is her with her arms around Akio himself, wearing his leotard and holding up a medal with a bright smile, and a younger teenager who must be his little sister - she’s just wearing regular clothes. Feeling like a stalker, Ben opens the mom’s facebook page in a new tab. He absolutely does not look at the photos of Akio she’s posted. He does not do that at all.

He might do that later.

For now he goes back to Ronnie’s page, sees that her last post was brief, something about looking for a recipe, crowd-sourcing. Tris asked to try baked oysters, isn’t that funny? Only my kid, I swear. He’d said seafood is ‘slime’ except for tuna since toddlerhood, but no, this week he wants oysters. He said he wanted to try something new for once and he might as well go as far from the usual as he could get. I

One of the joys of all of this is how when he gets something in his head, I just go with him, and we see what’s on the other side of the jump, right? Watch him spit it right back out. 

It’s fucking ordinary. 

She posted it a couple days before she was murdered.

That doesn’t seem fair, does it? He just can’t wrap his head around it. She was a good mom taking care of her kid, she got some recipe ideas... but then she never cooked any of them because she just… died?

She died, and Tristan’s - Chris’s - dad died, and then there just wasn’t anybody? There wasn’t anybody to take care of a kid who couldn’t take care of himself yet? Nobody at-fucking-all, to keep Tristan safe and loved when the people who loved him the most were gone? 

How the hell did he go from placed in the care of relatives to just... gone? How did he go from gone to a rescued runaway pet with a new name and a new life? What happened in all that gray space in-between?

Ben blinks back tears.

Whatever it was... could that happen to Jamey? Ben’s whole family has built their existence on holding his little brother together through the ways the world wants to shred everything about him. He’s spent nearly all the life he remembers with his brother’s hand closed in the fabric of his shirt, shadowing him through the world, reminding him that you can’t trust everybody, not everyone has good intentions. 

Ben doesn’t even have to think before he’s moving in front of him to block out the noise and chaos of the world that Jamey just can't filter the way Ben can. He knows that when - hopefully forever from now - their parents die, Jamey’s going to move in with Ben. 

It’s never been a question. He doesn’t want it to be a question.

But... what if Ben wasn’t there? What would happen to Jamey if his Mom and Dad were gone, and nobody was there who wanted to keep Jamey safe? He can’t stop thinking about it. He cycles around and around, and Laken called him yesterday and said not to talk to Chris for a few days, that he saw the video and he’s not okay, and Ben’s not fucking okay, either, is he?

This could happen to Jamey.

Someone could see him, alone and vulnerable, and think, no one will stop me and he can’t stop me either, and then Jamey could disappear and then just not be Jamey anymore, and there wouldn’t be anyone to save him-

Ben looks up from his phone without focusing on anything, sniffing back the pain, the tight feeling in his chest at the idea of his little brother, disappearing into some dark hallway and never coming back. Just some photos on Instagram, a video of two, some mentions on somebody’s In Memorial Facebook page, that’s all that’s left of his silly, serious, annoying, funny little brother?

Like someone turned out the light on Jamey’s life and the world just forgets him, because his family isn’t there to keep him safe and Jamey can’t always tell who you can trust and who you can’t, and… and Chris can’t either, can he?

He just wants to think the best of everyone, he forgives everyone who hurts him so easily, so quickly, like it’s second-nature, like...

Did Tristan Higgs want to think good things about whoever did this, whoever had him erased, whoever handed him off to be turned into one of those blank empty-eyed dolls celebrities and rich people drag around? Did Tristan Higgs trust the person who gave him away to be erased, because he didn’t know not to?

Who the fuck bought him?

How did it all fucking happen?

The bell chimes. Akio Nakamura is right on time.

And he’s short.

He’s got a natural almost-smile on his face at all times, a hint of tan to his skin even now in the early spring, wearing a thin gray hoodie, unzipped over a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. His muscles aren’t visible, like this, but Ben has seen the videos and knows they’re there, the body of a trained athlete hidden under casual clothing. His hair isn’t as short as it is when he competes, in the videos Ben has already watched over and over entirely for research purposes. It’s a little longer, starting to flop over his forehead.

Dark eyes scan the interior of the store, and Ben raises one hand to catch his attention.

The smile brightens, briefly, with a quick nod - like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, Ben feels that smile as a physical warmth in his chest - and he pushes the rest of the way inside, walking straight over. 

“Hey,” Akio says, and his voice is a little deeper than it seems in the youtube videos where he narrates, and Ben, for one shining moment, completely forgets how to speak his own fucking native language.

His mouth opens and nothing comes out - except maybe kind of a croak, which, please let that not have been audible - and he clears his throat, waiting for his brain and his body to remember how to work together. “Uh… um, h-hey,” He says, finally, and shifts uncomfortably. “You’re-... right. I’m, um. I’m Ben.”

“Yeah. I, I figured, you look just like your profile photo.” Akio laughs a little, dropping into a seat cross from him, sitting casually and letting his eyes roam over the mostly-empty interior of the shop, painted with bright colors and lined with posters about ice cream. 

Ben could not possibly have picked a worse place for a professional athlete to go to… meet and talk about his dead friend, could he? Oh, God. Oh he’s a fucking moron. “Right. Uh, sorry, I couldn’t-... when you asked to meet on the phone, I kind of blanked and this was the only place I could think of-”

“Hey, that’s all right. I like coming here, when I’m off from competing. It’s been a while. Hope you don’t mind if I stick with an iced coffee today, though, I’m not feeling ice cream.” Akio grins at him, and Ben’s knees might buckle if he wasn’t sitting down already. The smile takes over his entire face, lights it up, and it reminds him so much of Chris when he’s really happy, the way Chris smiles with his entire fucking body, not just his mouth. 

“Yeah, it’s… no problem, I’ll order, I picked here, anyway. Just the iced coffee?” 

“Yeah, please. Also, I should warn you - my mom is lurking across the street faking an interest in whatever they sell at Paisley Poses and she’ll probably stop pretending she’s not here and show up before we’re done. She’s… uh. Well, get the stuff, and then I’ll, um, I’ll explain.”

“Right. Got it.” Ben’s grip on his phone is white-knuckled as he stands up, aware of every movement of his body as he walks - and he walks normally, right? Not, like weird? It’s not like Akio is watching him walk anyway, probably - over to the cash register. The cashier, whose hair is dyed a pale faded sort of seafoam green, almost the color of those weird mint shakes you can buy from McDonald’s in April, takes his order with a flat affect, unbothered, uncaring.

Ben doesn’t know what he orders for himself. His mouth moves and words come out and then he realizes he doesn’t know what he just said. 

Whatever it is, he pays for it.

He takes the little number-on-a-stick, and carries it back to the table to wait. 

“Iced coffee it is,” He says a little breathlessly. “Um, it’ll be just a sec. They’ll bring it out with my… with mine.”

Shit, what the fuck did he even order for himself?

“No problem.” Akio’s eyes move over his face, considering. He’s sitting slouched a little, but it doesn’t look quite natural - like his posture is usually so much better and he’s trying to look like everyone else. Ben’s eyes are drawn to his hands, folded over his stomach, over wrinkled white shirt fabric. He has a blood-bruise under one thumbnail.

What a weird fucking thing to notice about someone.

“I-I don’t really know where to start,” Ben admits, slouching himself. He runs his fingers over the textured case of his phone, a charcoal-black with rough edges. Jamey likes the texture on his phone, will just sit and rub the pads of his fingers on it over and over and over again, smiling in a distant way, sitting next to Ben on the couch while Ben watches TV and Jamey, who can go days without speaking and is currently one hundred percent all about how they film movies and tv shows, explains every fucking cinematic trick every camera is using at any given moment.

It’s nice.

It’s how Jamey says he loves you, by sharing what’s up in his head whenever he can, and Ben - when he’s home - always tries to listen. 

“Yeah.” Akio laughs again, and Ben decides it’s a good laugh - strong, and not overly loud, and a little infectious. “Yeah, me neither. I don’t-... how do you even begin a conversation like this? Hello, nice to meet you, what do you know about my dead best friend? I don’t know what to say, just… we don’t even know they’re the same person, do we? Maybe they just look alike. Fuck.” Akio laughs once more, but this time it’s shaky, breathier. “I genuinely can’t decide if I want him to dead or not, I just-...”

Ben takes a breath, thinking of Laken’s voice on the phone yesterday morning, exhausted and rambling after a night of not sleeping, their fear and grief and love for Chris, telling Ben to go ahead with this meeting, but Chris needed time. “They’re definitely the same person,” He says, voice low and quiet. “We, um. He saw the video you posted, and he kind of-... freaked out.”

“Freaked out?” Akio blinks, sitting up a little straighter. His eyes are focused completely on Ben’s face, which would make him blush if he weren’t trying not to look directly at him. “What do you mean?”

Ben swallows. “Um. Just. He’s-... he doesn’t remember. Or… he didn’t. Seeing the video might have… brought some stuff up. Like, a lot of... bad stuff.”

Fuck, I’ve never heard him scream like that. Laken’s voice, rough-edged, laced with their tears. I can’t believe… he needs a few days, he can’t go with you to see this guy, Ben. He’s-... he’s super fucked up right now. I’m so glad his brothers know what’s happening to him because I-I don’t know what to do and he won’t let me anywhere near him. 

Akio nods, slowly, and his hands worry at each other under the table, the smile faded and replaced with seriousness, uncertainty. “Yeah, when you said-... anyway, I looked the company up, and it’s-... it’s weird, I knew about pets, but I guess… I mean, he wasn’t old enough to…” 

“Um… yeah. So, um. I know, but they-... clearly they still did...”

They sit there in an awkward silence, and then Akio pulls his own phone out of his pocket and unlocks it. “Let me show you something. Tris and I shared our passwords for Instagram, way back, and when he-... went… when his aunt took his phone away-”

Ben’s eyebrows furrow. Something about that pricks at him. Miss you, big sister, always. 

“He went to live with his aunt?” Ben asks. The cashier reappears, setting a plain iced coffee down on the table, and Ben discovers he apparently ordered iced coffee with a scoop of ice cream for himself, and that’s not bad, good for him. It’s even his favorite ice cream, vanilla with almond and chocolate chips.

“Yeah, his Aunt Jo, his mom’s sister.” Akio shrugs one shoulder. “I never met her, she never came to meets or anything. Tris always said she was kind of a shit to him and his dad.” Something in his jaw is tightening - and the line of his jaw is catching Ben’s eyes entirely too much for the seriousness of this conversation. He can’t stop himself from looking. “She’s who he went to live with, after. She took his phone away because he was complaining to, um, to my mom and I - my mom and Ronnie, Mrs. Higgs, were… you know, team moms.” He shrugs, and Ben doesn’t know, but he nods anyway. “He was complaining about how she took him out of therapy, and… uh, you know, Tris needed therapy, just-... it helped him to, um-”

Ben swallows. “Self-regulate,” He says, softly. “Redirect potentially harmful stims. Figure out how to filter.”

“Right.” Akio smiles, a little shamefaced. “Sorry, it’s been… fucking years since I had to think about this so much. It’s… I would show my mom his messages, and my mom would call Jo and tell her to get him back in therapy and back to practice, but… you know, the social workers said there was nothing we could do about it. We weren’t family. We made complaints, but...” Akio slumps, closing his eyes briefly. "God, I don't even know if they did a home visit."

Ben closes his eyes. Jamey, trapped with someone who didn’t let him go to his own therapy. Jamey, nonverbal on hard days, trapped with someone who didn’t learn signing to talk to him during meltdowns like Ben’s family did. 

Jamey, trying to say he needed help with his hands again and again but no one’s listening, no one’s even trying anymore-

“Yeah,” Ben says, voice hoarse, and uses a thin plastic spoon with a long handle to get a bite of ice cream soaked in cold coffee taste, letting it dissolve on his tongue to buy himself some time for his throat to open back up. It’s fear in his chest, yeah, but beneath that is a bubbling, simmering fury, a distant anger for a hypothetical that he understands was Chris’s reality. “Yeah. My brother’s-... um, autistic, so I know… I know about it.”

“Yeah, I saw that.”

Ben blinks, caught off-guard. “What?”

Akio flushes, reddening along his cheekbones, and rolls his eyes at himself, slumping back down. “Okay, so, I promise I’m not a stalker, but when you messaged me I looked at your profile to see if you were just a creep. I saw the autism banner, so I looked and you wrote this really sweet thing about your brother-... how old is he?”

Ben almost forgets how to speak again. “He’s-... fifteen. Just turned fifteen. Jamey’s, um, his name is Jamey.”

“Cool. Yeah. So. I’m not a stalker. But, I’m just… listen, Tris and I started training at the gym together when we were like… seven. And I was seventeen when he, when she said… when she said he died.”

Ben’s breath catches. “Shit. She did?”

“Um. Yeah. A month after she took his phone away - we were calling her all the time asking to speak with him and stuff, my mom had kind of threatened to get social services involved again - she called my mom and said he-... um. Sorry if suicide is a thing for you, but…”

“No, I-I’m okay, I just…”

“Yeah. She told us he killed himself. We thought she was lying - oh fuck, she was lying, wasn’t she? - but so... but then you know, she had him cremated, and... I fucking-... I lost my shit, Ben. I didn’t compete, I didn’t train, I just, I just sat in my room for like six months bawling my eyes out and I told my mom it was just like she killed him, taking him away from everything when, you know, he was so sad and scared without them.”

Ben nods, quiet, watching Akio’s face as he speaks.

“My mom offered to take him, have him live with us, but… you know, she said no, and then he-... but he didn’t.” Akio drinks his coffee, absently, and Ben realizes his eyes are red around the edges. “Oh, god, he probably thought nobody cared about him anymore. Oh, shit. He probably thought we stopped giving a fuck. That h-he was al-... alone-”

He’s been crying. He’s maybe going to cry again.

Akio takes in a deep, shuddering breath. “He didn’t know-... shit. He probably just thought, no one’s coming, nobody cares, and… shit. I don’t know what to even think right now, just...” Akio slides his phone across the table. “Look at this. I locked it, when I thought-... but I kept it, anyway. I kept everything, I couldn’t-... I mean it’s just a box of stuff under my bed, but… I couldn’t throw any of it out, because… I don’t know. Somebody needed to, to r-remember him, and she wouldn’t have-... that fucking bitch told us he was dead. And she threw out all his stuff, so I’m... I guess I’m the only one who still has anything, so I just... kept it. Everything. And... this.”

There’s a moment where they both pretend Akio’s voice isn’t trembling.

“What is this?” Ben knows before the question is fully out of his mouth, but he looks anyway. Akio’s phone is still warm from his hand. 

“Tristan’s Instagram account. We, uh, we took pictures of stupid shit a lot back then, and Instagram was, like, super new and all filters all the time, so you just-... but this is his. His mom encouraged him to use it because, you know, sometimes he could show stuff better than he could say it.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Ben tilts his head, scrolling through the images. Most of the photos are just nothing - a cloud, books on a bookshelf, a tree leaf. Ben kind of quirks a smile at all the old Instagram filters right there, like looking in a fucking time capsule. Sometimes there are gymnastics photos, of the gym or of someone training. Sometimes Tristan himself appears in the photo, a blur of constant motion, photos taken by someone else. Photos of dinosaur bones at a museum, seemingly every fucking skeleton or fossil in the place.

“That’s our trip to DC, the team went,” Akio says, and points to a photo of Tristan and Akio, gangly awkward teenagers, standing in front of the Lincoln monument. Akio is smiling, and Tristan is looking up at the sky instead of the camera. “I like to look at this stuff sometimes? I know it’s been… it’s funny, we were talking a few weeks ago about how it’ll be a couple more years when he’s been dead longer than how long I knew him, but he’s not-... he was never dead.” Akio swallows, and his voice catches. When he speaks again, he sounds strained, forcing his voice to stay calm around the emotion that threatens to overtake it. “He was never dead. I keep getting caught up on that, because-... because how did we not know? How did we never… find him?”

Ben pushes the phone back to Akio. “You didn’t know to look,” He says, softly. “How were you supposed to find him if you didn’t know anyone needed to be looking?”

“I guess. My mom feels like shit, she’s been crying since we spoke to you. Well, I have, too. But my mom feels like she… she should have showed up at Joanne’s door and just taken Tristan by force, but, you know, the cops would’ve taken him right back, probably? That’s fucking kidnapping? And I keep telling her not to feel guilty, but she-”

“Yeah,” Ben says, thinking of Laken’s voice on the phone. 

I didn’t know he’d come home early. I keep saying I’m sorry but... He wasn’t-... he wasn’t ready for this and he’s so… he’s so fucked up. He won’t even talk to me. Every time Jake leaves the room we’re scared he’ll hurt himself again. He keeps telling me to find someone else, somebody easier, but I don’t want anyone else, god damn it, I want him! 

“She’s taking it really hard,” Akio says, finally, breaking into Ben’s thoughts. “I mean. We both are. But, you know, I keep thinking I can’t do this but then I think… I want to see him again. I want to see this guy in person, not just in those photos and videos you had. I want to see how he’s doing, he looks-... he looks so good.” Akio coughs, like he’s trying to cover up a sob, not quite managing it. “He looks really good.”

“He is, he’s doing… he’s good. Um, he’s having a hard time with remembering some stuff, but overall... he’s good.” Ben picks his own phone back up, pops back to Ronnie’s page. “What did you say the aunt’s name was?”

“Jo, um, Joanne… something. Sorry, I don’t really remember her last name, my mom would-”

“Botham?” Ben looks up, and god, he kind of wants to hug Akio until there aren’t tears in his eyes anymore. But also that’s a stupid thing to think, isn’t it? But he wants to, anyway. 

“Oh, that sounds right.”

“She left a comment on his mom’s-... I’ve been looking for everything I could find. I’m sorry, I know that’s creepy. But Joanne Botham left like a comment about missing-... hold on.” Ben clicks to open up Joanne Botham’s profile. A woman smiling in a profile photo, with dark hair. Something about the shape of her mouth is similar to Chris’s, but that doesn’t mean much, really. He scrolls down. 

Name, stupid quote from a stupider movie, current city is a while away from this one, like a couple states away, but she could’ve moved… There it is.

The answer to his questions, all of them, all at once, right out in the open.

“Joanne Botham,” He says out loud, “works at WRU.”

“What?” Akio looks up at him.

“His aunt. The mom’s sister, she works for WRU. That’s where Chris was-... where they hurt him. Where they make pets.”

Where they erase people. Where they take someone like Jamey and destroy him and how many versions of my brother are there who weren’t rescued by somebody like Chris’s big brother?

“WRU?” Akio’s face twists, an ugly pain written across it. “They’re one of our team’s sponsors. I’ve never thought about how… oh my god. I, I never liked… I mean, none of us are, like, political about it because you can’t be if you want an Olympic career, not really, but we all kind of hated taking the money. My coach thinks it’s good because it gets people off the street, which is super fucked up, but…” His iced coffee thunks down on the table. 

“What?”

“Oh shit. Oh holy fuck. They’ve been sponsoring us since we met with the old governor - he’s the one who hooked our coach up with their marketing team, and… oh my god. I’m gonna be fucking sick. WRU’s been my sponsor since like… a year after Tristan died-... didn’t die, I guess...”

“You didn’t know,” Ben whispers, staring down at Joanne Botham’s profile photo, scrolling through the profile picture photo album. He’s not maybe the smartest person on earth, but he can put two and two together for four. Tristan Higgs’s parents died, he goes to his aunt - who works for a human pet company - and he’s dead, supposedly, four months later. 

Time passes. No sign of supposed dead boy.

Then Chris, identical in every way, appears with no memory of his life and a thousand traumas to heal from, rescued from something that Ben doesn’t know the details of, but he doesn’t have to. 

Life as a pet, a life that made him terrified of bad weather and scared of people who raise their hands too quickly, unable to say no to anything when he gets scared, nervous about big vans with no windows, someone who says stupid fucking bullshit like silence is better than stammering when he’s upset, who sometimes has screaming nightmares that Laken has to wake him from that he refuses to explain to them...

Meanwhile, Aunt Joanne is putting up photos of herself traveling internationally, buying a new house, a new car, stuff she couldn’t afford to do before.

The math does itself.

It’s fucking true crime textbook, and it’s right in front of his eyes.

Akio’s jaw is working, and his eyes are glimmering again. He looks at Ben, and he looks weirdly lost and young, and Ben reaches out without thinking and grabs onto his hand. Akio grips on tight. His hand is warm, almost too warm, but also it’s the perfect amount of warm. “Do you think-... do you think she-”

Ben thinks about Jamey, scared and alone. He thinks about Jamey - and Tristan, the two of them mixing together in his mind - being dragged away, to be lost and overwritten, because no one was there to stop it.

Because someone did it on purpose.

Because no one stopped it.

“I think maybe she was lying to you because she didn’t want you to take Tristan,” Ben says, softly. “I think maybe she wanted to-... make money on him.”

Akio chokes, and leans forward, and Ben holds his hand as tightly as he can, feeling the other man’s fingers tremble in his grip. “I can't-... I can't even begin to deal with that, I just… So h-how did he end up in college? Pets don’t-... go to school, they’re not capable… are they?"

"Um. It depends, apparently?" Ben doesn’t know how much of this is something Chris would ever allow him to share. But Akio’s eyes raise, and catch his again, and Ben smiles, just a little, in an attempt to comfort. “He was rescued,” He says, softly. “I don’t know how, or when. He’d have to tell you that himself. But he’s, um. He’s just Chris now.”

“He’s just Chris, now.” Akio groans resting his head on his hand. “But not Tristan. So he really is dead, his body’s still just-.. walking around.”

“No,” Ben says, and leans in, getting Akio to look at him again. “He’s not gone. Not, like, the core of him, I think. We knew him as soon as we saw him on your video. We knew the smile, and how he moves, all of it. Everybody in the room knew him as soon as we saw him smile at you. He’s still there, he’s still him. I promise.”

“I knew it was him on your stuff as soon as I saw him dancing,” Akio says, brokenly. “H-he always did get obsessed with those fuh-fucking musicals and we used to make up routines to th-them-” His head drops, shoulders shaking, and Ben puts his other hand on Akio’s shoulder, moves around the edge of the little circular table, so he can put an arm around him. 

“It’s okay,” He whispers. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” Akio says, muffled. “It’s not okay. We should have saved him, w-we didn’t know, we didn’t know she would… he probably th-thought we didn’t care... the social worker said it was fine, we’re not re-relatives, we didn’t know he wasn’t dead, we didn’t know he wasn’t gone, I thought I l-lost him and he probably thinks I didn’t even give a fuck-”

“I’m sure he never thought that,” Ben says, softly, and Akio’s hair brushes a little against the side of his face and he tries not to think too hard about how nice that feels, this is not the time or place, Benjamin, stop thinking about his hair stop it stop it stop it.

“We thought... “

“I know. But… you found him, now. He’s found.”

Akio sniffs back tears, mumbling, “Can I see him?”

Ben hesitates. “He needs-... he might need some time.”

Akio nods without looking up, but he leans a little on Ben. “I’m sorry, I’m being a fucking moron about this, making you comfort me and you don’t even know me, but I just-... missed him, and mourned him, and we go to see is parents wh-where they’re buried every year on the day that his aunt said he-... Is he h-happy? Now?”

Ben closes his eyes. That’s what I’d want to know, isn’t it, if it was Jamey. Is he happy now? Does his new family sign, do they know how to calm him down when it’s too much, do they know, do they care, if I’m not there does someone love him as much as we did?

I’d claw my way out of the fucking grave to make sure someone loves Jamey as much as he deserves.

“He’s happy,” Ben says, softly. “He was adopted by the guy who saved him, I think. There’s a whole lot I don’t know, you know, it’s not really my-... my story to, um, to tell. I just know some of it. He’s, um, he’s with someone, and… he’s… he’s happy.”

“Good. I just-... I want to see him.”

“I know. I’ll ask. But his partner... I’m friends with them, and they, um, he’s n-not... not okay right now, so...”

“I can wait.” Akio looks at him, intense, intent, eyes so dark Ben could fall in. “I’ve waited this long, I can-... I can wait a little longer, I just... I just want to see him, when he can see me.”

The bell over the door chimes again, and the two of them turn and look to see a woman who could not be more obviously Akio’s mother entering, looking at them, her eyebrows furrowed in immediate worry when she sees the tears on Akio’s face. “Aki?”

“It’s him, Mom,” Akio says, and she moves to him as if drawn, and Ben fights himself to pull back and away, to watch mother and son. Tristan had this, and lost it, but Chris has it, too. Life, interrupted at the second act, begun again with new actors around the main character. “It’s definitely-... it’s Tristan. But, she-... I have to tell you what happened to him. He, they-they made him a, um, a pet-”

She hitches in a breath, pulls a chair with a loud scrape from another table, and sits, looking Ben over, expression serious. “Tell me,” She says, softly, but fiercely. 

“It’s, um, it’s a lot…”

“I’ve got time.” Ben is reminded of his own mother, in the simple steel flashing under her perfectly styled hair and carefully done makeup. Her eyes are red around the edges, too. She lays a cool, dry hand over Ben’s, and her dark eyes bore into him with focused intensity. “Tell me what happened to our Tris. I want to know what happened to-... I want to know what I didn’t stop.”

Akio looks sidelong at his mother, putting an arm around her, and he’s shorter than his mom but she seems to sag against him, and he can see how Akio takes after his mom, with the same wide mouth that normally seems always on the verge of a smile, the same dark eyes flashing with anger and guilt. “M-Mom, you couldn’t have known, we couldn’t do anything-”

“I could have gone to that woman’s… house, or wherever she was, and taken Tristan right out the door, and I didn’t,” Aimi says, and her voice doesn’t shake, but her face is bright red and her eyes are overbright and glittering. “I could have called lawyers, or the cops, I could have tried to fight for him and I didn’t. Ronnie deserved-” Her voice catches and her hand is over her mouth. Ben watches her eyes well up, her struggle to calm herself, throat working as she swallows and leans into her son’s embrace. “Ronnie… would have wanted someone to fight for him. I want to know what happened because I did the normal thing and not the right thing, because I didn’t let myself see it. I want to know what exactly it is that I didn’t stop when I had the chance.”

Ben sits back, takes a breath. 

“He, um. His name is… Chris now,” Ben starts, slowly. “Christopher Stanton. He’s, um, he’s a sophomore in college, and… he was a human pet, for a while. We don’t know how long, nobody knows for sure, or who had him. I mean, I guess he knows and I think his brother knows, but h-he, won’t… won’t tell anyone who it was.”

Aimi’s whole body shudders, but her face doesn’t change, and her eyes don’t leave Ben’s. “H-how-”

Akio licks at his lips, and hesitantly says, “Ben thinks maybe that aunt they sent him to sold him. She works for WRU.”

Aimi’s eyes slowly close, and her breathing is slow but trembling. The two young men watch her. Akio’s knee bumps his under the table, and he doesn’t think about that, either, except it’s all he’s going to think about for the rest of the day.

“Okay,” Aimi says, after a long pause, and her eyes open again. A kind of perfect calm settles itself across the pain in her expression. 

Ben thinks that this woman is probably fucking terrifying if it’s you she’s angry with and not herself. 

“Mom, if we need to stop, that’s okay-”

“We don’t. Ben-... that’s your name? Ben?”

“Uh, yeah… Benjamin Prentiss, but-... call me Ben.” 

Prentiss, Akio mouths to himself, and Ben hopes, in another weird moment, that Akio likes his last name. 

“Got it.” Aimi leans forward, smacks the table with one hand. Ben flinches. Her jaw sets. She’s definitely terrifying. Like his own mother when they tried to kick Jamey out of school, this is a woman who could stare down the sun itself unblinking and walk away undamaged, if the sun was a threat to her children. “Ben?”

“Yes, um, Mrs. Nakamura?”

“Keep talking. Tell me everything about Tristan-”

“Chris.” He clears his throat. “He’s, um, his name is Chris.”

“... tell me everything about Chris.”

--

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[ninjastormhawkkat]

Victor meanwhile was explaining to the others what he learned from Athena in more detail than what Margret was telling Archie and Constance. He just left out the parts he learned about the two individuals. “So Athena told me about her other associates. Dr. Calvin Barriton, her cousin, is also working for the B.E.A.W labs. He was the one who got her out of her prison sentence and recruited her.” Two Brains and Jenkins mentally rolled their eyes. It wasn’t a surprise to them there. They quietly listened as Victor continued speaking. “Moran was the one behind Becky and Bob’s kidnapping and experimentation. He found out about her being Wordgirl from Athena’s surviving notes that she took with her when she was free. The reason Moran took interest in Becky mainly was because he thought she inherited some of Gene’s adaptation abilities along with some of Maddrix’s powers.” Two Brains eyes widened in shocking realization. “That makes sense honestly.” Two Brains muttered aloud. Everyone turned to look at the mad scientist. “What do you mean love?” Tristan asked. “I doubt Becky has my adaptation abilities. Her DNA never showed any traces of it. But I do think it is possible she inherited some of Matthew’s powers, mainly his strength and resilience.” Two Brains looked towards Victor as he explained. “Neither, you, nor Emily, nor I showed any signs of Maddrix’s powers before. Before Becky began using her powers, I believed at the time that we just didn’t inherit any of his metahuman abilities. Though now I believe we or just I might be carriers. Becky has shown far more strength and resilience in battle against seasoned professionals for a child her age. Even with inheriting Tristan’s powers, she would only be half as strong as any Lexiconian as only being a little bit stronger than regular humans. I thought it was tremendous luck and skill that Becky was able to survive against powerhouses like the Whammer, Nocan, and Miss Power.” Dr. Two Brains looked directly at Matthew with a grim expression. “I believe now Moran was on to something about Becky inheriting some of your powers and abilities. She just expressed them more through her alien genetics which was why I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I thought it was just all Tristan.” Matthew’s eyes widened at his son’s words and nodded in agreement. He glanced down at Becky who was resting on her dads. ‘I guess the kid did take after me.” Matthew mused. Victor then spoke up. “Yes, Moran wanted to use Becky as a weapon.” Victor expected the glares of anger he got in response. This time Alan interrupted. “But if Moran was after Becky, then why did Bob get taken as well?” Alan asked. Victor’s face became crestfallen. Two Brains soon realized Victor was looking at him as he was answering Alan’s question. “Moran was working as a consultant at the Fair City labs. He spotted Becky as Wordgirl along with Huggy speaking to Professor Tubing.” Victor took a deep breath as he tried to bring himself to speak. “He overheard Becky talking to Tubing about trying to find a cure for Gene becoming Dr. Two Brains. Moran used that to his advantage. He tricked Becky and Bob and promised he could help her find a cure to save Gene from being fused with Squeaky. That’s how he was able to capture Bob and Becky and take them to B.E.A.W labs.” Dr. Two Brains’ jaw dropped. He felt a mix of anger and guilt. Anger at Moran for tricking his little girl like that and guilt because she had gotten into this mess because she was trying to help him. He looked down with a devastated look at his little girl. “I’m so sorry Becky.” Two Brains whispered with tears in his eyes. Tristan and Alex both seemed to know what Two Brains was thinking as they jumped in with their thoughts. “Love, do not blame yourself for this. Becky and all of us love you so much. We all had been trying to find a way to help your condition. Moran took cruel advantage of Becky’s love and care towards you.” Tristan tried reassuring his husband. @dualnaturedscientist

He swore that his granddaughter had taken off in this direction. Not noticing the heroes that were being stalled by Amazo Guy, unfortunately for him they had noticed him or rather one. Their leader was getting more agitated by Amazo Guy by the second. One of them nervously got his attention and pointed in the direction Maddrix had taken off. Obviously not fooled by the makeshift cape. If they were going to be honest, that was what tipped them off. He was still wearing the Christmas sweater Tim had gotten him. That would've made them brush him off as just an old man running away if he hadn't taken that cape of his.  It was recognizable especially to Atomic Steele. Just as they were about to go after him, a very annoyed and now angry looking Amazo Guy had put himself between them. That wasn't going to be easy to explain, especially with Atomic Steele. He understood very much where he came from. He did. He knew it would be difficult to convince him to let Maddrix the Malicious go. The dark and straight up murderous look in his eyes told Alex there wasn't a chance he could be reasoned with. Especially when what he was after was right there. Alex didn't want to fight them but he could stall them further. Matthew had finally seen where Becky had gone, seeing her flying in the distance. He kept running as fast as he could. Even with his abilities, he was still definitely not in his youth anymore. He felt himself become  tired out but he couldn't have his granddaughter unintentionally get herself hurt in this state. Of course. She would be a hero. It was ironic that she would become attached to the hero killer. And now that hero killer was putting himself at risk for her safety.  He hadn't noticed that his appearance had escalated the situation between the heroes. Alex was distracted and visibly unhappy that Matthew managed to make his job all the more difficult. He wasn't expecting to get hit with full force. Sending him flying back into a building near Matthew's location. It wasn't personal to be honest. Atomic wanted him out of the way while the supervillain was still in their sight. The others followed after, looking at Alex with apologetic expressions before leaving. The others were caught off guard, Joe went running to help Amazo Guy back up. Alan and Tristan were stunned. Tristan wasn't happy and decided it was time to intervene. This time he was the one getting in the way. With a very angry expression on his face. 

Matthew was momentarily frozen in place as he heard the loud crashing of concrete and gravel from behind him. The force of the crash caused him to let go of the cape over his head, eliminating any cover he had. The remaining civilians who hadn't fled the area screamed in panic and fear over seeing Maddrix. They definitely bolted then. Those who were frozen in fear had to be dragged away by their equally panicked but still mobile friends. Matthew then turned his head back to the four heroes who were coming straight towards him. Matthew didn't recognize them, but their leader had an aura of familiarity about them that he couldn't shake despite never seeing him before. Three of the heroes were looking nervous but otherwise still determined to face off against Maddrix the Malicious. Their leader looked ready to make sure there was nothing left of the old man after he was through with the villain. Matthew groaned in frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew what was coming but now wasn't the time to deal with someone's vendetta against him. "Hey I know you have a personal vengeance against me and want me dead for my actions years ago, but can you hold off on that for a little bit? I really need to take care of something really important here that for once doesn't involve crime or bloodshed." Matthew's plea caused the four heroes to temporarily stop in their pursuit. It was almost comedic to Matthew seeing their confused and bewildered expressions. Just as they were about to recover from their confusion, a very irate Wordman swooped in front of the four heroes. Matthew didn't have to see the expression on Tristan's face. Judging by his crossed arms and how fast he stood between them and himself, it was clearly evident Tristan was very pissed at them for punching Alex into that building. Matthew glanced back over to where Alex had landed. He saw one of his son's friends, Joe along with Alan, rush over to check on him. Slight relief that Alex was in good hands, Matthew proceeded to get out of this situation and focus on getting Becky back home where it is safe. "Hold it right there Maddrix." Wordman commanded. "Or maybe I'm going to get delayed even more." Matthew mumbled angrily. He saw Tristan giving him a side angry glare, clearly upset that the villain was out in the open especially after what was show on the television. "It was foolish and stupid to be out here like this, not go back to where you were right now before more people catch you out in the open." Matthew was about to explain himself before the leader of those other heroes shouted. "ARE YOU CRAZY! YOU ARE LETTING MADDRIX THE MALICIOUS GO! HE'S THE HERO KILLER! HE DESERVES TO PAY FOR ALL OF HIS CRIMES!" The young man shouted venomously as he continued to glare at said man. Matthew took a breath, trying to calm himself before he could speak. He was getting really irritated at being interrupted but it would do him no good to start yelling back at these people who clearly want his head. "Hey!" Matthew exclaimed loudly catching the arguing heroes attention. "Look like I said before, I know you want revenge for what I did. I deserve it. Right now I am in the middle of something very important. The reason I'm out here is because Wordgirl flew off trying to help a civilian or something and the poor girl is not in the right state to be helping anyone after the trauma she went through. So let me or one of you just go get her and bring her back home before she gets herself hurt. Okay." Matthew noted Tristan's panicked expression at hearing his daughter was out and about by herself. The others heroes who weren't in the know were shocked at hearing Maddrix care about another hero's safety but also looked worried at hearing there was something wrong with the young heroine. Their leader though still glared at Matthew. A sneer formed on his lips as he spoke. "Right like you care. You are just trying to fool us so you can kidnap Wordgirl and bring her back to your own monster husband so he can continue to experiment on her." @dualnaturedscientist

[undergrounddweller89]

Another random scenario between Walter and Killian because reasons.

Killian has been working hard in Walters lab, he'd been watching how much the young man took upon himself and wanted to do a gesture of gratitude by at least getting the paper work done, Becketts plea had gotten him this position after all.

He was not locked in some facility with only four walls...they kept a close eye on what he did which was understandable considering he'd very nearly successfully destroyed H. T. U. V

His actions now...he wanted to be careful because if he was accused of foul play it'd put Walter on the line...he was tired and angry and bitter at the world, he could barely tolerate anyone here, Lance, he was just about polite to for Becketts sake.

He looked over his shoulder watching him take notes on the new gadget he was creating, it was cute how he stuck his tongue out when in deep concentration, he smiled a little and went back to checking over papers, preening just a little as he recalled how excited Walter had been when he'd discovered he was extremely well versed in science and could understand his notes.

Unlike Lance who had to have it dumbed down for him...there was nothing wrong with not knowing, everyone had their talents and smarts in their own thing, but the idea of rubbing it specifically in Lance's face had him biting his lip as he tried not to laugh.

He rubbed his shoulder, groaning slightly there must be a weather change coming, the dull ache now throbbed, he set the pen down and leaned back flicking the switch on the desk so it turned the main lights off in his side section and put on the lamp, it was comforting compared to the garish florescent lights .

Leaning back in his chair he felt hands sliding along his shoulders... Oh yes...and over time he and Walter had formed an intimate relationship to say the least...unexpected but entirely welcomed, Walter was the tender compassion he'd been lacking for so long he found himself in many ways submissive to him...a small lingering fear that he might scare him off somehow despite how brave Beckett clearly was...he still worried that he'd lose the only good thing he had in his life.

Fingers pressed into his shoulders slowly massaging them, pressing down into his shoulder blades, oooohhh that felt so good, he pondered at times if the agency knew just how dangerous Walter could be if he chose to be on the other side, Killian knew immediately he would follow him to it if he did.

The squeeze to his shoulders and the circles rubbed into them he leaned into his touch sighing contentedly, rain beginning to hit the roof, pit pattering away with machines humming slightly

"Does that feel better Tristan?"

Killian, wasn't used to being called pet names and so had asked Walter not call him them just yet but they would work on it maybe find one that didn't make him feel like a gushing idiot unless that was supposed to be how they made you feel?

But still just hearing his name spoken so fondly was enough to make his heart flutter... Out of everyone this man could have and he chose someone broken like him...lord knows what he did to catch Becketts attention, but he was thankful either way.

"A little, but it could be better."

He teased reaching behind him, pulling at Walters lab coat, Beckett followed willingly and straddled Killian's lap, continuing to massage his shoulders as Tristan held him, face nuzzling into his chest.

Walter stroked over soft black hair, it always felt so silky and while he knew Killian liked his hair neat, Beckett honestly thought it looked really sexy when it was all messed up, especially when he was the cause of it...actually now he came to think of it he was the only one allowed to touch the hair.

Hands resting either side of his neck as thumbs stroked the corners of his jaw, Walter kissed the top of Killian's head affectionately

"Is it one of those days Tristan?"

He questioned softly, one hand massaging the shoulder with the robot arm and one playing with the hair at the base of his head.

Tristan shifted, the leather seat creaking as he looked up in those warm blue eyes, one would assume if they saw them that Killian had to he in charge, be dominant as if he had no need no feeling of his own...Walter had seen it though...

He ran a claw along the younger man's spine, hands slipping under the lab coat, he felt so warm under the sterile material, leaning his head up and eyes closing he felt Walters kiss, slow and passionate, submitting to it.

Even the Dominant need to be cared for, to be loved and be reminded of the warmth and tenderness...No Walter was never dominant even when he was the giver, he was a lover, he loved him and in every touch every movement, Killian was reassured just how much, his husband loved him...well to be husband...Walter was his and no one could ever take that away from him.

[doctorwhoandfairytaillover]

Part 6A: Vikings - Kissed by Fire

Summary: On the celebration of (Y/N)’s name day, her brothers come with an old flame from her past. But is he truly an old flame?

Pairings: Ragnarssons x Stepmom reader (platonic), Ragnar x reader (romantic), OC x reader (romantic?)

A/N: I really hope y’all like this part, it is merely the beginning of the drama that is to come. 

As her father’s only daughter, the celebrations done in honor of her name day were usually grand events that lasted several days and went well into the night even if she had already gone to sleep for the night. It was not strange for her then, when her dear husband Ragnar decided to hold grand festivities for her name day as well.

For many, it was simply an excuse to drink and feast to their hearts content but for Ragnar it was a display of the love and affection that he held for his second wife. There was no question that the man favored his second wife, (Y/N). When he returned from his raids; it was her that he gave the finest of dresses, it was her that he gave rare jewels, and it was her that he greeted first. So for the man to throw a feast of this magnitude, it was no surprise that he would do so for his favored wife and told her to dress elegantly for the celebration.

Without question; she dressed in a finely made gown of blue, the golden necklace she wore her first day in Kattegat, and had lined her eyes with kohl to make the (e/c) hues stand out. It was when she looked down to sift through her box of accessories that she jumped in surprise to feel the prickle of Ragnar’s beard when he kissed her neck.    

“How is it that you only become more beautiful?” he said lovingly.

“Flatterer” she giggled. “I won’t lay with you tonight that easily.”

“Can a husband not worship the ground his wife walks on merely because he remains as infatuated with her as the day he met her?” he asked as he continued to pepper her with kisses.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into a soft and tender kiss. A short lived moment, when giggles caught their attention to spot the majority of the children at the door.

“Perhaps I should be selfish and keep you solely to myself” Ragnar teased.

“There is enough of me to be shared, now move” she said with a playful shove as she reached into her box and pulled out a delicate anklet.

Gently, Ragnar took the anklet from her hand and kneeled in front of her as the children impatiently jumped on their bed. He clasped the anklet onto her ankle with care, holding onto her foot in thought as he let go and turned his bright blue eyes to her.

“When we first met, you wore this every day and never took it off. On our journey, you wore it frequently but not as often as you did before. The last time that I ever saw you wear this was the day before our wedding and that night saw you put it away” he said. “Does this hold any meaning to you?”

(Y/N) nodded, “It was given to me by someone I held dear. It was a gift that I may always remember them and the time we spent together fondly.”

“After the celebration, would you mind telling me the story behind it?”

“I would love nothing more.”

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

The men and women cheered in excitement upon the arrival of their king and his favored wife, closely followed by the older children as they carried the younger ones in their arms.

When he was handed a horn of ale, Ragnar lifted it up for a toast.

“Let us feast and be merry, to celebrate the name day of my beloved wife (Y/N). A woman kissed by fire, who caught my eye so many years ago in the land of Iberia. The woman that is now mother of my children and companion in life. For (Y/N)! Skol!”

“Skol!” everyone cheered.

“Salud!” cried out several others voices.

To the utter surprise and glee of (Y/N), her nine brothers along with their entourage had entered into the hall with casks of wine under their arms. Setting the casks down, all of the men did not hesitate to smother their sister with affection.

“It is so good to see all of you, especially you Bjarke. Your name day is tomorrow” she said. “Perhaps you can all go on a hunt with the other men and I can cook your favorites.”

“Can you?!” all her brothers gasped.

“No one else’s cooking can compare to Nana’s and yours” said Antonius.

“Our wives can cook well enough and the servants are alright, it is your cooking that has always been the best” said Cole.

“That’s right!” said Hvisterk. “Mama makes everything tasty.”

“Even the things that are yucky taste good when Mama cooks” said Sigurd with a lisp.

“I already said that I would, there is no need for sweet words when I have offered” (Y/N) giggled.

“Surely we can give you a gift in return” said Athel.

“Your presence is enough, I can ask for no greater gift than to be with my loved ones on my name day” she said.

“What if we were to tell you that our gift is exactly that?” said Endre.

“Did father come along as well?” (Y/N) asked, looking around the room in hopes of spotting the man.

“Not father, but someone that you certainly remember fondly” said Gunnar.

The tallest of her brother’s smirked as he stepped aside; revealing a man around the same age as (Y/N). He was of lithe build, messy brown hair fell onto his forehead, his blue green eyes gleamed, and scruff lined his jaw.

“Tristan?” she gasped.

He smiled in a manner that made the green of his eyes seem brighter.

“Is it really you? My goodness, I haven’t seen you in years Tris” (Y/N) said as she pulled him into a tight hug.  

“(Y/N)! It seems that the years have been good to you, more beautiful than the last day that I saw you” he chuckled, taking her hand to bring her into a spin. “You have blossomed into the woman that I knew you would.”

She laughed, “I was a girl of seventeen last you saw me. In that time I have married and become a mother, Tris. I would imagine that I am not the girl that you knew.”

“That is true. Your brother’s didn’t tell me on the journey, but tell me do you have a son or daughter?”

“Both. I have a daughter and five sons.”

His eyes widened, “Did you truly have that many?”

“I birthed one son and a daughter, but in marrying now have an additional four sons.”

His features softened as he held onto her hands, “I had known you to be a kind and loving person but to take on the care of children not of your womb. I can tell those boys will be well loved.”

“Oh,” she gasped in realization. “I was so caught up that I didn’t introduce you to the rest of my family.” 

Leading him by the hand, she stepped to stand by a disgruntled looking Ragnar and pouty children beside them.

“My love and stars of my life, this is my good friend Tristan. His father was a merchant very close to my father and we grew up together” (Y/N) said. “Tris, this is my husband Ragnar the man that took me away and stole my heart in the process. These are my children; Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, Agnar, Ivar, and Kari.”

Ragnar scoffed when Tristan went to shake his hand, ignoring the man in favor of drinking his ale. The boys pouted but conceded in giving the man a swift handshake, as they knew that (Y/N) would scold them later if they did not greet her friend.

A slight glimmer caught his eye and Tristan spotted the anklet on (Y/N). 

“You still kept it after all these years?” he asked softly. 

(Y/N) smiled sadly, “It was the last gift that you gave me. I hold it quite dear.” 

At her words, Ragnar’s jaw clenched but stayed quiet as Tristan practically leaped to embrace her tightly.

“Oh!” Tristan gasped, knocking his hand against his head. “I almost forgot, my brother Matteo also came along and should be here.”

Looking around the room, he brought his fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. “Matteo! Get over here!”

Almost like a shadow, Tristan turned to spot his older brother Matteo beside him.

“Teo, introduce yourself. We haven’t seen (Y/N) in a number of years and it would be impolite.”

(Y/N) held back a grimace when Matteo’s blue eyes raked down her figure. He bowed at the waist and smirked, “I am Matteo Federico De Valle Aldrete an old friend of (Y/N) and older brother to Tristan but you may all call me Teo.”

“I thought your father left you in charge of trading with the Franks” (Y/N) stated plainly.

“He did, but called me back as he felt my talents were needed elsewhere” Matteo chuckled.

(Y/N) took two horns of ale from a passing thrall and handed them to the two men.

“Have a drink, I am sure that you have yet to partake in the festivities” she said. 

“Thank you, that is very kind of you Conejito” Matteo chuckled.

“I will do my best to drink with all of you, but I cannot hold my drink very well” said Tristan nervously.

“That is alright” (Y/N) said as she sipped from her own drink. “It is a time to make merry. To old times!”

“To old times!” the two men cheered.

Drinking heavily from their horns, unaware of the (e/c) eyes that peered at them as they drank.

____________________________

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